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Parts 1-2

Willow looked around her dorm room one more time before zipping up her bag. She tried to remember if she had forgotten anything. Satisfied that she hadn’t, she grabbed her bag and headed out the door.

*********

As Willow walked across the park, towards Giles house, thinking about what lay ahead of her.  Giles had asked her to spend the weekend vamp sitting.  Ok, ask isn’t really the correct word.  He had told her that she would be vamp sitting.  He had assumed that she had no plans. Since she didn’t celebrate the holiday, there wasn’t anything for her to do, at least that’s what everyone thought.

  Buffy was spending the holiday with her mother.  Xander was spending it with Anya, and Giles was going to visit his lady friend, Olivia.  Consequently, that left Spike alone, so she had been volunteered to watch him.
  Willow didn't see what the big deal was. It’s not like Spike could go out and snack on some unsuspecting person.  Giles didn’t even tie him up anymore.  She supposed that he could run, but she knew he wouldn’t.  Spike wanted to stick around, to undo what had been done, if for no other reason.
  But being who she was, Willow didn’t make a big deal about haven’t to spend the weekend at Giles’ place.  It’s not that she minded spending three days alone with Spike, the idea actually intrigued her.  There was something about the blond vampire that made her all tingly.  It had taken awhile to realize that she had a crush on him. She knew the idea was beyond ridiculous.  He was a vampire, an incredibly hot vampire, but a vampire nonetheless. A part of her didn’t care.  Buffy had dated a vampire, so why couldn’t she?
  At the same time Willow knew this train of thought only served to delude her.  * It’s not as if he likes me! * She thought to herself.  Why would any man, much less a sexy undead one, want boring old Willow?

**********

“Now, You had better behave yourself!” Giles tried to sound serious as he spoke to Spike in a parental tone. * Who am I kidding? * Giles asked himself. * He’s more than twice my age!  And besides, I most certainly do NOT want him to behave himself! *

“I got it!  When will she be here?” Spike asked trying to sound indifferent.  The fact was he couldn’t wait for the watcher to leave.  He had taken a fancy to the redhead.  She always talked to him like he was a person.  He wasn’t of course, but still he enjoyed talking to her.  She always listened to him, and was irritated when everyone seemed to gang up on him, not that he needed protection, but he enjoyed watching her get riled up.  She had such fire buried beneath the surface.  Sometimes he could see it in her green eyes. He was amazed that her friends seemed so oblivious to so many aspects of her personality.

“Spike?  Spike?”  Spike had been so immersed in his own thoughts he hadn’t noticed the watcher was speaking to him.
“What?” Spike snapped.
“I was saying she should be here soon.  What were you thinking about anyway?”  Giles asked curious to what the vampire would come up with.  Giles was not an idiot.  He knew that the vampire was attracted to Willow.  He also knew that Willow had a crush on Spike.  With any luck, they’d both have a Merry Christmas, although neither really celebrated the holiday.

Before Spike could answer the question, there was a knock at the door.  After a moment Willow opened the door and peeked her head inside.
“Am I late?”  She asked surveying the room.  Giles was at his desk, making sure he didn’t forget anything. Spike was on the couch.  He looked irritated.  Willow hoped he wasn’t upset that he had to spend the weekend with her.

“No.  You’re just in time.  I uh, I have to get going.”  Giles told her as he grabbed his bags, “There’s food in the fridge, and I left a number you can reach me at, if there’s an emergency.  Have a nice time.”  Giles walked out to his car, hoping they did indeed have a nice time.

Willow set her bag down and followed Giles out to his car.
“Merry Christmas Giles.  Don’t worry, I’m sure everything will be just fine.  Spike will behave himself.  I don’t really think he needs a babysitter.”  Willow told him, wondering, not for the first time why Giles had insisted she spend the weekend at his house.

Giles smiled.  “You’re probably right, but, just to be safe.”  Willow nodded.
“Ok.  I’ll see you on Tuesday?”  She asked.
“Yes.  And don’t forget, be careful.  Don’t go out at night, unless you bring him with you, okay?”
Willow smiled, “understood.  Now have a nice time.  Tell Olivia I said Merry Christmas.” Willow turned around and walked back into the house.

Spike was still sitting on the couch; however, he didn’t look irritated anymore.  Willow took that as a good sign.
“So, What will we do for three days?”  She asked.  She was too busy looking at the floor to notice Spike smirking.

 *********

Willow stood there staring at him for a long moment.  She wasn’t sure what to do.  Here she was, alone with A gorgeous guy, of the undead variety, and she didn’t know what to do.
“Red?”
Willow realized she was staring and started to blush. “I, uh, I’m gonna go put my stuff away.  Yeah, that’s what I’ll do.”  She started heading up to Giles spare bedroom.  Once there she sat on the bed.  * What am I going to do? * She asked herself.  When Giles had first told her about staying here, she thought it was an interesting, if unnecessary, idea.  But now, faced with serious alone time with her secret crush, she was suddenly feeling nervous.  Willow looked at the clock and noticed it was almost sundown.  Maybe they could go out, and do something fun.  Although she wasn’t sure what Spike would consider fun.

When she returned Spike was in the kitchen heating up his dinner.
“Hey, red. All settled?”  She smiled at him.  “Yep, so what would you like to do?”  She asked.
“Oh, I don’t know.  I thought maybe you make me some more cookies.”
 “Are you ever going to let me forget that?”  Willow smiled.
“No, luv.  You made me kiss that nasty slayer!”  Spike growled softly.
Willow grinned. “Now, you know you enjoyed kissing Buffy.  Who wouldn’t? Not that I would, but you know what I mean.”
“No, what do you mean?”  Spike asked, curious.
“Well, I mean, everybody likes Buffy.  So what guy wouldn’t want to kiss her, instead of…” She stopped realizing what she almost said.
“Instead of?”  He prodded.
“Hey!  You want to go out?”  She asked, hoping he wouldn’t notice the change in subject.
“Not so fast, pet. Instead of what?”
“Well, I know I’m not like Buffy, or even Cordelia.  Nobody wants to kiss someone like me.  So naturally everyone would like to kiss her.” Willow knew she was babbling again, but she couldn’t seem to think clearly.
“The Slayer’s got nothing on you luv.”  He told her honestly.  Willow looked skeptical.
“You don’t have to say that, really.”  Willow felt self-conscious.  He was staring at her with a look she didn’t recognize.
“Look, it’s almost dark.  Do you want to go out and do something?” She really wanted to change the subject. She didn’t like being the object of his pity.
“Sure, luv.  What would you like?”  Spike knew she was trying to change the subject.  He let her knowing he had three days alone with her.

***********

  Spike and Willow decided to go to a movie.  When it was over, they took a walk through the park.
“So, red, would this constitute a date?”  He asked, trying to gauge her reaction.
“A date?  No, not a date.  Why would you call it a date?  Would you want it to be a date?  No, of course you wouldn’t.”
Spike chuckled at the blush that was creeping across her features.
“Well, we went to a movie, which I paid for, and now we’re having a moonlit stroll through the park.  It sounds like a date to me.”  He grinned.
Willow stopped.  She thought she was going to pass out.
“You can’t be serious?”  She asked him.  “No, of course you’re not, why would you want to go out with me?” She whispered the last part, however Spike's vampire hearing heard her.  He walked back to where she was standing in utter confusion.
“Pet, I don’t know who’s been filling your head with nonsense, but there is nothing wrong with you.” She didn’t look at him, she couldn’t.  She knew that his words were meant to make her feel better, but she wanted them to be true.
“Willow” His use of her name surprised her.  He never called her by her name. She looked up at him and found something in his eyes she never expected to see, sadness.
“Willow, why would you think that I wouldn’t want to go out with you?”
His tone was soft.  She didn’t know what to tell him, so she opted for the truth.
“Why would anybody, living or undead, want to go out with me?  I’m just boring old Willow” She paused for a moment, trying to hold back the tears, “Xander didn’t want me, Oz didn’t want me.  The only one who did was a demon in the body of a robot.  It figures.” Willow turned and ran.  She couldn’t face his pity.  She couldn’t believe she had said those things to him.  She ran back to Giles house and ran into the bedroom, hoping that when Spike returned, he would leave her alone.

**********

Spike was filled with a sudden desire to beat the crap out of Xander, and the wolf.  Although he had grown to have an odd sort of respect for Xander.  He had been forced to spend time with the boy when Giles had his friend stay with him, and as annoying as he was, he did have his moments.
  But hearing Willow speak about how nobody wanted her nearly broke his dead heart.  He had a strong urge to mend her broken heart, to heal her pain.  He walked back to the house, slowly, giving her time to calm down.

**********

When Spike entered the house, he knew she had gone upstairs, to hide.  He climbed up the stairs quietly.  When he reached the door he knocked once, and then entered before she had a chance to answer.

Willow was sitting on the bed staring at the floor, looking like somebody had punched her in the stomach.
“Luv?”  She didn’t answer him, just kept staring at the floor.  He went to sit down next to her on the bed.
“Willow” She looked up then.
“Why do you keep calling me that?” She asked, her voice soft.
“That is your name isn’t it?”
“You usually call me luv, or ducks, or pet, or red.  I don’t think you’ve ever called me by my name, until tonight.”
“What would you like me to call you?”  He asked quietly
“It doesn’t matter.  I like Red.  You say it like… I don’t know, Like I’m special.”  She blushed as she said the last part.  Spike grinned, and looked at her, “You are.”  When she returned her gaze to the floor, he gently took her face in his hands and tilted her head up so her green eyes were looking into his blue ones.
“I don’t know what people have been telling you, but, you are special. I rather fancy you.”  Spike knew that what he was doing, what he wanted to do, was not what the watcher had in mind when he told them to have a nice time.
“You don’t have to…” Her words were cut off as he bent down and captured her warm lips with his own. The kiss was searing, and had his heart been beating, it would have skipped a few beats. Willow pulled away first, needing oxygen.
“What… What was that?”  She asked, still shocked, not only from his actions but because she had never felt so powerful a kiss, not even with Oz.

*********

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