A Slight Detour
By Deanie
April 2003

Rating: PG13
Pairing: Willow/Richie Ryan
Genre: BtVS/Highlander Crossover.
Pairing #58 at the Quickie Challenge Site (http://quickie.moonlitpaths.com)
Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own these characters. Willow and the Buffy crew belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy. Richie belongs to Davis/Panzer, 'cause if he were mine, I never would have killed him so horribly.
Distribution: Quickie Challenge site, The Voice Inside...others please ask
Author's Note: This is one of the first crossovers I began writing, and thought I'd pull it out now for a little change of pace in the middle of my epic crossover series.


****

"I'll be fine, Buffy," Willow assured her best friend, pulling on her coat while still talking on the phone. "I know, I know... this is Sunnydale." She slipped her cross over her neck, hiding it under her shirt until she got out of the house. Wouldn't do for Ira and Sheila Rosenberg's daughter to get caught wearing a cross. They would want explanations she couldn't give without sounding like a complete lunatic. "Got my cross," she told Buffy. "Got my stake." Picking up the wooden projectile, she tucked it in her pants.

"Go. Patrol. Kill lots of monsters," she pulled on her jacket as she headed for the door. "I'll meet you at the Bronze." Listening to Buffy's concern for her safety, Willow smiled. Her own mother didn't care nearly as much as her friends did. "I'll be careful, mom," she teased. "I was walking to the Bronze by myself long before you even came to Sunnydale. Okay, I wasn't aware that I might be placing myself in mortal danger, and might have been stalked by a vampire before..." She shook her head. "I'll be fine. See you when you get there."

Hanging up the phone, Willow headed out the door, giving her trusty stake a pat for reassurance. "I'm nobody's vamp bait," she muttered under her breath.

****

Twenty minutes later, Willow was revising that thought. The vampire had been following her for blocks, and he was beginning to gain ground. She was in trouble.

She was still a ways from the Bronze, and there was no help in sight. While she was armed with a cross and a stake, she still wasn't much of a match for the soulless evil who followed her. "I should have listened to Buffy," Willow muttered under her breath.

She looked back, startled to find no one behind her. The vamp was gone? Maybe he caught the scent of someone tastier?

A hand on the back of her neck stopped her in her tracks, his other hand covering her mouth to muffle her scream.

"What do we have here?" She shivered under his assessing gaze. "You should be more careful, wandering around the streets of Sunnydale at night. You never know what's out there... you might be in danger."

He backed her into an alley, holding her immobile with his superhuman strength. She couldn't even get to her stake - he'd tossed that and her cross to the ground. While she was still visible from the entrance to the street, she knew no help would be forthcoming. No one was around, and if they were, the way this evil vamp had her pressed up against the wall, nuzzling her neck, most people would assume they were making out.

No one was going to save her. She was going to die.

A tear ran down Willow's face as his fangs sunk into her neck.

****

Sunnydale, Richie Ryan observed, did *not* live up to its name. He was quickly regretting his decision to take a detour through the supposedly quaint Southern California town.

In the tourist book, it appeared to be a peaceful little city with a nice beach, a few good art galleries, and a halfway decent music/dance club. It had an airport, a marina...and more freaky things than Richie had ever seen - and since becoming immortal he'd seen some strange things. The most bizarre part of all of it is that the residents of Sunnydale didn't seem to notice the strange phenomena. He'd seen an unidentifiable...something in the water at the beach and he'd have sworn he saw a creature with horns lurking in the shadows near his current residence, the Sunnydale Motel.

Still, maybe this 'Bronze' place would be worth checking out. Hell, if it had beer and a band it would be much more of a good time than his last few days on the road. He wasn't worried about his own safety - he was immortal, after all, and had his sword. Plus, he was never very far from holy ground no matter where he was in town. Richie had never seen a place with so many churches and graveyards.

As he rounded the street corner, he stopped, feeling the tell-tale sensation. Not another immortal, but a future immortal who had yet to experience his first death.

Or 'her' first death, he thought, noting that the pre-immortal was a young woman standing over in the alley...presumably with her boyfriend, he thought, as her companion sucked at her neck.

Then, suddenly, the buzz stopped. He watched as the girl slumped to the ground, her companion disappearing into the night with a speed Richie wouldn't have thought was humanly possible. He raced across the street, knowing he'd be too late to save her. The girl's first death had already come.

He cradled her body in his arms, searching for signs of her mortal injury. All he could find were two little puncture wounds in her neck. She couldn't have died from those, could she? No one could lose that much blood from such small holes.

She was young, probably not more than 18 or 19. She'd be young and beautiful forever. Her skin was pale, a perfect match for her beautiful red hair, which gleamed even in the faint light from the moon and streetlights.

He knew it would be a while before she awoke from her first death. He picked her up, carrying her further into the alley. He didn't want to take her anywhere, best keep her near where she died. If she wanted to resume her old life - at least until her friends would begin to realize that she wasn't aging -- no one could know that she'd died.

Richie sat, in the back of the alley, concealed from passers-by on the street, holding the girl's body in his arms.

****

The first thing Willow was aware of was the pain. It tore through her body in sharp waves, leaving her breathless and gasping in its wake.

The second thing she noticed was that she was lying in an alley in a strange man's arms.

The third thing she realized was that she wasn't dead. Or was she? Was she undead? Oh, goddess. She was a vampire!

Willow sat up, her breath coming in quick pants. She was a vampire, one of the evil creatures she'd fought against for so long. All mean, and evil, and soulless...

No, wait. Not soulless. Yep, soul firmly in her body. So, not a vampire. Unless she'd been cursed in the meantime. She didn't feel cursed. A girl would know if she'd been the subject of big-time mojo, right?

Then, she sensed something else... felt something she'd never felt before... a buzz... a strange sensation that seemed to be coming from - him!

Richie watched all of her emotions, clearly written on her face. Pain, fear, panic. All common emotions following a first death.

The girl sprung to her feet and began to back away from him. "What the hell is going on?"

Richie held his hands up, backing up a few steps to let her know he wasn't really a threat. "It's okay. I can explain everything."

"You can explain?" Panicked, Willow's voice came out as a squeak. "You can explain how I got bit, and died, but didn't stay dead and now I hear this buzzy sensation in my head, which, hey... gets better when I'm farther away from you and...and..." Willow took in a slow deep, breath, trying to keep herself from hyperventilating. Breathing now. Good. Breathing meant that she wasn't a vampire, 'cause vampires didn't breathe.

She felt her heart pounding in her chest, and quickly reached a hand down to her wrist to check her pulse. Okay. Not soulless. Still breathing. Pulse present. Definitely, not a vampire. She looked up to see the guy staring at her. Buzzing aside, he was kind of cute... then again, she wasn't the kind of girl to pick up strange men in dark alleys. "Who are you?"

"My name's Richie," he replied. "Richie Ryan. I think we have a lot to talk about."

****

Okay, I confess... I ended it here 'cause I couldn't figure out where to take it from here... Is it worth a sequel? If so, any suggestions as to what to do next?