E-MAIL: wintersrain2000@hotmail.com
DISCLAIMER: They belong to Joss and Co.
DEDICATION: To Patrícia, and everyone who sent me feedback on 'Moment Lost' and ’Moment Gained’.
DISTRIBUTION: From Dusk Til' Dawn; INERTIA; Fire & Ice fic. Anyone else,  just ask.
KEY COUPLE: Willow/Angel
RATING: PG (just to be safe)
SUMMARY: What happens now when revenge is soon at hand?
NOTE: This is the sequel to 'Moment Gained'. It picks up immediately where it ended so you might want to read that one  to understand this.
AUTHORS NOTE: See what you get when you send me feedback.. Sorry that it  took so long. I have too many stories going on at once, so it will take awhile before the next part is written.

Feedback is very wanted. It makes me forget that I have other stories which  I should write first.
 

<> represents thoughts
-- feelings and stuff
 
 

part 1

Pain. That was the one thing Willows mind was registering. Her entire
body  hurt. And with good reason. Her throat hurt and she was soar all over.
There were people in her room.

”Miss Rosenburg. How are you feeling?”

Someone was talking to her. She couldn’t quite see who it was, her eyes
hurt, but the voice sounded friendly. But still unfamiliar.

”You’re in the hospital. You were attacked” the voice was still
speaking.

”H-ho… -cough- How long ha… -cough- have I been here?” Willow said
between coughs. Dear Lord her throat hurt. But she needed to know.

”You have been here 4 weeks. Your head trauma caused a coma.”

Four weeks! She had been in a coma for four weeks! They must be… Oh my
God!

”Angel? Where is he?” she asked in an alarmed voice.

”Calm down Willow. May I call you Willow? I’ll ask nurse  Blair to call
him.   I’m dr Lowell and I just need to do some test before you can go back
to rest.”

”Oh… Okay.” She answered relieved. Angel was alright. And he was coming
here.

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

”Hello?”

”Mr Angel?”

”Yes, this is he.”

”Hello. This is Emma Blair. A nurse from LA General.”

”Yes.” <something is wrong. Oh god no.>

”Yes, I was asked to call you about Willow Rosenburg. Good news. She
just  woke up and asked to see you.”

”What? She’s awake?” <could it be?>

”Yes. And she has asked to see you. They are doing some tests but you
can come here now.”

”How is she? Is everything alright?” <Yes! Yes! Yes! Thank you! She’s
awake!>

”As far as I can tell, she’s just fine.”

”Thank you. I’ll be there right away.”

”You’re welcome. Goodbye.”

”’Bye.”
-click-

”Thank you!” he shouted to the empty room.  Then he grabbed his jacket
and walked to the elevator. He was going to see Willow. And she would be
able to talk back to him.

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

Angel rushed to the hospital. It took him about ten minutes to get
there.

”Willow Rosenburgs room please.” He asked the nurse at the reception.

”Visiting hours are over sir.”

”I know. I was just called and told that she had woken up. She’s been
in a coma.” He said anxiously. He didn’t have time for this. Maybe it had
all been a dream.

”Mr Angel?” at his nod she continued ”Oh yes, they need to see you
upstairs. Miss Rosenburg is no longer in the ICU, she has been moved to room 321.
That’s on the third floor.”

”Thank you.” He said sending a smile to the nurse and ran to the
elevators.

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

When he had stepped out of the elevator he went to search for room nr
321. But a nurse found him before he found it.

”Mr Angel?” Emma Blair asked, trying to catch his attention.

”Yes Emma. Can you tell me where room 321 is?”

”Willow is fine. The doctor wanted to talk with you before you went in.
I know you’re anxious to see her but it’ll only take a minute.” She said
and smiled at him.

Angel liked Emma. She was a kind person and had helped him, in her own
way of understanding, when he had broken down in Willows room once. She had
listened to him when he told her that he could not live without Willow
and how he wasn’t going to make it if she didn’t wake up.

”Sure, I can wait a moment longer I guess.” He said and returned her
smile with one of his own.

”Good. Wait here and Dr Lowell will be here in a minute.” She was
pointing at some chairs.

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

Angel listened as the doctor told him about Willows situation. She was
to stay at the hospital for another week, then she could be moved, but as
near as possible. Angel had told the doctor that Willow could move in with
him, he could be with her all the time. The doctor had agreed and said that
they could discuss details later. Angel was glad when the discussion was
over and he was given permission to go to Willow.

When he came to her door he halted. What if she didn’t love him? If she
had mistaken him for someone else, perhaps Sam? She had told him that it as
true, but his usual uncertainty was back. He sighed and grabbed the
door handel. There was no other way to find out but to ask.

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

Willow turned her head towards the door when she heard it open. <Please
no more tests.> The personnel of the hospital had come and gone doing one
test after the other. She was pleasantly surprised when she saw who it was.
Angel.

”Hi.” She said.

”Hi,” he answered ”you’re awake.”

”Yes I’m  awake. After four long weeks…” She did not have time to
continue as a 240+ vampire was suddenly hugging her. Not tightly but as tightly
as possible without her getting hurt. And he was crying too. She put her
arms around him and hugged back. The tears coming to her eyes also.

He pulled away from her or a moment. His red tears were falling at a
rapid pace as he looked straight in to her green eyes.. ”I love you Little
One. Have I told you that lately?”

”I love you too.” She told him as she steadily gazed back into his
fathomless brown eyes. ”I love you too…” and they met in a sweet kiss.

Part 2

<Everything has to be perfect. But what if she doesn’t want to live
here? I
mean stay. Why am I talking about her moving in here, I don’t know if
she
wants that. Please let her  want that.>
Cordelia sat and watched as Angel paced around the room Moving a thing
or
two to one place only to move it back the next minute. This had been
going
on for the last hour, and she was getting very tired. And her head was
starting to ache. <Just great, now I’m geeting a head ache from all his
pacing.>

”Angel!”

Cordelia'ssharp tone brought a stop to Angels pacing. He turned and
cringed
when he saw the irritated stare he was receiving. She was feisty that
receptionist of his.

”Yes?” He asked causiasly.

”Stop pacing. You’re giving me a head ache. And don’t you look at me
like
that. I thought we agreed that you weren’t going to brood while Willow
was
here.” At the look he sent her now she quickly added: ”I know she’s not
here
yet, but you obviously need the training. Stop worrying, she’s going to
love
the place, why I can’t understand  seeing as it looks as it does, but
she
will.”

Angel smiled at the typical Cordelia ’fashion queen’ statement. She had
changed over the years, but some things still remained.

”I know you’re anxious for the cal from the hospital, but STOP PACING!
It
isn’t helping and I swear to God I’ll tell her everything you’ve done
today
if you don’t stop. My head hurts.”

”I’m sorry Delia. I’m just so…” she cut him of before he could finish.

”…typically brooding? Hm? I’m sure that was the word you were looking
for.
Ugh, I should have gone with Doyle. Any case must be better than this.”
Although her tone was serious, Angel could see the smile that was
threatening to break through.

He was just about to answer her when the phone rang.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

PART 3

Two weeks had passed since Willow had moved in with Angel. Nothing
special
had happened. The days would pass in a similar matter every day: Willow
would wake up early from a nightmare, take a shower and go read in the
living room until Angel got up, showered and came to have breakfast
with
her. Then they would spend the day in the office, working on whatever
case
was under the works. Both Cordelia and Doyle would try to get Willow to
talk
about her nightmares during some part of the day, which she would
ignore and
go downstairs to mope. Later she would come up again and continue as if
nothing had happened, and would work until the day was over and go to
bed
only to wake up during the night from her dreams. And it was driving
Angel
insane. Every night he would wake up to her crying, go to stand outside
her
door and decide not to enter, only to be there an hour later
contemplating
the same thing. During the days when she would go downstairs and do
whatever
she did, he would listen to Cordelia scold him for not doing anything
about
Willows condition. He had given up trying to explain the situation to
her
after the first four days of scolding. And now he was once again
listening
to her yell at him about it, the typical Monday afternoon.

”…and you still haven’t done anything! I can’t believe that you are so
unse…”

”Princess, I think that’s enough. I think he got the point sometime
last
week.” Doyle said from where he was standing by the door to Angels
office..

Cordelia turned to him and gave him an angry stare. Angel and Doyle
liked to
call it ’the look’, something to avoid at all cost. Because it usually
meant
trouble for him when they got home.

”Alright Cordelia, I get the point. I was planning on finding it out
today
anyway.”

”Good. So what are you still doing here? Why aren’t you down there
talking
to her?”

She has a point ya know. It’s not good to hold something like this to
yourself. To bottle it up, ya know.”

Doyle, Delia, don’t you think I know? I’m worried sick that something
is
wrong, which it obviously is.” ”We haven’t even kissed or said ’I love
you’
to each other since the hospital.” He muttered to himself, but realized
that
he must have said it louder than he thought. At least judging from
their
stunned looks. ”Not that I haven’t wanted to…” he quickly added. Angel
took
a deep breath and sighed. Things were not going as planned and he
needed to
go and find out what was wrong with the woman of his unlife.
”Why don’t you two go home early? I know you have special plans for
today.”

”Thanks man, me and the Mrs.’ Are going to go and… Well, ya know.”
Cordelia
slapped Doyle's arm playfully.

”When the Irishman here gets his mind out of the gutter, we’re going to
dinner. You and Willow are going to come by later for drinks right?”

”Well try to. I’ll give you a call.” Cordelia went to her desk and
started
to pack the things she needed. Doyle stayed in Angel’s office and both
men
watched as the former May Queen put her things away. Doyle cleared his
throat to bring the attention back to the conversation at hand.

”Angel, you do remember that your friends… well hers anyway, from
Sunnydale
will be here within the next two weeks right? And then it’ll probably
be to
late to do anything about…”

”Yes Doyle, I know. I’m  going to ask her about ’him’ today.” The word
him
was spoken with such hatred that Doyle almost felt sorry for the man,
almost.

”Try to hurry would ya? It’ll be to late to do anything when the Slayer
and
her pals get here . Protector of the human race and all.”

”I know Doyle, I know. Trust me, there is nothing I would like more
than to
find this guy and show him exactly why I was called the Scourge of
Europe.”

Doyle shuddered as he thought about the things he had heard the vampire
do
before the curse. He was pulled back from his memories by Cornelia's
angry
shout.
”Well then man, have a nice time trying. Me and the wife have somewhere
to
be.” He looked at Angel with a huge grin on his face and then he walked
out
of the office to where Cordelia was waiting. Angel listened to the two
of
them argue. It was the same playful banter that had been going on since
they
had met. He smiled to himself and then remembered that he to had
somewhere
to be.

++++++++++++++++++

Angel was standing by the stairs to his basement apartment. He could
both
hear and see Willow moving around even though she could not see him. At
the
moment she was in the kitchen. As he watched her walk around, making
coffee
and acting as if she didn’t have a care in the world, he once again
started
to think about the plans he had for the future, their future.

”Are you going to stand there all day, or do you plan on coming in
sometime
today?”

With a sheepish look on his face, Angel walked into the kitchen. Willow
was
sitting at the kitchen table a cup filled with what he assumed to be
coffee.
He sat down opposite her and once again started to marvel at her
beauty.

”You’re staring at me again.” She said, stating the obvious. His gaze
flew
back to her eyes and he saw her grin. She had caught him staring at her
quite many times during her stay.
”Did Delia and Doyle leave already?”

”Yeah, they had dinner plans… which reminds me, we’re invited for
drinks
later. So are we going?”

”I’d love to. Are we meeting them at a restaurant or…”

”I don’t know. I’m supposed to call one them when we decided.”

”ok. Why don’t you go call them now then? Before they get something
else to
do…” she grinned at the last part. He knew exactly what she was
thinking and
let out a small laugh.

”I think that is a good idea. But there is something more important I
need
to talk about first.” He was suddenly completely serious. Willow knew
what
he wanted to talk about, it was something she didn’t want to talk
about.

”Please Angel, not now. I’m… I’m not ready yet.”

Angel felt ashamed for being the reason Willow now had a look of pain
on her
beautiful face. But this needed to ne done. ”If not now, then when?”

”Tomorrow. I promise.”

He looked at her for a moment and found what he was looking for.
Tomorrow
she would tell him. Glad to finally have found some result he got up
and
went to call Doyle.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Later that evening…
 

”C’mon Willow, we’re going to be late.” Angel said as he knocked on her
bedroom door. They were to meet Cordelia and Doyle at a restaurant in
awhile.

”I’ll be there in a minute. I can’t seem to get my dress zipped.”

”Need some help?”

”Please.”

Angel opened the door and saw something beyond description. Willow
looked
even more beautiful than possible. She was wearing a beautiful green
dress.
It was form hugging and glittered as the light hit it. A slit came to
her
mid thigh and the cleavage was just perfect. Angel stood and stared at
her
for quite a while before Willow cleared her throat and turned so he
could
zip the dress. Swallowing hard, Angel walked up to her and gently
zipped the
dress. His hands lingered on her back for a little longer than needed
and
when Willow turned she had a small blush. They stood staring at each
other
for a while, the air filled with electricity. Slowly their lips neared,
until they were almost touching and then Willow suddenly pulled away.
All
the emotionality was gone.

Angel cleared his throat and spoke up. ”Ready?”

”Um… Yeah, just let me grab my bag.” Willow was flustered.

They started walking towards the stairs when the phone rang.

”I’ll get that.” Willow said and walked over to the phone. Angel
listened to
her answer and tell the person on the other end that they had the right
number, then something important must have been told judging by the
look on
Willow’s face. Unfortunately for Angel, she turned away from him at
that
moment, and he took it as a sign that she needed privacy so he decided
to
wait for her upstairs.
 

Angel waited about ten minutes for Willow. When she finally came up he
could
not stop the questions that flowed from him. She just shushed him and
started to explain that it was a woman that was offering her a job, but
she
needed to go to the interview immediately. Angel started to protest but
knew
how much it mattered for Willow to get back to her routine.

”Should I call them and cancel?” he asked.

”No, you go ahead. I’ll just be a little late. It’ll probably be a
hour, two
at the most.”

”Are you sure?” Angel was not at all liking the idea of her going
anywhere
alone.

”I’ll be fine, now go.” She reached for him and pulled him into a kiss.
It
was tender at first, but then their passion started to take over and it
grew
more urgent. Willow pulled away breathless. ”You better go or you’ll be
late.” Reluctantly he pulled away from their embrace.

”I’ll see you in a little while.” He said, while looking deep into her
eyes.

She nodded and answered ”I love you.”

At this a huge smile broke on Angels face and he told her the same
after
pulling her once again into a hug.

Willow nodded and they walked to the door. Outside they kissed one last
time
before going their separate ways.

++++++++++++++++

”When did she say she was going to be here man?” Doyle asked Angel.
They had
been waiting for Willow for over two hours.

”She said it would take two hours max. I have a very bad feeling about
this.”

”Don’t be stupid. She’s probably stuck in traffic or something. She
knows
there will be hell to pay if she doesn’t come.” Cordelia said. Angel
was
thankful for her tries to lighten the mood, and it did help a little.
<What
could possibly have happened? Absolutely nothing, that’s what. It was
just
an interwiev, nothing more. She’s just stuck in traffic, that’s all it
is.>
Angel told him self. Nothing was going to go wrong now, they were
together.

++++++++++++++++++++++++

One hour later…

”Calm down Angel, I’m sure she’s fine. Traffic is kinda bad at this
time.”
Cordelia said to calm Angel down. They were all a little too close to
panic
to be good for their mental health. And as much as Angel appreciated
her
tries to calm them all down he knew that she herself wasn’t believing
in her
own lie.

”I’m sure nothing is wrong. But I’ll call her on her cell phone
anyway.”
Cordelia and Doyle nodded to his idea, and told Angel they were going
dancing while they waited.
 
 

”The phone you are trying to…”

”Damnit…” Angel silently swore to himself as he hanged up. The bad
feeling
was growing, she was supposed to always be reached by her phone. He
grabbed
his jacket and told Cordelia and Doyle that he was going back to the
apartment to see if she had possibly left a message or something.”

”Sure, we’ll wait here.” Doyle said and he and Cordelia wished Angel
good
luck.

+++++++++++++++++++++++

Angel rushed into the apartment, almost tripping as he jumped over some
steps. Franticly he looked into her bedroom, the bathroom, the living
room,
the kitchen… nothing. All the calmness he had tried to keep was gone.
He
looked at the answering machine… nothing. He checked his bedroom, and
there
on the bed was a note. Angel reached out for the small piece of paper
carefully, as if it would burn him if he took it to quickly. Folding it
up
he saw Willows neat hand writing  Dread filled him as he silently read
the
note. Slowly he sat down on the bed, the note ina tight grasp. He sat
there
quite, shocked, for a minute. Then his hand flew out and grabbed the
clock
on his nightstand. Furiously he threw it at the wall, an anguished
scream
accompanying it. Thing after thing met the same fate until there was
nothing
left to throw and then he fell down on his bed and cried, the note
still
clutched in his hand.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

PART 4
 

Dear Angel,

when you read this letter it will already be to late for you to do
anything.
I feel the need to explain, I know you're going to be worried. You
shouldn't, I can take care of myself. I've lived on the Hellmouth all
my
life, remember?

I even babble in my letters, I should have known.

Anyway, I want you to apologize to Delia and Doyle for me. I'm sorry I
missed going for drinks. I'm sure you had a lot of fun. I know I
promised
you that I would tell you about what happened that night. And I said I
would
do it today, or well, it will be today when you read this.

Here goes, You know how Sam always wanted me to be at home? Well it was
because he was jealous of the time I spent with you. Obviously more so
than
I knew. One time, we fought so hard about it that he told me to never
see
you again! He forbid me! And as you know, I am not one to take orders
from
anyone, not after all the things that happened in Sunnydale. I promised
myself that. Anyway, so the night I told you I was late, that I was
supposed
to have been home hours ago, he had come looking for me.

As I look back at it now, I can't understand how I didn't see it.
Anyway, as
I was walking home, and he caught me by an alley. He started yelling at
me,
and telling me all sorts of bad things. You know what happened after
that,
you’re the one  who found me. Oh Goddess, this is more painful than I
thought. I need to go and cry now, but don't worry. I've been told it's
normal at least a million times.

Remember the woman that called? Well, it wasn't a job she was telling
me
about. She is a investigator, I asked her to locate him for me a long
time
ago. Or a couple of weeks anyway. Well, she finally did. And that's why
I
can't be there with you to celebrate their anniversary.

Oh how I wished we could have an anniversary of our own. In some ways I
guess we have. Well, I'm sorry for not staying there, I need you to
know
that. I know I should have let you help me with this. But I need to do
this
alone. I need to get this settled, but on my own. Before the two of us
can
have any sort of life together I need to get this part gone, well,
closed
might be a better word. I should be back soon, so don't worry, oh and
don't
try to find me, you wont. I hope this explains at least something. I
wish I
would have had more time to work on it but I wasn’t expecting this so
soon.

Try not to worry, everything will be just fine and then we can finally
be
together.

love, Willow

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Angel read the letter over and over again. He could not believe that
this
was happening. She was going after her attacker alone, unprotected. And
worst of all, the enemy was a former friend, which meant that he knew
every
fear and disadvantage that Willow had. And the fact that she had once
loved
him probably didn't help at all. Sam could be a very good actor, he
could
convince her to come back to him and then do it all over again. Angel
had to
find her and help her. <I can't believe she went alone! She knows how
dangerous this is. And why didn't I go with her, or told her that I
would
wait for her then this would never had happened.>
Angel started to pace around the apartment trying to understand Willows
reasons. After what seemed like a lifetime, at least for a mortal, he
came
to a conclusion.
No way was he reading the note right. She wouldn’t have gone after him
alone. Would she? As a desperate attempt to change reality, Angel
reread the
note once more. Finding that the words had not changed, he decided to
be the
man he was supposed to be. He might not have been able to protect her
the
first time, but he would be damned if he didn’t do it now. Pulling
himself
together, Angel walked over to his phone.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

”Hello.”

”Delia, it’s Angel. Listen, I wont be coming back. I want you and Doyle
to
go home and get in touch with Kate. I might need her soon.”

”What’s happened?” Cordelia asked. In the background Angel could hear
Doyle
asking the same thing.

”Willow’s gone after her attacker. It’s Sam.”

”Oh my God.”

”Can you do what I asked, please? I’m on my way to help her and it’s
important that you get in touch with Kate and tell her to expect an
important pickup.”

”Sure thing Angel, we’ll be right on it.” He could hear Cordelia
telling
Doyle to go and get te car so that they could go to the police
department.

”Thank you Cordelia.”

”Be careful.” She said before hanging up.

Angel ended his conversation with Cordelia just before he reached the
office
of Willow’s private eye.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

After a few threats and a lot of pleading, Angel had the location of
Sam. It
wasn’t far from where he was at the moment.

He ran as fast as he could, he had to get there before Willow did
anything.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

”Thought you could stop me didn’t you? Stupid girl. I can’t believe you
would think such a thing. Didn’t I teach you anything last time?” Sam
told
Willow in a mocking voice. His words were followed by a step closer to
her.
She backed up a pace. The color had completely drained from her face as
the
memories she tried so hard to repress, pushed to the surface. Tears
started
to build in her eyes as the memories came, one by one more painful then
the
other.

”Ahh… I see you do remember. But I do believe that you didn’t learn
anything.” Sam said as he advanced on her.

One painful memory after the other flew by her minds eye, until finally
the
blackness came. But the blackness of coma was followed by the loving
face of
Angel. The man she loved and trusted. The man who loved her back, and
who
was waiting for her to come back. The one she needed to do this for, so
they
could finally be together. Determination settled in her mind and she
pushed
away all of the bad memories, and clinged to the good ones. The one
with
Angel in them.

Before Sam had time to do anything, Willow kicked him. Stunned and hurt
he
fell to the ground. As he lay there, she continued to kick him, her
hate for
him increasing the power behind the kicks.

”I hate you. I hate you! I -kick- hate -kick- you!” -kick- She paused
for a
second to stop the tears that were falling, but it was a second to
long. Sam
kicked his legs out and tripped her. Willow grunted as she hit the
ground.
She watched as Sam tried to get up and quickly pulled herself together.
She
stood up and pulled a gun out of her bag.

”This is how I stop you.” She said as she pointed the gun at the now
kneeling Sam. It was now Sam's turn to become deathly white. He kept
staring
at the gun in Willow’s shaking hand, and saw her slowly start to pull
the
trigger.

That was the moment when Angel burst through the door.

PART 5
 

”Willow no! Don’t do it!” Angel cried out.

”Listen to him Willow.” Sam pleaded.

”You shut up!” Willow screamed at Sam, the gun still pointing at his
head.  ”You shut up.” She repeated as her tears kept flowing.

”Willow. Love, think about what you’re doing.” Willow heard Angel
say. She turned to look at him, and it broke his heart to see her in
such pain. ”I know you think you need to do this…”

She snorted. ”Think? I know that this needs to be done. I can’t have
a life with you, with him still alive. I’d never feel safe knowing
that he was out there somewhere.”

Angels heart kept crumbling into more peaces as he listened to her
childlike voice. ”I know Willow, I know.”

”Do you? Do you really?” He froze as she grabbed the gun more
firmly, trying to stop the shaking.
”I don’t think you do. It wasn’t you he betrayed, abused and raped.
You’re not the one who has nightmares about *it* every night. You
can’t see the smile on his face every time he hits you until your
eyes hurt to much to use...” a silent sob stopped her words from
continuing.

”Yes I do Willow.” As he said this he watched Willow’s face
transform into a mask of bewilderment. So he continued. ”When I was
in Hell, my demon loved to show me how my victims felt. It put me in
their place, and made me relive every thing I have ever done but in
the eyes of the victim. I caused so much pain and death, and now I
have to live with it. Please Willow, you don’t need to do this.
Trust me. Please…” He was standing almost beside her now, his hand
outstretched for her to take.

With a final look at Sam, Willow dropped the gun and started to sob.
Angel was by her side in a second. She leaned against him and
finally let the tears that had needed to fall, come. In the back of
her mind, Willow noted the sound of sirens closing in.

”Let’s go home.” Angel whispered to her and started to lead her
towards the door he had come through..

Behind them, Sam reached for the gun. He grabbed it and pulled
himself to his feet. Pointing the gun at the pair he took aim.

”Ungrateful bitch!” Willow and Angel turned around and were shocked
to see the gun. They had completely forgotten about it and it could
prove to be fatal now.

”I gave you everything and still you go to that bastard.” He shouted
at Willow. He pointed the gun at her as he addressed Angel. ”If I
can’t have her, no one can!” And with that he pulled the trigger.

PART 6

For Angel, the next seconds seemed to pass in slowmotion. Before he had time
to do anything, he could hear Willow grunt in pain as the bullet hit her. As
if he had not been in control, he saw himself reaching out to her almost
automaticly before she could fall to the ground, he could hear himself
shouting his denial.
Laying her down on the ground, he watched as the tears of pain started to
fall from her eyes. He couldn't even think, much less do anything that
should have been done. Suddenly there was a surge of power in him, as he
felt his demon start to come to the surface. Only then did he hear the
laughter that seemed to be all over the place. In his state of mind it
sounded like that of a madman, and mixed into it was the tears of his love.
After a moment, everything was clear again. He stood up, and took back the
control. What he saw would have made him shudder if he would have been
acting like he did every other day. Sam was holding the gun in the air,
dancing around in a circle and laughing with joy. He once again felt the
surge of his demon coming to the front and this time, they were side by
side, having a common interest for the moment. Sam stopped dancing and
listened. All he could hear was the soft sounds of crying.

"Oh die already. Stupid, you can't do anything right."

He turned to fire another shot at Willow but was confronted by something he
had never seen before.

"No... you're...you're not real! You can't be! I killed you!" he stammered
as his eyes were locked with the unholy yellow that shone in Angel's eyes.
Sam started to back as he mumbled, "you're not real, I killed you. You're
not real, I killed you..."

An evil smile was on Angel's lips. He stalked towards Sam in a very Angelus
like way.

"Oh, I'm real. You're about to find out just who real I am."

Sam just kept shaking his head in denial. When his back hit the wall, his
panic was almost palpable. He once again raised the gun, and fired a few
times. Most of the bullets missed and those that hit did nothing to stop
Angel's approach. Behind them, lying on the ground in a small pool of her
own blood, Willow was getting scared. Her vision was getting blurrier as the
darkness of unconsciousness was starting to descend on her. The pain in her
chest was getting worse by the second, and breathing was soon becoming very
difficult. But still she pushed to keep her eyes on the other two
inhabitants of the room, and frankly, Angel's recent behaviour was starting
to scare her more than her impending death. as was to be expected,
everything in her mind was getting more and more muddled, and she was
beginning to think that the demon had once again taken over in Angel's body.
Or that perhaps it had been in control the whole time. But then the rational
part of her mind kicked in and she reasoned with herself that the demon
could not have acted the way the soul did, no matter how good of an actor it
might have been. She would have seen it wouldn't she? Another painful cough,
and more pain came. And she could feel the sticky substance underneath her,
and knowing that she was going to die, and that if the demon was in control
she should be afraid for her soul. Then she suddenly remembered that Sam was
still here, and she still had not completed her mission, her eyes stared at
the scene before her. She needed to know that he was destroyed before she
died.

At this time, Sam was practically crying, and begging for Angel to leave him
alone. And Angel just kept advancing, ignoring his pleas for mercy. Angel
reached down and grabbed Sam by the throat, lifting him up so that his feet
didn't touch the ground. Slowly Angel increased the pressure until he felt
the air having trouble to reach Sam's lungs.

"Look at me." Angel demanded. Obediently Sam looked Angel straight in the
eye. Angel laughed as he saw that there was still defiance in Sam.

"Listen you little jerk. If I had the time, I'd take my time torturing you.
Take the time to show you exactly what can be learned after 250 years. You
know, I could keep you alive for months, even years."
Angel saw a mall flicker of hope enter Sam's eyes. <He thinks he can find a
way out, how cute.>

"But I don't feel like it. I think I'll just do to you what you did to
Willow." H saw the hope die and uncontrolled fear return. Sam started to
struggle once again, but this time he knew he would die unless he got away.
Angel pulled Sam back a little and then slammed him into the wall hard. Sam
moaned in pain. Angel smirked a little more then let Sam go. He fell to the
floor and coughed as he tried to catch his breath. Angel then kneeled beside
him. Sam's foot shot out in a futile attempt to kick Angel. Angel just
laughed and grabbed the foot, and twisted. A painful scream was torn from
Sam's throat as the bone in his leg broke. Tears of pain started to run down
his face. Another crushing sound could be heard as his other leg was broken.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Why aren't you trying to escape?" Angel
asked mockingly. "Oh that's right, you can't. I broke your legs." He smiled
at Sam for a second before he hit him hard in the chest. Sam could feel the
bones breaking and one of them puncturing his left lung. He started to cough
and heard Angel laugh as blood began to flow.

Willow had been watching the sceen with a sick facination until Sam started
to cough up blood. She realised that Angel was doing what had been done to
her. She caughed and reality hit her. She felt the strange coldness that had
suddenly appeard. Or maybe not suddenly,  she just hadn't noticed it before.
<I'm going to die.> The thought cleared her mind. <No, not now. I can't die,
not now.> she started to fight the impending darkness, but knew it was a
battle she would lose, unless she got some help.
She took a deep breath, as deep as she could and tried to call out to Angel.
<No. He might be Angelus! He could turn you.> Her mind screamed at her.
<Maybe, but he's the only hope I have.> she answered her thought. "Angel."
she whispered. It seemed so silent to her, he probably hadn't heard it.

As he heard his name spoken, Angel turned to the source. <Willow!> He had
completely forgotten about her in the heat of the kill. He turned back to
Sam, his demonic features in place. He reached for Sam and broke his neck as
he snarled. Sam's eyes became vacant and Angel got up and rushed over to
Willow. He felt nautia come over him as he saw her llie in a pool of her own
blood. He crouched beside her and gently touched her chest, then cringed
when he felt how cold she was.

"Stay with me Willow, stay with me. I'm goping to get you to a hospital."
Angel said as he picked her up as gently as possible and carried her out of
the building. When he got out on the street he noticed that she had fallen
into unconciusness and started to run towards the nearest hospital, which
luckily wasn't far away, and listened careful for any changes in Willow's
resparation or heartbeat. To his horror he noticed that they were slowing.

+++++++++++++++

He was almost hit by a car as he crossed the road to the ER. He yelled for
help and some nurses came to him and put Willow on a gurney and pushed her
into a room where Angel could not follow. After yet again explaining what
had happened, that a muggar had shot her, he was told to wait. Or preferably
to go home and wait for them to call. Angel refused and went to the waiting
area to wait, for the good or bad news that were to come.

+++++++++++++++

A call to Cordelia confirmed Sam's death. Kate had gone to the warehouse and
found a body. It had been put away as an murder under investigating, but
Kate suspected that it would saty unsolved.

+++++++++++++++

It was almost morning when Angel was allowed to go and see Willow. As he
reaced her door, a sense of foreboding came over him. He had been here
before, not to long ago, and look what had happened after that. Deciding
that this time it was different, this time he had seen to it himself that
nothing would happen to Willow by this thing again, he opened the door and
stepped inside. Willow was lying on the bed, looking even paler than usual,
but with rightful cause.
The doctors had told him that the bulletwound itself hadn't been to
dangerous, it was the bloodloss that almost killed her.

"Hey," Willow said as he sat down in the chair beside her bed. Angel took
her hand in his and kissed it gently.

"Hey yourself."

Willow looked at him for a moment before she decided to speak up.

"What I did was really stupid, and." Angel shushed her midsentance.

"It's ok Willow. It's in the past now. Keep your thoughts on the future and
forget all about what happened." They smiled at each other and Willow
nodded.

"I will. But that means you have too also." Now Angel smiled and nodded.

"From now on, it's us. We'll look to the future."

",the one we will share." Willow finished for him. They both smiled then
kissed. Life was finally going to turn out well. Everything was going to be
right this time around.

The End.
 

back