nv2

~~~ part 2 ~~~

Cordelia stopped Willow just feet from the library door and turned the redhead around so that they were facing one another. Scrutinizing the carefully applied make-up she had just applied before they left Willow's one last time, Cordelia gave her silent seal of approval with a quick nod.

"Swear to me that if I start falling asleep you'll nudge me or something." Willow's eyes were desperate, and Cordelia felt her heart breaking all over again. Whether Willow was simply having naughty dreams about Angel, or if it were something else, Cordelia knew that the other girl was in a lot of emotion pain.

"If you fall asleep while we're fighting tonight you'll have a lot bigger problems then a few dreams about Angel." The joke fell short, and both girls took a deep breath, preparing themselves before entering the library. "Remember you lost track of time while you were studying." Willow nodded, hating to have to lie to everyone, but there was no way the truth could ever be known. Not only would she be ultimately humiliated, but Willow didn't want to experience the impact her dreams would have on the others.

"Let's go." Cordelia walked in front of Willow, pushing the library doors wide open. True to Cordelia form she didn't look back to see if Willow was
following, if she showed too much concern the others would absolutely know that something was way out of whack.

"Wills, we were worried little buddy." Xander hugged Cordelia, but kept his eyes pinned on her. Willow felt like running from the room. The guilt was already eating a hole in her stomach, and if she looked she knew that Angel would be also waiting for a response. That would be her undoing. To have to see the concern in his eyes, but know that his love was placed somewhere else.

"I was studying." Barley chocking out the words, Willow hoped that her checks weren't giving her away with their usual blush whenever she was lying.

"If you're too tired you can sit this one out." Buffy's voice sounded worried, and Willow was questioning why the ground beneath her wasn't opening
up at this opportune time.

"No! Really I'm fine. Just got a little carried away with.." Digging through her mind she tried to remember what it was they had been studying in their classes. "The French revolution."

"I know I'm not the bookiest of them all, but didn't we go over that last year." Xander's face turned white. "They can't test us on stuff they went over a year ago can they?" Cordelia wanted to groan out loud, who knew that Xander of all people would catch Willow on what they were studying.

Feeling her pulse quicken, Willow started to get dizzy and her palms started to get al sweaty. She wasn't good at this lying stuff. It was easier just avoiding the group. Plus the amount of caffeine coursing through her body without any nourishment was throwing her off. Squeezing her eyes shut, she refused to pass out, willed herself to act as normal as possible. "I'm doing an English paper, and needed some facts about the war to reinforce some of my theory ."

Angel noticed when Willow's blood started pumping through her veins, and the way she tittered for a brief second. Though he had to admit she was doing a great job of hiding whatever it was she felt the need to keep from them, he knew she wasn't being honest. Then there were the concerned looks Cordelia flashed in Willow's direction when no one else was looking. "Buffy's right, you haven't been looking well, you're going to stay here tonight." Not leaving any room for discussion, Angel ignored the hurt look on Willow's face.

That tugging in the back of his mind came again, like he should know what was going on. But the harder he tried to remember what it was, the more vague it became. The moment Willow walked into the room, he felt something. It was hard to describe the mixture of emotion that went through him when she appeared.

"No." Willow finally brought herself to look in Angel's direction. She knew she should just let it go, that Angel had just given her the out she had been praying for. But she wasn't worthy of their concern; she deserved their hatred. "I'm fine." Angel looked ready to fight the issue, but backed down. If she were going to be so persistent on helping then he'd keep an eye on her.

"I will deny this to the day I die, but dead-boy here has a point...besides the two pointy ones in his mouth." Xander walked over to Willow, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You don't look all that great."

Angel watched the exchange between the two childhood friends, and felt a pang of jealousy. It was no little secret that Angel disliked Xander. But it didn't explain the irrational urge to punch the boy in the face the second he touched Willow. The feeling just snuck up on Angel that it took a moment to gather himself together. It was Buffy who finally who finally broke the spell Angel felt he had been placed under.

"We can keep an eye on her you know." She whispered in his ear. Giving a curt nod, Angel agreed. Whenever Willow got that resolve expression it proved impossible to change her mind.

"Willow *if* you go, you're to stay close to either Buffy or me." His voice sounded strange to him, it held an edge that he felt was out of line. But Willow just nodded, accepting his ultimatum.

"Well then, shall we?" Giles felt the tension in the room, and thought it was time to get everyone's attention back to the up coming fight. Hesitantly
everyone took his or her place around the large library table. Occasionally one of them would steal a quick glance in Willow's direction, all feeling as
though there had to be something they could do for their friend, but didn't know what seeing that she hadn't explained what was going on with her.

"It's pretty much all cut and dry. It's a new group of vampires whom I personally think are here just to see what the Hellmouth has to offer." Taking off his glasses, Giles gave pause at the bored expressions of the people he had come to know as family. "But this being the Hellmouth we never know. There being here could be of some importance."

"I've checked all my usual leads; no one knows anything about our new guests." Angel added.

"Just who are your leads?" Xander sat forward, goading Angel.

"Xander." Cordelia hissed. The little war between Angel and Xander was getting old. Not that Angel ever did much to provoke Xander, it was mostly her boyfriend that couldn't keep his mouth shut. But in light of the new situation with Willow perhaps the redhead would find some relief if her best friend didn't hate the man she dreamt of every night.

"I'm just saying that Angel is *always* talking about these leads. Curious minds want to know." Cordelia cut him off with a glare, and Xander sat back in his chair dejected.

"Maybe there's some prophecy we're over looking." Willow whispered, bring the attention off Xander and Angel. "I mean when is there not something brewing when a group of forty vamps just show up?"

"Willow's point has merit, and I have been looking. But I haven't found anything." Giles rubbed his temple.

"So it's business as usual. We go we dust we dance." Standing, Buffy was finished with the small talk. They could sit around all night playing the what if game. But there were forty-uninvited guests in her town and it was time to let them know they were not welcome.

~~~*~~~

Angel jerked his arm free from one of the vampires that held him in place, while another pounded on his face. It was apparent that they were severely outnumbered. Buffy tried her best to take out as many opponents as she could, but it only helped them out a little. The forty vamps had turned out to be more like sixty, and Angel prayed that Willow, Cordelia, Xander and Giles were holding up.

Anytime he had a second to look he'd scan the warehouse to make sure his friends were still standing, and so far they had all been lucky. It
wasn't until Cordelia's ear shattering scream reached him that he knew that the fight and taken a turn for the worse.

Sending his opponent flying, Angel looked in the direction of the scream and saw that Cordelia was pinned up against a wall, a vampire ready to clam her as his next meal. Willow stood feet from the brunette, and by the way she held the crystal that hung around her neck he knew she was chanting a spell. He didn't have time to think much more as a fist smashed into his face, almost making him lose balance.

What he saw next left him speechless. One by one the vampires burst into flames. Leaping away from the vampire he was fighting, Angel barely got away in time before the other vampire started to smoke, then flames appeared. Making it one less vampire he had to worry about.

As the last vampire fell to the ground in a pile of dust, Angel looked around taking a head count making sure everyone made it through. Buffy stood blinking, her brain trying to sort out what just had happened. Giles was helping Xander up form the ground. Cordelia was holding her neck, forcing herself take deep breaths. And Willow...Angel paused then swung his glance around the room again. Where was Willow?

Searching the last place he had seen her, he noticed that she was lying in an ungraceful heap on the floor. Reaching her side in seconds, Angel knelt down, praying to find a pulse. What shocked him was that her pulse was too quick for a person who just passed out.

"Is she okay?" Buffy's voice came from over his shoulder.

Angel scooped the redhead up in his arms and hurried to the exit. "Angel is she going to be okay?" This time Xander asked his voice tight with concern.

"I don't know. She has a pulse, but it's going not right." With out a second look back Angel disappeared into the night, knowing that the others would meet him at the hospital.

~~~*~~~

Willow opened her eyes slowly. The room was almost completely dark with the exception of the candles that hung in sconces on the walls. The silk sheets felt like heaven against her naked flesh.

"You're awake." An angry voice came from the shadows. Willow didn't need to see the person to know who it was.

"What happened?" Licking her dry lips, Willow tried to concentrate on how she got here. She knew she couldn't be sleeping, hadn't she just been fighting a group of vampires?

"I told you to stay behind. I knew this was going to happen." Angel took a step out into the candlelight. His hair rumpled from the several times he had run his fingers through it in frustration while his soulmate was unconscious in bed. "Why couldn't you listen when I told you to stay at the library?"

"Angel I'm fine see." Sitting up in bed Willow tried showing Angel that she was indeed all right.

"Ah so that explains why you're in the hospital right now? Do you have any idea what I'm going through at this moment? You're exhausted, haven't slept in days not eating, you had NO right performing that spell." His voice raised in anger, which was fueled from the scare she had put him through.

"I had to, we were losing!" Willow didn't want to fight.

Pausing, Angel sat down on the bed, taking one of her hands into his. "You haven't been here in days, I've been waiting."

A tear escaped from Willow's eye and rolled down her cheek. "I've already told you. This isn't right. Not since you came back from Hell. I can't take it anymore, seeing you and Buffy together, it hurts too much."

Letting go of her hand, Angel stood in frustration. "We've talked about this. I don't know why I can't remember us." Stretching is arms out wide Angel looked pleadingly at the girl that stole his heart. "Just give me time, I'm sure that I'll remember soon. Buffy doesn't hold my heart anymore, I don't know if she ever really did. I think it was more extreme gratitude that she excepted me, that I was able to be a part of the human mass again."

Shaking her head, Willow felt her heart tearing in two. "No. You and Buffy belong together, she's your destiny not me."

"I won't except that. I know what I feel, so don't tell me I'm destined to be with someone else when it's you that I want." Returning to the bedside, he leaned over and placed a soft kiss on Willow's lips. "Tell me that the love we have for one another is wrong." His voice was filled with pain, and Willow couldn't stand for Angel to hurt anymore than he already did. She did love him, with her entire heart and soul.

"I can't, not when you complete me. But-."

"No more buts, we have here and now until I come to my senses in my conscious state." Laying his body on top of hers, both lovers lost themselves in the feel and taste of the one they loved most.