Willow shifted restlessly, eyeing the milling crowd around her. She sipped at her beer, resisting the urge to toss it back and order another. [Got to keep up appearances after all, everybody loves Happy Willow, nobody loves Drowning Her Sorrows Willow]. Smiling with an effort at Buffy as she continued to ramble on, about what Willow was not sure due to the loud music, Willow made an effort to throw off her black mood - with little success.
She was having one of those days - or was it one of those weeks? She and Tara had been bickering for days; afterwards she could never remember exactly what it was they fought about, but the bad feeling was simmering there and waiting to explode at even the smallest opportunity - a forgotten phone message, a wet towel on the floor, any excuse was enough for Tara. [Never trust the quiet ones] Willow brooded, trying to work out when it was that their relationship had deteriorated to this point.
As she did the mental maths, she found a thought hovering on the edge of her subconscious, something about Buffy and a conversation about Spike's crush ... Her mind recoiled from the thought, and she tuned back in to the conversation in time to hear Xander remark "Somehow, I don't think a girl that looks like that is gonna be lonely for too long."
Looking around, Willow noticed the girl surveying the room, and almost missed Tara's comment: "Definitely not!" Willow did a double take - what had Tara just said? But before she had time to replay the conversation in her mind, her girlfriend added wistfully, "She's so beautiful, like a model. You know Anya and I met her this afternoon," Tara commented, before noticing the hostile look in Willow's eyes and stopping abruptly.
Willow gathered her thoughts and tried to control her temper. [Can't go berserk here, too many witnesses] she decided, but as she weighed up the pros and cons of getting Tara alone somewhere she realised the blonde had done a vanishing act, and at the same time decided she was relieved. She really didn't want to waste any more emotional energy on her; Willow could see the writing on the wall, and even though in the past she had always been the dumped rather than the dumper, she was determined to end this once and for all, and sooner rather than later.
She had a vague sense of urgency, of needing to do something before - well, before it was too late. [Too late for what?] asked a small voice in her head, but Willow ignored it. She had the moral high ground here; Tara was not only becoming a pain to live with but now she was checking out other girls; [if I wanted someone to do that I'd go out with a boy!] the witch groused to herself.
Her mental murmuring were abruptly halted by the sound of glass breaking, and she looked up to see a bewildered Spike brushing himself down, apparently having been tossed through a glass window.
"Spike! she squeaked, before trying to mask her concern. Xander and Anya looked vaguely amused, and Willow felt anger surge through her at their nonchalance. [OK, evil demon, but heh, he's saved our asses plenty of times. Maybe for money, but that still counts as a good deed - doesn't it?] Willow started to walk towards Spike, but was halted by a hand on her arm. Looking up at Xander's face, she groaned inwardly when he commented, "Look's like it's time for a research party!"
"Don't you think we should check if Spike's OK?"
"From the sound of all that swearing I'd say he's fine and dandy," Xander commented cheerfully before dragging a reluctant Willow away to follow Anya and Buffy as they headed for the door. He paused to ask, "Hey, where's Tara? Do you want to call her?"
"No," said Willow quickly, "she had a headache, let's not bother her."
And so the meeting convened, and without dissent it was agreed that the beautiful and super-strong April, she of the strange speech patterns and Warren-obsession, was clearly a robot. Willow listened to the conversation with half an ear while her internal musings continued.
[Obsessions. Huh, what's with that? Why is everyone always obsessed with Buffy? First Angel, then Xander, then Spike - OK she's beautiful. And strong. And Buffy. Sigh. What's the point? Spike would never look at me, even if I weren't a lesbian. Well, not really a lesbian.Bisexual. Cos of Oz. And open-minded, cos of the werewolf thing. And the Wicca thing.] Willow realised she had wandered somewhat off topic at the same time that she realised all eyes were on her. "Um, yes?" she asked nervously, hoping she would be able to bluff her way through it. [How much did I miss?] she wondered nervously.
"Excellent," said Giles as everyone started to pack up. "Then Willow will try to track down the creator, Warren, and the rest of you will keep your ears open for any news. Willow, please let Buffy know as soon as you have any information."
"Oh, sure, no problem," Willow agreed heartily as she grabbed all her things and headed for he door.
[Time to face the music] she decided nervously, then started to head slowly back to her place, knowing that Tara would be there, waiting for Willow so they could have -another - argument. But this one, the redhead decided with her resolve face evident, would be the last.
Part TwoWillow surveyed her room with satisfaction. Everything had been packed away, her laptop was on her old desk, and the room seemde unchanged from her childhood years. [Home sweet home] she thought sadly, sitting down on her bed and bouncing slightly. It was so quiet here after the dorm, no-one around but her ... [great, keep that up and I'll be round at Giles house soon just to see a friendly face.]
Making a determined effort to cheer up, the redhead reminded herself that, all things considered, she had got off much more lightly than she had expected. Having braced herself for a huge confrontation, she had been somewhat deflated to find her and Tara instead having a very civilized discussion which, although lasting over an hour, could be best summarized as "this isn't working, let's still be friends."
Willow was ashamed to find that her dominant emotion was relief. [Bad Willow, at least you should be a bit upset], she told herself as she turned her laptop on, connected to the internet and started to look for Warren, April's maker. As she scanned various lists and jumped from site to site, she kept only half her mind on her work.
The other half was reliving this evening's flying Spike episode, and she couldn't help wondering how the vampire was. [Typical] she fumed, [when we need him we drag him along, but when he needs some help, huh, no-one is the slightest bit interested. Only notice him when he's useful.]
A sentiment quiet close to Willow's heart, because the more she thought about it the more she identified with Spike. [OK, I'm not a soulless killer, but the others only notice me when they want something. I mean, they don't even know about Tara and I breaking up. Well, OK, that only happened half an hour ago. But hey, I've moved back to my parent's house, I could use some emotional support. Maybe I should call Buffy?]
Her thoughts were interrupted by the appearance on her screen of an article on robotics written by a local boy - Warren. [I am just too good] Willow decided with a big grin, before her face sobered and she wondered, [I wonder how Spike is?].
And so it was that, instead of calling Buffy with Warren's whereabouts as instructed, Willow instead found herself skulking through one of Sunnydale's many cemeteries on her way to Spike's crypt. [I can't believe I'm doing this] the redhead moaned to herself for the hundredth time as she stopped outside the crypt door. [I hope he still lives here. Well, not lives, obviously, but ... oh Goddess Rosenberg, just go inside!]
Spike looked up as the crypt door edged open. It was a new experience for him - mostly it was either kicked in or flung open.
"Who the hell is it and what the hell do you want?" the blonde snarled. His ribs ached, and he was seething over the embarrassment of being thrown through a window in front of Buffy - not quite the impression he was hoping to make.
His eyebrows raised when he saw the witch slink inside looking decidedly uneasy. [At least I still scare her] he thought happily, his ego recovering a little from the bruising it had received in recent months.
"Umm, hi Spike, I just wanted to make sure you were OK."
"She was a robot?" Spike said in a relieved tone.
"Yep, you sure can pick 'em."
"What's that supposed to mean," Spike growled. Damn, even Willow was getting in shots at him, and she was the only one of that bunch of idiots who was even passably nice to him.
"Well, let's face it Spike, you don't exactly make the best choices, do you? I mean, lunatics, Slayers, robots - even Xander has better judgment than you, which is really saying something."
"Listen witch girl, first of all I am not the slightest bit interested in your opinion, and secondly you absolutely wrong. Dead wrong. I've just been a bit unlucky, is all."
"Unlucky, is that what you call it?" Willow asked, as she sat down on the floor next to the vampire. She absently opened the brown paper bag she was carrying and handed Spike the bottle of whisky she had bought with her - liberated from her father's collection, but hopefully he'd never notice.
She figured the alcohol would come in handy one way or another. Either she could use it to sterilize his wounds [mmm, naked Spike covered in sticky liquid..] Willow shook her head, and realized Spike was waiting for her to speak as he quickly opened the bottle and took a long drink.
"Unlucky? Come on Spike, it's more like a death wish, don't you think. I mean, Buffy. Goddess! Why is it always about Buffy! What's so special about her?" Her face fixed in a scowl, Willow reached for the bottle and wrested it from Spike's unwilling hands, taking a mouthful before handing it back.
"Well, she's a fighter."
"Yeah, she fights vampires. As in, you and all your kind. That's going to be a great common bond between you."
"OK, she's got a great body."
"Perky, sure, but she has muscles of steel. Get too close to her and it would be like hugging Arnold Schwarzenegger."
Spike paled - not an easy thing for a vampire to do. "Ahhh," he searched his mind for one of Buffy's other attributes, "She's beautiful".
"Right, and guys so love waiting an hour and a half for her to perfect that natural look."
"She's smart."
Willow just looked at him.
"Well, bloody hell, I don't know, there's just something about her ..."
"Vampires! I can't believe you're going all Angel over her."
"Sod off, I'm nothing like that bleeding poof."
"Right."
"I'm not."
Willow sighed and reached for the bottle again, taking a longer drink as she noticed that the contents seemed to have evaporated alarmingly while in Spike's care.
"Goddess Spike, it's so obvious. You just want her cos she's unattainable, because you know you're never going to get her so it's a way of making yourself pointlessly unhappy."
Spike struggled to follow her logic. "That doesn't make any sense. I don't want to be unhappy."
"Sure you do. That's why you wasted a century with a faithless loony like Dru, and why you're wasting your time drooling over Angel's leavings."
"Shit, that's disgusting" Spike moaned as his mind filled with the mental image Willow had painted for him.
"My point exactly," Willow agreed.
"What do you care anyway?" Spike asked suspiciously, looking at the girl and wondering for the first time what the hell she was doing here.
"Just broke up with Tara. Can't understand why no-one loves me. It's horrible being alone," Willow said sadly, making Spike's palms itch with the urge to slap her.
"If you're going to start crying do it outside, I don't want to drown in your self pity," Spike sneered. To his disappointment Willow seemed oblivious to him.
"Anyway, I have a job for you," Willow declared, standing up and brushing the dirt from her trousers.
Spike looked unimpressed.
"I can pay you," Willow said, mentally calculating how much money she had in her wallet.
"Alright, what is it?" Spike asked, draining the bottle and patting his pockets in search of a cigarette.
"We have to go and see Warren, the guy who built April."
Spike looked blank. Willow snorted {How soon they forget!] "You know, the beautiful robot who through you out a window?"
Spike's eyes cleared. A man who could make a robot like that, now he would be the kind of person Spike would definitely like to see.
"Come on then pet, times a wasting."
And with long strides Spike swept from the crypt leaving Willow trailing after him wondering what the hell she was doing, while at the same time admiring the way his leather duster swirled around him. [Focus Rosenberg, go to get the robot guy] she told herself, but she couldn't quit help the way her eyes drifted to the lithe form in front of her.
[It's just a rebound thing] she assured herself, but still she made sure she took the long way to Warren's house. When they finally arrived Spike looked over at Willow, indicating that she should take the lead. Setting her resolve face in place, Willow knocked firmly on the door. After a few attempts, she finally heard sounds and eventually the door was opened by a tousled looking man, who looked in alarm at the pair on his doorstep.
"What do you want?" he asked nervously.
"We're friends of April," Willow said in her most menacing voice.
Warren shuddered and looked over their shoulders, as if expecting his robotic nightmare to appear out of the gloom.
"You'd better come in."
Willow smiled. "Don't mind if we do," she said sweetly, as she and Spike entered the house.
Part ThreeSpike drummed his fingers on the table as Willow and the robot guy droned on and on. [Bloody humans, the way they go on you'd think they were the immortal ones,] Spike decided, as he stood up and moved over to where Warren was showing the redhead his digital camera, used to create 3D images as a blueprint for his robots.
"So you just need a few shots with this and you can do the rest with your software?" Willow asked curiously as she took a few sample photos of Warren and Spike, and watched as the images appeared on the computer screen.
"That's right, but hey, definitely no more robots for me, I have learnt my lesson," Warren said fervently.
"Good-o, I'll be off then," Spike said as he gestured towards Willow's wallet.
The redhead looked at him blankly before shaking her head suddenly, reaching for her wallet and pulling out a few notes. She handed them to the vampire, who grabbed them, growled softly at the pathetic amount in his hand then decided there was no point in arguing, instead making a hasty exit.
"I guess you'll be off too then," Warren said hopefully, looking at the redhead who was still playing with the camera, taking a shot of Spike's departing figure.
"Not just yet. I'm really interested in your work, I'm thinking I'd like to have one for myself, a robot I mean, so I can study it close up."
Warren rubbed his hands against the sides of his jeans as he tried to work out where this was going. "No, no, I'm not making any more girl robots, I promise."
Willow smiled. "Actually, I'm not really interested in a girl robot."
"Yes, I'm sure Giles," Willow said for what felt like the hundredth time. She adjusted the phone - she had been talking for so long her ear was starting to over-heat.
Willow had returned from her trip to Warren's house two nights ago. In the meantime the robot April had been located and taken out of commission, and Willow was now discussing with Giles what she had found on Warren's computers, which she had confiscated from him and had studied at length.
"These computers have all the programs on them, and I have checked Warren's house, there are definitely no other computers there. And he seemed very definite to me that he had learned his lesson."
The redhead listened idly as Giles continued to express his concern, but she felt no urge to end the conversation, instead letting the Watcher ramble on until he came to a stop, apparently finally realising he was repeating himself.
"I can't guarantee that no-one else has the software Giles, but Warren assured me he hadn't given copies to anyone, and that April was his only functioning robot, and I beleived him. Anyway those programs are complex, not many people could operate them. So I think it's pretty safe."
Apparently satisfied with that, Giles agreed that it would not be necessary for the Slayer to pay Warren a personal visit, and finally hung up.
[That would have been a pretty long-distance visit for Buffy to make, considering Warren is in Tokyo now,] Willow mused. She had cut a deal with Warren; he had surrendered all his material to her without a fuss, and Willow had given him most of the money in her emergency bank account - oh, and there was also that little matter of the robot.
Willow felt herself tense as she thought about what she had done - [it's official, Willow Rosenberg has lost it] she decided, but before she could descend into panic she felt a pair of strong hands settle on either side of her neck, thumbs gently probing at the taut muscles before digging in with just the right amount of pressure and kneading out the knots as Willow felt her muscles turn into honey.
"That feels so good," she moaned, shifting under his hands.
"Don't like to see you all tensed up, pet," came the reply, as the hands started to move down her back, rubbing in long strokes as Willow leaned forward to allow him better access.
"Everything alright with the Watcher?"
"Yes, he believes the whole story, he's not going to get Buffy involved, so there's no way he can find out about you."
"So why so tense, eh?" asked the voice.
"I just don't know why I did it. I must be crazy!"
"Or a fool for love," came the gentle reply, as Willow finally looked around into the friendly, smiling face of Spike - or rather, the new, all-improved Spike, Willow's very own SpikeBot.