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Shanna
shannalynn9064@yahoo.com
"Willow, please," Angel murmured as he stepped closer to the shaking redhead.
She shook her head, and wouldn't look at either of them. He could smell the scent of her tears, and felt his heart breaking. Buffy stepped between them. "Back off, Angel," she whispered.
"Buffy, you don't understand. . ." he began.
"No, you don't understand. I don't know what's been going on around here. . .Well, actually I have a pretty good idea," the Slayer glared at him and placed a hand on his chest to stay him. Her other hand shot out and grabbed Spike as well. "Back off. I know Willow, and what she needs right now is time to think everything over."
The dark vampire looked sadly at the redhead, who had walked over to stand next to Cordy. His seer had placed an arm around her shoulder comfortingly, and was whispering in her ear. "Buffy, I can't let her just think that it was all because of our reaction to her blood."
The Slayer stared at her ex-boyfriend's face and saw the truth there. "You love her," she whispered, eyes wide in shock.
Soulful brown eyes meet hers. "We both do," he murmured. "We've both told her, but with this happening..."
Buffy felt her heart break a little for her best friend. She looked between the two vampires, staring again with rapt attention at Willow. Apparently there had been a *lot* happening in LA that her friend hadn't shared with her. Two master vampires were claiming to love her, and had obviously been expressing their feelings quite physically. Then only to find out that the entire attraction may have been caused by some stupid demon bite? Buffy had watched her seem to shrink after taking in Wesley's words. She knew how insecure the redhead had always been in the love department.
The Slayer shook her head, and held them back again when they made another move to get to Willow. "No. Not now. She won't believe you. You have to give her time, Angel."
The vampire sighed his resignation, knowing Buffy was right. He wanted so badly to walk over and claim her with a kiss, to show her his love had nothing to do with the blood pounding through her veins. Willow needed to work through everything, and after a period of time, he would convince her that what they had was real. Time was the only thing that would let her believe they meant it when he and Spike told her they loved her.
~~~*~~~
Willow stood in Cordelia's embrace. Her whispered words of comfort barely penetrated. The redhead's eyes were filled with tears as she relived each moment with Spike and Angel. Goddess, what had she been thinking? They were beautiful, gorgeous vampires. What would they want with her? She knew it was too good to be true. Everything would go back to the way it had been once Wesley did the spell. She would once again be good, old reliable Willow, great for a friend, but, ugh, a girlfriend? A mate? After the way she had acted with them, how could she ever look at either Spike or Angel again? There would be all kinds of awkwardness. Awkwardness would abound.
The redhead's mind spewed thoughts left and right in a maelstrom of panicked babbling. 'A convent. I can enter a convent, and never see either of them again. Wait, Jewish/Wiccan here. Okay, so a convent's out. A mountain in Nepal sounds good. Far, far away and secluded is what I need. Oh, sure I'll eventually make friends with the wild yaks. I'll name them Larry, Moe, Curly, and Shemp, and tell them stories about life on the Hellmouth. Then I'd be known in the little village at the bottom of the mountain as the crazy yak lady.' A semi-hysterical giggle/sob escaped her; Cordy cast a concerned look down at her trembling friend.
Wesley had slipped out of the room to gather the ingredients for the spell. She assumed he ended the party as well, since the music stopped suddenly. Her perfect party had gone to pot. Cordelia caught movement from the corner of her eye, and braced for the impact. Spike had finally broken away from Buffy.
He was at Willow's side, trying to make her look at him. "Red, this is bloody ridiculous. I don't give a fuck what that ponce says. What I feel has nothin' to do with any soddin' saliva."
Xander stepped in and pushed Spike away from Willow. "Back off, Captain Peroxide." He moved to stand between the vampire and his best friend. "I don't know what little mind games you played to seduce her, but if you think I'm letting you near her again, you're crazy."
A small hand rested on Xander's arm, silencing his tirade. He looked into defeated green eyes. "Please, just stop, Xand," she whispered. "I can't do this tonight."
Willow turned her attention to the two vampires in the room. "I'm going back to Sunnydale after the ritual." She held up a hand to forestall their protests. "I can't deal with this right now, and I can't deal with it being around the two of you, while I...deal with it. I...I just need..." She waved her hands helplessly, at a loss for words.
"Time," Buffy supplied softly.
Willow shot a weak, but grateful smile at her friend. "Yeah. That."
"Red," Spike began to protest. Angel's hand gripped his arm. The blond glanced over his shoulder. His gaze held a hint of panic when he saw the resignation in his grand-sire's eyes. "We can't just let her..."
"We have to let her go, Spike," he whispered. "It's just for a little while."
The blond's shoulders slumped. Their witch wore her resolve face, marred though it was by her quivering lower lip. He wanted to wrap her in his arms, and beat the living shit out of Wussy the Watcher for giving her those doubts he could see dancing behind her eyes. His Red was a little thought machine, though, and he knew she would process everything a thousand times over before she came to terms with it all. His head swiveled back toward her.
"Willow, I lo..."
"Don't!" Her eyes glimmered with tears, and she choked out the words. "Please don't say it Spike. Not now...please."
The room was filled with an uncomfortable silence, which was broken when the door opened. In walked Anya, smiling and chipper.
"Wow. It was great to catch up with Ginlong. We haven't seen each other since Louis XIV's reign. We ran into each other in, well gee, I guess around 1700. It was right after the Spanish king died, and Spain dropped into the lap of Louis' grandson. Let me tell you, people were *so* not happy about that..."
Anya paused to look around at the subdued group. "Did I miss something?"
~~~*~~~
Half an hour later, the group gathered in the empty lobby around a large circle. Wesley anointed Willow's forehead with a mixture of herbs and oils. A copper bowl sat between them with a foul-smelling assortment of ingredients. Willow watched numbly as Wesley read aloud from his notebook. The words and language were not familiar to her as he chanted in a low, but steady voice. He held aloft a pitcher, and let its amber fluid fall into the bowl to mix with the crushed items.
His chanting stopped and Wesley raised the bowl to Willow, which she grasped in both hands. Wrinkling her nose at the smell, she held her breath and downed the vile concoction. Wesley again chanted briefly, and smeared more of the anointing solution on her temples and forehead. He leaned forward and snuffed the candles surrounding them.
"We're done," he said softly, breaking the circle of sand surrounding them with his hand.
Willow's face puckered and a shudder ran through her body. "Uggghhhh! That was horrible."
"What was in that stuff, anyway, Wes," Buffy asked as she waved a hand before her face. "I can smell it all the way over here."
"Well, there was a bit of sage, crushed ginger root, dried eye of newt, crushed into powder form, of course..."
"Please," Willow interrupted. "I'd like to keep it down, but if you list the rest of the ingredients, I may have to throw it back up." She laid a hand on her churning stomach, and swallowed loudly.
"Of course. I'm quite sorry, Willow."
She looked at the former Watcher, and realized he was talking about more than just the nasty cure she just drank. "It's okay, Wes. It's not your fault."
"Soooooo," Xander clapped his hands together and rocked on the balls of his feet.
"I need to pack," Willow shrugged, "then we can leave. There's not much."
"I'll help you," Buffy offered.
She took her friend's hand and the two walked upstairs to gather Willow's belongings.
Anya looked at those still gathered around. "Well, this is one of those quiet and uncomfortable silences I've read about, isn't it?"
"Not in the mood, Demon Girl," Spike muttered. He rested his arm on the window frame, and stared out into the dark night.
Anya crossed her arms over her chest and frowned at the two brooding vampires. "Not in the mood? Well, excuse me if your little fling is ending before you were ready."
A low growl escaped Spike as he turned to face her. "It. Is. Not. A. Fling."
Xander stepped in front of his girlfriend, seeing the violence in Spike's eyes. "Listen here, Blondie. I don't believe a word you say. After the whole Adam incident, why should I? You hurt Wills, so in my book, that puts you back into the enemy category."
Cordelia watched Spike's face fall into an emotionless mask. "Xander, shutting up would be a good idea right about now."
He looked at his ex-girlfriend. "No way, Cordy. I'm not done yet." He turned his attention back to Spike. "Don't come back to Sunnydale. If I so much as see you sniffing around her garbage, I'll stake you on site."
A roar filled the room, and Xander found himself pinned against the wall by a very angry Angel. "Harris, you don't come into *my* home, and threaten *my* childe. On top of that, you shouldn't talk about things you don't understand."
Anya was behind Angel, beating his back with her fists. "Stupid ineffectual human strength! Get off of my boyfriend, you big, glowery vampire!"
Cordy placed her fingers between her lips and let out a high-pitched whistle, causing both vampires to cover their sensitive ears. "Sorry," she apologized to them. "Enough! Xander, Anya, back off. Maybe it would be best if you waited in the car for Willow and Buffy. Angel, no killing Xander, tempting though the thought may be. Spike, just go back to brooding. I'm going to check on Willow, and see how goes the packing. Wesley, don't let anyone kill each other while I'm gone. Got it? Good!" She spun away and stomped up the stairs to find the redhead.
Wesley nervously walked toward where Angel still stood threateningly over Xander. "Angel, I believe it would be for the best if you released him. Willow doesn't need to be upset any further tonight, wouldn't you agree?"
The vampire snarled and pushed away from the wall. Anya ran to Xander, checking him over for injuries. Xander's eyes were wide as he stared at Angel. "Angelus?" He whispered.
"Permanent Soulage party, you twit," Spike sneered.
"Then why is he defending you? Huh? Explain that to me, because the last time I checked Angel wasn't your biggest fan." Xander rubbed his throat where the vampire had been holding him.
"Things change," Angel murmured. "We've made our peace."
"Apparently enough to share my best friend," he grumbled.
"Mr. Harris, I do suggest you quite shut up before I forego Cordelia's instructions and allow Angel to kill you," Wesley snapped.
Anya grabbed her boyfriend's hand and tugged him toward the front door. "Xander, let's wait in the car. I think that sounds like a great idea. Uh, great party. Sorry it had to end so soon, and your little sexfest had to come to a sudden grinding stop. Tell Buffy and Willow we'll be waiting in the car, far away from the violent tendencies of those two," she nodded toward Spike and Angel. She tugged a reluctant Xander out the front door.
The three men stood in silence for another ten minutes before the women made their way down the staircase. The vampires focused on the redhead between the Slayer and the seer. Her eyes were red and puffy, obviously from crying. Spike wanted to kill something, and then hold her forever and comfort her. Angel just wanted to skip right to the holding and comforting.
"Well," Buffy began. "Ummm, I guess we'll be going now. Where are..."
"Waiting in the car," Wesley supplied.
"Smart move," Cordy muttered.
"Red," Spike said softly. He moved closer, but when she shook her head 'no', he stopped.
"Not now, Spike," she whispered.
Wesley stepped forward and grabbed one of her bags. "Let me help you with that," he offered.
He and the women walked out of the hotel and into the night. Spike and Angel watched from the door as they made their way through the courtyard.
"We're losing her, Sire," said Spike softly.
"We'll get her back. We just have to wait a while," Angel murmured.
"I was never good at waiting. You know that."
"Restraint of a three year old, yeah, I remember. Think of it this way, Spike. Was there ever anything this important worth waiting for?"
A small smirk caused the blonde's lips to twitch. "No, I don't suppose there was. So, we're waiting, then?"
Angel nodded as the figures disappeared into the darkness. "We're waiting."
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