How had she ended up here? This was all her fault. If she hadn't wanted to do that spell, if she had just had more control over her hormones, she wouldn't be here in the back of this car right now going God knows where. No, if she hadn't wanted to do the spell, she'd be safe and sound at the bowling alley with Oz, Cordelia, and Xander. And Xander wouldn't be…
Was he dead? She really didn't know; it wasn't like Spike had let her check on him. He had looked dead, but he may have been unconscious. By now Cordelia and Oz would've found him - had they gotten there in time to save him? Or was it too late? Would they be able to find her? Probably not, if Xander was dead, because no one knew Spike had come back.
It was all her fault. If she hadn't wanted to do the spell; If they had met at the bowling alley; If she had been paying more attention instead of arguing with Xander, she might have heard him come in. Instead, their stupid argument had made them careless.
oo00oo00
Nothing was going according to plan. Not that he should've expected it to, of course. Nothing he did ever went smoothly. He had just intended to borrow the girl for a few hours. She'd do a love spell and he'd let her go. Simple. He'd be out of town before the Slayer even knew he'd been there. Then the boy had shown up before he could grab her. Still would've been fine if he'd just gone calmly, but he had to play hero and fight back. That's when it all had changed. He'd thrown him too violently; the boy's head had hit the wall too hard. Spike had barely been able to pick up his heartbeat after that. If he'd accidentally killed the Slayer's friend, there wasn't time to stick around, not unless he wanted a fight. So he'd grabbed the girl and run. He still needed her to do the spell, just not in Sunnydale. They'd go somewhere safe and she'd do it. She'd have to, or he'd turn her and force her to do it. He'd get Dru back.
"Where are we going?" Willow asked quietly from the backseat.
"Somewhere safe," he replied.
oo00oo00
Somewhere safe? Willow doubted it. She had been safe in Sunnydale, near Buffy. He still hadn't said why he wanted her. "Why?"
"I need a spell," Spike answered without looking back at her, "You're gonna do it for me."
"I don't…" Willow hesitated. Was it smart to tell the slightly insane, definitely drunk vampire that she couldn't do any sort of spell without her spell book which was back at the school?. "Um, I don't know if I can. I mean, I don't have my book or any supplies and…"
"We'll get what you need."
Wonderful, he's being all helpful rather than calling it off. "What sort of spell? I don't know very many. I'm kinda new to the magic thing."
"Love spell," Spike responded quickly. "Do it, I go get Dru back, and you can go home."
Well, she thought, at least it's a spell I know how to do. That's a start. She did wonder if he'd really let her go though. He said he would, but he wasn't exactly trustworthy. He was amazingly loyal though, from what she'd learned last year. Drusilla was amazingly fickle, yet he was so devoted to her. Giles kept telling them that vampires didn't love, but Spike…"Can I ask you a question?"
"What?"
"Well," she hesitated again. He probably wouldn't like the question. "If I ask, will you promise not to kill me? I mean, if you don't like what I ask."
oo00oo00
Spike pulled into the parking lot of a deserted motel. This would do for now. They were far enough out of Sunnydale to be able to stay here for the day. When it got dark, he'd get whatever she needed for the spell. Then he could be long gone by the time she made it back home to tell the Slayer what had happened.
"I won't kill you until you do the spell," Spike answered. "Get out."
They got out of the car and walked up to the nearest door. He turned the knob and it opened. Good, he thought, it's so much harder to keep sunlight out of motel rooms when you have to break down the door. "What's your question?" He asked as he moved through the room pulling the heavy curtains tightly closed.
oo00oo00
His answer wasn't exactly encouraging but her curiosity got the best of her. "Why do you want her back? I read about you in the Watcher's Diaries last year. She's left you before, right? Why stay with her if she keeps hurting you?"
"I love her." His answer was so simple that Willow was taken aback.
He loved her. Nothing else, that's all that mattered. Did Oz love her that much? Was the de-lusting spell even necessary? Should she just tell him the truth and hope he would forgive her? That Cordelia would forgive Xander? Did she love Oz that much? Enough to forgive anything? She liked to think she did, and she certainly wanted to be loved that much.
The entire time they were driving, she'd been trying to come up with a way to get away from him - a way to get to help, to get to Buffy or Oz. Now she didn't want one. Oh, she'd rather not be held captive by a love-crazed vampire, but she really did want to help him. Help him get Dru back. "Spike, this isn't a trick right? You aren't lying to me? You won't kill me the second I do this spell?"
"If I say it is," he asked turning his attention to her after closing the last curtain. "What will you do?"
"I could refuse or…" Willow argued, not really sure what she would do. "I could open the curtains when you fall asleep or maybe I have holy water in my pocket or a stake and when you fall asleep…"
"If you had those things, you could've used them while I was driving."
"Okay, but…"
"I'm not going to kill you," he said. "All I want is Dru back. You do the spell, I'll drive you to the next town and drive away. You can call your friends to come and get you."
Willow's eyes narrowed. Was it that simple? "Why should I trust you? You killed Xander."
oo00oo00
She was right not to trust him. Not in this case (he really didn't intend to kill her), but he was a vampire. "The boy wasn't dead when we left."
"H—He wasn't?"
"No. Close, but if someone found him quickly…" He wasn't sure why he was comforting her. Telling her the boy had a chance. He did, if someone found him, but it didn't matter to him as long as she did what he wanted.
oo00oo00
That made her feel slightly better. Oz and Cordelia should've found him there not long after Spike had taken her. Maybe they got him to a hospital in time. "I can do the spell," she said, "I need stuff though. A spell book. I've never really done this before but I've seen them and I know the principals. And I can make you a list of ingredients."
"It's nearly dawn," he answered laying down on one of the beds. "Get some sleep. When it gets dark, I'll get what you need."
oo00oo00
"You're sure it worked?" Spike asked for the hundredth time since she had finished the spell an hour before.
"As sure as I can be without Drusilla being here, yes," Willow answered. She wouldn't lie to him. Usually you know these spells work because both parties are together and you see the reaction. She was working blind on this one. "I did everything the way the book said."
Spike pulled into the parking lot of a small diner just as a waitress turned the sign in the door to open. "Go call your friends."
She was still amazed that Spike had kept his word and was letting her go. She really hoped this spell had worked for him, that he was able to get Drusilla back. "Don't take this wrong, Spike," she said before getting out. "But I truly hope I don't see you again." Willow pushed the car door open and stepped out into the morning sun.
oo00oo00
He watched her walk into the diner before pulling away. He was going to find Dru, he'd get her back now. He had kept his word and let Willow go. She'd done as he asked. She'd even listened to him while he talked about Dru; she understood his need to get her back. He hadn't even had to threaten her once she understood what he wanted. Of course that only made him feel guilty about the possibility that he had killed the boy. Then again, she had also told him about her troubles, about why she was doing a de-lusting spell. If the boy was dead, it would solve her problem as well, so maybe he had done them both some good.
The end.