Willow resolved to be smarter the next night when it came to Spike. It
seemed that every time she relaxed around him, he threw her for a loop. She
considered avoiding the living room all together, but decided that she
absolutely refused to alter her routine in deference to his attitude.
She had a fair idea of why he'd dumped her off the sofa, and while she understood it on a certain level, she was still angered and hurt by it. She had thought they'd come to a point where the behavior of old had switched over to something...new. Where they weren't the vampire and the Slayer's friend, but Spike and Willow--vampire and adopted little sister of Aurelis.
With her resolve in place, Willow took up residence on the armchair when she made her way downstairs. Spike was situated on the sofa, and she pointedly ignored him as she tried to get comfortable. Which wasn't very easy, as she'd become accustomed to stretching out on the couch. But she did her best, and eventually was situated sideways on the cushy chair, her back against one padded arm, and her legs draped over the other.
The silence was more than a little tense. It was tense to about the eight millionth degree. This time, though, Spike was the one who seemed to be uncomfortable with it. Knowing she was in the right, Willow determinedly watched the infomercial that was on. It had something to do with storage bags, and she didn't understand why Spike was leaving it on, but she kept her mouth shut and watched.
Focusing on the inane host got more difficult as the minutes past. After the adrenaline rush that had accompanied her fall to the floor last night, she had been so wired that it had taken hours to fall asleep, but her stupid internal clock had forced her body awake at dusk anyway. Despite that she'd only been up for about an hour, Willow fell asleep on the chair. When something woke her, however, she was more than a little surprised at where she found herself.
"Spike?"
"Yeah?"
"Uh, how'd I get on the sofa?" she asked uncertainly, her jaw moving against his thigh as she spoke.
"I moved you," he said simply.
Willow frowned. "Oh," she replied, then, "Why?"
There was no answer forthcoming, but Willow realized that she didn't need one. Spike didn't make with words generally, and never with apologies. He said everything with actions, and he'd just apologized to her.
"Go back to sleep, luv."
Willow smiled softly. "Okay."
***
Things went more smoothly than Angel could have hoped for over the next couple of days. Willow and Spike's discussions still occurred, but they were more light-hearted now. No longer did they stomp away angry, but parted ways with smirks and rolling eyes.
Willow's laughter often sounded through the house and Spike smiled more freely now. Real smiles, not smirks, that Angel had only seen bestowed on a selected few.
But there was more between the two of them than they wanted to admit. He'd seen the truth of that in Willow's pained gaze after Spike had shoved her to the floor. He'd even seen it in Spike's tight features when Willow had fled upstairs.
Then there was the touching. A new and surprising turn of events. They always shared the sofa now, and Willow was forever lying on Spike in some way--her head or feet resting on his lap while he absently pet her. Angel knew it had initially begun with Spike making up for his, well, Spike Behavior, but he doubted either of them had examined too closely why it had continued.
Dru seemed troubled and hopeful by it all, as did Angel. But they agreed that the only thing they could do was wait and see, and hopefully help with the clean up should things go as badly as they could.
***
Willow woke up gasping for breath, her heart pounding from a nightmare. It had been filled with vague terrifying and painful sensations. There may have been images, but Willow's mind saw fit to strip the memory from her conscious brain, and she was grateful.
It was the fifth night in a row, and as she slid out of bed on trembling knees to change her sweaty clothes and sheets, she began to think something was going on. She'd told Spike that stress had been causing her fatigue, but now she didn't think that was the case. There wasn't much stress in the house when Spike wasn't trying to impart lessons in his own imitable way. In fact, it was rather...nice.
So what was with the nightmares?
The only answer she could come up with was that it had to do with the shield. But she wasn't sure if her body was just taxed by the sharing of her magic, or if something nefarious was going on. She was voting for nefarious, mainly because it was what she was used to. When she thought about it, though, she had another reason to think that. In her nightmares-- she hadn't been herself. She'd been someone else. And she thought the "someone else" she'd been was Dev.
It was possible that she was picking up on Dev's fears via the shield. But it was also possible that the bad guys had found a way to somehow attack Willow's shield.
That was troubling, since Dev was under that shield and completely vulnerable. Sighing, Willow took several books from her trunk, then traversed downstairs to her laptop. As sunset approached, Willow shut down the computer and brought the books upstairs. At the top landing she bit her lip and frowned at Dev's door, then found herself opening it and peeking inside.
Dev's injuries had begun healing by leaps and bounds, and Angel had estimated last night that it would be only a week until she was whole again. He'd told her that quietly, eyes unashamedly filled with tears as he stared at her.
Spike was lying on his back on the bed, Dev pulled into the crook of his arm. His eyes flew open as soon as the door opened, and he growled menacingly before he registered that it was Willow at the door. She smiled distractedly, staring at the aperture in Dev's abdomen, which had closed so much that it was now only two inches in diameter.
"What's up, pet?" Spike asked, frowning at her. "Everything all right?"
"Just wanted to check in," Willow mumbled. "How's she doing?"
He smiled, and his eyes lit up brightly. "Doing good, thanks to you."
Willow saw only those eyes, shining and happy, and in her mind she saw Angel's eyes, wet with unshed tears, and imagined Dru's eyes filled with sanity as Spike had told her had happened.
"Um, good," she said quietly. "I'm just going to...just...bye."
She fled, Spike calling after her, and hid in her room. Besides the conscious vampires, there was also a promise she'd made to Dev in a motel room.
Trembling slightly, Willow lit several candles. She wasn't sure if she'd be able to do this without having physical contact with Dev, but she didn't have a choice in the matter. If Angel and the others knew that the baddies had found a way to attack the shield without knowing who Willow was, if they knew what she was about to attempt to do to keep Dev safe from it, then they'd tie her up and lock her away to keep her from trying.
She sat in the center of the room, focusing her energy, her magic, her power and bending it to her will. She cut the cord between herself and Dev, effectively dividing her magic in two parts. But not equal parts. She gave more to Dev than she did to herself.
Once the division was completed, Willow focused on Dev and then followed a line of connection to Dru, who was sitting quietly while Angel read to her in the third bedroom. Drusilla felt the tug, but Willow gently shushed the vampire and withdrew a small amount of Dru and put it aside. She did the same with Spike and Angel, neither of whom noticed her at all. With Angel, she was careful to not take any portion that had her own signature on it.
Willow combined all three energies and then sent them to Dev, wrapping it around her shield in a thin layer. As a protective measure against an attack, it was useless. But as a disguise...it was perfect. There wasn't anything Willow could do to prevent an attack, but she could damn well make sure the vampire didn't bear any brunt of it.
When it was done, Willow slumped forward, breathing heavily and feeling her heart race out of control. She wanted to get up and snuff out the candles, but she just didn't have the energy. She wanted to look up at whoever had just come into her room, but even panic couldn't motivate her into movement.
"You've been naughty, precious," she heard Dru murmur. "Our Angel won't be pleased."
"Don't--don't--don't--tell anyone," Willow whispered. "Please, Dru."
"Shhh," Dru cooed. Willow saw her settle next to her and then felt Dru's hands in her hair, rubbing her head and urging her closer. "We shall keep a secret, shall we? I'm very good at that." The candles were put out somehow, and then Drusilla had lifted Willow and set her on her bed. "Now, rest."
"Thank you."
***
Willow wasn't sure what Dru had done, but Spike didn't come pounding on her door as soon as the sun had set, which was his normal routine. Willow owed her something big for that, because even though she'd slept for quite a few hours after Dru had tucked her in, she was barely awake. And that hung-over feeling was back in full force.
She stumbled from her room and went to Dev's, hoping to find Drusilla in there and intending to ask her to do a little mojo, like she'd done in the motel shower while they'd been on the road. But Angel was in with Dev, and he frowned when he saw her.
"You look awful," he commented, pressing a kiss to Dev's hair and then leaving the bed to stand in front of Willow. "What's wrong?"
Willow stared at him uncomprehendingly for a moment. "Sick," she finally muttered. It was the best lie she could come up with and it wasn't altogether untruthful, either. "Dru?"
"She and Spike went out," Angel replied. He took her arm and led her to the bed. Willow collapsed onto it and Angel crouched down in front of her. "Do you need anything? What should I get you?" he asked worriedly.
In response, she yawned hugely and struggled to get her eyes open again. Angel gently pushed her back and then slid her under the covers. "Why don't you lay down and get some rest?" he said softly. "I'll be right here if you need anything."
She could feel the nightmare in the back of her mind, waiting to come out, and she blindly grabbed at Angel's arm. He could have pulled out of her grip, but instead he let her draw him next to her on the bed.
It wasn't the same as Spike, her sleepy mind decided as Angel lay next to her. She didn't feel as confident in Angel's ability to keep her safe for some reason. But having him there did allow her to let her guard down just enough that she was able to slide gently into sleep.
***
Spike opened the door to Dev's room, then stopped dead in his tracks and stared at the sight before him. Willow was on the bed, tucked in between Angel and Dev. She looked so...small next to Angel's bulk, and so fragile next to Dev's strength.
Behind him, Drusilla sighed. She pressed against his back and wrapped her arms around his waist. "It's right," she said into his ear.
"What is?" Spike asked harshly, still staring at the bed. Willow was on her side, facing Dev, and one of Angel's arms was curled around her waist; the other was under her head. "Her cozying up to Angel?"
He felt Dru shake her head. "No. Her. She's right."
That made no sense whatsoever, and Spike didn't really feel like prying sense out of Dru at the moment. He was too bothered by the scene on the bed. Willow sandwiched in between two vampires. Two souled vampires.
He tried to leave the room, but Angel opened his eyes then. "She's not feeling well," he told Spike and Dru. "She was looking for Dru earlier and I thought she should stay in here in case she needed anything."
Spike narrowed his eyes and took another look at Willow. There was a sheen of sweat all over her body, and her heart was racing. He could hear it from where he stood. Dru made a small sound of distress and released Spike, hurrying to the bed.
She leaned across Angel and placed her hands on Willow's face. "Precious," she murmured, sounding upset.
"What's wrong with her, luv?" Spike asked, striving to sound casual. Willow generally didn't get sick. A mild cold here and there, sure. But nothing that made her bed-bound. At least, not that he'd seen.
Dru ignored him, caressing Willow's face once more before she moved to the other side of the bed and laid down on her side on the very edge. Then she reached for Dev and pulled her closer, positioning the unconscious vampire on her side as well, and cradling her gently.
"Spike," Dru called. She gestured at the space that was now open between Dev and Willow, patting it and making it clear that she expected him to join them.
"Drusilla," Angel began, but she hushed him. Their eyes met for a long while, and then Angel nodded. "Spike, get in bed."
"Why?" he asked, frowning. "What's going on?"
"Shut up and do it," Angel growled, shutting his eyes again.
Spike inched his way to the bed, uncomfortable and unsure of what the hell was going on. Sure, the vampires had all shared beds often back in the day, but not often. It had generally been--his head snapped up. It had generally been when one of them had been injured. They'd done it for Dev, as well. Several times, actually, since they'd all reunited in Los Angeles. Even though Angel's double bed hadn't really been conducive to it. This king- sized bed, on the other hand...wait.
"Willow's not a vampire," he reminded them all.
Angel snorted and pointed at the open spot without even opening his eyes again. "I wasn't making a request," he said harshly.
Spike rolled his eyes and kicked his books off, then shrugged out of the duster and let it fall. He unbuttoned the red shirt he was wearing, then finally made his way to the foot of the bed. It was an awkward climb, seeing as how he was trying to be careful of the injured Dev, and trying not to wake the sleeping Willow. Finally he was wedged in, but had to turn on his side in order to be comfortable at all. With a blank face, he turned to Dev, giving Willow his back.
Dru's eyes shot daggers at him and he glared at her. Her arm was still stretched out so that she was touching Willow's hair, and he had no choice but to rest his head on her arm. He felt her muscles shifting under her skin as she apparently tangled her hand in Willow's hair.
"Go to sleep," Angel ordered.
Dru closed her eyes. Spike did the same, thinking that sleep was likely to take a while, but a few minutes later, Willow shifted away from Angel. She flung her arm around Spike's middle and pulled herself closer to him until her front was pressed against his back. A soft sigh tickled his ear and Spike relaxed.
***
Willow couldn't get out of the nightmare. She knew she was dreaming, knew she could wake herself up as she had the other times, but she was so tired that she couldn't make it happen. She was forced to endure the fear and terror, the pain and agony. Forced to see rabbit-quick flashes of razor blades and crosses coming at her.
But then something happened. Something that she knew she had had no hand in whatsoever. The dream shifted. She suddenly found herself in a dark room. On a large and ostentatious bed. Soft candles flickered in sconces along the stone walls, and music played quietly in the background. It was disturbing. But not as disturbing as the fact that Spike was lying next to her. He was sprawled on his stomach with an arm and leg thrown over her.
Willow almost squeaked with surprise, and tried to get free.
"Precious."
Freezing, Willow scanned the room with her eyes until they finally alit on Drusilla, who was standing in the center of the room, watching her with a small smile.
"Uh, hi," Willow stammered. "What's going on? Where am I?"
A frown pulled at Dru's features. "Poor precious was trapped somewhere bad."
"A nightmare," Willow confirmed. "So how'd I get here?"
"You didn't like the bad place," Dru went on, "so I tried to bring you some place you liked, a place where you could rest so that you don't get trapped in the bad place again. Somewhere you felt...safe."
Willow's eyes skirted around again. "Oh. But I, uh, don't know this place."
"I couldn't find your safe place," she mewled. "And I tried so many of them."
"Yeah, well," Willow sighed. "I live over the Hellmouth, Dru. Even 'safe as houses' doesn't apply. Where are we?"
A wide smile graced her features, and she moved forward, her eyes sliding between Spike and Willow. "I decided to share my safe place with you," she said helpfully, her eyes cagey. At the foot of the bed she came to a stop and tilted her head. "But you surprised me. It's your safe place too, but I didn't think to try it."
Even in a dream Drusilla was impossible to decipher. "I don't know this place," Willow repeated with a frown. "And while I appreciate your sharing it," she went on uncomfortably, again trying to squirm away from the vampire next to her, "is it really necessary for Spike to be here?"
Dru knelt on the edge of the bed and Willow saw the edges of her sight blur. The room changed. Not just once, but many times. Outside, inside; bedrooms, studies; daylight, moonlight; beds and floors. Through it all, only one thing remained consistent.
"Spike is your safe place," Willow breathed, staring wide-eyed at Dru as her surroundings returned to the original room.
"Once upon a time, he was," Dru confirmed, lowering her head and smiling softly. "He was my prince."
Willow frowned. "Dru?" The vampire looked at her expectantly. "Why didn't you...take him back? In Brazil?"
"I wanted to," Drusilla admitted in a small voice. "Wanted to be his princess again. But he wasn't the same." A distressed frown pulled at her features, and her hands tangled in her long skirt. "Only I am the same; everyone else becomes different." A pang of sympathy filled Willow. "Some things...some things are immutable," Dru breathed, her eyes far away. "I am immutable."
And she was, Willow realized. Made unassailable by Angelus after he had fractured her mind for his own amusement. She would forever be this winsomely lovely dark child, brutal and mercurial, with her dolls and frocks, and that lightning quick strike.
"Come here," Willow said gently. "There's room for you, too."
But Drusilla shook her head, that bright smile coming back to her face. "No, precious. I told you, he is no longer my safe place."
"What is your safe place now?" Drusilla remained silent and Willow's eyes widened in alarm. "You need a safe place, Dru!"
The vampire's lips parted in what seemed to be shock. "You're upset, precious," she whispered.
A long silence passed while Willow processed the fact that she was, indeed, concerned for Dru. Not just at this particular moment, but overall. For all the vampire's strength and power, she was...vulnerable. So open to pain and hurt that she couldn't fully express or understand. And now she had no place to retreat, to escape and feel safe and protected. Drusilla needed a place like that, because Willow suddenly realized that Dru's nightmares and fears didn't accost her only in sleep, but in her every waking hour.
"Yeah," Willow acknowledged. "I'm upset."
Dru's eyes darkened and her lip trembled. "You worry for me," she said, amazement in her child-like voice. "You are strong where I am weak."
"I don't know about all that," Willow said carefully. She held out her hand, and Drusilla tilted her head to the side and stared at it. "But I--I guess I care for you. I don't know how it happened, and two months ago I wouldn't have believed it *could* happen. I don't want you to not have a place, Drusilla."
"It's been such a long time. Nowhere to hide and laugh and dance and tea. But...but now..." Drusilla's hand clasped hers gently, and she reached out with her free hand to touch Willow's cheek almost reverently. "My Devil is safe because of you. Her life is in your hands, and you hold it so very carefully, not spilling even a drop." Her hand tightened around Willow's. "Would you do that for me, precious?" she asked, her eyes boring into Willow's. "Would you hold me carefully so that I do not spill or crack or tumble from high?"
Would she? Right then, staring into the depthless brown of Drusilla's eyes-- eyes that spoke of a fear so great Willow felt tears fall down her cheeks-- there was only one answer to that question. "Yes. I would."
Without another word, Drusilla climbed into the bed on Willow's other side, laid her head on Willow's chest, and was asleep almost instantly. Willow stared from Spike's protective embrace, to Dru nestled protectively against her, and marveled at how quickly things could become so tangled.
Tangled in a way that wasn't bad now, but would be so difficult to extract herself from when she went back to the real world.
***
Coming awake between cold bodies was jarring, and Willow froze like a deer in the headlights as she tried to process what was going on. In her dream, the one after the nightmare, there'd been Spike and Dru. But she wasn't dreaming now, and she should have been alone in her bed.
Except...she vaguely remembered wandering into Dev's room, groggy and weak, and being settled in Dev's bed by Angel. And...had she really pulled him into bed? Hesitantly, Willow opened her eyes and saw a broad back in her line of sight. Through the white material of an undershirt she could make out the shapes and colors of a tattoo. She squeezed her eyes shut. Yes, apparently she had pulled Angel into bed. How horrifyingly embarrassing.
Another troubling thought niggled at her mind. Angel's back was to her, but there was an arm across her waist. An arm that was strong and covered by red silk and definitely did not belong to Dev, who should have been the only other body in the bed. Whimpering slightly, Willow pried one eye open and followed the arm to Spike's shoulder. The eye slammed shut again.
"Bloody hell," Spike exclaimed suddenly. Willow screamed in surprise and bolted into a sitting position. Spike shoved her towards Angel and lifted his head to glare at her. "Could you do the freak out somewhere else? Damn heartbeat's louder than a train and it bloody woke me up!"
Willow didn't respond, mainly because she was too busy trying to get her breathing under control. "How--but--you are such a *jerk*!"
"Relax, Will," Angel said calmly. He changed position and sat up next to her. "You weren't feeling well last night and we were just staying with you. Are you feeling better?"
They were staying with her? Willow looked around. Angel was on her left, concerned. Spike was on her right, grumpy and irritated. Next to him was Dev, who was--well, looking a whole lot better, and was actually dressed for a change. Had she been dressed last night? Willow struggled to remember and realized that, yes, Dev had been wearing a t-shirt when she'd stumbled in and asked Angel where Drusilla was. Speaking of Drusilla, she was lounging on her side, her face buried against Dev's hair and her wide eyes staring at Willow knowingly.
That stare made Willow frown. She'd been dreaming, hadn't she? That whole Spike and Dru thing hadn't been real...had it?
"Immutable," Drusilla murmured, and Willow's eyes widened. Okay, so not a dream.
"Willow?" Angel asked softly.
"What? Oh," Willow said in confusion. "I'm fine now and why did you guys stay with me?"
"Part of the package deal," Spike said, his voice still deep with sleep. "What the hell was wrong with you?"
Willow met Drusilla's eyes across Spike and Dev, and knew that the vampire hadn't, and wouldn't, tell anyone what Willow had done. "Just a...bug, I guess," Willow said hesitantly. "I felt kinda weak and really tired."
"And you're fine now?" Angel pushed.
Eyes not leaving Dru, Willow said, "Yeah, I rested and things are better now."
Dru's eyes lit up and she smiled at Willow, who returned it. She thought she should be bothered that she had agreed to be a vampire's safe place, but she couldn't be, no matter how hard she tried. Drusilla had been so concerned about Willow that she'd gone into Willow's dreams and helped her. For no other reason than Willow was part of the "family". There had been talk of obligations and hierarchies when Angel had explained it all to her. It only made sense that she live up to her end of the deal.
"We danced under the stars last night, precious," Drusilla sang liltingly. "It was like it used to be, but not, and better. They told me more secrets, too," she added with a cagey smile. "Told me of rumbles and pitter-patters. Should have remembered that when I saw you. But now I know."
"That's...good," Willow said, her smile a bit forced. Despite everything else, she still couldn't understand Dru most of the time.
"It's not even dusk yet," Spike complained. "Take the girl talk somewhere else."
"No. Precious needs more rest," Drusilla countered. Her brows pulled together. "She needs her strength. Go back to sleep," she told Willow firmly.
"But I'm not tired," Willow protested, though the truth of that statement was belied by the huge yawn that followed. Angel lay back down and pulled her with him, moving her on her side so that there was enough room for all of them.
Willow found herself face to face with Spike, who blinked at her and then looked away. "I'll just, uh, go back to my room now," she said quickly, starting to sit up again.
To her surprise, it wasn't Angel's hand that kept her from moving, but Spike's. "Stay," he said quietly, eyes guarded, hand resting on her waist. Willow tilted her head to the side and frowned. "Stay," he said again, this time a little uncomfortably.
"All right," she said, confused. She settled down again and his hand didn't move. When he closed his eyes, she stared at him. Spike was her safe place, according to the dream. But, why Spike? She remembered waking up with her head on his lap, remembered thinking that she trusted him to keep them both alive. But she trusted Angel, too, didn't she? Even more than Spike, right?
But she didn't. The thought had flittered through her mind when she'd pulled Angel to the bed. It was because of the soul, she realized. There were things Angel wouldn't do, because of it. Generally that was a good thing. But when it came to making her feel secure, those verboten things left a lot of loopholes that could get her killed. There wasn't anything Spike wouldn't do to keep her safe. Even taking a plank in his own chest.
Her eyes slid shut and she moved away from Angel and pressed herself against Spike. He froze for a moment, then his arm curled around her back and held her to him.
***
The following days saw a shift in the routine of the house. The group rarely strayed from Dev's room as they waited with baited breath for some sign that the vampire was going to regain consciousness. There were no games now, though, just tense bodies that spun towards the bed at any strange sound. Willow and Angel had taken to reading during the vigil, unless Dru was in the mood to spin yarns for Dev. Then, they put aside their books and watched her act out whatever drama her mind had dreamed up.
When Dru wasn't feeling up to tell tales, then she generally pampered Dev, bringing in a basin of water and a sponge to wash her, painting her nails and brushing her hair. Spike simply paced, no matter what else was happening in the room. And smoked so constantly that Willow had gone out to the store one evening with Angel and purchased a fan to suck the cloud of smoke out the window.
During the day they slept. In Dev's room. In Dev's bed. All of them. Willow had tried to resist, but she'd been weak and still "sickly" for two days after she'd cut Dev off, and Angel had insisted she stay in with them in case something happened. She'd found that the safe place Dru had helped her find, combined with the strong cold bodies around her, the nightmares didn't even get a chance to rear their ugly heads, though she could feel them prowling around, trying to find a way in. But there wasn't one, and they eventually slunk away petulantly. She hadn't returned to her solitary bed, and no one had asked her to.
The room was cramped with five of them occupying it all the time, and Spike's limited pacing area put him in all of their faces. Every once in a while Angel would reach out a foot, trip him to the floor, and growl a warning that he stay there. It usually lasted an hour at the most, then the pacing would continue. When it got to making her dizzy, Willow would grab his hand in the middle of his circuit and yawn, and Spike would sigh in a very put upon manner and sit next to her so that she could use his thigh as a pillow. Sometimes she fell asleep, but most of the time she just lay there quietly.
Wesley called three times, each time indicating that none of the entries he'd backtracked could be linked to Dev's kidnapping and torture. He pressed on, though, hoping something would crop up. Willow was beginning to feel less hopeful and was glad she'd been able to convince Angel to let her do the healing spell. It wouldn't be long now until Dev woke up. Her injuries had healed completed by the fourth day of the vigil, and they expected her to regain consciousness soon.
On the sixth night, Dru spent two hours pouting and taunting the vampires. Angel strong-armed her and Spike out of the house, tossing one of the cell phones at Willow since there wasn't a phone jack in Dev's room and no one could seem to find the cordless anywhere. (Willow thought Spike had smashed the things to bit one day when a telemarketer had woken him up at three in the afternoon, but she didn't have any proof.)
And that's why Willow was alone in the house with Dev when she woke up. As usual, she hadn't felt right leaving Dev unattended, so she'd piled several pillows on the floor and settled down to read a book that had nothing to do with anything supernatural whatsoever.
A noise drew her attention as she was turning a page, and her eyes automatically went to Dev. The bed was empty. Sucking in a shocked and scared breath, Willow jumped to her feet and edged around the bed to see the floor on the other side.
Dev was on her hands and knees, her head hanging low and those purple tresses hiding her face and dragging on the carpet. Without looking away, Willow took Angel's cell phone out of her pocket and dialed Spike's phone. He answered on the third ring.
"What?"
"You guys need to come back here," Willow choked out. "Now."
"Ten minutes," Spike replied, his voice clipped. The line went dead and Willow pushed several buttons before finally shutting the phone off. It dropped from her suddenly lifeless fingers.
Dev had pulled herself laboriously to her knees and was clutching the side of the bed to hold herself up. Willow knew better than to approach a hungry, injured and confused vampire. Especially one who had no idea who she was.
Moving slowly, Willow went to the small mini-fridge by the door. She'd gotten it several days ago so that there was blood close on hand during the vigil. Dev's face was drawn tight with pain and her huge blue eyes tracked Willow seemingly instinctively. Willow reached into the fridge and pulled out a bag of blood, holding it up for Dev to see. The vampire's eyes followed it, darkening and lighting at the same time. Willow removed her hand from the bad and it stayed adrift in mid-air. Dev didn't appear to notice anything unusual about the bag that floated to her.
Her face shifted and she dragged one hand from the side of the bed and fumbled it around the bag. With clumsy motions, she brought it to her mouth and drank it down. Three more bags were demolished in the next few minutes. Willow held up a fifth, but Dev shook her head. Awareness had come to her and she was watching Willow warily.
"Angel and the others will be back any minute now," Willow said softly, and Dev's eyes narrowed.
"I.I know you," Dev croaked in a voice unused to speaking.
"Not really," Willow denied, frowning. "I mean, there was the whole 'you possessed me' bit, but we've never met. I'm Willow."
Dev matched Willow's frown and tried to push herself to her feet, but she was still too weak and fell back on her heels again. The t-shirt had ridden up over her thighs and bunched around her waist.
Willow motioned at Dev and offered, "I could." Dev shook her head. "Right. Well, do you want a blanket or something?"
A long pause, then, "Yes."
Willow levitated one from over by the dresser, and this time Dev took note of the trick. Her lips curled into a snarl and she tried to fling herself at Willow, who had realized her mistake. Hadn't she been the one to tell the others that Dev had known that her captors had magic? If Dev's last memory of magic was it being used against her, to hurt her and keep her a prisoner, then it was no wonder she was ready to fight.
Willow let the blanket fall to the floor next to Dev and backed up, holding her hands out before her. "Hey, it's okay," she said soothingly. "I've been helping Spike, Angel and Dru take care of you."
The attempt to defend herself by attacking Willow seemed to sap Dev's energy and she collapsed back completely, lying on her back with her knees still tucked under her. It was a rather unnerving position to see a half- naked vampire in, but Willow pushed that thought aside.
"I just called them," Willow continued, her voice still quiet and calming. "They'll be here before you know it. They only went out because Dru was in a mood and they figured it would be best to let her stretch her legs. Well, figuratively, of course, since she can stretch her legs in the house just as well, but--"
"This isn't Angel's place."
Willow blinked. Dev had turned her head and was staring at her with those huge eyes of hers. "Well, no," Willow agreed. "But we couldn't stay there on account of the baddies tracking us down."
Dev's jaw set, and then she rolled on her side and pushed herself to her knees again. "Where are we, and why?" Dev growled suspiciously.
"Illinois, actually. Not far from Chicago," Willow supplied helpfully. "And we're here mainly because this is where we ended up when we finally got the baddies off our tail. Do you want some clothes?" she added incongruously, her voice laced with concern. "I mean, it probably makes you feel all vulnerable to be pantsless. I could get you something to put on if you want. A robe, maybe?"
Dev still looked distrustful and Willow sighed. "I know you're probably confused and scared--" Dev growled and Willow remembered that this was Spike's demon in the woman. Quickly backtracking, Willow corrected herself. "Confused and suspicious. But I'm sure you can smell the others. I mean, *I* can smell them and I don't even have your enhanced senses." She smiled sheepishly and shrugged. "Okay, so I can't, but you can. Go ahead," she urged Dev. "Sniff."
Her brows low, Dev flared her nostrils and then her eyes widened. Her head whipped around to stare at the room, her gaze stopping on a shirt of Angel's that was draped across the dresser, and the pack of Spike's cigarettes that were on top of the mini-fridge. She settled her sight on Willow and tilted her head.
"Yes, I can smell them," Dev agreed, hope in her eyes. "And you. I can smell you, too. I know you."
"Like I said, you kind of possessed me while you were out for the count," Willow reminded her. "Thanks for that, by the way. Because while it was way creepy, it also kept--"
"Dru from hurting you," Dev finished, her eyes wide. "You said you're Willow," Dev said in her husky voice, a thoughtful tone ringing through loud and clear. "Angel.Angel mentioned you. You restored his soul." Willow nodded excitedly. "You're Willow *and* you're her. I didn't see that coming."
Willow opened her mouth to question that statement but the door to the bedroom slammed opened. The three vampires tore into the room ready to rip someone to shreds, then came to a skidding halt and stared in shock at Dev. Their game faces slid off and they stayed frozen in position until Dev reached out a hand, tears in her eyes, and said, "Sires."
Flurries of movement, gasps of relief and joy, and then the four of them were a tangle of limbs and bodies on the floor next to the bed. Willow quietly left the room.
***
Spike gripped Dev's hand and helped her briefly to her feet. She swayed greatly, and he shifted his hold on her so that he could set her on the bed again. She rested against the headboard, and Spike sat next to her, face buried against her neck.
He was vaguely aware of Angel and Dru finding their own positions on the bed, claiming their own handholds, but it didn't matter. What mattered was Dev's hand on the back of his neck, her fingers awkwardly caressing his nape.
They stayed that way for a long while and then Spike sat up, dislodging her hand only long enough to take it into his own and place a kiss on the back of it. Drusilla was curled up on the other side of Dev, in the crook of her arm. Dev was holding her around the waist, pressing her close.
That was when he noticed that Angel wasn't on the bed, but was standing at the foot of it, watching them all with emotion-filled eyes. Dev met his gaze readily as she held Spike's hand and hugged Drusilla. Though Spike was loath to relinquish Dev even a little, he knew them both too damned well.
Standing, Spike lifted Dev to her feet once again and motioned Angel over. He came slowly, standing just in front of Dev for a long time and staring at her in wonder before Dev pushed herself from Spike and fell onto Angel. Spike stepped back and smiled as Angel gathered their child in his arms and held her like he'd never let go.
Eventually Dev pulled back, her face troubled, her body trembling. "I need-- "
Angel spun her in his arms so that her back was pressed to his chest. Then he sat on the bed, Dev situated in the vee of his legs. Spike climbed on the bed and shimmied to them on his knees, pressing one behind Angel and then shifting the other so that it ran along the length of Angel and Dev's legs. It was Angel that he felt. Angel's muscles intimately straining against his parted legs, pushed against his crotch.
Dru mimicked Spike's position on the other side of Angel, her knee pressing against Spike's, and her dress hiked to her waist to accommodate the position.
Dev sighed, her head moving as she looked from one sire to another. "Thank you," she whispered.
They shifted their faces and brought their wrists to their mouths, then raised their arms and pressed the wounds together so that the blood that flowed down towards Dev's upturned head and into her waiting mouth contained the essence of each of them.
Dev's face changed when the first bit of blood touched her lips, and Spike was damn glad to see the demon visage that had been absent since Los Angeles.
They let her drink her fill, reopening the wounds when they closed, until they were all on the point of collapse. Spike grabbed a blanket from the floor and wrapped it around Dev. Angel moved back on the bed, bringing Dev with him, and propped himself against the headboard. Spike and Dru laid next to them.
His vision was swimming, but Spike couldn't muster the energy to drag himself to the fridge on the other side of the room to get blood. He knew both Angel and Drusilla were just as weak as he was, and that Dev was probably in better shape than all of them despite her condition. When he could convince his mouth to speak, he'd ask if maybe she could get the blood for them.
There was a knock at the door and Spike stared blearily at it. Someone, maybe Angel, told the visitor to come in, and the door opened to reveal Willow. Spike smelled blood and he noticed the tray she was holding. Oh, he'd be her devoted servant forever if she gave him some of that.
Willow came to the bedside and set the tray on the nightstand before handing each of them a mug of warm blood. Spike brought it to his lips and drank it down greedily, holding it out to her a moment later.
"More," he growled.
He wasn't the only one that wanted seconds, and Willow shook her head indulgently as she took the mugs back and refilled them with the contents of a large black carafe that Spike hadn't noticed earlier.
Ten minutes and three helpings of blood later, Spike felt like he was almost in his right mind again, but exorbitantly tired. As were they all, if the slow movements and lazy blinking were anything to go by.
Willow walked around to the other side of the bed and Spike's eyes followed her. She bent over Dru's feet and easily removed her shoes, then reached up to let Dru's hair down. Spike felt his body still when he saw that. Dru got terrible headaches if she slept with her hair up.
What had happened, and how? Just a few months ago, even sweet and caring Willow wouldn't have bothered to be concerned about Drusilla's well-being, and there she was, running her hands through Dru's hair and massaging the tightness from her scalp. Dru sighed and smiled sleepily.
"So precious," she murmured before falling asleep.
Willow was at the foot of the bed then, this time divesting Angel of his shoes. "Hand over the belt, Angel," she said quietly. "I can't get to it."
Spike shifted his head and looked at Angel, noticing the frown of confusion on his face. Willow repeated her request and his hands moved automatically behind Dev, to his waist, and then emerged with his belt. Willow took it with a smile and then moved to Spike's side.
He stared up at her and she reached out and touched his hair. "Lift up so I can get the duster," she said lowly.
It took a few moments before he had shifted into the correct position to allow her to slide the duster from him. She folded it over her arm and then set it on the chair in the corner. Spike was now lying mostly on his back, and her small hands moved to his shirt and pulled it from his jeans before starting on the buttons. She'd undone three of them before his arm had obeyed his command and moved so that he could cover her hand in his.
He held it and she looked at him in confusion. Spike just stared at her and finally she smiled again and put her other hand over his and squeezed gently.
"Not a problem," she said with amusement and then shook his hand off of hers so that she could finish unbuttoning his overshirt. She left the dress shirt and the t-shirt on, as he preferred, then removed his boots.
Spike wiggled his toes in satisfaction and held out a hand to her. Willow shook her head and set about adjusting the blanket around the now-sleeping Dev.
"Go to sleep, Spike."
Then she was gone, flicking the light off as she went, and Spike was already halfway asleep, his arm still outreached for her.
***
She had a fair idea of why he'd dumped her off the sofa, and while she understood it on a certain level, she was still angered and hurt by it. She had thought they'd come to a point where the behavior of old had switched over to something...new. Where they weren't the vampire and the Slayer's friend, but Spike and Willow--vampire and adopted little sister of Aurelis.
With her resolve in place, Willow took up residence on the armchair when she made her way downstairs. Spike was situated on the sofa, and she pointedly ignored him as she tried to get comfortable. Which wasn't very easy, as she'd become accustomed to stretching out on the couch. But she did her best, and eventually was situated sideways on the cushy chair, her back against one padded arm, and her legs draped over the other.
The silence was more than a little tense. It was tense to about the eight millionth degree. This time, though, Spike was the one who seemed to be uncomfortable with it. Knowing she was in the right, Willow determinedly watched the infomercial that was on. It had something to do with storage bags, and she didn't understand why Spike was leaving it on, but she kept her mouth shut and watched.
Focusing on the inane host got more difficult as the minutes past. After the adrenaline rush that had accompanied her fall to the floor last night, she had been so wired that it had taken hours to fall asleep, but her stupid internal clock had forced her body awake at dusk anyway. Despite that she'd only been up for about an hour, Willow fell asleep on the chair. When something woke her, however, she was more than a little surprised at where she found herself.
"Spike?"
"Yeah?"
"Uh, how'd I get on the sofa?" she asked uncertainly, her jaw moving against his thigh as she spoke.
"I moved you," he said simply.
Willow frowned. "Oh," she replied, then, "Why?"
There was no answer forthcoming, but Willow realized that she didn't need one. Spike didn't make with words generally, and never with apologies. He said everything with actions, and he'd just apologized to her.
"Go back to sleep, luv."
Willow smiled softly. "Okay."
***
Things went more smoothly than Angel could have hoped for over the next couple of days. Willow and Spike's discussions still occurred, but they were more light-hearted now. No longer did they stomp away angry, but parted ways with smirks and rolling eyes.
Willow's laughter often sounded through the house and Spike smiled more freely now. Real smiles, not smirks, that Angel had only seen bestowed on a selected few.
But there was more between the two of them than they wanted to admit. He'd seen the truth of that in Willow's pained gaze after Spike had shoved her to the floor. He'd even seen it in Spike's tight features when Willow had fled upstairs.
Then there was the touching. A new and surprising turn of events. They always shared the sofa now, and Willow was forever lying on Spike in some way--her head or feet resting on his lap while he absently pet her. Angel knew it had initially begun with Spike making up for his, well, Spike Behavior, but he doubted either of them had examined too closely why it had continued.
Dru seemed troubled and hopeful by it all, as did Angel. But they agreed that the only thing they could do was wait and see, and hopefully help with the clean up should things go as badly as they could.
***
Willow woke up gasping for breath, her heart pounding from a nightmare. It had been filled with vague terrifying and painful sensations. There may have been images, but Willow's mind saw fit to strip the memory from her conscious brain, and she was grateful.
It was the fifth night in a row, and as she slid out of bed on trembling knees to change her sweaty clothes and sheets, she began to think something was going on. She'd told Spike that stress had been causing her fatigue, but now she didn't think that was the case. There wasn't much stress in the house when Spike wasn't trying to impart lessons in his own imitable way. In fact, it was rather...nice.
So what was with the nightmares?
The only answer she could come up with was that it had to do with the shield. But she wasn't sure if her body was just taxed by the sharing of her magic, or if something nefarious was going on. She was voting for nefarious, mainly because it was what she was used to. When she thought about it, though, she had another reason to think that. In her nightmares-- she hadn't been herself. She'd been someone else. And she thought the "someone else" she'd been was Dev.
It was possible that she was picking up on Dev's fears via the shield. But it was also possible that the bad guys had found a way to somehow attack Willow's shield.
That was troubling, since Dev was under that shield and completely vulnerable. Sighing, Willow took several books from her trunk, then traversed downstairs to her laptop. As sunset approached, Willow shut down the computer and brought the books upstairs. At the top landing she bit her lip and frowned at Dev's door, then found herself opening it and peeking inside.
Dev's injuries had begun healing by leaps and bounds, and Angel had estimated last night that it would be only a week until she was whole again. He'd told her that quietly, eyes unashamedly filled with tears as he stared at her.
Spike was lying on his back on the bed, Dev pulled into the crook of his arm. His eyes flew open as soon as the door opened, and he growled menacingly before he registered that it was Willow at the door. She smiled distractedly, staring at the aperture in Dev's abdomen, which had closed so much that it was now only two inches in diameter.
"What's up, pet?" Spike asked, frowning at her. "Everything all right?"
"Just wanted to check in," Willow mumbled. "How's she doing?"
He smiled, and his eyes lit up brightly. "Doing good, thanks to you."
Willow saw only those eyes, shining and happy, and in her mind she saw Angel's eyes, wet with unshed tears, and imagined Dru's eyes filled with sanity as Spike had told her had happened.
"Um, good," she said quietly. "I'm just going to...just...bye."
She fled, Spike calling after her, and hid in her room. Besides the conscious vampires, there was also a promise she'd made to Dev in a motel room.
Trembling slightly, Willow lit several candles. She wasn't sure if she'd be able to do this without having physical contact with Dev, but she didn't have a choice in the matter. If Angel and the others knew that the baddies had found a way to attack the shield without knowing who Willow was, if they knew what she was about to attempt to do to keep Dev safe from it, then they'd tie her up and lock her away to keep her from trying.
She sat in the center of the room, focusing her energy, her magic, her power and bending it to her will. She cut the cord between herself and Dev, effectively dividing her magic in two parts. But not equal parts. She gave more to Dev than she did to herself.
Once the division was completed, Willow focused on Dev and then followed a line of connection to Dru, who was sitting quietly while Angel read to her in the third bedroom. Drusilla felt the tug, but Willow gently shushed the vampire and withdrew a small amount of Dru and put it aside. She did the same with Spike and Angel, neither of whom noticed her at all. With Angel, she was careful to not take any portion that had her own signature on it.
Willow combined all three energies and then sent them to Dev, wrapping it around her shield in a thin layer. As a protective measure against an attack, it was useless. But as a disguise...it was perfect. There wasn't anything Willow could do to prevent an attack, but she could damn well make sure the vampire didn't bear any brunt of it.
When it was done, Willow slumped forward, breathing heavily and feeling her heart race out of control. She wanted to get up and snuff out the candles, but she just didn't have the energy. She wanted to look up at whoever had just come into her room, but even panic couldn't motivate her into movement.
"You've been naughty, precious," she heard Dru murmur. "Our Angel won't be pleased."
"Don't--don't--don't--tell anyone," Willow whispered. "Please, Dru."
"Shhh," Dru cooed. Willow saw her settle next to her and then felt Dru's hands in her hair, rubbing her head and urging her closer. "We shall keep a secret, shall we? I'm very good at that." The candles were put out somehow, and then Drusilla had lifted Willow and set her on her bed. "Now, rest."
"Thank you."
***
Willow wasn't sure what Dru had done, but Spike didn't come pounding on her door as soon as the sun had set, which was his normal routine. Willow owed her something big for that, because even though she'd slept for quite a few hours after Dru had tucked her in, she was barely awake. And that hung-over feeling was back in full force.
She stumbled from her room and went to Dev's, hoping to find Drusilla in there and intending to ask her to do a little mojo, like she'd done in the motel shower while they'd been on the road. But Angel was in with Dev, and he frowned when he saw her.
"You look awful," he commented, pressing a kiss to Dev's hair and then leaving the bed to stand in front of Willow. "What's wrong?"
Willow stared at him uncomprehendingly for a moment. "Sick," she finally muttered. It was the best lie she could come up with and it wasn't altogether untruthful, either. "Dru?"
"She and Spike went out," Angel replied. He took her arm and led her to the bed. Willow collapsed onto it and Angel crouched down in front of her. "Do you need anything? What should I get you?" he asked worriedly.
In response, she yawned hugely and struggled to get her eyes open again. Angel gently pushed her back and then slid her under the covers. "Why don't you lay down and get some rest?" he said softly. "I'll be right here if you need anything."
She could feel the nightmare in the back of her mind, waiting to come out, and she blindly grabbed at Angel's arm. He could have pulled out of her grip, but instead he let her draw him next to her on the bed.
It wasn't the same as Spike, her sleepy mind decided as Angel lay next to her. She didn't feel as confident in Angel's ability to keep her safe for some reason. But having him there did allow her to let her guard down just enough that she was able to slide gently into sleep.
***
Spike opened the door to Dev's room, then stopped dead in his tracks and stared at the sight before him. Willow was on the bed, tucked in between Angel and Dev. She looked so...small next to Angel's bulk, and so fragile next to Dev's strength.
Behind him, Drusilla sighed. She pressed against his back and wrapped her arms around his waist. "It's right," she said into his ear.
"What is?" Spike asked harshly, still staring at the bed. Willow was on her side, facing Dev, and one of Angel's arms was curled around her waist; the other was under her head. "Her cozying up to Angel?"
He felt Dru shake her head. "No. Her. She's right."
That made no sense whatsoever, and Spike didn't really feel like prying sense out of Dru at the moment. He was too bothered by the scene on the bed. Willow sandwiched in between two vampires. Two souled vampires.
He tried to leave the room, but Angel opened his eyes then. "She's not feeling well," he told Spike and Dru. "She was looking for Dru earlier and I thought she should stay in here in case she needed anything."
Spike narrowed his eyes and took another look at Willow. There was a sheen of sweat all over her body, and her heart was racing. He could hear it from where he stood. Dru made a small sound of distress and released Spike, hurrying to the bed.
She leaned across Angel and placed her hands on Willow's face. "Precious," she murmured, sounding upset.
"What's wrong with her, luv?" Spike asked, striving to sound casual. Willow generally didn't get sick. A mild cold here and there, sure. But nothing that made her bed-bound. At least, not that he'd seen.
Dru ignored him, caressing Willow's face once more before she moved to the other side of the bed and laid down on her side on the very edge. Then she reached for Dev and pulled her closer, positioning the unconscious vampire on her side as well, and cradling her gently.
"Spike," Dru called. She gestured at the space that was now open between Dev and Willow, patting it and making it clear that she expected him to join them.
"Drusilla," Angel began, but she hushed him. Their eyes met for a long while, and then Angel nodded. "Spike, get in bed."
"Why?" he asked, frowning. "What's going on?"
"Shut up and do it," Angel growled, shutting his eyes again.
Spike inched his way to the bed, uncomfortable and unsure of what the hell was going on. Sure, the vampires had all shared beds often back in the day, but not often. It had generally been--his head snapped up. It had generally been when one of them had been injured. They'd done it for Dev, as well. Several times, actually, since they'd all reunited in Los Angeles. Even though Angel's double bed hadn't really been conducive to it. This king- sized bed, on the other hand...wait.
"Willow's not a vampire," he reminded them all.
Angel snorted and pointed at the open spot without even opening his eyes again. "I wasn't making a request," he said harshly.
Spike rolled his eyes and kicked his books off, then shrugged out of the duster and let it fall. He unbuttoned the red shirt he was wearing, then finally made his way to the foot of the bed. It was an awkward climb, seeing as how he was trying to be careful of the injured Dev, and trying not to wake the sleeping Willow. Finally he was wedged in, but had to turn on his side in order to be comfortable at all. With a blank face, he turned to Dev, giving Willow his back.
Dru's eyes shot daggers at him and he glared at her. Her arm was still stretched out so that she was touching Willow's hair, and he had no choice but to rest his head on her arm. He felt her muscles shifting under her skin as she apparently tangled her hand in Willow's hair.
"Go to sleep," Angel ordered.
Dru closed her eyes. Spike did the same, thinking that sleep was likely to take a while, but a few minutes later, Willow shifted away from Angel. She flung her arm around Spike's middle and pulled herself closer to him until her front was pressed against his back. A soft sigh tickled his ear and Spike relaxed.
***
Willow couldn't get out of the nightmare. She knew she was dreaming, knew she could wake herself up as she had the other times, but she was so tired that she couldn't make it happen. She was forced to endure the fear and terror, the pain and agony. Forced to see rabbit-quick flashes of razor blades and crosses coming at her.
But then something happened. Something that she knew she had had no hand in whatsoever. The dream shifted. She suddenly found herself in a dark room. On a large and ostentatious bed. Soft candles flickered in sconces along the stone walls, and music played quietly in the background. It was disturbing. But not as disturbing as the fact that Spike was lying next to her. He was sprawled on his stomach with an arm and leg thrown over her.
Willow almost squeaked with surprise, and tried to get free.
"Precious."
Freezing, Willow scanned the room with her eyes until they finally alit on Drusilla, who was standing in the center of the room, watching her with a small smile.
"Uh, hi," Willow stammered. "What's going on? Where am I?"
A frown pulled at Dru's features. "Poor precious was trapped somewhere bad."
"A nightmare," Willow confirmed. "So how'd I get here?"
"You didn't like the bad place," Dru went on, "so I tried to bring you some place you liked, a place where you could rest so that you don't get trapped in the bad place again. Somewhere you felt...safe."
Willow's eyes skirted around again. "Oh. But I, uh, don't know this place."
"I couldn't find your safe place," she mewled. "And I tried so many of them."
"Yeah, well," Willow sighed. "I live over the Hellmouth, Dru. Even 'safe as houses' doesn't apply. Where are we?"
A wide smile graced her features, and she moved forward, her eyes sliding between Spike and Willow. "I decided to share my safe place with you," she said helpfully, her eyes cagey. At the foot of the bed she came to a stop and tilted her head. "But you surprised me. It's your safe place too, but I didn't think to try it."
Even in a dream Drusilla was impossible to decipher. "I don't know this place," Willow repeated with a frown. "And while I appreciate your sharing it," she went on uncomfortably, again trying to squirm away from the vampire next to her, "is it really necessary for Spike to be here?"
Dru knelt on the edge of the bed and Willow saw the edges of her sight blur. The room changed. Not just once, but many times. Outside, inside; bedrooms, studies; daylight, moonlight; beds and floors. Through it all, only one thing remained consistent.
"Spike is your safe place," Willow breathed, staring wide-eyed at Dru as her surroundings returned to the original room.
"Once upon a time, he was," Dru confirmed, lowering her head and smiling softly. "He was my prince."
Willow frowned. "Dru?" The vampire looked at her expectantly. "Why didn't you...take him back? In Brazil?"
"I wanted to," Drusilla admitted in a small voice. "Wanted to be his princess again. But he wasn't the same." A distressed frown pulled at her features, and her hands tangled in her long skirt. "Only I am the same; everyone else becomes different." A pang of sympathy filled Willow. "Some things...some things are immutable," Dru breathed, her eyes far away. "I am immutable."
And she was, Willow realized. Made unassailable by Angelus after he had fractured her mind for his own amusement. She would forever be this winsomely lovely dark child, brutal and mercurial, with her dolls and frocks, and that lightning quick strike.
"Come here," Willow said gently. "There's room for you, too."
But Drusilla shook her head, that bright smile coming back to her face. "No, precious. I told you, he is no longer my safe place."
"What is your safe place now?" Drusilla remained silent and Willow's eyes widened in alarm. "You need a safe place, Dru!"
The vampire's lips parted in what seemed to be shock. "You're upset, precious," she whispered.
A long silence passed while Willow processed the fact that she was, indeed, concerned for Dru. Not just at this particular moment, but overall. For all the vampire's strength and power, she was...vulnerable. So open to pain and hurt that she couldn't fully express or understand. And now she had no place to retreat, to escape and feel safe and protected. Drusilla needed a place like that, because Willow suddenly realized that Dru's nightmares and fears didn't accost her only in sleep, but in her every waking hour.
"Yeah," Willow acknowledged. "I'm upset."
Dru's eyes darkened and her lip trembled. "You worry for me," she said, amazement in her child-like voice. "You are strong where I am weak."
"I don't know about all that," Willow said carefully. She held out her hand, and Drusilla tilted her head to the side and stared at it. "But I--I guess I care for you. I don't know how it happened, and two months ago I wouldn't have believed it *could* happen. I don't want you to not have a place, Drusilla."
"It's been such a long time. Nowhere to hide and laugh and dance and tea. But...but now..." Drusilla's hand clasped hers gently, and she reached out with her free hand to touch Willow's cheek almost reverently. "My Devil is safe because of you. Her life is in your hands, and you hold it so very carefully, not spilling even a drop." Her hand tightened around Willow's. "Would you do that for me, precious?" she asked, her eyes boring into Willow's. "Would you hold me carefully so that I do not spill or crack or tumble from high?"
Would she? Right then, staring into the depthless brown of Drusilla's eyes-- eyes that spoke of a fear so great Willow felt tears fall down her cheeks-- there was only one answer to that question. "Yes. I would."
Without another word, Drusilla climbed into the bed on Willow's other side, laid her head on Willow's chest, and was asleep almost instantly. Willow stared from Spike's protective embrace, to Dru nestled protectively against her, and marveled at how quickly things could become so tangled.
Tangled in a way that wasn't bad now, but would be so difficult to extract herself from when she went back to the real world.
***
Coming awake between cold bodies was jarring, and Willow froze like a deer in the headlights as she tried to process what was going on. In her dream, the one after the nightmare, there'd been Spike and Dru. But she wasn't dreaming now, and she should have been alone in her bed.
Except...she vaguely remembered wandering into Dev's room, groggy and weak, and being settled in Dev's bed by Angel. And...had she really pulled him into bed? Hesitantly, Willow opened her eyes and saw a broad back in her line of sight. Through the white material of an undershirt she could make out the shapes and colors of a tattoo. She squeezed her eyes shut. Yes, apparently she had pulled Angel into bed. How horrifyingly embarrassing.
Another troubling thought niggled at her mind. Angel's back was to her, but there was an arm across her waist. An arm that was strong and covered by red silk and definitely did not belong to Dev, who should have been the only other body in the bed. Whimpering slightly, Willow pried one eye open and followed the arm to Spike's shoulder. The eye slammed shut again.
"Bloody hell," Spike exclaimed suddenly. Willow screamed in surprise and bolted into a sitting position. Spike shoved her towards Angel and lifted his head to glare at her. "Could you do the freak out somewhere else? Damn heartbeat's louder than a train and it bloody woke me up!"
Willow didn't respond, mainly because she was too busy trying to get her breathing under control. "How--but--you are such a *jerk*!"
"Relax, Will," Angel said calmly. He changed position and sat up next to her. "You weren't feeling well last night and we were just staying with you. Are you feeling better?"
They were staying with her? Willow looked around. Angel was on her left, concerned. Spike was on her right, grumpy and irritated. Next to him was Dev, who was--well, looking a whole lot better, and was actually dressed for a change. Had she been dressed last night? Willow struggled to remember and realized that, yes, Dev had been wearing a t-shirt when she'd stumbled in and asked Angel where Drusilla was. Speaking of Drusilla, she was lounging on her side, her face buried against Dev's hair and her wide eyes staring at Willow knowingly.
That stare made Willow frown. She'd been dreaming, hadn't she? That whole Spike and Dru thing hadn't been real...had it?
"Immutable," Drusilla murmured, and Willow's eyes widened. Okay, so not a dream.
"Willow?" Angel asked softly.
"What? Oh," Willow said in confusion. "I'm fine now and why did you guys stay with me?"
"Part of the package deal," Spike said, his voice still deep with sleep. "What the hell was wrong with you?"
Willow met Drusilla's eyes across Spike and Dev, and knew that the vampire hadn't, and wouldn't, tell anyone what Willow had done. "Just a...bug, I guess," Willow said hesitantly. "I felt kinda weak and really tired."
"And you're fine now?" Angel pushed.
Eyes not leaving Dru, Willow said, "Yeah, I rested and things are better now."
Dru's eyes lit up and she smiled at Willow, who returned it. She thought she should be bothered that she had agreed to be a vampire's safe place, but she couldn't be, no matter how hard she tried. Drusilla had been so concerned about Willow that she'd gone into Willow's dreams and helped her. For no other reason than Willow was part of the "family". There had been talk of obligations and hierarchies when Angel had explained it all to her. It only made sense that she live up to her end of the deal.
"We danced under the stars last night, precious," Drusilla sang liltingly. "It was like it used to be, but not, and better. They told me more secrets, too," she added with a cagey smile. "Told me of rumbles and pitter-patters. Should have remembered that when I saw you. But now I know."
"That's...good," Willow said, her smile a bit forced. Despite everything else, she still couldn't understand Dru most of the time.
"It's not even dusk yet," Spike complained. "Take the girl talk somewhere else."
"No. Precious needs more rest," Drusilla countered. Her brows pulled together. "She needs her strength. Go back to sleep," she told Willow firmly.
"But I'm not tired," Willow protested, though the truth of that statement was belied by the huge yawn that followed. Angel lay back down and pulled her with him, moving her on her side so that there was enough room for all of them.
Willow found herself face to face with Spike, who blinked at her and then looked away. "I'll just, uh, go back to my room now," she said quickly, starting to sit up again.
To her surprise, it wasn't Angel's hand that kept her from moving, but Spike's. "Stay," he said quietly, eyes guarded, hand resting on her waist. Willow tilted her head to the side and frowned. "Stay," he said again, this time a little uncomfortably.
"All right," she said, confused. She settled down again and his hand didn't move. When he closed his eyes, she stared at him. Spike was her safe place, according to the dream. But, why Spike? She remembered waking up with her head on his lap, remembered thinking that she trusted him to keep them both alive. But she trusted Angel, too, didn't she? Even more than Spike, right?
But she didn't. The thought had flittered through her mind when she'd pulled Angel to the bed. It was because of the soul, she realized. There were things Angel wouldn't do, because of it. Generally that was a good thing. But when it came to making her feel secure, those verboten things left a lot of loopholes that could get her killed. There wasn't anything Spike wouldn't do to keep her safe. Even taking a plank in his own chest.
Her eyes slid shut and she moved away from Angel and pressed herself against Spike. He froze for a moment, then his arm curled around her back and held her to him.
***
The following days saw a shift in the routine of the house. The group rarely strayed from Dev's room as they waited with baited breath for some sign that the vampire was going to regain consciousness. There were no games now, though, just tense bodies that spun towards the bed at any strange sound. Willow and Angel had taken to reading during the vigil, unless Dru was in the mood to spin yarns for Dev. Then, they put aside their books and watched her act out whatever drama her mind had dreamed up.
When Dru wasn't feeling up to tell tales, then she generally pampered Dev, bringing in a basin of water and a sponge to wash her, painting her nails and brushing her hair. Spike simply paced, no matter what else was happening in the room. And smoked so constantly that Willow had gone out to the store one evening with Angel and purchased a fan to suck the cloud of smoke out the window.
During the day they slept. In Dev's room. In Dev's bed. All of them. Willow had tried to resist, but she'd been weak and still "sickly" for two days after she'd cut Dev off, and Angel had insisted she stay in with them in case something happened. She'd found that the safe place Dru had helped her find, combined with the strong cold bodies around her, the nightmares didn't even get a chance to rear their ugly heads, though she could feel them prowling around, trying to find a way in. But there wasn't one, and they eventually slunk away petulantly. She hadn't returned to her solitary bed, and no one had asked her to.
The room was cramped with five of them occupying it all the time, and Spike's limited pacing area put him in all of their faces. Every once in a while Angel would reach out a foot, trip him to the floor, and growl a warning that he stay there. It usually lasted an hour at the most, then the pacing would continue. When it got to making her dizzy, Willow would grab his hand in the middle of his circuit and yawn, and Spike would sigh in a very put upon manner and sit next to her so that she could use his thigh as a pillow. Sometimes she fell asleep, but most of the time she just lay there quietly.
Wesley called three times, each time indicating that none of the entries he'd backtracked could be linked to Dev's kidnapping and torture. He pressed on, though, hoping something would crop up. Willow was beginning to feel less hopeful and was glad she'd been able to convince Angel to let her do the healing spell. It wouldn't be long now until Dev woke up. Her injuries had healed completed by the fourth day of the vigil, and they expected her to regain consciousness soon.
On the sixth night, Dru spent two hours pouting and taunting the vampires. Angel strong-armed her and Spike out of the house, tossing one of the cell phones at Willow since there wasn't a phone jack in Dev's room and no one could seem to find the cordless anywhere. (Willow thought Spike had smashed the things to bit one day when a telemarketer had woken him up at three in the afternoon, but she didn't have any proof.)
And that's why Willow was alone in the house with Dev when she woke up. As usual, she hadn't felt right leaving Dev unattended, so she'd piled several pillows on the floor and settled down to read a book that had nothing to do with anything supernatural whatsoever.
A noise drew her attention as she was turning a page, and her eyes automatically went to Dev. The bed was empty. Sucking in a shocked and scared breath, Willow jumped to her feet and edged around the bed to see the floor on the other side.
Dev was on her hands and knees, her head hanging low and those purple tresses hiding her face and dragging on the carpet. Without looking away, Willow took Angel's cell phone out of her pocket and dialed Spike's phone. He answered on the third ring.
"What?"
"You guys need to come back here," Willow choked out. "Now."
"Ten minutes," Spike replied, his voice clipped. The line went dead and Willow pushed several buttons before finally shutting the phone off. It dropped from her suddenly lifeless fingers.
Dev had pulled herself laboriously to her knees and was clutching the side of the bed to hold herself up. Willow knew better than to approach a hungry, injured and confused vampire. Especially one who had no idea who she was.
Moving slowly, Willow went to the small mini-fridge by the door. She'd gotten it several days ago so that there was blood close on hand during the vigil. Dev's face was drawn tight with pain and her huge blue eyes tracked Willow seemingly instinctively. Willow reached into the fridge and pulled out a bag of blood, holding it up for Dev to see. The vampire's eyes followed it, darkening and lighting at the same time. Willow removed her hand from the bad and it stayed adrift in mid-air. Dev didn't appear to notice anything unusual about the bag that floated to her.
Her face shifted and she dragged one hand from the side of the bed and fumbled it around the bag. With clumsy motions, she brought it to her mouth and drank it down. Three more bags were demolished in the next few minutes. Willow held up a fifth, but Dev shook her head. Awareness had come to her and she was watching Willow warily.
"Angel and the others will be back any minute now," Willow said softly, and Dev's eyes narrowed.
"I.I know you," Dev croaked in a voice unused to speaking.
"Not really," Willow denied, frowning. "I mean, there was the whole 'you possessed me' bit, but we've never met. I'm Willow."
Dev matched Willow's frown and tried to push herself to her feet, but she was still too weak and fell back on her heels again. The t-shirt had ridden up over her thighs and bunched around her waist.
Willow motioned at Dev and offered, "I could." Dev shook her head. "Right. Well, do you want a blanket or something?"
A long pause, then, "Yes."
Willow levitated one from over by the dresser, and this time Dev took note of the trick. Her lips curled into a snarl and she tried to fling herself at Willow, who had realized her mistake. Hadn't she been the one to tell the others that Dev had known that her captors had magic? If Dev's last memory of magic was it being used against her, to hurt her and keep her a prisoner, then it was no wonder she was ready to fight.
Willow let the blanket fall to the floor next to Dev and backed up, holding her hands out before her. "Hey, it's okay," she said soothingly. "I've been helping Spike, Angel and Dru take care of you."
The attempt to defend herself by attacking Willow seemed to sap Dev's energy and she collapsed back completely, lying on her back with her knees still tucked under her. It was a rather unnerving position to see a half- naked vampire in, but Willow pushed that thought aside.
"I just called them," Willow continued, her voice still quiet and calming. "They'll be here before you know it. They only went out because Dru was in a mood and they figured it would be best to let her stretch her legs. Well, figuratively, of course, since she can stretch her legs in the house just as well, but--"
"This isn't Angel's place."
Willow blinked. Dev had turned her head and was staring at her with those huge eyes of hers. "Well, no," Willow agreed. "But we couldn't stay there on account of the baddies tracking us down."
Dev's jaw set, and then she rolled on her side and pushed herself to her knees again. "Where are we, and why?" Dev growled suspiciously.
"Illinois, actually. Not far from Chicago," Willow supplied helpfully. "And we're here mainly because this is where we ended up when we finally got the baddies off our tail. Do you want some clothes?" she added incongruously, her voice laced with concern. "I mean, it probably makes you feel all vulnerable to be pantsless. I could get you something to put on if you want. A robe, maybe?"
Dev still looked distrustful and Willow sighed. "I know you're probably confused and scared--" Dev growled and Willow remembered that this was Spike's demon in the woman. Quickly backtracking, Willow corrected herself. "Confused and suspicious. But I'm sure you can smell the others. I mean, *I* can smell them and I don't even have your enhanced senses." She smiled sheepishly and shrugged. "Okay, so I can't, but you can. Go ahead," she urged Dev. "Sniff."
Her brows low, Dev flared her nostrils and then her eyes widened. Her head whipped around to stare at the room, her gaze stopping on a shirt of Angel's that was draped across the dresser, and the pack of Spike's cigarettes that were on top of the mini-fridge. She settled her sight on Willow and tilted her head.
"Yes, I can smell them," Dev agreed, hope in her eyes. "And you. I can smell you, too. I know you."
"Like I said, you kind of possessed me while you were out for the count," Willow reminded her. "Thanks for that, by the way. Because while it was way creepy, it also kept--"
"Dru from hurting you," Dev finished, her eyes wide. "You said you're Willow," Dev said in her husky voice, a thoughtful tone ringing through loud and clear. "Angel.Angel mentioned you. You restored his soul." Willow nodded excitedly. "You're Willow *and* you're her. I didn't see that coming."
Willow opened her mouth to question that statement but the door to the bedroom slammed opened. The three vampires tore into the room ready to rip someone to shreds, then came to a skidding halt and stared in shock at Dev. Their game faces slid off and they stayed frozen in position until Dev reached out a hand, tears in her eyes, and said, "Sires."
Flurries of movement, gasps of relief and joy, and then the four of them were a tangle of limbs and bodies on the floor next to the bed. Willow quietly left the room.
***
Spike gripped Dev's hand and helped her briefly to her feet. She swayed greatly, and he shifted his hold on her so that he could set her on the bed again. She rested against the headboard, and Spike sat next to her, face buried against her neck.
He was vaguely aware of Angel and Dru finding their own positions on the bed, claiming their own handholds, but it didn't matter. What mattered was Dev's hand on the back of his neck, her fingers awkwardly caressing his nape.
They stayed that way for a long while and then Spike sat up, dislodging her hand only long enough to take it into his own and place a kiss on the back of it. Drusilla was curled up on the other side of Dev, in the crook of her arm. Dev was holding her around the waist, pressing her close.
That was when he noticed that Angel wasn't on the bed, but was standing at the foot of it, watching them all with emotion-filled eyes. Dev met his gaze readily as she held Spike's hand and hugged Drusilla. Though Spike was loath to relinquish Dev even a little, he knew them both too damned well.
Standing, Spike lifted Dev to her feet once again and motioned Angel over. He came slowly, standing just in front of Dev for a long time and staring at her in wonder before Dev pushed herself from Spike and fell onto Angel. Spike stepped back and smiled as Angel gathered their child in his arms and held her like he'd never let go.
Eventually Dev pulled back, her face troubled, her body trembling. "I need-- "
Angel spun her in his arms so that her back was pressed to his chest. Then he sat on the bed, Dev situated in the vee of his legs. Spike climbed on the bed and shimmied to them on his knees, pressing one behind Angel and then shifting the other so that it ran along the length of Angel and Dev's legs. It was Angel that he felt. Angel's muscles intimately straining against his parted legs, pushed against his crotch.
Dru mimicked Spike's position on the other side of Angel, her knee pressing against Spike's, and her dress hiked to her waist to accommodate the position.
Dev sighed, her head moving as she looked from one sire to another. "Thank you," she whispered.
They shifted their faces and brought their wrists to their mouths, then raised their arms and pressed the wounds together so that the blood that flowed down towards Dev's upturned head and into her waiting mouth contained the essence of each of them.
Dev's face changed when the first bit of blood touched her lips, and Spike was damn glad to see the demon visage that had been absent since Los Angeles.
They let her drink her fill, reopening the wounds when they closed, until they were all on the point of collapse. Spike grabbed a blanket from the floor and wrapped it around Dev. Angel moved back on the bed, bringing Dev with him, and propped himself against the headboard. Spike and Dru laid next to them.
His vision was swimming, but Spike couldn't muster the energy to drag himself to the fridge on the other side of the room to get blood. He knew both Angel and Drusilla were just as weak as he was, and that Dev was probably in better shape than all of them despite her condition. When he could convince his mouth to speak, he'd ask if maybe she could get the blood for them.
There was a knock at the door and Spike stared blearily at it. Someone, maybe Angel, told the visitor to come in, and the door opened to reveal Willow. Spike smelled blood and he noticed the tray she was holding. Oh, he'd be her devoted servant forever if she gave him some of that.
Willow came to the bedside and set the tray on the nightstand before handing each of them a mug of warm blood. Spike brought it to his lips and drank it down greedily, holding it out to her a moment later.
"More," he growled.
He wasn't the only one that wanted seconds, and Willow shook her head indulgently as she took the mugs back and refilled them with the contents of a large black carafe that Spike hadn't noticed earlier.
Ten minutes and three helpings of blood later, Spike felt like he was almost in his right mind again, but exorbitantly tired. As were they all, if the slow movements and lazy blinking were anything to go by.
Willow walked around to the other side of the bed and Spike's eyes followed her. She bent over Dru's feet and easily removed her shoes, then reached up to let Dru's hair down. Spike felt his body still when he saw that. Dru got terrible headaches if she slept with her hair up.
What had happened, and how? Just a few months ago, even sweet and caring Willow wouldn't have bothered to be concerned about Drusilla's well-being, and there she was, running her hands through Dru's hair and massaging the tightness from her scalp. Dru sighed and smiled sleepily.
"So precious," she murmured before falling asleep.
Willow was at the foot of the bed then, this time divesting Angel of his shoes. "Hand over the belt, Angel," she said quietly. "I can't get to it."
Spike shifted his head and looked at Angel, noticing the frown of confusion on his face. Willow repeated her request and his hands moved automatically behind Dev, to his waist, and then emerged with his belt. Willow took it with a smile and then moved to Spike's side.
He stared up at her and she reached out and touched his hair. "Lift up so I can get the duster," she said lowly.
It took a few moments before he had shifted into the correct position to allow her to slide the duster from him. She folded it over her arm and then set it on the chair in the corner. Spike was now lying mostly on his back, and her small hands moved to his shirt and pulled it from his jeans before starting on the buttons. She'd undone three of them before his arm had obeyed his command and moved so that he could cover her hand in his.
He held it and she looked at him in confusion. Spike just stared at her and finally she smiled again and put her other hand over his and squeezed gently.
"Not a problem," she said with amusement and then shook his hand off of hers so that she could finish unbuttoning his overshirt. She left the dress shirt and the t-shirt on, as he preferred, then removed his boots.
Spike wiggled his toes in satisfaction and held out a hand to her. Willow shook her head and set about adjusting the blanket around the now-sleeping Dev.
"Go to sleep, Spike."
Then she was gone, flicking the light off as she went, and Spike was already halfway asleep, his arm still outreached for her.
***