San Francisco September 2005

"And what had happened than?" Willow asked breathless.

"He drank. Was pretty impressed about the liqueur, too. You know, I got a self-refilling flask with Uncle Sergio's homemade Grappa. And than I got the chance to tell him, why I couldn't defeat myself. Have you ever tried to do a 'Stupefy-spell' to stop someone's attack when you are not able to use your mouth or hands. I felt helpless like a newborn child. When I was ready with my tirade and he noticed that he couldn't finish the flask we agreed to went to my room and to clean the cut. We've been friends and companions since. He taught me how to fight and he saved my miserable ass a couple of times more." Tony smiled gratefully at Spike with a little twinkle in his eyes.

And while Cat laid her hand about Tony's and gave him a tender kiss - Willow gave Spike a beaming smile too.

"You mean he saved your life 'literally' " Cat asked.

"Yup," Tony nodded "he dusted the other vamps in a heartbeat too."

"Spike, I don't know how to thank you" Cat said with a small smile on her face. This idiot never told me that he was in such a danger. You saved one of the most important sorcerers in our family. And you saved the man I fell in love with."

The last two sentences she spoke more to Tony than to Spike, but he knew how she felt. While Cat started a quite, playfully argument with Tony about 'the greatest understatement of the world when he told her Italy wasn't always funny' Spike wanted to have a private word with the redheaded witch.

"Pet, I know it's a little late but I want to thank you for destroying the chip and for all the other crap you've done for me, too." He told her while
they went to the corner of the room where Antonia had placed a big Aquarium with tropic fish.

"How do you know it was me?" Willow asked with a small smile on her face. Seeing Spike like this told her that her actions had been right. She hadn't been this convinced when she had send him the parcel.

"I printed the whole instruction how to use the device out?"

"Let's say you left cute little handwriting on the address of the parcel. And I'm pretty sure that you are the only person I know who would gave a
demon like me a brand-new laptop with a file about how to destroy a computer chip implant in it. And the files has those cute little pictures to show how to place the equipment on my head. And Willow, when you wrote that you would help me earlier - I know that I could trust you. You have always been there for me. Even when I didn't deserve your help."

"Hey, that's what friends are for." Willow tried to joke.

"Sure Pet, but I want to give you something - something I've been carrying around Europe the last 4 years." He grabbed into his pocket and pulled out a small velvet bag. He opened it and grabbed gingerly for her right wrist. Willow noticed that he was wearing a delicate silver ring on his left hand. He hadn't one when she had seen him the last time and this ring was radiating power like a fire was radiating warmth. The bracelet Spike closed around it was made out of silver with little black Onyx stones in it. It looked like someone had tried - successfully - to braid silver-ropes. It was beautiful and it cling to her skin as if it had waited centuries for this moment.

"It's a charm" Spike told her his voice husky "It shall protect you against everything bad."

"It's wonderful," Willow hugged him impulsive. "I love it - and Onyx is 'my stone' you know. So it's perfect." She gave him a beaming smile and he was so tempted to caress her cheek when he heard a voice behind him.

"Willow, is that you, cara mia?"

Willow turned around to see a slim dark-haired woman in her late fifties stand behind her. She was in the woman's arms immediately. "Antonia it's so
good to be home again. I missed you all so much. And I'm so happy that Cat and Tony are together." She babbled. Her witch-master caressed Willows face.

"I missed you too."

She looked at Spike "Spike, I've made some of the ice cream Willow loves so much. Would you go into the kitchen and bring some to your table. We will be there too in some minutes."

While Spike left Antonia turned to Willow again."You know it has been a long time you've been away this time. Too long. But important things will happen now. I'd like you to study creating charms this winter with Tony. He has made his master this spring and the charm he has created is one of the most powerful I've ever seen. And you will need time for your cat. Bastet is special. Her Ancestors are from Egypt, a fact Cat knew very well when she named her Bastet. It's not easy to become familiar with a cat like this but the bond will be very strong. Powerful. So, when you need help, or someone to speak to. All you need to do is ask and I'm there."

"Oh Antonia, I'm so looking forward to this autumn and winter. Thank you for your support. I think it will be great to study with Tony. He seems to be a nice man." Willow felt relaxed like she felt every time she was with Antonia. She knew that she needed to hide nothing from her. That she would always be accepted. It had been this way always - since their first meeting. Antonia has been more a mother to her than Sheila Rosenburg.

"That he is, cara mia. And you and Cat too. You will have a wonderful time here with your family." Antonia smiled warmly when she saw Spike carrying a tray with small bowls of 'gelati'. "And Willow one last thing before we join the others. I think Spike is a good man." "Wait" she made a rejecting move with her right hand when she noticed that Willow was going to interrupt. "I do know why I don't say vampire. I know he is a vampire but that is not all he is. He is special too. "And if you would choose to mate with him, I would say he's a good choice"

With that she caressed Willows face again and turned to the table where Cat, Tony and Spike were waiting and talking. Willow followed thoughtfully. It wasn't in Antonia's nature to speak thoughtlessly.

***

"And than," Tony finished his story "Spike pulled me out of the dirty water after the boat had rammed the landing stage like a motorboat and told me
that it is really stupid to use a summoning charm on a gondola when you want a ride."

Willow, Cat and Antonia laughed so hard that the other customers in the restaurant looked at the five with curiosity. Most of them came once or
twice the week. The food was excellent and not to expensive but most important the atmosphere was friendly. Antonia knew almost every customer by name and everyone felt welcomed.

"So pet, there is one thing I really want to know." Spike looked at Willow

"How did you get this equipment to destroy the chip in your possession?" The other four where curious too.

Willow held out her right hand - the palm of her hand upwards - and gave him a sensual smile. "Accio Amarettini!" Her voice was like a purr of a cat and one of the little almond cookies Antonia served with the ice cream floated up in the air and landed softly on Willows palm. It seemed almost as if the cookie was happy to be there finally. It wobbled a little bit and than it lay still. Spikes looked at Willow, his mouth open. If he would be the
cookie he would have left the bowl with other cookies too willingly and float to the sensual redhead. What could be a better way to get eaten than
by her. Willow looked at Spike, then at the sweets and put the Amarettini in Spikes mouth before she closed it with a tender prod to his chin.

"Hey, I can remember when we practiced the spell," Cat said with a conspiracy grin into the silence "You never told me why you needed to learn
this kind of spell so urgent. And by the way, you haven't been that good in the beginning, sister."

"Goodness, no I haven't." Willow had to grin too. "Took me a whole month to learn it and a nasty scar at my collarbone too. Do you remember when I summoned the janitor's tool case by mistake. And only because I said box and not books. But I learned my lesson on the HARD way." Willow pulled the neckline of her dress a little lower and everybody saw a small purple scar on her collarbone.

"A whole month to learn this spell?" Tony was surprised. "Why that?"

"When I left Sunnydale I was insecure in my witchcraft. To be honest I was frightened like a little cat on a storm night. I had been able to do
powerful spells without knowing and I hadn't been able to do easy ones even when I tried so hard. All I knew was that I wanted to become a witch, to be able to control my powers. On the one side I wanted to fight against the dark powers and on the other side nobody was interested in my spellcasting. They wanted me to be the same shy, reliable Willow for eternity. Research Willow, good buddy Willow - but not Witch-Willow. I had stayed in Sunnydale after graduation to help Buffy and Giles with their fight, because I felt like it was my fight too. But with every passing day I felt left out more and more. After the last spell I knew instinctually that I could be dangerous for the others and myself when I didn't learn to use my powers."

"So that's the reason you left?" Spike bent forward to take her hand. "But why didn't you come back later? I mean after your training?" Willow enjoyed the touch of his hand and clasped her fingers around his.

"Spike, I'm still in training. Antonia is sure that I'm not a ordinary witch who spends her time with casting little hexes like removing warts or brewing
love potions." She said the latter with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.

"Sorceress like Antonia, Catherina, Tony and I are in training forever. It's not like high school or college. When I'm really good with one kind of
magic - I start with another one. And about going back - here is my home now. These are my friends who love me for who I am and what I am. They never feel the need to hide my powers or to forbid me to fight." With that answered Willow raised her glass and said a toast to her friends - present and otherwise.

***

When Willow slid between the satin sheets of her bed her mind was repeating the events of the evening - again and again. Spike had asked her out for a date. They would meet the next evening and she was giddy with excitement. He wasn't the same Spike she had met all those years before - but he was. It was like she had seen the Spike this evening he was when he felt no need to hide or to brag. Could he be that Spike she had seen in her dreams five years earlier? Before she had given him the promise to destroy the chip. She hoped so.

And she had planned to meet with Cat the next morning. Cat would come and bring Bastet too. They both knew it would be good for Bastet to visit
Willows house before she give birth to the kittens. Willow couldn't wait to speak to Cat privately, about Spike, about what had happened in the last
months. And she really needed to refresh their bond. She had settled with Tony to start the lessons in creating a charm in the afternoon. It would be a perfect time 'cause of the bond with Cat. And she really wanted to ask him about the silver ring Spike was wearing. She noticed the charm when he had given her the bracelet. And so her thoughts were back to the most important event of the evening - Spike had asked her out for a date.
 

~Part 7~

"So, he was the reason for learning this spell so doggedly when you arrived here?" Cat asked with a mischievous smile. They sat on Willow's terrace,
both with a large mug of coffee in their hands and enjoyed the warm rays of the early morning sun. Bastet lay on Willows lap and was softly purring
while Willow ruffled a particular spot behind Bastet's left ear. "Yeah, but I couldn't tell you back than 'cause you've never met a vampire before -
only heard about them - and I had to admit that all the things you've heard where kinda true. Please believe me that I had my reasons to destroy his chip. I couldn't speak about it at that time."

"Do you want to speak about it now?" Cat tried her best not to pester her sister-witch but knew instinctively that it would unburden for Willow's
heart.

"That would be great" Willow said with a sigh. "Do you think you could once again play my confessor?" She tried to joke.

"Let's start. I think I can handle it. It truly not the first time we both went down memory lane together." Cat set her mug back on the small round
table which stood between their chairs and turned to Willow completely.

"Ok, it started all back in Sunnydale when Spike first came into our town. It was some days before the day of St. Vigeous and he was a boastful boor. He was with a beautiful and loony vampiress called Drucilla and he was heavily in love with her and wanted to be the new master vampire in
Sunnydale. ....."

While Willow continued with her tale Cat was caught in the story. One of Willow's greatest talents in the last years had become telling a story in a
way nobody was able to leave or stop listening. Her voice was soothing and Cat never noticed when Bastet left Willow's lap to chose Cat's instead.

".... So when he came back the last time beaten and 'defanged' I started to dream about him. The dream was always the same but it took me quite a long time to remember it completely after waking up. I saw him in my dream like he must have been before he was turned. It looked like the 19th century. He doesn't looked like the sadistic bastard we all thought he had been when he was a human. He looked like a nice man. A little bit saucy, but nice. In my dreams I saw him with his younger siblings. He was caring, and I could see that he really loved them. He looked like someone who could have been a friend of mine. That was when I remembered something Angel had told me secretly after my doppelgänger had arrived in Sunnydale. When I had asked him about my other self and if the vampire's character is really so much different from the human ones - he said no. He said he couldn't tell me the truth when Buffy was near by - and I understood that, I really do - but he didn't want to lie to me about that. It took me quite a time to realize that it was not important to me if I could be bisexual like my doppelgänger. That it was ok. When I dreamed about Spike and him being human I thought about Angel's words and chose to destroy the chip. And I thought about a way to give him something to fight against. Do you remember the files about all those bastards Antonia and the other members of our organization searched for 'cause they were guilty of rape and murder of hundreds of children in Eastern Europe? The most of them were assumed to live in Belgium and Italy.

They had become rich men with their crimes and selling the pictures of their victims via the net. I gave Spike a laptop with all those files and the
bookmarks to the websites of those beasts. I thought when he needed to kill someone perhaps he could start with them. And he must have done it 'cause when we were able to track them down they were all dead and their crime organization was destroyed." Willow take a deep breath of the fresh a wonderful smelling air of her garden. "So Cat, if you want to tell me off you can start now - but I more then sure that my choice was the right one. I wasn't too confident back than. But after meeting Spike yesterday - I am now. He isn't the same person anymore. He has so much more in common with those Spike I dreamed about again and again. Those dreams couldn't have been without meaning. It was fate."

Willow was so relieved that she had had finally the chance to tell it all that she had started to weep silently. It had been all in her heart for so
long and now when she had finished she was both, relieved that the secret was out and afraid that Cat wouldn't understand. Cat sat the large
grey-white feline down and went over to Willow's chair. She knelt down to be face to face with her sister-witch and then she hugged her small frame softly petting Willow's red locks. "You've done everything right. I'm not sure if the rest of the mankind would see it this way too - but that's not important to me. I do understand you and I'm proud of you. You and I - we fought not only against the dark forces the last years. We are fighting against those kind of criminals too. Goddess, Willow we almost lost our fight more than one time and every time we won it wasn't only because you are a great witch or a gifted computer specialist and 'cause I'm not that bad in my fighting skills. We won 'cause we know why we fight and 'cause after you're research we have watertight evidence. And Willow, sister of mine, please never think that you are not in my heart. You are a part of my heart. And I love you - I really do." Cat looked into Willow's beaming face.

"And by the way it would have been a waste when Spike would have spend the rest of his unlife sulking in Sunnydale. He is really a nice specimen. And I think you two would be a great couple." With that said she gave Willow a tender kiss.

***

Willow and Cat spend the next two hours with their bonding ritual. The balance between their 'normal' lives and their 'other' lives was very
important. They spent their 'normal' lives as an computer specialist and an attorney (who also spend some private time to teach self defense in a center for maltreated women and girls) and their 'other' lives as witches and members of an secret organization. The organization has been founded by Antonia's grandmother. It hadn't always been female witches who worked and risked their lives. There had been male witches, too. Tony was one of them.

***

And so Cat and Willow sat in Willows garden in a circle they had build with dozens of amethyst, rose quartz, onyx and jade. Amethyst and rose quartz were the stones Antonia and Cat had chose for Cat. Onyx and Jade was Willow's stones.

Both witches meditated, burned herbs like Rosemary and Thyme, sprinkled spring water all over their naked skin and refreshed their bond. When their
ritual was at it's height the precious stones were floating around them and built a dome.
 

~Part 8~

It was around 2 p.m. when Willow arrived at Antonia's restaurant in the Upper Montgomery Street. The whole Concelli family lived in the same large
house together. It was one of those old homes that had been here at the turn of the penultimate century. It had survived the great earthquake in 1906 mysteriously. On the ground floor was the restaurant and it had been there the last 80 years, often redecorated by its female owners which had been the great-grandmother, the grandmother and the mother of Antonia. The Concelli clan lived in the two floors above, a extension in the backyard and in the attic. They had had two or three spare rooms for guests, small rooms but tasteful decorated - and Willow herself had been on of those guests for a short time when she had arrived in San Francisco in 1999. She knew that right know Spike was staying here too. But he was not the man she wanted to meet - not now anyway.

After she had parked her car in a side street she entered the house through the family entrance. Tony had told her that he would be in the attic and Willow knew exactly in which room. Before she opened the door she slipped out of her shoes and socks, and put her jacket and her backpack on a coat rack to her right. She was now only wearing a pair of forest green sweat pans and a matching T-shirt.

The room was bright with daylight and in the center of the room was a similar magic circle to the one she and Cat had used in the morning. Tony
and Willow didn't kneel in the circle this afternoon but she knew that when the theoretical part of his lessons was over they would use the circle to
create powerful charms. On the right side of the room were lots of wooden boxes and jars stored on shelves. Between some shelves hung dried herbs upside down and wrapped in gauze. Under the large dormer lay some mats Antonia and her protégées used for meditation and sometimes for one of Cat's self defense lessons. On one of these mats sat Tony wearing similar clothes to Willow but in black. He had arranged some charms on a wooden tray beside him and was sorting cubes of silver, gold and copper and several precious stones on a second tray on his lap. Willow had to smile. It was obvious that she was his first student and he was just excited as she. She remembered the first time she had a student too and how she had felt. With a deep breath she closed the door and went to Tony.

***

Two hours later he had told her almost everything he knew about the materials he had shown her today. "OK Willow, any questions?"

"I've got one but I don't know if you're allowed to answer it. But I ask it anyway .. I mean you can say NO if you want .. That would be Ok too." Willow started to ramble.

"Ask." Tony had to stifle a laugh. Spike had told him about this side of Willow.

"Yeah, hmm, it's about Spike's silver ring. It's a charm. What kind of spell did you put in this charm?"

"Let me see. I'm telling you this 'cause first of all I know you wouldn't harm him. And secondly 'cause you are my student in this lessons and telling
you about this could be an important part of this lessons. And .." he made a break to inhale "because Antonia told me to answer this question if you
would ask me."

Willow was surprised - she hadn't expected that answer.

"I think I'm starting with the reason why I've created this charm. You asked yesterday how Spike and I had met the first time. After that we agreed to stay together - work together. He taught me a lot about street fighting to even teach fencing. We had been in a lot of fights 'cause the mission I had to complete was a difficult one. One night this summer we went straight into a trap. If I hadn't been with Spike, I'd have been dead by now. He saved my life again and became injured badly by a poisoned dagger. When we arrived in our shelter he started to speak in his feverish dreams. To make a long story short I got a pretty good impression about what he really missed in his unlife. If I had him asked he would have denied it. So I said nothing and started research. I created this charm and there is only one spell in it. I asked to Maat the Egyptian goddess of Life and Harmony to let him enjoy all the things he would be enjoying when he would be alive. I didn't asked for him to become human again. And I didn't asked for some special kind of protection. I asked for a little and hoped for the best. And when I created the charm I'd done it with love and gratefulness in my heart. It's out of silver, but there is a little bit of pulverized Onyx in it. When I was ready, I gave Spike the ring and told him that it was a gift out of friendship. He didn't laugh or something but slipped it on his left hand. I didn't know if the charm would work. Some weeks later we discovered that he was able to spend some time in the sun. He didn't get burned. Since than he's been discovering his gift. In the moment he has his culinary phase. He enjoys eating and cooking.

"Where is he now?" Willow was amazed.

"In the kitchen with Mum. They went grocery shopping this morning and right now they're cooking."

"You mean he went directly from being a blood sucker to being kind of 'Paul Bocuise'?"

"Nah, he made a beeline for being a beach-boy. I'm pretty sure he is only vampire who is a proud owner of a pair of swimming trunks."

***

Golden Gate Park 9 p.m.

"Do you feel better now?" Willow was busy bathing Spike's face with a wet handkerchief. They were sitting on a bench at the rear of a small fountain.

"Lets say that the need to puke my innards in a garbage can had slowed down." Spike said with a small smile. "Hey, why do we constantly ending with you taking care of me and me embarrassing myself?"

"Hmm, I would say it's Karma. Perhaps I'm your guardian angel." Willow tried to joke.

The evening had started out so wonderful. Spike had surprised her with visiting an great open air event called 'A La Carte. A La Park'. Dozens of
stands were offering culinary specialties and Willow and Spike made a stroll through the park. They enjoyed their time together immensely and Willow could wholeheartedly agree with Cat's comment that Spike was so much fun to be around. He wanted to taste everything and Willow didn't wanted to spoil his fun. One and a half hours later Spike was feeling sick.

"Perhaps we should watch you 'culinary phase' a little bit better the next time. Before it gets out of hand."

"Yeah, that would be good. Please stop me the next time when I'm trying to eat Chinese, Italian, Greece and German in disarray."

"I promise." Willow petted his head. "What do think about a little trip to my house and a cup of tea? Sound good?"

"Bloody perfect. Lead the way."
 

Part 9

"Here we are." Willow told him proudly when she drove her car into the garage. After they had climbed out of the car and closed the garage door,
they went to the front door. Willow punched in the security code for the door and turned to Spike taking his hand in hers-"Spike please come in, You are welcome."

Ten minutes later, the blonde vampire was seated on a sofa in front of the fireplace, a colorful Mexican blanket wrapped around him. Willow had gone into the kitchen and was preparing tea. When she came into the living room she was carrying a tray with a teapot and two cups. The smell of peppermint wafted to Spike. After setting the tray on a coffee table in front of him, Willow started to light the fire. That gave Spike enough time to admire her movements. She hadn't changed in height or weight. She had changed in confidence and the way she dressed had changed too. Gone were the fluffy sweaters and overalls. But she didn't wear stuff like the slayer or the former cheerleader. She had found her own style. This evening it was a pair of blue jeans and a forest green silk shirt with a granddad collar. On her right wrist, the bracelet he had given her the evening before. He was pretty sure that she hadn't removed it up to now.

"Are you comfortable?" Willow voice brought his thoughts back to the here and now.

"Yeah. I like your house, it's homey."

"You haven't seen much of it till now. I'll give you the tour later." Willow toed off her shoes and took a seat in the other corner of the sofa
cross-legged. "Tea will be ready in a minute. How about I remove your shoes too?" With that said she was down on her knees in front of him and unlacing his boots and all that in less than 5 seconds. Spike was speechless.

"So, now you make yourself at home." Willow smiled being back on her spot of the sofa.

Ten minutes later both had their mugs with peppermint tea in their hands and were talking animatedly.

"So Pet, I'm pretty sure Tony has told you about our time in Italy. But what about you. Last time I saw you, you'd been the slayers little research girl. To shy to look at me when you brought me my daily mug of pigs blood. Than I get a parcel with a laptop and the equipment to destroy the chip and now I'm sitting with you on a sofa in front of a fireplace in your own house. I tried to pump Antonia about you this morning but she told me to ask you. What happened to the shy caterpillar to become such a beautiful butterfly?" Spike asked her with a smirk.

Willow had to laugh. "Butterfly, huh? That one is new. I told you yesterday why I had left Sunnydale. After that stupid thing with the spell which lead to you and Buffy become a lovers ..

"Only platonic!" Spike piped in.

After the spell I had a serious argument with Giles. He wanted me to stop casting spells and to stop with the whole magic stuff too. He said "No" and I said that I wanted to continue. Later in bed I recognized that he would never help me to become a better witch. He didn't want me to get into danger. Buffy and Xander too. But that wasn't what I wanted. I chose San Francisco 'cause I'd had contact to Antonia earlier when I was researching. I had left a message about a spell on one of the bulletin boards. She was interested in me and sent me an email. So when I arrived I met Antonia first. She arranged that I could live in the dorms with Cat. The first two weeks I had to stay at Antonia's. That was the first time in my life I had a family."

"I know the feeling, too. When Tony sent her an email that I had saved his life she started to greet me in every email. And when we arrived in San
Francisco she hugged me like I was a long lost son." Spike replied.

"Yeah, she is great. She taught me everything. I started to help with the research early and found out that she was the head of a group who was
fighting against the dark powers and against some kind of criminals. When I asked her if I could help with the fight too, she told me yes. There was no hesitation. Since then I'm a member of the organization. Cat and me, we are a team. I do have my normal life too, you know. I'm really proud about my company. I'm creating computer security systems and do research for people who need information in magical questions. Hey, I'm really successful by the way."

Spike couldn't hide a grin. She was stunningly beauty when she spoke so animatedly about her life. "I'm happy you left, Kitten. If you hadn't left,
we wouldn't be here now. When you sent me that parcel - lets say that you gave me a new life, I wasn't able to discover that right at that moment. Took me more than a month to be honest. But when I found your file with the names of those bastards I asked myself - why not. It's kinda funny but my last 'client' on my list was the same vampire I've staked in front of good old Tony. So if you hadn't left, I couldn't have made my journey to Europe, wouldn't have met Tony who is completely and happily whipped by Cat who is your best friend. And so I'm sitting here with a beautiful woman and drinking tea. By the way I'm not sick anymore do you have something tastier?"

"Yeah, what about champagne? I'm in the mood to celebrate."

"Champagne sounds good, Luv" Spike watched when Willow went into the kitchen, the soft swaying of her hips and the movement of her arms. The
light of the fire let her hair shine like fire itself. When Willow came back, a bottle of champagne in a cooler and two flute glass in her right hand he could see her illuminated face clearly. It was like something went into place. He suddenly knew that he was home.
 

~Part 10~

Willow saw his expression. There was a vulnerability she had seen only one time before. And there was a longing too. It was as if he was waiting for a sign - a sign that he was accepted, was an equal. "Spike would you open the champagne, please. I've got some strawberrys in the kitchen that goes good with this." Willow smiled at him and made a little move with her head in the direction of the bottle. While Spike opened the bottle[,] Willow went to bring the sweets. When she came back Spike handed her a glass. She wasn't sure if what she was going to do would be the most embarrassing thing she had ever done or if it would be the best. But she did it anyway. "A toast!" she said rising up her glass slightly. "To us!"

It must have been the most right thing because Spike raised his glass too and replied with a genuine smile on his handsome face. "To the future!"

After a short while in which they spent looking into the flames, Willow asked "So how did you feel about the names I gave you? You know the persons on the list""

"First I thought that they are a easy prey. You know like a rabbit is for a snake or a tiger."

"I like tiger better" Willow piped in, already getting tipsy with the her first glass of champagne.

" 'kay like a tiger. But later I realized that they weren't an easy kill. That I had to track them down all by myself, because there was no address,
but that wasn't the complicated part."

"It wasn't? I tried to track them down before without a result." Willow was surprised.

"Hush, kitten. It wasn't difficult because of my connections to the vampire clans in Europe. The vampires who worked together with those human bastards were ostracized. They had acted against one of our most important rules."

"What rule."

"We don't ever turn or bite a child."

"Oh!"

"Yeah, it's pretty simple when they offend against this rule, they dig their own hole."

"Or they stake themselves?"

Spike had to grin "Yes pet, that's right. So when I asked about those vampires I got their addressees and the permission to kill them too."

"I do know there must be a benefit in being of your kind." Willow muttered.

"Hey, I'm pretty sure you'd have been successful too." Spike tried to comfort her - gently rubbing her calf. When he noticed that her skin felt
cool, he put the large blanket over her legs too.

Willow snuggled deeper into the cushions of the sofa. "Mmmhh, why was it so difficult to kill them anyway?"

"They were prepared. They fought and they were armed. Most of them had bodyguards. I had to kill their bodyguards, too. Not that I'm complaining.
They were a nice meal besides."

Willow had to stifle a laugh after his description. "And then?"

"OK, after a while I began to feel like a knight. There was this vision in my head about a redheaded princess who asked me to do her a favor. I began to feel like Galahead or Artus."

"I'd like you better as Lancelot. He was her first knight." Willow interrupted.

"Anyhow, I felt like I was on a crusade."

"So you liked it?"

"Yes, I had to fight and it wasn't easy, too. At that time that was all I asked for. Later I started to worry. What would happen when I was through
with your list? And would I always work alone? I really took it into consideration to call the watcher and ask for your telephone number when I
meet Tony. You know he's a really great guy."

"Yeah, I know. I'm so happy that he and Cat are a couple."

"You know, he plans to ask her tonight if she would marry him." Spike beamed

"And he asked me to be his best man if she would say yes."

"That's nice," Willow sighed. "I hope Cat says yes. It's about time."

"He isn't the first who asked?" Spike assumed.

"No, but he will be the one who wins."

"That would be good."

"So would like to see my remaining kingdom?"

"Gladly! Lead the way my fairy princess!"
 

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