Rating:R

Pairing: W/A

Another one and my bad I forgot to put the names in front of my other fics
 
 

Part One

"So would you do it?"

"Do what?"

"What I asked you about yesterday."

"Absolutely not Xander, its immoral and I don’t think Willow would like you paying for her a date."

"C'mon Angel, its not like she has to know. It's just that I hate to see her this way."

"It's going to take her some time to get over this Xander. Besides what would Buffy think?"

"Well she says she's over you and that you should move on."

"With her best friend?"

"Why not?"

"Because I don’t think she is as over me as she says. At Joyce's funeral she didn't act like it."

"Look this is a really good chance for you to settle down. Willow is a very strong witch now; I mean you should have seen her with the shields and separating Spike and me. You two might even be able to do you know what without the whole killing and maiming of everyone."

"First off, none of you have to worry about my soul anymore, its here forever. Second, why am I even talking to you? Look, I'm coming down for a few days and I'm not taking any of your money to ask her out. Willow is a friend and only a friend, she doesn’t think of me in that way anyhow."

"Well I know you think about her in that way. I remember your alter egos stalking of my friend and lets not forget the hallway incident. As I remember she was really a turn on. Please I have thought of her in that way a few times myself, and I'll always remember the time we were at the beach and her top came off and I'm going to stop myself now before Anya kills me."

"Wait! Anya knows about this?"

"Well it was kind of her idea."

"Does Buffy know too?"

"No, besides her, Giles and Dawn hauled ass out of here for the summer. We're slayerless and ready to party except for Willow and she won't talk to anyone, not even me Angel. Please, even if you don’t try and woo her, just try and talk to her. Get her to open up."

"Sure, I'll be there in two days, I need to finish some things up here first."

Xander hung the phone up and turned to his girlfriend.
"So is he going to do it?" Anya asked impatiently.

"You know he is, Angel wouldn’t sit around and let Willow self destruct. Buffy could never see what was happening between those two after he got back from hell. Either she didn't see it or she didn't want to, I don’t know. But what I do know is they both care for each other more than they both want to admit it."

"I totally agree."
 

Part two
Two days later

Willow walked down the streets of Sunnydale for the first time in her life looking for trouble. Ever since Tara died she felt lost and didn't know what do in life. Xander tried to talk to her, but what did he know about the pain she was going through. Giles sort of understood but he left with Buffy the first chance he could get.

"Whats a cute little girl like you doing out by herself?" A male voice asked behind her.

"Looking for someone like yourself." She replied venom in her voice.

"And what do you want with someone like me?"

"To beat you senseless, and then if I feel like it kill you." Willow turned around eyes black and grabbed him. "I know what you are, I fight your kind everyday and I'm getting sick of it. Losing people I care about to the evil of the world like yourself. Because of demons like you I can never be happy and on account of not being able to kill you all, you'll just have to do!"

Willow threw the vampire to the ground, liking the fear she saw in his eyes. She walked next to him pulling out a ceremonial knife holding it firmly in her right hand. Willow bent down and drew the knife over his ridged face drawing blood as she went.

"Willow what are you doing?!" Someone called from behind.

Willow turned sharply and shocked the them before realizing who it was.

"Angel?" She shouted, eyes returning to normal. She ran over to his still body and tried to wake him. Forgetting about the vampire lying on the ground behind her. As soon as she was distracted the vampire jumped up and grabbed her from behind.

"Forget about me so soon? You should have finished me when you had the chance. Now you die and I'll think about turnin_"

The vampire turned to dust behind Willow causing her to fall into Angel.

"What did you think you were doing?" Angel asked in a firm voice.

"Leave me alone, I just want to be alone." She started to cry, "Just go away Angel, you can't help me."

"Please Willow, let me try."

"And then what? You can't possibly help me, I'm gone Angel let me go." Willow screamed her tears flowing freely.

"I can't let this happen to you Willow, don’t let the light die. I couldn’t handle it, not you." Angel started to weep, "Don’t do this, I need you more than I can handle."

"You're stronger than me Angel, you'll move on."

"Not from you, I'm sorry I left without saying goodbye, and I'm sorry I didn't tell you the truth about how I felt. I know how it feels to lose someone you love and believe me it will hurt less as time goes on. I can help you through it Willow just let me."

Willow started to struggle in his arms trying to free herself from his grip. She tried to chant a spell but her concentration was gone. "Stop fighting, I will not let you turn into something you're not."

"How do you know I'm not already there?"

"Because of your tears, and because you can still feel. I see light in you Willow and it shines brighter than the sun. I rather spend one day in your light than a year in the sun. You're the reason why I came back, I… I-"

"You what?"

"Come with me back to my hotel, we can talk there. I promise I'll let you go if we don’t come to some sort of compromise."

"Okay."

The walk to the hotel was very difficult for Angel. Willow kept trying to run off, and Angel was still dizzy from the shock Willow gave him. When they finally arrived Angel ordered Willow some food and tried to get her to sit down.

"So what did you want to tell me? Willow demanded.

"Before I tell you, I need to know what happened to Tara."

"Glory brain sucked her and when Glory died she died too."

"It's not your fault what happened-"

"Yes it is, Glory would have never gotten to her if I didn't walk away from Tara after that stupid fight."

"What were you fighting about?"

"She said I scared her, that my powers were growing too fast."

Willow sat down next to Angel in the couch and moved close to him. "I got mad and we started to argue and she said something about me experimenting with her. I told her to drop it and she didn't want to so I left and she went to that stupid fair alone."

"That wasn’t your fault, you had a fight and what if she did the same to you? Glory could have won and we wouldn’t be talking right now. Every war has casualties and if anything she died helping you fight the good fight."

"Thanks Angel, so in a way she died helping save the world."

"And helping save you."

"So she's a hero?"

"A really wonderful hero who deserves a statue and a holiday."

"What were you going to tell me?"

"I don’t think its time for that now. Maybe later."

"How come everyone I fall in love with leaves me?"

"Because they don’t know how special you are."

"Well I'm through with it all, no more love for me. It kicks me in the ass just as I get comfortable with it."

"I wish you would reconsider that. Love doesn’t always kick you in the ass. What about the love you feel for your friends? That doesn’t kick you when you're down or else you wouldn’t be here right now."

"Well that’s a different kind of love. I was talking about the hot sweaty love that makes you dizzy. No more of that, it may seem right, but for me its wrong."

A few minutes later room service arrived with Willows food. They spent the rest of the night talking about their lives until Willow drifted off to sleep.
 

Part three

The next morning Willow went home to change her clothes after she finished she went back to the hotel and stayed with Angel until night came. They then walked to Xander's place, who was surprised when he saw Willow smiling.

"What did you do?" Xander questioned Angel playfully at the sight of his smiling friend.

"We talked… a lot. She was a little reluctant at first but I bribed her with a hamburger." He replied leaving out some of the night's events much to Willow's relief.

"So are you two up for the Bronze?" Anya asked.

"Sure, I haven't been out in a while and I think I need some fun." Willow answered surprising everyone including Angel.

"So a-bronzing we will go. So Angel… can I drive?" Xander said starting to beg.

"Sure why not." Angel said not too thrilled.

An hour later Xander, Anya, Willow and Angel sat around a table at the Bronze laughing, talking and a little drunk.

"So Anya you wanna dance?" Xander asked his girlfriend who was giving curious stares to Angel.

"Sure honey, lets bust a move." Anya grabbed Xanders hand leading him out to the dance floor.

After a few minutes of silence Willow took Angels hand and reluctantly walked to the dance floor.

"What is this for?" Angel asked.

"Let's just dance." Willow said looking away.

"Willow are you alright, if you want I can take you home."

"I'm fine, I just wanted to dance. I haven't had any fun in the past three months."

"Three months? Maybe tomorrow we can go see a movie?" Angel suggested.

"If I didn't know you any better I would think you were asking me out on a date."

"What if I was?"

"I would say I don’t need your pity." Willow stopped dancing her eyes glowing with anger.

"Don’t do this Willow, I don’t pity you. I just want to spend some time with you, make you feel better." Angel grabbed her arms and pulled her close to him as the song changed to something slow.

/I'm afraid I'm starting to feel
What I said I would not do
The last time really hurt me/

Willow started to move to the beat of the music liking the way Angel's arms felt surrounding her.

/I'm scared to fall in love
Afraid to love so fast
Cause everytime I fall in love
It seems to never last/

/But everytime your love is near
And everytime I'm filled with fear
Cause everytime I see your face
My heart does do begin to race everytime/

Angel looked down at the woman in his arms thinking about what he should do about his feelings. It scared him when he found her in the park with that vampire. She was doing something that made his demon rejoice inside him. The only other time that had happened was when her vampire self was there. He didn't want to let her go and at that moment he decided that he would take Xander up on his offer.

/One half wants me to go
Other half wants me to stay
I just get so all confused/

/I'm scared to fall in love
Afraid to love so fast
Cause everytime I fall in love
It seems to never last/

For the first time in weeks Willow felt at peace. She didn't know what Angel was doing to make her feel this way but she liked it. A lot more than she felt she was supposed to.

/But everytime your love is near
And everytime I'm filled with fear
Cause everytime I see your face
My heart does do begin to race everytime/

Willow looked up at Angels catching him eyes. Her penetrating gaze distracted Angel from his thoughts and all he could do was lean down and place a kiss on her lips.

/Everytime your love is near
And everytime I'm filled with fear
Could it be that this will be the one that lasts
The fear does start to erase everytime
Oh could it be that this will be the one that lasts
For all my times
For all my times/

As the music stopped Angel let go of Willow and turned away from her, scared of what he would see in her eyes. He didn't want to make Willow feel like he was taking advantage of her.

"Angel whats wrong?" Willow asked in a small voice.

"I'm sorry, I wasn’t thinking."

"Sorry about what, kissing me? Was it really so horrible?" Willow turned and ran for the entrance starting to weep.

On the other side of the club two people smiled at each other in acknowledgement to what was happening between their two friends.
 

Part four

Angel ran after Willow catching her near the graveyard. He pulled her to him and started to kiss her with everything he was, showing her exactly how he felt about her. Angel let her go leaving her panting, before she jumped up kissing him back. They quickly made their way back to Willows house stopping at the door.

"If you let me in Willow I…" He trailed off.

"You will do nothing, we will do something and whatever happens we will deal with tomorrow."

The next morning after waking up early Xander called his best friend anxious to find out what happened after she left the club. After getting no answer Xander grabbed his jacket and pulled Anya all the way down to her house. Xander knocked on the door once and getting impatient he picked up the spare key from behind the light and opened the door.

"Xander I don’t think we should do this." Anya protested from behind him.

"I changed my mind, I don’t want deadboy with my best friend. He'll just hurt her like everyone else. Look what he did to Buffy."

Xander ran up the stairs to Willows room and opened the door, he saw Willow inside curled up next to Angel sleeping, fully clothed. He let out a sigh if relief and turned around closing the door behind him. Xander walked down the stairs and sat down on the couch.

"What did you see? Were they naked?" Anya asked.

"No… they were just sleep. She looked so happy; I couldn’t do that to her not after all she's been through. Even Angel looked peaceful in her arms. What was I thinking going up there like that?"

"You were scared you best friend would get hurt again. There's nothing wrong with that honey. Now you finally realize they are meant to be together. You don’t have the knowledge of what happened in that other dimension like I do."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well, the vamp Willow had Angel locked up in a cage and used him for her sexual gratification. Now she might have been a strong vampire but he would have been able to break free at some point and didn't. Different dimensions have one thing in common, those who are meant to be together will be together no matter what the change. You two were just partners in crime, no real connection. Not to mention the fact that she was the one who broke Angel free from hell. But she doesn’t even know that."

"What? How wouldn’t she know she freed him from hell?"

"She made a wish to the powers, they took pity on her and granted it. They knew they were meant to be, not even Buffy wished for that. All she wanted was to have a normal life, everything she wanted was selfish. Willow always considers others before she acts."

"That’s what she always does, its the Willow thing. I'm glad they are finding each other…you want to do something nice like cook them breakfast or something?"

"You sure you didn't wake them?"

"Didn't even flinch."

"Okay, I'll go pick up the blood because I don’t really know how to cook."

Anya left the house for Willy's as Xander raided the refrigerator looking for food. Upstairs Angel pulled Willow closer the happiest he'd been in his life.
 

Part Five

Willow awoke to the smell of pancakes and sausage. She shifted in the bed wondering who was cooking when she felt Angel next to her.

"Morning beautiful…"Angel declared looking into her eyes.

"Who's cooking?" Willow asked sleepily.

"Xander and Anya."

"When did they get here?"

"Two hours ago, Xander came by to check up on you and decided to cook breakfast in a peace offering."

"Have I really been that bad to them?"

"Well he called me so how bad do you think you were?"

"Maybe I should go down and help him?"

"Lets go then, I'm sure they're wondering where we are."

Angel sat up in the bed pulling Willow over to the side with him. He gave her a quick kiss in the lips before standing up and heading down the stairs. Willow sat on the bed for a little longer trying to suppress the guilt she felt about being with Angel. After hearing Xanders voice calling her down she pushed all her thoughts behind her and went down the stairs in search of food. Angel was in the kitchen taking to Xander and Anya was sitting on the couch giving Willow a curious stare.

"So Willow what happened last night after you tow bailed out of the club?" Anya requested hoping they did something more.

"We came back her and talked… a lot."

"Did any of that talking require a bed?"

"Some of it did, but that was when I got sleepy and he carried me up there."

"Well did you two do anything, I saw the kiss at the Bronze."

"Well we kissed after that in the cemetery and back here and this morning. Anya do you think this is wrong? I mean Angel and me, do you think we should be together?"

"Willow, don’t think that. I know you're thinking about Buffy in that over imaginative brain of yours. Stop it! Because you know and I know she wouldn’t be thinking of you. I truly believe you and Angel are supposed to be together, think about the time Buffy had ran away…. All Buffy thought about was herself, unlike you who kept making wishes to bring Angel back from hell and make everything better."

"How do you know about that?"

"I was a vengeance demon, I listened to every woman who was hurting because of a guy. You were hurting because of Angel, and Buffy was hurting because things didn't go her way."

"You know Anya despite your strangeness you are a really good friend. You really put things in perspective for me, thank you."

"You think of me as a friend? No one here has ever said that to me thank you Willow." Anya pulled Willow into a hug; happy she had a friend.

Back in the kitchen Xander and Angel were having a conversation of their own. But this one required throwing food at each other.

"Would you stop, there will be none left for the girls." Xander pleaded as Angel tossed another pancake at him.

"You shouldn’t have started, besides I'm starting to like this."

"Look how about we call a truce until we get to the table then we can join forces and get Anya and Willow."

"I think I'm starting to like the way you think Harris." Angel stuck out his hand to Xander and after shaking it couldn’t help but throw another pancake at him.

"That was unfair man." Xander laughed. A few minutes later the breakfast was done and after Xander secured the drapes Angel walked into the dining room calling Willow and Anya as they set the table.

"Whats up with the looks?" Anya asked as she sat down next to her boyfriend.

"Nothing, we're just happy to be in the company of such beauty and lucky to have them to ourselves." Angel said looking at Willow.

"What Angel said." Xander added.

"This is so perfect and I just want to add that I am in love with you Xander and I want to spend the rest of my life leaning how much it can grow." Anya got out of her seat and kneeled down on one knee. "I want to marry you Xander, before anything else happens to us. I want to commit myself to you completely. Will you marry me?" Anya asked shaking slightly.

"I think I was supposed to ask you that." Xander reached into his pocket, drawing out a small box. "But I guess you beat me to it. I love you and I want to be with you as well, forever until we die. Yes I will marry you Anya." Xander opened up the box revealing a small gold ring with a diamond in the center.

"I know it's not a lot but it was all I could afford. I got it engraved though." Xander pulled it out of the box, tilting it a little showing her the words 'I am yours forever, Xander'. Anya pulled him into a hug kissing him as she whispered loving words into his ear. Willow and Angel sat back at the table holding each other's hands smiling. They all sat in a comfortable silence until Xander pulled back from Anya.

"I think we should celebrate, and not at the Bronze this is much more special. How about Chez whatever, that restaurant down from the Bronze?" Xander suggested, rising to his feet.

"Sounds great, we can all get dressed up and stroll down the streets of Sunnydale making everyone jealous." Willow agreed.

"Um guys… I don’t have a dress. I had one for the dance but that was two years ago. I'm sorry but I can't go." Anya said somber.

Angel reached into his pocket and pulled out his credit card. "Here, I know Cordy is going to be mad at me, but go get whatever you need. Shoes, make-up, and take Willow with you to get her something, and you both can look for things for the wedding."

Anya took his card and dragged Willow out the house leaving Xander and Angel alone to plan for the evening.

"So what are you going to wear Angel, because if I'm not mistaken you didn't pack a suit." Xander said turning to the vampire.

"Contrary to popular belief I am not as broke as people believe. I have money… lots of it, but I don’t touch it because of how I acquired it. However I have I feeling in the next few months I will be paying for two of the most weirdest people in the world to get married."

"We're friends huh?"

"I think so, who woulda thought."

"Not as bad as I would have imagined, in fact I think I even like you. So… how are we going to get a table?"

"Just leave it to me. Oh and Xander?" Angel asked.

"Yeah?"

"You don’t have a suit either, do you?"

"No."

"Bring me the yellow pages."

"Why?"

"How do you think I got a suit for the dance, I ordered out. They'll come and fit us from here."

"Yep that like thing is growing, Willow has finally got herself a winner."

"I heard what you and Anya talked about this morning." Angel said changing the subject.

"You're not mad at me are you?"

"No, I'm actually glad you came. It cleared a lot of things up for me, like why I came back from hell. There is this scroll that has all of these prophecies about me actually and it said something about a wish made from innocence that will free the soldier. I would have never guessed that it was Willow who did it. It also said something about me freeing the innocence from hurt. Wesley thought it was about the people I save, I know now it was Willow they were referring to."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because after fighting many battles, my reward will be humanity. I don’t want you to tell Willow, I'll do that myself, but I wanted you to know because if our past. I don’t want you thinking that I'm going to turn back to the dark side or that I'm am going to hurt her in any way."

"What about Buffy?"

"I don’t love Buffy, I don’t think I've ever loved her. But what I know is that last night when I held Willow in my arms as she fell asleep… I felt something I've never felt before. It was more than love, it was an expectance. It was like she invited me into her soul not caring who I am or what I am."

"I know what you're talking about, I feel it everyday I'm with Anya. I don’t think you could say something like that and not actually experience it."
 

Part Six

Willow and Anya made it back right before sundown carrying various bags with them inside the house.

"So what have you two been doing all day?" Anya asked with a wide smile on her face.

"Not as much as you two." Xander teased trying to look into her bag.

Angel walked up to Willow and placed a small kiss on her cheek. "Well our reservations are at eight so that means you have two and a half hours to get dressed. Xander and I are heading out to get our suits we will be back before then."

Willow pulled Angel to her. "What is up with you two? You're like all buddy, buddy with each other."

"We talked…" Angel started.

"And talked…" Xander joined in.

"And talked…" Angel walked next to Xander and out an arm on his shoulder.

"And finally we came to an agreement that worked…"

"And now we are leaving. See you two in a hour."

The two men made their way out of the door and left.

"That was weird but nice." Anya muttered.

"I totally agree, lets get dressed."

Willow picked up her bags and set them on the coffee table. She started to pull out different clothing articles stopping at the pink lace bra and panty set she picked up.

"I don’t know if I can do this." She said dropping them back in the bag.

"Look we've talked about this, you do what you want. Angel is not going to force you into anything."

"But I want to do it with him, what if he doesn’t want to do it with me."

"Trust me on this he wants to too. So pick your undies back up and put them on, with that hot dress and if he doesn’t want to, make him want to."

"Okay, so do you need help with anything?"

"Maybe a little, I have this little problem… see I thought women were supposed to bleed once a month and that hasn’t happened to me in two months."

Willows mouth dropped to the floor, "Two months? Anya I think you're pregnant, I'm not sure because when I was going out with Oz that happened once. Do you and Xander use a condom?"

"Not anymore, I told him they cost too much and if we timed it correctly we wouldn’t need one."

"And you went for that! Anya we need a pregnancy test… come by tomorrow at one, we can have a private lunch. No Xander and no Angel, and after we find out we can tell them. I know Xander and if he finds out he'll be thrilled but I don’t want him to be hurt if it’s a false alarm."

"Yea, so do you think I shouldn’t tell him until we know for sure?"

"Just until tomorrow and then we'll know. Let's finish getting dressed, we don’t want to look suspicious when the guys get back."

A few hours later the two couples walked into Chez Renee restaurant, famous for it's mixed cuisine, flaunting their new looks. Anya was outfitted in a strapless red dress with fringe hanging from the bottom, she had brought matching shoes and jewelry. Xander had on a simple dark grey suit with no tie and a white button down shirt. Willow was dressed in a black dress with spaghetti straps, the dress was not too tight but held to every curve of her body and the bottom came down in a slant to her left leg. Angel as always fitted out in a black suit with a black shirt.

"Wow this restaurant is better than I thought it would be!" Anya said sitting down at their table.

"Well you can thank Angel for that, he pulled some strings and got us in." Xander spoke with a huge grin on his face.

"How did you get us in anyway?" Willow asked.

"The owner owed me a favor, he's one of the things that go bump in the night." Angel explained.

"What do you mean by that?" Anya questioned.

"Just don’t ask for the special menu." Angel explained.

The waitress came to the table and handed everyone a menu except for Angel who asked for a 'special' menu. "My name is Christie and I will be your server this evening."

"I think I'll have the Uaineoil faoi chrusta." Xander asked stuttering with some of the words.

"Um, Hon do you even know what you ordered?" Anya questioned.

"I know its some sort of meat, other than that it sounds good."

"It’s an Irish lamb dish." Angel answered. "My Mother used to make it for me."

"Really was it good?" Willow asked.

Angel nodded.

"I think I'll have that with him." She told the waitress.

"I'll just have the roasted chicken with brown rice." Anya said.

"And I'll have a rare steak with herb crusted potatoes, a bottle of your finest Chardonnay and a glass of AB."

The waitress collected all of the menus and left the table with a quiet nod.

"Do any of you notice none of us ordered any french food." Xander pointed out.

"I think the potatoes were french." Angel added.

"So the potatoes came from France?"

"Shut up Xander."

"Make me deadboy."

"You know it wouldn’t be weird if they really meant their insults." Anya said.

"You two are making me jealous." Willow muttered.

"I'm sorry baby, I promise to make you the center of my attention." Angel reached his hand out to hers and squeezed it gently.

"Now you two are making me sick." Xander added.

"You should be kissing up to your future wife not insulting mine." Angel threatened.

"Angel did you just call me your future wife?" Willow asked.

"Yeah, I think I did. It was a reflex reaction."

"So why don’t you just ask me instead of beating around the bush?"

"I didn't think you were ready for that yet."

"Angel I know I haven't said it yet but I love you. We've known each other for five years now, and if you love me like I love you, just ask me."

"I don’t have a ring."

"You don’t need a ring."

"Willow I love you and as you already know I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Before you say anything about that last comment let me tell you that eventually I will have my humanity restored and I want you there with me. To have my children and grow old with. Even though I thought I would ask you this somewhere in a park with a ring, now is just as perfect time as any." Angel got out of his chair and bent down on one knee next to his love.

"Willow Rosenberg will you marry me?"

"Yes Angel I will." Angel hugged Willow and kissed her on the lips getting applause from the people around them.

"Looks like he has two weddings to pay for."

After the food was ate and the wine drank the two engaged couples left the restaurant happier that they had been in their lives. They walked through the streets of Sunnydale talking about the future and what it would bring. Somewhere along the way Angel asked Willow to move to Los Angeles with him. She immediately agreed causing Xander and Anya to think about leaving Sunnydale. None of them wanted to be separated, in a short period of time they had become the close group of friends they had always wanted to be. They all decided to have a double wedding in August after Buffy, Giles and Dawn got back from their trip to England. They also came up with a list of guests that included Lorne, Spike, Whistler and Willy to name a few. With all that was going on Willow and Xander decided to tell their inattentive parents about their secret lives.

The months went by quickly as the couples got closer and the wedding date got closer. Anya discovered she was in fact pregnant and Xander took the news perfectly, he couldn’t wait to see his child born. Despite the many trips Angel had to make back to L.A. everything in Sunnydale remained quiet. Even with the arrival of Spike back in Sunnydale nothing came between Willow and Angel.
 

Part Seven

Finally the day had come when Buffy was due back in Sunnydale. Willow was anxious to say the least; Angel had trouble keeping her from running to the airport to confess everything to Buffy right then. Instead he wanted to wait after everyone gathered at Giles's house to discuss how everyone's summer had went.

Some time later Giles called Willow and asked her over his apartment. She didn't tell Giles anything about Angel being in town, they wanted to keep it a secret until the very end. After sunset Angel drove them over to his house. They were greeted at the door by Buffy who was surprised to see Angel there. Willow breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that Xander and Anya were already there.

"So Angel what are you doing here?" Buffy asked trying to figure out what was going on. She had noticed how agitated Willow was and she felt concern for her friend.

"Before you answer that Angel I just want to congratulate Xander and Anya in their upcoming wedding and child." Giles added unable to control his happiness.

"You two are getting married! Can I touch your stomach? Oh my gosh can I be a bridesmaid?" Dawn asked running up to them.

"Sure, and so can Buffy… um Willow don’t you have something to say?" Anya said trying to move things along.

"Yeah… see this summer started off really hard for me, until a friend came by to help out." Willow started to pace. "Then things started to happen and we got closer and now I'm getting married too." Willow said a little too quickly for most of the people in the room, two of which who shook their heads. Unfortunately one person did hear it and caught on.

"Angel you didn't tell me why you were here." Buffy said in a really low voice.

"Buffy I'm sorry but…" Angel started.

"Sorry for what? You're getting married to my best friend! What about me Angel? Did you ever love me?"

"Buffy for a time I did, and I still love you as a friend. I know you can't imagine how long I've loved Willow, that one of the main reasons I left was because of her. I don’t want to hurt you and I know by telling you this I am; however we can't keep this a secret… Willow won't marry me unless she has your blessing."

Buffy turned to Willow with tears in her eyes. "Willow you can't do that, I know its going to take a while for me to get used to it, but I want you to be happy. I saw everything you know, the quick glances towards each other and the smiles he used to give you when he never smiled at me. I wasn’t stupid, just in denial… I wanted him to look at me that way again. Back then I wanted to be happy and I thought if I held on long enough Angel would come around. Maybe if I let go this wouldn’t hurt so much." Buffy started to cry Willow walked to Buffy and gave her a warm embrace trying to soothe her.

"You have my blessing Willow, and promise me you'll be happy. I get so caught up in myself that I forget about everyone else. You've been through so much and if I had opened my eyes sooner you wouldn’t have had to deal with it. And as long as I am maid of honor I won't kill you." Buffy started to smile again as the whole room breathed a sigh of relief.

"Of course you can be my maid of honor, thankyou Buffy."

"No problem, oh I forgot I found some things while I was in England."

"Yeah like Adrian." Dawn muttered under her breath.

"Shut up. Anyway it's about you Angel, there is this scroll that supposedly exists that tells of this warrior. The council thinks it's about you and they're in a fret looking for it. I figured we could look for it too and if we find it before the council does we'll have this cool advantage over them."

"I know what you're talking about Buffy, because I have the scroll."

"How did you come into possession of it Angel?" Giles asked stepping forward.

"Wolfram and Hart had it and I took it."

"Who are Wolfram and Hart?" Giles inquired.

"A law firm that caters to evil, I've been fighting with them since I moved to LA. They're the ones who hired Faith to kill me. And they're the ones who've been ruining my vacation." Angel explained.

Buffy walked over to the couch and sat down. "So what does the scroll say?"

"Well basically it tells about all of the wars and demons I have to fight before I regain humanity. It told me the real reason I was freed from hell and it led me back to Willow."

"What was the real reason you were freed from hell." Buffy asked.

"Because an innocent made a selfless wish not from greed or self satisfaction." Angel turned to his fiancé as he spoke the last words. "The powers above took sympathy on her and granted the wish."

"I freed you from hell?" Willow asked as she came to a realization.

"Yeah it seems so, I wouldn’t have it any other way. I love you and I want to be with you… my savior."

Suddenly there was a knock at the door, as Giles opened it he was surprised to see Willows mother standing behind it.

"Mrs. Rosenberg what a surprise." Giles stepped back from the door and invited her in.

"Do you know what a surprise it was for me to hear about what you all have been doing all this time. I remember my daughter started to mess with witchcraft but this is ridiculous." She said

"Excuse me, but what are you talking about?" Giles asked confused.

"Imagine my surprise this afternoon when I came home to find out my daughter was engaged. During our conversation she told me about the things you all do, including her practicing witchcraft and the vampires. I came here to tell Willow that I forbid her to have any contact with any of you including that." Sheila pointed to Angel. "Do any of you have a clue how much work it took for me to get rid of every reference to magick in my house and keep you safe? I broke off all contact with my family, I married outside of the tribe, I gave up my sons, and my first husband… your real father Willow."

"What are you talking about Mother, you're not making any sense." Willow said walking up to her.

Willow's mother closed her eyes and took a deep breath, this time when she spoke it was with an accent none of them could place. "We come from a line of sorcerers, very powerful ones who rule an ancient kingdom in a different realm. When we had to leave it was because the kingdom was being attacked by an evil called the Truat; none of us had ever had a problem with them before. We were always the dominant ones on our world but they were just as strong and smart as our people, and after many centuries of war we were at a stalemate. Both sides were forced into a truce. It was your father Melan found out they were to attack the kingdom and kill the royal families in an attempt to take control. He decided without me to send you away from there because he couldn’t bear the thought of losing his only daughter.

"The man you know as your father is really your cousin Ralet, he came to protect us from whatever danger we might encounter in our new world. I only tell you this because when you use your powers our enemy can trace us. I know you like the power you have Willow and trust me when I say they’ll only get stronger. But it's too much of a risk for you to use them. Shortly after we left I called back home and found out that the evil had won. They are always looking for us because at any time one of us can go back and reclaim the throne. Do you understand?"

"Mother what I do understand is that you've lied to me my whole life about who and what I am. I will never leave my friends and I would never give up Angel for you. If I was in so much danger, why were you never around? Why were you always gone when I needed you? I will never stop using my powers nor do I want to go back 'home' and rule anything. I am happy with what I have become and if they really want to come kill me then let them come. You have no idea the things I have seen or killed these past five years but if we," Willow gestured around the room, "can stop the destruction of the world more than once than I say bring it on. I'm not some little weakling who can't take care of herself."

"You have no idea what you are saying, I left because I didn't want you to look at me and know something was wrong. I didn't want you to bond with a man who is less than you and is not your father. Most importantly I didn't want you hurt, moreover if you continue what you are doing you shall be hurt and there is nothing I can do then. Not when I am so close to taking my throne back."

"This is all about you going back and reclaiming something that is gone. Mother I don’t want that, all I want is to marry Angel. Is it too much for you to accept just one thing that I want? How can you say that you wanted to protect me and you never trusted me to know who I really am? Is my real name even Willow? Who am I?" Willow started to cry trying to ask her mother all the questions that were burning inside of her head. She didn't know who she was at that moment and felt lost trying to find it out.

"Your real name is Reyla Pelu firstborn princess of Actii. Your father named you Reyla because in our ancient language it means innocence and that’s what he said he saw the first time he laid eyes on you. You were only three years old when we left so who you really are is what I see in front of me. My real name is Awalee Pelu; I am Queen because I was the first wife. All of my children are the heirs to the throne; the rest of his children are only suitable for high positions in the court. I don’t agree with that but law is law. I ruled with your father for over two hundred years before anyone came to challenge our power.  Shortly after we left your brother Jurel contacted us and told me the Truat succeeded in their conquest and your father with all of our people were imprisoned and all of the remaining heirs were put to death. So you and I are the only ones left to free our people. There is a council in our world that is stronger than both the Truat and the Actii. If we can get through to them we can plead our case and prove we are who we say we are we can free our people. The only thing I lied about to you is where you came from now you know. Now I don’t expect you to want anything else from me. I think I should leave now." Awalee turned to leave and Willow jumped in front of her.

"I want you to be there when I get married, I want you to be my mother. I just don’t understand what is going on right now and it will take me awhile but I still love you. Please don’t leave like this, I still need you."

"Willow even though I don’t agree with you marrying someone so beneath you, I'll be there. Just think about what I said, if you're as strong as you say you are I will need your help. Even if you don’t want to rule with me, I need to free my people."

Willow looked around the room at her friends and thought long about what she should do. She didn't want to leave her life but she also wanted to help free the people in Actii. "I don’t know what I should do right now Mom, I need some time to think. You can't expect me to just pack up and leave my friends behind."

"They can come if they want, we will probably need their help. I can feel the power coming from Buffy, Mr. Giles and your significant other."

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