Chapter twenty Spike decided to take another lap around the house, just to see if any of the previously empty rooms were occupied. If he was lucky he might catch Aria alone, and could get that invite he needed. He was turning the corner of the house when he could hear a strange sound coming from one of the upper windows. It almost sounded like a whipping sound. Curious, Spike looked around for a way to climb up to the second floor so he could get a look. His eye fell on a flimsy trellis that reached up to the window. �It�ll never hold my weight.� He grumbled, but headed to it anyway to test it out. Deciding to take the chance he tried putting his weight on the wood, hoping it wouldn�t snap. Seeing that it held he slowly climbed up. When he was eye level with the window he saw that the sound had indeed been a whipping sound, and it was Aria who was on the receiving end. His Demon was enticed by the sound of the leather belt flying through the air to connect with the girl�s back. The room was dim, but he could see that her back was a bloody mess, and Spike�s mouth nearly watered. Before his thoughts went too far, the vampire could almost hear Willow or Douglass scolding him. That he should be helping not enjoying the sight of an innocent being hurt. But what could he do with out earning a mind splitting headache? The muffled sound of a male�s voice caught Spike�s attention. �So Aria are you going to tell me what you know or do I have to continue?� Looking up at her Father Aria couldn�t remember the last time he had beaten her this bad. A part of her wanted to spill any bit of information she had, little that it was, to her father. The other part had had enough of this treatment. What good would telling him do now? Later on, down the road he�d just beat her again, her a different reason maybe...But a beating was a beating, no matter how you looked at it. �I already told you I don�t know anything. Douglass got sick, Lindsey took her home.� She watched as her Father raised the belt again, and bring it down across her shoulder. �Why are you being so stubborn? You�re protecting people that don�t mean anything to you. Where�s your family loyalty?� Threading the belt through his belt buckles. �I have guests downstairs. You are not to leave this room. We are not finished. You�ve known something since the night you disappeared at the Charity Ball, and before I am done with you, you will tell me.� Spike watched as Adam Gallagher left the room and pondered a moment on the weeping woman lying on the floor. She had taken a pretty good beating, and most likely wouldn�t be able to handle much more. She really didn�t know all that much that Adam Gallagher could use. But the unexpected ally found in Aria, wouldn�t reveal any information. He thought of different ways he could possible be any assistance to her. Under different circumstances he, and an invite, he could tear her father limb from limb. Now he was useless. He couldn�t just walk away, if anyone in the group found out he did nothing he�d be exiled. Damn bleeding hearts. Plus after watching Aria he knew there was more to her than some pampered debutant, the girl had spunk. She�d fit in nicely into the little wacky family at home. Tapping on the window, he waited until he caught the girl�s attention. He had to wait for awhile for her to hear over her sobbing. �Let me in. I can help.� He watched as she tried to crawl over to the window, she got a foot from her original spot and couldn�t move any further. �I just need you to invite me in. I can do the rest from there.� Aria�s eyebrows knitted together. He wasn�t making any sense. It took a moment to clear the cobwebs, when it finally dawned on her. Of course he needed to be asked in. He was a vampire after all. She nodded weakly. �No pet you need to say the words.� Spike was growing impatient. Any moment he could be spotted hanging on to the trellis. That or the damned wooden thing would break. Aria whispered the words, and Spike shoved the window up, and climb through the windowsill. We walked over to her hesitantly, surveying the damage up close. How in the hell was he going to get the girl out of the house? He couldn�t carry her without causing her anymore pain. Walking was out of the question. Magic. Plain and simple. But Willow was being policed by the damn Poof. Aria was out cold, and Spike knew that as soon as the party was over her Father would be back up. Using the cell phone again he tried calling the number Willow said he could reach them at if there was any trouble. Once again there was no answer. �Why give this contraption if they weren�t going to answer when I call?� Now he was confined to her room, and he was getting antsy. �I hate being stuck...If I wasn�t going soft I wouldn�t be here...Could be worse, I could be the Great Big Poof.� Spike sat on Aria�s bed and laid back. He�d wait for another thirty minutes, then call Willow again. If She didn�t answer the bloody phone then he�d have to come up with another plan. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Willow sat in the car squeezed between Angel and Cordelia. They were on their way home from the club. Angel hadn�t said a word to her since he told the girls to leave the dance floor. Wesley and Gunn kept shooting sly grins toward the vampire�s back, and Cordelia had fallen asleep. Willow was wondering if Angel was upset at her about what had happened. If that was the reason why he wasn�t talking. She had been so relieved that he had shown up when he had. The enraged look on his face almost made him seem to be the jealous boyfriend she had warned her pursuer about. Willow allowed herself to daydream that he had been jealous of the unwanted attention she was receiving. That he considered her his, and off limits to the male population. �Yeah right little girl.� She thought bitterly. �That kind of response is reserved for Buffy, or girls like her.� Angel sat and reflected on the way he felt when he observed the way the guys at the club responded to the redhead. He hadn�t liked it. In fact he was glad to have a reason to call it an early night with out sounding like a party pooper. He had no claims on her, and until he did he really couldn�t do anything about the attention Willow got from the opposite sex. Claim. That was what he wanted to do. Claim her entirely, body, mind and soul. Have her search for him first whenever she walked into a room. Be her first thought when she wakes up every morning and her last thought before she went to bed. He wanted something more than he had had with Buffy. Their love had been a dark love, filled with misery and despair. Willow was laughter and the promise of hope. If he didn�t tell the witch how he felt, and soon, his feelings would become an obsession. �Tonight.� He thought. �The games end tonight. I�m going to just tell her, and hope that she doesn�t turn her back on me.�

Go to... home prologue one two three four five six seven eight nine ten eleven twelve thirteen fourteen fifteen sixteen seventeen eighteen nineteen twenty twenty-two twenty-three twenty-four twenty-five twenty-six twenty-seven twenty-eight twenty-nine thirty thirty-one thirty-two thirty-three thirty-four thirty-five thirty-six thirty-seven thirty-eight thirty-nine forty forty-one forty-two forty-three forty-four forty-five forty-six forty-seven forty-eight forty-nine fifty fifty-one fifty-two fifty-three fifty-four

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