Back in London, the Immortal Esteban Castillo entered the warehouse he rented only a week ago. He'd come to London to seek out the myth of Methos. He'd first heard stories about him around 200 years ago. It was right after he became immortal. His teacher, Diego Palma had told him about the myths. It was only recently that he heard that Methos was in fact a real person. Not many people were privy to that fact, but he had found out through his Watcher…right before he killed him.
Esteban walked into what barely passed for kitchen and set his keys down on the counter. He wasn't alone; something lurked in the shadows.
"You should have called, I would have tidied up the place." He said sarcastically as he turned to face the person.
"Such a nasty, rude, naughty boy...I should eat you for that." The vampire stepped from the shadows.
"Tempting, but I'll pass. What are you doing here? I said I would contact you." Esteban opened the cabinet and grabbed a bottle of scotch. He didn't bother with a glass and took a swig directly from the bottle.
"What did you find out? Is she there? Does the naughty boy have good news for mummy?" the vampire asked.
"Yes. She's there. He's there, too. It looks like he has taken her as his woman. Bad news for you." He took another swig out of the scotch.
The silhouette in the shadows dark growled low in their throat as it passed in and out of the pockets of weak light into the dark. The Immortal was right. It was bad news, very bad news.
"Yes, very ill news. Horrible girl…she's trying to ruin my good fun again. You need to bury the girl, my pet, bury her deep…deep down in the ground so it will swallow her whole. Time is running out." The silhouette emerged from the dark behind him, and laid a hand on Esteban's chest and felt his heart beating. It walked around him and laid a hand on his shoulder, it's fingers twined in his hair.
Esteban took hold of the shadow's hand. It was stone cold. He didn't like this, but this thing gave him the information on Methos and they had a deal. It made him extremely uneasy, but there was still something irresistible about it.
"Another immortal was there too. Duncan MacLeod. Only two immortals to a fight, it's the rules of the game." He said to the darkness.
"Tsk. Tsk. Silly, bad, nasty rules, don't like them. The prophecy, Castillo, remember what I told you…
Past into Present, the Future conceived
Past's knowledge and
Present's power and skill born into one.
The Two that should not be, but are,
Become the One… destroyers of the divine evil.
"I'll be very cross if it were to come true." The vampire removed their hand from his shoulder and stepped back into the shadows. Esteban felt the hackles on the back of his neck rise. He turned around to see the vampire gone.
"Drusilla?" He said aloud to the empty spaces of the darkened building. She was gone. This prophecy didn't mean a damn to him. He didn't believe in things like that. Prophecies, portents, and magic were all a big con to him.
This girl, the Slayer, was a threat to the vampire. She didn't look anything special to him. She was extraordinarily pretty, but still, she was just a girl. It was very important to that thing that she die…with the money she was paying him, he didn't care about what he had to do…his money and the promise of Methos was all the reason he needed to kill the girl. The quicker he killed Methos and the Slayer, the sooner the vampire would be gone, and that couldn't come soon enough for him.
Back at the mansion, Dawn Summers stared angrily at her sister. She had just unpacked everything and now Buffy was telling her to repack everything. They were leaving, and that was all Buffy had said to Dawn.
"Why do I have to leave? I didn't do anything. I like Kennedy." Dawn stood still as Buffy moved past her and pulled out Dawn's suitcase.
"This isn't open to discussion, Dawn. You're going to be staying with Giles, Willow, and Xander. It's either that or the new building." Buffy pulled clothes from drawers and tossed them on the bed.
"I suppose you're shacking up with the librarian? Ditching your little sister, I see. Fine. Whatever." Dawn said sarcastically.
Buffy stopped what she was doing, and regarded her sister with narrowed eyes. Buffy stood there very still and closed her eyes. She took a deep breath, opened her eyes, and moved to stand face to face with Dawn.
"Who I 'shack' up with isn't your business, Dawn. I've had my limit of tantrums and your constant ragging on whom I'm with. I am not going to live my life according whether you approve or not. Here's how its going to be little sister…you got two choices, you live with Giles and start your training, or I ship you back to the States. You go back there, and you can live with Dad or a foster home. I've had enough. You need to grow up." Buffy turned her back on her sister and went back to shoving the clothes in the suitcases.
Dawn was completely stunned. Buffy had never talked to her like that before. This new Buffy began to take shape back in Sunnydale before the fight. Dawn now knew that the situation with Kennedy must have more serious than she was told. Giles didn't say much by way of an explanation. He gave her a short-short version that ended with an order to pack.
Tears had started rolling down her cheeks. Buffy was really serious. She would send her back to live with their dad and have no future as a Watcher. It wasn't fair. She opened her mouth to respond to what Buffy, but something came into Dawn's mind.
"Dawn, the hardest thing in this world is to live in it…" Buffy had said to her before she sacrificed herself to save everyone and the world from Glory's portal. She thought of that moment many times after Buffy had died and when she was brought back to life, only now did she really understand what Buffy had meant. The decisions Buffy made then and now weren't easy, she made them because she had to, and no one else would.
Buffy had given so much of herself over the years, and now wanted to live her life. She couldn't take care of Dawn forever. Dawn's inability to see that, and accept it was what brought them to this argument. Dawn loved her sister, and now it was time to give her up to someone that would make her sister happy. She'd have to learn to share now.
"Buffy, I'm sorry." Dawn cried and rushed to her sister. Buffy took Dawn in her arms and let her cry. She stroked her sister's hair and rocked her. When her crying stopped, Dawn looked up at her sister and Buffy wiped her tears away from her cheeks.
"Did I come at a bad time?" Methos asked from the doorway.
Buffy motioned for him to come in. When he stepped into the room, Dawn had let go of Buffy, ran to him, and hugged Methos tightly. He looked over the top of her head at Buffy, who was smiling at the two of them. She had tears running down her cheeks. Even with her nose turning red…she stole his breath away. Methos softly smiled back and kissed the top of Dawn's head before she released him.
"You better be good to her. I mean it." Dawn playfully poked at his chest and then got on her toes and kissed him on the cheek.
"The thought of such a threat makes me tremble." Methos kissed Dawn's cheek.
"You should be trembling, she kicks pretty good…trust me." Buffy went to his side, and put her hand in his.
"You have to promise." Dawn said solemnly.
"I promise from this second forward that your sister will neither lack for happiness, nor starve for love. It's not goodbye, Dawn. Our door will always be open to you, little sister." Methos leaned forward, and kissed Dawn's cheek before he and Buffy walked out of the room.
"I hope he does the cooking, or they really will starve." Dawn grinned as she emptied out the suitcases and started folding the clothes into the suitcase.
Once inside her room, Buffy locked the door and the two of them embraced. He simply held her and breathed her in…the scent of her was an intoxicating mixture of vanilla and lavender. Buffy slid her arms around his waist. He felt good as well as smelled good. He was warm, solid, and very real. That fact made her feel so protected and safe.
"Now I can have you all to myself, for a while at least." Methos pulled at the hem of her shirt.
"Yeah, a good thing. Packing isn't going to take that long, they are bound to come looking for us. They might hear." Buffy looked up into his eyes. His answer was to drop a small kiss on her lips.
She loved it when he did that. The simple gesture was very intimate and endearing, it made Buffy's stomach get, butterflies.
"We'll be quiet." Methos pulled her shirt off, leaving her clad only in her bra.
"I don't want me to be quiet…I can't believe I just said that." Buffy turned a bright red.
"Are you sure about moving in with me?" He dropped a kiss to her shoulder and then the other.
Buffy answered him by grabbing the hem of his sweatshirt, and pulling it over his head. She found the plain, white cotton t-shirt he wore beneath undeniably sexy. Buffy ran her hands up and down his chest loving its soft texture. Buffy could feel him trembling beneath her touch.
"Do you have an endless supply of sweatshirts or what? Every time I see you, you're wearing one. Don't you own any normal clothes?" She reached for the buckle on his belt and undid it.
"I could just stay naked all the time, but then you'd be the one killing innocent women for lusting after me." He said as pushed one strap down and kissed her bare shoulder. His remark caused Buffy to laugh despite the delicious sensation he was caused.
"Oh, so you think you're that hot?" Buffy asked as he scooped her in his arms, and then deposited her on the bed.
"No. I am just that good." Methos settled himself between her legs. Buffy bit her bottom lip to keep from making any noise. Methos lowered his mouth to mere inches above hers, and was about to kiss her when there was a knock at the door.
"There had better be an apocalypse." Buffy muttered, and Methos levered himself off her. He rolled himself over next to her on the bed, and buried his face in a pillow. Buffy quickly found her top and pulled it back on before she answered the door. She opened the door to reveal Sean O'Hara.
"Buffy, we're all ready to move. I've hired some transports to take us into the city. Shouldn't take too long to get sorted," He looked at the Slayer and then past her into the room to see Methos lying face down on the bed, "Is everything alright with Mr. Pierson?"
"No." came Methos's muffled answer.
"He's fine. It's his back. I think he pulled something trying to get my suitcase from under the bed. Get the girls loaded and go on ahead. Get food, cots, and sleeping bags for everyone. We'll figure out what to do next in the morning." Buffy instructed Sean and he went to carry out his orders.
Buffy turned around and looked at Methos. Who, had moved onto his back and was staring up at the ceiling. Buffy sauntered over to the bedpost and leaned against it.
"See…what did I tell you? The sooner I get packed, the sooner we can be at our place and no more interruptions."
Methos had lifted his head to look at her. Buffy had said 'our' place and not 'his'. He felt an odd fluttering in his stomach, and his throat constricted at those words.
Buffy just cocked her head to the side and studied him intently. He had paled considerably as soon as the words left his mouth. 'What was going on in his head?' She thought as she looked at him.
"Something wrong?" Buffy sat down on the bed next to him.
"Uh, no. It has just been a while since I...wanted to share my…home with anyone." Methos sat up and ran a hand down his face. Buffy just watched him patiently. She took a hand and brushed her fingers along his cheek. Her eyes looked right into the very heart of him.
"Hey, its all good. Since you were so very cool, and made that promise to my sister…I've got one for you. I, Buffy Anne Summer do solemnly swear to do all in my Slayer power to try very, very super duper hard to not interfere in your 'game' thingy."
"It's not that easy, Buffy."
"Then we'll make it that easy. What's the deal? I know your life is "fraught" with danger as you say, but mine isn't exactly fraughtless, you know. We deal as it comes along." Buffy got off the bed, and smiled at him as she picked up some clothes from the bedside chair.
"Ah, to be so young and passionate. I almost forgot how fearless that makes one. Alright, Miss Summers…it appears we have an accord." Methos gave Buffy from behind and hugged her tightly. "I promise you here and now…in this place and at this in second to love you longer than time can be measured." Methos said as he turned her in his arms, and cupped her face in his hands.
Buffy turned her head and kissed the palm of his hand. The two of them didn't say anything; they only stared at one another until Xander appeared in the doorway. It was time to go.
"We'll be right down, Xander." Buffy smiled at him and her friend left the room.
Methos and Buffy packed her clothes by just dumping the clothes in the suitcases. Charles appeared next and took them downstairs for her. Buffy couldn't help herself and hugged the butler. He hugged her back. Methos and Buffy joined Giles, Xander and Dawn in Giles's car.
Willow stood at the threshold and looked back into the house. Kennedy was nowhere to be seen. She didn't want to leave without saying 'goodbye', but now it couldn't be helped. Things were going to get better for her, something inside her told her so, and she just had to let it happen.
"Willow?" Kennedy spoke from behind her as Willow started to walk down the front steps.
"Kennedy, hi." She greeted her now former girlfriend.
"I just wanted to say that I'm sorry. I was a bitch." Kennedy looked at the steps.
"I'm not going to argue, but I think we both knew it was going to happen. Idon't regret us, though." Willow kissed Kennedy's cheek.
"Me neither. See you around." Kennedy turned around and walked into the house. Willow turned around to see Mac waiting for her. The entourage was already heading down the drive. Willow's heart did a little flip-flop at the sight of him.
"There wasn't any room in Giles's car, and since I was going your way…" He said as she walked down the steps to stand in front of him.
She was even more captivating in the morning light. Mac didn't know why he was so struck by the way she looked. Willow's face was devoid of any makeup except for a little lip-gloss. Her hair lie in layers around her face and fell a little past her shoulders, Mac was mesmerized.
"Thanks. I wasn't looking forward to being crammed up against the lust bunnies." Willow said lightheartedly as Mac took her cases from her and put them into the boot of the car.
"Lust bunnies…hmm, that's them." Mac chuckled.
Mac thought that label fitted his friend and Buffy very well. The two of them were at it like rabbits. Methos would hate the nickname. Good, Mac was always willing to irritate the older man.
Willow went to open the car door, but Mac stopped her and then opened it for her. The simple gesture made her blush and Mac found it very adorable. Mac got in the driver's seat and set the car in motion to follow the caravan.
They spent the first few moments in comfortable silence. Willow watched the English countryside go by, while Mac tried to think of anything to say without sounding like a total idiot. He was coming up blank…making small talk shouldn't be so difficult.
"Is this your first time in England?" 'Yeah Mac, really good' he thought to himself as his attempt blew up in his face/. Willow's face lit up in a little smile, but then it faded a little.
"No. I was here a year ago for a while. I spent some time in Devon with this really great coven." She noticed Mac's brows crease a little at the mention of the coven. He still was a little uncomfortable with her being a witch.
"Really? Some kind of magical holiday?" Mac groaned at his own comment.
His question totally took away her smile and her features softened in sadness. The look on her face spoke volume to him as he turned to look at her. It obviously hadn't been a pleasurable visit. Maybe a relative died and she'd been here for a funeral.
"No, it was…I was in a rehab program. I…" Willow couldn't finish what she was saying and closed her eyes, then took a calming breath. Mac felt her sadness in the car like it had been sitting upon his own shoulders.
"Rehab? Were you some kind of junkie?" Mac said in a joking manner, but the sadness in the car became heavier, and he could tell Willow was fighting back her tears as she sighed painfully.
"You don't have to say anything, just forget it." Mac turned his head to give her an apologetic smile.
"No, its good. I needed to talk about it…its been too long. I haven't really talked about it. I feel like I need to tell you…which is weird. Not talking to you is weird, but this feeling like I have to tell you…I feel compelled to," Willow bit her lip, she sounded so lame, and Giles brought me here so that the coven could help me. I was using too much magic; I was magic junkie actually. When my girlfriend Tara was killed…this guy Warren had come to kill Buffy…a bullet ricocheted. I was out of my mind with grief…I wanted revenge. Nothing was going to stop me." Willow stopped for a moment and took several more calming breaths.
"Did you turn him into a toad or something?" Mac did his best to lift her spirits with his joke, but it didn't work. He saw a few tears roll down her cheeks in shame.
"No, I did better than that. I tortured him by burrowing the bullet into his chest very slowly. I wanted to make him suffer…I wanted him to feel the pain I was feeling." Willow stopped speaking as her grief threatened to burn her away.
"Willow…" Mac didn't know what to say. Shock wasn't even close to describe what he was experiencing as he listened to her.
"It gets better…Warren pleaded and cried for me to stop…it wasn't enough. So I flayed him alive. I didn't stop there. I went after his buddies next, Andrew and Jonathan. They got lucky…Buffy saved them and then the two of them hightailed it out of town to Mexico." Willow's tears streamed faster down her cheeks, "I tried killing every one of my friends; all the people I loved. When I couldn't…I tried to destroy the world, but Xander stopped me. He got through to the itsy bitsy spark of humanity I had left. He saved the world." She wiped the tears away from her face, but they kept coming.
All the suffering she had caused, and all the pain made Willow feel very ashamed. She had done a lot of good since then, but there were still time when she wished the coven had taken all of her magics away. There had been so many times she'd been tempted to use the more powerful magics.
"You did that? You couldn't have done all that. You're…" Mac was stunned by her revelation.
"Just a normal looking gal? Appearances are deceiving, huh? Look at Buffy…same thing. Now I know how she used to feel...the being different from everyone part. You should be on guard against me, Mac. You stayed away from me." She continued to wipe the tears from her face.
Willow was sweet and unpretentious. She embodied an innocence and charm that he found rarely in the world today. Mac didn't want to believe that she could do any of those things, but his heart told him it was true.
"Nice try. I don't scare easy, Miss Rosenberg." Mac patted her knee, and managed to get a little trace of a smile on her face.
He knew what it was that drew him to her...it was that deep anguish that had come from having done something so horrific that you could never felt clean again. She had taken away some of the pain he had carried from the death of Tessa and Richie. Mac had to help her; he needed to see her smile again as much as she needed to forgive herself. It still felt like madness
Mac took out his cel phone and dialed Joe's number. His friend picked up on the second ring.
"Hey Joe, I've got something I got to do. Tell Buffy that I'll drop Willow off at Giles's place in a few hours." Mac said, and Willow's attention immediately was drawn to him.
"Where you going, buddy?" Mac caught the puzzlement in Joe's voice.
"No, Joe. I am not going to tell you where I'm going. Don't worry, mom, we'll be just fine." He hung up the phone as he heard Joe start to ask another question and briefly met Willow's puzzled stare.
"Mac, you missed the exit." Willow watched the caravan head off in the other direction as Mac took the following.
"Nope." Mac turned his attention back to the road
"Any chance you'll tell me where we're going?" Willow asked.
"Nope. Don't tell me you don't like surprises." He gave a boyish grin and continued driving.
"Not really, no. Surprises in Sunnydale usually meant a big bad or something apocalyptic." Willow shrugged her shoulders.
"You'll like this. Scouts honor." He drove on and Willow just relaxed against her seat.
"You were a boy-scout?"
"Oh, yeah, I'm a real boy-scout. Damned Methos." Mac said under his breath.
"What?" Willow turned to look at Mac, and he just shrugged and kept his attention to the road.
Mac drove on for a while and Willow fell asleep after a few miles. It seemed like the emotional burden and the jet lag were catching up with her at last. Mac saw that her weariness weighed down on her even as she slept. He carefully brushed her cheek with the softest of touches, careful not to wake her up
His fingers left her cheek, and turned the radio to a classical station so that it was a soft whisper in the background. Mac took his jacket off, one hand holding the wheel as he struggled out of his coat and draped it over her. She snuggled contentedly and sighed in her sleep.
Mac kept thinking about what she said. He couldn't help but think about it. He knew how dangerous magic could be, but he couldn't help wanting to be around her. He had no idea what he was out of his league.
The whole situation was getting extremely complicated, especially now that this Castillo man appeared. There was something familiar about the name, but Mac couldn't figure out where he'd heard it. Of course, he couldn't think about anything clearly right now. He continued to think as he drove on…his thoughts not on the immortal, but of the girl asleep beside him.
Sometime later Willow opened her eyes, and stared out at Stonehenge. She blinked a few times to make sure she wasn't seeing things. Willow turned to say something to Mac, but he wasn't there. Mac was nowhere in sight.
Willow looked down to see that Mac had covered her with his jacket and blushed. She carefully removed the jacket, folded it, and put it on the back seat. She could hear the cars passing by on the motorway in the distance and got out of the car. Willow opened the car door, and got out.
Willow looked around and Mac was nowhere to be seen. He appeared a moment later from the other side of one of the stones. She just stood there rooted to the spot, and felt a charge of guilt course through her. Willow didn't deserve to be here, and she knew it.
Mac came to her at the car, took hold of her hand, and led her to the altar stone in the middle of the ring. Without a word to her, Mac took her and placed her hand against one of the stones. He now stood directly behind her, and then laid his hand on top of hers. Willow closed her eyes and felt the power of the stone seep into her.
The stone hummed beneath her hand. It smoothed away her guilt, and in its place joyfulness and love. Mac felt her hand tingle beneath his, and then sensation pervaded his own body. Willow turned around to face him; she then turned her hand around in his and linked her fingers with his.
"You were right. It was an excellent surprise." She turned around to face him, rose up on her toes, and kissed him on the cheek.
"Told you so." Mac leaned a little closer to Willow, and was about to kiss her when a uniformed man appeared in the circle.
"Pardon me, Sir and Miss. You don't have permission to be here." The police officer spoke matter-of-factly.
Willow gave Mac a curious look and he just grinned and shrugged back.
"It's alright, officer. We're here from the British Museum. We were just taking some pictures of the stones." Willow looked directly at the officer, never breaking eye contact, and he blankly stared at her.
"Very good, Miss. I'll leave you to it then." He nodded at her and then went on his way.
"I suppose that was your doing?" Mac watched him go and then looked at Willow.
"I had to do something. I'd rather not get arrested. Come on, we better get going before it wears off." Willow tugged at his hand, and they went back to the car. Mac opened the door for her, but she didn't immediately get in.
"Thanks, I really needed that. Well, not the almost getting arrested part, but you get an 'A' for effort." She again rose up on her toes, and this time kissed him on the lips.
Mac's reaction was to put his arms around her, and held her strongly against him. This kiss he put his complete heart into. Willow wound her arms around his neck and gave herself up to him without a thought. The moment hung in time. It was just the two of them in this place with all the magic surrounding them as the wind sang softly to them and the sun blessed them.
Another person approaching them broke the moment. It was the police officer again.
"Excuse me, Sir and Miss. You don't have permission to be here." The officer spoke, and Mac knew whatever Willow had done was wearing off. They needed to be gone before the officer remembered that they had already received a warning.
"Officer, hello. We were just leaving. My girlfriend, uh, she wanted to see the famous Stonehenge. Its her first trip to England." Mac sounded very sincere, hugged Willow, and smiled at the officer.
"Welcome to England, miss. I'm afraid the both of you'll have to move on." He looked at both of them and then started to walk away. He stopped a few feet away and then turned back to look at them for a moment, as if he were remembering something. He shook his head and then continued on.
"Now we really better go." Willow giggled and Mac let go of her so that she could get into the car. He shut the door for her and then went around to the driver's door.
Mac took a deep breath before he opened the driver's door and then got in. His cel phone rang in his pocket. He looked at the caller id and saw that it was Joe.
"You're not going to answer that?" Willow asked and Mac just put the phone back in his pocket.
"Nope. It can wait." He turned the key in the ignition, and the car roared to life. Mac turned the car onto the motorway and headed away from Stonehenge. He wasn't going to take her back just yet…he wasn't ready.
158