Spike crept around the corner, peeking both ways before tip-toeing across the room to Willow's dad's liquor cabinet. He put his fingertips on the handles and... the light switched on. He started busying himself with brushing dust off the top of the cabinet. "Spike, what're you doing? It's 3am on a Wednesday." Willow groaned, walking in and yawning. "The least you could do is be quiet." She said, walking past the vampire to grab her bag.

The vampire's shoulders slumped slightly. He turned with his back to the cabinet, trying to look innocent. "What're you doin' up, Pet?"

"I have a headache." She waved the box of headache tablets she'd retrieved from her bag at him then walked into the kitchen and taking them with some water.

"Well, sleep it off. You'll feel better." He started leading her towards the stairs. "I'll just double-check that everything's locked up good an' proper, eh." He stated, softly pushing her up the first few stairs. Willow gave him a suspicious look then walked the rest of the way, finally thinking she was too tired to care. Her door closed behind her with a clack, signalling to the blond downstairs that it was time to be introduced to the alcohol in the other room. He reached the cabinet with a grin, easing the doors open carefully and pulling out a bottle. He clutched it to his chest with a relieved sigh. "When all else fails... get smashed to buggery." He opened the lid and gulped down some of the fluid, sighing again as he flopped down on one of the couches. "Unlife doesn't look so bloody bad." He sighed then a grin appeared. "A home that I don't have to clean," <The witch does that. Heh heh.> "Booze that no one drinks but me." <Little chit probably hates non-alcoholic even.> "Cable tv." <All the shows that I watch are on through the day and Red's at school so we don't fight over it. I'd win anyway.> "And someone to keep all this secret for me while I plot against the slayer." He took another swig from the bottle. "Now all I need is Drusilla with me and the slayer dead."

Willow woke up and walked downstairs. She heard groaning coming from the lounge room and went to investigate. The girl gasped when she saw all of her father's now empty liquor bottles scattered around the floor and Spike laying on his back on one of the couches, his arm thrown over his eyes. "Spike!" She shouted in anger.

"Bloody hell, Pet, keep it down!" He moaned.

She walked over and sat on the edge, pushing his feet back further into the couch. "Are you okay?" She asked softly.

"No." He groaned back. "I 'urt." The vampire said in a pathetic voice.

The witch got up, soon returning with a glass of water and some aspirins. "I don't know if this'll work since you don't have a beating heart to get the medicine around but if the alcohol can affect you then maybe this will too." She handed them to him and he took them.

"Thanks, Luv. Shouldn't you be at school?"

"Not now I'm not." She jumped up, grabbing the phone and ringing the dorm she shared with Buffy.

"Yeah?" The slayer said over the phone.

"Buffy, it's Willow. Sorry but you're going to have to take your own notes in class today. I feel a bit sick, you know, nothing that won't cure itself with a day away from school."

"Oh, Wills, that's so bad. Hope you get well."

"Thanks, Bu-" But the line was already closed as the slayer had hung up. Willow pouted at the phone in her hands then hung up herself and turned to Spike. "Well, that's done."

Spike looked at her from under his arm. "You know what she was in the middle of, right?"

Willow's nose wrinkled in disgust at the thought. "We need to get you upstairs into bed."

"Tv." Spike said in a small voice.

"If you have a hangover tv wouldn't be the best thing for it. Now come on." She took his arm and slowly led him up the stairs and helped him into his bed, taking off his boots and dumping them on the floor.

"The room is spinnin'." He groaned, covering his eyes again.

She smiled at him. "Yeah, it probably is with the amount of alcohol you had last night. What were you trying to do? Break the world record?"

"Universal." He muttered as a reply.

She grinned at him. All she needed was a video camera...

Spike woke up to find a wet cloth running over his face. His eyes opened slowly and he watched as Willow continued to run the cloth over his cheeks. "Hi. How are you feeling?"

The vampire pouted. "Sore."

She grinned. "You sound like a little boy." He gave her his best puppy dog eyes. "That'll teach you to drink so much." She smiled again, putting the cloth back in the bowl of water on his bedside table.

"Pet, I'm fine. It's just a hangover."

"Yeah, but I don't get to play nurse much so just humour me."

"Nurse, 'eh?" He asked, his eyes half-closing as he smirked at her.

"Spike." She said in a warning tone. "I'm not a-a naughty nurse. I'm one of those old and strict nurses that-that give those big needles and no lollipops." The hacker stated with a nod of her head.

He still smiled at her. "Old ones have more experience."

"Then I'm a young strict nurse that doesn't give lollipops but does give big needles."

"I prefer cream to candy... and you'd like 'big needles', Luv." His smile turned seductive.

"Then-then, uh..." She was quickly becoming embarrassed and nervous around the vampire in the bed she was sitting on. "I'm a young, strict nurse."

His tongue ran along his lips. "Young and sweet, you can dominate..." He grinned. "Rubber gloves?"

The red head jumped off the bed. "I'm not a nurse! I'm-I'm Willow!" She went red and then ran out of the room.

The vampire in bed smiled as his eyes closed again. "Even better." The blond mumbled.

Willow leant back against the closed door of Spike's room. Her face was riddled with confusion at what Spike had just done, practically giving her every reason why he'd have sex with her, strict naughty nurse or not. There was one cold shower waiting for her at that moment.