Chapter Three

"I need your help."

Willow jumped in alarm as she opened her eyes to find Spike standing over her bed, staring at her. It was three in the morning and she had been in the middle of a very pleasant dream. It took her a moment to orient herself. "Spike?" she murmured. "How'd you get in here?"

"Window," he said briefly. "Don't need an invite anymore…good thing, too. She probably revoked mine."

"Spike…what are you doing here? In my bedroom? At two in the morning?"

"Don't get angry, Willow. I had to come. I need your help."

She sat up, clutching her blankets to her chest. "Why? What's wrong?"

Though she could not see his expression in the dark room, Willow could hear the desperation and fear in his voice when he spoke. "Willow, it didn't work…the spell didn't work…"

"What? What spell?"

"The spell that made me human...something went wrong and it didn't work. Maybe he never intended it to work, I don't know…"

"Wait, wait…Spike, back up. What do you mean the spell didn't work? You are a human now."

"I'm mortal now…we know that…. But, Willow, I'm not normal…something isn't right." He described his fight with the vampires to her. "I fought four of them at one time," he said in conclusion, "and I don't even have a bruise."

"I think you should consider yourself lucky you don't," Willow said, smiling.

"NO!" The word came out so loud, so forceful, that Willow cringed.

"Shhh," she hissed. "Do you want to wake the whole house up?"

"Sorry," he said, quietly this time. "It's just…I don't consider myself very lucky. The whole reason I went to Africa was so I could be the person Buffy needed me to be—just an average, normal man. Instead I end up just as big a freak show as before."

"Buffy is strong and you wouldn't consider her a freak show, would you?"

"Buffy is different. Buffy is meant to be that way." He sighed. "Anyway, it isn't what I think that worries me…it's her. Do you think she'll see this as a good thing? No. It will be just another excuse not to trust me, one more reason to keep me an arm's length." He grabbed Willow's hands. "You have to help me, Willow. Make me normal."

"Spike, I can't…"

"Yes, you can. You're the most powerful witch I've ever seen…and you're smart…I know you can do it."

Willow grinned wryly. "Flatterer," she said. Then her face sobered. "But Spike…we don't even know what kind of spell that demon used on you, or what kind of magic."

"You'll find out," he said confidently. "I believe in you." He stood up and headed for the window.

"But I'm not even supposed to be doing magic anymore!" she cried after him.

He flashed a smile. "This is different," he said. "This is for a good cause."

And even though it was against all her better judgment, Willow could not help smiling back at him.

"Meet me outside in ten minutes," she told him. "I'll need your help for this."

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

Buffy tiptoed into the house, carefully closing the back door behind her so that it would not make any noise. The house was dark and quiet, but she didn't want to chance waking anyone up. It was almost three a.m. and she knew that if the others knew she was out so late they would demand to know why—and after her argument with Dawn earlier she felt even less like explaining things than before.

Hardly daring to breathe, Buffy locked the deadbolt (flinching at the soft click it made) and turned around.

And she found herself face to face with her best friend.

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

"Willow?" she whispered, disbelieving. After taking all that care to be quiet...and still she managed to wake someone up! Someone up there was really getting off on toying with her.

Then again maybe not. Willow looked just as shocked to see Buffy as Buffy was to see her. She didn't look like someone who had gotten out of bed to investigate a noise—especially since she was fully dressed in a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. She was also carrying a book bag over one shoulder and a pair of white sneakers in her hand.

Willow's face paled at the sight of her friend. "Uh…B—Buffy..." she stammered. "What are you doing up so late?"

"I'm just coming back from slaying," Buffy told her. Her eyes narrowed. "What are you doing up?"

"I…couldn't sleep," Willow said. "I thought I'd go for a walk."

"A walk? Will, it's three in the morning."

"I know." Willow looked at her feet. "But I—I can't stay inside anymore. I need some fresh air. I'll be okay," she added quickly. She held up her bag. "See? I'm packing mace, holy water, and a wooden stake. Nobody in their right mind would mess with me."

Buffy smiled. "All right," she said. "You've convinced me. Just be careful, okay?"

"Will do." Willow reached for the doorknob the stopped and turned around. "Buffy, did patrolling go okay? You're coming in awfully late."

"It went fine," Buffy lied, "just a really busy night vamp-wise. But it went really good. Everyone died just when they were supposed to."

"Oh…well…good." Willow turned back to the door. "Good night, Buffy."

"Night, Will. See you in the morning."

They went their separate ways, each breathing a sigh of relief that the other had not seen through her deception.

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

"What took you so long?"

Willow gasped with surprise as Spike suddenly emerged from behind the oak tree that stood in front of Buffy's house. "Don't do that!" she snapped, hopping on one foot and pulling her shoe on the other one.

"Do what?" he asked, watching her attempt to hold her balance as she slipped her remaining shoe on her left foot.

"Don't creep up on me all jungle-catty. You almost gave me a heart attack!"

"Oh. Sorry," he said. "It's a force of habit." He fell into step beside her as she headed down the darkened sidewalk. "So where are we going that requires my assistance?"

"The Magic Box. I need you to pick the lock for me."

"Oh ho," he laughed. "Taking a walk on my side of the street, are you?"

She didn't answer.

"So why are we doing this now?" Spike pursued. "I mean why can't you just go in tomorrow then they open?"

"Are you kidding me? Do you really think they are going to let me in there after what I did? Anya probably has armed sentries stationed at the doors. We'll have to steal the books I need and return them later."

"What if they find out?" asked Spike, much impressed by her new attitude. "Odds are you won't get off with just a slap on the wrist this time."

"They won't find out," she replied. "If we do it right."

They cut across a back street that came out right behind the Magic Box; there was less chance of being seen than on the busier main street. There was nothing on this small street but a few dilapidated houses.

Still, Willow was not taking any chances. She stood watch for any possible witnesses while Spike used the screwdriver on his pocketknife to jimmy the door lock. "You know it really amazes me," he muttered, talking as he worked.

"What is that?"

"That after all the burglaries they've had in this place they haven't installed some sort of security system. I mean look at these locks! Pitiful. I would think Anya would be more concerned with her merchandise than this." He wriggled the knife in the lock, slamming his shoulder against the door at the same time. Moments later, the door swung inward.

Spike had to take a moment to get his bearings in the dark store, but Willow moved forward as though she knew right where she was going. "What are you doing?" he whispered to her as she moved toward the cash register. "The books are over there—" He waved his arm in their general direction.

"Those," she said disdainfully, "are nothing but beginners' books on parlor magic. The real books are kept locked up in the safe. They moved them after—" She paused.

"After you used them to systematically dismantle the place?" Spike suggested.

She smiled. "Something like that. Anyway, Anya keeps the key to the safe in here." She motioned to the cash register. "You job is to get it out."

He gazed at the old-fashioned wooden machine, thinking. After a moment's consideration, he reached out and slammed his fist against the back of the register. Immediately, the wooden drawer popped open.

"Not bad," Willow told him, reaching past him to pluck the key from the drawer. "I take it you've had experience at petty larceny?"

"It was more than just a job to me," he said with a sigh. "It was a passion."

They moved to the back of the store where the safe was kept. Within seconds, Willow had the door open and half a dozen books scattered around her.

"They would notice if we took them all," she said, holding up one book and squinting to read its title in the dim light. "So I think I'll only take the two or three that look really good. If we need any more we will have to wait until we're done with these, then switch them out."

"Sure. Right," Spike agreed. "Only…how do you tell which ones are really good?"

"It's easy," she said, "I can feel it."

"Feel what?"

"Feel the power that is imbued into the pages…the magic it took to create them. The really powerful dark books emit this feeling of power like you wouldn't believe. Any seasoned witch could feel it."

"I should have guessed."

"Okay," she said. "Got them." She pushed three thick books into his arms. "Hold these while I put the others up…and go put the key back into the register."

"Hold the books, Cinderella; put the key up, Cinderella," chanted Spike as he headed for the cash register.

"Do the spell, Cinderella!" Willow countered, laughing at him. She shoved the remaining books into the safe, locked the door, and joined Spike out front. "You better not complain," she said, "when you are the reason we are here in the first place."

"I know, I know," he said. "Be nice or you'll take your broomstick and leave. I got it."

She sighed. "Sometimes I wonder why I bother."

"That's easy," he said, holding the door open for her. "You're doing this because you want to see Buffy finally settled down with a nice man."

"Yeah, that must be it," she said, rolling her eyes.

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

"Morning, Willow," Dawn sang as she sailed into the kitchen later that morning. She took great pains to ignore her sister as she went to the refrigerator. "You're up early."

Willow, who had gone to bed at midnight, gotten up at three, and not gone to bed since, poured herself another cup of coffee. "Couldn't sleep in on a beautiful day like this, could I?" she asked brightly. "Besides, I have a class at nine and I want to get in some reading beforehand." What she didn't tell Dawn was the "reading" she wanted to get in was not in a college textbook, but an antique volume on dark lore.

"Did you get up in the night?" Dawn asked, pouring herself a bowl of cereal. She made it a point not to hear Buffy's request to pass the milk. "I thought I heard you get up."

"Uh, yeah. I couldn't sleep so I went for a walk. Sorry I woke you, Dawnie. I tried to be quiet."

"You didn't wake me. I was already up."

Buffy pounced on that like a dog on a bone. "What were you doing up at two o'clock in the morning on a school night?" she demanded.

Dawn shot her a withering look. "None your business," she said. "And anyway…you were out until all hours yourself…without telling anyone you would be late! Giles was worried."

Across the table, Giles looked up from his newspaper with surprise. "I was?"

"Yes," Dawn said firmly. "I heard you talking in your sleep about it."

"I doubt very much you did," he countered, "I was sleeping across town last night. I thought you knew."

"No." Dawn looked indignant. "No one told me about that. Where were you sleeping?"

"With Olivia."

All eyes turned to him.

Giles turned a very distinct shade of purple and added, "I mean…I was staying with her last night, at her hotel room. She, uh, came into town last night and I thought the only polite thing would be to—"

"Bump knickers?" Willow suggested.

"That wouldn't be my choice of words," Giles said. He muttered something under his breath.

"What did you say?" the three girls chorused.

"I said perhaps Willow should be more careful about what she says in the presence of children."

"Hey, I am not a child!" Dawn insisted.

Giles turned back to his paper. "Actually, I was referring to Xander."

Xander looked over from the leaky faucet he was trying to repair. "Thanks for that, Giles."

"Mmm," Giles murmured, sipping his coffee.

Willow pushed her chair back. "Well, I'm out of here," she said, reaching for her book bag. "Advanced Eastern European Philosophy waits for no woman."

"Thank God for that," Xander said.

"Want to come with?" Willow asked Buffy. "You said you were considering returning to school next semester; I could introduce you to some of my professors."

"No thanks," Buffy replied. "I learned my lesson the last time I tried to follow you to class. If I want to audit with someone I'll make sure it's a person of my advanced stupidity; that way I'll be sure to fit in."

"I'll walk with you, Willow," Dawn said. "It's on my way, anyway."

"Are you sure you shouldn't go with Willow?" Giles asked Buffy, as the two other girls departed. "It would be a good chance for you to pick up some information on classes, see about registration, that sort of thing."

Buffy made a face. "There's plenty of time for me to do all that," she said. "I've missed late registration for fall and the spring semester doesn't start until January. Anyway, I have something to do this morning."

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

The door to the crypt squeaked opened, throwing a shaft of sunlight across Spike's face. The warmth and brightness in his eyes drew him from sleep and he groaned loudly, assuming it was Willow, back for another reading session. She had already kept him up until the wee hours of dawn last night perusing the books they had taken, and he was exhausted.

"Oh, come on…" he moaned into his pillow. "Give a lad a few minutes rest, will you? This is inhuman."

"Are you so sure about that?"

His eyes popped open. That wasn't Willow's voice.

Spike raised himself on one elbow cautiously, forcing himself not to get excited too soon. He rubbed his eyes, squinted in the bright light, and looked in the direction of the voice.

"Good morning, Spike," Buffy said.

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

End of Chapter Three