"Well, luv, it's like this, Dru's dust, and without someone to be with, eternity can get real boring really quickly."
"Uh-huh, and this has exactly what to do with me?"
"That all depends, pet. How do you feel about immortality?"
"Um no. I really wouldn't make a good vampire. In fact, I'd make a pretty sick, twisted vampire."
"Oh, I donno, pet. I think you'd make a pretty good vampire. Let's find out, shall we?" He pulled Willow closer, and brought his mouth to her neck.
"NO! No Spike, we've already found out! I don't want to go there!" Willow yanked herself out of Spike's grip, and backed away from him.
"What do you mean, you've already found out? You look like you're still breathing to me."
"There was another me, an evil me, a sick twisted 'let's wear leather and put our hands in new places' vampire me. It wasn't good. It was bad. Very bad."
"Leather huh? That doesn't sound bad. Sounds pretty good in fact. And where *exactly* are these new places?"
Willow's face turned bright red at the thought of the 'new places'. "Well... um... uh... it really doesn't matter. Um... just trust me, a vampire me is not a good me."
"Oh I think it does matter luv. And if you don't tell me, well... I'll just have to find out for myself, won't I?"
"Well, let's just say that I, well the other me, wanted to um... 'snuggle'... with me... and apparently with everyone else, oh and you should have heard what I wanted to do with puppy!"
"Puppy?"
"Puppy? I didn't just say puppy. There is no puppy. I have no puppy whatsoever. Puppy never came up, and we will never mention him again!"
"Bets, luv? Who or what is puppy? You know you want to tell me. I can see it in your eyes. You're just dyin' to tell someone, and you're too embarrassed to tell you obnoxious little friends."
Willow mentally kicked herself < I can't believe that I brought up puppy, leather, snuggles, and vampWillow to him. There is no way he was going to let this drop anytime soon. But on the plus side, he's not trying to bite me anymore, and that's always a good thing, except if he wasn't going to vamp me or kill me, then biting could be a good thing. Willow! Get your mind out of the gutter! > "Well, um... puppy is a vampire." She stopped there, hoping that he would accept that and just let it go, but knowing deep down that was never going to happen.
"Any specific vampire, or just whatever vampire was close by?"
"A specific vampire."
"And that vampire would be.....?"
"Um..." Her face got even redder and she bowed her head, not being able to look him in the eye as she answered. "Angel" she mumbled.
*******
They met up near the Bronze. Neither one had any luck. Angel was starting to freak out. < Where is she? I'll kill him! > He began to pace in front of the door to the club. Giles just stood there, trying to think of where Spike would have taken Willow. He was trying hard not to think about *why* Spike would have taken Willow. Finally, though, he just had to wonder aloud, "Why, why would he do it in the first place?" Angel, frustrated and still pacing, began to growl softly. He had a few pretty good ideas of why Spike would have taken Willow, and none of them were good. He didn't say anything, though, he just continued to pace and growl. Giles, after watching the edgy vampire for a few minutes, thought of something.
"Why are we looking alone?" Giles questioned. "There are at least three other people who could be helping to search right now. And as luck would have it, they just happen to be in the Bronze. Go in there and get Buffy and Xander and Oz. Oh and Faith and Cordelia if they're in there."
Angel could have smacked himself. < How could I have not possibly thought of that! It's so obvious! > He turned and went into the Bronze.
********
"Sorry luv, didn't quite catch that. What did you say?" Spike knew exactly what she had said, but he wanted to make her say it again, for oh so many reasons. First off, he wanted her to actually say it coherently. Just because he could understand her mumbling, didn't mean that he wanted to translate this apparently dirty little secret from mutterings. It sounded good, and Spike didn't want to possibly miss out on a juicy detail, just because she was speaking incoherently. Second, if she really had a dark side, which would have definitely come out if she was a vampire, then he wanted to hear all about it before he changed her, so he would know what to expect and could act accordingly. And finally, he just wanted to watch her blush some more. < She's just so damn cute when she's embarrassed! >
"Angel" she muttered again, this time a little more clearly, but still not real coherently.
"One more time pet. After all, I'm an old man, my hearing's
not what it used to be."
< Yeah, it's about a thousand times better.... I didn't
know humans could get *that* red. >
Willow was getting angry. She could tell that Spike was playing with her, but he was right. There was a part of her that was dying to tell somebody. < And if you can't tell a bloodsucking fiend who kidnapped you and wants to bite your neck, then who can you tell? > "ANGEL!" she shouted.
< Well, that was much better. Hey, she's pretty cute when she's pissed off too! >
"What about Angel, luv?" He couldn't resist baiting her.
"ANGEL'S MY PUPPY AND I DO WICKED NASTY THINGS TO HIM!" She yelled. Then realizing what *exactly* she had yelled, turned an interesting shade of purple.
*******
Angel saw Buffy, Xander and Oz as soon as he walked into the Bronze. They all looked like they were having a good time. He was actually angry about that. Here, they were hanging out like nothing had happened, when Willow had been kidnapped, an attempted sacrifice, almost killed, KILLED, and then kidnapped *again*. He pushed his anger down and went to talk to them.
"Hey Angel, how is everything?" asked Buffy.
"Willow's been kidnapped."
"Kidnapped? By who?"
"Spike"
Xander decided to join the conversation. "Spike? Why would Spike want to kidnap Willow? And I thought he was helping. Did we ever find out why he was helping? And weren't *you* supposed to protect Willow? Isn't that why we let you take her with you in the first place? What gives, deadboy?"
"I don't know why Spike would want to kidnap Willow. When I find him, I'll find out before I kill him. As for protecting Willow, he grabbed her while I was distracted."
"Distracted how?"
"With the paramedics."
"What paramedics?"
"The ones who came for that idiot who thinks he's a watcher."
"Why did Wesley need paramedics?"
"Because I threw him into a wall. Can we talk about this later? God only knows what Spike is doing to Willow right now. We need to find them."
The group all nodded agreement and they left the Bronze.
*******
Spike didn't know whether to laugh, or fall down dead
(well, deader) from shock.
"Twisted nasty things, luv? What sort of twisted nasty
things did you do to your 'poor little puppy'?"
"He's not my puppy! I don't have a puppy! Well, except Oz and he's really more wolfy than puppy."
"I beg to differ, luv. Was it not you, who just a second ago, yelled 'Angel is my puppy and I do twisted nasty things to him? So spill."
"It wasn't me! It was the evil me. I would *never* do anything like that!"
"Like what? C'mon Willow you know you want to share."
< He's right. Damnit. But I can't tell *him*! I'd die of embarrassment. But if I don't tell him, then he'll just vamp me and I'll be dead anyway, and then he'll probably still make me tell him. Hey, that sounds like a good enough reason to tell him. I get to tell someone! Goody! >
"Um... Well... there was this thing I was telling me about with some um... chains, and um... well uh... riding was mentioned..."
*******
"Riding? Do tell, luv. And don't forget all the juicy details."
"I don't have details! I don't want details!" < Please let him buy that. I don't want to go into detail. That would be bad. And I only have a few details anyway. And I don't think I could actually continue this conversation, no matter how bad I want to tell someone. >
"Okay, if you don't have the details, I guess I'll have to do with that. Just tell me one thing, pet. Who was doing the riding?"
"Um... well... apparently I was, unless he was a good puppy. Then I- *she* would let him uh... ride. But enough about that, tell me about yourself, Spike. I hardly know anything about you. All I know is what Angel has told us, and he doesn't like to talk."
"Yeah, talking tends to interrupt riding, so I'd assume that he never talks at all. I know I wouldn't talk if it meant riding. And stop trying to change the subject."
"I DO NOT RIDE ANGEL!!!! I have never ridden Angel or any other guy for that matter! That wasn't me!"
"But it was you, pet. And it could be you again. Just not with that wanker. You shouldn't be riding some stupid ensouled puppy. And you most definitely shouldn't be letting him ride you either."
"Are you deaf? That wasn't me! I don't ride him! He doesn't ride me! And I CANNOT believe that I'm having this conversation with you."
"Well, then, lets not talk about riding for the moment."
Willow couldn't believe how relieved she was. Spike was
letting her off the hook.
"Great-" she began, but was interrupted by Spike.
"Lets go back to the chains instead."
*********
They had been looking for what seemed to be hours, and had not found any sign of Spike or Willow. Angel was frantic, and Xander's little jibes and sarcastic comments were not helping matters. < The boy must have a death wish. You would have thought that he would have learned by now, not to piss off a vampire. If he keeps this up, I'm going to snap his neck, consequences be damned. At least that will be one death that I won't feel guilty for. > "Look this is getting us nowhere. We're not going to find them by arguing and trying to place blame. Where else could they be?"
Giles spoke up. "I have no clue. We've checked all the abandoned warehouses, and found nothing. They are nowhere on the streets. They seem to have just disappeared. We are going to need to ask around. Maybe someone saw them."
They headed over to Willie's bar. They had run out of places to look and all they could do was hope for Willie to have some kind of information.
*******
< Damn! I really thought he was going to drop this. Why me? Fate must truly hate me. I mean first there's the whole Oz/Xander thing, then the being kidnaped by Spike thing, then the burned at the stake thing, then the Faith thing, then the evil vamp me thing, then the being sacrificed thing, then the being dead thing, then the Wesley thing, then the being kidnaped by Spike again thing, and now I have to go into detail about the chains. This is *so* not my year! >
"Chains? What chains?" < Play stupid and maybe he'll let it drop. Yeah, that'll happen. Stall. Eventually he'll get tired of this conversation if I don't give him details. That would be good. I seriously can't believe I started this in the first place. Maybe I did really die. Brain death would be a good explanation for this foot in the mouth disease I've contracted. >
"Again I quote, luv. 'There was this thing I was telling me about with some chains'. Now talk. I want to hear *all* about the chains."
"Well, there's really nothing to tell about chains. They're just pieces of metal twisted together to confine something." < Or someone >
"I'm two hundred years old, Willow, I know what chains are. Now I want to know what you did with the chains."
"What I did with them? I didn't do anything with them. I don't use chains. Not even on Oz. He goes in a cage. No chain usage whatsoever."
"Stalling will get you nowhere pet. What were the chains used for? You may as well tell me, because we're going nowhere until you do."
"Um... Well, I would imagine *she* used them as restraints. That would make sense. There, now you know. Can I leave now?"
"Nope. Details."
"I told you before I don't have details."
"Sure you do. Otherwise you wouldn't be trying so hard to avoid the conversation."
"Okay. Fine. *She* kept him chained up, unless she was playing with him. Then she would unchain him. Well, most of the time she would unchain him. That's all I know. Really. We didn't have too much time to talk before she was sent back."
"Okay luv, that's enough of that. Now, why 'puppy'?"
*********
Willie looked up to find Angel in his face. Again. And, he noticed, the slayer and her little support group were there in the background.
"Where's Spike?" Angel growled in Willie's face.
"Isn't he with you?"
"Does he look like he's with me? Just answer the question."
"Well, this is just hearsay mind you, someone said that they thought they saw Spike carrying something into the high school. But that's unconfirmed."
Angel turned to the group. "That doesn't make sense. Why would he take her to the school?"
Buffy replied "I don't know, and I don't care. Lets just get over there and stake his undead ass."
The group exited Willie's Bar and headed in the direction of the school.
******
< Great. Now he wants to talk about puppy. Yippie. Where did my life go so wrong? It must have been the Xander kiss. The world has just gone to Hell since then. Who am I kidding? I'm dying to talk about puppy. Just imagine little Willow dominating big bad Angel. Oooh. Interesting images. If only I could really do that in real life. Oh that would be just... yummy. >
Spike watched with interest as Willow first turned red with embarrassment at the mention of puppy, then as she zoned out and got a goofy little grin on her face. < Well I wonder what she's thinking about. As if I already didn't know. Looks like my little redhead has a dirty mind. Goody. >
< If he was my puppy, I'd have to train him. That would be fun. I'd have to brush him and feed him and bathe him....ooohhh bathing Angel. Wet naked Angel. Wet naked Angel in chains. Wet naked Angel in chains totally dependent on me to scrub all the hard to reach places. >
< Christ, the girl's practically drooling here. But she's thinking of that poof. Gotta put a stop to that. >
"Willow?"
"Hmmmm?"
< Cor, she's really far gone. > He tried again.
"WILLOW!"
"What?!?!?"
"Welcome back pet. Where'd you go?"
Willow turned bright red again. "G-go? I didn't go anywhere. I've been here the whole time. YOU won't let me leave, remember?"
"You may not have left, but you were definitely not here. So what was on that wicked little mind of yours? I'm betting it had something to do with 'puppy' and probably chocolate. For some reason, women always seem to think of him in terms of chocolate. Tell me there was no chocolate, luv. Please?"
< Chocolate? Why would there be choco-oh. OH! Well, that's an interesting thought. No. I really don't see Angel in chocolate. Spike on the other hand.... >
< Shit. I lost her again. Way to go. Just had to mention chocolate. >
"Willow!"
"What?!?! Stop doing that!!"
Spike was starting to get angry. "What were you thinking of?" he growled softly.
Willow started to freak at Spike's growl and just blurted out everything. "Puppy. Bath. You. Chocolate. Eeep."
******
< Chocolate and me? Me and chocolate? Chocolate and NOT Angel! Yes! Gotta get some chocolate. Don't want to disappoint my wicked little redhead. And that'll get thoughts of the wanker out of her head. >
"You have very interesting thoughts luv. C'mon let's go get some chocolate."
"W-What?!?! NO! No chocolate! Bad! That would be very bad!" < No it wouldn't! That would be good! Very very good! >
"But luuuuuvvvvv," Spike whined, "You said you wanted chocolate." He got a wicked grin. "And me."
"But I never said that! I was just thinking. And words came out of my mouth. Words that had nothing whatsoever to do with anything. And besides you're a bad guy. And I have Oz. And it would just be bad."
"So let's be bad luv. Bad can be fun. And as for Oz, why would you want him? Scrawny little thing like that. I'm sure he can't do anything for you."
< Being bad with Spike. Now that's tempting. But still, I mean he's Spike. Spike who tried to kill me. Spike who threatened me. Spike who saved my life tonight when Wesley tried to kill me. Spike with those incredible to die for cheekbones. But not really die. Don't want to do that again. Spike with that accent. Yummy accent. Oh I just love that accent. But no. I can't. That would be bad. I'm supposed to be the good girl. But still, chocolate.... >
"I promise I won't bite luv." < At least not yet. Definitely want to explore this whole chocolate thing first. I can always bite later. >
< Who would it hurt? Except for the poor defenseless chocolate. Should I do it? I want to do it. > She took a long look at Spike. < I REALLY want to do it. Why shouldn't I do it? After all, he promised not to bite. I'm gonna do it! Wow! My first time! And with Spike! And chocolate! And I bet he's had lot's of practice! >
"Promise?"
< Yes! Yesyesyesyesyesyesyes! >
"Swear luv. Now lets get out of here."
Spike picked Willow up and headed for the door. Just then Angel, Buffy and the rest of the gang barged in.
******
"Put her down! Now!" Angel practically growled at Spike. "What the Hell did you think you were doing?"
"Well, I thought we were going for chocolate until we were so rudely interrupted" < Of course they show up now. Bloody well figures. > Spike set Willow down, but he didn't let go of her.
< Damn! They have the worst sense of timing! Why couldn't they have come earlier when I was being forced to live though the puppy conversation? Or later after we got chocolate! I'm not gonna get chocolate. I'm not gonna get chocolate covered Spike. Damn! And they brought Oz. Oh god! Oz! And I was going to..... Oh not good. Very not good. How could I have even thought to do that when I have Oz and he's just forgiven me for the Xander thing? But he's been so distant. And Spike and chocolate! Bad Willow! Oz is boyfriend. Spike is bad guy. Have to focus. >
Buffy spoke up. "Willow come over here. Spike, why did you take Willow?" she demanded.
Willow tried to move but Spike held her tighter. He spoke up. "Why the hell do you think I took her, Slayer? You're idiot watcher tried to kill her."
"I stopped him!" came from Angel. "Willow was in no danger."
"Wesley tried to kill Willow? Why?" asked Oz.
"Don't know, don't care. All I know is that wanker tried to kill her and then things started to get violent so I grabbed the redhead and left." replied Spike. < Hmmm... They're going to want to know why we're here. Gotta think of an excuse before I get staked by everyone in the room. Don't want them to know what I was really doing with the redhead. Or at least what I was planning on doing with the redhead before *they* had to show up. > "We've been waiting hours for you people to show up."
"You've been WAITING for us?" Xander asked incredulously.
"Why the bloody hell would we be at the school if we weren't waiting for you?" < Probably because I couldn't think of anyplace else they wouldn't think to look for us. >
"B-but Angel had obviously stopped Wesley. Why did you run?" Giles asked.
"What, you wanted the girl to watch that bloody moron bleed to death? I should think she's been traumatized enough already."
< What? Where did that come from? I thought he was going to bite me, and now he's spouting off crap about not traumatizing 'the poor girl'? What the hell? And what about forcing me into that conversation? I think that was far more traumatizing than watching Wesley bleed. What's he trying to pull? >
Willow opened her mouth to speak, but Spike quickly cut her off. "And you bloody morons took forever, so we decided to go get chocolate instead."
At the mention of chocolate Willow's mouth snapped shut. < Oh goddess! If I don't go along with this, they're going to want to know about the chocolate. There is NO WAY I'm telling them about the chocolate! > She nodded agreement with Spike.
Spike continued, "but since you're here now, that means the wanker has been taken care of, so we can go back." He pulled Willow closer to him and they walked out the door together.
******
The group was silent after Spike and Willow walked out. No one knew quite what to make of the whole situation. Finally, after a few minutes of silence, Xander spoke up.
"We should follow them. Actually, we should stop them and get Willow away from him and back home where she belongs."
"Willow isn't going home yet. We still don't know how much she's changed." said Angel. "Besides, how would you suggest that we get Willow away from Spike? He's being pretty protective and probably wouldn't let you take her home."
Buffy answered, "Simple, we introduce Spike to Mr. Pointy. And after he's dust, Willow *will* be going home. I didn't see any change in her, so there's no reason that she can't."
"We can't just kill Spike. After all, he helped save Willow's life, twice. Besides, Willow seems comfortable with him right now, and after the past couple of days I don't want her upset anymore. And she has changed. I've seen a little bit of her powers, and until we discover the extent of the changes, she should stay at the mansion, where I can keep an eye on her. Now, come on, we have to go get them and make sure that Spike doesn't pull anymore stupid stunts."
With that, Angel turned and left the school.
********
"Where are we going Spike?"
"We're going back to the mansion. Soulboy and the rest of your little friends are just gonna keep bugging us unless we do. Oh well, we'll just have to postpone the chocolate thing."
"Um... postpone?"
"Well, unless you want them to watch luv, then yeah, I think we're gonna have to wait."
"What makes you think it's still going to happen in the first place?"
"What makes you think that it's not?"
"Um...the fact that I have a boyfriend and you're a soulless killer?"
"Neither of those things was stopping you earlier."
"Oh. Good point."