Healing Wounds

Title: Healing Wounds (Part 1 “Night Terrors”)
Pairing: W/S, W/Richard, W/Jason, W/Asher, and possibly more!
Rating: NC-17
Summary: Willow discovers Spike is still alive, but when she tries to find him it takes her to a whole other world. BtVS/AB crossover
Spoilers: Cerulean Sins for AB, but there has been no pairing with Asher, and Season Seven for BtVS
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Willow woke with a start, blinking back her tears as her eyes tried to adjust to the darkness around her. She had had the dream again, she had been having it every night for the last three months and it was starting to drive her insane. It was always the same, she was trapped in a coffin, unable to escape, and she was hungry, so hungry that she thought she might die, but she never did. The hunger continued to grow, and she just kept right on living. The redhead wasn’t sure why, but she knew the nightmarish visions had something to do with Spike. She never saw him in the dream, but she still knew it was him. It had been three months since he had died, destroying the hellmouth and Sunnydale with it, and every night since she had been haunted by him.

The exhausted witch snuggled down farther into the covers, wrapping her arms tightly around Kennedy, but it offered her little comfort. She had to get to the bottom of these dreams before they finally just drove her over the edge. Either she was suffering from post traumatic stress, and was in serious need of some therapy, or something mystical was happening. In the morning she would call Dawn and ask her to start researching in the watcher libraries, while she searched the internet. Willow wished she could talk to Giles about what was happening, he always had a way of making her feel better about things, but as the newly appointed head of the council, he had his hands full trying to rebuild everything the First had destroyed, as well as trying to track down all the new slayers, which had been popping up all over the world. Still, it would be nice to talk to Dawnie. The new watcher in training was the only one she was still in contact with since that horrible day when they fought the First.

She and Kennedy had moved to Boston, while Buffy was sent to watch over the hellmouth in Cleveland until a new slayer-watcher team could be trained and sent to replace her, at which time she was planning to retire. Faith and Robin Wood had gone to help out AngelLos Los Angeles. Andrew had taken a job with Marvel Comics, and had begun work on a new series called ‘Slayers,’ that was about demon fighting, vampire slaying, busty girls who wear very little clothing and seemingly always fall in love with the geeky guy who obsesses over Star Wars. The series is expected to be a smash hit. Xander on the other hand wasn’t doing so well. With only one eye, his job as a carpenter was pretty much over, and without Anya his desire to learn a new trade, or build any kind of new life really, was just gone. Willow had tried several times to talk to him about it, but so far he was still inconsolable. Willow hadn’t given up hope; she knew he just needed some time like she did after Tara had died.

Her life had changed considerably as well. Kennedy was going through training to become a cop, and Willow was teaching computer classes at the local community college while going to night school. She felt herself drifting apart from her new girlfriend, now that their lives were no longer in jeopardy. Except for the desire and ability to fight evil, they really had nothing in common, and there wasn’t much of a demand for demon fighting in Boston at the moment. Willow knew it wouldn’t last much longer. They rarely talked anymore, but so much had already changed in such a short amount of time that she clung to the failing relationship like a lifeline for her sanity. If only she could get a decent night’s sleep once in a while, maybe she could find the strength to move on and be happy again. Tomorrow, tomorrow she was definitely going to get to the bottom of what was causing her nightmares, once and for all.

To be continued…