Loving Willow
by Rin
13
[reviews]
Part XIII:
"Giles, what if this doesn't work?"
"It will, Fred. You have to trust me. I just hope that the good memories don't trigger more violence, and only good comes from this. Otherwise, we may have made situations worse. Either way, we will be able to find the crystal and destroy it, bringing their minds back to reality."
"I still don't understand who would do such a cruel thing, and why. This just doesn't make sense." She shook her head, knowing that there was something missing from the entire formula. They had still been waiting but nothing had happened yet, and a week had passed already. There was more than frustration, and Fred was prepared to help Willow at all costs. Talking to Giles the entire week, she finally gave into the fact that it wasn't Willow doing those things, and that she still loved her even if it hurt. She gradually changed the hurt into anger at whoever was controlling the crystal, and vowed that once they met, her wild side was going to be fully unleashed. Now, as they sat around the table playing chess (they decided that sitting around and waiting was only making things worse), they still waited for a sign from Xander, Cordelia, or Joyce. Only minor things had happened, and nothing drastic: the same dead leads, Buffy pining, and Faith protecting Willow. Cordelia did discover that the Rosenbergs were home until after the graduation ceremony, and that Faith wasn't liked very well by Willow's father but only because she wasn't Jewish.
When Fred began to move her bishop to take Giles's knight, she heard the familiar sound of the library doors swinging open. She looked up to see Willow moving towards them carefully, eyeing her curiously. The strange thing was, though, that Faith was nowhere near, which was weird since the girl never left Willow's side...not even to use the rest room when at school. Willow never seemed to mind, though...always smiling and kissing her lovingly when she did those things, causing Fred's heart to shatter over and over again. They were unaware but it still didn't change anything for those not being controlled.
"Hi." Willow just kept looking at Fred, as though she were trying to figure something out about the girl. Either that, or she had some of her lunch still on her face. Fred waved back, cautiously looking around for any sign of Faith. Willow understood what she was doing, and wanted to reassure her that she was safe. "It's okay. It's safe. Faith stayed home today."
"How did you get her stay home, Willow?" Giles asked cautiously, keeping a close eye on the girl across from him at the table.
"Let's just say...I can be...persuasive." Giles and Fred just decided that they didn't want to know because it had to be something drastic or dangerous. "I won't let her hurt you guys. I love her but I needed to know something. I knew you'd be in here, Fred, and I didn't want her to flip out and hit you again. I just needed to talk to Giles about something." Fred wanted to rush up, and tell Willow how much she missed her, loved her, and that everything would be okay. At first, she thought that seeing Willow there, she had been released from the crystal, but when she heard her talk about Faith, she knew that she had to stay grounded. Giles nodded his affirmation, and they walked into his office, leaving a hopeful Fred gazing after them. In the short distance to the office, Willow still stared, studying Fred, until Giles shut the door.
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"What seems to be the problem, Willow?" He still was amazed at how she managed to escape Faith, knowing that after she marked her, she would never know what alone time was again. Sitting down in his chair, he offered Willow a seat in the chair across from him.
"Well...that's the thing. I don't know what the problem is exactly." She was playing with the sleeve on her long sleeved t-shirt. She didn't know what possessed her to pull out a pair of her jean overalls, and this particular shirt but she had been craving to wear them for the last couple of days. There wasn't anything special about this outfit; at least, she didn't think there was. She came to Giles for answers about the images that would pop into her head, and when she walked in, Fred had been there like she had been the last week. She would walk by the library numerous times with Faith in tow but was always weary to go in there while Fred was. The thoughts started getting worse, though, and Willow was afraid that she was going crazy. When she saw the unconditional love and sadness that were glowing in Fred's eyes, she couldn't take her eyes away from the slim girl. She needed answers now.
"What do you mean that you don't know, Willow?"
"Well, it's Fred. You see, I keep having these thoughts, images...they're like memories but they're not mine. At least I don't think they are, and I don't know why but when somebody says something particular, I just flash back without warning. "
"And what does this have to do with Fred?" Giles was staying stoic, although he recognized that Willow was the one that was carefully averting the crystal's thrall. Knowing that he had to be extra careful, he listened to her descriptions of the many times that the images would appear. By the time she was finished, his glasses were extravagantly clean. Will did not hold back any details at all. Deciding to tell the man when it happened, what was said, the memories themselves, and worst of all, the positions that she was in at the time. "Yes, well, Willow. It seems that your memories are overlapping another."
"What? How is that even possible?"
"You need to understand that there are things that can, well...trigger thoughts and images into our minds. Sort of like a certain smell can remind the person what they are eating or drinking. What are your thoughts exactly on what's happening to you?"
"I'm scared. I'm frustrated that I can't figure it out. I'm afraid that Faith will find out, and hurt somebody. I don't know why but I don't want to see Fred hurt. It's almost like...like, well...like I'm starting to feel the things that the memories embed into my mind. It's like they really are my memories, and something is missing from my life but I just can't figure it out. Something is wrong, Giles, and I need it fixed before someone gets hurt."
"That's understandable. I do need to know, though, how exactly you managed to keep Faith away from your side so long." She sighed, knowing that she should tell him.
"Well. I may have put some sleeping potion into her juice this morning. She'll be out the rest of the night."
"And you're not afraid of what she'll do when she finds out?"
"No, yes...maybe. She won't find out, though. Will she?"
"It's hard to say. Being away from you so long, being out of commission will do something to her body and mind concerning her protectiveness over her mate."
"Her mate?"
"Yes. Willow, that's you. She marked you as her mate. I see a rather odd scar forming on your neck that resembles teeth marks that assure me of this."
"Wow. That's great news. I can't wait to tell her this."
"Willow, I believe it is in everybody's best interest if you keep this information to yourself. When she finds out who and where you learned this from, she will surely come after me, and quite possibly Fred, since she knows that she is here most of the time. You need to understand that Faith is quite dangerous if something threatens you in any way."
"How can she perceive you or Fred as a threat exactly? That doesn't make sense."
"Yes, well. I am not in danger as of now but Fred is in serious danger should she even speak to you. Once Faith learns that you talked to me, while I was around Fred, she will assume that we were partners in a battle to take you away from her."
"Why Fred, though?"
"That is something I cannot say. I do know that when Faith managed to injure Fred about a week ago, that she was over at your house...presumably right after you, well...mated. Fred brought you things, and Faith took that as a gesture to steal you away."
"Oh. I wondered why Faith lashed out so violently towards her. It's really not like her. She's so gentle." Giles raised his eyebrows, amused by the thought of Faith being gentle. Yes, this spell truly did something to her personality. "I should go back. Thank you, Giles...and don't worry. You're safe." He nodded his appreciation, and they exited the tiny office. Once the door opened, Willow immediately sought out Fred, finding the girl rummaging through some papers at the table. Deciding that it was still safe, she walked over and sat down beside her, leaning over to view what she was researching. "Hey, I do the same thing to my notes."
"Yeah." Fred didn't want to make things worse than they already were but being this close to Willow after so long was slowly killing her inside because she still couldn't kiss her, and make the bad things go away. Somebody once taught me how. Outlining notes in different colors to indicate different points and topics. I'm so unorganized sometimes, this really seems to help, though." She was blushing furiously, and her body was reeling as she closed her eyes, taking in the familiar green tea and aloe smell of her girlfriend. "I miss her."
"Who?"
"Somebody that I love dearly that's gone away for awhile. If everything works out, though, she'll be back."
"I hope that she does." Willow smiled genuinely at the girl, remembering the feelings the memories provoked in her mind. Being this close to her was torture. Not knowing what was going on, she measured the proverbial line from her lips to Fred's. She wanted to taste her mouth, and see if she tasted as good as she did in her mind. She wanted to feel her skin against her hand, see if it was as smooth. Wanted to hear her say 'I love you, Willow'...to see if this Fred was anything like her imaginary one. Fred just looked at her briefly before smiling herself. "Why don't I know who she is?"
"You do, you probably just don't remember her."
"Oh...so...what are you working on? Anything I can help with?"
"Nothing important really. I was just reading over some notes for a project Giles is helping me with here in the library." She placed the notes back into her bag before Willow could see her name written all over the sheets. "What brings you here?"
"I needed Giles for a project, too." Fred was playing with a pawn from the chess set, twirling it around in her fingers, trying not to think about Willowy things, and doing her best not to look her in the eyes, in case she saw the hidden emotion there. "Did I interrupt your chess game?"
"No. I mean, that is...two more moves, and I would have had Giles in checkmate. It's not big deal. I'm sure that he thanks you, though." Willow smiled, and couldn't help herself. She had to know...had to know what she tasted like...what she felt like. So, she placed a tentative hand around Fred's forearm, causing the girl to look her way. Seeing the dilemma in her girlfriend's eyes, Fred knew her resolve would fade if she looked too long but apparently, Willow wanted something from her. "Yes?"
"Fred...I need to know...that is..." She leaned forward, and quickly moved her mouth against Fred's as gently as possible. Fred was startled, and without thinking about what it was she was getting herself into, she kissed her back, cupping Willow's face in her hands as her tears began to flow down her cheeks, leaving a salty trail in their mouths when they finally broke apart from each other. Willow stared at Fred, breathless, completely aware of the other girl next to her. It was like she had kissed her a thousand times before, and yet she couldn't understand why it was her first kiss with the girl. She touched her lips, feeling the tingly sensation that spread over her body. She looked up to see Fred panting, and the tears falling from her face. She moved her hand to wipe the tears with the pad of her thumbs, cupping Fred's face gently.
Giles just watched the interaction from his doorway, waiting to see if maybe this was the loophole they had been waiting for all along. He figured that Faith or Buffy would be the first to snap out of the hold but Willow's love for Fred had apparently proven him wrong in his assumptions. Watching them in those last few seconds, he thought it seemed as though things had never changed. That Willow still loved Fred but he knew differently. He knew that Willow wanted answers, and that her scientific mind thought that kissing Fred would solve her problem. Answer her questions. Help her to understand why the memories were appearing. He just continued to watch the display, and sighed in a defeated manner, wishing that the crystal had never taken control of anybody.
Fred allowed the warmth of Willow's embrace to flood over her broken heart, carefully mending the pieces back together slowly because she knew that this still wasn't her Willow. She decided that she would try to put memories back into Willow, since both she and Giles were already there to follow the mist to the crystal. She leaned in to kiss Willow one more time, just in case she wasn't able to get through, and break the spell. Willow replied instantly, letting Fred's tongue enter her mouth, and they both moaned in agreement. When Fred released Willow's lips, she looked at her seductively, deciding that it was now or never.
"You're my redhead in shining overalls, you know that? I love you so much." Willow stopped all movement when she said that. Everything Fred had just said took her back to the beginning, when she and Fred had first met, and how she saved Fred from that vampire. The nickname stuck, and Fred had called her that on occasion, especially during or after patrol when they would both accompany Buffy. Her mind released all doubt for a second, and hearing the words 'I love you' come from Fred's mouth was a reminder of many utterances of those three small words from the brunette. Suddenly, she felt something leave her, and her body shook from the cold that it washed over her. Coming out of her daze, she looked up to find Fred staring lovingly at her again, and her body immediately warmed to the core. Looking behind Fred's head, she noticed there was a light pink aura floating behind her.
"What is it?"
"What is what?"
"You're glowing." She pointed behind Fred, causing the girl to follow her gaze to the mist that they had waited for so long. Her body literally relaxed itself, and she saw Giles coming from his office. Looking up, he noticed the mist as well.
"Dear lord." His eyes were wide, and he could barely contain his excitement. "How did this happen?"
"Willow did this." Giles nodded, and moved back into his office. It was time for action now.
"I did this? How?"
"Didn't you feel anything?"
"Well, I felt cold, like something left me but then I opened my eyes, and I saw you. You made me feel no so cold anymore. I like that. It was like we're connected somehow."
"I felt it, too. It was like magick. You're magick." Fred gazed lovingly at her girlfriend, and noticed that Willow was gazing back at her as though she had just woken from a bad dream.
"Oh my goddess. What have I done?" Noticing that Willow had returned, she immediately enveloped her in her arms. Willow started sobbing into Fred's chest, holding onto her as though she was hanging on for dear life. "Fred, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I promised I'd never do it again, and I did...and I'm so sorry. Baby, I'm so sorry." Willow continued her mantra, and Fred hugged her tighter, stroking her hair and rocking her gently.
"Shh...Willow, baby, it's okay. It wasn't you." Willow released her hold slightly, and looked up at Fred confused.
"What do you mean it wasn't me? It was...I was there; I did all of those things. I let Faith touch me, and I liked it. I let her hurt me, and begged for more. I let her hit you." Her voice croaked on the last one, and she pulled Fred in again.
"No, baby. It wasn't you. Well, it was kinda but not. You see, the crystal that was controlling Buffy was playing a game with her, and you, Faith, and Angel were all involved, only you didn't know it because the three of you were barely around each other. I guess that night when Buffy left, and Faith walked you home...the game took another turn."
"I'm so sorry."
"Shh...calm down, Will. You weren't in control of who you were. Your mind belonged to this 'marking' game, and whoever is controlling the crystal. All of those things you did, the things you said while you were with Faith, they were all part of this sick, twisted game. There's no need to be sorry."
"Yes, there is. I remember it all. The touches, the kisses, the sex, and I liked it. Oh, God, Fred...I like it, and I hate myself for that." Fred had to take a deep breath, realizing that this was harder than she originally thought. She knew Willow would be full of guilt and remorse but she wasn't ready for that.
"It's okay. You only liked it because your mind wasn't yours anymore. It's all a part of who you are now. The things that happened. You're not going to forget that, and you're going to remember things fondly because at the time, it's who you were. But now, you're back. I got my Willow back." Fred kissed Willow softly, rubbing her back gently to calm her down. When it seemed that Willow's sobs were ceasing, Fred let out a deep breath that she had been holding for almost two weeks now, and thoroughly enjoyed having her love back in her arms for the first time in what felt like forever.
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Willow and Fred retreated into Giles's office, deciding to continue their talk and reunion in private. When Xander and Cordelia finally arrived, the three headed after the mist to track down the crystal, and possibly the holder. Willow still wouldn't allow contact to be broken, even when they moved. She had to at least be touching Fred somewhere at all times. Sitting on the couch in the office, they lay in each other's arms, facing each other. Fred played with Willow's hair lazily, and continued placing warm, gentle kisses along her face as they continued just staring at each other lovingly. The talk had been long, and things were in the open. Fred explained that Willow was still under the thrall of the crystal, and there was a possibility that seeing Faith again would trigger her back. Willow resolved not to return home until the crystal was destroyed, and Fred happily agreed to keep her in the library's office until the others returned. They were going in blind, unaware of what was guarding the crystal, or who was even controlling it. This worried both girls but they decided to not think about, instead focus on being back together.
"I love you."
"I love you, too." Fred smiled at her girlfriend, kissing her gently on the lips before moving back to gaze at her again. "You amaze me."
"How's that?"
"You went through all of this, and you still couldn't stay away from me. Guess there's just something about me you just can't resist." Fred looked playful, and Willow was ready to get back to normal.
"Yeah, well...you were better in bed." Fred smiled shyly, and was glad that they could joke about the whole situation. It still hurt but they would get through it.
"Well...good to know." They kissed again, and sighed, letting their shoulders relax even further as they continued their gaze.
"I love you."
"You've said that already, Will."
"Yeah, just making up for lost time."
"Well, then. I love you, too. Now..." Fred lazily swirled her finger from Willow's hair down to the sensitive spot on her side. "...about that bed thing..." Willow gasped as Fred reached her destination, moaning into her mouth when Fred kissed her. Their kisses lasted longer, and grew more passionate, with hands roaming, and clothes being removed in a fit of passion.
"Fred...what about the gang? They should be back soon."
"Or later...I'm voting on later."
"Yeah but with it being the Hellmouth, it'll probably be sooner." Willow still continued kissing and groping, feeling her body protesting to any stopping.
"You worry too much...guess I'll just have to kiss those worries away." Fred kissed, sucked, and licked her way down Will's body until she reached the waistline of her blue panties. "Mmm...you look good in blue."
"Really?" Willow tried to keep some semblance of cool but after pure straight-up sex with Faith all week, all the time, it was good to actually be making love again, and her body was reacted with fervor.
"Yeah but you look better in nothing, in my opinion." Willow moaned loudly when Fred cupped her hand on her sex, kissing her way back up her body, while gently stroking the outside of her panties. "Guess this'll have to do for now. Don't want to leave evidence of our crime behind."
"Something that feels this good could never be a crime." Willow's breath was coming in faster, as Fred moved her hand under the waistline, and began to tease her.
"Yeah but Giles still might not like traces of our lovemaking on his couch. He can't even keep from rubbing his glasses when somebody mentions one of us kissing." They giggled, and Fred moved down to kiss Willow deeply, making sure to do that tongue thing that Willow had voiced her approval of on many occasions. Willow was moving to meet Fred's movements, and her opinions of the ministrations were loudly voiced. When she finally arrived at her breaking point, she completely released all hold that Faith had over her. This was her lover, the woman that she loved, and her true mate. This was perfect, and she let her guilt slide away as Fred continued kissing her as she came down from her blissful state. They just snuggled a while, lying on Giles's couch in their underwear, glad to be in one another's arms again. They began to doze off, and decided to take a little nap before the others arrived.
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"Giles, it's not as big as I thought it'd be. I imagined a big boulder...or at least a nice size of kryptonite." The three dragged in, bloodied and bruised after a long night of fighting, and carried the crystal back to the library. When they noticed that Fred's things were still there, Giles explained that they were probably still in his office talking.
"It's a lot to deal with but I know they'll get through it." Giles laid the crystal on the table by the books, and moved to the book cage to retrieve the spell ingredients in order to destroy it.
"As determined as Fred was to get Willow back, I highly doubt that she'll let go so easily now that she does. I couldn't begin to imagine what that must feel like." Cordelia looked through the book pile on the table, trying to find the spell to destroy the thing. Xander helped Giles move everything to the table. Cordelia noticed the large cut on his arm, and decided to get the first aid kit from the office to bandage everyone up after the fight. The fight was difficult. They knew they were going in blind but luckily they had come prepared for anything. They managed to dust the ten vampires that were guarding the crystal in a house on the outskirts of Sunnydale. After getting the crystal, they rummaged up anything to find clues about the holder, since it was apparent that the vamps there were only minions. Not taking the time to look over the things they grabbed, they just through it all into a satchel that Giles had brought in case they needed something else to carry the crystal in if it was bigger than they all imagined. Fortunately, the crystal proved to be no bigger than Cordelia's hand, and she palmed it, and placed it in her person to keep it from Xander's clumsy hands. She opened the door to Gile's office, and stood there when she saw two half naked girls tightly clutch together on the couch. Deciding that she should probably warn them that Xander was here, and afraid he might ogle...actually, knowing that he'd ogle, Cordelia shut the door, and closed the blinds. Waking them up was easy, and they just stared at her in shock.
"You should get up. We just got back, and luckily I found you before Xander or Giles did. That would've been a disaster. And what on Earth possessed you to have sex in the office? Ick factor." Cordelia was tossing their clothes at them, while they caught them, and put them on in a hurry. They straightened each other's hair out, and smiled as the reality sunk in that things were back to normal. "Come on...I'm waiting. We have some serious injuries to take care of, and you're just delaying. We need to get this crystal thing destroyed."
"You did find it?" Willow was helping Fred stand, and they both checked each other over again, just to make sure.
"Yes. It's a disappoint really. Xander's pet rock is bigger."
"Well, I'm not so sure that the pet rock can do as much harm, though."
"I don't know. This is Sunnydale." The three girls left the office, and Fred went to prepare the spell as Cordelia and Willow helped bandage cuts. Giles and Xander moved to help Fred when Willow was helping Cordelia with her injuries. "Cordy, this cut is really deep. I think I might need to stitch it." Cordelia rolled her eyes, and swiped her hand to give Will the go ahead.
"Figures that two days before prom I'd get into some sort of incident that involves saving all of your asses again."
"Well, if it makes it any better, I appreciate having my ass still." Willow stitched the gash gently, and smiled at the girl before getting up to put the supplies back in the office. Cordelia joined the others at the table. After the spell was complete, the crystal dissipated into a steaming liquid.
"It looks like somebody threw up pepto bismol." Xander's comment caused disgusted glares to turn his way. "What?"
"Well, it seems that everything is complete. How do you feel Willow?" She glanced over at her girlfriend, and they smiled warmly at each other. "Perfect."
"Good, who wants to call cranky and crankier, and find out about them?" Cordelia asked, hoping beyond hope she did not have to deal with Buffy or Faith before having some well-deserved beauty sleep.
"I'll call home, and have mom give the phone to Faith. She should be awake by now. I learned that Faith doesn't really have any friends here."
"That's stating the obvious."
"Cordy, thanks for volunteering."
"What?!"
"Moving on...who wants to call Buffy?"
"I'll call, since Joyce was keeping an eye on her during this whole thing."
"Buffy's mom knew? Was I the only one out of the loophole?"
"No, sweetie. Buffy, Faith, and Angel didn't know, either. We couldn't let anyone involved in the spell be aware we were trying to destroy the crystal, or else someone might have been hurt."
"Fred's right, Wills. We were all playing roles of double agents, and didn't feel like having the wrath of the slayers or Dead boy coming down on us. We sorta, you know...wanted to stay alive."
"This is all so much." Fred moved to rub Will's back, and kissed her cheek.
"It's all over now, though. We can go back to slaying regular vamps for a while. There's no big apocalyptic threat over our heads now."
"How was this considered apocalyptic exactly?"
"The holder must've had something major planned because he made sure that all of us were preoccupied, and out of the way. That's always the first sign of a bigger evil plan. Glad that it's over with now, though."
"Actually, Fred...about that. We didn't exactly...get the holder. We still don't know who he or she is."
"What? I mean...how is that possible? The holder had to have been near the crystal, right? They wouldn't just leave it there."
"Well, it wasn't exactly unguarded, and I don't think that they expected us to find it to begin with. If they have a bigger plan, then that's what they must be focusing on because we checked the whole house up and down, and there was nothing but a few things left."
"What kind of things?" Xander moved over to the table, and grabbed the satchel, dumping its contents on the table by the books. A post-it fell on the now cool liquid, and Xander picked it up, and wiped it on his sleeve. "Oops. Maybe we should clean this stuff up first." Giles came back from the office, and Xander went behind the counter to get paper towels. Cleaning up the mess, the others were thumbing through the clues. There were several mundane things. Cigarette cartons, lighters, scraps of paper with notes written on them, books, and a set of dog tags. "There was a Playboy but they wouldn't accept it as evidence."
"I hardly would identify a gentleman's magazine as being end of the world worthy."
"Ah, yes...but you see, maybe that's what this person wanted you to think, and he kept all of his secrets in there like one of those hollow books you keep a bottle of bourbon in, and he knew we wouldn't pick it up, so he left it there to mock us."
"Xander, geez. Give it up, no wonder you're the Zeppo of the group. One track mind."
"What? It could happen, and we'd never know."
"Alright, flatter him...sure, it could happen, Xander."
"Thank you, Wills, which is a good thing I went back, and snatched it." He started flipping through the pages, and a note fell out that he didn't noticed because he was currently studying some photos. Willow bent down to pick it up, and read it over, eyes going wide.
"Xander, you're a genius!" She ran up, and crushed him in a hug.
"I am? I mean, I am!" Willow flapped the paper in her hand excitedly, and pointed with her other hand.
"This is it guys!"
"This is what, sweetie?" Fred snatched the paper, and read over as well, eyes going wide. "Oh my God. This is almost too easy."
"Not really, considering all we had to go through to get it." Cordelia took the passed paper, and read over it, unsure of what they figured out. "Meet us at the docks. D and I will have your cash. Don't keep us waiting, pet. Burn this note, you wanker?" She passed the note to Giles as his eyes widened, and Xander stood there as dumbfounded as Cordelia. "That doesn't help us out."
"Sure it does. Read it again. Who else uses words like 'wanker' and 'pet.'" Willow was still excited at the revelation.
"And has a major jonesing to see Buffy beat?" Fred smiled at her girlfriend's enthusiasm at a problem solved.
"Not to mention has a girlfriend with the first letter 'D'?"
"Dear lord, not again."
"Somebody wanna clue us in here? I must've missed the lecture on deciphering evil notes."
"Xander, Spike! And Drusilla."
"Oh, okay...that makes sense now. He really needs to find a better system of communication. It's like he's practically begging to be defeated." Cordelia smiled as she recognized the logic.
"Thinking was never his strong suit. Come on, Xan. Think about it. Spike wants Buffy dead, he's made that clear on several occasions. D...Drusilla. And who else uses the words 'pet' and 'wanker.' I mean, come on...only Briti..." Willow saw Giles cross his arms, and she backpedaled. "I mean, only Spike."
"Okay. But didn't he leave town? Running and crying even?"
"Well, Xan...yes but you don't honestly think he'd give up that easily, do you? After he was hurt in that fire, he couldn't do anything but I'm sure his healing has kicked in by now. It makes perfect sense, too."
"What does, sweetie?"
"Attacking Buffy, trying to bring Angelus back...when he found out that didn't work, he must've decided to go after Faith and me, too. Bring down the power in the group, and what's left?"
"Nothing but the followers. I see what you mean. He thought that by controlling your minds, he'd be able to kill us all easier. By leaving us without a slayer or witch, then we lose the strength to win."
"I'll give Spike credit, he actually thought of a feasible plan." Xander was still amazed that he would actually come back to try. "Yes, and when the protectors are gone, then Sunnydale is a practical all you can eat buffet."
"Well, I say we gather back later on tonight. We are all in much need of rest, and I'd say that Willow needs to help Faith adapt, since she is still apparently there." They all nodded, and made their way to bed. Outside, the sun was already set, and things were once again put back in their proper place.