Chapter Twelve

What am I doing here? Angel asked himself as he walked towards Revello Drive. He though that he should just hang low for a few days and be by himself. He wanted space to think things through. He wanted to mope alone for Angel's mistakes. He didn't want to make Buffy feel upset. He hated it when she tried to defend the monster inside him.

He walked down the street and stopped in front of Buffy's house. Almost every light was on in the Summer's home. It was almost eight o'clock. The sun had been down for almost a half-hour. He wanted to see Buffy and try to talk to her again. He wanted to try and explain more to her about how he felt. He also wanted to talk to her in more depth about the last few months and what happened exactly. He didn't want her to be vague any longer.

Angel slowly approached the stairs. He pulled his coat close to him and rang the doorbell. Angel knew that his visit to Buffy's house was a long shot because she would probably be out patrolling by now. He walked to the front door and rang the bell.

Angel backed away from the door as it opened.

"Angel, hi," Joyce Summers said as said as she looked at him. She thought about a few weeks ago when Angel followed her out of her car and reveled to her that he and Buffy had shared a night of passion together. She was so angry with him. He hurt her daughter and her friends. Then she thought that he had changed. He didn't have the same personality as he did all those weeks ago. "Buffy's not here right now. She left a little while ago to go patrolling."

He nodded. She probably hates me, with good reason, he thought about Joyce. I almost destroyed her daughters and her friends' lives. "Thank you Ms. Summers. By the way, could you tell her I stopped by?"

Joyce nodded in agreement. "Yes, I will give her the message."

"Thank you." Angel said walking away from the door. He walked into the darkness of the nighttime and started back towards his home on Crawford Street before Joyce could respond.

"Wil is going to meet us in the park by the swings around midnight. She said if she wasn't there to wait for her. She has something important to tell you." Xander filled Buffy in as they patrolled near an Ally way.

"What's up with her doing all stuff of importance lately?" Buffy asked.

"Well Buffy, I think you must face the fact that our little girl is growing up." Xander said. He knew what she, Oz and Cordy were working on but he promised not to say anything. Xander thought that if he kept the jokes rolling Buffy wouldn't be suspicious of anything. He was nervous that he was already acting weird.

"Very funny Xander. Maybe it's because of the teaching thing. She loves that and I think she is applying it to other areas of her life."

"Like I said Buf, Willow is growing up, she's changing. "

" I guess your right. It's just all growing up stuffy." Buffy said. She continued on about another topic. Xander didn't really hear what she was saying. He was too relieved that she didn't suspect anything. He just had to keep his mouth shut for another four hours.

"Do you know what you are doing?" Cordy asked Willow.

Willow shrugged. "I do, a little but I bet I will learn fast." Willow explained as she offered a half smile.

"Are we all set?" OZ asked as he finished placing the candles down on the floor of Willow's room.

"We are. Just let me grab the spell from my grade book." Willow said as she fumbled through the pages of her green book." She sighed. "Are you ready?"

Both Oz and Cordy nodded in agreement.

"Okay, let's start."

Angel walked into his home. He sat in his garden for a little while. It was a beautiful night. Stars blanketed the sky. After a while he walked into the house and went towards the fireplace, his only source of light. He sat next to the fire and began reading a book of poetry.

He was reading for a few short moments when he felt a sharp pain going though his entire body. Angel put down the book and began to walk around. He walked back into the night and into his garden. The pain was too much for Angel. He felt to the ground and was gasping. He wondered what was happening to him.

"Xander, it's after midnight. Where's Willow?" Buffy asked kind of impatient. "I want to go home to bed."

Why is so inpatient? Doesn't she realize what Willow and the others are doing for her?" Xander sat next to Buffy on a swing. "She's probably just running late. She'll be here." He paused for a minute before changing the subject. "What did you think of Mr. Emerald's science test?"

"It was so hard. I get points for showing up right? And for putting my name on the paper?"

The two continued to talk about their classes when Cordy appeared.

"Cordy? Where's Willow?" Xander asked.

Cordy took a deep breath and smiled. "It's Angel. She's with Angel."

"How happy do you think Buffy will be when she sees him breathing…literally." Willow asked Oz as they got out of his van. She was so certain her spell worked. She was proud of herself.

"I think she'll be pretty thrilled when she finds out. It will make things easier for her, for them." Oz told his girlfriend as they walked towards the side of the mansion. Xander had mapped out the whole mansion when Willow first told him about her idea. "Are you sure you are okay though? Your eyes went all black and beady for a few minutes."

"It was just a few minutes. It was all of the power going through me. It was amazing. I think I am pretty powerful for an amateur.

Oz was about to say something when he tripped over something. He looked down and was a little shocked. "Willow? Look." He said as he pointed to Angel.

Willow smiled as she began to whisper. "Look, he's sleeping."

Both Willow and Oz began shaking Angel. There was no response.

"This isn't a good thing, is it?" Oz asked as he heard Buffy and the others approaching.

Willow simply said, "No."