Disclaimer: Joss Whedon and UPN own Buffy the Vampire Slayer in totality. Joss Whedon and the WB own Angel: the Series. No profit is made from this piece of fiction and no copyright infringement is intended. In other words...Don't sue... I'm way past broke.
Distribution: Your Mission ... Anyone else, please ask. (I'll probably say yes <G>)
Rating: Pg-13 (for now anyway... don't think it'll go past R at the most)
Pairing: Willow/Spike(William)
Feedback: Yes! Please let me know what you thought! I need encouragement to finish this! Those of you who have sent feedback... Thank You! The next part is at the beta reader. <G> If you like it let me know... if you think it needs work let me know (but do it nicely or I'll cry and then Spike will have to take care of me... wait... is that a bad thing? <G>)
Author's Notes: Spoilers.... (this is hard <G>) Through Season 4 and some of 5 ... I took what I wanted and tossed the rest. <G>
Author's Note's 2: I have to thank my super beta reader Kaz!
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~Part: 2~
After her last class, Willow headed for her room and fired up her laptop. She wanted to do a little research on Jack the Ripper. She went over the list of websites the professor mentioned as having good information on both Jack the Ripper and Victorian England. She cruised the net, jumping from site to site, soaking up all the information she could find. She found tons of stories based on the information and found herself absorbed in them. Several hours later, she glanced at her watch. "Darn it, I'm late!" She exclaimed as she grabbed her 'Hellmouth safety kit' and laptop before rushing out the door and toward Giles' apartment.
##
The sun dropped below the horizon just as she burst through the door, "Sorry... I got a little distracted studying," she murmured as she moved into the room and began to set her laptop on the table.
"Only person in the bloody town that could get distracted studying," the platinum blonde vampire muttered from the corner.
"Oh, hat reminds me!" Buffy exclaimed, earning a shocked and hurt look from Willow. "Not ... I mean... well... the study thing. In class today, we were talking about Jack the Ripper and I got to thinking... well. What are the odds that Jack the Ripper was a vampire?"
Spike got this odd look in his eyes before he turned back to the book in his hands as Giles stood. "It's not a popular theory, but some of the members of the Watchers Council believed it was possible. They, however, had no proof."
"But it's possible?" Buffy asked with a slight grin. It was the kind she always got when she actually knew the answer to a question.
"Yes, Buffy. It is technically possible," Giles told her patiently,
"But at this moment we have more important things to worry about."
Buffy sighed, and then glared at Spike, "Why is he here again? I mean... I thought he was only here when we paid him?"
Willow glanced at Spike and sighed. Buffy could be cruel and self-centered sometimes without even realizing it.
"I go where I want, when I want," Spike muttered as he grabbed a dusty, leather encased tomb and buried his nose in it.
Giles gave everyone the brief description they had of the demon, then set everyone to researching. She listened to the group discussing this demon in amongst the current goings on in their lives as she absentmindedly searched the web for information on the troublemaker.
She noticed Spike seemed distracted and not in the usual 'I want to kill them all' way. She checked to make sure no one was paying attention to her, and then went to the kitchen. She grinned to herself that she knew how to ring the 'chipped vamp dinner bell'. Almost as soon as she opened the refrigerator, Spike appeared.
"Hungry?" she asked as she began to prepare him a mug of blood.
"Sure," he murmured.
"Something's bothering you."
"What?"
"Wanna talk about it?"
"No, not really," Spike murmured. "It's like I can almost remember something... but not. I don't know." He shook his head and sat down as Willow brought him his mug and fixed herself a cup of tea and joined him.
"Is it about this demon?" Willow asked cautiously. He said he didn't want to talk about it, yet he was talking.
"No. It's about Jack the Ripper. We were in London at that time. Don't remember why we went back, but I remember being there. Bloody Hell," he growled. "I've never had any trouble remembering the past. I'm sure it's because of this stupid bloody chip," he muttered as rubbed his temples.
"Maybe, but it hasn't affected any other memories, has it?" She asked cautiously- the last thing she wanted to do was make him mad. Even though he was chipped, he still scared her.
Spike closed his eyes and seemed to be scanning his memory. "Not that I can tell."
"Then I don't think it's the chip."
"Then what is the damn problem?" Spike asked, a suppressed growl rumbling in his chest.
"Don't think about it so hard... maybe it'll come back to you." She glanced at her watch and smiled, "I better get back in there before they notice I'm gone." She rose to her feet and carried her cup back into the living room.
"Yeah," Spike murmured, "I'll try to figure out what I've forgotten."
##
It took half the night to find any information on this demon, and what they did find was rather sketchy. It was called a Gravlok. It was big, dumb and trouble causing but easy to kill. They did find one description that mentioned it was intelligent and weak, but that it held magical abilities. But that was only one mention and the name was spelled differently, Gravaloke, so it was probably a related demon, but not theirs. The group split up and went off in search of their big, dumb demon. Buffy, Riley, and Giles in one group and Spike, Willow, Xander and Anya in the other. They quietly stalked through the town, searching. It was Buffy's group that found the hulking green creature and quickly dispatched it.
"Well that's just ... gross," Xander exclaimed as they walked onto the scene as the creature turned into a puddle of yellowish-green goo.
"Looks like someone blew their nose."
"XANDER!" The group yelled.
"What? Well, it's true," he mumbled, then grinned. "So Bronze now?"
"Not me! I've got some homework to finish," Willow announced.
"I was going to research on the Ripper, but that can wait until I've had some time at the Bronze," Buffy said with a grin. "But first we walk Willow home."
The young ones of the group left Spike and Giles and headed for the dorms to drop Willow off and let Buffy change into some less 'gooey' clothing. No one seemed to notice the shadow following them.
##
A few hours later, the light from the laptop screen glowed in the darkness
of the room. Willow's hair gleamed in the soft light as she slowly drifted
off to sleep. Once she was sound asleep, a shadow drifted across her window
and a soft chuckle was heard.