Title: Returning
Author: Kylia
Email: kylia_bug@yahoo.com
Disclaimer: Nobody belongs to me, unfortunately. They belong to Joss & Mutant Enemy, and a few other people I don’t know.
Rating: PG13 (for now, although that may change)
Spoilers:
Category: Willow/Spike
Summary: Willow and Spike are forced to return to Sunnydale when Angelus returns.
Distribution: Fire & Ice, WitchFanFic, anyone else, ask, and you shall receive
Author's Notes: This takes place a few years into the future.
Dedication: For Elka & Inell for providing me with a never-ending Fic fix!

From the moment Willow stepped off of the plane, she had the feeling of being watched. It wasn’t something she could pinpoint really; it was just a feeling. The airport was almost completely empty, and she could sense someone was following her, but when she turned around, she found herself alone. * I’m not back for five minutes and already I’m being stalked! * She laughed to herself as she approached the rental car counter.

She had decided to rent a car and drive the two hours to Sunnydale. If she didn’t stop she should make it by sunrise. It was just before four a.m. Willow was exhausted. Her flight had taken longer than expected. There was a delay in New York, when she had to change flights. Truthfully all she wanted to do was find a hotel and crash for the day, but she couldn’t wait.

Buffy had sounded hysterical when she called. She wouldn’t tell her what was going on, only that she had to come home. Willow had been reluctant at first. It had been over five years since she left Sunnydale. A lot had changed in that time. She had changed. She knew she couldn’t return home and be what they expected her to be, nor did she expect them to accept her for what she had become.

Giles brought Buffy a warm cup of Coffee, and sat down on the couch across from her. Buffy looked exhausted. Like she hadn’t slept in several weeks, which was fairly accurate. Buffy had been having terrible nightmares. At first it was a lot of images that didn’t make any sense, but as the days passed, they became clearer, and what she saw there frightened her.

“Do you think she’ll come?” Buffy asked, without looking up.

“Well, uh, yes. She should be here in a few hours.” Giles answered. Truthfully he wasn’t sure of anything. Willow had told him she’d be there, but he wouldn’t believe it until she had arrived.

Cordelia walked into the office, and sat down at her desk. She was early. It was only six-thirty but she had a lot to do, or so she told herself. In truth she was just worried, and wanted to be nearby should Angel call. He had been missing for three days, and she was starting to fear the worse. He had disappeared before, but never for so long and never without calling.

When the phone rang she nearly jumped out of her skin. She just stared at it for a moment, afraid to answer it, afraid of who was on the other line.

“Hello?” She asked shakily.

“Put Peaches on!” Snapped a decidedly British accent.

“He’s not here.” She heard a growl on the other end of the line.

“Where is he?”

“I, uh, I don’t know”

“Bloody Hell!! When did you see him last?” Spike asked, trying to remain calm.

“About three days ago. Do you know where he is?” Cordelia didn’t know why she expected Spike to tell her anything. He hated Angel. But she was running out of ideas.

“No. But I’ll be there tomorrow. If you see him before I get there, tell him not to go ANYWHERE!!” He slammed down the phone before she had a chance to respond.

“Rude much?” She muttered after hanging up the phone.

Cordelia hadn’t called anyone about Angel’s disappearance, outside of Los Angeles. She didn’t want Buffy involved. Things had been difficult enough between her boss and the slayer, she was hoping to be able to handle this herself. Consequently, she was relieved that Spike would be coming. If anyone could find Angel, she was sure he could, assuming of course he wanted to find his sire.

“Marcus!” Spike bellowed after hanging up the phone.

“Master.” Marcus entered the room carefully. The master had only been home less than an hour, and he was not in a good mood. He had returned to find the Mistress gone, and wasn’t very happy about it.

“Get some of the boys. We’re going on a trip!” Spike snapped.

After Marcus had left he returned to his dinner. He had found a young girl wandering the streets alone. Stupid chit! He couldn’t resist. He knew that Willow wouldn’t be pleased that he brought her home instead of finishing her off on the street. But the girl was young, probably a virgin. He wanted to savor it.

However he had lost his appetite when he had discovered that Willow wasn’t even home. She had gone to Sunnydale. No one knew why, but spike knew it had to have been important. She hadn’t been to Sunnydale in almost six years. Spike had called Angel, hoping he may have had an idea why his love had gone, only to find out Angel was missing. He didn’t know what was going on, but he sure as hell wasn’t going to sit around and wait to find out!

When he had first awakened, he was disoriented. He didn’t know where he was, or even who he was, but after a few minutes, it all came flooding back to him. He had thought to go home, to where he had lived for the last seven years, but that thought didn’t appeal to him, so instead he decided he would visit some old friends. He chuckled at the thought.

He had barely made it into the city limits when the sun started to rise. Luckily there was a hotel just inside of town. He would stay there for the day.

Willow had just barely made it to Giles house when the sun started to rise. She had made good time. She stood on the doorstep for a moment, her presence masked by the shaded tree. She didn’t know what she would find inside, but she had a feeling that whatever her life had been, whatever her life had become, it was about to be shaken up, again.

Buffy had finally fallen asleep on Giles couch. She was so exhausted, she didn’t hear the knock on the door. Giles was somewhat surprised to open the door and find Willow standing on the other side, alone. He realized that a part of him hadn’t really expected her to come. He just stood there staring at her for a moment. She looked the same, but yet different. Her red hair was longer than when he’d last seen her but not as long as when he first met her. Although she didn’t appear to look much older, there was something about her eyes. They seemed to speak volumes. The sparkle was still there, but it was mixed with something else. Knowledge. Her goodness was still there, but not her innocence. She was no longer the shy Willow he remembered, she had blossomed into a capable young women.

“Willow, please come in.” He moved aside so that she could enter.

“It’s good to see you.”

“You too, Giles.” Willow smiled at her old friend, and then turned to the couch, where Buffy had fallen asleep.

“She hasn’t been sleeping well. She’s been having nightmares.” Giles told her with a touch of sadness in his voice.

“Is that why I’m here? She is having dreams? Are they prophecy dreams?” Willow asked remembering all the times Buffy had dreamt of something that was destined to happen.

Giles turned away from Willow, and headed into the kitchen. “I’ll let her fill you in.” He was hoping to avoid any more questions. “How, How was your flight?”

Willow smiled at him, her eyes showing a hint of mischief. “Can I use your phone? I didn’t have time to tell Spike where I was going.”

Giles nodded and she headed towards the phone.

Xander lay in his bed, pretending to be asleep. He heard her move around the room, trying to get dressed. After several minutes she left him alone to continue getting ready. He breathed a sigh of relief, hoping that she wouldn’t return to their room. There was no such luck. After ten minutes she returned to the bedroom, and waited. After fifteen long minutes of agonizing silence, Xander opened up one eye, and then another, only to discover that she was staring him, with an expression she had frequently used when she was still a demon.

“You’re coming.” Anya said decisively. Xander shook his head.

“If you don’t come, she’ll think that you don’t approve.” She tried to convince him.

“Then she would be right!” Xander snapped as he walked out onto the terrace.

Just inside the city limits of Sunnydale, a demon watched, and waited. He hoped his master would be pleased. The destruction of the world was imminent, this he knew. Almost a decade ago, his master had been so close to being freed. Angelus had been so close to waken Acathla and sucking the world into hell. But the slayer had prevented his master’s freedom. That would not happen again, he would make sure of that. He knew that bringing Angelus back would be a tricky situation, but one worth the risk.

His master had told him not to pursue his plan of returning Angelus to his former glory. He had thought it was too dangerous. There were too many variables. But the demon felt it was worth the risk. Angelus’ reign of terror had been unparalleled. Plus the slayer had been unable to kill him, which would work to their advantage.

The demon chuckled to himself as he watched Angelus return home, to Sunnydale. The slayer had no idea what awaited them.

Daylight sucked. If there was only one thing he knew without a doubt, it was that. Spike had been forced to wait until the sunset to see Cordelia, and find out what was going on. He briefly entertained the idea that his sire had returned home. But only briefly. Peaches wasn’t the type to disappear for several days, not unless something was seriously wrong.

When he reached Angel’s office, if you could call it that, he discovered that not only hadn’t his sire returned, but that someone, or something had spent a fair amount of time destroying the interior of the building.

He found Cordelia hunched over in a small corner, unconscious. He picked her up and carried her down to Angel’s living room and set her on the couch. He was half tempted to kill her, and be done with it, however, Spike realized that that wouldn’t help in his search for answers. That and he didn’t relish explaining to his mate why he felt the need to drain her friend. So instead he waited.

He didn’t have to wait long. Soon after he arrived, Cordelia regained consciousness. At first he didn’t know where she was, or how she had gotten there. But after a few confused moments, she realized she was in Angel’s apartment. When she saw Spike watching her from a chair few feet away, she remembered what had happened.

She had been waiting for Doyle to return, hopefully with news about Angel, when she had been attacked, by a demon she didn’t recognize. At first she had thought he wanted information, but Cordelia dismissed that idea, when the demon didn’t ask her any questions, and had instead started to destroy the office. She started to protest, only to thrown across the room for her trouble.

She didn’t know how long she had been unconscious. If it had been minutes, hours, or even days. And it was obvious from the expression Spike had on his face that he knew less than she did. She felt oddly comfortable knowing he was there. She had no delusions that had it not been for Spike’s desire to find Angel, she would probably be dead already. Even so, she was glad to see him.

“How long, how long have I been…”

“ I don’t know. I just got here myself.” Spikes calm tone belied his mood. Cordelia nodded.

“Care to tell me what happened, ducks?”

Cordelia proceeded to tell him everything she could remember. After hearing everything she said, he was more confused than before.

“How long has Peaches been gone?” Spike was using every ounce of control to not snap the chit’s neck and get the information his own way. However he was reminded once again how his mate would react.

When she had called home, Willow discovered that Spike had left shortly after he had returned home to find her gone. She wasn’t surprised. Spike was very impatient. She hadn’t expected him to sit home and wait for her to return. She was surprised however to learn that he had gone to see Angel. One of the boys had told her that when Spike telephoned him, he learned Angel had gone missing. Willow also knew that somehow whatever was happening to Buffy also involved Angel. The two instances were not as separate as they appeared. She realized Spike would come to the same conclusion. She only hoped that Spike would be able to shed some more light on the situation than what she was able to discover.

Giles had refused to tell her anything until Buffy herself was awake. She had only learned that Buffy had been experiencing a series of nightmares recently. She feared they were prophetic. That was all Giles felt comfortable in revealing.

Buffy had awoken almost thirty minutes ago, and they were enduring a comfortable silence. Anya had shown up a few minutes ago, making an excuse for why Xander wasn’t there. She tried to make it sound believable, but Willow knew better. Xander had not been understanding when she had left Sunnydale six years ago, and his feelings hadn’t changed.

Willow hoped he would come around, but she wasn’t going to make excuses for her life, so she let the matter drop. She smiled at her old friends, and tried to ease the tension.

“So, how have you been?” Willow realized the question sounded completely ridiculous, but at this rate, she would grow old before Buffy would tell her why she had called her.

Buffy smiled uneasily at her old friend. She felt uncomfortable. She had neglected to remain in contact with her over the years. Giles spoke to her at least once a month, but Buffy herself only spoke to her a few times a year. When she did talk to her, things were awkward. Buffy hadn't been thrilled when Willow left with Spike, but she had accepted it. However, she still felt odd discussing her work with someone who spent all of her time with that which she was destined to destroy.

When she had picked up the phone to call her, she knew it was necessary. But that didn’t change the awkwardness that they were facing now.

“About three weeks ago I started having nightmares. At first it was just flashes. Images that didn’t make any sense. But as the dreams continued, they became clearer. Some of them are more like memories. Pictures of the past. Of Angel, and Druscilla, and Acathla. Of the night that… that I sent him to hell. But others, are things that never happened, at least as far as I know. Images of death, and destruction. Of demons that I don’t know, of powers that couldn’t possibly exist.” Buffy paused in her explanation, waiting for Willow’s reaction.

“You think these are prophecy dreams?” It was a statement. Buffy nodded. She was about to continue when there was a knock at the door.

Giles opened up the door, to find angel standing there.

“Angel?” Giles was surprised to see the vampire there. He didn’t know he had left Los Angeles.

“Hi, Giles. Can I come in?” He asked, peering inside. Giles nodded and moved aside to let him in.

Angel walked into the room, and took a look around. Buffy was there. She looked upset. And Xander’s demon girlfriend was also there. He was surprised to find Willow sitting on the couch, her back to him. She stood up and turned around. Her green eyes staring into his dark ones. In her eyes, he saw acknowledgement. He didn’t know how, but she sensed the change. She smiled as she approached him.

“Angel. How nice to see you.” She gave him a hug. “How long have you been here?” She tore her eyes away from him, and turned to Giles, “Can you excuse us for a second?” Giles nodded and Willow turned back to Angel. She motioned for him to follow her outside.

When they were alone in the cool night air, Willow turned around to face her mate’s sire.

“Willow.” He wondered what the witch had to say to him. She smiled easily at him.

“Angelus.” Her eyes sparkling with the knowledge that Angelus had indeed returned.

Angelus stared at Willow for a moment, trying to decide if he could bluff his way out. He didn’t think he could, but he had to try.

“Willow? Is something wrong?’ He asked, trying to impersonate the brooding tones of his other self.

Willow looked up at him humor in her green eyes, “Don’t bother. I don’t know how it happened, and I don’t really care.” She let her words sink in before she continued. “However, this is not a place you should be. It won’t take long for them to notice the change.”

He stared at the redhead for a second in awe and confusion. “You aren’t going to tell them?”

Willow smiled at her lover’s sire, “No. But…”

Her words were cut off as Buffy came outside to see what was keeping her friend, and her former lover. She noticed a confused look on Angel’s face and wondered what they were discussing.

”Angel? What are you doing here?”

Angelus turned to the slayer and forced a small smile. “I, uh, I was in the neighborhood. I heard Willow was in town, so I thought I stop by.” He realized that his excuse sounded flimsy, but Buffy had never been one to put too much thought into things. “I do have to go though. Maybe I can come by tomorrow?” He asked, half-hoping she would turn him down. Buffy nodded as she returned to the warmth of Giles house.

Willow started to follow her into the house, but stopped and turned her gaze to Angelus; “We’ll talk later. Our old house, after sunrise.” She didn’t wait for him to respond, instead walking into Giles house.

Angelus watched Willow go into the watcher’s house and chuckled to himself. His childe had picked well. She was definitely a keeper. As he walked the streets of Sunnydale his mind was brought back to the last time he had been here. Acathla. That had been a disaster. He realized that he had been going about things all wrong. Hell, he had been wrong about just about everything then. He had let the slayer cloud his judgement. He had believed his Childe weak, and he played an old game for far too long. He missed the way things used to be. A little death, a little destruction. He missed his family. He vowed to do things differently this time around.

He was also aware that someone had been watching him. Someone who had brought him back for their own reasons. But that didn’t matter. All that did was that he was back, and he wasn’t going anywhere.




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