Chapter One: Changes. In the summer following the Master's death, Xander has a run-in with a demon and Angel is the only one who can help.

Even years later, Xander would swear that it wasn't his fault.

Of course, everyone else would argue that of course it was his fault- what the hell was he doing in the cemetery after dark, anyway? It's a shortcut, he'd argue back, and then everyone would laugh.

A shortcut to where, Buffy would scoff, an early death?

But he maintained that it wasn't his fault. He'd promised Willow that he would meet her at the movies at exactly eight o'clock, and when he was late due to a drunken shouting match between his parents, all he could think was that he had to make it there on time, or Willow would want to know why. So he'd taken the shortcut, and since there hadn't been any demonic activity at all, all summer, it couldn't be too unsafe, right?

Wrong.

Giles was having a very relaxing evening with his books and a cup of tea. Music that was actually music- rather than the meaningless noise that his Slayer called music- was pouring out of speakers, and Giles was reveling in the peace and quiet of a nice evening at home.

Then the pounding at his door commenced. Honestly, Giles wondered why he was at all surprised. Quiet evening, enjoying the peace- naturally, some disaster would occur. It was Murphy's Law.

Sighing, he marked his place in his book and went to answer. He opened it, then immediately opened it wider and ushered the two teenagers on his doorstep into his home.

"Get inside. Christ. What happened to you two?"

"Nothing happened to me," Willow panted, helping a staggering and bleeding Xander across the room to the couch. "Just to him. I'm not sure what happened, exactly- we were supposed to meet at the movies, and I was starting to get worried about him when he showed up, looking like this. He said something about the graveyard and a demon, but that's all I've gotten out of him."

More worried than he wanted to admit, Giles crouched in front of the boy on his couch. "Xander? Xander, can you hear me?"

Xander rolled his head weakly. "Can hear you fine, G-man," he said, with a ghost of his usual grin. "Though there seem to be two of you."

"Xander, what happened?"

"Was late. Cut through the graveyard. Ran into a demon. It cut me up, but I killed it with a rock. Not the hardest head in the world, I'm guessing. Hit it in the head and it collapsed like a puppet with the strings cut. Ran away, made it to the movie theatre. Wills was pacing all over the place, took one look at me and brought me here." He was silent for a minute. "Giles? I don't feel so good."

"I should say not. You're covered in blood."

"No, not that. I mean, I feel sick. Hot. So fucking hot." He tossed his head restlessly, kicked weakly at the blanket Giles was trying to cover him with.

Giles and Willow exchanged a worried glance. "Willow, why don't you make some tea? Use the jar on the top shelf, all the way to the right- the one painted black. I'll go get some bandages."

Willow was in the kitchen with the water boiling and Giles was just coming back with the first aid supplies when he heard another knock at his door. Muttering under his breath, he dropped the supplies on the table and went to answer the door. Again.

Angel stood there, looking anxious, with his shoulders hunched and his hands tucked into his pockets. "Is everyone okay? I ran across a very dead Chellwith demon in the cemetery, smelled blood, and tracked it here."

"Xander was injured, but he seems to be- Chellwith? Did you say Chellwith demon?"

"Yeah. Xander was injured?"

"Oh, no," Giles said, and turned back to the injured youth on the couch without another thought to the vampire still standing in his doorway. "Xander, the demon you ran across- was it about six feet tall, with three horns on its forehead?"

"Yeah, that was the one," Xander said, and his voice seemed weaker than it had just a minute ago. "Why? Is it bad?"

"Fairly so," Giles admitted. "It cut you with its claws?"

"Yeah," Xander said. "Why?"

"Chellwith demons have a certain... poison, in their claws," Giles admitted cautiously. "It has a rather rapid effect, as I'm sure you've noticed."

"Oh," Xander said. "That would explain the fever, wouldn't it?"

"Yes, it would," Giles said grimly, and raised his voice. "Willow? Could you hurry up with the tea, please?"

"Sure," Willow called back easily. "What's going on?"

"We seem to have a bit of a... situation, on our hands."

Willow immediately hurried out, only to stop and stare with surprise at Angel, who was still standing on the doorstep, looking awkward. "What's he doing here?"

"He saw the dead demon and tracked Xander's blood here," Giles said grimly. "Willow, I need that tea. It should slow the poison's progress through Xander's veins."

"Poison? Wait, when did the poison thing happen?"

"The claws that cut Xander were filled with a very fast-acting poison," Giles said impatiently. "Unless we act quickly, Xander could-" He stopped, suddenly remembering that Xander could hear every word.

"Die?" Xander finished for him. "It's okay, Giles. I think I already knew." He looked pensive for a moment. "This tea, it's not a cure? It's just a temporary measure."

Not trusting his voice, Giles nodded.

"Is there a cure at all?"

"I don't know of any," Giles finally admitted. "Though I'm sure that, given just a little time, I could find one."

"Do we have time?" Xander asked. "I don't think so. I can feel it moving. I can feel it getting worse. In a few minutes I'm not going to be able to talk anymore. I already can't move."

"I know a cure," Angel said into the following silence. When everyone looked at him, he winced and said, "You're not going to like it, though."

"For God's sake, man, Xander's life in on the line, here," Giles snapped. "Hurry and tell us the cure."

"An exchange of blood with a vampire."

You could have heard a pin drop in the following silence. "You want to turn me?" Xander demanded. "No fucking way."

"You're not talking about turning, are you, Angel?" Giles said softly.

"No. I can stop before Xander's anywhere near drained, and give him some of my blood. It will heal him without killing him."

"You're sure I won't be a vampire?" Xander said suspiciously. "How can I trust you?"

"Xander, shut up and let the nice vampire save your life," Willow snapped. The other three looked over at her with surprise at her unusual vehemence. "I'm not going to sit here and watch you die if you have a chance to live," she said, more softly. "No way. If something happens, well, at least we tried. I'm not going to let you go without a fight. I love you too much for that."

Xander smiled painfully at her. "Alright, Wills," he said slowly. "For you." He looked over at Angel, and his expression went hard and tight- with pain, and with determination. "Do it."

Slowly, Angel approached the couch.

For someone who was dying the day before, Xander felt pretty good. Really good, in fact. Better than ever. He stretched, pressing his hands against the headboard, and heard a loud crack echo through the room.

Whoa.

He sat up so fast his head spun and whirled around to see the damage. Somehow, just by pressing against it, he had broken the friggin' headboard. That was... very not normal.

"Oh, listen, Xander's awake," he heard Willow say, and then footsteps crossing a room before thudding on the stairs.

What? He'd heard her voice, as clearly as if she'd been standing right beside him, and she'd been in the kitchen?

"Xander, how are you feeling?" Willow said, flying into the room, and he shook his head to clear it because he could hear her heartbeat, and he could smell her shampoo from clear across the room. "I'm... okay?" His voice made the last word a question.

"You look good," Willow said critically, then caught a glimpse of the headboard. "Xander Harris, what happened?"

"I didn't mean to!" He looked pleadingly at Giles when the older man came into the bedroom. "I just stretched, and somehow I cracked the headboard. I didn't mean to!"

"I believe you," Giles said soothingly. "Xander, do you feel... different? Changed, somehow?"

"Yeeees," he said slowly, looking around the room. "I can see a lot better than I did before. I heard Willow talking all the way in the kitchen. I can smell the bacon cooking in the next house over. I broke the headboard just by pushing on it. I think it's safe to say that I feel different."

"Angel said there might be some... changes," Giles said cautiously. "That you might awaken with some of the strength, and possibly the sense, of a vampire."

"I'm a vampire?"

Willow looked pointedly at the stripe of sunlight the touched his skin. "No," she said patiently. "He didn't say that you were a vampire. Just that you had some of the stuff that vampires have."

"So how do I have vampire strengths, without actually being a vampire? Mind sharing, Giles?"

"Vampire blood is very powerful," Giles explained. "Taking Angel's made you, well, partly a vampire is the best way to explain it. You have a lot of their strengths, such as more power, heightened senses, and I expect when you get up you'll realize that you can move much faster. You are not, however, an actual vampire. You're still alive. Surely you can hear your heart beating?"

Taking stock of himself for the first time since awakening, Xander nodded. "Yeah, okay. Not dead. That's reassuring, at least."

"And do you find yourself with a sudden craving for a little A pos?" Willow persisted.

"No," he said. "I have a sudden craving for pancakes, and a need to talk to Angel." He frowned. "Actually, I pretty much just need to see Angel. Talking or not. That's creepy."

"Well, he is, in a strange way, sort of your Sire," Willow admitted. "I think it's a vampire thing, needing to be with your Sire when you rise."

"Hello? Not a vampire. Didn't rise from my grave or anything. So why do I still have a craving to just be standing next to him?"