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In some ways Alexander Harris was a simple man; you could often tell his mood simply by looking at him. Today was no exception. Anyone looking at the smartly dressed young man as he wandered down the high street in a sharp suit, whistling, would instantly know that he was in a very good mood.

A couple of promotions at the construction agency where he worked were both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because the money he was now earning exceptionally good, not to mention the fringe benefits like a great dental plan, health plan and four weeks of paid holiday. A curse because it meant he spent more time in meetings than he did out on the site.

Today’s meeting had been successful, the contract to rebuild Sunnydale High school was his, bonus's for early completion agreed and the rest of the day off to celebrate.

So, off Xander had whistled, making his way to Buffy's house. He knew that the Chosen One was not at work today so he figured he'd surprise her with the news. Maybe he could take her and Dawn out to dinner later.

He slid into his new car, a Toyota SUV, and drove competently, singing along to a classic rock station on the radio. The carpenter pulled to a smooth halt outside Casa De La Buff and jumped out of the car. The radio singing was instantly replaced by cheerful whistling as he let himself in through the front door.

"Buffy?" Xander called, not seeing her in the living room. He walked through into the kitchen, and thought to himself, 'Must be out shopping.' He frowned as he suddenly heard a thump coming from upstairs.

The dark haired man grabbed a knife, and crept upstairs, his whistling abandoned. He wasn't sure if the noise was Buffy or a burglar, and wasn't going to take any chances. Skills, perfect by hunting creatures with super sensitive hearing, came to the fore.

He placed his left hand on the door knob to Buffy’s room. If it was Buffy in there, he should give her a shock, which was reason enough to surprise her, he grinned. If it wasn't, then he was prepared to deal with a human burglar.

He took a deep, but silent, breath, and forced open the door. In doing so, he completely destroyed his own good mood.

"Xander!" Buffy shouted, "What the hell are you doing?"

Xander's voice failed him, as he looked at her, his mind unable to comprehend what he was seeing. His mouth dropped open in shock.

"Oh my god," was all he managed to get out, slumping against the wall.

"Don't look at me," Buffy screamed, furious.

That demand was enough for Xander to regain his own mental state. He closed his eyes for a brief second, focusing internally.

"What the hell am I doing?" he asked rhetorically. "I really don't think that is important at the moment. I think what is important is that you slowly, carefully, not eliminating any details tell me exactly what you are doing, how long you have been doing it. And most importantly of all," Xander’s voice raised to a shout, "put that fucking needle down."

"But Xander," the Slayer whined desperately. "I need this, just let me finish then we can talk, I promise I'll tell you everything."

Xander took a step forwards and struck the needle out of Buffy's hand, knocking over the spoon with the bubbling white substance she had been holding at the same time.

She scrambled to her feet, and then dived onto the floor after the needle. "You spilt it you bastard," Buffy cried. "You have no idea how much I need that, and how much it costs."

Xander just looked at her, his normal warm chocolate eyes were now expressionless holes in his face.

The blonde Slayer kneeled before him, desperation forcing a new plan into her mind. She needed the drugs, she needed someone who could pay for them.

"We're friends, Xand," Buffy purred softly, looking up at him as innocently as she could. "Maybe we could be more. I know you've always wanted me, well, this way you can have me, anyway you want me. You've got money, a flashy new car, a high paid job, a smart suit; all the things I haven't got. Take care of me and I'll do anything you want."

Buffy breathed slowly and leant forwards, nuzzling Xander's crotch.

Xander bent over, and grasped Buffy by the elbows. He lifted her up to look into her pleading blue eyes.

"Anything?" he asked softly. "Anything I want as long as I get you your fix?" The brunet’s voice matched his expression, empty and expressionless.

Buffy felt a thrill of triumph, a small endorphin rush, that held off her body's demand for the drug for a second. "Yes. Any thing, any where, any time."

Xander smiled a humourless smile. "Ok, Buffy, if that’s the way you want it. I do, of course, require your payment up front."

Buffy felt a moments despair in her heart as Xander accepted her offer. Something deep inside had hoped that he wouldn't, that he would help her, not take advantage of her offer. The despair was quickly quashed by the racking sensation of her body demanding more drugs, urgently.

She slid her hands down her body, grasping the hem of her t-shirt and started to lift it up, exposing her smooth stomach.

"Wait!" Xander demanded. "We do this my way."

Buffy obediently stopped moving, hoping that if she did what he said it would be over quicker and then she could get her hit.

"Close your eyes," Xander whispered, walking to her closet.

Buffy complied, then shivered lightly as she felt Xander wrapping one of the silk scarves around her eyes, all her feelings of self loathing and fear were trapped in her mind, by the hold the drugs had on her mind.

"I need condoms."

"In the bathroom, top shelf," Buffy told, another tiny part of her heart breaking was accepted as she realised Xander was concerned about catching something from her.

A small tear escaped her eye, immediately swallowed by the scarf. She just hoped Xander would hurry and get it over with. After all, what was another friendship sacrificed on the altar of her addiction.

She felt more than heard Xander return, pushing her gently face down on to the bed, then felt his hand slide down her back, the back of her legs and lifted the skirt she was wearing up. She lifted her hips as Xander grasped the top of her panties, pulling them down slowly, revealing the swell of her backside.

She yelped as she suddenly felt a prick of pain in her backside, "Wha.." was all she got out before the powerful tranquiliser knocked her unconscious.

Xander looked down at Buffy for a few seconds then sighed, and picked up his cellular phone. He dialled his office number.

"Hey Betty, it's Xander, can you put me through to Steve?"

"Hi Xander," Betty replied. "Didn't expect to hear from you today, good work on that school contract".

"Thanks" Xander replied with a slight smile.

"I'll transfer you now."

Xander waited, a tinny version of Greensleaves kept him company in the background.

"Xander." a warm deep voice said, as the other end of the phone was picked up. "What can I do for you?"

"Well," Xander began. "You know you keep telling me to take a holiday and I keep refusing?"

"Uh huh" Steve replied noncommittally,

"I think I'm going to need to take some off it, something's come up".

"I’ll tell you what," Xander’s boss said. "You tell me what's happening and I'll give you a reply."

Steve could hear Xander sigh audibly.

"I've just surprised a friend in her home, she was taking heroin. I want to take her away to somewhere she can't get hold of any drugs and make her give up." His voice spoke volumes in determination.

"Damn it, Xander," Steve swore. "Why can't you be normal like everyone else I hire, they go on holiday and get drunk, and if they are lucky, get laid. I need you back to work in September, which gives you seven weeks. You owe me big for this, and I will take it out of your hide."

Xander laughed softly. "Thanks Steve, now for my next question. Can I borrow your holiday home?"

"My holiday home?" Steve yelped. "Why don't you just take my business as well, you don't want much do you."

Xander remained silent; his amused grin could be clearly heard over the line.

"Ok, pick up the keys from Betty; you'll regret this when you are back at work."

"Thanks, Steve. I really appreciate it," Xander said gratefully, and hung up.

In Xander's office, Steve walked into Betty's office. "Hey Hon, Xander's in trouble. One of his friends is hooked on drugs".

Betty look horrified, "What’s he going to do?"

"What you would expect from him. He's going to try and get her off them. I let him borrow our cabin."

Betty smiled. "Good, its perfect, no one will disturb them. So he's taking his holiday now is he?"

At Steve's nod, Betty continued. "Ok, I'll arrange for it to be stocked with food, the least we can do is help him. This is so like Xander, it was one of your better moves, hiring him."

Steve just smiled and got back to work, as always, leaving the logistics to his wife.

Back at Buffy's house, Xander dialled another number.

"Wills, it’s Xander, something’s come up with Buffy and I need a huge favour."

"Xander?" Willow said, surprised "What's going on? Is Buffy alright? Are you alright?"

"Babbling, Wills."

"Ooo, sorry."

"Look, I'm sorry, but I really can't tell you what is going on, your going to have to trust me about this. Buffy is not in any mystical danger, she just has a few issues she needs to sort through and I am going to help her do it. I've arranged to borrow a cabin in the mountains for a few weeks and I've got the time off. I need you to look after Dawn for her while she is gone."

"What about Buffy's job?" Willow asked, her natural curiosity put to one side by the resolve in her best male friends voice.

"This is more important, I'll deal with it."

"OK, Tara and I will come over shortly."

"Thanks, Willow. I owe you one; you'll be able to contact me in emergencies on my mobile. We’re going to head out now, tell Dawn that we both love her."

With that, Xander hung up and dialled enquires.

"Can you put me through to the DoubleMeat Palace, please."

Five seconds later, after the operator had put him through, the phone was answered.

"Hello, DoubleMeat Palace, Shawn speaking. You want it, we fry it. Have you tried our new triple meat platter? How may I be of service?"

Xander was impressed that the person on the other end of the phone had managed to get all of that out in one breath.

"Can I speak to the Duty Manager please," Xander requested formally. "I'm calling on behalf of Buffy Summers".

"Wait one moment, please."

Xander waited, this time to complete silence.

Seconds later, a voice growled, "She better not be calling in sick again. I've had enough of her strange hours and unreliability."

"Actually, I'm calling on Ms Summers’ behalf; she regrets to inform you that she is tendering her resignation, effective immediately." Before the man on the other end could splutter anything, Xander hung up and walked downstairs.

He walked into the kitchen, and went through the drawers. He eventually found what he was looking for, Buffy’s utility bills. There was a large pile, some of which were on second and third notice. He fetched his check book from the car, and sat down and filled out the paperwork, paying each of them off. He didn’t even think about the damage it was doing to his personal bank account.

Finally, he left Willow a check to cover the two months, just in case. He wrote her a short note explaining what to do with the money, before walked into a closet and pulling out the shackles they had used on Oz, when he was doing his full moon nocturnal thing.

He walked back upstairs, and into Buffy’s room. With quick movements, he chose several random outfits for the Chosen One, deliberately going for clothes she wouldn’t mind ruining. He suspected that, even with Slayer healing, getting the drugs out of her system was not going to go well. Xander added some of his spare clothes to the bag, as he had often collapsed after patrol, it had made sense for him to move some clothes in.

He packed everything in his car, before returning to the sleeping Slayer. Any fantasies Xander entertained about sleeping beauty were ruined by the thick trail of drool running down her chin, but he picked her up and carried her gently in his arms anyway.

In any other town, the sight of a man carrying an unconscious female and placing her in the back of his car might have been cause for concern amongst the neighbours, in this town, like everything else, it was simply ignored.

He made a quick stop, to pick up the keys, before driving for several hours. Xander followed the directions Betty had given him, turning up a dirt track. He was immensely grateful for his SUV’s four wheel drive capability. It turned the treacherous climb into a relatively straight forward drive.

---

He pulled to a stop, the gravel crunching under his wheel.

He could hear Buffy start to move in the back seat, the Slayer powers were eliminating the powerful sedative faster than he had expected.

Xander grabbed the restraints, throwing them over his shoulder, and grabbed the unconscious girl. He carried her into the cottage, straight into the bedroom, and dropped her unceremoniously onto the bed. For his own preservation, and to stop her escaping, he handcuffed her firmly to the iron chassis of the bed, and then tenderly wiped the drool from her face.

He watched her for a second, almost able to see her super powered physiology throwing off the effects of the powerful animal tranquiliser. A dose that would have knocked out a rhino for a week, was barely lasting six hours on her.

He realised that he had a few more minutes before she would wake up, so he walked back outside, to finish unloading the car.

Xander looked up, as another SUV pulled up the drive, and parked next to him. A cute woman with long brown hair disembarked, and smiled at him.

"Xander Harris?" she asked cheerfully.

"Yep."

"Oh good, I'm from Barney's Supplies. Betty phoned and asked me to stock you up with food and drink, so I've got a lot of shopping in the back for you."

"How much do I owe you?" Xander asked as they finished placing the shopping in the kitchen.

"Nothing, Betty paid for it all for you"

Xander smiled, "I owe her for big time for this."

"Yep, I'm Sandra by the way, Sandy to my friends. Betty and Steve couldn't stop talking about their new foreman the last time they were here, so it’s good to meet you."

"Well, thanks for bringing this stuff out Sandy. Maybe I'll see you again sometime," Xander added with a flirtatious grin.

Sandy just grinned at him. "Maybe." She said her goodbyes and left.

With a deep breath to fix his nerves, Xander walked back into the bedroom and sat on the foot of the bed, calmly watching as Buffy struggled towards consciousness.

Buffy slowly woke up, almost absently wondering where she was. She enjoyed the feeling of waking up from a refreshing nap for a brief moment, before her addiction kicked in, and sent messages demanding more drugs to every part of her system.

She tried to curl up, to stop the cramps, but found her hands secured. She panicked, pulling on the chains hard. Half remembered images of her past fluttered through her mind, pictures of demons and vampires who had captured and tormented her.

Finally, she realized the futility of her struggling, and stopped fighting. Buffy slowly opened her eyes, fearing the worst.

What she finally saw was worse than she had imagined, it was much more terrifying. Xander was watching her, expressionlessly.

"No use fighting Buff, those chains held a ravenous wolfboy, they'll hold you as well. Besides, your not in tip top shape as it is, are you?" Xander stated, almost casually.

"Xander," Buffy croaked; her mouth dry. "What are you doing, why am I chained up?"

"Don't you remember Buffy?" Xander asked. The voice that was usually so warm was even and passionless.

"I finished work early, went to your house, and found you about to inject yourself. I stopped you, and then you offered to prostitute yourself for a fix.

"I agreed, blindfolded you, laid you on the bed then tranquilized you with that stuff we had from the KrTok Demon a few weeks ago.

"I then paid your bills, arranged for Willow and Tara to look after Dawn, took some time of work myself, quit your job for you at DoubleMeat palace, put you in my car and drove you here."

Buffy blinked a few times, taking it all in.

"You did what?" she eventually screamed. "You had no right to do any of that. Let me go, how dare you quit my job for me. I need that money to provide for me and Dawn. And what the hell do you think you are doing paying those bills, it is my responsibility, my life. You can't take that away from me. Let me loose, and then take me home."

"No" Xander replied quietly. "Would you like a drink of water?"

"What? Didn't you hear what I said," with this, Buffy started to struggle violently. "Let me go."

"Where will go when you are free?"

Buffy stopped for a second, "What do you mean?"

"You are in a log cabin in the middle of a forest. You’re miles away from civilization. The keys to my car have been buried outside somewhere, so you can't drive. In the condition you are in, you can't walk very far. Even if you could, you have no money, very few clothes and no idea what State you are in. You are stuck here till I decide to let you go."

Buffy collapsed back on the bed. "I would have given you what you want back at my house Xander; you didn't have to go to all this trouble."

Xander looked down at Buffy, his expression unchanging. "I am not going to have sex with you Buffy, in your current state I don’t find you in the slightest bit attractive. What I am going to do is keep you here till every part of that drug is out of your body."

"You can't do that" Buffy yelled again. "I need that to live, I need that to feel, I'll be dead without it."

"You might feel like death Buffy, but you won't die, I promise you that. You’re going cold turkey. You lost the right to make decisions for yourself and for Dawn when you decided that your answers could be found in a syringe."

Buffy started to cry, soft tears designed to go straight through a man's heart. "Please Xander, let me go, I'll stop taking drugs I promise, but I need to be free."

Xander stood and walked over to her, Buffy felt a small surge of triumph. 'Always works,' she said to herself. He gently touched her cheek, wiping away the tears.

"No." he said, turned, and walked out of the room, leaving behind the screamed insults.

In the kitchen, Xander slid his jacket onto the back of a chair, and rolled up his sleeve. Thirty minutes of unpacking later, and he found that he had more then enough basic food to last the both of them for many months. He decided to start with something basic, and quickly put together a chicken soup. His parents neglect had been useful for one thing.

He had seen addiction all his life, seen how it could destroy someone from the inside out, and for Buffy’s sake. For Dawn’s sake, even for his own, he was not going to let her go down that route, no matter what it took.

The screaming from the bedroom had stopped, so he filled a glass with water, and took it in to the room.

Buffy watched him sullenly, as he sat next to her and lifted her head, putting the glass to her lips. She drank fast, and then turned her head away, trying to ignore him as much as possible. He laid her head down and walked back out of the room.

As quietly as she could, Buffy laid there and sobbed quietly. The torture the drug was placing on her was as painful as any a vampire had inflicted on her in the past.

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