"Of course." Giles sat back from the book of prophecy and adjusted his glasses. He had been poring over this passage for hours and didn't know why the answer hadn't occurred to him sooner. He picked up the phone.

"I think I've found it... no, it won't be easy... you won't like this, but..."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Just great," Buffy muttered and set down the phone. She held the receiver in place for a moment then picked it up and dialed Willow's number.

"Hey, Wills, I need you to do something... no, no magic involved... uh, not exactly... it's about Spike..."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"So you want me to get Spike to the magic shop after sundown? ...I guess... okay, see you later." Willow got the impression Buffy wasn't telling her everything. Of course, Willow hadn't exactly been telling Buffy everything lately, either. She reached for her jacket and began acting as if she was practicing a piece for drama class.

"Willow, is there anything you want to tell me about Spike?
Who, me? No, Buffy, there's nothing to tell...
How'd you get that cut on your lip, Wills?
Uh, the jar exploded when I was working on this spell, see?
Since when do you turn in your research papers late?
Ever since I started suffering from vamp on the brain..."

Despite the funny looks she got from passersby, Willow kept up her dialogue all across campus. It made her feel better. She wanted to tell Buffy about what was happening between her and Spike. She just didn't know what exactly that was, yet.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Xander and Anya sat at a table in the magic shop. Anya was busy rifling through a stack of packing slips. "You do know you're being grossly overcharged for shipping, right?"

Giles was rooting through a chest of weapons. "Anya, could we perhaps discuss that when there isn't an impending apocalyptic prophecy looming about our heads?"

Anya shrugged and mouthed "sorry" but didn't look up from her packing slips.

"He's just a little preoccupied." Xander patted his girlfriend's knee under the table. "So, G-man, what's the what here with this prophecy?"

Giles came away from the weapons chest with an axe and a look on his face that said it wasn't quite the axe he was looking for but it would do. "I'd rather wait till everyone is here to go into details, but it's basically the end of the world again."

Xander nodded. "Oh."

Buffy burst through the door. "Are they here yet?" Giles and Anya shook their heads. Buffy sat down next to Xander and looked at Giles. "Do you think she can get him to come?"

Anya snorted. Buffy and Giles shot her a look. She mouthed another "sorry."

"Who are we talking about?" Xander asked.

The slayer and her watcher exchanged an uncomfortable glance. Anya shoved aside her pile of papers and looked at her boyfriend. "Giles thinks Spike is the one who can save the world this time. Buffy is afraid to ask him, so she's gonna make Willow do it. She thinks he'll say yes because he's had sex with her."

Three open-mouthed faces stared at Anya. "What?" She turned around. Willow stood behind her, quickly turning red. Spike stood next to her. He crossed his arms. Anya turned back around. She didn't even bother with the "sorry" this time.

The expression on Spike's face was so rigid, he looked like he was made out of stone. Willow spoke to him timidly. "I didn't know; they just asked me to bring you here."

Buffy stood. "I didn't tell her what this was about, I just thought - "

"That maybe this time offering to not kill me wouldn't do the trick?"

Buffy started to protest but calmed herself. They really needed Spike this time, and she knew pissing him off wasn't the best way to go. "Will you hear us out?" She paused. "Please?"

Spike's expression remained the same, but he didn't make a move to leave. "Talk."

Giles began to explain about a demon named Veyrta that had found a ritual to create hell on earth. The key to stopping him lay in finding a soulless warrior. "That would be where you come in, Spike."

The vampire smirked. "You want me to save the world?" He looked around the room. "And why would I want to do that?"

Buffy knew this wouldn't work. Spike would need to be convinced there was something in it for him. As far as she knew, he'd enjoy watching them all die in some sort of gruesome apocalyptic setting. She seethed. "It's not like you haven't helped us stop the end of the world before."

Spike cocked his head to the side. "Now, now, Slayer, surely you can do better than that."

For the next several minutes, the magic shop was filled with pleadings, ideas and incentives. Giles used logic; Buffy went with veiled threats. Xander tried reverse psychology; Anya told Spike killing Veyrta would give him bragging rights for millenia. Willow remained silent, as did Spike. He had been avoiding looking at the witch ever since they got there. Now, he stole one quick glance at her. She was paler than usual, scared. Her brow was furrowed, thinking. Her eyes were cloudy, a jumble of emotions. Spike faced the others, but in his mind, he still saw Willow. He pictured her talking with her hands, her eyes lighting up and smiling. Then he pictured her body on the ground, broken and bloodied by some nameless hell beast. For the first time in months, such a violent image brought him no peace. He held up a hand to silence all the babble.

"Fine, I'll try. Just shut up, will you?"

Silence hung in the room for a moment. Buffy blinked. "If you're joking - " Giles didn't know what to say. Xander and Anya watched as Willow turned to Spike.

She searched his face with her eyes. Her voice sounded distant when she spoke. "You'll do it?"

Quietly, he said to her "I'll try." Then Spike addressed Giles. "So, when do I kill him?"

Giles held Spike's gaze a little longer than necessary, trying to ascertain whether he would really go through with helping them. "Veyrta will begin the ritual tonight; Buffy's already found the cave he's been using."

"Willow, I'd like to have you bless the axe, if you would. Buffy, you'll be there..."

"...to pummel some minions of hell if Spike can't kill Viagra"

"Hey! I will kill him."

"...Xander, Anya, perhaps it would be good of the two of you to be ready to contact our friends in LA should we need help."

Willow broke in. "We're all going."

"Wills, it's too dangerous - "

Xander stood. "She's right. We all go."

Buffy looked to Giles for back-up, but he didn't say anything. "If this doesn't work, then - "

"Then we all die together." Willow took a step toward her friends. "If Spike doesn't - succeed - and it's 'hello, hell on earth,' then we all die anyway. It should be together."

The slayer looked at her friends. "I can't argue with that." She approached Spike. He pulled back a little when she reached out a hand to him.

"Good luck saving the world. You'll need it."

"You're just jealous that it's my turn." The vampire took her hand. "Let's go."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Veyrta's cave had an ominous orange glow emanating from the entrance. Xander clapped his hands and rubbed them together. "I think Spike can take him. I'm not getting that pre-apocalyptic vibe." Anya nodded in agreement; Buffy and Spike rolled their eyes.

Giles noticed that Willow looked rather ashen. He approached her. "Are you alright, Willow?"

"Huh? Oh, fine. Well, considering." She hefted the axe she had been given. "Here, one newly blessed axe. Hope I got the accent right."

Giles took the axe from her and held her hand for a moment. He met her eyes for a second and spoke softly so no one else heard. "I'm sure he'll be fine." Willow's eyes widened, but she didn't say anything.

Spike noticed the watcher holding the witch's hand and went and stood by them. He cleared his throat and stomped out the cigarette he'd been smoking. Giles let go of Willow's hand and went to speak to Buffy.

What could Willow say? She wasn't the dutiful wife sending her husband off to war. She wasn't even the girlfriend. But she wanted to say something. She concentrated on the ground and mumbled "Good luck, Spike."

Vampire hearing caught the inflection in her voice that no one else did. Spike lingered with Willow, and it became obvious to the others that a "moment" of sorts was taking place. Spike cleared his throat again and began to take off his duster.

"Hey, Red, could you, uh, keep this for me? Wouldn't want to damage it killing this Veyrta fellow, y'know..."

Willow reached out numbly and took the coat from him. She held it for a moment, looking at it. Then she swung it around her shoulders and slid into it. Spike smiled. "You look good in leather."

She smiled back. "I know."

The moment ended as the earth began to rumble. "I think that's my cue." Spike took a long look at Willow and started walking towards the cave.

"Watcher, throw me that axe." Then he was gone, and a very long ten minutes began.

Buffy came over to her best friend, engulfed in Spike's leather duster. She reached over and tugged on the lapel. "What's that about?"

Willow didn't make eye contact with Buffy; she just kept staring toward the mouth of the cave. She sank to her knees. "It's not like I planned for this to happen." Buffy sat down beside her. She followed Willow's gaze. "You don't mean..."

Willow nodded.

"Willow! He's a - I mean, he's Spike!"

"I know," Willow replied meekly.

"How? When? That spell! This is just that spell - "

"No," she shook her head. "The spell only set things in motion."

Buffy looked distraught. "Well, why, then? Can you tell me that?"

Willow got a goofy grin on her face. "I don't know." She kind of laughed. "Maybe because he never acts the way I think he will."

"You mean you expect him to act like a big jerk and he surprises you by acting like a humongo jerk?"

"Buffy, be nice. No, I mean the way he - " Willow was cut off by a roaring sound from Veyrta's cave. She watched in horror for a few seconds. Buffy knew it was too early to tell how the fight was going. "No, Wills, keep talking to me. Look at me. Give me an example of how the bleached wonder won you over."

The redhead blushed. "After we, uh, y'know, during that spell... uh, when we were getting dressed, he fastened my bra for me..."

Buffy raised her eyebrows.

"...and then when he came over that time, he left a note saying please don't tell Slutty or Chubs..."

"What?!"

"Oh! I don't think you're slutty!"

"No, no, what do you mean 'when he came over'?"

Willow's blush deepened. "Um, well..."

The girl talk was interrupted with a sustained booming sound. The ground shook violently. Buffy rose to her feet and saw Xander calling her name but couldn't hear him. Giles grabbed onto a nearby tree to keep his balance. And then it was over. The Scooby Gang congregated around Willow. Nobody moved. Smoke curled out of the cave; the orange glow had disappeared.

"Where's Spike?" Anya asked. Willow covered her mouth with a hand and closed her eyes. There was nothing to say.

Buffy's eyes filled with tears; Giles put his arm around her. Anya leaned into Xander. They were all looking at Willow, so none of them saw a bleached blonde vampire emerge from the smoking mouth of the cave. But they heard the coughing.

At the sound, Willow opened her eyes. She saw Spike, singed but walking their way. She stood up. Giles stepped back from her and pulled Buffy with him. Spike walked directly up to Willow and began kissing her like there was no tomorrow.

The slayer tensed, and her watcher tightened his grip on her shoulder. Xander let out an involuntary "nnaghh" sound before Anya put a finger over his mouth and and shook her head.

"Good Lord," Giles said under his breath. "He saved the world for her." Only Buffy heard him.

Spike released Willow. She was pleasantly out of breath. The vampire looked eagerly to the others. "Is that all you'll be needing me for this evening?"

Buffy raised a finger to point at her nemesis, but Giles spoke first. "Well, it does seem as though you have averted Veyrta's attempt to - "

"Right, then. In that case, we'll be off." With that, Spike picked up Willow and slung her over his shoulder. She gasped, but then looked at her friends and giggled. "See you guys tomorrow, I guess."

"Anngh haah - "

"Xander, shh."

The vampire with the witch on his shoulder vanished into the night. Four stupefied onlookers remained. Xander regained his knack for actual speech.

"What just happened there?"

Buffy wrinkled her nose in disgust. "She, uh, loves him, I think."

"Duh." They all looked at Anya. "Don't any of you people pay attention to the subtext?"

Xander was adamant. "We got to do something, right?"

"No, we don't." Giles used his old librarian voice.

"A witch and a vampire in love. I think it kind of works." The ex-demon smiled and took her boyfriend's hand. He softened.

The slayer huffed. "It'll never last."

Giles shrugged. "What ever does?"

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Willow held Spike's face in her hands. "Who'd have thought it, huh?"

He grinned. "Not me, love."

"You're a creature of the night; this'll never work."

"You're a sister to the dark ones; I think we have a chance."

Willow tossed her head back and laughed. "Only on the hellmouth."
 

THE END

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