Spoilers:  Nothing from the later seasons, yet.

Recap:  Willow crawled in beside him, drifting off to sleep.

The sun was going down as Spike woke up, he looked around the room
groggily.  He was surprised to feel something curled up beside him.
At first, he thought it was Dru but the body felt warm, he glanced
down.  It was the girl from the bus.  So, she must have decided to
help him, the same way he had intended to help her.  Spike was oddly
pleased by this, then his smile turned to a frown as he examined her
appearance.

Her red hair was tangled and ran wild around her face, she was
shivering from the cold in the room.  Her face also had some faint
bruises, like she hadn't slept in a while and was used to rough
treatment.  He could feel her bones through the covers.  She must not
have eaten in some time, he figured.  Spike then realized that she had
used the covers to tend his wounds and cover him-leaving none for
herself.  He gently eased out of the coverings and put her in his
place, gently, trying not to wake her up.  He dressed, then slipped
out to get a snack, finding one easily in a corner bar.  Afterwards he
went over to the market and bought some supplies.

When he walked into their room, he noticed that she was still
sleeping. ^ Poor pet.  She must've been put through quite a nightmare.
Then he turned his mind to what had happened earlier. ^ I wonder who
those bloody wankers were.  What did they want with me?  He ran
through various scenarios as he packed the things in the cooler that
he'd bought.  Dawn arrived and he was no closer to a solution than
when he had started.

Spike wrote a note for the girl telling her what he'd bought and to
help herself.  Then he got into the bed beside her, falling asleep.
It seemed like he'd just fallen asleep when he was awakened by her
moaning.  Her face was flushed, her heart was beating erratically, and
her breath came out in harsh gasps.  Spike didn't know what was wrong
with her, so he reached for the phone and called a doctor.

She arrived a few minutes later and told him that her name was Dr.
Maria Fieldsmann.  Then asked him to kindly leave the room because she
didn't work around men, they tended to be rather nervous when their
girlfriends were sick.  He didn't bother to correct her, although his
fangs just itched to teach her some manners.

After showing the doctor out, Spike grimaced.  ^ The flu.  Perfect.
He took care of her, only going out for blood he felt he could, though
he usually had the blood brought in from the bar across the street.
He had found a cousin of Willie's in town, whose job resembled that of
the little worm back in Sunnydale.  Blood bags might be rather dead
but they were very convenient.  Spike sighed, he missed that crummy
hole for one reason-Dru.  But taking care of his 'girlfriend' took his
mind of off his dark princess.  The figure on the bed took a deep
breath and he was delighted to see her beautiful green eyes looking up
at him.

Willow felt the caring hands on her feverish body but was too far gone
to really care what happened to her.  After a few days, she broke
through the fog of pain.  When her eyes opened, she saw that the
person caring for her was the vampire.  "How are you doing?"  She
croaked between raspy coughs.

He grinned, pleased by her no nonsense attitude.  "I think I'm the one
who should ask you that."

"I feel fine."  She tried to sit up and he quickly helped her.  Willow
liked his voice, it was pleasant and reminded her of home.  Suddenly,
a feeling of homesickness swept over her and unbidden tears filled her
eyes.  "Thanks."

He wiped away the tears that had begun to fall.  "Liar.  You look like
the walking dead, pet."  Spike told her.  "What's that, luv?"  He
asked when she mumbled a reply, he couldn't quite catch it.

"And we * both * know what a ridiculous notion that is."  Her voice
dripped with sarcasm.

"How did you know?"  Spike didn't believe in avoiding a situation.  He
believed that things should be faced directly, avoid all that dancing
around his sire always liked.  It was about the only thing he and the
Slayer agreed about.

Her dry lips smiled slightly as she spoke.  "Your skin is cold but not
clammy.  When I covered you, the blankets didn't move-which means that
you weren't breathing.  Plus, you healed quickly.  Now there are
really only two semi logical conclusions I could have come to.  One,
they had killed you.  Which seemed to be highly unlikely since they
wanted to capture you.  Or two, you're a vampire.  Since you helped me
out by following my directions while I was cleaning you up, I figured
it was the second.  Now if you can think of another, please, tell me.
I'd be very interested in hearing them."  By the time she finished,
her head was aching and the room was spinning.  "Note to self, long
speeches after waking up from a sickness is a bad."

He laughed, but he wondered about something.  She had known from the
beginning, why had she helped him?  And she must have powers, how else
could she have brought him here?  She also knew about demonic life.
How?  And what was she running from?  Not that he really blamed her
for leaving Sunnydale, but why?  He knew he wouldn't press her right
now, she still needed time to heal.  "The name's Spike.  Where are you
headed?"  He finally spoke, he moved her forward a little and
soothingly worked out the tangles in her hair.

She relaxed, what was it about brushing hair that made people drop
their defenses?  It took her a few minutes to focus so that she could
answer his question. "Willow.  I really don't know.  I was just going,
what about you?"

"Same story, really.  Want to drift together?"  Spike asked.  He was
working on a simple braid, having untangled her hair a moment earlier.
He let his hands drift and begin to massage her tired body.

"Sure."  She yawned and leaned back, cradled in his arms.  Her eyes
closed under his relaxing touch, she loved the feeling of having
someone else take care of her.  "You can pawn my ring and necklace to
get a..."  Willow fell asleep before finishing her sentence.

He shook his head and continued to rub her stomach in circles.  The
day before, he'd gone and settled their accounts.  "I'll see to it,
Red."  The sound of her even heartbeat lulled him to sleep.

Back in Sunnydale:

Giles saw Jenny enter the library and approached her.  "I need your
help.  Willow's gone missing and it's my fault."

"Your fault?  How could her running away have been caused by you?"
She followed him into his office, startled to see a computer resting
on his desk.  Papers were scattered about everywhere and she could see
that he'd been trying to use it.  That, above all else, told her how
worried Rupert was about this girl.  She sat down at the computer and
began to search to see if there had been any flights leaving Sunnydale
earlier that day, may be they could stop her.  "Do you have any idea
about where she would have gone?"

He sat down, his head in his hands.  What he was about to tell her
would probably destroy whatever they had left in their awkward
relationship, but he had to.  He answered her last question first.
"No, may be back to England. I read the letter that Mrs. Summers had
given me from Sayna.  She's Willow's mother.  She told me something
very surprising, mainly that Willow is my daughter conceived on a
night that I didn't even know happened because I was very drunk.  She
only remembered because she got pregnant.  Also, Ethan knew and didn't
tell me."

"Would you have believed me?"  An accented voice asked from the
doorway.  They looked up, Ms. Calendar with distaste.  A slender man
stood there, his dark hair carelessly brushed.  For once, Ethan was
not dressed carefully and his eyes were trained on his old friend with
hatred in their depths.  "You drove that precious angel away because
you couldn't stand for her to be a blight on you spotless reputation,
could you, Ripper?"

"It wasn't like that at all, Ethan."  The anguish and pain in his
voice made Jenny take a step back.  This was a side to him she'd never
seen before and she wasn't sure she liked it.

"Oh, wasn't it?  It seems to me that you're being the hypocrite here,
Rupert."  Ethan moved to stand in front of him, hands on his hips.
"You've been running from you past, hiding it behind 'model' behavior.
Every once in a while, the real you shows through.  When you're with
Buffy or the other kids, your passion in your work, but then the
council calls and you come running like a trained puppy just waiting
for its master's approval.  You make me sick."

"What would you know about it, Ethan?"  Giles stood and forced him up
against the wall.  "You think you know me so well but you don't.  I
want Willow in my life more than anything but the * bloody * council
made a mess of her mind in ways that I don't * even * want to think
about!  Willow is * my * daughter, not yours and that's the whole
problem, isn't Ethan?  You wish that she was * yours *.  But she's
not.  She's * mine * and there's nothing you can do about it."

"Watch the grip, Ripper."  Ethan applied pressure on his wrist and
broke the hold.  "As you can see, I have been taking some self defense
courses since our last meeting.  Don't take your anger out on me, I am
not the one who hurt her.  That was your doing."

"What do you want?"  Giles took a deep breath and forced himself to
calm down.

"I've come for Willow.  And before you go all crazy, I have a good
reason."  He stopped, the two just glared at each other.  The tension
between the two men crackled in the silent room, Ethan seemed to be
waiting for something.

"Do the manly pride thing later.  What is it?"  Jenny demanded,
breaking into their competition.

"Something is stalking the Night World."  Ethan answered her question
though his gaze never left Giles'.

"The what?"  Jenny asked, confused.

"The Night World.  It is a coven, if you will, that certain breeds of
witches, Wicca's, and warlocks belong to."  Giles clarified for her.
"The Watcher's Counsel does not acknowledge them because most of them
are good.  We are a part of that world, though some of us have strayed
from the course."  His look at Ethan was pointed.

"So, what's stalking you?"  The computer teacher asked before this
escalated into another battle.

"Some kind of military organization called the Initiative."  Ethan
answered, his eyes never left Giles.  "They used to get their jollies
out of hunting those in the demon world and have recently discovered
the Night World.  Our power is unknown and possibly unlimited.  These
* humans * are interested in finding out just how to harness our power
for their own purposes."

"And Willow has Sayna's powers!"  Giles exclaimed, clearly distressed.

"Plus yours."  Ethan informed him.  "You may chose not remember your
powers, my friend, but you do have them."

"Not to mention that she's with my Spike."  Dru said.  They turned
around and saw her and Angelus standing in the doorway.  "And I want
him back."

"Don't, Rupert.  We're here to help you.  This Initiative is a danger
to us all."  Angelus quietly said.  "Dru can track them down for you,
I'll provide the money for retrieving them."

Giles thought for a moment, could he trust them?  "I don't have any
choice.  I'll trust you.  What do you want me to do?"

"Us, Ripper."  Ethan corrected.  "She's as much my daughter as yours,
more so.  I, after all, have loved her from the start."

"I never had the chance!"  He hotly retorted, his blue eyes flashing.

"Stop it!"  Dru screamed, her voice was furious.  "This useless male
posturing is getting us nowhere!  You, librarian man, go get a van or
mobile home.  Chaos worshiper, you help me track her down.  Teacher,
you can't help right now, watch the library for us.  Angel, use the
computer and find anything.  MOVE!"

No one waited to see what she would do, they set about doing the
assignments she had given them.  After a few hours, Angelus leaned
back and rubbed his head.  "I've found a possible lead."

Dru and Ethan stopped their spell casting and joined him, as did
Giles, who stood behind the vampire.  "It seems that a doctor went to
a hotel and was paid by one William Bloody."  There was a slight
chuckle in his voice.

"That must be what's interfering with our spell, if she's sick, it
would throw off her body temperature."  Ethan mused.  "Anyway we cam
work around that?"

"How about trying to find Spike?"  Giles asked.

"Tried it.  But something's blocking his body essence from me."  She
said.

"Why don't you print out the address and we'll saddle up?"  Giles had
packed up his stuff and made some drop-offs at his apartment.  "I've
arranged for a temporary librarian to take over here.  Buffy knows
what is going on and will take the rest of my stuff to my house."

"Whose going to help her with research?"  Angelus asked, not that he
cared but he wanted to Hellmouth to be here when they got back.

Giles studied his face for a moment before he answered.  "Ms Calendar.
They are going to try to repair their friendship."

"Of course, heaven forbid your Slayer come between you and your bed
warmer."  Ethan silkily commented.

The book was thrown into the box as he whipped around. "I've had just
about enough of your mouth, Rayne.  You want to settle this, then
let's go to the gym."

"What happened to that cool, detached British air you prided yourself
on, Ripper.  The truth hurt?"  Ethan said, meeting him in the center
of the room.  The two vampires in the room watched this interaction
with some interest.

Dru growled.   "If you guys are going to play Alpha male, let us have
the keys and we'll see you when we get back."

"I don't think so."  Giles said dryly.

"Then get it out of your system because I don't plan to put up with
any of childish behavior on this trip.  If you try anything, I'll toss
you out and leave you there."  She responded firmly.  "Go on, we'll
wait for thirty minutes, then we'll hot wire the car and leave."

Thirty minutes later, they were on the road.  Angelus took a computer
along to keep track of Spike's account.  Giles was driving, their had
been a slight argument over music so Dru had chosen some of the music
of Broadway and the more popular Operettas.  It was a relatively quiet
journey, if a long one because they were unused to the car.  Giles and
Ethan were working on rebuilding their friendship.

"Turn here, Rupert.  Their hotel should be on the left side of the
road and what in the world are those?"  Angelus asked, his eyes taking
in the sight of camouflaged men standing on the sidewalk.

Ethan leaned over his shoulder, his lean face going pale when he saw
them.  "That would be the Initiative."

"Okay."  Giles took a deep breath.  "Any idea how to get around them?"
No one said anything.  "Thought not.  I guess we could use an illusion
spell to send them away but they may be able to see through such an
action."

"Or we could just grab them as they walk out the door."  Dru said and
pointed at Spike left the hotel.  It didn't take them long to pull him
into the car and drive away before they could be tagged.  She launched
herself into his arms, nearly knocking him out of the car.  "You've
been a very naughty boy.  How could you be so selfish and think only
of yourself?  I missed you."

"Dru, pet.  What are you doing here?"  Spike refused to be cowed by
her angry look.

"Never mind that, is there another way to get into the hotel?  Those
men want Willow as well as you."  Giles demanded.

"There is an underground entrance.  What do they want?"

"Power from demons and those of the Night World."  Ethan said,
watching Giles maneuver the car into the entrance that Spike told them
about.  "Did anything happen to you a few days ago?"

"Yeah, they shot me with some kind of gun.  Willow was able to save my
unlife from them."  He explained, trying not to savor Dru's attention.
"Where did Angelus go?"

Dru pouted, he had left her and didn't seem to understand how much he
had hurt her by leaving, nor did he seem to care.  She stood and
opened the door, sharply saying.  "You guys go and get the girl, I
want to talk to Spike."  The emphasis she put on the words left no one
in any doubt about what she meant. They cleared out of the camper and
went into the building.  "And now for you, you naughty boy."  She
closed the door and stalked towards him.

"Did you think to ask Angelus were their room was?"  Ethan asked,
following Giles.

"No.  I thought we'd find her by acting like bloodhounds."  His reply
was sarcastic.  "Of course I asked him.  She's on the third floor,
room 225."  They found the room, but Willow and Angelus weren't
there-just the scorch marks left by the Initiative.

Ethan felt the wall, a vision hit him as he saw the men break in and
shoot the pair.  Angelus was unable to fight them, he seemed to feel
intense pain when he tried.  Giles took one look at his face, grabbed
the supplies that had been in the room, and headed for the stairs.
"This is bad."  Ethan muttered, quickly moving out the door and down
into the garage.

Giles started the car, looking at Ethan who was drinking some tea to
calm his nerves.  "Any suggestions on where they would be taking
them?"

"None.  We might try the Council..."  He stopped at Giles' look of
anger.  "Or not."

Dru walked out, she picked up something from one of the boxes that she
had brought.  "They're heading north.  We should go to this club run
by a Pylian demon, he's got connections with the Powers.  He'll help
us, though you will have to sing for what you want."  Then she
disappeared around the corner, they tried to ignore the sounds
emanating from the room.

Following her directions, they came to a club that was practically
indistinguishable from the walls.  Giles and Ethan walked in after Dru
and Spike, who was properly repentant for leaving her.  On the stage
was a young, green skinned demon who was singing.  "She wasn't
kidding, was she?"  Ethan murmured to Giles.

The ex-Watcher was to busy looking around and taking note of their
company to answer.  Giles then turned to his friend.  "I'll do the
singing, if that's all right with you?"  Ethan didn't object, Ripper
always did have the better voice.

Host saw them and finished his song, making his way towards them.
"Dru, Spike.  Long time no see, I see that you're still together."
Then he turned a stern gaze towards the humans and uttered a stern
warning.  "I don't mind humans visiting but I want no trouble.  You
don't hurt them, they'll leave you alone.  This is their sanctuary and
I won't have you messing with that."

"Understood."  Giles answered for both men.  'Mind if I ask you a
question?"

"Don't stand on ceremony with me.  Ask as many questions as your human
heart desires."  Host was feeling more generous with them now that he
knew they wouldn't be a problem.

"Would you mind if I sang?  We are in desperate need of assistance in
finding the Initiative."  The room went deathly still and Host's face
lost all color.  "We don't want to help them, we want to destroy
them."  Giles explained, his voice breaking.  "Please help us, they
have my daughter."

"It doesn't matter what you sing, the powers will tell me all you need
to know."  The empath's voice was quiet.  He watched the librarian
take the stage and flip through the music before choosing something
simple.  Ethan handed him a guitar.  The demons in the room, though
they still didn't trust him, relaxed.

After the song was over, they approached Lorne whose eyes were closed.
"Lovely voice you have, handsome.  If you hurry you'll find them in
Reno, Nevada."

Meanwhile, Willow was bouncing around on the floor of a car, trying to
lose the buzzing in her ears.  She forced her eyes opened and
encountered a pair of brown ones.  The witch groaned, she knew those
eyes, they were the last thing she saw before she got shot.  "Hey."
She whispered, her voice surprisingly strong.

Angelus tried to move but found that he couldn't.  They had turned him
into a bloody kitten.  He glared at the front of the vehicle and
managed a shaky, "hi."

"I'm sorry, about what happened earlier.  You would've been able to
fight them and avoid capture if I hadn't interfered back in
Sunnydale."  She explained quietly when she saw his puzzled look.  "I
can restore your soul but in so doing would've made it impossible for
you and Buffy to be together.  She didn't know if she could live with
you and not have you, so I bought her some time by taking away your
ability to hurt humans.  I never thought we'd get into a situation
like this.  Well, actually, I never thought I'd see you again."

Angelus growled softly, his muscles tense.  This little girl had
stolen his bite from him, the one thing he'd waited a century to
reclaim and she'd taken it away.  "How dare you?"  He spat out through
clenched teeth.

She fidgeted nervously, wondering what had possessed her to start
this.  * Oh, yeah.  Buffy's pain.  "I'm sorry."

"You're sorry.  Well, isn't that just peachy.  It sure helps get us
out of this mess, doesn't it?"  He asked, his voice snide.

The car turned suddenly and they found themselves in the dark, going
steadily downward.  One of the men, reached down and pulled her up,
talking into a walkie talkie.  "Yes, she has red hair."  He listened
for a moment, his dark eyes narrowing.  "I see."  He threw her back
down and she hit her head on the metal under the seat, blacking out.

When Willow awoke later that day, she was resting on a cot in a small
room.  She looked around and saw the glass wall, beyond that were
similar holding cells.  Getting up slowly, she crawled towards the
window and looked down the hall.  She was appalled to see all manner
of demons and magical beings held prisoner in the cells.  The door on
the far left opened and a young man walked out, the same one who had
shot Spike.

His shoulders were bent as though he was carrying a great weight on
them. He paused by her cell, shaking his head as he looked down at
her.  The tag on his shirt identified him as Riley Finn.  "And you
seem like such a normal person."  He spoke softly.

"What makes you think I'm not normal, Mr. Finn?"  She asked, just as
softly.

Riley jumped, startled by the sound of her voice.  He had thought that
she had fallen asleep kneeling on the ground, her eyes had been closed
when he studied her before.  The soldier looked around, checking to
see if anyone was watching, before he crouched down to meet her eyes.
"Normal people don't go around with demons, Miss."

"Nor do they break into hotel rooms and shoot at people.  Or walk
around in army gear, waiting to fall upon someone who can't help being
the way they are."  Her voice broke for a moment as she coughed.
"What happened to the man who was with me?"

"The hostile has been taken away to have some behavior modifications
done to him."  He found he couldn't lie to this girl with the innocent
eyes.  "Though why you should care is beyond me."

"He tried to save me."  She said, moving away to crawl back into bed.
"You should think of a new career, Riley, this isn't for you."

Riley didn't say anything, just stood up and walked away.  As far as
he was concerned, that conversation was had never happened.  But it
wouldn't leave his mind.  He glanced back at her, feeling uneasy.
What if that was his sister in there?  Could he just walk away from
her?

Unbeknownst to Riley, a closed circuit camera had captured  and
recorded their entire exchange.  The man turned away from the monitor
to  face Dr. Walsh.  "I told you that boy would be trouble.  Never get
the ones who have family ties."  Dr. Silas Johansen stated.

"Speaking from experience?"  Her look was pointed and he flinched,
slightly.  "Don't worry about Agent Finn, he's coming with me to set
up our new base in Sunnydale.  You just concentrate on the girl and
that vampire she was with."  She responded.  "I want to know what the
connection is between them and why he tried to save her.  Also, I want
to know what happened to the blonde hostile we were tracking
originally."

"So, you think we should put them in the same holding cell?"  He
asked, turning to the keyboard.  His face masking his pain at the
memory her words had brought up.

"I think it would be wise.  For the first few days, I don't want
anything slipped into their food or drink.  In order to test the girl,
we need her at full strength and she could barely stand up.  Why
wasn't I informed that she was so bad?"

"We didn't know, Dr. Fieldsmann's report said nothing about it."  The
doctor explained.  "I believe she thought it was only flu, she isn't
used to working with such cases as hers."

"I want you to contact Quentin Travers.  Never mind, I'll do it
myself.  Don't want any miscommunication to occur again."  Maggie went
to the phone and dialed his number.  "Hello, we have one of your pet
projects here.  Red hair, green eyes, slender build, a member of the
Night World.  Sound familiar to you?"  She listened for a moment, then
explained the problem.  "I see.  So, her heath is in direct connection
with her powers?"

"No."  The voice said, then he retracted his statement.  "It can be.
Let me explain, Willow is divided into three separate parts.  Her
psychical form, her magical form, and her soul.  If she has been
unable to separate her psychical form her magical form, her heath
would be affected.  Catching the flu and the extreme stress she's been
under lately would dissolve that line.  Therefore, she must be stopped
from using any magic for a few days."

"She may try to escape, how do you propose I stop that from
happening?"  Her voice was faintly ironic.

He answered after a moment of weighing the options.  "You could put
her in a safe house, try to control her mind into thinking that this
was just a bad dream.  There is also the old 'stand by your man' ploy.
You should have in your possession a vial for love or lust, give that
to her and someone else.  But choose wisely, that stuff is potent.
And whatever you do, keep them together but apart.  I leave that to
your discretion, Maggie."

"I understand, sir."  They talked for a few more minutes before they
said their good-byes.  She went to the metal cabinet, unlocked it and
pulled out the black box that was in there.  Turning to face Dr.
Johansen with the love vial, she outlined her plan.  "This is only to
be used as a last resort.  And I'll want it to be for her and the
vampire she was with.  This will give us a chance to see what happens
when a vampire falls for a human."

"Wouldn't this be risky?  What if something goes wrong?"  Dr. Johansen
was worried.

"Could it be that you're going soft over a girl that could easily
destroy us?"  She sneered.  "That's why you'll never get anywhere in
this line of business.  You have too much heart.  If she gets out, it
would be the end of us, and where would that leave you wife?"

He flinched, knowing that this job was the only thing that kept his
wife alive.  "I understand, Dr. Walsh.  All I'm saying is that we
don't know what may happen if the two mate."

"Then this is the perfect time to find out, isn't it?"  She said,
handing him the vial.  "See to things, would you?  I need to brief
Riley, we'll be on our way to Sunnydale after that."  Maggie walked
out the door, leaving Silas looking at the vial distastefully.

"I hope I won't have to use this."  He muttered as he began the
preparations for the mind alteration of the girl and her move to the
house the Watchers kept in New Orleans.  Since she was raised by the
Council, she would be easier to control if she were surrounded by
their things, at least that's what he hoped.  The hostile would have
to go with her as well, just in case anything went wrong.

Within the hour, the building was deserted, no trace remained behind
of them or their work.  And the demons they'd captured, except those
they had suitable information on, were destroyed.  They settled
quickly into the ante-bellum mansion, installed cameras in all the
rooms, and did some shopping for food and clothes.

Silas was waiting in the room they had set aside for Willow when she
woke up.  He held his breath, hoping that the memory alteration had
worked when she saw him sitting by her bed.  A hesitant smile crossing
her face and he relaxed.  "How do you feel, little Willow?"

"I feel strange, Uncle Silas.  My stomach hurts."  She whispered,
reaching for the glass of water on the bed table.

"That's because you've been very sick."  He replied, getting up to
hand her some medicine.  "We were worried that you might not recover."

"I'm sorry to have worried you."  Her voice was subdued, she willingly
took the medicine he handed her.

"Don't be.  It isn't your fault you got sick."  There was a knock on
the door and he answered it, after telling her to get some rest.

Willow lay back on the bed, wondering why her room was so nice.  * I
must have been really sick.  I hate to be such a bother to Uncle
Silas, the Council must be so angry with me.  She almost began to cry
and chided herself.  Then she paused, wondering when she got an Uncle.
But sleep overtook her body and she rested, pushing aside her doubts.

next