Shaving Impairments and British pains in the ***

Chapter 5


Willow sat cross legged on the twin bed in Sylvie's guest room.

She was watching through the window as the sun went down outside.

She was another day closer to the full moon, another day closer to

the change. She would have been lying, if she said that she had no

fear of what was to come. She knew on an intellectual basis of what

would happen. There would be excruciating pain as the skin ripped

away and the very bones reshaped themselves into a lupine form.

There would be a loss of control as the beast broke free from its

cage for the very first time. Chances were excellent that Willow

would have no memory of her first night as the shaving-impaired.

Reading the cold hard facts was one thing. Experiencing the cold

hard facts on a firsthand basis was a different matter entirely.


Not only did she have to deal with the physical changes to come; now

she had to get to know an entire group of strangers. Willow

didn't do well around large groups of people. Sylvie had told

her that the pack was large as in hundreds of wolves. Willow was

wondering if it would be possible for her to be a wallflower

werewolf. She could only hope.


Sylvie had assured Willow that the pack wasn't expecting her to

have all the history and etiquette down on the first night. Willow,

ever the overachiever, wanted to have more than the basic amount of

information regarding the Lukoi. True, her brain felt overly

stuffed with Nordic terms, Nordic mythology, and Greek mythology

regarding werewolves, pack hierarchy, and dominant/submissive

issues. All of these facts were just the tip of the proverbial

iceberg. She figured that if she tilted her head to one side that

some of the facts just might leak out. Maybe she should have paced

herself. Nah, she was `The Net Girl.' She could cope.


Willow lost track of time as she pondered her furry fate. Her mind

was racing around like a hamster on its exercise wheel. She was

startled out of her thoughts by a knocking at her bedroom door.


Sylvie's head peeked around the door. "There is a call for

you. Some rude British guy named Spike."


Willow gave a small smile. "I was expecting his call. I left a

message for him to call me the minute he woke up. I appreciate you

letting me call California to do that."


Sylvie shrugged her shoulders. "No big thing. You need all the

support you can get. He is going to be supportive, isn't he?"


Willow un-crossed her legs and stood up from the bed. She stretched

her body to rid herself of the cramping feeling from sitting in one

place for too long. She gave her own shrug. "I don't see

why not. He's a vampire. Not exactly human either."


Sylvie muttered a small "oh" of surprise. She then turned

around and headed back downstairs.


Willow followed Sylvie to the ground floor and headed to the kitchen

to speak to Spike on the phone. She missed hearing his sexy

accent. She missed his foul moods. She missed the way that he

could constantly find new ways to irritate her. She just plain

missed that bleach blonde wonder.


He had been with her in her hour of need. When she had felt

abandoned to suffer a cruel fate at the claws of a demon with a skin

fetish, Spike had rode in and saved the day. He had stayed with her

at her parents' house as she got her things together to leave

Sunnydale for the last time. He had driven her to the airport in

Los Angeles. He had been there when she closed one chapter in her

life and opened another.


Willow didn't close the book on her relationship with Spike. She

convinced him that it wasn't healthy for him to stay in

Sunnydale. He needed to get away from that place too. So, Spike

decided on a fresh start in Los Angeles with his sire, Angel. He

had been staying with Angel ever since. He helped out on cases.

Angel's business was booming. There was quite the novelty to the

idea of a vampire detective. Willow giggled at the thought of Angel

as Sherlock Holmes and Spike as Dr. Watson. She must be sleep-

deprived. She felt giddy.


She picked up the phone. Immediately she was assaulted with a

smooth sexy British accent.


"Well, you silly bint! What has your knickers in such a

twist?" Spike exclaimed into the phone.


She could almost hear the smirk. She knew that below his harsh

exterior beat the undead heart of a gentleman. True, he could be

coarse and obnoxious at times but he still had a depth of caring in

his soul. She felt better just basking in the warmth of his vulgar

nature. The world kept on changing but Spike would always be a pain

in the ass.


"And a hello to you too, Spike." Willow returned his greeting

with a smile. She knew he couldn't see it but he would be able

to hear it in her voice.


"Some things of the bad have happened to me. I just needed to

talk to you about them. I just need you to tell me that I'm

going to be okay." She timidly replied.


"What is it, Luv?" his tone of voice betraying the worry he

felt. "You didn't get yourself knocked up did you? Need me

to kill the boy for you? If you won't let me kill him, I could

always be up for a spot of torture. Nothing is too good for my

Red."


Willow shook her head no. "No Spike, nothing like that. I was

walking back to my car late one night from the library."


Spike interrupted her with a sigh. "Willow, what did I tell you

about going off by yourself late at night? The hell mouth isn't

the only danger out in the world."


Willow nodded again. "I know, I know Spike but I had to study

for my midterms."


Willow could hear a chuckle from the other end of the phone. Spike

muttered something about her never changing. She pouted for a

moment and then realized that she was putting off the inevitable.

She just needed to jump right in and tell him her news.


"Spike, I was attacked by a fellow classmate. He changed on me.

H-He is a werewolf. I'm sure he didn't mean to do it but he

scratched me, Spike. I'm probably going to be furry tomorrow

night. It's the full moon then. You know my luck. All of it

bad."


Willow waited for a reaction. No sound came from the phone. For a

minute there, she thought the call had been cut off. Then she heard

a whoosh of air.


"Are you sure, Willow? Is there a chance that you won't

catch it?" Spike sounded scared for her. She appreciated his

caring for her welfare.


"I'm sure. He was in wolf form when he scratched me. That

is when lycanthropy is most contagious." She replied.


"The offer is still good for the killing and I'll throw in

the torture for free." He finally said after another brief pause.


"No need for killing, torture or even general mayhem, Spike. He

is being punished for his lack of control. I'm sure he feels

guilty enough without the need for torture or death. I do

appreciate the offer though." Willow gave a bright smile at her

last comment. Spike was a real friend in the way that `friends

help you move while real friends help you move bodies.'


"I miss you, Spike." She murmured.


"Ah, pet!" Spike protested. "Don't get mushy on me,

now. You know I miss you too. Do you need me to come to St.

Louis?"


Willow thought about it for a moment. "No, I'm dealing okay

with this. I just needed to talk to you. I think everything will

work out okay, eventually. You know me, I'm the eternal

optimist!"


"Well, for the sake of my sanity, I'm going to look into

getting to St. Louis. I will find out all the incredibly boring

political niceties if I need to make a trip to St. Louis to check on

my Red." Spike replied. "I want you to promise to call me if

anything else of the bad happens to you. Even if it is a hang

nail. You got me?"


"Yes, Spike. I'll call if I get a hang nail." She stuck

her tongue out at the phone.


"Don't get smart with me, Girlie!" Spike declared.

"And put that tongue back in your mouth if you aren't going

to use it for something that I would enjoy."


"Euuew, Spike you are such a dirty old man!" Willow

screeched. "I need to get off the phone now. I don't want

to tie up the line. I'm just a visitor here."


"Promise me Red!" Spike demanded.


"I promise to call you if anything bad happens. Okay?" she

retorted.


"Fine, I'm holding you to that. You take care of yourself,

Red." Spike huffed.


"I will Spike. I will. You take care of yourself too."

Willow softly called out.


Spike mumbled something and then hung up. Willow looked at the

phone for a moment and then rolled her eyes. The Big Bad…ha!

More like a Big Softie but she wouldn't say that to his face. He

might torture her for it.