No Rest For The Wicked

Author: "Lilith"

Pairings: Willow/Spike (the rest will be a surprise!)

Rating: NC-17(eventually)

Premise: I can't quit thinking about Willow coming on the show, this
is how I imagine it would go. And maybe if I wish hard enough it will
come true!

Disclaimer: Joss is god.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
 

Chapter One

Los Angeles

Willow sat on the low stone wall in front of the Wolfram and
Hart building.  She had been sitting there for the last half hour.
She wanted to go inside, truly she did.  She also did not want to go
in.  Once she talked to Angel that would be it.  She would be well on
her way to discovering who or what she was.  She wanted to know,
truly she did.  However, sitting out here, in the sunlight, she could
pretend for just a little longer that she was still just Willow
Rosenberg, a girl from Sunnydale.  It was a beautiful day in Los
Angeles.  For once the sky was a clear blue, without even the hint of
smog.  The birds were warbling.  There was a gentle wind.  She could
smell the flowers in the bed behind her.  Every person that walked by
seemed to have been infected by the beautiful day.  She wished it
could infect her in the same way.  She sighed, knowing she couldn't
sit outside all day, pretending.  She'd come all this way, it was
time.
 

"Harmony, come in here," Angel barked into the telephone.
"Someone woke up on the wrong side of his plush bed," Spike
sprawled on the couch in Angel's office, enjoying his morning ritual
of verbally tormenting Angel.
"Shut up, Spike," Angel sighed deeply, "Don't you have
someone else to torture this morning?"
"No, why got someone in mind?" Spike gave Angel a smile that
didn't reach his eyes.
"What's up, boss?" Harmony enquired as she walked in.
"Did you set up this appointment at noon?" Angel asked,
calmly he thought, "With a Zaum demon?"
"No, that was Gunn," Harmony replied, uneasy at the look
Angel was giving her, "Honestly! He said that he would talk to you
about it. Please don't kill me."
"He's not going too, you silly bint," Spike sighed, "If he
was going to kill you, it would have been months ago.  Don't you get
what a complete ponce he is when it comes to pretty women?"
"Aw, blondie bear, you still think I'm pretty?" Harmony
smiled her vacuous grin at Spike.
"Bloody hell," Spike sighed again. "I'm so bored."
"I can help you with that, Spike," Gunn strolled into the
room, "I've got plenty of room in the Security Department. We might
even have a uniform in your size."
"Sod off, Perry.  Just cuz I'm stuck to this damn company
doesn't mean I have to work for it."
"You did say you were bored, Spikey," Harmony chimed in.
"Shutup, Harm."
"Aw, the morning meeting has commenced," Wesley
chuckled, "And here I thought I might have missed  something
important."
"Wes," Angel stood up from behind his desk and perched
instead on the edge of it, "Any luck with breaking the spell that
keeps Captain Peroxide glued to my side?"
"Actually Angel," Wes started.
Spike sat up quickly, "You found something?!"
"No," Wes smiled, "I just needed a place to sit." That said,
Wes sat down on the couch.
"Ponce." Spike snarled.
"Spike!" Fred entered the room and as usual tried to bring
peace to the contentious group in Angel's office. "You promised, no
more fighting at the morning meetings."
"Bloody hell," Spike muttered and sat back on the couch, arms
folded across his chest.
The others all sat down and waited to hear what Angel would
have to say.
"Gunn, why do I have an appointment with a Zaum demon,
today?" Angel began.
"He's having trouble with an M'Fashnik, independent
contractor.  It seems that the M'Fashnik wiped out Egro's entire
family. Now he's asking for protection from the firm.  He's been a
client for ten years."
"Gunn, Zaum demons are killers.  Why are we helping this
one?"
"He's connected to several of our other clients.  And when I
say several I mean several hundred.  If we don't help him, the
potential for our other clients to find other lawyers is high," Gunn
replied.
"Well, that sounds good.  Get rid of a bunch of evil clients
at once, right?" Fred asked.
"In theory, yes," Wes jumped in, "But remember what Eve said,
we still have to keep the business afloat."
Angel sighed and sat down amongst his friends and Spike.
This was the part of the business he hated.  For every evil client
they dispensed with, there were a hundred more that they had to help
just to keep the business afloat.  He just wasn't sure they would
ever maintain any kind of equilibrium.
"What a quandary? However will Captain Forehead resolve it?"
"Spike!" Angel snarled, "Shut the hell up!"
"Make me," Spike snarled back, jumping to his feet.
Quicker than any of the humans or Spike could see it coming,
Angel's fist lashed out and sent Spike sprawling to the ground.
Spike turned his head and spit blood out on the carpet.
"Oh great, now I've got to get that out today," Harmony
muttered.
Fred stood up and faced Angel, "Stop that!  You're both
acting like children!! When will you stop this?? I didn't spend all
that time figuring out how to make Spike corporeal just so you could
make him incorporeal again!"
"He started it," Angel muttered.
"Real mature, peaches," Spike snarled as he stood up.
"Spike, sit down," Wes stated quietly. "Harmony, would you
excuse us for a moment please."
"Why should I listen to you? You're not the boss of...."
"Harmony!" Angel growled.
"Okay, okay, I always have to go just when things are getting
good," Harmony sulked as she walked towards the door.
"No listening at the door again, Harm," Spike ordered.
"Whatever," Harmony slammed the door as she left.
"Whatever is going on between the two of you is irrelevant.
What is relevant is the running of this business, so if the two of
you need to beat each other senseless, please do it after business
hours," Wesley stated quietly, but with that hint of steel in his
voice that still made Fred all quivery.
"It really isn't good for morale," Fred chimed in, trying to
ease tension.
"Not to mention how much it's costing us in broken furniture
and replacing expensive statuary," Gunn joined in.
"I told you, he pushed me into that!" Spike defended.
"I thought you were still a ghost!" Angel snarled.
"Well, it's nice to see that some things don't change,"
Willow smiled from the doorway.
"Willow!"
Willow crossed the room and hugged Angel quickly and then
turned to Spike.
"Willow!" Fred smiled
  "What are you doing here?" Wes questioned.
"Is there trouble?" Gunn asked.
"Hullo, Red," Spike said quietly.
"Spike," Willow smiled one of her all-out-light-up-the-whole-
room smiles, that Spike hadn't realized he'd missed so much, and
threw her arms around Spike's neck. "Thank you," she whispered into
his ear.
Spike's arms went around Willow reflexively at first and then
held her tighter as her words penetrated.  He buried his face into
her neck and lifted her against him.  She smelled so familiar, felt
so warm in his arms, but most of all she was Willow.  She was a
friend. "You're welcome."
Willow leaned back and smiled again, "I'm so glad you're
alive, well sort of alive in the whole undead kind of way. You still
are undead aren't you?"
Spike laughed, glad to hear her ramble once again, "Ya, still
a vampire."
Angel glared at Spike.  He didn't like how much longer Willow
was embracing Spike.  He also didn't like that Spike was holding onto
Willow so tightly.  In fact the whole, Willow and Spike embracing
thing bothered him on some deep level that he wasn't going to
investigate.  He stepped forward to physically part the two but was
stopped by  Fred beating him to the punch.
"Um, Willow," Fred stepped towards the embracing couple, "Not
to interrupt or anything, but why are you here? Is there trouble?"
Willow extricated herself from Spike's arms and hugged Fred
instead, "Fred it's so good to see you! Buffy told me how you helped
Spike, thank you."
Fred blushed and stepped back from Willow's hug, "Oh that,
well that was nothing.  It was merely a matter of connecting why he
was emitting heat.   Once you understand the principles of
Thermodynamics, anyone could have done what I did.  If anyone was
someone who also had a good grasp of  Berltram's Demon Physiology."

Willow laughed and turned to Wes, "Hello Wes," and nodded to
Gunn, "Gunn."
"So what are you doing here?" Gunn asked again.
"Can't I just come for a friendly visit?" Willow laughed
nervously and tucked a strand of her deep red hair behind her ear.
"Of course, luv.  I for one am glad to see you," Spike
defended Willow.  For some reason the witch kept avoiding the
question of why she was here.  As far as Spike was concerned that was
reason enough to stop asking the bloody thing.  That and the
surprisingly affectionate greeting he had received from her.
Willow smiled and turned back towards Spike, grasping his
hand, she gave it a squeeze, "Thanks Spike."
"We're all happy to see you, Willow," Angel started, not
quite as willing to give up on questioning her unexpected arrival.
He knew she was hiding something and if she'd come here, she must
need his help. "It's just the last we heard you were in England with
Giles."
Willow released Spike's hand and walked towards the windows,
looking down at the city, "So I guess these are non-harmful to
vampire types?"
"Ya, tempered or some such, so this prat can walk around
without getting singed," Spike sat back joined her at the
window, "See the view?  That's so Angel can emphasize how much better
he is than everyone else.  King of the evil empire and all that."
"Spike," Willow chided, for Spike`s ears alone, "Still? She
loved you both, you know that."
Angel was the only one besides Spike that heard what she
said, and stiffened at her words. "England, remember?"
Willow sighed and turned to face the others.  She looked at
them all, truly seeing for the first time all the changes that had
been wrought since the last time.  Wes looked so tired, haggard
almost.  Gunn seemed so much more confident and alert.  His eyes had
remained glued to her since she had entered the office and oddly
enough, they seemed to be penetrating to her very soul.  She quickly
looked away at Fred.  Fred still seemed sweetness personified, but
there was an edge to her now.  Where before Willow had only sensed
the core of steel Fred possessed; now it was right there under the
surface for anyone to see if they looked.
"Where's Lorne?" Willow tried once more to turn the subject.
"On location, one of his clients needs him," Gunn
replied, "And you're still dodging the question."
"Leave her be!" Spike snarled.
"No, it's okay, Spike," Willow smiled gently at him.  She
hadn't known that seeing him again would be so wonderful.  When they
had all thought that Spike was dead she had found herself truly
grieving for him.  When he had been around, she had taken his
strength for granted.  Not just his physical strength but his
strength of purpose.  He had been the one that had always kept the
group focused on the important things, especially when Buffy had been
dead.  Without Spike's support during that time, Willow would have
fallen apart.  Then when he had returned with his soul, Spike had
been the only one who had understood her, inside and out.  They had
never talked about it, but she had only to look into his eyes and
gain comfort from him.  While Xander had mourned for Anya, cried for
her, Willow had cried along with him for both Anya and Spike.  Now
here he was and the joy that filled her almost eclipsed her own
problems.
"Willow?" Angel's quiet voice brought her out of her reverie.
"I was in England with Giles.  I guess Angel has probably
told you that we are re-building the Watcher's Council.  Not to
perform the same function that they did before, except for the whole
training of slayers thing, but more for a line of defense."
"Yes, that is what it should have always been," Wes stated
quietly.
"Right, well that's been going okay, except we have way more
girls than watchers, but we're getting there."
"Well, that would make sense with that whole calling all the
slayer's thing you did," Fred mused.
"How did you know about that?" Willow demanded.
"Huh?" Fred was a bit taken aback by Willow's tone of
voice, "Well, um, Spike told me about the spell you did when we were
trying to figure out why he was here and how we could get him back
into the physical plane."
"Oh, right, well that makes sense," Willow sighed, "So you
know that we called forth all the slayers.  Buffy has been gathering
them up, in between fighting demons with Faith."
"Faith stuck around?" Wesley was frankly surprised that the
girl who had been such a loner for so long had stayed with the Scooby
Gang.
"Faith is a part of the family now.  Just like all of us that
survived the Hellmouth. An exclusive club," Willow laughed bitterly
and then continued with her story, "Actually Faith is why I'm here."
"What's wrong?" Angel demanded.
"She's not your responsibility, Angel," Wes stated quietly.
"Oh no, nothing like that," Willow quickly interjected, "I
was with Faith in China when it happened."
"What happened, luv?" Spike asked.
"I died." Willow stated calmly.

~Part: 2~

"You..." Angel began.
"Died." Willow finished.
"You're dead? Right now?" Fred was at a loss.
"No, I'm still alive, or at least I think I am.  I have a
pulse, I'm breathing, so I'm not a vampire or undead or a
zombie or whatever," Willow babbled.
"What happened, Willow," Angel sat down and waited for her
to continue.
Willow stared out the window again for a moment, wishing she
was still sitting out in the bright sunshine, "Faith and I were
looking for a demon that was supposedly hunting our girls.  The word
has gone out in the demon community, I guess.  They all know about
the slayers, all the slayers.  I would guess they aren't too
happy about an army of slayers whose only goal is to wipe them out.
So this demon we were looking for killed one of our potentials in
Japan and we followed him to China.  He surprised us in an alley.
Faith fought him, he knocked her into me while I was trying to do a
spell and the next thing I knew he had me by the throat.  He snapped
my neck and I died."
"What the hell were the two of you doing facing a demon all
by your lonesomes??" Spike demanded.
"Faith is a slayer, Spike," she chided gently. "Anyways,
Faith fought him for awhile, he ran, and she took me back to our
room.  She was calling Giles when I woke up."
"Woke up?"
"Ya, Angel, that's what it felt like, like I was waking up.
I didn't remember anything after the neck snapping thing and then
suddenly I was awake in my room."
"What happened then?" Fred asked eagerly.
"The usual.  We went back to England and Giles tried to look
up stuff.  We all tried looking up stuff."
"So you came here for our help, to do what exactly?" Angel
asked.
"To find out what I am. Why I can't be killed," Willow
looked him in the eye, pleading silently.
"How do you know you can't be killed?" Gunn mused.
"Well, first the whole neck snapping thing and then Faith
stuck me with a sword," Willow began.
"What??!!" Spike blustered, "What the hell did she do
that for??"
"Well it was only after I poisoned myself," Willow started
again.
"WHAT??!!!" Spike fairly roared.
"Trial and error," Angel said for her.
"Yes, I couldn't just not know.  First I tried poison, then
everyone yelled," Willow glared at Spike, "then Faith tried
to help me by stabbing me, well actually I sort of ran at her while
she was practicing with a sword, much yelling ensued again, and I
decided to come here."
Spike glared at the girl, "That is not the way to test out
one's immortality, pet.  Do you see me going for a nice stroll in
the sunlight or trying to cut my own head off."
"I remember several jogs in the sunshine in Sunnydale,"
Willow smirked at Spike.
"That's not the point," Spike glared at Willow, "How
many friends do you think I have?"
Willow sighed, "I know, that's what the others said too.
Buffy suggested I come here and see what you could do, rather than
continuing with my new and interesting ways to die regimen."
Angel stood up, "Okay Willow. First you should go with Fred,
see what she can discover in the lab.  Wes, can you start looking in
the texts for anything that might apply...."
"When did this start?" Gunn broke in, sensing that Willow
was still hiding something.
"I think it was the spell," Willow looked down at the
floor, "ever since, I've felt different somehow, more
connected to everything, and that's saying a lot considering my
whole dark Willow taking over the world and feeling everyone's
pain period."
"The same spell that affected Spike? Brought forth all the
slayers?" Gunn suggested.
"What are you getting at, Charles?" Fred looked at her ex-
boyfriend, knowing that tone of voice.
"I'm saying that this spell that she did was pretty
powerful, it called all the slayers, possibly brought Spike back from
the dead and now apparently made Willow invincible.  Did you even
think of the consequences before you did the spell?"
"Charles!" Fred gasped.
"Gunn, that isn't fair, they were fighting the First,
something had to be done," Wes defended.
"Yes, I thought about the consequences," Willow stated
quietly, "But in the balance of saving the world from ultimate
evil and facing the unknown consequences, I chose the unknown. And
now, well now I want to know, but if you guys can't or won't
help me..."
"We never said that, Willow," Angel calmed her, "Of
course we'll help you. Starting with Fred."
"Okay," Willow glanced nervously at Gunn, quickly looking
away to Fred when she saw the piercing quality of his eyes,
"Where's this lab?"
"Um, so you mean now, Angel?" Fred stammered.
"Now, Fred," Angel motioned with his head towards the door.
"Right this way, Willow," Fred guided Willow out the door,
closing it behind her.
"What the hell was that, Gunn?" Angel's voice sounded
calm, but Spike could tell by his clenched jaw that he was reining in
his fury.  Good, Spike thought, I won't have to tear Gunn a new
asshole, Angel would do it for him and if he remembered correctly
Angelus had always been quite good at that.
"Look, someone had to say it," Gunn stood, facing Angel eye
to eye, "We still don't know why Spike is here..."
"The amulet holds him here," Wes piped in, watching the
interaction between Gunn and Angel from the relative safety of the
couch, "You know that."
"Ya, but why is he here? And now Willow is here. Is it just
me or are we being inundated with Sunnydale refugees?"
"What's your point," Angel gritted out.
"Is it The Powers?  Or is it something or someone else?  The
last time we had so many coincidences, Cordelia ended up a
vegetable."
Angel swiftly crossed the room and grabbed Charles by the
throat, "Don't ever say that again."  The seeming
calmness of his voice made his physical anger that much more
terrifying, Spike thought, oh yeah, he's too good at this.
"Willow is here.  Willow is my friend.  Willow is one of the
good guys.  We help Willow whenever she needs help for those
reasons.  There will be no more questioning of why she is here. Got
that?" Angel shook Gunn for good measure.
"Got it." Angel released Gunn. "Good to know where I
fall on the friend scale, I suppose."
"Gunn," Angel sighed, "Of course you're my friend,
but so is she, don't make me choose."
"Do you two need to be alone for this? Perhaps close to a
plush bed?" Spike smiled and arched his eyebrow.
Both men separated and Wesley sighed, "Of course, we will
help Willow. But Gunn does have a point.  We've all been avoiding
the whys for the last few months.  It's easy to get caught up in
the day to day of this task we've undertaken, but we must never
forget
the bigger picture."
"The bigger picture where we're all puppets." Gunn
emphasized his point by slamming the door on his way out of the
office.
"He's got a point, Angel."
"Well, Wes, I guess it's your job to figure out the whys,
isn't it?" Angel tiredly returned to the chair behind his
desk.
"Yes all that thinking is too painful for Angel, Wes," Spike
snarked.
"Shut up, Spike," Angel wearily repeated.
"Spike, perhaps you should check on Willow.  She seems to
feel closest to you and she could probably use a friend right
now," Wesley suggested patiently.
"Oh trying to get rid of me, eh?" Spike laughed,
"It's not that easy....no wait, spend time with Brood Boy or
with two beautiful women....what was I thinking?!"
Angel sighed in contentment as Spike too slammed the door on
his way out, "Thanks, Wes."
"No problem," Wesley too made for the door but stopped
before opening it, "They may be connected, Angel."
"Willow and Spike? Yes, I know. See what you can find,"
Angel commanded.
"Of course."
Finally, Angel was alone.  This was his favorite part of the
day, when they all finally left for their appointed tasks.  He loved
his friends, but there were times that he needed his solitude.  Times
like this when his salvation showed up on his doorstep.  Angel knew
that Willow was the only reason that he was sitting here in his
lavish office.  If she hadn't returned his soul, both times, he
would have been long dead.  Now she needed him and there was no way
he was going to fail her, regardless of the whys.

~Part: 3~

Willow sat quietly as Fred circled her.  She had some sort of
device that made little trilling beeping noises every so often.
Willow didn't know what the device was supposed to do, but she
trusted that Fred knew what she was doing.  In a lot of ways Fred
reminded her of herself, pre-Buffy.  The science girl.  Willow
wondered if she would have been more like Fred if she hadn't
discovered the magicks.  She often wondered what ifs about the
magicks.  What if she'd never done the spell to restore Angel,
then Angelus would have been killed by Buffy and a lot of people that
Angel had saved would never have lived.  It always came back to that,
and for that reason she couldn't truly regret becoming a witch.
"Oh, this is the fun part, trust me," Spike sauntered into
the room and leaned against the counter across from the girls.
"This is the beeping machine, soon she'll tell you what
temperature
you are."
"That isn't all that it does, Spike," Fred sighed and
rolled her eyes at Spike.
"Oh, I'm sorry, does it also make julienne fries?"
"It slices, it dices," Willow giggled.
"Nice to see you've still retained your sense of humor in
your mad quest to off yourself," Spike glared at Willow,
remembering her little speech about what she let Faith do to her.
"Spike," Willow groaned, "Please don't, I've
heard the speech from Buffy, from Xander, from Faith, from Dawn, now
you too?? I miss the Spike that didn't like the lot of us."
"You mean soulless Spike?" Fred asked, "Was he much
different from this Spike?"
Willow smiled and Spike grew nervous at the sheer deviltry in
that grin.
"Well, he was always trying to kill us and failing. He was
obsessed with slayers.   He was always taunting Angel.  He dated
really skanky vampires.  He used his looks and charm to get by
mostly. Oh ya and he was evil."
"So other than the evil thing, pretty much the same, huh?"
Fred smirked at Spike.
"Oh right, keep it up you two and there will be a return of
evil Spike," Spike frowned, but was pleased that both girls felt
comfortable enough with him to tease.  As much as Spike liked to give
the impression of being a loner, he enjoyed being around people.
Most especially these two, so alike in so many ways.
"Are you saying we're acting immature?" Fred laughed.
"As opposed to you and Angel?" Willow spoke gently looking
straight into Spike's eyes.
Spike frowned at her in truth.  She has no bloody idea how
miserable I am, he thought, and she sits there in judgement of me?!
She isn't stuck with the one person she hates more than anyone
else on the planet.  She isn't stuck at Wolfram and Hart, for all
eternity it seemed.  Spike stood up to leave only to be brought up
short by Willow's hand on his arm.
"Don't. I'm sorry," Willow looked at him and he
could see the sincerity in her lovely green eyes.
Hang on, he thought, since when does Willow have "lovely"
green eyes?!
"We were just teasing you, Spike," Fred chided, "No need
to get all huffy. According to this thing, you're normal."
Fred
waved the device in her hand.
Willow's hand tightened on Spike's arm. "That can't
be right," her voice was so forlorn, Spike felt pity swell up in
him.
"Damn straight, never met a less `normal' girl in my
unlife," Spike snarked.
"Ha ha, Spike," Fred put down the device and started making
notes on the new file marked Willow, "Well obviously it's not
normal human behavior to come back from the dead repeatedly, so
we'll
run other tests."
"Well this should be loads of not fun," Spike firmly grasped
Willow's hand and it was only then that she realized she had been
holding on to him.
"Sorry," Willow blushed, and released his arm.
"Not a problem, ducks, anytime you need someone to dig your
nails into, I'm available," Spike winked at Willow and made
her laugh.
"Gay, remember?"
"Sure about that, pet?"
"As sure as I am that you're only flirting with me to get my
mind off of my own problems," Willow stated quietly.
Spike winked at her and settled back against the counter,
watching as Fred prepared to draw blood from Willow's arm.  The
chit had changed in the few months since he'd seen her last.  She
seemed more centered, more aware of other people, and their
feelings.  It was probably that whole being more connected thing she
was talking about.  There was something else though.  The knowing,
that was it. He remembered when Drusilla had told him he was immortal,
couldn't be killed.  That hadn't actually been accurate but
the idea
of immortality, that had been both scary and sweet.  Willow has a
taste of that, he thought.   He only hoped she handled it better than
he did.  Immortal wasn't the same thing as invincible.

"Angel?" Harmony's voice came from the intercom on his
desk, making him pause in his tai chi exercises.
"Yes, Harmony," he continued with his motion, incorporating
the sword as if it were a natural extension of his arm.
"Your 12 o clock is here," she replied.
"Send him in," Angel completed the movement and then
straightened still holding the sword. It never hurt to be armed when
in the presence of a Zaum demon. "Oh and get Gunn in here."
"You must be Angel," the Zaum demon snarled. "I need
your help."
"Right, something about a M'Fashnik hunting you," Angel
gestured towards a seat with the sword, hoping the Zaum understood
his point.
"Um, right," the demon stared fixedly at the weapon and his
tone of voice changed to one of servility, "It killed my family,
looking for me, and now I'm the only one left."
"I'm sorry about your family." Angel tried to inject a
note of sympathy into his voice, but felt like he'd failed
miserably
since he just didn't care about a few less murderous demons
running
around.
"Ya well, whatcha gonna do, right?" the demon shrugged,
"I'm just worried about my own skin....as are my friends."
"Ah, here comes the threatening, my favorite part," Angel
smiled humorlessly.
"I have a lot of powerful friends, friends that are clients
of this company, important clients of this company," the Zaum
continued.
"Yes, we're well aware of that, Egro," Gunn closed the
door just as quietly as he had opened it, "That's why
we're
going to do all we can to ensure your continued longevity."
"Right," the demon had gained some confidence at the
entrance of this new player. He got to his feet and sauntered over to
the coffee table, plucking some grapes out of the fruit basket.
"So
when will you kill him?"
"I didn't say anything about killing your assassin,"
Gunn began.
The door to the office opened and all the occupants of the
room turned.
"I'm just saying, pet, why sit in that cold lab waiting for
test results when you and I could be having a nice confab with Brood
Boy?" Spike glanced at Angel, smirking, "Oh say about all
those months in Sunnydale with Buffy?"
"Spike," Willow warned, glancing over at Angel and then she
saw the demon, "YOU!"
"Hey, aren't you that witch I killed in China?" the Zaum
looked confused.
"What's he doing here?" Willow demanded.
"Well, if at first you don't succeed," the Zaum launched
itself at Willow.  Then fell at her feet, Angel's sword sticking
out of the back of his head.
"We lose more clients that way," Gunn muttered.
Angel picked the demon up and threw it to the side,
determined to reach Willow, only to find Spike there first.  Spike
held the redhead in his arms and smirked at Angel again.  "You
ok, pet?"
"I'm fine," Willow stepped away from Spike and looked
again at the Zaum, "It's weird seeing your murderer, not an
everyday thing I guess. What was he doing here?"
Angel glared at Spike and then took Willow's arm, leading her
over to the couch.  Spike simply smirked and sat down next to
Willow.  Angel growled at Spike, who growled back at Angel.
"All of the sudden I know what it's like to be the white
stuff in an Oreo," Willow laughed, "Back off vamps, I'm
fine!"
"So," Gunn kicked the demon once to make sure it was
dead, "if Egro was the demon who killed you, then he was the
demon that was hunting the potential slayers."
"Right," Willow agreed.
"And there's an M'Fashnik demon hunting him...."Gunn
trailed off and looked meaningfully at Willow.
"Yes and?" Willow began and then comprehension dawned,
"Oh! Oh Andrew!"
"Andrew summoned the M'Fashnik?" Spike asked cautiously.
"Right, well it makes sense.   He called up one before when
they were trying to kill Buffy," Willow thought aloud.
"Who's Andrew?" Angel asked.
"Tucker's brother," Spike stated.
"Who?" Angel asked.
"Demon dogs at the prom," Willow explained.
"Ah," Angel murmured.
"How sweet!" Willow suddenly exclaimed.
"Demon dogs at the prom are sweet??" Gunn was clearly lost.
"No, Andrew summoning a M'Fashnik demon, and by the way, who
names these demons? I mean are their names so hard to pronounce for a
reason?  Andrew must have summoned it to kill the Zaum for killing
me. That's what's sweet."
"Does she always babble like that?" Gunn asked.
"Yes," Angel and Spike answered in unison.
"Sorta like Fred," Gunn smiled.
"Ya, it's adorable idn't it?" Spike smiled.
Angel glared at Spike, "Since when is it adorable?"
"Sitting right here, being squished at the moment, guys!"
Willow huffed.
"Get up, Spike, you're squishing Willow," Angel ordered.
"You get up, ya great big poof," Spike snarled in return.
"I'll get up," Willow stood and glared down at both of
them. "What is going on with you two? I'm not a stick to
fight over and I'm not Buffy, so what's with all the
possessiveness??"
Angel looked at the wall and Spike looked at the floor, but
neither one of them answered her.  She sighed and ran her hand throw
her hair, "Look, I appreciate that you both are happy to see me.
I also appreciate you both as friends, but much more of this and
I'll do something drastic."
"Like what?" Gunn asked, intrigued.
"Like, like a spell," Willow stopped at Spike's glare,
"or not."
"Damn, I would have liked to see you turn them into
something," Gunn laughed.
"Like two vampire weasels or fluffy bunnies?" Willow laughed.
"Ya, the only two vampire bunny rabbits," Gunn laughed
harder.
"What's funny? Is there a funny thing?" Fred came in the
room and hurried over to the gang, it was so rare for there to be any
kind of joyful laughter that she wanted in.
"The funny thing is Willow threatening to turn us into
vampire bunny rabbits," Spike spit out.
This just sent Willow and Gunn into further paroxysms of
laughter, with Fred joining in.  Angel glared at the lot of them
while Spike stood up and headed for the door.  Willow stopped
laughing and again grabbed Spike's arm to detain him.  Spike
glared down at the little witch who smiled wistfully at him.
"Anya would have been horrified," Willow said quietly.
Spike smiled gently at her, "Ya, she'd be threatening
evisceration by this point."
"Fred," Angel broke into the laughter, "is there some
reason you're in my office?"
"Oh," Fred wiped a couple of tears away, "oh, right,
yes, I just," Fred giggled again but at Angel's pointed stare
tried
to focus on not laughing, "I just wanted to let Willow know that
it's
going to be a couple of hours until the results from her blood workup
are in."
"What would you say to lunch, pet?" Spike interjected.
"Not much, I think I'd prefer eating it," Willow giggled
which led to Fred giggling which led to Angel growling and that led
to everyone leaving the office.  Angel sighed in relief and relaxed
into the back of the couch.  It was nice hearing Fred and Gunn laugh
again, it had been far too long, he just wished it hadn't been at
his expense.  Although the thought of Spike as a fluffy bunny did
make his mouth twitch a little.

~Part: 4~

Willow trailed her fingers across the velvet couch as Spike
finished ordering their lunch on the phone.  He hung up and glanced
over at her.  She seemed pensive after the frivolity in Angel's
office.  He sighed, not knowing exactly what to say to the girl.
"You don't have to say anything," Willow murmured, sitting
down on the couch, "Mmmmm, lovely.  Angel always has such great taste
in furniture."
"I thought you weren't doing the whole mind reading thing
anymore, pet?"
"Oh, I'm not.  It didn't take a mind reader to see what you
were thinking, Spike."
"Oh, well um, lunch will be up in a minute or two," Spike sat
down across from her in Angel's big leather chair.  The great poof
always seemed to have a big leather chair in every one of his houses,
and Spike took great delight in commandeering it at every opportunity.
"Angel won't mind us eating in his apartment?"
"Nah, I live here too," Spike explained, lighting a cigarette.
"Really?" Willow's eyebrow arched, "So you two are roommates?"
"Not roommates in the euphemistic way you're saying it!"
Willow laughed and leaned her head back, closing her eyes.
Spike took stock as she did.  She looked tired, more fragile.  She
was still as lean as ever, if not more so.  She was also still a
pretty little thing.  Spike thought back fondly of the many times she
had looked at him, with his spanking new soul, and just seemed so
understanding.  As if she understood everything that he was going
through.  If for no other reason, that alone would be enough to
ensure his friendship.
"When are you going to ask about her?" Willow murmured.
"She made it pretty clear when she visited that we were
done," Spike mused.
Willow sat up and really looked at him.  He stared back just
as frankly.
"And you're okay with that?"
"Do I have a choice?" Spike took a drag of his cigarette and
glanced away, "I'm not going to be like Angel, pining away for her
for all eternity.  Not when she doesn't want me."
"Spike," Willow sighed, "I don't think it really has to do
with you as a person."
"No, it has to do with the fact that I'm not a person,
remember?  I'm a vampire."
"She just," Willow struggled for a second and then spoke
again, "This is the first chance she's ever had to be normal.  She's
not the one and only anymore.  Even if Faith dies or turns evil
again, there are others.  Others that she's training and once she's
done....who knows."
"What?  Done training or done being normal," Spike couldn't
help the bitterness in his voice.
"Done training," Willow spoke patiently, "She has a chance to
be normal after that.  To have a normal life, a long life perhaps."
"Right, I heard all this before," Spike sneered, "The thing
is, Buffy will never be normal not after everything she's done,
everything she's been through."
"Maybe not," Willow agreed, "But she deserves the chance."
"She'll come running back and maybe I won't be just sitting
around waiting for her," Spike stubbed out the cigarette.
"You shouldn't be," Willow offered, "You should live your
life, your eternal life."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Spike demanded.
"It means that Buffy is going to die eventually, and she
knows that.  She also knows that you are not and neither is Angel,"
Willow remonstrated.
"We could die any bloody day!" Spike snarled. "Buffy knows
that too."
"Yes, she does," Willow sighed, "I suppose she really just
doesn't want to live life one day at a time anymore.  She wants to
look forward to the future.  She wants to think about marriage and
children."
"And that's the real truth," Spike stood up, speaking
fiercely, "That's the thing she didn't say."
"Did she need to?" Willow smiled sadly, "You knew.  I think
that Buffy is just done with doomed.  She wants light and happy
endings."
"Ya," Spike sighed, "I know."
The doorbell rang and Spike moved off to answer it.  Willow
leaned back again and sighed.  Buffy hadn't directly asked her to
talk with Spike, she'd just hinted at it.  Willow was glad she had
though.  Glad that Spike wasn't suicidal over Buffy or anything.
When Buffy had returned from Wolfram and Hart a few months ago,
Willow had been scared.  She remembered the whole Spike wanting to
stake himself over Dru thing.  She was scared that Buffy leaving him
would be a hundred times worse.  Maybe being rejected with Angel had
helped.  Maybe Spike with a soul was stronger than evil Spike had
been.  Whatever the reason, Spike appeared accepting of the whole
thing.
"Lunch is served, pet."

Fred looked up from her salad as Wesley stepped into her
office.
"Don't let me interrupt you," Wes began.
"Don't be silly, come in," Fred smiled, trying to convey
welcome to Wesley.
"I have some news on Willow," Wes intoned before he sat down,
placing a well aged book on the desk.

"So what's up with Fred?" Willow asked, tearing her roll in
half and spreading lots of butter on.
"Why?" Spike smirked, "You interested?"
"No! Well....No!" Willow huffed.
"She's still hung up on Wesley and he's still hung up on her
and neither one of them will get off the pot," Spike explained.

"I've been researching the spell she used to channel the
slayer line through the slayer axe and then out to all the potential
slayers," Wes began.
"There's a slayer axe?" Fred mused.
"Yes, well that's neither here nor there.  The important
thing is the channeling of the slayer line," Wes explained.

"What about Gunn?" Willow gulped down her roll and moved on
to the yummy looking pasta puttanesca.
"Oh, he's all jam packed with lawyer knowledge from all the
dimensions."
"No I meant with Fred, but what do you mean jam packed?"
Willow asked.
"Oh he and Fred were an item were they?  Funny how she never
mentioned that to me," Spike pondered.
"Jam packed," Willow gently reminded.
"Oh ya, the senior partners of Wolfram and Hart packed his
brain full of legal stuff."
"Oh," Willow paused for a moment, letting that sink in, "And
aren't they evil?"
"Oh ya."

"You see, the slayer line has it's origins in mysticism.
Three men, magicians, somehow tapped into evil and imbued it into the
first slayer," Wes explained.

"Hmmm, ya know what Buffy says about using evil to defeat
evil," Willow sopped up sauce with the remains of her second roll.
Spike rolled his eyes.

"But there has never been a satisfactory reasoning of why the
so called slayer powers then passed into a totally different girl
upon the first slayer's death," Wes continued.

"She didn't seem to have a problem using me or Angel or even
herself to fight the forces of evil," Spike muttered.
"But you guys aren't evil!" Willow protested.
"Really, luv?  Then how would you explain this?" Spike's face
morphed and then morphed back into human, "We all have evil sunk deep
into us."

"So why does the slayer line pass like that?" Fred was
intrigued with Wesley's reasoning, as always.
"I don't believe that the men who created the first slayer
were entirely human or perhaps they weren't at all human.  No simple
spell could have that kind of range or power."

"And what about you, witch?" Spike reminded.
"You're right, I suppose," Willow raised her eyes to
his, "But there's something about Gunn, something not right."

"So what were they then?" Fred asked excitedly.
"I don't know," Wesley replied.
"That's it? You don't know?" Fred pouted, "I thought that
story was going somewhere."
Wesley laughed in self-deprecation, "Yes well it is, just not
into the explanation of the mystics.  I'm only hypothesizing but I
think I know what's happened to Willow."

"What do you mean, not right?" Spike leaned forward,
demanding an answer.
"I can't read him, not like you or any of the others," Willow
replied, "Ever since the spell in Sunnydale, it's like I can see into
people's souls and sometimes into demons as well...but Gunn, it's
like he's blank. A big white nothingness."
"A white nothingness?" Spike sat back, pensive.
"What?"

"What happened to her?" Fred demanded, dying of curiosity.
"I think when she did the spell, channeling the slayer power
as she did, she somehow became whatever it is that those men were,
those mystics," Wesley surmised.
"So they channeled all the evil into the axe and then into
the first slayer just like Willow did with the potentials," Fred
mused aloud.
"Well, no," Wesley stood up, "They didn't have the axe at
all....oh...I may have gone down the wrong track."

Gunn stood silently.  The white room didn't inspire chatter.
He waited patiently, knowing it would eventually arrive.  The black
panther was there, suddenly and without warning.  It seemed to stalk
him for a moment and then simply stood, looking deeply into Gunn's
eyes.  There was no movement, no sound for several long moments.
"I understand," Gunn sighed, "I'll do it."

~Part: 5~

Angel sighed as he closed the door to his apartment. A whole
day trying to appease his clients who were slightly perturbed at
their favorite hitman being unceremoniously killed in his office.
With a sword through the head, Angel smiled to himself. Now that had
been the highpoint of the day. Angel's smile broadened at his
unintended pun. Spike isn't the only one who can deliver the pithy
quips, he smirked to himself.
"One wonders what's going through that huge head of yours and
then sheer boredom takes over," Spike smirked at Angel from his
leather chair.
Angel's grin disappeared, "Get out of my chair, Spike."
"Do you ever notice a monotony in our conversations?" Spike
slowly stood up and sauntered over to the couch.
"We don't have conversations, Spike," Angel sighed his long
suffering reserved only for Spike sigh. "Where's Willow?"
"She's changing," Spike smirked again.
"Into what?" Angel wondered aloud, tilting his head back
tiredly.
"Are we talking physical or metaphysical here?" Spike
returned.
Angel sighed again, "Either. Just make your damn point. I'm
too tired for this right now."
Spike pouted slightly and then shrugged when he saw Angel had
his eyes closed, "She's changing into something to go out in."
Angel sat up at that, "Go out in?"
Spike smirked yet again, "A little of the ole in-out, in-out."
"Spike!" Angel snarled.
"We're going to dinner and then, well who knows what then,"
Spike folded his arms behind his head and leaned back, reassured that
he had woken Angel up.
"Spike, don't even think about it," Angel growled a warning.
"Don't even think about what?" Willow asked from the doorway.
Both men turned. Willow was wearing a jade green, Chinese,
silk embroidered flower and willow dress. She had also pinned her
hair up with two enameled chopsticks to complete the look. She looked
exotic. She smiled at the expressions on their faces and did a little
spin.
"Do you like it? I got it in Shanghai and I haven't had a
chance to wear it yet, so I thought, ya know, going out to dinner in
L.A. was kind of an occasion, but if it's too much I can always
change into something more casual," Willow laughed at the end of her
incredibly long sentence, "Sorry, that one got away from me."
Spike laughed and stood up, "You look great, pet. Ready to
go?"
For the first time since he had entered the apartment Angel
took a good look at Spike. He wasn't wearing his usual outfit.
Instead he was wearing black trousers and a black fitted sweater,
even his trademark boots had been replaced by what looked
suspiciously like mock driving shoes. Spike looked, well,
fashionable.
"Angel would you like to come with us?" Willow smiled at him,
breaking his reverie.
"Love to, give me a minute to change," that said, Angel stood
up, and strode briskly into his bedroom.
"Pet," Spike whined piteously and pouted at Willow.
Willow laughed and swatted his arm playfully, "Enough
already, Spike."
"Enough what? Dreading dinner with Angel? I thought we'd hit
Caritas after, but if he comes along, I know he'll insist on
singing," Spike frowned.
"Angel sings?" Willow gasped and her face lit up with her
smile.
"Not well," Spike shuddered, "Trust me, pet, you haven't
experienced hell until you've heard him sing some bloody Barry
Manilow tune. And I use the word tune lightly," he warned.
Willow laughed again and then slid her arm around Spike's as
he joined her in laughing. She leaned against him as she laughed and
Spike felt happy for the first time in a very long time. It shook
him for a minute, as if he couldn't quite identify what it was he was
feeling. Then it struck him how he'd been feeling it all day. It
wasn't just a passing feeling as it usually was. He took a moment to
savor it, really appreciate how good it felt to be laughing with
someone who had known him for so long. Somehow without his being
really aware of it, Willow had become a good friend. An incredibly
hot good friend. Spike's thought process ground to a halt at that
point.
"What?" Willow stopped laughing abruptly and looked at him
with concern.
"What what?" Spike sputtered.
"You've got the something really bad is about to happen so
I'm being all scary looking look going on," Willow explained.
"Ready," Angel re-entered the room wearing a burgundy sweater
with soft gray trousers. Spike arched his brow at how form fitting
the sweater was. "Where are we going?"
 

"I warned you, pet," Spike tried to lean further back into
the wall, away from the cacophony that was Angel singing, Mandy.
"Yes, well, if someone hadn't dared him to drink ten shots in
a row, we wouldn't be having to endure this right now," Willow
grimaced as Angel hit a particularly sour note.
"Yes, well, if someone hadn't invited Peaches to dinner this
wouldn't be happening," Spike returned.
"Oh really?" Willow's expression turned fierce for a
moment, "Well if someone would stop belittling, badgering, and
baiting him I would be in a much better mood."
Spike stopped his retreat into the wall and leaned forward,
grasping Willow's hand on the table, "I get it, pet. Get what you're
doing. But you can't expect to end a hundred years worth of hatred in
one night."
"You only hate because you're in the habit of it," Willow
sighed.
"Well, we all have bad habits luv," Spike squeezed and then
released her hand to signal to the waiter as Angel finished his
caterwauling. "Another Black Russian for the lady and I'll take a
bottle of Jack Daniels."
Willow laughed and shook her head, turning to smile at Angel
when he re-joined them at the table. "That was really good, Angel."
Spike rolled his eyes but contained himself from speaking at
a look from Willow. Angel raised his brow in surprise at Spike's
reticience. The entire night had felt like a battle. At dinner,
Willow had done most of the talking. She told them about the new
Watcher's Council, about the girls, about her travels with Faith
after Kennedy had moved back to the states, and she'd avoided
mentioning anything about Buffy. Instead filling them in on Dawn's
adventures with private school, uniforms, and some watcher in
training named Julian. They even heard about how Andrew had burned
down Giles' kitchen. All through dinner, Spike had glared at Angel
and Angel had smiled at Spike.
When dessert arrived, Spike changed tactics and completely
ignored Angel to tell Willow all about Fred curing him of his ghostly
status, completely erasing Angel from the equation. Now it was
Angel's turn to glare, which turned into a glower when he saw Spike's
evil smirk. Fine, Angel thought, he wants to play dirty, I can play
dirty. Angel turned to Willow and with all the charm he possessed
asked her if she wanted to go dancing after dinner at Caritas. Now
here they were.
He had mistepped by allowing Spike to challenge him into a
drinking match. But after Spike and Willow's dance, Angel had been
smarting to prove himself the better man. It was a strategic
mistake. He knew he had made a fool of himself singing, but perhaps
he could turn it around still.
"Willow, I never got that dance," Angel stated quietly.
Willow still piqued at Spike`s attitude, stood up, "I'd love
to dance, Angel."
Angel pulled Willow tightly against him as the jukebox began
playing a Billie Holiday song. It wasn't until she was pressed
against his body that Angel realized how tiny Willow really
was. She gave off such an impression of strength and capability that
it was easy to forget that she was in many ways still just a little
girl.
"I love this song," Willow murmured and then leaned back
slightly to look up at Angel, "Did you ever see this movie?"
"Steve Martin, right?" Angel replied.
"Right," Willow laughed, "That movie was so funny when I saw
it. So implausible, but now the idea of a soul inhabiting someone
else's body doesn't seem so far fetched does it?"
"You've seen a lot of strange things," Angel agreed.
"Did you hear about the spell where I made Spike fall in love
with Buffy?" Willow smiled fondly.
"Is it a spell??!!" Angel demanded.
Willow tilted her head to the side, smiling gently, "Would it
be easier for you if it was?"
Angel sighed, "I don't remember you being quite this
intuitive, Willow."
Willow's smile turned playful, "Well I've grown up quite a
bit."
Angel turned her and found himself facing Spike's glaring
eyes. Angel smiled triumphantly and smoothly dipped Willow, who
laughed in delight.
"Wow, I don't think I've been dipped in a long time," she
giggled as he brought her up.
"You should be dipped on a regular basis," Angel stated.
"Oh should I?" Angel was slightly taken aback by the sultry
look on Willow's face, "And what flavor would you suggest I be dipped
in? Honey? Chocolate? Will you be doing the licking off?"
Angel could feel his jaw slacken at Willow's words, "Um,
well, I meant dancing, really."
Willow shook her head and frowned at her friend, chiding
gently "Why are you competing with Spike for me, when you don't even
really want me?"
"I'm not!" Angel declared.
"You are. The two of you have been in competition from almost
the moment I walked into your office. I want to know why," Willow's
face changed and Angel cringed inwardly, remembering the resolve face.
"It's not an easy question, Willow," Angel sighed.
"Let's see if I can break it down for you," Willow
stated, "You made Dru, Dru made Spike. Spike fell in love with Dru,
who still loved you more. You fell in love with Buffy, Buffy fell in
love with you. You left her. Spike fell in love with Buffy, Buffy had
well complicated feelings for Spike. But Buffy always loved you more.
So Spike hates you for always coming first and you hate him for
stealing your women away from their pining. Does that about cover it?"
"It's not just that," Angel frowned.
"Don't give me that glowery intimidating look, Angel," Willow
sighed. "I get the whole Alpha male thing too. I also kinda get the
two vampires with souls thing. You both must have resentments
galore. But now things are different. The two of you are both on the
side of good and infighting never seems to work out so well for the
good guys."
"I try to tolerate him," Angel defended himself, not entirely
liking the accuracy of Willow's words.
"Try harder," Willow smiled gently at him again.
Angel felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to find Spike
behind him.
"My turn, new song," Spike demanded.
"Oooh, another Billie Holiday," Willow released Angel and
Spike took the opportunity to take her into his arms.
"I'm going to head home," Angel looked into Willow's eyes,
hoping she understood that he was trying, "I'll see you both
tomorrow."
Spike stopped dancing for a moment to stare at Angel, "You're
leaving?"
"Goodnight, Spike. Willow," and with that, Angel turned,
striding out of the bar.
Spike turned back to face Willow, whose smile had turned Mona
Lisa on him, "Okay, what did you say to get rid of him?"
"Hmmm? Oh nothing, just reminded him what team you were
playing for," Willow hummed along with the song.
Spike pulled her in closer and just concentrated on the
feeling of dancing with a pretty girl to a beautiful song.

I'd lie for you, I'd sigh for you
I'd tear the stars down from the sky for you
If that isn't love it will have to do
Until the real thing comes along
With all the words dear at my command
I just can't make you understand
I'll always love you baby come what may
My heart is yours what more can I say?

I'd lie for you, I'd cry for you
I'd lay my body down and die for you
If that isn't love it will have to do
Until the real thing comes along

The song ended and another started. Spike continued to
dance, hoping Willow wouldn't want to sit. She didn't protest so he
pulled her in tighter. He could feel her heartbeat pick up a little
and he smiled triumphantly.
Willow leaned her head back, "Happy now?"
"Happy that Angel is gone? Yes." Spike replied.
"No, I mean happy that you got a reaction out of me," Willow
explained.
"What? What the hell kind of question is that?" Spike
sputtered.
"An honest one," Willow smiled that same gentle smile, "You
seem to be so intent on this flirtation thing that you've forgotten a
few salient facts."
Spike smiled, knowing what Willow was going to say, "Oh? And
what's that then?"
"One, I'm gay," Willow stated, gasping after, as Spike spun
her away and then back to him.
"What about Oz? What was he then, an experiment in hetero?"
Spike smirked at the flush on Willow's face.
"Well, no. I loved Oz, still love Oz, but it was just cuz I
didn't know yet that I was gay," Willow chided.
"Oh really? Funny I thought that gay meant strictly gay. As
in not attracted to members of the opposite sex?" Spike loved
arguing, it gave his unlife some much needed entertainment.
"Well, of course I'm attracted to members of the opposite
sex," Willow began.
"Well, then, you're not gay. You're bisexual," Spike trumped.
"I haven't been just experimenting, Spike," Willow stated
emphatically.
"I know," Spike soothed, not wanting to get into a discussion
about Tara, knowing that it would only bring back painful memories
for the witch, "You're one of those people that falls in love with
the interior. That's all I'm saying. Gender doesn't seem to make any
difference to you, neither does humanity for that matter."
Willow laughed, "Cuz Oz was a werewolf?!"
"Oh ya, you're a demon lover, just like Xapper, admit it,"
Spike threw her the charming grin that had opened more than one
bedroom door in his time.
Willow laughed again, realizing that she was having more fun
with Spike than she had had in quite a long time, years almost. "When
did we become friends?"
"Dunno, pet. Do you mind?" Spike spoke quietly, afraid to put
any kind of expectation in his tone.
"No," Willow re-assured him, knowing him well enough to know
his ego needed soothing, "I don't mind us being friends, but I'm not
Buffy, Spike."
"I'm not dancing with Buffy," Spike's hand clenched behind
Willow's back.
"Do you wish you were?"
Spike paused before he answered, truly considering, "No. I'm
enjoying this. This is nice. Comfortable. No high drama."
"I know what you mean," Willow sighed and rested her head
against Spike's chest, "I could use a good, oh ten years, of living
drama free."

Wesley was waiting for Angel when he entered his apartment.
Wes was sitting in the leather chair. Angel sighed and sat down on
the couch.
"What's up, Wes?"
"I spoke to Buffy and Giles this evening," Wes began and at a
wave of Angel's hand, he continued, "They told me some things about
the slayer axe that I had not been aware of."
"The slayer axe, huh? What does that have to do with Willow?"
Angel sat forward and clasped his hands together.
"Well for one thing it isn't really an axe, it's a scythe,
and it was that scythe that Willow used to channel the slayer line or
slayer magic into," Wesley explained. "Ancient magic that the
original Watchers had used on the first slayer. Enabling the power to
pass from one girl to another."
"Right, I know the lore, Wes," Angel sighed.
"Right, well, Willow's spell in effect changed the original
spell so that the power given to the first slayer alone can now be
shared by all potential slayers," at Angel's impatient look, Wesley
hurried on, "and that scythe was created or forged by beings that
called themselves the Guardians."
"The Guardians?"
"Yes, apparently, The First or Caleb killed the last
guardian, right before Buffy killed Caleb," Wes explained.
"Oh. I saw her. Pretty, white hair."
"Buffy said the woman had told her that the scythe was used
to kill the last pure demon that walked the earth. The last demon
who, one would assume previous to dying, fed off a human and somehow
mixed its blood, creating the first vampire," Wesley paused to let
his words sink in for Angel. "That last demon was killed in Sunnydale
and then the hellmouth was sealed behind it."
"Buffy opened the hellmouth, Willow does the spell with the
scythe, all the slayers are created, and now Willow is apparently
invincible," Angel summed up.
"Precisely, or rather, we don't know if she is unkillable,"
Wesley began only to be interrupted by Fred's entrance.
"Doesn't anyone knock anymore??" Angel whined.
"Oh," Fred blushed, "I'm sorry, the door was open a little
and I heard Wes in here talking about Willow and I had news about
Willow too so I just thought it would be okay. Sorry."
"It's okay, Fred. What's your news?" Angel sighed again and
longed for this interminable day to just be over.
"She's unkillable," Fred stated concisely. At Angel's look,
she continued, "We ran every test we could on her blood and her
cells. Electricity, fire, freezing, everything we did to those cells
and they all just essentially re-animated. I wouldn't want to test
her the way she has already, but it's my opinion, and the opinions of
the others in the lab, that she's invincible."
"Is she human?" Angel asked.
"That's the weird thing," Fred explained, "she is. All the
tests show that she's human."
"Maybe scientific tests won't quite do the job," Wesley
speculated.
"Mystical tests?" Fred frowned.
"We don't have a lot of luck with magic, folks," Angel griped.
"Yes, but that was before we had the most powerful witch in
the world here," Wesley reminded him.
"Most powerful?" Angel stood up and crossed to the large
windows, looking down on Los Angeles.
"Oh, I'd say so. She certainly has the credentials for the
title: bringing Buffy back from the dead, restoring your
soul...twice, trying to end the world and surviving, oh and of course
subverting an ancient and powerful magic in order to destroy the
first evil. Now with this invincibility..." Wesley trailed off.
"What are you not saying, Wesley?" Fred questioned.
"We'd better hope she stays on our side," Angel finished for
him.

~Part: 6~

Willow sat on the edge of her bed, thinking. Spike had her
things unpacked for her while they had been at dinner and she found
herself smiling at his thoughtfulness. She'd never imagined applying
the word thoughtful to Spike. But that was pre-soul Spike. Not that
the soul seemed to account for all the changes. She wasn't sure what
all had happened with the ghost thing but from Spike's account, she
gathered it wasn't all sunshine and daffodils. She sighed and stood
up.
"Good morning," Spike greeted her when she entered the
kitchen.
"You're awfully chipper," Willow moaned as Spike slammed a
pan down onto the stove, "and loud."
"Aw, those cocktails get you all droopy this morning?" Spike
smiled at Willow's grumpy expression.
"That and the gang all waiting for us when we got back,"
Willow sat down at the counter and watched bemused as Spike made an
omelette.
"Who's that for?" Willow asked hopefully.
"It's for Angel," at Willow's crestfallen look, Spike laughed
again, "Teasing, pet."
"Oh," Willow smiled happily, "Woo and hoo. I love eating
omelettes when I'm hung over. How'd you know?"
"I occasionally paid attention while living in the madhouse,"
Spike explained, expertly folding the omelette.
"I sorta miss those days," Willow wistfully sighed. Spike's
arched his brow and Willow laughed, "Ok, I totally don't."
"So what are the plans for today?" Spike slid the omelette
onto a plate and placed it in front of Willow, "Coffee?"
"Yes, please," Willow took a bite, "Mmmmm, where'd oo earn to
cook?"
"It sounded like where'd you learn to cook," at Willow's nod,
Spike continued, "Here and there, I've always liked food, doesn't
taste the same, but the texture is fun sometimes."
Willow looked up from inhaling her food when Spike stopped
talking. "Morning, Angel."
"Willow....Spike," Angel muttered, heading straight for the
coffeepot.
"Head hurting, then?" Spike smiled.
"Shut up, Spike," Angel muttered again, taking a long swig of
the too hot brew.
"Scintillating morning conversation, I knew there was a
reason I was brought back from the dead."
"Spike," Willow glared.
"Right, so what are you doing today?" Spike repeated.
"I guess Wes is looking up spells that might help, I tried
that already, but he says there's a much bigger library here," Willow
explained, finishing up the last of her coffee, "I'm going to get
changed and help him."
The two vampires watched the witch carefully as she left the
room.
"She seems okay," Angel announced.
"It's a cover, she's always perkier when she's hiding her
feelings," Spike watched as Willow closed the door to the guest room.
He turned to Angel and glared, "It was sweet of everyone to wait up
for us."
Angel sighed and retreated to the living room, sitting in his
leather chair, "It wasn't planned. Wes and Fred were just trying to
give me all the info they had gathered. Bad timing that you two
showed up when you did. Five more minutes and they would have been
gone."
"Not deliberate then?" Spike followed Angel into the room,
putting his bare feet up on the coffee table.
"Deliberately what?"
"Deliberately tried to sabotage my date," Spike watched
Angel's face carefully, but as usual it was bland and stony.
"No, I didn't try to sabotage your date, mostly because I
didn't know you were on a date. With Willow. The lesbian best friend
of your previous..."at that point, Angel stopped not wanting to say
the word that would naturally come next.
Spike smiled that smarmy smile that Angel always wanted to
punch him in the face for, "Previous? Previous girlfriend? Previous
lover? What?"
"I'm trying my hardest, Spike, for Willow's sake, but don't
push me," Angel snarled.
"Fine," Spike pouted, "spoilsport."
"Back to this whole date business, since when were you
interested in Willow?"
"I didn't say I was and I didn't say it was a date, I said
that you were trying to sabotage what you thought was a date," Spike
stood up and started for his room.
"Semantics, Spike, was it a date or not?" Angel growled
softly as Spike closed his door without answering the question.

Angel fought the urge to growl again at the morning meeting.
In his opinion, Spike was sitting way too close to Willow and Willow
didn't seem to mind. Then he noticed how close Wes and Fred were
sitting together. Was everyone pairing up besides him?
"If there's nothing else," Angel paused, "then let's get to
work."
"Oh, Willow, if you're free can we have lunch today?" Gunn
smiled across at her, taking her by surprise.
"Um, sure, Gunn," Willow responded, turning in surprise when
she heard Spike softly growling beside her.
"Fred, I know you're busy in the lab, but if you have time,
I'd like to go over whatever information I can gather, at lunch,"
Wesley stood up and held his hand out to Fred, helping her to her
feet.
"Oh, well that would be great, Wes," Fred blushed prettily
and turned to go out the door, only to be thrown to the side when a
demon crashed through it.
Angel and Spike both leapt towards the MFashnik demon, ready
to fight it out, when they realized it was frozen in place.
"Now that wasn't very polite," Willow spoke icily, her eyes
black, "Perhaps you should apologize to Angel for destroying his
door."
"Karma really, luv. You should see how many Captain
Forehead's destroyed in the last month alone," Spike quipped, hoping
to distract her. It always slightly unnerved him when she went all
black-eyed girl.
"Apologize," Willow ordered.
"Sorry about the door," the MFashnik gritted between frozen
lips.
"Let me guess," Gunn paced around the demon, barely glancing
as Wes helped Fred to her feet. "You're the Zaum's assassin?"
"Are you okay?" Wesley brushed Fred's hair back from her
face, checking for any head injuries.
"I'm fine," Fred reassured him.
"Yes," the MFashnik gritted.
"Good news then," Angel folded his arms across his
chest, "already killed it for you."
"Don't need partners," the Mfashnik glared death at Willow.
"Oh good, cuz I don't think we were offering mate," Spike
again glanced at Willow, glad to see her look back at him with green
eyes.
"Kill me quick witch," the Mfashnik spit out.
"Why would I want to kill you for trying to kill the demon
who was trying to kill me?" Willow questioned.
The Mfashnik laughed then, slowly starting to regain
movement, "You idiot."
"Hey now!" Spike snarled.
"You think I was trying to help you?" the Mfashnik
straightened slowly curling and uncurling his fist, "I was sent to
kill him for failing in his commission."
"Commission?" Angel questioned, fearing that he already knew
the answer.
"The little slayer was just bait, you were the target,
bitch," the demon snarled and then much faster than they anticipated
lunged for Willow.
Willow threw up a shield and retreated. Angel grabbed the
demon from behind and punched him twice in the face before the demon
could respond with a roundhouse that knocked Angel to the floor.
Spike laughed viciously and jumped up, spin kicking the thing in its
head. Wes and Fred had both retreated to the far side of Angel's
office, quickly grabbing an axe and a sword off the wall. Gunn
stripped off his Armani jacket and then he too punched the demon
twice in the head. It roared in rage and threw both Gunn and Spike
back with its arms, only to have Angel rear up behind him and try to
snap his neck. When that failed, the demon stumbled back, smashing
Angel between himself and the wall. Then stepping towards Willow as
Angel slid down the wall to the floor.
"Incindre," Willow murmured, smiling slightly as the Mfashnik
went up in flames.
"Fire! Fire!!" Harmony screeched from the doorway and then
sprayed the dead Mfashnik with a fire extinguisher.
Everyone turned to look at her and she pouted, "What? Like I
can't be prepared?"

Willow looked up as Gunn entered the library. He was dressed
again in the typical corporate lawyer guy outfit and for some reason
it saddened her to see him. Before she had a chance to analyze her
emotion, he was speaking and smiling and she was forced to tune into
what he was saying.
"I hope you don't mind," Gunn concluded.
"Um, no, of course not," Willow replied, thinking that Gunn
had just canceled lunch.
He stood there for a moment, staring at her. His smile
faltered, "Uh, not to be rude or anything, but we should probably get
going."
"Oh," Willow blushed and stood up, "I'm sorry. I, um, got
lost in my head. So where are we going again?"
"To a little French place," Gunn explained, "I already made
the reservation."
Right, Willow thought as she followed Gunn to the elevator,
mental note, pay attention when Gunn is talking, it's not like the
others. Another side effect of her transformation was that she caught
echoes of thoughts or feelings or words. Sometimes a person would
walk up to her and she could somehow hear or know exactly what they'd
been saying to someone else before she had seen them. Other times she
could hear the mental conversation going on in their head. It was
disconcerting at first, especially around Xander, his mental
conversations always seemed to be with Jenna Jamieson for some
bizarre reason. Then Willow had adjusted to it, seeming to always
know the right thing to say to people but Gunn was different. She
couldn't seem to get any kind of read on him and when she
concentrated it was like a wall of white light assaulting her senses.

"Any progress?" Fred asked, digging into her lasagna.
"No, not really," Wes reflectively chewed, swallowed and
reached for his glass of wine, "A spell that will supposedly show us
Willow's powers, but we both decided that it had too much potential
for disaster."
"What with her being the wickedest witch and all?" Fred
laughed.
"It's not far off the mark, Fred," Wesley warned, "You
mustn't take Willow for granted. She is a lovely girl, quite good
hearted but according to Giles she still has a long way to go to
control all the evil she unearthed in herself. Her power as a witch
makes her a very dangerous person, throw in the invincibility and she
would be impossible to defeat should that darkness take over."
Fred sighed, "Boy, why can't we have friends that aren't so I
could turn evil at any second?!"

"So I suppose you're wondering why I invited you to lunch,"
Gunn calmly placed his fork down on his empty plate.
"To get to know me better?" Willow smiled.
Gunn chuckled, "Ya, that too. I have an offer for you."
"An offer?"
"A job offer," Gunn stated, staring into her eyes.
"A job offer?" Willow blinked in confusion, "At Wolfram and
Hart?"
"Yes."
"Me?"
"Yes."
"Why me?"
Gunn merely lifted one eyebrow in response.
"Oh, well I guess I see why me, the whole witch thing,
right?" Willow laughed nervously.
"Not just that."
"What else then?"
"Well, there's your years of experience with the slayer,"
Gunn sat back, knowing he'd caught her interest, "There's also this
new invincibility."
"Do you know something, Gunn?" Willow asked suspiciously.
"What? What could I possibly know?" Gunn reassured her, "I'm
just seeing a potential in you, plus there's the whole trust issue.
Angel trusts you."
"Does he trust you, Charles?" Willow's voice was quiet but
demanding of an answer.
"No," Gunn smiled, "He's nervous of me. Unsure what the
senior partners were up to when they put this legal info in my brain."
"Why did you let them?" Willow was honestly curious.
"Because I had potential," Gunn smiled.
"And you think I have potential? But for what? What would I
do in your company? You already have Fred, for computer stuff and
Wes, for mystical stuff. So why do you want me?"
"It isn't just me that wants you working for us," Gunn's
smile disappeared as if it had never been, replaced by a hard look.
"The senior partners?" Willow guessed and at Gunn's nod
continued, "But why would they want me? I'm not a champion like Buffy
or Angel."
"No, you're not a champion," Gunn agreed.
"So, what, they want to corrupt me just for the fun of it?
Need another bad ass wicca for their team?" Willow's voice was
starting to rise.
"Nothing like that," Gunn soothed. "They just think you could
be helpful to Angel."
"Angel?" Willow sat back, staring at Gunn pensively for a few
long moments.
"You could head your own division, all things magical. There
would be a lot of perks. A nice huge salary, helping the champion of
good fight evil, a nice home, all the magic books you could want, and
of course you could be around Spike."
Willow's eyes grew wide at his last statement and then
narrowed in anger, "You know things, Charles, things you're not
telling me."
"Why would you think that, Willow?" Gunn smiled pleasantly.
"Because you're offering me everything I want right now,
except Spike. I don't want Spike, so why mention him at all. That was
a mistake. Shall I recount what else you've let slip?" Willow smiled
as well, only hers was merciless, "I'm not a champion, you said,
which means you know what I am since you know what I'm not. Something
is going to happen with Angel, something the senior partners need me
for. Something is going to happen with Spike as well. Unless you
turned into a fortune teller, someone has been telling you what to
say to me. So why don't we skip all the temptations and whatnot and
skip to the threatening."
"There won't be any threats, Willow," Gunn replied
gently. "They asked me to convey an offer, but it's entirely your
choice."
"Then I have to decline. Much as I appreciate the offer, I
won't help you destroy Angel," Willow angrily threw her napkin down,
stood up, and turned to leave.
"I do know what you are," Gunn said softly, smiling when
Willow paused and then turned to face him.
"What did you say?" Willow breathed.
"I know what you are, at least generally," Gunn gestured for
Willow to sit down.
"What am I then?" Willow sat down quickly and leaned forward.
"You're part of the new order," Gunn replied. "And by the
way, I'm not trying to destroy Angel and neither are the senior
partners. Angel is my friend."
Willow shook her head, "No. Go back. New order?"
"The old order passes away and the new order is come," Gunn
replied.
"How do you know what I am?" Willow asked, suspicious as
always of crypticness.
"There's a room at Wolfram and Hart, a room that most of the
employees don't and never will know about," Gunn explained, "It's
called The White Room and in it is a conduit to the senior partners.
He told me what you are."
"Which you still haven't," Willow pointed out.
"It's not my place," Gunn hesitated as Willow's eyes turned
black, "Wait!"
"If you won't tell me willingly," Willow stated icily.
"He'll tell you, in The White Room," Gunn smiled.

~Part: 7~

Spike was bored. Again. For being the seat of all things
evil, Wolfram and Hart could be deadly boring. All the suit types
striding to and fro, no time to talk and then when they actually got
to where they were going, their conversations were just as boring as
their suits. He'd been looking forward to harassing Angel, see how
far he could push this new tolerance Peaches was cultivating.
Unfortunately though, Angel had left to find information on who hired
the Mfashnik. He'd insisted his informant wouldn't talk if Spike was
around, so here he was bored out of his mind, wandering the halls. He
wasn't too surprised to find himself in front of Wesley's office. If
Willow had returned, perhaps he could convince her to do something
fun with him.
Not bothering to knock, Spike's eyes widened in shock to find
Fred on Wesley's lap. "Well, well."
Fred practically jumped to her feet, blushing profusely.
Wesley merely leaned back in the chair, glaring at Spike.
"Where's Willow?" Spike demanded.
"Not here, obviously," Wesley said dryly.
"Not back from lunch, then?" Spike leaned against the door
frame, trying to give the impression of not leaving any time soon.
"I'm not her social secretary, Spike," Wesley replied
laconically.
"I'll find her for you, alright?" Fred, as usual found
herself in the position of peacemaker for Spike. She picked up the
phone, spoke quickly to her assistant and passed the information on
to Spike, "She just entered the building with Gunn, elevator three.
Now will you leave?"
"Keep your panties on luv, or is it too late for that?" Spike
smirked and sauntered away from the office, smiling broadly when the
door slammed behind him.
Spike stopped in front of elevator three and pushed the up
button, hopefully she was on her way back to the library and he could
jump on the elevator with her. The numbers lit up in succession and
then passed his floor. What the hell, Spike thought. The elevator
kept rising until the top floor and then stopped. Spike sighed and
pushed the up button for another elevator. Bloody hell, even the
muzak is boring today, Spike muttered to himself as the elevator rose
to the top floor.
Spike let himself into Angel's apartment with his pass
key. "Willow? Willow??"
He walked quickly through all the rooms, but he knew from the lack of
a heartbeat that she wasn't there. Where in bloody hell, did she go?!

Willow blinked for a moment, trying to adjust to the bright
light in the room. She looked around, dazed by the sheer size of it.
She turned to speak to Gunn, somehow unsurprised to discover that he
was gone.
"Hello? Anyone here?"
As if her words had called it, a black panther appeared in
front of her. For a brief moment she was afraid and then it was if
all her fear melted away, leaving only curiosity.
The panther locked eyes with her and Willow froze.
"How....guardian? Of what? Why was I......oh.....but what
does this mean?"

"Harmony, where's Willow at in the building?" Spike demanded.
"Oh, so what am I now? Your slave?" Harmony huffed.
Spike sighed deeply, "Just punch the little buttons on your
keyboard and tell me where she is."
"I'm not your assistant, I'm Angel's assistant and you can't
order me around anymore."
"Now!" Spike barked.
"Alright, alright," Harmony began typing Willow's name into
the computer, "I don't know why I put up with you being so mean to
me."
"Because you love your 401k," Spike stated snidely.
"Bite me, Spike," Harmony glared up at him from behind her
desk.
"Not even if you paid me, Harm," Spike tapped the computer
monitor, "Where is she?"
"She's not in the building," Harmony snarled, stood up, gave
him the finger and walked away.
Spike chuckled at her reaction, she was always such an easy
mark. He sobered quickly though. What the hell was going on. One
minute she was in the building, heading up in the elevator, and the
next she just disappeared. Something was going on here that he didn't
know about and didn't like.
"Spike," Angel strode past him, towards his own
office, "where's Harmony?"
Spike turned and joined Angel in his office, "She left in a
huff when I asked her to find Willow."
"Why were you looking for her?" Angel shrugged his coat off
gracefully and hung it up.
"I was bored, that's not the point, she's gone." Spike began
pacing in front of his desk, "One minute she was coming up the
elevator, it stopped on your floor and then she wasn't there."
Angel smiled, "Maybe she's hiding from you."
"Ha ha," Spike stopped pacing to stare out the
window, "Something's off, I can feel it."
"Off how?"
"I don't bloody know now do I?" Spike turned back to
Angel, "Find her."
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me."
"I heard you give me an order," Angel's face took on the
displeased verging on homicidal look it had.
"Don't you care what happens to her?" Spike demanded.
"Of course I do, but nothing is going to happen to Willow in
this building that she can't handle," Angel stated. "Now, do you want
to know what I found out or not?"
Spike sighed and flopped into a chair, waving his hand to
indicate his willingness to listen.
"It wasn't a local," Angel stated, "The Mfashnik was pulled
out of some other dimension and brought here to kill Willow. Then he
farmed it out to the Zaum."
"Why would it do that?" Spike was far from bored
now, "Mfashnik's are big on the blood and mayhem."
"Why would someone go to all the trouble of hiring a demon
from another dimension?" Angel returned.
"So they would go undetected?" Spike suggested.
"By who? Who were they worried about?" Angel mused.
"Maybe you, maybe the slayer, who knows."
"Not me, that Mfashnik didn't come in here afraid of me,"
Angel replied.
"Well then the slayer...no wait, the Zaum wasn't frightened
of being seen by Faith, didn't even kill the one witness to the
crime," Spike mused.
"And why Willow?" Angel sighed again, frustrated at the lack
of answers.

Willow stood in front of the bank of windows in Angel's
apartment, staring unseeing into the falling dusk.
"There you are!" Spike growled, "I've been looking all over
this bloody building for you. You wouldn't believe how many complete
prats are working here, well maybe you would, but even I was a
little..."
Spike paused mid-rant when he noted the tense line of
Willow's shoulder. "Pet?"
He walked towards her slowly, tentatively placing a hand on
her arm, "Pet, you alright?"
Willow laughed bitterly, "I'm a long way from alright."
"Where were you, pet?"
"I don't know," Willow sighed and turned to face
him, "Somewhere. Not here. And then I was here."
"Ok," Spike drawled, "Well that's nice and vague."
Spike staggered back in surprise when suddenly there was a
girl wrapped around him. Her arms were wrapped so tightly around his
waist that he was thankful he didn't need to breathe. She clenched
her fists into the back of his shirt and burrowed her face into his
chest. He wrapped his arms around her and just held her for a few
moments, trying to reason why she was so upset. Then she began to
sob, great tearing sobs that sounded wrenched from her.
"Willow," Spike soothed, "What is it? What's wrong?"
He received no answer, unless you counted the sobbing.
Tenderly he stroked her back, making soothing noises. When her sobs
didn't show any sign of stopping, he began gently rocking her as he
used to do for Drusilla when she was upset over one of her dollies.
Only this wasn't crying over a misbehaving doll, this was something
much more serious. He'd only seen Willow cry like this once before,
when she'd almost killed Dawn. Even then, without a soul, he'd wanted
to comfort the little witch. He hoped he was helping but feared he
wasn't. He wanted to help, wanted to hurt whoever had hurt her.
"Willow," Spike spoke gently, stroking her hair, "who hurt
you luv?"
"N-n-n-o one," she sobbed out.
"Then what's wrong?" Spike tucked her hair back behind her
ears, and nudged her chin up with his hand. He looked down into eyes,
now pools of dark green, "Let me help you, luv."
"No one can help me," she sighed deeply, her bottom lip
quivering.
And just that quickly it hit him. His eyes widened as a spear
of lust shot through him and straight to his cock, making it twitch
slightly. He placed his hand on the back of her head and gently
placed it back onto his chest. He didn't want her to see it in
his eyes. Didn't want to acknowledge it at all. For a moment, he'd
wanted to take that bottom lip in his teeth and slide his tongue into
her warm mouth. Wanted to comfort her in the best way he knew how. It
was a slip, that's all, he thought. It's what I always do for women
that I'm comforting. Habit, that's all, he reassured himself.
She sniffled a few times and lifted her head, "I'm sorry."
"For what, pet?" Spike asked gently.
"For getting your shirt wet, mostly," Willow's smile was
wavering but it was better than those heart wrenching sobs.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Spike tenderly ran his thumbs
under her eyes, rubbing away the remains of her tears.
Willow sighed, "No, not really." Spike slightly moved away
from her, ready to let her go, but she just held on tighter, "Please
don't." She put her head back against his chest and snuggled
closer, "Just hold on to me for a little longer....please?"
Spike held her closer, trying to convey warmth, though he
knew he had none, "For as long as you like, luv."

~Part: 8~

Spike gently laid Willow down on the bed. He stepped back
only to be stopped by Willow grabbing his hand. He looked down at her
eyes, reddened now from so much crying. She seemed to be pleading
with him for something and it tugged at him, wouldn't let go.
Just as
her hand didn't seem to be letting go any time soon.
"You're worn out, luv, you should get some sleep," he
spoke
gently, urging her.
"Please don't leave me alone," Willow pleaded.
"Alright," Spike sat on the edge of the bed, "Do you
want to
talk about it?"
Willow closed her eyes and sighed, "No, not yet. You talk."
"About what?" For once in his life Spike didn't know
what to
say.
Willow opened her eyes again, staring up at him, "What's it
like to have lived for so long?"
Spike let out a surprised laugh, "What?"
"I want to know," Willow closed her eyes again as if it hurt
to look at him, "Tell me what it was like to see your friends die
off, see your generation fade away, see all the changes, tell me
everything."
Spike's brow arched, "Why?"
"I want to know," Willow sighed again, "Please,
Spike."
"All of it?" Spike asked and at Willow's nod, it was his
turn
to sigh. He was silent for a few moments, startling her a little when
he began to speak again, "Mind if I get more comfortable?"
Willow opened her eyes again, "No."
Spike gently untangled her hand, stood up and went around the
bed. He threw his coat on the chair, sitting down on the bed to
remove his boots. Pulling a couple of pillows up against the
headboard, he laid back, stretching his legs out. Again, she grabbed
his hand, turning on her side to do so, with one hand pillowed under
her head.
"All set?" Spike smiled down at her.
Willow laughed a little, "Ya, but this better be good with
all this build up."
Spike was glad to see a glimmer of a spark in her eye.
Although how telling her the story of his life was going to cheer her
up he couldn't begin to fathom.
"Sure you wanna hear this, luv? It's not all tea and
cakes,"
Spike asked again and at Willow's nod, sighed deeply, "Right
then.
Well, um, I don't know where you want me to start."
"Who were you before you were a vampire?" Willow asked.
"You don't want to know about that, pet, let's start
with
Drusilla turning me," Spike began and then stopped at the look on
Willow's face, it was a combination of her infamous resolve face
and
the pleading look she had worn earlier.
"Please, Spike, I need to know," Willow pleaded.
"Why though?" Spike whined and then Willow really did laugh.

"C'mon, it can't be that bad."
"Fine, I was a gentleman, alright, a poet, happy now," Spike
sighed dramatically.
"Wow, is the whole story gonna be a big ole drama fest?"
Willow teased.
"If you don't want to hear it," Spike started to get up,
but
Willow wasn't letting him off that easy. She simply raised one
eyebrow and continued to grip his hand. "Fine, fine. Ok, I was a
gentleman poet who lived with his mother. I was in love with a girl
named Cecily."
Willow loosened her grip as Spike settled back into the
pillows. She closed her eyes again, trying to picture Spike as a
poet. "What did you look like?"
"Pretty much the same. Didn't have the dyed hair or this
scar," Spike pointed up to his eyebrow, "Didn't have
nearly the same
fashion sense."
Willow smiled a little, thinking of Spike's monotonous choice
in clothes.
"So one night I was at a party, writing bad poetry for Cecily
when she deigned to speak to me. Told me I was a wanker, that I was
beneath her, that she would never marry me," Spike recited the
facts
as coldly as possible.
"That must have hurt," Willow rubbed his hand with her thumb
and Spike found himself really thinking about that time again. Her
gentle understanding touched his heart.
"Ya, well, I was pretty upset I suppose. Left the party and
ran into Angelus. Literally. Then Dru found me behind a stable,
tearing up my poems to Cecily," Spike paused, remembering his
first
sight of Dru. "She was so beautiful. But then she started talking
crazy, so I thought she was a thief or something. I tried to leave
but she stopped me. Her eyes. There was something there that I
wanted. Confidence I suppose. She knew how powerful she was,"
Spike
paused again, lost in the memory. He shook his head slightly as if to
shake it off and continued, "She bit me, let me drink her blood
and
then I died."
"She didn't tell you what she was doing? The siring I
mean?"
Willow opened her eyes to see Spike staring at the opposite wall,
lost in memories.
"Hmm? Oh yeah, she had said something, but it sounded like
more of her crazy talk. I didn't really pay attention," Spike
laughed
a little, "Then I woke up. Dru was there, told me what I was. We
celebrated by killing a family," Spike sobered. "A mother and
father,
two little girls, and a boy. They let me in because I said I was
hurt, needed help."
Willow squeezed his hand, "You were evil then."
"Right, yeah, evil. And enjoying the hell out of it," Spike
resumed his story, trying to block the guilt out, "I went home,
took
Dru with me. Decided to turn my mother, thought I was helping her.
She was dying, ya see. Consumption. Only when she woke up, she
wasn't
my mother anymore. She was a demon wearing my mother's skin."
"That was the trigger right?" Willow asked. Spike threw her
a
surprised look, "Buffy told me."
"Oh. Well yeah, I guess I had buried that whole thing for a
long time, didn't want to face what I'd done," Spike
paused again.
"Even though you were evil?"
"Ya. I guess because I still loved her, didn't want to
remember all that hate she'd shown me when she turned."
Willow nodded, "I can understand. It isn't easy when someone
you love rejects you."
"No, but then we both know too much about that, eh?"
Spike's
smile was so understanding it made the tears well in her eyes
again. "Now, now, pet. The deal is I tell you the story, you stop
crying."
Willow laughed shakily, "There was a deal?"
"Oh yeah, there's a price to everything, pet."
"You're not wrong," Willow sighed deeply again, closing
her
eyes, "Ok, then, just tell the story. No more crying. I
promise."
"Where was I? Oh yeah. So then Dru took me to meet Angelus
and Darla. Said I was part of the family. That was alright at first.
Didn't like Angelus ordering me about, but he taught me a lot.
Fightin' styles, drawing out the kill, hunting, torturing, all
the
important lessons for a vampire. Darla mostly hung about, shagging
Angelus. And Dru, she was my dark goddess, my mother, my lover. We
were the Scourge of Europe. We were happy. Happy as vampires get. I
guess we were a family, in a way. So, ya, I barely noticed about
twenty years go by. Then Angelus just disappeared. Darla didn't
say
much. Dru cried for a few days straight, until I convinced her that
he was off buying a present for her. Then it was just me, Darla and
Dru. I was the man of the house, you might say. I enjoyed it and all,
but I found myself missing the sodding bastard. I took care of the
girls and that was okay, but it wasn't enough for me. I needed a
challenge, so I went looking for the slayer. Found her in China.
Killed her, drank her blood."
Spike stopped again and Willow kept silent, not knowing
exactly what to say. Congratulations or sorry, neither sounded right.
"You asleep, luv?" Spike asked quietly.
"No," Willow squeezed his hand again, hoping he'd keep
going, "When was that?"
"Boxer Rebellion. That's when Angelus showed up again, as if
nothing had happened. As if he hadn't been gone a year. But Dru
said
he did that sometimes, just up and left, so I tried to welcome him
back. Tried to feel like family again, but something was
off.....didn't know he had his soul back then, Darla didn't
tell us
until after he upped and left again. Darla left not long after. I was
45 years old by then, if you count the human bits, and it felt like I
was finally on my own, well even though Dru was there too. But I was
the one in charge, ya know. I wasn't playing second fiddle
anymore.
Control of my own fate. Me and Dru against the world. And the world
changed a lot then. At the time, the wars were my favorite. Dru and I
must have killed hundreds, thousands."
Spike paused, shook himself a little and continued, "I was
crazy about her. She was my everything. I did everything she asked.
Gave myself up to her. Loved her with everything I had. But she
wouldn't give up on Angelus. She was always looking for him. Even
after we'd killed the whole sodding mess of gypsies she still
went
back looking for him. Then she got attacked by that mob in Prague. I
had to take care of her. She never seemed to get any better but I
didn't mind. She depended on me, ya know? Finally, she stopped
looking for Angelus."
"When was that?" Willow interrupted.
"Oh, around 1955 or so."
"So you were, what? About a hundred years old then?"
"Ya, Dru and I had been together for about 75 years, I
remember cuz we'd celebrated our anniversary by killing 75
villagers....it's no wonder they attacked us. But ya, a hundred.
Ya
know at the time, it didn't even faze me. I was so wrapped up in
her,
time kinda lost all meaning. I paid attention, to the people, the
music, the machines; so I could blend in," Spike grinned
cockily, "Well, at least enough to pass for human, not that I
ever
blended into the background."
Willow smiled, pleased that Spike was still arrogant, "Were
you this arrogant when you were human?"
"Arrogant? More like confident, luv. Now do you want to hear
the rest or not?" Spike smiled, glad that she was smiling again
without any hint of a wobble.
"Sorry," Willow closed her eyes, "So it was the fifties,
did
you have a leather jacket and a motorcycle?"
Spike laughed, "Ya, for a bit. When we got to America. Dru
was still so sick though that I stole a Desoto instead, blacked the
windows so we could drive whenever we needed to. Drove all over the
states, trying to find any kind of cure for Dru, seeing the sights,
killing, the usual. Dru particularly liked the sixties, I remember.
She loved nothing better than feeding on the flower children. It
always pleased Dru to be killing innocents....anyway, we spent the
next thirty years or so, just wandering. Dru spoke to the stars and I
spoke to every shaman, witch doctor, and demon I could find. Still
trying to cure her. Then we heard that the hellmouth might do the
trick, so we came to Sunnydale. You know the rest." Spike ended
abruptly.
Willow pushed herself up on one arm, "No, I don't."
"What do you mean?" Spike was genuinely confused, "You
were
there for most of it."
"Ya, I was there for the fighting and the kidnapping and the
threatening, but I didn't see what happened to make you get your
soul
back," Willow smiled gently, "that's what I really want
to know."
"Why?" Spike avoided her eyes, avoiding looking at her all
together, not wanting to see any pity.
"Because I'm curious, because I don't want to think
about my
own problems, because you said you'd tell me the story if I
didn't
cry and I haven't, so finish it. Please."
"Look, Willow, I really don't want to talk about it, ok? I
got my soul back for Buffy, you know that," Spike wearily closed
his
eyes, tilting his head back to lean against the headboard.
"But why? Was it because Angel had one?" Willow pressed.
"No, it wasn't cuz sodding Angel had one," Spike sneered.
"Then why? You loved her so much you were willing to turn
into something you hated? I mean you hated Angel right? Hated him for
not being Angelus, then you hated Angelus for taking Dru away.....so
why would you risk turning into that?" Willow sat up and used her
free hand to tilt his chin. He opened his eyes in surprise to see
Willow looking at him with such an intent expression on her face that
he spoke without thinking.
"I wanted to be good enough for her. She kept saying as how I
was beneath her and then I hurt her. I didn't want to ever hurt
her
again, then maybe she'd stay. Not like the others."
"The others?" Willow looked deeply into his eyes, "Oh.
You
mean Angel, Darla, Dru, your mother..."
Spike interrupted angrily, "My father. Cecily. You name a
person I loved, they all left me. And even with the sodding soul, it
wasn't enough. She still left."
Willow leaned forward and tenderly placed her hands on either
side of his face, "I will never leave you."
Spike reared his head back in confusion, "What?"
"No matter what, we will always be friends, I won't ever
leave you," Willow stated calmly, smiling a little at the
disbelieving look in his eyes.
"Why would you say something like that??!!" Spike's
voice
rose a little in anger.
Willow's smile grew almost angelic, "Because you need to
hear
it. Because I need to say it. I get it, Spike. I get what it takes to
live as long as you have and remain sane. You need to love, to be a
part of the world, but mostly you need to be loved in return."
"What are you saying, Willow? That you love me?" Spike asked
incredulously.
"No, I'm not in love with you, but I do love you, Spike.
We've been through so much together. Shared memories, I guess.
And
now we're friends. Friends forever."
"Not to put too fine a point on things, pet, but you're
human. You'll die one day and I'll still be living. Or
unliving,
whatever," Spike captured her hands in his own, bringing them
down to
his lap, and looked down on them, "That's what I realized
with Buffy,
when she was here. She was right. She's going to grow old and die
one
day. She should lead her life, have babies, whatever. She should be
happy. She wouldn't be very happy watching me stay exactly the
same
while she grew old. You and I, we can be friends for now....but there
will come a point when you'll hate the sight of me. That's
just the
way it works."
Willow sighed, "Never happen."
Spike looked up and saw again that despair in her eyes, "What
is it, luv? What aren't you telling me?"
"I'm not going to grow old and die, Spike. I'm like you,
immortal. Can't be killed, won't grow old, and won't have
babies,"
Willow sighed again, "So you see, we can be friends forever,"
the
despair in her eyes shifted into a pleading look, "Please, Spike,
say
you'll be my friend, I don't want to be alone watching all my
friends
die. Please?"
Spike looked deeply into her. Saw Willow as she had always
been: loyal, smart, funny, beautiful, strong and powerful. He
realized in that moment that he wanted to help her. If what she said
was true and she was immortal, truly, then she would need him. How
could he ignore that. He'd never been able to ignore the women
who
truly needed him. Not Dru, not Buffy, not his mother, hell not even
Darla.
"Friends forever, I promise," Spike gripped her hands
fiercely, "Whenever you need me."
"You're hurting my hands," she smiled tearily.
Spike released her abruptly, only to have her throw herself
on top of him, arms wrapped around his neck, hugging him
fiercely. "Thank you, Spike. Thank you so much."
Spike returned her hug, a little disconcerted that he was so
aware of her breasts pressed against his chest and the tops of her
thighs brushing his cock. Just thinking the word had it sitting up at
attention. He tried to push her back gently, but she only held on
tighter. The smell of her was surrounding him, uniquely Willow. He
groaned slightly and she leaned back, afraid she'd hurt him. Then
she
felt it, felt him and her eyes got wide. For a moment their eyes
locked. Then he kissed her. At first he simply touched his lips to
hers. It felt like lightening had just coursed through him. Willow
felt the same kind of rush that she'd only felt doing dark magic,
a
power almost. She plunged her fingers into his hair, pressing herself
against him. He thrust his tongue into her mouth, tasting her and she
returned the favor. It was like fireworks had started going off in
her head, she couldn't get enough, she wanted more, she wanted to
devour him. Spike flipped her onto her back before she knew what was
happening. He couldn't get enough of her, his kiss grew fierce
and he
could feel a growl building in his throat. Not even Buffy at her
darkest, had ever needed him as much as the girl in his arms. Her
mouth, her tongue, her little whimpers were setting him on fire. He
slid his hand under her shirt and she gasped into his mouth. She slid
one leg up and wrapped around him, pressing herself closer to his
erection.
"What the hell??!!" Angel roared from the doorway.
Spike's head sprang up and he almost groaned from the lack of
contact. He was kissing Willow. Willow, Buffy's best friend. The
girl
he'd had absolutely no interest in, until a few days ago. Yeah,
he'd
been attracted to her, after all she was beautiful. But she'd
never
been his type. What the bloody hell was he doing kissing her? He
released Willow and stood up and that's when Angel hit him.
The last thing he heard before passing out was Willow's
voice, "Angel!!"

~Part: 9~

Spike came out of unconsciousness slowly. The first thing he
was really aware of was the softness of the floor. The floor that
felt suspiciously like a bed. He opened his eyes, surprised to find
himself laying on Willow's bed. He slowly turned his head to find
Willow staring at him.
"Where's Angel?" Spike sat up groggily, only to sink his head
into his hands.
"I kicked him out," Willow responded.
Spike looked up quickly at that, grinning, "Did you?"
"We need to talk, Spike," Willow was not grinning.
"Oh hell, the worst sentence known to man," Spike lost his
sunny grin, swinging his feet onto the floor and looking for his
shoes. "How'd I get into the bed anyway? Not Angel?!"
"No, me," Willow waved her hand, "Witch, remember?"
Spike nodded and pulled one shoe on.
Willow pulled her knees in close to her body on the chair and
clasped her arms around them, "We really do need to talk about what
happened."
Spike looked up from re-tying his laces, "Do we?"
"Yes. Spike you kissed me," Willow sighed, as Spike continued
putting his shoes on.
"Yes, I did. As I recall, you kissed me back," Spike looked
up at her, the picture she made was forlorn and unaccountably it made
him angry. "Little late to protest now."
"I'm not protesting. I just don't think it should happen
again," Willow began.
"Oh, not this again!" Spike snarled and stood up, "You're
sitting on my coat."
Willow made no effort to move, she simply looked up at
him, "I'm not Buffy."
"I bloody well know you're not Buffy," Spike's anger was
growing, "Get off my coat."
"No, you need to hear me," Willow's eyes darkened for a
moment and Spike felt his body move backwards to the bed, his knees
bent against his will and he was sitting again.
Spike sneered at Willow, "I get no say, is that it?!"
"I'm not...look...I just want to tell you something," Willow
herself was flustered that she had used magic to make him stay.
Spike crossed his arms and glared at the girl, "Well? I'm
waiting, whether I want to or not."
"Look, Spike, I just wanted to talk to you. Tell you that I
don't want things to get complicated between us. We can't get
involved, or have a relationship. For a lot of reasons," Willow
explained.
"A relationship?" Spike laughed condescendingly , "All I did
was kiss you, that hardly qualifies as notice of intent, luv."
"You know you wanted more," she disagreed.
"Ya. So what? So did you. Just because I want to shag you
doesn`t mean I want to plan the wedding," Spike glared again, "Now
can I go?"
"I wanted to have sex with you, too," Willow stared
unflinchingly into his eyes, "I still do. That, what I felt, it
wasn't..."
Spike waited for a moment for her to finish and then rolled
his eyes, "Look, pet. I get that you're all worried about what Buffy
would think..."
Willow interrupted, "It's not about Buffy. Right now, it's
about me. Not everything is about Buffy."
She had risen angrily while speaking and then stormed out of
the room, slamming the door behind her. Spike found that he could
move again, but didn't get up from the bed. He sighed and ran a hand
through his hair. He had handled all of that badly, he knew. The
whole situation had taken him by surprise though. He had no clue
where all these feelings for Willow were coming from. Some of them
were natural, like the affection he felt for her. That feeling had
been around for years. The respect he had for her, that too had grown
over the years. But this new thing, this attraction or lust was brand
new. And it was a bad idea. She was right. There were a lot of
reasons not to get involved with her. Oddly, his first thought was
not of Buffy but of Xander. How would Xander feel if Spike slept with
another one of his girls? The same way Spike would feel if Angel
slept with Willow or Dawn. That thought had him shuddering. Then
there was Buffy. He'd been in love with Buffy for so long and he knew
he didn't love Willow. At least not in the way he should love Willow
if he was going to sleep with her. He loved her as a friend. He
sighed and grabbed his coat off the chair. Willow was his friend, and
that's all she could ever be.

Willow fumed all the way down the elevator. She fumed in
front of the building. She fumed as she walked down the street. She
stopped fuming about a mile away. Then she laughed out loud. She had
really blown that speech. Buffy was always so much better at the
speechmaking. Willow laughed even harder. Chances are, Buffy had made
that speech to Spike, and done it better. Poor Spike. She could just
imagine that Buffy's speech had probably broken his heart. Whereas
hers had just annoyed him. Willow sighed then. And that's exactly why
we shouldn't have sex, she thought to herself. He's still wrapped up
in Buffy. As much as he hates playing second string to Angel, he
should understand how little I like playing second to Buffy. Spike
was gorgeous, there was no denying that. His kisses had made her
feel, powerful. There was no denying they had chemistry. But none of
that was important enough to lose his friendship over. Hopefully, it
would just blow over on its own. As long as she didn't kiss him again.
With that settled in her mind, everything that had happened
in the White Room came back to her. She spotted a bench and sank down
gratefully, staring up at the stars.

"Mind telling me what that was all about," Angel gritted out
from his leather chair.
"Bloody hell," Spike snarled, "Not enough you hit me, but now
I'm getting the third degree?!"
"What were you doing, Spike?" Angel did his level best to
remain calm...and sitting.
Spike flopped onto the couch and grinned, "What did it look
like we were doing?"
"Spike," Angel growled a warning.
Spike's grin faded and he seemed to look inward for a
moment, "I don't know. One minute we were talking. Willow was upset
and then we were kissing."
"Upset about what?" Angel sat forward, less concerned about
the kissing now.
"I don't know, her immortality I suppose, she wouldn't say
exactly," Spike wearily shut his eyes.
"Did Fred or Wesley confirm that she's definitely immortal??"
Angel was surprised that they hadn't informed him first.
"I don't think so. She was all vague about where she had
been. But she was very upset about it. Wouldn't stop crying for
hours. Took her into her room to get some rest and then she didn't
want to be left alone," Spike hoped that Angel would make some sense
of the whole thing. Spike was sick of feeling in the dark.
"What did Gunn say?" Angel asked him.
"Gunn? Didn't speak to Gunn," Spike sat up abruptly, "You
think he's the one that upset her?!"
"No, but he was the one that she was with before she
disappeared on you," Angel soothed. He eyed Spike for a moment. Spike
was acting very protective of Willow. But when he confronted him
about the kiss, Spike hadn't taunted Angel as usual, just casually
brushed it aside. That wasn't like Spike at all. Usually he'd have a
good five, ten minutes of innuendos. Angel didn't think that Spike
cared about the girl, so why was he kissing her?
"Call Gunn, get him up here!" Spike demanded.
"He's gone home for the day. We'll talk to him tomorrow,"
Angel shook his head as Spike began to protest, "If he has done
anything to hurt her, he'll be less suspicious if we approach him
tomorrow."
Spike sighed and stood up, "You're right." He looked around
for a moment as if just noticing something, "Where's Willow?"

"The stars are lovely aren't they? They sing to me sometimes,
you know."
Willow's eyes widened and she slowly turned her head to see
Drusilla swaying beside the bench, looking at the stars. Drusilla
looked down at her and smiled sweetly, "Do they sing to you, little
tree?"
"Not so much, no," Willow nervously disagreed with the mad
vampire in front of her. Slowly she began sliding on the bench, away
from Dru.
Drusilla cocked her head, "We need to talk."
Willow's eyebrows practically shot off her forehead, "We do?"
Drusilla slid onto the bench next to her, "The stars have
been telling me things, Willow. Things about you. Things about me.
Things about a room, all white."
Willow's fear seemed to melt away at Drusilla's words, "What
do they tell you?"
"They tell me that the old ways are done, new ways are the
ways now. We're both new, you and I," Drusilla grabbed Willow's hand
with vampire speed, "So much strength in such a fragile hand."
"How are you new?" Willow tried to withdraw her hand, but she
was no match for Drusilla's strength.
"I've been re-born, just as you have, just as my boy has,"
Drusilla's face turned sad, "My poor boy. So lost. When he was taken,
I was taken too."
Drusilla bowed her head, tears falling from her eyes. She
rested her forehead on their joined hands and sobbed softly. Willow
felt pity swell up in her. Poor Dru, she's as much alone as I am.
Willow combed her fingers through Dru's hair, making soothing noises.
Dru turned her head into the caress, sighing happily.
"You smell like him," she murmured.
"I was just with him," Willow replied as softly.
"Yes, I know," Dru sat up abruptly and glared at the girl,
snarling, "Stay away from him." She squeezed her hand and Willow
cried out in pain.
Willow's eyes shifted to black, "Libero. Depulso."
Dru laughed merrily from ten feet away, "Ooooh, do it again!
Do it again!"
Willow stood up slowly, "Drusilla, I think you should go."
Before Willow could blink, Drusilla was standing in front of
her, "But I can't, dearest. Here is where I belong, here is where
I'll stay. We travel the same path."
Willow shook her head, "No, we don't travel the same path.
You're evil, I'm not."
Drusilla smiled slyly, "Sisters we are. Sisters we shall ever
be."
"We are not sisters, Dru," Willow turned her back and began
walking back to Angel's building.
Dru caught up to her and once more grabbed her hand before
Willow could stop her, "Are we going for a walk, then?"
Willow stopped and faced the mad vampire, "I am going home,
well back to Angel's home. I don't know where you are going."
Dru's bottom lip began to quiver as tears filled her
eyes, "But I'm lost, sister. I'm supposed to find the room, all white
and talk to the pretty kitty."
Willow's head reared back, "The White Room? Is that what
you're talking about?"
"The White Room? What a silly name for it," Dru's eyes
glinted with sanity for a moment, "Was that the best they could do?"
Willow laughed and Dru joined her. Their eyes met and Willow
recognized what she saw. Dru nodded, "Sisters."
"As if things weren't complicated enough already," Willow
sighed. "Alright, I'll take you back to Angel's with me."
"Daddy won't be happy to see his princess," Drusilla
pouted. "And Spike has been very very naughty."
"Yes, well, that's between you guys," Willow turned and
holding onto Drusilla's hand, began walking back to Wolfram and Hart.
"But it would be ever so much fun if you joined in," Drusilla
laughed wickedly.
"Somehow, I doubt that," Willow replied dryly.
When they were going up in the elevator, Drusilla hummed
along with the muzak. Willow meanwhile, nervously
chewed her bottom lip. How was she going to explain this to Angel or
Spike. They would think she had gone insane to bring Drusilla back
home with them. They'd probably commit her when she told them she
wanted her to stay. They'd never understand. God, she didn't
understand. But it was like she and Drusilla were connected and
Willow had a pretty good idea how.
Willow nervously unlocked the door to Angel's apartment. She
turned back to Drusilla, "Wait here for a minute."
Drusilla pouted and Willow soothed, "Let me just announce
you, alright?"
"Like a princess?" Drusilla asked excitedly.
"Yes, just exactly like a princess," Willow smiled and then
turned to enter the apartment, only to bump her nose into Angel's
chest. She stepped back quickly and smiled broadly, "Hello, Angel. I
brought a friend home."

~Part: 10~

Angel grabbed Willow by the arm and pulled her behind him;
turning back to snarl at Drusilla, who merely pouted. Willow's
tapping on his shoulder was distracting him so he shrugged her hand
away. That didn't stop her, she simply switched to hitting him on his
shoulder blade. Dru smiled prettily and winked at him. Winked!
Willow's hitting was quickly turning into smacks that were starting
to hurt.
"What?" Angel fairly roared as he turned back to her.
"She's not going to hurt me," Willow smiled
mischievously, "She can't."
"Oh, I can, sister," Drusilla twirled in the hallway, "but I
can't kill you. This is a lovely dancing hall."
Angel backed Willow up into the apartment's living
room, "What the hell is she doing here?"
"I don't know," Willow wearily sat down. "Is it just me or
has this been a really long day?"
"It's been a long day," Angel agreed and then shook his head
in confusion. His voice was more quizzical than angry, "What the hell
is she doing here?"
"I don't know," Willow reiterated, "She was just there and
she wanted to come home with me, so I brought her."
Angel looked at Willow, "Just like that."
"Just like that, well there was a lot of rambling about stars
singing and sisterhood and Spike and the White Room, but I just knew
that she was supposed to be with me," Willow rambled.
"The White Room?!" Angel grabbed Willow by the arms and
dragged her closer, "What did she say about the White Room??!!"
"Ow, Angel, you're hurting me!"
Angel barely felt Drusilla's hand until she used it to throw
him against the wall. A Picasso painting above his head shuddered but
didn't fall. Angel looked up at the avenging Drusilla stalking
towards him and smiled evilly. He jumped to his feet and punched her
twice in the face. Snarling into her game face, she responded by
sweeping his feet out from under him and then attempting to kick him
in the head. Angel blocked her attempt by grabbing her foot and
slamming her onto her back. Quickly before she could arise, he
straddled her waist, grabbing her wrists and holding her
down. "Willow, get a stake!"
Drusilla pouted, "Mean, wicked Daddy."
"Dru?" Spike stood in the doorway of the apartment, mouth
agape in shock. He had been searching the building for the redhead.
It was so much easier without all the prats running about. The
heartbeats he'd heard had only been security guards and maids
however. He'd sensed someone in the elevators and followed her up.
Now here she was and Angel was sitting on Dru. "Have I gone insane
again?"
"Spike, I can explain," Willow had been frozen in shock at
the abrupt violence that had broken out between Angel and Drusilla,
but now she was awake again. "Angel, please let Drusilla up, she was
just trying to protect me."
"Protect you?" Spike spoke shakily, "I am going insane."
"Daddy's hurting me, Spike," Drusilla whined piteously.
Angel slowly stood, not releasing his hold on Drusilla's
wrists, which brought her up with him. "I think we all need an
explanation, Willow."
"Can we sit down at least?" Willow sank onto the couch,
tiredly rubbing an ache that was developing in her temples.
Spike gladly took a seat next to Willow on the couch. He felt
as if his knees were going to give out at any moment anyway. Drusilla
made to sit on the couch with Spike and Willow but Angel still held
her wrists. She smiled at him, he glowered at her. He sat on the
leather chair, pulling Drusilla into his lap. Spike arched his
eyebrow at this, while Drusilla merely giggled and wriggled.
"Stop moving, Dru," Angel gritted between clenched teeth.
"Ya, Dru, or you'll give Daddy a happy," Spike grinned.
Dru pouted, "If only it were that easy to be rid of his nasty
soul."
"Keep moving," Spike's grin only broadened, "find out."
"Oh, this is going to be so much fun," Willow muttered
sarcastically.
"Can we please just find out what the hell is going on?"
Angel growled, "Dru!"
Dru smiled wickedly and returned her hand to her lap. She
fluttered her lashes at him and then leaned in to lick his
neck, "Grrrrrrr."
Angel sighed deeply and tried to ignore her. Spike smothered
a laugh and Willow launched into her explanation.
"Gunn took me up to The White Room," she began.
"Did you talk to the pretty kitty?" Dru interrupted,
distracted from her Angel.
"Yes, it told me that I was part of the new order. A
guardian. The old order falls away, it said. It also said that I
would never die, never grow old. That my old path had reached its
end, and I was on a new one. It said, that I was a part of its family
now. It was telling the truth, I could tell that, but Angel, I felt
it. Felt its essence. Its evil, to the bone evil. And then Dru shows
up and says she's my sister, and we're on the same path." Willow
paused for a moment. She looked at Angel and nearly broke his
heart. "I don't want to be evil, Angel."
"Don't fret, little tree," Drusilla crooned, "being bad is
ever so much fun."
"Dru," Angel gently shook the girl, "don't. Willow, I don't
know what all this means, but it doesn't mean you're evil."
Spike placed his arm around Willow and drew her up against
him, "We'll help you, luv."
Drusilla growled low in her throat and Angel shook her
again. "What are we going to do with this one?"
Willow wiped the tears away, she was sick to death of
crying, "I don't know, but she said she wanted to go to the White
Room."
"I'm not sure that's a good idea," Angel disagreed.
"Probably not," Spike agreed.
"We'll need to get some chains," Angel spoke
thoughtfully, "put her in one of the rooms, until we can figure out
what to do with her."
"Chains?" Drusilla bounced in Angel's lap, forcing a groan
out of him. "I told you we could play lovely games together, little
tree."
Willow rolled her eyes. "I suppose you're right about Dru."
Willow yawned and stood up, "It's been a long night, I'm going to
bed."
Willow walked to her bedroom and closed the door softly.
Spike had followed the witch's progress with his eyes and now turned
back to look at Dru and Angel. For a brief moment it was like
stepping back in time, seeing her on his lap like that. He shuddered
remembering what usually came after.
"Grrr, another bad daddy, got himself stuck with a nasty
soul," Drusilla chastised Spike, glaring daggers at him. "Mummy, will
have to punish you, bad boy."
Spike sighed deeply, "Where are the chains?"

Angel stepped back to look at his handiwork. Dru was chained
down to the bed, spread eagle, stretched to almost the point of pain.
"Tighter, Daddy," Drusilla purred.
Angel shook his head and left the room. Spike sat in
the chair and simply stared at his past love. When the First had
impersonated her, Spike had realized that even with a soul he still
had mixed feelings for his dark princess. She had given him the gift
of immortality, loved him for over a century. Evil or not, she had
meant the world to him at one point in his life and that bond still
existed between them.
"Spike," Drusilla purred, "Come closer."
"I'm not going to let you go, Dru," Spike warned.
"I don't want to go," Dru replied, her smile full of
naughtiness, "I want you, precious."
"Really? Seems to me the last time we spoke you were done
with me," Spike reminded her, trying not to notice her writhing
seductively on the bed.
"Oh, that nasty slayer. She's always ruining things. Look at
what she's done to my boy. Turned him good. Turned him against his
princess. But it could be as it was, my Spike. We could be together
again. Come taste your wicked plum."
"I don't have a curse, Dru. You can't make my soul go away."
"Don't need a curse. A soul doesn't make you good, my Spike.
You were always naughty, still are," Dru purred again and Spike felt
the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. It was so easy to get
caught up in her spell. She was a natural enchantress.
"Dru..." Spike began, "I'm sorry."
Drusilla hissed and turned her head away. Then suddenly she
broke into tears, "Not fair, not fair. All my family, gone gone.
First Daddy, then grandmum, and now they've taken my boy. Who's left
to love me?"
Instinctively, Spike went to her. He sat on the bed and
tenderly stroked her hair, "Shhh, Dru. Pet, I'm sorry. So sorry."
Drusilla hissed again and turned her head quickly, snapping
at Spike's quickly withdrawn hand, "Sorry? Sorry?! You've left me all
alone!"
"You mean like you left me? Alone?!" Spike stood up
angrily, "You left me for a chaos demon! Left me alone in Sunnyhell
with the slayer."
Drusilla sat up as far as her chains would allow, fury
filling her eyes, "I came back! To take you back, to be a family
again and you tried to kill me! For what? To prove your love to that
silly little girl?! Where is she now, dearest? Is she here? With
you?!"
"Shut up, Dru," Spike snarled.
"No, she's not here with you, even with a soul you weren't
good enough for her!"
"Shut up, Dru," Spike roared.
"You'll never be good enough for them. They're weak. They
don't see my boy for what he truly is!" Dru sobbed again, "Poor
Spike, all alone. Poor Dru, all alone."
Spike sighed heavily and sat on the bed again, stroking her
hair, "We're a sorry lot, luv."
"I want my family back," she sobbed.
"It can't ever be as it was, Dru....baby, I'm sorry," Spike
continued stroking her hair, just as he had done for over a hundred
years, until she fell asleep.
Once she was deeply asleep, Spike got up quietly and left the
room. He left the door ajar so he could hear anything, if she tried
anything. Then he went to Willow's room, cracking the door slightly.
Willow was curled up in a tight ball under the covers, her breath
hitching as if she too had cried herself to sleep. Spike slipped in
and crossed the room, stroking her hair and making comforting noises
until she seemed to calm a little. Her breathing deepened and he
silently closed the door behind himself. He was surprised to see
Angel standing in his bedroom doorway. Angel nodded and then shut his
door. Spike sighed and went back into Drusilla's room. He sat back
down on the chair and watched over her as she slept. In a way, it was
like the old days in their family. The times when Angelus would chain
up Dru for some minor infraction or just because he felt like it and
Spike would be powerless to do anything about it. Now Spike was again
powerless to help Dru or Willow.
He hated it. Hated it with a passion.

next