Author: paula
Disclaimer: Nothing is mine!
Rating: NC17
Pairing: Willow/Spike/Angel
~Part: 1~
Thursday morning/afternoon
Willow put the sack of groceries down, fumbling in her pocket for the keys to her parent's house. She tried to make as little noise as possible; Spike had been sleeping when she left and she didn't want to wake him.
She had slept more than 12 hours since Giles had dropped them both off yesterday evening, and she definitely felt like she still needed a lot more sleep before she would be capable of rational thought - plus her body seemed to currently consist entirely of tender spots and aches.
It was only mid-morning, but Willow had no intention of heading to campus. She was in no state for classes, and even less for an impromptu meeting with anyone she knew, especially Buffy.
Instead she ate a bowl of cereal as she packed away her purchases, including half a dozen bags of blood bought from Willy's. Her chore finished Willow headed upstairs, stripping then gently easing into bed next to her still sleeping mate. Spike grunted and threw his arm around her; within minutes Willow had slipped into a dreamless sleep.
***
Giles put his book down and slowly polished his glasses - a habit that for some reason always helped him to focus his thoughts. He had been studying the "Legend of the Servants" book, which Wesley had generously offered to him, saying that it would probably be best for the book to remain close to Willow, "just in case".
There were two things troubling Giles. The first was that Willow's power had not yet arrived, and he was concerned that they knew very little of the mechanics of the maturity process. It was not clear from the text whether those who died during maturity did so because their bond was not in place, or for some other reason.
Giles was also concerned about the relationship between the three. He knew very well from what he had read - and the way that the trio had acted - that Angel was now also a bond mate. One thing that the book did make clear was that the bond must be the same between all parties.
Of more concern to him was what the book didn't say. Would the bond be affected by the separation of Angel from the other two? Would the obvious tension between them weaken the bond, or prevent the bond from functioning properly? And most important of all, what exactly was the nature of the bond? Was Willow already immortal, or did this not happen until after the onset of her full power? Despite re-reading the book several times, Giles was no closer to discovering an answer to any of these questions.
He had however made inquiries with several of his contacts, and was hoping that perhaps one of them would be able to suggest another text that could be of assistance. In the meantime he needed to talk to Willow, to try to see what changes if any had already occurred, and to see if she needed an objective observer with whom she could discuss her new relationships.
Giles winced slightly, thinking to himself that if he had learnt one thing from the whole Buffy and Angel disaster, it was that problems had to be faced and resolved. There was no point just hoping that things would sort themselves out, as they never did - at least not the way that you wanted them to. Giles was hoping he could overcome his own embarrassment long enough to help Willow .. if, of course, she wanted help in the first place.
Hearing a knock at the door, Giles straightened his glasses; it looked like he was going to get his chance to try a "so you're in an eternal magical menage-a-trois with two vampires" talk sooner rather than later.
So when he opened the door to see Buffy standing there, Giles was momentarily nonplused. "Buffy! Of course, yes, Buffy, well, how are you? Oh, come in, come in." Giles ushered the Slayer inside, wondering what calamity had brought her here.
Since she had started seeing Riley, Giles rarely saw Buffy except for their weekly research meetings, unless she struck something unexpected on patrol or Giles needed to tell her about some new prophecy.
"Hey Giles, you look awful." Taking a quick look around at the books scattered on every available surface, Buffy gave him a questioning glance. "What's with the research? No, wait, let me guess ... a new evil prophecy?"
Buffy smiled at her own sense of humour, and picked a book off the sofa to allow her to sit down. She glanced at the title, "Mystical Bonds", and put it on the floor. She didn't notice that Giles hadn't answered her, instead saying "Anyway, the reason I dropped by was to see if you have seen Willow lately? She missed her Psych class yesterday, and she wasn't at the dorm last night. Has she been helping you with research?"
Giles was not sure what to say. He didn't want to lie to Buffy, but he knew that Willow needed time to explain recent events to her friend. Giles could imagine what Buffy's response would be when she found out that Willow was now immortal, with Buffy's true love as one mate - and Buffy's enemy as the other.
"Actually, yes, I mean I have seen her. She was feeling tired, I think she has decided to spend some time at her parent's home to recuperate, ah, I expect she will call you soon."
"OK," said Buffy, rising to her feet. She gave Giles a jaunty smile.
"See you Monday for the research party then," she sang, and with a small wave she was gone, leaving Giles to breath a sigh of relief at his near escape.
Buffy headed outside, and decided that she might as well drop past Willow's and say hello. Plus Buffy had missed most of her classes on Monday and Tuesday, so Willow could give her those notes and she could give Willow the notes from yesterday's Psych class.
Walking briskly she soon found herself at Willow's home, and she knocked on the door. It was nearly 4pm, and she had to meet Riley at 6 for some quality time. Hopefully Willow had her notes here, that would save Buffy a trip back to the dorm. Frowning slightly, Buffy knocked again. Still getting no response, she fished her spare key out of her bag and opened the door, walking quietly inside. A quick look into the kitchen showed her that someone was here - there were empty bowls stacked in the sink.
<Wills must be really tired,> Buffy thought with concern, idly opening the fridge to see if there was anything to eat while she waited for her friend to wake up. Only to freeze in horror at the sight of blood bags sitting neatly next to the milk and orange juice.
~Part: 2~
Thursday afternoon
Spike heard the knocking at the door, and nudged the still sleeping redhead next to him. "Wake up pet, sounds like you have a visitor." Willow tried to ignore him, but Spike soon resorted to tickling her until she had no choice but to get out of bed.
Willow heard the door open and thought of the people who had keys to the house: her parents, Xander and Buffy. At the moment she didn't know which was the worst option, but she pulled on some clothes - blessedly clean - and tried to marshal her thoughts.
"Stay here" she told Spike firmly, showing him her resolve face before heading downstairs. As soon as the door had closed behind her Spike got out of bed and started to dress, so he could see just what kind of trouble had rolled in, and how his little spitfire would handle it.
Willow looked around the living room and saw Buffy's backpack thrown on the sofa. <Thank Goddess I've finally had some sleep> Willow thought with resignation. <I have a bad feeling about how this is going to go.>
She was still mentally debating on how much to tell Buffy when she walked into the kitchen to see Buffy standing in front of the open refrigerator, a bag of blood in her hand and a look of accusation on her face.
"Want to tell me what the hell is going on here?" Buffy asked icily.
Willow hovered in the doorway nervously. "Buffy, why don't we sit down, I have a lot to tell you."
"I'll just bet you do," said Buffy slowly. "Where were you last night?"
"Buffy, I am not going to be interrogated by you" said Willow, hoping she was presenting a calm facade; inside she wanted nothing more than to run and hide. This was going even worse than she had feared, and they hadn't even started yet.
"Who's the blood for? Got a friend staying with you?" asked Buffy, with a heavy emphasis on the word 'friend' as she slowly moved closer to Willow. Willow was losing the battle to control her desire to flee, so she was relieved beyond belief to feel a cool hand grasp the back of her neck lightly.
A familiar voice drawled, "What's the matter Slutty, worried that Red might by moving in on your fuck-the-soul-out-of-the-undead routine? Don't worry. I'm proudly soul-free, so you can put my lunch down and piss off." The last words were spoken harshly, and Buffy gave Spike an appraising look.
She was in a very, very bad mood. She didn't understand why her best friend was here with Spike - Spike of all people! she thought incredulously - but she knew how to fix the problem.
First she was going to stake Spike, and put him out of his misery once and for all. Then she was going to have serious talk with Willow.
Without saying a word Buffy moved at full slayer speed across the room, grabbing a stake from her waistband as she raised her hand to the level of Spike's chest. Spike snarled and moved forward, only to scream and fall to his knees, hands clawing at his head as the chip flooded his body with red-hot pain.
"Easy as pie" Buffy muttered, grabbing Spike's hair and pulling him up to allow her a clear shot at his heart. Then she felt a sharp pain in her head, and everything went black.
Willow looked at the fallen slayer, and for a spilt second saw flames running over her body before they vanished, leaving a small crumpled blonde behind.
Ignoring her for the moment, Willow helped Spike to his feet and led him towards the sofa, where he quickly lay down, still clutching his head.
Through her link Willow could sense the intensity of his pain, but she could control it: she didn't actually feel the pain herself, but she knew that Spike did. She bit her lip, trying to think of something that would help him, but nothing came to mind. So instead she sat next to Spike, gently stroking his hair while muttering nonsensical words of comfort, trying to soothe him. Gradually the groans and whimpers of pain faded, and Spike appeared to have fallen into an uneasy sleep.
Willow ran her fingers through her hair. She knew that she had to get Buffy out of here before the Slayer woke up, but she didn't want to leave Spike. Seeing no alternative, Willow picked up the phone and dialed.
"Giles? I need your help - again" said Willow quietly. After explaining her problem, Giles told her he would come immediately, and Willow hung up. Still holding the phone, she sighed deeply before dialing again.
"Hello, Cordelia? It's Willow ..... No, no, don't disturb him, I just wanted to leave a message, um, we have had a bit of trouble here but we are OK, and I just wanted to let Angel know not to worry ..... No,no, really, just let him know everything is OK. I have to go now, bye Cordelia," and with Willow quickly hung up.
Then she went back to sit next to Spike, waiting for Giles to arrive.
~Part: 3~
Thursday evening
Buffy woke up slowly, aware of a throbbing headache and a horrible taste in her mouth. She opened her eyes tentatively, and breathed a deep sigh of relief to find herself in Giles' apartment.
Through the window she could see that it was dark outside, and she fumed as recent memories came back and she realised that as well as everything else, she had now stood up Riley - all thanks to Willow.
Thinking about what had happened, Buffy suddenly saw the answer: Willow had messed up another spell, and that explained the whole Spike thing. Given that she was already in Giles' apartment, he may have already set things right; even if he had she decided that Spike had outlived his usefulness, a problem that she would be more than happy to personally take care of.
Buffy looked up as Giles wandered in from the kitchen, sipping tea from a mug. As their eyes met Giles started, then quickly put his drink down and crossed the room to sit beside her on the sofa.
"Buffy, you're awake at last," said the former Watcher, relief evident in his voice.
"Do you know what's going on?" Buffy asked curtly. She couldn't waste time on chit chat until this botched spell had been fixed.
"Yes," said Giles cautiously, "Willow told me that you found Spike at her home and, ah, perhaps reached some overly hasty conclusions."
"So she's not screwing him then?" Buffy asked snidely, noting the look of horror that came over Giles face as he struggled for an answer.
"Buffy, it will help no-one if you maintain this attitude. Please try to keep an open mind. Willow and Spike will be here shortly, and I am hoping that we can all sit down and discuss this without, ah, well without insults or, or any acts of violence." Giles noted Buffy's stony expression with a sinking heart.
"Is this because of some botched spell? I mean, is she so desperate for a man that she's doing magic now to get laid?" asked Buffy in icy tones.
Giles held on to his temper with difficulty. He knew that Buffy could be irrational at times, but she was still the slayer, and he had honestly expected better than this from her.
Speaking with deliberate calm, he said: "Willow did not cast a spell. Buffy, I do not need to remind you that Willow is your friend, and has always supported you when you have needed her. I hope that you will at least do her the courtesy of listening to what she has to say."
If there was one thing that Buffy had always hated it was being out of the loop, that feeling that everyone knew a secret - except her. And now Willow, her supposedly best friend, was shacking up with a vampire - with Spike, no less - and it seemed her Watcher, HER watcher, knew all about it. That was the last straw.
With her eyes blazing, Buffy stood up, her back to the entrance so that she did not see Spike quietly open the door, ushering Willow inside.
"And what exactly is she going to tell me? That she can't even keep a werewolf happy so she's working her way down the evolutionary table? What's next, zombies? And when Spike tries to kill her, or dumps her to run back to Dru, are we supposed to spend weeks comforting her? God, could she be more pathetic? I mean, Spike! It's obvious he's just using her to get to me, and she should know better.
I mean, I don't mind if she wants to imitate me, but now she's taking things too far. Next she'll be on the bus to LA trying to hit on Angel."
Finally running out of steam, Buffy noticed that Giles' gaze was focused over her shoulder, and with a sense of foreboding she turned slowly to find herself looking into the stony face of her former friend, and the ridged face of Spike, who had his arms firmly around Willow, although whether to comfort her or hold her back Buffy wasn't really sure.
For a moment, Buffy froze. Years later, picking over the tangled memories of her time in Sunnydale, Buffy came to see that moment as a crossroads, when she still may have been able to repair the damage which she had done. If she had been able to swallow her pride, and treat Willow with the same non-judgmental love that she had always received from her friend, she knew that events would have taken a very different course.
But not having the benefit of hindsight, Buffy instead allowed her embarrassment and shame at being heard saying such mean-spirited words to transform into anger, and she lifted her head to gaze unflinchingly into Willow's set face.
"I don't know why you are doing this, or what you are trying to prove. But I don't have the time or energy to clean up another of your messes. You must know that you are making a fool of yourself. If you come back to the dorm now, with me, we can forget this ever happened. Otherwise you are on your own; don't expect me to help pick up the pieces when he leaves you."
Willow looked thoughtfully at Buffy. She could feel the anger radiating from the Slayer, and she tentatively tried to push her mind towards Buffy, to sense what else was there. But all she could identify was anger - the rest was too confused.
Willow refused to feel upset: she turned to Giles, saying calmly "We're going back to the house. You are welcome to come by later, so we can talk." Giles nodded his assent, and crossed the room to grasp Willow's shoulder reassuringly before bidding them both goodbye.
Then he turned to face Buffy, a girl whom he had at one time considered almost his own daughter, now a woman who had often filled him with pride for her skill and courage. But he also knew that Buffy had a core of selfishness, evident in the way that she treated her friends, and her behaviour during the whole Angel period, including running away rather than facing her problems.
Giles knew that he was no longer Buffy's official Watcher, but he valued his role nonetheless. After all, it was what he had trained for, and he knew that his research and knowledge had helped to save countless lives - including that of Buffy herself.
However Giles was more than aware of how carefully he must tread if he wished to maintain his relationship with Buffy, although part of him wondered if there was really any relationship left to salvage.
Buffy could see Giles' thoughtful expression, and knew that he was annoyed with her. But he didn't know everything that Buffy knew, and she had no intention of telling him the full story. She also had no stomach for one of his interminable lectures on the merits of patience.
"Look, I know you're dying to run after Willow so why don't you just go. I'm late anyway, I was meant to meet Riley before Vampirella knocked me out."
"Buffy, I agree that now is not a good time, but we do need to talk."
"Don't worry, I'll come tomorrow and we can talk then, OK?" Buffy tried to maintain a rational tone whilst inside she seethed at the injustice of her Watcher being about to run after Willow, no doubt to commiserate with her about mean old Buffy.
As Giles went to fetch his jacket, Buffy picked up her bag, her eyes noting the books lying next to it on the table. One caught her eye; instead of the familiar musty leather jacket it had what looked like a silver metal cover.
Buffy picked it up and weighed it in her hand thoughtfully before slipping it into her backpack. Then she headed for the door, yelling goodbye as she stepped into the night and headed to Riley's dorm.
~Part: 4~
Thursday, LA
Like his mates Angel had been exhausted by recent events, and had slept through the night and well into the next day. He had not enjoyed a tranquil rest however, troubled by nightmares that vanished each time he awoke, leaving him unsettled without knowing why.
He was finally driven from his bed in the late afternoon by the need for blood. He had given Wesley and Cordelia the day off, but he could hear one of them moving around upstairs.
In the kitchen he grimaced as he drank the blood straight from the bag, the cold liquid moving slowly down his throat. He heated the next bag, and while he waited he decided his employees must be worried about him falling back into his heavy brooding routine. He would have to put in an appearance to reassure them, then maybe they would leave him alone.
Angel drained the second bag of blood, slightly less revolting when heated. His demon chose that moment to bring up a vivid memory of the taste of his mates' blood: Spike's rich and powerful, Willow's sweet and spicy, both the purest ambrosia compared to the blood of a normal human, let alone pig's blood.
Sighing, Angel retaliated by conjuring up another memory, of Spike and Willow leaving together. His demon growled, telling Angel that he was a fool for letting them go, and for once Angel was inclined to agree with it.
Angel's nostrils twitched slightly as he imagined that he could still smell the intoxicating aroma of his mates' arousal, then he realised that the scent was coming from him, that he was covered in their essence from their bonding last night.
He reluctantly headed for the shower, unwilling to wash away the evidence of their union but knowing it had to be done. At least then he would be presentable enough to see Wesley and Cordelia, and put on his tried and true "nothing bothers me" routine.
Letting the water rinse him clean, Angel battled to keep thoughts of Willow and Spike from his mind. He tried to focus on something asexual and non-arousing, and so he was reciting the methods of killing Gnata demons when he was suddenly overwhelmed by a rush of emotions: fear/ terror/ frustration/ anger, but most of all pain.
Angel fell to his knees in the shower, trying to calm himself while he rode out the emotional storm. He knew immediately what was wrong, and after several minutes of struggling to control his own emotions he finally stumbled from the shower.
He heard the office phone ring, and quickly dried himself, hunting for clean clothes. Angel ran to the lift as his vampiric hearing easily picked up Cordelia's voice.
"Angel Investigations, we help the hopeless ... Willow! Willow, how are you? Listen, Angel's downstairs, let me .... What? What do you mean? I think you should talk to Angel ... Willow? Willow?"
And then Angel reached the door of his office in time to see Cordelia put the phone down with an unhappy look.
"That was Willow," she told her boss, noting his unusually expressive face, which clearly showed his disappointment. "Apparently there was some trouble, but everything is OK now and Willow doesn't want you to worry."
Angel looked at her helplessly, then sat down in a nearby chair. Cordelia waited for the usual brooding expression to settle on his face and for her boss to seek out a dark corner, but to her surprise Angel continued to sit opposite her, and Cordelia had the strangest sensation - that he wanted to talk to her!
If there were two things Cordelia loved (apart from shopping, of course) they were gossiping and giving advice, and it seemed to her that she may just be about to hit the mother lode.
"Did Willow say what happened?" Angel asked suddenly.
"No," said Cordelia, trying to encourage her boss to keep talking, "how did you know to come upstairs?"
Angel looked at her, and deciding he had nothing to lose except his pride Angel poured out the whole saga of the ritual, leaving out the more personal bits. He was hoping that Cordelia, admittedly not actually a friend of Willow's but at least someone who knew her, might be able to give him some useful feedback on what the hell he should do.
Cordelia sat back, a knowing look in her eyes. "OK, now tell me the rest."
"What do you mean, the rest?" asked Angel nervously.
"I know that there is way more to it than that, Mr Mysterious. OK, let's start with the easy one, you and Spike. Do you mind him being your mate?"
Angel hesitated before simply saying, "No."
"But what about the whole horrible torture over the Gem of Amarra? And him being a, you know, a demony kind of demon except for his chip?"
Angel smiled slightly. "I've tortured Spike so many times in the past - well, when I was Angelus - that I can't really blame him for enjoying letting me have a taste of my own medicine. Anyway, as for the chip, hopefully that will keep working so we won't have to worry about it. But I think between Willow and I we could keep Spike in line without too much trouble."
"And when Drusilla decides she wants her toyboy back?"
Angel's expression darkened dramatically. "Now that, I don't know. Dru is Spike's sire, and he must obey her. But I am Dru's sire, so she must obey me. If she turns up, there will definitely be trouble.I just hope that the bond is strong enough to keep Spike with us."
Cordelia noted his use of the word "us"; a little optimistic in her opinion, given the current state of play.
"Hey, what about your soul" Cordelia asked suspiciously. It seemed obvious to her that true happiness could be a real problem.
"The ritual that we did last night bound my soul and demon to the bond that we share. I can't lose my soul."
Cordelia was not so easily convinced. "Are you sure?" She caught her breath at the look on Angel's face, and knew that he was finally over his - in her opinion - ridiculously misplaced admiration for that tart Buffy.
"I'm sure," said Angel calmly, knowing in his heart that if he could have lost his soul by experiencing true happiness, then he would have lost it several times over last night.
"Hmm," said Cordelia thoughtfully, rethinking her approach. "What about Spike and Angelus? I mean, do you think Spike resents you for not being more of a demon?" asked Cordelia, as she tried to figure out just how many insurmountable problems she was dealing with here.
Angel smiled slightly. "That's one good thing about the chip. Now Spike is like me, and he knows that Angelus would never accept him the way that he is, unable to kill humans. My soul and his chip leave us almost in the same boat, so I don't think he wishes now that I were more demonic. Plus Spike and I have always had a, well, a physical connection despite the soul, and I know that he enjoyed last night as much as I did. Spike's always been a physical person rather than a thinker," concluded Angel with a smirk.
"Ewww, gross much. OK, OK, moving on, why doesn't Spike want to stay in LA with you? Is it just because of the whole Drusilla thing?"
"Mostly, I guess. Dru loved to play Angelus and Spike off against eachother, and Angelus always won. I suppose Spike is glad to finally have someone who is just his."
"Yes, but she's not, is she" Cordelia pointed out.
Angel ran his hands through his hair, destroying the gelled perfection and demonstrating to Cordelia just how upset he really was.
"The thing about Dru, she really belonged to Angelus, I mean when it was just the two of them, her and Spike, she was never happy. Spike was not enough for her, and he really worshipped her, she was his sire plus he loved her, soulless demon or not. When we were all together Spike and I usually got on fine despite Dru's games. I sometimes wonder if the real purpose of her games wasn't to keep Spike and I apart; she did so love to be the centre of attention."
"Focus!" snapped Cordelia. They had enough ground to cover without wandering down every alley off memory lane. "What does this have to do with our Spike?"
"Well, I suppose he's worried that I'll leave them, and he'll be left again with someone that he loves who he can never make happy."
They were both silent for a moment, before Cordelia asked gently, "Do you think that maybe Spike is worried more about you leaving him? I mean, it wasn't just Dru that Angelus left behind. Maybe Spike doesn't want to get hurt again."
As unlikely as it seemed, Angel knew first hand that while Spike had a vicious streak that would make any vampire proud, he also had a very non-vampiric ability to love, which both Angelus and Dru had exploited whenever it was convenient.
"But this time I can't leave him; well, I mean obviously we can be apart, but the bond will always be there."
"Yes," said Cordelia cautiously, "but you were his grandfather and you left him. I thought that blood ties were the most important connection in the vampire world." Angel looked at her, surprised both by her knowledge and also that she had made a good point.
"Then he'll never trust me despite the bond," said Angel morosely.
"Hello! Mr Give Up Before I Try Anything! I mean, the guy let himself get bonded to you for eternity, don't you think that's kind of a good sign? Besides, never give up hope. You just need to make a list: "Things I need to do to get my mates to live with me" and put at number one, "get Spike to trust me again."
Angel grimaced, but Cordelia merely waved her hand at him. "Now, now, think positive. OK, so that's Spike dealt with. Now before we move on I have to ask first about Buffy. I mean, now that your soul is safe, what about leaving Spike and Willow alone and trying to rekindle that old doomed love routine?"
Cordelia smiled inwardly at Angel's obvious discomfort, pleased to see not the slightest trace of desire on his face. Angel knew that Cordelia was enjoying putting him on the spot, but he decided that he needed to say what he had already concluded.
"Buffy and I were never meant to be, and both of us knew it could never work. I would have to say that a large part of my attraction to her came from a desire to irritate my demon, and to try to deny what I am. Of course," he said, "that's with the benefit of hindsight. At the time it felt like true love."
Cordelia leaned over to pat his shoulder sympathetically. "Thank God you've finally seen the light. I would have thought a few minutes conversation with that girl would be enough torture for anyone, even a broodaholic like you."
Returning Angel's smirk, Cordelia leaned back and assumed her most businesslike expression. "Now that we've got that out of the way, let's move onto the most interesting part. You and Willow."
Angel tried to keep his face blank but knew he had failed by the predatory gleam in Cordelia's eyes. She sensed a secret, and he knew she wouldn't let him go until she had heard it all. He tried to decide whether he wanted to confide in Cordelia, of all people. But it didn't seem like he had so many options, and he had already told her more than he had intended...
"Well," said Angel, causing Cordelia to lean forward with anticipation, "that, that's a bit more complicated."
~Part: 5~
Thursday night
Willow and Spike walked slowly back to the house, Willow lost in her thoughts and Spike seething at the sheer stupidity and maliciousness of the Slayer.
<And they say I'm evil,> he thought to himself, noting Willow's absorbed expression and wishing for a moment that Angel were there; the poof always seemed to know the right thing to say to a woman, and Spike had often been impressed at the skill of Angelus in calming Dru when she was in one of her more irrational moods.
He decided to opt for the safe bet, and maintained his silence as they continued to stroll hand in hand. Spike's ears soon picked up the rapid footsteps approaching from behind, and he muttered "Bloody Hell, what now," causing Willow to break from her reverie and look behind them.
"Giles!" she exclaimed, a relived smile breaking over her face as the ex-Watcher finally caught up with them.
"Willow, Spike, uh, well, obviously I'm awfully sorry for earlier, I mean, well, there's no excuse but I'm sure that Buffy will calm down soon. I am seeing her tomorrow and I will try to get her to see reason."
Willow put on her best resolve face, and told Giles, "Let's not discuss Buffy, OK? I'm sure we can find plenty of other topics of conversation."
And with that the trio continued on their way, with Giles asking Willow and Spike several questions about the current state of their bond. When they reached Willow's home they moved inside, still discussing the limited amount of knowledge that they had.
"But in your dreams, did they explain how the release of energy would change the bond?"
"No, just that it would change," said Willow, as frustrated as Giles by the lack of information available.
Spike stood up, and told Willow "I'm going to have a smoke," wandering outside as Willow smiled with appreciation at his giving her a chance to talk to Giles in privacy.
Giles looked at Willow over his glasses. "I see Spike is improving his grasp of tact. Must be your good influence."
Willow smiled slightly, and giving Giles a reproving look she said "Anyone who could survive both Angelus and Dru has lots of hidden talents," drawing an answering smile from Giles.
The two chatted amiably about nothing in particular until Giles decided he would try to draw the conversation back to his original topic.
"Willow, ah, I would hope that you would feel, that is, if you ever need someone to talk to, then I am always here for you, and I am always ready to help you in any way that I can."
Willow could hear the sincerity in his voice, and marveled at all the strange coincidences and events that had made friends of an ex-Watcher and a failed Wiccan geek.
She turned an idea over in her mind, and said slowly, "Giles, let's say you had a secret, and you knew if anyone found out it would really, really upset someone - or a few someones - people that you really cared about. And this secret had already been a secret for a while."
Willow's voice trailed off.
Giles tried to work out exactly what Willow was talking about, and said cautiously, "Ah, well, why do you want to tell this secret?"
Willow chewed her lip. "Well, suppose the secret was, OK, hmmm." Willow tried to think of some way to explain without actually - well, explaining. She tapped her foot in frustration, and Giles tried to ease matters by saying gently, "Willow, whatever you want to say, I can sure you it will go no further than these walls."
Still unsure, Willow considered her options, and the moment was broken by the sound of Spike returning. Giles rose, and said to Willow, "I'll drop by tomorrow night, if I may?"
"I'd like that," said Willow, as Giles said goodbye to Spike then left the couple alone. Spike sat next to Willow, pulling her onto his lap and leering at her. "Alone at last," he purred, relieved to see her giggle as some of the tension left her body.
Spike had learnt two things about women during his long unlife. The first was that you could never understand them completely. The second was how to tell when a woman was, well not lying exactly, but hiding something. And it had been apparent to Spike, when he and Willow had agreed in Angel's apartment that Angel should be included as the Third, that there was something Willow was not telling him.
Willow had been much more reluctant than Spike to accept Angel, and she had obviously been unhappy at the lack of alternatives. <I mean,> though Spike, <Angel's meant to be her friend and she'd rather have Dru!> And Willow had been too eager to accept his conditions about Angel staying alone in LA.
Plus there was Angel's whole 'no questions asked' agreement to get involved in the eternal bond, and he hadn't shown any interest in chasing after the Slayer now that his soul was permanent.
Spike figured that Willow would tell him eventually; after all, so far their time together had not been that heavy on conversation. But he was not known for his patience. He had thought that she might feel more comfortable telling the Watcher first, but it didn't look as though she had taken advantage of his carefully timed exit.
So Spike fell back onto Plan B - not his preferred option, but still, it was guaranteed to work.
"Red," said Spike in his most serious voice, immediately drawing Willow's attention, "Look, I know we haven't spent much time talking, but there's something I need to tell you."
"Yes?" came the soft response. Spike could feel the tension in her small frame, and stroked her back slowly as he spoke.
"Bloody Hell pet, it's not the end of the world, OK, so just listen. You remember your spell, the one where I ended up engaged to Slutty?"
Without waiting for a response, Spike pressed on.
"So there I am with my brain fried by magic, actually finding the Slayer attractive! That was one damn powerful spell. Anyway one thing led to another and we shagged. I mean it was rotten, of course. To tell you the truth I think she's about the worst I ever had, even more irritating than Harmony if you can believe that. But there you have it. Oh, and don't let the Slayer know I told you because she told me I'd be dust if it ever got out. Although I guess I'm already on the "To Kill" list judging by recent events."
Willow stayed quiet as she thought about what he'd said. It certainly explained some of Buffy's anger - or did it?
"And that's the whole story, is it?" Willow asked in neutral tones.
Spike fiddled with her hair, and decided he'd better spill the rest of it, as it served the dual purpose of making Buffy look bad and giving him the moral high ground when it was his turn to press her for details.
"Actually I left out the best bit, but I thought you might have reached your limit for Buffy bad news."
Willow just looked at him, so Spike sighed needlessly and said, "Alright, alright, well after the spell was revoked, a couple of days later, let's just say I had an unexpected and unwanted visitor who was looking for a repeat performance."
"And did you?"
Spike made a vomiting noise. "Are you fucking crazy? With the Slayer? Pet, it's a testament to your magic that you could get me to shag that trollop at all."
"But I mean, she was dating Riley more or less ... what was she thinking?"
"You're joking right? I mean you have experienced the thrill ride of shagging yours truly, the Big Bad, William the Bloody, Scourge -" Spike stopped with a grunt as Willow elbowed him none too gently in the stomach.
"Bloody women, no sense of humour," Spike muttered before a glimpse of Willow's face and her no-nonsense look convinced him to get on with it.
"Well, believe it or not, it seems her one time with Peaches made a lasting impression, and she just can't get the same, uh, bite from a bloke with a pulse. Anyway she told me if I ever mentioned it no-one would believe me and she'd kill me slowly, so it didn't seem worth discussing."
"So why did you tell me now?" asked Willow.
"Because I wanted you to understand one of the reasons Buffy is not going to be very happy about us. And I don't want to have any secrets between us."
Spike watched the impact of his last words; Willow's face paled and she avoided his gaze. <And the vampire scores> Spike smirked to himself, and he was so busy congratulating himself on his masterly manipulation that Willow's next words took him by surprise.
"Uh huh. So you didn't tell me because you want me to feel guilty for not telling you my secret?"
"Your secret?" Spike said weakly.
"Yeh, you know, the one about me and Angel?"
Spike wisely chose to remain silent.
~Part: 6~
Thursday night
Cordelia could hardly control her curiosity. A secret about Angel and Willow! Who would've thought it, she had always dismissed Willow as too boring to bother with, but it looked as though she might have underestimated the redhead.
"Well, you know that when I was in Sunnydale I didn't exactly have a wide circle of friends," said Angel dryly. "A couple of weeks after I met Willow for the first time I saw her walking home one night, and I followed her, just in case."
Having grown up on the Hellmouth, Cordelia nodded her understanding of all the things that made "just in case" make sense.
"Anyway a vampire attacked Willow, and I saved her, and we, well, we had an actual conversation. And then I would often see her at the Bronze while I was waiting for Buffy to show up, and we would talk... I mean really talk, about ideas and opinions and history. Those conversations were pretty much the high point of my life back then."
"Apart from seeing Buffy," noted Cordelia.
"That as a mixed pleasure. I mean I liked her, a lot, but my demon detested her. Just being in the same room as her made him crazy. But he liked Willow; he enjoyed her company as much as I did. It was one of the few things we agreed on. And then she came to my apartment to set up a computer for me, and after that Willow used to drop by a couple of times a week for an hour or so, and we would play chess and talk. She was my only real friend."
Cordelia could tell that they were getting to the good bit, so she urged him on. "And?"
Angel's expression turned grim, and he looked away from Cordelia as he continued to speak. "One night we were at my place, and I was relaxed, having a nice time, when Angelus took over."
Seeing Cordelia's shocked expression, Angel grimaced. "It had never happened before. I mean, he would often try to tempt me to do something, or provoke me with memories or mental images, but he'd never had the strength to force me to act against my will. But that night, I don't know how he did it, I just felt him slip past me and the next thing I knew he was in control. I panicked, but nothing I did seemed to work. I couldn't put him back in his cage."
By this stage Cordelia was leaning forward, her eyes wide.
Angel paused again, obviously reliving the events of that night. "At first he just kept talking to Willow, she had no idea that anything was wrong. Then he, well, he started talking about being a vampire, and blood, and how much he missed human blood, and to be fair, he sounded quite reasonable. And you know Willow, how, how ..."
"Sickeningly nice?" Cordelia helpfully suggested.
"Warm-hearted she is," continued Angel, "of course he knew she would suggest that if he really wanted she wouldn't mind, that she was his friend, and the demon was telling her that it doesn't even hurt and he just wanted a tiny taste and the next thing I know Angelus has his fangs in her neck and I can clearly see what is in his mind - he is going to turn her. Somehow that knowledge gave me the strength I needed to wrest control back from him, and I got Willow home as fast as I could. After that I tried to avoid her as much as I could. I didn't trust myself - or my demon - near her."
Cordelia waited for him to continue, and when he looked like he might be about to slip into a brooding mood she quickly spoke. "Did you ever explain to Willow what had happened?"
"No, I couldn't. I mean, then she would always worry that I was going to lose control again. I didn't want to scare her."
"And what about when Angelus really did come back?"
Angel winced. "He spent a lot of time, uh, stalking Willow. He left her lots of presents, most fairly tame - drawings, poems. I guesss he never told anyone because she didn't want them to worry about her. But if Angelus had'nt had Buffy to distract him, Willow wouldn't be alive today."
Cordelia thought about what Angel had said, and tried to understand what he thought the problem was. "So, are you still worried about the demon getting control?"
"Yes," said Angel bluntly. "I know Willow is immortal now, or will be soon, but even so Angelus could do a lot of damage. I don't want Willow to get hurt."
"And haven't you ever thought that the night Angelus took control, he only did what you had probably wanted to do? And that he didn't hurt her? And when he wanted to go too far, you were able to stop him before any damage was done?"
Seeing Angel frown, Cordelia pressed on. "And last night? Did Angelus get control then?"
Angel considered the question, and was surprised to find that he couldn't answer. "Well, no, but ... I don't know how to explain it."
"Like you and the demon wanted the same thing? Like you were the same person?"
Angel's shock showed on his face. That was exactly what it had felt like.
Cordelia huffed impatiently. 'Duh! Look, you're in love with her, he's in love with her, the bond has linked your soul and demon together and both of them to Willow. What did you think was going to happen? Your problem is that you don't make an effort to get to know people. I mean I'll bet you and your demon have lots in common."
"Cordelia, my demon is a psychopathic killer who enjoys torturing humans and who on his last visit tried to suck the world into Hell."
"Lighten up! Look, being forced to have sex with Buffy would make anyone crazy. And Angelus obviously has much better taste in women than you do, plus being a lot more outgoing." Ignoring Angel's raised eyebrow, Cordelia continued. "And a much better dress sense."
Sensing that she was moving somewhat off-track, Cordelia decided she had bonded enough with her boss for one day, and it was time to wrap things up.
"Look, I'm sure that between you and Spike you can keep your demon under control, even if he wanted to hurt Willow which you don't know for sure. Just talk to Willow, explain everything. Remember, honesty is the best policy."
<Wow, I really must have run out of things to say. Honesty is the best policy??> Shaking her head, Cordelia grabbed her bag and headed home, leaving Angel to wonder when Cordelia had gotten so good at solving other people's problems - and whether it could really be that simple.
~Part: 7~
Thursday night
Spike had been expecting something sordid - maybe some horror story of an after hours visit from Angelus during his brief period of freedom.
But this was a bit more complicated than he had expected.
Willow had told the whole story, from start to finish, without any interruptions from Spike. As she ended, she leaned back in his lap to better see his expression.
"You're telling me that Angel, the great poof, lord of the brood and soul boy extraordinaire, fed off you?" Spike said doubtfully.
"No," said Willow calmly.
Spike considered her answer, then growled, saying "I've got no bloody idea what's going on in that head of yours, why don't you just explain it to me."
"It wasn't Angel, it was Angelus."
Spike's eyebrows shot up and he yelped "What! It can't have been, I mean, no, no way."
"Look, I would have thought you of all people would understand. Angel shares that body with his demon. Buffy might like to pretend that having a soul makes Angel somehow less of a vampire; all it really does it makes the living space more crowded. Whenever I talked to Angel I could sense Angelus there as well. He might not have joined in, but he was always there, always listening. And that night... I don't know how, but Angelus wasn't just listening anymore. He was - I can't explain it. But I knew it wasn't Angel."
Spike knew exactly what she meant. Angelus had a seductive charm that the usually cheerless Angel lacked.
"So why did you let him bite you?" Spike asked, still unsure of where this was going.
Willow smiled and looked straight into Spike's eyes. "Has Angelus ever persuaded you to do something?"
Plenty of somethings came immediately to Spike's mind. It was true that when Angelus wanted something there were few demons - and even fewer humans - who could resist him. But he was none too pleased at the idea that Angelus had worked his slimy Irish wiles on Willow.
"Yeah, the git can be quite the charmer when he wants to. But you know he was not going to settle for a quick bite? Angelus is not exactly the restrained type luv. You'd have been lucky to get a quick death."
Willow just rolled her eyes. "Sure, except that I knew Angel was there, and he wouldn't let that happen. So I felt safe. I mean, I knew Angelus was just playing with me, but, I don't know, it was exciting. I mean Angel was always Buffy's, and he treated me like a little sister, but Angelus ... he didn't belong to anyone, and, uh,you know," Willow looked down and fiddled with one of Spike's buttons, "Angelus can be kind of sexy."
Spike snorted. Kind of sexy! That demon could melt the polar caps if he put his mind to it. As casually as possible Spike asked "So you fancied him, eh pet?"
To her relief Willow did not blush at his question. She needed to tell Spike everything, then maybe she could work out how she felt about what was happening between her and Spike - and between the three of them.
"Yes, I did. And when he came back, I mean when Angel was gone and Angelus was free, well, I guess Angel sees it as some kind of torture, Angelus leaving things for me and following me around, but I liked it. It was like, like ..."
"Being courted?"
"Yes. And without all the yucky stuff, you know, the dead bodies of my family and friends. I mean, no doubt that would have come eventually and I would have changed my opinion of the whole thing, but the flowers and poems and everything ... I just thought it was nice."
Spike was confused by what Willow had said. It didn't sound like Angelus' style at all. Even in his early days with Dru, from what Spike had been told anyway, any gift was likely to be of the stomach-turning rather than heart-warming variety.
"But - hang on, I remember Bitchy told me once that during his brief period of freedom Angelus killed all your fish." <Ah hah,> thoughtSpike, <explain that!>
Willow hesitated, then said to him, "I never told the others this, I mean it's really weird and I knew if I told them that they would all, you know, freak out. But the fish that I found, that Angelus killed, they weren't my fish. I didn't realise at first, but after a minute or two it clicked. But what was I going to do? Tell Buffy, hey look, someone else's dead fish?"
"But what happened to your fish?"
"They were back in the tank when I came home the next day, after spending the night at Buffy's."
This was getting stranger and stranger, thought Spike. "So why the bloody hell did he do that?" snarled the blonde, losing patience with trying to understand Angelus' odd behaviour.
Willow sighed patiently. "Come on Spike! If Angelus terrorised everyone except me, that would be strange, right? But if I get a gift of dead fish, then I'm out of the spotlight. Buffy knows that Angelus is still focusing on her, life goes on..."
"So he was trying to protect you? Luv, you do realise that we are talking about Angelus? Whose last crush was Drusilla? If he was obsessed with you, you would still be tripping over the corpses."
Willow had had enough. "And does it not occur to you that Angelus can learn from his mistakes like the rest of us? Does it seem to you that Angelus was pleased with the idea of being stuck for eternity with a crazed vampire who sang to the stars and talked to dolls?"
Spike could see that Willow had tired of the conversation, but he felt despite all she had told him they hadn't actually gotten to the bottom of it yet.
"OK, let's just go with your Angelus is a puppy dog theory. Why aren't you jumping for joy now that you finally have a chance to shag the great lump?"
Willow stood up. "Don't you understand how the bond works? Angelus will never be free now, the soul is permanent. And if the bond brings them together, who knows if the demon will even exist anymore. Maybe it will get all squashed into the soul, and next thing we know Buffy and Angel will be buying furniture together and picking out a china service."
Spike had heard enough. He didn't understand it, but he was pretty sure however much Willow kept talking it was not going to make anymore sense than it did now. So he decided to head off the headache he could feel brewing from all this heavy thinking.
He grabbed Willow's hips and twisted her, so that she was sitting astride him, and started to gently rock their pelvises together.
"Still sore from last night, Red?" Almost instantaneously he could sense the spicy aroma of her arousal, and he knew that she too was remembering the many, many ways in which she had gained those aches and pains.
Spike slowly slipped his hand between their bodies, lifted her skirt and slid his hand into her panties, running his fingers over her slit as he felt the moisture begin to build. He rubbed back and forth slowly, until he could feel his hand getting coated with her juices and Willow was starting to moan softly.
Then he pulled his hand free, letting her see his glistening fingers before he delicately licked his hand clean, enjoying the taste of her on his tongue.
He felt Willow slide off his lap and onto the floor, kneeling before him as her hands quickly released his throbbing erection from the confines of his trousers. He let his mind empty, feeling pure lust course though him as he was engulfed by the warm, wet mouth of his mate, and all thoughts of conversation left both their minds.
~Part: 8~
Thursday night
Buffy was really, really pissed off. She had finally found Riley, and after telling him the whole story of Willow's sudden insanity had found him less than sympathetic.
When she demanded that he just come out and say what was on his mind, he actually had the nerve to say he thought she was over-reacting, and that Willow was her friend and she should give her chance to explain.
Buffy had seen red, and even now, several hours later, she could remember what was said next word for word.
"Explain what? Why she is fucking a demon, a killer?"
"She's not the first human to have sex with a vampire, is she Buffy?"
"I can't believe that you are going to compare her fucking our enemy with me and Angel. We loved each other, and Angel had a soul. He helped us. He saved my life."
"And Spike has helped you, and saved your life. Maybe you need to think about why it upsets you so much that Willow has found happiness with a vampire when you couldn't."
"Do you think that Spike and Willow are happy? He is a murderer, a heartless, evil demon. He will use her until he finds someone better then leave without looking back. He doesn't care about her. he doesn't care about anyone except himself."
By this point Buffy had been screaming, and she had not noticed the dawning understanding in Riley's eyes.
"Jealous that he wants her and not you?" he asked without inflection, unsurprised when Buffy picked up a clock from a nearby table and hurled it against the wall. As she slammed the door shut, Riley decided he should be glad that he had been standing out of arm's reach, or it would have been him now lying in pieces on the floor.
Buffy however was beyond caring about Riley, or anyone. She was filled with a sense of injustice. It was not enough that she had been picked to send what was inevitably going to be a short life killing demons and generally having no chance to be normal and have fun.
No, then she had to fall in love with a vampire only to have to send him to hell, and then he came back only to leave her for her "own good", whatever the hell that was supposed to mean.
Then when she finally found a guy she liked - OK, Riley was not exactly Mr Right but he was definitely Mr He'll Do - she discovered that hot, sweaty humans just didn't do it for her the way a cold, hard demon did.
After the whole humiliation of the Spike fiasco, Buffy had managed to retain her composure by focusing on the positive: Spike was a soulless demon who only wanted Dru, Angel was going to spend eternity like a priest, and Riley was better than nothing.
Now she doubted that she would be getting any "quality time" with Riley any time soon. It was also clear that whatever ulterior motives Spike may have, he was nonetheless giving Willow the ride of her life while Buffy was back on her all-work, no-play routine.
Willow! What on earth did Spike see in her? For a moment Buffy wondered if this wasn't all some plot to get at her; maybe Spike was sorry about his rudeness before, and this was his way of letting her know that he was back on the market?
But even Buffy had to admit that seemed a bit far-fetched. Far more likely Willow and Spike were sitting together somewhere laughing about her, while Giles drank tea and told them amusing stories about all her faults.
Buffy sat down on a park bench, hoping some vamps would come along and give her a chance to relieve some aggression. In the meantime she fished in her backpack for the book she had taken from Giles' place. She was going to get to the bottom of this, and then everyone was going to be very sorry that they had pissed off a Slayer.
~Part: 9~
Thursday night (still!)
The first thing Giles noticed when he returned home after talking to Willow was that the book was gone. His second thought was a very clear idea of who had taken it.
Giles did not know what to do. He couldn't seem to reach Buffy; normally he would have relied on Willow to talk to the Slayer, but that was obviously not going to work this time. Xander was not exactly gifted in the art of communication, and Giles was starting to feel desperate.
He could sense events spiraling out of control and he knew if he didn't do something, and soon, the Slayer was going to become a serious problem for them all.
So, hardly believing it himself, he picked up the phone and dialed, waiting for Cordelia's greeting and surprised to hear instead Angel's voice on the phone.
"Hello Angel, it's Giles."
"Giles! Is everything alright?"
"Ah, well, everyone is fine but we are having some trouble, I think it may help if you could come up to Sunnydale, perhaps tonight?"
"What's going on?" Giles could hear the urgency in Angel's voice.
"Well, in summary, Buffy has found out about Willow and Spike begin, ah, together, and she is not taking it well."
Angel knew it must be pretty bad for Giles to call him, so he assured Giles he would be there as soon as possible, left a note for Cordelia and Wesley and headed for his car.
He pulled up in front of Giles' apartment 90 minutes later. He had used his time in the car to reach a number of conclusions, most of which could be summarised as "Cordelia was right".
He needed to make Spike and Willow trust him, and it seemed to him a good starting point would be to show his willingness to protect them - even from his ex-girlfriend if necessary.
Giles opened the door with a look of relief on his face, and ushering Angel inside told him everything that had happened in the 24 hours since they had returned form LA, including Buffy's removal of the book.
Angel could hardly believe what Giles told him. "But surely - Giles, I can't believe Buffy would act like that. It seems very out of character."
"With all due respect, Angel, despite your psat relationship with Buffy I would suggest that perhaps you do not know her very well. She has always had a streak of selfishness, and a tendency to discard people when they are no longer of use to her. She has been distancing herself recently from all her old friends, and is instead getting more involved with the Initiative."
Angel knew all about the Initiative from what had happened to Spike, but he hadn't realised that Buffy was also linked to them. He began to see why Giles had such a strong sense of trouble on the horizon.
"What do you want me to do?" he asked Giles quietly.
"I'm not sure really. I've never seen Buffy so angry; I don't know if there's any point in you trying to talk to her. But if she decides to, well, do anything to Spike, we may need you to stop her."
"Has it really got to that point?" asked Angel, fighting down his rage at the idea of anyone harming his childe.
"Willow says that Buffy had her stake an inch from Spike's heart when Buffy passed out."
"And do you know how that happened?"
"No. I can only assume Willow is starting to acquire some protective powers from the bond or the approach of her powers, but she seems unaware of how, or even if, she did it. Or how she killed the vampire that attacked her, although I have little doubt that it was her."
Angel froze. "What vampire?"
"Ah. Yes. Well..." Giles had assumed Angel knew about that, but found himself repeating the tale Willow had told him a few nights before. Angel felt his demon scream at the thought of some slobbering fledgling feeding off his mate, and wishing that it were still undead so it could learn the true meaning of pain. Again Angel found himself in agreement with his dark half.
"And how did Willow seem when you spoke to her earlier?"
"Surprisingly calm. I think it helps a lot that she has Spike with her, but we all know that this problem won't solve itself. If Buffy cannot be made to see reason, Willow and Spike cannot stay in Sunnydale. It won't be safe for them."
Angel nodded his agreement. "Do they know that I'm here?"
"No," said Giles. "Do you want to call them?"
"Why don't we wait until tomorrow? I think they've probably had enough surprises for one day."
Agreeing with his guest, Giles headed to bed, leaving Angel to spend the hours until dawn listening to the echoes of his mates happiness through their bond.
~Part: 10~
Friday, early morning
By the time Buffy had finished reading the book and trying to make some sense of it, she had dusted three vampires and dawn had arrived.
With no further chance of engaging in some stress-relieving violence, Buffy instead headed back to her dorm, knowing that Willow would not be there.
Buffy had only understood about a third of what she had read, but that was enough. Someone - obviously Willow - was some kind of freaky demon, and she was in some weird magical link with two other people - obviously Spike and Giles.
Buffy kicked a stone from her path as she approached the dorm. If Willow thought she could take Giles she could think again. And as for Spike, well he was still technically their enemy, and a vampire. And hey - what do you know - she just happened to be a vampire slayer.
It was all perfectly clear. Get rid of Spike, find a way to break this bond thing between Willow and Giles and everything would go back to normal. She would make up with Riley, Willow would come back to the dorm, and the last week would be forgotten. But before that could happen there was work to be done.
It was approaching 6am, the perfect time to call England. Buffy dug out her address book and searched for the emergency number Giles had given her shortly after he became her Watcher, for her to use in the event that something happened to him and she needed to contact the Council.
"Hello? Look, this is Buffy Summers, you know, the Slayer? I need to talk to someone on the Watchers' Council."
"If it wasn't an emergency I wouldn't be calling you, would I?" Buffy held on to her temper as she spoke to idiot after idiot, until finally she spoke to someone who assured her that he was a member of the Watchers' Council.
"OK, here is the problem. You know Giles, my Watcher, or ex-Watcher, and I are freelancing out here, due to our not really getting on with you. But I am still the Slayer, and Giles is in trouble. He has become part of a mystical bond thing, and I need some help to get him free."
Buffy listened as the man on the other end of the phone asked a number of questions, none of which she could answer. "Look, all I know is that it's in this book called "Legend of the Servants", with some kind of silver metallic cover, and that explains it all, and Giles has been made to become part of this union with a very dangerous vampire and a human girl, a witch."
There was a long pause, and for a moment Buffy wondered if she had been cut off.
"Hello? Hello? Hey, are you still there?"
"Oh yes, pardon me. Ah, have you actually read the book yourself? Do you know where the book is?"
"Sure, I've got the book right here, and I've read it, but to tell you the truth research is not my strong point, so I could do with a, I don't know, a temporary Watcher or something to fix things up."
"Of course. I will send someone straight away. Give me your address and telephone number."
Buffy gave him the dorm address and number, and asked when the help would arrive. "Well, we have some personnel in the States, I should imagine someone will arrive by this evening your time. In the meantime, it is imperative that you keep the book in a safe place. That will be the key to freeing your, ah, ex-Watcher from this union."
"Okay, okay, whatever," said Buffy hanging up and having no difficulty in remembering exactly how many different ways she disliked the Council. But still, this was an emergency, and once Giles was back to normal they could just tell the Council to leave, the same as they had done before.
With the Giles issue looking better, Buffy turned to the problem of Willow. It seemed she needed to be reminded of who her real friends were. Buffy toyed with the idea of getting Xander involved, but he was too unpredictable. He could even take Willow's side, especially if Anya decided to get involved. <I mean, if he'd date an ex-demon, he probably wouldn't care that Willow was with Spike> she reasoned.
But there were still plenty of options available and Buffy considered all the wonderful possibilities before dialing an number that Willow had given her, in case of emergencies.
Getting through to the paging service, she quoted Sheila Rosenberg's pager number before dictating her message: "Urgent message. Willow is using drugs, and is living with a drug-addict, a Catholic. Has refused help from friends. Please come ASAP."
Buffy could hardly keep her voice steady but the time she got to the end of the message, she was laughing so hard. The only difficulty she could see was that Willow's parents might decide it was their daughter's problem and choose not to intervene.
So she needed something else. It was now after 7am, perfect timing she decided as she called Riley's dorm and asked for Forrest. Putting her hand over the mouthpiece, she used her best Texas accent and in response to Forrest's greeting of "What's up?" she drawled "If you want to find Hostile 17 he is at 107 West Street," before quickly putting the phone down.
Then she lay down on her bed to get a few hours of sleep and let her carefully planted seeds of trouble grow.