DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything to do with Buffy the Vampire Slayer - it
all belongs to Joss Whedon.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: So. . .what exactly happened? It's revealed in this chapter, with Spike helping out of course. Please, please review!
Chapter 2
A scream echoed through the house from one of the bedrooms. It was Kennedy.
It was very soon after both Dawn and Anya had fallen asleep. Of course, they hadn't slept long.
'Oh my G-d! You guys! You guys, get up, something's wrong with Willow!' She shrieked as she ran out of her bedroom and into everyone else's, waking them up as soon as she could. She first ran into Buffy's, who was of course alert at the sudden sign of trouble.
'OK, calm down Kennedy, tell me exactly what's wrong.' She placed her hands around Kennedy's arms in an attempt to calm her. At this point, everyone had rushed into Buffy's bedroom.
'I don't know. . .she's gone all blue. . .I don't know if she's dead. . .' She started to be drowned out by her own sobs. But she managed to gain enough strength to lead them all to their bedroom. And as soon as everyone reached there, they stopped, horrified.
Willow was lying on the bed; her eyes wide open, and indeed as Kennedy had said, blue. Literally, her skin was blue. Buffy did the first thing that came to her mind, rushed over and checked to see if there was a pulse.
'She's alive,' Buffy turned to face everyone, and she could feel the wave of relief around the room. 'But I don't know what's wrong with her. Maybe this isn't some demon thing, maybe it's just - guess what - something human. We should take her to the hospital.'
Dawn objected. 'I'm not so sure, Buffy. Willow's in perfect health! You don't suddenly turn blue in the middle of the night for no apparent reason! This is something supernatural.'
'Yes, but we can't take any chances,' Xander interrupted urgently. 'Unless any of you recognise this,' he pointed at Willow, 'then I suggest we get a doctor.'
Everyone seemed to agree with this option, but Dawn still hadn't finished.
'We might not, but there's still someone else that will recognise anything out of the ordinary.' They looked at each other, suddenly realising she was right. Buffy finished Dawn's thought.
'Spike.'
**********
Spike, after he'd come back with all the formalities, had ended up sharing an apartment with Xander (to Xander's great annoyance). Even though he could come out in sunlight now, he preferred the dark, and he was generally awake throughout the entire night.
After Buffy had told him she loved him, but that she needed time and space, Spike didn't want to take any chances, and barely spent any time at all with the group. Most of them hardly remembered he'd come back at all.
He was sitting in a chair, having a drink (but not smoking a cigarette as usual - now that he was human, he wanted to prolong his life) when Buffy burst in. He smiled.
'Oh, Buffy, hi. . .' He stood up, pleasantly surprised to see her. Was it possible she was ready for a relationship with him?
'So, what brings you to my humble home tonight?' He stood up, drink still in his hand.
'We need you urgently. There's something wrong with Willow. We're not sure what it is, but we think you might know.'
He paused. 'Oh, so that's it then.' He turned around finishing his drink, disappointed, and placed it on a small table 'You only come here when you need my help.'
Buffy rolled her eyes. 'Look Spike, we can deal with your problems later. Right now we've got a Willow who's not looking very alive. . .'
'And what do you expect me to do about it?' he challenged her with a deep glare.
He accepted that she didn't want to see him often, he realised she needed some time to relax, but he wished Buffy wouldn't just come to him for business and for once would be there to see him.
Still, he always thought, the more time I can spend with her the better, no matter what the circumstances.
She realised that was what he was thinking about. 'Look, I know we've got a lot to talk about,' she explained. 'But please, just come to the house, help us save Willow, and then we can get everything sorted out, I promise.'
He looked into her eyes, like he always did, and realised she was telling the truth.
'Alright.'
**********
They didn't talk much on the way. Even if he'd asked her to describe Willow's condition, Buffy would have been quite reluctant about it, because she was too nervous about finding anything out until Spike saw Willow in person. Any other conversation would've been too dangerous to go into considering their current 'relationship'.
As soon as they arrived, everyone who had been sitting and waiting as if for a death sentence all rushed to the door. They all started talking at once.
'Hey, hey, back off!' Spike said as they all started crowding around him. 'I need to see her for myself before I can say anything.' He paused, as everyone looked at him anxiously. 'OK, where is she?'
They all led him to the living room, where they had brought the body down. This time only Xander was talking. 'Kennedy woke up, and she screamed, after seeing Willow's body. We all woke up, and found her like this.'
He showed Spike the body as they reached it, and the initial reaction wasn't good. 'Oh no.' He ran up to her and, just like Buffy, took her pulse. 'Oh, G-d, it can't be.' It would've been an understatement to say everyone started panicking.
'Spike, what's wrong with her?' Buffy shouted. Her voice contrasted through everyone's cries, yet was shaky. He turned around to look at them all.
'OK, it's not good. It can be dealt with, but it takes a lot of co- operation from you lot.'
Buffy was getting furious. 'Look, whatever Spike! What is wrong with her?'
He started explaining. 'It's a traditional curse that can only be put on witches. It does exactly this, turns them blue, and puts them in critical condition.'
Kennedy looked at him as of he'd said something crazy. 'That's absurd! Who'd want to hurt Willow?'
'When I said 'traditional' curse, I meant traditional for a certain group of people.'
Xander, who never really liked Spike much, was getting angrier by the minute. 'What exact group of people would that be, Spike?'
Spike sighed, and eventually let it out. 'Witch hunters.'
AUTHOR'S NOTE: So. . .what exactly happened? It's revealed in this chapter, with Spike helping out of course. Please, please review!
Chapter 2
A scream echoed through the house from one of the bedrooms. It was Kennedy.
It was very soon after both Dawn and Anya had fallen asleep. Of course, they hadn't slept long.
'Oh my G-d! You guys! You guys, get up, something's wrong with Willow!' She shrieked as she ran out of her bedroom and into everyone else's, waking them up as soon as she could. She first ran into Buffy's, who was of course alert at the sudden sign of trouble.
'OK, calm down Kennedy, tell me exactly what's wrong.' She placed her hands around Kennedy's arms in an attempt to calm her. At this point, everyone had rushed into Buffy's bedroom.
'I don't know. . .she's gone all blue. . .I don't know if she's dead. . .' She started to be drowned out by her own sobs. But she managed to gain enough strength to lead them all to their bedroom. And as soon as everyone reached there, they stopped, horrified.
Willow was lying on the bed; her eyes wide open, and indeed as Kennedy had said, blue. Literally, her skin was blue. Buffy did the first thing that came to her mind, rushed over and checked to see if there was a pulse.
'She's alive,' Buffy turned to face everyone, and she could feel the wave of relief around the room. 'But I don't know what's wrong with her. Maybe this isn't some demon thing, maybe it's just - guess what - something human. We should take her to the hospital.'
Dawn objected. 'I'm not so sure, Buffy. Willow's in perfect health! You don't suddenly turn blue in the middle of the night for no apparent reason! This is something supernatural.'
'Yes, but we can't take any chances,' Xander interrupted urgently. 'Unless any of you recognise this,' he pointed at Willow, 'then I suggest we get a doctor.'
Everyone seemed to agree with this option, but Dawn still hadn't finished.
'We might not, but there's still someone else that will recognise anything out of the ordinary.' They looked at each other, suddenly realising she was right. Buffy finished Dawn's thought.
'Spike.'
**********
Spike, after he'd come back with all the formalities, had ended up sharing an apartment with Xander (to Xander's great annoyance). Even though he could come out in sunlight now, he preferred the dark, and he was generally awake throughout the entire night.
After Buffy had told him she loved him, but that she needed time and space, Spike didn't want to take any chances, and barely spent any time at all with the group. Most of them hardly remembered he'd come back at all.
He was sitting in a chair, having a drink (but not smoking a cigarette as usual - now that he was human, he wanted to prolong his life) when Buffy burst in. He smiled.
'Oh, Buffy, hi. . .' He stood up, pleasantly surprised to see her. Was it possible she was ready for a relationship with him?
'So, what brings you to my humble home tonight?' He stood up, drink still in his hand.
'We need you urgently. There's something wrong with Willow. We're not sure what it is, but we think you might know.'
He paused. 'Oh, so that's it then.' He turned around finishing his drink, disappointed, and placed it on a small table 'You only come here when you need my help.'
Buffy rolled her eyes. 'Look Spike, we can deal with your problems later. Right now we've got a Willow who's not looking very alive. . .'
'And what do you expect me to do about it?' he challenged her with a deep glare.
He accepted that she didn't want to see him often, he realised she needed some time to relax, but he wished Buffy wouldn't just come to him for business and for once would be there to see him.
Still, he always thought, the more time I can spend with her the better, no matter what the circumstances.
She realised that was what he was thinking about. 'Look, I know we've got a lot to talk about,' she explained. 'But please, just come to the house, help us save Willow, and then we can get everything sorted out, I promise.'
He looked into her eyes, like he always did, and realised she was telling the truth.
'Alright.'
**********
They didn't talk much on the way. Even if he'd asked her to describe Willow's condition, Buffy would have been quite reluctant about it, because she was too nervous about finding anything out until Spike saw Willow in person. Any other conversation would've been too dangerous to go into considering their current 'relationship'.
As soon as they arrived, everyone who had been sitting and waiting as if for a death sentence all rushed to the door. They all started talking at once.
'Hey, hey, back off!' Spike said as they all started crowding around him. 'I need to see her for myself before I can say anything.' He paused, as everyone looked at him anxiously. 'OK, where is she?'
They all led him to the living room, where they had brought the body down. This time only Xander was talking. 'Kennedy woke up, and she screamed, after seeing Willow's body. We all woke up, and found her like this.'
He showed Spike the body as they reached it, and the initial reaction wasn't good. 'Oh no.' He ran up to her and, just like Buffy, took her pulse. 'Oh, G-d, it can't be.' It would've been an understatement to say everyone started panicking.
'Spike, what's wrong with her?' Buffy shouted. Her voice contrasted through everyone's cries, yet was shaky. He turned around to look at them all.
'OK, it's not good. It can be dealt with, but it takes a lot of co- operation from you lot.'
Buffy was getting furious. 'Look, whatever Spike! What is wrong with her?'
He started explaining. 'It's a traditional curse that can only be put on witches. It does exactly this, turns them blue, and puts them in critical condition.'
Kennedy looked at him as of he'd said something crazy. 'That's absurd! Who'd want to hurt Willow?'
'When I said 'traditional' curse, I meant traditional for a certain group of people.'
Xander, who never really liked Spike much, was getting angrier by the minute. 'What exact group of people would that be, Spike?'
Spike sighed, and eventually let it out. 'Witch hunters.'