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Author's Chapter Notes:
Another long delay between updates and I apologize, but RL has been a bit difficult recently. My husband just left for six months with the army, so the weeks leading up to the big day were full of things to get done and organized. But now I have a lot more time so hopefully I'll be updating on a more regular schedule again.

But on another note, I was incredibly humbled and surprised when I received beautiful banner by Vette Hayden for my fic. Thanks so much again honey! It is stunning :) And thank you as always to my fantabulous beta Mari for fixing my mistakes on this chappie :)
Chapter 10

Buffy hurried to meet Willow by the front door, noticing that the Gorlack demons seemed to be packing up their things and preparing to leave. She saw Willow coming up the driveway lugging a heavy bag with her.

It was the perfect distraction after her disturbing break down with Spike. She never thought she would find herself crying in his arms, even after all the two had shared during their imprisonment. But everything had just come at her at once, and when Spike said that he would have come to her for help, it was the straw that broke the camel’s back in the end. The floodgates opened, but now she felt like she was on shaky ground with the vampire.

“Hey, Buffy,” Willow said dropping the heavy bag on the ground. The redhead had dark circles under her eyes, evidence of her lack of sleep. “I got everything we need to set up the wards. I can’t make them as strong as I’d like without Tara’s help, but it was easier to come alone.”

“That’s alright, Wills,” Buffy replied, stifling a yawn. “Just do what you can for now and we’ll deal with the rest when Tara comes.”

“Mistress Buffy,” Hassfarani’s voice came from behind the Slayer. “We have completed our job for tonight. If you require assistance in the future, do not hesitate to contact us again. Anyanka knows how to reach me.”

“Thank you,” the petite blonde said with a genuine smile. “We appreciate all your help and I promise to put a stop to the Commandos.”

“We have faith in you, Mistress,” Hassfarani bowed shortly to Buffy, who returned the gesture out of respect. The blue demoness assembled her crew and the few supplies they were taking back with them and quickly disappeared out the front door.

“What – who was that?” Willow asked when the creatures were out of hearing range.

“Oh, Hassfarani is a Go-lucky demon. Anya hired them to clean the place up so we can live in it,” Buffy explained. “You should see the rooms we’re staying in, Wills. Who knew this place was so posh?”

“Well, it is a mansion,” her best friend supplied, a twinkle of humor in her eyes.

“Yeah, an’ Angelus always loved the high life,” Spike’s voice came rumbling from down the hall. Willow was visibly startled by him, but managed to calm down quickly. It would take some getting used to having the infamous vampire around and not fearing him.

“Hi, Spike,” the witch managed without a stutter, but there was a catch in her voice which indicated her fear. She watched him stalk towards them, sleek and predatory, though she was certain he wasn’t trying to intimidate her. It was just something inherent to Spike, something that set him apart even to people who didn’t know what he was.

“’Lo, Red,” he smiled at her, hoping to help slow her racing heartbeat. He still enjoyed the fact that he frightened her, but after the way she had cared for him the other night, and all that Buffy had told him about her, he no longer wanted to scare her.

“W-we were just getting ready to put up the wards,” Willow explained, eyes fixed on a spot behind Spike’s shoulder, not willing to meet his gaze directly for too long.

“This won’t affect Spike will it?” Buffy asked, not looking at him. She was still embarrassed about what had happened earlier and the fact that he had joined them in the hall unsettled her further.

“N-no, it shouldn’t,” Willow replied, looking over the notes in the book she still held. “I have made charms for all of us to wear so that we can pass through without setting off any alarms.” She stooped down to rummage through the bag at her feet.

“Ah!” she smiled triumphantly, pulling out three small bags. She passed two of them to Buffy, who in turn tossed the spare one over to Spike. He smirked at the Slayer, knowing full well what was running through that mile-an-hour mind of hers.

“Just wear these when you want to pass through the barriers,” Willow explained, tucking her charm into the pocket of her jean jacket. “We shouldn’t need them while we’re inside, but you should keep them handy if they’re not on you. And don’t lose them!” Willow stared sternly at her scatterbrained friend.

“I’m not going to lose it!” Buffy said indignantly. “I’m a good keeper of things…”

Willow arched a humorous eyebrow in response, not wanting to delve further into that statement. The petite Slayer wasn’t known to lose things, per se, but she wasn’t the most reliable person either. She looked over at Spike who was struggling not to grin as Buffy continued to mutter under her breath about best friends and their lack of trust.

“Alright, this should only take about a half hour or so,” Willow glanced over at Spike briefly before turning to Buffy. “If you guys want to get some sleep before Giles and your Mom get here, you can go. I’ll let myself out.”

“But what if it doesn’t work?” Buffy asked while stifling another yawn. “What if Spike disappears o-or goes poof into a pile of flaming vamp-dust?”

“I’ll know,” Willow said with a small smile. “And he’s not going to go poof. This is just a protective ward.”

Buffy looked exhausted. And she was certainly concerned about Spike’s safety. She would need all the sleep she could get in the next few hours. And it’s not like she would have had much while she was at the Initiative with Spike.

“Okay,” Buffy still sounded unconvinced, looking between the witch and the vampire.

“’S alright, love,” Spike said. “I’ll stay up with Red an’ make sure it’s fine. You toddle off to bed so you’re bright eyed when Mum gets here.”

“You sure?” Buffy asked the question, glancing between both of them. She wouldn’t leave Willow alone with Spike if she wasn’t comfortable with the idea.

“Yeah,” Willow said, looking Spike in the eye. “Go. You look like you’re ready to fall asleep standing up. I’ll be fine and I’ll try to get in touch with you tonight.”

“Okay,” Buffy walked over to give her friend a brief hug before turning and heading off in the direction of her new bedroom.

Willow let out the breath she’d been holding and started to gather the ingredients she had assembled for the spells. She noticed Spike approach her, which meant that he was trying not to scare or intimidate her. Sneaking up on her was second nature to a vampire.

“Need some help, Red?” Spike sat down on his haunches beside her.

“Um,” Willow hesitated, unsure of what the correct course of action might be.

“Be happy to help you set up,” Spike added, noting her discomfort.

“S-sure,” Willow stammered, finally looking up at him. She couldn’t help the small flinch as memories came flooding back of broken bottles and threats to kill her. “If you can just place these candles at these points,” she unfolded a diagram of the layout of the house.

“’Course,” Spike picked up the assembled candles and reached for the diagram to have a closer look. Seemingly satisfied he walked off to place and light each of them in the order Willow specified.

When he returned, Willow started chanting and sealed each of the entrances to the home with a mixture of herbs. She felt the magicks seep through her as the final phrase of her spell was uttered, extinguishing the candles and raising an invisible barrier around the home. Making a few additions, the wards were set up quickly and with relative ease. Watching Spike out of the corner of her eye, she noticed his defensive posture and the shiver that ran through him when the final wards were set.

“You okay?” she asked with concern. She didn’t think the spells would have any effect on the vampire as she had specifically included him in their protection.

“Yeah,” Spike muttered. “Magic jus’ makes my skin crawl. Never did trust it.”

“I-it’s just a simple protection ward,” Willow explained, nervous again in his company.

“I know, Red,” Spike fixed her with his penetrating gaze. “Not sayin’ anythin’ against it. Know you’re helping out.”

“Well, I – uh – do what I can,” Willow busied herself gathering the left over ingredients. “Tara will help me refine the spell once everyone gathers here.”

“Nice bird that Glinda,” Spike smiled before frowning, obviously contemplating something. “Not gonna apologize for what I’ve done to you, Red. I’m a vamp, bein’ evil’s what I do. But for what it’s worth, I won’t do anything to hurt you again.”

“Never?” Willow asked, awed by his apparent apology, even if he denied it.

The bleached-blond cracked a rueful smile. “Not unless I want to meet the pointy end of the Slayer’s stake I reckon. But you’re good stuff, Red. Been right decent to me, so I can only return the favor.”

Willow could only gape at him as he rubbed the back of his neck in apparent shyness. Though she had no reason to, she trusted that Spike was telling the truth and now she was apparently on his ‘Do Not Kill’ list. She could only hope that that list would get longer because she was starting to suspect there was more to this unusual vampire that met the eye.

“Gonna go get some shut eye,” Spike said as way of goodbye as he sauntered off down the hall. “Take care of yourself, witch.”

“B-bye, Spike,” Willow chocked out, unsure of what to really say to him. She shook her head, marveling at the turn of events during the last few days. Buffy was back finally, but she had certainly brought back a fair share of trouble. Spike not being the least of them. Willow had begun to suspect that there was something between the two super-beings, but was unsure of what it was. Besides, Buffy had already been through the vampire love interest with disastrous results, it wasn’t like she would make the same mistake twice?

Willow put the magic book on the kitchen counter before heading out into the early morning sunlight. Giles would want to have a look through it as soon as he got to the house. She would swing by his apartment before class to drop off the charms, as well as Xander’s so all the Scoobies would be allowed free access to their new fortress. They could only hope that it would keep them hidden away long enough to figure out how to deal with the new treat looming over Sunnydale.

TBC...





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