"Wes, are you sure this is going to work?"

The ex-Watcher looked up and tried to remain patient. "We've been over this, Cordelia. We're both afraid that drinking Kate's blood may have reawakened Angel's lust for blood. If he wakes up and we find he can no longer control his impulses, it may then be too late."

"Yeah, but if there's always been a spell to stop vamps from wanting blood, why isn't it used all the time?"

"Not stop it...suppress it...and the text the spell is in is extremely rare. I only recently discovered it and translated it myself."

"I don't know...I'm getting bad vibes from this."

Wesley stopped and looked the girl in the eye. "I just don't know what else to do...I won't ask you to stay in the room. I haven't clearly defined all the possible side effects of the spell, and there is no use us both risking..." he trailed off, softly.

Real alarm was in Cordy's eyes now. She reached out to grab Wesley's arm. "I don't want you to risk your life, Wesley. Angel wouldn't want it either. I can't lose you....both of you...either of you." She snatched the book out of the startled man's hands and held it out of his reach. "If there's a chance this could get you killed, I'm not going to let you do it."

Wesley smiled down at her, touched by her emotional outburst. "I've been over an over the text, and there is no indication that the spell could be fatal, to either participant. It's just that some of the wording is a bit vague, that's all. If I had the proper time to fully translate it, I would take it, but I am afraid we may not have that time." He held out his hand for the book, and Cordelia hesitated before reluctantly giving it back to him.

"I suggest you leave now."

"I'll be right outside the door...if you need me." Cordy's face was solemn and creased with worry, as she stepped into the hallway, shutting the door behind her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wesley stared closely at Angel for a moment. Satisfied the vampire was sound asleep, he found his page in the book, and began the incantation. As he moved slowly around the bed, Wesley lit each of the candles that had been placed at the four corners of the bed, lighting the last as he finished the spell. There was a bright light, and a noise that sounded, to Wes, like a clap of thunder. The Spell Caster found himself being slammed against the wall by a powerful force, then everything went black.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cordelia rushed back into the room, having heard the explosive noise. She found Wesley, collapsed in a heap by the bed, groaning softly.

"Wes, are you alright? Speak to me. How many fingers am I holding up?"

Wesley moaned again, and stared up at her groggily. "You're not holding up any fingers...are you?"

"Oh...yeah...oops." She helped him up, allowing him to lean on her. They both peered at the bed, but Angel still seemed to be sleeping the sleep of the undead. The two coworkers crept quietly from the room, and headed back down to the lobby.

"Hey, I told you not to get hurt!" Cordy smacked her friend sharply on the arm.

"OW! I fail to see why you always insist on inflicting bodily harm when you are concerned for my well-being."

Cordy blinked at him. "Yeah, you're fine."

"Except for an extremely severe headache, I appear to be suffering no other ill effects.

"Headache? I've got *just* the thing for one of those." She reached behind the counter and produced her economy size bottle of pain killers, dropping a few tablets into Wesley's outreached hand, before getting him a cup of water from the cooler.

"Thank you." He accepted the water, gratefully.

"So, what now?"

"We wait."

"Oh...uh, is this going to take long? I have an early class in the morning."

"Why don't you go on home; I shall remain here for the night. If we haven't heard anything by morning, you can relieve me then."

"I don't know...what if it didn't work, or he's worse, and wakes up snack happy?"

"Then it really would be best if we weren't both here. I've got my phone. You take Angel's car and I'll call you if there's any trouble."

"Okaaaay, but you'd better call if you need me, or you'll have hell to pay."

"I wouldn't doubt it for a moment." He smiled.

Cordy turned to go, stopped, and came back to plant a kiss on the surprised man's cheek. "See you in the morning" was all she said, before heading for the back door.

"See you..." he replied, before sinking heavily into one of the chairs, and rubbing at his temples. He wished those pain killers would kick in. His head was still throbbing horribly. If anything, it was getting worse.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(several hours later)

Angel woke up slowly, and stretched languidly, much like a big cat would, fresh from a nap. He couldn't remember the last time he'd slept so well. He pulled on his standard issue black cotton trousers and dark grey sweater, and padded, barefoot, into the kitchen. He automatically moved to the refrigerator, and began to remove a bag of blood, when his hand froze in midair. It finally hit him...he wasn't hungry. Worried, he searched his memory. He hadn't drank enough from Kate to still be this satisfied, many hours later, and he hadn't fed when he got home either. Besides, this was more than a feeling of being 'full'. For the first time in over 200 years, the burning desire for blood was absent.

The bewildered vampire wandered back into his bedroom, and only then noticed the drawings on the floor, the candles, and the feel of soft, grainy powder beneath his feet. Someone had been casting a spell in here. Wesley! What had Wesley done to him?

Angel hurried downstairs, and was startled to see the man he was seeking, standing in the middle of the room, with his back to him.

"Wesley?...Wes? What's going on here? What have you been playing at?"

The tall man turned to face him, and Angel gasped. Wesley's eyes were sunken in and red from constant rubbing. His hands twitched uncontrollably at his sides, and he seemed to be muttering constantly, under his breath. But it was the look in Wesley's eyes that alarmed him most of all. The stare was vacant, and yet wild at the same time, his focus darting from Angel, to the floor, to the desk, and back again. He finally seemed to be aware of Angel's presence, for he stumbled towards him, reaching out with a painful grip on his employer's forearm.

"A-Angel, please help me...I'm *so* hungry!"

"Wes, what's wrong?"

"Can't...think...straight..." His words came out as pants, his breath shallow and labored.

Angel shook him by the shoulders. "Wesley! You performed a spell. What was it?"

Wesley's head snapped up. "A spell...yes...to help you."

"Help me?" This wasn't getting him anywhere.

"Angel, I'm hungry. Please...I'm so hungry." Wesley gripped a handful of Angel's sweater in one hand, as he raked his fingernails along the vampire's neck, digging them in hard enough to draw blood. He quickly stuck his fingers in his mouth, licking the red fluid off them eagerly.

A horrible realization swept through Angel's body with a shudder. "What are you hungry *for*, Wes?" he shouted.

"Blood...oh, God...I want blood." His eyes were desperate. Pleading.

Angel got up and searched the room. The book had to be nearby. He spied it on the floor, behind a chair, and opened it to the marked page. He read Wesley's translation, plus the parts of the original text that he could make out, then looked at Wesley, aghast.

The Rogue Demon Hunter had wandered off, and was heading for the front door. Angel had to go after him and drag him back.

"Oh no you don't. You can't go anywhere in the shape you're in." He looked him over, unhappily. "I hate to do it, but I don't think I have a choice."

"Wha-what are you going to do?" Wes asked, nervously. "Are you going to...feed me?"

Angel lead his friend towards the stairs. "Yeah, Wes, I'm going to feed you."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Angel stood in front of the open refrigerator, trying to decide what to do. Pigs blood would be safer, but human blood would work better at calming the insatiable desire that was tearing at Wesley's sanity. And he needed Wes to be coherent. He felt the other man move quietly up behind him, and suddenly something cold and sharp was being held at his throat.

"Wes," his voice remained remarkably calm. "You can't have *my* blood. It's not good for you. Look, see all the blood I have for you?" He held the eager man back, and pulled out two bags of O Positive. Wesley snatched them from his hands and slashed one open with the knife, beginning to drink, desperately. Angel politely turned away, until it sounded as though Wes had finished them both. Retrieving a wet cloth from the sink, Angel gently cleaned Wesley's face, and took him back to the bedroom, pushing him down into the chair. After several minutes, a much calmer Wesley lifted his head to speak to him.

"What's happening to me, Angel? I feel like my brain is shattering into a million pieces."

Angel knelt down in front of his friend. "The spell you cast...it was to eliminate my bloodlust, right?"

Wes shook his head, slowly. "Subdue it, not eliminate it. We were worried that...you drank form Kate and....you've been so out of control lately."

Angel smiled, ironically. "You used too much power, Wes. You got rid of it completely. I think you must have been too close to me, because it leapt right into *you*."

Wesley's eyes widened, and his jaw dropped open. "But, why should that make me crazy?"

"I'm a vampire...I'm stronger; I'm built to handle the constant desire to feed. That's part of who I am. You're human, and your brain just can't handle it...no matter how tough you are."

"Do you feel better now?"

Angel wasn't expecting that question, and he thought about it. "It feels different....good."

Wesley almost smiled. "Then it was worth it."

"Hey, now wait a minute..."

Wes wasn't listening. "I don't want to be driven insane. I trust you to end it for me, before it gets that far. Tell Cordelia...tell her I'm sorry...and that I love her." He could feel the delirium and the headache sneaking up on him already.

"I *won't* kill you, Wesley. I'm not going to let you go crazy either. So, stop talking that way. I am *not* going to lose another friend!"

Confused, Wesley reached out for Angel. "Wha...what are you going to do?"

"Simple. I'm going to perform the spell again, and switch it back."

Wes moved to get away. "I won't let you. You've suffered enough....you deserve a little peace in your life."

"You think I could find peace in knowing you died for me? Do you think Doyle brought me any peace?! No matter what you do, I'm still a vampire, and I'll always need to drink blood. Sure, it feels great, not having that constant *need* pounding at me. You've given me that. Now it's time to fix things, make it the way it's supposed to be again.

"What if you can't control it? What if it's too much for you too?"

"I will...because I *have* to. I don't have a choice."

The two men stood silently, facing each other, eyes locked. Finally, Wesley nodded slightly, and went to the bed. Before lying down, he turned to Angel again, and extended his hand. Angel smiled, and grasped it firmly. "See you on the other side."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Angel performed the spell much the same way Wesley had, only with a few key words and inflections slightly modified. He lit the last candle and, once again, there was a bright light and sharp blast of sound. The vampire managed to remain standing, but was exhausted by the effort. Wesley was out cold. Angel crawled into the bed, next to his friend, and wrapped a protective arm around him, seeking out his warmth. He didn't think Wes would mind. Instantly, he was asleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(later that morning)

Cordelia poked her head cautiously into the open doorway.

"Hello? Anybody home? No one's dead that's not supposed to be, I hope."

"We're in here, Cordelia," Angel called out from the kitchen. She was relieved to see him actually smiling and relaxed. "I've been fixing Wes some breakfast. Want some?"

"Sure." She came over to sit at the table and got her first look at a rather haggard looking Wesley. "What happened to *you*? You look...well, worse than dead."

Before the tired man could reply, Angel cut in. "He was up most of the night, helping me."

Cordelia didn't know what to make of the silent communication between the two men, but decided to dismiss it.

"So, did the spell work, or do I need to worry about becoming a Cordy snack cake?"

"Yeah, actually, it did. I'm feeling pretty good right now." By tweaking the words of the incantation slightly, Angel had managed to suppress his desires just enough to ease the worst of the pressure. Controlling them was easier now. "I'm lucky to have two such dedicated employees here, watching out for me."

"No WAY!" Cordy protested. Both men looked at her in surprise. "You're lucky you have *family* here that cares about you," she corrected.

"Yeah, well...I ...care about you guys too." And on that admission, Angel turned quickly back to his cooking, leaving Wes and Cordy with big smiles on their faces.