Title: The Journey (1/1)
Series Wesley's Wild and Wacky Demon Hunting Adventures (Part 2)
Author: Kylia
Email: kylia_bug@yahoo.com
Disclaimer: Nobody belongs to me, unfortunately. They belong to Joss & Mutant Enemy, and a few other people I don't know.
Rating: R
Spoilers: General S1 AtS - references to S3 BtVS
Category: Wesley ; W/W to come
Summary: Wes makes a mistake and sets about trying to avoid it.
Distribution: Fire & Ice Fic, Wesleyan Aria, List archives, anyone else, ask, and you shall receive
Feedback: Please… I need it to breathe
Author's Note: Something new. I've never written a fic with Wes as the primary, so bear with me :)
Author's Note 2: This takes places several weeks after the events in "The Mistake"
Dedication: Inell… for listening to me. :)

Wesley pulled into the gas station with a weary sigh. He was exhausted, and really hoped there was a hotel nearby. Climbing off of his motorcycle, he took a look around. It was almost dusk, and he wanted to find lodgings before it got too dark. He had only been in Arizona for a couple of days, and although he had seen very few vampires, he didn't want to take any chances. Not tonight.

He had spent the past four days chasing some grotesque slime demon around the hot stinky sewers of Phoenix. He had finally caught up with the putrid beast, and surprisingly it has been easy to kill. He ahs spent more effort on tracking the demon than on vanquishing it.

Wesley smiled slightly at the thought that he was in fact a rogue demon hunter, in more than just name only. When he had used those words to describe himself to Angel all those months ago, that had been just that. Words. Empty words to make himself sound better than he was in the face of the man… the vampire he had wronged when he still stood in the shadow of the council.

But now, he truly was a rogue demon hunter. True he wasn't as proficient as Angel, or even the Slayer, but he helped people. And he did it on his own, which was why he left. Wasn't it?

Wesley went into the small building and paid for his gas, while asking for direction to a nearby motel. Luckily there was one only a few blocks away. He didn't think he could make it much further. Plus, the former watcher had no doubt that the odor he was giving off would scare even the vermin away.

As he pumped his gas, Wesley thought about what he had left behind. He had left Los Angeles several weeks ago, with the intention that he was going to make it on his own, without any outside help. And he was doing that, but he couldn't help but feel he was missing something.

The former watcher was unaccustomed the feeling that he had a specific purpose, a reason for being. That sort of destiny usually befell Angel or Buffy. Even Rupert Giles seemed to have a greater cause than his own. But despite all of that, he felt as though there was a reason for this journey he found himself on.

Shaking his head at the ridiculous notion, which had plagued his mind on several recent occasions, Wesley climbed back on his bike and followed the cashier's directions to a local motel. He need a hot shower and a good nights sleep. Tomorrow he would leave this small town just outside of Phoenix and head to Williams. There, he hoped he could spend a few days relaxing, before heading on, to a destination he had yet to determine.

Willow flopped down on the bed angrily. She glared at the door, although she knew the door itself wasn't the cause of her wrath. Why had she agreed to this ridiculous situation? Because they asked. That was the simplest and most accurate answer.

She groaned as she stared at the ceiling. A perfectly pristine white ceiling, in a perfectly kept Bed and Breakfast in a perfectly nice mountain town, in Arizona of all places. She groaned at her luck. Not that Arizona was a bad place. It wasn't. It was perfectly nice, and devoid of any of the creepy crawlies that plagued Sunnydale's nightlife. Maybe that was the problem, Willow wondered. She had been in this mountain town for three days, and nothing of any interest had happened.

Her parents had come home, to Sunnydale a week ago, insisting that she spend some time with them and go with them to visit her cousins in Williams, Arizona. She had jumped at the chance. Both because it had been so long since her parents had asked to do anything that concerned them, and because she needed to get away from Sunnydale for awhile. She was feeling slightly claustrophobic. Now that school was over, and the mess with Adam was finished, it seemed like the perfect time.

However less than twelve hours after they had arrived in Arizona, her parents had informed her that they couldn't stay, but that she was more than welcome to remain behind. They had booked rooms in this Bed and Breakfast, not wanting to 'impose' on their family here. 'Yeah, right', Willow snorted. It was much more likely that her parents wanted an easy escape route, and a place they could dump their inconvenient daughter. Which is exactly what they had done.

And the few times she had seen her cousins since then, they had been wearing those expressions Willow hated so much. The ones, which were filled with pity and sympathy, and an understanding, they didn't truly have.

So that was how Willow Ann Rosenberg found herself in an Arizona mountain town, alone, staring at the ceiling.

Wesley parked his bike along the side of the building and smiled up at the sun. It was early still, but he was anxious to get to Williams. A few of his contacts had told him this would be a nice place to spend a few days. He hoped the accounts were accurate. He could use a rest.

He walked into the lobby of the place his 'friend' had recommended. He was expecting a small little motel, not a Bed and Breakfast. But it was a pleasant surprise. He hadn't stayed at a Bed and Breakfast since he left England, and seeing as he wasn't hear on a search from some elusive demon, he decided he would enjoy the time he spent here.

That decided, Wesley paid for his room, and inquired to a good place to get some breakfast. The clerk directed him to a diner not too far away called "John's Place".

John's Place turned out to be a quiet little diner. Not unlike a Denny's, but not as busy as the Denny's he remembered visiting in Los Angeles. He took a booth in one corner of the diner and waited for a waitress to come along. He ordered some tea and some local specialty the waitress had assured him was 'divine'. That settled, he began to read the local newspaper, to see if he could get a feel for the town.

It was a habit he had picked up after he was let go from the council, nearly a year ago. One which he had kept, even while employed by Angel. And now, it was even more of an asset. He was always pleased to find a town that didn't have a section of the newspaper entitled 'unexplained deaths or disappearances'. That usually meant the demons or vampires were either rare, or smart enough to keep their prey well hidden.

Williams, Wesley noted, was one such town. He smiled slightly to himself as the waitress brought his tea over. That's when he saw it. For a moment he thought it was his mind playing tricks on him. But, now, there it was, as clear as day, a bright flash of red hair. Although that in and of itself didn't mean anything. In fact he had convinced himself, it wasn't who he thought it was, when she turned around.

"Wesley? Is that you?"

Nope, it was her. Willow.