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Author's Chapter Notes:
Thanks to all you guys that are reviewing this, especially the repeat reviewers.
This fic is now being archived over at the Crypt, if you haven't already check it out sometime, It's an awesome site to find really good long reads.
Anyway on with the story.
PS. Feel free to let me know what you think might happen next.
love to know if I'm being predictable ...or not.
Please Keep the reviews coming, It makes me want to post faster when people are waiting.
Bitchee.
Willow edged slowly towards the bed where the vampire lay.
Pushing her nausea and horror to the back of her mind, she studied his injuries.
Pity swept through her in a rush as she once again took in the state of his face and the near destruction of his arm.

She had to keep reminding herself that Spike was a
vampire and that vampires could heal from practically any injury.
Practically being the key word here.
Ok so he wasn’t dust… that was good…right.
Studying the burns that covered most of his body, she wasn’t so sure.

How the hell had he even been able to talk to her on the phone earlier, the pain alone must be beyond anything she could imagine.

God, this made Glory’s little torture stint seem like a day at the beach…
Which, come to think of it was exactly where Spike looked like he’d been.

As she examined his burns and bite’s more closely, Willow frowned.
She had seen a lot of demon bites over the years.
Sunnydale…having provided its fair share of corpses for Willow to study.
But the bite radius of Spike’s worst injuries were larger than anything the witch had ever seen.

Turning back to face Illyria she gestured to Spike’s injuries.
“What did this to him Illyria? I don’t know of anything that could do this to a vampire,” she said her expression helpless.
“If I’m going to help him Ill need to know what sort of demon could cause this sort of damage.”

Illyria moved into the room to gaze down at Spike’s unconscious form.
“It was no demon witch, a dragon did this.”

“Then the burns are from the dragon?” Willow murmured, her brow furrowing in concern.

“He is as I found him Willow Roseburg… Since it was he that I saw attempting to distract the Dragon from Angel’s attempts to kill it” Her cold gaze met Willow’s
“I assume that his damage is because of his actions… however misguided.”
Tilting her head in inquiry Illyria asked…
“Is that all you wished to know Witch? I will leave now… there are matters I must attend to and I wish to be gone from this place.”

Willow studied Illyria’s impassive features, searching for some sort of sign that Fred was in there at all.
She pondered the God Kings wish to leave.
There was not much Illyria could do to help Spike, her presence might even be a distraction, if like she thought, it came down to using magic.

Still…
There were things she might need that maybe Illyria would be able to find more easily than her.
Plus there was the whole… I’m just a big old chicken that doesn’t want to be left alone thing.
Think Willow, what would Giles do if he were here?

Seeing Illyria turn to leave, she opened her mouth and stuttered out her thoughts
“Ah… um… actually Illyria, w-would you mind if I asked you to hang around?
I-I may need some supplies… for a healing spell. If you c-could maybe find me some more bandages, or even some sheets … Well it would be a big help.” Willow finished, her voice trailing off weakly.

She cringed.
God, she thought that had sounded so much more Gilesey in my head. Biting her lip she tried to think of something else to say to fill the suddenly uncomfortable silence of the room.
Way to go Willow… stutter mode is really gonna convince a former God that you need her help.

Illyria’s expression remained impassive. Not a hint of her earlier Fred-ness coloring her features.
Willow needn’t have worried.
Her babbling didn’t even raise an eyebrow.

She was certain for a moment that the blue demon was gonna leave without even answering her request.
But instead of Illyria leaving like she was expecting, the ex God took a step closer, studying the Witch like she had never seen her before.

Ice blue eyes studied Willows own, the expression in them sending a jolt of pure terror down the witch’s spine.
“You are A child”…. stated Illyria, her voice as cold as her gaze..
“Alone and frightened. How is it Witch, that the vampire trusts his life to you?”
Face moving in close to Willows she studied her the way a snake would its prey.

“I sense no power in you… yet you traveled here through a portal.
There was power in your voice… But now there is none.
And still…. you have the courage to call upon an old one to help you with menial tasks that only a lowly slave should perform.”
Her eyes shifted away from Willows face as she turned back to study the unconscious vampire.
Her voice was strangely thoughtful as she glanced once more at the witch.

“You interest me Willow Rosenberg… And the vampire trusts you… I will concede to your request…Tell me what is it you wish me to do?

Willow’s mouth dropped open in surprise as the blue demon stepped back her head tilted, seemingly waiting for Willow to direct her.

Ok Mondo weird she thought, closing her mouth with a snap.

“Right,” she said, shaking her head to clear her thoughts.
“What I really need is something to clean Spike’s wounds with. Warm water will do, since he can’t get an infection. But I’m gonna need a lot of it. And cloth… I’ll need a lot of that. He’s still bleeding, and I need to see where it’s coming from if I’m gonna fix it”
Her eyes closed in thought, weariness trying to overtake her already drained mind.

Opening her eyes she sighed.
“Do you know if Wesley left behind any spell ingredients?
Cos what I really need are some tannis root, dammiana and coltsfoot to help his pain and to clear the fluid from his lungs.
And yeah, I know he doesn’t need working lungs, what with whole non-breathing thing. But if I don’t get his lungs and airways clear then I’m not going to be able to get him to feed, and if he doesn’t feed he’ll die.”
The Dammiana and a small spell should take care of some of his pain, but any hard spirits you find couldn’t hurt.”

Willow frowned in concentration, trying desperately to remember a conversation she’d once had with Tara about Dragons.
It was just after Buffy died the last time.
The dragon, glimpsed briefly while Glory’s portal was open, had one rainy afternoon, led them into a whole debate on the legend and myths surrounding stories of there existence.
Tara, it turned out had known a lot more about them than even Giles.
She’d showed them a book that her Mother had given her. The book supposedly contained information gathered by knight turned monk, who claimed to have lived with a dragon.

It had been along time since she’d thought of that day, and at the time she had been distracted, busily plotting to resurrect Buffy and Terrified Giles would find out. So she’d only paid fleeting attention to the book.
Tara’s words had been more a welcome distraction for Giles than of any real interest to her.
Hmm… She was sure though that she remembered something about Dragon fire?
What was it that Tara said?
Something about Dragon inflicted wounds being deadly because they were mystical, and therefore poisonous to certain supernatural beings.
She’d be a little less worried if she could only remember if vampires were one of those listed in the book.

Turning her attention back to Illyria, Willow was just in time to catch the words.
“I will return” before the former God, with one last cold look, turned and exited the room.

Turning back to re-examine Spike the Witch just shook her head in bemusement,.

Leaning in close to him she had to fight her gag reflex as the smell from his burnt flesh hit her nose.
Steeling herself for worse she gently placed her hand upon his forehead and recited a simple spell of diagnosis and healing, that Tara…. bless her heart… had taught her.

As she felt the tingle of the magic work its way through her, she took a couple of deep breaths, opening herself up to the knowledge the spell would bring of Spikes injuries.

It was worse than she could have imagined.

Besides the bites and burns and the near loss of his arm, both of Spikes legs were broken, and he was, as she had suspected, bleeding internally.
She could sense now with her other sight what the dim lighting in the room had hidden from her earlier.
Spike was blind, both his eyes were if not gone, then so severely burned that there was nearly no tissue left.

The only thing that comforted her remotely, was that his spine at least didn’t seem damaged. Which meant that he should have some sort of mobility when he eventually regained consciousness.

On the pain side that was bad, but if he’d been paralyzed there would have been no way she could save him.
He needed to eat and to do that certain muscles had to work.

She sent a silent prayer of thanks to the powers. At least now he had a chance.
Then she ran one last magical check just to make sure she hadn’t missed anything.
Sighing in relief when she found nothing further, she gathered her magic and called on the healing power of the earth to aid her in the spell.

Pouring all her energy into the healing part of the spell, Willow channeled the magic through her hands, laying them on Spikes unconscious body.

She drew and held the power for as long as she could, but after several long minutes she felt herself start to shake with the exhaustion of her efforts.
Removing her hands from Spike’s head and heart where she had placed them, she gave thanks to Gaia before releasing her grip on the magic.

God she felt so drained. Not since the Hellmouth had she felt so exhausted and that more than anything roused her concern.
With the amount of magic she had just poured into the spell, she should at least have seen some sort of change in Spike’s condition, but as far as she could see with her eyes, there had been very little.

Some of the smaller wounds did appear to have stopped bleeding but the larger ones were still slowly seeping blood into the mattress.
And the spell hadn’t seemed to help his burns at all.

She was so distracted by her thoughts that she failed to hear Illyria re-enter the room until the former God spoke.

“I have found what you requested Willow Roseburg but I warn you it will not make the difference that you wish.
The vampire was struck down by the wurm…. what you call a Dragon and it has long been known that the fire of a dragon burns until it consumes.
Its teeth and claws secrete a fluid that causes the victim, should they survive, to slowly bleed to death.
There is no magic that I know of that can counteract its affects” Illyria stated, her tone and face without expression.
“The vampire though, believes that you will be able to help him, so I did as he requested and summoned you here.
It is only now seeing the extent of your power that I fear he is mistaken…
I, who once bent time to my will…who was old when this earth was young, not even my power could heal these wounds.”
The former God King paused; though her expression was outwardly blank, deep within her eyes Willow thought she detected a flicker of something?
“I fail to see how you can do this thing when all before you have tried and failed”.

Before Willow could even open her mouth to agree to or refute the demons statement Illyria spoke again.

“Still, the shell that I now inhabit has memories that tell me that you have done the impossible before… so I will abide.
I will stay until it is finished…One way… or the other.”

Willow blinked rapidly, her tired brain trying valiantly to absorb everything Illyria had just delivered in her strangely flat tone.

If what Illyria said was true then….No, she refused to believe it.
She was a Scooby, they didn’t give up.
They researched and fought, and sometimes they died, but they did not give up…Not ever.

The book! She needed the book that Tara had shown her. There had to be something in the book that could help Spike.

If only she could remember what it said about counteracting dragon magic…but it was so long ago. And the book was buried in Sunnydale with all the other memento’s she’d kept of her dead love.

Think Willow think…

Ok I can’t remember the details of the book and the book is lost, so what do I do next? She asked herself.

A location spell?

Yeah that could work she mused.
But then how to get the book once she pinpointed it?

Of course she thought…
God I’m stupid… a finders keeper spell. A simple finder’s keeper spell should do the trick.

She would use her magic to call the book to her, and because of her previous connection to it’s owner she had a better than good chance that it would work.
Could it be that simple?

I’ll make it that simple. Determination flowed through her body, bringing a burst of newfound energy with it.


First things first.

She stepped back to Spike’s bedside and pondered where to start the horrific task of cleaning and binding his wounds.

“Illyria.” Addressing the demon still standing in the doorway, she tossed a glance over her shoulder at her “He needs blood, lots of it… preferably Human, can you get me some?

You could go to the hospital?” She offered thoughtfully. Trying not to think about how out of place Illyria would look entering a hospital.

Turning back to Spike she continued to clean the blood from the worst of the bites, binding them as tight as she dared.

“No maybe not” she concluded regretfully, taking another appraising look at the demon that still stood in the doorway..
“Somehow with you being all demony like you are, I don’t think the hospital is an option.”
God, where else could I send her for blood this time of night.

A softly spoken Texan drawl interrupted her thoughts.

“Don’t worry Willow I’ll get the blood, though even looking like this I still don’t think the hospital is a good choice.”

At the sound of the voice Willows blood froze, head whipping around so fast that she practically gave herself whiplash.

There standing in the doorway, an amused expression on her face stood Fred.

“What the? How? Who? Oh my God” Willow gasped, taking in the sight of her friend’s sweet face.
The face in question suddenly hardened and the voice of Illyria spoke through Fred’s mouth.

“I have manipulated this shells physical appearance as I did for Wesley.
But I do this in his name and only because he would have wished it for the vampire.
Do not be fooled witch… Winifred Burkle is gone… this façade merely a means to an end.
I will go to the labs at Wolfram and Hart…If there is anyone left alive they will not question me in this form. Do what you can for him… I will return.”

Turning back as she left the room her eyes sought Willow’s and just for a moment Willow could heave sworn she saw pleading in the others.

Staring blankly at the doorway; Willows mind was whirled with confusion. Shaking her head she told herself now was not the time to be pondering Fred’s fate…She would think about that later, after she had helped Spike.

Leaning forward she was so busy concentrating on cleaning the blood and burnt skin from around the vampires eyes that at first when he moaned her name she nearly missed it.

“R-Red? Willow… Is that you?”

She gasped, pulling her hand back in fright.
“S-Spike… Oh goddess you’re awake.”

“Hey Red” he rasped out.
“You came… wasn’t sure you would,” he rumbled, voice tight with an emotion that Willow knew was only partly the pain he must be feeling.

“Oh Spike… of course I came,” she whispered.
“You saved us all… Did you really think I would leave you to die again?”

Willow felt tears well in her eyes as she watched his mouth twist into what she assumed was a grimace of pain.
However, with the damage… it could just as easily have been a smile.

Hearing his hiss of pain, as the burns on his face cracked and split with his expression, she leaned in and as gently as possible stroked his good hand comfortingly.

“Don’t try to talk Spike, you’ll only hurt yourself. I’ve done a spell to help with the healing and as soon as Illyria gets back with the blood I’ll make you a potion to help with the pain.
Then you have to rest. But before that I’m going to have to finish cleaning these wounds… and It’s probably going to hurt…. A lot.
I’m sorry Spike, but I need to see how bad they are before I can work on making them better.”
Oh Goddess, Buffy is going to be so happy to see you…. And Dawn…Well Dawn took your death really hard. I can’t wait to tell them that your back…”

His harsh voice interrupted her exited chatter.
“You Bloody can’t tell them Red…Not any of them… Promise Willow.
Promise me you won’t tell any of them, especially Buffy and Dawn.”

“But…Spike, Why? They would be…”

His voice was rough with pain and desperation, cutting Willows questions off before she had a chance to finish.


“They don’t need to know about this Witch…I’m dead to them…. have been for a while.
Don’t want them feelin sorry f’me… couldn’t deal with that, not after everything…
I swear Willow if you tell them Ill find a way to stake myself before they even set foot in LA.
Promise me Red… Promise that you won’t tell them, or the bloody watcher”, he pleaded, his voice becoming a desperate gasp of agony.

The cost of his words was clearly visible on his pain-wracked form.

Willow didn’t know what to think, what to do.

She accepted that he was for some reason completely serious about what he was saying; just as she knew, his threat to kill himself was not an idle one.

However, if she agreed to his demand then she would not only have to lie to the others about her whereabouts but deliberately conceal Spike’s un undead status and more than likely use her magic to hide his presence from Buffy.

She wasn’t stupid, there was no way the council would ignore a mystical battle as big as the one that had just been fought here in LA.
Buffy would undoubtedly be heading here within the next few days.
The council and Giles, had probably already been alerted to the fact that Angel and Wolfram and Hart were behind the latest supernatural upheaval.
And they of course would contact Buffy and let her know.
After all it did involve her one time love.

Willows brain of course jumped to the next logical step…

If anyone besides Illyria had witnessed Spike’s participation in the battle then Buffy would most probably put two and two together and come searching for him.
So keeping him alive meant keeping him hidden… which meant really BIG magic on her part. And a whole heap of that thing she sucked at… Lying. Shit!


All these thoughts went through Willows mind in the seconds it took for Spike to find his breath again and somehow also the strength to clasp her arm with his remaining good hand.
His grip was alarmingly weak but the Witch could feel the pain and desperation coursing through his touch.

“Willow, in the name of the Goddess promise me you won't tell her…
Promise me... or kill me now… I swear Red If you don’t give me your word I’m as good as dead.”

His voice was harsh, the tone pleading, but it was the deep sorrow underlying it that finally convinced Willow that he meant every word.

“Ok Spike” she conceded “I don’t understand why you wont let me tell Buffy” she continued, tone grim.
“But I’ll do what you ask for now…. No, don’t thank me yet” she warned as she felt his hand relax.

“I will do what you ask… but only until you are fully healed.
After that, Spike… all bets are off.
I owe you… We owe you, but Buffy is my friend and she’s already grieved enough.
I won’t have her grieving for a man that obviously doesn’t want to see her.”

The last was said far more harshly than Willow would have liked.
But it hurt her to realize if he had been with Angel during the battle that Spike had obviously been back for months.


And that meant that for whatever reason he had kept his presence a secret from Buffy.
Why she couldn’t begin to guess… unless? Could Spike finally be over the slayer he had died for?

Somehow, that thought tilted Willows world in a way she never expected.
Spike Loved Buffy as sure as the sun rose in the morning. For that to have changed…Well she was pissed if she was honest…Really pissed.
Especially how she was the only one that had seen (apart from Dawn) just how much the slayer had grieved for the vampire.
Now he was saying that even though this might be Buffy’s last chance to see him… he didn’t want her to.

Ok concentrate Will she thought trying to calm her sudden anger.
No need to get angry.
Just get on with fixing him so Buffy can kill him, when she finds out that he was back and didn’t tell her.

“Spike” she said remorsefully, attempting to control her emotions.
“Spike I’m sorry… I’m just really confused right now… I need some time to think,” she offered trying to curb her doubts and worry.
“But I give you my word on the Goddesses name that I won’t tell anyone about you.
At least until you are healed enough to try to convince me otherwise.
Is that Ok?” she asked, tentatively brushing the back of his hand that still clasped her arm.

“It’ll do Red… For now.”

At those few last pained words, Willow was relieved to see unconsciousness claim the vampire.
Even a few more words from the injured vampire and Willow didn’t think she could have stopped herself from telling him just how much Buffy needed to know he was alive.
And it, as much as she wished otherwise, wasn’t her place to play cupid to the vampire and the Sayer.

Maybe when he was better she could think of some way to reunite the two, without betraying either of their trust.
But at the moment it was probably best if she concentrated on saving him before giving Buffy any false hope.
Plus there was the little matter of his not wanting to see Buffy or Dawn.
Hmm… she would have to think on that… Just not now.

TBC

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