A/N: I'm back! Or I guess I should say my plot bunnies are back, for now at least. Enjoy.

Chapter 8

Willow had no idea how she got back to Council Headquarters. She couldn't get the sight of Giles, standing there, just like he always had. Giles, a vampire. It wasn't real. It couldn't be.

She blinked and found herself in the foyer of Council Headquarters. "How—"

Jordan beat her question, asking, "Who was that?"

Willow stared at the younger girl, feeling a lump in her throat. "Giles," she whispered.

"A vampire named Giles?" Keladree asked. "Did you know him?"

Willow stared at her. "Giles is a vampire?"

Whoa, okay, where was her mind going? Giles as a vampire was absurd.

"You called that vampire Giles," Jordan said, a little worried about the older girl.

Willow continued to stare at them.

Damon said, concerned, "Willow?"

Willow spun to look at him, her eyes wide. "T-tell me that wasn't Giles. It had to be a mistake. Giles can't be a vampire."

She shook her head emphatically. "He can't be a vampire."

Keladree and Jordan exchanged glances with each other, worried about their friend.

"I mean," Willow continued, desperate to prove her point. "Giles would never get caught by a vampire. He's too smart. And why would they turn him? It doesn't make sense. It couldn't have been him."

Damon laid a gentle hand on her arm. "Willow, who is Giles?"

Willow looked up at him and, at his gentle voice, her disbelief shattered. She took a step back, her face set.

Jordan, Keladree, and the three Watchers took an involuntary step back as the air chilled. Willow fixed a cold look on them. "Where are Angel and Spike?"

"I don't know," Damon said. "Willow—"

"No," Willow said, raising a hand to cut him off. "Tell me where they are." Before Darth Rosenberg comes out to play, she thought, even though she was pretty sure Darth Rosenberg had been cleansed by the spell for the Slayers.

"I really don't know Willow," Damon said calmly.

Willow looked at him for another moment then turned and stalked to the elevator.

"Willow—"

Willow flicked a hand behind her, throwing her pursuer several feet back. The elevator doors closed and opened again on the floor where Angel and Spike lived.

She strode down the hall to Angel's room. His door was open and he was not there. She heard someone walk up and rounded on them.

The young Watcher took an involuntary step back. "M-Miss Rosenberg?"

"Where's Angel?" Willow asked. Her voice was low, calm, and deadly.

"I-In the gym on this floor with Spike—"

Willow strode down the hall again, and the Watcher watched her vanish in a cloud of smoke.

~*~

Angel ducked a punch from Spike and heard him say, "Oy—Angel."

Angel spun around, just in time to feel a fist collide with his jaw. "Hey!"

A second fist came towards him. Spike caught this one in his hand, saying, "That's enough Red."

Red? Wait—"Willow?"

Angel rubbed his chin, staring at the red haired witch. She struggled against the hold Spike had on her, snarling, "You bastard—why didn't you say anything?"

Spike gave up trying to just hold her arms and wrapped her in a bear hug to keep her from attacking Angel again. "Would you calm down?"

"Lemme go Spike—I'm gonna stake him this time!"

Angel stared at Willow, bewildered and wondering why she didn't use her magic to get free of Spike. Spike was obviously wondering the same thing as he held on grimly and braced to be thrown against the wall.

But Willow was so upset that she totally forgot that she could—the sight of the two vampires had released the rest of her flood of emotions.

"Willow, what's wrong?" Angel asked, perplexed and worried. He had never seen her like this.

"Giles!" Willow shouted. "How could you not tell me Giles was a vampire!"

Angel felt like she had hit him again. Spike didn't let go, but his jaw went slack for an instant.

"Giles?" Angel repeated. "Giles—Giles is vampire?"

"Not only a vampire but our uber-bad vampire master. Don't tell me you didn't know," Willow snarled, still struggling fiercely. "You vampires know everything about each other. How could you not tell me?"

"Willow, I swear, we didn't know," Angel said, still in shock. "Believe me—I would've said something if we had."

Willow stopped fighting, staring at the dark haired vampire through wide, pain-filled eyes. "G-Giles—"

She spun around in Spike's grip and buried her face in his duster, crying.

Spike held her, looking at Angel. He mouthed in disbelief, "Giles?"

Angel shook his head. He couldn't believe it.

The door opened. Angel looked up quickly and walked over to where Damon stood, watching Willow and Spike.

"She told you I presume," Damon said in a low voice. Angel nodded. "She told me. Socked me a good one too."

Damon looked concernedly at him. "Are you all right?"

"I'm a vampire," Angel said dryly. "I'm fine. She doesn't hit nearly as hard as Buffy did."

"How is she?" Damon asked, nodding towards Willow and Spike.

"Distraught," Angel said. "What would you expect? Giles was the father figure of the Scooby gang—Buffy's group of friends. He was Buffy's Watcher."

"Oh Lord," Damon breathed. "A Watcher?"

"It's not just that," Angel said. "Giles—he had a dark side even as a human. He was intelligent, knowledgeable of the demon world, and vicious when someone he loved was threatened in any way, particularly Buffy and Willow. All that and add a demon?"

"It would be bad," Damon surmised.

"Willow as a vampire was bad. Giles as a vampire—I can't imagine."

"Look around," Damon said quietly. "This is what he's accomplished."

"I think compared to Ripper, Angelus was a kitten," the muffled voice of Willow said. She looked at them, Spike still with his arm around her comfortingly. "And I know what Angelus can do."

Angel looked her. Willow said, "A very violent kitten, yeah, but—"

"I know what you meant," Angel said quietly. "And I think you might be right."

A/N: Yeah, yeah, kinda short. Gimme a break. The bunnies dictate their own stories—I just write'em.