•••

Wil glanced into the rearview mirror and grimaced. It seemed that Xander hadn’t been lying when he’d said he needed to stop. Now, just five minutes after that pronouncement, the Raphe was practically dancing, with the occasional whine. “Fine, we’ll stop.”

“Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you,” Xander whimpered gratefully. Oz patted his shoulder and edged away, just in case Wil had offered to pull over a few minutes too late. The blonde vampire got off the interstate and parked at an all-night gas station convenience store. Xander bolted out of the car and ran for the bathroom, leaving the rest of the group standing around the parking lot.

“So that’s why we stopped?” Angel murmured as he got out of the other car.

“Forty-eight ounces of slurpee,” Wil replied, shaking his head.

“Lemon-grape,” Oz supplied helpfully. The others stared at each other for a moment before shrugging and walking inside. They’d just stopped an hour before, so they didn’t need gas; however it was cold and windy outside.

Cordelia was just getting into line to buy some gum when she saw Xander heading her way. “What’s that?” She asked, glaring at his hands, which were tucked behind his back. “You are not getting anything else to drink. We’ll be daylight getting there!”

Xander grinned. “Nah, I’ll be fine. Besides, this is different.”

“Different than lemon-grape slurpees?” Cordelia snapped.

He held up a strange, green can. Actually, it was a six-pack. “Local flavor. Made right here in, well… close-by in Winchester, Kentucky. I bet we don’t ever see any more of this stuff, anywhere. I can’t pass that up!” He announced, brandishing the beverage. Cordelia sighed and paid for her gum.

“Fine,” She murmured. It really didn’t matter too much to her; she was riding in the other car, far away from the sure-to-be-sick Raphe.

Wil didn’t notice Xander’s purchase until they were already on the road again. “Bloody hell, you didn’t!” He cursed, seeing Xander open a can in the rearview mirror. “Xander, we’re never going to get to Knoxville if I have to keep stopping.”

“You sound just like Cordy when you say that, you know,” Xander said, taking a huge swallow of the soft drink. “Hey, this isn’t so bad.” He offered the can to Oz, who took a tentative sip. The werewolf immediately thrust the can back into Xander’s hands. “What?” He asked, seeing the odd, and somewhat negative, expression on Oz’s face.

“It made my tongue feel funny,” Oz said.

Wil glanced back at them. “What the hell is it?”

Xander read the label. “Ale-8-One. Locally produced.”

“I think it was the caffeine,” Oz told Wil. “It’s loaded.”

Wil groaned. Great. Just what he needed—a hyper, jacked up Raphe with an overloaded bladder. “Xander, when we get to Tennessee, I’m going to kill you.”

Xander grinned and finished the can of soda. He immediately reached for another.

•••

“Knoxville isn’t very impressive,” Cordelia announced as she stretched her sore muscles. They’d just gotten their hotel room, and she’d lost the battle for an actual bed. That did not please her in the least.

“It’s the middle of the night, in the dead of winter,” Angel murmured. “I’ll go tomorrow night and—“

“No!” The word was shouted in unison by his seven companions. He looked at them with both curiosity and fear.

“What? I was just going to—“ Once again, Angel got cut off.

“Nope,” Cordelia stated. “You are going to stay here, with Wil. We—the rest of us—are going to find a place to live.” Angel frowned. “Angel, you have disgustingly bad taste. We lived in a rat hole in Indianapolis for three years because of your insane love for dumps, and I’m not doing that again.”

Angel looked around the room for support, but found nothing. Wil wouldn’t even support him. “Fine,” He sighed. “Just don’t…”

“We can find a place to live,” Gunn reminded the vampire. “Some of us have actually done that before.”

The dark vampire didn’t bother to reply. He just grabbed Wil and pulled him toward a bed. If they were going to make him stay inside while they found a place to live, he was going to enjoy it.

As soon as it was light enough to see, the non-vampire members of the gang bundled up in their warmest clothes and struck out to find somewhere to live. Of course, that journey began at McDonald’s, where they perused the classifieds and rental guides over coffee and breakfast, arguing over where to live. With cell phones and city maps in hand, the group split up.

Although it took a bit of arguing, the six friends decided that they wanted to try living somewhere besides highly urbanized areas. The werewolves were uncomfortable with the constant press of people, and none of them liked the perpetual caution and wariness that all those prying eyes warranted. Fortunately for them, the area was overrun with suburb and semi-rural housing.

•••

“Angel?” Wesley poked his head into the hotel room.

“What?” Angel snarled. It was about half an hour from sundown, and he hadn’t heard from anyone all day. He and Wil had spent most of that time sleeping, since they’d been the ones driving the night before.

“We’ve got a place to live. Do you wish to go now?” The faun asked quietly.

Angel sighed and looked over at Wil. The younger vampire looked more than ready to get out of their less-than-clean hotel room. “Yeah, just a minute.” He didn’t relish the idea of huddling under a blanket with Wil while they drove… well, actually, huddling under a blanket with Wil was what he’d done all day, so maybe that wasn’t so bad.

“Where is this place?” Angel asked twenty minutes later. They’d gone back on the interstate, then gotten back off, and now they were on rather roughly paved roads. He didn’t hear much traffic either.

“Not far,” Xander hedged from the driver’s seat. “Maybe five minutes.”

The sun set just as Xander pulled into the driveway of their new home. He and Oz got out of the car and waited for the vampires to get their first look.

“It’s a bleedin’ farm!” Wil exclaimed. “Angel, it’s a farm! With a farm house, and a barn, and… is that a tractor?”

Angel stared at the place. The main house was invisible from the road and was a huge, old thing that would’ve actually appealed to him had it been in the middle of a city. And, as Wil had so politely pointed out, there was a barn. Most of the land was wooded, although he could see a pasture in the dim evening light. Then there was the tractor… “We’re not taking up farming,” He stated flatly.

Cordelia laughed. “Aw, and I was so looking forward to manure! No, there’s a good reason for us choosing this, Angel.”

“Lots of space and privacy,” Wil said to no one in particular. “No neighbors, no cars, just a lot of room.” He turned to look at the house. “That thing does have indoor plumbing, right?”

The werewolf seer just rolled her eyes.

•••

Angel stared at the thing that Wil had thrust into his hands. What, precisely, was he supposed to do with it? That was the exact question he posed to his lover. “Wil, what am I supposed to do with it?”

Wil looked at Angel like he’d grown an extra head. “Read it, pillock. It’s your turn to find gainful employment, remember? That was the deal—four of us work for money and four work against the lawyers. Then we switch when we move.”

“Ah,” Angel murmured. That certainly explained the classified ads he was holding. “So I’m supposed to find a ‘no questions asked’ job in here?”

“I did,” Wil replied. Seeing that Angel wasn’t really getting it, he continued. “Look, I know you haven’t held down a regular job in… oh, forever, but it’s not that difficult. Wesley and Fred found something in three days, and Cordelia’s interviewing at the Mall as we speak. All you need to do is open the paper and look for something that’s after dark.” Wil thought for a moment. “And that doesn’t require a lot of talking.”

“Why not talking?” Angel asked as he perused the paper. Hmm… K Mart had openings, and while he loathed the idea of working at a place like that, Wil had managed to survive it for three years.

Wil grinned. “Repeat after me, love. ‘Oh, we’re out of Tide With Bleach 64-ounce refill cartons? Have you considered the affordable Sam’s Choice alternative? You have? You think it sucks ass and you wouldn’t use it to douche your worst enemy? Ah. Let me call Customer Service. Perhaps we got some Tide in this morning.’”

Angel blinked. “Tell me you just made that up.”

“If it makes you feel better, I made that up,” Wil replied.

“Right,” Angel muttered. “Night time job, no talking.” Wil left him in the kitchen, nibbling on a pen as he tried to find something to do. The blonde vampire returned to the computer room, where Fred, Oz and Xander were setting up shop. He’d promised to help with grounding an outlet or four in the room, so that they didn’t fry their hardware.

Meanwhile, Angel agonized over the want ads. After reading every entry, he had twelve possible choices. The first three—jobs as file clerks—were already filled, or so he was told over the phone. The other nine—two at a nursing home, several at convenience and discount stores, and one at a multimedia store—were still open, so he made appointments to see the managers. No place asked for any sensitive information.

Later that evening, Angel drove into town for his interviews. He’d declined any company; what he was doing was humiliating. Now he knew how Wil felt when he’d first walked into Wal-Mart and asked for an application.

After a few wrong turns, Angel found the nursing home. He immediately hated it. The place was a dump; the building was crumbling and the inside smelled like death. He walked out without even finding the manager; there was no way he was going to work there. The dark vampire got back into his car and pounded his head on the steering wheel. He only had two choices, and this place wasn’t going to work. Maybe one of the discount places was hiring?

Next, Angel stopped by Wal-Mart, Target, and K Mart. Unfortunately, none of them were hiring ‘his type’. The economy wasn’t doing well and they didn’t need help, other than management. He couldn’t even get a position as a cart pusher. Of the convenience stores, two turned out to be unsuitable—he couldn’t work somewhere that might force him to stay on shift well into daylight. The third had burned to the ground sometime between his call to them and eight that night. Despondent, Angel drove to the address he’d been given for his last appointment.

Angel stared up at the bright yellow building with something akin to fear racing through him. “Multimedia, my ass,” He muttered under his breath. Vince’s All Types Media Shoppe was an adult video store. There was no way he was working at a skin flick shop. No fucking way. He glanced back at the car, wondering if he could apologize to the manager he’d stood up at the nursing home. Maybe there was an opening on a night time road construction crew. Perhaps he could turn tricks downtown. Anything but—

“Hey, you that guy who called about the job?”

Angel turned back towards the shop. The speaker was a short, pudgy guy with a desperate comb-over and lots of gold jewelry. The vampire struggled to think of a suitable way of saying hell no. He couldn’t think of a thing. “Yeah.”

The man’s face split open in a wide grin. “Thought so! Don’t get many customers this time of night on a Tuesday. Come on in!” He practically leered at Angel as the vampire walked inside the shop.

The smell hit Angel like a hammer to the midsection. Sex. Lots and lots of it, all different types… male and female—mostly human, but a few others sprinkled in there. The odor would’ve been stale, except that it was so overpowering he couldn’t tell. Faint chemical traces, from lubricant, liquid latex, condoms, and other such things wafted through the scent of copulation. Yup, this was a sex shop. From the smell, it was a full-service place too.

“So, whaddaya think?” The man asked, waving his hands around. “I’ve got everything—videos and DVDs, toys you wouldn’t even begin to imagine… and shows too!”

“Shows?” Angel murmured helplessly. He thought it was a checkout counter position.

“Yeah,” The man said, nodding. “Got a bunch of booths, some dancers that come in, you know? Tits, ass… mostly ass, but some tit.” He continued, making suggestive motions with his hands. “All behind glass, no touching.” He walked around a counter and leaned up against it. “So, can you run a register?”

Angel glanced at the register. It was covered in plastic and looked older than Fred. “Yeah,” He replied. “But… what other responsibilities are there?” /Huh? Responsibilities? Am I actually thinking about taking this job? I mean, it does pay well—twice what the other places do, but it’s a porn shop!/

“Watch the customers—most of ‘em are fine, but a few have sticky fingers instead of slippery ones,” He said with a chuckle. “I’ve got someone else to clean out the rooms. You’d be doing the register—just running people up, not doing it really--, watching the shop… you keep in good shape?” He asked curiously.

“I can hold my own,” Angel said. He admitted to himself that he had decided to take the job, gods help him.

“Good. I like having someone here in case somebody gets adventurous. The dancers come in through the back, and leave that way too. Never had many problems, but once in a while… Oh, I’m Vince,” The man added, introducing himself.

Angel ignored his outstretched hand. “Riley Finn.” Well, Wil had told him to to use his real name, since it was so memorable. Hells, Vince would’ve thought it was some sort of sex-worker handle.

“Riley Finn, eh?” Vince repeated. “Nice. Riley. The regulars are gonna love you. Pretty face, nice body.” The middle-aged man’s face turned hard. “Don’t turn any tricks around here. Don’t even schedule them. I find out you’re even thinking about it, you’re out on that tight little ass of yours.” He sighed tiredly. “Don’t care if you get your rocks off for free, but money changes hands and it’s sayonara. Cops hate me, you know?’

Angel just nodded. He wasn’t planning on making any side money. “Not into the trade.”

Vince gave him another long look. “Too bad. You’d make a killing.”

/Until Wil found out. Then he’d kill me,/ Angel thought to himself. “When do I start?”

“A man after my own heart. Tomorrow?” Vince suggested. “And I’m guessing there’s a lot of paperwork you don’t want to do, eh?”

“I’d rather not,” Angel admitted.

“I’ll see what I can do,” The other man replied. His next words were cut off by the tinkling of a bell over the shop’s door. Vince glanced over at the incoming customer. “Barney!”

“Hey, Vin,” Barney said, nodding to Angel. “New stuff today?”

“Never gets here ‘til Thursday,” Vince replied. “You know that. But Chris is dancing tonight, so…”

“Uh huh,” Barney mumbled. “Excuse me,” He muttered to Angel, pushing by the vampire.

“Hey, Barney! Be nice, this is the new guy!” Vince announced to his regular customer.

“Dancer?” Barney asked, checking out Angel’s attributes.

“Nah, yard-boy,” Vince retorted. “Hands off.”

“I know, I know,” Barney said. “See ya ‘round, new boy.”

Angel nodded silently, wondering what he’d gotten himself into, and whether the others would ever let him live this down.