Rating: PG-13
Pairing: None this part
Summary: It’s time for Willow to go home, but who will be there to welcome her?
Spoilers: Series begins just after ‘Lover’s Walk’, now a couple of years have passed, and we’re now at the very end of season six.
Disclaimer: I did not build the Buffyverse that would be Joss, it is merely my playground.
Distribution: If you want it, fine by me, just drop me a line first.
Special Thanks: Kat for checking over my ramblings, Aden for always being happy to see me, and all the super cool people who send me feedback!
Feedback: Pretty please with sugar on top!
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The three hour drive to Sunnydale had felt more like fifteen for Willow. She had been forced to hitch a ride with a truck driver, Randy, who was partial to singing country western music, badly. Apparently the man was an aspiring star, and was thrilled to have a captive audience for a while. So Willow endured the torture, smiling with gritted teeth, not having the heart to tell him how terrible he was. By the time she finally arrived, the sun was almost up.
Randy had heard enough horror stories about Sunnydale that he never did more than refuel and keep moving when he came through. He tried to convince the pretty little redhead that she was too sweet to stay in a town like this, but she simply gave him a knowing smile, and asked him to drop her anywhere. The moment the truck pulled into a service station, Willow thanked the man, wishing she could do more for him. She muttered a few words under her breath, and Randy’s hand shot to his throat like it had suddenly been burned, but the sensation passed quickly, and he waved goodbye. It would take a powerful spell to duplicate true singing talent, but at least the man would now be able to sing on key, and that was something, right?
Willow headed into the Gas-n-Sip they had pulled into and purchased a map, then headed into the restroom for some privacy. When she had lived here before, Spike and Drusilla had stayed at the factory, but after it had burned, they moved into the mansion on Crawford Street with Angelus. It was possible Spike could be either of those places, but she didn’t want to waste any time finding him. She cast a locator spell, staring down at the map to see where Spike was at the moment, but nothing happened. Cursing softly, she tried again, but still, nothing. ‘Okay,’ she thought, ‘I’m probably just a little too upset to focus clearly on this, time to try something different.’ Willow focused on the energy that forms home and hearth. She wasn’t sure it would work for a vampire the same as it would for a human, but it was worth a try. She centered that energy, as she thought of Spike, his smell of leather and whiskey and cigarettes, his presence filling whatever room he was in, and she directed it at the map. At first she thought her spell had failed once again, but then she noticed the slightest flicker coming from one of the larger cemeteries in town. That was where he made his home.
She folded the map carefully so the little light was still visible, and headed out. Willow had to walk to almost the other side of town before she reached the right graveyard. Her feet were sore and her back ached from carrying her bags, but she had had little other choice since the buses did not run on Sunday. When she finally reached the crypt she believed was indicated by the map, the sun was well in the sky, and she was exhausted. She set her bags down, and reached out to knock on the door, but then hesitated. Thoughts began to spin in her head like a whirlwind.
What if her dream had been simply that, a dream and nothing more? What if he didn’t really want to see her? Or worse, what if he was in there with Harmony? She didn’t think she could bear to see the two of them together. But still, she had come all this way, what could it hurt to knock? Of course he was probably asleep anyway, it was daylight after all, and even if he did hear her knocking he wouldn’t be able to answer the door without bursting into flames, right? Maybe she should just leave, and come back when it was dark. But as she turned to go, her body gave a groan of protest, and she decided whatever would happen, she would rather just get it over with now.
Deciding against knocking, Willow carefully eased the door open a bit and slipped inside before too much sunlight could leak in. then she just stood for a moment, letting her eyes adjust to the dimness within.
“Hello…” she called out tentatively, looking around but not seeing anyone. ‘Damn,’ she thought, ‘I must have gotten the wrong place.’ She turned to leave, but just then she heard a noise behind her. Hope flooded her senses as she whirled around to see not her lover, but some sort of pig looking creature coming out of a hole in the floor.
“Eeeek!!” she squealed in a way that was almost uniquely feminine, and never flattering.
“Eeeek!!” the creature responded in kind, holding a spatula in front of him like it was his last line of defense. “Don’t hurt me, just take what you want!”
Willow wasn’t sure what she had been expecting, but it wasn’t that.
“I…I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. I was looking for a vampire, but I must have gotten the wrong crypt. I’m really sorry.” She turned to go, shaking her head in frustration.
“Hey wait,” the demon said, climbing the rest of the way out of the hole, and moving to catch up with the retreating woman. “You weren’t looking for Spike, were you?”
“You know Spike?” Willow asked hopefully.
“Sure, this is his place. I’m Clem,” he said extending a clawed hand toward her, which she shook hesitantly.
“Nice to meet you, I’m Willow.”
“You’re Willow? THE Willow?”
“Yeah, why has he talked about me?”
“Sure, now and then when he’s drunk. Spike’s not too good at sharing his feelings, very macho. I think maybe he didn’t have the best childhood, it can give a guy issues you know.”
Willow had met several demons over the years, but it was rare for her to warm to them so quickly, Lorne being one of the few exceptions, but now this Clem would have to be added to that short list. Despite his appearance, which wasn’t bad once you got used to it, it was obvious that he had a friendly and kind nature.
“So, is Spike here?”
“No, sorry. He left town early last night. Said he had to take care of something and wanted me to watch his place for him.”
“He’s…he’s gone?” Willow asked, tears already beginning to sting her eyes.
“Oh, hey, don’t take it so hard,” Clem said in a soothing voice, putting his arm around her shoulder, and ushering her to sit in a ratty old green chair. “I’m sure if he knew you were going to be coming he would’ve stuck around, and I know he’ll be back.”
“I just can’t believe this. It’s like we’re cursed or something. Like some greater force is conspiring to keep us apart. It’s not fair.” She broke down completely then, making Clem look at her nervously. How do you comfort a sobbing stranger? With chocolate, of course.
Clem ran downstairs and soon returned with a fresh plate of brownies. The smell pulled Willow out of her funk slightly as he handed them over to her and then went to the fridge to fetch her something to drink.
“The crypt has an oven?” Willow asked surprised.
“No, but Spike did run electricity to it, so I brought in a toaster oven to cook with. It doesn’t cook them all the way through though, leaves them a bit chewy in the middle.”
“They’re good, I like them chewy,” she said around a mouth full of brownie.
“Well, we don’t have much in the way of beverages. All that’s in here is milk and pig’s blood.”
“I’ll take milk, please.”
“I thought you might,” Clem said smiling as he poured her a glass. Handing it to her, he sat down on a nearby sarcophagus, and watched her eat. “See, everything’s going to be okay. You’re welcome to stay here till Spike gets back, there’s plenty of room.”
“Thanks, but I’ve got a place to stay I think,” she replied, her voice still carrying a sad edge to it. “I just don’t understand why he left now. Did something happen?”
“I’m not sure, but I think the slayer had something to do with it. He was acting kinda crazy, ranting like I wasn’t even here. I heard him mention Buffy’s name, and yours, and something about making it right. Next thing I know, he’s asking me to watch the place for him, and then he was gone. Boy I tell you, Dawn’s going to be mighty bummed out that he left.”
“Who’s Dawn?” Willow asked, afraid she was Spike’s new girlfriend.
“She’s the slayer’s little sister. I thought you and Buffy used to be friends.”
“We were, but she didn’t have a sister then. I can’t believe Joyce had another kid. Did she remarry?”
“No, it’s complicated. Wow, you have been gone a while. Joyce…um…she died, you know.”
“What! How?!”
“I’m not sure, cancer I think. Dawn’s not exactly her daughter anyway. Spike explained it to me one time when we were watching a program on public television about dimensional portals. She’s actually some mystical thingy that was made by some monks. I don’t really know all the details, I mean she’s still just a teenaged girl to me.”
“I see,” Willow shook her head in confusion. So much had changed in just a few short years, but that was life on the hellmouth. “What about Xander? I mean he’s still okay, right?”
“Oh sure, he’s engaged to that Anya girl. Of course who knows if they’ll ever cross the finish line on that one, I mean they’ve postponed three times already.”
“Huh? Xander’s engaged?”
“Sure. I mean a lot of people were saying it would never work. After all, she’s an ex-demon, and he’s the slayer’s best friend, but I’ve got my fingers crossed for them. They make a really sweet couple.”
‘Well’, she thought, ‘at least Xander’s taste in women hasn’t changed.’ She was left sitting somewhat dumbstruck, trying to absorb all this new information, knowing that there would only be more to come, when she heard a loud bang on the crypt door, a second before it flew open to reveal a very angry looking Buffy. The slayer stormed inside, but stopped short when she saw her old friend sitting wearing a shocked expression.
“Willow…Well I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised to find you here, I mean I knew you’d come eventually,” she said, working to keep her voice even, without a trace of emotion.
“Buffy…hi…It’s good to see you again. How you’ve been?” Willow had intended to bury the hatchet with her old friend. She still resented that the slayer hadn’t even tried to rescue her from Marion, but she had decided to try and take Lorne’s advice. She would forgive the people who had wronged her and hopefully herself as well before her own rage destroyed what was left of her. However, standing in front of the small blonde woman, she wasn’t sure if she could go through with it. The slayer’s tone was cold, but neutral, yet there were waves of hostility flowing off of her anyway.
“How have I been, let’s see. Well, trying to keep the hellmouth under control, that’s always fun, then I find out my friend is a cold blooded murderer, and then before I can adjust to that news, you true love tries to rape me.”
“He what? You must be mistaken, he would never…”
“Oh, he did. He wanted me to suffer like you had. Wanted me to feel what it was like.”
“Oh my god, Buffy I’m so sorry. Something happened between us, I can’t explain it, but it must have affected him more than I thought. I really am sorry.” Willow was having trouble believing Spike was capable of something like that, but the sharing of their memories had affected both of them deeply. When she woke, she had had Drusilla there to comfort her, but Spike had no one. It was possible he could have lost it temporarily; she really needed to find him. “Do you know where Spike is now?”
“Oh right, you’re SO SORRY, that you ask about HIM in the same breath as you apologize.” Something about the anger in her voice made a horrible thought come to Willow.
“You didn’t hurt him, did you?” the redhead tried to keep her voice calm, but she could feel her eyes bleeding to black as power flooded her body. It didn’t matter what he had done, if Buffy hurt him, she would pay.
“Holy black eyed girl, Batman. Ease down a bit there with the dark mojo. I’m sure the slayer hasn’t done anything to hurt Spike, he just left town for a bit. Right, Buffy?” Clem said nervously, trying to take things down a couple of notches.
“What? Yeah right, I guess. I mean, I don’t know. I mean, I didn’t hurt him, but if he’s left town it’s news to me,” She managed to ramble out, somewhat in a daze over what she was seeing. She was used to being around Amy and Tara, but she had never felt anything nearly this powerful coming off of them. “What’s with the eyes, Wills?”
“Oh, sorry. It happens sometimes when I’m upset,” Willow said, feeling the power inside her flow back to the well it came from, trusting that Buffy was telling the truth. “This just isn’t going at all the way I hoped it would.”
“And how’d you think it would go?” Buffy asked carefully. She had seen the darkness in her old friend and it had scared her.
“Oh, you know, friends saying welcome home. Maybe a party, cake, Xander doing his Snoopy dance, that sort of thing,” she replied, sadness creeping into her voice.
“Well, you know what happened last time we threw a welcome home party on the hellmouth…”
“Yeah, zombies galore, I forgot,” Willow looked up then, her eyes very sincere, “I heard about your mom. I’m so sorry Buffy, I really loved her.”
Any remaining hostility was melted as both girls fell into silence over the loss of the woman they both considered a mother. When Buffy finally spoke, her voice was thick with emotion and she was unable to look the redhead in the eyes out of shame for the way she had treated her.
“Well, come on, I guess. I’m sure Giles and everyone will have a million questions for you, and we can send Dawn to the store to pick up a cake while Xander dances for you.”
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“Wow, so you’re Dawn,” Willow said somewhat in awe, looking at the girl before her.
“Yeah, you don’t remember me?” the teenager asked in surprise.
“No, should I?”
“Well, the monks gave me memories of you, and Angel has memories of me, even though he wasn’t here when I was made, so I kinda assumed you would too.” Dawn said, frowning in confusion.
“Really? Well I’m surprised they went to all that trouble, considering the whole glowy thing. I mean how well do you really blend in anyway?”
“What ‘glowy thing’?” Giles asked carefully.
“You know the green glow. Don’t tell me you can’t see it?”
“No, only psychics and crazy people can see it.” Buffy said coolly.
“Willow’s a psychic now, cool!” Xander said enthusiastically.
“No, honey, I think Buffy is implying that Willow’s still crazy,” Anya said in a somewhat pacifying tone, patting him lightly on the arm.
“You guys really can’t see it?” the redhead asked again, “Huh, too bad. She’s really beautiful, like a girl shaped jewel with iridescent emerald light coming off of her. Hey, I wonder what other kinds of cool stuff I can see now that I’m crazy,” she said with a half giggle, trying to lighten the mood, but seeing only grim faces staring back at her. She sighed in defeat, “Oh well, I guess the party’s over. I’ll just go home now.”
“No, Will, don’t go. You just caught us off guard is all,” Xander said quickly.
“That’s right. And, um, well, it’s probably only some sort of temporary dementia brought on by stress. After all, you can still see Dawn, just slightly different than we do,” Giles added hopefully.
“Well, I think it’s cool,” Dawn said, “Like I’m magic or something. You have to tell me everything…”