Title: So Many Directions... (Willow/Graham, Spike/Buffy) (Sequel to And So It
Begins...) (1/1)
Author: Jesmin
Email: notsil314@juno.com
Website: www.geocities.com/notsil314/wanderings.html
Rating: R (language)
Disclaimer: Joss Whedon, WB, Fox, and Mutant Enemy owns the characters in this
storyline. I am just having a little fun. Plus, Ped owns the part of the
story from "Home Again?". Summary: We see how Willow and Graham met. Plus, Spike
and Graham discuss future directions.
Feedback: Yes please!
Dedications: This is dedicated to one of my fellow fan fic writers, Ped, who let
me use some of her fic "Home Again?" and to my feedback buddy, Jessica, who
keeps me going in the W/Gr category.



Heaven? Why am I in heaven?

Graham ran up to the red headed figure. Why was she out here? Girls shouldn’t
be walking alone at this time after dark. Didn’t she know that she was leaving
herself open to being a snack for one of Sunnydale’s paranormal, demon variety
citizens? How could you live in this damn town and not know what really walked
the streets at night? Not only that, but how did Sunnydale keep its populace
up?

She turned as Graham reached out to tap her, a snarl on her face. “I
wouldn’t do that if I were you. Even though I may be someone’s flunky, I do
have friends in high places that can stake your ass!” Disdain was clearly
showing on her face and there were a few streaks of tears drying.

Graham shook his head as he looked at the innocent face in front of him. Her
eyes, even though dark emerald green at the moment, seemed to pull him in. His
breath stopped in his chest for a split second, and he thought, ‘Is this what it
feels like to fall in love at first sight? I thought was what fairy tales were
made of.’

Her face softened a little. As she watched him breathing for a few
seconds, she replied, “Sorry. I thought that maybe you were one of the other
variety.”

Graham shook his head, playing innocent. “Other variety?”

Looking at him closely with scrutinizing eyes, Willow asked, “How long
have you been in Sunnydale?”

Without thinking it all the way through, Graham answered, “I moved here at the
beginning of the school year. A few friends and I transferred down here.”

“A few friends? Maybe we have friends in common. Who are they?”

“Forrest Gates. Riley Fi...”

Willow interrupted him, a look of distaste on her face. “Don’t tell me that you
are one of those Initiative guys.”

Shock appeared on Graham’s face. “What do you know about the Initiative?” he
asked, as he grabbed her.

Kicking him in the shin and bringing him to the ground, Willow answered,
“Nothing. Oh goddess, nothing. I just have heard rumors around. Buffy being
my friend and all...”

Dusting himself off, Graham asked, “You’re friends with Buffy? Did
Riley just blurt it out or something?”

Now not thinking clearly, Willow shook her head at the roughness of
Graham’s voice, answering rather quickly, “No, they just ran into each
other on patrol.” Her eyes widened, as did his, on the word ‘patrol.’

Graham stared at her for a second, taking in what she had just said and also
memorizing all of her he could before he lost her to the night. “Why would Buffy
be patrolling?”

Their eyes connected and Willow found she couldn’t lie to this man.
Several times she tried to come up with a lame excuse, but in the end she came
out with the truth. “Buffy is the slayer.”

Covering his mouth, he tried to stifle the laugh that was rocking
through him. After successfully keeping it at bay, he uncovered it and met her
eyes again, and it was then that he realized she was telling the truth. “The
slayer? As in the myth that keeps demons in check out of fear?”

Willow nodded, “Yep, and I’m her faithful sidekick, who works her wicked witchy
spells to also help keep the demons in check.” She covered her mouth, and then
commented through a slight space between her fingers, “Oops, I think I am just
spilling a little too much here.” Studying him, she moved her hand from her
mouth and placed it on his cheek, her fingers slightly shaking. “Why can’t I
control what I say to you. You’re dangerous. You’re the enemy. I’m not
suppose to trust you.”

Graham laid his hand on top of hers. “I won’t hurt you. You can trust me.”

Her eyes darkened again. “I won’t let you. I can’t chance it again.” She stole
her hand back, stared at him for a second, and then turned and ran down the
street, not giving him time to give chase.

Graham watched her go, wondering why he wasn’t chasing her. Why hadn’t he? He
had asked himself that over and over. It had to be her eyes as she made her
last comment. There was so much hurt and pain radiating from her. When he had
questioned Riley in private about it later, Riley had only commented that her
boyfriend had left her about mid-semester. It had only been a little over a
month or two and she was still in quite a bit of pain over it. Yes, that was
what he had seen in her eyes, the pain of losing Oz. Even though Oz hadn’t been
her true love, he was a major part of her that had literally been torn away from
her. The pain was still fresh inside of her, and he had seen that and didn’t
want to interfere with it. Sometimes he wished he had though. If he had, then
it might not have been so easy for them to separate after the heat was turned on
with Riley leaving the Initiative. Then she wouldn’t have been with Tara, and
he might of had more of a chance.

*****


Thump thump...thump thump...


No not heaven.



Graham sat up. His hands clutched the crimson silk sheets covering the bed he
was laying on. His chest heaved as he breathed in deep, taking in as much
breath as he could. What was happening to him? He was suppose to be dead, with
Willow at his side - not sitting on a strange bed breathing freely. Thoughts
raced through his head. Snippet memories flowed freely, and he grasped, trying
to make sense of them and his predicament now.

A noise from the far side of the room caught his attention. Spike
stepped out of the shadows, lit a cigarette, and sat in a chair across
from the bed. Leaning back and resting his feet on the end of the bed, Spike
drew in a quick drag and then blew it out, just eyeing Graham. After several
seconds that seemed like hours to Graham, Spike asked, “Well, now, I know Red
has her little secrets, but what secret is it that you are hiding?”

Graham shook his head. There was something in Spike’s stare that was
unsettling. “I don’t understand.”

In a quick movement, Spike sat up. “Don’t fuck with me, soldier boy.”

Shaking his head as he was starting to realize that maybe he was
underestimating Spike, Graham answered, “I’m not fucking you. I don’t
understand what is happening to me. There isn’t any reason that I
should...should...”

“Have a pulse, a heartbeat?” asked Spike. Leaning back again, Spike
eyed him for a second, “So you are...?”

“Human.”

The two stared at each other for a few more minutes. After a while,
Spike started to shake his head and laugh. “You’re caught mate, in a
trap, just like me. There is no where in hell for us to go. The only
difference is that you’re in a little thicker than I. When Red gets back from
her little jaunt through Sunnyhell, how are you going to explain the ticker?
What are you going to tell her, that it must be from Initiative tinkering or
something like that?”

Starting to feel flustered, Graham answered, “I don’t know.” Jumping
off the bed, he started to pace the room. “All I have wanted in my life is a
little bit of order, and no matter what decisions I make, I find myself falling
farther and farther from that. What am I going to do? If Willow finds out
something is up, she will rip my throat out, just like she did Rye’s, better
yet, my heart. Wouldn’t that be symbolic?”

“Wow, a bloody poet. Nope. There is no denying that we are family.”

Stopping the pacing, Graham narrowed his gaze at Spike. “Family.”

“Yeah. You know...” When Graham still looked puzzled, Spike rolled his eyes
and explained, “I sired Willow and she sired you, which makes me your grandsire,
which is kind of the equivalent of a grandfather type in a vampire family.
Basically, I’m the patriarch of the family and you are one of my many minions.”

Graham started to laugh, “So what? Am I suppose to answer to you or
something?”

In a flash, Spike put his cigarette out, pushed Graham back to the bed, jumped
onto him, held him down, and bit roughly into his neck. As he bit down harder,
he heard a low growl emitting from Graham but ignored it. He continued for
another minute, taking in blood that was so much more revitalizing than even a
slayers, and then lifted his face away from Graham’s neck. A smile broke out on
his face as he looked at Graham’s face. Hiding it, he commented, “Well, I guess
that spoke to your demon.”

As he left Graham on the bed, Graham reached up and felt the ridges on
his forehead. Slowly, opening his mouth, he felt at his elongated teeth.
Looking up at Spike, he slowly stood on the other side of the bed. With
concentration, he caused his demon visage to disappear and then checked to make
sure it was gone. Fear in his eyes at where things were going, he asked, “What
was that about? Trying to dominate?”

Spike laughed, “It’s also the vampire way. You now bear my mark along
with Willow’s, which means you belong to me. As for dominating, some
vampire leaders take it farther than that, such as me old sire, but I
don’t want to go that far. I want you on my side, because something
tells me that you might end up being the key to getting rid of Red.”

Graham stiffened. “Get rid of Red? Why don’t you have Buffy do that,
and not only that, but why do you want to get rid of Willow? You did
sire her.”

Rolling his eyes, Spike started, “Please, don’t act like I’m stupid. I know
that Willow isn’t crazy, that she sent for you, and that she wants you to help
her take over the hellmouth by overthrowing me. So the question is, now that
you are learning your place and that your plan is known, are you going to go
along with her or help me?”

“I can’t do anything to Willow.”

Laughing, Spike shook his head, “Bloody hell, you must of kept a soul
with that heartbeat of yours, because demons don’t care about each other. It is
all about getting to the top and domination. Willow is in your way - take her
down.”

Graham shook his head. Almost yelling, he replied as he balled his
fists up, his demon face coming back into view, “I said I can’t. You do it!”

Pulling his collar down like it was choking him for a second, Spike
uncovered two bite marks on his neck. Covering them up quickly, he
commented, “Buffy still feels some connection to her. If I did anything to her,
I would die at Buffy’s stake. You’re my way out. If you get rid of Willow
before she kills me, then I don’t have to, which means I don’t have to face
Buffy’s wrath.”

“So I side with you and kill my love so you don’t have to kill yours.
Is that it?”

Spike raised one eyebrow. “Would you rather I kill you now?” When
Graham didn’t answer, Spike added, “She isn’t your Willow. This Willow is just
using you because she knows she can’t take Buffy and I both, but with you, she
has a chance, and if you do defeat us, she will just kill you. Not only that,
but it isn’t like you are going to be able to hide your bloody secret from her.
She’ll hear that damning heartbeat a mile away, from hell and back.”

Graham stiffened as Spike rounded the bed. Spike dug into his duster’s pockets
and withdrew a stake. Placing it in Graham’s hand, he leaned up and whispered
in Graham’s ear, his hot breath beating up against Graham’s neck, “Aren’t
decisions a bitch?”

Staring down at the stake, Graham rolled the stake in his hand, feeling the
splintering wood. How can he decide? Spike? Willow? Maybe even himself? Too
many avenues to pick from. There was more to Spike than met the eye, and there
was something about him that intrigued Graham. When it came to Willow, it
brought back memories of how he would have stayed in Sunnydale just for her, but
she had rejected him the first time. Now was his second chance. Could he give
her up? Was there something for him here in Sunnydale or was she just a shell
of what she had been? Not only that, but maybe there wasn’t anyplace left for
him here. Would it just be easier to just end it all so he didn’t have to
choose?



** memory**
Graham looked over at Riley, uttering the words out of a hidden
bitterness, “You know you don’t belong here, right. This town. You’re nothing
here.”

After all this time, Riley’s reply was lost to him, but he remembered
his answer, “You used to have a mission. And now you’re what, the
mission’s boyfriend? The mission’s true love?”

**thoughts**

Why did he say that when one kind word of acceptance from Willow, a Willow
without Tara, would have caused him to stay. Maybe it was his bitterness coming
through. Yes, he would have given up even the Initiative for her, but he didn’t
have that chance then. Plus, there was the other part of that day when he meant
her in the park.

**memory - Ped's story**

Graham's eyes widen, then close as her lips move over his own. kissing me! *SHE* is kissing *ME*!> He stops thinking and lets himself enjoy
it, pulling her closer and angling his head for better access. He nearly moans
when her tongue licks along his lips, and he opens his mouth to her.

Endless moments later, the kiss ends and they pull apart. Willow looks up into
Graham's face, strangely not feeling guilty at all. "If you hadn't been
Initiative, and I hadn't been Scooby Gang... what might have happened between
us, Graham?"

Graham cradles her face between his hands and leans down to kiss the tip of her
nose. He pulls back, staring into her face again. she's aroused. Another fact for the memory file, today is just a treasure trove
of Willow memories.> "Probably not much, Wills. You were still wary of men,
heck you probably still are. We might have become better friends, and something
like this might have happened sooner, but I think you still would have ended up
with *Tara*. She's what you needed to help you get over Oz."

Willow cuddles into Graham's chest and wraps her arms around him again. "Maybe.
Or maybe I would have just used you for sex." She pulls back to look into his
face.

"Willow!"

"What?" She replies, all innocence.

"You just said that to shock me."

"Well, yeah. I bet you haven't been properly shocked since the last
time you were in Sunnydale."

Graham kisses her nose again, and pulls her back into a hug. "You're
right, I haven't. God! I miss you, Wills. No one understands me the
way you do."

**back to thoughts**

Missed opportunities were building around him, and now it was time for
him to act. Graham shook his head at the last memory he had of her
before he left Sunnydale, after being short with Riley. He had told her the
truth then, mentioned the missed opportunity that whispered in his ear every
day. Looking down at the stake, he tried to remove the memories from his heart
so he could make the proper decision.

So many directions...