Prologue
Willow was enjoying the night air as she walked to Buffy’s house. It had been a long time since she had gone out at night without worrying about the evils that lurked in the dark, but Willow felt like being brave that night. She hadn’t seen Buffy in almost a week, other than school, because Buffy had actually been patrolling a lot more lately. Willow suspected that part of that was because Angel had been out of town for the past two weeks, having to go to Ireland to get something for Giles. Willow missed Angel too and thought that she and Buffy would have been able to hang out while he was gone. Ever since Angel had returned from hell, his friendship with Willow had grown. The two of them would spend hours talking and were surprised to find out how much they had in common with each other. Willow enjoyed hearing about all the things that Angel had seen in his 240 plus years, while Angel appreciated the fact that Willow readily accepted everything about his life, including his vampiric nature. Buffy knew about Willow and Angel’s friendship, and while she wasn’t overjoyed by it, she understood that the two of them were friends.
(At least Angel wants to hang out with me, unlike a certain slayer.) Willow was surprised by that thought, but she was lonely. She missed hanging out with Buffy and Xander at the Bronze. Willow knew that Xander was hanging out with Faith(I can’t believe he cheated on Cordelia with Faith.), but she figured that Buffy would be just as lonely as herself., but Buffy always seemed to be too busy. Normally Willow wouldn’t have minded not seeing Buffy that much, but Oz had also been busy all week with the Dingos. Willow heard a twig snap to her right and she stopped walking.
"Who’s out there?" she shouted as she slowly drew a stake and a bottle of holy water from her coat. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw who had been following her. "Angel," she smiled as she ran up and gave him a hug. "When did you get back in town?"
"Late last night," Angel answered as he returned Willow’s hug, gently lifting her off the ground. When he let her go, he smiled down at the red head. "If I had known I was going to get that kind of a welcome, I would have had you pick me up at the airport."
"Why didn’t you?"
"I didn’t get in until four in the morning and I knew that you had mid-terms today, so I figured I would let you sleep." Willow seemed to think about that for a minute.
"Okay. I see your point. You’re forgiven," Willow replied, smiling up at him. She pulled him into another hug. "So where are you headed, as if I didn’t know.," Willow joked. Angel looked at her guiltily.
"Yeah, well, I haven’t seen her in two weeks, so I thought I’d surprise her."
"Wait, are you telling me she doesn’t know that you’re back in town?"
"Nope. Told you, I just got back in last night," Angel explained as he and Willow started walking towards Buffy’s house. "I tried calling her earlier but all I got was the answering machine."
"Yeah well, she’s been out patrolling a lot," Willow said, the hurt she felt over her friend’s snub evident in her voice. Angel noticed it and wondered what was wrong.
"What’s up Willow?"
Willow shook her head. "Nothing really. I mean, I know Buffy has to patrol and all, but it’s like she’s been too busy to even hang with me. Every time I suggest something, she comes up with an excuse and then leaves. And then Oz has been with the Dingos and tomorrow starts his moon phase, so I won’t even get a chance to see him." Angel’s heart went out the hacker. He knew what it was like to be lonely and it bothered him to see her like this.
"Is that why you were heading over to Buffy’s now?"
"Yeah. Mrs. Summers is out of town this weekend, and since winter break started, I thought that maybe I could talk Buffy into maybe doing a girl’s night out," Willow finished sadly. (And now Angel’s back, so Buffy will want to spend time with him. Not like I blame her or anything. I mean he’s Angel and if Oz was available I would want to spend time with him.) Angel could see what Willow was thinking and had an idea.
"Well, how about this. We both show up, but I’ll only stay a minute. I have to talk to Giles anyway. That way, you and Buffy have the night to talk and do whatever girls do on girl’s night out." Willow smiled at the vampire. (That smile is definitely worth giving up a night with Buffy. Willow has been alone way too long.)
"Would you really do that?" she asked, unsure if she heard Angel right.
"Of course. You’re my friend Willow," Angel stated. "Besides, it’s not like I won’t be able to see Buffy tomorrow or anything."
"Thanks," Willow replied, feeling better already. Willow then decided to change the subject. "So was your trip successful? Did you get everything that Giles wanted?" Angel’s face lit up.
"Yes, it was very successful. More so than I had hoped for," he said. Willow could hear the joy in his voice.
"What do you mean?"
"It’s a surprise. I want Buffy to be the first one to know." This piqued Willow’s curiosity, but she knew enough about the vampire to know that he wouldn’t divulge any information until he was ready to. That’s when she noticed that they had arrived at the Summer’s home. Angel knocked on the door, but there was no answer.
"Strange," Willow noted, "all the lights are on, including her bedroom one."
"Maybe she can’t hear us," Angel said. "Should we try the door?"
"Sure," Willow shrugged as she turned the knob. It opened easily and she called out Buffy’s name as she and Angel entered the living room. "She’s probably upstairs or something."
Angel and Willow made their way upstairs. They could see the door to
Buffy’s room was wide open and they could hear sounds coming from the room.
Willow looked over at Angel and saw a tense look on his face. She had a
feeling that whatever was going on, she wasn’t going to like it. As they
reached Buffy’s bedroom, the hacker and the vampire felt like their worlds
had been turned upside down. Angel caught Willow as she fainted and carried
her downstairs and out the door, not even bothering to close it. His only
concern was getting the two of them as far away from that house as quickly
as possible. Upstairs, Buffy and Oz were oblivious to the pair that had
just witnessed them as they continued to make love.