Web hosting Custom Email SiteBuilder

Title: Queen of the Irish fairies (0,1/?) (To be changed ---- if you
have any ideas PLEASE let me know)
Author: Me…Madziuda that is…:o)
Disclaimers: Almost all characters used in this story are the property
of Joss Whedon, the
WB, 20th, Mutant Enemy, and some other people whose names I don’t really
remember.
Category: Willow/Doyle with slight Cordelia/Doyle overtones
Rating: PG?
Summary: After breaking up with Cordy Doyle thinks that he is not worth
loving…..Fortunately some red-headed witch comes to LA and things are
slowly changing
Feedback: Don’t make me beg…. It depends on you and your opinion if this
story will have another parts…so…pretty please?
Author’s Note: Okay, this is my first English fiction so please be kind.
I’m Polish so my English isn’t very good and you may actually find here
some mistakes (both grammar and spelling) –especially in last few lines
which were not beta read. Anyways I wanted to thank my wonderful
betareader Suzanne from WillowDoyleFic list.
Author’s Note 2: Please write to me at madziuda@poczta.fm and tell me if
it’s worth continuing

PROLOGUE

Dear Doyle
Hello…uhm…I’m fine. The movie is great and the crew is wonderful. I
really Do enjoy the time spent here and I hope you’re not bad yourself
in LA… As you can obviously see I really SUCK at writing letters, so I
guess it will be much better if I just get to the point…The reason why
I’m writing to you is that I want to tell you that I’m…I’m breaking up
with you, Doyle. It’s over. There’s no us anymore…I’m sorry…I’ve met
somebody here and I’m in love with him – I really am. And no, he’s not a
demon (not that I don’t like demons) and I’m not under any kind of spell
either.
I know I should have done it different way. I should have come to LA and
tell you it straight into your eyes, but that would mean that would have
to watch as your heart’s breaking and I’m too much of a coward to do
so…It would be too painful for both of us…
You should know that I still love you – nothing will ever be able to
change that…It’s just…a different kind of love I suppose…Before I’ll end
up this letter I want you to know how grateful I am for all that you’ve
done for me: for your love, affection and patience. I want to thank you
for helping me to become a better person. A person who is able to love
and who is worth loving
Always yours
Cordelia Chase

-It’s over, isn’t it? – Doyle asked Angel already knowing the answer.
He received this letter over a month ago and despite of Cordelia’s
assurances he’s done everything he could to make sure that the guy she
has fallen for wasn’t a creature of the Hellmouth kind. He wasn’t. In
fact Cordy’s fiancé was a wonderful man who has nothing in common with
the forces of darkness.
Now sitting in Angel’s office Doyle was slowly losing all the hope he
had inside. He couldn’t really believe in this whole situation. Things
between him and Cordy had been so good these last few months. They
started going out about a week after that fateful night when he almost
got killed turning off the Scourge’s machine. They had been almost
inseparable ever since that Monday. Things between them looked so
serious that Angel was sure that in a few months time they would end up
as a happy marriage with the whole bunch of children. It never happened.
Two months ago Cordy got a role in some European movie and had to go to
Italy for a month or so. She’s never came back. Why? Well, I guess the
letter pretty much explains everything….
- I’m hopeless – continued Doyle – I mean I’m not even 30 yet and I’ve
already lost two women I loved the most…First Harry, now Cordy…And I
can’t even blame it on my demonic roots…I have to face the fact that I’m
simply not man enough to keep a girl by my side
- Doyle…
- No, Angel, don’t tell me how wrong I am…don’t lie to me. I don’t need
any lies. I can bare the truth. I’ve got what I’ve deserved – I’m not
worth being loved…- with these words Doyle stood up and headed towards
the exit of Angel’s office. Before he managed to walk out of it he heard
behind his back Angel’s calm voice.
- I would never lie to you, Doyle. I have this one rule – I never lie to
my friends and you’re one of them. I won’t tell you that everything will
be okay now because that’s nothing I can be sure of. But what I have to
remind you of are the fact that you haven’t lost Cordy and Harry,
they’re still there for you whenever you need them just like I am. But
that’s not my point. What I wanted to tell you is that one day you will
meet someone who was meant just for you, and you’re gonna be happy….
Doyle didn’t even turn around to look at the vampire. He just said, "I
seriously doubt it" and left the building leaving Angel alone with his
thoughts.

PART ONE

Few weeks have passed since that conversation and things have kinda
changed in Angel’s Investigation’s. To be more specific – DOYLE has
changed. He was now spending his whole time at the office helping Angel,
researching, reading ancient prophecies and waiting for his infamous
mind wrenching migraines. He has concentrated at his work so much that
he hardly ever slept. He even stopped visiting his favorite pubs and
drinking alcohol, remembering and finally agreeing to his ex-wife’s
words "This stuff does you no good Francis" This quite sudden change of
behavior made Angel pretty concerned about the little Irishman. He
missed good old Doyle and would do pretty much anything to have him back
alive and kicking. The question was what on earth would make Doyle want
to live again…
The answer came one sunny morning with a single knock at the door
- I’ll get it- called Doyle from the upper office and rushed to the door
opening them widely to see red-haired young woman with a suitcase in one
hand.

***************************************************************************

This past school year wasn’t any good for Willow Rosenberg either. In
fact it was probably one of the worst years in her entire life. All she
believed in has fallen into pieces and couldn’t be brought back to its
previous glory at any cost. Her boyfriend killed another werewolf in
front of her and wanted to make a snack of her, her two best friends
were too busy with their love lives to devote her much time, former bad
ass vampire-now impotent tried to kill her and from all of this things
she ALMOST fell in love with a GIRL. No wonder that all she dreamed of
now was to get out of the Sunnydale for some time. The only problem was
that she didn’t really have anyplace to go…it took her one month of the
really hard thinking to realize that she has friends in LA. Or since
Cordelia moved out to Europe she should rather say ONE
Friend in LA. His name was Angel and she was going to visit him in order
to help him reorganize the office after Cordelia’s departure.
The day when she knocked on the Angel’s Investigation’s door was
supposed to be the day that would change her entire life.

***************************************************************************

Fire. The wall of fiery red hair encircling small round face with big
green eyes and shy but wide smile. That’s what Doyle saw when he’d
opened the door for Willow. He couldn’t take his eyes off of her.
- Hi! – He heard her cheerful and bit nervous voice. The voice that
could belong to the queen of the Irish fairies.
- Hello. What can I do for ya’? – He finally spoke letting her into the
office
- Uhmm…I’m looking for Angel, is he in? – She asked looking at Doyle
carefully
- Yes…he’s downstairs brooding as always. Want me to call him?
- Yes…please?
Doyle nodded and and headed towards the elevator and bent over it
- Angel!! There’s someone to see you!!! _ he shouted into the elevator’s
hole and then came back to the young visitor, taking another long look
at her. *Wow* he thought *she really is something*
She was beautiful – he noticed it right away – but her beauty wasn’t
ordinary. Sure, she was slim, had long legs and all, but, well, there
were hundreds of girls outside that had the same and he’d never really
bothered to give them another look. No, the way she looked like was way
beyond anything he knew on earth. The secret of her unusual beauty laid
in her face, her eyes, mouth, her hair…even her nose was pretty. She
smiled at him. God, her smile was like the spring sun, full of natural
warmth, lightening not only her face but also her whole surrounding, her
eyes were like the chests in which someone had hidden the world’s
greatest treasure. Looking into those deep green eyes long enough one
could see the girl’s heart and soul smiling down on him. Her nose
slightly bent upwards gave her face the mischievous yet adorable
expression of a girl with strong character. Her face was full of
emotions. It was alive, so very alive…Doyle couldn’t remember seeing
something like that in his entire life. And her hair…He could swear they
were on fire. They were so extraordinary yet so familiar – they reminded
him of home. All in all this girl with her fair skin, green eyes and red
hair seemed to come from the beautiful and mysterious world of Irish
fairy tales…She was…
- Willow!- Angel’s cheerful cry interrupted Irishman’s further thoughts
- Angel, hi – the girl smiled at his sight and waved a tine hello. She
was about to say something more but finding herself in vampires strong
hug made it difficult to do so
Now, Doyle was really confused
- Okay…so…you two know each other……- he asked slowly when Angel finally
let willow out of his embrace.
Angel looked at his friends with a disbelief as if he was asking about
something as oblivious as the fact that the Earth was round.
- Doyle, this is *Willow*- he emphasized her name


PART 1B
"Doyle, this is *Willow*"he emphasized her name

"No kidding…I kinda figured it out when you cried her name few moments
before" the Irishman grinned at his boss and then turned to the
red-haired wonder that was standing next to the vampire

"Nice to meet ya’ lass, I’m Doyle, Angel’s co-worker

"Yeah, I thought you might be", she giggled "Pleased to meet you Doyle."
She wanted to shake hands with him but instead Doyle lifted her hand and
kissed it’s back with a smile.

"The pleasure is all mine." Angel just rolled his eyes at this, with a
fake annoyance

"Doyle, Willow is a member of Sunnydale’s ‘Scooby-gang’. She’s a friend
of Buffy," he explained

Doyle hit his forehead with his palm "Oh, right! I should have
remembered. ‘Delia told me about you." Willow’s smile faded at that.

"I apologized to Cordelia for what happened between me and Xander for,
like hundred times", She sat down sadly "Guess that wasn’t enough." she
added

Doyle looked at Angel then back at the girl "No, no, no, no…Cordy got
absolutely over it. Really…She actually told me about you all the good
stuff…"

But Willow wasn’t listening to him. She was just staring sadly at the
floor. She knew it. She simply knew it. Even there in LA she couldn’t
escape, couldn’t forget, her past came there before her and managed to
ruin her future. Now even a stranger like that Doyle guy, knew her
faults. Even he knew that she didn’t deserve being loved and respected.

Angel saw her sad gaze and noticed the awkward silence that filled the
whole office. "Sooo, Willow", he began "where are you going to stay?" he
asked. The redhead looked at him relieved and somehow surprised

"Well, I was thinking about this motel across the street, though I
haven’t been there yet, I just thought that it would be nice to come
here first and say hello."

"You did right," nodded Angel "but you’re not going to stay there."

"Why?" She asked surprised

Angel looked down at her. It was strange. His feelings for her were
strange. Even he couldn’t quite understand them. He liked her the most
from the whole Scooby gang; moreover he was sure that he loved her. No,
not the way he loved Buffy, not even the way that a man loves a woman.
He loved her like a daughter. He felt responsible for her and was
extremely protective. The motel that she was talking about definitely
wasn’t good for alone young girl like her. Different types of people and
demons hang around there.
"You’re going to stay at Cordelia’s place, it’s nice, comfortable and
it’s not far away from the office plus it’s rent controlled for next six
months, right Doyle?"

The Irishman simply nodded not really paying attention to what was Angel
saying. He was too deep in his thoughts to be fully aware of anything at
all. He couldn’t quite believe himself. He had just met the eight wonder
of the world and what has he done? He’s hurt her. He hasn’t even known
her for 10 minutes and yet he has already managed to hurt her.

He saw in her eyes that his words opened some old painful wounds again.
He felt like a criminal who had just destroyed something incredibly
valuable. He looked at her, she was chatting lightly with Angel like
nothing has ever happened, she was even smiling but Doyle knew that her
heart was indeed still sore. And that was his entire fault.

With these thoughts he made a decision, one that could be easy to anyone
who has ever seen Willow Rosenberg. He decided…no… he VOWED to himself
that he will stay away from her, that he will talk to her as little as
possible, cause otherwise he could come too close to her and hurt her
even more. And that would be the last thing he would ever want.

He knew that it won’t be easy, after all she was going to spend a lot of
her time helping Angel at the office not to mention the fact that there
was something inside her that was just screaming at Doyle to look at
her, but he knew that it was for her own sake. This decision took away
from him another part of his already torn heart.

So no wonder that he did everything he could to avoid driving her to
Cordelia’s apartment. But since the Sun was still shinning outside he
was the only one who could do it. So he took the girl’s bag in one hand,
car keys in the other and headed downstairs towards the car park beneath
the building. Not looking at her, he told Willow to follow him.

PART 2

They drove in silence. Each of them wasn’t speaking for their own
personal reasons. Doyle was determinated to keep his promise and was
ignoring his passenger as much as he could where as Willow was
concentrated on looking at Doyle without being caught. She felt quite
uncomfortable with him it almost physically hurt her to know that he
disliked her.

She had every reason to think like that. After all at the very beginning
when he had no idea who she was, he was being nice and even seemed to be
a little attracted to her but then, when he heard her name and
associated it with Cordelia’s tales from Sunnydale he immediately
changed his behavior towards her. To Willow it was oblivious that he
already judged and classified her as a cheating, hurting other people’s
feelings type of girl.

*I shouldn’t be surprised. After all that’s exactly who I am, everywhere
I go all I bring is sadness and disappointment. Even a homicidal
she-werewolf is better than me * she thought remembering the events with
Oz and Veruca… * I really shouldn’t have come to L.A * she thought
sadly. She felt miserable.

She really wanted this guy to like her. He had something inside than
dragged her to him like a magnet. But she knew that he didn’t want her
to be dragged to him, she knew he didn’t want her to be anywhere near
him. She could sense it in every move he made and every breath he took.

With the corner of his eye Doyle saw Willow staring at him * I bet she’s
really ashamed of being seen in one car with someone who looks like a
retard * he thought looking down at his mismatched clothes and noticing
reflection of his worn face in the car’s mirror.

And so, both deep in their thoughts, both convinced of their own
worthlessness they got to Cordelia’s place. They climbed up the stairs
and Doyle showed Willow which apartment was hers. Then he put her bags
down and took the keys out of his pockets handing them to her.

"You’ll like this place. It’s really…neat." He said with a cold
politeness

She nodded silently thanking him for a lift. He slowly turned around and
started heading towards the exit. Suddenly he stopped in his tracks and
turned to Willow.

"Oh, and Willow…"

"Yeah?" She looked at him somewhat hopefully

"Did you like ‘Casper’?" He asked

"The friendly ghost? Yes, that’s actually one of my favorite cartoon
heroes. Why?"

"Just asking…." with that he walked away leaving Willow in front of her
new apartment.

*************************

It was late at night when Doyle came back to his own apartment. He
didn’t really like spending his time there anymore. It was too empty. He
felt trapped there. Every second spent inside reminded him of his
loneliness, every inch of the room screamed at him: " you’re not worth
being alive"

That’s why he never let the silence fill the rooms, that’s why’d rather
wander around his not-so-safe neighborhood then stay inside. His bed
hasn’t been touched since the day Cordy dumped him. He seldom slept at
all. He was too afraid of his dreams in which the ghosts of the past
were haunting him night by night not giving him any peace at all. That’s
why he hasn’t missed a single battle with the forces of darkness. You
could almost say that he was inviting death to his life. Angel knew it
but couldn’t do a thing to stop him. His friend simply didn’t want to
live any more.

Doyle sat down at the table with a sigh. He turned the TV on and lit the
cigarette. Sure he stopped drinking alcohol but instead he came back to
his old bad habit of smoking. It wasn’t even like he liked cigarettes
that much. Actually they made him feel sick, but at least they kept his
hands busy and helped to sooth the stress a bit.

Unwillingly he looked around the room, his eyes stopped at the sight of
two photos standing proudly on his bedside table. They were more
reminders of the past. Doyle knew how much pain it cost him to look at
them but still he couldn’t force himself to destroy or at least hide
them away. Both pictures were of his past loves.

The one standing on the left side of the table was made on his wedding
day. He stood there proud in his tuxedo holding Harry’s hand, smiling at
her. They were very young then. They had so many plans for the future.
Some of them they managed to bring into life but most of them went down
the toilet the second he found out that he wasn’t completely human. Now,
he knew that Harry didn’t mind his demonic roots and loved him despite
his heritage, but he didn’t know it then. They were together only 3
years, too short.

The second photo was of him and Cordelia. It was taken a week or so
before Cordy’s departure. That day they were having a picnic in a park
outside the city. They spent the whole day laughing, talking, kissing,
and fooling around. Doyle remembered that he felt as if he was 19 again
that day. In this photo, taken by some passer-by, Cordy was lying on his
lap laughing while he tried to feed her with some grapes. The whole
world didn’t matter to them, then.

They were alone, without any worries, only him, Cordy and their love. .
He would give all he had to feel like that again, to have someone who
would love him and whom he would be able to love, in his arms. Doyle
stood up and wanted to make his daily ritual of kissing both pictures
when suddenly he fell to his knees overwhelmed by pain. In an instant
his whole world faded away.

He shut his eyes waiting for the vision to come. But he couldn’t see
anything…no name, no face, all this vision consisted of were voices, or
rather one voice, one long heart breaking scream followed by several
sobs. And then his vision became clear. For a second he could see small
human form curled up into a ball, shaking with sobs. He could see it was
a woman…a red-haired woman. It was Willow

PART THREE
Silence.Darkness.Silence AND darkness.That was all Angel needed to be happy.Not perfectly happy, mind you, but still.happy. That night he had them both, phone wasn't ringing, lights were off.* that's almost too good to be truth * he thought sitting at his desk and closing his eyes. He decided to make a good use of the situation and spent some hours on..brooding. Unfortunately the perfect calmness was soon ruined with the loud banging on the door. Unwillingly Angel stood up and with a stake in a pocket him went to open the door.

- Doyle. - somehow he wasn't surprised at the sight of his half-demon friend - What's up?

- We've got trouble, man.- gasped the Irishman rushing past the vampire into the office..- It's Willow. Something's after her.

- What?

- I don't know man.I had this vision and all I've seen was this girl screaming her head off. - the Irishman said his voice thick with concern
-So maybe it's nothing big.Maybe she was just scared or it wasn't even her , after all you've only seen her for an hour.or maybe your vision simply wasn't finished - Angel tried to sound as if he was sure that nothing wrong has happened but he knew that he was only fooling himself. He gave his friend a look and noticed that his eyes have never been that dark. And then he knew. He knew that nothing was okay at all.

Is it that bad - he asked as he sat down looking at the half -demon with intensity.
Doyle looked at Angel sadly and sighed
- You see, When I get a vision it hurts so much not only because the Powers that Be forces those images into my head with a hammer but mostly because I feel some of the pain that the person from the vision is suffering - he explained - and this time.this time it felt as if someone was tearing me into small pieces. I've never felt that way. - Doyle swallowed hard - And this is only a small percent of the pain that she will suffer - he finished quietly not looking Angel in the eyes.
The vampire said nothing. They both remained silent for the next few minutes - too concerned too talk, too busy thinking what to do next.Finally Angel spoke up
- We have to watch over her.- he said quietly
Doyle nodded totally agreeing to his boss' words
- day and night..
Another nod from Doyle. At this Angel lifted his head and finished his sentence looking the Irishman straight into the eyes
- You will move into her apartment
Doyle jumped up from his seat
- What?!- he cried out
_ You. Will. Move. In. To. Her. Apartment - Angel repeated slowly making sure that Doyle would understand every single word properly
- I heard you. I just don't UNDERSTAND you - the Irishman replied and started pacing nervously - And no way man, I'm definitely NOT going to do that
- You HAVE to do that Doyle - Angel rose from his seat, facing his friend - There's no other way we can keep her safe. I cannot protect her during the daytime hours..one ray of sunshine and I'm a big pile of dust..With all the clientele we have she cannot safely live in my apartment either...
- I get that man, but lets think it over - Doyle started to explain his point of view still pacing - I mean, what can I do if she's in danger? I can't fight, I can't save her. I have my own enemies...my own debts that will put her in danger as well if she'll stay anywhere near me.Plus she doesn't even like me. I'm hurting her myself. I'll probably do her more damage just being around her than any demon attacking her. And what if.
_ Doyle _ Angel interrupted him by grabbing his shoulders making him stop pacing - do you care about her?
This question stunned Doyle
- I don't even know her. - he replied faintly not looking the vampire in the eye
Angel obviously wasn't satisfied with that kind of answer
- Do you *care* about her Doyle - he repeated his question looking the half demon straight into the eyes
Doyle couldn't lie anymore. Not to Angel at least
_ I do.probably more than I should - he replied quietly - but.
- No "buts" then Doyle - Angel released him from his grip - if you really care about Willow you've got to make sure she's safe. You'll worry 'bout the rest later..
Doyle just nodded knowing that Angel was right
**************************************************
Willow spent her first night in La laying in Cordelia's bed clutching an old teddy bear to her chest trying hard not to break down completely. She was sad if not depressed. The earlier meeting with Angel's coworker made her realize what a big mistake she made by coming to LA. Leaving Sunnydale she thought that visiting the soulful vampire would help her cope with the past events. But she haven't thought about how her arrival would affect the others. * I'm such an egoist * she sobbed. Seeing Doyle's reaction to her presence Willow realized that by staying in the office she would do nothing but disturb. She knew that she would annoy this guy and as a side effect she would make it harder for him and Angel to work together. If not for the fact that at the moment she had nowhere else to go but Hellmouth, she would immediately leave this city, instead of being a third wheel. She was in the middle of crying herself to sleep when the phone rang loudly. Willow shot upwards in bed, wiped her nose and clearing her throat in order to make her voice normal again she picked up the phone
- Hello?
- Willow?
She smiled hearing Angel's calm soothing voice. She immediately felt a bit better
- Hi Angel, that's me. What's up?
Carefully, not to frighten her too much, Angel explained Willow the whole case
- You shouldn't be worried though. I Won't let anything happen to you - he continued his monologue - We'll be constantly looking after you. Doyle will be at your place in an hour. He will move in to your apartment to provide you the best protection during the daytime hours.
- What? - she cried not letting the vampire finish his sentence
There was a loud sigh at the other side of the line
- Doyle will move in to your place - he repeated. Hearing nothing he continued. - Doyle. My coworker? The one that gave a lift to your place? C'mon I'm sure you remember him
- I know who are you talking about.
- That's great than..He'll be at your door at no time. He just stopped by at his place to take some stuff
- Oh, ok - she sighed
-See you than Willow. And don't worry everything will be fine - he assured her once more
- I know. Bye Angel.
- Bye
Willow was resignated. As if things were not complicated enough the guy that probably hated her for hurting his girlfriend's feeling was going to live with her. She sat down on the bed burring her face in her hands. *Just my luck * she muttered.
************************************************************
Doyle was nervous. He couldn't imagine living under the same roof with this girl and not being able to touch or hold her.He wasn't sure if he could control himself well enough to avoid hurting her feelings. He didn't know how would he be able to bear the thought that she hates him and considers him as the last person on earth with whom she could make friends. He entered her building with a loud sigh. He had that bad feeling that those next few week would soon turn into a complete disaster. If only he could he would just turn around and run away from this whole responsibility, from that girl waiting for him in her apartment and from.himself. After all that was what he did the best. .. running away.But this time it wasn't possible. Not if he wanted her alive at least. Doyle was just about to knock on Willow's door when he heard a snarl behind his back. He slowly turned around and saw a yellow skinned guy leaning on the wall.
- Well, well, well, if it's not mister Alan-I help a vampire with a soul and kill all the demons around-Doyle - he said looking at Doyle the way that fox observes his prey
Doyle sighed. * just my luck * he thought. Aloud he asked
- What do you want?
The demon growled.
- What do you think I want? Revenge..- with that he lunged at Doyle and the fight began.
The demon was a good fighter. A definitely good fighter. Much, much better than Doyle who was obviously losing his strength with each received punch. But even though he knew he was losing he refused to willingly change into his stronger self. Finally a coincidence decided for him. His attacker punched him hard in the face. The blow was strong enough to throw him into the wall. The impact made him change. The skin on his head turned green and some pointy spikes appeared on it.
- God, I * hate * it - he murmured but didn't shake it off
Instead he got up and rushed to his opponent. The anger and self-hatred gave his demon-self great strength. He started winning
************************************************************
Willow was waiting in her apartment for Doyle's arrival. After the first moments of shock and depression she finally gotten used to the thought that Angel's partner will be moving into her place. Moreover some kind of rebellion arose inside of her and she decided to ignore his obvious prejudice towards her and do all in her might to show him that she was something more than just a cheating bookworm. She was in the middle of preparing her famous lasagna when she heard some kind of noise outside the door. She turned to oven off and went to check out what was going on. What she saw outside equally shocked and frightened her. There were two demons fighting in the hall. One of them was big with yellow skin, dressed in some kind of old-fashioned suit whereas the other was quite short, green and spikey, wearing casual, slightly mismatched clothes. The shorter one was definitely beating the crap out of his opponent.
She screamed.
************************************************************
Doyle was winning. He didn't have any satisfaction in beating this guy up but still it helped him to release some stress. He was just about to finish the demon up when he heard a scream behind his back. He immediately turned around giving with that a chance of escaping to his opponent. But Doyle haven't even noticed it --- all he could see was Willow standing in the door her big frightened eyes staring at his demonic face. He wanted to say something but didn't know how.he wanted to do something but didn't know what. All he could do was stay where he was staring back at the red haired girl.
************************************************************
Willow was scared. Not because of what she saw but because of what she knew was going to happen next. The green spikey demon was definitely out for blood and, with the second creature escaping, she was his only target. And she was totally unarmed, totally unprepared, totally helpless. She saw the demon coming closer to her and then she remembered. She wasn't helpless. She had a weapon. A very powerful weapon - the one that laid beneath her skin.
She started chanting.
************************************************************
Doyle, unable to shake his demon off at the moment, was trying to come closer to Willow to show her who he really was. Suddenly he saw something strange. Willow's eyes started glowing bright orange and a big fire-y ball was forming in her hands. He stopped in his tracks not having a slightest idea what was going on. He opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by a strong painful blow. Doyle went flying across the hall. The impact with the wall was strong enough to cause another metamorphose. Doyle changed back into the human form.
Willow just stared at him in shock.

PART FOUR


Willow and Doyle were sitting at the table in complete silence. Both still deep in shock, both too embarrassed by revealing their secrets in front of each other to speak.. They tried hard not to look each other in the eyes. Willow was staring silently at the floor whereas Doyle, sitting at his chair with his arms crossed, was aimlessly staring in the space. Finally the red-haired girl spoke up



"Who are you?" she asked
Doyle looked at her briefly before returning his gaze back to the wall in front of him



" Alan Francis Doyle. Angel's associate." He answered dully.



" Well, five minutes ago you certainly didn't look like him at all," Willow stated, annoyed at his ignorance. He looked at her again, and this time he didn't immediately look away.



"I'm Alan Francis Doyle," he repeated. "I work for Angel and on occasion I also happen to be half demon."



"You're WHAT???" Willow exclaimed, standing up from her seat.



"Half demon." He answered calmly, looking up at her.



"Does Angel know?"



"No, you see working with him for almost a year, I decided that keeping it away from him is much more fun." His voice dripped with sarcasm. "Besides, I'm not the only one who's been keeping a secret here," he said matter-of-factly. Willow sat down again and crossed her arms.



"I'm not keeping any secrets."


"So, Miss I'm-all-honest, would you care to tell me who the hell *you* are?" he looked hard at her



"I'm not a demon." she said.


"So I've figured." He nodded and when she remained silent, urged her on. "I'm waiting here.



"I'm a witch," she said quickly not really wanting him to hear her answer.


"I thought you might be." He returned to his extremely interesting activity of staring at the wall.
Willow felt so awkward - she didn't expect this kind of reaction from him. She had rather thought that he would laugh at her or maybe freak out.but she definitely didn't think about him remaining calm.



She didn't like it.it made her, well, it made her feel awful. She realized she hadn't been fair to him, deciding to do something to make it up to him.



"You hungry?" she asked He looked at her in surprise. "I asked: 'are you hungry?'" she repeated with a smile. At this Doyle's heart melted and he caught himself smiling as he replied
"As a lion."


************************************************************************
An hour later the two were already finished. The tension faded and without having anything to hide from each other anymore they both felt free and cleansed. They were talking like they knew each other for centuries.


Just as Willow stood up to take away and wash the dishes something rang in her bag which was lying under Doyle's chair



"It's my cell phone!" she shouted from the kitchen. "Just pick it up, please!" Doyle felt a little awkward but did as she said



"Umm..hello?" he asked a bit uneasily
There was a brief moment of silence at the other end of the line before someone spoke up



" Hello." the voice was surprised and a bit concerned. "Not that I'm rude or something but.who the hell are you?"
Doyle rolled his eyes. It wasn't the first time someone asked him this question that day



"A Cinderella," he answered, annoyed. *What the hell is this guy thinking, he's not the one to ask questions here* he thought. There was some noise at the other side and Doyle imagined that the person out there has just smashed his fist into the wall.



"Look, I don't know who are you or where do you have this phone from but I swear if you hurt Willow I'll find you and. " The voice was now angry and Doyle could tell that its owner certainly wasn't just joking around.



" Take it easy man," he interrupted him. "I'm just a friend. Willow's washing up in the kitchen and asked me to pick up her phone," he explained with a slight grin. Whoever that guy was he certainly cared about the girl.


" Oh." The voice was obviously embarrassed about his outburst. At that moment Willow entered the room.
" Who's that?" she asked.
Doyle just shrugged and handed her the cell. She raised her eyebrows at him and took it from him.


"Yea? . Hi!" she said happily. "Yes, I'm all right.No, no that was only Doyle.yes, he's a friend.NO, he's NOT a killer. I trust him - Angel sent him to protect me."
Doyle's eyes went wide. He couldn't believe his ears. SHE TRUSTED HIM.He smiled. *Maybe she doesn't hate me after all* he thought.
Meanwhile Willow was still talking on the phone.
- Yes, you heard me right, I said *Angel*, and NO he's not evil, again.no, I'm not in trouble," she lied a little. Than she was silent for a while. The guy with whom she was talking must have said something funny because Willow laughed straight from her heart. At this sound some weird sensation came down Doyle's spine. Willow tilted her head and smiled a really sweet smile directed at whoever was on the other side of the line. "Yes, you know it.I DO love you.Bye."


She turned the cell off and shot another smile at it. Then she sat down on the sofa next to Doyle. Seeing his inquisitive expression she laughed a little. Doyle was taken aback at it.



"What?" he asked. "I just wanted to know who was it. You know, as your bodyguard I should know this kind of stuff," he explained lamely.
Willow grinned.


"It was a friend from Sunnydale. Xander Harris." Doyle's eyebrows shot upwards with amazement
"THE Xander Harris? The was who dated Cordy?" he asked, not being quite able to believe it.



"The one and only." Willow's grin went wider at the memory of her life-long friend. Doyle stared at her wit disbelief for a while and then turned his gaze to the floor.



"Soooo." he started uneasily. "Are you and he ." he made some weird movements with his hands while searching for the right words. "You know.in love?" He waited anxiously for the answer.



"No," she laughed shaking her head. "I had a big crush on him during our childhood years. We even had a fluke in high school but nothing more than that..We're much better off as best friends , I guess.." Then her smile faded from her lips. "He's actually the only one from Sunnydale who still cares about me at all."
Doyle looked at her with compassion and genuine concern



"Wanna tell me about it?" he asked, putting his hand on hers encouragingly . Willow sighed and looked at him.



"It started when we went gone to college."

*****************************************************************

Willow finished her story of lost friendship and broken dreams with a sad sigh. She looked up at her companion who was just sitting across the table looking at her silently. He didn't say a word during her whole, long monologue. He just squeezed her hand once in a while when the story was getting sadder and sadder. She was really grateful for it.



She didn't want the sympathy, had always avoided getting too heavy to avoid the same pitying gaze he directed at her now. She stood to escape it, looking at the pictures framed on the mantelpiece. Her fingers trailed across it, pausing on the burned high school diploma, on Cordelia's trophies. On a picture of the gang the day after graduation. They all looked a little the worse for wear, but were all smiling.



"I envied her." Willow said softly as she saw the picture of Cordelia and Doyle.



"Why?" The Irishman shrugged. "She wasn't all that happy. Her dreams about fame and fortune never came true. All she had was destroyed by reality." Willow smiled sadly.

"I wasn't talking about that."



"Weren't you?" Doyle raised his eyebrows.

"No. She was lucky - she was truly loved, first by Xander then by you." She paused. "You'd give your life for her, wouldn't you?" she asked quietly, already knowing the answer by the look on his face.


"I'd give up all I have. For what it's worth."



"What do you mean?" Doyle sighed.



"You see, Red, my heart, soul, my life isn't worth anything much. I wasted them a long time ago. If I tried to give them away it'd just offend someone else." He paused, and looked again at the girl in front of him. She was watching him with curiosity and warmth, her eyes seemed to be telling him 'C'mon, you know you can trust me'. He took a deep breath. And told her.



For the first time in a long time, he opened up to someone. He hadn't been able to before, not even with Angel despite the knowledge that Angel would never judge him for it - just look at the guy - and that he'd help. He told Willow about that night, when his world was destroyed and irrevocably changed.




PART FIVE

Several weeks passed and nothing bad has happened. The only thing that reminded Doyle of his vision was the fact that he still lived with Willow, which certainly wasn't bad at all. He quickly got used to the new lifestyle. A lifestyle that included one red haired lass with a heart bigger than the whole Ireland.


His days were no longer blue and his nights finally stopped being restless. Every day with Willow was the same, yet so amazing. They would wake up early in the morning, eat something for breakfast and argue who was going to use the shower first. Then they would hurry to the Angel's Investigations and no matter how fast they would run they'd always be late. If there weren't any big bad in the office, they'd have a break during the lunchtime hours to eat some ice cream at the seaside. They would come back to their apartment late in the evening, eat something hot, watch TV for a while and then they'd usually talk their night away.


Watching Doyle, Angel could tell that Willow gave his friend back his life.but it wasn't the one that he used to have before her arrival. The life that she gave him was better: happier, fuller.
Indeed, having gotten rid of the burden of the past Doyle felt cleansed and reborn. The old regrets disappeared and were replaced with the new hopes. His almost sarcasm-less sense of humor and his will to avoid any life-threatening fights came back to him. He even started some courses in order to renew his teaching license just in case he would need some extra money in future.
And it all happened thanks to one young woman who didn't even know how much she meant to this particular Irishman.


**********************************************************************



That night Doyle was just lying on the sofa thinking about that girl who came to his life as mysteriously and gracefully as the queen of the Irish fairies that his grandma told him about when he was very young. Suddenly he felt some cold drops of water on his face. At first he just turned around not willing to turn his thoughts away from the red haired wonder, but when the drops changed into the strong flow he shot upwards on his bed startled. He opened his eyes to see a mug floating in the air by itself. He sighed with the mixture of annoyance and concern.



"What's up Dennis?" he asked the friendly ghost.
He gained no answer, of course but instead he felt the rug that covered him being taken away.



"Is there something wrong with our Red Head?" he asked again, more concerned then before.
He got up and slowly headed towards the room where Willow was sleeping. In the middle of his way there he heard something that filled his heart with pure fright. He heard the silence being torn by a long heartbreaking, bloodcurdling scream.. Willow's scream.
He rushed to her bedroom and saw something that he prayed for those last few weeks to never see in his life. He saw his vision coming true.
In the darkness of her room Willow was sitting in the corner, curled up into the ball, pressing her hands hard to her ears, screaming with fear and pain. Doyle run to her, fell down to the ground and took her in his arms holding her as close as he could, hoping he could absorb some of her pain in him this way, wanting to give her all the strength he had.
She started sobbing, her whole body shaking. Doyle held her even closer. He stroked her hair repeating over and over the same soothing words.



Suddenly he fell to the floor pushed away by some powerful force. He looked around expecting to see some kind of powerful demon near him. He haven't seen anything like that instead he saw Willow standing up by him, her expression blank. He immediately stood up again, and shook Willow's arm



"What's wrong, Red?" he demanded. Instead of giving him any kind of answer Willow pushed him away with such strength that the half demon went flying across the room. He watched her frightened and most of all worried. Her eyes started glowing red and some kind of lights were dancing around her separating her from the rest of the room. He stood up again and rushed to her but couldn't come close being pushed away by those lights. He stared at Willow with shock. Her eyes were no longer glowing. Instead they went totally black. Her head jerked up and then fell back down. He heard a voice coming out of her mouth, but couldn't recognize the words. They were not spoken in any language he knew.
- Wojna trwa. Zwyciestwo bedzie moje .

Once the words were spoken the lights disappeared and room went quiet. Willow's eyes came back to normal just before she collapsed. Doyle immediately rushed up to her.
She wasn't breathing .