E-mail: ksu2@juno.com
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: All BtVS and Angel characters belong to Joss Whedon, the WB, and
20th Century Fox; song written by Dean McTaggart & David Tyson
Distribution: Charity, Angel of Mine, Willow's Angel, Fever of Fate, anyone
else who carries my fic; otherwise ask first
Summary: A mistake from five years before threatens to ruin everything
Notes: This part is set in 2005, but the next part and subsequent parts will
be set in 2000, and will trace up to the year 2005.
Spoilers: Through A New Man/Expecting (this is subject to change)
More Notes: Thanks to everyone who voted for me at the W/A awards! I really
appreciate it.
Feedback: Please

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
There are some sins that you can justify
But not the one I'm guilty of
I had a choice one last chance ago
And turned my back on love
Did I just miss
The last exit to Eden
Is this the only love I'll know
Like a Judas kiss
Did my heart betray me
Back on the road I never chose
-Amanda Marshall, Last Exit to Eden
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Prologue

March 2005

Angel was brooding. Yes, it was what he was best at, but it was still
annoying. Kate Wyndham-Pryce, formerly known as Kate Lockley, shook her
head in disgust when she saw what the vampire was doing, then waddled into
Angel’s office and sat down heavily on his couch.

"Ugh," she moaned, patting her rather large belly. "I may not be able to
get back up again. Maybe I’ll just stay right here until it’s time to have
the baby," she said thoughtfully, then shook her head. "Nah, that wouldn’t
be practical. You never have any food."

"Kate, you didn’t have to come in today. I would have understood. I mean,
you are eight months pregnant."

"And here I thought I had just gained a little weight. What would I do
without your amazing insight?" the former police detective commented wryly.
"Besides, I had to come. I’d become a danger to myself and others if I
stayed at home watching soap operas and daytime talk shows. The people on
those things are scarier than the creatures we fight against. Speaking of,
are there any new cases, or are you just going to be practicing your
brooding skills today?"

Angel couldn’t help but smile slightly. Over the past several years, Kate
had become one of his favorite people. Once he had gotten to know her, he
had discovered that she was bright, funny, and that she genuinely cared
about people and wanted to help them. After she had learned the truth about
Angel, she had been reluctant to trust the
vampire, but once she discovered that he truly was interested in helping
people out of bad - and usually supernatural - situations, she had offered
her help, eventually quitting the force and coming to work for Angel full
time. And that was when she had fallen in love with Wesley. It had been
completely unexpected - Angel had actually been worried that the two would
hate each other - but the vampire was truly happy for the couple. They
brought out the best in each other, and Wesley had become decidedly less
annoying since marrying Kate two years before. The couple was expecting
their first child in April, and neither one of them could wait. Of course,
Kate was especially eager to get the pregnancy over with.

With a sigh, Angel swiveled his chair slowly so that he was facing his
coworker. "I was thinking about brooding all day, if you don’t mind.
There’s really nothing going on."

"Nothing from Cordelia?"

Angel shook his head. "Not lately. Apparently she’s been vision free. I
don’t know if I should be grateful, or if I should worry that the evil’s
saving itself for something really big later on."

"What about Willow?"

Angel’s eyes narrowed, and Kate could almost feel him closing himself off.
"What about her?"

"Well, that’s who you were brooding about, isn’t it? It always is. It’s
been a long time, Angel. How much longer are you going to put yourself
through this? You simply made a bad choice."

"Did I?"

"Yes, you did, and you know it, you stupid vampire. Look, Angel, you may
have forever to wander around, making up for your past, but this is one
mistake that you have to correct soon, if you’re ever going to correct it at
all."

"I’m not going to discuss this with you again. It’s been nearly five years.
Get over it already. Just let it drop."

"If you seemed to be getting over it, maybe I would let it drop. But you
have been torturing yourself-"

"Leave it alone, Kate. I mean it," Angel ground out fiercely, in a tone
that brooked no room for argument.

"I’m just saying-" Kate broke off as the fax machine at Angel’s desk
suddenly whirred to life. After allowing the fax to completely print out,
Angel grabbed the page, knowing it was important. The machine was left on
day and night for one thing and one thing only.

Cordelia’s visions.

"Damn," Angel muttered as he scanned the fax.

"What is it?" Cordelia always sent as much information as she could, and
Kate wondered what exactly could be so bad about this one. With a bit of
effort, Kate managed to pull herself to her feet, and she went to Angel’s
side to peer at the fax, which held nothing more than a woman’s name and
address.

"Isn’t that the city Willow and Cordelia live in?"

"It’s the house. Amy Madison is their roommate."

"Then I guess we’d better get going."

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

Willow Rosenberg sighed as she struggled to get her bag out of her car.
She’d just spent a week on a buying trip in New York, trying to get her
hands on the ingredients she needed for the various lotions and perfumes she
and Amy made for the store she, Cordelia, and Amy ran. It had been tough,
but she had managed to get everything she had gone for. Thank the Goddess
she had good contacts in the Wiccan world. The store the women owned wasn’t
a magick shop; it was actually a successful clothing store that carried
Cordelia’s designs. However, it also carried Willow and Amy’s candles,
bath oils, and lotions. The two used special ingredients to ensure that the
‘aromatherapy’ products they created really worked. Both women enjoyed
using their magickal abilities to help people, even if it was only making
sure that a young mother was really able to relax after an especially rough
day. It may not be saving the world, but it sure meant a lot to the young
mother.

Willow was knocked out of her musings as she heard a car pull up behind hers
in the driveway. Squinting into the darkness, she tried to discern who it
was that was getting out of the car. And when she figured it out, she found
herself wishing that she had stayed in New York.

"What the hell are you doing here, Angel?"

Part One

March 2000

"Angel! It’s so good to see you!"

The vampire smiled one of his rare smiles and opened his arms to the little
redhead. With a grin, Willow flew into his arms, hugging him fiercely
enough that Angel was glad he didn’t need to breath. After a moment, the
vampire pulled back so that he could look at the young witch.

"It’s good to see you, too. You look wonderful."

Willow blushed slightly at the compliment and tucked a piece of hair behind
her ear. "Thanks. You look great, too. Which makes sense, because you’re
a vampire, and you don’t change, because you don’t age, because you’re dead,
and I’m going to be quiet now."

Angel couldn’t help but grin at Willow’s short monologue. She had always
been able to charm him with her way of speaking, and he was glad to see that
she still spoke in the same manner.

"You have no idea how much I’ve missed you," he told her seriously, causing
her blush to deepen.

"Yeah, sure you really missed me. You’re just saying that because you like
seeing me turn all red, aren’t you?" the redhead said accusingly, raising
her eyebrow at the vampire.

"Well, it is rather amusing," he admitted with a slight smile.

"Willow! You’re here!" Cordelia cried as she entered the room and headed
for Willow, stopping only to smack Angel and say, "Why didn’t you tell me
she was here, you stupid dead guy?" With a grin, Cordelia gave Willow a
hug, then stepped back to look at her, urging the other girl to spin in a
circle. With a tolerant sigh, the young hacker obliged, and Cordy nodded
her head approvingly as she took in the redhead’s appearance. "You look
good. I like the clothes. Very nice. Very un-Willowy."

"Since I assume you meant that as a compliment, I’ll let the implied insult
slide and just say thank you."

Angel watched the two young women, amusement lighting his usually somber
face. He was thrilled that Willow had come to spend her spring break in LA,
and not just for himself, although he was sure he’d be grateful for her
research skills. He was glad that, for once, Cordelia would have some
female companionship. And not just any female companionship. Willow was
one person Cordy knew she could trust. Ever since she’d wound up pregnant
with a whole bunch of little demons after a night out with people she
thought were her friends, the aspiring actress had been extremely cautious
about who she associated with, basically spending time with only Angel and
Wesley. While Angel had discovered that he enjoyed the brunette’s company,
he had become worried about her. He thought she was too isolated. He just
hoped that having Willow around would help.

"Hello, all," a British voice intoned cheerfully as Wesley entered the
office. The former Watcher stopped short when he saw Willow in the room.
"Hello, Miss Rosenberg. I’m glad to see you made it here safely."

"Hi, Wesley," Willow replied. "It’s good to see you again. And don’t call
me Miss Rosenberg. My name’s Willow, okay? ‘Miss Rosenberg’ makes me feel
old, and I’m only nineteen."

"Yes, yes, of course."

Cordelia sighed impatiently at the exchange, then waited for the others to
turn and focus on her.

"Yes, Cordelia?" Angel asked.

"Can Willow and I get out of here now?"

"But... but you just got here," Wesley protested, confused.

"I know, but this is Willow’s spring break. Therefore, I feel it is my duty
as her friend to make sure she has fun. Which, in case you don’t know, does
not involve hanging around the office all day. Besides, I need to take
Willow to my place so she can meet Dennis and get settled in."

"Dennis?" Willow questioned.

"My roommate," Cordelia explained. "He’s a ghost, and he’s really nice.
You’ll hardly even know he’s there."

"Okay..." Willow replied cautiously, secretly wondering just what she had
managed to get herself into. Angel caught the look on her face and smiled.

"It’s really okay, Will. Cordelia’s right. Dennis is harmless." He
shifted so that his gaze included both girls. "And I don’t have any
problems with the two of you taking off. We really don’t have anything to
do today, so it’s no problem. Have fun."

Cordelia beamed and nodded, then grabbed Willow’s arm and virtually dragged
the girl to the door. "Come on. Let’s get out of here before he changes
his mind and makes us stay."

Laughing, Willow allowed herself to be pulled along by the brunette, pausing
only long enough to wave at the men.

"See you tomorrow!"

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

Willow stepped into Cordy’s apartment, and she couldn’t contain the soft
"Wow" that came from her lips as she looked around her.

"It is pretty nice, isn’t it?" Cordelia said with a grin. "Come on, I’ll
show you to the guest room."

The redhead followed the other girl into another room and set her things
down on the bed. "This place is great, Cordelia. I love it."

"So do I," the brunette admitted with a grin. "It’s great, and it’s close
to work, which is a plus." She sat on the bed and looked up at Willow.
"So. What do you want to do now?"

Willow laughed. "You’re the one who lives here. You tell me."

"Well," Cordy began, "I was thinking we could go to the coffee shop for a
bite to eat, then head to the video store and rent a bunch of tearjerkers.
You know, the kind of movie guys always refuse to see, which means I have
been reduced to watching them alone. Then, we can give ourselves facials
and talk about how all men are evil."

"Which in no way sounds like a junior high slumber party."

The former cheerleader shrugged. "I’m in the mood to regress. What do you
say? Casablanca, or no Casablanca?"

Willow grinned, suddenly looking forward to spending the week sharing an
apartment with Cordelia.

"Definitely Casablanca."

Part Two

"Hello?"

The voice was small and quavery, and Angel was unable to hide the edge of
fear in his voice when he spoke.

"Willow? Is that you? What’s wrong? Did something happen to Cordelia?"

"What? Angel, no, nothing’s wrong," Willow replied in a slightly stronger
voice.

"Then why-"

Willow sniffled as she interrupted him. "We were watching Ghost."

"Ghost?"

"Yeah, you know. Or maybe you don’t. You’re not exactly pop culture guy.
It’s a movie with Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore. He dies, and... well, it’s
just a really sad movie. Before that, we watched Casablanca. That movie
never fails to make me cry, and I’ve seen it at least a dozen times."

"And you did this on purpose?"

"I don’t think I follow."

"You purposely made yourself cry?"

Angel sounded so confused that Willow couldn’t help but giggle. "I guess
you could say that. They really are good movies, though. Next we’re
watching Gone With the Wind. I always sob when Rhett and Scarlett’s
daughter dies."

"Whose idea was this little movie fest, anyway?"

"It was Cordelia’s idea. Look, Angel, I really don’t want you to take this
the wrong way, but why are you calling?"

"I just wanted to make sure you were settling in okay. I know that you and
Cordelia weren’t exactly the best of friends back when we all lived in
Sunnydale."

Willow sighed and shifted her position on the couch. "I know we weren’t.
But we’ve both grown up a lot since then. And you probably don’t know this,
but Cordelia wrote me a letter a few months ago, and we ended up exchanging
e-mail addresses, and we’ve kept in touch ever since. We worked all of our
problems out."

"I’m glad to hear that," Angel said sincerely.

"Thanks. Look, if you don’t have anything dire you need to tell me, can I
let you go now? Cordy’s getting impatient to start the next movie."

"Okay, Will. I’ll see you tomorrow."

"Bye, Angel."

Willow hung up the phone, then turned to face a rather teary eyed Cordelia.

"What did he want?" the brunette asked.

"He wanted to make sure we were getting along okay. I think I kind of
freaked him out when I answered the phone in tears, so I had to explain
about the movies. He didn’t say so, but I’m pretty sure he thinks we’re
weird."

"Why? Because we’re watching tearjerkers?" Cordy asked as she put Gone With
the Wind in.

Willow nodded, and Cordelia shook her head and let out an exasperated sigh.

"Men. They just don’t get it."

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

Angel shook his head in a mixture of amusement and confusion as he hung up
the phone. He looked up as Wesley came in.

"So, are they doing okay? No bloodshed?" the former Watcher asked.

"No, no bloodshed. According to Willow, they’re watching really sad movies
and having a great time."

"Watching sad movies is fun?"

"Apparently. She couldn’t wait to get off the phone so she could go watch
Gone With the Wind, which she claims makes her sob." At Wesley’s
questioning glance, Angel shrugged. "Don’t ask me; I may be 247 years old,
but that doesn’t mean I know everything."

"Women. I’m beginning to think they’re impossible to understand."

"I think I figured that one out a couple centuries ago."

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

Willow painted the nail of her big toe, then lifted her foot to show
Cordelia, who was sitting on the bed. Willow was sitting on the floor.

"What do you think?"

Cordelia studied the shade for a moment. It was a lavender color, and it
looked really good. "I like it. What about mine?" she asked showing Willow
her dark blue nails.

"It works. Very nice."

"So," Cordelia began, "I know it’s really none of my business, but how are
you doing? I mean, with the whole Oz thing?"

Willow shrugged. "Okay, I guess. It has been four months since he left.
I’ve even started dating again."

"Ooh, who? Do tell."

"It’s no big deal. In fact, it’s kind of over. He’s one of Riley’s
friends; his name’s Graham, and he’s a really great guy. It’s just, we’re
much better as just friends, you know? I mean, he’s wonderful and really
sweet, but-"

"No sparkage?"

"Well, a little. More than a little, actually. There was mild sparkage.
Just not as much as I want there to be. And he feels the same way. So,
friends."

"Is he cute?"

"Are you in the market for a guy?"

"Only if he isn’t evil. The last guy I dated got me pregnant with his
master’s demon spawn. That’s not an experience I care to repeat."

Willow wrinkled her nose in distaste; she’d already heard the story, and she
personally wanted to beat the crap out of the guy who had done that to
Cordy. However, that wasn’t the issue at the moment.

"He’s completely not evil. He fights the baddies; he isn’t one. He’s even
helped us out a few times. And he really is good-looking. Brown hair, very
muscular build, and amazing eyes. And he’s really smart, too."

Cordelia smiled slightly as she went back to painting her nails. "Maybe I
am in the market for a guy."

"Visit me in Sunnydale, and I’ll introduce you to him."

"Twist my arm."

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

Angel smiled indulgently as Willow and Cordelia entered the office a good
hour late.

"Morning, ladies. Lovely day, isn’t it?"

"Oh, bite me," Willow replied as she collapsed on the couch and yawned.
After a moment, she reconsidered her comment. "You know, that’s probably
not the best thing to say to a vampire."

"Probably not," Angel agreed with a laugh. "But I’ll it slide this time."

"So," Cordelia said as she sat in her chair. "Any exciting new
assignments?"

"Any visions lately?"

"No."

"Then no new assignments."

"So we dragged ourselves in here for nothing?" Willow asked. "I’ve changed
my mind. Go ahead and bite me, Angel. Just be sure and stop drinking once
I’m unconscious. I don’t want to die; I just want a little nap."

Angel couldn’t help but laugh.

Part Three

Willow pushed her hair behind her ear and stretched out contentedly. Angel
had been gracious enough to give the girls the afternoon off (due in part to
the fact that they weren’t really needed and in part to their incessant
whining), and the redhead and the brunette were currently at the beach
soaking up the rays.

"You know," Cordelia muttered sleepily, "you should come to LA every week.
Then I’d never have to work."

Willow laughed softly. "You know, Cordy, somehow I don’t think it would
work that way."

"Yeah, but we could always try." With a winning smile, Cordelia rolled over
so that she was facing her friend. "You should spend the summer here. In
LA, not at the beach," she clarified.

"You really want me to?" Willow asked, a bit surprised. She knew that her
relationship with the former cheerleader had greatly improved over the past
few months, but this suggestion was still unexpected.

"Yeah. We’d have fun, and you know it. Besides, you’d be a huge help with
research and witchy stuff. And Angel would love to have you here. He
really does adore you. And I’d love to have the company. We could have
movie fests every weekend. Not to mention the fact that half the time I’m
on testosterone overload with those two around. British nincompoop
overload, too. Face it, Will, I need you here in order to keep my sanity.
Please?" she asked, fluttering her eyelashes and making Willow laugh.

"Well, if you put it that way... I’ll see if I can work it out. Buffy and
company shouldn’t really need me, especially now that Riley, Graham, and
Forrest have joined the group. Plus, they’ve always got Spike. He’s been a
big help ever since we discovered that he can still fight demons. Besides,
I hoping I would have to plan a visit anyway."

"Have to?" Cordelia repeated, intrigued.

"Well, I’ve made a few connections through Miss Calendars old groups. I’ve
got my hands on a spell that should finally de-rat Amy, and Anya’s offered
to help me perform it. And, well..."

"What is it?"

"I’ve got a few leads on a spell for Angel. One that would permanently
anchor his soul. As in, no more happiness clause."

"No way! Is this for real?"

"It’s for real. I’m getting so close to finding it... I’m pretty sure I’ll
be able to get my hands on the spell within the next few months. But don’t
tell Angel, okay? I don’t want him to get his hopes up. Once it’s a sure
thing, I’ll tell him."

"Wow," Cordelia said, reeling a bit from the news Willow had sprung on her.
In her time working for the vampire, the brunette had come to care for him
in a big brother like fashion. The thought of him being able to find true
happiness without it destroying him was almost too much to comprehend, and
she was thrilled at the prospect that it could really happen. Although she
had never been religious, Cordelia found herself offering up a quick prayer,
asking Whoever would listen to aid Willow in finding the spell. Twisting a
strand of hair thoughtfully, Cordelia spoke again.

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

Willow shrugged. "Not really. Most of my contacts talk to me only. You
could check stuff out here in LA, though. The people I’ve found tend to be
on the east coast, mostly in New York, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t
people here we could ask."

"I’ll get right on it," the brunette stated, then quickly amended,
"tomorrow. Today, I’m going to concentrate on my tan."

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

Cordelia opened the door to her apartment warily, surprised to find Angel
and Wesley standing there.

"What do you want?" she asked.

"Well, that was polite," Angel commented with a smile.

"Sorry. I mean, why are you here? No, wait, that was rude, too. Just
answer me, okay?" Cordelia said with an exasperated smile.

Angel laughed as Cordelia stepped back to allow the men entrance. "We came
to take you and Willow to dinner. We haven’t exactly seen much of either of
you since Willow got here-"

"And you missed her, too. I know. Give us twenty minutes and we’ll be
ready to go out."

"The clock’s ticking," Angel replied.

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

The foursome stayed out quite late that night. They first ate at a little
diner that just happened to be Cordelia’s favorite place to eat, then
wandered around LA, showing Willow the sights before heading back to the
office.

"This is nice," Willow murmured as she stood on roof of Angel’s office,
staring out at the skyline. The night had turned slightly cool, and she was
wearing Angel’s jacket over her dress.

Angel smiled at the sight of the redhead bundled up in the too-large jacket.
She looked so cute, and small, and fragile, and he found himself wanting
to protect her from everything. He walked up to stand beside her at the
ledge and placed his hands on the edge of it. "I like it here, too," he
told her quietly.

"Do you come up here often?" she asked.

"Almost every night. It’s the perfect place to think, to-"

"Brood?" Willow supplied innocently, causing the vampire to laugh.

"No. Well, okay, sometimes. But not as much as I used to. In all honesty,
I just like the peace and solitude up here."

"And speaking of solitude... I’m invading your space, aren’t I?"

"No! No, not at all," the vampire protested. "In fact, I like having you
here. It’s nice to have someone who appreciates it as much as I do. It’s
nice to have someone to share it with," he added softly.

"Even if it ruins the whole solitude thing?"

"Even then," he confirmed, wrapping his arm around Willow’s shoulders and
pulling her against his side. She leaned her head against his shoulder, and
the two stood in companionable silence until the rising of the sun forced
them to go inside.

Part Four

Several days later, Angel entered the office, slightly surprised to find
Willow and Cordelia sprawled across the couches. He looked at his watch.
Three o’clock in the afternoon.

"You do realize you’re over two hours late, don’t you? I asked you to try
to be back by one," he said, not really angry. He hated to admit it, but he
was actually a bit amused.

Cordelia lazily opened one eye. "We took a long lunch."

Angel laughed. "Three and a half hours? Yeah, I’d say that’s a long lunch.
What exactly could you be doing at a restaurant for three and a half
hours? Or do I even want to know?"

"Hitting on the waiters?" Willow offered cheekily, not even bothering to
open her eyes.

"For three hours?" Angel returned, fighting a grin.

"They were really cute waiters," the redhead informed him. "They had great
butts."

"Willow..." the vampire said warningly.

"We ate at the mall," Willow admitted. "You figure out what we did after we
ate."

"You went shopping?" Angel asked incredulously. He’d never really pictured
Willow as much of a shopper.

"Willow goes home tomorrow," Cordelia reminded the vampire. "I couldn’t let
her go home without something to remind her of her week in LA."

"Where are all your bags?"

"We took them back to the apartment. Didn’t want to clutter up the office,"
the brunette responded.

"So instead of cluttering up the office with your bags, you clutter it with,
well, yourselves?"

"That’s the idea," Cordelia replied, pushing herself to her feet and walking
over to the vampire. "Anything new? Work-wise, that is?"

Angel shook his head and leaned against the desk. "Not a thing. It’s been
awfully quiet lately."

"Well, that’s a good thing, isn’t it?" Cordelia asked.

"Well, yeah, for now," Willow stated as she sat up. "But three weeks from
now, when your up to your necks in bad guys, you’ll be wishing that they had
the decency to attack one at a time instead of all at once."

"Thank you, Willow. I feel much better now."

"I try," the redhead replied as Cordelia headed into the other office in
search of coffee.

Angel turned to the petite redhead. He had enjoyed the week she had been in
LA, and he wasn’t anxious to see her go. "When do you have to leave?" he
asked.

Willow shrugged. "Sometime tomorrow morning. Buffy’s expecting me back at
the dorm by noon. Why?"

"I just wanted to make sure I’d be there to see you off."

"Can you do that? I mean, daytime. Sunlight. Your severe aversion to the
sun."

"I’ve made it to Cordelia’s during the day before. I’m sure I can manage it
tomorrow. Just don’t leave until I’ve come by, okay?"

"Sure. I can handle that."

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

Willow looked at the clock on Cordy’s mantle. "It’s almost nine o’clock,"
she complained. "If Angel doesn’t get here soon, I’m going to have to leave
without saying goodbye to him."

"Couldn’t you just call Buffy and tell her you’ll be late?"

Willow shook her head. "She went to Iowa with Riley for spring break, and I
have no idea how to get in touch with her. All I know is that I’m supposed
to meet her at the dorm at noon."

"Wow. She’s already meeting the family? I guess this thing with farm boy’s
pretty serious."

"Yeah, it is. And I’m really happy for her. I mean, Riley’s a great guy.
And he knows what she is, so she doesn’t have to hide anything from him.
Plus he’s really good looking."

"Which is always a good thing," Cordy said with a grin. After a moment, the
smile dropped off the brunette’s face, replaced by a look of sadness.

"Cordy, what’s wrong?" Willow asked, alarmed.

"I don’t want you to go," the aspiring actress replied. "I wish you could
just stay here indefinitely. Pretty pathetic, huh?"

"No, it’s not. I’m sorry to be going, too. But, we can still do the e-mail
thing."

"And talk on the phone," Cordelia added.

"Not to mention the fact that at some point you have to visit me so I can
introduce you to Graham."

"True. Do you think he’ll like me?"

"Trust me, Cordy. He’ll love you."

"That better not be Willow-speak for ‘he’ll like you whether he wants to or
not because I’m going to do a love spell on the poor guy.’"

"I would never do that. I know how it feels to be under a love spell.
Remember Valentine’s day our junior year and Xander’s little misadventure?"

Cordelia laughed. "How could I forget? I was the only one unaffected!"

Willow opened her mouth to say more, but was interrupted by someone knocking
on the door. Cordelia quickly went to answer it, then stepped back,
allowing the Angel to enter.

"Good. You’re still here," the vampire said as he walked over to Willow.
He handed her an old book, and Willow looked up at him, confused. "It’s a
book of spells," Angel explained. "That’s why I asked you to wait this
morning. I didn’t get my hands on it until last night, after you and
Cordelia left for home. I thought it might help you turn Amy back into a
human."

"This is why you asked me to wait?" Willow asked, staring down at the cover
of the old book.

"Well, that and I wanted a chance to say goodbye," Angel told her sincerely.
"I’m going to miss you," he told her.

Willow looked up at the vampire, then smiled at him and gave him a hug,
which Angel returned. "I’m going to miss you, too," she told him.

"Yeah, but you’re coming back, right?" Cordelia piped up. Angel released
Willow and stepped back, looking into her eyes.

"Is that true?"

Willow nodded. "This summer. I’m not sure how long I’ll stay, or when I’ll
even come, but I will definitely visit you guys this summer. That is, I’ll
visit you if I’m welcome."

Angel smiled slightly, then pulled Willow into another hug. "Of course
you’re welcome, Willow. You’ll always be welcome here."

Part Five

June 2000

"Willow! You’re here!" Cordelia cried as she stood up and stepped from
behind her desk. She went to the redhead and gave her a big hug, then
pulled back and grinned at her friend. "I thought you weren’t coming until
tomorrow. I thought there were things that had to be taken care of."

"There were, but they were taken care of earlier then expected. That’s the
nice thing about having Riley, Forrest, and Graham around. Evil gets
vanquished more quickly."

Cordy laughed, then impulsively hugged Willow again. "You look absolutely
fantastic. And the room at my place is completely ready for you to move in
for a couple of months. I have so been looking forward to this."

"Movies fests every weekend?" Willow asked with a smile.

"But of course. And shopping and eating out and acting like little kids.
It’s all in the plan."

Willow bit her lip, then looked up at her friend. "So, um, where’s Angel?"

"Angel? He’s downstairs; he usually doesn’t come up for awhile in the
mornings. Why? Do you need to talk to- Oh my God! Did you find the
spell?"

Willow nodded, an ecstatic grin on her face. "That’s another reason I came
here early. I couldn’t wait to tell him."

Cordelia sat down on the edge of her desk. She had known that this day
would probably come; Willow was too good a researcher not to find the spell.
However, it was still overwhelming to the brunette. "This is wow. I
mean, there’s no other word for it. Just wow."

Willow nodded in agreement. "Big wow. Even Graham kind of freaked when we
found the spell, and he doesn’t even know Angel."

"Graham?" the name had Cordy’s head turning to look at her friend. "He
helped you with this? Even though he knows Angel’s a vampire?"

"Yeah. He knew I wanted to do this, and he trusts my judgment. Besides,
Graham, Spike, and I are the only unattached people in our little group, so
we end up spending a lot of time together."

"Are you saying Spike helped, too?" Cordy asked with an incredulous laugh.
"He really did. Honest. Although he did complain the whole time."

"So, um, Graham still doesn’t have a girlfriend?"

"No, he doesn’t, Miss Never Came to Visit. You’re never going to meet him
if you don’t come see me. Though only God knows why Graham’s still single.
He’s an amazing guy. He’s one of those guys that is absolutely gorgeous and
really nice and smart, too."

"Those guys don’t actually exist, Willow."

"Yeah, well, Graham and Riley both fall into that category. Maybe it’s a
Hellmouth thing."

Cordelia laughed, then realized that they were wasting time chatting about
Graham. "Um, Will? Don’t you think you should go and give Angel your good
news?"

"Oh, yeah," Willow replied, then headed for the little elevator that would
take her down to Angel’s apartment. "Aren’t you coming, too?" she asked the
brunette.

"No," Cordy told her. "I’m afraid I might blurt out the news, and you
deserve to be the one who tells him."

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

Willow tapped her foot nervously as the elevator descended to the apartment
below. She wasn’t exactly sure how to break the news to the vampire, and
she wasn’t sure how he’d react. He tended to put the safety of others above
any thought of himself, and she was afraid he’d be worried about how the
spell would effect her.

The elevator came to a stop, and Willow quickly opened the grating and
stepped inside the quiet apartment. "Angel? Are you awake?" she called as
she entered the living area.

The shirtless vampire came to a stop in his Tai Chi movements and turned to
face the young woman who had just entered. A wide smile crossed his usually
somber features, and he briskly strode across the room to envelope the tiny
redhead in am emphatic embrace, taking her off her feet.

"Willow, it is so good to see you!" he told her as he set her back down.
Willow grinned and gave him another quick hug.

"It’s good to see you, too. And didn’t we just go through this a few months
ago?"

Angel laughed. "Actually, I think we did. Speaking of a few months ago,
how’s Amy doing?"

If possible, Willow’s smile grew even wider. Just a few short days after
Angel had given her the spellbook and she had returned to Sunnydale, Willow
had finally managed to turn Amy back into a human. "She’s good. Better
than good, actually. She’s still having a bit of trouble adjusting - she
did spend more than a year as a rat - but Forrest is helping her deal. He
really loves her." That fact had summarily changed Willow’s opinion of
Forrest. She had originally thought him to be a bit self-righteous and
arrogant, an opinion that refused to flee even after Forrest’s disposition
had improved. Of course, it had taken Xander saving his life for the young
man to realize just how good the Scooby Gang was at what they did. However,
after meeting Amy, Forrest had surprised Willow. He had finally met someone
that he loved more than himself, and it showed. The two were wonderful
together.

"I’m glad to hear that. Amy deserves some happiness," Angel said, reminding
Willow of her reason for coming down to his apartment in the first place.

Willow looked down at her feet and chewed slightly on her lower lip, trying
to figure out how to say what she needed to say. Angel noticed the change
in her demeanor and immediately tensed.

"Willow? What’s wrong? Did somebody get hurt? Is that why you came
early?"

"What? Angel, no!" Willow exclaimed, surprised. She had never thought that
the vampire would be one to jump to conclusions.

"Then what is it?"

"It’s..." Willow trailed off, looking at her hands. After a moment, she
threw her hands in the air and stepped away from the confused man. "I had
this whole speech planned out; I wrote it down and everything. But now that
I’m here... that it’s time... I can’t remember a damn thing I planned to
say."

"Just tell me what it is," Angel told her evenly, suddenly made nervous by
the redhead’s fluttering about. Finally, Willow stopped and looked at him.

"You know how you said that Amy deserves happiness?" She waited until the
vampire nodded uncertainly, then continued. "Well, so do you."

"Willow, I can’t-"

"Yes, you can," she interrupted stubbornly, shooting him a look that told
him to shut up. Angel obeyed without question, his eyes locked to her as
she continued to speak, her voice trembling. "At least, you can after I
perform the spell I found."

Part Six

"What did you say?" Angel asked, stunned. Willow had to bite her lip to
keep from laughing at his expression. He looked like she had just told him
that she intended to marry a purple elephant. It was priceless.

"I said I found a spell-"

"I heard what you said," he interrupted.

"Then why’d you ask me?" Willow replied reasonably, a tiny smile on her
face. Angel just looked at the slender redhead for a moment, then dragged
his hands through his hair and began to pace back and forth across the rug.

"Are you sure about this spell? I mean, is it for real?"

Willow nodded, beginning to get slightly dizzy from watching the vampire
walk back and forth. She was afraid he might wear a hole in the rug if he
didn’t stop soon. "Really for real. I had all my contacts check it out, as
well as Amy and Giles. They say it’s the real thing."

"Is it dangerous?" the vampire asked, pausing just long enough to give the
young witch a measuring glance.

"No, no. You’ll be fine."

Angel stopped in front of Willow, his eyes serious. He lifted his hands and
placed them on her shoulders, squeezing gently. "I don’t mean dangerous for
me. I meant dangerous for you. I cannot - will not - allow you to put
yourself in danger in order to anchor my soul. I just won’t."

Willow lifted her own hands and grasped Angel’s wrists loosely, meeting his
eyes with a steady gaze. "If it was dangerous, do you really think Giles
would have given me the okay to do this?"

The vampire sighed and stepped back, releasing the girl. "No. No, I don’t.
Of course, you could be lying to me."

Willow reached into her purse and took out her cellular phone, tossing it to
him. "If you don’t believe me, call him and ask. He’s number three in my
memory."

Angel looked down at the phone, sorely tempted to do exactly as she
suggested, but knowing it would hurt her if she thought he didn’t trust her.
And he did trust her. He was just worried about her; he was terrified
that she would get hurt. The vampire had known Willow long enough to
realize that she would put herself in danger without
question if she thought it would help somebody. However, he also knew she
wouldn’t lie. She couldn’t; not with those expressive eyes. And Giles
would never give her his official okay if he thought what she was doing was
dangerous. Sighing, Angel handed the phone back to the girl, and Willow put
it back in her purse, smiling.

"Thank you," she told him quietly.

"For what?"

"For trusting me."

"Can I see it?" he asked, then clarified at her vaguely confused look. "The
spell. Can I see a copy of the spell?"

Willow smiled, then reached into the bag she had brought down with her and
pulled out a computer printout. She handed it to him, and Angel read over
the spell, relieved to see that it did indeed seem to be safe. It was
probably safer than the spell she had done to restore his soul, and he knew
she had done that from a hospital bed. Carefully, as though he was afraid
that the pages containing his salvation would crumble into dust, Angel gave
the spell back to Willow, then looked over at the girl. She was watching
him expectantly.

"When can you perform the spell?" he asked, causing a brilliant smile to
bloom on Willow’s face.

"Tonight," she replied. "I have all the ingredients with me. All we need
is for the moon to rise so we can go outside."

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

Angel was nervous. He knew all he had to do was sit inside the circle while
Willow performed the spell, but he was still scared half to death. He sat
quietly, wondering if he should even be able to use that expression. Half
to death. It just seemed wrong. He was, after all, already dead. Maybe he
should say ‘half to life.’ No, that sounded stupid.

Maybe he should just get a hobby and stop thinking so damn much.

"You okay?" Willow asked, her brow furrowed. She’d never seen the vampire
with such a confused expression.

"Yeah, I’m fine. I’m just having too many thoughts."

Willow laughed as she began to set up the circle around Angel. "Join the
club. I’m that way, too." She stopped speaking to Angel, instead
concentrating on creating the circle, chanting softly as she did so in order
to keep the light breeze from blowing anything askew and thereby breaking
the circle and ruining the spell. When the circle was nearly complete,
Willow looked up and smiled nervously at the vampire before joining him in
the circle and closing it.

Angel had stopped tossing random thoughts about in his head and was instead
concentrating on the actions of the tiny redhead kneeling less than a foot
away from him. She began to arrange the ingredients of the spell around
her. She reached around him briefly in order to finish placing the candles
in their proper places, and Angel caught the scent of her shampoo. It
smelled like citrus fruit, and he discovered that the scent calmed his
restless nerves. Angel smiled ruefully as he realized that it was probably
Willow’s presence, and not her shampoo, that was having such a calming
effect. After a moment, Willow straightened and rose higher on her knees so
that she was eye to eye with the ensouled vampire.

"Ready?" she asked quietly. "You know what to expect."

Angel nodded slightly, then spoke softly. "I’m ready."

With a quick nod of her head, Willow accepted his answer, then murmured a
prayer to the Goddess before beginning to chant softly. Angel jumped
slightly as the candles flickered to life, even though he had known that
would happen. Willow deftly mixed the ingredients for the spell, never
ceasing in her chanting. She had memorized the words of the spell, and they
flowed from her mouth easily. She finished mixing the potion, then looked
at Angel, their eyes locking instantly.

It was now or never.

Still chanting, Willow lifted the cup holding the potion to Angel’s lips,
and he drank from it, then took the glass and held it up to her lips so that
she could do the same. When she finished, Angel set the glass back down,
mesmerized as he stared at Willow. There was a slight glow to her skin as
she chanted the words of the spell one last time. Angel felt a tingling all
over his body as he stared into Willow’s eyes.

Then everything went black.

Part Seven

"Angel! Angel!" the desperate cry broke through into the vampire’s
unconscious, and Angel reluctantly opened his eyes, groaning slightly. He
found Willow leaning over him, her eyes wide with fright. Without thinking,
the vampire lifted his hand and stroked her cheek, trying to calm her. He
could hear her heart pounding, and he knew she was terrified.

"Angel?" Willow whispered softly, her hand lifting to cover his own.

"Yes, Willow, it’s me." The vampire suddenly realized that he was lying
sprawled on the roof of the office building, half in and half out of the
circle Willow had created. He tried to pull himself up, only to have Willow
place her hands on his shoulders and urge him back down.

"Go slowly," she told him. "And I didn’t mean ‘Angel, is it you?’ I meant,
'Angel, are you all right?' You’ve been out for twenty minutes, and that no
pulse, no heartbeat thing kind of makes it hard to tell if you’re okay or
not."

Angel lifted his hand to Willow’s face again, this time to play with her
hair. He felt oddly out of it, maybe even a little drunk, and strangely
tired. Exhausted, in fact. It wasn’t a normal feeling for a vampire. He
felt as if he’d been through some kind of violent struggle. Of course, he
probably had. An internal struggle, anyway. He continued to play with
Willow’s hair, mesmerized by the color. He didn’t think he’d ever seen
anything so red. And it was so silky. He wondered what shampoo she used.
He remembered the citrus smell of it, and he wished he could smell it again,
but knew he couldn’t. He didn’t think asking her is he could smell her hair
would be appropriate. Sighing, he decided to think of something besides the
smell of her hair, and his mind found its way back to the subject of her
hair color. He wondered if that hair color was natural. He thought of ways
he could find out, then nearly smacked himself for thinking such dirty
thoughts.

As Angel tried to pull his mind out of the gutter, Willow sat tensely,
getting more and more worried for the handsome vampire who couldn’t seem to
get his hands out of her hair. It felt wonderful to have someone playing
with her hair, but it was an incredibly un-Angel like action. Besides that,
he still hadn't told her if he was okay. She was beginning to wonder if he
wasn't.

"Angel?" Willow asked timidly. The vampire dragged his eyes from her hair
to her face. Her frightened face. The look in her eyes was more than
enough to force him out of his stupor.

"What is it, Willow?"

The young witch blinked rapidly as her eyes began to fill with tears of
relief. Angel’s eyes had sharpened, focusing directly on her, and he
sounded much more like himself. Taking a steadying breath, Willow spoke
again. "I just wanted to know if you’re okay." She paused and bit her lip.
"You know, if you feel any different."

Angel closed his eyes, searching within himself, trying to feel if there was
a difference. Well, a difference besides the slightly intoxicated feeling
he was still enjoying. He knew it was a mystical buzz from the potion and
the spell, and he just hoped he didn’t end up with a mystical hangover the
next morning to go along with it.

Willow sat quietly, knowing Angel needed time and silence in order to figure
out any possible differences within himself. The young witch waited
anxiously, wringing her hands as she waited for his answer. She knew that
the spell had done something, but she wasn’t entirely sure what.

Angel knew how nervous Willow had to be, and he was thankful for her
patience as he did this. He reached out within himself, searching out the
demon, and that’s when he knew it. He opened his eyes widely, staring at
Willow for a brief moment before sitting up and jerking her into his arms.

"It worked!" he exclaimed excitedly as he stroke the redhead’s hair.

Willow pulled away from the handsome vampire, needing to look him in the
eye. "Are you sure? How can you tell?"

"I had to search for the demon." At Willow’s completely confused look,
Angel explained. "Before the spell, it was always there at the back of my
mind; it just wouldn’t go away. Now, it’s still there, but I had to
actively seek it out in order to find it. It’s bound, Willow. Tightly
bound. Forever. I can practically feel the magickal bonds surrounding it.
The spell worked, Willow." Angel couldn’t prevent the tears that welled up
in his eyes as he once again took the redhead in his arms. "The spell
worked, Willow. The spell worked," he whispered over and over as he held
her, rocking slightly back and forth.

Willow held on tightly as the vampire began to cry harder. She realized he
was completely overwhelmed at the moment, and she simply held him and
stroked his hair gently as he rode out the tidal wave of emotion that had
hit him. She, too, was crying, although she was doing so quietly, tears
simply slipping down her cheeks. The redhead couldn’t believe that she had
actually succeeded. Willow had always dreamed of one day anchoring Angel’s
soul permanently, but it had always been a ‘someday’ type of a dream; she
had never really dared to believe that her dream would actually come into
being.

No more Angelus. No more Angelus. No more Angelus. The thought ran in
circles through Angel’s mind as he sobbed, his face buried in Willow’s
shoulder. He was free. Free from the demon, free to be around people
without worrying that he would lose control, free to fall in love... free to
give himself in love without worrying about the consequences.

And that realization made him cry all the harder. He could find happiness,
true happiness, with someone he loved, and it would no longer destroy him.

Willow clung to Angel even more tightly as the vampire continued to make his
way through the emotional storm that had hit him. Her own tears began to
fall more rapidly, and she wasn’t at all surprised when a gentle rain began
to fall.

It seemed only appropriate that the sky should cry tears of happiness, too.

Part Eight

Cordelia tapped her foot impatiently. "What the hell is taking them so
long? It’s raining. Why are they out there in the rain? Don’t they know
you’re supposed to come in if it starts raining? I thought Willow was
supposed to be the smart one." She and Wesley were in Angel’s office,
waiting on pins and needles to find out whether or not the spell had worked.
The waiting had frayed Cordelia’s nerves quite a bit, and the brunette was
getting a bit catty.

"Perhaps the spell hasn’t been finished yet, Miss Chase," the former Watcher
suggested calmly. He was getting a bit antsy himself, but he knew better
than to let it show. He didn’t want Cordelia to completely panic.

"It’s been two hours," Cordelia complained. "Willow said the spell would
take no more than forty-five minutes. Oh, Lord," the brunette whispered,
suddenly turning pale. "What if something went wrong? What if the spell
backfired, and Angel lost his soul, and he turned into Angelus again, and he
killed Willow in some terrible, horrible
fashion, or maybe even decided to turned her, and now Angelus and Evil
Willow are off wreaking havoc in Los Angeles even as we speak?"

Wesley raised his eyebrows at Cordelia’s outburst, stunned by the fact that
she had managed to say so much in a single breath. It really was quite
astounding; he wished he could do that. "I really doubt that is what has
happened. First of all, if Angel were to suddenly turn evil once more, I’m
inclined to believe he would kill us before going out into the world.
Although I imagine he would turn Willow. He has seen the vampire version of
the girl, and she was quite evil. She would probably appeal to the demon.
Anyway, they would probably kill the two of us before going anywhere else."

"Okay, I so did not need to hear that."

"Furthermore," Wesley continued, completely unruffled, "the spell is
entirely safe. I spoke to Mr. Giles earlier today, and he said as much
himself. Willow should be perfectly safe while performing the spell, and so
should Angel. Even if the spell does not work, Angel will remain Angel.
There is absolutely no chance of Angelus returning because of this."

"Then why is it taking so long?" the former cheerleader demanded, somewhat
mollified, but still worried for her friends.

"Well, perhaps the spell was indeed successful, and they decided to go out
and celebrate."

"Oh, yeah, I can picture that. Instead of coming down to tell us that
Angel’s soul has been permanently anchored, they jumped off the roof and
headed out to party the night away."

"Might I remind you that your little wreaking havoc on LA scenario would
have had them doing much the same thing?"

"Yes, but in my scenario, they were evil, and therefore, jumping off the
roof would be something they might actually do."

"Oh, of course. My mistake. I do apologize," Wesley replied in the most
sarcastic voice he could muster. Cordelia didn’t notice.

"You’re forgiven," the girl told him primly, her eyes once again straying to
the stairs that led to the roof. "Where the hell are they?" she burst out
in a voice that resembled a wail.

"Yes, well, that was mature," the former Watcher muttered under his breath.

Cordelia began to tap her foot once again, then gave up and headed for the
door. "That’s it. I’m going up there."

Wesley grabbed the girl’s arm, effectively halting her progress. "I don’t
think that’s such a good idea."

"And just why not?" Cordelia asked, pouting. As the minutes dragged by, she
was getting more and more worried about Angel and Willow. She didn’t care
if Giles said the spell was safe; these were her friends, and she was scared
for them. She had done enough research over the past few years to know how
delicate spellcasting could be, and the fear that something could have
happened on the roof had her slipping back into the rather obnoxious
demeanor she had carried through much of high school.

"Because," Wesley said slowly, enunciating each word distinctly, "they may
still be doing the spell, and we do not wish to distract them from their
task and ruin the spell. It would not harm them in any way, or, at least,
it shouldn’t harm them, but it would still ruin the spell. I don’t believe
you want to be the one responsible for that."

"No, I don’t," Cordelia said quietly before pulling away from Wesley and
walking over to Angel’s desk chair. She sat down and pulled her knees up to
her chin, gazing at the man before her. He had become like a brother to
her, or a really weird British uncle anyway, and she felt bad about the way
she had been acting towards him. "I’m sorry, Wesley," she told him
sincerely. "I’m just worried. I shouldn’t have taken it out on you."

Wesley came to sit on the edge of Angel’s desk, and he reached over and
patted the girl on the hand. "It’s perfectly all right, Miss Chase. I
completely understand."

"Tha- Oh, God!" Cordelia cried out as an incredible pain hit her.

"Cordelia? Cordelia, are you okay?" Wesley demanded a bit frantically
before he realized what was going on.

A vision.

Wave after wave of pain hit Cordelia, and she clutched the Watcher’s jacket
in her fists, hanging on for dear life. She bit her lip, trying to keep
from crying out as the vision rolled through. Her eyes tearing up, Cordelia
tried to focus on what the Powers That Be were sending her, trying to find
anything, absolutely any tiny bit of information, that she could tell Angel
to help him in the fight he would inevitably face.

Vampires.

That was for certain. She would know the face of a vampire anywhere. She
should; she worked for one. Dear Lord, there were so many of them. A
dozen, maybe more. Fire and hatred. She could actually feel the hatred.
And then, as the vision ended, a picture flashed before her eyes.

Kate.

Gasping, Cordelia came out of the vision to find herself clutching Wesley’s
jacket so tightly she was nearly ripping the arms at the seams. Trying to
catch her breath, she pulled away and shook her head slightly to clear away
the last remnants of the vision.

"Hey, guys. Did we miss anything?" a voice called out as what was obviously
two people descended the stairs. Angel and Willow came into view wet and
exhausted, both physically and emotionally. However, the tired smiles on
their faces announced the success of the spell. Angel’s smile slowly faded
as he took in the sight before him. It was obvious to him what had
happened. Releasing Willow’s hand, he walked over to the brunette in his
chair and picked up paper and a pen.

"What did you see, Cordelia?"

Part Nine

Willow and Cordelia stood staring at the men, their eyebrows raised and
their arms crossed. They were the perfect picture of feminine outrage.

"And just why can’t we go?" Cordelia asked. She knew the men - especially
Angel - could handle themselves in battle, but a dozen vampires was a lot
for them to handle by themselves. If nothing else, she and Willow could
team up and take out a few minions.

"It just isn’t safe," Angel told them. "I wouldn’t be able to protect you,
and I can’t allow you to get hurt."

"Oh, but Wesley gets to go. Why? Because he’s a man, and that makes it
safe for him? Or is it just that you secretly want him dead?" Cordelia
retorted. She smiled as Wesley squirmed uncomfortably.

"Please just let this go," Angel said quietly. He looked at them
plaintively, and Willow sighed, giving in. Or at least pretending to.

"Fine," she told the vampire. She stepped closer to him and leaned over to
kiss his cheek, then stepped back and gave him a slight smile. "Be
careful."

"We will," the vampire promised as he and Wesley left.

As soon as the men were out the door, Cordelia turned to Willow, shooting
daggers with her eyes. "How could you give up so easily? There are going
to be at least twelve vampires there. They’ll need help."

Willow merely raised her eyebrows at her enraged friend. "Who said I was
giving up?" she asked.

"But you said..." Cordelia trailed off, confused.

"What I said doesn’t mean a damn thing," the redhead informed her. "You’re
the one who had the vision, right?"

"Right," the brunette said, nodding her head slowly, a look of befuddlement
on her face. What did that have to do with anything?

"Meaning you are the one that told them where to go. Which means you know
where to go. Which means..."

"We can just show up, whether they like it or not."

"Precisely," Willow replied as she grabbed her purse from Cordy’s desk and
retrieved a couple stakes and some holy water. "Let’s go."

The young woman smiled at each other as they headed into the night.

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

"Well, here we are," Wesley murmured as they entered to vacant warehouse.
There wasn’t anyone - living or dead - in the place besides the two of them.
"But where are they?"

"They’ll show," Angel said confidently. Cordelia’s visions had never let
them down in the past, and he didn’t think they would start to now. After
glancing around the room, the vampire moved to the crates against the far
wall. He casually began to pry one open. "I wonder what our little friends
are up to?"

Wesley straightened his tie. "Well, considering the fact that they are
vampires, I’d say probably world domination."

"Or drug smuggling," Angel countered as he held up a plastic bag full of
white powder.

"I believe that belongs to us," a voice said from the loft above.

Angel turned and looked up, his eyes settling on the vampires above him.
There were at least six of them, half the amount Cordy had seen in her
vision, but Angel could sense others appearing from the shadows.

And they were holding Kate and two other police officers hostage.

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

Cordelia wrinkled her nose in distaste as she and Willow neared the
warehouse. "Why does all the evil have to happen in skanky places like
this? Can’t it ever happen among the rich and famous?"

"What about that Russell Winters guy, the vampire? Didn’t he live in a
mansion?" Willow asked.

"Oh, yeah. Forget I said anything. If the evil’s rich, it’s just more
powerful."

"Well, that is the way of the world," Willow sighed as she turned down the
street that the warehouse was supposed to be on.

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

Angel groaned as he took a hit, then immediately raised his arm to block the
second punch. He kicked out, knocking the vampire down, then staked him
efficiently, glancing around for the next fight. Sighing, he reached for a
minion, grabbing the creature off Wesley and proceeding to pound the demon
into oblivion. It had quickly become obvious that Cordelia either had
underestimated the number of vampires, or the vision hadn’t allowed her to
see them all. Either way, there were far more than twelve, and he and
Wesley were dangerously outnumbered. He briefly wondered if freeing Kate
and her coworkers would help, but he knew that they only had guns for
weapons. And guns couldn’t kill vampires. Of course, he reasoned, thinking
of the several times he had been shot, it could hurt them like hell.

Staking the minion he had just worked over, Angel headed over to Kate.

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

"Did you, like, flunk math or something?" Willow asked incredulously as she
took in the sight before her. "That is definitely not twelve vampires.
That’s more like twenty."

Cordelia stopped staring in amazement at the fight in front of her long
enough to glare at the redhead. "No, I did not flunk math," she retorted
hotly. "I’ll have you know that I’m very good at it. There just wasn’t
anywhere near this many vampires in my vision. I swear it."

Sighing, Willow reached into her jacket and pulled out her stakes, handing
one to the brunette, then giving the girl two vials of holy water. "Here,"
she said. "We better get involved soon, or Angel and Wesley are goners."

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

Kate stared in horror at the sight in front of her. It was supposed to be a
drug bust. A simple, run of the mill drug bust. It was not supposed to
turn into a bad casting call for Dracula.

Kate knew about vampires, but she’d only actually seen two in her life. Or
two that she knew of, anyway. There was Angel, of course. He’d been around
her on so many occasions and never hurt her. He’d even saved her life. In
fact, he’d saved several lives that she knew of. And then there was that
Ben guy. The one who had been committing murders all over LA, something
he’d apparently been doing off and on for decades. The one she’d staked.
The one that had utterly terrified her and still gave her nightmares.

She had a feeling that these vampires were more along the lines of the Ben
variety.

Part Ten

Angel hit the wall hard as he was attacked. Groaning, he pushed himself up
and prepared to defend himself, cursing all the while. He had been so
intent on getting to Kate and the others and getting them untied that he
hadn’t even seen the vampire coming his way. He’d been completely
blindsided.

Grabbing his opponent by the hair, he swung it around, then rammed its head
straight into the wall, knocking it out cold, which made it a lot easier to
stake.

Wesley struggled against the female vampire, who was grinning wickedly as
her face drew nearer his neck. She had his arms twisted behind his back,
and there was nothing he could do to save himself. Then, just as she was
about to bite him, she exploded into dust. Wesley opened his eyes,
expecting to see Angel. Instead, he was stunned to see Cordelia, stake in
hand.

"See?" The brunette chastised him. "This is what happens when you get all
macho and leave the women at home."

"I get scolded by a nineteen year old?"

"Well, I was actually referring to the fact that you were about to become a
demon’s chew toy, but yes, that, too." She offered her hand and helped him
to his feet. "Come one, Watcher man. Let’s go help Angel and Willow."

Closing her eyes and feigning surrender, Willow allowed the vampire that had
cornered her to come closer, so close she could feel it’s cool presence
nearly touching her. Then... poof. The stake Willow had surreptitiously
floated behind the creature plunged into its back, directing through its
heart. Quickly glancing around her, Willow saw that there was still at
least a dozen vampires left to slay. Taking a deep breath, the redhead
plunged back into the fray.

Angel slammed his open palm into the vampire’s chin, knocking its head back.
The vampire he was fighting lashed out at his, swinging his fist wildly.
Angel grabbed the demon’s wrist, then kicked the vampire in the side, never
releasing its arm. The force of the kick caused the vampire to crumble to
its’ knees with a severely dislocated shoulder. After that, a five year old
could have come up to it and staked it.

Turning to check on Wesley, Angel had to admit that he wasn’t entirely
surprised to see Willow and Cordelia fighting alongside the Watcher. He
should have known the women would never give up so easily, and he was
actually glad they had come. They evened up the odds a little. However,
they still needed help.

Moving quickly, Angel went to Kate and attacked the ropes binding her. As
soon as he had her hands free, he knelt down to get the ropes at her feet,
and Kate yanked the gag that covered her mouth away.

"Go help them," she said. "I can finish untying myself, as well as Don and
Tony."

Angel looked up briefly and met Kate’s eyes. Satisfied that she meant what
she had said, he went back to help Willow, Wesley, and Cordelia.

Cordelia screamed as she was grabbed from behind. She regained control of
herself quickly and secretly pulled out the vial of holy water Willow had
given her, preparing to use it. Lifting her foot slowly, she flung the
water in the demon’s face as she kicked back, ramming him in the kneecap
with her three inch spiked heel. The vampire screamed and covered his face,
hopping on one leg. Cordelia reached out and pushed him down, then staked
him.

Kate hurriedly untied her coworkers, shaking like a leaf, partly from the
adrenaline rush, partly from sheer terror. The shaking throughout out her
body made her uncharacteristically clumsy, and it took her longer than it
should have to free the men. Turning to glance at the four people fighting
the vampires, then glancing back at her terrified coworkers, Kate made her
decision. Having Don and Tony attempt to fight would just cause more
problems. Angel and his friends already had their hands full, they didn’t
need to be forced into saving the men.

"Go," Kate told her partners. "Just get the hell out of here, and don’t
look back. We’ll take it from here," she said. The men nodded shakily and
turned to go, completely unnoticed by the combatants. Taking a steadying
breath, Kate went over to the crate that Angel had pried open, taking hold
of a board and pulling it loose, the using all her strength to break it.
She looked at the jagged edge for a moment, praying that it would be enough
to kill a vampire. Then she went into the fight.

Willow ducked as the vampire lunged at her, almost amused as its momentum
took it careening right past her and into the wall, where it slumped to the
ground with a moan. Not moving from her position, Willow concentrated on a
piece of broken wood nearby, floating it and staking the fallen vampire.

Wesley and Cordelia teamed up both attacking a vampire at once. Wesley
attacked from the left, Cordelia from the right. Within seconds, the pair
had the vampire completely confused and overwhelmed, and it made a nice pile
of decorative dust on the floor. Wiping her brow, Cordelia turned to look
back to the fight, relieved to see that there were only five vampires
remaining. However, one of them was definitely the leader.

"Enough!" the vampire bellowed. The four remaining minions came to a sudden
stop, turning to look at their leader. One of them stopped directly in
front of Willow, and the redhead casually staked it, earning herself a
murderous glare from the leader. Keeping his eyes on Willow, the demon
stepped back slowly, retreating. The minions immediately took the hint, and
the vampires had vacated the building in a matter of seconds.

Sighing, Angel turned to the girls. "I thought I told you two to stay put."

"Actually, you told us we couldn’t go with you and Wesley. And we didn’t.
It’s a technicality, but deal with it," Willow told him.

Angel smiled slightly. "Fine. Besides, as it turned out, we needed your
help, so I’m glad you came." Before Cordelia could open her mouth with some
snide remark, the vampire turned to Kate, who was examining the crates.
"Vampire drug smugglers?"

"Seems like it," she said. "The LAPD’s going to have to confiscate all this
stuff. I guess the sheer amount of confiscated drugs will have to placate
the chief. He’s not going to be too happy about the smugglers getting
away."

"Well, most of them are now big piles of dust, so they didn’t exactly get
away."

Kate turned to the redhead who had spoken and smiled. "I really don’t think
that explanation would go over too well. I’m Kate Lockley, by the way."

"Willow Rosenberg."

Kate turned to Wesley, whom she had never met, and raised her eyebrows.
"I’m Wesley Wyndham-Pryce," he supplied.

"Well, that’s a mouthful," the blonde detective muttered before turning to
go. "I need to get back to the precinct, check on Don and Tony, and then
get people down here to confiscate this stuff."

"You will keep us posted, won’t you?" Angel asked.

"You people just saved my life. I think I owe you that much."

Part Eleven

Two Weeks Later

Willow pushed her hair out of her face and glared at the vampire sitting
across from her.

"I really don’t think we’re looking up the right demon," she told him.
"There doesn’t seem to be anything on a Hilopsis demon in any of these
indexes, and we’ve been looking for two hours. It’s got to be something
else."

"Willow, I’m nearly 250 years old. I have far more experience in these
types of things than you do," Angel explained patiently, earning a snort
from the slender redhead.

"You spent the first 150 years terrorizing people and the last century or so
brooding. Somehow I doubt you got a lot of studying done." Angel chose not
dignify the girl’s statement with a response, so Willow went back to the
book she was looking through, and her brow furrowed as she studied the
pictures of the demons. "So," she said, changing the subject, "has Kate
ever called you?"

"Huh?" Angel replied dumbly, a bit caught off guard.

"Has Kate ever called to tell you what ended up happening with the vampire
drug lords we killed a couple weeks ago?"

Angel shrugged. "She called this morning and told me she would have all the
information sometime this afternoon. Something strange has to be going on
there. Demons don’t usually deal in drugs."

"Okay, but do you think we could put off that bit of weirdness until we get
our little demon with wings and pointy ears?"

"It’s a Hilopsis demon."

"I still say it looks like a miniature gargoyle, or maybe an evil faerie."

"It’s a Hilopsis demon," the vampire repeated.

"Whatever."

"It is," he insisted. "You’re going to feel really stupid when we find out
I’m right."

"And if you’re not?"

"I am," Angel stated confidently.

Willow stuck her tongue out at him.

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

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