Part 7 of Pain and Friendship saga. Eviction.
Author: Fayth
Disclaimer: not mine!
Dedication: To boyslayer, THANX!	

Eviction

>Blah, blah, blah< Willow sighed and fought the urge to roll her eyes. She
nodded slightly and made a small noise of what she hoped was agreement. She
honestly had no idea of what Buffy was going on about.
	She’d arrived at Giles’s about three hours ago and Buffy hadn’t shut up. First
Willow had attempted to listen politely as Buffy lamented her love life and the
list of guys she currently wanted to date. After an hour and half her brain had
shut down for self-preservation and she’d slipped into boring-lecture-mode.
	This was where she listened out for important words whilst disregarding the
rest and responded appropriately “Right?” Buffy asked.
“Of course, stands to reason,” She responded automatically as Buffy continued
with her litany, without a clue to what she had just agreed to.
She wished Spike was here, he’d make her laugh or at least shut Buffy up.
“…….Shouldn’t he?”
 “Sure,” >Where was he anyway? < It had been a while since sunset and they had
plans tonight; after patrol they were going to the fair. She had images of Spike
and cotton candy, she resisted the urge to giggle >Spike on a sugar high was
funny as hell<
A few weeks ago Willows mum had come back from her lecture tour and had actually
bought ‘William’ a present; A huge box of chocolates. Spike had quite the sweet
tooth and had eaten them in one sitting. For the next four hours he had been
bouncing off the walls, laughing like a maniac and tickling Willow until she
cried for him to stop.
	He’d picked her up and danced her around the kitchen and garden until she was
dizzy. She teased him about it for days. Shaking off the memory of a sugar high
Spike juggling her cuddly toys she tried in vain to be interested in what Buffy
was saying.
“……So then I said to her that if she wouldn’t call him then I would, I mean it’s
not like she even had a chance, so she said……,” Nope no good still not
interested >I tried<
	Giles walked in and handled Willow a cup of tea and smiled in a pitying
Thank-God-It’s-Not-Me Way.
“Any research?” She asked quite anxiously. Giles felt like making up a demon
just to save the poor girl from having to listen to the slayers long winded
dialogue. Having been on the receiving end of a he-said she-said conversation
he’d more than once been tempted himself to call forth a silencing demon to get
a word in edgewise. 
“A-actually there is no…” he paused at the look of sheer desperation in her eyes
“Possible way I could research this by myself Willow could you get on the
infernal machine and assist me.” The look she shot him was pathetically grateful 
“Oh ok, sorry Buff duty calls.” She tried to appear disappointed that their
girlie chat had been disrupted.
“Ok so what’s the creature feature?” Buffy asked twirling a stake.
Giles glanced at Willow, neither were very adept liars but Buffy was so obtuse
it really didn’t matter.
“Erm prophecy demon, the old end of the world thing.” Willow replied vaguely.
Buffy nodded “Uh-huh.” She began to absently file her nails.
Willow booted up the computer and logged on to her favourite demon site, it
never hurt to be prepared.
A feeling of unease washed over her and she shuddered > something’s wrong<
Suddenly pain like red hot knives erupted and swept through her brain leaving
her gasping for breath.
“Willow?” Giles asked concerned
“Something’s wrong!” she whispered >Spike! < Spike was in trouble, she knew it.
She shot out of the chair and bolted for the door ignoring Giles’ calling her
name behind her. She stumbled through the park towards the cemetery and Spike’s
crypt. She ignored everything in her panic, the drunken old men, the laughing
group of teens and anything that might be lurking around.
>Spike has to be alright he has to be! < She repeated like a mantra to the
pounding of her feet. > There! < She caught sight of the crypt and stopped dead.
The door to the crypt was broken off and she could smell the stench of fire from
where she stood. Praying to the Goddess that he wasn’t in there she rushed
forward.
“Spike?” she called frantically and looking inside her heart stopped beating.
Every piece of furniture had been broken and lay scattered like corpses on the
ground, clothes lay strewn over every surface and glass coated the floor. The
scariest thing was the fire that raged chewing up the wooden furniture and
clothes. The fire crackled and the smoke blinded Willow as the intense heat hit
her.
“SPIKE?” desperation coated her voice >He can’t be in here, he can’t be he…< a
movement in the corner caught her eye. A black duster.
> Oh Goddess Spike! < Without thinking Willow ran into the burning crypt and
dashed over to the unconscious figure. Turning him over she felt her rage build
to the intensity of the fire surrounding her. His face was a mass of cuts and
bruises, both eyes were cut and bleeding, one already closed and puffy. His lip
was split and he had a jagged cut on his forehead gushing dark blood. Tapping
into strength she didn’t even know she possessed she picked up Spike and turned
to face the door- which was now blocked by the blazing debris.
“OUT OF MY WAY.” She screamed her fury and the debris split down the middle and
divided forming a burning pathway to the door. She didn’t even stop to marvel at
the effects of raw magic working in her favour as she carried Spike outside and
placed him gently on the cool grass. She turned her rage back to the inferno
within the tomb, >That had been Spike’s home! Whoever had done this would pay. <
She vowed. Willow pulled Spike’s arm over her shoulder and dragged him out of
the cemetery towards her home.

She’d had to stop three times on the way home unable to support Spike’s dead
weight. There were tears of frustration running down her face as she finally
came to her front porch. Without bothering to her out her key she pointed at her
front door and it flew open under the influence of her anger- enhanced magic.
Struggling she lay him on the sofa, uncaring of the blood that dripped down his
face and tricked over the cushions.
 She rushed to the kitchen to fetch the two bags of blood she kept for when he
came over, she knew that cold blood tasted foul but there simply wasn’t time to
heat it up. Cursing human slowness she ran back to his side and opening his
mouth poured the blood down his throat.
“C’mon drink.” She urged and relief swamped her as he swallowed the blood- his
reflexes taking over. Stroking his head she realised her hands were coated in
blood and looking down she discovered that the rest of her was too. She looked
like something from a bad horror movie. >Spike must be cut somewhere else too<
Raising him up she removed his duster and fought back the urge to vomit. His
t-shirt was slashed and his chest and back were shredded, he had a cut down one
arm that looked like it required stitches and in the light she could see a deep
wound in his leg that was still pumping blood. She’d need more bagged blood if
Spike was to get better, even with Vampire healing.
Who could she trust, none of her friends knew about her friendship with Spike
and they would freak if they knew, but she needed someone to watch him while she
fetched more: she made her decision and grabbing the phone she dialled.
“Hel-lo?” the chirpy voice irritated her.
“Xander its Willow. I need you here at my house now.”
“Will…what’s…?”
“NOW” she yelled and dropped the phone.
Pain washed through her and she turned back to Spike. Pulling off his ruined
t-shirt and Duster and dropping them in a pile, she tried to hold back tears at
the sight of Spike’s perfect body covered in cuts and blood.
She undid his belt and taking off his boots tugged off his jeans, dropping them
onto the bloody pile. Looking at the deep cut in his thigh she lost the battle
of wills with her stomach and began dry heaving through her shudders. > Need
water< her subconscious urged her into the kitchen to fill a  bowl of water and
to get some towels to clean up Spike as much as possible while silent tears
tracked her cheeks and blurred her vision. The front door banged open and a
panting, dishevelled Xander charged through.
“Wil-” he stared dumbfounded at his best friend and tried not to throw up. Her
shirt, jeans, hands and arms were covered with blood; there were even smears on
her face and in her hair. Her eyes were red and bloodshot and she looked crazy.
“What happened?” he moved towards her “Forget it lets just get you to a
hospital.”
“It’s not mine.” She replied, her voice hoarse with trying to hold back sobs and
screams. In her frustration her magic got out of control and a figurine on  the
mantle exploded in a cloud of glass and dust. After taking a few breathes to
calm down she motioned to the sofa and Xander took in the unconscious, almost
naked Spike on the sofa.
“I-I-I need to get some b-blood for h-him, he’s been beaten pretty bad and if he
doesn’t get more blood soon he’ll die but I can’t leave him here alone- I just
can’t he needs someone to be here with him.” She took a deep shuddery breath “I
love him Xand don’t let him die.”
Xander was shocked “Will i-.” 
“Please!” the tears fell again and Xander nodded. He’d never been able to see
Willow cry; she was the strong one the one they all depended on.
“In five minutes give him the rest of that bag and then wait ten minutes and
give him the second.” She instructed as she pulled on Spike’s duster to cover
her blood-caked clothes. “Don’t give it all in one go or he’ll throw it up.
T-t-there’s more towels and water in the kitchen.” She bent over Spike and
kissed his cold lifeless lips. “Thanks Xand.” and with that she ran out of the
door. Xander caught her as she reached the porch and pushed his car keys into
her hand “Be careful.” He insisted. Xander shut the door ands walked over to the
unconscious figure on the sofa. He’d never let on but he was fond of the blonde
vampire. He picked up a clean towel and started to wipe Spike’s chest. “So
Blondie who did this to ya huh?”

Willow broke every law to get to Willies, she was lucky that the Sunnydale
police department was as lax and clueless about traffic violations as it was
about what really goes bump in the night else she would have been locked up.
 Reaching Willies in record time, she stumbled out of Xander’s car and into the
beat up place. All conversation quit as the red- head staggered up to the bar
where Willie stood polishing a glasses.
“I need five bag of blood Willy.” She said hoarsely
Willy knew this girl; she was the cute little red head that hung around with the
slayer. Whenever she came to the bar with said slayer she was nice and polite
and stopped Buffy from roughing him up too much; he liked her. He looked her up
and down; she looked like she’d just crawled through hell.
“O.k. gimme a sec.” his whiny voice echoed around the too quiet club as he went
into the back to collect the blood bags, where he kept the fresher stuff. “Hey
baby!” he returned with five bags of O-positive just as a newbie Vampire waltzed
up to Willow “Blood coated chicks are my favourite!” he leered at her.
Willow had had enough “Leave me alone.” She snarled. She’d put up with Buffy’s
inane conversation for three hours, she’d wrestled through fire-y debris and
then she had dragged the bloody corpse of the man she loved through the streets.
No way on earth or the sodding hellmouth was she putting up with this mouthy
loser as well. Her eyes glinted dangerously as she fought to keep her temper.
“Hmm I love it when they play hard to get!” The Vampire grabbed her ass.  With a
flick of her wrist a nearby toothpick flew off the bar and plummeted into his
chest making him explode in a cloud of dust. Thoroughly pissed she climbed onto
the bar and called for attention. All eyes were already on her, they hadn’t seen
the toothpick, just a small, blood-soaked, girl flick her hand and dust a
vampire. Half intrigued and half in fear they listened.
“I need information.” She growled “My… master- Spike was attacked viciously and
his crypt set on fire.” From previous conversations she knew that master
Vampires sometimes employed witches- they didn’t have human friends and
identifying herself as Spike’s friend would likely get them both killed but if
they believed he had her as his subordinate maybe they’d give him the respect he
deserved.
“I want to know who did it and I want to know soon. No one messes with William
the Bloody, Scourge of Western Europe who doesn’t mess with the wrath of both
his witch and the order of Aurelius.”  
One particularly stupid Vampire- who obviously didn’t know his genealogy asked
“Who the hell are you?”
“I am the witch who restored Angelus’ soul, I bought him back from hell, stopped
Acathla and the Judge and sent Drusilla packing. I have closed the Hellmouth and
stopped an Ascension. So who am i? Not someone you want to annoy.” > O.k. slight
exaggeration about Acathla and the Judge! But I think I got my point across <
The demons had heard about Angelus and his soul, they’d also picked up bits
about the rest of her tirade, if the witch was telling the truth- which she
seemed to be then she was someone to be reckoned with. And if Spike had such a
powerful witch on his side then maybe the rumours about him going soft and
turning traitor are untrue.
“What’s in it for us?” one asked quietly.
“To the demon that finds the scum who did this to my Master; I will guarantee
protection from the Slayer for six months.” A gasp followed her announcement.
Willow stepped off the bar and picked up the blood packets. She pulled out a
couple of bills and dropped them on the counter “Thanks Willy and if anyone has
any Useful information call here.” She scribbled her number onto a napkin and
handed it to Willy.
“Sure thing kid. I hope Spike makes it. Here give him this from his pal Willy.”
He handed her a bottle of Whisky and she smiled gratefully and left. “There goes
a gal in a million.” He turned to watch her go.

Xander poured the red water down the drain and walked back to Spike. He had
cleaned the blood form Spike and bandaged him up quite expertly thanks to
training from Hellmouth College of World save-age. Willow’s sofa was the real
casualty in all this but at least Spike looked more human and less creature from
the blood lagoon.
He had bandages wrapped around his arm, his chest, his back and his thigh. The
gash on his forehead was covered and held in place by surgical tape and he
resembled an unfinished Mummy from a bad B- movie, and yet he remained
unconscious.
Spike hadn’t even roused long enough to drink the blood Xander had given him;
instead Xander had poured it down his throat and hoped like hell his reflexes
had taken over. Xander was getting really worried; normal Vampire healing should
have taken over by now! > Where is Willow? <
As if in answer the front door burst open and Willow came in holding the bags
like treasure.
“Here.” She managed and pulling open the first bag poured it down Spike’s
throat. Without opening his eyes he vamped and gulped greedily.
“Has he woken up at all?” she asked worriedly
“Not yet.” Xander pulled her close “He’ll wake up; he has you to come back to.
Who can resist the Wily Wiles of the Wilminator?”  
She smiled reluctantly at his typical Xander silliness and relaxed against him.
“You need all kinds of therapy, but thanks for not freaking out on me.”
“Are you kidding?” he looked surprised “You just wait until Captain Platinum
wakes up and then you get both barrels of full Xan- man freak out.” This grin
was genuine “So until sleeping beauty wakes up, you tell me about the ting
between you two.” He ordered.

“So I promised them six months of protection from Buffy, if they find who did
this.” Willow sat back in the chair and sipped her tea. Around Dawn, Xander
urged her to take a shower whilst he made some tea for them both. Every half
hour she fed Spike a little more and she talked to Xander. She told him about
how her and Spike had become friends, about their movie nights and mischief at
research parties, their late night walks and patrols. She also told him about
Spike’s relationship with her parents.
Xander was slightly hurt and jealous that Spike had worked his way into Willow’s
heart and friendship but he was more ashamed about the fact that he had ignored
his friend in pain and had all but pushed her out of his life- for Anya.
“I can’t believe your parents like him, and know his name. Do they even remember
my name?”
“Sometimes I doubt they remember my name. But he makes quite an impression, my
mom is completely taken.” She looked at the prone figure on the sofa and her
expression softened
“She’s not the only one.” He commented drawing a wry smile from a weary Willow
“I know, but we are just friends. He likes to tease me but that’s all.” She
looked at the clock “It’s getting early; he should be healed by now.”
“I’m sorry I wasn’t there for ya Will.” Xander blurted suddenly “you know when
Oz-”
“It’s ok Xan, I got through. I wasn’t alone.” 
“I should have been there, some best friend I am. My best pal is in pain and
where am I?”
“I understood that you had Anya- all knew girlfriend details and stuff.” She
tried to avoid eye contact as she sipped her tea. In truth it had hurt that
Xander had ignored her when Oz left, more than she would have ever let on.
“I wish he’d wake up.” She said wistfully changing the subject “Besides Anya
would have gotten mad- she doesn’t like me.”
Xander looked surprised again “Anya- sure she does, actually she thinks you hate
her for being my girlfriend.”
“Really” it was Willow’s turn for surprise. A moan escaped from the blood soaked
sofa.
“Spike?” she called gently but he slipped back into silence and unconsciousness.
She stared at Xander with wide tear filled eyes “I’m scared Xan he should be ok
by now.”
“Spike is tough- the big bad. He’s gonna be alright.” Xander’s face belied his
calm tone. The sound of the phone broke the uneasy silence and Xander reached
for it.
“Hello Rosenberg residence…Anya …no I’m ok I’m helping Willow with a problem…
not that kind of problem.” He groaned “Sorry honey I forgot… Willow needed my
help.”
“Xander,” Willow touched his arm “Ask Anya to come over maybe she can help.”
Xander looked at her “You sure?”
Willow nodded, it was time she tried to get along with the ex-demon and accept
her.
“Listen Anya Willow wants you to come over… yes really… you… she’d like you to
be here with us… ok I’ll listen out for you.” He hung up and couldn’t resist a
smile “She’s so excited that you want her here, she was practically giddy.”
Willow stroked Spike’s forehead “At least someone’s happy.”
Xander watched as his best friend caressed the demon. She’d always been the
caring one among them – the one who made everyone else feel better and this
worried Xander too. Willow was so strong but would she survive if Spike died
–again-. She was so in love with the guy- he could see it in her eyes. Feeling
guilt over his previous behaviour Xander vowed that he would stand by her this
time no matter what the outcome was of the blonde- very annoying- Vampire.
After about ten minutes the doorbell rang and Xander opened it to find a
grinning Anya.
“Hey I came over as fast as I could.” her blonde hair bounced as she glanced
around the room “you have a very pretty house.”
Willow went over and pulled Anya into a hug astonishing the girl “I am so glad
you are here.” She said
“Oh!” Anya’s face was a picture of delight > Willow likes me! <
Willow pulled back and showed Anya Spike’s prone body on the sofa. “He’s hurt
bad but no matter what I do he won’t heal.” She added desperately 
Anya peered at the Vampire and noted Willow’s anxiety “He has a very nice body
for a dead man, he’s very yummy and will give many orgasms but I think you need
a new couch.” She nodded > that shocked them! <
Xander’s mouth hung open “ An, you remember those private things we talked
about?” ignoring him she walked over to Willow “A few hundred years ago I was
cursing a young man who has cheated on his wife with five of her sisters and her
mother, I made his skin burn off or something- anyway there was a Vampire there
who had a run in with a mob and if I remember right his Sire did this healing
ritual to speed up recovery.”
“Really?” Willow grew hopeful
“Five sisters and her mother?” Xander was incredulous
Anya took charge “I’ll need some Bayless root, sage, night’s bane, sacred sand
and a virgin urn.”
“I have all that upstairs.” Willow dashed to her room to collect the required
ingredients.
“FIVE sisters and her Mother?”
“Xander, honey. Focus.”
“Here.” Willow pushed the ingredients on the table
“Ok spread the sand in a circle around Spike and pass me the stuff. We’ll need a
large knife too- Xander.” Xander got up and dragged himself in the kitchen to
get the sharpest knife > I hate rituals. < 
Anya crushed the items together in the urn as she chanted; she then drew a
triangle on Spike’s chest with the residue from the mixture. “I have to pour
this around him too.”
“It’s ok the upholstery is pretty much ruined.” Willow commented amiably
Anya poured the mixture around Spike. Taking the knife from him she turned to
Willow with it.
“I need your blood.”

TBC...