Riley's chuckle could be heard over the phone line. "Buffy won't kill you," he assured the redhead. "Besides, I have to work tonight," he told her.

"Oh piffle," she said. "Tell Professor Walsh you're taking the night off," she instructed him. "Somebody else can watch the vampires and demons pace in their cells."

He sighed. "Fine. What time are we supposed to be at Giles'?" he asked.

"It's actually not at Giles' anymore. After Christmas Eve, he said we'd have to find somewhere new to party, so we're going to go to Spike's," Willow told him.

"The mansion on Crawford street?" Riley clarified, making sure he would be going to the right place.

"That's the one. So we'll see you there?" she prompted.

"Yeah, I'll be there."

"Good," she said with a satisfied smile, then hung up the phone. Willow turned to Buffy, who was sprawled out on her bed at Mrs. Summer's house. "He's coming," she informed the Slayer.

"Xander, Anya, Giles and Olivia will be there too," Buffy told her, having used the cell phone Giles had given her for Christmas to call their friends and tell them about their plans that night.

"Good, because we need Giles to buy all the liquor," Willow mused. "I hope he remembers the rum."

"You only called and reminded him four times today," Buffy teased her. "I don't think it's likely he'll forget."

Spike was taking a bath when the doorbell rang. "Go away!" he yelled, knowing that whoever it was couldn't hear him, but not wanting to move from his rather comfortable position amongst the bubbles. "Bloody hell," he muttered when the bell rang again. "I'm coming!"

Stepping carefully out of the bathtub, he wrapped a fluffy blue towel around himself and made his way down to the front door, dripping water all over the cold stone floors. "What?" he growled as he pulled the door open.

Willow's green eyes widened as she took in his stage of undress. "Oh...hmm. Hi," she said, frowning a bit. "You need to get dressed," she said.

"And why's that, luv?" he asked, pulling her inside and closing the door behind her.

"Because everyone else will be here in less than," she glanced down at her watch, "an hour, and we need to get ready." Leading the way to his bedroom, she opened his closet and started pulling clothes out.

It was Spike's turn to frown as she handed him a green shirt. "What are we getting ready for?" he asked.

Willow turned on him, he eyes huge as she stared in shock at him. "The party!" she cried. "Don't you remember?"

It took a few moments before recognition hit him. "Oh hell," he mumbled as he pulled the shirt on. He almost lost the towel around his waist when Willow threw a pair of jeans at him. "Are you going to pick out my shorts too, luv?" he teased her.

"I knew I forgot something," she muttered, then went over to another drawer and pulled out his Batman boxer shorts, throwing them at him. Seeing the look on his face, she giggled. "What?" she asked. "Get dressed, then come help me clean up the kitchen." She hadn't even seen it yet, but it was Spike's kitchen. She didn't have to see it first to know it was filthy.

"Bossy little chit," Spike said softly as she walked out of the room.

"I heard that!" she called back over her shoulder.

Spike snorted. "Good. You were supposed to. Now go clean my kitchen."

Just as she was finishing up, Spike sauntered in and leaned against the counter. "I'm done, luv," he informed her.

"Did you dust and vacuum?" she asked.

He nodded. "Just like you said."

"Good boy," Willow said with a grin as she followed him into the living room. Her jaw dropped when she saw the sight before her.

Not only had he cleaned, he had decorated. There were white twinkly Christmas lights hung around the room, as well as quite a few vanilla scented candles, and a fire crackled in the hearth. The lights were off, so that the room took on a warm glow. There were silver and blue metallic streamers strewn tastefully around the room, and soft music emanated from hidden speakers.

"Spike, it's beautiful," she breathed.

He looked down at her with a smile. "So I did good?" he asked.

"Very good," she nodded.

"What do I get as a reward, luv?" he asked, slipping a finger under her chin and tilting her head up so her eyes met his.

Willow's heart rate speeded up, and she blushed. "You get the sense of well-being that comes along with doing a wonderful job," she teased him, her sensitive hearing picking up the sounds of footsteps outside.

Spike pouted. "You're no fun," he said.

She giggled. "Oh, I'm lots of fun," she assured him as the doorbell rang. "Just not when all of our friends are standing outside the front door."

Spike was going to kill somebody. And it was probably going to be Xander if he kept it up. No matter that the pesky implant brought on violently painful migraines whenever Spike tried to do something naughty, if Xander called him "Junior" one more time...

"So anyway, Junior, thanks for letting us use your....ouch!" Xander cried as a hand reached out and smacked his arm. "That hurt, Will!"

"Thanks pet," Spike grinned at the redhead. He was liking her more and more as the night continued.

"You're welcome," Willow returned Spike's smile, then turned to Xander and scowled. "Stop teasing him," she warned, "or I'll turn you into a newt."

"Promises, promises," Xander scoffed, but Anya looked thoughtfully at the witch. Why would the girl stick up for Spike, unless...

"She likes him," Anya stated.

"Who? Willow and Junior?" Xander asked. "She does not!" he cried. "Wills, tell her you don't," he pleaded, turning to his best friend. After seeing the look on her face, he paled. "Oh god, you do, don't you?"

"Guys, I do not!" Willow protested, her face flaming red. She was very aware of Spike's eyes on her, as he watched her carefully. "Oh goddess," she murmured, burying her face in her hands. "I don't," she said weakly.

Spike chuckled, placing a comforting hand on her back. "She doesn't, honestly," he said, ignoring Anya's look of disbelief. "She told me earlier that she fancies someone else, didn't you luv?" he lied, trying to save her from her obvious embarrassment.

"That's right," Willow said, sending Spike a grateful smile. "No, I'm not telling you who, Xander," she said with a roll of her eyes as he opened his mouth to say something. "And if you don't leave it alone, I might have to accidentally let your middle name slip to Anya," she threatened.

Xander's mouth shut with an audible snap. "Right. Leaving it alone now," he promised.

Anya just looked on curiously, making a mental note to corner Willow later and find out the truth--and Xander's middle name. She had *never* been wrong before, and it would just ruin her day if she was wrong now.

"Five....four....three....two....one.....Happy New Year!"

Willow looked around the room. As soon as Dick Clark had finished his countdown on television, all the couples in the room had turned to each other to share a New Year's kiss. Buffy had Riley, Xander had Anya, even Giles had Olivia. Wondering what Spike would do if she kissed him, she glanced over and found him watching her. "What?" she asked, a little defensively.

"Nothing," Spike said, shaking his head.

Willow sighed and looked away. Apparently nothing exciting was going to happen this soon into the new year.

Then she felt a cool touch on her arm. "Happy new year, luv," Spike said, handing her a sparkler. After passing them out to everyone else, he lit his and touched the flame to Willow's, then waited for her to light the next persons before continuing. "When the light goes out, make a wish," he instructed. "And it can't be for something you've already had," he said, looking sternly at Buffy. Spike knew that she would only wish for Angel back, and it was time for her to start moving on. Riley seemed like a nice enough guy for that particular job, when he wasn't implanting Spike with horrible devices.

As his sparkler died down, Spike held it tightly and wished for the same thing he had been wishing on every falling star since he had walked into the witch’s dorm room and found her huddled in a miserable ball on her bed. Willow’s happiness.

As she and Xander prepared to leave, Anya leaned over to Willow. "I was right, wasn't I?" she asked quietly.

Willow nodded. "You were right. Not that it makes any difference," she said sadly. "He doesn't have a clue."

"He will," Anya assured her. She had seen the way Spike looked at the redhead. If he wasn't already in love with her, he would be soon.

The candles were dying down, and Spike and Willow were sitting alone on the couch, just relaxing and listening to the crackling fire. Willow was reminded how late it was when the clock in the hallway chimed two o'clock. As the last of the melodic tones drifted off, Spike leaned over and slowly pulled her towards him. Their lips met in the softest of kisses, and after a few moments she pulled away.

"What was that for?" she asked. "You were supposed to do that two hours ago."

Spike grinned. "It's midnight in Hawaii," he said. "I felt like joining in on their celebration."

Willow giggled. "Spike, if you wanted to kiss me, you just had to say so," she teased him.

"Oh. Okay then, I wanted to kiss you."

"Good," she smiled up at him, then curled up against his side and yawned. "I'm going to go to sleep now. Wake me up when you want me to leave," she said, her eyes closing as she spoke.

Spike chuckled. "Alright, pet," he agreed, then lifted her up and carried her up the stairs and into his bedroom. After tucking her into bed, he climbed in next to her, and she cuddled up against him. "Goodnight," he whispered, kissing her forehead. "Happy new millennium, luv."