Part 1
Willow slid out of the cab, pulling her overnight bag with her. On the sidewalk she paused for a moment, studying the tall office building. Ooh, shiny. She felt nothing untoward, but nevertheless carefully ensured that her magical shields were in place--just in case. Squaring her shoulders, she marched towards the revolving glass door.
The lobby was bustling with people, all of whom moved as if they were late for an important meeting. Dodging employees, she navigated her way to the information desk.
Without looking up from a computer screen, the receptionist asked, "Can I help you?"
"I'd like to see Angel, please," Willow said briskly.
"Do you have an appoint-" The woman looked up and froze, her black-framed glasses slipping to the end of her nose. "Miss Rosenberg?"
She blinked. "Have we met before?"
"Oh no." After glancing furtively about the lobby, the receptionist leaned forward. "But you're quite the celebrity around here."
Startled, Willow grasped the first thing that came to mind. "You mean, because of the whole 'fighting The First' deal?"
The woman shook her head. "Actually I was referring to the 'almost destroying the world' deal. Even the senior partners were impressed."
"Oh." Willow felt her innards shrivel into a tight knot, but she forced a smile. "So, is Angel here?"
"Yes, of course. Just a moment." She tapped the keyboard for a minute, then waved over a burly blank-faced security guard. "John will escort you to Angel's private elevator."
Willow nodded her thanks and followed the guard, relieved to escape the receptionist's awestruck eyes.
***
"Willow. Hi!"
"Harmony?" She took a faltering step out of elevator, wondering what other surprises Angel had in store for her.
"Of course, silly. Who else?" The blonde vampire threw her arms around Willow and hugged her. Alarmed, Willow jerked away, automatically fingering her neck. Harmony was too busy eyeing Willow's brown suede jacket to notice. "You look great. You've really changed from that nerdy wallflower you used to be."
"Gee, thanks." Her sarcastic tone flew right over Harmony's head and Willow rolled her eyes. "You look great, too." She wasn't lying either. Dressed in a smart navy business suit, the vampire looked the perfect personal assistant.
Harmony tilted her head. "Thank you, Willow." Her demeanour changed in an eye blink, from the vacuous cheerleader Willow had known in high school to a professional secretary. "Angel's waiting for you in his office."
A little dazed, Willow allowed Harmony to usher her into the inner sanctum. The large, well lit room was beautifully furnished. Smiling, Angel rose from behind a huge, polished desk by the window, circled the desk and approached her. "Willow, this is an unexpected pleasure."
"Angel, hey. Aren't you looking...all glowy in the streaming sunshine and why aren't you on fire?" she said in one breath.
Chuckling, he hugged her lightly. "Special glass."
"One of the perks of working with evil, huh?"
Angel coughed and if it were possible she was sure he'd be blushing. "Well, there've been some changes."
"I noticed." His gaze slid away from her and she added hastily, "Look, Angel, I'm not judging you. I guess I just never figured you for the type to compromise."
He looked at her then, dark eyes radiating a strange sorrow she couldn't comprehend. "There were...circumstances."
From out of nowhere, an image of a surly young man with unkempt brown hair flashed in her mind. She felt as though she knew him, but she was equally certain that she'd never seen him before. Shaking her head slightly, Willow moved away from Angel to sit down.
"So, where's Casper?"
Angel leaned against his desk. "Casper?" he said innocently.
She smiled; Fred had been very informative. "Your not-so-friendly ghost?" said Willow.
"Right behind you, Red."
"Ack!" Twisting her head, she saw Spike smirking at her. She stared at him as he glided around her to stand beside Angel. Although she'd known he was alive, seeing him in the flesh, so to speak, still shocked her.
"What brings you to lawyer central, luv?"
Willow felt her cheeks flush and she took a deep breath. "See, here's the thing. I might...sorta...in a totally accidental way...be kinda responsible for you," she waved her hand in his general direction, "being like this."
"You did this to me?" Spike's face was expressionless, but his voice was hard and angry.
"Hey, hey," Willow protested. "Didn't you hear me? It was an accident."
"It's okay, Willow," said Angel reassuringly, fixing Spike with a stern look. "We know you wouldn't do something like this on purpose. Right, Spike?"
Spike snorted and glowered at her. "You can undo it, right?"
"Oh, sure." She furrowed her brow. "As soon as I figure out what I did."
"What?" Growling, Spike advanced towards her. Undaunted, she didn't so much as twitch and he halted, looking extremely put out.
Angel frowned, crossing his arms. "Willow, if you don't know what you did, then how do you know you're responsible?"
She shrugged. "I can't explain it, but as soon as Fred told me the sitch, I just knew."
"You just knew?" said Spike. "Well, as long as you're not being vague about it."
His sarcasm provoked a sharper response than she'd intended. "You know, if you'd called me right away, maybe you'd be fixed by now."
"Can't pick up a phone, luv," Spike said blithely.
"Well, there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with your mouth," Willow retorted. "You could have asked someone," she gave Angel a pointed look, "to call me."
The two vampires exchanged sheepish looks. Avoiding her gaze, Angel rearranged his limbs. "We, er, didn't want to upset...anyone."
Irritation drove Willow to her feet. "Me and Buffy aren't joined at the hip, you know." Spinning around, she stuck her hands in the air and jiggled them. "See, arms and legs working independent of Buffy."
Wearing identical bemused expressions, Angel and Spike stared at her.
She sighed. "It's not like I have to report everything I do to her."
After a moment Angel said, "You told her, didn't you?"
"Well...it's Buffy," she said, a little defensive. "You know how demanding she can be."
Simultaneously Angel and Spike said, "Oh, yeah," then glared at each other.
She rolled her eyes. "Look, if you don't want my help, I can just leave. I've got a lot of other stuff to do."
Spike snapped his head round. "Hang on, Red. No one said anything about not wanting your help."
"Good. Then why don't you show me to Fred's lab so we can get started," she said firmly.
Apparently flummoxed by her assertiveness, Spike cocked his head, watching her for several seconds before he hesitantly drifted towards the door.
"See you later," Willow said to Angel.
"Sure," he said with a small smile as his eyes moved from her to Spike and back again.
Mumbling something inaudible, Spike disappeared through the door, and she followed in a more conventional fashion.
***