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CHANGING OF THE GUARD By WillowSlay I don't own anything. Not even the keyboard I'm typing this on, so don't even think about suing me because you'll get absolutely nothing out of it other than a hefty lawyer bill! Author's Note: This takes place after the season finale, probably a couple weeks or so. PART ONE Willow screamed. She had been sitting in the Bronze with Buffy, Xander, and Cordy, as usual, and had gone backstage to congratulate Oz on Dingoes Ate My Baby's latest hit performance, as usual. But when she got backstage, Oz was lying on the ground with a vampire attached to his neck. Willow kicked the vampire in the chest as hard as she could, then whipped out the wooden cross Buffy made her carry at all times. The vampire reeled a little from the kick and backed off when it saw the cross. "He's coming for you. He wants you," it snarled. Before Willow could ask who "he" was, the vampire ran away, leaving Willow with Oz's dead body. Willow woke up in a cold sweat. Her sheets were twisted around her body. Her red hair and pale skin glistened with sweat as she tried to stop panting and slow her rapid heart beat. She lay back on her pillow with a sigh. She closed her eyes, but quickly open them when the image of Oz dead returned. She glanced at the clock. It was 4:30 in the morning. But her nightmare had shaken her terribly and she picked up her phone. She dialed and waited. A few moments later she heard a groggy voice. "Uh...hello?" "Oz! Are you okay?" she hissed, not wanting her parents to hear her. "Willow, uh, yeah, I'm fine. Why, what's wrong?" She smiled at the worried tone he immediately took. "Nothing, I...I just had a really bad dream, and I...well, I just wanted to know if you were, ya know, minus tow holes in your neck and massive blood loss." "Well, I'm not a doctor, and without a full examination you can't be certain, but I'm pretty sure blood flow is normal and uninterrupted in the jugular area.." Willow grinned This was why she loved Oz. He was so great . They whispered for a few more minutes before hanging up and going back to sleep. * * * Spike sat in the all-night diner just outside of Sunnydale. He stared into the mug full of coffee he didn't intend to drink, absently stirring it. He had just needed to get away from Dru for a bit. Her incessant whining about Angel was getting old quick. He didn't know what he was doing there. He'd promised the Slayer he'd take Dru and leave town; that she'd never hear from them again. Not that that was bothering him any, it's not like promises between mortal enemies meant anything anyway. Maybe it was that evil vibe from the Hellmouth, or maybe it was just an unwillingness to move out and start over. But whatever it was, something was keeping Spike from taking Dru and leaving Sunnyhell Farm. A scream from the parking lot ripped him from his thoughts, and he turned to see Drusilla feeding on a middle-aged woman in a waitress uniform. Spike rolled his eyes, slapped a couple of bucks on the counter, and strolled outside. Drusilla let the dead woman fall to the ground. "You weren't worth the effort," she said as she poked the body with her slippered foot. To Spike she said, "She was old and tough. Like the most horrid food mummy used to fix when I was small..." The brunette vampire looked off dreamily and began to mutter incoherent sentences about her mother and chickens and...lemon curd? Spike shook his head and took her hands in his. "You are quite a piece of work, ducks," he chuckled. She grinned slyly at him. "Spike...my little Spike..." She let go of his hand and brushed her fingers over the scar on his eyebrow. He kissed her other hand, then dropped it and walked to the car. "Come along, pet. How would you like to go back to the old mansion?" "Angel?!" Dru's face lit up. Spike scowled as he got in the car. "How many times do I have to explain this? Dru, Angel's dead. Dead, dead, dead, dead, DEAD. And he's probably dead AND the Slayer's toy, and since he's on her team, that means he's not on our team, get it, ducks?" He slammed the door. Drusilla whimpered in the seat next to him. 'Bloody hell...' he thought. "I'm sorry, baby." Spike leaned over and kissed her hard, then slammed his foot on the accelerator, and tore out of the parking lot, heading back to Sunnydale. Author's Note: This takes place after the season finale, probably a couple weeks or so PART TWO Willow hummed softly to herself as she walked over to Giles' place. She had a date with Oz tonight. That made her happy. But her dream still had her very worried. She wanted to talk to Giles about it, him being the master of the supernatural (or super weird, as Cordelia called it) around Sunnydale. She knew Buffy sometimes had dreams that foretold the coming of demons and potential Armageddons and such, and she couldn't help but wonder if the Hellmouth was sending prophetic dreams to the girlfriend of it's resident werewolf. Anything was possible. She knocked lightly on the door, and in a few minutes the tweed-clad librarian poked his head out the door. "Oh, Willow! Very good, I-I was, ah, just about to call you. A-And Xander. There's a matter of great importance I need to discuss-" "Giles I had a dream Oz died." Willow cut him off, wanting to get right to her point. Giles looked a little flustered, but then ushered her inside. "You had a dream that Oz died? Was he, ah, in werewolf form, or, ah, human form?" he queried as he poured them some tea. "Human. He was attacked by a vampire at the Bronze. And when I went backstage and found him, the vampire said something to me and ran away," Willow explained as she sat down on the smelly old couch. Giles handed her a cup of tea. "What exactly did the vampire say?" Giles asked as he disappeared into another room. "It said 'He's coming for you. He wants you.' Whatever that means." "'He's coming for you'? How very odd. Sounds prophetic by all rights though. Can you tell me anything more about your dream? Was anything out of place? Did it seem real?" he called from the other room. "Oh yes, it was horribly real! It was like, I was really at the Bronze, and like Oz really died. There was nothing weird about it at all. Well, other than that, Oz was dead, which is weird, since, Oz is...not dead." Giles reappeared with a stack of dusty old books, predictably. "You didn't happen to have been watching any horror films last night?" "Giles, life around here is scary enough, I'd like to think movie land is still a happy place." "Right. Uh, anyway. You're positive the vampire said 'He's coming for you'?" "And 'He wants you'," she confirmed. Giles leafed through the pages of an especially thick volume, looking thoughtful for a moment. Willow watched him anxiously. "I think perhaps you should tell Oz to, ah, keep an eye out...perhaps have him stay with, uh, Xander or someone until we can be certain there's no danger?" he said when he saw her worried look. Willow nodded and looked a little relieved. "What about what the vampire said?" "I'm going to research that a little more...I'll call you when I find something." Willow stood and thanked him. She felt better now that she had a little mission. * * * Spike snarled as his face changed from human to demon. He had come back from hunting and found the Slayer standing over Drusilla with a stake. Dru was defenseless and Buffy was just about to drive the stake home. Spike hurled himself at her, but he was too late. Just as he made impact with Buffy's side, his precious ducks was turned to a pile of ash. The slayer scrambled away from him. She brushed her hair out of her eyes and held up a cross to ward him off. "She's coming for you. She wants you." Buffy said, and then leaped out the window behind her. Spike raced to the window, but could see no trace of the Slayer anywhere. Cursing to himself, he turned back to the room that was empty of all life except himself and the pile of ashes formerly known as Drusilla. Spike awoke with a start. It was the middle of the day. He knew he should be sound asleep. But that dream! Good God that dream! He looked over at the vampire sleeping next to him. 'All in one piece still, pet?' he thought and kissed Dru's pale forehead. She purred and snuggled against him. He put his arm over her. 'Good girl, ducks. I'll get that bloody Slayer before she'll have a chance to get you.' As he fell back asleep, Spike briefly wondered who "she" was. Author's Note: This takes place after the season finale, probably a couple weeks or so PART THREE Xander lay on his bed, flipping through a magazine he wasn't legally allowed to buy, when he heard a knock on his door. He almost fell onto the floor in his desperate attempt to stuff the magazine under a pile of clothes. "Just a sec! Ok, come in!" he called, finally managing to make himself look casual. Willow poked her head in. "Xander, what are you doing?" "Nothing, nothing at all. A whole lot of nothing." Xander chuckled nervously. "I mean, tonight." "Oh. Oh! Oh, yeah, tonight. Well, Cordy wants me to take her out, but I don't know how much nail polish talk I can be subjected to before my head explodes." He shrugged. "Great!" Willow came into the room, and Oz followed her in, duffel bag and guitar case in tow. "Can Oz bunk with you tonight? We're kind of, well, we're keeping him under surveillance." "Well, let me check my lunar calendar..." "Xander!" Willow hissed "No, it's cool," Oz interjected. "It's kinda creepy to me still. Don't worry Xander, full moon was two weeks ago. Xander nodded. "Ok, so why do you need a roomie, Oz-man?" "I guess Giles thought it would be a good idea, 'cause Willow had a dream I died." Xander's jaw dropped. "Since when did Willow begin dreaming prophecies? I thought that was Buffy's gig." Willow and Oz exchanged glances. "Well," Willow began, "I talked to Giles about it, and he said it might have been prophetic. It was really scary, and very real." Xander shrugged. "Sure...ok. Yeah. I can deal. So," he looked at Oz, "what's on the agenda then? Shall we talk about all Willow's idiosyncrasies, shall I tell you about her embarrassing childhood moments, or..." Xander noticed the guitar case. "Do we have a sing-along?" Willow rolled her eyes. "You guys have fun, and try not to do anything to embarrassing, ok?" She looked pointedly at Xander, who returned it with a look of mock shock. She gave Oz a quick kiss. "See you tonight." "Bye," he said. Oz and Xander watched her walk out, and stared after her until they heard the front door shut. Oz slowly turned to look at Xander. "So..." Xander said cautiously. Oz nodded. "So..." * * * Night had begun to fall over Sunnydale. Willow had spent all day cooped up with Giles, poring over his ancient texts, searching for an answer to her dream's riddle. "AHA!" Giles shouted triumphantly. Willow was startled. She'd never heard Giles shout before. 'Must be that 8th cup of tea...' she thought. "I've found it Willow. It's a very ancient dream, talking about soul mates." Giles stood and brought the text over to her as he read from it. "It says here, that in the dream, the death of the current loved one is caused by an associate of the soul mate. The murderer speaks tells the dreamer that his or her soul mate is coming for them, and wants them. The soul mates will have the dream on the same night, and several times throughout their lifetimes until they find one another." He looked up and met Willow's look of horror. "My soul mate is associating with a vampire?" she asked in barely audible whisper. Giles glanced down at the text again, then up at her face, and then returned to the book. "Let's, ah, see if we can find and alternate theory, shall we?" he said, feigning cheerfulness. Willow's eyes were wide, and she was shaking. This was horrible. Not only did her dream put Oz in danger, but it put her entire world in danger. "No...no no no no no...." she moaned and put her head in her hands. Giles put a comforting arm around her shoulders. "There, there...I'm sure it's not as horrible as it seems..." Willow looked up at him. "Not as horrible as it seems? Not as horrible as it seems?! How can it not be horrible?! I'm meant to be with a VAMPIRE throughout eternity! It doesn't get much worse than that!" She shoved him away and ran out, tears blinding her. She ran as fast as she could, ignoring Giles' cries for her to come back. Willow didn't know where she was going, but it felt good to run. Soon she stopped, and realized she didn't recognize the neighborhood around her. She sniffled and wiped her eyes as she sat down on the curb in front of a huge, funky-looking mansion. * * * Spike yawned and stretched. It was 7, time to get up. He noticed that Drusilla was already up and gone. He got out of bed and dressed. Then he wandered down to the garden. Drusilla stood in front of the statue of Acathla, peering into it's still gaping mouth. "Angel? Angel come out. It's time to go hunting, darling, you'll miss all the little children if you wait to long..." Spike sighed. She was hopeless. "Pet, Angel's not in the statue. He's in hell. And he can stay there." He grumbled. Drusilla turned and sauntered up to him. "Spike? Can I ask you something?" "Of course love." "Do you love Miss Edith?" "She's a very nice doll, Dru." "But do you love her? The way you love me?" "Of course not. Now what's all this about?" Spike asked, getting impatient with her riddling talk. "I love Angel. And you love me. And Miss Edith loves you. Angel hates Miss Edith. He thinks she's horrid." Dru began to whimper. "Why doesn't he like Miss Edith?" "Because Angel is a bad, bad vampire. He doesn't realize that you love Miss Edith, and he doesn't care. Not like I care." He muttered. "Angel only loves me...but you...you love Miss Edith too. You love me and Miss Edith." Dru began spinning in slow circles. Spike watched her. "Wrong, ducks. Angel loves the Slayer, he doesn't love you." He grabbed her around the waist. "Not like I do." He kissed her and picked her up. "Now. You are going to stay in bed, and I will go find us something to eat. How's that?" "Mmm..." Drusilla hummed. Spike set her down on the bed, and began to leave. "Spike?" Dru called. "Yes, love?" "Take Miss Edith with you. See that you take good care of her too. Like you take care of me." She held out the doll to him. "I don't think so ducks...dolls kinda cramp my style." "Take her! I'll pout if you don't take her." Spike sighed and took the doll. "Fine, I'll take her with me, happy?" Dru smiled. "Hurry back." Spike left the room and went downstairs. He tossed Miss Edith into a bush as he walked out. PART FOUR Willow looked up at the sound of a door slamming. She gasped as she saw Spike exit the funky-looking mansion she was sitting across from. She jumped up and looked for a place to hide. She wasn't armed. It was too late, Spike saw her. He was on her in an instant. Faster than she could blink, he was standing right in front of her. "Hello, Red. Fancy you being in this part of town this time of night." "Uh, hi, Spike," Willow forced a laugh, "Yeah, isn't that something? Well, it's been nice chatting, bye!" She attempted to walk away, but Spike stepped in front of her. "I think we have a lot to talk about now, Willow, is it?" Willow nodded, scared out of her mind. "Well, um, what do you want to talk about?" she asked, trying to stall for time until she could come up with a plan. Or until someone miraculously appeared to save her. "I'd like to begin with this dream I had about your friend the Slayer. You see, it was very frightening," he said mockingly. "She killed Dru, and that's not something that goes over well around here. So, now, my question to you would be, what's she got planned?" "What's who got planned?" Willow asked innocently. "Don't play dumb with me, lovie, I know you're smart. What's the Slayer got planned for Dru and me? What's she up to? She's been lying low lately and I want to know why. And if you tell me, I might just let you live." Truth of the matter was, he was probably going to let her go anyway. She was a beautiful girl, really, standing there in the moonlight with her red hair and pale skin, if not a bit awkward. 'She'd make one hell of a vampire, with those looks already...' he thought. 'What am I thinking? I'm getting to be as bad as Dru, making nice with the Slayer's friends.' Shaking off the thoughts, he grabbed Willow by the neck and shoved her up against a tree. "Now, love, what's you pal Buffy got planned?" "Nothing!" Willow gasped. "I swear, we thought you were gone!" "She's not that dumb. And if she is, that librarian isn't." 'God her skin is soft...' he began to think, loosening his grip on her neck until it became almost a caress. She didn't seem to notice. "I swear, Spike, Buffy doesn't even know you're here. With the lull in vampire activity, we kinda figured you'd skipped town." Willow could hardly believe she was talking to Spike in an almost civil manner. Not like she had much of a choice, with his hand around her throat. A very strong, but gentle hand. "Well then, I guess she is that dumb." Spike lowered his face close to Willow's. "No, Buffy's not dumb, she's just out of-" Willow stopped herself just in time. She had almost told Spike that Sunnydale was free game without the Slayer! "Out of what?" Spike demanded. He could see in her eyes that she was frantically thinking of a way out. "Out of...she's out of..." Suddenly, a thought came to her. "She's out of Ho-hos!" Spike looked at her oddly. "Ho-hos?" "Yes, Ho-hos," Willow stammered. "The sugar, it makes her think better. But she went on a diet, so now she's not thinking as quickly." She groaned inwardly. That was almost as open an invitation to wreak havoc as saying Buffy had disappeared. Spike was getting impatient. The smoldering icy blue of his eyes was mesmerizing. "Ok, love, enough games. Tell me what's really going on, or tell me what you want for an epitaph." Willow was terrified, so she acted on her instinct. She kissed him. Spike was surprised. It took awhile for it to sink in, but once it did, he found he enjoyed it immensely. He kissed her back, reaching up to run his fingers through her long red hair. Willow could scarcely believe what she was doing. But as wrong as she knew it was, something about it felt right. She found herself sliding her hands around his back, pulling him closer to her. He was a great kisser. Of course, he'd had 200 years to perfect it. He was even better than Oz, who in her- Oz. What would Oz think? She reluctantly pulled away. Spike looked down into the eyes of the small redhead in his arms. She looked upset, confused. He was dealing with a few emotions himself, demon or not. This was one of his sworn enemies; this girl had tried to kill him! Or at least, assisted in attempts to kill him. "I-I'm sorry, I have to go." With that, she ran off down the street. Spike let her go. 'What an old softie I've become,' he thought. He looked up to watch her run away. 'God she's beautiful...' * * * Giles pounded on the Harris' door. He had to find Willow before she did something rash, which was exactly what he expected her to do. He had tried her house, but her mother said she was at Xander's. Suspecting Willow had lied to her mother about her whereabouts, he had driven to Oz's house, only to discover that there was no one home there either. So he ended up at Xander's, hoping he might know where Willow would have gone. "Xander!" he called, still pounding on the door "Xander!" Finally her heard the locks click, and Xander opened the door. "Giles! What are you- where's Willow?" he asked, when he noticed his childhood buddy's absence. "Oz just went to pick her up for their date, but her mom said she was here, so he went out to look for her. Why isn't she with you?" Giles sighed. "I was about to ask you the same thing." "You lost Willow?!" Xander's voice was getting higher by the moment. "No, no, she ran away. We were, ah, researching her dream, and we found something rather, ah rather disturbing." "What's rather disturbing? We don't like disturbing," asked Oz as he came up from behind Giles, having returned from a search for Willow. "No luck?" Xander asked. Oz shook his head. "I checked her house, my house, Buffy's house, the Bronze, everywhere I could think of. She's not there." "Oh my. I certainly hope she hasn't gotten herself into trouble." Giles said. "What did you find that upset her so much?" Oz asked. "Well...it's not the best of news..." Giles began. PART FIVE Willow slowly walked up to her front door. She had seen Oz's van parked at her house, and she had hidden in her neighbor's yard until he'd left. She couldn't face him right now. She felt...unclean. She'd cheated on Oz. She, Willow Rosenberg, had kissed a vampire. And enjoyed it. 'It was only to distract him so I could get away,' she kept telling herself, but she knew it wasn't true. Having Spike that close to her, having him touch her...she couldn't help but be attracted. It was dangerous to feel that way about a demon. She felt like she was living in a bad horror/romance flick all of a sudden. If any movie should ever have been titled 'Fatal Attraction', this was it. Entering her room, she sat down at her computer. 'I'll just surf around a little, to clear my head,' she thought. Willow knew she should call Giles or someone, to let them know she was ok, but she would have as bad a time facing them as she would Oz. She began pointing and clicking almost mindlessly. She couldn't concentrate, and flicked the switch to turn the machine off. She ran her hand through her hair and sighed. "What am I going to do?" she said out loud to herself . "Let me in," a voice said from outside. Her blinds were down, and she couldn't see who it was. She stood up and opened her balcony door. There stood Spike, gorgeous as he was a few moments earlier, leaning against the doorjamb. "Hello Red," he said casually. She almost slammed the door in his face, but something kept her from doing it. 'He can't come in anyway,' she thought, 'as long as I stay inside, he can't touch me.' "Cat got your tongue?" he asked her. "No, no...I'm just surprised, to see you here. What ARE you doing here?" "You and me, pet. We need to talk." "Uh, ok. Yeah. Talking's good." He gestured to her room. "Going to invite me in?" "Um, actually, it's such a nice night out..." With that she stepped outside, out of the safety of her home. She shut the door behind her, making sure it wasn't locked. "Fair enough, I suppose. So," he said, crossing his arms over his very well developed chest. "So..." she said, "What now?" "That depends on you, Willow. I ought to just kill you now, and go after your Slayer friend. I'm sure she'll be over any minute, eh?" Willow shook her head. "No, no, Buffy's not coming over tonight. She, uh, is grounded." She knew Spike wouldn't fall for it. But she was sure falling for him. The way he stood there so casually, staring at her with those beautiful blue eyes, the wind barely rustling his peroxide blond hair. Spike was having a tough time acting casual though. This girl aroused something in him that Dru had never even touched. Her dark red hair was a color he'd never seen before, and it contrasted her eyes and pale skin perfectly. She was still nervous and awkward, but he supposed she had reason to be. She was babbling on about the Slayer, but he wasn't even paying the slightest attention. Suddenly he let the urge he'd been suppressing take over. All of a sudden she was in his arms again, their lips locked in a passionate kiss. * * * Giles burst into the library, Xander and Oz in tow. "Willow?" They all called synonymously. Casting withered looks at each other, they heard no answer. Giles hurried over to the weapons rack and began throwing things in a bag. Xander went to the top level to check the stacks. Oz looked in Giles' office. Willow was not there. "Where could she be?" Xander moaned. "I think if we knew that, we wouldn't be getting weapons," Oz remarked. He was beginning to get worried, and he really didn't like Xander all that much anyway. Ever since that Valentine's Day incident... "What about the vampire's hang-out? Perhaps she went in search of the vampire in her dream," Giles suggested, zipping up the bag and tossing them each a stake. "Will's not that stupid. No way," Xander protested, "She knows vamps are the enemy." "Yes, well, things like this have been known to override one's mental abilities and logic on occasion." No explanation was necessary; they knew what he was referring to. "Riiight...so, where do we start looking?" Oz fiddled with the stake. "Xander, you check the houses again. Anyone she might have gone to. Your house, her house, Buffy's, Oz's, Cordelia's..." "Cordelia? Why would she go to Cordelia's?" "If she's acting rash, anything's possible." "Not THAT rash." Xander pointed out. "True. Well, check anyway. Oz, you check the Bronze, or anywhere else where she may have gone to get lost in a sea of people." "Sure. Where are you going?" "I'm going to look for the vampires. Cemetery, the mansion, the warehouses. If she's with them, she may already be dead." Giles wished he hadn't said it when he saw Oz wince and Xander look away out the window. "I'm, ah, sure we'll find her first." They stood in silence for a few moments, thinking of the horrible end Willow might be meeting, have met, or be about to meet. Then they headed out. PART SIX It was Spike who ended the kiss this time. 'Dru will go crazy if she finds out,' he thought, 'well, crazier, anyway.' He looked down at Willow, who met his gaze. He sighed and pulled her closer. He was surprised when she let him, resting her head on his chest. "This is going to be complicated, pet," he admitted as he petted her head. She just nodded silently and tightened her grip around his waist. Willow stood on her balcony, in the arms of her archenemy for quite some time before she lifted her head and spoke. "I had a dream the other night. Giles said it was linking me to my soul mate." Spike was puzzled by her choice of topic, but went along with it. "Oh?" "Yeah. I dreamed Oz died," she said sadly. "He's your boyfriend, I take it?" Willow gulped. "Yeah." Spike moved a little and looked off. "I had a dream yesterday as well." Willow looked up at him. "What happened in yours?" "You Slayer pal killed Dru. I told you about it already." Willow suddenly pulled away from him. "Oh no..." she moaned softly. "Oh no, no no no no no..." Spike moved to her, but she turned away from him, putting her hands to her forehead. "Willow, what's wrong?" She looked up at him, her eyes pained. "What did she say?" "What did who say?" "Buffy. In your dream." "How do you know she said anything?" This was really starting to creep Spike out. "Just tell me what she said, dammit!" Willow had tears springing to her eyes, although she wasn't sure if they were of sadness, horror, joy, or something else. Spike could see she was upset. "She said 'she's coming for you, she wants you.' I couldn't figure out what it meant." Willow suddenly just let her tears flow. He pulled her to him, and this time she let him. She buried her face in his chest and just sobbed. He kissed her head. "It's all right, pet, it's alright." He wasn't very good at consoling people. Especially not his enemies. But he had a feeling there was something she needed to tell him, but she'd wait until she was good and ready. * * * The vampire had heard enough. He'd been walking past the Rosenberg house, when he thought he'd heard Spike's voice. He had stopped, and heard his entire conversation with the redheaded friend of the Slayer. 'Good,' he thought, 'Maybe now he'll get rid of that nutsoid Drusilla.' The vampiress had been ordering the minions to do all kinds of useless things since Angelus had gone to hell. They were getting sick of it. But Spike and the girl had said something about her having a boyfriend. Oz, they called him. The name sounded familiar, but he couldn't place it. 'If I know one thing about the Slayer's friends, it's that they're loyal,' he thought, 'She'll never leave this Oz guy for Spike as long as he's around. Time to feed.' That vampire ran off down the street, to gather a couple buddies and go Oz-hunting. * * * "Willow?" The call came from inside. Willow wiped at her eyes and pulled away from Spike. "My mom." She opened the balcony door and poked her head in. "What?" she called. "Xander's here. Hon, weren't you just over there?" Willow panicked, and then heard Xander give some explanation. Closing her eyes in silent thanks to her friend, she called down to her mother, "I'll be right there!" She turned back to Spike. "You have to go. I've heard it before." He started to turn away. Willow grabbed his sleeve. "Will you come back?" She didn't' believe she was asking this. But she had to know. "Do you want me to?" She considered. It was easy to read his face. He wanted to come back, but he was trying hard to hide it. "Tomorrow, sunset," she said. He leaned over and kissed her one more time, then jumped over the rail of the balcony. She leaned over it and watched him stroll down the street. A knock on her bedroom door reminded her that Xander was there. She quickly went inside, rubbing her face, hoping she looked normal . "Come in," she called. Xander poked his head in. "Will! We've been worried sick! Giles said you ran off after you found out what the dream meant, and you weren't here when Oz came to pick you up and -" Xander stopped when he noticed Willow had silent tears running down her cheeks. "Oh, hey, Will, I'm sorry...please don't' cry." He went over and hugged her. She sniffled. "Giles told you what it meant?" "Yeah, he explained everything." Willow had to ask the question whose answer she feared the most. "Does Oz know?" she whispered, her voice barely audible. Xander took her by the shoulders and looked her straight in the eye. "Oz knows. And he's worried sick about you. He's terrified something had happened to you. We all were, but he was being uncharacteristically snappy, so I took that as a sign of worry. My bets are he doesn't care. He loves you, Will." Willow looked down. Xander squeezed her shoulder. "Do you want to call him, or should I?" Willow shook her head. "I'll have to talk to him eventually." She slowly sat down and picked up the phone. Hands shaking, she dialed Oz's number and left a message letting him know she was alive. When she was finished, she and Xander headed for the Bronze, hoping to catch Oz there. * * * Oz entered the crowded club and scanned the crowd for the dark red hair that could only belong to Willow. Not spotting her, he went upstairs, only to find the same results. He stood above, looking down on the crowd and sighed. 'Willow, where ARE you?' he thought. He was worried about her. If anything had happened to her, if those damn vampires had laid a hand on her...Well, he knew he really wasn't in a position to do anything about the vampires without being killed himself, but sometimes he wondered why he had bothered waking up in the morning before he met Willow. She was everything to him now. Suddenly, he thought he saw a flash of red below. Bounding down the stairs, he headed out into the back alley. "Willow!" he cried. "Willow!" He didn't see her. He didn't see anyone. Until it hit him from behind. Oz landed on the ground with a grunt, feeling an enormous weight on top of him. The weight rolled off and he scrambled to get up. Turning, he saw it was a vampire. He turned to run, but there were two more vampires blocking his escape route. 'Crap,' he thought to himself. He didn't have a cross, and he only had the one stake Giles had given him. He was pretty sure he couldn't take on three vampires at once. He was doomed. One of the vampires blocking the alleyway lunged at him. Oz held up the stake, and managed to get the vampire in the shoulder. It fell to the ground, yelping in pain. It only took it a few moments to heal and be back on its feet. The next one leaped at Oz, and before he could get a shot at it with the stake, the one behind him leaped at him. Oz fell to the ground under their weight, struggling to keep his neck clear of teeth. All of a sudden, he heard the screaming sound that meant a vampire had turned to dust. The other two vampires were abruptly thrown off him. Blinking, he saw them run away, then looked up at his savior, right into the face of.... "Buffy?" he asked. "In the flesh," the blond Slayer said. She took a quick bow and held out a hand to help him up. "Boy am I glad to see you! I thought I was dead for sure." "You probably would have been. Where's Willow?" She looked around. "That's kinda why I was here. We're not sure." Buffy looked concerned immediately. "What do you mean 'we're not sure'?" "I thought it was self-explanatory, but maybe we should go find Giles so he can tell you what's going on." Buffy nodded. "Which way?" "Um, let's try the cemetery first." Buffy didn't argue, but trotted off down the alley, Oz right behind her. ! PART SEVEN Spike walked down the streets of Sunnydale, looking for a sufficient meal for him and Dru. Why he had gone to Willow's house, he didn't know. He felt he had to. He was drawn to her in a way he couldn't begin to explain. But for now, he had to take care of Drusilla. Tricking an older gentleman into thinking he needed help with his car, he fed a little and then dragged the unconscious body back to the mansion. He dumped the man in a chair in the bedroom, and lifted Drusilla out of the bed. "Here, my pet, is dinner." She smiled, and then sniffed. "Something wrong, kitten?" "That smell...there's a horrid, pure smell about you..." 'Willow,' Spike thought, 'Dammit, she can smell her on me.' "I fed off a young girl before I got this one for you, baby. That's what you smell." Dru seemed satisfied, and lunged at the neck of her meal. Spike went back down to wait until she was finished. He watched the minions scurrying about. A couple of them seemed to flash knowing grins at him. 'I'm just being paranoid,' he thought. There was no way they could know about him and Willow. He would have known if they were near. Of course, his attentions seemed to be not on his surroundings when he was around her...'No, impossible.' He shook the thought away. He would go to Willow's tomorrow night, and that would be the end of it. He would take Dru and leave. If there was one thing he didn't need, it was any more problems, which was all a relationship of this sort was bound to bring him. He didn't know if he could do it though. At the moment, all he coudl think about was the feel of her lips against his, they way she fit into his embrace so perfectly...it almost made him sick. Dru called from upstairs, interrupting his reverie. "Spike?" "Coming, ducks," he called back. He shoved all thoughts of Willow to the back of his mind, and went up to tend to his lady's needs. * * * As Willow and Xander were hurrying to the Bronze, they saw two figures running at them. Xander shoved Willow behind him and took out his stake. As he waited for the potential demons to step into the light, he thought he heard a familiar clicking-clacking noise. "Buffy?" he called. The figures stopped, then slowly came closer. "Xander!" He saw that indeed it was the Slayer. He lowered the stake. "You're back!" "Xander, where's-" "Willow." Oz breathed a sigh of relief as the redhead stepped out from behind Xander. She melted at the sight of him, and fell into his arms. Oz just held her, kissing her forehead while she sobbed. "Oz, I'm so sorry...I'm so sorry..." she kept saying. "Shh...it's ok now. Everything's all right." Oz rested his head on hers, and talked to her softly. Buffy and Xander hugged and stood off to the side. "Xander, what's been going on here? "Where did you go?" "We'll have plenty of time to talk about that later. It's late, so I think for now we should get everybody home. You can fill me in on the way." Xander nodded. Buffy gestured to Oz, and he led Willow back to the waiting zebra van. They dropped off Buffy and Willow at Willow's house, and Oz and Xander went back to Xander's. Xander called Giles with the good news that not only was Willow safe, but Buffy had returned. The Watcher was overjoyed, and agreed that they should meet tomorrow. PART EIGHT Willow awoke with a start. She had woken up from another bad dream. It had confused her. She had to talk to Giles, and she had to talk to him now. She glanced over at Buffy. The Slayer was sleeping peacefully. Willow scribbled a note to her, and taped it to her computer screen, where Buffy would see it. She quickly dressed and headed out. Since it was only 7, she knocked quietly on Giles' door. She wanted to pound and scream, but she also didn't want to draw any attention. So she rang the bell several times, until he finally came to the door. "Willow, what is it? Ah, I mean, come in. Where's Buffy?" Giles was dressed in a robe and slippers. His hair was mussed and he didn't have his glasses on. "At my house. Sorry I woke you. But I had another dream." "Another? Was it similar to the one you had before?" "Yes. It was almost the same one, except..." Willow hesitated. If she told him this, she'd have to tell him everything. "Except what?" he inquired. "Except it wasn't Oz that died. It was Spike." "Good gracious...this is certainly...interesting." She could see Giles trying to fit pieces into a puzzle he didn't quite have all the pieces to. He was also trying to be sensitive, but finding it hard to restrain his revulsion at the mention of Spike. "Giles, there's something you should know about, before you start cross-referencing," Willow began. Giles looked up at her, waiting for her to continue. She took a deep breath. "Last night, when I ran off, I didn't know where I was going. I ended up in front of this big mansion, which just happened to be the new vampire hang-out." Giles nodded, grimacing as he remembered the time he had spent in the house. "Please go on." "Well, I was sitting there, just trying to figure out what to do next, when Spike came out of the house. And he was trying to get me to tell him what Buffy had planned for him and Drusilla, because he had had a dream that Buffy killed her, and-" Willow hesitated, "And then I kissed him." She sat shaking, waiting for Giles to give her some kind of response. He just sat, frozen, staring at her. He didn't reprimand her, he didn't forgive her, he just stared at her. And that was worse than anything. "Giles, talk to me! I didn't mean to do it, it just...happened." She had to continue with the story though. "I ran away after that. I went home. He was there. We spoke, out on my balcony. I didn't invite him in, so at least some part of my brain was working. And he said...he had the same dream, Giles! He had the soul mate dream! Buffy killed Drusilla and said 'she's coming for you and she wants you'!" Willow had tears running down her cheeks as she related her tale. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to." She didn't know what else to say. How could she explain that she was beginning to get fuzzy feelings for a vampire? Not just any vampire, Spike, of all demons! After a few moments of silence, Giles spoke: "Spike doesn't have a soul, Willow." He looked thoughtful. Willow tried to follow his meaning. "I know, but what does that have to do with it?" Giles suddenly became very animated. "Spike has no soul. It-it left his body when the demon took it over. If he has no soul, he has no soul mate. If anything, it would be a demon mate, if there is such a thing." "But he did have a soul. And why else would we both have had the dream?" "Perhaps Ranka was confused by the demon-possession and lack of soul." Giles disappeared into his room of books again. "Ranka? Who's Ranka?" "Ranka is the mythological being who sends prophetic dreams. He sends prophecies to the Slayer, and evidently he sends the soul mate dreams as well." He returned with the volume that had held the answer to her dream before. "So you mean, Spike's soul before he was Spike is my soul mate? Not the Spike now?" "No, it's impossible. His soul would have been reincarnated by now. But with his body still living, there was a-a slight mishap in the, the dream department, if you will." "Is that why I had the second dream? To kinda fix the mistake?" "Yes. Yes, I believe that's right. We'll have to analyze your dream of course, to make certain it was valid, but I believe we may be on to something..." PART NINE Oz pulled up in front of Willow's house. Xander got out and went to go fetch the girls. When he returned with Buffy, and no Willow, Oz began to worry all over again. "Where's Willow?" he asked anxiously as they climbed in. "She's at Giles'. She left before I woke up, and left a note." Relieved, Oz went and picked up Cordelia, then drove them all over to the Watcher's condo. They filed into Giles' place when he answered the door. Willow was inside, and she looked happier than she had in days. She immediately got up and hugged Oz, and sat down next to him in one of Giles' big overstuffed chairs. Xander and Cordelia sat down on the couch, while Buffy hugged and very relieved Giles. "Buffy, where did you go? We were worried sick about you. We didn't know what had happened. You could have left a note, or called, or-" "Giles, I needed time to think. My mother kicked me out of the house and I had to kill my boyfriend. It was kinda traumatic, ya know?" she said, interrupting Giles' responsibility lecture. He looked a little flustered. "Oh. Of course. Well, then, we're glad to have you back." "Yeah, Sunnydale just ain't the same without the Slayer." Xander put in. Cordelia elbowed him in the ribs. "Ow!" "Yeah, well, I got away for awhile. But I got a tip there might be trouble here, so here I am." "Where'd you go?" Willow asked. "L.A. I just wanted to get away from all of this. From everything that reminded me of Angel, and slaying and...well, everything." They all nodded sympathetically. "You said you got a tip we were in trouble?" Oz asked. "Yeah, and good thing for you." Willow looked at him quizzically, but he gestured that he'd fill her in later. Buffy continued: "I was just bumming around with...some old friends, and that Whistler guy showed up. He said I should get back to Sunnydale pronto, because Oz and Willow were in danger. So I got back here as fast as the bus would take me. Found Oz under a pile of vampires and Willow was missing. I'm just glad I got here in time, and that neither of you were hurt." "Would somebody please explain to me what's been going on?" Cordelia had been unusually quiet during the exchange. "I got a call, waking me up, at 11:30 saying that Oz and Xander were picking me up in a half an hour, and that we were going to Giles' house. Then, when they get there, late, I might add, there's Miss Skip-Town Buffy. And Willow was missing? What is going on here?" "You didn't inform her of the evening's events?" Giles asked Xander. "I must have forgot. I meant to!" Xander said. Cordelia rolled her eyes. Willow sighed. "Do you want to fill her in now, or do I have to?" she asked Xander. "Actually, Willow, we have a little more cross-referencing to do on that dream of yours. Oz, you should help us, I think." He looked at Willow, who nodded. "Xander can bring Cordelia up to speed on our dilemma, and Buffy," Giles stopped when he realized Buffy wasn't listening. "Buffy?" She snapped back into reality. "Sorry...off in my own little world there for a bit. What?" "Could you listen to Xander as well? There are, ah things you should know as well." With that, he led Willow and Oz off to the books, leaving Xander to tell the girls what had been going on. * * * Giles muttered something about getting some tea, and left Oz and Willow alone in the book room. "So, where do we start?" Oz asked, looking around at the stacks and piles of dusty old texts. Willow cleared her throat. "Actually, we already figured it out. I just wanted to tell you first." "Look, Willow, I know what your dream meant, and I know I'm not the vampire soul mate you're looking for, but I do love you." "I know. And I love you. And that's why I wanted to tell you this privately." "I mean, it's ok, if you wanna, like, look for him or something. I won't get in the way." "No, Oz, just listen for a minute." Willow once again related the story of what had passed between her and Spike the night before. He listened calmly, and didn't say anything. She was afraid he would be mad at her, but he wasn't. "And then last night I had another dream. It was the same as the last one, except this time it was Spike who died. And Devon killed him." Oz looked a little bewildered. "That's kinda far-fetched. Devon doesn't even know about vampires. I'm sure he couldn't kill one, especially not one like Spike." "I know. But in my dream, he did. It was the same soul mate dream, Oz. So when I came to Giles this morning and told him to whole story, we figured it out. Ranka, the being who sends the dreams, must have been confused, because Spike doesn't have a soul, and that means he can't be my soul mate." "But he did. When he was human." "Right. But when he became a vampire, the soul left his body, and the demon took over." Realization slowly crept onto Oz's face. "Riiight...continue..." "Spike's real soul would have been reincarnated by now. And it's you. You're his reincarnation. You're my soul mate." Oz let that sink in for a moment. Willow waited, watching him. "Really?" he asked, disbelieving. Willow nodded. Oz smiled and picked her up in a spinning hug. She laughed and hugged him back. "I love you, Oz." "I love you too, Willow." PART TEN It was 5:30. Spike was pacing. When would that bloody sun go down? He'd been up for half an hour, waiting. Everyone else was still asleep. He flipped on the TV, hoping to catch the sunset time on the Weather Channel. He watched forecast after forecast before kicking in the screen in anger. "How can anyone watch that boring crap?" He walked to one of the boarded up windows. Standing off to the side, he ripped off the plywood. A very weak light poured into the mansion. Not even enough to tingle. Spike left the mansion and headed for Willow's home. * * * Willow and Buffy were sitting in her room. Willow was anxiously watching the setting sun. Buffy was doing her hair in front of the mirror. "Up or down, Will?" Buffy asked her friend. "Uh, down," she replied absently. Buffy came over and sat by her. "Is something wrong, Willow?" "No, nothing's wrong." She forced a smile. "Everything's great. I just, don't feel very good. Cramps." 'Phew,' she thought. Buffy looked concerned. "Are you sure you're up for Bronzing it tonight?" "Yeah, sure. Let's go. I'm just gonna get dressed real fast, and I'll meet you downstairs." "Ok." Buffy left the room and skipped down the stairs. Willow looked relieved and quickly changed her clothes. Glancing out the window, she saw the sun was almost gone. She quickly scribbled and note to Spike and taped it on her balcony door. She didn't want to make him angry, and she had to tell him what she'd found out anyway. She hurried down the stairs, and she and Buffy left for the Bronze. * * * Spike approached the Rosenberg residence. He swiftly climbed up to Willow's balcony. He went to rap on the door, but noticed a piece of paper taped to the door that had "Spike" written on it in Willow's perfect script. He ripped it off the door and read her note. 'The Bronze,' he thought. 'Well, I might as well go. I can grab something to eat after our little chat.' He jumped off the balcony and took off towards the club. PART ELEVEN When Buffy and Willow reached the Bronze, Xander and Cordelia were already out on the dance floor. Xander was bopping along in his own, strange, Xanderish way, and Cordelia was looking disgusted with him, as usual. But even she couldn't help but laugh at his goofy antics. When he noticed them enter, Oz smiled and winked at Willow from the stage. She grinned back. She and Buffy went over and sat at their regular table. After a few minutes, Willow excused herself to go to the restroom. She walked right past the bathrooms and into the alleyway behind the Bronze. She followed it around the building until she could see the street in front. Willow waited in the alley, out of sight, until she saw the familiar figure in a black duster come into view. "Spike!" she hissed. He stopped and turned. She stepped away from the shadow so he could see it was her, then gestured for him to follow. She walked further back into the alley. 'This is dangerous,' she thought to herself. 'Buffy won't be able to hear me if I scream.' She shrugged off the uncertain feelings. It was too late now. "Hello, lovie," he said. "Hi, Spike." "So, why did you need to talk to me tonight as well?" he asked, lighting a cigarette. She gulped, wishing she could wear a cross like Buffy did. Her father would keel over if she did. Of course, if he knew what she'd been doing the last two nights, he'd keel over. "Well, I just think we need to, to discuss what's going on." "Yeah, and I want to know how you knew what happened in my dream." "Because I had the same one. It was a soul mates dream. Giles and I researched it." Spike looked thoughtful. "Soul mate dream...heh, that's odd, love, seeing as I don't have a soul." "I know. That's what we figured out today. I had another dream, like that one, but in this one you died, not Oz." "I'm already dead, what of it?" "We were cross-referencing, and found out that your old soul was my soul mate. Ya know, before, you...well, you know." "Ah, blithering fool that I was. I'm sorry." "No, no, don't be. At any rate, it messed up Ranka that you were still alive without your soul, and so he sent me two dreams, a false one, and one to correct it." "So then, what's the problem? I don't worry about you, you don't worry about me, we go right on being enemies." "Right. I just, thought you should know." "Well, I appreciate that, pet. And now, I'd like to go find something to eat, if you don't mind." Seeing her pale, he corrected himself. "I'm going straight to the sewer to find a nice rat." She nodded briefly. "See you around Spike." She turned and headed back into the Bronze. "Good luck, Red," he said. He watched her disappear into the club. Then he followed her in; staying lost in the crowd until he got backstage. * * * Willow rejoined Buffy, Xander, and Cordelia at their table. The band was taking a break for a while, and had gone backstage. "You should go back there for Oz," Buffy suggested. "Yeah, and tell Devon to drop dead, while you're at it," Cordelia said, still bitter at the lead singer for missing almost all of their dates. Willow grinned. "I'll do that Cordelia." She weaved her way through the crowd and went backstage. She was shocked at what she saw when she got back there. Devon and the rest of the band were backed into a corner, surrounded by three vampires. Oz was shoved up against wall, Spike's hand around his throat. "Oz!" she screamed. Spike and Oz both turned to look at her. "Willow get out of here!" Oz shouted. "Spike, let him go!" she commanded. Spike looked at Oz. "No, I don't think so. Mate, this is not your lucky day. See your girlfriend there? Well, she's mine now. And for that to happen, you have to be gone." He began to lower his fangs to Oz's neck. "Spike, NO!" Willow shouted, and grabbed onto his arm, trying to pull him away from Oz. He flung her aside easily. "Willow, you won't even miss him after awhile. We belong together, pet, you said it yourself. Now let me get him out of the picture," he said, annoyed at her intrusion. He turned back to Oz. Oz looked over at Willow, terrified but brave. She got up from where she had been thrown to the ground. She wanted to cry and scream and throw herself at Spike, but she knew it wouldn't do any good. He was stronger than her in every way. Except maybe one. "All right, Spike. Go ahead." Oz looked alarmed. Spike turned to look at her. "Good. Glad you see things my way, love." "But first-" Spike growled. "First what?" "But first..." Willow forced herself to sound brave and coy. "Kiss me. Prove you love me." Spike chuckled. "Your feisty, Red." He grunted at one of the minions guarding the band. The vampire came over and grabbed Oz. Spike sauntered up to Willow and pulled her to him. She grinned, playfully, almost making herself sick. 'I hope this gives Buffy enough time to figure out something's wrong...' she thought. She put her arms around Spike's neck as he bent to kiss her. Their lips touched, just as the door burst open. * * * Buffy walked in, stake in hand. "So, we havin' a little orgy back here, Spike? I'm disappointed we weren't invited." Spike growled and pushed Willow at one of the minions. He grabbed Oz again. "Slayer, even you can't keep me from your friend here. Or didn't she tell you about her dreams? We're supposed to be together. Me and Red." "Oh no, Spike, you must have read the manual wrong. You don't have a soul. Therefore you have no soul mate." "Wrong, cutie. I had a soul. She's mine." "No, Spike. You lost your soul. And you're about to lose something else." She gestured behind her to Cordelia and Xander, who were dragging an unconscious Drusilla in. "Ducks..." Spike said softly. Then he got angry. "You leave her out of this." Buffy shrugged. "Ok, we'll leave Dru out of it if you leave Oz out of it." Spike scoffed. "This dog is the only thing between me and Willow." Spike began to dip his head towards Oz's neck. Oz was trying to remain calm; praying Buffy would get him out of this. "Spike, no...please!" Willow cried. She was sobbing, and fighting against the vampire holding her. Spike looked up at her. "Please...Spike, let him go. I love him. He has your soul. You don't. Let us go..." She fell silent as her sobs racked her little body. Spike looked at Oz, and then at Drusilla, and then at Willow. He slowly let go of Oz and brushed him off a bit. "Take care of her mate. Treat her good. She deserves it." He cast one long glance at Willow and then turned. Spike barked an order at the other vampires and brushed past Buffy, grabbing Drusilla from Xander and Cordelia on his way out. Oz shook himself off and scooped Willow up into his arms. Buffy, Xander, and Cordelia led the rest of the band back out onto the stage, making up about sixteen stories to convince them nothing was wrong. It was a trick of the light, an illusion, and there was no danger in the happy, safe town of Sunnydale. Otherwise known as the Hellmouth. PART TWELVE Spike pulled Dru closer to him as he sped down the freeway. He had to get as far from this town as he could. Not one of his plans had gone as planned, and it was time to move on. He and Dru would wreak havoc somewhere without a Slayer, or a Watcher, or any of their friends. He wasn't foolish enough to think that he hadn't felt anything for the Slayer's redheaded pal Willow. The girl did have something about her. But he had Dru back from the clutches of Angelus, and now there was no reason for him to stay in Sunnydale. Dru was his princess, and he was going to take her somewhere where they could be happy, and forget all this business. * * * Willow was getting ready for bed. She sat at her computer, watching the chat room she was in, and brushing her hair. Just as she set her brush down to type something, she heard a knock on her balcony door. Startled, she walked over and peeked out the blinds. It was Oz. He stood there holding a bunch of flowers for her, smiling. She opened the door. "Oz! What are you-" Willow never got to finish her question. Oz pulled her out on to the balcony, into his arms and kissed her. It was the most romantic thing he'd ever done. For a long time, they stood like that, just kissing, under the crescent moon. The End