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Tapestry -- by Echo
Rating: PG-13
Description: This is my "What if" take on the last four episodes of Season 4 of Buffy. Like what if Spike and Willow were secretly together? What if Oz never left after 'New Moon'? What if Spike's backstabbing wasn't what it looked like?
Disclaimer: Mr. Whedon owns these characters. Don't sue. I'm so broke.
"Willow." She turned at the sound of the name. Him. He looked at her oddly for a second, "Hey. I thought I sm- uh, heard Willow." He was going to say smelled. She was sure of it.
She took a deep breath to steady her nerves. "Hey." She promptly looked down. "You're um, you coming back to school here, huh?" She was trying so hard not to shake.
"Pretty much. Feelin' oddly motivated." He kept making the oddest faces like he was trying to figure something out.
"That's, um, that's great. I mean, that's, that's great for you and Willow, right?"
"I hope so." His brow furrowed slightly.
"Good. That's.... because-"
"Is that her sweater?" She ducked her head and kept talking as if he hadn't spoken.
"I just, I just hope that you guys'll be v-v-very happy." She looked anywhere but him.
"You smell like her." He took a step towards her. She lifted her head slightly, but didn't look in his eyes. If she did, he'd see the fear there. "She's all over you. Do you know that?"
She panicked. Her eyes locked with his. She shook her head no, trying to make it stop. "I can't... I-I c-can't can't talk about th-this."
He grabbed her wrist. "But there's something to talk about?" His voice was rising. She gasped. Her fear coming in tidal waves. "Are you two involved?"
"I-I have I h-hafta I have to go." She started shaking.
"Because she never said anything to me like that and we talked all night and she never-" She tried to walk away. He grabbed her arms, hard. "NO STOP!" She could see the pain on his face. Her heart was racing with fear. He shook her. "Is she in love with you?" She froze in her fear. He shook her harder. "Tell me is she.." He stopped. His breathing was coming in gasps. Something was wrong with him. She looked down at the hand on her arm. It morphed in to a hairy claw right before her eyes. Her fear was so overwhelming it nearly caused her knees to buckle.
"Oh my God. " She mouthed, her voice inaudible from fear. She looked back at his face. His eyes were black and his bottom teeth were pointed and jutting out.
He looked at her. "Run."
She turned to run, but she didn't make it. Two claws grabbed her from behind, and she screamed.
Tara screamed and bolted up in her bed. She was covered in sweat. She couldn't catch her breath. She'd been having the same nightmare every night for the past week. One week Oz'd been gone again. One week Willow had told him what she wanted him to think. One week Willow'd *chosen* her. One week she'd *been* with Willow. One week Riley had been a fugitive. One week Spike had *helped* them. One week. Their lives. These people she'd come to know. Their lives could change with every breath they took. Now, she was a part of that.
She put on her robe and walked to the window. She wondered where Oz was tonight. What he was doing. She always wondered about him after the dream. She pressed her forehead to the glass and closed her eyes. She wished she could see him one more time. She didn't want to remember him like the last time she saw him, all snarling and chasing her. Willow always said good things about Oz. Tara believed he was a good person. She didn't want to have nightmares about a good person.
He sat in the bushes watching the window. He'd been doing this for a whole week now. He just wanted to know. Maybe he should try to talk to her. Right. He'd already tried that. He'd wolfed out and almost mauled her. The scent of her fear had nearly overpowered him. Fear of him. He didn't like that. He didn't want anyone to be afraid of him. Suddenly, the curtains moved. There she was, the girl who had the thing he wanted most - his Willow. He ducked further into the bushes and watched. She was staring out over the campus. Her face looked sad. Beautiful, but still sad. What did she have to be sad about? She had everything. He watched as she pressed her forehead to the pane and closed her eyes. He scrunched his brow. Something was wrong here. Maybe he'd stick around to find out what it was.
Willow sat on one of the stone benches in Spike's crypt. She hadn't been able to see him all week. It'd been too crazy with the whole Oz/Tara thing.
"So why'd you do that?"
"Do what, pet?"
"Help Oz. How'd you know how to get in?"
"Why's it so important for you to know?"
"Why do you keep answering all my questions with questions?"
"You know why I did it."
"Did you have to be so cruel?"
"Cruel?"
"Red's mongrel? We all like a good laugh? Ringing any bells here?"
"Hey, you weren't too kind with your evil olive comment."
"What?"
"You said I kind of looked like an evil olive. In the woods. With the slayer and the idiot."
"Don't call Xander an idiot. He's not an idiot." She folded her arms across her chest.
He sat next to her and wrapped his arm around her. "I'm sorry, love." She didn't move. "Now, now, don't get all pouty. You know they have to think I don't like you. What would they do if they knew the real reason I helped them? They'd flip that's what."
She wrapped her arms around him and put her cheek on his chest. "I know. I'm sorry I called you an evil olive."
"How's the blonde witch? How's my Chatty?"
"Tara seems fine, but Oz really scared her, I think."
"If wolfboy got that upset about the thought of you and her, imagine what he'd do about us. I mean, she has redeeming qualities. She's cute, adorable and nice. I'm not."
Willow shuddered. "Can you go talk to her about this tomorrow night?"
"Isn't that what you're for, Red?"
"She won't talk to me about it, and I don't wanna push. She's already been great covering for us."
"Right. Fine. I'll stop by and have a chat with her."
Willow kissed his cheek. "Thank you."
"Oh, I think you can thank me better than that." She giggled as he laid back and pulled her on top of him.
Tara got the distinct feeling someone was following her. She'd just had to go to the library after dark, didn't she? She clutched her books closer to her chest. She looked over her shoulder and ran into her dorm. She hurried up the stairs and rushed into her room, slamming the door and leaning against it. Her room was bathed in darkness.
"Hello, cutie." She jumped and dropped all her books. Spike switched on her lamp. "Sorry, Chatty, I didn't mean to startle you." She glared at him for exactly two seconds before her nervousness consumed her. She was always a challenge. Ever since Willow had introduced him to the blonde witch, it had been a goal of his to make her less nervous around him. He was up to two seconds.
"W-what do y-you w-want, S-spike?"
"You alright, pet?" He walked towards her. Actually, he stalked.
"W-what?"
She was trembling. Spike rubbed his hands up and down her arms to comfort her. "Cor, you're shaking like a leaf. What's wrong?"
"I-I think s-someone was f-following me earlier."
"What?!" She jumped. "I'm sorry." He pulled her into a hug. She didn't hug back. She never hugged back. She kept shaking. "Do you know who?" She shook her head no. "Is that what has you spooked, pet?" She shook her head no again. "Tell me what's wrong. Is it the wolf?"
She stiffened and pulled away. "W-what did Willow tell you?"
"Just that he tried to make a snack outta you."
"So everything. Did you know she told me she loved me?"
"Yes."
She walked to the window and looked out. "Oh."
"She does, you know."
"But not like she loves you."
"She doesn't love me, pet."
"She does." He was glad she had finally relaxed. You could always tell when she did because she quit stuttering.
"Does not." He stepped beside her.
"Does." She swatted him in the chest with her hand. He caught it and brought it to his lips. He could understand why Willow loved her. She was special.
Oz watched as she appeared at the window again. He'd been following her earlier. He was pretty sure she knew it too. He'd just wanted to make sure she was safe. He wasn't sure why, but he had a strong need to protect her. She had so much fear. It looked like she was talking to someone. Probably Willow. Or not. He watched in shock as Spike stepped next to her. She hit him playfully, and he kissed her hand. They walked away from the window. He was very tempted to run up there and go charging in, but then he remembered what Willow had told him about Spike. Also, she hadn't looked too afraid of him. So, in essence, she should be safe. He still didn't like it. He didn't know what was going on. This was who Willow was supposed to be in love with, but yet, she hadn't really been around all week, so where was Willow going?
Willow opened the door and crept into the room. It was well after midnight. She been in her dorm room for several hours. She wanted to give Spike and Tara plenty of talk time. The room was totally dark. She went to turn on the light.
"Don't."
She turned. She could see two figures entwined together on the bed. "Spike?"
"Shh. You'll wake her."
Willow lit a candle. She walked over to the bed. Spike was laying back with Tara curled up against him. One of her fists was twisted into his black t shirt.
"What happened?" Willow whispered.
"She's just tired, pet. You were right. The wolf scared her."
"Oh God." Willow sat the candle down and crawled into the bed with them. Spike wrapped his other arm around her. Willow began to stroke Tara's hair.
Spike kissed Willow's temple. He'd do anything for them. Even pretend to help that thing. Adam. He couldn't wait to see the look on Frankenstein's Monster's face when he realized Spike had sold him out to the slayer because he was in love with two human girls.
Oz had seen Willow go in just after midnight. About two hours before dawn, she and Spike left. He followed them at a great distance. No need letting Spike know he was there. They entered a cemetery and stopped in front of a crypt. Oz watched as they talked for a few minutes. He wished he could hear what was being said, but he was too far away for even his ears. Then it happened. Willow leaned up and kissed the vampire, and it was not a chaste friendly kiss. It was a mouth-open, lip-smashing, back-of-the-head-grabbing, soul-stealing, moment-of-utter-passion kiss. Oz sank to his knees in shock. Spike? She'd lied to him. Again. He could feel the wolf under the surface. He closed his eyes and willed it to go away.
Tara whimpered in sleep. She was deep in the nightmare.
A silver pit. Soldiers everywhere. Some them from that day with Oz. A wolf in a cage. And Riley. They were all talking. She walked towards them slowly. Her mind was heavy.
"....I don't need a bunch of tests to know that this thing's a killer." Riley pulled his gun out of the back of his pants and pointed in at the wolf.
"NO!" She screamed and ran towards Riley. She tried to wrestle the gun away from him. It went off once. They stopped when the wolf changed into Oz. Riley took a step back in shock, lowering his weapon.
"Tara?" She turned and looked at the cage.
"Oz." She whispered.
Tara jerked awake. She was covered in sweat. Some of that was real. She knew it. Felt it. His nightmare, not hers. She flung herself out of the bed and got dressed. She needed to talk to Giles. This wasn't right. The Hellmouth was screwing with her.
Oz jerked into consciousness with the echo of her whisper ringing in his ears. He was still at the entrance to the cemetery. He must have passed out trying to keep the wolf down. Not good to pass out in the open. He'd had the nightmare again. It usually ended with him not changing back fast enough and Riley shooting him, but not this time. She'd run in and saved him. He needed to get out of the cemetery. He stood up and shook off his dizziness. He tried not to think about Spike and Willow. That's when he heard the scream, and it was familiar. He didn't think. He just ran towards the direction it came from.
Tara was almost to Giles' when they tried to grab her. Vampires. Two of them. She screamed and ran towards the cemetery. It was closer, and Spike would be there. In her haste to get to the former watcher she had neglected shoes or a weapon of any kind. Her bare feet pounded on the pavement. She stumbled and skidded painfully, tearing the knee out of her jeans. She cried out as she felt the skin scrape off the palms of her hands. She pushed herself to her feet and kept going. They were close behind her as she started into the cemetery. She screamed as her foot caught a root, and she flew, landing painfully, her head catching the edge of a tombstone. She tried to get up and run, but she was grabbed in a viselike grip and flipped onto her back. She struggled to get him off her. He backhanded her so hard that she felt her teeth dig into the inside of her cheek. A strangled sob escaped her as blood gathered in her mouth. Her vision blurred with tears right as the vampire descended to her neck. She whimpered. Then she heard a low growl. Something jumped over her head and tackled the vampire off of her. Her head was swimming. They wrestled away, and then the vampire exploded into dust. The other vampire moved towards her. Her savior jumped between them and growled. The vampire turned and ran. Tara closed her eyes and leaned back against the headstone. She could feel the blood trickling out of the corner of her mouth.
"Tara? Tara? Wake up. Please, wake up." The voice was low and rumbled like thunder, but there was a thread of panic in it. She forced her eyes open. Oz was kneeling over her. He was half changed. His eyes black, his hair wild, his bottom teeth jutting out. He was stroking the side of her face with his claw-like hand, and it was shaking.
"O-Oz?" She wasn't dreaming. He was really there. He was part wolf. Her heart started pounding. Then everything went black as she fainted.
Giles jerked awake when he heard his door being kicked in. "GILES!" It was a roar. He grabbed his robe and ran down the stairs. He stopped when at the base of the stairs, certain he was dreaming. There stood Oz half in wolf form, holding a bleeding Tara in his arms.
"Oh my God. What have you done?"
"Help her." He growled.
"WHAT IN THE BLOODY HELL HAVE YOU DONE?!"
"GODDAMMIT! I SAVED HER LIFE!" He closed his eyes in pain and faltered, nearly dropping Tara's limp body. He opened them again. He was starting to shake. Giles had seen it before. He was changing. Oz laid Tara on the couch and backed away. "Tranquilizer gun." He gritted. Giles didn't move. "NOW!"
Giles dove for his weapons chest. Thank God they had kept it. He heard snarling and turned firing the dart. It hit the wolf mid-leap. It yelped and twisted in the air landing six inches from Giles' bare feet. He let out the breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. He looked up to see Tara's fear-filled eyes peering over the couch staring at the unconscious wolf.
"Tara, are you alright?"
"H-he came out of n-nowhere."
Giles was at the girl's side in an instant, his arms around her. "It's alright. You're safe. He can't hurt you now."
She pushed away and looked at him. "No, h-h-he s-s-s-aved me."
He was sitting in Willow's dorm room thinking about less confusing waffles when someone knocked, so he answered. He pulled open the door.
"Oh..." Beauty. "Sorry..." Haunted eyes. "I-I'll..." Blonde hair. "I'll come back." Full pink lips.
<Speak moron> "Are you lookin' for Willow? She's just in the bathroom down the hall."
"No. No. No, it's, it's ok." She was beautiful, stuttering like that. He could smell her fear of him. Why? She didn't even know him.
"I saw you at Giles' yesterday." <Way to state the obvious, man> She took a step back. Why was she so afraid?
"Yeah, sometimes Willow takes me with her to the S-s-scooby's."
She'd done it again. She'd drawn out her 's' in a way that made his mouth go dry. Speechless, he just nodded in response. Like he was known for his chattiness anyway. "You sure you don't wanna come in?" He wanted her to stay for some strange reason.
She nodded no, smiled and tried to walk away. He grabbed her wrist and yanked her to him. He kicked the door closed and slammed her against it. She whimpered. He growled and sniffed her neck. His hand went behind her neck to hold her there as he buried his nose in her hair.
"Oz?"
He growled and ran his other hand from her wrist up her body to the side of her face. He kissed the corner of her mouth and tasted blood.
"Oz."
"Oz!"
Oz jerked awake to see Buffy standing over him. He tried to move, but he was chained to Giles' bed, his lower half covered with a blanket. He was sweating and had about half a hard-on from his dream. His breathing was uneven.
"B-Buffy?"
"What happened?"
"Tara?"
"She's downstairs." He struggled against the chains, trying to get up. "Hey! Hey!" She threw herself on him to hold him down. He kept struggling. "Oz! Stop!" She growled in slayer mode. He froze. Her face was only inches from his. "What happened?"
"She was attacked by vamps near the cemetery. I just happened to be out there."
"You wolfed out on Giles. Why?"
"He accused me of doing the attacking."
Buffy stopped holding him down and leaned back. "And you got upset."
He looked away. "Yeah."
She took the keys out and started unlocking the chains. "Does Will know you're here?"
"No."
She put the keys in his hand. "I'm glad you are."
He looked at her. "Why?"
"You saved Tara's life. Willow cares about her."
He looked away again. "Yeah."
She got up to walk downstairs. "Riley's bringing you some clothes."
"There seems to be a lot of that lately. Situation's much nicer this time."
She looked back at him. He was sitting up. She could still see faint bruises and burns on his arms and chest. Riley had said they tortured him. Buffy felt a pain in her chest. They'd hurt him. Someone she cared about. Her friend. He was strapped down, and they tortured him. All she felt was rage. And guilt. Her eyes teared up a little.
"Buffy?"
"I'm so sorry, Oz."
"For what?"
"For everything. For bringing you into my daily death march. For not getting there before you had to do what you did to Veruca. For putting you in danger all the time. For this. For there being vampires out tonight. For everything, just everything."
"Buffy, you do realize you sound crazy, right? You're talkin' crazy talk. This has nothing to do with you. None of this is your fault. Without you, I'd be dead. Someone in Shri Lanka would be wearing pelt-o-Oz right now. Veruca's not your fault. There was no other way for that to end. She wasn't gonna stop until Willow was dead, and I couldn't have that. As for the danger, well, we live on a Hellmouth. That can't be helped, and the vampires? They'll always be vampires. Just like there'll always be a slayer. No blaming here, ok?"
She sat back on the bed and hugged him. "No blaming, but promise you'll stay until you're better. Absolutely no taking off again. Those burns still need to heal."
"Among other things."
"It'll be ok, Oz."
"What makes you say that?"
"I dunno. Because it has to be, I guess." He hugged her tighter.
Giles was asleep in a chair. Riley had come and gone. He and Buffy had gone to find Willow. Tara knew where she was, but she couldn't say anything. They'd cleaned her hands, her forehead, her knee. They'd bandaged her and told her to sleep. As if she could with him here. Tara slid off the couch and crept up the stairs. He was asleep. Asleep in just a pair of navy sweat pants. One hand was tucked behind his head, the other rested on his bare stomach. She walked closer and leaned over him. She stared at his sleeping face. His hand shot out and grabbed her arm. The scream the formed on her lips was cut off by the other hand clamping over her mouth. Before she could blink, she was on her back on the bed with him sitting on her. She only seen Buffy or Spike move that fast.
"Oh." He rolled off of her just as quickly. She didn't move. "Sorry." She still didn't move. He was laying right next to her. He propped himself up on his elbow and stared down at her. His face showed worry. "You surprised me. I didn't hurt you, did I?" She looked into his eyes. There was genuine concern in them.
"N-n-no."
Oz stared at her mouth. Her perfect mouth. "Wh-what were you doing?"
He'd just stuttered. She couldn't believe it. "Wh-why did you h-help me?"
"I couldn't let them do that."
"I-I thought y-you h-hated me."
"Why would I hate you? I barely know you."
"W-Willow."
"I don't hate you, Tara. I don't hate anybody, least of all you."
She smiled. He leaned over and kissed her. It was feather light, but her heart started pounding. Downstairs, the door to the apartment slammed against the wall.
"GILES! Tara's missing!" Willow screamed.
Oz and Tara jumped apart. They stared. She put her fingers to her lips. He grabbed that hand and brought it to his mouth. She shuddered as his lips grazed her knuckles. They could hear someone coming up the stairs. He gently placed her hand in the center of her chest and rolled off the bed. He pulled open the curtains and looked out the window right as Willow burst into the room.
She reached Tara in two strides and gathered the other girl in her arms. "Oh God. What happened? I got back and you weren't there and I panicked and I couldn't find you and I couldn't find Buffy and I came here and Giles said you were attacked and I'm babbling. Sorry."
"It's f-fine. I'm ok. Oz saved me." She gestured to the window.
Willow froze. There he was. Gone for a week and back. Back in nothing but a pair of navy sweat pants. "Oz?"
He turned. "Hey, Will." His face bore no expression, but there was something cold in his manner. It was familiar somehow. Like the time she got caught with Xander. He couldn't know she'd lied to him, could he?
It had just gotten dark, and they were all sitting in Giles' living room talking about things. There was a tension in the air that couldn't be pinpointed. Buffy had noticed early in the process that Oz was quieter than usual. He'd barely said anything, and he kept giving Willow the oddest looks. It reminded Buffy of that time when he caught Willow and Xander kissing.
Xander had noticed it too. He'd studied Oz a lot after that whole thing with him getting caught with Willow. It was odd to see that face again. This time around Oz was the cheater. He'd been the one to leave. What did he have to be mad about? Tara? No, she wasn't getting any of those looks from Oz. If anything, when the wolf's gaze happened to fall on the blonde witch, it was downright tender.
Then Spike burst into the apartment.
"Spike, what are you doing here?" The slayer gritted.
"I heard the blonde witch was attacked. I came to see if she was alright."
"Whatever. You came to gloat. Well, you can take your gloat elsewhere."
"Fine." His eyes roamed over Tara's form taking in her injuries. She seemed ok. His eyes locked with Willow's. "I'll be going then."
Oz growled. Everyone turned to him. His eyes were locked with Spike's. He knew.
"Oz?" Buffy put a hand on his shoulder. He shrugged it off and stood. His growl got louder.
"Better tell your mutt to back off, Red."
Oz leapt at him. They both crashed to the floor. Buffy reacted quickly and pulled Oz off of Spike. Willow rushed up to him.
"What are you doing? Oz?" She reached out to him.
Spike grabbed her and pulled her back from the snarling person in Buffy's arms. Oz went crazy. He threw himself out of Buffy's arms and grabbed Willow, bringing her within an inch of his face.
"You lied to me." His voice was deadly. "Just like you're lying to all of them. How come they couldn't find you this morning, Willow? Where were you?"
"I-"
"And don't lie because I know where you were."
"I was at the library."
"LIAR." He shoved her away and she went sprawling into Spike, knocking them both to the floor. Oz ran past them out into the night.
"Will, what was all that about?" Buffy folded her arms across her chest.
"I don't wanna talk about it. I'm going home."
"I'll walk you, pet."
"No thank you. " She snapped and stomped out the door.
"Well, too bad. " He stomped out after her, slamming the door behind him.
"Oh my God. We are so stupid." Everyone looked at Anya. "Willow's not in love with Tara. She's having sex with Spike."
"What?!"
"No!"
"That's absurd!"
"Willow and HIM?!"
"SHE IS SO IN LOVE WITH ME!!!!"
Everyone looked up at Tara. She was standing with her hands fisted at her sides, her eyes brimming with tears, trembling. "S-she does l-love me."
"Tara we didn't-" Buffy started, but she was cut off.
"N-n-no!" Tara turned and fled the apartment.
Riley got up and walked for the door.
"Where are you going?" Buffy asked.
"I'm gonna make sure she gets to her dorm safe. She was really upset. I wouldn't want to see her get attacked again."
Xander stood. "I'll go with you." The two of them left.
Buffy looked at Giles and Anya. "What the hell just happened?"
Tara was running hard. Tears were running down her face, and her sobs were getting louder. Willow DID love her. She did. They didn't know anything. Willow loved her. She may love Spike more, but she did love her. She stopped at a tree near her dorm to catch her breath. She looked at the sky. There were some wicked clouds out tonight. The air smelled like rain. She should probably get inside. She screamed when she felt someone's hand on her arm. She spun around to see Oz.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. Are you ok?"
"Wh-where have y-you been s-sleeping?"
"In my van. You didn't answer my question."
And then it started to rain. Hard.
Tara pulled Oz into her room. In the minute it took them to run into her dorm they had gotten completely drenched. The borrowed t shirt he wore clung to him. Tara kicked off her wet shoes and went to her closet. She pulled out a pink terry cloth robe Oz recognized. She handed it to him and turned her back. He stripped out of his wet clothes and put the robe on. It was very soft. It smelled like her. He cleared his throat, and she turned back around. He turned away and heard her removing her wet clothes. He'd barely had time to think. It had started pouring down rain. Before he knew it, she had grabbed his hand and pulled him into her room.
"O-Oz?" He turned and his breath caught. She was wearing a pair of boxer shorts and a t shirt. Her hair was hanging down in wet strings. He thought she was beautiful like that. "Wh-why don't you make yourself comfortable and I-I'll go p-put your clothes in the dryer."
"Ok." And with that, she ducked out of the room with his wet clothes in her hands. Oz started to pace. What the hell was going on with him? He was dreaming about her. He'd kissed her. And now he was getting all hot just wearing her robe. She'd stolen his Willow. Well, he thought she had. He was NOT supposed to be attracted to her. He loved Willow, didn't he?
Tara was on her way to the laundry room on the first floor when she ran into Riley and Xander. Almost literally. They were both drenched.
"R-Riley? X-Xander? Wh-what are you doing here?"
"We came to see if you were ok. You seemed a little upset. We just wanted to make sure you were safe." Sweet Riley. Buffy was so lucky. He was nice to the point of it being sickening.
"Anya didn't mean anything by what she said, Tara. We know Will loves you." And Xander. Always apologizing for himself or Anya. They were such sweet guys.
"Thank you. B-both of you. I'm fine." She continued to walk.
"I'm really sorry about Anya, Tara."
"It's f-fine, Xander. Really. I'll s-see you guys tomorrow, ok?"
"Ok" They both said as she ducked into the laundry room. They turned to walk away. When they were walking back out into the rain, Riley spoke.
"Did you see that?"
"See what?"
"The clothes."
"What about them?"
"They were the ones Oz had on."
Tara crept back into her room quietly. He was lying on the bed. Her stereo was on. His eyes were closed. He looked so at ease there among all her pillows.
"C-comfortable?"
He sat up quickly. "Sorry."
"Don't be. I want you to be comfortable." He gaped at her. "What?"
"You stopped stuttering."
"R-really? I didn't even notice."
"I'm a little worn. Wake me when my threads are dry. I'm gonna take the floor."
He swung his legs off the bed. She was at him in an instant. "You w-will not. Y-you're still wounded. If I can sleep in the s-same bed with Spike, I can t-trust you." She grabbed his legs and put them back on the bed, causing the robe fall open a bit. She got an eyeful of those legs. She blushed.
"I can not sleep with you. I don't even know you." <I don't trust myself to not touch you.>
"It's not as if we're gonna have s-sex, Oz. We're just sleeping. You're s-still hurt. The floor's not all it's cracked up to be."
He wasn't gonna win here. But, damn, if her stuttering the word sex hadn't made him hot under her robe. "Ok, but separate blankets."
"Deal."
"Wait. You slept with Spike?"
Willow stared out the door of the crypt as the rain fell. Spike came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her.
"It's alright, love." She turned to face him.
"How can you say that? This is so very far from alright."
"It's not so bad. It could be worse."
"How? Cause I gotta tell ya, I don't see it being any worse."
"The slayer could have burst in on us this morning."
"Ok, that would have been worse. Very bad."
"She could have see you like this." He started kissing her neck. "Or like this." He rubbed his hands over to top of her t shirt.
"Or like this." She pushed off his duster and yanked his black t shirt over his head. "Or even like this." She started placing small bites on his chest.
"Mmm. Because that would have been, mmm, ohhhh, bad. Bad Willow."
She screamed light, airy. She couldn't catch her breath. She picked up the chair and threw it. He went down, snarling. He didn't get back up. She gulped in air. The room filled. Riley?
"Are you ok?" All she saw was his gray sweater. He was tall like Riley.
"What was going on?" They were sacking him up in a body bag. No.
"We'll take it from here." The gray sweater said.
"This thing looks like it may be one of the demons that took out Graham's guys the other night." They were all talking at once. Taking HIM.
Then she heard Riley's voice. "So we'll take it back and make an ID. If it is, we'll put him down." <Riley, no, you don't understand.>
"You don't understand that's a p-p-p-per-"
The guy in the gray sweater grabbed her arms. "Listen, we know what we're doing. You're in shock." He was trying to be soothing, but her panic was only escalating. She COULD NOT let them take him.
"But-"
"We'll handle it." They were carrying him off.
"NO! OZ!"
He woke up when she whimpered. He laid next to her listening to her heavy breathing. She had to be having a nightmare. Maybe he should wake her. Suddenly, she sat up straight and screamed. It scared him to his very core. Not that she screamed, but what she screamed.
"NO! OZ!" Her hands were reaching out in front of her, moving wildly. He grabbed her before she flailed herself out of the bed. "No, he's a person! He's a person!" She started crying. Oz wrapped his arms around her tightly, pulling her back into his chest. He grabbed her wrists and folded her arms into her chest.
"Tara, it's ok. It was a nightmare."
"O-Oz?"
"I'm right here."
She turned in his arms. "Oh God, don't let me go." She was shaking.
"I won't." He started rubbing small circles on her back. He could feel her breath and tears on his neck. The nearness of her was making it difficult for him to think. "Tell me?"
"They b-bagged you up and t-took you away and I c-couldn't s-say anything."
"Not your fault."
She started crying harder. She ran her hand along his collarbone and behind his neck to pull herself closer. "Wh-what you do to m-me. I-I can't explain it. But I-I can't stop. I can't stop." Her mouth was right next to his ear. He pulled back and looked at her. Her eyes. Those haunted eyes.
"Then, don't stop." He brought his mouth to hers.
Buffy was asleep on his couch. Anya had long retired to Xander's. Giles hung up the phone in shock. He hated to wake her, but she would want to know. He wasn't going to tell her when Angel had called before, but now he had no choice. He put a hand on her shoulder and shook gently.
"Buffy?"
"No." He shook harder.
"Buffy."
Her eyes flew open. "What?" She sat up to make room for him on the couch. "Giles, what's wrong?"
"Cordelia phoned. It seems Faith showed up in Los Angeles and tried to kill Angel."
"Oh my God. Is he..."
"He's alright."
"I have to go." She looked up at him, unshed tears in her eyes. "I have to go."
He pulled her into his arms. "I know."
Spike was nervous. Adam had sent for him. He was meeting him in the cave. It looked like good old Mr. Patchwork had been set up there for a while. He'd been spouting off his plan like the big mismatched freak he was all day. Spike was pissed. They slayer was out of town checking on Peaches. He could be shagging Willow senseless right now, but no, he was here with demonoid phenomenon talking about bringing down the slayer. Something he hardly wanted to do. He just hoped when he talked about her, he threw in enough demeaning comments. He hate for Adam to notice he actually had respect for the girl. He'd even asked why he hadn't killed her yet. Spike had to stumble for an answer. He didn't think, 'Cos I really like her' would cut it. Then he gave his whole rant on how Spike felt. It was impressive. Even gave the blonde vampire pause, but that was not how he felt. He wondered what Adam would say if he told him he was so consumed with two little witches, a redhead in particular, he couldn't think straight. That the two of them made him feel complete in a way no one ever had. He did want the chip out, but not at the expense of the two girls he was rapidly falling for. If the slayer were hurt, they'd be upset. He couldn't have that. Then he'd done it. He mentioned them. The slayers friends. Adam had said to get rid of them. Spike's gut twisted. He was in over his head. He told Adam to leave them to him. He had to keep him away from them. He had to come up with something. Something that wouldn't hurt them too badly.
"So what do you think about what we saw the other night?" Riley asked Xander.
"Which what we saw?" Xander was busy looking around at the remains of his old high school.
"Tara with Oz's clothes."
"Are you sure they were his?"
"Yeah, I'm sure. I'm the one that brought them to him."
"Oh. I dunno. I haven't seen Oz, so one can assume he left. Again."
"You don't think he stayed with Tara?"
"No. Why would he?"
"I dunno. This whole thing just seems weird to me. Like there were undercurrents we weren't getting the other night at Giles' place, you know?"
"Yeah, I kinda got that, but I think it was just Oz being weird. He's been through a lot with Will."
"Know if she's back yet?"
Xander knew exactly what 'she' Riley was referring to. "LA woman? Haven't heard from her. She'll probably come here first thing though. Hey!" He took the bag off his shoulder and tossed it to Riley. "Who's your buddy? So you don't have to be GI Joe while your civvies are gettin' washed. Try those on. You'll feel like a new man."
Riley had been pulling the pants out of the bag. They were hideous. Where had Xander found them? He spoke before he could stop himself. "Would this man have a bright red nose and big floppy feet?" Xander made a face at him that told him he sure wasn't funny. "I'm sorry. That's the cabin fever talkin'."
"But as post apocalypse splendor goes-"
"I've done wonders with the place."
"Yeah."
"Still, the sooner Buffy gets back, the better I'll feel."
"You and me both, big guy."
Riley sat down on his bedroll. "I take it you're not an Angel fan either?"
"Well, It's not like I hate the guy. Just, you know, the guts part of him."
"Can't blame ya. But to be fair, it's not him you hate. It's the curse." Xander looked down. No, he was pretty sure it was Angel he hated. "Right?"
"What did Buffy tell you?" He sat down too.
"About Angel? Everything. More than I wanted to know sometimes. She loved him. He turned evil. He, uh, killed people. She cured him. He left. Interesting little curse."
She'd told him. Xander almost sighed in relief. That could have been so bad. "One moment's happiness." He said shaking his head.
"What do you mean?"
"You know, it's his trigger. Angel's an ok guy if he's mopey and sad and brooding, but you give him even one second of pure real pleasure..." Xander shook his head.
"And that sets him off."
"Only in the big old 'kill you friends' kind of way." He was on a roll and not seeing the hurt building in the other man. "And you know what makes Angel happiest? I'll give you a hint, it's not creme brulet."
Riley got it. "Buffy." He looked away. "Sex with Buffy." How could she not tell him THAT part?
Xander watched as Riley wilted right before his eyes. <OH SHIT> "She kind of left that part out, huh?"
"Yeah, she did." Oh this was bad. "That explains a lot of things that I wish weren't explained."
He so had to fix this. "Hey, man that's all ancient history."
"She went running to LA to bone up on her history."
Bad. "No. I'm sure it's boneless. She just needs to make sure everything's ok. She's probably back already."
"Maybe."
"You'll feel a lot better when you see her." Bad, bad, bad.
"I guess we'll see." Riley looked back down, and Xander was left with the feeling that he had just screwed up. Badly.
Spike took an unneeded breath before pushing the door open to Giles' apartment. Did the man never lock his door? This was Sunnydale after all. Then he stopped. Rupert was playing guitar and singing. Free Bird of all things. It was time. He could do this. He had to. They were all going to hate him, but at least they'd be alive.
"Ok, I keep thinking, ok, that's the cutest thing ever. And then she does something cuter and completely resets the whole scale."
"Did you see her yawn earlier?"
"Yesss."
Tara giggled a little. For some reason this was making her think of Oz. Her little secret. Maybe it was the use of the word cute? Because he was very cute.
"I thought I was gonna die. Oh, I love you Miss Kitty Fantastico."
"We gotta get her a real name."
"You should have heard Spike's suggestion. 'You should call her Riley, since she's a pussy'." Willow said sounding just like Spike.
Tara laughed. "He didn't."
"He did. He makes me so mad sometimes."
"But you love him." Tara got up and walked to the window. She wondered if he was there. Her wolf. She pulled back the curtains and wondered when she had started to think of him as hers.
"And you."
"Yeah, and me." He was there. Watching.
"Tara, are you ok?"
She pressed her palm to the glass in longing before she turned to Willow and smiled. "I'm fine."
He'd gone too far. Xander had gotten upset. Really upset. He paused for a second outside the apartment door. Willow was last. She was going to hate him for this. He didn't know if he could do it. He had to. He'd made the decision he could live without her as long as she was alive. He busted in the door, breathing heavy for effect.
"I think I lost the buggers."
Willow jumped up. Her face was all concern. Her mouth said "Any luck with the disks?", but her eyes were saying 'Are you ok?'.
He dug in his pockets. "Took what they had. Should be something useful on one of them." He handed them off, his thumb brushing her wrist.
Tara looked at him briefly then down at the computer. "So what are we looking for?"
"Anything about Adam." Willow said as she scooted her chair up.
"Any problems getting in and out?" Giles asked. His speech was slightly slurred.
"No. I mean, a couple of 'em made me on the way out, but I took care of 'em."
"Gave them a good running away from them, did you?" He took another drink.
Spike looked at him. He was sloshed. "Well yeah, when do I get paid?"
"When Willow tells me you've brought us something useful."
This wasn't good. He couldn't do it. The watcher was all drunk, and who knew what Xander the boy blunder had done. Then he looked at them. His girls. Tara lightly playing with Willow's hair. He had to. It would keep them away from it. He moved in for the kill.
"I could'a gone straight to the slayer, ya know. I cut you in, let you pretend you're actually in charge, and now you've got to wait for Red's permission to finish the deal?"
"As soon as we see what's on the disks." The watcher practically hissed.
"It looks like gibberish." Tara said. The two men looked up.
"Gibberish?" What HAD Adam given him?
"They're encrypted." Willow said as he came to stand on her other side.
And an "Oh wonderful." from the drunk.
"Can you fix 'em?"
"Crack a government encryption code on my laptop? Easy as really difficult pie."
She was so lovely. Her short pixie hair and big green eyes. She smelled like her strawberry shampoo. He needed to memorize her now because soon she wouldn't come near him. "You're not exactly the wiz these days either. God, I'm never gonna get paid"
"I am a wiz."
"She is a wiz."
"If ever a wiz there was. I-I just need some time." He could hear the hurt creeping into her voice already. He needed to hurry before he lost his nerve.
"No, I just heard you weren't.... your mates said you weren't playing with computers so much. Into the new thing." He nodded at Tara.
"What new thing?" What was he getting at?
"You know, you two. The whole wicca thing. " He felt like a rotten bastard.
"Th-they they were talking about that?"
"Can we get back to business here? I've got a deal at stake." If he just avoided her eyes.
"What did they say?" Her voice sounded so childlike.
"Talking about, you know, it's a phase. You'll get over it."
"What? Who said that? Was it Buffy?" Oh God he couldn't do this. Too late though. She turned to Tara. "Cause you know what? She means well."
"No, she was defending you cause Xander said you were just being trendy."
"Trendy?"
"I don't know what they were goin' on about. Person wants to be a witch, that's their business."
Willow shook her head sadly. "I knew Buffy was freaked." Spike felt like shit.
"You should talk to her. Cause I'm sure she-"
Spike cut Tara off. "Pressing business ladies. Don't wanna get sidetracked. Still got your monsters to fight." He walked away. He was a rotten, rotten bastard, and he'd never forget the wounded look on Willow's face. Ever.
Oz squinted. Couldn't be. But there he was walking across campus. All in black, black coat flapping in the breeze. Some things didn't change. Oz walked directly up to the vampire. He fell in step next to him.
"Hey man."
Angel turned. "Oz?"
"Hey." He looked at the taller guy. "Woa, what happened?"
"What?"
"I was just noticing your lips look a little more bee stung than usual, Angel. Nice blood on that temple, too."
"Yeah, well, I got in a fight."
"With Buffy?"
"No, her boyfriend."
"Riley?"
"Yeah, that's the one."
"Does Buffy know?"
"She does."
"I'm thinkin' she wasn't happy about it?"
"She threatened to hospitalize us both if we didn't quit."
"You beat him up in front of her?"
"Well, no, not exactly. I beat him up, and then we got into it again in her dorm room."
"Wow."
"What are you doing here? Cordelia told me you left."
"I did. I was in Tibet."
"I knew that part. She told me you left again. Why are you here now?"
"Doing what you do best, oddly enough."
"What's that?" They'd reached Angel's convertible.
"Lurking."
Angel laughed. "Willow knows you're here, right? Because I know Buffy gets pretty mad about the not knowing."
"She knows, but it's not her I've been watching."
"Oh."
"Yeah, oh."
Angel knew he wasn't going to say who it was he'd been watching, so he let it drop. He had to go anyway. "Good to see you again, Oz."
"You too, man." They shook hands. "Tell Cordelia I said hello."
"I'll do that." He got in his car and drove off.
"Go."
"Gone." Spike headed for the opening of the cave. This whole double crossing stitch-boy thing was harder than he thought it was going to be. He turned back to Adam. "So, um, we'll do this chip thing when I get back." Adam glared at him. Spike hurried out of the cave. This was not good. The slayer's lapdog had a chip too. It looked like he may be batting for the opposite team now. That made for some bad odds. She'd need her friends. She'd need her watcher. She may even need him, but he'd been planning on helping from the start. Now there was a complication. He hadn't counted on Riley. He needed to make a new plan because his current one sucked, and it was making him feel like shit.
Oz knocked on her door. Tara swung it open.
"Wh-what are you doing here?" She pulled him inside and shut the door
"I saw Willow leave."
"She just went to talk to S-Spike. She'll be back any m-minute."
"Are you ok?" He put his hands on her arms. His face concerned.
"I'm ok. I guess. There was a fight last night."
"Between you and Willow?"
"No. Buffy, Willow, Giles, and Xander. Anya and I were hiding out in the bathroom. It was h-horrible, Oz. The things that got said. They're s-supposed to be best friends. And Giles, I think he was d-drunk."
"Oh man. Are YOU alright, though?"
"I don't know. S-Spike told Willow some things that had been said. N-not n-nice things."
Oz pulled her into his arms. "Hey, it's ok. Those guys have had fights before."
"This was different s-somehow. Just keep h-holding me and telling me it will be ok."
"I can do that."
"Why?"
Spike turned. Willow was standing in the doorway of his crypt. He looked at her trying to memorize everything. Her hair, her eyes, her smile, her hands, her skin. Her. "Why what, Red?"
"Why did you have to tell me those things? In front of Tara. In front of Giles."
"I-"
"Were you trying to hurt me?"
"Now look here-"
"Because it seemed like you were. I know you're supposed to hate me, but that was harsh. I especially didn't like the part when you pretended you didn't know what they were talking about. You didn't have to do that in front of Tara. You know she's paranoid about Buffy and Xander liking her, and you did it anyway. It was just mean."
"Well, I am a demon."
"I know. I'd almost forgotten, but you went and reminded me."
"What do you want me to do about it, pet?"
"I don't know." Her eyes were very sad. She seemed tired, defeated.
"And here you're supposed to be the smart one."
"Good-bye, Spike."
"Where are you going?"
"To decrypt the disks, so you can get paid since it's so important to you."
"Red-"
"Don't." She turned to leave. And he knew. No matter what, she'd stand by the slayer. She'd be there in the end for whatever happened with Adam. No stupid fight changed that.
"Willow?"
She looked at him. Her eyes were filled with tears. "Yes?" He'd called her by her name. He rarely did that.
"Be careful."
She stared at him for a long time. "Too late for that because I'm in love you." She turned and ran.
Spike stood in shock. Tara was right. She loved him. What in the hell had he done?
Buffy sat on the floor leaning against her bed. She been staring off into space for hours. She couldn't find Riley. Willow, Giles, and Xander were mad at her for reasons she couldn't hope to understand. They were accusing her of something, but she didn't know what. Sure, they'd said all that stuff about her thinking she was so superior, but there was something else there. She needed to do something. She got up. The picture on Willow's night stand caught her eye. Her, Xander, and Will at the start of their junior year. Where were those people? The blonde in that picture had only kissed Angel twice. The redhead had never had a boyfriend who hadn't stolen her Barbies, and the boy had yet to be introduced to the world. Before Angelus, before Oz, before Cordelia, before Spike, before Kendra, before Faith. The people in that picture had no idea what was in store for them. They were so much younger then. They had only faced the end of the world once. They were happy then. Buffy picked up the phone and dialed half of Giles' number before she hung up. No, she'd go look for trouble instead. Alone.
Spike was walking into the cave when the slayer came barreling out, wielding a somewhat large ax. She turned, ready to attack and then noticed it was him. She looked pissed. Spike threw up his hands.
"Easy, sheriff. Watch where you point that thing."
"What are you doing here?"
<Pretending to plot with the bad guy?> Spike lowered his arms. "Looking for a little weekend getaway place. Shove off." He tried to walk away.
"Adam's been using these caves."
<Shit.> "What?"
"I found his lair."
"Oh cripes, that's all I need." <A nosey slayer to get herself all nice and killed before I can help prevent it.> "Run into that goon."
"Yeah, well, Adam's cleared outta here, so whatever he's planning is about to go down."
Bloody hell, she was smarter than people gave her credit for sometimes. He knew she was going to win this war. She always won in the end. He just needed to make sure she stayed alive to enjoy her victory. It was time to fix the damage he'd done and come up with a new plan. He smiled a little. "Look at little Nancy Drew. What about those disks I nabbed? They ought to tell you something."
She looked unsure of herself for a moment. "Willow has the disks."
"Well, I'd get on that." He watched as she gave her trademark eye roll. Time for the big hint. "Can't ignore valuable information just 'cause you two birds fell out now, can you?" Her face changed. Yes. She got it. Smarter than the average bear, this slayer.
"Right."
"Well, you do what you want." He turned and started walking away. "No worry of mine now, is it?" He smiled as he heard her run off. "Go, slayer. Find them." He whispered. He'd be there waiting for them to arrive.
"Oz."
"Hey."
"Come in." She grabbed a handful of his shirt and yanked him to her. She slammed the door as her mouth met his. He pulled away.
"Are you ok?"
"N-no." She started crying.
"Tara, what is it?"
"It was S-Spike. H-he played everyone against each other to split us apart. H-he lied. Buffy thinks he's been working with Adam."
"That bastard." He growled low in his throat.
"He slept in my bed, Oz. I t-trusted him."
Oz wrapped him arms around her. "Where's Willow now?"
"H-her, Giles, Xander, and Buffy have a plan. They're going after Adam."
"Where?"
"The Initiative."
"When?"
"They should be there now. Oz, I'm s-so s-scared. What if-"
"Come on." He pulled her to the door.
"W-where are we going?"
"To Xander's to get Anya and go help them."
"Wh-what?"
"I will not stand by while they risk everything. I can't."
"Ok. Just keep me close."
"That's my plan." He kissed her cheek.
"You can tell me anything. I love you. You're my best friend."
Buffy leaned over and hugged her. "Me too. I love you too." They weren't concentrating and slid down the elevator shaft faster, still hugging. "Falling now." They hit the top of the elevator and hugged again.
"I promise to never not talk again."
"I promise. I promise." She had to tell her.
Xander dropped down between them as they parted. They both hugged him.
"Xander."
"Wonderful Xander."
"You know we love you, right?"
"We totally do."
He looked from one to the other. "Oh God, we're gonna die, aren't we?"
"No, we just missed you." Willow laid her cheek on his shoulder.
Xander smiled. He'd missed his best gal pals too. He grinned, wanting to giggle. "Giles, hurry up. You definitely wanna get down here for this."
Giles dropped the rest of the way quickly. Buffy wrapped her arms around him. "I love you. We should train more often."
"What?"
Willow and Xander wrapped their arms around him too. "You're the best, Giles." Willow whispered.
"You're my favorite grown-up, G-man."
"How many times have I told you never to call me that, Xander? What's gotten into the three of you?"
Buffy looked him in the eye. She placed her hand over his heart. "Never again doubt what you mean to me. I don't care what the stupid council says. You are my watcher. I am your slayer. Always will be. We're a team. All of us. Four years and counting. No more lies. No more secrets."
He stared at her. "Agreed."
"Agreed." Xander put his hand on Buffy's shoulder.
"I have something to tell you guys. And you won't like it." They turned to Willow she was looking down. Buffy grabbed her hand.
"You can tell us anything, Will."
The redhead looked up. Her eyes were filled with tears. "I'm in love with someone."
"We know, Will. Tara." Xander sighed.
"No, that was a lie. I mean, I do love her. Just not that way."
"Who is it then?" Buffy asked.
Willow closed her eyes as the tears slipped down her cheeks. "Spike."
"What?" Said three voices.
"I'm in love with him, and all this time it was a game. To hurt me."
Giles stepped to her and wrapped his arms around her. "We can't control who we love, Willow."
"He lied to me. He lied to all of us. I thought I mattered to him." She pulled back and looked at them. "Sorry. This isn't the time for this." She wiped away her tears.
"I'm glad you told us." Buffy hugged her again.
"Me to, Will. Now Buffy can stake him for hurting you." Everyone glared at Xander. "What?"
Giles laughed and shook his head. He was suddenly brought back to the day when the four of them were in the library at Sunnydale High for the first time. Their first Scooby meeting. Xander and Willow's friend Jesse had been taken. What was it Buffy had said. Oh yes, now he remembered. Giles laughed again.
Buffy put her hands on her hips. "Ok, Giles, share. What's the funny here?"
"I was just remembering the first time all of us met. You told Xander that there was no 'we'. You were the slayer. He was not."
"No 'we', huh?" She looked at the three of them. "God, have I ever been more wrong?"
"Uh, Buff, do you really want us to answer that?" Xander grinned. The four of them laughed. Then they busted out with their tools and weapons.
Spike stood next to Adam watching the monitor. Any minute now.
"It's must-see TV. Bait's been taken. Trap's all set. Slayer has landed." Spike smiled. "So, one chip-erectomy, please." Adam didn't move. "Hell-ooo? Paging Dr. Owe-me-one?"
"She's not alone."
Spike turned back to the screen. The first thing he saw was Willow. What the hell was going on? Why was she here? She was supposed to do her helping magic from far, far away where it was safe. Spike felt faint. He had to get to her. It wasn't safe. She wasn't safe here.
"You've failed me again."
"Well, that's one way of looking at it."
"What's the other way?"
She was in danger. He couldn't stand it if anything happened to her. She had to know the truth about what had gone on. He didn't want to be without her. Ever. He had to make her understand how much he loved her. Spike ran. He was stopped by a claw like hand on his throat.
"Oh! Come on, it's not like I wasn't trying! That's worth something, isn't it?"
"I suppose. Yes. I will honor our agreement and remove your chip. Take his head off."
Spike was thrown onto an old control board. The claw hand gripping her throat. He reached up with his still burning cigarette and put it to the hybrid's eye. He pushed him off and ran. He'd find his Willow or die trying.
Anya sat up as Oz and Tara came barreling down the stairs into Xander's basement.
"Xander?"
Oz looked at her. Her eyes were all puffy. She had on one of Xander's t shirts and was holding his pillow tightly.
"No. It's Oz and Tara."
"Oz? Why are you here? I thought you left again."
"Nope. Come on, Anya. Put some pants on. We're going."
"Going where?"
"Does Xander have any rope or anything around here? Because we're gonna have to go down the elevator shaft."
"Elevator shaft where?"
"The Initiative."
"Xander told me to stay here."
"I refuse to sit idly by while people I love risk themselves."
"Well put. Let me find some pants."
Spike saw them running. The slayer was knocking down demons left and right. She was truly amazing. His eyes sought out Willow. She was in between Giles and Xander as they made their way across. Some idiot was shooting randomly. Spike's gut twisted as he saw the slayer throw her to the ground. He was all the way across the large room from them. Giles pulled her to her feet. The four of them ran into a room. Spike started fighting his way towards that room. He needed to get to her.
Oz tied off the rope and wrapped it around the desk in the room for leverage. Anya tied a loop around the other end. She stepped into it and brought the rope under her, so she'd sit on it while she was being lowered.
"Don't drop me."
"W-we won't." Tara said and hugged her. "We'll be down in a minute."
"I'll be waiting." She sat on the floor and scooted off the edge into the elevator shaft. The rope went taught in Oz's hands. Tara grabbed the rope to help. They both started lowering slowly. Anya could hear them talking.
"Oz?"
"Yeah."
"I-I h-have to tell you s-something."
"I'm listening."
"I-I l-love you."
"What?"
The rope slid, and Anya gasped as she went down six or seven feet very quickly. She grunted as she came to an abrupt halt. She pounded on the wall of the elevator shaft. "HEY! Declarations of love later! Lowering Anya to the bottom of the elevator shaft safely now!"
"Sorry, Anya!" Oz yelled.
But the ex demon was smiling.
Spike grabbed the demon right as it burst through the door. He broke it's neck. Willow, Xander, and Giles stared at him.
"Nasty sort of fellow. Lucky for you blighters I was here, ey?"
"Yes, uh, thank you." Giles said. they all seemed to be out of breath. "Although your heroism's most likely muted by the fact that you were helping Adam to start a war that would kill us all."
Spike straightened. He was looking at Willow.
"You probably just saved us so we wouldn't stake you right here." Xander added.
"Well, yeah. Did it work?" He waited for her to say something. Nobody did. They all just looked at each other and stood up. "Well, then everything's alright. We all get to be not 'stake through the heart'. Good work team."
Then the slayer burst through the opposite wall with her soldierboy. They were all alive.
Oz let go of the rope and landed on top of the elevator. Tara hugged him.
"Ready, ladies?"
"We're good." Anya's jaw was set.
Oz was about to pry the doors open when they opened by themselves. He found himself staring up at Buffy.
"Hey Buffy."
"Oz? Anya? Tara? What are you guys doing here?"
"We weren't going to sit by idly while the people we loved risked themselves." Anya put her hands on her hips and glared. Xander pushed through the crowd and jumped down into the elevator shaft. He stared at her.
"You came here for me?"
"No. For everyone, but mostly for you."
"Anya-"
"I wasn't lying when I said I was in love with you, dammit."
It was dark when the group finally walked out of Lowell House. Willow walked next to Tara.
"I told them."
"Told them?"
"About Spike."
"Oh my God. What did they say?"
"Xander wants Buffy to stake him."
"Maybe she should."
"Tara?"
"He lied to us, Willow."
Suddenly, Spike was next to them. "I did, but not for the reasons you think I did."
Willow stopped and glared at him. They were smack in the middle of campus. "Enlighten me!" He'd never seen her look so angry. Everyone froze.
"Do you really want to do this in front of an audience, pet?"
"I'm waiting, Spike." She folded her arms across her chest. Spike took an unneeded breath.
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