Xander frowned, the demon raging. "You aren't my Sire! Spike is my Sire! You can't tell me what to do!"

"That's where you are wrong, boy. I own Spike, therefore, I own you."

Xander narrowed his eyes. The soul within him knew that Angel wouldn't let the demon hurt anyone, so the soul stepped aside, unleashing the demon.

His game face fell into place in one smooth motion. Angel shivered involuntarily looking into those amber eyes, for he saw who Xander's demon *really* was. He realized with slight horror that anytime Xander had done something evil, it had been the soul playing, and not the demon he was staring at. The demon could rival Angelus in sheer evilness.

Xander pushed Angel back, then grabbed his wrists and yanked, causing his silk shirt to rip. "You think that you are the big awesome Sire? You aren't. You aren't anything, Angelus. You don't even let your fucking demon out, just let the soul have control."

It was at that moment Angelus came out to play.

Angel licked his lips, tilting his head up to look down at Xander. "You think you know it all, don't you, Harris? You've been a part of this little family for *four* months. I've been father to it for a hundred and thirty."

Xander narrowed his eyes. "You lie, you bastard. You left him a century ago. You left him alone with *Drusilla*. Never even bothered to let him know that you were alive. I know you don't fucking know what love is, but he loved you! He wouldn't have turned you away!"

Angel slammed Xander into the door, his hand around the younger vampire's throat. "I should kill you where you stand," he hissed angrily. "You do *not* have the right to talk to me about how I feel about my Childe."

"Can't even stand up and be a real vampire and discipline me. You have to throw me around and make threats," Xander taunted, his demon roaring. He knew that Angel was stronger, and much more dominant than he was, and he didn't even want to dominate his grand-sire. He just wanted Angel to be the grand-sire he was supposed to be and give him the discipline he knew the insolent fledgling deserved.

Angel roared in anger and grabbed the young man by the back of the neck, pulling him away from the door. He flung the door open, not at all phased by the shattering of the glass of the window when it slammed into the wall. He dragged Xander out of the office. Cordelia looked up at him and 'eeped'. "Cordelia, Xander and I are going to be downstairs if you need us," he hissed. He walked downstairs to his apartment, dragging a struggling Xander with him.

Willow and Spike both looked up over the back of the couch when Angel's growling form stepped into the apartment. Spike's eyebrow rose, knowing that Xander had finally pushed *that* button that he'd been trying so hard to find. He smirked, remembering long nights of discipline, pain, and pleasure with his Sire. He laid back down, not worried about what was to happen to his childe.

Willow glanced down, fear rippling through her body. She had been on the receiving end of many of Angel's lessons, learning each of them quickly. As much as her demon enjoyed the game, her soul couldn't handle too much of it and made her learn it fast. She knew that Xander's soul was safely locked away, and that he was in for one hell of a ride.

She whimpered slightly, worried for her best friend and lover. Spike wrapped his arms around her, holding her close. It was in rare moments like this that the soul of Willow Rosenberg shined through, reminding Spike of the human that he fell in love with. "Shh," he soothed softly into her hair. "It's going to be ok, pet. Xander can handle his own. Peaches won't hurt him, just teach him a lesson that's long overdue."

Willow looked up at him, blinking back tears. "Why? Why does Angel do this to Xander? Why doesn't he discipline him? I thought that was what vampires do. He certainly has no qualms about putting me in my place."

Spike smiled softly, shifting underneath Willow. She was draped over him, lying comfortably on top of him. He brushed his black nails over her cheek. "Peaches likes him."

Willow frowned. "He likes me too. . ." Her eyes widened and a fresh wave of tears filled her eyes. Her bottom lip quivered. "He doesn't like me."

Spike leaned up and kissed her closed eyelids. "Hush, Red. Don't ever say a bloody thing like that. Peaches loves you. You are a part of him. It's. . .different with Xander than it is with you."

"How?" she asked, scrubbing her eyes with her fist.

Spike's heart broke, watching Willow. She was a grown woman, and had the emotions of a grown woman, but adding the demon to the mix threw everything off kilter. The demon was young - so very young - and played off of her emotions. There were times she could be a woman, and then other times she could be a child. Having the soul didn't help. Spike found himself briefly wondering if the soul would ever let the demon fully blossom into who she would be as a vampire.

"Anyway," Spike said, trying to get Willow back to the matter at hand, "back to your Angel-Xander question. Angel does love you - you are his grand-childe. It is different with Xander though, because his demon *wants* Xander. He wants to claim him, for his own."

Willow's eyes widened. "Like you've claimed us?"

"Right."

"How do you feel about that?" Willow asked softly. She frowned. She didn't know if she was terribly thrilled with the idea of Angel taking Xander away from them. The demon within her roared, tugging on the bond between her and her best friend. He belonged to them, no one else.

"Red, it's not like he'd bloody take Xander away. But I don't know how I feel about it. I love my Xanpet. I know that we aren't your typical family of vampires, but if we were to technically follow Lore, he could have taken Xander away from me at any time. He wouldn't though. That's why he doesn't discipline. It's too hard for him."

"He's told you this?" Willow asked softly.

"Yea," Spike said, pulling Willow down to his body. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. "We should rest, pet. Things around the Poof's little world are about to get interesting."