Summary: Buffy's dead and Willow's abandoned with a bleeding heart. Can Spike heal her wounds?
Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to be – I swear!
Rating: G, maybe a bit PG towards the end.
Author's Note: Set, loosely, post-season 5 but Dawn doesn't exist in my story. After Buffy's death Giles went back to England, Tara left and Xander skipped town. Only Spike remained behind.
Willow had seen the storms of change approaching. She'd felt their icy tears wash away all strength, all security that she had once possessed leaving her vulnerable to the elements. But it happened so tentatively, so gradually, that Willow hadn't truly noticed until it was too late and there was no turning back. Abandoned to shoulder the weight alone Willow was forced to turn to the only support she had left. Not that it was necessarily a bad turn, just…different. Willow had noticed, too, his subtle advances and tried to shut them out – she swore to never again let someone close enough to hurt her. But Willow was weak and she quickly grew desperate for that look he so tenderly gave her and inside she screamed for the love he was so willing to give her. Of all people to lose herself to, Spike would have been at the bottom of her list if not for recent events.
Tara had left her, Xander had skipped town, Giles had been called back to England and Buffy…Buffy had died saving the world. She very nearly lost Spike as well but he was never one to give up so easily. His recovery had been relatively slow, considering his vampire healing, and Willow had hardly left his side. Spike was all she had left and she felt that she owed it to him to stay with him. No one deserves to be alone during times like that. Maybe it was selfishness that kept Willow there; a need to not be alone while her heart bled. After Spike was well enough to move around again, he and Willow would spend hours just talking. He really opened up to her and Willow had been amazed to find that beneath his harsh exterior Spike was gentle and sensitive. Together they tried helped each other mend their wounds and get past their loss. Despite his denials, Willow had always known that Spike had grown to care about the Scooby Gang and even to respect each Scooby in his own way.
"What are you doing out here, love?" Spike had followed Willow one night a few weeks after 'the incident'.
"Just talking," she murmured with tear stained cheeks. Placing a hand against the cold stone, Willow couldn't fight the sobs that echoed from her throat. Kneeling beside her, Spike had taken Willow into his arms and rocked her gently until her tears subsided. Running his fingers through her locks and placing a kiss on her brow he held back his own cries. Spike had respected Buffy for her not only her Slayer skills but also the sheer capacity of her love for her friends and her willingness to sacrifice everything to keep them safe.
"Come on red, let's get you out of the cold," Spike had led Willow away from Buffy's grave, bringing her back to her parent's house.
That had been the first, but not the last, time Spike had found Willow sitting on the wet ground in front of Buffy's grave crying silent tears. She was so fragile but so strong. Never once did Willow allow herself to fall apart even though she had nothing. Spike swore that if he ever saw Xander again he'd rip out his throat. How could he just leave Willow to suffer by herself? He was weak and selfish and didn't even think to consider that maybe Willow might need him. It didn't matter though, Spike was there and he wasn't going anyway. Willow had helped him recover; put his needs before her own and that's not something one forgets.
The weeks slipped by painfully slow and each night Spike listened to Willow's whimpers and tears. Nightmares plagued her every time she shut her eyes and her sleeplessness showed in the black circles that hung beneath her eyes and the paleness of her skin. Spike also noticed that she had stopped eating and her body grew thin. Grief was slowly eating her alive and it was now Spike's turn to heal Willow.