Solace

Title: Solace

Rating: NC-17

Pairing: S/W

Summary: We find comfort in the strangest of places.

Reviews: I need reviews like I need air. They help to inspire me! So please leave your comments, good, bad, or indifferent.

Random Quote: One is never to old to yearn. ~Proverb

Disclaimer: I don’t own them I’m just playing with them a little bit… Sue me and all you will get is my debt.
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“Are you sure that is what he said?” Giles pushed as he skimmed through an overly large and dusty book.

“Yep, well he also said it could be Slimmer from the Ghostbusters but I think that was a joke. Maybe.” Willow shrugged as she skimmed through a new book on defensive spells she had found in the back of the store.

“Willow this is important if it truly is a D’rave’g’na demon then we may have a problem.”

“Another apocalypse?”

“Well yes.” Giles removed his glasses and cleaned the lenses with his handkerchief. “They don’t bring about the apocalypse they are scavengers. They surface right before and then consume the remains of those killed during the end much like some species of sharks.”

“But there was only one, so he could just be like lost or something right?”

“Well I suppose but it is very unlikely Buffy.”

“So how do I kill it?”

“I really don’t think that it is the D’rave’g’na that you need to be worrying about. Something much larger maybe on the way.”

“Oh! Something got to Spike last night! He was like mangled!” Willow chimed in, finally looking up from her book.

“I’m sure he was just looking for sympathy or something. He probably wasn’t even all that hurt.”

“Buffy you didn’t see him I did.”

“What did he tell you?”

“Not much. He just kept asking if I was there to laugh at him and that he was late for something. He really wasn’t making too much sense umm at first.”

“So he could be wrong about this Rave demon thing? I mean if he was confused.”

“D’rave’g’na demon Buffy you aren’t listening to me. Something really hurt him. Destroyed his crypt and like made him look like ground beefy vampire stuff.” Willow slid down in her chair and twisted her lips in thought.

“Wills I believe you its just this is Spike we are talking about he’s not the most reliable source and he’s really manipulative. Just take what he says with a gain of salt. The last time he was all beat up it was because he owed some guy cats.”

“No the last time he looked like this Glory had ‘played’ with him in the way you know hell gods play.”

“Dear Lord he looked that bad?”

“Yeah Giles.”

“Did he tell you what did it too him?”

“No all he would say was that a demon did it to him and it wasn’t the demon we were looking for. I’m going to go back over there after we finish up here to check on him.”

“Naw you go home I’ll check on him. Maybe he will tell me something.”

“Oh.” Willow watched as Buffy stood and grabbed her coat. The bell above the door dinged as she stormed out and headed for the cemetery.

“Oh well, is there anything else you need me to do Giles?”

“No thank you Willow it appears that, for the moment at least, things are well underway.”

“Okey dokey. Hey can I take this with me to read over? It seems pretty interesting.”

“What? Yes sure.” Giles dismissed her as he thumbed through a stack of purchase orders.

Willow squeaked in excitement and gathered her things. The walk to her house was pleasantly uneventful. She felt a little guilty about walking alone after promising Spike she wouldn’t but with Xander at Anya’s and Buffy at Spikes she really didn’t have much of a choice.

She entered her childhood home and for the first time that day was hit with a wave of sadness. Her parents were out of town, her friends were busy, and Tara had left her. She held back a sob as she tossed her bag on the sofa. She sank down into the over stuffed couch and sat there for a moment. She sighed, stood up, and went to the bathroom returning a few moments later with several jars of salve.

She stuffed them into her bag and left the house locking the door behind her. She didn’t care that Buffy had told her to go home the jar that she had left Spike with wouldn’t last him very long she reasoned with herself.

She walked through the darkening streets alone and for the second time that day she left the feelings self-pity take over. What was so wrong with her that everyone always left her? Maybe she was a bad person and just had not realized what everyone else already saw. She always tried to do the right thing but maybe the right thing in her mind was not the right to everyone else’s standards or maybe she was doing the right thing but everyone else wanted her to do the wrong thing and when she couldn’t be persuaded they left her.

She mentally took a deep breath as she rounded the corner to Spike’s crypt. She could hear his curses through the door and hesitated. Shattering glass and an anguished scream pulled her inside.

Spike was bent over holding his side, blood dripping from his mouth to the floor. A shattered bottle of whisky lay in a heap on the other side of the crypt. All the furniture had been over turned again and the TV smashed. Spike turned to look at her horror etched all over his face.

“Get out of here Red.”

“Spike!” Willow rushed to his side and slid his free arm over her shoulder, “Limpar e fixar,” she waved her hand the furniture righted itself and the TV blared on. “I’m just glad I learned that spell.” She walked him over to one of the over stuffed chairs and helped him sit down.

Spike avoided her eyes, looking anywhere but at her. His mouth still poured crimson onto his torn black shirt. Willow mentally checked him over before looking for a towel. When she couldn’t find one she pulled her over shirt off and dabbed at his bleeding lip, leaving her in a maroon camisole.

“Just go Willow.”

“No Spike. Did that demon do this to you again?”

“Yeah.” He grabbed the shirt from her and held it to his split lip.

Willow stood and went over to the fridge, grabbed a packet of blood, emptied it into a mug, and added the herbs she had left the last time she had been around. She stuck the mug into the microwave and waited for it to warm to body temperature. When the microwave beeped she grabbed the mug and a new bottle of salve.

She repeated the process from earlier that day in silence. Spike sucking in breath when she touched a spot that was overly sore. She pulled the shirt back and dabbed the salve on his slit lip. She ran her finger over several more cuts on his face before the placed the lid back on the salve.

“All done. You are almost out of blood and I have a friend at the hospital, I’ll stop by tomorrow to pick you up some human blood. It should help with the healing better than the pigs blood.”

“Thanks pet.” Spike said but still refused to look at her. He seemed distracted by a spot on the crypt floor.

“Spike look at me please.” Spike turned his head but his one good eye refused to look into hers.

“Does it send you here?” Spike’s mumbled voice was almost lost to Willow’s ears.

“What?”

“Does it send you here when it’s done to fix me up for the next time?”

“No!” Willow shrieked her large green eyes filling with tears.

“Then why do you come after it leaves?” This time his opened eye met hers, unshed tears building up in the ocean blue eyes.

“I don’t know. Maybe Gaia sent me to help you? Look Spike until this thing is caught I want you to come home with me.”

“No.”

“Spike I’m not doing this for you, my parents are gone and I’m alone and I’m scared. We have an extra room with heavy curtains and I just thought since you are alone and I am alone maybe we could be alone together.”

“You’d have me run away?”

“No I’d have you protect me. I have no one else Spike! I came over here tonight to ask you to come back with me,” Willow hoped Spike would not see the lie in that but kept going, “I don’t know when my parents are coming back and with the impending apocalypse I’m scared.”

“Apocalypse?”

“Yeah Buffy didn’t tell you? She said she was coming by to talk to you about it.”

“Yeah well she never made it.” Spike looked away from her again then stood gingerly. He walked to the ladder and headed downstairs. Moments later a black duffle bag appeared at the opening shortly followed by a mess of platinum curls.

Willow went to the fridge and put the remaining bags of blood and herbs in her bag. By the time she had finished Spike was already standing at the door, cigarette hanging from his mouth, looking impatient. Willow gave him a shy smile and turned off the TV on her way past.