Chapter 8

"But I told you yesterday I couldn't come in," Buffy protested. "You said it would be alright." Pause. "Yes, I understand, but I have a family emergency here and I can't…" Long pause. "Fine, I'll be there in 30 minutes."

"What was that all about?" Dawn asked.

"There was a scheduling mix-up and they need me to come in."

"What about William?"

"I'm going to need you to stick around today and keep an eye on him."

"I had plans."

"I'm sorry Dawn, but I have to go in. He basically said if I like my job, I'll be there by nine."

"What time do you think you'll be back?"

"He said I can come home when Carla shows up, around 2."

Dawn nodded, "That's fine. I don't need to be at Susan's until 5."

"Well, I'm so happy that I was able to work around your schedule. Anyway, if you anything…bad…happens, call me. Check his bandage on a regular basis, and make sure you feed him a decent lunch."

"I think I can handle it Buffy."

"Right, of course you can. I'm gonna check on him before I go. I don't have time to cook him breakfast so…"

"I'll get started on it."

Buffy smiled thankfully at her sister. After the initial shocked and angered reaction, Dawn had calmed down and accepted that William was now a part of their life. Buffy didn't know what she would do without Dawn's help and support. Life would be a lot more difficult if Dawn had simply decided she would have no part of her sister's insanity.

"I don't want to be a burden," William said as a greeting when Buffy entered the room.

She frowned. "You're not a burden."

"I heard you arguing with your sister…"

"We weren't arguing about you, William. It's not your fault my boss sucks."

"You work?"

"I have to."

"What do you do? Sew? Are you a Governess?"

"Try none of the above. I work in a customer service center."

"I don't understand."

"Basically if someone has a problem, they call and yell at me until they feel better."

"It sounds dreadful."

"It is, but it pays the bills until I can get a degree."

"Oh! You're going to school? Will you be teaching soon?"

Buffy laughed. "No, no, not going to be a teacher. Women have more choices now. I can do whatever I want."

"That sounds quite…progressive."

"A lot of things have changed. At any rate, I'll be back this afternoon, maybe in time for lunch. If you need any thing, don't hesitate to ask Dawn. She'll take care of you."

"Thank you."

Unable to loiter any longer, she gave him a final wave, then gathered up her purse and her keys.

"What are you making him?"

"French toast."

"Give him some soup if he gets hungry again."

"Buffy, how long have you been a nurse?"

"Don't be a smartass."

Dawn practically had to push her sister out the door. She wanted to make sure the French toast was good enough, wanted to check on William one more time, wanted to grab more coffee, wanted to call Wes. Rolling her eyes, Dawn shut the door behind Buffy and locked it.

The air was tinged with the slight smell of burning bread, and Dawn quickly flipped the now dark brown toast onto a plate. She grimaced that the nearly black center, and debated over whether or not she should feed it to William or start a new batch. She finally decided that if she smothered it with butter and syrup, he probably wouldn't notice anyway. Besides, he was hardly in the situation to be picky.

She balanced the plate and a large glass of orange juice on a tray and carried it to him. Buffy would laugh her ass off if she saw Dawn meekly carrying food to someone else. "French toast ala Dawn," she announced.

"It smells wonderful."

"Yeah, well, good. It's supposed to smell like that. Hope it's enough."

"Oh, I'm sure it will be."

Dawn positioned the tray on his lap and plopped down on the nearby chair. She watched him gingerly eat for several seconds before growing bored.

"You don't like it?"

"No, no it's delicious. I'm just not that hungry."

"Because of your neck?"

"I have a headache."

"The food will help you feel better, supposedly. But if you think you're going to vomit, aim for the can." She beckoned to the small, plastic wastebasket on the side of the bed.

"Oh…thanks. I'll keep that in mind."

"So, what do you think of the future so far?"

"It would be a great deal more enjoyable if I wasn't feeling so ill. I would like to leave the bedroom and see this new world."

"I'll take you out and show you around when you're better," Dawn promised.

He handed his empty plate to her. "Thank you."

"Still hungry?"

"No, no, that was quite filling, thank you."

They lapsed into silence, Dawn holding the syrup-covered plate. She didn't know what to say to him, but she didn't want to leave either. She didn't want to make him talk, but she didn't want to bore him by making him listen to her talk. He didn't seem uncomfortable with her though, or impatient for her to leave. Maybe he wanted a bit of company.

"How old are you?" She finally asked, out of a long held curiosity. Spike never would tell her how old he was when he was turned, out of a misplaced sense of vanity she always thought.

"26."

"Did you have any sisters?" Another question that she always longed to ask, but never did.

"No, it was just me and mother."

"Am I bothering you with my questions?"

He smiled. "I don't mind them."

Dawn felt her way around him carefully for the next hour, prying into the corners of his life, developing a broader picture of who he was. So much surprising information to sort through, and comprehend. And yet, it wasn't surprising at all. Finding out through careful questioning that he was extremely lonely and without really any friends at all was not surprising. Spike always liked to be surrounded by people, and yet, he was always by himself.

It did not take much persuasion to open William up, and soon he was telling her a great deal about his life. He still spoke with a rather reserved quality, and chose his words carefully, but it was clear that he was happy to share. Dawn wondered if anybody had bothered to ask before.

"You were close to him, weren't you?" William eventually asked.

"Who?"

"Spike."

"Buffy tell you about Spike?"

"Briefly."

"Yes, we were once close. We grew apart."

"Do you mind if I ask what happened?"

"Just some bad choices. Too many bad choices between us."

William smiled shyly, his gaze earnest and sincere. "I hope we can become friends."

Dawn returned the smile. "I think we will."

~*~

Wes locked himself in his office and made it absolutely clear that he was not to be disturbed, by anybody. He told Angel that he was working on a new case of Glorsnick demons terrorizing Hollywood, trying to figure out where they came from and how to kill them. This wasn't entirely a lie. There were Glorsnick demons in Hollywood, and he was trying to figure out how to kill them—they just weren't his top priority.

William's mysterious appearance, and even more mysterious malady was something Wes could really sink his teeth into. He loved a mystery, and loved having the resources at his fingertip to solve it.

His first action was to talk to Dorjan again. He was being safely held in an anti-magic chamber below the building. Up until now, he hadn't put up much of a fight. He was too drained from the spell he foolishly performed. Unfortunately, Wes couldn't get much out of the weakened sorcerer. It seemed that Dorjan didn't really know what he did, or why it worked. All he could say was that he found the exact book in the library, and the window of opportunity was too small to hesitate.

That didn't explain why Dorjan was compelled to perform the spell though. Wesley would have loved to look at the book himself, but it had disappeared. Nobody remembered seeing it in the room that night, and Dorjan certainly didn't have it on him.

Curiouser and curioser.

The more Wes investigated, the more convinced he became that Dorjan had very little to do with William's sudden appearance. If anything, Dorjan was acting as an unknowing vessel. Wes's first hunch had been that he had been unable to resist doing the spell because of the rush it would cause, but now Wes suspected that Dorjan was forced to do the spell because he was the only one who could handle the influx of power.

So the question became who and why? Wes was used to working with things that were out of his hands, out of the realms of logic, and into the realms of mystical prophecies and fickle Powers. But usually, there was some sort of justification for the interference of some higher being. Evil always had a plan, and sooner or later, it would become clear. Of course, Wesley didn't completely close the door on the idea that Dorjan wasn't serving a source of evil, but rather, was the unwitting agent of Good. A thought that honestly was no less frightening.

Just to be on the safe side, Wesley poured over the prophecies housed in the law firm's rather extensive library. He found a few interesting leads, but they were ultimately dead ends. There were very few passages that referred to their particular place and time, and virtually none that could be applicable to William's situation.

When he waded through the well used and accepted book of prophecies, he moved into the totally obscure, and often wrong, texts. The prophecies in those books were nearly worthless anyway; the phrasing was far, far too ambiguous. But those obscure prophecies did often have a list of references in the back to other magical texts, thoughtfully provided by the poor saps that spend their entire lives trying to make sense of the pointless ramblings.

It was in the small text on the darkest arts that Wes got his first clue. One born of magic will need the strength of many to be sustained. That was all. It wasn't much, but it was a start, and Wes felt in his gut that the passage applied to William.

~*~

Angel offered to let Willow use his rather extensive library to research, but she declined. She preferred to start with the Internet. It wasn't as reliable as old books, but it was easier on the eyes, faster to search, and sometimes she found a few gems. Also, she could search from home. Which was good, because she did like to spend as much time with Kennedy as possible. Even if she wasn't exactly spending time with her.

Willow diligently scanned through websites, message boards, and articles. She noted with some interest that there would be a few "conventions" over the summer, sponsored by various covens. It would be cool to hook up with some other witches and exchange spells…but that was neither here nor there and Willow quickly forced herself to get back on track.

The hours passed quickly, and before she knew it, it was already time for dinner. Kennedy silently left a plate of sandwiches on the desk for her at some point, and Willow smiled at the thoughtfulness. Kennedy did her best to be everything that Willow needed, going out of her way to be considerate and even more docile. Willow appreciated the effort, but in her heart of hearts, she didn't believe that the relationship would last much longer. Already they were growing distant.

So lost in thought about her relationship, she almost completely missed the crucial passage. One born of magic will need the life of many to be sustained. Willow sat back, frowning. There was no doubt that the passage could be applied to William. He literally existed because of magic. The life of many? Did that mean that people would have to die in order for him to live? What happened if nobody was sacrificed for him? Would he die quickly, or would he waste away slowly?

She would have to call Angel and get his opinion before she researched anymore. Willow suspected it might be kinder all around to…well…she couldn't finish the thought. She would call Angel. She would have no problem leaving that sort of decision to him.

~*~

When Buffy finally got home, a full two hours after she was supposed to be let off, she was surprised to see Dawn and William sitting in the living room on the couch, quietly watching television.

"Hey Buffy. You're late," Dawn greeted.

"I know, I know. Somebody quit today, so we were extremely short-handed. What's up?"

"Nothing, we're just watching the History Channel. William wanted to know what me missed."

"Hello, Buffy. Would you like to join us?"

"No, I think I'm going to shower and change. You sticking around Dawn?"

"I have to go in about 30 minutes."

"Will you start dinner?"

"No problem." Within a minute, Dawn was loudly sorting through the fridge looking for something edible.

"William, are you feeling better? How is your neck?"

"I feel much better today."

"Did Dawn bother you?"

"No, Dawn was great company. Here, sit with me."

Buffy thought about resisting for a second time, but decided that it wouldn't kill her to watch…. "What are you watching?"

"I believe Dawn said it was Histories Mysteries. Something about Zombies and voodoo."

Buffy lifted her eyebrow, "Why are you watching this garbage?"

"Oh, no, it's quite interesting. See, there's this fish…"

"That's ok, you don't need to explain it to me. I believe you."

"The television is quite marvelous. I could spend all day watching it."

"And have," Buffy muttered beneath her breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing. I'm glad you found something to entertain yourself."

"You must watch the next program with me. Dawn says it's on the Discovery Channel. It's called the Real Journey to the Center of the Earth."

"What is it about?"

"Have you ever read the book by Jules Verne?"

"I've heard of it."

"Well, this documentary contrasts what the real center of the Earth is compared to what Verne wrote. I'm very excited about it."

That much was obvious. His blue eyes were positively dancing, his face slightly flushed. Buffy noted idly that his mop of curly hair needed to be combed, the crazy curls bobbing back and forth as he spoke.

"Sure, I'd love to watch it with you." It wasn't something Buffy would be remotely interested in on her own, but she didn't think it would be too much to watch the show with him. It was obvious that he wanted to share this with somebody…with her.

To Buffy's surprise, the documentary was actually quite interesting—if a little long. A few times, William expressed surprise, and even utter shock, at the facts revealed on the show. Buffy was enjoying herself so much that she completely forgot about the meal Dawn prepared, and only spared her a glance when she rushed out the door. Who knew that the Discovery Channel could be so interesting?

"You really must read the book," William commented when the show ended.

"I'm not a big reader," Buffy admitted.

"Can you get a copy?"

"I could probably go to the library tomorrow. It should be open in the afternoon."

"Would you like if I read it to you?"

"I've never had anybody offer to read to me before."

"Really? I used to read to my mother all of the time. I enjoy it quite a bit."

"That'll be nice. I'll get the book tomorrow," she promised. "Oooh, Scooby Doo is on."

"What's that?"

"My favorite cartoon. I think you'll like it."

Buffy shifted on the couch and leaned against his arm slightly. He didn't pull away. Buffy couldn't get over how cozy it felt with him. Even if they were just watching tv, it was the nicest thing Buffy had done for a long time.