Main characters: Willow and Angel, also featureing Giles, Xander and Cordelia
disclaimer: I hold no legal rights to any character or BtVS specific concepts; they belong to Joss Whedon and his writing staff.
distribution: if you have permission for the earlier Guardian Angels fics, then yes. Otherwise, you might be a bit confused.
notes: AU post Becoming, the summer before s3, which probably won't unfold the same way. Previous parts can be found ins everal places: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/1467661/1/ or http://nearheralways.com/efiction/viewstory.php?sid=2925
as I've said many times before, many thanks to Gabrielle for working with me to try to make this a better fic - I couldn't ask for a better Beta reader.
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~Part: 1~
Willow sighed as she looked at the stack of books on her desk. Books about summoning, and one on Acathla. They really needed to go back to the library, so Giles could keep them safe. Considering how long she'd had them, they'd be long since overdue if she'd actually checked them out, which she couldn't because they weren't on the official list. It would be rather hard to explain books on demon summoning to the school board, after all.
Glancing at the clock, she considered the time. It would be dark soon, which meant that the scary things would be coming out. She should definitely wait until Angel could go with her, to keep her from getting munched. Actually, he'd probably try to insist, even if he wasn't speaking again.
She looked over at him, stretched out along her bed. Angel looked so peaceful there, holding her pillow close to himself. Inside, she felt a bit of a guilty thrill at the sight of him sleeping so comfortably in her bed, and tried to push it away. "Angel? Are you awake?"
He moved, one dark eye opening to scan the room. Seeing her, he smiled as he stretched.
"Evening, Angel. The blood is over there," Willow gestured towards the cooler, still not quite sure who had put it there. "I think I should take some of these books back to the library, and I thought that you'd maybe go with me?"
He moved towards the cooler, though Willow was unsure if he understood her words, or if he just understood that the cooler must hold blood. She turned her attention back to the pile of books as he fed, unsure if he would prefer to have privacy.
By the time he was finished, the sun had set, making the world safe for vampires. He helped her carry the books, giving her a frown that she was sure meant he thought the stack was too heavy for her to carry, though he was also giving the books a distrustful look. He sighed at the car, and glanced at her, as if to suggest there might be some better, safer form of transportation.
"Sorry, Angel, but it's the best way. I don't want to walk that far with all these books." Willow found herself wondering again how much Angel understood of her words, and how much of what she said amounted to just talking to make herself feel a little better.
The short drive was unremarkable, and she parked at the school, noticing that there were two other cars there as well. One was the familiar, battered, Citroen that Giles drove, and the other was a vaguely familiar red sports car. The plates reading 'Queen C' were enough to tell her that this was Cordelia's car. Willow just sighed, and began to pick up the books. The others would have to find out eventually that Angel was back.
Willow could feel herself tensing as they walked into the building. There were some bad memories for her in this place, of Dru's attack, of the Hellmouth nearly opening, of finding those dead bodies, the years of general misery... Why did she bring herself here so often anyhow? With a sigh, she reminded herself that it was to help keep the world a little safer.
As she approached the doors, she could hear Cordelia's voice, asking Giles something. "... all know that Kendra died in here. What I want to know is if that means there's another Slayer out there somewhere."
Willow blinked in surprise. That was actually a good question, and she hadn't even considered that possibility of another Slayer. Maybe there was more to Cordelia than met the eye?
"I'm not precisely certain about that, Cordelia. The circumstances that led to Kendra's calling were rather unconventional, and they might have had an effect on the passing of the Slayer essence. It all depends on if the line was passed to Kendra or remained with Buffy." Giles sounded tired, and he was probably polishing the lenses of his glasses as he spoke.
"So, I did something unconventional. Good for me?" Xander's voice was familiar, and brought up so many memories that Willow had to blink back tears.
"I definitely think so." There was a soft quiet after Cordelia's words.
Willow opened the doors, blinking at the sight of Xander and Cordelia kissing. Apparently, she wasn't the only person who hadn't been sharing everything. Xander certainly hadn't mentioned the pair of them being quite that close. For several long moments, she stood there, wondering if the pair of them realized that they weren't alone. "Am I interrupting?"
Xander and Cordelia jerked apart, Cordelia's back stiffening. Xander stared at her, his face growing pale as he made fish-like expressions of wordless concern and pointed. "V-v-v-v."
Cordelia spun around, and her irritated half-frown turned to shock. "Is he Angelus or Angel? And why is he standing there behind you, Willow?"
"Willow, I didn't expect to see you here this evening." Giles frowned as he looked at the armload of books that she was carrying, and the second armful that Angel held. "Dare I ask?"
"I'm returning some books that I borrowed earlier in the summer." Willow offered, feeling certain that she would have to answer a few more questions. "Angel wants to keep me safe from the other scary things out there."
"He's one of the scary things out there, or have you forgotten?" Xander asked, glaring at the vampire. "I thought he got killed during the whole Acathla mess. Remember Angelus? Dead bodies, taunting Buffy, threatening to kill us, a stone demon bent on sucking the world into hell? Why is he standing here?"
"The soul restoration worked." Willow answered softly, moving over to the table to put down the books. "Unfortunately, before that point, Angelus had already done whatever it was that triggered Acathla, and so Buffy... She... She stabbed Angel and sent him into the portal as it closed. He went... He was... sucked over to the other side."
"So, what happened to Buffy after that?" Cordelia asked, and then frowned. "How do you know what happened at the mansion? You were in the hospital."
"Drusilla started to contact me in my dreams. It... it really freaked me out, and that's why I grabbed the books about dreams." Willow let her hand rest on the big red book that Giles consulted for Buffy's Slayer dreams. "She finally came out and was blunt, she showed me images, Buffy and Angelus fighting, Angel sucked into the portal... Drusilla told me that she wasn't strong enough to get him out."
"That reminds me, Willow. How did you know that the dreams were an actual form of contact, instead of your own... err, imagination?" Giles looked at her, moving towards a chair with a teacup in front of it.
Cordelia nodded, and tapped her nails on one of the books. "Good question, how can we know that it wasn't just the stress from Her Craziness attacking you in the library and putting you in the hospital?"
"I wasn't sure at first." Willow admitted, moving towards an empty chair. She sat down, staring at her hands instead of looking at anyone. "But when she made the more solid contact, when she showed me what had happened, it was like I was walking in this fog, and I was in this long pale dress like the ones that she wears. I was still wearing it when I woke up."
"Wait, you dreamed of a dress, and woke up in it? Is that something that I could learn how to do?" Cordelia paused, for a moment looking lost in thought. "No, you said it was like the ones that she wears. Do you still have it?"
"Yes, I do. And yes, it still seems pretty freaky," Willow admitted, and then sighed. "It was really disturbing to find Drusilla in my dreams, and that's part of why I started grabbing books. Then I figured out that she was talking about Angel, so I grabbed some books on Acathla. I still didn't know what she wanted until the dream that left me with the new dress, which was when she showed me the portal opening and sucking Angel, with his soul, into a burning ring of fire."
"Sounds like a country song to me. Much as I like the imagery, why is he standing in the library now?" Xander asked, folding his arms and glaring at Angel. "It's not like he ever went out of his way to help us or anything. He was just in things for Buffy. Why go to that trouble for him?"
"Xander." Cordelia hissed, elbowing him sharply. "Remember Marcy Clark and her invisible rampage? Who did Giles say found you when you got locked in the boiler room?"
"umm..." Xander slumped in his chair, and sighed. "Angel."
Giles leaned forward, making this dismayed clucking noise. "Xander, you might have your problems with Angel, but now is not the time to discuss their validity. Having known Willow for as long as you have, do you think she could ignore someone that she knows being sent to such a place?"
"I guess not." Xander leaned his head on one hand. "But I don't have to like him, and I don't have to like him being here."
Willow closed her eyes, shutting away the image of Xander sulking. "I can't make you like anyone. But he's here, and he's... not the same. Can you just... give him a chance?"
For a moment, Xander scowled, looking from Willow to Angel and back again. "I don't like it. I guess I can give him a chance. But if he screws up, if it even looks a little bit like he's going to go evil again, I'm staking him. Things wouldn't have been nearly as bad if Buffy had done that the first time."
"We can't change the past, Xander. Playing 'what if' about everything that we did or didn't do, or what Buffy did or didn't do, won't give us anything but headaches." Willow glared at him, and then looked at Giles and Cordelia, hoping that they would both understand.
"I see your point." Giles replied, and sipped at his tea.
~Part: 2~
Willow looked at the table, seeing a scattering of newspapers, a map, and some notebooks. "So, what's being researched?"
"We were compiling a list of the bodies that might rise." Giles rubbed at the bridge of his nose, placing his glasses beside the teacup. "With Buffy. elsewhere, a bit more precision is required."
"We've been trying to get them when they first wake up, before they can figure out what's going on." Xander added, and looked at the map. "Whose idea was it to put the cemeteries so far apart anyhow?"
"Are you going out tonight? For staking, not as in a date." Willow asked, and then looked at Giles. "Actually, Cordelia had a good question. Is there a new Slayer, after. well, after?"
"The Council hasn't sent me any information." Giles sounded sad, and he suddenly seemed very interested in looking into his teacup. "We can only guess. Considering that Kendra did in fact die, there. Probably. As for Buffy."
"We don't know." Willow nodded, understanding how much not knowing was frustrating the Watcher.
"So, why is Angel following you?" Cordelia glanced at Angel as she filed her nails.
"umm. He seems to think he needs to protect me from the nasties out there. Including the car." Willow shrugged, not entirely certain about that herself. "Maybe it's a sort of thank-you for getting him out of Hell? He looked. It definitely wasn't a vacation for him."
"So, now you have a cryptic guy lurking in the shadows and not talking while he follows you around. Some protection that is." Xander snorted.
"Actually, he killed the minion that tried to grab me in Willie's and the pair of demons that tried to get me by the car." Willow mused, considering the occasions. "He's not Buffy's cryptic-stalking-admirer anymore. He's definitely willing to do some hands-on stuff."
"He's still not talking." Cordelia observed, putting the file down. "So, were you trying to go on patrol with us?"
"Why not? I know I'm not a Slayer, and maybe I'm not at my best, but there's nothing wrong with my eyes, I can watch for someone climbing out of a grave as well as anyone else. Besides, I might be able to use magic." Willow tried to hide her unease. "Maybe if Angel's there, we might be less likely to get attacked by everything else."
"But he's a vampire." Xander grumbled, still glaring at Angel.
"They might be able to help." Giles murmured, and then chuckled. "Besides, do you think that you could talk Willow out of something that she's already decided should be done? Angel seems to listen to her, and I would hesitate to try to convince him to stay away from her."
"Well, at least he probably won't need to worry about the vampires being stronger than he is." Cordelia's words were hardly a ringing endorsement.
"Good, I have a car. Where do we start?" Willow murmured.
Angel gently touched her shoulder, and made a small sound.
Willow placed her hand over his, and tried to smile. "It's okay, Angel. We're going to go out hunting."
For a few moments, he was still, looking into her eyes as if he could pluck the meaning of her words from her mind. Or maybe he thought she could put the meaning into his. Just in case, she thought of walking through graveyards, of the newly risen vampires being staked. He made a thoughtful noise, and moved through the library, his eyes flickering around the room before discovering the weapons. With an obvious grin, he seized a sword, his fingers almost caressing the blade.
Chuckling, Willow called, "Yes, Angel, you can take the sword."
"Willow, are you sure this is a good idea?" Xander asked, glancing from her to Angel. "I mean, you were hurt pretty bad. Maybe you shouldn't go chasing dead guys in cemeteries just yet."
"No, I'm not sure it's a good idea, but I'm going," Willow insisted. "Angel's going to go with me, and he's not going to let me get hurt. I just. I want to help."
"I suppose someone should ask the obligatory question - are you certain that he will behave?" Giles sounded resigned, as if he already knew that asking wouldn't change her decision. Maybe he was asking for Xander and Cordelia's benefit.
"He's not going to hurt me," Willow sighed. "He didn't hurt you when you dropped by my house, and other than surprising mom by moving really quietly, he hasn't done anything that remotely endangered my parents, and we've been there for the past several days."
"Very well then. Perhaps you should follow in your car?" Giles suggested. "We're starting at Our Lady of Eternal Peace."
"Okay. I guess we'll meet you over there." Willow tried to conceal her nervousness. Yes, she'd said that she wanted to help. Yes, she'd insisted on going when she'd been given several opportunities not to. After all, she was just feeling so restless lately that almost any excuse to go out and do something sounded good, even a trip to Willie's to pick up more blood for Angel. Not that a trip to Willie's was very safe. But patrolling was probably even more unsafe, and the realization of what she'd just insisted on doing did nothing to ease her fears.
~Part: 3~
Angel followed close behind her as they walked back to the parking lot. The oddest part was that he stayed exactly two steps behind her and slightly to the left. The nagging thought that danced in the back of Willow's mind was that he was playing bodyguard, except that she didn't think he was playing at all. Angel seemed very serious. It still didn't tell her where he'd learned that sort of habit.
At the car, Angel just gave a warning growl to the car, tilting the sword slightly while standing near the hood. If the car had been alive and the headlights eyes, it was the perfect place to present the sword as a clear threat. When the car sat quietly after Angel's growl, he nodded and moved to the passenger door, giving Willow a smug little smile.
She smiled back, resisting the urge to laugh at Angel making certain the car knew who was in charge. Amusing as it was to her, he looked serious, and pleased at his status as her protector, so laughing might hurt his feelings. "I'm sure the car knows that it must behave or suffer your wrath, Angel. Now, on to the cemetery."
Angel settled into the car, letting the sword rest across his legs as she drove. He still ignored the seatbelt, not that Willow was surprised. The night looked calm, a few scattered clouds and a half moon overhead. It would have looked perfectly in place in one of those idealized paintings of Americana. "I guess it's a good night for demon hunting."
She parked near Giles' car, and Angel gave it a look as they stepped out. His eyes went from her car to Giles' car and back again, and then he gave a low chuckle. Willow was pretty sure that he was thinking her car looked bigger and meaner than Giles' car, not that it would be difficult. "They'll behave, Angel. Let's find Giles, okay?"
Angel stopped, standing by the gates with a an expression of concentration. He turned slightly, and then gave a small nod. Motioning for her to follow, he started to move towards the wall.
"Angel, I can't jump over the wall." Willow insisted when she realized that her vampire was ignoring the gate. "I'm not strong enough."
He looked at her for a moment before nodding. He held out his hand, as if inviting her to move closer, and made a soft rumble that resembled a purr. When Willow stepped closer, he wrapped his arm around her, holding her close as he made an effortless leap over the fence. Once on the other side, he loosened his grip, though he kept his hand resting on the small of her back as he led them into the cemetery.
"Are you certain that you're prepared for this? Vampires are dangerous, and there are risks when those who aren't Slayers hunt them." Giles sounded reluctant, and from his words, he had to be talking to Xander and Cordelia.
"You say that like there's not danger anyhow." Xander's voice was easy for her to pick out. "Considering the way the vamps just love Sunnydale, we're in danger already. At least this way, we know where they'll be and we can be ready."
"I suppose there is some logic there," Giles admitted.
"So, how many are we expecting in here?" Willow asked, now close enough to see them as well as hear them.
"Only two in this cemetery. The list was somewhat short, so I suspect that the police might be missing some of the bodies during the critical period before rising." Giles sighed, and pulled a stake from his pocket, handing it to Willow. "You might need this."
Willow took the stake, looking at it uneasily. She could feel the wood grain, and it still smelled all sawdusty from being sharpened. Her nervousness doubled, and she swallowed, nodding at Giles to show that she understood how dangerous things could be. Angel's hand rubbed a little over her back, circling around the fading bruises.
"Our soon to be fanged guys are Joseph MacAllister and an unfortunate guy named Richard Dickens the second." Xander gave a small shudder, and shook his head. "Some parents shouldn't be allowed to name their own kids."
"Dick Dickens? That is terrible." Cordelia agreed. "I guess staking him will be an act of kindness."
"I'm actually more disturbed by the 'the second' part of the name." Willow commented, looking at the little paper. She'd already glanced at the gravestone, noting that they were in front of the hopefully soon-to-be final resting place for Joe MacAllister, who she thought had been a football player two grades ahead of them. "Someone who'd already suffered through his life with that name went ahead and inflicted it on his son?"
"Good point," Xander agreed. "Why don't you take a few steps back, you are still recovering. Maybe you and your lurky pal can figure out where double Dick is buried. and that sounded much worse out loud."
Willow snickered, and took a few steps away from the grave. Looking around, she sighed and took a careful step onto the gravestone she was next to. Murmuring a soft "Sorry, I'm not trying to be disrespectful," Willow stepped up to the top of the gravestone, using the higher view to look for another recent grave.
Willow blinked, trying to focus through the darkness to see. Slowly, she turned, and then froze. She wasn't sure about how fresh the grave was, but the group of vampires stalking their way past it and towards her and her friends was a definite problem. "Guys? Angel? Giles? We have a problem."
A growl and a half-muffled shriek from Cordelia told Willow that they didn't have one problem but two. Joe had woken up, and wasn't about to go down peacefully. The sound caused the other vampires to move faster, and it looked as if they were about to attack. This didn't look very good. Willow could feel herself tensing, and the small amount of magic that had returned felt all too inadequate for the situation.
Angel snarled what sounded like a word, maybe something in Russian or Turkish, and stepped between her and the charging vampires, the sword held at an angle.
"Back down, foreigner. Our fledgling, our prey." The lead vampire snarled, eyes focusing on Willow.
Giles turned, alerted by the sounds. "Oh dear."
Angel moved, a blur that mere human eyes couldn't properly follow, and the closest vampire staggered back, one arm on the ground. A second blur and his head tumbled away, falling to dust. Angel growled something else, more words in that same strange language, standing between the vampires and Willow.
The other vampires didn't stand a chance. They were faster than humans, but Angel moved like liquid fury, cutting them down with snarled words that sounded as if he was either threatening them or insulting them. Not a single vampire came close enough to disturb Willow, and when Joe tried to grab at her, the sword slashed out, nearly severing his hand before the dirt-covered form of Joe flung himself back into Xander's stake.
Staring at the scattered dust, Cordelia murmured, "I take it back. He's useful."
Xander looked at Angel, and then at Giles. "So, wise and scholarly Watcher, what did he say? What language was that? Cause it was definitely not English."
"Err." Giles looked at Angel, and then at Willow. "This might be more complicated than I'd originally thought. "We should find Mr. Dickens and return to the library, or possibly go home."
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