After they had made a sightseeing tour through the whole house, and Spike had made his 'OOOHH's and AAAHHH's to the various rooms, Willow and Spike reached the living room again. They had spent more than an hour in the different parts of her house and Willow had begun to feel tired. She didn't wanted Spike to leave. But she didn't know how to ask him to stay either.

She didn't wanted to sleep with him now. Not now. But she was sure that he was the one she wanted to share a bed with later - a little bit later - but later anyway. So she decided to stay awake till he wanted to go. But she needed a pullover. That was pretty clear. And so she excused herself for a bathroom break. After she had spend some time in the bathroom splashing cold water in her face to stay awake and changing into a thick pullover in her bedroom, she came into the living room again. She was greeted by silence.

The fire wasn't roaring anymore. And when she looked at the sofa she saw that Spike was asleep. She hadn't been the only one who had been tired. Cautiously she sat down beside him. His face was so peaceful. Willow couldn't withstand the wish to caress his face. His skin was so soft. She
had always thought that it would be rougher, she stroked his jaw and something happened, he began to smile. For the briefest moment Willow
believed that he was awake and smiling about her behavior. But only for a moment. Then she realized that he was sound asleep. When she stroked his jaw a second time, his reaction was still the same. He smiled. Later, very much later, when Willow was overwhelmed with sleepiness she left Spike, the blanket around him and his head on a pillow. On the table was a note.

-Please stay, Willow.

***********

Next morning Willow woke up to the wonderful smell of fresh coffee and blueberry pancakes. It must have been later that morning because the sun
shone through her yellow bedroom curtains and gave the whole room a wonderful light. Slipping on a bathrobe she left her room following the
delicious smell and entered the kitchen.

Spike stood in front of the stove, a bowl to his right and a plate with pancakes to his left on the counter. In front of him must have be a fry pan
because he had a spatula in his right hand while he tried to flip a pancake - successfully. He was enjoying himself. Willow had never heard the
tune he was whistling but it sounded nice. The corner of a red and white checked dishcloth was put in his left back pocket and a second one was tied round his slim waist to replace an apron. Willow had spent lots of hours in Antonia's kitchen and had seen her in a similar position more than once. Spike must have spent a lot of time there too, obviously.

The table to his left in front of the French doors was set with table mats, plates, mugs, silverware and napkins. He must have had nice time in her
kitchen because he had found the whipped cream in her fridge and the sugar bowl too. As a centerpiece there was a tumbler and with a rose in it.

"Hhhmmm, that smells wonderful!" Willow had left her place near the entrance and joined Spike in front of the stove. "How did you know that I love
blueberry pancakes for breakfast?"

"Good morning to you too." Spike greeted with a smile, pleased that she seemed to like his surprise. "I found a recipe under a magentic smiley on
you fridge door. Looked liked you used it often. And there had been all the ingredients in your cupboards too. If you like we can eat. I'm finished with cooking. Are you hungry?"

"Like a tiger." Willow replied with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. While she sat down in her favorite chair facing the garden, Spike went to the
coffee maker to fill their mugs. He hadn't been sure if she would like it when he prepared breakfast knowing that he had to rummage in her kitchen.
But obviously she was pleased. He had his last pint of blood the night before he had left to meet Willow. He had his own routine - he killed when
he meet a criminal, draining him without a second thought only enjoying the hunt and the kill, and in the meantime he fed from blood bags. He had
noticed that he felt sated too after he had human food thanks to Tony's charm. The demon in him could only be satisfied by hunting, but Spike had
become a master of his demon. Only young vampires wasn't able to handle their demons. So he knew that he could spend one day without feeding. He was surprised that Willow had him allowed to stay - even asked him to. And if she would give him the chance for some more hours he would gladly accept. Willow generously sprinkled sugar over her pancake then took a bite. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the taste of the food in her mouth, the mixture of blueberries, pancake and sugar. "Goodness Spike, if you want a job for a short order cook you're hired."

"Taste good?" He asked with a smirk while he used some whipped cream on his pancake.

"Heavenly. Do you know the last time someone made me blueberry pancakes and coffee? It was my 22 birthday and I had stayed at Antonia's. Half of the fun with breakfast is when someone else prepares it for you and you have company."

**********

Half an hour later they still sat at the kitchen table. Both of them had mugs of coffee in their hands and discussed the latest news from the
newspaper in front of them when the telephone rang. Willow grabbed for the receiver. Spike could only hear Willow's part of the call but knew instantly that it was Cat.

"He did what?" Willow asked, gave Spike a beaming smile and mouthed 'He asked her'.

"Oh darling, I'm so happy." Willow began to play with the cord. "Yeah, I'd love to be your bridesmaid."

"No, you don't need to search for Spike. ..... I can tell him, he's here. ..... Happily munching on a pancake, again. Must be his fifth or sixth." Willow had to hide a grin when she saw Spike stuff the large pancake in his mouth while he tried to look innocent.

"He is here 'cause he stayed here last night." Spike couldn't see her face anymore because she had turned to the telephone but he could see that she blushed. And if it wasn't for his vampiric hearing he wouldn't be able to understand her whispered words. "Hush, it is not what you're thinking. Not now anyway. Cat I really do appreciate your interest, but give it still some time. I don't want to rush. It's to important for each of us."

Cat's answer must have been one Willow had hoped for. Spike didn't want Willow to think that he had eavesdropped even when he had and faked to
search in the newspaper for the sports part.

Willow's voice became a little bit louder "Oh, I didn't know it was today. No, I won't miss it. But we could really use some support. The last time
they kicked our asses from Berkeley to Alcatraz and back. I had bruises for 2 weeks." Willow had know turned back to Spike completely and saw what he was reading. "Cat I'm thinking that I do know someone who could help us. He'll be with me. Ok, meet you at 2 p.m. Ciao." Going back to the table and taking a sip of her cold coffee, Willow gave Spike a beaming smile "Do you know how to play soccer?"
 

Part 12

At 1.30 p.m. Willow and Spike had arrived at the Charles Lee Tilden Regional Park. After Spike had told Willow that he not only knew what kind of sport soccer was but that he was able to play any position she wanted him to play there was no hold anymore. Willow had made a run to her bedroom to search for a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt for Spike to wear, decided that he needed a pair of soccer shoes and whizzed at the already emerging Spike to reach the telephone again. This time it was Willow who wanted to make a call. The idea to being able to win the afternoon match due to Spike's presence made her smile for the rest of the morning. They reached a little athletic goods store half an hour later and the owner, a good friend of Willow had agreed to sell them a pair of said shoes even though it was Sunday, the shop was usually closed and his lover, a young college student was upstairs and complaining. Willow had to hide a grin when Armand, her friend, started to ogle Spike's butt. They had found a fitting pair quickly and completed their purchase with a pair of short running pants and a Manchester United T-shirt. He couldn't believe that Willow not only knew that Manchester United was a soccer team (he, all by himself, knew that the real name of the sport was football but didn't wanted to argue) she was playing soccer in her free time, too. At one time she had to stifle a laugh when Armand had tried to get Spike's telephone number and Spike didn't understand why. After that they had made a excursion to Antonia's so that Spike could feed which was Willow's idea. On their way, Willow told Spike that she and Cat had been playing soccer since their first year in university. There was kind of a wild league in town and they met once a fortnight to play against other teams. Willow loved it bcause it was kind of fun and a great way to stay fit. Willow's team was a co-ed one.

********

And so it happened that both of them stood in front of an improvised soccer field in Berkeley. Willow was wearing a pair of long black skintight running pants, soccer shoes and kind of a T-shirt sports bra mix while Spike was dressed with the clothes he had bought earlier. "So pet, which position is yours?" Spike asked while he desperately tried not to ogle even when she was so damn beautiful.

"That's changing. Always the position they need me to be. I love to be defender but I had to be attacker in the last 3 matches."

"So you are really good." Spike said proudly.

"Fast!" Willow grinned. "What about a little run to warm up?"

"Sounds good to me." He didn't felt the need to tell her that he didn't need to warm up. Only spending time with her was more than he had dared to dream about these last years.

About 15 minutes later, Cat arrived and to their delight, Tony too. He told them that he was used being in the middle field since he was about 17. The others of their own team and their rivals arrived little by little. Willow introduced Spike to the rest of the team and they all chose to let Spike and Willow be attackers and Tony be in the middle field. Cat was last defender because she was perfect in organizing the defense.

"Hey Rosenberg," a large blonde bulky player of the rival team yelled over the field "shall we kick your ass again this time?"

"Only in your dreams, Kline!" Willow replied fury. "But watch your pants these time! I really don't need to see your privates again! Wasn't worth a
look anyway!" Willow's whole team started laughing while the arrogant man in the other team couldn't hide his blush.

Spike was partly irritated and partly enthusiastic about her fire. He looked at Cat silently asking for an explanation.

"He tried to grab Willows breast the last time we played together and," Cat explained to Spike, still laughing "that wasn't very clever because Willow
was so angry that she 'pulled' magically on his pants and he doesn't wear briefs."

"Willow, please don't use magic till the game is over." Cat teased her sister with a twinkle in her eyes.

"I didn't wanted to use it before but he had made me so angry." Willow tried to explain.

"Willow what's the name of our team anyway?" Spike tried to distract her.

"We are the Hellcats." Willow told him proudly.

"And the others?" Spike asked.   "They are the Raccoons, and if I have a say so, we will beat them this time. Badly!"

Only five minutes later, the referee gave them a sign and the match started. After not more than five minutes Cat, Tony, Willow and Spike knew how to play together. The Raccoons had to experience that it wasn't easy anymore to break the defense cordon of the Hellcats. Spike was fast as hell and knew immediately when Tony or Willow needed him. Cat organized her defense like a pro and the Raccoons had trouble to found a hole to slip through. That was when Tony shoot the ball to Willow and Willow passed it to Spike. Goal. They had made their first goal against the Raccoons. Willow could barely believe it and was jumping up and down.

85 Minutes later, the Score was 2 to 2. Willow was barely able to find a spot without having Peter Kline, defender of the for the Raccoons, on her
heels. He had tried to pester her through the whole match with his stupid comments. She knew him since university and knew he was a pain in the ass.

But today he really got on her nerves. When Tony passed the ball to her again, Kline obstructed her and pushing her so hard that she fell down and
Kline fell on her. "Rosenberg, all you had to do was ask when you want a roll in the hay." He told her with a hoarse voice while he tried to get as
much body contact as possible. Willow could hear Spike growl and struggled free. "Rather take a bath in acid than that." She answered through clenched teeth.

The referee had seen the foul too and the Hellcats got the chance to shoot and a penalty. It was Spike they choose to shoot and he was successful.

Two Minutes later, the match was over. The Hellcats had won. In the same moment, Willow ran to Spike and hugged him enthusiastically. "And you are my knight." She whispered breathlessly before she kissed him.

Than she was gone, hugging all the other members of their team and jumping with Cat around like a yo-yo. But she had kissed him. He could still feel her lips on his own. Smell her, a mixture of fresh air, sweat and vanilla. See her beaming smile. She had told him that he was her knight. Life was perfect. He could even resist the urge to tear Kline's throat out. For now.
 

~Part 13~

In the large room in the back of Antonia's restaurant Italian families, who lived in the neighborhood, usually celebrated wedding parties or
congratulated small girls and boys on their communion. In the last years, one or another little Italian company had rented the room and Antonia's
services for their celebrations too. This evening Antonia's staff would have a celebration of another kind. Almost every 'Hellcat' had agreed to meet at Antonia's after a quick shower and change in there respective homes. Spike had left the place of their victory with Tony, even when his mind was on another plane. He was amazed. Willow's personality had more facets than a cut brilliant. It was hard to believe that all these different Willow's had been there before. He had seen her caring, playful, tempting, fiery, determined, and full of joy. She had kept him on his toes since he had met her again. What kind of Willow would he experience this evening.

***

Two hours later when the last remains of Antonia's impromptu banquet had been eaten and the conversation had changed to other topics than the won soccer match.

Spike had taken his seat beside Willow in the beginning shortly after her arrival and had never left it during dinner. Most of her and Cat's friends
had welcomed him and Tony in their team with open arms. The Both friends had more than once been the focus of interest and of a toast or two. It was obvious that they had been accepted unanimously.

Willow had left her seat once or twice to have a chat with one of the Hellcats, every time calling for Spike to introduce him properly. During the
evening his left arm had found his way around her shoulders and stayed there. They felt both comfortable with each other.

At 11 p.m. Tony decided that it was the right time to turn on the stereo and the soft tunes of one of Antonia's beloved Glen Miller records filled the
room.

"Do you like to dance, my fair lady?" Spike hold out his hand, arching his scarred eyebrow.

Willow took his hand and dragged him to the free spot in front of the stereo where some other couples were already dancing.

"You know pet, you could have just said yes. But I'm not complaining, no not one little bit." He told her while he pulled her into his arms, his left
hand holding her right one against his chest, while his right hand rested on the small of her back.

"Hush, shut up and dance." Willow silenced him and buried her head in the crook of his neck, swaying softly under the strains of 'In the mood'.

"As you wish." Spike whispered

***

"Willow, can I speak to you, privately" A loud annoying voice disturbed the both of them a little bit later. Turning her head to see who was speaking to her, she found herself face to face with Sebastian who had spent the evening alternating staring at Willow and Spike with drinking to much wine.

"Hey Sebastian, do you know Spike? Spike, this is Sebastian - Sebastian this is Spike." Willow knew, that Sebastian hadn't left his place to make nice chit chat, but hoped for the best anyway. Sebastian glared at Spike's outreached hand and then drunkenly into Spike's eyes. He had obvious
problems with focusing.

"I need to talk to you ..." He tried it again - this time louder than before. "...NOW!"

"I don't think so, buddy." Spike told him with a calm voice. "See, Willow and I just started dancing, so why don't you sit down and drink an espresso
or two."

"I'm not speaking to you." Sebastian hissed. "Willow, I don't understand why you're with him, ..." he was interrupted by a belch he couldn't hold back "... when you couldn't be with me."

"Did never the idea entered you mind, that I don't want to be with you?" Willow groaned.

"NO!" Sebastian grabbed for Willows arm and tried to drag her with him. With a deep growl Spike's fingers loosened Sebastian's hold on Willows wrist
without effort. "Listen mate, I'm not telling you this twice. YOU. LEAVE. NOW." He accentuated every word. "Or you and I will have the dubious
pleasure of a little stroll to the parking lot and a nice little chat about your manners. I don't want to mess up Antonia's home or Willow's beautiful
dress - Kitten, I love the dress by the way - brings out the beautiful color of your eyes. - Anyway we don't want your innards all over here. Won't we?"

Willow was very busy to hide a smirk when Sebastian's arrogant face turned pale. Sebastian broke free and staggered to the bathroom, his right palm in front of his mouth.

"Something I said?" Spike asked the people around innocently. Willow and the other burst into fits of laughter.

***

Later when they sat at their table Spike was bursting with curiosity. "So, what's about you and Sebastian, Willow?" Spike asked carefully, holding her hand. It seemed almost impossible for him to be near her and not seeking some sort of contact - caressing her shoulder, holding her hand, playing with her locks - but Willow didn't mind. She enjoyed it, too.

"He is the one I told you about, who thought that I would be the perfect mother of his future children . Perhaps he thought I'm some kind of brood
mare." Willow answered with a wink.

"Mmmh, I would say you are definitely to good for him. If I have a say so, he need to search for another stud. Have I?"

"Yes."

***

Later Willow, Spike, Cat and Tony had started to plan a visit at a winery in Napa Valley for the next day when Antonia arrived. She looked serious.

"Spike, Tony do you mind? Cat, Willow, I'd like to speak to you, privately."

When the three woman had left Spike looked at his suddenly serious friend for an explanation. "Do you know what has happened?"

"If I'm right, and I fear that I'm right, our ladies got a mission. Must be an emergency." Tony tried to explain something he had seen more than once
when he was a child or a teenager.

"But Antonia can send us!" Spike tried to stand up and follow the women into Antonia's office.

"Spike, stop. What do you want to do?" Tony tried to calm the worried vampire.

"What do you mean? There is no need to send Willow and Cat. It may be dangerous! They could be hurt!" Spike had stopped, but only because he had absolute trust in Tony, based on being Tony's best friend for over a year.

"Listen Spike. Didn't you hear what Willow told us about why she had left her friends and her family in Sunnydale. It was because she wanted to fight and become a true witch. That has been five years ago. Do you really think she would appreciate your attempt to sent her back into the kitchen. I don't think so. She will be disappointed in you."

"Disappointed in me? Why, all I want to do is protect her."

"Willow doesn't need your protection or mine, neither does Cat. She and Willow are the best team in my mother's organization. When I spent time in
Britain as a guest student at the watcher council and later in Italy I've heard about them. Nobody knew their names, but I realized later that they
had spoken about Willow and Cat. They are first-class."

"But I do care for her, I really do. More than for someone else before. I don't want Willow or Cat to get hurt."

"They wont get hurt. And even when it's their choice. I've heard what she told you after the match. If you want to be her 'knight in a shining armor'
you need to search for another battle field. And if you want to support Willow, help her to pack her travel bag. Tell her that you have trust in her
abilities. She has never heard something like that from someone of her past, Cat told me. Be here when she comes back."

With that said Tony loosened his comforting hold on Spikes shoulder. Spike sat down, knowing that Tony was right. "How long will they be gone?"

"Hopefully not more than two days or three, depends on the situation." Tony sighed.

***

It had been a short instruction in Antonia's office and an quick departure too. They had agreed that Tony would bring first Cat to her own apartment and later to Willow's house while Spike and Willow drove to Willow's house immediately. Spike didn't know what to say first. He knew Tony was right. He wanted to tell her to be careful. Tell her how he felt. But he wasn't sure how to start and he knew that one part of her mind wasn't in the car with him. Some part of Willow had left to the mission of which the file lay in the backseat of the car.

In the study of her house she started to pack a well worn army backpack with equipment he had only seen in Hollywood movies. Ear pieces, night-vision binoculars and equipment to open looked doors found it way into the back pack, just as weapons which seemed to be a special kind of guns. He had never seen those guns before, but Willow handled it like Antonia worked with her kitchen knifes. When Willow asked him to finish the packing for her, he was grateful for something useful to do. Willow left to go to her bedroom to pack another bag with her clothes. When Spike entered the bedroom to help her with this bag too, he was stunned to see that she was the owner of combat boots and fatigues. Tony was right this wasn't a shy kitten anymore and suddenly he was proud and relieved. Willow and Cat definitely knew what they were doing. Damn, he would loved to be a part of this team, too.

***

"So what about some last words of wisdom?" Willow tried to joke after they had stowed her and Cat's backpacks in Willow's car. She had noticed the change in Spike's behavior.

"Willow," his voice was hoarse "when you come back - I'm waiting for you." With that said, he bent down and kissed her. Even though he got no say so in their mission, he could assure her that he would be here - now and later.
 

~Part 14~

There was silence in the car when Willow and Cat left San Francisco. Cat was the first to drive and Willow was reading and memorizing the file Antonia had given them. It wasn't extensive, but when they arrived in Chester, CA there would be no time to read the file anymore. Both of them knew that they had to plan their mission during the drive, knowing also that every hour counted.

Willow had opened the file when they had left San Francisco heading north-north-east.

There where some black and white photos, photographed and scanned by an amateur. Children on a swing, children in a pool, children on a slide.
Happily smiling children, unsuspecting children, missing children, like always. Willow knew they had a few facts too:

Missing persons: Susan Cornell and Nicolas Cornell, twins, female/male 5 years old, blue eyes, blond hair

Last seen or heard from: Three days earlier, 7 p.m.

Last Person who had contact: Grandmother

Last whereabouts: In the grandmother's car in front of a drugstore in the center of Chester,CA.

Memo: The grandmother had left the car to get some medicine. The girl had felt sick after a birthday party in the afternoon. The grandmother had left the twins in the car because the children had been tired. She had let the motor run so that the air conditioning would work. When she came back the car wasn't there anymore. She had searched for the car, together with a shopkeeper for almost 10 minutes until she called the police and the single mother Tina Cornell. The police immediately started a search too, without success. The police suspect a controversy about the custody.

The Person who had contacted Antonia's organization: Noel Kramer, a neighbor of the family and a witch in training. NK had seen a car leaving the parking lot in front of the bakery with an unknown man in the drivers seat, but she hadn't seen the twins. After she had heard about the missing children she had found out that it had been the car she had seen. She had told the organization that she knew the man from by sight but not by name. She had told the same to the police, but the officers had told her that it was clear that this was a domestic affair and that the children would have a better life with her dad, than with her mother, Karen Cornell, who was known for her immoral lifestyle. She had tried to contact the father of the children in his office, but was told that he had left the town two weeks before for a business trip to Norway. The next evening NK saw the man again, this time in a supermarket, buying several six-packs of beer, cans of chicken soup, Band-Aid's and video tapes. That was the evening NK decided to contact Antonia.

Cat and Willow took turns at driving, after Willow had finished reading the file. She knew when Cat had finished it too, they would speak about it.
Sometimes Willow loved Cat dearly. Nobody was as good a partner as Cat. She could read and memorize a case quicker than Willow. She had learned over the years to act very professional even when she had an urgent need to kill those bastards painfully. Cat had told her that it was because she had contact to similar cases all the time. She was working as an attorney. When Cat started to speak with Willow about the children, Willow began to calm down too.

That was very important because the most important part of the task was to save the children, uninjured. The second task was to secure the information about the criminals and their contacts, their organizations. The third task was to destroy said organization, which meant to kill the man who raped and murdered children and all the men behind him. Without Cat, Willow would always see task three in front of her eyes, and that wouldn't be good.

They were pretty sure that said man hadn't left the county. He wouldn't risk getting caught by a police control with two missed children in the backseat either sedated or crying. The landscape around Chester was wooded and hilly. What better place to hide away two children who would be crying for their mom and grandma than in a cabin in the woods. But the cabin must have electricity. They needed good light, and a socket to plug the computer in.

They wanted money and they wanted it fast. Most of them used digital cameras to film their crimes and to show them on the net to the best paying people. Sometime they made an auction. The bastard who paid the most was allowed to decide what to do with the victim. Willow hoped for this case because some of those auctions could last a couple of days. Some of the bidders lived in Europe or Asia. That meant that the children could be still alive. And the man too, for now.

***

They had left San Francisco at 1 a.m. At 3 a.m. they made a little break at an truck stop somewhere between Yuba City and Red Bluff. When they noticed that their arrival attracted attention they bought their coffee to take away and left again after weaving a little distraction spell in the smoky air of the saloon type diner. It wasn't necessary that people remembered them.

Before they started again Cat called Antonia to ask for Noel Kramer's telephone number. When she got the number she called the witch in training
and spoke with her for almost one hour.

***

At 6 a.m. Willow and Cat had reached Chester and parked the car in the near of the Almanor Railroad. Willow had spent the time during the drive
researching the net for information about the city and the landscape. It wasn't a large town. Not more than 2100 residents and an amount of land  area equal to 18.657 sq. kilometers. It was positioned 40.30 degrees north of the equator and 121.23 degrees west of the prime meridian. Willow had copied every map she had found of the area in varying scales.

That all had been information Willow and Cat could use for their mission. After their arrival both get Willow's laptop, a satellite antenna and a
module to use solar energy for their equipment out of the trunk. Willow positioned the objects carefully on the hood and the roof of the car.

"Does the government know about your toys, darling?" Cat asked with a smirk.

"Don't know." Willow shrugged. "Don't care. They have all these toys too. Do they use them sensibly? Nah, they just play around with it and don't know what to do with it. Pillocks."

Cat had to grin. It was always the same. After Willow had read the file she became very silent and sad, but when she had to do something, something like adjusting a satellite antenna and working with her program, she became self-confident again. Cat needed her in this mood. The mission would be hard enough.

***

They both knew that the hiding place of the criminals could only be outside of the town. It must be a cabin or a bungalow. Chester and the whole area has a lively tourist trade.

When NK had seen the man a second time it has been in a supermarket at the Bridge Street/Route 36. The drugstore had been in the Feather River Drive. Both locations in the same part of the town, between lake Almanor and Johnson Creek. Willow and Cat concluded that the hiding place would be north-west from the lake in a uninhabited area. And so Willow started to search with a satellite program, always searching for signs like clearings
in the wood, every kind of roads, cable, smoke or cars. While Willow worked with the laptop Cat took a nap on the backseat of the car. At 8 a.m. she had found five objects which weren't registered with the local government.

They could be just cabins someone had build without permission or the cabin they were seeking for. When Willow examined No. 3 thoroughly she noticed something in the woods near the object. Zooming nearer Willow could see that it was a car, hidden under twigs. Willow chose to wake Cat up now. Some moments later the sleepy dark-haired woman left the car, rubbing her eyes.

"So what do we have?" Cat asked Willow.

Willow studied the screen. "An object with a car hidden nearby in the woods. I do not usually park my car covered with twigs and branches, but who I'm to criticize other people. But I would like to know what kind of car the granny is missing?"

"It's a red Toyota Corolla, that's what Noel told me last night." Cat looked at the screen.

"I would say like this one." She tapped with the tip of her index finger on a point at the upper right corner of the screen.

"That's what I thought, too." Willow agreed. "What about we drive to Mud Creek to have a closer view.

***

They arrived there one hour later. Stowing the equipment in the trunk had been a carefully task. When they left their car, they were both wearing
similar fatigues and combat boots. Both of them had shouldered a backpack with the most important things they needed and were wearing earpieces. Cat turned around to the car they had parked between the trees, and whispered a spell. Suddenly the car wasn't visible any more.

"You know, sometimes I wonder what would happen if we couldn't find it again." Willow tried to joke. She was strained.

"That's not going to happen." Cat assured her.

"And even if we couldn't find it again, we could turn a pumpkin into a carriage for a ride home. We would only have trouble finding some mice."

***

They reached the area around the cabin around 10 a.m.. The car was indeed the stolen one. Cat and Willow whispered their glamour spells and at the place some young women had stood before could nothing more could be seen but vibrating air. Their contours weren't visible anymore. Cat opened the front door carefully while Willow rounded the cabin to reach the back door.

The front room must have been used for watching TV and drinking lots of beer. It was a mess: empty cans on the floor and the scarred coffee table, between it cheap porn magazines, on an old ripped sofa laid a sleeping man.

Every now and then a loud snore disturbed the silence of the room. He was wearing that kind of undershirt Bruce Willis wore in 'Die Hard' but without
the sex appeal of said movie star. This man was fat and smelly. His bloated face was the silent proof that a lot of the empty cans had been drained by him. After Cat had crossed the room noiselessly she saw two doors to her right and a corridor to her left. Up to now she had no evidence that they were in the right cabin. She open the first door to her right, to found a dirty bathroom.

The second door showed her a room she had expected to find in the cabin.

There was a large bed in the center of the room, to luxurious to be true. Around the bed was a lighting system, that a small province theater would
have been proud of, together with two digital cameras on tripods. With the a feeling of relief Cat noticed that the waste-paper basket was empty - no tissues. Cat whispered her discoervies into the microphone on her neck line and left the room to continue her reconnaissance.

***

Willow had opened the backdoor with a lockpick. The door had been the emergency exit from a room which must have been kind of an office. There was a desk with a brand-new laptop on it. The laptop was connected with to a cell phone and another kind of digital camera. Beside said equipment was a stack of memory chips, disks and about 20 photos of naked children.

Different children. Two photos on the top showed the missed Cornell twins, but they hadn't been the only ones. Some of the photos could have turned Willow's stomach upside down if she would let it happen. Willow knew instantly that they had their target. She opened the other door in the room to find herself standing in a corridor, in front of her two doors. She heard the quiet sobbing of a child from the left door.

Turning her head slowly into this direction she saw a vibration in the air which came near quickly. Synchronous she felt the presence of her sister
witch. When Willow opened the door to the room she saw a small cot with the Cornell twins on it. They held each other tightly and their sobbing
increased. Willow and Cat abolished the glamour spell and the children could now see who had opened the door.

"Hush, Princess. Hush, Nicci. It's all good now. We are friends of your mom. And we are friends of Noel, too. You are save now."

They picked up the twins and left the cabin through the back door. Their first and most important task was to rescue the kids. Cat and Willow brought the children to Willow's car, laid them on the backseat and covered them with a fluffy blanket.

Willow laid her hands on their foreheads.

"Quiescete"

The Twins fell immediately asleep.

Using their glamour spells again Willow and Cat went to the cabin again. This time they needed to secure the evidence and take care that the
organization was destroyed.

While Willow gathered the stuff from the office and put it in an army backpack, Cat reached the large living room again. Standing in the center of
the room she pointed with her right index finger to the outstretched figure of the sleeping bastard on the cushions.

"Imperio!"

He opened his eyes and started to speak. Cat had switched on a small recorder and started with her questions. He wasn't even able to oppose,
completely submitted to her will. When she was sure that there would be no more information she raised her hand again.

"Avada Kedavra!"

The man who had been part of an organization who enjoyed themselves by kidnapping, abusing, raping and killing helpless children was dead. He had
found quick and painless death. Cat wasn't out for vengeance, her concern was to make sure that this man couldn't hurt someone anymore.

***

After Willow had finished her work in the office she placed some observation cameras around the cabin. The cameras would sent the photos via satellite to the powerful computer in Willow's house - day and night. These cameras had been one of those things she had swiped from the same government institution she had the solar cells, the satellite antenna and the program to use a special satellite from. When they had reached the car they abolished the hiding spell again and stored the backpacks into the trunk.

"What do you think, how long will it take to alter their memories?" Cat asked quietly, looking at the sleeping forms of the little girl and the boy.

"Give me an hour, or better one and a half. I hope that they haven't raped them, but the shock of being kidnapped, and the photos are intensive. Call Antonia and tell her that we need some trustworthy to check the children at their mothers house. Oh, and Noel Kramer too. She must be a good friend of the family to know the nicknames of the kids."

After Cat had made the calls she took her place on the drivers seat and put on the headset of a CD player. The soft tunes of a meditation CD cut of all the noises of the world around, so she couldn't hear the fairy tale Willow started to tell the just awakened children. They snuggled sleepily into
Willow's arms.

"Once upon a time there had been a wonderful princess and her brother, a fearless knight ...."

While Willow wove her tale she created a powerful spell. None of the children she had told her tales could remember what had happened to them
while they were kidnapped. Her spell was such a powerful one that she affected the subconscious, too.

Antonia, Cat and Willow had agreed years before that their rescue missions would be really successful if the children could live their lives again,
without remembering what had happened. So Willow told her tales and helped the children to heal.

When they reached the Cornell's house in the late afternoon Cat spoke with the grandma. With a few words she told her what had happened. She didn't need to ask her to keep silence. All the grandma wanted to know was, if the man was dead or alive. When Cat assured her that the man they had found couldn't harm anyone anymore and that they would hunt the other one till they could get them too, she was relieved.

In the living room sat the mother with the little girl on her lap. Beside her sat Noel with the boy. He was suckling on his thumb. Willow knew why the
police had been so sloppy with their investigation. Noel and Karen had been a couple. Before they left Willow walked over to the sofa. She gave the four people a genuine smile.

"Be blessed!"
 

~Part 15~

After Willow and Cat had left on their mission, Spike stood in front of Willow's house, left behind. Letting them drive away was hard; necessary,
but hard. It wasn't like he didn't have trust in Willow and Cat's abilities to defend themselves, or that he didn't want Willow to be strong and
self-confident, he really did. But why couldn't he and Tony accompany them. She could have been fiery and self-confident with him in the near, just to make sure that nothing bad happens. So, with him staying in San Francisco and Willow on her drive to Chester, he hadn't have a chance to protect her. That made him feel helpless and such feeling didn't sit well with his demon. He could feel it starting to become furious, suddenly knowing that the demon had already chosen his mate and now wanted to be near her. Frustrated and restless, Spike left to South of Market. A nice spot of violence was exactly what he needed to clear his head and he knew by experience that when he walked along the 6th street acting like a bloody tourist it wouldn't take long to get into trouble. He was a little bit hungry anyway.

***

The next day Spike felt much better. The night before he had been chosen to be the next victim by a group of three young man, all of them skilled and armed fighters. When he had drained the last one, hours later, he felt as if he had worked for his meal. Hunting someone who was like a beast to his own kind was always a real challenge, better than all the sobbing and frightened meals on legs he had drained when he was with Dru.
That he had been greeted by Tony, when he returned in the early morning hours, who had told him about Cat's call, hadn't hurt neither. In the
afternoon, Cat called to tell them that the mission was successful, and around 7 p.m. she called a second time and let them now that they were on
their drive back to San Francisco. Even when he knew between said call and Willow's arrival would be at least three or four hours he couldn't wait. He had told her he would be waiting for her when she arrived and he wouldn't disappoint her. Provided with Tony's cell-phone he walked to Willow's house, hoping for a quick bite on the way.

***

Willow opened her front door just before sunrise. It has been a drive with stopovers. First they had been witnesses of a car crash and had helped the victims till the ambulance arrived. After they had answered the police officers questions, while Cat hid all the equipment in the trunk with a
spell, they had been so exhausted that they needed to have nap. But they couldn't sleep long. Than they alternated with the driving until they
reached Cat's apartment.

A sandwich, a glass of milk and her bed - in that order. That was all Willow wanted for when she had toed of her sneakers. She ate hungrily the
peanut-butter/strawberry-jam sandwich in a few bites, when she noticed that someone was sitting on her kitchen terrace. All she could see was a pair of well worn blue jeans and black doc martens, a familiar sight. Willow opened the French doors.

"Hi, how long are you waiting here?" she tried to stifle a yawn- unsuccessfully.

"Hmm, since midnight. Do you know that a couple of cat's are using your garden for their hunting grounds?" Spike reached for Willow's right hand and pulled her on his lap, embracing her small frame with his arms.

"No." Willow mumbled while she snuggled deeper into his embrace. She was so tired and she felt so comfortable in his arms. There was no need to move.

"I'm thinking they knew that you like cat's" Spike continued, stroking her hair.

When Willow didn't answer him he looked down into her face - she was asleep. He could see dark shadows under her eyes and it looked like her delicate features had become paler than before. He tenderly reached for her ribcage. He could feel every single bone. She must have lost weight in these two and a half days - somewhere around six or seven pounds. He would make her a proper breakfast when she awoke. But for now he was content to sit here with Willow in his arms and look at the sunrise. The rising sun began to reach out with her warming rays, not willing to burn him anymore and let the hair of the beloved woman in his arms shine in different nuances of red and gold. He could take her to bed later, much later.

***

Eight hours later Willow and Spike were sitting in Willow's kitchen again. This time there was a large plate with scrambled eggs and toast in front of
Willow.

"You know, I could get used to this." Willow joked, reaching for her coffee mug. "The last time I had to prepare my breakfast all alone was on Saturday and you're definitely more talented in the kitchen than I."

"Wait till I cook dinner for you, " Spike replied "after eating my pasta you'll be on your knees and begging me to stay." He took Willow's fork and
taste some of the eggs himself. "He arched an eyebrow "Not bad for an bloodsucking vampire, hmm?"

Willow threw her napkin at him.

"So what are we doing now?" Spike asked when Willow had finally finished her meal.

"First we must check the observation cameras I set around the cabin. Secondly we need to examine the things Cat and I had brought from Chester.
I'm know for sure that the man we had found is not the only one and that they had done their handiwork before. We must find their connections and the other bastards and eliminate them - All. Do you want to help me?" Willow looked into Spike's eyes. "When Cat and I are on our rescue missions it's better that we are all alone - only women, you know. But that doesn't means that we don't appreciate your and Tony's help for the large part after the rescue."

"Yes." Spike didn't know how Willow knew that he had felt left out, but he knew for sure that she didn't asked him out of pity. She was serious, he
could become a member of her team too.

"Hey, you know I've become pretty good with the computer too."

"Ok, come on." Willow reached for Spike's hand. "Let me introduce you to

'Major Tom'"

"Who's that?" Spike was baffled.

"My computer system!" Willow couldn't help but had to laugh when she saw Spike's face.

***

They had both worked silently for the next hours. At 5 p.m. Tony and Cat came to help too. Tony had never seen Willow's computer room before. He was enthusiastic about the possibilities they had. On one large 25'' screen they could see the broadcasts of the six observation cameras Willow had left in Chester. Another computer was busy loading the JPEG-files from the memory chips, they had brought from the office in the cabin.

"I haven't seen something like that before." Tony said pointing on a black device Willow had placed on a table near the computer.

"You can't" Willow replied with a proud smile. "I made it. I can put twenty memory chips in the slots and give the task to load the files. So I don't
have to see if a chip is loaded and replace it with the next one. The loading of twenty memory chips can take a whole day, you know." Tony was
impressed. When Cat had told him that thanks to Willow's computer skills they had become able to identify the criminals during the first week after
their rescue missions he had been surprised. But now he began to feel like Spike before - he wanted to be a member of Cat's and Willow's team too.

And so the extended team started to work together. Cat and Tony examined the JPEG-files and the videos from the observation cameras, and gave the information's about the adults they could see to Willow, who was pretty busy hacking into the databases of the government and insurance company's., while Spike was searching the net for addresses they had found on the criminal's laptop.

***

The next days they spent with researching during the day and spending the evening together in front of Willow's fireplace. Willow couldn't remember
ever feeling this good. Spike had kept his promise to cook dinner for her, every evening. Some evenings he had left for an hour, for a quick stroll and
a bite through one of San Francisco's not so safer quarters. After he had left the first evening Willow gave him the security code of her front door
and a small key. "I don't want you to ring when you come back" she had told, "I'd like you to come and go whenever you want."

"You don't have problems with me having a nice walk through Tenderloin and draining some people on my way? With me being a bloodsucker?" Spike asked curious. They have never again spoken about his feeding habits after their first evening alone. He had tried to tell himself that Willow repressed him being a vampire. But he should have known better.

"Why should I?" Willow answered surprised. "That's what you are. By the way I know that you only kill those who live by killing and torturing their own race. Strictly speaking you are doing the most of the residents a favor. That you do it with satisfaction is good for your demon too and ....." Spike stopped her babbling in the nicest way possible - he kissed her.

***

One evening almost a week after the rescue they sat in front of Willow's fireplace as usual. Willow snuggled into Spike's arms, Cat and Tony in a
similar position but with Bastet on Cat's knees. Cat had started to bring Bastet with her. Other than the evenings before they didn't share stories
from Tony's and Spike's adventures in Italy. This evening they planned how to destroy the organization they had learned so much about the last days.

"The problem is that it is like a spider's web." Willow said playing with her wineglass. "I'm afraid when we start with one that the others will hide
immediately."

"Not when they don't know that it's against the organization." Tony piped in.

"What do you mean?" Cat had turned her head to look into her fiancee's face.

"Look this one guy, the bald one. We do know that he spent a lot of time in clubs in Sacramento. Or the other one - with the eagle tattoo. He gets into a knife fight almost every weekend. We could start with them. They both are asking to get into trouble. Nobody would be surprised when they had an accident."

"What kind of accident?" Willow asked.

"Egghead could get stabbed after one of his club visits and Eagle Boy could have had a nice encounter with a barbecue fork." Spike told her calmly
changing into game face playfully to emphasize his words.

"It looks like you're volunteering." Willow smiled about Spike's behavior, softly stroking the ridges on his forehead. She had stopped looking at the
men they were hunting with feelings other than disgust, years before - after she had her first rescue mission and met the victims. Willow continued the soft fondle of Spike's demonic features when she noticed that he had started to purr softly.

"Seems like I'm not the only one with a cat in this room." Cat said softly to Tony. He looked at the other couple surprised. In the whole time he had
lived with Spike he had never heard him purr before. "Must be another vampiric thing." He answered.
 

next