He turned the car off and just sat there, staring at the house. His passenger sat quietly beside him, silently giving encouragement. Eventually he sighed, took the key from the ignition, and stepped out of the vehicle. Once out of the car, he strode purposefully to the door, then just stood there, staring at the peephole.
His companion looked in his face and, at a minute nod, pressed the doorbell. The chimes ran through a complicated melody, then fell silent. After what seemed like an eternity, the door swung open, revealing a thin, sharp, middle aged woman. "Xander, Spike" was all she offered in greeting to the two. "Hi Eileen, we're just here to see her, can we come in?" said Xander, wearily. "Why don't you show me if you can?" was the reply, as she swung the door wider and stepped aside.
"Oh, for Pete's sake! Do you have to uninvite us every time we leave?" Xander stepped across the threshold and stared expectantly at the woman. "Fine, he can come in too." She said. "Mom's not doing so great today, he probably shouldn't go in with you." Spike fished in his pocket, coming out with a pack of cards. "I'll just wait in the kitchen then, yeah?" Xander gave him a small smile and a nod, then hugged him and followed Eileen into the hallway. She knocked at a door, then opened it. "Mom, Xander came to visit with you."
Xander entered the darkened room and pulled the chair over by the bed. He quietly studied the frail form laying in the bed. Thin white hair was cropped close to her skull for better manageability. The once sharp, piercing blue eyes were dulled and unfocused. She was almost painfully thin, her collar bone stuck out sharply from her chest. Her hands rested on her stomach above her withered legs. He plucked one pale hand from the coverlet and gently held it in his own. Eventually the figure on the bed stirred and turned her head to look at him.
"Oh, Xander, thanks for visiting. Did you bring my homework?" He sighed and looked down at their two hands linked together: her fingers twisted and sharp, wrapped in translucent skin with brown splotches; his straight and strong, dark skin marred by scars on the knuckles.
"School's over Willow, there's no homework." "Oh good, then we can just…." "Yeah, we can just visit." He put a smile on his face and launched into a series of stories of his travels, his eyes wandering the room, glancing at photos on the walls, the figures on the bedside table, anywhere but the confused blue eyes that were gazing at him. He talked about the condo they'd gotten in Maui, and how the water seemed to stay shallow forever before the bottom abruptly dropped out beneath them as they were wading in the moonlight. He told her about camping in Yosemite, and how he'd rediscovered poison oak. He talked about traveling in Italy, and how history seemed so much more interesting when it was more than a photograph in a book. He told her how strange it was to be in Asia and be able to spot other Americans in a crowded market, no matter what race they were. He kept talking until he eventually ran out of other things to look at. As his eyes turned to hers, his words faded to nothing; until they just sat silently together.
"It sounds like you and Spike are having a great time. Do you think maybe I could see him, too next time?" Xander turned and looked at Eileen standing in the doorway. She grimaced, then beckoned to the vampire at the other end of the house. In no time, Spike was at Xander's side, his arm around the younger man's shoulders. "Hello Red." he said with a gentle smile. "Hi Spike, are you taking care of my boy? Do I have to get the shovel?"
"No need for the sharp objects, I'm taking care of him alright" He shared a loving gaze with the object of his affection, rubbing his shoulder. Xander smiled back, then turned sharply toward Willow when her grip tightened on his hand. "Xander, that's Spike!" Her face twisted in terror and her voice grew higher in pitch as she addressed Spike: "I'll do whatever you want, I'll do your potion, just don't hurt Xander any more." Spike's smile stayed frozen on his face for a few seconds, then abruptly disappeared. "Right, I'll just be in the other room then, luv." He shouldered past Eileen and strode down the hall. Willow was agitated, she grabbed Xander's head and turned it both ways, looking at his neck. She gasped when she saw the scar just above his collar bone.
"Xander, you can't be a vampire… Oh, not you!" He grabbed the hand that was tracing his scar and moved it an inch higher. "Shh Willow, I'm not a vampire. It's just a scar. Same old Xander here." She relaxed when she felt his heart beating, and lay back again. "Xander, I missed you, where'd you go all summer?" His eyes turned a little sadder, but he fixed his smile on more firmly and answered. "I never got all that far, I only made it to Oxnard." "Oh, well, Oxnard, that's… exciting… or at least, different! But, I'm glad you're home now!" Her smile was genuine, right up to her eyes.
"Oh Willow, I miss you…" "Well stop missing me, silly! I'm right here!" He gave her a gentle smile, then leaned over and softly kissed her cheek. "Yeah, you're here. How have you been doing?"
"I don't like that lady, she won't let me go anywhere." Willow said quietly. "She's always hovering, I never get any peace." "Willow, Eileen just wants what's best for you. She's been taking really good care of you. She loves you, she's your daughter." "Daughter?… Yes, she laughs just like Kennedy… She has her eyes… She's, what? Sixteen?" Eileen sat on the left side of the bed and took Willow's other hand. "No Mom, I'm forty six. Remember? You fell and broke your hip, so we moved you into the guest room. You've been here three years now."
Willow gasped, "Three years? No, it hasn't been that long…And you're my daughter?" She gave a small laugh. "How long was I asleep?" "Mom, you haven't been asleep, you just get… confused sometimes. That's why you live with me, so I can take care of you." Willow said: "Oh, I'm so sorry Kennedy. This is too much fuss over me." "Mom, I'm Eileen, remember? And I love you. You took care of me for twenty two years, I've only taken care of you for three." Willow looked confusedly at Eileen, then quietly said: "I love you dear." Eileen leaned over and kissed Willow's cheek, then leaned back and glanced at Xander with moist eyes. "It's nearly nine o'clock. She'll have to take her evening pills soon." Willow glanced at Xander, then back at Eileen, and snatched her hand from the younger woman's grasp. "I don't know what's in those pills you keep giving me. What are your credentials, young lady? Are you qualified? Is this a licensed facility?" She snapped at her. Eileen just gave a nod, then hurried out of the room. "She's very qualified, Willow. She loves you. The pills were prescribed by Doctor Miller." Xander wearily remarked. "Xander, I'm getting kinda tired…. And shouldn't one of us be at the Scooby meeting tonight? You'll tell me everything I missed, right?" "Yeah, sure Willow. I love you." Xander stood then, and leaned over for one more kiss. Then he moved the chair back over by the wall and exited the room.
The house was empty, so he stepped out on the porch to find Eileen and Spike both smoking, staring out at the street. "Sometimes I hate you, you know." Eileen calmly remarked to her cigarette. "You never change, you never get older. She always knows who you are. She never calls you the wrong name. She never… attacks you for no reason." Xander nodded. "Eileen, if we can help in any way, we will. I can hire someone to help you, or at least we can stay here for a few days, give you a break…" Eileen took one last hit, then threw her cigarette into the street. "It's silly, I know, but I want to be here for when she has a good moment; like just then, in there; when she remembers me. It would hurt too much to think that I might have missed one of those." She turned to the door, and with her hand on the handle she asked: "So we'll see you next week, then?" "Yeah, we'll be back next week. Call in the meantime, if you need anything." She nodded, then went inside. The door gently closed and the bolt shot home. Spike flicked his cigarette into the street, then looped his arm around Xander's waist, and the two of them walked to the car. Xander opened Spike's door, then circled the car and opened his own. He slid behind the wheel and put the key in the ignition; then he just sat there, gripping the wheel, as tears rolled down his cheeks. "First Buffy, then Kennedy… then Andrew, who should have known better… then Giles got sick… now Willow…. God, Spike, if I didn't have you… I'd just… break." He pulled out from the curb, made a three-point turn, and headed for home.