starlit_desires | FIC: Back From the Dead Part 10/11 (Reply)

Yep there's one more part after this one. Enjoy!

Title: Back From the Dead 10/11

Pairing: Angel/Willow

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: It all belongs to Joss Whedon and company.

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

            He knew when she had been near them; after all he could hear her heartbeat. It broke his heart what he had to do next. But he refused to believe that he had made a blood claim on her. In his mind there was no way that he could have been sane enough, much less in his right mind, to do that to her. All he could hope for was if he had done that to her, was that he hadn’t forced her to reciprocate. She was far too fragile to deal with a blood claim with a vampire. He knew that she was probably a lot stronger than any of them, himself included, gave her credit for. But he also wondered how much of it was a show because of her family situation. The others might be oblivious to the fact that Willow’s parents were never around but he wasn’t. He had walked by her house one too many times late at night to not realize that the Rosenbergs were never at home. Angel had been surprised when he had come by her house that one night to ask her to check up on an old friend of Buffy’s and they had been home.
            None of it really mattered though; he would have to be cruel to her, if only to protect her. He was more worried about Buffy’s stability than Willow’s. When it came down to it, Willow was a survivor. And Buffy wasn’t. Angel was terrified what would happen if Buffy ever found out the truth about Willow helping him out. And about him biting the red head. Buffy wouldn’t care that at the time Angel had been out of his mind, all that she would see was that her soul mate had marked another woman. So in order to protect Willow he would have to hurt her even more. He could hear her cries from the bedroom, and it broke his heart. Part of him wanted to wrap her in his arms and run away with her to a place far from Sunnydale, the Hellmouth and the Slayer. But that just wasn’t possible.
            Angel inhaled an unnecessary breath before he made his way to the bedroom. He could feel her anguish and it tore him two. He would only hurt her more, but in the end he was positive that she would only thank him for it. He stopped outside of the door and straightened his back as he reminded himself that he was doing this for Willow’s sake and not his own.

**TBC**