Title: Soothing The Beast
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: R
Spoilers: BtVS Season 3; Beauty & The Beasts.
Category: Willow/Angel
Summary: Willow discovers Angel, setting motion a series of events.
Distribution: Fire & Ice, BBA, anyone else, ask, and you shall receive
Author's Notes: This takes place after Faith ,Hope & Trick. It's my own wacky universe after that. Angel has returned, but Buffy is the only one who knows; I'm altering some of the events of Beauty & The Beasts to fit the story.
Author's Notes 2: This is my first solely W/A story. Sorry if it sucks:)
Dedication: Kaitelynn, because she knows how I think. To anyone who missed me. :)

Willow walked home thinking about everything that Buffy had said. The closer she got to her house, the more irritated she got. By the time she reached her house, she was bubbling over with anger. She entered the house, slamming the front door behind her. She began pacing wild circles around her living room.

"Animal my ass!" She mumbled. "Who does she think she is? Just walking into his house and chaining him up like that?"

Her tirade was stopped as she felt a cold hand on her shoulder. She spun around and found Angel staring down at her, his golden eyes showing concern. Then he did something she never expected. He spoke.

"Wi… Willow?" His voice was hoarse from disuse, but it sounded like a symphony to Willow.

She smiled brightly, her previous anger forgotten. "Angel." She wrapped her arms around him in a fierce hug.

He opened his mouth as if to speak again, but instead of words, a rumbling sound came forth. Willow took a finger and placed over his lips. "Shh. It's okay." She lay her head against his chest.

The moment was broken when the phone rang. Willow moved to answer it and had to smile when she heard Angel growl low in his chest as she moved away from him.

"Hello?" She answered.

"Wills? Hey!" Xander's voice came over the line.

"Xander, what's up?" She sighed.

"Hey, we were wondering if you could come back down here. We could use your help"

"I don't know." Willow groaned. She had no desire to see Buffy again so soon.

"C'mon, Wills. We need your brilliance."

Willow laughed, despite herself. "I don't think so. It's not a good idea."

Xander noticed a strange tone to her voice. "What's up?" He asked cautiously.

"UP? Nothings up?" She exclaimed a little quickly.

"C'mon, you can tell the Xan-man!"

Willow sighed. "It's nothing, really. Buffy and I just had a disagreement. I don't really want to see her right now."

There was silence for a moment as Xander thought about what she said. He knew that there was more to it than a minor argument. Willow wasn't one to hold a grudge. Whatever it was must really have her upset.

"Buffy won't be here. She went on patrol. Said she needed to work out some aggression. Guess I know why." Xander joked.

Willow snorted. "Alright, I'll come. But only for an hour." She hung up the phone, and turned back to Angel. He was watching her with a half-glazed look in his eyes.

"I have to go out again." She explained. He growled and Willow put a calming hand on his chest. "I'll only be gone an hour." Her eyes lit up as she remembered something. "Ooh, I brought you something." She ran over to her bag, which she had dropped on the floor. She picked it up and fished and hand inside one of the pockets, producing to CD's. She placed them both into the CD player and put it on repeat. After a moment soft, soothing classical musical came through the speakers. She smiled as she saw the look of recognition in Angel's eyes.

Before Angelus had come back, Buffy had complained frequently about Angel's love of classical music. Willow herself found it soothing, and hoped he would as well. She turned her attention back to her bag and pulled out the other thing she had brought for him. Some drawing pencils and some sketch paper.

She brought the supplies over to the table and set them down. "I… I brought you these. You don't have to use them. But, if you want…" She let the world trail off as she was embraced in another one of Angel's frequent bear hugs.

Willow gently pulled her self away and sat him down on the couch. She then left him to fix him some blood. When she returned, she handed him the mug and watched, fascinated, as he drank the warm liquid, not minding that she was staring. She knew that this Angel was different than the one she had known. He was the same person, basically, but there were changes in him. Changes she knew wouldn't go away once he regained his health. These changes were permanent, and she liked them.

When he was finished with his dinner, she took the mug from him and washed it in hot soapy water. When she returned to the living room, Angel was asleep, having let the music sooth his weary soul. She bent down and kissed him lightly on the cheek, and left the house.

When she arrived at the library, Willow was pleased to discover that Xander was right. Buffy was nowhere to be seen. Xander and Cordelia were sifting through some heavy books, while Giles was locked in his office.

"Willow, you're here." Xander smiled.

"Yep. What do you need my help with?" She asked as she sat down in front of the computer.

Xander explained, in his own special way, that there seemed to be some sort of creature running around. A couple of boys had been killed, and the schools counselor had been found that afternoon.

Willow hacked into the morgue's files and dug up all the information she could find. After several minutes she looked up to find Xander and Cordelia staring expectantly at her. "What?" She asked.

"Well? Are you going to tell us?" Cordelia asked impatiently.

"Tell you what?" Willow was confused.

Cordelia rolled her eyes. "About what miss high and mighty did to piss you off"

Willow groaned. She should have known that they would want to know what she and Buffy had argued about. She was about to protest when a thought struck her. Why shouldn't she tell them? Sure, they wouldn't be happy about it, but telling them truth was better than lying. They would understand… eventually.

"Alright. But Giles should hear this too." She got up and went into Giles office. "Giles? I have something I need to tell everyone. I think you should hear it."

Giles looked up from his desk, concerned, but merely nodded. He followed her out of his office and to the table Xander and Cordelia were sitting at. Willow paced around nervously.

"Okay, first of all this isn't really my secret to tell, but…" She looked at her friends and smiled slightly, "I don't think it should be a secret"

"Willow? What is it?" Giles asked warily.

"It's Angel." She spoke softly. He's back."

Silence enveloped the room.

"An…Angel? Are you certain?" Giles asked, trying to contain the overwhelming emotions Willow's statement brought forth.

Willow placed a comforting hand on her mentor's shoulder. "Yes."

"That Bastard! I'll kill him!" Xander shot out of the seat, but was then grabbed by Cordelia and pushed back into the chair.

"You'll do no such thing!" Cordelia admonished after seeing the look of horror, which had, cover Willow's features.

"Uh, how did this happen?" Giles asked, trying to regain focus.

Willow sighed. "I'm not really sure. I don't even know if he knows." She looked into Giles eyes carefully. "He's not the same. He's… different."

Giles eyes narrowed. "Did he hurt you?"

Willow shook her head. No, nothing like that. But…"

"Does Buffy know?" Xander's voice was laced with venom for the vampire, and concern for his friend.

Willow's eyes darkened in anger. "Yes. She knows." She turned around, trying to decide what to tell them.

"Buffy found him, chained him." She paused. "I can understand it the first time, but this last time…"

"Last time? There was more than one time?" Xander asked.

"Yesterday, I went to see him, and found him chained to his bed like an animal."

"He is an animal." Xander spat.

Willow's eyes glared dangerously as she took a step closer to Xander. "He's not an animal." She hissed then took a deep breath, turning round and tried to calm herself.

"What happened before… won't… can't happen again." She spun around to face the three. "I know this is a shock. It was shocking for me as well, although I should have known, I suppose." She shook her head. "I just thought you should know. We shouldn't keep secrets." Willow turned and started to leave the library when Giles voice stopped her.

"Willow" Giles stood up as Willow turned around. "You said you should have known? Why?"

Willow looked blankly for a minute as she tried to remember what she had said. "It must have happened when I did the soul restoration. Jenny did tell me once that the Gypsy who had originally cast it was connected to him slightly. I never expected it happen, or that it would be so strong…" She trailed off, reaching out to feel Angel's presence. He was still sleeping, although for once it wasn't a nightmare filled sleep. He was at peace. She smiled.

"Hello? For those of us who don't speak bizarre… what the hell?" Xander was completely confused. He had followed most of the conversation, but now it had ventured in a land of confusion.

"Are you saying that you… and… he… are connected to one another?" Giles tried to wrap his mind around this latest news.

Willow nodded. "I think so."

"How can we fix it?"

"I'm not sure it can be fixed." Giles sighed. "But I'll look into it."

Willow smiled. "Thank you." She started to leave again.

"You're going to him, aren't you?" Xander accused.

Willow stopped but didn't turn around.

"You can't. I won't let you." Xander stood up and ran towards her, as if to stop her from leaving. He stood in front of her, blocking her path, looking down at her with anger and frustration in his eyes.

"Newsflash, Xander this isn't up to you." Cordelia spoke from her place at the table.

Willow smiled slightly at Cordelia's rescue. She had never expected her greatest enemy to side with her.

"What about…" Xander racked his brain for an excuse, any excuse to keep her from going to that monster.

"What about Oz? Yeah, Oz!" He seemed pleased with his choice until he saw the brief flash of pain, which flitted across Willow's features.

"Oz is gone. He left." Her tone was flat, devoid of any emotion.

"Buffy? What about Buffy? How can you do this to her?" Xander latched on to his last hope of detouring her.

Willow stared at Xander, a strange feeling of calm overtaking her. "Buffy isn't my concern. And I'm not doing anything to her. I'm helping a friend. That's all." She pushed past her friend and left the school, anxious to get home, to her friend.

Buffy had finished patrol early. She was on her way back into the library when she heard voices. She stopped to listen. It was Willow. She was telling them about Angel. How dare she? That was her secret. Her business. Willow had no right. It didn't concern her.

Buffy heard Willow say something about being connected to Angel. No, that wasn't right. S he must have misheard. She listened carefully as Xander threatened Angel, and knew she had been right to keep it a secret. They would never understand. They would try to kill him. The problem she was facing now was that she wasn't sure if that was such a bad idea. Why couldn't he have stayed gone?

She heard Willow approach the door and backed up slightly. When she heard Xander speaking to her again, she breathed a sigh of relief she didn't want to be caught eavesdropping. She heard Xander ask about Oz, and was surprised to hear Willow's answer. When did Oz leave? How come no one told me?

"Buffy? What about Buffy? How can you do this to her?" She heard Xander ask. Buffy took a step closer to the door, waiting to hear Willow's response. She nearly gasped when she heard the words that came out of Willow's mouth.

When she heard the door being the thrust open, she hid in the shadows until Willow was out of site. She was shocked. How could Willow not care? Buffy knew that had had a disagreement, but couldn't she see that Buffy was right? Angel was dangerous. She shook her head as she ran out of the school, wanting to catch up with her, try and convince her. Maybe find out where Angel was.

Willow was a couple of blocks from her house when she heard the footsteps behind her. She stopped and turned around.

"Who's there?" She asked. She wasn't sure how or why, but she knew it wasn't a vampire.

"Willow." Buffy called as she came out from behind a tree.

"Stalking me now?" Willow asked cautiously. She knew, despite her anger, Buffy was a lot stronger and although she didn't think the blond would resort to violence, she was having trouble understanding anything she did lately.

"Is it true?" Buffy asked staking a step closer to Willow. Despite herself, she hoped to scare her friend. Get her to realize what kind of danger she was in.

"What?" Willow asked sighing.

"That you told them. That you are connected to him. That you don't care about how I feel."

Willow looked carefully at her friend, realizing that Buffy must have heard their whole conversation. "You could have come in. You didn't have to go sneaking around. But wait, you do that well, don't you?" Willow ignored her question, choosing instead to give in to her desire to express some of her thoughts.

Buffy looked shocked. "You want him, don't you?" She shook her head. "He'll kill you. It's who he is." Buffy told her sadly.

Something inside of Willow snapped at Buffy's words. How could she stand here and claim to know so much about she was supposed to love. She didn't know him, and obviously, she never did.

"He isn't a killer. That was Angelus."

"They are the same. I've seen it. That look. He's an animal. You told the others that Angelus wouldn't come back. What if he never left? What if he's just pretending? What if he never went to hell? What if, he's just waiting to slit your throat like the fool you are?" Buffy spoke seriously, believing every word.

Willow did the only she could. She slapped Buffy hard across the face. Harder than she would have believed she had the strength for. So hard, the Slayer stumbled back slightly.

Angel woke up with a start. He had been sleeping peaceful, when a sudden torrent of emotions over came him. Fear, irritation, confusion. But at the forefront, Anger, and then pain. He jumped off of the couch and rain out of the house. Something he couldn't understand driving him, directing him to his destination.

For a moment, Buffy was filled with shock, bewilderment. But only for a moment. Then it gave way to anger. Anger at herself for not being able to kill Angel when she found him. Anger at Angel for coming back. Anger and willow for being stupid enough to believe Angel's lies. She didn't know what Angel had told her, but whatever it was, he had been successful in getting Willow to betray her friends. All of these thoughts and emotions came to her in a split second. She lashed out, slamming Willow onto the ground. She hit her heard across the face, and grabbed her wrist forcefully, twisting it until she heart a slight snap.

Willow groaned in pain and then everything went black.

Buffy gasped as she felt her body being thrown against a tree. The same tree she had used for cover earlier. She looked up to see the golden eyes of Angel staring up at her. He snarled loudly as he backhanded her, sending her unconscious. He turned around and found Willow slumped against a tree. He picked her up gingerly and carried her back to her house, leaving Buffy alone, and unconscious. She was easy prey for anything that happened by. Angel didn't care. His only concern was for her savior, and making her safe.

Buffy groaned as she opened her eyes. Faith was staring down at her, smirking.

"Need a little, help, B?" She held out her hand.

"I'm going to kill them." Buffy grumbled as she gained her footing.

"Who? The bushes? 'Cause I'm pretty sure they're sorry." Faith snickered.

"Willow, and that… monster." Buffy snarled.

"Willow? She did this?" Faith laughed. "What monster?"

"Angel." She spat the word, sounding remarkably like Xander.

"The vamp? I thought he was in Hell?"

"He was. Now he's back… with a new attitude." Buffy began filling her fellow Slayer in on what had happened as they walked to the library.

Angel paced around the living room angrily, waiting for Willow to wake up. His mind was starting to clear up some, and what he remembered, only forced to anger him further.

His memories had been drifting in and out of his mind for days. He had been unable to determine what was truth, and what was part of a horrible dream, but now, things were becoming clear. And with clarity, came some realizations he had been unable to face… before.

He had loved Buffy, or at least the idea of Buffy. Who he thought she was. He was so taken with that ideal, long before he actual met her that he ignored who she really was. He had fallen in love with the innocent girl who was called to a destiny she had no control of but would embrace it willingly. A girl who would fight the forces of darkness. Keep the balance. A girl who knew what he was and excepted him anyway.

But, she was none of those things. She had been innocent, once. And she had been called to her destiny. But she didn't take it on because she was noble, she did it because she had to. She didn't even really accept him. She tried to pretend he wasn't a creature of the night. A vampire. Her sworn enemy. That would only last for so long. In time, the reality would set in, and it had.

His time in Hell, had given him the opportunity to see things how they really were, not how he had chosen to view them. He was a vampire. He had been for over 245 years. He would always be a vampire. Until time stopped, or he turned to dust. That wouldn't change, and he wasn't sure anymore if he wanted it to.

Having his soul restored had not changed the man, only the killer. It didn't change the parts of him that made him who he was. It had afforded him a conscious. A knowledge of what was right and wrong, and a will to do the right thing.

For a hundred years he had let his guilt drive him. He hid in the shadows like a frightened child. Too afraid to live again. To afraid to admit that he was more like the vampire than the man.

Hell had taught him that despite eternity, there are things you never have enough time for. Things you should waste. His fear and ignorance had cost him too much already. It was time to be selfish.

He was different. He could feel it. He didn't know if it was his time in Hell, or the change in the spell willow had performed, but he was different. The guilt was almost completely gone. Leaving in its place, something he thought he would never find again. Himself.

Willow awoke with a groan. Her head was pounding. She tried to move but found herself unable to manage. She opened her eyes to the most beautiful site she had ever scene. Angel. It wasn't the half glazed, animalistic look she had become used to. It wasn't the golden eyes she was looking into but the chocolate brown ones. But, there was something in his eyes, something she had never seen in him before.

She could feel the concern coming off of him in waves. She smiled slightly, reaching out to touch him gently. However, her arm wouldn't cooperate. There was a searing pain in her wrist. When she looked down, she noticed it was bandaged tightly. She looked up at him, a question in her eyes.

He opened his mouth as if to speak, but nothing came forth but a raspy sound and a growl of frustration. She couldn't help but smile. She could see the clarity in his eyes. He was returning to her. He would be her angel again. *Her Angel? * Where did that come from? She shook her head of the confusing thoughts.

Willow stood up on shaky legs as she heard a fierce pounding on the door. She groaned, afraid it was Buffy. She opened the door carefully, prepared to slam it if it was the Slayer. It was a slayer, but not the one she had been expecting.

"Faith? What are you doing here?" Willow asked cautiously.

Faith peered around the slight redhead and stared at the vampire. His face shifted into that of his demon as he sensed her. Faith smiled.

"I want to know about him." She nodded towards Angel.

Willow eyed her carefully. "What about him?"

"Aren't you going to let me in, Red?" She looked expectantly at Willow and then grinned. "Not a stake in sight" She held up her hands as if to prove her point.

Willow stepped aside, letting the Slayer in. "What do you want to know?"

Faith eyes the vampire carefully. After listening to everything Buffy and Xander had said, she was having trouble imagining they were talking about the same person. Buffy had said he was crazed. He didn't appear that was to her. Sure, he had his game face on, but she was a Slayer, and invading his space. That had to make a guy nervous.

"B said you attacked her. Nearly killed her." She laughed. "Good going."

Willow smiled despite herself. She liked this girl. "It wasn't like that." She thought back to the fight. "Well, maybe it was." She frowned. "Would you like something to drink?

Faith nodded. As willow went into the kitchen, Faith appraised the vampire. He was definitely a hottie. Didn't seem to be Buffy's type though. He didn't strike her as someone who would follow the blond slayer around like a lost puppy. This one seemed to be comfortable in his own skin. Nothing like what she had heard about him.

When Willow returned, Faith noticed for the first time, that one of Willow's wrists was bandaged tightly.

"What happened?"

Angel growled.

"Buffy." Willow said simply.

"Let me see." Faith held her hand out. She looked at the wrapped wrist and applied a slight bit of pressure. Willow yelped in pain. Faith raised her dark eyes. "It's broken."

"No, it's not. It's just sprained." Willow protested.

Faith shook her head. "I know injuries. This is broken." She stood up. "C'Mon, lets go." She led willow towards the door, calling behind her shoulder. "Fang, are you coming?"

Two hours later, Willow sat in the emergency room as the doctor wrapped the plaster cast around her wrist. Faith had been right. Her wrist had been broken. In three places. She couldn't believe it.

"All set." The doctor smiled down at her. "You need to be more careful." He admonished her. "Make an appointment with your doctor for X-rays. You're boyfriend and his sister and out in the hall. You can go home now. But take it easy with that arm for awhile."

Willow nodded and hopped off of the table. S he had to stifle a giggle at the doctor's reference to Faith and Angel. My boyfriend and his sister. If he only knew.

When she walked out into the hall, she found Faith lounging a chair while Angel paced nervously. She could tell he was struggling to keep his human face on. She needed to get him home, where he could relax.

"Hey!" She smiled. "Guess you were right." She looked at Faith. "Thanks."

"No sweat." She said as she got up and followed the couple out of the hospital.

"You want to come back with us?" Willow asked.

"No. I think I'm gonna go kill something. I'm all restless." Faith moved around wildly, making her point.

Willow nodded. "Okay. Thanks."

Faith walked away from them, heading towards the cemetery.