Part 18

In the early hours of the morning Xander wearily paced the floor in his apartment. He'd been so concerned about the skinned body found at his construction site that he'd let his worry about Willow take a backseat. Well, it hadn't really taken his mind off Willow but it had been a diversion from the dreams.

Diversion?! Xander stopped dead in his tracks and his mind began to race. Had it been a diversion of some kind? He'd told Giles that he was going in search of Willow and the next night there was a skinned body dumped where he worked. Sure it had been Hellmouthy related but Xander never was one to believe in coincidences. Then there was Spike's chip suddenly acting all wonky.

He sunk down onto a nearby chair and replayed all that had happened to him and the others since finding out about Willow, Graham and her involvement with the demon community. First, there was D'Hoffryn going after Anya, then the Gnarl demon and at the same time Spike's chip went wonky. Xander furrowed his brow in concentration.

Wait… before D'Hoffryn there was Riley. Well, Riley wasn't a diversion per se but he was there being all helpful guy. Since when was Agent Finn helpful guy?  He would never have told them about Graham being Hunter, meeting Willow and taking her over to the 'dark side' in his Initiative Days. Yeah, okay he was no longer in the Initiative and Riley helped with demon destruction last time he and Sam were in Sunnydale but Riley's corps discipline hadn't changed since his UCSunnydale days.

His mind whirled as all the information clicked into place. He may not be soldier guy anymore or have the weapon training but his years with Willow and Giles had honed his thinking skills.  He hadn't been the Zeppo in a long time.

Xander reached for the phone but his hand stopped in mid-reach. Did he really want to bring Giles and Buffy into this? Angel. The last few dreams he'd had of Willow featured Angel in it. If he didn't know where Willow was he certainly knew enough to send Xander in the right direction to find her again.

With his mind firmly made up, he reached for the phone and dialed the number of his boss.

"Hal? Hey, it's me Xander.  I hate to do this to you on such short notice but I have to go out of town for a few days. Family Emergency."

"Everything okay, Harris?"

"Yeah, yeah. Everything's fine. I'm not sure how long this will take but hopefully the most will be a week."

"Don't worry about it. You're covered. Just call if it lasts longer, okay?"

Xander smiled at Hal's concern, "Okay and thanks."  Xander hung up the phone with just a little bit of guilt. He hadn't lied it was a family emergency. Willow was family.  Probably his only true family.

With a sigh he grabbed pen and paper to write his goodbye notes to Buffy, Anya and Giles. He didn't want to tell them about his thoughts regarding the diversions and what that might mean but he did want to tell them he was going in search of Willow.

~~~~

The early morning jogger watched as the young brunette slipped notes through the mail slot in the front door of the Magic Box. He adjusted his headset as he stopped to stretch while waiting for the light to change to green.

"Subject spotted at the Magic Box. Request instructions."

A small tinny voice whispered in the agent's ear, "Plan is a go. Agent Maxwell will pick up subject as he leaves Sunnydale city limits. Stage two of mission with Hostile 17 is set in motion. Meet the others in Tunnel D."

The jogger cracked his neck from side to side and resumed his morning jog, "Roger that. Subject is heading north on Oak."

"Good work, Agent Patterson."

Agent Williamson removed his headset and sat back in his chair. The latest intel was that the First was making his appearances both here in Sunnydale and LA. The LA intel had been confirmed by their operative at Wolfram and Hart. Hostile 17 was spotted in two different places at the same time around Sunnydale so the consensus was that the First was stepping up whatever his plan was with William here in Sunnydale.

Riley had received a phone call from Ms. Summers stating that there was a problem with Spike's chip. Agent Williamson chuckled as he thought about the pain the chip misfiring must have caused the vampire. Soul or not he had a lot to atone for as his stint as William the Bloody and Williamson wasn't sorry to play a part in his pain.

The sound of his office door opening caused him to spin around. A smile creased his features as he saw Agent Finn standing in the doorway. "Ready to make your grand entrance into Sunnydale again?"

Riley nodded, "Yes, sir. Permission to speak freely."

Williamson indicated for Riley to continue.

"Are you sure about taking Spike's chip out?" Riley held up his hand to stop Williamson from commenting. "I know he has a soul but the latest reports state that he was spotted in an alley not long before a vampire victim's body was found."

Williamson nodded, "You're right he has been spotted drinking human blood again. HOWEVER, we believe that the First is using him for a reason and is stepping up his plans. We've allowed a small reunion to take place and set in motion for the return of the Prodigal to Sunnydale."

Riley's eyes widened at that. "That's ahead of schedule isn't it, sir?"

A smile spread across his boss' features, "Oh the Prodigal won't be coming to help the Slayer. Red Death will be coming to help the First."

"Zelana is actually going to let them work with the First?"

"He's going to offer their services as a show of support so he can make his move into the inner circle. The Nazul demon will be meeting with the First."

An evil twinkle lit Riley's eyes. All the players were coming together in Sunnydale. He loved it when a plan came together.

~~~~

Willow gently rolled away from Graham as she tried not to disturb him. This was the first complete night's rest that he'd gotten since their battle with Jasmine and she didn't want to wake him. With a small sigh she slowly rose and made her way to the shower. They had a meeting with Lilah later and then it was over to AI to meet with Angel and the others. She wasn't looking forward to either meeting. They'd heard last night that Zelana would be joining them in the first meeting and the second was to sever all ties with Angel. She gingerly stepped into the shower and hoped the hot water would beat the stress out of her.

Graham's eyes opened as soon as he felt Willow leave the bed. He gently turned over so he wouldn't disturb his sore ribs and watched her naked back as she crossed the room and entered the bathroom. A sly smile tilted his lips at the thought of joining her in the shower. Dating a witch that could wield healing magick was definitely a plus. His wounds from Jasmine had quickly healed and he only experienced some soreness in his ribs now. He was sure that a hot, steaming shower was just what the doctor ordered for him this morning. He made his way toward the bathroom and quietly opened the door into the steamy room.

All higher brain functions left him as he turned and saw Willow in the shower. The steam from the hot water had fogged the shower door but it still allowed him to see Willow's profile. He watched captivated as Willow stood under the cascading water rinsing the shampoo out of her hair. He knew better than to sneak up on a trained soldier so he cleared his throat to get Willow's attention and to wet his parched lips.

Willow's eyes popped open when she heard a throat clearing and smiled when she saw Graham staring at her through the shower door. "Sorry, baby. Did I wake you?"

Graham smirked and looked down at himself, "A little bit more than I'd realized."

She grinned. "Hmmm, suddenly I'm not feeling all that sorry about waking you up."


At that moment, all thoughts of the meetings they had later fled from Graham's mind as he stepped into the shower and closed the door behind him.  He placed a soft kiss on her lips as he reached above Willow's head and adjusted the showerhead so that it sprayed toward the wall. In the small steaming room the worries of the past few days disappeared; there was only the two of them and their desire for each other.