Willow searched through the ancient book, lying across her desk. After several minutes, she turned her attention back to her computer monitor. She was attempting to reconcile the information Willie the snitch had given her with the information in the book and on her computer.
From what she could gather, there was a group of people in town. Well, they weren’t really people, nor were they demons. She wasn’t sure what exactly they were. What she did know was that they had recently arrived in town, and had appeared in almost every one of Angel’s recent dreams.
According to the information she had found, they were called "Bringers". Harbinger’s of sorts, which worked for something called "The First". The first what, she didn’t know, and was almost afraid to find out.
Before Willow could put any more thought into her lover’s problem, she felt it. The wash of pain, and anger and unbelievable torment. She couldn’t see what it was he was seeing in his mind, but the emotions were there. They were always there. She could feel his sorrow for things that were beyond his control. His acceptance of what he had lived through in Hell, and his anger at who had sent him there. It was always there, in the back of his mind. His feelings about Buffy and what she had done to him were always just under the surface. The anger for her sending him to hell and then running away like a coward, while her friends did the job she should have been doing. The realization that what he had felt for her was based on what he imagined her to be, and not who she was, and finally, the acceptance that he was who and what he was. A Vampire. Nothing more, nothing less. No amount of wish would change that. If he even wanted to.
Willow knew the moment he had come full circle. The moment he had accepted who he was. What he was. She knew when he had accepted that the demon in his body wasn’t a separate entity like so many had believed. It was a part of him. A part of him she had accepted, and finally, so had he.
Even so, these dreams had brought out a rush of new emotions or just a reflux of old ones. She felt his emotions as if they were her own. The pain, the anguish, the fear, the guilt. They were swirling around inside of her. She felt as though she were drowning in a sea of feelings. She barely had time to grasp one before another one came forth.
Willow slid to the ground, her knees buckling underneath her. Her hands gripped her chair firmly, trying to hold on to a sense of where she was. She was so lost in the senses she was receiving from Angel that she didn’t hear the incessant knocking at the front door. She didn’t hear the doorbell being rang frantically, and she didn’t hear the front door being thrust open by the irritated Slayer.
****
"This is so not good." Xander shook his head at the image staring back at him from the dusty book.
Cordelia looked over his shoulder and nodded her agreement. "Eww. What’s with the no eyes look?" She turned to Giles who was seated across from the couple.
"Yeah, G, what’s with these dudes?" Faith asked as she leaned farther back into her seat and through her legs across the table.
Giles took a moment to glare at the Slayer, and was about to remind her not to call him that when he was interrupted.
"They’re Bringers." A voice entered the semi-quiet of the library.
Eight eyes turned to look at the new comer. He was on the short side, and although his fashion sense left a lot to be desired, there was something about him. Something, which told the brunette Slayer that whoever this was, he wasn’t human.
Faith leapt up and started towards the man. He sidestepped her nervously.
"Whoa, there. I’m not here to cause a problem." He held up his hands placatingly. He wasn’t really scared of her, but she did seem the time to kill first, ask questions later, and although it wasn’t entirely likely she could kill him, he wasn’t there to start a fight with someone that he would need help from.
Faith paused. She wasn’t sure why, but she believed him. "Who are you?" She asked.
He smiled. "Whistler. I’m a… friend of Angel’s."
Faith eyes him carefully, trying to decide if he was telling the truth. After several long minutes, she relaxed.
"Deadboy isn’t here." Xander told him as he turned his attention back to the book.
"What did you say?" Giles asked as he tried to remember what Whistler had said when he first entered.
Whistler walked towards the table and motioned to the book Cordelia and Xander were staring at. "Bringers. They’re harbingers of a sort. The work for the First."
"The first what?" Giles asked, slipping into research mode.
"Evil. The First Evil." Whistler told them, causing a deafening silence to center in the room.
Faith whistled, breaking the tension. "You sure know how to warm up a room." She grinned.
Whistler smiled again. He liked this Slayer. She was much less uptight than the other one.
"What do they want?" Giles asked.
Whistler sighed. "Angel. They’d like to take the credit for his return. They claim it was them who brought him back."
"Was it?" Cordelia cocked an eyebrow.
"Naw, they don’t have that ability. Besides it’s more dangerous for them to have him here instead of in Hell. They’re only using him, now that he’s already free."
Giles thought over what he had said. "What do they want?"
"And why is it dangerous?" Faith asked, growing concerned for the vampire. Despite her destiny to kill his kind, she liked him.
Whistler pulled out a chair and sat at the table. "They want him to embrace his darkness, to be evil again."
The silence descended the room again. This time it was Xander that broke it. "But his soul is anchored. He can’t lose it."
Whistler lay his head on the table. "Why me?" He muttered. Lifting his head up, he looked at each one of the four people in turn before he spoke.
"You have a few misconceptions about Angel and his soul. His soul is anchored, but it isn’t his soul which keeps the evilness at bay, at least not completely." Whistler stood up from the table and began pacing around again.
****
Buffy entered the house after her knocking was ignored and even the loud chimes of the doorbell went unanswered. Her eyes swept the room carefully, looking for some sign of the residence. Residents she knew, deep down, were two people she had once trusted with her life. Angel and Willow. But that was deep down, and despite the evidence which seemed to be presenting itself at every turn, the blonde Slayer was trying to ignore it all. She hoped that she’d discover she was wrong.
Even if Willow lived here, Angel didn’t. He couldn’t. Why would he? Her mind was a muddle of thoughts she could comprehend, many of which she didn’t really want to understand. Things she didn’t want to face.
Buffy wandered through the house, trying to ascertain where the computer room was. It was a little different to see it from her present perspective. She entered the hallway and stopped, not sure which way to turn. Finally, she decided to take a chance, and enter the closest room.
When she stood in the opened doorway, Buffy froze. Willow was seated on the floor, although it was probably more accurate to say she had fallen to the floor. She seemed to be in some sort of a trance, but Buffy didn’t believe that. She had probably heard the knocking, and knowing it was the Slayer, and that Willow had something to be ashamed of, she decided.
Buffy entered the room and stepped in front of Willow. When the hacker didn’t move, Buffy nudged her with her foot. "I know your faking." She told her simply.
Willow didn’t move, her face was pinched in pain, but Buffy could see nothing wrong with her.
"Willow?" Buffy asked, softer this time as she was almost at eye level with the girl. "Will? Will?" She was starting to grow concerned, realizing that maybe Willow wasn’t faking.
Buffy placed a hand on her arm, trying to snap her out of whatever was causing her trance.
Willow lashed out at the presence, which had invaded. She let the chair go, and reached the arm with the cast out and struck at whatever had touched her. She felt anger, great anger at whatever was near her. The anger was blending together with fear. She was afraid that the new presence would hurt her, but she wasn’t sure why.
Willow completely released the chair and bound to her feet, lunging at Buffy. She started swinging her arms and legs, trying to free herself from her attacker. She wasn’t really aware of what was going on around her. She was only conscious of the emotions that were coming through her connection to Angel. That and the undeniable terror the Slayer was invoking in her. She didn’t know whom it was she was attacking, or why, she only knew that if she stopped, even for a second, she would lose.
End Part 17
Buffy was stunned. She had never expected to be attacked by Willow. After several seconds of shock, she gained her bearings, and pushed Willow away, flipping herself over and landing on her feet a safe distance away.
Willow had stopped. She was looking at Buffy, with this unusual expression on her face. It almost seemed as if she was looking through her, and not at her. Her green eyes were glassy and reflected some kind of pain and another emotion Buffy couldn’t decipher.
Buffy took a step closer to the girl, only to freeze in place when she heard a growl escape the witch’s lips.
"Willow?" Buffy asked in confusion.
Willow snarled in response, preventing the Slayer from coming any closer. Buffy sighed and stepped back, leaning against the wall. She watched Willow warily. She wasn’t really afraid of her. This was Willow, not some violent creature, but there was something in her demeanor, something in her eyes, which told Buffy that Willow wasn’t quite herself. In fact, she seriously doubted the hacker had even recognized her.
*****
Willow watched the Slayer through angry green eyes. She felt compelled to lash out at the blonde. She could still feel Angel’s anguish. It covered her like a blanket of smoke, weaving it’s way through her entire being. His pain and guilt were giving way to other, more primal emotions. She could feel the fear turn to anger, the regret turn to need. It was almost as if, the beast in him was taking over once again, shutting out all rational thought.
Willow found herself sharing those emotions. She was covered in fury, and desire. The need was becoming palpable. The small sliver of her mind, which still retained rational thought, knew that this was a reaction to his demon. To the influx of emotions the dreams were bringing forth. She supposed that this was similar to the way he had felt shortly after his return, but then the backlash of emotions had been less intense, for her. However, that had been before their connection had changed, had developed into something else.
Willow took a step toward the Slayer, her face twisted into a bizarre snarl, something that wasn’t consistent with her face. When she saw that Buffy had made no move to approach her, Willow turned around and fled the room. She could feel Angel'’ demon. It was protesting the invasion the dreams were causing. It was demanding freedom from its shackles.
****
Angel was lost in a torrent of emotions. The dreams had ceased to have any kind of clarity. The images in his mind had stopped forming any kind of coherence. Now there was just the guilt. The anguish, he had experienced at the knowledge of all he had done.
He was regaining consciousness, but it didn’t stop the feelings that bubbled forth. He could feel something had invaded his body, his mind, and his very soul. His demon shrieked back in something resembling fear. It howled at him to fight back against the presence, which was like a thick cloud of death permeating the very fibers of his being.
His demon was demanding that he lash out at the force surrounding him. And so he did. He pushed the presence back, but it wouldn’t go far. It was still there, just out of reach. The pain of it’s touch excruciating. Somewhere in the small portion of his mind that was still lucid, Angel realized where he was, and that this was no longer a dream.
He also felt his own emotions mirrored in Willow. She was feeling the presence, as was he. She was feeling it crushing death grip. It was that knowledge, above anything else, which forced the vampire to reach inside himself, and grasp the only source of power not tainted by the evil, which had invaded him. His demon.
The demon felt some of its shackles being let loose, and was driven by anger, and pain, and need. It felt the presence of the other, it’s mate as she entered the room. Everything was hazy as the soul and demon merged into one, coupled with the calming influence of Willow as she claimed his mouth in a bruising kiss, accepting all that he was. His demon relaxed as his soul wound itself around it, both enveloped by her own soul.
Willow climbed on top of the vampire, devouring his lips, sucking his tongue into her mouth, attempting to claim his body as hers, just as her soul had done. She divested them of their clothing, tossing them aside. Caressing every inch of his cool body with her heated her hands, she set he tempo for the frenetic coupling.
A coupling that would complete the circle of their binding. Their bodies were becoming one, just as their souls and minds had already done. Willow could feel the power of his demon as it ran through him, her own need, pushing it back, demanding that she be in control.
*****
After debating for several long minutes about whether she should follow the redhead, Buffy decided that she needed to know what was going on. She walked cautiously down the hallway. When she reached the doorway, she hesitated. She could feel a presence inside, not entirely human.
And if that wasn’t enough to tell her what she didn’t want to believe, the sounds coming from inside were. She could here grunts and growls coupled with moans and a few other sounds she couldn’t even describe. They were totally foreign.
Buffy knew she should leave. She hadn’t walked inside the room. Hadn’t opened the door. If she left, she could pass the noises off as something completely different from what she suspected. But she couldn’t. She was frozen in place, needing to know what was going on behind the door, and afraid to see.
She pushed the door opened, and gasped. There on the bed, was Willow and she was fucking Angel. There was no other way to describe what she was seeing. This wasn’t making love. There were no tender caresses, no soft sighs, nothing that would indicate a love between the two. In fact, Buffy had trouble even classifying the act as sex. It seemed to be something else entirely.
Less sex than some sort of animalistic claiming, the likes of which she had never seen, not even in one of Giles’ musty old books. She watched, unable to turn away, as the couple clawed at one another frantically. They were scratching and snarling at each other. It was like some bizarre discover channel special. And then, she heard a fierce growl, as she saw Willow do something so completely un-Willowlike, she thought maybe she was possessed. Willow bit him. Not a soft, playful tender bite. But a sharp, painful, blood-drawing bite.
Angel growled low in his throat and returned the favor. The couple convulsed, coming together. They collapsed exhausted, and Buffy, finally released from her frozen shock, ran from the doorway.
She didn’t know what was going on, and was almost afraid to find out. She had wanted to run in and separate them the moment she saw them, but they were radiating some kind of restrained power. Buffy’s often absent common sense told her that interrupting them would not have been wise.
They were possessed. T hat was the only explanation Buffy could come up with as she left the house and headed back towards the library. She had to tell Giles. Maybe he could explain what was going on. Maybe they could fix whatever was happening to willow. She wasn’t acting very Willow-like. Although she had to admit that she wasn’t entirely sure Angel was behaving strangely. She had to admit, if only to herself, that she hadn’t really known the vampire at all.
Shaking her head at her troubled thoughts, Buffy sprinted down the street, in search of her watcher, and hopefully, some answers.
*****
The silence in the library was deafening while everyone waited for Whistler to elaborate.
When he didn’t continue, Giles spoke. "What do you mean his soul doesn’t keep his evil at bay?"
Whistler sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. "Vampire’ s aren’t completely soulless. IT isn’t taken from them, merely weakened, and overpowered by the demon. Some demons are stronger than others. Angelus’ demon is strong. Stronger than most. But the evil wasn’t strictly in the soul. The evil was in him, long before he was turned. The demon added to it, and brought it forth." Whistler looked around the room, to see if they understood what he was trying to tell them.
"So, you’re saying that it’s the man who’s evil and not the vampire?" Xander asked, somehow not believing him. There was a time when he would have gladly believed that, but after seeing Angel with Willow, soul intact, he just couldn’t anymore.
Whistler shrugged. "When he was cursed, the Rom didn’t just restore his soul ’s control. They added a clause."
"The happiness clause." Faith nodded, remembering what she had been told.
Whistler shook his head. "Not precisely. It was never about perfect happiness. It was about the merging of demon and soul. One cannot survive without the other, something that Angel never understood. The clause stipulated that if the curse were ever broken, his stole would be torn from his body, completely. Stripped to nothing." He paused, waiting for the question he knew would be coming. He wasn’t disappointed.
"Wait a minute. If it wasn’t about happiness, how did he break the curse?" Cordelia quirked an eyebrow.
End Part 18
Whistler groaned at the cheerleader’s question.
"Well?" Faith prodded.
"It wasn’t about happiness." He repeated. "It was about going against what he is." He looked around the room and sighed when he realized that they didn ’t fully understand him. He didn’t relish having to explain this to these mortals.
"A vampire’s demon isn’t the separate entity you people seem to think it is. It’s who they are. What they are. It’s just as much a part of them as their weakened soul. You can’t separate one from the other..." He paused, trying to think of the best way to explain what had happened when Angel was cursed.
"Gypsies." He smiled slightly. "They have an… interesting sense of humor. But, they aren’t evil, just determined." He laughed when he saw the dubious look on Giles face.
"They knew that although his soul was extremely weakened, it was still there, lying dormant, so to speak. The curse shifted the balance of control from the demon to soul, which forced him to relieve all of his… crimes. Enforced a perpetual state of grief and guilt. However, they weren’t cruel, they gave him an out."
"An out? Deadboy’s clause?" Xander was trying to wrap his mind around everything the demon was telling them. Amazingly enough, it actually made sense.
Whistler nodded. "But not the way you think. Angel could achieve peace, true peace, and ease of the enforced guilt." He held up his hand to still Giles’ pending question. "But, in order to do that, he had to become whole. His demon and his soul had to become one."
Giles took his glasses off and began cleaning them furiously. "Is that… is that even possible?"
Whistler stood up and began walking around the room. "Possible, but not probably… except maybe it is." He sighed as he leaned up against another table, facing the small group.
"It’s technically possible, but due to Angel’s guilt never allowed to him to embrace what he was. He rebelled against everything that made him a vampire, forcing his demon into the far reaches of his mind and body, thereby ensure he could never become whole, could never restore his own peace.
"The clause stated that it he did something so alien, something so against who and what he was, the two could never be joined, and he would be stripped of his soul, completely."
A silence developed over the room while everyone thought over what the demon had told them.
"So, this thing he did, the one that went against who he was, what was it?" Xander looked pointedly at whistler.
It was Faith who spoke. "B. She broke the curse." Everyone turned to look at the Slayer. She rolled her eyes. "She’s a Slayer, he’s a vampire. His demon could never accept her."
Giles looked up from his frantic cleaning. "Thereby ensuring his soul and demon would never be joined." Whistler nodded.
"But he loved her." Cordelia spoke quietly, not really sure if that was true anymore. "Didn’t he?"
Whistler shook his head sadly. "No. She was his salvation. Someone who fought the darkness, and cared for him anyway. He wanted her to save him, from himself. Trouble was, he didn’t need to be saved from himself, he needed to be accepted. By himself, by others." Whistler turned his gaze to Giles.
"Despite the fact that your Slayer loved Angel, she didn’t accept him, couldn’t accept him. As long as they were together, it was doomed to failure. By… being with her, he was denying what he was. The curse was broken, he soul ripped from him."
"And now? What of the curse now? Is Willow in danger?" Xander stood up abruptly not wanted to hear that she was.
"No. Angel’s relationship with Willow is different. They are…" He paused, not sure how they would take the truth. "Together. They are… two halves of the same coin. Equal parts of a complicated equation."
"Cliché’ much?" Cordelia snorted. And then smiled at the demons sheepish look.
"With your friend, Angel can be what he is, a vampire, a demon, a man. Everything he should have been."
Before anyone could comment on this latest piece of information, Buffy burst through the library doors.
"Giles!" She panted. "You have to come, something’s happened. It’s Willow and Angel. I think they’re possessed, or… something."
Whistler chuckled softly, causing Buffy to turn her attention to him.
"You! What are you doing here?" She demanded angrily.
****
Willow was staring up at the ceiling, contemplating what happened.
"Are you alright?" Angel asked softly.
"Hmm." She sighed. "Yeah, that was… Wow." She turned to look at him. "What exactly was that?"
Angel smirked slightly. "I think they call it sex, but maybe it’s changed."
Willow slapped him lightly on his bare chest. "Ha, ha, Mr. Vampire guy." She turned her body so that she was resting slightly on him. "Something’s changed. I can feel it. You’re… different."
Angel captured her lips in a tender kiss. "I know. The demon, it’s… quiet." Willow arched an eyebrow. "It’s still there, but it isn’t fighting for control of my soul anymore."
Willow nodded as she snuggled against him. "You know, Buffy was here. While we were… engaged."
"I know. What do you want to do about that?"
Willow sighed. "I think it’s time for us to leave." She told him solemnly. "I’ve been thinking about what we were told." She tiled her head to look at him. His chocolate brown eyes melting into hers. "I think that whatever it is we’re supposed to do, it isn’t here, in Sunnydale."
Angel squeezed her tightly. "I think you’re right. When do you want to go?"
Willow sighed and relaxed into his cool arms. "I don’t know. We should wait until this situation with The First is taken care of…"
"They’re gone." Angel told her.
"What? Are you sure?"
Angel nodded. "Yeah, we… drove them out…somehow. When we…" He trailed off, seeing the blush stain her cheeks. "I felt them leave. Whatever they were trying to do, it failed."
Willow smiled up at him and kissed a trail along his chest. "Well, then…I guess…we could… go…soon." She spoke in between kisses.
Angel rolled on top of her, his arms on either side of her, supporting his weight. He claimed her mouth in a fierce kiss, driving away any further thoughts.
*****
The couple watched the couple with interest.
"So, it is done?" The male oracle demanded of the two servants.
The female servant nodded. "The circle is complete."
The female oracle smiled. "They will be pleased." She waved her hand in dismissal and the two servants left.
The male oracle turned to the female. "You still believe they are strong enough? They can fight what is to come?" He sounded skeptical.
The female smiled slightly. "We shall see, brother."
End Part 19
Buffy turned down the now familiar street and sighed. She could see Willow and Angel’s house at the end of the street peeking through the trees. The Slayer had been here several times since she had witnessed what she was sure was some sort of possession. She had left that day and run to the school library to tell Giles what had happened. Only when she got there, it turned out that it wasn’t a possession, but something else entirely.
Giles had tried to explain to her what Whistler had told her, after she promised to calm down and not kill anyone. She didn’t understand most of what the watcher told her. Honestly, she didn’t understand any of what she had been told.
She couldn’t seem to get her mind around the fact that Willow and Angel were together. Really together. Seeing it should have convinced her, but it didn’ t. It wasn’t until her mind sifted through what Giles tried to explain that she realized that it was in fact the truth. They were together, and according to her watcher they were most probably meant to be.
She couldn’t help feeling sad about that. Saddened at the loss of Angel, her one true love, or so she’d thought. IT wasn’t so much that she was jealous, although there was probably some measure of that, but that everything she had been trying to tell herself was wrong.
During her summer away, she had consoled herself my admitting that she and Angel never would have had a future, and that they were doomed from the start. She told herself that he was a vampire, an animal. She had even convinced herself that it was Angelus and not Angel who she had sent to Hell. And when he returned, and became violent, she was content to continue to believe her fantasy. But somewhere, deep down, she knew that it wasn’t true. He wasn’t evil, and he wasn’t hers. He never had been.
She had tried to pretend that she was okay with his vampire status. That it was just something that she could deal with. Something she could overlook. She even fantasized that it wasn’t true. That he was a normal mortal man. When he had lost his soul, and reverted to his evil self, it was like a brutal slap in the face. Reminding her that he was a demon, and always had been. She had been fooling herself. She hated him for that.
Buffy walked slowly down the steep driveway. It had been three days since she had been here. Three days since she had seen Willow and Angel in some sort of primal mating ritual. Three days since she had been attacked by a crazed Willow. Three days since the Angel’s demon guide, whistler had told her the real reason behind Angel losing his soul.
During those days, she had wandered all over Sunnydale, and she frequently found herself back her, in front of this house. She never knocked, or even attempted to peer inside again. She just didn’t know what to say. A part of her wanted to Wish Willow the best, and hope they could be friends again. Another part still didn’t trust Angel. There was no mistaking the look in his eyes whenever he looked at her. It was like the beast of his demon was coming out to play, but it was his brown eyes that held that look, not the gold of the demon. She wasn’t entirely certain that Willow was safe, although everyone else seemed to think so. Even Xander wasn’t worried. For some reason, that concerned her even more.
Buffy stopped on the porch and knocked firmly on the door, before she lost her courage. After a minute the door was swung open. Buffy’s mouth dropped open at the person who opened the door.
"B?" Faith asked eyeing the other Slayer carefully. "What are you doing here?"
"Faith?" Buffy asked incredulously. It took her a minute to get her bearings. She wasn’t expecting Faith to answer the door, although she knew they were friends. It was Faith she had followed here the first time.
"Where’s Willow?" She asked, peering behind the brunette Slayer.
Faith stepped aside. "Gone. They left already."
Buffy entered the house. "Left? When? Why? Where?"
Faith smirked at the questions. "Last night, they have… things, who knows?" She shrugged after answering the questions in the order they were asked.
Buffy looked around. The house looked the same from what she could tell, although she did notice that there were a few personal items missing. She turned back to Faith. "If they’re gone, what are you doing here?"
"House sitting." Faith flopped down on the couch and turned on the TV, and began flipping channels.
"So…" Buffy started, "They’ll be back?"
"Eventually."
Buffy groaned, unhappy with the incredible lack of information Faith was providing her with. She stormed out of the house. Faith chuckled as she leaned back against the couch. S he turned towards the hallway.
"You can come out now."
Whistler walked out into the living room. "That went better than I expected."
Faith grinned. "B’s tightly wound, but without Red and Fang here, there wasn ’t much she could do." She paused. "Where did they go?"
Whistler sat down in a chair at the edge of the coffee table. "I don’t know." He told her honestly.
Faith raised an eyebrow. "Aren’t you their guide, or something?" She asked around a mouthful of popcorn.
"No. Someone else will guide them now. They don’t really need me. They need a link to the powers, and they’ll have that." He stood up. "Well, kid, I’ll see you around."
Faith nodded as the demon left the house. She turned back to the movie that was playing on the channel she had stopped at. She wondered idly where her friends’ were and who their new guide would be.
*****
Willow turned to look at Angel as they were stooped at a traffic signal. He was staring straight ahead, his face was expressionless, but as she watched him she say the corners of his mouth quirking up in a slight smile.
"What is it?’ He asked her gently as he turned to face her slightly. His eyes were taken away from her face too soon, because the light had turned green. But he had noticed the hesitant expression on her face.
"Maybe we were wrong. Maybe we should have said goodbye." She voiced her concerns.
Angel reached out a hand to squeeze her gently. "We did say goodbye. To those that mattered."
Willow sighed. "I know, but what about Buffy. I should have…"
"Shh." His hand traveled up to cup her cheek. "She had over two days to come and see you. She didn’t. You’re not going to feel bad about this." He told her firmly.
Willow smiled. "You’re right. If she had wanted to say goodbye, or hello… or anything else, she knew where to find me." She nodded to herself and then turned to look out the window. "So, where are we again?"
Angel smiled. "Mystic. They have this aquarium here, I think you’ll like. They're open nights, so we can go, if you’d like."
Willow smiled broadly and leaned back into her seat as she listened to Angel tell her about the last time he had been here, with Spike, another lifetime ago.
The End