Part Seventeen

“That outfit was absolutely frightening, Cordelia,” Willow told her friend.

“Oh, please!” the brunette she was walking with protested.  “It was not
frightening.  It was cute.  Very stylish.”

“Cute, my foot!  And I really don’t care that much about stylish.  I mean,
come on, Cordy.  If you make one wrong move when wearing an outfit like the
one back in that store, your boobs would pop out, and you’d end up giving
everyone a free show.”

“Oh, you’re right; that would be bad.  I mean, people should pay to see
something like that.”

“Cordelia Chase!”

“What?” the brunette responded with a laugh.  “It was just a joke, I swear
it.  Gosh, Will, where’s your sense of humor?”

“I think I must’ve left it back in Sunnydale,” Willow responded dryly.

“Very cute.  So, anyway, what’s going on with you and Angel?” Cordelia asked
suddenly, causing the redhead walking with her to sputter indignantly.

“And just what the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“Not a thing,” the secretary replied, all innocence.  “It’s just that-”

“Nothing is going on between me and Angel,” Willow informed her before
wrinkling up her nose and backtracking slightly.  “Or, at least, well, I’m
not entirely sure...”

“See?  I was right; there is something going on between you two.  I knew it!
  I can just sense these things, you know.  It’s, like, vibes and stuff.
Plus, there was that thing where I kind of saw you kiss Angel this morning
before we left.”

“You were spying on us?” Willow asked incredulously.

“Not spying, exactly,” Cordelia said, defending her actions.  “I just stuck
my head in the room, thinking maybe I would say hi to my boss, and - boom -
I saw you kiss him.  I barely got myself out of there before you turned back
around,” she informed the redhead before adding, “So, what are you going to
do about this whole Angel thing?”

“Nothing.”

“And just why not?  You like him.  Doesn’t he like you, too?”

“Well, yeah,” Willow said, thinking about their first kiss, the one he had
actually initiated.  Not to mention that whole towel incident.  Oh, yeah,
she was pretty damn sure he liked her.

“Then what’s the problem?  I mean, you two have a mutual thing for each
other...”

“Oh, I don’t know, Cordelia.  Could the problem be that Angel’s curse just
happens to contain a loophole big enough to drive a Mack truck through?
Remember?  Complete happiness is very, very bad.  Eternal celibacy is a
must.  Is any of this ringing a bell for you?”

“Ooh... So you’re already thinking about having sex with him?  Hmm... that’s
certainly interesting.”

“Cordelia...” Willow groaned.

“Sorry.  Serious mode now.  Okay, I admit that there would be problems...”

“Yeah.  I’d say the possibility of him losing his soul and killing everyone
I love would definitely qualify as that.”

“Then find a way to take that out of the equation.  Eliminate that
possibility.  Find a way to make his soul permanent.”

“I’ve been trying to do that ever since I found out he was back from Hell.
I’ve had a few leads, but none of them panned out.”

“Then keep looking, and just make sure that things don’t go too far before
we find a way to fix his curse.”

“We?” Willow asked.

“Yes, we.”

“You’d really help me with this?”

“Hey, what are friends for?” Cordelia replied.  “I mean, you and Angel are
both my friends.  The least I could do is help find a spell to keep him from
going evil again if the two of you ever get horizontal.”

“Thank you, Cordy.  That was a beautiful sentiment.”

“I thought so.”

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

He listened from a few feet away, seething in anger.  How dare she do this
to him?  How dare Delilah be with this Angel guy, when she knew she belonged
to him and him alone?  And the way she was trying to fool him, calling
herself Willow now.  Didn’t she know he’d see through it?  Didn’t she know
he realized it was her?  No, she didn’t, and she was obviously trying to
make him seem like a fool.  Oh, she would pay for this.  She would pay for
this, and so would her little friend, if it came to that.

Keeping his head down as he passed the two girls - his redheaded Delilah and
her brunette friend Cordelia - he continued on for a few blocks, then ducked
into an alley, where he prepared to wait.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

She seemed to be doing better than she had been the day before, which was
nice.  She was no longer crying or anything; instead she was talking and
laughing with the pretty brunette he’d seen her with while watching the
offices of Angel Investigations.  He wasn’t close enough to hear what they
were saying, but he was glad to see her smiling.  Unfortunately, though, her
smile told him something he’d been afraid of.  Because of the conversation
he’d overheard between Willow and Angel last night, he was fairly certain
that this Richard Sawyer guy - the one who had escaped that very morning -
had attacked Willow in some way.  And, because of her obviously carefree
attitude, he also had to assume that Willow didn’t know about the escape.
Add to that the fact that, being a vampire, Angel couldn’t exactly protect
her while she was out during the day, and the pretty little redhead walking
down the street was a sitting duck.

So he followed her.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

“Maybe you should get a new outfit,” Cordelia was saying.  “Something
spectacular.  You know, really knock him dead.”

“He already is- Ahh-mmphh-”

Willow’s scream was cut off by the hand placed over her mouth, and she
struggled hard against the man that was dragging her into the alley.  She
knew without being told who it was.  It was him.  Sawyer.  She could sense
it.  She didn’t know how he had gotten out of jail, and she didn’t know how
he had found her, but he had.  And if she didn’t get away from him, she knew
she was as good as dead.

“Let her go!” Cordelia screamed, kicking at Sawyer’s leg and grabbing at his
arms.  Her merely grabbed hold of the brunette’s long hair and flung her to
the side.  She hit the wall hard, then slumped to the ground, stunned.

“Come on, Delilah,” Sawyer whispered in Willow’s ear as he pulled a knife
out of his pocket and pressed it to the pale skin of her throat.  “You’re
coming with me.  I’m going to let go of your mouth now, okay?  If you
scream, you’re friend gets it.”

“Drop the knife!”

The command came from the end of the alley, near the street, and Willow, who
had closed her eyes in an effort to contain the tears that threatened to
fall, opened them to find a black man that she found vaguely familiar aiming
a gun at her and Sawyer.

“Let the girl go!”

“What’ll you do if I don’t?  Shoot me?  Oh, wait.  I’m holding her right in
front of me.  There goes your shot, asshole.”

“Maybe you’re underestimating my shot, asshole,” Forrest replied in the
exact same tone Sawyer had used.  He held his gun aimed directly at Sawyer’s
head, but the thought that he might actually have to shoot the guy terrified
him.  He knew he had good aim - he was the best damn shot in the entire
Initiative - but Willow’s head was right by Sawyer’s.  It wouldn’t take much
to miss and kill her instead of him.  Trying to keep his breathing steady,
he took a step closer to the redhead and the man who was holding her at
knife point, silently praying that the 911 call he’d placed right before
coming into the alley would be taken seriously and the cops would get there
before he had to do anything drastic.

Sawyer saw Forrest start to ease closer, and he altered his grip on the
knife at Willow’s throat.  “One step closer and I kill her.”  To prove his
point, he pressed the point of the knife into the delicate skin of the
redhead’s throat, and a line of blood appeared.

Forrest’s hand shook slightly as the thin trickle of blood made its way down
Willow’s slender throat, and he tried not to cringe at the whimper he heard.
  He couldn’t tell if it had come from the redhead or the brunette, both of
whom currently had wide, terrified eyes, but that didn’t really matter.
What mattered was getting them all out of this alive.  Taking a deep breath,
Forrest forced himself to remain steady.  “I don’t think so.  Because if you
killed her, your shield would be gone, and I’d have a free shot at you.
You’d be dead before she hit the ground.”

“Drop the knife, Sawyer!”

The strident female voice made Forrest sigh in relief, and he turned his
head to see a blonde woman beside him, gun out and ready.  His eyes widened
slightly as he realized that it was the same police officer who had
announced Sawyer’s escape on television that morning.

Sawyer cocked his head slightly, then smiled at the blonde bitch who had
arrested him.  He had the knife, and he had his Delilah, which, to him,
meant he had all the power.  “Hmm... let me think.  No.  Delilah’s mine.”

“She’s not Delilah,” Kate hissed at him, taking careful aim.

“She may not go by that anymore, but she is.  She’s my Delilah.  She can
fool everyone else, but she can’t fool me.  She could never fool me.”

“Delilah’s dead, Sawyer.  You already killed her.  This isn’t Delilah.  Now,
one more time.  Let.  Her.  Go.”

“One more time, officer.  No-”

Sawyer’s retort was cut off by the sound of Kate’s gun going off, and
Cordelia screamed at the sound of the blast.  Willow, splattered with blood
and gray matter, stumbled forward as she was suddenly freed, and Forrest
immediately dropped his gun and reached out to keep her from falling.  She
rested against him for a moment, then began to turn her head.

“No,” Forrest told her.  “You don’t want to see it.”

But it was too late.  Willow had already turned her head and looked down,
and she had already seen what she was looking for.

Sawyer was laying on the ground in a growing puddle of blood, and most of
his face had been blown off.  Kate had shot him in the head, killing him
instantly.  She had put a bullet in him less than a foot from Willow’s face.
  The realization hit Willow like a ton of bricks, and she immediately did
what many people would do when confronted with just how close they had come
to death.

She fainted.
 

Part Eighteen

Angel burst through the doors to the hospital at top speed, nearly knocking
two men over in his haste.  Barely taking the time to mutter an apology, the
vampire immediately made a beeline for the nurses’ station.

“Angel!  Over here!”

The ensouled vampire turned at the familiar feminine voice, and he hurriedly
made his way over to where the attractive blonde detective stood.  “Where
are they?  Are they okay?  What happened?” he asked, the words coming out
rapid-fire.

Kate raised her eyebrows in surprise.  “Woah.  I never knew you could speak
so quickly.  I’d tell you to slow down so you could take a breath, but there
really wouldn’t be a point in that, would there?”

“Kate...” Angel said warningly, his voice a near-growl.

The blonde woman shrugged.  “Sorry about that.  Look, I know it’s only
eleven in the morning, but this has already been a really long day for me,
okay?  So, which of your questions do you want me to answer first?”

“Just answer them all; I don’t give a damn about the order.”

“Works for me.  Um... okay.  First of all, Willow and Cordelia are both
fine.  There in treatment right now, and they are pretty shaken up, but
they’re perfectly okay.  I mean, Cordelia does have a bump on her head, and
Willow has a cut on her throat, but once the doctors finish checking them
out, they’re free to go.  And they should be out shortly.  And as for what
happened out there... Well, it’s kind of complicated.”

“What do you mean, complicated?  Sawyer is the one who did this, isn’t he?”
he asked.  Kate hadn’t actually told him that over the phone, but he’d just
assumed...

“Yes.  Yes, he was.  And I want to say I’m sorry.”

“Excuse me?”  The vampire’s confusion was clear in his voice.  Kate had just
told them Willow and Cordelia were okay, hadn’t she?  And if the women were
okay, just what did Kate have to be sorry about?  “What are you talking
about?”

“I’m sorry that I didn’t call to warn you about Sawyer’s escape,” the
detective explained, an apologetic look on her face.  “I got the news myself
barely five minutes before I was forced into that damn press conference, so
I didn’t have time to call you then, and after the conference...”

“Things were pretty hectic,” Angel finished for her, and Kate nodded.
“Look, I appreciate the apology, but that doesn’t really matter now, okay?
All that matters is that you got out there and stopped Sawyer, and Willow
and Cordy are all right.  How did you know where to find Sawyer, anyway?”

Kate smiled weakly.  “That’s kind of where the story gets a bit
complicated.”

Angel opened his mouth to ask Kate just what she meant by that, then quickly
altered his train of thought when he noticed a familiar figure walking
through the door.  “Wesley!” Angel called, waving his colleague over.

“Are they okay?” Wesley asked without preamble as he hurried over, clearly
worried about Willow and Cordelia.

“They’re fine,” Kate assured him.  A look of relief crossed the former
Watcher’s face.

“Thank God,” he murmured quietly before asking what he really wanted to
know.  “Was it Sawyer?”  At Kate’s nod, he went on.  “He did get taken in
again, didn’t he?”

Kate bit her lip.  “Not exactly.”

“Well, that’s a - Wait a minute.  What did you just say?  Is Sawyer still on
the loose?” Wesley asked.

“He’s dead.”

“He’s... he’s what?” the Englishman sputtered, stunned.

“He’s dead.  He had Willow, and he was threatening her, so...”

“You shot him,” Angel stated, not entirely sure how to take that news.  He
was thrilled that the threat Sawyer posed to Willow’s safety was gone, but
he was also pissed off that he’d never had the opportunity to get his hands
on the bastard before he died.

“I blew his ugly face off,” Kate told them, leaving both the vampire and the
Englishman momentarily speechless.

Wesley was the first of the pair to recover from the detective’s blunt
statement, and the former Watcher pushed his glasses, which had begun to
slide down, back into their proper place before speaking.  “Well, um, be
that as it may, I for one am eternally grateful that you were there.
However, I was wondering, how did you know where Sawyer was?”

“See that young man over there?” Kate asked, pointing at a young black man
who appeared to be in his early twenties.  He was standing quietly, staring
at one of the bland paintings that adorned the waiting room wall.

“I see him,” Angel replied, looking the guy over for a moment before
returning his attention to Detective Lockley.  “What about him?”

“His name’s Forrest Gates.  He’s the one who made the 911 call.  He made the
call from his cellular phone.  Apparently, he saw Sawyer pull Willow into
the alley, and he called for help.”  Kate paused then, and she seemed to be
weighing what she was about to say next.  After a moment, she spoke again.
“When I got there, he had a gun trained on Sawyer.”

“A gun?” Angel echoed, surprised by the revelation.

“Not just any gun, either.  It was military issue,” Kate informed him.
Kate’s words pricked something in the back of Angel’s mind, and he turned to
look at the young man suspiciously for a moment before pushing the thought
away and turning his attention back on the woman standing with him.

“Not that I’m complaining or anything, but what the hell was he doing in the
middle of Los Angeles with a military issue weapon?”

“You’ll have to ask him that.”

“Maybe I will,” Angel decided, making a move towards the young man, but
stopping before he got very far.  He turned back to Kate and Wesley.
“What’s going to happen to him?  I mean, I doubt it’s legal to have the gun
he was carrying.  Concealed weapon and all that.”

“Well, since only five people ever saw that gun, and one of those people is
dead, and the rest of us aren’t talking... Well, let’s just say the gun
never existed.  That way, there’s no hard question for the army guy to
answer.  I figure it’s the least I can do considering the fact that he kept
Sawyer from getting away with Willow.”

Angel nodded at that, then walked over to the man, leaving Kate with Wesley.
  The young man looked up as Angel approached, and a spark of recognition
crossed Forrest’s face before he schooled his features back to normal.

“Hello, Forrest.  I’m Angel.  Kate - Detective Lockley, that is - told me
that you saved Willow and Cordelia,” the vampire stated, and Forrest nodded
in response.

“You could say that.”

“She also said you had a military issue weapon.”

Forrest’s eyes widened at that; she’d told him that she wasn’t telling
anyone about that, claimed it would make things easier.  Less questions.

Angel smiled slightly at the look on the man’s face.  “Look, I’m just happy
that you helped; I don’t care how you did it.  But there is something I’m
curious about.  Why were you there?”

“Why do you want to know?”

“Just wondering, I guess.  Maybe it just seems odd, you know.  See, this
morning I got this phone call from a friend of mine.  He lives in Sunnydale,
if you’ve ever heard of it.  Small town a couple of hours from here.  It
seems that some military types are supposedly after me.  Don’t know why,
exactly.  I was too busy watching the press conference on Sawyer to pay much
attention.  But they’re after me.  And then you, some anonymous guy with a
military issue gun, just happens to save two women who are very close to me.
  It seems a tad bit weird, you know?  Not that I’m saying coincidences
don’t happen; it’s just that it’s in my nature to question.”

Forrest’s mind was stuck back on the fact that the phone call warning Angel
had been made that morning.  “I told them you were dead,” he blurted out
without thinking.

Angel smiled at that.  “Can’t argue with that,” he murmured.

“Look, if they’re still after you, this is serious,” he said, turning to
face the vampire fully.  “They know what you are.  Demon with a soul and all
that.”  Angel’s eyes widened at the words, and he quickly realized just who
was after him.  When he’d been in Sunnydale over Thanksgiving, Giles had
told them they were after some sort of military group, and the former
Watcher had later called him to update him about it.

“You’re part of the demon-hunting group, aren’t you?”

Forrest gave a quick nod.  “You could say that.  It’s called the Initiative.
  Look, they’ll experiment on you if they catch you, and if they can’t catch
you, they’ll kill you.  I was sent here to take you down.  I was supposed to
bring you back to Sunnydale with me.”

“But you never got close enough?” Angel mused.

“Actually, I did.  I just chose not to go after you.  You’re not like other
demons... The way you act, well, it’s just obvious that you’re different.”

“I’m not the only demon that’s not so bad.”

“You’re the only one I’ve seen.  The point is, I came here planning to take
you down.  Then I changed my mind, and I told my superior that you were
dead.  As in the forever kind of death.  Apparently, she didn’t buy it.”

“What changed your mind about bringing me in?” Angel asked, but a slight
commotion drew his attention away before Forrest could answer.  Cordelia and
Willow had walked out into the waiting area, and the two women, who both
appeared to be fine, had been immediately greeted by Kate and Wesley.  Angel
quickly headed in the direction of the group, and Forrest watched as the
vampire pulled the redhead into a hug, completely surrounding her in his
embrace as he leaned down to press a quick kiss to her lips.  It was then,
as he was watching the exchange, that Forrest answered Angel’s question.

“She did, man.”
 

Part Nineteen

“Now this is getting interesting,” Cordelia said as she and Willow sat alone
in Angel’s office.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” the redhead asked.  The two girls were
currently sitting on the couch in the office, their legs curled up
underneath them as they faced one another.  Kate had to go back to the
precinct, and Wesley was getting the girls some food.  He had been so
adamant about it that the girls hadn’t had the heart to tell him they
weren’t up to eating.  Seeing Sawyer’s gray matter splattered across the
ground had ruined their appetites indefinitely.

“Nothing, really.  It’s just, Angel obviously feels comfortable enough with
whatever is happening between the two of you to kiss you in public.”

“He was just happy that I was all right.  Okay?”

“He didn’t kiss me,” Cordelia pointed out.

“Well, maybe he wasn’t happy that you’re okay.  Maybe you annoy him, and
deep down he wishes you were dead,” Willow stated dryly, earning a glare
from her brunette friend.

“Not funny, Miss Thing,” Cordy retorted.

“Sorry,” the redhead replied contritely.  “I guess everything that’s
happened kind of has me cranky.  And it’s not over yet.  Well, the Sawyer
thing is, I guess, but we’ve got something new to take his place.”

“Don’t I know it,” the struggling actress replied as she looked into the
outer office where Forrest and Angel stood talking.  “If it’s not one thing,
it’s another.”

“Yeah.  This time it’s army guys.”

“All the way from Sunnydale,” Cordelia murmured, her eyes on the mysterious
Forrest Gates.  She was grateful to him for what he had done, but she still
wasn’t sure if she trusted him.  He had been sent here to go after Angel,
after all.

“I seem to bring the bad stuff with me, don’t I?” Willow mused.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

“They’re watching us.”

“What?” Forrest asked, surprised by the vampire’s statement.  Was the
Initiative really out there?  And what was more, could Angel really sense
them?  The young man squinted as he looked out the office window.  It had
started to rain not long after they’d left the hospital, and the rain was
coming down in sheets.  It was coming down so hard that he could barely make
out more than a red blob as a car slowly made its way down the nearly
flooded street.  “What are you talking about?”

“The girls,” Angel replied, nodding in the direction of his office.
“They’re trying to figure out just what the hell is going on out here.  I’m
pretty damn sure that they don’t trust you.”

“That’s understandable,” Forrest said with a slight nod as he continued to
stare out into the rain.  It was easier to do that than to look at the
vampire beside him.

The vampire beside him.

Dear Lord, it was really true.  Here he was, Forrest Allan Gates, one of the
top agents in the entire Initiative... talking to a vampire.  One of the
creatures he was sworn to either capture or destroy, and he was having a
conversation with him.  He was actually trying to help him!  He had never
seen this coming, and even the knowledge that Angel was no ordinary vampire,
and that he was doing the right thing, wasn’t enough to erase the shock
Forrest felt over the situation.

“Are you okay?” Angel asked, and the young man nodded slightly, but didn’t
turn around.  After a moment, he spoke.

“It’s just strange, you know... to be standing here with you.  My mind keeps
screaming that you’re a vampire.”

“Well, you’re mind’s certainly hit the nail on the head with that one,”
Angel said, drawing a small smile from Forrest.

“But you’re different,” the Initiative member continued quietly.  “I saw you
with Willow.  You actually care about her,” he said as he turned around.
“You love her.  Demons don’t love.”

“Some do,” Angel stated, thinking about Spike and Drusilla.  Crazy bitch or
not, Spike certainly loved the female vampire.

“How many care about humans?  How many vampires?”

“One that I know of,” Angel replied.

“That’s what I figured.  Anyway, I saw you with her, and then I thought
about how you acted with the other two in the office.”

“Cordelia and Wesley,” the vampire supplied.

“Yeah, them.  Anyway, I just decided that you shouldn’t be a target.”

“Why was I a target anyway?  How did you know about me?”

“I eavesdropped,” Forrest replied, no longer proud of his actions.  “I heard
Riley and Buffy talking, and she was telling him about you.”

“Buffy?  As in Buffy Summers?” Angel asked, getting a bit angry.  He knew
from Willow that Buffy was involved with this Riley guy - and he didn’t
really care all that much, especially now that he was discovering he had
feelings for Willow - and he also knew that Riley was supposedly involved in
this demon-hunting group that the Slayer had been investigating.  Which of
course meant that Angel was led to the unavoidable conclusion that Buffy had
told Riley all about him, thus putting both him and Willow in possible
danger from Riley.  And obviously, that danger was coming to fruition.

“Yeah, Buffy Summers.  It’s not exactly a common name, you know.  Girl
thinks she’s the Slayer.  Some imagination, huh?”

“Not imagination,” Angel replied, his voice slightly hard as he thought
about the danger Buffy had probably brought to all of her friends as well as
herself by divulging her secret to this Riley guy.  “She is the Slayer.”

“But-”

“Trust me on this, Forrest.”

“Slayers don’t exist.”

“And you know this how?  I’ve been walking this earth as a vampire for the
better part of two and a half centuries.  Trust me when I tell you that
Slayers do indeed exist.  And Buffy Summers is a Slayer.  Just like I’m a
vampire with a soul.”  Annoyed and frustrated, Angel began pacing back and
forth across the room.  “I can’t believe she told some guy she barely knows
these things.  Doesn’t she know how dangerous that could be?  And not just
to her, either.  To everyone around her.”

“Riley cares about her.”

“Like I care.  All I care about right now is the fact that a bunch of your
friends are on their way up here to come after me, and I have to find a way
to keep from getting captured.  And let’s not forget those two women in
there on the couch.  They depend on me, and I have to keep them safe from
your friends.”

“We don’t go after civilians.”

“Are you really certain about that?” Angel asked.  He knew what had happened
to Willow at the girls’ dorm room back in November when Spike had attacked
her - the military guys had wanted to take her back with them, too - and he
wasn’t willing to put anything past these army guys.

“Look, Angel, I’m sorry for my part in this.  I thought it would be over if
I told them you were dead.  Obviously I was wrong.  But I want to fix it.  I
mean, it is my fault.  I’m the one who told Walsh about you.  Buffy and
Riley had no idea that I was outside listening in on them.  And Riley hasn’t
told anybody about anything.  The whole Slayer thing... apparently it wasn’t
new to him.  I mean, he didn’t seem surprised.  He was actually the one who
brought it up.  So he’s been keeping that from the Initiative for awhile
now.  I’m willing to bet that he would have kept you a secret, too.  Which
means that this is all my fault.  It’s my mess.  I’d like to help you fix
it.”

“Look, Forrest, I really appreciate the-”

“Oh, my God!  Somebody help!”

Both men turned toward the office at the scream, and they almost
simultaneously made a dash for the room.  Angel quickly dropped to his knees
beside Willow, who was struggling to keep Cordelia from falling off the
couch as the other girl writhed in pain.

“Vision,” the vampire muttered softly, wondering just what the hell was
going to happen now.  Hadn’t they had enough for the day?  He certainly
thought they had.  But, no, the Powers That Be just had to send Cordelia a
vision and complicate things even more.  Sighing, the vampire glanced up at
Forrest.  “The top drawer of Cordy’s desk... she has some type of headache
medicine there.  Bring that and some water.”  Forrest nodded his acquiesce,
and he was returning with the requested items just as the vision ended.

“I really hate that part,” Cordelia groaned as she reached out for the
much-needed items Forrest had brought.

“What did you see this time?” Angel prompted, wanting to get whatever it was
over with so he could get back to the matter at hand.

“A cave... it was raining... I think it may have been on the beach.  I got a
flash of a carnival and lots of wet sand,” she told him.  “Two little
kids... and a demon.  Green, scaly, really ugly.  I think it had a horn.”

“Okay, so I head down to the beach.  But where?”

“A carnival on the beach near some sea caves,” Willow murmured.  “I think I
may know where it is.  I passed by something like that when I came up to
LA.”

“Where?” Angel asked.

“I’ll show you,” the redhead said as she began to stand.

“No way.  You’re not coming with me.”

“Yes, I am.”

“It’s too dangerous.”

“And I really care,” Willow said.  “Look, Angel, you get the demon.  You can
kill him all you want to, and I’ll stay the hell out of the way.  In fact,
I’ll be the one getting the kids out of the way and back to their parents
while you get the bad guy, okay?”

“Willow, I-”

“Resolve face,” she told him, and Angel sighed.

“Fine.  You can come.  I’ve got some weapons in the trunk that should work.”
  He looked up at Forrest.  “Will you stay-”

“I’m not going anywhere,” the young man assured him.  “I’ll keep an eye out
for the Initiative, and I’ll get Cordelia the hell out of here if it seems
like something’s going down.”

“Thanks,” the vampire replied as he stood and headed out of the office,
Willow at his heels.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

“Subject is on the move,” the young man said as he watched the vampire leave
his office.

“Underground?” the voice on the other end of the phone asked.

“Negative.  Cloud cover caused by the rain is apparently sufficient
protection from the sun.  Also, subject has someone with him.  A young
female redhead that appears to be human.  They’re getting in a car right
now.  What should we do?”

“What do you think you should do?” the voice asked slightly mockingly.
“Follow them.”
 

Part Twenty

“Um... this whole thing that just happened here... does is happen very
often?” Forrest asked, eyeing Cordelia as if he was afraid she might shatter
into a million pieces at any moment.  Of course, the brunette did feel as if
her head might break at any given moment, so Forrest’s reaction really
wasn’t all that far off.

“You mean the whole vision thing?” she asked tiredly as she rubbed her
temples.

“That would definitely be the thing,” the young man replied as he sat down
on the couch next to the brunette woman, turning so that he could study her
for a moment.  She was beginning to get her color back, which he took as a
good sign.  Of course, that still didn’t explain what had just happened.  He
was hoping she could do that for him.

“I, uh... well it’s actually kind of simple.  Okay, so that’s not entirely
true.  The basic thing is that I get visions of people who need help.”
Sighing, she turned her head so that she was looking at Forrest.  “Angel’s
one of the good guys, and the Powers That Be, whoever they are, know that.
I’m his link to the people that need his help.”

“Has... has it always been this way?”

Cordelia laughed hollowly.  “Not even close.  Until Angel and I met up here
in LA, we didn’t really know each other all that well.  Back when we were in
Sunnydale - I actually went to high school with Willow - I was just some
snobby girl who happened to help out on occasion.  Then, well, stuff
happened, and Angel and I both moved to LA - separately, of course - and we
ran into each other here.  I needed a job, he needed a secretary...”

“But the visions...”

“That was Doyle’s domain.  At least, it was in the beginning.  He... he was
a friend of ours.  Doyle was, um, he was half-human and half Brachen demon,
and he was the one who had the visions.  He... died... and he, uh, he passed
his visions on to me.”

“I’m sorry.  About your friend, that is.  And your visions, too, I guess.”

Cordelia smiled slightly.  “Thanks.”

Forrest returned the smile, and the two proceeded to sit in silence for a
few minutes, neither of them sure what to say next.  After awhile, Forrest
cleared his throat and spoke.  “So, uh, what do we do now?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, do we just sit here and wait for them to come back, or what?  I mean,
what do you usually do while Angel runs off to help the people in your
visions?”

“Before or after I make friends with migraine medication?”

“Well, since you’ve already taken the headache stuff, I’d say after.”

The brunette shrugged.  “It depends, I guess.  Sometimes I go with him, and
Wesley does, too.  It’s not just him fighting the bad guys.  It’s all of
us... And to tell you the truth, I really don’t get a ton of visions.  A lot
of times, the bad guys find their way to us without any work at all on our
part...” Cordelia trailed off as the bell that indicated that someone was
entering the main office jingled, and both she and Forrest jumped up off the
couch, Forrest pushing the young woman behind him.

“Well, I imagine everything’s cold by now, but...” Wesley trailed off as he
saw the defensive stance both young people were in, and he frowned as he set
down the bags containing the food he had brought.  “Well, hello.”

“Wesley,” Cordelia said, breathing a sigh of relief.

“Yes, it’s me,” the Englishman said, sounding a bit confused.  “Of course it
is.  Why?  Were you expecting someone else?”

“There’s always the possibility that some of Forrest’s commando buddies
could show up,” the brunette reminded the man.

“Yes, yes.  Quite right.  Is, um... where are Willow and Angel?  Are they
downstairs, or-”

“Vision,” Cordelia interrupted him.  “They went out to get the demon, and
Forrest and I stayed to hold down the fort, so to speak.”

“A vision... bloody hell,” Wesley murmured.  “I can’t believe that on top of
everything that’s been happening...”

“Well, believe it.  ‘Cause it happened.  My pounding head can attest to
that.”

“What a day we’re having,” the former Watcher said softly.  “When it rains,
it pours, I guess.”

Cordelia looked out the window, where the rain was still coming down in
sheets.  “It certainly does.”

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

“Can you drive any slower?” Xander asked sarcastically.  “’Cause, you know,
at the rate you’re going, we may actually get to LA before I die!”

“Oh, shut your gob!” Spike returned, leaning forward to see through the
downpour.  “The rain out here is awful.  I’d like to see you do any better.”

“Fine.  Pull over, and we’ll switch seats so I can drive.”

“Not bloody likely,” the vampire replied.

“Will you two shut up?  You’re giving me a headache,” Riley complained from
the backseat.  “And Spike, can you please drive a little faster?”

“And why exactly are we going here again?” the bleached blonde asked as he
grudgingly complied with Riley’s request.

“To help Angel,” Xander replied.  In all honesty, that wasn’t what was
foremost in his mind, nor was it what was most important to Riley.  They
were far more concerned with the possibility that the Initiative would come
for Angel, and Willow or someone else (such as Cordelia) would get caught in
the crossfire.

“And why in the name of Satan would I want to help my poof of a sire?” the
vampire returned as he slowed down again.

“Because if you didn’t, Buffy said she would shove a stake up your ass,”
Xander reminded him.  Since Graham had told them that the Initiative had the
Slayer under surveillance, it had been decided that she should stay in
Sunnydale in order to avoid tipping off the army guys to the fact that
reinforcements were heading Angel’s way.  Of course, Xander figured it would
have been a good idea to keep the Slayer away from the City of Angels - and
one Angel in particular - anyway, especially since Riley was going in an
effort to talk his friends out of this missions.  Riley meeting up with
Angel for the first time was going to be bad enough, and add Spike to the
mix... yee, gods, this was going to be scary.  And Buffy’s presence would
have just made it worse.  Therefore, Xander was glad the blonde girl was
staying in Sunnydale.  The fact that he was still pissed at Buffy for not
even calling Willow once during this entire ordeal had nothing at all to do
with his joy over the Slayer’s absence.  No, none at all.  Okay... maybe a
little.  Or a lot.  He just wasn’t going to admit to it.

“So what if Slutty the Slayer shoves a stuck up my ass?  It’s not like it’ll
*kill* me or anything,” Spike replied, his voice breaking through Xander’s
thoughts.

“Yeah, but I imagine it would hurt you pretty badly.  Unless of course, you
regularly shove a stake up your...  and I really don’t want to think about
that,” Xander said, his distaste showing on his face as Spike laughed.  He
loved getting to Xapper, and this time, he hadn’t even had to try.

“Cut it out, you two,” Riley said, his voice annoyed.  “And *please* speed
up, Spike.  I don’t know how much a of head start the Initiative had, but I
imagine they’re probably already in LA, and if we hope to be of any help at
all, we better get our asses down there, and be quick about it.”

“Well thank you, Commander Sunshine,” Xander muttered sarcastically, his
worry for Willow rising twofold.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

“Angel?  Angel, are you okay?!?”

The vampire turned at Willow’s voice, and he saw the slight redhead
scrambling back into the cave.  She nearly lost her footing, but instantly
recovered, quickly making her way over to the vampire, visibly checking him
over for any injuries.

“Willow, I’m fine,” he told her, reaching out to brush her drenched hair
from her face.  “The demon went down easily.  He would have been able to
take out those kids...”

“But he was no match for a big, bad vampire?” the redhead said with a smile,
which Angel returned.

“Something like that.  And about those kids...”

“They’re fine.  I helped them find their parents, and I think the parents
were so happy to see them that they’ll completing forget about punishing
them for wandering off.  I swear, the mom was so happy she actually hugged
*me* like five times,” she told him, the grin on her face seeming to light
up everything around them.  Damn, but she was beautiful.  “Angel?” Willow
said tentatively, not sure what was on the vampire’s mind.

“Yes?”

“What... well, the look on your face... What are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking about how damn much I want to kiss you,” Angel told her
bluntly, and Willow’s eyes widened slightly in surprise before she grinned
at him.

“Well, how about doing it instead of just thinking it?” she asked, and it
was Angel’s turn to look surprised.  He recovered quickly, though, and
leaned in to kiss her.

Bliss.  That’s what this felt like.  That’s what this tasted like.  Lord,
how he wished he had no curse to hold him back... He wished that this could
just go on forever, but...

“You’re cold,” Angel said softly as he pulled back, looking down at the
young woman in his arms.  “You’re trembling.”

“I think part of that’s because of you,” she whispered, making Angel fall
for her all the more.

“We should still go back, though.  Then others are waiting, and they may be
worried.  We need to get back to the office and-”

And it was then that an unexpected voice broke in.

“Oh, no, vampire.  I don’t think you’re going anywhere.”
 

Part Twenty-One

“Hello, hello.  The cavalry is here!”

At the unexpected sound of her ex-boyfriend’s voice, Cordelia quickly
stepped out of Angel’s office and into the main room of Angel
Investigations, stopping short when she saw that Xander was with some guy
she’d never seen before... and Spike.

What the hell was Spike doing there?  She knew he was neutered and all that,
but still... The brunette opened her mouth to ask why the bleached blonde
vampire was there (and why the others were there, as well), but Forrest
managed to speak first.

“What in the *hell* is Hostile 17 doing here, Riley?” he asked, leaving
Cordelia to assume that the unknown blonde man with Xander and Spike was
Buffy’s new boyfriend Riley Finn.  She studied him for a moment.  He wasn’t
all that bad looking, though his head was kind of big.  Of course, that
wasn’t really the most important thing at the moment, now was it...?

“The name’s Spike, mate.  And it’ll do you good to just accept that I’m here
to help and move on,” the vampire ground out, his eyes flashing slightly.
Another damn commando boy...

“Why are you here, Forrest?” Riley asked, confused by his friend’s presence.
  If he’d known Forrest was going to be there, he would have never shown up
with Spike.  Too many questions to answer.

“He saved Willow’s life, so we invited him over to stay awhile,” Cordelia
said dryly.  “Of course, he has an invitation to be here, and you don’t,
which begs the question... Why are you here?”

“We’re here to... wait a minute.  Did you say he saved Willow’s life?”
Xander asked, his eyes widening.  Dear Lord, what had happened now?

“That Sawyer guy tried to grab her again, and Forrest here stopped him...”
the brunette said with a shrug, not sure how far she really wanted to go
into it.  As it was, she’d probably have nightmares about Sawyer’s face
exploding for weeks to come.  She didn’t exactly want to do anything that
would cause the incident to be even more prevalent in her mind.

“Well, is she okay?  Where is she?  Can I see her?” Xander asked, the
questions spouting forth at such a rapid-fire pace that, at first, Cordelia
could only blink in response.  After a moment, however, she found her voice,
and quickly went to reassure him.

“She’s fine.  I promise.  A little shaken up, but hey, who wouldn’t be?”

“Where is she?” Xander asked again, anxious to have his question answered so
that he could go find his friend.  All thoughts of helping Angel had flown
from his mind the second he had heard that Willow had been attacked again.

“She’s with Angel.”

“So, what... she’s like downstairs or something?” Xander asked, already
headed for the elevator.  Cordelia grabbed his sleeve in order to halt his
progress.

“I had a vision.  They went to take care of it,” she told him, wincing when
the dark-haired young man whirled on her.

“He let her go with him?!?” he nearly yelled.  “What the hell was he
thinking?”

“She used her resolve face,” Cordelia said in defense of her boss.  “She’ll
be fine, okay?  Angel will take care of her.  I mean, Sawyer’s dead now.  He
can’t hurt her anymore.”

“Yeah, but Riley’s little army buddies can,” he retorted, glaring at Buffy’s
boyfriend as if it were all the blonde man’s fault.

“Hey, the Initiative doesn’t go after humans,” the young man protested.  His
mind was still on the fact that this Cordelia girl apparently had visions,
but he knew that now was not the time to ask about them.

“Not even if they interfere with a capture?” Xander challenged, his eyes
flashing in anger.

“He’s right, you know,” Forrest said softly.  “If she tries to keep Angel
from being taken in - and I assure you, if the Initiative does catch up to
them, she will do that - then we both know they wouldn’t have a problem
taking her in, too.”

“Great.  This is just great,” Cordelia muttered, throwing her hands up in
the air before she continued, her voice sarcastic.  “What the hell did we do
to deserve all this fun and excitement?”

“Well, perhaps, the Initiative, as you call them, won’t find-”

“They had a head start on us, Wes,” Xander interrupted.  “They’ve probably
already been here for a couple of hours.”

“But Graham’s with them,” Riley pointed out.  “He’ll try to keep them away
from Angel until we can do something.”

“Oh, yeah, and if my success at diverting the Initiative’s attention away
from Angel is any indication, then we’re all royally screwed,” Forrest said,
his voice a cross between anger and worry.

“Okay, so we’ve got to find Willow and Angel, figure out what to do...”
Riley began.

“Wouldn’t it be easier to just wait for them to come back?” Cordelia asked.
“I mean, look at it out there.  It’s a mess.  The rain’s coming down so hard
you can hardly see ten feet in front of you.”

“And that’s all the more reason to go now,” Riley replied, and Forrest
nodded in agreement.

“You’re right.  This kind of cover... It’s make it all the more easy to just
grab them and run without anybody noticing that it’s been done.”

“Oh, God,” Cordelia muttered, suddenly extremely worried for her friends.

“My thoughts exactly,” Riley said, though his worry was only for Willow.
The way he saw it, no matter how nice the guy was, Angel was still a vampire
when the day was done.  And that meant Riley didn’t particularly care for
the creature’s well-being.  But Willow on the other hand... She was Buffy
best friend, and he didn’t want her to get hurt.  And he knew that there
were some guys in the Initiative who wouldn’t give a rat’s ass that she was
human, especially if she was willingly with a vampire.  “Okay... where...
Where would they be going?  Willow and Angel?”

“The beach, to fight a demon,” Cordelia said, her brow furrowed slightly as
she once more tried to recall the details of her vision.  Usually, in an
effort to try to distance herself from the hurt and the pain that filled
each vision, she tried to forget them as soon as she told Angel about them,
so it was odd to be drudging one up again.  “There was a carnival nearby,
and... damn it, it’s so hard to remember these stupid things!  They’re
really just flashes and stuff...”

“Wait a minute,” Xander said softly, lifting his hand.  “I... I think I
remember a carnival on our way up here...”

“I saw it, too.  It’s not too far from here,” Riley said with a nod.  He
turned to Cordelia.  “Could that be the place?”

“Were there caves around it?”

“I... maybe.  I mean, I can’t guarantee it, but I think there were.”

“Okay, then.  That’s where they’ll be,” she said, rubbing her temple and
grimacing.  Damn, all this thinking and talking was hurting her head.  In
general, she tried to take it easy after one of her mind-cracking visions,
but that clearly wasn’t in the cards for today.

“Are you okay?” Xander asked, his eyes concerned as he gazed at his
ex-girlfriend.  He may have been with Anya now - and he did love the
ex-demon - but that didn’t mean he had stopped caring for Cordelia.

“Just a headache,” the brunette replied, waving away his concern.

“More like a vision-induced migraine,” Forrest countered softly.  He was
fairly certain he wouldn’t forget the sight of Cordelia on the couch,
writhing in pain as the vision ran its course, any time soon.

“I’ll be fine,” Cordy told him.  “Don’t worry about me.  It’s Willow and
Angel that we should be concerned with right now.”

Xander nodded, still not sure Cordelia was completely okay, but willing to
let it go for now.  After all, Willow could be in serious trouble here.  “We
should get going then.”

The others nodded, and began to head for the door.

“But Spike should stay here,” Riley said before anyone got outside, and the
blonde vampire turned and growled.

“And just why should I do that?”

“Because the Initiative is human, and you’re neutered,” the blonde man
replied.  Before Spike could growl out a response to that, he continued.
“Look, you being there would just cause more problems.  They’d be going
after you and Angel, that would make Willow more likely to get caught in the
crossfire.”

“Then why the hell am I here to begin with, you wanker?”

“My car’s in the shop, so we needed a ride,” Riley replied.  “Plus, you
would have come in handy in case we ran into a demon.”

“So what am I supposed to do now?”

“Stay here with Cordelia, make sure everything goes okay on this end.  Think
of it this way, if a demon comes by, you get to kill it,” Xander told him.

“I think Forrest should stay here, too,” Riley put in, only to have his
friend turn on him.

“And why the hell should I do that?  If the Initiative has an entire team
here, we may need all the help we can get.”

“Your career will be totally screwed, man.”

“And so will yours.  And seeing as Walsh obviously knew I was lying when I
told her that Angel was dead, I’d say my career’s already down the toilet.
Come on, let’s go,” Forrest said, heading out the door with Wesley, Xander,
and Riley at his heels.

Cordelia, too worried to care that she had just been left alone with Spike,
watched as the men headed out in search of Willow and Angel.

She just hoped they wouldn’t be too late.
 

Part Twenty-Two

Stunned, Willow and Angel whirled around in unison to face the unexpected
voice, a sight that would have been comical had the situation not been so
dire.  The redhead’s eyes widened in shock as a group of army men filed into
the cave.  There were five - well, actually there were six, if you counted
the person who had spoken - but that person definitely couldn’t be
considered an army *man*, that much was for certain.  The speaker was the
only one who wasn’t heavily armed, and Angel could see that the commando
guys held not only stun guns, but two of them held crossbows as well, a
clear sign that if they didn’t manage to capture him, they intended to
simply take him out.

The witch and the vampire exchanged a look, both knowing that they were in
deep trouble.  “I knew I shouldn’t have let you come with me,” Angel
murmured softly, so softly that only Willow could hear him.

“Let me?  Please, you didn’t *let* me do anything.  I wanted to come.  And
remember, if I hadn’t come along, then you may not have gotten those kids
out of here in time to save them, and they’d be demon food.  So there,” the
redhead whispered back, somehow managing to sound firm even though her voice
was quiet.  Giving him a stern look to drive home her point, she turned her
head to face the obvious leader of the group.

Professor Maggie Walsh.

“What a pleasant surprise, Professor.  Well, really, it’s not so pleasant,”
Willow said in a clear voice as she eyed her psychology teacher.  The
redhead knew instantly that this woman was the head of the Initiative, and
it sickened her to think that she had once respected this woman.  This same
woman who was now out to capture Angel.  “I never expected to see you here.
Does the college know of your... extra-curricular activities?”  Out of the
corner of her eye Willow caught sight of a man that she was fairly certain
was one of Riley’s friends, and it was all she could do not to use her magic
to knock him in the head with his own weapon.  The only thing that stopped
her was the fear of what these people would do to her if they knew she was a
witch.  No, it was best not to let these people know of her mystical
abilities - however slight they might be - unless absolutely necessary.

Graham watched the scene unfold in silence, trying to figure out how to get
all three of them - Willow, Angel, and himself - out of this mess unscathed.
  At the moment, the odds were bad: four armed Initiative operatives, plus
Professor Walsh, against a vampire, one operative, and a teenage girl.
Graham knew that even if it was to save his own life, he would have a very
difficult time shooting one of the men he worked with - even if the gun was
only set on stun.  Plus, he was pretty damn sure that Willow and Angel
weren’t exactly leaning towards trusting him at the moment, which would make
escape even more difficult.

“I suggest you step aside, Miss Rosenberg,” Walsh said coolly, eyeing her
student.  She hadn’t expected to see the redhead here; originally, all
Forrest had told her was that the vampire was looking after a friend of
Buffy Summers.  He’d never said which one, and she’d never even suspected...

“I don’t think so,” Willow replied, her voice equally cool as she took a
step closer to Angel.  She knew that if she moved away from him, the
Initiative members would immediately try to take him out.  At the moment,
Walsh didn’t want to hurt her, and Willow had decided to try to use that to
buy some time and try to come up with a plan.  Not that any plans were
currently forthcoming...

“Must I repeat myself?” Walsh asked.  “I said, step aside.  It's for the best,
Miss Rosenberg.  You have no idea what you’re dealing with here.”

Angel opened his mouth to speak, but Willow silenced him with a look.  She
was sick and tired of this crap.  All she had come to LA for was some damn
de-ratting spell for Amy, and what had she ended up with?  Chaos, absolute
freakin’ chaos.  First there was the psycho who had thought she was his dead
ex-girlfriend and attacked her twice, then there was the whole Forrest thing
(which had actually turned out pretty well), then Cordelia’d had a vision,
and now she and Angel were being cornered by the damn Initiative.  No, this
trip had not turned out as she had expected.

And Willow was way beyond pissed.

“*I* don’t know what I’m dealing with?  No, back up just a damn a minute,”
the redhead retorted, her voice angry.  “*You* are the one who has no idea
who she’s dealing with.  If you did, you wouldn’t be here.”

Walsh’s eyes flashed angrily at this outburst, and Willow could tell that
the woman was used to giving orders and having them followed.  Well, Willow
sure as hell wasn’t going to follow orders.  Not this time.  Not when
Angel’s life could be at stake.

“Miss Rosenberg, as your professor, I order you-”

“Yeah, that position wields a whole hell of a lot of power out here in the
real world.  Here’s a news flash for you: this isn’t college, and the
semester’s already over.  I’m not moving.  So deal with it.”

“Willow maybe you should-”

“Shut up, Angel,” the redhead snapped, and Angel snapped his mouth shut.  He
could practically feel the angry energy coming off of the redhead, and if
there was one thing he knew, it was that pissing off somebody with magical
abilities could be a Very Big Mistake.

“Listen, chick, you don’t know what you’re getting yourself into,” one of
the Initiative guys spoke up.  “This guy is-”

“A vampire?” Willow interrupted, pleased with the shocked look that crossed
the man’s face.  “What?  You thought I didn’t know?  I know what Angel is,
and, more importantly, I know who he is.  It’s you idiots who don’t know
squat.  Hunt, capture, destroy.  That’s all it is for you people.  Good and
evil doesn’t mean jack to you.  Angel’s good.  And from where I’m standing,
it’s you guys that are evil.”

“Girl, you have no idea who we are,” the guy tried again, and Willow
seriously considered attempting a spell that would make the guy lose his
voice temporarily.  Of course, with her luck, she’d probably wind up turning
him into a frog or something.

“You’re the Initiative.  You hunt vampires, capture them, and make them
virtually helpless.  Believe me, I know a whole hell of a lot more about you
than you do about me.”

Willow’s eyes narrowed slightly as she caught sight of some movement to
Walsh’s left, and her gaze focused briefly on Riley’s friend.  Her eyes met
his for just a moment, but she could read the look in his eyes easily.  He
didn’t have the steely gaze of Walsh, or even the look of disbelief that was
on the face of the commando guy who was trying to talk some sense into her.
He was gazing steadily at her, and, even though their eyes met only briefly,
she could see that he recognized her, and that he was trying to come up with
some sort of a plan.

He was trying to find a way to get them out of this mess.  All three of
them.

Graham saw the exact moment when Willow realized and accepted that he was on
her side - and Angel’s side, too.  The redhead’s stance relaxed almost
imperceptibly; it would have been impossible to see if one hadn’t been
deliberately watching for it.  It made him feel a little better - he knew
she was willing to work with him.  Of course, he still didn’t have a plan.

Walsh eyed the redhead angrily, sick of the girl’s resistance.  It had been
so long since someone had told the older woman no that she was no longer
capable of dealing with it.  “Move her,” the blonde woman instructed her men
in a steely voice.

Angel stiffened at the command, and Willow instinctively knew that the
vampire had changed into game face.  “Nobody touches her,” he growled, and
the Initiative members paused, glancing at their leader.  None of them had
really been close to a vampire that hadn’t been de-fanged before.  Usually
they were a good twenty yards away from a vamp when they dropped them.
Either that, or they snuck up behind it...

“I said, move her,” Walsh commanded again, and apparently deciding they’d
rather risk the wrath of Angel than Maggie Walsh, four of the Initiative
operatives - all except for Graham - made a move toward the redhead.

“No!” Willow yelled.  What happened next was, well, unexpected to say the
least.  The redhead had no idea how she managed to do it - maybe it was the
extreme emotions that had built up within her over the past few days,
whatever.  It didn’t matter.  What mattered was that it did happen.

A white flash of light filled the cave, and a wave of power rushed over the
approaching commandos, knocking the men on their butts.

Willow’s eyes widened as she took in the sight of what she had done, and she
turned to Angel, looking to the vampire for some sort of an answer.  Instead
of answering - for he had no answer - Angel grabbed the redhead’s arm,
hoping to get the hell out of this place before the commandos regrouped.

And that was when they heard the clattering of steps as more people made
their way inside.

“Oh, Goddess, what now?” Willow muttered, not even noticing that one of the
commandos had recovered and was currently reaching for her.

“Get the hell away from her!”

Forrest’s voice boomed out, echoing through the close quarters of the cave.
Willow looked to the entrance, breathing a sigh of relief when she saw that
the new arrivals were friendly ones.  Riley and Xander had stumbled in after
Forrest, which meant it was now six against five, much better odds than
before.

Riley stared at his boss, then looked over his subordinates, all of whom had
frozen at Forrest’s sudden outburst.  His gaze settled on Graham for a
moment, then moved to Willow and the still vamped-out Angel.  “Come on.
Let’s get out of here.”

“Oh, Agent Finn, I don’t think that’s going to happen,” Walsh said, and it
was then that they realized that Walsh had pulled out a gun - not a stun
gun, not a crossbow, but a real gun.  The kind of gun that was used against
humans rather than vampires.

And it was pointed straight at Willow.
 

Part Twenty-Three

Riley stared at the gun pointed at his friend, then lifted his shocked gaze
to the face of the woman he had considered his mentor.

“What are you doing?” the blonde young man cried. “Are you insane?”

“She’s one of them,” Walsh said coldly. “We’ll take her in, too. And if
she refuses to cooperate, she’ll be destroyed.”

“What the hell are you talking about, ‘one of them’? Willow’s human!”
Riley, Forrest, and Xander hadn’t been there when Willow had put on her show
of magical powers, so they had no idea where Walsh’s reasoning was coming
from.

“Is she, Agent Finn? Is she really? Have you ever seen what she can do?
She knocked four of my men across the cave without even touching them.”

“In self-defense,” Willow put in, still standing there staring down the
barrel on the handgun.

Riley nodded slightly, realizing what was going on. He’d been aware of the
redhead’s interest in witchcraft, he’d just never seen a demonstration of
her powers. He’d had no idea how powerful she was. “So she’s a witch,” he
said with a shrug, his voice calm and reasonable. Something in the
professor’s eyes told him that the woman was on the verge of totally losing
it, and he didn’t want to set her off. He knew she’d shoot if anyone made
any sudden moves, so Willow’s life truly depended on it. “She’s still
human. And I was led to believe that the object of the Initiative was to
protect humans, not hurt them. Put the gun down, Professor.”

“That’s not going to happen, Riley,” the woman replied. “I want that
vampire, and if the girl interferes, I’ll kill her.”

“And just why do you want Angel so badly, anyway?” Willow questioned, her
eyes flashing.

“Willow-” Angel said softly, trying to warn the redhead not to say anything
that would incite the woman. He thought he could get the young witch out of
the way in time if Walsh made a move to actually shoot, but he wasn’t
certain. Therefore, he wanted to make sure no shots were fired... He didn’t
want to take a chance with Willow’s life.

However, Willow ignored him.

“Why do you want him so much, Professor Walsh?” She glanced around at the
weapons that the Initiative members held, her eyes resting on the crossbows.
“It’s certainly not to *study* him, or whatever it is you claim to do to
demons. You’re more than ready to kill him right here, that much is
obvious. And why is that, Professor? Is it because he’s proof that not all
the creatures that walk the night are evil? Here he stands, proof that you
and yours are wrong. Is that what frightens you so much? Someone finds out
- whoops! Walsh is full of crap - and there goes your funding.”

“That is not true!” Walsh insisted. “The Initiative is right! You’re the
one who is wrong.”

“Says who? You? Well, this may come as a surprise to you, but I don’t give
a damn what you think,” Xander broke in suddenly, trying to draw the woman’s
attention away from Willow. He couldn’t stand the sight of his best friend
having a gun pointed at her, and he was willing to do anything he could in
order to help, even if it was simply acting as a distraction so Angel could
play hero. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Angel beginning to ease
Willow to the left, where she would be out of the path of any bullet fired.

But that wasn’t the only thing he saw.

One of the Initiative members had apparently decided to take advantage of
the fact that the individuals around him were distracted, and he had raised
his crossbow to the ready. Xander’s eyes widened as the guy took careful
aim at Angel, obviously intending to take the vampire out - permanently.
Wildly, Xander looked towards Angel and Willow, and he saw from the look on
the redhead’s face that she had seen it, too. Xander opened his mouth,
preparing to shout out a warning...

And that was when all hell broke loose.

“No!” Xander and Willow screamed, their voices both sounding out in unison
just as the Initiative member prepared to release the bolt and send it
flying into Angel’s chest.

Without thinking - for there was no time for conscious thought - Forrest
leapt at the man who held the crossbow - a man named O’Connor that Forrest
had once called friend - hoping to knock off his aim. He heard the man
curse as he slammed into him, but he also saw the bolt leave the crossbow
and go flying off in the general direction of Angel and Willow. He just
hoped that he had knocked into O’Connor hard enough to make the shot go
wide.

Then, somewhere, in the back of his mind, Forrest registered the sound of a
gunshot.

Riley lunged for professor Walsh as her finger squeezed the trigger, and he
could have sworn his heart actually stopped when he heard the gun going off.
He felt her body jerk as the recoil went through her, and he grimaced as
they both fell to the ground, colliding hard with the floor of the cave.

Graham was momentarily frozen when the gun went off, unable to move or even
think for a split second that felt like an eternity. When he regained his
senses, however, he tossed his weapon aside and quickly went to help Riley
subdue Walsh, searching for the handcuffs he knew he had tucked away
somewhere on his uniform as he made his way to the struggling pair.

The instant Xander had opened his mouth to yell out a warning to Willow and
Angel, he had also lunged for the pair, hoping to knock them out of the way
of the bolt that was sure to go whizzing towards the vampire and the witch.
He’d seen Forrest dive for the guy with the crossbow, and he’d barely been
able to keep from screaming when he heard Walsh’s gun go off. He just
prayed that the bullet didn’t hit Willow.

Willow.

She was all Xander saw at the moment, and he heard her gasp as he impacted
with the redhead and Angel, who was also trying to push Willow out of the
way. The three of them went crashing to the ground in a heap, with Xander
landing on the bottom.

Angel could feel the bullet that Walsh had fired rip through his side, and
he swore loudly as the pain from it tore through him. The vampire snarled
as he hit the ground, and he heard both Willow and Xander grunt as he fell
on them.

Quickly, Angel pushed himself off of the pair, turning to see where Walsh
was. Riley and one of the Initiative members - Angel didn’t know the guy,
but suspected that he was the Graham that Forrest had told him about - had
subdued the woman, and she was currently lying in the dirt that covered the
floor of the cave, her hands cuffed behind her back. It didn’t appear that
she would be causing trouble for the time being. The vampire then turned
his gaze to the shell-shocked Initiative members who seemed stunned into
immobility, then looked to Forrest, who had apparently disarmed the guy with
the crossbow.

The guy with the crossbow.

Where the hell had that bolt ended up?

Xander groaned softly as he pushed himself up off the ground, hearing Willow
whimper softly as he jostled her.

“Hey, Wills, are you - oh, God,” he said as he got a good look at her.

Riley heard the stunned horror in Xander’s voice, and he looked over to
where Xander, Angel, and Willow were, his jaw dropping in shock when he saw
what Xander was looking at.

Sticking out of Willow’s back, lodged just below her shoulder, was the
crossbow bolt.

“Oh, Jesus,” Forrest breathed as he rushed over to Willow’s side, reaching
for her as if he wanted to do something to help her, then pulling back,
obviously worried that touching her would just do more damage.

“I’m... I’m fine,” Willow managed.

“Like hell you are,” Angel growled in a voice tinged with panic. “There is
a crossbow bolt embedded in your shoulder.”

“I’m aware of that. It’s not that deep, I don’t think.”

“We’ve got to get her to a hospital,” Riley said, hardly aware of the fact
that the Initiative members were leaving the cave, hauling the
still-handcuffed Maggie Walsh with them. Of the uniformed agents present,
only Graham stayed behind.

“Take the bolt out first,” Willow instructed.

“What? We shouldn’t-” Graham protested.

“Take. It. Out,” the redhead ordered.

Angel looked over at Riley over Willow’s head, and the young man nodded to
the unspoken question in the vampire’s eyes. Carefully, Riley reached out
for Willow, holding her still while Angel pulled the bolt out of her back.
The redhead stiffened and cried out, then relaxed against Riley, breathing
heavily.

“Time for the hospital,” Angel said as he tossed the bolt away and stood up,
reaching for Willow.

“I don’t think you should go,” Xander put in, and the vampire whirled on
him, furious that he would even suggest such a thing.

“What?!?”

“In case you haven’t noticed, you’ve got a bullet wound that is currently
bleeding. You go to the hospital, they’ll take one look at you and drag you
into an examining room. Do you really want to try to explain why you’re
walking around when you just so happen to be dead?” Xander asked.

“Damn, you’re right.”

“I know I am. Why don’t you go back to the office, get cleaned up, and get
the others. The rest of us will get Wills to the hospital.”

Knowing it wasn’t worth the time it would take to argue (and also knowing it
was the best plan) Angel simply nodded, then watched as Xander, Riley, and
Graham led Willow out of the cave, headed for the hospital.

Forrest, who had stayed behind, turned to the vampire. “Come on, Angel,
let’s go break this to the others. Since you’re kind of bleeding profusely,
I’ll drive.”

Instead of responding, Angel simply followed Forrest out of the cave and
into the rain, heading for the car.

Part Twenty-Four

Willow turned around when Angel walked in, favoring her injured shoulder
slightly. It had been nearly two weeks since the Initiative’s botched
attempt at capturing Angel that had ended up with Willow going to the
hospital - again! - and the redhead was still in Los Angeles. She showed no
signs of leaving, and for that, Angel was glad. However, he wasn’t overly
thrilled with the fact that she had taken up residence at Cordelia’s instead
of staying with him.

“Well, somebody sure is grumpy,” Willow said, smiling slightly at the sour
look on the vampire’s face. “What did you do? Drink some bad blood?”

“Very cute,” Angel replied, his lips doing that thing where they curl up
just a little bit in an almost-smile.

“I thought it was,” the redhead stated as she returned to the filing she was
doing. In order to keep her arm immobile while her shoulder healed, her arm
was in a sling, which made filing quite a painstaking task.

After watching her for a moment, Angel went over and began to help her.
“You shouldn’t be the one filing these, you know. That’s what I pay
Cordelia for.”

“Yes, and such a wonderful job she does of it,” Willow responded as she
moved Lillian Mitchell’s file from the P’s to the M’s. “Anyway, there’s
filing to be done, and Cordelia’s at an audition, so I thought I’d do it.
Or at least fix what Cordy screwed up yesterday.” Sighing softly, the
redhead sent a sidelong look in Angel’s direction. “So what exactly crawled
up your butt today?”

“Excuse me?”

“Well, you’re being all surly and growly. Well, more so than usual.
There’s got to be a reason for it.”

Angel shrugged. “I just don’t see why you have to stay with Cordelia. You
were perfectly safe here.”

“Yeah, but were you?” Willow asked with a smile before leaning over and
kissing the vampire. They hadn’t talked much about their budding
relationship yet, and, for now, it was simply enough to know that they
actually had a chance at being together. Given the things that had happened
a couple of weeks earlier, that opportunity hadn’t been a certainty.

“What do you mean, but was I?” Angel questioned, confused. After a moment,
he realized what Willow was getting at, and he nodded. “My soul.”

“Your soul,” the redhead confirmed. “I care about you, Angel. Maybe it’s
not love yet - it’s too soon for that - but it’s getting there. And what
would happen if something happened between us... and things went too far? I
couldn’t deal with that, you know?”

The vampire nodded, knowing that it would kill him if he were to somehow
lose his soul and end up hurting her. “I know,” Angel said sadly, feeling
his relationship with Willow slipping away. How could he have been so naive
as to think-

“Anyway,” the witch continued, seemingly oblivious to the desolate thoughts
swirling through the vampire’s mind, “the point is, until we can find a way
to make your soul permanent, I’ll stay with Cordelia. It’s really very
safe, you know. Dennis is kind of like a guard dog or something - a guard
ghost, I guess - only better. I mean, the bad guy would have no warning, so
Dennis could just sneak up and hit him-”

“What did you say?” Angel asked, his mind suddenly grabbing hold of a part
of her speech that seemed to be Very Important.

Willow looked over at him, slightly confused. “Which part? ‘Cause, you
know, I kind of said a lot...”

“The part about my soul.”

“Oh, about making it permanent?”

“That would be it.”

The redhead nodded, then began to speak. “Well, um, you see, I’ve got this
friend. A new friend, but I think she’s trustworthy. Her name’s Tara, and
she’s a witch like me, and she agreed to look into some things for me.
Plus, I’ve got a few leads through Jenny’s old contacts. I’m hoping
something pans out there.”

“Gee, you work fast,” was all the stunned vampire could think to say.

“Not really,” she replied with a shrug. “I’ve actually been working on this
for quite awhile now.”

“How long?”

Willow bit her lip, looking slightly nervous... or embarrassed... or...
something... he just wasn’t sure what. “I’ve been looking for a way to make
your soul permanent since senior year - ever since I found out you had come
back from hell.”

“What? Why?”

“Goddess, what a question,” the redhead said with a small smile. “Most
people would just say thank you and move on.”

“Willow, I’m sorry if that seemed ungrateful-”

The grinning redhead waved off his apology. “You’re just curious, I know.”
Her smile faded a bit as she stood there, considering what to say. After a
moment, she nodded her head, apparently deciding she had found the right way
to put this. “And I’m going to be honest with you. Part of it was purely
selfish. I didn’t want Angelus to come back - I guess I should say I
*don’t* want Angelus to come back - and that’s the only way to do it.”

“Not the only way-”

“It’s the only way I’m willing to accept,” the redhead said sternly, not at
all thrilled that Angel would even allude to his own death. “Back then, I
was also doing it because I wanted Buffy to be happy. Then you decided to
leave, and it simply became the fact that it was something I wanted to do.
What you do - what we all do, really - it’s not an easy way to live.
Fighting all the time... How many times have we faced death in the past
month? It’s just... I think we all deserve the chance for whatever
happiness we can get. Of course, now I’m being a bit selfish again... I
don’t want to find the spell just for you anymore. I have quite a stake in
this myself.”

Angel couldn’t help back smile back when Willow grinned at him, and he had
leaned in to kiss her - perhaps show her just a bit of how grateful he was
to her - when the phone rang.

“Damn. I knew I should have unplugged that thing,” the vampire muttered as
Willow pulled away and reached for the phone. As the redhead perkily
chirped their slogan into the receiver, the vampire turned around and went
back to the filing, not really paying much attention to what was being said.
If it was a case, then he’d hear all about it when she hung up.

Willow did hang up a few moments later, squealing as she did so.

“Good news, I take it?” Angel asked.

“Xander’s coming to visit, and he’s bringing Forrest, too,” she told him
with a grin. Forrest and Cordelia had spent quite a bit of time talking on
the phone over the past couple of weeks, and Willow knew her friend would be
thrilled that the young man was accompanying Xander.

“I thought this was supposed to be good news,” the vampire returned dryly,
and Willow shot him a dirty look.

“It is. He’s bringing some books Tara found. She thinks they might help
with the soul thing.

“Couldn’t they have just sent them?”

“No can do. They’re also bringing Amy.”

“Amy? As in your rat?”

“As in my former classmate who accidentally turned herself into a rat,”
Willow confirmed. “I still have to try out that spell I have, see if I can
make her human again. After all, the de-ratting spell was what I really
came to LA for in the first place.”

Angel’s lips quirked slightly as he walked over to the redhead and put his
arms around her. “Well, you certainly got a whole hell of a lot more than
you came here for.”

Willow smiled as she leaned her forehead against the vampire’s chest,
enjoying the feel of his arms around here. Yes, she had certainly gotten
more than she intended when she came to Los Angeles.

But given how things had ended up, how could she regret it?

The End
 

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