The Elsewhere
Part 1

Author: Morgan R.
Email: [email protected]
Rating: PG
Summary: Willow visits Angel in LA to help out on a case.
Spoilers: Season 4 spoilers
Feedback: I need it to survive
Disclaimer: Joss owns all. Even you. Grr Argh
Note: Here's the deal- I started writing this before Season 4/Season 1 started, so any characters exclusive to those seasons may be mentioned, but not in any detail- because we didn't know who they were.
****

For the sword outwears its sheath,
And the soul outwears the breast,
And the heart must pause to breathe,
And love itself have rest.
(George Gordon Noel Byron, Sixth Baron Byron)

Angel looked up as Cordelia walked into his office. After throwing down a file on his desk, she let out an exasperated sigh and put her hands on her hips.

"I knew it. You're not working, you're brooding. As usual. I sit out there, typing and organizing, and you hide in your office and brood. What sort of employer are you, hiring an eighteen year old girl with nothing more than a high school diploma and a great pair of legs and then making her do all the work? You're a disgrace."

Angel said nothing in response.

"Fine. Don't deign to reply, O Pensive One. Just try to look like you actually do some sort of work when Willow gets here, okay?" She turned on her heel and walked to the door. Angel's voice stopped her before she crossed the threshold.

"Thank you, Cordelia."

She nodded, and returned to her desk. He had thought he was doing her a favor when he had hired her, but she had turned out to be an incredible asset to him and his work, apart from bringing a bit of normalcy into his all too depressing world. Opening the file on his desk, he did what he usually did when Cordelia gave him an order.

He obeyed.

****

Cordelia looked up as Willow entered the outer office. "Willow! I'm so glad you're here!" If the warm welcome was a little surprising, Willow was too polite to let it show.

"Cordelia, hi. You look great."

"You're a much better liar than you used to be. That's good-- it will probably come in handy. Let's go into Angel's office, and we'll explain everything to you, okay?"

Angel smiled as Cordelia brought Willow in. "Here she is, boss." The two girls sat down in chairs opposite Angel's desk.

"So, Angel," Willow said as they all settled in. "What is it you need my help with? Cordelia was pretty vague on the phone. Is it a spell or something?"

"No, it isn't a spell," he replied. "Let me start at the beginning. Did Buffy ever tell you what she did last summer, right before she came back?"

"Um, something about a hell vortex with runaways and demons. I do know that it was very bad."

"Right. Well, Cordelia, Doyle and I have been hearing some strange things recently. Rumors about new portals being opened, all very vague, as usual. Most of it has been traced to one man, a man named Taylor. It turns out he was one of the people Buffy helped escape, but he had been there awhile-"

"Which explains why he's basically a loon," Cordelia interrupted.

"Okay, so a crazy person is opening portals that traverse time and space," Willow said finally. "Why exactly do you need my help?"

"Angel has a pla-an," Cordelia sang. Angel shot her a look before replying. "Our Mr. Taylor has a weakness. Most of the time he plays it pretty close to the chest, but when he's around a beautiful woman, he tends to lack...concentration. Unfortunately, he already knows Cordelia, so she's out of the question. In perfect honesty, I didn't feel up to asking Buffy, which really only left you, Willow."

Willow looked at him in shock. "You asked me to come help me because you need a pretty face?"

Angel grimaced. "I know it may sound insulting, and I wouldn't have asked if I hadn't..."

"No, I think you have a beautiful face. Does that mean you'll help?"

"Angel, look at the grin. That's answer enough, I'd say. Besides, when was the last time Willow said no to anybody?" Cordelia pointed out as she stood up. "Okay. Here's the plan. Angel, you will stay here and work, not brood, until sunset. Willow, you will come with me and I will deck you out in an outfit that's a little more...distracting. We'll rendezvous out front after sundown and you two can go stop the crazy. Good plan?"

"Good plan," they both responded simultaneously. Cordelia and Willow left the office together. Angel listened as they laughed out in the main office. Having Willow around couldn't help but remind him of everything he had given up, especially the blonde slayer he had forced himself to leave behind...

He jumped as Cordelia popped her head back in his door with a fierce "Work! Not! Brood!" Chuckling to himself, he devoted his full attention to the file before him.

****

Willow watched from the bed as Cordelia went through her closet. "How do you like working with Angel, Cordy?"

"It's cool, I guess. I mean, he still has his Buffy days, but sometimes, he's actually fun to be around..."

"His 'Buffy days'?" Willow asked.

"Yeah. He gets that look, and I know he's thinking about her. Wondering how she's feeling, what she's doing, whether or not she's kissing that guy you all tried to not let him find out about-"

"Riley?"

"Yeah, him. And I can't really object. If anyone ever had more than enough reasons to ponder the twists of fate, it's Angel. It's just, every once in awhile, he escapes it. He stops thinking about the pain and the loss and the demons and the night, and he's...fun. He's not a laugh a minute, but he smiles, and I've even known him to tell a joke."

"Freaky." Willow smiled at the thought of Angel making people laugh.

"I'll say. So, how is everyone?" she asked oh-so-casually.

"Xander's fine, Cordelia. And no, he's not seeing anyone." Cordelia threw a shirt at her head, and all seriousness was lost as they dissolved into giggles.

It was almost as if they weren't hunters of demons. It was almost as if they were...teenage girls.

What a thought.

****

Willow smiled up at Angel nervously as they stood in front of Taylor's door. Angel put a comforting arm around her shoulder. "It'll be fine, Willow. He's only a little crazy, not evil. And you look lovely."

"Flattery will make me less scared."

"I know." Truth be told, it wasn't flattery. Cordelia may have complained over her inability to buy the clothes she wanted, but she had found the perfect outfit for Willow to wear on their 'mission'. Cordelia had decided that it would be useless for Willow to try playing a seductress, especially in her nervous state. Instead, Willow's clothes all seemed to be part of a perfectly demure outfit gone awry.

She was wearing a gauzy floral wraparound skirt that fell just above her knees, and it had looked completely modest on a hanger. The material of the skirt, however, clung to Willow's body like a second skin. Furthermore, the edge tended to slip open, exposing a large amount of Willow's right thigh. On top, she was wearing a simple white tank top. Of course, the tank top belonged to Cordelia, whose clothes were a few sizes larger than Willow's. This meant that the straps of the top were constantly slipping off her pale shoulders, exposing the fuchsia straps of her bra. The neckline dipped dangerously low, in front and back.

Cordelia had given her a blouse to wear over the tank top, but it covered nothing up, due to its being transparent. Furthermore, it was slightly shimmery, and it made Willow's skin look like it was glowing. Despite her 'perfectly modest' attire, Willow looked like she was about to fall out of her clothes at any second. She felt practically naked, which was, of course, what Cordelia had intended all along. Willow cast one final nervous glance at Angel before the door opened.

****

Willow yawned behind her hand as she leaned up against a blank wall. She and Angel had been in Taylor's house for hours, and they had learned nothing useful. 'It's probably me,' she thought gloomily. 'Anyone else would be able to charm the information out of him, but not me.' She absentmindedly adjusted her skirt, which was yet again slipping to reveal her upper leg. She didn't notice Taylor staring at her aforementioned leg, but Angel did.

Taylor had been more elusive than he had expected, but he was sure something would slip before they left. As the strap of Willow's shirt began travelling down her shoulder yet again, Angel began asking more questions.

"Have you ever heard of 'The Family Home', Taylor?"

Taylor never took his eyes off Willow's shoulder as he answered. "Mmmm-hmmm."

"I heard something about some guy there- Ken, I think his name was. "

"Right." Taylor hardly seemed to notice Angel's presence.

"He went around, looking for runaways to take in?" Angel moved around beside Willow so he could see Taylor's face.

"Runaways?" Taylor replied vaguely.

That was when Willow felt it. There was no way she could possibly have described what 'it' was-- a sudden foreboding, a stirring in her blood, an instinctive sense of danger. She even thought she could feel the hint of something soft against her cheek. "Angel-" she began.

But she was too late.

The distracted look disappeared from Taylor's face as he grinned at the two of them. "Oh, this is exciting. If I was less of a coward, I'd go myself, but as it is..."

Angel tried to leap at him, realizing too late that they had been trapped. Angel found that his feet wouldn't move, though he was still able to grab Willow's hand and hold it tightly. "What are you going to do?" he asked harshly.

"Well, I opened a new one," Taylor replied. "But I don't know where it goes! So, since you're so interested in the topic, I figure you can explore for me."

Willow gasped as the feeling of strangeness grew and Angel began to growl. "Fine, I'll go explore, whatever, just let Willow go."

Taylor shook his head. "Oh, no. What if it's daytime when you get there? You can't tell me anything if you turn into a pile of dust. Besides, a girl can't wear an outfit like that without expecting some sort of consequences." Willow glared at him, and the material of her skirt stirred in an almost nonexistent breeze. Angel's grip on her hand grew tighter, and she looked up at him in fear. In looking at him, however, she saw something out of the corner of her eye. She gasped as she saw that the blank wall was no longer quite so blank. It had become a sort of black opening, completely dark and incredibly frightening. Actually, it was less an opening and more a maw, in her mind.

Willow looked back at Angel in panic. "I'm sorry, Willow," he whispered.

The breeze became a wind, and the two of them were engulfed in black.