Major Redemption Time

{Ohcrapohcrapohcrapohcrapohcrap�} Willow repeated the mantra in her head as she hurried to the Magic Box. She hadn't realized she'd spent so much time at her computer redeveloping her hacking skills. Now, she was walking after sunset. {ohcrapohcrapohcrapohcrapohcrapohcrapohcrapohcrapohcrapohcrap-}

"Didn't your momma tell you not to walk alone at night, little girl?" The vampire, already in game face asked with a leer as he stepped into her path.

"Oh, crap." She said quietly. Then, she took a step forward, holy water gun in her hand, which was currently in her jacket pocket. As she looked up at him and green met gold, she said: "Actually, she also told me not to talk to strangers. But, that's all shot to hell, isn't it?"

The vampire looked at her as if she'd grown a second head. Before he could say anything, she removed the water gun filled with holy water, from her pocket and aimed it at the not-too-smart vamp. "Now, less than 5 months ago, I came this close to destroying the world with nothing but my witchcraft. I damn near killed all of the people I love. Do you honestly believe that this is plain old water in this gun?"

Before he could answer, she proceeded to prove to him that it wasn't just 'plain old water'. The vamp howled in pain as Willow grabbed her trusty stake and headed towards it. Just then, a figure tackled the vamp and the two rolled on the ground exchanging punches. He then produced a stake out of nowhere and thrust it home into the vamp's unbeating heart. It exploded into dust and the figure stood.

{Not very tall to be out here fighting vamps alone on the Hellmouth...especially since it's *not* the slayer} She thought as she took a step towards him.

"What the hell did you think you were doing?!" He yelled. The redhead arched an eyebrow and smirked at the man as he moved into the light. {Holy shit! What a complete and total edible hottie!} She thought as she stood frozen and mesmerized by deep dark blue eyes.

"Don't you know what goes on out here at night?" His question brought her out of her perusal of his beautiful face. She finally let her mind focus on what he had just said.

"Just a minute, mister!" She started. He looked at the redhead and saw knowledge, pain, and sadness in her eyes, underneath the anger that was bubbling to the surface. He also noticed how incredibly beautiful she was. "I've been fighting vamps and demons since I was 15 years old-right here on the Hellmouth-and now you, the newcomer is going to bitch at me about walking outside alone! Hell, you're smaller than I am!" She was standing toe to toe and nose to nose with him now.

"Am not!" The stranger replied.

"'Am not' what?!" She yelled back.

"I am NOT smaller than you are!" He yelled.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Part 2:

"I am NOT smaller than you are."

"I'm 5'8 and I'm looking down at you." She replied.

"Yeah, I noticed." He said as he looked down. "Nice heels."

Then, a thought occurred to the redhead. "Wait a minute! I don't care how tall you are." She said as she started to leave. "It doesn't matter when you're horizontal." They both mumbled under their breaths at the exact same time. {Whoa. Where did THAT come from?} ~Wait, where did THAT come from?~

Willow continued to walk towards the Magic Box.

"Hey!" The stranger yelled. "Where are you going?"

"What do you care?" She yelled over her shoulder without stopping her departure.

"We were in the middle of a discussion, here!"

"No," She stopped and turned to him. "YOU were in the middle of disturbing my walk to my destination."

"I believe the vampire did the disturbing, Red." He said with a smirk.

{Oh my goodness. I may have found someone who's as much of a hottie as Spike!} She thought. However, she replied: "Whatever." Then she turned and started walking again.

"Wait!" He yelled.

"Look, I really don't have time for this." She replied. "I'm already late�And you may want to get inside." She said with a smile. "You never know what goes bump in the night around here."

Lindsey watched the redhead walk away and decided to leave that firecracker alone. ~I've been through too much with women who know about or actually IS 'what goes bump in the night'. Stay away from her, McDonald. This time in Sunnydale is about evening the odds against the monsters.~ He thought to himself as he headed in the opposite direction.

Ten minutes later at the Magic Box�..

"Hey Wills. What took you so long?" Xander asked.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." She replied with a sigh as she sat down.

"Oh, this sounds good!" Buffy said excitedly as she pulled a chair next to where the hacker sat. "Spill!"

"Spill what, Buffy?" Willow asked.

"Someone attractive got to you, didn't they? Male or female? How'd it happen? When did you meet them?"

"Buffy!" The redhead said. "No one got to me. I spent too much time on the computer. Then, I ran into a vamp on the way here, alright?" {And then one of the most beautiful men I've ever seen in my entire life showed up and staked said vamp.} She finished mentally.

"Why don't I believe that that's all that happened?" Buffy asked.

"Because you'd be right." Said a voice from the door leading to the back of the store.

"Spike!" Willow shrieked. "W-wh-what did you s-s-see?"

"Do YOU want to tell them, or should I?" The sexy vampire asked with a raising of his scarred eyebrow.

"Okay, okay!" The redhead confessed. "Before I could stake the vamp, the most beautiful man I've ever seen-I'm talking 'Spike-type-beautiful'-- showed up out of nowhere and tackled the vamp. Then, he staked it and bitched at me for being outside alone after sunset. So, I left and hurried here and you had no idea WHAT happened before I got here, did you?" She asked Spike, as realization dawned on her.

"No, but you tend to fall for it every time I do it." Spike replied with his trademark smirk and a chuckle.

"That was�evil!" Willow declared.

"Told you a soul didn't change that, Red." Spike replied with no hint of malice in his face or voice. The hacker glared at him. "I'm sorry, Will. I just think it's so cute when you babble." Then, his mind replayed the babble. "You think I'm beautiful?"

"Why me?" The redhead asked no one in particular as she sat down again and put her head on the table.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Part 3:

The next day, Lindsey decided he needed more supplies for his fight against the demons. He knew that certain herbs or small spells could completely incapacitate a demon, when brute strength could not. He walked over to the kitchen table of his new, sparsely furnished apartment and grabbed the phone book. "The Magic Box. Sensible name. Not very original, but, it'll do."

He stood and headed to his bedroom after writing down the address and phone number. He couldn't get the redhead from last night out of his mind, though. He'd worked out, done all of his unpacking in the apartment, and even went to his new job to try and set up an easy work schedule. But, the little redhead was not letting his mind focus completely on any of the tasks at hand. So, he decided to do something to relax himself. He picked up his guitar on the way to his bedroom, where he played and sang for the next 2 hours.

"Hey Wills."

"Hey Buff. What's up?"

"Why are you almost an hour late�again?" The slayer asked with a smirk. "Did you run into Mr. Tall, Dark, and Mysterious again?"

"First of all, he's so not of the tall genre." The hacker replied. "Second, no, I did NOT run into him. The reason I'm late didn't have anything to do with him." She said with a satisfied smile.

"So, Miss Mysterious, why WERE you late?" Buffy asked in a motherly tone.

"Oh, Buffy! I love my new apartment!" Willow answered excitedly. "I stayed an extra 45 minutes just sitting there today. Apparently, my new next door neighbor is a musician, with the voice of an angel."

"Let's hope it's not the voice OF Angel." Buffy muttered.

"I knew it!" Willow laughed after a moment. "I knew there HAD to be something wrong with Angel! I mean, except for the whole vampire thing." She added.

"Oh Wills," the slayer replied sadly. "It's the most horrible thing I've ever witnessed in my entire Slayer life. I wouldn't wish Angel singing on my worst enemy." The young women then erupted into fits of giggles.

When the giggles finally stopped, Buffy looked at Willow. "Are you saying that Mr. Mysterious is short? Like�Jonathan short?"

"Buffy, NO ONE is Jonathan short." They started their giggles again. "Actually, he's about 5'9."

"Oh." The two were silent for about 3 seconds when Buffy asked with a smile. "So, you think Spike's a hottie, huh?"

"Will you people NEVER give me a break?!?!" Willow yelled, as customers looked at the two women by the counter.

Once Lindsey finished his shower, he threw on a pair of jeans and a royal blue t-shirt. He felt refreshed. The applause that he heard after his private performance still had him on a natural high. He had no idea the walls were so thin. So, when he heard the applause and shouts of 'More! More!' coming from his upstairs, downstairs, and next-door neighbors, he blushed the color of that girl's hair. ~And here I am again, thinking about her.~

Lindsey decided to drive his truck to the Magic Box so that he wouldn't have to carry all of his supplies in the dark. The sun would be down before he would make it home. He grabbed his keys, and headed out the door.

"I can't believe Anya picked a Saturday to take the night off." Willow whined.

"Tell me about it." Buffy replied. "I'd rather be fighting nasty demons out on patrol than fighting off these people." She said as she gestured to the crowds of evil beings, known as customers. The slayer then headed back into the throng of people while Willow stayed behind the counter.

The sound of the bell above the door turned Buffy's attention to the door where there stood one of the most beautiful men she had ever seen in her life. "Wow." She said aloud as she headed to the handsome man with the blue eyes. "Hi! Welcome to the Magic Box. How may I help you?" she asked, trying not to seem too overly eager.

"Actually, I have a list." The beautiful man with the awesome body-which you could see even with the tight jeans and blue t-shirt, replied. He handed her the list while she still stared at him. "You gonna look at it?" He asked with a playful smirk.

Buffy turned even redder than the shirt she was wearing and looked down at the list. "Damn!" she muttered. Unfortunately, it wasn't low enough.

"Oh, do you not have this stuff?" He asked. "I thought that since this was a magic shop�"

"Oh! No!" She interrupted. "We have it. I'm just not as good with the magic stuff as Will." She said with a reassuring smile.

"So, he'll be able to help me?" He asked hopefully.

"Follow me." She replied as she headed to the counter. "Hey Will! I need you to help get this gentleman some supplies. I have no clue what any of this stuff on the list looks like."

"Sure!" The redhead said as she stood and looked into the deep dark blue eyes of her mystery guy. "Um�."

"You!" He said with a surprised smile. "Your name is Will?"

"Short for Willow." Buffy said absently. "You two know each other?"

"Not really." Willow replied. "He just kind of got in my way last night." She said with a sweet smile.

"That was you!?!?!" Buffy exclaimed.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Part 4:

"That was you?!" the slayer shrieked.

"What are you doing here?" Willow asked, ignoring the blonde.

"What, you think I'm following you?" Lindsey asked. "Nice ego, Red."

"That was you?!" The slayer asked again in complete shock.

"You know, you're the one who shows up in MY town and proclaims himself the 'slayer of evil'-that job is taken, by the way. You have no idea who I am or what I'm doing, so keep your opinions to yourself until you do."

"That wa�"

"Buffy, if you ask that same question again, I'll turn you into a frog." Willow interrupted.

"What the bloody hell is going on?" A voice behind the blue-eyed ex-lawyer asked. "There are customers walking around all over this store and you two a-are standing here f-fl-flirting with th-the 'cute boy'?"

"No offense, sir." Lindsey said with his hypnotizing smirk. "But you're a little too old for me. Besides, I'm straight. But, thanks for the compliment." Giles glared at the man.

"Giles, it's not what it looks like." Buffy managed to say before her watcher pummeled this beautiful man and messed up his face. "You and I will tend to the customers. The store is closing in an hour, anyway. Then, I'll fill you in." Next, the slayer turned to Willow and Lindsey. "You two: go to the workout room and talk. Let me know what the hell is going on." Lindsey and Willow didn't move. "Shoo!" Buffy said while gesturing to the door that leads to the back.

The two walked towards the workout area without argument. "Damn, Wills. He is totally of the wicked hot tribe." She muttered under her breath.

"What did you mean when you said 'that job is already taken'?"

"Why don't we start from the beginning and work our way through to that?" The hacker replied.

Lindsey sighed. ~Who the hell is this girl? Why am I so interested?~ "Fine. You ask a question, then I'll ask a question."

"Okay, who are you?" Willow asked.

"My name is Lindsey McDonald." He replied in a business-like tone. "What's your full name?"

"Willow Rosenberg." She replied. "How long have you been in Sunnydale?"

"About a week and a half." He answered.

"THIS is as exciting as the questions get?" an accented voice said from the door that led to the basement before Lindsey could ask another question.

"Spike, what are you doing in here? The sun's down." She said. Spike looked at her and arched his scarred eyebrow, silently questioning her choice of people to give that kind of information to. "Oh, it's okay. He knows about vampires and demons." Then, she thought for a moment and turned to Lindsey. "You DO know about demons, right?"

"Why are you talking to a vampire like he's your best friend?" He asked, completely dumbfounded.

"He IS one of my best friends. You see, Spike is different from other vampires." Willow replied as the vampire smirked at the bloke who had Red a little on edge.

"If you tell me he has a soul, I swear I'll kill myself right now." Lindsey said in a serious and defeated tone.

"Ah, you know Paingel the Pouf!" Spike said with total amusement.

Willow turned back to Spike. "You. Out. Now." Spike was about to say something when she 'shushed' him. The bleach blonde vampire gave the redhead sad puppy dog eyes. "Now, Spike." Spike walked towards the door that led to the front of the store. She turned back to Lindsey. "Well? Your question?"

"What the hell is going on?"

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Part 5:

"Okay, so this IS kinda weird." Willow responded.

"But, how do I know you won't use the information I'm about to give you against me?"

"Do I look like the CIA?!?!" Lindsey asked.

"Well, you've got that whole James Bond good looks thing going�" She said shyly. "Oh, that was out loud, wasn't it?"

"You think I'm good looking?" He asked with a wide smile.

"You didn't answer my question." She replied, ignoring him. "How do I know I can trust you?"

"I'll go first." He said as he captured her with his gaze.

Willow tried to look away and focus on the subject at hand. However, she could not look away from Lindsey's deep blue eyes. After a what seemed like an eternity swimming in the cerulean blue, she let her eyes travel to his perfect nose, and his oh-so-kissable lips. That's when she noticed he was talking. She tried to focus on what he was saying.

"So, what do you think?" He asked.

"Huh? Oh!" She remembered. "That's acceptable." Then, she turned and headed towards the door.

"Where are you going?" He asked.

"Trust me." She replied. "You'll want the others here, as well. Follow me."

Forty minutes later had the store closed and locked up, as well as Spike, Dawn, Giles, Xander, Anya, Lindsey, and Willow sitting around one of the tables. No one had said a word until the store was closed. Even Spike had sat quietly, albeit with a smirk on his face.

"So, how did you know Spike has a soul?" Buffy asked. Spike had told her that much when he walked into the store.

"I know a vampire with a soul." He deadpanned. The slayer's eyes widened. "I'm guessing you do, too."

"Okay, we'll start, because we knew him before you did." Willow said. "Spike?"

"What?"

"Start."

"Why me?"

"You've known him the longest." Willow replied in a voice that one would reserve for talking to child.

"Why doesn't Slutty start?" Spike asked. "I'm sure their time together made it SEEM like longer than 122 years. Besides, she likes it when everyone is focused on her, anyway."

"Do you REALLY think I won't stake you because you have a soul?" Buffy asked sweetly.

"Whatever." Spike said.

"Fine! I'll start." The slayer said to no one in particular.

"I'm a slayer."

"The one he used to date." Lindsey said to himself as things started clicking into place in his mind.

"We moved to Sunnydale when I was a sophomore in high school. I met Xander, Willow, Jessie, and Cordelia."

"Oh shit." Lindsey whispered as he remembered how he almost burned the Scrolls of Anitole and almost killed her.

"So you know Cordelia, too?" Willow asked.

"You guys didn't used to date did you?" Xander asked. Anya elbowed him in the ribs. "Ouch!"

A glare from the Slayer shut everyone up. Then, she proceeded to sum up the years until Angel left for LA. ~I can't believe I put Faith through more than she'd already been through.~ He thought to himself. That was actually one of the many thoughts that went through his mind. He was now sure, more than ever that he belonged in Sunnydale, helping to fight the 'good fight'. Willow noticed how uncomfortable he seemed to be getting during the course of this trip down Memory Lane.

"Are you okay?" The redhead asked. Lindsey shook his head no. "I know it's a lot to take in, but we need to know�"

"Oh, I've seen worse." He replied, as he stared into space. "I've done worse." He said with a sigh as he proceeded to tell the tale of Wolfram & Hart vs. Angel Investigations.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Part 6:

Lindsey started with his first meeting with Angel in Russell Winters' office, went through some of his more evil schemes. With glassed over eyes, he went into detail about how he met Faith, and what happened with her in LA. Next, he told them about how he went to Angel for help so that those children wouldn't be killed. He told them how Angel and the others didn't even try to give him a chance.

"So, I went back to Wolfram and Hart when they offered me a promotion and a raise." He said. "I figured with everything Angel had done that he'd have some compassion for anyone else on the road to redemption."

"He obviously did for Faith." Willow said. "Why didn't he do it for you?"

"I don't want to dwell on it." He replied. Then, he went on to explain the incident with Vocah and what it did to Cordelia. He also explained how he tried to burn the Words of Anitole so that Angel would lose his connection to the Powers That Be. He described the efficient way Angel handled the situation. There was a collective gasp from everyone in the room.

"Any one of you would've done the same thing to save your friend." He said. "I understand that now. He really didn't have a choice. It didn't stop me from hating him, though." Spike chuckled and Xander smiled a sad, knowing smile.

Next, came the Darla/Dru situation and how Angel went on an obsessed rampage. He also explained about the wine cellar disaster at Holland Manners' estate. Finally, he finished it up with Angel's epiphany, the reattachment of his hand, and how he decided to leave Wolfram and Hart.

"After a little 'soul searching', I decided that I needed to do something that would make a difference; kind of even up the odds against the bad guys." Lindsey said. "And since I used to be a bad guy, why not go straight to the source and use what I know?"

"So you picked the Hellmouth." Giles stated knowingly.

Lindsey looked away, but nodded. "Look, I don't know what's going on in everyone's mind right now, but I'm sure it can't be full of warm and fuzzy thoughts." The handsome ex-lawyer announced. " So, I'm going to go home and let you all figure out if you want to hate me. I'm too tired to deal with it right now."

"It IS rather late." Giles said as every one stood. "Why don't we continue this tomorrow. Same time?"

"Um, sure." Lindsey answered in obvious shock. He didn't think they'd even want to acknowledge his existence after that story.

"Do you need a lift?" Xander asked. He was sure he'd get to like the guy. Hell, he hated Angel. What's not to like?

"No thanks, I drove." Lindsey replied. "Actually, I could give someone else a lift if you're headed towards Corley Ave."

"I live on Corley Ave." Willow stated.

"Great! You can ride with me." Lindsey replied.

"Then, it's settled." Everyone headed out of the magic shop with different thoughts rolling around their minds. Lindsey gave Giles his number in case anything important came up. The group dispersed to their respective vehicles. Spike hopped on his motorcycle and waved as he rode off. Xander and Anya got into the carpenter's car and drove away. Buffy and a very sleepy Dawn followed Giles to his car and left.

Lindsey showed Willow to his truck and opened the door for her as she stepped inside. "So, where do you live, exactly?" Lindsey asked as he started the truck.

"1681 Corley Ave. I live in apartment 118." Willow replied.

"Ooops."

"Ooops?" She asked.

"I live in 119." He said shyly.

"That was YOU singing earlier?!?!" He nodded.

"Oh, wow."

A few minutes later found the two parked outside the apartments. "What?' Lindsey playfully asked when he noticed the beautiful redhead staring at him.

"You don't look like a lawyer." She said innocently.

"I'm not a lawyer. Anymore." He replied. "Ask Angel how much of a lawyer I wasn't when we were enemies." He sighed. "I did some really horrible things, Willow. Hell, I may as well have been one of those soulless demons I helped defend. It's so much worse knowing that I still had my soul when I did everything that I did."

"I know exactly how you feel." Willow said, more to herself than to Lindsey.

"Willow, I seriously doubt that you've done anything as remotely horrible as I have."

"You sure you wanna make that bet?" The redhead asked.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Part 7:

Willow told Lindsey about Tara. She was very happy to see that he didn't leer at her the way other men do when they find out she's bisexual. As a matter of fact, after the story of Warren, Jonathan, and that other guy, and how she handled it, Lindsey's eyes softened even more.

"Oh God, Willow." He said softly. "I'm so sorry you had to go through all of that. Losing someone you really love is worse than having a limb cut off."

"I wouldn't say worse." The hacker replied with a smile as she wiped her tears. "Possibly just as bad, though."

"That's why you continue to have a zero tolerance for evil around here." She nodded.

"Thank you for listening to me." Willow said as she turned to face the brown haired man. "I know that my friends are there for me and understand. But, it's nice to talk to someone who wasn't there, so I can get an omniscient point of view."

"You had to listen to me whine about how much I hate Angel..."

"Xander did that on a regular basis up until Angel left Sunnydale." She interrupted with a mischievous smile.

"I guess so." He said as he chuckled. "What about the whole 'whining about my lost hand' thing?"

"I'm gonna go with 'good reason to whine'." She laughed. Then, the two just stood facing one another smiling.

"Well, you'd better get inside." Lindsey finally broke the silence. "You've had an exhausting day. Plus, you never know what might be lurking around at night."

"You mean BESIDES my new next door neighbor?" She asked.

"Hey! But I'm reforming!"

"Right." She said with playful sarcasm. "So, you gonna sing and play some more tomorrow?"

"Trying to make sure you'll be out of the apartment if I do?"

"More like, I'll have a beer ready and maybe invite Buffy over to listen with me." She said with a giggle.

"I wouldn't even mind if my audience consisted of only one." He replied with a smile. "Kind of a 'private performance'."

"Goodnight, Lindsey." The redhead said as she blushed..

"Sweet dreams Willow." He whispered as he kissed her forehead and turned to put his key in the door. He looked back once more before entering his apartment just in time to see Willow closing her door.

{Oh. Wow.} She thought as she leaned against the inside of the door. {He is so amazing! I can't believe he was ever evil. And Angel�Since when does Mr. Broody Pants decide who's worthy or not worthy of redemption? How dare he treat Lindsey that way after he tried to stop those kids from getting killed?}

She walked over to her bedroom and started changing into her light blue tank top and blue boxers with white fluffy clouds on them {Blue like his extraordinary eyes. Big sigh. Wow. I like Lindsey. Who would've thought?}

~I can't believe I was such an idiot!~ Lindsey thought to himself as he got ready for bed. ~For crying out loud, she just lost her girlfriend. I have no couth. No sympathy. No, I'm just going to invite over to listen to me play. What's next, McDonald? You gonna ask her to throw her underwear at you like a groupie?~ The ex-lawyer sat down on is sofa with a heavy sigh. ~Maybe she'll still want to talk to me, even though I made a complete ass of myself.~

~ * ~ * ~ * ~