SERIES: Changes #3

AUTHOR: Tisienne Blue

E-MAIL: tisatko@msn.com

DISCLAIMER: Joss is the king of Jossberg... I am not Joss... I own nothing, and Nutmeg owns herself as far as I can tell...

RATING: overall, NC-17

PAIRINGS: Aus/W; Aus/W/S; S/Dru/Darla; S/B; C/W; Gunn/Nutmeg...

DISTRIBUTION: Charity can have anything of mine, as can anyone I've said yes to before... list archives, OK... anyone else, just ask and I'll say yes.

FEEDBACK: tells me if anyone is reading this...

DEDICATIONS: Angela for letting me run this by her way back when... also to: Nutty, Witchy, Kim, Noreen, Ali, PB, Karie, Katie, and Kimberley... thanks for the feedback, luvs... and to the CO in its entirety... just cuz...*G*

NOTES: Third in the series that started at the end of 'Reunion'... * *= emphasis.

&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*

Giles felt like they had been waiting for weeks for Gunn's girlfriend to arrive. Of course, it wasn't the fact that she was his girlfriend that had them all so intrigued, it was the fact that she was the ultra-reclusive Nutmeg! The former watcher didn't think that he'd ever heard of her being seen in public, much less traveling in order to help with a problem. No, from what *he* knew, the woman always solved problems via computer... if the ones in trouble could afford her help, anyway. He remained sitting at the table, sipping slowly at his rapidly cooling cup of coffee as he stared fixedly at the door. His spine straightened as the door opened, only to relax into his comfortable slump again when he saw the tall, dark-blonde haired girl enter the shop, and he sighed. This girl was far too young to be Nutmeg, but she was supposed to be there any minute.

Anya jumped down from the counter top where she'd been sitting, the girl's outfit screaming money at her. There was no way that someone in head-to-toe forest green leather didn't have money to spend, and she'd be damned if she let the girl leave without spending at least *some* of it in the shop! "Hi," she greeted, in her usual tactless way, "What can I show you to buy? The more expensive, the better!" she 'hinted'.

The girl laughed, amused. "Well..." she drawled, drawing the word out as much as she possibly could, "I could use a copy of Musgravi's 'Demons and their Pleasures'..." She rested her light brown eyes on the clerk, a slight, hopeful smile creasing her lips.

The ex-demon stared at the leather-clad girl for a moment, her eyes wide. "But... but there are only like twelve copies of that in existence..."

The tall girl laughed slightly. "Better make that eleven... mine had an unfortunate encounter with a fire elemental a few months back... charred to a crisp!" She shook her head sadly, her eyes brightening and a huge smile lighting up her face when she saw the three people emerge from the back room. "Gunn!" she called happily, starting towards them.

Gunn looked up at the sound of his name, and grinned. "Nutmeg..." He was across the shop in less than a moment, his arms wrapped tightly around the girl while he softly kissed her cheek. "You made it!" He frowned for a moment, looking at his watch. "And you're *late*. I was worried," he said sternly.

Nutmeg sighed, resting her head on his shoulder. "I know, baby, but... I can do many things. Unfortunately, controlling the traffic in and out of LA isn't one of them..." She glanced at him slyly from the corner of her eye, "Forgive me?"

Gunn laughed softly at the little-girl voice she'd just used on him. "Always," he purred, "Anything."

The girl smirked at him for a moment before allowing him to lead her to the large round table, and nodded her hellos to the people sitting there. She sat in the chair Gunn pulled out for her, and waited while he pulled another one over from across the shop and made the introductions. "OK," she finally said, once everyone was settled, "What do we have?" She began to quickly flip through the pages Cordelia handed her, her brow furrowing slightly at what she read. "Huh." she said, starting again at the beginning, "I've never seen *this* one before..." She fell silent for a few minutes, ignoring the stares being sent her way. "OK," she finally said, after reading through the pages a third time, "It *is* a spell, and knowing what I do about Angel, it *would* permanently attach his soul... but only if he possessed his soul when it was cast." She gazed around the table, her eyes finally coming to rest on Cordelia. "Cordy... you're *certain* that Angel has lost his soul? No doubt in your mind whatsoever..."

The Seer sighed, shaking her head. "No doubts at all, Nutmeg. The soul is *gone*! I *saw* it, and more to the point, *Darla* dropped that little nugget of information off on the *Slayer's* *doorstep*!"

Nutmeg sighed deeply. "That's too bad. If he still had his soul, I could cast this and he'd be good to go for all eternity. As it is..."

"Can't we just cast it twice, then?" Xander asked, clutching Anya's hand tightly, "Once to make him all soul-having again, then to make it permanent?"

The girl had started shaking her head even before he'd been halfway finished with the question. "It doesn't work that way, Xander. It's a one-shot deal here. I can still cast it on him, but he'll basically revert to being souled-Angel-with-a-happiness-clause. That's what this spell does, y'see... It makes the one it's cast on into whatever they were before they were changed... spiritually, I mean. So if he *had* the soul already, it would make it be fixed to him, the way it was when he was human, but since he *doesn't*..."

"He'll regain the soul along with the possibility of losing it again." Giles finished, not sure that he understood correctly. "But... what about Willow? If he's turned her..."

"Then casting it on her will make her be souled. Permanently."

Gunn looked at his girlfriend, confused by her last words. "Wait. I thought you said that it would make a vampire *temporarily* souled..."

Nutmeg sighed again, meeting his eyes. "No, I said it would do that to *Angel*. With Willow, it would be different, because if she's been turned, odds are that she doesn't have a soul now." She shook her head, gathering her thoughts. "OK, it's like this," she said slowly, trying to put into words something that she knew on an instinctive level. "If this spell had been done on Angel after he'd been turned, his soul would have been permanent. As it was, however, he was cursed with a soul by gypsies, and that soul was temporary due to that bitch of a happiness clause. Then he went and *lost* the soul. So he was changed, spiritually, more than once. Basically, this spell will take a vampire back to their previous state of spirituality, so... if he had a soul when it was cast, it would make that soul permanent, but if he doesn't have one when it's done, it'll restore what he's lost, along with the loophole."

Giles was glad that he wasn't the *only* one looking confused. On a certain level, he understood what the girl meant, but it was hard to find the words to explain it, obviously. That aside, though... "And you say that it will permanently soul Willow?"

Nutmeg smiled and nodded. "Assuming that she was human before she was turned? Yes, because she's only had the one change."

Giles nodded slowly. "And we can cast it on the both of them, yes? Because I'd hate to think of what Angelus might do to her if he suddenly discovered that she had her soul back... and that it wasn't going to go away..."

The girl just nodded, reaching out and taking Gunn's warm hand in her own as she stood. "If we're going to do this, I'll need a few things. Fortunately," she said, amused, "I'm in a magic shop, so..."

Gunn grinned as he stood up and placed one arm around his girl's shoulders. "Looks like we're gonna be doing some shopping," he announced to the group as he led Nutmeg toward the shelves.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Angelus grinned as the redhead shrieked beneath him once more, then growled, deep in his chest, as he filled her aching tightness with his cool, dead seed. Of course, he figured that it probably didn't feel particularly chill to her, since she was now equally cool... and had been since he'd turned her. He rolled onto his back, taking his Mate's slight form with him. That day, in the bowels of Wolfram & Hart's downtown LA office building, had been the best day in his very long existence... He'd been brought back by the one great love of his life, or whatever he could call his continuing existence, and had made the girl his Mate, almost immediately. She was the wickedest thing that he'd ever had the privilege of seeing, and she loved him... She was perfect for him, in every single possible way, and he would never let her go.

That she was able to tolerate his childer was a plus that he hadn't anticipated; yet she could, and did... called them a 'family', even, and was currently, unless he missed his guess, thinking about the havoc they could wreak together, even as she calmed from the latest spate of orgasms he'd caused. Now, if only he could figure out what to do about Darla.

Unfortunately, his former Sire, and current grand-childe, had apparently gone completely 'round the bend. The blonde bitch thought that she was so clever, that she was hiding her hatred of his Mate so well... she wasn't, though. He knew that she was planning and plotting, trying to find some way to hurt his Willow, and *that* he couldn't, no *wouldn't*, allow! He growled again, in a different fashion this time, at the very thought of the insipid blonde trying to harm the one he loved, his arms tightening around the small redhead who was still impaled upon his slowly hardening cock.

Willow could tell that he was thinking about Darla. He had that look on his face, the one that was equal parts fury and disappointment. She understood that look. If someone had been plotting against him, she would have worn a similar one, although hers would have contained a great deal more fury, and less disappointment. Of course, he *had* known the bitch for almost two hundred and fifty years, so she supposed that a certain amount of disappointment was inevitable. It didn't matter, though. *She* was his Mate, just as he was hers, and nothing that Darla did could ever change that!

They had an eternity of fucking, and feeding, and maiming, and killing, stretched out before them, and she'd kill the bitch herself before she allowed her to interfere with their glorious future. She really hoped that it wouldn't come to that, but if it did... well, so be it! At this point, she didn't even think that Angelus would be too terribly upset if she dusted the blonde... he'd probably tie her up, and whip her a bit, just for form's sake.

She moaned softly, wetness gathering within her at the thought of her Mate's strong arm cracking the whip against her pale, smooth skin, and gazed deeply into his dark brown eyes as he slowly hardened inside her... they must have been made for each other, she thought clearly, before his hands on her hips, and his slight upward thrust drove all other thoughts from her mind. He was just too... *perfect*.

It was the feel of her atop him that really did him in, he knew. As enticing as her face was while she was lost in thought, and as seductive as her bottom lip, caught between her teeth, was... it was the feel of her, straddling him, his cock still buried to the hilt within her tight, wet cunt, that had dictated how they were going to spend the next little while. Not that he was complaining, because he really wasn't!

He loved the way she moved on him, the way her small hands roamed ceaselessly across the broad expanse of his chest, the way her nails dug in at odd intervals, drawing blood for her hungry tongue... He loved the occasional grazing bite, and the way she sucked hard on his nipples... it drew a growl from him every time, and he thought that perhaps that was part of the appeal for her. He loved it that she wasn't all *warm* anymore; that she could take as much punishment as he heaped upon her, and still be begging for more. And he loved to watch her ride him... the way she threw her head back when she reached her release, the glow that always started in her eyes... he'd never seen anything like it, and somehow... somehow, he felt that this was meant to be. Why else would the girl have lost her soul while still human? Why else would she have gone to the soul-having version of him? Why else would the fates have put her in a position to release his true self from the pitiful prison of *Angel*?

He groaned again, leaving the questions behind for the moment, as she started moving even harder and faster upon his turgid member. Let the Slayer and her little group of cronies insist that demons couldn't love. They were *wrong*. Because if this wasn't love, he didn't know what *was*... he would die for his Mate, willingly, happily, even... and he knew that she would do the same for him. He sat up then, his arms wrapping tightly around her sleek little body, and sucked one small breast deep into his mouth, his teeth grazing her skin as he moaned. He held her almost perfectly still while he thrust himself up into her repeatedly, eyes wide as he felt her clenching tightly around him, and he came, hard and deep, inside his Mate. *This* was what had been meant to be... *this* was *right*! And he somehow had a feeling that even the *soul* would agree.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Giles stared out into the setting sun as he sighed, placing the phone receiver in its cradle. "Well," he finally said sadly, turning to the group collected in the shop, "We don't have to wonder whether he's turned Willow anymore... He *has*." He sighed again, ignoring the questions being flung his way as he slowly crossed the room and sank down into his usual chair at the table. "That," he said, gesturing towards the phone he'd just hung up, "Was one of my contacts on the Sunnydale Police force. Angelus was seen leaving the leather boutique on Main Street late last night. He was accompanied by a young redheaded girl whom witnesses have identified as Willow Rosenberg. The police were called in after the shop still wasn't closed by midnight. On entering, it was discovered that the two clerks were..." He swallowed hard. "Dawn," he said quietly, in a tone that brooked no argument, "Please cover your ears, or leave the room now." He waited until the girl's hand were tightly over her ears before continuing. "One of the girls," he said, feeling sick, "Had been drained. The other had been... *raped*... to death..." He swallowed hard in the sudden silence. "I think it's a fair bet to say that since she was seen with him, and was apparently... enjoying herself, she... isn't the same Willow we all know and love..." His clinical, Watcher's detachment broke then, and he rose, fleeing into the back room before they could see his tears. He had loved Willow with a father's pure heart, and it tore him apart to think of what she had become.

Long, sad looks were exchanged by those still in the room. They really *had* all loved Willow, each in their own way... well, except for Nutmeg, who had never met the girl. That's why it was so surprising that *she* was the one to speak up first. "I'll go," she said softly, following the path of the former Watcher, "Someone has to talk to him..."

She knocked softly on the door to the room he'd set up for Buffy's training, opening it and slipping inside at the grumbled 'Go away.' "I can't do that, Mister Giles," she said sadly. "I know that you're upset right now, and you're certainly entitled to be, but... hiding yourself away in the dark isn't going to help Willow. The spell, on the other hand, *will*. It will return her, permanently, to the way she was just before she was turned. Now, OK, she'll still be a vampire, and she'll still need blood to survive, but... the demon will be tempered by her soul, and she will be, more or less, the same Willow she was a month ago, or a week ago, or however long ago it was that he turned her." She stared for a moment longer at the man who was still sitting rather dejectedly on the weight bench. "Now, I *can* do it by myself, but it'll be much easier if I can count on your help. So, what do you say? Will you help me, or would you rather just sit here and stew?"

Giles had listened to her words, and he considered them carefully before coming to one rather inescapable conclusion. Despite Nutmeg's obvious youth, the girl knew what she was talking about, and she was *right*. He wasn't doing *anyone* any good by moping about the way he was, least of all *Willow*! He sat up straight, a rather grim expression slipping over his usually placid features. "Right," he said flatly, standing and facing the girl, "Let's do it." He followed her back into the main room of the shop, almost smiling when her softly spoken directions spurred a sudden flurry of activity in both the LA and Sunnydale contingents of the Scooby Gang. She came off as being a bit shy, initially, but *damn*, the girl was hell on wheels!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

They strolled, hand in hand, through the streets of downtown Sunnydale, sharing quick glances full of heat as they thought about the Hell they were going to bring to this place that had been so many things, both good and bad, to the both of them. It was fitting, somehow, that they would start things off in the very place that they had met for the first time. It would have been even better if the high school was still standing, mostly because they would have both loved to visit that one special spot in the hallway, where he had first held her pressed tightly against him. He'd been planning to kill her then, and for once he was glad of the Slayer's tendency to foil his plans. They were going to have such fun... they would turn this pleasant little California town into the capital city of their new world... a world where demons ruled, and humans were kept in chains for the amusement of their betters... and *they* would rule the rulers. It would be a beautiful thing, the world they would make...

Willow grinned up at her Mate again, stopping to slip her free hand up around the back of his neck. "Nothing can stop us now, my love," she purred, pulling him down to her and claiming his lips momentarily, "Nothing."

Angelus smiled silkily, snaking an arm around his redhead's waist. "Nothing, baby... never... We'll make this into.... Aaaaahhhhh..." His arm dropped from her, and his hand slipped from hers as he collapsed to the pavement, hands clutching tightly at his head. "Aaaaahhhh... Willow!...."

She felt a wave of something cold, and hot at the same time, pass over her, but ignored it in her concern over her Mate. "Angelus!" she cried, falling to her knees beside him, "Angelus... Angelus, what is it, what's wrong, baby?" She had never felt so worried before in her life. Something was happening to him, and she didn't know what to do! So she just knelt there, tears spilling from her eyes as he writhed in agony on the cold, hard ground. She could feel the terror building within her, and tried desperately to contain it. It wouldn't help her Mate in the slightest if she lost it just then.

He convulsed wildly as the pain coursed through his body, sighing in relief when it finally passed, and he opened his eyes to see... "Willow?" he murmured softly, still a bit dazed, "Willow... what happened?" He glanced around him, not understanding what he was seeing. "We... we're in Sunnydale?... How?..." He sat up slowly, not noticing the look on the redhead's face at first. "How did we get away from Wolfram & Hart?... What... what happened to you?" His eyes grew wide as he stared at her, taking in the subtle changes in her appearance. "You... you're a *vampire*! Who... how... Willow?" he finally pleaded, thoroughly distressed by her horrified expression, "Willow, I... I'm not going to hurt you..." He stretched a trembling hand out to her as she continued to back away from him, still on her knees. "Willow!" he cried, as she stood suddenly and raced off into the night. He didn't understand what was happening. He *loved* her, she had to know that he'd never do anything to cause her pain, and yet... she *ran* from him? It was then that he curled tightly into as small a ball as he could, while the memories of the last few days flowed through him, and he cried for what he had lost.

End-- pt 1
 

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