Part 20

The next song happened to be somewhat slower. Really slow, actually. Almost automatically, she felt a slight shiver run through her body as she gazed up into his dark eyes.

"Angel, you can let me up now," she giggled, still stuck in their partial
embrace and leaning backwards at an odd angle.

"Oops, sorry," he grinned back at her and gently righted them both.

Shooting him her classic awkward Willow-smile, she tucked her hair behind her ear and eased backwards to head over to her table. Much to her surprise, he snagged ahold of her hand and pulled her back.

"Where are you going?" he asked, honestly confused.

"Oh…I didn't think that….well, back to my table…be-because….," she stammered incoherently as he slid his arm around her waist comfortable and took ahold of her hand.

His eyes sparkled slightly and she placed her other hand on his shoulder. It was weird to slow-dance with someone. A lot weirder than fast-dancing. Things weren't as frantic and
fly-away. They were a lot more sedate. Which gave one more time to…think. Besides, her palms were getting sweaty.

"Where'd your cut go?" he asked, gently brushing his fingertips just under her eye where
the injury from the arrow would have been.

"Oh, it's..gone. Amy healed it for me."

Angel raised his eyebrows, "Getting stronger then, isn't she?"

Willow simply nodded nervously in response.

"I've actually been meaning to talk to you," he hissed softly into her ear as they began to sway comfortably together to the music.

"About?"

"Well, about my behavior these past few weeks."

"YOUR behavior?" she asked, a hint of incredulity entering her voice.

"I'm sorry for…shutting you out. It was pretty wrong of me. I didn't mean to, well, make you feel like I'd abandoned you as a friend. If I did, I'm sorry."

She shook her head in disbelief, "Angel, you have nothing to apologize about, believe me. I mean, I was the one who basically slammed the door in your face." She glanced up at him, "I felt so guilty about that. I really shouldn't have..acted the way I did. I'm sorry for doing that to you. Good friends don't do that to each other and if anyone should be guilty of abandoning someone, well, it's me."

His eyes met hers and there was a moment of silence before he laughed softly, "We're both so good at this, aren't we?"

Nodding, Willow smiled thoughtfully, "Yeah. We do have a tendency to beat ourselves up over a lot of things."

Spinning around gently, they moved farther back on the dance floor. She's wearing lilac perfume. he realized. It smelled nice.

"How's Buffy?"

A shadow crossed over his features at the change of subject, "She's…well."

"What's going on with the two of you?"

"I don't know."

"Angel..," she began, a warning tone in her voice. He wasn't going to get away from the question that easily.

"Alright, alright," if he was going to share this with anyone, as is it was probably going to be Willow, "Truthfully, I'm not sure what she's thinking anymore. Sometimes she acts as if she wants to reconcile, and other times she acts as though she doesn't. Like after I returned to my apartment last night, she was really..upset."

"What happened?" the hacker prodded gently.

"Well, first she was really quiet…and then there was a whole lot of yelling and then
it got a little violent."

"Violent?"

"She, um, broke one of my paperweights. Then she accused me of not caring about her anymore, and I didn't know what to say and then she just walked out. I ran after her
and brought her back to my apartment and we talked for the rest of the night. We both cooled down and apologized to each other but…"

"But?"

"But then she got that cold look in her eyes again. It's like one instant she wants to forgive and she wants to get back together and the next there's this indefinable guilt that she carries around."

"Because of Ms. Calendar," Willow said softly.

Angel nodded his head, " I..ahh..I think that has a lot to do with it," his voice caught for a second.

It was so subtle that most people wouldn't have picked up on it, but she heard it almost instantly. Squeezing his arm in a show of moral support she gave him a comforting smile.

"I mean, being the slayer is hard enough as is without having this as added baggage."

"Do you think she still loves you?"

"I-I used to. I think a part of her still does and that part forces her to try to work things out. But I don't know if we can ever get past everything that's happened. I mean, I don't want to feel that she's forcing herself to reconcile just for me."

"I remember the look on her face when Ms. Calendar died," Willow began quietly, "She just sat there on the floor without saying so much as one word. I cried over it for a few days afterwards, but I never once remember Buffy shedding so much as a tear. I mean, she couldn't. She was the slayer. It was her responsibility to save everyone else. She needed to be strong for the rest of the world." It was a painful subject, but one which needed to be discussed, "I think that in the process, she never really dealt with it. She just kinda pushed it to the back of her head. I know she felt responsible for it though. I mean, loves all of us, but Giles holds a special place in her life. He was so…hurt when Ms. Calendar died. Buffy never quite got over that. She hated herself for not having the power to destroy the demon when she had the chance."

Angel looked away, "She'll never have any idea how sorry I am about that."

"I tried to explain to her that she wasn't responsible..that NO ONE was responsible
for what happened," forcefully, Willow put her hand on his face and drew his eyes to her own, "I will never forgive the demon for what it did. I hate it for killing Ms. Calendar, and I hate it for making Xander so distant. I hate it for destroying a part of Giles and I hate it for hurting me."

He stared at her in shock. Gently, he started to pull out of their embrace but she grabbed his arm.

"And most of all, I hate the demon for what it did to you. For how it controlled your body, manipulated your mind and hurt you both physically and emotionally."

"Willow, I am the demon, it's a part of me that can't be sep-,"

"No you're not," she replied, "You can say it all you want but you're not. I know that much."

He just sighed, "Buffy doesn't seem to think so."

"Do you still love her?"

The question startled him. "W-what?"

"Do you still love Buffy?"

"I-I…yes. Of course I do."

Willow smiled almost sadly. It was now or never. In her heart, she knew she had to make a decision…

"You..," she lowered her gaze I can't. , "you need to make sure she knows," she glanced back up, "If you love her…you need to tell her."

There was a pause and he concentrated on her face almost as if trying to gauge her emotions.

She held his gaze unwaveringly.

Bending closer, he gently touched the side of her face, "Willow, I-,"

"Mind if I cut in?"

Craning her neck, Willow saw the very subject of their conversation standing behind her.

"Buffy!" forcing a cheerful smile, she pulled away from Angel, "Sure, of course you can."

"Thanks," the slayer grinned back.

Willow stepped aside, giving room for the other girl to take her place. Buffy was wearing one of her classic outfits. A black miniskirt with a pale lavendar halter top. Her blond hair was curled for the evening and fell around her face in careless wisps. Her standard black boots completed the outfit, making her look edgy and somewhat dangerous. Which she was.

Pure Buffy Willow thought as she watched the slayer melt easily into Angel's arms.
The hacker looked almost frumpy in comparison. Throwing them both a half-hearted wave, she glued her gaze to the floor and made her way to the exit.

The table Amy and Cordelia had been sitting at was now empty. Cordy was dancing with Xander and Amy was sitting near the bar, carrying on a very animated discussion with two boys Willow recognized as members of the crew team.

Suddenly she felt very very tired. Drained.

Suddenly unable to deal with anyone anymore, she shrugged and grabbed her purse from the deserted booth. Turning, she brushed a few tears out of her eyes and left the Bronze alone.

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

Noting the distracted look on her partner's face, Buffy turned her head and followed his gaze, "Angel, what's wrong? What's going on?"

Looking past her, he watched the red-head gather her things, "This…this is not going to be easy to explain."

"What do you mean?"

"I..I don't know… how to," he turned back to give her his full attention, "Buffy, we need to talk."

"About?"

He sighed, "Everything."

The slayer finished watching Willow leave before staring back up at him seriously, "I think you're right."

They gazed at each other in silence before they realized that the song was no longer playing.

"Look at that. The music's ended," her face broke into a wistful smile.

"Yes," he replied softly, "yes it has."

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

"Amy, where's Willow?"

"Dancing with Angel, where else?"

"Uhh..unless she dyed her hair blonde and took up wearing high-heeled boots then I'd have to vote no on that one."

The other girl glanced up. Sure enough, Willow was gone and Buffy had taken her place,
"W-what?" she shook her head in confusion, "but she was just here a second ago."

"Well she's not here now."

"Bathroom?"

"Maybe."

"We should check."

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

Part 21

Instead of going home, she decided to make a pit stop at the library. Even through her exhaustion, Willow knew that if she was
going to give him his present before his birthday, she'd probably have to do it now.

Although the walk from the Bronze to the school was almost 15 minutes, it'd been relatively uneventful.

Fumbling in her purse for the keys Giles had given her which led into the back entrance of the library, Willow finally found them and unlocked the door. She'd squirreled away all of the things she'd need for the spell and hid them in the less-used stacks at the back of the large room. It was odd to be there alone at night.

Flicking on a few lights, she relaxed a bit.

The circumstances were still a little too close to those which took place almost a month ago when she'd originally restored Angel's soul. Looking around the empty room and glancing out the door at the darkened hallway still gave her chills, but she knew she had to concentrate on the task at hand.

If this worked, it would be well worth it.

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

"So what exactly are you saying?"

"Answer the question, Buffy."

"No, I want to understand what you mean!"

"Buffy, I asked you if you still loved me. I think I deserve an answer."

They were standing in the alleyway just outside the Bronze and she was NOT happy.

"How can you ask me a question like that? D-don't you already know the answer?"

"I thought I did," he replied quietly.

In frustration she slammed her palm against the side of the buliding, "What the hell is that supposed to mean? Are you implying that I've been….,: her voice trailed off, "Look, if ANYONE has been ignoring our relationship, it's you. You stalk off late at night, you don't like to talk to me, unless of course we're arguing and every time I try to touch you, you pull away."

This wasn't how it was supposed to be. He'd had every intention of taking her back to his apartment where they could have a quiet discussion about things, but somehow it had turned into a yelling match, "Buffy, please, calm down. We need to talk ab-,"

"We ARE talking about this, goddammit. At least I am. What's wrong with you? Why won't you let me in?"

"I-I try…it's just that..sometimes it gets so hard…"

She let out a short, angry, laugh, "Don't talk to me about hard. You weren't the one who watched her friends get hunted, her teacher get killed and her Watcher almost get burned to de-," stopping abruptly, she stared at him.

The look of pain in his eyes was almost unbearable.

Almost instantly, her tone became apologetic, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say that. I-I know that wasn't your fault Angel."

He just shook is head, "This is exactly what I'm talking about."

She dropped her gaze, "No it's not. This isn't about that."

"What are you talking about?"

"You now what I'm talking about."

He grew angry again, "No, Buffy I don't."

"It's Willow, isn't it?"

"What do y-,"

"Angel, please," she begged him softly, "don't do this. Just tell me the truth, No more games, no more accusations and no more fighting," she cupped his face in her hands, "Do you love her?"

Every fiber in his being screamed to say no. It nearly killed him to see her so confused and so hurt. For all her strength she was still so fragile. The question was raw and brutal and he knew she wanted honesty but he'd give anything never to hurt her again.

Unfortunately, they knew eachother too well. The look in his eyes betrayed his thoughts.

She broke down crying.

Holding her tightly he kissed her forehead and closed his eyes.

Her shoulders shook from the jagged sobs as she alternately clung to his shirt and beat his chest with her fists. Holding her closer, he gently rocked them both back and forth.

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

"Echenna arel oo-rta," Willow paused to squint at the old, faded writing,
"Innae, wiah furdoon…fica-….fica-….fica-whozywhatsit?" In exasperation she
stopped and picked the book up, "Geez, these people should write these things clearer.

Glancing up, she noticed that the pendant sitting before her had stopped glowing.

"Oh no. Don't do that…" sighing she picked it up and tapped on it tentatively, almost as if it were a flashlight low on batteries, "Glow darn it, glow."

The orb thing was so much easier. The whole spell was on a computer printout… life was simpler back then… Biting her lip in frustration, she reached over the table for a piece of scrap paper and a pen, "Well, I might as well transcribe this phonetically so I can read it."

Dropping the pendant back into its bowl, she started scribbling furiously on the paper while leaning over the book. She was almost half-way through before her watch started beeping. Five minutes past the hour..time to stir the solution. She grabbed the bowl with the pendant and swirled it around in the clear colored liquid. Kinda like baking! she thought happily as she stirred away. That's when the liquid turned a strange gold color and started bubbling.

Okay, maybe not.

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

"She's not here."

"What do you mean she isn't here?" Xander broke in, somewhat panicked.

"She's missing."

"We need to find her. Did you call her house?"

"Yup, twice. There's no answer. Actually, you can go try that again and I'll find Buffy and Angel."

"Wait-there's Buffy."

Running through the crowd to catch the Slayer before she left, Cordelia intercepted the other girl.

"Buffy, we need your he-," the words choked off as soon as she saw the blonde girl's face.

Her hair was somewhat mussed and her clothing was wrinkled. Buffy's eyes were red and swollen and her mascara was streaked down her face.

"Ohmigosh, what happened?"

"It's nothing. What do you want Cordelia?" mildly embarrassed, she sniffled slightly and pulled herself up straighter while wiping some of the makeup off her face.

"Willow's missing."

The slayer's eyes opened wider, "What?"

"She left alone, we think. She must've gone about an hour ago and there's no answer
at her house. Xander's calling there again and Amy went over to check on her."

"We need to find her," shivering internally, Buffy sensed that something was very very wrong with this situation.

"What's going on?" Cordelia asked, somewhat surprised by the intensity of the slayer's words.

"This isn't good. Not good at all. We need to find her before…well….we just need to find her now."

Cordelia nodded silently as Buffy pushed past her and started for the exit, "Call Giles. Tell him to meet us at the library."

"Sure thing…But where's Angel?" the dark-haired girl called after her.

Buffy didn't respond.

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

He stood outside her darkened house with his hands in his pockets. His heart still stung from what had just transpired with Buffy, but he knew deep down, that it was the right thing to do.

She deserved an honest answer and he needed to straighten things out between them once and for all.

Letting her go was probably one of the hardest things he'd ever done in his life.

Shaking his head he leaned against the street lamp. I'll just wait for her here.

All of a sudden, a figure appeared on the porch. As in, literally appeared.

In a glittering mass of sparkles and fire Amy Madison materialized. From the frantic look on the girl's face, Angel could tell that something was wrong.

"C'mon…open the door…open the door," the blonde teenager pushed the bell repeatedly while hopping around on the welcome mat. The bell's shrill sound could be d echoing throughout the empty house, "Damn," she muttered under her breath.

"Amy? What's going on?"

She spun around "Oh, Angel. Umm..have you seen Willow?"

His features darkened, " Not since I saw her in the Bronze. Why?"

"She's missing."

"What?"

Amy looked near tears, "She's missing and we can't find her."

"Calm down, it's okay," he replied soothing. Outwardly calm, he could feel the panic bubbling up within his chest, "We'll find her."

"You don't understand…"

"Then help me to."

"I-I've been having these..well, these nightmares lately."

His eyes narrowed slightly, "Nightmares?"

"Nightmares…visions…whatever. They've been getting more…vivid not to mention violent and, well, have you ever had deja vu?"

He nodded numbly.

"Ever since she left…I've been getting this odd feeling…almost as if I've been here before or witnessed this happen. It took a long time for me to figure out…but now I think I know what's going on."

"What?"

"Something terrible is going to happen tonight and with Willow missing...it might already be too late to stop it. "

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

Part 22

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This part is rated PG-13 for violent content. Feedback is always appreciated.

Firmly locking the library doors behind her, Willow smiled as she replaced the keys in her purse. If the tiny explosion which had almost singed the bottom of her hair had been any indication, the spell had proven successful. With a little luck, by tomorrow morning
Angel would be enjoying his birthday present. Checking her watch, Willow gasped softly at the time, "Past 4am? Geez, I'd better get back home. Amy must be flipping out."

Although it was usually too dangerous to walk around this late at night, things had been pretty tame on terms of vampiric activity lately. She felt that she could risk the five minute walk home.

Taking out her stake, just in case, she headed down the street and turned the corner, just missing the car that pulled into the school parking lot behind her.

Oblivious to her surroundings, she whistled happily while contemplating the look on Angel's face when he got his gift. She was positive he'd love it.

Less than two blocks away from her house, she heard a noise. Almost like a shuffling sound. Turning her head to glance behind her, something cold, hard, and metallic came in contact with the back of her neck.

Almost instantly, she fell forward, the pain lancing down her spine.

Roughly, several pairs of hands hoisted her upwards and then flung her body into a nearby alley. Tripping, she fell into the cold, wet pavement, scraping her knee against the cement ground.

Bleary eyed she looked up and saw five…no, make that six young male vampires standing around her.

"This the wench Spike told us to get?"

"Yup, see the red 'air?" one of them chuckled as he grabbed a fistfull of her locks and yanked her head upwards painfully.

"She's a skinny li'le thing, ain't she?" One of the younger ones remarked.

"Yeah, what's Spike want with 'er?" piped up another.

"She's one of the slayer's chums. She's also close with our dearly departed Angelus, so it seems."

Becoming fully conscious of her situation, Willow began struggling with the vampire who was holding her hair. She was rewarded with a quick kick to the chest which broke a few of her ribs. The pain was immense. It exploded almost instantly and melted throughout her entire upper body. Coughing up blood, she rolled over, trying to get away again. This time her captor
just laughed and slammed her head into the pavement before releasing his hold on her hair.

"Feisty whore ain't she?"

"Too bad we have to kill 'er."

"I know. It is a bloody pity. She's kinda cute."

"She'd make a good consort, don't ya think?"

"No mate, you remember what Spike said, we have to kill this one. No messing around."

"Well, I was just saying…"

Willow moaned helplessly and tried to crawl up.

"C'mon, c'mon, let's get this done with. I think we're losing our audience," the first one smiled wickedly, "We'll 'ave to teach our guest about having better manners."

She had just managed to flip herself onto her back when she got a good look at the figures surrounding her. Much to her horror, each was carrying a long, metal pole.

"Ready boys? Now remember to put your backs into it," one of them called out.

She let out a strangled scream.

"Let's go."

All at once, the bright poles came down on her body, smashing her arm, shattering her leg and bruising her internal organs. The pain was so great that she couldn't even call out for help. It shot through her body like molten lava through her veins.

There was a brief wooshing noise as they were drawn back up and again the poles pummeled her body. She heard a snapping noise before she felt the pain of her other leg breaking. One vampire brought his pole down vertically instead of horizontally, impaling her foot and twisting it at an odd angle on the pavement. There was a second breif respite as the weapons were
simultaneously raised and she felt her stomach contract.

The poles came down again, this time, slamming partially into her face, breaking part of her jaw, and ripping a gash into her forehead. Her brain was literally set on fire from the sensory overload. Vaguely, she throught she could hear laughter in the distance, but the blood was rushing so loudly into her ears that she couldn't be sure.

She felt her mind start to shut down in an attempt to escape the pain. As her eyes fluttered shut, she felt the poles come crashing down again…and again…blood filled her lungs and she choked and gasped for air until the darkness finally claimed her. The last prayer to filter through her mind was simply for the pain to stop.

It didn't.

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

Giles checked his watch. 4:30 am.

He shook his head nervously and took off his glasses to clean them for what must have been the tenth time in the past fifteen minutes. Pretty soon he'd just wear a hole through the lenses.

"G-man!" Xander came running into the library, causing the Watcher to almost drop the
book he was holding.

"Y-yes, Xander?"

"What happened?" they asked simultaneously.

"Oh…she's not here? You haven't heard from her?" the boy sounded distinctly disappointed.

"No," Giles felt his own heart sinking.

"We didn't find her. Cordy's still driving around, though."

"Yes, well Buffy hasn't been back yet either."

"We checked all around the bronze and the park and the yogurt shop and kinda near her house but there was no sign of her."

"Buffy is checking the sewers and the cemetary to see if she can…coax some information."

"Where's Amy?"

"She just returned from checking around here and Cordelia's house. She's in my office."

"How is she?"

"Still very upset. She honestly believes this has something to do with her nightmares."

Xander nodded.

"Perhaps you should go speak to her," Giles ventured gently.

A hesitant look crossed the boy's face but it quickly disappeared, "Yes. I think I will."
He started across the room, "Hey Giles, what do you think? Is it really possible that this is all a part of Amy's dream?"

Replacing the glasses on his nose, the Watcher shook his head sadly, "I hope not, Xander," he sounded tired, "I hope not."

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

It was nearly 5 in the morning and Angel knew he was running out of time. The sun would be up very soon and he still hadn't been able to find Willow.

Rounding the corner a few blocks away from her house, he decided to go back to check if she'd returned.

He'd gotten about five feet down the street when he smelled it.

Blood.

The scent hit him like a wall, full in the face, so strongly that he wrinkled his nose.

What the…? Breaking into a jog, he headed towards it.

As he drew closer, his sensitive ears picked up other sounds. There was a soft, muffled scraping sound coming from nearby. Then another scent hit him.

Lilacs.

The jog almost instantly turned into a full throttled run. Rounding another corner, he swung into the alley.

And started choking almost immediately.

There, lying stretched out on the pavement, beat until she was barely recognizeable was Willow. The scraping noise was the sound of her watch as it scratched against the pavement when her hand twitched.

"Will-," he started for her, a lump growing in his throat. Suddenly he was attacked from behind.

In his haste to reach her, he had neglected the solitary figure lurking in the shadows. One of Spike's young thugs had stayed behind to make sure that the hacker would slowly bleed to death.

And now he was making the mistake of attacking a very angry, borderline hysterical Angel.

A split second after the younger man grabbed him around the waist, something deep inside Angel…snapped. With an almost animalistic scream, he lurched forward and swung his attacker over his head and into a wall.

Without even seeing, thinking, or hearing, he advanced upon the slightly stunned young man.

"Who sent you?" he bellowed in fury as he hauled him up and slammed him backwards into the wall. His face had already changed into an ugly, bony, snarl.

"Spike," came the weak response.

"Really?" Angel purred, his eyes glowing a brighter yellow, "then I won't kill you."

The other man looked relieved. That is, until Angel ripped into his throat and tore it partially out, "You can die all by yourself."

With practiced ease, he proceeded to snap both of the younger man's legs and hauled the damaged body outside into the middle of the street where he dumped it unceremoniously to the ground. This way he would either bleed to death or burn when the sun rose.

"Have fun," he spat.

Running back into the alley, Angel stooped next to Willow's broken body, "Hang in there. I'm going to get you to the hospital." He glanced at his watch. 5:02. The sun was scheduled to rise at 5:11. Carefully cradling her in his arms, he rose and started to
run in the direction of Sunnydale Emergency.

"An…Angel?"

His heart leapt to his throat when he heard her speak his name. It came off like a soft squeak. He'd never heard anyone sound so tortured.

"Oh God, Willow…it's me…I'm going to get you help."

She managed to smile weakly before retching up blood, "Angel?" she asked again blearily, "It's your birthday…"

"Shh…don't talk. Please Willow, don't say anything just save your strength and hang in there."

"I…I can see you…in my head." It wasn't until then that he noticed the almost vacant look in her green eyes.

After almost an hour of severe beating, Willow was well past seeing.

He started to weep gently, his tears mixing with her blood.

"You have a really nice smile," she continued obliviously, "you should smile..more…more…..often." Gasping from the effort, her face suddenly contorted in pain, "Promise me that you'll smile more often," she gasped.

He nodded vigorously, "I will…"

Suddenly she let out a high-pitched, slightly demented giggle, "It's your birthday, you know."

He shook his head helplessly, "Willow, please…please don't do this. Don't talk. You need to save your strength."

She gave him a peaceful smile, "Why?"

He glanced at his watch. 5:07.

"B-because I need to get you to the hospital. They're going to help you," he replied incoherently.

"Oh no…they won't be able to," she smiled up at him, "I'm going to die, Angel"

"Don't say that!" he whispered harshly.

"But it's the truth," she responded in almost child-like innocence, "I feel so cold."

"It's loss of blood," he started to cut through the park.

It was 5:09.

"Don't leave me," she murmured softly, "Please, don't leave me, Angel. I feel safe with you. You'll save me." She smiled again.

He glanced down at her and knew it was true. Tears flooding his own eyes, he shook his head angrily. Willow was going to die.

In that one moment he made his decision, turning, he started to make his way in the opposite direction.

"Talk to me, Angel," she whispered, "I like the sound of your voice."

"I-I'm sorry Willow, I-I can't…," he managed to choke out.

"That's okay…."

There were several more seconds of silence as he rushed towards the hill. Nearing his goal, he took in the view. It was a huge emerald mound which sat at the very edge of the park. From the top of it, one could see almost all of Sunnydale. Including the sunrise…

"Angel?" she asked again, her voice strangely clear this time.

He hurriedly made his way up the incline, holding her tightly against his chest, "Yes?"

"I'm…I'm sorry…."

Approaching the climax, he glanced down at her, "It wasn't your fault. You had no way of..of knowing what was going to happen. They were after me, not you. I should have warned you b-but, I just never thought.."

"No, silly," she giggled suddenly, "I'm not talking about that."

It was 5:10.

"Then what?"

"I'm sorry I fell in love with you," she replied calmly.

He just stared at her in complete shock, completely at a loss for words. Vaguely, in the distance, the first rays of light began to spread over the sky.

"Willow..I love you too."

"Oh good," she smiled innocently, "that makes me happy."

Glancing up at the horizon he felt a strange tingling sensation in his body. So this is what it feels like to die in the sun…

It was 5:11.

Gritting his teeth he stared straight ahead and prepared for the inevitable fire which would engulf them both.

"Goodbye Willow," he murmured.

And with those words, the sun broke free into the sky. Even he had to squint at its brilliance. In the 240 years he'd spent in the dark, he'd almost forgotten how beautiful it was to be in the light.

The lovely orb continued its ascent into the sky as Angel waited for his fate.
And waited…and waited…

Aside from the initial tingling which had gradually dissipated and the faint warmth of the light on his skin, there was absolutely nothing. No pain, no burns, no fire, nothing. His surprise turned to shock.

She shifted slightly in his arms and he looked down again, "Happy Birthday Angel," she sighed before her eyes fluttered shut.

And so, on a clear spring day, on top of a hill at 5:14 in the morning, just past sunrise…

Willow Ann Rosenberg died.