Author: Anya

E-Mail: anya@slayerfanfic.com

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: I don't own anything in this story. Not the Buffy characters, as they belong to Joss Whedon and co..

Season: First (BtVS)

Summery: What happens when a passive person like Willow finally hits the limit of her tolerance? And what if she brought a new friend along for the ride?

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

*I don't believe this is happening.* Willow sat down on the park bench with a thud. Her backpack slipped out of nerveless fingers to the ground. *This can't be happening. She wouldn't do this to me...* The tears she had ached with in the library were pushing their way past her defenses now.

"He can't be going out with her." She whispered it to the trees, feeling her soul shatter again with the words. "It's...not FAIR!" The shout echoed, and was followed only by her tiny whisper. "It's just not fair."

Tears slipped down her face unchecked, and the gasping sobs she had struggled to contain before now slipped out. Willow pulled her knees up beneath her chin, wrapping her arms around them, as she folded herself into a ball or pure misery.

How it happened, she didn't know. And she didn't think she could bear to know. Her two best friends each betrayed her in a way that she never dreamt possible. Buffy was going out with Xander.

The thought made her heart just ache, and her stomach turn queasy. Buffy KNEW how Willow felt about Xander. How could she betray that trust? And the Slayer hadn't even had the courage to tell Willow, herself. It was a fact Willow had overheard Giles, Buffy and Xander discussing.

"I'm alone." The thought pervaded her awareness, a consuming pain that festered in her soul. "I'm so very alone..." Her head rested on her knees, and more sobs wracked her tiny frame. Around her was silence, reinforcing the loneliness that depressed her now.

Gradually, her sobs lessened, and she began to regain control of her breathing. Wiping her eyes with the back of her hand, her peripheral vision caught a dark shadow emerging.

"Go ahead, kill me. I really don't care right now." She muttered shakily.

Angel cleared his throat nervously. "Uh. Sorry. I'm not into that kind of stuff...I'm on a diet."

His voice jolted Willow's back straight, and she spun herself to face him. He looked like hell. His clothes were neat, but there was a glassy glaze on his eyes, and the frown that pulled his mouth down was dark and brooding.

"You've heard." She guessed softly.

He nodded once, curtly, before sitting down on the other side of the bench. "Yeah. I saw you running like there was no tomorrow from the school..and stupidly went to investigate them."

Willow's laugh was a chilling sound. Full of despair, agony, and something darker. "Oh goody. Well, misery loves company..."

Angel looked at her out of the corner of his eyes. "Yeah." They sat that way for a great deal of time. The silence slowly being replaced by the typical night sounds in a park. Crickets chirping, and the rustling of the wind in the trees.

"This really isn't a safe place a night." Angel finally muttered. His own pain was minimal compared to Willow's, and he knew it. Early in his acquaintance with Buffy, he had realized the attraction, and began to mentally prepare himself for their inevitable parting. His immortality didn't allow for long term relationships. It was too painful watching someone you love grow old and die.

Those loved ones would cut themselves off from any mortal ties for their immortal beloved, and in so doing, end up alone at a time when they needed to be surrounded by love the most. No brothers, sisters, parents, children. No one except a creature that would not be joining them in Heaven's
eternity.

Willow snorted. "I really wasn't looking for safe, tonight." She paused, looking up. The moon was just beginning to crest into her line of view. It was full, round and luminous. In the back of her mind, she could virtually see the craters on its surface. "THEY went to the Bronze tonight, I'm sure of it."

The vampire beside her grunted. "Yeah. Probably."

"I don't want to see them, not there, not together." She sighed softly. "I really want to scream and break things. A lot of things. I've loved him since we were kids. And SHE knows that."

Angel slanted her another look, viewing her profile in the darkness. "I know."

She turned her head, catching him looking at her. "What?"

Angel felt his spirits rise as a thought unraveled itself within his mind. "Let's go break stuff." An almost insane grin pulled at his lips. "Even better, let's close down the Bronze, and break stuff in there."

Willow gaped at him. "We can't do that! It'll be packed by now...Buffy and Xander will..."

Angel's grin widened. "Yeah..they will. But I OWN the place..I can close it down and trash it if I want to. And I really want to." He pulled a cellphone out of his jacket pocket, and flipped it open. But he didn't dial, instead, he waited for Willow's response.

Willow's jaw dropped for a moment at that tidbit of information, before her mind clicked on what he had suggested. The red-headed girl frowned, mulling it over carefully. The mental image of disrupting Buffy and Xanders' 'date' really teased at her. It was low, cruel, vindictive, and totally out of character...but... "Do it."

The smile on her face was wide, bright and genuinely nasty as Angel quickly dialed and connected.

It was gonna be a good night after all.

End Part 1

Willow struggled not to laugh out loud. Perched high above the street, on the rooftop of a building across from the Bronze, she surveyed the evicting of all the Bronze's teenaged patrons with absolute glee.

Eleven-thirty on a Friday night, and being told their favorite and ONLY party spot was closed! The crowd hadn't been at all pleased. They straggled out slowly in irritible clumps, Cordelia's shrieks of pure rage clear as if she stood right beside Willow.

This dark mood surprised her, in a strange way. Not for the feelings, or the depth of her malicious spite, but for the pleasure it felt to release it. Willow smiled slightly, in total empathy, for once, with the darker creatures of the night. Sitting on the ledge, legs swinging in the open air below, Willow giggled to see the causes of her fury trudging away from the Nightclub.

Behind her, she sensed Angel stiffen slightly. His bent forward, his facewithin her peripheral view, as he leaned against the guardrail. The twisted smile on his face showed his mood to be clearly in sync with Willow's. They both wanted to revel in their rage, and delight in their anger. The need to be completely irresponsible, if only for one night, was going to be satisfied.

The unholy duo watched as Buffy froze, sensing the vampiric presence nearby. Focusing on those sensations, Buffy dropped Xander's hand. Turning abruptly, she found herself staring at a darkened rooftop across from the Bronze. She was barely able to discern the two figures through the shadows.

The Slayer's gaze narrowed, as details became clearer. One of the two was definitely female, slight in stature, and very delicately built. The other...Angel. She knew him by shape, by presence and by instinct. So who was the woman he was with?

Willow couldn't restrain the soft laugh. Buffy's confusion was priceless, and it was just a matter of time before the connection was made.

"She knows it's me," Angel offered softly. He let his smile widen, enjoying the illicit thrill of his darker emotions. It was nice to have someone to share these feelings with. Even better, it was fun to plot mass mayhem and destruction.

Willow turned her head to look at him. There was no remorse or guilt in that statement. Tonight, she was seeing a fragment of Angelus. His observations were purely factual and from the light she saw behind his eyes she knew it was giving him ideas.

"You want her to recognize me...you want them BOTH to!" She guessed with a wicked little whisper.

He grinned down at her. "It was a thought!"

"That's so cruel!" She giggled again. "I almost feel like I should be hearing Darth Vader giving lectures about joining the dark side.."

Angel let out a chuckle, gently pulling a lock of long red hair, "If you only knew the Power of the Dark Side. Join me, Willow, and together we can rule the Galaxy..."

Willow's laugh rang out in clear sweet tones. Tilting her head slightly she watched both Buffy and Xander closely. The Slayer and her Slayerette stiffened, both peering in the darkness to clearly see Willow. Buffy's face was a combination of guilt, horror and concern. Xander simply looked confused. *But doesn't he always?* A vindictive part of her mind whispered.

She heard Angel chuckling, behind her. Two hands dropped onto her shoulder, squeezing tightly before relaxing. Willow knew if she looked up, she'd see his game face. They were connected by this pain, and that connection gave them insight into the other.

Buffy and Xander were running now, towards the building Willow and Angel were on. Angel reached down to Willow's waist and pulled her up and off the ledge. Setting her down, they moved quickly for the stairs, and the private elevator that would rush them to the basement.

"Where are we going?" Willow asked breathlessly, practically running to keep up with his quick steps. She stumbled a few times, nearly falling.

Angel reached out and grasped her hand lightly, pulling her closer, and keeping her upright. "To the Bronze..you and I have stuff to break, things to destroy, a club to demolish and tempers to vent."

Willow allowed herself another laugh, taking comfort in the devastation that sound would make on Buffy and Xander. "Oh yes...I almost forgot...What was I thinking?"

This dark mood was so fun, she realized. Allowing herself to flow with her emotions, to do whatever she wanted. It was liberating. Monday would come, after the weekend would passed, and then the world would have to shift back..but in the here and now, Willow felt free.

Free of Buffy, and Xander. Free of Vampires and things that go bump. Free of responsibility, and caring. Free.

And Monday morning at school, well...if this mood continued, it would be a morning they'd NEVER forget.

End Part 2

The door to the rooftop was kicked open in a sudden violent burst, and two frantic teens spilt out into the night air.

"Damn." Buffy cursed with a hiss of air, as she looked around the empty rooftop. She frowned deeply, and lifted her head. Her eyes drifted shut as she tried to reach out with her senses for the feel of a nearby vampire.

There was none.

"I don't get it." Xander stomped around the roof's perimeter, stopping in the general area Willow had been sitting. "What the hell was Willow doing with HIM?" He swung his right arm with a curt gesture, ending with his fingers stretched out and palm up, as if pointing to an imaginary person. His tone, meanwhile, vividly indicated his feelings on the subject of Angel.

Buffy's glare spoke volumes. She understood what he was inferring and it irritated her. "It's not Angel who's been hunting girls!"

"You're so sure of that." Xander had no desire to believe the Slayer. The depth of Buffy's trust and love for Angel rankled him. Angel evoked strong feelings for both them, and those emotions caused a blind spot in both their perceptions. One was all for the vampire's innate goodness, the other was hellbent on seeing Angelus as a demonic monster. "So, when Willow turns up dead, it's not Angel out there stalking and killing young girls, huh?"

"Shut-up!" Buffy shouted, sick to death of this debate. "Willow is not in danger..Angel won't hurt her."

"So why then did we race up here?"

Buffy leveled her friend with a dirty look. "First, neither of them know about those murders Giles' told us of. They have no idea there's a vamp going around raping and then draining girls. "

"Assuming it isn't Angel doing it." Xander injected stubbornly.

Buffy set her jaw and continued on. "Second, it was Angel up here..with Willow. And they saw US leaving the Bronze holding hands. Try and imagine how that would make them feel?"

Xander shrugged indifferently. "Angel's used to rejection. Giving and taking. He's pushed you away a zillion times, and Willow would be thrilled if you and I were to get together."

Buffy rolled her eyes, inwardly astonished at the depth of Xander's ignorance to the obvious. "Xander, you and I are Willow's closest friends. Her only true friends. If we were together, that would make her the unwanted third wheel in ANY girl's mind."

Xander blinked twice in rapid succession. "Oh."

"Oh." Buffy nodded. "So, seeing us hanging like that would be devastating. Remember, she doesn't KNOW what's going on!" She paused, another thought striking her, "You know her best, if Willow's really hurting, what is she like?"

Xander's jaw fell open. "Willow's never lost it before, if that's what you're implying. Even when I took her Barbie, she just got all quiet and miserable..."

"Okay. And what about Angel..?"

Xander swallowed hard. "This is bad. Very bad. Where would they have gone?"

Buffy leaned forward, looking over the edge that Willow had perched on. Her mind replayed Willow's giggle, and Angel reaching down for her friend. The surge of jealousy that ripped through her as his hands wrapped around Willow's waist....

With a vicious shake, she turned herself around and stalked back to the doorway. "I don't know... but first we're checking out HIS apartment, and then Willow's place."
 

* * *
Angel reached out to catch Willow has she jumped through the access panel and into the tunnels. Giving an encouraging grin, he watched as she stepped forward and let gravity pull her down. Once she had her footing, Angel reached for the leather strap he had placed on the underside of the panel's door, and pulled it closed, cutting off the only light source.

"This way to the wreck-room," he teased. The darkness in the tunnels was nothing to him, but he understood that it could leave a mortal in a panic. Carefully he reached out and took her hand, gently tugging her along behind him.

These tunnels had provided him with the ability to move through Sunnydale's daylight hours. They were a vampire's highway, a complex system of underground connections that linked to virtually every part of the town.

"Daaad," Willow whined, "Are we almost there yet?" Even in the darkness, a smile readily came to her mouth.

"Not yet, honey..." Angel played along. "Why don't you play with your toys for awhile."

Willow giggled, "Gee... I thought that's why we were down here, so I could get TO my toys!"

Angel let his grip squeeze quickly, "So sorry, what WAS I thinking?" It was weird, but he felt comfortable with Willow in a way he didn't with Buffy. Buffy always left him feeling tense, anxious and...strange. He was always certain that he'd do the impossible and hyperventilate if Buffy stared at him too long, she just made him feel...

Willow, however, knew what he was, and didn't mind. She wasn't a Slayer, so he didn't feel in peril for his unlife. The trust she had for him was something he admired, respected and wanted to live up to. And that she shared the same dark sense of humor was an unexpected bonus.

Willow understood loneliness. Xander was her closest and dearest friend, but there was a large part of her world he didn't see or understand. A huge chunk of her soul was carefully hidden away, afraid it would be stomped on by those who had rejected her.

Angel felt much the same. He wasn't accepted by his own kind, since he reviled his own existence. And he couldn't be with the mortals, he was a threat to them, and attachments to them were painful, broken by their inevitable death.

Yet, here he was, taking that risk with Buffy and Willow. *Or maybe not Buffy,* He realized, remembering the way the Slayer had been holding onto Xander's hand.

Xander... that boy made Angel's eyeteeth ITCH. The night that stripling had come to Angel's apartment, with the news that Buffy had gone to face the Master, it had been the ultimate test of Angel's self control. And Xander's accusation about Angel's staring at his neck... Angel hadn't even dared look at the kid's neck, he'd have had a devil of a time explaining puncture marks to Buffy if he had.

In the here and now, though, Xander irritated the vampire in Angel by his obtuseness. How could that twit be so unaware of Willow? The girl radiated warmth, light, joy, and happiness when the fool paid attention to her. It was such a betrayal to her to ignore Willow, and turn to Buffy. The dweeb didn't even have the courage to tell his best friend.

Willow tugged him to a stop suddenly. Spinning around to look at her, grateful for his vision in this darkness, he could see the tiny frown on her brow. "Are you okay?" She asked.

"Huh? Why?" Angel watched the frown deepen.

"You were growling. You did have dinner tonight, didn't you?" She said it in complete trust.

Angel stared at her surprised. "And if I said no, you wouldn't start screaming?"

Willow giggled. "Nope. You told me earlier that you were on a diet, so,obviously I'm not on the menu."

Angel felt the smile tug his mouth. "What if I were to cheat on my diet?" He teased.

Willow gave a careless shrug. "Might I recommend something a little heartier? If you're gonna cheat on a diet, do it right, after all. That's like a person on Jenny Craig having two salad portions instead of one. It's not really cheating, it's abusing. Cheating is having KFC instead of the salad."

Angel snickered. "That made sense. Come on, I'm not hungry, just mildly irritated with some people still. I haven't had my venting yet."

Her face fell as the memories pulled to the forefront of her mind, and Angel silently cursed his stupidity. He tugged her hand gently, pulling her closer, and wrapped an arm around those tiny shoulders. "Come on, I got a broomstick and a lot of glass demanding you play batter."

He led her down the corridor, slowing as they neared the access to the Bronze's basement. He had constructed this access himself, appreciating the necessity of a quick getaway route. Of course, the only person or creature in all of Sunnydale other than himself to know that he owned the Bronze was Willow. Angel had no doubt that, if asked, she'd keep that knowledge to herself as long as she lived.

He lifted his arm from her. "Keep hold of the back of my shirt. I don't want you to get lost or fall." Angel reached high, and tugged the trapdoor open. There was no more light added for the opening than previously. With the Bronze having been closed, all the lights were out.

He pulled Willow out from behind him, and lifted her up into the opening. "Just crawl away from the edge and wait for a second, okay?"

"Sure." There was still no hesitation in her voice, and he had to admire her strength of will.

She was over the edge, and he could hear her carefully crawling away from the opening. Placing his hands on either side of the opening, he pulled himself up and through. Looking around quickly, he saw Willow sitting a few metres away, looking directly at him.

"I think my night-vision finally kicked in, I can see you a bit, now." She offered with a warm smile.

Angel had to grin in response. "Does that mean I won't need to turn on any lights so that you can see while we're trashing the place?"

Willow laughed, "'Fraid not... I want to admire my handiwork."

Angel shut the trapdoor, and stood up. Willow dusted herself off, and sneezed. "I think you need to get this place cleaned! Someone with allergies could just die down here!"

Angel chuckled as he led her to the stairs, and then carefully kept close so that she wouldn't have an accident on the hollow back steps. "That's my secret weapon against mortals... I'll know when they're coming by their sneezes, and not have to do anything to stop them since they'll be dying from asphyxiation!"

Willow shook her head and smiled. "I should have known. Never underestimate the secret and ancient weapons vampires may use!"

She pushed open the door to the Bronze's main floor, and tentatively walked out. Willow had to squint to see clearly, but the windows in the roof allowed some light in, and made all the shadows deeper.

Angel walked past her towards the bar. "Shall we begin, or perhaps a drink to start christen the destruction of the Bronze?"

"Drinks?" Willow queried with another small smile, "That's hardly fair to you." She wandered over to the bar, and leaned her arms up against the soft vinyl padding. "Y'remember that show, Forever Knight?"

Angel snorted. "Yeah. It was preposterous, some of the things in it."

Willow shrugged carelessly, "Whatever. Is it possible to mix alcohol or wine with blood?" She leaned forward earnestly, and was rewarded by Angel's uncertain frown.

"I don't know. We could experiment, though." Angel said, allowing himself to flow with this self-destructive bent.

Reaching out Willow snagged a bottle at random. Peering at it, she read the label... "Champagne... well, they christen boats with this stuff... how 'bout using it for a destructive rampage? I'll get the glasses, and you get your special vintage, and we'll toast!"

Angel chucked and disappeared into the darkness. Pausing, Willow allowed her subconscious to have it's token protest before firmly squelching it. So what if she was acting incredibly out of character, so what if she'd never had a drink before in her life, who cared if she got plastered and then trashed the Bronze...? Xander and Buffy sure didn't.

A twisted smile on her lips, mockery to her usual happy grin. She uncorked the bottle and poured herself a glass.

End Part 3

Willow approached the mound, eyes narrowed and focus clear. Assuming her position carefully, she shifted her weight, bent her knees and pulled her bat backwards. A few test swings terminating with a ninety degree swing, and Willow was ready.

"Batta, sah-wing Batta!" Angel chanted behind her, more than slightly tipsy from their experimentations with blood and different liquors. He was perched on a nearby table, his bottle in hand, and admiring her rear-end from his excellent vantage point. "Sahwing batta, betcha betcha..sah-wing, battAH!"

Her brow furrowed with concentration; she found it difficult to focus after a bottle of champagne, Willow bit down on her lip. The broomstick swung back into a tight position and then... *CRASH*

The glass from the locked liquor cabinet sprayed in a wide circle. Huge shards dropping to the ground. Willow spun her head the other way, looking towards Angel, as a few slivers cut at her hands and arms. Turning back to look at the wreckage, a wide delighted grin lit her face.

"Let the games begin!" She declared loudly in a somewhat slurred voice. Behind her, Angel hopped off the table, and began tearing benches, tables and chairs to ribbons. His slashes at the furniture in the room was vicious. Clearly, he was exorcising his fury out on the poor defenseless fixtures.

Willow watched in admiration for a moment, as vinyl and foam padding went flying into the air. High round bar tables were snapped, the table from stand, and thrown onto the dance floor.

Eyes unnaturally brightened by the bizarre combination of alcohol and fatigue, Willow turned back to her own assault. She raised the broomstick's handle above her head and wailing it down on the bar in repeated bashes. The glassware, taps and other decorations were demolished. Pulling out a still usable barstool, she climbed up on top, and began to brutally dust out the overhanging racks of glasses. The shards showered down, mimicking romanticized descriptions of falling rains.

She leaned over a little far, and slipped off the stool, losing the stick as she fell and landing on top of the bar in the piles of glass. The glass dug in forming new little nick's in her skin, but were nothing dangerous. Straightening up, Willow dusted herself off, and looked around. Lying a few feet away was the axe that accompanied the fire extinguisher. She bit down on her lower lip with a sly delighted smile, and scampered over to it.

Tugging it out of the metal hooks that secured it, she gently tested the edge, her face brightening as it's sharpness became clear. The weight on the axe wasn't too much, either, she realized, hefting it experimentally.

Humming a happy go lucky tune, she wandered back to the bar. Glancing at Angel, who now sported his game face as he demolished the furniture, Willow grinned. He was in full swing now, reefing the ceiling tiles down and gutting the wiring all over the place. Frames and decorations that had hung on the walls were being shredded and discarded. He was making a fine mess, and his efforts showed with the fluff and feather's caught in his dark hair.

Tables that used to be bolted down were now lying upside down in the middle of the room. Soft padded benches were now reduced to the raw componets, and the particle boards that made their frame resembled the shaved wood chips in the bottom of a gerbil's cage. The Bronze was quickly loosing any semblance to the hip nightclub it had been an hour ago.

The jukebox sudden flew through the air, it's cord still connected to the outlet, and the lights on the unit flashing wildly. It smashed into the tube metal frame around the dance floor with a obscene shrill sqawk. Disks, wires, gadgets and gizmos rolled all over the floor like marbles out of a full bag.

Willow giggled, and turned back to her own assault, the blunt head of the axe resting easily against her shoulder.

This night was definitely full of Kodak moments.
 

* * *
Xander sneezed. "Doesn't he EVER dust this place?" The boy muttered, chasing after Buffy as she stalked through Angel's apartment.

She waltzed into room after room, surveying them quickly, and stomping out. Her facial expression became darker and darker as they searched.

In an unusual moment of wisdom, Xander chose to keep his observations to himself. He had no desire to see the Slayer in action, especially if it was HIM she was trying to slay. Muttering to himself about dust and general hygiene, he just followed her at a discreet distance.

"They aren't here." Buffy announced as they returned to the living room.

Xander felt his restraint being tested as he struggled to withhold the "No Duh" his tongue ached to spit out. He couldn't help his feelings, he just didn't trust Angel. In Xander's mind, Willow and Angel together meant danger. As they made their detailed study of the dimensions in each room, Xander kept imagining his best bud being sucked dry by Angel.

He looked up and discovered Buffy's cold gaze pinned on him. "There isn't anything you want to say?" She asked, her tone advertising that her temper was on a very fine line.

"No. Nothing." Prudence being the better course of valor, or survival. Willow, Xander thought with a strange pang, would be proud of him.

Buffy stomped around the room a few more times, muttering to herself viciously. It annoyed her that they couldn't find Angel, or Willow. And to be honest, the incredible jealousy she felt towards Willow was even more irritating.

Willow was her best girl-pal. She was petrified of vampires, and timid around boys. So, why was she hanging with Angel? Why was she laughing? Why had they disappeared? Was there something Buffy had missed ?

Maybe they were just friends, the rational part of Buffy's mind reasoned. Maybe they were just hanging out, 'cause they couldn't find you. Perhaps they disappeared because they saw you and Xander together, holding hands...

And then again, perhaps they're out there as more than friends. Maybe Angel sees Willow the way you wish he'd see you. They could be making out like...

"STOP IT!" Buffy suddenly shouted, making Xander jump. She spun on her heels and stalked to the door, her power walk in evidence. "We are going to Willow's house. NOW." She grated out, as she grasped the handle and waited impatiently for Xander to walk past her and onto the landing. As Xander began lightly running down the stairs, Buffy gave a silent snarl and slammed the door.
 

* * *
Willow was exhausted, and near tears. The exertion, alcohol, and adrenaline leaving her system had taken their toll, and now the memories that started tonight's little escapade were close to overwhelming her.

Slumping down to her knees, and then sitting, she looked at the ruins of the Bronze with dejection. They had done a thorough job, trashing even the music system, speakers, and tearing out the wiring. The place looked utterly gutted.

Which was rather how she felt. Raising her hand to wipe her moist eyes, she felt the sting in small cuts from the saline tears. "I just don't understand, what's so wrong with me that he can't even see me?" She whispered, not really expecting an answer.

Angel plopped down beside her on the relatively clear dance floor. They hadn't figured an effective way to trash the floor, so had left it be. The lighting, however, had been wrenched from the ceiling, the coloured bulbs tossed like highspeed baseballs against the cement walls.

"There's nothing wrong with you. I don't understand how you and Buffy can be so hung up on him." Angel comforted, reaching out to pull the suddenly sobbing Willow into his arms. He cradled her closely, like a hurt child, rocking her gently until the heaving sobs relaxed. The connection he felt with this girl made him ache to sink his fangs into Xander for hurting her.

He waited until he felt her tense muscles relax, and her breathing slow.
"Better?"

"Yeah. Thanks." Willow muttered, again wiping at her eyes. "I don't think I should be allowed to drink, I'm a miserable drunk."

Angel chuckled, "Oh, I dunno, you were pretty cheerful and friendly earlier, when you totaled the bar, the bathrooms, the sound system, and the plants."

Willow looked up suddenly, slightly wary. "You're not regretting our trash session, are you?"

"Nope, the place needed redecoration." Angel forced a cheerful note into his voice. He remembered Buffy holding on to Xander's hand as they left, "I'm thinking something dark, and rather goth."

Willow let out a sad laugh. "'Member how I was talking 'bout that vampire show earlier?"

Angel nodded wordlessly.

"Remember in the third season, how it was the hero's evil master who owned the nightclub? Lacroix...?"

Angel cleared his throat, "Lucien Lacroix. I liked him."

This time her laugh was a little brighter, "Me too. 'Course, I liked the lady coroner, Dr. Lambert. She was cool." She straightened slightly, still sitting in his lap. "Anyway, after Lacroix got the Raven, he made it into a goth, grunge kind of hangout for his 'Community'."

Angel smiled, understanding what she was getting at. "It was pretty morbid, wasn't it?"

Willow's smile was sincere. "Totally."

Without thinking about it, he leaned forward and lightly kissed her. It was a guerdon, a gentle 'thanks' for her support, understanding and kindness, but the sudden deepening of that kiss, and the hunger it evoked had nothing to do with gratitude.

Willow responded silently, her lowered defenses, and the alcohol in her system reducing her common sense, and banished her subconscious's voice of reason. Angel's arms griped her a little tighter, pulling her slightly closer, and her own arms snaked up to twine around his neck.

Angel's hands slid down to her waist, and he lifted her up so that her knees faced him, and her body was snug against his. That accomplished, one hand strayed up her back to tangle in her long hair.

His lips strayed from her mouth to her cheek, her chin, along to her earlobe. As he nibbled delicately along the edge of her ear, he could hear her soft intaked gasp, and sense her heartbeat accelerate. His mouth strayed on, sliding down her neck with slow soft kisses. Willow's scent was warm, sweet and subtlely overwhelming to his inebriated senses. He buried his face in the crook of her neck and shoulder, kissing deeply.

Angel's will was lost, he was so victim to his instincts, and desires. He never consciously realized his fangs had dropped or face had shifted, and he hadn't intended to sink his fangs into that softly exposed skin, or to drink her blood.

That was pure accident.

End Part 4

Saturday,
2:30 am

Once upon a time, there was a sweet, bright, and clever red-headed girl who loved her childhood's best friend very much. Tragically, the very apple of her eye betrayed her with another friend. Distraught, and slightly out of her mind with grief, the young girl went out, got plastered for the first time, helped trash a nightclub, and made-out with a Vampire. And that was just before she became the undead fiend's dinner.

"Nnnngh..."Willow moaned softly. Stirring slightly, she became vividly aware that she hurt. "Sorry..sorry!" She hastily and silently apologized as her body launched a formal protest of the last night's activities. Her stomach rolled ominously, and the raging voices in her head made various aches and pains dull in comparison.

"I'm dying..." She thought, hazily, almost in wonder, as she struggled to open her eyes. Her eyelids, however, were refusing to cooperate with her brain. And what little cracks of light were getting through were definitely way too bright for her head to cope with. "Scratch that...I hurt too much to be dying. I'm going to survive. I only WISH I were dying."

Her head continued pounding in response, and her innards threatened a rather unpleasant revolt. "God...it's like I'm on that damn ferry again, and seasick!" Willow scrunched her eyes, and again tried to convince them to open. "Wait...I am .moving!" She felt a moan tear free again, as a wave of queasiness swept her rocking body. "Am I on some stupid boat or something?
God..please..no more moving...stop!?"

The last came out as a gurgled plea, and the rocking instantly stopped. "Willow?"

It was a male voice, a very strained, upset male voice. "Xander?" Her mind speculated, before a flashing image of Xander with Buffy removed the thought altogether. Then, in a sudden burst of memory, she remembered Angel, the Bronze, and then Angel again, this time, though, she recalled his kiss, his touch, and then the sharp prick at her throat.. "A-- aangel?" This time, she won the battle with her eyes, and pried them open.

He bore little resemblance to the aloof cryptic individual that had haunted Buffy's thoughts for so long. Angel's hair was a mess, as if his hands had repeatedly run through it, and his clothing was terribly askew. His eyes, already haunted, looked even more horrified than usual.

"Angel..." She whispered softly, shocked at the grief on his face.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry....I nearly killed you...." He apologized in a hoarse voice, as he looked down at her like a father to the newborn he cradled in his arms. "It's my fault, I shouldn't be allowed near mortals. It's too dangerous! I'm too dangerous. "

It was almost a superhuman effort, but Willow raised her hand and finger to his mouth. "Shhh!" The desire to quiet him was more than just to stop his suffering, it would also ease the drumroll inside her head.

He caught her hand with his, and gently pulled it away. His thumb rhythmically stroked the back of her hand, a soothing gesture. "I didn't realize what I was doing....I didn't mean to bite you, I'm sorry!"

Willow struggled to sit up. Her head spun somewhat, but she steadied as Angel supported her movements with his strong arms.

"Gently," He admonished. "You're still weak from blood loss"

Willow snorted softly. "Get off it!" She smiled, despite her head's thunderous howl, "I've felt worse after giving blood at the hospital's blood donor drives. I'm feeling awful 'cause I had all that champagne. I'm never drinking champagne again. Ever. In fact, I'm never touching alcohol again. "

Angel rewarded her with a small smile. "We'll see about that." He carefully moved her so that the back of her head rested on his shoulder. The dilation of her eyes, and the pallor of her skin didn't comfort him.

Willow allowed herself to snuggle back, enjoying the heavy comforting lassitude that surrounded her senses, despite her stomach's displeasure. Eyes narrowed, she looked around at the ruined tables, scattered broken chairs, and the husk of a jukebox that littered the large dance floor. It was like a desolate furniture graveyard, she realized with a pang of conscience. There were wide open spaces with only the most minimal of clutter, and then huge piles of destroyed fixturing.

She turned her head slowly, and looked around the club, bile rising in her throat as her conscience reasserted itself. "I helped destroy this place!" She realized in self-disgust. "Oh God! Angel! What have I done to this place? What did we do!"

Angel's grip tightened around the hand he still cradled. "What we wanted to. No regrets, Willow. None. I can afford to fix this place, and we both deserved this outlet." He gave a soft squeeze. "It was my contribution to humanity. I kept Sunnydale from suffering a horrible fate at the vengeful hands of Willow Rosenburg!"

It worked as he had intended, and she gave a soft laugh. "Gee, after a bonding experience like this, are we friends now?" She spoke softly, feeling relief and exhaustion pull at her abused body.

"I'd like that," Angel murmured. Willow's heartbeat was slowing, and her breathing easing into a soft motion, indicating she was drifting into a natural sleep.

"It's a done deal, friend." She sighed. "Y'know... the only problem I can see with all of this..." Her voice dropped to a sleepy whisper, even as Angel gently wrapped his arms around her and lifted her up. "I don't have Buffy's cosmetic arts skills, so, I'm going to have an awful time trying to hide this hickey."
 

* * *
Monday
7:20 am.

Giles pushed the library door open in an absent gesture, his eyes on the newspaper in his hand. The gray-white pages bore a terrible grad picture of another dead girl. Her body had been found Sunday morning just outside the public library, drained of blood, and apparently the victim of sexual
assault.

It was an unusual combination, to be found in a vampire, and one which made this predator a particular concern to Giles. Buffy was at risk in a way he had never anticipated, with this ploy she and Xander had devised to draw out the killer.

Dropping his soft-sides briefcase on a nearby book truck, he put the paper down and reached for his rapidly cooling tea. He carefully pried the lid off the Styrofoam cup, and raised it to his mouth, eyes lifting to survey the room for the first time.

"Aaah!" The tea spilt down the front of his shirt. "Willow!" He exclaimed, staring at the pale girl sprawled in her usual chair. The girl looked positively anemic. Head slumped forward, and chin resting on her collarbone, she appeared asleep. Giles couldn't be certain thanks to the dark sunglasses perched on her nose hiding her eyes.

Of course, the black turtleneck top didn't help, it simply emphasized the whiteness of her skin. Actually, Giles frowned, noting her clothing was very unusual for the Willow Rosenberg he knew. It almost appeared like it was someone else's.

Tentatively, he walked over to her. "Willow?" He murmured again, reaching out to touch her shoulder.

"Here." She muttered. "G'way Giles. I'm resting."

He blinked twice. This was not like Willow at all. "Are you alright, Willow? Buffy and Xander called me yesterday...they...."

Willow sighed and lifted her head. "They what? Wanted to invite you to the Wedding? That's nice."

Giles blinked again, trying to understand the reference. Inexplicably, he remembered his conversation with Buffy and Xander. Their plan for snagging the killer who seemed to target girls involved with someone. They would pose as boyfriend/girlfriend.... "You heard them talking here!"

Willow halfheartedly applauded, "Yup. So did Angel. We had a misery pity-party this weekend, and I'm recovering from it now. Don't you have to find some prophecy, or translate some book..or do something Watchery? I promise not to interfere..you just carry right on..."

"Willow, it's not what you think it is!" Giles hastily pulled up a chair, and sat opposite the girl. He shelved her reference to the pity-party, and Angel's involvement for future analysis.

She sighed, and pulled off the sunglasses. "Giles, I'm exhausted. You have no idea how tired I am. Vampires keep the WORST hours, and their bedside manners suck...no pun intended."

She looked him straight in the eye. "I've been coddled, prodded, fed, watered and pestered. I haven't slept in over 24 hours, first because I was on a caffeine high, courtesy of Angel; and second 'cause he was awake and wanted company." She sighed. "He's an adorable vampire, and I've decided he's like a big brother to me...but he nearly killed me with kindness. I came to school to recover." Her voice shifted, a desperate pleading note in it. "Please, please...GO AWAY!"

"Willow, Buffy and Xander are pretending to date to catch a killer." Giles let the words spill out in a rush, just trying to interrupt the girl. Obviously, the sweet quiet Willow they all loved had completely vanished due to sleep deprivation and caffeine.

She sat bolt upright, assuming an incredibly awkward position and holding it. "They're WHAT!"

"They are only posing as a couple, not really dating." He clarified. "A vampire has been sexually assaulting and draining young women who have been seen with a boyfriend or male escort. They are trying to draw the killer out, so that Buffy can slay him."

Her eyes seemed to glaze over. "Oh my. Why didn't anyone tell me?"

"You were nowhere to be found. I suspect you heard them discussing the plan and joking in here, before Buffy had a chance to find you."

Willow gaped at him, a horrible sight. "Oh my God. This is bad. No..this is worse than bad. This is horrible."

Giles was confused. "I thought this was good news?"

"Oh no, no, no! I've done something horrible! This is awful! Oh God, I..." Her voice trailed off as the library doors swung open. Buffy, looking tired, and Xander looking worse than tired stomped in, both with a worried, frustrated and anxious expression on their faces that lifted immediately at seeing Willow.

"Willow!!" They both chorused rather loudly.

The diminutive hacker winced. "Uhhhh..no shouting! Please, no shouting. Shouting is not good."

Xander practically raced across the room, and jerked her out of her chair and into a warm hug. "You're okay. You are okay? Aren't you? You're awfully pale? Did he bite you? He didn't bite you, did he? Maybe we should take you to a hospital...."

Willow yelped as he squeezed her, her arms pinned close to her sides, sensitive scratches and cuts from the glass shards unpleasantly stinging again. Angel's cleaning out of those wounds had been awful, but the feeling of the sweater rubbing against them rivaled the hydrogen peroxide rather well.

"No hospitals! I'm fine! Nothing happened! You're just upsetting my head!" She protested, pulling away and slumping back into her chair.

Buffy and Xander looked at her in surprise. "Hungover?" Buffy joked. Xander snickered softly.

"No. That was Saturday." Willow replied candidly. "Now, I'm just tired." She straightened up a little, looking at her friends and seeing the concern and worry she had needlessly caused them, but reserving a tiny smidgen of pleasure from the shock her abrupt confession caused. "I'm sorry if I scared you."

Buffy dropped down to her knees, temporarily shoving aside her questions to hug her friend gently. "It's okay, I'm just glad you're alright!"

"Me too, Will!" Xander piped up.

Giles muttered to himself, and left the trio to their reunion. Sweeping up his tea, and reclaiming his briefcase, he made a beeline for his office, and the clutter within. As he pushed open his door, he clearly heard the Slayer's voice again.

"You were with Angel ALL weekend? Doing WHAT?!?"

End Part 5

Monday Morning
11:40 pm
Lunch hour

Furtively, Willow peered around the corner and through the milling student body. It had been the weirdest morning of her school career, and one she would not care to repeat.

The clothes Angel had dug out for her, had belonged to Darla. As a result, they were definitely NOT Willow's style. The rather snug and insanely short black skirt, and the body hugging turtleneck were far closer to something Buffy would wear than Willow.

And that Darla's footwear also fit...that was just plain scary. So, here she was, skulking through the halls of Sunnydale High, desperate to evade Buffy, Xander, and the male student body. She'd never had so much attention lavished on her before, especially by the people that had previously scorned her.

Obviously, the concept of talking to a boy was out, as Buffy had once informed her. Lots of exposed flesh got the guys' attention, not intelligence. The hall was clear of anyone, and she practically sprinted down the corridor, sliding into the next hall because the damned shoes didn't have nice rubber soles.

The cool breeze as she moved sweeping up her legs also warned her the skirt was too short to be racing about in. But, at least her underclothes were her own. Angel hadn't dared suggest she use THOSE items of Darla's, most likely because Darla wouldn't bother with such mortal trivialities, Willow guessed, than any sense of "feminine" propriety.

This hallway was also empty, and Willow hustled her tail end into the library. She didn't even stop to open the door, it all happened in one fluid motion. The need to escape society a strong enough motivator to give her a grace, and agility she normally seemed to lack.

Once inside, Willow sighed in relief, her body relaxing against the weight of the door. The library was empty, as usual, of all students. Only Giles and Ms. Calendar occupied the room...snuggled up nice and close to the computer...

"Whoa!" Willow blurted out. The two adults looked up sharply, Giles standing behind, but awfully close to Ms. Calendar, looked up from over the computer teacher's shoulder, and Ms. Calendar just looked away from the monitor to glance at the girl.

"Willow!?!" She stuttered, barely recognizing the girl.

Willow smiled weakly, already hearing the "You look so...different!" that she had heard all morning long. "I know," The red-head said wearily, "The clothes aren't mine. They're Darla's. Angel lent them to me, so that I'd have something clean to wear."

She moved away from the door to sit at the table, across from the two adults. "What's up with the computer that fascinates even Giles ?"

Willow knew she'd hit gold by the flushing of Giles face. It wasn't the computer their librarian had been fascinated with, but the woman using it.

Ms. Calendar, however, was oblivious to the librarian's interest, as much as Giles was to hers. It was almost pathetic. *Yeah, as pathetic as Xander and you. He can't see you with the Slayer blocking his view.*

"Willow, does your mother know about..." Giles voice trailed off, in his obvious ploy to distract her.

Willow waved a hand, the bright spark in her eyes a warning to him. "Oh Mom, she's in New York for a medical conference, and Dad's in LA for business. They won't be back 'till midweek." Leaning forward, elbows on the table, face cradled by her palms, she smiled. "So, what ARE you guys doing?"

Ms. Calendar was staring back at the computer screen, "I'm showing Giles how to look up references on the net through search engines."

Giles quick and vicious shake of his head to silence Willow made the girl smile even wider.

"REALLY!" She said with a surprised gasp, totally faked. "Well, I hope you have better luck than I did, when I showed him what, two weeks ago!"

Giles backed away from the chair even as Ms. Calendar turned around to look at him. The glasses came off, and the bridge of his nose pinched as he frantically tried to escape his impending doom. "I...uh...well...."

"I don't think I was able to explain it in a way he could comprehend, though." Willow offered apologetically. "He's very hesitant to let himself learn about computers."

The Watcher shot Willow a very unbalanced look, half relief, half a promise of revenge. In a mental note, he avowed never to allow Willow near him when she was so obviously sleep deprived. It definitely brought out the darker side of her female personality.

Leerily, he watched her push away from the table, and stand up. "Can I use the phone in your office?" It was asked in a sweet, innocent tone, but Giles dreaded denying her anything right now. The girl was an absolute font of stored blackmail information. And she'd exercise that knowledge just as easily as she'd hack into the coroner's office.

"Certainly, go right ahead.....it isn't long distance, is it?" He asked, suddenly very pessimistic of everything associated with Willow.

"Oh no, not at all. It's a local call," she assured him innocently, demurely wandering off to immerse herself in the dingy depths of his office. "The Tomb", Buffy called it.

The Watcher watched until she disappeared from sight, and then turned to face an even more dangerous predator: a grown woman. "Aaah....yes?"

Ms. Calendar smirked, stood up, and pointed at the chair. "Sit, Rupert. It's YOUR turn to use the evil beastie."
 

* * *
Willow plopped down into the worn chair, and grabbed the phone. The old style rotary phone was an antiquity to match Giles, in many ways. Old fashioned to the core. She leaned towards the actual unit and blew hard. A cloud of dust rose up, and slowly resettled. God, dust. The Watcher and Angel had an awful lot in common.

Spinning the dial quickly, she listened to the rings, counting them....four...five...six...seven. The line connected on the eighth ring, and a groggy voice croaked at her.

"Whasss...allo?" Angel didn't like being awoken any more than Willow liked STAYING up.

"Good Morning, sunshine!" She projected warmth, energy, friendliness, and every other cheerful morning personality she could think of in her voice.

Angel groaned audibly, "Augh...no, no morning people."

Willow rolled her eyes, a sudden image of a bright, shiney morning person greeting Angel, and him going "poof" into a cloud of dust from the contact. "I have some terrible, awful, really bad news for you." She offered quietly. "And I thought I'd better tell you this awful, terrible, really bad news ASAP!!"

"What? Are you okay?" Angel was awake now.

Willow gave a strangled laugh, "Oh yeah, sure. Peachy." She took a deep breath. "Buffy and Xander aren't going out. They were pretending to go out to catch some killer."

Dead silence at the other end.

"Angel? Are you there?" She would have crawled through the phone line, the silence frightened her that much.

"That.." The voice was strained, "That went a little fast."

"Uh huh. I'll try again. There's some killer going around killing girls who have boyfriends. And he's doing some...bad things to them, and then leaving two nice little holes in their bodies."

Angel sucked in a sudden breath, something Willow found funny to hear, since he didn't breathe. "Vampire?"

"Looks like. Anyway, so Buffy and Xander were going to pretend to be 'dating', to get the killer try and attack Buffy." Willow said with a tired sigh. "They didn't tell us, 'cause WE overheard the plan being finalized, and assumed.."

"That it was the real thing." He finished for her.

"Yeah. According to Giles, Buffy couldn't use you, since the killer might sense that you were a vampire too, and then back off."

Angel groaned. "What a mess."

Willow laughed. "That's not the worst of it. They know we were hanging together, and now Buffy's wants details."

Angel's groan was even louder. "You can't hide?"

"Not forever."

"So, what story are we going to give?" The vampire was moving, the sounds changed as he moved about the room. From the hum of the fridge, to the soft murmur of his tv.

Willow rolled her head, a tension headache building. "I don't know. I'm ditching school, now, though. I'm too tired to cope, and if another guy hits on me, I'm going to scream."

Angel laughed, "And here I thought that's what you wanted."

"Only Xander." Her voice lacked conviction, or was that just fatigue? "And all he can do today is echo everything Buffy says."

"Come to my place." Angel suggested immediately. "We can plan here..."

Willow paused a moment, hearing her body's immediate protest of 'No..home..bed...SLEEP!!'. "Okay, I'm gonna go home first, shower and change into real clothes."

"Sure."

"So, I'll be at your place before school's out." She turned suddenly to hear a knock at the door. "I gotta go, company's come. I'll see you later."

She heard his "Right", even as she cradled the phone, and then looked up to see Xander. "Uh. Hi."

Her friend looked at her with a narrowed, suspicious frown. "See who later? Angel?"

Willow rolled her eyes, before replying. "No, my Mom's friend who's keeping an eye out for me while my folks are away." It shocked her how easily the lie came out. Especially a lie to Xander. But it was to protect him, wasn't it?

And Xander bought it, "Oh." He sat down cross-legged on the floor, and looked up at her. "I was worried about you this weekend. Especially when you didn't come home." He tugged at the hem of his pants. "I thought Angel was our bad vamp, and that you...." Xander's voice trailed off.

Willow winced, forcibly restraining her hand from touching her neck. "Nothing happened. Angel and I just hung out." *And totally trashed the Bronze, got drunk, made out, and that's before he bit me...but those are insignificant little details...*

"Yeah." Xander sounded so down, it was amazing.

"What's wrong, Xander." Willow sighed, resignedly. "Is it Buffy?"

"Sorta." He fidgeted, and a hand pushed his hair back, rumpling it further. It was the same gesture that always made her itch to smooth his hair down after he finished messing it. "She's mad at me, because I suspected Angel was hurting those girls. She's totally gone on him...I don't exist."

"You do exist to her, she just doesn't see you as more than a friend."

"I know. But, I really hoped that this pretending thing could become real. Y'know, I'd hoped she might see me as more than a friend, or something." He looked so dejected. "But she wants Angel, it's always Angel. And now, even you're paling around with Angel."

Willow slipped out the chair to kneel beside him. "Xander, you are never invisible to me. Ever." Without any hesitation, she wrapped her arms around him, and hugged him.

He pulled her tight, and buried his face into his hair. A whispered "Thank you." nearly lost in the sheer volume of her hair.

End Part 6

Willow pushed the sunglasses up higher on the tiny arch that was her nose. Unlike most eyewear, it didn't begin the inevitable slide back down the bridge. "Not bad," Willow mused. "I wonder if Angel'll let me keep 'em?"

The afternoon sun, and her tired state of being didn't mesh well. As a result, stepping out of the school and into the afternoon air made her squint. The shades she had used to hide the tell-tale signs of her wild weekend were not employed to let her open her eyes enough to see which way she was walking.

Stifling back a huge yawn, she shrugged her backpack into a more comfortable position, and walked on. Leaving the school had been easy. Her parents were away so much on business, but trusted her so implicitly, that she was given permission to write her own notes for school. It wasn't a privilege she often abused, today being the extremely rare occurrence of said abuse. It had simply felt necessary. So, as far as Sunnydale High was concerned, Willow Rosenberg was off for a dental appointment.

It was so weird, lying to the school had been easy and, as soon as it was done, forgotten. No guilt involved. Telling fibs to Xander...that was different. It had been all Willow could do to NOT confess to what had happened with Angel, and to deny that she was going to see the vampire now. Lying to Xander was unnatural, and it felt so wrong. He had no secrets from her, but she had two BIG secrets kept from him, now.

She sighed hugely, and absently crossed the street. Things had been so much easier before they knew of the Hellmouth, or knew Buffy. Sure, Jesse was closer to Xander than she was, but still...

The Rosenberg home was on a corner lot, not far from the school. It wasn't a "new" construction, in terms of style, but it was a well- maintained two storey home. Spotting the small white picket fence that lined their yard, Willow half smiled. How ironic that the fence her Mother had insisted on when Willow had been a toddler would turn out to be so appropriate for a Slayerette.

Walking up to the edge of their property, she lightly ran her fingers across the pointed tip of one of the white pieces of wood. Buffy frequently joked that if there was ever a stake shortage, she'd just come borrow some of the Rosenberg fence.

Buffy. Willow sighed again. Xander was still so hung up on Buffy, would he ever notice her own existence? "Not likely." She muttered darkly to herself. The scene in Giles office replayed itself for the zillionth time.
 

* * *
Xander pulled away slowly from her comforting embrace, and they had a nice little chat. At least, Xander had a nice little chat, Willow had an agonizing listening-session.

"I thought, maybe, pretend could become real," he'd said. The hopeful sweetness of his expression nearly broke her heart. She so wanted him to be happy, and if he could only find happiness with Buffy, not with anyone else....

Another dismal sigh ripped through her lips.

"You know, she'd realize that a living man is much more pleasant than an undead fiend from Hell." Xander had continued, failing to notice the sad expression in his friends eyes. "I honestly thought, one kiss, and she'd see the light."

"You kissed her?" Willow's voice rose incredulously.

"No." His reply utterly sour.

She winced visibly, both in sympathy, and in agony. "Oh Xander," Willow had softly murmured, shaking her head sadly. "Is that the best you can do, Willow?" she'd asked herself silently, "Commiserate and nothing else? You are a wuss."

"I know, major stupid. What else is new." He looked down at his a hole in the cuff of his shirt.

Her hand firmly reached out and cupped his jaw, raising his face so that she could stare firmly into his dark eyes. "You are NOT stupid." Her tone brooked no arguments, and the firey temperment that had trashed the Bronze again lit her dark eyes. "Don't EVER call yourself stupid. I won't have it."

A soft smile tweaked his lips. "Yes, mom." In a sudden, spontaneous gesture, he'd hauled her into his lap, again hugging her with all his heart and soul. "Thanks, Will...I guess I just needed you to give my self-esteem a jump-start."
 

* * *
"You're welcome," The whisper repeated itself on her lips now, as she stood at her home's back-door, her eyes once again tearing up. "Why can't you just love me?"

She opened the door with blurred eyes, and dropped her bookbag and keys upon entering the small foyer. "Huh..it's dark in here." She frowned seeing all the kitchen blinds down and tightly closed. "I guess I must've forgotten to open them Friday."

Thinking nothing of it, she checked the answering machine, but fast-forwarded through the twenty-three frantic messages from Xander and Buffy, but duly noted her parents respective calls. "I'll call them after I have a shower." She reasoned. "I don't really want them to suspect I'm cutting classes."

Resetting the machine, Willow padded upstairs, yawning the entire way. Walking past her room, she gazed yearningly at her nice soft, duvet-covered bed with the three big huge soft fluffy pillows. The siren song that her bed sang was so tempting. To just lay her head down on one of those pillows, and pull the blankets up over her weary body.... Her hand was touching a corner of the duvet before Willow realized what she was doing.

"Bad Willow!" She scolded herself with a laugh. "If you even SIT on that bed, you won't show at Angel's!" The thought still had some merit, but she redirected herself to her closet, some clothes, and then the shower in the bathroom.

"Be a woman, girl. Visiting Angel won't kill you." She chucked softly, shutting the shower door, and immersing herself in the soothing warm water.

She never noticed the shadowy figure that had stalked her through the house. And, if that shadow played it's cards right, she wouldn't until it was much too late.
 

* * *
"She should be here already." Angel muttered, jerking the refrigerator door open and pulling out a chilled bottle. He turned and glowered at the glowing numbers on his small clock. The sun would set in twenty minutes. "She should have been here HOURS ago."

Something was wrong. He could FEEL that something was very wrong, but was desperately hoping to be mistaken. The blood he had fed off her was still in his system, and would be for some time. Vampires fed frequently, yes, but their systems processed that blood slowly.

The fact that he'd fed off her created a bond. That he hadn't fed greatly, so she lived, meant the bond still survived now. And that bond was throbbing with a creepy bad feeling.

"Crap." He tossed the bottle against a wall, the glass shattering and blood dripped down the plain white walls. Again, he looked at the clock. Fifteen minutes to go.

It wasn't as if he could just call up Buffy and say, "Hey, Willow's in danger. How do I know? Well..I bit her, had some of her blood so now, I can feel her..and I can feel that she's in danger."

No, that would have the Slayer at his door alrighty, but she'd come stake in hand. "No. That won't help Willow out at all." He growled in pure frustration, wishing that trashing the clock would make time speed by faster.

He'd phoned Willow's place numerous times, to no answer. And calling the school had revealed that she'd left for a "dental appointment" just after the lunch hour. She had left school for home, alright. So where was she?

Five more minutes. Angel grabbed a jacket, and hovered by the door, tempted to just risk opening it up, and heading out for the girl's house. Incinerating himself, though, was also not beneficial to Willow's continued health.

He was very fond of Willow, it had occurred to him during his afternoon of panic. She, unlike any other female he had known, accepted him for what he was, and wanted nothing more than a friend. But she gave friendship in return. That amazed him, that anyone could want to be a friend with a monster like what he was. And yet, friendship as something he could offer without restrictions. Hers was the first true friendship he'd had in two centuries. And a friendship he'd defend unto the gates of Hell.

The alarm finally sounded, and he bolted out of the door, racing to her home with all the vampiric speed at his disposal.
 

* * *
The back door was left wide open, and the curtains that had covered the storm door's small window were torn off of the slim pocket-rod that held them up. Angel repressed the urge to replace them, and entered her home, very grateful that they had stopped into her place on Saturday to pick up a few necessities.

Her bag and keys were undisturbed in a small pile on the floor, probably where she'd left them. And the kitchen seemed quiet enough. Angel studied everything he could, looking for any and all clues as to what had happened. Something had, every fiber of his being shouted that. He sniffed the air, suddenly smelling a very familiar scent. Blood. Specifically, the rich sweetness of Willow's blood.

In surprising short time, he found the smeared blood on the doorframe to the kitchen from the hallway. It was as if she'd clutched at that frame, trying to pull away from whatever held her. Frowning, he touched the streak, doubly concerned to realize it was no longer fresh. "Damn."

He bolted up the stairs, taking three at a time, and stormed into her room. All hell at broken loose here. The place was torn apart, Willow having used every item she could lay her hand on as a weapon. The pillows and duvet were shredded, feather's littering the floor, obscenely decorated with red-brown stains. The large mirror above her dress was shattered, as if some head had slammed into the center of it. A head with black hair, Angel realized sharply.

He neared the mirror and looked closer. The blood around the impression wasn't human. He scraped a flake of it off the surface, and licked it. "Vampire..." He hissed, his own game face sliding into play.

How had a vampire gotten into this home? Willow was very cautious about inviting undead critters in, this he was certain of. And why was Willow this vampires target? This was a pretty extreme method to get a meal.

Frowning, Angel found the phone, and reset the receiver onto the cradle, before picking it up.

He needed help. There was no way around this. And Willow didn't have the time for Angel to procrastinate any further.

End Part 7

The Bronze was still closed...for renovations. The closure of the town's ONLY hotspot was the most dismal part of every teens Monday night.

It didn't do much for the Slayer either.

Buffy sat morosely in the library, sulkily biting on her fingernail, while Xander idly poked buttons on what was commonly regarded as "Willow's" computer. Both were bored, listless, and driving Giles insane with their dismal company.

The Watcher bolted as if the hounds of hell were on his heels, as the first sweet peal of the phone echoed out to the Library proper. Sinking down into the ratty chair at his desk. "Rupert Giles' office."

Some British habits didn't stay in Britain, after all.

"Giles? It's Angel. Buffy's lady-stalking vamp has Willow." The vampires voice was quiet, but panic echoed through the soft tones.

"What!" Giles' voice was drowned out by the sound of a cup shattering on the floor. He looked down to see the teacup that had been sitting on the corner of the desk, now lay broken, swept off the table when his arm jerked.

"I don't know how he got in, all I know is he has her."

"Are you sure?"

Angel's sigh echoed through the phone lines. "I can FEEL her, Giles. I know she was grabbed, I was at my apartment, and the moment he grabbed her, I KNEW something was wrong."

In the back of his mind, Giles felt warning bells sounding. "What do you mean 'feel'? That's not possible."

"This stays between you and me, Watcher." The vampires voice was steel. "We...slipped up on Friday. I fed off of her... That blood is still with me...and because she lives it creates a bond between us."

"I see." Giles' voice squeaked.

"No, you probably don't...but Willow doesn't have time. Where's Buffy?"

"I'll get her..." The Watcher's was interrupted by Angel's howl.

"No!" Angel protested. "I need her to meet me at the Bronze. If he's stalking girl's from that point, he can't be based to far away. And I can track Willow...I need Buffy for backup, but she can't know about...."

Giles understood immediately. "The blood."

"Yeah."

"I'll send her." The Watcher heard the phone click, and turned to see the Slayer standing at the doorway.

"What about blood?" Buffy's voice took on the tone that indicated he was looking at the Slayer, not a 16 year old girl.

"Angel is at Willows. She's been grabbed, by the Vampire who's murdered those girls." He neatly avoided the entire issue of why Angel was there, or the blood.

Xander pushed past Buffy, "What! You can't be serious. Willow went straight home....why would he grab Willow..she's not with anyone!"

"Except Angel," Buffy whispered, eyes wide with horror. "What else did he say?"

Giles stood slowly, moving from the office to the weapons locker, Slayer and Slayerette trailing behind. "You're to meet him at the Bronze. Angel is convinced his lair is close to that locale." He pulled open the hidden panel, and stepped inside, a few moments of sifting through various weapons, and he returned with a crossbow,several crossbolts, and a slim wooden knife, the wooden blade so finely crafted, it reflected light as brightly as steel could.

Silently, he handed the crossbow and bolts to Buffy, and the dagger to Xander. "Angel says there isn't much time, I can't prepare you better than this. We had hoped to have surprise on our side, and now our killer as it on his."

The Slayer nodded curtly, "I know Giles." She grabbed her jacket, and patted down her body, acertaining her stake supply. "Let's go Xander."

The boy didn't hesitate a moment, his steps a fraction behind Buffy's as the library door closed behind them both.

"Good luck." Giles whispered. His mind ranged back to what Angel had said. "...creates a bond...". "A Bond," he murmured, already heading of to his books. "But does it go both ways?"
 

* * *
Willow shook her head, trying to clear the darkness and cobwebs from her mind. The last thing she remembered was smashing a hand mirror into the monster's face...

She bolted upright as the memory of the struggle flooded her. He was in HER home, a vampire in HER house, while she showered, and dressed..and.... "Oh yuck."

"You're awake." That eerry voice hissed behind her. A cold hand wrapped itself around her neck, from behind. "Good, killing you is not much fun if you're not awake."

Willow's eyes widened and then narrowed.

Killing me?

Me?

Idiot vampire, as she now dubbed him, cockily walked around to face her, hand sliding as he moved around her neck. She willed her muscles to relax, to not respond to fear. In truth, it wasn't hard. She wasn't afraid. She was furious.

"Kill me?" Her voice was surprisingly calm. He was now infront of her, game face grinning evilly at her.

"I don't think so." Her knee jabbed up and nailed him where he apparently liked to live. Like any male, he doubled over. She reared her leg back, and kicked him in the solar plexis with all the force she could muster.

It lacked the power of Buffy's style of kick, but it sent him careening across the room. Willow rolled backwards off the table, keeping it between him and her. A low trolley at the head of the table sported a scalpel. Eyes narrowed, and temper high, she grabbed it. It wouldn't kill him, but a slit throat would slow him down.

"You know," She began conversationally as he picked himself off the ground. "I've had a really pissy past couple of days, and I'm really not in the mood to roll over and play victim."

He lunged at her. Her arm lashed out in an arch, the scalpel slicing easily into his flesh. He howled and clenched his hand to the torn flesh. "Bitch."

He roared through his fangs.

They circled around the table, the hunter and the hunted. Although, the line discerning one over the other was becoming blurred. In the back of Willow's awareness, she felt a growing confidence. Angel was coming, he knew she was in trouble, and was coming.

Ugly grabbed the edge of the table, lifting it up, he shoved it at her, ramming it into her midsection. "Ugh," she doubled over, but knowing that doing so was fatal, let her body roll forward, into his legs and tripping him.

He fell backwards, head slamming into the ground. Willow didn't even think, she pounced onto of his chest and rammed the scalpel deep into where his heart should be. It wouldn't kill him, but as she twisted the blade, she took comfort in his scream.

Her pleasure ended abruptly, as the cornered animal in him retaliated. Her body slammed into a wall, and she faded to darkness.

"I'll make an exemption, bitch." He hissed, his face and fangs an inch from her fading consciousness. "I'll screw you and kill you WHILE your sleeping..."

She tried to find the will to fight for her life, but the heat on her head, as her blood matted in her hair, and the lassitude that crept through her body, forbade resistance. "Hurry Angel..please." Her last sensation was of clawed finger tips tracing down along her jaw, to throat to breast.
"Hurry......."
 

* * *
They were in the sewers, to Buffy's disgust, Angel in the lead, moving with such purpose it was all the two mortals could do to keep up. The vampire had been remarkably silent, since they met him. A simple curt, "This way." And then nothing.

His dark mood was rather infectious. Xander had long since succumbed to dread. He dreaded finding Willow's tortured body, he dreaded finding this vamp as he tortured Willow....and he was scared he was going to fail Willow as he had Jesse.

Buffy felt only cold certainty. She knew her duty, and berated herself for not finding this killer sooner. Willow should never have been grabbed, or put through the emotional torture she had known all weekend. Seeing Xander with her must have been sheer hell, and it was that emotional upheaval that drew Angel and Willow together. If Willow died, it was because the Slayer was self absorbed, and ineffective.

"Aah." Angel's body jerked rigidly. "Noo.." The whisper was a vampiric hiss. He didn't turn to the two mortals behind him, but they instinctively knew his game face was in place. Soundlessly, Angel began to run through the sewers.

Buffy raced to keep up with him, Xander falling behind. "Angel..what's happened." She shouted, not caring if their enemy heard her. He was going to be dead, one way or the other before the end of this night.

"He's hurting her," Angel hissed, turning his head to look at the Slayer, raw hate, fury and vengeance shining in those unholy eyes. "I can feel him TOUCHING her, and she's hurt.."

Buffy gaped, her body freezing for a moment. Angel's fury spoke of concern, and care for Willow. He CARED about Willow.

*And he knows she's being hurt*, some observant part of her mind whispered. * She's being killed, as you stand here.* The Slayer reasserted itself, and Buffy grimly began running. "Over my VERY prone corpse."

End Part 8

Angel's hand roughly gripped the shaggy head of Willow's assailant, dragging him back by his hair, and throwing him savagely into the metal table, knocking the heavy table over with the vampire's weight. His back turned to the down vampire, Angel stripped off his jacket, quickly wrapping Willow into it.

She was unconscious, and blood trickled in a thin stream from the corner of her mouth. From the slumped position of her head, he suspected she'd sustained a massive blow to the back of her head. The bastard had started slicing up her top, it was half open to show a modest, if pretty, bra. Contusions and bruises along her throat and shoulders were already beginning to darken.

He hissed, seeing the extent of her injuries, his face shifting as he turned. His only purpose now was to beat the living shit out of that horny vampiric bastard. He recognized this beast as one of the Master's conquests perhaps a century ago. Daniel Martin. He'd been a monster in his mortal existence, a serial killer and rapist in London. He had preyed on women that appeared to be protected, then..and it seemed his M.O. hadn't changed since then. "I can't believe I didn't suspect him." Angel snarled to himself. Daniel was an even greater monster as a vampire. Somehow, he had surpressed this part of his personality from the Master's view. The master had, normally, destroyed vampires as debauched as this one...for the preservation of his own control over the community.

Daniel crouched snarling at Angel. "She's MINE." The younger vampire snarled, blood drenched fangs dripping. He didn't seem to realize that Angel was the great Traitor. And that worked just fine for Angel.

"Wrong." Angel said silkily. "She was in my company first." Daniel snarled furiously, and lunged. Angel slammed his fist into the vampires face, throwing him back, and then griping his throat tightly. "And for your tresspass...I'll destroy you."

Buffy slid into the room in time to hear those final word. It had been a race to keep up with Angel. He'd moved so quickly, stopping with sharp motions to reorient himself, and then moving again. It was like watching a bloodhound on the prowl, he was homing in on something. And Buffy was certain that something wasn't their culprit.

The proprietary tone as Angel spoke to the monster hadn't passed her by, nor had the anger shining in his face. Whatever else she had believed...there was more between Willow and Angel than she had wanted to believe.

Willow. It took Buffy a fraction of a second to find her friends slumped body, wrapped in Angel's jacket. Blood streaked the wall behind Willow, as if painted when the hurt girl had slid to the ground. And Willow didn't seem to be moving. Buffy ran over, falling to her knees beside Willow, and quickly fumbled for a pulse.

'She's breathing, and her heart's beating,' Buffy realized with a relieved sigh. Her fingers pulled away from Willow's neck, sticky with blood. "No." Buffy whispered, carefully pushing red hair away. Two ragged puncture marks wept blood in two tiny trickles down her neck.

A cold rising fury swept through the Slayer. She stood slowly, spinning to see the two struggling vampires. Her left arm twitched slightly, and a stake slid easily along the smooth inside flesh of the arm, and into her palm. The target of her rage was clawing at Angel's chest, shredding his dark shirt, before finding purchase. Using the shirt and flesh beneath it as a handhold, Angel was thrown into the wall beside Willow.

Daniel watched the older vampire fall into the wall, and saw the aura of power as the Slayer walked towards him, supernaturally calm, and a stake held steadily in her tiny hand. Discretion the better part of valor, he bolted for the door, throwing a panting Xander out of his way.

"Damn!" Buffy snarled as she raced out to the utility tunnel. He had disappeared into the darkness below the city, and without Angel, Buffy had no way to find him.

Angel. Buffy frowned, remembering her newly found suspicions. She caught Xander's flailing arm, and heaved him upright. He lurched awkwardly having compensated over much for her pull. "Where's Willow?" The boy asked.

"In there." Buffy jerked her chin. "With Angel." The Slayer stalked back into the small lair, Xander in tow behind her.

"Oh my god." Xander whispered, watching as Angel gently laid Willow down on the righted metal table. He couldn't determine which horrified him more: Willow's battered and bloody condition, or Angel's attentiveness. "Did he...?"

The vampire looked up, "No. We got here in time. She needs to go to a hospital, though." He carefully probed the back of Willow's head, confident that all she had was a bad lump. "She was hit pretty bad...I'm willing to bet a few ribs were broken."

"He bit her too." Buffy stated calmly, indicating the marks on Willow's neck.

Angel winced.

Buffy frowned at Willow, angry that she had failed her friend so greatly, and disturbed by whatever tie her friend had with Angel. "He got away, but...we're going to finish this tonight." She looked at Angel. "Can you find him?"

Angel hesitated, "It won't be easy...but yes."

Buffy shook her head, her voice rising. "Why won't it be easy? You found your way down here, easily enough...why not out there?" She rounded the table to stand in front of Angel. "What AREN'T you telling me!"

Angel frowned, looking away from her. "What makes you think I'm not telling you everything. Look Buffy...these tunnels are big and nearly endless. He's not hunting, there's no blood scent, or other pherome markers to indicate a hunt. That makes it harder." This was the truth..but it wasn't the entire truth.

He turned suddenly, his dark eyes pinning her with near hostility. "We need to get her to a hospital NOW, before these injuries get serious. Or do you want your truth so bad that it kills her?"

Xander placed his finger between his lips, whistling sharply. "ENOUGH!" He shouted at the two, surprising them greatly. "Buffy, you and Angel can go find this bastard and stake him..and then kill one another LATER. Right now, I want us to get Willow to the hospital, like the good vampire here said." The younger boy's eyes stared them both down.

Xander shook his head ruefully, disappointed with Buffy, and scared for Willow. Carefully, gently, he gathered Willow up, allowing Angel to brace her neck with his hand as she was lifted up.

"Follow me." The vampire murmured, muchly subdued. As a group, they moved silently from the room, and to the surface.
 

* * *
Xander had stayed with Willow at the hospital, calling his parents to serve as emergency Guardians while her own folks were away. It had been a long established policy between their two parents for this, in case of emergency. Confident once they reached the hospital, Xander shooed Buffy off to hunt.

Silently, the vampire and Slayer returned to the utility tunnels, and began to stalk their prey. Angel wasn't moving as confidently now, he stopped to cock his head frequently, and more than once, slipped on his game face.

Buffy watched him with an impassive face, struggling to contain her rapidly shifting emotions. She wanted nothing more to extract answers from him, to get the reassurance that he wasn't involved with Willow, to know that he was still hers.

But the redheaded friend in a hospital bed had the silent promise of revenge given to her. And that revenge came first, tonight.

The prowled with no noise made by their passage, the marks of true predators, and went deep into the tunnels. Buffy had a stake at the ready for any surprises. Her eyes were adjusting to this darkness, her supernatural abilities as the Slayer having compensated for the lack of lighting by enhancing her vision.

"He's near." Angel suddenly hissed. His body automatically shifted into a stance suitable for pouncing or being pounced on. Behind him, the Slayer reacted similiarly.

"How near." Her voice had that hard edge, the promise of death ringing in it with finality. "Does he have another girl with him?"

Angel sniffed at the air, "No. Not yet." His hand jerked up, motioning for silence, and the both pinned their bodies on either side of the tunnel and into niches that hid them from view.

A few sloshing steps grew closer, and Buffy's face slowly relaxed as her purpose became clear. Her fingers stroked the stake in her hand almost affectionately as their prey neared.

Daniel lumbered just past them, so confident in his escape he failed to listen for the telltale sound of a human heart. So confident, he didn't suspect anything, until Angel's hand fastened itself around his throat.

Daniel struck out blindly, hitting Angel's head and bashing it into the stone wall. The surprise of the action caused Angel's fingers to loosen, just slightly, but enough for Daniel to wrench himself free. He turned, already running...but the Slayer stepped into his path.

"Going somewhere?" Buffy smirked. "I thought you wanted taken girls. I'm taken, go for it."

"Slayer," He hissed.

"I'm that too." Buffy conceded with a little nod.

Daniel lunged, trusting in his brute strength to overthrow her. Buffy parried easily, administering a few sharp kicks, but slowly being led back into the wall behind her as she recovered her balance. The tunnels were too narrow to allow her the space she normally found comfortable to work in.

"Taken? By what? The kid?" Angel's voice was nearly astounded. He grabbed Daniel's shoulder, heaving the other vampire backwards and slamming his body into a wall, all the while staring incredulously at Buffy.

"No!" She rolled her eyes, absently reaching out to grab the collar of Daniel's shirt, and casually tossing him into the wall behind her. "What makes you think that?"

Angel shrugged. "Who else? That Owen guy?"

Buffy blew an exasperated breath. "Puhleeze..that was so ages ago!" She raised an eyebrow to question his density. "What about you? You've been awfully tight with Willow.."

Angel smirked. "You'd like me to say that, wouldn't you."

Daniel tackled Buffy from behind, knocking her down. The Slayer rolled immediately, as Angel kicked at Daniel's head as if kicking a soccer ball. Daniel reached up, grabbed Angel's foot, and pushed up and into the motion, knocking Angel down.

Before Angel could get back to his feet, Daniel had the fallen stake in his hand and moved to sink it into Ange, but Buffy intercepted. She let her body drop back down to the earth into a crouch, extending one leg straight and swinging it into Daniel's legs, tripping him.

Buffy easily regained her footing, and proceded to do her kick, punch and pummel routine on the stunned vampire. "You stupid" KICK "Moronic" KICK "Sick Bastard" Her first slammed into his stomach. "This is for Willow." She took her knee and sharply nailed into his groin. "This is for the other girls" She swung around with a punch and nailed him into the wall.

Daniel's hand swung wildly, slamming hard into her ribs and pushing her back in a lucky shot. Buffy rolled backwards, rising again into a fighter's stance and ready to resume.

Daniel rushed her, but the Slayer sidestepped easily, raising her arm to throw her elbow down hard into the center of his back as he passed, he collapsed to the ground, but rolled to his stomach, just out of her range.

Unfortunately, he walked straight back into a very pissed Angel. Angel wrapped his arms under Daniels armpits, and up, pinning him back into his chest, and then bit down into the exposed and straining tendons of Daniel's neck with an animalistic snarl of victory.

Buffy gaped in horrified disgust, her jaw falling open to see Angel act so...brutally cruel. She backed away, in short shocked steps. Her hand clutching the stake so tightly splinters of wood bit in. She could HEAR the sound of Angel feeding off this beast, but couldn't decide which of the two was the more horrible.

Angel rolled his eyes at her, jerking his line of sight from her face, to the stake in her hand. Buffy stepped forward, even as Daniel began to weaken from Angel's assault. Her arm swept up and arched down.

The raping vampire exploded into a cloud of dust between them.

They were both silent for a moment. Buffy, recovering her poise, and Angel regaining control over his features. "It's over." Buffy finally said. She looked at Angel for a moment, wanting to say more, but reluctant to hear words that would cut deeply. Instead, she turned and walked away.

Angel looked down at the dust dissapating in the thin waterly sludge in the tunnels.
 

* * *
(Next Morning)

Willow frowned at the concoction on the plate in front of her. It looked possibly MORE dangerous than the food they served in the school cafeteria. "What is this..the great plan to save beds? Kill off the patients, and thereby free up space?" She muttered the observation, pushing the food around with a spoon with the same care she normally reserved for her more exotic science projects.

"Hey, you might be onto something with that, Will!" Xander cheerfully interjected as he and Buffy pushed their way into the room.

Willow looked up, surprised to see them here so early on a school day.
"Cutting classes?" She asked drily.

"Us? Never happen, girl!" Buffy laughed cheerfully. "We're doing our sacred duty, as imposed on us by he who dreads the horrid machine."

Willow smirked. "Ah. And this duty is?"

"Proper nourishment!" They both chanted, each holding up a bag of McDonalds.

Willow laughed, "Perfect, if I'm going to have food poisoning, I'll do it by what I KNOW is toxic, rather than what I suspect is toxic!"

Buffy lightly punched her in the arm. "Pre-cisely!" She fished a bacon'n'egg McMuffin (tm) out of the bag and handed it to Willow. Xander slid an orange juice across the raised "eating" table, before he pulled his large sample of the entire McDonalds breakfast menu out of his bag and dug in.

"Hungry much?" The girl's giggled.

"I'm a growing boy!" He defended himself, as he seemed to inhale the food.

"Watch it, Xander." Willow snickered. "Or you'll start to grow OUT not just up."

Xander winked, and patted an imaginary beer gut. "You know it! But you'll still love me!"

Willow rolled her eyes. "Uh huh."

Buffy smirked. "Enough to give you a weight-watcher's membership for Christmas."

Buffy collected her and Willow's used wrappers, trashing them in the bag and hiding all the evidence of their abuse of the doctor's prescribed dietary
plan for his patient. "Hey, Willow...when do you

get sprung from this place?" She tried to ask the question so casually.

Willow traced an imaginary pattern on the top of the table with her index finger. "Tomorrow, maybe...as long as I'm not home alone." She murmured softly.

Xander smirked. "I know. Mom told me this morning. You'll be staying with us until your own folks get back."

Willow looked at him with a funny expression. "Oh."

Buffy frowned, wishing she knew what was going through her friend's head. "Have you talked to your parents yet Willow?"

Willow nodded, smiling "Yeah, I had to convince Mom not to cancel her trip. It was actually good, I think I've figured out how that vampire was getting into those girl's homes." She tilted her head slightly to the side. "I did a bit of snooping on my laptop, according to the police reports, there's one consistent detail in each case."

Both Xander and Buffy watched her fascinated. "And that was?" Buffy prompted.

"A hydro employee came to each house to read the meter. Thing is, hydro's logs reflect that no one was sent to read anyone's meters in those neighbourhoods, for each occasion."

"He was posing as a civil servant..getting invited into the homes in advance!" Buffy made the next jump on her own.

Willow tilted her head, the bandage along her neck clearly visible through the curtain of hair. "Exactly."

End Part 9

Prologue

(Two weeks later)

The box was a surprise, it was large, white, and wrapped with a lovely blue velvet ribbon. Willow gnawed lightly on her lower lip, her parents hadn't sent it. Her mom had been aching to open it from the moment it arrived, addressed to Willow, but had waited for her daughter to come home from school first.

Mrs. Rosenberg hovered over her now, watching with great interest as Willow studied the box. "Aren't you going to open it?" She asked, her curiousity shining clearly in a maternal expression.

"Are you sure it's not from you and Dad?" Willow frowned. The past two weeks had been different, she'd had flowers delivered from so many people, most of whom were courting her favor for help in science, and Cordelia had even been almost civil.

But large dressboxes were a definite first. She poked at the box absently, so absorbed in her mental ruminations she didn't hear the phone ring, or her mother get it.

"Willow, honey, it's for you." Her mom held out the phone, clamping her hand ove the mouth piece, a sly smile on her lips. "It's a boy!" She whispered consiratorialy.

Willow blinked. That too, was very new. As a rule, guys (other than Xander) just didn't call Willow Rosenberg.

Tentatively she took the phone, dismissing her mother with a raised eyebrow and jerk of her head. "Hello?" Her voice held the unsaid question of 'who the heck is calling ME?'.

"Hi Willow," Angel's voice purred through the other end of the line, deep, sexy and very familiar.

"Angel!" She smiled. "I was worried for a second!" She sat down on her bed, to the left of the box.

Angel chuckled. "I sent you a present. It's for the Bronze's reopening. There's also a special note inside the box, and instructions."

"Reopening? So soon?" Willow now allowed her fingers to tug the bow off. Meticulously, she folded the fine velvet bow and set it on her nightstand.

"Let's just say..I had a vision of how it was to be, and pushed for it." Angel teased. "And since you were a big part of the Bronze's redesign...you get to be guest of honour."

Willow lifted the lid of the box and pushed the tissue paper out of the way. "Oh my!" She gasped.

"Oh you, indeed." Angel laughed. "See you Friday!" And he hung up, leaving Willow Rosenberg staring down into the midnight blue velvet dress and silk gloves lying inside the box with wide-eyed wonder.
 

* * *
The line-up outside the Bronze was huge. It easily wrapped around the building with eager teens, excited to attend the Grand Re- Opening. The illuminated lights, and banners that decorated the outside for this evenings entertainment only revved the crowd higher.

A low, sleek limo slowly crept to a stop at the pavement in front of the doors, and the driver got out. He walked up to the bouncer guarding the door and handed the bouncer a card. They seemed to talk for a brief moment, and the bouncer opened the door and disappeared for a few minutes. He came back with another gentlemen, and the newcomer and driver went to the car.

"Who do you think THAT is?" Cordelia Chase whispered to her clique. "It must be someone famous, to be getting this kind of attention." She turned to look at the car, and then pack to her friends. Her hand swung in an elegant gesture, "I just hope it's someone famous, like Brad Pitt or something. Someone worth my time, you understand." The gaggle of girl's murmured their agreement to their queens words.

The driver opened the door, and a slim feminine leg slid out. The new gentleman extended his hand, lifting the guest out of the car, and guiding her to the sidewalk.

The crowd with clear visibility gawked at the beautiful woman. Her red hair elegantly piled on her head, and subtle makeup created the most sensuous picture. She was young, beautiful and erotic.

And as Willow Rosenberg glided past, she shot Cordelia a sly wink. She didn't let a grin plaster her face until she was inside the empty club, and the door had closed securely behind her.

"The boss is by the bar." The gentleman who'd escorted her in raised his arm to point to the sleek polished brass and mahoganey bar. Willow followed his arm to see Angel raise his glass in a silent toast.

She laughed silently, and stepped down to the main floor, her eyes sweeping around the room, noting the changes and repairs. By the time she'd reached Angel, she was fit to die laughing.

"I don't BELIEVE you did this!" She lightly hit Angel's arm. "It's like I've stepped into the set for Forever Knights "Raven"! I love it!" Angel's grin shot very wide. He signaled to the bartender, and handed her a wineglass, filled with a rich red liquid.

Leaning forward, he whispered into her ear, "This is the house special, tonight." He watched amused as she lifted the glass to her nose and sniffed. Hesitantly she sipped the beverage, before giggling.

"You're a bad, bad, evil person, Angelus!" She raised the glass high, using the dim lighting to see through the clear non alcholic liquid. "This is very clever."

"Thank our bartender." Angel guided her to a stool in the corner, and lifted her up. "You look wonderful, by the way. Did you have fun?"

Her smile was pure sunshine. "I've never been so pampered in my life. They even did my nails!"

Angel caught one gloved hand and kissed it elegantly, "Mais, oui! Une femme comme toi.." He broke off as she laughed.

"Sorry.." She giggled. "I'm going to have a rough time NOT laughing tonight."

Angel grinned," You'll have to get control. Tonight, you are the Bronze's Janette." He tickled her ribs lightly. "And tonight, you rule this place. No guy looking at you will doubt that. I'm pretty sure you can even drive Xander insanely jealous."

Her eyebrow arched doubtfully, but she smiled nonetheless. "Not unless you can hypnotise him, like LaCroix did Natalie." Willow tilted her head thoughtfully, "Can I ask you something?"

He nodded, lifting up his own wine glass.

"Why are you doing this? I mean, why would you arrange for all this for me?"

Angel smirked. "You remember when this all started? How miserable we were?" She tentatively nodded. "Well, you gave me something really important when we were exorcising our little miserable demons together."

"I did?"

His grin widened. "You did." He clicked his glass with hers. "Tonight, misery isn't invited into our company. We're celebrating something I haven't had in a long, long time."

"We are?" Willow was getting genuinely puzzled, but still very content to see Angel so content.

He smirked, looking up as the doors opened, and the first guests poured in, gawking first at the gothically elegant Bronze, and then at the elegant Willow perched like a queen at the bar. "We are. I did this tonight, to thank you, and to celebrate. I have something in my life I never dreamt of having since Darla changed me." He leaned forward and brushed her cheek with a kiss. "I have a woman in my life who I can call my friend."

Tears caught Willow's eyes and she gently stroked his cheek. "You're very welcome, my friend."
 

The End

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