Series: Songs For Secret Lovers (Sequel to "Dangerous Type")
Couple: Willow/Graham
Rating: M (Just in Case)
Disclaimer: All things B:TVS and A:TS belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, Fox Studios, The WB Network, Sandollar, Kuzui, and a few other corporations. The song belongs to Bryan Adams, R.J. Lange, and Michael Kamen... and is from the Disney movie, "The Three Musketeers". I own some very interesting thoughts and a truly eclectic CD collection, because if I owned these characters I'd have left Forrest alive and Graham in Sunnydale.
Spoilers: Season Four stuff, set during and after "Primeval" and "Restless"
Summary: Willow, Graham and the destruction of the Initiative.
Note: The lyrics are courtesy of BAFan's Lyrics Site
Note 2: Yes, another W/Gr songfic from me! Besides, that's the way the series was written, as songfics.
Note 3: I decided on this song as the one for "Primeval" because it's all about depending on your lover and fighting for love, which is pretty much what this entire series has been about. Admittedly, Anya and Tara took over vast portions of the last fic, but they were clamoring to be more than background people, so I let them have their way.
Note 4: Song lyrics were between the /
Note 5: As always, thoughts are within the >
Dedication: To those people that always seem send me feedback: Tigger, Ryan, Kylie, Jazz, and Leone. It's their fault if you're sick and tired of seeing my name on fic. EG
/Lyrics were here./
Willow sat at the foot of the bed, smiling at the contented and peaceful look on her boyfriend's face. He needed that sleep, glad I thought to have Doc Johnson come up and give him a sedative last night. No way would he have gotten any sleep last night. Sleep, that sounds like a good plan. But no, I've still got to 'decode those disks'. Whatever. If Cordelia's vision is right they should decode themselves in a few hours anyway. She moved to sit on the bed, facing Graham.
He woke up a few minutes later and opened his eyes to see Willow staring off into space, obviously lost in thought. He ran a hand up her leg and smiled when her attention turned towards him. "Good morning, Scarlett."
Willow pushed her hair back and kissed him on the lips. She pulled back before he had a chance to deepen the kiss. "Good morning yourself, Tiger. Sleep well?"
Graham took a moment to consider his answer, then he looked over at Willow. "Considering you had the Doc drug me. Yeah, I did. What mischief did you get up to while I was out?"
Willow shrugged and laid down next to him, letting him engulf her in his arms, settling her against his side. "Nothing major. Got in a massive fight with the gang and vented my spleen about a few things, found out I am being watched by the PTBs, researched an ancient spell. Normal everyday stuff."
Graham kissed her again and laughed. "For you maybe, but other people consider spells to be superstitious nonsense." He blinked when he finally processed what else she said. He pulled back from her a little and looked at her face. "I did hear you say that the Scooby Gang got in a fight, yes?"
"Oh yes. Spike managed to get us all to fight about the stuff we've all been feeling anyway. Giles began drinking, Xander got defensive, Buffy got accusatory, and me, well I got loud and opinionated."
"What about Tara and Anya?"
"They hid in the bathroom. Tara told me the continued their talk from two days ago about male lovers versus female lovers, and she mentioned something about Spike's butt."
"And you know this how?" He made sure Willow was looking at him for her answer.
"After Xander and I yelled at each other, which was after Giles had passed out and Buffy had left, she told me of course. I organized the troops and began the search for a spell 'The Warrior's Seer' said would help me."
"Who?"
"The Warrior's Seer, the link between The Powers That Be and their chosen Warrior, Angelus, Favorite childe of Darla, Order of Aurelius. You know him as Angel. She called me last night and told me about her most recent vision, which is something she does whenever she can't figure it out enough to research and know the PTBs motive for sending it."
"Have I ever heard her name?"
"Nope. You've heard a few of her nicknames, and you did meet her when you picked me up in LA during Spring Break."
"Your friend, Lia?"
"Yup. She's a force to be reckoned with in the fight for good, even if the Oracles still refer to her as a 'Lower Being'. But then, the only reason why they don't call me that is because, well I'm not."
Graham kissed Willow then, silencing their talk. When he was almost ready to drag her under the covers with him, he pulled back from the kiss and smiled at her dazed expression. "You're babbling, Willow. I can only assume that means you're on a caffeine rush or you haven't gotten any sleep, maybe both. Which is it?"
"No caffeine, except that in herbal tea. It's actually the sleep thing. I'm only not at Giles' place because we all decided to take a few hours break just before dawn. We wanted to convince the Slayer, Her watcher, and Adam's goons that we only stayed at Giles' place all night because it was dark and we were none of us in the right mindset to defend ourselves against attack. I've got this feeling Buffy either ran to her mother's house for comfort or killed her way through some of Sunnydale's demon population. It's always possible though that she found Riley and decided to screw him into the ground."
"Don't you think that's being a bit harsh on our best friends, Willow?"
"No, I don't. Buffy hasn't been my best friend since Parker Abrams used her maliciously, and she definitely wasn't much of a friend during the Oz thing. And we shall not mention the way she's been treating me since she found out about you, okay?"
"Me? What's her problem with me?"
"I think it's the fact that by the time she'd actually met you, well, you were unavailable to her as a potential replacement for Riley. Buffy doesn't always realize that she treats everyone like they should let their lives revolve around her. So she reacts funny sometimes."
Graham held her face in his hands and smiled at her, then he kissed her briefly. "Well, what do all your other friends think of me, or us?"
"Angel, Wesley, Lia, Anya, Tara, Spike, the girls from my dorm, and Xander all think you're a good guy. Giles will probably like you eventually, providing you don't treat me badly. Oh, and Wesley wanted me to add his name to the queue that will form up if you ever treat me badly."
"Queue?"
"In American Slang we'd use, 'line', but Wesley's British, so he comes up with all these wacky terms occasionally. And before you ask, the first in line is Xander, then Angel, Spike and Wesley. Xander is only before all the others because he's known me the longest, and has been my defender since the sandbox, so he's got the seniority."
"Ah. So what were you saying earlier about the Oracles?"
Willow raised her eyebrow in amusement. "I was wondering if you were going to steer the conversation back towards them. Well, according to Lia, I am 'The Flame that lights the Warrior's way', meaning that just by drawing breath I inspire Angel in his fight for good and redemption. I also discovered last time I really looked at my family tree that one of my ancestors, on my mother's side no less, was well, not entirely human."
"Meaning?"
"Meaning, there's a little bit of Elven blood in my background. It's kinda cool actually. But we're talking so little the only people who would care about it are those members of the third race. Most human ancestry claims wouldn't let me claim it if it were say, Italian blood or something."
"So we're talking hundreds of years ago then." Willow nodded her head and snuggled more firmly into his side. "That would explain your power and the way you seem to attract those night creatures, huh?"
Willow punched him in the side. "I don't need to be reminded of that again, Tiger!"
"But it was so much fun being the gallant knight, rescuing the fair damsel in distress."
"You would think so. I thought it was rather embarrassing, having to be rescued like that."
Graham pulled her to him, and rolled until she was pinned under his body. "How much longer until you're heading back to Giles'?"
Willow glanced at her wristwatch and smiled up at him. "I have more than enough time to do whatever it is you want to do."
Graham just grinned wolfishly and lowered his head towards hers. "Somehow I doubt that very much, Scarlett."
/Lyrics were here./
Willow walked into Tara's dorm room a few hours later, a grin spread across her face. Tara took one look at her friend and started laughing. Willow turned to Anya, silently asking for the ex-demon to explain what was going on.
Anya just smiled and shook her head. "You proved her point, actually."
Willow got an even more confused look on her face. "Meaning?"
Tara finally managed to gasp for breath and as the tears ran down her face, she explained, "Well it's just..." Tara broke down and began laughing again.
Anya rolled her eyes and looked at Willow. "She said that you could always tell when a Wiccan was well loved, they glow. Which you are doing right now."
Willow looked down at herself in worry. When she noticed no discernable "glow", she looked back up at Anya. "I'm not glowing."
"Your aura is, and yes you are. Your whole demeanor just screams, 'My boyfriend just managed to satisfy my every lusty impulse!' So I'd count that as glowing," Tara teased as she finally managed to calm herself.
"Well, I wouldn't say Graham satisfied my every lusty impulse, but he got DAMN close!" Willow sighed as she thought back to what she and Graham had done most of the early morning hours.
Tara whacked her arm. "Hey! Some of us aren't lucky enough to have a lover right now, keeping your lustfilled sighs to yourself!"
Anya laughed at her newest friend's antics. "Lighten up, Tara! I think it's cute that Willow is so in love with Graham that she can get lustfilled after just leaving his bed. Speaking of beds, I need to go get Xander out of his. I think he let what Slutty said to him last night really get to him." She grabbed her purse and headed for the door, turning to look back at Tara and Willow. "I'll make sure he's at the meeting place, on time, Warrior's Flame." With a knowing wink, she left the dorm room.
"Goddess! Does everyone know about that now?" Willow moaned as she collapsed onto Tara's desk chair.
"Pretty much. It's tough to hide something as monumental as being named the inspiration for a Warrior for good. Luckily, since only a few people know who you are, you're not in any real danger."
"Yeah. It's just the normal threats to my life as a resident of the Hellmouth and friend of the Slayer, I have to worry about. Although, if she doesn't clean up her act soon, I won't claim her as my friend any time soon."
Tara grabbed her keys and pulled Willow out of her chair. "Come on, we've got to go back to Giles' place and get your laptop. After all, we can't let The Slayer's Watcher know we've already found the way to defeat Adam and have already planned how to get into the Initiative, where he's hiding."
"Yeah, that would ruin the whole point of doing everything is secret, wouldn't it?"
"Exactly. Now, come on!" Tara pulled Willow out of the room and locked the door behind them.
/Lyrics were here./
Graham stared in shock as he watched Willow, Xander, Giles, and Buffy be pulled from the elevator shaft. He blinked and quickly got his emotions under control. He stood just behind Colonel McNamara and stared impersonally at Willow. She just looked back at him, her face revealing nothing to him.
Colonel McNamara approached the group of civilians, anger apparent in his every move. "You think you and your friends can just keep waltzing into a government installation, brandishing weapons like... like..."
Willow quirked an eyebrow and replied, "It's a gourd."
Giles smiled and added, "Magic gourd."
The Colonel darted a glance between the two. "What kind of freaks are you people?"
Graham saw Chad Kent have to bite his lip to keep from laughing and rolled his eyes at his fellow agent. He grabbed Willow by the upper arm at the Colonel's command and steered her towards the control room. He hissed at her under his breath, "You better have a good explanation for this, Scarlett."
"Trust me, Tiger. This is all part of my plan, just not part of the Slayer's."
"Yeah, yeah. Trust the Wiccan with the plan."
Willow doesn't respond to his barb, as she suddenly heard the Colonel respond to Buffy's accusation. "Every inch of this installation is under constant, 24-hour surveillance."
She pulled out of Graham's grasp and turns towards the Colonel with anger flashing in her eyes. "Including the secret lab?"
"Everything!" The Colonel paused as if realizing what she said, and turned to look at her. "What secret lab?"
Willow smiled knowingly at him. Buffy brought the Colonel's attention back to her. "What's your plan for dealing with Adam?"
"Incapacitate him with as much voltage as we can muster."
Xander rolled his eyes and had to choke back a laugh. "Great plan. That's right up there with 'duck and cover.'" He looked at Willow and winked. Willow rolled her eyes at him in response.
Buffy spoke next, getting right into the Colonel's personal space. "I've seen Adam hit with taser blasts. He feeds on it. And now, you're going to provide him with an all-you-can-eat buffet?"
Willow tuned out more of the conversation as she began to go over the incantations she'd need in her mind. She moved her hand slowly into her pocket and clutched the stone there. Looking over at Graham she chanted under breath, "Dia, chiedo a di voi. Protegga il mio amore dalla malvagità." Her eyes flashed white for a moment as she felt her Goddess answer her prayer. Good. He's safe, for now. It's time to begin my plan. With a significant look at Xander, Willow let Adam's disruption occur.
Colonel McNamara was working himself up into a fine fury by now, yelling at Buffy, "Down here, I'm the one who's in charge."
Just as he said this, the lights went off. Willow grabbed Graham's hand and said, "Stay safe, I'm not done with you yet, Miller."
Graham was able to tell who was whispering to him, and grinned in her direction. "Yes Ma'am." He followed his commanding officer out of the room, sending a silent prayer to keep Willow and her friends safe from whatever was happening.
Willow turned to Xander and grinned, mouthing, "Showtime!" She moved to sit at the nearby computer console.
/Lyrics were here./
Graham watched as another agent was severely injured by a demon. That should have been me. The demon was heading right for me! Then suddenly Smith was there in its path. Why am I being so lucky in this fight? Oh God! Willow did this! I saw her mumbling under her breath just before the lights went out. I love her, but sometimes she gets too protective. Graham killed the demon and swung Smith into a fireman's carry retreating back towards the emergency exit. Don't think, just move!
Suddenly, the Scooby gang with Riley and Spike in tow arrived in the main part of the compound and begin to fight the demons. The tide of the battle began to turn, and Graham watched as his girlfriend began to take down demons with the speed and efficiency of Buffy. Whoa! I knew she had a plan, didn't realize just how she was thinking of enacting it.
As the group of Initiative operatives and Scoobies get near the emergency exit, Willow yells, "Now!" Then she and Xander pull something from their pockets and throw them to the ground. Turning as one, the two friends managed to get everyone out before them as they slam the doors closed, and bolt them.
Graham and the others began to run up the stairs and Willow can feel the anxiousness of the others as she releases the spell she and Xander had concocted the night before. "Ahora, Día!" She's nearly thrown to the ground as the force wave hit her, and only the presence of Xander at her side, pulling her up to her feet, kept her from doing so.
As the top doors were burst open and people began to stream into the night, Willow finally breathed a sigh of relief. Goddess! Thank you for your help tonight. She prayed briefly as she slumped against Xander. "Lemme know when it's safe to move again, okay?"
Xander slumped against her as well. "Only if it doesn't actually involve real movement, okay?"
"Deal. Is it safe to slump to the ground now? The big, bad Initiative operatives aren't looking my way are they?"
Xander smiled down at his tired friend, and glanced around them. He smiled when he saw that Graham was making his way towards them. "Only yours, Wills. Think he'd hurt me very much if I collapsed to the ground, and took you with me?"
"Only if I was on the bottom." She chuckled at the way he just glared at her. She managed to look at Graham. "Hey, Tiger! Did we get most of you out?"
Graham scrubbed a hand over his tired face, and pulled his girlfriend to him. He just held her close as he felt her presence begin to calm him. "Yeah, you did." He pushed her away from him and glared down at her. "If you ever do anything like that again, I'll... I'll..." He stopped trying to find the words and pulled Willow into a deep kiss.
Willow gasped as Graham began to kiss her, and he took advantage of the situation and plunged his tongue into her mouth. She wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed herself more fully against him. She smiled when he groaned into her mouth.
Willow finally pulled away from the kiss and gasped for breath. As she looked up into Graham's face and saw all the desire she was feeling, she smiled again and said, "I love you, Graham Miller."
"And I, you, Willow Rosenberg." He kissed her again.
As this kiss drew to its conclusion, applause broke out for them. Willow looked around and turned a deep red, burying her face in Graham's chest in embarrassment. He cradled her to him and glared at his friends. "Very funny, you jokers. Now move along!"
The other agents began to organize themselves and Graham pointedly ignored the motions Riley was making for him to come over. He glared at his friend and the small blond cradled against him. He pulled Willow closer to him and laid his cheek on the top of her head, perfectly content to stand there with her forever.
/Lyrics were here./
Three days later, after extensive debriefings on everything that had happened in the last year, Graham trudged into his room in Lowell House. As he flopped onto his bed he noticed the small bundle of human in it. He pulled the covers off of her face and smiled down at his only partially awake girlfriend. "Hey, Scarlett."
She rubbed her eyes and smiled up at him. "Hey. Is everything okay?"
"They're closing the Initiative down. We'll find out after finals what our new orders are." He pulled his shirt off over his head and kicked off his shoes. He shucked his jeans off and crawled into bed with her, cuddling into her sleep warmed body.
She traced small circles on his chest as she laid her head against his shoulder. "So, there's the possibility you could leave?"
Graham, alerted by her soft tone and the worry in her voice, looked into her face. "I'm not leaving you, Willow. Never think that."
Willow pulled a little away from him and smiled at him, her disbelief in his statement obvious. "You may not have a choice, Graham."
"I always have a choice, Willow. Marry Me."
"What?" She stared at him in total disbelief, not entirely sure she heard what she thought she did.
"Marry me. Bind yourself to me in matrimony. Make me the happiest of men, and agree to become my wife." He sat up and pulled her into his lap, cradling her face between his hands. "I love you, and want to spend the rest of my life with you, Willow Ann Rosenberg."
Tears began streaming down her face and she smiled at him despite them. "I love you too, Graham Philippe Miller. And I would be honored to marry you, providing of course you don't try anything tricky, like getting shipped out of Sunnydale before we can get married."
Graham whooped his joy and pulled Willow onto her feet and began to dance around the room with her in his arms. "You actually said yes!"
Willow wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him again, laughing at his enthusiasm. "Of course I did. Did you have any doubts?"
"A few. You're only nineteen, Scarlett, and well, I'm in a dangerous job."
Willow forced him to look at her. "Life is danger, Graham. I could get killed tomorrow by a car, or tomorrow night while on patrol with Buffy. That's what makes our love so precious, the knowledge that we're both in danger every night but we've got each other, so it all balances out in the end."
"Marry me tomorrow!"
"Tomorrow? But it's Monday tomorrow! And you can't get a license to marry in the State of California for three days."
"So, let's go to Vegas."
"Oh, yeah... just what I always wanted, to be married by an Elvis Impersonator!"
"I was thinking more along the lines of one of the nicer chapels, but if it's Elvis you want..."
Willow punched him in the side and began tickling him mercilessly. "That's not what I meant, and you know it, Graham! Goddess!" She looked at him, her face taking on a surprised look. "You're serious, aren't you?"
"As a vampire in bloodlust."
"Fine. But I want Lia, Wesley, Angel, Xander, Giles, Tara, Anya, and Chad at our wedding."
"How are we going to get them all to Vegas on such short notice?"
Willow picked up the phone and began dialing a phone number. "Oh ye of little faith. Just watch as the planning phenom that is Lia Chase does her magic."
/Lyrics were here./
"Hello?"
"Lia? What is it? What's wrong?"
Cordelia smiled at the panic that had crept into the caller's voice. "Nothing major. I've just got Angel and Wesley here. The office blew up, the Oracles were killed, and Angel's going to become human someday."
Willow chuckled at the order her friend listed the events. "Anything else?"
"I was put in the mental ward because some creepy demon activated my visions non-stop. I was inundated with visions, and have vowed to become a better person."
Angel walked into the room, hearing the last part of what his secretary and friend had said. "Who are you talking to, Cordy?"
Cordelia turned to look at him. "It's Willow. And she hasn't had a chance to talk to me yet, so don't even think about taking the phone from me, walking dead guy."
Willow chuckled on the other end of the phone and said, "Well I called to ask you if I could get you guys to Vegas tomorrow."
"Vegas? Why would you want... OH MY GOD! He asked you, didn't he?"
"Yup. You are now talking to the fiancée of Graham Miller, and if he he has his way I'll be his wife by this time tomorrow."
"Tomorrow? But that's not enough time to... wait. Yes, it is. I can do this. Okay, wear that dress I bought you when you were here, and make sure to get yourself a nice white headband. I'll bring the shoes. Now, what hotel were you planning on staying in?"
"I hadn't. That's why I called you first."
Cordelia bit her lip to stop herself from crying. She called me first! Not Xander, not little miss Cry-Buffy, not even her friend Tara, me! I didn't think we were that close, but I guess we are. Cordelia smiled through her tears and opened up her laptop. "I need an hour to arrange everything. Even in Las Vegas you've got to wake people up this time of night. Okay, you want luxury or quality?"
"Quality. And find me a reputable wedding chapel nearby, I won't be married by an Elvis Impersonator, or in a drive up wedding chapel."
Cordelia quickly typed that into a blank notepad file and made a few notes for herself. "You need transportation?"
"Yup. It's gonna me and Graham, and whichever members of the gang we can get there."
"I can charter a private plane or arrange seats on the early morning flight."
"It's my wedding, get the plane. After all, my parents are going to pay for my wedding even if they never see it!"
"Okay, same numbers as in High School?"
"You bet. Just lie and claim to be me... or claim to be my mom's AA like that time IN High School."
"Check that. I'll begin the plans, you go call everyone else. I'll get back to you in an hour. You at Lowell House?"
"Would I be anywhere else?"
Both women laughed at that as Cordelia looked over at the impatient Angel and smirked at him. "I'll let you get back to Graham. Speak to you in a little while." Cordelia hung up the phone, and immediately plugged the phone into her laptop, connecting to the Internet.
Angel watched Cordelia's efficient movements and waited for her to tell him what was going on. When she didn't speak but began searching for something on-line he finally sighed. "What is it Cordy?"
"Willow is getting married tomorrow, she just called to let me know and ask me to plan her wedding for her. I'm busy doing that, so unless you have something else you need to be doing, I'd like to get back to it." She never looked up at him, but was busy with the laptop.
"That's nice that Willow thought of you... and did I just hear you tell me that she's getting married, tomorrow?"
"Yes. I'll get the story from her later, but we've all been invited to the wedding. So leave me alone so I can organize everything, and charge it to her parents." With a malicious smile Cordelia started making calls on her cell phone and Angel walked out of the room to tell Wesley the good news.
/Lyrics were here./
Willow stood staring at herself in the dressing room of the small chapel, not believing her eyes. I actually look like a bride! Oh Goddess! I'm getting married in a few minutes. Before her panic could set in, Giles knocked and then came in the door.
He smiled at her and came to stand next to her. "You look beautiful, Willow. I can't believe you are getting married."
"Me either." She turned to look at her friend and mentor. "Do you think I'm silly for agreeing to marry him a day after he proposed?"
Giles hugged the frightened woman to him, and ran a comforting hand down her back. "No Willow, I think this the right path for you and Graham. You stayed silent for so long about your love for each other that something like this was bound to happen." He pulled back and looked down at her. "Although I was looking forward to seeing you married by Elvis, perhaps even a singing Elvis."
Willow groaned at his statement. "Not you too! Everyone has made similar comments to me, but Cordelia assured me that this was the nicest wedding chapel in Vegas. You'll notice the Strip is nowhere nearby?"
"That I did. I am honored that you chose me to give you away."
"Who else would I choose? Even if I'd had more time for planning, I still would have asked you, Giles. My real father would not approve of me marrying a Catholic, especially not a Marine."
"He's an ignorant twit, Willow."
A knock sounded on the door and Cordelia poked her head inside. "We're ready for the Bride now."
"Thank you, Lia. I couldn't have done this without you." Willow hugged her friend and pulled back to see the tears threatening. "Don't you start, or I'll start and we'll never get out of this room."
"I'm sorry. It's just you're so beautiful, and you seem so happy."
"That's because I am. Don't worry, Lia, you'll find a man worthy of you soon enough."
"I hope so! I don't want to always be the planner!"
Giles separated the two women and strung Willow's arm though his. "Ladies, I do believe there is a man out there waiting for our entrance."
Willow and Cordelia smiled up at him and Cordelia left the room first. Willow and Giles followed, the opening strains of Mendelssohn's "Wedding March" on the organ as the door closed behind them.
/Lyrics were here./End Notes:
Willow "Dia, chiedo a di voi. Protegga il mio amore dalla malvagità." (Italian)
"Goddess, I ask of you. Protect my love from evil."
Willow "Ahora, Día!"(Spanish) "Now, Goddess!"
