Spike and Willow made it to her parents' house just before sunrise.
Willow was grateful that her parents were out of town and that the
house was empty.  "Come in, Spike," she said as she stepped through
the doorway.  "What happened to you?  Where did you go?"

"Got zapped by those mysterious army guys of yours and then stuck in
some kind of prison.  I managed to escape and needed to feed, but
when
I tried to eat some stupid little chit, my head felt like it was on
fire."

Willow nodded slowly.  "The group is called the Initiative.
Apparently Riley, Buffy's new boyfriend, is a part of it.  She goes
to
tour the facility today.  I guess it's a good thing you managed to
get
out before she showed up there."

Spike grabbed Willow roughly, then clutched at his head in pain.
"What did they do to me, Red?"

"I'm not sure exactly.  But Buffy said they do something to make it
impossible for vampires to feed on anything living."

Spike's eyes glowed amber.  "The bastards want me to starve to death."

"I'm afraid so, Spike.  But we're not going to let that happen.
We'll
find a way to fix this."

"Why are you doing this, Red?  I don't even seem to be able to hurt
anyone without pain, so it's not like my threats of violence are much
use now.  Why would you help me?"

"Spike, you not being able to feed doesn't change the fact that I'm
your pet, right?  Besides, what they are doing is wrong.  It would be
much more humane to kill vampires outright than to starve them to
death."

"But then I wouldn't have been able to escape.  Being dust and all."

Willow smiled.  "Good point.  I was really worried, Spike.  I'm sorry
about what's happened, but we'll find a way to fix it."

"Did you miss me, pet?" Spike asked smugly.

"Yes.  But you missed me, too"

Spike nodded.  "Tired of talking now, pet.  Two days is a long time."

"Too long," Willow whispered as the blonde vampire crushed his lips
to
hers.  Clothes flew in all directions as the two fell to the floor in
a tumble of naked flesh, kissing and touching with an urgency born of
desperation.  Spike thrust hard into the redhead, crushing her body
into the hard floor as he pounded away at her frantically.  Willow
moaned and grunted beneath him, matching his frantic pace.  She
screamed his name as her orgasm wracked her body.  Spike screamed in
agony as the pain in his head prevented him from biting the
delectable
redhead.  He remained inside her, hard and unfulfilled as blood tears
spilled from his eyes.

"Oh Goddess, Spike," Willow murmured, clutching his head to her
chest.
"We'll figure out how to fix this."

She rolled them over and straddled Spike.  She rode him hard,
ignoring
the bruises his fingertips were forming on her hips.  Willow felt his
body begin to tremble and leaned forward.  She sank her blunt teeth
into the skin of his neck as hard as she could.  Spike came with a
deafening roar, shuddering beneath her.  He pulled her teeth away
from
his neck and held her head to his chest.  He stroked her hair gently
with shaky hands.

"We'll find a way," Willow whispered fiercely.

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

"Giles, I've found out some stuff about those mysterious army guys.
Yeah, it turns out that Buffy's new boyfriend is one of them.  I just
found out.  No, there's more.  Buffy was supposedly going to tour the
facility.  I can't believe she hasn't said anything to you.  Yeah, we
should probably have a meeting."  She glanced towards Spike.
"There's
something I need to talk to you about privately though.  Actually,
it'd be better if you came here.  Thanks.  I'll see you in an hour."

"What are you up to, pet?" Spike asked warily.

"I want Giles to see what they've done.  I don't expect Buffy to care
since she's too wrapped up in Riley to even notice anyone else.  But
I
may need Giles' help to fix whatever is wrong with you."

Suddenly, Willow's cell phone rang.  "Hello?"

"Willow, thank God." Xander said.  "Where are you?  My mom got a
frantic call from the hospital that you'd been beaten up and then run
away from the nurse.  What's going on?"

"I'm at my parents' house, Xan.  You should come over.  And bring
Anya.  Something has happened, and we need to talk."

"Okay, Wills.  Spike didn't beat you up, did he?  Cause if he did, he
is so dusted."

"No, he didn't.  Something happened to him, too.  Just come on over.
Giles will be here soon, and I'd like to talk to you before he gets
here."

"Be there in a few."

Xander and Anya arrived a few moments later.  Willow quickly told
them
about what had happened to Spike.  Anya was completely appalled.
"What gives these people the right to do something like that?" she
spat.

"I don't know, Anya.  I can't help but feel that there is something
fundamentally wrong about it.  And not just because of Spike."

"You said Buffy doesn't even care?" Xander asked.

"Buffy seemed to think that the only good demon is a dead demon."

"Too bad Slutty didn't think that way before she fucked my sire."
Spike growled.  "Bloody bint."

"Well, I think we need to talk to Giles about this.  That's why I
asked him to come over.  We should talk to Buffy, too.  See if we can
find out what she knows."

"You're not going to tell her about Spike, are you?" Xander asked
incredulously.

"No, I'm pretty sure she'd totally freak out.  You know how she hates
Anya.  No offense."  Anya nodded.  "But I'm going to tell Giles.
I'll
need his help to fix whatever they did to Spike."

"Well, I don't have my powers anymore, but I'll do whatever I can to
help," Anya offered.

"Thanks, Anya."  Willow knew that Xander had told his girlfriend all
about Willow's relationship with Spike.  Anya seemed perfectly fine
with it.

Xander frowned angrily.  "You know, Buffy really pisses me off," he
said suddenly.  "It's fine for her to sleep with Angel who then
became
Angelus and made everyone's life a total hell.  Then when he comes
back as Angel, she forgives everything he did without batting an
eyelash.  But she complains about me dating Anya just because she's
an
ex-demon.  And Anya's even human now."

There was quiet agreement from everyone in the room.  A knock on the
door signalled the arrival of the ex-watcher.

"Willow, what is it you wanted to talk to me about?"

"I think a demonstration would be more effective." Willow stepped
back
as Spike launched himself towards the ex-watcher.  Giles paled and
braced himself for the attack, but Spike never even made it.  Giles
stared down at where the vampire had collapsed in pain.  He continued
to stare as Willow wrapped her arms around the vampire and cradled
him
to her chest.

"Those army guys are hunting down demons and experimenting on them.
They did something to Spike to make him unable to feed.  He can't
even
hurt anyone."

"That doesn't seem like a bad thing," Giles muttered.

"Giles, they would let him starve to death!  Staking him would be
less
cruel than death by starvation."  Willow's voice was filled with
anger.

Suddenly, Giles realized that Willow obviously cared about the blonde
vampire.  "How long have you been with him?" he asked.

Willow glanced up at him shyly.  "Almost two months."

Giles nodded.  "I'd like to discuss it later," he said in his most
fatherly tone.  "And I suppose you knew about this," he said to
Xander.

"I found out pretty recently myself.  Willow didn't want to tell
anyone.  And we still don't think Buffy should know.  Especially
since
she's now kind of involved with the military guys."

"Yes, well, Buffy has hardly been forthcoming with information
herself, so I don't necessarily feel the need to tell her everything
I
know."  The frustration was apparent in his voice.

"How is Spike going to feed?" Willow asked.

"Can he still drink blood?" Giles asked.  Willow nodded.  "Well, I
seem to recall that Angel used to get blood from Willy's.  I assume
we
could do that for Spike for the time being."

"I'll go," Anya offered.  "I probably can handle myself better around
demons than anyone else here."

"You sure, hon?" Xander asked.

"I'm sure.  You work on figuring out how to get Spike his bite back."

Giles paled.  "You intend to give him back the ability to hurt
people?" he asked Willow.

"Yes, she bloody well does," a recovered Spike growled.  "And if you
help her, I'll add you to the short list of people I'm not planning
to
kill."

Willow looked at the Englishman pleadingly.  "Giles, what they've
done
- it's just not right."

"I'm not sure I agree with you.  But I will help you if you really
trust him."

"I do."

"Well, then, we should do some research.  Why don't we all go back to
my place?  I can call Buffy and have her meet us there."

"Spike, you can stay here.  I'll be back later tonight."  Willow
kissed the vampire softly.

"Be careful, pet," Spike murmured.  He trailed his fingers across the
silver choker.  "This doesn't mean anything if I don't have any power
in Sunnydale anymore.  And it just might make you a target again."

"Again?" Giles asked, surprised that Spike actually seemed to care
for
the young woman.

"I'll explain later, Giles," Willow said.

Xander wasn't surprised to see Spike worried about Willow.  The fact
that the blonde vampire cared for his friend was something he had
figured during that very first meeting.  "We'll make sure she gets
home safe, Spike," he said reassuringly.

"Can I come back here too?" Anya asked.  "I don't think I'm going to
want to be around Buffy right now.  And I should bring the blood back
here anyway."  Willow nodded.

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

"Buffy, I can't believe you didn't tell me that your boyfriend is one
of these military persons."  Giles was pacing the floor of his living
room angrily.

"What's the big deal?  They're killing demons.  Isn't that all that
matters?"

"Is there any consideration given to special circumstances?
Prophecies?  Good demons?"

"The only good demon is a dead demon," Buffy said firmly.  "And I
don't have time to research stupid prophecies.  I'm the slayer.  I'm
busy slaying."

Giles swallowed his anger at the casual way she brushed aside the
importance of prophecies, choosing to ignore it while he attempted to
appeal to his slayer's emotional side.  "You didn't seem to feel that
way about Angel."

"Angel was a mistake."  Xander and Willow gasped in shock at the
coldness of Buffy's response.

"Buffy, don't you think what they're doing is wrong?  I mean, slaying
is one thing.  Keeping them for experiments is another" Willow argued.

"But what they're doing is so cool.  Remember I was telling you about
what they do to vampires?  Well, it turns out they implant a chip in
them that won't let them hurt living creatures.  That way, even if
they escape like one did recently, they'll die eventually anyway."

Xander put a hand on Willow's arm to keep her from lashing out at the
oblivious blonde.  He couldn't believe that Buffy was being so
callous
and cold.  And in spite of Xander's personal distaste for Angel,
there
was something very unnerving about hearing Buffy dismiss the
relationship as a mistake after she had supposedly loved the vampire
so much.

"I think I should go," Willow said suddenly.

"You know, Willow," Buffy said.  "You've been acting kind of
suspicious lately.  Maybe you should stay away from the witchcraft."

"My witchcraft is what gave Angel his soul back after you fucked it
out of him," Willow spat.

Buffy smacked her across the face, leaving an angry red mark on the
redhead's cheek.  "You can't talk to me like that.  I'm the slayer."

"Buffy, please leave," Giles said, disgusted by the blonde's behavior.

"Fine!  I don't need any of you anymore.  I'm joining the Initiative
anyway.  They pay people to do research so I don't waste my time
inhaling dust from useless old books."  Buffy stormed out and slammed
the door behind her.

"Giles," Willow said shakily.  "What's happened to her?"

"I'm not really sure, Willow.  Perhaps it is related to her age
somehow.  No other slayer has ever lived as long as she has.  Maybe
she's just breaking down."

"Or maybe she's just always been a bitch and we never saw it.  But,
whatever is happening, I don't like it.  She scares me, G-man."

"Me, too, Xander."  Giles stood in silence for a moment, staring at
the door through which his slayer had left.  "You should get home,
both of you."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~Part 9~

Spike was gloriously drunk when Willow got home from classes.  She
stared at his unsteady form as she stood in the doorway, her clothes
dripping from the sudden downpour.

"You're wet, pet," Spike giggled.  "Wet pet, wet
pet."  He staggered
towards her, grinning wildly.  "Let's get you out of those
wet
clothes."

"Spike, why are you drunk?  Xander, Anya, and Giles are coming
over
to help me figure out how to get your bite back."

"Nope.  Not coming."

"What?"

"The watcher called.  Said he can't find anything that would
help
since my problem is `mechanical in nature."  Spike giggled.
"So I
thought I'd check out the old man's liquor cabinet."

"I don't care what Giles said.  We'll figure something
out.  Come
upstairs with me so I can change."

"Nope.  Gonna go for a walk."

"Spike, you can't go for a walk.  It's pouring rain
outside."

"Don't care, pet.  Going anyway."  Spike stumbled past
her and out
into the front lawn.

"Spike!  You're drunk.  Get your bleached ass back in
here!"

Spike tripped over his own feet and fell to the ground.  He sat up
and grinned at Willow goofily.  He managed to stand up and staggered
towards a tree which he leaned against for support.

Willow's warning about lightning came a second too late as a
blindingly bright light struck the tree.  Willow screamed as she
watched the vampire collapse to the ground and then lay completely
motionless.  Ignoring the rain herself, Willow ran to his side.
"Oh
goddess, Spike, you have to be okay," she pleaded.  She dragged
the
blonde vampire back towards the house and managed to get him into the
living room.  He didn't respond.  "Come on, Spike, this
isn't funny.
You have to be okay."  Still no response.

Willow shivered suddenly.  She stripped out of her wet clothes and
threw them in a heap on the floor.  She stripped Spike clothes as
well and threw them towards hers.  "Come on, Spike.  I'm
naked.
Isn't that worth waking up for?"  But the vampire didn't
move.  "Oh
goddess, Spike.  You can't leave me.  I need you, Spike,"
Willow
sobbed.  She wrapped a blanket around them and laid against his cold
chest.  "Please wake up, Spike," she cried.  She clutched him
tightly
and remained in that position until her sleep overcame her.

A frantic pounding on the door finally awoke Willow.  She opened her
eyes sleepily and stared at Spike's still form.  Tears threatened
to
spill over her cheeks once more.

"Willow!  Willow, please open up," Xander called.

Willow stood and covered Spike's body with a blanket.  Wrapping
her
own blanket tightly around her, Willow cautiously opened the door.

"Will, what's going on?" Xander asked anxiously.
"Anya said that
Spike called muttering about not coming over and that he sounded
drunk.  I would have come earlier, but the rain."  Xander stopped
as
he suddenly noticed his friend's appearance.  "Are you
okay?"

"I am, but…" Willow gestured towards Spike's body on the
floor.

"Oh God, Wills.  What happened?"  Xander pulled the now
sobbing
redhead to the couch and cradled her in his arms.

"Sp-spike was drunk when I got home.  Giles called and said he
didn't
think there was anything we could do to help Spike.  And, and Spike
said he was going for a walk even though it was pouring rain.  And he
fell and then there was the tree and the lightning and now he just
won't wake up.  What am I going to do, Xander?" she sobbed.

"First, you're going to go upstairs and put on some clothes
while I
keep and eye on Spike.  He's not dust, which has to be a good
sign.
I'm sure he'll be okay, Will," Xander lied.

Willow nodded and slowly made her way up the stairs.  Xander remained
in the living room staring at Spike lying motionless on the floor and
sighed.  "You'd better be okay, you stupid vampire.  Willow
needs
you."  Xander gathered up the pile of wet clothes and threw them
in
the washer.

A few moments later, Willow returned.  "Any signs of unlife?"
she
asked shakily.

Xander shook his head sadly.  "How long as he been like this?"

"A few hours at least.  What should we do, Xander?"

"I don't know.  Do you think we should move him to the couch?
Or
maybe upstairs?"

"We can put him in my parents' room," Willow replied.
She and Xander
managed to get the blonde vampire upstairs after Willow found a pair
of her dad's shorts to put on him.  Willow stood and stared at
the
vampire's pale skin against her parents' dark sheets.  Xander
squeezed her shoulders reassuringly.

"I'll go call Anya and Giles.  Maybe they'll have some
ideas of what
we can do," Xander said.  Willow nodded.

The four humans stood over the bed, staring at the vampire.
"Xander
is right, Willow.  The fact that Spike is not dust is a good sign.
But I'm not sure how long he can go without feeding.  I'll
see if I
can find anything out."

"Okay," Willow said weakly.  She moved to the bed and laid
her head
against the cool skin of Spike's chest.  "Come on, Spike.
Please
wake up," she murmured softly.

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

Giles stared at the clock.  Twenty-seven hours since Spike had been
struck by lightning and rendered unconscious.  He wasn't sure how
much longer the vampire could last.  Of course, he wasn't sure
how
much longer Willow could last either.  She had spent most of the time
firmly attached to Spike's side, her soft pleas for him to wake
up a
constant murmur in the otherwise quiet room.  Giles had only been
able to get her to leave for brief periods of time like right now
when he'd insisted that she needed to eat herself.

Giles was so distracted by his concerns for the redhead that he
didn't notice a pair of yellow eyes suddenly blink open.  His
mind
barely registered the flash of movement before he was thrown to the
floor.  As fangs descended towards his neck, Giles did the only think
he could think of at the moment.  He screamed.

"Spike!" Willow yelled from the doorway.

Spike turned amber eyes towards the redhead.  Confusion clouded his
face and he glanced back and forth between the familiar redhead and
the man on the floor.  Spike knew there was something he should
remember, but his thoughts didn't seem to make any sense at the
moment.  "Hungry," he growled at the redhead.

"Xander, go get him some blood," Willow whispered.  "You
can't eat
Giles, Spike.  Do you remember?"

"Giles," Spike said, staring at the man beneath him once
more.  "Hungry."

"We're getting you something to eat, Spike.  Let Giles up and
then
you can eat."  Without fully understanding why, Spike let the man
up.  Instead, he began to stalk towards the redhead.  He was drawn to
her, but he didn't understand why.

"Do you remember me, Spike?" Willow asked cautiously.  She
hoped that
whatever memory lapse he seemed to be having was only
temporary.  "I'm Willow.  Red.  Your pet."

"Pet."  Spike latched onto the word that burned its way
through his
muddled mind.  "My pet," he said firmly.

"Your pet," she said with a small sigh of relief.  Xander
returned
with two mugs of blood which he handed to Willow.  She in turn held
them out to Spike.

Spike took the mugs and sniffed at them.  "Animal," he
snarled.

"Just for now, Spike.  Human blood later."

"Will, what are you doing?" Xander hissed.

"Trust me," she whispered back.  "Please?"

Spike glared at the mugs in disgust but finally drank down their
contents.  He dropped them to the floor and reached for Willow.
"My
pet," he growled softly as lucidity began to return.

"Your pet," Willow whispered once more.  She closed her eyes
as
Spike's tongue reached out to lick her jugular, then gasped as
his
sharp teeth pierced the skin on her neck for the first time.

"Giles," Xander began to protest, but the Englishman motioned
for him
not to interfere.

Spike drank for a moment before releasing Willow's tender flesh.
"My
pet," he whispered against her skin as he lapped at the bite
marks.
Willow began to struggle as he cut a wound in his own neck and forced
her mouth to the oozing blood.  "My pet," he whispered as he
held her
tightly, growling softly as she began to drink.  Finally, his grip
loosened and he laid Willow's head gently to his chest.

"Spike?" Giles asked hopefully.

Spike's head snapped up as if suddenly aware of the presence of
others.  His human face slipped into place as he stared at the
Englishman intently.  "Watcher," he finally said.  "What
happened to
me?"

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