A/N: *sigh* Still no reviews. I just don't want to stop writing this. Maybe someday, someone will come across it and send me a review then. Until then, I will continue to tell the story in my heart. Oh! And for anyone reading my other stories! Fire will be updated soon and I plan to go back to Forward when I find the time, which college and Buffy are taking all of right now but I promise to get back to it!
DISCLAIMER: I own nothing but my original characters.
Spike wrapped a towel around his waist while making a dash for the front door. The knocking was making his headache worse and he needed it to stop. With a quick turn of the knob, the door swung open, revealing the red-headed witch who was now gawking at the vampire. Spike's lips quirked in an awkward smile, not having expected her to show up but rather call.
"Willow, good to see you. I was more expecting a ring but this is acceptable." Willow's eyes were widened and her mouth hung agape.
"S-Spike?" He hung his head and shrugged.
"Yeah, pretty much." Her fingers reached out to touch his chest and she jumped back when her fingers connected to his skin. His hand batted hers away and he looked at her, irritated. "Watch it! I don't so much care to be touched." Willow threw her arms around him instantly and he stumbled back a few steps, not expecting the sudden embrace.
"Spike! I can't believe you're alive! I have no idea how this is possible but I know it's a good thing!" She pulled back and the blonde's chest shook with laughter.
"Yeah, well I'm still the same-old Spike, the soulful wonder." Willow's smile widened.
"Well that's good to know. Whoever resurrected you must have deemed you worthy of it. How did it happen?" Spike rubbed the back of his neck and turned toward the kitchen.
"I don't so much like to talk about that." He began rummaging through his cupboards and Willow closed the front door before following him. "Hungry, pet?" The girl grinned and hopped up on the counter.
"Yes! That was such a long drive, I could eat a horse." Spike pursed his lips while looking in the cabinet.
"Fresh out of horse, but I do have Wheetabix." Willow chuckled.
"Of course you do, Spike." He scoffed at her before handing her the box. She reached in and began munching on the dry cereal. His frame leaned against the opposing counter and he watched her intently. Feeling suddenly uncomfortable, her legs crossed and she eyed him back. "What?" He smirked.
"You look good, Will." Her lips perked in a smile. "I appreciate you coming all the way up here." She nodded and set the cereal box down.
"It was my pleasure! I had nothing better to do anyway. When Angel called and said he had a friend who needed some help from a powerful witch, I jumped to the occasion. He told me his name was William. I suppose I should have known." Spike's smirk was now a full grin.
"Yeah, maybe you should have." Willow rolled her eyes and jumped down. She walked over to the living room and plopped down on the couch.
"So, what is it you need help with? I figured it couldn't be anything too terrible, you having a soul and all." Spike stepped over to his closet and Willow courteously turned her head while he slipped on a pair of boxers and dark jeans. He pulled his favorite Sex Pistols shirt over his head and came over to the couch, sitting next to her.
"I need a soul." She raised an eyebrow. "Not for me, obviously. There's a vampire in town, Lucy, and she's headed down a dark road quickly. This small town will be demolished in no time if I don't stop her." Willow looked at him curiously.
"Uhm, Spike?" His head turned to look at her. "You know that staking a vampire stops them pretty quickly, right? I mean, I know you've never honestly had the experience—" Spike shrugged.
"I can't kill her." Willow was flat out confused. He decided that if he didn't elaborate, she would most likely not cooperate. "Lucinda is…very close to me, even though she doesn't know it. She is who she is because of me." The red-head became wide-eyed.
"You mean you…" She trailed off and the blonde just nodded.
"She's about to reach a decade since she was turned. She was only eighteen when I killed her." Willow looked at the wall adjacent from her.
"But, Spike, you've killed vampires that you've sired before. Why is this one so different?" Again, he shrugged and leaned back on the couch. His hands came to his face and he tried to fight off the memories he knew were coming.
"She was a slayer. The slayer whose death called Buffy." He paused. "I may not have been completely thorough when I told Buffy about my past with killing slayers. I thought I had killed her but I guess not. I saw her a few years later after Dru and I left Sunnydale. She doesn't know it was me, but I just…I can't kill her. I'm not sure why. She's just different." Willow nodded, deciding not to pry any further. She stood up off the couch in front of Spike.
"Alright, well, let's get to it. Now, I need to know what kind of soul to give her." Spike raised an eyebrow. "There are several. Or, at least, several ways to receive it. I could curse her, so one moment of happiness, gone. I have the most experience when it comes to that one. Angel, and what not. Or there's the way you got yours. That one's a bit trickier." Spike nodded and stood up next to her.
"I don't want her to be tortured. I don't want her to have to fight anyone for it. I definitely don't want her to be cursed." He rubbed his face. "Is there any way we can make it so she just deals with the guilt and walks around with self-loathing?" Willow rummaged through the refrigerator before sighing and going to the cabinet and grabbing a glass. She lifted the glass under the faucet and thought to herself.
"Well, I'm not quite sure yet but I may have an idea." Spike stepped so he was standing in front of her.
"Yeah?" She took a pull from her water. "What's that, pet?" She looked into his blue eyes and took a deep breath. She forgot just how charismatic he was. However, tall, pale, and handsome wasn't really her type. She preferred short, awkward, and quirky.
"I have to do just a little research but I'm pretty sure if I ask a favor of the Goddess of the Underworld, we may be able to pull it off. I have done quite a few favors for her in my day; I think she could help me out this once. I have my spell books and the necessary supplies, but if I'm told I need more, is there a magic store around here I could go to?" Spike nodded.
"Yeah, there's one down at the wharf, not too bad either." Willow set her glass down with a 'clink' and grabbed her bag from the counter.
"I'll get to work then. I may need some alone time, so do ya mind going out for a while? Maybe pick me up some real food?" Spike scoffed. His pale hand reached for his duster.
"What do you want, then?" He reached his arms through his jacket and looked back at Willow, who was pouring salt into a large circle on the floor. "You're sweeping that up later." A smirk pulled at her lips.
"Any good seafood places around here?" The blonde pinched the bridge of his nose, his headache resurfacing.
"Will, we're on the bloody coast! Of course there is!" Her green eyes shone up at him and he couldn't help but let his irritation fade. He took a deep breath and looked at her. "What would you like?" She beamed at him and continued her work of setting up the ritual.
"Oh, anything. I've heard they make great clam chowder around here." He chuckled.
"Picked up a pamphlet on the way here, did you?" She began lighting her candles.
"Sure did! I am now craving a bread bowl filled with yummy clam chowder and a cola. I'll see you in twenty?" Spike headed out the door and made his way toward the seafood place he knew of just down the road.
Willow looked across the table where Spike was picking at a shrimp salad with his fork.
"Watching the ol' waistline?" His eyes shot up, diverting from his thoughts.
"Huh?" She pointed her spoon at the leafy entrée. "Oh, no. I hardly ever eat human food. I just thought a salad sounded good. Turns out, I just wanted the shrimp." The man lifted a shrimp and bit into it. Willow continued eating her chowder.
"So, the ritual went pretty well. I'm pretty sure I can get Lucy's soul granted as long as I get it done within the next few days. The lengthy part will be getting all the supplies." She began cutting into her bowl.
"And why is that?" Spike shoved a piece of lettuce into his mouth before taking a swig of his warmed blood. Willow scrunched her nose at him before answering.
"Well, I'll have to take a trip to that magic shop. I need some more candles, a newt's eye, and some Nightshade." Willow said the last word quicker and quieter than the others. Spike's head snapped up.
"Belladonna?" She avoided his gaze. "What in the hell do you need that for? We want to redeem her, not kill her!" Willow rolled her eyes, now looking at him.
"Not for the poisonous properties! For the anesthetic use." Her head ducked toward her bowl a bit. Spike leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest.
"We're putting her to sleep?" His brows were raised and she attempted to explain.
"Well, you know how some rituals require an offering to the Goddess? This one requires one directly from her. Not something we can steal from her…crypt…or basement, whatever she lives in." Spike voiced.
"Apartment." Willow raised her eyebrows now.
"Wow, you vamps are really moving up in the world!" Spike cleared his throat. Her mood faded and she returned to the conversation at hand. "Anyway, the Nightshade will help get what we need." Spike hadn't moved.
"Which is?" The red-head shrugged.
"Her blood." His eyes widened and Willow straightened herself.
"Blood? As in, the real thing?" She nodded. "How much?" She thought to herself and sighed.
"Well, to play it safe, I'd say a pint?" Spike stood up, his hands connecting with the table causing a loud banging sound. Willow sat back, unafraid.
"A pint?! The fuck Willow?! What kind of ritual are we doing?! Do you have to bathe in it?!" Willow stood as well, her voice raising an octave.
"Spike! I need enough to fill the chalice multiple times if it doesn't work the first time. All we have to do is slip it in her drink, wait until she passes out, drag her back here so I can take her blood, and drop her off back at her house. By the time she wakes up, she'll have a soul and won't even remember drinking the drug!" The blonde's mouth hung open.
"It's that easy now?" Willow smiled proudly and nodded. He sat back down in his chair and continued poking at his salad. She followed suit and began swallowing mouthfuls of her soup. He looked up at her from under his brows and let his voice slip out menacingly. "Next thing I know, you'll be telling me I have to dance around her naked body, wearing some voodoo headdress, chanting in Swahili." Willow's laughter bellowed between bites.
"No way! I really don't think you want her to turn into a Nurgara Demon!" Spike lifted his head sharply and she seemed honestly amused by her own joke. He silently wondered to himself what Willow was really capable of. "So, when do you think we can slip it to her? It's still early. We can probably make it to the magic shop before it closes." Spike nodded.
"I know we can. Doesn't close till eleven." He looked up at the clock and noticed that it was barely past six. "You have to slip her the drug though. She'll smell me from a mile away." The girl nodded, finishing her meal.
"No problem! Is there anywhere she usually hangs out?" Spike took a sip of his blood while a devious grin lifted to his lips.