Part 1

Buffy leaned forward in her chair. She rested her elbows on her knees.
Lacing her fingers together she pressed her forehead to her clasped hands
and closed her eyes to pray. It didn’t seem real. Every sound and smell
had a clarity that didn’t exist in the real world. She tried to find the
words to beg for what she wanted, but the hiss of the respirator broke her
concentration.

Finally she gave up trying to pray and opened her eyes. Tears filled her
eyes as she stared at the tubes and wires keeping her friend alive. She
reached out and touched the still pale hand. Buffy wanted to clutch that
hand tightly, but the IV prevented it. “Oh, Willow,” she said softly. A
single tear slipped off her cheek and fell onto he sterile bed sheet.

Buffy glanced up as the door opened quietly. Spike entered the room. He
moved to stand by the bed and stroke her limp red hair. “No change?” he
asked.

She brushed her tears away. “No,” she whispered. “I just wish there was
something I could do to fix her.”

“We could kill the bastard that did this,” Spike suggested seriously. He
wanted nothing more that to rip his throat out.

“Spike, it was a drunk driver not a demon.” She only wished it was, then
she could do something.

One of the machines keeping Willow alive started beeping and her slim body
started to jerk. Just as Buffy jumped out of her seat to find a doctor,
Dr. Geller pushed his way into the room. He quickly turned off the alarm
and leaned closer to his patient. “Willow, you have a tube down your throat
to help you breath. I need you to relax so I can remove it,” he said
calmly. She seemed to hear him through her coma. Her body relaxed enough
for him to remove the respirator.

Spike and Buffy both watched the red head take her first unassisted breath
in two days. Buffy released the breath she’d been holding. Spike closed
his eyes and said a prayer of thanks.

Dr. Geller turned to the two blondes. They had alternated shifts watching
over their friend. When he failed to contact Willow’s parents, he allowed
them to stay with her. Not that he’d been able to get the boyfriend to
leave, even with threat of security. “Ms. Summers,” he said. “I don’t want
you to get too hopeful, but it does look better.”

Buffy just nodded, tears choking the words out of her throat.
****
Spike stared blankly out the hospital window. He’d spent the entire night
holding Willow’s hand and praying. He hadn’t prayed since he was five. He
only hoped that if there was a God, or whatever, He wouldn’t be so pissed at
him to ignore his pleas for Willow’s life.

Of all the Scooby Gang, Willow was the one to show him kindness. She made
him laugh. His day got better when she walked into the room. He didn’t
know what he’d do if he lost her now.

Turning back to the bed, he stared at her. He’d stared at her so long that
he almost missed the small movement of her hand. Concentrating his gaze on
her delicate fingers he watched for it again. There it was. Her fingers
curled under. “Willow,” he said as he rushed to her side. “Wake up, pet.”

A moan escaped her parched lips. “Spike,” she whispered.

Spike grabbed the call button and pushed it frantically. “Yes, luv. It’s
me. Wake up,” he pleaded.

Willow’s eye lids fluttered up as the night nurse entered the room. When
she saw the young woman moving around, she went to call the doctor.

“Spike?” Willow said in a slight panic.

“I’m right here,” he said as he picked up her hand.

Dr. Geller entered the room and walked over to his patient. “Willow? I’m
Dr. Geller. How are you feeling?” he asked as he pulled out a light pen to
examine her.

“I can’t see,” she said.

The doctor leaned over her and flashed the light in her eyes. “It’s okay,
Willow. Do you remember what happened?” he asked.

“I can’t see,” she repeated. Her eyes moved around frantically.

“Why can’t she see?” Spike asked.

“Spike, is it?” Dr. Geller asked. The blonde nodded. “I need you to leave
while I examine Willow. I’ll be able to answer your questions soon.”

“No,” Willow said. “Let him stay.” She needed something familiar to hold
on to.

“Fine, but save your questions.” He looked pointedly at him. “Willow, do
you see anything at all or is it complete blackness?”

“Blackness.”

“Do you remember what happened?” he asked.

“Not much. I remember going out dancing with my friends and I think there
was a car or something,” she said. She held tightly to Spike’s hand.
She’d never been so scared.

“You were struck by a car. You sustained sever trauma to the head. The
injuries caused some swelling to the brain. I feel that this is what is
causing your blindness,” Dr. Geller said calmly.

“So it’s only temporary?” she asked.

“Until we run some tests we won’t be sure. Your eyes are fine, but the
swelling put pressure on your occipital lobe. That’s the section of the
brain which interprets what your eyes tell it,” he said.

She nodded. “What about the rest of me?” she asked.

“Cuts, bruises, and a broken leg. You were very lucky.”

A tear escaped her lids and slid into her hair. Spike reached out and
brushed the damp skin. “It’s okay, pet,” he said softly.

“Willow, do you know how to get in touch with your parents?” Dr. Geller
asked.

“No, they didn’t tell me where they were going,” she said shaking her head.

“Okay. I want you to get some rest and I’ll set up some test for tomorrow,
alright?” he asked.

“Okay.” She still wasn’t sure what was happening, but her brain, and the
drugs running through her system, were tell her to sleep.

Spike waited until she drifted off before picking up the phone.

Part 2

Willow leaned back against her pillows. She could smell the various flowers
everyone had brought her over the week and the fountain Anya had given her
trickled softly in the background. Anya said it would help Willow to relax.
At least that’s what the box claimed, It didn’t help much. She was still
trapped in a world of darkness.

She knew it was mid-afternoon because no one had come to visit her today.
Buffy and Riley were in class, Xander had to work, and Spike couldn’t come
until after sunset. This was the time she hated. With no one to distract
her, she was left with her thoughts. She’d tried listening to the
television, but it was definitely a visual medium. Giles had brought her
some audio books, but she wasn’t in the mood to listen to the latest Tom
Clancy novel.

She reached out for her tray to get some water. Her hand bumped the plastic
cup a little too hard and spilled ice water into her lap. With a frustrated
grunt she picked the cup up and flung it at the wall. It traveled a little
farther than she expected. The door was open. “Who’s there?” she asked.
She sniffed air and detected a familiar scent. “Cordelia?”

Cordelia picked up the cup and stepped into the room. “Yeah, how did you
know?” she asked.

“You’re the only person I know who wears Channel perfume,” Willow said with
a lop-sided grin. She was embarrassed that anyone had seen her temper
tantrum.

“Well, I have to wear it sparingly. I only have half a bottle left,” she
laughed. The tall brunette began picking up ice cubes that fell on the
floor.

Willow heard the ice cubes being dropped into the empty cup. “Sorry you had
to see that,” she apologized.

“Don’t worry about it.” Cordy looked at the wet sheets. “Do you want me to
get someone to change those sheets?”

Willow picked up her call buzzer and pressed it. “No. I’ve got 24 hour
room service. I don’t mean to sound rude, but what are you doing in
Sunnydale?” she asked.

“Duh. We came to see you. Would have been here sooner, but Angel was in
the middle of tracking a psychopathic demon who’s been praying on children,”
Cordy said as she pulled a chair closer to the bed.

“Did Angel get him?” Willow asked.

“Of course.”

“Good. You said we. Angel’s here, too?” Willow asked.

“Don’t look so surprised. You’re our friend. Of course we’re going to come
see you when you get hurt. Spike said it was a drunk driver,” Cordy said.
She remembered the fury in the blonde vampire’s voice when he called Angel.

Willow shrugged. “I don’t really remember much. Dr. Geller said that was
normal for a head injury and I probably will never remember. I may never
see again either,” she said quietly.

The nurse finally opened the door and stuck her head inside. “Can I help
you, Miss Rosenberg?” she asked.

Willow plucked at the damp sheet. “I knocked over my water again,” she
said.

The nurse called for an orderly to get some fresh sheets before entering the
room and pulling back the top sheet. “We’re going to have to get some water
resistant sheets if this keeps up,” she laughed.

Cordy could see the humiliation in her face and grew angry at the callous
nurse. She glanced at the badge. “Well, Jessica, maybe if you just got her
a sports bottle that would save everyone a lot of trouble,” she snapped.

Jessica took a step back at the attack. She realized the kind red head
didn’t take her words as the joke she intended. “You’re right and I’m
sorry, Miss Rosenberg,” she said humbly.

An orderly walked into the room with dry bedding. “Hey, Willow. Heard
there was a flash flood in here,” he laughed.

Cordy admired the six foot brunette that flirted with Willow. He was
definitely a hottie. *Too bad Willow can’t see this,* she thought as he
bent over to lift Willow in his strong arms.

“Hey, David. You know I only do this so I can be in your arms,” she
giggled.

“It’s the only way to get a beautiful girl in my arms,” he said as he swung
her around to set her in the wheelchair. “Need any help changing?” he asked
suggestively.

“Just change my bed and get out of here,” she said.

Cordy pulled open a dresser drawer and removed a pair of boxer shorts and a
tank top. Jessica and David quickly changed the sheets and left the room.
“I found you a matching outfit,” she said.

Willow looked down at her lap. “What colors am I wearing now?” she asked.

“Neon green tee shirt and orange shorts.”

That was only one of the things Willow hated about being blind. She
couldn’t dress herself like a normal person. She always looked like a
circus attraction. “Yuck. Can you help me into the bathroom?”

She walked across the room and pushed the wheelchair into the bathroom.
Setting the clothes on the sink she helped Willow to her foot. “Now what?”

Willow tugged her orange shorts down and sat on the toilet. “Just slip the
cast through one leg of the boxers and I’ll take care of the rest,” she
said.

“I’ll be right outside if you need anything else,” Cordy said as she closed
the bathroom door. “So when do you get out of this place?”

“Not for a while. With the cast I’m kind of high maintenance. The doctor
won’t let me leave unless I have someone to make sure I don’t take a spill
down the stairs and break the other leg,” she called out.

“I’m surprised Spike didn’t volunteer,” Cordy said.

“Can you see Spike volunteering for combat duty?” Willow asked.

“For you, yes,” Cordy muttered.

“What?”

“Nothing. So did he?”

“Yes, but Buffy threw a hissy fit. Besides I’d rather Spike not give me
sponge baths,” Willow laughed. Actually it wouldn’t be that bad, but Willow
didn’t want him ‘taking care of her’. She didn’t want anyone to do that.

“What about your parents?” Cordy asked.

“Oh, yeah. They’re keeping an eagle eye on me. Right. I talked to them.
They were happy that I was going to be okay. They just figured I’d be
better off staying with professional medical care.”

Cordy shook her head in disgust at Willow’s parents. “When did you finally
get a hold of them? Spike kept cursing them when he couldn’t find them.”

“They returned my messages yesterday. Can you open the door?” she asked.

Cordy pushed open the door and guided Willow through the doorway. An idea
flashed through her ingenious brain. “I’ve got it. What if you came back
to LA with Angel and me?”

“Oh, I couldn’t do that. You guys have a lot of work to do. I’d just be a
burden,” Willow protested.

“Pft.” Cordy waived the protest away with her hand. “You couldn’t be worse
than Wesley and we put up with him,” she said.

“But...”

“Spike could come, too,” she tempted.

“Why don’t you run this by Angel before you move me in? He may not want me
underfoot. Not to mention Spike. Not that he would go.”

Part 3

“What do you think, Angel?” Cordelia asked.

“I think it’s a great idea. Spike, what about you?”

“Gets her out of the hospital,” he said. The blonde vampire wasn’t thrilled
with the idea of living with his sire again, but for Willow he would do it.

Cordy turned to Dr. Geller. “So it’s all settled. We can take Willow back
to LA tomorrow with us.”

Geller glanced at his patient. She hadn’t said anything during the
half-hour debate her friends just had. “Willow, what do you think?”

She lifted her head. “You mean I get a say in all this?” she asked
sarcastically. She knew her friends were trying to help, but it irritated
her when they talked around her.

“Of course, you do. It’s your life after all,” the doctor said looking
directly at the others. They all had the decency to look embarrassed. “I
was going to suggest transferring you to UCLA Medical Center when Ms. Chase
approached me. They have a better facility to help you with your physical
therapy and also to help acclimate you to your new situation.”

“You mean to teach me to be blind?” she asked.

“To teach you to live with your blindness,” he corrected. “It will be a big
adjustment. You’re going to have to learn a lot of things over again.”

“Like getting dressed,” she muttered. She hadn’t worn a matching outfit
since the one Cordy picked out yesterday. Dr. Geller insisted that Willow
do as much for herself as she could. That included picking out her own
clothes. She sighed. “Fine. But I want my own apartment.”

“Willow, there’s plenty of room at my place,” Cordy insisted.

Dr. Geller could see the frustration in the red head’s face. He placed a
hand on her shoulder. “How about you stay with Ms. Chase until you get out
of that cast,” he suggested. “Besides, I hear that apartments in LA are
hard to come by, good ones anyway. I know they were when I lived there ten
years ago.”

“You’re telling me,” Cordy grumbled. “I’ve told you about my first
apartment in LA, Will. We can look for a place while you stay with me."

“Fine,” Willow relented.
****
“Wesley? Are you here?” Cordy called as she opened the door to her
apartment. Spike carried Willow over to the couch and set her down.

“Right here,” Wesley said, walking out of the kitchen. He spotted Willow on
the couch. “Willow, it’s good to see you again.”

“Wish I could say the same, Wesley,” Willow said.

“Oh.” Wesley knew none of the Sunnydale gang would ever completely forgive
him for the Faith disaster, but Willow had always been the polite and
courteous one.

Angel noticed the hurt look on his face. The ex-Watcher was oversensitive
to being accepted. Cordelia was always accusing him of sucking up. “I’m
sure Willow didn’t mean it like that, Wes.”

Willow realized how her words must have sounded and she felt bad. “I’m
sorry, Wesley. Angel’s right. I didn’t mean it like that. I meant about
the seeing part not the good part. If I could see you it would be good to
see you. I guess I could say it’s good to hear your voice. But that’s
something you say on the phone not in person,” she babbled. This whole
thing was depressing her.

“No, I’m sorry, Willow. I should have realized what you meant. Cordelia
says I’m oversensitive on some issues,” Wesley said.

“Me, too,” she replied with a lop-sided grin.

Cordy smiled at her friend. *Well she hasn’t lost her babbling abilities,*
she thought. “Dennis, say hello to Willow,” she said.

Dennis stroked the wind chimes Wesley placed in the window. He knew the
ghost’s use of the light switch to communicate and instructed him to use the
chimes to get Willow’s attention.

Willow smiled at the soft sound. “Hello, Dennis.” She leaned her head
against the back of the couch. The trip to LA had exhausted her. “I’m
really tired. Would it be okay if I take a nap or something?” she asked.

Spike lifted her into his arms. “Of course, pet. It’s been a long day.”

“I’ll show you the spare room. Wesley, did you get Angel’s things moved
out?” Cordy asked.

Willow lifted her head from Spike’s shoulder. “What? I thought I wasn’t
putting anyone out,” she said.

“Don’t worry about it, Willow. I got my own place. Just haven’t had much
time to finish moving my things out of Cordy’s apartment yet. I asked Wes
to take care of it while we were in Sunnydale. You’re not putting anyone
out,” Angel insisted.

Willow propped her head on Spike’s shoulder. She knew Angel was behind
them. “Wow, Angel. I think that’s the most I’ve heard you say at one
time.”

Cordy opened the bedroom door. “Oh, he’s not quite as cryptic as he used to
me. Must be my influence,” she said proudly.

Spike carried Willow into the small bedroom. “Try and get some sleep, luv,”
he said as he laid her on the twin bed. He grabbed one of the pillows and
placed it under her cast to keep it elevated. “Need anything?”

Willow shook her head and closed her eyes. It still seemed weird that open
or closed all she experienced was darkness. Never ending darkness. Dr.
Geller had warned her about depression and suggested she should see a
therapist to help her. She still had the card in her bag. The small
business card was embossed so she could feel the raised numbers with out
asking for help. He told her that Janet Bellis specialized in cases such as
hers. *Maybe I’ll call her tomorrow,* she thought as she drifted off to
sleep.

Part 4

Cordelia opened the bedroom door. She saw the lump shift slightly under the
covers. *It’s noon and she’s still asleep.* She shook her head and walked
over to the window. “Rise and shine,” she said as loudly and cheerfully as
she could. Then she threw open the heavy drapes and let the sunshine into
the gloomy room.

“Close the bloody drapes,” Spike yelled as he tried to crawl under the bed.

Immediately, Cordelia pulled them closed. “Oops. Sorry about that, Spike.
Forgot you were sleeping on the floor.”

Spike glared at her as he crawled back out. “I’m surprised Peaches doesn’t
fit into an ashtray by now,” he mumbled.

Ignoring the grumbling vampire, Cordelia tugged the covers off Willow.
“Time to get up, Willow.”

Willow pulled them back over her head. “Why?”

“Cuz you’ve been in that bed for three days and quite frankly, you’re
getting a little ripe,” she replied as she ripped the covers off the bed and
threw them on the floor.

The red head buried her head under her pillow. “I’m tired,” she whined.

“Really? I’m surprised since all you do is sleep,” Cordy said. She knew
Willow was feeling sorry for herself and allowed her three days for the pity
party. Now it was time for the red head to get back in the game of life.
“Besides you have a doctor’s appointment at three. That gives you two hours
to drag your sorry butt out of bed and get cleaned up.”

Willow moved the pillow off her face. “I didn’t make any appointments,” she
said, confused.

“No, Dr. Geller did,” she said as she left the room.

Spike watched Willow mentally debate whether to cancel the appointment or
just get it over with. He and Cordelia had a long talk the night before on
what to do about their friend’s depression. He had been in favor of letting
Willow do what ever she wanted, but Cordy insisted that all she needed was a
good swift kick in the butt. Angel sided with his secretary on the matter.
Willow needed to get back on her feet as soon as possible.

Cordelia was voted to be the bad guy and push the red head and Spike would
be there to catch her if she stumbled. Angel agreed to be the neutral party
and fill in where needed.

Willow sighed. “Spike? You still there?” she asked.

“Right here, pet,” he said.

“She’s just going to drag me out of bed if I don’t get up, isn’t she?”

“Sounds like it.”

She scratched her thigh above her cast. “Ask Cordy if she had a garbage bag
and some tape.”

He got to his feet and headed for the door. He paused for a second.
“You’re not planning on killing her, are you?”

“Didn’t realized you cared,” she said with a grin.

Spike rolled his eyes.

“Don’t roll your eyes at me. I’m not going to kill her. Not yet, anyway.
If I’m going to take a bath, I need to keep my cast dry.”

He nodded, a huge grin on his face. “Okay. Be right back.”
****
Angel entered the apartment. He spotted Cordy and Spike talking in the
kitchen. “I take it she got out of bed,” he said as he poured himself a cup
of coffee.

“Not that she had much choice in the matter,” Spike said.

“I gave her three days to wallow in self pity,” Cordy said.

Angel looked around. “Where is she?”

“Taking a bath.” Cordy pushed the donut box closer to Angel. “Donut?”

He peeked into the pink box. “No jelly?”

Cordy glared at the blonde vampire. “Spike ate them.”

“What? I like jelly donuts.”
****
Willow lay in the tub. As the water covered her ears, she felt as if she
were drifting in a black silent cloud. She moved her hands in the shallow
water. She could feel her hair floating around her head. She remembered
doing this as a little girl. She would spend hours lying full length in
the tub with her eyes closed and her hair floating around her head. Of
course, now she had to bend her knee and keep her left leg propped on the
edge of the tub. It wasn’t the most relaxing position, but she felt better
now that she was clean. *It’s amazing what clean hair can do for a person,*
she thought idly.

The muscle spasm so started her that she let out a short scream. Her
fingers clenched around her leg as she tried to sit up. She felt the cold
air enter as the door opened. Strong hands pulled her out of the tub.

“Willow! What happened?” Spike asked as he set her dripping form in his
lap. He leaned against the edge of the tub.

“My leg,” she gasped.

Another set of hands pushed hers aside and began to massage the jerking
muscle. *Oh, great Angel’s here,* she thought as the pain began to subside.
She felt a towel being draped around her wet shoulders. *Cordy, too.
Wonder where Wesley is.*

Angel kneaded the tense muscle trying to ignore the fact that Willow was
naked. “How’s that?” he asked.

“Better,” she whispered. She could feel the blood rushing to her cheeks.

“You sure?” he asked. He glanced up at her face. Her cheeks were just
about the same shade as her hair. He removed his hands from her soft skin
and got to his feet.

“I’m sure. Can I get dressed now?” she asked.

Spike stood with her in his arms. The towel started to slip, but an unseen
hand tucked it more firmly around her. “Thanks, Dennis,” he said.

He carried her into her bedroom. He set her on the bed. “Do you need any
help?” he asked.

“Depends on if Cordelia wants me to match or not,” she said.

Cordy stood in the doorway. “I don’t care. But I saw a TV movie about a
blind person once and their clothes were arranged by color in the closet. I
did the same thing here. Even did the dresser too. Different drawers for
different things. Thought it might help,” she said as she entered the room
and pulled open the closet door.

Willow was touched that Cordy would do that for her. She wrapped the towel
more securely around her body and leaned against Spike as he helped her over
to the closet. Cordy proceeded to show her what clothes were where. Willow
selected her outfit for the day.

“Well?” she asked.

Cordy looked at the top and skirt Willow picked out. “Looks good. We’ll
leave you to get dressed,” she said as she pulled Spike and Angel out of the
room.

Willow smiled as she dressed herself. *Never knew that picking out my own
clothes would feel like a milestone,* she thought.

Part 5
Willow turned towards the sound of the opening door. “Dr. Bellis?”

“Willow, I’ve told you to call me Janet,” she said as she took seat across
from her patient. “So how has this week gone?”

Willow shrugged. “Okay in general,” she answered.

“And in specifics?”

“Good moments and bad,” Willow sighed.

“What kind of bad moments?” Janet asked.

“The usual. Running into things, breaking stuff, but at least Cordelia says
my clothes match,” Willow said with a chuckle.

“Well, that’s something. How are your roommates?”

“I know they mean well, but they are driving me crazy.”

“How so?”

“Spike always walks in front of me and moves stuff out of the way. Wesley
is always telling to be careful and ‘I’ll get that for you, Willow.’,” she
said in Wesley’s British accent.

Janet smiled. “What about Angel?”

Willow thought for a moment. “Angel doesn’t say much of anything. He’s the
strong silent type.”

“And Cordelia?”

Willow laughed. “Cordelia. What can I say about her? She doesn’t do
anything.”

She looked at Willow with interest. “What do you mean she doesn’t do
anything?”

“Okay, yesterday, for example, we were home alone. I asked Cordy to get me
a soda. She told me that I had crutches now and to get it myself.”

“How did that make you feel?”

“It made me mad at first, but after I finished pouting I got up and got my
own soda. On the way back I ran into a table. Knocked something off and it
broke. Cordy yelled at me for breaking her knick knack,” Willow said with a
smile. “I yelled back at her. Told her how the hell was I supposed to know
it was there since I can’t see. She just yelled back that I’ve been living
there for two weeks and the damn table hadn’t moved.”

Janet was glad to see the smile on her face. “You liked that, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, I did. Cordelia doesn’t put up with my crap. Says that I shouldn’t
feel sorry for myself, cuz she certainly doesn’t.”

“I’d like to meet her,” Janet said.

“She’s out in the waiting room. She drives me here,” Willow said.

“Would you mind if she joined us at the end of our session?” Janet asked.

“No,” she replied shaking her head. The two of them continued to talk for
another forty minutes.

Janet got up and opened the office door. She stuck her head into the
waiting room. “Cordelia?” she asked.

A very pretty brunette looked up from her magazine. “Yes?”

“Can you come in here, please?”

Cordy stood and tossed the three month old Cosmo on the table. She followed
the petite blonde into the office. “Anything wrong?”

“Not at all. I’m Dr. Janet Bellis. Willow’s told me so much about you
that I just had to meet you,” she said.

Cordy entered the spacious office. Willow sat on the couch with her cast
propped up on the coffee table. “Have you been telling her what a bitch I
am?” she asked as she sat beside her friend.

“Kind of,” Willow said softly.

“Have you ever thought of becoming a therapist?” Janet asked.

Cordy threw her head back and laughed. “I’ve thought about getting therapy,
but not giving it,” she said.

“She’s my own personal butt kicker,” Willow said.

Janet clapped her hands. “Well, I applaud you. You’re definitely giving
Willow what she needs.”
****
Wesley opened the door. “David. Please come in,” he said.

David Navid stepped through the door. “Angel said you guys needed a
favor,” he said. He looked around the small apartment.

“Angel, David’s here,” Wesley called.

The dark vampire walked out of the kitchen. “David, hi.”

“Hi. You said you needed my help. I’ll warn you, I’m better at fighting
imaginary demons,” he laughed.

Angel motioned him to have a seat. “Actually I need some help in the
computer field,” he said as he sat across from him.

“What do you need? Anything, just ask.”

“A friend of ours is really into computers and the Internet,” he started.

“Willow _is_ the Net girl,” Spike said as he flopped onto the couch next to
David.

Angel glared at his childe’s interruption. “Anyway, she’s recently lost her
sight and we’ve tried to find things for her laptop so she can use it
again.” He leaned closer. “We don’t know what we’re doing. Willow set up
our computer system. We just bought what she told us to buy.”

David pulled out his cell phone. “Don’t worry about it.” He dialed a
number. “Jack, hey. It’s David. Yeah, fine. You? That’s great.
Listen, you know that system you’ve been working on? Yeah that one. I’ve
got the perfect beta tester for you. Great.” He gave him the address to
Cordelia’s apartment. He closed his phone and slipped it back in his
pocket. He returned his attention back to the vampire. “Done. He’ll be
over in an hour.”

Angel sat back stunned. “Well, okay. Uhm, how much do I owe you?” he
asked.

David shook his head. “Not a thing. What would I do with more money?
Besides, if your friend is as good as you seem to think, Jack may pay her to
test his system. He’s been working on it for a year now. He’s ready to
market it, but needs a good field testing.”

They looked up when the door opened. Cordy and Willow walked through the
door. Cordy stopped short when she saw David sitting on his couch. Willow
ran into her.

“Cordy!”

“Sorry, Will. Hi, David.” She dropped her purse on the table. “Willow,
this is David Navid,” she introduced.

“David Navid? The David Navid? The Bill Gates of California?” Willow
asked in surprise.

“Yeah, him,” Cordy said, rolling her eyes.

David stood and held his hand out to the red head. “Good to meet you,” he
said. He realized that this small girl was the one Angel had referred to
and dropped his hand.

Willow slowly made her way around the furniture. Spike pulled a footstool
out of the way. “Would you please stop doing that? How am I supposed to
figure out where things are if you keep moving them?” she asked.

“Sorry, pet. Just trying to help,” he said.

“Well, knock it off. Angel, you didn’t tell me you knew David Navid,” she
said as she finally made it to the couch.

“Must have slipped my mind.”

“Got a surprise for you, pet,” Spike said as he sat on the arm of the couch.

“What?” she asked.

“I have a friend, Jack Reynolds, who’s been working on a new computer
system. It’s a voice activated-response computer. He’s on the way over
here with it. I know he’d really appreciate it if you could test the system
for him,” David said.

“A computer for the blind?” she asked.

“Well, yeah. I guess you could say that. It’s also for anyone with other
disabilities. Jack actually designed it for his sister. She has
Parkinson’s Disease,” David explained.

“Oh, okay. How come his sister isn’t testing it for him?”

“She is, but she uses it for writing letters and e-mails so it doesn’t get a
lot of strenuous use. He wants to test the limits of the system. Find
flaws and breakdowns. That sort of thing.”

“As long as it isn’t a pity present,” Willow warned.
 

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