Title: The Three Rs Series

Author: Angelina

EMAIL: angelina2006@hotmail.com

DISCLAIMER: All characters belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy.

SUMMARY: Willow decides to end things once and for all

PAIRING: Buffy/Willow

SPOILERS: None really, set at some point in Season 2, before Passion

AUTHOR'S NOTES: All feedback welcome. "Mochas?" "Yes please!"

A Night for Reflection

Willow looked at the Slayer's form lying in the hospital bed. So still, so pale, so fragile. If it were not for the breath sounds coming through the oxygen mask Willow would have been unsure whether she was alive or dead. Her face was unmarked, belying the extent of her injuries which were severe to say the least. Willow reached out and took her friend's hand. It was cold and unresponsive, the fingers did not tighten around Willow's as they had done so many times in the past.

Sitting alone in the silent hospital room Willow allowed herself to cry. Giles and Buffy's mom had gone for coffee. Xander, Cordelia and Oz had gone home a few hours ago when they'd learned that Buffy's condition had stabilised. Oz had tried to convince Willow to go with them but she'd refused. Then he had offered to stay with her but she'd abruptly told him just to go. She hadn't meant to hurt his feelings but she just wanted to be with Buffy right now.

A tear ran down her cheek as she wished it were her in the bed instead of Buffy. It should have been, would have been if Buffy had not come along when she did. The events of the previous night ran through her mind, every image, every sound, every smell imprinted on her memory.

Walking home alone from the library after dark was not something she normally did but she had stayed on a little later than the others to finish up. She had told them to go and that she would be perfectly fine. She had the usual equipment in her bag - stake, cross, holy water - so she wasn't unduly worried. What she hadn't counted on was a vampire lying in wait for her. One who had watched the others leave and knew she was alone. One who knew her. Angelus.

He stalked his prey for a while before swooping in for the catch. He moved stealthily and before Willow even knew he was there he had a hand covering her mouth and another pinning her arms to her sides. She tried to scream but only managed a muffled sound. Her attacker spoke.

"Hello Willow."

The voice was both familiar and not familiar to her. Then the penny dropped. The voice was Angel's but with a harder, more guttural quality to it. A threatening, menacing cadence. It was Angelus. Willow's heart pounded in her chest and her breathing quickened. Angelus brought his face down to hers and sniffed.

"You smell so good when you're terrified.....good enough to eat." A squeak came from under his hand. "Oh but don't worry, I'm not gonna do that, that wouldn't be as much fun as what I have planned for you."

"Mot oo oo av and?" Willow mumbled.

"What do I have planned?" Angelus pulled Willow's face around and made her look at him. "I'm going to hurt you." His demonic features broke into a twisted smile revealing his fangs. "And then, when I'm done hurting you, I'm going to leave you for your pitiful bunch of friends to find."

"My mont oo ill me ow?" Willow spoke as best she could, she was shaking uncontrollably now.

"If I kill you now that'd hurt Buffy, it'd hurt her a lot. But if I make you suffer, if I make you beg me to kill you and then send you back to her in that state, that will destroy her." Tears ran over Angelus' hand, he lowered his head and licked then off. "Mmmm, your tears taste good, I bet your blood is as sweet as honey." He licked her neck with his rough tongue and she squirmed away but he held her tight. "Yeah, Buffy'll be real cut up when she finds out what I've done to her little Willow."

A voice came from behind them. "Not if I cut you up first."

Angelus whirled around still holding Willow. There stood Buffy, hands on hips, staring defiantly at Angelus.

"Well hello lover, this is a surprise. Shouldn't you be patrolling across town?"

Buffy took a step towards them but Angelus moved his hand from Willow's mouth onto her throat. She emitted a strangled gasp and Buffy stopped in her tracks.

"Let her go" she said quietly.

Angelus shook his head and clicked his tongue. "Now Buffy, do you really think you're in a position to be giving orders to me?" He tightened his grip slightly and Willow whimpered.

"Come on Angelus it's me you want."

"Ah, now that's a very ego-centric view of things wouldn't you say?" Angelus loosened his hold on Willow's neck but kept hold of her. "You couldn't be more wrong. Soul-Boy wanted you and look where that got him! No, I don't want you, I couldn't want you less. What I want is to see you suffer. And what better way to do that than to attack the chink in your armour?"

"Chink? What chink?" Buffy wanted to keep him talking, if he was talking, he wasn't hurting Willow.

"You see, my normal MO doesn't usually work on Slayers. But then again you're not like most Slayers."

"Oh yeah? And how's that?" Buffy was inching towards them imperceptibly.

"Slayers don't usually have so many friends to play with." Angelus explained obligingly. "You my dear are a formidable opponent in combat but you have a huge weakness. You care too much about people."

Buffy had stopped moving. Angelus' words frightened her more than she would have liked. Because they were true. He went on, liking the sound of his own voice.

"You know that if I was holding you right now you'd know exactly what to do. You'd be fighting me for all you were worth. But here we are instead, I have your bestest buddy and you can't do a thing in case I hurt her." Angelus' yellow eyes glinted in the moonlight. Buffy stood, helpless. Angelus continued "Actually, this might be better than what I had planned. This way I get to see your reactions first hand."

Buffy realised the meaning of this statement a second too late and Angelus' head whipped down and his teeth pierced the smooth skin of Willow's neck. Buffy lunged forward and grabbed Angelus' hair yanking his head upwards as Willow's scream split the night.

Angelus let go of Willow and, not expecting to be released, she fell to the ground and scrambled away from him holding her neck. Buffy took a stake from her back pocket and raised it. Angelus brought his knee up and it connected with her stomach. She stumbled backwards, momentarily winded. Angelus advanced on her in her vulnerable state. He grabbed the hand that held the stake attempting to wrench it away from her. She held on tight and their struggle brought them face to face, almost touching.

"I'm not gonna kill you now." Angelus snarled. "That's be the easy way out for you."

"Oh yeah? Well, you'll forgive me if I skip straight to the killing you part, I can't be bothered with all the other stuff." Buffy replied breathlessly. She suddenly got the upper hand and pushed Angel off balance. He fell backwards but pulled her with him. The stake fell out of Buffy's hand and rolled out of reach. As she stretched towards it Angelus punched her squarely in the face. Blood ran from her nose and landed on Angelus' face. The smell seemed to give him a boost of energy and he threw Buffy off of him and he reached out and grabbed the stake.

Willow was watching the fight from a distance. She winced with every blow Angelus landed on Buffy. She saw his hand close around the stake and knew she had to do something. She saw her bag in the road and went to retrieve her vampire fighting supplies.

While Willow's back was turned Buffy regained her composure and hurled herself at Angelus just as he turned around with the stake in his hand, pointing upwards. Buffy did not make a sound as she felt the wood break through her skin and continue deeper into her abdomen as her weight carried her forward. For a split second there was no pain. Her eyes locked with Angelus' and his face registered shock as he felt blood on his hands, then a smile crept over his lips. That was when the pain hit. Searing agony ripped through her entire body like nothing she had ever experienced. She opened her mouth but the sound which came out seemed detached and very far away.

The scream was the most awful sound Willow had ever heard. Her heart seemed to turn to ice. For the next few moments everything happened in slow-motion. She spun around to see Buffy rolling off Angelus, her hands were clutching her stomach and something seemed to be protruding from between her fingers. The stake.

Angelus was moving towards Buffy but Willow, spurred on by a hatred she could never have imagined feeling, was quicker. She threw her whole bottle of Holy Water directly onto Angelus' face. He uttered a low growl followed by a howl of pain. He had been blinded by the water and had no intention of sticking around to see what Willow would do next. He clambered to his feet and ran off into the dark.

Time resumed its normal speed as Willow ran to Buffy's side. Her breathing was quick and her eyes were staring into the night sky. Her hands were covered in blood which continued to flow.

"Oh my God, oh my God, Buffy!"

Willow put her hands over Buffy's in an attempt to stem the flow of blood. The warm sticky liquid repulsed her and fascinated her. It signified the life slowly ebbing out of her best friend.

"Help!" Willow screamed the word at the top of her voice. "Somebody please help us!" She looked at Buffy's face, her eyes were closed. "No Buffy, come on, wake up. Don't leave me. I need you." Willow pleaded, her throat raw from shouting and crying.

"Will..." Buffy's voice was no more than a whisper but the sound of it made Willow's heart start beating again.

"I'm here Buffy, what is it?" But she didn't speak again.

After that things were a bit of a blur. Someone from a nearby house called an ambulance which whisked the two of them to the hospital where Willow was left alone as Buffy was rushed to the emergency room. Willow had called Buffy's mom and Giles. Giles had called the others and everyone had arrived at the hospital frantic.

The police wanted to speak to Willow. She told them the usual story - mugging, didn't see the guy who did it, blah, blah, blah. Only when Buffy was brought down from the OR and her mother was allowed to see her did Willow get the chance to tell the real story to the others. There were a range of emotions from anger to sadness to sympathy but none of it made Willow feel better. Or less guilty.

Now sitting in the dimly lit room, Willow began to speak.

"Buffy, I'm so sorry. This is all my fault. It was really stupid of me to walk home alone in the dark. It should be me lying in that bed. I'm not as important as you, it wouldn't matter if I died but you're the Slayer, the world needs you. And because of me you could have died. You were hurt so bad and I walked away with a couple of scratches." Tears were flowing freely now. "I'd give anything to trade places with you right now."

Willow bowed her head and sobbed quietly. She felt a movement from the hand she was holding. She looked up quickly and watched as Buffy's hand curled around her own. She glanced at Buffy's face, a pair of hazel eyes were watching her.

"Buffy! You're awake! Oh my God, I'd better get your mom!" Willow half stood up but Buffy's voice stopped her.

"Wait" Willow sat down again.

"What is it?" she asked softly, leaning closer to hear Buffy better.

"I don't....ever want to...to hear you talk....like that again."

"You heard me?" Buffy nodded. "All of it?" She nodded again.

"And when I've...had a little rest we...we're gonna have....a long talk...OK?"

"OK." Willow smiled and sighed with relief. She knew Buffy would be OK if she was worrying about her already and that was all that mattered for the moment. The only other thing which was of concern to her could wait for a while. And that was killing Angelus.

Willow stood up and gently kissed Buffy's forehead.

"I'll go get your mom."

"OK...Will, was I...mugged again?"

"'Fraid so."

"OK...as long as I know."

Willow smiled and squeezed Buffy's hand once more before leaving to find Joyce and Giles. Outside Buffy's window a dark figure stood. His hand traced the shiny burn marks spoiling his handsome features.

"You'll pay for this you little witch."

A Day of Revelation

The following day Willow was returning to the hospital to see Buffy. Her thoughts had seldom strayed from Angel and strategies to stop his reign of terror. The best way would be to restore his soul. Unfortunately Ms Calendar had said this could no longer be done. The only other way to prevent him from hurting anyone else would be to end his un-life once and for all. Willow knew that Buffy had been unable to do this up till now, it was difficult after all they'd shared. But this was the real world and things weren't always easy. Willow could only hope that she could spare Buffy the pain of actually carrying out the execution herself. Willow would do it for her, she owed her than much. And she would enjoy it. After seeing the damage inflicted on Buffy by that bastard Willow felt no guilt, only rage. That twisted smile on his face as he watched Buffy bleed erased any feelings of pity she might have felt for him. He was no longer Angel. He was a monster with Angel's face, no more, no less.

She reached the hospital and made her way to Buffy's room where she found the slayer sitting up talking to her mother and a nurse.

"…amazing, I've never seen a recovery like it!" the nurse was saying.

"Yes, she's a tough one alright, even as a child she was very rarely sick." said Joyce

If only they knew, thought Willow. Buffy was looking decidedly unhappy. Willow stood in the doorway for a moment, just looking at her. She was as white as the hospital bed-sheets. Her face looked drawn and tired. She turned to get a glass of water from the stand beside the bed but flinched as she reached up and her hand flew to her side bringing last night's events flooding back to Willow.

"I'll get than for you honey," said Joyce standing up and passing the glass to Buffy.

"Thanks" said Buffy in a small voice. Willow understood how she must be feeling. She was so independent and strong, she wasn't used to being fawned over and not being able to do things for herself. This must be hell for her.

Willow was still standing staring at Buffy when, almost like she felt her presence Buffy turned around and locked eyes with her. Immediately her face changed. A smile spread across her pale features and her eyes took on a glow that hinted at the vibrancy Willow associated with Buffy alone.

"Hey Will, why you standing there? Come on in, join the party!" Willow smiled and walked into the room.

"How are you feeling?"

"Fantastic!" Willow raised an eyebrow. "Well, fine." The eyebrow didn't budge. "OK, I feel better than I did last night." Buffy conceded.

"Good," said Willow perching herself on the edge of the bed. The nurse finished talking to Buffy's mother and left the room.

"Do you mind if I pop home quickly sweetie? I'd like to have a shower and change and…"

"Sure Mom, I'm a big girl now. Besides," she added with a glint in her eye, "I have my Willow to protect me." Willow looked down at the bed cover.

"Yes, you're quite the heroine Willow. The doctor said that if you hadn't been there to raise the alarm the consequences could have been much worse." Joyce visibly shuddered at this thought and made a hasty exit after kissing Buffy's cheek. Buffy looked at Willow, concerned. She reached out and took her hand.

"What's up?"

"If I hadn't been there it could have been worse, yeah right. If I hadn't been there none of this would have happened." Willow didn't look up, her attention remained focused on the floor but subconsciously she was playing with Buffy's hand: rubbing circles into the palm, squeezing the fingers. This fact did not go unnoticed by Buffy who watched their joined hands with fascination. Then and there Buffy made up her mind to tell Willow something she'd been keeping from her for a long time.

"I promised to a talk didn't I?"

"Oh Buffy, it's OK, I don't need a pep talk."

"It's not a pep talk, it's the truth and I think it's something you need to hear…something I need to say to you."

Willow finally looked up and was taken aback at the emotions apparent on Buffy's face. She nodded for Buffy to continue.

"You said last night that it should have been you in this bed, that it didn't matter if you died but that is so wrong. It doesn't matter if I die - another slayer will be activated straight away - but if you die there's no-one to take your place. No-one ever could, you're Willow and a world without you would be pointless for anyone who knows and loves you like I…like we all do." Buffy stopped to draw breath. Willow's eyes were bright with tears. "I know you probably think I'm just saying this to make you feel better but I'm not. I mean every word." Buffy swallowed, nervous about what she wanted to say next. "Willow, there's something I should have done a long time ago."

"What's that?" Willow asked through a constricted throat.

"This." And without another word Buffy leaned over and kissed Willow squarely on the lips. It started out chastely but wasn't allowed to continue that way for long. Willow's lips parted inviting Buffy's tongue in. Tentatively at first they explored this foreign terrain. As they gained confidence the kiss increased in fervour and intensity, stealing the breath from their lungs and forcing them to reluctantly break apart. They remained close, foreheads touching, breathing heavily.

"I, wow…I mean I never…that was….wow…" Willow's ability to form coherent sentences was impaired, more than usual.

"I love you." Buffy stated simply.

"I love you too."

"I know."

"What?!?" Willow exclaimed pulling back to look into Buffy's eyes. "You knew? For how long? And you didn't say anything? But…"

"Shhhhhh" Buffy put a finger on Willow's lips and despite her current indignation Willow couldn't help but kiss it. "Let me explain."

"I'm listening" said Willow, aching to kiss Buffy again but unwilling to let her off the hook that easily. She satisfied herself and reassured Buffy by linking their fingers together.

"OK OK, where do I start?"

"How about telling me how long you've had feelings for me? Then we can move onto how you knew that I felt the same way about you and finally we can segue into you telling me why the hell you didn't bring this up earlier." Willow's voice contained a hint of sarcasm but also a genuine need to hear the requested information.

"Right, I don't know when exactly I started loving you, but I do know when I realised it." Buffy squeezed Willow's hand as she thought back. "Remember when Giles found that prophecy in the Codex?" Willow nodded silently, the memory was not a pleasant one. "Well, you know that I quit as the slayer and said there was no way I was gonna die just to save the stupid old world?"

"Yeah."

"Do you know what changed my mind?" Willow shook her head.

"It was you."

"Me? But I didn't…"

"You didn't tell me that I should fight the Master, that it was my sacred duty or anything like that." Buffy was staring into space as she remembered one of the most difficult times in her young life. "But when I say you after you found that room full of dead guys I knew that I would fight the Master. I knew that I had to find whatever had made you feel like that and stop it. And I knew I would save the world, because you were part of that world and there was no way I was gonna let anything hurt you…because you were my world." Buffy only realised she was crying when she felt Willow gently brush away her tears. She laughed, embarrassed at this display of emotion. "So that's when I first realised I loved you." Willow kissed Buffy softly on the cheek, tasting the salty residue of her tears. She had already forgiven Buffy enough to re-establish touching but she still wanted to hear more.

"So," said Willow, toying with a strand of Buffy's hair. "When do you think I started having feelings for you?"

"Well, actually, I thought I noticed something a few times but I put it down to wishful thinking on my part. But it finally hit me when you bandaged my knee in the library once. You probably don't even remember it, it was…."

"When Kendra was here, I remember." Willow said Smiling.

"You were so gentle, and you kept your hand on my leg just a tiny bit longer than necessary." Buffy grinned. "You little hussy, taking advantage of an injured woman!"

Willow blushed and slapped Buffy's arm playfully. "Yeah, well…I…you…hey never mind that, so when you finally figured out that I was mad about you how come you never said anything?"

"It's complicated, and in hindsight it was totally wrong."

"I'll say." Willow cupped Buffy's cheek and kissed her. A slow sensuous kiss. "Just think how much of that we've missed."

"Bad me." Buffy mumbled, still recovering the assault on her senses that Willow's kisses appeared to cause. "But wait, why am I taking all the blame here? You could just have easily told me how you felt."

"But we both know I'm not the forward type at the best of times. And crushing on your best friend who is showing no outward signs of feeling the same way is not the best of times," said Willow, "What's you excuse?"

"I…I didn't want you getting involved with someone like me. I'm hardly meet the parents material am I? 'Hey mom and dad, this is my new partner Buffy, not only is she a girl but she's also a vampire slayer with a life expectancy that's slightly longer than your average dog's and oh yeah, she's not Jewish!'" Willow was about to protest but Buffy held up her hand for silence. "I though you deserved better than me, or at least, more normal. That's why I encouraged you with Oz and I stayed with Angel. But when I saw him holding you by the throat last night something in my head just snapped and I knew that I was being selfish. That I had to give you the chance to make up your own mind. It reminded me how fragile this life is and that we should enjoy the time we have…and God I'm sounding like someone really old aren't I?"

Willow shook her head wordlessly. She moved closer to Buffy on the bed and gently pulled her into a hug so as not to aggravate her wound. They stayed like that for a long time until Buffy broke the silence.

"Was I right?"

"About what?" asked Willow pulling back slightly.

"About when you started having lustful thoughts about me?"

"Who says I have lustful thoughts about you?"

"Hey!"

"Just kidding, actually, the lustful thoughts started long before I admitted to myself that it was anything other that teenage hormones running rampant." Buffy's eyebrows were raised but Willow could tell she was pleased. "I think I finally realised that I was totally in love with you at Halloween,"

"The sight of my bosoms in that dress clinched the deal huh?"

"No actually, although they were very nice." Willow said smiling. "It was the way you encouraged me to believe in myself, to see myself in a new light. No-one had ever taken an interest in me like that before. Of course at the time I didn't realise that you'd dressed me up like a hooker so that you could ogle my body!" said Willow mischievously.

"Busted!" said Buffy, and kissed Willow lightly on the nose. She ran a hand through Willow's hair a few times before continuing. "I guess in a weird way we have Angel to thank for this."

Willow's expression changed to one Buffy didn't recognise. She was about to pursue the matter when Willow spoke.

"Let's not talk about him OK? Let's just enjoy this for a while" she said gesturing between herself and Buffy.

"OK" said Buffy slowly, allowing herself to be drawn into a kiss - this was fast becoming an addiction.

"Ahem." The girls turned around to see a nurse standing in the doorway, "Well, I was coming in to take your blood pressure but something tells me that it would be a bit high at the moment." And with that she turned and walked away.

Buffy and Willow looked at each other and giggled. For the rest of the afternoon they talked and snuggled and kissed. But Willow couldn't shake the niggling feeling at the back of her mind that was Angel. She knew what she had to do and she had decided how she would go about it. Now it was a matter of carrying out her plan. She looked down at Buffy who was asleep on her shoulder. She looked peaceful. And if Willow had anything to do with it that's the way she'd stay. She kissed Buffy's forehead gently and settled back into her thoughts of revenge.

A Time for Revenge

Willow sat on her bed trying to regulate her breathing. Her stomach felt like it was trying out for the Olympic gymnastic team and her mouth was as dry as the Sahara desert. She took one last deep breath and stood up. She checked her bag of supplies; a crucifix that she'd put on once she was out of the house even though she wasn't particularly religious she still felt guilty whenever she wore a cross - like she was disrespecting her parents or something. She also had stakes, a crossbow and plenty of Holy Water. Her main ally would be the sunlight - if she could stay in the sun as much as possible Angel couldn't get her. Her plan was simple: kill Angel. She wasn't stupid enough to think it would be easy. He'd managed to survive over 2 centuries without dying. But she reckoned she could work his ego against him - taunt him, attack his pride, force him to make a mistake and give herself the advantage - then do whatever was necessary.

Zipping up the bag she realised her hands were shaking. More than anything she wanted to be with Buffy. But Buffy had suffered enough at the hands of Angelus and Willow was going to end it now. She walked to her dresser and picked up a photo of herself and Buffy. It had been taken at a picnic in the park; Willow was seated on a blanket and Buffy was sprawled across her lap. They looked so happy, so carefree, and very much a couple - Willow wondered why this had never occurred to her before. Willow gently kissed the picture, a solitary tear running down her cheek. She placed it back down and picked up the letter she had written to Buffy. She was going to drop it off at Buffy's house on the way to the mansion. Buffy would not yet be back from the hospital so she couldn't try to talk Willow out of her plan. The letter was an explanation of what she was doing and why.

At Buffy's house Willow rang the doorbell and Joyce answered.

"Oh, hi Willow, Buffy's not home yet, I'm picking her up later on."

"Yeah, I know, I just wanted to give you this. I might be here when she gets home but I may not be able to make it…so if I'm not here will you give her this for me?" asked Willow holding up a white envelope.

"Sure Willow, but don't you want to come in and wait? The hospital are going to call to tell me when she's ready."

Willow felt tears welling up and fought them back valiantly before answering. "Ummm, no, I have something I have to do first."

Joyce noticed the quiver in Willow's voice. "Are you OK Willow?" she asked, concerned.

"Mmm hmm, I'm fine…I…I have to go now." And with that she turned and fled before allowing her tears to flow freely.

Joyce looked at the envelope in her hand, puzzled by Willow's strange behaviour. Then the telephone rang.

Meanwhile, Jenny Calendar sat hunched over her computer terminal. Listlessly she searched through pages of text. She now appreciated how punishing the curse really had been for Angel. The guilt she felt over her deception and its consequences was bad enough. She marvelled that Angel had been able to stand the guilt he must have felt. Suddenly a line of writing on the screen caught her eye.

"Oh my God…this is it." She whispered, afraid that if she spoke too loudly it might disappear. She could barely believe it. She hadn't thought it possible - a way to reverse the curse. And it wasn't anything very complicated. Some basic ingredients and a bit of Latin chanting were required….and an Orb of Thessela. She phoned Willow's house but there was no answer. [Never mind, I'll do it as a surprise for all of them] And she quickly got to work preparing the spell.

Buffy and her mother were in the car on the way home. Buffy was looking forward to seeing Willow so she was surprised when her mother said,

"Willow stopped by earlier."

"What? Why?"

"She said she might not be around when you got home and if she's not there I've to give you an envelope."

"Well, where is it?" asked Buffy, a strange feeling of dread was building up within her.

"Let's wait and see if she's there or not first" said Joyce smiling at her daughter's impatience.

"Mom, I really think I should see it now, it may be important, and if she's going to give it to me later it won't matter will it?" Something in Buffy's voice touched Joyce's heart, an urgency that she very rarely heard from her daughter. She handed the envelope to Buffy who grabbed it and ripped it open. She read it, every word weighing her heart down a little more.

"Dear Buffy,
Somehow that beginning doesn't seem adequate but it'll have to do because I'm in a hurry. I'm writing this hoping you never have to read it. But in case you do, I'd better get my apology in now. I'm sorry.

I've gone to kill Angel and if you're reading this it means I haven't come back. I want you to understand that I love you more than I thought humanly possible and I don't want to ever leave you. But I have to do this. I have to stop him from hurting you any more. You probably think I should have told you this first huh? But you would have stopped me. You've saved my live countless times. Let me do this one thing for you.

If the worst has happened and I can't be with you in person, please know that I'll always be by your side. I know we'll be together again, someday. I want you to be strong, like you always are. And keep fighting the good fight. For me.

I'll love you forever.

W"

"Mom, when did you speak to Willow?"

"I don't know, just a little while ago…"

"Drop me off here."

"What? Buffy, you're just out of hospital, you need your rest…"

"Mom please, just trust me on this, I think Willow's in trouble…she's going to…do something I don't want her to do."

"Well honey, you can't run Willow's life for her"

"Please mom, I won't be long, I promise, I'll find Willow and we'll come straight home"

Joyce stopped the car reluctantly and Buffy sprang out of the door, ignoring her mother's shouts of "One hour, no longer!"

Jenny prepared to begin the ritual. The Orb was in place. She looked over the Latin again to get in straight in her head. Then she began.

In her weakened state Buffy was tiring quickly but she could not allow herself to slow down. All her attention was focussed on getting to the mansion in time. If she was too late….

Willow stepped into the darkened mansion. Drapes covered every window. Now that she was actually there, her earlier fears were multiplying. She decided that the first thing to do would be to shed some light on the situation. She started to walk towards one of the large windows when a voice from the shadows stopped her in her tracks.

"Hello Willow."

Her insides froze as she turned to see a fully awake and alert Angel stepping out of the corner.

"So nice of you to drop by. Very considerate of you to save me the trouble of coming to find you. Although I always did like the chase." He was walking slowly towards her, enjoying her fear. Willow realised that she had to act fast and she dived for the window and pulled down the heavy black sheet, bathing herself and a large portion of the floor in sunlight. She stood in the centre of the pool of light, shaking.

"Hmm, so I see you've prepared a battle plan? You always were the thinker weren't you Willow? The brains of the operation." Angel was walking around the edge of Willow's safe haven, circling like a shark. "Pity that when in comes to action you have to rely on someone else. Where is your lady in shining armour anyway?" He paused, pretending to remember something. "Oh that's right, I stuck a stake through her belly." He smiled at the memory. The smile made all the rage Willow had felt since the attack come bubbling back up to the surface. She reached into her bag and brought out the crossbow. She pointed it directly at Angel.

"And I'm going to kill you before you can hurt her anymore." Her calm voice did not betray the fear she was feeling.

"Ah, so you're here to avenge her? It's only right I suppose. It was your fault that I hurt her after all." Willow faltered, this wasn't going according to plan. She was supposed to be playing with his mind, not the other way around. Angel continued. "But I suppose you've had a big heart to heart and she's told you that it wasn't your fault. Buffy's a very forgiving girl. But then, she's always had some weird thing for you." Willow looked up; this was something she could use.

"Weird thing? That would be love - not that you'd understand anything about that."

"Love? You think she loves you? She pities you, you stupid little girl."

"I know she loves me. Guess you weren't satisfying her Angel, coz the whole time she was with you she was thinking of me." Willow wasn't entirely sure this was true but it sounded good nonetheless. When Angel turned back to look at her he was wearing his vampire face.

"Taunting a vampire? You're not as bright as I thought." Angel was pacing like a caged tiger. "I could snap you like a twig. And if Buffy 'loves' you as much as you say then I think that finding your lifeless body might just be enough to break her." He stood still in front of Willow, facing off with her. Seizing her opportunity Willow fired the crossbow at his chest. He dodged easily.

"That your best shot, bitch?" He laughed. "You know what? I'm bored with this conversation now." And without further warning he lunged at Willow tackling her to the ground. Together they slid out of the shaft of light. Angel was smoking slightly but was otherwise unharmed. Willow struggled but her efforts were futile against Angel's far superior strength. He pinned her arms above her head and straddled her waist. She continued to fight but Angel barely noticed. He was looking at her intently, like he'd never seen her before. He reached out and touched her face. She tried to squirm away but he held on to her tightly. He grabbed her chin and squeezed it until she cried out in pain.

"So, have you given it up yet? To the little red-haired punk? I bet you haven't, you're not as easy as Buffy I'm guessing. Uncharted territory? This should be interesting."

He leaned down and kissed her hard on the mouth, if it could even be described as a kiss. It was the most horrific experience of her life. His fangs hurt her tongue and her lips, he was so rough. She could taste blood and she hoped to God that it was only her own. He broke the kiss and sat up again. His free hand went to Willow's breast. He grabbed her nipple through the fabric of her shirt and twisted it until she screamed. Then she finally realised what his intentions were for her. She felt nausea well up in her throat.

"Please, please don't…please don't do this…no Angel…please…"

Angel smiled and ripped Willow's shirt open exposing her bra. "I love it when you beg." He ran the tip of his finger over the swell of her breasts.

Suddenly the door burst open and a very breathless Buffy skidded to a halt. The sight before her enraged her more than anything she had ever faced.

"Get your fucking hands off her!" she screamed, launching herself at Angel. The momentum threw him off Willow and he had no time to react before he was subjected to a flurry of blows.

"Buffy…Buffy please…please be careful." Willow pleaded between sobs.

"Get me a stake." was Buffy's only response. She was vaguely aware of a pain in her side, indicating that her wound had reopened but she ignored it. Willow collected herself enough to get a stake from the bag. She tossed it to Buffy who caught it deftly and raised it. A millisecond before she brought it down, a strange yellow light flashed in Angel's eyes and she felt all the fight go out of him. She managed to stop the stake's descent before it pierced his chest.

Angel blinked a few times. "Buffy? Buffy what's happening?"

The tone of his voice, the look in his eyes - this was Angel, not Angelus. And he had no idea what he had done. Buffy found no words to tell him. Slowly she stood up, letting him absorb his surroundings. What he saw broke his heart. He saw Willow, sweet little Willow trying to cover herself up with the remains of a torn shirt. She was crying and a line of blood from her lip was drying on her chin. Buffy was standing above him, her expression unreadable, so many emotions were contained in it. A large patch of red spreading on her top showed that she was badly wounded.

"Did I…was this…Oh God no." He scrambled to his feet and stood before Buffy. "Stake me."

"What?"

"Do it now, I deserve it."

"No."

"Then I'll do it myself," he said, reaching for the stake in her hand.

"Stop." Buffy and Angel both looked over at Willow. "It wasn't you. We know that. It was Angelus."

"But I…"

"But nothing, you survive this once, you can do it again, you have friends this time." She approached him and took his hand. Buffy dropped her stake and wrapped her arms tightly around Willow who accepted the embrace gratefully. But she did not break eye contact with Angel; she tried to show him that she trusted him. And she did trust him. She knew the man before her bore no relation to the monster that had attacked her. He would never harm her. She also knew that he and Buffy needed time to talk. But not today. Today she needed Buffy to be with her.

"We're gonna go now Angel. Promise me that you're not going to do anything silly."

He looked at her with tears in his eyes. "I promise." She nodded.

"We'll talk tomorrow OK?" asked Buffy.

"Tomorrow."

Willow took Buffy's hand and together they walked out into the warm sunshine, leaving Angel to sink to the floor and weep into his cold hands.

Outside Buffy pulled Willow to a stop. She took off her jacket and held it up for Willow to put on. She then fastened it for her to cover the ripped shirt. Willow leaned into Buffy. Buffy held her tightly.

"Don't ever do that again." Buffy said through a suddenly constricted throat.

"I'll try not to." The response was slightly muffled by Buffy's shoulder.

"I'd better get cleaned up before my mom sees me."

"Let's go to my house." Willow pulled back and kissed Buffy softly on the lips. Buffy responded tenderly so as not to hurt Willow's bruised mouth. "We're OK." This was said as a reassurance herself as well as Buffy.

"Yeah, we're OK." And with that they headed off to Willow's house, knowing that they had a lot to face in the future. But after that day, they knew that they could make it through anything, as long as they were together.

The End

Angelina

Buffy

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