The Fall of William
Disclaimer: Joss owns all
Dedicated to: Jaime aka Spuffygirl cuz I was listening to her video Always by Saliva when I wrote this whole thing. Great and angst song. So thanks Jaime!
A/N: Hi all. Okay here's the thing it's taken me a bit longer than planned to get explanations out because in my head I have their whole history and you guys only need to see the most important. The ones that count are starting in this chapter. It will be long because after this there's only going to be one more flashback chapter. So hope you enjoy. Skyz.
~*~
Ch:19
Flashback...
"So any news on the William front?" Faith asked as she regarded Buffy through narrowed eyes as they sat in the small hotel room Faith was staying at while in town.
"Nope," Buffy lied. She found it was getting all too easy to lie to the people she loved. Too easy.
Faith smiled slightly as she rested her hands in front of her on the little table they were seated at.
"You sure? You've been on this for a good while now B. You need some help on this or what?"
Buffy frowned as she tried to come up with an answer that would placate Faith. She didn't need her help on this in fact she basically had it all in the bag now. She with Tara's help had accomplished more then she'd thought possible.
"I'm fine. It's just that Angel doesn't trust that easily and then there's his wife. Dru's a crazy bitch. She's always watching me! I-"
"I think she's jealous of you," Faith cut her off rising abruptly as she heard a car door slam from outside.
"What? Why?" Buffy asked glad to be off the subject of William the Bloody. She didn't care what Faith had to say about Dru though.
"Because you know," Faith began as she pulled open the door and ushered a breathless Willow into the room.
Buffy felt her heart stop for a moment as she took Willow in, then let her eyes rest on Faith.
"What's going on here?" she managed to get out rising as well to look at them both. She had a very bad feeling about this.
Clenching her hands together in an effort to ward of her nerves Buffy tried to breathe normally.
She felt like gasping for air.
Why weren't they answering her?!
"She's jealous because you're datin' the top dog. Mr. Bloody himself aint that right Willow?"
Buffy's face was expressionless thanks to years of training but on the inside she was a mess.
Taking in a deep breath she began to refute what Faith had said but Willow's voice stopped her.
"Buffy," Willow began quietly. "I think you should sit back down," she advised.
Buffy crossed her arms and shook her head.
What did they know?
"Well then let's get to it then," Faith blurted out grabbing the folder Willow had in her hand.
Willow tossed her jacket on the bed and took a seat at the small table.
"Giles told us you were having communication problems. Something about a meeting in New York earlier this month. How you blew him off to go out with this Spike person," Willow stated staring at Buffy with concerned green eyes.
Buffy stood stiffly in the middle of the room, not wanting to hear whatever it was they had to say. She should have seen this coming, she thought fiercely. Giles knew he wasn't getting through and so he'd sent re- enforcements!
"I told him I had to go out with Angel. He's the only way to get to William. I told him that! I can't believe he's questioning me, sending you both here to check up on me like some kind of rookie! Look-"
"No you look," Faith cut her off angrily getting in her face. "You're losing focus here girl! And that's gonna get you killed! You want that? You want me to go tell Joyce and Dawn I'm sorry but Buffy died because she couldn't keep her head in the game?! Couldn't help but die because she wasn't using her head! Huh?!"
"I know what I'm doing," Buffy gritted out shoving Faith away from her. "You don't bring them back into this again Faith! My head is as in the game as ever! Believe me when I tell you that!"
Buffy paced the room, restless and antsy.
She needed to get out of here, and soon. Spike was waiting for her and she knew he'd be worried if she didn't come home soon.
"Buffy we aren't here to judge you okay? We want to help you and if we're going to you have to be honest with us. You've been spending a great amount of time with Spike. He's gone on trips with you. He's not worth dyin- "Willow began.
"Why do you keep mentioning that?!" Buffy exploded glaring at them both. "I am not going to die! Do you understand?"
Willow glared right back at Buffy her own fear and anger overwhelming her as she grabbed the folder Faith held loosely. Opening it she flicked through a pile of pictures.
She flung them at Buffy viciously.
"Look at that Buffy," she yelled. "Look and tell me what you see!"
Buffy clenched her jaw and dropped down to gather the photos. She looked at one then another her throat slowly closing and her heart began to pound erratically.
"Do you see Buffy why we know this is gonna get you killed?" Faith asked as gently as she could. She hated seeing the frozen stunned look that had replaced Buffy's angry one.
"No I don't," Buffy replied as calmly as she could. She dropped the photos back on the table and headed for the door. "This isn't working. I'm not some kind of addict, I don't need an intervention! Get out if my way!"
Willow remained posed in front of Buffy her face a mask of determination.
"Aren't you?" she asked reaching out and gripping Buffy by the shoulders. "Give me those pictures Faith," she ordered.
"Look B we're here to help you," Faith added as she handed Willow the photos. "And the only way that's going to happen is for you to be straight with us. I can see it, you're scared. Let us help you!"
Buffy lowered her head, her emotions whirling and closing her eyes she shook her head.
Willow met Faith's eyes briefly.
"This is why you're going to die," Willow said again shoving the picture in Buffy's face. "Because once William finds out what you're doing to him do you think he'll let you live Buffy? Just because you're sleeping with him doesn't mean you're protected!"
Buffy brushed past Willow and lifted shaking hands to her face.
"You don't know what you're talking about," she rasped out.
"So Spike Easton isn't William the Bloody? Cuz they sure do look alike! Hey I know! Maybe they're twins, identical and you're really sleeping with the good one!" Faith exclaimed sarcastically.
Buffy's throat worked as she kept her eyes closed, not wanting to see the looks on either of her friends' faces.
How was she going to get out of this? She wondered frantically. She couldn't let this stop her.
She was determined to keep up this pretense for as long as she could. For as long as it took Tara to erase most of the evidence from Quentin's computer system. She already had Gunn working on getting the actual physical evidence.
"Buffy this isn't a game you're going to win. You have to know he's William. I mean you're slee-"
"Of course I know," Buffy snapped glaring at Faith as she opened her eyes, back in control.
Faith's head jerked back in surprise as she blinked.
"You do?" Willow breathed in relief.
"Yes," Buffy stated more calmly. "Of course I do! It was obvious really. What better way to get to him than the sack? Not to mention he's sexy as hell."
Faith and Willow shared relieved smiles as some of the tension drained from their bodies. They'd just assumed Buffy hadn't been aware of who she was sleeping with. To find out she did was a wonderful surprise.
"He's told me most of his secrets and I've been trying to get as much as I could before I told Giles about it..."
She continued to talk and as she did so doubt crept through Willow and slowly seeped into Faith.
It was like she was repeating a rehearsed conversation to them, the words were right but the meaning behind them, and the feelings were stiff, forced.
Faith felt a sinking sensation in the pit of her stomach as she gazed into Buffy's cool and too remote eyes.
She sat down abruptly putting her head in her hands.
Willow's face paled and she tried to tell herself what she was thinking couldn't be right because Buffy was....well she was Buffy and the Slayer didn't get emotionally involved in cases.
"This is my fault," Faith suddenly announced loudly.
"Wh-What?" Buffy stuttered out brought back from her trance like state. What had she been saying? Oh! She had been talking about how she was going to get every little detail she could and put Spike away for the rest of his life!
"This," Faith growled waving an arm around then pointing at Buffy with a shaking finger. "You Buffy! I told you to go for it, to sleep with him and now that you have. Oh God..." she trailed off she couldn't even say it.
"You're in love with him," Willow whispered hoarsely as she ran a hand over her face, trying to grasp this.
"No," Buffy denied quickly.
They mustn't suspect.
No one could know.
Oh God don't let them know.
They can't stop me!
"Yes," Willow countered. "You are! And it needs to end here! Tonight Buffy! Do you understand me?"
Buffy ignored Willow as she moved on auto pilot towards the door.
"B stop right there," Faith warned jumping to her feet and grabbing Buffy's arm tightly.
Deny it, Buffy thought. They don't know a thing; they couldn't ever understand what he meant to her.
I need him.
I want him.
I love him.
"Listen to me Buffy and listen good. You need to let this go. You need to let him go. I will be the first to tell you sympathizing with the enemy is the very thing Giles has warned us about our whole careers. You might think you're in love with him but you're not. It's the situation that's making you think that. Right now I want you to tell me, look me in the eyes and tell me you can let him go!"
Buffy raised her eyes to Faith's and stared into the brown depths, her mind blank and her face devoid of any emotion.
"Buffy," Willow spoke up. "We are here to help you. Because Giles is going to take William down himself and you need to be as unemotional as possible for that to happen. He's working right now on a way to bring William in and get you away from him. We both know how fast these things can go. I'm thinking by tomorrow Giles will have enough warrants, man power and evidence behind him that he'll make his move!"
Buffy's brain could at times be as swift as an arrow when need be and now was one of those times. She thought quickly dismissing certain ideas until one settled over her and calmness engulfed her.
"I can let it go. I can let him go," Buffy stated calmly staring into Faith's eyes.
See? I can even lie to you, she thought with an inner smirk. You think I can let this go? Let him go so easily Faith? Look into my eyes and see the truth.
But Faith wasn't looking for the truth.
She saw what she wanted to see.
"Great! Oh Buffy jeez girl you had us scared silly! Thinking you were goin' off the deep end! Whew!"
Faith pulled Buffy in for a bear hug.
Willow remained removed from the scene, her mind on Buffy's behavior described by Giles over the last few months.
Buffy smiled back at Faith glanced at Willow who was frowning.
"I've got this," Buffy muttered walking to the door and opening it. "I'm fine and you know what? I'm gonna bag my biggest case tonight! Thanks for being so concerned for me guys. Bye," she gave a wave and hurried out.
The silence that fell between the two left behind was horrible in its realization that Buffy wasn't near ready enough to handle something like this.
"She's lost her mind," Faith muttered blowing out a ragged breath. She glanced up at the ceiling and wondered just how they were going to save B's ass.
"She's in love," Willow mumbled sadly.
Faith snorted.
"She's lost her fuckin' mind is what she's done! Now here's what we're gonna do I'm going to call Giles and you're going to follow her. Keep her in your sights at all times. Jesus we've got to get this over with as soon as possible. Hurry up Willow!"
Willow jerked her coat on and rushed out of the room praying Buffy was in such a hurry she didn't notice she was being followed.
Faith snatched up the phone on the bedside table and dialed Giles's number quickly.
"Giles," was his terse reply.
"Get moving on this Jeeves! We've got to get this done tonight!"
~*~
"Good Lord it's all gone!" Quentin exclaimed as he ran over the files that had been permanently deleted or destroyed.
"It's not that bad," Angel muttered not seeing what the big deal was.
Quint rounded on him, his face red and furious.
"Not bad?!" he screamed glad that he was the only person left in the office. "Listen you jackass this is as worse as it can get! Evidence is missing, my files have been corrupted and it's not bad?!!! There's no way this could have happened. I can't believe this-"
Angel sipped his glass of water in silence as he watched Quint before he slammed it down causing Quentin to jump in surprise.
"Listen to you," he mocked. "Obviously someone's fuckin' with you Quint! What you gotta do is think about whom? I mean it can't be Buffy right? She doesn't know about you being Omega. So who else does?"
Quint seriously considered this before he shook his head.
"I-"he began more calmly but his phone rang and snatching it up he smoothed his tie and tried to sound professional. However the façade dropped as soon as he hung up. "Son of a bitch! That bastard Rupert Giles has authorized the take down of William the Bloody and we don't have a goddamn thing on him! This has to be-how to fix this? How?"
Quentin's eyes were drawn to Angel who was glaring off into space.
His eyes glinted with triumph as it came to him.
"You are now in the custody of a federal agent," Quentin murmured as he moved quickly.
"Huh?" Angel asked confused by the look of superiority on Quint's face.
Quentin pressed the panic button on his desk and in seconds his office was swarming with special agents.
"Arrest him and take him to compound 34," Quentin ordered as he grabbed his coat.
"Where are you going sir?" one of the agents asked.
"We've more arrests to make tonight."
~*~
Buffy burst into Spike's penthouse with the force of a hurricane.
Spike glanced up from his paper and arched a brow.
"What's up pet?" he asked curiously as he took in her breathless appearance.
"You know I never answered your question," she announced swallowing. She moved tentatively towards him reaching out and clasping his face in her hands.
Spike felt a bolt of anticipation run through him and he tossed his paper aside.
"No you didn't," he agreed as calmly as he could.
Buffy stared into his bright blue eyes and tried to think of a way that would be better than this. A way that could be as easy as this. But she found none.
And truthfully she didn't want to find one. All she wanted at the moment was him, forever.
But she knew forever was too much to hope for. Hell two days was stretching it at the very least. But tonight, she thought with a thrill, they had tonight and that was all that mattered.
"Yes," she whispered kissing him softly.
Spike grinned, reaching up to wrap his arms around her.
"I love you," he mumbled through their kiss.
"Good," Buffy replied happily. "Then you won't mind if we elope."
Spike's eyes narrowed abruptly.
"Thought you would want a big weddin'? Whole lot of fuss luv," he murmured slightly suspicious.
Buffy gave a shrug.
"I don't want to wait Spike," she whispered her mask slipping enough so that he saw the fear and love shining in her eyes.
"Well bloody hell luv all you had to do was ask. Didn't want a fuss m'self. This will be great! We'll fly down to Vegas and get hitched nice and proper," Spike muttered grinning like crazy as he swooped her up and twirled her around.
Buffy let out a laugh.
God, oh God what am I doing?
Why can't I let you go?
I'm sorry.
"Let's do it tonight," she requested.
Spike laughed.
"Eager are we? Why the hell not! We'll leave as soon as I call the pilot! Oh Buffy you've made me the happiest man in the world! I love you," he whispered reverently as he kissed her slowly.
"I love you too. You don't know how much," she whispered back.
"No more than I love you pet," he retorted with a flashing smirk. "Let's get this started then!"
~*~
Willow's eyes nearly bulged out of her head as she realized where Spike and Buffy were flying off to.
She glanced at the pilot and gave a huge sigh.
"What?" Oz asked never taking his eyes from the control panel.
"She's crazy Oz," Willow said sadly. "She's going to ruin her life and for what? He's never going to talk to her again I can guarantee that! Oh how did this happen?"
Oz shrugged.
"She loves him. She's doing what she thinks is best," was his calm response.
"By marrying him?" Willow demanded.
"Yes."
"I can't let her go through with it Oz. I can't let her!"
"She's your bestfriend. She's gonna need your help getting through this Willow. I know you may not like this but she's gotta do what she thinks is right. You need to be there for her."
Willow's eyes filled with tears as she thought about Buffy, what she was planning on doing.
She was her best friend in all the world.
She would do anything for her.
"I swear. I'll be there for her. I promise."
~*~
"What are you telling me?" Giles growled angrily as he grabbed Faith's arm and dragged her to a secluded corner in the large cargo plane they were flying on.
"I'm saying she's in love with him Giles," Faith repeated impatiently.
Giles shook his head still not believing what he was being told.
"Impossible," he dismissed the idea with a wave of his hand.
"Not any more! She's headed to Vegas right now to make it legit. Listen to me Giles she's really fallen for William and it's bad. Real bad. I just got a call from Tara and she just told me-"
"Tara?" Giles cut her off sharply. "What's she got to do with this?!"
"She's been helping Buffy get rid of information on Quint's hard drive. There's not much left. She said Buffy wanted as little left as possible."
"Oh dear Lord," Giles gasped horrified. He blindly reached out to a wall and leaned against it.
What had his Slayer gotten herself into? He wondered in dread and fear. She was in over her head! He knew things could only get worse from this point.
Closing his eyes he tried to find the positive in this.
Buffy was in love, he thought with a small smile that soon faded. In love with a criminal, he grimaced. Who she was headed to Vegas to marry.
Taking off his glasses he rubbed his eyes.
"I...I can't believe this," he finally mumbled.
"What are we going to do? What should Willow do?" Faith demanded to know as she stared at Giles. "We can't let Buffy go down with that creep!"
"Buffy wants this obviously," Giles snapped, "She wants to keep him as safe as she can when we take him in. And God help me I'll help her do that very thing. Get me a phone," he ordered coldly.
~*~
Buffy stared at herself in the mirror, trying to see what Spike saw in her. To see who she was.
Who was she?
She hadn't a clue anymore.
Was she an agent for the CIA?
Was she a woman in love?
In lust?
Was she a woman capable of doing what she at that very moment was about to do? Woman enough to take someone's life away from them?
All she saw though was a small blonde woman with haunted green eyes standing on the edge. Teetering there about to fall with no one to catch her.
Who was she?
"Buffy," Willow's voice cut through her jumbled thoughts.
She turned, felt faint, lightheaded.
She gripped the edge of the vanity tightly.
Willow rushed to her and wrapped her in a tight hug.
"I'll help you any way I can. I'm here for you Buffy," she cried tears streaming down her face as she clutched Buffy to her.
Buffy let herself be held.
"I don't know what I'm doing," Buffy whispered hoarsely.
Willow moved far enough back so that she could look Buffy in the eyes.
"Do you love him?" Willow demanded abruptly.
"Yes," she choked out. "I don't know how or even why but God help me I do! Willow I need him, he's like...he's everything. Everything," she choked back a sob.
Willow wiped at her own tears.
"Don't cry," she issued softly. "Does he love you?"
"Yes."
"Then you're doing all you can for the man you love Buffy, how can I hold that against you?"
"I'm losing myself Willow," Buffy cried blinking rapidly to dispel the tears that threatened to fall.
Willow smiled a sad regretful smile. She leaned her forehead against Buffy's and ran a shaking and down her friend's hair.
"No," she countered. "You've just found yourself Buffy."
~*~
"State your name for the record please," Quentin muttered.
"Angel Tierney," Angel replied coldly.
"I William take Elizabeth as my wedded wife..."
"How do you know William Devlin?"
"I work for him," Angel answered.
"In what capacity?"
"I Elizabeth take William as my wedded husband...."
"Everything and anything," was Angel's bitter reply.
"How much time?" Giles asked impatiently.
"...to have and to hold from this day forward..."
"A few minutes at the most," Faith said glancing at her watch, resisting the urge to call Willow.
"....for better or worse, for richer or for poorer...." Willow was certain she'd never seen Buffy so happy or so sad at the same time. She watched the wedding proceed as best she could pausing once and awhile to look at her watch.
"....in sickness and in health..."
She knew this was going to be hell on Buffy, that it would only get worse.
"....to love and to cherish till death do us part."
The wedding passed as a blur and soon it was finished and Willow slowly got to her feet as the Justice of the Peace congratulated the married couple and Willow found herself pretending to be a stranger as she congratulated Spike then Buffy.
In the brief hug they shared Willow held on tight.
"They're coming. My pager's going off which means-"Willow started.
"State your name for the record."
"Riley Finn."
"How do you now William Devlin?"
"I work for him."
"In what capacity?"
"Middle man," Riley stated with a smirk.
"Go in on the count of three. Remember this," Giles held up the large picture of Buffy, "is our agent. She is not to be harmed. One, two, and three....Go!"
~*~
Disclaimer: Joss owns all
Dedicated to: Jaime aka Spuffygirl cuz I was listening to her video Always by Saliva when I wrote this whole thing. Great and angst song. So thanks Jaime!
A/N: Hi all. Okay here's the thing it's taken me a bit longer than planned to get explanations out because in my head I have their whole history and you guys only need to see the most important. The ones that count are starting in this chapter. It will be long because after this there's only going to be one more flashback chapter. So hope you enjoy. Skyz.
~*~
Ch:19
Flashback...
"So any news on the William front?" Faith asked as she regarded Buffy through narrowed eyes as they sat in the small hotel room Faith was staying at while in town.
"Nope," Buffy lied. She found it was getting all too easy to lie to the people she loved. Too easy.
Faith smiled slightly as she rested her hands in front of her on the little table they were seated at.
"You sure? You've been on this for a good while now B. You need some help on this or what?"
Buffy frowned as she tried to come up with an answer that would placate Faith. She didn't need her help on this in fact she basically had it all in the bag now. She with Tara's help had accomplished more then she'd thought possible.
"I'm fine. It's just that Angel doesn't trust that easily and then there's his wife. Dru's a crazy bitch. She's always watching me! I-"
"I think she's jealous of you," Faith cut her off rising abruptly as she heard a car door slam from outside.
"What? Why?" Buffy asked glad to be off the subject of William the Bloody. She didn't care what Faith had to say about Dru though.
"Because you know," Faith began as she pulled open the door and ushered a breathless Willow into the room.
Buffy felt her heart stop for a moment as she took Willow in, then let her eyes rest on Faith.
"What's going on here?" she managed to get out rising as well to look at them both. She had a very bad feeling about this.
Clenching her hands together in an effort to ward of her nerves Buffy tried to breathe normally.
She felt like gasping for air.
Why weren't they answering her?!
"She's jealous because you're datin' the top dog. Mr. Bloody himself aint that right Willow?"
Buffy's face was expressionless thanks to years of training but on the inside she was a mess.
Taking in a deep breath she began to refute what Faith had said but Willow's voice stopped her.
"Buffy," Willow began quietly. "I think you should sit back down," she advised.
Buffy crossed her arms and shook her head.
What did they know?
"Well then let's get to it then," Faith blurted out grabbing the folder Willow had in her hand.
Willow tossed her jacket on the bed and took a seat at the small table.
"Giles told us you were having communication problems. Something about a meeting in New York earlier this month. How you blew him off to go out with this Spike person," Willow stated staring at Buffy with concerned green eyes.
Buffy stood stiffly in the middle of the room, not wanting to hear whatever it was they had to say. She should have seen this coming, she thought fiercely. Giles knew he wasn't getting through and so he'd sent re- enforcements!
"I told him I had to go out with Angel. He's the only way to get to William. I told him that! I can't believe he's questioning me, sending you both here to check up on me like some kind of rookie! Look-"
"No you look," Faith cut her off angrily getting in her face. "You're losing focus here girl! And that's gonna get you killed! You want that? You want me to go tell Joyce and Dawn I'm sorry but Buffy died because she couldn't keep her head in the game?! Couldn't help but die because she wasn't using her head! Huh?!"
"I know what I'm doing," Buffy gritted out shoving Faith away from her. "You don't bring them back into this again Faith! My head is as in the game as ever! Believe me when I tell you that!"
Buffy paced the room, restless and antsy.
She needed to get out of here, and soon. Spike was waiting for her and she knew he'd be worried if she didn't come home soon.
"Buffy we aren't here to judge you okay? We want to help you and if we're going to you have to be honest with us. You've been spending a great amount of time with Spike. He's gone on trips with you. He's not worth dyin- "Willow began.
"Why do you keep mentioning that?!" Buffy exploded glaring at them both. "I am not going to die! Do you understand?"
Willow glared right back at Buffy her own fear and anger overwhelming her as she grabbed the folder Faith held loosely. Opening it she flicked through a pile of pictures.
She flung them at Buffy viciously.
"Look at that Buffy," she yelled. "Look and tell me what you see!"
Buffy clenched her jaw and dropped down to gather the photos. She looked at one then another her throat slowly closing and her heart began to pound erratically.
"Do you see Buffy why we know this is gonna get you killed?" Faith asked as gently as she could. She hated seeing the frozen stunned look that had replaced Buffy's angry one.
"No I don't," Buffy replied as calmly as she could. She dropped the photos back on the table and headed for the door. "This isn't working. I'm not some kind of addict, I don't need an intervention! Get out if my way!"
Willow remained posed in front of Buffy her face a mask of determination.
"Aren't you?" she asked reaching out and gripping Buffy by the shoulders. "Give me those pictures Faith," she ordered.
"Look B we're here to help you," Faith added as she handed Willow the photos. "And the only way that's going to happen is for you to be straight with us. I can see it, you're scared. Let us help you!"
Buffy lowered her head, her emotions whirling and closing her eyes she shook her head.
Willow met Faith's eyes briefly.
"This is why you're going to die," Willow said again shoving the picture in Buffy's face. "Because once William finds out what you're doing to him do you think he'll let you live Buffy? Just because you're sleeping with him doesn't mean you're protected!"
Buffy brushed past Willow and lifted shaking hands to her face.
"You don't know what you're talking about," she rasped out.
"So Spike Easton isn't William the Bloody? Cuz they sure do look alike! Hey I know! Maybe they're twins, identical and you're really sleeping with the good one!" Faith exclaimed sarcastically.
Buffy's throat worked as she kept her eyes closed, not wanting to see the looks on either of her friends' faces.
How was she going to get out of this? She wondered frantically. She couldn't let this stop her.
She was determined to keep up this pretense for as long as she could. For as long as it took Tara to erase most of the evidence from Quentin's computer system. She already had Gunn working on getting the actual physical evidence.
"Buffy this isn't a game you're going to win. You have to know he's William. I mean you're slee-"
"Of course I know," Buffy snapped glaring at Faith as she opened her eyes, back in control.
Faith's head jerked back in surprise as she blinked.
"You do?" Willow breathed in relief.
"Yes," Buffy stated more calmly. "Of course I do! It was obvious really. What better way to get to him than the sack? Not to mention he's sexy as hell."
Faith and Willow shared relieved smiles as some of the tension drained from their bodies. They'd just assumed Buffy hadn't been aware of who she was sleeping with. To find out she did was a wonderful surprise.
"He's told me most of his secrets and I've been trying to get as much as I could before I told Giles about it..."
She continued to talk and as she did so doubt crept through Willow and slowly seeped into Faith.
It was like she was repeating a rehearsed conversation to them, the words were right but the meaning behind them, and the feelings were stiff, forced.
Faith felt a sinking sensation in the pit of her stomach as she gazed into Buffy's cool and too remote eyes.
She sat down abruptly putting her head in her hands.
Willow's face paled and she tried to tell herself what she was thinking couldn't be right because Buffy was....well she was Buffy and the Slayer didn't get emotionally involved in cases.
"This is my fault," Faith suddenly announced loudly.
"Wh-What?" Buffy stuttered out brought back from her trance like state. What had she been saying? Oh! She had been talking about how she was going to get every little detail she could and put Spike away for the rest of his life!
"This," Faith growled waving an arm around then pointing at Buffy with a shaking finger. "You Buffy! I told you to go for it, to sleep with him and now that you have. Oh God..." she trailed off she couldn't even say it.
"You're in love with him," Willow whispered hoarsely as she ran a hand over her face, trying to grasp this.
"No," Buffy denied quickly.
They mustn't suspect.
No one could know.
Oh God don't let them know.
They can't stop me!
"Yes," Willow countered. "You are! And it needs to end here! Tonight Buffy! Do you understand me?"
Buffy ignored Willow as she moved on auto pilot towards the door.
"B stop right there," Faith warned jumping to her feet and grabbing Buffy's arm tightly.
Deny it, Buffy thought. They don't know a thing; they couldn't ever understand what he meant to her.
I need him.
I want him.
I love him.
"Listen to me Buffy and listen good. You need to let this go. You need to let him go. I will be the first to tell you sympathizing with the enemy is the very thing Giles has warned us about our whole careers. You might think you're in love with him but you're not. It's the situation that's making you think that. Right now I want you to tell me, look me in the eyes and tell me you can let him go!"
Buffy raised her eyes to Faith's and stared into the brown depths, her mind blank and her face devoid of any emotion.
"Buffy," Willow spoke up. "We are here to help you. Because Giles is going to take William down himself and you need to be as unemotional as possible for that to happen. He's working right now on a way to bring William in and get you away from him. We both know how fast these things can go. I'm thinking by tomorrow Giles will have enough warrants, man power and evidence behind him that he'll make his move!"
Buffy's brain could at times be as swift as an arrow when need be and now was one of those times. She thought quickly dismissing certain ideas until one settled over her and calmness engulfed her.
"I can let it go. I can let him go," Buffy stated calmly staring into Faith's eyes.
See? I can even lie to you, she thought with an inner smirk. You think I can let this go? Let him go so easily Faith? Look into my eyes and see the truth.
But Faith wasn't looking for the truth.
She saw what she wanted to see.
"Great! Oh Buffy jeez girl you had us scared silly! Thinking you were goin' off the deep end! Whew!"
Faith pulled Buffy in for a bear hug.
Willow remained removed from the scene, her mind on Buffy's behavior described by Giles over the last few months.
Buffy smiled back at Faith glanced at Willow who was frowning.
"I've got this," Buffy muttered walking to the door and opening it. "I'm fine and you know what? I'm gonna bag my biggest case tonight! Thanks for being so concerned for me guys. Bye," she gave a wave and hurried out.
The silence that fell between the two left behind was horrible in its realization that Buffy wasn't near ready enough to handle something like this.
"She's lost her mind," Faith muttered blowing out a ragged breath. She glanced up at the ceiling and wondered just how they were going to save B's ass.
"She's in love," Willow mumbled sadly.
Faith snorted.
"She's lost her fuckin' mind is what she's done! Now here's what we're gonna do I'm going to call Giles and you're going to follow her. Keep her in your sights at all times. Jesus we've got to get this over with as soon as possible. Hurry up Willow!"
Willow jerked her coat on and rushed out of the room praying Buffy was in such a hurry she didn't notice she was being followed.
Faith snatched up the phone on the bedside table and dialed Giles's number quickly.
"Giles," was his terse reply.
"Get moving on this Jeeves! We've got to get this done tonight!"
~*~
"Good Lord it's all gone!" Quentin exclaimed as he ran over the files that had been permanently deleted or destroyed.
"It's not that bad," Angel muttered not seeing what the big deal was.
Quint rounded on him, his face red and furious.
"Not bad?!" he screamed glad that he was the only person left in the office. "Listen you jackass this is as worse as it can get! Evidence is missing, my files have been corrupted and it's not bad?!!! There's no way this could have happened. I can't believe this-"
Angel sipped his glass of water in silence as he watched Quint before he slammed it down causing Quentin to jump in surprise.
"Listen to you," he mocked. "Obviously someone's fuckin' with you Quint! What you gotta do is think about whom? I mean it can't be Buffy right? She doesn't know about you being Omega. So who else does?"
Quint seriously considered this before he shook his head.
"I-"he began more calmly but his phone rang and snatching it up he smoothed his tie and tried to sound professional. However the façade dropped as soon as he hung up. "Son of a bitch! That bastard Rupert Giles has authorized the take down of William the Bloody and we don't have a goddamn thing on him! This has to be-how to fix this? How?"
Quentin's eyes were drawn to Angel who was glaring off into space.
His eyes glinted with triumph as it came to him.
"You are now in the custody of a federal agent," Quentin murmured as he moved quickly.
"Huh?" Angel asked confused by the look of superiority on Quint's face.
Quentin pressed the panic button on his desk and in seconds his office was swarming with special agents.
"Arrest him and take him to compound 34," Quentin ordered as he grabbed his coat.
"Where are you going sir?" one of the agents asked.
"We've more arrests to make tonight."
~*~
Buffy burst into Spike's penthouse with the force of a hurricane.
Spike glanced up from his paper and arched a brow.
"What's up pet?" he asked curiously as he took in her breathless appearance.
"You know I never answered your question," she announced swallowing. She moved tentatively towards him reaching out and clasping his face in her hands.
Spike felt a bolt of anticipation run through him and he tossed his paper aside.
"No you didn't," he agreed as calmly as he could.
Buffy stared into his bright blue eyes and tried to think of a way that would be better than this. A way that could be as easy as this. But she found none.
And truthfully she didn't want to find one. All she wanted at the moment was him, forever.
But she knew forever was too much to hope for. Hell two days was stretching it at the very least. But tonight, she thought with a thrill, they had tonight and that was all that mattered.
"Yes," she whispered kissing him softly.
Spike grinned, reaching up to wrap his arms around her.
"I love you," he mumbled through their kiss.
"Good," Buffy replied happily. "Then you won't mind if we elope."
Spike's eyes narrowed abruptly.
"Thought you would want a big weddin'? Whole lot of fuss luv," he murmured slightly suspicious.
Buffy gave a shrug.
"I don't want to wait Spike," she whispered her mask slipping enough so that he saw the fear and love shining in her eyes.
"Well bloody hell luv all you had to do was ask. Didn't want a fuss m'self. This will be great! We'll fly down to Vegas and get hitched nice and proper," Spike muttered grinning like crazy as he swooped her up and twirled her around.
Buffy let out a laugh.
God, oh God what am I doing?
Why can't I let you go?
I'm sorry.
"Let's do it tonight," she requested.
Spike laughed.
"Eager are we? Why the hell not! We'll leave as soon as I call the pilot! Oh Buffy you've made me the happiest man in the world! I love you," he whispered reverently as he kissed her slowly.
"I love you too. You don't know how much," she whispered back.
"No more than I love you pet," he retorted with a flashing smirk. "Let's get this started then!"
~*~
Willow's eyes nearly bulged out of her head as she realized where Spike and Buffy were flying off to.
She glanced at the pilot and gave a huge sigh.
"What?" Oz asked never taking his eyes from the control panel.
"She's crazy Oz," Willow said sadly. "She's going to ruin her life and for what? He's never going to talk to her again I can guarantee that! Oh how did this happen?"
Oz shrugged.
"She loves him. She's doing what she thinks is best," was his calm response.
"By marrying him?" Willow demanded.
"Yes."
"I can't let her go through with it Oz. I can't let her!"
"She's your bestfriend. She's gonna need your help getting through this Willow. I know you may not like this but she's gotta do what she thinks is right. You need to be there for her."
Willow's eyes filled with tears as she thought about Buffy, what she was planning on doing.
She was her best friend in all the world.
She would do anything for her.
"I swear. I'll be there for her. I promise."
~*~
"What are you telling me?" Giles growled angrily as he grabbed Faith's arm and dragged her to a secluded corner in the large cargo plane they were flying on.
"I'm saying she's in love with him Giles," Faith repeated impatiently.
Giles shook his head still not believing what he was being told.
"Impossible," he dismissed the idea with a wave of his hand.
"Not any more! She's headed to Vegas right now to make it legit. Listen to me Giles she's really fallen for William and it's bad. Real bad. I just got a call from Tara and she just told me-"
"Tara?" Giles cut her off sharply. "What's she got to do with this?!"
"She's been helping Buffy get rid of information on Quint's hard drive. There's not much left. She said Buffy wanted as little left as possible."
"Oh dear Lord," Giles gasped horrified. He blindly reached out to a wall and leaned against it.
What had his Slayer gotten herself into? He wondered in dread and fear. She was in over her head! He knew things could only get worse from this point.
Closing his eyes he tried to find the positive in this.
Buffy was in love, he thought with a small smile that soon faded. In love with a criminal, he grimaced. Who she was headed to Vegas to marry.
Taking off his glasses he rubbed his eyes.
"I...I can't believe this," he finally mumbled.
"What are we going to do? What should Willow do?" Faith demanded to know as she stared at Giles. "We can't let Buffy go down with that creep!"
"Buffy wants this obviously," Giles snapped, "She wants to keep him as safe as she can when we take him in. And God help me I'll help her do that very thing. Get me a phone," he ordered coldly.
~*~
Buffy stared at herself in the mirror, trying to see what Spike saw in her. To see who she was.
Who was she?
She hadn't a clue anymore.
Was she an agent for the CIA?
Was she a woman in love?
In lust?
Was she a woman capable of doing what she at that very moment was about to do? Woman enough to take someone's life away from them?
All she saw though was a small blonde woman with haunted green eyes standing on the edge. Teetering there about to fall with no one to catch her.
Who was she?
"Buffy," Willow's voice cut through her jumbled thoughts.
She turned, felt faint, lightheaded.
She gripped the edge of the vanity tightly.
Willow rushed to her and wrapped her in a tight hug.
"I'll help you any way I can. I'm here for you Buffy," she cried tears streaming down her face as she clutched Buffy to her.
Buffy let herself be held.
"I don't know what I'm doing," Buffy whispered hoarsely.
Willow moved far enough back so that she could look Buffy in the eyes.
"Do you love him?" Willow demanded abruptly.
"Yes," she choked out. "I don't know how or even why but God help me I do! Willow I need him, he's like...he's everything. Everything," she choked back a sob.
Willow wiped at her own tears.
"Don't cry," she issued softly. "Does he love you?"
"Yes."
"Then you're doing all you can for the man you love Buffy, how can I hold that against you?"
"I'm losing myself Willow," Buffy cried blinking rapidly to dispel the tears that threatened to fall.
Willow smiled a sad regretful smile. She leaned her forehead against Buffy's and ran a shaking and down her friend's hair.
"No," she countered. "You've just found yourself Buffy."
~*~
"State your name for the record please," Quentin muttered.
"Angel Tierney," Angel replied coldly.
"I William take Elizabeth as my wedded wife..."
"How do you know William Devlin?"
"I work for him," Angel answered.
"In what capacity?"
"I Elizabeth take William as my wedded husband...."
"Everything and anything," was Angel's bitter reply.
"How much time?" Giles asked impatiently.
"...to have and to hold from this day forward..."
"A few minutes at the most," Faith said glancing at her watch, resisting the urge to call Willow.
"....for better or worse, for richer or for poorer...." Willow was certain she'd never seen Buffy so happy or so sad at the same time. She watched the wedding proceed as best she could pausing once and awhile to look at her watch.
"....in sickness and in health..."
She knew this was going to be hell on Buffy, that it would only get worse.
"....to love and to cherish till death do us part."
The wedding passed as a blur and soon it was finished and Willow slowly got to her feet as the Justice of the Peace congratulated the married couple and Willow found herself pretending to be a stranger as she congratulated Spike then Buffy.
In the brief hug they shared Willow held on tight.
"They're coming. My pager's going off which means-"Willow started.
"State your name for the record."
"Riley Finn."
"How do you now William Devlin?"
"I work for him."
"In what capacity?"
"Middle man," Riley stated with a smirk.
"Go in on the count of three. Remember this," Giles held up the large picture of Buffy, "is our agent. She is not to be harmed. One, two, and three....Go!"
~*~