Title: Run, As Fast As I Can
Author: Jinni (druscilla@cox.net)
Rated: R
Pairing: W/Damian; Faith/Asher; Dawn/Nathaniel
Genre: BtVS/Anita Blake Crossover
Disclaimer: All things BtVS belong to Joss Whedon. The wonderful world of Anita Blake belongs to Laurell K Hamilton. I own none of it. The fic title is taken from "Like a Pill" by Pink.
Distribution: SC, NHA, WLS, Aislin, Bite Me Please. All others please ask first.
Author’s Notes: This takes place after Dawn’s eighteenth birthday in the BtVS world. Tara never was Willow’s girlfriend and Willow didn’t go bad. In the Anita Blake world this is situated after the events of "NiC".
Dedication: To Warsslave, who gave me the basic plot idea. Thank you for everything!
Feedback: Please? I’ll beg.

~*~

Run, as fast as I can, to the middle of nowhere
To the middle of my frustrated fears and I swear
You’re just like a pill, instead of making me better,
You’re making me ill, you’re making me ill.

~*~Part One~*~

All was quiet in Scoobie-land. Not a demon was demoning, not a vampire was vamping.. and there was no research to be done. The land was bored, stagnant, stale. And thus the Scoobies found themselves at  - The Bronze.

"Sheesh, Xander. Do you have to be so melodramatic?" Willow snickered, rolling her eyes her best friend.

"Huh?" The dark haired young man was blank until he realized that he his little internal voiceover hadn’t been quite as internal as he thought. He flushed.

"Demoning?" Buffy questioned, taking a sip of her drink. "Is that even a word?"

"Don’t think so." Dawn chimed in.

"Sure – yuck it up." Xander declared in mock outrage. "What would you guys do without me?"

"Well – we know now we wouldn’t have bloody awful voiceovers."

Xander turned his glare to Spike, the look becoming quite real. "Can it, Junior."

The vampire rolled his eyes. "Dance with me, Slayer?"

The look Buffy gave Spike would from that moment on be labeled as one of the deadliest in all of time. She lifted her head up, her eyes becoming mere slits. How dare he ask her to dance, here, in front of her friends? Was the phrase ‘secret relationship’ an issue of confusion for him?

"Sorry. Not interested. But look around, maybe you’ll find Harmony."

Dawn rolled her eyes. As did Willow. The way Buffy treated Spike was, well, almost inhumane. And that was saying something since he was a vampire, a creature that was, by nature, not human. He was a living creature with feelings. Feelings that didn’t deserve the cold shoulder she threw at him each time he tried to be nothing more than nice to her.

"Right, then." His face was an immobile mask; hiding the pain the blonde’s rejection caused him. He wouldn’t give her the satisfaction of seeing him hurt. He was still better than that. Not much, but some. "Red? Dance with me?"

It took Willow all of a second to make up her mind that, yes, she’d dance with Spike. If for no other reason than because he was her friend. She held her hand out to him, allowing him to pull her down from the stool. As they walked to the dance floor she could hear Xander spluttering. He hated Spike with a passion that she just couldn’t comprehend sometimes. It was far more than the normal animosity her childhood friend seemed to harbor towards vampires. This seemed to go much, much deeper. He was, in fact, an anti-vampire lobbyist at local rallies.

But that didn’t explain the hatred he had for Spike.

No, to understand that one had to go back to their years in high school. The year the bleached blonde had kidnapped both herself and Xander and tried to force her to do a love spell to get back his loony bitch, Drusilla. Xander’s hatred began at that moment. Not because of the kidnapping or the pain it may have caused, but because of the events that occurred during the kidnapping and the rescue their friends did. Cordelia had caught her and Xander kissing. That had ended what she had later learned to be what Xander considered a perfect relationship. He had loved Cordelia in a way that he had never loved her. The love he felt for that brunette was something he had never been quite able to recapture, even with Anya, the woman he had almost married.

That was why he hated Spike above anything else. He blamed the vampire for getting caught doing something he shouldn’t have been doing in the first place.

"Somethin’ on your mind, witch?"

Willow shrugged. "Xander."

"The whelp?" Spike snorted. "Why?"

She smirked. "Just thinking about all the reasons he hates you so much."

"Ah." The vampire grinned. "Lengthy thought, that one. He gets his knickers in a twist just thinking ‘bout little old me."

"You do tend to irritate him."

"Just irritate? I’d like to think I make his skin crawl, his blood boil.."

"And you’d rip his head off if you got a chance, yadda, yadda, yadda…" She snickered. The feel of his hands on her hips felt good. Hell, as long as it had been since she had a date, the feel of *anyone’s* hands on her hips would be welcome.

"Just so long as you keep that in mind, Red." The vampire grinned. Over her shoulder he could see Buffy glaring daggers their way. Was she jealous? Maybe? Good. He pulled Willow closer to him discreetly, inching one hand up around her to caress her back. It was cruel to use her this way. Of their entire little group she was the one that was consistently taking his side, trying to make him feel included. Yes, using her was cruel.

But that didn’t stop him.

Completely ignorant of the drama that she had gotten herself involved in, Willow allowed her head to rest on Spike’s shoulder, her eyes closing as she let the music wash over her.

~*~

Stupid little …

Slut …

Bitch …

Buffy clenched her hands into fists, holding herself back from stalking out to the dance floor and ripping Willow from Spike’s arms, right there in front of everyone. It was beyond her line of thinking that she had caused this by turning down Spike’s offer of a dance. She had forced Willow into his arms by denying him one simple request. Those were logical thoughts, though. And Buffy was feeling anything but logical.

She bit her lip to keep from crying out at the couple, to berate Willow for –

For what?

Dancing with a friend?

Dancing with a friend she just didn’t happen to know was dating one of her other friends?

And who’s fault was that?

‘My own.’ Buffy thought impatiently, sanity breaking through her irritation for one brief moment. But that didn’t hold off the irrational thoughts long.

‘Why is it that the vamps always seem to flock to her? Little mousy Wills, always surrounded by undead hotties and she doesn’t even try. And they’re always *my* vampires.’

First it had been Angel. The red head just *had* to befriend him, the two of them talking long into the nights at times, even after he moved to LA. It was irritating, annoying. Very disturbing and very worthy of the jealousy she had felt at first. But those feelings of jealousy had faded.

And now it was happening again, this time with Spike. The witch didn’t seem to realize what she was doing. Being all cuddly cute and adorable every time she got near Spike. It was nauseating.

There was, in Buffy’s mind, only one solution. One that she had been plotting and scheming on for weeks now, ever since she had first noticed the little problem with Spike and Willow. She was just waiting for the right opportunity now. It shouldn’t be too long in coming, by her judgement. After all, with vampirism legal and protected by laws, the undead were crawling out of the woodwork. Setting up shop, making happy little homes.

Yep, all she needed was the right opening to send Willow off to be with her very own vampire.

Preferably somewhere far, far away.

~*~

Run, as fast as I can, to the middle of nowhere
To the middle of my frustrated fears and I swear
You’re just like a pill, instead of making me better,
You’re making me ill, you’re making me ill.

~*~Part Two~*~

It took nearly three weeks for Buffy to get the opportunity she needed to get Willow out of her hair. And it came on a sleepy Sunday morning, in a most unforeseen way.

In Buffy’s opinion, it took three weeks entirely too long. Willow and Spike had gotten even closer during that time. She knew the vampire was doing it only to annoy her, to get back at her for forcing their relationship into the closet where it so richly deserved to be. He was trying to make her jealous, to make her see what she was missing.

And all it was really doing was annoying her.

"Hey Buffy."

The Slayer sighed, rolling her eyes. Her back was to Willow, shielding the red head from the gesture. Despite the animosity she had built up towards the witch in the last month, she still didn’t want to alienate her. No – all she wanted to do was get her out of Sunnydale and cuddling up with some vampire of her own. Far away from the one vampire that Buffy was secretly calling *her* vampire. Sure, she wasn’t about to tell anyone about that. If she had her way no one would ever know that she was bonking a member of the undead ever again. The Slayer didn’t date vampires.

Not publicly, anyway.

"Hey, Wills."

Willow plopped down on the couch next to the blonde, grinning. "Any idea what Giles wants?"

Buffy shrugged. "No clue. He was here when I came in and then ran off to pick something up. Said he’d be back."

"Ah."

An uncomfortable silence descended between them; Willow playing idly with the strap of her purse, Buffy staring out of the window as though she were looking for Giles. That wasn’t the real reason she was looking out of the window – the true reason was that she didn’t want Willow to see her face. She didn’t want the red head to see that irritation on her face. Didn’t want her to start to suspect the feelings she was harboring on the inside.

"Sheesh." Willow sighed, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "Doesn’t Giles realize that we all have plans? Its such a good day to sit inside and just – " She paused.

"Just what?" Buffy asked curiously. And then – "Plans?"

"Yeah. Spike was gonna come over and watch some movies. With the clouds out he can get to the house without getting too burny-like."

Buffy ground her teeth together, turning her head back towards the window. If Giles didn’t show up soon she was going end up loosing her cool with Willow. Thankfully, at that moment, she saw Giles walk up through his courtyard. He disappeared for a moment as she lost sight of him and then the door opened.

"Giles! Good. You’re back." The Slayer chirped, bounding to her feet. She eyed the package in Giles’ arms, raising an eyebrow at him. "Present? For me. You shouldn’t have."

"Not quite." Giles smiled gently, giving him charge a look that could only be described as fatherly. His eyes flickered to Willow, the smile not fading for an instant. "Willow. Good to see you this morning."

"Yep. Morning. A time to be relaxing. What’d you need us for, Giles?" Willow teased playfully.

He placed the bundle he was carrying on the coffee table, settling across from Willow in one of the oversized plush chairs he had furnished the room with upon moving back to Sunnydale. They were very comfortable, if not a little difficult to get up from once you had gotten in them.

"This artifact is what I called you here regarding."

"Can I?" Willow gestured towards the still tightly wrapped parcel.

"Go ahead." Giles nodded.

The witch reached out, unwrapping the bundle carefully. It was heavy, she found, upon lifting it to fully remove the twine. The paper fell away as the twine was stripped away, revealing a stone idol.

"Nordic?" She asked Giles, raising an eyebrow.

The former librarian nodded. "It came into my possession quite by accident. I’ve had it in storage for some time, trying to determine the exact nature of the artifact. I believed it was some sort of protection idol and then I found an entry in one of the earlier Watcher journals."

He reached out, snagging a book from the corner of the coffee table. His agile fingers leafed through the brittle pages with the utmost of care. "Ah. Here we are – ‘Upon being Turned by his Mistress, the vampire known now as Damien took with him a number of family artifacts. The most noted of which is a family guardian idol, clearly of Nordic origin.’" Giles paused, closing the book. "And it goes on to describe this idol."

"So – the idol belongs to some vamp named Damien." Buffy shrugged, clearly annoyed at this interruption in what would have no doubt been prime sleeping-in hours. "What’s the big? That was a long time ago, right?"

"Damien is still in existence. He is under the protection of the Master of St. Louis. As a kind gesture I offered to return the idol to him. He was most pleased to hear of my offer."

"That sounds great, Giles!" Willow grinned, trying not to show the annoyance that Buffy was so intent on displaying. She couldn’t understand the attitude problem that the blonde had developed lately. It was getting hard to stand. "So – what’d you need me and Buffy for?"

"I will need one of you to return the idol to Damien. I do not trust it to be shipped."

That brought the girls up short. Buffy felt the delighted pull of interest course through her before realizing that this was it! A chance to not only get Willow away from Sunnydale but to have her meet a strange new vamp as well. Maybe the guy would be a hottie and Willow would just stay there for a little while.

A long while.

"Well, Giles." Buffy began slowly, pretending to think it over. "I can’t go. Gotta stay and slay."

"Aw. I’m sure we can cover for you if you really wanna go, Buff." Willow offered helpfully, thinking that maybe a break was just what the blonde needed.

"Uh uh." Buffy shook her head. "I can’t do that to you guys." She lowered her eyes, the picture of innocence. "Would you be able to do it Wills? I mean, I know you had plans for the weekend and all, but…."

"Don’t worry about it!" Willow jumped up, giving Buffy a smile. A few days away from Sunnydale sounded like heaven! "I’ll go pack."

Giles watched the red head race out of his townhouse, a small smile on his lips.

But, when he turned, he saw that his Slayer was infinitely more happy looking than he even he felt at seeing Willow’s exuberance.

And –that- he just didn’t understand.

~*~

Run, as fast as I can, to the middle of nowhere
To the middle of my frustrated fears and I swear
You’re just like a pill, instead of making me better,
You’re making me ill, you’re making me ill.

~*~Part Three~*~

Willow dropped her bag next to Giles’ car. She turned, looking back through the courtyard and towards the door of his apartment. She squinted into the early morning light, yawning. Whoever had decided that she should get to St. Louis ‘as soon as possible’ was nuts. This was too early for anyone to be traveling and it couldn’t possibly be safe – didn’t the pilots need to sleep in sometimes too? She leaned back against the car, shutting her eyes and waiting for her mentor. He had assured her he would be out in just a minute, though that had been nearly fifteen minutes before.

The artifact she was supposed to be delivering straight to the hands of a grateful vampire was tucked safely in the bottom of her bag, along with enough clothes for four days. The trip was only supposed to last for two full days, still, it was good to be prepared, just in case. Never knew when an emergency might pop up, something of Hellmouth-ic proportions.

"Though nothing Hellmouth-y better come up." She muttered, smirking despite herself. This was as much of a vacation as she was likely to get in the near future and she was determined to enjoy it. And that meant that there would be absolutely no murders, maimings, slayings, or other such nonsense during her visit there or else she would be very, very unhappy.

"Giles!" She called, not too loud, but with more than a touch of impatience in her tone. Her plane was leaving at seven and with all the security checkpoints she needed to be there at least an hour early. That wasn’t going to happen at this rate, not with Giles still puttering around in his apartment. She pressed her lips together in a thin line of irritation.

"Calm down, Wills."

The red head whirled, shocked to hear someone behind her, much less the person she had just heard.

"Dawn?"

"In the flesh." The blonde haired young woman yawned. "Tired flesh, that is."

"What’re you doing here?" Willow asked, confused. Her confusion only grew as the blonde stepped around the car, putting her own overnight bag next to Willow’s.

"Going with you. What does it look like?"

"You’re going with me?"

Dawn rolled her eyes and placed a hand on Willow’s shoulder. She grinned and was just a touch sarcastic when she spoke next. "Wake up, sleepyhead. Yes, I’m going with you."

"Huh?" It was the lack of sleep, Willow would tell herself later, that led her to be so incredibly dense with the younger woman.

"You need an espresso." Dawn smirked. "Buffy wanted a little time to herself so she bugged Giles into letting me go along as sort of a late graduation present."

"Ah." Still with the lacking of words, Willow just smiled. This was good, almost as good as getting to go by herself. She would have enjoyed her time alone, but having Dawn along wouldn’t be too much of a stress. She was all grown up and adult-like now, after all; no matter how many times they had tried to shove her back into the mold of childhood that she had outgrown. There was no way to take her back to that point, though; no way to make Dawn the cute young girl they had protected with their lives instead of the beautiful young woman she had become. She sighed, turning and leaning her forehead against the still dew-chilled roof of the car.

"Are we about ready?"

"Been ready, Giles." Willow grumbled good-naturedly without lifting her head.

"Right. Sorry about that. Wanted to make sure you had all the information you needed for when you land."

A tap on her shoulder snapped Willow out of her near-sleep and she jerked around, yawning, to see Giles proffering a sheet of paper at her. Dawn was smirking, finding Willow’s tiredness entirely too amusing. Willow glanced at the piece of paper. Nothing new. Just the phone number and address of the place she would be staying at and the name of the person picking her up at the airport. It seemed like everything was in order.

Now all they had to do was actually get on the plane.

~*~

"Who’s supposed to be picking us up?" Dawn asked, standing awkwardly off to one side of a busy aisle of traffic in the airport. She didn’t see anyone holding up a sign that said ‘Dawn and Willow’. Not even one that said ‘Willow’ –or- ‘Dawn’. What if their contact had forgotten about them? What if they were stranded here, in a strange city, with no idea where to go or who to ask for help? What if –

"Jason." Willow offered, glancing down at the slightly crumpled bit of paper she had just pulled from her jeans pocket. There was a brief description next to it – blonde hair, blue shirt, leather pants.

Leather pants?

"Angelus wannabe?" Dawn asked, only half-joking, as she read over Willow’s shoulder.

Willow snickered, folding up the piece of paper and putting it back in her pocket. She looked around the lobby area of their gate slowly, her eyes scanning over each and every person. She didn’t see anyone that even vaguely fit the description of who she was looking for.

Until she saw the handsome young man hitting on the beautiful blonde in one row of seats. He had blonde hair himself, was wearing a blue shirt that looked like it could possibly be see through and the pants certainly looked like leather. Not patent leather, though, the soft, supple black leather that she had always liked. Could this possibly be their wayward greeter?

"I think I see him." Willow offered by way of explanation before striding quickly through the throng of people. She stepped up next to the young man, ignoring the sensation of creepy crawlies on her skin as she unconsciously strengthened her personal shielding. He was a were-something, of that she was sure. She tapped him lightly on the shoulder, smiling when his baby blue eyes turned her way. "Are you Jason?"

His face went from happy to shamed in less than a second as he realized he had neglected the one duty he had been given – the only reason he had been sent out to the airport, in fact. And how would Jean-Claude react to the fact that he had been sitting here flirting while their guests waited for him? Maybe if he was just charming enough in the meantime, she wouldn’t tell his Master about his lapse when they got back to the Circus.

"That’s me." He smiled, flashing pearly white teeth at her. "Gotta go, Jenna. Was nice meeting you."

Willow smiled at the blonde’s confused expression, watching it change to pure jealousy in a matter of moments. It was funny, especially considering the fact that the woman was jealous of –her-, little Willow Rosenberg was getting jealous death-glares from some bimbo of a blonde just because a handsome man was picking her up at the airport. How fun!

"Dawn’s waiting over there." Willow gestured. She felt a tug on her bag and looked down, letting go when she saw it was just Jason, trying to be a gentleman. He seemed genuinely worried about something, though what that was she wasn’t sure. His eyes were laughing, but behind them lurked something else, a fear she couldn’t name. She didn’t ask about it. Whatever had him rattled was his concern, not hers. She had only just met him, after all.

"Dawn, meet Jason." She smiled as the man took Dawn’s hand, winking at her as he placed a kiss on the back of her knuckles. Dawn, for the most part, just giggled and thanked him, blushing.

‘Guys hit on her all the time but one polite kiss from Jason and suddenly she’s all shy again.’ Willow smirked, shaking her head in amazement. She could see in Dawn’s eyes that the young woman had felt it, too; this man was a shapeshifter. His aura exuded it, brushing against their own each time they got too close. It was like feeling something crawl over your skin, not unpleasant, but disturbing at the wrong times. The way he walked was all wrong, too. Humans didn’t walk that way, not with the prowling grace of a predator. Whatever he was, she knew it was something carnivorous, and was betting on werewolf. But it was impolite to ask, so she waited patiently, wondering if any other clues would come up.

She didn’t have to wait long for the actual truth to slap her in the face. Not even a minute, for that matter.

"Werewolf."

Willow blinked in surprise. "Huh?"

"I could see it in your eyes." Jason purred, stepping close to Willow. "You were wondering what I was."

She tilted her head to the side in acknowledgement.

"You’re observant." She grinned at him.

"And you’re beautiful." He teased, gathering Dawn’s bag into his hands. "But that’s enough with the compliments, for now. I have my orders to get you back to the Circus in one piece."

"Circus?" Dawn asked, her brow furrowed in confusion. "We’re going to a Circus? With like, lions and tigers and bears? Because, you know, I’m against animal enslavement."

"The only animals at this circus are shifters." Jason grinned. "And we actually –enjoy- the enslaving part."

Willow stifled a laugh at the look on Dawn’s face as the young woman realized that Jason’s comment, coupled with the sexy leer he had thrown her way, was meant to be taken in a completely different way than she normally would have taken it. That blush that had flashed over her face only moments before returned with a vengeance, leaving her stuttering and stammering.

"Poor Dawnie." The red head murmured, wrapping an arm around the younger woman’s shoulder when Jason turned to lead them out of the airport to the car.

"Yeah." Dawn whispered, wondering if she’d ever meet someone that could top the impression she already had of Jason. He was handsome, flirty and more than a little naughty. And he had flirted with –her-! This was going to be the best vacation ever! And there was no Buffy here to be all older-sister like and stop her from having a little fun. Just Willow, who still understood what it was like to be young. She felt a smile pull at her lips and abandoned herself to it, giving Willow a smirking grin.

"Poor, poor, me."

~*~Part Four~*~

It was still only mid-afternoon by the time they reached the place so tastefully labeled as the Circus of the Damned. Posters on the outside of the building proclaimed that inside they could see vampires, were-people, and other assorted creatures of the supernatural variety. There were no elephants here. Nor tigers and lions. No, here were creatures that were completely sentient being put on display for the amusement of others. That was acceptable to Willow, whereas a normal circus was distasteful. At least the entertainment here had a choice.

Or did they?

The Circus was owned by the Master of the City, of course. Maybe some of these creatures, especially the vampires, had no choice but to exploit themselves for an audience that wanted to be thrilled and horrified.

Willow sighed, letting Jason once again take her bag. He carried it easily, that werewolf strength of his coming through nicely. The girls followed along behind him, with Dawn smiling a secret little smile. She had warmed up to his innocent flirting easily enough during the drive from the airport to the Circus and now she was eyeing him like a piece of meat.

And he seemed to like it.

The red head hid a smile as he put a little extra wiggle in his step, showing off for the blonde that he knew was watching him from behind. Dawn smothered a giggle with her hand, giving Willow a knowing wink. This vacation was turning out to be very, very nice so far. Much better than three days on the Hellmouth would have been.

The interior of the Circus was dark except for a few walkway and emergency lights that had been left on after closing. That didn’t seem to faze Jason, though. He kept right on walking in the near-darkness, leading them with unerring surety into the back halls of the establishment. He stopped, fishing a key out of his pocket, and unlocked a door set so far into the wall that Willow hadn’t even noticed. She supposed that was what was intended, of course. Who except those that had a need to know would actually have any reason to know about the inner workings of the building?

"These are the back suites of the Circus." Jason explained, opening the door and ushering the two young women in. The lights were already on and he could see a small amount of open curiosity on their faces. Whatever they had expected, this certainly wasn’t it.

"Wow." Dawn said at last. Her face was lit up by a smile. The room they had stepped into was decorated gorgeously in black and white, with splashes of red thrown in for just the right mix of color. This was obviously a sitting room, with couches and chairs that matches the walls and carpet sitting around. The carpet itself was lovely in a white shag that looked like a faux fur. She inhaled and the smile only grew. Those flowers in the corner were fresh, she could smell them from here.

"I’ll second your wow and raise you an ‘amazing’." Willow snickered, trailing her hand over the arm of one of the chairs to see if it was just as soft as it looked.

It was.

"What is it about dead guys and their interior decorating sense?" Dawn chuckled, forgetting Jason for the moment and just abandoning herself to the sheer luxuriousness of the room.

"Dunno." Willow shrugged. "Not like Spike has any taste – though Angel has enough to make up for him, I s’pose."

Dawn nodded, Jason just questioned.

"Angel? Spike?"

"Vampires we know back home." Willow explained, giving him a smile. She had completely forgotten that he was even in the room with her. Embarrassing, almost.

Jason nodded, returning her smile with one of his own.

"I’ll show you to the rooms Jean-Claude laid aside for you. He and Damien will be up in a few hours."

The women followed Jason through a door off to one side of the room, opposite from where they had come in through. It led further into the Circus by way of a long hallway. There were doors on either side of the hall, at least five per side.

"I’m just across the hall, so if you two need anything just let me know." He opened one of the doors, gesturing for Willow and Dawn to take a look. "This one and the one to the right. You chose who gets which."

Willow liked the room she was looking at, done in soft creams and golds, but Dawn already had that look on her face – the one that said she was enthralled at first sight. The red head stifled a giggle and opened the second door Jason had indicated, gasping herself. This one was more to her liking, with dark greens and shades of grayish silver. She turned to her left, giving Dawn a grin.

"I’ll take this one."

"Fine by me." The blonde smirked. She turned back to Jason. "Thanks for the help."

"Sure you don’t need some more help? Some company maybe?" The leer he gave her was pure sex, as if he was the emotion personified. Good thing Dawn had a good head on her shoulders.

The young woman laughed, laughing a playful hand on his chest. "Thanks, but I think I’ll just take a nap. Freshen up for tonight."

Jason smirked. "Like I said – I’m just across the hall if you need me." Then he was back to being Mr. Almost-Serious, giving them instructions. "It would be best if you don’t wander around on your own, so if you need something or feel restless, just come get me. Not everyone who lives here is aware that we have guests and…" He paused, as if debating whether or not to say more. In the end, he decided to err on the side of caution. "Some of the residents of the Circus aren’t always the most … polite."

Willow nodded, taking his warning for what it was worth. They wouldn’t go wandering around without him. She smiled a thanks and retreated into her room, knowing from the closing door sound that came right after that Dawn had done likewise. She looked down at her bag and then at the bed. Taking a shower seemed like heaven at the moment, but she was still tired from waking so early, and the plane ride had been far from restful.

"Sleep now." She decided. "Shower later."

~*~

Willow barely had a chance to finish her shower and dress, after a much deserved nap, before someone knocked on her door. She ran a brush through her hair one last time and answered, smiling at the familiar face on the other side.

"Damian and Jean-Claude are ready to see you."

The red head had known all along that the Master of the City would be there when she presented Damian with the artifact Giles has procured, but now that the time had come for that audience she felt, well, nervous. Angel and Spike were powerful, but they weren’t Masters of any city, nor were they even the same –type- of vampire as these two that she was about to meet with.

Yep, there are different kinds of vampires – shocking, huh?

"One sec." Willow muttered, turning back into her room. She left the door open and heard as he stepped inside. Too late she realized that her dirty clothes were still out from her shower, and she knew right away that Jason had seen them, and her oh-so-cute white thong.

"Didn’t picture you as the type to wear one of these." He grinned, picking up the delicate piece of white satin. His fingers slid across the cool surface of the cloth, as if absorbing the sensation through his touch alone.

"Put those down!" She hissed, glaring at him until he did so. Only then did she turn back to what she had been doing, getting the artifact from her bag. She pulled it free and removed the shipping materials from it, revealing an idol very much like what she would imagine very old vampires to have had when they were human.

Jason arched an eyebrow. Her whole trip was just to bring –that- back to Damian? The blonde haired werewolf shook his head. Vampires certainly were odd creatures.

"You ready?"

Willow nodded and took one last, calming breath, before following Jason out of her room. She shut the door behind her in case any other nosy, panty-loving types were wandering the halls. No need letting the entire world know that she was a thong kind of girl.

"Let me get Dawn –" Her voice trailed off when Jason shook his head, a small smile on his lips.

"She’s already with them."

"WHAT?" Willow screeched, her eyes flashing a dangerous color in anger.

"She’s by herself with two vampires?"

Jason swallowed, fear racing through him. This woman was much more than she looked like. Not human. Not were. Not a member of the living dead. But more powerful than anyone he had ever felt before, save –maybe- Anita when she was in a bad mood. The cool touch of her power flowed across his skin, burningly cold like ice, and chilled him to the very bone.

"My Master told me to bring the two of you. She was ready, you were still showering. She wanted to go." He gasped. "Please… stop…."

The witch glared at him one final time before allowing her black-tinged eyes to fade back to their normally green color.

"If so much as a single hair on her head has been harmed I will skin you alive and use your flesh as a rug."

With that she turned, sending her power out ahead of her. She found Dawn right away, back down the hall they had initially came in through. There were two others with her. One so powerful it made the red head’s probe jump back in alarm and one that wasn’t nearly as powerful or as impressive.

She stopped outside of the door and took another deep breath, willing her anger to melt away until such time as it was needed again. Jason had finally joined her again and it was him that opened the door, revealing the sitting room they had passed through upon their arrival.

Dawn was seated in one of the plush black chairs, her back to Willow. The red head felt her heart lighten just a little when the young woman laughed. It was clean and clear and lacking any fear or anger, just as Willow wanted it to be. She wouldn’t be able to live with herself if anything happened to the blonde haired woman.

"Miss Rosenberg," A silky voice purred. "How nice of you to join us."

Willow turned to face the owner of the voice and tried not to gape openly at him. He was, in a word, beautiful. Not ruggedly handsome or overly GQ-ish. No, he was –beautiful-, the type of beauty women would die for. His long black hair flowed easily to his shoulders, subtle waving curls bringing out the body in it. His eyes were like ice, piercing hers with a look that said both welcome and ‘beware’. Without even opening her other senses back up, she knew that this was the Master of St. Louis.

Which meant that the other vampire in the room, the one with red hair that was falling well past his waist, the one with green eyes so much like her own.

Well that had to be Damian.

The dark haired vampire had moved around the desk by the time she turned her attention back to him, and was now standing only a few short feet from her. His eyes were still cautious and she didn’t blame him. It was her who had just filled the Circus with her power when her anger with Jason overwhelmed her.

"Sorry about that." She muttered. "Got a little worried when Dawn wasn’t still in her room, waiting for me." A glare sent Dawn’s way let the younger woman know just –how- displeased she was about that. Surely the blonde had learned something during all of her years on the Hellmouth? Like not going off alone to have conversations with not just one, but –two- centuries old vampires?

Jean-Claude tilted his head to the side in silent acceptance of her apology. He knew the real reason behind her worry, but it was all very politic not to say out loud that the guest in his home had been worried that her little friend was becoming an early evening snack.

"You find your rooms pleasing?"

"Very much so." Now Willow could stand to smile genuinely. The room had been great, her opinion of it made ever so much higher when she had walked in to the bathroom and seen for the first time that the tub was large enough for her to stretch out with ease and let the warm waters soak her aching muscles. It had been heaven. If only her own home had such a luxury. "Thank you for letting us stay here."

"It was the least I could do, Miss Rosenberg, since you are returning something much prized by my associate."

"Please, call me Willow. Miss Rosenberg makes me feel so old."

"And you are far from old."

Willow turned to Damian, her smile widening. She could hear Dawn gasp in her chair as the red haired vampire made his way across the room, taking the witch’s hand in his own. His lips grazed the back of her hand, a gentle kiss to her skin. Willow knew what it felt like at that moment to have someone look at her the way all of the fairytales always made love out to be. The contact of his lips on her skin was like electricity pouring through her veins and ending in her heart with a warm, tingling rush. From the look on his face, he had felt it, too.

She smiled, hesitantly, and offered him the idol that she had been cradling in her other arm. He took it with his free hand, hardly glancing at it before turning his attention back to Willow and the hand that he was still holding.

"Well, now." Jean-Claude murmured to Dawn, looking from Damian to Willow and back again. "This is interesting."

Dawn nodded, grinning despite herself.

So that’s what love at first sight looked like.

~*~Part Five~*~

If the world had ceased at the moment Willow looked into Damian’s eyes, green so much like her own, she wouldn’t have been able to tell the difference. Standing there, his hand holding onto hers, it was as though time itself ceased to exist. She felt lightheaded and the fog in her head was similar to that of a dreaming state.

But this was no dream.

She licked her lips, forcing them into a smile as he continued to just hold onto her hand, his thumb tracing patterns on the back of it in an almost unconscious manner. She wondered if he were even aware that he was doing it, but didn’t want to point it out for fear that he would stop.

And she certainly didn’t want him to stop.

Someone clearing their throat, however, ruined the moment. Willow jerked her hand away in sudden realization that she was still in a room with others outside of her little lusty world and that they had witnessed what had felt like a very private moment. She turned, her face flushing a pinkish color, to see a rather amused Dawn and a laughing Master of the City.

"What?" She snapped, her eyes flashing from Dawn to Jean-Claude.

"Nothing, ma petite." The Master chuckled. The sound was like a hand, caressing every part of Willow’s skin. Under any other circumstance it probably would have felt orgasmically good, but coming down off of the feelings she had just silently exchanged with Damian, it was nothing special; and she shrugged it off without a flinch.

"Willow?"

The red head turned back to Damian, the sound of his voice doing what Jean-Claude had been unable to. It woke within her feelings of intense desire and passion. She knew that something had to be happening, something monumental or planned, for her to be feeling this way so suddenly over someone that she had just met. But that wasn’t going to stop her from just going along with it. She had been alone for far too long to throw away a chance at having some companionship, even if it was only to be for a few days.

"Would you care to accompany me to dinner tonight?"

Willow was floored. Would she care to accompany him? Of course she’d *care* to! She’d be thrilled, ecstatic, awestruck –

"I’d love to." She smiled.

~*~

"Well," Dawn muttered. "Guess I’m on my own for tonight." She sighed, turning her head away from the happy new couple.

Jean-Claude arched an eyebrow at the pretty blonde standing next to him. She seemed to be a delightful person; there was no reason for her to spend her time here alone.

"I can arrange for you to spend some more time with Jason if you like." He offered in a sincere attempt to be helpful.

The attempt was met with a laugh.

"No thanks. He’s a nice guy and all, but he flirts –way- too much. He’d end up doing something that would make my sister fly out and castrate him."

That brought a smile to Jean-Claude’s pale face and Dawn was relieved. She had regretted the words almost instantly, not wanting to offend him in some small way. But it appeared that he wasn’t offended in the least. In fact, he seemed to be thinking the matter over in more depth now that she had made her objection clear.

"I believe," He began, slowly. "That I may know of someone else that would be more…appropriate. He is more shy than Jason. Would you like me to arrange this for you? Some company at the Circus tonight, perhaps?"

Dawn thought it over for a moment. If Jean-Claude thought that this other guy was a safer alternative to Jason, she would have to believe him. She didn’t want to spend the night alone, after all, no matter how many wild and wondrous things there were to see in the Circus. Jean-Claude would have duties as the owner, and Willow would be leaving. Jason, as she had already pointed out, wasn’t safe for herself or him. In the prospect of loneliness or what amounted to a blind date, she made the obvious choice.

"Sounds great. And, thank you." She added as an afterthought.

"You are most welcome." He smiled, fangs showing. "Now, shall we leave the lovebirds alone and I will make my phone call?"

Dawn nodded, giving Damian and Willow one last, lingering look filled with innocent jealousy, before following the dark haired vampire out of the room; her mind already going over what she would wear for her own date that night.

~*~

Damian looked over at his dinner companion, hiding a smile as she picked delicately at the food she had ordered. A steak, medium rare, some sort of green vegetable, and diced red potatoes. It didn’t looked appealing to him, but she was certainly enjoying it. The wine was red and was something he had ordered; she had admitted quite readily to not knowing the first thing about wines.

Yet another charming thing about her.

The rational part of his mind wondered what was going on. What was it about her that made him just want to hold her, make her his for all of time, and then take her to bed; all in that order.

The part of him that was a vampire, though, and a sane man, was rebelling at the idea that this little slip of a woman already had him under her power so firmly. But, he conceded, the same could be said in reverse. She was just as firmly in his grasp as he was in hers.

They were, to put it bluntly, quite a pair.

"Any idea why this is happening?" Willow asked quite suddenly, placing her fork on her plate. She steepled her hands in front of her, resting her chin on their interwoven lengths.

"Not a clue." Damian admitted. "It is overwhelming, but not in an unpleasant way."

"Except that we’re both behaving as though we’ve lost our wits." She smirked gently, saying what he had not said. "I don’t mind falling head over heels for someone. But this doesn’t feel natural. It almost feels – "

"Preordained?" The red haired vampire arched an eyebrow. "Like fate is pulling us along in her slimy grasps?"

Willow snickered and took a sip of her wine before answering.

"Yes, something like that. I don’t really believe in Fate, though. Too fickle a mistress for me."

Damian nodded. He didn’t really believe in Fate either. But what else could explain Willow coming into possession of a family heirloom he had thought lost centuries ago? If she was ‘meant’ for him there wasn’t a better way to have gotten them together.

"I guess we could just go along with it." Willow murmured after a length pause during which she finished off the rest of the potatoes that were lingering on her plate.

‘It’s not as if you have men beating down your door, Rosenberg,’ she chided herself. ‘Why over analyze this until you lose this one chance, too?’

"Can you handle it?" Damian asked, all playing gone from his tone, his face. "You fight alongside the Slayer. Can you really handle dating a vampire? It’s not all picnics and roses. Nothing like what they show in the movies. We’re predators."

The witch hid a smile of her own. It would be inappropriate to laugh at the look on his face, even though it was so utterly adorable. She knew what vampires were, probably better than ninety-nine percent of the human population and even some actual vampires. She had been slaying since she was fifteen. And he was actually sitting there, warning her away from him? She couldn’t help it, the smile came shining through.

"You don’t believe me?" Her companion asked, sounding a touch wounded.

"It’s not that." She hurried to reassure him. "It’s just that – you said it, I fight alongside the Slayer. I know what you are. I know the dangers of dating one of your kind. And I’m willing to give it a shot. The whole kissing thing might take some practice though, never actually got smoochie with one of you."

He watched a blush creep across her face as she realized what she had said.

"Does that mean that you would –like- to get ‘smoochie’ with –me-?" He projected his voice low, silky. It was one of the few seduction tricks he had managed to perfect in all of his years and it had nothing to do with vampire powers or prowess. It was just a matter of knowing you were good at something and using it to your advantage.

Willow took a deep breath, rising to the bait that was being waved in front of her like a tantalizing piece of chocolate.

"Yes, Damian. I think I’d like that very much, indeed."

~*~Part Eight~*~

Morning saw Dawn waking up next to Nathaniel, her night with the wereleopard being the first of what she hoped would be many. Going back to Sunnydale, back to that life that she had left to go on this little trip, seemed so boring now. Nathaniel was here. And, judging by the fact she had heard moans and screams coming from Willow’s room during the night, Willow was likely to be staying here as well.

"Thinking already?"

The blonde haired woman rolled on her side to face Nathaniel. Her eyes darted instinctively to the marks on his wrists. Handcuff marks. Magically enhanced handcuffs, the kind Willow always carried for emergencies.

And, in this case, they had been used for just that – an emergency. Or, at least, that’s what she called the situation she had found herself in with Nathaniel last night. All worked up and ready for a good round of ‘fuck-me-senseless’ when he had been the voice of reason and pointed out to her that he would most likely loose control if he were to climax. Thankfully, she hadn’t been too far gone to remember the handcuffs.

Double thankfully, Nathaniel seemed to enjoy being cuffed to the bed. He had come close to shifting, his nails lengthening to claws as he came deep within her, but his beast had relaxed the moment he came down from his orgasm.

Leaving them free to do it again and again.

Of course, by the end of the night his wrists were rubbed raw. He had brushed off her cooing worry, reminding her that he would heal, and quickly.

"Still worried about me?" Nathaniel whispered softly, his eyes following hers to the marks on his wrists. They were still sore, even hours after their ‘fun’ had ended, but it was a good kind of pain. Which wasn’t saying much, he conceded, all pain was good to him.

"Not worried." Dawn shook her head. She leaned in to kiss him gently on his lips. "Just amazed. The only shifter I ever knew was Oz and he tried so hard to be normal. We never saw him do anything even remotely supernatural except around the full moon. I never saw him heal anything like this," She gestured at Nathaniel’s wrists. "So quickly."

"Mmm." Nathaniel murmured. Her fingers were on his wrists now, rubbing at the lightly pink still-healing wounds. He closed his eyes and hissed in pleasure as her fingers found a particularly sensitive spot of skin, where the wound wasn’t quite as healed as the others.

"Oh! Sorry!" Dawn gasped, pulling her hands back with a whimper of sadness, mistaking his pleasure for pain. She hadn’t meant to hurt him.

"Don’t be." Nathaniel grinned, opening one violet eye to look at her, a half-grin on his face. "That wasn’t the sound of someone in pain, Dawn."

"It – wasn’t?"

Nathaniel snorted. She was so naïve. So innocent. A far cry from what he, himself, was. But, as far as he was concerned, that was a good thing.

"I like pain." He murmured, rolling over onto his hands and knees to kneel above her. "I like the way it feels, hurt and pleasure." He kissed her collarbone, nipping lightly at the delicate skin. "I like to be chained up, tied up, cuffed to the bed."

"Oh." Dawn whispered, weakly, her higher thinking shutting down as his mouth continued on, lower and lower. Down across her stomach and then –

They could talk some more later.

After she cuffed him to the bed again.

~*~

When Willow woke the sun was already high in the sky, though that was only an assumption since her room, like all of the rooms at the Circus, had no windows. The clock on her nightstand said it was after one in the afternoon, though. Definitely time to be getting up.

Damian was gone. He had left a little before dawn to seek the solace of his own room. She hadn’t asked if that included a coffin or a bed. Little things like that didn’t seem to matter in light of what they had shared together.

Passion.

Pleasure.

That thin line between pain and ecstasy.

She lifted a hand to her neck, groaning in a mix of despair and heaven as her fingers found the two little holes she knew would be there. She ran her fingers over them lightly, reveling in the feeling that ran from them, down through her chest and stomach, and culminated right at the very center of her being, between her legs. She moaned, her back instinctively arching, as though she could still feel Damian above her, in her, moving back and forth with the weight of his own desires.

If this is what being with a vampire felt like, Willow had to admit she was stupid for waiting so long to give it a shot.

She reluctantly pulled her hand down from the bites, allowing her heated body to cool down. Damian wouldn’t wake until sunset and she had no desire to please herself.

"One downside to dating a vampire." She murmured to herself, swinging her legs over the edge of the bed. The cold air of the room hit her like a brick wall the second she was out from beneath her blankets and she shivered, the fine hairs on her arms standing up. The icy touch of the air was like the touch of her new lover’s fingers and, inevitably, drew her mind back to him, even as she began to get dressed for the day.

And all the thoughts led to one place.

Surprisingly, that place did not involve a bed or sex.

‘We leave tomorrow.’ She thought miserably. ‘No – we’re supposed to leave tomorrow. I don’t want to go. Buffy was awfully eager to get me away, anyway. I don’t think she’d care if I just stay. I can get a job doing some magic work on the side. Maybe some locating and supernatural detective type stuff. Research girl, back in action.’

Except, this time she’d be on her own.

Or so she thought.

~*~Part Nine~*~

Dawn glared at her cell phone, the little display already reading her home phone number. All she had to do was push ‘call’ and it would dial the number, ringing Buffy back in Sunnydale.

But how do you tell your sister that you have absolutely no intention of coming home the next day and maybe not ever again?

The young woman sat back against her headboard. Nathaniel was gone. His friends would be worried about him by now since he hadn’t even called. No – not friends. His ‘pard’, his family. She smiled. His family cared about him.

Dawn wished Buffy cared for her enough to worry. She hadn’t even gotten a single call ‘just to check in’ since she’d landed in St. Louis. Oh sure, it was all fine and well to assume that everything was going good, but that was assuming and assuming was definitely of the bad. Not something that good adults or worried sisters should be doing.

On the flip side – Dawn hadn’t called her either. But younger sisters were supposed to be irresponsible, she told herself. She was the younger sister, Buffy was the older – therefore Buffy needed to be doing a little more worrying than she obviously was.

"I mean, all I did was write her a note – ‘Going to St. Louis with Willow. Be back soon.’. Was that really enough for her?"

The answer was painfully obvious.

Yes.

Yes, it was good enough.

Buffy didn’t worry. Didn’t call.

"Dawn, you in there?"

The blonde’s head snapped up at the sound of Willow’s voice just on the other side of her bedroom door. She cleared her cell phone screen, tossing the bit of plastic to the bed.

"Yeah. Come in."

The witch poked her head in the door, smiling brightly at the younger woman. She eyed the rumpled bed sheets meaningfully, and smirked as she caught sight of her own handcuffs, still latched onto the bed.

"Have a good night, Dawnie?"

Dawn blushed scarlet, pulling a pillow up to cover the already noticed cuffs.

"Yeah. Great night." She stammered, feeling the heat in her face like a fire was brewing inside her head.

Willow chuckled, sitting gingerly on the edge of the bed.

"Well – " She began, looking everywhere except Dawn’s face. "I came in here to tell you something. And there’s really no easy way to say it, I guess. So I’ll just get right to the point. I’m not going back to Sunnydale."

"Good!" Dawn nodded emphatically. "You can help me find a job here since I don’t plan on going back either."

"Wh- What?" Willow stammered, blinking in uncanny shock at the other woman. "Oh, no, Dawnie. You can’t do that. Buffy will kill me if you stay here. She’ll hunt me down and make Willow confetti out of my skin –"

"You know she can’t touch you." Dawn scoffed. "You’re super powerful uber witch girl. The Slayer wouldn’t stand a chance."

"Maybe." Willow nodded. "But she’d hurt Damian. Or that young wereleopard that was in here last night with you. What was his name again?"

"Nathaniel." Dawn blushed contritely. But then, remembering the conversation, she backtracked quite well. "But let’s not talk about him, or Damian, right now. I need to be able to live my life how I want to do it, Wills." She sighed. "I need to get away from her. You know how she is lately. Controlling. Domineering. Like we’re all here for her personal enjoyment and when we quit being amusing she –"

"Sends us off to St. Louis." The witch muttered darkly. That was exactly the reason she had been sent away. She knew that now, had known it in her heart for forever, it seemed. From the moment Buffy had brightly ‘volunteered’ her to get on that plane. She frowned down at the sheet, half slipped from the corner of the bed.

"Do you really want to do this?" She asked finally, looking up into Dawn’s eyes. "If you do it – there may not be any going back. You know that, right?"

Dawn nodded once, slowly. She understood completely the ramifications of what she was proposing to do. Buffy would likely never take her back if she did this, broke ties. They would still be sisters, and she knew that Buffy would eventually cool off enough for them to talk again, but there wouldn’t be any ‘going home’. If she did this then this was it. Period. St. Louis, or wherever she ended up, would have to be her home.

"I’m sure, Willow." She nodded again. "I need to do this. To get on with my life. You do, too."

Willow didn’t answer her. They just sat that way, each thinking that what they were doing was ‘right’ or ‘necessary’. And, indeed, in many ways it was. Buffy was on a one way track to disaster the way things were going. And there was nothing they could do to stop it. Like a train about to crash, it was best to just get out of the way and pray for the best.

"You need to call her." Willow pointed to the discarded cell phone, half hidden amongst the bed covers.

"So do you."

Willow snorted.

"I don’t owe her any explanations, Dawn. She practically threw me on the plane to get me out of Sunnydale. I don’t think she’ll be too heartbroken that I’ve decided to just stay away. You’re her sister, though. So – explain to her that you need to do this."

Dawn glared at her friend, relenting slowly when Willow put on and maintained her resolve face. There was no point in arguing in light of that. She reached for the cell phone, her hand trembling with pure nerves.

"Will you stay here with me while I do it?" She whispered.

"Of course." Willow smiled, laying back on the bed and closing her eyes. She heard the tiny beeps of the cell phone and then silence. It was ringing. She was calling Buffy and soon they’d be on their own. Hopefully Buffy would just let Dawn go and not create a scene.

And then Dawn began to babble, nearly without breathing, in a manner that Willow recognized as her own. She hid a smile and listened.

"Buffy – I need to tell you something. I’ve met someone. He’s nice. Great even. Treats me like a goddess."

"Sex goddess." Willow whispered to herself.

"And I want to stay here and get to know him better. There’s lots of jobs. I’ll be fine. We can still call and write and –"

"What do you mean that you sent Willow away to stay and not me? You –wanted- Willow to never come back?"

Willow felt her forehead crease in consternation. At least Buffy wasn’t bothering to conceal her duplicity anymore.

"You just wanted to keep her away from Spike? Wanted her to find a vamp of her own? Buffy – that’s just sick. Pathetic even. Willow never wanted Spike. –"

Willow cracked open an eye, fighting back the laughter inside of her. So that’s why Buffy had been so eager to get rid of her. Scared that she might start edging her way into the vampire dating community in Sunnydale. That girl really needed to learn to quit fucking the vampires and just do her sacred duty. She glanced over at Dawn, rolling her eyes. The blonde was holding her cell phone about a foot from her ear, eyes closed and mouth twisted into a grimace of pure annoyance.

"Say goodbye, Dawnie." Willow murmured loud enough for the other woman to hear.

Dawn caught the hint and nodded to her friend, putting the phone back to her ear.

"Listen, Buff. I’m staying. I’m still your sister whether you like it or not and I’ll call you next week so we can talk again. Don’t bother calling my cell phone, I’ll just turn it off."

And with that, she hung up.

For a long moment they just stared at each other – Dawn thinking of what her sister had been saying and Willow thinking of the snippets of the conversation she had been able to pick up on.

And then they began to laugh.

~*~Part Ten~*~

Sunrise didn’t come quick enough for Willow. She paced from one side of her room to the other, impatiently waiting for the moment a knock would come on her door, announcing the arrival of the vampire she had fallen head over heels for. The moment when she would feel his lips on her lips, then her arms, her neck –

And other places that made her blush still just thinking about them.

He was definitely a master of the mouth. Leave it to vampires to have an oral fixation.

"Willow?"

Damian’s voice traveled through the door, followed by a swift knock. The red head nearly flew to the door, throwing it open. She flung herself into his arms, her lips crashing into his. Not even taken aback, Damian responded in kind, his mouth parting readily for her tongue.

"Miss me?" He chuckled.

"Just a little." She admitted jokingly, pulling him into the room. The moment the door shut her mood dampened just a little. She had made some big decisions today without even consulting him and only in the last hour had she even thought to realize that he might not want her to be with him here, in St. Louis. In fact, she had pretty much written off her life back in Sunnydale without knowing if she had a future.

"So…" She murmured, sitting on the edge of her bed and looking up at him.

Damian looked down at her, his hand absently caressing the hand that he still held.

"There is something you wish to speak with me regarding?"

Willow chuckled lightly at the matter-of-fact tone of voice he used.

"Well, yes." She blushed. "There is, I guess."

She took a deep breath, sparing him another glance before fixing her eyes firmly on the thick carpet.

"Tomorrow I’m going to start looking for an apartment here, in St. Louis. And a job. I’ll need one of those, too, I guess. So much to do." She snickered to herself. "Gotta contact the post office, put in a change of address. Well, need to find a new address first and all. Then call my credit card company. Oh, oh! I’ll have to have utilities turned on. In that apartment I haven’t found yet…"

Damian couldn’t resist the broad, gleeful smile that had broken out on his face, nor could he hide it from the woman sitting in front of him, as she continued to babble, still staring intently at the floor.

"So – I guess what I’m trying to say is that I’ll be hanging around St. Louis for a while and, you know, we could still see each other if you like."

"I would like that." He agreed immediately, causing her to stare up at him in shock.

"Wow. No asking me if I know what I’m doing? No second-guessing me? No nothing. Just like that, huh?"

The vampire nodded and sat down beside her. He pulled her into his arms, placing a chaste kiss on her forehead even though his body wanted and desired much more than that each and every time they got this close to each other.

"You do not need me to question you or badger you with concerns." He told her gently. "You are your own person and that is quite enough for me." Again a smile and then, "Besides, I had come down to your room to try to convince you to stay. You’ve made my task all the more easy."

Willow felt a laugh bubble up from within her, spilling from her mouth in a ringing rush of sound. Looking down, she found that her hand was running quite nicely up and down Damian’s thigh, perhaps accounting for that increasingly distant look in his eyes? She smirked, pulling him down as she lay back, so that they were side by side in each other’s arms.

"Well – now that that’s settled ---"

~*~

Dawn looked around the apartment she would be sharing with Willow, a smile gracing her features. Her eyes were tired and her back hurt from moving around the little furniture they had already purchased, but still she was happy.

"And tell me again why you didn’t call me or Jason or anyone to help you move your things?"

The blonde turned to give Nathaniel an impish grin.

"Well… We sometimes forget that we have superstrong handsome men willing to move things for us. Takes some getting used to, you know."

Nathaniel snorted, rolling his eyes in good humor.

"Sure it does."

Dawn grinned, sidling up to him, the exhaustion in her eyes replaced with lust.

"And, of course." She purred into the auburn haired man’s ear, "Now my back hurts and I think I’ll need a back rub."

She pulled back, putting on her best ‘innocent’ look.

Which of course he didn’t fall for in the slightest.

"Next time you want a back rub, just ask."

Dawn moaned low in her throat, his hands already working to ease the kinks out of her back while she stood there, surrounded by boxes of hers and Willow’s things that Xander had been nice enough to rescue from Buffy. The same Buffy who had yet to call her back or even try to contact her in any way since that day, almost a week ago, when she had told her that she wouldn’t be coming back to Sunnydale.

It made her heart ache, to know that her sister was so stubborn and closed minded that she was being this way. But Dawn knew this was for the best. She needed to be her own woman. Not the Key. Not the sister of the Slayer. Not the little girl that had trailed along behind the Scoobies for years. She wanted to be just plain old Dawn Summers, girl on her own (though not really) in St. Louis, making a life for herself.

And what a life it was, she thrilled internally just as Nathaniel’s lips grabbed her moaning mouth for a searing kiss.

~*~

Damian paused outside the door to Willow’s apartment, the red head nearly running into him. He tilted his head to the side, listening with a quiet smile to the noises coming from within.

"Go on, then." She pouted playfully. "Open the door. That’s why I gave you a key, you know."

The vampire shook his head.

"Why don’t we go back to the Circus, my Red, and explore the pleasures of each other there? I have a feeling your apartment is quite…occupied…at the moment."

Willow opened her mouth to argue, only to snap it shut again. She giggled, blushing at the idea of her friend in there, no doubt with Nathaniel, going at it like bunnies.

"That sounds like a perfect idea." She smiled at him, stepping close enough to take his arm. As they turned to leave, though, she couldn’t resist one last parting shot, a scream aimed at the door of her apartment and the two young people currently inside.

"Go Dawnie! Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do."

And she missed the muffled response, being too far away to hear it.

"That’s not saying much, Wills."

~*~The End~*~