email: trekchic@usa.net
distribution: Y'all know me. I say yes. Just ask beforehand so I know.
disclaimer: the characters belong to Joss Whedon
rating: PG-13 (language, violence and content)
author's notes: Oz doesn't exist...again (I'm SORRY!!!) and uhm..Oh, this is my take on what fourth season would be like for 'Buffy' and for the new series 'Angel'. (meaning, all of the previous seasons are fair game. I haven't seen Grad2 yet, though, so don't worry about that type of spoilage. Angel is in L.A.)
Only difference: (big one) the Scooby Gang is still in high school. So, the events of season 3 took place their junior year. Oh, and lastly, for those wondering, this is totally unrelated to When Stars Collide. :)
Feedback is, as always, adored, highly appreciated, very motivational and always responded to.
dedication: to everyone who's ever wanted to have something dedicated to them but never has, this story is wholeheartedly for you.

PART ONE

Gritting his teeth, Angel slammed the stake into one vampire’s chest while kicking another one aside.

Masked temporarily by the dusty explosion, he spun and ducked, narrowly missing the attack of a third, previously unseen vampire. Although fatigue gnawed at his muscles and a sharp steady pain shot up from the deep gash in his arm, he managed to fend off the two remaining attackers with a few expert kicks and punches. Unfortunately, judging from the distant growls his sensitive hearing had picked up, he was fairly certain that reinforcements were on their way.

< And who said L.A. was boring? > A vicious blow to the head sent him flying before he could come up with a coherent response. Groaning, Angel mananged to roll over just in time to avoid the sharp piece of wood that embedded itself in the soft earth right where his heart would have been. < And the fun just keeps on coming. >

Dragging himself to his feet, he managed to turn around just in time to see five other dark figures rushing his way. < Three months of patrolling and I get nothing. Why the warm reception now? > Snarling, he pulled himself up and braced for impact as two of the figures launched themselves at him. Knocked backwards into a tree, Angel managed to squeeze past one of his opponents, only to be caught in a headlock by the other. Wincing at the gash in his upper lip, he spit out the sweet coppery fluid that gushed into his mouth, threatening to choke him in his prone position.

“Well well well, if it isn’t my dearly departed sire Angel? Come to spread the love in the City of Angels? How bloody quaint.”

Angel’s dark brown eyes narrowed dangerously at the ground, “Spike…” he growled softly.

Clucking disapprovingly, the other man continued, “Now, here I am, miles away from Sunnyhell like I promised that blonde whore of a slayer, plotting world domination from the comfort and quiet of Los Angeles and who do I bump into yet AGAIN?”

His mind racing for a way out, Angel ignored the peroxide vampire’s musings.

“My absolute favorite wanker in the world, that’s who.” Walking past his captive, Spike reached down to yank a handful of dark hair upwards, “What’s the matter? She dump you? I tell you, Angel, women are so fickle.I wouldn't worry though, mate. I hear she was a bitch of a lay.”

Subtley testing the strength of the vampire holding him, Angel had to swallow down his frustration against the iron grip.

“I’ll have you know that your disasterous relationship with her nearly cost me my Dru.” Sharply pulling Angel’s head further, his voice became darker, “I don’t take kindly to that.”

As he gritted his teeth to block out the pain, Angel could do little more than raise an eyebrow.

Yawning, as if bored from the lack of reaction he was getting, Spike released his hair, “Anyway, no time for chitchat, mate. As much as I do enjoy this utter lack of conversation, it seems whenever we engage in witty banter, you manage to get away. No, I’m sick of this game and I’m even more sick of you. Besides, I owe that slayer big time.” Shrugging, he spun around, his black duster floating through the air, and threw the command casually over his shoulder, “Stake him, Gabriel.”

< NO! > As he struggled with the vampire holding him, Angel quickly realized that he would still be a fraction of a second too late to save himself, but even in these last split seconds of cognizant life, his body kicked into full-fledged survival mode.

Launching his shoulder into the vampire’s solar plexus, he had just managed to loosen his captor’s hold when he heard the tell-tale woosh of a stake rapidly descending just over his head. Pausing to squeeze his eyes shut, Angel tried to think of a prayer to say before dying just in case there was, by any possible miracle, a chance to save himself from eternal damnation. Perhaps he could think of one that would barter his sentence down to just a few centuries of burning in hell instead…

At the last possible second, as the hairs on his neck rose with anticipation of the impending blow, the stake from above changed direction and clattered harmlessly to the side, bouncing a few feet away into the grass. Pushing back a wave of shock in order to mull it over at a more convenient time, Angel took this opportunity to complete his escape. Before he could even turn around, though, several clouds of dust erupted around him as the vampires who had attacked started to disappear in record time. It wasn’t until he’d gotten a chance to retrieve the fallen stake and pinpoint the source of the chaos swirling around him that he was able to totally rule out divine intervention.

He watched in awe as a figure clad in black bounded through the space around him, leaving destruction in her wake. At least he * thought * it was a girl. With her slighter figure and long, graceful limbs, he doubted his savior was male. In fact, if it wasn’t for the smaller build, Angel would have sworn that this girl was Buffy in disguise, judging strictly from her speed and accuracy.

Covered in black cloth from head to toe, he couldn’t really tell who she was either way. Nothing stuck out, not even to his well trained eyes. Every strand of hair had been tucked away under the full-length outfit. Even her eyes were covered by a thin black veil.

Her startled yelp of pain jolted him out of his revelry and he ran towards her just as Spike tore the stake out of her hand, his arm wrapped tightly around her neck.

“Alright, princess, and who the hell do you think you are?” Reaching forward, he grasped for her headgear but her body suddenly glowed a bright white. Almost immediately, it was his turn to howl in agony. Quickly, Spike whipped his arm off of her neck and backed away in anger, “You want to see magic, you bloody wench? I’ve got some of the blackest magic you’ll ever see.” His eyes glowed a bright yellow.

“You want a fight? Fight me.” Angel’s voice rumbled from behind.

Spinning, Spike found himself directly between Angel and this newcomer, alone, and distinctly outnumbered. His companions could be accounted for by numbering the piles of dust around him. Slowly, the yellow light in his eyes faded to be replaced by an arrogant smirk. “Watch your back, luv,” he spat softly. And with that, he retreated into the night.

“Are you alrig-,” Angel started only to find himself staring at the rapidly retreating back of the girl who had saved him, “No! Wait!” he called, running after her.

Chasing her for a few blocks, after running between alleys and long, winding streets, he finally managed to catch up with her only to find himself in front of his own apartment.

“Wh-who are you?” he managed to stammer after a few moments of awed silence.

“It’s almost dawn. Get inside. Don’t patrol alone anymore. Not safe.” Came the hissed response.

Although he could swear that there was something vaguely familiar about her-perhaps it was her scent-she was gone before he could even respond. Erupting into a fiery mass of sparkles, she vanished into thin air.

Staring into the darkness for a few moments he slowly shook his head. < Nope, not boring. Not boring at all. >

**

Two hours later, Willow Rosenberg awoke from a trance-like state with a start. She found herself sitting in front of her mirror in her bedroom, dressed in her pale lavender nightgown.

Facing her tired reflection, she gingerly ran her fingers through her hair to sooth the messy red strands that stuck out angrily from all sides. Flinching slightly, she looked down at her palm, only to find it torn and blistered.

Trembling, Willow turned slowly and glanced at her alarm clock, trying to hold back her gasp of horror as she gazed at the red numbers proclaiming the time.

One week.

Seven nights.

Each night, she had woken up to find herself in the exact same position at the exact same time.

Each night, she had been plagued by only the vaguest memories of where she’d been or what she’d done.

Each night, she’d prayed that the few scraps of memories she retained were really just dreams.

Her eyes filled with tears as she rose quietly so as not to disturb her parents. Clutching her injured hand, she slowly made her way into the bathroom.

She bit back the painful sobs that rose in the back of her throat as her salty tears splashed down upon the raw blistered skin of her palm.

She now had proof.

This was no dream.

**

Outside, a lone man stood inconspicuously across the street, staring up at a teenage girl’s window.

Lighting another cigar, he calmly dragged on it while tugging the worn fedora on his head further down over his eyes.

He waited until her light went out and the sun had risen fully into the sky before he walked away, whistling softly into the retreating darkness.

PART TWO

Squinting at the brightness of the computer screen in the pitch black of her room, Willow leaned forward to adjust the contrast. Still somewhat daunted by the events of the past week, she’d spent most of the afternoon and all of the evening checking up on local newspapers for unexplained crimes or disappearances. So far, she’d checked both Sunnydale as well as the surrounding towns lying within a 50 mile radius and had come up with nothing beyond the occasional vampire attack disguised as gang violence. Stretching, she rubbed her neck tiredly and fingered the gold cross she’d taken to wearing these past few days < At least I know I’m not one of them… > It was raining outside. Sheets of cold hard pellets battered against the pavement and lawns outside making Willow all the happier that she’d chosen to stay in tonight. Feeling a bit awkward, she’d declined Buffy’s offer to ‘go Bronzing’ in order to catch up on some long overdue ‘work’. After enduring a few playful jibes from Xander over her studiousness on a Friday night, she’d quietly excused herself from the library and beat a hasty retreat home.

It was nearly midnight and a familiar unsettled feeling invaded the pit of her stomach as she glanced at her clock. She had begun to truly dread going to sleep. < It’s the weekend…maybe I can just stay up all night… > Sighing, she buried her head in her hands < Yeah. Maybe I can stay up all night for tonight. But I’ll have to sleep at some point. > Although she’d been reluctant to do it for fear of finding out that whatever was happening to her was evil or irreversible, Willow knew she had no choice.

< Tomorrow, I go see Giles. >

**

“Time check.” Xander yelled over the blare of the music as he sat down at the tiny corner table.

“12:15” his blonde companion reaffirmed after a glance at the delicate silver watch around her wrist.

“Hah. And the night is still young!” He pounded on the table jubilantly, “45 minutes til’ curfew. Wanna dance?”

“Can’t. I patrol in 15 minutes. I want to make an appearance nice and fresh. The vampires, they like.” She smiled at him brightly. “I’d invite you to come with me but a. You might get hurt and b. I’m out until 4 which is way past your bedtime, Xander.”

“Well, if Willow had come along, I could have used her as a sleepover alibi and none of us would even HAVE stupid curfews.” He responded in irritation.

“Xander, with or without Willow, if your parents had the slightest clue of what went on around here, you’d be home-schooled.”

“That’s besides the point.”

“Come on, SkyHawk, I’ll walk you home.”

“Could you PLEASE not call me that?”

Snorting, she shook her head, “Geez Xander, a litt- Oh crap.” Her eyes widened at the sight of the short man standing near the back entrance of the club.

“What?” Xander followed her gaze, “You know him?”

“Yes.” She responded sourly, “Wait here. I’ll be right back.”

As she rapidly made her way towards him, they made eye contact. He sent her a lazy smile and she had to resist the urge to slap him silly. “What the hell do you think you’re doing here?”

“Nice to see you too, blondie.”

“Is it Angel? What’s going on?”

“Nope. Not Angel. And you don’t need to worry, I was just leaving.” Turning away from her, he pushed the door open.

“Whistler, where is he?” she said, just loud enough for him to hear.

Shaking his head, the demon turned back and shrugged, “Safe. For once, he’s safe. I’m sorry, but that’s all I can tell you. I really do gotta go.”

Nodding slowly, she blinked back the tears in her eyes as she watched him leave, the rusty metal door creaking shut behind him.

**

“I will stay up, I will stay up, I will stay up.” Willow whispered the mantra softly to herself as she hopped up and down to invigorate her exhausted limbs.

Walking back and forth tiredly, she turned her sore, bloodshot eyes distastefully to her computer before moaning in defeat. “I’ve gotta get out of here. I can’t look at my monitor anymore.”

Quietly making her way downstairs, she opened up her refrigerator and stared blankly at the contents.

Shutting it, she made her way into her living room and flopped down on the couch. Turning on the television was absolutely out of the question. Her parents would wake up in a matter of seconds. She had tried it once when she was younger with the volume on mute and had been caught within half an hour.

< Music? > She’d lent her discman to Xander.

Rolling her eyes, she pulled herself back up and walked over to the window. It had stopped raining a while back and the street outside glistened in silent brilliance. < Wish I could go for a walk. > She stared forlornly out into the night. < Too bad I can’t cause I’d…well…die. >

Just as she was turning away to go upstairs, a man suddenly popped up on the other side of the glass, tapping on it to get her attention. Jumping back, Willow clamped her hands over her mouth to muffle her horrified scream.

‘Sorry.’ He mouthed from the other side, ‘Willow. Open the door.’

Staring numbly at him, she shook her head. < A coward, yes. A moron, no. >

Sighing, he withdrew a cross from his pocket and held it in his hand up to the window. Then, switching the cross to the other hand, he held up his unscathed palm. ‘Open the door. We need to talk.’

Unimpressed, she shook her head again < He may not be a vampire but who the heck knows what he might be? A-a warlock or a demon or a-a bug man or something…. >

Giving her an exasperated look, he searched in his jacket pocket for one last thing. His trump card. Smiling to himself, he pulled out a black hood with a thin black veil over the eye holes and plastered it up to the window.

Within seconds, he heard the click of a door being unlocked. **

Sitting on the edge of her bed, Willow Rosenberg was pretty sure she was going to throw up.

Whistler sighed, and twirled his hat idly on his finger while waiting for her response. He’d been glad that the conditioning had worked and that the sight of the black hood had jogged her memory as to who he was, but it still didn’t make the truth any easier for her to handle. < Why are they so damn young these days? She’s just a kid. >

“When do…when do we leave?” She finally managed to gasp out.

“Tomorrow night before sunset.” He responded calmly.

“I can’t tell anyone, right?”

“No goodbyes.” He affirmed, averting his gaze to the opposite wall so as to avoid the silent heave of her shoulders.

The room became deathly quiet as he patiently waited for her to come to terms with her position. As her new mentor, it was his responsibility to not only guide her, but also to allow her time deal with things on her own.

Gingerly, she rubbed the spot right below her left hip. It was almost as if the small circular mark that resided there was now capable of burning her fingers through the thin cotton of her nightgown. She didn’t know how she’d missed it so many times before…this tiny mark that now dictated her future and her destiny. Abruptly, Willow stood up and nodded. “How much stuff can I take?” She turned to face him, resolve face firmly into place.

“Whatever you want. Whatever we can carry. They won’t be able to find you where we’re going.” He supressed a smile at her expression < Maybe they didn’t make a mistake when they chose this one. >

Wrapping an arm protectively around her slender waist, she dropped her gaze to the carpet again, “You know…I still have…a ton of questions….”

“They’ll have to wait. It’ll be dawn in a few hours, Willow. Get some rest. Enjoy today. I’ll come pick you up at around 6.”

< So, it’s just that easy for him, huh? > she tried to keep the bitterness out of her thoughts but it was hard. “Yeah…” she mumbled softly even though she burned inside from unexpressed anger.

Almost as if sensing her thoughts, he placed a hand on her shoulder, “Thank you, Willow.” He whispered softly, “I’ll show myself out.”

His appreciation startled her slightly and she turned to look at him, but he was already gone.

**

“Could there be another slayer around?” Cordelia cocked her head to one side.

“No, I don’t think so,” Angel responded thoughtfully, “As far as I know, Faith is still alive and so is Buffy.”

“And you’re sure it wasn’t one of them?” she prodded him gently.

“Positive, Cordy. She was smaller and her technique wasn’t quite the same. Watchers tend to train out of the same book. What I saw didn’t resemble the product of Council influence.”

“Weird.” The brunette shrugged, “Well, at least it’s a good thing that she was there. She seems to be one of the good guys.”

“She is.” Offered a voice from the shadows.

Angel’s head shot up at the sound and turned to greet the newcomer, “Where have you been? I’ve been looking for you for the past two days. How do you know ab-,”

“I think congratulations are in order, Angel.” Stepping forward, Whistler drew a cigar out of his pocket and passed it to the vampire.

“What are you talki-,”

“You, my friend, are not going to believe this.” The smaller demon spoke through clenched teeth as he held his cigar in place while drawing out a lighter.

“Believe what?” Cordelia broke in, “Is this a good believe or a bad believe?

“Angel has a Protector,” Whistler responded simply before puffing thoughtfully on the cigar and stepping towards the window.

“A-A…A what?” she demanded.

“I-I…I can’t…” if possible, the vampire had gotten paler than normal, “Whistler, what do you mean?”

“Bad believe?” Cordelia guessed.

“Good believe.” Whistler corrected, “Very good believe.”

Shaking his head vigorously, Angel stood, “No, this isn’t right. I thought that only saints and holy men had Protectors. That isn’t possible.”

Shrugging, Whistler continued to stare out the window, “Well, since a freak snowstorm in California on the night of your attempted suicide wasn’t enough to convince you, I guess they tried to go a step further this time around. It should be obvious by now.”

“Okay, the snowstorm on Christmas? You had something to do with that?” Cordelia looked at Angel, confused.

“N-no.” Angel responded, his throat suddenly dry, “I-I didn’t…I mean, even if it did….I mean, it was a lucky coincidence.”

“Deny it all you want, kid, it doesn’t change the truth.”

“And that would be?” Cordelia stared at both men impatiently.

“For all your simpering and brooding about eternal damnation, Angel, someone upstairs is looking out for you. For some reason they’ve sent someone down here to protect your sorry ass.”

Angel didn’t respond, dumbfounded.

Chuckling, Whistler glanced at his protégé.

“And let me tell ya, man…she’s real cute.”

PART THREE

It was 5:30 and Willow still couldn’t believe how fast the day had gone by. As she packed her spellbooks into a small box along with her candles and incense, she resigned herself to the fact that it wasn’t working. She wasn’t feeling a damn thing. It was as if she had become totally numb to the concept that she was truly leaving Sunnydale for good. By lunchtime, she’d given up mentally poking herself into trying harder to make her few remaining hours ‘special’. Therefore, by the end, it had turned out to be a relatively normal day. She hadn’t dressed up. She hadn’t been overly chatty or overly withdrawn throughout the morning. During study hall, she hadn’t hounded her friends for extra attention or buried her nose in a book for the hour or passed an unusually large number of notes. She hadn’t even broken down into an emotional heap after the last bell rang signally the end of classes for the day. Essentially, she decided to leave Sunnydale the same way as she’d existed there: as a person true to herself.

< Which still doesn’t make it any easier to say goodbye… > she sighed as she collected her photo album and jewelry case. < At least I have Angel to keep me company in L.A. > The thought brightened her disposition somewhat. She wasn’t really sure how well he was taking the news < Most likely, not to well at all… > She knew, however, that when all was said and done, he would grudgingly accept her help. < Not that he has any choice. > She narrowed her eyes at her reflection < Not that either of us do. >

Surveying her suitcases and boxes packed neatly near the door, Willow realized that she really didn’t have anything left to do but sit and wait for Whistler to pick her up.

Mulling over the facts of her predicament, she still felt as if she was being kept in the dark. The specifics of her duty were still somewhat vague to her, but being a resourceful and intelligent young woman, she’d spent a few hours the night before doing a bit of research over the internet. From the little information she’d gathered, it appeared that a Protector was a person, who could be either male or female (unlike slayers who were predominantly girls), who was chosen to defend the life of another individual. The person the Protector would have to defend tended to have either humanitarian and/or religious ties as well as a pivotal role in history.

Evidently, it was an honor to be chosen for such an admirable job. Although she was still somewhat confused as to who chose her or why they did, Willow couldn’t help but feel a small twinge of pride over her position someplace deep underneath her constant fear. With all the Evil she had seen throughout her life living on the Hellmouth, she was glad that Goodness had a few more people to call upon for back up.

“Willow?”

Startled, she looked up only to see Whistler standing in front of her, hat in hand, smirking slightly, “I knocked a few times but you didn’t respond so I let myself in. Ready to go?”

Swallowing hard, she stood up, “Yeah. Just let me grab my b-,” looking around, she gasped, “Where are my bags?”

He shrugged and headed down the stairs, “In the car. Don’t worry about it. Let’s go.”

Picking up her purse, she nodded to no one in particular.

“Okay. Leaving,” she whispered softly before closing the door of her room and following him out, never once turning back.

**

It had been about two hours since Whistler had left and twenty minutes since Angel had slammed out of the apartment for some private sulking time in the sewers.

Still slightly in a daze, Cordelia Chase sat alone in her cozy dark living room with the shades pulled and a small fire burning. Angel still didn’t suspect that she had, indeed, known more about Whistler’s surprise announcement than she had let on before. < Thank you seventh grade drama camp. > She thought dryly. It was a good thing that he still underestimated her intelligence or else he may have caught on.

In his awe and excitement to have been assigned a Protector, the vampire had fallen head first into the idea of getting to meet her. He’d gotten as far as trying to straighten out living arrangements and training schedules before he finally remembered to ask Whistler when she would be joining them.

“She’s not.” He responded coolly from his position near the window.

“I don’t think I understand…” Angel began cautiously.

“The Council of Elders have decided that the two of you aren’t to have any unnecessary contact. You aren’t to seek her out or try to uncover her identity. She’ll be the one to initiate contact when you need her.”

“What?” Angel’s voice took on a dangerous edge.

“The decision wasn’t made by me, Angel. It was made by C.O.E. on the basis of safety, both hers and yours.”

“Safety? What the hell do you mean safety? Isn’t the POINT of her being appointed as a Protector SAFETY? Who is this girl? What are you hiding from me? I KNEW there was something wrong with this wh-,”

Cordelia sighed.

In the end, it had turned into a huge fight. She’d never seen Angel so openly upset. Whistler had been as tight-lipped as ever and it was a good thing that the vampire hadn’t chosen to direct his questions at her or else she would have been tempted to divulge what she knew.

Luckily however, she hadn’t been pressed for information and she hadn’t accidentally given anything away either.

Shifting, she pulled closer to the fire, trying to chase away the cold, unsettled feeling in the pit of her stomach.

“I only hope we’re doing the right thing…”

**

They were just turning the corner of her street when Willow noticed it, “I thought the highway was that way,” she pointed in the opposite direction.

“It is. We have to make a pit stop first.”

“Where?”

“Sunnydale High School Library.”

“Wh-what? But we can’t!” All of a sudden, her numbness flew from her body and she felt like she might be sick, “It’s still pretty early. Giles is probably still there. If we try to get in, he’ll see us! There’s no way we can get past him.”

“That’s what I’m hoping for.”

In shock, she simply looked at him, her green eyes wide in horror, “What do you mean?”

Shaking his head, he stared forward solemnly, “You’ll see.”

**

Having attuned himself to living on the Hellmouth, Giles was prepared for visitors well before the old wooden doors to the library creaked open. He wasn’t, however, prepared for the couple he saw before him.

“Willow?” he asked cautiously.

The redhead looked away.

“Whistler?” He looked at her companion, “What are you doing here?”

Willow’s mouth dropped open, “You know him?”

“I am here, Watcher, on official business,” Whistler’s normally casual demeanor had suddenly become stiffly formal.

“Which is…?” Uneasily, Giles removed his glasses.

“I have come to relieve you of your charge, Willow Rosenberg.”

The librarian’s eye’s widened, horror flooding his normally neutral features, “You’re what?”

“She’s been marked by the Council Of Elders. She’s leaving with me tonight.” Whistler’s voice remained calm and firm.

To his credit, the Watcher recovered quickly, “Marked for what? Leaving for where? For how long?”

“Our destination can’t be shared for safety purposes and the length of her commitment to us has yet to be determined, but I can tell you that she’s been marked as a Protector.”

Abruptly, Giles sat down,

“A…a Protector?” he mumbled, almost too softly for anyone to hear him. Shaking his head slightly he stared at his desk, “May I ask who she has been assigned to protect?”

Taking a deep breath, Whistler braced himself for the impending blow out.

“Angel.” He responded.

The Watcher didn’t disappoint.

“Pardon?” Giles shot back up again, a dangerous look in his eyes, “Do you mind repeating that?” Without even bothering for a response he surged forward, “HOW DARE YOU!?” He shouted all of a sudden, startling the demon and causing Willow to jump back at the sudden appearance of Ripper. “Why you tiny, impotent, pathetic excuse for a-,”

Whistler bristled slightly and drew himself back up. “If you have a problem with it, take it before the C.O.E.”

Ignoring him, Giles stalked slowly around his desk, “How DARE you use her talents and waste them on the defense of a bloody killer.”

“Do you want to start a war over this, Watcher? Our Councils-,”

“I will not stand to see her risking her life to save someone who went to hell once already and damn well should have stayed there.”

“Our Councils have been at peace for over 500 years. Are you going to wage a war over a single girl-,”

“A single girl? A SINGLE GIRL? She’s the next Immortal Watcher and you damn well know it! You and your entire council of bloody bastards know it!” Giles shouted, his face contorted in fury.

Abruptly, silence reigned over the library.

Judging from the sound of blood rushing past her ears, Willow was fairly certain that she was going to faint very soon. < This is some kind of horrible mistake. Some sick twisted nightmare of a mistake… >

It was Whistler who finally broke the silence, “I’m sorry. It can’t be helped.”

His eyes snapping wildly, Giles’ voice grew harsh, “Funny, that sounds like the same thing I plan on telling your council of thieves when they find your worthless little carcass out-,”

“She was MARKED.” Whistler thundered, louder than his smaller frame should have allowed. “She was rightfully marked by the Council of Elders and if she was this important to the Watchers, you should have marked her years ago.”

“So help me GOD, if you even try and leave this library with her, I will kill you myself-,”

“STOP!” Willow finally screamed. “Stop it now or I walk out on both of you.”

Both men immediately halted in mid-breath.

“Stop…” she whimpered softly, “Please…just stop…” She was sick of it all. Sick and tired of the whole mess. Half of what she had heard, she still couldn’t believe, let alone understand. The other half of what she had heard was still just too much for her to handle. Suddenly she was beginning to feel just how young and inexperienced she really was.

“Willow,” Giles began, trying desperately to get her attention, “You can’t leave with him…”

Wordlessly, Whistler marched up to the library door, “Willow, let’s go.”

Tearfully, she lifted her gaze to the exit.

“Willow, look at me. Don’t listen to him. Your place is here.” Giles demanded again.

She glanced at him, but her timid gaze was pulled yet again back to Whistler, almost as if she couldn’t physically get away from him. As if they were reading her thoughts, her feet slowly took a step towards the door, as if through their own accord.

“Willow, no!” the desparation in the librarian’s voice was almost painful, “Please…you can’t do this. You can’t just accept this and run off…I swear, had I known…had I been able to tell you beforehand, I would have, but it wasn’t the right time.”

Slowly, Willow stepped back into place and faced Giles.

“It still isn’t the right time.” Whistler responded softly.

“Willow stay with me where you’re supposed to.” The watcher beckoned to her, “We still have so much to do. We have so much to discuss, so much for us to discover together. If you go with him, you might die before you’ll ever reach your full potential.”

“Willow, come with me now and you may be able to fulfill your destiny.” Whistler countered, “Stay here and Angel dies for certain.”

At their words, something deep inside of her flashed.

Slowly, she shook her head, clearing away her pain and fear.

“No.” she said quietly but with unwavering strength.

It was in that instant that she made up her mind as to which course she would follow and which destiny she would pursue.

And so, bravely and calmly she made her choice.

No hesitation.

No arguments.

It wasn’t until that day that she truly understood the depth of her power and the boundlessness of her abilities.

It wasn’t until that brilliant moment of clarity that she took up the reigns of her own life and took complete control of her actions.

It wasn’t until 3 hours later when she was safely in L.A. with Whistler that she finally allowed herself to cry.

PART FOUR

She had just finished putting the last of her underwear in her drawer, when she heard a soft knock. “Come in.”

“You decent?”

Smirking in spite of herself, she turned to face the door, “As decent as I’m going to get.”

Whistler poked his head into the room, “Good. You like the place?”

Glancing around at her spacious bedroom, she noted the old fashioned fireplace, gorgeous cream canopy bed and vibrant pictures covering the walls, “I couldn’t love it any more.” She smiled at him sincerely. Ever since the episode in the library, an odd calm had settled over her. For the first time in a very long time, Willow felt in control of her life. She decided that, if anything, she may as well make the best of her situation. She was also looking forward to seeing Angel again.

“Well, it’s yours. Make yourself at home. Dinner’s on the table. Come on down when you finish up here.”

“I gotta admit, this isn’t really what I expected…” she responded.

“What isn’t?” he pushed the door open a bit wider and leaned on the doorframe, regarding her carefully.

“Well…let’s see…” she bit her lip, trying to recall all the things she’d seen, “Large screen tv, brand new computer, full internet access, fax machine, my own cell-phone, CD player, the biggest entertainment center I’ve ever seen, these beautiful bright pictures all over the walls, plush carpeting…should I go on?”

Shrugging, Whistler shook his head, “Well, kid, my sense of style doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with how I live. Besides, not everyone can have the terrific sense of color and design that Angel does.” He shot her his best broody look, “Black. Old. Depressing.”

Giggling, she shut the drawer to her bureau, “So you don’t hate technology like all other good demons?”

“I never was one for the bandwagon. Anyway, the computer and all that other stuff is for you. The Council of Elders would consummately pee if I used that much of their money on stuff for myself.”

“And the Nintendo 64 in the living room…?” The redhead quirked an eyebrow.

Whistler looked thoughtful, “That was….a gift. For me. To thank me. For putting up with you.”

Bouncing playfully, Willow started laughing, “So what’d you have to buy Angel to put up with me? Let me guess-a car. Black. With leather interior.”

Slowly, the demon’s smile faded, “Yeah. Yeah, a nice car. Look, kid, there’s still some stuff we need to talk about. Let’s go eat first, though.”

“When do I get to see him?” She asked softly, “He isn’t really mad, is he?”

“Mad? Well…I wouldn’t say that he was mad. More upset-at me, definitely not at you.”

“Upset? At you?” She looked puzzled. “Why?”

“Look kid, the chinese is getting cold downstairs and there’s nothing worse than cold fried rice.”

“Fried rice….” Suddenly, she was a million miles away, “That always reminds me of Xander. He used to eat buckets of chicken fried rice. His parents were never around and it was all he’d ever want for dinner when we’d order take out. God, I miss him, already.”

Sighing, Whistler entered her room, pulling the door shut behind him.

“Okay. Screw it. Let’s talk now.”

**

Stalking around his apartment, Angel fumed in silence. < I knew it. I just knew it wasn’t possible. There was absolutely no way that I could have a Protector without something being seriously wrong. Somehow, I’m putting this poor girl into danger and Whistler’s too much of a cryptic bastard to tell me anything. >

He was starting to realize why certain parts of his own personality had infuriated Buffy so many times before.

< Buffy… > Shaking his head, he refused to contemplate his relationship with the slayer < In the past. Gotta push it into the past. > Given a few centuries, he was fairly certain he could accomplish his goal.

Staring darkly at the clock, he waited impatiently for the sun to set, “Just fifteen more minutes…” he murmured under his breath.

Tonight, he was going to get some answers.

**

His hand shaking, Giles punched in the number he knew by heart.

“Good evening, Foster Savings and Loan, how can I help you?” A pleasant voice responded.

“Yes, this is Rupert Giles, I’d like to order a large…ahhh…” he tried to remember the code exactly, “A large pineapple pizza with onions and anchovies.”

“Just a moment.”

After a short pause, a young man answered the phone, “Wesley Wyndham-Price.”

“Oh for the love of God…” the obscenties that followed the librarian’s complaint were muttered too softly for the man on the other end to hear, “Price, you idiot, where in bloody hell is Patrick?”

“Pardon? And who may I be speaking too?”

“Why you prissy little…Rupert Giles, you ninny! Stop answering calls in Patrick’s office and hand him the phone you little brown-noser.”

“Well, if someone isn’t in a bad mood,” the Watcher sniffed.

“You have no idea.” Giles growled.

“How do I know if you’re really the real Rupert Giles or if you’re just someone trying to impersonate Rupert Giles, hmm?” Wesley’s voice took on an almost sadistic quality, “Perhaps I should ask for your identification code an-,”

“Give Patrick the phone or else I’ll fax him the prom pictures I have of you and Cordelia Chase.”

“Patrick, here.” A gruff voice responded almost immediately.

“Took damn well long enough, can you get rid of him?”

“Wesley, get out of my office this instant. What have I told you about hanging around here when I’m not in?” After a few moments of shuffling, Patrick cleared his throat, “Alright, Rupert, sorry about that. What’s happened?”

“Secure channel?”

“As always.”

“Do you have any idea where Willow Rosenberg has taken off to?”

“Willow Rosenberg?” his voice took on a strained quality, “The next Immortal Watcher? That Willow Rosenberg?”

“One and the same.”

“N-no…I haven’t. Oh dear lord, Rupert, where is she? What’s happened?”

Snorting, Giles shook his head, “Well old man, your guess is as good as mine.”

**

Breathing slowly, Willow tried to calm the rapid beating of her heart, “So I can’t see him…” she whispered.

“I’m sorry.” Whistler looked down at the floor, unable to meet her eyes.

“Too dangerous.”

“That’s what I’ve been told.”

“Can you tell me why?”

“A lot of reasons. One of which is the whole complication with the Watcher’s Council.”

“You mean the fact that I’m going to be immortal?”

“Well, yes, that.”

“How long?”

“What?” he stared at her, confused.

“How long am I out here doing this alone?”

“I don’t know yet.”

“How long before I’m immortal?”

“Two months, 14 days aaaand…” he glanced at his watch, “ About nine hours.”

“When I turn eighteen.” She looked at him thoughtfully, “And you knew. You and your Council of Elders knew about it all along, just like Giles said.”

“Willow, the fact that you were appointed Angel’s Protector has nothing to do with you being Immortal Watcher. At the time, we * didn’t * know. It wasn’t until after you were marked that it became apparent. You’re special for a lot of reasons.”

“So,” she stood up, snapping out of her revelry and putting on her resolve face, “Speaking of special, when do I get my powers?”

“Huh?” he stared at her as she slowly paced in front of him.

“You know, super strength, speed, invincibility. The ability to leap tall buildings in a single bound, be faster than a speeding bullet, make witty jokes while slaying vampires…when do I get all of those?” She glanced at him expectantly.

“Uhm…never?”

“You’re kidding.” That sickly ache that had been plaguing her all day returned with a fury.

“Willow, you’re not the slayer. Your job isn’t to protect the innocent, it’s to protect one man’s life. If we could choose someone to be duped up with super powers, well, then anyone off the street could be a Protector. The point is, that isn’t how it works. You already have everything you need. You’re brilliant, caring, a powerful witch and damn funny already. If you were under-qualified the way you are, then you wouldn’t be here. All we need to do is sharpen the skills you already have.”

“How?”

“You dug on school, right?”

“Most of the time…”

“Well, you didn’t think that becoming a savior for Good was going to get you out of classes, did you?” He sent her a wry smile.

“Meaning?”

“Tutors. I have a schedule lined up starting bright and early tomorrow. You’ll meet with me for basic training, and then individual instructors who specialize in different areas: martial arts, logic and witchcraft. The curriculum has been tailored to your specific talents. At night, I’ll have you come with me to trail Angel on his rounds.”

“Trail him so he doesn’t see me…” she clarified, the sadness apparent in her voice.

“Yeah, something like that.”

A knock at the door interrupted their conversation. Swiftly, Whistler stood, relief etched all over his face.

“And there’s one of your tutors now.”

**

“Okay, I’m driving us back to your house after we get Willow.” Buffy stated firmly while walking down the hall.

“Why?” Xander whined.

“I absolutely refuse to be seen in public with you wearing that jacket.”

Looking down at the black and purple coat he had on, he shrugged, “What’s wrong with it?”

“How much time do you have?”

Rolling his eyes, he followed her into the library, “Seriously, Buffy, I like the jacket.”

“Giles!” the blonde slayer called out, ignoring him, “Willow? You guys in here?”

“Buffy!” The Watcher emerged, pulling his coat on with one hand while balancing his briefcase with the other, “Good, I called your house. I’ve been looking for you.”

“Oh no!” She sighed dramatically, “No more evil. Too much evil for one week. I NEED to go out tonight, Giles. The slayage is getting tedious. Just one night to myself. You promised!”

“I’m leaving.” He responded.

“Okay, okay, forget the night out. I was just kidding. I can do that later, geez…”

“N-no, Buffy, I’m leaving for a few days. I should be back shortly, but in the interim, I actually WOULD like you to lighten your patrol time.”

Briefly, concern clouded her blue eyes, “It isn’t serious is it?”

“Serious?” He looked torn, “Ahh…no. Not serious. Not serious at all. Just a-a thing I need to get done that just popped up. You keep up house while I’m gone. Xander, you help her.” With that, he pushed open the library doors.

“Wait, G-man, you seen Willow?” the dark-haired boy interrupted.

The librarian started violently, “Willow? Ahh…no. That is to say, she isn’t here. She’s….ahh…yes. She’s going with me. She’s in the…at the…waiting for…ahhh….me….elsewhere.”

“Oh.” Buffy cocked her head to one side, “Uhm. Okay.”

“Well, you guys have tweedy fun,” Xander nodded, “Tell her I’ll see her when she gets back.”

“Quite. Goodbye.”

“Wait, Giles!” Buffy waved her arms emphatically.

“What, Buffy?” The watcher turned back around, exasperated.

“Look at Xander’s jacket. Opinion?”

Sparing the teenager a quick glance, he shrugged, “It makes him look like a pimp.” And with that, he was gone.

After a moment of silence, Buffy burst out laughing, “See? Didn’t I-?” she began.

“DON’T say it.” Xander warned.

“Changing the jacket?” She asked sweetly as they headed out of the library.

“Burning it.” He affirmed.

** “Cordelia?” Willow stared at their visitor in shock.

“Hi, sorry I’m late. Traffic was a bitch.” The brunette self consciously stepped through the door, “Hi Willow.”

“OhmyGod!” In an instant, the redhead threw herself into the other girl’s arms, nearly weeping from happiness over seeing a familiar face. She’d been positive that she’d never see anyone from her old life again.

Her own eyes tearing up slightly, Cordelia gently disengaged herself from the other girl after a few minutes, “It’s good to see you, too.”

“Your timing is brilliant as always,” Whistler smiled at her.

“Which reminds me,” she threw her keys at the demon, “That scratch on the passenger side door of your car was SO there before I drove it over here.”

“Oh geez…” Snarling, he snatched up the silver bundle and took off to inspect the damage.

“Men are so easily distracted,” grinning, Cordelia shut the door, “I’m glad you’re finally here.”

“Me too.” Willow smiled back, shy all of a sudden, “Sorry to jump on you like that…”

“Not a problem,” she responded graciously, “Look, I’m guessing that Whistler’s told you about what’s going on, right?”

“Most of it…Cordelia, not that I’m not really happy to see you here, but what are you doing here anyway?”

“Long story. Let’s just say that I tried to stay out of the weirdness that abounded in Sunnydale when I first came to L.A. After a few months of avoidance, though, I realized that no matter what I did, it’d keep following me so I just gave up.”

“And decided to fight?” The redhead’s eyes shone with admiration.

“Attempted to fight is more like it.” Standing in the middle of the living room and having a conversation with someone who had once been her mortal enemy should have been the weirdest thing in the world for Cordelia. Oddly enough, though, she felt totally at ease. Her comfort only strengthened her resolve to do what she had decided to.

“Well, either way, I’m glad you’re here.”

“Yeah, well, with Angel around, I couldn’t help myself. After all, I’ve never been able to resist tall, dark, handsome men.”

The smile swiftly vanished from Willow’s face as Cordelia internally kicked herself for bringing up such a sore spot so soon into the conversation.

“How is he, Cordelia?”

Licking her lips, the brunette chose her words carefully, “He’s holding up.”

“I hear he’s upset with Whistler.”

“Pissed off as all hell is more like it.” Cordelia responded dryly, “He hates the fact that he doesn’t know who you are. He really wants to get to know you and to work together and he almost thinks this whole idea of ‘staying away’ is as asinine as I do.”

“Well, according to Whistler, there isn’t any other way.”

Wrinkling her delicate nose, Cordelia made a face, “According to Whistler, those pants he’s wearing are still in style.”

Trying to hide her grin, Willow turned towards the kitchen, “Do you want something to eat?”

“No, I’m cool. Look, Willow…”

The hacker turned to face her, “Hmm?”

“You want to get in touch with Angel, right?”

Startled, she looked somewhat unsure, “Well, I’d love to but-,”

“No buts.” The brunette scrutinized her.

“Yes.” Willow straightened out her shoulders, “Yes I would. I want to see him or talk to him, at least. This, what we're doing here with sneaking around and all...it just doesn't feel right. How do we bypass Whistler, though?”

“Sweetie, the man may be an all powerful demon but he isn’t quite omniscient.”

“He sure seems to be.”

“Not against Cordelia Chase he isn’t.” She stuck her chin out proudly and swallowed her uncertainty before shooting the redhead a conspiratorial smile, “Besides, I have a plan.”

PART FIVE

Waiting silently as Willow ran off to get her a soda, Cordelia pondered the conversation she’d had with Whistler a few weeks before. It had been about a month since she’d learned about Willow and her predicament and the demon was offering her a chance to get involved.

“I don’t get it, though, why choose Willow?” the brunette asked, “AND, why make her go through all this crap and then decide to separate her from Angel? Wouldn’t you think that it’d be smarter just to have them train together? It really doesn’t make sense. Buffy and Faith trained together and granted Faith turned out to be a psychotic little ho, but I mean, they made a really good team for awhile.”

“Cordelia, did you even bother to read the stuff I gave you?”

Her ears redenning slightly, the brunette took a sip from her iced tea, “Yeah, I..uh…glanced through it. It was a big list of obituaries of past Protectors. Depressing much?”

“Yeah, but did you notice a pattern by any chance?”

Shrugging, she stared at him blankly.

“Andrew Miles, 1874. He was protecting a young woman named Eliza Price. He sucessfully executed his duties for three years. They were married in the fourth year. Eight days later, they both died.” The demon recited the facts by heart, “Sarah Brightman-Young, 1753. She was appointed to defend Mitchell McCarry, a Watcher. In 1755, he requested the opportunity to court her and she accepted. Two days later, he was killed during what should have been a routine patrol with his slayer.”

Feeling slightly ill, Cordelia shook her head, “So what you’re trying to say to me is that if a Protector and a Protectee hook up then they’re dead?”

“Well, as poetic as that was, you’re only half right.” Whistler sighed, “It isn’t set in stone, but what it looks like is that every time the relationship gets close, the Protector loses sight of his or her duty and begins to get careless.”

“So you think that Willow has the hots for Angel?” Cordelia asked, incredulously, “Why the heck did you pick her then?”

“Willow was the obvious choice for a ton of reasons and no, I’m not saying that she digs him.”

“Then what’s your problem?” She stared at him impatiently, “You don’t know if she likes him and I really don’t think he likes her…at least not in that way. I mean, hel-lo, there’s the whole Buffy eternal love thing.” She rolled her eyes, “Why force her to go it alone when you don’t even have a reason to believe that they’re gonna hook up.”

“Cordelia, you were there in the hospital room when Willow restored Angel’s soul weren’t you?

“When things got all freaky and she started shouting in Latin or whatever? Yeah.”

“It shouldn’t have worked.”

“What?” She stared at him.

“The spell shouldn’t have worked,” He repeated slowly, “She’s only a novice witch. Her power is there, but she should never have been able to tap into that much energy on her own.”

“Well, she does have that whole ‘Immortal Watcher’ thing going on on the side.” Cordelia countered.

“That has nothing to do with it.” Whistler shook his head, “A soul restoration spell isn’t something that you can experiment with until you get it or ‘accidentally’ stumble into the right vibe. It’s some pretty serious shit.”

“So, okay, let’s say I buy your theory. The point is that it DID work. What does that mean?”

“Have you ever heard of the concept of ‘intent’ in spellcasting?”

“Vaguely. I remember it from that time last Valentine’s day when Xander forced Amy t-,” She shook her head, “Yeah, I’ve heard of intent. It has to be pure for the spell to work or else things wig out.”

“Exactly.”

“So what the hell does that have to do with anything?”

“If Willow couldn’t perform the spell using brute power that she didn’t have, her intent would need to be huge. Think about it Cordelia. It’s a soul restoration spell.”

Slowly, realization dawned on the brunette, “Love.” she said softly.

“Bingo.” He agreed.

“To give him back his soul, she had to love him.” She sniffed, “I think I’m gonna cry.”

“Calm down,” Whistler grinned at her, “Love comes in a ton of different flavors. I’m not saying that she loved him in the way that could make things dangerous, in this case, it’s just worth it to be careful.”

“In this case?”

“She’s the Immortal Watcher. Her council tends to be major tight-asses when it comes to this kinda stuff.”

“What, you mean like kidnapping her and forcing her to do your bidding?” She glared at him.

“No, I mean risking the possibility of getting her killed before she’s 18. If she dies before then, she doesn’t get to fulfill her post.”

“This just sucks more and more, doesn’t it?”

“So, you in?”

“For Willow’s sake, you better believe it.”

“Cordelia?

The voice jerked her out of her thoughts and she looked up to find the redhead standing above her, smiling and hold out a can of coke, “I couldn’t find any diet, but I’ll get some tomorrow. I hope this is okay for tonight. I found some spring water if you want that instead.”

“Not a problem. I don’t like diet that much anyway.”

“Okay then, great.” Swiftly, the hacker sat down at her computer, “Ready to get started?”

“Let’s do it.”

**

Swinging the door open, Angel surveyed the darkly quiet apartment, “Cordelia?”

Taking a few steps into the foyer, he stuck his head into the deserted living room before trying again, “Cordelia? Are you here?”

“She went out, studly.” Whistler responded calmly as he walked behind the startled vampire, into the kitchen.

“Where did she go?”

Wordlessly, the demon opened up the refridgerator and started to rummage through it, “It’s 10pm on a Saturday night in L.A. and YOU’RE asking ME where she is?”

“She was supposed to wait until I got here.” Angel responded thoughtfully.

“Yeah, well, she’s a chick, they change their minds. You still mad about this morning?”

“Yes,” the vampire responded truthfully, “but I realized on my way over here that what you say and what you do rarely ever match.”

“Nice that it took you this long to realize that I was a hypocrite. Do we have basil?”

“What?”

“Fresh…leafy…basil. Do you know if she has any in here?”

“Why do you need basil?”

Closing the door to the fridge, Whistler stared at him, “Because it’s green and crunchy and I like the way it smells.”

“You’re funny.” Angel retorted flatly.

Whistler nodded in agreement. “And devastatingly handsome, not to mention ridiculously charming. It was a package deal.”

**

“This is so simple it might actually work.” Willow stared at her computer terminal.

“Was there ever any doubt?” Cordelia pretended to preen over her shoulder as Willow set up the account.

“And you already hooked him up?”

“Yup, although he doesn’t know it yet. I’ll get him access next time I see him.”

“Hey, Cordelia?” Willow glanced up, “Whistler said you were one of my tutors. What are you teaching me?”

“Oh that,” the brunette thought for a moment, “I guess you can call me your society consultant. You know, fashion, manners, the works. That way, you can look poised and gorgeous while protecting Angel.” She snorted, “AND I can finally get that godforsaken Black Power Ranger suit you’ve been made to wear burned.”

“Oh, well, it isn’t that bad. I mean, from what I can remember, it was lightweight and comfortable. It served its purpose. I really don’t mind wearing it.” Willow offered.

“Just wait until I get you into a pair of black Limited pants. They fit like a dream.” Cordelia shook her head, “No, I’m not letting you spend another night in that getup. The only uglier thing I’ve seen in my entire life is that purple and green jacket Xander has.”

“Oh gosh, I remember that!” Willow exclaimed.

“How can you forget it? I’m still emotionally scarred.”

“It’s that fitted double-breasted one that kinda made him look like-,”

“A pimp.”

Both girls burst out laughing.

“Three years ago, on H-H-Halloween,” Willow gasped between giggles, “He wore it as part of some rapper costume he had even though it was way too big back then an-and I wanted to go dressed up like a bunny rabbit. My mother wouldn’t let me leave the house with him. I think I just got it just now.”

Erupting into another fit of laughter, the two girls collapsed into heaps on the floor. Willow smiled up at the ceiling. Getting a chance to reminisce about her past made her feel lighter somehow, more cleansed. It was almost as if talking about it and remembering it was what would allow her to finally let it go.

“How is he, Willow? Still staying out of trouble?” Cordelia’s voice rang out from beside her.

“Yeah.” The redhead smiled and sat up, “Buffy and Giles keep him in line.”

Wistfully, Cordelia sighed, “I’m glad to hear it. I keep hoping that some day he’ll be able to look out for himself, but somehow, I doubt it.”

Pausing awkwardly, the redhead realized that their conversation had treaded into possibly dangerous territory.

As if reading her mind, Cordelia stood up, “Okay, enough messing around, I’m your tutor and I say you should get on with it.”

“I hope this is a good idea.”

“Of course it’s a good idea. It’s a great idea. I came up with it.”

“I mean, I hope we don’t get into too much trouble.”

“Just email him.”

Grinning, Willow started to type her letter, “This is so weird. I mean, I wonder if he’ll go along with this. I wonder what he’ll say.”

“We won’t know until you hit send.”

“Hey, you know, this is kinda like Romeo and Juliet!” Willow exclaimed before she realized the implications of her words, “I-in a totally platonic kinda way, I mean.” She blushed, “Like, an updated version or something…using email.”

“Okay, so who would I be?” Cordelia played along.

“Uhm…Oh! You’d be the nurse.” Willow was pleased with her choice.

“Wasn’t she old, fat and ugly?”

“Uhm…I don’t remember.” The hacker suddenly looked mildly uncomfortable, “But what I DO remember is that she was Juliet’s loyal advisor and the only person who she could turn to who could help her out.”

“Well, that I can do.”

“Until the end, when she betrayed Juliet to the entire family. That, of course contributed to the whole entire double suicide tragic ending but oh, look, I think the metaphor is over.”

“Me too.” Cordelia looked slightly confused but decided to drop it, “Uhm, okay, Willow. Maybe you should just finish the email. Make it casual and cool. You know, just be normal. Say hi and introduce yourself and stuff. You don’t want to come off sounding too eager. Just type a few paragraphs and hit send.”

“O-okay. Good idea.”

So six pages later, Willow did just that. **

“Now this,” Cordelia held up the small grey object, “Is a mouse. It makes the cute little pointy white thing on the screen go ‘zoom’.”

Angel stared at her, “You do of course realize that I could be out patrolling right now.”

“Just as I could be out clubbing with Antonio, the hot guy from my political science class. We all have to make sacrifices, now pay attention.” Glancing at her watch, Cordelia grimaced. She didn’t have much more time before Whistler came back.

“Why are we doing this again?” he asked, mildly irritated.

“Because I got you an email address, moron.”

“Oh. Why?”

“Because I wanted to. Look, why don’t we go over the basics some other time and I’ll just hook you up to the internet.”

Her fingers flashing lightly over the keys, Cordelia was logged in within moments.

“Is this it?” Angel asked, staring at the flashing banners and scrolling words that covered the page at various angles.

“Yeah. So, go to it. Check your mail.”

“I will.” Angel stood up, “Later. Thanks for the tutorial. I’ll give it a try after patrols.”

“Angel.” Cordelia’s normally exasperated voice took on a deadly tone, “Check your mail. Now.”

“But I just got this address, who would email me so s-,”

“Sit down and check your mail now!” She cracked the command like a whip and he fell back into the seat obediently. “Your login is Fangboy, and your password is cryptic.”

“Fangboy.” Angel repeated slowly, “Why thank you, Cordelia.”

“Not a problem.” She smirked.

“Okay, and…oh look. I have a new message.” He said in wonder.

Standing, Cordelia started out of the room. “Really? I’m shocked. I’m so shocked I can barely stand it. In fact, the shock is so huge that I must leave.”

Ignoring her, he continued to stare at the screen, “So I just click on these letters right here?” Awkwardly, he maneuvered the mouse into position, “Okay. Oh, look it’s from….” His voice trailed off, “Oh my God. I-It’s from…but how did she….? Cordelia!” he called after her.

“Not now Angel, the shock is truly killing me. I have to leave the room to save myself,” the brunette called back from the top of the stairs. “Turn off the computer when you’re done. Make sure it’s off before Whistler gets back.”

Angel was too engrossed to hear her.

PART SIX

Exhausted, Willow collapsed on her bed.

“Five minutes, Red. Then I want to see your butt back in here.” A voice called from the other room.

Shaking her head from her prone position, Willow was almost positive that Whistler had somehow found out about Cordelia’s plan and was now secretly taking his aggression out on her. She had been up for the past two hours, since six in the morning.

It hadn’t been pretty.

Even after two years of watching and training with Buffy, Whistler had proven the hacker to be out of shape in a matter of minutes. After several grueling repetitions of kicks, punches and spins, she had been on the verge of tears while her mentor was barely breaking a sweat. For such a small guy, Whistler certainly was unusually strong.

“You want some water?”

Weakly lifting her head up, she gratefully took the proffered bottle.

“Don’t worry, Red, it gets easier. Trust me. You should be proud of yourself. Angel didn’t handle this half as well as you are. He’s much too whiny.”

“You trained Angel?” Her voice came like a soft croak.

“Well, yeah,” the demon stared down at her matter-of-factly, “What? Did you really believe his ‘I learned it during my many experiences over the years’ bullshit?” He made a face, “When I found him, he couldn’t defend himself against the cold let alone another person. Now just look at him, all dressed in leather like a proper badass vampire. And then what does he do? Goes and forgets the little people.” Reaching down, he unceremoniously hauled Willow to her feet.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang.

“Huh?” he mumbled, distractedly, “That can’t possibly be…she’s an hour early.”

Willow, for her part, couldn’t care less who the visitor was. Closing her eyes, she fell blissfully backwards onto her bed.

“Cordelia?” the redhead heard his frustrated howl from the living room. Quietly, she smiled at the ceiling. She would have laughed had her ribcage not been in utter agony.

“Good morning. I brought bagels. Aren’t you up kinda early? Where’s Willow? What’s with the sweatpants?” The stream of questions shot out of the brunette’s mouth as she was walking into the bedroom, “Willow, hi! You look like crap.”

Snorting, the hacker couldn’t find the energy to respond.

“If you break her before I get a chance to haul her to the mall with me, I’m going to be very unhappy,” Cordelia warned the demon.

“Speaking of which, why are YOU up this early? And so bright eyed and bushy tailed too. You haven’t been shooting up again, have you?”

“You know I only save that for extended visits at your place.”

“Okay, enough fun, get outta here, May Queen. Go grab a manicure or something. You can even take my car, but I need another half an hour with Willow.”

“Excuse me if I pass on the snot-mobile.” She pursed her lips at him, “At this rate, she’ll be dead in another half an hour.”

“Cordelia…” Whistler began, a faint warning in his voice.

“Whatever. I actually need to use your computer. Check mail and stuff. Mine is on the fritz.”

“Self-serving as always,” the demon ribbed her good-naturedly.

“Hey!” She held up her brown paper bag, “Excuse you, but don’t forget that I brought BAGELS with me.”

“Which makes using people okay.”

“Exactly!” She flung the bag on a nearby chair, smiled brightly and stalked back into the living room. “Oh, and for some reason, that reminds me,” she yelled, “I have your cell phone. Patrick something or another called from the Watcher’s Council to say that they were going to kick your ass for stealing Willow.”

Closing his eyes, Whistler sighed, “Lovely.”

“In those words too. Like, direct quote and everything. Only, I think he said ‘arse’ cause he’s Briti-,”

“Okay, Cordelia,” Annoyed, Whistler followed her into the living room leaving Willow to drift off into a light slumber, “I need to get in touch with some people. Can you make yourself useful and stay here until the next tutor shows up?”

“Well, duh.” She responded, not looking up from the screen.

He rolled his eyes, “Thanks.”

Waiting a few seconds to make sure that the demon had truly gone, Cordelia quickly leapt up from her seat and ran into the bedroom, hauling a sleepy and stumbling Willow back to the computer with her. “Okay, I plugged Angel in yesterday night and the doofus should have emailed you back provided he figured out how. He was way excited.” She chattered happily.

Waking up at the mention of the vampire, Willow smiled shyly, “Oh, okay, well let’s see.” After a few moments, she accessed her account, “Oh wow, here it is…” licking her lips in anticipation, she opened up the email, “and it’s so….short.”

“’Dear Protector’,” Cordelia read in a monotone voice over her shoulder, “’I want to meet you. Angel’.” Snorting in disgust she shook her head, “And yet again, the man manages to suck more than I ever thought possible. Just wait until I get home…”

“Oh, but Cordelia, it’s okay,” the redhead shook her head, “I mean, at least he wrote back. An-and besides. It’s just so Angel. All cryptic and quiet and stuff.”

“You know, Willow, you’re a really sweet and forgiving person.” The brunette responded thoughtfully, “It’s one of the things that I admire about you. But that doesn’t change the fact that Angel’s a big fat dork.”

“Well, I just mean…isn’t this really the first time he’s ever written email bef-,”

“Okay, enough. This whole entire ‘understanding’ thing you’ve got going? I’m going to have to fix. Remind me. We’ll work on it together.”

"O-okay..." Willow looked somewhat confused.

"So, what do you plan on telling the moron?"

“Well, I don’t have a clue what Whistler has planned for tonight so I guess I'll just have to tell him that I’ll see what I can do.” The redhead shrugged helplessly.

“Am I interrupting?”

Startled at the new voice behind her, Willow spun around…and squealed for joy.

“Amy!”

Rolling her eyes, Cordelia gave the witch a deadly glare, “Hel-lo, way to scare someone to death. The little round button by the door? It’s called a bell. Ever consider using it?”

**

Trying to look casual, even Giles had to admit that 12 men dressed in tweed were somewhat conspicuous.

“Good work on the cell phone number. How are we doing on an address?” Patrick asked gruffly.

“Ah..ah..close, sir. Very close.” A young man with blonde hair spoke up. Glancing nervously at his watch he nodded, “Micah should be back any minute. I expect that she’ll have something to report.”

< Willow would have been able to single handedly hack an address hours ago. > Giles thought wistfully of his young protégé. Amidst all of the ruckus and squabbling over the past few sleepless days, Willow was his only real anchor to sanity. He didn’t hold the redhead’s decision to leave against her by any means. In fact, it showed a kindness and strength of character that would serve her well in her duties as Immortal Watcher. < As long as that bloody little thieving imbecile doesn’t get her killed first. >

“Mr. Giles, how is your team?”

Snapping to attention, he coughed, “Yes, all in place as planned.”

The news of the missing young woman had sent the entire organization into an uproar. The headquarters in London were currently operating on a skeleton staff. Just about every Watcher who was physically able made his or her way to California. Several brought young girls with them. They were proxy Slayers who may or may not be activated but were consummately thrilled to get a short ‘vacation’ in the sunny weather. The Council had to spare five Watchers alone just to escort the troupe on a diversionary excursion to Disney World.

“Good. We get the address, and then we move.” Patrick observed the men assembled in front of him, “Any questions?”

“Martin, did you eat the last Jellie?” A short, portly man complained.

“For the love of God, you idiot, the Immortal Watcher is missing and all you can think of is food?” retorted his companion, who looked appropriately outraged. Unfortunately, he said this with a smear of purple jam on his upper lip, giving him away as the perpetrator.

Quickly, the table dissolved into a collection of small arguments, as they did almost every single time they convened.

Giles sighed. < At this rate, it’ll be a miracle if we can find her at all… >

**

“I kinda have a plan of how I want to do this, but since we haven’t practiced extensively together, except for that one time with the protection spell for Buffy, I’m not really sure where you are on terms of experience.” Amy explained.

“W-well, I’ve done some stuff. You know, nothing really specific. Just a little bit here and there…the soul restoration was the biggest. Since then I’ve done a few informal things. I’ve dabbled.” Willow responded helpfully. “Yes, I guess you could call me a dabbler.” Although she wasn’t sure how Amy and Whistler knew each other, the hacker was thrilled to see yet another familiar face. The fact that the blonde girl also happened to be a fairly powerful witch was just an added bonus.

“Okay, have you done much levitation or projection on objects?”

“Well, I’ve practiced a little. Like on pencils.”

“Oh, okay good,” Amy smiled, “So you understand the concept at least, right? That’s usually the hardest.”

“You’re pretty much projecting your own strength to move things.”

“Exactly,” the witch nodded in agreement, “That’s on a basic level. As you move on to bigger things, I’ll teach you how to draw strength from your surroundings, including from your opponents, in order to move things.”

“Cool…”

“Let’s start with that candlestick holder on the table. Concentrate like you normally do with the pencil, Willow. Try to move it. Don’t overexert yourself, just slide it a few inches towards me.”

Staring determinedly, the hacker narrowed her eyes and focused her gaze on the object. Gritting her teeth, she felt the tell-tale tingle of power working its way to her fingertips when suddenly she sneezed. In a flash, the door slammed shut and the redhead found herself flat on her rear.

“Wh-what..?” She shook her head, slightly disoriented.

Concealing her nervous glance at the door, the witch helped Willow to her feet, “It’s no big deal, Willow. Your concentration just broke for a second and you closed the door instead of moving the candle. There was a bit of…backlash too…” Furrowing her brow, she looked thoughtful, “It might be better to try this a little later under more..controlled circumstances. Hey, why don’t we try something a little different? I know a pretty good ‘smokescreen’ type spell that can help you to cover your tracks and escape from a fight if you ever need to. Can you run downstairs and grab my bag while I set up?”

“Sure thing.” Looking slightly dejected, the hacker left to comply.

Standing with her back to the wall, Amy silently contemplated what had just happened.

“Problems?” Whistler asked, seemingly melting out of the surroundings to stand behind her.

Unfazed by his surprise entrance, the witch shrugged without turning around, “She’s strong, Whistler. Pencils and candles are one thing. Doors are another. I didn’t think she would be able to move the candle at all this time around. “

Sighing, Amy retrieved the object in question and examined it thoughtfully before continuing. “She’s like this constant source of energy. It’s really incredible, but the thing that’s scaring me is that it’s so uncontrolled. I don’t know if you should patrol with her this soon. I don’t want her to have to resort to magic without at least a few more weeks of lessons. She’s so powerful that she might hurt herself.”

“We don’t have a few weeks,” the demon reminded her gently, “Don’t worry, though. I’ll look after her, Amy. As long as she sticks with me, she’ll be fine.”

“You ready?” The redhead returned, black bag in hand.

“Absolutely,” Amy sent her a warm smile before turning around to grab the package of basil that had been left on the bed. She didn’t need to look to know that the demon who had brought it had already disappeared.

**

“Okay, Red, stay with me and stay down.” Whistler spoke softly over his shoulder to the young woman crouched next to him.

“I’ll try.” Willow responded, her voice muffled slightly by the black hood she wore. Try as she might, Cordelia hadn’t been able to convince the demon to alter the headgear. He’d agreed to the new skin-tight black pants and even to the black body suit underneath, but nothing was changing his mind on the hood. (“For pete’s sakes, Cordelia, the girl’s got red hair!”)

Watching silently from above, the pair kept a careful eye on Angel as he slowly walked along his patrol route, stake in hand.

As the vampire passed underneath, he hazarded a glance upwards, almost as if by instinct, but was too slow for Whistler who quickly pushed the hacker farther back into the foliage, effectively obscuring her from Angel’s view.

“Remember what I told you. No magic this time around. Stay out of things unless absolutely necessary and never ever get so far away from me that we can’t see each other. The subliminal pre-conditioning that allowed you to fight over the past few weeks might begin to kick in now. If it does, just relax and follow your instincts, they’ll guide you better than anything else in this case.”

“Incoming.” Willow responded shortly, while nodding at the ground.

Sure enough, Whistler spotted the three vampires rapidly closing in. Casting his charge a worried glance, he sighed. Even underneath the thin black veil, he could see the intensity of her green eyes as they focused completely on Angel and his impending battle. He felt her tense beside him and slowly began to doubt his own decision to bring her along so soon, “Careful, Willow, there are only three of them. Angel’s handled more than that before.”

Snarling, the vampire in question quickly took the offensive and kicked his nearest opponent aside while bringing his stake into the heart of the other. Preoccupied, he couldn’t prevent the remaining one from getting in a good punch to his stomach. Crying out hoarsely, Angel briefly doubled over.

Sensing Willow’s self control stretching thin, Whistler quickly placed a restraining hand on her arm, “Easy, Red. He can handle it.”

As if on cue, Angel quickly spun around, swept the legs out from under his attacker and staked him neatly.

“See? What did I tell you?” the demon turned to give her a self-satisfied grin only to notice that she hadn’t even heard him.

Slowly, he followed her gaze back down to the ground where Angel, slightly rumpled from his encounter, was staring up at them. More specifically, he was staring at Willow.

The demon’s smile slowly faded as he saw Angel first touch his hand to his head and then outstretch it to the young girl above in silent greeting. Carefully, she inclined her head at him, returning his gesture appreciatively.

< What the…? > Whistler felt his frustration well up inside. It was irritating times like this that the demon couldn’t help but remember certain things that Cordelia had warned him about. Things such as trying to “prevent the inevitable.” Shaking his head, he threw off her cautionary words < I’ll be eternally damned if I’m going to let everything we’ve worked for go to shit on Day 1. > “Let’s go.” He whispered softly, “Our cover’s blown, we need to retreat and regroup.”

The words were no sooner out of his mouth when a group of approximately 10 enormous vampires ambushed the very distracted Angel.

“Oh Fu…” the rest of the curse was lost as Willow suddenly disappeared from beside him, leaping into the fray headfirst.

For a horrible second, Whistler could do little more than sit in the tree, frozen in complete surrealistic horror over his sudden loss of control. Swiftly though, he regained his senses and jumped down to aid in the fight. It rapidly became clear, however, that his help wasn’t really needed.

Within seconds, Willow and Angel managed to dispatch more than half of their opponents. Like two parts of a mighty whole, the pair fought as if they had been trained together since childhood. Staring dumbfounded, Whistler wasn’t sure if he should be thrilled over their incredible effectiveness or devastated over the rapid unraveling of his carefully made plans. Thus, his reaction fell somewhere in the middle. Somewhere along the lines of anxious nausea.

“Left!” Angel shouted from behind and, without thinking, Willow complied in perfect synch as she ducked and rolled to switch sides with him, bringing her arm up with lightning efficiency and impaling her stake into her new opponent.

Jumping up, she returned to her neutral fighting position, back to back with Angel.

“Three remaining. Two right. One above. Start on go.” He whispered to her through clenched teeth. Waiting until he felt the movement of air directly overhead, Angel yelled.

“Go!”

In a flash, they both shot away from each other, Angel continuing forward to fight the vampire in front, while Willow spun around to challenge the one that had fallen in the space between them.

Whistler was in such deep thought taking mental notes on the couple’s every move that he barely managed to deflect a blow from behind him. Aggravated over the events of the night as a whole, he made quick work of dusting the vampire who had dared to attack him.

Turning around, he moaned in agony.

< When it sucks, it really really sucks a lot, doesn’t it? > He cast an exasperated look heavenward before cursing under his breath.

Within the two minutes since the fight had begun, 10 vampires had disappeared.

Within the two seconds it had taken Whistler to dispatch his opponent…

So had Willow and Angel.

PART SEVEN

Breathing heavily, Willow sprinted as fast as she possibly could. It wasn’t until she felt the sharp tug on her arm that she looked down and saw the black gloved fingers of her own hand intertwined with Angel’s. < Oh my…I don’t remember doing that. > Blushing furiously and beyond grateful for her black hood, she quickly pulled her hand out of his.

Startled, Angel looked at her, “No, I didn’t mean…” his voice trailed off. “I was just trying to tell you that we could stop running. I think we’ve lost Whistler.” He darted a glance behind himself as if to verify.

Biting her lip, Willow considered her options. < Now what? >

“Are you okay?” he asked gently.

Nodding, Willow smiled behind her mask.

He cocked his head at her and leaned in closer, trying to get a good look at the sparkling green eyes behind the thin black veil, “You sure? I saw you take a couple of hard hits back there…”

As her gaze locked with Angel’s, Willow felt for a brief instant almost as if she were falling. Shaking it off, she quickly ducked her head to break eye contact.

Stepping away as if afraid that he had offended her, Angel raked a hand through his dark hair, “Look, I just wanted to…..uhm…thank you. What you did back there…and what you’re doing now…there aren’t that many people who would. Especially after….well..after what’s happened in the past.”

Shyly, she looked back up at him and was surprised at the naked gratitude and admiration that shone in his eyes. < What happened to cryptic guy? >

Pacing uncomfortably, he tried vainly to express his feelings, something he was never good at to begin with. “I can’t say that I know why you’re here doing what you’re doing but I just want you to know that I’m indebted to you for it. I mean that. By my word.”

Swiftly he crossed over to her and took her hand again in his as if sealing an oath. She wondered at the sudden warmth that flowed through the leather separating them.

Shaking her head graciously, she backed away, trying to signal that he didn’t owe her anything.

Unfortunately, he took it as a sign of discomfort and quickly dropped her hand.

< Note to self. Miming doesn’t work. > Willow suppressed a forlorn sigh as she glanced at her empty hand. < What I wouldn’t give for a keyboard.... >

< Note to self. No touching. It makes her nervous. > Angel stored the information in his head for further examination at a later date. “Anyway,” he continued after a brief pause, “I also want to apologize for the email I sent you. I mean, you must already know a lot about me....”

Carefully, she nodded her head in understanding.

“What I wrote was obviously...abrupt.” He sighed, “Trust isn’t something I give too freely. I’ve lived too long for that. It isn’t an excuse but more of an explanation. I…apologize.”

There was an odd quality to his voice when he spoke the words that almost made Willow’s heart ache for him.

“I want you to know, though,” He continued obliviously, “That I do trust you. Not just because of what you’re supposed to do but of what I’ve seen you do. I only wish there was some way I could repay…” he stopped suddenly, his well-honed powers of observation finally catching up with his emotionally muddled mind, “You haven’t said anything since we got here, have you?” he asked slowly.

Panicking slightly, Willow shook her head. < Uh oh. >

“So you want to keep your identity a secret, then?” Carefully, Angel struggled to keep the disappointment out of his voice. Deep down, he couldn’t help but feel a small sense of personal rejection over her decision. For some reason, it matter that she trusted him as well.

< Do I? > She had never really thought about it before, but then, she never really thought she’d find herself talking to Angel so soon. < What if revealing who I am messes up everything Whistler tried to put together? > At the thought of the demon, Willow couldn’t help but feel a minor degree of guilt over her actions…not to mention a fair amount of trepidation over how he would respond once she got home.

Patiently, Angel waited for a response.

**

“So then, like, I said, ‘no way’ and he was like, ‘way’ and I was like ‘NO WAY’, but he swore it was true!” grabbing another carrot stick, Cordelia inspected her toes while absent mindedly twirling the phone cord around her finger < time for another peticure… >

Silently, a shadow moved from the far end of her apartment.

Pausing, the brunette shook her head at the receiver, “No, I totally couldn’t say that to his face but yeah he could do SO much better. Maybe you should tell him. Like, tonight, after the show, we should go to-,” her voice choked off into a soft shriek as the shadow emerged into her field of vision.

Crossing his arms over his chest, Whistler stared at her coldly.

“Uh..no, I’m fine, Abby.” Cordelia returned her attention shakily to the phone, “I-it was just this way weird thing on TV. I think I have someone on call waiting. I’ll go get rid of them and call you back in a sec, okay?”

Placing the receiver into its cradle, she eyed the demon angrily. “What the HELL is it with you people not using doors? How many times have I told you that it scares the shit out of me when you do that? I’ll have you know that I carry pepper spray and if you keep sneaking up on me, I’m not responsible for any accidents that may-,”

“Where are they, Cordelia?” he spoke the phrase through gritted teeth.

Pausing for a second, she gazed back at him in sincere confusion, “What?”

“Willow. Angel. Where. Are. They?” He repeated slowly.

“They’re missing?” realization dawned on her, “Oh…”

Rolling his eyes, he tried hard not to start yelling, “No, Cordelia, they’re not missing. I just came over here to talk to YOU because Willow is really safe back at home and I just secretly love your company.” He deadpanned.

Raising an unimpressed eyebrow, she sniffed indignantly, “You know, Whistler, sarcasm SO doesn’t look good on you.”

Turning, she went into the kitchen, “Honestly, I don’t know where the hell they are. I can’t say I’m as devastated as you are that they’ve gone off together, but I really don’t have a clue.”

“You? Clueless? No….” the demon followed her.

“You know, if you want to use me as a scapegoat for your anger over the fact that they both screwed over your rules and dissed your ‘God complex’, then that’s fine. Make it fast, though, because it’s nearly 10:30 and I am going out.” Sticking her head into the fridge, she pulled out a diet coke, “Want a soda?”

Exasperated, he shook his head, “Listen, I-,”

They were interrupted by the sound of a doorbell.

“See?” Cordelia smiled triumphantly, “There’s someone at the door. Someone who obviously respects other people’s homes and doesn’t come in through the wall like OTHER people I know.” Haughtily, she stalked over to see who it was.

Unlocking the multitude of locks, she finally managed to pull it open.

“Oh, hello Cordelia! I-I’m sorry to bother you so late at night…”

It took every fiber of her being not to go with her instincts and slam the door shut again out of sheer panic. She felt like she was going to be sick.

“Giles…hi.” She smiled at him weakly. “Long time no…see.”

“Y-yes, quite.” Nervously, the librarian stared past her into the apartment, “Cordelia, I do hate to be an imposition, but you see, I’m here on official business and it appears that, through some odd stroke of bad luck, the Watcher’s Council is unable to…tap in to any of it’s…monetary assets.”

Trying very hard not to start laughing, Cordelia managed her best sympathetic nod. < So..someone’s credit cards got deactivated, huh? Score one for Whistler! >

“S-So,” Giles continued obliviously, “I-I was wondering, Cordelia, if it w-wouldn’t be too much of an imposition for us to stay here with you until tomorrow when we can straighten this whole mess out…” His cheeks burning, he looked at her hopefully.

< ‘Us’? > Cocking her head to one side, she stood up slightly on her toes to see past the Watcher, < Oh….*that* us…. > Behind him, about 20 other men stood out down out in the hallway, looking in various directions, leaning against the wall and trying to look casual.

“If it’s too much of a bother…,” Giles began again.

Spotting a particularly good looking young Watcher in the back, Cordelia quickly cut him off quickly, “No bother.”

“Oh…” his face brightening slightly, he managed a small smile, “Well, that’s very generous of you, Cordelia. We’ll be happy to pay for food and lodging and such..”

“No.” She shook her head, “No need to pay, Giles, I’m more than happy to do my part helping the f-fight the forces of evil.” Remembering Whistler in the kitchen, she started slightly, “Uh…YES, YES *GILES * YOU CAN COME IN WITH…YOUR 20 FRIENDS DRESSED IN TWEED.” She came close to yelling < *Please * make him be gone… >

Staring at her oddly, the librarian slid past her into the apartment, “Uhm…thank you, Cordelia.”

“Yeah, just throw your stuff in the living room. It’s the second door on the left.”

Smiling like the gracious hostess her mother had taught her to be, Cordelia greeted all of the Watchers warmly.

“Oh, wow, this place is just awesome.”

Slowly directing her gaze downwards, she stared into the eyes of a skinny 13 year old girl.

“Yeah, bitchin digs,” A second girl joined the first.

“Laura, what have I told you about using that type of language?” The harried young Watcher stared at her reproachfully while stumbling through the door carrying what had to be about 20 bags from Disney World.

“Bastard…” she muttered under her breath.

“Oh hey, who are you?” Cordelia asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

“I’m Laura, this is Robin, Hilary, Tracy, Jessica, Teri, Eliz, Carrie, JR, Emma and Heather.” She pointed at her companion and the other 9 girls who had appeared out of seemingly nowhere.

“We’re Vampire Slayers.” Eliz explained helpfully.

“In training…like, not for real yet.” Jessica supplied.

“Nice shoes!!” Heather piped up cheerfully.

“Got anything to eat?” Hilary asked.

Her mouth slightly agape, Cordelia nodded and pointed at the kitchen.

“Cool! I’m starved.” Carrie scampered off, “You guys coming?”

“Yeah.” A chorus of 9 voices responded.

“Oh baby, someone really owes me for this.” The brunette muttered under her breath while still staring vacantly ahead.

“Fuck food, you got any good shit on TV?” Laura smiled up at her.

**

The awkward silence grew as Willow tried to make a decision. On one hand, she wanted to just tear the mask off of her head that very second. Unfortunately, she was also deathly afraid of what would happen next. Would he be able to deal with the idea of being protected by the mousey teenager that he himself had had to save numerous times in the past? Would he be disappointed after she showed her true face? Would he feel cheated? Was she really even good enough to reveal who she was? Before she could begin to address all of the questions swimming in her head, Angel spoke.

“Don’t worry. I understand.” He said simply, pushing his own feelings aside. < She’s fighting to save my life. I have no right to question her decisions. >

It was as if a burden had been lifted off of her chest and Willow sighed in relief.

“I-I can take you home, if you want.” He continued helpfully before realizing his mistake, “Or, if you don’t want me to know where you live, I can just walk you to the end of the park.”

Pausing to ponder his offer for a moment, Willow nodded her head vigorously in acceptance.

“Well then, let’s go.” Forgetting himself, he offered her his hand.

Pausing shyly, she quickly grabbed it when he started to withdraw. The confused frown on his face gave her pause and, unable to resist, she reached forward, gently brushing her fingertips along his lips until she reached the corners. Applying light pressure, she forced them upwards until his mouth quirked into smile on its own.

“Thanks.” He said softly. Taking her hand more firmly, they walked out of the darkness together.

< There’s something nice about mystery. > Willow thought happily, trying hard to suppress the urge to start skipping alongside the vampire.

Although she wanted nothing more than to be able to talk to Angel without having to hide who she was behind a hood, there was still a part of her that was holding back. A part of her that still felt she wasn’t worthy enough to stand without it.

Not yet at least.

PART EIGHT

Pacing as calmly as possible, Whistler had just made his 32nd turn around the living room when he heard the door softly click open.

Looking up, he stopped at the sight of the black-clad figure that quickly slipped in.

Turning to face him, Willow gingerly pulled off her hood, revealing her flushed face and tired expression. Willow raised her gaze to his and looked him straight in the eyes, her face serious.

“So, how much trouble am I in?”

**

“Excuse me, the lipstick is Chanel. Hands off. And you, the skank in my skirt? Give it back. Now.” Death stare firmly in place, Cordelia set about yanking teenage girls out of her closet, away from her mirror, and off of her bed.

“But don’t you think it looks good on me?” Hilary wailed plaintively.

Cocking her head to one side, Eliz shrugged, “I think Cordelia’s right, you sorta look like a ho, Hil. It’s way too short. Even for you.”

“Try the other one on. The silver shiny one. I like that one.” Emma tried to be helpful.

“No.” Cordelia cut in harshly, “There won’t be anymore pawing at my things tonight. Out! Everyone get OUT of my room! Now!”

It was at that precise moment when they heard someone sneeze.

The room fell dead silent as the girls all looked at each other carefully.

“I think I saw someone outside,” Carrie bounced over to the window.

“That sounded like a guy.” JR said softly.

Laura’s eyes narrowed, “And it smelled like a vampire.”

**

“So, basically, every vampire in about a ten mile radius knows that Angel has a Protector?”

“If we’re lucky. It could be every vampire in the state.”

“Oh boy.” The redhead sunk into her seat. “How did everyone find out?”

“I’m guessing it’s the freakin Watcher’s moronic Council. You’ve killed every vampire you’ve come up against, so there’s no chance it spread that way.” Whistler growled.

“Do you think the Council did it on purpose?”

The demon paused for a moment, contemplating the question,“No, I don’t think they did. I think they did it because they’re incredibly stupid and indiscreet. You should have seen them lined up outside of Cordelia’s house.”

“What?”

“Yeah, they’re all sleeping over there.”

“S-so they’re camped out in her living room?” The redhead stared at him, incredulous.

“About 20 of them. I thought that cutting off their funds would send them back to Sunnydale and buy us some time. Unfortunately, it didn’t.”

“You cut off their funds?!” Willow looked mortified, “Oh, poor Giles!!” She could just picture the shocked look on the librarian’s face when they sliced his credit card. He’d never trust technology again. “Oh, does Cordelia have tea? Giles must need some tea after today. Is there any way we can send over some tea?”

Whistler gave her a strange look, “I…what…?”

“I can’t help it. I just feel bad!” She exclaimed, standing up.

Grinning, Whistler tried to calm her down, “Don’t worry about it he’ll be fine. He’s at Cordelia’s with food and a roof over his head and….all his fun Watcher friends.”

Willow shook her head, “I just wish I could let him know I was okay…”

“Speaking of which, how’s Angel?” Whistler’s voice took on a dull and deadly tone.

“He’s…uhm..he’s w-well…” She stammered.

“Where’d he go?”

“Back to Cordelia’s place, I think. Look, Whistler, I’m sorry, I really am. It just kinda happened and I swear I didn’t say anything to him or take off my ho-,” She stopped in mid-sentence when she saw the demon shaking silently. “What is it?”

Unable to stand it anymore, he broke into full out laughter, “Angel’s going to Cordelia’s place?”

“Well, yeah. I don’t think he’ll go in, though, once he figures out the Watchers are in there.”

“N-no, I don’t think he’s going to even get near that place.” He gasped.

“Wh-why?”

“Concentrated tweed.” Whistler smirked, “He’s allergic to it.”

**

Xander Harris had just climbed into bed when the phone started ringing.

Quickly, he pushed back the covers, bounded across the dark room and picked it up, “Xander’s house of love, the Love Man speaking. How may I help you tonight, Miss Summers?”

“How’d you know it was me?”

“Wild guess. Cordelia’s in LA and Willow isn’t back yet. That kinda narrowed the list down.”

“Actually, Xander, that’s why I’m calling.” Buffy replied, her voice tense and strange

“What’s up?”

“It’s Willow. I’m at her house right now. I forgot my trig homework that she was helping me with so I used my spare key to get in and get it.”

“So?”

“Xander, all her clothing and stuff are gone.”

“So?”

Buffy paused, “Uhm…Xander, doesn’t that sound weird to you?”

“She’s with Giles. What do you expect? They’re on some Watcher retreat thingie. Who knows how long THAT’S gonna take?”

“Xander, her bedsheets are missing.”

“I wouldn’t want to sleep on Watcher sheets either…tweed itches.”

Exasperated, Buffy sighed, “Xander, you know Mr. Gordo?”

There was a moment of silence as he considered her question, “The stuffed pig I gave her? The one she always leaves at home because he gets carsick?”

Nodding silently, Buffy glanced around the empty room again, “It’s gone too.”

Not missing a beat he started to pull on his sneakers.

“I’ll be right there.”

** Angel stood in the shadows next to one of the local ice cream places. The sickly sweet scent of pistachio mixed with coffee was making his stomach turn, but he stood his ground. Back at the apartment, Cordelia had stuck her head out the window and whispered that she’d meet him there. < Besides, I’ve waited in worse areas >

He was, however, entirely unprepared to see the brunette come strolling down the walk, herding a huge group of young girls in front of her.

“Heather, you KEEP your ass in line, do you hear me? The ice cream place is right up ahead and if you go into another alley, I swear, I’m going to leave you there." She snarled impatiently, “Teri, stop looking at the guy, he’s at least ten years older than you and looks like a pimp,” pausing, she sniffed the air, “Tracy, are you wearing my perfume?!”

“That him?” Carrie pointed directly at the vampire in the shadows and Angel’s mouth dropped open.

“Angel?” Cordelia called in an exasperated voice.

Cautiously, he held back.

“He’s just standing there.” JR murmured.

“Angel, you can come out, they’re fine.” The brunette prodded impatiently.

Slowly, he emerged into the light, trying to ignore the collective gasp from the group in front of him.

Although he didn’t yet know it, they all knew who he was. Most of them had read direct accounts of his history, some of the others just knew him from reputation. Either way, one thing was clear. This was Angelus. He was legendary.

He was one of the most notoriously evil and brutal vampires.

He struck fear into the hearts of mortals and demons alike.

He was standing in front of a Dairy Queen.

**

Gazing out the window, Willow couldn’t help but think about how she fought with Angel. She’d never felt so powerful in her entire life. Even when she’d been captured by the Mayor, staked the vampire about to ‘taste’ her, stole pages out of the Books Of Ascension and stood up to Faith all in the same night, she hadn’t felt like this.

For once, she wasn’t just ‘Willow the friendly hacking helper’. It wasn’t necessarily that she was something better or different; she was something more now. Grinning in spite of herself, she released the blinds and stalked back over to the couch where Whistler was sprawled on his new cell phone, making yet another phone call.

Eavesdropping unintentionally, she realized that he wasn’t speaking in English.

She wondered mildly what he was saying but after a mental shrug, pushed it out of her mind.

< Angel looked good. > The initially innocent thought soon brought a blush to her face. It was true. The vampire looked healthy. Well, more than healthy, really.

It was strange. She felt like she was seeing an entirely different side of him. It was somewhat like the night he had come to her room a few years ago and asked her to look up information on one of Buffy’s former boyfriends. The thought that HE’D be coming to HER for help had been an intimidating one. She had been entirely unnerved by his sudden arrival but had somehow managed to blunder through it.

< I hope I didn’t sound like TOO big a moron. >

Shaking her head at the thought, she absent-mindedly picked up her black leather gloves.

He needed her now. More than he ever had before and for some reason, it felt right. Instead of being paralyzed by fear like she would have when she was younger, she felt oddly at ease with the situation.

< I wonder if Whistler’s people…changed me somehow. > She couldn’t be sure of their motivations or capabilities. In fact, she hadn’t really seen Whistler do anything strange or utilize magic even though she was fairly certain he could.

Putting down the phone, the demon silently left the room and Willow sighed.

More than anything, she wanted to be able to talk to Angel again. Besides Cordelia, he was one of the few people connected with her old life and it was important for her to cling to that. < Besides, Angel always knows what to do. He comes through all the time. > She snickered. < Old Reliable. >

Buffy had called her that once. It had annoyed her at the time, but now she saw the compliment for what it was. It made her feel closer to Angel.

In her own way, she had always felt a silent kinship with the vampire. They had both lived their lives as outsiders of sorts and were both somewhat withdrawn. They were also both highly intelligent. < Ooh, and now we both sorta have secret identities! > She bounced at the thought.

Of course, though, there were a few differences.

< He’s strong and never afraid of anything and really good looking. > The last comment was less of a conscious thought than a scientific observation. Although Willow wasn’t necessarily suffering from low self esteem the way she had in high school, she didn’t harbor any delusions about her own appearance.

< But sometimes being really pretty can make you mean. > Briefly, Cordelia, or ‘old school Cordelia’ as Willow now thought of the brunette, came to mind.

< Angel isn’t mean, though. > she amended. Underneath the broody and guilt-ridden exterior, she knew how good he was. Even though he was technically in love with Buffy, he had saved all of their lives enough times for Willow to realize that he harbored a certain amount of love for each of them.

< Even Xander. > She smiled at the thought.

For all of his growling and emotional isolation, she was well aware of the vampire’s warm personality. < And his hands were warm too… > She frowned slightly as she recollected their encounter. < I thought vampires were supposed to be cold. > Even when she had brushed her fingers against his lips, she’d felt the warmth penetrate through to her fingertips.

“Ahh…Willow?”

Startled, the hacker looked up to find Whistler standing over her. Looking down, she realized she had been subconsciously brushing the black gloves back and forth lightly over her own lips. Mildly horrified, she threw them on the couch and stood up.

“Oh hi!”

Studying the guilt-stricken look on the young girl’s face, Whistler paused. “Hi. Guess what?”

Tucking an errant strand of red hair behind her ear and trying to calm her unexpectedly rapid heartbeat, Willow shot him a nervous smile “What?”

“We have a new game plan.”

** It was nearly midnight when the phone started ringing.

One or two of the Watcher huddled over their ancient texts paused to glance up at it, but most simply ignored it and continued with their research.

After a few more rings, the answering machine dutifully clicked on: “Hi, you’ve reached Cordelia’s apartment. I’m not in now, so leave a message and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can. Megan, if this is you, I need my red velvet clogs back for the dinner thing next Friday so just beep me, k?”

Giles tried to hide a smile as a few of the older Watchers rolled their eyes at the recording.

“…..Hello? Cordelia? Are you home? If you’re there, can you pick up?”

The effect of the unmistakable voice on the other end of the phone was instantly sobering. Several men started choking on the tea they had been in the process of swallowing. A few of the others broke the pencils they’d had clutched between their teeth while reading.

“Giles….? Are YOU there? It’s Buffy. Please pick up the phone….”

Slowly, Giles put down his book and took in the stares directed at him from all sides of the room.

“Cordelia, it’s Buffy. I’m calling because I’m looking for Giles and I called Council headquarters and Wesley said he might be here. It’s VERY important that I get ahold of him, so can you have him call me?”

“What are you waiting for, man?” Patrick finally broke the silence with his gruff voice, “She already knows something is going on, so you may as well pick up the phone, Giles. Your Slayer needs you.”

Having received approval, the Watcher’s barely restrained energy kicked in. He quickly shot to his feet and grabbed the receiver, “Buffy?” He asked, slightly breathless.

“Giles.” She sounded relieved, “Giles, can I talk to, Willow?”

“Oh…she’s….,” He glanced up helplessly at the other men, “She isn’t here right now.”

“Giles, where is she?” her voice took on a firmer quality.

“She’s…it’s…well, it’s a long story, Buffy, perha-,”

“Giles?” The Slayer interrupted.

“Yes?”

“Start talking.”

**

“They’re proxy Slayers? Cordelia are you nuts?” Angel looked ready to bolt.

“Hey!” Insulted, the brunette pulled herself to her full height, “It was the only way I could get out of the frickin house this late at night without about 5 Watchers following me.”

Shooting a look at the awe-struck girls still gathered in front of him, he grabbed Cordelia’s arm and yanked her aside, “What’s the Council doing in your house anyway?”

“Like I have any idea. They’re on some Watcher’s questy type thing.”

“And they brought almost every Slayer-in-training with them?”

“Do I CARE what they’re doing?” She burst out. “They’re sleeping over for one night. Giles needed a place. They’ll be going tomorrow.”

“What if one of them reports the fact that they’ve seen me here with you? Giles will want to know what’s going on.” The vampire furrowed his brow.

Cordelia burst out laughing, “You think one of THEM is going to tell a WATCHER that they saw you?”

“Why not?” He stared at her.

“Do you know who the head of the Council is?”

“Patrick Mann?”

“Yeah, that Patrick guy.”

“What about him?”

“See that one?” Cordelia turned to point at one of the teenagers, a particularly striking raven-haired one who was in the process of scowling at the pair engaged in private conversation. “Homegirl over there pantsed him about two hours ago.”

“P-pantsed him?”

“Pantsed…it means to pull someone’s pants down. She was bored so she just ran past and pantsed him. Believe me, be glad you weren’t there. I never want to see a Watcher’s tighty whities again.”

“You’re kidding.”

Cordelia shook her head, “Her name is Laura. She is fear worthy. They all are. AND none of them have remotely any respect for the Council.”

“Except for maybe Giles.” Emma offered from the side.

“Yeah, I think Buffy cooled him out.” Hilary nodded.

“We kinda dig him.” Tracy reaffirmed.

“So what did you need to talk to me about?” Cordelia asked, returning her attention to Angel.

“Oh…that.” Still slightly uncomfortable, he paused, “I just wanted to tell you to warn….my friend…that somehow word’s hit the underground about her.”

“Excuse you?” The brunette shook her head, “Repeat that for those of us who don’t speak cryptic fluently.”

“The computer, Cordelia. I wanted to use your computer. To send an email.”

“The vampires in this area know about his Protector.” JR translated quietly.

“Yes, exact-What?” Angel looked over at the tiny girl with long chestnut hair who was standing unobstrusively at the edge of the group. “H-How did you know about my Protector?”

“Word travels fast.” Cordelia shrugged and started to try and herd the girls away before anything else was accidentally revealed. “I’ll tell her as soon as I can. Come on girls. We’re outtie.”

Unfortunately, the phrase didn’t work as well on people who WEREN’T Harmony and her group of sheep.

Firmly, the slayers stood their ground, ignoring Cordelia.

“We know about your Protector cuz she’s our Immortal Watcher too, moron.” Laura responded loudly, rolling her eyes.

“Damn.” Cordelia muttered.

Angel opened his mouth briefly before snapping it shut again. Over 200 years of training couldn’t prevent the shock and horror that flooded his features.

Stopping at this strange show of emotion, Laura smiled sheepishly, “Aww, crap, did I say something wrong?” she looked confused. “Fuck…sorry.”

**

Standing several yards away, Spike’s icy blue eyes sparkled.

“Protector AND Immortal Watcher, eh?”

Smiling, he melted back into the shadows.

“This is going to be so much more fun than I thought.”

PART NINE

“You want me to…what?” Willow regarded the object in his hand with abject fear.

“I can’t believe I didn’t think of this before! Come on, Willow, it’ll be easy.”

“Yes, b-but, I’m not even, really…immortal yet…I mean, Whistler, who says they’re going to even listen?”

“You never knew Merrick did you?”

“Uhm..no…”

“Don’t worry, they’ll listen. You just need to promise me one thing.”

“What?” She looked up at the demon.

“You’ll make them cry, just a little. For me.” Winking, he turned and left Willow to her task.

**

“Uhm…Angel, I can explain…” Cordelia reached out to touch his sleeve but he quickly jerked away.

“Don’t touch me, Cordelia.” He ground out hoarsely. The vampire looked almost ill.

11 pairs of rounded eyes watched the exchange in dead silence.

“Whistler didn’t want to tell you because he knew you’d get up-,”

“She’s the Immortal Watcher and no one thought that might be important?” He was trying very hard not to yell, with minimal success. < God, she must be so miserable. No wonder she didn’t want we to touch her. Immortal Watcher?! It’s against her nature to even be near a vampire! > To Angel, the Watchers had always been a confused bunch, but he had the utmost respect for their leaders. Although he had known Merrick only briefly and mostly through reputation, he knew that the Immortal Watcher stood for all that was good. To force this girl, this unsuspecting, undeserving child to carry the burden of his own sins was disgusting and unspeakable. The fact that she was also Immortal was like adding insult to injury.

“Angel, calm down. Of course it’s important but you need to understand th-,” Cordelia tried to be patient.

“What else is there?” He barked.

Startled, she jumped slightly, “I-I don’t-,”

“There’s still something else you’re not telling me. What else is there?” It was a hunch, but he figured that it was a good risk to take seeing as how Whistler had a tendency to play with his life and for some reason, he’d chosen Cordelia to be his confidant. He also guessed that in her state of confusion, she wouldn’t call his bluff.

Casting her gaze downwards, the brunette stumbled over her words, “She…ahh…she’s not exactly immotal yet..”

Awaiting his reaction, Cordelia held her ground. After several seconds of silence, however, she finally got the nerve to look back up.

He was gone.

“Shit!” she muttered under her breath staring into the darkness.

There was a long moment of silence before anyone spoke.

“Damn, that man has the * nicest * ass I’ve ever seen.” Laura smiled appreciatively.

“Oh, I second that.” Jessica nodded in agreement.

“I think that someone should go after him.” JR offered, “He’s upset. He might do something rash.”

“Hey, how about me? Worried that * I * might do something rash?” Cordelia exploded, unable to stop herself, “What in the HELL did you think you were doing? Did I ask any of you to talk? No! Now look what’s happened! God, way to fuck everything up.” With that, she turned to stalk off down the street…

And was promptly thrown to the ground by the looming figure in front of her.

**

“B-Buffy’s on her way up.” Giles sat down, pale and tired.

“Perhaps it’s all for the best, man. She’s the current slayer and she’s also best friends with Willow. She might be able to help us much more than anyone else.” Patrick cast a glance at the semi-useless younger Council members and sighed.

“She should be here in 3 or 4 hours. I told her to come in the morning, but she refused.”

“Understandable, but I don’t want her to get tired out before she even gets here.”

“I’ll make sure she gets some rest before-,”

The shrill sound of the phone pierced through the gentle mumbling atmosphere yet again.

“Lord, now what?’ Mildly annoyed, Patrick jumped up and grabbed the receiver without thinking twice, “Hello?”

“H-hi…..? Cordelia?” the voice on the other end sounded cautious and timid.

“No, Cordelia isn’t in right now. May I take a message for her?” Sighing, the Watcher began to search for a pen.

“Uhm…is Patrick there?”

His ears perked up almost immediately. Waving wildly at the assembled group, he caused all conversation to grind to an immediate halt.

“Yes, this is Patrick. May I ask to whom I’m speaking?” He responded carefully as a huge gaggle of Watchers immediately surged up around him. “Shhh!!!” He hissed, trying to wave them off.

There was a short pause and he was afraid that he’d lost her.

“Hello?” He prodded gently.

“Uhm…hi….yes, uhm, this is…uhm…Willow.”

The Watcher came close to fainting, “Willow! Dear Lord, child, where have you been? We’ve been looking for you everywhere! Stay where you are and we’ll come get you.”

“Is it her?”

“It’s the girl?”

“Finally!”

“Where’s that two-faced little demon?”

“Move out of the way, Nigel, I can’t hear!”

Throwing them all aside, Patrick rapidly walked out of the sitting room and into the hallway, pausing only to drag Giles along with him by his collar.

“A-actually, I was wondering if maybe you could all just go back home and wait for me.” Willow’s voice rang out with only a slight edge of hesitation.

“W-what?!” Slightly taken aback, Patrick promptly released his hold on Giles and started pacing up and down the narrow corridor, “And leave you with that demon? Absolutely not. I can only wonder what lies that…thing has been feeding you.”

“But-,”

“No, Willow, as the acting head of the Council and your future guide in taking over your responsibilities, I simply can’t allow this. You’re obviously being brainwashed by this Whistler fellow and it’s entirely unacceptable. Where are you? I’ll send several men over to get you. You needn’t worry about any possible repurcussions. I assure you, there are far more of us than there are of those knaves who have kidnapped you.”

“Kindnapped? But I wasn’t really kidnapped, see, Whistler is a good guy…” The hacker started off again only to be interrupted.

“Yes, I’m sure it seems that way, child, but trust me. There’s a lot about him that you simply don’t know. Now please, your location?” Patrick pressed on.

“I can’t just leave yet!” She was becoming exasperated, “Angel needs me!”

“Angel?” He scoffed, “Do you mean Angelus? I know it seems as if Angelus is one of the ‘good guys’ as well, Willow, but you must understand that no matter what he’s done for the Council or for your friend Buffy, fundamentally he’s still extremely dangerous. I can’t have you running around with him, endangering your own well being, especially before you’ve even reached your full capacity.”

“Oh, but I feel safe with Angel, tonight we helped each-”

“Safe? Willow, I’m sorry to have to tell you this but Angelus is essentially a killer. Soul or not, he’s been trained as a predator and an assassin for years and although he does serve some function on occasion, you don’t have any obligations to him. Furthermo-,”

“Wait.”

The command was quiet yet carried such a huge underlying current of anger that Patrick stopped in midsentence.

“First of all, you’ll call him Angel,” Willow continued in the same tone of voice, “Not Angelus because that isn’t his name. Sec-,”

“Willow-,” Patrick broke in hurriedly.

“EXCUSE ME?” She hollered so loudly that he jerked the phone away from his ear.

Giles, who had been waiting patiently in the hall, merely raised an eyebrow.

“Y-yes…?” Patrick responded after cautiously bringing the receiver back.

“Wasn’t I just in the middle of giving you an order?” Her voice took on the same deadly quiet quality.

“Yes, but-,”

“Do you know who you’re talking to?”

Swallowing hard, Patrick paused. “Miss Rosenb-,”

“Try again.”

Thinking fast, the frightened man spit out the first thing he could think of, “T-The Immortal Watcher…..Sir?”

“Good.” Her voice carried an oddly self-satisfied tone, “And what do you think Merrick would have done if he were told what to do?”

“Skewered me, Sir.” The Watcher responded honestly.

“Interesting.”

There was a long pause.

“Sir?” He finally broke the silence, afraid that she’d simply hung up on him.

“What do you think I’ll do to you if you keep trying to tell me what to do?” She asked coldly.

Laughing nervously, the Watcher grappled for a decent answer, realizing that he may have just pushed his superior a bit too far…

**

Barely getting a chance to scream, Cordelia was in the process of opening her mouth when she found it suddenly full of dust. Choking, she slowly opened her eyes to see a gaggle of teenage girls with crosses, stakes and other previously concealed weaponry standing over what looked to be a pile of dirt.

“Bastard didn’t stand a fucking chance,” Laura smiled, smugly.

“Hah, eleven against one. I’d say he was a goner.” Emma and Jessica high-fived each other.

“Oh, and that was cool, Robin. Like, how you did that spinny thing?” Tracy bounced enthusiastically.

Soon, the group erupted into self-congratulatory chatter as they recounted, in detail, the life-threatening 10 second fight with an unfortunately stupid vampire against 11 slayers-in-training.

Forgotten, bruised and still bristling, Cordelia slowly pulled herself to her feet again, “Uhm. Okay. Now that I’ve lost one of my best friends, betrayed another one, and almost gotten eaten all in one night, I think I’m ready to go home.”

Bracing herself, the brunette started walking again only to be stopped this time by a lanky redhead.

“Not so fast.” Carrie smiled, a strange sparkle in her grey eyes.

“I think you’re forgetting something.” Heather added cooly.

“Like what?” the flat, haughty tone of Cordelia’s voice was almost painfully remniscent of her older, cheerleading self as she geared up for a challenge.

“You just nearly got eaten….” Laura began.

“Thanks, I almost missed it.” The May Queen broke in rudely, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

“…and * we * saved your life,” she finished, staring up expectantly.

Cordelia sneered, “Meaning what? That you want some show of gratitude or something? A ‘thank you for fucking up my life’ type-speech maybe? Don’t hold your breath.”

Toying casually with her stake, Laura shook her head, “No, I don’t think a ‘thank you’ is really necessary…”

“Good, I wouldn’t want all of you to die from lack of air, y’know.” The brunette managed to deliver the retort in such a way as to show plainly that she wouldn’t, in fact, mind such a scenario at all.

Choosing to strike, Laura licked her lips and glanced at her friends. “Actually, we want something else.”

“A favor.” Emma piped up.

“In return for saving your life,” Robin grinned almost sadistically.

“A favor? You want me to do you a favor? What is this? Some kind of severe collective stupid-attack that’s going aroun-,”

“Let me put it to you this way, Cordelia. You do us this favor or we don’t hold up our end of the bargain.” Eliz crossed her arms over her chest stubbornly.

“You know, the part about us keeping ‘hush hush’ with the Watchers Council?” Tracy clarified in a sweet voice.

“What?!” the brunette shrieked, outraged, “Blackmail?! How dare you!” Slowly, as she looked from one smugly smiling face to another, realization dawned. “OhmyGOD! You set me up! All of you set me up! Heather was in the alley baiting that vampire to-YOU COULD HAVE GOTTEN ME KILLED!!! Why you skinny little insignificant group of teeny-bopper Brittney Spears wannabes! I’ll have you know tha-,”

“Take it or leave it.” Laura cut in, calmly.

Nearly shaking from fury, Cordelia paused as the full scope of what was happening sank in.

Pinning her opponent with a deadly glare, Laura went in for the kill, “Give us what we want or round off a perfect night explaining yourself to Patrick and Giles. It’s your choice. What’ll it be?”

**

“And FURTHERMORE I want access to all of the records currently in possession of the Council concerning Protectors and their roles. I also want all of the information you have about Angel and Spike.” Willow stomped loudly back and forth in the living room, dutifully ignoring Whistler who was busy doubled over in fetal position trying to muffle his hysterical laughter.

“Spike? But why do you need anything on Sp-,” Patrick began, in a panicked voice.

She stopped and narrowed her eyes at the receiver briefly before bellowing, “ARE YOU QUESTIONING ME AGAIN?”

“N-n-n-no, Sir!! No, Sir!” Frantically, the Watcher started stammering uncontrollably.

“I’m going to die…I’m going to die…” Whistler moaned over and over again, clutching his stomach and literally crawling out of the living room, tears running down his face.

Willow sighed and returned her attention back to the phone.

“Look, call Headquarters or whatever and have the stuff sent to Cordelia’s apartment as soon as possible. Now hand the phone over to Giles, I’m done talking to you.”

“Yes, Sir.” Obediently, Patrick handed the phone to the librarian who had been, up until this point, lounging casually against the wall, simply taking in the conversation. His task completed, the Council Head quickly scampered into the adjoining room, shouting orders to his underlings.

Giles gently shut the door to block off the noise before speaking.

“Willow?”

At the sound of her mentor’s voice, the redhead heaved a sigh of relief, “Giles!”

“Dear Lord, Willow, what on earth did you say to him? I’ve known Patrick for years and I’ve never seen him react like that. I almost thought he was going to wet his trousers.”

Snorting in a very un-Willowy manner, the hacker merely shook her head, “I just reminded him of who I was,” she said a hint of pride creeping into her voice.

“I see,” the librarian remarked dryly, “You pulled rank, I take it?”

Suddenly feeling guilty, Willow bit her lip, “Uhm…kind of. But, I mean, it wasn’t my fault. He was being bossy and mean an-,”

“He’s just trying to look out for your best interest, as we all are.” Giles pointed out. “You can’t fault him for doing his job as he sees fit, Willow. He feels that your life is his responsibility just as you feel that Angel’s life is yours.”

In a matter of a few seconds, Willow felt herself reduced to the teenage high schooler that she was, “Well, I guess I never thought of it that way…I guess that was really mean of me, huh?”

“You’re young, it happens.” The librarian responded simply.

“God, they must all think I’m some huge bitca by now,” shame started to flush the young girl’s cheeks and she sank down onto her couch, “And I’m not even Immortal yet….power is a dangerous, dangerous thing. Just goes straight to people’s heads. I don’t know what I was thinking…wow, Giles, I’m so sorry, can you tell Patrick that I’m sorry? Ca-,”

“Willow,” Giles took pity on her enough to interrupt her apologetic babble, “I’m sure he’ll live. Besides, he served under Merrick. He’s used to it.”

“So Merrick used to pull rank too?”

“All the time.”

“So does that mean it’s okay to do that?”

“I’d say that it depends on whether or not you want to be like Merrick.”

Willow paused to consider his statement when she heard a ruckus coming from the foyer.

Unceremoniously, the door burst open, causing the startled hacker to almost drop the phone. Regarding the group standing in front of her, she hurriedly spoke, “Uhm, Giles…I swear I’m not pulling rank or anything, but something weird just happened so can I call you back?”

“Of course.”

Quickly clicking off, she tossed the phone to the couch and jumped up. After an awkward silence she darted a look at Whistler who had since recomposed himself and now actually looked rather angry.

Cautiously, she smiled, “Uhm, hi. Who are you?”

Another strange silence descended upon the assembled group and the hacker started to fidget uncomfortably, “Uhm….my name is Wi-,”

Before she could get her introduction out, there was, what seemed to be an enormous exhalation of held breath followed by screaming.

In seconds, the hacker found herself surrounded by a huge group of nearly hysterical girls, shouting all at once with blatant admiration shining on their faces.

“Oh my God, I can barely believe it!”

“You are SO cool!!”

“I love your hair, is that, like, for real? What a great color!”

“Where did you get those black pants? They’re fucking awesome!”

“Are you really the Immortal Watcher?”

“Can I have your autograph?”

Her head spinning, Willow fell back onto the couch tried to keep track of the endless chatter that burst forth all around her. Finally her gaze settled on a harried looking Cordelia.

Shrugging the brunette rolled her eyes, “They blackmailed me. I’m going to find a way to get back at each and every one of them soon. I’ve taken down names. They’re slayers-in-training.”

Whistler’s cell phone started ringing and he quickly moved into the kitchen, away from the still-shrieking girls.

The redhead’s face softened almost immediately, “’Slayers-in-training?’ Aww!!! That’s so awesome!” Feeling a surge of love for the younger girls huddled around her, Willow had to fight off the urge to gather them all into a group hug.

“What’s it like to be immortal?”

“What should we call you?”

“Can I brush your hair?”

“Can we sleep over?”

The questions and doting stares were relentless but Willow fielded them with grace and ease. Never having had siblings before, Willow couldn’t help but feel an instant ‘big sister’ kinship for the younger slayers. She was almost giddy with all of the attention when Whistler stepped back into the room.

“Will the wonders never cease?”

The grim expression on his face caused the hacker to sober up, “What’s wrong?”

“That was Angel. He’s coming over in about….well, now.”

“He’s coming over?! What?! Why?!”

“No time. get upstairs and get dressed fast.”

Jumping up, the hacker flew from the room and up the stairs followed closely by her newly acquired entourage.

“Oh no, oh no, oh no!!” Her hands shaking, she bolted into her room and delved into her closet. Coming up empty handed, she crawled quickly across the floor, peering under her bed and overturning scattered clothing and books.

“What is it? What’s going on?” Jessica asked, panicked.

“My mask and my shirt and my gloves…my whole outfit….I don’t remember where I took it off. Oh no! I think there are pieces of it all over the house…I didn’t think he’d come over tonight…I need to get dressed before Angel gets here!”

Snapping to attention, Heather quickly yanked Willow to a stop, “Dude, calm down. You’re flipping out. We’ll take care of it. We’re slayers, that’s why we’re here.”

“Right! What do you need?” Emma asked.

“Gloves, mask, boots, and shirt…they’re all black….” the hacker responded nervously.

“Eliz, Emma, and Tracy, you’ve got the mask. Jessica, JR, and Teri, you’ve got the gloves. Hilary, stay here. Laura you’re with me on the boots. Robin and Carrie go after the shirt.” Heather shot the commands out quickly and within seconds the girls had emptied the room, nearly running over Cordelia in the process. Willow could hear them bounding off into various parts of the house.

“What’s going on?’ Cordelia asked as she made her way into the room and flopped down onto the bed.

“They’re helping me get my disguise together before Angel gets he-,”

“One glove!” Teri shrieked as she ran past the open door pausing only to fling it into the room. The leather garment soundly whacked Cordelia in the head causing the brunette to jump up before Willow could finish her sentence.

“You totally did that on purpose you little cretin!” the former cheerleader yelled, running out into the hall.

The next thing Willow heard was a thud and harsh cursing as Laura shoved Cordelia out of the way and ran past the door travelling in the opposite direction, “Boot!” She called, tossing it into the room before going on her way.

“Let me help you get these on,” Hilary quickly and quietly slid the incoming clothing on Willow.

“Other glove!” Jessica shouted as she threw it in and continued off.

Within less than a minute, Willow was efficiently dressed in most of her disguise.

“What are we missing?: Heather asked, slightly out of breath as she paused in the doorway.

“We’re waiting on the mask,” Hilary responded, wrinkling her nose.

“Got it!” Eliz smiled proudly, appearing from behind and leaning over Heather’s shoulder to pass the final piece of clothing over to Hilary, “Tie up her hair, pull this sucker on and we’re ready.”

Harsh pounding from the downstairs door echoed up the hallway.

Sighing, Willow adjusted the veil over her eyes, “And not a moment too soon….”

PART TEN

Calmly, Whistler unlocked the door only to be confronted with a very angry Angel. Without thinking, the vampire charged into the house, only to be repelled several feet backwards by the invisible shield surrounding it.

“Hey, nice move there, Dr. Badass.” Whistler stared down at his protégé and quirked an eyebrow.

Snarling, Angel got to his feet, “Where is she? I need to talk to her.”

“You can try,” the demon beckoned grandly, “Why don’t ya come on in and make yourself comfortable?”

Storming into the house, Angel didn’t spare Whistler a second glance. “Bastard.” He muttered under his breath.

The demon merely smiled. “You’re welcome.”

**

Willow hurried down the stairs, almost tripping over the cluster of girls crowded around the bottom who were whispering in barely restrained excitement.

“He’s here. Whistler just let him in.” JR updated the hacker.

“Good luck!” Heather smiled warmly.

“Go get him,” Jessica purred in her most seductive voice eliciting giggles from all of her companions.

Rolling her eyes behind her veil, Willow leaned over, “Thanks guys, but I don’t want you to have to stay up so late for me. Council will get worried and you know that tweed and sweat don’t mix.”

Laura snorted.

“Why don’t you all go get Cordy and go back home.” The redhead gently ushered them back upstairs.

“Aww but…”

“Do we HAVE to?!”

“Nigel and Terrance sleep on the floor next to me and they *snore *!”

“I thought we were going to sleep over HERE…”

Shaking her head, Willow stopped all argument, ‘I’d love to have you guys, but not tonight. Tell you what, ice cream on me, tomorrow, okay?”

Enduring a few hushed shouts of jubilation, Willow firmly pointed to the stairs until the entire group had filed reluctantly up them.

Bracing herself, she re-entered the living room.

**

At her entrance, Angel abruptly jumped up from his strained position, seated uncomfortably on the couch, “I-I’m sorry to come over here so late….” He began haltingly. Seeing her standing there, even if it was only her cloaked figure in a nondescript outfit, it was still emotionally unnerving. Suddenly, he began to have doubts over his purpose for visiting.

Gently, Willow inclined her head sideways, hoping that it conveyed her acceptance.

“I-I’d just like to speak to you.”

Whistler entered the room carrying a soda.

“Alone.”

Spinning on his heel in mid-stride, Whistler smoothly turned and left the room again.

As soon as the demon was gone, Angel dropped to one knee and took her hand.

An almost involuntary thrill went through the hacker’s small frame over the significance of such a pose. She quickly destroyed it on the grounds that it was an utterly immature reaction.

“I know who you are and what you stand for and I’m sorry that you were somehow drawn into this.” He said softly, from his prone position.

Sickeningly, the redhead felt her heart stop beating. < He knows who I am? As in, ‘Hey Willow, nice threads. What’s a mousy loser like you doing protecting a guy like me?’ That kind of KNOWS? >

‘I wish you’d told me in your email that you were the Immortal Watcher, but I understand that Whistler didn’t want that. I promise to make this as painless and quick as possible for both of us, though.”

Nodding numbly, Willow’s panic bells were going off wildly in her head even though she didn’t know why. Instinctually, she leaned closer, hanging on his every word.

Abruptly, he seized her hand harder and pulled it over his unbeating heart. Then, he started speaking in Gaelic.

The words were flying by so rapidly that she could only guess what they meant. That is, until one word flashed through her mind and caught.

< ‘Release…’ >

She recognized it from the soul restoration spell she’d had to perform. < What would he want to release? > It didn’t take long for the redhead’s blinding intelligence to supply an answer < Me! He’s trying to release me from my duties as Protector!! >

Stricken and horrified, Willow quickly jerked her hand out of Angel’s grasp before he could finish and did the next thing that came to mind.

She backhanded him across the room.

**

Limping slightly, Cordelia walked back in silence towards her apartment, surrounded by a circle of slayers. She didn’t bother to make an effort to even look around knowing that it was unlikely any vampire would be able to successfully attack the group and that if the girls were doing anything illegal, she wouldn’t be able to stop them anyway.

< How DARE they blackmail me? Manhandle me? Disobey me? > She fumed in dead silence, refusing to acknowledge the real source of her anger. For all of the insults, death threats and general hysteria Cordelia had experienced with the small slayers, the worst part was feeling ‘second best’ when they got to see Willow. Although she intellectually understood the hacker’s stronger bond to the group, it still hurt to be relegated to the back of the line.

< No, I’m not hurt because they’re all little cretins and I’ll be glad to see them leave anyways…right? >

Sighing loudly, Cordelia realized, with relief, that they were less than a block away from her apartment.

“Cordelia?”

She wrinkled her nose. < NO, we couldn’t have just gotten there without anything happening could we have? > “Yeah, what?”

“Uhm….” Emma stared up at her with clear blue eyes, “Thanks.” And with that, the tiny girl with blond curly hair latched onto the former cheerleader with a vice-like grip.

“Yeah, thanks. We’re sorry for, like, pretending to blackmail you and stuff.” Hilary quickly latched onto her other hand.

“We never would’ve really ratted you out to the council either.” Tracy added sincerely.

“WE LOVE YOU CORDELIA!!!” Laura hollered as loudly as possible in an incredibly obnoxious voice before throwing her arms around the brunette’s legs.

Before she could stop them, Cordelia was literally covered with tiny bodies, preventing her from moving so much as another step. Rolling her eyes, she tried desperately to contain the smile that was twitching at the corner of her lips, “Yeah, whatever.”

“You’re really, like, the coolest. I mean, you coulda said no and stuff.” Teri said, ‘But you didn’t.”

“EVERYONE says ‘no’ to us,” Heather sighed.

“We never get to do anything or go anywhere.” Robin nodded in agreement.

“The Council tends to keep us ‘sheltered’ pretty much all the time. Most of us don’t have any friends or anyone else to talk to back at home and, I mean, I know that I haven’t seen my parents for the past 6 or 7 years.” JR added.

“Me neither,” Eliz shrugged, “I don’t really miss them, because I don’t remember them too well, but getting to hang out with the rest of you guys for the past couple of days has just been the greatest.”

“It was really nice of you to bring us to meet the Immortal Watcher, we appreciate it,” Carrie smiled warmly, “Oh, and I know that Laura is really sorry for shoving you in the hall like she did.”

“Huh?….Oh, yeah.” The look on the raven-haired girl’s face made it clear that the statement was somewhat of an afterthought.

“So, do you forgive us?” Jessica asked hopefully.

“Sure.” The brunette tried to sound disaffected but couldn’t help but feel bad for the group around her. She’d have to remember to bring it up with Willow at some point. Vaguely, she remembered how Kendra had been trained and how entirely different her experience had been compared to Buffy’s. Cordelia tended to forget things like that, especially because most of the details occurred during a more self-centered stage of her life.

“Cool. Now that we’re all kosher, can I try on your silver knee-high boots when we get home?” Jessica asked again with an equal amount of hopefulness.

“Don’t push it.”

“Uhm, just kidding.”

**

Shaking her hand slightly to bring feeling back into it, she quickly stepped over Angel’s stunned form with only a small pang of guilt and stalked silently into the kitchen.

“Whistler!” She barked harshly, her voice barely above a whisper.

The demon started from her sudden entrance, almost choking on his soda, “Huh? What happened?”

“I’m going to get my laptop. Hook Angel up to AOL on the computer in the living room under your screen name.”

“Yes, ma’am!” He gave her a cocky grin and a sloppy salute before sauntering out the door. “Hah! What the hell happened to you?!” he asked just before the door swung shut behind him.

Willow heard him laughing at the vampire in the other room and sighed, allowing the guilt to wash over her. < I did it AGAIN! What the heck is wrong with me?! Power…power going to the head…bad bad bad things happen…. > Pushing her thoughts temporarily aside, she hurried upstairs.

“Okay, so this grey thing is called the mouse. It makes the pointy thing on the screen go ‘woosh’.” Whistler took another swig of soda before staring down condesendingly at the vampire sitting at the computer, still nursing a sore jaw.

“It wasn’t funny when Cordelia did it and it still isn’t funny now.” Angel muttered, waiting for the line to connect.

“She really clocked you one, huh? She’s a feisty chick. I coulda warned you.”

“But you didn’t.”

“What’d you do to set her off?”

“I tried to release her from her duties.”

“Then you SO deserved it.” Whistler shook his head.

Smiling faintly, the vampire shrugged, “She’s young. I didn’t think she knew Gaelic that fluently.”

Pausing thoughtfully, the demon furrowed his brows, “Gaelic? Neither did I…”

The sudden chiming of the computer put an end to the conversation as Angel quickly turned his attention to the monitor:

***************** Instant message from: Protector1 “I’m sorry about hitting you, are you okay?” ****************

Staring at the computer with a blank look on his face Angel slowly turned to Whistler for help.

“Click reply and then type in the box. She’s in the other room IMing you from her laptop.” The demon explained.

**************** Instant message from: Protector1 I really hope you aren’t mad or anything. I mean, I don’t normally get violent. I’m really an unviolent person. I’m SO sorry I hit you. I don’t know what came over me.. **************************

Glancing up at the additional message, Angel carefully formulated his response and began gingerly hunting for the right keys.

******************* Instant message from: Protector1 I mean, I normally don’t overreact. Like, I try to stay really cool-headed. Are you really mad? Is that why you’re not responding? Gosh I’m so sorry. If you want to dismiss me as your Protector, you can, but I want you to know that I really thought it was an honor to be chosen and I’ve let the Council know and they’re…uhm…fully supporting me on this… **************** Slightly panicking as her messages became more numerous, Angel tried to reformulate his response while searching for the delete key.

Whistler merely rolled his eyes.

****************** Instant message from: Protector1 I also want to personally apologize for not letting you know sooner that I’m Immortal Watcher. Like, you must be really uncomfortable about this since I know that Watchers and vampires get along about as well as slayers and vampires do…LOL. (sorry, lame joke) :) Uhm….are you still mad? ******************

“What does lawl mean?” Angel stared expectantly up at Whistler.

“LOL….not ‘lawl’ it means ‘Laughing Out Loud’, it’s Internet lingo.” The demon shrugged, “Dude, you should probably try typing something back before you give her a heart attack.”

“I’m trying, I’m trying!! She just goes so fast…” Angel stared at the keys in frustration again.

Both men groaned at the sound of the IM chime yet again.

******************** Instant message from: Protector1 So anyways, I’m sorry. Have I mentioned that before? Oh, and I’m sure that Whistler’s really sorry for not telling you everything too. *******************

“No I’m not.” The demon shook his head at the computer screen.

Ignoring him, Angel rapidly sent out a short message.

******************* Instant message from: LoungeLizrd Wait. *****************

Up in her room, Willow’s fingers immediately froze over her keyboard and her breath caught in her throat.

Back downstairs, blissful silence returned and with it came Angel’s ability to think properly.

******************* Instant message from: LoungeLizrd I’m bad at this. Tpying is new to me and I’m still getting the hang og it. Sorry. Just give me a second. ******************

The red head sighed in relief.

******************* Instant message from: LoungeLizrd Typing. I meant to say typing. And of not og. ******************

She giggled softly before responding. ******************* Instant message from: Protector1 It’s okay, Angel. I completely understand. ******************

**

“This has just really been the best night of my life.” Tracy sighed happily as Cordelia unlocked the door.

It had been at least 5 minutes since they started but the girls seemed unable to stop gushing.

“I know, it’s like first we get to hang out with each other, and then we meet Cordelia, and then we get to meet ANGEL and then we get to meet the fricking Immortal Watcher, I mean what next…?” Laura’s voice trailed off and her dark eyes widened as Cordelia pushed open the door.

Jessica recognized the slightly frazzled looking blonde girl at the other end of the hall almost instantly.

“Holy fucking shit, its Buffy Summers.” She said softly, her eyes glazed over in disbelief.

Cocking her head to one side, the current Slayer turned and smiled at the assembled group, “Oh, hi! You must be the slayers in training! I was wondering when you would be getting ba-,”

“OHMYGOD!!” Staring over Emma’s shoulder, Hilary started screaming at the sight of her idol, “OHMYGOD, OHMYGOD, OHMYGOD!” Hopping up and down, she quickly shoved her way past her friends and took off.

Cordelia braced herself as the tide of small squirming bodies rushed passed her into apartment, “And you’d figure it was the Backstreet Boys or something.” She shook her head.

Within seconds, the mildly frightened Slayer found herself being charged in the narrow hallway by a large contingent of screaming girls.

“This is fucking better than Disney World!!!” Laura whooped jubilantly.

“Buffy kicks Mickey’s ass any day!” Heather shouted in response.

“I think I liked the ‘They’re rushing me, what do I do now?’ face on Willow better,” Cordelia said thoughtfully as she watched Buffy go down at the end of the hall.

“We still love you too, Cordelia.” Carrie reminded her, having held back with the brunette.

“You can go over there, Carrie.” The brunette sighed over-dramatically, “I don’t mind.”

Within seconds, the redhead had gratefully scampered off as well, leaving the former cheerleader alone at the end of the hallway.

Still smiling.
 

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