Rating: R
Disclaimer: All things BtVS and AtS belong to Joss or whomever else is currently claiming responsibility for their sometimes deviant behavior. The fanfic title is taken from the song "How You Remind Me" by Nickelback.
Distribution: My site (A Witch's Love), Near Her Always, and anyone else that has anything else of mine already. Otherwise, please ask.
Summary: Sequel to "What I Really Am".
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
~*~Part One~*~
Spike looked up as the door to the apartment opened and then shut, a tired looking red haired witch walking through. She didn't speak to him, hardly seemed to see him sitting there, on the couch. "Luv? You alright?"
Willow jumped, as though his words were a bucket of cold water poured right over top of her. She turned, her tired eyes looking at him, striving for innocence and failing miserably as she murmured. "Yeah - I'm fine. Just tired."
The vampire arched an eyebrow, giving her a questioning look, which she apparently either missed or ignored, because she left the room, heading down the hall and into the bedroom they shared. He heard the sound of cloth rustling and assumed she was getting undressed, though for what reason he couldn't understand. It was only a little after seven at night, certainly too earlier to be getting ready for bed - and it hadn't looked like she had the energy to shag. So what was going on?
He frowned, leaning back against the couch, his ears trained on the sounds coming from the bedroom. Something was definitely going on with his little witch. She had begun going to her new 'Wicca group' the previous week and shortly thereafter had began coming home like this - tired and worn out. It was almost as though she barely had the energy to breathe. If this night was anything like the others she'd be asleep within an hour. He had tried to question her about it, only to be brushed off as being 'too worrying' or 'too paranoid'. But there was obviously -something- going on, or else she wouldn't come in like this almost every night during the week.
It just wasn't like her.
He heard a rattle from the bedroom, as though something had fallen against something; he stood quickly, making his way to the bedroom. There he saw something that made his undead heart freeze in fear.
Willow was sick.
~*~*~
Willow sighed, her eyes closing tiredly as she pulled her clothes off, dropping them unceremoniously to the floor. She reached into her dresser, pulling out a nightshirt. It seemed like an enormous task to just raise her hands over her head and slide the shirt down onto her body. She tried once, twice, and then gave up. Every muscle in her body was aching with fatigue.
She sat down heavily on the edge of the bed, her nightgown still clutched in her hands. Her breath was coming in ragged gasps as she tried, and failed, to control her body's reaction to the overuse of magick she had experienced that night. She could feel her skin becoming clammy, cool, and knew she was going into a metaphysical type of shock; a shower would help her if she could just get in there. She stood, stumbling back into the bed, the wood shaking from the impact.
Her eyes closed, stars dancing behind them. How could she have let this go so far? Certainly what she was trying to do wasn't worth all of this?
"Red?"
The witch opened her eyes, trying to focus on the doorway and coming up short. She could see, through a haze of disorientation and pain, Spike standing in the doorway, watching her. "Spike." Her voice was a mere whisper, something she herself could barely hear.
"Baby - what's wrong?"
"Need . hot shower.." She stammered softly, her body shaking with the chills her energy loss was bringing. If she didn't get into something warm soon she was very likely going to lose consciousness entirely. She felt his strong arms reach out and grab her; lifting her easily into his arms. Her teeth knocked against each other, the coldness in her body increasing with every moment.
The normally cold porcelain of the bathtub seemed warm to her chilled flesh as she was laid down into the fixture. The first spray of water hit her, first achingly cold and then mercifully warm, taking some of the chill from her body almost immediately. This was only a temporary solution to a problem that was much more complex than she had the energy to explain to Spike. He was going to be mad at her when he found out how much she had given up just to try to get rid of his chip forever. In light of what she had done and how much pain she was in at that moment, she couldn't honestly blame him one little bit.
She would just have to cross that bridge when she came to it, though; which wasn't going to be very much longer by the look on Spike's face. It could wait, hopefully, until after she was warm enough to think clearly again.
"Hotter, please."
~*~*~
Spike turned up the hot water on the shower by a good amount before stepping back again to just watch his lover. She was sitting there, naked, shaking under the heat of the water, as though she was being cooled from the inside out and just couldn't get warm again. He felt helpless, powerless to help someone who apparently needed just that. If they had still been in Sunnydale he would have called one of her normally useless friends over to help him with her.
But they weren't in Sunnydale - hadn't been for two months. And those 'friends' of hers hadn't even tried to contact them even though he knew his red haired lover had sent them all her address and telephone number. They still couldn't get over the fact that Willow had chosen to be with someone she cared about over them. True - the way in which she had left hadn't been the best. But what should that matter to true friends? It just proved to him in yet another way that those whining humans had never really been the witch's friends. Maybe the moron had, at one point, but that had stopped sometime after the Slayer had entered their lives. Once they had all discovered that the witch wasn't going to be their own personal research servant anymore they had dumped her quick enough. What did it matter if she had always been their faithful friend?
"What can I do to help you?" He whispered at last. The shaking in her body was beginning to recede, though she still looked blue around the face, the coldness she was feeling still continuing despite the near-scalding heat of the water. He was genuinely worried when he knelt on the floor next to the shower, reaching out to brush a strand of wet hair from her face. "What happened to you, Red?"
Her head shook slowly, from side to side. "Not now. Explain later. Need warm." Her voice was soft, her breathing coming in short gasps. "Turn water up more?"
He sighed, closing his eyes for a moment and searching for the strength within himself to just do as she said for this time. First take care of her - get her warm and out of the shower.
-Then- get the entire story out of her, whether she liked it or not.
~*~Part Two~*~
It took four times of emptying the bathtub and refilling it with near-scalding water to get Willow back to some semblance of her normal pale color instead of the light blue she had been turning when Spike had first found her. He helped her stand when she was ready, wrapping a towel around her still-shivering frame before he hefted her into his arms. She weighed next to nothing on a normal basis but somehow, tonight, it seemed as though she weighed even less.
"Is there anything else I can do, pet?"
Willow shook her head. "Just need to rest." Her voice was soft, barely audible to even Spike's acute hearing. He nodded, pulling the blankets on the bed up to her chin. There were a few more in the closet as well, and he fetched those, layering them on top of her already sleeping form. He looked down at her, wondering what had happened. From the outside it appeared as though she had exhausted every ounce of energy she had left in her body. But was that all or had she hurt herself internally as well? It didn't take a genius to realize she had been doing something involving those magicks she was supposed to have given up for her 'friends' so long ago. For once he began to worry that maybe they had been right all along. Perhaps she did have a problem and needed to just give up magick entirely. It certainly seemed to have put her through hell tonight.
He laid down next to Willow, keeping his body from touching hers by keeping the blankets between them. She was already cold enough without his icy skin touching her as well.
The answers to all of his questions lay within her and she was asleep; as deep asleep as he had ever seen her before. He had a feeling that a buzzer could go off right next to her ear and she wouldn't hear a thing. This was the kind of sleep that could last days. Nothing that could be done about it. She needed her rest and she had all the answers.
So he'd just have to wait until she woke up to find out what in the hell was going on.
~*~*~
'Run, little witch.'
'Fast.'
'Far.'
'Doesn't matter, sweetie.'
'I'll still find you.'
'And when I do?'
'I'm going to eat you up.'
~*~*~
Willow gasped, sitting bolt upright in bed, panting with fear from the nightmare she had just woken from. Her eyes darted furiously around the darkened bedroom, searching for a sign, any sign, that the apparition in her dreams was there, with her. Only when she had searched every minute corner of the room with her eyes did she finally relax. It wasn't here. Just a nightmare. Nothing to worry about. She could still hear it's voice, grating and whispery, in her head. The threats it had made. When it had said it would eat her up there had been visual accompaniment - pictures of her body beaten and bloodied, hugs pieces of flesh missing from her form as she lay in a pool of her own blood.
When this nightmare said it would eat you - it meant it literally.
She shivered, pulling the covers up to her chest. The clock on the nightstand read three in the afternoon. She had slept in, though she still felt weak as a child. "Spike?"
There was a moment of silence and then she heard movement in the next room. For a moment she grew scared, the 'what ifs' that come after a nightmare plaguing her sleep-deprived brain. Spike came into view and she let out the breath she had been holding. Her hands shook as she reached for him.
"Red - lay back down. You look white as a sheet." He pushed gently on her shoulders, forcing her back into a lying position. Her skin matched the white pillowcase of the pillow she was laying on, making her look ghostly. "How are you feeling?"
"Better. A little." She whispered, her throat aching from dryness. "Could you get me some water, please?"
Spike nodded and left her to get the drink. She sighed, shutting her eyes tight. It seemed like a major undertaking to just sit up again and she dreaded it, knowing all along it was inevitable - there was no way she'd be able to drink some of the water Spike was getting her if she was laying down. She struggled back into a sitting position, the effort leaving her panting and weak. This was her fault, she knew. Her fault for overdoing it with the magicks. And Spike was going to want answers when he came back through that door. There was no way around it.
"Here you go, pet."
Willow's head snapped up, her eyes opening and closing rapidly. Had she fallen asleep while she was sitting there? She hadn't even heard or seen Spike come back in the room. "Thank you." Her hand shook only a little as she took the glass from him, raising the cool object to her lips. The water was from the tap and had a slightly metallic taste to it, but it was cool, colder even more so because of the ice cubes he had placed in the glass with it. She drank deeply, feeling the coldness hit her tongue and throat like ice on a summer road. In moments the glass was empty. She was still thirsty, but not enough to ask Spike to go get her another drink. He was being so courteous already - especially since she knew his curiosity had to be killing him.
"So." She whispered, licking her lips. "I guess you want to know what's going on." She locked her eyes on her hands, refusing to meet his gaze. There was always the chance that he was going to be upset with her over what she had done.
Spike nodded. "Sure would, Red." He stood and walked around the bed to the empty side, sliding up next to her. She still felt so frail as he took her in his arms, careful not to jostle her in any way. Until he knew exactly what had happened to her he was taking no chances.
"Well - it's like this. I did something stupid." She held up a hand to ward off whatever he opened his mouth to say, giving him a pleading look. "Please just let me talk? While I can? I feel like I'm going to fall back asleep at any minute." She waited until he had murmured his assent to continue. "You see - I wanted to get rid of that chip in your head so I've been researching and trying different things. And I *thought* I had found the right one. Sort of a pact with an elemental that could just go right in and yank the thing out. Leave you good as new." She sighed. "But the elemental summoning took too much out of me. I couldn't complete the spell. That's why I'm so cold and why I have no energy - I gave it everything I had. And it still didn't work. I'm such a failure - like usual."
The vampire shook his head, grabbing hold of her hand. Even without her succeeding she had touched his heart just by trying something no one else had. She had done her very best to rid him of the thing he hated the most. So what if she had failed. Like the saying went - it's the thought that counts. "It's ok, luv. You're not a failure. The spell was just too bloody difficult. Look at you - you're little more than death warmed over right now." He snorted. "I'm glad you stopped the spell when you did and came home. What would have happened if the elemental had gotten out and you didn't have the power to control it?"
Willow shrugged. "Probably would have caused a lot of trouble. Or come after me personally." She paused, the memory of her nightmare still fresh in her mind. But no - that wasn't possible. She had ended the spell before anything came through the summoning circle. There was no way she had screwed up that majorly, was there? 'It's just your tired, exhausted mind sending you reminders of what -could- have happened.' She thought, praying at the same time that she was right about that.
Spike rubbed the back of her hand gently, noting the tremors that were running through her body. She was a little warmer than she had been the night before when he had put her in bed - but not much so. Her skin still was as cold as though she'd just taken a cold shower or bathed in ice cubes. "Get some rest, Red."
"Stay with me?" The young witch asked quietly, her eyes imploring him not to leave. They shimmered with the hint of unshed tears, like great green emeralds in the rain. She didn't want to be alone. Not with the nightmare she had just had. It was foolish to think that having Spike next to her would keep the nightmare away - but that didn't stop her.
"Of course, pet."
They laid down, her cool body next to his cold flesh. As soon as her head touched the pillow she was out again, her breathing becoming even as sleep fully overtook her.
~*~Part Three~*~
Willow didn't like being at home alone. Especially not at night. And definitely not when she was too weak to be fully mentally aware and alert. But Spike had been out of blood. He had left as soon as the sun had gone down, promising to be back as soon as possible.
That had been only ten minutes ago.
Ten minutes and already her nerves were playing tricks with her mind. The nightmares that had been plaguing her every moment of sleep since the night she had tried the spell were beginning to spill over into her reality, causing her to see things in the shadows - eyes in the darkness peering out at her. Glowing points of light that swirled like the eyes of some great demon only to disappear the second she shone a light on the shadow. Every time she turned her back her neck would tingle and she could feel 'something' staring at her.
But when she turned around, nothing was there.
"You're just tired." She muttered to herself. "You should never have done that stupid spell. It was too much for you. Look what it's done to you - seeing things, imaginging bugaboos in every dark corner. Silly."
'Am I silly..?'
Willow head snapped around, her frantic eyes searching every inch of the room for whatever had just spoken to her. The words had been whispered, hissed, as though being spoken from the mouth of a great serpent. They had came from everywhere - yet nowhere, leaving her wondering if she was, perhaps, just entering another state of delusion. She swallowed hard, fighting down an urge to run screaming from the apartment.
She turned, still searching for any sign of someone, or something, else being in the room with her. There was nothing, though. Not a single item out of place, no shadows moving across the floor to indicate hidden movement. Nothing at all to indicate that she wasn't alone in her apartment.
'Because I'm not there, yet, little witch.'
"Who's there?" She whispered, backing against the far wall. She could see the door and the rest of the room from this vantage. It was the most secure, as far as she could tell. Her heart was thudding painfully in her chest, causing her breaths to come in gasping rasps. Despite the hissing admonition that the creature wasn't there with her, she couldn't find it within her to actually believe it. Why would whatever it was tell the truth?
'You called me forth. Disturbed my sleep. I'm coming for you.'
"Why?" She sobbed, sliding down the wall until she was sitting on the floor, her back still firmly on the white-plastered wall. Her vision blurred with the tears and she blinked, trying to clear them. It was useless, though. The tears kept falling, fear and exhaustion taking all the fight out of her.
'Because you called. And when I find you..'
'I will eat you up.'
'From the inside - out.'
'Yummy little witch. I'll enjoying eating the marrow from your bones, drinking the magick from your soul.'
Willow cried louder, the tears running freely down her cheeks to spill in large drops onto her arms. "I didn't call you. I didn't.. "
'Yes - you did. And there's a price to be paid for it in blood, bone, and flesh.'
"Oh Goddess." She moaned, stumbling to her feet and running to the door. She knew now what she had done. What that spell she had done had really meant. The price the creature was demanding was her life. Her feet pounded loudly on the bare wood of the floor. Shaking hands fumbled with the locks on the door, finally getting the latches all undone and the locks open. She opened the door, colliding with a hard body in her effort to get out of the apartment and away from the voice in her head, in her heart.
"Pet?" Spike gasped, nearly dropping the bag he was holding. He reached out a hand to steady the red haired witch standing in front of him, his eyes wide with concern. "What's going on?"
"I -" She stammered, flinging herself into his arms. "I made a mistake, Spike. A very, very bad mistake."
~*~Part Four~*~
Despite the fact that it was against his better nature to worry over anything in life, Spike found himself pacing anxiously through the apartment as Willow searched the internet for any clues or solutions to her current problem.
And that problem was the demon that was hot on her tail.
He frowned, glaring down at the computer screen as his witch flipped through site after site, searching desperately for something to save her from what was coming. "Anything, Red?"
The witch sighed and looked up at him. "No. Just like five minutes ago when you asked. And the five minutes before that. And before that." She snapped, her tired eyes flaring with annoyance. Her gaze softened a little at the hurt look of surprise on his face. She hadn't meant to snap at him. Not really, anyway. The events of the past few days were just catching up to her. "Sorry, I'm just antsy. It's not every day I have a demon gunning for me because I screwed something up. Go sit down and relax, I'll let you know if I find anything."
Spike looked into her pleading green eyes and nodded once, hesitantly, before making his way to the couch. He flipped on the television, running through the channels one by one until he was quite sure there was nothing that he wanted to watch. It wasn't that there was nothing worth watching - under normal circumstances he would have stopped at any one of the many shows he was simply ignoring tonight. It was just that, right now, he didn't feel like watching anything. He didn't want to laugh or cry, be excited or afraid. All he wanted was to know that his witch was safe.
And not even she could assure him right now that she would be safe.
She had explained the spell to him in detail once he had finally gotten her calmed down; what she had said only served to worry him further. She had, despite the fact that she had never done a spell of this type before, attempted to summon a grand demon from the nether realm - one that could grant one wish for her as long as she kept it contained during the course of the spell. The problem was, she hadn't been strong enough to do the spell and had ended it before she had brought the demon fully into their world. That meant that the demon was still traveling through the void between worlds and most definitely wasn't contained. Not only was it going to be breaking into their world very shortly, it also was demanding a price.
Willow's life, magic and soul.
'Stupid chit.' He frowned. 'I never would have wanted her to do this for me. Never.'
That didn't change the fact that she had, though. Or that she had been trying to do it simply to rid him of the chip that had made his life a living hell for the past few years. She had been doing it because she cared about him, just as he cared about her. From the moment she had done her spell and reminded him of why he had originally come back to Sunnyhell he had been determined to make up for lost time. And he had treated her like a Goddess ever since that time. He was hers to command, within reason.
But now she was in danger and there wasn't a damn thing he could do to help her.
~*~*~
Willow rubbed at her eyes, surprised to feel that her hands were ice cold. Not enough time had passed since she did the spell for her to be up and about as much as she had been today. She was depleting her body of the little energy it had stored back up and running a serious risk to her own life. A body could only function without energy for a short time before it started cutting off essential bodily processes.
In other words, if she kept this up she would die.
'Not that it matters.' She snorted silently, clicking on yet another website link. 'If Avasssiri gets me I'll die. If I don't rest, I'll die. There's really not much choice going on here. I either die fighting.or I just die.'
~*~*~
Spike looked up at the first soft snore that broke through the air, his heart clenching. She had fallen asleep right there, in her chair, as she searched for the means to keep the demon from getting to her. He sighed, shutting his eyes tight.
'If we were back in Sunnyhell the morons could keep her safe. They'd ring up the Watcher and he would find the solution and get it fixed. But we're not there, are we?'
And it was all his fault.
Okay, so it wasn't. She had been the one to do the spell that gave him back all of his true and rightful memories. But that was beside the point. If she hadn't gotten involved with him she would still be with her friends. For that matter, if she hadn't gotten involved with him she never would have tried the bloody spell in the first place. None of this would have happened if it weren't for him being in her life.
He stood, crossing the room to the phone sitting on the edge of the computer desk. He pulled it from the charger, keeping an eye on the red head sprawled across the keys of the computer, careful not to wake her. She would never want him to do what he was about to do. Would never agree to it. More than once she had said that those bridges were burned, never to be walked upon again.
It wasn't until he had dialed the first three numbers that he stopped to think about what he was doing. Calling the Sunnyhell crew was a good way to make sure Willow never spoke to him again. She had made it very clear that she didn't want anything to do with them ever again.
But she had never said anything about her friends in Los Angeles. Not once had she mentioned Angel or that annoying bint that worked for him. Sure, reason could lead him to assume that she didn't want to speak to them, either, but he wasn't in the mood to be reasonable, and the option of pleading ignorance at a later date offered an enticing solution. He turned the phone off then on again to reset it.
She had tried to get the chip out of his head, the least he could do was humble himself before his ponce of GrandSire.
~*~Part Five~*~
The sun was high in the sky when Willow woke, though she couldn't tell because of any natural light coming through the windows. Those were all covered by drapes thick enough to keep out the sunlight, enabling Spike to be able to walk about the apartment even during high noon if he wanted to. The room was almost too dark to see in. Spike had no trouble, but that didn't mean she was up to the task. She sighed, reaching her hand out across the bed, feeling for the smooth coolness of his skin.
Only to find that he wasn't there.
She frowned, noting for the first time that the door to the bedroom was shut, a thin glow at the bottom of the door indicating that there was a light on somewhere in the apartment. It was entirely likely that he had already woken up and had decided to just let her sleep. Why, though? Didn't he realize how important it was that she keep researching? He had to know that her life depended on it. If she didn't find a way to stop the demon from reaching their realm it would tear her apart - eat her flesh and even her soul. No Heaven or Hell for her - she would simply cease to exist. It wasn't a pleasant thought. But that's how it went; no soul, no afterlife.
She slid off the edge of the bed, wincing as her warm feet hit the coldness of the floor. She couldn't remember getting undressed the night before. Had Spike stripped her before putting her in bed? That had to be it. Otherwise she had lost time somewhere and that wouldn't be a good thing. Not good at all. Her hands groped blindly in the near-darkness, pulling a t-shirt from her dresser and slipping it over her head. The length of cloth fell to mid-thigh on her, making it more of a nightshirt than anything she'd ever wear during the day.
The light coming under the door turned out to be from the overhead light of the hallway, though she could see one of the reading lamps in the living room still on as well. And, in the semi-darkness of that room, Spike sitting on the couch. The television was on but she knew he wasn't watching it; Animal Planet generally wasn't a channel he found too amusing. "Baby?"
"Yes, pet?"
"Why're you out here?"
She saw his shoulders move as he shrugged. "Couldn't sleep."
"Ah." Moving into the room, the red head took a seat next to him, leaning her head on his shoulder. She was still pretty tired from the events of the last few days. If she lived through this entire thing she would be sure to have to take a week and just sleep - make up for lost time, as it were. "You should have woke me. I need to be researching."
He nodded. "But killing yourself before the bloody demon gets here by not resting won't do anyone any good, Red."
She knew the second he took a breath, a deep one for that matter, that he had something important to say. Something that he wasn't too happy about. It was just one of those little mannerisms of his that she had come to pick up on over their time together. The time before she and Spike had gotten together seemed like a grey spot in her memories now. He was her everything, for better or worse; he was all she had left in this world. And, at that moment, it didn't seem that bad. Whatever he had to say could very well end all of that, though. Especially if it involved him breaking up with her. Her stomach tightened, throat clenching and she waited for him to speak.
"Got somethin' to tell you, pet."
She nodded, licking her lips and whispering. "Go ahead."
"Don't want to loose you. Called Peaches. He'll be here early tomorrow morning on a redeye. Don't be mad."
Willow laughed aloud, what he had said not sinking in so much as the way he had said it. In truth, it was the closest thing to babbling she had ever heard the blonde haired vampire do. It was funny, very much so, to hear her lover ramble on as though he were, well, her.
And then what he had said prodded its way past the humor. She shut up immediately, her eyes going wide. "Angel's coming? Here?"
"And his chit and the wussy git."
"Great." Willow muttered, flopping back into the couch. She shut her eyes. "Does he know what the problem is?"
"Had to tell him to get him to come, luv."
"Amazing that he's still coming, then." Her breath came out in a sigh. Of all the people he could have called - why Angel? Why the vampire that was so much 'holier-than-thou' in attitude? If he didn't stake Spike it would be amazing. If he didn't once try to take her back to Sunnydale to get her brain de-washed, it would be a miracle.
"Yeah - don't think the ponce was too happy to find out you've been tryin' to figure out how to de-chip little old me, Red." He smirked, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her back into his arms. This was going better than he had though. At least she hadn't run screaming from the room or incinerated him where he was sitting.
Though, she was tired and maybe she just didn't feel up to it right then. There was a very real possibility she would wait until she was feeling better to take a piece out of his hide.
"Perfect." Her chuckle was humorless. "Not only do I have a demon coming after me - one that wants to take my soul and eat it like a piece of candy; now I have Angel coming to lecture me on what I should and shouldn't do with my free time." She rolled her eyes, giving her lover a glare out of the corner of her eye. "I don't know whether to zap you with lightning now or wait until later."
"How 'bout 'never'?" The vampire suggested hopefully.
Willow pulled away, raising an eyebrow at him. "I'll think about it; maybe take into consideration that you are only trying to save my life and all that." She yawned, covering her mouth with her hand. "How about you take me back to the bedroom and make me forget all about the big mean nasty Angel that's coming?"
He laughed. "What about the demon, pet."
She shrugged. "What about it? Angel's much scarier."
~*~Part Six~*~
Angel looked across the room at Willow, shaking his head in frustrated sadness. They had only been there for three short hours and already he had been forced into having words with the red head.
Ok. So maybe not forced.
It wasn't as though she had come seeking him out, looking for him to lecture her on her lifestyle or choices. No - that part had been his fault entirely. But why did she have to be so stubborn about it? Didn't she see that Spike was nothing more than a killer with a leash? A leash that she herself had tried to cut him free of?
'He'll kill her.' Angel thought sadly. 'She'll free him and then he'll kill her. He will bathe in her blood just like he's done to hundreds of mortal women throughout his time on this earth. She's not special to him. How could he care for her when he doesn't even have a soul?'
But that was the crux of the dark haired vampire's current internal debate. From everything he could see Spike -did- honestly care about Willow. He had even humbled himself and called in Angle and his staff to help find an answer to the red head's current dilemma. He was bringing her drinks, snacks, anything that she wanted. It reminded Angel a lot of how the blonde had acted with Drusilla.
And hadn't he loved Dru as best as he'd been able to?
'No.' Angel told himself firmly. 'Spike does -not- love Willow. I will not allow it. He is a soulless, merciless killer. He would kill her in an instant if it weren't for that chip in his head. This cannot be allowed to happen.'
So the question remained - just how did he plan on stopping it?
The thought had occurred to him to force Willow, in some way or form, to come back to LA with him and the others. At least then they could keep an eye on her until she came to her senses. It was a plan he was still currently debating. All he'd have to do would be get Spike out of the house and then load Willow up and take her back to LA. Once in his city, on familiar turf, there would be little that Spike could do to try to get Willow back in his arms.
And maybe, after a few weeks or months of that, she would come to her senses, see reason.
Yes. That was his plan. He'd tell the others about it later, when they went back to their hotel rooms. Once they had figured out a way to keep the demon Willow had loosed from killing her, they'd kidnap her and bring her back to LA. They'd show her how wrong her actions were. Spike wasn't in love with her and she wasn't in love with him. This was just some sort of whacked out side effect of, well, something. He wasn't quite sure on what that something was yet, but he knew he'd figure it out eventually.
Not that it mattered, they'd force this out of Willow one way or the other. There was no way he was going to watch her ruin her life with someone like Spike.
No way in Hell.
~*~*~
"He keeps staring at me." Willow whined, flopping back onto her bed. The crew of Angel Investigations were still out in the living room, working hard on the 'solution' to her problem. At least she still had her room to herself. A place where not even they dared to come.
'Probably because they're afraid they'll find me and Spike shagging like bunnies.' She thought evilly, a smile curling up one side of her mouth.
"Maybe the wanker wants you, pet. You are quite the looker, you know."
Willow laughed aloud at the idea of the boring, broody vampire that was sitting in her living room wanting her in any way at all. "That's too funny Spike." She chortled, closing her eyes. "No, really, though. It's freaking me out. I'll be glad when they're gone. Back to LA and that little old hotel they live in."
"You're not the only one, Red."
Truth be told, the blonde vampire had noticed Angel giving Willow weird, speculative looks ever since the brooding vampire and his staff had first shown up on their doorstep. It had seemed to get even more frequent after the little yelling match Willow and Broodboy had gotten into shortly after their arrival. Spike was getting worried. His grandsire was up to something.
But what?
He had to know that there was absolutely no hope of getting Willow to just up and leave. They were happy together. He also had to know that he couldn't forbid her from trying to take out the chip. If he did that it would do nothing other than make Willow want to do it even more. She was like that - forbid her to do something and she did it just for spite.
"This will all be over soon, right, Spikey?"
The red head's soft, pleading voice broke Spike out of his thoughts. He laid down next to her, drawing her small body into his arms, one free hand stroking her silken hair. "Yes, pet. It'll all be over soon."
'It has to be.' He thought. 'Or else I might end up killing Peaches on principle alone.'
~*~Part Seven~*~
The spell they found was relatively simple for something so critically necessary to Willow's continued existence.
"Basically," Wesley sighed, looking up from the ancient text he had just spent the whole night reading through. "We will need some of your blood, a lock of your hair and your magic."
"My magic?" Willow frowned. "Not sure I'm down with that, Wessy."
"Not for the rest of your life, Miss Rosenberg." He sounded annoyed. "It will come back eventually, of course."
"Like how long?" Spike demanded.
"Within a matter of weeks." The former Watcher was glaring daggers at the vampire. This was all his fault, after all. If he hadn't done whatever it was he had done to get Willow on his side she never would have tried to do this damned spell to remove that chip.
"I guess that'll be okay." Willow relented slowly. She didn't like the idea of being without her magic for even a few hours, not after the weakness she had just finished going through. But it was either this or -
"This is the only chance we have, Miss Rosenberg. You said yourself that you heard the demon again last night. If we do not do this now it may break through to reality. And then what will you do?"
The red head nodded. "Fine. Let's do it."
~*~*~
Angel watched the spell with interest, leaning against one of the living room walls. He could see Spike across the room, the blonde's eyes fixed on the witch in the center of what was now and ever-growing ring of glowing green. Things had turned out even better than he could have imagined. Not only had Wesley found a spell that would enable them to beat the demon back to whatever dimension it had come from, but it would also render Willow helpless for almost a month.
It had been pure genius on Wesley's part to come to him with the 'idea' of taking Willow away from Spike. Had the Watcher been reading his mind? Nah, not possible. There was no way in Hell Wesley could have known that this was something he himself had already decided to get done.
So Wesley had lied, telling Spike and Willow that the spell would leave her magic-less for only a week or two. It would be more like a month, at the least. Enough time for Angel to talk some sense into her. Buffy and Xander would help, too, once they realized that she had just been brainwashed by Spike somehow. He was sure that was all it was, after all. There was no way someone as full of life and innocence as Willow was could ever love a soulless killer like Spike.
The glowing was getting brighter, something the vampire could only assume was a good signal that the spell would be coming to a close soon. If it didn't, he had no idea how he was going to be able to see afterwards, the brightness was nearly blinding as it was.
"WITCH!"
The voice echoed through the apartment, not loud but definitely commanding.
"You cannot do thisss!"
"Just try and stop me, jackass."
Angel smirked. That was Willow, smart mouthed in the face of danger. Something she had learned from Xander, he knew.
There was a crackling in the air, as if something great was building up. The brightness turned up another notch, causing him to hide his eyes behind his arm. And then a scream, so primal and filled with hate it caused the hairs on the back of his neck to stand up in alarm.
But when he could bring his arm down from his eyes again, it was over. He could tell by the pleased smile on Wesley's face that everything had gone according to plan.
Now to implement the final step.
He walked around the room, coming up behind Spike as the blonde haired vampire helped Willow to her feet. At least Cordelia had chosen not to be present for the spell. He wouldn't have to explain things to her just yet.
Lightning quick, Angel slammed his elbow into the back of Spike's head. The vampire fell to the ground in a heap, just as Willow opened her mouth to scream.
Only to be stopped by a chloroformed rag to the mouth. She struggled mightily for a moment and then gave in to the fumes, slumping into Wesley's arms. The dark haired man looked up at Angel, an ironic grin on his face.
"Well, that went well, I'd say."
~*~Part Eight~*~
Willow came to slowly, the pounding in her head making each particle of light she let in through her squinted lids dance and sparkle like a thousand watt bulb. It made her headache worse, causing the dull throbbing to become a horrendous slamming in her brain. Just turning her head set of sparkles of pain in her head and she squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block out anything that may cause her head to hurt more.
And while she did that, she tried to sort through her thoughts.
The last thing she remembered was completing the ritual to send the demon she had inadvertently summoned back to its dimension. Then a rag had been placed over her mouth, chloroform she assumed. She could remember looking across the room, seeing Angel knock Spike out. Then there had been blackness and nothingness. The next thing she remembered was now, waking up, hurting.
Mixed with her pain was confusion. Angel had done this to her. Or allowed it to happen, helped it happen. It didn't matter which. He wasn't innocent in all of this. Neither was Wesley. They had done nothing short of abduct her, as far as she was concerned. But for what purpose? That was the real mystery.
She opened her eyes slowly, forcing herself to work past the pain she was feeling. There was no time for her to lay here and feel sorry for herself. No time for her to let her headache pass. People she had considered her friends or, at the very least, allies, had turned against her. There was no telling what they had planned for her or what they could have done to Spike while she was unconscious.
The first thing she noticed when she began to try to move was that she was tied down. Her arms were tied loosely to the sides of the bed, allowing her enough room to not grow cramped, but still restricting her. If it were that alone she wouldn't have been able to get up. But that wasn't all. Her feet had been tied as well, though they were tied together and *then* tied to the bed. She wouldn't be able to even sit up in this condition, much less make her way to the door and then out of wherever they had stashed her.
She closed her eyes again, searching within herself for a little snippet of magic, just enough to get the ropes off of her.
But there was nothing.
A soft gasp escaped her lips. Whatever Angel and Wesley wanted her for, they had gone through great precautions to make sure she wouldn't be able to get away from them. Her magic was gone, restrained by a spell of some sort that Wesley had no doubt cooked up. She couldn't imagine Angel had done that part all on his own. From what she understood he didn't tangle with magic. And why was it necessary for him to with Wesley hanging on his every order?
A tear leaked from her eye, rolling down the side of her face, over the ridge of her ear, and then off of her earlobe. From there it fell onto her hair. She felt betrayed and hurt. Not just the pain in her body, in her head, but the pain in her heart that could only come from this type of intimate betrayal. Angel was supposed to be her friend. So was Wesley. Had Cordelia been a part of this? No, not possible. The brunette would never have been able to keep her mouth shut long enough to pull off a scheme like this. And she had seemed genuinely worried.
But it could have all been an act. That was certainly possible. Angel and Wesley had seemed worried, too. And they had turned on her.
Was there never going to be something in her life that went off without a hitch?
~*~*~
Spike was furious.
His Grandsire had betrayed him.
He had taken Red and left him bound on the floor of their apartment. It had taken the blonde haired vampire nearly a full day to finally work the ropes until they were weak enough for him to snap. He had been weak at that point and had been forced to drag himself to the refrigerator. Pint after pint of blood he had sucked down, ignoring the cold taste in his mouth. If Willow had been there she would have heated it up for him.
But she wasn't there.
And that was the source of the rage currently burning in his unbeating heart.
It didn't take someone with Willow's talents to figure out where Angel had taken her, though. Back to California. Most likely to Los Angeles. They would try to brainwash her into believing that she had never loved him; that she had never cared.
They wouldn't succeed.
A cold light entered the vampire's eyes as he walked to the bedroom. He needed to pack some things. There was an entire country for him to cross before he could get his Red back.
And when he found her?
They would pay dearly.
Very dearly.
~*~Part Nine~*~
She had been awake for no more than an hour, by her guess, when someone finally came to check on her. The sound of the knob turning was the first clue. It turned slowly, as though whoever was on the outside was being cautious. Good. They should be. If and when she got free they would be in for a world of pain. Pain that she would personally deal out with her own two hands.
"You're awake."
Willow snorted, refusing to look into Angel's face as he stepped into the room.
"You care?"
"Of course I do, Willow." He frowned, kneeling next to the bed. "You're my friend."
"Friend?" She hissed, turning to glare at him at last. "Friend? This is how you treat your *friends*?" A hollow laugh escaped her lips. "No wonder you have so few of them."
"Will -"
"Shut up!" She screamed. "I don't want to hear you talk until you let me out of these chains. And *then* you will talk only after I am done making you scream!"
The venom in her words was almost enough to knock Angel flat on his ass. He stood up, turning his back on the furious woman on the bed.
"You don't know what you're saying. Spike has corrupted you."
"Corrupted me?" She laughed. "Not hardly, Angel. He loves me, cares for me. So much more than Buffy ever did. Or anyone else for that matter. He's a better friend than you or Wussy will ever be."
"You don't mean that." Angel said flatly, turning back to look at her. He couldn't believe the hatred that was flashing in her eyes or the coldness of her words. It was almost too much to bear and, if he didn't think he was doing the absolute right thing, he would have felt bad, guilty even.
But he *was* doing the right thing and she did need his help, no matter what she thought at this moment. This was all going to turn out alright in the end.
"Don't mean it?" She smirked. "Let me out of these chains and see how much I mean it, Angel. You can't keep me chained up forever. Spike will be coming to get me. And when he does - "
The words trailed off, a threat that was both made and not made. When Spike got there he would deal with Angel and set her free, allowing her to take out Wesley and anyone else who would stand in their way. It was their fault for doing this.
"We're friends, Willow. Think about that. Don't you trust me?"
"All I can think right now, Angel, is that I'm sorry I ever gave you your soul back. I'm sorry that the Powers that Be let you out of Hell. Because you certainly deserve to be there for all of eternity. Or longer."
"You aren't being reasonable -"
She whipped her head around, glaring directly into his big brown eyes.
"Reasonable. You kidnap me, chain me up and take away my only method of self-defense and *I'm* the one being unreasonable? Give me a break Angel. Why don't you and Wussy go off and celebrate kidnapping one of your *friends*. Go out and get drunk. Party like there's no tomorrow for all I care. Because, when I get free, there will be no tomorrow for you two."
She shut her eyes then, turning her head so that it was clear that she would no longer be speaking with him. A hot rage burned in her chest, scorching her from the inside out. She meant what she said. When she got free of these chains, free of the binding spell, there would be no where on Earth for Angel and Wesley to hide. They would fall before her and she would enjoy it.
The door opened and then shut with a click, leaving her alone again. Alone with thoughts of escape.
And revenge.
~*~*~
"Well? How did it go?"
Angel shook his head, sighing.
"She's upset. Still delusional that Spike cares for her."
Cordelia looked up from the magazine she had been reading, giving Angel a cold glare. "Upset? Gee, I wonder why? Couldn't be because two people she *thought* she could trust betrayed her, could it?"
"I don't see you running up there to help her out, Miss Chase." Wesley smirked.
"Well, now. That would be because I don't want to die, wouldn't it?" Cordelia sniped back. "She doesn't know I had nothing to do with it and I'll be damned if I'm going to get turned into a human pyre just because the two of you don't know when to let things be!"
"Cordelia -"
"What, Angel? You want me to stop ranting? Then go up there and let her go."
"I can't do that." He sighed. "She'll just go back to Spike."
"So?" Cordelia persisted. "She'll go back to someone that really hasn't done anything to hurt her in the entire time they've been together. Prove to me that he doesn't love her."
"He cannot possibly love her, Cordelia." Wesley interrupted. "He is a demon."
"And so is Angel."
"Angel has a soul." The former Watcher argued, his voice low with what he hoped was a calming edge of reason.
"So demons can't love?" She raised an eyebrow. "Then tell me why he cared for that loony toon Drusilla so much? Hmm?" She looked from one of them to the other, waiting for a response. "Right, then. You can't give me a reason. You know why? Its because he actually *is* capable of caring and you two morons are too delusional to realize it. And I, for one, am not sticking around to see what happens when the bleached wonder comes looking for her. I'll see you in a few days, if you're still alive."
She stood and grabbed her purse, throwing her boss and co-worker one last glare over her shoulder.
"On second thought - was nice knowing the two of you. Hope Hell is comfortable at this time of year."
~*~Part Ten~*~
He was getting closer. She could feel it in the bond they shared through countless instances of shared blood. Never enough to Turn her, but still enough to create a bond between them that could not be broken, could not be dampened. She knew when he was near, like now. He had to be in the city already, if not within a few blocks of her. The weak link they shared was getting stronger by the moment, as he drew ever closer.
And when he got there .
She laughed, her eyes shut. Images of the carnage she was going to let him wreak on his Grandsire drifting in and out of her mind, like a slide show of horrors. Blood would be spilled very shortly, friendships irrevocably broken.
Not that they could be repaired now. Not with the way things had gone. Angel had gone too far, Wesley too. She didn't know if Cordelia had played a part in it all, but she would give the brunette a chance to explain her side of things before she sought retribution. Let it not be said that she was quick to leap to judgment. She would have an even head in this and make it easier to have the punishments for the wicked stretch out over days if she felt like it.
Blood was going to flow, heads were going to roll.
They'd rue the day they decided that she needed to be cleansed of Spike.
If they lived.
~*~*~
Spike stood in the shadows, watching his Grandsire's building, pulling long, heavy drags from his cigarette, the acrid smoke filling his long-dead lungs. He exhaled, blowing it into the air, the smoke obscuring his vision for a moment before it dissipated. She was in there. His Red. The one they had taken from him.
How dare Angel decide that he knew best for Red? She was an adult and, last time he checked, that meant she had the right to make her own decisions, be they good or bad.
The cheerleader had stormed out nearly an hour before, flouncing off to her car with an expression so wickedly angry that he knew right away that she had nothing to do with Willow's disappearance. He had been tempted then to go to her, to ask for her help in freeing Red. But that could all end up so badly. No matter how much she was against Angel kidnapping a 'friend', there was no way in all of Hell that she would want to help him. Even in a matter such as this.
So he had waited, patiently, for an opening, a sign.
One wouldn't be long in coming.
~*~*~
"The spell will be wearing off soon."
Angel looked up at Wesley.
"Well - can't let that happen. She'll level the building."
Wesley nodded. "I'll need some more supplies. Shouldn't take me more than fifteen minutes."
The vampire nodded absently. "How much more time do you think the spell has left?"
The former Watcher paused in putting on his jacket, doing a quick mental calculation.
"Bloody hell. Not even an hour. I'll be back soon."
He was gone before Angel could say anything else, though the scent of his fear lingered on. Angel didn't blame him. Not one bit. If Willow got her magics back they'd both be doomed. Their only hope was to keep her disarmed long enough to convince her that what they had done was for her own good.
No matter how long that took.
It was like weaning someone off of drugs, he reasoned - a labor of love. He cared for Willow and she deserved much better than what Spike could offer her. All she had to do was be away from him long enough to realize that for herself.
He could still see her eyes, filled with such hate, glaring at him and threatening him with all of the passion in her soul. How badly Spike had twisted her in such a short time! She no longer could see reason, could see that they were doing what was best for her. Hadn't she always trusted them to do what was right before? Why couldn't she just be like that now, when they needed her to be? Spike was bad for her. He was a vampire, after all. One without a soul.
And creatures without souls were incapable of loving or caring.
The lobby of the hotel seemed large and empty without Wesley there. He was the only person there, except for Willow, and she wasn't one for conversation at the moment. Maybe in another day or two. Hopefully by then she would start to have come to her senses. Once she started being friendly again he'd be able to get Cordelia to come back to work.
Yes, everything was going to fall right into place very shortly.
He felt, more than saw, the blow that came next. The one to the back of his head that sent him falling to the floor. A flash of blonde in the corner of his eye as he fell was the only clue he had to his attacker. And even then he had to wonder, in that split second, how he had gotten so caught up in his own thoughts that he hadn't felt his attacker the second he got close to him.
"Spike.." He mumbled, darkness overtaking him.
Hell had arrived.
~*~Part Eleven~*~
Consciousness was slow in coming to Angel, despite that wondrously quick vampiric healing he had always assumed he had. The last thing he could remember was seeing Spike as he fell to the floor; the back of his head feeling like it had just been split open. Then there had been nothing until now. He opened his eyes, expecting to see, at the very least, Spike looming over him, leering and smirking. Maybe tossing a few snide remarks his way.
But there was only darkness.
A darkness so black that there was no light for his keen sense of sight to latch onto and give him even a hint of shape or shadow within the enclosed space he found himself -
Chained in?
He groaned, banging his head on the floor in frustration. Chains bounds his hands and feet. Pulling at them didn't do anything except chafe his wrists and ankles. Magically enhanced. That was just great. And what it implied was even better.
Willow was back at full strength. The tone and weight of the threats she had made to him came rushing back like a great tidal wave of force, slamming into his already aching head and making him wince with trepidation. He had to have been out long enough for Wesley to come back to the building which meant that the former Watcher had, no doubt, walked right into their waiting arms.
Which mean that the only ally he had was probably just as bad off as he was, if not worse.
"Fuck."
~*~*~
Wesley groaned, his head pounding with pain as he slowly came back to reality. He really didn't know what had happened. One moment he had been walking back into the Hyperion with the supplies they needed to do another binding spell on Willow, and the next -
The next he had been hit by something rather large and hard, he surmised, judging by the pain in his head.
"Are you awake yet, little man?"
The former Watcher's eyes snapped open, his mouth working furiously though no sound was coming from it.
"Cat got your tongue?" Willow smirked, kneeling in front of the dark haired man, an evil smile on her tired face. "Or are you just scared stupid? If -I- were in your position I'd certainly be scared. Terrified even."
"Now, Willow." Wesley finally managed to get out. He winced as her hand shot out, connecting with his cheek sharply. The sound echoed through the lobby, bouncing off of the walls.
"Don't you -dare- speak my name." She hissed through clenched teeth. Her hands were on his knees now, fingernails digging into the flesh though his casual gray slacks. She could see his eyes widen with pain, the pressure she was exerting bringing her nails through the cloth and into his skin. She felt something wet and knew that she had drawn blood. Good. It wouldn't be the last drop of his blood to be spilled before the night was over.
"C'mon, Wes. Scream." She giggled, her nails going ever so much deeper into his knees. She had spent the time while he was unconscious sharpening them with a file she found in Cordelia's desk, in anticipation of the torture she was going to mete out to him.
"No." Wesley gasped. "I will not scream."
"Yes." She murmured, letting go of his knees and standing up, her eyes cold as ice. "You will. Maybe not right now. But soon, I think."
"Miss Rosenberg." He began, his face wet with sweat borne of pain and concentration. "Please, think this through. We were only trying to do what was right - "
"Right?" She growled. "RIGHT? You KIDNAPPED me, Wesley. You and your self-righteous boss of a demon KIDNAPPED me!" Her screaming rant echoed out through the lobby, a ringing peal of fury and hate. "I don't think you have the slightest idea what the word -right- even means."
Wesley felt a chill slide over his arms as her eyes turned an unearthly black, a cold wind rustling through the lobby, pushing papers off of the front desk. He felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end as she advanced on him again. Lightning crackled against the darkness of her eyes and on the tips of her fingers, playful little sparks that didn't seem to harm her a bit.
But, as her hands came down on his face, he knew the true pain of electricity as it coursed through his body, his skin. He shut his eyes, screaming for mercy, for release.
"Good boy." Willow whispered, inaudible amidst the screams of her captive. "I told you I'd make you scream."
~*~*~
Angel tried his best not to flinch as the leather strap came down again, biting into the open wounds already in his back. He could hear Wesley screaming somewhere else in the hotel, the man's pained cries letting Angel know that he was, at least, still alive.
For now.
"Just do it, Spike." The older vampire growled, eyeing his Grandchild with as much contempt as he could muster at that moment.
"Do what, Peaches?"
"Kill me."
Spike laughed. "Not going to be doing that. No, mate, you get to live out the rest of your poncey life knowing that you alienated one of the only true friends you ever had. Red will never speak to you again. She gave you your soul and you betrayed her. How's that for irony?"
The words hurt worse than the strap had, or the knife before that. He knew, in his heart, that Spike was right. He would never know Willow's friendship again. In fact, he'd be lucky to ever see her after this.
"Tell me, Gramps." Spike smirked. "Did the cheerleader bint have anything to do with this?"
Angel shook his head, his eyes closed in pain. "No. Cordelia was against this."
"Good. I sorta like that one. She's all fire and spite. Me and Red'll have to drop by and say hi to her before we skip town."
Another scream of anguish came up through the floor, from the lobby, and Angel winced.
"Does Willow know that you don't intend to kill us?"
Spike looked at Angel for a long moment, his brain working fast.
"No, I don't s'pose she does." The blonde admitted. He raised an eyebrow as another scream cut through the otherwise quiet building, a small, proud smile on his face. "I think I'll go let her know. You just sit tight, Gramps. We'll send someone to let you go as soon as we're out of town."
Spike walked to the door, turning to give Angel one last, hate-filled look. "Don't ever come near us again. I won't be responsible for what she does to you next time."
~*~Part Twelve~*~
Willow sulked for nearly three hours after they finally left Los Angeles, her arms crossed and face petulant.
"C'mon, luv. Enough with the pouting."
The red head turned to him, eyebrow arched. "If you didn't want me to pout you shouldn't have stopped me from killing Wussy."
That made the vampire chuckle. "As much as I'd love to see you covered in the poncey bastard's blood, I don't think you could live with yourself afterwards."
She shook her head. "He kidnapped me. I don't think I would have lost sleep over killing him."
By the time Spike had come back down to stop her she had already filled Wesley up with electricity, shredded his clothes from his body by a whirlwind of tiny daggers, and shoved spikes of ice into his thighs. Things had been progressing along rather nicely, in her opinion. She had heard him scream, beg, plead and, finally, cry.
But then Spike had decided that play time was over.
'You can't just kill him, pet', he had said in that oh-so-reasonable voice, laying a hand gently on her arm and pulling her away from the beaten and bruised man. He was worried for her conscience, he had told her; and he had maintained that reasoning right up to this moment. She supposed it must be the truth if he was clinging to it so hard. He certainly couldn't have any feelings of friendship for Angel and Wesley that made him stop her from slaughtering them like they so richly deserved.
"You would have regretted it eventually, Red." Spike sighed, giving her a stern look out of the corner of his eye. "It would have eaten you apart from the inside out and destroyed some of the things I love most about you."
That placated her, if only a little bit.
"Still would have liked to have cut off his testicles." She seethed, smiling ever so slightly.
"Maybe next time, pet."
Willow snorted. "There sure as hell better not be a next time."
"Can you two keep it down? I'm trying to get some sleep back here."
Willow laughed, turning in her seat to give Cordelia a grin. "Sorry, 'Delia. Didn't mean to disturb you with my temper tantrum."
"S'ok." The brunette mumbled tiredly, returning the grin. "Just don't let it happen again."
"Yeah, yeah." Spike smirked. "The chit needs her beauty sleep, Red."
"Right." Willow drawled, giving Cordelia a playful wink. She had been almost happy to find out that the brunette had nothing to do with the plot to kidnap her and, when Cordelia had told her how she had stormed out of Angel's offices, Willow had known that the brunette didn't deserve to be around that overbearing vampire any more than she did.
So they had made her an offer.
Come with them. See the States. Find somewhere and settle down far, far away from pretentious vampires and seething Slayers.
Amazingly, Cordelia had agreed. She had packed a bag on the spot, making a final call to Lorne from her home phone to tell him to go untie Angel and Wesley. She didn't want to be around people that could betray their friends that badly - it was only a matter of time and circumstance until it happened to her.
"You okay?"
Cordelia gave Willow a small smile, tearing herself out of the thoughts that were plaguing her.
"Just tired. A lot happened today."
Willow nodded. "Get some rest. I'll wake you up when we stop." She turned around, leaving the brunette to get the rest she so badly needed. Goddess knew she could use some rest herself, but that wouldn't be possible until they found someplace to stay for the day. They'd be going back to their New York apartment only long enough to pack up their things and then it was off to somewhere new, somewhere different.
Somewhere were Angel wouldn't be able to find them.
Because, if he did, this time she wouldn't hold back. She didn't take threats against herself or her loved ones lightly. And kidnapping was a form of threat. If it ever happened again -
She smiled, leaning her head against Spike's shoulder, watching as the scenery flew by in front of them. Thought of blood and pain filled her mind, her heart. It wasn't like her to think of those things, but Angel's betrayal had broken something in her. She'd be damned if she ever let it happen again.
And he'd be damned straight to Hell if he tried.
~*~The End~*~