*~*~*~
There are children to think of
Babies asleep in the backseat
Wonder how they'll ever make it through
This living nightmare
*~*~*~
*~ Angel waited outside in the car with the twins as
Willow rushed into the run-down hotel room to grab
their belongings. It didn't take long. She came back
in less than five minutes, carrying one large suitcase
and one red backpack and nothing else.
*~ "Is that all?" Angel asked, getting out to help her
put the luggage in the trunk of the car.
*~ Willow nodded, her lips twisting into a rueful
smile. "I told you I didn't have time to pack much."
*~ "I guess not." They got back into the car and
Angel started the engine, watching as Willow turned
back to check on the now sleeping girls. She turned
back and buckled in as he pulled out onto the empty
main street and headed towards Cordelia's apartment.
*~ "They're going to be all right," Angel said quietly
after a long pause.
*~ "I know," Willow sighed, relaxing back against the
seat. For the first time since she could remember, she
felt safe. She bit back tears as everything seemed to
close in on her at once. The shock of the last few
weeks- Alex's betrayal, the ritual, watching as the
demon tore him apart, listening to the cries of the
twins mingling with the screams of the man she'd once
loved and the loud, roaring growl of the demon- then
the aftermath, packing up what little she could force
herself to, burning the house, and heading out with
the girls safely behind her in their car-seats.
Everything closed in on her with a vengance, the
terror, the anger, the constant anxiety that someone,
or something was going to reach out and tear her
children away from her. It hit her with the force of a
sledgehammer and she suddenly couldn't keep the tears
inside any longer.
*~ Angel was surprised by the sound of her sobs in the
comfortable silence of the car. He looked over and saw
her head turned toward the window, her small shoulders
shuddering as she tried to hide it from him. He pulled
into a dark parking lot and shut off the egnition.
*~ "Willow..." he whispered, reaching over to pull her
into his arms. She stiffened and he started to let her
go when she threw herself at him, burying her face in
the soft silk of his shirt. He held her tightly, tears
burning his own eyes. His hands rubbed her back in
soothing circles as he tried to think of something,
anything, that could comfort her. He couldn't think of
anything, so he said nothing. He was just there. And
that was exactly what she needed.
*~ She cried for a long time, letting it all out to
soak into his shirt. Finally, after what felt like
only a few minutes, but had to of been longer, her
tears slowed and she pulled away, wiping at her face.
*~ She pulled her jacket tighter around her and leaned
her head againt the window wearily. Angel didn't say
anything, he just started the car and started driving
again.
*~ It wasn't until he'd pulled into the parking garage
and shut the engine off that she broke the silence.
"Thank you, Angel," she said quietly, looking over at
him with red-rimmed green eyes that spoke volumes.
Before he could even nod, she was out of the car and
unstrapping the sleeping girls from their car seats.
*~ Without speaking, Angel took one of them from her,
cradling the sleeping infant gently as he grabbed the
suitcase, carrying them both easily as he led the way
into the apartment building.
*~ Willow followed quietly, carrying the other twin
and the backpack. She wondered how Cordelia was going
to react to seeing her again after all these years.
She hadn't exactly kept in touch with the former
cheerleader over the years, and she quickly wondered
how time had treated the other woman. She hoped it had
been a lot kinder to the brunette than it had her.
*~*~*~