AN: For those who have waited so long, the end of this chapter marks the beginning of the M content. Fair warning.

"We have to take her."

"Absolutely not!" Giles gave Willow a look that told her she was taking things too far. "Dawn means the world to Buffy. She won't be harmed."

"She won't be harmed, because she's coming with us!" Xander was nearly panting in rage. "We can't just leave her here, Giles!"

"If we take her without Buffy's permission, then it's kidnaping. I, for one, don't want to have the police to worry about on top of everything else. Buffy would do anything to protect the girl, as she proved not even a full year ago."

Willow sighed and pushed a few curls that had worked their way loose from her bun behind her ear. "Okay, we'll try it Giles' way first. If there's so much as a whimper from the girl's mouth, I'll know about it. I'm pretty sure I can be anywhere she is within seconds. If she's hurt or scared, all bets are off and she's coming with us. Agreed?"

Reluctant nods answered her, and Willow moved to the garage. "Let's get this started then. I'd like to be in LA, and off the road, by midnight."

Cordelia slid into the passenger seat of Giles' car before they backed out of the drive and waited for Willow in Angel's pride and joy to catch up. The trip to the watcher's apartment took less than ten minutes, and the group soon found themselves sitting in his living room.

Willow took a few minutes to call the hotel in LA, getting a machine for her trouble. She left a short message after the 'beep' telling whoever checked the messages that everyone was coming for a bit of a visit. She hung up the phone and tried to act more calm and collected than she really was.

After getting tired of the tense silence, Cordelia declared that they should be looking for on the road snacks. Since they spent most of their research sessions in the apartment, there was an impressive selection of sugary delicacies. Anya managed to locate a few bags and the group loaded them with as many unnutritious things as they could, only stopping when Giles lugged his suitcase to the foot of the stairs. Armed with two suitcases full of books and two duffels of clothing, along with their haul of road snacks, the group piled once more into the cars and headed across town to the apartment Xander shared with Anya.

"Something's not right." Willow rubbed her shimmering arms against an imaginary wind.

Xander raised an eyebrow and quirked his head to the side. "You sure, Will?"

"Sure, I'm sure. There's something... I don't know, just off about this tonight."

"It's the thought of Buffy. It will go away after we get out of here." Anya spoke softly, a sad expression on her face. "Come on, I want to get packed and out of here as soon as I can. If I'm going to be losing money, I may as well make the most of my vacation. They're supposed to be fun, right?"

"Yes, they are." Cordelia followed the ex demon up the stairs. Willow and Giles followed, an anxious Xander brought up the rear.

The three behind Cordelia couldn't enter the apartment until she stepped inside, so Anya's shout of fear and surprise caught them off guard. "Xander!"

The dark haired youth sprinted past Willow, Giles, and even Cordelia only to skid to a stop just inside the door to their home. To say the place was a wreck would be like calling the Titanic a boat. The front room was in complete disarray, and Willow could see the bedroom was just as bad.

"What happened?" Anya, sounding small and lost from the confines of Xander's arms, asked the others.

"Right off?" Willow pointed to a spot above the upturned and ripped apart remains of the sofa. "I'd say it was Buffy."

'Where Is He?' was scrawled along the wall in a slanted line in a deep red paint.

Intense anger flared through Willow's body, fueled by the fear that had been building since before she first found Spike beaten and bloodied. While everyone else began moving around the room to help Anya and Xander gather what they could from the mess, Willow stood, monolithic and pale in the moonlight streaking through the broken panes of the window.

Raising a hand she pointed at the stuffing and wire that had once been inside the large tan sofa. A few pieces of fluff trembled as if in a breeze before large clumps began flying through the air or slithering along the floor to their former home. As the cushions restuffed themselves, the frame popped back in place. Willow grinned as she remembered 'Christine' and the car that put itself together in much the same way.

After the sofa was back in perfect condition and sitting where it always had, the witch went to work on the other pieces of furniture in the living area. Next came all the picture frames and windows. She moved into the kitchen, moving and straightening as she looked around the immaculate room. The bathroom hadn't been touched, so she moved on to the bedroom where everyone way searching for enough clothes to last the couple at least a few days in LA.

A wave of her hand had the bed reconstructed and the covers and pillows fluffing and folding on their own. A look at the closet had its rightful contents sliding back onto hangers, and the hangers hooking themselves over the rod.

"You gotta teach me that!"

"Later, maybe." Willow grinned as Xander's' obvious approval of her abilities. "Right now, you have some packing to do."

"That was amazing, Willow." Giles blinked at her from behind the lenses of his wired glasses.

"You ought to see her with blood stains!" Cordelia crowed from her spot on the bed where she was supervising Anya's packing by removing all the 'unfit' articles of clothing from the suitcase as quickly as the ex demon could put them in. "You're not taking this shirt, when that dress is hanging there so nice and neat. Don't forget to pack the red heels, since they obviously match so well."

"Oh, you're right. Thank you."

Willow could only shake her head at the newly human woman as she took the seer's advice without a second thought. I wonder how she does that? Anya would fight me tooth and nail about just about everything I suggested.

Instead of taking up space in the small bedroom, Willow retreated back to the living room. The jagged words were still on the wall, and Willow grew more and more upset as she stared at the angry slashes of color. Green eyes slid over the letters, line by thick line, and the blood began sizzling through the redhead's veins. Willow didn't notice the heat, didn't notice the smell in the air, and didn't notice the sparking in her curls.

The first thing that drew her eyes away from the offensive words was a small flicker of blue light crawling down her arm. The blue flicker turned out to be a small flame sliding over her skin, tracing along the now glowing tribal patterns. As she watched, fascinated, the blue spot of heat grew until every patch of the tribal that wasn't covered by her shirt or mid-length skirt was alive with blue, yellow, and orange licking flames. Willow pulled her shirt away from her body, giggling softly as the newly exposed skin flickered to life.

"Willow!" Cordelia was standing in the doorway between the living room and the bedroom. The others came at her shout, skidding to a halt when the flaming redhead came into view.

"Giles?" The flames died out, leaving a frightened Willow standing in the middle of the room. "What's happening to me?"

"I think it's time we get to LA and find out."

Angel was standing in the open doorway when the hotel came into view, moving into the darkening evening only when his long, black convertible was safely parked behind Giles' flashy red one. "Anyone want to fill me in on what, exactly, happened?"

Willow had gotten out of the car first and turned to answer the dark vampire before Xander nudged her in the direction of the hotel. "Go on, Wills. We can handle this one on our own."

"Xan," Willow stopped her protest when a gust of wind that no one else felt wrapped around her petite body, nearly choking her on the burning smell that had come on in waves the entire time she'd been driving. "Maybe you're right. I'm too... something."

"I made Spike go lay down when he couldn't sit still any longer." Angel turned as Willow passed him. "Third floor, room 352."

The only indication that she'd heard him was a short nod of her head.

Room 352 was at the end of a short hallway that splintered off the main thoroughfare. Willow felt a knot slowly tying in her stomach as she neared the door, but kept moving. She knew that sleeping at 9:00 in the evening wasn't something Spike normally did, and wanted to be there when he woke. Besides, he'd be upset if I didn't come to him as soon as I got here.

"Spike?" Willow knocked lightly on the door before pushing it open as she called his name. "Are you awake?"

Willow found herself in a suite, fitted in the highest of 1950's fashions. The velvet wallpaper was a deep blue on white, the carpeting a matching blue. Furniture in mahogany and varying gradients of blue was situated about the 'sitting area' in front of her. There was a counter to the left of the door that separated the small kitchenette with its refrigerator from the room proper.

An open arch stood across the room, and Willow moved through it to find herself at the foot of a large bed. "Spike?"

"Red?" Spike, shirtless though he still wore his boots, pushed himself off his stomach and onto an elbow to sweep his tousled hair from his eyes.

"Hi." Now that she was standing in front of the blonde, Willow forgot what it was she was going to tell him. "We just got in, and I thought you might want me to come up and tell you we were here."

Spike's boots made a heavy thunking as he slid from the bed to stand in front of Willow. "I've been thinkin' pet. I know you don't want to be some fling, and I get that. But, Willow, I think we've got the start of something much better here, and-"

Spike's words were cut off as Willow went to her toes and pressed an urgent kiss against his lips. With a purring growl, the vampire pulled her closer to his lean body, only to growl again and break the contact.

"What is it?" Willow knew the need she felt reflected in her eyes, not even trying to hide it as Spike continued to turn her face from side to side, looking at the top of her hair critically. "Is there something icky in my hair?"

"You've got it up."

"Yeah, I thought you might like it."

"Never said it was a bad thing, luv." Spike bent to nibble along the graceful line of Willow's exposed neck. "Quite the opposite, really."

The knot in Willow's tummy twisted tighter at the feel of Spike's tongue, teeth, and lips on the pale column of her neck. She tilted her head to the side and back slightly to give as much access as she could. A soft whimper came, unbidden, from her lips, and Spike backed away completely.

"I try telling you that you mean more to me than anyone, and I end up... mmm." Willow had once again cut off his words with her lips. "Red, not that I'm complaining or anything, I just want to get on the same page. What's goin' on?"

"A former friend of mine once told me to seize the day." Delicate hands slid over pale flesh, fingers circling and plucking flattened nipples, as the redhead spoke.

Spike unconsciously licked his lips and pushed against her hands as he met her eyes. "Is that what we're doing?"

"No, I'd much rather seize the night. It's where you're at, after all."

Spike quirked an eyebrow and gave that devil-may-care grin before grasping the sides of Willow's shirt and pulling her into a fierce kiss. "Carpe Noctem, then."

"Less talking, more carpe-ing."

Willow backed an unresisting Spike up to a wall before she nipped her way along his jaw to the sensitive patch of skin just under his left ear. She began licking and nipping in earnest, a deep moan rewarding her before she moved to kiss down Spike's arched neck. Reaching the spot that once held a pulse, she bit down harshly, laughing at her captive's surprised yelp.

"Red," Willow didn't have to look up from soothing the distended flesh with her tongue to know that the warning was spoken through fangs. The redhead lapped at a pebbled nipple as she slid her hands up smooth arms to grip and test the strength of firm biceps.

The feel of Spike's tongue sliding over hers and the flat of the wall at her back were the first things to break through the haze of pleasure she'd built around herself just from touching her soon to be lover. Willow pouted when the kiss was broken until she realized that her shirt was being removed, and obediently raised her arms to help the process.

As soon as the cloth was out of his way, Spike traced a line from her mouth to the top of the lacy green bra that encased her breasts. There were two muffled thumps as Spike's knees hit the floor and he began licking along the bottom of the cups, snaking his tongue under the fabric to caress flushed skin from time to time. Straps gave way easily under his practiced fingers, and Willow, had she been able to focus long enough to look down at her tormenter, would have been able to watch as Spike buried his nose in the valley between the mounds of flesh before turning his head and nibbling on the flushed skin that surrounded one nipple.

The knot had moved lower, pulling ever tighter as each shock of pleasure from Spike's attention to her breasts echoed down her body to her center. A sharp nip directly to her nipple followed by the slow laving of a tongue caused Willow's back to bow at an impossible angle. She felt something silky slide over her hands and realized her fingers had somehow found their way into Spike's hair.

"Spike," it was a whispered plea, though she wasn't quite sure what the plea was for. "Mmmnnnn, Goddess, Spike."

"We've got eternity, luv," Spike's fingers continued their teasing of one nipple as he pulled just far enough away from its twin to speak, lips and tongue caressing her airily as they formed words. "I'm going to take as much of it as I can making you feel like this."

Spike had unbuttoned her jeans and lowered the zipper while he spoke. Now the denim pooled around her ankles and one long finger had found its way under the cotton and lace of her panties to slowly make its way around her clit.

Spike's mouth at her breasts and the teasing finger at her core pulled the knot tighter, and Willow began thrashing in an attempt to slake the need that was suddenly so undeniable.

Then there was nothing between her body and Spike's expert hand. Fingers were buried inside her grasping channel, and one was pressing against her clit in glorious friction, and she was screaming.

"That's it, Willow. That's my girl. Scream for me."

Willow was boneless, only remaining upright because Spike's hands were grasping her hips, his head resting just below her navel. They were both panting.

"Spike?"

"Yeah, luv?"

"Think we can move the next round to the bed?"

Spike chuckled tiredly. "Give me a minute."

"I nearly passed out, Spike." Willow ran her tongue over dry lips. "Take all the time you need."

Spike stood, scooping a giggling Willow up and moving to the bed. "Okay, I'm ready."