Disclaimer: I don't own.

Summary: This is after Buffy sent Angel to hell to close the hell dimension and then ran away. Willow had restored Angel's soul right before he was sent, and while doing so, due to her 'newness' in magic she didn't realize that the spell she used to keep his soul permanent required his soul being anchored and permantently joined to the soul of the castor...

A/N: This idea won't leave my head after reading so many Angel-Comes-Back-From-Hell stories. So, to get it out, I had to write it.

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She'd never allowed herself to forget that Angel was first and foremost a vampire, but it was now that she was pressed against the tiled floor, pinned down by his naked body, his face that of his demon, that she felt fear for the first time. Sure, she'd been terrified of him what she'd met him as Angelus, but this was different somehow.

Ever since Buffy ran away and Angelus disappeared, Willow had taken to going to the mansion. She didn't know what was going on or what had happened that fateful day all those months ago. All she knew was that Buffy had saved the world (because, they were still there), but they'd not heard from the blonde since she'd gone to confront Angelus.

Lonely, Willow had gone to the mansion, trying to figure out what had happened. She'd expected to maybe find some sort of clue as to what had happened that day—what she hadn't expected was to find Angel naked, crouched in the darkest corner, hissing like some animal. Nor had she expected him to attack her, jumping on her, snapping his fangs at her viciously.

And then, suddenly, the murderous expression in those golden eyes disappeared as they stared into her terrified green ones. They'd gone wide and he'd bent closer to her, sniffing her curiously, hesitantly, before whimpering and closing his eyes, burying his face in the crook of her neck.

Considering that he was a vampire, the fact that he'd chosen that place to bury his face was disconcerting, and terrifying to say the least. She tried desperately to wriggle away from him, but his warning growl against her neck stilled her instantly.

As if realizing that he'd won, Angel purred contentedly against her skin, his body relaxing upon her, as he began to nuzzle her neck quite resembling a cat rubbing against its master.

"A-angel?" Willow asked, suddenly realizing that if this had been Angelus she'd have been dead ages ago.

The vampire above her rewarded her by nipping at the skin of her neck with his blunt teeth, sending a sock of white, surprising desire coursing throughout her body.

The redhead was experiencing a severe case of speech-impairment as he continued to caress her throat with his blunt teeth and cold tongue. Angelus would have torn her neck out already—but Angel definitely wouldn't be---dear GOD that feels good! Her eyes grew wide as she remembered that he was quite naked above her.

Whimpering as he pulled away, the vampire collapsed on the floor in a weak state. He looked up at her, his face having returned to human form from its demonic fringes, but his eyes were still golden. His skin was covered in laceration scars, and Willow winced as she sat up, realizing what had happened.

He'd somehow gotten out of hell.

He was injured, and like a wounded animal he was on the defensive. And obviously, somehow he had his soul back.

Guilt ate at her. Angel had been in hell with a soul all of this time. It was her fault that he was suffering such mental trauma. As a full demon the torment wouldn't have been so bad, but with his soul---she cringed.

This is all my fault.

Standing, she was surprised when he hurriedly tried to do the same thing, only to have his legs collapse under him. Obviously he recognized her somewhat in this animalistic state of his, and like a dog that'd been lost he clung to her presence as the dog would its suddenly-found master.

"You haven't eaten since you got back, huh?" She asked, noticing his wounds once more. "You'd have healed by now if you had." The redhead looked into his golden eyes. "How long have you been back?"

Angel tilted his head to the side and looked at her curiously.

It was then that Willow realized he couldn't understand a word she'd said. A little lost as how to convey the message, she decided on fake-biting the air and then gave him what she hoped to be a questioning glance.

His eyes widened and he smiled, shifting back to his demon face and leaning towards her.

"No, no, I didn't ask you if you wanted to take a bite out of me!" She leaned back hesitantly, her fear stopping him from advancing on her any more, of which she was grateful.

The vampire sat down and frowned, looking at her in worried confusion, as if trying to figure out why him being in his demon form coming towards her would frighten her.

She smiled hesitantly. "I don't think you've eaten." Getting up rapidly she motioned for him to stay down when he once more tried to follow her up. "You," she pointed to him, "stay here." She then pointed to the ground. "I" She pointed to herself "Get food" she did the mock-biting again and pointed to outside, trying to convey her message.

His eyes held worry as he watched her beginning to walk backwards and away from him. A grunt of desperation escaped the moment she turned her back.

Willow froze, closing her eyes. She couldn't leave him, not when he was weak and desperate like this. But he needed food, anyone could see that. And even if any of his old blood bags were still in the mansion, he'd been gone for months—they'd be putrid by now.

That only left her with one alternative.

One alternative she didn't like at all.

Gulping, she turned back to him. "You need to eat and if you don't want me to leave you there's only one choice." Wordlessly she rolled up the arm of her sleeve, baring her wrist to him. "Don't drink too much." Even though she knew he couldn't understand her, Willow hoped he was getting the gist of everything.

Angel cocked his head to the right once again, a small, amused smile on his face as he reached for her trembling hand. His eyes never leaving hers, he morphed and bit into her wrist.

Hissing in pain, Willow broke eye-contact and turned her head, eyes closed tightly at the burning sensation. Her heart pounded furiously in fear that in his feral state Angel wouldn't let go before he'd drained her, God knew he'd obviously been starved; the painfully visible ribs were just one of many testimonies of the atrocities he'd lived through while in hell.

The moment she began to feel dizzy, Angel pulled out his fangs and lapped at the wounds and the seeping blood until it was clean. Willow tried to pull her hand out of his grip but he tightened his hold on her and growled menacingly deep in his throat at her, as if reprimanding her for something.

Curious, and more than a little dizzy from lack of blood, Willow allowed him to drag her to the sofa she'd cried on more than once while wondering what had become of Buffy and Angel, and laid down on it, pulling her down with her back against him. He squirmed until he was comfortable, and then positioned her against him firmly, before taking a deep whiff of her scent and apparently going right off to sleep, arms around her waist possessively.

Willow, dizzy and weak, nodded off quickly as well, wondering what the world was going on.

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Jolting up in the bed of the first motel he'd come across before sunrise, a bleached blonde gasped, face demonic from fear. He didn't know what it was he'd felt, didn't know what was so different about the last nightmare. Ever since he'd helped the bloody Slayer save the soddin' world he hadn't had a decent day's sleep. Guilt consumed him from inside because even though he knew that his Sire had gone bloody bonkers and they needed this earth to survive, his demon argued that he'd gone against his Sire, and that was something unforgivable.

Getting up from the bed with a string of curses, Spike went to the dingy bathroom and splashed water onto his face, looking up at the mirror and smirking when he saw water drops seemingly suspended in the air. Unlike most vampires, who missed their reflection and soon forgot how they looked, Spike found the ironies of his life entertaining, but even the ironies couldn't take his mind out of the feeling in his gut, the feeling that somehow he'd been given a second chance.

While he desperately wanted to grasp that opportunity with both hands and never let go, Spike hesitated. What if it'd been a dream created by his feelings of guilt? He'd helped send Angelus to hell, and for what? For Drusilla. For the vampiress who'd left him once again and didn't give a bloody shit about what happened to him.

Sunnyhell.

He winced. The dream had told him to go to Sunnydale of all places. And not only had it been explicit, but his dream had the face of the beautiful bint he'd wanted to sire while there. He should have sired her the moment they'd been alone, but no, he'd allowed himself to get distracted.

If he'd followed his vampiric instincts and not his human head he wouldn't be alone now. Dru would have left again—that was no doubt—but he'd have his delicious, redheaded childe with him to keep him company.

Somehow, he didn't think he'd be mourning Dru so very much if he'd had his redhead with him. Death would become her, he thought, imagining her with her demon face and groaning at his sudden hard on. This had been happening ever since he'd left Sunnydale with Dru, and it got worse with every day that passed.

It'd gotten to the point where he only hunted redheads…and in a world that preferred bottle-blondes, redheads were hard to find.

Bloody hard.

Taking a deep, unnecessary breath, Spike stood tall, mind decided. He'd go back to Sunnydale, lay low incase that bloody Slayer hadn't gotten hers yet, and if Angelus was still in hell, Spike would just take what his demon had claimed his from the moment he'd kidnapped in the redhead and her idiot of a friend.

Handsome smirk reappearing for the first time in a long time, Spike went back to the bed to wait for sunset. It'd take him a couple of weeks in his De Soto, but he didn't mind. It'd give him time to form a plan.

Trying to find in which pocket of his duster he'd left his fags and a lighter, Spike finally found them and lit a fag, bringing it to his lips and breathing in the smoke, blowing it out through his nostrils.

Hi-ho-hi-ho to Sunnyhell I go.

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In Portugal, Drusilla looked up in surprise at Miss Edith. The blindfolded doll had been keeping her informed on how her family was, and the moment Angel—her daddy-not-daddy—had arrived she'd wanted to go to him right away, but Miss Edith had ordered her to stay put. The vampiress had been quite disgruntled but obeyed, and listened avidly, quite glad when a week later, today, Miss Edith informed her that the Little Tree had found her daddy-not-daddy and was taking care of him.

She'd wanted to tear the Little Tree apart when she'd felt her give her daddy back his soul, but Miss Edith had told her off quite horribly, and the chastised vampiress had been forced to sit down and listen to the doll inform her that it had to be this way—that the Little Tree had unknowingly joined her soul with her daddy-not-daddy's, and that while that now made it impossible for him to ever become her daddy fully again, he'd never be the vampire he'd been while souled, and their link was what would help Angel escape hell.

Now he'd escaped, and his feral, primitive self, recognized the other half of his soul, and was good now. Sure, she could sense his fear, his anger, his pain and his confusion, but Dru could sense his calmness now that the Little Tree had found him. He'd been fed too.

"Smart Little Tree." Dru nodded in approval, realizing that the redhead must have given him blood. She wondered if she'd given him any blood or her own. If it'd been her own… "That would seal the bond forever, wouldn't it?"

Miss Edith decided not to answer what was so obvious.

Suddenly realizing something, Dru's eyes widened and she squealed, clapping her hands excitedly. "That means I have a mommy again, doesn't it?" When the doll confirmed the statement, the vampiress squealed once more, jumping to her feet. "I have to go back immediately!"

Her smile vanished into a deep frown at the doll. "What do you mean I can't go now? My daddy's back and I have a mommy!" She paused, going closer to hear the whispery voice better. "Spike is going there?" Her growl was feral, her face demonic. "I must stop him! He will hurt daddy again!"

Once again she was stopped but a harsh retort from Miss Edith.

The vampiress pouted, human face slipping back on. "But he hurt daddy! He helped the icky Slayer send my daddy to hell!" Her pout grew larger. "But—but!"

Sighing in disappointment, she threw herself on the bed. "You sure he won't hurt daddy? That Spike and Daddy and the Little Tree should be alone together for a while?" Her eyes glistened in unshed tears. "But I want to go too! They're my family! I want to get to know my mommy!" She wiped at her bloody tears. "My last one didn't like me. Called me stupid."

She wiped at more falling tears, looking hopefully at the doll. "You think this mommy will like me better?" At the doll's words, her smile grew bright and she stopped smiling. "Really?" She pulled Miss Edith in her arms into a great big hug and closed her eyes.

She'd leave them alone for now, and let them do whatever it was that Miss Edith believed had to be done. Then, when she was told that all was well, she'd return to Sunnydale and meet her mommy formally.

Oh, the games we'll play. I wonder if she'll still be a squishy human when I get there.

With those thoughts in her mind, the vampiress fell asleep.

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Cordelia Chase was worried.

Sure, she'd never been Willow's best friend, and she'd laughed at her more than once, but since they'd begun working together in the Scooby Gang she'd grown to respect the girl, and she was worried.

Looking up at the mansion on Crawford Street, she hesitated at the door. She'd taken to following Willow, trying to figure out where the girl was going once she left school, and she'd discovered that Willow returned to Angel's home to cry. It was pathetic and juvenile, but it was completely Willow, and Cordelia bit on her bottom lip, trying to decide whether to go in or leave before it got too dark.

Ever since the undead population of Sunnydale realized that the Slayer had left they'd been more active than before, and it wasn't safe to even peek your nose out of your window at night anymore. It'd gotten to the point where even civilians were starting to notice.

Xander should be the one doing this. She told herself, but he wasn't, he was too busy crying over missing Buffy to remember his other best friend, so here Cordelia was being forced to do his job. Fashion-less idiot, she grumbled as she opened the door to the mansion and entered.

"Willow?" She called out, hearing something crashing upstairs. "Willow, it's me, Cordelia. I know you're here, and I---!" She screamed as a flash of something hurried down at the stairs, colliding into her and throwing her against the wall with a sickening thud.

It took a second for her vision to clear up, and when she did, she screamed when she saw a vampire baring his fangs at her, readying to kill her right there and then.

"ANGEL!" A voice screamed from upstairs. "NO! IT'S CORDELIA! LET GO OF HER!"

The vampire (could it really be Angel?) paused and turned his head to look at Willow, who was hurrying down the stairs at them, eyes wide in fear. She paused a couple of steps away from them, holding her hand out cautiously. "Angel, don't you recognize her? That's Queen C."

Cordelia decided to let that one pass considering that the redhead was trying to save her life.

Angel, now back in his human face, turned to look back at Cordelia murderously, his still golden eyes telling her without words that if it wasn't for Willow he'd still kill her.

Cordelia gulped.

"Come back here Angel." Willow called, motioning him back.

Angel growled at Cordelia, face morphing in seconds as he leaned forwards in the blink of an eye and snapped his fangs so close to her face that he nearly took her nose off. As if satisfied that his threat was being taken seriously, he returned to his human face and he pushed off of her, returning to Willow, touching her face tenderly with a deep, tender growl before going to stand behind her, keeping his distrustful gaze on Cordelia.

Cordelia waited until her heart had lowered from her throat back to her chest before speaking. "Willow? How is Angel back?" Her eyes widened, suddenly realizing something. "And why is he naked?"

The redhead smiled nervously. "Don't ask me. I used to come here sometimes to, I don't know, and I came today and found him. He gave me a very similar greeting as he did you---though he seemed to remember me somehow before killing me."

Cordelia nodded slowly, keeping worried eyes on the demon behind Willow. "Why is he like this? Soulboy would never have--." She paled. "He does have his soul—right?"

Willow nodded quickly. "Yeah, he does. I think he's suffering from trauma. Being in hell--."

"Yeah, I get it, not exactly a five-star resort." Cordelia cut her off with a wave of her hand. She surveyed his beaten, skinny body. "He needs blood."

"I know, but he won't let me leave." Willow replied nervously. "I—I gave him some of mine--."

"What?" Cordelia cried out in horror. "Willow, you're smarter than that! How could you--?"

"He didn't hurt me." Willow whispered, lowering her head.

"You couldn't have been sure that he wouldn't hurt you, could you?" Cordelia ranted, heart racing at the thought of the girl she'd come to think of secretly as a friend dying all alone like that. "Okay, that settles it."

"Settles what?" Willow asked, looking up quickly.

Angel growled, as if sensing her distress.

Cordelia noticed the hand Angel hand on Willow's shoulder tightening slightly, as if he were telling her that she was safe there. "He needs blood, and you need your blood. So that leaves me." She replied, reaching for the door handle behind her. "I'll go pay Willie a visit, get some blood, and bring it here. I should get all of that done and be safely here before nightfall."

Turning, she opened the door.

"Cordelia?"

Turning back around at that, she nodded. "Yeah?"

"Why are you doing this?" Willow asked in a soft voice. "You hate me. So why are you helping?"

Cordelia smirked at the girl's innocence. "Oh please Willow, you might have the worst fashion sense that I've ever seen, but I don't hate you." She paused, wondering whether she should continued. Oh, what the heck. "And as crazy as it may sound, I've gotten to thinking of you as a friend."

Willow's eyes widened. "Really?"

Cordelia rolled her eyes. "Don't be bringing out the friendship bracelets just yet though." With that she chuckled and left the mansion, hurrying to her car.

For the first time since Buffy had run like a coward things were looking up for Sunnydale.

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After finishing his fourth bag of blood, Angel threw the empty bag on the ground and crouched on all fours despite the human male garments both females had insisted he change into. He could smell himself all over the garments, so he assumed that they must have been his from before the fiery torment. While he preferred not to wear the restricting garments, he realized for some reason him being clothed calmed his human somewhat, so he'd put them on for her.

He'd never taken his eyes off of the redhead. She smelled like heaven and life, things he hadn't known for a long time. Her hair was red like the fires he'd had to suffer through for a hundred years, but she was so unlike his captors. She was his savior, it was thanks to their link, their shared souls, that he'd been pulled out of hell because she needed him.

The vampire didn't remember much of his life before the torments in the eternal fires. But he did remember the redhead, how she'd always been nice to him. He remembered a blonde, a blonde whom he'd trusted and had in turn sent him to the place he'd been tortured in for so long. And he vaguely remembered this brunette. She was perfectly harmless, but he remembered not quite liking her.

But his human obviously didn't want him feeding from this brunette, so he would have to keep his fangs to himself.

They were both females of their species, he could smell that on them. The brunette smelt of many different things, mostly flowers. The scent was overwhelming, and he made up his nose, snorting. Her scent was quite unnatural. But his human smelt natural. He could pick up a dash of lavender, but mostly it was the scent of her skin that he smelt.

He growled deep in his throat seductively at the faint smell of blood that she secreted. It would soon be her time, and he smirked, anxious to bury his face between her legs and taste her blood once more. While all blood was delicious, that blood was rich in nutrients for vampires and tasted unlike anything. And he knew that his human's blood would be delicious.

The two female humans stopped speaking in their odd language, turning to look at him uneasily at his growl.

He smirked at his human, enjoying seeing her blood color her face, reminding him of what he'd be enjoying in a couple of weeks.

Now that he was back he wasn't going to be separated from his human.

What he couldn't understand was why he hadn't claimed her yet. He didn't remember much of life before hell, but he knew that she'd been in it. He must have realized that she belonged to him and should have marked her, but he hadn't, and that bothered him, especially since he couldn't remember why he hadn't done what was his by right so long ago.

Feeling a hand on his arm, he looked up at his nervous human. She was speaking to him again, and he tilted his head to the side to observe the cute creature. He'd have to learn the primitive human language again if he was to understand the strange, unfamiliar words that escaped her red lips.

His human turned to the other female and laughed at something she'd said. Obviously they were friends, and Angel resigned himself to the fact that she wouldn't forgive him if he made the girl a snack.

Dammit.

And he was getting hungry again.

His human turned her back on him and nodded to whatever the other female said, walking with her towards the door.

Angel growled. She didn't think she was going to leave him, did she? He overtook them and put his back against the door, snarling at her, baring his fangs, reprimanding her for her actions. She was his, and until he said she could go she wouldn't be leaving his side.

It would seem that he would have some training in the future for his human.

She was speaking again, unease in her voice as she pointed to the other female and the door. She then pointed to herself and then to the floor, talking in her language the whole while.

He smirked in pride. Despite her primitive race, his human was smart.

As he walked away from the door, eager to see the other one gone and be alone with his redhead, the dark haired female said something that made his human blush and shake her head vehemently. The dark haired female laughed and shook her finger at his redhead before waving it to him, saying something in her language, and going through the door.

Angel turned to his human, who was looking at him nervously. She smiled shakily and spoke, motioning him to follow her.

Taking a second to admire her from behind, he smirked and caught up to her, putting his arm around her waist, causing her to make a little 'eep' sound.

He smirked.

It was good to be back.

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Okay then, that was finally out of my mind! Oh well, how about a review for little old me?