See Part One

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Part Fourteen

A stunned silence followed Spike's astute summarization of the situation followed by the sound of two slaps as both Amy and Cordelia hit the back of his head.

"Idiot!"

"Moron!"

The shock however over-loaded Willow's already heavily burdened emotional system and she simply fainted dead away in Angel's arms, face as pale as the vampires. With one smooth movement, he was on his feet; the petite girl cradled in his arms and easing his way through the concerned teenagers as he carried her into the privacy of the library office.

Giles automatically started to follow them but found his arm caught as he was abruptly pulled to a halt by an unexpectedly strong hold. Turning, he found (and much to his astonishment) Xander holding him back.

"Xander," He asked the note in his voice slightly curiously.

"Leave her with Angel, Giles. He's the only one who can help her at the moment." He said with a remarkably mature look in his eyes.

"Besides, I really don't think that Wills is in any state to see anyone just at the moment, and after what the bleached wonder just blurted…" Xander glared at Spike for a brief moment before he continued. "I really think you should let her come to you and Giles..." He paused again, looking into the office. "She will come, you know."

Before the Watcher could reply, they both felt a rush of movement as Spike shot past them and immediately turned to watch him.

He grabbed hold of the woman who had just been declared to be Willow's mother and shook her slightly. "And where the hell do you think you're going love? We haven't finished with you yet, don't you want to speak to Red after all. I mean, you've come all the way from merry old England an' all that just to bloody well do that, haven't you?"

"What business is it of yours? You have no right being here, vampire!" Anastasia stepped away from him and into Oz only to step away from him as well as her eyes opened wide, "And a werewolf as well! What is going on here? I do not understand!"

"What did you expect, Anastasia?" Giles spun round to look at her, eyes blazing furiously as he removed his glasses. In his anger, he seemed to grow even taller and more… lordly, for a lack of a better word, "Ruddy fairies and leprechauns! Like I said, welcome to the Hellmouth. After all it was the reason why you decided to 'hide' our child in Sunnydale."

"But I did not expect her to be associated with such creatures nor would I expect to find you, a Watcher, in the company of such… such things." She replied. "What have you done, Rupert? Why have you gone against the traditions of the Council?"

"Do not even think to be the slightest bit judgemental, Anna. You neither have the right nor the knowledge of what goes on out here in the real world." He countered straight back at her, glancing for a moment in to the office. "And you of all people especially have no right, not after what you have subjected Willow to all this time."

"Everything I did was in her best interest, Rupert, I assure you. It always has been. I knew that she would remain anonymous to our way of life here." Anastasia stepped towards the irate Watcher, holding her hand out to him; only to have him turn his back on her as he fixed his attention on the office.

She sighed almost irritably. "Rupert, you know her life was in danger in England even before she was born. That's why we agreed that I would leave in the first place"

He spun round for a moment, eyes blazing furiously. "I never agreed to you leaving her in America and I sure as hell had no idea you were going to take her from me the way you did."

"Yes, I know and that is why I chose to mislead you. For an Englishman, you were always far too emotional where the child was concerned, even before she was born." She replied, almost un-naturally calmly. "The moment I arrived here, I knew immediately that she would remain ordinary, even unseen, and most definitely unaware of all we were involved in. That was why I chose the Rosenberg's. I knew there was no chance of her ever to coming to know about magic."

"You chose the Rosenberg's because you thought there was no chance that she would ever get to know magic!" Joyce repeated incredulously as she looked at the woman who had brought Willow into the world. "That was your only consideration for who was to be parents to your daughter! What kind of woman are you! Didn't you do any research into them at all?"

"They mourned the passing of their child. What more did I need to know." Anastasia responded looking at her strangely. "And who are you to question what I have done?"

"Someone who has more right than you do to claim Willow as daughter for all that you're her birth mother." Joyce shot back. "I've been filling in for you and Sheila Rosenberg when Willow hasn't been bringing herself up."

"And as she's been bringing herself up; and then me when it comes to it, for fourteen years that doesn't say much. Sorry Joyce, no offence." Xander ended quickly glancing towards older woman.

"None taken, Xander, I assure you." The Slayer's mother responded with a small smile as she touched his shoulder in reassurance.

"I do not understand what you mean. How can this be so? My senses have never been wrong about these things. Rupert…" The Hungarian woman appealed once more to the Watcher. "I do not understand why you are being so hostile."

"you stole my precious baby daughter from me!" Giles shouted with a sheer ferocity that had the two girls moving slightly away from him and closer to Oz. "YOU damn well TOLD ME SHE WAS DEAD!"

All three teenagers instinctively flinched as the Watcher threw his glasses across the room. He sent them a look of apology but continued venting his wrath. "And you don't understand why I'm being so hostile towards you. Well, ain't that just too bloody bad?"

Ripper was well and truly in the house, however so was the suddenly mature Alexander Harris once again.

"Giles," He stepped forward, once again catching hold of the Watcher's arm. "Giles, you have to calm down. This isn't doing any one any good."

"Yes, and especially before you make Willow faint again," Cordelia added, nodding her head to the now open door of the office.

While the others confronted the woman who had entered the library, Angel laid his precious redhead on the sofa. Closing the door, he moved back Willow, sitting on the sofa next to her, hip to hip. Brushing her hair out of her face, he laid his hand on her cheek willing her to wake up through their link, "Willow, ionúin, wake up."

Seconds later, her eyes sprang open and she looked up at him, an almost desperate look in her green gaze. "Angel, Spike didn't say what I think he said, did he?" She asked him desperately, "I dreamed all that just then."

"No, little one, you didn't." He took her hand, silently worried by just how cold it felt. "He may not have been subtle but I think he summed it up accurately. If this woman is your birth mother, it does appear that Giles could be your real father."

"Dear goddess, Giles could be my father!" Her eyes widened as she said it. "Oh dear goddess, Giles could be my father! Angel..?"

"Would it really be a bad thing, Will?" He helped her sit up, running a finger down her cheek. "Ever since he arrived in Sunnydale, you've always been like a father and his daughter. All this does, little one, is give you want you have always wanted, a real father who cares for you."

"But just like this. To come right out of left field like it has. First a mother, and now a father as well" She clutched his hands. "What am I going to do? How do I deal with this?"

"you stole my precious baby daughter from me! YOU damn well TOLD ME SHE WAS DEAD!"

"I think that concludes the case for the defence." Angel murmured wryly as Giles' statement echoed around the small room. "You've both been lied to by the sounds of it, and as Spike is most probably going to put it, bloody royally at that."

"Oh Goddess, he's going to kill her." At the tone in her voice, he moved aside allowing her to spring to her feet, steadying her with a hand at her waist as she lost balance slightly. "That's Ripper talking, Angel, not Giles. We have to do something."

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

She pulled the door open just in time to hear her best friend try and calm the irate Watcher down followed closely by Cordelia's statement.

"I'm alright Cordy." She smiled tremulously at the brunette as the vampire put his arm around her waist. "I promise, no more fainting."

"Good, you scared us." Cordelia shot round Giles and directly to her friend's side, hugging her, then took a step backwards to look at her before pulling her over to the table and pushing her down in to a chair. "Now stay there. You're far too pale still and cold as well. Angel, give her your jacket immediately."

"Ma'am, yes ma'am." He replied bringing a slight grin to Willow's cheeks as he reached out for his jacket and placed it around her shoulders, caressing the side of her neck with his thumb.

Their almost normal banter immediately brought the others swarming around them, except for Xander and Spike.

Putting aside their normal hostilities, the two had looked at each other in silent agreement and had moved closer to the two warring adults; the vampire however took the young man's place by the Watcher while the youth moved closer to the older redhead, catching hold of her arm as she moved towards the door once more.

"I wouldn't if I were you, Ms. Esterhazy." He said a note of assurance and warning in his tone. "I'm sure Willow will be ready to speak to you in a moment, and I really don't think she will want to have to go looking for you first."

"I am her mother, young man, I am sure I will be in no danger."

"No, ma'am, you just gave birth to her and abandoned her. Yes, abandoned her." He repeated after catching the look of denial in the green eyes so like yet unlike his best friend's. "We really don't appreciate people who pick us up, drop us and abandon their duties, Ms Esterhazy, and you will not be the last to discover this."

He turned round to find everyone in the library staring at him as if they had never seen him before and his head shot back in puzzlement. "What?"

"Who are you and just what have you done with the real Xander Harris?" Amy murmured, a sly grin playing over her face. "And I hope you threw away the key."

Her last comment help to break the tension as Xander actually spluttered in indignation - Especially as Willow also murmured. "Well it's official. Not only is Amy trying to steal his crown, she's most definitely been hanging round with Spike far too much."

"Willow!" Amy protested immediately. "That's so not true and you know it, on either accusation."

"Isn't it?" Willow looked up at her fellow witch, a slightly knowing look in her eyes before it faded back to the slightly wounded look she had worn on first standing in the office door. "Amy, I need to know, is there a spell we can use to find out if they really are…" She broke off, lowering her lashes over her eyes and leaning back against Angel.

"I don't know, Will. There may be but it's not something I've come across." She chanced a quick glance to where the Watcher seemed to be fixed in stone watching them. "You could ask…"

"Or there's something Peaches or I could do, pet." Spike moved across to join them, showing that he had been listening to the conversation. He had also caught the look of disquiet that had crossed the redhead's face at Amy's suggestion. "You know, it being a blood thing an' all."

"Angel? What am I to do? What should I do?" The plaintive note in her voice immediately had him wrap his arms around her trembling frame. "Oh Goddess, I have to pull myself together."

"It will be all right, Willow." He ran his hand through her hair and then placed his fingers under her chin and raised her eyes to look into them. "Just remember that you have control. The decisions are for you to make and you alone."

"Willow." Only her name yet such a wealth of emotion did it contain.

The others looked at each other, and then parted like the waters at Jordan to allow the redhead a clear view of the Watcher; only Angel remaining close to her, arms still around her, "Yes?"

He took a step forward but then froze unsure as if he should move any closer. Before he could answer her quiet question, the woman at Xander's side spoke up.

"I have a spell to prove I am your mother."

"It's not you I want to know about." Willow snapped back with such scorn it had even Angel looking slightly aghast.

He released her but left his hand on her shoulder. "Will."

"No, Angel, I've just had an inspirational flash...," She shook his hand off and shrugging his jacket off, rose to her feet. Moving forward to stand in front of Anastasia, she continued. "… and worked something out."

"And she is back." Oz murmured as Xander rejoined them. "Now the fireworks will really begin."

"Fireworks I wish she didn't have to deal with." Her best friend murmured back. "Angel is she ready for this?"

"We'll just have to see." The vampire replied as he motioned to Spike to join him. The two vampires moved across to the Watcher, the elder resting his hand on the older man's shoulder. "This is for her, Giles. Your time will come."

All of them turned to the two redheads, mentally comparing them again.

Willow had moved even closer and was now standing nose to nose with the woman who called herself her mother. Her hair was moving slightly as a wind unseen seemed to float around her, an outward sign of her growing power.

"She actually expected to walk into Sunnydale, tell me I was adopted; that she was my real mother, and then expected me leave with her… willingly."

The wind became even stronger and began to blow around the room, and the younger members of the group drew together. Joyce quickly joined the three men, a look of deep concern crossing her face. "Giles, what's going on?"

"Angel, pull Willow away from her mother and take her to the opposite side of the room. Keep yourself between her and Anna at all times. Use the link and calm her down." Giles pulled himself together and the dark-haired vampire nodded.

The three watched as one second he was with them, the next on the opposite of the library with the redhead. He held her in his arms, face buried against his chest as he murmured in her ear. Her arms were around his back, fists clenched and they watched as the small hands uncurled to grip his sweater. Almost simultaneously the wind began to die down.

The Watcher himself moved back to the other redhead's side. "Give me the spell, Anna."

"And just why should I do this?" She replied, hand unconsciously going to a pocket of her coat.

"Because Willow is far too bloody intelligent to just accept word of mouth from someone she doesn't know." He snapped back, holding out his hand. "And you are, without doubt, most definitely not someone she knows."

For a moment she looked at him, deciding as to whether or not to comply but something in his eyes must have convinced her for she ungraciously handed over the scroll in her pocket. "Here, take the thing. I do not need it to know she is our daughter any way. For goodness sake, she looks just like me and she is acting as stubborn as you."

"Thank you for the compliment." He responded mockingly before turning to the other vampire. "Spike, have Amy look this over and see if we have what we need to perform it."

"All ready there!" Once again bypassing the need to be sarcastic, Spike took the scroll and rejoined the teenagers. It was quickly unrolled and after reading through it, Amy dragged Cordelia over to join Willow and Angel.

The vampire immediately positioned himself so that he was between the three girls, a hand on the small of Willow's back as the three girls discussed the spell. Through that slight touch and the link he could feel the tenseness leave the redhead to a certain degree but he could still tell that her normal serenity was out of balance which kept him self on edge.

It was also touched by a sense of amusement by just how Cordelia was doing her best to be a part of the extremely magical conversation that was taking place and actually doing quite a good job of it. He brought his full attention to them as she asked. "So, are we going to do it right now?"

Willow turned and looked at him, a strange look in her green eyes. He also caught the slight question, nodded and she turned back to her friend. "I want to know the truth."

Both Amy and Cordelia moved forward to hug her but typically it was the brunette that asked the pressing question that Angel had already asked.

"And if he is your father?"

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

"I will do the spell." Anastasia said imperiously half an hour later.

"No you will not." Willow shot back just a second before Giles responded. "Amy will do the spell. She's not related to any of us, so doesn't have any nefarious reason for seeing the results come out in any certain way."

"I really do not understand why you are all so against me." The elder redhead actually pouted. "I have not done…"

"I really wouldn't go there, Ms Esterhazy." Joyce said swiftly. "You've already caused one explosion with that particular statement." The other woman actually sniffed and had the Slayer's mother rolling her eyes. "Oh do grow up! You're behaving like a child."

"Anna, just go to the table, sit down and for once in your life, keep your mouth shut." He shot the Hungarian a look worthy of Ripper and for the first time since the revelation that he could possibly be her father, Willow touched his arm.

"Giles, losing your temper with her again isn't going to achieve anything. Let Amy cast the spell." She said quietly, returning to where she had been standing beside Angel but not before one of her shy smiles escaped her.

He nodded, took a deep breath and turned back to the other teenagers. "Oz, Cordelia, you can assist Amy. Similar to the way you helped Willow that time."

"One glamorous assistant coming up," Oz responded before actually smiling slyly at the brunette. "So who are you going to be, Cordy?"

She immediately hit his arm. "I am so going to get you for that wolf-boy. Just you wait."

"I'll be shaking in my boots in anticipation." The werewolf responded as they moved to join the second witch.

Shaking his head at their banter, the Watcher turned to the five remaining. "Xander, Joyce, I know this will be imposing on you but…"

"You want us to stay with her." Xander finished, "As you command, G-man. Joyce, let me escort you." He held out his arm to her, a charming smile playing around his lips.

"And Xander…"

"I know, I know." He grinned over his shoulder at him, "Anything else?"

"Don't let her interfere."

"That was a given, Giles." The young man promptly escorted his former friend's mother over to where the elder redhead sat.

The Watcher turned round to find Spike standing with his sire and the petite redhead. The blond vampire was murmuring something in her ear that had her giggling slightly and Angel shaking his head as he rolled his eyes before hitting him.

Shaking his own head, he looked towards the other witch of the Slayerettes, "Ready Amy?"

She took a deep breath, shared a speaking look with the other two teenagers and then nodded. "Let's give you and Willow some peace of mind."

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

Sorry for the long delay, RL got so very much in the way.

It may take a while before the next part goes up as well so I hope you all can forgive me but I promise I have not forgotten about this story. It will be finished.

I look forward to seeing what you have to say :0p