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

Part 11


Willow grinned behind her mask before leaping over a headstone, her movements fluid and lithe, almost feline in the inky darkness.

She rolled and ducked just as Angel brought his stake over her head and into the heart of the vampire that had been pursuing her.

Pouncing up, she made eye contact with him briefly before returning into the fight raging behind her.

Jessica, Heather and Eliz were in the process of fending off three vampires approximately twice their size while a few tweed-clad Watchers stood off to the side taking notes furiously. A bit farther away, Buffy also stood quietly, making sure that things remained under control and occasionally offering advice.

“Eliz, if you hold the stake up a little higher, you won’t need to keep covering your face and you can aim better….yeah, that’s right. Keep it at eye level.” The slayer nodded encouragement as the younger girl did what she was told, much to the chagrin of her opponent. Within seconds he was reduced to dust.

“Oh yes! I kick ass!!” The slayer-in-training did a little victory dance past her friends who were still engaged in battle.

Spotting another vampire about to sneak up on the distracted teenager, Willow quickly ran to intercept him.

Realizing that she probably wouldn’t be there in time, she quickly raised her hands up and shot off a wave of energy that sent them both flying in opposite directions.

The unfortunate vampire crashed into his two companions, causing them to tumble into a mesh of arms and legs and making them easy prey for Jessica and Heather.

Willow’s short trip through the air ended when she crashed into the solid wall of Angel’s chest. Beyond a slight grunt of surprise, he managed to easily grab her and absorb most of the impact of her flight.

Biting off her almost automatic apology into a short squeak, she chose to save it for later when they went back to her house to compare notes over the computer.

“You okay?” He asked just loud enough for her to hear.

She nodded silently and patted his arm for reassurance.

Lowering her to the ground, he sent her one of her rare grins, “Messing around with magic again? Wait til I tell Whistler…”

She whacked his arm a little harder in playful response.

“All right, I think that’s enough for one night, girls,” One of the Watchers declared in reference to the smaller slayers. He sent Willow a quick confirmatory glance.

The hacker nodded vigorously in agreement.

As they started to pack up, she jogged over to join Buffy, “You okay?” she whispered.

“Yup, hang on.” The blonde girl murmured back, “Angel!” She called out, “Why don’t you walk everyone else home. I need to talk to the Immortal Watcher for a few secs.”

Pausing, the vampire looked at them carefully before doing what he was told.

Buffy waited patiently until she was sure the rest of the group was gone before turning to her friend, “Willow, are you sure you’re okay with all this? I mean, I know it’s been over a month, but I’m still worried about you. Are you sure you don’t want to have a few training sessions with Giles?”

“Buffy…” Sighing, the hacker pulled off her mask. The past several weeks had been hard. Revealing who she was to Buffy had initially almost put the blonde girl into a state of shock, but, being resilient, the Slayer had managed to bounce back fairly quickly. She agreed to let Willow train with Whistler on the condition that she could come and observe some of the patrols during the weekends.

Personally, Willow felt that Buffy was stretching herself a bit thin between Sunnydale and LA, but she didn’t feel that she had the right to tell the Slayer what to do. Not yet, at least.

“No, I mean, Willow, I can see that you’ve gotten a lot better and all and I respect what Whistler’s been doing, but aren’t you not supposed to be using magic?”

“Amy told me to use my own discretion.” The hacker responded, trying to keep her voice light. Even though she had assured her best friend numerous times that she could handle things on her own, Buffy still had trouble relegating her role as Slayer under Willow’s supreme role as Immortal Watcher. Although she understood that it was hard for Buffy now that their positions were reversed, Willow still couldn’t help but feel frustrated at times like this.

“Yeah, well, that’s not what Whistler said to me this morning.”

The hacker suppressed the urge to roll her eyes. She had managed to make peace between the two councils vying for her attention, heck, she’d even managed to get Patrick to allow the slayers in training to spend some time in LA for group patrols. All in all she was proud of her accomplishments....except for the one where Whistler became so chummy with Buffy all of a sudden.

“Well, Amy’s the witch, so I trust her.” Try as she might, she couldn’t keep the slightly annoyed tone out of her voice.

Taking a deep breath, Buffy placed her hands over her eyes as if trying to clear her mind, “You know what?” she said finally, “You’re right. I’m sorry. I keep doing that don’t I?”

“No, it’s okay, Buffy.” Almost instantly, the hacker felt bad for her abrupt behavior.

“No, it’s not okay. I mean, I guess I understand that all this is happening in my head but, it’s just like…I’m seeing it and I can’t believe it.”

“Believe what?”

“That my Willow’s kicking ass,” Buffy grinned.

“It’s a tough job, but someone’s gotta do it.” The redhead responded in the most authoritative voice she could muster before both girls burst into giggles and walked off together, missing the shadow lurking in the corner and the flash of peroxide blonde hair that shone through the trees.

Settling down at the computer in her living room, Willow grabbed the keyboard and leaned back in her chair comfortably.

‘Miss me?’ she typed.

“I was worried about you, yes. What’d Buffy want?” He asked aloud after reading the message over her shoulder.

‘She just wanted to talk about…stuff.’ The hacker’s fingers flew over the keys.

“Stuff you can’t talk to me about?” He prodded gently.

She swiveled slightly and noted the mischievous sparkle in his dark brown eyes.

‘Slayer/Immortal Watcher confidentiality. Sorry.’ She typed unapologetically after realizing that he was just teasing her.

“Fair enough.” He responded easily, “So, what are your plans for the rest of this weekend?”

She paused.

‘Why?’

“I was wondering if we could fit an extra patrol in on Saturday night.”

‘Oh.’ She couldn’t help but feel a slight amount of disappointment over the reason behind his initial question even if it was what she had been expecting. ‘Actually, I’m expecting some company.’

“Really?” He touched her shoulder inadvertently while leaning in to get a better look at the computer screen, “Can I ask who?”

Taking a deep breath and silently praying that Whistler wouldn’t choose this instant to walk in she quickly responded, ‘This girl that’s friends with Buffy, I think. She’s coming to help Whistler with some research I guess. She’s from Sunnydale so you might have known her. Willow Rosenburg?’

“Rosenberg….b-E-r-g,” Angel corrected absent-mindedly while straightening up, “Willow’s coming down?”

Oddly pleased that he caught the purposeful misspelling of her last name, the hacker nodded, ‘Yeah, but it shouldn’t be too big a deal. I mean, we could still fit in the extra patrol. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind.’

“No,” The dark vampire shook his head, “Let’s go easy this weekend. You should probably spend some time with Willow.”

‘What if we just brought her along?’

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Angel’s voice took on a firmer quality.

‘But I’ve heard she’s one of Buffy’s friends and that she helped with the sla-‘

Before the hacker could finish the sentence she was typing, Angel placed his hands over hers and gently swiveled her around to face him.

“Listen, Willow’s great. I knew her when I lived in Sunnydale and you’re right, she did help Buffy sometimes but this isn’t Sunnydale. This is LA and if something happens to her out here, I don’t have the kind of knowledge and connections I did back there to be able to guarantee her safety.”

“Who’s safety?’ Whistler strolled into the room and eyed the couple.

Snapping to attention, Angel released her hands and put some more distance between the two of them before responding, “Willow’s. I was just told that she’s coming to LA to help you research. Why didn’t you let me know?”

Whistler’s eyes widened slightly and he glanced at the dark-clad figure sitting at the computer, “I didn’t think the two of you were all that close.” The demon responded shortly.

A slightly tense silence settled over the room.

“Well, it’s getting late, I should be leaving.” Angel finally said, bending to pick up his car keys and heading towards the door.

“See you tomorrow after sunset.” The demon responded without taking his eyes off of Willow.

Several more moments of silence passed as the remaining pair listened to the sounds of the vampire as he got into his car and started the engine.

As soon as the vehicle turned out of the driveway, Whistler spoke.

“Willow Rosenberg is coming to LA to help me research?”

Pulling her mask off her head, the hacker met his gaze unflinchingly, “Yes, she is.”

“And why, pray tell, is she doing that?” The demon responded.

“Because she has friends she wants to see up here and she’s tired of wearing a hood over her head.”

Sighing, Whistler shook his head, “Well, you’ve already told him that you’re coming down so there’s nothing I can do now.”

A slow smile spread over the hacker’s face.

“I’ll let Buffy know,” He continued, ignoring her obvious happiness and exiting the room.

“Thanks, Whistler!” She called bouncing up and down in her seat.

“You’d just better pray that you can pull off the Superman/ Clark Kent shit without Angel figuring it out.” He called from the kitchen, “As dumb as he looks, he ain’t no Lois Lane. You’re gonna have to do a hell of a lot more than just switch between glasses and contacts.”

Cordelia was just putting the finishing touches on Willow’s ‘casual’ upswept hairstyle that had only taken half an hour to accomplish when the doorbell rang.

“Buffy!! Can you get it? I’m busy.” Cordelia shouted, her teeth clenched over a bobby pin.

Muttering under her breath, the slayer bounded out of the guestroom with several young girls trailing her.

“Wait Buffy! Sit down!”

“Your makeup isn’t done yet!”

Yanking the door open, she beckoned for Giles to enter.

“Sorry, I can’t find the spare keys Cordelia lent me.” The librarian began before getting a better look at his slayer, “Dear Lord, Buffy…what happened to you?”

Blinking her blue eyeshadow laden eyes at him, she shook her head causing her numerous braids to flip flop errantly, “What are you talking about, Giles?” Leaning closer she whispered, “I’m running interference. Cordelia is helping Willow get ready and I’m distracting the…others.”

“Ready? Ready for what? I thought she was patrolling tomorrow night, not tonight.” The librarian looked confused.

“C’mon, Buffy! I haven’t put the bows in yet!” Emma tugged her hand insistently

Wincing, the slayer plastered a smile on her face and feigned enthusiasm, “Oh boy.”

“Hi Giles! Bye Giles!” Cordelia flew past the Watcher quickly, tugging Willow along at almost breakneck speed.

“Well, hello, but, y-yes, where are you two girls….”

The door slammed shut.

He looked around the empty hall, “Going?”

As Cordelia’s red corvette pulled up in front of their destination, she smiled, “Okay, now I’ll drop you in front of the bus station and you need to get in and look for terminal number 7. Just stand near the terminal entrance. Angel is due to pick you up from there in about 20 minutes but I figure he’ll be early cause he always is.”

“This is kinda silly, Cordelia.” The hacker sighed and hauled her blue backpack out of the car as she opened the door.

“No, this is a good way of making him really think that you took the bus up here to LA. Besides, it was my idea. Therefore, it is automatically genius because I’m always right. Now get out of here and haul ass to the terminal.”

“See you later, Cordelia.” The hacker humored her friend with a smile and a wave as she quickly headed into the busy building.

She was almost to her destination when she spotted a dark figure seated out of the way of the throngs of people, quietly reading a book. Her heart fell when she realized that there was little chance of her getting past him to the entrance of the terminal without getting spotted first. < He must’ve gotten here half an hour early! > She sighed.

Looking around at the massive crowds packed into the station, she wondered how she’d even been lucky enough to spot him in the first place. < Gosh, it’s like I have Angel-radar or something. I’m like…like…a little pointer dog or something. >

The PA system blared the arrival of a bus and Angel absently looked up from his book.

Quickly, Willow ducked into a nearby food kiosk and bent down to remain hidden. <Guess, I’ll just have to wait it out until ‘my bus’ gets here… >

Stopped at a red light, Cordelia was hunting around for her mascara when she heard a thud. Looking up, she watched as a man fell atop the hood of her car, slid off the other side and took off running in the opposite direction.

“Hey!” She started to yell, beeping her horn in anger when she noticed 3 or 4 burly men run around behind her car in hot pursuit. Pausing to check her rear view mirror, she suddenly recognized the man being pursued.

Whistler.

“Aw, shit.” The brunette cursed softly before gunning her engine and hauling an illegal U-Turn in the middle of the street.

Ignoring the angry shouts from other drivers, she took off trying to catch up with them, praying that there weren’t any police nearby. She already had 2 out standing speeding tickets.

Taking a sharp turn around the corner, she passed the pursuers and managed to catch up to Whistler just as he was about to dart through a narrow alleyway.

“Get in!” She shouted at the demon, unlocking her doors just long enough for him to dive into the back seat.

He barely managed to get the door slammed shut before one of the attackers came up alongside the car, growling. Another appeared directly in front of the vehicle.

Getting a good look at the snarling, bony vices of the two men, Cordelia needed little more encouragement to press her accelerator directly to the floor and plow over them both.

Ignoring the loud bumps as she ran over the bodies, she quickly took a right, turning onto the highway, “Cordelia Chase Search and Rescue, at your service. You’d better be glad that there weren’t any police around. I would have kicked your sorry ass if I got stopped.” She smiled cattily.

There was no response from the back.

“So, what the hell was that all about?” She asked.

Dead silence.

“Whistler?” She asked again, her smile fading somewhat.

Still no response.

Yanking down her rearview mirror, she gasped softly. “Oh my god…”

Beaten badly, the demon was slumped over against his seat covered in a mixture of grime, sweat and blood. His shirt torn and fedora missing, he looked pale as a ghost and was completely unconscious.

Hazarding a glance behind her to double check that what she saw was real, she quickly grabbed her cell phone and started dialing.

“Giles? It’s Cordelia.” She tried to keep her voice from shaking, “I found Whistler. He’s really hurt. What should I do?”

“Want me to help you with that?”

Willow tried not to feel guilty as Angel gently took her backpack from her.

“How was the bus ride?” he asked.

“The bus ride was good…it was…long. Yup, really long.”

There was a slightly awkward pause as the pair tried to think of something else to say while walking to the car.

“Well, Buffy should be at Cordelia’s by the time we get there.” He offered.

“Oh, good!” Willow responded happily, “I mean, I haven’t seen her…in…a…few days.”

“She would have been here except she had to help Giles take the slayers-in-training out for a short patrol and some exercise.”

“Oh, well that’s fine, I understand.” The redhead smiled, “I think it’s great that you came to pick me up.”

He shot her a sideways glance.

“Th-that is to say that it’s good to see you. I haven’t seen you in a really long time, like…ever since….” Her voice trailed off.

“That time we killed the Mayor and blew up Sunnydale High?” He supplied dryly.

“Yeah, around then.” She sent him a sheepish smile.

“It’s good to see you too, Willow.” Although he didn’t smile at her, his tone softened slightly. Holding the door open, he waited for her to get in the car.

Exhaling deeply, the hacker felt some of the tension seep out of her, “Uhm, thanks. Oh look, black leather interior….nice.”

Slightly surprised that the redhead had noticed, he nodded, “Whistler bought it for me.”

“Oh yeah, how’s Whistler?” Willow asked as Angel got into the car, desperately trying to keep the conversation going.

“He’s alright as far as I know. I haven’t been able to get in touch with him at all today, though.” Checking his rear view mirror briefly, the vampire started the car and pulled out of the parking lot. “I’m not sure if I should take you over to Cordelia’s or to the Immortal Watcher’s house….do you have a preference?”

“Preference? Me? Uhm..no.” Willow squeaked the mention of her alternate ego making her somewhat nervous. “Actually,” she rethought her words, “Maybe we SHOULD go to her house first.”

“Which ‘her’?” Angel asked, a slight smile in his voice.

“Oh, the…uhm..the Immortal Watcher.”

“Sounds good.”

They lapsed into companionable silence for most of the remainder of their journey.

Just as they were pulling up to Willow’s street, the hacker spoke again, “So, do you know the Immortal Watcher really well? I mean, she being your Protector and all. Are you two close friends?” She glanced at him hopefully.

Angel chose his words carefully, “We know each other. Not as well as maybe you and Xander, but yes, we’re good friends.”

Unable to help herself, Willow’s face broke into a wide grin.

“What?” The vampire asked, noting her expression.

“Oh, oh..well, nothing. I mean, it’s just nice to hear you say that…she must be really, uhm, nice.”

“Yes, yes she is.” Angel responded as he turned into the driveway of the house. “Here it is. I’m not sure if anyone’s home. If not, we can go to Cordelia’s because Buffy should be ther-.” Abruptly the vampire stopped talking.

“Wh-what? What is it?” Anxiously, the hacker followed his gaze and her eyes came to rest on the broken upstairs window he was staring at. Then, she noted the glass strewn across the grass and pavement. It almost looked as if someone had jumped…or had been pushed out of it.

“Willow. Wait in the car.” The vampire’s order was delivered so firmly that she sat frozen in her seat until he had gotten out.

“Oh, wait, Angel, don’t go. Maybe we should call Buffy!” She suddenly realized that he intended to investigate alone.

“Just sit in the car, Willow. I’ll be right back,” he ordered again before closing the door and locking her in.

“Wait!” She called, pounding on the glass, “Angel! Come back!!” Furiously, she tried to open the door or a window but the power controls wouldn’t budge without the key in the ignition.

“Angel!! There’s no one in the house! I know there isn’t, come back!!” But it was too late. She saw the shadow inching up behind him as he was pushing open the main door which had been left slightly ajar.

“Look out!” She screamed. Leaning heavily down on the horn, she caught his attention just as he was attacked.

Shouting in anguish, she watched as more and more vampires swarmed onto the scene quickly ambushing her friend. Unable to scream or claw her way out of the car, she tried a different tactic.

Lying down so that her back was pressed firmly to the bottom of the seat, she kicked sharply up against the passenger side glass window of the car.

After a few tries, she felt it start to give way. All of a sudden, she saw a face appear in the window just as she geared back for another shot. She froze in mid-kick.

Spike smiled at her smugly, his game face firmly in place, his fangs gleaming dangerously in the moonlight. Sauntering causally up to the car, he yelled in to her, “I told you to watch your back, didn’t I, luv?”

Willow’s eyes filled with horror.

Slapping his hand against the glass, he smiled sadistically as he smeared blood—undoubtedly Angel’s—against the pane.

“Come and get it.” He snarled, a deadly challenge gleaming in his eyes before he abruptly disappeared from her view.

Trying to control her violent trembling, Willow gingerly pulled herself into an upright position and looked around.

Where there had previously been an enormous fight raging before, there was now nothing.

Spike was gone.

So was Angel.

Silence reigned.




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