Chapter 1

Willow wasn't sure of exactly what had just happened to her. One minute she'd been 'explaining' her opinion of money and power to Angelus, and the next... She sighed, glancing around her at the marble columns barely visible through the billowing white mist, the *next* thing she knew, she was *here*. She had been hearing sounds for a few minutes now. Sounds that were coming closer... at first, it had been reminiscent of a fly's buzz... she could vaguely hear that there was *something* there, but she really couldn't place its location. As the sounds drew nearer, though, she was able to make out that it was actually two individual voices, and they were approaching her from... behind! She swiftly turned, staring into the rapidly parting mist. "What... what *are* you?" she asked simply as the two beings came into view. Her eyes raked quickly over both their forms, noting first their skin... it was un-naturally smooth, and while that wouldn't have tipped her off to their supernatural origins, the shifting patterns of blue and gold which were apparently an innate part of it *would* have. She looked at them more closely as they continued to approach while speaking quietly to each other, noticing their colours shift with the changing light... blue and gold... green and silver... blue and gold again... "Well?" she demanded, suddenly impatient. She almost apologized for her curtness as the female of the two turned penetrating eyes to meet hers, but decided against it... *She* was the one who'd been brought here... surely she was entitled to *some* explanation. "And where *am* I, for that matter?"

The female looked at the little redhead, almost surprised at the apparent fragility of her form... *this* was the girl who would stop the 'Ending Times'? She sighed slightly, glancing at her brother before nodding at the expression in his eyes... Yes, appearances *could* be misleading... She only hoped that their superiors were correct about the timing... *she* would have waited longer, but... "We are the Oracles," she began, stepping closer so that she was almost touching the girl. "And as to where you are... well, your body is still exactly where you remember it being a moment ago..." She saw the look in the redhead's eyes and quickly continued. "There are things that you must know if you are to succeed in your task. The Powers That Be have asked us to... enlighten you." She stepped forward, her brother right beside her as they both reached out and touched the girl's forehead just between and slightly above her eyes. They watched as the girl fell to the ground, and looked at each other.

"Will she be able to understand? Is she *strong* enough?" the male asked of the female, his concern evident in his voice.

"I hope so, Brother... I hope so... But I'm more concerned that she may not recognize them yet... her companions in the fight... We must hope for the best..." the female said softly as they faded from that plane.

Angel stared down at the small redhead still laying almost motionless in his arms. He hated the feeling of helplessness that he was experiencing. He sighed, glancing again at the brunette girl by his side. "I hate this, you know."

Faith sighed in turn. "I know exactly what you mean... I'm more of an action kind of girl, myself... All this waiting and wondering is gonna make me crazy..."

They turned their eyes back to the girl before them. She had started to twitch a bit more, mumbling 'No... no...' repeatedly, but she still wasn't waking up. Two sets of brown eyes flew to the door of the room as it burst open and and angry and confused Spike came through it.

"Sire!" Spike almost yelled, his eyes darting about the room before finally coming to rest on the darker vampire. "We need to *talk*!" His eyes widened and his anger drained away as he finally registered exactly what he was seeing. (What in the *hell*?)

"What happened?" he cried as he flew to them, finding himself on the floor himself. "What did you *do* to her?" He hissed at his Sire as he pulled the little redhead from the bigger man's arms and settled her firmly against his own body. He stared intently into the girl's face, hoping to see her beautiful green eyes fluttering open, barely listening as Angel and Faith tried to explain what had happened. He glanced at them both for a moment before his eyes were drawn back to the girl in his arms. After thinking furiously for a moment, he gathered the girl closer to him and stood. "Right." he said, decision made. "Whatever this is, she'll either come out of it on her own, or we'll have to get help. Either way," he said as he saw his Sire and the dark haired girl get up and follow him, "I don't think Willow would thank us for leaving her on the floor like that." He carried the redhead into the room she was sharing with Faith and laid her down gently on the bed, sitting beside her. "One of you," he said, not looking away from the redhead as he smoothed the long hair back from her face, "Has to go down to the bar... find a *very* young vampire called Xander, and bring him here. I don't care if you have to knock him over the head to do it, just *get* him." He glanced over his shoulder at them when neither of them moved, and sighed. "He's known her for most of her life. They were best friends before he was turned. Maybe *he* can get her to wake up... or at least give us some idea of what's happening to her!" He watched them both leave to find the boy and turned back to the girl on the bed, suddenly not *caring* anymore that she was too good for him, that he was beneath her. She needed him, and he would damn well be there for her while she did... anything else, he'd worry about later. He ignored the little voice inside his head that was telling him that Willow was *his*, even if she didn't know it yet, and continued stroking her hair as he waited for her to wake up. "Damn it, Willow," he said softly to her, knowing she couldn't hear him, "What's going on in that head of yours?"

Willow had felt the two Oracles touch her forehead and then... nothing. Everything was black. There was no gravity, no direction, just... a dark void. Finally, from all around her, she could feel an approaching wave of... *something*, its vastness alone causing her to speak. "No..." she muttered to herself, not finding even the sound of her own voice to be comforting in the pervasive silence, "No..." And then it was upon her, and she found that it wasn't something to be afraid of... the whatever it was was trying to *show* her... But show her *what*? She wondered as she watched herself, her life, in reverse. It was as if she stood outside, looking in. She saw herself arrive at the hotel... leave Sunnydale... meet the Slayer... meet the sane version of Dru... lose her best friend... The visions kept flitting by, faster and faster, until she could barely separate out the most important events that had made her who she was... staking her mother... meeting the five year old Xander Harris... a time she didn't remember in Nursery School, when the administrator had said, to her face, that it was a shame that she was so smart because she'd never have a normal life... The tape of her life kept rewinding, pausing for a moment at a brief blankness that she could only suppose was before she was born. Her brow furrowed in confusion, not quite sure of exactly what she was supposed to have gotten from this... (Ah...) she thought as the display resumed, (It's not *over* yet!) She watched, amazed, as the pictures continued in reverse, this time showing her a life that she didn't recall at all. She saw a lovely dark haired girl... apparently a shopkeeper... The speed increased... This time a blonde, tall and strong... a redhead, next... another blonde... Willow's head was spinning... She didn't *know* these people, and yet... some part of her was fully aware that she had *been* every one of them... And, she realized as she watched what had to be the hundredth or hundred and fiftieth life, she *did* recall *some* things. Not in words, but in *feelings*... it was where she got her instincts, her intuitions... how she knew when she could trust someone... the sum of what she was today was based almost entirely upon the experiences she'd had when she was these other women... She watched, silently thanking her former selves, as the pictures finally slowed, then stopped... and she was once again in darkness. She was surprised as the light returned, and the show began again, this time going forward, pausing ever so slightly at certain points that she supposed were important for some reason she didn't comprehend. Finally, after a few lives, she began to understand. It wasn't just about *her*, she saw, as she watched the people interacting in her lives... she was learning about herself, sure... but she was learning about *them*, as well... There had been seven of them at first, she realized as she stared, fascinated, at what she was being shown. They had been together for centuries, always reborn, always finding each other, and together... together they had been able to do great and wondrous things! Their relationships to each other had changed constantly, sometimes parents and children, sometimes siblings, sometimes spouses and lovers, but they had *always* been together... they recognized each other every time, *knew* it the moment they met, and were drawn to each other... they were *meant* to be together! And so they had been for almost a thousand years. She watched as, one by one, they were... removed. She could see the beginnings of a gnawing emptiness in her former selves as from lifetime to lifetime, their numbers were pared down, and she realized, as she saw again the beginnings of her *own* life, that there were only three left... the others had stopped coming back in the last few centuries, and those who remained... well, their lives were the emptier for it. She watched again as she lost Xander in her lifetime, and knew, sadly, that that made it two... Two, of the original seven, were still human... still *mortal*. She nodded into the light as the visions wound up to the present moment in time. "I understand," she said quietly. "Something is coming that would have taken all of us to stop..." And she *did* understand. The dark forces had seen it long ago, and had taken steps to remove the one thing that could stop them... they had stopped the re-birth of most of the light's warriors. Willow sighed as the darkness surrounded her once again, and she felt herself being drawn to what she assumed would be her body... If only she knew *how* they'd done it... but she did, she realized. They had made them *demons*... She cried out in pain as she felt herself being forced into the mortal form that was hers this time around, and her eyes snapped open. Willow found herself staring into a pair of the bluest eyes that she had ever seen, and finally understood completely.

Angel guided the brunette girl through the lobby, his large hand resting on the small of her back. The hotel was becoming more and more crowded with his kind now that night had fallen, and he wanted no misunderstandings as to who the girl belonged to. Besides, he admitted to himself, he just liked touching her... He ignored the envious glances from the other attendees, growling slightly whenever one would get to close to the girl. They finally reached the door to the bar, and he pulled it open, waiting for her to pass through first. He looked down to see the amusement in her eyes. "What?" he asked, "I can't be a gentleman?"

Faith laughed at the question. She had heard him growling his way across the lobby, and had known exactly what he was doing. She appreciated it, too... but not as much as she'd appreciated the feel of his hand on the skin of her back. There was just something about him... he made her feel all... *tingly*. Of course, he was *still* a vampire, but... "No," she said, knowing that her eyes were dancing with amusement, "I was just thinking... You're awfully *cute* when you get all growl-y and possessive... I think I like it..." She grinned at the look of shock on his face and went through the door, not waiting for him to follow. She stopped a few paces in, wondering *how*, exactly, she was supposed to find one particular vampire in a room that was packed to the gills with them, when she felt his strong hands on her waist, pulling her back against him. She shivered slightly as she felt his cool breath on her neck as he leaned down to whisper in her ear.

"Faith..." he said softly, inhaling her scent, "I don't know exactly what's happening here, but I would just *love* to find out..." He leaned in even closer against her, almost gasping when she pressed back against him. "There's something about you... I've felt it since we first met, right here in this room... You call to me. *All* of me... But," he said sternly, stepping back from her too-enticing form, "This isn't the time. We have a vampire to find, so..."

The Slayer turned, her face still flushed from the feel of him. "You're right," she said determinedly as her heart rate began to return to normal, "And it's not going to be easy with the size of this crowd!"

Angel sighed, pulling his eyes from hers as he scanned the full bar. "You're right, too, sweet... this may take a while, so... Later?" he said softly, not looking back into her eyes for fear of losing himself in them.

Faith smiled lazily up at him, seeing him scanning the room. "Count on it, Fang... *count* on it. What?" she said, as his surprised eyes glanced at her face before pulling away again, "You can call me 'sweet', but I can't call you Fang?" She grinned more broadly as she considered. "Fang... Fang... I *like* it!" She laughed quietly to herself at his resigned moan and began passing her gaze over the room herself, stopping as she saw the familiar tilt of a head. "I don't *believe* it!" she muttered as she began to push her way across the crowded room. "What's *she* doing here?" She stalked up behind the familiar form, and tapped it on the shoulder. "*Angela*?"

Angel groaned to himself as he realized that he'd just acquired a new nickname... and that he'd probably be answering to it before long, too. He heard Faith's muttering and turned to see her crossing the bar. *She* might not have noticed the looks she was getting from the other patrons, but *he* did, and rushed after her, arriving at her side as she confronted a very pretty, and very *human* girl dressed all in dark blue leather. He grimaced at the other girl's vampire companion... his Faith didn't sound too happy.

The auburn haired girl stared in surprise at her friend for a moment. "Faith... you look surprised." She shook her head slightly, her hair swaying with the movement. "I don't know why you *would* be though... I *told* you I was gonna try to make it!"

"Well, I... I thought you'd have to work, so I wasn't expecting you..." Faith suddenly realized that she was about a quarter of an inch away from making a scene, and backed down a bit. "Sorry. So when did you get here, and who's your *friend*?" she asked, taking in the brown haired vampire who had been hanging on her friend.

Angela laughed, her eyes twinkling over the top of her glasses. "C'mon, Faith! I haven't had a vacation in like two *years*! I took a week off!" She grinned, looking over the tall man with the brunette girl. "I got here like a half an hour ago, and as for my friend, well... You can meet mine if I can meet yours..." she said teasingly.

Faith laughed loudly. Angela was still exactly the same! She was glad, too... she'd run into the girl when she was passing through Louisiana almost six months earlier, and although she hadn't stayed in town for long, she and the girl had kept in touch... Angela was one of her few friends, and the only one other than Willow... and she'd just met *her*, who knew that Faith was a Slayer. Faith had been concerned about even telling the girl about vampires, but she'd been pleasantly surprised to find that the girl not only *believed*, but understood the loneliness of a Slayer's life... that's why she was so worried about her friend showing up *here*... she didn't want anything to happen to her! She was still chuckling as she began her introductions. "Sorry, Ang. You know me, rude to the core... This is Angel..." She turned her head, looking over her shoulder to meet his eyes, "And Fang, this is my friend Angela." She grinned at the tall vampire as he grimaced at her use of the new nickname and turned back to face the other girl. "I just ran into him earlier today, but..." She waggled an eyebrow at the auburn haired girl.

Angela giggled, giving Angel a more thorough once-over. "Yeah, well, he's *not* one to leave un-attended, is he?" She glanced back at her own vampire companion and took his large hand in her own. "Speaking of... *This* is my new friend... Xander." She was completely unprepared for it when Faith and Angel exchanged quick glances and proceeded to drag her *and* Xander from the bar. "Hey!" she cried, yanking her hand from Faith's as they finally stopped by the elevator, "What the *hell* do you think you're doing?"

Angel sighed almost angrily, releasing the much younger vampire, who he'd had in a headlock. "I'm sorry, Angela," he said, not looking away from the vamp he'd just released, "But we need your friend's help." He propelled the other vampire into the elevator as the doors finally opened, knowing that Faith and her friend would follow. "Xander here," he explained, stabbing at the button for the top floor, "Knows someone with us who might be in trouble. Willow." he said, turning again to the other vamp as he continued pressing for their floor. "Why isn't this thing working?" he asked angrily, completely unprepared for Xander's laughter.

"It's a *new* hotel... *Fang*," the boy said, giggling, "The buttons sense *body* *heat*, and since you don't *have* any..." His voice died out, his smile fading, at the venom-filled glance the older vampire threw his way. "Uh... sorry, man..." he muttered quietly, looking away.

Faith stared back and forth between the two vampires, feeling the tension in the suddenly too-small enclosure. She *really* didn't want them coming to blows right now... *she'd* be OK, but Angela was only human, and didn't have any of her own Slayer abilities. She smiled wickedly as a thought came to her. Maybe she could create an entirely *different* kind of tension! "Let me take care of that, then," she said, her voice a bit more husky than usual. "Uh-uh," she said, as Angel moved to let her at the elevator panel, "Not *quite* what I had in mind..." She slid closer to him, taking his big hand in her own and raising it to her lips. She flicked out her tongue, barely touching the tip of his index finger before taking the entire digit into her mouth. She stared into his suddenly wide eyes as she swirled her tongue around his calloused finger, not stopping until she saw them preparing to roll up in his head. Finally pulling his finger from the warm wetness of her mouth, she moved his un-resisting hand to the elevator panel and used it to press for their floor, smiling up at him as the button actually lit this time. "You see, Fang, I was*right*!" she said, sounding delighted. "I was thinking that if the problem is no body heat, then I could maybe lend you some of mine." She swallowed hard at the look in his now darker than usual eyes... if she was lucky, the 'later' he'd mentioned before would be coming along rather *sooner*... She almost couldn't *wait*! She was glad, a moment later, to see Angel's slight jump as Xander's voice interrupted her lustful thoughts... at least she wasn't the *only* one who had forgotten the other couple's presence completely!

Xander had looked on, amazed at the show that his Angela's friends were putting on. It was obvious that the two had some amazing chemistry, but the dark haired girl... the one who made him... *twitchy* by her very nearness... she had said that they'd just met that day... hadn't she? He shook his head slightly, watching as the older vampire somehow managed to restrain the impulse to throw the girl down and drive himself into her right then and there. He felt his respect for the other man growing exponentially... *he* was just a spectator, and he almost needed to possess the girl himself... he couldn't even *begin* to imagine the strength it would take as a *participant*! He glanced down at the auburn haired beauty by his side, seeing an equal degree of amazement on her face. Finally, he decided that someone just *had* to break the tension, and that it might as well be *him*. "OK," he said, trying to sound un-affected, "What's wrong with Willow? You said she's in some kind of *trouble*?"

Angel almost growled as the boy's voice pulled him from some very... interesting thoughts of Faith... and himself... naked, and doing... all *sorts* of things... He wondered just where she'd learned to use her tongue like that... and made himself a very *strict* mental promise that no one *else* would ever have the chance to find out about his girl's... *talents*. "What?" he said, somewhat distractedly, "Oh... Willow... right..." He glanced at Faith for a moment, seeing an equal degree of arousal in her eyes, before returning to what he was saying. He found himself wondering, as he explained the situation to the younger vampire, just how soon he'd be able to convince the girl to spend some time alone with him. Of course, he was completely unaware that she was thinking the exact same thing, only about *him*. He continued talking to Xander, and Faith's friend Angela, as the elevator finally stopped and opened on their floor.

The two couples walked quickly down the hallway, discussing the situation. Angel was somewhat disappointed that Xander didn't know of anything that could help them, but hoped, as he unlocked the suite's door and led the other three in, that maybe the boy's presence alone would be enough to bring the redhead out of whatever dream she'd been stuck in... After all, the dark vampire thought, looking lustfully at the brunette girl, he had a dream of his *own* that he wanted to... explore...

Spike glanced angrily at the clock beside the bed. It had been almost twenty minutes! Where were Faith and his blasted poof of a Sire? It couldn't possibly take that long to find one vampire! He growled slightly, hoping that the two of them hadn't gotten distracted by each other on the way. He had *seen* the attraction between then , and while he certainly didn't begrudge the nancy-boy a little happiness, he wasn't going to condone it if it meant that his Willow had to stay unconscious for even an extra *minute*! He gazed again on the face of the redhead, wondering exactly *when* he'd become such a sodding poof himself... Time was, he'd have seen the girl, wanted the girl, had the girl--- willing or not, turned the girl, and gone on with his life, keeping her with him until he got tired of her and staked her himself! He grinned at the recollection before sighing and shaking his head. No, somewhere along the way, he'd grown soft... he blamed it on the poof, he did... His soul-having undead bastard of a poofy Sire had come back into his life, and much as Spike had always loved being bad, and vicious, and cruel, he just hadn't been able to stand the disappointment in Angel's eyes when he *was* those things... He groaned. He'd let his bloody Sire's bloody *soul* change him, and now that he was finally seeing it clearly, he'd see to it that he went back to being as much of a demon as he... His thoughts were erased by the cry of pain from the redhead in front of him. "Willow?" he said, too low for her to hear, as her eyes flew open and she stared directly into his eyes. She was awake! "Willow," he said again, seeing the look in her eyes... for *him*... she was *glad* to be waking up to him! "Are you al-" His words were cut off as she pulled him to her, her warm lips meeting his cool ones searingly. His eyes fluttered closed at the sensation, and she took the opportunity to devour his mouth with her own... or at least, that's what it felt like to him, not that he was complaining any... Finally, he released a disappointed sigh as she pulled away. He kept his eyes closed for a moment, afraid of opening them and finding that he'd imagined the whole thing... that he'd flung himself at her and taken advantage of her in her un-naturally still state. Finally, feeling her warm little fingers caressing his cheek, he opened his eyes to meet hers.

Willow smiled as Spike finally opened his eyes, responding to her touch. "Spike," she said softly, gazing deep into his eyes, "You probably won't understand this, at least not at first, but..." She ran her hand down his cheek, cupping his jaw gently as she pulled him towards her. "You're mine," she said, rejoicing at the acknowledgement she saw in his eyes. "You have *always* been mine... even when neither of us knew it... And I don't want you to be anything but what you are." She glanced away for a moment before pulling him down beside her on the bed and turning on to her side to face him. "I *know* what you are... and I know what you thought, but..." She smiled softly, her hand moving down over his neck and coming to rest on his chest, just over his unbeating heart. "You were *wrong*. Nothing matters... none of *this*!" She pulled her hand away, gesturing vaguely at the space around them before replacing it where it had been a moment earlier. "*This* matters," she said gently, seeing the confusion in his eyes. "*This*!" She leaned down to him, taking his lips with hers once again. "You've *always* been mine," she repeated softly, feeling the knowledge of the void once again, "And you always *will* be!" She listened for a moment as he tried to protest, and finally cut him off. "No... you're not beneath me... or not *yet*, anyway," she said, sounding almost wicked as she tried to make her intentions perfectly clear. She stroked his chest lightly through his shirt. "I told you before... I know what you are... you're a *demon*... but you're also a *man*. And you can deny it as much as you like, but *all* of you... the demon *and* the man you once were... belongs to me. Just as," she finished, placing one finger against his lips, stopping his words, "Just as *I* belong to *you*." She gazed intently into his blue eyes as he began to understand her words, and smiled.

Spike smiled back at her, finally making himself believe what she was saying. He could see it in her eyes... she meant it... and she was *his*... not the poof's, not that Xander boy's... *his*! He reached out his hand, pulling her towards him. "Yeah, luv... I'm yours..." He felt her lips on his once again, and wished that his heart was beating... just so that he could feel the sensation of it stopping from her touch... He sighed against her mouth, his tongue dancing with hers, as they both heard the sounds of the door to the suite opening. He reluctantly allowed her to pull away, and called out, "Sire! She's awake!" He turned his head towards the open bedroom door, only to see the young vampire, Xander, from the bar earlier. His eyes widened as he felt his redhead fly from the bed, and he gaped in amazement as she tackled that same vampire and began beating him about the head. "Willow!" he exclaimed, jumping up and running to her. "Willow!" he said again, more forcefully, as he pried her small angry body from that of the younger man, "What's gotten into you luv? I thought he was your *friend*!"

Willow could feel the calming effect that being in Spike's arms was having on her, and struggled violently against him for a moment. "My friend?" she cried, unwillingly giving in to the peace of his touch, " *I* thought so too..." She turned in Spike's arms, burying her head in his strong, cool chest. "He *left* me, Spike," she said softly, voice trembling from the suddenly fresh emotions, "He left me, and he never came back... he was my *brother*, and more... for almost a thousand years..." She sobbed against him, her heart almost breaking as she uttered the words, telling him the thing that had hurt her the most. "And he never even said 'Good-bye'..."

The blond tightened his hold on the weeping redhead in his arms and glared fire at the young vampire he'd met earlier that day. "It's all right, luv," he said softly, his true face emerging for the first time that day, "I'll kill him for you if you like..." He held in the grin that threatened to emerge as Xander turned an even whiter shade of pale, and wondered what Willow had meant when she'd said 'almost a thousand years'... but he put that aside for the moment, concentrating on the issue at hand. "Of course, you'd probably never forgive me," he murmured softly to her as he let the mask of humanity fall over him again. He felt her sobs diminishing, and turned his full attention back to the young man. "Well?" he said impatiently, "What do you have to say for yourself? And it had *better* be good! I don't like it that my Willow is crying over *your* sorry ass... Make her feel better." He glanced beyond the boy for the first time, seeing the look of surprise on the faces of his Sire, Faith, and the girl with them, and realized for the first time that there was a complete stranger in the room. "Hello, cutie," he said softly, looking into the girl's hazel eyes. "I'm Spike... and I'm hers," he said, bending his head and lightly brushing his lips across the top of Willow's head. He could hear the astonished gasp coming from Faith, and a slightly *less* surprised one from his Sire, but he didn't take his eyes from the strange girl. He smiled slightly as he heard her response... 'Lucky girl' indeed... "So, boy," he said harshly, moving his gaze to the one who had caused his Willow such heartache, "We're *waiting*!"

Xander stared at the vampire who was currently holding his old best friend tightly. Unless he was mistaken, Spike had found his mate... which was kind of odd, considering the scent he was getting from Willow... she smelled almost like... his Sire? The young vampire shuddered slightly. This was just too twisted for him! He wondered, for a moment, whether he could just sneak out, but the looks he was receiving from Spike, and from Spike's Sire Angel... (Angel? Oh, hell... *Angelus*!), convinced him not even to *try*. "Uhhh.." he finally said, amazed that he'd gotten even *that* much out... (Oh, shit...) he thought despairingly, (I am *so* dust!)

Chapter 2

"Uhhh..." the young dark haired vampire said again, knowing that he had to say *something*, and having no *idea* of what that something should be. He glanced quickly at the little redhead who had once been his best friend, noticing how peaceful she seemed in the arms of the blond. Of course, he realized as she narrowed her eyes and glared at him, appearances could be... *deceiving*. His gaze darted to the tall broody vamp standing next to the cute brunette girl. He felt like a trapped animal... which, he finally understood, he basically *was*. Xander sighed and spoke to the one called Angel... the one that he now *knew* was really Angelus! "Do you mind if I sit down?"

Angel was almost furious with the young man. The boy was seeing Willow for the first time in who knew *how* long, and he couldn't even say 'hello' to her? No, the bastard was too concerned for his own *comfort*... he wasn't worrying about hurting his... The tall vampire finally realized what the look in the boy's eyes was... he was *scared*. Angel glanced at Willow for a moment, realizing that he'd probably be afraid, too, if the girl was looking at *him* that way. "Fine." he said harshly, "But don't think that you're getting out of here without..."

Xander nodded, cutting Angelus off as he crossed the room to take a seat on the couch. "Without explaining myself... I know." Once he had finally settled, he looked again at his redheaded friend. "I'm sorry, Will. I *should* have said goodbye, but... I was *afraid* to, damn it!" He looked away from the pain in her eyes and the accusations he could see in the blond's... Spike's... eyes. "I mean, think about it, Will... We'd been fighting the darkness for *six* *years*! Between us and the gang, we must have dusted at *least* a few hundred vampires, and then... suddenly I *was* *one*?" He looked quickly at her again, finding his eyes caught by hers as she slowly pulled away from Spike's sheltering arms. "I *couldn't* stay! And I couldn't say goodbye, either!" He sighed deeply, ignoring everyone in the room except her. "You would have known as soon as you saw me, Will... and you would have *killed* me!" He sighed again, more softly this time. "And even if you hadn't, what was I going to say? That I ended up becoming a demon because I tried to help some crazy chick just because she was pretty? I can just *imagine* the lecture I would have gotten for *that* one!" He swallowed hard, almost afraid to tell her the rest of it. "I... I didn't leave right away, you know." He pulled his eyes from hers and stared at the floor while he continued. "I... I stayed... in Sunnydale for a while... a couple months, anyway. My Sire was trying to teach me how to be a 'proper' vampire..." He chuckled slightly to himself at the recollection. "And let me tell you, Will, *that* was an interesting experience! I mean, *hell*! If I'd listened to *her*, I'd be dancing with trees and having tea parties with *roadkill* by now... probably while singing strange little songs to the moon!" He glanced at the girl, knowing she'd recognize Drusilla by the description. He was prepared for her to scream at him, maybe even begin beating him about the head again... He was *not* prepared for her total lack of surprise. His eyes widened to saucers as his mouth fell open. "You *knew*!" he cried accusingly, shaking slightly at the realization, "You already *knew*!" He was so surprised at the discovery that he didn't even notice it when Angelus raced across the room and dragged Spike into one of the bedrooms as Faith pulled her friend Angela into the other... he was too busy trying to process what the redhead before him was saying.

"I know you were turned," Willow said flatly, "And I know by who." She stalked towards him, forgetting about everything except this confrontation that had been so long in the making. "I know what you are, and why you became that... What I *didn't* know, at least not until I became friends with your Sire, was that *you* *were* *still* *YOU*! I mean, hell, Xander, I didn't know *anything* until she told me! How could I? All I knew for *months* was that you disappeared on patrol! I thought you were *dead*! And not in the 'walking around snacking on humanity' sense, either!" She could feel her control spiraling away, but she didn't care. It just felt so *good* to finally *vent*! "How could you not *tell* me? Yes, you became a *demon*! Big deal! You were a good person when you were alive! I would have given you the benefit of the doubt!" Her eyes were flashing, and she knew her skin was flushed, but she was just so... *angry*! How could he have doubted her like that? She stepped back from him in surprise as he leapt up off the couch.

"Would you, Will?' he shouted back, grabbing her by the upper arms, "Because I seem to remember a certain redheaded witch saying that all vampires were evil, and should be dusted on *sight*!" He pushed her away from him, making sure that she'd land on the couch. "Maybe you *wouldn't* have killed me, but do you really think that I wanted to see that look on your face when you found out? That look I saw so many times, when classmates of ours were turned?" He sighed, calming himself. "I couldn't have stood it, Will," he said, much more softly. "I always *hated* that look... envied it, too. With one glance, you could make anyone want to just lay down and die... just because they weren't who you thought they were... not anymore." He sighed again, sitting down beside her and covering his face with his hands. "I didn't want you to look at *me* that way."

Willow could feel the anger draining from her body as she listened to her friend. She *still* didn't think that he'd handled things properly but she supposed, looking back, that he *did* have a point... She wouldn't have been as tolerant of his... condition... before she'd gotten to know Dru. She sighed, finally looking at him with eyes that weren't clouded by thoughts of betrayal and abandonment. "It's OK, Xander... well, not *really*, but I kind of understand what you mean."

They sat companionably there for a little while before Xander finally found the nerve to ask the one question he'd been wondering about ever since he'd smelled her. "Will?" he said softly, hoping she wouldn't start yelling again, "How... how *is* my Sire?"

Willow knew that she was staring, but she just didn't understand how he could be asking her that. "What?" she said, confused, "You don't *know*?" She saw his shame-faced look and continued. "I thought you could feel her... I mean, she's your *Sire*!"

Xander nodded, smiling sadly. "She is, but... they *did* something to her. I don't know who or why, but someone *did* something, and she... *changed*. I can't *feel* her anymore. I haven't been able to since before she sent me here," he said softly, "And she forbade me to ask after her." He grimaced slightly, meeting the redhead's eyes. "It was an *order*, actually, so... and the only reason I'm asking *you* is that... you *smell* like her, Will! She's marked you as her servant... her *personal* servant! I don't know if she told you this, but that puts you pretty high in the pecking order of the clan! You certainly rank higher than me!" He lowered his eyelids and gazed at her winningly from beneath his lashes. "So... how is she?"

Willow smiled around her latest sigh. "She's fine, Xan... she's *sane*, but she's *fine*. She spoke across his surprised silence, knowing that if she let him get a word in, she'd be here all night, and while she *did* want to spend some time with him, *he* wasn't the vampire she'd planned on spending the evening with. "She told me that she'd sent you away. I already knew that much. What I *didn't* know, until just now, was that she hadn't told you the whole story... of course, she probably didn't understand at the time... it took her a few weeks to regain her *full* sanity." Willow smiled again, remembering her first few meetings with the girl. "At first, she didn't make a whole lot of sense, not that that should be surprising, I mean, it *is* Dru we're talking about... or the *old* Dru, at least! Now," she said, seeing the look of expectation in his eyes, "I don't know *everything*, but here's the short form of what I *do* know..." She closed her eyes, leaning back against the couch cushions as she tried to put everything in order for him. "It was just over two months after she Sired you. You had run off somewhere to play, as new childer often do, and she was bored. She decided to go for a little walk and somehow ended up near UC Sunnydale. She cut across a corner of the campus proper, and the next thing she knew, she felt like she was on fire! She said that she was out of it for a while then, because when she woke up, she was in a white room with the most annoying ache in her head. She was still insane, of course, but she must have been playing nicely because at some point they decided to take her somewhere with only three guards. Well, Dru being Dru," She glanced into Xander's almost amused brown eyes, "She got into their heads... made them think that she was human... they'd kidnapped the wrong being... *you* know how she can be..." The redhead grinned, seeing the smile on the young vampire's face. "Yes, Xander, she pulled the old 'these are not the droids you're looking for' trick on them!" Willow rolled her eyes at the way Xander hadn't changed a *bit*... well, except for the whole 'being an immortal blood-sucking demon' part, anyway... "In any case, they walked her right out of their compound, and she was home before you even knew she was gone!" She stopped talking for a moment, letting the dark haired youth laugh himself out. Once he stopped, she continued the story. "That was the beginning of the end, Xan... she knew something was wrong, she just didn't know *what*... Every time she tried to feed, she would have these painful flashes in her head... and every time it happened, she felt a little more like her old self... her *pre-vampire* self, I mean... Somewhere during that time was when she sent you away..."

The young man nodded slowly as Willow's voice trailed off, his own voice becoming lighter. "Yeah... she said that she couldn't be a proper Sire to me... that she wanted me to thrive, and be strong... of course, she also said that she wanted me to 'debase the beef canoe', but..." He shook his head in an odd combination of sorrow and amusement.

Willow nodded slowly, happy to see a bit of the shadow in Xander's eyes lift away. "It wasn't you, you know," she said softly. "There wasn't anything wrong with *you*... that wasn't why she sent you away. She wanted you to be the best vampire that you could, and she knew, once she started getting less... crazy... that you couldn't do that with *her*."

Xander smiled, finally accepting what his Great Grand Sire had been saying all along. "Yeah... I know that now. So," he continued softly, his eyes growing a bit misty as he discarded many of his assumptions about his past with his Sire, "She's sane... but she's alright... Umm, does she... does she *miss* me? I mean," he hurried on, "I'll understand if she doesn't, she's not the same batty Dru anymore, but..."

Willow suddenly knew that she'd had enough... she couldn't bear this anymore... she couldn't sit there with her *best* *friend* who she hadn't seen in five *years* and not... hug him! "Oh, Xan!" she cried, throwing her arms around him, "Of *course* she misses you! Almost as much as *I* did! After all," she said softly, pulling away from him and smiling as she heard the growl coming from the bedroom door behind her, "You *are* her only childe!"

Angel had listened to the boy trying to make his excuses for leaving the beautiful redhead without even a word of goodbye, and had been completely unimpressed. Until, of course, the little brat had gotten to the part about the two of them and their 'gang' dusting hundreds of vampires. He could tell that the boy was in earnest, but it just seemed so unlikely! After all, how could Willow have been out killing his kind when she was *here*, a few years later, as *servant* to a vampire herself? The very irrationality of it disturbed him, and he looked to his childe, hoping to find Spike rolling his eyes, or doing *something* to indicate that the boy's story was... delusional at best, and an out-right lie at worst. Unfortunately, all he saw when he looked at the blond was the same fierce protectiveness that he'd seen ever since he and Faith had returned from the bar. Angel seriously doubted that the redhead was a Slayer... if she *had* been one, she wouldn't have been *there*, at the Gathering... Besides, he figured that he'd be able to *sense* a Slayer. He'd never *met* one, but he'd heard that vampires could sense them just as *they* could sense vampires. His whole train of thought was swiftly de-railed, however, as he heard the young dark haired vampire describe the things his Sire had tried to teach him to do in order to be a good vampire. (Dru...) he thought wonderingly, (Drusilla's his Sire?) He glanced again at his bleached blond childe, wanting to see whether he had caught the reference, and almost growled as he realized that Spike had not only *heard*, but was completely unsurprised by the supposed revelation. He took a step forward before realizing that his fingers were still entangled with Faith's. Angel looked down, meeting the worried eyes of his beautiful girl, and forced himself to a semblance of calm. "It's alright, love," he murmured softly, drawing her hand to his mouth and brushing his lips lightly against her palm, "I just need to speak with my childe for a moment... Besides," he said, still quietly, looking at Xander and Willow, "I think that *those* two need some time alone..." He smiled lightly at her as she placed the palm that he'd just kissed against his cheek while she leaned up to brush a soft kiss against his cool lips. "Later?" he asked gently, laughing to himself at her response. He pulled away and used his enhanced speed to cross the room, grabbing his childe along the way and dragging him into one of the bedrooms. Shutting the door quietly behind them, he turned to the blond. "You knew," he said softly, the very smoothness of his voice betraying his anger. "You knew, and yet you said... *nothing*." He stared at his childe, waiting for the usual spate of excuses.

Spike stared hopelessly at his Sire. How could he explain? He couldn't, he realized. "Yeah." He stared at the taller vampire for a moment before realizing that the man was waiting for an excuse. "Yeah," he repeated, "I knew. For almost a whole... hour now," he said, looking at his watch and thinking about how much time he'd spent in the bar, then by Willow's side while she was out like a light, then in the living room of the suite while the boy had started to explain. "And I would have told you sooner, but... No, no excuses... I came up here to tell you, but Willow was all passed out in your lap. I *should* have still told you, but... I *forgot*!" He growled at his Sire. "Must've been the sight of *my* woman in *your* arms that did it to me, you poof... but I *didn't* tell you, so you might as well just go ahead and *punish* me, already!" He began to quickly unbutton his shirt, dropping it to the floor as he pulled the tight T-shirt over his head. He paused, his fingers on the buttons of his pants as he saw his Sire just standing there... staring at him. "What?" he said harshly as the first button came undone, "Isn't this the way you *usually* punish me? I can take it, Angel, and the sooner it's over... the sooner I can go back out there to be with my girl." He almost groaned at the broody look his Sire suddenly acquired. "What?" he demanded, "What is it? You want her for yourself?" He felt his true face emerge as he stalked towards the taller man. "Well, too *bad*! She's *mine*! And she *knows* it! Told me so herself, she did..." He pressed himself against his Sire's body. "So you can punish me for *that*, too... Just get it over with," he said, gazing longingly at the door, "I want to get back in there... God knows what's happening to my Willow!"

Angel couldn't believe it... his childe wasn't making excuses! In fact, Spike was *asking* to be punished just so he could get back to the redheaded vixen who had apparently stolen his heart! He stared, completely astonished, as the blond began to strip himself of his pants... maybe it really *had* been unintentional... He heard his childe accusing him of wanting Willow for himself, and barely kept himself from laughing. Finally, he turned his eyes fully upon the gorgeous blond man in front of him. "Oh, get *dressed*," Angel said irritably. "I know you didn't deliberately keep it from me." He almost laughed at the haste with which his childe re-buttoned his pants and pulled his shirts on. "Besides, I don't *want* your girl, Spike.." He could see the disbelief in his childe's eyes and qualified his statement. "Well, OK, I *do*... but not as much as I want *mine*... Now come on, let's..." his voice trailed off as he approached the door. He could almost hear them clearly, and it sounded like... Willow and Xander were talking about Dru? He listened closely, growling quietly as he heard the redhead re-count the things that had been maliciously done to his wild childe... but finally, as he heard the rest of the story, he had to admit that it was a *good* thing... Drusilla crazy had been... unpleasant at best! And *wait*! He wondered if he'd heard correctly, but looking at his childe, he was sure that he *had*... *Drusilla* was Willow's Master? Angel grinned as Spike completely forgot about his presence, and watched, laughing, as the blond flung open the bedroom door. He flew forward, however, when he heard his childe's deep, throaty growl.

Faith smiled as she took her friend into the bedroom that *wasn't* currently being occupied by Angel and Spike. They had all been standing in the living room when things had started to turn ugly. Angel had tried to step away from her, and if it hadn't been for the fact that they were holding hands, he might have gotten away with it! As things had turned out, he'd ended up running his wonderfully cool lips across her palm. She remembered thinking that his mouth had felt almost *sinfully* good, and the memory surprised her, mostly because she had never really understood what the phrase meant, but *now* she did! She wanted so badly just to *touch* him... not on the hand, not on the waist... she'd done that already, and as satisfying as it had been, she wanted...*more*. She would swear, later, that her hand had risen of its own accord, and cupped the planes of his face... of course, she had no *hand* to blame for it when she lifted herself up on her toes and pressed herself to him, her lips meeting his in a soft but needy kiss. She had smiled at him as he'd pulled away, answering his last question with "Sooner, if *I* have anything to say about it!" She had seen the look in his eyes, and she *really* hoped that Angela had a room of her own... not that she'd mind the company, but... Faith finally faced up to the truth. She *did* want to be kept up all night, but not because she was having 'girl-talk'... she was actually hoping that she'd be up all night having something *entirely* different from *talk*. She spoke with her friend for what could only have been minutes before she managed to pick up the growls coming from the living room. "Ang," Faith said quietly, walking slowly to the door before opening it and looking out, "You wouldn't *believe* this!"

Willow stood as his growl died away, and turned to face him. She stared into his lovely eyes for just a moment before rounding the couch and slipping into his arms again. "Spike." she whispered softly against his shirt, "What were you getting all... *growl-y* about? It's just Xander." Her eyes drifted closed for a moment as he told her, flat-out, that he couldn't stand the idea of anyone else touching her... even her friend! She smiled slightly against his chest, knowing that after all the things she had planned for them that night, he'd never even *think* about wondering over her and Xander. Her mouth began to travel over the tight T-shirt that covered his body, her tongue slipping out to caress his suddenly taut nipples through the cotton. She could feel his body becoming tense and she giggled. Not quite the reaction she'd been looking for, but she could cope. She felt his hands running up and down her spine before coming to rest on the slight curve of her ass. "Spike," she murmured softly against his lips, "It's time..." Her eyes slowly traveled up to meet his, and she was surprised at the depth of need she saw there. "You're mine," she reminded him smoothly, "And I know the words are hard to say... so why don't you*show* me how you feel instead?"

Spike swallowed hard. "Yeah, pet..." he said, his voice slightly shaky, "Why don't I?" He took her hand as he released the rest of her, and led her towards the bedroom he'd just been in with his Sire... his Sire who was still standing there in the doorway, an amused look on his face. Spike grinned as he remembered certain things about the day that was about to end perfectly, with him deep inside his lovely witch. "Sod off, Angel," he said softly, pushing the great poof out into the living room, "I've got a redhead to seduce... and if you're *smart*..." He grinned at the taller vampire, "You'll do the same with *your* girl." He passed into the bedroom with his woman, shutting the door before quickly opening it again. "Oh, and Xander," Spike called out, not even trying to look at the boy, "Willow says 'Good-night'!" He closed the door again, locking it this time... he had more on his mind than the much younger vampire...

Xander stammered for a moment, trying to find a graceful way out of the room... if Darla had taught him *anything*, it was to never leave them laughing... at *him*...

Faith and Angela had looked out through the bedroom door, only to see Spike growling at Xander... for a moment, it looked like it was going to turn into something *really* unpleasant, but then Willow had gotten up and gone to her mate. The two of them, blond and redheaded, had talked for a moment, and then they were gone, Spike pushing Angel back as they entered the other bedroom. The two girls glanced at each other, knowing *exactly* what was going to be happening in that room in just a few moments. Faith almost fainted as she heard the words the blond spoke just before closing the door. She was almost ready to look at Angel hopefully when the door opened one more time, and Spike called out that Willow said 'goodbye' to her long-lost best friend. Angel looked at Xander and his human friend Angela, relieved when they began to make their excuses. It wasn't that he didn't *like* them... he *did*! It was just that he was going to try to take his childe's advice for once... he was going to try to seduce Faith... He found himself hoping that she wouldn't be upset... or angry... or even resentful that he was thinking of her that way, although... earlier, in the bar, she'd been...

The brunette Slayer looked almost longingly at the tall, dark vampire... Ang and Xand had been gone for almost ten minutes, and all he'd done was stand there and stare into space... Finally, Faith decided to take things into her own hands, and moved to stand right in front of him. 'Angel." she said softly, placing her hand alongside his ribcage. "Angel." she said again, a bit more loudly this time as the same hand slid around his side and down, finally stopping when it was cupping one perfect ass cheek. "Angel!" she cried out, afraid he'd fallen asleep. She moved her other hand around him, grabbing the other cheek with it as she pulled him tight against her, delighting as he moaned her name. "So," she said, as she began to rub herself against his hard cold body, "You gonna take Spike's advice?" She almost screamed against him as his arms closed around her, pulling her tightly enough to him that she could *feel* how interested he was. "I have to warn you though," she murmured against his ear as he picked her up and carried her to the bedroom that was originally going to be hers and Willow's, "I don't think I'm gonna require any more seducing than Willow is... but I'll play coy if you want..."

Angel was almost shocked as he listened to Faith's words... 'play coy'?... she was *playing* with him? He thought back again, over the entire day that he'd spent with this girl... and he understood. She wasn't playing... but she was willing to... games, fantasies... He sighed, feeling the demon within him sighing as well. There was just something about Faith... she satisfied all of him... so far.. "No..." he finally responded, setting her down on the bed after shutting and locking the door. "No," he said again, beginning to unbutton his shirt before losing patience and pulling it over his head, "I don't need you to play coy for me, Faith..." His voice trailed away as she sat up, removing her own shirt before sliding over to help him with his pants. She was just *too* perfect, he thought as she took him into her mouth... she had to have *some* kind of a flaw! All thoughts of flaws, however, were quickly eradicated as Angel's eyes rolled back and he lost himself in the feeling of her exquisite mouth... and *throat*... (She's a *Goddess*!!!), and he bucked against her face until she found something even better for him to do with his cock... Angel only *hoped* that his childe was having as good a time with the redhead....

Chapter 3

Spike gazed, awestruck, at the little redhead laying beside him. She was so much more than he had even allowed himself to imagine! He sighed almost contentedly as she began to draw lazy circles on his cool chest with her hot little fingers, wondering how long this could possibly last... how long it would be before she realized that she'd made a horrible mistake. After all, a girl like her... she deserved *more*... *better*.

"What's wrong, love?" Willow asked slowly, moving her fingertips lightly across his tight nipples. "Regrets?"

He turned onto his side, facing her. "No, no regrets... never..." He swallowed hard and finally said what was on his mind, hoping she'd understand. "It's just that... you really... you... I'm comfortable with you. *All* of me, that is... and that... *worries* me." He sighed again as her fingers stopped their leisurely exploration. "It's just... what I said before... about not being good enough..."

"No." she said flatly, looking into his eyes, "You *are* good enough. You're *mine*, and that's the end of it, Spike!" She inched herself closer to him, almost laughing as she felt his lovely cock stirring to life again against her leg. "It took me all this time to find you... don't you *dare* think that I'm going to let you go!"

"But Willow," he gasped out, as he felt her warm little tongue pick up where her fingers had left off, "I meant what I said... I *am* beneath you... ahh..." He groaned as the girl pushed him flat against the mattress and rolled herself onto him.

"Well, sure," Willow said breathlessly, rubbing herself hard against him, "You are *now*!"

Spike groaned deeply, his hands latching tightly onto her hips as she moved. "I always *will* be, love..." He stopped talking, taking in one large breath as she impaled herself upon him, and he groaned again at the heat of her surrounding him.

Willow chuckled and leaned down to brush her lips against his. "I don't know, Spike... I seem to recall that earlier, *I* was the one beneath *you*." She giggled again when she felt his hands tightening on her as she began to move.

Angel awoke from his light doze, only to find himself alone. Of course, he'd woken up alone many times before, but for some reason, *this* time he was feeling a bit upset about it. He knew that he and Faith hadn't made each other any promises, but... he'd *thought* that they'd had... an understanding! He took a deep breath, realizing that wherever the girl had gone, it had been *very* recently... he could still smell her... *taste* her in the air. He strained his ears for sounds elsewhere in the suite, smiling as he heard the sounds his childe and the witch were making in the other bedroom, then grinned to himself as he finally located a lone heartbeat on the balcony. He rolled from the bed, pulling his pants on, and went to get his woman.

Faith stood silently on the balcony, leaning on the railing as she gazed out over the city. She had needed to think, and had come out here to do it, having found that the presence of her... lover... wasn't really conducive to thought... even if he *was* asleep. She just didn't know what she was doing... She was a *Slayer*! And she'd just bedded a *vampire*... without a second thought! She groaned silently, and not just *any* vampire, but *Angelus*! She had almost missed the connection when Spike had first introduced them... it had taken her a little while to figure it out... Every Slayer had heard of Spike and Angelus, and even if he *was* calling himself Angel now, he was *still* the same vampire who had terrorized half of Europe... wasn't he? She groaned again. And *she* had slept with him... *repeatedly*! She shivered in the cold winter air, wishing she'd thought to grab something more than Angel's silk shirt to wear during her little bout of introspection.

Angel stood just inside the glass doors, watching the girl he was almost *sure* he loved. He could see that she was deep in thought, and could only hope that she wasn't regretting their time together. *He* didn't regret it, not for a moment... she was fiery, and wild, and everything he could ever have hoped for... He really hoped that she wasn't having second thoughts... he didn't think that he'd be able to let her go now. He smiled, a little wickedly, as he felt the demon caged within him agree. That was when he saw the girl shiver, and he realized just how cold it had to be out there... it was, after all, Seattle... in the *winter*... and they were on the twenty-seventh floor! The wind-chill *alone* would be the death of her! He growled slightly. He would have to make it very clear to her that she needed to take better care of herself... he wasn't willing to lose her now. He began to open the door, only to stop, shocked at her softly spoken words.

She shivered again. He hadn't *seemed* evil, but as she knew from personal experience, evil was good at hiding itself... He was Angelus. A *vampire*. And no matter how much she lov... *liked* him, *or* how good he was in bed... she was still a Slayer. She sighed deeply, not even noticing the door opening behind her. "Oh, god..." she said to herself, softly, "What have I *done*?"

Xander Harris smiled as he finally kissed his new friend Angela good-night. The girl was good company, and they'd had a great time back in the bar after leaving Willow's suite. Eventually, though, the auburn haired beauty had grown tired, and so he'd walked her to her room. She had surprised him by giving him that kiss. He certainly hadn't been expecting it, but... He grinned widely, some surprises were *good*! He glanced at his watch, sighing when he saw how late it was... he had been told to call the Master of Seattle at two am, and it was four-thirty... Oh, well, it wasn't every day that he met a girl like Angela... He just hoped the Master understood, and... didn't punish him *too* much! He smirked a bit, realizing that it would probably be entirely forgotten when he got around to mentioning the little fact that Angelus and Spike were in attendance... and that Willow Rosenberg was *with* them... and that that same redhead was Drusilla's personal servant! He wasn't sure, but he thought that her presence at the Gathering might be an indication that she knew about the Prophecy... and if so, she would either be a help or a hindrance to the Master's plans... His smile faded as he went in search of a private place to call from. He really *had* missed Willow, more than anyone but his Sire... and he really hoped that she'd help them. He sighed as he finally found an empty conference room. He'd hate to have to kill her... she really *was* like a sister to him. He sighed again, closing and locking the door behind him before settling into a chair at the long table and pulling out his cell phone. He dialed and waited as the line rang through. Finally, the phone was answered on the other end. "It's Xander," he said quietly, responding to the minion's growled question. "I need to speak with the Master... I *know* I'm late... No... *Damn* *it*! I am not accountable to *you*! Now shut the fuck up and put the Master on!" He waited for almost a minute before the Master of Seattle picked up. "Darla," he purred, low and dangerous, "It's me. You'll never *believe* who's here..."

Chapter 4

Angel sat alone in the darkened living room, staring at nothing. He knew he was brooding, but he couldn't help it! He hadn't been completely sure that he loved the girl, Faith, until he'd heard her soft words a few hours earlier... 'What have I done?' she'd said... That one phrase kept repeating itself over and over in his mind... he could hear the sad horror in her voice without even trying. 'What have I done?'... He'd heard her say it, and he'd known immediately. She regretted him... regretted having him... letting him touch her... and most especially, he suspected that she regretted touching him back. He groaned to himself, shifting slightly in his chair. *He* had no such regrets... In fact, the only thing that he was regretting at that particular moment was that she was in the bedroom asleep, and he was out here... sitting alone... in the dark.

Spike moved restlessly in the bed he was sharing with his redheaded witch, although to be precise, she wasn't his witch... *he* was *her* vampire! The two had stayed up for hours, talking and touching and loving, but eventually the girl had fallen asleep, wrapped tightly in his arms. Spike didn't think that he had *ever* felt so... whole... in his entire life... or existence, anyway. He wasn't sure of what it was that he'd done to deserve having this woman in his life, but... whatever it was, he just hoped that he *kept* doing it! He smiled softly, watching her sleep... Yes... he was hers. Finally, he closed his eyes, listening to the sound of her soft, slow breathing until a barely heard movement in the living room of their suite caused him to sit upright. He trained his ears towards the room, and heard not a sound. He did, however, hear the sounds of very muffled sobs coming from the other bedroom. (Damn!) he thought angrily, as he slipped carefully from the bed and pulled on his jeans, (What in the bloody hell has my poof of a Sire done now?) He was at the bedroom door in under a second, and opened it slowly after unlocking it. He glanced around the room for a moment before he spotted the man in the chair. (Oh, *great*! He's *brooding* again...) He sighed and stepped quietly into the living room, closing the door gently behind him... after all, Willow needed her rest. "Angel?" he said, approaching the dark haired vampire. "Sire!" he said louder when he got no response.

Angel had felt it when Spike had first entered the room. He didn't really want to talk to *anyone* right then, so he'd just ignored him, hoping he'd go away. Unfortunately, he realized when Spike called him 'Sire', that just wasn't going to happen. "What *is* it, Spike?" he growled half-heartedly, "Can't you see I'm *thinking*?"

The blond snorted, flinging himself down on the nearby couch. "Brooding, you mean... and yeah, I can see that!" He focused his eyes on Angel's face. "What I don't understand is *why*! You're at the Gathering, you met a girl who suits you to a tee, and unless my sense of smell is *completely* out of whack, and we both know it's *not*, you spent a good portion of the night, umm... getting to *know* her... in the Biblical sense! So what's your problem? Too happy?"

Angel sighed sadly, finally raising his eyes. "No, Spike... too *un*-happy if you really want to know..."

Spike was amazed at the sorrow in his Sire's eyes. "What happened?" he said quietly, hoping against hope that it was nothing serious.

The dark haired vampire pulled his sad eyes away from his childe's, focusing once again on nothing. "She... she regrets me. She's sorry that she ever let me... that we..." He sighed again. "And the worst part is... I don't know *why*! Everything was going so well... or at least, I *thought* it was! I *thought* that we were starting something! Hell," he said, a bit more loudly as he found his righteous anger, "I actually thought that she was feeling what I felt! I mean, from the moment I first saw her, I just... *knew*! It was like there was something calling out to me, from deep inside of her! A quiet little voice that kept saying she was *meant* for me... and I for her..." He sighed again, the anger fading, as he heard again her words on the balcony ('What have I done?'). "She *hates* me, Spike! And I don't know how to handle it."

Spike could feel himself getting all misty in sympathy for the great poof, and decided that that would just *not* do! Besides, "She doesn't hate you, mate," he said clearly, ignoring the shaking of his Sire's head. "If she *hated* you, she wouldn't be in *there*," he stated, "Crying like her heart was breaking!"

"I'll talk to her," Willow said softly from the door to her bedroom. She smiled as the two vampires looked at her in shock... apparently, they'd been so caught up in their little conversation, neither one of them had heard her get up and open the door.

"What are you doing up, love?" Spike asked, almost as a parent would a child, "You need to sleep..."

Willow laughed, smiling at the blond. "I think I'm old enough to decide when I should and shouldn't sleep, Spike... Besides," she said, her smile and voice both softening as she gazed at him, "It was suddenly too warm in that big old bed without a certain cool body pressed up against me..."

Spike grinned, holding his hand out to her and pulling her into his lap when she came to take it. He held her firmly against his smooth, cold chest, one hand resting on her hip, the other stroking her hair. "Better, love?" he purred against her ear.

"Much..." she sighed, grinning at him as she pulled back so that she could meet his eyes, "Much, *much* better..." She slipped off his lap so that she wouldn't become any more distracted than she already was, and turned her eyes to the dark vamp in the chair. "Angelus?" she said softly, seeing the mixture of sadness, pain, and loss in his eyes, "I don't think she hates you. Think about it... if she *hated* you, do you think that she would have been with you in the first place?" She smiled slightly as he shook his head. "And you didn't do anything to *make* her hate you, did you?"

Angel shook his head again. "But if she doesn't..." He looked again at the little witch sitting so happily beside his childe, and wished that he and Faith could be like that. "Then... why, Willow? What did I *do*?"

Willow shook her own head in response, sighing slightly. "I don't know, Angelus... Angel... But you have to remember, Faith's life hasn't been a bed of roses... Maybe she's afraid."

"Of *what*?" he cried, anguished. "What is there to be afraid of? All I want to do is... love her..." he finished in a small voice.

Spike squeezed his girl's hand, silently stopping her from responding. "Well, that might just be it, Angel... She's never *had* that! Look," he said intently, "I may not know the girl all that well, but we spent a good while talking in the bar, mostly about *her*, and..." He closed his eyes, remembering some of the things she'd told him out-right, as well as some of the things she'd led him to infer. "Her life has been... *hard*... People telling her they cared about her because they *wanted* something from her... I don't think that *anyone* has *ever* loved her just for *her*... You probably *scared* her, getting all intense and lover-like..."

"Exactly," Willow chimed in, glad to see some small trace of hope in his too-tragic eyes. "So... let me talk to her, Angel? See what I can find out?... Who knows? Maybe..."

"No," the vampire stated nervously, "Don't get my hopes up, just... try? Please Willow?"

The redhead smiled softly, releasing her lover's hand. "Of course, Angel... you two *belong* together... Believe me..." she said, flashing momentarily on what she'd seen in her dream... vision... whatever, "Believe me," she said again, "I *know*." She stood, crossing to the entertainment center, and switched on the radio, selecting a soothing classical station. She glanced back at the two vampires as she moved towards the door to Faith's current bedroom, meeting two very surprised pairs of eyes... one blue, one brown. She smiled brightly. "*No* *eavesdropping*!" she said seriously, despite her expression, as she tapped on her friend's door. "Faith," she called softly, "It's Willow! I need to talk to you!" She stood there for a moment, feeling tense, only to relax as she heard the sound of the lock being disengaged and saw the door begin to swing open. She stepped inside, closing the door behind her, and turned to see Faith's red, tear-stained face. "Oh, Faith," she murmured, hugging the girl, "What have you done?"

Xander sat unhappily in the bar, drumming his fingers impatiently on the table. It was almost six am, and he'd been waiting for his Great Grand Sire to arrive for over an hour now. It wouldn't have been so bad, except he couldn't let himself drink any more... not if he was going to be presentable when Darla finally *did* get there. He sighed deeply to himself, he'd have thought that he'd be used to waiting for her by now! The woman was never on time for *anything*! Of course, she *was* the Master of Seattle, so he supposed she had her reasons... it was a lot of *work* controlling the demon population of a large city, not to mention trying to coordinate events such as *this* one! He sighed again, out loud this time. Well, at least Darla had convinced the police, and the liquor board, to turn a blind eye to the hotel bar staying open twenty-four hours a day for the duration of the Gathering... All she'd had to do, really, was point out to the Mayor just how... unpleasant... it would be to have upwards of five hundred visiting vampires running rampant through the city. And since she'd booked the entire hotel for the week, no one had really bothered to object. Xander thought that it was just human cowardice at work and had said as much, but Darla had disagreed, saying that it was more like enlightened self-interest. He looked up from his thoughts as a respectful hush spread through the room, and stood, bowing his head to the person being thus honoured.

Darla stood in the bar's doorway, scanning the crowd for a particular head of brown hair. She spotted him just as he stood and nodded his allegiance to her. "Xander," she said, in her silky purr of a voice, "There you are, dear boy..." She ignored every single other being in the room as she crossed to her great grand childe's table and leaned over to kiss his cheek before sitting down across from him. She could hear the mutterings of the crowd, and smiled slyly to herself. Her Xander might be very young for a vampire, but he would soon have the respect of everyone in attendance, as word of her actions and attitude towards him spread. "Tell me again," she commanded softly, staring deep into his eyes. "Tell me again about my Angelus, and his Spike... Start at the beginning, and don't leave *anything* out!"

The young man nodded, licking his lips nervously as he fought to keep his eyes locked with hers. "OK, Darla, here's what happened. I got here early, just like you said, only no one was around, so I came in here... this bar... Anyway, I saw this blond guy looking for a light for his cigarette and..."

Darla nodded, fascinated by his descriptions and glad for his excellent memory. She frowned when he described the way Angelus had dragged him, and his latest... 'friend', out of the bar, her brow crinkling as he told her about the 'twitchy' feeling the dark haired girl with the older vampire had caused. (No...) she finally decided, (It *couldn't* be... my Angelus would *never* attach himself to a *Slayer*...) Her mood lightened somewhat as she pictured the way he said that his old friend had attacked him... she just *had* to meet this Willow! Finally, he reached the end of his monologue, and was looking at her expectantly. "Take me to them, Xander," she said softly, smiling slightly as he stood, helping her from her chair before offering his arm in escort. "Well," she said, satisfied, "If nothing else, I *did* manage to beat some manners into you..."

Xander escorted her from the bar, completely unaware of the envious stares he was receiving from most of those present. He was also unaware that, after only a few minutes of speculation, the bar's patrons had decided that he was obviously one young vamp on his way up!

"What have you done?" Willow murmured again as the dark haired girl broke down completely in her arms.

"Oh... oh, god... Will..ow..." Faith forced out between heaving sobs, "I... don't.. I..."

"Shhh..." Willow said softly, rubbing the girl's back comfortingly as she led her to sit on the edge of the bed. "It can't be that *bad*, Faith! It just... *can't*!" She sighed softly as the girl began frantically nodding her head. "OK, if it *is*, then we'll figure out a way to *fix* it! And that, my dear, is a *promise*! From me to you! And I *never*," she said stoutly, pulling back to look into the girl's reddened eyes, "*Never* break my promises!"

Faith stared in amazement for a moment at the sincerity she could see in the redhead's eyes, and finally felt herself beginning to calm down enough to tell the other girl what had happened. She had been almost hysterical since she'd come in from the balcony, and found Angelus standing in the living room. She'd said his name, almost too softly for even him to hear, and he'd just looked at her, told her that it was all a big mistake, and said that she could have the bedroom. She wasn't exactly sure of *why* that had upset her so much, but it *had*, and so she'd come in here and lay down on the bed, burying her head under the pillow as she began to sob. She hadn't known what else to do... her heart was pulling her one way, while her head, and her duty, were pulling her the other... All in all, she had felt like she was being torn apart... and she still *did*.

Willow knew her eyes were wide when Faith told her what Angelus had said to her. (That... *bastard*!) But Angelus hadn't really struck her as the 'love 'em and leave 'em' type, so... "Wait... Faith, what happened before he said he'd made a mistake? Did you say, or do, *anything* that might make him feel like you were... sorry for being with him?"

Faith shook her head slowly. "Everything was fine... great, in fact... We.. well, you know... a whole bunch, and we talked some, and then... he fell asleep, and I *wanted* to go to sleep, too, but..." She sighed, her eyes still hot from her crying jag, "I just... I kept *thinking*... I knew Spike seemed familiar for some reason... I just *knew* it, and while I was trying to doze off, it suddenly came to me... Angel and Spike... *Angelus* and Spike..."

Willow nodded in sudden understanding. Faith had had a crisis. "So... while your heart and mind were crying out for him..."

The dark haired girl sighed, nodding in her turn, "My mind, and my... *slayer-ness* were telling me..." Her voice choked off as she felt the tears coming again.

The redheaded witch took her friend's hand in her own. "It's alright, Faith, and it's perfectly understandable. One part of you was telling you that he was the *one*... that you would be safe and happy with him, while the *other* part of you was telling you that it was your *duty*... your *job*... to stake him. Of *course* you felt torn!" She could still see the cloud of misery in the other girl's eyes. "So you had a crisis. And?"

"And," Faith sighed, "I went out on the balcony to think. Fresh air always helps me to figure things out." She could see the sincere interest in the redhead's eyes, and went on to tell her exactly what she'd been thinking about. When she got to the question she'd asked herself just before coming in, she was completely shocked to see the amusement in the other girl's eyes. "What?"

Willow shook her head slowly. "First, I need to ask you something." When Faith finally nodded her consent, she continued. "If Angel *hadn't* said what he did... that it was a mistake... what were you going to do? Were you going to say something similar to him? Sneak out before he woke up? What would you have done, Faith?"

"I... I don't know..." the girl said shakily.

Willow looked right at her, disappointment etched on her face. "And now you're lying! Tell me, Faith! What were you going to *do*!"

"I... He's not the Angelus I read about... I don't know how it's possible, but... he's *not*! I mean, evil can pretend to be a lot of things, but... it can't fake the way he is... the way he was with me..."

"And?" Willow prodded, wanting the girl to say what she knew was true.

"And..." Faith said sheepishly, looking down at the pattern of roses on the carpet, "If he'd still been asleep when I came back in..." She glanced furtively up at the redhead's eyes, "I was... I was gonna wake him up so we could... do it again..." She felt herself blushing for the first time in what had to be years.

Willow laughed delightedly, glad that she'd been right about the dark haired Slayer and the equally dark haired vamp... now all she had to do was get them back together. "OK, Faith," she finally said, having conquered her laughter, "I have to tell you something. Angelus... *Angel*... doesn't think that you two were a mistake. Let me finish!" she almost shouted as the girl began to protest. "I know what he said, because you told me... but *think* about it! He's a *vampire*! And you found him in the *living* *room*!" She waited for the girl to nod, "Now, I'm not *sure*, but I'm willing to bet that he was somewhere near the balcony door?... Yes?... Well, guess what, Faith?*He* *heard* *you*! He heard what you said to yourself, and decided to let you go!"

She tried to take it in, she really did, but she just found herself getting more and more confused. "Huh?" she said wittily, "Why would he...?"

Willow sighed and rolled her eyes. "Because he *loves* you, you ninny... or at least, he's well on his way to it! Of *course* he let you go! If he'd waited for you to cut him loose, you'd have seen how much it hurt him, and then you'd feel *guilty*! He was trying to *protect* you!"

Faith could feel her eyes widening at the shock of it all... he loved her? He *loved* her! Suddenly, she felt an unexpected roiling in her gut, and flew from the bed, swiftly finding herself hugging the toilet in the bathroom, retching her guts up.

Willow ran after her friend and stood beside her, holding her hair back from her face as she finished her business. "Faith?" she said quietly to the almost hyperventilating girl, "Are you OK?"

The brunette looked up at the girl, wiping at the sweat on her suddenly cool brow. "Yeah..." she said slowly, her voice shaky, "Yeah, I'm OK now..."

"Ummm... what was that all about?"

Faith sighed. "My own personal reaction to the idea of going out there and telling Angel that I didn't mean to say what he didn't want to hear..." She stood, looking at herself in the mirror. "Gaahhh..." she said to herself, as she took in her red, swollen eyes, and blotchy face. "Oh, I *so* need to take a shower before I can face him... I mean," she said, feeling more lighthearted than she had in *hours*, "If I let him see me like *this*, so early on in the relationship, he *might* decide that it really *was* a mistake!"

Willow made a sound that was halfway between a sigh and a laugh. "Fine, Faith. I'll wait for you in the bedroom." She went out and sat on the bed, turning the TV on to watch the early news.

What with the news anchor talking in one girl's ear, and the other being occupied by a nice, hot shower, neither of them was aware of the situation that was developing in the other room.

Spike and Angel watched silently as the redhead disappeared into Faith's bedroom, neither of them saying a word as the classical station began playing the 'Mars' segment of Gustav Holst's 'the Planets'. They listened raptly as the martial theme to the movement stirred memories within them both of times long gone by. Finally, the silence was broken.

"So what *really* happened, mate? Girl got bored after the first go-round, and kicked you out of bed?"

Angel growled angrily at his bleached blond childe. "No more than *your* girl did, Spikey-boy!"

"Hey!" Spike growled, his true face emerging as he lunged for his Sire, wrapping his fingers around the older vampire's neck, "You take that back! My Willow would *never* have *you*! Why would she *ever* want the Mighty *Poof* when she's got the Big Bad!"

"What?" Angel said, laughing around the pressure on his throat. "What the *hell* are you talking about?"

Spike glared into Angel's eyes. "I'm talking about the way you just said that my Willow didn't kick you out of bed after the first time! You never had her! I'd *know*!" He was completely shocked when Angel suddenly broke the hold he had on him, and threw him to the ground, pinning his slightly smaller form to the floor.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Spike," Angel said, staring down into his childe's bright golden eyes, "What I said was that Faith didn't do that to me, any more than Willow did to you!" He watched Spike's eyes as the gold receded, leaving the usual shade of almost sapphire blue behind. "Not that I'd mind spending some time with her... *someday*!" he said slowly, "You know... in ten or twenty years..." He grinned down at his childe again, leaning in close to his ear. "But you know, Spike... You're *mine*... and everything that's yours is mine, so... technically, I can have her any time I want her!" He smirked wickedly as Spike tried to buck him off of his body. "Careful, boy... you know how much I like it when you... *struggle*... gets me all *hot*... and *bothered*."

They were both surprised when the main door to the suite flew open, and the young vampire from earlier strolled right in, accompanied by... "Darla?!" they said as one.

"So nice to see you boys getting along." She said, sounding a bit breathless as she took in the sight of Angelus and Spike, shirtless, laying on the floor, Angelus apparently the dominant one. Which was, she decided, how it *should* be... he was, after all, her childe.

Faith had been fairly quick in the shower, emerging from the bathroom in less than ten minutes, but she felt a *lot* better, and fortunately for her peace of mind, she *looked* it, too. She dropped the towel that had been wrapped around her, and fumbled in her backpack for a change of clothes. She sighed as she pulled out her only clean set, knowing that camouflage pants and a tank top weren't necessarily the thing to wear when trying to seduce the vampire who thought she didn't want him. Unfortunately, it was all she had, so it was just gonna have to do! She dressed quickly, skipping the panties and bra... she hoped that she wouldn't be staying dressed long enough for it to matter.

Willow sat on the bed, still watching the news, and ignored the girl's fumbling. Oddly enough, she was more comfortable with Faith than she was with anyone else, except for Spike and Dru, so the thought of the girl prancing around in the nude didn't particularly disturb her... of course, it didn't exactly thrill her, either. She remained sitting, absorbed in the report on stolen cars, until the brunette cleared her throat. "Oh... sorry, Faith, but did you see that story? Wow.. riveting stuff..." She chuckled as Faith just rolled her eyes and looked impatient. "You know, you *can* go out there without me..."

Faith laughed dryly. "Oh, yeah, 'cause I really *want* to bare my soul to Fang while Junior looks on! Besides, I have to find some way to tell Angel about the whole 'Slayer' thing. Without having him totally freak, I mean.. C'mon, Will... I'm counting on you to... *distract* Spike, so I can talk to my honey in private..." She gazed pleadingly at the redheaded witch until the girl burst out laughing.

"OK, OK, enough with the puppy eyes already!" She got up and turned off the TV, meeting her friend by the bedroom door. She opened it and stepped out as Faith took a deep breath and followed on her heels. Neither girl was expecting the sight that greeted them.

"Well, well..." the soft and almost sexy voice was coming from a small, pretty blonde woman who was standing in their living room as though she owned it. "And what do we have here?"

Angel stood quickly, not liking the look on his Sire's face when she caught sight of the girls, and crossed the room in a shot, placing himself firmly at Faith's side. He would protect her, whether she cared for him or not! He and his demon agreed, they wouldn't let *anything* happen to her! He smiled slightly as he noticed that Spike was already at Willow's side, as well... His eyes met those of his childe, and saw total agreement there... their little game of a moment ago was forgotten... they had to protect their women now, and they'd damned well *do* it, or die trying!

Oddly enough, it was Xander who answered Darla's question. "The redhead is my old friend Willow; I've told you about her..."

"Exhaustively," the blonde woman replied dryly.

The other one's named Faith... I just met her tonight, but I think she's got something going with Angelus..."

"Oh, I'd say so, judging from the smell of him... he positively *reeks* of her. So tell me, Angelus," the woman said slowly, "What *ever* possessed you to take up with a *Slayer*? I thought you had more sense than that..." She smiled slightly as her childe's eyes widened and his face took on the most shocked expression she'd ever seen. "What?" she said, amused, "You didn't *know*?"

Chapter 5

Faith could have sworn that her heart stopped when she heard the blonde woman's words. Not only did she not get the chance to make up with Angel, but now this... *bitch* had gone and ruined any chance she might have had to explain things to him. He would hate her now... not just for having second thoughts about them in the first place, but also for not telling him the most important thing about her... that she was a Slayer. She stared at the floor, hoping to hide the heavy mixture of anger, pain and sadness that she was sure was in her eyes.

Angel could only stare at his Sire... It just wasn't possible... It *wasn't*! Faith was *his*, or at least she had been... She wouldn't have kept something like that from him! He *knew* it! No, Darla was *wrong*! "Sorry, Darla," he finally said, smirking a bit, "But I don't believe that. If my... If Faith were a Slayer, what would she be doing *here*? And why would she even consider being with *me*?" He shook his head slightly, staring into his Sire's eyes. "Nope... there's no way..." He turned to his lovely brunette, hoping to share his amusement at Darla's mistake, only to find himself completely taken aback by her dejected stance. "Or... or *is* there?... Faith?" He waited, but she didn't seem to want to break the silence.

"Well, it seems that there's your answer, dear boy..." Darla purred, stepping away from Xander and approaching her long-missed childe. "Now, Angelus... now that I've found you again, you can come *home*... I've missed you, childe..." She was expecting some resistance, but not the direction it came from.

"No!" Willow said flatly, stepping between the tall, dark vamp and the little blonde. "He's not going anywhere with you!" She could feel her anger growing and struggled with herself for a moment, not wanting to give in to it... the most *unusual* things happened when she didn't control herself. "Angelus *has* a home, and it's *here*, with *us*!" She indicated herself, Spike and Faith with one swift sweep of her hand. "He belongs with us... *to* us!" She smirked a bit herself at the look of surprise in the blonde woman's eyes, and stepped forward, putting her arms around Darla's shoulders as she leaned in close to her ear. "It's been hundreds of years," she whispered, so softly that only the woman could hear, "Since this many of us have been together at one time... And if you think that I'm going to give that up, well, then you're crazier than Dru *ever* was!" Her eyes widened as she recognized the feeling she was picking up from the blonde, and she stepped away, kissing Darla's cheek lightly as she did. "Welcome home," she murmured as she leaned back against Angelus, feeling his arms go around her waist as she took one of Spike's hands, and one of Faith's, in each of her own. "Both of you."

Spike wasn't entirely sure of what was going on, but he did know *one* thing for certain! He trusted his witch, and whatever it was that she was trying to do, he would be right there beside her! Of course, she'd better be planning on explaining things to him later, but until then... "Yeah," he said, tightening his hand around hers as he felt the slight trembling within her, "Welcome, Darla... Xander."

Angel, for one, had no *idea* of what was happening... he'd come to the conclusion, based upon Faith's unnatural silence and oddly passive attitude, that Darla had indeed been telling the truth! He knew that he should have been more upset at the revelation, but somehow... instead of being angry that the girl was a Slayer to begin with, he was more disturbed by the fact that she hadn't *told* him! What did she think he'd do? *Kill* her? He sighed a bit, paying less than complete attention to what the redhead was saying to his Sire. He didn't *care* about what Faith was... Slayer or not! The only thing that mattered to him right at that moment was that she wasn't *his*... but maybe the two had something to do with each other... maybe she... He was suddenly jerked back to reality as Willow stepped back, pressing herself against him, and his arms, almost by reflex, closed about her waist. What was she doing? And why, he wondered, as he felt her draw Faith and Spike closer to them... Why was she welcoming Darla and that Xander guy Home? He began frantically replaying the last few minutes in his head, paying attention, this time, to what had actually gone on while he was broo... thinking.

Silence descended upon the room, as Darla and her great grand childe stared in amazement at the redheaded witch. Neither of them had any idea of what she was talking about.

Willow sighed, knowing she'd have to explain. She really wasn't looking forward to this... she had no concept of how to explain it without sounding nuts. Fortunately, her cell phone chose that moment to start chirping at her. (Saved by the... well, not *bell*, but...) She grinned, stepping away from Angel's arms while letting go of Spike and Faith's hands. Crossing the room to the table she'd left her phone on, she smirked to herself... ('Saved by the annoying, hyperactive cricket' just doesn't have the same ring to it.) "Hello?" she said, flipping the phone open. "What!?" she cried, almost more surprised than she'd ever been. "But what about... Oh... Oh!... Uh-huh... Uh-huh... Well, yeah, but... Are you *sure* that you should... Uh-huh... But, well... But I don't know *why* he... OK," she finally sighed, accepting the inevitable, "All right... I'll see you then." She flicked the phone closed with a snap, turning back to the room full of people, most of whom still looked stunned from her earlier actions. "You'll never *believe* who *that* was."

< meanwhile, back in Sunnydale >

"You heard her, Buffy, now go *do* it!" Giles said, all of his impatience with the blonde Slayer finally coming to the fore. "I swear! It's like pulling teeth!"

"But Giles..." the girl whined, "She's *crazy*! And she doesn't *like* me, either! I mean, how do you know this isn't all some big plot to get me killed?" She glared at the dark haired vampire perched on Giles' table.

Drusilla sighed, glancing quickly at the other two people in the room. "You're right, Buffy. I *don't* like you. I think you're whiney, and foolish, and less intelligent than a fence post. But the fact of the matter is that *Willow* likes you... and I can see the need for your sort of abilities in this Gods-forsaken town... You're needed here, and as much as I'd *like* to set you up for dying, well..." she shrugged, barely holding in a laugh at the blatant amusement on Giles and Cordelia's faces, "Willow would never forgive me!" She thought for a moment before finishing. "Oh, and I'm not *crazy*... I haven't been *crazy* for *years*!" (Chew on *that* one for a while, you trampy little blonde *bitch*!)

Cordelia thought that she would just *die* from restraining her laughter at the look on Buffy's face... Everyone else in the town who knew about vampires knew that Dru had been sane for over five years now, but *Buffy*? Oblivious to the end! Of course, maybe *all* Slayers were like that... She couldn't imagine that having a *smart* Slayer would be to the council's advantage... after all, someone with a *brain* might ask too many questions! Finally, she was able to let the giggles out as Buffy, still grumbling and whining, finally left the back room of Giles' shop to go patrolling. "Gods, Dru," she asked, still laughing, "Why do you put up with her?"

Drusilla smiled slightly, and told the former cheerleader the truth. "Well, Cordy, like I said... Will likes her... almost as much as she likes her *fish*... Besides," she continued softly, "If I tried to kill her, my head would explode!" She began to chuckle, the other girl's giggles proving to be infectious, and descended into full-blown gales of laughter when the watcher finally stopped trying to look scandalized and added his own guffaws to the mix... She was so glad to be sane again!

Drusilla wandered aimlessly through the house she shared with her best friend, casually glancing at the photographs she'd studied so many times she knew them by heart... there was Will, eight years earlier, with her friends Xander and Jesse... Dru smiled, seeing again the sense of humour, and the underlying passion, that had made her still-crazed self choose the dark haired boy... and there was Willow again, this time with the slut of a Slayer a year or so later outside the high school... She continued through the house, stopping at every picture... Willow and her Da, just before the cancer got him... he'd been a good man, accepting his daughter's friendship with a vampire, even though it had been a vampire that killed his wife... Will and Oz, right before the Prom... the werewolf had taken her so that all the other guys would stop badgering her... oddly enough, Oz had always been a good friend to them both, even after he realized that he didn't have a chance with the redhead... Drusilla smiled, coming to the group of photos she liked the best... Willow with her arm around... nothing, the chaos demon Martin standing on the other side of that same nothing, antlers held proudly... Willow laughing as an invisible something held her hair out in red spikes from her head... Will looking annoyed as her lipstick, apparently all by itself, drew abstract designs on her face... Drusilla sighed, finally returning to the living room and settling herself in her favourite chair. She missed her friend, she realized, as she turned the television on, flipping channels and looking for something interesting. She hoped the girl wasn't getting into any trouble... After all, the redhead was in Seattle, staying in a suite with Angelus and Spike... Dru knew that she should be more worried, but somehow, she knew that neither her Sire nor her 'brother' would hurt the girl... she wasn't sure of *how* she knew, she just... *knew*. She snuggled back into the chair, drawing her knees up to her chest, as she finally stopped changing channels... She'd seen this movie before, but that was OK, she was in the mood for a comedy, and 'Salem's Lot' *always* made her laugh! She rested her head on her knees, and allowed the funny to invade her senses, not even noticing it when her eyes began to droop shut, and then finally closed.

She sat bolt upright, the dream playing again through her head... it wasn't just a dream, though, and she knew it! She had been quite the little psychic even before Angelus had turned her, and that particular gift had grown even stronger, especially considering the nature of his 'courtship'... In the years since she'd regained her sanity, she had found herself curious about the reason for that and had done a bit of reading on the subject, as well as discussing it with Giles. Apparently, the trauma of everything that had been done to her had served as a goad to her gifts... the more she was made to suffer, physically and emotionally, the stronger she had become on the psychic level... and once the chip in her head had dragged her, kicking and screaming, back into the land of the sane, her gifts hadn't gone away, but she'd been able to... tame them, train them somewhat... Oh, she still had the occasional moment, but on the whole she managed to get her visions in dream form... and that was exactly what had just happened!

She flew from her chair and ran across the room, snatching up the phone and dialing a number from memory. She waited, impatiently for the line to ring through, sighing in relief when it was answered on the other end. "Yeah, hi Will, it's me. I had another vision. I'm coming to Seattle... What *about* the danger? I'll just have to *chance* it! I have to *be* there! I've *seen* it!... Yes. Are... are Angelus and Spike... all right?... Well, *are* they?... They're treating you well?... And *you're* OK, too?... Good, that's all I need to know until I get there." She sighed softly into the phone."*Yes*! I'm *sure*! Is that enough for you?... I'm *positive* about this!..." She could feel herself getting a bit misty as she thought about seeing her Sire and blond 'brother' again. "Tell them I'm coming, Will, see what they say... I know, love, but... Never mind about the why, I'll find out myself..." She closed her eyes for a moment, already planning out her little trip. "All right, Willow, I should be able to get there by sunset tonight... I'll find you at the hotel... Yeah, Will, see you then."

She hung up, staring into space for a moment before picking up the phone again and dialing the watcher's number. "Giles," she said softly as his sleep befuddled voice came on the line, "I've got to go out of town... Something came up, and Willow needs me... No, I don't think I'll be back before her... Oh, hush! You can *handle* it! *I* have faith in you, and so does Will! Now go back to sleep, and tell Cordelia I said goodbye, and that I'll bring her a prezzie, OK? Oh, and Giles," she said teasingly, by way of goodbye, "Try not to kill the little bitch of a Slayer... after all, the next one could be even *worse*!" She was grinning as she hung up the phone and went to log on to the net, looking for the fastest way to get to Seattle... that wouldn't have her going 'poof' in the sunlight, anyway...

Willow stood quietly in Spike's embrace, considering the fall-out from her announcement that Drusilla was on her way to the Gathering, and would be there by that day's sunset. Darla had looked shocked and left for the bar, saying that she needed at *least* a few drinks, and that she'd be back after sunrise... Faith had run back into the bedroom, apparently trying to put as much distance as she could between herself and Angelus, now that he knew her secret... Angel, of course, had followed right behind her. Willow was pretty sure that he was going to *talk* to the girl, and silently wished him the best of luck, and as for *Xander*... She glanced quickly out the balcony doors, seeing the faint greenish tinge of the pre-dawn, before turning her eyes back to the very young, and suddenly very *depressed* vampire sitting on her couch. "Xander," she said softly, pulling away from her blond lover, "What's wrong? I thought you'd be *happy*! I mean, your *Sire* is coming *here*! You'll have a chance to see her, show her how you've turned out under Darla's tutelage!" She sat down beside him, ignoring the growl coming from deep in Spike's chest as she placed a concerned arm around her friend's shoulders.

Xander sighed. "That's just it, Will," he said sadly, staring at his hands hanging limply between his knees. "She's coming here, and it's not... it's not because of *me*." He looked up into her deep green eyes. "She had some kind of a vision, I'm sure, and so she's coming to Seattle. She doesn't want to see me, I just happen to be here."

Willow shook her head slowly. "You don't believe that, Xan... you *can't*! I mean, *Gods*! She's your *Sire*! Of *course* she wants to see you!"

"No," Xander said, not caring that he sounded thoroughly dejected, "If she wanted to see me, she would've come before now... or *called*, even!" He looked at the redhead, wanting nothing more than to have his oldest and dearest friend hug him and tell him that everything was going to be all right... he thought about throwing himself fully into her arms, but one look at the silently snarling blond standing behind her disabused him of that notion almost before he had it... he wanted a hug, but he wasn't willing to *die* for one!

"Xan..." Willow started, finally realizing that she didn't know what to say. "Spike," she pleaded, looking over her shoulder at him, "Help me out, here!"

"About *time*, pet," Spike said, finally amused... now that he knew his girl remembered his presence, anyway. "I was *wondering* what you'd planned to say to the lad!" He chuckled a bit as he rounded the couch and pulled her up to stand before him. "Now, love, you can either stay here and be very quiet, or you can go back into our room and get very naked... It's up to you..." He twitched one corner of his mouth up as she waited for him to sit down on the couch before settling herself comfortably in his lap. "Well," he murmured against her neck, "Quiet it is, then..." He was distracted for a moment by the barely heard sounds of voices in the second bedroom of the suite, and wondered, briefly, just what was going on in there with the poof and the Slayer, before pulling his attention back to the boy beside him. He couldn't even begin to imagine what it must feel like to have your Sire send you away to be... raised, he supposed it was, by a different vampire... all he knew, as he began to explain the finer points of a Sire's feelings for his childer, was that this lad must be, far and away, either the strongest or the weakest bloke he'd ever met... most fledgling vampires would have chosen to walk into the sun if their Sire had farmed them out to another... hell, Spike was pretty sure that *he* would have!

Angel stared sadly at the lovely brunette girl who was quietly sobbing on the bed. He had followed her out of the living room hoping that they could talk about this.. about everything! He wanted to know why she hadn't told him about her calling... wanted to know why she'd been with him in the first place... if he was just some sort of a... status symbol for her... or maybe... an aberration... Whatever it was, he wanted to *know*... but mostly, he wanted to know if there was any hope for him... for *them*. Because, with the way he was feeling about the girl... "Faith..." he moaned softly, sitting down behind her on the bed, rubbing his hand soothingly up and down her back, "Don't... don't do this, dearest..."

Faith wanted nothing more than to just lay there, letting him comfort her, but... she didn't deserve his comfort... she didn't deserve *anything* from him! She had... well, maybe not *lied*, exactly, but she sure hadn't told him the truth, and... she'd *hurt* him! Oh, she knew that he was too good and kind to ever *say* so, but she had! She began to cry harder, burying her face in the pillow, and ignoring the little voice in her head-- the one that sounded *just* like her old watcher, Gwendolyn Post-- telling her that he was a *vampire*... that there was nothing good *or* kind *about* him... She didn't know how it was possible, but neither he nor his childe Spike were the average run-of-the-mill vamps. And Angel was... too good... or too good for *her*, anyway... "Don't..." she managed to stammer out between sobs, "Don't call me that... I'm *not* you know..."

The dark haired vamp slowly laid himself down beside her, on his side as he continued to caress the taut muscles of her back. "Not what, love?" he said softly, moving towards her, until he was as close as he could get without being right on top of the girl.

"I...I'm not your dearest anything... I... I'm not your..." Faith felt her voice catch, hating the weakness she was letting him see in her. "I'm not your 'love'." She was glad to hear her voice sounding stronger, and found herself hoping that he'd accept that and just... go away... move closer... No, go away!

Angel laughed softly, moving his hand lightly up her back to the nape of her neck. "But you *are*, Faith... You're my dearest, sweetest love... Don't you *know* that?" He gently brushed her hair aside, and laid a soft kiss against the spot there where her skull joined her neck. "It's true," he said in response to the slight shaking of her head, "It's *been* true, from the first moment I saw you, in the bar with my childe..." He sighed softly, feeling her shiver against him at the sensation of his cool breath on her sorrow-heated skin, and kissed her again in the same exact place. "I was almost afraid that I'd have to kill him, but then he saw Willow, and, well..." He let his voice trail off and grinned as he caught the unmistakable smell of her arousal. He leaned down once more, tenderly licking the spot he'd already kissed twice. "Come on, love... won't you even *look* at me?" He sighed again, this time in relief, as she turned and pierced his soul with her beautiful brown eyes.

Faith stared at him in wonder. How could he... why *would* he? "But... but I lied to you..." she said shakily, wanting him more than she had ever thought possible... almost as much as she now knew she loved him.

"No," Angel purred, gazing wonderingly into her eyes still. "You just... kept a secret... We all have secrets, my love," he said almost wickedly as he pulled her tightly against him, "Even *me*!... I just want to know... why?"

Faith almost groaned out loud... the feeling of his long, firm body so close to her, and yet still so very far away, was going to make her *crazy*. "I was afraid," she murmured into his broad chest, her hands sliding around his sides to roam caressingly over his back. "I thought that... if you knew..." She gasped as his hands slid under her shirt, then grinned at the noise he made when he discovered that she wore no bra beneath it. "I... I guess I thought you... wouldn't want me... and I wanted you so, so much..." She moaned this time, as one of his large, beautiful hands slid around to her front, finding one of her tight, hot nipples.

"Well, then..." Angel said softly, a slight laugh in his voice, "I guess you were wrong, hmm?" He pulled away from her slightly, his hands slowly sliding the bottom edge of her shirt up her ribcage. "And I guess," he continued, as he yanked the shirt over her head and pulled her now topless form tightly against him once more, "I guess that you *owe* me... for misjudging me so *badly*..."

Faith grinned against his chest, her earlier tears forgotten. "Yeah... I guess I *do*... and y'know, I *always* pay my debts..."

Angel gasped when he felt her hot, wet mouth enveloping his tight nipple, almost unable to believe that she was really there... with *him*... The gasp became a moan as she bit into him, gently at first, but then with more and more force. He growled slightly as he pulled her mouth from his chest. "Unless you want to see what I'm like when the demon comes out to play, you'd better stop that little girl!" he ground out.

The brunette grinned, before considering his words. "Actually," she said slowly, "I haven't *seen* you all vamp-y yet..." She gazed into his lovely eyes, totally serious, now that she was thinking about it. "Don't you think I *should*? Before it's too late, I mean?"

Angel sighed, not wanting to scare her away, but she was right... although, "You don't think that it's *already* too late?" He shut his eyes for a moment before opening them and meeting hers once more. "I... Look, I know how I feel about you, and I *hope* that you share those feelings... But I have to tell you, Faith... If I show you my true face, and you can't deal with it... I don't think I can go back to being without you... Not now... Not after giving you up once, then getting you back! I just..." He sighed again, knowing deep down inside that it would have to happen, sooner or later. "All right," he finally said, letting the vampiric features wash over his face as he watched her, concerned.

Faith looked at him in amazement, as his beautiful, roughly-hewn face began to shift. She saw his teeth elongating, and his eyes changing from the warm coffee colour they usually were to an equally warm, almost metallic gold. But the thing that really fascinated her was the way his eyebrows disappeared into the raised ridges that crossed his forehead. She caught her breath in wonder as she met his eyes. "Well," she said softly, reaching up to touch his face, "You're *still* a damned fine looking man... vamp, I mean..." She pushed him suddenly onto his back and crawled up his body, enjoying the little growl-y sounds he was making. "I'm sorry," she said distractedly as she began to explore his new face with first her fingers, then her lips and tongue, "Y'know, I never thought that this was attractive before..." She grinned at the growl she could feel building in his chest, and ran her tongue along his forehead again. "But on you?... It *works*! Actually, it's one *hell* of a turn-on..."

Angel actually felt like he was going to burst into flame. She was sitting on his chest, and licking... *licking* his brow ridge! Obviously, the girl didn't know what she was getting herself into! He groaned loudly as she rocked herself against his chest. She was about to find out! "Faith..." he growled. "I swear to *God*, if you don't stop that..."

"What?" Faith said teasingly, cutting him off, "You're gonna *take* me? Throw me down, rip my pants off, and bury yourself deep inside me?" She grinned, rocking herself against his broad, cool chest as she leaned forward to lick his face once more. "Go ahead, Angel," she whispered against him, "I *dare* you!" The next thing she knew, she was laying on the bed with a very large vampire on top of her, and his hands were quickly and capably stripping her of her last remaining piece of clothing. She grinned wildly as her hands went to the waistband of his pants... she for damned sure wasn't gonna be the *only* one naked!

Spike grinned as he shut the suite's main door behind the young vampire. It had taken a while, but he'd finally been able to convince the boy that Dru didn't hate him... that she'd probably been afraid to contact him these last years since she'd sent him away, for fear that *he* would hate *her*... Of course, Willow had helped, pointing out that Drusilla *had* to be a bit concerned about how her childe would react to her, since she was no longer a 'proper' vampire! The boy had cheered up in the end, deciding to go find his Great Grand Sire in the bar, promising that they'd be back that evening to greet Dru. Spike almost snorted. As if anyone really wanted them here... Still, the boy *was* Dru's childe, even if she *had* sent him away! Spike smiled sadly for a moment, thinking again of the way *he'd* have felt if Angelus had sent him off somewhere right after Siring him.

"What's wrong, love?" Willow asked softly, wrapping her arms around him as she turned and pressed herself into his chest. She could see the sorrow in his eyes, and she just didn't *like* to see her Spike sad.

"Nothing, pet," he said, his mood lightening as he relished the feel of her, there in his arms. "I was just thinking about your friend Xander..."

Willow smiled, her hands beginning to roam his back. "You mean 'my friend Xander who thought you were going to kill him just for being my friend Xander'?"

Spike laughed, a bit shakily as her hands slid down his back to cup his ass. "Yeah, well... I told you! I don't *like* it when anyone else touches you!" He gasped as he felt her warm lips trailing across his still naked chest. "Pet..." he groaned.

The redhead smiled, loving the way his skin tasted. "But he wasn't touching me, Spike," she said logically, pulling away a bit, "*I* was touching *him*..." She giggled slightly as she felt his hand on the back of her head, urging her to go back to what she'd just been doing... and since it had been her idea in the first place, she had no problem with complying.

"Yeah... you *were*," Spike gasped out, as her mouth slipped lower, her tongue dipping into his navel now, "And don't think that I'm *happy* about that, love..." He groaned, pulling her upright and tucking her under his arm. "But... if we can pick this up in our *room*," he said wickedly, as he started to lead her there, "Then... I might be persuaded to forgive you..." He'd been hearing the noises coming from his Sire's room for the last half-hour, and he'd be damned if he was gonna let the ponce have all the fun!

Willow grinned up at him, loving the way he made her feel... and she was glad that Dru was coming to Seattle... she had to ask her friend to... un-mark her, or... *something*! Because much as she loved her friend, there was really only *one* vampire that she wanted to belong to, and he couldn't claim her for his own while she still bore Drusilla's mark! She smiled softly as she entered their bedroom, beginning to remove her clothing as he shut and locked the door. He would be surprised, she knew, that she wanted him to claim her, but... She loved him, and she *would* be his, just as he was hers... even if she had to beg!

Spike turned towards his witch after locking the door, surprised to see her struggling with her own clothes. "Here, love," he said silkily, stalking towards her, "Why don't you let *me* do that?" He stripped her quickly, allowing her to do the same for him, and slowly lowered her onto the bed. His lips moved lightly over her skin, pausing at every particularly sensitive spot he found. He loved the sounds she made when he touched her, the way she'd writhe against him, as if she couldn't get enough of his lips, his tongue... He loved the taste of her, the way her fingers tightened in his hair whenever he did... *that*... or *that*. He grinned hugely, hearing her breath coming in little pants, before his smile dimmed slightly... He'd have to enjoy this while he could... One day, she'd wake up and ask herself what in the hell she'd been thinking, and... he'd be alone again. His Sire would have the Slayer... he mentally shook his head; *still* having trouble believing *that* one... But he, Spike, would be alone... and feeling colder than he ever had. He dragged his mind back to the redhead whimpering beneath him, and decided that he wasn't going to think about it anymore. No, he swore, as he sank deep into her willing warmth, he was going to be in the moment... from now on. Damn, she felt so*good*!

End.

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