Thanks with Tears

Author: Janet Lynn

Parts: 21 - 30

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~Part: 21~

The first part of the day was actually quite productive for Angel.  He had spent the better part of the morning reading and trying to determine how Conner came into being.  He had found some interesting information about vampire physiology he hadn't known before.  He had figured, why research it when you're living it, but he actually learned a thing or two.

Unfortunately, Willow didn't seem to be fairing as well with her task. She and Cordelia were still trying to sort out the filing and Willow was quickly becoming frustrated.  At one point, Angel heard the strained conversation floating toward his office.

"Why in the world is the file on the Gluttich demons in the 'S' drawer?"

"That's for slimy.  Do you have any idea how slimy those things are? They apparently produce twice as much slime as a Chaos demon."

"Fine.  And the file on Brachen demons was under 'D' for.?"

"Doyle, duh."

"This is going to take forever."

"Or you could just leave it and I'll take care of this all by myself."

"I don't think so."

Angel chuckled as he listened to two of his favorite women in the world bicker at each other.  It was good to have the sounds of people filling the hotel again.  He thought back to all the time he spent under the water, just waiting and thinking.  He remembered the loneliness he felt knowing that no one knew where he was.  He thought they might never find him and he would have to stay there forever.

The dark vampire was brought out of his thoughts by the sound of breaking wood.  He didn't realize he was gripping the arm of his chair so tightly and now he had broken it off and it was just sitting in his hand.  He sighed as he laid the broken piece of chair on the desk and put his face in his hands.

After a few moments, he stood up and made his way into the kitchen.  He needed something to eat.  As he passed through the foyer, Willow looked up from her argument to smile at the dark vampire.  Angel looked her way, giving her a weak smile before lowering his eyes as he walked into the kitchen.

"Hey, Cordy" Willow said to the former cheerleader, handing her the file she was trying to reorganize.  "I'll be back in a few, ok?"

"No problem" the brunette replied, smiling at her friend.

Willow walked into the kitchen to find Angel standing in front of the microwave, waiting for his mug of blood to finish warming.  "How's it going?" she asked quietly as she walked behind him.

Angel turned around quickly and smiled at the young redhead standing behind him.  "Hey Willow" he replied shakily.  "I'm alright.I guess."

"Come on, what's up?" the young witch said, resolve face firmly in place.

Angel looked at the woman and knew that he wouldn't be able to argue with her.  The microwave sounded, letting the vampire know that his meal was ready.  He reached over and picked up the mug and sat down at the table, sighing heavily.  "I have been trying to figure out how Conner got here" he started.  "I just got to thinking about all the time.all that time I was under the water and it just got to me."  He put his head down, trying to rid himself of the memories trying to overwhelm him again.

Willow quickly stood up and walked over to the distressed man.  She stood close to him and pulled his head to her breast, softly stroking his hair.  She tried to make some comforting sounds to try and help him feel better.

At first, Angel tried to resist the embrace, but found that he couldn't. Slowly, he relaxed into the girl's arms and wrapped his arms around her waist.  He let her hold him for a few moments before he felt he could talk again.  "It's still so hard" he said, tilting his head up to look at Willow.  "Most of the time, I don't even think about it.  But then, when the memories start coming, I can't stop them."

"Angel" she whispered, staring into the dark brown eyes of the man she was holding.  "You're safe now.  We're not going to let anyone hurt you ever again.  Do you trust me?"

The dark vampire smiled at the girl holding him.  "I trust you, Willow" he said, tears filling his brown eyes.  They held each other for a few long moments before they heard Cordelia whistle and remark "Wow, look what the cat dragged in."

The two people let go of each other to peak around the corner to see what the seer was talking about.  Slowly trudging down the stairs was a very ruffled looking blonde vampire.

Angel and Willow tried to contain the laughter that was threatening to spill out, but failed.

Spike looked like he was still half asleep as he made his way down the stairs.  His blonde hair stood up in odd angles all over his head and he kept rubbing his eyes with the back of his hands like an adorable child. He was shirtless and barefoot, but thought enough to pull on a pair of jeans, although he never got them buttoned up all the way.  He was, in a word, damn sexy.

Willow thought for sure her mouth was hanging open.  She quickly reached up to check her chin for drool, when she turned to see that Angel was indeed standing with his mouth wide open.  She giggled at him and he looked at her with a confused look until he realized that he was ogling his childe.

Spike made a noise toward Cordelia that sounded like it could have been "Shut up" but sounded more "Shup" as he made his way to the kitchen.  As he entered the kitchen, he saw the two people staring at him.

"What?" he asked, walking over to the refrigerator and pulling out a packet of blood.

"Nothing" Willow giggled.

"You look adorable" Angel said as he watched his childe grab a mug and empty the contents of the packet into it and throw it in the microwave. He started to chuckle as his childe turned around to growl at the dark vampire, but it mostly came out as a purr.

"What are you doing up, Spike?" Willow asked as she giggled at the sleepy vampire.  "It's not even 3 o'clock yet."

"Passions is on in a few" the blonde grumbled.  "'Sides, I was hungry."

"You woke up just to watch some stupid soap opera?" Angel asked, sure he would never understand his favorite childe.

"It's a damn good show, Peaches" Spike replied, smiling now that he was waking up slightly.  He pulled out the mug and started to down the contents.  He really appreciated the fact that Angel had gone to the trouble to buy some human blood.  Animal blood was just so repulsive and since he knew that it wasn't collected by illicit means, he didn't have to feel guilty about drinking it.

Finishing off his meal, Spike threw the mug in the sink when Angel cleared his throat.  Spike turned to his sire with a questioning look on his face.  Angel simply raised his eyebrows and waited.  The blonde rolled his eyes before turning back to the sink and rinsing out the mug and placing it back in the sink.

"Happy, daddy?" he asked sarcastically.

"Yes" Angel said simply, smiling at the younger vampire.

"Great" he said, licking his lips of the last drops of blood left there before turning to Willow and leaning over and kissing her on her forehead, leaving a small bloody kiss mark on her head.  "I'll be upstairs if you need me."

The two people in the kitchen smiled watching the now much more awake vampire walk up the stairs.  Once he was out of sight, Willow leaned over to Angel and asked, "Feel better now?"

"Much" he replied.  Looking at the blood left on the girl's forehead, Angel leaned over and gently licked off the mark.

Willow giggled at the feeling of the tongue on her head and stood to hug the tall man.  Angel hugged her back.  "Back to work" he said pleasantly as they both walked out of the kitchen to get back to work.

~Part: 22~

A couple of hours later, the two girls were finishing up what they were working on for the day.  Willow had figured out most of what Cordelia had done, but she would need the seer's help to figure it all out. Angel had come out to talk to the girls when Fred and Gunn came in from a day's reconnaissance on a simple human case they had been working on. Wesley was due to come by later with some new books for research.

Willow turned to look at the stairs when she heard someone coming down, humming loudly.  "How was the soap, Spike?" she asked when she saw him heading down towards them.

Spike smiled at the redhead.  "Great, as always pet" he replied.  He had taken the time to put on a black T-shirt and his boots with his jeans before he came downstairs this time.  He had fixed his hair and looked much more like the Spike they all knew and.well, loved.

"I still can't believe that the 'Big, Bad' vampire watches soap operas" Willow giggled as the blonde came closer to her.  "You think if anyone hears about it, they'll try to take your 'bad ass vamp' card away?"

Spike looked at the young girl with an evil smirk on his face.  "You want to see I'm still the 'Big Bad', Red?"

Before Willow could respond, Spike had changed into vamp face and started to stalk the young witch.  Willow squealed and jumped up, trying to escape from the monster chasing her.  Everyone laughed as they watched the display in front of them.  The redhead was running and hiding behind furniture, laughing heartily and mock screaming as the vampire slowly, but deliberately followed her in game face.

Suddenly the front door opened but no one was really paying much attention because they were too busy following the chase.  They all missed the young man call out, "Hey Deadboy.  The Buffster sent me to.Oh my god!"

The next thing anyone knew, Xander Harris was rushing across the room to grab Spike around the neck and slam him into the counter.  Before anyone could move, the boy reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the stake he always carried there.  He raised it above his head and yelled, "I knew you'd get that damn chip out and try to kill us, you bastard! First Buffy, now Wills.  Enjoy hell."

Everyone was frozen in shock at the display in front of them.  Willow was the first to move.  She threw herself in front of the blonde vampire, trying to stop her oldest friend from making a huge mistake. "Xander, no!" she yelled as the young man brought the stake down to destroy the vampire he thought was trying to hurt his friend.

The stake came down and harshly tore through Willow's flesh as she put herself directly in its path.  The point of wood ripped through her arm just below the shoulder to push all the way through and cut approximately ¼ inch into the vampire's chest below her directly over his heart.

Both Willow and Spike screamed out in pain at the feeling of the wood tearing through their flesh.  Looking down in horror, Xander quickly started to pull the stake out of his friend.  He was stopped by a harsh grip on his wrist.  He turned to see Angel looking down at him in full vamp face.

"Don't pull it out" he growled at the young man.

"What? Why?" Xander asked, thoroughly confused.

"You may have hit an artery" the vampire explained, gripping the brunette's wrist so hard his fingers were beginning to tingle.  "If you pull it out, we may not be able to stop the bleeding in time.  Let go!" The last command was growled out harshly and Xander couldn't help but release his grip on the wood in his hands.

Angel quickly pulled Willow up enough for Spike to get out from under the crying girl.  After the vampire was out from under Willow, he reached up to put his hand over the wound on his chest.  "Bloody hell, that hurts!" he yelled as he sank to his knees.

He found a cloth pressed to the wound.  He looked up into Fred's eyes and smiled at her lightly.  "Thanks, luv" he whispered taking the cloth from her and pressing it harder to stop the bleeding.

Spike looked up at Angel and asked, "What's the plan?"

Angel just looked down at the weeping redhead, trying to decide what to do next.  Willow looked at the dark vampire, pleading with her eyes for him to help her.  "We need to figure out if the artery was severed or not" he said quietly.  "I'll have to take this out, ok Willow?"

"Can I lay down somewhere?" she asked quietly.  Her face had gone very white and she was starting to shake.

"Right" he said.  "Spike, a little help."

"I've got her boss man" Gunn said quickly coming up behind the dark vampire and reaching around to delicately pick up the small girl and place her on the couch.

 Xander stood back watching what was happening around him, confused by the scene before him.

Once she was lying down, Angel turned to Cordelia and said, "We're going to need a bunch of towels and something to dress the wound."

"I'm on it" the seer replied, quickly rushing off to get the supplies needed.

Angel looked at Willow and tried to sound reassuring. "Willow, we are going to take the stake out.  I'm going to have Spike hold your shoulder real tight so that it might not bleed so much.  I want you to do the healing chant and I'll see if I can figure out how bad it is, ok?"

"Yeah" the redhead whispered, feeling dizzy.  She quietly began to chant the healing spell and Angel gripped the stake firmly, preparing to remove it from the redhead.

Cordelia rushed into the room with a bunch of towels and placed a couple under Willow to catch the blood leaking from her wound.

Angel looked at Spike and waited for the blonde vampire to get into position and place his hands around her arm to cut off the circulation. As the wood was removed from her arm, Willow screamed in pain.

Once the stake was free of the girls flesh, the blood began to flow freely.  Both vampires worked to quell the flow of blood and determine the extent of the damage.

Willow continued to chant quietly below her breath as she tried not to pass out.

Angel looked down at the wound and decided that the artery was not severed but Willow was still losing a great deal of blood.  He looked at his childe and nodded to let him know to let go slightly.  Spike relaxed his grip and a quick burst of blood shot from the hole in Willow's arm.

"Shit" Spike mumbled and he quickly applied more pressure to her arm.

"What?" Cordelia asked.

"It seems the artery was hit, but not severed" Angel informed her quickly.  "We have to get this to stop bleeding.  We are going to have to get her to the hospital.  Fred? Would you call?"

"Already on it" she called as she quickly made her way into the office to call an ambulance.

"Willow" Angel called quietly.  "I'm going to lick the wound to try and clean the wound and get the bleeding to stop, ok?"

"Sure" she whispered, trying desperately to not to pass out.

Angel leaned down and began to gently lick the open wound.  He wished he could enjoy the wonderful elixir coming from the girl, but he was so desperate to help his redheaded friend he didn't stop to think about it. He tried reaching deeper with his tongue to get his saliva down to the cut causing the intense bleeding.

Willow moaned at the painful intrusion of the questing muscle.  She knew he was helping, but it was still very uncomfortable.

Angel licked at the wound for several minutes trying to get the bleeding to stop.  He was beginning to tire.  "Spike" he whispered. "Switch with me."

The two vampires quickly switched places but as Spike leaned down to lick the wound, he was stopped by a strong hand on his shoulder.

"I don't think so, fangless" Xander ground out, pulling on the vampire's shoulder.  "I don't know what is going on here, but you're not sinking your teeth into my Wills."

"Xander, shut up and leave him alone!" Cordelia yelled at her former boyfriend.  "He's just trying to help Willow.  Now back off."

The brunette looked at the former cheerleader and began to back off slowly.  Hopefully someone would explain to him what the hell was going on and soon.

After a few minutes, Spike pulled his head back and sighed.  "Ok" he said quietly.  "I think its better."

Angel slowly relaxed his grip on the girl's shoulder and they all looked to see the damage.  The blood flow was significantly less than it had been and the edges of the wound were less ragged.

At that moment, the ambulance pulled up in front of the hotel and two paramedics ran into the lobby, looking for their patient.

"She's right here" Fred yelled to the two men coming to their aid.

Angel quickly explained that Willow had been working in the lobby and fell on an upturned chair and the leg went straight through her arm. They quickly went to work to assess the wound and prepared her to go the hospital.  Before they left, they noticed that Spike was bleeding.

"Do you need attention, sir?" one the medics asked.

"No" Spike quickly replied.  "I'm fine."

"Very well.  Is anyone going to go with us to the hospital?" the medic asked the group.

"Fred, Gunn, would you go with Willow?" Angel asked quickly.  "We'll be there in a little bit."

Fred knew that Angel and Spike wouldn't be able go because it was still daylight out, so she quickly agreed and left with the medics and Charles right behind her.

Once they were gone, Spike practically flew at Xander.  As he tackled the boy, his chip fired and the blonde grabbed his head in agony.

Xander looked around in shock between Angel and Cordelia, hoping that one of them would explain what was going on.  When no one offered an answer, he blurted out, "What the hell is going on? Why are Willow and Spike here?  I thought the bastard ran away after everything with Buffy. Why is he here with you?"

"You don't know anything" Spike threw at him.  "Why Willow?"

"I could ask you the same thing" Xander spat at the blonde vampire. "Does she even know about what you are and what you've done?  Does she know you attacked Buffy?  Is that what you were doing?"

Spike fell back as though Xander had struck him physically.  He looked at the boy in horror.  The images of his attack on Buffy flowing through him and he slowly sunk down to the floor, curling into a small ball. "My fault" he started chanting.  "All my fault.I knew it.  Knew it."

Suddenly the blonde found himself in the arms of the brunette seer. "It's alright Spike" she whispered quietly, trying to comfort the weeping man.

Xander was more confused than ever now and he wanted some answers. "Angel, what the hell is going on?  Last we heard, Willow was still in England with Giles and Spike had disappeared."

"Well, if you had asked before you acted, we could have explained it without having to send anyone to the hospital" Angel practically growled at the young man before him.

They glowered at each other for a few moments before Angel continued. "Willow brought Spike here after she left Giles because Spike was in pain and needed help.  He has a soul, Xander."

<A soul?> the brunette boy thought.  "It's a trick" he whispered, staring at the blonde still weeping in Cordelia's arms.

"No, it's not" Angel replied.  He was becoming increasingly more frustrated with the boy.  "What are you doing here anyway?  I don't remember inviting you."

Xander smirked at the dark vampire and said, "Buffy needed a book for research and I was volunteered to come and pick it up.  I guess you're just out of the loop."

"I don't understand" Angel answered, thoroughly confused.

"I believe this is partially my fault" the voice came from the front door.  Everyone in the room turned to see Wesley standing in the doorway holding several larges tomes in his arms.  He walked into the office and sat the books down and walked back to the waiting people to explain.

"Buffy called me a few days ago looking for information on the being that had taken residence in Sunnydale" Wesley began to explain.  "I told her I would have it for her today and she agreed to send Mr. Harris to collect the book.  He was, however, supposed to meet me at my home later this evening.  Apparently, he decided to change his plans without consulting me."  Wesley was scowling at the young boy by the end of his explanation.

"I thought I would come by and say hi to Cordy while I was here" Xander said sheepishly as he looked at his former girlfriend who was still cradling the crying vampire.  "I had no idea Wills and Spike were here."

"As well you shouldn't" Wesley replied evenly.  "They did not wish for anyone from Sunnydale to know they were here."

"Why not?" The boy asked, confused that his friend would try to hide from him.

"They need time to heal, Xander" Angel answered quietly, hoping the boy would not push the issue.

"Heal?" he asked.  "And they can't do that in Sunnydale?"

"They're here aren't they?" Cordelia replied, stroking the blonde's hair.

That seemed to stop Xander short.  Maybe he hadn't thought all this through.  After a few moments, he turned to Angel.  "He's got a soul?"

Angel simply nodded his response.

"Why?" Xander asked the dark vampire.

"Wanted to be a man" came the quiet answer from the frightened form of the blonde vampire.  "Not a monster."

Xander stood for several moments just staring at the one who had been the subject of his hate for so long.

Suddenly, Angel spoke up.  "The sun's down.  Let's go check on Willow."

~Part: 23~

The trip to the hospital was a silent one.  Wesley volunteered to take Xander in his car to avoid any more unpleasant conversation.  Soon the entire Angel Investigations crew was filing into the emergency room, looking for their friends.

Fred came rushing down the hall, waving frantically, trying to get Angel's attention.  The young girl came up to the tall vampire and filled him in on the situation.

"The doctor just came out and talked to us" she started frantically. "Her artery has a small nick in it and they are going to stitch it up right now.  She's going to need several stitches to close the wound and they are giving her some blood right now, but they don't think she will need to stay very long."

Angel nodded at the information and then asked Fred to take him to where Willow was.  The group followed the brunette down the hall before they were stopped by a large blond nurse.

"I'm sorry, but all of you can not wait here" she began quiet sternly. "Some of you will have to go to the waiting area.  Who is the employer?"

"That would be me" Angel replied quickly and stepped forward.

"Follow me" she said nodding to Angel curtly.  "The rest of you can go down the hall and to the right.  The waiting room is through the door at the end of hall.  We will find you when we have news."  She quickly turned and led Angel toward the nurses' station.

After taking what was considered all the relevant information she needed, the nurse filled Angel in on Willow's situation.  "She will need to stay for a few hours once the doctor is finished with the stitches. She lost quiet a bit of blood and she about half way through the second unit right now.  She's in room 8.  You can wait outside and the doctor will speak with you shortly."

Angel thanked the lady for her help and moved quickly to find room 8 and wait for news on his redhead.  Shortly after he found the room, a young woman walked out.  "Will the doctor be done soon?" Angel asked.

"I am" she replied with a smile.

"Sorry" replied quickly, slightly embarrassed at his assumption that she was not the doctor.

"That's all right" she said with a smile.  "You must be Angel?"

"Yeah" he nodded his head, waiting for news.

"Willow was talking about you earlier" she explained before continuing. "I'm Dr. Goyette. The wound was easily closed.  I had to put a couple of stitches in to close the artery and it took about 20 stitches to close the wound on both sides of her arm.  We found some wood fragments in her arm.  The paramedics say she fell on the leg of a chair, is that correct?"

"Yeah" the dark vampire lied.  "I never should have let her up on the counter, but she is rather stubborn."

The doctor laughter a little at that.  "I can see that.  She's quite the spit fire."

"You haven't seen her 'resolve face'" Angel replied, chuckling.  "Can I go in and see her now?"

"Sure" the doctor said smiling.  "She will have to stay until she has finished receiving this unit of blood and then we have to run some blood tests before I'll release her.  By the way, who is Spike?"

"Another of my employees" Angel replied cryptically.  "Why?"

"She seemed concerned about him."

"Can I bring him in?" Angel asked.

"I don't see why not.  Where is he?"

"In the waiting room."

"I'll have one of the nurses direct him to her room" the doctor replied before turning to find the girl's nurse.  Angel quickly turned to walk into the room to find his redhead.

***

The gang silently made their way into the waiting room.  They all made their way to one end of the waiting room where there were a few empty chairs.  Cordelia and Fred made sure to put themselves between Spike and Xander.  As they slumped in the chairs, Xander immediately began with the interrogation.

"So, is someone going to tell me what the hell is going here or am I going to call Buffy to come down here and beat it out of someone?" he asked hotly.

"Don't you even think about bring her here, Xander" Cordelia threw back at the brunette.  "Willow doesn't want her here and Spike doesn't need her here.  I think it would be best if you just leave and let us take care of Willow and Spike."

"Not a chance" Xander replied.  "Willow is my best friend and you have no idea what that thing is capable of."

"Trust me, Xander" the seer spat at her former boyfriend.  She couldn't remember ever being this angry at him, maybe not even after she was skewered by that rebar.  "We know what Spike is capable of.  His chip still works and he has a soul.  I know that may not mean anything to you, Xander Harris, but it does to Angel and it does to us."

"You haven't been around for a while" Xander continued to press his point.  "The things he's done would make you sick."

"And you're perfect, right?" Fred threw in.  "He's trying.really trying and we're helping.  If you're not helping, maybe you should leave."

Silence descended heavily on the group as they stared at each other for a few moments before Xander stood and quickly left the room, looking for some coffee, but wishing he could find something stronger.

He passed a nurse who, when she entered the waiting room, called out "Mr. Spike?"

Spike stood quickly and the nurse smiled at the blonde and said, "Follow me."

***

"Hey" Willow said quietly as the dark vampire walked into the small room.

"Hey" Angel replied, smiling at his friend.  She looked so small and vulnerable in the hospital bed.  He made his way over to the pole holding various bags of fluid including one dripping a steady flow of O+ to a tube and into Willow's arm.  "How are you feeling?"

"Been better" she replied sheepishly.  "At least my arm doesn't hurt anymore."

"Really?" Angel asked.

"Yeah, the doctor gave me a local and all the pain is gone bye" she giggled slightly at her small joke.

"Did they give you anything else?" Angel asked, concerned over her apparent too happy state.

"Yup" she nodded vigorously.  "Something that started with a D.or a P in my IV.  Hey that rhymed."

Angel smiled down at the young girl.  She was adorable.  "As soon as you're done getting that unit of blood, they're going to do some blood tests and then we can go home, ok?"

"Ok" she whispered.  "Where's Spike? Is he ok?"

"Yeah" the dark vampire answered.  "He's going to be fine physically, but he's having problems with Xander.  I take it things weren't good between the two."

"He slept with Anya" Willow answered shortly.

"Spike?"

"Yeah" she said quietly.  "After Xand left Anya at the alter, things weren't so good.  Buffy and Spike had a thing for a while.  It apparently wasn't healthy for either of them.  Spike went to the Magic Box to find a spell to get over her and he and Anya hooked up.  There were these three guys who were causing all kinds of trouble and they had cameras set up and we kinda saw the whole thing.  Xander lost it."

<That would explain a lot> Angel thought.  "I wish this had gone better, Willow, but I think you're going to have to talk to Xander."

"Yeah" Willow whispered, avoiding the vampire's eyes.  "Just not right now, ok?"

"Ok" Angel answered with a smile.  Suddenly, a blonde head popped in the doorway.

"Can I come in?" came a shaky question.

"Spike" Willow called happily.  "Are you ok? Let me see you."

The blonde vampire quickly made his way over to the bedside so Willow could inspect his wound.  She made him pull up his shirt and she gently brushed her fingers over the rapidly healing hole in his chest.  "I'm so sorry" she whispered, tears filling her eyes.

"No Red" Spike chided the young girl.  "It's not your fault.  Xander and I have issues. You were just trying to help."

Willow smiled at the two vampires watching over her.  <How did I get so lucky> she wondered as a wave of sleepiness washed over her.  She yawned widely and both men were quickly by her side.  They each leaned over and kissed her on the forehead.

"Get some rest, Willow" Angel ordered gently.  "As soon as the doctor gives us the go ahead, we'll take you back home, ok?"

"Don't leave me" she pleaded quietly.

"Never, luv" Spike said, smiling.

"I'm going to go and tell everyone what's going on and then I'll be right back, ok?" Angel asked the girl as he headed toward the door. "And Spike will stay right here."

"Ok" Willow whispered as she drifted off to sleep, the pain medicine getting the better of her.

"I'll be right back Spike"

"Right mate."

Angel went to talk to his friends and find the doctor.  The sooner they got out of the hospital the better.

~Part: 24~

An hour later, Angel was standing by the bed Willow was lying on, waiting for the doctor to finish her exam so they could go home.  Spike had stayed by Willow's bedside the whole time, holding her hand while she slept.

The doctor checked the stitches and looked over the blood work before addressing the three people.  "Well, the blood work looks fine" she started.  "You'll need to have these prescriptions filled tonight.  One is for pain medication and the other is an antibiotic.  Make sure you take all of the antibiotics."  The physician leaned forward to make her point to the small redhead.  "I mean it.  Take all of it.  You'll need to come back in 10 days for me to check the stitches.  They should be ready to come out by then.  Any questions?"

"I don't think so" Willow replied, smiling at the likable doctor.  "Can we go home now?"

"Yes" she said, smiling.  "You'll need to stop at the nurses' station to sign the discharge paperwork.  And Willow, please take it easy."

"We'll make sure she's taken care of, doc" Spike said, smiling at the young redhead.

"I'm sure you will" the doctor replied with knowing smirk.  "I'll see you later then."

After the doctor left, Willow went to move off the bed.  Before she could hardly shift, Spike was by her side, helping her up and on her feet.

"I'm fine, Spike" Willow whined, slightly annoyed at the extra attention.

"Doc, told you to take it easy and I'm going to make sure you do just that" he said with a smirk on his face.

<Great> Willow thought.  Now she had her own private vampire nurse. <Maybe that's not such a bad thing after all.>

Angel and Spike helped the small redhead out of the small room and to the nurse's station where she signed several pieces of paperwork and was given her prescriptions.  The dark vampire quickly helped her out toward the car while Spike walked down the hall to let the others know that it was time to leave.

As everyone piled back into the car they came in, Angel stopped Wesley and asked him to stop by the pharmacy to pick up Willow's medication. The former watcher agreed and took the script from the dark vampire and he and Xander left on their task.

Once they were back at the hotel, Spike insisted on helping Willow get upstairs and into her room.  Gently he helped her get undressed and into her bed.

"As soon as the watcher gets here with your pills, I'll come bring you something for the pain, ok Red?" he said softly as he watched her eyes flutter closed.

She nodded slowly as she drifted off to sleep.  Spike sat on the end of the bed for a few moments, simply watching the redhead sleep.  He stoked her hair as the rhythmic rise and fall of her chest let the vampire know that she was sleeping soundly.

Deciding that he should leave, Spike stood and left the room quietly. He began to head downstairs when he heard Wesley and Xander come in.  He stopped at the top of stairs, debating whether or not to go down and confront the man who tried to kill him.  He knew that Xander had always hated him, it's not like he didn't give him enough reason to, but he was not one to back down from a fight.  So the blonde straightened his shoulders and walked down the stairs into the lobby.

Angel and Wesley were on one side of the large room, looking over the bottles of pills for Willow and working out a schedule for her.  Xander looked up and saw the blonde vampire walking down towards him.  The brunette quickly made his way to Spike, fists clenching and unclenching at his sides.

Soon, both men were standing nose to nose in a show of defiance, staring each other down.  They began screaming at each other again.

"What the fuck did you think you were doing, Harris?  You almost killed my Red!"

"Your Red?  She's my Wills.  I would do anything to protect her from you, you sick fuck!"

"Protect her?  You almost killed her?"

The two men were too busy yelling at each other to notice the figure approaching them.  Cordelia slowly made her way toward the screaming men.  However, she wasn't walking.  She was floating six inches above the ground, her eyes glowing white.  Once she was next to them, she gently laid her palm on each of their cheeks and quietly spoke two words; "Stop" and then "See".

As soon as she touched them, both men froze and the world around them began to fade.  They saw images from the other man's memories, but not just memories but emotions as well.

"What's the problem, boy?  Gonna hide behind your little friend Willow all your pathetic life?  I'm your family, you little shit!"

"Come on now, me boy!  No need to cry.  I promise ye that the pain will stop when ye know who I am to ye.  Now say it!"

Spike watched as the boy plunged the stake into his friend's heart and the vampire with his best friend's face exploded into dust.  No tears fell, but the boy's heart broke that day and all vampires became an evil he would never forgive.

Xander saw as Spike backed away from the woman saying horrible things to him.  The blonde vampire was repulsed at the words the demon said to him.  He felt the piece of William that died as he staked his own mother and she turned into dust.

Cordelia ridiculing him, calling him the Zeppo.

First Celia and then Buffy telling him that he was beneath them.

Leaving Anya at the alter.

Watching Dru make out with a chaos demon.

Lying on the bed, Faith straddling his prone form, trying to strangle the life out of him.

Lying beneath Buffy, knowing he's being used as a life sized fuck toy. Not loved, but used.

Being beat up time after time, always needing to be saved.  Feeling helpless

Unable to fight, having to fight against your own nature.  Feeling helpless.

Desperation watching the woman you love screwing the man you hate.

Desperation wishing you could make the woman you love want you back.

The pain of a life filled with hurt and unfulfilled desire.

The pain of a soul that can't handle the guilt and grief of years of evil.

Once the visions stopped passing between the three connected souls, all three dropped to the floor in a heap.  Instantly, the rest of the crew was crowded around the three fallen people.  Spike slowly began to stir and started to cry.  Angel leaned down and cradled his childe as he wept.

The pain of his own soul and the pain from Xander were too much for the blonde vampire.  He clung to his sire and poured out his pain.

Slowly, Xander began to wake.  He looked over at the weeping vampire and a realization washed over him.  This vampire that he hated so much for so long was not so different from him.  Was that why he hated him so much?

Cordelia sat up and rubbed her head.  She looked at the two men and hoped that what she had done had helped.

Wesley knelt down beside her and helped her up.  "What did you do?" he asked quietly.

"Helped, hopefully" she replied with a smile as she let the former watcher help her up.  She smiled down at Xander when he looked up at her with a confused look on his face.

"Didn't know you could do that, Cordy" he whispered, rubbing his head.

"Yeah, it's kind of a new thing" she said with a smirk.  "Did I tell you I'm half demon?"

"No, you kinda left that out" the boy said. "Although I really didn't give you much of a chance to tell me, did I?"

"Not really" she snickered.

Xander stood and watched as the blonde vampire cried in Angel's arms. He knew now that Spike had a soul.  Even through all the things Spike had done to the Scooby gang, Xander knew that he wasn't lying.  Xander understood Spike's pain and was upset that he had a part in it.  He knelt down beside the crying vampire and reached out to put a hand on his shoulder.

As Angel saw the hand come toward his childe, he growled deep in his chest.  This boy had caused his childe pain and he didn't want him to do it again.  He saw the look on Xander's face and he knew that he didn't want to hurt Spike.  So he let the boy touch his childe.

When Spike felt the hand on his shoulder, he turned his head to look into the deep brown eyes of the boy he had wronged so many times.  He wanted to apologize for everything, but he could never make everything right.  He simply stared.

Xander looked into the blue eyes filled with tears and smiled lightly. "Spike" he whispered.  "It's ok."

At first, Spike was confused.  Then he smiled at the boy he had tormented so many times.  "Yeah?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"Fine"

"Whatever, Deadboy Jr."

"Sure thing Whelp."

"Captain peroxide."

"Moron."

"You got anything to eat around this place to eat that isn't liquid and red?"

"We might have some suitable enough for your delicate constitution."

"Come on, and I'll heat you up some plasma, fangless."

The rest of the group sat back and watched as Xander and Spike walked into the kitchen.

"What just happened?" Fred asked.

"Forgiveness" Cordelia said, smiling after her former boyfriend and newest vampire friend.

~Part: 25~

Willow slowly felt consciousness return to her weary body.  She hated the feeling of waking from a drug induced slumber.  It was like trying to stand in mud.  She lay in her bed, eyes closed, just taking stock of herself.  Her arm didn't hurt.  That was of the good.  Of course, the anesthetic probably hadn't worn off yet.  Her head was slightly pounding, but nothing too bad considering the reason.

As she began to rise closer to wakefulness, she realized that someone was watching her.  Even with her eyes closed, she could feel the presence of someone carefully staring at her.  It was an unnerving feeling, so the young redhead forced herself to open her eyes to see who it was.

She was startled to see two huge, warm brown eyes smiling down at her. It took her a few moments to wet her dry lips to form the word before she asked, "Angel?"

The eyes before her crinkled in a smile.  "What is it with you waking up and calling me other people's names, huh Will?"

"What?" she asked, confused by the response.  She shook her head to try and clear the medically induced fog.  "Xander?" she asked.

"Yeah, Wills" the childhood friend said, reaching over to tuck a stray piece of hair behind the girl's delicate ear.  "It's me."

Willow tried to sit up, but was unable to put any pressure on her injured arm and she collapsed onto the bed.  Instantly, Xander was helping her up and into a sitting position.

He tucked a couple of pillows behind her to help her sit up comfortably and then returned to his place on the side of the bed.  "How you feeling?" he asked quietly once she was settled.

"Groggy" she replied with a small smile.  "What about you?"

"I'm ok" the brunette said sheepishly.

"How did things go with Spike" she ventured.  "You're still in one piece so I guess it can't be too bad, can it?"

Xander smiled at his best friend.  She always had a way to get to him. "I guess you could say we worked things out" he finally answered.

"Really?" Willow questioned, slightly surprised.  "How?"

"Cordelia" was the short response.

"What?" Willow asked, her eyebrows practically reaching her hairline.

"She worked some of new demony PTB mojo on us and I guess you could say that Spike and I have come to an understanding" the boy explained quietly.  "We've reached a sort of a truce."

"Good" the redhead replied, sinking down into the pillows.  "Spike doesn't need any extra stress right now.  He's having a hard enough time as it is."

"Why?" Xander asked quietly.

"Why what?"

"Why did you leave England and go and find him?"  Xander was still confused.  Willow had issues of her own, and she had gone through all the trouble to stop her training and go and save the one person who had threatened all of their lives more times than he could count.

"I had to" Willow started.  To her, it was that simple.  But to Xander, that obviously was not going to be explanation enough.  She sighed as she continued.  "I felt him and all his pain.  It was as bad as my own, if not worse.  He needed someone and I was the only one who felt it.  He needed me just like I needed you on that cliff."

Xander's head shot up at the last remark.  He had been staring at his hands, unable to look into the pain filled eyes of his friend as she spoke, but now he searched the green depths for the truth and found it.

Willow continued before he could say anything.  "You were the only one who could save me, Xander.  I never said thank you, but you'll never know what that meant to me.  I was ready to kill you.  But I saw into your heart and felt the love you had for me.  I was in so much pain; I didn't want to see it.  That's what I felt from Spike.  So much pain and despair and I was the only one who could feel it."

She paused for a breath.  Xander never tried to interrupt her, so she continued with her story.  "When I saw him, I knew what was different. It surrounded him.  At first I didn't know what to do, but then I suddenly knew I had to take him to Angel.  He would know how to help him.  Somewhere along the way, I realized that Angel could help me too. The people who were helping me in England were wonderful, but no one could help me deal with the fact that I killed a man.  Angel understands and is trying to help me.  I need that.  I need him."

Xander nodded his head in understanding.  In a strange way, it made sense.  "Ok" Xander said finally.  "So, what do I tell Buffy?"

Willow froze for a moment.  She hadn't thought about that. "Nothing" she said finally.

The brunette looked at his friend aghast.  "How can I not tell her?"

"Just don't tell her" Willow pleaded.  "I think the last thing Spike and I need right now is Buffy poking around.  It would just be.weird."

"What about Giles?" Xander asked.

Willow giggled at that.  She had already thought about why the watcher hadn't tried to contact her yet.  "If Giles really wanted to find me, he could" she said with a smile.  "The coven is very powerful and I'm sure they already know where I am."

"Oh" the boy replied, thinking that his friend was probably right.  "Ok, so no telling where Wills and Spike are.  Anything else?"

"I wouldn't mind if you came to visit" she said with a warm smile. "With a little bit of warning next time."

"Can do" Xander smiled warmly back at his friend.  "Oh, I almost forgot, you need to take these."  Xander held out two large pills.  "One is your pain medicine and the other is your antibiotic.  You have to take these or else Spike will have my head."

Willow laughed lightly at the comment.  The blonde vampire did certainly seem to want to help take care of her.  This might actually be fun.  She took both pills and lay back against the pillows.  She smiled at Xander and asked, "So what's the plan now?"

"I'm going to get the book from Wesley and head back to Sunnydale" he explained.  "Then I'll call in a day or two and see how you are doing, ok?"

"Ok" the redhead replied, already feeling worn out from the emotional and physical toll of their conversation.  "I'll see you soon?"

"Count on it" Xander replied with a sad smile.  "Be careful Willow."

The young witch simply nodded her head.  "Love you, Xander."

"I love you too Willow" he said as he leaned over to kiss her softly on the forehead before rising and leaving the girl to get some rest.

***

The next few days were hard for Willow.  Spike had insisted on Willow staying in bed except for her to get up to use the bathroom.  He had gone so far as to give her sponge baths in bed, not that she minded.

Angel smiled as he watched Spike downstairs, going over his schedule. The blonde was always a strange vampire.  He was never completely happy if he didn't have someone to look after.  First it was Druscilla, then Dawn and now he had Willow.  He had a chart showing when she should receive all her medicines, meal plans, and nap schedule.  He bustled around with assignments for all the members of the AI crew.  And heaven forbid someone forget a chore.  Once Wesley had missed his scheduled trip upstairs to replace Willow's water and Spike practically ripped his head off.  Angel found all this extremely amusing.

Unfortunately, Willow did not.  At first, the fusing was pleasant and she didn't mind all the attention.  Someone would come up and give her some medication or some food.  She enjoyed getting to know Fred and Gunn better as they sat with her as she ate, telling her stories about Angel she hadn't heard yet.  Fred told her about her time in Pylea and they shared information about each others academic backgrounds.

Wesley would come and talk to her about whatever they were working on at the time.  Willow was glad to see that he had loosened up quite a bit from his time as a watcher in Sunnydale.  Although he still had issues to deal with because of all the happenings with Conner, but he and Angel were trying to work things out.  He bounced his ideas off Willow and she hoped she was helping.

Her favorite visitor, besides Angel and Spike, was Lorne.  Willow thought he was extremely funny and he wasn't afraid to share any of his secrets.  When she got drowsy, he would sing her to sleep with his velvety voice.  He had asked her many times to sing for him, but Willow was much too nervous, even for an audience of one.

But after being in bed for four days in a row, Willow was feeling stir crazy.  Spike had brought her laptop to give her something to do.  He had also talked Angel into buying her a TV so that she could watch something if she wanted to.  Of course, he always showed up just before 'Passions', just to check on her to see if needed anything.

Finally Willow had enough.  Spike came upstairs to see how she was doing.  As soon as he entered the room, Willow was pleading with him. "Spike" she whined.  "I know you are just trying to help, but I need to get out of this bed.  It's driving me crazy.  The doctor said to take it easy, not don't do anything.  My arm feels much better and I promise not to do anything that would be considered strenuous in any sense of the word.  Please just let me out of this bed."

Spike smiled down at the pleading girl.  She was absolutely adorable. He had just wanted to take care of her, but he figured that maybe he had taken things a little too far.  He decided to give in, on one condition.

"Ok, Red" he started.  "I'll let you up if you let me do one thing."

"Anything" she replied.  "Please."

"Excellent" he said as he stalked towards the bathroom.

Willow wondered what the vampire was up to.  She probably should have asked Spike what he wanted before she agreed so quickly, but she was so desperate to get out of the bed she would have agreed to anything. Soon, Willow saw Spike enter the room with a small basin, two washcloths and three large fluffy towels.

"You want to give me a bath?" Willow asked, confused.

"Yep" was the simple answer from the man as he sat down the basin of warm water on the bedside table before quietly turning and heading back into the bathroom and returning with a razor and a bottle of baby oil.

The redhead sat looking at the vampire with a shocked look on her face. He was going to give her a bath and shave her.  This was definitely not what she was expecting.

Spike smiled down at the confused redhead on the bed before him.  He was going to love this.  He sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled the covers back.  Slowly, he leaned forward and started to help her take off her pajama top.  Before when he had bathed her, he had never undressed her completely.  Now, he was slowly and carefully stripping her to expose all her flesh to him.

Once he had taken her top off, he helped her sit up slightly and laid out the towel beneath her.  He then reached down and removed her pajama bottoms and placed a towel under her legs as well.  Smiling down at the nearly naked form of the young witch spread out before him on the bed, Spike grabbed a washcloth and began the task of washing the young girl.

Willow was surprised at the attention Spike was giving her.  He was so gentle touching her and helping her remove her clothing.  At first, it was difficult just lying in the bed with her chest exposed, but Spike didn't seem to make a big deal about it, so why should she.  When the warm water touched her skin, she couldn't contain the small shudder that ran through her body.

"Cold, luv?" Spike asked quietly.

"No" Willow answered.  "Feels good."

"Good" he replied before he continued his task.

Neither person noticed when a certain dark vampire snuck in the room and stood in the shadows, watching the erotic scene playing out before him.

~Part: 26~

Angel stood in awe, watching his childe bathe the wounded redhead.  He so gentle with her, as if she were the finest china and had to be handled with the most delicate hand.  He knew that Spike was a very nurturing person, even if he would never admit it, but he had never paid much attention to it.  When he was Angelus, Spike always took care of Druscilla and Angelus didn't care what Spike did as long as she didn't bother him.

Angel watched as Spike removed the bandage on Willow's arm and tenderly cleaned the around the stitches, applied some antibiotic cream and wrapped the wound in a clean bandage.

"Alright, luv?" Spike asked quietly after bandaging her wound.

"Yeah" Willow breathed.  Angel was surprised to hear the hint of arousal in her voice.  Instantly, he felt himself harden.  Spike's attention was turning her on.

Spike reached back into the basin and picked up a washcloth again and returned to washing his charge.  He swept the warm cloth over her collarbone and down to the opposite arm down to her fingertips.  He then washed up her arm and moved slowly down to her exposed chest.

As the soft cloth brushed down her breasts and swirled around her nipples, Willow groaned softly.  The coral buds peaked so tightly, they almost hurt.  Spike smiled slightly watching her body respond to his touch.  He decided to linger for a few more moments.

Finally, Willow sighed and whispered, "I think my breasts are clean now, Spike."

"You can never be too sure" he whispered back with an evil smirk on his face.

They both chuckled as the washcloth began to move slowly down her pale torso.  Spike washed her tight stomach and dipped as far down as he could until he came into contact with her panties.  Moving past the cotton barrier, he moved down her legs, taking special care to thoroughly clean her inner thighs.

The blonde swirled the washcloth down the girl's legs, lifting each one slightly to wash both the top and underneath with care.  As he made his way down to her petite feet, he scrubbed lightly from heel to toes.  He smiled as he washed between each toe.  As each one was cleaned, he would place a delicate kiss on the tip.  When the first foot was clean, he licked it seductively from her heel across the sore ending with a playful nip on the ball.  He moved to its twin and repeated the procedure.

Angel was lost in the seductive play before him.  Hidden in the shadows, he trailed a hand over the erection pressing against the soft material of his trousers.  He bit back a moan at the feeling.  He wanted to be a part of what he was watching but didn't know how to approach them.

Spike smiled when he realized that he and Willow were not alone.  A powerful wave of arousal hit him as he was licking the redhead's foot. His sire had slipped in while he was washing the girl and was too distracted to notice him.  Now that he was ready to move on to his next step of his seduction, he decided to invite Angel to help.

"Are you going to stand there all day, or are going to come and help me, Poof?" Spike asked, never turning from watching the young witch on the bed.

Both Willow's and Angel's heads shot to the blonde vampire sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Angel?" Willow called out, looking around the room to try and find the dark vampire.  Angel slowly moved out from the shadows to stand by the end of the bed.

"I just came to check and make sure you two were alright" he said sheepishly.

"And how long have been lurking in the shadows?" Spike asked with a smirk.

"I wasn't lurking" Angel replied defensively.

"Well, are you going to help or what?" the blonde asked, finally looking over his shoulder at Angel.

"What do you want me to do?" he asked.

"Go into the bathroom and get another razor" Spike said simply as he looked back at the redhead.

Angel quickly made his way out of the bedroom and into the bathroom to find the item requested.  With the razor in hand, Angel walked back to the bed and sat down on the side opposite Spike.  The blonde had already used the washcloth to moisten the girl's legs and was beginning to apply the baby oil.

Willow moaned and the feeling of the strong fingers rubbing the oil into the stiff muscles.  She hadn't used them very much for days and the light massage was bringing them swiftly back to life.  Following his childe's example, Angel picked up the bottle of oil and began work on the other leg.

Once Spike was satisfied with his work, he moved the basin of water to the bed between Willow's feet and picked up his razor.  Angel did the same and both vampires set to work shaving the prone girl's legs.  At first, Willow thought this was a little strange.  No one had ever done this for her before, but watching them taking such care with her, she was entranced.

Both men threw themselves into their task, gently removing the last bit of hair from the front of Willow's legs.  Once they were done with the front, Spike told Willow, "Roll over, luv."

He held out his hand and helped her roll onto her stomach.  Once she was settled, he looked at Angel and asked, "Think you can handle both legs, Peaches?"

"Sure" Angel replied, curious as to what his childe was up to.

Spike moved from his spot at the foot of the bed to just above Willow's head.  Angel set to work on the backs of Willow's legs while Spike poured more oil onto his hands and began rubbing the sore muscles of the redhead's back.

Willow moaned again, feeling Spike work the sore muscles tenderly. Angel smiled up at the blonde who returned it happily.  This was a perfect moment for them.  No pressure, no expectations, just enjoying themselves with the redhead.

Soon, Angel was done with his task and he reached for the towel to wipe off the last of the oil.  Once she was clean, he leaned down and licked the back of her leg from heel to cotton covered buttock.  Willow giggled at the tickle of the slightly rough tongue.  She was so relaxed now she felt like a puddle of Willow goo.

Spike took the towel from Angel and wiped the excess oil from her back. "Back over now, pet" he whispered.  This time, Angel helped the redhead turn over and she looked from Angel to Spike and back, wondering what would happen next.

The blonde sat down on the bed next to the redhead and smirked evilly at her.  "Got a question for you, Red" he said.  "You ever been shaved here?"  Spike slowly trailed his index finger over the girl's mound of red curls through the soft cotton.

Willow gasped at the feeling of the gentle touch and shook her head violently.

"Would you like to?" he asked seductively.  "It feels heavenly."

Willow thought for a moment.  <Can I do that?> she wondered.  Finally she decided, <Why the hell not?> "Ok" she whispered quietly.

Spike's smile practically split his face.  He couldn't believe Willow had agreed, but he was happy she did.  He reached down to remove her cotton panties and smiled as she raised her hips to help him.

Angel watched in awe as the redhead was exposed to him and his childe. She was remarkable.  Since he figured Spike knew what he was doing, Angel grabbed the oil bottle once more and moved to the top of the bed. He slowly poured out some oil and began to massage Willow's arms and shoulders, trying to help her relax.

Spike prepared her gentle curls with care.  He made sure to use lots of water and oil to soften the hair and make it as easy for her as possible.  He gently took the razor and began to remove the hair from her tender nether lips.  At first, Willow was nervous about this, but Spike was being so gentle, she knew he wouldn't hurt her.

Once he was satisfied with his work, he dried her off with the towel. She lifted her head to see what it looked like.  Angel helped her into a sitting position so she could see better.  Spike had shaved her clean except for a small triangle directly above her lips.  She smiled at Spike.

"Wow" she exclaimed.  "That's really cute."

"Wait til you see how it feels" he said quietly before he leaned down to lick the now bald lips.

Willow gasped at the feeling.  Spike was right, it was wonderful.  He slowly trailed his tongue up and down the smooth lips before gently parting them with the strong muscle.  He lapped at the smooth skin, dipping between the folds to taste the warm wetness hidden within.  He moaned at the taste and pressed deeper, needed to taste more.

Angel was amazed at the sight before him. As he watched the blonde head dip down in between the pale thighs, he moved his hands down to the pert breasts before him.  Willow moaned as Angel's fingertips circled the coral colored buds until they teased into hard peaks.  He leaned over to take one of the small buds into his mouth to nip and suckle it in his cool mouth.

Willow thought she was going to come apart at the seams.  Between Spike's tongue delving between her smooth lips and Angel's fingers and mouth teasing her breasts, her world was sharpened to a pin point of pleasure.

Spike reached under the redhead's buttocks and tilted her pelvis up slightly so he had better access to her core.  Feeling the beginning of her orgasm start with the gentle quaking of her inner muscles, the blonde vampire moved up and pulled the delicate bundle of nerves between his teeth and nibbled lightly before he pulled it completely into his mouth and sucked hard.  He quickly plunged two fingers into the redhead's wet and curled them up and stroking her G-spot.

Feeling the girl's body go ridged, Angel captured her mouth with his own, swallowing the scream as it left her lips.  Wave after wave of pleasure rolled over Willow as she rode out her orgasm.  Slowly she felt herself coming down from the edge and she registered that Angel was kissing her.  She responded to the kiss, first gently then with an increased passion.

Spike licked around the smooth skin, cleaning her of all the spilt fluid from her explosive orgasm.  Once he was satisfied with his work, he looked up into his sire's eyes.  "You really should check this out, Peaches" he whispered.  "It's amazing."

Angel smiled at his childe and moved from his spot at the head of the bed to kneel next to the small redhead.  He softly trailed his fingertips over the smooth flesh, enjoying the feeling.  He closed his eyes as he tried to ingrain the feeling into his memory.

Spike slowly moved behind his sire.  He reached around to unbutton his shirt.  The blonde leaned forward and licked the shell of the man's ear. Softly he whispered, "If you think that feels nice, you should feel that smooth skin on your cock."

Angel stiffened immediately. "No" he cried as he pulled his hand away. "I.I can't."  He jumped off the bed quickly and ran from the room.  Both Willow and Spike sat in shock, looking after the retreating vampire.

Spike had an idea what the problem was.  He looked at Willow and asked "Do you think you'll be alright, pet?  I think I need to go have a little talk with the Poof."

"No problem, Spike" Willow whispered as she yawned widely.  "For some reason, I feel a little worn out just now."  She smiled at the blonde vampire as he cleaned up the bed and carried everything back into the bathroom.  Before leaving, he walked over to the bed and took her face in his hands.  Leaning over, he gently brushed his lips against hers. Willow sighed into the kiss.  When Spike pulled back, he smiled down at her.  He then leaned forward and placed a small kiss on the end of her nose.  "Sleep now, pet" he whispered.  "I'll come and check on you later."

Willow settled down into the pillows and sighed heavily.

Spike took one last look at the girl before quickly slipping out the door to go and find his sire.  It was time they had a certain discussion.

~Part: 27~

Spike took one look back at the sleepy redhead before silently slipping from the room to find Angel.  He quickly moved across the hall and paused before the door.  Should he knock or just go right in?  Spike finally decided to go in without knocking.

Looking around the sitting room, Spike listened for the dark vampire's presence.  Angel was in the bedroom, pacing and mumbling to himself.  Spike could practically smell the angst and despair flowing off the distressed man.

"Sire?" the younger man whispered as he cautiously entered the bedroom. Angel didn't answer the call.  He simply continued to pace.  "Sire" the blonde tried again.  He was beginning to worry.  He had never seen Angel like this before.  The older vampire was normally the picture of self restraint and calm, but now he was acting like Spike felt most of the time since he received his soul.

After watching the scene for a few more moments, Spike decided he'd had enough.  He walked over to Angel and stood directly in his path.  When Angel tried to go around him, Spike reached out and grabbed him by the arms.

"Stop this, Angel" Spike said, trying to get Angel to look him in the eye.

Angel was working extremely hard not to look at the man before him.  He was upset at himself for thinking he could do this.  All of this.  He knew he was brooding, but he couldn't help it.

"Come on, sire" Spike pleaded.  "Talk to me."

Anger suddenly slammed into Angel and he turned his head and growled at Spike.  "Just leave me alone, Spike!"

The fierceness of the command surprised Spike.  Angel was obviously mad at him for some reason, but he had no idea what he had done.  He thought back to what had happened and tried to come up with something he might have said or done.  "You know I would never do anything to hurt Willow, don't you mate?"

Angel's anger continued to rise just listening to Spike talk.  He didn't want to talk about this.  He wasn't even completely sure why he was so angry.  He clenched his jaw tightly and flashed his gold eyes at his childe. "I said, leave me alone."

Now Spike was getting angry, but he knew what Angel was doing.  He didn't want to talk about it, so he would make Spike mad so he would leave, but Spike was not going to have any of it.  "Alright, ya' damn poof" he growled. "You want to be alone? Fine.  There is a beautiful redhead in the other room and if you don't want her and don't think you can satisfy her, then I guess I'll have to do it.  I'm sure Red will understand.  It's not like she hasn't dealt with rejection before that she would be upset by this.  I'll just go and tell her you don't want her."

Spike started to turn.  He expected Angel to stop him, but what he didn't expect was the teeth rattling blow across his jaw.  Caught off guard, Spike went down hard.  As he started to pull himself off the floor, Angel launched himself at him.  Spike raised his hands to try and defend himself against the blows raining down on him, but Angel was in a fury and he didn't have the speed to try and block them.

Spike began to panic as he realized that Angel was not stopping or even slowing in his attack.  He needed to stop him before Angel punched him into unconsciousness.

"Sire, please" he pleaded, trying to reach past Angel's anger.

The dark vampire froze when he heard the pleading voice of his childe.  As he looked down at the bruised and bleeding face, he realized that he had lost control.

Spike looked up at the confused look on his sire's face.  Angel was obviously shocked by his reaction.  His face was wet with tears and his mouth hung open in surprise.  Suddenly, he jumped up and ran for the door. Spike knew he was trying to run away from the confrontation, but he wasn't going to let him.  They needed to talk about this and they were going to do it now.

Spike grabbed Angel by the arm and spun him around before the older vampire made it to the door.  "What is the matter, Angel?" he asked, using that same pleading voice.  "Please tell me.  I want to help."

The dark vampire looked into his childe's eyes and broke down.  He fell into Spike's arms and began to weep.  "I'm sorry.I'm so sorry" he began to chant. Spike slowly helped Angel over to the bed and sat them both down on the edge.  He stroked the sable hair resting on his shoulder and tried to make soothing sounds to help calm him down.

Once Angel had pulled himself together, Spike asked him softly, "What's the matter, luv?"

"The soul" Angel whispered, not wanting to say more, thinking that if he did, it would make it real.

"What about your." Spike trailed off.  <How could I be so stupid?> he wondered.  "You're afraid to lose you soul with Willow."

Angel only nodded.  Spike may have figured this part out, but there was more and Angel was ashamed of it.

"But we've been together and there was no problem" Spike stated, hoping to draw out what the problem really was.

"That was different, Spike" Angel whispered, refusing to make eye contact with his childe.  "That was claiming."

Spike sat and waited for more, but Angel apparently thought this was explanation enough.  The blonde leaned back and took the older man's face in his hands and forced him to look at him.  "Tell me, luv.  Please."

Angel took one look into the cerulean blue eyes and knew there was no way he could refuse.  He took a deep breath and began to pour out what he was afraid might drive his childe away.

"When I'm with you, there is the reminder that I am not a man" he started shakily.  "We have a different relationship, Spike.  When we touch or kiss, I feel the connection.  It's blood and demon, sire and childe.  But I'm afraid that with Willow, it would be too tempting to forget.  I can't go back to being him again, Spike.  I hurt you too much last time and I know I would do it again."

The blonde had a feeling that was part of the problem, but he knew this was something they could work around.  As he opened his mouth to speak, Angel held up his hand to silence him.  He wasn't finished yet.

"My soul is conditional, but yours isn't" the dark man continued, tears forming in his eyes.  "It's just not.I."

"You're jealous" Spike whispered, unbelieving.

"Yeah" Angel agreed, dropping his gaze to the floor.  "I know it's stupid, but I am.  I want to love, but if I open up and forget what I am, I could lose everything.  You can and I want to scream that it not fair.  I've lived with this for so long and sometimes it's still so hard."

The dark vampire broke off his rant and sobbed quietly.  Spike pulled him close and rested his sire's head against his shoulder.  He silently carded the sable hair between his fingers and tried to make soothing noises.

Angel felt ridiculous.  He couldn't believe he had broken down in front of Spike.again.  He was supposed to be the sire.  He was the one who was supposed to take care of the others.  Yet here he was again, in Spike's arms, being comforted by his childe.

Once Angel had calmed down, Spike tilted his head down to look at the man in his arms.  "So" he whispered.  "Your soul is safe with me huh?"

Angel looked up into the smiling blue eyes.  "Yeah, I think so" he answered quietly.

"Want to test that theory?"  Spike didn't wait for an answer.  He could see the need in Angel's eyes already.  He swiftly leaned down and claimed the soft lips in front of him in a passionate kiss.  Feeling the cool lips of his childe's on his, Angel gasped.  As he opened his mouth, Spike took advantage and thrust his tongue inside the soft cavern to explore his sire's sweet mouth.

Feeling his childe deepen the kiss, Angel turned to press his upper body more fully against Spike's.  The kiss grew in intensity as each man tried to get closer to the other.  Hands began to roam over fabric and flesh, grasping and clinging.

Spike was the first to grow desperate.  He started to unbutton Angel's shirt but was unable to make his fingers work fast enough.  Growling in frustration, Spike simply grabbed the shirt and thrust it open, scattering buttons across the bed and floor.

The dark vampire chuckled at Spike's impatience.  "I really like this shirt, Spike" he said in between kisses.

"Me too" answered Spike, pulling the torn shirt from Angel's shoulders and tossing it on the floor.  "Right there."

Spike pushed Angel back onto the bed and began to attack the older man's chest with tongue and teeth.  Angel moaned under the blonde vampire's attentions.  He loved the feeling of his childe's mouth on his sensitive nipples.  Spike slowly made his way down the muscular chest below him.  He traced a path from nipple to navel, lightly nipping along the way.  Angel moaned when Spike dipped his tongue into his navel.  Wrapping his finger in the soft curls, Angel pulled his head up lightly.

"Spike" he growled softly.

The blonde simply looked at his sire, pleading with his eyes.  "Sire, let me love you" he whispered.

Angel looked at Spike for a moment in shock.  Spike wanted to make love to him.  He didn't know what to say.  As he smiled at his childe, a single tear slid down his cheek.

Watching the small drop work its way down his sire's face, Spike knew his answer.  He crawled up the prone body on the bed and gently licked the salty drop from the pale skin.  The blonde vampire smiled down at Angel and renewed his seduction.

As he gently kissed his strong jaw and neck, Spike reached down and opened the soft material of Angel's trousers.  The dark vampire gasped when he felt Spike fondle his hardening member through the material of his silk boxers.

"Spike" he moaned, loving the gentle attention but also feeling as though it was slowly driving him crazy.

Spike would not be rushed, however.  He had waited a long time to be able to make love to the man before him.  He had decided he wanted to make this last.  Slowly, he moved down and hooked his fingers into the waistband of the boxers and removed both Angel's trousers and boxers, tossing them unceremoniously onto the floor.

The feeling of the cool air on his skin made Angel shudder.  He closed his eyes, trying to memorize every touch, every kiss, every bite.  He didn't want to forget anything his childe might do.

"Open your eyes" Spike whispered.  "I want you to watch me."

Angel did as he was told and smiled shyly.  He gasped as he watched the blonde lean down and take his entire erection into his mouth, never letting their eyes drift.  Angel moaned loudly and fought the urge to thrust into the willing mouth.  Spike slowly licked up and down the hard flesh, loving the feeling of Angel in his mouth.  He began to run his fingertips over the muscular thighs before lightly scratching the soft inner flesh.  Spike lightly reached up and cupped Angel's balls, rolling them gently in his fingers.

"Spike" Angel cried out.  He was so on edge, he was afraid he might lose control at any moment.  "Please Spike.  Want you in me."

Spike gasped and stopped his ministrations.  He looked up at the dark vampire below him.  "What?" he asked.

"You said you wanted to love me" Angel whispered.  "I want you to be in me, please."

Spike moaned at the idea of being inside his sire.  He wasted no time getting off the bed and stripping himself of all his clothes.  He lay down on top of the larger man, slowly rubbing their erections together.  "You sure about this, luv?" he asked, praying that Angel wouldn't change his mind.

"Yeah" he answered simply, leaning up to gently kiss the man above him.

Spike slowly pulled away from Angel and rummaged around in the bedside table, frantically looking for the small tube hidden within.  Finding what he was searching for, Spike quickly returned to the waiting man on the bed. Settling himself between Angels's parted thighs, Spike quickly coated his fingers with the cool liquid, rubbing it between his palms to warm it slightly.  Fully coated, he trailed a single finger down to the man's waiting opening.

Angel whimpered lightly when he felt Spike's slick finger slowly circling his entrance.  He tried to move slightly to make Spike enter him, but the blonde refused to change his pace.

"Relax, luv" Spike whispered.

Angel took in a deep relaxing breath and gasped loudly when Spike's finger entered him swiftly.  Spike waited a few moments before he began to move his finger further.  Slowly moving the finger in the tight opening, Spike gasped at how tight his sire was.  He didn't want to hurt him, so he took his time preparing him.

Angel gasped at the feeling of Spike exploring him.  He used first one, then two fingers to stretch and prepare his tight opening.  When Spike slipped in three fingers, Angel's hips flew off the bed, arching to meet the probing digits with passion.  Spike curled his fingers in slightly to find the hidden nub inside his lover.  Finding Angel's prostate, he rubbed it experimentally.

Angel cried out as sparks shot throughout his body.  "Gods, Spike" he whispered breathlessly.  "Is that what it feels like?  I should have had you do this to me a long time ago."

Spike chuckled at that.  He had wanted to show Angel the pleasures he experienced many times, but Angelus believed it to be a sign of weakness he could not display as a master vampire.  Now that they were past that, Angel would benefit from Spike's years of experience.

After several minutes of minding numbing pleasure from Spike's talented fingers, Angel thought he would explode at any minute.  He pleaded with the blonde vampire, "Spike, Will, please, I don't want to cum yet.  I want you inside me."

"How could anyone deny such a beautiful request?" Spike answered huskily, smiling at the man displayed before him.  He was almost overwhelmed by how wanton Angel looked spread out over the bed, legs parted, begging to be taken.  He knew he couldn't wait any longer.  He pulled his fingers out of the tight opening and motioned for Angel to roll onto his stomach.

When Angel realized what Spike wanted, he reached out to still his hands. "No" he whispered.  "I want to see you."

"You know that will hurt you more, luv?" Spike questioned.  He really wanted this to be good for the older vampire.  He didn't want to take the chance of hurting him.

"Yes" Angel smiled at his childe.  "Please, Will, just take me."  Angel reached down and grabbed the backs of his knees and pulled his legs up to display himself fully for the blonde.  Spike gasped at the sight.  A new wave of lust shot through him and he leaned down to lick the still slick opening before him.

Angel cried out as the cool tongue began to probe and circle the puckered entrance.  Spike's assault on him was fast and demanding and Angel was quickly brought to the brink of his desire.

"Spike, stop!" he cried.

The blonde immediately froze, thinking he did something wrong.  Angel saw the despair in his eyes and quickly explained.

"Too good" he groaned.  "Want you in me when I cum.  Please."

Spike smiled at his sire and decided to take pity on him.  He moved to kneel between the deliciously parted thighs and coated his erection with the remainder of the lube.  Slowly he moved the head of his cock to the waiting entrance of his sire.  He leaned over the prone body and gently kissed the parted lips below him.

"Sure you're ready for this, luv?" Spike asked one more time, just to be sure.

"More than anything, Will" Angel whispered as he thrust his tongue into the cool mouth of his childe.

As Angel kissed him, Spike slowly thrust forward to penetrate the tight ring of muscle.  He moaned as he entered the warm recesses of his sire, amazed at how tight he was.  "So good" he gasped, trying to move slowly, but quickly giving way to the need building inside him until he thrust the last few inches, fully encasing himself inside the dark vampire.

Spike looked down at the pained expression on the dark vampire's face and paused.  "You ok, sire?" he asked gently.

Angel was amazed at the sensation of being filled.  It hurt but he was a vampire.  Pain was not necessarily a bad thing.  Once he got used to the feeling of Spike inside him, he wanted more.  Experimentally, he began to rock his hips, trying to get Spike to move.

Taking the hint, Spike pulled out almost all the way before plunging back into waiting vampire.  Carefully, he watched Angel's face to make sure everything was alright.  The dark vampire's face was the picture of pure pleasure.  Spike suddenly wished he was the one with the artistic talent. He wanted to capture that look for him to hold onto forever.

Knowing they were both close, Spike began to speed up the rhythm and intensity of his thrusts.  He braced himself above his sire on his elbows to look into his face and achieve the angle he was looking for.  When Angel cried out, Spike knew he had found the spot.  Making sure to hit his prostate with each trust, the blonde vampire set a steady pace.

Angel felt like he would burst at any minute.  "Fuck, Will.Harder, please."

Spike knew what he wanted, but tonight he was determined to make love to his sire, so he kept up the slow, steady rhythm.

Angel thought he was going to die.  Spike had brought him to the edge of orgasm and kept him there with this slow thrusting.  He thought about flipping them over and taking control himself, but this was Spike's show. He would let his childe love him.

Spike knew he was close.  He pulled himself up enough to look in Angel's face.  "Look at me, luv" he demanded quietly.

Angel opened his eyes and was startled at the depth of emotion in the blue orbs that stared back at him.  For the first time, he could swear he was looking directly into Spike's soul and what he saw scared him.  He saw love.

"Take me, Sire" Spike pleaded, tears coming to his eyes.  "All that I am."

Angel was shocked but would not take the offering without a condition. Angel turned his head to the side slightly and quietly whispered, "Together."

Spike was surprised by the obvious show of submission and trust.  He leaned down, lightly kissing the exposed flesh of Angel's neck and moaned, "Yes."

As the dark vampire felt his childe's true face come to the fore, he let his own slip into place as well and together they pierced each other's necks, drinking down the passion filled blood.  As the blood hit their tongues, both vampires were sent spiraling over the edge of their passion.

Spike thrust twice more, feeling the cool seed of his sire shoot between them and he filled the clenching passage with his own.  Slowly, spent of semen and filled with blood, both vampires pulled away from each other's necks and began to lick at the seeping wounds.  Satisfied that the marks were closed, Angel pulled his childe up to lie next to him, settling his head on his chest.  The older vampire began to card his fingers through the soft curls as he drifted off to sleep, purring lightly.

"Thank you" he whispered softly.

"What for?" Spike asked quietly.

"For loving me."

"Can't help that now can I?"  As he felt the older vampire drift off to sleep, Spike knew that maybe there was something he could help with. Starting tomorrow, he and the little witch were going to find a way to help his sire.  He smiled at the thought, as he snuggled into the larger vampire and drifted off to sleep.

~Part: 28~ Spike woke slowly, realizing he was still in Angel's bed with the larger man curled around him.  He smiled into the cool flesh pressed against him as he thought about the events from the night before.

Several minutes later, Spike decided he needed to get up and talk to a certain redheaded witch.  He chuckled at the thought that he was actually up and moving before Angel.  The older man always made a big deal about how lazy Spike was.  He considered teasing his sire about it when he woke up, but decided against it.  He'd had a rough night, emotionally and physically, so he'd let it slide.this time.

The blonde searched the room until he found his previously discarded jeans and pulled them on, not bothering with anything else.  Quietly, he made his way out of the bedroom.  Before leaving completely, he turned to see the dark haired man shift to move into the space he had recently vacated and smiled to himself.  He didn't know where this new need to protect his sire had come from, but he knew that he was going to do everything possible to help him.

Quietly leaving the suite, Spike went to head across the hall to talk to Willow.  He wondered if she was alright.  He hadn't planned on sleeping so long and he hoped that the humans had remembered the schedule.  It was well past time for Willow's pain medication and he hated the thought of her in pain.

He decided to check on her before he entered the room.  He pressed his ear against the door and listened intently to see if the redhead was awake. Immediately he heard the high pitched, fast chattering that let him know that Fred was in the room with Willow and apparently engaged in what they considered an interesting conversation.

"So then I figured that if I reversed the polarity, it would cause the particles to repel instead of attract the magnetic field" the mousey girl explained.

Willow immediately jumped in.  "Did it work?  I would think that you would need a huge amount of energy to do that on such a large scale."

"Yeah" Fred explained.  "But it took more energy than I expected and I knocked out all the power for three city blocks.  Just don't tell Angel.  He still thinks that it was because of Gwen, the electric chick, and I'm not about to tell him it was me."

Spike chuckled at that.   Fred certainly was an interesting girl.  He reached out and turned the door knob, smiling as he entered the girl's room. The conversation stopped as both girls turned and smiled at the blonde vampire.

"Hey, Spike" Fred said, quickly rising from her seat beside the bed.  "I was just bringing Willow something to eat."  The young girl's babbling told Spike that she was still a little frightened of him.  He gently reached out and laid his hand on her upper arm, squeezing slightly, trying to reassure her.

Smiling, he said, "Thanks, Lovely.  I appreciate your help.  Why don't you run along now so I can have a word with Red here, 'kay?"

"Sure thing" she replied, with a huge smile on her face.  She moved to the bed and gathered all the dishes.  As she left the room, she turned to Willow and said, "If you'd like, I could come up later and let you know how the experiment turned out."

"I'd like that" Willow said with a smile.  She really felt a connection with brunette.  She reminded Willow of herself in high school.  Fred was quiet, but extremely intelligent and Willow appreciated someone she could have a challenging debate with.

Once the girl had left the room, Spike walked over to the edge of the bed and sat down carefully, eyes locked with the green orbs of the redhead.

Willow was the first to speak.  "How's Angel?  He seemed really upset last night."

"Yeah Red" Spike replied, reaching over to delicately tuck a stray piece of hair behind her ear.  "That's why I'm here.  I need your help."

Willow could barely contain her excitement.  Since she and Spike had shown up in LA, they had been trying to heal, but she was beginning to hope for something to do.  Now Spike had a project for her.  "What do you need?" she asked, trying not to look so excited.

Spike took a deep breath before continuing.  "He's worried about losing his soul again.  He thinks that he will lose himself in you and then Angelus will be in control again.  I want you to help me find a way make the soul permanent."

Willow stared at Spike for a moment.  She wasn't sure she heard him right. "Are you sure?" she asked.

"Yeah" the blonde replied with a nod.  "It hurts him so much.  Bloody gypsies!  That's not revenge, its torture.  Constantly afraid to be happy? Nobody deserves that."

Slowly he trailed off his rant.  "Except me" he said, barely above a whisper.

"No" Willow said, reaching over to take the cool hand in her own.  "Not even you deserve that type of torture, Spike.  We'll find something.  When do we start?"

"How about today?" Spike smiled when Willow's face broke out in an earth shattering smile.

"Really?" the redhead asked, barely able to contain her excitement.

"Really" Spike replied, matching her smile with his own.  "Major research is in order and I say we get to it."  Slowly, his smile turned into a smirk. "How's about a little bath first, luv?"

Willow giggled at the invitation but she wasn't about to turn down some of the vampire's attentions.  "Sponge or tub?"

Spike laughed.  He hadn't expected that from the little witch.  "Well, I think if you have a little help, you could get in the tub today."

Spike helped the injured girl stand and headed towards the bathroom.  The blonde reached in and starting the water running, testing the temperature carefully, before turning to help undress the young girl before picking her up and laying her delicately into the steaming water.

"Be careful with the bandage, pet" Spike said as Willow slumped down into the water.  Spike stared as he watched the pale skin of the young girl flushed from a creamy porcelain to a rosy pink in the hot water.  A soft growl rumbled deep in the vampire's chest, startling the witch.

Willow giggled when Spike's eyes grew wide in surprise.  "Sorry about that, luv" he said, tucking his head in embarrassment.

Willow smiled up at the man she knew would be blushing, had it been physically possible for the vampire to do so.  "What was that?" she asked.

"Just a little vampire thing" he replied vaguely, trying to cover his embarrassment.

"Do you purr too?" the girl asked, suddenly very curious about the vampire.

"Sometimes" he shrugged.  "When we're really happy."  He grabbed the sponge and began to absentmindedly lather the redhead's delicate limbs.

Willow smiled at the idea of the two vampires purring.  <My own pair of great big kitty cats> she thought.  She was brought out of her inner monologue when the soft sponge gently brushed over her warm nipples.  She gasped at the sudden tingle of electricity that shot through her body at the innocent touch.

Hearing Willow's gasp, Spike quickly pulled his hand away.  He had no intention of hurting or seducing the young girl at this point, but the sound of her pleasure made him smile and all he wanted at that moment was to do it again.

"Sorry luv" he whispered huskily as he looking at the young witch, wishing she would encourage him to do more.

Willow sighed and sank deeper into the warm water.  She enjoyed the attention from the gorgeous blonde and wanted more.  "Nothing to be sorry for" she whispered softly.  Feeling bold, the redhead reached out and pulled the hand back toward her breast, encouraging the blonde to continue his exploration.

Spike was shocked by the girl's actions, but he was not about to let her request go unfulfilled.  Slowly, he trailed the soft sponge around the small coral nipple, watching in rapt fascination as the tiny bud puckered into a tight peak.  Satisfied with the state of the first nub, the blonde began to work on it's twin.  Soon, Willow was panting with desire and arching up into the delicious touch.

Spike slowly moved the sponge further down the young girl's body, cleaning and teasing the body now writhing in the warm water.

Willow loved the feeling of the slightly rough sponge gliding across her newly shaved pussy.  As the blonde slowly stroked her lips with the soapy instrument, she unconsciously spread her legs wider to allow him better access.

Spike smiled at the girl's wanton display and he wasn't about to disappoint her.  Working his way further down her body, he made sure to completely wash her legs and toes before laying the sponge aside and working his way back up with his bare fingers.

The young witch gasped at the first teasing of Spike's fingertips against the smooth skin protecting her warmth.  The normally cool vampire's digits were warmed due to the temperature of the bath and the redhead sighed at the feeling.

Watching the expression of bliss cross her face, Spike slowly slipped a single finger between the smooth folds and began to tease the small bundle of nerves he found hidden within.  He smiled when she gasped at the sensations he was causing.  Her moans only served to drive him to want to hear the blessed sound again.  Slowly, he dipped the long, slender finger deep into the girl's tight channel, only to be rewarded by a deeper moan and an audible increase in her heartbeat.

Willow was riding a huge wave of pleasure.  She wondered how he knew exactly where to touch her to bring her the most pleasure.  She decided it probably came from years of practice.  <I guess there is an upside of having a vampire lover> she thought evilly inside.

Watching the evil smile that passed over the girl's lips, Spike decided to step up his ministrations and moved his thumb to lazily draw circles around her tender clit while continuing to thrust his questing finger even deeper inside.

The double assault on the young witch's senses was too much and she began to plead the blonde vampire for more.  "Oh Goddess, Spike!" she cried, arching her back pulling her breasts out of the water.  "More.  Don't stop."

"No intentions of stopping, luv" Spike tenderly drawled, leaning over to flick one nipple with the end of his pink tongue.  "What do you want?"

It took Willow a few minutes to comprehend the question.  <What do I want?> she questioned herself.  Without waiting for her brain to catch up, she blurted out, "I want to cum."

"As you wish" was all the reply she received before Spike increased his attention on her almost overloaded body.  He speed up his thrusts, adding a second finger for good measure and increased the rhythm he had started on her clit.  Leaning over the side of the tub, he enclosed one peaked nipple into his mouth and began to suckle gently, drawing a wanton moan from the writhing girl.

Willow was soon lost in the attention of the hands and mouth giving her so much pleasure.  Her head fell back as she arched into the man above her, demanding even more.  Her red hair splayed out underneath her as it sank into the warm water and she thrashed her head from side to side, crying out in ecstasy.

Knowing she was close, Spike leaned up and kissed the girl's red lips, stroking the bottom lip with his tongue, requesting entry.  Upon receiving it, he pushing his tongue inside, swirling it around the moist cavern of her mouth.

Willow was on the edge and cried out as she felt the beginning of her orgasm flow over her.  Spike smiled as he swallowed her cry in his mouth.  Slowly, Willow's breathing began to return to normal.

The blonde vampire took the time to gently wash and condition the fine red strands.  Once Spike had decided that she could try to stand, he reached in and carefully lifted the girl out of the slowly cooling water.  As she braced herself against the wall, the blonde gently dried her flushed skin with a huge fluffy towel, making sure not to disturb the bandage on her arm.

Satisfied that she was clean and dry, Spike picked up the young girl and carried her to the bed.  After laying her down carefully on the bed, he pulled out some clothes and dressed her before helping her stand.  Smiling at the redhead, Spike leaned down and chastely kissed the girl on the lips.

Willow shyly looked down and saw that, although she had reached completion, Spike obviously had not.  "Spike" she whispered.  "Do you want to.you know?"

At first, the blonde vampire was confused by the girl's question.  Then he followed her line of sight and he realized that she had noticed the obvious erection pushing against his jeans.  He smiled, slightly embarrassed.  "No worries, luv" he said, stepping closer to the redhead and kissing her forehead lightly.  "We have something more important on the agenda right now.  Let's go see if we can find a way to make the Poofter's soul a touch more permanent, shall we?"

Willow smiled at the blonde man as he reached out to take her hand as they left the bedroom the redhead had been holed up in for the past several days to head toward the library to find their friend a cure.

~Part: 29~

Angel woke up slowly, realizing that he was alone.  He wondered were Spike was and thought maybe he had just imagined the passion of the night before. But as he shifted, the delicious ache he felt let him know that it had been real.  He smiled remembering the look on his childe's face when he told him to fuck him.  Just beautiful.

"I can't believe Spike got up before me" Angel mumbled as he headed toward the shower.  "He's never going to let me live this down."

After the warm shower and dressing for the day, Angel walked down the stairs to find his friends.  As he came into the foyer, he smiled as he looked around at the people scattered there.  Everyone was there, working on one project or another.  Everyone except for Willow and Spike.

"Where's Will and Spike?" he asked Cordelia as she looked up from the file she was reviewing.

"In the library, I think" she replied before returning her gaze back to the file on her desk.

"Thanks" he said as he turned to head into the closed room to find his missing friends.  As he walked in the room, he suddenly felt like he was out of the loop.  Willow and Spike were sitting at the table in the center of the large room with stacks of large books surrounding them.  They were chatting amiably until the dark vampire entered the room.  Angel was surprised by the ending of the conversation on his behalf.

"What are you guys looking up?" Angel asked, trying to act nonchalant.

He knew that something was up immediately when Willow slammed shut the book she was reading and began to babble.

"Looking up?" she fired off.  "What makes you think we were looking anything up?  We were just.reading, you know, for the fun of it.  Yeah.  I like to read, Spike likes to read.  Right?  You like to read, right Spike?  So, no looking, just reading."

Angel decided to end her suffering for her.  "Willow" he said, laying his hand on her arm.  "It's ok.  I was just curious.  Anything I can help with?"

"Not really, Peaches" the blonde replied, pushing aside the book he was reading before standing and walking toward his sire.  "Let's just call it a.surprise."

Angel wasn't sure if he liked the idea of that or not, but he decided to trust his two friends.  "Alright" he said, reaching over to gently card with fingers through the blonde man's soft curls.  Seductively, he leaned forward and whispered in his childe's ear, "Do no' like wakin' up without ye in me bed, boy."

Spike thought for sure he was blushing as he pulled away.  "Well, if you didn't sleep so late ya' big poof."

Angel laughed and leaned back down for a small kiss.  "Ok" he said as he pulled away.  "I'll leave you two alone, but if need any help, you'll let me know, right?"

"You bet" Willow cried, just a little too perky for Spike.  He flinched at her tone before smiling at his sire, hoping he would hurry and leave.

Angel just shook his head and turned to head out of the library.  Once he closed the door, he leaned against it, a little shaken.  He had scanned some of the books on the table and what he saw scared him.  <What the hell are they doing?> he wondered.  <Those spells are complicated and dangerous.> He just hoped that Willow wasn't getting into something she couldn't handle.

***

As soon as the door was closed, Spike spun around and glared at the blushing redhead.  "Bloody hell, Red" he practically growled.  "Subtlety is obviously not your strong point is it, luv?"

"Sorry, Spike" she whispered, ducking her head and trying to avoid the vampires gaze.  "I got nervous and when I'm nervous, I babble.  You could have stopped me."

"What, and not make it look any more obvious than we already were?"

"I'm sorry" she glared at the blonde.  "Maybe this was a bad idea."

Spike instantly felt bad.  He walked over to stand behind the redhead and placed his hands on her shoulders.  "No, Red" he whispered, slowly rubbing the muscles under his fingers.  "We need to do this for him.  I just overreacted, is all.  You find anything yet?"

"No" Willow sighed as she reopened the book she had been searching through. "We've been looking for hours and there is nothing that is of any use.  Do you think we'll find anything?"

"Of course we will, ducks" Spike smiled as he leaned down to kiss the fiery red hair.  "We make a great team and we'll find something, promise."

Willow sighed as she felt the cool lips against her scalp.  "Ok, Spike. Let's get back to work."

Spike walked around to his seat and picked up the volume he had been searching through before Angel had walked in.  He sent out a silent prayer to whatever being might listen to him for direction.  They most certainly needed it.

***

Hours later Willow and Spike were drawn from their searching by a quiet knock on the library door.  Willow discreetly hid the notes she had been taking while Spike placed the book he had been reading at the bottom of the stack next to him before the person at the door could enter.

Angel quickly entered the library, smiling at his friends in the room. "Cordy had a vision" he stated simply before continuing.  "Nothing major, but we need to leave right away."

"You want us to come along?" Spike asked, starting to stand.

"Not necessary" Angel said, holding his hand up to let Spike know he didn't have to get up.  "Should be easy enough.  Wes, Gunn, Cordy and Fred are coming along so we have plenty of people for the job.  Maybe next time."

Spike knew that Angel was still upset about the time he was attacked by humans when he went on a mission, so he wasn't going to push him.  Besides, he and Willow had been researching for hours and he was hungry.  "No problem, mate" he said easily.  "Besides, Red and I still need to get something to eat.  Fancy a bite, luv?"

Willow smiled when she thought of getting some food.  She hadn't realized how hungry she actually was until Spike mentioned it.  "Yeah, Angel" she said, standing up from the table and stretching her stiff muscles.  "We'll be fine.  Food actually sounds good."

Angel was relieved.  He was afraid Spike would get upset at being left at the hotel again.  He always enjoyed what he called a 'good spot of violence' and the thought of anyone thinking that he couldn't handle himself just because of the chip was the subject of more than one argument.

Angel walked out of the library, followed close behind by Willow and Spike. As they passed the rest of the crew, Willow threw out a 'good luck' to everyone as they went out to fight the bad guys.

Once they had left, Spike grabbed Willow's hand and pulled her into the kitchen.  "Whatcha' feel like eating, Red?" the blonde asked.

"Right now, I'll eat just about anything" she replied, suddenly realizing just how hungry she really was.

Spike ran through the cabinets and refrigerator quickly, trying to find something the small witch might like to eat.  After hunting down the proper ingredients, the blonde set out the fix the girl a large plate of angel hair pasta with vegetables and an olive oil and herb sauce.

Willow stared at the plate for a moment before turning her surprised expression on the vampire standing by the humming microwave.  "What?" he asked, feigning irritation.

"Just a little shocked is all" she said with a smile before she tore into the tempting food in front of her.

"Well, I'm a man of many talents" Spike smirked as he pulled the now warm mug of blood out of the microwave before he sat down in the chair next to her.  "So, luv.  What are we going to do?  I can't find a single thing that looks like it's even close to working."

"I don't know, Spike" she replied around a mouth of pasta.  "I mean, I didn't think it would be easy, but I can't find anything.  How are we supposed to help Angel if we can't find the right spell?"

"The right spell for what, peach pie?" the question came from the doorway to the kitchen.  Both Spike and Willow spun around so fast that they almost fell over.  They were shocked to see the green skinned, red horned demon smirking at them.

"Spell?" Willow began babbling.  "There's no spell.  We don't need a spell, do we Spike."

"Red" Spike replied, shaking his head at the young redhead.  "Give it up. He's already got an idea, don'tcha Liberace."

"You two are so obvious" Lorne said smiling.  He walked into the kitchen and placed himself in the chair across from Willow, leaning back and watching the two guilty parties.  "Your auras are just screaming 'We got a secret!' And with you both all secreted away in the library without Angel cakes, well it wasn't hard to put two and two together and come up with a simple conclusion.  You're looking for a way to make so that Mr. Broody won't have a reason to be so broody anymore.  Am I right?"

Spike looked at Willow with wide eyes.  "Were we really that obvious?" he asked.

"Oh yeah" the host replied.  "I take it you're not having much success."

"Not a lick" Willow sighed.  "It's frustrating.  I was hoping we could find some sort of binding spell or maybe a restoration spell, but everything I've found so far won't work on souls.  I guess this is why people don't give soulless creatures souls very often.no offense Spike."

"None taken, luv" Spike said, tucking his head to hide his embarrassment as he finished the last of his blood.  "So, Mr. Greenjeans, I take it you have an idea about all of this."

"Maybe instead of looking for something in the library, you should be looking at what is right in front of you."  Lorne smiled knowingly at the redheaded witch as she slowly began to understand his meaning.

"The Kalderash curse" she whispered.  "That's what you're talking about, right?  We have the spell to give him his soul and the translation.  All we have to do is take out the happiness clause."  She was getting increasingly more excited.  "How could I have not seen it before?  It's so simple.  Thank you Lorne."  The young witch jumped up and ran around the table to throw her arms around the green demon who was smiling from ear to ear.

"You think it will work, pet?" Spike asked.  It seemed like a great idea, just a little too simple for the blonde vampire.

"Of course it will" Willow replied enthusiastically.  "I know I can cast the spell.  All we have to do rewrite it and Angel won't have to worry about.you know."  She was suddenly very embarrassed that Lorne might know her ulterior motives for making Angel's soul permanent.

"It's ok, honey buns" Lorne said with a smile.  "We all want to see tall, dark and broody with a soul that has a more permanent mailing address.  If you think you can do it, I say more power to ya' baby."

Willow was beyond excited now.  She had hit full Willow-on -the-verge-of-a-breakthrough mode.  She grabbed Spike's hand and started to drag him out of the kitchen and back to the library so that they could immediately get to work on the spell.  Before he was out of the room, Spike turned around and looked at the green demon sitting at the table who was still smiling like a maniac.  Something just didn't seem right to the blonde vampire and he hoped that this wasn't something they would regret later.

~Part: 30~

Willow spent the next two days pouring over the curse and its translation. She had figured that Lorne's suggestion would be easy, but as Willow had discovered, things that seemed easy very rarely ever were.  Although she had both pieces of the puzzle, the answer continued to elude her.

Willow was beyond obsessed, she was consumed and Spike was beginning to get very worried about her.  She spent every free moment in the library, either on the computer or furiously scribbling notes in the margins of the translation on the desk in front of her.  The blonde vampire had taken to fixing meals and practically forcing them down the redhead's throat as she mumbled constantly about the spell she was sure she could perform.

Spike smiled as he walked into the library, a small plate with a sandwich and some fruit on it in his hand.  "Hey, Red" he called softly, trying to turn the girls attention away from the computer screen in front of her.

"Hi Spike" she called back, not bothering to turn her head away from the monitor.

"Brought you some food, luv" he tried again to get her attention.  "Why don't you come out to the dinning table and I'll sit with you and have a bite me self."

"Thanks, Spike" she answered, briefly meeting his eyes only to quickly turn away again.  "But I really want to try and get this done.  I think I may have figured out the meanings of these two words that were giving me such a rough time yesterday.  I would really hate to stop now."

"Willow, luv, I'm starting to worry."

"Spike" Willow started, slightly irritated.  "I know that you are concerned, but I have to do this.  We are so close, I can't stop now."  Suddenly she noticed the plate in the vampire's hand.  "Is that for me?"

The vampire simply shook his head, realizing that she hadn't even really been listening to him at all.  "Yeah, pet" he whispered sadly as he laid the plate next to the keyboard.  He watched as the redhead reached out and picked up a piece of the sandwich and began to eat it swiftly without hardly tasting it.  She focused all her attention back on the glowing screen in front of her, completing ignoring the crushed vampire as he silently slipped out of the door.

Once outside the library door, Spike took several unnecessary deep breaths to try and keep the tears at bay.  He knew that it was stupid to be so upset over the redhead apparent rejection of him.  She was just focused on finishing the rewrite of the curse so she could make Angel's soul permanent. It didn't mean that she was rejecting him altogether, but for some reason, he couldn't seem to squash the feelings of disappointment that continued to race through his soul.

Finally, he felt like he had composed himself enough and he pushed himself away from the door.  He decided he needed to do something now before the young witch pushed herself too far and did something that might hurt her or someone else.  He needed to talk to someone tall, green and horny.

Walking through the lobby, Spike sniffed around to see if he could locate the empathic demon.  Noticing the scent, the blonde vampire headed into the front of the lobby.  He stopped in front of the host who was lounging on the round couch with a Seabreeze clutched in his hand.

"Howdy doo, Blondiebear" Lorne greeted the scowling vampire.  "What might I do for you this fine afternoon?"

"Isn't it a bit early for that?" Spike asked, trying to look threatening. "And please don't call me that."

"Sorry Apple-pie.  You're just so cute when you're all flustered.  What did you need?"

"I'm worried about Willow" the blonde replied, looking down at his feet. "She's been going over that text for the last two days and she hardly eats or anything.  I want to help her figure this out, but I don't know how."

The green demon frowned at the blonde.  "And what exactly do you expect me to do?" he asked.  "I am so not a translation expert.  Unless, it's scat. Now that's truly an art form."

Spike shook his head at the strange man.  "The watcher is" he whispered.

"Well, why don't you talk to.ah!"  Realization finally dawned on the host. "You're afraid to talk to Wes."

"Not afraid, ya' ponce" Spike snapped.  After a moment of memorizing the pattern of the floor, he finished, "Bloke doesn't like me.  Don't think he would bother helping me.  Maybe he would if you asked him."

"You want me to talk to Wes for you?"

"If you would, I would be very.it would help Willow a lot."  Spike wasn't used to asking for help or saying thank you for that matter, but he really was happy the green man was a friend enough to help.

"Not a problem, cutie pants" Lorne drawled as he rose gracefully from the couch to head to the office and talk to the former watcher.  "We'll meet you in the library in little less than half an hour, alright?"

"Thanks mate" Spike answered before leaving to go and see if Willow was finished with her plate.  The wait for the watcher was going to drive him up a wall.

***

Twenty minutes later the former watcher and the green demon wandered into the library.  Spike smile as they entered, hoping that Lorne had been able to explain well enough that Wesley was willing to help.

"Hello Willow" Wesley greeted the young witch as he walked through the door. "Lorne tells me you are working on an interesting new project."

Spike smirked at the tone of the watcher's voice.  He apparently understood the implications of what they were trying to do and was still willing to help.

Willow on the other hand didn't seem very happy about the fact that someone else knew about the plan to help Angel.  She turned and quickly shot a look at Spike to let him know that she would be talking to him later.  "Yes Wes" she replied with a smile.  "I'm going to make Angel's soul permanent, if you must know."

"You do realize that this could potentially be very dangerous" he chided. He understood that Willow had an immense power, but these were still forces that should not be played with lightly.

"Wes" Willow sighed.  "This was the first big spell I ever did.  Trust me, I know what I'm doing.  I am just having some trouble with the translation is all."

"If you would like some help, I am excellent at translations" the watcher offered.

At first, Willow considered turning him down, but she knew she was not going to be able to do finish this on her own.  "Pull up a seat and let's see what we can do."

***

Five hours later, Wesley and Willow sighed and sat down the piece of paper they had both been studying since the minute it came off the printer.  The small redhead was rubbing her face with her tired hands.  "We did it" she said softly, smiling at the former watcher.  "We really did it."

"Very well" Wesley replied, matching the redhead's smile.  "Let's gather everyone and tell them, shall we?  It should be a very interesting weekend."

***

Willow stood at the head of the table and looked at the entire crew watching her, waiting for the announcement she had promised to make.  Slowly, she took in a deep breath to steady her nerves and then she began.

"A couple of days ago Spike and I were talking and we decided we needed to do something to make Angel's soul permanent.  So we went looking for a solution."  She looked at the dark haired vampire and smiled.  "That's what we were doing in the library.  We didn't want to tell you.  We were afraid to get your hopes up in case we didn't find anything."

Angel didn't say anything.  He simply nodded his head to acknowledge what Willow said.

"Anyway" she continued.  "Lorne gave us the suggestion to use the spell we already had, so I started working to modify the Kalderash curse.  I was having a hard time with it, so Wesley came to the rescue.  Between the two of us, we modified the curse so that it will give you back your soul, but without the happiness clause.  It should make Angel's soul completely permanent."

Smiles broke out around the table.  The human members of Angel Investigations were extremely excited.  The sooner the spell was done, the sooner they didn't have to worry about Angelus any more.  The celebration was cut short by a quiet, but emphatic "No."

Every head immediately whipped around to look at Angel.

"What did you say?" Wesley asked him.

"I said no" Angel replied.

"Why?" Fred asked, walking over to the vampire and laying her hand on his shoulder.  "This is great.  You could finally be happy and not have to worry about losing your soul."

"I won't put Willow through that" he said quietly.  "She's having a hard enough time with the magic and her control.  I'm not going to do it."

Everyone was shocked at Angel's reaction.  Cordelia stood up and yelled at the dark vampire.  "Now you listen here" she began shouting.  "We work with you day and night and we are the ones that have to deal if you get a happy and lose your soul.  The last thing I want to have to do is deal with Angelus.again.  If Willow and Wesley think this can work, then we need to give it a try.  Or are you willing to put us all in danger like that again?"

Angel sighed heavily.  He knew what Cordelia was saying was true, but he didn't know if he could go through with the spell.  He looked at each one and seeing the same resolve.  They all want him to do the spell, but he couldn't shake the feeling that was stuck in his belly.  "What do we need to do?" he asked quietly.

Willow practically bubbled with excitement.  "Well, I think we have all the herbs we need, except we will need more sage, but that isn't a problem.  The only thing we are really missing is an Orb of Thesula."

"Oh" the former watcher exclaimed.  "I have one at my apartment."

"Let me guess" the redhead smirked at him.  "Paperweight?"

The Englishman hung his head with a smile.  "I'll go and get it and stop at the magic shop on the way."

"Great" Willow replied.  Once he had left, she turned to the subject of her spell and smiled.  "Before we can do the modified spell, there's something else we need to do."

"What's that?" Angel asked with a sigh.

"We'll have to remove your soul so that we can return it permanently."

Angel's head dropped to the table.  That was something he wasn't looking forward to.  He had never told anyone how much it actually hurt to have his soul removed and returned.  It was like a burning that started deep inside him that consumed every cell of his body until they all exploded in bright white pain.  But Willow had on her resolve face and he knew there was no changing her mind.

"How soon do you want to get started?" he asked, head still resting on the table.

"How about right now?" Willow said cheerily.

"Alright" the dark vampire said as rose to his feet.  "Spike, go and get the chains out of the trunk in basement.  You'll have to chain me up.  Angelus is going to be pissed."

"Not for long, Angel" Willow said, lightly squeezing his arm.  "Not for long."

"Yeah" he replied to himself as he walked up the stairs.  Maybe he was worried for no reason.  He certainly hoped so.

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