She's Like Candy

Author: Writergrrrl

Pairing: S/W, some S/B mentioned, though we all know that's going to change ;)

Rating: PG-13 for now, will go up shortly

Distribution: Just let me know so I can be happy about it.

Betas who kick ass: Great big thank you to Knightie and Elisabeth for the great job and turn-around time!

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~Part: 1~

Willow could see the gust of air that always accompanied the dusting of a vampire hit the back of the slayer's twisting body and sighed in relief.  She was doing her best to keep the vampires at a manageable flow, but that one had gotten by her thickening spell.  Luckily, Xander had been at Buffy's back with that ax before it had attacked and given the small blonde a third opponent.

"Thanks, Xan," Buffy didn't pause in her kicks and punches even as she thanked the dark haired man.

"Not a problem."  Xander had already turned back to face Anya and Giles, trying to keep his girlfriend from being hurt.  "How we doin' up there, Wills?"

"Seven left."  Willow could feel the energy coming from the vampires like an oil slick, black and deadly.  These were different then Spike, more killing machine than  cunning, planning adversary. She wondered briefly if that was why Spike didn't feel the same.

"Buffy!"  Giles' shout brought Willow's attention back to the blonde who was throwing kicks and punches at a particularly large vampire.  As she watched, a vampire, shielded from the slayer's view by the body of the other demon, fired a bolt from a crossbow aimed perfectly at her head.

The demon she was fighting exploded into dust as the arrow passed through its heart, but Buffy was spared as Spike threw himself into her side in a modified football tackle.  They landed in a heap on the floor as the last of their enemies was dusted by a nearly drained Willow.  Buffy pushed the unconscious Spike off of her with a look of disgust before turning to the rest of the group.

"Thank you, guys.  I knew this was a big job, but I didn't know it was going to be *this* big."

Willow had knelt beside the blond head of the vampire on the floor, taking in how much blood he was losing from the gaping wound just above and to the right of his heart. <Goddess, that's a lot of blood!  He needs to be bandaged and fed, and soon.>

"Guys," Willow had to raise her voice to be heard above the rest of the group.  "Spike's hurt.  We need to get back to Giles' apartment so we can get him cleaned up."

"Why?  He's a big vampire, he can take care of himself." Buffy barely spared the prone body on the floor a glance before she turned back to Xander and Anya.  "Let's go to the Bronze.  It's early, and I'm all jittery from fighting."

"Sounds like a plan to me.  After you change your `I just killed ten people' shirt, anyway."

Buffy pulled the hem of her shirt out with her thumb and forefinger.  "I do look pretty nasty, huh."

"All you need is a chainsaw to complete the look."  Xander snickered at his perceived brilliance.  "An, what are you doing?"

"Helping Willow carry Spike, since she's so worn out from all the magic use and no one else seems to be concerned."

"Concerned about what?  Willow's back?"  Xander just shrugged his shoulders at Anya's exasperated look.  "He has to have at least a hundred pounds on her."

"Then why don't you help instead of discussing wardrobe choices with the Slayer?"  Anya's sweet smile was belied by the steel in her voice.

Xander sighed before taking Spike's arm from around his girlfriend's shoulders and draped it over his own, easing most of the oblivious man's weight from the small redhead.  Giles slipped his arm around Spike's other side, nodding at Willow's softly mumbled thanks.  Willow let her feet automatically follow Giles and Xanders as the two men drug the other from the echoing room.

"Ack!  He's still bleeding!"  Xander tried to get the blonde shifted so that his hand wasn't being soaked in the red substance.

<I hope we make it home soon.> Willow shook her head at her best friend's whining. <If we don't, and Spike wakes up before we get there, he's going to be angry and hungry.  Not a good combination in a vampire.>

Taking a look at the way Xander was roughly handling the vampire, Willow smiled softly to herself. <Maybe we could just feed him Xander.>

~~~*~~~

Willow was barely able to drag her feet by the time the rest of the group, now nearly a full block ahead, rounded the corner into the park. <Great. Not only am I tired and all achy, but now I get to walk through the park almost alone! Why don't I just sit down on a bench with a sign saying `free lunch'!>

Xander's sharp yelp startled the redhead from her thoughts, and Anya's answering scream pushed new life into her tired limbs. Willow ran along the winding sidewalk, senses alert to the sounds of fighting ahead.

She rounded the corner just in time to be taken to the ground by Spike's hastily dropped body. Xander was cradling his left hand to his chest while he held off vampires with a cross in his right. Giles had put down the blonde vampire in order to use both the sword and the crossbow he now wielded with practiced ease.

Buffy was surrounded by five other demons, obviously fledglings, who were taking turns rushing at the blonde. Willow took a moment to shake her head in amusement. <Uh huh. This is the slayer who took down the Master. Somehow I doubt you guys stand a chance.>

"What's the deal G-Man?" Xander had gotten his good hand on a sword and grunted as he used it to lop the head off a particularly ugly fledgling who had rushed at Anya.

"Yeah, I thought we got rid of these stupid buggers." Spike had regained consciousness enough to pull himself upright. Now he stood, wobbling, in the center of the sidewalk.

Willow sagged against Spike's side as she fought to keep a shield up around herself and the injured vampire. "Please, Spike. You're hurt."

"You're worse off than I am, Red. Now put down this wall and let me kick a little fledgling arse."

"I'm not certain, but I think that rather human looking purple man may be able to shed some light on the subject." Giles motioned to an extraordinary looking man standing to the side of the battle with a look of detached amusement on his face.

"Then let's go ask a few questions." Buffy staked the vampire she'd been playing with and somersaulted over another's head, back kicking him into Xander's waiting sword.

Willow tried to keep her eyes on her friends even as she felt her control slipping. The young witch sagged to the ground as the last of her energy seeped out into the fading wall. The last thing she saw before her eyes drifted closed was Spike leaping onto the nearest demon with a roar. <Stupid vampire. He... should be... resting... Resting... good.>

"Ungh!" The cry of pain pulled Willow up from the black pool she had been slowly sinking into.  It took her exhausted brain a full five seconds longer to realize that it was her own voice that had woken her.  Thankfully, she never fully registered the searing pain radiating from her abdomen, just above her dimpled navel.

The words being whispered harshly in her ear weren't English or any other human language Willow had ever heard.  Something in her brain made her understand, though. It was almost as she were talking to herself.

<`The one with the sword nearly took me before I could get to you. I've carried this burden for too long, and I'm tired. To think I have been looking all over this town for the redheaded sorceress, and she comes to me. What was mine is now yours. Use it wisely.>

Willow felt something impossibly warm and sweet sliding down her throat. Her hands moved on their own to pull the source of such wonderful nectar closer, hesitating only a moment when they found themselves wrapped around the wrist and forearm of the purple demon man.

A pain sliced across her brain as if an electric current was running from one temple to the other. Willow's lithe body hit the ground and bowed as an agonizingly silent scream flew from her parted lips. The pain ricocheted down her spine and then pushed its way into her arms and legs. Willow whimpered as she felt the very cells of her body being invaded.

<`Shhh. It will only hurt for a moment. Sleep now, Brilliant One.'>

And Willow *did* sleep. The sounds of the taunting and staking ceased all at once, and the witch simply floated into the nothingness.

~Part: 2~

Willow blinked at the fuzzy scene moving before her eyes. She had just come back into her body from the well of nothingness to find herself nestled, as comfortably as possible, on Giles' lumpy living room couch. She could see the others crowded into the small room arguing about something, though she couldn't seem to make her ears hear them well enough to tell what it was that had them all so mad.  She could see Giles standing in the door not drinking a cup of tea while Xander and Buffy seemed to be interrogating a bound Spike.

"You should. . . with her!" Buffy's voice was the first to break through the silence clinging to Willow's mind. She was pointing at Spike. "If. . . have happened!"

". . . bloody. . . urt, yo. . . ft bint!"

<Why does everyone sound like a bad radio station, and why is Spike bleeding?> Willow felt a tingling along her arms and legs and wondered how her entire body had managed the pins-and-needles feeling.

Willow wanted to talk. She *needed* to tell them that whatever it was wasn't Spike's fault. <Now, if I could only make the whole verbal thing happen.>

"Lumpy." <Oh, good job Wills! That'll make them take notice.>

As it was, Anya, who happened to be the only one sitting impassively on the chair beside the couch, stood so suddenly that she knocked into Giles, sending his cup of long forgotten tea out of his hand and across the back of Buffy's stained shirt.

"Anya!"

"Oh, shut up, Slayer." Anya had picked up a cup sitting on the coffee table and sat down beside Willow's hip. "She's waking up."

"Not Spike's fault." Willow tried sitting up, only to find herself too tired to do so. She took a sip of the water Anya held to her lips before trying to say anything else. "I hurt. What happened?"

"Fangless here let you get hurt." Xander jerked his thumb in Spike's direction. "Can I stake him now?"

"Bloody hell! She said it wasn't my fault!"

"She just woke up from some demon-imposed sleep. There's no telling how fuzzy her memory of the last few hours of her consciousness are."

"See?" Xander pointed at Giles. "He agrees with us. Buffy, go get Mr. Pointy."

"Why is Xander talking like Ash?" Willow had managed to pull herself into a sitting position, though her head now rested heavily against the back of the couch.

"Ash?" Giles shoved some pillows behind Willow's back and head in an attempt to make her more comfortable. "Was that the name of the demon? Did he say anything else to you?"

"Didn't get his name. I meant Ash from -Army of Darkness-. You know... `It's a trick. Get an ax.'"

Spike was laughing outright by the time Willow finished her Bruce Campbell impersonation. The rope holding him down to the kitchen chair strained across his chest as he threw his head back. <And what a lovely chest it is. Hey! Stick to the point, Wills. Think about the lovely, defined... Think about it later!>

"Spike had nothing to do with it. I tried to keep a wall up around us because we were too weak to fight. It went down, then Spike did that growly roar thing he does and went to fight."

"All I know, is that I was going for Mr. Purple Demon Guy when we got surrounded by more vamps. Giles tried to stab him, but missed." Buffy sunk down on the edge of the couch to hold her friend's hand as she spoke. "The next thing I know, Spike's yelling something about blood. When I dusted a vamp to see you, you were clinging to Mr. Purple's arm, drinking from a gash."

"I wondered what that was." Willow unconsciously licked along her lower lip. "It was sweet, not like honey. It was... I don't know how to describe it."

"Well, whatever it was, it looked like it hurt you." Anya still held the cup of water, holding it to Willow's lips once the girl finished speaking. "You did this writhing and screaming thing. I do that when Xander gives me orgasms sometimes, but it didn't look like the same thing."

"An!" Xander blushed up into the roots of his hair.

"Didn't know you had it in you, Chubs," Spike chuckled.

"Shut up Spike." Giles sounded tired. "When you looked like you were in pain, the demon who had held you just seemed to fade into nothing. All very fascinating now that I think about it."

"No! Not fascinating, watcher." Spike caught and held Willow's eyes with his own, and, for a moment, Willow thought she saw respect in their blue depths. "More bloody fucking scary."

Willow took the cup of water from Anya, grazing her fingers.

{`Give us the money!' Someone in a mask held a gun on a terrified looking Anya who stood behind the counter of the Magic Box.

`Okay.' Anya opened the drawer and pulled out the money as she spoke. `You're only getting this because I'm stuck in this stupid human body. If I were still a demon, you'd be *so* dead by now.'

`Whatever.' The guy tipped over a rack of crystals on his way out the door.}

"Willow? Are you okay?" Giles was shaking the redhead softly.

"Yeah. Sorry. I just kind of spaced out there for a minute." <What the hell... *heck* was that?!>

"Did he say anything to you, Willow?" Giles was back in full Watcher mode, looking for anything to help them identify what or who that person was and what kind of effect contact with it could have on the young witch.

Willow pushed herself away from the couch, feeling much stronger suddenly. She went to Spike and slowly unraveled the knots holding him down. "He didn't *say* anything. It was like he was speaking inside my head."

She felt the steady gazes of her friends like a weight on her shoulders as she bent to unwrap Spike's legs.

This time, the flash was fast and without sound. It was nothing more than an image of a very naked Spike moving between the legs of an equally naked Buffy, his back a mass of deep scratches and bruises.

<Okay. Now I *know* I'm going crazy.>

"I... It wasn't English or any other human sounding language, but I knew what he was saying. Something about looking for a redheaded sorceress and carrying a burden for too long and being tired. Then he said that what was his was now mine and that I should use it wisely.

"Why hasn't anyone taken care of Spike?" Willow's eyes shown with unshed tears as she gazed at the still seeping hole in the blonde's shirt.

"Why should we?" Willow wasn't sure what was worse, the fact the Xander said the words, or that he sounded so uncaring saying them.

"You know. You're a real ass sometimes, Xan." Willow ignored the small uproar her words caused and went to heat up some blood for Spike. All the bandages in the world wouldn't do a thing if he didn't start healing from the inside soon.

~Part: 3~

"Here," Willow handed the mug of blood to a slightly smirking Spike. "Drink this, take off the shirt, and lay down on the couch."

"I love it when you're all demanding." Spike winked at her startled blush over the rim of the mug. "Of course, if you wanted me naked so bad, all you ever had to do was ask."

"Just get the shirt off so I can get a look at that hole." Willow fought back the heat rising up her face while she dragged out the ridiculously large first aid kit.

<Okay. Bandages, check. Tape, check. Peroxide, check. . . When did they stop making men with stomachs like that? Hey now, back on track, hormone girl. Fix the bleeding hole in the amazingly firm chest, then think about those... When did it get so hot in here?>

Willow was glad her hair had grown out enough to hide behind it a little. She really didn't want to hear anything more from Buffy and Xander tonight, and knew that blushing over Spike's body would bring more comments that she could reasonably be expected to deal with. Besides that, she knew Anya would have more than a few words of wisdom for her. Deciding that getting to work would make getting the job done better than trying to avert her eyes from the smooth skin and rippling muscles revealed when the blonde removed his shirt, Willow began washing the blood away from the wound.

"Why isn't this closing?"

"I don't know, pet." Spike put his hands behind his head and tried to force himself to relax. "Not like the Slayer let me get a look before they had me trussed up like a Thanksgiving turkey. Hurts more than it should, though."

"Dammit." Willow turned to the unusually silent group scattered around the room at her back. "Couldn't one of you have even bothered to take a decent look at this? `There are splinters embedded in his chest! I can almost understand the tying up, but what, you couldn't even properly remove that arrow?!"

Willow didn't even bother to wait for an answer. She simply grabbed a pair of tweezers and went to work pulling the long treads of wood from out of the vampire's chest. No one in the room spoke as she went about her task, the only sound coming in the form of soft growls of pain from the body beneath her hands.

After all the wood was removed, and the wound doused in liberal droughts of peroxide, Willow left the blonde with a stern `stay there', and went to wash her hands and heat him up some more blood. When Anya asked her if she was going to put any of the gauze on it, Willow grinned.

"No point putting nice clean gauze on it if I'm only going to have to replace it in ten minutes because he's still bleeding. Besides, the air will probably help it some."

Willow pulled the remaining two bags of blood, throwing them in the microwave, before making a note on the pad on the counter telling Giles to buy more. While she waited for Spike's snack to heat, she scrubbed her hands under water the turned her hands pink and left them slightly raw.

<I hope Dawn's doing okay at the house.>

{`Do I have to go? I'm much rather stay here and play with Xander.' Dawn, her soft features replaced by the sharp ridges of a vampire stood in the center of Giles' living room, gazing at Xander hungrily. `Can I play with him, Anya? I promise not to hurt him too much.'}

Willow snapped back to reality with the shrill beeping of the microwave. Running a shaking hand over her face, the witch moved to pour the blood into a large thermal mug.

<Okay. That explains everything. I must be seeing some alternate dimension. Because there's no way Anya would ever let anyone take money out of her till, Dawn will never be vamped and not have a soul, and Buffy with Spike?> The redhead shuddered at that thought. <That would just be stupid and wrong for so many different reasons!>

She entered the living room and instantly regretted not having Spike come to the kitchen with her. Xander was sitting across from his prone body, a look only describable as a pout on his face. Buffy continued to pace in front of Giles and Anya, who occupied the two chairs to the side of the couch.

"I can't believe she's nursing him after what he let happen to her!" Xander had his back to the redhead, so she wasn't surprised that he hadn't noticed she'd come back into the room.

<Not that he wouldn't be saying the same thing it I were right in front of him.>

"I can't believe that you're still on that."

"Willow!" Buffy rounded on her best friend and looked at her wildly. "You could be dead right now! As it is, we don't know exactly what's going on with the whole demon blood thing."

"I can't believe that the two of you are blaming Spike, a vampire who has no soul and who has threatened and/ or outright *tried* to kill me many times, for not looking out for me when those who are supposed to be my best friends in the world couldn't be bothered to do it!"

"I don't know, Red, I like you more than most." Spike smiled at Willow and took the cup from her hands, eagerly gulping it down and watching the rest of the room.

"Thanks," Willow turned to Buffy. "He was in just as much danger as the rest of us, and reacted just as he should have. He tried to defend himself. I'm not faulting him for that. I can't.

"Giles, can Anya borrow your car? I want to go to sleep."

"I could drive you." Xander stood from his seat.

"Right now I don't really want to be around you. I don't need any more lectures or whining, just sleep."

"Sure." Giles stood and retrieved the keys to the car and handed them to a bouncing Anya. "Do be careful with it, won't you?"

"Yep," Anya kissed Xander swiftly and grabbed her jacket. "Come on witch, before he changes his mind."

"Want a ride, Spike? It'll be dawn soon." Willow slid suddenly tired arms through the sleeves of her own coat.

Spike drained the mug, sitting it down beside the neat coaster on the coffee table before throwing his duster on over his shirtless torso. He smirked at the rest of the Scoobies as he held the door for Anya and Willow.

"Can't say it's been fun." Spike slammed the door behind him as he swaggered out to catch up with the two girls waiting in the courtyard.

~Part: 4~

Willow wasn't all that surprised to find, upon waking, that she had slept the entire morning and afternoon away.  The bright blue numbers on her alarm let her know that it was just before seven. The tingles that ran along her fingers and arms made it impossible for her to think that the night before had been a dream.

Pulling her aching body from the bed, Willow sent a silent `thank you' out to Anya. The ex-demon had helped Willow see Spike to the relative safety of his crypt just as the first rays of dawn crept into the cemetery. After that, the other girl had pulled into a drive thru, insisting that Willow get something to eat before she went to bed.

After making sure that Willow had eaten her pancakes and hash brown, Anya had nearly carried the exhausted girl up the stairs and into her room. Willow dimly remembered Anya commenting on the green lace of her underwear and bra, but didn't remember putting on the Tweety bird shirt she found herself wearing.

Willow rubbed her hands against the material of the shirt in an attempt to get the odd feeling running through them to go away. It was as if there were a million tiny insects running all along her hands and up her arms to just below the elbows. There wasn't any pain, just that odd tickling sensation.

<I'll ask Giles about it. He's bound to have found *something* by now. I mean, how many purple demons that look like perfectly normal men otherwise could there be? Besides, we're talking about something that could affect me in very bad ways, here, not just seeing the guy.>

Certain that the feeling was nothing more than some sort of residual happening from the shock she had felt at the hands of the demon the night before, Willow was unprepared for the sight that greeted her in the bathroom mirror. Her normally shoulder length red hair had been replaced during the night with a mane of hair that curled down her back and around her shoulders. The red was now shot through with pieces of orange and yellow, giving it all the appearance of curling flames licking at her face and body.

"Okay, not what normally happens overnight." Willow took a step closer to the closed bathroom door. "What's going on with my face?"

It looked as though someone had went wild with white powder and glitter as she had slept. Her face was as pale as her vampire counterpart's had been, though her lips had taken on a soft red of their own and her eyes were surrounded by an orange color, both of which matched colors in her new hair. Her cheeks were accented by some sort of dusky blush, though she knew she hadn't applied it, and the entirety of her skin seemed to be covered in a light shimmer. By some trick of the light, or perhaps there was just more of the glittering substance on those areas, her eyes, cheeks, and lips were brought out with much more sparkling than the pale glimmer of the rest of her face.

"Okay. Take a shower and then get to Giles'." Willow pulled off her clothes hurriedly and gasped at what she saw.

Her entire body was glimmering in the light of the bathroom. A soft `V' running along the tops of her breasts and down the valley between was accented in the same way as her lips, though, Willow was thankful to see, there was no accompanying color changes. Willow's arms seemed to be wrapped in bands of the brighter `glitter' that ended at each wrist. Her still tingling hands were shimmering as bright as the rest of her body.

The thing that caught her attention the most, were her fingernails. While normally kept rather short from fighting and the nervous chewing she found herself doing from time to time, they were now rather long. They were much longer than she could remember even Cordelia having hers, with a slight curve to them. To top off the new look, the nails were a deep red with orange and yellow streaked through. The effect was that of tiny flames dancing along each nail.

"Screw the shower." Willow ran into her bedroom and threw on the first shirt she came across, following it with a flowing skirt she managed to snag as she pulled on a pair of sandals. "Got to get to Giles. He'll know what to do."

Willow picked up the book sitting beside her bedroom door that needed to go back to the Watcher's house. She gasped and dropped the book when she saw the older man suddenly in front of her. A moment later, the vision took her over.

{`I have to tell you, Buffy, that this is a bad idea. It has nothing to do with you anymore.' Pulling the glasses from his face, Giles wiped them off with the end of his tie.

`No Giles. This has everything to do with me.'}

"Okay. I have to do something about this dimensional sightseeing before I get caught off guard in public or during a fight." Willow thought for a moment before going to her closet and rummaging through the box that was kept on the shelf.

"Here I thought I was making a stupid impulse buy." Willow had found the long, black evening gloves that she had bought nearly two years before in a fit of female `what ifs'.

Willow didn't even stop to run a brush through the curls of her hair or she would have noticed that she was wearing a faded Sunnydale High T-shirt with a purple and red skirt. In fact, the frightened redhead failed to lock her door or notice that the sun had set as she ran through the graveyard. She didn't stop until she was standing, panting for breath, in the middle of the Watcher's living room, surrounded by the confused and questioning faces of her friends.

"Trying somethin' new with the make-up there, Red?" Spike ran his eyes down her body before returning them to her face. "Gotta say that I, for one, like it."

"I didn't do it, Spike." Willow slid her tongue over her bottom lip before she brought it into her mouth where she worried it with her teeth. "I woke up and it was just there."

"Going for a bit of a Rogue look, Wills?" Xander and Anya had frozen just inside the front door when they caught sight of the girl standing in the center of the living room. "It all works pretty well, but the sandals should really be boots."

"I don't think she's trying to look like some comic book character, Xander." Anya paused and looked expectantly at Willow. "You aren't, are you? Because me and Xander sometimes play that game, and I don't want him thinking about you while he's giving me orgasms."

"Okay, not a visual that I want to have." Buffy visibly shuddered and turned to her best friend. "What gives Will?"

"I don't know, I just woke up and there was this tingly feeling going on in my hands and up and down my arms. I go to take a shower, and find out I'm Glimmer Girl."

"Your face was this way when you woke up?" Giles wrote a few things down on the legal pad he had on the table in front of him. "It could be just some side effect of the demon's touch. There are a few, after all, that will give the person who touches them a mark of some sort on their face."

"What about the rest of me?" Willow hated how small her voice sounded, especially when she saw the way Spike's eyebrow lifted in interest.

"You all sparkly under those clothes, there, Red?" He was leaning forward on the couch now, elbows resting on knees, and Willow could feel him undressing her with those eyes.

"Pr... Pretty much." Willow found a sweet, coppery taste on her tongue and realized that she'd bitten through her lip in her nervousness.

"What else?" Anya was a little too happily interested for Willow's liking, but she could see the concern and interest in the others' eyes.

"Well, there's the hair. `Cuz it had to have grown nearly two feet overnight, and that's just not normal. Not to mention the color, because I'm pretty certain that it was just plain red when I went to bed last night, this morning... whatever, and now it *so* isn't just a normal red color. Would you call this color fire? Because, I'm sensing a definite fire thing going on with it. That's not to mention the glittery chest and armbands, or the fact that my nails are, like, long. I mean *really* long, and they have little flames on them, too. That's why I'm dressed this way. I just had to get over here and see what kind of information you had found on the demon that I drank from, because, let's face it, there can't be all that many demons that look human other than the fact that they're purple."

Giles blinked at the young woman's ability to talk for so long without taking a breath before grasping on to her last sentence. "Actually, there are 72 known demons that look perfectly normal other than their skin tone."

Willow let herself sink down beside Spike on the couch with a small `oh'. She had expected some answers, and was now faced with not knowing what was going to happen to her.

"Don't worry, Willow." Giles' attempt at a brave smile was lost on the oblivious redhead who simply leaned her head over on Spike's shoulder and let him rub her arm comfortingly. "I'm cross- referencing the human appearance with his `speaking' inside your head and the fact that he fed you his blood. That, I believe, narrows the selection down to around ten. It would just help if I had a few more experienced eyes helping me out."

"Anya, are you *sure* you've never met a demon like the one that attacked Willow?"

"Positive, Giles." Anya shook her head sadly. "I like Willow, and I wish I could help, but the only human-looking, different colored demons I ever met weren't nearly as nice as the one in the park was. They were all the `see pretty girl, rape pretty girl, disembowel pretty girl' type."

"And you, Spike?" Giles turned to the vampire.

"Nothing here, mate. I can't remember even *hearing* of a demon like that who didn't enjoy ripping people apart more than he did talkin' to `em."

"You know who we have to call, right?" Willow spoke with her head still resting against the rounded softness of Spike's shoulder.

"The Ghost Busters?"

"No, you git." Spike didn't even try to keep the contempt from his voice. "She's talking about the bloody Pouf."

"Do we gotta?" Xander's whine made Willow giggle slightly.

"This is none of his business, Giles." Willow could tell Buffy wasn't happy.

"It would be nice to have Wesley looking from that end as well." Giles heaved a great sigh before standing and moving toward the kitchen.

"I *still* don't like it." The small blonde had crossed her arms over her chest and was sulking in the chair across from the pair on the couch.

"It really doesn't matter what you do or do not like, Buffy. We're talking about Willow, here. You should put aside everything until we're quite certain of her safety."

"I'm going on patrol." Buffy stood and headed for the door before turning to look at Spike. "You coming, Neutered Boy?"

"I have to go, pet." Spike tucked a curl behind Willow's ear before grinning evilly. "Someone's got to make sure the bint doesn't slay her own foot."

Willow nodded, and the two blondes were gone a moment later.

"I'll make the call," and Giles turned to the phone to do just that.

~Part: 5~

Giles walked back into the living room while he waited for someone to answer the ringing phone. Holding the phone between the side of his head and his shoulder, he moved to the bookshelf and pulled down the nearly full crystal container that sat there. Giles poured a slightly more than healthy amount into a matching crystal glass.

"Angel, this is Giles." Giles, obviously talking to the vampire's answering machine, pushed the glass of amber liquid into Willow's hand. "There is a situation concerning Willow that we could use your, or perhaps Wesley's, help looking into. If you could call me back as soon as possible, it would be appreciated."

Giles put the phone back on its cradle before motioning to the glass Willow had begun sipping from, grimacing after each taste. "Something wrong with the scotch?"

"I'm not a big drinker, Giles. Bad experience with beer, remember?"

"Yes, well, I would hardly call that American swill beer, but I suppose I understand your aversion to alcohol." Giles put three large, leather bound books in a pile on the floor beside the table and opened a fourth one to a place he had marked with a slip of paper.

"There will be pizza in a few minutes, and there will be no more scotch. It's not my intention to get you pissed, simply to relax enough to be able to help with the research we have in front of us."

"Thanks Giles." Willow sunk back into the couch and cradled the tumbler in still tingling fingers. "Did I mention that my hands and arms are all tingly?"

"`Tingly'?" Giles looked up from his book with wide, interested eyes.

"Yeah, almost like when you're foot is doing that weird not- quite-asleep thing."

"Oh, I *hate* that!" Xander shuddered in his seat beside, and nearly under, Anya. "You mean you're all numb and prickly?"

"Something like that, only not so much with the numb." Willow took the last of the scotch in a gulp, this time smiling as it made its pleasant trail down her throat. "Here. Let me show you what they look like."

She stood and moved to the table Giles was sitting at. It took her a minute to pull the unfamiliar gloves from her long fingers, drawing gasps from the other occupants of the room when her arms and hands came into view.

"And they were like this when you woke up?" Giles turned his head to take in every detail of her new coloring.

"Yeah." Willow pulled the glove hurriedly back over her hand and arm when the doorbell sounded, alerting them that the pizza had arrived. "I caught sight of my face and the rest of my body, freaked out, and came over here as fast as I could."

Xander had paid for the pizza and was now carrying it through to sit it on the table. "So you're kind of shimmery all over?"

"Well, yeah." Willow could have sworn they had covered this already, but she kept herself from rolling her eyes at her best friend. "I've got different places that seem to be darker with it than others, like my arms and a place on my chest, but it's pretty much an all over motif by now."

"Why aren't you purple?" Xander had taken an entire pizza, setting it on the small table in front of the chair he and Anya were occupying. "You know, since the guy who grabbed you was pretty much a California Raisin?"

"I don't know!" Willow fought the burning prickle behind her eyes. "All I know is that I'm not looking too Willowy at the moment, and that I feel all weird." The shrill ring of the phone interrupted the babble she felt coming to the surface, and she silently sent thanks that it rang when it did.

She had been wondering since the night before if she should be waiting for some sort of evil to take over her body, crowding her out and leaving nothing but the shell of what she once was. Would her soul fade slowly, or would it wink out like a blown lightbulb? Would the soul restoration she used on Angel work on her if her soul did fly away, or would Buffy and Spike be forced to hunt her down and kill her? Was she going to be some sort of sacrifice, and the glittery show was all to make her more yummy and tender?

Over the last few hours she'd been contemplating the new look she had unwillingly acquired, and found herself rather liking most of the changes. The glittering would make blending in around town hard, but her hair and face were lovely and ethereal, if a little too pale for her liking. <If I cut the nails, they shouldn't be *too* bad. That is, if we can't find some way to fix me and put me back to the way I was.>

{`You're so pathetic, Willow.' Buffy paced the floor in front of the couch on which Willow sat. `I can't believe you went behind my back and took them away from me. You're such a slut!'

`It wasn't like that!' The vision Willow shook her head furiously. `I'm not with them both. Angel and I are only friends, and he's trying to help me figure out what's happened, is still happening, to me.'

`God, I'm sick of hearing about you you you all the time!'

`Now you know how the rest of us have felt since we met you, Slayer.' Spike, wearing his demon's face and not wearing a shirt, came down the long staircase.}

The vision left as quickly as it had come on, leaving Willow with a slightly dazed feeling. It obviously reflected on her face, as Xander and Anya were both looking at her in open concern and Giles was speaking to her softly.

"Angel wants to talk to you." He motioned to the phone that must have rung during her little trip, and she took it without really thinking.

"Hello Angel."

"Giles said something about a demon and blood. He seemed to think you were doing okay, but I told him that I wanted to hear that from you personally. If you want me to come up there to be another shoulder for you to lean on until we figure out what's going on, I will. I'd say that you could come here, you're more than welcome to if you want, but the more familiar people and places you have around, the better. So, be honest with me. Are you okay?"

Willow couldn't help the laughter bubbling up inside of her chest, despite Angel's open worrying. "You're babbling, Angel. I didn't know you knew how to talk like that all at once."

"Well, I learned it from you." There was a soft chuckle from his end of the phone before his voice became laced with worry again. "Are you in any kind of pain? Is there anything I can do while we try to figure out who, and what, the hell that purple bastard was? Say the word and it's done."

"I'm all tingly, which I'm sure Giles told you, but I feel fine other than that. A little giddy, but I think that was more from the scotch he gave me a while ago than anything else." Willow heard Buffy's muffled `what the fuck' from behind her, but ignored it to concentrate on the conversation she was having with the dark vampire.

"Eat something."

"I plan on it. Just got a little sidetracked for a minute. I'm fine though, really."

"You won't be `fine' until we at least know that something bad isn't happening to you. Giles gave Wesley all the details, so he's already hitting the books with Cordelia and Fred. I'm going to go see if I can find anything out from the locals. You call if you need *anything*, okay?"

"Okay Angel." Willow knew he could hear the smile in her voice even if he couldn't see her face. "Be careful. I don't want you getting hurt over something as little as this."

"You're worth getting hurt over, Willow. I'll talk to you soon."

"Bye." Willow hung up the phone and pulled three slices of the pepperoni pizza onto a paper plate before facing a glaring Spike. "What's wrong? No demons out to kick around?"

"Oh, one or two. What did the Gelled Wonder want?" The scowl hadn't left his face, and Willow fought the urge to tell him it would get stuck that way if he didn't stop.

"And what were *you* doing, giving the girl scotch?" Spike had rounded on Giles, leveling those ice blue eyes on the Watcher.

"Giles was just trying to shock my system into relaxing a little. Angel was just making sure that I'm all right. It's all no big deal, really."

"Yeah, that used to be one of his best lines to hook a chit."

"Spike, he's not trying to `hook' anybody." Willow knew he was baiting her, but it was just too fun to watch him get all worked up over his sire. "We're already friends. He doesn't have to even try any lines on me."

"Aren't we friends, pet?" Spike frowned and looked at her from under lowered lashes.

"You know we are. Spike, just because I'm friends with one of you doesn't mean that I can't be friends with the other." Willow finished off her first slice of pizza and retrieved one of the cans of soda Xander had set on the table. "He just wanted to make sure I'm not in pain or anything."

"Bet you played that one up for all it was worth." Buffy had helped herself to a slice of pizza and one of the remaining chairs. She looked around at the other occupants of the room before speaking again.

"If you want to call and flirt around with Angel, just say so." Buffy stood a brushed off her short skirt. "Let's hit the Bronze."

"In case you couldn't tell, which I'm sure you could since I don't think that anyone, not even you, could be that stupid, we're researching." Anya held up the can of soda she held loosely in her left hand while she read as if to illustrate her point. "We're trying to find out what's wrong with Willow."

"Yeah, Buff." Xander's confused voice let Willow know that her oldest friend was giving the small blonde more attention than he usually gave anything. "We made it into a research party, just like it used to be. Don't you want to help?"

"Nothing's like it used to be, Xander." Buffy retrieved her coat from the table just inside the door before turning to face Spike for the first time. "Well?"

"You don't need me, Slayer." Spike picked up one of the books from the table and settled himself beside Willow. "Said so yourself."

"Whatever."

The near slam of the front door made the four humans jump slightly. Spike just smirked and gave a soft sort of chuckle.

"Bitch." Anya openly agreed with the blonde vampire's sentiment, but no one disagreed as they all got down to the business of a good research session.

~Part: 6~

Three o'clock in the morning found the group of researchers still scattered around the Watcher's living room. Xander was keeping himself awake through the cunning use of caffeine and Twinkies as Anya fought back yawns and drank steadily increasing amounts of tea. Giles and Willow, both accustomed to late hours, were the only fully awake humans keeping Spike company.

The blonde vampire, having moved only to feed or retrieve another book Giles thought may be useful, was still seated next to the redheaded witch. From time to time Willow would, in a fit of melancholy, sigh. Spike's hand would begin brushing over her hair, fingers combing through her curls, until the bout of sadness passed. It didn't occur to her to wonder how he knew she felt better, but she wasn't going to protest the comforting caresses.

"Giles," Anya set her teacup, empty once again, on the table besides a pile of Xander's empty Twinkie wrappers. "If I'm going to open the store tomorrow, I'm going to need sleep. If you don't want me to make money, then I can stay and help. Which one is it going to be?"

"What was that?" Giles glanced at his watch before confirming the time by the clock on the wall. "Oh, yes, sleep."

He surveyed the weary group. "You've all done more than I expected to get through tonight. I'll clean up here. You should all go home and get some sleep."

"If it's okay," Willow gazed at the older man with something close to terror in her eyes. "I'd really like to just stay here and keep researching."

Willow knew everyone was looking at her. In spite of that, or perhaps because of it, she couldn't stop the tears from welling up in the corners of her eyes. "The last time I went to sleep, I ended up with a head-to-toe make over. I don't know *what* will happen when I go to sleep again."

"Willow, it will do no good to tire yourself overmuch." Giles was busily filling an empty grocery bag with the trash they had accumulated during the researching. "The current situation, as well as your condition, are stressful enough without forcing yourself to stay awake."

"Much as I hate to admit it, I have to say that I agree with the Watcher on this one." Spike pulled Willow up to lean her tired body against his. "How about I take you home and tuck you in safe as houses?"

"Me and Anya can drop the two of you off on our way," Xander pulled on his jacket and helped Anya with hers.

"Sounds like a plan. You in, luv?" Spike noticed that Willow didn't have a coat with her, so he threw his around her shoulders.

Willow smiled at the unlikely friends. "Sure. I'm too tired to deal with any unfriendly nasties that we would probably run into, anyway."

The group said their goodbyes to Giles and headed out. Willow and Spike folded themselves into the back seat of Xander's car. Xander and Anya piled into the front.

Willow had just turned to look out at the growing sliver of moon when that tingle rippled its way up her spine. On a whim, Willow tried picturing a cool breeze that blew through her mind, pushing the feeling out and back down her body. She was happily surprised when it worked, grinning openly for the split second before her control slipped.

When she stopped thinking of the cool breeze, the redhead's small body was engulfed in a heat that seemed to burn from her bones outward. Faces, some familiar and some not, flashed through her mind too quickly for her to grasp. A moment later, she got a flash of Buffy hitting Spike repeatedly. Then things switched to her and Buffy in two of the most hideous dresses she'd ever seen. Picture after picture, scene after scene, began slamming into her mind's eye, making them mostly unintelligible and always painful.

Just when Willow thought her mind was going to melt from the quickly shifting pictures playing themselves on the inside of her eyelids, she felt her body being shifted into strong arms.

"Chit was more tired than she realized." Spike carried her through the door Xander opened, thanking the younger man before shutting it with his foot and carrying Willow up to her room. "Well, you're home. I'll let you sleep."

Willow heard Spike turn, knocking into the bedside table, and forced her eyes open. "Thank you, Spike."

"It's not a problem Red. Go to sleep."

Her eyes were closing even as she tried to protest him leaving without his trademark duster. "Your coat-"

"Can stay with you until tomorrow." Spike tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Just don't do anything too girly in it. Got a reputation to uphold, you know."

"Buffy?"

"She's sleeping, Willow. I can smell her."

"That's nice," Willow sighed dreamily. "Night Spike."

"Night Red." Spike chuckled at her near-sleep talking and let himself out of the Summers' house after peeking in to make sure that Dawn was sleeping.

~~~*~~~

Willow forced herself to get out of bed the next morning, even though 10:00 felt more like 6:00 after the night she'd had. The worn leather of the duster still surrounded her as she lay, fully clothed, on top of her neatly made bed.

<Ugh. I *really* need a shower.> She let the coat drop across the foot of her bed before shedding the rest of her ill- matching outfit and heading toward the bathroom. A look in the mirror let her know that nothing else had changed in the time she had been asleep, and she hurried through cleansing herself of the last few days' worth of grime and general ickiness.

Just as she finished rinsing the conditioner from her hair, Willow gasped as a naked Spike appeared out of nowhere in front of her. It took a moment for her to realize that it was the beginning of another vision, and she wondered at the sigh of disappointment that left her.

{Spike leaned over and began crawling his way up his bed, covering a disinterested Buffy with his body once he had reached her head.

`This can't happen again, Spike.'

`That's what you always say, Slayer. And yet, here you are.'

`I mean it this time.' Buffy pushed the vampire off of her and began hurriedly dressing, a look of loathing twisting her face. `I can't just keep sleeping with you. You're not worth my time, and especially not my body.'

`Better watch what you say, Slayer, or I might start taking it seriously.'

`I *am* serious, you undead idiot. I hate you.'

`See you tonight then?' The cocky grin that he wore slipped from his face as Buffy spit at him.

`You're beneath me.'}

Willow gasped again as the vision left her nearly drained, crying on the floor of the tub. Acrid bile was trying to force its way up her throat, and she just managed to throw open the lid of the toilet before she was revisited by the last of the late night pizza. Sitting back on the cold tile of the bathroom floor, water dripping from her body and splashing into the growing puddle around her nude body, Willow fought back sobs.

<Okay. I can't take this anymore.> Willow turned the shower off before standing and wrapping a towel around her hair and another around her body. <I love the two of them far too much to see other dimension glimpses of them like that. Buffy isn't like that, and Spike would *never* look at her that way. That mix of desperation and longing shouldn't be allowed on his face.>

It didn't even occur to Willow that she'd just told herself that she loved Spike. She was already throwing on a bra and a pair of panties before her internal monolog was finished. The sky outside her window was a thick slate of deep grey, and sheets of rain pelted the ground, so she threw on a black sweater and a pair of black, zippered leggings. Without thinking, she pulled Spike's duster over her arms before ducking out into the cold rain.

The walk to the Magic Box seemed to go much more quickly than it usually did, though Willow suspected that her worrying and repulsion over what she had seen had more to do with that than her speed. She walked through the store, barely able to return Anya's smile and greeting, to find Giles sitting in the training room, sharpening a small ax. The man's surprise at finding her in the store in the middle of the day was clearly visible before he was able to school his features into a look of pure concern.

"Willow? Is there something wrong? Are you feeling well?"

"It's a little complicated... I think."

"How's that?" Giles put down the ax and led the witch into the store. "Would you like to have a nice cup of tea and tell me about it?"

Willow glanced over at Anya, deciding that she didn't care if the ex demon heard what she had to say. After Giles found out, there would most likely be another research aspect to work through, so everyone would know that her mind was dimension hopping without her permission. What difference did it make if one of them found out before the others?

"That would be great, Giles. Thank you." Willow busied herself with removing the wet leather coat while Giles went to put on a kettle of water. When he returned, telling her that it would be a few minutes, she decided that she may as well start with the explanations.

"Giles. There's something I left out about the demon's affect on me."

"I do hope it's nothing serious. Willow, you *know* how important any information could be to finding a cure for you." Giles pulled the glasses from his face and began wiping them with the bottom of his tie.

"I know." Willow tried to smile at Anya, who'd come over to join them when the last customer had been sent on his way with a fake smile and `have a good day'. "I just didn't know how to say this, or what anyone would say about it.

"At first, it only happened when I touched a person or something they had touched. That was the real reason for the gloves. I thought, if I didn't touch anything, then it wouldn't happen, but now it's gotten so that it just happens whenever it wants to and I can't stop it from happening. Well, I tried to stop it once, and it worked, but then a lot of things slammed into my brain all at the same time and I almost passed out. I'm just happy that everyone thought I was sleeping, and that Spike and Xander were there to carry me inside my house, and that I wasn't off somewhere alone or something. I don't even want to know *what* could have happened to me if I were fighting or running and it happened. That's kind of scary, now that I really think about it. I mean-"

"Willow." Giles motioned for Anya to remove the now whistling pot from the stove as he interrupted Willow's rambling.

"What's going on?" Anya had made it back in record time, making Willow suspect that she had turned the stove off and pushed the teakettle to a different burner rather than prepare any tea.

"I think I'm seeing other dimensions."

"How so?" Giles had that look on his face he only got when they were deep into research. "What makes you think it's alternate dimensions?"

"Well, the first one I got was of Anya being robbed while she was working." Anya drew herself up straighter in her seat, and Willow was quick to point out that it *had* to be a different dimension. "There's just no way Anya would willingly part with money from her till."

"Okay, that was the first one." Giles, Willow could tell, was already going through his mental lists of demons, discarding those who had no visionary abilities. "While that could actually happen in any dimension, I suppose, it *does* sound a little hard to believe. What else has happened to make you think they're different dimensions and not something else?"

"It can't be my imagination, Giles." Willow distantly heard the bell over the door chime, signaling that someone had entered the store. "I mean, Spike and Buffy sleeping together? That's just *wrong*, especially after what she went through with Angel."

"It's nothing like what I had with Angel!"

Willow's still wet hair stung her face as she whipped her head around to face a flushed and angry looking Buffy. "You mean, those things I've been seeing about you and Spike are *real*? You've been sleeping with Spike?!"

"Its just sex. Something to get our minds off of things." Buffy pulled her coat off and tossed it over one of the chairs. "It's not like I love the Fangless Wonder, or anything."

Giles and Anya, long forgotten, were looking back and forth between the sneering Slayer and the now standing witch. Buffy was standing with her hands on her hips, as if waiting for a fight, and Willow simply looked ready to cry. Very faintly, Anya thought she smelled something burning.

"The things I've seen tell me that it isn't the same on Spike's end of things, Buffy." Willow's long curls began fluttering as if in a soft breeze, though no one else in the room felt anything.

"I know." Buffy tossed her sunny hair over her shoulder. "I want the bastard to love me. What better way to punish him?"

"Punish him? For what?" The scent of burning copper surrounded the redhead, forcing Buffy to take a step back even as tiny sparks began appearing along and over the mass of curls that made up Willow's hair. "What does he have to suffer for?"

"He's an evil, soulless demon. Why shouldn't I use him for whatever I want?"

"What is *wrong* with you!?" Willow pulled Spike's long coat back on, ignoring the sudden warmth of the store. "I can't believe that you would even *say* that."

"It's true, isn't it?" Buffy lifted her eyebrows and sneered openly. "I'm the Slayer. I'm better than he is. Why shouldn't I do whatever I want?"

"That's horrible, Buffy, really horrible." Willow was disappointed in the smaller girl, now knowing that she really *was* just using the caring, if evil, vampire to vent on. "I'm not staying in that house any more. I can't."

"Whatever." Buffy flopped down on the couch, ignoring the hurt look marring Willow's face. "You'll get tired of being alone and come back in a day or two anyway."

Willow shook her head and felt her stomach rolling as she backed toward the door. "Giles, could you look into that for me? I really don't want to see anymore than I already have. I'll be at my parent's house if you need me."

<I need out of here.> Willow turned to open the door, surprised when she found herself already standing outside the small magic shop. <Okay. I don't remember opening the door and walking out here.>

Shaking off the strange feeling she was getting, the redhead made her way to the cemetery. If she couldn't talk some sense into Buffy, maybe she could tell Spike the truth about the Slayer's feelings. No one deserved to be used like that, demon or not.

~Part: 7~

The rain still beating down had Willow soaked, even through the heavy leather of Spike's coat, by the time she reached the old cemetery Spike had claimed a home in. The ground gave way easily under her feet, and she was happy that she wasn't fond of the old tennis shoes she'd thrown on before leaving. The squelching of the sneakers as she approached the dark crypt seemed to whisper `tell... him' with every step.

<Okay, Rosenburg, he's got to know, and you're the one who found out about it all. Just knock, go in, tell him what you know, and leave. Easy.>

Willow stood outside the door to the small building for another five minutes before lifting her hand and knocking.

When no one answered, Willow pushed the heavy door open. "Spike? Are you in here?"

"Here, pet." Spike's voice echoed up from the hole in the floor. "Didn't know who it was, and didn't fancy talking to the Slayer right now."

"W... Well, t-that's what, or who, I wanted to talk to you ab-about. Ah, Spike? Could... could y-you put on a, ah, a shirt? Please?" Willow put a hand over her eyes and turned to face the barren wall instead of the half dressed vampire who'd just climbed out of the lower room.

"Protecting your innocent eyes?" Willow could *hear* the smirk in his voice even as a long arm reached past her and snatched a t-shirt from the arm of the chair she stood beside.

"I just need to talk to you, and it's hard enough without getting distracted."

"You saying I'm distracting?" A low chuckle rumbled through the crypt. "You can turn around, luv. It's safe."

"Spike, you already know how... distracting you are." Willow handed the heavy coat back to the blonde vampire, who casually slung it over the sarcophagus before pulling a battered pack of cigarettes from his pocket.

"What brings a pretty bird like you to a cemetery to talk to my undead ass in the middle of the morning?"

"I've... There's something about the demon that I didn't tell you. Well, I didn't tell anyone. At first, it was just a thing that happened when I touched something or someone, then when I thought about them. Now, it just happens. I didn't even know it was real, I thought it had to be some other dimension because the things I was seeing just didn't make sense, but I found out today that it isn't like that, that it's really the future, and I needed to tell you that what you're doing with Buffy isn't good."

Spike's face changed from its normal smirking arrogance to completely void of all emotion. The cigarette hung, forgotten, from his slightly parted lips. "What's that, luv?"

"I'm getting visions of the future, Spike." Willow turned burning eyes to the floor. "I thought they were flashes of other dimensions and went to talk to Giles about it. Buffy heard the end of the conversation and ended up trying to defend herself to us."

"So everyone knows about it, then."

"Well, just Giles and Anya right now, but you know Anya and not knowing what not to say to people."

"Good." Spike had recovered with a slight shake of his head and moved to slouch down into the single chair in the room. "I was tired of keepin' it a bloody secret anyway."

"Spike." Willow turned to face him now, knowing that she had to look him in the eye when she told him this last part. "Buffy doesn't love you. She's just using you for the sex."

"Nah, she loves me in a way."

"No, she doesn't, Spike. She *told* me that she's using you, that she wants to punish you."

"Don't know what you're getting all worked up about, pet. She needs me to vent on, which is a lot more than what I've been needed for in a long time. I need her because I can cause her pain. Besides, the sex isn't bad either."

"Spike!" Willow gave in to the tears, letting them flow freely as she nearly sobbed at the vampire in front of her. "You deserve more than that!"

"Don't cry, Red." Spike stood, moving to wrap his arms around the nearly doubled over witch.

Willow jerked her arms up, dislodging his hold on her, and stepped away from his offered comfort. "Don't. Just don't."

"Willow, it's really none of your business who I'm shagging, or why they're shagging me."

"It *is* my business!" Willow was openly sobbing as she forced herself to walk to the door. "It's my business because you're one of my best friends, because you've always been honest with me, and because you've helped me."

<Goddess, I wish I was home.> Before the thought was even finished, Willow found herself standing in the living room of the house she'd called home for the last year. <How did... Never mind, Willow. Figure it out later. Pack now.>

Willow threw herself up the stairs, nearly missing her footing several times as she climbed to her room. Pulling the suitcases down from the shelf in her closet, she began throwing her clothes into them as fast as she could. When it became apparent that there wouldn't be enough room for everything, she retrieved some garbage bags from the kitchen and stuffed as much as she could into them as well. By the time the sniffling redhead finished her marathon throwing and shoving, open drawers and empty hangers were all that were left to keep the stripped bed company.

<I'm going to need a taxi or something. There's no way I can carry all these bags *and* my magic trunk on top of the suitcases.> Willow thought for a moment before smiling to herself and giggling. <Give it a shot, Willow.>

Pulling herself up to her full height, Willow began pointing at each of the bags in turn, giggling when they all shrank to roughly the size of a quarter. The suitcases followed suit easily enough. In the end, Willow was able to scoop them all up and deposit them in the pocket of the coat she'd pulled out to protect her from the still falling rain.

<Just like Marry Poppins.> For the first time that day, a small smile found itself on the lips of the pretty redhead as she made her way back down the stairs and out the front door.

Willow hesitated for only a second when she reached the end of the front walk. Setting her shoulders, she made a left and quickly reached Xander's old house. After that, she simply made use of the alleyways and shortcuts she and her childhood friend had memorized all those years ago.

<Home again, home again,> Willow shook her head and gave a derisive snort. <At least they left everything hooked up and turned on.>

Willow unlatched and opened every door and window in the house, smiling at the dreary sky that seemed to match her mood. It was no longer raining, though a steady breeze was tossing the trees, and the air now wafting through the house carried a tang of spring. With a little magic, Willow simply let the dust that had gathered over the house leave on the air.

Unpacking was similarly easy, and the redhead found herself settled into her old room just as her stomach let her know that she had now missed both breakfast *and* lunch. With the refrigerator running, but empty, there was nothing she could do but go to the store. With a sigh, she retrieved the car keys from the locked drawer in her parents' old room and headed for the tasteful, if seldom used, sedan sitting in the garage.

Picking up the essentials, Willow was struck by inspiration just as she was heading for the checkout line. If she had Giles and Wesley both working on finding anything that had to do with this demon, then there was nothing more she could really do on that level. So, maybe she could find a way to keep herself from seeing things that she didn't want to. That meant using magic or a lot of energy. Either way, she was sure to get major cases of munchies. Magic is hungry work.

Turning her cart, Willow walked the isles of the store with a little more bounce in her step. Now that she had a plan, as sketchy as it may be, she felt a little better about things. Spike knew he was being used and seemed to want whatever it was Buffy gave him, so there was nothing she could do. What was happening to her, however, just took research and good, old fashioned hard work. Willow put some Breyer's coffee ice cream into the basket and smiled.

She wasn't called research girl for nothing.

~Part: 8~

Within an hour, Willow was home and had nearly all her groceries put away when the doorbell rang.

"Who's there?" Willow crumpled up the plastic bags from the store and shoved them into the bag hanging on the inside of the cabinet door.

"Willow?" Anya's voice carried easily through the screen door. "I came over to help."

"Help?" Willow unlatched the door and let the ex demon in. "With what?"

"Well, I thought that you would be trying to figure out how to control this whole vision thing now that you know that is isn't some other dimension."

"Yeah, that's pretty much my plan." The two girls moved into the kitchen, moving to put the cans of food Willow had bought into the cabinet beside the stove. "I just wish I could figure out when things are going to happen, at least that would be useful."

"Well, I *did* get robbed today."

"What?!" Willow spun so quickly that Anya got a mouthful of coppery hair. "When?"

"A little after you left. Two guys came in and took my money," Anya pouted while she spoke. "One of them tipped over that shelf of crystals when he left, and that brought Giles and Buffy out from the training room. She chased them down and took the money back."

"Well, that's good then."

"Yeah, but I still think she's being a major bitch."

"She's going through some things right now." Willow shoved the last of the bags into their holder and handed Anya a can of Pepsi before leading her out of the kitchen and up the stairs to her room. "Once she gets everything in her head straight, she'll get better."

"She wasn't that great to begin with." Anya was grumbling, and Willow was fairly certain that she wasn't supposed to hear that, so the redheaded witch tried to hide her grin while she moved to her computer chair.

"I tried a visualization thing the other night when you and Xan drove me home. It did okay until I stopped the gentle wind thing, then there was just too much all at once. My brain couldn't handle it all."

"Hmmm..." Anya took a sip from her can as she slowly took in the room. "Magic?"

"What?" Willow looked at Anya, who gestured to the tidy closet where her suitcases were stored on a shelf. "Oh, yeah. It just makes things so much easier."

"Yes, it does. I *never* would have been able to turn my cheating husband into a troll without it." Both girls broke into a fit of giggles as Anya moved to look over the books on the shelves.

"Maybe you should *try* to bring on a vision. That way, maybe you can control who you see, and how far. I don't know if that will keep the others from happening, though."

"I've been thinking about that. Maybe if I teach my mind that it needs to be prepared, it'll cut down on the unwanted stuff?"

"A training session for your brain?"

"More like grounding and centering and casting a circle. You know, learned things that get you in the right frame of consciousness."

"Oh," Anya grinned. "Like studying for a test."

"Exactly."

"Maybe you should do that grounding thing first. That should let your mind and body recognize that it's going to do something that it usually doesn't."

"Good thinking." Willow had shifted to sit Indian style in the chair facing Anya who now sat on the bed. "I know, but thank you for saying it."

Willow shook her head and smiled as she scribbled notes on a sheet of paper, listing what they were coming up with.

"I should make it into a ritual. Ground and center, then ask for protection and clarity. That should help keep out pain, and keep my mind from wandering when I'm trying to focus on one person or thing."

"Then you only have to worry about the whole time thing." Anya tapped the tips of her fingers against the book she held on her lap. "When did you see me get robbed?"

"That night with the demon. The night before last, I guess."

"Then I'm thinking that it's a short future thing. Maybe you're only seeing one or two days in advance."

"That makes sense except for the faces that I saw last night that I didn't recognize."

"Maybe it was just an overload of information from all over. Just because you're vision girl and know the slayer doesn't mean that all the visions you have are going to deal with only people you know."

"I never thought about that." Willow felt pain blossoming from behind her right eye. "This whole thing is just one big headache."

"Let's try it now, then go find something to eat."

"Good idea. I haven't eaten all day." Willow rubbed at her abdomen absently. "I think I'm beyond needing the candles to mark the points, but I'm going to burn some sage to help with the ritual."

"Need me to do anything?" Anya nearly bounced on the bed in her enthusiasm, and Willow found herself nodding.

"Sure. I'm going to use loose sage, so you could sprinkle some on the charcoal round to keep a steady burn." Willow set out the ceramic holder and the charcoal, handing the sage and matches to the older girl. "Well, you could also help me figure out what I should try to see."

"I know!" Anya had the charcoal burning, the top just starting to turn red. "Try to see if Xander's going to get the raise he's asking for this afternoon. That way we'll know in a few hours if it worked."

"You just want to know if you're going to be doing any celebrating tonight."

"That too." Anya winked and began sprinkling the dried leaves onto the glowing coal. "Let's do this."

"Yes ma'am."

Willow stood in the center of the floor, smelling the soft, calming scent of the smoldering herbs and visualizing a silver rod running down her back. Growing more at ease with her picture, the witch sent the bar through the levels of the house, then through the cement of the basement, until it was embedded in the earth below. Breathing slowly, she let the silver line grow until her entire body was made up of nothing but the silver stick.

Another deep breath sent the bar deeper into the ground as well as up through the top of her head. Roots slid into the earth, pulling power from the Goddess' body. Branches reached out from above her head, releasing the energy back out into the world. Willow could see that the tree she was above the ground was mirrored in the trunk and roots below, branches and roots nearly meeting in an eternal flow or energy.

"Earth, Air, Fire, Sea, let the Goddess' hand be a guide to me. Without malice and without pain, let me see what Xander shall gain."

{"So, Harris, you wanted to talk to me?" An older man was sitting behind the desk in a small trailer.

"Yes sir." Xander pulled the hard hat from his head and took the offered chair. "It's about the job."

"You're not leaving, are you? `Cuz I've gotta say that you're one of the best carpenters I've seen in a long time."

"That's just it, sir." Xander rubbed the palms of his down his thighs roughly.

"What's `it'?"

"Well, you said yourself that I'm one of the best." At the larger man's nod, Xander nodded and took a deep breath. "I just think that I should be getting paid more than I am."

"Because you've been in charge of a lot of things that the others will never come close to, and catch on to anything I'm trying to lay out quicker than most, you think you should get a promotion."

It wasn't a question, but Xander nodded his head anyway. "That's it exactly, sir."

"Well, Harris." The older man poured himself a cup of steaming coffee and grinned at the nervous brunet. "I was wondering when you were going to get the balls to ask me."

"Really?"

"Of course! How does fifteen an hour sound?"

"Fifteen?"

"Take a few classes some nights and on the weekends, and we'll talk higher."}

Willow let her mind drift away from what she was seeing and opened her eyes to see Anya still kneeling beside the table. Letting all the energy seep back down into the earth, Willow let the silver tree slide back into the thin rod before disappearing altogether. As she let the last of the borrowed energy go, the witch realized that she felt lighter and happier than she had in a long time.

"Thank you, Mother, for protecting and guiding me. Your daughter thanks you." Willow smiled as she faced Anya. "I think I should have been having regular rituals a long time ago. I feel *great*!

"I also think you're going to be having a whole lot of celebrating to do when Xander gets home."

The other girl squealed happily, and wrapped a surprised Willow in a tight hug. "Let's go eat! I've got to get my energy up if I'm going to give Xander as many orgasms as I plan on."

"Maybe *he* should be the one building up his energy."

"You know it!" The laughter of the two young women echoed through the house.

~Part: 9~

"All right, young lady. You've missed more than enough school. I don't care if you *are* still sparkly. You're going, and that's final." Willow's reflection gave her the `resolve face', and the redhead knew she was beat.

Since performing the spell with Anya on Monday afternoon, and finding herself to be completely accurate, Willow had done the same ritual twice a day. Twice, she had tried not doing it in the afternoon, but both trials had led to painful bouts as vision girl. Willow had decided that doing `two a day's, as Xander called them, left her feeling as close to normal as she suspected she was going to get. She had thought about going for three, but took Giles' advice not to push herself too hard.

"Just because you've been this way for a week now doesn't mean you'll *always* be sparkle-vision girl. You've got to have something to fall back on." Willow glanced at her clock, confirming that she would have to leave soon to make it to her first class on time. "You're wearing long sleeves and pants. No one is going to say anything."

Willow gathered her books and the keys to the car. <Not like I don't have my license or aren't on the insurance. Besides, it's Friday and I'll have to find people in my other classes to get notes from.>

Willow had been living in her old house for five days now. With the notable exception of Buffy, everyone seemed comfortable doing research and hanging out there. There was more room in Willow's living room than in the entirety of Giles' apartment, after all.

Spike had come hammering on her front door just after sunset on Monday. It had taken a few minutes for the vampire to stop yelling at the witch, even after she had pulled him off the front porch and into her living room. It was pretty obvious to the intelligent girl that the blonde had been afraid when she'd just disappeared after she started crying, and she had told him so.

"Just don't want you leaving like that is all."

"It's okay, Spike." Willow had grinned and offered him a drink, laughing when he said that it would just give him a headache. "Let's just agree to disagree on the whole Buffy issue and never speak of it again."

"It's a deal, pet."

Shortly after Spike made his appearance, the rest of the gang had arrived. Giles had dragged in a large stack of books along with two bottles of white wine as house re-warming gifts. There had been enough for everyone to have a decent sized glass, and Willow giggled at using her parents' cherished good crystal to toast a long life to everyone present as well as Xander's new income.

<That was a good night.> Willow nodded along as Nora Jones sang a soft blues song on the radio. <Now, if I can just get through the day, I'll be okay. Well, through the rest of the month. After that, I'm free for the rest of the spring and summer.>

~~~*~~~ Willow dropped the mountain of books onto the kitchen counter and let her messenger bag slip to the floor. She had forgotten all about the required reading until Tanya, the strange girl from her Women in Literature class whose notes she had copied on the library's Xerox machine, reminded her of the paper due the following Friday. Luckily, the library had been able to lend her most of the books she needed. The rest she had found in the used book stores that dotted the area surrounding the campus.

"Long day, pet?"

Willow, startled, didn't register the husky accent or the casual endearment until she had already acted to defend herself. She was, therefore, more than a little surprised to see that the man she was holding captive against the ceiling was Spike. She opened her mouth to apologize as she slowly lowered his bruised and bleeding, not to mention slightly smoking, form to the floor.

<Wait. Bruised? *Bleeding*?! I didn't do that. But, if I didn't, then who did? And how did he get here?>

Willow stood staring at the vampire. Ordering her thoughts, the witch was finally able to give voice to her confusion. "Huh?"

"Yeah." Spike nodded his head like an exhausted toddler. The vampire tried to push himself off the floor, only to fall onto his back with a barely muffled cry.

"Spike!" Willow wasn't aware that she had moved until her hands were pushing blood matted hair from the vampire's eyes. "Oh, Goddess, you look bad."

"I... I've had... had worse."

The usual cockney accent was gone, replaced by a softer lilt, and Willow found herself smiling until she realized a few things that she would classify as `of the bad'. First, Spike's faded shirt and jeans had much darker patches that were steadily growing in size. Second, the blonde was gasping for breath that he didn't need. The next thing to draw her attention was the swiftly loosening grip on her hand.

"Spike, stay awake." Willow moved to shake his shoulder, drawing a slick, red hand back when he didn't respond.

Only then did she begin to feel the wet carpet under her knees. Willow looked down and saw the red puddle form around her hand as if in slow motion. Then the smell of the blood hit her, and the girl threw herself away from the pale, still body lying on the carpet of her dining room.

"Blood." Willow didn't know if she was commenting on the growing stain on her floor, or thinking of the only thing she knew of that would save Spike.

A rattling gasp brought the now weeping girl back to the vampire's side.

"Wa... wanted... T-Thank... you." A thin line of blood bubbled from Spike's mouth, staining his teeth and lips before winding along a sharp cheekbone to his ear.

"No," Willow rested her forehead against Spike's and wept.

~Part: 10~

"No." Willow took a heaving breath between sobs, otherwise she might have missed the slight lifting of Spike's chest.

Pulling herself over Spike's prone form, Willow tried to ignore the wet sounds as she crawled over him. She tried to keep herself from touching him and causing any more damage than she had already done with all the magic and the shaking. Her hands slid over the clean tile of her kitchen floor, sending her skidding. The front of her shirt and the material of her jeans were soaked through as well, making it even more difficult for her to make it across the kitchen.

"Nonononono." It was her mantra even as she tried to stand, slipped, and knocked the butcher's block to the floor.

Willow pulled the cordless phone from its resting place on the counter and dialed the Magic Box without thinking. Anya, sounding more chipper than usual, answered on the second ring.

"Magic Box, this is Anya."

"It's Willow. Get Giles. Spike's hurt." Willow didn't even bother to hang up, simply dropping it as she moved back to her friend's side.

"Come on, Spike." Willow lightly smacked at his face.

She turned to see if Spike was moving at all when a sharp glint of sunlight caught her eye. It took her longer to realize that it was the sun reflecting off the blade of a small parring knife than it did for her to come to a decision about what to do. Snatching the black handle in a shaking hand, Willow bit her lip against the pain and drew it sharply across the skin of her left forearm.

Sliding to lay on her side, Willow put her head on the demon's shoulder and held the fresh cut to his lips. "Open your mouth, Spike, just a little swallow or two. That's all I want."

Willow thought that, if she could get Spike's body to do what came naturally, then its demon would come out and begin drinking properly.

She saw the corded muscles of Spike's throat work just before his lips opened wider over the cut, pulling more of her flesh into his mouth. A moment later, the ridges of the demon appeared, and he started drinking in earnest. Willow could only watch in fascination as large hands rose to caress her skin, long fingers wrapping around her arm as her head began to grow fuzzy.

A muffled `bloody hell' made her smile, and two amber eyes were the last thing she saw before her eyes drifted closed.

~~~*~~~

"Red?" Willow heard the heavily accented voice through the blackness. "Willow, pet, you've been asleep for 18 hours and 20 minutes now. Come on and wake up."

<Spike.> With the remembrance of his name came the painful images.

"Hurt." Willow was trying to form a whole sentence, but found it impossible, as whole thoughts weren't yet forming.

"I know it does, luv." Something cool and damp brushed her forehead. "You can go back to sleep if you want to. You sure as hell deserve it."

"No," the redhead's eyes blinked open.

Spike, clean but with a tired look about him, was sitting on the computer chair beside her bed. His usually slick hair curled above his eyes and stuck up in odd places on top. Tape spanned the bridge of his nose, and the blues and greens of fading bruises around his eyes made their blue color stand out even more. He winced as he leaned forward to brush the damp cloth over her face.

"I'm not going to force you to, but you really *do* need to rest."

<Stupid vampire. Doesn't he know I wasn't talking about me? > "No... I meant... I meant you're hurt."

Spike's shout of startled laughter caused Willow to jump. A moment later, the room was swarmed by an ex demon, a Key, and a carpenter, all smiling and hugging the witch. Giles followed closely, carrying a glass of orange juice and a bottle of aspirin for Willow along with a large mug of blood on a small tray.

"I'm glad you're back." Dawn stretched out beside Willow, resting her head on the older girl's shoulder.

"You had us worried, Willow."

"I wasn't worried." Spike gulped at the blood.

"Sorry, Giles." Willow obediently swallowed the two pills Giles handed her and sipped at the orange juice.

"Yes, well, do try not to do it again."

"How long was I out?"

"Eighteen hours and twenty-five minutes." Spike answered before anyone else could turn their wrists to check the time.

"But you weren't worried at all." Anya gave the vampire a look of pure amused disbelief.

"I was concerned. It's not the same thing."

"Keep telling yourself that, Blondie."

Willow caressed the back of Spike's hand. "Thank you."

"I should be thanking you, even though what you did was insane. Not to mention one of the more stupid things you've ever done."

"You were hurt. There was blood." Willow set her nearly empty glass back on the tray. "I had to help you."

"Not that I don't appreciate it, Red, but you can't just go around offering that sweet blood of yours to every hurt vampire you come across."

"I didn't offer it to just any vampire, Spike. I gave it to you." As an afterthought, Willow cocked her head to one side. "You think my blood is sweet?"

"The best I ever tasted."

"You're just saying that because it's been a while since you had fresh." A bit of the Willow who had comforted him in the dorm room that night when he couldn't bite her peaked through in the blush coloring her cheeks.

"Nah, pet. I meant that. You're a nummy treat."

"Okay, not really what I needed to know about my best friend." Xander rolled his eyes and sank down onto the bed beside Dawn's hip. "Now will you tell us what happened?"

"Yeah, Spike, who hurt you?" Dawn had been twisting a lock of Willow's hair around her finger as the others talked. Now she focused all her attention on the blonde sitting on the other side of her favorite witch. "If whoever it was turns out to be human, I'll take care of them."

"You gonna be my hired gun, now?" Spike smirked at the girl.

"Hey, I know people." Dawn affected a casual shrug, though Willow could feel the strain in the girl's shoulders.

"Well, Buffy started it," Spike hurried to finish before Dawn could finish sitting up in shock. "A bunch of newbies tried to finish it."

"Why did Buffy start it?"

"Things have been different since she came back, Niblet." Spike puffed his cheeks out and ran a hand through already disheveled hair. "We got into a fight, started hitting, and she ended up being in better form. Nothing that hasn't happened before."

"It still isn't right, Spike." Willow smiled wanly at Spike.

"I know. Just not sure what to do about it."

"So this happened in your crypt?" Anya's eyes were twinkling after taking in how Spike and Willow were acting, and Willow was happy the ex demon had kept any comments to herself.

"No. We were in Grandview."

"You *do* know that the Magic Box is closer to that cemetery, right?"

"Yeah, well, I wasn't figuring on any kind of last minute heroics." Spike shook a cigarette out of his pack. "Thought I should say my goodbyes while I could."

"That's so sweet." Dawn pulled a surprised Spike into a tight hug before scooting out of the bed. "Giles said that I had to go home after you woke up."

"Willow needs her rest." Xander leaned over and hugged Willow gently. "Take care of yourself."

"I'm going to stay here and sleep, Xan. I doubt I can hurt myself too much. Besides, Spike's got a supply of blood here now, right?"

"Yes, he does." Giles bent to hug her before continuing. "There is more than enough for two days, in case he needs extra."

"We'll be fine, guys." Willow spoke over Anya's shoulder as she found herself surrounded by the other girl's strong arms. "I'm going to sleep and maybe try to get some reading done."

Everyone said their goodbyes to Spike before heading out of the room. A few minutes later, the front door closed and Willow sunk back down on the bed.

"Are you going to tell me what *really* happened?" Willow patted the space Dawn had left beside her. "Did Buffy do all of this?"

<I knew she was different, but this is just inexcusable. Please don't let it all be her.>

Spike kicked his boots off and slid to lie on top of the covers after making sure Willow was fully tucked in. "I'm not lying to you, luv. Buffy and I did fight, and she was in better form than me. I was pretty beat up when she left, but nothing that I couldn't heal from in a night.

"I was making my way out of the cemetery when a big group of fledglings found me. I took out five or six, but there were just too many. They left me to die, said I shouldn't be dusted so quick for helpin' the slayer and all. I made it to the tunnels, though, and made my way here."

"I'm glad you did."

"So am I, pet. So am I." Spike finished smoking and ground the butt out in the ashtray he must have found downstairs. "I was wondering something."

"Yeah?"

"This thing with Buffy, it's not good for me. You know?"

"I'm aware of that, yes." Willow let her head drop to the side, resting it lightly against Spike's on her pillow.

"Thing is, I don't think I can let it go if I'm always seeing her all the time."

"I could see how that would make breaking things off harder to do." Willow smiled at the hesitation in the blonde's voice. "Do you want to stay here for a while?"

"Wouldn't want to impose."

"I offered, didn't I?"

"Well, if you're insisting." Willow could tell there was a small smile on the man's lips without seeing him.

"I'm insisting. Now go to sleep."

"Never let it be said that I refused an offer to unlive with a beautiful lady." Spike wound an arm under Willow's shoulders and let himself be lulled to sleep by her even breathing.

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