Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters here in. They belong to BVTS and it's creators Joss and WB. Don't hurt me for barrowing them. They needed to come out and play....
(thoughts in Italics)

Pine Valley Angel's:

There was a beat and then she heard him snarl, "What in hell do you want?!"

The venom in his voice made Willow snap out of her daze as she continued down the stairs. Who in the world...? Then she heard the very feminine and sultry voice of Lydia the vampiress. Willow knew she shouldn't eavesdrop, but she wanted to know how Angel would handle the vampiress. So she moved back into the shadows of the stairway and listened.

"Hello Angelus," there was a pause as the female vampire waited, then she said in a pouty voice, "aren't you going to invite me in lover?"

Angel wanted to keep Lydia as far away from Willow as possible, but he also didn't want to cause a scene. Lydia was dangerous and could be a deadly opponent. In Lydia's case, looks were definitely deceiving. While she had a petite if voluptuous frame, Lydia was older than Angel and was an excellent fighter. So right now Angel was more interested in getting Lydia away from his house and Willow. Angel knew that he was still weak from his time in hell and in his present condition he would be hard pressed in a fight with her

"Come in Lydia." Angel said reluctantly, keeping himself between the stairway and Lydia. There was no way he was letting Lydia up those stairs or anywhere near Willow.

"A charming place you have here Angel. A little to bright and cheerful for my tastes, but then..."

"What do you want Lydia?" Angel interrupted, unaware of Willow's shadowy form on the stairs.

Lydia pouted slightly, she had smelled the female human on Angelus as soon as she had entered. The heady mix of innocent desire and unspent passion was addictive. She had very few doubts that she could interest Angelus in a bout of lovemaking, possibly even involving the little redhead a bit. She did love a good menage a trois every now and again. Especially with mixed couples of human and vampire and with her own special toys. The brunette shuddered delicately with desire as the images ran in her mind. Yes, if everything went as planned she would have them both, before she killed them.

Then she noticed the redhead standing on the stairs, watching and a plan formed instantly in her mind. She would have them both and kill them both, perhaps just not at the same time. Plan firmly planted in her mind she then said, "I know your secret Angelus. Someone told me you had your soul. That could definitely make our play more interesting. You could teach me all the new little tricks you learned from your human chickies. I thought we could go to Sacramento and make a day of it. Feed all night, fuck each other til we bleed all day. Just like old times. What do you say lover?" as she spoke she moved further into the foyer, then turned back to face Angel. He watched her closely to make sure she didn't head for the stairs but didn't interfere, it gave Willow a full view of what was happening in the foyer.

"What makes you think I want to revisit ''the old times'?" Angel asked calmly.

Lydia tossed her head and smiling returned his stare, mistaking his gaze for an admiring one, she ran her hands over her body suggestively. This evening it was barely encased in a blood red catsuit and the same leather jacket she had worn before. "I don't think you know what you need, Angelus." She said her eyes full of smouldering lights while her lips twitched in amusement.

"And you do?" he asked sarcastically, he now stood near the front door, in full view of Willow who sat on the shadowy staircase.

"Yes," came the soft voice, "let me remind you what a real woman, a vampiress can do for a real vampire."

"Lydia..." he began angrily, finally stepping toward the female vampire threateningly.

"You're little red-haired human didn't satisfy you, did she?" Lydia said, silkily, and then with almost preter-natural speed she reached out to grasp at Angel's manhood through his sweats. Angel jumped at the sudden move, but couldn't step away. Lydia could do some serious damage in their present positions. Angel curled his hands into fists. He was quickly losing patience with Lydia, who seemed to think his private life was open for discussion and that his sexual encounters were fair game.

"Admit it Angel. She's just not enough woman for you, is she?" Placing one of her taloned hands on his bare chest, she continued to caress him through his sweats. Then she leaned forward to rub her generous breasts against his chest. "Not if this is any indication anyway." She said, indicating his still aroused member with a raised eyebrow.

"It takes a vampire to bring a vampire real satisfaction, Angel. Haven't you figured that out yet?"

Angel was getting desperate, he had to get rid of Lydia, the woman was making him nearly physically ill, her cloying rose perfume was almost as nauseating as the woman herself. He felt dirty every where she touched and he wanted to get back to Willow. Clean, sweet, pure, fiery Willow. His Willow. Pushing Lydia as far away as her grasping hand would allow, which wasn't nearly far enough to Angel's mind, he lied. "One woman's the same as the other, when it comes right down to it."

"Not true, Angel, you know that isn't true. Vampires have different, secret ways of doing things. Things that humans couldn't handle. You should know. You knew all the secrets and you were an expert at all of them. You always did everything well." she continued.

By this time Angel's back was to the stairway again. Lydia looked past his shoulder, she smiled and her eyes began to glow slightly yellow. Using the grip she still maintained on him she pulled him toward her and began to kiss his chest with open-mouthed kisses working her way towards his neck. She continued talking and said huskily, "Did you share the secrets of vampiric love with your little redhead? Did she like them? Or did she run screaming from your bed in terror of the big, bad vampire?" Lydia looked up at him then and said, "Silly girl, I'd run screaming to your bed."

Grabbing Lydia's arm Angel wrapped his hand around her wrist until he felt the bones grind together, and heard them crack. She whimpered as she released him instinctively.

Angel leaned forward in game face and whispered in a voice that Willow couldn't hear on the stairs, as he unknowingly blocked Lydia from Willow's view. "As if I'd have you back in my bed," he leaned closer and he slipped so deeply into game face he was almost unrecognizable. "A little hint Lydia," he said in a deadly whisper, "just because you have an open for business sign above your bed doesn't mean I'm in the market. Come near me or the redhead again and I'll put you out of business permanently." He finished giving her wrist an extra squeeze before he released her. Lydia's face actually looked as if it had paled, clutching her arm to her chest she stepped back and Angel opened the door, shoved her through, and slammed it in her face.

"Did you tell her that the position has already been filled?" came a voice from behind Angel that he barely recognized as Willow's, he turned to face her. The look on her face was cold and unemotional, but her eyes gave away her real feelings, filled with fire and pain.

"Mo cridhe..." Angel began as he walked away from the door to meet her at the foot of the stairs.

"Or was that last little bit, just telling her that you'd meet her later?" she said pinning him with her stare.

"Willow?" Angel was truly bewildered by her behavior, until she spoke again.

"But then if ''one woman's the same as the other when you come right down to it'? Who were you just pretending *I* was Angel?" the pain came through in her voice then. Her voice wobbled slightly before she got it back under control. "Buffy perhaps? Or maybe even your friend Lydia? Of course I guess you would need a really vivid imagination to pretend I was either of them, yeah..." she said in self derision, as she moved quickly past the stunned vampire to the table in the entryway where she grabbed up the things she had dropped earlier, "Really, really vivid to pretend I was one of them."

Lunging for the young hacker's arm as she reached for the door, Angel pulled her up short and turned her to face him, "Willow, you don't understand..."

Snatching her arm from his grasp, Willow faced him her green eyes flashing in anger, "Oh you're wrong I understand completely. You see I'm used to this from Xander trying out how he was going to ask Buffy out, to Oz not understanding my need to get you out of hell, so he ran off with one of his groupies. I understand exactly how this feels and I'm not going to let you do it to me too. So just forget it, I'm removing myself from the situation. See me...I'm removing." She said reaching for the door handle.

In desperation Angel reached forward and grabbing her by the shoulders he spun her to face him and pulled her into his embrace, Willow looked up at him angrily and opened her mouth to blast him with her temper again. Angel, being a vampire, took advantage of the invitation and covered her mouth with his own. Desperately stroking his tongue into the inner recesses of her mouth, he explored her mouth, then stroked along her tongue. Coaxing it into play with his, gently dueling, their moist combat continued until Willow came to her senses and shoved him away from her hard.

Covering her swollen lips with her free hand, Willow opened the door and ran out. Completely forgetting the t-shirt still in her hand. Angel followed behind her swiftly onto the porch and was quickly grabbed by the throat and slammed against the doorjamb.

"Did you think the game was over Angelus?" said Lydia's hissing voice in his face, as the game-faced vampiress continued to slam him against the doorjamb. "Did you really think that I would quit that easily?" and with surprising speed and ease, he was handcuffed and a makeshift stake pressed to his chest. "The game never ends."

"Unless you lose. Which you have." said Willow from behind the vampiress. Quickly turning so that Angel was between her and the young human, Lydia, now in her human face, smirked and said, "From where I'm sitting I seem to be holding a winning hand." She said indicating Angel who still had the stake pressed to his chest and her hand wrapped around his throat.

"You've already lost, you just don't know it yet." Willow said with an evil smile, then she continued, "Oh but we do have some nice parting gifts for our contestants, and thank you for playing." Willow continued as she stepped back up onto the porch. With cool bravado she leaned back against the railing and crossed her arms, glancing up at the ceiling and smiling as she looked back down at Lydia who now had a very ugly look on her face.

"Willow, get back." Angel said in a pained voice.

"Yes, go back inside little one. I'm not going to be taken in by anymore of your little tricks." Lydia said, sliding back into her demonic visage, "Angel and I are going to Sacramento for the weekend to rekindle the old flame if you know what I mean. So I'm afraid he's not going to have time to babysit you. Now tata."

"Oh but you can't have the treat without a few tricks." With that said Willow waggled her index finger at Lydia, and mumbled something under her breath. Almost instantly Lydia felt as though she had been hit in the solar plexus, she released her grip on Angel and doubled over. Angel dropped to the floor, trying to recover his composure as he continued to watch the scene before him play out. Lydia had barely begun to recover from the blow to her abdomen, when she was thrown into the air and found herself pinned against the ceiling of the porch...right where two of the beams that formed the structure of the porch crossed. She screamed and squirmed as her back began to sizzle and smoke from the contact with the cross. Angel looked up at Lydia and then over at Willow, her green eyes were glowing as she continued to stare at the older woman. Willow had thrown his leather jacket on after coming out the door, her purse was slung over one arm, a book under the other. She glanced down at Angel, Willow threw his t-shirt down to him as she continued to watch the vampiress shriek with pain.

"You stay away from me and you stay away from what's mine." Said Willow in a calm but cold tone, "If you don't, I will crucify you with wooden stakes, douse you with holy water and leave you out for the sunrise to finish. You got me you...you catty little bitch."

With that said Willow turned her back on the struggling vampiress and walked to the other end of the porch to compose herself. Leaving a gaping Angel sitting on the floor of the porch while a whimpering Lydia hung from the ceiling...until Willow got around the corner...then Lydia fell to the floor of the porch and began to slink away painfully.

Angel sat rubbing his wrists, shocked, before he realized that he was still holding the shirt Willow had thrown. Sliding it over his head, Angel followed Lydia's progress down the street. When he was sure she wasn't going to turn around, and come back, he stood up somewhat unsteadily, still shaken by the repeated bashing against the doorjamb.

Ears ringing, Angel turned back to go into the house, put on his shoes, and go find Willow. He hesitated in the doorway as the ringing became something else, a pull that he recognized. The pull had a name, Willow.

Forgetting his shoes, the door and everything else Angel jumped down the steps and loped down the street in the direction that Willow had gone. The call was like a siren song in his head, when he got close to the corner he slowed, closed his eyes and reached out to her in his mind. There was an almost musical response close by, an alley just off this street. It was more like a grassy lane that went between two of the houses. Moving down it he slowed, the sun had set fully and in the gloom he had to use all of his vampiric senses. It was only by sheer force of will, that the vampire managed to keep the panic he felt from overcoming him.

Then he smelled it, Willow's scent, close by. Angel moved toward it and heard a faint rustle. Moving around a clump of overgrown bluebells, he saw her, lying on the ground unconscious. Emotions ran through him so fast he didn't have a chance to identify them. Terror however felt the most prevalent at the moment as he fell to his knees at her side unmindful at the sharp stones under his knees. The emotion and panic rising in his throat like bile. The vampire reached out to stroke her tangled hair from her brow as he tried to assess her condition. The first and most comforting thing he noticed, there was no smell of blood. As he gently ran his fingers through her hair and across her scalp, he could feel no bumps or bruises. After a thorough if fast examination of her entire form he could find no obvious injury. So why are you unconscious, caileag?

He thought as he continued to stroke her hair gently. Once again he shoved the terror back down and tried to think rationally.

Gently lifting her against his lean form, he stood and moved further down the alley towards Katia's home. Katia will help, mo cridhe. She has to. the vampire said mentally to the unconscious young woman in his arms.

Sunnydale:

Buffy looked both ways down the hall, making sure she wasn't observed as she pushed the library doors open. School had been out for fifteen minutes and true to the nature of teenagers she was about the only student left in the building that long after the final bell rang. A half and hour before the final bell rang the troll had announced that there would be a two hour long staff meeting after classes, mandatory of course.

The Slayer gave a shudder of sympathy for the teachers, to have to be locked up in the same room with Snyder for two hours would give anyone hives. Her own skin crawled just thinking about it. Trying the lock on Giles office, the blond teenager grimaced as she found it locked. Setting her backpack down, she moved back to the circulation desk. Opening the drawer that held the stamps, check out cards, and other paraphernalia for the library. Buffy glanced up at the doors again to make certain no one saw her as she moved the things aside to open the false bottom on the drawer. There were several small vials of holy water, two stakes, a crucifix, and a thin bladed very sharp knife. Pulling the knife out Buffy quickly replaced the false bottom in the drawer, rifling the things about so they looked more natural.

Turning with the knife she stepped back to the office door and slipping it in between the doorjamb and the door she slipped it down until she came to the lock, and with surprising ease she jimmied the lock. Reaching back down to pick up her backpack Buffy chuckled and thought to herself as she walked into Giles' office. Petty larceny for Slayers 101. Casually tossing the knife onto the cluttered desk, she turned and closed and locked the door behind her, before closing the blinds to the office so that no one glancing into the library would be able to see her.

Finally satisfied the Slayer looked back at the desk and sure enough there sitting in a prominent position right on top of a pile of papers and research materials was Willow's journal. When it had been given to Giles he had treated it with such reverence, almost as much as his precious Codex. When Buffy had asked him about it later he had told her that it was a combination journal and Book of Shadows for Willow, but he wouldn't tell her anything else about it, other than to say that most of it was personal and that Willow had been going through a lot more than they knew.

The blond teenager snorted as she picked up the book and sat down on the uncomfortable sofa Giles had shoved in his office. What Willow's going through, what about what I'm going through? My boyfriend and my best friend are alone, together, somewhere, and there's some stupid prophecy that says they're supposed to be together. A soft growl issued from the girls throat as she thought, What do prophets know anyway?

With that she huffed a breath and pulled her legs up under her and opened Willow's book and started reading.

Turning the pages she paused over the picture that had so shocked Giles the one of Angel, unnamed but unmistakable. Buffy stared at it trying to fathom how Willow could have a drawing of Angel marked over a year and a half before she ever met the vampire. Turning the page over she studied the back of it hoping that Willow had written something their and sure enough in faded pencil was a small paragraph. Buffy read slowly and began to relax. An art assignment.

~~Go out and find some place that's not crowded and draw one person you see, tell me something about that person, from your observations of them.

He's sad infinitely so, and dark like some character from an over-rated romance novel, only real.~~

Buffy smiled yeah that suited her Angel. She turned the next few pages only absently taking in the symbols and writing looking for information closer to when Angel was changed, not before. Flipping a page she paused.

~~"Ours is a forbidden love" I can't believe I said that to Xander, but he was being the jerk of the century. So what Angel was in my room, it's not like he did anything but hover over my shoulder watching me. I did make him smile when I said. "Angel if I tell you something...you're not going to like...will you promise not to bite." I know I must be crazy, even if he's on our side, he is a vampire. I know what that means even if Buffy would like to forget it, I mean's he's sort of like the wolf, he'll gaurd you with his life, as long as you treat him with the care and respect he deserves. I know it's strange but then that's what the Hell mouth breeds.~~

Buffy paused in her reading surprised at the insightfulness, of Willow toward Angel. Of course if you secretly had feelings for him, you would know those things too. She turned the next few pages without really seeing the words. pausing at the top of the next one.

~~"Something is really wrong, like very wrong, I don't know what it is but I have a terrible feeling about it.~~

Then further down the same page, an almost indecipherable scrawl, clearly showed the writer's distress.

~~Okay now I know It's Angel he's in trouble, big trouble. They're going to kill him in order to make Drucilla strong. This is really bad, like a b-grade horror movie bad. Thank the Gods for Buffy. Add a Slayer and the world is almost right again.~~

Willow had then written, not about the research and how they found Angel as Buffy would have expected of their net girl, but of the fight in the old church. Although she wrote of her own fighting the redhead hacker had also written of certain parts of the fight between the Slayerette's and the vampires. Her happiness at their success in saving Angel and defeating Spike and Dru. The new found camaraderie between the two Slayers was spoken of with just a hint of jealousy but also a respect for the two girls and their abilities. Buffy quickly thumbed through several more pages, until one name popped out at her from the top of the page.

~~Angelus. Okay I know that I wasn't the best of friends with Angel, but ever since he changed strange...really strange things have been happening. I can't really say why I am associating the occurrences with each other but they do seems to go together. We lost Angel and now I can sense Vampire's. Me. I'm not the Vampire Slayer, but I know when they are around. I keep telling myself it's cause we are always together Buffy and I. That's's why when I turn and squint into the darkness, I see him, Angel, only I know deep down that's not the reason he's always there, watching. He wants to kill me, so badly he can't stand it. It would hurt Buffy, hurt them all, including him. I look over as Buffy says that it's strange because whenever anything like this used to happen she'd run to Angel, that everything has changed, and I don't know why I said it, what I was thinking but the words slipped out. Not everything. You're still all he thinks about. Only is it true? Was it ever true...?

Flipping a few more pages, suddenly upset by Willow's rambling thoughts, she paused again, surprised by the first few words.

~~And now I know what sex appeal really means. I didn't know that someone, a non- human someone, a non-Xander someone could exude that type of vibe, all sensual and deep like dark chocolate, or fudge. Tristan is quite the man...er Fae, I guess. I mean he's beautiful and he turns into a cat. I can't even put into words what seeing him shimmer and shift and change is like, I mean he's a beautiful man with light silver eyes, and a powerful build and he's an even more incredible feline, all sleek lines and lithe grace. Okay Willow waxing poetic much, about the Watcher sent to you by the fae that decided they need one of their missing children to help them. I think fantasizing about your Watcher isn't going to help you. So he's beautiful, so is Angelus, and we all know what beast lies within that body.

I wish I could talk to Buffy about this. No that would be bad. She's got enough to deal with. I think I know what she feels like though, only I am not fighting a lover, I am fighting someone that I considered a friend. It's hard for me, I am so easily hurt easily broken, even Tristan says I will need thicker skin than this to survive their tests. I admit a part of me wanted to scream at him, to tell him to take his fairy realm and shove it. I mean how dare they come to me and then presume to test me, over and over again. To see what you can withstand...Tristan had said. That my task would make Buffy's nightly brushes with death seem easy. I have trouble with that. At least I did till I began to understand what he was taking about.

If I fail...innocent people don't die, everybody dies, everything dies, every non-magical creature dies...It will make this plane a playground for the darkness, and everything else that might decide to stay.

The Slayer continued reading, wondering what the hell Willow was complaining about it didn't sound to bad yet... Yes Prophecy stuff..

~~"Let me put it this way Willow, if you choose to ignore what we ask of you all that you love will die. I can't make you do this. I can't force you to help the fae, but look at the consequences if you don't. People will die, not innocent unknown faces, but your friends, your loved ones, those you hold dear." I stared at him I was in shock, up until this point I hadn't really figured the fae for manipulative creatures, I mean I knew they weren't always nice. I didn't know they would be cruel. I mean using those I love best against me is pretty low, It's not as though I wouldn't do it. It's that I can't believe that it's me they're asking, no telling, to do it.~~

Buffy paused shocked by the next passages.

~~I asked Tristan why I couldn't take care of Angelus, I mean, clearly I had the power to. That dratted fae just looked at me, like I should have known better. Not a single word spoken and I felt so thoroughly scolded that I felt as though my mother had just given me a dressing down. Talk about strange. "Why not?", I demanded wanting an answer and making it clear that I wouldn't accept any ''you'll understand later' garbage. It might be wrong but hell he was making me rather angry. I hadn't done anything wrong and he wants me to stand by and watch my friend maybe get dead because I wasn't supposed to interfere.

"Simply put. The vampire Angelus is of no concern to you. He won't kill you, he doesn't have the ''how do you say uh guts to do it'. You were too important to Angel on an inner level to be taken by Angelus."

What are you talking about? Angel and I were barely friends." I said really confused by what he meant.

"He held you dear, young lady. You offered him something that no one else did. Not even his beloved Slayer offered herself to him as freely as you did. Let's see, you made every attempt to make him feel welcome. You invited him into your home knowing what he was. With little thought to more then what your parents would do if they found him, there. How many times did he come to talk to you about nothing and you let him ramble on about Buffy just because he needed a friendly ear. Come now Willow, if that isn't friendship and worthy of protecting, what is?" In some strange way I actually understood that but still...

"Alright but that still doesn't explain why I can't help Buffy." I asked him.

"Do you want to kill him?" Tristan asked me in a bald tone.

I actually thought about that for a moment. If I destroyed Angelus, what would happen to Angel's soul. What would happen to my friend. I almost cried thinking about that, his not being around any more. I balked at the thought and told my fae Watcher "No."

Tristan put his arm around my shoulders then and said "Then you need to leave it to the Slayer. It's her job after all. She attempted to have something that was forbidden to her, and she disregarded her very nature to do it. Now she is being punished by the Fates for it, unfortunately so is your friend. Those two were wrong for each other Willow. A fish may love a bird but where would they live, Willow?" I hated to admit it but it was true, Angel and Buffy were just like that. Only they were both predators, and they were also each others prey. I hated not being able to do anything, it was making me crazy, so I started researching. Hoping that I could find some way to bring Angel back. Only I was turning up empty handed, and Angelus seemed to be losing interest in hunting Buffy. His obsession with her was slowly but surely fading. Oh he still attacked and taunted but he seemed to have decided to find out why I glowed. Damn and here I hoped he wouldn't notice, I couldn't directly help Buffy fight Angelus, but when ever she fought him I had placed a spell on her that wouldn't allow him to kill her. He the vampire Angelus couldn't cause her death.

I hadn't really thought he'd figure out it was me. I should have though. After all Angelus was Angel, smart and cunning. I should have seen it coming but I never did.

He was waiting for me on my balcony. I screamed when I saw him, acting exactly as I should have, only to be grabbed and dragged roughly against his form. Okay this was bad and I knew it. Angelus and I alone on my balcony if I could get away, I could make it inside. I am not supposed to, but hell he's not playing fair and I don't feel like dinner, so lets see. I blasted my shield aura, watching as the energy surged along his hands, singing them I'm sure, and he stumbled back in shock. He stared at me, shock and pain clear on his face. Then he growled and shifted, and I did something really crazy, I laughed. This big bad vampire was realizing that he had better get out of here while I would let him go.~~

Why didn't she tell me about this? Buffy thought to herself a little angry and a lot perplexed. Because she knew you would jump to the wrong conclusion. The blond answered her own question feeling the first sparks of guilt and shame beginning in her heart. Turning back to the book she continued, turning another page and froze, the passage was from after she had sent Angel to hell.

~~Well at least now I know, and I wish I didn't...almost. I kind of was hoping that they had gone away together. That Angel was safe, that Buffy was safe, but I see now, that isn't the case. I can feel the pull even when I'm awake and it appears that when I sleep it pulls me from my body down to be near him. I thought I was dreaming some horrific nightmare, only to be shown it was true. Angel is in hell, not in the since of the opposite of heaven, but in a dimension of fire and darkness, where demons are born. I was there tonight. Oh Angel. I stared off into the corner sure I was dreaming. Hoping and praying, that it was merely my fatalistic nature taking over my dreams temporarily, but he lifted his head, saw me, and started to cry. I couldn't believe it, Angel was crying, and then it started. The images everyone of them belonged to him. Horrible images of everything that had happened, all the evil that Angelus had done, all the people killed by his alter ego. He was in so much torment, I couldn't stand it anymore. Reaching out I touched him, he flinched away for a moment like a puppy that had been beaten until it was afraid of any human contact, but he needed my help. Reaching for him again I touched his arm, the contact was light but the connection was made, I took into myself as much of the pain as I could, Goddess there was so much of it, defusing it's harm on his soul.

When I woke up, my first instinct was to call Buffy, only to remember that she was gone, and I had no one. I couldn't tell Xander he wouldn't understand and Giles was beside himself with worry for Buffy, grief over Jenny and still recuperating from the torture that Angelus put him through. At that moment I just wanted to curl up and cry, and although it showed weakness, that's what I did. I cried till I couldn't cry anymore, and when I was done, and my tears spent I knew what I was going to do. If you could banish a soul to hell you should be able to pull one from hell. So it begins...research girl has returned...but that doesn't mean I'm going to leave him alone to face this. I'm all he's got now, and I'm not going to abandon him.~~

Sure enough as Buffy continued reading she realized that practically every night Willow would research for Giles, research for a way to get Angel out of hell and then go home and research more. Before finally succumbing to sleep during which she would visit Angel, every night in hell. Willow's descriptions of hell were vivid and horrible. Even worse were the descriptions of the tortures that Acathala and the lesser demons performed on Angel. Willow on occasion would fight off the smaller demons or somehow make the connection she spoke of with Angel and take as much of the pain as she could stand for him. Tristan apparently somehow found out or figured out about these nightly forays into hell and confronted her about them shortly after Buffy had returned to Sunnydale.

~~"You risk yourself with this foolishness. Why do you endanger yourself every night in this fashion?" he asked me and I told him the truth.

"I'm all he has to keep him sane. Even if I could stop I wouldn't, I won't abandon him, I won't." I guess that is the first time I ever won an argument with Tristan because he never said anything else about it.~~

It wasn't until a drop of fluid splashed onto the page just below the neat writing did Buffy realize that she was crying. Carefully wiping the palm of her hand across her face to wipe away the moisture Buffy reread the last passages. Angelus had stalked Willow and she hadn't said anything because she had been afraid it would be too much for Buffy to handle. Willow had been taking care of Angel while he was in hell, trying to help him and she couldn't tell Giles or Xander because they wouldn't understand and she hadn't been able to tell Buffy because she was gone. When Buffy had returned according to the journal she had been so cold to everyone that Willow hadn't thought she would want to know about Angel. Her friend, the best friend she's had since she had come to Sunnydale, the one who had always supported her, always been there for her. Willow had been alone through all this. Partially because she didn't think Buffy needed any extra burdens and partially because Buffy had been self-centered and hadn't paid attention. Closing the journal and setting it back on Giles desk, the Slayer continued to wipe the tears off her face. Picking up the knife and her backpack, she walked back out of the office and locked the door behind her. Replacing the knife in the drawer, the blond teenager drew a deep breath and tried to compose herself.

When the tears had finally stopped flowing she sat at one of the tables and pulled out her tablet. She had an essay to do about friendship for her English class, and she had a feeling she had an excellent subject for the paper. Whereas before in her state of mind she had been going to write about friendship betrayed now she was going to write about a friendship that could survive death, hell, and whatever came. The friendship between Willow and Angel. It was silly to be jealous of them, they were just friends after all.

Amy quietly peeked in through the window in the library door. It was a rather unusual time of the day for her to be in school. Correction 6:00 a.m. is an unusual time for anyone to be in school. Except Xander I guess, and apparently Mr. Giles as well. The young witch stood in the doorway still undetected by the two men in the library and observed them both silently.

Xander sat at one of the library tables, although his clothes looked tousled, he was clean shaven and his hair was damp as though he'd recently taken a shower. Stacked on the tables all around him were rather ancient looking tomes, of various sizes and thicknesses. As she watched the young man who had at one time been among her best friends, he heaved a rather sad and heavy sigh and rubbed his eyes. Closing the book he had been looking at, he put it in one of the stacks then reached for a book from another stack.

Amy looked past him to where Giles sat in his office, his form could be detected because of the lamp he had on in their. The gloom of early morning still prevalent. Although it was difficult to tell because of the gloom, the distance, and the Venetian blinds that were on the windows of his office, Amy thought he looked even more rumpled than Xander did. Although it was difficult to tell with tweed, he looked as though he were wearing the same suit as yesterday, his hair was mussed and as she watched he took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. Then she caught sight of what the older man was reading and the familiarity of the book, caught her memory and she recognized it as Willow's journal. Good that should help them some, at least in knowing what kind of frame of mind she's in and maybe they'll realize that she actually can handle this.

As she thought this her gaze came back to rest on Xander. Between the incident with her Mom taking over her body and wreaking havoc and the fiasco of the love spell for Xander, the two former friends had pretty much avoided each other. Xander because he was afraid of her, and her magic. Amy because she was mortified about throwing herself at Xander. So when he had called late last night, shortly after her arrival home from her meeting with Spike and asked her to meet him at the library in the morning, she had been hesitant. Especially because he knew about her meeting with Spike. When he'd mentioned the time that he wanted the two of them to meet, she'd been reluctant, when he mentioned that they would be the only ones their other than maybe Giles, Amy had been downright adamant. When Xander had told her he wanted to talk about Willow she had agreed.

Bracing herself as though she were going to war instead of going to meet Xander, Amy squared her shoulders and walked through the library door. Hearing the door open and close Xander's head snapped up and then he stood quickly, toppling the chair he had been sitting in to the floor. Amy suppressed the giggle that battled to escape her throat, as she watched him struggle with the chair and then bump into a precariously stacked pile of books that began to slide across the table and onto the floor as well. With a slight wave of her fingers, Amy suspended the offending tomes in mid-air as she thought, Gee he's even more nervous about this than I am.

Xander righted the chair and turned back to see several of the books floating in midair, he gawked in amazement for a moment. Then glancing at Amy in a rather embarrassed way he began to retrieve the books and mumbled, "Thanks." After placing the books on the table again, he drew a deep breath, looked up at her, and gave a little half smile as he said, "I can see where that would be a handy thing to have...a handy talent, I mean. I mean.."

"Xander," Amy said trying to maintain a straight face as she continued, "I know what you mean. It's okay I don't bite....and I promise not to turn you into a toad or anything."

For a moment Xander was shocked into silence, before sagging in relief as he chuckled lightly. Even Amy couldn't contain a little snort of amusement. The sound she made only made Xander laugh harder, and remembering some of the lengths the two had gone to in the past few months to avoid each other, Amy began laughing too. Soon the two of them were doubled over with laughter, Amy was giggling uncontrollably with tears streaming down her face, Xander was laughing so boisterously that his sides were beginning to hurt from lack of oxygen.

Moving closer to Amy than he had been in months he put his hand on her shoulder and begged, "Okay..okay...we have to...stop now...can't breath." She nodded her head and the two of them started taking deep breaths to try and calm their giggles. Until Amy happened to glance up at Giles office and noticed him staring at the two of them as if they were possessed, then she burst into hysterical giggling again. Xander followed her gaze and he to began to guffaw loudly. It wasn't long before the only thing keeping them both from falling to the floor was the hold they had on each others shoulders.

Amy managed to gasp out finally between bouts of giggles, "We really...really...need to stop...now."

Nodding as he to tried to gasp for breath and stop laughing, then an image flashed in his mind and he began in a singsong voice. "Giles ''ll call and then we'll have to sing. They're coming to take me away; Ho,ho,ha,ha,he,he. They're coming to take me away; Ho,ho,ha,ha,he,he. Those little men in their little white coats are coming to take me away..." Amy started to chuckle again before she finally smacked him on the arm and said, in a too stern voice, "We are not doing that again!" Too which they both began to giggle hysterically, before Xander finally pleaded, "No...no...no more." Finally gasping, and with tears streaming down both their faces the pair's laughter slowly began to subside.

Then Xander did something totally unexpected as Amy leaned on him slightly, her hand braced on his shoulder, he pulled her into a hug. At first Amy stiffened slightly, then relaxed there was nothing sexual about the hug, it was just a warm embrace, so she hugged him back. The dark haired boy said softly, "Thanks, I needed that." Amy pulled her blond head back and looked up into Xander's chestnut eyes and whispered, "Yeah I guess none of us have really had that much to laugh about lately huh?"

He gave her a wan smile and said just as quietly, "No, not much." Xander looked down at Amy, a girl who before her parents divorce and all of the magic stuff had been one of the Four Musketeers. Jesse, Xander, Willow, and Amy. At one time they had all been members of the Haters of Cordelia Chase club. Touching his forehead to hers he said with quiet sincerity, "I missed you Amy. Of the four of us, you were the one who could make me laugh the most." Then he took her hand and pulled her over to the table and had her join him there, "...and I need to apologize to you. About all the stuff that's happened, not sticking by you when your parents got divorced, not being there for you after your mother....you know, and then using you to try and make Cordelia like me. I...I need to tell you how sorry I am about all of that and anything else that I might have done to you to hurt you."

Amy looked at him for a moment and then said seriously, "Apology accepted Xander." then she added in a mischievous tone, "Wow, Cordy must be some kind of an influence."

Xander chuckled but managing to keep control this time he only replied, "Amy you have no idea." They both chuckled and Xander leaned forward conspiratorially and said, "Is Giles still looking as though he's going to call the loony wagon on us?"

Looking over her friends shoulder Amy gazed at the office for a second before she replied with a smirk, "No. I think he's given us up for lost causes."

Xander smiled at that and then said seriously, "Amy you and me and Willow, we've known each other practically since sperm, so I want you to be straight with me." What's going to happen when Willow comes back?"

Amy looked at face of her longtime friend and whispered honestly, "It's going to be bad Xander. This fae-vampire Galan, he'd old, really old."

"And the older a vampire is the stronger he is, right?" Xander added helpfully.

"Yeah, but then he's not just a vampire either, he's fae. So he has the strength and power of a very old vampire and the magic and power of a very old fae." Amy explained, thoughtfully. "Fae have some of the most powerful magic there is. So it would be like fighting two different but very powerful entities at the same time."

Xander's fathomless eyes sparked with realization. "That's why she has Angel." he said insightfully.

Amy smiled at him and nodded her head before continuing, "That's part of it, but there is more. She has a...well there's this really big cat...but he's not a cat, he's fae and I guess he's..." the young witch paused to collect her scattering thoughts, "He's to Willow what Mr. Giles is to Buffy I guess. For lack of a better way of putting it."

"Wow," Xander said with a bemused expression, "a fairy Watcher."

"Fae not fairy, Xander." Amy said testily, "They don't like to be referred to as fairies, they think it's an insult."

"Sorry," Xander said looking around as though he half expected to see one of the aforementioned magical creatures appear to drag him away. Not seeing anything materialize he asked, "Anything else?"

"Yes, let's see what else. She's the gateway, the shield to keep the fae world from slipping over into the human one or vice versa, if she falls both worlds fall with her. But she can't fall, not as long as Angel lives, and the same applies to him. He can't fall as long as she lives."

Xander absorbed this bit of information for a moment, before asking, "How did they end up being linked like that? I mean I don't think it was in effect when Angel got sent to hell or Willow would have ended up there with him. Wouldn't she?"

Amy looked up at him very seriously, "Xander, Willow never told you about her dreams did she?"

The head topped with coal black hair shook his head no in response and Amy continued, "She basically was with him in hell in her dreams."

Xander hung his head in shame and guilt as he remembered his part in sending Angel and, apparently in some part, Willow to Hell. Tears of regret slid down his lowered cheeks to fall on the legs of his jeans. "Tell me the rest, all of it Amy."

"There's the Gatekeeper. He's Dark Sidhe." At that phrase, Xander's head snapped up, his eyes wide. "Wait I know that, they're kind of opposite of the fae, very evil."

"Yes basically. To open the veil, Galan will have to make an offering to the Gatekeeper." Amy said very carefully.

"Why do I get the feeling I'm not going to like what that offering is going to be?" Xander said meeting the intense blue eyes of the girl with his own sable ones.

"Because you're not." Amy replied simply, "To open the veil Galan will offer Willow's soul to appease the Gatekeeper."

"NO!" Xander exploded knocking the chair backwards once more as he leap from his seat. He ignored it this time as he began pacing furiously as he continued, "No, no, no! No way, no how, no sir! Willow is not going to be some freaky vamps sacrifice to some evil tooth fairy gone bad! It's not going to happen...NO!"

"Alexander Lavelle Harris! Sit down and shut up...now!" Amy exploded in sudden fury. Her eyes darkened and energy seemed to crackle off of her in waves.

Freezing in his tracks, Xander looked over at his companion and very quietly and meekly he strode back over to the table and retrieving his chair once more he took a seat and whispered a sheepish, "Sorry."

Ignoring the apology for a moment, Amy said firmly, "Nothing is going to happen to Willow. She's strong, more powerful than anyone I've seen in a long time...and she has Angel. I don't think that Galan will be expecting the Western King to be a vampire. Especially not one as powerful as Angel is, and considering she got him out of hell, gave him back his soul, and everything, I don't think he's going to let anything happen to her? Do you? So don't worry about that, just worry about trying to find a way to help them. Maybe keep Buffy off their backs when they get back. The last thing they need to worry about is an angry, jealous Slayer on top of everything else."

"Amy are you sure that..." the boy began.

"Xander, Willow can handle it. The fae wouldn't have chosen her if they didn't think she could. After all their world is in danger too." The blond witch reassured her dark haired companion as she clasped his hand soothingly. Both were oblivious to the fact that they were being observed, not by Giles, but by a predator.

Sunnydale:

Spike watched as the blond witch clasped the boys hand. He had managed to sneak back out of the tunnels, when everyone was beginning to settle down for the day. Dru had promised to cover for him if that wanker Galan came looking for him and had loved ''the present' that Willow had sent through the blond witch. His Princess had been a little jealous when she had smelled the other woman on him. Until he had been alone with her, explained what had happened and given her the amulet. Then she had smiled that glorious smile at him and the next few hours had been spent with her showing her gratitude to him for bringing the present even if Willow was the original gift-giver.

The peroxide blond vampire had detected two heartbeats when he had entered the library through the secret tunnels. One was obviously the little dark haired wanker that Angelus so despised, the other he surmised was probably the bloody Watcher. Since he couldn't see the man he assumed he was in the office, at just that moment the blond witch had come in. The Watcher apparently didn't plan on joining the conversation since he stayed in the office. Apparently he was going to leave the two teens alone to have this conversation. Spike had been absently following along in the conversation, when he sensed the young witches heart rate increase in obvious agitation, this brought his attention back to the couple at the table.

"There's more Xander." Amy drew her hand away from the boys and suddenly seemed very restless. Standing up she began to pace and Spike actually began to become concerned for the girl. Whereas the entire time the vampire had been with the girl the night before, her heart rate hadn't increased. Now it was racing like the motor of his DeSoto, but not as smoothly. Not that I really care of course. the vampire equivocated. I mean she's human, but she is a bloody entertainin' one. Even more challenging to the noggin' than the blasted Slayer. he thought with a smirk. Then he heard the girl start talking again and her words came in a rush.

"I met a vampire the other night, his name is Spike and Willow says you guys know him and well she wanted me to talk to him and I didn't want you to think I was going to betray you or anything but I wanted you to know and..."

Spike had the distinct impression that the only reason that Amy had stopped at that particular moment was she had run out of breath, but he had grown angry with the boy who was obviously causing her such distress. When all she was doing was trying to help them.

"You don't need to tell him that pet. He already knows and if he doesn't know that you wouldn't betray him, he's not much of a friend to either you or the little tree." he said as he moved out of the stacks grateful the early morning sun hadn't risen yet.

The bloke's reaction to him was almost comical, "Spike!" he shrieked and danced back to pull a cross from under one of the stacks of books before placing himself between Amy and the vampire. His obvious protective attitude of the blond witch while annoying was also somewhat mollifying to Spike's irritation about the distress he was causing Amy. He heard the door to the office open and didn't even look in the Watcher's direction. Already figuring his fellow Brit probably had a crossbow aimed at his chest.

Keeping his eyes focused on the young blond witch he said in a pained voice. "Want to call off your watch dogs, pet?"

"That depends. Did you bring me my Caféé Vienna?" the blond quipped. The vampire could have sworn the boy would have to reattach his jaw after that one.

"Amy, love," Spike said with a put upon whine, "that stuffs still for wimps. Besides the bloody Starbuck's isn't open this early in the morning."

"Then what are you doing here this early er late?" the witch said conversationally. For all the world as though they were old friends.

"Dru sent me to say thank you for the lovely presents. She even said to invite you to tea with her and Ms. Edith but I don't think that Galan, or your watchdogs for that matter, would approve of that." the ice blue eyes flitted from her face to finally look at the boy again and then the Watcher. Sure enough the crossbow was loaded and pointed right at him as he had imagined.

This time meeting the Watcher's hazel eyes he said with amusement, "She doesn't need your protection Watcher she can handle herself. She took out...how many of Galan's fledglings was it pet? Five."

"Six." Amy amended, "I had to kill another on the way home. Sorry."

"I'm not pet. The fewer pawns on the opponents side, the better I like it." the British vampire said.

"So you decided, but how'd you know I'd be here." the blond witch asked curiously.

"Followed you home last night. Du...uh Amy." he said amicably. "Overheard the phone conversation with the dim bulb there." the vampire said indicating Xander, "You were right about me by the way."

As she tilted her head to the side questioningly he continued, "I always side with the winner." Leaning against the bannister he continued, "You know sweets, if I didn't have my Dru, I just might think about having a go at you."

The squeak of indignation that Xander made didn't go unnoticed by the bleached blond vampire, he gave the dark haired boy a smirk and a wink, before Amy answered him.

"No, you wouldn't Spike. If something happened to Dru I have this funny feeling that you'd do that thing we talked about that vampires can't technically do cause they're already dead."

"Probably would at that Luv, but what a lovely thought eh?" he stood up again and said, "I'll be around sweets." Then giving Giles a jaunty salute he added, "Later mate." and was gone.

The Former Master's Chambers:
Beneath Sunnydale:

Ten to twelve vampires, of various shapes and sizes knelt in a semi-circle around Galan who was pacing back and forth in front of them as he spoke, "I have been informed by one of my childer, that she has found the Summoner, and the vampire that is under her control." The fae vampires oration paused as Dru walked into the room. If looks could kill, Galan would have turned into a grimy, little, pile of ash on the floor.

Seeing her walk to the far corner of the room to collect one of her dolls, he continued, "Although she was not able to give me details, she did say that the vampire in question was a former lover and should be eliminated as a threat, making the acquisition of the girl a much simpler task."

"Master," said one of the females in the group, "who is this childe you speak of?"

"Her name is Lydia. She was one of my first childer. She left long ago to start her own court, but she knows where her first loyalty lies." the fae vampire said in a benevolent manner. As he spoke he stroked the girl's face and hair. "You will attend me this evening." he said to the girl dismissively, before resuming his pacing.

Galan didn't notice the look of shock and recognition on Dru's face. She had to warn her Daddy and Willow that they were in danger. Lydia could very easily trick Angel and hurt or kill both he and the little tree. Dru remembered the older Lydia quite well, and they were by no means, happy memories.

She remembered quite vividly, what Angelus had called the last time he would trust or sleep with that bitch. This was before daddy Angel had gotten his pesky soul back. Dru had been invited to go with him to meet a new friend, Lydia. Spike had been away attending to some business for Angelus, and Dru was bored. So the ethereal beauty had agreed to meet her Daddy's new friend, and had hated the woman on sight and ever since.

Like all vampires, Dru enjoyed a little pain every now and then...especially during sex. The vampiress Lydia however obviously enjoyed *a lot* of pain, torture, and blood with her sexual encounters, as evidenced by what she had affectionately called ''Her Playroom.' When the older vampiress had enlisted Angelus' help to tie up his childe, neither he nor Dru thought anything of it, this was after all one of his favorite games. That was until as he was making a final check of the chains that bound Dru, Lydia came up behind and struck him in the back of the head with what looked like a medieval mace. Angelus hit the floor like a sack of potatoes.

As Dru struggled futilely to escape her own chains, the much shorter Lydia dragged the unconscious form of her lover over to the wall, and after putting a pair of magically reinforced cuffs on him, she used other chains to haul him into an upright position against the wall. Then while she waited for him to wake up she stripped his clothes off of him, and tried to carry on a conversation with a hissing Dru before giving up again. When Angelus finally regained consciousness, he was livid. A state of mind that only worsened as Lydia proceeded to repeatedly use and abuse his body. More humiliating still, was the fact that while his mind and demon were in a rage, his body's reaction was betraying him. After time he began to pass out repeatedly from loss of blood, losing profuse quantities during Lydia's games. Until finally bored with her favorite toy she moved over to her new playmate...Dru.

Drucilla was unaware that she had started growling, indeed had been growling, since she had heard the other vampiress' name. Locked in her memories, the brunette didn't notice the minions leave or Galan stalking toward her. The blow that struck her across the cheek, however did break Dru out of her reverie and brought her game face to the forefront as she met Galan's malevolent gaze.

Grasping the back of her neck cruelly, the fae vampire demanded, "What are you growling about, you crazy twit?"

Dru slowly licked the dark, rich blood from her lip where he had split it with that blow. Then grinning wickedly, she answered, "You," then reaching up she patted him on his cheek in a strangely maternal gesture. Then she laughed, "I'm growling and laughing at you silly man." Dru said before dancing out of the vampire's grasp.

Humming a tune that only she can hear, holding the doll she had retrieved out at arm's length. Dru spiraled around the room. Pretending to be oblivious to the older vampire's

increasing irritation. Spike was out hunting and trying to figure out ways to help the little tree and her friends, she was supposed to keep the fae vampire occupied, to keep her Spike safe.

The brunette was careful to keep her new necklace hidden from Galan or any of his nasty minions. No one except Spike could see the prezzie, he'd given her. He had said it was from Willow, but had been given to him by another little witch named Amy. In her mind's eye Dru could see the blond witch, the vampiress thought that the little sorceress looked like a fluffy, little white kitten with blue eyes.

The vampiress broke out of her reverie and noted that the master vampire's rage had become an almost palpable thing in the confines of the cavern. Giving a mysterious smile , Dru said, "The stars and moon are singing to me. My what a deep dark voice the moon has for someone so bright and full of light." Then looking at the fae vampire, Dru said lightly, "They say you will fail, that you underestimate the Summoner and her friends." The ethereal beauty looked the other vampire over intently, from stringy dark hair to unpolished boots, and said in a malicious tone, "You will fail, and you will die."

When those words fell from her lips Galan's human facade fell away and he threw himself at the vampiress with a roar. Drucilla had been insane for over a century and a half and for much of that time she had been protected and pampered by Spike and Angelus. She had however, earned a reputation as a deadly and dangerous opponent, and Galan was about to find out why.

Galan tried to do a spinning bottle kick to connect with the female's mid-section, but the younger vampire dodged the kick deftly, dancing away. She shifted into her true face and hissed at him, "You are a bad, bad, naughty man and you must be punished."

With that Dru flew at the man, fingers extended like claws, gouging deep grooves in the side of his face and neck with her fingernails. Enraged Galan wound his fingers in Dru's long black tresses and pulling her head back savagely, he growled, "You'll pay for that, bitch." Then he pulled his fist back and slammed it into her face three times. Dru's knee flew up instinctively into the most sensitive part of any males anatomy, and Galan reflexively released the brunette. Snarling Dru sank her fangs into his shoulder, feeding and tearing into his flesh at the same time. He roared in pain and grabbing her by the hair again Galan threw the vampiress against the far wall angrily, and began stalking towards her.

When he was interrupted by the loud roar of a very angry vampire. His pursuit of Dru was broken when the peroxide blond vampire slammed into him, driving him into the cave wall hard. Game face prevalent and snarling, the British vampire rammed his claws through the flesh of the other vampire and up under his collarbone. Using the bone as a handle, Spike threw the vampire back across the room against the far wall. The bleached blond vampire was by no means done, and followed the master vampire across the room. Pulling him up by his long black hair, Spike began to pummel the still dazed vampire. The scent of his Dru's blood driving him into a frenzy of violence.

He was so into his anger and destruction mode, Spike didn't notice when the other vampire stopped fighting, stopped struggling, or when he finally crumpled to his knees.

What did finally register however, was the childlike voice of his precious calling him. Turning his head, he walked over to her, negligently dragging Galan by the hair along the floor behind him. Carefully and with infinite gentleness, his bloody hand grasped Dru's chin to examine her face more closely, he studied her features, tracing them with bloody fingertips, all the while keeping a firm grip on the fae vampires hair. The second attack on Dru had reopened the wound on Dru's lip, from which a steady flow of blood was coming, dribbling down to her chin. Her nose was also bleeding and appeared to be broken. Her right eye was swollen and already beginning to bruise. The brunette's hair was disheveled and her once white empire waisted dress, was now bloody and torn.

Turning back to his fallen opponent, Spike pulled Galan to a standing position by his hair. "Listen, and listen good, you bloody pillock. I don't care who or what you are or what you think you can do. You ever touch 'er again and I'll kill you. It will be a very long, painful and messy death. I will rip you apart, bathe in your blood, and make the pretty patterns on the wall that my Princess likes so much. Would you like that, Pet?" In response the vampiress was jumping up and down, and clapping her hands enthusiastically.

"You understand me you wanker?" the bleached blond vampire said while lifting Galan off the floor by his hair and shaking him to get a response. The fae vampire nodded his head weakly and was promptly dropped back onto the floor in a heap. "Come on pet, let's go get you cleaned up and fix your face."

Their voices could still be heard in the chamber, although they were beginning to fade. "Is my face broken Spike?" Dru said dreamily.

"Only part of it Ducks." Spike soothed.

"I have a secret Spike." Dru whispered.

"Tell me later, Luv. When we get to the room." Spike requested, as their voices faded out.

Pine Valley:

Willow lay on the couch, as Angel watched over her. He hadn't taken his eyes off of her since he'd laid her there. Katia watched the vampire hover over the young woman.

The older witch hadn't been convinced that what her granddaughter had said was true, until now. That little wisp of a girl had more power around her than the older woman had ever seen. The wise woman wanted to speak with Angel about it but had the strongest impression that he wouldn't be able to offer her any more information than she already knew.

"Angelus." she said at length keeping her voice gentle. "what happened?" The vampire looked down then back up at the woman's wizened face. Katia was smiling kindly at him and he remembered that as strange as it might be, after all his time in Sunnydale, he was among friends here.

"She stopped a vampire from dusting me." Angel said at last." she used magic, mind over matter, or something to stop her. She walked around the corner, and fainted. I felt it...I mean the fainting like a call, and I couldn't wake her. I just thought you might know what was wrong." Katia nodded her head understandingly. How do you tell him that his companion, a woman he clearly cares for, will be facing the most powerful magical creature that this world will ever know in a few days.

"She will be fine, Angelus. She's just recharging, She needs time to replenish the energy she expended saving you. Don't worry my friend. Why don't you take a walk? I think you need the time to breath a bit, maybe recharge your battery a bit as well. She isn't going to wake up for a while, all right."

Angel reluctantly nodded his head, before leaning forward and gently kissing Willow's pale forehead. Rising from his chair, he shuffled despondently toward the door, and then in the doorway turned back to Katia and Cassie.

"Look I don't know what she's going to do when she wakes up, and she may not want to talk to me, so if you could just keep her here until I return okay." Angel said before turning back and walked out the door. Katia watched him leave wondering what was on his mind and why the Summoner might be angry with him....

........Willow wakes............

The first thing she was aware of was power from two sources. The young redhead reached instinctively out for Angel, only to run into a blinding wall of pain and despair. He wasn't there, and Willow surged up from her position on the couch, his name falling from her lips before she could stop it.

"He's fine child." whispered a soothing voice from her right. Power. Willow's eyes followed the lines of power as they sought out the warm soothing voice's owner. The auburn haired witch smiled, realizing that the slightly weathered though beautiful woman, must have been Cassie's grandmother. The hacker attempted to place a smile on her lips, but her heart was screaming it's pain because of the missage of a certain presence.

"Please." She croaked, Willow couldn't begin to explain the depths of her need to be near Angel, anything that was the vampire, anything to keep the dark at bay. They petite young woman sat up completely, looked down at her shirt, and blushed a rosy pink, her mind filled with the image of Angel's strong hands, slowly removing that shirt. Willow looked back up at the older woman then over at Cassie, as other images came flooding back, and all at once she wanted to cry.

I almost wish it had been Cassie, at the door. Willow thought angry at herself for letting her guard down long enough for things to have gotten so out of control between she and the dark-haired vampire. The tiny redhead closed her mind suddenly when she became aware of Angel's presence seeking her. Willow didn't want to be found, she knew her reaction made no sense. On the one hand the fae witch wanted to be near Angel, the closer the better, but she didn't want the vampire inside her mind, the young witch wanted her mind to be only hers again.

This wasn't a simple link between them, that was only capable of sending thoughts.

Part of him, a piece of Angel, now lived within her heart and mind, and if they became one, if they made love, the connection would expand into a bond that would be unbreakable. A fae soul bond, she chuckled inwardly with dark amusement at her own rant.

Here I am in a room with a woman I don't know, and one I've only just met and I'm worried about soul bonding with Angelus, a vampire that is uniquely qualified because he happened to get his soul back...well with a little help.

"Here child." the older woman, Katia said, pressing a steaming cup of something that smelled of mint and honey into Willow's hands, she smiled her thanks wrapping her fingers around the warm cup, feeling the warm healing energy that the tea had been infused with seep into her hands along with its soothing heat.

"Willow?" Cassie said softly, "this is my grandmere Katia." Willow smiled and extended her hand to the other woman. Katia took the offered hand and squeezed it in a tender grip. The older woman smiled at the power she could sense in the child. Yes the gods had chosen well. The old witch reached forward and brushed long strands of red hair out of the girls face easily falling into the maternal role she had taken up for Cassie since her mothers passing.

Willow smiled up at Katia, a real smile, she couldn't remember the last time someone did that, just mothered her. Well expect Tristan and that didn't really count, ''cause he was more like an obnoxious older brother then anything, but he did take good care of her, she would give her fae Watcher that.

"Does he know what's going on?" Demanded the old woman in a surprisingly strong voice. Willow's eyes came up to meet hers, she considered playing stupid but realized that these where the people that Tristan had often spoken of with such tender concern, the humans that held with in them the spark of the fae. The red haired girl smiled sadly at the older woman.

"Which part? The 'why every time I use the power I tend to lose consciousness?' or ''who I am?" Willow asked softly.

"He doesn't know does he?" the crone asked without condemnation.

"No neither the who, nor the why." Katia frowned slightly not understanding why the Summoner was keeping this from the vampire, it wasn't as though he wouldn't protect her if he knew, the love and tenderness Angel felt for this little girl washed off of him in waves.

"You should tell him, he has a right to know." Willow looked over at Cassie smiled even more sadly, but shook her head, allowing for the other woman's wisdom.

"I know. I think I am still hoping someone is going to walk in and say, ''Sorry our mistake, the Summoner is really Buffy Summers the Vampire Slayer." Willow said without thinking.

"Somehow dear child I doubt very much that the Vampire Slayer could handle this. The fact that she has super powers, has nothing to do with this. You have just what Mother Nature gave you. Nothing supernatural about it. You have been readying for this all your life, you just never knew it..." the sorceress said wisely.

Willow looked up at the motherly woman then over at Cassie who was still looking at her worriedly. She smiled at Cassie.

"Don't worry I am fine, it's just that I'm trying not to scream my presence, too many of his people already know I am here, and they are looking for me." Willow paused to collect her thoughts and then continued, "I don't want you to get hurt in this mess, and I'm afraid that anyone who helps me is considered fair game. I guess I just need you to know that."

"Willow I know what is going on here, and I understand that all of this is hard for you. I mean it's difficult to deal with what is happening. You don't need to protect us. We are clan and they won't come after us. It would be too dangerous for them. As for Angel...child he needs to know what you know." She looked at the other witch knowing her words for truth, yet feeling the need to justify her reason for leaving out that crucial detail. It's not like he really doesn't know he does, it's just not conscious.

"I know that, I do...and I wanna tell him really...its just that...that I don't know how. I mean he knows he is the Western King, he feels the pull, he just doesn't understand it or think it's strange. Why doesn't he think it's strange?" Willow demanded of no one in particular, but Katia decided to answer.

"Most likely because the prophecy didn't pick you, you picked it."

"What." Willow demanded eyeing the witch with some shock..."What do you mean we chose it."

"This prophecy is unique because needs only three things for it to come to pass the who is irrelevant the relationship is important. Two people who are a like in soul, and heart. Who outwardly seem so different, but are the same on the inside. I think also you don't realize that a simple act of years ago brought this about..." She trailed off letting the words hang in the air.

"He protected me, from the dangers of the hell mouth, he watched over me like the guardian Angel I thought he was for so long."

"Yes, and in doing that he set into motion the ancient wheel. It was only a matter of time before his concern turned to something more, you grew up and so did his feelings, only somewhere along the way he got lost or confused and he lost you. Now he's found you again. He went in search of the sun and learned that the moon's is really only the reflected embers of the sun." Willow shook her head as the other woman spoke. That feels right.
She tasted the idea rolled it around on her tongue before finally deciding that the old Witch was right, Angel had chosen to protect her, that created a fledgling bond which was heightened and strengthened by her own empathic nature, and it became this intense mental thing that ran with the lines of his soul to hers.

The old woman caught Willow's green eyes with her own milky blue gaze. "The real reason you haven't told him yet is because you're afraid. Afraid that he won't forgive you for it, afraid that you'll lose him in all this. That he will either, hate you when it's all over, perhaps that he will go back to the Slayer, or that in the battle to come he will be a casualty."

Willow looked at the old woman in amazement, then looked at Cassie accusingly. The younger witch looked down, not meeting the hackers suddenly fiery gaze. She looked back at the other woman.

"You can't lose something that isn't yours, anymore then someone can get something thing that was never theirs to begin with. Angel doesn't belong to anyone yet." Willow stated. Katia looked at Willow closely. Wondering if she understood what her grand daughter had explained about Angel and their connection.

Willow looked at Cassie again her gaze forgiving. She wasn't sure what to do, now. "He is yours if he was with her, she was merely borrowing him, understand that what is between you is above and beyond this prophecy, you will succeed if you understand that you cannot push this away, it is meant to be...fated."

Willow looked over at Katia and then at herself again. Her head was ringing and she could feel a slight wisp of pain begin to form in the back of her mind, she needed Angel. She needed to be near him, and yet she wasn't sure what she could do to deal with Angel. "Uh Cassie, I need to leave. Where is Angel?" She asked suddenly.

"He seemed to think that you wouldn't want to see him." Katia said after a moment. She watched the emotions play across the girls face, surprise, hurt, and then sadness.

"What happened?" Katia asked softly. She smiled when she saw the slight blush creep up the young woman's face to leave bright spots of color on her cheeks.

"I ...we...I misunderstood something. I hope, and I reacted without thinking, he reminded me of something that happened....that others had once done and I sort of went off on him, and walked out, when I got outside, he followed me, wanting to talk some sense into me."or kiss it into me "but this vampire ''ho from hell was waiting for him. Bad things ensued and she tried to kill him, in front of me. Do I have this sign that says ''helpless human: take my friends and stake em at your leisure' written on me?" She continued to ramble finishing with how she had rounded the corner hoping to save Angel from the pain of the back lash when she fainted from it.

Katia shook her head understanding. A lot had happened with the little hacker. She had been changed drastically from all that she knew, and now there was Angel. Angel was a handful when he was at his worst, she wasn't at all sure the poor girl stood a chance once the vampire got past the ''I am so unworthy' speech he had perfected over the years.

Katia watched as the hacker began to move slightly on the couch, antsy, worried, and missing her vampire. "So can I go home?" she asked in a soft voice hoping that the old witch would let her.

"Angel said to keep you here till he returned?' Katia said as a defense for not wanting to let her go.

"Nope. See Angel's drunk, or soon will be. He's gonna go staggering back to the house in oh say two or three hours and be absolutely miserable, if he's alone. I worked way to hard to make him all better and not miserable to have his own stupid insecurity get to him, if I was really mad at him he'd know it." Willow stated and Katia was pleased to see the fire had returned to those green eyes. If all else fails, you can always tell him I made you. Willow offered throwing her thoughts into the air, with ease and practice. Her conversations with Tristan where accomplished in much the same way. Only Angel had a direct line to her mind, and only Angel could see into her when she wasn't looking.

Katia stepped back, "Would you, little hacker? Would you use force?" Willow's head came up and Katia saw the power flash brightly in her eyes and begin to effervesce. Katia stepped aside allowing Willow to leave if she wished.

Cassie watched as Willow surged to her feet grabbed the jacket she had and was out the door before Katia or Cassie could say anything,. The moment she was far enough away as not to be heard. She let out the keening wail of pain and hurt she had been holding in. Damn, damn, damn it !!! She raced toward to house without noticing her surroundings.

The door was still open, and she only vaguely scanned the house for anyone being there. He wasn't home yet, she moved quickly up the stairs already knowing from before the easiest way to end the discomfort of his absence was being some place where he had been, some place that reeked of his energy. She entered the room, her world searching for what she sought, she reached down and picked up his discarded outer shirt and drew it up to her face drawing in the scent. Angel, sandalwood and earth, she closed her eyes, fighting back the threat of tears. She threw herself onto the bed, and buried her head in the pillow he'd used earlier. She snuggled deeply into the blankets and closed her eyes. Her mind full of unwanted thoughts and feelings, her heart heavy with dark sadness.