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AN: Thanks Patty. Without your help, this wouldn't be as good as it is.





Buffy scrambled to get to her feet as Harmony took large strides towards her.

“Please!! PLEASE!!” she begged. “Please, don’t hurt me!”


Buffy had always believed she would be able to protect herself if this sort of a situation came up, but panic was rapidly taking over, and she wasn’t able to think straight. Tears sprang to Buffy’s eyes as her feet slipped out from under her.



Harmony pulled something out of her jacket pocket and before Buffy knew what was happening, her world was going black, and she whispered William’s name as she hit the floor.


“Well, that was almost too easy,” Harmony observed.


She needed to get Buffy out of there fast, without anyone suspecting something was wrong. She opened the door, and to her surprise there was a laundry cart sitting outside. Harmony looked down both ends of the hallway. There was no one anywhere around, so she pulled the cart into the restroom.



She picked up Buffy without any problems, and set her in the cart. Placing the soiled linen around Buffy’s body to hide it, she opened the door once again, and looked down the halls to make sure they were still empty. She pushed it out into the hallway, and proceeded to the exit without any problems.


Once she arrived at her car; she opened the trunk, and placed Buffy inside. Only it looked like something else entirely. She got into her car and drove away.


************************************


Twenty minutes passed and Buffy still hadn't returned to the table. The others were engrossed in their food and conversation, but William was beginning to get nervous.


Where is she? He checked his watch for the third time in five minutes.


?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Willow finally noticed that William was getting antsy, and looked over at Buffy’s chair,

surprised to see that it was still empty.


“William?” Willow ventured.


“Hmm?" he replied absently, once again checking his watch to make sure it was still running.



“She hasn’t come back.” Willow stated the obvious, looking concerned. The others looked up from their meals.





“No, she hasn't. Would you go into the rest room and see if everything is ok?”


“Sure, no problem.” Willow rose from her seat and left the dining area. As she walked down the hall, she began to get an uneasy feeling. Dread. She pushed the door open, and walked in. There was a red wig on the floor in front of her, but Buffy wasn't in any of the stalls. She bent down and picked up the hairpiece. “Oh god…something's wrong." She turned and ran back to the dining area.


When she returned to the table, she walked up to William, touched his shoulder and he turned around. The look on her face said it all for him. “Buffy…she wasn’t in there…was she?”


“No, William. I’m sorry. I did find this.” She handed him the wig.


“Bloody hell!” He threw the wig down on the table and he pulled out his cell to dial 911. “This is William Giles...I’d like to report a kidnapping...My girlfriend went to the restroom about a half hour ago and never returned....We had an incident with a stalker yesterday and our house was broken into...Yes, that's me…She’s about 5’2, 100 pounds, blonde hair and green eyes….Buffy Summers…Yes...I’m at Brandywine Country Club...It's at the end of Mill Pond Road...Hurry, damn it!” He flipped the phone shut and placed it back in his pocket.



“William, why didn’t you tell them about the wig?” Tara asked with concern.


“I don’t know,” said William, simply.


Willow sat next to him and squeezed his hand. “We'll get her back, don’t worry.”


He ran his hands through his hair. “It has to be Harmony. God...what if she hurts her?"



Willow leaned over and hugged him. “It’ll be ok, Will. You’ll see. The police will catch her, and Buffy will be all right. Have faith."


Anya and Xander shared a worried glance. He pulled her to him and held her closely.


***********************************************

The 911 operator put the call out to all available officers and Officer Michael’s picked it up. He was in the vicinity and he said he’d handle it and let them know what he found out.


In the forensic lab, the hair sample that had been removed from the Giles/Summers home had been tested. It did not belong to either resident. Further testing matched it up with a strand of hair taken from Harmony's apartment.



******************************************


Two police cars arrived at the country club a short time later. As they pulled up, they noticed the laundry cart being hauled back inside. They called out to the young man taking it in. He stopped and turned around.


“Yes, officer?”


The other officer went inside.


“Was that left in the parking lot here?”


“Yes, sir, it was.” The young man was confused. "I don't know why. Our deliveries don't through the front entrance."


“There was an abduction that took place here, and that may have been used in the crime.”


“Should I just leave it here?” he asked.


The officer put the car in park and turned off the car and followed. “Where did you find it?”


The young man pushed it back to the spot he’d seen it in. “Right about here.”


The cart had been left by the fence in the back of the parking lot. Officer Jones taped it off quickly, and headed inside to interview other people.


Officer Michaels was directed to the Chardonnay Room. He took a deep breath before entering the room. Most officers dread when their jobs especially when they had give bad news and he just hoped that this wasn’t going to end that way, as he got closer to William.


Willow noticed the officer first and told William. He looked up just as the officer stopped in front of him.


“William Giles?” The officer asked.


“Yes, I’m him.”


“Can you tell me what happened?”


“My girlfriend, she excused herself to go to the restroom and never returned,” said a worried William.


“And, I went into the restroom and found this.” Willow picked up the wig and handed it to the officer.


“I think it was Harmony Kendal. She’s been stalking me, and recently broke into my home yesterday," William added.


The officer looked to other couple. “Did you two notice anything out of the ordinary?”


“No, officer,” Xander began as he looked at Anya. “We were eating our lunch. We didn’t know anything was wrong.”


“I didn’t see anything either,” she responded.


Officer Jones walked up to everyone. He had interviewed the receptionist, who had informed him that she’d seen a woman in a red wig. She had fit the description of the young woman who was seen at the hospital previously. He pulled the other officer off the side, and told him of his findings. They both excused themselves to check the crime scene and taped it off, so no possible evidence could be damaged.


The prints were barely visible, but a trained crime scene investigator would spot it in a minute. One of the investigators set his box down, opened it up, and pulled out a brush and his powder. He then applied the brush to the powder, and brushed it over the print. In no time the print was viewable and he set down his tools and grabbed a clear sheet of tape backed with white cardboard. He opened it up, placed the tape over it, and it copied the print, and then pulled the tape off revealing a clean print, placing the tape back on the cardboard. The investigator put the print in an evidence bag, placed his tools back in, and he was off again.


********************************************

Officer Jones had returned to William and his friends.He explained that they had a possible suspect, and the prints that they had found should confirm the identity. He went on to tell them that a warrant had been issued, and that the entire Sunnydale PD would be looking for Buffy.This wasn't a lot of comfort for the people who loved her.


Before leaving, Officer Jones said, “The best thing you can do now is go home. We'll let you know if anything develops.


William wanted answers and he wasn’t getting them. He just stood there clenching his jaw.


“I suppose, we should, ya know go home, William.” Willow put a hand on his shoulder. He looked at her with fear in his eyes. “Officer, you’ll be able to reach us at this number, in case anything should…happen.” She handed him a piece of paper with their number on it.

***********************************************



Twenty minutes later, Harmony sat Buffy down in a chair in the living room and tied her up tightly, then went about her business in another room.


A little while later, Buffy started to come to. Her head swayed a little back and forth until she was able to hold it up. Her vision was a little blurry, but she could make out shapes and sizes. She blinked a few times as she looked around her surroundings. She didn’t recognize where she was, and she began to panic. Tears spilled from her eyes, and then she thought of William and how worried he must be.


She started to remember what happened back at the country club.


“Oh god, Harmony,” she whispered, terrified. The thought of never seeing William again scared her beyond all belief.


A noise could be heard from another part of the house, and then she heard footsteps. She let her head sink and closed her eyes quickly when the door to the room opened.


Harmony walked over to Buffy, and poured a freezing cold cup of water over Buffy’s head. Buffy inhaled deeply and she quickly looked up at Harmony through clenched teeth. Buffy soon started to shiver from the shock.


“Oh sorry,” Harmony said, mocking Buffy. “Was that cold?”


Buffy didn’t say anything, just glared at Harmony.


“That’s what I thought!” Harmony sneered at her prisoner.


“Why am I here?” Buffy finally asked, but already knew the answer.


“It’s simple my dear Elizabeth,” Harmony said, using Buffy’s real name for gesture. “I want William. The only way I can have him, is by getting rid of…you.” A smile crept on her face. “Then he and I can be together, like we were always meant to be.”


“If you think you’ll get William by doing this you are fucking insane, you psychotic bitch! He loves me. He’ll always love me! Can’t you understand that?” Buffy held back the tears that had been welling up in her eyes again. She wasn’t about to let Harmony have the upper hand.


Harmony backed handed Buffy, who went flying back, still in the chair. Harmony took a deep breath, dismissing Buffy’s accusations.


“It’s simply not true.” She walked over to Buffy and looked down at her. “When he has sex with you, he thinks of me.” Harmony smiled dreamily as she picked Buffy up off the floor.


“And that’s why he calls out MY name when we MAKE LOVE!"


That was all it took to send Harmony over the edge. She quickly pulled out a bottle from her back pocket, while Buffy watched her.


“Wh-what are you d-doing?” Buffy asked with a tear rolling down her cheek.


Harmony pulled a syringe out, stuck it in the vial and loaded it, then jabbed it painfully into Buffy's arm.


“What did you do? What...what was…?” Buffy asked, and then her world went black.


“Good, that’ll keep you quiet for a while,” said Harmony.


******************************************
William had been pacing a hole in the carpet, praying silently for some sort of news about Buffy. As the time slowly crawled by, he became more and more agitated and frustrated, hating his helplessness.


The others tried several times to get William to sit down and stay calm, but he would have none of it. Nothing would calm him until he had Buffy safe in his arms.


After telling them all to sod off five different times, they finally left him to his pacing and went to wait in the front room.


“William is starting to worry me,” Willow said, breaking the silence that had been building between them. “I'm afraid he's going to do something rash.”


“You don’t think he would, do you?” Tara asked as she sat down next to Anya.


”I think he would," Anya interjected. "Wouldn't anyone...when the person they love is in danger?"


Willow sighed, “That’s not what I wanted to hear," she said, sitting down in the chair across from the couch.


“Relax girls. William isn't stupid. He’ll do the smart thing and wait for the cops,” Xander told them. At least I hope so.


***********************************************

Later that night Harmony watched Buffy sleep, a smile creeping on to her face when she realized it looked like she was dead.


“Too bad it isn't true," she sighed.


Harmony grabbed her cell phone and dialed a number. The call was picked up after one ring.


“Hello?" a worried voice answered.


“Hello, William.”


“Harmony?" William said, his voice shaky with anger.


“Now, now, speak nicely William,” Harmony warned, looking at Buffy.


She heard William take a deep breath, and waited for him to speak.


“I want to know Buffy is all right," he said, struggling for control.


“Oh, she's a little tied up at the moment." She laughed at her own joke, giving William a shiver up his spine.



“I swear to you...I SWEAR...if you so much as TOUCH her...I will hunt you down and break your fucking neck!” William yelled, alerting the gang from the other room.


“Hey! What did I just say? You be nice William, or you‘ll never see her again,” Harmony said, putting emphasis on 'never'.


“All right, all right Harmony," he said quickly. "Just what the hell do you want?” Stupid question and you’re gonna get a stupid answer, mate.


“It’s very simple William, I want YOU. I’ve always wanted you, since the first time I laid eyes on you.”


William felt nausea coming on, but he took a deep, cleansing breath and forced it back down.


“What do you want me to do?” he asked calmly.


“I want you to meet me at your house. And come alone!”


Harmony hung up the phone, happily at what she accomplished. She went into bathroom to get reading for her meeting with William. Soon he’ll be mine. I'll make him understand that's the way it should be...I'll convince him....





************************************************

“Bloody psycho,” William cursed. He turned and was startled when he saw the others

standing behind him. "Shit!"


“Sorry, William,” Willow apologized. “We heard you yelling and we came in to see if you were okay."


“Fine,” he muttered, then threw the phone against the wall, shattering it in a million pieces, scaring his friends. “I’m fine now.” He rubbed his face. “Just fine."


“What did she say?" Tara asked, calmly.


“She wants me to meet her at my house."


“You can’t do that, William,” Willow said, rushing her statement. “You don’t know what she’ll do.”


“I don’t care," he said, walking out of the room with no intention of being stopped or delayed. "She has Buffy. I'm going."


Willow quickly picked up the phone and dialed the police. "Officer Jones gave me this number....I need to speak with him about Buffy Summers....Thank you."



“This is Officer Jones," the voice on the other end replied. "Who's this?"


“This is Willow Rosenberg. I'm a friend of Buffy's. We spoke this afternoon?"


“Oh yes, Ms. Rosenberg. Has something happened?"


“William received a call from Harmony just a few minutes ago. She wants him to meet her at his house.”


“When?" he asked sharply.


“Now...and he's already left."


“Okay, Ms. Rosenberg. We’ll take care of it."



*****************************************************






William pulled up in front of his house. Harmony was waiting for him, heavily made up and wearing something he supposed had been chosen to arouse him.


William took a few deep cleansing breaths, and stepped out of the car.


“Hello, William. I’m so glad that you could make it,” Harmony said, stopping in front of him.


“Harmony.”


“Turn around…you see that house across the street?”


“Yes,” William turned around.


“We’re going over there.” She pointed a gun to his back.


“Harmony, what are you doing?”


“Now, William!"


Harmony and William crossed the street and went into the house. As soon as they crossed the threshold, he saw Buffy slumped over in the chair. Panic slide into him, but he tried to keep his voice calm.


“What did you do to her?”


“Nothing. She’s just asleep.”


“I’m here now. So, let her go.”


“It's not that easy, William."


She pushed him into the house and then she closed the door.



William turned to face her. "All right, Harmony. Just cut the shit and tell me exactly what you want from me."



“You should know that by now.” She lashed out suddenly with the gun, slamming it into the side of his head. William’s world went back as he collapsed to the floor.


TBC.....





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