Disclaimer: Buffy the Vampire Slayer belongs to Joss Wheldon and The Da Vinci Code belongs to Dan Brown and Ron Howard. The story title doesn't belong to me either. It's from the song Safest Place To Hide by the wickedly amazing Backstreet Boys. Please don't sue me, I'm completely and utterly broke and it's for entertainment purposes only.

Timeline: From the end of season six to the end of Chosen, BtVS and post-movie, Da Vinci Code

Pairing(s): Willow/Tara (a little bit), Willow/Silas, Buffy/Spike, Xander/OC

Author's Note: Just to avoid some confusion, I'll explain the timeline a little bit clearer. The beginning of the story takes place at the end of Graves in the Buffy universe and just before the movie in the Da Vinci Code universe then it shifts to the end of the series finale of BtVS and the end of the movie. Why a Willow/Silas pairing? I wanted to do a different Willow/Crossover Character pairing and I think that she and Silas make a good couple. Just to warn you, Silas will be a little OOC in this story so please don't flame me for that. Also, I'm following the movie in the Da Vinci Code universe because I find it to be a lot easier to follow than the book so Silas will be as he was in the movie. Please don't flame me for that. That was a decision that I made before I started writing this story. If you are wondering about the current stories that I'm working on both on this site and on Twisting The Hellmouth, don't worry, I won't be abandoning those stories but don't expect the updates to be speedy. This story was inspired by LaRosaAzul's Da Vinci Code fan fic What Makes Us Good. If you haven't read it yet then I strongly recommend you do. Anyway, enjoy and remember no flames! I will ignore them and I don't have the patience for them.

Summary: While in England recovering from her bouts with the dark arts, Willow meets a certain albino monk (Silas) after he saves her from vampires and she befriends him. After three years apart, they meet again in London. Just as Silas is struggling with the demons of his past and the sins he committed in the name of God, Willow begins to open her heart again that has been broken after the death of Tara and the break-up between her and Kennedy but can she love again despite having a broken heart that is beginning to heal?

Safest Place To Hide
By RaeAngel

April 23, 2002
London, England
9:45 pm

Willow Rosenberg stood in front of a rather large building that was across the street from where she and Giles were staying in London. It had been a week since she arrived to the English capital city from Sunnydale. One week since she had tried to destroy the world after extracting revenge against Warren and frayed him alive after he murdered Tara. One week since she had almost killed her friends after tapping into the dark arts and one week since she was stopped by the love of one of her friends. Tears welled in Willow's eyes thinking of what Xander had done to save both her and the world.

He told me that he loved me. Despite what I did to him and Buffy, he told me that he loved me.

Shaking her head, Willow forced the memories out and focused on the building she was standing in front of. She had passed it every day going to visit the coven who were helping her recover from her bouts with the dark arts and yet she had no idea what the building was until she decided to do a little research and discovered that the building was in fact the Opus Dei Centre in London.

From what Giles told me about Opus Dei, it's a ultraconserve Catholic group with some serious issues. I mean, its views on women are medival at best and most members undergo a dangerous practice known as 'corporal mortification'. Most women even have to undergo additional requirements of that same practice. Goddess, why would anyone want to be a member of that group?

It made the redheaded Wicca shudder thinking about it as she started walking down the street. Unfortnately as she was walking down the street, a group of vampires began following her and she didn't notice it until it was too late when one of them grabbed her arm.

"Hey!" Willow shouted as she tried to pull her arm free. "Let go!"

The vampire laughed. "Mmm. I can smell your fear, little girl."

"Actually, that would be your breath." The Wicca snapped despite her growing anxiety and anger. Another vampire grabbed her from behind the waist and licked one side of her neck. It took all of Willow's willpower not to flinch.

"You taste delicious." It purred in her ear. That made her skin crawl. At that point, Willow stomped on the foot of one of the vampires holding her. It roared in pain and let go of her waist while the other vampire tried to pull her closer to it. That was a mistake because just as it was pulling her close, Willow took out a stake that was in her jeans pocket and plunged it home into the vampire's heart.

"No fair." It squeaked before it exploded into a dust cloud. Then Willow broke into a run with the remaining vampires giving chase behind her. Unfortnately for her just as she reached Kensington Gardens, they had finally caught up with her. Struggling to run faster, Willow didn't see a large tree root that laid a few feet away from her until it was too late when she tripped over it and fell hard onto the ground on her left leg. She let out a cry of pain when she tried to get up.

"Oh, no." she whispered as she heard the laughter of the remaining vampires as they reached her. One of them roughly picked her up and dragged her toward the far side of the park. Then it threw her onto the ground roughly. Willow cried out in pain as it did. Then another vampire grabbed her by the hair.

"Now, where were we before you tried to escape?" It sneered and it vamped out. Just as it was about to dig its fangs onto Willow's neck, she heard a voice shout.

"Let her go."

Willow looked up to see a figure of a man dressed in robes possibly a monk. He had a hood pulled up so she couldn't see his face and his accent was hard to place. His voice was deep and husky which was enough to send shivers up the Wicca's spine. The vampire that was holding her glared at the hooded figure and growled menacingly.

"Sod off." It snapped. "This is no concern of yours."

"Let her go." The hooded figure repeated. "And perhaps God will forgive you before you enter Hell." The group of vampires glanced at each other and then laughed.

"Let her go and perhaps God will forgive you before you enter Hell." One of the vampires said rather mockingly. "What are you? Some kind of a priest wannabe? Or maybe a human who speaks to God? We have a message for Him. Piss off!"

Bad idea, guys. Willow thought when she saw that the hooded figure started to shake possibly in rage over the vampire's words. That gave the chance she was waiting for. She held the stake that was behind her back and with no second to spare she plunged the stake into the vampire's heart. It roared in pain before it exploded into dust. The Wicca fell onto the ground crying out in pain as she landed onto the wet grass. She looked up and saw that the vampires had lost their focus on her and were now leering at the hooded monk. She saw that he had already staked two of them.

Good. There are only three left. Now if only I could …

Willow was suddenly pulled from her thoughts when she felt an hand grabbing her by the throat and she was once again at the mercy of one of the three vampires. It licked her at the side of the neck and just as it was about to bite her, it let out a roar of pain and exploded into dust all over her. Once again, the Wicca fell onto the ground and she looked up to see that it was the hooded monk. Then she turned back to face the remaining two vampires. If they were looking to finish the fight, the menacing look in the monk's hooded figure discouraged them and they ran out of the park disappearing into the night.

"Yeah you better run, assholes." Willow said rather angrily. Then she turned to her hooded savior.

"Thanks for helping me." She said. Then she tried to get up but as soon as she did, pain shot up her leg and she fell back down again. As she went down onto the ground, she glanced up at the hooded monk.

"Who are you? What's your name?" She asked suddenly nervous. Then Willow saw the monk's very pale hands pull away at his hood and it revealed a very pale face with pale blue eyes and white hair. The Wicca's eyes widened in shock and disbelief.

My Goddess! He's an albino! I've seen and heard of them both in human and demon variety but I've never actually met one before.

"My name is Silas." The albino monk answered her in the same deep and husky voice.

So he's an albino monk and has a Biblical name. Giles would never believe this! Willow thought to herself. Then she noticed that Silas was staring at her injuried leg with concern.

"Can you walk?" he asked.

Willow shook her head as she spoke. "Judging by the angle that it's in, I think that the answer is no." she said. "I'm Willow by the way." Oh, Goddess! Why did I just say that? Don't start babbling now, Willow. Now is not a good time for that. Is he going to help me?

Then to her surprise and relief, Silas picked her up gently and held her in his arms carefully to avoid hurting her more. Shaking slightly, Willow willed herself to relax against her mysterious savior and barely resisted the urge to start babbling. After close to twenty minutes, the uncomfortable silence was broken when Silas spoke to her.

"You live across the street, no?"

Willow was surprised and suspicious. "I just moved here so yes I do live across the street." She replied. "How did you ..?"

"I have seen you before." Silas answered. "I saw you and an older man move into the building across the street from the Opus Dei Centre a month ago. I see you go in and out every day."

"You live at the Opus Dei Centre?" Willow asked. Then a realization hit her like a ton of bricks and it left her stunned. "You're a member of Opus Dei as a monk."

Silas nodded. "Yes, I am a numerary of Opus Dei and no I do not live here in London. I am only visiting. I live and study in the United States."

He's a member of Opus Dei and an American possibly a foreigner by birth. I don't know whether to be glad or scared.

That was the one thought that ran through the Wicca's mind as she looked at Silas. There was something about the albino monk that she couldn't explain. She could tell just by looking in his eyes that he had been through so much. Perhaps more than anyone should ever go through. Willow could also see that Silas was not used to be around women too often.

Probably because he's been taught that women are sinful creatures when all that is a bunch of crap. I know that because of that website I went on when I researched Opus Dei. Goddess, why would anyone want to be a member of that group?

Willow kept her voice even as she spoke. "You must have powerful friends if you're allowed to come to London all the way from the U.S."

If only if you knew, woman.

That was the one thought that ran through Silas's mind as Willow said those words. It had been one month earlier when he arrived in London to attend a retreat that was arranged by his mentor and friend Bishop Manuel Aringarosa when he saw the redheaded young woman and her older male companion move into the building that was across the street from the Opus Dei Centre. For an entire month, Silas had watched her come in and go out every day but he never knew her name until tonight when he saved her from the pack of vampires.

Willow. Her name is Willow.

Normally, Silas would have cared less about women or even show an ounce of concern for them but there was something about Willow that he couldn't explain. Every day when he saw her come and go, Silas always saw a sad look on her face. Sometimes she would be in tears as she was walking home at the end of the day as he watched from his window across the street inside his room in the Opus Dei Centre.

It was as if she had experienced something terrible or done something terrible like I once did in my life.

For the first time since he joined Opus Dei years earlier, Silas felt the familiar emotions of grief, hate, fear and self-loathing all in one swirling through him like a wildfire and he fought with himself to force the familiar emotions out. As he looked up to see where he was going, Silas felt Willow's head rest against his shoulder and he also felt her relaxing against him. Then he heard her say something so softly that the monk had to strain his ears to hear her words.

"Thank you."

The gratitude in Willow's voice was enough to bring tears to Silas's eyes. It had been a long time since he had done a good deed and was actually thanked for it. Trying to keep his voice steady and keep it from breaking, he spoke softly to her.

"You are welcome."

The rest of the walk to the hospital was quiet and as Silas walked in the emergency room of St. Mary Hospital, everyone sitting in the waiting room stared in wonderment at the albino monk carrying a young woman with an injured leg in his arms. Gently and carefully, Silas set Willow down in a wheelchair.

"I will go and find a doctor." He said.

Willow nodded her head slowly in response and she closed her eyes for a moment before opening them again. All of the evening's events had exhausted her and she felt tired. After a few moments, Willow felt her eyes growing heavy and was almost asleep when she felt someone's hand on her arm. She opened her tired eyes to see that it was Silas.

"I have to take you to see the nurse." He said.

Willow nodded. "Okay." She said sounding very tired. Then suddenly a thought crossed her mind as she realized that she hadn't called Giles.

Giles must be going insane with worry. I better ask the nurse to contact him for me. Hopefully, he won't panic when she tells him what happened.

As Silas pushed her wheelchair to the nurse's station, Willow glanced at the nurse who had a friendly face and looking at the Wicca with a smile on her face and a twinkle in her eye.

As she was checking Willow's temprture and blood pressure, she asked. "Is there anyone you wish for me to contact?"

Willow nodded. "A friend. His name is Rupert Giles." Once she gave the nurse the ex-Watcher's phone numbers to both their flat and to the Watcher's Council's Headquarters, Willow asked Silas to take her back to the waiting room of the ER. When they got back to the waiting room, Willow noticed that some of the people in the waiting room were staring at Silas. Seeing that the Opus Dei monk was very uncomfortable with the stares, Willow turned her head and glared at the people in the room.

"What are you staring at?" She snapped looking and sounding very annoyed and a little angry. "Haven't you seen an albino monk before?"

While everyone else looked away at Willow's words, Silas gaped at her. He was used to people being uncomfortable with his appearance but he never had someone stand up for him before. He wasn't sure whether to be grateful for her actions or be angry. Unable to say anything, Silas turned away and as he did, many thoughts crossed his mind. All of them about Willow.

Who are you? Why are you being so kind to me?

Willow felt a swell of pity for Silas as he turned away from her to look out the window. Earlier, she saw the look on his face when she snapped at the people who were staring at them. He looked shocked, grateful and sad all at once and the Wicca couldn't help but feel very sympathetic for him. She could tell that Silas had a tragic past just by looking at his face and in his eyes.

Proably no different than mine or Buffy's or even Xander's.

As she waited to be called to see the ER doctor on call, Willow closed her eyes to rest them with the image of the sad expression on Silas's face burning in her memory and in her mind.

Oh, Silas.

Well, what do you think? Please review and remember no flames. I will ignore them and I don't have any patience for them.