Part 1

Willow and Buffy strolled along among the headstones, gossiping about school, the gang and the Slayer's favorite ex-commando, Riley Finn.

"So, Buffy, inquiring minds want to know."

"Whose minds?"

"Well, ok, mine. But I still want to know, . . .Riley. . . Boxers or briefs?"

"Willoooowwww!!" Buffy squealed and playfully smacked her best friend.

The redheaded witch simply giggled and rubbed the spot on her arm that she was sure would be bruised tomorrow. Then the blond looked at her friend through lowered lashes and leaned forward to whisper conspiratorially "Boxers. Cotton boxers, one pair with smiley faces even."

Willow laughed. "I *knew* it! I *knew* he looked like a boxers kinda guy. Ha! I win ten bucks. Yay me!" She cackled gleefully.

"Willow!" Buffy tried to look offended, but was having a hard time holding in her laughter. "Who are you betting on my boyfriends underwear with?"

"Who else? Anya. She said she was sure he was a briefs kinda guy."

"I can't believe you two! You guys. . ."

Her teasing admonishment was interrupted by a band of creatures that jumped from a nearby cluster of trees to surround the two women. There appeared to be about seven of them and as the Slayer looked closely, her brow furrowed in confusion. Human looking bodies, yellow eyes, fangs. . . But no ridges. And some weird symbol in the middle of all of their foreheads. She mentally shrugged. If it looks like a vamp and attacks like a vamp. . . And yes, her Spidey sense was goin' into overdrive at the moment. . . Must be a vamp.

"What do we have here?" One of the creatures swaggered forward to within a foot of the Slayer.

"Well," the blond replied, "obviously you guys got lost on the way to the dentist's office." She shook her head in mock sympathy. "Those overbites must be a bitch." With that she leapt into the fray, thrusting her stake into the cocky vampire's heart, then backed off, waiting for the inevitable poof of dust. But it never came. The creature instead collapsed to the ground and began convulsing as it dissolved into a black slime.

"Eeeeewww!" Buffy watched with wide eyes, trying to comprehend what she was seeing. Ok, not vamps. She was startled back into action when one of the creatures grabbed her by the throat. She brought an arm up and broke his hold, before ramming her stake deep into its chest, only to have a repeat performance in which the body convulsed and went all slime-like again.

The Slayer found herself surrounded by three others and went to work at disposing of them as quickly as possible. They didn't seem quite as strong as regular vamps. Their movements weren't as quick either. Out of the corner of her eye Buffy saw Willow fighting off the remaining two pseudo-vamps and called out a warning.

"They're not regular vamps, Will, but you can still stake them through the heart."

"Good to know," the redheaded hacker yelled back, "because the only thing holy water's doing is giving them a nice refreshing little bath" She threw her water gun aside and pulled a stake from her jacket pocket. She was fending them off, but not really getting a chance to land any blows herself. Four hands seemed to come at her from every direction, blocking her punches and possible stakings.

Buffy was struggling with her last demon when she heard Willow's crow of joy. "Ha! Gotcha! I got one, I got one!" She sing-songed. The Slayer grinned when she heard her friend's joy at her slayage victory, then the smile disappeared as she heard a strangled cry.

The blond turned her head in time to see her best friend reaching over her shoulder to rake her nails down the face of the demon latched onto her neck. The witch's eyes were wide with fright as they locked on the Slayer. "Buffy!" She managed to squeak out before starting to slowly lose consciousness.

Buffy spun and slammed her stake into the heart of her current nemesis and took off running toward the redhead without waiting for the demon to collapse. She ripped the monster off her best friend and twisted its head, hearing the neck snap before it dropped to the dewy night grass. The Slayer slid a stake from her sleeve and bent over the fallen form to drive it home through its heart before turning her attention to the silent redhead laying nearby.

"Wills! Wills, can you hear me?" She cradled the small form in her arms and examined the jagged bite mark on her neck that was quickly oozing more blood than was healthy. Making quick work of Willow's skirt, Buffy tore off a couple of strips, folding one to use as a compress, the other she used to tie around her friend's pale neck and hold the wadded material in place. "I'll buy you a new skirt. I promise," she muttered under her breath as she lifted her friend into her arms and headed off toward the Magic Box. "And if you wake up and smile at me, I'll buy you two. . . and a mocha"

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

Anya was happily counting the end of day proceeds when she heard a heavy pounding at the front door.

"We're closed!" She yelled, not bothering to look up from her pile of charge slips.

The booming sound came again, the noise luring Giles from the back training room.

"What was that? Oh dear, Lord!" The former Watcher saw his Slayer standing outside through the glass window of the door with an armful of something that looked suspiciously like Willow. He dashed for the door and swung it open, moving aside to let the blond carry her friend to one of the tables before laying her down gently. "Buffy, what happened?"

"We were patrolling and these . . . things came out of nowhere and surrounded us. I think there were seven of them, but I got two pretty quickly before three more jumped me. The other two went after Wills. I was just finishing with my last one when she staked one of her own, but then the other demon grabbed and bit her. I couldn't get to her in time Giles. She's bleeding so badly!" The Slayer's hand was shaking as she gently pushed a red curl out of the unconscious girl's closed eyes.

The man hurried to the back for the first aid kit and told Anya to lock the front door. When he reentered the room, he was already pulling out gauze and alcohol swabs from the box. "What kind of demons were they Buffy? Had you ever seen them before?"

"That's the weird thing, Giles." Buffy began to remove her makeshift bandage while her Watcher laid out the necessary items on the table next to her friend. "They kinda looked like vamps. Same eyes, fangs. Even had the back of my neck tingling like regular vamps do, but they didn't have any ridges, ya know? Oh, and Wills was trying to use her holy water gun, but she said it wasn't having any effect. And when I staked them, they didn't go poof."

"Really?" Giles was gently cleansing the area around the angry looking bite on Willow's neck, but his attention was captured by Buffy's description. "What did they do? Just die?"

"No. They went all gooey."

"Gooey?"

"Yeah. They kinda dissolved into this black goo. Very gross. Very ewww."

"Yes, I see."

"Sounds like Vilnavons."

Both slayer and watcher glanced at the former demon who now stood on the other side of the table looking on as the witch was being patched up.

"Vilnavon? What the hell is a vilnavon?" Buffy was slowly losing a grip on her nerves. Willow was still bleeding badly and remained unconscious.

"Cousins to vampires. Thought they were all gone. Last group I heard of was about, oh, eight hundred years ago." Anya reached for Willow's slack hand and rubbed it between her own when she felt the coolness of her flesh.

"Vilnavons. Hmmm, I recall reading about them. A weaker demon, a cousin to the vampire. Not quite as ruthless or destructive. But I believe Anya is right. They were thought to have died out long ago."

"Hello!" Buffy waved to them both. "Not *all* gone. Ran into seven of them in the cemetery."

"Yes, well, we don't know for sure if that's what we're dealing with. Right now I'm more concerned with helping Willow."

"She should be awake by now Giles." Buffy was worried. She chewed her bottom lip in an unconscious imitation of her best friend. It had been a good half hour since the attack and she hadn't stirred once. "Do you think the bite's poisonous? Could that be why she's not waking up?"

The sound of the back door opening and closing interrupted Giles' response, followed by a clatter of metal.

"For Satan's sake, whelp. Watch where you're going!"

"Listen up Fangless, I'm sorry I don't have your super vamp eyesight. I couldn't see it, ok?"

"The lights are on you moron! Don't need any super vision to see a sword lying in the middle of the floor. Bloody pillock!"

Xander and Spike entered the room at the same time, but the vampire drew up immediately, smelling fresh blood. He lightly sniffed the air before turning his gaze to frown at the pale figure laying on the table. "What happened to the witch?"

Xander followed the vampire's gaze. "Willow?" He hurried over to her side, taking in the wound Giles was trying to get to stop bleeding. "What happened?"

"We were attacked in the cemetery." Buffy's voice was soft and full of guilt as she held her best friend's free hand. "Giles, shouldn't it be clotting by now? I mean, how much blood can she lose?"

"Vamps?" Spike moved closer, eyes glazing over at the delicious smell of the witch's fresh, warm blood.

"Vilnavons." Anya informed him plainly.

A frown marred the bleached blonde's forehead. "Vilnavons? Don't think those exist anymore, luv."

"I'm just going by Buffy's description," the former vengeance demon grumbled.

"Damn!"

"Giles, what is it?" Xander looked anxiously between the watcher and the growing pile of blood soaked gauze pads.

"I fear we may have to take her to the hospital. I can't seem to stop the bleeding."

"Maybe I can help."

The group turned as one to give Spike an unbelieving look.

"What? Unless you prefer the witch bleed to death."

"How?" Giles looked doubtfully at the vampire.

"Vampire's saliva has a natural clotting agent to it or some such rot. Angelus told me that once. Couldn't understand why he would torture his victims then lick their wounds as much as he did. Sure the blood tasted great. What with all that fear and pain mingling. . . Anyway, he said it clotted the blood so he could torture them longer without them bleeding to death so fast."

"Can I just say, NNNYYYUUUUUHHHH!" Xander shuddered with distaste.

"So, you want to lick Willow?" Anya asked.

Rolling his eyes, Spike looked at the others. "Look, either, I lick the bite and try to get it to clot or you take Red here to the hospital and have to answer a lot of pesky questions. What's it gonna be?"

"I don't like it. . ." Buffy began.

"Buffy, we have to try. Besides, with the chip, he won't be able to hurt her. You know that." Giles stepped aside, letting Spike relieve him at his position closest to Willow.

The vamp leaned over and gently cupped the redhead's cheek, turning her face to give him better access to the bite. Moving closer, he hovered inches from the bleeding wound and inhaled deeply, reveling in the smell of fresh human blood. There was something else there as well, he wasn't sure what it was. Maybe it was just Willow's own personal scent, but there was definitely something there. Under the blood he could smell an aroma equally as intoxicating.

"Oh, would you stop getting a hardon for her blood and just lick her already!" Anya rolled her eyes.

Buffy and Giles stood nervously to the side, watching intently as Spike closed his eyes and allowed his tongue to dart out, lapping up the spilt blood on the girl's collarbone before tracing its path back up to the bite. He laved the area gently, sinking into an erotic vampiric haze. He placed his open lips over the area, pressing wet kisses upon the skin after his tongue traced patterns on it.

Anya fanned herself with a hand, wondering if she'd ever seen anything so intimate before. Xander gulped audibly. Giles cleared his throat and began cleaning his glasses. Buffy frowned, clenching her hands into fists at her sides.

The blood continued to spill onto Spike's tongue and he drank the trickle eagerly. What he wouldn't give to suction his lips around the wound and draw the warm nectar to the surface, to drink deeply from the witch beneath him. Her blood was ambrosia. Sweetness with a hint of innocence still. And that wonderful spicy taste of magic and fire. And something else. . . something indescribable, but addictive. His fingers had unconsciously tangled in the red curls of the girl and his thumb stroked her cheek gently. He lapped at the stream of blood like a kitten at a bowl of cream. He was drowning in her essence, her scent, her taste. He felt his jeans tighten and couldn't control the moan that was torn from his throat. He was in ecstasy.

"That's it! Enough!" His erotic haze lifted abruptly as he was ripped away from the redhead by a very angry Slayer. His eyes flashed golden at her as he licked his lips of the last traces of Willow's sweet blood.

"What?" He asked, angry at being interrupted.

"What?" The blond looked at him incredulously. "You're standing there, pawing and licking my best friend. And being much too happy about it," she gave a pointed look at the visible bulge in Spike's jeans, "and you ask 'What?'. Give me a break! Was this all just some kind of sick joke to get some fresh blood? You couldn't really help her, could you? What were you thinking, belly up to the bar? It was all just a bunch of lies so you could attach your lips to Willow's neck. . ."

"Buffy," Giles murmured.

"What?" She turned, exasperated at having her tirade interrupted before she got to the part about staking him out to watch the sunrise. It was always her favorite part of threatening him.

Giles gestured at the bite on Willow's neck. It was still seeping blood slightly, but not nearly as badly as it had been. It was obvious that it was finally beginning to clot.

"Oh." Was the Slayer's only response.

"It worked. Well, good job." Anya clapped her hand on Spike's shoulder in an exaggerated fashion.

Spike let his demon's face recede, his blue eyes once more staring down the Slayer. "You were saying?" He smirked arrogantly.

"Nothing," she mumbled.

"Hey! I think she's waking up! Wills?" Xander leaned over his best friend, gently brushing her hair back from her face when they all heard a soft moan from the still figure on the table.

Grateful for the interruption, Buffy moved to stand near her friend's head, watching in relief as green eyes fluttered open.

Willows looked up at the concerned faces around her and gave a wobbly smile. "Hey guys. Whatcha doin'?"

"Getting over the heart attack you just gave me. Willow, Willow, Willow. How many times have I told you not to let strange vamps bite you?" Xander teased.

The redhead became aware of a throbbing in her neck and reached a hand up to touch the wound, only to have Giles gently pull it away. "Let me clean it and bandage it for you. Don't touch it. We only now got it to stop bleeding so badly."

"We?" Spike raised a scarred eyebrow at the Watcher.

"Yes, very well then, Spike got it to stop bleeding." Giles conceded.

The blond vamp smirked again, this time down at the witch watching him through confused eyes. "How?" She managed to croak out through a dry throat.

"Vampire saliva, luv. Tried and true congealant. Licked ya dry, I did." He gave Willow a lascivious smile and wink.

The redhead lowered her eyes and blushed. "Oh." Willow shivered as she imagined Spike's tongue running over her neck. She raised her eyes to look at Xander and gave him a small smile. "Kinda thirsty. Can I have some water?"

"You got it bestest bud. One glass of water coming up."

Giles taped a gauze patch over the bite mark and Xander was back with the water by the time he was done. Buffy moved behind her, gently lifting her into a sitting position.

"Let me know if I'm moving you too fast or you get dizzy or something, k?"

"I feel fine, actually. I mean besides being thirsty and my neck throbbing. But I don't feel dizzy or weak at all. It's kinda weird. Did he take a lot of blood?"

Buffy frowned. "He had a good hold on your neck for a while before I could get to you. It took me a minute to get rid of the one I was fighting with and then by the time I reached you, you were already out cold and I had to pry him off your neck."

"Yes, and you were bleeding quite a bit after she brought you here as well. This is quite odd. You're sure you don't feel weak at all or dizzy? Not in the slightest?" Willow shook her head no and Giles looked puzzled at the latest development in their little mystery.

Xander handed Willow the water and watched her drink as he spoke. "So, vamps that aren't vamps and a vamp attack victim that doesn't feel like a vamp attack victim? I think the Hellmouth is making with the wackiness again."

"Not if they weren't vampires, but were vilnavons." Anya pointed out.

"Look demon-girl," Spike began, "from what I've been told there haven't been any vilnavon sightings in over nine hundred years."

"Eight hundred actually. I saw a group of them myself. I was in Cairo because this woman had caught her husband cheating with her sister. She had me do this great curse. Every time he had an erection. . ."

"Anya, please," Giles interrupted, blushing. "Why don't we get a full description from Buffy and Willow now that Willow's feeling better? Then we can research."

"Well, I told you everything I can remember." Buffy's forehead furrowed as she went over the list of things she noticed about the demons. "They had human bodies, human skin. No scales or slime in sight. They had fangs and yellow eyes like vamps, but no ridges. And they didn't go poof when you staked them. They went all black gooey like."

"Oh, oh, oh!" Willow waved her hand as if she were in class waiting to be called upon. "Holy water didn't effect them at all. And there was that weird symbol on their foreheads."

Giles head shot up from where he had been replacing the items in the first aid kit. "Symbol? You didn't mention a symbol, Buffy."

The slayer grinned sheepishly. "I forgot?" She shrugged. "Sorry."

"Can you draw the symbol for me Willow?" Giles snapped his fingers and pointed. Xander grabbed a pen and tablet from a nearby table and handed them to the redhead.

"Sure. It was kind of a thin crescent." She worried her bottom lip with her teeth as she drew the symbol as she remembered it. "And then there were two circles, one to the left upper part of the crescent, then another to the right lower part of it." She pulled the tablet back to admire her artistic skill, then handed it to Giles. "Yup, that's it, right Buff?"

Buffy moved closer to get a better view of her friend's handiwork. "Yep. That looks about right. Good observational skills in a time of crisis, Wills."

"Yes. Good job, Willow." The witch just about fell off the table from the over exuberant pat on the back she received from Anya.

"Ahn, not so hard, k?" Xander wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her away from his glaring best friend.

"But you told me people need to be rewarded with a pat on the back and a 'Good job' every now and then to make them feel worthwhile."

"A gentle pat on the back is preferable, Anya, although I do appreciate the sentiment." Willow gingerly rubbed her shoulder. Between Anya, Buffy and the pseudo-vamps, she knew she would be a big walking bruise in the morning.

Spike moved to the Watcher's other side to view Willow's drawing, before pulling it free from his hands. "This what you saw when you ran into the vilnavons, luv?" He held it up to show Anya.

"Yes. That's it exactly. And they didn't have any ridges, like Buffy and Willow's demons. They're not as strong as vampires, but were mistaken for them quite often. Probably why most of them died out. Their only saving grace is that they didn't have to feed as much as vampires do, but I don't know why. So, less hunting, less chances of getting caught." She shrugged her shoulders and snuggled close to Xander's chest.

"Why wouldn't they have to feed as often? Fascinating." Giles was already in high research mode as he shuffled through a pile of books before handing them out to all individuals present. "Look up vampires as well as vilnavons. There might be some information on them in a subheading since they're somehow related."

Spike looked at the book shoved into his hands. "Hey Watcher, I have a bloody unlife you know. Something better to do with my time than hang out with you soddin' losers."

"Spike," Buffy smiled sweetly at him before she pushed him down into a chair and got in his face. "Willow just provided you with your first real taste of fresh human blood in months. The least you can do for her is look up what bit her and what side effects it may have on her. . . And on anyone who might have drank her blood."

"Fine." He opened the book and began flipping through the pages, mumbling to himself. "But there's nothing wrong with her blood. Tasted amazin', it did. Nothing wrong with it at all."

Buffy glared at his ramblings, but made no comment.

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

Four hours later they were no closer than they had been. Buffy threw down a demonology text in frustration, causing Giles to wince as the six hundred year old book slid across the table into Xander's can of soda which tilted, but luckily did not fall over.

"Nothing! I've been through at least twenty books and nothing on vilnavons."

"Same here." Willow sighed. Her head hurt. Her stomach was upset. She felt a little dizzy and her heart was racing. Something wasn't right and she knew it had to do with the earlier attack.

Spike watched as the redhead laid her book down and began to lightly rub her temples, eyes closed.

"You all right, Red?"

Giles looked up from the thick volume in his hand. "Willow, are you not feeling well?"

"Not really feelin' *great* Giles." Her voice was soft and it sounded so far away to her own ears.

Spike leaned forward and narrowed his eyes. "Her heart's doin' double time, mate. Racin' it is."

"Willow, tell me what you're feeling."

She looked up with glassy eyes. Everything seemed blurry. Like it was all airbrushed around the edges. Voices were coming through a soft misty fog. She could hear the sound of her heart pounding and her blood rushing through her veins. "Dizzy. Head hurts. Stomach's upset. Can't slow down my heart." With that she slid off the chair and onto the floor, unconscious.

Buffy was at her best friend's side in an instant. "Wills? Willow? Wakey, wakey Wills. Come on." She lifted her onto the table and felt her neck for a pulse. She raised worried eyes to her Watcher. "Giles, Spike's right. Her heart's ready to pound out of her chest. What do we do?"

"I really don't know, Buffy. We haven't found anything and I fear we don't have the time to look any further. Our best bet is to get her to the hospital, I think. I'm not sure what we're dealing with here."

"Neither will the bloody pillocks in the ER, and you know it Watcher. They'll think she's hopped up on drugs or some such."

"Well, do you have a better idea, Einstein?" Xander asked.

Spike paused for a moment and looked around the room, his gaze lingering on Buffy before returning to Giles. "Could always call the Poof. See if he or his Watcher know of something off the tops of their heads." He mumbled begrudgingly.

He hated his fuckin' grand-sire, but he didn't want to see anything happen to the little witch. She was the only one halfway decent to him. Still treated him with some respect, which was pretty hard to come by for the chipped vamp nowadays. Not to mention her blood tasted like heaven. Not quite ready to lose that yet. After what he tasted earlier, he couldn't wait for the day the blasted chip in his head quit working so he could sink his fangs in Willow's soft flesh and slowly savor her as he drained her. O'course he would turn her when he was done. But the thought of keeping her alive for a while, all warm and soft and sweet and delicious, now that was fantasy worthy. He could keep her alive and healthy and drink from her until he grew tired of her flavor. Something told him it might take a very long time for that to happen though.

During his fantasizing he didn't notice the Watcher had moved to the phone. When the blond vamp zoned back to present time, he heard Giles speaking with whom he assumed to be Angel.

"Yes, yes, I understand. Quite extraordinary, really. So do you think we should take her to the hospital? . . . Well of course they wouldn't. Can't quite explain that can we? . . . Well, she was bleeding quite heavily from the wound earlier, but we, uh, finally got it to stop bleeding and clot. . . How do you propose we do that? Syringe? . . . Well, yes, but I don't think. . . Angel, I'm not sure that's such a good idea, and there's always the fact that he can't. . . Well, yes, we could try. Are you sure you're up to this? That this is the best solution? . . . Of course. It will give us all time to research and find a solution. . . . All right, we'll do what we can here, then I'll have them on the road to arrive there before dawn. . . Yes, I'll let them know. Thank you Angel. . . . What's that? . . . Yes, I'll tell him. Thank you again. Good-bye."

Three faces looked anxiously at the watcher and a fourth looked merely curious. "What did Peaches have to say? And why do I get the feeling Red's going to be making a trip to the City of Angelus?"

"Well, it's not so much that vilnavons don't have to feed as often as vampires. It's simply that when they bite their victims, an element in their saliva tricks the body into thinking it needs to make extra blood. Therefore, the heart pumps faster, more blood is produced and the vilnavons can feed from that person for quite some time before they're finally drained."

"So, basically, being bitten by a vilnavon gives you high blood pressure and them a long term meal?" Buffy looked at Giles in disbelief.

"Well, yes, quite simply put. However, it's much more dangerous than that. The body will create blood at an alarming rate. It can lead to a heart attack in a matter of hours if the person is not relieved of the excess."

"Relieved?" Xander replayed Giles' end of the conversation with Angel in his mind. "Wait a minute!" He jumped up from his seat to stand protectively over Willow's prone body. "You're sending her to Deadboy to drain her of this 'excess' blood, aren't you? He's going to snack on her? Is that it?!"

"Only until we can find a solution. Wesley has a contact that he feels should have the information needed rather quickly. It should be for no more than a few days, but in the meantime, . . " Giles voice trailed off into a sigh and his gaze turned to the vampire, "In the meantime you are to try to feed from Willow, simply to tide her over until we can get her safely to Angel."

"Over my dead body!" The Slayer and Xander yelled simultaneously.

Giles lost his temper at that point and whipped off his glasses to glare at the two people hovering about the redhead like a pair of overprotective parents. "This would not be my first choice either, but if we don't do something quickly, Willow is going to have a heart attack. She needs some of her blood drained and she needs it done quickly. And since it is for her own good, and he wouldn't really be harming her, but helping, Spike may just be able to work around the chip this time."

Spike grinned to himself. This was bloody marvelous. He thought he was going to have to wait for months, possibly years before he could taste her again.

Catching the vampire's self-satisfied smirk, Ripper turned on the blond. "And YOU! If you harm one hair on her head, you will be dust before the sunrise."

"That a little warning from Peaches? He used to be much more creative with his torture. Appears to be slipping in his old age."

"Actually, Spike," Giles walked closer and glared at the blond, "that was my threat. Angel's threat was if you harmed one hair on Willow's head he would boil you in holy water, shove a cross up your arse and stake you to a crucifix in his courtyard to watch the next sunrise."

"Oh." His grin faded. "That sounds a little more like the Angelus I used to know."

Xander snickered and was shot a death glare from the platinum blond.

"Fine. The witch needs bled. Let's get on with it, shall we?" He walked over to the table and peeled back the bandage, revealing the jagged bite again. Spike was nervous. He hoped to hell that the chip would let him do this. He morphed and moved to lift her into his arms, turning her face to the side and aiming his fangs for the marks on her neck. Just as his canines sank into the flesh, a pain shot through his head. His demon receded and he burrowed his face against her chest as he moaned in agony. "Bloody hell!"

"That worked out well." Buffy muttered sarcastically from the other end of the table.

"I can't reopen the wound to get the blood flowing again. The soddin' chip won't let me! Bugger all!" The cranky vamp ranted.

Giles thought for a moment before retrieving the first aid kit once again. He withdrew a syringe and murmured for Spike to hold the girl steady. The vampire watched in shock as the Watcher prodded the injured areas with the end of a sterile needle, reopening the wound and suctioning slightly to get the blood flowing to the surface again. He then nodded at the blond. "Try it now."

Spike morphed once again and lowered his face cautiously, letting his fangs once again sink into the tender flesh, and once again pain accompanied his actions. He gripped his head and cursed in several different languages that only Giles understood. The watcher regarded the pained vampire with a raised eyebrow as he continued to curse a blue streak.

"Perhaps, simply try to, uh, drink without biting her?" The watcher suggested. Spike gave the other Brit a dirty look before rubbing his head once more. He lowered his mouth for the third time, but simply suctioned his lips around the reopened wound and began drawing upon the pale flesh, his mouth flooding with the witch's warm, addictive blood. His grip on her tightened. He pulled her closer and buried his face in her neck as he proceeded to drink eagerly.

His eyes glowed amber, his tongue lapping at the soft skin surrounding the bite. Closing his eyes, he lost himself in her taste once again. His demon was clamoring for him to drink her dry, but this was something Spike wanted to savor. He was taking shallow draws on her neck, her blood exploding on his taste buds.

The first thing Willow noticed as she began to regain consciousness was the erotic sensations emanating from her neck. She had always loved when Oz would nibble or tease the column of her throat, neck and collarbone with his tongue. But that was nothing compared to the sensations the redhead was experiencing now. She felt strong arms around her, holding her close to a tightly muscled body. Willow felt a tongue teasing her sensitized flesh and a rush of heat at the point just above it. Giving into the sensations, and thanking her goddess for such a pleasurable dream, the redhead wrapped her arms around her dream lover and arched into his caresses. There was no mistaking the soft shuddering moan of pleasure that escaped her parted lips. She tangled the fingers of one hand into the hair of the man doing such erotic things to her and held him closer.

After several minutes of sensual gasps of delight from Willow and groans and growls from Spike, the others in the room had had enough.

Anya grabbed Xander's hand and began leading him to the door. "Xander. Home now. I need orgasms."

The boy protested as he was dragged out the door by his girlfriend, the sounds of Willow's whimpers and moans of pleasure still ringing in his ears.

"Spike, I think that's enough." Giles laid his hand on the blonde's shoulder, only to have him shrug it off. He moved to grip his shoulder tighter and tugged. "I said, ENOUGH!"

The demon's face turned on the Watcher, blood staining its teeth and lips. Spike growled deeply at the man and held his prize even closer as she whimpered in protest at the cessation of the sensual sensations.

Finally Willow's eyes fluttered open, to see Spike above her, in gameface, mouth dripping blood. Feeling the throbbing in her neck and the wetness surrounding the wound, she realized it was her blood. Her eyes widened in shock when she realized that her wonderful dream was nothing more than a master vampire, with a now obviously defunct chip in his head, feeding from her.

"Ohmygod!" Willow scrambled out of the blonde's tight embrace only to slip off the edge of the table and land on her posterior with a thud.

Buffy, Giles and Spike looked on in surprise to where Willow had been sitting only seconds before. She wasn't visible on the other side of the table. A muffled "Owie!" floated up from the floor.

"Wills, you ok?" The Slayer moved around the table to check on the witch. What she found was the redhead crouching in fear under the table. "Wills, ya wanna come out?" She bent down to confront her hiding friend. "So you fell off a table. No big. Nothing to be so embarrassed about that you should hide under the table."

"It's broke!" Willow hissed to Buffy.

"Huh?"

"It's broke!" She looked at her friend like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"What are you talking about? Hey, did you hit your head on your way down to the floor by any chance?"

"Buffyyyy!! The chip! It's broke. Spike was feeding from me. He was all fangy and grr!"

"Oh, that. Well, we told him to."

"You what?!"

"Look, come out and let us explain. It's ok. Spike's chip still works. If it makes you feel any better, he couldn't bite you. Giles had to reopen your bite so he could drain you some."

Willow jumped to her feet and turned accusing eyes on the Watcher as she held a hand to her still bleeding neck. "You fed me to him?! What? Did I not research something quickly enough for you? Did I forget to ask permission before I borrowed a book. . . Or, or, or, maybe, ok, so I took a little morgad root, but I was going to pay for it as soon as I got to a MAC machine. Honest!"

"Willow!" Giles interrupted her semi-hysterical ramble. "Please, sit so we can explain. This has to do with the vilnavon attack and its results on you physically. We don't have much time."

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

Willow sat in shock staring at the watcher. "So, let me get this straight. I need to have my blood drained pretty often otherwise I'll probably have a heart attack or something equally as bad?"

"Exactly." Giles smiled at the redhead, glad she understood.

"So, in order to keep my blood drained to a safe level until we find a cure, you're sending me to Angel so I can become a regular snack?!" The older gentleman cringed as the witch's voice rose to a shriek.

"Willow, please understand, this isn't something we can take to the hospital or to a doctor. I truly believe it's the best way. Angel will treat you with caution. He's quite concerned with your welfare and I trust him to take the utmost care with you."

"Why is Spike going?" She turned her gaze to the platinum blond who was eyeing the blood still trickling from her wound.

"He's backup. I believe Angel will have to feed every several hours. He can't be around constantly, especially if he's working on a case. Not to mention if you run into any problems on the way to LA, which, by the way, you two really need to get moving if you're going to arrive by dawn."

"So, he's Angel's backup, stand-in, my second string feeder?" The witch looked at Giles as if he had lost his mind.

"Hey now!" The vampire objected. "I'm no one's stand-in. I'll have you know I'm first rate! Second string my arse! Come on Red. Let's go pack you a bag and be off to Peaches'."

Willow looked at Spike as if he had a frog growing out of his forehead. "You want to go see Angel? YOU? You hate him. This is just so you can get some more of my blood, isn't it?"

The vampire leaned close, noses almost touching, then he moved to whisper sensually in her ear. "I'd give my fangs to taste you again, Red. You're delicious and I could drown right happily in your blood. Wonder if you taste as good all over."

Willow blushed to match her hair, pushing the vampire slightly away, she whispered furiously. "I told you once before. There will be no having. There will also be no tasting. . . I don't want you anywhere near my neck, mister!"

Spike smirked down at the redhead. "Seemed to like my being attached to your neck just fine a little while ago, if I remember right. Uhhhh. Mmmmmm, Don't stop!" He imitated her in a high pitched falsetto.

The witch glared at the blond trying to use her anger to overcome her complete embarrassment. She remembered her words, her moans as he had suckled at her neck. Even now, the thought of those sensations was enough to make her press her legs tightly together. The vampire sniffed the air slightly and gave Willow a cocky grin. He could smell her arousal? How much more humiliation was she supposed to take?

"Buffy," she said through gritted teeth, "give me a stake *now*!" She held out her hand to the slayer who let Mr. Pointy drop into her hand from some concealed spot in her jacket.

"Girls, enough!" Giles removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. He tried to remember if he had gotten as many headaches before he came to the Hellmouth. He didn't think so. And if he recalled correctly they all began the day he met his slayer. "Willow, go with Spike. Do *not* stake him. Pack a bag with enough clothes for several days. You need to leave for LA immediately if you're to get there before dawn."

"No biggie if we get there a little after sunrise, is it Giles?" Willow smiled sweetly at the blond vamp next to her.

"Willow!" Giles shot the girl a look before turning his attention back toward Spike. "And you! Just remember both my threat and Angel's. Not one hair on her head!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah or I'll be kissin' the sunrise. Gotcha watcher. Let's go, luv. Time's a-wastin'." He grabbed the redhead's hand and began dragging her out of the Magic Box and into the night.

"Wills, call me when you get there so I know you're ok, k?" Buffy called after her friend. As soon as Willow and Spike were out of sight, she turned on her watcher. "I think this has to be the dumbest idea ever! And if something happens to her. . ." The slayer turned at the door to glare at Giles. "If something happens to my best friend, there will be hell to pay Giles, and you'd better bring the broom and dustpan 'cause there's gonna be some serious vamp dust in LA that will need cleaning up." And with that she slammed the door behind her to head out into the night, causing the older man to flinch.

He once again pinched the bridge of his nose before walking over to the front door and locking it. "Now, where did I put that bottle of scotch? Ah, yes. Behind the shrunken heads in the storage closet. I believe tonight calls for a double."

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

By the time Willow and Spike got on the road it was only a couple of hours before dawn. Spike continued to shoot the little witch dirty looks.

"What?!" She demanded.

"You really are trying to get me fried to a crisp aren't you, Red?"

"What are you talking about?" Willow sighed in exasperation. She sat, arms crossed over her chest and turned in her seat to look over at the vamp.

"You bloody well took your time tossin' a bag together. We're only going to be there a few days. What the hell did you pack?"

The witch glared at him. "I wanted to be careful what I packed considering I'm going to have someone sucking on my neck constantly! Can't wear anything that's gonna go and show all the blood stains, can I?" She asked sarcastically

"I dunno, luv, it could be the next big fashion trend. Blood Stains By Spike! I can see it now. I'd make a fortune!"

"Except you can't make anyone bleed, without someone cutting up your meal for you first." she taunted in a voice filled with fake sweetness.

"That's it little girl!" Spike glared at Willow.

"Oh, what? You're gonna bite me? Go ahead, try! I dare you! Oh, that's right, you already did. And you CAN'T!"

"Bloody fuckin' hell you're enough to drive a man to drink!"

"Thought that's what you were doing earlier, when Giles decided to feed me to you."

"Idiot was trying to save your life Witch! Although why is completely beyond me!"

"You know what, Spike! I've had enough of you, too. The only reason you want to come to LA is because you know you're gonna get some free meals out of it. Angel can't be hungry all the time, so that means Spikey gets to eat the leftovers."

The vampire growled and turned flashing yellow eyes on the girl. "I take no man's leftovers!"

"Oh, really, well what would you call Drusci. . ." Before she could even get the name out, a hand was clamped over her mouth, the car swerved to the side of the road before jerking to a halt. "Don't say something you'll regret when I get my chip out, Red." His voice was low, the tone full of deadly threats of violence should she utter that one name.

Willow finally looked past her anger enough to peer into the vamp's eyes. They were full of pain and rage. She immediately felt awash with guilt and cautiously pulled away from the hand covering her mouth. "I'm sorry Spike. I don't know why I said those things. That was horrible of me and I'm so sorry. I think I'm just scared, and for some reason decided to take it out on you, and that's not right. I'm just not myself. I'm tired, my head hurts, I'm tired, my neck's sore, I'm tired, and I'm getting dizzy again. Did I mention I'm tired?"

Spike felt the tension drain away from his body at her earnest apology. "It's all right Red. Know you've had a rough night. Why don't you lay down and rest. I'll let you know when we get to Peaches'."

The redhead let out a wide yawn. "That actually sounds like a good idea." She shifted in the seat, trying to lay back against it on her side, but in the de Soto, there were no reclining bucket seats. She then leaned her head against the door, but with Spike's erratic driving, her head kept bouncing off the glass. When she moved to try to find a more comfortable position, she heard the vampire heave an unneeded sigh just before she felt an arm around her shoulder, pulling her down until her head rested on his thigh.

"Sleep." Was his simple but quiet command.

"Spike?" She whispered tiredly.

"Yes, pet?" "I really am sorry."

"I know, luv." But when he looked down she was already fast asleep.