Part 3

As the three entered the mansion Giles struggled to fight the anger raging within him.  This was one time that doing the right thing was not something that he wanted to do.  He would do it though.  He had to.

They entered the main room which was now dimly lit by the arriving sunrise.  And it was there that they found the still trembling figure hiding in the corner.  He looked up at them upon hearing them enter.  The sight of the obviously hate filled man holding the cross bow would normally have caused him to run or fight but instead he silently wished that one of the wooden arrows would pierce his heart and end all the pain that he felt inside.

Taking the blood that Oz was holding, Willow walked over to the vampire.  She hoped that he would willingly take it from her and that she wouldn't have to feed him.  The whole blood thing still kinda freaked her out.

"Angel?  We brought you something to eat," whispered Willow.  She saw the look of confusion on his face and knew that he didn't understand why she was doing this for him.

"Drink it, please Angel.  You need to get better and you need to eat to do that.  And we're going to help you.  I know it doesn't make any sense, but please just do it," Willow said as emotion began to overtake her.  This was the first hope they had all had of finding out what had happened between Buffy and Angel that night.  Willow wasn't about to let that one hope slip through their fingers.

"We need to get him upstairs to one of the bedrooms.  This room isn't sun proof anymore," stated Giles, collecting himself and knowing that he had to do this not just for himself but for the others.  The pain in Willow's voice was just too much to ignore and push aside because of his hurt and anger.

Together the three moved Angel upstairs into the most suitable bedroom.  Oz had taken on the job of feeding Angel the blood while Giles obligingly tended to the most serious wounds on his body.  The marks and scars that adorned the vampire were perplexing to Giles.  He couldn't help but wonder where he had received such vicious and current wounds as well as so many visible scars.  Not that he felt bad for him.  They gave him a sort of satisfaction that he reveled in.  Someone had been given the oppurtunity to make him suffer and since Giles was unable to do that himself he was glad that another hadn't been so unlucky.  He tried to push those thoughts aside, though.  When they finished feeding him and bandaging some of the wounds Giles gave him a powerful sedative. For him, it served 2 purpose.  It would help him rest and regain his strength and get them closer to getting some answers but it would also keep him from running off and hurting anyone although he surmised that in his condition Angel wouldn't be harming anyone...for now.

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Inside her favorite club Buffy attempted to play out her nightly routine of dancing, flirting, drugs, and picking out a handsome young man to occupy the rest of her night.  Her mind was elsewhere, though, on this evening.  She'd yet to shake the uneasiness that she'd woken with earlier that day.  It plagued her mind enough to keep her from enjoying environment and the hot sweaty flesh that surrounded her.  She tried her best to ignore it and go about her activities, but it just wasn't working.  Finally, Buffy decided to give up and return to her "home."  Maybe an actual good nights sleep was all she needed.  She pried herself away from several incredibly handsome boys emptily promising to return another night and exited the smoky, deafeningly loud club.

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Staring off into the darkness around the library table sat Giles, Willow and Oz.  It was almost 7:00am.  They'd returned from the mansion about 15 minutes before and none of them had yet to utter a word.  All 3 were lost in thought over the perplexing situation.  On the right sat Oz, his eyes steadily focused on his girlfriend.  Angel's return meant more to her than it ever could to him.  Sitting opposite of Oz was Giles, his face filled with an unusual amount of emotion.  His mind frantically ran through every scenario it could, but his mind kept coming back to a few related thoughts…why was Angel here, now, after all this time….where had he been…and where was Buffy?  The answers he only wished he knew.  And then there was Willow, seated at the end of the table, her feet planted on the front part of the seat, knees pulled up to her chest, and her arms wrapped tightly around. Yet of the 3 she appeared to be the most clear headed.  Her face played host to a resolute look that anyone who knew her would tell you that she knew exactly what to do.  Even though she appeared to be most in control of the 3, her face also showed that she was completely and utterly exhausted.  Realizing this, Giles was the first to finally break the silence.

"Perhaps we should all go home and get some sleep.  There's nothing more we can do at this moment and we certainly can't think with clear heads if we're all overly fatigued.  Besides, the sedative I gave Angel should have him under control until early evening.  So I think its best if get some rest," stated a beleagured Giles.

"Yeah, I guess you're right.  I am kinda tired," relented Willow although the last thing she wanted to do was leave and have to wait longer to find the answers about what was going on.

"Come on Will, we'll stop and get some breakfast and then I'll drop you off at home," offered Oz.

"Ok, food does sound good…Oh wait, what about Xander?  Someone has to tell him and Cordelia what's going on," said Willow slightly frightened at the prospect.

"With school being canceled I can't imagine that Xander will be awake for another few hours.  I'll leave a message on his answering machine to meet us here at 4pm and we can inform him of the situation and find the best way to deal with it," Giles said in his typical watcher/librarian manner of speech.

"Ok, we'll be back at 4 then.  Bye," replied Willow as she turned and left the library with Oz.

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Parked along the side of the road sat Oz's blue van.  Inside, Oz watched as Willow devoured several donuts.  With all that had gone on she hadn't realized how hungry she was.  After finishing her fourth donut she sighed and laid her head back against the seat and sat in silence.  Their current crisis left hear weary and confused.

"Will, you need to go in and get some sleep," Oz stated in a concerned voice.

"I know, I just don't want to be alone right now," replied Willow, the strain in her words completely obvious.  "Could you come in and stay with me?" she pleaded.

"What about your parents?" questioned Oz.

"They're out of town at a convention remember," answered Willow.

"Oh yeah, I forgot.  I guess they won't know then if I come in and stay," Oz said sarcastically.

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Willow entered her room after changing into her pajamas in the bathroom.  Oz said quietly on her bed.  She looked over at him and wondered what she had done to deserve such a wonderful boyfriend.  After putting here clothes down on her dresser she went and sat next to her boyfriend.  Exhaustion was taking over her system and all that she could think of was drifting off to sleep with Oz's arms holding here tightly.  She rested her head on his shoulder as she reached out and traced her fingers along the edge of the frame that held a picture of her, Buffy, Oz, Xander, and Cordelia taken last spring.  Oz wrapped his arms around her and slowly laid her down on the bed, softly letting her head hit the pillow as his did.  Within seconds the red headed girl was soundly sleeping soon followed by her cherished boyfriend.

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