Part 3

 Willow awoke from her sleep disoriented. She couldn't remember where she was, then it hit her. (Oh Goddess. Buffy and Oz. ) She looked over at Angel, who was still sleeping by her and she could see the tension that radiated from him, even in his slumber. She just wanted to reach over and run her hand over his cheek calm him. Maybe light some aromatherapy candles and have some hot chocolate. Then she remembered that he was a male, and a vampire at that, and wasn’t sure if her gesture would be appreciated by him. (Oh Angel. I'm so sorry. You didn't deserve this, not after everything that you have gone through.) As if sensing her thoughts, Angel opened his eyes and smiled up at the woman sharing the bed.

"Hey," he said, sleepily.

"Hey there yourself," Willow replied. "Sleep okay," she asked, already sure of the answer.

 "About as well as you." Willow snorted at that answer, knowing that her sleep was constantly disrupted by the scene at Buffy's house the night before.

 "Yeah, that's kinda what I thought." Willow stood up and stretched her limbs. Angel watched her, wondering what was going on in her head. She saw him staring and walked over to his side of the bed, sitting next to him. "What are you going to do now?"

 "I think I'm going to perform the act of brooding that you say that I have perfected," he joked absently as he rested his hand on Willow's. Willow slapped his arm with her other hand.

 "Yeah, well, feel like giving me a few pointers on that. Think I may need some lessons." Angel didn't like the concept of Willow feeling the need to brood. Although he knew she had good reason to do so, he didn't want her to become a younger version of himself. "No, Willow, I want you to cry and grieve and then move on. You are so young. Much too young to sit and mope around the house all day long."

"Well, if you can, why can't I?" she questioned. Angel couldn't think of a good reason that Willow would accept. She saw the resignation in his face and felt bad. "Look, I'll make you a deal. I promise not to brood if you do the same."

"Deal."(Anything to make sure that Willow would shut herself off from the world. Or from me.) It was with this thought that he remembered her saying that her parents weren't at home. "Willow, how long are your folks going to be out of town?"

 Willow sighed, "At least two weeks, maybe more." Angel was shocked. (Two weeks. It's the holidays and they aren't even going to be there with her. How could any parent be that uncaring?)

"Willow, would you like to stay here while they're away?" Willow was shocked at Angel's offer. She knew how much he liked his privacy and she was touched by his generosity and caring. Tears started to form and she fought to keep them from falling.

"I would like that Angel. Are you sure that you won't mind having me underfoot?" Angel smiled and gave the young hacker a hug.

"You could never be underfoot. And yes, I'm sure. There is more than enough room and, remember, you said that we would have to help each other get through this," he finished, knowing that she had been right. (We will get through this, Willow. We have to.) Suddenly he heard a loud growl and saw Willow turn bright red. He chuckled when he realized what it was. "Hungry, little one?" he laughed. Willow looked like she wanted to crawl under the nearest rock.

"That would be a yes, and I'm pretty sure that you don't have anything to eat here. Well, not that a human can eat," she said, laughing with him. Angel shook his head. "That's okay. I can get something when I go home."

"I thought you said you would stay here?" Angel asked, confused. Angel laughed as she stood up, allowing Angel to finally get out of the bed.

"I am, but I don't plan on just wearing this for the time that I am here. Might get kinda skanky if you know what I mean." Angel laughed at that.

"Yeah, I can see your point. So you're just going to go and get some clothes," Willow nodded. "Did you want some money so you can pick up some food too. If you're going to stay here, I think that requires real food." Willow giggled as she grabbed Angel's arm.

 "Nope, not going shopping yet," Angel glanced down at the red head and saw the glimmer in her eyes. (That's what I want to see Willow. Don't let them take that spark of life away from you.) "Gonna make you go with me tonight." Angel groaned at the prospect of going to the supermarket.

"Do I have to," he whined, before smiling.

 "Yes you have to," she replied. The two of them reached the front door and Willow gave Angel a light hug and kiss. "I promise to be back before sunset." Angel watched as Willow left, glad that he had her friendship. He smiled when he thought of her spending the next two weeks with him, even with the circumstances that led to him asking her. It had been a long time since he had anyone stay with him. He didn't even count the time that he was Angelus and staying with Spike and Drusilla. That was different. This time, it was a friend that was staying and he decided that he would make this holiday as special for Willow as he could.

Willow entered her home and automatically looked at her answering machine. She saw that there were three messages. She decided that she would check them as she fixed herself some breakfast. (Or is it more like lunch?) She hit the machine as she put a pop tart in the toaster. The first message was from her mother.

"Willow, it's you mother," (Duh.) "I just wanted to call to make sure that things were okay. Also to tell you that your father and I have decided to stay in New York a little longer than we had originally planned. (Big surprise there mom.) Here's the number of where'll be staying if you need anything. It's 212-555-6874. We're in room 968. Hope you have a good holiday." *BEEP*. (love you too mom.) Willow though bitterly. She knew her parents loved her, but she still wished that they would spend some time with her. Willow got ready for the next message and froze when she heard the voice on the tape.

"Hey, Wills, it me. (Buffy!) Xander called and said that he saw you and Angel on your way over to my house, but you never showed up. (Oh we showed up but you were to busy screwing my boyfriend to notice.) I just wanted to see what happened. (Yeah right.) "Ummmm, I was wondering. I tried calling the mansion, but the phone had been disconnected, and then I tried to stop by it, but Angel's stuff was all gone. You wouldn't happen to know where he is?" (I know exactly where he is Buffy and that's as far away as possible from you.) There was a pause before Buffy continued with her message. "Of course, you wouldn't. I mean, why would Angel tell you where he was living and not me, right? Well, I'll talk to you later Wills.' *BEEP* (You won't be talking to me anytime soon, bitch. Not after everything that I saw.) Willow waited for the last message.

 "Hey hun, it's me." (Oh great, first Buffy, now Oz. Can this day get any better?) "Xander told me that you were headed over to Buffy's last night, but when I talked to her earlier, she said she hadn't seen you." (Oh, talking, is that what they call it nowadays?) "I just wanted to see if you wanted to get together before I have to get caged up. I've missed being with you." (Yeah, right. I believe that one. Bet you have a bridge in Brooklyn you want me to buy too.)"Give me a call or I'll see you at the library. I love you." *BEEP*

Willow slammed the button on the answering machine. (Three calls. I got three stinking phone calls and not one of them said anything that I wanted to hear. Just my luck.) Willow was upset with her parents for not spending the holidays with her. She was angry that Buffy not only called her, acting as if nothing was wrong, but also because she couldn't find Angel. And then there was Oz. 

"Xander called and said that he saw you and Angel"

"Xander told me you were headed to Buffy's."

 (Why would Xander have called Buffy to let her know I was on my way with Angel? And why in the world would he talk to Oz? They aren't really what you would call friends.) Willow put that information in the back of her mind as she went upstairs to get the things that she figured she would need for her stay at Angel's, which apparently may be longer than just the two weeks. She wondered if he would mind her staying longer and thought that he might enjoy the company. Just as she was leaving, Willow heard the phone ring. She was tempted to ignore it, but thought it might be an emergency. Willow was relieved to hear Xander on the other end of the line.

"Hey Wills, how's my best bud doing?"

"I'm doing okay, Xan," Willow lied, although she wasn't sure why. (Probably because of Buffy and Oz.)Something in the back of her mind told her not to tell Xander what she had seen. (But why. He's been you're best friend since forever?) "What's up?"

"I was just calling to see if you were okay. Buffy and Oz said that they hadn't heard from you and I could have sworn that I saw you and Dead boy heading over towards Buffy's last night," Xander said.

"Yeah, well, we changed out minds right before we got to Buffy's," Willow replied shortly, having finally figured out what was wrong. She tried hard to keep her anger out of her voice, not sure if it worked. "We ended up going back to his house and talking about his trip."

Xander was quiet for minute. Willow didn't think he was going to say anything, but then he finally did. "Oh, okay. I guess that makes sense, in a way that doesn't. So, we'll see you at the library tonight for wolf-sitting duty, right?" (Clueless as usual, Xander. Never could tell when I was upset could you?)

 "Ummm, I don't think so," Willow said, her voice having a clipped tone to it. "I'm just gonna hang around the house tonight and think about a few things."

 "Like what?"

 "Just life things," Willow replied, suddenly feeling the need to get off the phone before she said something that she might regret later. (Okay, maybe regret would be the wrong word.). "Look, Xand, I gotta get going."

 "Oh, okay. So, do you want me to tell everyone you said hi?"

"Yeah, whatever," Willow said, quickly hanging up the phone. She didn't know whether Xander could tell something was bothering her and, at that moment, she didn't care.

 (He knew. That lousy son of a bitch knew about them and he didn't tell me. What kind of a friend is he?) Willow unplugged the message machine, knowing that there wouldn't be any calls that she wanted to take coming to that phone. She would call and give her parents Angel's number just so they could get in touch with her if needed. Willow grabbed her suitcase and laptop and left the house, knowing that the next two weeks were possible going to be the hardest weeks in her life.
 

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