"Wesley?" Angel called as he opened the door.

The ex-watcher stepped out into the main lobby with a
cup of tea.  "Angel, how did it go?"

"Where is she?" the vampire asked.

"In her room.  At least, that's where she said she was
going," Wesley answered knowing exactly who "she" was.

"Good.  I need you to find out everything you can
about the Fay."

Cordelia entered the room when she heard her boss.
"Where's Spike?" she asked looking for the blonde.

Angel removed some books from the shelf and piled them
on the counter.  "He had to work off some of his
frustration."

Wesley began to page through the musty volumes.  "He's
taking this very hard."

"Yes, he is," Angel commented.  "He loves her a lot.
He never acted this way with Drusilla."

"Never?" Cordy asked, surprised.

Angel shook his head.  "Never.  I think it's because
Dru was mine and he had to share her.  Willow belongs
to him alone."

"And he feels like he didn't protect her," Cordy
concluded.

"Pretty much."

"What are we looking for?" she asked as she pulled a
book closer.

"Information on a race of demons called the Fay,"
Angel said quietly.  He kept glancing at the stairs
and elevator.  "And anything about a Fay crown."

****

Lindsey slipped the key in the lock and turned it.
Opening the door, he left the bags on the porch as he
hurried to disarm the alarm system.  Once the LCD
display gave him the okay, he retrieved his packages.
He set most of the department store bags in the master
bedroom and placed his suitcase in the second bedroom.

Lindsey explored the small suburban house.  The pantry
appeared well stocked and fresh linens could be found
in the hall closet.  Everything gave the appearance of
a lived in house, even down to the TV Guide on the
coffee table.  He took the opportunity to change out
of his thousand dollar suit and into a pair of thirty
dollar jeans and a ragged Harvard sweatshirt.

He just sat down to watch TV when a loud thump on the
back door broke the silence of the house.  He hurried
to the door and peered through the Venetian blinds.
Quickly, he unlocked the door and ushered the trio
inside.  He was shocked to see two no-neck types
struggling with a bound and gagged Willow.

"Where do you want her?" the first man asked as he
tried to keep his grip on her ankles.

"Living room," he answered.  He followed them and
watched them dump the red head unceremoniously on the
couch.  "Thanks."

The second man rubbed his forearm where the observant
lawyer noticed a set of teeth marks.  "Careful when
you let her loose.  She's a wild one," he warned.

Lindsey knelt beside the couch where Willow still
struggled to get free.  "I think I can handle it.
Thanks," he said, giving them a recognizable look of
dismissal.

"It's your funeral," the first man said with a shrug.

Lindsey stroked Willow's back and waited for the door
to close.  Once he heard the engine start and the
vehicle pulled away from the back of the house, he
turned the red head over onto her back.  She struggled
against the restraints of her straight-jacket and gag.
 He saw the wild, panicked glare of her green eyes.
While he wanted to release her, he didn't want her to
hurt herself, or him either.

"Willow," he said quietly, cupping her face in his
hand.  "Shh.  It's me, Lindsey.  I'm going to get you
out of this thing, okay?  I need you to calm down.
Shh.  No one is going to hurt you anymore."

A calm voice cut through her angry panic.  The red
haze cleared from her eyes and she found a pair of
familiar blue eyes staring back at her.  Although they
did not belong to Spike, whom she longed to see
staring down at her, they were friendly and
reassuring.

Lindsey noticed her eyes focusing on him.  "You okay?"
he asked.  At her nod, he smiled.  He unfastened the
gag and allowed her to stretch her sore jaw before he
pulled her into a sitting position.  Single handily,
he unbuckled her straight jacket.  He rubbed her tense
and strained shoulders.

Willow pulled her hands free of the cursed canvas and
threw it across the room.  "I hate that thing," she
yelled.

"It's okay.  You're safe now," he whispered as he
tried to calm her agitated nerves.

She turned to glare at him.  "It's not okay!  And I'm
not safe!  I was never safe!  I never will be safe!
Don't you get it, Lindsey!  There's no such think as
safe!" she screamed.  "We live in a very unsafe
world!"

His blue eyes widened at her outburst.  "Do you want
to take a shower?" he asked trying to distract her.

She paused.  "A shower?" she asked, sedately.  "Yeah.
I'd like that."

Lindsey pushed himself off the couch and lead the way
to the master bedroom.  "There should be some shampoo
and soap in the cupboard under the sink."

She rushed passed him.   "Shampoo?" she asked.  "I
haven't had a real shower since I left the hospital.
How long was I in that place?"

"A couple of years, I think."

"Not the hospital."

"Oh,  four or five days."

She knelt on the cold tile floor and opened the
cupboard.  She practically crawled into the cupboard.
She opened each of the bottles and inhaled deeply.

Her erratic mood swings frightened Lindsey.  At times
she was screaming and fighting for her life, the next
second she was calm and rational, then in the twitch
of her nose she was almost childlike and giggly.  It
reminded him of someone, but he couldn't quite place
it.

"Oh, bubble bath," she squealed.  "I'm gonna take a
bubble bath."

Lindsey leaned against the doorjamb. "That sounds like
a plan," he said.  He couldn't help smiling at her
excitement.  It faltered when he realized she was
removing her clothes.  Hastily, he backed out of the
small bathroom and closed the door.

****

Cordy slammed the book shut.  "Nothing," she said,
frustrated.  She pressed the heels of her hands into
her aching eye balls.

"Hey, gang.  Look what followed me home."

Wesley looked up from the book he was reading.
"Gunn?"

"Can I keep him?" the black man asked.

Cordy lowered her hands and gasped at the bloody mess
before her.  "Oh, my God.  Spike, what happened?" she
asked as she rushed to him.  She assisted Gunn move
the battered vampire to the couch.

"So where's Angel?" Gunn asked.

"Out looking for him," Wesley said as he carried over
the first aid kit.

Cordy opened the box and started to clean the various
cuts on his face and body.  "Gunn, can you grab the
container of blood out of the fridge?"

"Sure."

Spike tried to pull away from her gental touch as
Cordy dabbed at his split lip.  "What happened?"
Wesley asked.

"Got in a bit of a spat with a couple of demons down
on 8th Street," he said.

"Couple?  Looked more like a block party to me," Gunn
said as he returned.   "And our boy was the pinata."

"I could have handled it," the peroxide blonde
protested.

"You see, I knew that, but I just couldn't let you
have all the fun," the tall black man joked as he
handed over the ceramic mug.

All Cordy could do was roll her brown eyes.  "I swear.
Willow is going to have my head when she sees this."

"When I see what?"

****

She sank into the steamy water and sighed.  Frothy
bubbles snapped and popped around her ears.  *How much
longer do I have to play this game?* she pondered.
Filling her lungs with air, Willow sank beneath the
surface of the water.  She massaged her scalp and
resurfaced.  Lifting a plastic bottle from the tub's
edge, she poured shampoo in her palm and went to town
with her hair.

"I'm gonna wash that dirt right out of my hair," she
sang as she scrubbed her scalp.  Tipping her head back
she rinsed the suds out and repeated the process three
times.  After the final rinse she spotted the razor.
With a grin she reached for it.  She turned the pink
plastic razor in her hand.  With relish she shaved her
legs.  It had been weeks since she had done the simple
act.  It made her feel half way normal.  Willow bathed
and scrubbed until her skin was pink.

Only when she began to shiver in the cooling water did
she think about leaving the tub.  The bubbles had long
since vanished from the surface.  She stood and
grabbed a thick bath sheet to wrap around her body.
She walked into the bedroom and paused at the full
length mirror in the corner.  Willow had not seen her
entire reflection since she entered the mental health
system of California.  Facinated she dropped the towel
around her feet.

The ends of her ragged hair dripped water onto her
bare shoulders.  She studied the curves and angles of
her naked body.  She'd lost weight.  More than she
realized.  Her ribs protruded from her skin.  The
round curve of her hips had been replaced with sharp
angles.  Willow reached a hand up to touch her collar
bone.

"Willow?" Lindsey called with a knock.

Startled she turned towards the closed door.
"Y..yes?" she stammered.

"Are you hungry?" he asked.

Willow stared back at her reflection and brushed her
fingers against her concaved stomach.  "I guess so."

"Okay.  I'll order some Chinese.  How's that?"

"Sounds good," she answered absently.   Tearing her
green eyes from the mirror she searched for soemthing
to wear.  She found the bags on the bed and dug
through them.  She found a sweater and pair of jeans.
She pulled on a pair of plain cotton panties, but
couldn't find a bra.  With a shrug she pulled the soft
sweater over her head.  Only when she was fully
dressed did she look into the mirror again.  The
clothes covered her thin body well.  She ran a comb
through her damp hair and left her room.

****

The group stared at her for a moment.  Cordy gave the
red head a half smile.  "When you see what happened to
Spike," she answered.

B'squ looked at the battered vampire and dismissed the
cuts and bruises.  "Well, that comes with the job,
doesn't it?" she asked.  She moved to the pile of
books layed out on the tables and counters.  "What are
you researching?"

Gunn gave the red head a confused look.  While he'd
never met the girl before, he thought it was cold the
way she dismissed Spike's injuries.  He studied their
reaction and found something lacking.  They didn't
seem surprised by Willow's attitude.

B'squ examined the books.  While none of the books
could give her a direction to their research she had
the sneeking suspician they were on to her.  *This is
something to tell Holland,* she thought.  *The crown
will soon be mine.*

The phone rang, breaking the thick silence of the
room.  Cordy hurried over to pick up the receiver.
"Angel Investigations.  We....oh.  Hi, Angel.  Gunn?
He's here.  So is Spike.  Okay."  She held the
receiver out to the young black man.  "Angel wants to
talk to you."

Gunn took the phone from her.  "Yeah?"  he answered.
"Okay.  Sure, man.  I'll be there.  I don't know.  He
doesn't look too good.  Okay.  I'll tell him."  He
replaced the receiver and turned to Spike.  "You up to
going out?  Angel said he wanted you there."

Spike pushed Cordy's hands away from him and stood.
"Let's go."
 

next