The sewers didn't bother him this morning. Usually when Angel
descended into the sewers after a night of fighting evil with Gunn and
Wesley while they left in the sunlight, he felt depressed. But lately,
he hadn't been down or broody at all. Every morning, he went home to
Willow. Angel skipped away from a few beams of sunlight that streamed
through a grate. He grinned. The hotel was only a couple of feet
away.
"Hey, Angel," Cordelia greeted him as she exited the kitchen and he
entered through the sewer entrance. "Long night?"
"Yes. We spent hours at that damn club before those kids left and were
attacked. Next time, be a dear, and get a time from the PTB."
"Sure, no problem, and while I'm at it I'll just ask for the names and
addresses of future victims and that way we can avoid the brain pain
visions too." Cordelia smirked at her boss. She liked giddy, happy
Angel with a sense of humor. It was much better than broody, obsessive
Angel with a tendency to fire his friends. She had had a long talk
with Willow about the whole Angel/Darla situation and she felt a lot
better about it. Willow was such a good listener. "So, what else
happened? Because I know it didn't take you guys all night to dust a
gang of vampires. I hope you weren't picking up girls, you are a
married man, you know."
Angel grinned. He was a married man. He wasn't even trying to
convince himself that it wasn't true. Surprisingly, Cordelia not only
allowed him to entertain his lies, but she encouraged it as well. "We
ran into a nest of pissed off Bramson demons. How is Willow?" Angel
grabbed a cup of coffee. This was the first time in the four days
Willow had been in L. A. that he had left her all night.
"She's fine, still in a coma though. Fred's up there keeping her
company right now. She came in early this morning because I have an
audition in an hour." Cordelia gathered her things from her desk.
"She'll answer the phones while I'm out. I should be back before noon.
Sleep well."
"Thanks. Break a leg." Angel took the stairs three at a time. He
reached his room and he could hear Fred's voice through the closed
door. He rapped lightly before entering so he wouldn't scare the still
jumpy girl. "Hi, Fred."
"Angel. Hi." Fred scrambled up from the chair by Willow's bedside.
She clutched a large book to her chest. Her eyes darted up to meet his
before focusing on the floor. "Cordelia said you would be back soon...
that I wouldn't have to stay very long...but I don't mind."
"Thanks for your help, Fred. Were you reading to Willow?" Angel took
off his jacket and hung it in the closet. He didn't really want to
make small talk with Fred, but he didn't want to be rude or hurt her
feelings. Fred was still adjusting to life back in their world and she
was fragile. They were her only friends who would understand what
she'd been through and not think she was crazy.
"Yes." Fred smiled. She really like Angel, Cordelia, Wesley, and Gunn.
She was even warming up to Lorne, though it was hard because he was one
of Them from the Bad Place. The red haired girl, Willow, had scared
her when she had first saw her, but Cordelia had explained how her best
friend had just died and that she was a good witch. Now she was hurt
because she had brought her best friend back to life and Fred wanted to
help her new friends. Besides, it was so clear that Angel loved Willow
and she wanted Angel to be happy. "It's a physics textbook. Cordelia
said that Willow is really smart and I thought she might like to listen
to something not written in Cosmo."
"Yeah, I think Willow would find your choice of reading material more
stimulating than Cordelia's. Although, I'm sure she enjoys both."
He smiled when Fred practically beamed from his compliment.
"I'll go downstairs now and look after the office until Cordelia gets
back." Fred ducked her head and left the room, shutting the door softly
behind her.
This was fast becoming his favorite time and place. The early morning
hours alone in his room with Willow. The only thing that would make it
perfect would be seeing Willow's beautiful green eyes and hearing her
sweet voice. Angel kissed her lips, every time he hoped she would wake
up like one of the princesses in the stories his Mother used to tell
him. "Good morning, Ionuin." Her hair was soft and she smelled like
raspberries. With the help of Fred and the private nurse, Cordelia took
care of Willow's personal hygiene. She refused to let Angel have any
part in helping with that because she knew it would embarrass Willow
when she woke up.
There was one thing that they let Angel take care of - Willow's
physical therapy. Angel removed the sheet that covered Willow's body.
She was wearing a baby blue tank top and pajama boxers. He moved to
the end of the bed and picked up Willow's foot. He massaged it
thoroughly before moving onto her calf. Next he bent her leg and
straightened it in gentle motions, working the muscles. While he did
this, he told her about his night. He told her about the demons they
fought, the kids they saved, how he felt about everything that
happened, and the things that he, Wesley and Gunn talked about while
they had waited for the kids to leave the club. He told her everything
while he worked to keep the muscles of her limbs strong and supple.
After that was accomplished came Angel's favorite part of their
routine. He stripped down to his boxers and climbed into bed with
Willow. He lay beside her and talked, but this time the things he said
had nothing to do with reality. He knew it was wrong, but at this time
he told Willow stories of their fake courtship. He couldn't stop
himself from indulging in the fantasy and he figured the only real
harm he was doing was to himself. It was his heart that would break
when Willow woke up and returned to her real life.
"Do you remember the first time I told you I loved you?" Angel
whispered softly. His finger repeatedly traced the sweep of Willow's
hair from the roots at her forehead to the end of the strands laying on
her pillow. "I had known it for a long time before I told you, I just
didn't know how to say it or if I should. You are so beautiful and
perfect and I didn't think I deserved you. I don't deserve you. I
know, I know, I'm not supposed to talk like that or even think such a
thing. I was so nervous, I wanted everything to be perfect."
Just as when he had told Willow's mother about his faux proposal,
Angel could picture it clearly. It was like it was an actual memory
of something that had happened. He briefly wondered if that was the
work of the soul bond. If these were events that should have and would
have taken place if he hadn't shut it down and not just ramblings from
his overactive imagination.
"I had this whole elaborate date in mind," Angel continued his story.
"First dinner at an expensive restaurant and then a romantic boat ride
where we would sip champagne until we reached this beach side inn. Our
room would be decorated with roses and candles and then I would tell
you. But you wouldn't co-operate. When you arrived in L. A. for the
weekend all you wanted to do was take a walk along the beach in your
bare feet and look at the stars. I could never say no to you. You
looked stunning standing in the surf with your skirt hiked up past your
knees. I couldn't help myself, I told you I loved you. You smiled at
me calmly, the wind ruffling your hair, and you said you loved me too
and wasn't this better than some stuffy restaurant. Your lips tasted
salty from the ocean air and sweet because they were your lips and by
the time we got back to the hotel before sunrise, our clothes were
soaked." Angel smiled and drifted off to sleep with images of making
love to Willow on the beach as the waves caressed their skin.
*****
The Power was gone. Phife had woken up one evening to find the sweet
smell no longer wafting around the Hellmouth. At first he had thought
that another lucky demon had beat him to it and that the witch was
dead. After hanging out at the hospital, he learned that the witch's
loving 'husband' had taken her home. It had been easy information to
pick up, the handsome vampire and pretty witch were the hot topic on
the hospital grapevine. Angel's love and devotion to his 'wife' was
becoming a thing of legend or at least a really good romance novel.
Now that the Power was no longer residing on the Hellmouth, Phife knew
that he no longer had any competition. No other demon would go through
the bother of tracking the witch, most would assume she was dead and
the rest would lack two key pieces of information. One, the witch was
with Angel, and two, Angel lived in L.A.
Phife grinned. He was going to Hollywood! Maybe he would be
discovered and become a movie star. Or maybe he would just eat one.
*****
The silence in the room was oppressive. They were gathered at the
Magic Box - Giles, Buffy, Dawn, Spike, Xander, and Anya - to research
a new demon that had popped up on the previous night's patrol.
Everyone was trying very hard not to stare at the empty seat in front
of the computer.
"I miss Willow," Dawn voiced the thought everyone was thinking. "It's
not the same without her. Or Tara."
"Course it isn't L'il Bit." Spike mussed Dawn's hair. "Now we have to
actually look for the answers and not just have Red tell them to us."
To tell the truth, he actually did find himself missing the little
witch. He hadn't noticed it before, but Willow was the only one,
besides Dawn, who would give him the time of day. Buffy never even
bothered to mutter a hello when she saw him. She was always too caught
up in her own dramas - the current one being Willow in L. A. with
Angel. To his utter disgust, Spike couldn't even bring himself to be
mad or jealous of the Poof. Instead he actually missed him.
"Why don't we go with Xander when he visits Willow on the weekend?"
Buffy tried to suggest casually.
"You want to go to L. A.? To Angel's?" Dawn looked at her sister with
wide, uncertain eyes. She missed Willow and she wanted to see her,
but she wasn't sure that she wanted Buffy to see Angel.
"Of course. That's where Willow is." Buffy turned her attention back
to the book in her lap. Angel had said that she had a second chance
and she was going to use it to get him back. Once Willow woke up, she
would go back to Tara and Angel would see that his infatuation with
her was a lost cause. Buffy had to be there to remind him that their
love was real and forever.
*****
"Wonderful." Cordelia rolled her eyes as she hung up the phone. "The
Great Buffy the Vampire Slayer will be joining Xander when he visits
Willow this weekend."
"Isn't Willow her best friend?" Fred frowned. She could tell that
Cordelia didn't care for this Buffy, mostly because Cordelia had said
that she didn't like Buffy. But, Buffy was Willow's friend and
Angel's ex-girlfriend. She couldn't be that bad.
"I don't know about you, Fred, but I can't wait to meet Buffy," Gunn
voiced her thought as he sat down on the arm of the couch she was
sitting on. "She sounds like a piece of work."
"Yeah, she does sound interesting."
"Interesting, self-centered, Angel obsessed..." Cordelia caught sight
of Angel making his way downstairs. "Hey, Angel, did you sleep well?
Buffy's coming to visit with Xander this weekend."
"What?" It took a few moments for the meaning behind Cordelia's words
to pierce his sleep fogged brain. "Damn! I thought she actually
listened to me this time."
"Buffy could be coming to visit Miss Rosenberg. She is hurt because
she brought the slayer back to life. She might not be coming here to
see you, Angel," Wesley suggested.
Angel and Cordelia both snorted at Wesley's interpretation of Buffy's
motives. "Thanks for trying to keep me humble, Wes, but Buffy knows
my soul is permanent. She thinks we have a second chance. I know she
cares for Willow and probably does want to see her, but she'll also
use this opportunity to try to renew our relationship."
"Can I call her back and tell her she can't come? There's no room at
the inn?" Cordelia picked up the telephone receiver. Angel shook his
head, so she pouted as she replaced it. "Well, if Buffy is going to
be here throwing herself at you, then I need the weekend off. I
watched that for three years and I don't need to see the sequel."
"That's not going to happen." Angel sighed. "I guess I'll just have
to be more clear the next time Buffy and I talk."
"Why don't you just tell her that you love Willow now." Fred recoiled
at the stunned looks directed her way. "Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot we
weren't supposed to say that out loud."
*****
That hit the spot. Phife slurped the marrow from the last bone of the
demon who had so helpfully informed him to stay away from the Hyperion
Hotel because a vampire named Angel who killed demons lived there. He
had even given him directions to the place. Phife rotated his ear.
He hadn't needed directions, as soon as he had materialized in Los
Angeles, he had caught the sweet, lovely scent of the Power. He waved
his long, sharp-clawed finger in intricate motions in the air while he
muttered a chant. In a whirl of dust, his deformed figure dissolved
from his place in the alley and manifested in an alley just behind the
Hyperion. Not for the first time, Phife wished that his teleportation
spell could materialize him within buildings, but there was too much
danger of becoming a part of the building instead.
It took him a few moments to come up with a plan of attack. The late
afternoon sun still shone in the sky, so Angel had to be at home.
Entering the hotel through the sewers was too risky, if the vampire
did leave he would use them. The back entrance was his best bet.
Slip up the back stairs and into the little witch's room. She would
be dead before Angel even knew she was in danger.
*****
No one knew what to say after Fred's apology. They had all realized
Angel's feelings, he had hardly tried to hide them and there was no
one here who actually thought he was her husband. The reason why none
of them had said anything was they weren't sure if Angel knew how he
felt about the comatose witch.
"I can't tell Buffy that, Fred," Angel said gently. "I would rather
we kept it between ourselves. When Willow wakes up, she's not going
to feel the same way. She'll go back to Sunnydale and I don't want
there to be any tension there for her because of me."
"Oh, Angel." Cordelia immediately got up and moved to the vampire so
she could hug him. It wasn't fair. Now that her friend could be
happy because his soul was secure, he couldn't be happy because the
woman he loved was oblivious.
"Thanks. I'm going to go check on Willow. What time is the nurse
supposed to be here?"
"Seven."
Good, that would give him enough time. Now that he had been forced to
contemplate reality, he had this unescapable need to be with Willow.
He needed to smell her, touch her, hear her heart beat, and feel her
soul through the link while he could. Before she went away and left
him alone.
*****
Phife smothered a cry of glee as he found the witch alone in a room.
She lay still and helpless on a large bed. He climbed up and bent
over her. Her skin was so white and delicate. She was quite ugly.
Phife's ear twitched on top of his head. The Power was so close. He
traced a line across the witch's throat with his claw, but didn't
break the skin. His forked tongue flickered out and touched her cheek.
From the short, sharp claws on his two fingers, larger talons
unsheathed.
A feral growl behind him alerted Phife to the vampire's presence, but
too late. He sailed across the room and hit the wall. His ear
crumpled and bent over in a broken angle. Phife screeched.
Angel was about to attack the weirdly deformed demon, that vaguely
reminded him of Yoda, to rip its lumpy head from its shoulders when it
screamed. The sound perforated his brain with dagger proficiency and
he clapped his hands over his ears and barreled toward the thing.
As he got closer, the pain increased and Angel fell to his knees. He
looked up to see two claws going for his throat. Abruptly, the sound
and the claws disappeared in a crackling swirl of blue fire. Angel
slowly took his hands from his ears.
"Angel?" Willow's soft voice was a soothing balm to his sense of
hearing. "Are you okay?"
"Willow." Angel stumbled to the bed where Willow was now sitting up
and without thinking, he kissed her. "You're awake."
"What the hell is going on in here?" Cordelia led the charge into
Angel's room, all of them armed with some sort of weapon. "Willow,
you're awake!"
"Yes. Did I sleep in?" Willow smiled at the group, a bit confused.
"You could say that. You've been in a coma for almost a week."
Cordelia stopped talking and let Angel take over the rest of the
explanation. Willow was acting strangely. She didn't seem at all
wigged to have woken up in Angel's bed in L. A.
"The spell you did took too much out of you when I severed the link
between you and your power source. You were in a coma and everyone
thought you would die. But now you're awake. I knew you wouldn't
leave me...us." Angel couldn't stop himself from petting her hair.
Willow just smiled warmly at him. "Xander and Buffy will be ecstatic
to know you're awake and fine. You are fine, right? How do you feel?"
"Fine." Willow frowned. She waited to get Angel's attention again
after he was finished checking her for any injuries the demon may have
caused. "Angel, who is Buffy?"
