Title: The Haunting
Author: Sweetness
Rating R
Pairing: Darla and Fred
Disclaimer: It all belongs to Joss Whedon and Co.
Distribution: BTVS Inspiration, otherwise ask.
Notes: Set during Angel season 5, right after "Hellbound"
Fred is being haunted by Darla.
In response to BTVSInspiration Challenge #31
Feedback: Yes Please.

Part One

Fred was not quite sure when the haunting had begun but she
did know that she was being haunted, and she was not very happy about
it. She had no idea why she would be seeing the ghost of Angel's
sire, both as a human and a vampire. But it was beginning to get on
her nerves. She had more than enough things do to; she had to somehow
come up with a way that would make Spike corporeal again as well as
run the science lab of Wolfram and Hart. She did all of this with
very little sleep since that was when she was the most haunted, when
she was sleeping. And because of it she would often fall asleep in
her office. She knew that she was getting irritable with everyone,
especially since she had Knox's sad face as a constant reminder of
her rudeness. He had asked her out for drinks one night and she had
snapped at him for no reason. Now he constantly looked at her and
sighed sadly. Almost as if she had murdered his best friend, or his
pride. She didn't know what to do to make it better either. Every
night when she returned to the Hyperion, she was still living there
since she hadn't really wanted to take the luxurious apartment that
Wolfram and Hart had offered her, she would fall into troubled dreams
about Darla. They would always end just as the human Darla was trying
to tell her something important or just as the vampire Darla was about to
drain her. If things hadn't had happen the way that they had and the
gang hadn't ended up being haunted by the noncoporeal Spike and if
they weren't a part of Wolfram and Hart she would have spoken to
Wesley or Angel about it. But things were so tense amongst the group,
especially now since Gunn had had his brain pumped full of law, both
human and demon. Everyone, including Fred, were suspicious of Gunn's
true intent, and the ultimate outcome of what it would do to Gunn. So
it meant that she had no one she could really confide in about her
dreams as troubling as they were. She had briefly considered talking
to Lorne about it and perhaps singing him a song to see what he could
read from her, but Lorne was so busy running his department that she
felt bad about taking up what little time he had so she left it
alone.
It was about midnight and Fred was packing up to leave the
lab for the day, she still had not been able to discover any way to
help Spike out and the brash blond had visited her several times that
day harassing her to find a solution. She had finally had enough and
had snapped at him, telling him to stay out of her lab and that when
she had a solution she would find him. Spike, who normally had a very
thick skin, had looked at her with hurt in his eyes and left without
a word. She knew that she had been harsh on him, but as always Eve
had found something that needed to be researched right away that had
taken up a lot of her time, as well as Wesley's. And she had to put
up with Wesley's love sick looks in her general direction whenever he
thought she wasn't looking at him. She was annoyed with everyone,
they all seemed to want so much from her, and none of them seemed to
realize how little time she actually had. Even Angel had made a big
appearance in the lab requesting that she do an autopsy on some demon
or other. Which had meant that, once again, Fred had to skip lunch to
deal with everything on her plate. So by midnight she was hungry and
tired and cranky. She finally left the lab, deciding that Spike would
have to wait once again. She made her way to the garage under the
building and drove her car back to the hotel. In a way it was re-
assuring for her to still live there. She knew that Wesley still had
some of his books on the arcane and mystical and demon encyclopedias
there; as well Angel still kept some of his weapons there. In fact,
Angel had made sure that the hotel had a top of the line alarm and
security patrolled the outside of the building day and night. She was
the only one who still actually lived there, despite being offered a
beautiful apartment. But she had been reluctant to take it, partly
because she wanted to remain in the safe haven that was the hotel,
but she also didn't want to depend on Wolfram and Hart for
everything. She was never quite sure why they had all said yes. But
she had known she would have said no if Angel had, and she had
thought that the dark vampire was going to say no. However, he hadn't
and everyone had agreed to work from the inside out on ridding L.A.
of evil. What a joke, she thought to herself; they had no time to
take care of the real evil. And with Cordelia in a coma, Angel's
connection, and therefore everyone's connection, to the Powers That
Be had been cut off. She knew that Cordelia had gone dark but the
whole situation of why Cordelia was in a coma was hazy to her. She
couldn't remember the last six months very clearly and it disturbed
her, especially since she felt that Angel knew the reason why and
knew what had happened. If Fred was completely honest with herself,
she couldn't even really say why Cordelia was in a coma, just that
she was. And she didn't like it, she was more insecure due to this
missing knowledge than she cared to admit, but her work at Wolfram
and Hart kept her so busy that she had no time for insecurity. Once
she arrived at the hotel and had keyed in the security code so that
the alarm would not go off, she attempted to eat but found what
little appetite she had had been destroyed by her recollections of
the last six months. She made her way up to her room where she had a
shower and then fell onto the bed exhausted, making no attempt to
brush out her hair or even to change into a pair of pajama's. Fred's
last conscious thought was a hope that Darla would leave her alone
that night.

* * * * * * * * *
* * *
Fred found herself in Caritas, which she somehow knew was
impossible but couldn't say why. She was by herself and in front of
her was one of the sickly sweet drinks that Lorne kept insisting on
making for her. Lorne was on the stage introducing the next singer,
he was going on about how beautiful she was and how lovely her voice
was, and so on. The blond woman took the stage and sang some old jazz
standard in her smoky voice. Fred was stuck by a sense of déjà vu,
she knew that she should recognize the singer on the stage but
couldn't place her. Instead of trying to figure out who it was, she
started to listen to the singer and took a sip of the drink that
Lorne had given her. The blond woman finished her song and left the
stage, Lorne introduced the next singer, which was some demon or
other. As the newest singer was about to start his song, the blond
woman came up to Fred's table.
"Do you mind if I sit here?" She politely asked Fred.
"Uhm, sure, no problem." Fred blushed as she stammered out her
response.
"Thanks. I am Darla, and you are?"
"Uh Fred. Nice to, uhm, meet you." Fred couldn't believe how
attractive she found the blond nor how nervous she was.
"So are you all by yourself tonight?"
"Uh, yeah. My friends has to go out tonight and uh… I am not sure
what they had to do." Fred admitted honestly while looking into
Darla's blue eyes. There was something about the woman that was
screaming at Fred, she knew that she should recognize her but she
couldn't place her.
"That's not very nice of them, to leave you here all by yourself."
Darla waved over a waiter.
"Oh! It's not like that, they are very nice people, and they didn't
want me to get hurt." Fred started to defend her friends.
"So, they let you come to a demon bar?" Darla raised her eyebrow at
Fred and turned to order a drink from the waiter.
"But they know Lorne and Caritas, it's probably one of the safest
places for me to be."
"Yes it probably is, until you leave the premises. Innocence is a
turn on for demons, especially big bad ones. And I am surprised that
your friends wouldn't know that." Darla looked at Fred in such a way
that Fred thought the other woman could see into her soul.
"Oh, no one will bug me here, and my friends will pick me up on their
way home."
"That sounds all nice and comfortable Fred, my dear, but it sounds to
me that your friends don't like you hanging around and sent you here
for our incredible host to baby-sit you." Darla somehow managed to
say what Fred had been feeling that night.
"Well, uhm, I guess, uh, some people could see it that way." Fred
started to squirm in her seat as the waiter brought Darla a drink
that was blood red.
"Wanna leave this place?" Darla asked.
"Uh, I don't think that would be such a good idea. My friends are
going to pick me up."
"If your friends really cared about you, they wouldn't put you in a
difficult situation. Yet here you are all by yourself, and where is
Angel Investigations?"
"How…." Darla cut off Fred before she could finish answering her
question.
"How did I know it was Angel and his gang, sweetheart, people know
who he is and who is around him."
"But I am new to town." Fred was starting to look worried.
"Yes you are, but there are people in L.A. who make it their business
to know who is around Angel. Not that I am one of them, I just
overheard some one talking about you. I don't think it's very safe
for you here. You see that demon?" Darla pointed out a scary looking
demon to Fred.
"Uhm, yeah." Fred answered hesitating, not sure what Darla was up to.
"He's the one I heard it from and it sounds like he has quite the
grudge against Angel and wouldn't be adverse to hurting one of
Angel's friends. Especially someone who looks as sweet and innocent
as you do. I say I take you back to the Hyperion where you will be a
lot safer." Darla looked at Fred again in a way that seemed to pierce
the younger woman's soul.
"Well, errr, uhm, I don't think that would be a good idea if Angel's
meeting me here."
"We can always call him on his cell phone when we get to the
Hyperion. I am sure one of your friends will be at the hotel doing
research for him and they can help to take care of you. Please Fred,
I am worried about you."
"Well, err, I guess you might have a point." Darla put her hand on
Fred's and pulled her out of her seat.
"Let's go then."
Darla didn't say much as she led Fred to her small sports
car, and saw her into the passenger seat. Nor did she say much on
their drive to the hotel; Fred was not sure why she had trusted the
blond woman. Angel had always told her to be careful and not to leave
Caritas when he left her there as it was for her own safety. But the
way the demon that Darla had pointed out had kept looking at their
table had started to frighten her, and Darla had had a point in
saying that someone was probably still at the hotel, most likely
Cordelia. They finally reached their destination and Darla turned to
look at Fred, "Well here we are."
"Uh, yeah, here we are."
"Shall we go in?" Darla asked.
"Sure." Fred was starting to feel a bit foolish for having listened
to a total stranger, and was worried if she was actually a bad guy or
someone who worked for Wolfram and Hart.
"Well let's go then." Darla got out of the car and looked at Fred
expectantly. Fred did the same and led the other woman to the front
entrance.
"Well that was nice of you, I will just go on in. Thanks again." Fred
turned to face Darla, not wanting to let her into the hotel.
"Don't you think I should come in with you? What if no one's here? Do
you think that demon won't try following you here?" Darla questioned
her.
"Err, I never thought of that." Fred pushed open the door and waited
for Darla to follow her in.
"It's nice here." Darla looked around at the lobby of the hotel.
"Yeah its kinda spacious and nice."
"I can see why Angel would like it here."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Fred looked at Darla fearfully,
expecting the other woman to start attacking her or something equally
dreadful.
"It means nothing more than what it sounded like Fred."
"I am sorry, I am just sorta jumpy." Fred apologized.
"That's okay. I don't think anyone is here. Do you want to call
Angel?" Darla suggested.
"Oh! I guess I should." Fred walked behind the lobby counter and
called Angel on his cell and briefly told him what had happened. For
some reason she left out Darla's name when she was talking to Angel.
She turned back to Darla after her call.
"Do you want me to wait til they get back?" Darla asked.
"Do you mind?"
"Not at all." Darla sat down.
"Can I get you anything?" Fred asked her guest.
"No not really. Why don't you sit down with me?"
"Ok." Fred sat down beside Darla. She was feeling more nervous in the
lobby than she had been in the bar.
The two women sat there in the lobby in relative silence.
Fred was lost in her thoughts; she knew she was attracted to the
blond but not sure why. She was all confused because she had feeling
for Gunn and the feelings that she felt for Darla felt very similar
to what she felt for Gunn. Darla looked at the brunette with
appreciation in her eyes. She could see why Angel would want to
protect her, especially with the scent of her innocence coming off of
her in waves.
"You know, Fred, not everything is what it seems." Darla whispered,
and leaned towards Fred.
"What do you mean?" Fred turned to look at Darla and gasped when she
saw that the other woman had become a vampire.
"Angel comes off so holier than thou, and all he has is a soul, but
he is betraying you and everyone else." Darla leaned in even closer,
capturing Fred's hands.
"Angel is a good man." Fred tried to defend her friend.
"He's not a man, he's a vampire, sweetheart and he is lying to you,
Wesley, Gunn, Lorne, and even Spike. While Cordelia lies in a coma,
he's hiding the reason why from you all. And he's having you all sell
out to a bigger evil than even myself." Darla kissed Fred on the
lips. Fred tried to push her off but was unsuccessful and eventually
her struggles stopped as she started to enjoy the kiss.
* * * * * * * * *
* * *
Fred woke up with a gasp, she had never dreamt of Darla
kissing her before, and she had enjoyed the feel of the vampire's
ridges and teeth against her face and lips. She was disgusted with
herself when she felt the moisture between her thighs. She was about
to get up and change into pajamas when she heard Darla's voice beside
her.
"Fred, you're in danger. Connor is going to come back and kill his
father. The prophecy that Wesley translated and thought said `The
father will kill the son' was actually backwards, the true prophecy
reads `The son will kill the father."
"What is going on? Who's Connor? And what are you doing here." Fred
clutched the towel tighter to her chest.
"Poor baby, you don't remember do you? It's all of Angel's doing. I
am here because you were there when my beautiful son was born, and
because of that some connection has been formed. I am trying to warn
you that you, Angel and everyone else is in serious danger Fred."
Darla lifted herself off the bed.
"But you're dead, and you have no son." Fred wasn't sure if she was
still in a dream or not. Darla looked at her and sighed, she walked
over to the bed, and grabbed Fred's head into her hands and kissed
her again. The kiss was like nothing Fred had ever experienced, it
was more erotic than any kiss she had ever had, and with the kiss
came knowledge. The last year or so came flooding back to her. All of
the events, Connor's birth when Darla had staked herself, Wesley
kidnapping Connor, Holtz taking Connor into some hell dimension, the
return of Connor as a young man, Cordelia's betrayal and everything
else.
"What?" Fred asked.
"Angel worked a deal with Wolfram and Hart, he erased all of your
memories of Connor and the events surrounding Connor in return he
agreed to work with Wolfram and Hart. But Connor's still alive, and
he's starting to remember what happened to him. He's having
nightmares. I had to come back to you Fred and warn you. The son is
going to kill the father, or at least he's going to attempt to. If
he's successful, Wolfram and Hart will have won. Wolfram and Hart set
up the whole thing so that they could destroy Angel. All the good
he's done will have been for nothing. We have to help him."
"But how? Obviously he's done what he's done because he wants to
protect Connor."
"I know, and I can't blame him. I came back to try to stop Connor
from helping Cordelia bring Jasmine into this world and failed. The
only hope I have now is for you to be able to get Angel away from
Wolfram and Hart."
"But how?" Fred sighed, just what she needed, one more project on top
of the mountain of work she had at the lab.
"You only have two priorities Fred, making Spike corporeal and
getting Angel away from Wolfram and Hart. Any other work you do for
them is helping the forces of evil."
"Wait! How do I know you're not evil?" Fred asked, her mind putting
two and two together.
"You don't, Fred, that's the sad truth. You can either trust me, or
not trust me. But you won't know if I am evil or not until all of
this is over. And I wish I could convince you that I am not evil, but
I know that I can't." Darla sighed.
"It's just that…" Fred started to say but was cut off by Darla's
finger on her lips.
"Don't say it, please don't. My time here is short and it's almost
over. It was hard for me to cross out of the dream world and its very
tiring. I hope that you will trust me." Darla kissed Fred once more
and then simply vanished.
Fred was shocked and worried, she knew what had happened, or
did she. Darla's visitations had only brought her more questions.
Also she had had dreams about the human Darla and the vampire Darla
as well, and she didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
What if Darla had been telling her the truth and had shown her the
events that had happened during the last year or so and they were the
truth? If that was the case, then Fred had to do something, but what
if they were all lies and she did something and it destroyed Angel?
Fred didn't know the answer but she knew that one of the last things,
the vampire Darla had told her in dream: Not everything is as it
seemed.


Part Two

When Fred woke up, she was more tired than she had been when
she had slept. After Darla's visitation, she had had nightmares that
had been about her following Darla's advice, which had turned out bad
as well as not listening to Darla, which had had the same results. In
all her nightmares, Angel had ended up dead or had reverted back to
the evil Angelus. Obviously her dreams weren't going to give her the
answer she was looking for. Fred called in sick to the lab and
decided that Darla was right about one thing, she owed it to Spike to
find a way to turn him corporeal. Furthermore, at the hotel she could
pore through Wesley's books to find both a solution to Spike's
problem and perhaps do some research about Darla. She got up and had
a shower, despite having one the night before she had woken up sticky
with sweat due to her nightmares. After her shower, she made her way
down to the hotel's kitchen and ate breakfast. Then she went to
Wesley's old office, she sighed and thought back of all the good
times they had all had here in the hotel. Sure they had all been
under appreciated and had had lots of problems, but here in the hotel
they had all been a family. The move to Wolfram and Hart had only
alienated them all and separated them from one another. She didn't
see her friends on a day-to-day basis, nor did she work on a problem
with them for hours and hours at a time. Perhaps Darla was right
about the fact that Wolfram and Hart was destroying Angel, and all of
them. She found a few arcane volumes and finally found the way to fix
Spike's problem it was a simple spell and she was surprised that with
all their resources at Wolfram and Hart, no one had found this
earlier. It was a simple incantation with a few simple ingredients.
In fact, everything that she would need was even at the hotel. All
she needed was Spike to show up. Despite having found a way to cure
Spike, she didn't want to go back to Wolfram and Hart, so she located
some of Wesley's copies of Watcher's Diaries and started to read
them. She needed to know more about Darla. What she found was not
promising; the vampire version of Darla was vengeful and evil right
down to her bones. It was not someone that Fred would want to meet in
a dark alley. But she did have a stroke of luck when she located
Wesley's journal. She hesitated before reading her friend's personal
thoughts but she soon discovered that this journal was more in the
style of the other Watcher's Diaries. There was nothing deeply
personal in the journal and it gave proof to the things Darla had
shown her when she kissed her. When she was finished she sat in
stunned silence, she had read about Wesley's work to decipher a
prophecy and how he became convinced that it meant that Angel would
kill his son. She was lost in her thoughts and did not notice when
Spike came into the room.
"So are you as miserable today as you were yesterday?"
"Spike! You startled me."
"Well answer the question. I don't want to waste my time if you are
miserable."
"No I am not. I am sorry about yesterday."
"Don't apologize, I have been around a lot of females lately, and if
there's one thing I have come to realize that when you all get
overworked and stressed out, you can get very grumpy. Look I am sorry
that I have been pressuring you to find a way to cure my problem. I
know you have a lot of other things to deal with. So I am just going
to go now and you can let me know when you're ready to help me."
Spike turned to go.
"Wait! I know how to fix it."
"What? You aren't pulling my chain are you? Having a bit of fun at
the expense of old Spike now are you?" Spike looked at her with
disbelief etched on his face.
"No, it's really simple. But Spike could you do me a favour?"
"What?"
"Could you stick around L.A. for a bit? I know you want to go to
Buffy but I need you."
"Okay." Spike didn't need Fred to clarify how she needed him.
Fred preformed the ritual and gave Spike a physical body
again, he was still a vampire but he had never felt better. He had a
body again, and he was physical. He stretched and was very happy
about the feeling that it produced.
"Uhm, Spike, uhm…" Fred started to stammer.
"Fred you are a goddess."
"And you're naked." Spike turned in shock at the source of the last
comment and was stunned to see Darla standing in the doorway.
"Darla? You're dead!" Spike shouted.
"Yes I am, more dead than you are childe. But you still need clothes,
you're making my Fred blush." Darla replied and Spike finally noticed
his naked state.
"Bloody Hell! My duster's gone."
"I think Angel left some clothes here, I will go get them." Fred
stated and ran up the stairs to Angel's former rooms.
"So what are you doing here Darla? And how can you be more dead than
me when you're standing in front of me." Spike questioned the blond.
"Well since I have no physical former and I suppose am only a ghost,
that would make me more dead than you."
"Okay that's one question. Answer the other." Spike snarled in hunger.
"How about we wait for Fred to come back down and maybe get you some
food first." Just as Darla finished speaking, Fred came down the
stairs with her arms full of some dark clothing.
"I hope this fits you Spike. Are you hungry?" She asked the blond
vampire.
"Yeah. I don't suppose you have blood in this place?"
"Yes, I do. I keep it here, in case we're close to the hotel if Angel
needs it." She headed to the kitchen to get the blood for Spike.
"Don't think I don't see the way that you look at her Grandmamma."
Spike sneered at Darla.
"I wish Drusilla had never started that stupid game of calling me her
grandmother. I still hate it Spike."
"Yeah I know." Spike grinned at her.
"Aren't you going to put on the clothes?" Darla asked.
"Nah, I like the way Fred looks at me and how jealous you get. You
know you're only a ghost, which means you can't have Fred."
"What makes you think I can't? You should taste her."
"What do you mean?"
"I've kissed her Spike and it was heaven." Darla grinned as she saw
her words getting to Spike. Their sparring match was interrupted with
Fred's return with warmed up blood in a cup for Spike.
"Don't the clothes fit?" Fred asked.
"Yeah." Spike turned around and quickly put on the clothes and then
took the cup Fred held out for him.
"So what's this all about? Why's the Poof's sire here?" Spike asked
when he was finished.
Darla and Fred told him their story and Spike listened. When
they were finished, he turned away from them and started pacing.
Neither of the two women mentioned to him how much he looked like
Angel and how much he looked like he was brooding over their words.
He finally stopped and looked them up and down.
"I don't suppose that the spell you worked on me would make her
corporeal?" Spike questioned.
"No, I don't think it has been to long since she died for it to
work." Fred replied.
"Nor were the circumstances similar. You have a soul, plus you died a
champion." Darla sighed.
"Well I guess that means one thing." Spike sighed.
"What?" both Darla and Fred asked him.
"We need Willow in town, she's the only witch I know who has the
power to possibly give you a corporeal body."
"Why do I need a body, Spike?" Darla was unsure where the vampire's
thoughts were headed.
"Well, if what you say is true, we need all the people we can get to
do this. Plus we might need Faith too, because if what you say is
true I think she's the only who could stop Angelus and his brat."
Spike sighed.
"Angelus?" Fred asked.
"Yeah, if the brat comes back, Angel will be delighted, especially if
he remembers who his daddy is. With how grim the Poof's been I think
it might make him so happy that he'll lose his soul. And thanks, but
no thanks; I don't want that lunatic back again. Once was enough, and
with how obsessed he was with Buffy the last time, well let's just
say Angelus will have more than enough reasons to hate me this time."
"So you think we should involve both Faith and Willow?" Fred asked.
"Yeah, don't be daft on me Fred. I am not for involving a whole bunch
of people, but I have seen them in a crisis, and I want them on my
side for this one. What do you think Darla?" Spike and Fred turned to
look at Darla but she was gone once again.
"She didn't say goodbye." Fred stated.
"We don't have time for you to get all teary-eyed. Just call them. I
am sure you know how to contact Giles or Buffy?"
"Yeah."
"Well then what are you waiting for?"
Fred headed back to the lobby counter and the phone to make the long
distance phone call. She was on the phone with Giles for a while,
desperately convincing him that she needed to speak to Willow or
Faith. For some reason, Giles was relunctant to put either of them on
the phone. Eventually he did, and Fred convinced Willow to return to
California with the brunette Slayer with her. She was very vague but
mentioned that there was a mystical problem that Angel Investigations
needed their help with. When she was finished with her call, she
turned to look at Spike.
"Well they should be here in a few days, Willow's going to call with
the details. I am going to the office and I think you stay here
Spike."
"Why?"
"Because I am going to take some time off of Wolfram and Hart, and I
think all the cards that we hold should be kept close to our chest.
If Darla's right and Wolfram and Hart is setting Angel up, then we
need to keep a low profile and keep our secrets secret."
"Yeah I suppose you're right."
* * * * * * * * *
* * *
Fred arrived at Wolfram and Hart just after six, most of the
employees had gone home. She went directly to Angel's office and
found him in there with Gunn, Wesley and Lorne.
"Fred, are you feeling better?" Wesley looked at her with concern and
love in his eyes.
"Uhm yeah a little. It's actually the reason why I came here. Angel,
I need a little time off, I haven't been sleeping or eating while.
What with all the work that I have had to do, and there are some very
talented people in the lab who can cover for me."
"Fredikins, you need to sleep and eat. You know what happened to me
when I didn't eat." Lorne replied and looked at her with concern.
"Well, I guess if that's the case, you should take some time off
Fred. I don't want you getting sick." Angel looked at her with a
question on his face, which worried Fred that he could smell Spike on
her.
"Ok, I will just get a few things from my office and go home." Fred
left Angel's office and went up to her office.

Part Three

Fred knew it was a dream even though she was asleep at the
time, but there were elements in her dream that caused her to know it
was not real life. And despite wanting to wake up, she was powerless
to do so; the dream had in its grasp and was not going to let go.
She was standing naked in a room and she did not like being
that exposed. It reminded her too much of her time in Pylea when she
was completely vulnerable. Furthermore, she felt like she was being
watched by someone who she could not see, which heightened the
feelings of vulnerability and she did not like that either. She felt
completely self-conscious and exposed, but she knew she was not in
danger, even if she was being watched. She wanted to cover up her
nudity but she couldn't, she was unable to move her arms up to hide
herself from the person who was watching her. She felt the person
step up behind her from the general area of the bed, and she felt the
touch of the person's hand on her shoulder.
"You're so beautiful." Darla stated as she touched Fred's shoulder.
Fred wanted to turn to face her and to ask the other woman what she
thought she was doing but she couldn't move again. She remained
frozen as a statue as Darla closed the space between them and she
could feel the other woman's nudity against her back. It was one of
the most arousing sensations that Fred had ever experienced. At the
same time her body was merely enjoying the sensation that was Darla,
Fred's mind was rushing in circles trying to figure out what was
happening and why this was going on. She would never have thought
Darla was attracted to women, since her knowledge of the other woman
was limited to her lust for Angel, or more likely her lust for
Angelus to return. But there they were in the room and Darla was
certainly acting like she was aroused by Fred.
"Quit thinking Fred, and just enjoy this." Darla demanded of her. She
was surprised that Darla knew what she was thinking and what she was
thinking about. And she decided that if this was a dream, which was
the conclusion her mind had come to, then she might as well as enjoy
it.
Darla was certainly experienced and she seemed to know
exactly where to touch Fred that would arouse the brunette the most.
Fred had never thought that being with another woman would be an
exciting or an arousing experience but Darla was soon changing that
opinion with her touches and kisses. The blond left no area
unexplored on Fred's body. The intimateness of Darla's caresses and
kisses caused Fred to blush, even Gunn had never done some of things
Darla was doing. Darla gently pushed Fred so that she fell onto the
bed, and continued her exploration of her body. Fred was becoming
more and more aroused and was soon was pushed over the edge when she
felt Darla's face change into the face of the vampire as she kissed
her thigh. She started moaning as the blond bit into her thigh. She
had never thought that a vampire's bite would be erotic, all the
examples she had seen of it had always looked painful, but then again
most victims of a vampire's bite were often forced into it. She had
not been forced into being bitten and had not expected Darla to bite
her either. Darla moved up Fred's body and stradled the brunette and
leaned into kiss her, still wearing her vampiric visage, with Fred's
blood smeared on her lips. Fred leaned up towards Darla and kissed
her. And the taste of her blood on Darla's lips excited her more. She
reached up and grabbed the other woman's shoulders, prepared to give
her the same treatment that she had given to Fred but was disrupted
by a shrill piercing sound. She looked at Darla with confusion on her
face. The other woman merely said "I'm sorry," before disappearing.
Fred realized that the sound that had interrupted her was her phone,
and that what had transpired had been a dream. She reached over and
picked up the phone, never once noticing the blood on her thigh.

Part Three – Reflections

Angel was sitting in his office thinking about how Fred had
been behaving strangely. She had mentioned that she hadn't been
eating or sleeping well, but she seemed to be in perfect health, just
a little tired. The way she had acted, had made him think that she
was lying about needing the time off, and she had acted like she
really wanted to be very far from him. He knew that Wesley and Lorne
had help her collect some things, and that the two of them had taken
her out to dinner. But there was something that was wrong with the
whole scenario. And Angel was worried that Spike was somehow
connected to it, especially since Spike was missing from the offices.
Angel had visited Knox in Fred's lab and Knox had told him that they
were still trying to come up with a solution for Spike's problem. It
had reassured Angel that Spike still was not physical but there was
something wrong with the picture. First of all, Spike should have
made at least one appearance since last night but he hadn't,
furthermore, the perfume that Fred had been wearing was oddly
reminiscent of the perfume Darla used to wear. Angel was very
perplexed but knew he really didn't have the time to be looking into
the matter; the senior partners had given him a large project to
complete in a week's time. There was no way that Angel could
guarantee uniting two warring clans within a week, but the senior
partners were expecting him to do so. Sometimes he missed his old
life, where he was kicking demon ass on the streets, rather than
shuffling paper on his desk. But it had been his only option, he
couldn't let Connor destroy Cordelia, Angel sometimes thought to
himself, that if the only people at risk had been some shoppers and
Connor, then he would have let Connor blow up the store, but the fact
that Cordelia was in danger, had meant that Angel could not walk
away, even though the whole incident with Jasmine had made him want
to walk away. Perhaps taking the position at Wolfram and Hart, was in
some way, a way for him to walk away and give up. He sighed and
turned his attention to the complicated contracts that Gunn had
dropped off that should help to unite the two clans.

* * * * * * * * *
* * *

Spike was not too fond of wearing Angel's hand-me-downs, but
he knew that he had no choice in the matter. Fred had been insistent
about him not leaving the hotel; furthermore, he didn't want to run
in one of the Poof's friends. He had nothing against Wesley, Gunn or
Lorne, but as far as he was concerned, the only one who had actually
lifted a hand to help him had been Fred. Not that he had actually
expected that much from Angel and his team. But still, he was stuck
haunting the building of Wolfram and Hart, or more accurately Angel,
until something could be done. And that alone should have made Angel
want to solve the problem right away. But something had happened to
Angel, Spike had never seen the elder vampire so empty. Even before
Darla had shunned him because of the soul, Spike had suspected that
something was wrong with Angel. But now the elder vampire was acting
as if he was dead to the world. It would make sense if the story that
Fred and Darla had told him were true. But Spike could not believe
that Angel would do something as horrible as make his friends forget
about his son. Sure using mystical powers to make the son forget that
he was Angel's child and the whole fiasco of being used by a higher
power. But having his friends' memories erased of the whole
experience of Connor? Spike would have sworn that Angel would never
stoop to something that low. When Willow had inadvertently altered
everyone's memories, in an attempt to make Tara forget about an
argument, the red-haired witch had been remorseful and felt horrible
when she realized the consequences of playing with someone's mind
with magick. She had apologized to all of them, including Spike. And
even though that knowledge of the danger of magick hadn't prevented
her from going off the deep end and trying to destroy the world, she
had never once attempted to alter the memories of her friends again.
Even though she must have been sorely tempted to do so, after all she
had almost killed Giles and the world, before Xander had stopped her.
Spike couldn't believe that Angel would do that; it's not even
something Angelus would have done either. And Angelus was a cruel,
sadistic vampire that had even scared Spike. Well before he had come
back after Buffy and Angel had had sex, which still made Spike sick
to his stomach. He could never see what women would see in Angel or
Angelus. Angel was always a whiner, whining about how he had done so
much bad in the world and he could never atone. Sure Spike had been
evil and had relished in being evil, but now he had a soul. It didn't
mean that he didn't regret what he had done as a soulless demon, but
he realized that he could spend a thousand years attempting to atone
for his past sins, but still never be granted forgiveness. If there
was a higher power like the Christian God, the only thing that was
going to gain Spike forgiveness, was action, and not sitting there
trying to atone for what he had done. Instead he would try to protect
the world; well at least he had tried doing that. Spending the last
three years with Buffy and her friends had opened his eyes to what
true evil was. And even before Fred had cast the spell to return his
body to him, Spike could feel how evil Wolfram and Hart was. And he
couldn't believe that Angel would align himself with these people.

* * * * * * * * *
* * *

Lorne knew something was wrong the minute he had allowed
himself to be tempted by Wolfram and Hart. The day that they had all
agreed to work from the inside out, he knew that they were following
the wrong path. He didn't need someone to sing him a song to tell him
that. Instead he worked as hard as he could at Wolfram and Hart as
the head of the entertainment department, trying to get at the bottom
of it all. When he left work, he would go to his apartment, where
former clients of Caritas, would come for readings. With the
information he got from the readings, he would try to figure out
where there were problems and send Wesley out to take care of it. The
two had been working practically non-stop at Wolfram and Hart as head
of departments, but also more importantly on the street. Neither of
them really trusted what Wolfram and Hart was doing to any of them,
and both were glad that Fred appeared to be escaping from the law
firm. Lorne knew that Wesley wanted Fred out because he was in love
with her, but Lorne's reasons were far simpler than that. He still
felt bad about her experience in Pylea and wanted her to have a life
before evil consumed her. Lorne was worried that he and Wesley would
be too late when it came to rescuing Angel and Gunn. But Lorne had a
feeling that the only way to save Angel was tied up in Cordelia.
Lorne also had the sinking feeling that Fred and Spike were somehow
connected to this as well. He just hoped that the feeling that Gunn
was a lost case would be wrong.

* * * * * * * * *
* * *

Wesley followed Fred home after she had left the restaurant,
while Lorne had returned to his apartment. He wanted to make sure
that Fred would be safe at the hotel, especially since she had seemed
to be defecting from Wolfram and Hart. He knew that Angel had made
sure that the hotel's security was provided by a different firm that
was not associated with Wolfram and Hart, but at the same time he
knew that would not stop Wolfram and Hart. Furthermore, he was just a
little perplexed about why she really wanted to leave the firm. He
knew that he should be glad, since it would mean one last causality
for Angel Investigations, but at the same time, it hurt him that she
would leave them all to defend for themselves. He knew that she
didn't know that both Lorne and himself were doing all that they
could to make sure that Angel Investigations continued to help the
helpless, but he couldn't stop worrying about her. He knew that he
might love her, but that his feelings would not be returned by her.
He had realized that when she had picked Gunn over him, but he still
felt bound to help her out and to protect her. Something he realized
that Gunn didn't seem to feel was a duty now that the two had broken
up. No Gunn, had seen fit to have his filled by the knowledge of the
law, and who knew what else, in order to fit in at Wolfram and Hart.
And Angel was too busy brooding over some matter that he wouldn't
talk about. Wesley knew that he was hiding something from the rest of
them; he had overheard Angel yelling at Eve to never mention a name
to him again. And although Wesley had not heard the name, he was
pretty sure that whatever the name was and whom it belonged to, would
explain why Angel had changed. He was no longer a champion; instead
he seemed content to do the tasks that the senior partners threw his
way. So when Lorne had approached Wesley about cleaning up the
streets again, the former rogue demon hunter had leapt at the chance.
But he was still worried about Fred, so he followed her to the Hotel,
and when he saw Spike physically greet Fred, he knew she was in safe
hands at the moment. He would need to confront her, as would Lorne,
eventually, but now was not the time. Right now, he needed to get rid
of a demon that was eating babies. Sure it was street justice and now
that he was working for Wolfram and Hart, he should be working within
the system to deal with the matter. He also knew that Wolfram and
Hart would probably do its best to protect this client. Something
Wesley didn't want see happen. He would tell Lorne what he saw
probably tomorrow night.

* * * * * * * * *
* * *

Gunn looked up from the law book he was studying when Eve
entered his office. He hated the woman but at the same time he found
her incredibly attractive. There was something in him that kept
screaming at him that she was poison, but he knew that was the old
Gunn talking. The new Gunn had adapted to his position at Wolfram and
Hart, and that meant he had to deal with evil people all the time.
After all, Wesley had had an affair with the enemy, and had been able
to fight the good fight, so why couldn't he?
"Is there something I can help you with, Eve?"
"Well I just wanted to see if the rumors were true."
"And what rumors would those be?"
"The ones about how you're the most dedicated member of the team.
That Wesley, Lorne and Fred take off early."
"What about Angel?"
"Oh, he works hard and late into the night, but not as hard as you
Gunn. You're a real team player, and perhaps very valuable to Wolfram
and Hart."
"You do know that we're trying to fight the good fight here, right?"
"Yeah sure you are."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Well my dear Gunn, when is the last time you actually fought? Or
killed a vampire as it was about to bite someone's grandmother? All I
see you doing is doing Angel's legal dirty work." Eve smirked.
"Well perhaps you could say that, but someone has to do it. Don't
they?"
"I guess."
"Is that all you came here for?"
"Well I am prepared to give you a little bit of information in return
for some that you can give me."
"What do you want to know, Eve?"
"Is it true that Fred cleared up her office today?"
"Not really, she asked Angel to take some time off. She's not been
feeling well, said she was having problems sleeping and eating."
"It happens, I suppose. You will let me know if that changes and her
little vacation turns into something permanent?"
"It all depends. So what do you have for me?"
"Oh I thought you might be interested in knowing that Lorne and
Wesley still help the helpless and roam the streets at night
protecting the innocent. And the sad thing, Charles, is that they
don't trust you enough to ask you to join them. Goodnight" Eve turned
and walked out Gunn's office.
Gunn did not take the news well, he had received some reports
about a demon hunter roaming the streets, but he had not suspected
Wesley or Lorne. It would explain why they were always so tired, and
seeming to be over worked. It stung that what Eve had told him that
they might not trust him enough to ask him to help them. He was
already up for a good fight against the forces of evil, so he had to
ask himself why was he working for the forces of evil, instead of
fighting them?

Willow looked at Faith and wondered how she was going to tell
the brunette Slayer that they were needed in California, once again.
She knew that Giles had pulled some strings and had gotten her
formally released from prison and that if she were to go to
California; the police weren't going to hunt her down. But still,
Willow knew that it was the last place Faith would probably want to
go, and that most likely Willow was the last person she would want to
go with. Faith was happy now, she loved training the new Slayers on
how to slay and survive. But more than anything else, she loved the
acceptance that she not only got from the new Slayers, but from Buffy
and her friends. She wouldn't want to leave that just because of one
of Angel's friends had said that there was a serious mystical problem
in L.A. that could mean danger for Angel. In fact, Willow wasn't even
sure that she wanted to go back to California. That place had caused
her such pain in general, not only had she lost Tara in Sunnydale,
but she had lost Kennedy in San Francisco. Just before they had left,
Giles had said that there was a chance that there might be another
Slayer in San Francisco and that they should see if she needed help
and if she would join them. Well there had been another Slayer and
they had saved her, but in the fight against the vampires that had
almost killed her, they had lost Kennedy. The thing that made the
whole situation worse, was that Kennedy had been turned into a
vampire. It had been on a whole more painful than Tara's death,
because Willow had had to stake Kennedy. So California was the last
place that she wanted to go. But she had not been able to resist
Fred's pleading. So she had agreed to go, and she had promised that
she would convince Faith to come along as well. She feared for the
worse that the mystical problem might cause Angelus to be free again,
and she didn't know if she would have the strength to cast the spell
once again. So Willow had done the only thing that she could have
thought of, she had suggested to Buffy that they get out, but that
they should also invite Faith and Xander along to. So they were now
in a dance club in London. Faith was watching Xander and Buffy dance
together, and Willow was watching Faith, trying to figure out how to
tell the brunette Slayer they were needed in L.A., once again.
"Quit staring at me, Red."
"What?"
"Quit staring at me, it makes me nervous."
"I am not staring at you."
"Yeah you are, don't deny it. Ever since you got that mysterious
phone call the other day, you've been staring at me." Faith turned
around and looked at Willow in the eye. "You think I don't notice you
watching me?"
"I don't know what you're talking about." Willow turned to look at
the couple on the dance floor.
"Yeah sure, you don't," Faith grabbed Willow's chin and forced her to
look at her. "Look I don't bite, just tell me what it is."
"I got a phone call from Fred, she wants you and I to go to L.A."
"That's it?" Faith laughed. "Oh Red, here I thought that you wanted
to be with me."
"What?"
"You know, with you being a lesbian and all, I thought you had the
hots for me."
"Oh! No, that's not it." Willow blushed.
"Yeah don't sweat it Red, we'll go. Might give the two of them some
breathing space." Faith looked at Buffy and Xander dancing on the
dance floor.
"What do you mean?"
"Red, are you that blind? Those two have been helping one another
over the deaths of Anya and Spike. I am sure that a real relationship
will develop, but not if we're here all the time."
"A relationship?"
"Yeah you know what that is right?" Faith raised her eyebrow at
Willow.
"Of course I do."
"Well let's just say you and I hit the road tomorrow, Red, and let
what happens between the two of them finally happen?"
"Well, sure."
"Good, especially if Fred's worried. I don't like the fact that they
are asking for the best back up they can get, a Slayer and a power
witch. Can't be too good. Did she say anything to you?"
"No, just that there was some dangerous mystical problem that could
harm Angel."
"Well I certainly hope that doesn't mean Angelus is back on the
loose. Man, he's a nasty fighter, and it almost killed me the last
time." Faith sighed.
"Same here, but don't forget if Angelus is on the lose, he might not
be too worried about Slayers, but more about a witch that returned
the soul to him twice."
"Yeah, so it's gotta be pretty bad for L.A. to call on us to be
reinforcements. I don't like the sounds of that."
"Neither do I."
"I promise to watch your back if you watch mine."
"Same."
The conversation between the two died out as Buffy and Xander
came back to the table. Willow noticed how close the two were
standing together and how Buffy smiled at Xander. It was a smile that
she hadn't seen in a long time. It reminded Willow of how Buffy used
to smile at Angel, before he had lost his soul and she had had to
send him to Hell. Perhaps Faith was right in saying that the two of
them needed some time alone, or as alone as they could get in a house
full of brand new Slayers.

Part Five – Homecoming.

Willow sighed as the plane landed, she had not wanted to come
back. But she knew that there was no other choice, she just hoped
that Fred would not be as secretive as she had been the last two
times they had talked. She had refused to say what was going on in
L.A., just that Faith and Willow were desperately needed and that
time was running out. Faith had been equally frustrated by Fred's
secretiveness, but had advised Willow that there was nothing that
that the two of them could do until the reached L.A., if Fred was
still going to be secretive then Faith and Willow could just leave,
or call in the big guns, namely Giles and Buffy to deal with the
situation. Willow turned and smiled at Faith, when she felt the
Slayer's hand cover her's.
"It's gonna be ok." Faith told Willow.
"Yeah, you keep saying that." Willow grinned back at her.
"Don't worry, if Angelus is on the loose, we will take care of the
problem. If it's not that, then we will make sure that doesn't happen
right?"
"Yeah."
The two got off the plane and collected their luggage. Both
had traveled light because there was no point in bring a lot of stuff
besides clothing a few spell books. Giles had set up a safe house in
L.A., that the two of them would have to visit to collect some more
gear. The safe house was being taken care of by Robin Wood and Willow
was worried about how Faith would react when she saw her former lover
again. She knew that Faith had been hurt that Robin had stayed
behind, but at the same time Faith had known someone had to. All of
them couldn't go to Europe, someone had to be there for any Slayers
in the states. Not all of the new Slayers had wanted to leave either,
so the new Watcher's Council had two headquarters, one in California,
and one in England. Something which seemed to amuse Giles.

* * * * * * * * *
* * *

Fred paced the hotel lobby, despite the fact that it was
annoying Spike to no end. She was worried, ever since Willow's last
phone call two days ago, she had not dreamt or seen Darla since. She
was worried that the blonde's warning that time was short had come a
little too late. Had Angel succumbed to the evilness of Wolfram and
Hart? It didn't help matters that Gunn had started pestering her, he
kept calling her wanting to make sure that things were okay and that
she was getting better, and the she would be back to work before too
long. Fred didn't know if she had the strength to keep lying to him.
"Of course you do."
"Darla!"
"Yes, Fred, it's me."
"I was so worried that you were gone."
"No, I had things that prevented me from coming here. Please tell me
that Willow will be here soon. I don't know if I will be able to
overcome the things that keep preventing me much longer."
"Oh no!"
"I am afraid, I am growing weaker, and the forces that are preventing
me from visiting you are growing stronger."
"Willow should be arriving soon."
"Good."
"I hope that she can help you."
"I hope so to. But if she doesn't, remember that your first goal is
to protect Angel. You must find the strength to lie to Gunn. I fear
that Eve is working on him. He's becoming more of a threat to you and
Angel and the others."
"Eve! I hate her."
"I don't blame you at all. But remember you all chose your own path."
"I know. It just hurts that Charles would betray us."
"Sometimes, people betray those they care about without meaning to.
He has no idea that the path he is walking towards will cause him to
betray you or Angel or the others. He wants to help you and protect
you."
"But can't he see through her?"
"No, I think he is blinded by her. Fred, before I go, I must tell you
to trust in Wesley and Lorne, but do not trust in Angel."
"Why not Angel? I thought I was supposed to be helping him."
"You are, but right now he will perceive any action that you take as
a threat."
Darla disappeared once again, leaving Fred frustrated and
unsure of herself. She didn't know if she should believe in the
ghostly Darla. After all, Darla had tried to cause problems for Angel
before. But Fred could not take the chance that what Darla had told
her was not the truth. Fred wished for what seemed like the hundredth
time that Cordelia was not in her coma. She needed the other woman's
strength so much right now. Cordelia would know what was the truth
and what wasn't, wouldn't she? Fred sighed in frustration, as Spike
wrapped his arms around her from behind.
"What is it love?"
"I just don't know if to believe Darla or not."
"I would say believe her."
"Why?" Fred turned around so that she was facing Spike.
"Because, love, we don't have another choice. Angel is no longer the
champion he once was. He's not even the brooding bore, he once was.
It worries even me. Even if Darla is playing us, there is some truth
in her words. And maybe Willow might be able to help us decipher it."
"I hope so. I really do." Fred leaned against Spike, as he continued
to hold her. Spike place a kiss on top of her hair and breathed in
her scent, he could see why Darla was attracted to her. He wanted
nothing more than to lift her in his arms, take her upstairs to his
room, slowly undress her, and then make love to her until she
couldn't even remember the name Darla. He knew he was jealous of the
ghost, but she seemed to have a place deeper in Fred's affections
than he did. Once again he was coming second place to another
vampire, and it didn't sit well with him.

* * * * * * * * *
* * *

Willow and Faith walked into the hotel, things with Robin had
gone good. He was glad to see both of them, and had not asked any
questions when they had raided the safe house of weapons and Willow
had taken some materials she would need for spells. He had merely
smiled and told them that he had made sure that the safe house had
been conscreated so if they needed a safe place to stay, they would
always be welcomed. Faith had smiled at her former lover, and told
him that he always thought of something, and that he should be
careful before some Slayer trapped him into marrying her. Robin had
laughed and said that Faith had been the only Slayer for him. They
had spent the night with Robin since it had been late, and early in
the morning, he had driven them to the Hyperion Hotel. Both of them
shuddered as they remembered their last experiences there, it had not
been pleasant for either of them. Once again Faith's hand closed over
Willow, giving the witch her silent support and strength. Willow
didn't doubt that Faith would protect her to the death, and she was
glad that she had the Slayer with her. Besides Buffy, she was the
most experienced Slayer there was, and perhaps Faith was the most
deadliest of the two experienced Slayers. Willow knew she was in good
hands. The two had gotten out of Robin's car and said goodbye to him,
both fearing that they wouldn't see him again. They didn't notice his
gentle smile when he saw them holding hands, and he knew that the two
of them would fight to the death to protect one another. He didn't
think that either Willow or Faith realized the depth of emotion that
they had for one another, and he wished he could be there when they
finally realized.
Fred's face lit up when she saw Willow and Fred, and she ran
from her spot on the couch up to the both of them. She captured
Willow and Faith into a big hug.
"I'm so glad to see you both. I was so worried that you wouldn't get
here."
"Well we're here. So spill." Faith spoke with a hard edge in her
voice.
"What?" Fred blinked in surprise.
"Look you were pretty secretive on the phone, and you scared us. We
want to know what is going on." Willow said coldly.
"I told you Fred, that you should have warned them what was going
on." Spike said as he came down the stairs.
"Spike?" Faith and Willow said at the same time, their mouths opening
in surprise.
"Yeah it's me. Not the ghost of Christmas Past."
"But you died. I saw it." Faith said in shock.
"Yeah well something brought me back, love. I was haunting Angel for
a while, until Fred found a spell to make me corporeal again."
"But why didn't you tell us?" Willow asked with tears in her eyes.
"Cuz, pet, I didn't want your reaction that I am getting right now."
Spike walked up to Willow and hugged her.
"But, Buffy and you…"
"Don't belong together, Willow. Deep in your heart you know it. Just
the shock of seeing me, that makes you say it."
"C'mon Red." Faith pulled Willow out of Spike's embrace. "How do we
know he still has his soul?"
"Cuz I do. Can't prove it to you, not as if I have a shiny metal to
you. You just gotta accept it on faith. Perhaps Fred should tell you
why I wanted both of you here."
Fred told them what Darla had told them about Angel was in
danger from his own son. Both Faith and Willow had looked at Fred, as
if she had just said that it was going to rain fishes the next day.
So she told them the full story of the last two years. Some of it she
had to tell them from what she had been told, but most of it she knew
from her memories. She also told them how she was worried if Darla
was somehow working to harm Angel, but that both Spike and her
thought that Angel was in some serious danger at Wolfram and Hart.
Both Willow and Faith had looked at one another when Fred finished
her story and both spoke at the same time.
"We'll help you."
"That's great. But how do we find out if Darla's telling me the
truth."
"Well there's a spell I can use, it's a little tricky but I can
perform it now." Willow replied.
"Maybe you should perform it on us as well, Miss. Rosenberg." Wesley
spoke from the doorway.
"Wesley!" Fred jumped up.
"Fredikins, why didn't you tell us?" Lorne asked with sadness in his
voice.
"Because I didn't know who to trust."
"Well, I think that maybe the first thing to do is to have Miss.
Rosenberg perform this spell on us to maybe give us back our memories
of the last two years." Wesley looked over at Willow expectantly.
"Well first of all, quit calling me Miss. Rosenberg, and I will need
some more supplies then. Faith do you mind coming with me to get
them?"
"Sure, Red. As long as Wes, here, doesn't mind me working with you
and the team."
"Faith? This is a surprise, but I have no objections working with you
once again. You've been helpful recently and have given me no doubt
as to whether or not your redemption was real."
Faith and Willow got the supplies that Willow needed and she
cast the spell. It scared Lorne because it was reminiscent of the one
he had used to the restore Cordelia's memory with. But the spell had
gone off without a problem and they all sat in there in shock. Willow
and Faith had never expected that Angel had erased any of their
memories, but it turned out that he had played with their minds just
as he had with his friends. Willow was as hurt as Fred, Lorne and
Wesley were, because she had always thought of Angel as a friend.
"Well I suppose that tells us Darla is telling the truth. What was
your second plan Fred?" Wesley was the first to speak.
"Well, I thought that maybe we should make Darla corporeal as well.
Except the spell that worked for Spike wouldn't for her."
"Let me see it and be the judge of that, it's not as if Angel
Investigations has played with spells before not knowing their true
power." Willow said.
"Sure, let me get it." Fred ran up to her room where she had put the
spell after performing it on Spike.
In her room, Fred saw the form of Darla. But it was not the
Darla who had been visiting her in the hotel, this was the vampire
version of Darla, if Willow had been in the room, she would have
recognized her as the Darla that Angel had staked when she had
attempted to kill Buffy. This was not the Darla who had been
resurrected by Wolfram and Hart, and then later turned by Drusilla.
This Darla was far more cruel and pure demon. Fred jumped back in
surprise.
"Did you miss me sweetheart?" Darla asked.
"Darla, why are you up here? Willow's downstairs."
"I know but I am not here for the witch. I am here for you." Darla
smiled as her face transformed and became the face of the demon.
"Well I am glad to see you too, but you should come downstairs.
Willow's going to try to make you corporeal like Spike."
"Oh I am physical enough without the witch's help." Darla grasped
Fred's wrist. "Don't I feel physical to you?"
"Yes, but how?"
"Some questions are better left unanswered." Darla smiled as she
pulled Fred to her.
"But Darla, we need to help Angel."
"Angel can wait, but it doesn't seem like you can. I can smell your
desire, Fred."

Part 6

"Willow, I don't know why you are so insistent that we see Xander
this morning. We'll miss class and that's not like you to want to
miss class." Buffy whined at Willow, who had woken her up at about
six in the morning.
"Because he's not answering his phone."
"Willow, it's six in the morning, are you surprised that he's not
answering it? Come on, let me get another hour of sleep."
"Buffy, get up now! I know something is wrong."
"He's probably just sleeping like I wanna do right now. Lucky guy."
"I know something is wrong, I can feel it in my bones."
"Fine, fine, but when we find out he's sleeping, you owe me big
time." Buffy sat up glaring at her best friend.
"Well I know he's not sleeping. Even Xander would wake up with the
number of times that I called him."
"Maybe he turned his ringer off, you know something about needing
sleep." Buffy got out of bed. "I'm going to have a shower."
"NO! We don't have time for that. Come on, let's go." Willow dragged
Buffy back into their room.
"Fine, but if this ruins my chance of getting Riley to notice me
because I smell bad. Then I will never talk to you again." Buffy
glared at her best friend.
"You know it's unethical to date your T.A., especially since he's
marking your papers."
"Willow, I don't need the lecture now. OK? Let's just get this over
with." Buffy sighed and dragged on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. She
hated it when Willow put on her resolve face, since it meant that no
one could talk her out of whatever she had convinced herself had to
be done. It had gotten Willow into more trouble than anything else,
but when Willow had made up her mind then no one was able to stop
her.
The two girls left the university campus and caught a bus
that would take them close to Xander's place. They were relatively
quiet, and Buffy started to doze off. She yelped when she felt
Willow's finger jab her in the ribs signaling their stop. The two
girls got off the bus and walked silently to their destination. When
Buffy knocked on the door, and there was no response she wasn't that
worried. But when Willow pushed open the door, she started to get
worried.
"Xander?" Buffy called out questioningly, praying that her friend was
just asleep.
"Ohmigod!" Willow cried out.
"What?" Buffy followed her friend's gaze to the couch and saw Xander
lying there. "Call Giles right now!" Buffy ordered Willow and walked
over to the couch, turning on the lights as she did so. Xander had
blood on his mouth and a vampire's bite on his throat. Buffy's heart
rose into her mouth and she was paralyzed, she was afraid to touch
his body in fear that he might be dead. If he was dead, he could very
well be one of the undead.
"Giles said he would be here in a few minutes. Buffy?" Willow tugged
on Buffy's arm.
"Maybe we should wait outside." Buffy suggested, trembling in fear as
she looked at Xander.
"Why?" Willow asked as she moved towards Xander.
"Don't go near him."
"Buffy! I am just covering him up with a blanket."
"But… he might …" Buffy couldn't finish the sentence, all she could
see was Xander raising as one of the undead and killing her best
friend.
"He's still breathing. I want to keep him warm." Willow reassured the
Slayer knowing what had terrified her.
The two girls sat down on the chairs and waited for Giles to
arrive. When Giles arrived he merely looked at the two girls and then
turned his attention to Xander. Shortly after, Spike came running in
the room with a blanket over his head and smoke pouring from him. He
sniffed at the area and took one look at Xander.
"It's Drusilla." Spike stated.
"What do you mean?" Giles asked.
"Drusilla's the one who did this to him. I had no idea she was in
Sunnydale."
"Yeah sure you didn't Spike, this is your way of getting back at us
isn't it? Killing me through my friends with the help of Drusilla
since you've been neutered." Buffy started to advance towards Spike,
ready to rip him apart with her bare hands.
"Buffy! How could he? He's been chained to Giles's bathtub since we
found him." Willow tried to reason with Buffy.
"Willow's right, if Drusilla was in town and working with Spike, she
would have found him already."
"Yeah you stupid bint." Spike glared at the Slayer.
"Then help me find her and then I can stake her." Buffy told Spike.
"I think you should call Angel first. It's not as easy as that
Slayer."
"What do you mean Spike?" Giles asked the bleached blond.
"It's not as straightforward as killing Drusilla in order to protect
your friends. I think Angel would be able to tell you better than I
can."
"In the meantime, maybe we should get Xander to the hospital?" Willow
suggested.
"Yes, I will take him. Buffy and Willow go to your classes, Spike and
I will contact Angel."
"No, I will call him." Buffy replied.
"Buffy, we need his help. I don't want you alienating him right now.
I understand things have been difficult for the two of you. But we
need his help." Giles told the Slayer.
"Are you saying that hearing from me would alienate him?" Buffy asked
with tears shining in her eyes.
"Buffy, right now things are difficult for the two of you. I don't
want you being more hurt by that. I don't really care about Angel,
but I care about you as if you were my daughter. I think it's best if
you go to class right now and let me deal with it. If Spike is right,
then it might be that Angel might have to come to Sunnydale to
protect Xander."
"Fine." Buffy stormed out of the room.
"I am sorry, Giles, it's just that…" Willow started.
"I know, it's hard for her. And she can't help Xander right now. She
probably also feels like she let him down or failed to protect him."
Giles sighed.

Part 7

Angel was in shock after he hung up the phone, he couldn't
believe what Giles had just told him. It didn't sound very re-
assuring to him that Drusilla was in Sunnydale and had attacked
Xander. But there was no reason to doubt what Spike had told them.
After all if anyone would be able to recognize the scent of Drusilla,
it would surely be Spike. He wasn't also very happy to hear that
Spike had been neutered, not that he enjoyed having an evil vampire
running around causing problems for Buffy and the human population in
general. At the same time, as a vampire, he knew that it had to be
eating Spike up inside. Even with his soul, it was often hard for
Angel to resist the siren call of his demon. His demon was constantly
trying to trick him into taking an innocent victim, it would tell the
soul that the intended victim deserved to die for whatever reason.
And the demon was hard to resist at times, but to be in pain when one
tried to follow his own nature. And not even pain because of his own
doing. Spike was in a bad situation, and Angel wanted to rip apart
the people responsible for it. But at the moment he had a far larger
concern, if what he had been able to piece together from his
conversation with Giles, it didn't bode to well for Xander or anyone
else. Angel knew he had to go to Sunnydale and confirm his suspicions
but he didn't want to. He wished that he could send either Doyle or
Cordelia, but at the same time, they wouldn't know what they were
looking for. So he quickly packed a small bag and prepared himself to
see Buffy again.
The drive took to Sunnydale took longer than Angel had
expected, perhaps it was because he was reluctant to return to
Sunnydale. The place that had been his home for three years, and been
such a source of pain. It was there that he had killed his sire,
Darla, and it was also there that he had turned into Angelus again
and had almost destroyed Buffy and her friends. He didn't want to go
back, but he knew that he had to for Xander's sake. It was part of
his redemption as well. After all he was responsible for making
Drusilla into what she was. If there was anyway he could prevent what
was going to happen, then he needed to try. And if that meant going
to Sunnydale then that meant facing his fears and swallowing his
pride, and he would have to face Buffy too. When he had left
Sunnydale he had done it for her, or so he had thought. But deep down
inside, he knew that he had left because if he had stayed around her,
he would have given into his lust and love and allowed Angelus to be
released again. And he knew if that happened, Angelus would destroy
the Scoobies this time. So he had left her, and Sunnydale, taking his
broken heart and what little of his pride he had left. Now he was
returning, and once again it was all his fault. Before he knew it he
had pulled up in front of the apartment complex that Giles lived in.
He didn't want to be hear again, he remember with shame what Angelus
had done to Giles. Angelus had figured that the best way to strike
back at the Slayer was not by destroying Willow, but by destroying
her father figure, her Watcher, Giles. He raised his hand to knock at
the door, only to pause. He knew that this was going to be painful
for them all and he wished that the library was still standing. But
knowing that wishes were impossible, he knocked on the door. The door
opened, and Willow was standing there, her face extremely pale and
shadows under her eyes.
"Angel!" Willow cried before throwing herself into his arms. He had
never expected to be greeted like this, and he almost worried that
Xander was dead. "Come in, Angel." Willow told him as she stepped out
of his hug.

Part Eight

Angel sighed as he looked at everyone sitting in the hospital
lounge; they had all been here so many times before. Usually they had
all been here for Buffy, once he knew that they had all be there for
Willow, unfortunately he had no memory of that, as Buffy had had to
send him to Hell. But now they were all gathered here for Xander, who
had been bitten by his childe. He had not doubted what Willow had
told him about the event. He had been surprised that neither girl had
done much when Xander had started withdrawing from them, but when
Willow told him that she had seen him at the fair with a dark hair
girl, he could see why she had assumed that he had been pulling away
because he had met someone. The only bad thing about it was that she
had been right, but it had been Drusilla he was falling for. Angel
wasn't sure why Drusilla had been toying with him for so long and had
not turned him or killed him, rather than just draining most of his
blood. Xander would be in the hospital for at least two weeks
recovering from it. He knew that Buffy and Spike had not hunted down
Drusilla yet, and from what Willow had told him, it had taken both
Giles and Spike to hold Buffy back. Thankfully, Spike had recognized
that there might be more harm caused if Buffy simply staked the
insane vampire. Angel frowned as he looked at Buffy, he knew that she
had moved on with some military guy, but he had expected it to hurt
when he looked at her for the first time since he had left Sunnydale.
But it didn't hurt; in fact he looked at her and didn't really feel
much. All he saw was a beautiful and strong ex-girlfriend, who was
extremely pissed off. He knew that it was taking every resource of
her patience, not to get up and destroy the reason that Xander was in
the hospital.
"I need to see him."
"Why? You should be helping me kill Drusilla instead of trying to
protect her." Buffy glared at Angel.
"Buffy, please." Giles said tiredly.
"I am sure Angel knows what he's doing." Willow stated quietly.
"You never wanted to kill her, did you? You're just like Spike.
You're both willing to let him die because of that bitch." Buffy
hissed at Angel.
"You don't understand, Buffy…." Angel started.
"No, I don't understand. She did this and she deserves to die."
"Pet, just let Angel see the moron. Trust us."
"Why should I trust you? As soon as you get that chip removed you'll
kill us all."
"Please give me a bit more credit than that."
"Angel, I will take you to his room." Willow finally said, tired of
the arguing that had been going on since Xander had been taken to the
hospital.
"Thank you Willow." Angel followed Willow to the room Xander was in.
Angel took one look at the pale form of Xander and knew that
if Buffy killed Drusilla, she would pretty much destroy her friend.
He walked up to the bed and took a closer look, and breathed in deep.
Underneath the sickly sweet scent of the hospital, he could still
smell the scent of Drusilla on him. He gently removed the bandage
that covered most of his neck and saw the damage that Drusilla had
done.
"She's claimed him."
"What does that mean?" Willow asked.
"It means that if Buffy kills Drusilla, she might as well kill Xander
as well."
"What?" Willow looked at Xander and then at Angel.
"Drusilla's claimed him, she hasn't turned him yet, but she will. And
even if she never does, Xander belongs to her. If she dies, he will
go mad with grief and die shortly after she does." Angel shook his
head and put the bandage back on Xander's neck.
"So if Buffy stakes Drusilla, then she effectively has killed
Xander." Willow's eyes hardened.
"Basically."
"It means we have to protect her too, doesn't it?"
"I wouldn't necessarily go that far."
Angel and Willow walked out of the hospital room and stood
facing the rest of them. Spike only nodded at the two of them,
knowing that Angel would recognize what Drusilla had done. Angel
frowned when he saw the new addition to the group, he realized that
it must be the Riley that Willow had told him about. He didn't want
the young man here, Willow had said that he knew about demons and
that he fought them, and Angel suspected that Riley was no doubt a
part of the military group that had forced him to rescue a German
submarine in World War II. He was not impressed that he was here,
especially after it had been this man's military group that had
implanted Spike with the chip that controlled him. There had been no
love lost between the two vampires, but Angel thought it was cruel to
force him to change his habits and behaviour by a chip that caused
him pain when he so much as thought about hurting a human. Angel had
to control the urge to growl at the man, he knew that alienating him
would not help his cause.
"I think we should all go back to Giles's house, we're not going to
help Xander here."
"Are we going to even help him, by staking the bitch that did this to
him?" Buffy glared at her former lover.
"Buffy, please let's just go to Giles and hear what Angel has to
say." Anya sighed tiredly.
"Oh like you really care!"
"Buffy, stop it right now. Anya cares about Xander, and it wasn't her
who dumped him. I have a feeling that Xander did it to protect her.
Let's go, now!" Willow grabbed her best friend's wrist and started
dragging her to the exit. Angel sighed and realized that it was going
to be a lot worse than he had planned. He wondered if D'Hoffryn had
ever visited Buffy and offered her what he had offered Anya,
especially since Buffy seemed so determined for vengeance. He
wondered when she had become so hard, and hoped that he had not
helped her to become so cold.

Part 9 – Angel's Office

Angel was sitting in his office and was feeling down, signing
paperwork and going over reports was not really his idea of saving
the world from the inside. He had lost his joy and his reason for
being when Cordelia had given birth to Jasmine and had not woken up.
He regretted how he had messed with the minds of his friends and
perhaps he regretted making Connor forget about him. Sure they were
never going to have a normal father and son relationship, Angel being
a vampire had always made that impossible, but maybe if he had tried
harder he could have saved both Cordelia and Connor without making a
pact with the devil. Not that he really had, no he had just made a
pact with Wolfram and Hart. But when he had, it was because he had
lost everything that mattered to him. Being the head of Wolfram and
Hart didn't help either; he couldn't even go out and beat up some
demons or vampires, just in case they were clients of Wolfram and
Harts. Gunn would never let him hear the end of it again, if he
killed yet another one of their clients. He wasn't surprised that
Fred had taken sick leave, as had Lorne and Wesley. He wanted to take
sick leave, but everyone knew vampires didn't get sick, so that was
out of the question. He was surprised that Gunn seemed to be about
the only part of the team that wasn't affected by the place, instead
he had seemed to take to Wolfram and Hart and the law like a duck to
water. Even Harmony seemed to be less perky and cheerful as of late.
Angel sighed and wished he could go back to the Hyperion and reopen
Angel Investigations but as long as Cordelia was hooked up to the
life support machines upstairs, there was no way he was leaving the
law firm, evil or not.
Angel's office door swung open and Gunn cleared his throat,
announcing his presence. Gunn looked at his boss and sighed, he
thought it was pretty bad that a brooding vampire got to be the head
of Wolfram and Hart just because he had a soul. Now if he were the
head of Wolfram and Hart things would run a lot smoother.
"What can I do for you Gunn?"
"Well wanted to see what you thought of the reports and the latest
news."
"What is the latest news?"
"Well first of all don't you find it suspicious that Lorne and Wesley
both take time off for sick leave a few weeks after Fred, and now
vigilante justice on the streets against demons and vampires has
increased."
"Not really."
"Well Security has advised me of Lorne's and Wesley's after work
activities, and they are making it bad for business."
"Look if Lorne and Wesley want to help the people of L.A. by getting
rid of some demons and vampires that are most likely harming society,
then so be it."
"Even if it means they are messing with our clients."
"I've told you before that a lot of our clients are evil."
"Yeah so, a lot of our clients have access to more resources than you
can begin to imagine, and threatening them like Lorne and Wesley have
been doing is not a good idea."
"Fine, Gunn, I will talk to the two of them when they return to work."
"I think it's a bit more pressing than that since they took `sick
leave' and who knows when they might be back."
"Well the last time I looked I was still the head of this company."
"Yes you are." Gunn grimaced.
"Was there something else you wanted?" Angel sighed at Gunn's
aggressiveness.
"I thought you might be interested in what security just reported to
me."
"What is it Gunn, I don't have all day."
"Well it seems like a certain rogue Slayer and a witch arrived in
town earlier today."
"So, they are probably here for a reason."
"Well I am not to sure what that reason would be, but I do know they
are at the Hyperion."
"Perhaps Fred wanted Willow's help with making Spike corporeal
again?"
"Perhaps, but do you think that it would include Lorne and Wesley
being there as well?"
"I don't know Gunn, but obviously you have a theory, mind sharing?"
"I don't have a theory per se, but Security did report to me that on
there was a flash of blinding white light on one of the upper levels
about 10 minutes ago."
"And perhaps it was Willow's attempt at making Spike physical again."
Angel spat out.
"I don't think so." Eve said as she sauntered into his office.
"Great can this day, get any worse?" Angel asked himself.
"Hello Eve, do you have some information on the situation?" Gunn
asked.
"Hello Gunn, and yes I do."
"Would you mind sharing and then getting out of my office?" Angel
asked.
"You know you get more flies with honey than with vinegar." Eve said
as she sat down on the corner of his desk.
"You're one fly that I don't want to catch, Eve." Angel said.
"The Senior Partners wanted me to tell you a bit of news."
"And what might that be?" Angel rolled his eyes at the childish games
Eve tended to play.
"Well apparently Willow's little spell wasn't to give Spike a body.
He already has one thanks to Fred."
"I knew that there was something more to her sick leave." Gunn said.
"Gunn, shut up. Eve finish and then leave."
"Anyhow, it was to give Darla a body."
"Now I wonder why they would want to give your Sire a body?" Gunn
asked.
"I don't know but I will go on over to the Hyperion and find out."
Angel was glad for the excuse to get out of the office.
"I would be careful if I were you Angel, seems to me the last time
someone tried to raise your Sire it was to cause you harm." Eve said.
"Gee, that would have been Wolfram and Hart." Angel looked at her.
"Well we're on the same team now, it means the Senior Partners are
looking out for you. They don't want their champion being killed by
his Sire."
"I will go with you Angel."
"No, Gunn, stay here and keep an eye on things."
"But…"
"Gunn, he's right. Don't you have that case to look over?" Eve asked
sweetly.
"Yeah I do."
"Fine, then I will go to the Hyperion and see what's happening."
Angel said as he left the office.
Eve and Gunn remained in his office watching as he made his
way to the elevators and then as soon as the doors closed behind him
they turned to face each other.
"So what's the real deal Eve?"
"What makes you think there's something more going on?"
"Let's just say I don't trust you."
"Oh, and you trust Lorne and Wesley?"
"Not really."
"Well I only have your best interests at heat, Gunn, I think you
should be the head of Wolfram and Hart, and not Angel."
"Why's that?"
"He's doing more damage to this company than anyone else has ever
done."
"Hmm… that must hit you real hard?"
"Yes it does."
"So I take it the Senior Partners didn't give you that information
after all."
"Why would you think that?"
"A lawyer's intuition."
"No they didn't."
"You going to explain?"
"Call it a woman's intuition but I think it's best I just wait to see
what side you're really playing Charles Gunn." Eve laughed as she
walked out of Angel's office.

Part Ten – Aftermath of a spell.

Angel ran up the stairs of the Hyperion Hotel, he assumed
that Fred was probably in the same room that she had used before the
move to Wolfram and Hart. He was worried since no one had been
responding to his calls. He saw the suitcases in the lobby that meant
that Faith and Willow were most likely in town, he also saw a bright
blue suit jacket on one of the couches in the lobby meaning that
Lorne was probably here. He ran up the stairs two at a time calling
out for Fred, Lorne, and Spike, his primary concern was Fred. She had
been there when Darla had staked her self to save Connor, and if
Darla was attacking anyone it would probably be Fred. He didn't know
why he would think that but it had just popped in his head as he
drove the Viper from the offices of Wolfram and Hart to the Hyperion.
He was worried because he knew that the silence could only mean one
thing, the spell had gone wrong. Finally he made it to the landing of
the floor that Fred had had her room on and his fears were heightened
when he saw Lorne in the hallway, he looked like he had been thrown
across the hallway by some force. It really didn't look good when
Angel noticed that one of his horns was hanging off his head. The
last time Angel had seen that was when Lorne had gone to find a way
for Angel to communicate with the Powers that Be when Cordelia had
been dying from her visions.
"Lorne!" Angel called out as he saw the demon move slightly.
"Angelcakes?" Lorne called out weakly turning to face Angel.
"What happened?" Angel finally reached him.
"I don't know, Willow was casting a spell, and then there was this
bang and a light."
"Why was she casting a spell?" Angel asked and turned to look into
the room.
"Because Fred was being attacked." Lorne started to stand up. "What
about the others."
The two looked into the room and at the mass of bodies. Angel
was confused to see a very physical Darla who had collapsed onto of
Faith. Willow had been thrown against the dresser where she had
grabbed the spell. Wesley had been thrown against Fred's night side
table where he had been going to pull her out of the demon's grasp.
Spike had been thrown against the wall and was slowly coming too.
"Bloody hell." Spike muttered and started to stand.
"Faith?" Willow called out as she slowly came to.
"Will?" Faith called out. Faith pushed off the body of Darla; her
main concern was making sure that Willow was okay. She started to
crawl to over where witch was. Willow met her halfway and they threw
their arms around one another. Fred slowly started to wake up, just
as Wesley was starting to stand.
"What is everyone doing in my room? And what happened?" Fred asked
before realizing that half of her clothes had been removed.
"I would like an answer as well." Angel said as he came in the room
and wrapped his coat around Fred. "And since when did you wear my
clothes, Spike?"
"Since I didn't have any."
"Oh, I brought some of your stuff with us." Willow said.
"I think maybe we had better go downstairs and discuss this. And
perhaps we might want to restrain her?" Wesley said and pointed
towards the limp body of Darla.
"That might be a start." Angel said.
"Maybe I should put some clothes on." Fred suggested.
"And I think I might make myself a sea breeze." Lorne said. "Anyone,
else?"

to be continued!