Part Nine

“She’s with Deadboy?!?” The outrage in Xander’s first comment was equal to
the concern in his second. “Is she okay?”

“Giles says she is,” Buffy offered with a shrug.

“Meaning you haven’t talked to her,” Xander concluded as he took a bite out
of a donut, glaring at the Slayer from his seat on Giles’s couch.

Buffy shrugged uncomfortably. “Giles hasn’t either, actually. He’s only
talked to Angel. But Angel said she was okay.”

“That’s just wonderful. Angel the vampire, who once lost his soul and ran
around terrorizing us, told Giles that Willow is perfectly fine... And he
actually bought that?”

“Xander...” Buffy warned through clenched teeth, a bit exasperated with her
friend. “Angel has his soul now, and he would never hurt Willow. You know
that.”

“Yeah, I do,” the young man admitted with a sigh before glancing up at
Buffy, who was standing a few feet away. “I’m just mad at the guy who
attacked Wills. Displaced anger and all that. I’m still surprised that you
haven’t called her yourself, though.”

”I wasn’t sure if she’d want to talk to me. I wasn’t sure if she’d want to
talk to anyone. I mean, she has been through a lot. Plus...”

“Angel might have answered the phone?” Xander suggested, sighing when Buffy
nodded guiltily. “I’m a bad, bad friend. We both are.”

“And you came up with this theory how? Because we haven’t talked to her?
That doesn’t make us bad friends.”

“One of us should have gone with her. We shouldn’t have let her go off on
her own,” Xander argued.

“Do you think she would have really let us? Besides that, it’s not like we
knew this was going to happen to her,” Buffy reminded Xander as she sat down
on the couch beside him.

“But... but I wasn’t there for her. I didn’t even know where she was.”

“She told us she was going to San Diego, not LA. How could we have known
where she was?”

“That doesn’t change the fact that I’m a lousy friend. I mean, I should
have known she was lying... She’s a bad liar, you know that. She stutters
and she turns red. And let’s not even mention that whole thing where I
forgot she was going out of town. Spike remembered, but I didn’t. Isn’t
that just great? The bloodsucking demon recalled precisely what she said to
me, yet I had no clue.”

“There is that,” Buffy conceded as she leaned back against the cushions of
Giles’s couch.

“Thank you, Buffy, I feel much better now.”

“Glad I could help,” the Slayer responded as perkily as she could before
giving up and sighing. Leaning forward so she could look in her friend’s
face, she covered his hand with one of her own. “I know you’re worried
about her. We both are. I mean, Willow’s our best friend, and we love her.
It’s only natural to wish we were there for her... to feel guilty that we
weren’t. But she’s safe now. Angel’s with her, and no matter what you may
think about him, you and I both know he would never let anything hurt her.”

“I know,” Xander admitted with a sigh as he turned his hand over so that he
could link it with Buffy’s. “I’m just worried about her is all. But I know
Angel won’t let anything happen to her.”

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

“Are you absolutely certain about what you heard, Agent Gates?” Professor
Maggie Walsh asked, her eyes calmly assessing the man at her side as she
strolled through the halls of the Initiative.

“Positive,” he said with a brisk nod.

“Very well then. Come with me,” the head of the Initiative said as she led
Forrest into her office in the underground compound. She gestured for him
to be seated as she shut her door, then sat down behind her desk, a
thoughtful look on her face. “I’ve never heard of a vampire with a soul
before. It’s quite an... interesting concept. It definitely needs to be
explored.” The professor tapped her fingernails against her desk for a
moment, then looked up at Forrest, her gaze sharp. “And Riley... Agent
Finn... knows about this? He knows about this vampire?”

“Riley was the one Summers was explaining the situation to. It seems that
one of her friends was attacked, and the vampire is currently looking after
the girl.”

“Interesting,” Maggie said, trying not to grit her teeth. She refused to
believe that Riley would keep something like this from her, instead choosing
to believe that Forrest Gates simply got to her before Riley could. Riley
had been still been in the company of this Summers person when Forrest had
left, hadn’t he? She’d just have to wait, and he would come to her and
explain things. “And who exactly in this Summers person?”

“She’s Buffy Summers. She’s Riley’s new girlfriend. They just started
seeing one another.”

Maggie’s eyes widened as she realized just who Gates was talking about.
Buffy Summers... the slender, slightly flighty blonde that was in one of her
introductory psychology classes. Dear Lord, what was Riley thinking getting
involved with that girl? “And how did Miss Summers come to know such
things?” she asked calmly.

“It seems that she thinks she is the Slayer, if you can believe that,”
Forrest said with a smirk before sobering. “Riley seems to be buying her
story, too. She was in a hurry this morning, and I heard him ask her if it
was about Slayer stuff. That’s why I followed them in the first place.”

“Slayer stuff? I’d always been led to believe that the Slayer was a myth,”
Walsh said thoughtfully, her brow furrowed.

“She probably is.”

“And if she isn’t, Agent Gates? It would explain why Miss Summers knows
about vampires. And it would explain Agent Finn’s fascination with the
girl.”

Forrest nodded slowly, although he was pretty sure Riley’s fascination with
Buffy had more to do with her tight clothes than the possibility that she
was the Slayer. “That could be true.”

“Of course, even if Summers isn’t a Slayer, which is distinct possibility,
especially considering the fact that we’ve never found any proof that the
story was anything other than a myth, the fact still remains that the girl
does know about vampires. Perhaps in her contact with them, she learned of
the myth of the Slayer, and she decided to call herself one.”

“I believe she may know about the Initiative as well,” Forrest said quietly.

“What?”

“Actually, I know she does. They were discussing the group,” he told heard,
leaving out the fact that another man had been present during the
discussion. The British man hadn’t look dangerous, and Forrest preferred to
leave him out of it.

“Are you certain of this?” Maggie asked, her surprise evident on her face.

“Yes. If he believes she’s the Slayer, and he seems to, then he may think
it’s okay to tell her about us.”

“Yes, you may be right. We should probably keep an eye on her - without
Agent Finn’s knowledge. Despite what you’ve told me, I don’t doubt that his
loyalties still lie with us. However, I still don’t want him to know about
this. He could still slip up and tell her that we’re watching her. Perhaps
I’ll assign Agent Miller to that duty.”

“And the vampire?”

“Yes, the vampire. What did you say his name was? Angel?”

“That was what Summers called him.”

“Quite the misnomer... A demon named Angel,” Professor Walsh said with
something resembling a smile before schooling her features back to normal.
“And he runs an investigative agency?”

“Yes. I believe Summers made a comment about an ‘Angel Investigations.’ It
was also mentioned that he lives in an apartment below his office.”

“Which should make it easier for you to locate him.”

“Me?” Forrest asked, a smile spreading across his face.

“Yes, you. I’m sending you to LA. If you think you can capture him on your
own, do so. Otherwise, contact me, and I’ll have reinforcements sent.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Maggie smiled and nodded his dismissal. “I’ll expect to hear from you soon.
Oh, and Agent Gates?” she said as Forrest turned to go.

“Yes?”

“If you see Agent Miller, tell him I’d like to see him.”

“I’ll do that.”

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

As the doorknob to Maggie Walsh’s office turned, Graham Miller hurried from
his position just outside the door, quickly making his way towards the
elevator that would take him upstairs to Lowell House. His mind was
spinning from everything he had just overheard. With a sigh, he entered the
elevator, quickly pushing the button to close the door, thankful he had
managed to get out of the compound without being seen by Forrest.

He had to find Riley.
 

Part Ten

“You know, you should wear my clothes more often. Either that, or you
should get yourself some just like them,” Cordelia said perkily as she
studied the small redhead before her. “They look good on you.”

“Thanks,” Willow said softly as she looked down at herself. Angel didn’t
have any mirrors, so she was going to have to take Cordy’s word for it when
it came to how she looked, but the clothes were comfortable. The brunette
had kept the clothing she had brought over simple - just a knee-length skirt
and a sleeveless top. The shirt had a high neck that covered some of
Willow’s bruises, including the one on her collarbone that Angel had found
so fascinating. Quickly pushing that little memory out of her head, the
redhead looked down at herself once more, just to check. Given the height
difference between the two young women, the skirt was a bit long, but it
still looked good. Thankfully, it had turned out that both Willow and
Cordelia wore the same shoe size, so Willow had been able to borrow shoes to
match from the brunette. The sneakers she had with her would have looked
terrible with the outfit she was wearing.

“It’s really got to be a relief for you to be getting out of Angel’s
shirts,” Cordelia continued as she popped a donut hole in her mouth. She
had brought breakfast along with her offering of clothes - donuts and coffee
for herself, Willow, and Wesley. Since Angel wasn’t exactly on solid foods,
she’d just brought him some coffee.

“Yeah, I guess so,” Willow said, not wanting to admit to the other girl just
how much she had enjoyed wearing the vampire’s clothes. They’d made her
feel surrounded by him, and that in turn made her feel safe. Angel made her
feel safe.

“You guess so? Please! Think about it. Now, since you’re, well,
completely dressed, you can come up to the office and keep me company all
day. And, if we wanted to, we could actually go out to lunch, thank you
very much. You couldn’t exactly do that when you were parading around in
Angel’s shirts, now could you?”

“Not without raising a few eyebrows, that’s for sure,” Willow admitted with
a rueful grin. She hated to admit it, but she was actually enjoying the
brunette’s company, and she was looking forward to spending the day with
Cordy.

“See. And I’m right as always,” Cordelia said, brandishing a donut hole
emphatically before popping it into her mouth. “Oh, wait!” the brunette
exclaimed as she reached for her purse, a move that nearly caused her to
tumble off the table she was sitting on. “I almost forgot,” she continued
as she dug around in her purse. She smiled triumphantly as she pulled out a
small mirror and handed it to Willow. “Here. You can at least check your
makeup now.” She watched the redhead expectantly as the other girl the
mirror. Cordelia had supplied the makeup along with the clothes, and she’d
had fun giving Willow a mini makeover. She just hoped the other girl
realized how good she looked.

“I look... wow,” Willow said as she looked in the mirror. Cordy had kept it
subtle, but had emphasized her eyes, making them seem even larger and
somehow mysterious. Smiling, she returned the mirror to the brunette.
“Thanks, Cordy. You’ll have to show me how to do that.”

“Cool. It’s too bad you can’t see the whole effect, though. I mean, the
clothes and everything. Angel so needs to get a mirror down here,” the
vampire’s secretary said as she put her mirror back in her purse and hopped
off the kitchen table.

“He’s a vampire. Mirrors would be pretty useless.”

“Not to me. Come on, we probably should get up to the office,” Cordy said
as she gathered her purse, the bakery bag that held the rest of the donut
holes, and her coffee. “Let’s go see if you can make Wesley stutter.”

“What if I don’t want to make Wesley stutter?”

“Oh, come on. Give it a try. It’s fun.”

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

Kate Lockley entered the precinct, nodding randomly to her coworkers as she
made her way to her desk. A few said hello, but none tried for a polite
conversation, probably because her bad mood was written on her face. One of
her busts had gotten off today, thanks to the vigilant efforts of Wolfram
and Hart. Damn lawyers. One of these days, she was going to catch them in
something illegal and send them to jail. Yeah, and one day she was going to
be Miss America, too.

“Kate!”

The blonde detective turned to see who was calling to her and she sighed.
“What is it, Randy? Today has not been good,” she told him, hoping that
would convince Detective Randell Newbourne that now was not the time to
continue his quest to get her to go out with him. She always said no, and
would always continue to do so. She just didn’t believe in dating someone
she worked with.

“And it’s gotten worse,” the detective in question said as he fell in step
beside Kate. “New case. I already dropped the file off at your desk.
Kidnapping. A girl named Sophia McGuire. Signs of a break-in, signs of a
struggle. A neighbor admits that she heard a scream sometime around eleven
last night, but did nothing about it at the time. Stupid.” With a shake of
his head, Randy continued. “I’ve got an interview set up with the parents.
I’ll see if I can get them to remember anything they didn’t remember last
night. Then I’m going around the neighborhood to question anyone with eyes
or ears to see if they’ve got anything. I want you with me.”

“Okay.”

“We leave in about an hour for the parents. Is that enough time for you to
look over the file? There’s really not much information in it.”

“I’ll be ready,” Kate replied as she sat at her desk, already picking up the
file. “I’ll meet you at your car in an hour.” With a nod, Randy left, and
Kate opened up the file, only to be met with a picture of the missing girl.

According to the report Kate held in her hands, the girl’s full name was
Sophia Elizabeth McGuire, and she was eighteen years old. A senior in high
school. She’d been at home the night before, studying for an important
test. Her parents claimed no one was expected to come over. They
themselves had gone out with colleagues of Mr. McGuire’s. The broken window
in the living room told of the forced entry, and the broken lamps and
overturned furniture told that Sophia had definitely tried to fight off her
attacker. This was no teenager who ran away because of pressure or family
troubles. This was a kidnapping, plain and simple.

But that wasn’t what caught and held Kate’s attention. That honor went to
the picture in her hand.

It was a lovely shot; an eight by ten that read ‘Sophia 2000’ in gold
lettering at the corner. A senior picture. Sophia’s face stared back at
her. Pale skin, green eyes, red hair. With her brow furrowed, Kate looked
at the physical description of the girl, not at all surprised to discover
that the girl was described as petite, her estimated height and weight at
5’3” and around 105 pounds. Small, slender, fragile. Red hair. Green
eyes.

The similarities weren’t what one would call striking. The girls had
different facial structures. Sophia’s face was rounder, her lips fuller.
Willow’s eyes were larger, and the older girl’s hair was shorter. But it
still sent a warning chill down Kate’s spine.

Without a second thought, Kate pulled out the file on Willow’s attacker,
checking the address given, then went off in search of Randy. She didn’t
think they’d be making that meeting with Sophia’s parents today.

They had somewhere else to be.

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

Forrest Gates walked past the building again, trying to see inside without
anyone noticing that was what he was doing. Yup. He was right. That’s
what the sign said.

‘Angel Investigations.’

The young man shook his head. This was almost too easy. And something
about it didn’t feel right. He’d surreptitiously run a scan on the office,
and it had come up with three human occupants. No vampires. Of course,
Forrest reasoned, the British guy had reminded Buffy that Angel’s apartment
was under his office. They dead guy could still be down there.

Or not.

Forrest watched out of the corner of his eye as a man came up into the main
office, stepping out of an elevator. Both women in the office - Forrest
knew one of them to be Buffy’s redheaded friend, the one who had been
attacked by Hostile 17 - greeted him with a smile, and the brunette handed
him a cup that proclaimed it was from a coffee shop just down the street. A
vamp that drank coffee and exchanged pleasantries with humans? Not exactly
normal. Of course, Forrest reminded himself, this particular vamp was
supposed to have soul, if you could believe that.

Forrest couldn’t. No, he didn’t believe Angel had a soul anymore than he
believed Buffy Summers was a Slayer. He just thought Angel was a damn good
actor and that everyone around the vampire was a fool.

Of course, they could be dangerous fools, which meant he couldn’t just go in
there, bag the hostile, and be on his way. He had to catch him alone, had
to surprise him.

And what better way to surprise him than to catch him alone in his
apartment?

Forrest smiled at the idea. He’d go down, wait for the vamp, shoot him with
a stun gun, then drag him back to Sunnydale. And there had to be a way to
get to the apartment without the others seeing him. There had to be another
way into Angel’s apartment besides the office. This was after all, sunny
California, and vampires certainly had a bit of a problem with sunlight. It
would make sense to have an underground entrance that led to say... the
sewers, or somewhere else equally as dark and dank, wouldn’t it? Of course
it would.

Now he just had to find it.
 

Part Eleven

Cordelia sat at her desk, humming to herself, not even caring that the
sounds were a bit off-key. Although she hated the reason why Willow was
still in LA, she was grateful for the company of another female. And not
just any female, either: Willow was someone she knew she could trust. That,
coupled with the fact that the redhead had spent the day fixing the filing
system (which was admittedly a mess of her own making) and telling her all
about life on the Hellmouth, had put the brunette in a better-than-usual
mood. Hence the humming.

“Cordy, you need to stop that. Angel’s going to think you’ve been possessed
or something,” Willow teased. Cordelia responded to the comment in the most
mature way possible: she stuck out her tongue, then resumed her humming.

Willow smiled at her friend’s antics as she exchanged a laughing look with
Wesley. The former Watcher had been extremely cautious around her at first,
probably afraid he would somehow frighten her or something, but he had
thawed out as the day wore on, and Willow had discovered that she rather
liked the Englishman. He wasn’t nearly as uptight as she had originally
believed, and she had found herself actually enjoying his company.

“Wesley, could you come in here for a moment?” Angel’s voice floated in
from the other room, and Wesley handed the file he was holding to Willow as
he stood.

“Duty calls,” the former Watcher muttered quietly, and the redhead smiled in
response before turning her attention to the file in her hand. It was for a
Mrs. Ingrid Bauer, and she had apparently been filed in the S’s. Given
Cordy’s reasoning when it came to filing, it was probably Angel
Investigations had helped her find her missing Shih Tzu. Either that, or it
was because the woman lived on Spring Street. Sighing, the redhead put the
file in its proper place, then moved on to the next one. While she was
trying to figure out just how Wanda Michaels ended up in the U’s, she heard
the sound of the bell that signaled that someone had just entered the
office. Frowning, Willow glanced at her watch, confirming that it was
indeed over an hour past the closing time posted on the door.

Cordelia apparently had the same thought. “I’m sorry, we’re closed right...
Kate!” The brunette’s eyes widened as she took in the sight of the police
detective, and she immediately rose from her seat and went over to the
blonde woman. “Are you okay?” she asked, taking in the weary, defeated look
in Kate’s eyes.

“I’ve been much, much better.” the older woman allowed as she let Cordelia
lead her to the chair that the brunette had so recently vacated. “I... I
have some news,” she said softly, glancing at Willow. The redhead nodded
her understanding and quickly left the room to go get Angel and Wesley. She
knew the men would want to know what was going on, and she didn’t think she
was going to want anything to be said twice.

Biting her lip, Cordelia looked down at the detective and shifted from foot
to foot, uncertain of what she should do. “So, um, do you want some
coffee?” she offered tentatively. “Willow made it this afternoon, so it’s
actually good.”

“Yeah. Coffee would be good,” Kate muttered, trying to find those steel
nerves she was so famous for at the precinct. It was just that it had been
such a long day, and she was so tired... and well, it was just everything,
actually. After taking a few sips of the coffee Cordelia had handed to her
- which really was quite good, although she couldn’t make out what blend it
was - Kate was feeling together enough to look up when Willow, Angel, and
Wesley entered the room.

Much to Kate’s surprise and relief, the redhead looked much better than she
had just a day or so ago. Since Kate knew that bruises on the throat and
scrapes on the cheek didn’t disappear in a day’s time, she was certain that
at least some of Willow’s improved appearance was due to the wonders of
make-up. Even so, it was clear that the redhead was more at ease and a
great deal less shaky than she had been the day before.

“Well, now that we’re all here,” the redhead said quietly as Angel sat down
in the chair she had been using just moments before. “I guess it’s time to
find out what happened.”

Kate nodded slowly. “Yes, I suppose it is.” Taking a deep breath, the
woman decided to simply plunge in. “The man who attacked you is named
Richard Sawyer. You’ll probably hear his name on the news quite a bit in
the near future. He’s been arrested.”

“But that’s good, isn’t it?” Cordelia asked, a confused look on her face.
“I mean, he can’t get to Willow now that he’s in jail...”

“What happened?” Willow asked, certain that her heart stopped while she
waited for Kate’s answer.

“He attacked someone else. A girl. Her name’s Sophia McGuire. We found
her at his house, chained and beaten. She survived, but...”

“But what?” Angel questioned quietly when Kate trailed off.

“We found the bodies of five other girls in his apartment.”

“Oh, God,” Willow whispered as her knees turned to jelly. The offending
limbs gave out on her, and she sat down hard on the chair behind her.
Unfortunately, that chair was already occupied by Angel. When Willow
realized she was now sitting in the vampire’s lap, the redhead started to
rise, only to be stopped when Angel wrapped his arm around her waist,
effectively holding her in place. With a sigh, the young witch leaned back
against him, accepting the comfort he seemed to be offering.

Angel wasn’t just offering comfort, however. He was also seeking
reassurance. He needed to feel Willow’s warmth against him; he needed to
hear her heart beat. He needed to know that she was alive, that Sawyer
hadn’t taken her, too.

“How?” Wesley asked, his voice filled with sadness and anger. “How could he
manage to do that to so many girls without getting caught?”

The Englishman’s question was clearly rhetorical, but Kate answered anyway.
“I don’t know. He was careful, I guess. If I hadn’t made the connection
between the cases, he would have gotten away with killing Sophia.”

“What do you mean, ‘the connection’?” Willow asked. “What connection?”

Kate winced at the thought of telling the others the connection, but she
knew that she would rather have them hear it from her than on the news.
And, given the tendency for major cases like this to be leaked to the press,
she knew she had better tell them everything so that there would be no
surprises later. Taking a deep breath, the detective began. “She...
Sophia... There are similarities in your builds, your hair color, even your
eye color. Small, slender, red hair, green eyes. The same is true for the
bodies we’ve found. They’ve all been identified, and they range in age from
seventeen to twenty. We’re looking to see if their have been others.
Here... somewhere else, we aren’t sure. He made it sound like there might
be more, but we can’t get him to tell us where to look.”

“But why? Why is he after women who look like that?” Cordelia asked, a
stricken look on her face. She hated the fact that she had been momentarily
relieved to be tall with brown hair and hazel eyes. She felt that she
should be more worried for Willow than for herself at the moment, even if
the bastard was in jail.

“He’s looking for Delilah,” Kate replied. “We don’t know who she is, or
what she is to him, but that’s all he’ll tell us. He has to find Delilah.
He told us that once he finds her, it’ll stop. But it can’t stop until
then.” Sighing, the blonde woman put down her coffee mug, then rubbed her
hands over her face wearily. After a moment, she lifted her eyes to gaze at
Willow. “He said he found her a couple of days ago, but she got away. He
said it was my fault that she got away.”

“He thinks...” Willow whispered, trailing off in shock as the full
implications of what Kate had said hit her. “He thinks I’m her?” she asked,
this time able to finish her question.

Kate nodded sadly. “I’m only telling you this in case he gets out. He
won’t be permitted bail, not with everything that’s happened, but... he’s
tricky. He’s killed five women in the past two years, and we don’t know how
far back his crimes really go, and if he escapes...”

“He’d come after me.”

“Yes.”

“Because he thinks I’m Delilah. But if he thinks I’m Delilah, then why did
he take Sophia? Was it because he was mad that I got away, and he had to
take it out on someone?”

“Willow, don’t do this to yourself,” Angel said as the redhead pushed
herself off of his lap.

“Why not? It’s true, isn’t it? ” Willow asked, glancing wildly at Kate as
a gasping sob escaped her. All she could think about was the fact that
Sophia had been taken because of her. It was her fault.

Her fault.

“Willow, please-” Angel began, standing up as he reached for her. Willow
shrugged his arm off her shoulders.

“No! I just... I have to get out of here. Excuse me,” she managed as she
pushed past him and ran for the elevator that went down to the vampire’s
apartment.

Without a second glance at the others, Angel followed her.
 

Part Twelve

Instead of waiting for the elevator that would take him down to his
apartment to return, Angel headed for the stairs and took them two or three
at a time, actually managing to beat the redhead down. The worried vampire
was already standing in front of the elevator door when Willow blindly
pulled the cage up and stepped out, running directly into him. He
immediately reached out and grabbed her arms, holding her against him.

The redhead gasped in shock as she unexpectedly collided with a hard body,
and Willow looked up through tear-filled eyes to see Angel in front up her.
Somehow, he had gotten down into the apartment before her. Damn him and his
vampire speed. She should have known that he would do something like this.
Quickly, the redhead shrugged his arms away and turned around, about to go
back in the direction she had come from.

“Oh, no, you don’t,” Angel said softly, turning her around and pulling her
into his arms once more.

“Let me go!”

“No, little one. Not this time,” the vampire responded.

“Please, just leave me alone,” she begged, once more trying to head for the
elevator. “Just... I’ve got to go.”

“Do you really want to go back up there with them?” he asked, still not
releasing her. He kept his grip firm, but was careful to make sure it
remained gentle as well. He didn’t want to hurt her; he just wanted to
reason with her. “Do you want to be with the me, or do you want to be with
the others? Those are your choices.”

“Please, Angel... Just let me go,” she whispered, her voice breaking. She
tried to pull away from him, but he held fast.

“Why? So you can lock yourself up alone and brood?”

“It’s what you would do,” Willow shot back weakly, finally ceasing her
struggles and leaning against him. He was just too strong; she couldn’t get
away from him.

“And I’m obviously the person you should model your behavior after,” Angel
said wryly as he pulled Willow closer and began stroking her hair. He hoped
that she would cry herself out in his arms now without argument, but that
was not to be.

With a strangled sob, the slender witch pushed herself out of Angel’s arms,
succeeding only because the vampire had relaxed his grip on her.

“Willow?” he questioned, reaching for her.

“Don’t! I don’t... I don’t deserve this... your comfort.”

“What?” Angel asked, stunned. How could she say something like that? How
could she possibly believe it?

“I don’t... Oh, God... Don’t you see? This is my fault! What happened to
Sophia... My fault...” Now sobbing uncontrollably, the redhead made her way
to Angel’s bedroom, the stunned vampire trailing behind her.

“What? Willow, no,” he told her as he stumbled after. He whirled her
around, then grasped her arms, determined to make her look at him. “How can
you even think that?”

“If I... If I hadn’t gotten away...” she told him, desperation in her voice.

“If you hadn’t escaped, he would have raped you and killed you,” Angel
stated forcefully, shaking her slightly.

“Didn’t you hear Kate in there? He went after Sophia because I got away!”
Willow cried. “It’s my fault, Angel! My fault!” Tears ran down her face
unchecked, and her chest was heaving with the force of her crying. “My
fault,” she repeated a bit more quietly, choking on a sob.

“No, it’s not! This is not your fault,” Angel nearly shouted, trying to get
through to the girl in front of him. It was breaking his heart to see her
like this. For the millionth time in the past two days, he found himself
wishing for some time alone with Willow’s attacker. Oh, how he would love
to torture that bastard. But first, he had to make Willow see that she was
not to blame for what had happened. “First of all, Kate’s the one who got
you away from him. You don’t blame her, do you?” Without waiting for her
answer, he continued, knowing that he had gotten her attention with that
comment. She looked stunned that he would even suggest such a thing. “And
if you hadn’t gotten away, then Kate wouldn’t have been able to make the
connection between you and Sophia. Sawyer would still be free, and Sophia
would be dead.”

“If I hadn’t been rescued, he wouldn’t have gone after Sophia in the first
place,” Willow ground out.

“You can’t be sure of that. We both know you’re not Delilah, which means he
would have figured it out, too. And then he would have gone out again, and
found someone... maybe Sophia, maybe someone else, I don’t know. But he
would have kept doing this. He would have kept killing people. No one
would have known how to stop him. And he would’ve gotten you,” Angel told
her, his voice filled with suppressed emotion. Just the thought of that guy
having Willow made his stomach turn. “He would’ve killed you, and I don’t
think I could have handled that.”

The redhead simply looked at him for a moment, emotions he couldn’t quite
discern crossing her face. After a moment, she spoke again. “But don’t you
see?” Willow insisted. “If it wasn’t for me-”

“No, baby, I’m not going to let you do this to yourself. You’re not to
blame here.” Seeing that she was about to stubbornly deny it once more, he
let her go and stepped back, ready to try a something a bit different.
“Okay, then I may as well blame myself. I mean,” he said, pretending to be
deep in thought, “I could have found out where he lived... I’m sure Kate
would’ve told me. She’s a cop, she has access to things like that. Then,
in order to get around that whole ‘I need an invitation’ thing, I could have
simply hired someone to kill him. If I’d done that yesterday, then he
wouldn’t have been alive to attack Sophia.”

Willow stared at him for a moment, her face defiant. “That’s ridiculous,”
she shot back, hastily wiping at the tears that were still falling down her
face.

“You’re right, it is,” Angel admitted, nodding his head as he cautiously
approached the redhead once more. “Completely foolish. And you’re not to
blame any more than I am. Sawyer’s the one to blame here, Willow,” he told
her as he reached out and placed his hands on her shoulders. For once, she
didn’t try to shrug them away. “He’s the bastard. He’s the one who hurt
you. He’s the one who hurt Sophia.”

Willow nodded slowly, her lower lip trembling. “I know,” she whispered, her
voice breaking. “It’s just...”

“It’s hard,” Angel finished for her as he wrapped her in his arms, holding
her close as she finally began to accept his comfort. He could feel her hot
tears through the thin material of his silk shirt. “I know it’s hard,
sweetie. But sometimes... there’s just nothing you could’ve done.”

He felt Willow nod against his chest, and he sighed in relief as he began to
stroke her back soothingly. He carefully made his way over to his bed and
sat down, pulling her with him so that she was sitting in his lap, wrapped
in his embrace while she cried out her grief and sorrow. After a while, she
calmed down and shifted her position, simply resting her cheek against his
chest instead of burying her face in it. Without thinking, Angel leaned
down to press a kiss to Willow’s forehead. The move surprised the redhead,
and she looked up.

Her lovely face was tear-stained and sad, and it hit the vampire like a ton
of bricks. Suddenly, all he wanted to do was pull her closer and lay back
in his bed and kiss her until she forgot everything that had made her cry.
And then he wanted to kiss her again.

Willow obviously saw something on his face, and her brow furrowed in
confusion. “Angel?” she asked tentatively.

“I want to kiss you,” he blurted out before he could stop himself. Her eyes
widened, but she didn’t say anything, so he continued. “I know that it’s
probably wrong, but I can’t help it. I’m dying to kiss you, and I have been
since last night.”

Willow blushed slightly at the allusion to what she had come to think of as
‘the towel incident,’ and she swallowed hard before speaking. “Then why
don’t you?” she asked, her voice soft but sure.

Angel stared at her in shock for a moment, then, not giving himself a chance
to recount the million reasons why he shouldn’t be doing this, he leaned
down and gently pressed his lips to hers. He held himself in check, raising
his hands to cup her face when what he really wanted to do was crush her to
him. He was afraid such a move would frighten her, and he knew he would
never forgive himself if he scared her. Taking it one step farther, he
gently traced the line of her lips with his tongue, nearly moaning in
pleasure when she opened her mouth, allowing his tongue to sweep inside to
dance with hers. When he felt her tremble against him a few moments later,
he pulled back, worried that he had pushed things too far. She looked up at
him with wide eyes, and he studied them carefully, looking for any traces of
fear.

“Angel?” she questioned. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing... It’s just, I don’t want to scare you. I couldn’t stand it if I
did that,” he told her as he ran his hands over her cheeks, wiping away what
was left of her tears.

“You didn’t. I could never be afraid of you.”

The sincerity in her eyes caused his chest to tighten, and he leaned down to
press a kiss to her nose, then another to her forehead. “Thank you for
that.”

“For kissing you? Because I actually enjoyed that.”

Angel couldn’t help but smile. “So did I. But I meant thank you for
trusting me.”

“Oh.”

The vampire caressed Willow’s cheek for a moment, then glanced at the clock
on the wall. “It’s getting late, little one, and you’ve had a rough day.
You should sleep. I need to go finish a few things, then I’ll be back,
okay?”

“Okay.”

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

Forrest watched from his hiding place as the girl gathered a few things and
headed for the bathroom, apparently about to take a bath or something. The
vampire stood staring after her for a few minutes, and Forrest raised his
stun gun, taking aim.

He’d considered shooting the vamp the minute he had come bounding down the
steps, but then the girl - Buffy’s redheaded friend - had come down, too,
and it had become impossible. He couldn’t shoot the vamp while the girl was
in his arms; the electrical charge would have gone through her as well as
him. Not to mention that whole thing where the redhead was, technically, a
civilian. He wasn’t trained to go after civilians, and they really weren’t
supposed to take out hostiles in front of them. He supposed that rule still
stood if the civilian knew what a hostile was.

So he had waited.

He had simply waited for the right moment to shoot at first, then he had
started to actually listen to what was being said. While he was entirely
certain of what had happened, he’d gotten the gist of it, and he’d also seen
something he’d never expected: the vampire doing everything in his power to
comfort the girl and convince her that she wasn’t at fault. Forrest had
heard the emotions in the vampire’s voice, and he had seen how careful he
was with the girl. And for Forrest Gates, that maybe changed things a
little.

Forrest sat in his hiding place, his stun gun aimed and ready, as he watched
the vampire head for the elevator. And then, Forrest did something he would
have sworn he would never do: he lowered his gun and simply watched as the
vampire left.

Once he was sure Angel was gone and Willow was occupied, he got up and left
the apartment.
 

Part Thirteen

“I... I’m sorry about all of this,” Kate murmured as she turned to look at
Wesley and Cordelia. I didn’t mean to... That’s a stupid thing to say. I
knew this would upset her. But I certainly didn’t mean to tell her
everything, and I’m sorry about doing that.”

“Yes, I’m sure you are, but it’s better that she hear it from you than from
some reporter, isn’t it?” Wesley reasoned. “It’s my understanding that the
media seems to have a way of finding out all the gory details in situations
like this.”

“But...”

“Don’t beat yourself up over this, Detective Lockley,” the former Watcher
advised. “It cannot be changed, and having as much information about this
man as possible... well, it may be quite useful to us in the end.” With
that, Wesley turned to Cordelia, who had remained silent since Willow and
Angel’s sudden departure just minutes before. “I really don’t believe we’ll
be needed here any longer tonight, Cordelia. If you would gather your
things, I would be more than happy to take you home.”

“Okay,” Cordelia said softly, still thinking about the stricken look on her
friend’s face. Shaking her head slightly to clear her thoughts, she looked
over at the Englishman. “That would be great, Wes. Just let me get my
purse,” she told him as she rose to get her bag.

After watching the young woman worriedly for a moment, Wesley returned his
gaze to the policewoman. “Do you have a car with you, detective? Or did
you...?”

“Actually, I was with another detective earlier today, and I just had him
drop me off here, so I don’t have a vehicle with me. I’ll just take a cab-”

“Nonsense,” Wesley interrupted. Since Willow had been attacked, Angel,
reluctant to leave the redhead, had asked that Wesley be sure that Cordelia
got home safely each night after work. The vampire had even given the
former Watcher use of his car in order to do so, partly because the former
cheerleader refused to ride on Wesley’s motorcycle. “There is no need for
you to spend money on cab fare when I can take you home just as easily.”

“Well, if you’re sure.”

“If I wasn’t sure, I wouldn’t offer, detective.”

“Please, just call me Kate.”

“As you wish.”

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

Angel breathed an unnecessary sigh of relief when he heard the others leave.
Once he was sure they were gone, he made his way into his office and began
going about the business of making sure everything was shut down and locked
up for the night.

He was glad that the others had left. It wasn’t that he wanted to avoid
them... Well, maybe it was. He knew that they were probably curious about
what had transpired downstairs, and he was in no mood to try to explain what
Willow was feeling to them. Besides that, he didn’t think it was his place
to.

With a sigh, Angel shut down his computer, being sure to save what he had
been working on before doing so. He’d originally planned to finish typing
up his notes before going back down, but he really wasn’t in the mood to do
so at the moment.

After checking to make sure the front door was locked - not that the
precaution would really do much good against a burglar - Angel went back
downstairs to Willow.

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

“This is it,” Kate said as Wesley came to the turn-off for her apartment
building. “Thanks for the ride.”

“It was my pleasure,” the always polite Englishman told her as he parked the
car. After a moment of silence, he turned to face the detective. “Are you
certain you’ll be all right?”

“What? Oh, I’ll be fine,” Kate replied as the question registered. “I’ve
had cases like this before.”

“And do they always have this type of an effect on you?”

“I don’t know what you...” the blonde woman trailed off with a sigh.
“Sometimes. This isn’t the first time I’ve had a guy in my grasp, only to
have him be released on bail, then... boom. He does something else, or we
find out he’s a serial rapist, or something equally as awful. It does
something to you.”

“What do you mean?”

Kate sighed and ran her hands over her face, suddenly glad that Wesley had
dropped Cordelia off first. She wouldn’t have been able to talk about this
in front of the young woman; she liked her well enough, but she just wasn’t
completely comfortable around her. Of course, Kate wasn’t sure why she felt
so comfortable around this man she had met just days before, but she was.
Maybe it was his quiet manner, the way he seemed to be listening without
judging. Whatever it was, it made her want to talk to him.

“Kate?”

“Sorry. I was just... thinking. I guess what I mean is, it’s like, each
time something like this happens, it kills a little piece of something
inside of you. I’m supposed to help people, and I had this guy, and because
of the system I work for, he got free, and he went out and did it again. It
hurts you deep inside to know that. I had him in my hands, and-”

“Were you the one that opened up his jail cell and sent him on his way?”

“No, of course not.”

“You didn’t want him released, I know that. I could see it when you came in
the office the other day to tell us that he had made bail. It was the
system that dictated his release, and to employ a phrase that some of my
former charges would probably use, the system sucks.”

“That it does,” Kate admitted, then sighted. “But I still feel...”

“Like you could have done something?”

“Yeah. Like... there some point where I could have changed things, but I
missed it. I feel like I messed up.”

“I know the feeling,” Wesley said softly, and Kate turned to him, surprised
by the sadness on his face.

“Are you okay?” she asked, concerned. “Do you want to talk about it? You
know, I tell you my problems, you tell me yours, and-”

“Then we’re even?”

“I was thinking more along the lines of ‘and then we’ve helped each other,’
actually,” Kate told him dryly.

“Oh, sorry,” the former Watcher said softly, his voice contrite. “It’s a
long and complicated story, and it’s a bit late to get into it tonight.”

“But maybe later?”

Wesley thought about it for a moment, then nodded. “Yes, maybe so. Thank
you for the offer, Kate.”

“Thank you for the ride and the listening ear, Wesley,” Kate replied as she
got out of the car.

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

Forrest made his way into his hotel room, a slightly shell-shocked look on
his face. He had gone over it in his head dozens of times, but he was still
having trouble believing that he had let that vampire walk away. Even so,
he knew there was no other way he could have done it. Whatever that
creature - Angel - was, he wasn’t evil. Forrest had seen that with his own
eyes.

As the young man flopped down on the bed that took up most of the room, his
cell phone began to ring. He momentarily considered ignoring it, but
quickly changed his mind, knowing the insistent ringing would drive him
crazy within seconds. Sighing, he answered the phone.

“Gates here.”

“Oh, Agent Gates, so nice of you to answer. I was about to give up.”

“I’m sorry Professor Walsh. I was...I had just stepped out for a moment,”
he decided.

“Of course. Have you found the hostile?”

“Yes, I have,” Forrest answered before he could think better of it.

“And will you be bringing him in soon?” the head of the Initiative asked.

“No, I won’t. I can’t.”

“And why not?”

Why not? Hmm, good question. “He’s... dead.”

“What? What happened?”

“He was... staked. He’s... gone. I’m sorry, Professor Walsh, but there’s
nothing even enough left of him to bring anything back.”

“How unfortunate. I suppose this means I’ll see you tomorrow then.
Goodbye, Agent Gates.”

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

Maggie Walsh hung up the phone, a considering look on her face. Agent Gates
was lying, of that much she was certain. The split-second pauses between
his words were a sure sign. ‘I was... I had just stepped out for a moment.
He’s... dead. He was... staked. He’s... gone.’ If he had been telling the
truth, there would have been no pauses, and he would have been angry about
having his target destroyed before he could reach it. No, the vampire named
Angel was no deader than he had been the day before, and, for some reason,
Forrest was purposely trying to hide it. She knew that for a fact. What
she didn’t know was why Gates was protecting this vampire. However, that
bit of information could wait until later. There were much more important
matters still at hand.

Shaking her head slightly, Maggie picked up her phone and dialed once more.
When it was answered on the other end, she spoke, he voice grin and
determined.

“Get me Agent Miller. I have a mission for him.”
 

Part Fourteen

“What did you say?” The voice was somewhere between anger, desperation, and
fear, but the dangerous look on the face had Graham backing away instead of
reaching out to give comfort. “No. You’re wrong. You have to be wrong,”
she said as she advanced on him. Knowing that he would feel foolish if he
kept backing away from the petite young woman in front of him, he stood his
ground, but quickly came to question his decision when she grabbed him by
the shirt. “He is not dead, damn it! Angel is not dead!” With that, she
shoved him away from her, and Graham tripped over the footstool that had
been behind him, landing on the floor.

Riley watched the incident unfold in stunned silence, but quickly moved to
help his friend up when Buffy sent Graham to the floor. Graham, however,
shrugged off the offer of help and stood, glaring at the blonde girl as he
brushed himself off. He’d been trying to get her alone - or at least just
with Riley - ever since he had overheard Forrest talking to Professor Walsh,
and now that he’d gotten his new assignment, he had redoubled his efforts to
talk to her, finally resorting to following her to the apartment they were
now standing in. Of course, considering the reception he had gotten, he was
beginning to regret his decision to give the girl a heads-up about what was
going on.

“Are you done attacking the messenger now?” he asked Buffy. “Because if you
are, then I’ll continue. I’ll even repeat my original statement, since I’m
pretty damn sure you didn’t listen the first time.”

“You said Angel was dead.”

“I said that Forrest told Walsh that Angel was dead. There’s a difference.
You see, Walsh doesn’t believe Forrest. And if she doesn’t believe him,
there has to be a reason for that.”

“What do you mean?”

“Walsh isn’t stupid. And she wouldn’t be sending me to Los Angeles to
finish Forrest’s mission myself if she didn’t think it was necessary.”

“You’re being sent after Angel,” Buffy repeated dumbly, taking a step
towards Graham. This time, however, Riley put a hand on her shoulder,
halting her progress.

“With a team. Which means that I’m going to have to be awfully creative in
order to keep him out of danger.”

“Wait a minute. How does the Initiative even know about Angel anyway?” As
a horrific thought came to her, she whirled on her boyfriend, murder in her
eyes. “Was it you? Did you go and run to your boss, bursting at the seams
to tell her all about the vampire with a soul? Did you?”

“Look, Buffy, you’ve got the bitch thing down, but I suggest you give it a
rest for now,” Graham told her, causing her to spin back around to face him.
“Forrest overhead the two of you discussing it.”

“Overheard?” Riley repeated.

“Eavesdropped is probably more like it,” Graham replied with a shrug. “All
I know is-”

“Hello, everybody... And who the hell are you?” Xander said as he entered
Giles’s apartment. The young man glanced around, immediately taking in the
tension that permeated the trio in the room. Years of being best friends
with the Slayer also led him to the quick conclusion that Buffy was in a
very, very bad mood. Maybe not PMS-worthy, but close. “So, uh, what’s
going on here? And is there going to be any violence? ‘Cause if there is,
I want to be somewhere that’s... away. Far, far away.”

“Well,” Buffy ground out, obviously still annoyed over Graham’s bitch
remark, “Graham here is part of Riley's little demon-hunting group. And
according him, Forrest claims that Angel is dead.”

“Like deader than usual? Because, unless you got the news within the past
five minutes, that’s completely not possible. Deadboy’s... well, still
undead and kicking.”

“So Walsh was right. Forrest is lying,” Graham muttered almost under his
breath, wondering what had caused his friend’s change of heart.

“Are you sure about this?” Buffy asked Xander. “I mean, how do you know?”

“Well, I just got off the phone with Willow-”

“Willow?” the Slayer repeated dumbly.

“Yeah, you know. Little bitty redhead, about this high,” he replied,
holding up his hand in an approximation of Willow’s height. “Absolutely
adorable, an amazing kisser - not that you would know that, been our best
friend for quite awhile now. Got attacked a few days ago... Any of this
ringing a bell with you?”

“You called Willow.” It was a statement rather than a question.

“Right on the first... well, let’s just say you’re right. Anyway, I’m
pretty sure she would have told me if Angel had suddenly turned to a big
pile of dust during our conversation. And I know he was around when I first
called, because he’s the one who answered the phone. He threatened to come
to Sunnydale for the sole purpose of pulling my spleen out through my nose
if I said something to upset Willow. I tried reminding him that it would
upset Willow even more if he hurt me, but I don’t think he cared. Anyway,
the point is, Angel’s alive, and Willow sounded okay. A little tired I
guess, but okay.”

“Well, that’s good,” Buffy said after a moment, nodding her head slowly.
“Not that Willow sounded tired, but that she seems okay,” the Slayer amended
hastily. “It’s also really good that Angel’s alive.”

“Well, undead,” Xander said absently, his attention going to Graham once
more. “So, is anyone going to clue me in to what’s going on, or do I just
get to stand here and feel dumb?”

“You do realize that I could say something rude at this moment, don’t you?”
Buffy asked, then continued without waiting for a response. “The basic idea
is that Forrest overheard me telling Riley about Angel, then went off to the
head of the Initiative to share that little discovery. For reasons we don’t
know, Forrest changed his mind about bringing Angel in and told Walsh he was
dust. Walsh doesn’t believe him and is now sending Graham and a team of men
to LA to take him down.”

“Okay... Can I just say that that’s bad?” Xander asked, then turned when he
heard the door opening behind him. He groaned when he saw who it was. “And
this is worse.”

“Oh, bloody hell,” Spike muttered as he entered the Watcher’s apartment.
He’d come wanting to get away from the Harris’s basement for awhile, and the
vampire stopped when he saw the four humans that were in the room. “Bloody,
bloody hell,” he groaned to himself when he saw the Slayer’s lapdog and an
unknown man staring at him, recognition on their faces.

“Hostile Seventeen,” Riley managed in a stunned voice.

“Actually, it’s Spike. I’m so happy you remember me,” the vampire said
sarcastically.

“You have Hostile Seventeen,” Riley said in the same astonished tone,
turning to Buffy. “You’ve had him, and you didn’t say anything about it.”

“I don’t see why you’re so stunned, Iowa,” Spike said as he moved further
into the apartment, deciding that he was rather enjoying this little show.
“You’ve seen me with her before. Of course, I was wearing the moron’s
clothes at the time, so I was probably a bit difficult to recognize.”

“So, you’re not just friends with a vampire with a soul, you’re also
protecting Hostile Seventeen,” Graham stated after a moment.

“Spike,” the vampire corrected, obviously enjoying himself immensely.

“Spike,” Graham conceded. “What? Does he have a soul, too?” he asked
Buffy.

“Hell no!” Spike growled. “I haven’t had a soul in well over a century.
I’m nothing but I demon, I’ll have you know.”

“And you’re helping him why?”

“He’s sort of like a mascot,” Xander said with a shrug. “Plus, you know how
they always say not to tease strange dogs because they may bite you? Well,
see, now that he’s neutered, we can tease Spike all we want, and he can’t do
a damn thing about it. It’s fun. Here, you try it.”

“I’ll have to pass on that,” Graham said before turning to his friend.
“Interesting company you keep, Finn.”

“I’m beginning to see that,” Riley replied.

“So what now?” Xander asked. “Are you going to take Spike away and do
experiments on him? ‘Cause, you know, I’d pay to watch.”

“We can leave him. He’s harmless,” Graham said after a moment, ignoring the
growl the vampire sent his way at the comment. “We have bigger things to
worry about right now, anyway. I mean, I’m about to lead a team to LA in
search of Angel, and I have to figure out a way to keep him from getting
captured.”

“Couldn’t you just refuse to go?” Buffy asked.

“Yeah, that would work,” the young man replied, annoyance in his voice.
“Then, not only would Walsh be pissed at me, but I’d get in trouble for
refusing to follow orders and they would just send someone else.”

“Well, then maybe I should go up there. You know, help him.”

“Yeah, and you’d lead everyone right to him. My best bet is pretending we
can’t locate him, at least for awhile. Having you in LA would completely
screw that up.”

“And just why is that?” the blonde retorted.

“Because we’ve got men on you, too. They’d follow you to Angel, and I’d
have no excuses.”

“And just why are people following me?” Buffy asked, outrage in her voice.

Graham sighed, more than a little annoyed by Riley’s girlfriend. He’d come
here trying to help, and he’d been knocked down, yelled at, and discovered
that Buffy and her friends were harboring an escaped Hostile. He was tired,
frustrated, and he was putting himself on the line in order to protect
people he’d either never met or hardly knew. The least Buffy could do was
be civil. Fine, he decided suddenly. She’d been a pain in the butt; he
could be, too.

“Why are there people watching you? Well, I don’t know *Slayer*,” he said,
emphasizing the title. “Why don’t you tell me?”

The stunned look on her face didn’t disappoint him.
 

Part Fifteen

“Everything okay?” Angel asked as he entered his bedroom wearing only a pair
of pajama bottoms. Willow was sitting on his bed wearing her version of a
nightgown - one of his shirts - and it took all his willpower not to just
walk over to her and kiss the young woman. The only thing that kept him
from doing so was the fact that he felt he didn’t have the right to kiss
her. He knew that they had kissed only hours before, but what did that
really mean? A kiss was just that... a kiss. Nothing had been said or
decided, they had simply shared one of the most soul-searing kisses of his
existence. He had no rights when it came to Willow; all he had for sure was
her friendship.

Willow smiled as she turned to face the vampire. “Yeah. Everything’s good.
I talked to Xander.”

“I know. I’m the one who answered the phone,” he replied as he gave in to
the urge to go over to her. He didn’t reach for her, though. He simply sat
on the bed beside her, gazing at her pale face. After a moment, though, he
succumbed to his desire to touch her, lifting his hand to the redhead’s
cheek as his face clouded over. “You’ve been crying. Did... did he say
something? Do I need to go to Sunnydale and hurt him?”

Willow laughed softly at his offer as she reached up and covered his hand
with her own, pressing his palm more firmly to her cheek. She leaned into
the touch, even closing her eyes for a moment. Suddenly, her eyes popped
open again, and she pulled back slightly, regaining herself. What in the
world was she thinking? Angel was just her friend. Sure, they had kissed
earlier, but that hadn’t put a permanent shift in their relationship, had
it? They were still just friends. Sure, they were friends that comforted
each other when it was warranted, but other than that, they were friends of
the non-touching variety. Weren’t they? And why did that thought
disappoint her so?

“Willow?” Angel asked softly, a bit confused by both the redhead’s actions
and her silence.

“What? Oh, um... Xander. No, no, no. He didn’t... he didn’t say anything
wrong, which isn’t surprising, considering the fact that you threatened him
and everything,” she told him, giving him a knowing look before averting her
gaze again. Angel had the grace to look chagrined at her statement, but the
look quickly dropped off his face to be replaced by confusion when he
realized that she wasn’t even looking at him. What was going on here?
Was... was Willow afraid of him? Was it because he was too close? No, no,
that couldn’t be it. Just moments ago, she had been leaning into his touch.
But now... what was bothering her? Sighing, he reached out to take her
hand, grateful when she didn’t flinch or pull away from his touch. Whatever
was bothering her, it wasn’t his nearness. At least, he was fairly sure it
wasn’t.

“Willow? Are you sure everything’s okay? I mean... I don’t really know
what I mean.”

The redhead shrugged, looking down at their joined hands. “It’s nothing, I
guess. It’s not really important.”

“If it’s bothering you, then that makes it important,” he countered gently.

“It just... it was really great talking to Xander, you know?” she began.
She pulled her hand from his grasp as she spoke, then began tracing a random
pattern on the back of his hand. The gentle touch tickled slightly, but
Angel didn’t move, hoping she would continue talking to him and touching him
if he remained where he was. “I mean... he was just so concerned. And
he... he was great. He made me laugh, and he told me he loved me... It just
made me miss him. And it made me think ‘well, at least now I know that
Xander really does care about what happens to me.’ I’d been beginning to
wonder. Not that you and the others haven’t been great. You’ve all been
amazing, even Cordelia. Even Kate cares, and she hardly knows me. It’s
been nice, you know? Knowing that I can rely on you guys...”

“But you still needed to hear from the people back home,” Angel said softly,
silently blessing Xander for actually calling his best friend and letting
her know he cared.

“I guess,” Willow said with a shrug as she flipped Angel’s hand over. She
resumed tracing patterns on his skin, this time using his palm as her
surface of choice. The sensation caused him to shiver slightly, but the
redhead didn’t seem to notice. “It just really helped to hear from him.”

“Especially since you haven’t heard from Buffy.” He hadn’t intended to say
the words, but they just came out. The vampire had been annoyed by the
Slayer’s apparent lack of concern for her best friend’s welfare since the
whole incident had happened, but Xander’s call had brought the annoyance to
new heights. Angel had always considered the young man to be thoughtless
and inconsiderate, especially when it came to Willow, but he realized now
that, while Xander had done some stupid and hurtful things in the past, he
obviously did care about Willow. It was Buffy who was being thoughtless
this time, and the knowledge infuriated the vampire. Even so, he hadn’t
meant to mention it to Willow. The young woman had been through so much -
was still going through it - and he hadn’t meant to bring up anything that
would upset her. And it was clear that the reminder of Buffy’s seeming
unconcern upset her.

“It’s like she doesn’t even care,” the redhead said softly, her eyes still
on the hand she was tracing patterns over. “She didn’t call or anything.”

“She was probably afraid I would answer,” Angel replied without thinking,
wincing when he realized that what he said could be interpreted as a defense
of the Slayer. He didn’t mean it as such; he just knew that Buffy would use
it as an excuse for not calling if she were questioned about it. That
certainly said something about the girl, didn’t it? She was brave enough to
face the Master, Faith, and the Mayor, yet she was too much of a wimp to
call the person she called her best friend for fear her ex-boyfriend would
answer the phone.

“So?” Willow asked as she looked up at him, and Angel was glad to see a
spark of anger in her eyes. He’d been afraid that his comment would make
her feel guilty for being upset with the Slayer. “If you answered, she
could have simply asked to speak to me. You and Xander have never exactly
been friends, and he called. Damn it, she could have even sent a message to
me through Xander. It wouldn’t have mattered to me how she said it...”

“You just wanted to know she cared,” Angel finished for her, removing his
hand from the reach of her wandering fingers and pulling her into a gentle
hug. “You have every right to want to know that,” he told her as he glanced
at the clock on the wall. Sighing, he pulled away from her, pressing a
quick kiss to her brow. “It’s almost two in the morning,” he told her.
“You should get some sleep.”

“What about you? Where are you going?” Willow asked as the vampire stood
and began to his way out of the room. She hated the little bit of panic she
felt at the thought of him leaving, but it was there, and she had to admit
to herself that she didn’t want him to go. She needed him to stay with her.
She didn’t think she could bear sleeping if he left. Not after the
nightmare of the night before. Not after everything that had happened
today.

Angel turned to face her before he spoke. “What do you mean?”

“Don’t you need some sleep, too?”

“That’s where I’m going. To sleep on the couch.”

“But you don’t have to do that,” she told him, glancing at his large bed.
It was more than large enough for the two of them. In fact, they’d actually
shared it only the night before. “You can stay in here with me.”

Stay? Dear Lord, was she honestly asking him to stay with her? He couldn’t
do that. There was no way he could do that. He knew she was just
suggesting it out of concern that the couch was too small for him - he’d
seen her eyeing it critically earlier - but he knew there was no way he
could comply with her wishes. He realized that she meant for them to sleep
side by side, completely platonically, but he wasn’t sure he could handle
it. What if he ended up frightening her or making her uncomfortable by
accidentally brushing up against her or something. No, there was no way he
was going to climb in that bed beside her, and nothing she could say-

“Please Angel. Please stay with me. I don’t want to be alone.”

And all of his resolve went out the window.

Willow was sitting there, asking him to stay because she needed his comfort,
his friendship. He could see how much the words cost her, how much she
hated the soft plea that had entered his voice. But it was there, tearing
at his heart, and there was no way he could deny her.

“I’ll stay.”

And with that, Angel made his way towards the bed, knowing he would have a
very difficult time getting to sleep that night.
 

Part Sixteen

“What are you doing?”

Willow turned at the sound of the vampire’s voice, and she smiled at the
sleepily disgruntled look on his face. “I’m getting dressed. It’s what one
does when they get up in the morning,” she informed him cheerfully. Unlike
the man in the bed, she had slept quite well the night before, the
nightmares and fear having been held at bay by Angel’s strong arms. She had
woken up thirty minutes before and immediately called Cordelia, wanting to
get out of the apartment for the day and do something normal, something fun.
Something that would make her feel more alive. The brunette had quickly
accepted the invitation to go out and have some fun, barely even griping
over the early hour of the redhead’s call. Personally, Cordelia had just
been happy that the other girl felt up to doing something, especially after
the events of the night before.

“What time is it?” Angel asked as he watched Willow comb out her hair.

“Almost nine thirty. Cordy will be here in an hour.”

“But today’s Saturday. She has Saturdays off unless there’s an emergency...
Oh, no,” Angel said, sitting straight up in bed. “Something’s wrong, isn’t
it? Did she have a vision? Why didn’t anyone wake me?”

“Because,” Willow replied, enunciating her words carefully as she set down
her brush and turned to face the vampire, “nothing is wrong. She’s just
coming for me. We’re going shopping.”

“Shopping?” he repeated dumbly.

“Yeah, you know. It’s when you go and try on clothes, and then you buy what
you like-”

“I know what shopping is. It’s just... are you sure you-”

“Want to get out? Yeah, I do. Cordy will keep me busy, and if I’m busy,
then my mind isn’t on things that I really don’t want it to be on, you know.
Besides, I figured you could use some time without your house guest
hanging around.”

“I wouldn’t say that.”

“Yeah, well, I would. I just did, actually. Anyway, Cordy’s coming here,
and then we’re off to be the teenagers that we are.”

“That you so seldom get to be,” Angel added a bit sadly.

“Oh, no you don’t. You are not going to get all broody on me. Do you
understand? Nod your head.” She waited until he did, then continued.
“Good. Now we’re on the same page. I don’t brood over what’s going on, and
you just... don’t brood.”

“Willow-”

“No whining, either, Mr. Big Bad Vampire,” she told him in a semi-warning
voice.

“You know, no one’s going to think I’m big and bad if I take orders from a
little redhead.”

“Then we just won’t tell anybody,” she replied with a winning smile, and
Angel couldn’t help but smile back. He didn’t know where this cheerful,
playful mood had come from, but he was certainly happy it was here. After
studying her for a moment, a question came to mind.

“Where did you get the outfit?” he asked, taking in the short green dress
she was wearing. It was sleeveless, but its high neck covered the worst of
her bruises. Her other bruises seemed remarkably... well, gone, leading
Angel to wonder if it was a miracle of makeup or one of magick that had
completed that particular task.

“Cordy brought it.”

“When?”

“Well, you see, yesterday, when Cordelia brought over an outfit for me to
wear, she actually brought over several. She wanted to give me options,
plus she figured that I might need clothes for more than one day. Do you
like it?” she asked, doing a quick spin that made the skirt flare out
slightly.

“I do,” he told her sincerely, then glanced at her feet. “Did she bring
shoes, too?”

“Yeah. Cordy and I are actually the same size when it comes to shoes,
believe it or not,” the redhead replied before glancing at the clock on the
wall. “Ooh, she’ll be here soon, and I promised I’d make breakfast,” she
said as she headed for the door. She stopped in the doorway, though, and
turned back to face the vampire who was currently getting out of bed. “You
do have actual food, don’t you? ‘Cause if you don’t, I am so screwed.”

“No need to worry,” Angel told her as he stood. “The pantry and
refrigerator are pretty well-stocked. I keep it that way for Wesley and
Cordelia.”

“Oh, good. I can actually cook then,” Willow said with a grin before
heading towards his kitchen.

Angel smiled at her retreating figure, then made his way to the bathroom,
shutting the door behind him and immediately turning on the shower. Because
of his lack of natural body heat, he tended to take his showers very hot,
and he slowly removed his clothes as he waited for the water to heat up.
Once it was hot enough for his taste, he stepped under the spray, going
through the motions of washing his hair and his body while he thought about
Willow. He was glad she was in a good mood, and he was happy she and
Cordelia seemed to be getting along so well, but the thought of her going
anywhere without him was unsettling. He knew that Sawyer was now in jail -
hopefully permanently - but there were still other things that could happen
while she was out with Cordelia. It was only natural that he worry about
her. She had, after all, been through a lot over the past few days, and he
was responsible for her... and who was he trying to kid? Certainly he felt
responsible for the little redhead, but he was no more responsible for her
than he was for Cordelia, and he felt no qualms about the fact that the
brunette was going to out and about without him. And certainly he felt
protective Willow. Who wouldn’t after the events of the past couple of
days? But there was more to it than that, and Angel knew it. There was
something that was going on between him and the little redhead, but he
wasn’t entirely sure what it was. There was friendship, yes, but it was a
level of friendship that far surpassed what they’d had in Sunnydale. It was
a friendship that sat precariously on the balance of being more, and he was
beginning to wonder if that balance had already been tipped. The sexual
tension between them had grown, and he had kissed her.

And she had kissed him back.

So where did that leave them?

Were they friends, or were they more? What did he want to come out of this?
What did Willow want out of this? And what was he going to do if what he
wanted turned out to be different than what Willow wanted?

And why was he standing there in the shower and becoming a prune, all for
the sake of pondering what seemed to be an impossible question?

Sighing, Angel got out of the shower, drying off quickly before wrapping a
towel around his waist and steeping back into his bedroom. He dressed
slowly, listening to the sounds of Willow and Cordelia talking and eating
breakfast. After awhile, he heard them scoot their chairs back, and he
heard the water turn on as someone - he figured it was Willow - rinsed off
the dishes they had used.

A couple of minutes later, Willow came back into his room. “So you are up.”

“Just finishing getting ready,” he told her.

“Well, I just came in to tell you that Cordy and I are leaving now.”

“Have fun.”

“We will,” the redhead replied, and Angel could see a split second of
indecision cross her face. It was gone almost as quickly as it had
appeared, and before the vampire had a chance to question her about it, she
darted forward and pressed her lips to his in a fleeting kiss. The kiss was
over almost before it had begun, and then Willow was gone, leaving a stunned
Angel behind.

Slowly, the shocked vampire raised his fingers to his lips. He stood that
way for what seemed like forever, his eyes trained on the door the redhead
had left through, and he probably would have stayed there indefinitely had
it not been for the ringing of the phone.

Still moving as if in a trance, Angel left his bedroom and went into the
living area where he answered the phone.

“Angel here.”

The voice on the other end was clearly Xander’s, and he sounded worried
about something. That in and of itself wasn’t all that shocking, but what -
well, who - he was worried about certainly was.

“Hold up a minute, Xander. You’re talking too fast. Did you say army guys
are out to get me? No, it’s not that I don’t believe you, it’s just that...
hold on a second, would you? I need to turn the television off so I can
hear you better,” he said, searching for the remote for the appliance that
the girls had left on. He finally found it on the kitchen table and he had
it pointed at the television, ready to hit the off button when the sight of
Kate on the screen gave him pause.

“This morning, while being transported from his cell to the room where his
lawyer was waiting, Richard Sawyer attacked a guard and disarmed him,
killing the man and injuring his partner during his escape. If anyone sees,
they are asked to contact the Los Angeles Police Department immediately.
Sawyer is armed and considered extremely dangerous,” she reported, and then
her picture was off the screen only to be replaced by a mug shot.

Richard Sawyer’s mug shot.

The man had attacked Willow, and now he had escaped. And Willow and
Cordelia were out shopping, blissfully unaware of what was going on, and he
had no way to warn them, no way of knowing where they were.

And Sawyer was still after Willow.

As he sat there, unhearing as Xander’s voice rambled in his ear, Angel’s
blood ran cold.

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