Title: Forgiving Evil

Chapter 11/12: Jump to Conclusions Much?

(see chapter one for more detail)

        Hesitantly, Willow pushed open the door to Spike's crypt. Looking around, she didn't see the blonde vampire in the darkness so she called out to him.

        "Spike? Are you here?" Then more to herself, "Duh. Of course he's here. He's got a date with Buffy in an hour, and where else would he be?"

        "Red?" Spike's head appeared as he climbed the ladder to the upper part of his home. "Did Buffy send you over? Is she canceling? What's wrong?"

        "Jump to conclusion much? Buffy doesn't even know I'm here." Spike visibly relaxed and sat himself down in his comfy chair. He motioned to Willow and she took a seat on the couch.

        "So what brings you to this neck of the gloom?"

        "Well, Spike… I came to… chat. You know, we've never really talked that much and I think we should. We've got lots of stuff in common."

        Spike raised an eyebrow in question.

        "We were both evil at one time… and we're both Scoobies…"

Spike made a slight growly noise at the mention of the Scoobies. About two weeks after his return to Sunnydale, Buffy and Dawn had declared that he was an official member of the Scooby Gang. Dawn even gave him a Scooby-Doo key chain to make it official. He sighed loudly. "Go on…"

Willow stuttered for a minute but quickly recovered. "And we both like girls!" She smiled happily and waited for his reaction.

"Okay, you got me there." He stood up and headed to the mini kitchen he had set up in a corner. As he poured himself a glass of blood, he continued talking. "But I still don't think that's why you're here." He turned to face her. "You've got some kind of ulterior bloody motive, Red. Can't fool the Big Bad."

Willow wondered why he still insisted that he was the 'big bad' but she let it go, knowing it was probably futile to try to convince him otherwise.

"Okay, Dawn sent me. She said that she didn't see or sense you following her during patrol last night and she was worried." Willow explained.

"Bloody hell. She knew I was following her? I gotta work on my stalking skills. Can't even trail the 'Bit without getting caught." He drank the remaining blood in his glass and then left it in the sink.

"Anyway, she kinda likes that you're watching out for her so she thought that if I came over to check on you, instead of her, then you wouldn't know that she knew what you didn't want her to know… 'cause she didn't want you to know. You know?"

"Yea, I got it." He smiled, "Tell Nibblet I was busy last night, picking up a present for Big Sis." As he spoke he reached over to pull a small box out of his duster pocket. Willow leaned forward and upon opening the box he revealed a ring. A nice ring.

Willow's gasp was audible as she smacked him on the arm. "You're proposing?!"

Snapping the box closed he returned it to his pocket. "No! We've only been back together for a month. It's just an anniversary present. Christ, jump to conclusions much?" He mocked her.

Willow frowned. "Oh, so you're not proposing?"

"Why so glum? Do you think I should propose?" he questioned her.

"Ohh, it's just that… with the ring… and just today Buffy was saying… something completely different than anything relating to holy matrimony!" she tried to cover her mistake.

"What was Buffy saying? What are you talking about?" He was thoroughly confused.

"Nothing, nothing! You know me, I babble. Babble, babble, babble. That's me. A babble fest."

"Uhh…"

"Gotta go!"

And before he could say another word she had already hit the cemetery ground running.

"Well, that was just bloody weird…"