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Outside of Willow's dorm room window, the night sky of Sunnydale was
filled with sudden light.

Boom!

In the distance, thunder clapped and rain started to fall in huge drops
on the college grounds.

In the room, with the covers drawn over her head, was Willow. She was
shaking. One, she was scared of the newly formation outside and two, she was
freezing. She pulled the covers down a little bit to breath, but thunder
roared again. She jumped and the covers went back to the previous position
they had been.

*Goddess, I hate storms! When will this stop? Buffy, please hurry up
and get back from the Bronze. I can't handle this alone!*

The blond hadn't wanted to leave the red head alone in the condition she
was in, but Willow insisted she should go. After all, it wasn't Buffy's
fault that Willow had become sick. It was spring, but with the way the
weather had been for the last couple of days, it would only be normal for the
hacker to catch cold. Finally, after an argument between the two, Buffy had
given into Willow and went off to the Bronze with Xander and Anya. The
slayer said it would be lonely without Willow along with them, but under
Willow's spoken words, Buffy said she could adjust.

Lightning lit up the sky again, and at that particular moment, a loud
knocking was heard on her door.

"Ah!" Willow screamed at the loud noise so close to her.

The knocking got louder and harder. She could barely hear, with the
present activities going on outside, a low, silky voice coming from outside
her door.

*Relax, Willow. It's just someone at the door.*

She pulled the covers down and slumped out of her bed, dragging her feet
to the door.

The knock sounded again.

"Just a minute. I'm coming!" She spoke in a low voice.

She walked up to the door and opened it slowly.

Outside the door, in the hallway, stood a figure she thought she would
never see again, or for the least, not for a long time. He was dressed in
all black. Pretty normal for Brood-Boy. Black pants and a black long-sleeve
top, with a black wool duster to top off the simple outfit. His hair was
matted down to his head and he was dripping with beads of water running down
his hair, face, and neck. He had a sincere smile glued to his dark and
handsome face, as he looked at the girl in nothing but her red plaid pajamas
and furry Big Bird slippers. Her nose was red, her eyes were watery, and her
hair looked like a tornado had blown through it.

"Angel!" Willow exclaimed in her low, sickly voice. She smiled at her
friend she had known since her early years in high school.

"Hey, Willow," he spoke smoothly back to her.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were in L.A."

"I was. I just had the strong and sudden urge to come back for a visit."
His voice dropped at the stricken small woman in front of him. *Damn. She
looks like hell. She probably feels like it too.* "Am I interrupting
something?" He pointed behind him. "I can always come back later."

Realization finally hit Willow and she started to shake her head. "No!
No... don't go. I was just... um... trying to sleep. I couldn't because of the
stupid storm outside and I heard a knock on the door... which gave me the
wiggins... and now you're here and so I'm not alone. Plus, I've missed you.
I don't want you to leave and come back later. I thought I would never see
you again and now that you are back, it makes me happy. And..."

"Willow?"

"Yeah?" She asked short of breath.

"You're babbling."

She took a deep breath and let it out. "Right." She moved out of the
doorway and motioned him to come in. "You're invited to come in, Angel,"
she stated confidently, smiling.

"Thanks."

Angel walked through the invisible barrier and stood in the middle of the
small room, while Willow closed the door behind them.

She walked over to Angel and stood in front of dark vampire. They
started to look each other up and down, getting themselves reacquainted with
the other's appearance.

*Look at her. She's still small and fragile like a doll. I just want to
have her curl up next to me, hold her in my arms, and have her breathing
against my chest...*

*Wow. This is a surprise. Why is he even here? I mean, he's
Buffy's... well used to be. But, now he's here and she's not and, Goddess, he
looks great wet...*

*...Poor girl. She looks like hell and not to mention, probably feels
like it. She's surprised to see me and probably is wondering why I didn't
wait for Buffy before I decided to come...*

*...He hasn't really changed any. Well, why should he? After all, he's
dead. He died looking like that... kinda. What a great looking corpse.
Ok... that was gross. A great looking dead guy? Ok. Willow Rosenburg, stop
thinking morbid and sexual thoughts. They just don't combine...*

*...I wonder what she's thinking about. Probably, why I'm still dripping
water on the floor with my wet clothes. It's not my fault it started to rain
and I got caught in it. I guess I should've...*

*...I wonder what he's thinking about. I need to find a spell that gives
me the ability to read peoples' minds. But... wait. He's not a person. He's
a vampire... a souled vampire... I hope. I mean, if not, I'm gonna die looking
like hell. He's been nice and he's not dressed in... ahem... leather and
velvet. Oh wow. It's hot in here now. Angel in leather and velvet. Now
that was a good time. Not when he tried to kill me in the hallway at my old
high school, but just the whole 'change in wardrobe' thing was really cool...*

*I figured it out. I want her. Dammit, she's my friend, not my lover!
Why am I thinking like this? Oh, yeah. Probably the demon. The demon wants
to destroy this beautiful little girl and everything she stands for. That's
jut the way it is. But, wait... I came here for her. And not to destroy her
soul or rip her throat out. I came here because she needs friends. She
needs someone to hold her and rock her to sleep. She needs me. What is that
look on her face? Does she know what I'm thinking? Did she conjure up some
spell to read minds? No. Of course not. This is Willow. Little innocent
Willow Rosenburg. Oh, yeah, sure. Innocent. The hacker that is dating a
werewolf. Her and the werewolf. Damn! I knew I shouldn't have come here
with her being with him...*

*What is he waiting on? Talk, Angel! Talk! Speak! Sigh! Sit! Blink!
Do something! I can't just stand here and look at you looking at me in
complete silence. My hormones are going crazy by having you here alone with
me. I can't think straight! Talk! Move! Stretch! Ah!*

Finally the long silence was broken. "Willow?"

*Finally!* "Yes, Angel?"

"I heard you were feeling a little sick. How are you holding up? Is
Buffy taking care of you?" he asked with a concern voice.

"I have a cold. I hate it. I feel terrible. I've been in that bed all
night and all day. Buffy's been here too. She even skipped out on her
classes to stay with me and make sure I wasn't lonely and bored today. She
didn't want to leave tonight, but I told her she deserved to go to the Bronze
and have some fun. After a little convincing, she finally let me win and she
left. I've been ok, though. Until the storm hit. Speaking of the
storm... you're wet."

Angel looked down at himself. "Yeah. I kinda got stuck in it. I ran
all the way here after it came down hard. My shirt and duster are soaked."
He grabbed his duster and pulled it slightly more open. He looked at her for
permission. "Do you mind?"

"O! No... go ahead." She watched him as took his duster off and held it,
looking around.

"Do you have..."

"Just put it on that chair over there," she pointed out.

He walked over to a chair in the corner and dropped the article of
clothing onto the seat. He then looked at his shirt and seen it clinging to
his muscular chest. He pulled at it and brought it over his head, dropping
it as well on the chair. He turned back around facing Willow.

Willow's mouth had dropped in surprise as she had seen Angel shed his wet
shirt. She thought he was only going to take the duster off and not the
shirt. Then, as he turned around half nude, she was in awe. She couldn't
even speak.

"Willow." Angel could sense her awkwardness and briefly regretted making
her feel on the spot like that. "I brought something for you."

Willow's green eyes shot up to meet his brown ones, uncertainty showing
and he grinned. "Relax." He grabbed his coat and pulled out a silver
thermos. "Soup." He smiled. "I thought you might like some. It will make
you feel better and it's good for a cold." He lifted his arm up and showed
her the gift. He dropped his coat back onto the chair and walked back to
her. He handed her the thermos and she took it.

Willow's eyes lit up and a smile swept across her face. "Thank you,
Angel. That is so sweet of you." She stood on her tip-toes and gave him a
kiss on the cheek. She then walked over to her bed and sat down on the edge.
She placed the thermos on the night stand and patted the space next to her,
motioning to the vampire. "Sit."

Angel walked over and took his seat next to her like she told him too.
"Yes, Master Willow," he spoke with sarcasm.

Willow returned the sarcasm. "Good, boy."

"Do I get a cookie, now?"

"If you stay a good boy," she grinned.

"Ok." "Wait. What do I have to do to qualify to stay as a good boy?"

"Don't bite me, unless I say so."

*Unless I say so?! Where did that line come from? Oh, man! That look
on his face. I'm dead.*

"I'll try to control my demon. It might be hard, though. No promises,
Willow. But, little one... if I do bite you without your permission, I
promise it won't hurt." He grinned wickedly. "Much."

Willow had forgotten all about the activities outside, until a loud boom
echoed through the room, lightning flashed, and the room went black.

"AH!" Willow screamed and jumped into Angel's strong arms. She dug her
face into his chest and started shaking and mumbling.

Angel was startled when he felt the small girl jump and curl up into his
naked chest. He smiled sweetly and wrapped his arms around her fragile
figure. He bent his head down to her ear and gently rocked her.
"Shhh... it's alright, Willow. I'm right here. Shhh... I'm not going to leave
you." *Never again.* "Shhh..." He kissed the top of her head and
continued to rock her. "Angel will protect you. I'm not going to go
anywhere. I'll stay right here with you. Shhh..."

Willow continued to mumble against him. She spoke in tears. "I'm
scared, Angel. I'm so scared." She started to cry. Tears falling off her
cheeks onto his chest.

Angel wrapped her tighter in his arms. "Shhh... it will pass. It's just
rain, thunder, and lightning. It can't hurt you in here. You're safe.
Right here. In my arms. I'm not going to let anything hurt you.
Shhh...," He continued to shower her with his soothing words. He brought one
of his hands up and stroked her red hair. "Shhh... my sweet Willow. It's ok.
I'm right here. Shhh..." He placed another kiss on her hair and continued
stroking it. Soon the sound of the sobbing girl was replaced by her heavy
breathing.

Outside, the storm rolled on.

The End.

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