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Title: The Road I Never Chose
Author: Karen U
E-mail: ksu2@juno.com
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: All BtVS and Angel characters belong to Joss Whedon, the WB, and
20th Century Fox; song written by Dean McTaggart & David Tyson
Distribution: Charity, Angel of Mine, Willow's Angel, Fever of Fate, anyone
else who carries my fic; otherwise ask first
Summary: A mistake from five years before threatens to ruin everything
Notes: This part is set in 2005, but the next part and subsequent parts will
be set in 2000, and will trace up to the year 2005.
Spoilers: Through A New Man/Expecting (this is subject to change)
More Notes: Thanks to everyone who voted for me at the W/A awards! I really
appreciate it.
Feedback: Please

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
There are some sins that you can justify
But not the one I'm guilty of
I had a choice one last chance ago
And turned my back on love
Did I just miss
The last exit to Eden
Is this the only love I'll know
Like a Judas kiss
Did my heart betray me
Back on the road I never chose
-Amanda Marshall, Last Exit to Eden
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Prologue

March 2005

Angel was brooding. Yes, it was what he was best at, but it was still
annoying. Kate Wyndham-Pryce, formerly known as Kate Lockley, shook her
head in disgust when she saw what the vampire was doing, then waddled into
Angel’s office and sat down heavily on his couch.

"Ugh," she moaned, patting her rather large belly. "I may not be able to
get back up again. Maybe I’ll just stay right here until it’s time to have
the baby," she said thoughtfully, then shook her head. "Nah, that wouldn’t
be practical. You never have any food."

"Kate, you didn’t have to come in today. I would have understood. I mean,
you are eight months pregnant."

"And here I thought I had just gained a little weight. What would I do
without your amazing insight?" the former police detective commented wryly.
"Besides, I had to come. I’d become a danger to myself and others if I
stayed at home watching soap operas and daytime talk shows. The people on
those things are scarier than the creatures we fight against. Speaking of,
are there any new cases, or are you just going to be practicing your
brooding skills today?"

Angel couldn’t help but smile slightly. Over the past several years, Kate
had become one of his favorite people. Once he had gotten to know her, he
had discovered that she was bright, funny, and that she genuinely cared
about people and wanted to help them. After she had learned the truth about
Angel, she had been reluctant to trust the
vampire, but once she discovered that he truly was interested in helping
people out of bad - and usually supernatural - situations, she had offered
her help, eventually quitting the force and coming to work for Angel full
time. And that was when she had fallen in love with Wesley. It had been
completely unexpected - Angel had actually been worried that the two would
hate each other - but the vampire was truly happy for the couple. They
brought out the best in each other, and Wesley had become decidedly less
annoying since marrying Kate two years before. The couple was expecting
their first child in April, and neither one of them could wait. Of course,
Kate was especially eager to get the pregnancy over with.

With a sigh, Angel swiveled his chair slowly so that he was facing his
coworker. "I was thinking about brooding all day, if you don’t mind.
There’s really nothing going on."

"Nothing from Cordelia?"

Angel shook his head. "Not lately. Apparently she’s been vision free. I
don’t know if I should be grateful, or if I should worry that the evil’s
saving itself for something really big later on."

"What about Willow?"

Angel’s eyes narrowed, and Kate could almost feel him closing himself off.
"What about her?"

"Well, that’s who you were brooding about, isn’t it? It always is. It’s
been a long time, Angel. How much longer are you going to put yourself
through this? You simply made a bad choice."

"Did I?"

"Yes, you did, and you know it, you stupid vampire. Look, Angel, you may
have forever to wander around, making up for your past, but this is one
mistake that you have to correct soon, if you’re ever going to correct it at
all."

"I’m not going to discuss this with you again. It’s been nearly five years.
Get over it already. Just let it drop."

"If you seemed to be getting over it, maybe I would let it drop. But you
have been torturing yourself-"

"Leave it alone, Kate. I mean it," Angel ground out fiercely, in a tone
that brooked no room for argument.

"I’m just saying-" Kate broke off as the fax machine at Angel’s desk
suddenly whirred to life. After allowing the fax to completely print out,
Angel grabbed the page, knowing it was important. The machine was left on
day and night for one thing and one thing only.

Cordelia’s visions.

"Damn," Angel muttered as he scanned the fax.

"What is it?" Cordelia always sent as much information as she could, and
Kate wondered what exactly could be so bad about this one. With a bit of
effort, Kate managed to pull herself to her feet, and she went to Angel’s
side to peer at the fax, which held nothing more than a woman’s name and
address.

"Isn’t that the city Willow and Cordelia live in?"

"It’s the house. Amy Madison is their roommate."

"Then I guess we’d better get going."

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Willow Rosenberg sighed as she struggled to get her bag out of her car.
She’d just spent a week on a buying trip in New York, trying to get her
hands on the ingredients she needed for the various lotions and perfumes she
and Amy made for the store she, Cordelia, and Amy ran. It had been tough,
but she had managed to get everything she had gone for. Thank the Goddess
she had good contacts in the Wiccan world. The store the women owned wasn’t
a magick shop; it was actually a successful clothing store that carried
Cordelia’s designs. However, it also carried Willow and Amy’s candles,
bath oils, and lotions. The two used special ingredients to ensure that the
‘aromatherapy’ products they created really worked. Both women enjoyed
using their magickal abilities to help people, even if it was only making
sure that a young mother was really able to relax after an especially rough
day. It may not be saving the world, but it sure meant a lot to the young
mother.

Willow was knocked out of her musings as she heard a car pull up behind hers
in the driveway. Squinting into the darkness, she tried to discern who it
was that was getting out of the car. And when she figured it out, she found
herself wishing that she had stayed in New York.

"What the hell are you doing here, Angel?"

Part One

March 2000

"Angel! It’s so good to see you!"

The vampire smiled one of his rare smiles and opened his arms to the little
redhead. With a grin, Willow flew into his arms, hugging him fiercely
enough that Angel was glad he didn’t need to breath. After a moment, the
vampire pulled back so that he could look at the young witch.

"It’s good to see you, too. You look wonderful."

Willow blushed slightly at the compliment and tucked a piece of hair behind
her ear. "Thanks. You look great, too. Which makes sense, because you’re
a vampire, and you don’t change, because you don’t age, because you’re dead,
and I’m going to be quiet now."

Angel couldn’t help but grin at Willow’s short monologue. She had always
been able to charm him with her way of speaking, and he was glad to see that
she still spoke in the same manner.

"You have no idea how much I’ve missed you," he told her seriously, causing
her blush to deepen.

"Yeah, sure you really missed me. You’re just saying that because you like
seeing me turn all red, aren’t you?" the redhead said accusingly, raising
her eyebrow at the vampire.

"Well, it is rather amusing," he admitted with a slight smile.

"Willow! You’re here!" Cordelia cried as she entered the room and headed
for Willow, stopping only to smack Angel and say, "Why didn’t you tell me
she was here, you stupid dead guy?" With a grin, Cordelia gave Willow a
hug, then stepped back to look at her, urging the other girl to spin in a
circle. With a tolerant sigh, the young hacker obliged, and Cordy nodded
her head approvingly as she took in the redhead’s appearance. "You look
good. I like the clothes. Very nice. Very un-Willowy."

"Since I assume you meant that as a compliment, I’ll let the implied insult
slide and just say thank you."

Angel watched the two young women, amusement lighting his usually somber
face. He was thrilled that Willow had come to spend her spring break in LA,
and not just for himself, although he was sure he’d be grateful for her
research skills. He was glad that, for once, Cordelia would have some
female companionship. And not just any female companionship. Willow was
one person Cordy knew she could trust. Ever since she’d wound up pregnant
with a whole bunch of little demons after a night out with people she
thought were her friends, the aspiring actress had been extremely cautious
about who she associated with, basically spending time with only Angel and
Wesley. While Angel had discovered that he enjoyed the brunette’s company,
he had become worried about her. He thought she was too isolated. He just
hoped that having Willow around would help.

"Hello, all," a British voice intoned cheerfully as Wesley entered the
office. The former Watcher stopped short when he saw Willow in the room.
"Hello, Miss Rosenberg. I’m glad to see you made it here safely."

"Hi, Wesley," Willow replied. "It’s good to see you again. And don’t call
me Miss Rosenberg. My name’s Willow, okay? ‘Miss Rosenberg’ makes me feel
old, and I’m only nineteen."

"Yes, yes, of course."

Cordelia sighed impatiently at the exchange, then waited for the others to
turn and focus on her.

"Yes, Cordelia?" Angel asked.

"Can Willow and I get out of here now?"

"But... but you just got here," Wesley protested, confused.

"I know, but this is Willow’s spring break. Therefore, I feel it is my duty
as her friend to make sure she has fun. Which, in case you don’t know, does
not involve hanging around the office all day. Besides, I need to take
Willow to my place so she can meet Dennis and get settled in."

"Dennis?" Willow questioned.

"My roommate," Cordelia explained. "He’s a ghost, and he’s really nice.
You’ll hardly even know he’s there."

"Okay..." Willow replied cautiously, secretly wondering just what she had
managed to get herself into. Angel caught the look on her face and smiled.

"It’s really okay, Will. Cordelia’s right. Dennis is harmless." He
shifted so that his gaze included both girls. "And I don’t have any
problems with the two of you taking off. We really don’t have anything to
do today, so it’s no problem. Have fun."

Cordelia beamed and nodded, then grabbed Willow’s arm and virtually dragged
the girl to the door. "Come on. Let’s get out of here before he changes
his mind and makes us stay."

Laughing, Willow allowed herself to be pulled along by the brunette, pausing
only long enough to wave at the men.

"See you tomorrow!"

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Willow stepped into Cordy’s apartment, and she couldn’t contain the soft
"Wow" that came from her lips as she looked around her.

"It is pretty nice, isn’t it?" Cordelia said with a grin. "Come on, I’ll
show you to the guest room."

The redhead followed the other girl into another room and set her things
down on the bed. "This place is great, Cordelia. I love it."

"So do I," the brunette admitted with a grin. "It’s great, and it’s close
to work, which is a plus." She sat on the bed and looked up at Willow.
"So. What do you want to do now?"

Willow laughed. "You’re the one who lives here. You tell me."

"Well," Cordy began, "I was thinking we could go to the coffee shop for a
bite to eat, then head to the video store and rent a bunch of tearjerkers.
You know, the kind of movie guys always refuse to see, which means I have
been reduced to watching them alone. Then, we can give ourselves facials
and talk about how all men are evil."

"Which in no way sounds like a junior high slumber party."

The former cheerleader shrugged. "I’m in the mood to regress. What do you
say? Casablanca, or no Casablanca?"

Willow grinned, suddenly looking forward to spending the week sharing an
apartment with Cordelia.

"Definitely Casablanca."

Part Two

"Hello?"

The voice was small and quavery, and Angel was unable to hide the edge of
fear in his voice when he spoke.

"Willow? Is that you? What’s wrong? Did something happen to Cordelia?"

"What? Angel, no, nothing’s wrong," Willow replied in a slightly stronger
voice.

"Then why-"

Willow sniffled as she interrupted him. "We were watching Ghost."

"Ghost?"

"Yeah, you know. Or maybe you don’t. You’re not exactly pop culture guy.
It’s a movie with Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore. He dies, and... well, it’s
just a really sad movie. Before that, we watched Casablanca. That movie
never fails to make me cry, and I’ve seen it at least a dozen times."

"And you did this on purpose?"

"I don’t think I follow."

"You purposely made yourself cry?"

Angel sounded so confused that Willow couldn’t help but giggle. "I guess
you could say that. They really are good movies, though. Next we’re
watching Gone With the Wind. I always sob when Rhett and Scarlett’s
daughter dies."

"Whose idea was this little movie fest, anyway?"

"It was Cordelia’s idea. Look, Angel, I really don’t want you to take this
the wrong way, but why are you calling?"

"I just wanted to make sure you were settling in okay. I know that you and
Cordelia weren’t exactly the best of friends back when we all lived in
Sunnydale."

Willow sighed and shifted her position on the couch. "I know we weren’t.
But we’ve both grown up a lot since then. And you probably don’t know this,
but Cordelia wrote me a letter a few months ago, and we ended up exchanging
e-mail addresses, and we’ve kept in touch ever since. We worked all of our
problems out."

"I’m glad to hear that," Angel said sincerely.

"Thanks. Look, if you don’t have anything dire you need to tell me, can I
let you go now? Cordy’s getting impatient to start the next movie."

"Okay, Will. I’ll see you tomorrow."

"Bye, Angel."

Willow hung up the phone, then turned to face a rather teary eyed Cordelia.

"What did he want?" the brunette asked.

"He wanted to make sure we were getting along okay. I think I kind of
freaked him out when I answered the phone in tears, so I had to explain
about the movies. He didn’t say so, but I’m pretty sure he thinks we’re
weird."

"Why? Because we’re watching tearjerkers?" Cordy asked as she put Gone With
the Wind in.

Willow nodded, and Cordelia shook her head and let out an exasperated sigh.

"Men. They just don’t get it."

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Angel shook his head in a mixture of amusement and confusion as he hung up
the phone. He looked up as Wesley came in.

"So, are they doing okay? No bloodshed?" the former Watcher asked.

"No, no bloodshed. According to Willow, they’re watching really sad movies
and having a great time."

"Watching sad movies is fun?"

"Apparently. She couldn’t wait to get off the phone so she could go watch
Gone With the Wind, which she claims makes her sob." At Wesley’s
questioning glance, Angel shrugged. "Don’t ask me; I may be 247 years old,
but that doesn’t mean I know everything."

"Women. I’m beginning to think they’re impossible to understand."

"I think I figured that one out a couple centuries ago."

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Willow painted the nail of her big toe, then lifted her foot to show
Cordelia, who was sitting on the bed. Willow was sitting on the floor.

"What do you think?"

Cordelia studied the shade for a moment. It was a lavender color, and it
looked really good. "I like it. What about mine?" she asked showing Willow
her dark blue nails.

"It works. Very nice."

"So," Cordelia began, "I know it’s really none of my business, but how are
you doing? I mean, with the whole Oz thing?"

Willow shrugged. "Okay, I guess. It has been four months since he left.
I’ve even started dating again."

"Ooh, who? Do tell."

"It’s no big deal. In fact, it’s kind of over. He’s one of Riley’s
friends; his name’s Graham, and he’s a really great guy. It’s just, we’re
much better as just friends, you know? I mean, he’s wonderful and really
sweet, but-"

"No sparkage?"

"Well, a little. More than a little, actually. There was mild sparkage.
Just not as much as I want there to be. And he feels the same way. So,
friends."

"Is he cute?"

"Are you in the market for a guy?"

"Only if he isn’t evil. The last guy I dated got me pregnant with his
master’s demon spawn. That’s not an experience I care to repeat."

Willow wrinkled her nose in distaste; she’d already heard the story, and she
personally wanted to beat the crap out of the guy who had done that to
Cordy. However, that wasn’t the issue at the moment.

"He’s completely not evil. He fights the baddies; he isn’t one. He’s even
helped us out a few times. And he really is good-looking. Brown hair, very
muscular build, and amazing eyes. And he’s really smart, too."

Cordelia smiled slightly as she went back to painting her nails. "Maybe I
am in the market for a guy."

"Visit me in Sunnydale, and I’ll introduce you to him."

"Twist my arm."

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Angel smiled indulgently as Willow and Cordelia entered the office a good
hour late.

"Morning, ladies. Lovely day, isn’t it?"

"Oh, bite me," Willow replied as she collapsed on the couch and yawned.
After a moment, she reconsidered her comment. "You know, that’s probably
not the best thing to say to a vampire."

"Probably not," Angel agreed with a laugh. "But I’ll it slide this time."

"So," Cordelia said as she sat in her chair. "Any exciting new
assignments?"

"Any visions lately?"

"No."

"Then no new assignments."

"So we dragged ourselves in here for nothing?" Willow asked. "I’ve changed
my mind. Go ahead and bite me, Angel. Just be sure and stop drinking once
I’m unconscious. I don’t want to die; I just want a little nap."

Angel couldn’t help but laugh.

Part Three

Willow pushed her hair behind her ear and stretched out contentedly. Angel
had been gracious enough to give the girls the afternoon off (due in part to
the fact that they weren’t really needed and in part to their incessant
whining), and the redhead and the brunette were currently at the beach
soaking up the rays.

"You know," Cordelia muttered sleepily, "you should come to LA every week.
Then I’d never have to work."

Willow laughed softly. "You know, Cordy, somehow I don’t think it would
work that way."

"Yeah, but we could always try." With a winning smile, Cordelia rolled over
so that she was facing her friend. "You should spend the summer here. In
LA, not at the beach," she clarified.

"You really want me to?" Willow asked, a bit surprised. She knew that her
relationship with the former cheerleader had greatly improved over the past
few months, but this suggestion was still unexpected.

"Yeah. We’d have fun, and you know it. Besides, you’d be a huge help with
research and witchy stuff. And Angel would love to have you here. He
really does adore you. And I’d love to have the company. We could have
movie fests every weekend. Not to mention the fact that half the time I’m
on testosterone overload with those two around. British nincompoop
overload, too. Face it, Will, I need you here in order to keep my sanity.
Please?" she asked, fluttering her eyelashes and making Willow laugh.

"Well, if you put it that way... I’ll see if I can work it out. Buffy and
company shouldn’t really need me, especially now that Riley, Graham, and
Forrest have joined the group. Plus, they’ve always got Spike. He’s been a
big help ever since we discovered that he can still fight demons. Besides,
I hoping I would have to plan a visit anyway."

"Have to?" Cordelia repeated, intrigued.

"Well, I’ve made a few connections through Miss Calendars old groups. I’ve
got my hands on a spell that should finally de-rat Amy, and Anya’s offered
to help me perform it. And, well..."

"What is it?"

"I’ve got a few leads on a spell for Angel. One that would permanently
anchor his soul. As in, no more happiness clause."

"No way! Is this for real?"

"It’s for real. I’m getting so close to finding it... I’m pretty sure I’ll
be able to get my hands on the spell within the next few months. But don’t
tell Angel, okay? I don’t want him to get his hopes up. Once it’s a sure
thing, I’ll tell him."

"Wow," Cordelia said, reeling a bit from the news Willow had sprung on her.
In her time working for the vampire, the brunette had come to care for him
in a big brother like fashion. The thought of him being able to find true
happiness without it destroying him was almost too much to comprehend, and
she was thrilled at the prospect that it could really happen. Although she
had never been religious, Cordelia found herself offering up a quick prayer,
asking Whoever would listen to aid Willow in finding the spell. Twisting a
strand of hair thoughtfully, Cordelia spoke again.

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

Willow shrugged. "Not really. Most of my contacts talk to me only. You
could check stuff out here in LA, though. The people I’ve found tend to be
on the east coast, mostly in New York, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t
people here we could ask."

"I’ll get right on it," the brunette stated, then quickly amended,
"tomorrow. Today, I’m going to concentrate on my tan."

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Cordelia opened the door to her apartment warily, surprised to find Angel
and Wesley standing there.

"What do you want?" she asked.

"Well, that was polite," Angel commented with a smile.

"Sorry. I mean, why are you here? No, wait, that was rude, too. Just
answer me, okay?" Cordelia said with an exasperated smile.

Angel laughed as Cordelia stepped back to allow the men entrance. "We came
to take you and Willow to dinner. We haven’t exactly seen much of either of
you since Willow got here-"

"And you missed her, too. I know. Give us twenty minutes and we’ll be
ready to go out."

"The clock’s ticking," Angel replied.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

The foursome stayed out quite late that night. They first ate at a little
diner that just happened to be Cordelia’s favorite place to eat, then
wandered around LA, showing Willow the sights before heading back to the
office.

"This is nice," Willow murmured as she stood on roof of Angel’s office,
staring out at the skyline. The night had turned slightly cool, and she was
wearing Angel’s jacket over her dress.

Angel smiled at the sight of the redhead bundled up in the too-large jacket.
She looked so cute, and small, and fragile, and he found himself wanting
to protect her from everything. He walked up to stand beside her at the
ledge and placed his hands on the edge of it. "I like it here, too," he
told her quietly.

"Do you come up here often?" she asked.

"Almost every night. It’s the perfect place to think, to-"

"Brood?" Willow supplied innocently, causing the vampire to laugh.

"No. Well, okay, sometimes. But not as much as I used to. In all honesty,
I just like the peace and solitude up here."

"And speaking of solitude... I’m invading your space, aren’t I?"

"No! No, not at all," the vampire protested. "In fact, I like having you
here. It’s nice to have someone who appreciates it as much as I do. It’s
nice to have someone to share it with," he added softly.

"Even if it ruins the whole solitude thing?"

"Even then," he confirmed, wrapping his arm around Willow’s shoulders and
pulling her against his side. She leaned her head against his shoulder, and
the two stood in companionable silence until the rising of the sun forced
them to go inside.

Part Four

Several days later, Angel entered the office, slightly surprised to find
Willow and Cordelia sprawled across the couches. He looked at his watch.
Three o’clock in the afternoon.

"You do realize you’re over two hours late, don’t you? I asked you to try
to be back by one," he said, not really angry. He hated to admit it, but he
was actually a bit amused.

Cordelia lazily opened one eye. "We took a long lunch."

Angel laughed. "Three and a half hours? Yeah, I’d say that’s a long lunch.
What exactly could you be doing at a restaurant for three and a half
hours? Or do I even want to know?"

"Hitting on the waiters?" Willow offered cheekily, not even bothering to
open her eyes.

"For three hours?" Angel returned, fighting a grin.

"They were really cute waiters," the redhead informed him. "They had great
butts."

"Willow..." the vampire said warningly.

"We ate at the mall," Willow admitted. "You figure out what we did after we
ate."

"You went shopping?" Angel asked incredulously. He’d never really pictured
Willow as much of a shopper.

"Willow goes home tomorrow," Cordelia reminded the vampire. "I couldn’t let
her go home without something to remind her of her week in LA."

"Where are all your bags?"

"We took them back to the apartment. Didn’t want to clutter up the office,"
the brunette responded.

"So instead of cluttering up the office with your bags, you clutter it with,
well, yourselves?"

"That’s the idea," Cordelia replied, pushing herself to her feet and walking
over to the vampire. "Anything new? Work-wise, that is?"

Angel shook his head and leaned against the desk. "Not a thing. It’s been
awfully quiet lately."

"Well, that’s a good thing, isn’t it?" Cordelia asked.

"Well, yeah, for now," Willow stated as she sat up. "But three weeks from
now, when your up to your necks in bad guys, you’ll be wishing that they had
the decency to attack one at a time instead of all at once."

"Thank you, Willow. I feel much better now."

"I try," the redhead replied as Cordelia headed into the other office in
search of coffee.

Angel turned to the petite redhead. He had enjoyed the week she had been in
LA, and he wasn’t anxious to see her go. "When do you have to leave?" he
asked.

Willow shrugged. "Sometime tomorrow morning. Buffy’s expecting me back at
the dorm by noon. Why?"

"I just wanted to make sure I’d be there to see you off."

"Can you do that? I mean, daytime. Sunlight. Your severe aversion to the
sun."

"I’ve made it to Cordelia’s during the day before. I’m sure I can manage it
tomorrow. Just don’t leave until I’ve come by, okay?"

"Sure. I can handle that."

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Willow looked at the clock on Cordy’s mantle. "It’s almost nine o’clock,"
she complained. "If Angel doesn’t get here soon, I’m going to have to leave
without saying goodbye to him."

"Couldn’t you just call Buffy and tell her you’ll be late?"

Willow shook her head. "She went to Iowa with Riley for spring break, and I
have no idea how to get in touch with her. All I know is that I’m supposed
to meet her at the dorm at noon."

"Wow. She’s already meeting the family? I guess this thing with farm boy’s
pretty serious."

"Yeah, it is. And I’m really happy for her. I mean, Riley’s a great guy.
And he knows what she is, so she doesn’t have to hide anything from him.
Plus he’s really good looking."

"Which is always a good thing," Cordy said with a grin. After a moment, the
smile dropped off the brunette’s face, replaced by a look of sadness.

"Cordy, what’s wrong?" Willow asked, alarmed.

"I don’t want you to go," the aspiring actress replied. "I wish you could
just stay here indefinitely. Pretty pathetic, huh?"

"No, it’s not. I’m sorry to be going, too. But, we can still do the e-mail
thing."

"And talk on the phone," Cordelia added.

"Not to mention the fact that at some point you have to visit me so I can
introduce you to Graham."

"True. Do you think he’ll like me?"

"Trust me, Cordy. He’ll love you."

"That better not be Willow-speak for ‘he’ll like you whether he wants to or
not because I’m going to do a love spell on the poor guy.’"

"I would never do that. I know how it feels to be under a love spell.
Remember Valentine’s day our junior year and Xander’s little misadventure?"

Cordelia laughed. "How could I forget? I was the only one unaffected!"

Willow opened her mouth to say more, but was interrupted by someone knocking
on the door. Cordelia quickly went to answer it, then stepped back,
allowing the Angel to enter.

"Good. You’re still here," the vampire said as he walked over to Willow.
He handed her an old book, and Willow looked up at him, confused. "It’s a
book of spells," Angel explained. "That’s why I asked you to wait this
morning. I didn’t get my hands on it until last night, after you and
Cordelia left for home. I thought it might help you turn Amy back into a
human."

"This is why you asked me to wait?" Willow asked, staring down at the cover
of the old book.

"Well, that and I wanted a chance to say goodbye," Angel told her sincerely.
"I’m going to miss you," he told her.

Willow looked up at the vampire, then smiled at him and gave him a hug,
which Angel returned. "I’m going to miss you, too," she told him.

"Yeah, but you’re coming back, right?" Cordelia piped up. Angel released
Willow and stepped back, looking into her eyes.

"Is that true?"

Willow nodded. "This summer. I’m not sure how long I’ll stay, or when I’ll
even come, but I will definitely visit you guys this summer. That is, I’ll
visit you if I’m welcome."

Angel smiled slightly, then pulled Willow into another hug. "Of course
you’re welcome, Willow. You’ll always be welcome here."

Part Five

June 2000

"Willow! You’re here!" Cordelia cried as she stood up and stepped from
behind her desk. She went to the redhead and gave her a big hug, then
pulled back and grinned at her friend. "I thought you weren’t coming until
tomorrow. I thought there were things that had to be taken care of."

"There were, but they were taken care of earlier then expected. That’s the
nice thing about having Riley, Forrest, and Graham around. Evil gets
vanquished more quickly."

Cordy laughed, then impulsively hugged Willow again. "You look absolutely
fantastic. And the room at my place is completely ready for you to move in
for a couple of months. I have so been looking forward to this."

"Movies fests every weekend?" Willow asked with a smile.

"But of course. And shopping and eating out and acting like little kids.
It’s all in the plan."

Willow bit her lip, then looked up at her friend. "So, um, where’s Angel?"

"Angel? He’s downstairs; he usually doesn’t come up for awhile in the
mornings. Why? Do you need to talk to- Oh my God! Did you find the
spell?"

Willow nodded, an ecstatic grin on her face. "That’s another reason I came
here early. I couldn’t wait to tell him."

Cordelia sat down on the edge of her desk. She had known that this day
would probably come; Willow was too good a researcher not to find the spell.
However, it was still overwhelming to the brunette. "This is wow. I
mean, there’s no other word for it. Just wow."

Willow nodded in agreement. "Big wow. Even Graham kind of freaked when we
found the spell, and he doesn’t even know Angel."

"Graham?" the name had Cordy’s head turning to look at her friend. "He
helped you with this? Even though he knows Angel’s a vampire?"

"Yeah. He knew I wanted to do this, and he trusts my judgment. Besides,
Graham, Spike, and I are the only unattached people in our little group, so
we end up spending a lot of time together."

"Are you saying Spike helped, too?" Cordy asked with an incredulous laugh.
"He really did. Honest. Although he did complain the whole time."

"So, um, Graham still doesn’t have a girlfriend?"

"No, he doesn’t, Miss Never Came to Visit. You’re never going to meet him
if you don’t come see me. Though only God knows why Graham’s still single.
He’s an amazing guy. He’s one of those guys that is absolutely gorgeous and
really nice and smart, too."

"Those guys don’t actually exist, Willow."

"Yeah, well, Graham and Riley both fall into that category. Maybe it’s a
Hellmouth thing."

Cordelia laughed, then realized that they were wasting time chatting about
Graham. "Um, Will? Don’t you think you should go and give Angel your good
news?"

"Oh, yeah," Willow replied, then headed for the little elevator that would
take her down to Angel’s apartment. "Aren’t you coming, too?" she asked the
brunette.

"No," Cordy told her. "I’m afraid I might blurt out the news, and you
deserve to be the one who tells him."

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Willow tapped her foot nervously as the elevator descended to the apartment
below. She wasn’t exactly sure how to break the news to the vampire, and
she wasn’t sure how he’d react. He tended to put the safety of others above
any thought of himself, and she was afraid he’d be worried about how the
spell would effect her.

The elevator came to a stop, and Willow quickly opened the grating and
stepped inside the quiet apartment. "Angel? Are you awake?" she called as
she entered the living area.

The shirtless vampire came to a stop in his Tai Chi movements and turned to
face the young woman who had just entered. A wide smile crossed his usually
somber features, and he briskly strode across the room to envelope the tiny
redhead in am emphatic embrace, taking her off her feet.

"Willow, it is so good to see you!" he told her as he set her back down.
Willow grinned and gave him another quick hug.

"It’s good to see you, too. And didn’t we just go through this a few months
ago?"

Angel laughed. "Actually, I think we did. Speaking of a few months ago,
how’s Amy doing?"

If possible, Willow’s smile grew even wider. Just a few short days after
Angel had given her the spellbook and she had returned to Sunnydale, Willow
had finally managed to turn Amy back into a human. "She’s good. Better
than good, actually. She’s still having a bit of trouble adjusting - she
did spend more than a year as a rat - but Forrest is helping her deal. He
really loves her." That fact had summarily changed Willow’s opinion of
Forrest. She had originally thought him to be a bit self-righteous and
arrogant, an opinion that refused to flee even after Forrest’s disposition
had improved. Of course, it had taken Xander saving his life for the young
man to realize just how good the Scooby Gang was at what they did. However,
after meeting Amy, Forrest had surprised Willow. He had finally met someone
that he loved more than himself, and it showed. The two were wonderful
together.

"I’m glad to hear that. Amy deserves some happiness," Angel said, reminding
Willow of her reason for coming down to his apartment in the first place.

Willow looked down at her feet and chewed slightly on her lower lip, trying
to figure out how to say what she needed to say. Angel noticed the change
in her demeanor and immediately tensed.

"Willow? What’s wrong? Did somebody get hurt? Is that why you came
early?"

"What? Angel, no!" Willow exclaimed, surprised. She had never thought that
the vampire would be one to jump to conclusions.

"Then what is it?"

"It’s..." Willow trailed off, looking at her hands. After a moment, she
threw her hands in the air and stepped away from the confused man. "I had
this whole speech planned out; I wrote it down and everything. But now that
I’m here... that it’s time... I can’t remember a damn thing I planned to
say."

"Just tell me what it is," Angel told her evenly, suddenly made nervous by
the redhead’s fluttering about. Finally, Willow stopped and looked at him.

"You know how you said that Amy deserves happiness?" She waited until the
vampire nodded uncertainly, then continued. "Well, so do you."

"Willow, I can’t-"

"Yes, you can," she interrupted stubbornly, shooting him a look that told
him to shut up. Angel obeyed without question, his eyes locked to her as
she continued to speak, her voice trembling. "At least, you can after I
perform the spell I found."


Part Six

"What did you say?" Angel asked, stunned. Willow had to bite her lip to
keep from laughing at his expression. He looked like she had just told him
that she intended to marry a purple elephant. It was priceless.

"I said I found a spell-"

"I heard what you said," he interrupted.

"Then why’d you ask me?" Willow replied reasonably, a tiny smile on her
face. Angel just looked at the slender redhead for a moment, then dragged
his hands through his hair and began to pace back and forth across the rug.

"Are you sure about this spell? I mean, is it for real?"

Willow nodded, beginning to get slightly dizzy from watching the vampire
walk back and forth. She was afraid he might wear a hole in the rug if he
didn’t stop soon. "Really for real. I had all my contacts check it out, as
well as Amy and Giles. They say it’s the real thing."

"Is it dangerous?" the vampire asked, pausing just long enough to give the
young witch a measuring glance.

"No, no. You’ll be fine."

Angel stopped in front of Willow, his eyes serious. He lifted his hands and
placed them on her shoulders, squeezing gently. "I don’t mean dangerous for
me. I meant dangerous for you. I cannot - will not - allow you to put
yourself in danger in order to anchor my soul. I just won’t."

Willow lifted her own hands and grasped Angel’s wrists loosely, meeting his
eyes with a steady gaze. "If it was dangerous, do you really think Giles
would have given me the okay to do this?"

The vampire sighed and stepped back, releasing the girl. "No. No, I don’t.
Of course, you could be lying to me."

Willow reached into her purse and took out her cellular phone, tossing it to
him. "If you don’t believe me, call him and ask. He’s number three in my
memory."

Angel looked down at the phone, sorely tempted to do exactly as she
suggested, but knowing it would hurt her if she thought he didn’t trust her.
And he did trust her. He was just worried about her; he was terrified
that she would get hurt. The vampire had known Willow long enough to
realize that she would put herself in danger without
question if she thought it would help somebody. However, he also knew she
wouldn’t lie. She couldn’t; not with those expressive eyes. And Giles
would never give her his official okay if he thought what she was doing was
dangerous. Sighing, Angel handed the phone back to the girl, and Willow put
it back in her purse, smiling.

"Thank you," she told him quietly.

"For what?"

"For trusting me."

"Can I see it?" he asked, then clarified at her vaguely confused look. "The
spell. Can I see a copy of the spell?"

Willow smiled, then reached into the bag she had brought down with her and
pulled out a computer printout. She handed it to him, and Angel read over
the spell, relieved to see that it did indeed seem to be safe. It was
probably safer than the spell she had done to restore his soul, and he knew
she had done that from a hospital bed. Carefully, as though he was afraid
that the pages containing his salvation would crumble into dust, Angel gave
the spell back to Willow, then looked over at the girl. She was watching
him expectantly.

"When can you perform the spell?" he asked, causing a brilliant smile to
bloom on Willow’s face.

"Tonight," she replied. "I have all the ingredients with me. All we need
is for the moon to rise so we can go outside."

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Angel was nervous. He knew all he had to do was sit inside the circle while
Willow performed the spell, but he was still scared half to death. He sat
quietly, wondering if he should even be able to use that expression. Half
to death. It just seemed wrong. He was, after all, already dead. Maybe he
should say ‘half to life.’ No, that sounded stupid.

Maybe he should just get a hobby and stop thinking so damn much.

"You okay?" Willow asked, her brow furrowed. She’d never seen the vampire
with such a confused expression.

"Yeah, I’m fine. I’m just having too many thoughts."

Willow laughed as she began to set up the circle around Angel. "Join the
club. I’m that way, too." She stopped speaking to Angel, instead
concentrating on creating the circle, chanting softly as she did so in order
to keep the light breeze from blowing anything askew and thereby breaking
the circle and ruining the spell. When the circle was nearly complete,
Willow looked up and smiled nervously at the vampire before joining him in
the circle and closing it.

Angel had stopped tossing random thoughts about in his head and was instead
concentrating on the actions of the tiny redhead kneeling less than a foot
away from him. She began to arrange the ingredients of the spell around
her. She reached around him briefly in order to finish placing the candles
in their proper places, and Angel caught the scent of her shampoo. It
smelled like citrus fruit, and he discovered that the scent calmed his
restless nerves. Angel smiled ruefully as he realized that it was probably
Willow’s presence, and not her shampoo, that was having such a calming
effect. After a moment, Willow straightened and rose higher on her knees so
that she was eye to eye with the ensouled vampire.

"Ready?" she asked quietly. "You know what to expect."

Angel nodded slightly, then spoke softly. "I’m ready."

With a quick nod of her head, Willow accepted his answer, then murmured a
prayer to the Goddess before beginning to chant softly. Angel jumped
slightly as the candles flickered to life, even though he had known that
would happen. Willow deftly mixed the ingredients for the spell, never
ceasing in her chanting. She had memorized the words of the spell, and they
flowed from her mouth easily. She finished mixing the potion, then looked
at Angel, their eyes locking instantly.

It was now or never.

Still chanting, Willow lifted the cup holding the potion to Angel’s lips,
and he drank from it, then took the glass and held it up to her lips so that
she could do the same. When she finished, Angel set the glass back down,
mesmerized as he stared at Willow. There was a slight glow to her skin as
she chanted the words of the spell one last time. Angel felt a tingling all
over his body as he stared into Willow’s eyes.

Then everything went black.


Part Seven

"Angel! Angel!" the desperate cry broke through into the vampire’s
unconscious, and Angel reluctantly opened his eyes, groaning slightly. He
found Willow leaning over him, her eyes wide with fright. Without thinking,
the vampire lifted his hand and stroked her cheek, trying to calm her. He
could hear her heart pounding, and he knew she was terrified.

"Angel?" Willow whispered softly, her hand lifting to cover his own.

"Yes, Willow, it’s me." The vampire suddenly realized that he was lying
sprawled on the roof of the office building, half in and half out of the
circle Willow had created. He tried to pull himself up, only to have Willow
place her hands on his shoulders and urge him back down.

"Go slowly," she told him. "And I didn’t mean ‘Angel, is it you?’ I meant,
'Angel, are you all right?' You’ve been out for twenty minutes, and that no
pulse, no heartbeat thing kind of makes it hard to tell if you’re okay or
not."

Angel lifted his hand to Willow’s face again, this time to play with her
hair. He felt oddly out of it, maybe even a little drunk, and strangely
tired. Exhausted, in fact. It wasn’t a normal feeling for a vampire. He
felt as if he’d been through some kind of violent struggle. Of course, he
probably had. An internal struggle, anyway. He continued to play with
Willow’s hair, mesmerized by the color. He didn’t think he’d ever seen
anything so red. And it was so silky. He wondered what shampoo she used.
He remembered the citrus smell of it, and he wished he could smell it again,
but knew he couldn’t. He didn’t think asking her is he could smell her hair
would be appropriate. Sighing, he decided to think of something besides the
smell of her hair, and his mind found its way back to the subject of her
hair color. He wondered if that hair color was natural. He thought of ways
he could find out, then nearly smacked himself for thinking such dirty
thoughts.

As Angel tried to pull his mind out of the gutter, Willow sat tensely,
getting more and more worried for the handsome vampire who couldn’t seem to
get his hands out of her hair. It felt wonderful to have someone playing
with her hair, but it was an incredibly un-Angel like action. Besides that,
he still hadn't told her if he was okay. She was beginning to wonder if he
wasn't.

"Angel?" Willow asked timidly. The vampire dragged his eyes from her hair
to her face. Her frightened face. The look in her eyes was more than
enough to force him out of his stupor.

"What is it, Willow?"

The young witch blinked rapidly as her eyes began to fill with tears of
relief. Angel’s eyes had sharpened, focusing directly on her, and he
sounded much more like himself. Taking a steadying breath, Willow spoke
again. "I just wanted to know if you’re okay." She paused and bit her lip.
"You know, if you feel any different."

Angel closed his eyes, searching within himself, trying to feel if there was
a difference. Well, a difference besides the slightly intoxicated feeling
he was still enjoying. He knew it was a mystical buzz from the potion and
the spell, and he just hoped he didn’t end up with a mystical hangover the
next morning to go along with it.

Willow sat quietly, knowing Angel needed time and silence in order to figure
out any possible differences within himself. The young witch waited
anxiously, wringing her hands as she waited for his answer. She knew that
the spell had done something, but she wasn’t entirely sure what.

Angel knew how nervous Willow had to be, and he was thankful for her
patience as he did this. He reached out within himself, searching out the
demon, and that’s when he knew it. He opened his eyes widely, staring at
Willow for a brief moment before sitting up and jerking her into his arms.

"It worked!" he exclaimed excitedly as he stroke the redhead’s hair.

Willow pulled away from the handsome vampire, needing to look him in the
eye. "Are you sure? How can you tell?"

"I had to search for the demon." At Willow’s completely confused look,
Angel explained. "Before the spell, it was always there at the back of my
mind; it just wouldn’t go away. Now, it’s still there, but I had to
actively seek it out in order to find it. It’s bound, Willow. Tightly
bound. Forever. I can practically feel the magickal bonds surrounding it.
The spell worked, Willow." Angel couldn’t prevent the tears that welled up
in his eyes as he once again took the redhead in his arms. "The spell
worked, Willow. The spell worked," he whispered over and over as he held
her, rocking slightly back and forth.

Willow held on tightly as the vampire began to cry harder. She realized he
was completely overwhelmed at the moment, and she simply held him and
stroked his hair gently as he rode out the tidal wave of emotion that had
hit him. She, too, was crying, although she was doing so quietly, tears
simply slipping down her cheeks. The redhead couldn’t believe that she had
actually succeeded. Willow had always dreamed of one day anchoring Angel’s
soul permanently, but it had always been a ‘someday’ type of a dream; she
had never really dared to believe that her dream would actually come into
being.

No more Angelus. No more Angelus. No more Angelus. The thought ran in
circles through Angel’s mind as he sobbed, his face buried in Willow’s
shoulder. He was free. Free from the demon, free to be around people
without worrying that he would lose control, free to fall in love... free to
give himself in love without worrying about the consequences.

And that realization made him cry all the harder. He could find happiness,
true happiness, with someone he loved, and it would no longer destroy him.

Willow clung to Angel even more tightly as the vampire continued to make his
way through the emotional storm that had hit him. Her own tears began to
fall more rapidly, and she wasn’t at all surprised when a gentle rain began
to fall.

It seemed only appropriate that the sky should cry tears of happiness, too.


Part Eight

Cordelia tapped her foot impatiently. "What the hell is taking them so
long? It’s raining. Why are they out there in the rain? Don’t they know
you’re supposed to come in if it starts raining? I thought Willow was
supposed to be the smart one." She and Wesley were in Angel’s office,
waiting on pins and needles to find out whether or not the spell had worked.
The waiting had frayed Cordelia’s nerves quite a bit, and the brunette was
getting a bit catty.

"Perhaps the spell hasn’t been finished yet, Miss Chase," the former Watcher
suggested calmly. He was getting a bit antsy himself, but he knew better
than to let it show. He didn’t want Cordelia to completely panic.

"It’s been two hours," Cordelia complained. "Willow said the spell would
take no more than forty-five minutes. Oh, Lord," the brunette whispered,
suddenly turning pale. "What if something went wrong? What if the spell
backfired, and Angel lost his soul, and he turned into Angelus again, and he
killed Willow in some terrible, horrible
fashion, or maybe even decided to turned her, and now Angelus and Evil
Willow are off wreaking havoc in Los Angeles even as we speak?"

Wesley raised his eyebrows at Cordelia’s outburst, stunned by the fact that
she had managed to say so much in a single breath. It really was quite
astounding; he wished he could do that. "I really doubt that is what has
happened. First of all, if Angel were to suddenly turn evil once more, I’m
inclined to believe he would kill us before going out into the world.
Although I imagine he would turn Willow. He has seen the vampire version of
the girl, and she was quite evil. She would probably appeal to the demon.
Anyway, they would probably kill the two of us before going anywhere else."

"Okay, I so did not need to hear that."

"Furthermore," Wesley continued, completely unruffled, "the spell is
entirely safe. I spoke to Mr. Giles earlier today, and he said as much
himself. Willow should be perfectly safe while performing the spell, and so
should Angel. Even if the spell does not work, Angel will remain Angel.
There is absolutely no chance of Angelus returning because of this."

"Then why is it taking so long?" the former cheerleader demanded, somewhat
mollified, but still worried for her friends.

"Well, perhaps the spell was indeed successful, and they decided to go out
and celebrate."

"Oh, yeah, I can picture that. Instead of coming down to tell us that
Angel’s soul has been permanently anchored, they jumped off the roof and
headed out to party the night away."

"Might I remind you that your little wreaking havoc on LA scenario would
have had them doing much the same thing?"

"Yes, but in my scenario, they were evil, and therefore, jumping off the
roof would be something they might actually do."

"Oh, of course. My mistake. I do apologize," Wesley replied in the most
sarcastic voice he could muster. Cordelia didn’t notice.

"You’re forgiven," the girl told him primly, her eyes once again straying to
the stairs that led to the roof. "Where the hell are they?" she burst out
in a voice that resembled a wail.

"Yes, well, that was mature," the former Watcher muttered under his breath.

Cordelia began to tap her foot once again, then gave up and headed for the
door. "That’s it. I’m going up there."

Wesley grabbed the girl’s arm, effectively halting her progress. "I don’t
think that’s such a good idea."

"And just why not?" Cordelia asked, pouting. As the minutes dragged by, she
was getting more and more worried about Angel and Willow. She didn’t care
if Giles said the spell was safe; these were her friends, and she was scared
for them. She had done enough research over the past few years to know how
delicate spellcasting could be, and the fear that something could have
happened on the roof had her slipping back into the rather obnoxious
demeanor she had carried through much of high school.

"Because," Wesley said slowly, enunciating each word distinctly, "they may
still be doing the spell, and we do not wish to distract them from their
task and ruin the spell. It would not harm them in any way, or, at least,
it shouldn’t harm them, but it would still ruin the spell. I don’t believe
you want to be the one responsible for that."

"No, I don’t," Cordelia said quietly before pulling away from Wesley and
walking over to Angel’s desk chair. She sat down and pulled her knees up to
her chin, gazing at the man before her. He had become like a brother to
her, or a really weird British uncle anyway, and she felt bad about the way
she had been acting towards him. "I’m sorry, Wesley," she told him
sincerely. "I’m just worried. I shouldn’t have taken it out on you."

Wesley came to sit on the edge of Angel’s desk, and he reached over and
patted the girl on the hand. "It’s perfectly all right, Miss Chase. I
completely understand."

"Tha- Oh, God!" Cordelia cried out as an incredible pain hit her.

"Cordelia? Cordelia, are you okay?" Wesley demanded a bit frantically
before he realized what was going on.

A vision.

Wave after wave of pain hit Cordelia, and she clutched the Watcher’s jacket
in her fists, hanging on for dear life. She bit her lip, trying to keep
from crying out as the vision rolled through. Her eyes tearing up, Cordelia
tried to focus on what the Powers That Be were sending her, trying to find
anything, absolutely any tiny bit of information, that she could tell Angel
to help him in the fight he would inevitably face.

Vampires.

That was for certain. She would know the face of a vampire anywhere. She
should; she worked for one. Dear Lord, there were so many of them. A
dozen, maybe more. Fire and hatred. She could actually feel the hatred.
And then, as the vision ended, a picture flashed before her eyes.

Kate.

Gasping, Cordelia came out of the vision to find herself clutching Wesley’s
jacket so tightly she was nearly ripping the arms at the seams. Trying to
catch her breath, she pulled away and shook her head slightly to clear away
the last remnants of the vision.

"Hey, guys. Did we miss anything?" a voice called out as what was obviously
two people descended the stairs. Angel and Willow came into view wet and
exhausted, both physically and emotionally. However, the tired smiles on
their faces announced the success of the spell. Angel’s smile slowly faded
as he took in the sight before him. It was obvious to him what had
happened. Releasing Willow’s hand, he walked over to the brunette in his
chair and picked up paper and a pen.

"What did you see, Cordelia?"

Part Nine

Willow and Cordelia stood staring at the men, their eyebrows raised and
their arms crossed. They were the perfect picture of feminine outrage.

"And just why can’t we go?" Cordelia asked. She knew the men - especially
Angel - could handle themselves in battle, but a dozen vampires was a lot
for them to handle by themselves. If nothing else, she and Willow could
team up and take out a few minions.

"It just isn’t safe," Angel told them. "I wouldn’t be able to protect you,
and I can’t allow you to get hurt."

"Oh, but Wesley gets to go. Why? Because he’s a man, and that makes it
safe for him? Or is it just that you secretly want him dead?" Cordelia
retorted. She smiled as Wesley squirmed uncomfortably.

"Please just let this go," Angel said quietly. He looked at them
plaintively, and Willow sighed, giving in. Or at least pretending to.

"Fine," she told the vampire. She stepped closer to him and leaned over to
kiss his cheek, then stepped back and gave him a slight smile. "Be
careful."

"We will," the vampire promised as he and Wesley left.

As soon as the men were out the door, Cordelia turned to Willow, shooting
daggers with her eyes. "How could you give up so easily? There are going
to be at least twelve vampires there. They’ll need help."

Willow merely raised her eyebrows at her enraged friend. "Who said I was
giving up?" she asked.

"But you said..." Cordelia trailed off, confused.

"What I said doesn’t mean a damn thing," the redhead informed her. "You’re
the one who had the vision, right?"

"Right," the brunette said, nodding her head slowly, a look of befuddlement
on her face. What did that have to do with anything?

"Meaning you are the one that told them where to go. Which means you know
where to go. Which means..."

"We can just show up, whether they like it or not."

"Precisely," Willow replied as she grabbed her purse from Cordy’s desk and
retrieved a couple stakes and some holy water. "Let’s go."

The young woman smiled at each other as they headed into the night.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

"Well, here we are," Wesley murmured as they entered to vacant warehouse.
There wasn’t anyone - living or dead - in the place besides the two of them.
"But where are they?"

"They’ll show," Angel said confidently. Cordelia’s visions had never let
them down in the past, and he didn’t think they would start to now. After
glancing around the room, the vampire moved to the crates against the far
wall. He casually began to pry one open. "I wonder what our little friends
are up to?"

Wesley straightened his tie. "Well, considering the fact that they are
vampires, I’d say probably world domination."

"Or drug smuggling," Angel countered as he held up a plastic bag full of
white powder.

"I believe that belongs to us," a voice said from the loft above.

Angel turned and looked up, his eyes settling on the vampires above him.
There were at least six of them, half the amount Cordy had seen in her
vision, but Angel could sense others appearing from the shadows.

And they were holding Kate and two other police officers hostage.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Cordelia wrinkled her nose in distaste as she and Willow neared the
warehouse. "Why does all the evil have to happen in skanky places like
this? Can’t it ever happen among the rich and famous?"

"What about that Russell Winters guy, the vampire? Didn’t he live in a
mansion?" Willow asked.

"Oh, yeah. Forget I said anything. If the evil’s rich, it’s just more
powerful."

"Well, that is the way of the world," Willow sighed as she turned down the
street that the warehouse was supposed to be on.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Angel groaned as he took a hit, then immediately raised his arm to block the
second punch. He kicked out, knocking the vampire down, then staked him
efficiently, glancing around for the next fight. Sighing, he reached for a
minion, grabbing the creature off Wesley and proceeding to pound the demon
into oblivion. It had quickly become obvious that Cordelia either had
underestimated the number of vampires, or the vision hadn’t allowed her to
see them all. Either way, there were far more than twelve, and he and
Wesley were dangerously outnumbered. He briefly wondered if freeing Kate
and her coworkers would help, but he knew that they only had guns for
weapons. And guns couldn’t kill vampires. Of course, he reasoned, thinking
of the several times he had been shot, it could hurt them like hell.

Staking the minion he had just worked over, Angel headed over to Kate.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

"Did you, like, flunk math or something?" Willow asked incredulously as she
took in the sight before her. "That is definitely not twelve vampires.
That’s more like twenty."

Cordelia stopped staring in amazement at the fight in front of her long
enough to glare at the redhead. "No, I did not flunk math," she retorted
hotly. "I’ll have you know that I’m very good at it. There just wasn’t
anywhere near this many vampires in my vision. I swear it."

Sighing, Willow reached into her jacket and pulled out her stakes, handing
one to the brunette, then giving the girl two vials of holy water. "Here,"
she said. "We better get involved soon, or Angel and Wesley are goners."

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Kate stared in horror at the sight in front of her. It was supposed to be a
drug bust. A simple, run of the mill drug bust. It was not supposed to
turn into a bad casting call for Dracula.

Kate knew about vampires, but she’d only actually seen two in her life. Or
two that she knew of, anyway. There was Angel, of course. He’d been around
her on so many occasions and never hurt her. He’d even saved her life. In
fact, he’d saved several lives that she knew of. And then there was that
Ben guy. The one who had been committing murders all over LA, something
he’d apparently been doing off and on for decades. The one she’d staked.
The one that had utterly terrified her and still gave her nightmares.

She had a feeling that these vampires were more along the lines of the Ben
variety.


Part Ten

Angel hit the wall hard as he was attacked. Groaning, he pushed himself up
and prepared to defend himself, cursing all the while. He had been so
intent on getting to Kate and the others and getting them untied that he
hadn’t even seen the vampire coming his way. He’d been completely
blindsided.

Grabbing his opponent by the hair, he swung it around, then rammed its head
straight into the wall, knocking it out cold, which made it a lot easier to
stake.

Wesley struggled against the female vampire, who was grinning wickedly as
her face drew nearer his neck. She had his arms twisted behind his back,
and there was nothing he could do to save himself. Then, just as she was
about to bite him, she exploded into dust. Wesley opened his eyes,
expecting to see Angel. Instead, he was stunned to see Cordelia, stake in
hand.

"See?" The brunette chastised him. "This is what happens when you get all
macho and leave the women at home."

"I get scolded by a nineteen year old?"

"Well, I was actually referring to the fact that you were about to become a
demon’s chew toy, but yes, that, too." She offered her hand and helped him
to his feet. "Come one, Watcher man. Let’s go help Angel and Willow."

Closing her eyes and feigning surrender, Willow allowed the vampire that had
cornered her to come closer, so close she could feel it’s cool presence
nearly touching her. Then... poof. The stake Willow had surreptitiously
floated behind the creature plunged into its back, directing through its
heart. Quickly glancing around her, Willow saw that there was still at
least a dozen vampires left to slay. Taking a deep breath, the redhead
plunged back into the fray.

Angel slammed his open palm into the vampire’s chin, knocking its head back.
The vampire he was fighting lashed out at his, swinging his fist wildly.
Angel grabbed the demon’s wrist, then kicked the vampire in the side, never
releasing its arm. The force of the kick caused the vampire to crumble to
its’ knees with a severely dislocated shoulder. After that, a five year old
could have come up to it and staked it.

Turning to check on Wesley, Angel had to admit that he wasn’t entirely
surprised to see Willow and Cordelia fighting alongside the Watcher. He
should have known the women would never give up so easily, and he was
actually glad they had come. They evened up the odds a little. However,
they still needed help.

Moving quickly, Angel went to Kate and attacked the ropes binding her. As
soon as he had her hands free, he knelt down to get the ropes at her feet,
and Kate yanked the gag that covered her mouth away.

"Go help them," she said. "I can finish untying myself, as well as Don and
Tony."

Angel looked up briefly and met Kate’s eyes. Satisfied that she meant what
she had said, he went back to help Willow, Wesley, and Cordelia.

Cordelia screamed as she was grabbed from behind. She regained control of
herself quickly and secretly pulled out the vial of holy water Willow had
given her, preparing to use it. Lifting her foot slowly, she flung the
water in the demon’s face as she kicked back, ramming him in the kneecap
with her three inch spiked heel. The vampire screamed and covered his face,
hopping on one leg. Cordelia reached out and pushed him down, then staked
him.

Kate hurriedly untied her coworkers, shaking like a leaf, partly from the
adrenaline rush, partly from sheer terror. The shaking throughout out her
body made her uncharacteristically clumsy, and it took her longer than it
should have to free the men. Turning to glance at the four people fighting
the vampires, then glancing back at her terrified coworkers, Kate made her
decision. Having Don and Tony attempt to fight would just cause more
problems. Angel and his friends already had their hands full, they didn’t
need to be forced into saving the men.

"Go," Kate told her partners. "Just get the hell out of here, and don’t
look back. We’ll take it from here," she said. The men nodded shakily and
turned to go, completely unnoticed by the combatants. Taking a steadying
breath, Kate went over to the crate that Angel had pried open, taking hold
of a board and pulling it loose, the using all her strength to break it.
She looked at the jagged edge for a moment, praying that it would be enough
to kill a vampire. Then she went into the fight.

Willow ducked as the vampire lunged at her, almost amused as its momentum
took it careening right past her and into the wall, where it slumped to the
ground with a moan. Not moving from her position, Willow concentrated on a
piece of broken wood nearby, floating it and staking the fallen vampire.

Wesley and Cordelia teamed up both attacking a vampire at once. Wesley
attacked from the left, Cordelia from the right. Within seconds, the pair
had the vampire completely confused and overwhelmed, and it made a nice pile
of decorative dust on the floor. Wiping her brow, Cordelia turned to look
back to the fight, relieved to see that there were only five vampires
remaining. However, one of them was definitely the leader.

"Enough!" the vampire bellowed. The four remaining minions came to a sudden
stop, turning to look at their leader. One of them stopped directly in
front of Willow, and the redhead casually staked it, earning herself a
murderous glare from the leader. Keeping his eyes on Willow, the demon
stepped back slowly, retreating. The minions immediately took the hint, and
the vampires had vacated the building in a matter of seconds.

Sighing, Angel turned to the girls. "I thought I told you two to stay put."

"Actually, you told us we couldn’t go with you and Wesley. And we didn’t.
It’s a technicality, but deal with it," Willow told him.

Angel smiled slightly. "Fine. Besides, as it turned out, we needed your
help, so I’m glad you came." Before Cordelia could open her mouth with some
snide remark, the vampire turned to Kate, who was examining the crates.
"Vampire drug smugglers?"

"Seems like it," she said. "The LAPD’s going to have to confiscate all this
stuff. I guess the sheer amount of confiscated drugs will have to placate
the chief. He’s not going to be too happy about the smugglers getting
away."

"Well, most of them are now big piles of dust, so they didn’t exactly get
away."

Kate turned to the redhead who had spoken and smiled. "I really don’t think
that explanation would go over too well. I’m Kate Lockley, by the way."

"Willow Rosenberg."

Kate turned to Wesley, whom she had never met, and raised her eyebrows.
"I’m Wesley Wyndham-Pryce," he supplied.

"Well, that’s a mouthful," the blonde detective muttered before turning to
go. "I need to get back to the precinct, check on Don and Tony, and then
get people down here to confiscate this stuff."

"You will keep us posted, won’t you?" Angel asked.

"You people just saved my life. I think I owe you that much."

Part Eleven

Two Weeks Later

Willow pushed her hair out of her face and glared at the vampire sitting
across from her.

"I really don’t think we’re looking up the right demon," she told him.
"There doesn’t seem to be anything on a Hilopsis demon in any of these
indexes, and we’ve been looking for two hours. It’s got to be something
else."

"Willow, I’m nearly 250 years old. I have far more experience in these
types of things than you do," Angel explained patiently, earning a snort
from the slender redhead.

"You spent the first 150 years terrorizing people and the last century or so
brooding. Somehow I doubt you got a lot of studying done." Angel chose not
dignify the girl’s statement with a response, so Willow went back to the
book she was looking through, and her brow furrowed as she studied the
pictures of the demons. "So," she said, changing the subject, "has Kate
ever called you?"

"Huh?" Angel replied dumbly, a bit caught off guard.

"Has Kate ever called to tell you what ended up happening with the vampire
drug lords we killed a couple weeks ago?"

Angel shrugged. "She called this morning and told me she would have all the
information sometime this afternoon. Something strange has to be going on
there. Demons don’t usually deal in drugs."

"Okay, but do you think we could put off that bit of weirdness until we get
our little demon with wings and pointy ears?"

"It’s a Hilopsis demon."

"I still say it looks like a miniature gargoyle, or maybe an evil faerie."

"It’s a Hilopsis demon," the vampire repeated.

"Whatever."

"It is," he insisted. "You’re going to feel really stupid when we find out
I’m right."

"And if you’re not?"

"I am," Angel stated confidently.

Willow stuck her tongue out at him.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

"Here, hold this," Cordelia said, handing Wesley a shopping bag. He
staggered under it’s weight.

"What in heaven’s name is in this?" the former Watcher asked as he shifted
for a better grip. It wouldn’t do to drop it, whatever it was. He had a
feeling the brunette would hit him if he did.

Cordelia shrugged. "It was on Willow’s list. Magick stuff. I think
anchoring Angel’s soul really depleted her supplies. Ooh, look at that
halter top," she said as she stopped in front of a store window. Wesley
barely stopped himself from running into her.

"Halter top?" he asked.

"Let’s go inside," the brunette added, already headed for the door.

"Inside?" he repeated, following her with a resigned look on his face. He
should have known this was going to happen.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Angel leaned over Willow’s shoulder, looking at the book in her hand. They
were searching the indexes for the second time, this time going over each
book together in case one of them had missed something on the first time
around.

"You do realize this is getting pretty pointless?" Willow said. "I mean,
those things could be out eviscerating some poor guy, and here we are,
looking it up in a demon index under the WRONG NAME!"

"It’s not the wrong name, Willow."

"And if you know what it is, then how come we aren’t out killing it?"

"Because all I know is that it’s called a Hilopsis demon. I don’t know how
to kill it."

"Well, that’s helpful." Willow sighed and shrugged her shoulders, trying to
relieve the tension in them. Knowing that Willow’s snippiness was simply
due to frustration and a feeling of helplessness, Angel didn’t comment,
instead raising his hands to her shoulders and kneading them gently.

"Just keep looking," he told her. "We’ll find something eventually."

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

"What about this?" Cordelia asked, holding up a top.

"It looks like a handkerchief."

"Well, duh. That’s what it’s supposed to look like!"

"Oh, well, then it’s lovely."

"Wesley?" Cordelia said, an odd look on her face.

"What?"

"Catch me," she managed before she collapsed into his arms in the throes of
a vision.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Willow sighed loudly as she turned the page of yet another demon index.
"It’s not in here."

"It has to be," Angel told her.

Willow set the book down and turned to look up at the vampire who had spent
the past hour hovering at her shoulder. She was beginning to get a bit
claustrophobic. "No, it doesn’t. It probably doesn’t even exist."

Angel stared into her eyes for a moment, mesmerized by how the dark green
grew lighter near the pupil of her eye, forming a circle of bluish green
around the blackness. Her eyes were truly amazing. Shaking himself
slightly, Angel returned to the matter at hand. "Yes, it does exist.
Remember, I saw it."

"I meant that the Hilopsis demon doesn’t exist. The one you saw must have
another name."

Angel raised his eyebrows as she repeated her belief for what had to be the
millionth time. "What’s it going to take for you to be quiet?"

Willow thought for a moment, her brow furrowing in what Angel thought was a
most adorable manner. "Cold, hard cash," she replied decisively.

"How about something else?"

"Depends on what you’re offering," the redhead said, the first smile Angel
had seen in hours appearing on her face.

Angel couldn’t help but grin back as he leaned closer to her. "Why don’t I
show you?" he asked, drawing even closer.

Both closed their eyes as their lips drew closer together. Then, when they
were no more than an inch apart-

"Hey, you two! We’ve got a job!"

Willow and Angel jumped apart as Cordelia’s voice cut into the moment, and
the pair tried their best not to look as if they’d just been interrupted.
Angel was shocked by what he had almost done. It wasn’t that he didn’t find
Willow attractive; he did. He thought she was absolutely adorable,
amazingly sweet, and incredibly smart. But
kissing her was just not a good idea. He didn’t want to do anything that
might damage their friendship. Turning towards the entrance to the room,
Angel spoke to the others.

"What is it?" he asked as Wesley helped the brunette out of the elevator.

"Flying demons after some guys near the beach. Probably the same ones you
two were researching."

"They were researching something?" Wesley asked, surprised. No one had told
him.

"Yeah. Anyway, they were in a sea cave or something."

"Hilopsis demons?" Angel asked.

Wesley nodded. "According to the description Cordelia gave me, yes, that is
likely," he said, not noticing the triumphant look that Angel sent in
Willow’s direction. "However," he continued, "they’re more commonly known
by the simpler name of demon faeries."

"How do you kill them?" Willow asked, watching Angel carefully, trying to
look annoyed, but fighting the smile that wanted to appear. The vampire
looked stunned by the thought that he could have been the least bit
inaccurate. "Oh, wait! I already found it!" the redhead said suddenly,
holding up the index in her hand. "It says here that to kill them, you
simply pull off their wings."

"Yes," Wesley confirmed. "They’re rather like flies that way."

Willow shot Angel a winning smile. "You were right. We did find them
eventually. Of course, it was under a different name, which makes me right,
too, doesn’t it?"

"Whatever. Let’s go kill these things."

"Not until you admit we were both right."

Angel stuck his tongue out at her.

Part Twelve

"Well, that was rather anticlimactic," Willow said as the group entered the
apartment less than two hours later.

"Totally," Cordelia agreed. She turned to the men. "Not that I really want
to know, but how do those little things manage to eviscerate people, anyway?
They’re so easy to kill."

"Would you have thought to pull off their wings if they had attacked you?"
Angel asked the brunette reasonably.

"No."

"That’s how they do it. Their wings are their power center, and the only
way to kill them is through the removal of their wings," Angel informed the
girl. "The people they attack can do nothing against them as long as they
have their wings. Therefore, evisceration is possible. I’d rather not go
into the exact details of how they do it, though."

"Oh, well..." Cordelia trailed off as the phone rang, and she dove for the
phone. "Angel Investigations. We help the hopeless," she chirped perkily
into the receiver.

"Does she really need to do that on your personal line?" Willow whispered to
Angel, causing the vampire to smile slightly as he shook his head in answer.

"Yeah, he’s here," Cordelia was saying to the caller. "Just a second." The
brunette held the phone out to the vampire, covering the mouthpiece. "It’s
Kate," she told him in a stage whisper.

Angel nodded as he took the phone. "Hi, Kate. Any information?"

The vampire continued his conversation with the police detective while the
others headed into the kitchen area. Because of Cordelia and Wesley (and
now Willow), the vampire had taken to keeping actual food in his home.
Willow headed for the brownies she and Cordelia had made the day before
while Cordy grabbed some sodas and Wesley pulled out some chips and dip, his
personal favorite snack food. The trio was munching in companionable
silence when Angel entered the room a few minutes later.

"Well, that was quick," Cordelia stated as she tossed Angel a can of Pepsi.
The vampire looked at the now rather shaken soft drink in his hand, then set
it on the counter. "What did she have to say?"

"She’s coming over."

"It’s bad, isn’t it?" Willow asked quietly, taking in the even more serious
than usual expression on the handsome vampire’s face.

"It could be. I’m just not sure."

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

"There was poison in the drugs?" Cordelia asked, confused. "Wouldn’t
killing all the customers have a really bad effect on business?"

"I would imagine so," Kate confirmed. She was sitting as far away from
Angel as possible. She hated to admit it, but she was still uncomfortable
in the presence vampire.

"This is weird," Willow announced, stating the obvious. "Vamp kills are
usually of the biting and sucking or neck snapping variety. They don’t
usually resort to poison. Not violent enough."

Angel nodded his agreement. "She’s right. They’ve got to be up to
something."

"But what is it?" Kate asked, looking at Angel expectantly.

Angel gritted his teeth, not pleased by the look that Kate was giving him.
"Why are you asking me?"

"Well, because..."

"I’m a vampire, and therefore, I should know how other vampires’ minds work.
Is that it? Well, I’m sorry to disappoint you, Detective Lockley, but it
doesn’t work that way. I’m as lost here as you are." He glared at the
woman for a moment before going to the counter and busying himself with
pouring a mug of coffee.

"I think I have an idea," Wesley spoke up suddenly.

"And that would be?" Kate questioned.

"There are certain... sacrifices that require a person to be dead, but
intact. Draining the victim of blood or breaking a bone would render the
body useless."

"But how could they get to victims after they’re poisoned?" Cordelia asked,
confused. "I thought vampire’s couldn’t enter unless they were invited."

"We’re not necessarily just dealing in vampires here. If they’re gathering
bodies for a sacrifice, they’re most likely worshipping a demon of some
sort. The demon could have other minions, or the vampires could have gotten
invitations at some other time," Angel said calmly. He went over to his
desk and sat down. Willow was perched on the edge of the desk, and she
could still see he was upset about Kate’s earlier comments. She reached out
and took the vampire’s hand, and Angel smiled slightly, accepting the
gesture of comfort.

"But what demon is it?" the detective asked.

"I don’t know," the vampire stated. "I have some contacts that may be able
to tell me something," he continued as he stood up. "Wesley, why don’t you
come with me, and we’ll go see what we can find?"

The former Watcher nodded and stood up as well, following the vampire out.
Cordelia headed into the other office to check the phone messages, leaving
Willow and Kate alone.

"You don’t trust him, do you?" Willow asked the older woman.

Kate didn’t pretend not to understand. "Why should I?"

"I think the proper question is why shouldn’t you," the redhead stated
quietly but firmly.

"Look, it’s not that I don’t want to. I know he save people; I’ve seen him
save people. But he’s still a vampire..."

"So?"

"I’ve read things about him, Willow. Things he’s done."

"I assume you mean things that happened when he was running around
soulless?"

"What?"

"Angel has a soul. That’s what makes him different from other vampires."

"But what if he’s just acting?" Kate protested, wringing her hands.

"Not possible," Willow shot back, getting a bit angry. "He was cursed with
a soul about a hundred years ago. Granted, it had a loophole big enough to
drive a semi through-"

"What do you mean?"

"He lost his soul a couple years ago. He has it back now, and he can never
lose it again."

"How can you be so damn sure?"

"Because I not only restored his soul; I’m the one who anchored it as well.
He isn’t evil, Kate. Angel is still a vampire. He always will be; nothing
can change that. But he isn’t evil." Willow looked down at her hands, then
looked the other woman in the eye. "How many times has he saved your life,
Kate?"

"What?" the blonde asked, surprised.

"How many?"

Kate looked down for a moment, staring at the redhead’s shoes. After a few
seconds, she met Willow’s eyes once more. "At least five times that I can
think of," she admitted.

Willow nodded, then stood up. "Well, now you have a decision to make. Do
you judge Angel based on what was written about his demon over a century
ago, or do you judge him by the actions you have witnessed? Do you judge
him by his soul? We may need your help with what is coming, Kate. But if
you can’t trust Angel, we can’t ask for it. He’s our leader. Cordelia,
Wesley, Angel, and I - we’re a group, a team, and we trust each other with
our lives. If you can’t do the same, then we can’t work with you. It would
weaken the group. It’s your choice. Are you with us or not?"

The redhead went to the door of the office, stopping to look back only
briefly.

"Think about it."

Part Thirteen

When Willow walked back into Angel’s office nearly an hour minutes later,
Kate was still there. She hadn’t even moved from her spot on the couch.
The redhead studied the other woman in silence. The lovely blonde had her
knees curled up to her chest, her chin resting on her knees. When she
sensed the young redhead watching her, she lifted her head, meeting Willow’s
eyes.

"I was wrong," she said simply, but her eyes were eloquent. Willow could
see both sadness and regret in the police detective’s blue eyes. Sighing,
the witch went over to the woman and sat down beside her.

"It’s okay; everybody screws up sometimes. I’m just glad you realized it."

"I’m sorry."

Willow smiled sadly at the other woman. "I’m not the one you need to
apologize to."

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Angel made his way through the tunnels quickly, cursing all the while. It
was times like this that he wished he had kept the Gem of Amarra. He would
have been able to walk outside inside of being forced to learn all the
twists and turns of the damn sewer system. Angel reached the trapdoor that
led up to his apartment, and he flipped it open, grateful to discover it was
indeed unlocked. He had sent Wesley back ahead of him to do just that, and
he was glad to see that the former Watcher had made it back before he had.
It gave him less to worry about.

Angel heaved himself up through the whole, then headed to the bathroom to
clean up a little before heading upstairs.

Sewer systems were hell on personal hygiene.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Angel entered his office about ten minutes later, surprised to discover that
Kate was still there. He’d expected her to bolt as soon as he left for
information. Before he could question her presence, Willow spoke up.

"What did you find out? Wesley hasn’t told us a damn thing."

"Word around town has it that a Lorgough demon hit town a few months ago.
They feed on human cadavers; it’s the only way they can survive."

"Cadavers? Ew," Cordelia said with a shiver, her nose wrinkled in distaste.

"Why don’t they go get their victims themselves?" Willow asked.

"It would be a bit conspicuous," the vampire told her. These things are
basically blobs. Think Jabba the Hutt, only purple."

"Gross," Cordelia muttered, but Willow had other thoughts on her mind.

"You’ve seen Star Wars?" she asked.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

As the five prepared for the fight ahead, Kate made her way over to Angel,
stopping just behind the vampire. She tapped him on the shoulder, and he
turned around slowly, a questioning look in his eyes.

"What is it?" he asked. There was no anger or hostility in his voice, but
Kate’s guilt still doubled.

"I just wanted to say I’m sorry. For before. What I said, the way I
acted... the way I’ve acted since I found out you’re a vampire. It was
wrong. I know you’re not like other vampires..."

"Kate?" he said gently, interrupting her monologue.

"Yes."

"It’s okay."

The detective breathed a huge sigh of relief.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Angel took the lead as the group entered the underground building, letting
his enhanced senses guide him.

"Are you sure this is it?" Cordelia asked. "I mean, it is a little dank."

"Well, I’m sorry it’s not up to your standards. If I’d know we were having
guests, I would have cleaned the place up," a voice said from the darkness.
The new arrival, a vampire, stepped into the light, and Angel morphed into
his demon face.

"That’s okay," he told the creature. "We would have just messed everything
up in the fight anyway." And with that, he lunged.

And the fight was on.

Kate’s eyes widened as other vampires came into view, and she immediately
lifted the crossbow in her hands. Given the fact that she was a police
officer who just so happened to be a damn good shot, it had been decided
that the weapon would be perfect for her. As she released the first bolt
and watched her target disintegrate into dust, she realized that the others
were right.

She really liked the crossbow.

Angel tossed his opponent into the wall, then staked him easily before
reaching behind him and grabbing the minion that was trying to sneak up on
him.

"Sorry, doesn’t work that way," he told the creature as he broke its neck,
then staked it as it went down.

Cordelia shot a stream of holy water into her attacker’s face, grateful that
Willow had suggested the use of water guns as weapons. The vampire howled
in pain, then turned into a big pile of dust as Wesley staked it from
behind. Cordelia smiled her satisfaction at the former Watcher before going
on to her next victim.

Willow grinned into the face of the vampire that was on top of her, then
flicked the lighter she held, catching the creature’s arm on fire. The
vampire screamed and flailed wildly, searching for something, anything, to
put the fire out with. Before it could, however, the fire had spread too
far, and the vampire was incinerated.

The group made their way to the back of the building, knowing that was where
the Lorgough demon would be. As they entered the final chamber, however,
they realized that they still had a long way to go before they won. The
chamber was full of vampires.

Angel attacked full force, while Cordelia aimed her water gun at a group of
vampires, burning them all rather severely in the face. The way they
collapsed to the ground and covered their faces made it quite easy to stake
them. Kate had taken to setting the bolts on fire before shooting them,
ensuring that the vampire would either be dusted by a bolt through the heart
or incinerated with flame.

Willow made her way to the back of the room, where the Lorgough demon lay in
a tub of some sort. Angel had explained that the demon needed certain
chemicals as well as cadavers to survive, and the redhead correctly assumed
that the solution the creature was in was a mixture of the chemicals.
Kneeling behind the tub, which was really a rather large plastic pool, she
removed the knife she carried with her from her pocket, then used it to cut
a hole in the pool, sending liquid everywhere. Then, to ensure the demon’s
death, she plunged the knife in its back, wringing an unearthly cry from the
creature.

All fighting stopped as the cry rang out, and the entire group turned as one
to see the tiny redhead standing over the corpse of the Lorgough demon.
Seeing their master dead, the vampires fled, and by the time the others
turned their attention back to their surroundings, the only vampire that
remained was Angel himself.

Slowly, the vampire turned back to Willow, giving the girl an assessing
look.

"What?" she asked.

Part Fourteen

"You could have gotten hurt. Or worse. Damn it, Willow, you could have
gotten killed," the vampire grumbled as he paced back and forth across the
floor. They were back from the fight, and everyone but Willow had left the
office and headed back home.

"But I didn’t. I didn’t even get hurt," Willow reminded him. She hopped
off the desk she was sitting on and spun in a slow circle, her arms held out
from her sides. "See?" she told him. "I’m perfectly fine."

"That’s not the point."

"Then what is? That whole could have, would have, should have crap makes no
sense. It’s pointless to think that way." She stepped closer to the
vampire and put her hands on his cheeks, forcing him to look at her. "Look,
Angel, the demon’s dead, we’re all fine, and no one’s going to die tonight
to feed a Lorgough demon. Plus, we took out a whole bunch of vamps. I’d
say we did good, wouldn’t you?"

Angel raised his hands to Willow’s arms, gently gripping her wrists as he
looked down at her. He sighed, an unnecessary expulsion of breath, but it
showed his frustration with the situation. "I know we did a good job
tonight, Willow. But..." he trailed off, not sure how to continue.
Unfortunately, Willow had grown a bit tired of the brooding, cryptic guy
routine. She wanted answers.

"But what?" she prodded.

Angel looked down at her for a moment longer, then released her wrists and
stepped back, resuming his pacing from moments before. After what seemed
like forever, he stopped and faced the redhead, who was watching him
patiently.

"I was scared," he finally admitted.

"Scared," she repeated dumbly, a confused look on her pretty face.

"I looked over there, and I saw you standing over that damn demon, and it
scared me," he told her seriously. "I realized that I’d had no clue where
you were during the fighting, and it terrified me. You could have gotten
hurt, and I wouldn’t have known it. I don’t want anything to happen to you,
Willow. I don’t know what I’d do."

Willow blinked back the tears that threatened to spill from her eyes and
walked over to the vampire, wrapping her arms around his waist. He
responded by wrapping his arms around her small frame, pulling her even
closer. He leaned down so that his head was resting against hers, relishing
in her warmth, her life. She really was okay; she hadn’t been hurt.

She was safe.

"I’m sorry I scared you," she told him with a little hiccupy sob. "I didn’t
mean to."

"I know. I shouldn’t have taken it out on you," he admitted, his lips
brushing her ear as he spoke.

"It’s okay," Willow murmured as she looked up at him.

That was their mistake.

They were so close, so close their lips were almost touching. They were
already practically kissing. It seemed natural to simply lean in a little
bit closer and make the kiss a reality.

Willow closed her eyes as Angel’s lips met hers, momentarily shocked by
their coolness. Sometimes she forgot he was a vampire. Angel tightened his
arms around her even more, lifting her off the ground in an effort to get
her body closer to his. The redhead wound her hands in his hair, messing it
up more than it already had been and not giving a damn.

After a few minutes, Willow pulled away slightly, desperate for breath, and
Angel set her back down on the ground as he trailed kisses down the slender
slope of her neck. As his lips covered hers once more, he swept his tongue
inside her mouth, eager to taste her. He slid his arms from around her
waist and ran his hands up and down her arms before allowing them to roam.

Willow felt like she was drowning. Or floating. Or both; she wasn’t sure.
All she was sure of was that she didn’t want it to stop. She had never felt
anything like this before. Not with Oz, not those few times she’d kissed
Xander, not with those few idiots Buffy had talked her into going out with.
None of them even came close. Willow moaned against Angel’s mouth as his
hands explored her body. This was true passion.

Willow’s moan sent shockwaves through Angel. Dear Lord, what was he doing?
Willow was his friend, the best friend he had ever had, and here he was,
seducing her. What was he thinking? It didn’t matter that he couldn’t lose
his soul anymore, Willow still deserved better than what he could give.

And what about Buffy?

The thought hit him like a bucket of ice water. What about Buffy? He was
supposed to love her. He didn’t think loving her meant making out with her
best friend.

Angel pulled away from Willow and looked down into her flushed face. She
was breathing heavily, and he could feel her heart pounding.

Under his palm.

Stunned, Angel looked down into the barely-there space between them. And he
couldn’t believe what he saw.

His hand was on Willow’s breast.

Without stopping to consider the difference in size and strength between
himself and the small redhead, the vampire shoved Willow away, sending her
sprawling on the floor. She looked up at him, confusion and pain in her
eyes.

"Angel?"

"That shouldn’t have happened. I shouldn’t have let it happen. It won’t
ever happen again."

Willow slowly stood and started to go towards Angel. She stopped when he
stepped back. Biting her lip, Willow blinked against the tears that
threatened. Even though her breakup with Oz had occurred months before, she
still had an intense fear of rejection, and she could see that very thing in
Angel’s eyes. "What is it?" she asked. "Don’t you want me?"

"No, I don’t," the vampire told her, hoping she wouldn’t look down and see
the evidence his body presented to the contrary. He hated himself for
hurting her like this, but he had to get her to leave before he lost all
vestiges of control and took her into the next room and proved that the
spell to anchor his soul had really worked.

"Is it Buffy?" she asked, her voice breaking. Her heart was breaking, too.

"Yes. I mean, why would I want you would I’ve had her?"

The color left Willow’s already pale face, and she stepped back as if he had
hit her, actually lifting her hand to her cheek as if to touch the spot
where the blow had landed. "I’ve got to go," she whispered, turning and
heading for the door.

Angel saw the look on her face, and he knew he had gone way too far. Damn
it, he wanted to get her to leave, not damage her irreparably. He had to
fix things; he had to make her understand. Angel cursed himself a million
times over as he went after, grabbing her by the arm. "Willow, wait.
Please. Baby, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that. Please, little one, let me
explain."

Willow turned back to him, tears streaming down her face. She jerked her
arm from his grasp. "No! Leave me alone, damn you!"

"Willow, please..."

"I’m leaving!"

Angel stepped back. "Okay. You can go. Just promise me you’ll let me
explain tomorrow."

Willow shook her head. "No. I’m not leaving the office; I’m leaving Los
Angeles. I’m not coming back here." As Angel watched in stunned silence,
too shocked to go after her, Willow went to the door, then turned back to
face him once more. Her lovely face was stained with tears, and she was the
picture of heartbreak.

"Oh, and Angel?" she said, venom in her voice. "Why don’t you go back to
Hell? And this time, stay there."

Part Fifteen

Angel sat alone in his office, moving his chair slightly from side to side
as he stared off into space. The vampire began shaking slightly as the
realization of what he had just said and done sunk in. He wanted nothing
more than to run after Willow and make the tiny redhead listen to him, but
he knew that would only drive her further away. Dear God, what had he done?
He had always thought of Willow as the fragile one, the one who needed to
be protected. And what had he done? He had destroyed her with a few
poorly chosen words. God, how could he have done that? How could he have
taken it that far? If only he hadn’t said those things. If only he hadn’t
kissed her.

If only he hadn’t fallen in love with her.

And he had. He knew it now. There were so many signs. The way he wasn’t
quite happy each day until after she had arrived. The way her smile always
did weird things to him. The way an indescribable terror had gripped him
when he saw her standing over that demon. If that didn’t signal to him how
much he loved her, nothing would.

Angel shook his head, forcing himself out of that train of thought. He
couldn’t love her; it wasn’t possible. He wouldn’t allow it. Besides that,
he had ruined that now. There was no way Willow would let him back in her
heart after what he had just done. He had seen the shattered look on her
face, and his actions had torn her up inside. He wasn’t even sure she would
allow him to be her friend anymore.

Angel growled softly. No. He wouldn’t allow himself to think that way. He
couldn’t. He had to find a way back into her life.

Sighing, Angel stood up and headed to his apartment and the trapdoor that
would let him down to the sewers, allowing him to move freely during the
day.

He had to go to Cordelia’s.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

"Um, hello. You don’t know me, but I’m a friend of Willow’s. My name’s
Cordelia Chase. Oh, Willow’s told you about me? Good. Look, everything
went to hell up here, and she’s going back to Sunnydale. I need for someone
to pick her up when she gets there..."

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Angel splashed his way through the sewer, for once not caring if he got
dirty. He felt like hell.

He might as well look like it, too.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Cordelia groaned as someone knocked on the door.

"It’s open!" she yelled, knowing that any vampirey creature would still be
unable to enter. She didn’t particularly care if it ended up being some
perverted lowlife that could enter, either. She figured she was pissed
enough to pummel anyone who tried anything.

"Cordelia?"

The voice was soft and sad and unmistakably Angel’s. Cordelia whirled
around, venom in her eyes. Those eyes widened in shock when she saw the
bedraggled state of the vampire, and she immediately hardened herself
against him. "What do you want?" she hissed out.

"Willow. I need to talk to her. Is she here?" he asked a bit disjointedly.

"Does it look like she’s here?" Cordelia snapped. "She’s gone. She left
already."

Angel’s eyes took on a panicked look, and Cordelia had to force herself to
continue to glare at him. She quickly reminded herself of what Angel had
said to Willow, and she could barely prevent herself from snarling at him.

"What do you mean, she’s left?" Angel asked. "Where did she go?"

"Like I’d actually tell you after what you did." Stepping closer to the
vampire, Cordelia let all her frustrations out. Willow may not be here to
make him feel as guilty as hell, but she was. "How could you do that? What
the hell were you thinking? ‘Oh, gee, I saved a bunch of people, now it’s
time to destroy one. Hey, it all balances out in the end.’ Well, guess
what, Angel; it doesn’t balance out. She fell for you, and you ripped her
heart out, you bastard!"

Angel stood silently, accepting the brunette’s condemnation. How could he
not? He deserved it. Even so, he still wanted answers. "Where is she?
When is she coming back?"

"She’s not. She’s left Los Angeles for good."

"You just let her go off on her own when she was that upset?" Angel burst
out, furious.

"No, I did not. I’m not like you. You’re the one who let her run out of
the office like that. Kate took her to the bus station."

"Kate?"

"Yeah, she really likes Willow. Plus, she has a car. And when Willow gets
where she’s going, Forrest and Graham will be there to pick her up."

"What if I get there first?" Angel said, making a move for the door. He had
to get to her. He had to explain; he had to apologize.

He had to grovel at her feet for months on end.

"Oh, no you don’t," Cordelia said, grabbing his arm and whirling him around.
Being pissed off had certainly made her feel stronger. She liked it. "I
sent her out there to be in the care of Forrest, Graham, and Amy until I
could get to her. They, at least, love her, and they would never hurt her."

"I love her, too."

"Great way of showing it. You should open a charm school. But that’s not
the point. The point is, you are not going after her. Seeing you would
just hurt her even more, and knowing your wonderful ability for tact, you’d
probably just make it worse."

"Cordelia, I need to see her..."

"Try it, and I’ll stake you."

Angel stepped back, shock by the vehemence in the brunette’s words. He
looked around him, hoping to find something that would tell him he was in
the throes of some awful nightmare, or perhaps an alternate universe. He
found no sign of that, but he did find something else.

"What’s with all the boxes?"

"I’m moving. Willow and I are going to get a place together, maybe invite
Buffy and Amy to join us. It depends on where we move to."

"Why?"

"Why am I moving? I’m moving because Willow’s become my best friend. She’s
probably the only real female friend I’ve ever had. I missed her so much
when she was in Sunnydale this spring. She’s a great roommate, and there’s
really nothing holding me here. So I’m leaving."

"But what about acting?"

"I suck at it. I figure I’ll go to school instead. My grandfather offered
to pay my tuition."

"You can’t leave, Cordelia. Your visions. You’re my only link to the
powers that be."

Cordelia headed to her bedroom, then came back carrying a box, which she
handed to Angel. "Problem solved."

"What is it?"

"A fax machine."

"You bought me a fax machine?"

"Actually, you bought it. I charged it to your account. I got one for
myself, too. I have a vision, I fax you the info."

"Where will I be able to reach you?" the flabbergasted vampire managed. He
couldn’t believe this was happening. He had lost both Willow and Cordelia
in the same day.

"You won’t. I’ve already talked to Wesley about having another line put in,
and that should be done tomorrow. It can be used solely for the fax
machine, and I already know the number." Cordelia stared at him for a
moment, then looked at the door. "You can leave now. I’ll be in touch."

In shock, Angel turned and left the apartment. He looked back once, only to
find that Cordelia had already gone back to her packing.

It was the last time he saw her for five years.


Part Sixteen

March 2005

"What the hell are you doing here?" Willow repeated, glaring at the vampire
who stood less than twenty feet away from her. She shifted her luggage in
her hands, thankful she had arranged with the shops to have the supplies
delivered the next day. If she hadn’t, she’d probably be hurtling things at
Angel, which wasn’t the best idea in the world. Some of those supplies were
valuable. Willow continued glaring at the vampire before her. She hadn’t
thought she would ever see him again, and she wasn’t exactly appreciating
the surprise.

"Cordelia had a vision," Angel said quietly, unable to take his eyes off the
redhead before him. As a teenager, she had been pretty in a way that Angel
knew would eventually blossom into something else. And he had been right.
Willow Rosenberg was no longer simply pretty or adorable, she was gorgeous.
She had let her hair grow again, and it hung in waves halfway down her back.
It looked like silk. Her eyes were still that amazing green, and they
were alive with anger at the moment. She was dressed simply in jeans and a
tank top, but she was still stunning. It seemed little Willow Rosenberg had
finally become as stunningly beautiful on the outside as she was on the
inside.

Willow’s eyes widened considerably as the implications of Angel’s words hit
her. She knew the vampire wouldn’t show up simply because of one of
Cordelia’s visions. The brunette had been having visions almost once a week
for the past five years, and the vampire had never shown up before. It was
obvious that Cordy’s vision had to be about one of them. The redhead turned
and nearly ran towards the front door, practically dragging her suitcases on
the ground behind her. Before she could open the door, however, it swung
open to reveal an extremely handsome man with blue eyes. Without a word, he
took Willow’s bags from her, then pulled her into his arms. The sight
caused a sick feeling to settle in Angel’s stomach.

"It’s good to see you," the man told Willow as he released her. The redhead
looked up at the man, not even making a move to enter her own home.

"What’s going on, Graham? Angel said Cordelia had a vision. What was it?
Is something going to happen to Cordy or Amy?" She paused in her rapid-fire
questioning for a moment before throwing one last question in. "And what
are you doing here?"

The guy gave Willow a slight smile, then looked beyond the woman to Angel,
his smile disappearing. He acknowledged the vampire with a nod, then turned
his attention back to Willow. "Cordy did have a vision, but everything’s
all right for now. Why don’t we all go inside, and we can talk about
everything then. Do you have anything else that you need me to get from the
car?"

"No. I’m having everything shipped." The redhead started to step inside,
only to stop and turn to look at the vampire who had broken her heart so
many years before. Seeing him again opened old wounds, but she knew that
the Powers That Be wouldn’t send him unless he was needed. She hated the
thought that something so bad was coming that they needed help.

Graham stood silently, knowing that Angel needed an invitation in order to
enter the house, but refusing to give him one. He didn’t think it was his
place. This wasn’t his house, so it wasn’t his decision. Besides that, he
could still remember quite clearly that day in late June when he and Forrest
had picked Willow up from the bus station. He had never seen the petite
redhead so broken up over anything, and he hoped he never would again. Only
the fact that he was concerned about hurting Willow even further had kept
him from going up to LA and staking the bastard.

Angel waited, wondering if he was going to get the invitation he needed. He
vaguely remembered hearing Willow tell Cordelia stories about Graham during
that summer five years ago, and he knew from the look he was getting that
the guy knew the entire story of what had happened in LA.

"Angel, I invite you in," Willow said softly. Her voice was so quiet that
even Angel’s vampiric hearing could hardly pick up on it. That unpleasant
task through, she entered her home with Graham and Angel following behind.
"So, Graham, what are you doing here?"

"The vision was about Amy," he told Willow. "Cordelia was worried about Amy
being in the house alone, so we decided to stay here with her until either
you or Angel arrived."

Willow nodded slowly and smiled her thanks at Graham for taking care of her
friend. Angel, on the other hand, was a bit confused.

"Why would she be alone? Doesn’t Cordelia live here, too?"

Willow shook her head, not even looking at the vampire behind her. "She
moved in with Graham a few months ago when the two of them got engaged. Amy
and I are the only ones who live here now." Cordelia and Graham were
engaged? Not knowing what to say to that, Angel remained silent. It
appeared that he had a lot of catching up to do before he knew what was
really going on here.

The redhead led Graham and Angel up the stairs, bending to scoop up a calico
cat on her way. The cat immediately settled itself in Willow’s arms,
purring contentedly while its owner stroked its fur. At the head of the
stairs, Willow turned, taking the men into a large sitting room. Cordelia
and Amy were both sitting inside, and the blonde witch had dark circles
under her eyes. Willow dropped the cat immediately, leaving it glaring at
her from its spot on the floor. After a moment, it lost interest in the
woman and began to bathe itself.

Willow, on the other hand, crossed the room rapidly, going over to her
friends, both of whom had stood up when they saw her. "Oh, God, Amy. What
is it?" the redhead asked as she pulled her friend into her arms. Amy clung
to her, trying not to cry, and Willow turned to Cordelia, obviously
frightened. "What happened, Cordy? What was in the vision?"

The brunette bit her lip, her eyes filled with sadness.

"Damion’s back."


Part Seventeen

"Who’s Damion? Is he a demon of some sort? And how do you know him?" Angel
asked, finally breaking the silence that had descended over the group at
that announcement. The others jumped; they had forgotten about the presence
of the vampire. Willow turned to him, her eyes filled with disdain.

"Unfortunately, not all evil is demonic," she told him. "Remember Faith?"

"How could I forget?" Angel returned, trying to match Willow’s detached
tone.

"Well, Damion makes her look like a Girl Scout."

"He killed Forrest," Amy added quietly.

Angel’s brow furrowed in momentary bewilderment, then it hit him. Forrest
and Amy had dated. In fact, he could clearly recall how excited Willow had
been about the two being together.

"How?" Angel asked, wanting to know what he was up against.

Amy took a gasping breath, clearly disturbed by the memory. Willow shot the
vampire a dirty look, then nodded to Cordelia. The brunette put her arm
around the blonde witch and led her out of the room. After watching them
go, Willow turned to Graham. The man seemed to be waiting for a signal from
Willow, and after a moment, he turned and left as well, leaving Willow and
Angel alone.

"You didn’t have to be so blunt about it," Willow told him as she walked
over to the window.

"I need to know what I’m up against. How bad is this guy?" Angel asked as
he came to stand beside her. Neither one looked at the other, instead
choosing to look out the window.

"I used to think that I could handle anything," Willow said after a long
moment. She sounded as if her mind was far away from where they were, and
Angel knew she was remembering. "We had faced so much together: Spike, the
Judge, Acathla, Mayor Wilkins. But that was nothing. I mean, none of them,
not even the mayor, were truly human. There is nothing more frightening
than an evil human being. Demons... they’re supposed to be evil. But
humans? They’re not. But some of them are."

"And Damion’s one of them."

Willow jumped as if she’d been hit. She immediately changed her stance and
her facial expression, closing off completely. The sight made Angel ache
inside. For just a moment, he had seen the real Willow: the sweet,
intelligent, inherently good human being he had known years before. But
now, that was all gone, and in her place was a stranger.

"Yes, he is," Willow said in a clipped voice. She began to pace back and
forth, occasionally looking at Angel. She knew she couldn’t afford to slip
up again. She couldn’t let her guard down. She had to remain calm and cool
until he was gone; otherwise, she’d fall apart. Willow was terrified that
if she let her guard down, she’d end up letting him back into her life, into
her heart. She couldn’t let him break her heart again. It still wasn’t
completely healed from the first time.

"What can you tell me about him?" Angel asked, keeping his voice carefully
even. Willow’s face was blank, but her eyes were as expressive as always.
He had been able to see every emotion in her eyes, including the fear, and
he hated himself for it. If it helped her to keep things completely
businesslike, he would.

"He’s evil," she stated bluntly, then shook herself. "That’s not very
helpful, is it?" Taking a deep breath, she continued. "He’s human, but
he’s witch. A very, very powerful one. And he’s always looking for ways to
get more power."

"Which is why he wants Amy."

"Probably."

"How did Forrest die?" Angel asked quietly. "I wouldn’t ask, but I need to
be prepared for anything that may happen."

Willow closed her eyes, forcing herself to go back to that time two years
ago. Back to the pain.

"Amy and I were shopping. We make perfumes, candles, and various
aromatherapy things for Cordelia’s clothing store. We get our ingredients
from various magick shops, and Damion saw us at one. He did some research
on us, found out who we are. What we are. We’re pretty well known in the
Wicca community. Not many witches have spent more than a year as a rat,"
she said with a humorless laugh. Willow opened her eyes, and Angel could
see the tears glistening in them. He wanted to take a step toward her, but
he knew she would just shy away. "Anyway," Willow continued, her blindly
staring at the tapestry that hung on the wall, "he decided that he wanted
us. He had us taken by his minions."

"Minions?" Angel asked softly, careful not to startle her. He could tell
that she wasn’t really with him anymore. He could also tell that wherever
she was happened to be a very painful place.

"People he promised great power to in order to get them to obey him. I
don’t think he ever followed through; he simply killed them when he grew
tired of them. After we were taken, the others looked for us. It took them
days to figure out where we were. I don’t even want to know how many people
Buffy beat up for information. But they found us. They got us out of
there, but Forrest was captured. We tried to go back for him, but Damion
had put up a barrier, a force field, if you will. Amy and I were weak; we
didn’t have the strength to break through it. We went home to regroup, and
the others planned to go back the next day. We’d even called up friends
that could help break through the force field, just in case Damion left it
up. But we never got to go back."

"Because he killed Forrest."

Willow nodded, a sick look crossing her face. "He sent him to us in
pieces," she whispered.

"Oh, God," Angel whispered, forgetting his earlier decision to keep his
distance and stepping towards the trembling redhead. Willow jerked away
when she felt Angel’s hand on her arm. The motion caused her hair to swing
back, and Angel was afforded a view of a long, thin scar that ran the length
of Willow’s neck, disappearing into the back of her shirt. The mark wasn’t
disfiguring; in fact, it was barely discernible. In a few more years, it
would probably be undetectable. However, Angel’s eyes were glued to the
mark. He pulled her hair away from her neck for a better look, then looked
into Willow’s tear-filled eyes. The redhead blinked, causing the tears to
fall from her eyes and trail down her cheeks.

"Damion likes to play," she whispered harshly as her tears began to fall
harder. Without thought, Angel pulled the woman into his arms. Willow
rested against him for a moment, then pushed away, angry at herself for
seeking comfort in the vampire’s embrace. "Don’t touch me!" she told him,
stepping back, obviously ready to bolt.

"Willow..."

"No! I can't do this again!" she cried, raising her hand between them,
trying to keep the distance. She walked backwards, heading for the door,
then turned and fled from the room.

Angel could hear her sobs as she ran down the hall.

Part Eighteen

Willow ran down the hall as quickly as she could manage. Her eyes were
blurred with the tears that fell, and she stumbled, bracing herself against
the wall. The redhead finally made her way to her bedroom, and she slammed
the door shut behind her and locked it, desperate to be alone. She couldn’t
let anyone see her like this, so out of control. No one. Especially Angel.
Gasping for breath, Willow pressed herself up against the door. She
wrapped her arms around herself as if she was cold, trying to control the
shaking that was coursing through her. She tried to pull herself together,
and after a few minutes that seemed like hours, the petite redhead managed
to stop the sobs that were radiating from her. She pressed her fisted hand
to her mouth as a sick feeling settled in her stomach.

What the hell was she going to do?

He was back, and she didn’t mean Angel.

Not that she wasn’t bothered by the reappearance of the vampire; she was.
But that was different. Angel she could handle. She may hate every blasted
minute of it, but she would deal with it, especially if it meant saving Amy.
Willow forced herself to breath deeply as she thought about the vampire.
Angel. He may be one of the last people she ever wanted to see again, but
Willow knew he wouldn’t hurt her. At least, not physically. She could
growl, scream, curse, and throw things at him, and she knew the ensouled
vampire would take it. His guilt complex wouldn’t let him do anything else,
and she had seen in his eyes that he still felt guilty over what had
happened five years before. It was strange. Even after so long, even after
trying so hard to forget, she could still read him perfectly. What did that
old song say? ‘The heart never forgets’? Well, that was certainly true, at
least in this case. She hadn’t forgotten a damn thing about Angel. Damn
him. He dressed the same, spoke in the same manner, looked the same. Of
course, his looks weren’t something he could alter, unless he went out and
shaved his head or something. She wondered if he smelled the same, then
remembered the brief moment she had allowed herself the solace of his arms.
Yes, he did smell the same. He even felt the same. Damn him.

And damn her for caring.

It wasn’t supposed to matter anymore. He was just a memory. Unfortunately,
he was a memory who was currently inside her home.

Her shaking subsiding, Willow stepped away from her door, but continued to
hug her arms to herself as she walked to her bedroom window. The slender
redhead checked the lock on her window, then lifted her hand to the lock,
whispering a few words. The lock glowed briefly, and Willow lowered her
hand, examining the now magickally enhanced piece of metal. It wouldn’t
protect her against an enemy who was magickally stronger, but it would slow
that enemy down.

Sighing, Willow turned and crossed to the bed, catching sight of herself in
the mirror. The redhead stepped closer to it, stopping when she was less
than a foot away. She turned and angled her head as she lifted her hair
away from her neck, trying to get a glimpse of the scar Angel had spotted.
She ran her finger along it, causing it to glow momentarily, then dropped
her hand, allowing her long red hair to fall back into place.

He was back. Damion was back.

And not only was he back. The bastard was also after Amy.

But was that all he was after?

Willow moved away from the mirror. She went to her dresser and began
yanking things out. She pulled the clothes she wore off, then jerked the
pajama pants and shirt she had gotten out onto her tired, worn out body.
She slammed the drawer of her dresser shut with such violence that she was
surprised when it didn’t pop back out at her.

The redhead looked around her room, trying to find something to throw as the
rage inside her built to an almost dangerous level. Willow’s gaze
frantically searched her room, and the redhead finally settled for the dozen
or so pillows on her bed. With an angry curse, she began throwing the
pillows at the wall with a vengeance.

He was back. The evil, viscous, son of a bitch was back. And what would he
do now? Just what did he have planned now? Would he take Graham from them
this time, only to send him back to them like he did Forrest? Willow didn’t
think she could take that again. She forced down the bile that threatened
to rise in her throat as a vision of Forrest’s decapitated head flashed
through her mind. She picked up the next pillow and threw it with even more
force, knocking over and shattering a lamp. Damn him. Damn Damion for what
he had done and what he would do.

The violence inside the redhead caused her to start shaking again as more
questions ran through her mind. Would Damion take Amy again? Would he take
her as well? And the torture... would he torture them again? Would he run
those sharp knives against their bare skin with that wicked grin on his
face?

As a gasping sob forced its way out of her throat, Willow moved from her
pillows to the pictures that decorated almost every available surface in the
room. The photographs covered her walls, her dresser, her night table...
everything.

And they were about to cover the floor.

She threw the first one against the wall, wincing as the glass shattered and
the frame broke. The pieces scattered across the floor, but the photograph
inside remained undamaged. Not nearly satisfied, the redhead picked up the
next picture and hurled it against the wall as flashes of her time as
Damion’s captive began rolling through her. Sobbing brokenly, Willow began
tossing picture after picture at the wall, not even noticing when someone
began pounding on her bedroom door.

"Willow! Willow, are you all right in there? Damn it, open this door!"
Graham’s panicked voice penetrated the haze of grief, fear, and rage that
had encompassed the redhead, but she was too caught up in her what she was
doing to let him stop her.

"Go away!" she shouted, hating the fact that her voice broke.

"Damn, it, girl, let me in!" Moments after the yell came to her, she heard
pounding on the door. Sobbing brokenly and shaking like a leaf, she sank to
the floor just as Graham managed to break the lock on her door and come
bursting in. "Oh, Willow," he whispered as he took in the form that was
curled on the floor. He dropped to his knees beside her, pulling her into
his arms. He held her until her struggles subsided, then began rocking her
back and forth when she collapsed against him, weary and exhausted.

Neither one noticed that Angel was standing in the doorway.

Part Nineteen

"What did he do to her?" Angel demanded harshly as he stalked back and forth
across the kitchen the next morning, strategically avoiding the patches of
light that filtered in through the blinds.

"I really don’t think that’s any of your business," Cordelia retorted as she
sipped her coffee. The pretty brunette sat at the breakfast table, her
demeanor calm and cool, even though her closely guarded emotions were
threatening to boil over.

"And I think it is."

"Then why don’t you ask Willow?" Cordelia asked, although she knew the
vampire couldn’t do that. According to Graham, the redhead had cried
herself to sleep the night before, and she was utterly exhausted. Given
Angel’s reaction this morning, the vampire had clearly either heard or
witnessed part of the outburst, and Cordy knew he wasn’t about to go wake
Willow up in order to ask her about it.

"I can’t do that, and you know it," Angel virtually growled at her, his eyes
flashing dangerously as he glared at the back of the brunette’s head.

"And just why can’t you?" Cordelia asked innocently. She was stunned when
her mug of coffee was wrenched from her hand and thrown against the
refrigerator where it shattered. Cordelia watched as the liquid ran down
the front of the appliance, staining the photographs that were held in place
with magnets. The brunette turned to face the vampire, taken aback by the
fury and pain in his eyes.

"She won’t speak to me, and you know that. Damn it, she’s hurting, and I
don’t know how to help her. The Powers That Be sent me here to destroy this
guy, and you won’t even tell me what the hell I’m up against. How the hell
am I supposed to protect Amy if I don’t even know what to expect from this
guy? I know he’s after witches, and I know he hurt Willow and Amy last
time... but that doesn’t give me much to go on. Don’t you give a damn that
Amy’s life is in danger, or do you hate me so much that you’d sacrifice your
friend in order to keep me in the dark?"

Cordelia studied Angel’s face for a moment, overwhelmed with guilt. She had
let her anger with Angel over long ago events cloud her judgment, and she
had behaved in a way that could only be described as obnoxious and petty.
Not only that, but she had also left out an extremely important detail from
her vision.

"It’s not just Amy you’re supposed to protect," she admitted quietly.

"What?" Angel whispered, the stolen blood in his veins running cold.

"Willow was in the vision, too."

"Why didn’t you tell me that before?" the vampire asked, his voice rising.
The volume at which he was speaking was about two steps down from a yell,
but he didn’t care. He was furious with the brunette for keeping this from
him.

He was also terrified for Willow.

"I didn’t know if you’d come," Cordelia admitted softly, refusing to meet
Angel’s flashing eyes. She was sure he would vamp out any minute.

"What did you say?!? How could you possibly think that?" Angel ground out
furiously. This time, he was truly yelling. He ached to grab the woman and
shake her, but he knew he would probably injure her severely if he did so.
He didn’t think he’d ever been so angry in all his two hundred and fifty
plus years. "Do you really think so little of me? Do you really think I’d
have just sat back and let Willow die if you’d tell me she was in your
vision?"

"Well, I-"

"I’m not finished yet!" Angel virtually roared, oblivious to the fact that
other people had now entered the room. Amy, Willow, and Graham watched the
scene before them, trying to figure out just what the hell was going on. "I
care about her, whether she cares about me or not. If you had a vision with
Willow in it, you should have told me."

"I’m telling you now."

"I was in the vision?" a soft voice questioned from the doorway.

Angel and Cordelia stopped glaring at each other and swung around to face
the intruder, stunned to find Willow, Amy, and Graham all watching them.
Even the cats had come to investigate what all the noise was about.

"I was in the vision?" Willow repeated, her voice shaking. Angel’s heart
broke at the sight of her. She looked so small and frail, and he promised
himself that he would protect her.

"Look, Willow," Cordelia began, but the redhead didn’t stay to listen,
instead taking off in the other direction.

Angel took off after her, following the soft sounds of her crying as he
dodged the light that filtered in through the home’s many windows. He found
Willow in the downstairs sitting room, and he went in, closing the door
behind him before making his way over to her. He singed his hand slightly
as he passed too close to a window, and he stopped when he reached the
redhead, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Willow? I... I didn’t know you were in the vision until a few minutes ago.
If I had known, I would have told you."

"Cordelia should have told me," the redhead said in a quavering voice. She
allowed the vampire to turn her around, and he looked into her tear-streaked
face.

"Yes, she should have," Angel confirmed. "But she didn’t, because she was
worried about you."

"She didn’t think you’d come if you knew."

"I would have come," Angel told her fiercely. "I swear it. Nothing could
have kept me from saving you."

"Damion might," Willow said sadly, her tears falling more freely. Angel
cursed quietly, then pulled the petite redhead into his embrace, stroking
her back comfortingly. He had never seen Willow so afraid of anything.
Closing his eyes to the wave of tears that threatened to overcome him, Angel
leaned his face in close to Willow’s head, pressing his lips against her
forehead.

Willow immediately stiffened and pulled away. "No. Don’t do that. I can’t
handle it if you do that."

"Why not?" Angel asked her softly, not letting her get more than an arm’s
length away.

"This is how it started last time. First we were comforting each other,
then we were kissing, then you were shoving me to the ground and telling me
how undesirable I was. I can’t deal with it if you push me away again. Not
now. Not ever."

"I made a mistake, and I don’t mean when I kissed you five years ago. I
mean what happened afterwards," the vampire told her as she broke away from
him and headed for the door. He grabbed her arm before she could make a run
for it and turned her around to face him. "Please, Willow, let me explain,"
he begged.

The redhead stared at him. His eyes were pleading with her, and his voice
held a hint of desperation in it. But that wasn’t what caught her. What
caught her was the heartbreaking remorse that emanated from him. Against
her better judgment, Willow found herself wanting to hear what he had to
say.

"Fine. I’ll listen," she told him, affecting a bored tone, even though her
insides were churning.

Angel had never heard any sweeter words.


Part Twenty

Angel ran his hands through his already haphazardly styled hair, sending it
sticking out in several directions. He had waited for nearly five years for
the opportunity to explain things to Willow, but, now that he had the
chance, the vampire had no clue what to say to the woman.

"I’m waiting," the redhead said softly, and Angel looked over at her,
meeting her reluctantly curious eyes.

"I don’t know what to say to you, the vampire admitted. "I’ve... I’ve
waited for this chance for so long... now I’m afraid I’ll screw it up."

Willow cocked her head, taking in the apprehension on Angel’s face, and she
found her traitorous heart going out to the vampire. She reached out and
took his hand, gazing steadily in his fathomless brown eyes. "Just talk,"
she advised him gently. "I’ll listen."

Angel sighed. "First of all, I need to tell you I’m sorry," the vampire
said as he released Willow’s hand and headed over to one of the couches to
sit down. Willow followed him to the darkened corner and sat down next to
him. Angel sighed again before continuing. "You have no idea how sorry I
am. The things I said... I was wrong. I was cruel, and I was unfeeling,
and... I was lying. I didn’t mean a damn word I said."

"Then how could you say them?" Willow asked softly, her voice small and
hurt. She sounded more like the child she had been than the woman she was.
"If you didn’t mean them, how could you even think those words, much less
say them?"

"Because I’m an unfeeling bastard?" Angel suggested questioningly, thankful
when the redhead chose not to agree with him. Sighing once more, the
vampire spoke in a more serious manner. "I was trying to push you away. I
did it intentionally."

"Why?"

And there was the crux of the matter. The million dollar question. Why had
he done it? Angel knew the answer, but he didn’t know how Willow would
react to it, so he decided to work his way up to it.

"I was scared," he told her.

Willow blinked in surprise at the vampire’s unexpected answer. Scared of
what? Scared of her? "Why?" she asked again.

Angel buried his face in his hands for a moment. Raising his head slowly,
he met Willow’s eyes and told her what he had been wrestling with for five
endless years. "Because I was afraid I was falling in love with you," he
said bluntly, watching her to gauge her reaction.

The redhead’s eyes grew wide and her mouth formed a little ‘o’ of surprise.
Her expression would have been amusing if the situation hadn’t been so
serious. After a moment, she snapped her mouth shut and raised her eyebrows
at Angel. "I don’t believe you," she informed him primly.

"Why not?" the vampire asked.

"Why would someone like you fall in love with someone like me? And beyond
that, why would it frighten you?"

Angel registered both of her questions, but he was still stuck on the first
one. "What do you mean, someone like you? Is there something wrong with
you that I don’t know about?"

"You tell me. Oz left me, Xander chose Cordelia - and every other woman in
Sunnydale - over me, and you told me quite clearly - and very bluntly - that
you didn’t want me."

"Oz was an asshole, Xander was a blind fool, and I’m a stupid vampire who
has spent the last five years brooding over the mistakes he made that day
and beating himself up for being too damn scared and stubborn not to go
after what he really wanted."

"And what the hell is it that had you so scared, Angel? Why don’t you
explain that one to me?"

"When I was kissing you... I just panicked. I panicked because I realized
how much I had come to care about you without even realizing it. It came as
quite a shock to me... And it made me realize that, if I was falling in love
with you, then it meant I was falling out of love with Buffy. I still cared
about her, sure, but she was no longer the most important thing in my life.
You were."

"Was falling out of love with Buffy really such a bad thing?" Willow asked.
"I mean, Buffy had already hopped into bed with Riley by then. And what
about me? I had loved Oz for so long... didn’t you think that maybe I was
going through the same feelings you were?"

"I didn’t think, and that was the problem," Angel responded. "I was so
surprised to discover that I was no longer in love with the Slayer, that I
just reacted. By the time I went after you, you were already gone."

"You came after me?"

"I went to Cordelia’s, but you had already left."

"I never knew you came. Cordy never mentioned it to me."

"She was probably afraid it would just hurt you more... Any reminder of me
was probably a bad thing in her mind," Angel told her, surprising himself by
defending the brunette. "But I did go there. I think that was when I
realized that I couldn’t just fix things. Even after I saw the look on your
face that day, I thought I could still make things up to you. But after
that... I thought it was hopeless."

"It probably was at that point," she informed him. "I was so hurt... Damn
it, Angel, you tore me up inside!"

"I know," the vampire said sadly.

"Do you?" Willow burst out. "Do you really? I was already so insecure
before that happened! Everyone back home already had someone... well, Spike
didn’t, but he’s all evil, and Graham didn’t, but he could have had anyone
he chose... and that’s not the point. The point is, Oz had cheated on me,
then deserted me, and I was already feeling pretty damn undesirable before
you rejected me. Do you really think you have any clue how that made me
feel? I was only nineteen years old, Angel, and you kicked me when I was
already down. It took me years to recover from that."

Angel looked down, overcome with the guilt that was washing over him in
waves. "And I am so sorry for that," he whispered raggedly. "I have no
idea how to make it up to you. God, Willow, I don’t even know if I can."
The vampire looked down at his hands; he hated hearing how badly he had hurt
Willow, but he knew it was important that she have the chance to vent to
him, even after all these years.

"It’s been a long time," Willow said quietly. Although she felt as if a
huge weight she had been carrying had been lifted, the redhead knew that her
rage had been spent long ago. This was closure to the past and a possible
new beginning. "I’ve grown up a lot, and I’ve changed. This weekend...
everything was just such a shock... the vision, seeing you again. It
brought back all these unwanted feelings, and I reacted badly."

Angel nodded. He could understand that. "I still love you," he admitted
softly.

Willow stiffened at the vampire’s unexpected confession. She wanted nothing
more than to tell him that she felt the same way, but she was still wary.
Her heart had been broken and bruised too many times to rush into anything.
"I’m not ready for that. I can accept your apology for what happened in LA,
but I’m not ready for more than that."

"I can accept that," Angel said as he took her hand once again. "I’ll
accept anything you’re willing to give me."

"I can give you friendship... and I can give you another chance."

"That’s more than I really thought you’d give me." Angel wanted to shout
from the rooftop that Willow had decided to let him back into her life, but
he knew that there were more important things to deal with. Tightening his
hold on Willow’s hand, he turned to face her, and the redhead could see the
change in her eyes.

"What is it?"

"Willow, I know you’ve already been through an emotional wringer, but I
really need to know..."

"About Damion," Willow finished for him.

Angel nodded, and Willow took a deep breath before speaking again.

"What do you want to know?"

Part Twenty-One

"Everything," Angel replied honestly before catching himself. "Just tell me
what you can, Willow. Anything about Damion that you think is important."

Willow’s brow furrowed as she considered what to tell Angel, and she
released his hand in order to wrap her arms around herself. Angel watched
the redhead’s actions with concern, his eyes focused on her face. Her eyes
had an almost glazed over look, and the vampire was worried about the woman.
After a moment, however, the redhead visibly shook herself, regaining the
composure that had slipped. Her eyes, once again clear and focused, met
Angel’s.

"He’s a master of disguise," she told him softly. "And I don’t mean that in
a magickal sense. He gets... joy, I guess is the word... from fooling
people. There’s no challenge in it if you use magick," she informed the
vampire, repeating what Damion had told her two years before. She sighed,
covering her face with her hands as she tried to think. She pushed the
thoughts of what had been done to her out of her head, and she tried to
concentrate on ways to help Angel instead of her fear. Fear was a definite
detriment when it came to thinking rationally and coming up with a plan of
attack. "He has everything you can think of: wigs, glasses, contacts, fake
facial hair. He even has women’s clothes."

"Women’s clothes?"

Willow nodded. "He does the cross-dressing thing. I’m pretty sure he’s
actually better at walking in heels than I am."

"What does he look like?"

"For real? I’m not entirely sure. There were times when I thought I was
seeing what he really looked like, but I can’t be sure," the redhead said.

"Just tell me what you can," Angel told her as he reached for her hand
again. Willow entwined her fingers with his and leaned into the vampire,
resting against him. The past day had taken a lot out of her, and she was
exhausted. Angel could sense this, and he released the witch’s hand. He
then took one of the throw pillows off the couch and placed it in his lap,
urging the redhead to lay down. She did so, resting her head on the pillow,
and she began to speak as Angel soothingly stroked her hair.

"His eyes are blue. I’m pretty good at being able to tell if a person’s
wearing contacts or not, and I don’t think he was when his eyes were blue.
He’s not all that tall. Maybe Xander’s height. He’s wiry, but sometimes
his costumes include padded clothing to make him seem bulkier. The
padding’s done really well, too. You can’t even tell it isn’t him."

"Anything else?" Angel asked, his tone low and soothing, almost hypnotic.

"Black hair. I think." Sighing in frustration, Willow pushed herself back
into a sitting position and met Angel’s eyes. "I hate this," she told him.
When the handsome vampire didn’t respond, instead watching her with his
calmly assessing eyes, she continued. "This is stupid. I feel so
helpless." Running her hands through her hair, the redhead stood up and
began to pace across the room. "He’s out there, terrorizing people, and I
can’t even describe the bastard." Willow stopped in mid-stride and turned
to face Angel, her eyes suddenly sad. "I don’t want him hurting anybody
else," she told him in a small voice.

Angel stood and went to her, trailing his hands down her arms. Willow
shivered at the glancing contact, and she stepped closer to the vampire,
seeking the comfort he had so often provided when she was a teenager. Angel
enveloped her in his arms and pulled her close. After a moment, however, he
loosened his hold on her and brought one hand under her chin, forcing her to
look at him.

"What did he do to you, little one?"

Willow bit her lip as her eyes filled with tears, unsure how to explain.
How could Angel understand when there was no chance that he would ever go
through what she had? Angel was strong, but he didn’t have magick running
through him like she did. Damion would never do to Angel what he had done
to her.

Angel watched Willow’s reaction to his question, and he sensed that the
woman was shrinking away from him. His stomach clenched as a terrible
thought entered his mind, and he force himself to give voice to the
question.

"Did he rape you?"

Willow stepped back, evading Angel as she wrapped her arms around herself
once again, surprised to discover that she was trembling. She shook her
head, denying what Angel had said. "Sometimes I wish he’d done that
instead."

"What do you mean?"

"He... he was inside me. Magickally. It was like he was under my skin. I
could feel him there. He was... probing me... my body, my mind, for
something. My powers, my secrets... I don’t know. But he was there. He
was in me. It was... it was like being invaded by pure evil. And he got
pleasure from it." She closed her eyes, a look of disgust on her face as a
wave of nausea hit her. "Physical pleasure. He got off from it. I felt so
dirty... and violated. It was the worst thing I’ve ever been through. It
made me sick."

"Oh, Willow," Angel said in a voice that was a near moan as he pulled her
back into his arms. The shaking redhead continued talking, though her words
were muffled against his chest.

"I wouldn’t let anyone touch me for months afterward. My skin felt too
sensitive, like I had a sunburn or something. It hurt to be touched. It
was a side effect of what he did to me. Even after it wore off, I couldn’t
let anyone touch me; I was too scared. I hate being afraid, Angel."

"I know, sweetie," the vampire said into her hair as he rocked her back and
forth. Willow relaxed completely in his embrace, letting herself go for
just a moment. The moment stretched into minutes as Angel stroked her hair
and whispered soothing words to her, all the while trying to control the
part of him that wanted to chase Damion down and rip his heart out. He
couldn’t begin to imagine what Willow had gone through, and he didn’t
particularly want to. He just wanted to make sure it never happened again.
Finally, Willow pushed herself away from Angel. Her eyes were dry, and she
straightened her shoulders, looking more composed than he’d seen her since
he’d arrived.

"This isn’t helping. It feels great to just try to hide away in your arms,
but it won’t do us any good. We have to find Damion, and we have to stop
him before he hurts anyone else."

"How?" Angel asked, surprised by the redhead’s abrupt change in mood. She
had gone from frightened to focused and determined, and he had to admire her
courage.

"My contacts. I know a lot of people out there."

"I don’t want you going anywhere until this is over."

"Then I’ll go online and see what I can find. Most of my contacts have
e-mail anyway. I can also check out newspaper articles and see if there
have been any suspicious deaths. He may not even be in town yet. If we can
figure out where he’s coming from, we may be able to intercept him and put a
stop to this before it even begins. The rest of you can search around town,
see what you can find. I can tell you a few of his favorite costumes, and
you can ask if anyone seen him." Willow paused, waiting to see if Angel
would protest. When he didn’t, she continued. "We have to find him,
Angel."

"I know."

"And then we have to kill him."


Part Twenty-Two

Cordelia sighed and shifted from one foot to the other as she watched Angel
question the owner of the magick shop. She could tell the vampire was
frustrated, and she wondered if she should step forward and remind him that
this was one of the places Willow shopped. She winced as Angel grabbed the
man behind the counter by the collar and pulled him forward so that they
were practically nose to nose. Cordelia turned away from the scene, trying
not to smile. Too late for any friendly reminders now. Of course, Cordy
reasoned, Willow didn’t particularly like this store anyway. She thought
the owner was a jerk. The brunette jumped slightly as she heard a punch
land behind her.

Apparently, Angel thought the guy was a jerk, too.

A few minutes later, the vampire came out to meet the brunette, who merely
raised her eyebrows at him.

"What?" Angel asked. "He pissed me off."

"You can’t hit everybody who doesn’t have any useful information."

"He made a comment about Willow’s ass."

"Oh, well, then you can hit him all you want."

Angel sent a bemused look Cordelia’s way, then continued on his way. He and
the brunette had discussed their problems, and they had come to a tentative
truce, although Angel was still a bit upset that he hadn’t been told up
front that the vision had involved Willow, and Cordelia was still mad that
Angel had yelled at her over it. She had, however, let go of her anger over
what the vampire had said to Willow all those years ago. She figured if
Willow was over it, then she should be, too. With a sigh that was basically
an extremely annoyed outlet of air, Cordelia quickened her pace in order to
catch up with the vampire.

"How many more places do we have to go to?"

Angel consulted the list Willow had given him, mentally checking off the
places they had already been to. "Three."

"Good, because my feet are killing me."

"Then next time don’t wear heels."

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Graham stood in the corner of the living room, watching Amy intently. The
blonde witch didn’t even seem to know he was there, and that merely served
to increase his worry for the woman. Since finding out Damion was back, she
had shed only minimal tears, and she had barely eaten or spoken, instead
retreating in on herself. Amy hadn’t seemed this far removed from things
since Forrest had been killed. Graham winced at the memory of his friend,
and the horrible way he had died.

Sighing, Graham left the room, headed for the kitchen to get some coffee.
At Willow’s suggestion, he had gone home, taking Amy with him. The man
agreed that the blonde needed a change of scenery, and he wondered if Willow
would have benefited from it as well. She had stayed behind at the house
she shared with Amy, and he had hated leaving her alone. Graham looked at
the phone on the wall for a moment, contemplating whether or not to call and
check on Willow. After a few seconds, he shook his head, deciding against
it. He knew Willow had intended to work online, and he figured he’d simply
get a busy signal.

Sighing once again, Graham picked up his coffee and headed back to the
living room, trying to figure out what to do about Amy.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Willow pushed her long hair off her face and pulled it into a ponytail as
she waited for the screen to change. She had sent e-mails to all of her
contacts, and she had called several others. Now all she had to do was wait
for responses.

She hated waiting.

With a slight smile, Willow went to her addresses and found Kate
Wyndham-Pryce’s e-mail address, then settled back to type a note to her
friend.

‘Kate-

Hi. I’m sure you know at least part of what’s going on here now, what with
Angel being your boss and all. He and Cordelia are out looking for Damion
right now - I told you a bit about him... Do you remember? He’s the bastard
who killed Forrest, and he’s back. I really don’t want to say much about it
(just thinking of Damion makes me ill), but here’s the deal. I know
Cordelia faxed that the vision was just about Amy, but it was actually about
me, too, which is why I’m sitting here typing a letter to you instead of out
there helping. Angel has me under house arrest.

Speaking of Angel... well, he’s here. And we talked. Actually, there was
some yelling and screaming and tears, but talking happened, too. Things are
better now. We’ve reached an understanding, and we’re friends now. Or
something like friends. He says he loves me. God, Kate, he says he’s loved
me since that whole thing happened five years ago, and I don’t know what to
say to that.

I know what you’re thinking, by the way. We’ve been friends for far too
long for me not to know. You’re thinking about how I once told you I loved
Angel, and you’re thinking I should jump his bones. (And considering how
blunt you’ve become since the whole pregnancy thing, I’m pretty damn sure
you’d say in just about the way I did.) And I do want to jump his bones. I
mean... look at him. But I’m scared. He’s hurt me before, and... well,
let’s not get into that. Besides, now’s not the time. There’s way too much
to worry about already without complicating things further with my feelings
for Angel (which, admittedly, do still exist. Damn vampire. Why can’t I
get him out of my head?)

Anyway, now that Angel and I are once again on speaking terms, I was
thinking about coming to visit. Say... when the baby’s born? I’d loved to
see you again, and I want to see just how dear old Wesley’s changed over the
past five years.

Speaking of changes... Angel seemed surprised by the changes that have
happened over the past few years. He knew nothing about Forrest... or
Graham and Cordelia... or even Damion. I’m guessing he has no idea that
you’ve kept in touch with both me and Cordy...

I’ve got to go now. I’m waiting for some people to get back to me with
information on Damion.

Take care of yourself (and Wesley, too, of course),

Willow’

Smiling, the redhead hit the send button, then sat up straight when she
heard a scratching at the door. She cocked her head, listening, then cursed
quietly.

"Damn it, Graham," she muttered. "You let Sky out again, didn’t you?" she
said, referring to her calico cat. The creature was always getting out,
usually by shooting past anyone who opened the door. She knew the cat had
still been there when Angel left, so she figured it had to be Graham that
had accidentally let her out.

Willow headed down the hall, muttering under her breath about obnoxious
felines. With an angry looked on her face, she reached for the door.

"Why is it that you always want out, then want right back in?" she asked as
she opened the door.

The cat didn’t answer. It couldn’t, because it was dead.

Willow screamed that the sight of her mangled cat and stepped but, moaning
"no, no" over and over again. She continues her backward movement until she
ran into something solid.

Something human.

"Hello, Willow," the man behind her said.

Willow’s world grew fuzzy, and the room seemed to spin. Then everything
faded to gray, and finally, she slumped to the ground as the world turned
black.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Angel felt Cordelia grip his arm, and he turned a questioning glance on the
woman.

"Vision," she gasped. "Help me."

He caught her before she could hit the ground.


Part Twenty-Three

Angel burst through the open front door while Cordelia, still feeling the
effects of her vision, staggered several steps behind him.

"Willow!" the vampire virtually bellowed as he searched frantically around
him. There was no sign of a struggle, but the vision Cordy had described to
him hadn’t involved one. All the brunette had been able to tell him was
that Damion was there - she could feel his presence - and Willow had been in
the vision as well. "Willow!" he yelled again, an edge of panic lacing his
voice.

"Oh, God," Cordelia gasped as she fell to her knees on the front porch.
"Sky."

Angel whirled around and looked at what had the brunette’s attention,
immediately sorry he had turned. Willow’s beautiful cat was lying there,
mangled and clearly dead.

"That son of a bitch killed her cat," the vampire growled viciously,
wondering in the back of his mind why he hadn’t been able to smell the
blood. He got his answer mere seconds later.

Cordelia had lifted her head to stare at Angel, and her eyes widened as she
caught some movement behind him. Her jaw dropped open and she pointed a
shaky hand at the area above the vampire’s shoulder. "Angel, look behind
you," she told him in a small voice.

The vampire immediately spun around, braced for either an attack or some new
gruesome sight. He was stunned by what he saw.

A lovely, fluffy, and very much alive calico cat sat on the banister, calmly
watching Angel and Cordelia with only mildly curious eyes.

"Does Willow happen to have two identical cats?" Angel asked, his eyes going
back and forth from the deceased cat on the porch to the living cat in the
house.

"No, she doesn’t," Cordelia informed him. Taking a deep breath and trying
to force away the nausea that threatened her, the woman reached out a hand
and poked the feline corpse.

Or, at least, she tried to.

Her hand went through the cat, and Cordelia gasped as the body flickered,
then disappeared as she and Angel watched. Her curiosity piqued, Sky hopped
down off the banister and went to where the double had lain, sniffing the
area. Cordelia absently ran her hand over the very solid - and extremely
alive - creature, eliciting a contented purr from the cat.

"Magick," the brunette finally said after a moment. "The bastard used
magick in order to get her out here."

Angel nodded numbly, all at once furious at Damion, relieved about the cat,
and terrified for Willow. Dear Lord, he couldn’t lose her now. He wouldn’t
allow it.

He wouldn’t be able to live with himself if he did.

"The others," the vampire finally managed to say, forcing himself to ignore
methods of revenge - at least for the time being - and focus on ways to
find the woman he loved. How - where would they be?"

Cordelia staggered into a standing position, taking Sky with her. Now that
she knew Willow’s prized possession was indeed alive, she wasn’t going to
allow anything to change that, and she certainly wasn’t going to allow the
curious feline to escape as she often did. If Cordelia had her way, Sky was
going to be sitting on Willow’s bed - awake - when they brought the redhead
home.

If they brought her home.

Shaking her head to push off such thoughts, the brunette handed Sky to Angel
as a new wave of nausea hit her, and she raised her hand to her head.
Immediately, the vampire pulled the woman inside the house, shutting the
door behind him before releasing the cat. He led Cordelia into the kitchen
and handed her a bottle of water from the refrigerator.

"What’s your phone number?" Angel asked as he picked up the phone. Cordelia
rattled a number off, and Angel punched it in as she spoke. The phone was
answered on the first ring.

"Willow? Is that you?" a decidedly male voice asked, worry evident in his
tone.

"It’s Angel. This is Graham, right?"

"Yeah. Did you find something?"

"Is Amy with you?" the vampire asked, completely ignoring the other man’s
question.

"Yeah, she’s here."

"Good. At least she’s safe." Angel had to pause for a moment before he
could continue. "Damion has Willow."

"Oh, my God. I should have made her come with me. Or I should have stayed
there until she was done with her work."

"Well, you can’t go back and change things. There’s only one thing you can
do now."

"And what’s that?"

"Get your ass over here so we can work out a plan and go after Willow.
Bring Amy with you," the vampire instructed before hanging up.

"We’re going to find her, Angel," Cordelia told him, trying to be
optimistic.

"We better."

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

It was cold. And dark. Very, very dark. Only the soft glow of a few
candles lit the dingy room. Willow cringed at the feel of cold rock under
her. Her clothes were thin and offered very little protection. The redhead
moaned slowly as everything came back to her.

Damion.

He had come and taken her. He’d been in her house, standing right behind
her... and he had killed her cat.

The redhead took a gasping breath as she tried not to retch at the thought
of her beautiful cat’s death. She loved that feline... and now it was gone.
Willow bit her lip to keep the sob that threatened from escaping.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here? It looks like somebody’s awake."
The voice came from the darkness, soft and silky, causing Willow to give an
uncontrollable shiver. The one thing she hadn’t told Angel - the one thing
she had known she wouldn’t be able to explain - was Damion’s voice. He
could change it as easily as he could change his appearance, but Willow
could still always tell it was him. It was the only voice she had ever
heard that actually seemed to hold pure evil.

Damion stepped closer, coming into the light. His black hair gleamed in the
candlelight, and his blue eyes sparkled. If he hadn’t been an evil,
murderous bastard, he would have actually been extremely attractive.

"What, Willow? No screaming? No pleading for your life?"

The redhead simply turned a stony expression on him, refusing to give him
what he wanted. He stepped closer, trailing his hand up her arm. She
flinched slightly but refused to shrink away. She knew she couldn’t anyway.
She could feel the magickal bonds that surrounded her, and she was bound
very tightly.

"Oh, well, this is no fun. I do so like the screaming." With a sadistic
smile, the man pulled out a knife with an extremely sharp blade. "How about
if I use this? Will you scream for me then?"

Willow met his eyes, refusing to be the begging, tormented creature she had
become the last time Damion had captured her. She thought about Sky, her
poor cat, and hardened herself. She thought about what her capture and
probable death would do to her friends: Cordelia, Graham, Amy. And Angel.
Dear God, poor Angel. He said he loved her. How would he handle her death?
The redhead steeled herself. She wouldn’t give man in front of her the
satisfaction of making her beg.

"Damion?" she said, her sugary sweet tone laced with venom. "Go to Hell."


Part Twenty-Four

Graham watched in silence - and what he considered to be a slightly sick
fascination - as Angel stalked around the room, a low, continuous growl
emanating from the vampire. He had been behaving this way since Graham and
Amy had arrived ten minutes earlier, and he showed no signs of stopping.
Graham hated to admit it, but he was intrigued by the flicker of gold that
periodically marred the vampire’s eyes as the demon worked itself into a
pissed off frenzy. The only other vampire Graham had spent much time around
was Spike, and he was currently off in Paris, doing only Satan knows what.
Besides that, Spike was neutered (as the others put it), and therefore
seemed about as dangerous as fly most of the time. Angel, on the other
hand, could do some serious damage to the human race if he set his mind to
it, and he wouldn’t suffer a nasty headache afterwards.

"We have to find her," Angel growled. "We have to get her away from that
bastard."

"Don’t you think I know that?" Cordelia asked, concern making her voice
harsher than normal. "Don’t you think I wish that I could just order up a
nice, skull-cracking vision that would tell me where we can find her? But I
can’t, which means that the bastard has her, and we have no idea how to find
her," the brunette finished, sounding perilously close to tears.

"A locator spell," Amy said softly, her voice unsure.

"What?" Angel asked, whirling around to face her. The blonde witch jumped
at the sudden movement, and her eyes widened at the flash of violence in
Angel’s eyes. She had to remind herself that the vampire’s anger was
directed at Damion rather than at her.

"I, um... I could do, uh, a locator spell," she stammered. "You know, to,
uh, find out where they are."

"Why didn’t we do one when we first found out Damion was after you two?"
Graham asked. He considered Amy and Willow two of his closest friends - he
adored both women and thought of them as sisters - but he knew very little
about the witchcraft that the they practiced. He did, however, trust their
skill in magick, and he knew that it had saved his life on more than one
occasion. Even so, he had never studied it himself. Cordelia, on the other
hand, had studied it enough to know the basics, and she answered Graham’s
question."We couldn’t. To do a locator spell, you have to have something
that belongs to the person you’re trying to find. We don’t have anything of
Damion’s. We have a ton of things that belong to Willow, though."

"Do you have all the ingredients for the spell?" Angel asked evenly, his
eyes trained on Amy. The blonde witch nodded, her eyes still unnaturally
wide. "Tell me where they are, and I’ll go get them."

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

"You little bitch," Damion spat out as he grabbed Willow by the hair,
causing her to wince, although she refused to scream. "Go to Hell, you tell
me? Oh, Princess, by the time I’m through with you, you’ll wish you were in
Hell."

"Anything as long as I don’t have to look at you," Willow said through
clenched teeth, her eyes flashing dangerously as the rage she had kept
subdued for years - the rage that was so often overshadowed by the terror
she felt when Damion was mentioned - bubbled to the surface. She thought of
all that she and her friends had gone through at Damion’s hands: the
beatings, the magickal invasions, Damion’s sick preoccupation with knives.
Forrest’s brutal murder. Dear God, how it hurt to think about Forrest. The
rage and pain flared dangerously, and Willow finally gave into it, lashing
out in the only way she knew how. The only way that was available, given
the fact that she was held down with invisible bonds.

She attacked him magickally.

Willow sent a flash of power directly at Damion, a wave of magick that
exploded right in Damion’s face and momentarily blinded the man. He
released his hold on her hair immediately, dropping his knife as well, as he
staggered back and covered his face with his hands.

Fury bombarded him at her audacity (how dare she attack him), but at the
same time he was oddly pleased, though he wouldn’t allow her to become aware
of that fact. She was a fighter, the little redheaded bitch. Of that there
was no doubt. She was also far more powerful than she was a mere two years
earlier. It would be fun to break her again, to make her sob and writhe and
scream as she had done before. It was always more fun when it was a
challenge. It was always so much more fulfilling when the victim fought
back. Of course, he would still win. He always did. Oh, and the fun he
would have when he drained her of her powers; the fun he would have as he
watched her struggles fade, and she went into her eternal sleep. The fun he
would have when he danced on her grave, knowing she was dead because of him.
Knowing he had triumphed again. It would be worth all the trouble she
caused in the end. But right now, he was in pain. And that made him a very
pissed off bad guy.

"You little bitch!" he cried out as he lunged for her.

"You’re repeating yourself," Willow said scoldingly as he grabbed her hair
once again. "You already called me that."

"Shut up!" he cried out, his fury tripling at her reaction to him. He
wanted her to have spunk, sure, that was what made it more fun. But this
apparent obliviousness to the fact that he could easily obliterate her only
angered him more. Of course, he had no idea that Willow was aiming for just
precisely that effect.

Willow was a witch. She had been since she was seventeen, and now that she
was twenty-four, she was really quite powerful. Much of her power had been
gained from the intense training she had forced herself to go through after
Forrest’s untimely death. She had promised herself that never again would
she be kept from saving one of her friends because of magick. She had, in
fact, learned counterspells for almost every barricading spell there was,
including the one Damion had used to prevent them from reaching Forrest.
However, Willow was more than just a witch. She was a damn smart one, and
she knew it took emotional control to maintain a spell.

Emotional control that Damion didn’t currently possess.

With a saccharine-sweet smile, the redhead met Damion’s eyes. "Don’t touch
me," she said sweetly, before lifting her arms and shoving him away from
her. Willow rolled to her feet and stared at the man before her. Damion’s
eyes were wide with shock.

She had broken free of the magickal restraints he had used on her.

"I’ll kill you for this," Damion promised as his eyes began to glow.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

"Did it work?" Angel asked as Amy and Cordelia came out of the kitchen.
Because the women needed to be able to concentrate on the spell in order for
it to work, the vampire had left the room, knowing his pacing (which he
couldn’t seem to stop doing) would be a distraction.

Cordelia nodded slightly, a tiny smile coming to her lips. "We know where
Willow is."

"Then let’s go get her."

Part Twenty-Five

Damion’s eyes continued to glow brightly, then melted into terrifying liquid
pools that were so dark that they appeared black as the power he was
gathering continued to build. The blackness took up the entire eye,
encompassing both the pupil and the iris, even the whites of his eyes had
been completely overtaken. He smiled grimly as he felt the power reach an
almost critical within him. And then, Damion just let go.

Willow had braced herself for the blow, but it wasn’t enough. She had known
it wouldn’t be. No matter how powerful she had managed to become, Damion
was still far more powerful, and it would always be that way. Damion had
the power of the witches he had captured, drained, and killed to make sure
of that. Willow cringed as the wave of magick went through her, forcing her
to slam into the stone wall of the dungeon they were in.

Her vision blurred momentarily as her head hit the hard stone, and she saw
stars. Tears pricked her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. She
wouldn’t give him her tears. The redhead slumped halfway to the ground
before she caught herself and forced her bruised body back into an upright
position. She wasn’t going to slump down and cower in the corner. As she
stood, she saw that he was getting ready for another round, and she had to
suppress a groan.

This was going to hurt like Hell.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Angel was stalking down the street, his pace so brisk that the others
practically had to run to keep up. People on the sidewalk glared at him as
he passed them, occasionally jostling them in his haste. Several women sent
what they thought to be alluring smiles in the handsome vampire’s direction,
but he completely ignored them. The only thing on his mind was Willow.

He had to find her. He had to save her. And then he was never going to let
her out of his sight again.

"Damn it! We don’t have to go so fast!" Cordelia said as she struggled to
match the vampire’s pace, her legs moving quickly in order to make up for
the fact that her stride wasn’t nearly as long as his. The brunette was
limping slightly on the ankle that she’d turned two blocks back, which
caused her movements to be a bit awkward. The part of town they were in was
notorious for its traffic, and it had been decided that they could get to
where Damion had taken Willow faster if they walked, but Cordelia was
beginning to regret that decision. However, given the bumper to bumper
traffic that they had been walking alongside, the brunette knew that they
had been right, and they would get to Willow more quickly this way. Besides
that, if they had driven, Angel would have been a prime candidate for road
rage. He was still a pretty prime candidate, even though he wasn’t in a
car. The tension was rolling off him in waves, and he still let out an
occasional growl when someone walked too close to him.

"The faster I walk, the faster I get to Willow," Angel explained in an
annoyed voice.

"We walk, Angel. The faster WE walk, the faster WE get to Willow."

"You’re not going in there," Angel said as he came to a stop, turning to
face Cordelia. "At least, not until things are under control."

"Excuse me?" the former cheerleader said shrilly.

"Correct me if I’m wrong: this guy is extremely dangerous, and he wants
Willow for her power, right?"

"Right."

"Then you’re expendable to him. So is Graham. It would be too dangerous
for either of you to go in. Amy would be seen as another potential victim
for him and therefore be in less immediate danger, but she’s too much of a
basket case to be of any help."

"You’re not exactly a powerful witch yourself," Cordelia reminded him.

"No, but I am a vampire. I have strength and speed on my side, especially
if Damion doesn’t know what I am, or if he realizes it too late."

"And if he figures it out before you want him to?"

"Then I guess I’m dead. But I’ll make sure to take him with me."

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Willow threw herself to the ground as Damion sent a bolt of energy in her
direction, praying that it would miss as she covered her head in an effort
to protect herself. The bolt of energy hit the wall directly above her
head, leaving a rather large, charred dent in the stone. The redhead winced
as a few chunks of rock tumbled down on top of her, then she forced herself
back to her feet, trying not to look at the wall. She didn’t want to think
about what would have happened if the bolt had hit her instead.

"Your aim sucks," Willow informed the furious man - could someone so evil
truly be only a man? - that was standing not twenty feet away from her. She
could sense that he was on the verge of losing it completely, and she wanted
to witness that particular anomaly. Damion was always in control. He
prided himself on it.

"I’ll kill you," he promised, his eyes rapidly changing from blue to green
to red. Willow raised her eyebrows at the display. Maybe he didn’t use
contacts when he was in disguise.

"You told me that before," Willow returned smartly (or not so smartly,
depending on how one looked at it). "I’m really getting sick of how you
keep repeating yourself. You wouldn’t be getting senile, by any chance?"

"That does it!" the man shouted, lunging at the witch who was the cause of
all his anger.

He grabbed her by the throat, slamming her into the stone wall. Willow
lashed out, kicking him in the knee and causing him to stumble.

"I’m not just going to lay down and die, Damion," she warned him
dangerously. "This time, you’re going to have to work for it."

Damion grabbed her by the legs, sending her sprawling. Grinning wickedly,
he crawled up her body and a knife materialized in his hand. "I may have to
work for it," he conceded. "But you’re still going to die." He lifted the
knife as he lay on top of her, breathing into her face. The blade was
poised between them.

"Don’t be too sure of that," Willow said, concentrating on the knife.
Damion yelped as the blade suddenly bent backwards at an impossible angle,
cutting into his cheek. The enraged man backhanded Willow, jerking her head
to the side as his blood rolled down his face. His blood. Never before had
a victim drawn blood.

He jerked Willow to her feet, tossing her into the wall yet again. That
particular method of attack was getting old. And painful. The redhead
groaned, knowing she would be one big bruise if she somehow managed to
survive this encounter. Damion wrapped his hand around her delicate throat,
completely encircling it with his large hand. He squeezed harshly, causing
Willow to gasp. She couldn’t fight back if she couldn’t breathe.

"It’s over, Willow. I’ve won. And you’re going to die."

"Let go of her now," an angry voice demanded from the shadows.


Part Twenty-Six

Damion’s grip on the redheaded witch’s throat loosened slightly as he turned
his head to face the intruder. Willow managed to take a gasping breath
before the man remembered himself and readjusted his grip, making it as
painful as possible for the woman. His gaze, however, was still trained on
the unexpected guest.

Angel.

He looked dangerous - even more so than usual - in his black leather pants,
black silk shirt, and black duster, his face set and angry. Damion felt a
chill of trepidation, then mentally shook himself. As dangerous as this man
appeared, he was still simply that. A man. And Damion could easily destroy
a man if it came down to it. It was less satisfying than going after a
witch, but he would do it if he had to.

"Leave now," he advised in a steely voice. He turned his attention back to
the pale redhead in front of him, adjusting the grip on her throat just
briefly, teasingly allow her to get a gulp of air.

"Angel!" she cried out in a strangled voice, managing nothing more before
Damion once again cut off her air.

"Angel, is it?" Damion asked. "Interesting name. Very manly. Now, Angel,
I think it’s lovely that you want to rescue this little bitch, but I really
must tell you that it would be in your best interest to go. I already
intend to kill this delightful little witch, as I’m sure you well know.
However, if you refuse to leave, I will be forced to orchestrated your
demise as well," he informed Angel rather congenially. He sounded downright
happy to be ridding the world of Willow.

Angel had to take a deep breath - albeit an unnecessary one - in order to
calm himself enough to speak. It took all his self-control not to let out a
feral growl and attack the man. Unfortunately, he knew that Damion would
still have the time to kill Willow before he reached him, and Angel couldn’t
allow that to happen. He had to get Damion to release Willow before he went
after him. He had to get Damion to attack him first.

"I said let her go," Angel said, his voice as cold as ice.

"I heard you. I’m obviously refusing your request. Now go."

"It wasn’t a request," Angel returned, his voice growing even colder. If
Damion had been facing the vampire, he would have seen the flash of gold in
his eyes. However, the warlock’s attention was completely focused on
Willow, and he missed the telltale sign that his opponent was not quite
human.

"I said leave. Unless, of course, you want to see your friend die."

"You’re not my friend. And you’re the one that’s going to die. I guarantee
that. The only question is as to how I’m going to kill you." Angel paused
as though he was contemplating his options. In reality, he was trying to
control the urge to strike. The urge to go after the man was almost
overwhelming, but Willow’s position was far too precarious for him to risk
it, especially since he was fairly certain that he was far enough in
Damion’s peripheral vision for the man to see any attack. After taking a
moment to gather himself, Angel continued with his threat on the warlock.
"If you let her go now, I’ll make your death quick. It would be over before
you could blink an eye. If you don’t, however, I’ll keep you alive while I
rip you to pieces. I’m thinking I’ll rip your liver out through your nose,
and maybe I’ll force you to eat your own testicles. It’s been a while since
I’ve actually tortured anybody, but I’m sure I remember a thing or two."

"You have no idea who you’re dealing with," Damion snarled as he turned his
head to face Angel. The man’s obvious assumption that he could take the
warlock infuriated him.

"Oh, I know exactly who I’m dealing with," Angel assured him in a silky
voice. "I’m afraid it’s you who is in the dark, so to speak."

That was it. Damion had had it with this man’s insolence. Not only had he
dared to threaten him, he did so while claiming that he knew what Damion
was. No one had ever done that before. With an infuriated and rather
inarticulate sound, the warlock flung Willow away from him and turned to
face the man who possessed the audacity to threaten him. He prepared to
blast the man with a burst of magick - he knew he could kill him with only
one blast, but had already decided to draw it out as long as possible (the
insolent jerk deserved to suffer) - and smiled as he sent the bolt in
Angel’s direction.

Angel ducked, barely escaping the blast. As it was, his arm was hit with a
glancing blow, but Angel felt no pain. He wasn’t sure if it was simply
because he was pissed, or if it was because the protection spell Amy had
insisted on casting before allowing him to go after Willow was working.

Damion’s eyes widened as he saw that Angel had hardly been hit with the
bolt, and he resolutely began to concentrate on another attack, only to find
himself in much the same position that he’d had Willow in only a second or
two before. Damion gasped as Angel’s arm tightened across his throat; the
man moved far too quickly to be normal. Damion looked up at his attacker,
and his eyes widened as he found himself staring into the demonic visage of
a vampire.

"Next time, find out who you’re dealing with before you get cocky," Angel
advised him, before smiling cruelly and amending, "Oh, that’s right. I
forgot. There won’t be a next time for you."

Damion struggled against the vampire’s hold only to have Angel swing him
around by the arm as he knocked the warlock’s feet out from under him.
Damion hit the ground with a groan, not used to being on the receiving end
of a blow. He moaned as Angel slammed his foot down on his shoulder, then
outright screamed as Angel jerked on his arm fiercely, dislocating his
shoulder. Growling, Angel lifted his foot and yanked the other man to his
feet, causing him to scream in agony.

"Not so tough now, are you?" the vampire taunted as he smashed his foot into
Damion’s kneecap, grunting when he heard the satisfying sound of bones
shattering. He then flung Damion into the wall head first. He gripped the
man, who was now sobbing, by the hair and pulled him to his feet, prepared
to work him over for at least another hour or two before allowing him the
peace of death. However, a movement caught his eye.

Willow.

The redhead was still sitting where Damion had thrown her, and she was
shaking violently as the events of the day finally took their toll. Even
from a distance, Angel could see the bruises that marred her pale skin.

Sighing, Angel came to a decision. He altered his grip on Damion’s head
slightly and looked into the man’s eyes. Then, he twisted his neck
violently, breaking it so severely that the warlock’s head nearly detached
from his body. Angel released the now deceased man, leaving him to fall
unceremoniously to the floor as the vampire walked towards Willow.

When he reached the trembling redhead, Angel fell to his knees beside her
and enveloped her in his arms. "It’s over, sweetie," he told her as he
rocked her gently. "He can’t hurt you anymore."

Willow burrowed even further into his arms, pressing as close as she could.
She didn’t even seem to notice when Angel shifted her in his arms in order
to stand. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity to the vampire, she
spoke. "Angel," she said in a small, tired voice that was obviously
hampered by the vicious grip Damion had used on her throat.

"Yes, sweetheart?"

"Will you take me home now?"

Part Twenty-Seven

Willow burrowed deeper into Angel’s arms, allowing him to carry without
protest. Just a few days ago, she would have kicked and screamed and forced
the vampire to put her down. Obviously, things had changed. Now, she
wanted nothing more than to remain in Angel’s arms indefinitely. Forever
sounded like a pretty damn good amount of time. Willow sent a cautious
glance up at the vampire, who was still in his demonic visage. Carefully,
she lifted one arm from around his neck and gently caressed the ridges on
his forehead. The vampire leaned into the caress for a moment before
looking down at the redhead he loved and allowing his demon face to slide
back into hiding.

"We need to talk," Willow told him softly, her voice still straining because
of the injury to her throat.

"Let’s get you home first," Angel replied. "Then we’ll talk, okay?"

Willow nodded as she once again put her arm around Angel’s neck and leaned
her head against his strong shoulder, closing her eyes. She sighed as the
vampire walked out of the room - the dungeon - Damion had kept her in,
leaving the man’s broken body behind. The vampire carefully negotiated his
way through the dark and damp corridors, trying to maintain his balance. He
shifted Willow’s slight way a little as he finally reached the door that
would let them out of this terrible place.

Willow felt Angel shift her in his grip, and she opened her eyes to see that
he was opening a door. The door that would let them out.

The door to freedom.

The redhead held her breath as the vampire carried her out, ashamed to admit
- even to herself - that she had feared that she would never leave Damion’s
lair. At least, not alive.

"Oh, God, Willow!"

Cordelia’s voice rang out, and the brunette ran forward, reaching out to hug
Willow, even though the other woman’s place in Angel’s arms made it a bit
difficult. After hugging her friend, Willow pulled back and looked around
her, slightly surprised to discover that both Amy and Graham were there as
well.

"Are you okay?" Cordelia’s fiancé asked as he stepped forward. He gently
touched the mark on her throat, knowing it had come from Damion’s hand. His
eyes flashed dangerously at the thought of his friend in the clutches of
that bastard. He glanced up at Angel, hoping for some sign that the vampire
had seen to it that Damion had died painfully.

"I’m okay," Willow managed, taking Graham’s hand and squeezing it
reassuringly before releasing him. "A few bumps and bruises, but I’ll be
fine."

"And Damion?" Amy asked meekly, her eyes wary. The past few days had taken
quite a toll on the witch. Cordelia’s vision and Damion’s subsequent return
had brought back so many memories: Forrest’s brutal murder, her own
abduction and violation... and then Willow had been taken again. Amy had to
know that Damion was gone, that he couldn’t come after those she loved
again.

"He’s dead," Angel replied quietly, in a grim voice. The memory of seeing
Willow held by the man, helpless and frightened, struggling for breath,
would always be imprinted in his mind. It terrified him to think what would
have happened had he been a few minutes later. Damion was so out of control
and angry... A few minutes later could have very well been too late.

Willow felt Angel tense, and she looked up at him, confused and a little
worried. The vampire caught her gaze and forced himself to relax. He
hadn’t been too late, and Willow was very much alive. She was safe.

"We should get you home," Cordelia managed, catching the look that passed
between Angel and Willow. She knew something was there, that the two of
them still had feelings for each other, and she just hoped that things
worked out differently for them this time around. If they didn’t, and
Willow got hurt again, Cordelia could honestly say
that she would cheerfully stake Angel.

With that on her mind, she began to lead the way back to the house.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

"Sky! You’re alive! What? How?"

Willow’s shocked and astonished voice pierced the silence as Angel carried
her inside the house. Although she knew she could have walked home, she had
chosen to instead stay in the vampire’s arms, even though the sight had
earned them several odd looks from passersby. The looks they received,
however, paled in comparison to the look of utter shock that was now on the
redhead’s face. She struggled in Angel’s grasp, nearly causing him to drop
her before he managed to alter his grip and slowly carefully place her on
her feet.

The redhead scrambled over to her beautiful cat, kneeling by it and running
her hand over its soft fur. Sky leaned into her master’s petting, a low
rumbling purr emanating from her. Willow indulged the cat for a few minutes
before looking up at the others.

"I don’t understand. I saw her body. She was dead. How... how did this
happen?" she asked.

"Magick," Cordelia explained simply, kneeling down herself. She had never
been what one would call an animal person, but she’d always had a soft spot
for Willow’s cat.

"But how? It’s next to impossible bring something back to life, and even if
it is done, it usually doesn’t last long..."

"We didn’t use magick to bring Sky back to life," Cordelia told her.
"Damion used it to make you think she was dead."

"He tricked me. Bastard," Willow muttered as she lifted her feline friend
in her arms. "How... how did you find me?" she asked as she looked up at
her more human companions.

"Locator spell," Amy said softly.

Willow released Sky and stood up to hug the blonde witch. "Thank you." She
looked around the room. "Thank you all. For finding me... for saving up on
me." Her gaze lingered on Angel, the man whose face had haunted her for so
long. The man she loved.

Cordelia bit her lip as Willow and Angel gazed at each other. The two
obviously needed time alone. With an exaggerated yawn, she turned to
Graham. "You know, I really think we should be getting home. I mean, this
has been the kind of fun that’s... not, but it’s really getting late."

Graham nodded, getting his fiancée’s not-so-subtle hint. "You’re right; we
really should be going." He reached over and hugged Willow briefly. "I’m
so glad you’re okay," he told her before turning to Angel. He gazed at the
vampire for a moment, then finally spoke. "Take care of her," he said
seriously, his eyes letting Angel know that the comment stretched much
farther than just the one night. He meant forever.

"I will," Angel promised.

Smiling slightly, Graham took Cordelia by the hand, and the two left. Amy
quickly followed suit, heading up to her room while pleading exhaustion.
Willow didn’t doubt that her friend was seriously tired, but she knew it was
much more than that. After watching Amy head up the stairs, she turned to
face the vampire once more.

"We need to talk," Angel said, echoing Willow’s words from less than an hour
before.

The redhead stepped closer to him, stopping when she was directly in front
of him. "I suppose we do," she agreed as she lightly ran her fingers over
the front of his duster, smoothing it down.

Then she kissed him.

 
Part Twenty-Eight

Angel gasped when Willow pressed her soft, warm lips against his cool ones,
and the redhead smiled slightly before sweeping her tongue inside his mouth.
In response to Willow’s demanding kiss, Angel crushed her to him, his arms
wrapping around her waist so tightly he briefly wondered if he was actually
trying to pull her into him instead of just against him.

Willow moaned as she found herself pressed against the vampire’s body, and
she smiled inwardly as she felt his body’s reaction to her. Oh, yeah. He
definitely wanted her. There was no doubt about that. Forcing a little bit
of distance between them, she ran her hands over his chest, relishing the
feel of his silk shirt and hard muscle under her fingers. It felt so good
to be close to him this way, even though she still remembered quite clearly
how things had ended the last time this had happened. She pushed the rather
annoying thought from her head; Angel had said he loved her. He would never
hurt her like that again. And if he did, she could just turn him into a rat
until he was ready to apologize.

Angel caressed her sides and stomach gently as he swept his tongue into her
mouth, letting it dance with hers. He couldn’t believe he held Willow in
his arms. This had to be a dream. The vampire surreptitiously pinched
himself, trying not to wince at the pain he caused. Nope, not a dream. He
was definitely awake.

Thank God.

As Angel began trailing kisses to her ear, Willow sighed in pleasure as she
raised her arms to wrap around his neck, then trailed her hands upwards to
run her fingers through his silky hair. She allowed the vampire to walk her
backwards towards the staircase, and she sincerely hoped that he planned to
pick her up and carry her once they reached the stairs. However, they never
reached the stairs.

Angel had misjudged the distance slightly (and considering the fact that he
was more than a bit distracted, no one could really blame him), and had
walked her into the wall instead of to the base of the steps.

As her back came into contact with the wall, Willow winced and hissed in
pain. Angel immediately lifted his head, but didn’t step away. His eyes
were filled with concern and guilt. Willow understood the concern, but the
guilt frightened her. Was he going to say he regretted what had just
happened?

"You’re hurt," Angel said softly, his voice husky from their recent
activities. He wanted nothing more than to go upstairs and make her his,
but he was afraid he’d only hurt her worse.

"It’s... it’s nothing," Willow murmured as she dropped her arms to her
sides. Gently, Angel turned Willow around and lifted her shirt, studying
the already forming bruises on her back for a moment before turning her back
around.

"It doesn’t look like nothing to me," he told her. "He hurt you."

"And you saved me," the redhead reminded him, trying to alleviate the
sadness in his eyes. "I’ll be fine, Angel. I promise."

"You scared me, little one," Angel replied, gently pulling her into his
embrace once more. He rocked her from side to side, trying to put a leash
on the emotions that were running rampant inside him. He had almost lost
her. Again.

"I scared myself," Willow admitted quietly before disentangling herself from
the vampire. "I know the others gave us some privacy, but I’d still rather
talk somewhere else," she explained when she saw the confusion in Angel’s
eyes.

"Then lead on," he replied, allowing Willow to take his hand and lead him up
the stairs. The redhead led him to her room and sat down on the edge of the
bed with a yawn.

"You’re exhausted," Angel said softly. "Maybe we should talk tomorrow."

Willow shook her head. "I don’t want to go to sleep until we’ve talked,"
she told him. "If you’ll just give me a few minutes to clean up, we can
talk, okay?"

Sighing, Angel nodded, knowing better than to argue with the redhead. She
gave him a little smile, then went to clean up. Angel went to his room to
do the same, knowing he was probably dirty from the fight, as well as from
traipsing around the dingy rooms of Damion’s lair. He finished showering
and changing quickly and headed back to Willow’s room. She stood in the
center of the room, pulling a tank top over her head, and he winced as he
once again saw the bruises that marred her back. She had piled her wet hair
on top of her head, and the low back of the shirt allowed him to see just
how far up the bruises went. Angel’s hands clenched at the sight, and he
found himself wishing that Damion was alive so he could kill him again.
Quietly, he went to stand behind the redhead.

Willow jumped slightly as she felt a cool hand gently caress the bare skin
of her back above the tank top. She looked over her shoulder to see a quiet
rage burning in Angel’s eyes, and she carefully took his hand, knowing what
he was thinking. "He’s gone, Angel. He can’t hurt me anymore."

"I just wish I could have stopped this from happening."

Willow raised her hand to his cheek, caressing it gently. Angel covered her
hand with his own, holding it against his cheek. "You stopped Damion.
That’s what’s important," she told him before brushing a soft kiss across
his lips.

Still holding her hand, Angel leaned down to rest his forehead against hers.
"What happens now?" he asked.

"You tell me," Willow replied as she stepped away from him.

"What’s that supposed to mean?"

"It means... what do you want to happen? Can you answer that?"

"I want to be with you," Angel answered as he stepped closer to Willow. He
reached out and stroked her cheek. "I may not be the right guy for you, and
I sure as hell don’t deserve you, but I’m going to be a selfish bastard and
tell you the truth. I want to be with you. I love you, Willow."

"And I love you. And you’re not a selfish bastard, Angel. It’s not selfish
to be in love and want to be with that person. It’s natural."

"But there’s so much I can’t give you... "

"What if all I want is what you can give me? And if something comes up...
we’ll work it out then."

"And if I agree to that... what then? Do I move in here with you and Amy?"

Willow shook her head. "They need you in LA. You’ve done so much good
there..."

"But I can’t ask you to come to LA with me. I know about your business
and-"

"We’ve been thinking of expanding," Willow interrupted him. "We were
considering San Francisco, but LA would be just as good. We get a lot of
Internet orders from there, anyway. We’d need someone to oversee the store,
and I could help out at Angel Investigations."

"But what would Cordy and Amy say about this plan?"

"I’m pretty sure they’d agree to it," Willow said with a smile. "I’d been
planning to move to wherever the new store opens, anyway. A few months ago,
Amy decided to go back to Sunnydale to help Giles, but she decided to wait
until the new store opened, and we both were ready to move. That way, we
could both pack up and sell the house all at once."

Angel stood silently for a moment, taking all that she said in. After a
moment, he said wonderingly, "You’d really come to LA for me?"

"Not for you," she replied as she leaned in to kiss him once more. "For
us."


Epilogue

Two years later (April 2007)

The lights were dimmed, and the room was hushed. An air of expectancy came
from its occupants. A lighter was flicked on, and a small flame flickered.
Quickly the person with the lighter leaned over and lit a candle. It was
the only candle in the room, and it shone brightly, revealing the grins on
the faces of the room's occupants. The mother of the birthday girl picked
up the cake that the candle rested on and took it over to her daughter as
she began to sing. The others joined in quickly, sounding amazingly good
together.

"Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday, dear Eva,
Happy birthday to you."

Two year old Eva Wyndham-Pryce giggled as her parents helped her blow out
the candle on her cake, and the other adults smiled at each other as she
promptly stuck her fist in the cake and brought a handful of it to her
mouth.

"Well, that reminds me of someone I know," Anya Harris said with a laugh,
eyeing her husband, who, true to form, made a face at her. The fact that
Xander was now twenty-six and a father himself had made little difference in
him, even though everyone had to admit that he was a wonderful father.

The entire extended Scooby Gang and their children had made the trip to LA,
using Eva’s birthday as an excuse to get together with one another. Even
Spike had made the trip, although the vampire had grumbled the entire time.
Buffy and Riley had told the other passengers on the flight that Spike’s
mumbling was due to mental problems, an explanation that had led their three
year old son Shea to scold his parents for lying. Much to Spike’s chagrin,
Buffy and Riley’d had a great deal of fun telling the others that story
several times over.

Angel smiled slightly as he gazed at the Slayer's son, who was standing with
four year old Monica Harris, waiting for his share of little Eva’s birthday
cake. He glanced back at Buffy in time to see Riley wrap his arm around
her, and the Slayer looked up at her husband and kissed him before returning
her attention to the children. With another smile, Angel did the same.
They were so happy, so carefree. And then there was little Trent Giles, the
son of Rupert and Amy Giles. He was just three months old, but Angel knew
he would be running around - and running his parents ragged trying to keep
up with him - in no time.

The vampire looked to where Giles stood with his wife and son, who was
cradled in Amy's arms. He was so happy for both of them, even if their
sudden marriage eighteen months before had come as a surprise. They had
both been through so much when it came to love: Giles had lost Jenny (guilt,
though lessening, still plagued Angel over that, even though Willow and the
others insisted time and again that it was the demon’s fault and not his
own), and Amy had lost Forrest. And now Amy and Giles had each other.
Angel was so glad for that, for the love between them. They had both become
such good friends to him, and he knew that they deserved the happiness they
brought to each other.

Angel’s gaze traveled once more, this time going to where Kate and Wesley
were trying to clean off their daughter’s hands. Eva laughed and reached
out, smearing icing on her father’s glasses. The other adults laughed, and
even Wesley himself chuckled. The former Watcher had certainly lightened up
over the past few years, and Angel knew that it was due in part to his wife.
The vampire smiled as he watched the blonde woman swing Eva in the air,
then put her on the floor, laughing as she ran over to Monica and Shea.
There were six couples there, plus Spike, and four of the couples had
children.

Soon it would be more.

Angel’s gaze moved over to where Graham and Cordelia Miller sat. The couple
had married shortly before Willow had moved to LA permanently, and they were
currently expecting their first child. The vampire smiled as he looked at
Cordelia’s belly; she was eight months pregnant, and she had told them all
that she was more than ready to give birth. It was already starting to get
hot in California, and the brunette was very uncomfortable. Even so, she
still seemed thrilled at the prospect of becoming a mother.

With that on his mind, Angel’s gaze settled on his own wife. Willow. She
looked beautiful, her long red hair pulled back from her face. She laughed
at something Spike said, then turned to look at Angel, her smile widening
when she caught her husband staring at her. She picked up two plates and
brought them over to Angel, handing him one and settling down at his side
with the other. Angel set his cake down on the table beside the couch and
pulled Willow closer, wrapping his arm around her and resting his palm on
her belly.

She was three months pregnant.

Amy had found the spell a year ago, and the blonde witch had immediately
sent it to them. It wasn’t until that moment, when he held a copy of the
spell in his hands, that he realized how much he wanted to have children.
Still, he had vowed that he wouldn’t pressure Willow into doing anything she
didn’t want. He needn’t have worried. The redhead had been more excited
than him; she had been completely ecstatic at the prospect of having his
child.

His child.

She had stressed that to him so many times, making sure he understood that
was part of the reason she was so thrilled. The main reason. She had told
him that all she wanted was what he could give her; it had just turned out
that he could give her more than they’d ever dreamed.

Angel smiled as his wife snuggling more deeply against him, and he kissed
the top of her head before raising his gaze to the ceiling and sending out a
silent prayer of thanks. Thanks for Willow, thanks for the amazing people
he called his friends.

And he gave thanks for second chances.

The End