•••

Xander took a deep, ragged breath and pushed himself harder. Snow squeaked under his boots and he slid a bit to one side. A quick jerk to the right him before he could fall and he ducked around a few trees. Behind him, too close for his comfort, was the sound of someone else, following him through the woods in the early morning darkness.

The Raphe swore softly and abruptly changed direction, heading for the main path. His pursuer wouldn’t be expecting that, and his tracks would get lost among the skiing and snowshoeing trail. As soon as he found the path, Xander began to double back towards his starting point. About five hundred yards along, he swerved closer to the river, running in the dead brush that piled along the banks. He crouched behind a bramble and listened carefully. There was no sign of his opponent.

An evil grin split his face. For the first time ever, he’d lost Oz in a game of chase. Were he not several miles down the Wapahani trail, he’d do a victory dance. Instead, he was going to try something he’d wanted to do for some time now. He was going to hunt Oz. With that thought in mind, Xander ran across the path and re entered the woods beyond.

Actually, there was a sort of logic behind Xander’s change of course. Ever since they’d found out what he was, the seer’s training had centered on him making the most of a Raphe’s abilities to flee. He ran away, fighting only when cornered. When he did fight, he fought to escape, not to defeat. While he very much appreciated honing his natural abilities, he figured it was high time for him to learn how the other half worked. Xander thought that being able to act as both prey and predator would give him an advantage.

He quickly found Oz’s footprints in the snow. The werewolf was concentrating on tracking Xander, not on making a stealthy journey through the wooded area. The Raphe sped along the trail, eagerly anticipating Oz’s reaction. He didn’t have to wait long; Xander spotted Oz a few yards ahead of him, crouched on the ground. The werewolf was trying to figure out where Xander had gone to. The Raphe honestly felt for the werewolf; Xander had used the surrounding trees as launching pads, muddying up his trail.

“You lose,” Xander announced, sending Oz jumping straight up into the air. The werewolf spun around, his face a picture of shock.

“Hi,” Oz said quietly.

Xander grinned. “Betcha didn’t think you’d find me back here, huh?”

Oz shook his head and approached the Raphe. “Nope. You double back and follow me?”

“Yeah. It was a little too easy, actually. You should work on that.”

“I know,” Ox said ruefully. “It’ll get me killed.” Xander frowned.

“No talk of death, Dogboy,” The Raphe commanded. “Besides, don’t I get a prize for capturing the bad guy?”

Oz quirked one eyebrow. “Sure.” He leapt on Xander, knocking him to the ground. The two men rolled through the snow, ignoring the pokes and prods of branches partially concealed by the heavy snowfall. Xander didn’t stop squirming until Oz insinuated a warm hand under his clothing, seeking out straining flesh.

Xander returned the favor, letting Oz lay on top of him as they slowly jerked each other off, kissing idly. The seeping cold of dry snow contrasted exquisitely with the heat of his werewolf’s hands and mouth, making Xander wish they were somewhere where they could strip down. However, while they probably should stay bundled up outside as they were, that didn’t mean Xander couldn’t have a little fun.

With barely a thought Xander let his control slide, allowing his natural markings to surface. Oz’s eyes widened at the sight of dark stripes and speckles gracing the Raphe’s exposed face. His hands tightened convulsively, making Xander groan. The two of them had had a lot of fun together once they realized just how sensitive Xander’s skin was in its natural state. Oz took advantage of that now, tracing the dark markings over his lover’s cold cheeks with a warm, wet tongue. It was more than enough for the Raphe, who convulsed against the werewolf. Only the presence of Oz’s mouth on his kept the Raphe from screaming when he came, although the muffled shout could probably be heard on the other side of the river.

“We need to get back,” Oz said a few minutes later, still breathless from his own climax. “You have to work.”

Xander grimaced. Waffle House called again. “I swear, the next town we live in, I am so not working.”

Oz shrugged. “At least not in food service. You always smell like hash browns and eggs.”

“Breakfast, you mean,” Xander snarled.

Oz tilted his head to one side. “Nah, I prefer yogurt and bananas.”

Xander rolled his eyes and stood up, reaching down for the werewolf. “Race you back to the car?” Oz smiled and nodded. They took off at a dead run, the Raphe easily pulling away. It wasn’t really a contest, but they liked to play anyway. The run back to the car was exhilarating; frigid air burned in Xander’s lungs as he flew through the snow. It was mornings like this that made him almost not regret everything that had happened over the past years. Almost, anyway. As much as he liked the snow, he’d rather be warm year-round. And warm meant California, the one place they couldn’t go to anymore.

Oz caught up to Xander at the car, where the Raphe had already regained his breath and composure. “Doughnuts?” Xander asked hopefully as Oz handed over the keys.

“They’ll kill us,” Oz warned. Xander was officially forbidden from ever stopping in a store that sold doughnuts, due to his propensity for buying them in bulk.

“Nah,” Xander promised as he drove them home. “They’d love a box of chocolate cake glazed doughnuts right about now.”

“Did you bring any cash?”

“Fuck,” Xander swore.

“No doughnuts then,” Oz replied. “Sorry.”

“Yeah, I can tell you’re all broke up about it.”

“Sorry.”

“Be quiet.”

“Sorry.”

“Stop that!”

“Sorry.”

“Oz…”

“Yes?”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

•••

Cordelia groaned and reluctantly got out of bed. She hated mornings with a passion, and this one was no different from all the others. She worked for and with vampires; why couldn’t she get up when they did, instead of when they went to bed? Silently cursing Angel and his blonde bed-bunny, the seer ambled into the kitchen, hoping that someone else had gotten up to make coffee.

No one was in the kitchen, but a fresh pot of java stood waiting anyway. She poured a cup and took it into the living room. A glance out the window told her that someone had taken the other car… probably Xander and Oz. They liked playing in the snow. As long as Wil got off work on time and brought Gunn and the other car back with him, all would be well. Cordelia had errands to run that day and she sure as hell wasn’t walking in this cold weather.

Since there was nothing better to do, and she didn’t want to start working before the sun even rose, she picked up the remote controller and flipped through the channels. They’d broken down over Thanksgiving and ordered cable, appeasing Xander and Gunn’s television needs. Cordelia didn’t mind a bit, especially since now she got to watch the soaps she was hooked on.

But it was too early for soap operas, so the young woman was left with cheesy movies, infomercials and early-morning news shows. The Lifetime channel was showing yet another stupid movie about troubled children and their well-meaning parents. The werewolf quickly changed the channel, not wanting to watch that at all. The more she dwelled on kids, the worse her cravings got. Yeah, it was utterly ridiculous—hello, werewolf seer—for her to have biological clock problems, but she did. It made no sense; it wasn’t like she was getting older or anything. But that didn’t make it go away. She wanted a kid. If she was just your average werewolf, with a nine-to-five (except for three days a month) job, she wouldn’t think twice about dragging Gunn down to the courthouse and then tying him to the bed and working on some babies.

That wasn’t her situation, so the other stuff would have to wait. She didn’t talk about it with the others, not really, and especially not Gunn, but she knew they knew. Hells, she stared at baby clothes and cooed at infants and made a fool of herself at the Children’s Museum. Life sucked eggs sometimes.

Shaking herself out of her funk, Cordelia changed channels again, this time to a news station. The story on air instantly caught her attention. “What the fuck?” She turned the volume up high, just to make sure she didn’t miss anything.

That action woke up Wesley and Fred, who tumbled down the stairs. “Cordelia, some people actually desire sleep,” Wesley muttered as he glared blearily at the young woman.

“Hush and watch this,” Cordelia ordered, pointing at the screen.

Wesley’s eyes narrowed, but he turned towards the screen. “My word. Fred, come over here.”

Fred joined the others and was quickly entranced. “Whoa.” She sat next to Wesley and Cordelia on the couch, eager to hear more.

That was how Angel found them when he came upstairs, annoyed by the television’s noise. One look told him they weren’t paying a damned bit of attention to him, so he turned to the television as well. “When did this happen?” He asked as he sank to the floor.

“Last night,” Cordelia murmured. “They did a raid.”

“How many?” Angel asked pensively.

“Over a hundred different offices. They’ve arrested ten so far, and they think they may pick up as many as twenty-three more today,” Fred replied. “No one has ever seen anything like it. Ever.”

Angel silently agreed. If he hadn’t been watching it on television, he too wouldn’t have believed it. The government had raided the private offices of several states’ Senators and Representatives, seizing evidence in a huge, multi-agency sting. The arrest numbers looked to climb above fifty, all of them on charges of bribery, extortion, insider trading, and numerous violations of federal regulations.

•••

Gunn was waiting on the sidewalk when Wil pulled in to the convenience store. “Did you hear about it?” The werewolf asked as he got in the car.

“Yeah,” Wil murmured as he pulled away. “Unbelievable.”

“You think any of that stuff we did, you know…”

Wil glanced at the other man. “Had an influence on this? I can’t see how it wouldn’t. You heard the names, Gunn. There’s no way it’s coincidence.”

Gunn sighed. “You’re right. I just wasn’t expecting this kind of thing.”

“None of us were. We aren’t perfect, you know. This raid has been in the works for some time, and it had to be well-hidden, or something would’ve been done to stop it.”

“That’s for sure. So I guess we’re gonna spend the whole day glue to the television, huh?” Gunn asked wearily.

“I hope not; I could use a good day’s sleep,” Wil muttered. Not that it would be very good; even if the others let him go to bed, Angel would stay up to listen to the reports. That meant no… oh well, it didn’t matter anyway. Work was work.

The pair turned onto their street right behind Oz and Xander. “They went to the park again, didn’t they?” Gunn muttered. “You know, they could take Fred, Cordy and I. We need the exercise as much as they do.”

Wil smirked. “Are you sure about that?”

Gunn caught the innuendo and squirmed. “Just exercise, Blondie. We don’t roam enough.”

Wil nodded sagely. All that open space was very tempting for the werewolves, just as urban streets were for vampires. “Ask them sometime. Maybe they’ll surprise you.”

“I might do that,” Gunn said after a moment. “So… how’s Angel?” He hadn’t really seen the dark vampire much lately, due to their differing schedules.

“The same,” Wil replied. “Broody bastard.”

“Uh huh,” Gunn murmured. “Better than hormonal girl.”

Wil grinned. “She’ll settle down.”

“Yeah, when she’s got kids hanging off her arms,” Gunn shot back. He groaned and rubbed his hands over his face. “Not that I don’t want them or anything. Hells, I’d give anything to…”

“But not now,” Wil whispered sadly. “I know it hurts.”

“Do you?” Gunn snapped. He saw the pained look on Wil’s face and instantly regretted his impulsive anger. “Sorry, man. I…”

“It’s nothing,” Wil said firmly. “And we’re nearly home.”

•••

Xander waved at Wil and Gunn as they got out of the car. “How was work?” The Raphe asked as he bounded up the stairs.

Wil and Gunn shared a look. It was very obvious that Xander had no idea what was going on. “Boring as usual,” Wil answered. “Don’t you have to work today?”

“Yeah,” Xander muttered as he opened the door. “Hey, you guys are up early,” He commented when he saw the group hovering in front of the television. “What gives?”

“Shh,” Cordelia hissed. “They’re announcing the newest arrests.”

Wil and Gunn hurried over to join the group. “Did they get the one from Ohio?”

“Yeah, just a few minutes ago,” Fred answered.

“Um… Could someone explain—“ Xander started, only to be cut off by Cordelia.

“Hush!”

Xander glared at the other seer. “Fine. I’m getting ready for work.” He stomped off towards the bathroom. Oz watched him walk away before returning to the television. He too found himself enthralled by the reports of massive arrests and seizures, of greedy and corrupt politicians with ties to all sorts of unsavory activities. It was more than they could have ever hoped for.

The Raphe was almost finished dressing in his hated uniform when Oz showed up in their bedroom. “The arrested a bunch of Senators,” The werewolf said softly.

Xander’s head whipped up. “Huh?”

“Some big sting. They’re going after lots of people. That’s what the gang’s watching.”

Xander’s eyes got very wide. “Like the ones we’re after?”

Oz nodded and sat down on the bed. “You’ll be hearing about it all day, I’m sure.”

“Yeah,” Xander muttered. “Sorry about earlier.”

“She was being rude,” Oz apologized. Cordelia was a lovely person, but sometimes a bit snippy.

“Well, I’d better get going. See you later,” Xander said, pressing a kiss on Oz’s forehead. He grabbed his coat and left the room for work.