A/N: Great comments, everyone! It's nice to know that you guys are getting it! Keep 'em coming!
Chapter 21
Best Interests
Buffy: "You are a thing of evil for not telling me this right away!"
Willow: "Well, I wasn't sure there was anything to tell."
-'I Robot…You Jane'
Tara walked through the lobby of Stevenson dorm, and quickly climbed the stairs. She hadn't heard from Willow in over a week, and she was beginning to worry. She'd decided to go to Willow's dorm room to see her in person.
When Tara got to the second floor, she was surprised to see Willow walking towards her, arm in arm with a stranger. He was a pleasant-looking man, with wavy, brown hair and glasses. Tara assumed that this must be William.
"Tara!" Willow said with surprise, "What are you doing here? Are you looking for me? I kind of have plans, already."
"I s-see that. This is W-William, right?" Tara stuttered, nervous at meeting a new person.
"Oh, yes. Tara, William. William, this is Tara, my Wiccan friend."
"Delighted," said William, holding out a hand. Tara took it, then shuddered. Not just from his cold hands, but from what she sensed about him. Somehow, his aura just did not match with his outward appearance, as if he were wearing a mask of some sort. And the aura itself was a problem, having a cold, lifeless quality to it. Tara was sure no living human had ever had an aura like his. Something was wrong, badly wrong.
Tara said nothing, however, simply smiling as Willow made her goodbyes, with promises to call soon. She watched as the couple passed out of the hallway, then stood there for a few minutes more, thinking.
Finally, she made up her mind. Squaring her shoulders, she marched down to room 214 and knocked. Tara only hoped Willow's roommate was home. If half of what Willow told her was true, then Buffy would be able to help.
A blonde girl answered the door.
"Can I help you?" she asked quizzically.
Tara wasted no time on introductions, cutting straight to the heart of the matter.
"Willow's in t-trouble," she said.
Tara sat on Giles' couch, feeling awkward, and watched Buffy pace the small room as she explained the situation.
"…So, based on what Tara told me, I thought it was a good idea to have a meeting," Buffy concluded, sitting down finally.
"I'm game," Xander agreed, "I never quite trusted this William with his hoity-toity British accent." He caught Giles' eye then, and apologized, "Sorry, G-man, I didn't mean you."
"I told you never to call me that," Giles began, "But I must agree, if what Tara sensed about his aura is accurate, then William must be a demon of some sort."
"And if so, we'll need all hands on deck," Buffy asserted, "Xander, where's Anya?"
"Home. She said she wasn't interested in prying into Willow's sex life," Xander said sheepishly, then began to defend her, "It's an ex-demon thing. She doesn't always see the bad."
"Yes, well, our first order of business is to determine what sort of creature we're dealing with," Giles stated, before turning to Tara, "Willow tells us you're quite a skilled witch. Do you know any spells that would make the demon's true face reveal itself?"
"S-several," Tara admitted, "B-but is that a good idea, to cast it when he's alone with Willow? W-won't he just try to hurt her once she knows?"
"A valid point," the Watcher conceded.
"I could position myself nearby, be ready for the take-down, once you guys did your spell," Buffy offered.
"Do we even know where they are?" Xander questioned.
Buffy sighed. "No. She just told me 'out'"
Giles ventured, "It seems we are woefully short of information on this William fellow. I suggest we use a simple scrying spell to ascertain more. Tara, can you do that?"
"W-with the right equipment. My stuff is at the dorm. But, spy? On Willow?" she protested.
"Think of it more as checking up on William, for Willow's own safety. And I have a scrying bowl here. I'll go get it," Giles told her.
"Scrying?" Buffy asked, confused.
"C-calling forth images in a bowl of w-water, or a crystal b-ball," Tara quickly explained, her mind elsewhere.
As Tara sat and stewed over the ethics of what she was about to do, Giles disappeared into another room. He returned with a large, flat, black bowl.
"Is tap water sufficient?" he asked, entering the kitchen and beginning to fill the bowl.
"Y-yes. But we'll need a silver coin, too," Tara told him.
"Ooh! I have a dime," Xander offered eagerly.
Tara shook her head. "It's got to be real silver."
Giles placed the full bowl on his desk and began rummaging around in a chest.
"Will this do?" he asked, proffering a large coin with strange markings.
"It should," Tara agreed, getting up and taking it from him.
She went over to the bowl and dropped the coin in, waiting for the ripples to subside. She gestured for the others to join her around the table. Now that she was actively spell-casting, her confidence increased, and her stutter vanished.
"Now, you should all be able to see the images that I call forth in the bowl. It's very important not to jostle the table, though. It destroys the image." This last was to Xander, who'd bumped the desk as he neared.
The others nodded their agreement, and she began.
Tara formed an image in her mind of her target, of William, with his wavy, brown hair and glasses. She cast her energy out upon the waters, willing an image to form.
Nothing happened.
She tried again. Still nothing.
"I don't understand," she confessed, stumped.
"It's not working?" Buffy asked.
"Maybe you're not doing it right," Xander offered.
"I've been scrying since I was twelve," Tara insisted with a shake of her head, "It's my strongest skill."
"Were you targeting William, or Willow?" Giles inquired.
"William, of course," Tara said.
"It might be more profitable to focus on Willow, instead. We know they're together. His demon powers may be blocking your spell," Giles advised.
Tara was much less comfortable with the idea of choosing Willow as a focus, but grudgingly agreed to try it. She pictured that beautiful face, as familiar as her own, and recast her spell.
Instantly, an image formed on the surface of the water. An image of a red haired young woman. They couldn't see much besides her, though.
"Your focus is a little tight," the Watcher observed needlessly, "Perhaps if you widened it?"
Tara refrained from mentioning that she was working on it, and simply did it instead. The image pulled back to show that Willow was not alone. She was kissing someone, but it wasn't the guy Tara had met in the dorm. This man's features were more chiseled and pronounced, and instead of brown hair, his locks were bleached white. Tara heard Buffy gasp in recognition.
"Oh, dear Lord," Giles sputtered, taking off his glasses.
"That's…that's…" stammered Xander.
"Spike!" Buffy spat, looking livid, "Giles, hand me a stake. Someone's getting dusted."
"Now hold on a minute, Buffy. I'm not certain that that's a good idea right now," Giles cautioned.
"What? Giles, why not?" the Slayer protested.
"Based on everything that you've told me, it would seem that Willow has become rather attached to Spike. Staking him without warning could do irreparable harm to her." Giles cleared his throat, and continued, "Plus, if you go right now, you may very well catch them in, um, an indelicate moment."
"That's so not something I wanted to think about," Xander groused, as Buffy pouted a bit, but grudgingly conceded.
"Who's Spike?" Tara asked, taking advantage of the lull in conversation. She was beyond worried for Willow.
The other three stared at her as if they had forgotten she was there. They probably had, she mused.
"William the Bloody, also known as Spike," Giles began to lecture, "He is a very powerful vampire."
"Was a very powerful vampire," Buffy corrected, "Now he's just a pain in my ass."
"Well, yes, true. A secret government lab put a microchip in Spike's head that prevents him from feeding or doing any violence towards humans," Giles continued.
Tara was confused by the explanation, but simply said, "What do we do?"
"Confront them both," Giles stated firmly, "We'll meet back here tomorrow after sundown and face them with the truth."
"Oh, oh, an intervention, right? Like we did with Buffy that one time?" Xander asked.
"Precisely," Giles confirmed.
"Why does the bleached wonder have to be there?" Buffy complained.
"So we can, um, persuade him to leave Willow alone," Giles explained.
"A pile of dust doesn't need much persuading," Buffy observed.
"You'll have to curtail that impulse until we're certain it won't do harm to Willow," Giles reminded her.
"Spoil my fun," Buffy pouted, sitting down in the desk chair. The movement jiggled the table, causing the image of Willow and her lover to break up into shimmering ripples.
"Yes, well, I do hate to spoil your fun, but we have to have Willow's best interests at heart," Giles told her, "Now, we'll meet tomorrow at sundown. I'll call Willow. Buffy, you invite Spike. Don't tell him anything, just say there's an important meeting. Xander, if you could bring Anya? And Tara, you should be there, too."
"Me, why me?" Tara blinked, not expecting this.
"Because you're her friend, too. The more friends of hers we have, confronting her on her behavior, the more effective our intervention will be."
Tara didn't particularly want to go, but she was scared for her friend. She didn't want Willow dating a vampire. Wordlessly, she nodded her agreement.
"Well now, that's hardly in the dress code for a Scooby meeting," said Spike, coming up behind Willow and slipping his arms around her. They'd been two blocks from Giles' when their paths had crossed unexpectedly.
Willow gazed down at the outfit in question. She was wearing a sleeveless, black, leather mini-dress with calf-high heeled boots. Her black velvet choker topped off the ensemble.
"I'd just gotten home from shopping and was trying a few things on when Giles called," she explained, "Besides, I thought if we get done early, we could go to the Bronze and…" The rest was whispered sexily into Spike's ear, causing his hands to tighten on her waist.
"Somebody's a naughty little girl," he declared, once he could speak again. He gave her a solid thwack on the backside. "Maybe I should take you back to the crypt and give you a good spanking."
"Maybe I'll even let you," Willow teased, well pleased with herself. "But first we've got this stupid meeting to get through. Giles said it was important."
"Yeah, the Slayer said she'd stake me but good if I didn't show. Must be one heck of a Big Bad," Spike observed, then continued, "You know they're going to have a fit about that outfit."
"I don't care," she responded, telling herself firmly that it was true. She'd had a lot of practice, lately. Buffy had become more and more critical about Willow's wardrobe in the past few weeks. "I'm not going to dress just to please them. I like the way I look."
They neared the courtyard of Giles' apartment building. Spike let go of his hold on Willow.
"Best not go in together," he cautioned, "You go first, get the meeting started, find out what it's all about. I'll make my entrance later."
Willow shrugged reluctantly, not wanting to let go of her boyfriend, but not really having a choice. She pushed open the front door and walked in.
"Oh my God! What are you wearing?"
"Hi, Buffy," Willow responded, then frowned and said, "Hey, Tara. What are you doing here?"
Tara sat on the footstool, near the fireplace, looking uncomfortable and lost. Willow was confused, wondering what on Earth had brought the other witch to Giles' apartment.
"Tara has been helping us with something," Giles said uninformatively. "Have a seat, Willow," he ordered. His voice seemed cold and stern to Willow's ear.
Buffy, Xander and Anya were already seated along the couch, leaving the chair as the only seat open. Willow sat down in it hesitantly, suddenly aware that she was the focus of every eye.
"What's going on?" she asked cautiously.
"We know about William," Giles stated simply.
Willow froze, but decided it was best to play dumb.
"Know about him? I don't know what you mean."
"You know all too well, I'm afraid. We know that William is Spike, and that you've known it all along. You've been lying to us this whole time."
So. It was out, their secret. And now Willow had to face the music, alone. She wondered where Spike was, and how long it would take before he made his entrance. In the meantime, she had to answer the accusations.
"What if I have?" she responded boldly, sounding a good deal braver than she felt.
"He's a vampire!" Buffy protested.
"Angel was a vampire," Willow pointed out.
"Angel has a soul. It's not the same thing," Buffy shot back.
"You're just mad because my guy didn't go all evil when I slept with him," Willow observed, a bit vindictively.
"That's because he was evil before you slept with him," Buffy pointed out, "Listen to yourself, Will! Lashing out at your best friend like that. Spike just isn't worth it."
"He's worth far more than you think. He's supportive and understanding. He's been there for me when the rest of my friends weren't. He really cares about me," Willow argued.
"Willow," Giles broke in, trying to sound patient and understanding, "Spike has no soul. He can't have the feelings you've attributed to him. You're just projecting them."
"He does have feelings," Willow protested, knowing as she said it that it was a losing battle, "He loved Drusilla for all those years, didn't he? And he loves me, now. He's not like Angel, with no humanity left over without a soul."
"Frankly, I don't care what he said or did or felt. The point is, you let him touch you," Xander accused, "And that's making me sick to my stomach."
"Oh, and I suppose that listening to you and Anya talk about your sex life all the time is less nauseating?" Willow shot back.
"Hey, I'm not the one necking with a dead body," Xander pointed out.
Giles interrupted, "Alright, let's not get off topic. Willow, we have reason to be concerned. It's obvious that Spike is only interested in your magic. He probably wants you to remove the chip, that's the only reason he's gotten involved with you."
"Gee, thanks. It's nice to know you guys have such a high opinion of my dateability. Has it never occurred to you that Spike might be attracted to me?"
"Well, let's see," Xander said, pretending to consider it, "Are you a skanky ho?" His eyes swept over her outfit. With some heat, he said, "Then again, maybe you are, nowadays."
Willow rose from her chair, tears in her eyes, as she confronted Xander.
"How dare you!" she cried, voice shaking, "How dare you say something like that to me?"
"What's all this?" said a welcome voice, "You blokes seem to be going out of your way to make my girl cry. That's not very friendly."
Willow turned gratefully to Spike, as he made his way across the room to her. He gave her a brief hug, then took her abandoned seat, pulling her into his lap. Willow noted with some amusement that he was careful to position her body so it was covering his heart.
"Spike," Giles greeted the vampire in a cool tone, "I'm sure you're aware by now of what is being discussed."
"You want me to give up my Red. You think I'm no good for her. Well, let me tell you something, she's far better off with me than with some people in her life," Spike responded, looking pointedly at the Scoobies facing him. He finished his argument with, "I love her, and that's all there is to say about it."
"What's your game, Spike? What do you want Willow for?" Buffy asked, irked by the vampire's explanations.
"Oh, and I couldn't possibly want her for who she is, is that it? Believe it or not, Slayer, she is quite a prize, in and of herself," Spike retorted.
Willow smiled at this, even as she was upset by Buffy's comments. She squirmed around a bit to kiss Spike.
"Oh, gross!" Xander exclaimed, "Get your filthy, vampire lips off of her! That's disgusting."
"This from a man who sucks face with a vengeance demon," Spike noted.
"Former demon, she's human now," Xander corrected, putting an arm around her protectively.
"Seems to me that both you and the Slayer are more judgmental about other people's love lives than you are about your own," Spike observed.
"We could let them try it," Anya suggested diffidently, "I mean, as long as he's got the chip, he can't hurt her, right?"
"Ahn, honey, you're not helping," Xander said, putting a hand on her leg.
The ex-demon subsided sulkily.
"It stops, Spike," Giles informed him, "Regardless of how far it's gotten, and what you think you mean to each other, the relationship stops, now."
"I don't think that's your call, Watcher," Spike said, deceptively calm, "I think Willow is mine, and nobody's taking her away from me."
"How about a stake to the heart? That'll end things pretty quickly," Buffy piped up.
"You willing to deal with a brassed-off witch if you do that, Slayer?" he asked, with a slight smile, "My Red here's pretty powerful, she could probably flatten the lot of you if she was upset enough."
"That's right, I could," Willow agreed, wanting to back Spike up. He was right, after all, she probably would get that upset if they staked him.
"Oh, come on, Will. Your spells aren't that reliable. What are you going to do, float pencils at us?" Buffy asked with disdain.
Willow bridled at that, but before she could answer, another voice spoke up.
"She's got a lot of p-power," Tara informed the Slayer, "Great p-potential. And getting angry will just make her more p-powerful."
"Nice to know one of Red's friends doesn't underestimate her," Spike observed, gazing at Tara with a speculative look on his face.
"Look, this is not a negotiation," Buffy stated, "It ends between you guys, now."
"What makes you guys think you have any say in this?" Willow cried, getting more worked up by the moment.
"I think the more important question is: 'how did you lot find out about us'?" Spike observed.
Willow paused, surprised. She hadn't really considered the question. She'd just assumed that Anya had let something slip. The ex-demon had been remarkably quiet since the meeting began, and Willow had guessed that it was guilt at work. But Spike seemed to have something else in mind.
"I see one new person in the mix," Spike continued slowly, "And a rather strange object on your desk, Rupert."
Willow glanced over at the object in question, and recognized it instantly as a scrying bowl. And Tara was here. Willow put two and two together quickly, and turned on the other witch.
"You were spying on me?" she hissed, affronted.
"I didn't w-want to!" Tara blurted out, "I thought it w-was wrong. B-but they said it was for your own b-best interests, so I did it."
Willow turned to Buffy. "Bad enough that you hired Spike follow me, but you had to get my friend Tara involved too? Is this how friends treat each other?"
"We were 'spying', as you put it, on William, if we were doing anything," Giles interceded, "We thought he was some sort of monster. We were right."
Willow was furious at Giles, furious at all of them. She no longer had any interest in reasoning with her friends—her former friends—anymore.
"Let's get out of here, Spike," she said, standing up.
"Now hold on a minute," Buffy warned, standing up as well, and producing a stake from somewhere, "The only way you're leaving is with a pile of dust."
Willow wasted no words, sending magical energy shooting out, knocking the Slayer back on to the couch. Her stake clattered to the floor. Just to be safe, Willow cast a large web spell upon all of them, pinning them to their seats, and Giles to the wall.
"That's better," she decided, sitting down again, "Now, I'm tired of this charade. Buffy, you cannot just come stake him whenever you want."
"Watch me," Buffy sneered, even as she struggled helplessly against her bonds.
"I am watching you," Willow pointed out, "Face it, Buffy, I'm stronger than you think I am."
"You can't be there to protect him all the time," Giles observed, frowning.
"Maybe not, but I'll tell you this, if I don't get her, Spike will," Willow declared. She felt Spike startle at that, and put a hand on his leg to calm him. She knew what she was doing, and she truly was tired of this game.
"Not with the chip, he won't," Xander responded instantly, even as Willow could see understanding and horror dawn in the others' eyes.
"The chip's deactivated," she informed him, "I did it myself."
With that, she leaned back into Spike's arms, craning her neck around for a kiss. Spike obliged with a passionate one, and Willow sighed in contentment, momentarily forgetting her anger.
"Willow, he's a killer," Buffy insisted, still struggling, "No matter what you think, he's dangerous. He'll kill you, he'll kill all of us."
"And yet he hasn't. Hmm…" Willow put a finger to her chin, miming thought, "Now, why would that be? Possibly because he worried it might upset me?"
She turned to Spike for confirmation.
"That's right, pet," he assured her, catching his cue, "I wouldn't do something like that if it would hurt you."
"See, even with the chip deactivated, he hasn't been killing. He's changed, he changed for me."
"He's lying. He's probably been killing lots of people. Be reasonable, Willow," Buffy begged, frantic.
"Oh, relax. He's not going to kill you now. It'd be like shooting fish in a barrel. Right, dear?" Willow prompted.
"Hardly sporting," he gamely agreed, "No challenge in it."
"But the next time we meet, you might not be so lucky," Willow cautioned, allowing herself to feel every inch of her anger, "See, I'm tired of protecting people who hold me back, and spy on me, and try to run my life. You want to know what I think is in my best interests? Someone who supports me, who challenges me to grow, to try new things. Someone who cares about me, and loves me, and would do anything for me. Someone like Spike."
The Scoobies spoke practically on top of each other.
"Willow, a creature like that does not have your best interests at heart," Giles assured her.
"You're choosing Captain Peroxide over us?" Xander asked incredulously.
"Will, he's a monster. He's only going to turn on you, kill you," Buffy demanded.
Even as their comments fueled Willow's anger, Buffy's statement caught her attention.
"Kill me?" Willow repeated, with a little smile, "Oh, I wouldn't worry about that. He'll do more than just kill me, he's promised to change me. And I've decided to let him."
She turned and smiled at Spike, before turning back to her captive audience, sitting stunned before her.
"The next time you see me," Willow announced slowly, "I'll be a vampire. It'll probably be the last thing you do see."
She stood up, took Spike's hand, and led him outside. Through the closed door, she could hear Xander's worried remark.
"She's not serious, is she?"