After Spike had been voted to clean up the books, they began to sit
around and look through Willow's book of shadows. Xander wanted her
to teach him this protection spell that he had found, and Buffy
wanted to learn a glamour spell. Dawn wanted to learn all of it; in
typical fifteen-year-old fashion, she though it was so neat.

Xander and Anya left first, Anya complaining about morning sickness,
which reminded her to berate, poor Spike about `that damn onion
thing', which in turn prompted Xander to drag her home.
Buffy, Spike and Dawn were the next to go. Spike began mumbling
something about `Slayer you owe me lets go now'. Willow wasn't sure
she wanted to know, especially with that gleam in Spikes eye. Dawn
began complaining, so Spike picked her up and tossed her over his
shoulder and walked out the door with Buffy in tow. Willow just
giggled at the sight they must be making walking down the street.

That left Giles, Angel, and Willow. The three sat around and caught
up on what Angel had been up to for the last two years. Willow began
nodding off when the men started discussing some demon that Angel had
killed. She laid her head down on the table, and then began tugging
on Angels sleeve, signaling him it was time to go.

"Guess we need to get you to bed, huh?" Angel said to the sound
asleep Willow. "Giles what time do you want her here to start
training?"

When ever she wakes up tomorrow." He told Angel dismissively.

"Well if it is anything like today, then that might be sun down." He
told Giles half joking, half serious.

"WHAT?" Giles was shocked. In all the time he had known her, Willow
only slept fours hours a night.

"I'm up mom." Willow mumbled pulling her head off the table. She
looked at Giles and Angel, and then muttered something under her
breath neither man could understand.

" I am sorry Willow, I did not mean to wake you." Giles apologized to
her.

"No, Giles it okay, I suddenly feel more awake." She told both men
truthfully.

They looked at her as she massaged her neck, and finger combed her
hair. She certainly did not look anything like the sleepy twenty year
old that she had been 20 minutes, ago.

"As a matter of fact, I feel good, how about we start training now."
She said to the two shocked men standing in front of her.
 

Chapter 22

As they watched her get up and head to the training room, they stood
there trying to figure out what had just happened.

Willow was wondering the same thing as she walked into the training
room She was so tired yet now she felt like she could run a marathon.
She began to lightly punch the bag Buffy had set up in the room.
She was not too worried about her sudden lack of need sleep. She
figured this way she could stay up longer with Angel.  After all, who
needed sunshine?  With all that sun you were just asking for cancer.

. Although she shrugged off, remove however the two most important
men in her life could not.  "Giles, what just happened here?" Angel
asked the bewildered man in front of him.
 

"Angel, I do not know.  Maybe it has to do with her guardian powers
kicking in." He suggested to Angel.
Angel had to agree. If she were to guard him, then she would need to
be able to keep up with him. The thought of her sleeping all day and
missing the daylight hours bothered him since it was just another
thing she would be losing for him.
Giles was having similar thoughts.  He hated the fact that Willow was
going to have to give up so much for a vampire that tried to kill her
more than once.

"What should I do Giles?" he asked sounding desperate.  " I do not
want her to give up her life for me."

Giles just sighed, "Angel there is not much you can do.  This has
been fated, and Willow seems to have taken up her post long before
this was brought in to the light," he told the vampire truthfully.
Angel knew the older looking man was right. They were stuck in this
and she had no way out. He didn't really mind having Willow as a
guardian, he admitted to himself. The women in question interrupted
his thoughts.

"Will you two get your old asses in here and train me?" Willow
shouted playfully from the back.

The two men looked at their watches.  It was almost two A.M. They
looked at each other, and headed to the back.

"Little one," Angel began slowly. "I think we should get back to the
hotel, and let Giles go home and get some sleep.  We will start this
later today."
"Why don't you and Angel do a patrol, before heading back." Giles
suggested hoping to avoid making Willow upset, and that it might help
her lose some of that energy.

"That is a great idea." Willow said stopping from running around the
training room.

Both men realized that there was no evidence of sweat any where on
her body.
Willow began to blush as the men took in her long lean frame. "What?"
she asked scared that she had some how impaled herself.
 

Chapter 23

Giles began to become embarrassed as he realized that she noticed him
take in her body. However the lack of sweat worried him.  However,
they would have to explore this at another time, preferably when he
was not about to fall asleep on his feet.
Angel's eyes also perused her body and however the lack of sweat was
not what he was thinking about. `Calm down Angel' he told
himself.  "Willow how long have you been running?" Angel asked her.

"About ten minutes." She told them. "Right after I used the punching
bag for five minutes. Why?" she asked.

"Well little one, you have not even broke a sweat." He told her as he
guided her out of the back room.  They said their goodnights to
Giles.

Giles began closing up shop thinking about how life on the hell mouth
had been weird but strangely satisfying. He never would have thought
things would turn out the way they had he thought as the couple
leaving his shop.
 
 
 

"Angel?" Willow asked sounding very childlike.

"Yes, my love?" He answered in the same manner."

"Do you think the prophecy meant when I turn 21, or just when I
become an adult?"

"I am not sure little one, why do you ask?" he asked her
questioningly.

"Well, I am an adult on the inside, I have felt that way for a few
years now." She said trying to avoid telling him when she actually
became an adult. She knew it would hurt him to learn that she became
an adult the day Angelus held her in the school hall and threatened
to kill her.
Angel knew the exact moment she had become an adult, however he was
not going to dwell on that thought since Willow would not like that.

"Well, I am going to ask you something you may not want to answer,
but I have to know." He warned her seriously.

"Okay Angel, ask away." She said taking a large deep breath.
 
 

Chapter 24

"When did you start feeling responsible for me?  He asked her
straightforwardly
Willow sighed and knew the time had come to tell Angel about her
crush and the feelings she had for him. "Angel, I have always had a
huge crush on you. I mean who didn't? Look, at yourself… Well you
can't but trust me, you are one gorgeous man." She told him
blushing. "But once Angelus came to ---um, play, I felt responsible.
Not for you losing your soul, because that was all you and Buffy, but
because I didn't return your soul sooner. I waited for Buffy to get
around to deciding if she really wanted you back. I should have done
it as soon as she found that disk, but I didn't.  I think the exact
moment I became an Adult, and I knew it, was when I found that disk."
She was being very honest with him and herself. She would like to
think it was all Angelus that took away her youth and innocence, but
it was that choice that took forever to come into play. Angel was
impressed with her honesty, but not surprised since Willow had always
been very open with him.  However talking about all of the history
between them was hard for both of them. He hated to think that his
curse had caused her to grow up but in a very déjà vu way the same
curse had done the same thing to him.

"Angel, I'M not done so don't retreat to your guilty thoughts---
yet," she told him half playful, half in jest. " But I felt
responsible for you long before that. But responsible really isn't
the right word for it. I felt it was my job to make sure that you
enjoyed things and felt included. I always tried to include you, oh
and I was very protective of you as well. I know it may not have
seemed like it but you were always in my thoughts." She finished
looking into his eyes, surprised at what she saw there. There was a
mixture of shock and hurt, not what she was hoping for, but she could
work with anything.

"Willow, you're right, I had no idea but now it all fits.  From the
beginning you always had my attention, you were what held everybody
and everything together, I think I was the only person who ever
noticed it in the beginning." He told her truthfully. "When I
returned from hell, you became my focus. To you it may not seem like
it, but I always watched from the shadows to make sure you were
safe.  I wanted to watch you grow up more than I did any of the
others. I watched you grow and you just amazed me all the time. You
don't know how sorry I am that it took hell for me to notice you
more. I always wanted to be there for you, but I knew you would think
it was because you thought I thought I had an obligation to you, and
I never wanted you to think that.  So I stood back and watched.  When
you and Cordy became close, I was elated to have link to you. Through
Cordy, I got to know about you, and how to help you without your
knowledge. I don't know why I am spilling all of this to you, it
really has no bearing on what you told me, but I wanted---no needed
you to know." He told her bearing his soul to her through his eyes
Willow was taken back, she never knew all of that was in him. It made
her feelings for him double in size. She knew now that she loved him,
and had for sometime she fingered her necklace and looked into his
eyes.

"Angel, I need to tell you something." She said to him.

"Anything." He told her.

" When you showed up here the other day I was so happy to see you. I
had been worried about you, scared for you going to LA and being all
alone. But anyway as I was saying, when you showed up, I wanted you.
I was throwing myself at you, but you already know that. What I am
trying to say is that I am in love with you. I think I just realized
it, but it has been in me for a long time. I mean look at Oz.  He is
a mini version of you, and Tara was the whole I can learn from you
thing. I have always wanted to learn from you. And I find that whole
silent, I will tell you how I feel in a cryptic, powerful kind way,
sexy. Tara and Oz were parts of you that I missed, and I did miss you
when you left, more than I think I knew."

"I know how you feel. You always were very beautiful to me. I knew
you would grow into an amazing woman, and when I returned from hell,
I wanted Buffy to be more like you. I couldn't have you so I tried to
make things work with Buffy.  When I realized she would never be you,
I knew it was time to go. Leaving here was the hardest thing I ever
had to do. I wanted to stay and watch all of you grow in the people I
knew you would each become. But I also had to grow, and I would never
have done that here, you know it and so do I.  It has been hard with
out all of you, but I have gained new things I could never have
gained here. I am happy Willow!  Look at me, see how happy I am. I
have people who love me, demon and all. I can't describe to you how I
have felt these last two years."  He looks down into her eyes, "All
that I am missing is you. I want you to come to LA with me because
you want to, not because of this prophecy. This is my invitation to
you. Please come be a part of my family."

Her response to him was rather small. She just reached up and kissed
his lips, brushing the words YES, across his lips.

"That is what I came here for--- you. I knew it was time when Delia
told me what has been going on here.  I knew you had outgrown them
and it was time to get you away. I didn't care how I did it, whether
it was in friendship or as the Host would sing, `In the name of
love'." He reached down and press his lips to hers with a passion
nothing could have touched.

The rest of the patrol went smoothly. They killed one vamp in a
matter of seconds and then headed back, reaching the hotel at about
four in the morning. They both were exhausted, and tumbled into bed
with a kiss. They wrapped their arms around each other and fell
asleep.
 

Chapter 25

They woke up that way as the yellow fireball of the sun hit the
horizon. Willow slowly yet surely removed herself from Angel's firm
embrace. She stretched her legs as a yawn escaped her lips, leisurely
removing the comforter from her languid body. She stretched her arms
over her head and let out a soft moan unaware of the eyes watching
her Angel woke up the minute she moved from his arms. He wondered
briefly if he would always feel so incomplete every time she left
him. He watched as she gracefully awakened her body, when the slight
moan of contentment escaped her lips, he felt his need grow to a
plane of insurmountable desire. However, just wanted to watch her. It
was more than enough for him. Just gazing upon her did things to his
mind and body that he had never felt. She made his soul and demon
ache in ways that he never thought was possible. He wanted to ravage
her, yet wanted to spend hours just touching her hair and thoroughly
kissing her perfect lips. He wanted to know the depths of her
intelligence, and how she could ever love him. That was something he
would never understand, how he had gotten two beautiful, wonderful
women fall in love with him. He knew he looked good, but it had to be
more than that.
"You look so beautiful in the morning my love." He said to her, his
emotions clearly heard in his voice.
Willow looked over at him and smiled. "Thanks, I try," was all she
said to him. He reached over to kiss her, stopping when he saw the
horrified look on her face as she pulled away from him and ran to the
bathroom. Willow reached the bathroom and grabbed her toothbrush. She
began to brush her teeth in earnest.  Angel sat on the bed dumbstruck
trying to figure out what was going on.  Willow returned to bed with
a smile and said, "Where were we?" leaning in to kiss him.

Angel backed away and said "What in the world was that all about
little one?"
Willow began to blush furiously. She muttered "Morning breath."
Angel could only laugh. He couldn't help it; she was so sweet and
innocent. She looked at him with wounded eyes,
"Little one, don't look at me that way. You know I love you, morning
breath and all," he told her leaning in and capturing her lips
between his. Before they could continue the `morning breath issue',
he told her to go take a shower and get ready to go train.

 ************************ At the Magic Box*******************************

Anya was helping the last customer of the day pick out an athame, as
Giles was preparing Buffy to train with Willow tonight.
"Giles, are you sure that this is a good idea? I don't want to hurt
her." Buffy said to her watcher.   Giles looked over to the punching
bag, falling slightly to the right. "Buffy,I have a feeling that you
are not going to hurt Willow."
"This is so strange. Willow being marked by the powers that be. Next
thing you will tell me is that Xander has a destiny."
"I heard that." Xander said walking into the training room. He was
not in the slightest upset with Buffy's comment. If truth were told,
he actually thought that someday his destiny would be knocking on his
door.

Giles was only half listening to the conversations transpiring
between his two wayward children. He was stuck in thought about
Buffy's comment on Willow being marked'. Usually when the powers did
something like this they would have literally marked their claim.  He
would have to ask Willow if she had any unusual birthmarks.
Willow and Angel walked into the store as Anya was locking
up.  "Thought you guys were going to stay in bed forever, I had given
up all hope of having Auntie Willow show up every again." She told
the couple jokingly.

"You're just worried your permanent babysitter had disappeared."
Willow told Anya in a playful tone. She was glad that her and Anya
had bonded, even if it took her ex boyfriend the nasty troll to do
it.
Angel listened to the woman talk about how the day had gone. Angel
noticed there was no regret in Willows voice, and was thankful for
that.   Willow, Angel, and Anya walked into the training room to have
all eyes turn on them.

"Hey guys, we're here, the fun can commence." Willow said as they
stared at her dressed in a tank with running pants.
Angel just shook his head at her, thinking this was going to be fun.
If he had anything to do with it, she would be aching all over when
he was done with her.  Before Giles could ask her if she has any
strange birthmarks, Spike walked in the back door.

"Well Red, if I had known you looked that good under all that fuzz I
would have snagged you and shagged you before I got mixed up with the
slayer." He said with a Spike-patented smirk. Before Spike could
finish his third over, Angel had him pinned to the ground and with a
snarl he told Spike he would have done nothing of the sort.  Willow
giggled along with Buffy. They both were used to Spike's comments.
Xander was smart enough to keep his comments to himself, though he
was having similar thoughts `If I had only known, maybe there would
have been more fluking' thought Xander crudely, until he saw the look
Anya was giving him.

Buffy noticing the tension in the room decided to get down to
business. "Willow who would you rather have train you? Me, Angel, or
Giles?" She asked her best friend.
Willow who was in a playful mood and wanted to shake everybody up
said, "I would like Spike, please." Helping the sexy vamp up from the
floor.
 
 

Chapter 26

Everyone's jaw hit the ground, noting the way she had said that.
Spike was thrilled at the way the young Witch was letting everyone
guess. He never knew she had it in her, or that she had those pants.
They weren't leather but just as skintight. He was not going to pass
up a chance to fuck with the minds of the Scooby gang, even if he was
in love with Buffy.
"Well Luv," he drawled, " I say we begin with laps." He just wanted
to see her ass as she ran.
The rest of the gang still dumbstruck at Willow's choice just stood
and watched.
Angel was shocked at his little redhead's behavior. He was stuck
between horror with her antics, and a lust filled haze as he watched
her run her laps.

Buffy was trying hard not to lose her composure. Who did Willow
think she was? Buffy was being nice about her dating her Ex-
boyfriend, but she was starting to make a move on her current
boyfriend! That was unforgivable. She took a deep breath and tried to
calm herself. She knew Willow was her best friend and would not do
anything to purposely hurt her, but still she was not happy.
Willow was having so much fun. She knew this would send Angel right
over the brink. He would go to all measures to make sure that she was
a happy camper that night. And the fact that Spike had so willingly
gone along with this surprised her. Ok not really. She knew all it
would take were these pants she had bought for Buffy and had
forgotten to give them to her.  As she made her fifth lap, she took
in all their faces, Spike and Angel shared the same one--- pure lust,
and Buffy on the other hand did not look happy. Apparently Xander and
Anya had snuck out sometime in the last few minutes. "Okay last lap
Red, really pump those legs, and squeeze that ass of yours in." He
said to her trying to get a rise out of his grandsire. Angel was
fuming at this point. He could not get past the look on his
grandchilde's face, or the smirk on Willow's face. What was she
playing at? He could not get a grip on what she trying to do. If she
was trying to make him angry she was succeeding. And that Blond rag-a-muffin was
to soon be looking down the barrel of a stake.  When Willow finished
that lap, she trotted over to her  trainer.

"Ok, what's next, cause I gotta tell ya,I could do that all night."
She said slightly seductive.

Spike ignored her tone when he noticed the absence of two things---
sweat and fatigue. "Ripper, why is she not sweating or tired, I
thought I would tire her out and then she could move on to one of you
blokes cause she was sick of me." He said slightly whiny.

Angel relaxed when he heard the tone of Spike's voice. "Still lazy I
see boy." He said callously to him. Willow just stood to one side and played with her necklace, until the glare interrupted the escalating
fight between the two vamps Buffy noticed Willow playing with a
necklace that was sending light flashes across the vampires' eyes. It
was funny, they kept missing their targets. She moved over to get a
better look of the necklace.

"Hey, I am sorry, about the Spike thing, I know I had no right to
pull your boyfriend into this." Willow told her best friend.

"No prob, I knew you weren't after both of the sexiest vampires in
the world." Buffy told her. "Where did you get that necklace it is
beautiful."

"Oh, Angel gave it to me the other day, it is a tree of life."
Willow told Buffy.

The slayer frowned, getting slightly jealous. Angel only gave her
crosses.

By this time Giles had interrupted the fight between the two growling
vamps, and was looking to the women to help him calm them down.
Within minutes the two women had their vampires turned in to purring
kittens. Giles just shook his head and pinched the bridge of his
nose.
 

Chapter 27

"What in the world were you trying to prove with that blond headed
idiot?" Angel asked Willow after she had smoothed down his hair and
kissed his cheek.

Willow smirked at him and asked, " Who said I was trying to prove
anything? Maybe if you thought with that brain of yours, you would
have seen what I was trying to do. Spike is always on the outside,
nobody including him, just like they used to do to you, and I wanted
to include him. He is even dating Buffy, or what ever they are doing,
and I still had to ask him to help."

Angel looked at her in disbelief, `that was what she was doing, she
wasn't trying to make me jealous' he told himself trying to convince
himself.

Willow couldn't believe he bought it but she was not going to come
right out and say I was trying to make you want me more.

Meanwhile Buffy and Spike were having the same conversation. "Luv, I
was not trying to make you jealous, no one here but Red seems to give
a crap if I am here. She was just trying to include me, and maybe
make the Poof jealous, but you know she would never hurt you." Spike
calmly explained to the woman he loved.

" No she wouldn't but you just did. I want you here and I am sorry if
I didn't include you, but you never seem to want to help, unless I
bribe you." She told him with a pained voice.

"Now Slayer you know that's not true, I do all kinds of things for
you, and you don't bribe me." He told her saucily. She hit his arm
with a smile and kissed his cheek. She knew she need to work more on
her feelings. She did not want to lose him like she did Reily.
Willow was right, Spike did need to be included, and not bribed
anymore.

"Well now that this has been resolved, who is going to train Willow?"
Giles asked watching Willow twirl her necklace with one hand, her
other on Angel.

Buffy spoke first with what she thought was a great idea, "Why don't
we all take turns with her,"
Catching what she just said continued " I mean, Spike just had her
run, and now Angel can work with her on kicks and then I could work
with her on--- Slaying with Flair." She said hoping to get a laugh
out of the rest of them.  Willow laughed, catching on to what Buffy
was doing. She thought it was about time her best friend included her
boyfriend. When Buffy continued, Giles felt a swell of pride.
" Then after training if we are not wiped out, we can get down to the
bottom of why Willow is not sweating and tiring all of us out. Sorry
Wills, guess it wasn't the coffee."
With that, Giles left them to train. He was going to pull some books
to see if he could find a reference of another Guardian, to see if
what Willow has been going through was normal.

Buffy and Spike sat off to the side while Angel pulled Willow to the
middle of the room.  "Now I am going to start you off slow with the
kicks, and Buffy, Spike if you see anything do not hesitate to tell
me." He began to lead her in to some easy stretching exercises, as
Spike pulled Buffy in to his lap.

He began to whisper in her ear " Thank you for including me." Buffy's
response was to kiss him on the cheek. She was watching and
evaluating Willows flexibility, she was shocked over how flexible
Willow really was. This was going to be easier than they thought. The
rest of the training went well. After Willow had impressed and tired
everyone out, Spike decided to exert some of his new found
authority.  "Red, why don't you run of few more laps, while we go
consult with the Watcher." He told her authoritatively. Her only
response was to begin running. She was tired of research, let them do
the dirty work.

Giles heard them coming from the training room as he lifted his head
from a long forgotten tome.
 

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