Spike opened the front door to his lair, and helped a weak Willow into the house.

"Tom!" he yelled.

Thomas appeared from a side door. He bowed deeply to Spike, and nodded to Willow.

"Master. Red."

"Is there anyone in the set of rooms next to mine?"

"Yes Master."

"Kick them out. My Pet is staying indefinitely."

"Yes Master."

Thomas turned and walked sedately up the stairs, yelling at minions as he went. As Spike helped Willow up the stairs, they could hear a loud banging, followed by a door being kicked open, and Thomas yelling "You’re fucking an unsanctioned human next door to the Master’s rooms?!" At this last noise, Spike left Willow and ran up the stairs. Spike’s voice could be heard bellowing throughout the house.

"A guest! You’re a bloody guest in my bloody home, and you do this? I ought to stake you. Get out, now!" A pause. "No, not you, just her."

A female vampire came round the corner and down the stairs dressed only in a sheet, which was wrapped around her. As the vampire passed Willow, she stopped and growled at her. Willow growled back.

"Why should I get thrown out, when he gets the Slayer’s witch?" she snarled at Willow as she leapt at her. Willow negligently flicked her wrist, which sent the vampire flying. She looked around, and spotted a pencil which had carelessly been dropped at the bottom of the stairs. Without a motion, Willow sent the pencil into the vampire’s heart, and slowly continued up the stairs as the vampire exploded into dust. Other minions stared at Willow in fear and astonishment.

Spike met Willow at the top of the stairs.

"What did you do with the human?" she asked.

"Well, I hadn’t fed yet…and we couldn’t exactly let him leave, could we?"

Willow frowned and scrunched up her nose in thought.

"No. I guess not. But, I don’t want to sleep there tonight. Can I sleep in your room?"

"Of course Pet. But I’m not moving for you, so we’ll have to share a bed."

Willow nodded and staggered into his room, and flopped onto his bed. Spike turned and gave some final whispered instructions to Thomas, before shutting and locking the door.

"You might want to take your shoes off, Pet."

"Don’t wanna" she sulked.

Spike chuckled as he went over to the bed and sat down on it. He grabbed first her left foot, then her right foot, as he took her shoes off of her.

Free of her shoes, Willow quickly scrambled over and under the bed sheets, fully clothed.

"Nyum nyum nyum" she gummed happily.

Spike grinned.

"Shove on over, Pet."

Willow didn’t move.

"Pet" Spike said warningly.

"Isn’t it a bit early for you to be going to bed? Shouldn’t you be out terrorising the town?" She waved her hand dismissively. "Go on, be off with you. Go eat an old lady or something." Willow rolled over and spread out spread-eagled beneath the sheets. "Leave me by myself in this nice big bed."

"I think not Pet. If you’re going to stay with me, I want you to keep my hours. So come on, sit up, and tell me about the big poof’s rescue of you."

Spike bounced up and down a few times on the bed, until Willow groaned, rolled over, and glared balefully at Spike.

"Fine" she said as she pulled herself up into a seated position.

***

Angel walked into the Bronze, and was greeted with a frightening sight. Buffy was dancing with Xander, in a dance not unlike the one she had danced with him to make Angel jealous, two years previous. All the tension, all the frustration, and the ever building desire to jump Angel, regardless of the consequences, had resulted in this dance with Xander, a dance which would have been even more primal, even more sexual, had she been dancing it with Angel.

Looking at Buffy dance, Angel had a feeling that he too, would reciprocate that dance, had he ever the opportunity. But, pushing his emotions aside, he found Cordelia, and instructed her to pull Xander and Buffy off the dance floor. He had some news.

"What’s up, Cryptic Guy?" asked Xander.

"Willow’s gone" Angel said, no preamble.

"Again?" asked Cordelia.

"What? Where?!" worried Buffy.

"I went to her house, to check up on her, and there was a note on her door." Angel handed a scrap of paper to Buffy.

"I can’t stay here" read Buffy aloud. "Not just now. I’m going to stay with some friends for a few days. I’ve made arrangements with my college work. Willow." Buffy looked up. "She left us a note?"

"Yes."

"Okay then. I always knew Wills was dying for a reason not to go to school." Xander smiled. "Anyone up for some dancing?"

Buffy shook her head. Xander pouted at Cordelia.

"Cordy? Pwease?"

Cordelia sighed.

"Fine. I just hope your dancing’s improved."

Xander dragged Cordelia out, and they started dancing.

Buffy looked expectantly at Angel.

"What?"

"I know you Angel. You have a something face on. What else?"

"It’s nothing."

"Angel…"

"I still think she’s been claimed."

Buffy sighed.

"You think too much. Come dance with me."

Angel and Buffy thought about dancing, and the dance she had just danced with Xander, and about how the dance would end if Angel and Buffy danced together. Realisation flared through both of them.

Angel fought down his longing, and shook his head.

"No. No. Uh…I should go."

Angel turned and disappeared.

***

*Thwack*

The sun high in the sky meant that Spike was in a deep, deep sleep. So it was a surprise when he suddenly awoke. He had been awoken by a restless Willow tossing and turning, and a stray arm had hit Spike in the head.

"No" moaned Willow. "Go, go away…you can’t, you can’t do this to me." There was a pause, and then Willow screamed. "Help!"

Spike shook Willow.

"Willow, wake up."

Willow continued to struggle.

Spike straddled Willow, and slapped her. Willow woke up, and looked groggily at Spike.

"Spike?"

Spike got off her.

"Yeah Pet"

"Oh Spike!" Willow flew into Spike’s arms.

"Nightmare, Pet?" asked Spike wearily.

As if suddenly realising that she had been crying in the arms of the Master of Sunnydale for the last day, Willow leapt back.

"I-I’m sorry Spike. If I’m going to stay here, I should move out of your room, so I don’t wake you. I’m sure you need your space. I’ll just get Thom to-"

"Pet" Spike interrupted her quietly, "It’s okay. You can stay here with me. But, please Pet, no more crying."

Willow shook her head, resolve face in place.

"Note to self: no more of this sissy crying."

Spike smiled.

"That’s right, Red. You’re the pet of a Master vampire, which means you have to be tough, strong, and never cry, not even when I exert my dominance."

"Exert your dominance?"

"You know, public bickering, followed by you cowering, that sort of thing."

"And will this dominance involve violence, and me being injured?"

"Quite possibly, Pet."

"Spike…"

"Mmm?"

"Can’t you just pretend to hurt me?"

"Pet," Spike looked Willow in the eye, and spoke to her quite seriously. "Remember, you, are my pet. And I know very well that you like being my pet-" he held up a finger to stall Willow’s protest "- You do. And you know it. The access to knowledge and texts that you never knew existed - I know that you could never give that up, and so you will almost willingly subject yourself to anything I deal out to you."

Having finished his speech, Spike sat back and looked at Willow expectantly. Having nowhere to go in the face of this obvious truth, Willow rolled over on the bed, away from Spike, and mumbled to herself.

"Damn vamps. Soooo arrogant. They just think they’re soo terrific. All knowledgeable. Stupid vamp."

Willow got out of the bed and sulked over to the chair in the corner. She drew her knees up to her chest, and wrapped her arms around her legs, as she attempted this puzzle.

‘How can this be?’ thought Willow. ‘Vamps are bad. We fight vamps. They get humans, and kill them to survive. But, humans do that, to chickens and cows, and sheep. And then we wear them for clothes and fashion accessories. Vamps just kill humans to survive. Okay, yeah, and for the fun of it, but that’s because it’s in their nature. They don’t wear us as garments. Does that put us on a par with vampires? But if it does, then does that mean that it’s okay for me to like Spike? Oh Goddess, I like Spike! He’s been very sweet to me, when he’s not whipping me, and he has done a lot for me, and exposed me to a lot of new majicks, and all he’s asked in return is that I be his Pet. And all that really entails is a little public embarrassment in the undead community. And anyway, what do I care if the demons in town have seen me embarrassed? They’ll know I’m their Master’s pet, so they can’t do anything to me, and essentially I have more power than them, as I can influence Spike most hours of the day, since I am sleeping with him, and Oh Goddess, I’m sleeping with Spike! Although of course, not like that, I mean, why would Spike want me like that? I’m just plain little Willow, and there are so many more beautiful females that he could have…only…he did choose me to be his Pet…’

Willow was broken out of her internal monologue by a sleepy Spike, who had grown impatient with waiting for Willow to come back to bed on her own. He reached out a hand to her.

"Pet, come back to bed. My hours, remember? And it can’t be more than midday, so we should go back to sleep."

Willow nodded her head and tottered back to the bed.

"Okay Spike, your hours - so now is sleepy time. Good thing I’m tired, or I’d never get back to sleep."

Fully clothed, Willow grabbed Spike’s offered hand as she clambered back into the bed. As she snuggled into the sheets, Willow turned her head to face Spike, opened her eyes, and smiled.

"If you have to show your dominance, I’ll do exactly what you want me to do."

She shut her eye sand tried to drift back to sleep.

Spike smiled.

She was his.
 
 

~Part Twelve~

Willow stretched her arms out.

‘Goddess’ she thought, ‘I had such a good sleep.’ She paused in her stretching, disoriented. These were not her sheets. She opened her eyes. This was not her bed. She shot up and looked around wildly. This was not her room! Worried, she started to get out of the bed, and then stopped when the memories came flooding back to her. She was in Spike’s lair. Willow laid back down, and wondered where Spike was. It couldn’t be *that* late.

Willow heard a key turning in the lock. She sat up and watched as Spike came in, followed by a minion carrying a tray. The minion put the tray down next to Willow, bowed obedience to her, and scurried away.

Spike laughed and shut the door behind the minion.

"You scared ‘em all, Pet. You’ve cowed them all into obedience towards you."

At Willow’s confused look, he elaborated.

"The minions are all scared of you, because you staked that bitch on the stairs last night."

"But it wasn’t anything special…"

"Hush luv. Don’t tell them that. You’ve got the vampire population of Sunyhell cowering at your feet, and you want to tell them it wasn’t anything special?"

"Well…m-maybe they…that is…I mean -" Willow broke off at Spike’s mocking grin. She hit him.

"Bastard! Don’t laugh at me, just because I’m not a big tough vampire!"

"No Pet, you’re not. However, what you are, is a big tough vampire’s ruthless and mysterious pet. And you’ve managed to cow all the vampires in this town, without lifting a finger. Do you really want to give that up?"

"No, but-"

"But nothing, Pet. Now -" Spike reached a hand out to Willow "- it’s about time you got out of bed. The sun set almost an hour ago."

Willow placed her hand in Spike’s, and he tugged her out of the bed. He looked at what she was wearing, which was the shirt and pants she had been wearing when she arrived, and leered at her.

"Now Pet" he said, "I think it’s time I got you out of those clothes -" Willow gasped and tried to take her hand out of Spike’s, but he gripped it hard "- and into something more appropriate for the Pet of a Master."

Spike dragged Willow over to the wardrobe, and threw it open to reveal a few sets of obviously female clothes.

"I had some clothes brought in whilst you were sleeping." He sat down on the bed. "Try them on. See what you think."

"I can’t wear any of this" Willow said, vehemently shaking her head whilst she stroked a silk shirt longingly. "It’s just not me."

Spike raised an eyebrow and looked at her.

"Do you want to wear it?"

"Well, yes, but-"

"Then that’s it, Pet. You’re going to wear these clothes."

"But -"

"There will be no arguments Red. Now" he pointed to the wardrobe "grab an outfit, and try it on."

"Okay."

Willow grabbed an outfit and spun around.

"Uh, Spike?"

"Yeah Pet?"

Willow spun her finger around in a circle, indicating Spike should turn around.

"What?" asked Spike innocently.

Willow glared at Spike.

"Fine, fine."

Spike fell back on the bed, and then rolled over so he couldn’t see her. After a few minutes of waiting, he yelled: "Hurry up!" He then heard a faint grunting sound. Intrigued, he rolled over to see Willow standing on her tippytoes as she sucked in her gut and clipped up a black leather skirt, which stopped mid-thigh.

"Very nice, Pet." Spike clapped.

Willow’s black skirt was complemented by the tight red silk top she had been stroking earlier. It was tight to her body and upper arms, and flared at the elbows.

***

Four outfits, an hour and an impromptu fashion parade later, and Spike had decided conclusively that his Witch looked good in leather and silk, and, if he had his way, he would keep her in leather and silk permanently. And eventually, *out* of it too.

Willow had tentatively decided that she liked silk and satin and velvet, although she was a bit unsure about the leather.

"Spike, it chafes."

"And yet…you look just right. No" he said, shaking his head as he leapt off the bed "you must wear it. Come along now Pet." He grabbed her hand and lead her to the door.

"Where are we going?"

"To show Tom. Not that I care what he thinks, as I think you look…edible," he paused to gauge her reaction, which was surprise, and continued, "but he did pick out the clothes."

By this time, the pair were out the door and heading for the stairs. Spike stopped suddenly at the top of the stairs, and spoke to Willow without looking at her.

"And Pet -" she looked over at him "- head up, and a bit of attitude luv - or I’ll have to punish you" he said warningly.

Willow nodded her head and gulped, as she stood up straight and began to walk slowly down the stairs ahead of Spike, trying not to totter on the red stilettos Spike had made her wear. As she reached the bottom of the stairs, resolve face on, she heard Spike call from behind her: "audience chamber Red", so she turned and walked into the audience chamber, looking for all the world like she owned it. Internally of course, she was huddled into a ball of panic, but on the outside she was cool and calm.

Spike caught up with her just as she got inside the audience chamber.

"Very nice, Pet" he murmured as he placed his hand on the small of her back, and guided her to the dais.

"Spike… what are we doing here?" whispered Willow urgently.

"This is what masters do. They sit around and listen to complaints, and solve problems. It’s not glamorous, and has nowhere near enough violence, but it’s necessary, and Tom filters at least some of the most boring ones."

"And me…?"

Spike sat down on his ‘throne’ , and indicated Willow sit at his feet. She gingerly sat down.

"As my pet, you have to show complete submission to me at all times. For now, just sit at my feet, and look…bored."

"Bored?"

"Bored. For now. Later, we might try for sultry."

"Master?" said Thomas.

Spike looked up at him.

"What do we have today, Tom?"

"In what order would you like them, Master?"

"Most important to least significant."

"Well, we have a challenge to your power -"

"What?!" roared Spike as he jumped up. Willow leapt out of the way as his booted foot came dangerously close to her head.

"Shh" said Thomas quietly as he looked around and noticed the minions looing on interestedly at the outburst by their Master.

Spike’s gameface dropped into view.

"No!" His eyes flashed amber.

Willow rolled her eyes. "Spike," she said, exasperated, "it makes sense. At least just calmly listen to Thoma-"

Spike reached down and yanked Willow up by her arm. She winced at the pressure he applied, and shied away as he snarled, a centimetre from her nose.

"Did. I. Ask. For you. Opinion, *Pet*?!" he spat.

Willow shook her head, terrified. Spike threw her across the dais, and she landed with a thud. He turned to Thomas.

"Who was it?!" he roared at Thomas. "Who *dared* to challenge me?!"

The minions cowered as Spike cast his amber eyes over them. Stoic as ever, Thomas pointed to a cowering minion at the back.

"*If* you had let me finish, as Red suggested, I could have told you that it was merely an insignificant minion who means nothing, and will be easy for you to punish."

"And punish I shall" snarled Spike as he leapt off the dais and towards the minion. The minion made a dash for the door.

Spike grabbed the minion and broke it’s neck.

"Will you never learn, that you should not disobey me?!" he yelled in exasperation.

Spike turned to the dais, and noticed the conspicuous absence of Willow.

"Red?"

Spike turned to the door, only to see it slamming shut behind Willow as she ran out of the room.

"Bugger."
 
 

~Part Thirteen~

Spike glared.

Minions cowered.

Spike snarled.

Thomas flinched.

Spike roared in absolute, seething fury.

"Willow!" The bellow echoed through the mansion, and into the bedroom where Willow had closed and locked the door behind her.

"Bastard!" she yelled at the top of her voice.

Spike, of course, with his vampiric hearing, heard her. He was, in truth, a little surprised that his little witch had the courage to defy him like that, but mostly, he was just pissed off. And it showed.

Anxious not to reveal any weakness in front of his minions, Spike did not leap up the stairs, as he was tempted to. Instead, he calmly, sedately, and swiftly, walked up the stairs, his face a thundercloud of fury.

"Pet" he said calmly through the door. "Let me in."

Silence from the room, although Spike could hear her breathing.

"Red" he said warningly. "You know, these are my rooms, and I could break down the door quite easily, and I am your master, so I would have to discipline you for disobeying me."

"Well, that’s just *fine* for you!" spat Willow, "but I’m only human you know! And there was no need to throw me" and here Willow’s voice got louder and higher "against the *fucking* *wall*!!" Willow picked up the closest thing to her, which was one of Spike’s books, and threw it against the door, where it landed with a loud thud to punctuate her sentence.

Spike could hear loud sobbing coming from behind the door, and he was getting worried. He tried not to show it, but he really was becoming fond of Willow, and he didn’t want to hurt her, and, he realised, he would willingly kill anyone who dared to hurt her in any way.

"Willow?"

"Just go away" came the whimpered and sobbed response from within.

With no time to be worried for appearances sake, Spike broke down the door himself.

Willow looked up at the splintering of the door.

"Go away!" she yelled, hair disheveled as she sat on the floor. "I thought you cared! I thought, for once, somebody cared for me! And didn’t want anything from me! So I was happy being your pet! But you were just using me! Just like everyone else does. Giles and his ‘research this for me Willow’; Buffy and her ‘hey Wills, do my homework for me’; Xander and his ‘help me Wills, I’m in trouble again’; and sometimes Oz doesn’t even notice that I’m there." The bitterness came through loud and clear in Willow’s voice. Then she looked at Spike, the pain evident in her eyes. "And now you. You just threw me away like a piece of rubbish," she whispered. She cast her eyes down, and looked at her hands in her lap. "It’s me, isn’t it?" she said, barely audible. "It’s me. I’m not worth having as a friend." Her voice cracked. "It’s not worth anyone’s while to get to know me."

Spike was horrified. He’d seen some broken people before, hell, he’d broken most of them himself. But this…this was just pathetic. What he couldn’t understand, was why she felt this way about herself.

Spike walked over to Willow, and bobbed down before her. She shied away from him, but kept looking at her hands.

"Willow, look at me" he said, but Willow didn’t, if anything, she looked away even more.

Gently, far too gently for a soulless demon, Spike grasped her chin and turned her to face him.

"Willow" he emphasised her name, "you are the most amazing of all creatures I have ever met, taking into account all of the demons and the humans, before and after I was turned. And of all I’ve ever met, *you* luv, it’s *you*, who is the most deserving of receiving obedience, devotion and loyalty."

Willow started to pull away, and Spike grasped her chin a little harder to keep her focus on his words.

"And do you know what else? You deserve a throne. You deserve gifts, and friends, and you bloody well don’t deserve to be abused by the slayer and her morons."

Willow started to pull away again, and this time Spike let her go, but continued to speak.

"And I adore you."

Willow stopped moving, frozen by shock.

"I’m a master vampire, pet. I didn’t want to tell you the complete importance of that yet pet, but I will tell you now."

He moved around to face her. She looked up at him.

"A master takes a pet only once in his or her existence, if at all. They are usually not a vampire. The one that they have chosen as their pet, has not been chosen out of a mere random selection, or on a whim. Nor is the pet ever searched for. It is only ever stumbled across by accident. And they are chosen, because their pet is a being that they are fascinated by, that they are inexplicable drawn to, that they are obsessed with and possessed by. And I am possessed by you, Red."

Spike’s voice dropped to a whisper.

"You have bewitched me, and all I can think of is you. And I desperately want to kill the Slayer for hurting you."

Spike snarled the last sentence, snapping Willow out of her shock.

"Spike" she whispered, reaching out a hand to stay his sudden burst of rage. She slowly, in a daze, wrapped her arms about him, and started crying again.

"I’m so sorry Spike" she sobbed. "I didn’t mean to undermine your authority, I swear I didn’t." She continued to sob her apology to Spike as he picked her up and carried her into the bedroom in his suite, where he laid her down, and attempted to get up.

"Stay with me?" she hiccuped quietly.

So Spike clambered into the bed with her, and wrapped his arms around her as she cried herself to sleep.
 
 

~Part Fourteen~

Willow was woken by a slight shaking. She could also hear a hissing sound. It took her a few moments before she realised that the hissing sound was, in fact, Spike. She rolled over, and glared blearily at the vampire.

"Go away" she mumbled, swatting him as one would swat a fly.

Spike caught her hand, and held it.

"Pet, get up"

"No."

Spike lifted Willow up, and, as she was squealing at him, placed her onto the ground. He squatted down beside her, and looked at her.

"We have a situation to rectify, pet."

At the serious look on his face, Willow started to get a little worried.

"A-a situation?"

"A situation - a very serious one - which *you* brought about."

"Muh-" Willow’s voice squeaked, so she paused to clear her throat, and tried again. "Me?"

"Yes Red, it was you."

"But - what did I do?"

"You defied me in public. For which you have to be publicly punished."

"Punished? Can’t I just say I’m sorry, and leave it at that?"

"No Pet. It’s like with the claiming thing. It has to be done in public, or it’s worth bugger all."

"But - but -"

"No buts, Pet. You are now my Pet, and there are rules you have to adhere to."

Willow sighed, and nodded at Spike, resigned.

"I know, I know, I shouldn’t have run away from you. And I’m sorry for - for publicly shaming you, or whatever it was I did, Spike. So…" Willow looked at Spike, "what do I have to do?

Spike just looked at Willow.

"What?" she asked, starting to get nervous by Spike’s gaze.

"I have to whip you."

"What?!" screeched Willow, leaping away from Spike.

"Keep your voice down, Pet. You’re supposed to be disciplined, remember?"

"You - you - you…vampire! You want to whip me?!" Willow hissed, in a whisper.

Spike rolled his eyes and stood up. He reached an arm over to Willow, and when she flinched away, he grabbed her arm and pulled her to him.

"Pet" he said, deceptively calm. "You disobeyed me. After all I’ve done for you, after all I’ve allowed you to do, after all that you’ve become, you disobeyed me. You shamed me, you embarrassed me, in front of my minions. And I have to prove, whether you like it or not, that I still have control over you. And that has to be done by a public whipping."

Spike shrugged his shoulders.

"Anyway, it’s not like you’ve never been whipped before."

Willow glared at Spike.

"Fine" she spat. "But afterwards, I want to go home."

"Are you sure, Pet?" asked Spike, suddenly concerned. Willow was still suffering from nightly - although, in their case, it was daily - nightmares, and he was worried that if she went home, she would be unable to sleep.

"What, you don’t think I can take care of myself?" asked Willow bitterly.

"No Pet, I know that you can take care of yourself. I just want to make sure that you can sleep."

Willow sighed.

"I’ll be fine, Spike. Let’s just get this over with."

Willow marched over to the door.

"Now?" she asked, turning back to face him.

"Yes Pet, now." He said, walking over to her. He took a hold of her arm, and said:

"This might hurt a bit Pet, but I have to appear dominant over you." Suddenly, he leered at Willow good naturedly. "But I can kiss it better for you afterwards."

Willow giggled and play-slapped Spike away.

"That’s okay. I can meet my own needs."

Spike raised an eyebrow. Willow merely shrugged in return.

"What can I say?" she said. "You’ve allowed me to explore all the other parts of me." She smirked and gestured for him to open the door. "After you, my Lord and Master."

Spike opened the door and dragged her out of it. At least, it looked like he was dragging her, but in reality, he was just holding her elbow.

***

They were met at the base of the stairs by Thomas, who merely looked at Willow with a blank look on his face as he bowed to Spike.

"Master, the audience chamber is ready. Although" and here he turned to Willow, "you might want to look a little more sullen, just for appearances." He turned and lead the way into the audience chamber.

Willow looked at Spike. Spike shrugged.

"He knows everything that goes on in here" he said, as he guided her into the chamber.

A silent vampire crowd turned to stare at Willow.

Spike tugged his petulant pet up onto the stage, where she cast her gaze upon the ground, and didn’t look up.

"This is my pet!" roared Spike to his minions. "Bear witness to her punishment for her disobedience!"

Thomas brought over a whip to Spike, and then stepped over to Willow to hold her in place.

Spike brought the whip down once, onto her satin clad back, and then paused in thought.

"I do so like that top" he mumbled to himself as he leaned forward and tugged it off Willow. Thomas released her momentarily so the top could slide past her arms, and then he leaned forward and grabbed her again. Spike continued to whip her.

"Four"

"Five"

"Six"

"Seven"

"Eight"

"Nine"

"Ten"

The minions watched in silence, as etiquette demanded. At ten, Thomas released Willow, and she fell to the ground, dry heaving. Spike stared down at her, uncaringly.

"Get up Pet" he said, as he nudged her with his foot.

Willow rose unhesitatingly, and followed when he turned and walked out of the audience chamber. She continued to follow him up the stairs as he lead the way to his rooms, and then stumbled through the door and onto the bed as he closed the door behind her.

Spike wandered over to his chest of drawers and withdrew a small jar. He moved over to Willow, sat down upon the bed, unscrewed the lid of the jar, and dipped his fingers into the jar.

"Here Pet" he said, as he rubbed his gooey fingers over Willow’s red and rapidly bruising back. "This should make you feel better, and help reduce the swelling. And with any luck, there won’t be any scaring."

Willow turned her head and looked tiredly at Spike.

"The things I do for you" she said, resting her head on the bed. "And I’m still going home."

"Tomorrow night" said Spike.

"Yeah. Tomorrow night" agreed Willow, as she closed her eyes and went to sleep, ignoring the pain in her back, and the soothing motions of Spike’s hand.
 
 

~Part Fifteen~

There was silence within Spike’s lair. Not only was it daytime, when all vampire’s naturally migrated to their beds, but Willow had informed it’s inhabitants a week previously that if she were awakened when she was trying to sleep, she would painfully stake each perpetrator. However, for all her threats, that was still a lot of noise coming from Spike’s chamber.

Willow was trying to pack.

"Ugh!" yelled Willow as she threw a shoe across the room.

Spike opened one eye and glared at Willow.

"Pet, shut up and come back to bed. You can finish packing later."

"No! I’m going to do this now!"

Willow yanked the lid on her suitcase down, and sat on it hard. She leaned over and tried to do the suitcase up, with little success.

"Raar!" she yelled in frustration.

Spike growled in annoyance, before clambering out of the bed and latching onto her arm.

"Come on, Pet" he said, tugging her back to the bed. "I’ll buy you a whole new set of possessions, and you can just leave these ones here."

Willow smiled up at him. "Okay. New clothes! New clothes!" she bounced back to the bed and jumped onto it, before bouncing a little more.

Spike turned out the light and climbed back into bed.

Willow spoke into the darkness.

"Spike, I’m too excited to go to sleep. Tell me a story?"

"Pet" said Spike warningly.

"Please?" Willow bounced on the bed and shook Spike’s arm. "Pleaseohpleaseopleaseohplease with a cherry on top?!"

"No"

Spike rolled over and tried to ignore Willow.

"Pleeeaaase?"

"Once upon a time there was a red haired witch who got a little more drunk than was good for her health. Whilst drunkenly staggering the roads, she was picked up by a big, bad and vicious vampire, who took her back to his newly-acquired lair, and proceeded to publicly embarrass her, and claim her as his own little pet."

"Spi-ike" whined Willow.

"Then one day the majickal moron-fairy appeared and said ‘I will grant you anything you wish’, and the little red haired witch thought, and she thought, and she thought. And she was about to wish for world peace and prosperity, when her lord and master the big bad vicious vampire appeared out of nowhere and cautioned the little witch, warning her to save her wish for a rainy day when it might come in very handy. So the little witch told the majickal moron-fairy that she would think about it further, and call him back at a later date."

Willow giggled. Spike looked down at her.

"Don’t interrupt me pet, or I’ll never finish."

"Me?" said Willow, the very appearance of innocence. "I will be very silent, as always."

Spike continued, sceptically.

"Late one evening the little red haired witch was walking along, and was suddenly accosted by the very very horrible Buffy the vampire layer - the creature of nightmares. This terrible creature roared at the little witch, and said ‘I will eat your eyes and feed your corpse to my poofy, whipped vampire lover.’ And the little witch quivered momentarily in her brand new leather boots, until she remembered that she was the pet of the town’s master vampire, which meant that in the demon community, she was as powerful as the layer. And, as an added bonus, she had a wish down her dress from the majickal moron-fairy. So the little red haired witch smiled her little smile, and said, ‘I wish that all the ugly demons on the Sunnyhell would come and shag you to death’. And they did. And the witch wandered away to please her master another day. The end."

Willow giggled.

"Can I stop being silent now?"

"You can go to sleep, Pet. You *are* going back to your house this evening, remember?"

"Oh yeah. I forgot."

"Well, you don’t have to leave, pet."

"No, no, I’m going. After all, you did promise me a whole new wardrobe. Didn’t you?"

"That I did pet. That I did."

Spike closed his eyes, hoping that was the end of it.

They lay there in silence for a minute.

"Am I really that powerful?"

Spike sighed an unneeded sigh.

"Yes."

"Cool."

And Willow slept.
 

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