Home Is Where Your Heart Is

?Part 1

“Willow, can I speak to you for a moment, please?” asked a blonde haired
woman, as soon as Willow stepped through the doors to the modest sized
house. From the outside, no one would be able to tell what went on inside.
In fact, most people couldn’t even imagine what the truth was.

“Sure, Cynthia. What’s up?” said Willow, taking off her coat, and throwing
it in the closet by the door, with her purse. Her regular Saturday morning
visits here always left her in a good mood, and each week she was anxious
to get back. She’d often thought about sharing this activity with Buffy and
Xander, but something always held her back from opening up. They
probably wouldn’t understand. But deep down she knew why she never told
her best friends about her weekly visits to the quiet house on Mason St.
This time was hers alone, when no one knew who she was suppose to be.
No one would even suspect that shy Willow Rosenberg would spend 5
hours a week working with people like these.

“Well, I have someone new for you to work with. The gentleman who
called said he wanted the best, and I immediately thought of you.” said
Cynthia. It always amazed her how blind people could be. Here was an
absolutely beautiful girl, who spent her Saturday mornings in a place that
almost everyone in the town was oblivious to. She knew more about
Willow than the girl thought. Cynthia was very particular about who she let
into the small world inside her house, and had checked her out before
hiring her. Unlike most of the inhabitants of Sunnydale, Cynthia was aware
of the strange occurrences around the town. She knew about demons and
vampires, even about the Slayer, though she never let on to Willow. What
amazed Cynthia the most, however, was that this girl gave so much of
herself everyday - fighting demons and saving the world, yet she somehow
managed to keep an aura of innocence about her.

Even more, this small red headed had girl come to this house every
Saturday morning for the past 2 years, to help work with the victims of this
strange town. Mainly, the people who had been blinded by some mysterious
creature or occurrence, of the supernatural variety.

“Who is it?” asked Willow, curious and happy. Curious because of this new
person Cynthia wanted her to help. She always got a rush out of meeting
someone new, and helping them to see the beauty in the world they could
no longer see with their eyes. Willow knew how deceiving the world
actually was, and taught people how to appreciate it now that they had to
rely on other senses. The smell of a flour, or a loaf of freshly baked bread
was more beautiful to her than a garden full of colourful flowers in full
bloom. The feel of the rising sun’s warmth on your skin was more inspiring
than actually watching it. She was also happy, because Cynthia had said she
was good. <The best.> trilled Willow in her mind, a huge smile breaking
across her face.

“His name’s William Conway. It’s his sister who’s blind. He wants her to
feel comfortable and be able to get on with her life.. He thinks she slightly
suicidal, now that she can’t see, and he wants desperately to help her.” said
Cynthia. “You may have quite a handful, Willow. Do you think you can
handle it?” asked the blonde, turning to Willow. At Willow’s excited nod,
she continued. “This isn’t going to be some sort of weekly activity, Willow.
If you decide to help this woman, you’ll need to dedicate yourself. That
means almost everyday, you’ll have to be there for her. Help her through
the hard times, and be there to encourage her.”

Cynthia waited for Willow’s response, watching as the red head pondered
what she’d just said.

What else could she do? This woman, whoever she was, needed help.
Fighting demons and saving the world were good and all, but she never felt
like she made that much of an impact. Working here with the victims of the
various demons who’d wreaked havoc in the town, before the Slayer could
deal with them, gave her that sense of completion she’d been missing
before. Most of the men and women who lived in cynthia’s house, knew
her and liked her. she became a different Willow when she was here. No
longer the dependable, reliable one, Willow was loved by many people in
the house, all who returned her friendship with equal enthusiasm, and had
never seen what she looked like. They never saw the fuzzy sweaters or the
tights or overalls she wore all the time. Here, Willow was judged on her
personality and character, not her looks. That gave her the confidence to be
someone she’d only dreamed of, and that Willow was the one who now
contemplated helping out full time, with a new addition to Cynthia’s
clientele.

“I’ll do it.” said Willow softly, looking up into the blonde’s brown eyes.

“Here’s the address. I’ll call and tell him to expect you around 1:00, OK?”
replied Cynthia with a smile. She’d known all along that Willow would
jump at the chance to help. It was just the kind of person she was.

Taking the paper, Willow nodded and walked into the main room, calling
out a general hello as she tucked the piece of paper into the pocket of her
red jeans.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Willow walked up to the front door of a sizeable house, nervously tucking
her red hair behind her ear. She didn’t know what to expect, and it scared
her. granted, she was excited about this opportunity to work closely with
someone who needed her help, someone who needed Willow Rosenberg,
and not Buffy Summers the Vampire Slayer, but she was also nervous.

What if they didn’t like her? What if she didn’t help? What if the woman
was really suicidal, and Willow only drove her over the edge? These
questions tumbled through her mind, as she hesitantly raised her hand to the
large, wooden door. <But Cynthia wouldn’t recommend me if she didn’t
think I could do it.> she reasoned as she knocked.

The sound seemed to echo through the large house. Then came the sound of
footsteps, as someone made their way towards the covered entryway where
she now stood.

However, her burst of courage faded as she got a good look at the
‘someone’ who opened the door.

“Spike?” cried out Willow. Before she could even think, her instincts
kicked in, and she turned to run, but a strong hand on her arm stopped her.

“Well, well. If it isn’t the Slayer’s pet witch.” drawled an accented voice, as
Spike drew the struggling red head into the house. Throwing her away from
the door, calmly turned and locked the door behind him, before returning
his attention to the trembling red head in front of him. He could smell the
fear rolling off her in waves. He almost smiled at that, until he realized why
she was here.

“You’re the ‘Willow’ Cynthia was talking about ?” he spat out as the
situation made itself clear. The Slayers best friend was the one sent to help
his ‘sister’.

“This is the right house?” asked Willow fearfully. Another thought came on
the heels of that first one. “You’re not going to eat me, are you? I mean,
you didn’t make up that whole ‘sister who’s blind’ story to get an easy
meal, did you?” her eyes going wide at that thought, then even wider at his
loud laugh.

“Sorry to disappoint you, ducks, but you’re not here to become anyone’s
evening meal.” he said, once he managed to stop his laughter. “No one in
Sunnyhell goes after Cynthia, or anyone who works for her.”

“Oh. Why?” she asked, curiously, her fear leaving her some, but not totally.

“She’s been good to us. Gives us a place to stay if we’re caught away from
shelter at dawn, among other things. She’s kind of like Willy, except that
we respect her and her work. I know it’s hard to believe that demons could
respect a human, but we all owe her a debt of some sort.” looking at the red
head closely, he continued. “If we’d known you worked for Cynthia, you’re
life wouldn’t be in danger every night. No vamp or demon would dare go
after you. If they did, you’d have the entire underground population after
whoever it was.”

“What do you mean?” she asked, curious.

“We have a type of agreement with Cynthia. She provides us with
information and services, and we make sure her and her staff and patients
are safe from the night-life around these parts.” he explained, still slightly
shocked that this shy hacker worked for Cynthia, and was considered ‘one
of her best’. Unbeknownst to Willow, Cynthia didn’t work with the blind,
alone. She had a large network in Sunnydale, which covered just about
everything. In essence, she was the unofficial ruler of the Hellmouth. If you
needed to know anything, Cynthia was the one to ask. She also knew if a
vampire so much as sneezed in the town.

“Oh. Wow.” mumbled Willow under her breath. Her Saturday morning
activities had just taken on a whole new meaning. Then, something else
occurred to her. “What about your blind ‘sister’?” she asked, wondering if
that had been the truth.

“That part’s true.” he told her. Just then, a noise from the stairs drew both
their attentions.

“Princess, you shouldn’t be up and about yet. Your still weak.” said Spike,
hurriedly making his way to the black haired vampiress’ side.

“Spike?” she questioned in a child-like voice, her eyes staring blankly into
space in front of her. “I feel magic here. Miss Edith said she’s here to help
me.”

“That’s right, Dru.” replied Spike softly, in a comforting type of voice.
“This is Willow. She’s a witch. She’s here to help you.”

“Is she going to make me all better?” Dru asked, innocent hope coloring her
voice, her eyes continuing to stare off into nothing.

“I can help you, but I don’t know if I can make you better.” replied Willow
before Spike could, making her way to the vampiress’ side. She’d made her
decision in a split second. She couldn’t leave Drusilla like this. Even
though Willow was terrified that she might be killed by the black haired
beauty, she would still do all in her power to help the injured vampire. So
she drew her courage up into herself, and reached out to touch Drusilla’s
hand, not wanting to startle her by grabbing it.

“Now, who’s this Miss Edith? I’d like to meet her.” said Willow, smiling
when Drusilla latched on to her hand, a smile curving her pale lips.

“Miss Edith said I would like you. She said I’m a princess.” Drusilla said
the last with a great deal of pride in her voice.

Unknown to Drusilla, Willow answered with her own smile. In her own
way, Drusilla had accepted Willow.

The dark vampiress turned and began leading Willow up the stairs, one
hand on the wall to guide them.

At the bottom of the stairs, Spike smiled in relief. It had been too long since
his Princess had smiled, at him or anyone. Yet this small girl had his Dark
Goddess smiling in less that five minutes after meeting her. He had a
feeling that these two females would become very important in his unlife,
and couldn’t find the urge to resist that particular feeling.
~~~~~~~~~~~

Part 2

Willow smiled to herself as she walked home from school, a month later.
She’d been spending almost all her free time at Spike and Dru’s, and she
felt like a part of the family. Once it had gotten out that Willow worked for
Cynthia, and was now practically living with Spike and Dru, vampires and
other creatures of the night steered clear of her, for which she was
incredibly grateful.

In the last month, things had been going great on the vampire side of her
life, but on the human, normal side, things were steadily getting worse. Oz
was getting worried about her. They’d barely seen each other in weeks, and
she could tell he was getting tired of her thinly disguised excuses. Buffy
and Xander weren’t much better. They kept asking her why she didn’t come
to the Bronze, or why she didn’t help out with research. Willow truly tried
to be there, but Dru seemed to take up most of her time. It wasn’t that she
was demanding, it was just that Willow found more satisfaction in spending
time with Dru and Spike, than she did researching the newest baddy to
appear on the Hellmouth. Also, more often than not, she found that Spike
took care of any unwelcome demons, before the Slayer could even become
aware of it. He didn’t want any outsiders in his town, and got rid of those
who were of danger to his clan, hearing about it through Cynthia. Her reach
truly was extraordinary. An hour after a demon appeared in Sunnydale,
Spike knew about it. If it was dangerous, or threatened his control over the
town in any way, he’d take it out. Willow still researched, but know it was
to help Spike, and not the Slayer.

More and more she found her thoughts and actions revolving around her
new ‘family’, for that’s what she thought of them. Spike and Dru were her
family. They asked her about her day, comforted her when she’d had a
particularly bad day, and threatened to kill whoever had upset her. Lately,
that had mainly been Buffy and Xander. Willow felt loved and special. She
had people who would kill those who made her unhappy. As much as that
thought disturbed her, Willow felt loved.

Reaching the house she now considered home, she paused outside the door.
She had the nasty feeling that she was being watched, but couldn’t figure
out from where. Turning slowly, she looked around, but couldn’t find the
reason for the shivers racing up her spine. Shaking it off as nothing, she
continued inside the house, to Drusilla and Spike.

Spike. Just the thought of him sent warm fuzzy feelings through her.
Willow didn’t know when or how, but over the last month, she’d fallen in
love with him. He could be so caring and considerate of Dru one minute,
and ripping the heart out of a demon the next. The latter kind of scared her,
but seeing him with Dru, all that care and love lavished upon one person,
made her ache. It made her ache to be that person.

But never in a million years would she tell either of them. Dru was fragile,
and disrupting the household could have a disastrous effect on her. Her
current state of health was a direct result of the Chaos demon she’d been
with. The same one Spike had been ranting about the last time he was in
town, when he’d kidnaped her and Xander. The damn demon had used the
black haired vampiress for her powers, and discarded her after. She was
almost completely drained, and would have died if Spike hadn’t found her.
As a result, Dru was blind, and incredibly weak. So weak, in fact, that
Willow could easily take her on, and win with no problems. As Spike had
said, she was ‘as weak as a kitten’.

“Good day, pet. How are the bore, the gnat and the chit, today?” asked
Spike, referring to Giles, Xander and Buffy, respectively.

“Spike, be nice.” she chided him, but more and more she lost the desire to
defend her friends. The only time they spoke to her, now, was to get her to
research, copy homework or interrogate her about her after-school
activities. “School was school. I can’t wait until I graduate.” she said.
Looking around the room, she noted a lack of Drusilla. “Where’s Dru?”
asked Willow.

“Getting ready.” was all he said.

“Getting ready for what?” she asked him, dread filling her. Even though
Dru was weak and blind, she was still insane, and still a vampire.

“She’s decided to take a walk in the park tonight.” he told her. At hearing
this, a large smile spread across Willow’s face.

“She wants to go out?” almost jumping in joy, Willow bounced on the spot.
She’d been trying for weeks to get the other woman out of the house. The
only time she’d been outside, had been when Spike had brought her to
Sunnydale.

“That’s what I said.” the blonde vampire told her. He, too, was excited. His
Princess was finally getting better - well, maybe not better, but she was
showing a definite improvement. She had regained some of her strength,
and her confidence was coming back, which is what gave her the courage to
go outside again. And it was all due to this small red headed witch, who
was best friends with the Slayer. She had brought so much energy and joy
into their house, even into their clan. All the boys liked her. Especially after
she’d killed a rogue vampire who had threatened their Mistress. They’d all
watched in awe as she let loose an arrow from her small crossbow, instantly
turning to dust the vampire who was about to stake Dru. None of them
could have gotten to them in time, but this red headed human had saved
Drusilla, and the entire lot of them, cause Spike would most certainly taken
out his loss on them all. The few times she’d gone out with them to fight a
demon, she’d shown more courage than a lot of the new fledglings had.

“I’ll send some of the boys around town, distracting the Slayer from the
park. You should be safe there, pet.” Spike informed Willow.

“‘Should’?” asked Willow with a raised eyebrow.

“The rest of them will be scattered around the park, but well out of Dru’s
sight.” he said with a small smile. He wasn’t taking any chances with either
of his women. He didn’t know when he’d started to think of Willow as his,
but he did. She was part of their family, almost as surely as if he’d turned
her himself. It was a feeling he hadn’t experienced in his lifetime.

“I’ll just go get ready.” said Willow, as she ran up the stairs to her room.
Unknown to the Scooby gang, or even her parents, was the fact that she’d
moved out of her house almost 2 weeks ago. What really hurt was the fact
that no one noticed she had moved. Her parents - well, she was use to being
ignored by them. But Buffy, Xander, Giles, even Oz, hadn’t noticed that
she came to and from school, from a different house on the other side of
town.
~~~~~~~~~~~~

“The stars are singing to me!!” exclaimed Drusilla as she walked arm and
arm with Willow through the park later on that night. What had disturbed
Drusilla the most, was the lack of ‘singing from the stars’. Just like Miss
Edith, they told her things, and she always listened.

“They’re saying Little Tree has a love.” she said with a smile, turning her
head in Willow’s general direction. Trying to control her reaction, Willow
told herself that there was no way that Drusilla could know about her
feelings for Spike.

“Really?” Willow managed to choke out. “What are they saying?” she
asked carefully.

“They say my Spike is lonely, and needs Little Tree to make him happy.”
she said, before her face formed a little pout. “Spike still loves his Princess,
but he loves Little Tree, too.” rambled Drusilla.

Stopping suddenly, Drusilla turned to face the red head, her eyes staring
right through Willow. “Make my Spike happy.” to Willow, it almost
wounded like a plea.

“Wha-“ stuttered Willow, unsure of what to say.

“Willow.” said Drusilla, interrupting the red head, and startling her at the
same time. In all the time Willow had been helping Dru, the vampiress had
never used her name. “I can’t take love him the way you can. He needs
someone to be there for him.” Willow suddenly realized that this was one
of Dru’s rare moments of complete sanity. She wasn’t raving on about Miss
Edith or the moon, or even the ‘nasty Slayer’. Drusilla was telling Willow
to go after the man that they both loved, and loved them both.

Slowly nodding her head, Willow accepted what Dru offered, before she
realized that the vampiress couldn’t see her. “I love you, Dru.” she said,
wrapping her arms around the woman in front of her who had come to
mean so much to her in such a short time.

“Willow! Get away from her!” yelled a voice form behind her. Releasing
Drusilla, Willow spun in time to see Oz holding a crossbow, pointed at
Drusilla’s heart. Behind him was Xander, who looked scared and protective
at the same time.

“What are you doing?!” screamed Willow, taking a step towards her
boyfriend. <Scratch that. After this, he becomes EX-boyfriend.> she
thought angrily.

However, that single step was enough room for Oz to aim for the insane
vampiress’s heart. Seeing the arrow released from the bow, Willow did the
only thing she could think of.

She threw herself in the path of the arrow. She felt a sharp pain pierce her
back, and then she was falling. Falling onto a cold body. Drusilla. Pain
wracked her body, almost causing her to lose her grip on consciousness.
Willow was vaguely aware of the growling and snarling around her, as
Spike’s boys came out of the shadows, going after those who dared to
threaten their mistress and hurt Willow. Not only was Willow protected by
cynthia, but she was also part of their family. And no one hurt their family.

Gentle arms wrapped around her limp body, drawing her close. Willow
heard murmuring on the edge of her consciousness, and realized it was Dru.
It was the last thing Willow remembered before the agonizing fire in the
center of her back eclipsed everything else, drawing her down into a pit of
darkness.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Opening her eyes slowly, it took Willow a moment to realize where she
was. She was lying on her bed, in her room, in her home. <Home. Not
where I grew up, but where Spike and Dru are.>

It was then that she remembered. Everything. The park. Dru. Oz and
Xander. And then the arrow. And finally pain, then blackness. Sitting up,
she noticed a pair of ice blue eyes watching her.

“What happened?” Willow asked, still feeling week. She didn’t know what
was going on, or how long she’d been unconscious.

“What do you remember?” asked Spike. Willow wondered where this was
going, but answered anyways. She told him all she could recall from the
night’s events.

“How do you feel?” he asked her then, but the way he said it, made her
curious.

“I feel kinda tired.” she said, but at his look, knew there was something else
he wanted to hear. Closing her eyes, she concentrated and looked into
herself. What she saw there frightened her. “I’m a vampire?” she asked,
shocked. She had felt another presence inside her. It was dark, and
menacing, but she knew instantly what it was. Her demon. But... “But I
don’t feel all that different.” she told him, her eyes begging him for
answers.

“You were dying.” he began, his face never changing from it’s stony
expression. “Dru knew it, and wasn’t about to let it happen. So she turned
you. I didn’t even know what she was doing until I came over to the two of
you.” he paused for a moment, his eyes closing. Willow saw his face ripple,
and knew he was trying to control his own demon. “The arrow was still
sticking out of your back. When I pulled it out, I saw it start to slowly heal.
When I asked her what she had done, she said she’d made it so that we
could be together. I’m guessing that because she was so weak, her blood
didn’t allow the demon to gain full control. You still have your soul, or at
least a portion of it.”

“Where is she?” asked Willow after a moment, wanting to see her friend
and sire. Spike didn’t say a thing, but got up and motioned her to follow
him. He lead her down the hall to Drusilla’s room, where he opened the
door and let her enter first. What she saw there shocked her, and sent waves
of pain through her heart.

There, laying on the bed, in her favorite gown, was an incredible pale
Drusilla. Going over to her sire’s side, Willow leaned down onto the bed
next to Dru, one hand gently stroking the pale face and black hair.

“I did this, didn’t I?” she asked Spike, the torment clearly heard in her
voice, and visible on her face. “It’s because of me that she’s like this, isn’t
it?”

“Yes.” was all he said, then instantly regretted the word, for it caused blood
red tears to fill her green eyes, then silently fall down her now-pale cheeks.

“Don’t cry.” he said softly, drawing her up into his arms, holding her tightly
against his body as she continued to quietly cry. “It was what she wanted.”
he soothed her.

He continued to hold onto her, until her crying dwindled down to the
occasional sniffle. “Besides, I know of a way to make her all better.”

Raisin her red streaked face, Willow looked him in the eye. “How?” was all
she said. Whatever it took, she would get Drusilla back. Laying on the bed
was her best friend, mother and sister, all in one. She wouldn’t let that go
without a fight.

“A ritual.” was all he said.

“But don’t you need the duLac cross?” she asked, remembering that that’s
what he needed last time. Well, the cross, and Angel.

“No. That was a one-time deal, anyways. The restoration ritual was a
second choice, because her best bet wasn’t possible, until know.” he
explained, looking deep into her green eyes, marveling at this creature he
had come to love.

“What was the first choice?” she asked, curiosity getting the better of her.

“It’s another ritual, but the main ingredients are the blood of a sire, and a
childe.” he waited a moment for this to sink in. Spike saw the question
form in her eyes, before she even spoke it, and answered before she could
ask. “You’re the first childe Dru ever made. She knew about the ritual, and
knew we’d find a way to bring her back.” he said, a smile crossing his face
for the first time in days, at seeing the happiness of her expression.

“So does that mean we’re going to LA to see grandad?” she asked
excitedly.

“Of course it does, pet.” replied Spike. “But first, you should say a proper
farwell to those friends of yours.” he suggested, knowing she’d catch his
meaning.

“You mean their not dead, yet?” she asked, truly surprised. Willow had
figured they’d be feeding the worms by now.

“Not all of them. I was saving some for you.” Spike informed her.

“Well then, by all means, lets not keep them waiting. It’s very rude.” she
said, pulling herself out form his embrace, to walk out into the hallway.
“Besides, I just realized I’m famished.” added Willow over her shoulder,
with a smile on her face.

“Certainly, luv. First - dinner. Then - LA.” responded Spike, following her
out the door.

Soon he would have both his Princesses. Drusilla, his Dark Queen. And
Willow, his Red Queen.

What a perfect match.

End.

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