Spike sat there in the darkness, looking through the hole he had come through at the sky.  It really was beautiful.  He counted the stars and imagined when he could walk outside, under them freely once more. brbr

            A thought not belonging to him interrupted his serene state of mind.  Coming? Who was coming?  brbr

            His mouth hung open a bit as he realized what was going on.  His call had indeed reached somebody, and the voice the thought he received reminded him of somebody he had never hurt, which brought him more peace.  "Red?  Is that you?" he said aloud. brbr

            He stood up and walked around, but returned to where he was sitting and rocked back and forth.  brbr

            She smelled good, he could remember that much about her.  And he kept sniffing the air, willingly inhaling the dust around him, just wishing for her scent to be near. brbr

            "Oh, bugger it.  One last time, and then I'll just sleep 'til she gets here, if she does," he said, and took one big sniff.  Strawberries.  He could smell strawberries, her hair!  Her shampoo was strawberry flavored. brbr

            He rose to his feet once more and peered out of the hole in the wall. brbrhr

            Willow was near the school, and with each step she took she could sense Spike.  That was a big help, seeing as she didn't know exactly where in the school he was.  She felt his presence, very close, and she looked around for an entrance of some kind. brbr

            She spotted the hole after a brief glance at one wall, and walked over to it.  Yeah, he was in there alright.  She took a deep breath and called out for him, "Spike?  Are you in there?"  brbr

            She heard rustling and a stuttered response, "yea, yeah!  Red?  Is that you?" brbr

            She slid through the hole in the wall, and her eyes adjusted to the light slowly.  "Yes, Spike.  It's me.  I got this, thought in my head, and it was you, and you needed, yeah, but I wasn't sure if it was meant for me, but I knew I should try," she started to babble. brbr

            Spike reached out and put a finger on her lips.  His hands were shaking, either from fear, exhaustion, anticipation, or hunger.  He whispered, "Shh, luv, shh.  Of course it was meant for you.  You're the only person I've never hurt, in all my evils, I've never hurt you, so of course you would be the one I would need."  brbr

            Willow's lips quivered and a couple of tears escaped from her eyes.  "Spike?  Let's get out of here, please.  We have a lot to discuss," she said quietly, her eyes pleading with him. brbr

            "As you wish, luv, let's go," he said, leading her out of the hole and out to a picnic table. brbrhr

            They sat there for hours, just remembering, and wishing.  Willow explained, painfully, to Spike what had happened while he was gone.  brbr

            "Cor, Red, that monster of a man, how could he think he could get away from you after he killed your girlfriend?  That, even to me, is just horrible," he said, lying on one of the benches, with Willow on the other. brbr

            She was crying by now, but not too hard, "Yeah, it was, but I didn't know how to control myself.  I just went after him," she sniffed, "But it's ok now, I think.  Tell me about your summer vacation, Spike." brbr

            Spike chuckled, "Sure Red, if you wanna call it that.  I suppose Buffy's told you about all I've done by now.  After, well, after I tried to make her love me, I split.  I left town and headed off to Africa, to be what I was.  Guess I didn't even know what I wanted. brbr

            "When I got there, a renown demon put me through a bunch of trials, and ended up turning the tables on me and giving me my soul back."  Willow gasped, "Spike! You have a soul!?  That's great!  Isn't it?" brbr

            Spike sighed, "Yeah, I guess it is.  But it wasn't at the time.  After I had been given the soul, all I could do was lay on the demon's floor and cry.  I got up to walk around, and finally got the strength to come back, which made it all the worse.  I hid out under the High School and in desperation, made a silent call for help. brbr

            "The thing is, I didn't know it was real.  I thought I was just dreaming, or making some call to myself, but I felt the power in me draining, and that's when I decided it was magic, and somebody, somewhere got the message.  Thank God it was you.  Anybody else and I'd be in a worse position than I was." brbr

            Willow nodded.  "Spike, this is a stupid thing for me to ask, but, did you really need me?  To show you the way, or to love you?  Because I do, and I will show you the way, but please, I need to know."  brbr

            Spike sat up, and Willow did too.  "Re, Willow, I've never really thought about it.  But, you know, we have a lot in common.  I, big bad evil thing, wanted to rule the world, and murdered people.  But now, I have a soul, and I've been redeemed and forgiven.  Especially by the person I've hurt the most, I just feel it.  You, a shy, innocent girl, was taken advantage of and got back with revenge and killed a man, and tried to destroy the world.  Your friends love you still, and you've been redeemed.  We both have gone through that. brbr

            "And you know what else?  I do love you, Red.  You were always the person who made sense in the Scoobies, and you were the one person I could stand.  And I'm really glad you came for me.  Though the Scoobies won't be too happy when they find out we might be an item.  Are we?" he said looking into her eyes. brbr

            Willow searched herself, and found her love for him was deeper than she had thought.  She leaned forward, and her lips met his.  They kissed for a second, but the electricity surged through her, and him.  She pulled back, "Only if you want us to be, but God knows I do." brbr

            He licked his lips, tasting the strawberry lip gloss she wore.  He grinned up, in an almost evil way, "Red, I love you, know that now.  And I can't live without you, luv," he said, and leaned in for another kiss.  Willow graciously accepted, and kissed until she ran out of air. brbr

            The couple moved off of the bench and sat on the grass.  Spike laid horizontally, and Willow rested her head on his chest as they stared off, gazing at the stars.  Spike stroked her red hair, and talked gently to her.  They stayed that way for hours, until it appeared dawn would be coming soon. brbr

            They rose onto their feet and hugged and kissed their goodbyes for the moment.  They started to walk off, until they both turned around and said, "Thank you for saving me."  The look on their faces was timeless, as both acknowledged each other's thanks, and both faces showed renewed hope and love.  Salvation had been found for each of them.hr

END