---Again I'm sorry for the delay. I hope no one has given up on me yet. If any new readers stumble across this, please feel free to drop me a line! Thanks!

True Destiny Continues

Chapter 5: Heading Home Pt. 1

Disclaimer: I don't own anything or anyone from the Angel series. I only own my original characters.

Willow felt the stinging sensation hitting her eyes, warning her that tears were near. She should be flying high right now, being that she just helped saved the world...again. The victory, however, felt bitter sweet because someone else had to pay dearly for that victory. And that someone was the person who was really responsible for all of them being alive. She turned to look at the young woman who was standing next to her with an arm draped around her shoulders in a comforting manner. Willow pulled away from the embrace, feeling as though she didn't deserve to be comforted, not when it was her fault that Faith's friend was hurt. She needed to find out just how bad Milani was injured. Then she could start working on a way to heal her.

Willow ignored Kennedy's voice calling to her, asking her if she was okay as she walked slowly towards Buffy. She could hear Kennedy's footsteps following quickly behind her. As she got closer to her friend, her green eyes narrowed slightly. Buffy was just standing there, her eyes unfocused, staring at nothing. Willow touched her arm and the slayer looked at her then, as if she was just noticing her standing there. Willow grabbed Buffy's hand, hoping maybe that would bring her friend out of whatever haze she was in. The slayer squeezed her hand gently in answer, silently letting her know that she was okay.

"Buffy we need to get to Milani," Willow uttered softly. Kenned came up to them then, taking up residence next to Willow, her brown eyes displaying concern for her girlfriend. Willow ignored this and continued on. "Those demons...what happened to them...that was all due to her."

Buffy forced herself to focus, her conscious mind now more fully aware of her surroundings. "Wha-what...what are you talking about Willow? Who is her?"

Willow sighed loudly. "Milani…aren't you listening to me Buffy," she asked urgently, her frustration apparent. "Milani is the reason why we're all standing here. The power that she gave to me somehow allowed me to obliterate all those demons. She's the reason why we're alive Buffy. She saved us all."

"You mean that bright yellow light...she caused that," Buffy asked incredulously, her eyes widening.

Willow nodded. "Well she caused it, but indirectly," she corrected. "You see the power that I drained from her is what did it. Maybe her power and mine worked together to cause that light. I don't really know. All I know is that she's hurt and it's all my fault." The last statement was whispered so soft that Buffy barely heard it.

"No Willow it wasn't your fault," Buffy countered vehemently, holding Willow by the shoulders firmly. "You did what you had to for all of us to survive. Milani knew the risks. We all did. We all risked our lives out here tonight. Because that's what we do."

Kennedy stroked Willow's hair lovingly, wishing that she could just take her into her arms and hold her. "She's right sweetie," she crooned. "Besides, we don't know exactly what's wrong with her. She could have just passed out from exhaustion. Why don't we find out how she's doing before we hit the panic button?" Willow stared at Kennedy for a long moment, before throwing both arms around her girlfriend's neck. Kennedy returned the embrace, whispering soft words to calm her lover, her hand rubbing small circles on Willow's back. After a couple minutes, Willow pulled away, wiping her cheeks quickly.

"Okay, let's get out of here," Buffy prodded, her eyes glancing around, realizing that only her team was still left in the alley. She called out to Amanda and the other slayers, telling them that it was time to leave. She then turned to the exit to of the alley. She could make out several figures up ahead, two of which she knew well, the only two men she had ever loved in this world. She looked at Kennedy and Willow briefly before leading the way out of the alley, taking another quick look behind her to make sure everyone was indeed following her. She quickened her pace slightly, her fear growing for Milani's welfare. The girl had risked her life to help save them all. Buffy would try to do whatever she could in her power to make sure Milani stayed apart of the world she helped to save.

Connor glanced quickly from his father to the unconscious girl and back to his father again. Did she just say what he thought she said? Did she just call his father dad? The logical part of him was saying that he should just wait till they got to the hotel, at least wait till everyone got some rest before he started asking questions. But the other part, the more blunt part of him that made up the old Connor, urged him to ask his questions now. Connor continued to stare at his father, noticing that Angel appeared to be just as surprised at the 'dad' comment as he was. But was Angel really surprised or was he just shocked that maybe another one of his secrets was just revealed.

That thought angered Connor and pushed him over the edge, forced him to blurt out the first thing that came to mind. "So dad, did you plan on mentioning that you had another bastard kid or were you just gonna save that as a present for my birthday," he asked abruptly, his tone dripping with sarcasm and laced with anger.

Angel turned his head to glare at his son. "Excuse me," was all he managed to get out. Why was Connor acting this way? It's almost as if he thought that this information was old news to him? It was like Connor thought he actually knew what---. That's exactly what his son probably thought. Angel softened his eyes and his tone before speaking again. "Connor, I-I- don't know what's going on here either," he spluttered. "I'm just as confused and left in the dark as you are. Vampires can't have children. You were apart of a prophecy. You already know this."

Connor closed his eyes briefly, reigning in the anger and confusion. "Yeah I know all about the prophecy thing," he said cooly, resting his eyes on his father again. "What I want to know is why that girl is calling you 'dad'?"

Angel rolled his eyes. "I don't know Connor," he replied between clenched teeth. "Like I said, I'm just as confused as you are." He then looked at Faith expectantly. "Faith is there something you wanna tell me about your friend here?"

Faith's mouth opened and then closed. She was just as surprised as they were. She already knew Angel had a kid, even though vampires were supposed to be infertile. She, however, did not understand why Milani was calling Angel dad. Milani had never wanted to talk much about her past or her family, so Faith had never pushed the issue. She too remembered how hard it was to talk about things in your past that were hurtful. And knowing all of this still didn't explain this whole thing of Milani calling Angel 'dad', and not only dad, but Liam too. How could she have known that had been his name when he was human?

Faith shook her head in wonderment. "I-I don't know Angel," she said finally, her dark eyes meeting his directly. "I don't know why she said those things. Maybe she was just out of it you know. She didn't know what she was saying. There is no way you could have made a kid and not know about it right?" Angel didn't respond, his dark eyes flitting from Gunn to Spike and then to Illyria. "Right," Faith repeated softly, catching the looks Angel was passing to his team.

"Look I don't about y'all, but we have an unconscious girl here who needs medical attention," Gunn said brusquely. "So why don't we all figure this out later; like much later in fact. I've had my ass seriously kicked, I've seen my life flash before my eyes when I was near death's door, and I was brought back to life all in the same night. Right now all I want to do is make sure the girl I'm holding rejoins the land of the fully conscious. Now I say we all head back to the hotel and get some rest cause my black ass is tired."

Spike who had continued to be unnaturally quiet finally spoke up. "Gunn's right," he said simply. "My ribs are broken and it feels like almost every inch of my body is in pain. I could really go for some sleep right now."

Angel sighed loudly. "Yeah, me too," he agreed softly. "Faith, you got some sort of transportation we could use? I don't think we're in any shape to walk back to the hotel. And I'm thinking cab drivers won't want us bleeding on their seats."

Faith nodded eagerly. "Yeah that's where Gunn and I was heading...our van is just up the street," she replied, her eyes taking a quick glance at Milani. She reached her hand out and checked for a pulse. A strong sense of relief cursed through her immediately at the steady beat beneath her fingertips. "Her pulse is still going strong. That's good right?" She looked at Angel for confirmation. At his nod, she relaxed somewhat. Everything would be fine. Milani might take just a little longer than usual to heal, but she would be fine. She was still alive. They just needed to get her into some clean clothes and a bed for the night.

"Okay guys let's go," Angel said quietly, letting his eyes rest briefly on the people standing around him. "Faith lead the way."

The group began making their way down the street, most simply trudging along due to the injuries sustained previously in the battle when a familiar voice rang out. "Angel...wait up," Buffy called out, jogging over to him when he turned around. Her hazel eyes took in the sight of Milani being held in the arms of one of Angel's team members. "Is she...is she okay?"

Angel dragged a hand through his hair, a movement that pulled on his aching ribs, causing him to wince slightly. "Yeah, I think she'll live," he answered solemnly. "But we need to head indoors. Everyone's pretty wiped out and, well, we just need to, because---." Angel ceased his rambling, his eyes looking everywhere but at Buffy, an uncomfortable feeling settling in from being in her presence. "We just need to go," he said finally, meeting her eyes. "But, you know, thanks for coming to help us. I appreciate it. We all do."

Buffy stared at him for a moment, before her eyes moved to Spike, who she found to be staring at her. "You all do huh," she commented weakly. She stared at Spike a moment longer, letting him see the hurt in her eyes, and then she pulled her gaze away from him. He hadn't even had the decency to let her know that he was still alive. She bit her lip, telling herself silently that she had to brush her personal feelings aside. She needed to get her girls back to their hotel. "Your welcome...I mean for the help thing. We were glad to, you know, help out. But you're right. I need to get my girls indoors so that they can rest." Her eyes rested on Spike once more. "And I need to call Giles and let him know that I'm still alive," she said purposely, hoping the statement would hit home to the person it was intended for.

Spike grimaced. "Love I'm sorry that I---," he started before she cut in abruptly. "No I get it," Buffy bit out. "So I guess this is goodbye. You guys take care of yourselves okay." She stared down at the ground determinedly, blinking quickly to keep the tears at bay.

"Yeah, you take care too," Spike whispered hoarsely. He wanted to say something else, anything to take that dejected look out of her eyes, but he couldn't find the words. His chest clenched painfully just from looking at her. He was still in love with her. He supposed he always would be, but he knew he couldn't be with her, not now anyway. He was needed here. The mission here was more important.

Note: Working on the next chapter right now. It feels like it's taking me forever to get to adding Wesley & Lindsey into the story. But it will happen...trust me! The next chapter will be leading up to them finally finding Wesley, returning Milani's powers, and an appearance of Lindsey.