ONE NORMAL LIFE / TWO EXTRAORDINARY LIVES

CHAPTER 54 – WILLOW

Dawn had gone to the store, while inside, Willow had drawn a circle in sand in the living room. She put into the circle an article of clothing from each William, Buffy, and Dawn. It was hard to find something that wouldn't be missed, since they each had so little with them, but grudgingly rummaging through the dirty laundry. For Buffy and Dawn, it would have to be underwear, for William a sock. Pants would have been missed, and nobody, except William was wearing socks. Didn't really want to touch anybody's underwear, least of all William's. She was grateful for the sock. At the last minute, she had added Dawn, since she was also someone who could be harmed in an attempt to get at either William or Buffy. She hoped the coven wouldn't mind and that she had enough power for her, too.
"Renenutet, Goddess of Suckling, Goddess of the Name, Goddess of Protection...I call on thee to protect thy name of William Worthington, also known as Spike, also known as William the Bloody, from all those who seek it to harm him. Let his name disappear from all those memories and sources, so that he may live in safety and peace. Renenutet, Goddess of Suckling, Goddess of the Name, Goddess of Protection...I call on thee to protect thy name of Elizabeth Anne Worthington, also known as Buffy Anne Summers, from all those who seek it to harm her. Let her name disappear from all those memories and sources, so that she may live in safety and peace. Renenutet, Goddess of Suckling, Goddess of the Name, Goddess of Protection...I call on thee to protect Dawn Summers, also known as The Key, from all those who seek it to harm her. Let her name disappear from all those memories and sources, so that she may live in safety and peace. I beseech thee, I your humblevantvant, Willow Rosenberg."
She finished the spell, by sprinkling a powdery looking pink sand inside the circle. A plume of smoke, pit fit first, then turning to golden yellow, hovered above the circle, before hurtling through the screened windows.
Satisfied, Willow broke the circle with her toe, and vacuumed up the sand.
She then went to lie down on her bed in order to regain her strength. She'd need it for the next thing she had to do!

Buffy had gone up to the air pump, which was near the store and filled up two rafts. After she came back down, she pulled William to his feet, "Time to swim."
"I can't swim," he told her.
She smiled, remembering how she'd gotten Spike to almost float, well, couldn't exactly do that here, could she?
"Come on, play in the water with me, then," she said, holding up a small, colorful, foam football.
He hesitated
"Thought you wanted to make out," she said, teasingly. She walked away from him, her hips swaying in a sexy suggestive way.
Follow her anywhere, might as well be here. He got up and raced past her into the water.
She was surprised as he sprinted past her and jumped in after him, diving under the water and coming up next to him.
"Gotta get wet," she said, splashing him.
He splashed her back, then holding his nose, went under.
"Try just holding your breath," she said to him.
He tried, and came up sputtering.
"Okay, both of us together. On the count of three," she said, holding his hands, "one, two, three!"
They went under water, facing each other. She could barely make him out in the water, which was murky from the sand being all kicked up, but she found his lips and kissed him quickly.
He came up and took a breath, "I like making out, on land better," he said.
"Oh, yeah, come 'ere you," she said, pulling him to slightly deeper water.
She wrapped her now, almost weightless legs around him, as he stood and kissed him.
Um, now this was nice! He kissed her back, as she gently bounced up and down on him.
"Could drown like this," he whispered.
"Would that be so bad?"
"Not as long as you're with me. I'm already drowning in you, Elizabeth," he said, kissing her lips again, as they pressed against each other. Her thighs tightening around him.
Want her so much!
"Better stop, before children get ideas," she said, staring guiltily at some kids who'd come floating by, staring at the couple.
Reluctantly, she put her legs down and swam to the shore. She ran up on the beach, leaving him in the water, looking after her. She came back a few seconds later, carrying the foam football.
"Can you catch?"
"Of course," he said, huffily, "can you?"
"Of course!" she swam about 20 yards away from him and threw the ball at him. It came in short and splashed in front of him, "You throw like a girl," he yelled to her.
He picked it up, examined the strange material, light, sturdy, buoyant and threw it at her. She missed, as well, "You do, too!" she teased.
The next few throws and catches were better and they got into the groove of the game. After about 15 minutes, they came and sat on their beach chairs again and sunned themselves, reapplying lotion.

Inside, Willow steeled herself for the next and much harder incantation she would attempt. Once again she made a circle, this time using black sand the coven had given her. She used chalk to draw a snake like symbol in the inside of the circle, then she got inside and sat on top of it. "Wadjet, also known as Maat-Neferu, Justice is Perfection, grant me this, oh brave one, send me to the one who wishes to destroy the happiness of those who have sacrificed to save this world, I implore thee!"
Her body grew rigid as her eyes went black, along with her hair, then to white. Her eyes returned to blue. She stared straight ahead, looking at something only she could see. Her aura swirled around her body for a few minutes, then turning into millions of points of light; it swirled up and exploded into yet more points of light, until there were billions and billions of them. Then, suddenly, like the plume of smoke from her last spell, the points of light hurtled themselves through the window, her aura along with them.

June 16, 2008
City Desk, Sun-Times
2:30pm CST
Hey, Rogers, didn't you have a story on some nutcase who was found in The Field Museum, then wound up in the nuthouse at The University of Chicago? Why don't you follow that up?"
"Sure," Rogers said, as he dialed up the hospital's press releases number, while looking at his file in the computer.
They claimed to have never heard of any such patient.
"Hmm,” he mused, dialing the psych department number itself. Gretchen Froesch, RN, answered the phone, "10 North," she said.
Rogers explained who he was and what information he was looking for, "Boy, do I ever have a story for you," she whispered, as she thought back on William Worthington, and all the meetings, policy changes, and downright scary events this patient had left in his wake. As she spoke, an invisible-to-the-eye cloud of pink smoke made it's way to her desk, hovering over and above her.
"Who are you again?" she asked.
"Rogers, David. Sun-Times."
"Oh, I think you have the wrong department. We've never had anybody like that as a patient. I'll let you know, if I hear of anything," she said, as she hung up. She scratched her head, then went back to work.
"What the...?" Rogers said, looking up, he saw the screen saver logo for the Sun-Times bouncing around his computer screen. He tapped the mouse a couple of times and only saw his desktop's wallpaper.
"What was I just doing?" he asked himself.

2:30pm
Dr. Turner's residence.
"Did you talk to...?"Wh"Who, did I talk to who, Catherine?"
"I forgot who I was going to ask you about? Did you talk to anybody today?"
"Dr. Turner thought about it, "I don't believe I did," he said, just as the number he had dialed, disappeared forever from his phone's record log.


June 16, 2008
Los Angeles
1:00pm PST
Angel had just finished making numerous calls to all his outside contacts, trying to come up with some new on William's where-a-bouts.
He had only this morning learned of the doctor's death, which didn't bother him in the slightest. He'd been a toady from the beginning. Just a tool to use. But having found out that the plane, not only had crashed, but also had been carrying the wrong 'mental patient' to begin with. How could Dr. Polydefkis have made that sort of mistake?
An hour ago he had called some of his contacts in Chicago, trying to trace what had happened in and around the hospital that night. All he could find out was that the next morning, the laundry department had come in to find dozens of pairs of new, brand name shoes, lined up on the floor.
Now, he had once again, put in a call to one of his best agents, "So, what did you find out about William...?" he tapped on the desk with a pencil, impatiently willing his brain to provide the last name, he'd learned of a few weeks ago. He never forgot a name.
"What was that, Angel?"
"What did you find out about W...?" What the hell? Finally, he yelled, "About W...Spike?"
"Spike, sir? Didn't you just call him, Wi...?
"Are you playing with me, you know, the person I was looking for, the one who...?"
Angel furrowed his brow in rage. What was going on?
"I'm sorry, Angel, you must not have given me a name, I have nothing written down."
"I know I did, His name is....he used to go by Sp...?," he finally said.
"Who?"
Angel slammed the phone down. Help these days. He pressed the button on the intercom. Bring me all files beginning with Sp," he yelled.
"That's right, Sp. S. and p. Sp!"
A few minutes later, he spotted what he was looking for, Spike, William, William the Bloody. Still, the last name didn't appear anywhere.
All of a sudden the building began to tremble. At least his office did. He stood up, and as he did, billions of points of light surrounded him, coming up underneath his door. He tried to move, but found they burned him like sunlight, if he got anywhere near them. He waited until the presence made itself known.
Willow's aura now coced ced into a whole, at least that's what it felt like.
"Angel," she said, using her other worldly voice.
"What do you want?"
"I'm here to bring you an order from The Highest Order of the United Coven of Bath," she said.
"Willow? How you doing?"
"I'm fine, Angel," she said, "how you doing?"
"Not bad at all," she answered.
"That's good. Always did like you," he lied.
"You, too," she lied, as well.
"Back to business. I'm here to order you to stop trying to interfere in the life of William Worthington, formerly known as Spike, formerly known as William the Bloody!"
"Yeah, yeah, formerly known as Big Bad, now known as Soul-boy, what else you got?"
"That's about it, Angel," she replied.
"And why should I quit trying to find William, Willow? Him and I are pals, besides, just wanted to see how that shanshu thing is going for him, protect him, that's all."
"Liar!"
"Well, now that you mention it," he said, grinning.
"William and all his names, are protected, as is Buffy. From you and anything human or supernatural, you may try to throw their way. It is the wish of the coven for the prophecy to play out in the way it was intended."
"Hell, Willow, have you seen William? Wouldn't matter if I keep him under my protection fwo ywo years or if Buffy does. The prophecy will play out, but not the warm-willy sort of way you seem to hope it will. I've got all the time in the world, Willow. I'll have a chance at the shanshu again."
"Why do you want that anyway, Angel? You seem to be enjoying the power of Wolfram & Hart at your fingertips. Why want to become human anyway?"
"I don't really care about that, I just don't want it to happen to be William."
"Buffy loves him, Angel. She really does. Don't you want her to be happy? Isn't that why you went away?"
"Buffy loved Spike. Maybe she loved him, I was never quite clear on that, what with her kissing me and telling me that she was going to go bake for a while."
"She's baked, Angel, and her cookies are all for William. Sorry."
"Willow, there's just some things you don't understand. I don't care if Buffy doesn't love me anymore. Hell, I don't even like her, let alone love her, but I sure as hell don't want...no wait. This is a stupid argument. Like I said, I've got all the time in the world to wait and see. But heck, it will only take two years to find out."
"I'll make you a bet, Willow. In two years time, William the Bloody, Spike, or whatever name he chooses to go by will cease to be, no more, nada. I mean, come on, Willow. I know he called me a poof, but WILLIAM? Biggest Nancy-boy and bad poet, ever."
Willow sighed, at least her aura did, "Just remember what I told you. Try to interfere, which by the way, have I mentioned that you can't? Try to interfere and the Coven will destroy all this and you, too."
"Whatever. I've got time. Give the happy couple my best wishes, will you?"
"Good-bye Angel. You've been warned."
"Bye Willow. Thanks for dropping in. See you in a couple of years."
And with that, she was gone.

The billions of points of light came flooding back across space, across time, back into the cabin, back into Willow, putting her aura back into place. She collapsed over onto her side, spent.
Half an hour later, she finally was able to sit up, then stand. Wearily, she vacuumed up the circle, then lay down on her bed, falling into a deep and dreamless sleep.
END CHAPTER 54