starlit_desires | Back From The Dead Part 9 (Reply)

Title: Back From the Dead 9/?

Author: Sweetness (aaronlisa@gmail.com)
Pairing: Angel/Willow

Rating: PG-15

Disclaimer: It all belongs to Joss Whedon and company.

Notes: This started out life as a drabble for velvetwhip. Set during BTVS Season Three.

Willow woke up feeling light headed and dizzy. The last thing that she remembered was being knocked down and then nothing. She hurt all over as she slowly sat up. It took her a few moments to realize that she was in the mansion, and that she was in the bedroom that she had put Angel in earlier. It was beginning to seem like a bad dream for her. She had been drawn to the mansion by a strange feeling and then Angel had appeared and instead of telling Buffy or Giles, she had lied to them and tried to help out Angel herself. Now it seemed as if she was alone in the mansion on her own without Angel. She assumed that he must have found her and helped her because she had no memory of getting to the bedroom on her own. She was worried about Angel’s whereabouts, she just hoped that he had finally gotten some of his memory back and had found the blood.
She slowly stood up and made her way out of the room in the hopes of finding a bathroom. She crept around the lower level of the mansion and avoided the main room. For some reason, she wasn’t quite ready to run into Angel. Not with her bladder full and her head throbbing the way it did. Although she was unable to find a bathroom downstairs she did manage to make her away upstairs. She was scared walking through the mansion on her own and in the dark but she really didn’t see any point in turning back. Especially since she didn’t know if Angel was even in the mansion or in any condition where he could help her. She finally found what she was looking for and she took care of her business. Willow was worried when she saw the mark on her neck and wondered what had happened. Obviously something had bit her but she was worried about what could have bit her.
As she tried to find her way back she came across another stairwell, this one leading almost directly into the main room of the mansion. She hesitated when she heard voices coming from the room. Wanting to know more of what was going on, she quietly crept down the stairs. She was surprised to hear Angel talking to Buffy, but surprise was soon replaced with anger when she heard what they were saying.
“Angel, I can’t believe you’re back.”
”I know I don’t know how it happened. I’m assuming that Willow cast a spell or something.”
”Willow? Why would you assume that?”
“Well who else could it be?”
”It wasn’t Willow. I can promise you that. Giles doesn’t want her touching magic, he thinks that she took too much of a risk when she cast the curse.”
”Do you think it was Giles then?”
“I don’t think it was him either. Angel, what are we going to do?”
”About what?”
”We can’t just tell everyone that you’re back from Hell, they’d want to kill you.”
”But Buffy, we just can’t hide it from them either.”
”We have to. You couldn’t begin to imagine the horrible things that Angelus did to my friends.”
”I know what he did,” Angel replied to her in a tight voice.
”Angel, you don’t understand, he killed Jenny and he tried to kill Willow. We have to keep this secret.”
”Alright, I suppose.”
“I wish you could help me find Willow though.”
”What do you mean help you find Willow?”
”Well she didn’t show up for school today, Giles told me that she said she was having some female problems. I decided to go check up on her after school but she wasn’t at home. Now we’re all out searching for her. I just came here on the off chance that she was here for some reason.”
“Well she’s not. And if you want to keep me hidden from the others, it’s probably best that I don’t help you find her.”
”Yeah, I know. I wish I could stay here all night with you. I just can’t believe that you’re really here.”
”I am Buffy, but you really need to go find Willow.”
“I guess I should. This is just so frustrating!”
“I know, I know.”

Willow crept back up the stairs and started to head back towards the bedroom she had woken up in. The conversation that she had overheard had hurt her more than she could have imagined. She didn’t know why Angel didn’t just tell Buffy that she had helped him out. But what had hurt her the most was Buffy’s attitude. Her own best friend seemingly didn’t care enough about her. She started to cry quietly over what she heard, Giles didn’t trust her enough to learn magic, and her own best friend would rather spend her time with her lover instead of looking for her. All Willow wanted to do was go back home. And she wished that she had never listened to the feeling that had directed her to the mansion the previous night. She would have still been in her own little world rather than feeling as if she had been betrayed.

**TBC**