Willow's eyes snapped open.

She wasn't sure what it was that woke her, but as her eyes scanned her surroundings she decided that it was a good thing that she did wake up—

Because she had no idea where she was.

The last thing she remembered was being ushered into Spike's bedroom (the other Spike—not her Spike) with a promise that the blond vampire would try not to take too long.

Willow had to bite her tongue to keep from telling him to take as long as he could—into the next millenium for all she cared.

But she knew all too well that he would look at that as a challenge and she would never get any peace.

And end up doing something that she really, really didn't want to do.

She didn't know if she wanted to laugh or cry at this newest development in her crazed adventures of late. Who would've ever thought that she, little Willow Rosenberg, would be spending possibly the last few days of her mortal existence fighting off two soulless vampires while in love with the third one? Not to mention the amorous attentions of her vampiric self and the scorn of the double of her former love of her life.

She was getting a headache just thinking about it.

Obviously, she had fallen asleep while waiting for him. Just knowing she was unconscious while he carried her body around Sunnydale was enough to give her a good case of the wiggins. Sighing, she flung the sheets off her body, deciding that it would be best to face whatever the Fates had in store for her on her feet instead of her on her back.

Maybe she would be taken seriously then. She could only hope.

As cool air brushed against her bare legs, she stopped, absently dropping the sheet beside her.

Her legs were bare. No longer was she wearing her favorite pair of lavender leather pants and white silk top that she had on earlier that day.

"Prick," she mumbled as she clasped the black tee shirt covering her in her fist.

He changed her. He took her clothes off and put his shirt on her.

What was it with people messing with her while she slept? She hated it. She felt violated, abused, taken advantage of and a whole slew of other things that left her feeling more than a little vulnerable.

What an asshole.

Growling, she shot out of bed and decided it was time to teach this Spike a mortal Willow can be just a dangerous as her counterpoint—consequences be damned. If there was one thing she had learned from her previous encounters with her Spike was that he admired spunk—it was what kept his fangs out of her neck in the factory. She had to show this Spike the same thing—that she wasn't just a plaything kept around for his amusement—she could be dangerous too. Maybe not in the same ways as her other self, but she could float a mean pencil.

Angel groaned softly, rolling over onto his back. "What a hard ride," he said, as his eyes blinked open. In his four hundred years of existence—having spent at least two hundred of those in Hell—he had experienced pretty much everything, except universe jumping.

It was not something he wanted to do conscious again.

"So, where am I?" he asked himself as his eyes scanned his surroundings. Almost immediately he recognized the familiar settings and had to chuckle out loud.

His old apartment.

And from the look and smell of things, his other self no longer lived here. Racking his memory, he realized even though he knew more than enough of what happened to Willow, Xander—even Buffy—here, he had no idea his other self's fate other than he had been the Master's prisoner.

But, the apartment wasn't dusty enough for him to have been gone three years.

He stood up and went into the kitchen and checked the refrigerator. Inside sat three unopened bags of outdated blood stamped property of Sunnydale General Hospital on them.

He had nearly identical bags in his own refrigerator at the mansion.

He pulled one out and read the date. Three months expired. If his other self was like him, then whatever happened to this Angel, happened about two months ago.

Did he die?

Or lose his soul?

Angel found himself really hopping it was the former. He was in no mood to deal with his unsouled self.

Two hundred years of being imprisoned with him in Hell had pretty much burnt him out on that prospect.

Chucking the unused bag back into the refrigerator, he decided it was time to check out this other Sunnydale and see if it was as bad as he feared.

And hopefully find Willow in the process.

"Who the hell do you think you are?"

Willow stood in front of the television set, glaring at Spike, who was lying on the couch smoking a cigarette—smirking.

"What's that, pet?"

"Willow—my name is Willow. Not pet, love, ducks or any other inane endearment your 200-year old senile brain comes up, okay? Got it?"

Chuckling softly, he languidly lifted his head, dark blue eyes twinkling with humor and nodded. "Got it, love," he said softly, his voice low and breathy—sending chills down her spine.

Willow clamped her mouth shut, clenching her jaw, as she watched him watch her, all the while smirking at her.

Was it all a joke to him? Was she a joke? He couldn't be that different from her Spike, could he?

"Willow," she said, her voice dangerously calm. "Willow is my name." Shaking her head, she turned around and started to leave the room.

The hell with it, she thought to herself. I'll just hide in the bedroom and wait for my Spike. Goddess, where is he? I miss him. I want him.

Cool fingers grasped her wrist, stopping her.

Her heart stopped momentarily as the air in between them ignited—charged with sexual tension.

Damn, stupid sexy vampire.

He tugged on her hand, pulling her to him. His hard, cool chest pressed against her thin tee shirt, making her nipples harden and ache with need. With her free hand, she tried pushing against his chest, but his hand on her waist held her tightly against him.

"Spike!"

Smiling down at her—his eyes promising desires—dark and otherwise—fulfilled, as his free hand dropped down below her bottom and lightly caressed the bare skin at the back of her thighs. After squeezing her ass, he brought his hand up and lifted her chin with one finger and met her questioning look. "Love, we can do this the hard way or the easy way...it's up to you. But either way, I want you to know that I will end up in the same place—inside your tight, hot hole."

Her throat closed as her sex throbbed in response to his low, breathy voice. "But—"

He shook his head, placing a finger on her lips, and silenced her. "Now, I promised not to kill you or turn you—but other than that, I was given pretty much free reign. So, what'll it be?" he asked and then ran his cool tongue on her bottom lip.

"Why?"

Shaking his head again, he frowned down at her. "Wrong answer. Two more tries and I'll throw you over the couch and take you there," he whispered in her ear. "Care to give it another shot?" He nibbled on her ear lobe, causing her to shiver in response.

What choice did she have? But that's how her life had been since being brought over to this world. Other than making love to her Spike—everything else had been forced upon her. This Spike was just another example of how much her life wasn't her own—at least in this world.

Oh, she knew she would enjoy herself—if the way her body was responding to his caresses were any indication—but that wasn't the point, was it? She didn't want to be with him—she wanted to be with her Spike and it didn't seem like the Fates were going to allow her such a luxury.

She was scared and angry and once again mentally picturing a thousand and one ways to kill her other self—if only she let Buffy stake her...if only.

Goosebumps exploded on her body as Spike ran his tongue down her neck, circling the bite marks her Spike had made the night before. Moaning, despite her anger and frustration, she arched into his body and pushed her neck closer to his mouth.

"You taste so good...like him and me and you...so hot—so mortal." He whispered as he pushed his hardness into her crotch.

She heard herself moan again and knew she was very close to surrendering. Then she felt his fangs slide gently into the same wounds her Spike made the night before and her whole body shook in response. Her sex throbbed in want and she found herself grinding her crotch into his—seeking release.

Oh Goddess, no one ever told me that a vampire's bite could be so arousing...

She could tell he wasn't taking much—maybe a sip or two—but it was how it was doing it that turned her on so much.

He extracted his fangs and began licking on the wound. "So good," he whispered against her neck as he slipped his hands down to her bottom and lifted her up. Once in the air, Willow wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his hips; she hung on to him as he headed towards the bedroom.

Obviously, he knew her answer. But then, he probably did the moment he decided to drink from her.

Her last coherent thought before he pulled her shirt off her body and began suckling on her breast, was he maybe an asshole and the wrong Spike—but at least he was Spike.

She could live with that.

She had to.

"So, love, when do I get sprung?" Spike asked the red-haired vampire that was busy nuzzling his neck, lapping at a set of bite marks she had just left during their last frenzied coupling.

She pulled back from his neck and sighed softly. "You're really worried about her, aren't you?"

Rolling his eyes, he leaned back against the cold, hard rock of his cell and lit a cigarette. "Of course I am, Willow. She's mine."

She nodded, pulling away and leaned over to pick up her discarded top and slipped it on. "Tonight. But you won't be able to see her until tomorrow. You can stay at my Spike's place for the day and after sundown, ask Tom—his only minion with a brain to take you to your new hideaway."

Spike chuckled softly as he shook his head. "Why did the Master change his mind?"

She shrugged as she stood up and walked over and picked up her leather pants. With her back to him, she bent over—aware that she was giving him a show and sensually slipped her pants back on.

He couldn't believe that his Willow and her came from basically the same place. Just knowing that all that sensuality and responsiveness was in his Willow—begging to be released just made him ache for her all the more.

"Maybe he realized—with some of the right persuasion—that two vampire Willow's was just too risky—even for him."

He flicked his cigarette across the cell, as he laughed outright. "Took him long enough—I knew it the moment I met you."

She gave him a huge smile. "Well, you always knew me better than most." She leaned against the bars and nodded to his clothes. "Time to get dressed, Spikey—unless you want to spend another day here."

Sighing, he grabbed his tee shirt and slipped it on over his head. Within five minutes, he was dressed and together, Willow and Spike left his cell.

As they stepped outside, he thought of his Willow and prayed that Spike would remember that she was human and treat her accordingly. Although he hated the idea of another man touching her, he did take some comfort in knowing that it was his other self. At least this Spike loved the vampire version of Willow and that love would spill over in his treatment of the human Willow.

They may be different in some ways, but what made Spike Spike was the same things that defined this world's Spike and because of that, he knew the other vampire would not harm her. He may scare her, but more than likely he would use seduction to get her into bed.

Spike always did love seducing unwilling women—making them respond despite their misgivings—gave him a sense of power that only strengthened his demon. And with his Willow, he knew that more than likely, she wanted the other vampire—despite what her mind was telling her. How could she not? This Spike was him in almost every way that counted.

So engrossed in his thoughts, for a moment he almost didn't recognize the familiar signature of his sire as Angel's presence caused an unlooked for warmth to spread through his body.

"Bloody fucking hell," he whispered as he grabbed Willow's hand.

She stopped, her eyes scanning the crowd of demons and vampires standing in front of the Bronze and suddenly Spike heard her purr softly.

"Puppy," she whispered, her eyes locked on Angel's body.

Angel couldn't believe it when he saw his childe and her.

She was breathtaking—if he had any breath to take.

Her red hair, darker than when she was human, reminded him of warm blood on cool night and instantly felt his cock harden in response.

Her pale skin seemed to reflect the moonlight, forcing it to take almost a silvery tone—making him want to run his fingers across its silky surface.

Her green eyes glowed—even without the demon—promising pleasures that he hadn't even considered since gaining his soul again.

He felt like every dead cell in his body instantly come to life—drawn to her and her darkness...his demon howled against the bars of his prison—causing his face to change.

Shaking his head at his own obtuse thinking, he finally accepted the truth. The same truth that he had been hiding from since the first time he laid eyes on this dark vixen standing in front of him—when she had visited his world two months before.

It wasn't just his demon that was drawn to her—it was he—his soul or very essence—that wanted to possess her.

Growling at his loss of control, he forced himself to study his childe—who was many times the bane of his existence as well as the light of his unlife—Spike.

He stood there next to Willow—at ease—and as Angel closed in on the pair, he could smell the after-effects of their coupling and nearly growled again. Angelus screamed in protest and Angel couldn't help but agree for once with him.

They, both the soul and the demon, were jealous of his childe.

Shaking his head, he forced the demon down and it was then, he saw drawn, tired look on Spike's face. Obviously his week in this world wasn't the vacation that Angel feared it would be.

Spike looked like he wanted to go home.

Good, they would get Willow, talk to this Giles and go home

It was then a wave of guilt crashed through him. He was so enthralled with the vampire Willow, that for a moment he had forgotten all about his Willow and whether or not she was even still alive.

"Where is she?"

Spike shrugged and lit a cigarette. If Angel didn't know him better, he would say the other vampire wasn't concerned. But fortunately (or was that unfortunately?) that wasn't the case. A flash of concern passed through the vampire's eyes as his childe turned to Willow.

"Ask her, Peaches. She won't tell me. All she says is that she's safe with the other me—"

"You're here!" Angel nearly yelled at that piece of information. Suddenly, he had to know if his fears about his other self was right. "What about me?"

"You're your fucking prick self here. The slayer managed to give you a happy, but they haven't found the ensoulment spell."

Angel watched Spike's eyes darken at the mention of his other self. He turned to Willow, who was watching them in closely. "So Willow, where is she?"

Smiling, she leaned forward and licked his neck, purring softly. "I miss my Puppy," she said softly. Her head tipped to the side. "You two get along a lot better than my Spike and Angelus."

Spike snorted. "That's because I may dislike His Soul-ness, but I bloody hate his demon-self."

Angel nodded. "In that, we agree." What Angel didn't say was that out of all his childer with the exception of Drusilla, he found he still cared about Spike—even with a soul. Sure he felt the guilt—feeling each death they took as another dark mark on his soul, but at least with Spike, he was more than a demon. He used his brain, he controlled his demon—something that Angel never could've managed without an ensoulment spell—and he didn't want the world to end.

For a soul-less demon, he wasn't too bad.

But Angel would never tell Spike that. It would give the blond vampire too much power over him. And one constant in their relationship—soulless to ensouled—was that power was the running theme.

And Angel wanted to remain on top for as long as possible.

Spike looked down at the sleeping human in his arms and smiled. She was delicious—in every way possible. No wonder his other self had been so protective over her. Now that he had met and gotten to know this Willow in the most intimate manner, there was no way he could ever let her be turned.

At least not while in his care.

So, other than a few sips, he kept his fangs to himself and instead rejoiced in hot, human skin and mortal heartbeat.

It's a shame he couldn't keep her.

For the first time since he came back to Sunnydale, he finally found himself sympathizing with his Willow. He could see himself trying to balance two Willow's at the same time—enjoying the warmth of the human Willow and the vampiric sensuality of the his Willow.

But he knew it wasn't possible.

There was no way she could remain here for any length of time without the fear of her being turned becoming a reality. Although she hadn't said much about her other self, he could hear the dislike, anger and even fear in her voice every time she talked of his Willow. And the mortal did make him promise that he wouldn't turn her.

Even though he had told her of his intentions at the beginning of the night, he once again assured her that he would not turn her. Almost immediately, he could feel the tension leave her body as she relaxed in his arms.

Which in turn made her more receptive to his attentions.

Grinning, he watched as she snuggled even closer to him in her sleep, causing his body to instantly respond to her closeness.

Moaning softly, he dropped one hand to her breast, lightly teasing her nipple, watching it as it became hard under his attentions. Although her heartbeat indicated she was still asleep, unconsciously she pushed her chest into his hand.

Carefully sliding out from underneath her body, he moved down to her sex—instantly smelling her arousal as well as the fluids from their previous joining. His face changed as he dipped his head down and inhaled her sweet scent, causing his fangs to ache in response.

Finally, unable to resist her, he fell in between her thighs and began feasting on her femininity—no longer caring if he woke her or not.

Matter of fact, he was counting on pulling out of her slumber; he was definitely ready for round two.

"All right—you both win, but I want you to know that Spike isn't going to be too happy being interrupted," Willow said, turning on her heel and began walking towards town.

"Wait—Spike, what the hell is she talking about?"

Spike clenched his jaw and didn't answer—knowing that his sire would stake him if he knew that the blond vampire had not only been intimate with the human Willow, but had if not sanctioned, at least had not protested too loudly when he discovered she was now in the bed of his other self.

Angel grabbed his arm, forcing him to stop.

"Let go, Poof-face, or we'll lose her!"

"What the hell is she talking about?" Angel growled, his eyes flashing the yellow of his demon.

Spike yanked his arm free, pointedly ignoring him and took off in a run, catching up the little vixen that thoroughly mucked up his unlife a little over a week ago. As angry as he was at this Willow, a confrontation with his sire was something Spike wanted to avoid as long as possible.

He heard the steady footsteps of Angel as his sire caught up with them. Spike risked a glance in Angel's direction and inwardly groaned. If the expression on his face was any indication, Angel figured it out and was not too pleased.

Not at all.

"Spike..." Willow's breathy moans filled the bedroom as Spike teased her clit with his fangs. He had already brought her to one climax and was determined to bring on another one with just his mouth.

So sweet, he thought to himself as he growled in appreciation against her thigh. Willow's bottom half of her body bucked up hard against his mouth and not for the first time that night, Spike was grateful that he didn't need to breathe.

She was so much like his Willow—responsive and almost wanton once her fire was lit—that it made Spike's own arousal that much stronger.

"Please...I need...please..."

Happy to oblige, he moved his mouth up to her nubbin and sucked on it—instantly causing her body to surge upwards as her legs locked around his head.

"Oh Goddess—yes, Spike—Spike!"

Coaxing her climax upwards to with nips and licks, he managed to keep her on the precipice for nearly three minutes before her legs just fell away from his body as she finally calmed down. His cock throbbed—the silken sheets underneath him only adding to his painful arousal. Grinning, he moved slowly up her body, peppering her stomach and chest with small kisses until he was looking down at her red, sweaty and beautifully sexually fulfilled face.

Positioning himself at her entrance, he bent his head and kissed her softly, teasing her lips.

Despite her exhaustion, she began to respond, opening her mouth to him. Moaning loudly causing his tongue to vibrate, she opened her legs even further while trying to pull him inside her.

Breaking the kiss, he leaned down to ear. "What do you want, baby?"

"Oh...please..."

"Willow baby, tell me—what do you want?"

"You," she whispered, her voice so low he knew if he hadn't been a vampire, he wouldn't have heard it.

"Good," he said, sheathing himself totally into her tightness. Biting his bottom lip, he nearly groaned at the feel of her hot, wet cunt. That was one thing that was different with his Willow and the human Willow.

This Willow had been a virgin not even three days ago and he felt every bit of it.

As he began pumping in and out of her, he wondered how much more she could take before finally succumbing to exhaustion. He was no fool—he knew this night would be it—he'd never get a chance to be with her after this. The other Spike would see to it.

Knowing his luck, Willow would show up early and spoil all his fun. With that thought, he decided to take advantage of every minute he had with her.

He needed these memories to last a lifetime.

Growling, his eyes flashing as his fangs sunk once again into her neck, reopening the same wounds that both he and the other Spike made, and felt himself flying towards his climax. Lifting his head—not wanting to take too much of her sweet blood, he knew he wouldn't be able to last much longer. He then he slipped his hand down between them and squeezed Willow's clit—causing her clench uncontrollably around him.

After yelling her name, he growled loudly, his body spinning out of control. Willow warm hand touched his cheek and pulled his head down to her neck towards his other self's mark and once again drank from her. All it took was one sip of her heady elixir and he climaxed—shooting his cold seed into her womb—as he felt her muscles clench tightly around him as she had experienced her fourth orgasm.

Panting from exertion, he remained still—his fangs still embedded in her neck—his cock still sheathed inside her—and waited for his strength to return enough for him to move. So good, he thought to himself as her muscles spasmed once again. Will he ever feel this way again? Would his Willow take him to the heights that this near virginal mortal girl took him that night?

Satan help him, he hoped so. He almost prayed that it wasn't her heat or innocence that made this coupling so intense.

If he had the energy, he would've laughed at the absurdity of it all. To find heaven in a mortal girl was almost too much for him to deal with.

Willow moaned in his ear as she shifted underneath him. "Spike—move. You're crush—"

Her heart took off as she gasped.

"What is—" he stopped, finally feeling what obviously she had just seen. Fuck...

"Angel..." Willow whispered, her voice cracking.

His body tensed at his sire's name and even though he didn't sense him, dread filled him.

He lifted his head, her blood still staining his mouth and teeth and looked over his shoulder to see Willow, his other self and his sire glaring at him...

So stunned, it didn't even register how close he was to becoming dust until he was thrown across the room and pinned against the wall—stake at his heart.

He looked up at his attacker and groaned softly at his sire's yellow eyes damning him.

He was so fucked.

Spike took one look at the struggling pair and then grabbed Willow's arm. "You take care of those two," he said, not even waiting for the red-haired vampire's response before he turned his attention to the bed and his Willow.

"Bloody fucking hell," he muttered as he saw the stricken look on her face. Satan below, she was beautiful—her face flushed from exertion—his mark standing out—swollen and red—he could feel himself instantly respond to her.

"Red?" he whispered as he sat down on the bed beside her. She turned to face Spike and whatever control she had been wielding, broke as she began to sob loudly.

"Love, it's okay—I'm alright," he said as he gathered her shaking hot body in his arms.

Hiccuping, she looked up into his face and sighed in relief. "You're okay! Gods Spike, I was so worried and he wouldn't take no for an answer and he was you—"

He placed his finger on her lips. "Shh, Red. It's okay—I understand. Do you think that vixen over there let me be?"

Her head shot up and if he hadn't been there, he wouldn't have believed that Red was even capable of growling, much less making it sound as sinister as it did. "I hate this place, Spike. I want to go home," she whispered, her face crumbling as a new set of tears began running down her face.

"Love, so do I. Did he hurt you?"

She shook her head. "No, other than he wasn't you—it was like I was with you. Does that make any sense?"

Spike found himself chuckling as he nodded in agreement. "Unfortunately, for both of us, it does."

A loud crash echoed through out the room.

"Puppy—drop the stake now!"

"Willow, shut up! I'm going to stake this idiot—"

"Angel!" Willow yelled out, grabbing the sheet around her and standing up. "Leave him alone!"

Spike followed his little witch who managed to insinuate herself in between the two snarling vampires and watched in amazement as she grabbed the stake and pulled it out of Angel's grasp.

"Angel—I'm okay."

"Willow—he bit you! And, weren't you a virgin—"

"Well, that was a long time ago in a different world," she snapped as she turned around and handed the stake to Spike. "Now," she turned to the other Spike who was still leaning against the wall, game-faced, naked and glaring at Angel. "Spike—where did you put my clothes?"

His yellow eyes turned to Willow and he actually smiled at her. "Love, they're in the top drawer over there."

Oh wonderful—my other self is taken with her as well. I'll never get Willow out of here, Spike thought to himself as he watched her turn and walk towards the dresser, pull out a stack of clothes and then head to the bathroom. Once she opened the door, she turned around and smiled at him and then glared the three other vampires in the room. "Okay—I'm going to get dressed and then we're going to sit quietly and calmly and talk about this like adults, right?"

Angel growled and nodded once. He turned on his heel and left the room. Seconds later Spike heard the refrigerator door being opened and knew Peaches was eating to calm down his demon. Vampire Willow stared incredulously at the now closed bathroom door and finally shook her head with something akin to pride on her face. She looked over to Spike and grinned. "Fluffy went and grew up, Spikey!"

Spike chuckled softly in agreement. "Yeah, she did, Willow. No thanks to any of us."

The other Spike was zipping up his pants and shrugged. "I don't know about that. I think it was because of us. We really fucked up her life, didn't we?"

Willow squeezed her lover's shoulder and frowned. "She'll be okay. I know—she's me!" She slipped out of the bedroom, leaving both Spikes alone.

"Listen mate—no hard feelings?" The other Spike asked him after he pulled on his black tee shirt.

Spike shook his head. "I think we need to worry about Peaches out there. And Angelus. They're our wildcards. You didn't do anything I wouldn't have done sometime in my life. And you didn’t hurt her—so, I can live with it. Like I told Red, Willow and I weren't exactly playing Bridge today—"

The other Spike chuckled softly. "Yeah mate, she likes you. You remind her of Xander."

Spike laughed. "If you knew the human version of Xander, you'd realize how insulting that comment is."

"He's that bad, mate?"

The bathroom door opened and out stepped Willow, dressed in a pair of lavender leather pants and silky white sleeveless shirt. Her face was still flushed, but she seemed much more under control than earlier. She stood there, looking at both Spikes—as if comparing the two. Spike wondered if she could tell the difference.

"It's wild—you guys are exactly alike—except for the eyes."

The other Spike frowned. "You said that earlier, pet. What do you mean?"

She walked over to Spike and stood on her tiptoes and kissed him gently on the lips. She then turned to the other Spike. "His eyes are warmer—at least when he looks at me. Maybe it's our history," she said, shrugging. "Or maybe it's just me seeing something."

Spike wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head. "Well, love, are you ready to face the great Poof?"

Pursing her lips, she nodded once. "Might as well get this over with, right? And if he doesn't kill you or perform exorcism rituals on me—then maybe it won't be so bad when we get home—right?"

He laughed as he pulled her to his body. "Red, have you always been the internal optimist?"

She nodded, grinning as she pulled away. "Yep!" She grabbed his hand and took a deep breath. She glanced over at the other Spike. "All dressed?"

"Yeah love," he said as he lit a cigarette.

She nodded once. "We can do this," she said more to herself as she opened the bedroom door and stepped out of the room. He squeezed her hand in support as she led the three of them to the living room to face the music.

"Willow, what's going on here?"

Yawning, she leaned back against the back of the couch and stretched. "Fluffy grew up, Puppy."

Gritting his teeth, he took a deep breath and tried again. "Are Spike—my childe—and her intimate?"

She dipped her head and stared at him. "Why does it matter?"

His demon shook the cage as he heard the question echo through out him. Why did it matter?

Because Willow was an innocent—a mortal, 17-year-old girl that has a bright future ahead of her. A devoted boyfriend waiting for her at home—a boyfriend who was not a demon...

"What about Oz?"

She frowned and shrugged lightly. "I don't know anything about Oz. He's a White Hat here. But here, her blood sings for Spike. Just like mine does."

He decided to try a different angle. "Why did you bring them here?"

After kicking off her shoes, she turned and stretched out languidly on the couch, placing her nylon covered feet on Angel's lap, rubbing her foot on his crotch.

Angel growled and grabbed her feet, making them immobile. "Willow?"

"I needed Spike. You see, Puppy lost his soul and claimed me. Xander died because of that—but I still couldn't say no to my Angel. And then Spike came back—without his dark princess. She died—wasted away because Spike never could do the restoration spell. And Spike—he wanted me just as much as I wanted him. But, they—my Angel and Spike—hate each other and I need them both. So, I remembered what Fluffy said about your childe and decided that's who could help me keep both of them."

Angel nodded, surprised that he could follow her logic. "Why Willow, then? You had Spike—what did you need her for?"

She pulled one of her feet out of his grasp and slipped it underneath his butt, poking him with her toes. "He needed to go home and the watcher had the book I needed for the second half of the spell. The only person I could think of that could get the book was Fluffy. So, I brought her here."

Angel couldn't help but laugh, finding himself feeling sorry for his childe—of all things. To be dragged across dimensions for love life tips...

"And Willow and Spike?"

Frowning, she squirmed her foot—causing him to growl in annoyance. "He loves her, you know. He did before he even got here. That's why his Dru left him. He's good for her, Puppy."

Angel rolled his eyes. "He's a soul-less demon, Willow. Just like you and your Spike and your Angel. He can't be good for her—"

"That's where you're wrong, Angel."

Angel's head whipped around and saw Willow standing behind him, holding Spike's hand, with the other Spike standing on her other side. "Willow, why? What about Oz?"

A flash of guilt crossed her face and she looked down at the carpet. After taking a couple of deep breaths, she looked up, fresh tears running down her face. "You know what they say—infidelity is a sign that something is wrong with the relationship. I wouldn't have fooled around with Xander if everything had been okay with Oz and I."

"That's not true—you and Xander had history—"

"Angel, it is true. I don't and haven't loved Xander in a long time," she whispered as walked over to the loveseat across from the couch. Spike sat down and brought Willow down on his lap, wrapping an arm casually around her waist.

Angel ignored the flash of jealousy that soared through him, chanting 'happiness clause' repeatedly to remind himself why he could never be with her.

"Oz adores me. I feel loved, safe, content around him. But there's no passion. He's the closest thing to unconditional love I've ever had. You know my parents. They probably don't even know I'm gone. Oz gives me that—something that I'd been needing all my life. But Spike," she turned and smiled at his face. He gave her cocky grin and pecked her on the lips. "Spike gives me that plus passion and excitement. He doesn't want to hold me back—but he doesn't want to change me."

"Hold you back? What do you mean?"

Vampire Willow groaned loudly, rolling her eyes as she glared at Angel. "Fluffy sweaters—safe clothes—everything safe. Just the way you all want her to be." She nodded to Willow and gave her an honest smile. "When I see her now—I see who I wanted to be before. It took a demon to bring out my wildness. Let Fluffy be wild without the demon."

Shocked, Angel turned and really studied Willow. At first, he just saw her and filed it away in his mind as Willow—his Willow. But now he could see the differences. The clothes weren't quite the style the vampire Willow wore—but they weren't what he considered Willow-wear either. She also seemed a lot more at ease with herself than he had ever seen her before be. He could remember a dozen times on the top of his head of her blushing in embarrassment when Oz showed affection to her in public. Now, here she was comfortable seated in Spike's lap with not a blush to be found.

"Is she right, Willow?"

She nodded and chuckled sardonically. "Yeah, she's right."

"What about your future, Wills. You're seventeen years old. College—marriage—kids?"

Groaning softly, she shook her head. "I wasn't really thinking—"

"Well, you should, Willow!"

"Cut her some slack, Peaches. We didn't even know if we were going to get home. Hell, she's got the White Hats scrambling for the curse in case she got turned. I've dropped a few hints to those two over there as well. For all we knew," he paused, running his fingers through his bleached hair. "We were going to be stuck here for the end of time." He lifted Willow and set her down beside him and stood up and began pacing.

"I know you don't trust me and I don't trust you—but I love her," he stopped and looked at Willow. She nodded at him, tears in her eyes as she gave him a huge smile in return. "I was close before she showed up here—but all it took was a few days and I knew."

Angel shook his head. "How can you make it work, Spike? She's human or are you planning on bringing her across?"

Willow cleared her throat and leaned forward, watching Angel carefully. "Yes, we've talked about it. I was going to study the curse and see if I could find the happiness clause and take it out. Regardless of the clause, if I ended up getting turned here—he promised to curse me." She gave her other self a small smile. "No offense, Willow, but I don't want to be a soul-less vampire. I like my soul and I want to keep it."

Spike reached down and caressed her face. "I love it and wouldn't want to see her without it."

The other Spike stood up and turned to Willow. "Love, it's late. Let's go back to my place and let these three work things out on their own."

She nodded and pulled her feet out from under Angel and stood up. "Puppy—do you have a place to stay?"

"I think I do. Has Angelus gone back to his old apartment since losing his soul?"

She shook her head. "No, he hates the place—although he was talking of getting a few pieces of art out of there. Was that where you ended up?"

Standing up he nodded. "Yeah, the spell dumped me there."

The other Spike walked over to his counterpart and handed him a set of keys. "This is for the apartment," he said as he sorted through them and singled out another one. "And this is for the Cadillac out there. Tinted windows—the works. Great trunk space."

Spike chuckled softly. "Thanks mate."

He nodded and suddenly snapped his fingers. "Oh yeah, I told Willow over there, but just in case. My minions packed everything up and moved it here. So, the fallout shelter is cleaned out." He walked past Spike to Willow, who was still sitting on the loveseat. He squatted down and faced her. After grasping a strand of hair, he held it to his nose and inhaled, his eyes closed. Once he was finished, he tipped his head and gave her a cocky grin as he caressed her drying face. "Pet, I'm sorry if I hurt you—"

She shook her head and placed her hand over his. "You didn't, Spike." She chuckled softly. "You're him—but not—and I'm okay. Thanks for keeping your promise."

He leaned over and kissed her gently on the lips and then stood up. He shrugged as he glanced over at Spike and then his eyes met Willow's. "Come on, love, we still have a few hours before you have to go back to the pricks. Let's make the best of it."

Grinning seductively, she nodded. "Bye Puppy—Spikey. And Fluffy—don't do anything I wouldn't do—"

Spike grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the apartment before she could finish her sentence.

Shaking his head, Angel leaned back and closed his eyes. "What about Angelus?" He asked; his eyes still closed.

"He's the one I'm worried about. Willow took care of the Master and my Willow took care of this Spike—but he's still the wildcard." Spike cleared his throat and Angel opened his eyes to see his childe's face slip into his demon façade. He suddenly turned to Willow. "Red, aren't you hungry by now?"

Her eyes traveled back between the two vampires and slowly nodded. "Yeah, I'll go throw something in the microwave."

Angel watched her turn around and disappear into the other room. He finally looked up at Spike—feeling his childe's tension as he paced restlessly in front of him.

"What is it, Spike?"

"I want you to be honest with me—it’s the only way we can figure out what's going on with prick-face." He lit a cigarette and blew a lung full of smoke out. "What are your feelings towards Willow or better yet, what does your demon feel?"

Angel groaned as his head fell back. As Buffy would say, he so did not want to deal with this now.

"It's not that I don't trust you—well I don't, but I know that you won't hurt her. But your demon? Here, he's been obsessed with her. Within the first week of him coming back, he threw Xander out of the Master's lair, claimed Willow—nearly destroyed whatever unity there was in the family—all for her. Now, I ask you again, what are your demon's feelings for Willow?"

"Fuck Spike," Angel whispered as he met his childe's wild glare. "You don't ask the easy questions, do you?"

Spike shook his head. "Well?"

"I would say it's not too much different. He wanted to fucking stake you when I figured out that you two were intimate."

Spike nodded his face morphing back to his human face. "The spell you used to get here—can we use it to go home?"

Angel shook his head. "I can't—I guess you guys could. It's a one-time deal. We’d have to take it to Giles and have him look it over." Angel stood up. "Giles also gave me the curse and an orb—just in case Willow had already been turned."

Spike's eyes widened in surprise and looked over his shoulder towards the kitchen. He suddenly shook his head and shrugged. "With a happiness clause—it's pretty useless."

Angel nodded solemnly.

"And besides, I love her warmth. Bloody hell, she's seventeen years old. I wouldn't want to bring her across until she was older. We only talked of it as an alternative."

"If you were stranded here."

"If we were stranded here." Spike stood up and began pacing again. "And since you have the spell—all else fails..."

"You two can go home."

"Angel, we can't leave you here!" Willow said, walking out with a frozen dinner in her hand. "It's too nuts. Angel, Buffy's here. Goddess, she almost staked me. She's nothing like our Buffy."

She sat down next to the dark-haired vampire and placed her heated dinner in front of her. Just as she was getting ready to take a bit of her food, she stopped and started giggling. Setting the fork down, she picked up the remote control and aimed at the television set.

Puzzled, Angel watched the screen and noticed that the channel was set on one of those 24-hour news cable stations.

"Look Spike—CNN! No more Lon Chaney!"

Spike laughed outright as he moved over and sat on the arm of the couch, next to Willow—leaning on the back behind her. "Let me see it, Red."

She handed him the remote, still grinning and turned back to her dinner.

Spike switched stations and stopped when it landed on a movie channel.

"What's the big deal?" Angel asked, finally just too confused to stay silent anymore.

Willow swallowed and laughed softly. "Our last place was a fallout shelter. The only television station we got was some local one owned by a vampire who was in love with Peter Cushing and Lon Chaney movies."

"As if watching them the first time they came out wasn't enough. I was bloody stuck in the ground—alone, cause Red here would leave in the afternoon and found myself being bombarded with old flicks that I've hated for over 40 years."

Willow reached over and squeezed his knee. Suddenly her face lit up and she shot up out of her seat. "I can't believe I forgot about it. With all the mess up and the other Spike being at the lair when I got home—I totally spaced it out. I bought a laptop this afternoon." She walked over to the dining room table and tore open the box. "I figured that maybe I could find the spell online or get a handle on where to find some reference materials if Giles can't find it." She looked over her shoulder and met Spike's eye. "Are you mad? It was on sale—only $1500 and she did give us $10,000—"

"Red," Spike said, getting up and walking over to her. He placed his hands on her shoulders and kissed her neck. "It's fine and when we go back, maybe you can give it to one of your chums over at the library."

She nodded, tears in her eyes. "Maybe Amy. Angel, Amy's human here and she told me where to get the de-ratting spell. Hopefully, I can bring her back."

Angel chuckled softly as he watched the couple begin setting up the computer. They really work well together, he thought to himself. Spike's much more at ease with Willow then he was with Dru—especially since I lost my soul.

Angel cleared his throat and stood up. "What happened with Dru?"

Spike turned around and leaned against the edge of the table after lighting a cigarette. "I did what I set out to do—found her, tortured her and even got her to admit she still loved me." He chuckled and shook his head. "And then a week later, I found her in bed with that same fucking Chaos Demon. We finally sat down and talked. And then I left. I ended up somewhere in Mexico and that's where I was until the vixen brought me here."

Angel nodded and stood up, grabbing his coat. "It's close to dawn and I better head back to the apartment. Willow?"

"Umm?" She turned around, her head bowed, reading one of the manuals. She looked up and smiled.

"You know where I used to live, right?"

"The apartment by the Bronze?"

Angel nodded. "I'm at the same place. It's pretty amazing that the building is still standing—considering how many demons there are around there."

She dropped the book on the table and walked over to him. "You will be careful, won't you?"

He smiled down at her as he nodded. "If I didn't know how to take care of myself before my little stint in Hell, I sure as hell do now."

Willow nodded and gave him a hug. "Thanks Angel—for everything. Especially for understanding."

He glanced over head at Spike and sighed. "I don't understand, Wills," he started, correcting her. As her face fell, he held up his hand. "But far be it for me to condemn you and judge you. I've done a lot worse—with my soul—than this. Besides, I can tell by the way that Spike looks at you, that he loves you and will protect you. I may not like it—but," he shrugged, "who am I to say?"

She gave him one more squeeze and pulled away. Suddenly she snapped her fingers and ran over to the table. "If you need either of us," she said as she pulled out a piece of paper and began scribbling on it. "Here's our phone numbers. She gave us both cell phones," Willow said as she walked over and gave Angel the paper.

"Thank you. I'll see you tomorrow. Are you going to go see Giles tomorrow?"

She shook her head. "It's too dangerous. He's supposed to call when he finds it."

Angel looked over at Spike. "Take care of her or I'll stake you myself."

Spike rolled his eyes and strode over to the door, opening it. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Don't let it hit you on the ass on the way out, either."

Angel chuckled softly, relieved that things were back to normal as they could be—considering where they were at and headed for the door. Taking one last look at the domestic scene he was leaving, he couldn't help but feel amazed at just how strange this whole night had been.

Maybe it’s the air or something, he thought to himself as he stepped outside and closed the door behind him. He heard the deadbolt turn and looked up at the sky. He had maybe a half an hour before dawn.

He'd make it—but it would be close.

It wasn't until he saw Buffy in the cemetery that it really hit him how different things were here in this crazy world, compared to his own.

As soon as night fell, Angel slipped out of his now dust-free apartment, planning on going over to Spike and Willow's to eat some of his childe's bagged blood, when he felt drawn to the place.

And once he saw her, he understood why.

Even across dimensions, her soul still pulled at his.

But when he saw her, he had an epiphany of sorts.

Before, he would've never, ever believed that coming to Sunnydale would've been a good thing in Buffy's life.

The closest, most positive spin he managed to put on it was maybe her moving there was a necessary thing—like getting your wisdom teeth pulled. But he never could say it was a good thing.

That is, until he saw her.

Not only was she scarred on the outside, but also from what Willow had said it went much deeper than the marring of her face—her soul had lost its light.

And yet, even with that, she still managed to fall in love with her Angel and his counterpart still lost his soul.

But as Angel stood in the cemetery, hidden from her view and watched her fight, Angel couldn't help but feel vindicated somehow.

As awful as things had turned out in his world—he did manage to have some positive impact on her life. Granted, the pain this Buffy had felt and the traumas she suffered didn't all have to do with his lack of his presence in her life.

But in the same light, he'd been a part of the Sunnydale package and in retrospect, that hadn't been a bad thing.

And what should've been a positive mark in her life—staying clear of the Hellmouth—actually had worn her down. Whether it be from the loneliness of no mother, or the kindness of Willow or Xander's steadfast loyalty or Giles' strange approach of guiding, loving and protecting her as her Watcher or even this world's Angel love—Angel didn't know. But somehow, Sunnydale, with all its danger and trappings, had been kinder to Buffy than Angel had ever believed possible.

Sighing inwardly, he was just about to turn and leave the cemetery when he heard a familiar voice call out to her—stopping him cold in his tracks.

Repulsed, yet curious, he found himself turning around to watch as his counterpart without a soul slip out of the shadows and begin to taunt the slayer.

Angel watched, unsure if he should interfere or not, as he ignored Angelus' cold words as the demon began to play one of his favorite games with her.

Angel knew, because he too played the same game with her when he lost his soul. Using his fine-tuned sensuality, he would weave poetic words of hatred and lust, spun in just the right way to tear at her heart—to weaken her.

It should've worked.

But Angelus, at least Angel's demon, forgot one important fact—Buffy was ten times stronger than any slayer or mortal woman he had ever faced before.

Instead of breaking her, she had become stronger.

As he watched this Buffy—so much different and yet not--flinch at Angelus' words, Angel couldn't help but wonder if this young woman had it in her to withstand it.

Because where he stood, he had to wonder.

Shaking his head, he turned and left the cemetery—unable to watch the macabre scene in front of him. He had enough of his own memories to haunt him to last several lifetimes—he didn't need anymore.

Willow grinned when she saw who was on the other side of the door. She opened it wide, saying nothing and waited for him to enter.

His brown eyes twinkled as he stepped across the threshold and closed the door behind him.

"Could you really tell the difference, or were you testing me?" he asked her as he slipped off his coat.

She took it and hung it up on the coat rack and shrugged. "I could tell. But then, Angelus barely fooled me."

"Meaning?" He asked as he walked across the living room towards the kitchen. "Is Spike in?"

"Nope—he was going stir crazy—and," Willow paused, her eyes shut, "I think he was going hunting as well. He took the car, so he was probably going to go over to the next town."

His eyes narrowed and she felt a rush of guilt fill her. She just knew what the next question was going to be and she wasn't sure how to answer it.

"And you don't feel bad about it?"

Willow could feel her face flush as her body stiffened. "Of course I feel bad about it, Angel. But he has to eat and he needs the violence. We've already talked about—ways of going around it and all I know is that if he feeds here, in this Sunnydale, he isn't planning on killing. He called it a 'sip-and-go type of thing.'"

She watched as Angel opened the refrigerator and pulled out two bags of blood. "Wasn't this good enough for him?"

Willow sighed as she sunk down in the chair. After letting her head fall back and closing her eyes, she answered him.

"He'd been eating it for four days straight and said that he could feel the demon getting anxious and he doesn't want to hurt me, so he said he was going to hunt. Maybe dust a few vamps to work out his violence issues."

She heard the microwave door close and Angel program it as her mind went over her and Spike's earlier conversation. He didn't make any promises, but said he would try to find a compromise when it came to killing and feeding.

What did she expect? He was a demon, no matter how much he may love her.

Sighing again, she opened her eyes to see Angel standing in front of her, looking quite thoughtful. "After eighty-some odd years at this, you'd think that I would have a solution for him—right at hand."

"What did you do?"

The microwave beeped and Angel pulled out the bag and turned around—his back facing Willow.

Willow's eyes dropped as she heard his soft growl behind her and the puncturing of the bag and began staring at the tabletop. A couple of moments later, she heard a repeat noise echoed loudly through out the now silent kitchen and she knew he was feeding from the second bag.

Three minutes later, he was sitting across from her with a cup of coffee in his hand.

She looked up and their eyes met.

"Animals were always my preferred prey once I got my soul. But sometimes, no matter where you are, they aren't available. If I couldn't hunt them, I did the sip-n-go thing too," he said.

Willow watched his shoulders droop and his eyes fall onto the table. "I also killed, Willow. Murderers, rapist, abusers—what we demons now call the Anne Rice routine. It wasn't until I made a mistake and killed an innocent man that I finally lost it—sunk into a depression that lasted on and off 30 or so years. I fed off rats in the alleys of New York City. Whistler was the one that finally pulled my sorry ass out of there."

She reached over and squeezed his hand gently, seeing the pain flash across his face. She could only imagine the guilt Angel carried with him. And this was his souls', not his demons.'

Determined to lighten the mood, she pulled her hand away and chuckled softly. "Rats, huh? Although I'm sure the citizens of NYC appreciated your contributions in keeping the vermin down, I really don't think that's a solution for Spike."

Angel shoulders shook as he snorted. "You're right. Although it would be fun to watch, wouldn't it?"

She nodded as a picture of Spike chasing down a rat flashed through her mind. His duster flapping behind him. She shook her head and laughed.

"Nope, but I agree, it would be funny. So, how do you think he'll do this?"

"He's always had a strong personality or mind. As a human and as a vampire. When Spike wants something or doesn't want to do something, he basically wins. Always has. Unfortunately, Willow, I can't see him curbing his appetite just for you. The only way that his feeding choices are going to change is if he wants it—not you."

She nodded slowly, silently agreeing. Everything she had learned about him in the past week seemed to back what Angel had said. Even the other Spike had an inordinate amount of control over his demon—letting his face change only when he chose to—sipping but not draining.

She sighed. "He has changed or I wouldn't be here. He's not the same vampire I met the week of Parent-Teacher night over a year and half ago."

The dark-haired vampire nodded in agreement as he leaned back in his chair. "I know—just seeing the other Spike and this Spike, I could see it. Subtle differences, but significant enough of ones, that I actually trust him to be good to you. I never thought I'd say that. But this Spike is so much more like the childe I knew and ran with for over a hundred some odd years than my childe is that it's amazing.

"What did he say changed him?"

Willow bit her lip and looked at him pointedly.

"You're kidding?" he asked as he straightened. "Me? How?"

"It wasn't you—it was Angelus. And his being in a wheelchair and watching and not being able to fight back. Watching as Dru slipped away from him into Angelus' arms. Finding himself actually silently cheering Buffy on every time she kicked your—or your demon's butt—because he couldn't do it.

"And finally, his alliance with Buffy to put your demon down," she added. "In a way—that action is probably what enabled him to see me as something other than a meal or something to be conquered. Because, he started looking at Buffy as an individual and not just as his mortal enemy. And that rubbed off."

Angel nodded as the gears in his mind worked with Willow's words and couldn't help but feel as if Fate once again played them all—for the better. Who would've ever thought that something good could have come out of his demon's return?

Not Angel.

If nothing else comes out of this adventure, Angel had to think at least for himself, his time in this world, had been a good thing.

He only hoped it remained that way.

He couldn't believe his luck.

When he sensed him at the cemetery, he had no idea what it was that was tugging at him.

All he knew was it somehow familiar, and yet not.

Bidding the slayer goodbye after an especially well-aimed punch to her gut, he took off and followed the presence, hoping that he remained out its sensing range.

Luckily he only needed to remain that close to him for about five minutes.

Once he saw his own profile as his other self walked quickly underneath the streetlight, Angelus grinned.

It was him and yet from what little tidbits Willow had told him of the other world, this was him with a soul.

Dropping back out of sensing range, he followed the vampire across town until he Angelus found himself standing in front of a large apartment building. As he stepped back into the shadows, he watched as his other self knocked on a door on the ground floor and nearly howled in delight when he saw who opened the door.

It was she.

The human Willow.

His Willow forgotten, he hid himself, and waited.

Willow sighed as she glanced out of the dark night, waiting for Spike to come home.

Giles had called and said he needed to see her. Once she had disconnected the call, she hurried to get ready and had stopped just as she had opened the door.

She couldn't leave.

"Damnit!" she muttered to herself as she closed the door, kicking it for good measure. Why didn't she ask for Angel to stay with her until Spike got home? If she had, then he could've escorted her to the library.

After sulking for nearly a minute, she remembered that Spike had a cellphone too and decided to call him.

That's when she found out he had forgotten it.

It was sitting on his nightstand next to an empty pack of cigarettes.

So for the last fifteen minutes she'd been staring outside, watching for her Spike or Angel to return so she could go to the library and learn their fate—all the while trying not to worry.

Which was the hardest thing of all to do. She kept replaying what Giles had said to her on the phone, trying to get a feel for him—and she couldn't. It was so hard to read this Giles. With her Giles, she usually could tell what kind of news it was going to be with just the tone of his voice.

Whether it was because of who she was or if it was because of this Giles' general distrust of all-unfamiliar, she didn't know. But this one appeared to play his cards even closer to his chest than hers did.

Which just frustrated her all the more since she could do nothing about it.

"Damnit," she whispered against the glass.

Angel sighed softly as he leaned against the old mausoleum and stared into the empty graveyard.

This Buffy had long since left for more fertile hunting grounds—the air was silent except the lone bird or owl that called into the night—leaving Angel to his thoughts.

He enjoyed talking with Willow; her kind face, gentle manner and quirky wit all made for an easily spent two hours. It was strange—he felt freer here than he had since he'd been ensouled. This Sunnydale not being his home, left him with a lot of spare time.

In his world, he never had enough time. Even when he had nothing to do, his dark thoughts would fill the sleepless days and he never could run far enough away from them.

He didn't even want to.

If he forgot the faces of his victims, who would remember? Did he even have a right to forget?

Sometimes, he thought he did, but most of the time, he knew he didn't.

But here, in this world, the victims weren't his—the deeds done by his counterpart weren't a reflection on him—it was more like watching a movie that he had a feel for the ending, but still wasn't quite sure if he was guessing correctly. It was kinda of freeing. Especially after watching Buffy earlier and knowing now that the last four years of his unlife weren't for nothing.

He had made a difference.

A twig snapped and Angel stiffened—sensing the presence of another vampire—and was surprised to see Willow walking towards him through the cemetery.

Smiling at him, she leaned against the wall next to him, pressing her leather-clad breasts against his arm while running a red fingernail down the front of his shirt.

"Puppy, I've been looking for you," she said, whispering in his ear.

Inwardly groaning, he pulled his head back and faced her, putting some distance between the two. Gods, he wanted her. He could smell her arousal and it was enough to drive him to distraction.

"Willow—what brings you here?"

Biting her bottom lip, she once again closed the distance between the two and nibbled on his ear.

"I told you," she whispered right before snaking her cool tongue in his ear. "You did."

Growling softly, he whipped around and grabbed her arms, holding her back. "Why?" he asked as she pushed against his hold, trying to pin him. "I thought it was Angelus' night."

Stomping her feet, she pouted at him. "It was. He stood me up. He's never stood me up, Puppy." She dropped her eyes. "I'm worried."

"About what? I just saw him earlier—taunting the slayer. It was like watching a repeat of last year in my world."

She rolled her eyes in disgust. "And he gives me trouble about Spike, the hypocrite. He wants to fuck her. He always wants to fuck her and he hates that he does. I say he should just get it over with and then kill her. And forget about it. That way, he gets his fun, he gets her blood and another slayer kill under his belt."

Angel chuckled softly as he shook his head. "He won't do it, Willow. He's afraid of her. He's afraid to be with her and he's afraid of what'll happen if he kills her."

Her eyebrows creased. "Is that how you felt when you lost your soul? With her?"

"Yes," Angel said as he nodded.

"Then he should just fuck her and forget her. He doesn't have to kill her. I can or Spike can. He's a demon. What is it about you two and mortals?"

Angel dropped her arms and gave her small smile. "I don't think you can say that, Willow. Your Spike seems pretty taken with you and he has been since he met you, right?"

"Yeah, I suppose so."

"And you were a vampire when you met him last year, right?"

"Okay—bored now. What about my Angel?"

Angel frowned, thinking of his Willow sitting at home alone. "Could he know where Willow and Spike are?"

"I don't know."

"Spike's not home. He had to hunt tonight. His demon was getting a bit cagey. Willow said he took the car and went over to the next town to do his stuff." He turned to her, watching her eyebrows crease. "Do you think we should be worried?"

She reached into her coat pocket and pulled out a cellphone. "I'm going to call Spike and have us meet him there. I'll try the other Spike too."

Angel nodded; feeling more anxious as the minutes wore away. Pacing in front of her, listening with only half an ear to her call to her Spike, Angel tried not to think of what would happen if the other Angelus got a hold of Willow.

His demon, on the other hand, kept urging him to run over there and protect her—which he couldn't begin to understand. Protect her from himself?

Growling, he turned to Willow as she closed the phone, a flash of fear crossing her face.

"My Spike said he'd meet us over there."

Angel began jogging away.

"Puppy! Angel—Spike didn't answer his phone—"

He stopped and turned around, watching her.

"And neither did Willow."

"So Angel, what made you come back?" Willow asked as she slipped out the door, locking it behind her. "Not that I'm not glad or anything because I need you, but I'm surprised.

He shrugged, his leather coat flapping in the window. "I was kinda bored and I decided that I wanted to see if Spike had come back yet."

She sighed as she shook her head. "Nope and he forgot his cellphone too." Her eyes suddenly widened as she reached into her coat pocket and found it empty. She groaned softly.

"What?"

She rolled her eyes and gave him an embarrassed smile. "We need to go back. I just realized I forgot mine too. Here I was all ready to be mad at him and I just did the same thing."

He reached over and grabbed her arm, stopping her from starting back. She frowned as she looked up at him. "What?"

"Do you really need it, Willow?"

She wasn't sure what it was that tipped her off. Was it the tone of his voice? Or even that he questioned her? Her Angel would know why she needed to have the cellphone.

Her Angel...

Her mouth dried as she stared at the pale hand that was holding her arm. As her heart began to speed up, she forced herself to look up at the dark-haired vampire's face.

She nearly lost her dinner when she saw Angelus' grin.

"Oh Goddess," she whispered more to herself than to him. "I did it again!"

This was not a good thing.

"She's gone," Spike said as he opened the door. "It was locked up. No sign of struggle and bloody fucking hell if both of them didn't take their phones!"

Pacing in the living room, he periodically glared at Willow all the while shaking his head, muttering underneath his breath.

Angel's eyebrows rose.

Obviously, this Spike hated Angelus as much as his own childe.

Willow growled softly as she whipped around, her demon face sliding on. "Sweet Satan, he was here!"

"Who?" Angel asked.

Willow rolled her eyes at him as she took off to the door. "Your better half, Puppy!" She stopped as she yanked the door open and turned around, keeping her eyes on Angel, pointedly ignoring Spike's cold stare. "Angel, come with me. Spike can wait for your childe."

She stepped out the door, leaving it open.

Angel turned and eyebrows raised and glanced over at Spike. "Is this alright with you?"

Demon face rippling, Spike nodded once. "If I got a hold of him, I may bloody well stake the bastard. Go!"

Angel said nothing and followed Willow out the door.

Willow couldn't believe that she could be so stupid. Seventeen years old, two years fighting vampires and any other demon or bad guy that wanted Sunnydale as its personal playground, and she walked out willingly into Angelus' care.

What was it she said earlier to Angel? 'Angelus barely fooled her.'

Eat your words, girl, she thought to herself as she looked down at her hand clasped tightly in his hand.

She was surprised her legs were even working as they walked down the street in disgusting parody of a couple out for an evening stroll. With every step she made with him, the acid in her stomach bubbled even more.

Goddess, now I'm going to have to worry about keeping my dinner in my stomach too, she thought as her eyes scanned her surroundings.

Where is he taking me? she asked herself as he tugged on her hand, pulling her towards the left at a nondescript street corner.

Taking a deep breath, she looked up at him, trying to ignore the chill that swept down her spine. "Why?"

Angelus stopped so quickly that Willow bumped into him. He grasped her waist and looked down at her, smiling.

Goddess, she hated that smile.

It haunted it for months after he nearly killed her that first night when he had come back. His cool hands around her neck—shaking her out of her emotional stupor—forcing her to realize her own mortality, even though she was way too young to deal with it.

At least not by a demon's hand wearing her friend's face.

Never that.

"What's that, little one?" he whispered as his cool fingers caressed her cheek. "Why what?"

Biting her bottom lip, she took a deep breath and tried preparing herself—for what she didn't know—but Goddess if he was going to turn her...at least Angel had the curse.

"Why me?"

His finger's tightened their hold on her chin, forcing her head up to look at him. "Don't you know by now? Didn't your soulboy tell you?"

Swallowing hard, she shook her head. "Tell—tell me what?"

He lowered his head; his lips nearly touching hers as his tongue slipped out and licked her bottom lip. Not even thinking about the consequences, Willow tried pulling away as she whimpered softly.

His hold just tightened more. Willow knew if she survived the night, she would have bruises on her chin matching his fingertips.

Oh Spike, she silently called out to her lover. Please hurry...

"I always wanted you," he said, his lips touching hers. "Always."

By the time Spike made it home, he was nearly jumping out of his own skin. What started as a tickling in his mind that there may be trouble had escalated to the point that all he could think of is getting home and seeing Willow.

To hold her. Make love to her and never let her go.

By the time he reached the top step to his doorstep, he knew it wasn't going to happen.

At least not right now.

Willow was not home and there was a vampire in his home.

Fortunately, he recognized the presence.

It was himself.

Growling, he opened the door and stepped inside, his eyes instantly locking onto his counterpart's golden eyes. "The bloody prick took her!" was all the other Spike said as he ran past Spike to the outside.

Spike followed, ignoring the rising panic that had nearly bubbled over.

Angelus would pay.

"You know, if we ensouled him—he wouldn't hurt her," Angel said as he watched the redhead's vampiric countenance ripple in anger.

Growling, she shook her head. "You don't get it, do you, Puppy?"

"Get what?" Angel snapped. "That he's got Willow and I know what he's planning. My demon is whispering all the lurid details to me right now—trying to goad me into getting her back! Willow is his, as far as he's concerned. Just as you are your Angelus'."

Her human face turned and looked up at him. "Then why didn't you claim her? Why are you letting her and Spikey stay together?"

"You don't get it, do you? Willow's not mine—she's her own person. She made her choice. That's the difference between my demon and me. I don't claim ownership on people. And he knows that there's not a damn thing he can do about it. I am the boss. I proved that in Hell, my dear and no one—not even you or your precious Angel is going to hurt her and get away with it!"

She stopped, her eyes widening as her game face appeared. "Puppy's got balls! Did Hell do that to you, Puppy?"

Finally, after two days of her poking, he lost it. Roaring, he felt his face change as he whipped around and grabbed Willow before she could even manage to turn away, and picked her up by the neck and threw her down on top of the hood of a car they were just walking by. Pinning her down with his body, he grabbed her arms and held them easily with one hand.

His other claw sliced a thin cut on her neck as she struggled ineffectively under him. Smashing his pelvis down on hers, he bent his head and licked her sweet blood, growling softly. "You may be the Master's childe, Willow and I may only be his grandsire—but I'm five hundred years older than you and I am the master here! Got it!"

Bucking, she shook her head, denying his claim.

Fuck it, Angel thought as he sunk his fangs down into her soft skin and began drinking, all the while he felt his demon growl approvingly.

Spike was dumbstruck at the sight.

Peaches has finally lost it, he thought to himself as he and his counterpart ran over to the car and began tugging Angel off of Willow.

He refused to budge.

"Damnit Angel! We don't have time for this shit now! Don't get all demon on us—you’re the fucking one with the bloody soul!"

Angel lifted his head, Willow's blood lining his lips.

Smiling, he licked his lips as he looked back down at the dazed redhead. "Got it, Willow?"

Clenching her jaw, she nodded.

"No—say it! What's my name, now?"

"Angel," she whispered as she pushed up against his chest. "Let me up, you ass. All I want is you guys to go home. It's no fun anymore!"

Spike glanced at his other self and watched his jaw clench and unclench. Sighing, he grabbed his arm and tugged him off to the side. "He didn't hurt her," Spike said softly. "I think Willow just needed to be reminded that my sire is not her Puppy."

His double rolled his eyes. "She is a little obtuse sometimes. I bloody well knew the first time I met him." He shook his head—watching Spike carefully. "I don't think you feel it—because he's your sire or something—but he's fucking strong, Spike. Stronger than our Angel. Don't cross him or you'll end up blowing in the wind."

Surprised, Spike said nothing and turned to watch Angel release Willow. She stood up, glaring at Angel as she tugged on her bustier, as if by straightening her clothes she could somehow reclaim her dignity. Spike knew the first time he met her, a week before, that no one had ever succeeded to dominate her other than the Master himself, just by the way she carried herself. For one so young, she had the strength of a master vampire.

As much as he hated the timing, she probably needed a lesson in humility—if only so she would continue to survive.

A survivor always knew how to pick his battles. Willow needed to learn this lesson. He just wished the timing could've been better.

Shaking his head at the wasted minutes, he growled softly as he walked over to Angel. "Done now, Peaches? Can we go now and get Willow back or am I going to have to deal with another one of these," he stopped and nodded at Willow, "for the rest of my bloody unlife?"

Looking properly chagrined, Angel nodded once and started walking. "Come on, Willow, get your cute little butt up here and tell me where he's at!"

"Prick!" Willow muttered as she jogged up to Angel.

Spike looked over to his other self and sighed softy at the obvious rage he saw in his eyes.

Spike knew his eyes held the same anger.

Angelus better hope that neither of them got their hands on him or he'd be dead before the night was through.

Of that, Spike was sure.

Always wanted me? Willow asked herself. How? Why Groaning, her eyes shut as his mouth moved sensually over her lips—nipping at them, trying to coax them to open as his arms held her tightly against him.

Want me for what? Could it be just sex? Could she be so lucky?

Oh Goddess, she thought to herself as she moaned softly.

Angelus cool tongue slipped between her lips—dancing erotically with her own. She could feel her body beginning to respond to him—despite the fear.

She tried breaking the kiss, but he seemed to anticipate this and had already grasped the back of her head—holding her still by her hair.

Panting, she inwardly groaned in frustration. Just like this world's Spike, this Angel knew the other Willow intimately and was using that knowledge to play her body like a master musician.

Just go with it, a small voice inside of her head whispered. Fighting will only make him angry and an angry Angelus is much more dangerous than a horny Angelus.

Hopefully, the voice added shyly.

When did sex become so easy to her? Less than a week ago she was a virgin and now here she was entrapped in Angelus' arms. For a second night in a row she was being forced to participate in something she really, really, really didn't want to do.

Goddess, she just wanted to go home.

Finally, he broke the kiss, allowing her to catch her breath as he began kissing his way down her neck. Her eyes shot open and took in her surroundings and nearly groaned out loud when she realized they were basically alone.

Damn him. And damn Willow for bringing her here in the first place! If she hadn't been a victim of her counterpart's self-centered plans, she could be safely in bed—her own bed—

Her mind ground to a halt before she allowed herself to finish the thought.

Yes, she might've been safe in her world—but would she really be the Willow that she wanted to become?

Too many thoughts.

Taking a deep breath, she grasped his forearms and shook him lightly.

"Angelus," she called to him softly, hoping that he would quit kissing her neck before she became a puddle in his arms. "Angel!"

He growled softly in her skin, causing her whole body to shiver in response. "What is it, Willow? I'm kinda busy here..."

"I know—I'm sorry—I—where—wh—what's happening?"

A low rumbling shook his chest as both of his hands slipped down to her waist and linked together at the small of her back. After yanking her against his body—ensuring that she would feel his hard-on poking her stomach, he looked down at her and smirked.

Willow hated that smirk almost as much as the smile he gave her earlier.

"I'm seducing you, Willow—that's what's happening. And I can tell by your racing heart and the smell of your arousal, that it's working."

Ignoring the red blush that flushed her face, she nodded, acknowledging the truth of his words. But knowing Angelus', there was more to it. "What else? After the seduction? Are you going to let me go? Will I still be mortal?" Her voice shook with dread. "Or—or are—are you go—going to turn me?"

He lifted a hand and brushed her tears. "What do you want, Willow?"

Even more tears flooded her eyes as bit down on her bottom lip in anger. He really didn't want to know what she wanted. And if he did, she really didn't want to tell him.

Too dangerous.

"Willow—speak to me," he whispered, his tongue circling her ear. "Tell me what you want."

Her breath hitched as her head swam. She didn't know if she wanted to scream in pleasure, cry out in shame or deck him.

All three options were dangerous and all three of them were just seconds from happening.

One nibble on her earlobe was all it took.

Willow exploded. Just not the way Angelus had planned. Of that she was sure.

"No, Angelus! Home—that's what I want! I wanna go home, okay? I want to see my friends. I want to joke with Xander—talk to my Buffy and I want, almost more than anything, to de-rat Amy! I want to break up with Oz and live the rest of my mortal life in the arms of my Spike! Not you! Not the other Spike! No Xander or Oz. My Spike! Okay?" She could feel her that maniac craziness that only seemed to seep out when she was dealing with other self, take over.

"So, if I have to fuck you—play your games so I can go home—then I'll do it. But please, let me go home," she finished, whispering against his chest as her body shook. "Just let me go home."

After dipping his head down, he nuzzled her neck, purring softly in her ear. "We'll see," he whispered and before she could protest, he swept her in his arms and began sprinting down the street.

She always recognized his presence. It was like a black curtain that draped itself over her soul—smothering whatever connection she still felt for her Angel.

And yet that curtain was appealing to her because she knew if she could just get close enough, she might be able to lift it up and find her soulmate underneath.

Find her Angel.

As she crept through the darkened yards, hiding behind trees and buildings, she spotted a couple standing in the street—with only the moonlight illuminating them.

Her heart recognized the pair long before her mind registered it—Willow and Angel. Biting her bottom lip, Buffy forced herself not to respond as she studied the couple—forcing herself to catalogue their peculiarities until she could take them down.

Tonight was not the night.

Her side still ached from Angelus' hard kick into her gut hours before and she could feel various areas in her body sing in pain from his abuse. If she was ever going to take on Willow and Angelus, she had to be in top form.

It still amazed her that in another world, that red-haired bitch was mortal and her best friend. And yet, Buffy had to admit, that if she looked past all her anger towards the vampiric form, she could see how the other Willow could mean so much to her. There was gentleness about her—a type of love and acceptance that Buffy had only had a taste of once she came to stay in Sunnydale. If that other Willow gave her Buffy that—she could see herself willing to die to keep her safe.

A strangled cry interrupted her thoughts as a woman's voice broke the icy silence that had settled around them.

"—Home—that's what I want—" the wind blew and the rest of the words were lost in breeze, but Buffy didn't need to hear anymore if her suspicions were true.

This Willow wasn't the Willow from her world.

It was the mortal Willow and she was in need of help.

Sighing, the Slayer began closing in on the couple.

Still pouting, Willow angrily stomped down the street, following a scent that only she could detect, with Angel, and both Spikes following her.

If Spike hadn't been so angry with both Angel and Angelus, the situation would've been humorous.

Willow hated not being in control—the master of her life and Angel, in all his soulful goodness, gave her a lesson that Spike figured she'd probably wanted to go the rest of her unlife learning: she was not the strongest, evil—most bad-ass vampire around.

There were others stronger than she was.

Ironically, Spike had learned that lesson himself quite early on in his unlife. Angelus was not a kind sire—and Darla was far from an indulgent grandsire. And to be honest, the Master always hated Spike and gave him many of lessons on how to be good fledgling. Being submissive and doting to his elders were the two most prominent lessons that came to mind.

Shuddering to himself, he took an unneeded breath and tried to search for Willow on his own. If he could break away from The Willow and Angel Show in front of him, he might be able to make up for all that lost time Angelus had stolen away from them. He knew by the look on Angel's face every time Red's name came up, that Angelus' plans were far from being as benevolent as the other Spike's.

And being a recipient of Angelus' intentions, Spike could only shudder in dread at the thought.

Hold on, Red, we're coming, Spike thought to himself. We're coming.

Buffy stared at the house she saw Angelus and Willow enter and sighed softly. For the first time since she arrived in Sunnydale, she was unsure as to her next move. If she barged in there, Angelus could very well kill Willow—just out of spite.

But if she stayed out here—he could do the same.

Realizing that she was at an impasse, she pulled out her cellphone and dialed a number.

Maybe good ole Giles would have an answer.

Spike nearly jumped at the sound of his cellphone ringing. Glancing at his other self, he pulled it out and answered it.

"Sp—Spike?"

Spike frowned, unable to place the voice on the other end of the line. There was something familiar about it...

"Yeah, this is him. Who is this?"

"Oh well, yes, Willow gave me your number a couple of days ago—just in case. This is Rupert Giles—"

"The watcher?"

"Um yes—the watcher. Anyway, Buffy just called to say she saw Angelus carrying Willow into a house in midtown—"

"Where? We're in midtown right now—searching for her. I knew that bloody prick had her!"

"Spike?" Angel called out as he and Willow turned around and walked over to him. "Who's that?"

"Giles—he says the slayer spotted Angelus and Willow going into a house—you got the address, watcher?"

"Um? Oh address, yes, I do. Oh, and Spike, Willow was still alive and fine as of a few a minutes ago. Buffy said she seemed to be bit upset—"

"Address mate!"

Not even minute later, Spike closed the phone and turned to Willow. "Do you know where Baker Street is? She's at 4215 Baker Street."

Willow nodded. "Follow me!"
 

Buffy shuddered uncomfortably when she felt the arrival of Willow's rescue team.

Four vampires—all familiar to her and yet, not.

Unnerving.

After quickly spotting Willow, she stopped, not even realizing that her hand holding her trusty stake dropped to her side or that her whole body began to shake at the sight of him.

Angel.

And it was him. She would know it even if she hadn't seen his counterpart enter the house she was standing guard over.

His soul drew her just as her Angel's had months before.

Sure, he was different—somehow stronger, but remembering what the human Willow had said about her world's Angel, Buffy realized she was sensing the added centuries of existing in Hell in him.

But nonetheless, it was him.

"Angel..."

"Oh bloody hell—not another heart-wrenching reunion—I don't think I can stand it. You two make me want to heave—"

"Spike—shut up!"

"Fuck you, Peaches! She's in there and I'm going to get—"

Buffy turned to the Spike that was speaking in time to catch the other one grab his arm. "Cool it, mate. We'll get her out."

Willow sighed dramatically as she caressed Angel's arm. "Isn't he just delightful, Slayer? And this one still has his soul too—"

Angel growled, yanking his arm out of her hold and looked up at Buffy.

She could feel his penetrating gaze and when she lifted her head to meet his eyes, she felt as if her heart was going to crack. No one could reflect her soul back to her like him and unfortunately, she didn't like what she saw.

Suddenly all her anger and resentment seemed petty and uncalled for—this was her lot in life. Whether she was here, in this world, or in this Angel's world—they were still in love and still apart.

Her body shook as tears flooded her eyes. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath to calm herself. "They've been in there for about twenty-minutes. I think your Willow was trying to talk him into letting her go—alive—afterwards. I didn't catch much of the conversation—I didn't want to get too close."

"Thank you," Angel said softly; his eyes never leaving hers. "Alright Willow, you’re this Angelus' expert—what do you think we should do?"

"I say we fucking go in there and stake the fucker—"

"Spike, can it—this isn't helping matters any."

"Don't give me that shit! If he had your blonde gnat in there—you'd be charging in there like the bloody fucking Calvary. Bloody Batman to the fucking rescue!"

"Spikey—"

Buffy watched the other world's Spike clench his jaw as his eyes flashed yellow at the vampire Willow. He pulled out a cigarette and lit it—glaring at Willow and Angel.

"I think me and Spikey should go in," Willow said as she sauntered over to the other Spike. "He's already claimed Willow. And even though Angelus is his sire—my Angelus' isn't. And maybe with me there, we can calm him down."

"And do what, love? Offer your fidelity? I don't bloody think so. I'm not losing another woman to that fucking arse in there!"

"Spike—this is for Willow!"

"It's all your bloody fault to begin with!" the other Spike growled as he tossed his cigarette aside. "Why couldn't you have used that bloody brain I know you have in there instead of messing up everyone else's life? Why in the bleeding hell didn't you just insist on moving in together with both of them?"

Buffy watched her Spike growl threateningly. "Live with him again? I don't think so."

Willow's demon face slid on as she growled at her lover. "I will do what I have to—to get her out of there, n'est pas?" She turned to the other Spike and with a clawed hand, grabbed his arm. "We're going in!"

Angel hung his head as he shook his head. "How close is your sensing range with him? Both of you?"

Buffy shrugged. "This is about it, with me."

"I could probably go up to the beginning of the yard. No farther than that."

Angel nodded in thought. "All right, here's the plan..."

Willow bit her bottom lip and closed her eyes—unable to watch her freedom slip away any more. Tears flooded her eyes as she felt the cold metal of manacles slip around her ankles and silently counted the minutes of her remaining mortal life.

He was going to turn her—she just knew it.

She could see it in his dark eyes, every time they looked at her. She could feel it with every tantalizing touch of his cool fingers. This was a demon obsessed.

And one thing she learned from her time with spent with her world's Angelus, he never let his obsessions go.

It was unthinkable to him.

She felt the air move about her and then a cool finger caressed her wet face. "So innocent, Willow. Do you have any idea how delightful you are? Even after rutting around with two demons—your soul's still light and filled with life...it's so enticing."

Swallowing hard, she only shook her head. Rutting around with two demons? So that's what he's going to call her making love to her Spike?

Fuck him. Angelus wouldn't know what love was if it bit him in the ass!

She was the first to admit that her time spent with this world's Spike was anything but loving—but her Spike?

That was in a different league all together.

"Why so quiet, Willow?" he asked as his hands grabbed the edges of her shirt. "This isn't like you—"

She licked her lips. "You don't know me. You know her."

She heard his soft chuckles and then heard the rip of her shirt being torn off her body. "That's where you're wrong. I knew my Willow before she was turned. Soulboy was quite taken with her. With no slayer to follow around, he found himself drawn to her. He used to watch her. Stare into her window longingly. So fucking pathetic."

Willow's eyes snapped open to find him sitting beside her, smirking. "You're lying."

"Now, why would I do that?"

"I don't know," Willow said as she turned her head. "To mess with me. To convince me that this is somehow meant to be—"

His hand fell on top of her head and she felt his cool fingers run through her hair. "Well, isn't it?"

She shook her head. "No. Our Angel has been nothing but my friend. Now, I could see your Spike using that argument. I mean—"

"Opportunity, Willow. Opportunity," he said as he bent his head down and kissed her forehead. "Both Spikes are without their Drus and with me—your Angel has had his soul a lot longer than me—and his Slayer as well." He slid down the bed and rolled over on top of her, causing her body to shiver in response.

She could feel his arousal as he pressed his pelvis into her—causing her to gasp. After placing both arms on either side of her head to hold it still, he smiled down at her.

"All helpless with nowhere to go—what will you do, Willow?"

She had no idea until she actually did it. But his words were so cruel and warped—using twisted logic to fit his needs—that she wasn't really thinking when she let her saliva gather in her mouth.

Nope, she wasn't thinking at all.

Because if she had, then she would've known that spitting in his face was probably the stupidest stunt she had ever pulled in her short seventeen years of life.

But, by then, she wasn't exactly thinking.

She was too busy feeling her life being sucked out of her veins by a very pissed of Angelus.

She didn't even have enough time to be angry with herself.

Spike saw red.

In all his 200 years, he had never felt rage quite like he did when he saw that fucker's teeth sunk in Willow's neck.

Growling, he launched himself towards the couple on the bed, never paying attention to Vampire Willow's cries or his Willow's moans of pain as he threw Angelus' across the room.

He was going to kill him.

And would have, if Willow's soft cries hadn't broken through his demon-rage. Frowning, he turned to the bed and felt his undead heart lurch at the sight—bare-chested with ragged wounds in her throat—as she held out her hand for him.

Growling, he hurried over to her, forgetting about Angelus, and sat down on the bed next to her prone, pale body as he lifted her wrist and felt for her pulse.

Strong and steady.

His demon face melted away.

"You'll be okay, luv," he whispered as he quickly tugged off his outer shirt and slipped it on her, buttoning the middle clasp. As soon as she was covered, he pulled her into his arms and looked over to the other Willow who was by now helping Angelus up. "Do something with him, little girl, or I'll bloody well dust his ass."

"I'd like to see that, Spikey—think you can take me on?"

Spike shrugged as he felt his face change back to his demon's. "Maybe—came close a few times with my own sire—you're not any different."

Angelus' snorted. "That Soulboy? He's no demon—"

"More of a demon than you'll ever be, boy!"

"Angelus, come on, let's go. I want you to leave her alone," Vampire Willow said as she tugged on his hand.

Angelus yanked his hand free. "And who are you to tell me anything? A little upstart vampire with delusions of grandeur. Why would I want you, when I can have her?"

Spike felt Willow struggling to sit up and helped her. "But you don't get it, do you? You can't have me! Even if you brought me across, Angel would still curse me. And if by chance he didn't, I'd still be loyal to Spike first. Sire or no sire. I don't want you—"

Spike nearly jumped as he felt his sire's presence just outside the room. Holding Willow tightly against him, he sought out and found his other self as well as the slayer.

He couldn't remember the last time he actually felt grateful for Angel's presence. But if what his other self said was true then maybe Angelus would back off when confronted with a stronger, more deadly version of his souled-self.

He could only hope.

"I don't—"

"You better care," Angel said as he stepped just inside the doorway. "Because Willow isn't doing anything she doesn't want to do." He made his way through the bedroom and sat down on the other side. "Are you okay?" He asked her after he pulled out a clean handkerchief and held it against her neck.

Willow nodded as she placed her hand on the cloth, allowing Angel to pull away.

"Ah, isn't this cute? So Soulboy, why don't you tell Willow your secret?"

Spike watched the Vampire Willow stand there beside him, her face rippling in rage for nearly a minute until she finally succumbed and allowed her demon to take over. "Angelus," she growled as she turned and faced him. "I'm out of here. Come with me now or don't ever come back." She turned on her heel and faced Spike, Willow and Angel. "I assume everything's under control?"

Spike felt Willow's head nod yes. "Thank you, Willow."

The vampire nodded once and left the room.

Spike felt his other self leave as well.

Saying nothing, Angelus followed his lover.

"Well, that was fun. Can you guys do an encore?" The slayer's voice broke through the stunned silence of the room.

"Buffy," Willow whispered. "How did you know—what happened?"

Spike chuckled as he banged his head against the headboard. "I could ask you the same thing love. What the hell were you doing out there with him?"

He watched his lover's head bow down as she blushed—despite the blood loss. "I thought he was Angel." She turned to his sire. "It was perfect timing. Giles had just called and wanted—oh Goddess—Giles!"

She tried scrambling out of bed.

"Hold on, baby," Spike said as he pulled her back down on his lap. "What are you talking about?"

"She's talking about how Giles found the spell to send you all home and called her to ask her to come to the library tonight," Buffy supplied, still leaning against the far wall, her eyes never leaving Angel's. "That's why I was out on the streets for so long—looking for you all."

"Damnit," Angel cursed. "We never even got a chance to call Giles and tell him about me. What if it’s the same spell our Giles used to send me here?"

"Mate, we aren't leaving without you."

"Spike, let's go to the library. Giles can fix me up there. Besides, he needs to know about Angel."

"Are you sure you well enough?" Angel asked.

She smiled gently at Angel. "I'm sure."

Buffy pushed herself off the wall. "Good, let's go then. As much as I enjoy Angel being here, you guys are making my job a hundred times harder. I never know who's who until one of you speaks—"

"I know what you mean," Willow whispered, hiding her embarrassed face in Spike's arm. "Twice in two days, my confusion got me in a lot of trouble."

"Don't feel too bad about, pet. The only reason I can tell any of us apart is because she's a vampire and you're not. And Peaches here, feels different than the bloody prick."

Angel sighed as he sat up and swung his legs off the bed. Spike met his eyes and let his hold on Willow go, allowing his sire to pick her up.

"You guys, I can walk!"

"Not bloody likely," muttered Spike as he quickly walked around to Angel and held out his arms. Angel handed Willow over to him and Spike slipped an arm under her knees and her back. Willow wrapped her free arm around his neck, leaning her head against his shoulder. "Ready?" he asked.

"Ready."

Together, the four of them left for the library.

"Oh dear, what happened?" Giles asked as he walked over to Willow and gently pulled away the white handkerchief.

Buffy looked over at Giles and sighed. "I'll let them tell you, Giles. I did my duty, brought them here. Can I go home now?"

"Oh yes, Buffy, that would be fine," he said as he quickly turned on his heel and jogged to his office.

Buffy looked over at Angel and gave him a small smile. "It's nice to see you again—even if you aren't my Angel."

Willow watched him give the slayer the same smile she'd seen him give her Buffy and found herself unable to stop the grin from curling her lips. Taking a deep breath, she looked over at Buffy. "Buffy, no matter what happens, we're not going to be leaving until tomorrow night, so why don't you two talk to tomorrow? Angel's staying at his old apartment."

"Willow," Angel admonished softly as she heard Spike snicker beside her.

"I think that would be great—if it would be all right with you?" Buffy asked Angel.

"Yes, I'd like that."

"Cool!" Buffy grinned and for a moment, Willow almost saw her Buffy in her eyes. She watched the slayer skip over to Angel, quickly pecked him on his cheek and turned on her heel to disappear out the library doors.

"That was Buffy!" Willow whispered as she stared at the swinging doors.

Spike sighed softly, nodding in agreement. "As much as things change, they stay the same."

Willow watched the dark-haired vampire as he continued to look at the library doors, deep in thought and couldn't help but agree with Spike.

Giles walked back into the main room, medkit in hand and kneeled down in front of Willow. "So Willow, what happened?"

Taking a deep breath, she met his concerned eyes and chuckled softly. "Angelus happened. I spit on him. Not actually—"

Spike's laugh rang through the library. "You didn't tell us that, love. You spit on him?"

"Willow," Angel said disapprovingly.

She looked up in time to catch the twinkle in his eyes.

"You could've gotten yourself killed," Angel added softly.

She rolled her eyes. "That's pretty obvious considering that's what nearly happened. But to be perfectly honest, I think that was his plan all along. He just made me so angry and I couldn't do anything—other than spit at him. So, I did."

"Well I hope, Willow, once you get back to your world that you'll leave the vampire killing to the slayer—"

Willow gave Giles a small smile as she shrugged. "I don't know if that's possible, Giles. With the ascension coming up—I have a feeling before it's all said and done, everyone will end up fighting."

She flinched in pain as Giles gently dabbed her wounds with disinfectant. "There's a little bit of tearing, but actually you're quite lucky," he paused and then turned her head to inspect the other side. His eyebrow lifted. "I take it, this was 'voluntarily'?"

Blushing, she nodded as she looked up under her eyelashes at Spike. "Well, sorta. It hasn't been an easy few days, Giles."

"Go on," he said as he placed a piece of gauze on her neck.

"Do I have to? It's bad enough that I'm going to have to answer these same questions with my Giles—"

He looked up, his eyes twinkling with humor. "Consider me practice, then."

Willow wasn't surprised to feel Spike's cool hand squeeze her shoulder. Although she understood Giles' questions—he was just concerned and being a watcher made him overly suspicious—she just felt totally unprepared to discuss her sex life with him.

She looked up and met Angel's supportive smile and took a deep breath. "You know how I said in my world, Oz and I were dating?"

"Yes—you were actually quite insistent on it."

"Well, dealing with Buffy's anger kind of pushed me to over react," she admitted as looked back down and began studying the tile floor. "Well anyway, what I didn't say, was that prior to me coming here, I had some deep, unspoken feelings about Spike. And, once I got here and we were thrown together, I found out he felt the same."

Giles looked over at Angel. "You approve of this?"

Angel bowed his head, resting his hands on his hips. After nearly a minute, he looked up over at Giles. "I really didn't have a say in it. It was already going on when I got here and the way I saw it, Willow was much safer with my childe than not. The only reason Angelus even got her tonight was that she thought he was me."

"What about when you get home?"

Angel shrugged.

"Don't you think you should be asking me that question?" Spike asked as he let go of Willow's shoulder and began pacing behind her. "I'm the soulless demon who's been shagging the innocent girl here? So, ask away!"

Willow turned in time to watch him hold his arms out almost as if he were getting ready to be crucified.

Willow grabbed Giles' arm before he could stand up and face Spike. "Giles, I know you don't know me from squat and what you do know of me, has been my bad side demonfied—but I don't want to go through this with you. It's going to be hard enough to deal with my Giles—the man who's been more of a father to me than my real one. If you can't trust my Spike—trust Angel to keep him in line and me to be able to make my own decisions." She got up out of her chair and walked over to Spike, wrapping her arm around his waist. "He has been nothing but good to me for the past few days. He's never hurt me in any way and has loved me with all his undead heart."

"But he bit you!"

"Giles, read up on your vampire lore. Not all bites are bad," Angel said quietly. "I don't know if this will reassure you or not, but before I even arrived, Spike had already made plans that if Willow had gotten turned, he would see to it she got her soul."

The watcher took a deep breath and cocked his head to the side as he studied Spike. "Amy Madison told me that you felt different than our world's Spike. And standing here, watching you hold Willow, I can't help but agree. But I don't understand it. Demons aren't supposed to be able to love. They have no soul."

Spike rolled his eyes. "Bloody fairy tales told you do-gooders to make the fight just. As if killing any creature who preys on you isn't enough!" He snorted as he lit a cigarette. "Demons can love, cherish—all those bloody feelings that you humans seemed to think you have patent on. The difference is, most demons don't care to try and love their food source. Why bother when there are thousands of other demons around that they can mate with? And I admit, it's kind of dangerous to start looking at your prey as anything other than a warm meal—kind of kills the appetite, you know?"

Angel chuckled as he nodded in agreement. "The difference between Spike and I is that I, with a soul, can no longer look at any human—in good conscience—as my next meal and he just can't look at a select few as dinner—Willow being on the top of the list."

Giles nodded as his eyes fell on Willow. "Do you trust him?"

"With my life."

He sighed, nodding tersely and turned to the table to pick up a huge, archaic book. "I found a spell. Angel, can you read it over and see if it's the same one that sent you here? If it's not, then you all can go home tomorrow."

Angel took the book from Giles and began reading. A minute later, he smiled. "It's a different one," he said as he looked up and met Willow's eyes. "Wills, Spike—it looks like we're going home tomorrow!"

Suddenly, it hit her. "Wait, let me see that, Angel!"

He gave held the book out for her to read. As her eyes scanned over the Latin text, her face fell. "I'm done," she whispered softly as she dropped her arm and walked over to the check out counter, studying the bare top.

"Red, what's wrong?"

Ignoring the stabbing pain in her chest, she turned to Spike and sighed. "It's going to send you back to Mexico—me to my bed and Angel—where were you when they sent you here?"

"Here—our here."

She nodded. "Then you'll get sent here."

"Red, that's no problem. It'll take me a day's drive to get to Sunnyhell from Mexico. I'll be with you in no time," he said as he walked over to her and pulled her into his arms.

"I know," she whispered, feeling anything but sure. What happens if he gets back to that barstool he'd been occupying for all those months and decides that going to see her would be too much of a hassle?

What if she wasn't worth it to him?

Tightening her arms around him, she buried her head in his chest and inhaled deeply, reveling in his scent. Goddess, she was going to miss him.

"Willow, maybe the extra day will be a good thing. It'll give us time to prepare the way, right?" Angel said, walking over to the couple. "Remember, you still have to break up with Oz—"

"And you two have to let the bloody slayer in on this. I'll be damned if I'll help you with the ascension if I have to worry about her stake in my heart all the time."

Willow's heart lifted. "You mean it? You'll actually come and help?"

He nodded at her. "I can't promise I won't feed. But what I will do, is keep it away from the slayer and I won't turn anyone. Besides, how can I piss the slayer off if I want to have hot chocolate with Joyce?"

Giles laughter rang through out the room. "Joyce? Wasn't that Buffy's mother?"

Angel nodded, making a face. "In our world, Joyce is still alive and kicking and is actually taken with Spike."

"I whiled her with my charms, I did. Besides, it helps that I keep a healthy fear for her. She wields a nasty ax!"

"I'm sure there's a story there and a part of me would really love to hear about it, but we have more important things to discuss before you three leave here."

"Like what, mate?"

"Well, you did tell us about the ascension of the mayor. Are there any other surprises that might pop up that so far, have been pushed back because of the Master?"

"You know about the Codex, don't you?" Angel asked.

Willow yawned softly, leaning against Spike as her eyes closed and a sense of peace washed over her. For the first time since that night Spike and her made love, she finally felt as if things were falling into place. As she listened to Angel and Spike offer the other Giles facts on everything from Acathla to the ascension, she herself just let go and enjoy being.

Maybe everything would actually work out.

Stranger things have happened.

Out of all the things to turn out smoothly, Willow really didn't believe the trip home would be one of them.

But she was wrong.

It went off without a hitch.

One minute she was sitting in a circle which was in a much larger circle, looking at Spike who was sitting in his own circle—memorizing every tantalizing detail on his sculptured face as he did the same with her—and the next, she waking up in her bed—sporting a killer headache.

Willow cried for the next ten minutes.

Then the phone rang.

Scrambling across her bed, she reached for the receiver, inwardly praying it was Spike and answered it.

"Hello?"

"Red?"

"Are you okay?"

His chuckle touched every part of her heart. "Other than my blasted head feeling like the slayer used it for a punching bag, yeah, I'm fine."

She smiled. "I've got a headache too—"

The other line beeped.

"Can you hold on?"

"Sure thing love. It's probably Peaches."

Willow hit the button and repeated her greeting.

"Willow, are you alright?"

Hearing Angel's voice was like feeling the last piece of the puzzle of the fit in its spot. "Yeah Angel, I'm fine. Spike's on the other line—"

"Alright, I'll tell everyone to leave you alone until tomorrow—"

"No—not that long. Just give me an hour, will ya?"

"All right, I'll be over to get you then, okay?"

"Okay—I gotta go, Angel! And thank you—for everything."

"Not a problem. That's what friends are for." Angel hung up and Willow clicked over to the other line.

"Hey—I'm back."

"Good thing, Red. Listen, I'm going to get my stuff together and head on out tonight. I should be there by sundown tomorrow—if I don't get too tired. You think you'll be okay until then?"

He's coming!!!!

"Yeah, I'll be fine. But I'll miss you. What am I talking about? I already miss you."

"Me too, Red. Me too." She heard him take a hit off his cigarette and blow the smoke into the receiver. "Are you going to be okay facing everyone? The wolf?"

Her eyes filled with tears as she nodded. "Yeah, Angel will help me with everyone else. I'll talk to Oz on my own."

"Tonight?"

"In an hour."

More silence. "I'm going to go, love. The quicker I leave here, the quicker I'll be there. Bloody hell, I wish I were already there—holding you in my arms..."

"Soon, Spike. I'll see you tomorrow. And Spike?"

"Yeah Red?"

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

Her heart jumped at his words as she hung up the phone. She closed her eyes and pictured him in her mind and found herself smiling despite her tears.

"He loves me," she whispered to herself.

Despite everything or was it because of everything, he loved her.

Grinning, Willow stood up and went over to her dresser, grabbed a change of clothes and headed for the bathroom. Humming softly to herself, she realized she could handle just about anything that her friends threw her way as long as she remembered that little fact.

Quickly undressing, she stepped underneath the shower. Yes, everything was going to be okay.

Willow just knew it.
 

read the sequal 'Real Life Can Be An Adventure Too'

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