Disclaimer: You know the drill. I own nothing, sadly. It all belongs to Joss
and co. Lucky, lucky man!...

Rating: This one's PG, but if I continue the series the later parts may get
higher ratings.

Setting: Alternative season 4, at college. Oz has left during the summer.
Spike hasn't come back yet or been caught by the Initiative. Willow is
adjusting to university life without Oz and expanding her magical skills.
Xander and Anya are together. Angel etc. are in L.A.

Summary: Drusilla has left Spike and he's ready to resort to desperate
measures to get over her for good.

Spoilers: Up to the current season, and one or two for that season as well.

Feedback: Always welcome. Let me know what you think at [email protected]

Archive: If you want to, just ask me...I'm a lovely person.
 
 

*Somewhere in California*

Damn! Spike cursed and chucked another load of books onto the floor with a
crash. Still no luck! He wasn't cut out for this scholarly crap.

It seemed like he'd been searching through these dusty tomes forever and he
still hadn't found anything that could cure him of his obsession with
Drusilla. She'd left him again, of course. Run off with a fungus demon this
time, as if the chaos demon wasn't bad enough. Honestly, he thought, you
give a woman a century of your life, well...death, whatever, and what do you
get in return? Chewed up and spat out, that's what. Well, not any more! He
was going to find some way to get her out of his head if it was the last
thing he did.

He rubbed at his bloodshot eyes; he hadn't slept or fed in far too long. He
couldn't even summon up enough enthusiasm for a quick snack to keep his
strength up. This was what she'd turned him into - a pathetic, lovesick
puppy. Bloody hell, he'd be even wetter than Angel at the rate he was going.

Still, he couldn't give up the search. He sensed he was close to finding
something. Maybe if he just looked in one more book, he'd find the answer.
He pulled one towards him, opening the cover with a resounding thud and
sending a cloud of dust particles to dance wildly in the lamplight. He
skimmed through the dry pages, still not quite sure exactly what it was he
was looking for, knowing only that he'd recognize it when he saw it. And
then, suddenly, there it was...

Just a glimmer at first; something catching his eye and making him go back
to read it more thoroughly. Of course! He slammed his hand down onto the
table in triumph. A heart cleansing spell. Scanning through the directions,
he frowned in concentration, blue eyes focused intently on what could turn
out to be his salvation. It seemed simple enough - he could probably do it
himself. At least he wouldn't have to go back and pester that cute little
witch again. As it was, last time he'd left without getting the love spell
anyway...after making a drunken fool of himself by snivelling all over her
and making juvenile threats.

Then he caught sight of something on the page before him that derailed his
train of thought. Oh no, that was all he needed, he thought in cynical
amusement. He hoped to Satan this book had got its facts wrong because, if
it hadn't, he was headed back to Sunnyhell after all.

Apparently, the spell needed the blood of a witch who was pure of heart and
Spike only knew one of those. Somehow, he didn't think she'd be welcoming
him back with open arms. Still, he'd always enjoyed a challenge, he thought,
as he picked up the book and sauntered out to his car, a spring in his step
for the first time in weeks.

He paused as he opened the door of the battered black vehicle and drew the
air into his redundant lungs. The smell was pure, clean, untainted by evil.
Nothing like Sunnydale, where the fear and nastiness seemed to float on the
breeze to the acute senses of a vampire. He realised with a jolt that he'd
kind of missed the old place. Tossing the book onto the passenger seat, he
got in and slammed the door. Grinning, he gunned the engine and pealed out
of town with a squeal of rubber. He was going home...
*******
Part 2:

Willow swirled the beer round in her glass, idly watching it whirlpool up
the sides. She didn't know what she was doing here at the Bronze. She hadn't
really wanted to come out. The truth was she didn't really feel up to doing
much of anything lately, not since Oz had left.

They'd been drifting apart for quite a while but somehow it had still come
as a shock when he'd decided to go on the road with the band...and said he
thought they should see other people.

See other people? Hah, that was a joke. The only people she saw lately were
the usual crowd - Buffy, Xander, Giles. They tried to help but Willow didn't
really feel like talking about it with them. They had bigger problems to
worry about than her werewolf boyfriend going walkies. On a scale of one to
ten on the Hellmouth, that didn't even make it into the single digits. How
could she complain about breaking up with Oz when Buffy's boyfriend had
turned into a murdering demon and got sent to Hell one year and then left
her to move to L.A. the next? By comparison, Willow's problems seemed almost
trivial, but they didn't feel that way to her.

It would be nice to have *somebody* to talk to about it, though, she
thought. Someone who really understood the feelings of abandonment, of
neglect, and what it was like to be in the middle of a crowd and still feel
like you were all alone in the world. "Yeah right, Wills," she whispered.
The chances of her finding anyone like that around here were pretty low.
"Dream on."

She looked over at the dancefloor and the figures gyrating to the pounding
beat. Buffy was laughing at Xander's mad antics. He'd never quite grasped
the finer points of dancing. They were good friends, true friends, but
Willow couldn't help hungering for something more, a deeper connection, a
soulmate. She sighed heavily and swirled the beer in her glass once more
before taking a swig. She went back to studying the shadowy figures on the
dancefloor, wishing she had someone to be that close with.

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

Spike sped past the 'Welcome to Sunnydale' sign with a grin and thought over
the plan he'd worked out. It wasn't going to be easy getting the little
witch away from her friends and the spell insisted that the blood had to be
given willingly to be effective, which had really put a crimp on all his
earliest ideas.

Simply grabbing her and draining her dry wouldn't cut it. He had to persuade
her to help him from the goodness of her heart. Just the thought made Spike
feel vaguely queasy. The only way he could think of to get close to the girl
was to reinstate his truce with the bloody Slayer. Helping her get rid of
Angelus a couple of years ago had gone against the grain, but needs must
when the devil nicks your girlfriend...

He hoped he could persuade the Slayer to adopt a 'no hard feelings' attitude
over kidnapping the witch and the wanker a few months ago. He'd only damaged
them a little bit when all's said and done and he'd given them back
afterwards. Pretty generous, to his way of thinking. Especially that bloke
with the smart mouth who'd been getting frisky with the witch - he really
put Spike's back up, that one. But, instead of gutting him like a hog and
leaving him out for the rats, which would have been infinitely more fun,
Spike had let him go free. The way he figured things, the Slayer owed him
big time for that act of forbearance.

Anyway, he'd have to take the chance and track the little group down. If he
approached them in a public place, they'd have no choice but to listen to
him. Neutral ground, sort of thing. He headed the car towards the Bronze,
figuring the chances were pretty good of finding them there. And if they
weren't, he'd just keep looking...he had too much riding on this to give up
that easily.
********
Part 3:

Spike stood in the doorway to the club for a moment, allowing his eyes to
adjust to the darkness. It didn't take long - just one advantage of being a
vampire. He scanned the crowds of teenagers and twenty-somethings, looking
for a familiar face. Then he saw her, sitting by herself at a table on the
other side of the room. Perfect, he thought, and went to move towards her.
Just then, the Slayer and that annoying prat walked over to speak to her,
though, and Spike hissed in frustration.

He'd really wanted to talked to her alone first, since she was the most
sympathetic towards him. Well, he could wait, he supposed, and hope the
other two would leave her on her own again in a minute.

He crossed to the bar to bide his time and ordered a beer. The bartender
looked as if he was going to ask for ID and then took a second look and
thought better of it, handing across the drink without a word. Spike settled
himself against the bar and watched the Slayerette trio with a feral gleam
in his eyes.

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

"Will, come dance," said Buffy breathlessly, as she approached her friend's
table. "You love this song."

Willow muttered something noncommittal.

"Oh, come on. It'll make you feel better, release endorphins, sort of
thing," said Buffy.

"Nice to see Science class didn't totally pass you by," said Willow, with a
faint smile.

"Hey, it's only 'cause they're connected to chocolate and sex," protested
Xander. "Even *I* paid attention to that bit." He sat down next to Willow
and draped an arm around her shoulder. "So, you gonna come humiliate me on
the dancefloor?"

"Gee, I don't know," said Willow. "Seemed like you were doing a pretty good
job of that on your own."

Xander pressed a clenched fist to his chest. "Ouch! You wound me." He
grinned. "Come on, Will. I know you've been depressed lately, what with this
whole Oz thing, but we're all in the same club when you think about it.
Buffy's lost Angel, I've lost Cordelia..."

"Yeah, but you have Anya now," pointed out Willow, "and even Buffy's been
sizing up some of the guys at college. I just can't believe there's anyone
out there for me. It took me sixteen years to get my first boyfriend - I'd
rather not wait that long again."

"Of course there's someone out there for you, Will," exclaimed Buffy,
reaching across the table to squeeze her friend's hand. "You just haven't
found the guy who really appreciates how wonderful you are yet. You're
pretty, you're loyal and you're way smarter than the average bear," she
added with an encouraging smile.

But the smile she got from Willow in return was half-hearted at best.
Eventually, the pair gave up trying to persuade her to join them and got up
to dance again.

"You're sure you don't mind sitting here on your own?" asked Buffy.

"I'm fine," said Willow. "Go ahead. Enjoy yourselves. I'd rather be alone
right now, anyway."

Buffy nodded. "Okay, honey. Come on, Xander. Time for me to whup your ass on
the dancefloor again."

"Well, sure," he replied. "But don't you think we could find a less public
place for that sort of thing?" Buffy rolled her eyes and dragged him off.

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

Spike drank his beer and watched the scene play out on the other side of the
room. He was so engrossed in watching the little redhead that he didn't
notice the girl sitting next to him until she spoke.

"You must be new in town," she said in a tone of rapt fascination. "I don't
remember seeing you here before."

"I've been away," said Spike flatly. "Now I'm back."

She seemed to take the fact that he'd replied as an encouragement and began
wittering on about her life, school and boys, and the fact that older men
were a much better alternative. Spike thought about telling her his real age
to shut her up but decided against it.

"So what do you do when you're not hanging out at the Bronze?" she asked
finally.

Spike turned and looked at her, one eyebrow raised. Damn, but she was vapid.
"I'm a phlebotomist," he said, with a totally straight face.

"Wow, that sounds really interesting," she gushed. "Do you, like, work in a
lab or something?"

"Nah, pretty much freelance. I'm sort of a roving blood-taker."

"That must be so exciting."

"You have no idea."

He was just wondering if he'd have to take her outside and drink her in
order to escape when he saw that the Slayer and the bloke had left the
little witch to go dancing again. He seized the opportunity.

"Sorry, love, I'll have to go now," he interrupted when she drew breath.
"I'm meeting my girlfriend here and I've just caught sight of her. Nice
talking to you," he said with only a hint of sarcasm before threading his
way across the room, judiciously avoiding contact with the Slayer for the
moment.

He slid onto the seat next to Willow and leaned in close to whisper in her
ear. "Hello, pet. D'you miss me?"
*****

Part 4;