Graham watched in concern as Xander yawned again while
walking back to his
apartment.  The dark-haired man wasn?t just tired from
the fight; he was
utterly exhausted.  Some of it could be expected:
Xander had acquitted
himself well during the confrontation with the
vampires.  He?d fought with
determination, relying on experience instead of fancy
maneuvers.  Coming
down from an adrenaline high usually sapped one?s
strength, but Xander
looked ready to curl up and sleep in a convenient
alley.

He shifted impatiently.  He wanted to make sure Xander
was all right, but he
was having a difficult time even getting a clear view
of the other man.
Spike was constantly beside Xander, blocking Graham?s
access to him.  It was
making the soldier a little crazy.  Finally meeting
Xander hadn?t helped him
get over his crush; instead, it only made things
worse.  He?d gotten to see
Xander up close, look into his dark eyes and hear him
say his name.

He?d *touched* him.  He reached out and taken Xander?s
hand.  He?d cheated a
little during the handshake and held on for a few
extra seconds, memorizing
the feeling of Xander?s callused palm, the strength in
his fingers and the
heat of his skin.  That little touch had sealed
Graham?s fate.  His crush
was rapidly becoming something stronger with every
moment he spent with
Xander.

Even if there was a vampire with some kind of peroxide
fetish standing
between them.  Refusing to look at Spike any more than
he had to, Graham put
his secret ops training to use and managed to maneuver
around the blond man
so he could walk next to Xander.  ?Are you sure you?re
all right??

Xander?s smile lit his eyes.  ?Yeah.  I?m fine.?

?You just seem awfully tired.?  Graham hoped he was
coming across as
concerned rather than nosy.

Spike laughed derisively.  ?Can?t imagine why he?d be
tired.  He just worked
a full day at a construction site and then went
running about a bloody
cemetery.?

Graham glared at him.  He didn?t care how touchable
Spike?s cheekbones were,
he wasn?t going to just sit there and let the vampire
snipe away at him and
interrupt his Xander time.  Besides, he didn?t like
how close Spike was
staying to Xander.  The blond man was practically
hovering over him.  He was
distracted from making a snide comment in return by
their return to Xander?s
apartment building.

Xander smiled a little hesitantly.  ?You guys want to
come up??

Graham nodded quickly.  ?There are still a few things
we should discuss.?
He refused to turn around and look at Riley.  He was
technically stepping
into Riley?s position and usurping his place, but he
knew his friend was
going to be amused rather than upset.  He didn?t want
to turn around and see
Riley laughing at him.  On the upside, his quick
agreement seemed to have
irritated Spike, which made up for the vampire
laughing at him, just a bit.

Once inside the apartment, he settled down in the
chair he?d occupied
before.  He watched Spike follow Xander around the
apartment like he was his
shadow, only stopping once Xander sat down on the
couch.  Spike flopped down
beside him, sprawling across the rest of the available
space.

Riley cleared his throat.  ?I?m kind of surprised that
Anya isn?t here
waiting for you.?

Xander?s gaze dropped to his hands.  ?Anya left,? he
said quietly.  ?She
sort of freaked out after Joyce died.  It was like she
all of a sudden
realized that being human meant dying.  She said she
couldn?t stay in
Sunnydale.  Not even...?  His voice trailed away into
silence.  ?I couldn?t
leave.  She did.?

Graham hated the pain he could hear in Xander?s voice.
He hated Anya for
not being willing to stay with him.  He hadn?t like
thinking about his crush
being with someone else, but he liked knowing that
Xander had been hurt even
less.  He noticed that Spike was glaring at Riley.
Because his question
upset Xander?

Spike stood up abruptly.  ?I think it?s time for you
two to go.?

Graham wanted to object, but Xander?s yawn made him
reconsider.  Xander did
need to sleep.  He rose to his feet.  ?Do you want our
help tomorrow night??

Xander smiled gratefully at him.  ?It would make
things a lot easier.  Could
you meet us back here around ten??

?Why not right after sunset?? Riley asked.

?I?ve got something to take care of.?  Xander?s voice
sounded extremely
casual, but the shadows that appeared in his eyes and
Spike?s sudden
restlessness sent off warning bells in Graham?s head.
Whatever this
something was, it couldn?t be good.

Riley stood up.  ?Then I guess we?ll see you at ten.?
He moved toward the
door, eliminating any chance Graham had for asking
questions.  He had no
choice but to wish Xander good night and follow Riley
to the door.  He and
Riley paused, waiting for Spike to join them.  When
the vampire gave no sign
of leaving, Riley stopped Xander from closing the door
behind them.  ?Isn?t
Spike leaving??

Xander shook his head.  ?Spike lives here, most of the
time.  He doesn?t pay
rent, but he?s my roommate.  A lot has changed since
you left.?  Behind him,
Spike stared directly at Graham, one eyebrow arched.
Xander hesitated.
?Have you seen Buffy yet??

?No.  I can?t.?  Riley shrugged helplessly.  ?I just
can?t.?

Xander reached out and touched Riley?s shoulder
briefly, his eyes full of
commiseration and understanding.  ?I?ll see you
tomorrow.?  His gaze slid
over to meet Graham?s and then he disappeared behind
the closing door.

Graham fumed quietly as they headed back for the
vehicle.  He wasn?t
imagining things:  the look that Spike had shot him
had been a challenge.
What was Xander thinking, letting a vampire stay with
him?  Sure, Spike was
chipped, but he was clearly still up to something.  ?I
don?t like this at
all,? he said, climbing into the driver?s seat.

?What, that you don?t get to stay with him??

?Besides that.?  Graham drove back toward base.  ?Did
you notice that Spike
was the one leading us to the vampires??

?While last night it was Xander who was doing the
leading??  Riley nodded.
?I caught that.  I want to know how they know where to
go.  If it?s through
Spike?s contacts, then why was Xander leading last
night?  I also caught on
that whatever Xander?s doing tomorrow, he doesn?t want
us to know about it.
It?s a good thing we?ll be following him.?

?What about Spike??  Graham knew that it couldn?t just
be his imagination.
?He?s acting weird, isn?t he??

?He?s always rude, but you?re right.  He?s staying too
close to Xander.?
Riley stared blindly through the windshield.  ?If he
can?t get close to
Buffy right now, he might be doing this as a way to
stay on her good side.
You know, protect her friend and win points with her
that way.?

Graham didn?t reply, but he didn?t agree.  He could
understand that Riley
was focused on Buffy but he believed that it was
twisting his friend?s
perspective.  Whatever Spike was up to, it was
centered around Xander.  The
vampire had been Xander?s deadly little guardian
devil, always at his side,
warding him from every threat.  That sort of
dedication went beyond trying
to get on someone?s good side:  Spike had a vested
interest in keeping
Xander safe and keeping him close and Graham wanted to
know what it was.

Back at base, he and Riley reported immediately to
Tyndal?s office.  Riley
briefly laid out the events of the evening.  He
concluded his report by
saying, ?I believe that both Harris and Spike bear
further scrutiny and they
definitely deserve our continued cooperation.  They
are the only ones taking
an active role against the descent of chaos.?

After Graham nodded his agreement, Tyndal considered
Riley?s words.  ?I?m
going to keep the surveillance on both of them.  I
want you two to work with
the surveillance teams, but your chief concern is to
work with Harris and
Spike and make sure the HSTs don?t take over this
town.  I?ll be expecting
reports from you every evening.?

?Yes, sir.?  Graham saluted and followed Riley out of
the office toward
their quarters.  He watched Riley strip down for bed.
He couldn?t do the
same:  he had too much restless energy inside him.  He
knew that he?d just
end up staring at the ceiling and shifting
continuously until Riley
threatened to kill him.  ?I?m hitting the gym.?

Riley grunted his acknowledgement.

Graham made his way to the gym and started doing laps
around the empty
track, setting a fast pace to burn off the nervousness
that filled him.  As
he ran, he pictured Xander smiling a greeting at him,
Xander reaching out to
take his hand, Xander focused and determined in a
fight, Xander working in a
white undershirt and gleaming in the sun... There was
no denying it; he had
it bad.  He knew it was only going to get worse, now
that he was under
orders to spend time with Xander.  Maybe he?d be able
to figure out what
Spike was up to.  No matter what Riley thought, Graham
knew that the
vampire?s real focus was Xander.  It didn?t matter how
much help Spike was
being, or how sexy he looked in black:  Graham wasn?t
going to sit there and
let him get away with whatever he was planning for
Xander.  Not when Graham
was there to stop him.  Not when Graham had some plans
for Xander himself.

*****