Author: Jinni (druscilla@cox.net)

Rated: R

Pairing: W/Wesley

Disclaimer: Not mine - all hail Joss.

WARNING: This entire fic takes place very close to the current timeline and
TAKES INTO ACCOUNT SPOILERS AND PICTURES I HAVE READ/SEEN OF THE REMAINING
EPISODES FOR THIS SEASON!!!! Do not read this fic until after this season is
over if you don't want me to give anything away.

Author's Note: On a different note - some of these things are made up entirely
out of my own wicked imagination.

Summary: W&H sends a new hire out to tempt Wesley to the 'dark side'.

Feedback: Is like food to a starving woman - feed me?

~*~Part One~*~

If he had been given any choice in this matter, Daniel certainly wouldn't have
wanted to be a part of this assignment. He sighed, looking around the dim bar,
hazel eyes scouting for the one person he had traveled hundreds of miles to
find. He wrinkled his nose in disgust as another wave of foul; alcohol-laden
air filled his nostrils. "Next time Gavin and Lilah want something they can
just do it themselves." He muttered, continuing to scan the crowd. "Little
prick thinks he's too good to do his own dirty work."

Ah. There she was. He smirked, finding the woman he was looking for sitting in
the back of the bar, her own eyes playing across the crowd as though she too
were looking for someone.

And then her eyes met his and he felt his heart freeze in place. He could tell
just by the way she met his gaze, unflinching, that she knew he was there for
her. Through the film of cigarette smoke he could see one corner of her mouth
curl up in a smirk and knew what it was to be truly afraid. The file said that
this woman, no - girl, had been granted the powers of Hell itself. She still
had a soul - had even saved one of her friends according to the reports his
firm had received. But there was something dark inside of her now - a force to
be reckoned with for sure.

Daniel took another gulp of his drink, placing the now empty glass on the table
and leaving some money for the bill. He could feel her eyes still on him,
boring into him like ice-cold daggers into his soul itself. Gathering his
courage around him like a shield, he stood from his table and flashed her a
grin from across the room. "Gavin.you owe me for this one."

The space between them closed as he pushed through the crowded bar. Only when
he was closer to the woman did he stop to reconsider if he had the right
person. The picture he had been given had indicated that his subject was a red
haired beauty. This woman was no such thing. Shoulder-length black hair hung
loosely about her face and, though she was still beautiful, it was the type of
beauty that could wrap itself around a man's heart and slowly kill him from one
look. He took a deep breath and walked the last few steps to her table. "Do you
mind if I join you?"

"And if I say I do?" She asked, turning black eyes to him. "Will you take your
little offer and run off like the scared rat you are?" She licked her lips,
smiling devilishly. "You can't do that, though. Can you? Run away? Your masters
will have you for supper if you don't come back with me." Her hand inched
across the table until she could run her nails over the skin of his hand. Her
smile widened when he shivered. "Besides. You've been following me for days.
Wouldn't do to just run away now, would it?"

"N-No." Daniel stuttered, alternating between wanting to pull his hand away
from her or just letting her have that and the rest of him if she wanted to.
There was a pull to her, an attraction that he was sure wasn't wholly natural
but didn't quite care. Images of having her in his bed, even for one night, ran
through his mind.

"Later, little man." She whispered, withdrawing her hand from his. "First tell
me what you've come to offer me. I assume my sources were correct - you're here
to offer me a job?"

The man nodded, trying to clear his head of the fog that seemed to come with
being around her. "My employer, Wolfram and Hart, would like to offer you a job
with our company. Full benefits, nice salary, fully paid condo. The very best."

"You're a lawyer. Your company is a law firm. What do they want with me?"

Daniel shrugged. "Our Senior Partners believe that having someone of
your.abilities. on call could be quite advantageous at times. Not all of our
clients are human and not all of them need the services of a law firm."

"Really?" She picked up her glass, sipping at the bitter liquid within it. Did
she want this? To work for, as she understood from the research she had done
when she realized Daniel had been following her, a law firm full of demons and
their lawyers? She smiled, swallowing down the last of the drink, the foul
liquid burning her throat. It was good to feel something - even pain. Minor
feelings, emotions, they had all disappeared when she made the deal that had
eventually allowed her the vengeance she so rightfully deserved. Pain she could
still feel, and intense pleasure - things like hate and rage were there, too,
and she could only assume love would come easily enough if she ever allowed
herself that luxury again.

"Do you have a contract for me? Anything I can look at?" Her voice was husky
and she again found herself playing with his hand. Pleasure - *that* she could
feel - and she was determined to feel something tonight. She exerted a small
push of magick over Daniel's emotions, making him more than willing to be with
her for the night if she simply made the request. She smiled slyly when he
nodded ever so slightly. "Good. Lets go to your room and look them over then,
shall we?"

"Whatever you want, Willow."

~*~Part Two~*~

'I forgot how much I hate lawyers.' Willow thought, glaring at the door of the
office for the tenth time in five minutes. In the back of her mind she could
hear the darker side of herself whispering that it wouldn't take much to
destroy the room and everything in it - priceless artifacts that she was sure
the owner of the room valued very highly. She had been shown to the office
within minutes of her arrival in the building with the assurance that 'Ms.
Morgan' would be right with her.

That had been fifteen minutes ago and the witch's patience was beginning to
wear thin. Didn't they realize what she could do to them? To their entire
office? With hardly a thought? She snorted, pitying the moron that had kept her
waiting for so long. Behind her the door clicked open and she heard someone
enter, the sound of papers shuffling filling the air.

"Ah - Ms. Rosenberg. I trust I didn't keep you waiting too long?"

"Actually. You did." She gestured and heard a startled grunt as the lawyer
froze in place, unable to move or speak. With another flick of her wrist she
had the woman in front of her. "I hate to be kept waiting Ms. Morgan." She
laughed, tilting her head to the side to study the woman. "I hope there are
things in this building scarier than you - otherwise I am going to be highly
disappointed. After all - I heard you were a *powerful* group, not a pathetic
one." She waved absently, releasing her hold on Lilah and letting her drop to
the floor. "Don't ever keep me waiting again."

Lilah's eyes widened in anger. "Who do you think you are? I outrank you in this
company."

"Who do I think I am?" Willow stood then, turning blazing black eyes on the
lawyer. "I'll tell you who I am. I'm someone who can bring this building down
with a thought." She laughed softly, taking a step towards Lilah and noticing
with satisfaction that the brunette woman took a step back to compensate for
it. "Outrank me? Your righteous indignation will get you killed. Don't forget
that *you* came looking for me."

Lilah bit back another retort, knowing that every word the witch spoke was the
truth. She really could bring the building down around them if she wanted to -
and probably live through the entire thing. Her power was one of the reasons
the Senior Partners had forced her and Gavin to work together to get the woman
to join them. "Fine. Have it your way." She said at last, putting her desk
between herself and Willow. "Sorry I kept you waiting."

"Good." Willow smirked, taking her seat again. She didn't believe for one
second that the other woman was sincerely sorry for what she had done. But fear
was healthy and it would at least keep her polite.

"Now. I called you in today to go over what you'll be doing for the company."
She passed a folder across the desk to the black haired witch, waiting for her
to pick it up before continuing. "Mostly just interpretation and discovery of
artifacts. An occasional summoning or binding. And anything else the Senior
Partners think falls within your realm of expertise." She smiled coldly.
"Speaking of which - they already gave you one special assignment - at the back
of that folder."

Willow arched an eyebrow at the lawyer's demanding gesture, but flipped to the
back of the folder anyway. Her expressionless eyes widened in surprise at the
picture of the person laying on the back cover. "Him? He's my assignment? You
want me to kill him?" For the first time since taking the law firm up on their
offer did she truly begin to regret it. If they expected her to kill someone
that she had, at one time, called a friend, they were mistaken.

"No.oh no." Lilah laughed genuinely. "Nothing so horrible. We just want you
to.um. convince him to work for us." She shrugged, holding her hands up to the
air as though she had nothing to do with it.

"Uh huh." Willow muttered, staring down at the picture. "But. doesn't he still
work for."

"Angel?" Again the older woman found herself smiling. "No - they had a falling
out a few weeks ago. Won't even speak to each other. Something about Angel's
son getting sent to a demon dimension."

"Which I'm sure Wolfram and Hart had absolutely nothing to do with.?" The witch
prompted.

Lilah just shrugged. "Doesn't matter now, does it? What's done is done and we
might as well use it to our advantage."

Willow turned her attention back to the picture, wondering how she could ever
convince the impeccable Wesley Wyndham-Price to join an organization as evil as
this one appeared to be. 'Then again,' She reminded herself. 'He was a Watcher.
They're just another type of scum.' She nodded slowly and looked back up at
Lilah, tapping at an address on the lower half of the page. "This were he
lives? Good. I'll see what I can do."

Lilah didn't bother trying to stop the witch as she got up to leave, fearful
for her own safety if the woman decided again that she had been annoyed or
slighted. As she prepared for her next client the lawyer couldn't help but
think that this entire thing was a very, very bad idea.

~*~Part Three~*~

The apartment complex was dark when Willow finally pulled up in front of it,
only a single light burning in one of the upper residences. That would be
Wesley's apartment, she knew. He was too much of a night owl to have already
gone to sleep - and she seriously doubted he would have gone out anywhere.
'Not with all his friends currently not speaking to him, anyway.' She thought
maliciously, her mouth turning up in a slight smile.

She had left Lilah's office in high spirits, despite the lawyer's attitude and
demeaning manner. It had truly taken an act of will to not leave the woman with
a lasting reminder not to mess with her again. 'But I resisted. Go me.' She
smirked, walking slowly up the sidewalk to the apartment.

A part of her was aware that the way she was acting was wholly unlike the
person she once had been - and that part of her cringed each time she said or
did anything evil in nature. Even being conscious of her own actions she found
it impossible to stop, to change. The ache in her heart that was left by the
loss of Tara only found peace when she was using the dark gifts that had been
granted to her. It was a kind of therapy, in a way, and one she was more than
happy to bear in order to not feel her loss so keenly.

'It's not like I plan on hurting anyone else.' She assured her less aggressive
side. 'Well, not permanently anyway.' Her soft chuckle filled the apartment's
stairwell as she slowly climbed upwards. Her life since Tara had died had been
cold, lonely - her only moments of 'feeling' came from her brief dalliances
with strangers. For those short times she could feel again - remembered what it
was like to not feel so dead inside. She licked her lips, thinking back on the
time she had spent with Daniel in his hotel room the night he had propositioned
her for Wolfram and Hart. She had shown him things that he was unlikely to ever
forget - pleasures made even more delicious with the enhancements of the magick
she wielded.

Once upon a time she would have been ashamed to have used a man the way she had
used Daniel. No longer. 'It's was about time I started taking what I want,
anyway. I lived most of my life being little mousy Willow - the one Oz cheated
on. The one my friends took advantage of. No more.'

She reached the door to Wesley's apartment and gave her self one last
once-over. There was no way for her to hide her black hair - no glamour in the
world could cover it up now. She hoped that wouldn't put him off to her right
away. She needed to gain his trust if her plan was to have any hope of working.
The clothing she wore was dark, but not pure black, in an attempt to lighten
her look to a level that wasn't frightening to someone that would remember the
'old' Willow.

Knocking lightly on the door, the witch smoothed out her shirt, plastering a
smile on her face. The smile faltered slightly when the door opened, revealing
someone far changed from the man she had known. Every tactic she had considered
for starting a conversation with him flew out of the window and her mouth
dropped open in shock. "Wesley? You look like hell."

~*~*~

Wesley gave himself credit for the fact that he recovered from his shock at
seeing the much-changed Willow Rosenberg quickly enough to still have at least
half of his wits about him. "And you look.different, Miss Rosenberg."

"So formal, Wes?" She forced herself to grin in the manner the old Willow would
have. "My name is Willow. Just plain old Willow."

"Not so plain anymore I see." He raised his eyebrows at her hair and clothing,
inwardly pleased with the change. She no longer looked like the shy little
hacker he remembered from Sunnydale.

Willow shrugged, laughing genuinely. "Things happen." She glanced up and down
the hallway meaningfully.

"Oh, yes. Please come in." For the first time in weeks Wesley found himself
wanting company. He had no quarrel with this young woman. She was a welcome
relief to the otherwise lonely night he had had planned for himself. He turned
from closing the door, catching a view of the young witch from the back. The
shirt she was wearing was made up of no more than a collection of decoratively
tied strings. He could see the top of her underwear peeking over the top of her
low-rise black pants and felt something he hadn't realized he had missed.

Desire.

Not since Fred had he felt even a spark of interest in anyone and now he was
feeling pangs of desire for Willow? 'Calm down, man. You've just been alone too
much recently. I'm sure the bearded lady from the circus would look good right
about now.' He doubted himself even as the thought flitted through his
socially-deprived mind. "Would you care for something to drink?" He offered,
trying to think of anything other than the image of the top of her thong
sticking out of her pants.

"Water?" She asked, taking a seat on the couch and looking up at him. Despite
her own better judgement she found herself wanting to have a genuine
conversation with the former watcher. She wanted to know about what had
happened to give him that awful scar on his throat, wanted to know why Wolfram
and Hart felt he would be at least willing to hear their offer to him. She took
the glass he brought back and sipped it thoughtfully, looking at him.

Underneath the unwavering gaze of the witch on his couch, Wesley felt his
earlier feelings of desire melt away, to be replaced by curiosity and concern.
There was something decidedly different about the young woman in the room him -
something that went far beyond clothing and hair. Now that he had recovered
from his initial shock he could realize that just being near her made the skin
on his arms tingle. It wasn't pleasant or unpleasant - more of a neutral
feeling, but it spoke volumes of the power she must command.

"What brings you to LA, Miss.err.Willow?" He asked finally, taking a seat next
to her. He pulled up his leg on the couch, turning so that he could look at her
while they spoke.

"New job." She answered truthfully. "Great job, in fact. Came with all these
nice perks and gifts. Only problem is the people that work there. How're things
going here? Still working for Angel?" She knew the answer to the question, only
wanted to bait him into telling her the entire story - the parts Lilah had left
out of the file she had been given.

Pain flashed through Wesley's eyes and he took a deep breath. What would it
hurt to tell her what had happened? The truth. The things he hadn't been able
to tell Angel and Cordelia. God only knew he could use a friend, a sympathetic
ear to talk to. He had questions of his own that he wanted to ask her, but that
could wait. She wanted to know how things were going? He'd certainly tell her.

"Well, you see," He rasped, leaning back into the couch and getting
comfortable. "It's a long story that starts with Darla and Angel."

~*~Part Four~*~

Willow listened, mostly wide-eyed, as Wesley detailed the events that had
eventually led to him being ostracized by the staff of Angel Investigations.
The ice around her heart melted ever so slightly, allowing her to feel pity for
him. Hadn't he done the right thing? Certainly he had thought so at the time.
He had done what he thought was best to protect a helpless child from what he
thought was an awful fate. In doing so he had showed more courage than she had
thought possible for him. Obviously he had changed much in the years since she
had last spent any great amount of time around him. As his story continued she
was forced to admit that not only was her opinion of Wesley changing, her
opinion of her new employers was as well.

Despite the darkness that lingered in her heart, brought on by the dark magicks
she wielded, she still believed that some things were just too wrong to ever
consider doing. At that top of that list was hurting innocent children and
babies. After all - what could Angel's son have ever done to deserve what
happened? Out of everyone in all of this, the child was innocent, deserving of
no wrong. And yet, Wolfram and Hart had conspired to bring the child to harm.

A war brewed within Willow's heart and soul as she sat there, listening to the
events that had happened after Wesley had kidnapped the baby. Could she
honestly continue to work for Wolfram and Hart, knowing they were so much more
foul than even she could tolerate? 'I should go down there right now and blast
their whole building to the same Hell dimension Connor is now in.' She thought
darkly. But what would they do when she quit? Would they let her quit? They had
obviously wanted someone of her talents for a reason. Wouldn't they just go out
and find someone else? Someone who maybe wouldn't have the few morals she had?
'I could stay. And keep an eye on them. Make sure nothing bad they do works.'

But what about Wesley? Her job was to tempt him over to Wolfram and Hart for
whatever purpose the Senior Partners had for him. She was sure it had something
to do with his knowledge of Angel and Angel Investigations - after all, Angel
and his people were the thorn in their side. They seemed to have made it a very
personal crusade to destroy Angel from what Wesley had said. Information Wesley
had about his former friends would no doubt be of great use in taking down the
vampire.

But she didn't want that to happen.

Just as she still had a soft place in her heart for her friends back in
Sunnydale, so too did she have one for the owner and employees of Angel
Investigations. Try as it might, the darkness that lurked within her just
wasn't able to force that softness from her - though it did make it harder for
her to be around them, especially since her own actions were now so far at odds
with their own. She knew that she would probably never be able to laugh and
have fun with Buffy and Xander again, and at those times she knew what it was
to feel again - even if it was only the deep pang of loss.

If she didn't bring him back with her to Wolfram and Hart as their newest
employee, her credibility would be destroyed. How could she hope to keep an eye
on the lawyers if they couldn't trust her to complete her assignments? 'I'll
just have to tell him everything. and hope he sees why I have to work for them
- and why he should come over as well.' She thought, nodding absently as he
finished up his story.

"Well, Wes." She murmured, starting down at her hands, trying still to make up
her mind about how she was going to handle things. "You certainly have had a
rough time lately."

"That would be one way to put it, yes." He smiled ever so slightly. In no way
could he tell how she had reacted to his tale. Those green eyes that always
looked as though they were seeing right into a man's soul were fixated on her
hands. "So. What about you, Willow? What has happened to." He trailed off,
noticing her dark eyes staring at him finally.

"What happened to me?" She finished for him. Her words were a mere whisper in
the stillness of his apartment. "Why I'm here?" She prompted, nodding to
herself. She would do this thing - tell him of her sorrows and tell him why she
was sitting in his living room. Her decision was made. She would make sure that
no other children suffered at the hands of the people she worked for. But she
wouldn't leave Wolfram and Hart and she would somehow convince Wesley to come
work with her. Together they would make sure those that they cared for weren't
hurt. She hadn't missed the brief sparks of lust that flared off of him when he
looked at her. He was lonely and needy.

And wasn't she the same thing?

"We're two of a kind, Wes." She laughed bitterly. "Both of us are on the outs
with our friends. Both of us feel like there's no going back. Maybe there
isn't." She shrugged.

"I don't understand." Wesley stuttered, staring at her in shock. What was she
saying? No going back for her? She was on the outs with her friends? When had
her world done such a radical flip?

"Of course you don't. I haven't told you yet." Her words were mocking, yet
light. She fought back the urge to be outright malicious, as the magick wanted
her to do. She was still just Willow. Still the same person she had always been
- and she wasn't going to let her powers control her life. Too much. "Let me
show you."

With minimal concentration she created a small blurry area between them, laying
out the scene for her words to make a movie upon. "I thought I was never going
to survive after Oz left me, Wes. I was down, distraught, devastated." The blur
between them began to show her memories of the day she had almost been killed
by Veruca, and Oz's subsequent leaving. "But I survived. I met this wonderful,
special girl. She was my everything."

Tears flowed openly down Willow's expressionless face as the scene shifted to
show some of the happier moments during hers and Tara's relationship. Then she
jumped ahead, letting her magick movie player show Wesley the rest. Tara
getting shot, jumping into black magick, killing Warren. The fight that had
ensued with her friends as they had tried to save Andrew and Jonathan. Her
finally allowing the nerds to live and leaving for good. It was all there for
him to see in perfect color. She didn't offer up the images that would have
shown her prior addiction to the dark arts. There was no reason for him to know
that. It was a moot point, so to speak. She had no intention of ever getting
off the magick again - no intention of ever being weak again.

No one she loved would ever die again if she had her way.

As the last picture left the blob of magick she let it all fade away until she
could look into Wesley's face again. She waited, anticipating the same reaction
she would have gotten from anyone.

But he surprised her.

"I am truly sorry for your tragedy." He whispered at last. "And glad to see
that you got yourself under control. That boy's death is sad - but nothing so
horrible considering what he did." Inwardly Wesley felt just a little worried
over her actions. She had delved so far into the dark arts that he wondered how
she had ever managed to pull herself out again. But she seemed to be in control
over herself. "It's no worse than some things I've done. Or things Angel has
done. Or even your beloved Giles."

Willow snorted, arching an eyebrow. "You wouldn't think it hearing my 'friends'
talk. They seem to think there's no turning back for me now. I'm anathema to
them. I wouldn't be surprised if they're sitting around Sunnydale trying to
figure out the best was to find and nullify me. Me? The big bad witch?" She
laughed in a self-deprecating manner, only half believing her own words. She
was a bad person, she knew that. Wesley had been kind to say that what she had
done wasn't that bad.

But it was.

She had tortured Warren before he died. She had placed a bullet into his skin
and sent it with agonizing slowness towards his heart. She had sewn his mouth
together so that he couldn't scream. She had even brought forth the image of
his dead girlfriend to berate him into terror. And then, when that had bored
her, she had ripped every piece of skin from his body.

Maybe it was the horror of what she had done, but things had turned around for
her after that, as though not even the magick coursing within her could alter
her own personality that much. Her pursuit of Jonathan and Andrew had been
half-hearted at best at that point.

"You're not the big bad witch." Wesley smirked, leaning back into his couch and
giving her an appraising look. Now that they had both poured their hearts out
to each other he found himself wondering what she was doing at his apartment in
the first place. And how had she gotten the address? He was sure she couldn't
have gotten it from anyone at AI. They probably were disavowing any knowledge
of him at this point.

So who had led her to him?

"Willow. If you don't mind me asking, how did you find me."

The dark-haired woman looked up, a smile creeping across her face. "Ah. Now
there is an interesting story and it also happens to lead to the problem I seem
to have developed ever since hearing your story." It was odd, she decided, not
feeling so cold inside, as though being around someone who understood and
wouldn't criticize her melted some of the ice that had formed around her heart.
It would come back, undoubtedly, just using the magicks put her at a distance
from the softer emotions in life. 'Though I wouldn't mind kindling a little of
the heavier, lusty type emotions with good ole Wes.' She purred silently. 'He
does look damn sexy with that stubbly beard thing he had going on.'

Sometimes she would lie awake at night and wonder at what point she had lost
the morals she had once held to so stringently. At what point had she stopped
loving Tara enough to stay faithful at least to her memory? How could she sleep
with people and not care about it? Then it would hit her. It was the simple
fact that she *didn't* care about the people that she slept with that let her
do it. That, and an overwhelming desire to feel something when she was lost
inside. As long as she didn't give her heart away she was still being at least
semi-faithful. After all - Tara wouldn't have wanted her to spend the rest of
her life alone, either.

She could tell Wesley was waiting for her to continue to she licked her lips
again, trying to work up the nerve to tell him what she needed to tell him,
knowing without a doubt that he wasn't going to take it well at all. "My new
employer gave me your address, Wes."

"Your employer. Who." He stopped, sitting up straight. All friendliness was
gone from his manner. There was only one company he could think of that would
recruit someone from his past and then give that person his address with an
obvious intent for them to seek him out. He even could guess what her mission
in speaking with him was supposed to be. He felt his heart harden as he looked
at her. "You mean..?"

She nodded, taking a deep breath. "Yup. Wolfram and Hart."

~*~Part Five~*~

Wesley forced himself to calm down, pushing his initial reaction of disgust and
hatred from his mind. She had to have a good reason for working for those
people, even if it was one he wasn't aware of. "Well, Miss Rosenberg," he began
finally, going back to the formality Willow had already asked he not use. "If
you are working for Wolfram and Hart I would assume you've changed in more ways
than you're admitting to."

The red head cocked her head to the side, looking at Wesley in mild amusement.
"Really? Don't speak so quickly. I didn't know half the things you just told me
about them. How could I have? That bitch Lilah hoardes information like its
something precious." She sighed, standing up. "Like I said - they're a problem
I'm currently working on. A problem I didn't have before I heard your story."
She began to pace, running her hand through her hair absently, her teeth
worrying her bottom lip.

"And what problem is that?" Wesley asked, curious despite himself. He watched
her pacing form, trying to ignore the curves of her body, the sweet scent of
her perfume. If Wolfram and Hart had wanted to send someone to tempt him over
to their side, they certainly were doing a superb job. Though he doubted that
Willow was even remotely conscious of the effect she was having on him, she
just wasn't the type of girl that would ever use her body to get what she
wanted. She was completely different from Lilah in other words. It was
impossible to feel tempted by someone as vicious and cold as that creature,
despite her own obvious wish to be seen as a temptress.

"The problem is that I don't like it when people hurt children or use them as
pawns." She stopped. "We, adults, have a choice in our actions. Children and
babies don't. They are helpless to the forces around them."

"So now that you know - quit."

Black locks shook as Willow moved her head from side to side. "I can't.
Obviously they want a powerful witch for some reason. And they want you, too.
What does that tell you? It tells *me* that they are going to make another shot
at Angel sometime soon. Why else would they want you on their side so bad? You
know all about Angel - his strengths and weaknesses. If I quit they'll just
find someone else to do the dirty work. At least while I'm there I can keep an
eye on them."

Wesley nodded. It made sense, though he didn't like the idea of Willow working
for those people. They couldn't be trusted, after all. And then there was the
subtle feeling of darkness surrounding Willow. She had been using magicks so
dark and powerful, had they corrupted her soul in ways she wasn't aware of yet?
Could she hold her own against the evilness of Wolfram and Hart when she
herself was teetering on that same edge? Or would her magicks cause her to do
things that she wouldn't normally even consider.

Willow turned her back to Wesley, hiding the smile on her face. She could
almost hear the thoughts churning through his head. Enough of her story had
been told for him to seriously worry for her safety and state of mind if she
continued to work for Wolfram and Hart. Would she be able to handle working for
them? Could the little girl take care of herself? Her plan to keep an eye on
the law firm wouldn't work if she couldn't accomplish her first assignment.
They would never trust her with their secrets if she couldn't do something as
simple as get Wesley to come work for them. She smothered a laugh with a cough,
turning back to him, her eyes full of innocence. She kneeled on the floor in
front of him, her eyes pleading. "So do you understand my problem? Why I can't
quit?"

The former Watcher nodded slowly. It was difficult, looking into her dark green
eyes, to not agree completely and wholeheartedly with whatever she was saying,
he found. She just had that way about her that was full of innocence, sort of
like Fred. It begged for you to believe her, protect her, make her yours and
yours only. "They sent you here to convince me to come work for them, right?"

Willow nodded, her eyes on the floor. She couldn't believe how well he was
taking all of this. It was almost too good to be true. In the back of her mind
she realized she was manipulating him in a way, using the innocence he
remembered of her to get him to agree to come to Wolfram and Hart. 'All that
matters is the end result.' Her darker thoughts reminded her. She needed Wesley
to accept the law firm's invitation so that she would look good in their eyes,
good enough to keep her in high regard and privy to their inner secrets maybe.
"I understand now, though, why you won't work for them." She sighed, standing
and turning away from him. It was hard not to laugh at how pathetic she
sounded, playing the innocent little girl to the hilt. "I'm sure I can win
their trust some other way."

Wesley leaned back into his couch, shutting his eyes. How he wanted to just say
'no' and tell her to never broach the subject to him again. But then he would
jeopardize her position in the firm, making it that much more difficult for her
to keep her eyes out for anything that might endanger his former friends at AI.
And hadn't she made a valid point about keeping an eye on the lawyers? They
would never let up on Angel and were probably looking even more so for ways to
bring him to their side now that Connor was out of the picture. He licked his
lips, opening his eyes to stare up at the ceiling. "I'm not saying I won't help
you, Willow. I just . need time to think about it, okay?"

The dark haired woman smiled thinly, her heart not quite touched by the relief
she felt. If he was at least going to consider helping her by coming to the
firm there was a good chance he would do it. At least he hadn't turned her away
outright. She turned back towards him, schooling her expression to one of
complete neutrality. "Are you sure, Wes? I know how difficult it could be for
you. I wouldn't want to put you in a bad position."

Wesley nodded once, standing. "I know - however I do feel more than a little
responsible for you. Let me think it over tonight and I will let you know
tomorrow. Is there a number where I can reach you at?"

Willow nodded, rattling off the number for her new apartment as he scribbled it
onto a pad of paper. She stepped closer to him, laying a hand on his arm. For a
brief moment her own desire to feel again overcame her and she was tempted to
exert enough will to get him into bed. Only for a moment, though. If Wesley
were ever going to be in her bed it would be because of his own free will.
Besides, his mind was strong and she probably wouldn't even be able to wrap her
will around his enough to force him to do it. 'Though - I don't think 'forcing'
would come into play.' She laughed mentally, noting again how his eyes darkened
with lust at just her most casual touch. Maybe after he made his way into
Wolfram and Hart they could then work on getting him into her arms - and bed.
"Thanks again, Wes. Either way you decide, it was nice talking with someone who
didn't judge me."

He watched then as she let herself out of the apartment, his eyes finally
traveling to the clock on his DVD player. Three hours had passed since she had
shown up on his doorstep and most of that time had been quite enjoyable. Now,
though, he had to decide whether or not to join her, knowing he may loose that
friendship that was developing if he didn't.

~*~Part Six~*~

Only after Willow left did Wesley truly begin to think again. And all of his
thoughts led to one thing - He had to go with Willow to Wolfram and Hart, had
to play the game he had been forced into, simply to try to keep the former red
head out of trouble. It was apparent that she still wasn't thinking too
incredibly clear, and he doubted that the dark magicks had fully made their way
out of her system. Who was to say that she wouldn't get in over her head once
she was fully around people as vile and dastardly as those lawyers? Not for one
second did he truly believe that she was as in control as she claimed to be.
How could anyone have made as complete a turn around as what she said? From
being the good witch, to being the bad witch, to being the somewhere-in-between
witch? Somehow he doubted that seriously. At least if he was there with her
there was a chance that he could, eventually, convince her to leave the firm.
Angel didn't really need anyone to keep an eye on him, that was just the excuse
the young witch was giving herself to reconcile what was right with what was
wrong. She didn't *really* want to leave the company - if she did she would
just do it and damned be the consequences.

But was she evil? That thought plagued his mind continuously. He had been far
from fooled by the little girl act she had put on at different points during
her visit, though it was completely distracting for another reason he didn't
want to name. 'You found her bloody intoxicating, is what, you fool,' He chided
himself, sighing. That alone had made it difficult to see past what she was
saying. That - and the fact that it was good just to have someone to talk to
again, someone who had never wished him harm, unlike Lilah. And what if Willow
had been using her feminine powers to manipulate him - wasn't he used to it by
now? Surely Lilah had been trying her hand at getting him in bed for weeks,
though she was far more blatant about it than he thought Willow could ever be.
She just wasn't that type.

But what type was she now? She was apparently a high-level magick user, a force
to be reckoned with. And she was a killer, she had made no effort to hide that
fact from him, though he could tell that she was worried it would be 'too much'
information - something that made him throw her out. He had watched what had
happened, from her point of view, on Willow's cloud of magick, as though it
were nothing more than television. He had looked into her face at the moment
the scene had shown Warren die and had seen not remorse, but happiness? She was
happy for what she had done, it didn't bother her one bit. He seriously doubted
she woke up from any nightmares over the entire thing. But he didn't blame her
for that. How could he? Would he do no less to someone who had killed someone
he loved? Would he honestly just sit back and let human laws apply to someone
who had already demonstrated such un-human characteristics? He would, he
conceded, probably have been even more brutal than she had been - after all, he
had a few more years of experience under his belt when it came to the various
tortures one could inflict with magick. Wherever Warren was, burning in the
fires of Hell no doubt, he should count himself lucky that Willow had gotten
bored.

After all, it wasn't nice to piss off a witch who could summon countless
flesh-eating insects to pick at one's flesh for all of eternity.

He smirked in disbelief at the caustic turn of his own thoughts. Wasn't he
supposed to be thinking about working for Wolfram and Hart? Certainly debating
how Willow could have best tortured the one who killed her loved one was not
helping him any with that decision, though thinking it over did open him up to
a little more understanding of what she was going through.

But still - she didn't care about the life she had taken. How could he
guarantee she wouldn't take any other lives unless he was there to watch over
her, guide her through this difficult time? Would he really be able to live
with himself if, days or even weeks from now, he found out she had lost control
and slaughtered some random innocent? Or what if she turned on her bosses one
day? As hard as it was for him to admit, he didn't believe that the lawyers at
Wolfram and Hart deserved the type of punishment that she would give to them.
Knife in the back - yes. Damnation and torment - no. Well, at least not from
her anyway, he firmly believed that the Powers would one day grant them all the
suffering and pain they had caused others back on them threefold.

He breathed in, smelling the sweet scent of her perfume still lingering in the
air. It was heady, like a fine wine, but sweeter, crisper - full of the essence
of the one who had been wearing it. Again he felt his desire stir within him.
Was this how it was going to be? His own body betraying him? Giving rise to a
passion where there should not be any. She was just a child after all, barely
out of high school. 'Oh who are you fooling, man?' His inner most self growled
angrily, irate over the whining mental diatribe it had been forced to endure.
'You are hardly a senior citizen and she is much more than a child. You want
her. In your bed. Get over it.'

And that was that.

After only a few hours in her company, the former Watcher longed to be near her
again. It wasn't a any type of compulsion she had placed on him - he was too
knowing in the ways of magick to fall for anything so base. No - what he felt
for her was pure lust, the type that a man felt towards an attractive and
alluring woman. With his eyes closed he could picture her as she had been when
she first walked in - facing away from him, the skin of her back pale and
perfect, the top of her thong showing ever so slightly from over the top of her
pants. Had she known that was showing? Ah - but that was part of the sexiness
of the entire thing, wasn't it? Not knowing if she knew - the whole taboo of
seeing a woman's underclothing without her knowledge or consent. He groaned,
shifting on the couch and trying to make himself more comfortable despite the
emotions raging quite rampant through his body. A cold shower was in order, but
he didn't feel like moving, didn't feel like giving up the delightful feeling
of, well, just feeling something pleasant again. Too long had he sat there, in
his little apartment, feeling sorry for himself. It was nice, in a way, to know
that he was still able to feel something other than pity and anger.

Maybe that was the deciding factor. Or maybe it was the fact that he knew she
would need someone to keep an eye on her. Or perhaps it was just a desire to be
near someone who didn't treat him like a leper - someone who he could actually
imagine might truly care. Whatever it was, he made his decision then, without
debating it for another moment. Tomorrow would be his first day of employment
at Wolfram and Hart.

He hoped he made it through it all without strangling Lilah.

~*~Part Seven~*~

It was tempting to pull up a little wisp of magick and peek in one what Wesley
was doing, but Willow managed to control herself. Just barely. She hadn't truly
expected him to call her that night and give her his decision. Nor had she
thought she'd get it the next morning. But certainly that afternoon?

When he didn't call she began to get worried. This wasn't the way to impress
her new employers. 'Not that I want to impress them.' She reminded herself,
holding to that reassurance like a life line. As long as she truly believed she
didn't want to impress the mysterious Senior Partners Lilah had spoken about it
had to be the truth, right? She couldn't possibly want to partner herself with
a company that had sought to hurt Angel's child.

Could she?

The questions plagued her, but only lightly, as evening fell. There was nothing
on television - nothing that even remotely interested her anyway. Boring little
shows about the lives of people who had never existed and wouldn't last a day
in the 'real world'. She couldn't comprehend the characters' pleasures, their
pains, their everyday trivial existence that had been scripted by some writer
locked away in an office somewhere and then directed by a peabrain who probably
went home every night to an empty bed. Even the 'reality' shows seemed a little
too scripted for her, too fake. The emotions were downplayed, hardly real, as
if people really walked around in tiny boxes where they neither laughed hard
nor sobbed despairingly. She could only imagine how they would react in a time
of true chaos and crisis. 'Maybe I should send a hurricane to that little
island.' She thought wickedly of one of the reality shows, the contestants
lounging about on the beach as though they hadn't a care in the world. Didn't
they realize they were in the middle of nowhere with hardly any food or water?
Why did it seem like they thought they were in a resort?

She rolled her eyes, clicking off the television and throwing the remote to the
far side of the couch. She needed to get out of the house, find a little fun,
cause a little trouble. It just wasn't like her to sit at home and wait for .
What was she waiting for anyway? Wussy to call? He probably had taken her
request and thrown it out the window. He certainly hadn't called to accept.
Didn't he care what happened to her? What happened to his former friends? Or
had he not accepted working for Wolfram and Hart as a viable way to keep Angel
and company out of trouble? She shrugged, glaring at the clock on the wall. Who
cared if he had bought into the idea as long as he agreed to come work at
Wolfram and Hart.

'Why do you care? Because it will hurt your chances in the company if you can't
accomplish your first assignment?' She twitted herself silently. 'Or is it that
you actually liked being around him? Having a friend again?' The coldness in
her heart spread through her body. Sure - she had enjoyed talking with him,
about as much as she could enjoy anything, that was. But did she want to do it
again? 'No. Less talk next time. Next time I want kissage.' That thought
brought some life back to her body, the warmth of lust spreading through her an
thawing her ice cold heart and soul just enough that she could feel the first
stirrings of true desire. He *had* looked nice with that little hint of a
beard, the stubble detracting greatly from the image she had once had of him as
a stuffy Watcher-man. Though, that gash on his throat was something awful. Had
Lilah ordered that to be done? Had she been the one to do it? Scarring such a
pretty boy had to be a high crime against nature. 'Maybe I'll offer to fix it
for him.' The raven haired witch smirked, her eyes again drawn to the clock.

Eight o'clock on a Tuesday night and she was sitting home alone. How pathetic -
so totally like the old Willow. The Willow that had built her life around one
person only to have everything ripped out from under her in one violent moment.
She had come so far from that girl. There was no one in her life that was that
important now. No one to make her cry in agony. Only the dim memory of the love
she had once had - the fire that had burned so brightly and then been snuffed
out of existence entirely. Tara had been 'The One'. There was no one else. All
she could have now were meaningless flings that ended in her leaving one way or
another. It was better that way - to just not care. She doubted she was even
capable of love anymore.

Yes, much better that way.

The ringing of the telephone brought her out of her thoughts and into reality.
She held up her hand, bringing the receiver to her with a tendril of magick so
refined it was more like a hand instead of a raw piece of power. She clicked
the phone on. "Hello?"

"Willow?"

"Yes. Oh - hi, Wes!" She brightened immediately, leaning back into the plump
cushions of her couch. "How are you?"

"I'm doing well. Yourself?"

She shrugged, remembering at the last moment that he couldn't see the motion.
"Fine I guess. Bored. Big city and I hardly know anyone. No one to hang with."
She pouted into the receiver.

"Sounds dreadful." There was a pause across the line and Willow could hear his
hesitation. "Would you like to go out with me for some coffee or something? We
can discuss my decision at that time."

The raven haired beauty arched an eyebrow. He was asking her out for coffee?
How quaint. And he had made a decision. This promised to be either an
interesting evening - or a very boring one. "Okay. But I hope it's a favorable
decision or else I might not be very good company - disappointment and all
that." She could hear his chuckle and it brought a smile to her face. Laughing
was a good thing. If he was laughing he couldn't possibly be wanting to tell
her something that would upset her, right?

"It's favorable. Meet me at the café at the corner of Ash and Tenth in twenty
minutes?"

She agreed, the call ending so that they could both get ready for their
meeting. 'Date, I suppose.' She laughed silently, her lips twisted into a wry
grin. Good ole' Wes had asked her out on a date, to get coffee no less, and was
going to give her a favorable answer to the problem she had given him the night
before. A sparkle of magick and she was dressed to go - navy blue blouse tucked
lightly into a pair of dark gray slacks. If it weren't for the fact that the
shirt was unbuttoned to the point that it showed off the pale round globes of
her breasts, the outfit would have been downright conservative. As it was, the
ensemble was the perfect mix of stuffy and sensual - something that would
appeal to Wesley she was sure. Her hair hung loose, the makeup on her face was
discreet yet dramatic, making her eyes seem even more green than they normally
were. She knew she looked like a goddess and it felt good. Maybe she would be
able to convince Wesley to go somewhere a little more daring than a coffee shop.

If not, she could always go without him.

~*~Part Eight~*~

"Well, well, well." Lilah murmured, her eyes wide with feigned surprise as
Wesley and Willow entered her office. She wondered why the little witch hadn't
bothered calling her in advance to let her know she would be bringing the man
with her. Then again. what did she expect from the feisty bitch? Willow had
already proven that she didn't give a damn for what the female lawyer really
cared about. Not to mention the fact that she had made it quite obvious that
she wouldn't take any crap from Lilah.

'I was sore for days from that stasis thing she did to my muscles.' The
brunette growled internally, forcing a smile to her face as the duo made their
way across the room. It wouldn't do to have the little bitch go off on her
during this meeting, not with Wesley watching. She didn't want anything to
undermine what little leeway she had made with the former Watcher. It was a
hard thing to admit that she had a thing for the dark haired man. Harder still
for her to accept the fact that he wouldn't touch her with a ten foot pole.
'Not yet, anyway. Let him simmer in this hotbed of evilness and he'll realize
I'm really not *that* bad.'

"I see you got Wesley to accompany you this evening, Miss Rosenberg." Though
the statement was made towards Willow, her look was directed at the man in the
room. "Does this mean he'll be joining us?" Her fingers played with the edge of
one of the many files on her desk, discreetly pushing it under some others. It
wouldn't do to let Wesley see the files on his former co-workers, not yet. They
would need to keep him away from everything involving AI for a while, to secure
his standing in the company. It wouldn't do for them to try to wheedle
information out of him too quickly and send him running back to his dim little
apartment. No, that wouldn't do at all.

Plus there was the whole trust thing. She didn't trust Willow at all, and
Wesley even less. It would be best for everyone involved if neither one of them
were allowed access to the more sensitive files on Angel and his company. At
least until they proved themselves, that was.

"I have decided to take you up on the offer of employment." Wesley said in
acknowledgment of the question she had asked. He took a seat, staring coldly at
Lilah. It was remarkable how hard it really was, when in her office, her place
of 'security', to resist the urge to rip her throat out and leave her to die,
like he had been left so many weeks ago. She was too confident in her own
abilities, too arrogant about her position in the firm and the power it
brought. He ached to be the one to bring her to her knees, to reduce everything
she had worked so hard for to nothing.

"Well that's just peachy." Lilah smiled, baring her perfectly white teeth. She
turned to Willow. "And we have you to thank for bringing him into the fold? I'm
sure the Senior Partners will be pleased."

Willow shrugged. She hadn't made any move to approach Lilah's desk, instead
walking around the room, looking over the artifacts. Were some of these new?
She didn't recall seeing some of the statues on her first visit. "Wesley is his
own person, Lilah. He does what he wants. I simply made the offer
more.attractive to him." She flashed the lawyer a wicked grin, knowingly fully
well that Lilah hadn't been able to make the offer 'attractive' no matter how
hard she had tried. She sighed. "Enough pleasantries, we had a meeting tonight
to discuss my next assignment? Can we get on with it?"

'One day I'm going to find a way to smack that smug look right off of her pale
little face.' Lilah thought dangerously. She glanced down at her desk, looking
over the files in front of her. "Fine. Have it your way. Here's the job." She
held the file out, making no move to bring it to the witch. 'She can just walk
her little ass over here if she wants it.'

But Willow had other ideas. With a flick of her hand she gestured, the files
flying through the air without getting so much as a paper ruffled. She opened
it, glancing across the documents and then looked up at Lilah. "I'm not a
necromancer you moron. Witch - say it with me now. W-I-T-C-H."

Lilah arched an eyebrow. "Giving up so quickly? And to think the Senior
Partners had such high hopes for you. Can't even raise the dead. How sad." She
knew as soon as the words left her mouth that she had made a mistake. The
darkness that flooded Willow's soul came pouring into her eyes, making them
pools of blackness.

"I never said I *couldn't* do it. I was merely saying that I'm not the best for
the job. I'm not someone who raises the dead. The person may not have a whole
mind by the time I'm done with it." She took a step closer to Lilah's desk,
pleased to see the lawyer scramble from her seat and back up a step. It was
amusing, this dance she was playing with the bitchy woman.

"The partners need him raised with his mind and all facilities intact." Lilah
sneered. She knew that it probably wasn't wise to taunt the witch, not with her
so capable of leveling the building if she wanted to. But Lilah had never been
able to listen to common sense when it came to emotions such as anger. "If you
can't do it, just say so. I'm sure we can find something else for you to do."

"Once again." Willow growled, her hand rising, fist closing slowly as Lilah
began to gasp. How dare this insignificant little whore say insinuate that she
wouldn't be able to get the job done? That she wasn't good enough? Didn't she
know who she was dealing with? "I never said I couldn't do it. It'll just be
something new for me."

"Willow." Wesley murmured, coming to stand next to Willow. The power radiating
from her taut muscles was palpable at this distance and it made his skin crawl.
"Though I would like to see her hurt just as much as you."

"You're right." Willow sighed, interrupting whatever Wesley was about to say in
admonition and releasing her hold on the woman. Lilah gasped for air, taking
lungfuls of the precious substance in as though she might find herself on the
receiving end of Willow's magick again at any time. "I'll do your job. Tonight.
You'll bring the body here?"

Lilah nodded, unable to speak. Her lungs were still burning from their period
without oxygen and she felt more than just a little lightheaded. She saw Wesley
look at her with scorn in his eyes and felt her heart grow just a little colder
towards the black haired witch.

"Fine. Be ready in an hour. I have some things to gather." With that Willow
swept out of the room, followed closely by Wesley. He managed to make it a
reasonable distance down the hall before erupting.

"You're actually going to do this? Raise the corpse for them?" He grabbed the
file from her hand. "They think he knows the location of the Ring of G'Tarth?
Bloody hell. You're not really going to do this, are you?"

Willow looked at him, her eyes once again back to their normal green. Despite
the fact that he was questioning her decision she couldn't bring herself to
want to cause harm to the man standing in front of her. "I have to. I'm still
trying to gain their trust. If I start refusing assignments we'll never find
out what they have planned for." She shut her mouth, looking around for the
cameras she knew were there, watching. "Well.you know."

Wesley nodded. "Yes.but."

'Goddess.just shut up, Wesley!' She screamed, still unable to wish harm upon
him. So, instead, she did the only other thing she could think of. She kissed
him. It was quick, and full of fire and promise. His face was flushed when she
pulled away from him and she could feel her own body stir with desire. "I'll
come see you later, when I'm done, okay?"

Wesley watched her walk away, confused by what had happened, but sure that he
wanted some more of what she had just started there, in the hallway of Wolfram
and Hart.

Much more.

~*~Part Nine~*~

Ms. Morgan -

We are most pleased with the way the current project is going. Both
the witch and the Watcher are turning out to be valuable assets to the company.
Please see to it that they are both kept happy. That is *your* project. We
trust you will not fail us.

Signed,

The
Senior Partners

Lilah felt like screaming as she read, and the re-read, the email she had just
received from the desks of the Senior Partners. How was it that they were so
pleased when she herself was so utterly unhappy with the entire situation.

Right - it was because they had never put an emotional stake in either of the
people involved. Nope. They had never once had any type of feelings for Wesley.
Not that she would admit to having had feelings for the man. If cornered she
would categorically deny knowledge of having feelings for anyone or anything.
After all, feelings got in the way of doing one's work and she didn't want
anything getting in her way.

But the truth of the matter was that she had fallen for the man despite her
better judgement and despite her own brain telling her there was no way in Hell
he would ever return that attraction. And now? Now he was getting cozy with the
witch. Willow. The name sat like a bolt of acid in Lilah's mouth, making her
grimace in distaste. If she hadn't already disliked the witch before the raven
haired woman had gotten close to Wesley she would have now. As it was she hated
her. Passionately. The kind of hate that led one to do stupid things.

'I won't be led down a path of stupidity.' The female lawyer told herself,
glaring down at her desk. Pictures were laid out there, taken from the security
cameras the last time Willow and Wesley had come into her office together. They
showed all too well how close the two former Sunnydale residents had gotten,
displaying the kiss the two had shared in the hallway in full colored glory.
'But I will take out a little vengeance on the happy couple's relationship.'

From the moment she had seen the pictures Lilah had known what she would do. It
had been completely obvious from the looks Wesley had given Willow the other
night that he was completely against her last assignment. That had, no doubt,
put considerable strain on their blossoming relationship. Wesley was, after
all, still very much a good person whereas his former charge was not. She had
tasted the darkside and liked it, as much as she was trying to convince herself
and him otherwise. So what better way to cause grief between them than to give
her another assignment Wesley was sure to disagree with? By the simple fact
that it was something that needed to be done anyway, Lilah could claim complete
innocence if the Senior Partners caught on to her little machinations.

A thick file, older than most in her cabinets, sat on one corner of her desk.
She pulled it towards her now, smirking deviously. Willow would balk at this
assignment at first, Lilah had no doubt about that. But, through a little sly
taunting, the female lawyer was sure she could get her to accept the job. After
all - the witch didn't want to tarnish her growing reputation with the Senior
Partners, did she? The job was a difficult one, something that nearly fifteen
of her best representatives had died over the past few years trying to
accomplish. Lilah knew for a fact that Lindsey had tried, as well, to get this
job done. He had failed miserably as well, loosing two very important retainers
to the firm in the process.

So what better job for the hot shot little bitch?

The continual failure would, in fact, be one way that Lilah planned on
convincing Willow to take the job. Taunt her that she was too afraid, that she
didn't think she was good enough. It didn't take a genius to see, just from the
few meetings they had had together, that the witch was insecure about her own
abilities. She felt the need to flaunt them about whenever she got a chance.
And if someone said she wasn't good enough? She was right there, in their face,
telling them she was going to prove just how good she really was.

So, in reality, this job was perfect for the arrogant little girl. All it
involved was a cave, a scroll, and a nest of some of the most vicious demons
ever to walk the face of the earth. Virtually impervious to normal physical
damage, the beasts had proven themselves able to withstand all but the most
powerful of magicks. Unfortunately, most mages and sorcerers she had hired
tended to burn themselves out before disposing of even a quarter of the demons.
She didn't doubt that Willow would be able to pull it off, the bitchy girl
carried more power in her than Lilah had seen in a long time. It was quite
possible that she'd come out of it all without even a scratch.

But it would make Wesley worry. He wouldn't want her to do it. And she'd do it,
of course, simply to prove herself yet again in the eyes of Lilah and the
Partners. Which would cause stress in their relationship. Which would make
Lilah oh so much happier. It wouldn't be enough to divide them - at least she
didn't think it would be. But stress is one of those things that adds up over
time and, with enough time, she was sure she could add enough bad karma to
their relationship to send it crashing and burning.

All she had to do was be patient.

'Speaking of patience.' She thought, glancing at the clock on her desk. It was
nearly midnight, well past time for her to go home. She sighed, grabbing the
large file from her desk and placing it in the safe behind her. The rest of the
papers, including the pictures of Wesley and Willow, went into her briefcase.
Those didn't belong here. She wasn't even sure if she was going to keep them
since she had no right to have them in the first place. The Senior Partners
would get very suspicious if they found out she had pulled strings to get them
from security. Best to just take them home for now - for safe-keeping. She took
one last moment to scribble a note to herself on her calendar - 'Willow @ 5',
before heading out of the office and into the darkened hallways.

It had always wierded her out to know that every step she took as she made her
way from her office to her car was being watched by someone in a little room
somewhere. The demons the firm employed for their in-house surveillance were
some of the most dedicated creatures she had ever seen in her entire life. They
took joy out of watching people come and go and anything in between. 'Voyeurs.'
She snorted, finally making it to the darkened parking garage. Again she
thought of Wesley and Willow and how they had been caught by the 'voyeurs' in
the security room. If it weren't for their diligence she would have only had
her own vague suspicions to go on. Now at least she had evidence to fuel her
desire to bring mischief to the two of them.

Tomorrow she would put her plan into action and see what it brought to her. It
certainly wouldn't get Wesley into her bed - but maybe it would get him a
little further away from Willow's as well.

~*~Part Ten~*~

"They want you to do *what*."

Willow looked up, arching an eyebrow at Wesley's tone of voice. It was getting
tiresome going over her conversation with Lilah with him. She pulled the file
she had been given out of her bag, handing it to him. "It's all in there. Just
a little breaking and entering into a cave full of baddies. No big thing. I'll
be back before dinner and we can go out somewhere nice to celebrate another
successful mission." Her gaze wandered around his apartment, noting with
detached interest that he had a bookshelf full of no doubt very interesting
texts on the supernatural. She'd have to take a stroll through them one day and
see if there was anything useful to her.

"Right." Wesley drawled, flipping open the folder. He blanched. What the file
detailed was nothing less than madness. If she pulled this off it would be a
miracle and would put a very powerful artifact into the firm's hands. If she
didn't pull it off.. He swallowed, not wanting to think about that scenario.
"Willow. You cannot be serious. This is. suicide."

"Oh. So you don't think I'm good enough to do it either?" The witch asked, her
voice growing cold as she gazed at the man sitting next to her. She hadn't
expected doubt from him. He was supposed to be there to back her up - was
supposed to be her 'partner' in this whole thing. "Lilah didn't think I could.
She came right out and said it. I showed her how good I was before I left.
She'll probably be calling in sick tomorrow. She sounded like she was coming
down with something really nasty. Like the plague." She chuckled darkly at the
look he gave her. "Don't worry. She won't die. It's a weak strain."

The former Watcher schooled his expression to one of neutrality. He had hit
upon one of the many soft spots Willow had and knew he'd have to talk quickly
to get her calmed down. He knew she wouldn't hurt him. At least, he didn't
-think- she would. Aside from the physical damage she could do to him, he just
didn't want to see her upset. The feelings he had for her had progressed too
far for him to feel the desire to do even the slightest thing that would
alienate her. What if he said the wrong thing and she went running out of
there? Fully into the arms of Wolfram and Hart and far away from where he could
keep an eye on her? Aside from the fact that he cared for her it was also
becoming apparent that she didn't have as firm a control on her darker side, as
he had once believed. She was using magick to cause injury to anyone that she
even imagined an insult from.

"It's not that I don't believe you can do it, Willow." He reached out to her,
taking her small hand in his own and caressing the backside of it gently,
projecting what he hoped was a soothing tone. His eyes held steady to hers, a
concerned look covering his face. "I just don't want to see you get hurt. Those
demons are dangerous. If something happened to you I just..I don't know what
I'd do."

"Shhh." She interrupted, mellowing softly when it was apparent that he had not
been doubting her abilities. He was just worried about her. How sweet. It felt
nice to be cared for again. It touched her in a way little else had in the
months since Tara's murder, melting away some of the layers she had built up to
keep the pain of feeling from becoming a burden. She switched to a different
tactic, that of just trying to distract him from the conversation. "They won't
get to me. Like I said - afterwards you and I can have a nice dinner out. Just
the two of us."

Wesley swallowed hard at the look in her eyes. It was the type of look he would
have given anything to see at anytime other than this. Right now the desire she
was throwing his way was only a stumbling block in his efforts to make her see
reason. He knew she was doing it on purpose, using sexuality to cow him to her
will. "Please, don't do this, Willow."

The witch sighed, shaking her head. She didn't pull her hand from his, though;
didn't want to loose the contact between them. It felt good to feel again. "I
have to do this, Wes. We're still trying to gain their trust, remember? Don't
you want us to be able to spy on their plans for Angel and everyone else?" She
pitched her voice in a way to seem as though she was pleading, asking him for
permission. She, like he, didn't want to do anything to mess up their growing
relationship.

Relationship?

That gave her a start. At what point had she started thinking of what she had
with Wesley as a relationship? How could she have let what she felt get that
far, that fast? 'Tara hasn't even been dead for six months.' She mourned
silently, barely hearing the protests Wesley was still mounting as to why she
shouldn't do this job. Not even half a year and already she had allowed herself
to grow fond of another? And a *man* nonetheless? Wasn't that going against
everything she had had in her relationship with Tara? The softness. The
femininity. Sure, they had always teased Wesley about being a girly-man; but he
was still a *man*.

So, the question remained - At what point had she let her feelings get away
from her and started thinking about this as a relationship? Is that really what
she had with him? They went to work together sometimes and then - well, yes,
they did spend a lot of time together. They had seen not one, but two movies in
the weeks since she had shown up on his doorstep. Dinner together was a regular
thing and, she had discovered, Wesley knew how to cook rather well for someone
who had spent most of his life with his nose in a book.

'No.' She told herself finally. 'This isn't a relationship. We're friends.
That's it. Friends that share smoochies. Friends that want to sleep together
maybe. We do not have a relationship. Never will. Tara was my soulmate. Tara
was my love. I will not let myself care for Wesley!'

"Enough." Willow said softly. "I'm doing the job, Wes. Like it or not. I
already told Lilah I would do it tomorrow night." Despite her resolution that
there would be no relationship with Wesley, the young witch couldn't help but
feel a pang of hurt in her heart at the look on his face. He honestly believed
he was going to lose her to this thing. Well - even if they were only friends
there was no reason not to just ease his pain a little, right?

She leaned in, pressing her lips to his. For a moment it felt as if he would
resist her, his lips remaining hard against her steady pressure. Then, like a
dam crumbling behind the weight of a raging flood, his lips slowly softened,
the kiss becoming two-way. Slowly working his mouth open with a mixture of lips
and tongue, Willow finally was allowed entrance to his mouth, her tongue
seeking out his own for a gentle mating of mouths. Breathless, she pulled away
from him, her hands, playing with the buttons on his shirt, her eyes dark with
desire.

Wesley didn't have the heart to continue his arguments when faced with her soft
hands. The buttons of his shirt gave way one by one until her palms were
caressing circles on his chest. He closed his eyes, leaning back onto the
couch. Even knowing why this was happening, he was unable to mount a desire to
stop her. They both wanted this - at least he wanted to believe they both did.
She was only trying to reassure him in the only way she knew how, of course. He
felt the couch shift as she slowly crawled towards him, straddling his lap. His
eyes opened, getting a very good view down her shirt. He could see the smooth
white skin of her breasts and groaned as his body began to respond in just the
way he knew Willow wanted it to.

'Not a relationship.' Willow told herself, lowering her mouth to Wesley's. She
moved gently against him and the bulge she was feeling beneath her, delighting
in the sounds he was making. When he finally worked up the nerve to begin
returning her touches she almost screamed in pleasure. This was what living was
for her now - pleasure and pain. One then the other. She would give Wesley some
pleasure tonight and then, tomorrow, she'd go out and cause some pain to those
demons that had the artifact. 'Not a relationship at all.' She repeated her
mantra, hanging onto it like a lifeline. This couldn't be a relationship. If it
was she had betrayed Tara. And she would never betray her soulmate.

No - this was just sex.

~*~Part Eleven~*~

One by one the demons fell before her, screaming in agony as she unleashed a
thousand torments upon each and every one of them. Some were torn to pieces,
some felt a plague of a thousand bugs tear at their skin, some froze to death
and others. Well there were no words for what she did to some of them.

And she enjoyed it.

Each and every moment of the pain she caused was like a joyous song in her
heart. Some of the demons were allowed a quick reprieve - a death that came
expediently and didn't linger. Those who fought back found that dying took on a
'life' of its own, the pain meted out of minutes. And, finally, to those few
who managed to lay a hand on her, even for the briefest of seconds, she sent
their souls on to the nether realms of pain, feeding the dark gods there with
their life's energies. It was wrong, she knew.

That didn't stop her, though. For hours she played with the ones that she had
kept aside for 'fun', enjoying their screams. It was an aphrodisiac to her and
she longed to get back to Wesley, to make him take the full brunt of her
night's activities. He wouldn't be privy to what she had specifically done to
the demons, though. No - his morals just wouldn't allow her to share that with
him. He'd be horrified and upset with her. And she didn't want that, now did
she?

On some deeper level she knew that she cared for Wesley a good deal more than
she wanted to. The attraction between the two of them, consummated the night
before in his bed, was strong and the emotions that came with it just as
powerful. As much as she didn't want to admit it, she had fallen for the dark
haired former watcher, the man she had loved to make fun of during her last
high school year along with Xander and Buffy. Love was too strong a word for
what she felt. It hadn't gotten that far and, if she had her way, it never
would. That wasn't fair to Tara. Finding peace with someone else would only
serve to ruin the perfection she had attained during that relationship. Wesley
could never look at her like Tara had. Tara had known her faults and loved each
and every one of them, had helped her work towards becoming a better person.

Wesley? Well he just wanted her to do what was right. He didn't necessarily
tell her what that was nor did he give her any hints other than to make it
clear when he didn't want her doing a 'dangerous' assignment. He didn't make
her feel nearly as special as Tara had each and every time the blonde haired
woman had looked at her. Even on her worst days Tara had loved her for who she
was, even if that wasn't someone she wanted to be with at the time, as the case
when they had broken up briefly. Wesley wasn't like that. He cared for her, she
didn't doubt that for a moment. And she even believed that Wesley thought, on
some level, that she was special. But did he give her those looks that told her
she was the very center of his universe? No, he certainly did not. And did she
want him to even look at her that way?

No.

A moan of pain brought her out of her thoughts and back into reality. She
looked down on the floor, her black-eyed gaze drifting over the last remaining
living demon. He was wimpering in pain, clutching his hand to his chest. Or,
what was left of his hand. She was pretty sure she had ripped all but two
fingers off of it earlier in the fight. She smiled cruelly, kneeling down next
to him. "Poor thing. Want me to make it all better?"

The demon growled, refusing to give in to her taunting words even though he
knew he would soon be dying. His race wasn't stupid. They weren't even evil.
They had been the caretakers of the relic for more than five hundred years and
had guarded it faithfully. And now - this. He was the last and soon would die.
And the witch doing the killing didn't even seem to realize what she was about
to do. She didn't know that the relic would only cause more harm that good out
in the human world. Or did she? Did she know its powers and want to use them
for destruction?

"Won't beg?" The black haired witch sneered, grabbing onto his head by the
thick horn sticking out of the top and wrenching it around until she was
forcing the demon to either shut his eyes or look directly into hers. The sneer
faded to a smile, her lips puckering to blow him a kiss. And then she crushed
his head, her mind wrapping around the body part and squeezing until blood
began to drop from his nose. Then, with a sickening crunch, the demon's head
caved in completely, bits of brain matter oozing onto the floor in a puddle of
filth. She let go of the horn, grimacing in disgust as she checked her clothes.
At least nothing had gotten on her. Brain was so hard to get out of silk.

She made her way slowly through the caves, using her senses to make sure there
were no demons left. Filthy creatures. Living in the ground, in slimy little
caves. Hoarding away precious artifacts that people needed. Who gave them the
right to do that? Their race was better off dead - wiped from the Earth. She
made a mental note to make sure that there were no others of them left anywhere
on the globe one night when Wesley wasn't around. A simple locating spell would
do the trick nicely. The box she had been sent for was sitting, unobtrusively,
in the corner of one of the largest caves. She could tell from the refuse left
on the ground that this had been their main living area. This had been where
the dirty creatures had made their home.

The lid of the box opened easily, bearing the artifact to her eyes for the
first time. This was it? This little carving was what those demons had given
their lives to protect? She rolled her eyes. Just went to show how moronic they
had been. The world was a better place without them, for sure. The artifact
crackled with energy as she reached for it, actual arcs of power snapping to
her hand the second the flesh of her hand met the stone. It was a rush, the
power coursing through her. For a moment she was tempted to keep it just so she
could experience that feeling again.

But then she remembered Lilah and the Senior Partners.

Though she didn't care whether or not she pissed off the female lawyer, the
Senior Partners were another story. Weren't they the ones paying for her
apartment and giving her spending money? Hadn't they bought that cute little
car she was driving? And weren't they the ones that had offered to make sure
she never wanted for anything so long as she just did her assignments like a
good little witch? Why would she want to alienate them? Not when she was
planning on being with Wolfram and Hart for a very long time.

That immediately sent her mind back to Wesley. He thought she was only in this
to protect Angel and the rest of their friends. While that was definitely a
part of her plans, in the long term goals she hoped to one day have a little
office of her own. She had already made it clear to the Senior Partners that
she would not be participating in anything that would cause harm to come to her
friends - though Wesley wasn't aware of that. He didn't know that she had deals
with them at all - most certainly wasn't aware of the fact that that was the
only reason he hadn't been asked to give up any pertinent information on AI. Of
course, Lilah believed that the Senior Partners were just holding off to make
sure they could trust their newest employees. That wasn't the case at all.

But Wesley would get upset if he knew she had made these deals, that she had no
intention of leaving the firm. He firmly believed that the two of them would be
out of the lawyers' grasps within a few months. She knew she'd have to let him
in on everything eventually. There was only so long that he would allow himself
to work for Wolfram and Hart without asking her why they were still there -
especially if he never saw anything about any of the plans on AI. Hopefully by
the time they reached that point he'd be too attached to her to care whether or
not they were leaving. Maybe some of her non-caring-ness would rub off on him
and he would just look at the firm for what they were - a good, well-providing
employer.

She pocketed the artifact, progressing back through the caves and then into the
night air. In the distance she could see the lights of LA glowing brightly.
Wesley was in one of those lit places, waiting for her. And, though she still
didn't want to admit she cared for him, she also didn't want to keep him
waiting longer than necessary. Taking flight, Willow set herself on a course
for Wolfram and Hart to drop off the stone pick-me-up. Then she could go home
and spend some time with Wesley, allay any fears he had picked up and just
*feel* again for a few hours.

When two hours passed and Willow wasn't home, Wesley had tried not to worry too
much. Then three passed, and four. By the end of the fourth hour he had paced
what was sure to turn out to be a hole in his living room carpet. He almost
jumped out of his skin when the phone rang, the shrill sound echoing through
his tiny apartment. He grabbed for it, holding the receiver to his ear and
praying to whatever gods were listening for it to be Willow and not someone
calling to say that the black haired witch wouldn't be coming back - ever.
"Hello?"

"Wes! It's me, Willow."

"Oh, good God. You're alright?" His voice was just barely above a whisper;
heart pounding in his chest.

"Just peachy. I'm just about finished up here. Just gotta take this thing over
to the firm. Mind if I drop by?"

"Not at all. I'd enjoy that." Wesley murmured, his voice holding more emotion
than he had given to anyone in a long time. The night before, holding Willow in
his arms, had been magnificent. He hoped it wasn't just a one-time thing.

"Great. I'll be there in less than an hour. Bye."

"Good bye." The phone clicked before he could even finish. She was in a hurry,
that was nothing new. Better that she get that damned artifact to Lilah's
little hands soon so that the lawyer would leave them alone. This had to be
good for a least a few days' rest from her idiotically insatiable demands. He
placed the phone back into its holder, wandering aimlessly through his
apartment before coming to stand before the window.

He looked out, eyes scanning the darkness. There wasn't anything he was looking
for. He just wanted to look, to try to take his mind off of the thoughts that
were plaguing him like a wasp of hornets in the back of his head.

There was no doubt in his mind that Willow had used herself, her body, to
silence him the night before. She was good at that, knowing just when to give
him that extra little push to send him into a near-catatonic stupor of
pleasure. Despite the fact that he knew she had only slept with him to quiet
his objections to her current assignment, there was no question in his mind
that she cared for him as much as she would allow herself to care for anyone.

As they had laid there, in each others arms, tired and sweaty from an hour of
making love, they had talked. Not about her assignment, because that would have
upset her. But about their goals at Wolfram and Hart and when things would come
to an end. He had gone to bed with the feeling that there was no end in sight.
She seemed perfectly happy to keep working on these silly jobs, doing their
damned assignments, for the foreseeable future.

And that was getting her even deeper into black magick when all he wanted was
to free her from it. The darkness was claiming more and more of her each and
every day. There were rumors around the firm, the kind that were whispered
behind his back when the receptionist thought he couldn't hear, that Willow had
become 'playful' in a purely sadistic way. He had heard one report about a
vampire that had dared to whistle at her as she crossed the firm's lobby. The
security guard who had told him about the event had been scared, almost
fearful, to tell him that the once docile Willow had torn out the vampire's
tongue and then fed it to him before setting him ablaze.

He was, needless to say, no longer anything other than dust.

Rumors such as that made it hard for him to ignore the fact that the woman he
had come to care for was in too deep, way over her head. He didn't want to see
what would happen when she finally fell too far and hit bottom. It was bound to
be a catastrophe for everyone involved, including herself. There was no good
way to tell her how he felt about her magick use - no way for him to come out
sounding no less judgmental than all of her friends had. And in no way did he
want to alienate her or push her away from him. She was too precious for that;
representing the first true friend he felt like he had made in the longest
time. Other than the people he spoke to on a rare occasion at the law firm, she
was his only social contact.

Not that he minded only having her in his life - she was everything he could
have ever wanted, needed. It was just that having her be his everything made it
that much harder for him to say the hard things that needed to be said. Like -
'Willow, you have a problem.' Or - 'Willow, I don't think this is right.' Or
even - 'Willow, I want to quit working for these bloody lawyers.'

He leaned his head against the glass of the window, the coolness seeping into
his warm flesh. If only he could just push his own values and morals aside and
forget about what she was doing; to just let her have her way and spiral out of
control. He'd lose her just as quickly that way. There wouldn't be anything
left of her for him to try to have a relationship with if and when she finally
burned herself out. He was going to have to try to find a way to get through to
her, even if it meant taking extreme measures.

There was a knock on his door and he turned, his heart fluttering wildly with
the knowledge that Willow was on the other side. He crossed quickly, opening
the door and allowing her to slink inside, her eyes lazy with something he knew
now to be desire. "How was your night."

"Boring." She simpered, running a hand along his chest. "Missed you."

He watched her lick her lips and shivered in anticipation. There would be a
better time to talk to her. 'Maybe tomorrow.' He thought half-heartedly, her
lips pressing against his in a demanding kiss. 'Or the day after.'

Or the day after.

~*~The End~*~

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