Disclaimer: Joss owns them all
Distribution: My site, Kiss or Kill, http://members.fortunecity.com/kissorkill Anyone that has permission, take. Otherwise, just ask.
Rating: R
Pairing: Willow/Spike/Angelus
Feedback is encouraged and appreciated so send some today!
Note: Set during season 2 in my own AU.
For Cat because she asked so nicely for Angelus despite the fact that I'm not very good at writing him…hopefully, you won't be too disappointed, darlin'
To Em for always knowing the right thing to say and just when I need to hear it :)
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~Part: 1~
It was shortly after dusk on a rather chilly Thursday in late March. School had been back in session for four days following a week long break. Of course, for the four students that now sat around a table in the empty library, there had been no restful spring break. They'd spent their afternoons at the school, researching and sparring, while their evenings had been spent patrolling and slaying. They'd managed to find time to enjoy some of their break, but, overall, it had been a typical week for them. Luckily, things had been quiet the last few weeks. Or, actually, maybe not luckily. That was the subject of debate that was currently causing conversation to become heated on this particularly chilly evening.
"I tell you, it's too quiet," Buffy Summers was saying as she frowned at her friends. "He has to be planning something."
"Maybe he got bored," Xander Harris said with a hopeful smile.
"Or maybe he's planning a way to kill us all," Cordelia Chase suggested as she finished applying nail polish to her left hand. She blew on the pretty shade of pink, deciding that it went rather well with her complexion. She looked up as silence greeted her statement and said defensively, "What?"
"Maybe he decided that he won after he killed Jenny," Willow said softly, still finding it difficult to believe that her favorite teacher was dead. It was still a tender subject around the group, reminding them all that they could die at any time. Since her death, though, Angelus had gotten quieter. He seemed to be content taking over as master of the town and living with his family, Drusilla and Spike. Buffy hadn't fought him in weeks and there had been no taunts or deliberate ambushes. It was as if he had decided that it was far more fun to be master of Sunnydale than it was to taunt his former lover.
"While I do agree that Angelus seems to consider everything a game," Giles spoke up, "I find it a bit difficult to believe that he would accept it a victory if the slayer was still alive. From the beginning, he has been intent on making Buffy's life miserable, targeting her friends, fighting with her, and so on."
"Yeah, he's been after me from the start," Buffy reminded Willow, wishing that Angelus had simply decided that he'd won and stopped the game. She'd never admit it to her friends, but she honestly didn't know if she'd ever be able to kill him. When she looked at him, she saw the face of the man she'd loved. Of course, when she looked into his eyes, she knew the difference. Who was she kidding? She didn't know if she'd be able to kill him if the time came, not just because he looked like Angel, but because he might kill her first. She'd died at the hands of the master and Angelus scared her more than that ugly bag of bones ever had. While she hated the idea of him thinking he'd won, she'd much rather be alive and dealing with him being master than being responsible for the deaths of everyone she loved as well as dying herself. Some might call it selfish, but she called it survival.
"All we can really do is wait and see," Giles finally said, knowing that Angelus was unpredictable and having no real idea what the vampire might be planning, if anything. He knew that Willow was right, in a way. Jenny's death had signaled a triumph for Angelus. He'd killed the only person that might have been able to curse him again as well as striking a blow against Buffy and her friends with that one death. He honestly didn't know if that would be enough for Angelus, though. True, his presence on the Hellmouth as master was causing Buffy to be stressed and cautious, probably more so than if he simply killed more of her friends, which most likely cause the slayer to be even more determined to kill him. Perhaps Angelus had decided the best way to make Buffy's life miserable was to remain an active player in Sunnydale, to be a constant reminder that she could die as easily as Jenny if he wished it. Giles grew thoughtful as he considered that possibility as he stood and excused himself, going into his office to give the situation more thought.
"Well, since there isn't any pressing danger at the moment, I'm going to wait and see at home in my hot tub," Cordelia said as she put her nail polish in her purse. She looked at her boyfriend, again finding it rather odd to use the word boyfriend to describe Xander Harris, and smiled slightly at the goofy boy that had started to steal her heart, "Do you want to come over for a bit? Maybe have some dinner?"
"Sure," Xander smiled as he stood up and gathered his stuff. Cordelia in a bikini was definitely not something he wanted to miss. He looked at Buffy and Willow and said, "Bye, guys. I'll see you tomorrow."
"You two can come, if you want," Cordelia glanced at the other girls, extending the invitation to her new friends, though she was rather relieved when they declined. She wanted to spend some private time with Xander without worrying about Angelus and possible death and slaying and anything more dramatic than the taste of Xander's lips or the surprisingly well built body he hid under his baggy clothes that was shown off pretty darn well in the baggy shorts he kept at her place for their journeys into the hot tub.
"No thanks, Cordy," Buffy said as she stood and stretched. "Mom and I are going out to eat and to see a movie tonight."
"Wills? You up for some hot tubbing?" Xander asked his best friend as he did a little dance that caused her to smile.
"Not really," Willow declined, still finding it hard to be around the boy that she'd loved for what seemed like forever with the girl she'd hated for just as long. Okay, so Cordelia wasn't nearly as bad as she had been and she did seem to care about Xander, but it didn't mean she wanted to be the third wheel. Nope, not this girl. "I'll see you guys tomorrow."
"Bye," Cordelia said as she and Xander left the library and headed across the parking lot to her car.
"I'd better get going, too," Buffy said as she glanced at the clock. "I told Mom I'd be home by seven. Did you want to go with us, Willow?"
"Buffy, its mother daughter bonding night for you and Joyce," Willow said with a smile, "I don't want to intrude on that. Besides, I've got some stuff to work on."
"Yeah, but your parents are gone still, aren't they?" Buffy asked.
"They'll be back in June unless they get another offer to lecture somewhere other than here," Willow said as she moved a book towards her. "I think I'm going to stay here and do some work on that data base I'm creating. Have fun tonight. You deserve a break."
"So do you," Buffy reminded, "but I won't push it. Maybe we can go to the Bronze tomorrow night before patrol."
"Sure," Willow agreed as she moved towards the computer. She said bye to Buffy when the slayer left the library, leaving her to work on her data base. She was still working when Giles came out of his office, ready to leave for the night.
"Willow, you're still here," Giles said, a bit surprised that he hadn't heard the quiet redhead.
"See, that's why you're the watcher," she looked at him and smiled, "you're so observant!"
"Very amusing," he said dryly, though his eyes were amused. "It's after eight. Would you like a ride home?"
"Thanks, but I'm not done here yet," Willow said, "I really want to finish entering this book before I leave. I'll be fine walking."
"Are you sure?" he asked, not pleased at the idea of her walking home alone at such a late hour, especially considering the current state of events in Sunnydale. While Angelus had been quiet lately, he'd not forgotten that Willow was the first person the unsouled vampire had gone after, nor had he forgotten the dead fish that had been left in the girl's room. "I think I'd feel better waiting until you're finished and giving you a lift."
"Giles, it's okay. Really," Willow said with a smile at the man that had become like a father to her over the last year and a half. "I have my trusty water gun filled with holy water as well as a stake. I'm going to be working on this for another hour at least."
"Well, if you're sure," he finally relented, though he added, "if it's much later, you can call me and I'll come back and drive you home. Be careful, Willow. Angelus might be quiet right now, but he's still a threat, a very dangerous threat."
"I know," Willow agreed with him, "and I promise that I'll be very careful."
"Have a good night, Willow," Giles told the pretty redhead before he left her alone in the library, busy with her computer program.
~Part: 2~
It was after ten by the time Willow finished entering the information from one of the larger books they used for research. With a sense of accomplishment, she saved her information one last time before shutting down the computer. She got up and began to put away the books that had been left on the table. Once that was finished, she put her stuff in her bag and left the library. She entered the cool night air and shivered. It was just her luck that the one day she didn't bring a sweater to school with her would be the coolest night they'd had in weeks. She moved her hands over her arms as she started to walk home, gradually becoming used to the cold. She was tempted to give in and call Giles for that ride home, but it was later than she'd planned on being and she didn't want to wake him up if he'd gone to sleep early. Besides, it wasn't that long of a walk to her house. She'd be walking in her front door within a half-hour.
She actually wasn't in much of a hurry to get home. She loved walking at night, even knowing what lurked in the shadows. All that waited for her at home was an empty house that was much too large for one person. Her parents were rarely home, usually only stopping for a few days between lectures or trips. The last time she'd seen them had been before Thanksgiving when they'd dropped in for two days on their way to Sydney from Boston. They were now in Auckland for the next few months. In many ways, she was glad that they were never around. She didn't know how to talk to them, didn't know what to say, usually just spent her time with them smiling and nodding. Of course, when they were in town, she usually only saw them for one meal at best so it wasn't that difficult dealing with them. She often wondered why they'd had a child, knowing it had to have been for her parents' credibility. An expert at family psychiatry had to have a child. It didn't matter if said experts didn't remember their child's birthday or they hadn't been around from the age of six, having a child gave her parents that extra touch they needed for their lectures.
Willow was alert as she walked down the street towards the park. She would often get lost in her thoughts, thinking too much being one of her worst habits, but she was always aware of her surroundings and alert to any possible threats. As it was, the night was very quiet. She hoped that Buffy enjoyed her evening with her mother. Her best friend had been going through hell the last few months and deserved one night without having to worry about Angelus and slaying. Despite what Giles and Buffy said, she personally believed that Angelus was finished playing his game with Buffy. From everything she had read, he wouldn't have been quiet this long if he was still playing. After Jenny's death, things had changed. He hadn't left Sunnydale, didn't give any impression of planning to leave Sunnydale, but he was no longer actively pursuing Buffy. There had been some taunts when they'd run into him on patrol, but he'd seemed more amused than anything else. Of course, an amused Angelus was just as dangerous as a revenge seeking Angelus. In a way, she wished he'd just leave town. He could take Drusilla and Spike with him and then things could settle back down, become more routine.
She reached the entrance of the park and entered, her thoughts still on Angelus and Spike and Drusilla. She honestly didn't know if Buffy could defeat even one of them, much less all three. If they did decide to go after the slayer, she feared that her friend might die. Buffy hadn't been able to kill Spike, the sarcastic blond coming closer to killing her best friend than any other demon they'd faced except the master, who had eventually succeeded. A part of her wished that Jenny had found the soul restoration spell before her death, wondering if things would be different if Angelus got his soul back. And then there was the part of her that hated the idea of cursing Angelus with a soul again. She could never admit those thoughts to anyone, but they were there. She'd spent hours reading about him and Spike, stories of the death and carnage they left as they traveled around Europe, stories that should have scared her but instead excited her. She'd read stories of their relationship, too easily imagining them together, Spike begging for more as Angelus thrust into his tight ass, wondering what it would feel like to have them both want her, to have them fucking her roughly as she begged for more of everything. She was ashamed at the thoughts she had about Angelus and his grandchilde, but she couldn't stop having them. When she slept, they were there, teasing her with words and touch and lips. She knew she was a horrible person, a terrible person. She was lusting after two gorgeous vampires that had killed more people than she'd met in her life. Two vampires that had tried repeatedly to kill her best friend.
And still she wanted them. It was all Angelus' fault. She'd thought that Spike was attractive from the first time she'd really seen him, that Halloween night with the predatory gleam in his blue eyes and that smirk on his beautiful lips. She'd been aroused watching him hunt Buffy, her body tingling in places she didn't know existed as he'd nearly killed them all. That night, when she'd gone back home and been laying in bed, she'd closed her eyes and had her first erotic dream. She'd been horrified, not understanding why she could have found him so attractive when he'd been trying to kill them. The dreams had continued, getting more vivid as the weeks had gone by. But, that's all it had been. Dreams, fantasies, an ache for something she'd never have. She'd accepted that she couldn't control what she dreamed about, deciding to just enjoy the fantasy. Then Angelus had ruined everything.
He'd grabbed her that night at the school, holding her firmly against his hard, muscular body. She'd been scared, but she'd also been aroused. She'd never really found Angel attractive. Okay, so he was cute and had a nice body, but he'd never really caused tingles or lusty thoughts. Angelus, though, goodness, her entire body had been tingling. She'd heard his voice in her ear, husky and amused at her struggle, calling her a turn on as he'd tightened his hold and taunted the others. He'd kissed her neck, perhaps intending to bite her but instead just sucking the flesh into his mouth as his hand had moved over her stomach before he'd pushed her away from him and into the others. He'd caught her eye and smirked at her, his brown eyes flashing with knowledge and awareness and then he was gone. She had hurried home, falling to her bed as her hand had moved between her legs, finding herself dripping wet from need. She'd started to touch herself as she'd recalled the feeling of his body against hers, of the feel of his lips on her neck, of the amusement in his eyes and the smirk on his lips and the smell of him that still surrounded her. She'd had her first orgasm that night, the world exploding as she'd cried out, one hand clutching her comforter as the other continued to thrust into her tight wetness.
It had been the first of many caused from remembering the feeling of him against her that night at the school. That knowledge had given new meaning to the fantasies that she had been having about Spike. Now, Angelus had joined the image, causing them to become even more vivid and naughty and she'd wake in the morning with her body sweaty from need and wetness between her thighs. When she'd found her fish dead, knew that Angelus had been in her room, she'd been just as excited as she'd been scared. That night, her fantasies had gone in a different direction, with Spike and Angelus coming to her room and roughly taking her in her own bed. Because of this fantasy, she'd never performed the uninvite spell on her house. She knew it would never happen, knew that Angelus had targeted her only because he had access to her house and because she was Buffy's best friend, but she hadn't wanted to ruin the fantasy. She really didn't know what was wrong with her, why she kept having such nasty dreams about Spike and Angelus, why she wanted them so badly. Pushing those thoughts from her mind, she decided that that was enough thinking for the moment. She took a minute to look around and figure out where she was.
Willow was midway through the park, the half moon shining high overhead. She noticed the path that branched from the normal path, green eyes moving over the grass and foliage that nearly concealed it. If she remembered correctly, it went to the other side of the park in a more direct route. The regular road was well marked and covered in rock, large enough for several people to walk comfortably. This path was small and went through some trees and by the river. It was a pretty view but took longer despite its more direct route. She looked from that path to the one she was on, a slight smile crossing her lips as she recalled the Robert Frost poem they'd read recently in Lit class. Since she wasn't in a particular hurry to get home and since the rarely used path would probably be less dangerous than the path everyone was aware of, she decided to take the road less traveled. Perhaps Frost would be correct and it would make all the difference.
~Part: 3~
Willow walked along the path, ducking to avoid getting hit in the face by the low branches of the many trees that lined the walkway. She was near the clearing by the river when she heard the noise. She stilled, listening intently. All she heard was silence. She was imagining things, she decided with a smile. For a second, she thought she'd heard singing. It must have been the wind blowing the trees above her head, the rustling of the leaves perhaps sounding like music. Or it could have just been a tune in her head, some forgotten lullaby that her memory had decided to remember. Whatever it had been, it was gone now.
A frown crossed her pretty face as she entered the clearing, the singing was back. It was low and soft, a woman's voice singing about the moon. Willow stopped walking and looked around, her eyes widening as she noticed the shadow sitting at the water's edge. There was someone there. She was about to hurry away before she disturbed the singer when she heard the low moan of pain. That caused her to stop and wage an internal debate. It was obvious that the woman hadn't heard her because she hadn't turned or stopped singing her soft melody. It would be very easy to just continue on her way home and forget about that moan. Willow sighed as she started walking towards the water, knowing there was no chance that she'd just leave if there was someone that might need her help. She'd just ask if the woman was okay. Once she was assured that she wasn't needed, she'd be able to continue on home guilt free.
"Um, excuse me," Willow called out softly, not wanting to startle the woman, "are you okay?"
The woman stopped singing when she spoke, turning to look at her.
Willow wished it was a full moon. As it was, the half moon gave very little light, particularly in the clearing that was surrounded by trees in which she now stood. She couldn't really see anything except the shape of the person, knowing that it was a woman only because she'd heard the voice singing. When the woman didn't respond, Willow sighed and said, "I guess you're fine. I'll go ahead and leave now."
"No, don't leave," a soft voice whispered, causing Willow to remain standing where she had been.
"Are you okay?" Willow asked again, almost wishing she'd stayed on the well traveled path instead of being daring by taking the scenic route.
"He hurt me."
"You're hurt?" Willow was moving forward as she spoke, "Who hurt you? Is he gone now? Where are you hurt?"
"He's gone," there was a childish giggle before the voice spoke again, "he was hiding in the shadows with all the nasty things. He hurt me but I hurt him worse. Who are you?"
"My name is Willow," she said as she reached the woman's side. She was able to see what appeared to be blood covering a cut in the woman's dress. She'd been stabbed by something, Willow decided, trying to figure out what the woman had been saying. "This is a deep cut. You need to get it cleaned up."
"Willow," the woman repeated in a sing song voice that held the faintest trace of an accent. "Such a pretty name, such a pretty little kitten. You'll take care of me, won't you kitten? You'll fix me up and make me all better."
Willow felt a prickling of awareness wash over her, the realization that something was not right. She looked away from the cut to look into the eyes of the woman that was calling her kitten. She froze as she made eye contact, inhaling sharply when she found herself looking at a face that was familiar, when she discovered that the woman that had been singing such a lovely song, the woman that was hurt and needed her help, the woman that was now calling her kitten and smiling at her as if she had all the answers to every question in the world was none other than Drusilla.
~Part: 4~
Willow felt like pinching her arm, hoping that she'd suddenly wake up to find herself snuggled under her blanket instead of standing in a deserted area of the park with one of the most dangerous vampires in town. Not only was Drusilla dangerous, but she was rumored to be completely insane, not a good combination in Willow's opinion. Why had she ventured onto the less traveled path? She knew why. That stupid Robert Frost and his stupid poem. It was so getting removed from the top of her list of favorite poems if she survived her encounter with Drusilla.
Willow wasn't sure what to do. She was seriously at a complete loss on how to handle this situation. She had holy water in her backpack as well as a stake, but, so far, Drusilla had made no threatening movements and didn't give the impression that she wanted to kill her. In fact, Drusilla was still sitting on the rock watching her with a slight smile on her lips. What to do…what to do. The cut was deep and bleeding, looked like one Buffy had received from a demon she'd fought a few months before. They'd put some medicine on it and it had healed up and been gone within a week and a half. Of course, Drusilla was a vampire, which meant medicine wasn't really needed. It would heal on its own. There was a lot of blood on the material of the dress surrounding the cut, though, and Willow didn't know if that would hinder the whole vampire healing process or not. She should just turn and run away as quickly as she could, hope that Drusilla was injured enough that she wouldn't be able to catch her and kill her.
She frowned as she continued thinking, finding it unnerving to have the vampire's complete attention focused on her. She couldn't turn and run away, even if that was the most logical and intelligent choice she had at the moment. Drusilla had said she needed help, that she was hurt. To Willow, it didn't matter if the person in need of help was an insane vampire or an innocent human, if she could help, she would. Well, that was, as long as Drusilla remained cooperative and didn't give any indication that she was about to become a late night snack. If she saw fangs, she was so out of there. She took a deep breath to steady her nerves, letting it out slowly as she decided to respond to Drusilla's need for help and then get her ass out of there as quickly as possible, hopefully without having to try to fight the childe of Angelus.
"The cut is pretty deep, but it should be fine in a few days," Willow said softly, keeping her voice low and making no sudden moves for fear of causing Drusilla to misinterpret her actions and attack.
"The stars told me to wait and you would come," Drusilla confided to the pretty girl with a whisper, "and they were right. You shall take care of me, pretty kitty. That nasty old demon killed Gregory and left me all alone and he hurt me before I stopped him, but the stars told me not to be scared because you would come, and here you are! I am Drusilla, but you may call me Dru, sweet Willow."
"It's nice to meet you, Dru. Who is Gregory?" Willow asked, her mind trying to understand what Drusilla was saying. The stars had talked to her? Okay, she was definitely starting to see where those insanity rumors were coming from.
"He was mean to Princess," Drusilla said as she looked towards the water, "he wouldn't let me dance for the stars and he laughed when I told him that the stars were angry with him for being mean to me. Now, he is dead. That nasty old demon killed him and the stars laughed as he died." She suddenly turned her head to look into Willow's eyes as she said, "He was supposed to take care of me while Daddy and William are away, but he was not a nice man. Daddy would have been unhappy to hear that Gregory was mean to his Princess so it is better that he died so quickly because Daddy would not be pleased at all and that would have been far worse."
"Angelus is away?" Willow asked, understanding that Daddy must be Angelus, hearing that he and William were away. William? She nodded as she remembered reading that Spike was known as William the Bloody prior to earning the nickname of Spike after torturing people with railroad spikes. So, Angelus and Spike were away. Where had they gone? Were they coming back? How long had they been gone? She couldn't ask the many questions that were in her mind because she didn't want to alarm Drusilla, wanting to survive this experience.
Drusilla nodded slowly, a soft smile crossing her face as she said, "Daddy and William went to see the angels. They told me to be a good girl and left Gregory to take care of me until they returned. Daddy will bring me a prezzie when they come back. He always brings me a prezzie when he and my William go away on their journeys."
"A prezzie?" Willow repeated, trying not to grimace at the idea of what Angelus would consider a suitable present for his childe. Wait a second. She had read the watcher diaries and knew that Angelus and Spike had been involved, references to them being lovers covering the older entries of the journals, but she had also read about Drusilla being part of the relationship, Angelus sharing his grandchilde with his childe and so on. Yet, Drusilla was talking about them taking trips together and always bringing her a present back, which would indicate that they did not always include Drusilla in their trips. More questions entered her mind as she tuned in to what Drusilla was rambling on about.
"Daddy chooses the best prezzies," Drusilla said with a fond smile at the pretty redhead, deciding that she didn't mind not going with her sire and childe to the city to see the angels because she had found her very own here in Sunnydale. "One time he brought me a lovely dress that was the color of the sky and another time he brought me a necklace with stones that were dark red."
"Yes, it does sound like he chooses good prezzies," Willow had to agree, relieved to find out that presents were normal things such as a dress and a necklace. She had figured he brought her pretty girls or scared children. Of course, Drusilla had only mentioned two presents out of who knows how many so it was probably a good thing she'd cut that conversation off before hearing what else Angelus considered fitting presents for his beautiful childe. She decided that it was time to try to make her exit. Drusilla was smiling softly and thinking happy thoughts about presents and it was a good chance to get away. She smiled as she said, "I think the cut should be okay in a couple of days. You'll be fine."
"Willow," Drusilla said softly, moving to stand as she looked into the girl's pretty green eyes, "I am ever so tired."
"Maybe you should go home, get some sleep," Willow suggested with a strained smile, trying to keep the tremor of fear from her voice as the vampire moved towards her, having no idea what Drusilla might do.
"The world is spinning, so very tired," Drusilla muttered as she felt herself starting to fall forward. The world went black as she passed out, Willow's arms catching her before she hit the ground.
Willow looked at the vampire she was now holding, wondering what had just happened. It would seem that Drusilla had fainted. She should just let her go and leave. Damn, damn, damn. Why did things like this always seem to happen to her? She should have just called Giles from the school and she'd have been home by now, laying in bed, having dirty thoughts about Angelus and Spike. But, no, she didn't want to bother Giles. She wanted to walk home by herself and take some overgrown path on a whim and end up talking to a vampire that seemed to think she could help her and would take care of her. And now, now that vampire was unconscious and Willow couldn't just leave her to die in this clearing. Not only had Drusilla not made any threatening gestures, she'd told Willow to call her Dru and looked at her with brown eyes that had been silently asking for help because she was scared and hurt and Willow couldn't just walk away from someone that needed her. With a loud sigh and cursing her own sanity, she moved Drusilla into a position that would be easier to half carry and half drag her out of the park, and started to walk towards home.
~Part: 5~
How could someone that looked so fragile be so heavy?
That question had been running through Willow's mind the entire time she'd been dragging Drusilla. She would have liked to have lied to herself and said she was carrying the unconscious vampire, but she had barely been able to hold the woman much less carry her. Nope, she'd been sort of dragging her and carrying her in a weird hold that she honestly didn't think she'd ever be able mimic if she tried. Luckily, it was working and she had been able to put most of Drusilla's weight against her side and walk without literally dragging the woman's feet against the ground. True, she had been forced to stop a few times along the way to catch her breath and try to get feeling back in her arms, but she was rather proud that she'd managed as well as she had.
Drusilla was still out, causing Willow to be a bit worried and concerned. From what she had seen, the scratch had been a bit deep but nothing out of the ordinary. Buffy would often get similar marks on her during slaying and had never passed out like Drusilla had done. She really was hoping that it was just a loss of blood or something simple like that. Of course, that gave her even more reasons to worry. What was she supposed to do with a vampire that had passed out from blood loss? Logically, she knew that she needed to give Drusilla blood. Yeah, that was gonna be real easy. Drop in to the local supermarket and pick up a pint of O positive? That so wasn't happening. Which left her with an unconscious vampire that might be suffering from blood loss and no blood to give her. She was a very giving person, but that stopped short of sharing her own blood. She'd worry about that once she got home and had to worry about it, she decided.
Willow stopped beside a tree, leaning against it as she tried to avoid dropping Dru. She cursed herself again for being so nice. When this entire thing was over, she was going to stop being nice, she decided. She would study Cordelia and learn how to be rude and selfish. Okay, that was needlessly catty, she sighed as she stretched as well as she could when holding a thousand pound vampire. Cordelia was at least trying to be nice to them all, and she really did seem to care about Xander which was all that was really important to Willow. As long as Xander was happy, though how he could find happiness with Cordelia Chase still confused her, Willow could accept Cordelia's efforts to fit in and try to be friends with the popular girl. She looked down at Drusilla, wondering what was happening to the female vampire. She hadn't seen any signs that would indicate poison on the cut, knowing that the flesh would have had an odor or been a weird color or something if poison had been a factor. When Buffy had been sliced by a poison claw a few months before, the wound had been overflowing with pus and there had been a stench. Giles had created some sort of mixture that had smelled even worse than the poisoned wound, but it had worked. Willow had watched the watcher do the spell, finding herself becoming interested in magic since meeting Buffy. Jenny had been showing her some things, teaching her small rituals and such before she died. She knew well enough not to ask Giles to teach her anything, his fatherly concern preventing him from ever letting them do something that might harm. Which, in a way, was just silly, in her opinion. As far as she could see, magic was a help to Buffy's fight against evil, and only dangerous if you got into things you shouldn't. Of course, Giles' fears were based on his past, so she couldn't really argue with him too much over it. Instead, she had started studying a bit on her own as well as paying attention to every detail of the spells he'd perform when needed. And she had performed the uninvite spell for Buffy, which had been successful.
Willow made a face as she adjusted Drusilla against her, feeling her arms protest holding the weight as she started to continue walking. She was going to be sore in the morning, she figured. It wasn't that Drusilla was all that heavy. She really wasn't. It was just a dead weight, in a way, Willow's lips twisted into a slight smile as she realized just how accurate the term dead weight was in describing Drusilla, and that made the vampire seem that much more heavy. In actuality, Drusilla was just a bit taller than her and seemed to weigh about the same. She was slim and very fragile seeming, though Willow knew that the woman could easily kill men twice as large as herself. Yeah, Drusilla could definitely defend herself in most situations, even succeeding in killing the demon that had attacked her and her caretaker that evening. She might be a bit insane, but she wasn't helpless. Well, except when she was passed out and alone.
That's what had done her in, if she were completely honest with herself. Sure, she was too nice and too caring, but that hadn't been the real reason Willow was now struggling to get Drusilla home. No, it had been the fact that Drusilla was alone, that she didn't have anyone to take care of her. Willow knew exactly what it felt like to be alone, spending a majority of her time with only herself for company. Hence the bad habit of thinking so much and talking to herself. Sure she had friends, knowing that Buffy wouldn't hesitate at inviting her to live with her if she had the slightest hint that Willow would actually say yes, but there was a lot of time that she was alone. Mostly at night when the house was quiet and empty, when she'd find herself thinking about a hundred different subjects at once. She didn't mind most of the time, liking having private time that she could spend by herself, but she knew what it was like to be alone. When she'd looked into Dru's eyes, she'd recognized that look, seeing it in her own eyes many a late night when the house seemed to be deathly quiet and it seemed like she was completely alone. Drusilla had been scared, hurt, and alone. There was no way that Willow could have just walked away.
She smiled when she saw her house ahead. Thank the Gods, she was finally nearly there. She didn't really have a plan, having not given it a lot of thought of what she was going to do with Dru once she got her home. She was relieved to know that Angelus and Spike were not in town. She figured she'd clean Dru up and then the vampire could return home if she was awake before dawn. If not, hopefully she'd sleep until dusk and then she could home the following evening. Either way, she'd be alive and home before Angelus and Spike returned to Sunnydale. Okay, so there was the problem of Drusilla telling them where she had been, but maybe she wouldn't tell them. Maybe she'd just mention that stupid vampire that had been to her and Angelus would be angry about that and not even ask who had helped Dru. Yeah, she could really see that one happening, she thought as she rolled her eyes. Oh well, it wasn't like she was hurting Dru. In fact, Angelus should be glad that she'd stumbled upon his crazy daughter before she'd passed out and been ash at sunrise. Vivid images flashed in her mind of ways in which he could thank her for saving his childe, all involving naked flesh and moans and….
Stop it, Willow, she scolded herself. Not the time nor the place to start having those thoughts. Angelus was definitely not the type to thank anyone for anything. She didn't know he'd react to hearing that she'd helped Dru, but she sort of hoped that those stars Dru kept rambling about might tell the vampire to keep her mouth shut and then she'd never have to worry about Angelus finding out what had happened tonight. She glanced at the sky, urging the stars to agree with that plan, knowing that it was definitely the easiest solution as well as the one least likely to end with her getting killed or whatever Angelus might come up with if he decided to be angry that she'd taken care of Dru. She'd think he should be grateful, but he was so darn unpredictable that she was better off never finding out how he'd react. She reminded the stars that she was the good guy in all this and that surely deserved some sort of reward, didn't it? They just continued blinking and she groaned as she realized that she'd been talking to the stars while standing in her front yard. Maybe carrying Dru for so long had caused some of the woman's insanity to rub off a bit, causing her to talk to the stars and ask for their help in keeping the night's events a secret.
Or maybe she was just tired and sleepy and uncertain what she was going to do now that she was home. That stress could definitely cause a bit of temporary insanity in even the most intelligent person. She walked up the steps of her porch, resting Drusilla between the wall of her house and her body as she tried to find her keys. She had to catch Dru when the woman started to fall to the side, her tired arms holding the vampire as she finally found her key. She concentrated as she managed to open the door without dropping Dru. With a triumphant smile, she started to take Dru inside. She paused as she frowned, glancing at the unconscious vampire before looking into her house. Well, it wasn't like the master of Sunnydale didn't already have an invitation.
"Come in, Drusilla," she said out loud before she dragged the vampire inside her house, kicking the door shut behind her.
~Part: 6~
Willow entered her living room and decided that it could possibly be the nicest thing she'd seen in her entire life. With a relieved sigh, she carefully laid Drusilla on the sofa. She fell into the chair, glad to have the weight out of her arms. She rubbed her shoulders and stretched, grimacing at the slight pain that ran through her back all the way to her fingertips. Drusilla was still out cold, and, since she was a vampire, Willow couldn't even watch her breathing to see if it appeared normal. This vampire thing was a pain in the ass to monitor, Willow decided. She honestly had no idea if Dru was really dead, as in not waking up undead dead, or if she was still just unconscious from what hopefully was too much blood loss.
And that idea brought Willow to the current problem at hand. Blood. Or really, a lack of blood. Her generosity towards taking care of the injured vampire did not extend to slicing open a vein and tempting said vampire into feeding until she was dead. Nope, she wasn't quite that foolish. But, since she wasn't sharing her own blood and there weren't bottles in the cooler down at 7-11, that meant she had a slight problem. She had thought about everything rather logically on the lengthy walk home and decided that Dru's condition had to be caused by losing too much blood. Her dress was soaked with the red substance and there had been a lot on the ground by the rock where she'd found the vampire. Who knew how long the nutty woman had sat there bleeding because the 'stars' told her to wait and that someone would come along to take care of her. Drusilla was darn lucky that she'd decided to follow that path on a whim or else she'd have been really dead by dawn's early light.
Regardless of the stupid choice she'd made deciding to take the path less traveled, she now had to figure out to get Drusilla awake and well enough to go home, hopefully long before Angelus and Spike returned to town. To do that, she needed blood. A thoughtful expression crossed her face as she tried to remember where Angel had gotten his blood, back during the soul having, broody, all black wearing days. Buffy had mentioned it before, but Willow hadn't really been paying attention. Now, she had to regret her habit of tuning the slayer out whenever she started talking about Angel and how wonderful he was and blah, blah, blah which had usually only reminded Willow of the fact that she was single and hadn't ever dated anyone much less been loved by a gorgeous hunk such as Angel and would end up making her cranky as she'd wonder if she'd ever find someone that would want her and love her and so she'd been mentally healthier just blocking Buffy out during those many Angel's perfectly wonderful moments. Now, though, she wished she'd listened, at least a little bit.
She knew that it was a bar somewhere, named after a guy. Good one, Willow. There are only probably a dozen bars in Sunnydale named after a guy. Actually, though, Sunnydale didn't have an abundance of bars. That might be enough to start searching. Besides, once she heard the name she'd remember the right place, hopefully. She went to the kitchen and grabbed a soda, a bag of potato chips and the phone book before she went back to sit down. She began to eat as she flipped through the yellow pages, wondering if they'd have a listing for demon bar and deciding that it wasn't very likely. So, instead, she looked up bar. There were no listings. She frowned as she flipped back towards the back, munching on her chips as she realized just how hungry she was after missing dinner and lifting the weight that was Drusilla. She found the listings for restaurants and her green eyes scanned the names. It wasn't until she'd reached the last listings that something seemed familiar. Willie's Tavern. Tavern was just a fancy word for a bar and that name rang a bell. It had to be the right place.
Okay, so she had the location in mind. Now what? How did one go about purchasing a couple of bags of O positive? She doubted they delivered and, even if they did, she didn't want some weird guy that would make his living delivering blood to vampires knowing where she lived. That meant she had to go there. To some demon bar. To pick up blood. Why did that idea not give her warm fuzzies? She glanced at Drusilla, wondering if it was really worth it. She sighed as she stood up, the bag of chips empty as she tossed it in the trash. It was worth it. God, how did she get into these messes?
She looked at Drusilla again, wondering if she should really leave the vampire alone. What if she woke up and had no idea where she was and freaked out and broke things and became even more crazy? Okay, so there wasn't much chance of the latter one happening since it appeared that Drusilla was already resting near the top of crazy as a bedbug, but it was still something to worry about. Willow ran up the stairs to her room as she started to debate what to do with Dru while she went to try to get some blood. She took off her T-shirt, remembering just how chilly it had gotten during her walk home. She was about to put on a sweater when she realized that it was pink and tended to make her look about twelve. Not exactly the right attire to go into a demon bar, something that she really had no idea what exactly meant, and purchase blood if she wanted to be taken seriously. No, she needed to look older, not younger. She didn't want to be asked any questions so it wouldn't be the pink sweater tonight. She also didn't want to have to fight anyone that decided that she looked like a nice snack so she needed to look tough and older. Her eyes scanned her closet and she snorted. She didn't own anything that made her look tough so she'd have to settle for older. She finally pulled out a long sleeve shirt that was black and tight. She didn't like wearing it because it was too tight, molding curves that she was more than happy no one realized she had. She wanted a guy that was interested in her because of her, not because he suddenly realized that she had rather nice breasts and a flat tummy underneath the large sweaters she found comfortable. But, demon bar guys that sold blood might be sidetracked by said breasts and that could only be a good thing. She pulled the shirt on, deciding that she didn't look that bad. She pulled her hair free from the ponytail she'd been wearing, shaking it out and making faces at the mirror as she giggled. Okay, so older might be a stretch but she at least looked like she might be out of high school. Good enough to purchase some blood, she hoped.
She went to her dresser and grabbed some money from her last birthday gift from her parents. It had arrived three months late and had actually been cash instead of a check and she'd never bothered to deposit it into her checking account, which turned out to be rather lucky since she didn't think Mr. Willie Demon Bar Blood Selling guy would probably accept a check. She tucked the money into the front pocket of her jeans and went to her desk. She grabbed a marker and a piece of paper and wrote, Drusilla, went to get you food. Be back soon. Sing to the stars until I get home. Willow. Reading back over it, she figured that was good enough in case the vampire woke up before she returned. Hopefully, she'd be back before Drusilla regained consciousness.
She went downstairs and put the note on the table by the sofa, glancing at Dru and seeing that the woman had moved her arm but was still out. Good. At least she was alive...well, undead. Willow adjusted her position on the couch, deciding that it looked more comfortable if she wasn't hanging nearly off as she had been since Willow had finally released the weight from her arms. She tucked a pillow behind the brunette's head and put a blanket over her, deciding that she didn't care if it got blood on it since it was scratchy and not a favorite anyway. She went to the kitchen and put the phone book away before she grabbed the keys for her parents' car. She chewed on her bottom lip as she went outside, locking the door behind her and made her way to the garage. She had had a license for several months now, earning it over summer break, but she really didn't like to drive. Why should she? Most everything in Sunnydale was within walking distance and the exercise was good for her. Now, though, she needed to get there and back as quickly as possible, which meant driving. She was very good at driving, having aced both the written portion as well as the driving portion, she just preferred to walk. There would be no more walking tonight, though. She opened the garage, got in the car, started it, and backed up.
She had the address for Willie's in her head, knowing the street and recognizing it as being near the warehouse district, not the safest area of town even during the afternoon. She could do this. Heck, it wasn't any more dangerous than going on patrol with Buffy, except she didn't have Buffy and was alone and had no idea what she was doing, but, otherwise, it was nearly the same. She decided to spend the time it would take her to drive to Willie's performing a minor calming spell she'd learned, knowing that it would help matters greatly if she was calm and collected and no one could sense her fear and nervousness. She laughed softly as she realized that she wasn't even convinced, deciding that it was a very good thing that her friends couldn't see her now. If they could, they'd probably kill her before the demons and vampires ever had a chance. Okay, death was so not the thing to be thinking about when she needed courage and bravery and confidence. No, she'd think about something else. Oh, she knew, smiling as she thought of something. She'd start thinking about all the times she'd successfully defeated some big bad evil, concentrating on her part in the defeat instead of thinking about the role that they had played. She'd killed some vampires all by herself, Buffy having been very proud of her. If Buffy had been proud of her, she should be proud of herself, too. Soon, the fear faded as she remembered that she could protect herself and had more courage than she tended to remember most of the time. With those thoughts in mind, she began to sing along to the radio as she continued driving towards Willie's Tavern.
~Part: 7~
Willow arrived at Willie's Tavern twelve minutes after leaving her house. It would have been sooner, but she'd had to stop at what seemed like a dozen red lights, though it had only been three. She'd also had to circle the block twice because she'd missed the rather small sign announcing the presence of the bar on her first trip down the street. Now, though, she had found it and was parked. She had been parked for a couple of minutes, a bit hesitant to leave the safety of her car in such a deserted area. Her green eyes had been studying the rather plain door, wondering if this was really the right place. She had finally decided it must be when she had watched a six-foot demon with blue horns on either side of his head go inside. Seeing the demon go inside had not given her the courage she needed to leave her car and go into the bar to purchase the needed blood. It had actually doing fairly well in reminding her that she had no idea what was inside and had taken away some of the confidence she had gathered along the drive over.
Well, sitting outside wasn't going to get her the blood Drusilla needed nor was it going to get her home any faster so she'd better get used to the idea that she was going to have to go inside that bar and act brave. She sighed once more before she opened the car door and entered the cool night air. She crossed the street and walked towards the door underneath the sign announcing Willie's Tavern. As she walked, she repeated the calming spell several times, deciding that it was must be rather faulty since she wasn't getting more calm. In fact, with every step, she was growing a bit more anxious and worried that this might well be the stupidest thing she'd ever done. When her hand touched the door, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Letting it out slowly, her eyes opened, the fear and worry gone, replaced by intelligence and strength. She stepped back as she opened the door, grimacing slightly at the clouds of smoke, stench of alcohol, and loud music and conversation greeted her. With a resolved expression on her face, she stepped inside the crowded bar.
Willie put the glass of whiskey in front of the demon that had ordered it, taking the money to the register. He glanced up when he heard the door open, a habit he'd had since opening this place nearly twenty years ago. He always liked to know who was coming into his bar. It usually gave him a minute or two to figure out who or what they were and what their business was. People came to his bar for two reasons. They either needed something from him or they wanted to relax and enjoy themselves. This time, he was very surprised to see what appeared to be a young human. He studied her for a second, seeing long hair that was dark red framing a very pretty face. Great. This was just what he needed. Some stupid kid stumbling into his place by mistake.
He glanced at the patrons, not at all surprised to see that most of them had picked up on the scent of the human. He honestly couldn't care less about what happened to the people that came to his bar, knowing that they knew what they were getting into from the moment they stepped foot inside. They weren't his problem. But, he really didn't like it too much when some innocent came in by mistake because they usually turned up dead the next day and that made him feel twinges of responsibility. Looking back at the pretty redhead, already imagining opening the newspaper tomorrow and seeing her face listed as yet another victim of some crazed crack addict or whatever excuse the police would have to dismiss her death, he felt something. He slowly started to smile as she got closer, the power and strength coming off her in waves. This wasn't some normal helpless little girl.
No, this was girl was a witch. Judging from the vibe he was getting, a very strong one at that. Well, damn, if that didn't beat all. A girl like that, looking all sweet and harmless, having enough power that he could feel it with every step she took. He didn't know her, knew she'd never been to his place before, wondered what she wanted. Oh, he knew full well that she wanted something. She definitely wasn't there for enjoyment, the look of resolve evident in her green eyes as she came closer. He noticed that the patrons had felt her power too, now looking at her with mixtures of fear and curiosity and lust, or not even looking at her at all for fear of upsetting a powerful witch. He moved towards her, curious as to what had brought her to his bar. She slid onto a stool, her eyes watching him move in her direction. He had his second surprise of the evening when he looked at her and realized that she wasn't nearly as old as he'd first thought. She probably wasn't even out of high school. He couldn't believe that someone so young already possessed such power.
He gave her a slight smile as he studied her. She was definitely a looker, more so than he'd originally thought when she'd entered the bar. Nice curves, long legs, flat stomach, gorgeous skin, long hair, cute face, and eyes that were amazing. He could understand where the lusty looks from the patrons were coming from. Not only was she beautiful, but she was powerful and strong, a fantastic combination that was not at all common. And she needed something from him. He kept himself from leering, not wanting to upset a witch anymore than his patrons, asking, "What can I get for you, honey?"
~Part: 8~
Willow was glad when the creepy guy started to talk. He'd been looking at her since she'd walked inside the bar, his eyes following her from the door until she'd sat down. Of course, she'd felt many sets of eyes on her, relieved when most of them had finally dismissed her and looked away. She didn't really like having people look at her, hating giving presentations in front of her class or being the center of attention. She knew part of it was because she was shy and part of it was because she was insecure, but she was getting better at being more secure and confident since meeting Buffy and she still didn't really like having people stare at her. Of course, part of the reason she could be a bit relieved now was because there were demons and vampires looking at her and she so didn't want to appear like a tempting midnight snack for any of them. The bartender was creepy, but he didn't appear to be threatening, giving her a pretty friendly smile when he asked if she needed something. She gave him what she hoped was a good smile that didn't betray her concerns about being a human in a place full of creatures that she'd once thought only existed in fiction as she answered him, "Actually, I'm looking for Willie. Since you're the only one working back there, I'm assuming that might be you. Am I correct in that deduction?"
Not only was she a gorgeous witch, but she was intelligent, too. Willie found himself liking this girl that came into his bar with her head held high and seemingly unconcerned about the danger she could have found herself in. She was strong but subtle, polite but firm. He nodded as he said, "That would be me, sweetheart. What can I do for you?"
Willow leaned forward, lowering her voice as she said, "I need some blood and heard that you could sell me some bags."
"Blood?" he was again surprised by her request. He'd not expected that at all. He gave her a smile and said, "I've got some stuff in back that might be what you're looking for. Fresh stuff, just arrived a couple of hours ago. How many do you need?"
"I don't really know," she confessed, thankful that she'd found the right place and was going to be able to get what she needed. "I guess three bags should be enough. Maybe four."
"Any preference? Human or animal? A specific blood type?" he asked when he saw the slight look of confusion cross her face at his question. He didn't know why she wanted blood, didn't care what she was planning to do with it, but he knew some of his clients preferred a certain type for whatever reason.
"Oh, um, well," she shrugged, "I guess human, no specific type. Whatever you've got is fine. Four bags, I guess."
"How about I get you six?" he suggested as he tossed his rag down. "I'll go get them and be right back. It's ten dollars a bag, but I'll toss in one for free."
"Sure, okay," Willow said, deciding that the extra bags might not be a bad idea in case Dru was stuck overnight and would be at her house until the following evening. Goodness, had she really just ordered bags of blood, bags of human blood no less, like she was ordering a burger and fries? She smiled slightly as she realized that she was, at least, getting a special. Buy five bags, get one free. She hoped it didn't take him long, ready to get home and see if Dru was awake yet. If not, she'd try to get some blood into the vampire and then get some sleep.
She looked at the bottles of alcohol behind the bar and waited, glad that no one had approached her. When she'd first walked inside, she'd thought someone might. But, once she'd moved further into the bar, most the people had looked away from her. The spell had finally worked, making her calm as she had walked towards the bar. She was still aware of everything around her, but she wasn't overly frightened by it all. In many ways, it was just like a normal bar, or, since she'd never been to a bar before, like what she saw on television. True, there were vampires and demons as well as humans, but it was probably as normal as Sunnydale ever seemed to get.
She was honestly surprised at how nice Willie had been once he'd stopped the creepy leering. Buffy had talked about him before, saying he was rude and uncooperative and would never tell her anything until she had to beat it out of him. Of course, Buffy tended to be rude and focused when she was searching for some evil creature so she wasn't too surprised that he might not respond well to her best friend's questioning techniques. Maybe she'd suggest coming to question him with Buffy if they ever needed him in the future. She could control Buffy's impatience and perhaps get some answers without the violence.
"Here you are, sweetie," Willie said as he placed a plain brown sack on the bar beside the redhead. He took the wrinkled $50 from her when she pulled it out of her pocket, smoothing it out before putting it into the register. "Did you need anything else?"
"No, this is everything for now," she smiled at him, a large smile that showed her gratitude for him not asking her questions or making the entire experience as unpleasant as she'd feared, adding, "Thank you, Willie. Have a good evening."
"You too, honey. And if you ever need anything, you just come by and see old Willie. I'll take care of ya," he said once he got over the shock of being thanked with such a sincere smile by one of his customers. He found himself smiling as he watched her leave, glaring at one vampire that had moved to follow her, lust evident on the minion's face. He put a stake on the bar, giving the vampire a pointed look until he finally moved away from the door and took his seat. Willie put the stake back a few minutes later, deciding that the witch had had enough time to make it safely away. He knew she was strong enough to take care of herself, but it was kind of nice protecting someone. He began to fill orders, talking to some of his patrons as the night continued without any more pleasant surprises.
~Part: 9~
Willow arrived back at her house one hour and five minutes after she left. It had only taken her twenty minutes to get home, but she'd spent longer at Willie's than she'd originally thought. Her time there had seemed to go so quickly that it was hard to believe she'd stood around for fifteen minutes. After shutting the garage door, she went inside. She was relieved to see that Drusilla had moved on the sofa, turning her head to face the cushions, though the vampire was still sleeping. She was at least alive. Well, undead, but not really dead and Willow frowned as she decided to stop having that particular conversation with herself before she got a headache.
Instead, she went to the couch and put the paper bag on the table. She removed one of the bags of blood, making a face as she realized that she was actually going to be preparing real blood to feed a vampire. This definitely hadn't been in the job description for becoming a best friend to the slayer. Of course, it wasn't like she was often required to feed unconscious vampires so she guessed she couldn't really complain too much. But, it was rather gross in actuality and she had to at least express a moral aversion to feeding human blood to a creature of the night. Okay, now that her moral complaints were out of the way, she needed to get serious.
How was she going to give Drusilla the blood she most likely needed to heal when the woman was still passed out? She hadn't considered that problem, a thoughtful look crossing her face as she started to think about a solution. She glanced at the bag of blood, remembering that Buffy had mentioned that Angel always heated his in the microwave before feeding. Deciding that she'd like to do her best to make Drusilla comfortable, plus liking the idea of having some extra time to figure out how to feed her, Willow took a bag into the kitchen. She popped it into the microwave, staring at the numbers as she debated what the perfect time was to heat blood. She decided to try two minutes and then check it.
As the microwave was heating, she grabbed a soda from the refrigerator and turned her thoughts back to how she was going to feed Drusilla. She was thankful that the vampire had slept during the time she'd been gone. She'd been a bit concerned about Dru waking up and freaking out. She checked the blood, feeling that it was kind of warm but having no idea if it was warm enough. She put it back in for another minute, figuring it couldn't hurt. She slowly smiled as she figured out what she'd try to do. She grabbed a mug from the cupboard and a straw from the cabinet. By the time she got those, the minute was up. She got the heated blood bag from the microwave and opened it, against unable to stop from making a face as she thought about how weird this night had become and wondering if it would ever end. She poured the blood into the mug and tossed the empty bag into the trash.
Carrying her soda and the mug, she went back into the living room. She sat on the sofa beside Drusilla, putting her soda on the table before moving the straw into the mug. Glancing at Dru, she realized that wasn't going to work. She put the mug down, careful not to tilt the straw. She then turned towards Drusilla, gently moving the vampire's head until she was again facing the table. When the was done, she picked the mug back up and got down to business. She put her thumb on top of the straw, lifting it out of the mug and noting with a satisfied smile that there was blood in the bottom. She then moved the straw towards Drusilla's mouth, moving slowly so she didn't drip. Her teeth gnawed on her bottom lip as she began to push the straw into the vampire's mouth. Once she felt that it was secure, she released her thumb. She pulled the now empty straw back out and watched to make sure that the blood didn't drip back out. It didn't.
Willow repeated her actions five more times before Drusilla began to stir. Soon, the vampire was licking her lips, eyes opening slightly before closing again. It wasn't long before the mug was empty. She should have heated another bag, she decided, getting to her feet and moving to the kitchen to do so. Drusilla was responding and that was definitely a good sign. She was back in the living room within five minutes with a fresh mug of blood. By now, Drusilla was awake. She took the mug and drank it down quickly, smiling sweetly as she handed it back to Willow.
"Thank you, kitten," she said softly, licking the stray drops of blood from her mouth. "Feeling better now."
"Do you need more?" Willow asked as she watched Drusilla closely. She wasn't sure if feeling better meant that it was now time to kill her or it just meant she was no longer in pain. Either way, she wanted to be prepared to run if need be.
"No, lovey," Drusilla shook her head before her hand went to her forehead, "the world is spinning again. Everything is topsy turvy and upside down. So sleepy."
"You can stay here," Willow decided, knowing there was no way Drusilla would be able to make it home on her own. She might be feeling better after having some blood, but she was obviously tired and weak. God, did she really just tell one of the most feared vampires in the world that she could stay the night? She watched Drusilla smile and sighed, "Do you think you can walk upstairs? You can sleep in the spare room. It's only got one window and the curtains are pretty heavy so it should be perfect. I honestly don't know if I can carry you upstairs."
"I can walk," Drusilla smiled at her pretty angel and tried to sit up. The world spun around and she groaned, the smile fading as she closed her eyes. She had been poisoned. The scratches from the nasty demon she had killed were healing slowly, the scent of toxin in the air. She knew it was poison, knew that it was making her weaker than she should have been, knew that it hurt in a way few things did anymore. It was working its way through her system and she would be fine within a day, but, until then, it would take time for her strength to come back to her. She was thankful for the blood that her kitten had given her, knowing that it would help the process tremendously. She wanted to go to Willow and give her a hug and thank her for taking care of her when she had been so scared and sick, but she did not wish to scare her new friend so she remained silent, studying the girl that her sire had often spoken about. She wanted to tell the human about the poison, to explain why she was so weak, to let her know how wonderful it was to feel safe and secure when she was fighting the poison and blood loss, but she was too tired to put her many, many thoughts into words. The stars had told her that she would be taken care of, that she would survive, that she would meet someone that would make her feel safe, and they had been right. She had met Willow and she felt as safe as she did when she was with Daddy and William. She wished she had taken Miss. Edith hunting with her, wanting her dolly to meet her lovely angel. When she was better, they would all have tea. She smiled as she said, "We shall have tea, my kitten, and cakes, when I am better. Oh, it shall be ever so much fun."
Willow nodded her head as she recognized the slightly dazed look that had entered Drusilla's eyes. For a second there, she had seen clarity and intelligence and sanity in her eyes. Now, though, she was talking about tea and cakes. "Yeah, sure. Tea is good. But right now, do you think you can make it up the stairs with my help? We really need to get that dress off of you and clean the wound and then you can sleep. And I can sleep. Sleep is good. So, you want to try to make it upstairs, Dru?"
Drusilla nodded as she looked into Willow's green eyes, enjoying the kindness and intelligence she saw there. She struggled to stand, grimacing as she started to fall. She felt a hand on her arm, helping her, keeping her balanced. She glanced at Willow, giving her a smile as she softly said, "For you, I shall try."
~Part: 10~
Willow helped Drusilla up the stairs, letting the vampire lean against her for support as they slowly made their way to the second floor. She watched the beautiful woman grimace every few steps and knew that there must still be some pain. The blood had at least given Dru enough strength to walk with help, something for which Willow was extremely grateful. She hadn't been lying downstairs when she'd said she honestly didn't know if she could get the woman upstairs on her own. She was finally starting to feel the events of the last few hours. Her back and arms were sore, but no more than if she'd had a particularly bad patrol with Buffy. Okay, so maybe there was a bit more pain in the muscles since patrol tended to consist of them talking and Buffy quickly disposing of whatever vampires were stupid enough to try to fight her and then perhaps ice cream or meeting the rest of the gang at the Bronze.
Willow would categorize this pain as being equal to spending several hours working out extensively. It would eventually go away and she might even find herself a bit stronger afterwards. Not too bad, all in all. But, at the moment, it was enough to make her drool over the idea of a warm bath. As soon as she got Dru settled, she'd soak for a while before going to bed. She was pretty tired, having covered a couple of yawns during the drive home from Willie's, but she wanted a warm bath first. They finally reached the second floor, stopping as Drusilla took a few unnecessary breaths before she gave Willow a triumphant smile.
"I made it," she said with a giggle, proud of herself for finding enough strength to make it up the many stairs without just giving up and sitting down. She'd been tempted about half-way through, but she'd felt Willow's hand squeeze hers in encouragement and she'd taken the next step, finding it a little easier.
"Yes, you did," Willow said, having to smile as she heard the childish giggle. Okay, so maybe Drusilla talked to stars and wanted to have tea parties, but she wasn't nearly as bad as she'd originally imagined. A little bit crazy, certainly, but rather nice when there wasn't a fear for death or torture.
"I'm tired, kitten," Drusilla said softly, glad that her angel was there to take care of her. Willow was kind and gentle and had the prettiest smile and nicest laugh. Drusilla wanted to hear that laugh more often, enjoying the way the girl's entire face lit up with amusement and joy at the smallest things. She knew that her Daddy had been playing games with her angel and the smelly old slayer, knew that her pretty kitty probably hadn't laughed nearly as much lately. Daddy had grown bored with his games, though. She'd heard him talking to William about ending the game, about winning when he had arrived home with the blood of the gypsy on his lips. Her Willow would be able to laugh and smile as often as she wanted now since Daddy was no longer playing his silly old games. She was ever so happy that Daddy had finished his games with the slayer. The stars had whispered secrets to her, telling her that Daddy's games would get him sent to the bad place if he didn't stop them, they told her she would lose not only her Daddy but also her William. She had listened to them sing and watched them dance when her Daddy had declared the end of his games. The stars had been delighted by his choice, telling her that it was as things should be. They then started to sing her songs of happiness, but they were rude and would not tell her their secrets. Tonight, though, they had felt her fear and told her about her pretty redheaded angel. She smiled as she said, "The stars told me one of their secrets tonight, Willow-mine. They told me about you and they said you would keep me safe and that you would take care of me. And I was no longer scared because I knew that you would come and save me. You have such a pretty smile, kitten. I'm so very tired. The world is spinning round and round."
"We're almost to the room, Dru," Willow said with a smile, getting a little bit better at following Drusilla's rather incoherent ramblings. She was a rambler, herself, often speaking as fast as her thoughts were coming to her. She wasn't sure if Drusilla was just a fast thinker like her or if the vampire just didn't realized that she'd jump from one subject to another, but she was rather proud that she'd been able to follow the last conversation and understand. The stars had talked about her, Drusilla hadn't felt scared because she expected Willow to find her like the stars said, Dru thought she had a pretty smile and the woman was tired and having another dizzy spell.
While she didn't put much faith into the stars actually communicating with the vampire, she figured that it was Sunnydale and anything was possible, case in point the idea that she'd willingly invited the master's daughter to sleepover, so she decided to just accept the idea that Drusilla talked to the stars, or at least believed she did. Heck, she'd accepted Buffy's constant whining about being the slayer and how she hated it all along knowing that the blonde loved having the responsibility and enjoyed her chosen calling even as she spoke words of distaste. Part of being a friend was learning when to nod and smile and accept. Drusilla wasn't really a friend, more like a not as threatening as originally thought enemy, but the same strategy worked perfectly so she'd use it.