Willow had dragged herself off to school in the hope that classes might
help take her mind off her misery for a few hours. She had gone out of
her way to avoid Buffy and Xander, and had pointedly ignored them when
their paths crossed in the hallway. She could feel their worried stares
and hear their conspiratorial whispers, and they fueled the rage that
was burning inside her.

She was relieved when the last class of the day was finally over. The
effort of being around other people had been more draining than she had
imagined. She stepped out of the school doors and straight into Xander's
uneasy smile.

"Hey, Willow," he said. "Come to the library with me. We can all sit
down and talk this through."

"Go to hell," Willow snarled and walked past him.

Willow went directly home and sat down at the kitchen table. She knew
she should eat something, but the mere thought of food made her stomach
churn. She sat and relived the events in Red Springs--the feeling of
Spike's body against hers, the sound of her name on his lips, those last
moments when she was ripped away from him. As the last rays of the
afternoon sun slowly faded, her thoughts turned to Buffy, Xander, and
Giles. She envisioned them huddled together, pondering what to do about
poor, deluded Willow, and her anger surged.

"It's only a matter a time before they interfere again," she reasoned
with herself. "Unless I put a stop to it now."

She left the house and made her way back to the school, determined to
tell them exactly what she thought of each of them, and to sever them
from her life permanently.

"And if that doesn't work, I'll buy myself a one-way bus ticket out of
Sunnydale," Willow unintentionally spoke the words aloud.

"I wouldn't do that."

Willow stopped dead in her tracks. Her heart began to pound wildly in
her chest, and a tingle slithered up her spine. She turned to face the
voice behind her.

"I'd miss you, baby," Spike grinned.

"Spike--" Willow whispered, frozen in shock.

He walked toward her and pulled her into his arms. She wrapped her arms
around him, afraid that he would vanish into unreality. He cradled her
head in his hand and crushed her to him. He was here. He was real.

"Spike," her voice was filled with overwhelming relief.

Spike pulled back slightly and tilted her chin, taking her mouth in a
burning kiss. His lips traveled to her forehead, her eyelashes, wet with
tears, her damp cheeks.

"I'm here, baby. Everything's alright," he said softly.

Willow entangled her fingers in his hair and pulled his mouth back to
hers, kissing him with an intensity that would have taken his breath
away, had he any breath to give.

"How?" she whispered. "How did you--"

Spike placed a finger against her lips, "I'll tell you all about it
later, little one. But not right now. What do you think, pet? The
library, or home?"

"Home. Take me home," she pleaded.

He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and they turned as one and
walked into the darkness.
***
Spike followed Willow into her bedroom and pulled her into a kiss. She
trembled as he undressed her and cupped one of her breasts in his hand.
Part of her still feared that this was all a trick of her imagination,
but as he quickly undressed and pushed her down onto the bed, she knew
beyond doubt that he was truly here with her.

After days of separation, Spike's body ached for hers, and he parted her
legs and entered her quickly. Willow moaned as she felt the man she
thought she'd lost forever lower his mouth to her breast to suckle it.
He began a familiar rhythm inside her, and Willow responded instantly,
wrapping her legs around him and giving herself completely to him. He
quickly drew her to the edge of her orgasm and held her there. Her body
trembled in agony beneath his. He drove into her, hard and deep, and she
slipped over the precipice, calling out his name as she came violently.

Willow clutched Spike's cold, hard body to hers. Her wet channel
tightened around his cock, begging him to come for her. His fangs
pierced the soft flesh above her nipple, and his body stiffened as he
thrust into her, his climax as intense as hers had been.

Willow ran her fingers through his hair as he sucked gently at the blood
that oozed from her wound. He felt her body relax in exhausted
satisfaction, and he pulled himself from within her and moved to her
side, bringing her tiny body close to his.

Spike kissed her and drew her tongue into his mouth. He brushed a strand
of hair from her sweaty brow and nibbled at her earlobe.

"I thought I'd never see you again," Willow whispered. "I thought you
were--"

"Shhh," Spike murmured. "We can talk later. I don't want to talk now."

"Not now," Willow agreed as her mouth found his once again.

End.

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