Clouds beyond clouds above me,
Wastes beyond wastes below ;
But nothing drear can move me :
I will not, cannot go.
-- Emily Jane Bronte, The Night is Darkening Round Me

Willow barely had time to run into her house and lay down on
the couch before Buffy rang her doorbell; Faith tossed a blanket
over the redhead before rushing to the door just as the bell
rang again. The Slayer counted to five before pulling the door
open.

"Hey, B," Faith smiled, gesturing the blonde inside.

"Faith? What are you doing here?" Buffy asked, glancing at
Willow in confusion.

"She's been, uh, helping me?" Willow finished meekly.

"Yeah, I've been errand-girl for Red," Faith replied, shrugging.

"Oh. I guess that makes sense. In a way that doesn't," Buffy replied,
shaking her head and stepping over to the couch. "How are you feeling?"
she asked Willow.

"I'm fine. Good, actually," the redhead tried to smile casually.

"You sure? You've been sick a lot lately. Ever since Oz got out...."
Buffy's eyes widened. "He didn't--"

"NO!" Willow exclaimed, placing a hand on Buffy's arm. "Oz didn't
do anything...to me." Faith stifled a laugh, earning her a glare
from Willow.

"Good," she replied. "I'd hate to have two wolves to look after,"
she commented, grinning. "So what have you been up to all day?"

"Reading mostly. I did a little exercise." Faith coughed loudly,
covering a laugh; Willow glared at the girl again.

"Sorry. Frog in my throat," the brunette smirked. Buffy glanced
at the other Slayer curiously.

"You feel up to coming to the library?" she asked.

"Tonight?" Willow whimpered.

"Yeah," Buffy replied, rolling her eyes, "Giles nearly has a heart
attack every time he even looks at the computer, and we need
research-girl," she stated.

"Oh, I-I guess I could come," Willow answered, looking down at her
hands. "I'll need to change though." < What am I going to do about
Angel? > The redhead glanced up at Faith.

"You coming, too, Faith? We could train," Buffy offered.

"Maybe later. I'm sure there's a vamp somewhere that needs to be
taken care of." Buffy's eyes narrowed at the brunette's choice of
words. Willow glanced at the other Slayer and mouthed, 'Thank you';
the other girl nodded. Willow stood up and walked towards the stairs.

"Um, Willow?" Buffy asked, and the hacker turned back to her friend.
"Aren't those pants a little big?" Willow blushed and ran up the
stairs as Faith stifled another laugh. Willow came down the stairs
ten minutes later dressed in jeans and a sweater; she smiled at Buffy,
looking around for Faith. "She's already left. Swear, that girl is
going for 'Slayer of the Year'." Willow nodded, lost in her own
thoughts, her mind and body already missing Angel.

The walk to the library was in complete silence as Willow relived
every moment with Angel in her mind and as Buffy carefully watched
the sides of the road for any sign of Sunnydale's denizens. The only
time Willow exited her thought was when she thought she'd seen a
faint flash of a sprinting for running through the woods along side
the road. < Angel? > she asked herself but shook it away. The two
arrived at Sunnydale High without any incidents, and they walked
slowly down the hallway.

"This is odd," Buffy commented softly; when Willow looked up with
a questioning glance, "The library's quiet. It shouldn't be," Buffy
replied, concern growing in her voice and eyes. The Slayer pushed
the door open, and she stopped in the doorway, effectively blocking
Willow from view. "What's going on?" she asked, staring at Cordelia,
Xander, and Oz setting in a circle around the library table. Giles
stepped out of his office.

"Buffy, we may know where Willow is," he began. Buffy shrugged,
stepping fully into the library and revealing Willow.

"She was at home," she explained.

"B-but didn't Scott tell you she was on Crawford Street at the
mansion?" Giles asked, turning to Xander.

"That's what he told me," Xander replied, his voice cold, his eyes
staring hard at Willow.

"Xander," Cordelia warned.

"The mansion?" Buffy asked, smiling and turning to Willow, "Tell
them you were home all day," she ordered; Willow looked down at
the floor. "Willow, please."

"I was at the mansion," Willow stated softly, feeling like a weight
was being lifted from her shoulders even as pain flashed in Buffy's
eyes.

"What were you doing there?" Buffy asked, touching the redhead's arms.

"Yeah, care to tell us why you were getting cozy with someone who
fits Angel's description?" Xander snapped. Willow looked up suddenly
with wide eyes; anger flooded through her body.

"Have you been spying on me?" she growled.

"No, Willow, we haven't; Buffy asked Scott Hope to look for you. He
apparently followed Faith to the mansion and saw...." Giles trailed
off as fresh pain danced in his eyes.

"Angel?" Buffy whimpered, looking at Willow. The redhead tried to
look anywhere but at her friend. "Willow, please, tell me what
they're saying isn't true," the Slayer begged.

"C'mon, Will, tell us you aren't fucking the undead," Xander demanded.

"Xander!" Cordy and Giles admonished.

"It's true," Willow whispered; she glanced up at the blonde Slayer
in time to see all emotion drain from her eyes. Willow felt fear
lash through her body; she'd seen that look in Buffy's eyes before:
after Ms. Calendar had died, when she resolved to kill Angel.
"Buffy?"

"Don't talk to me," Buffy ground out, turning her back on the hacker.

"How could you do this?" Xander asked. "How could you hurt us like
this?" Willow opened her mouth to reply, but Xander cut her off.
"How could you hurt Oz?" The werewolf looked up and spoke for the
first time.

"Um, she didn't hurt me," he stated; all eyes turned to him.

"You knew?" Buffy asked, her voice devoid of emotion. He nodded.
Before anything else could be said, the library doors slammed open,
and Faith rushed in.

"Red, we got trouble," she panted, looking around at the room.
"They know?" she asked, gesturing to everyone; Willow nodded.
"Makes this easier." She took a deep breath. "Fang's not home,
and I can't find him anywhere."

"You knew?" Buffy hissed suddenly. Faith rolled her eyes but otherwise
ignored the blonde's question.

"Oh, God," Willow muttered. "We need to find him." Faith nodded, and
they both turned to the doors ready to leave in search of Angel. Xander
was suddenly on his feet and across the room. He grabbed Willow's arm
and pulled her away from the doors.

"Xander? What are you doing?" Willow asked.

"You aren't going anywhere to help that....monster," he ground out.

"Xander, please," Willow begged, pulling on her arm as his grip tightened.
"You're hurting me." At those words, an angry growl resounded through
the library. All eyes turned to the stacks and an extremely pissed-off
Angel standing there.

"You," he snarled, pointing at Xander, "Don't. Touch. Her." The vampire
vaulted over the railing and landed on the library table; he bared his
fangs at the teenager. "Let her go," he snarled again, stepping towards
Xander. The boy dropped Willow's arm and moved his hands up in a fighting
stance. Angel laughed sharply, jumping down off the table; as he passed
Xander, he pushed the boy away from him. The vampire reached Willow and
placed a hand on her arm.

"Are you alright?" he asked, his demon face melting away to reveal
concern etched on his human one. She nodded, rubbing her arm where
Xander had held onto her.

"How could you do this to me?" Buffy sobbed, suddenly staring at Angel.
The vampire glanced at her, but his eyes returned to Willow.

"Buffy, I--" Willow began, and the Slayer turned cold, dead eyes on
the redhead.

"I don't want to hear it," she hissed.

"Buffy, please."

"DON'T TALK TO ME!" she shouted, sobs wracking her body.

"Willow, I do think it's best if you leave," Giles ordered softly,
taking Buffy into his arms. "And take that...thing with you," he
stated, gesturing to Angel.

"Giles, I--"

"Get. Out." Willow nodded slowly, silent tears streaming down her face.
Angel lifted her in his arms, and she cried against his shoulder as he
carried her out of the library. Faith laughed sharply, staring around
the room at the little group as the library doors closed behind Willow
and Angel.

"You ever get the feeling that Red's the best member of this little
group?" the brunette asked of Oz before turning and walking out of the
library.

"Huh," Oz shrugged. "You know, you people really..." he trailed off,
rising to his feet and searching for the right words. "Disgust me."
With that Oz left the library following the three that had gone before,
and all the little group left in the library could do was stare at the
swinging library doors.

*FIN*

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