Darla wasn't that hard to find. It has never been that hard for me to find the people I hate. All I have to do is sense their aura in my head and teleport to them. I have got to kill this bitch tonight. No way in hell is she going to kill Spike. I find her in a room, hers and Angelus'. She is waiting for him. Or so I think.

"Reina. So nice to see you. Your right on time."

"On time for what exactly?" I ask.

"Your death."

And all of a sudden there are ten other creatures in the room. Fuck, I should have seen this, why didn't I see this? As one group, they all start chanting. I can't move. This is not good, and god does this hurt. One of the chanters calls for their minions. Probably to beat my ass into submission. My head is starting to hurt, what the hell is going on. I am trying to work some counter spell, but it just aint happening. Twenty vamps have just entered the room, they're coming towards me. The ritual being performed is making me begin to faint.

"What Darla, can't take me all on your own? Need some lame ass flunkies to help you kill me?" I asked, which was getting hard to do.

"Believe me bitch, I will be the one to kill you, and then I will go comfort poor William with the news of your death." Darla replies.

I was having trouble forming words, the only reason I need to breathe, and it is becoming increasingly hard.

The counter spell lay just outside my minds reach. This isn't like me. Pain is nothing. Push it away Reina. You are the most powerful being around as far as you know, this is nothing. The spell was starting to grow and was within my reach.

"Believe me bitch, William will never be yours, and neither will my territory. As for my death, never happen with you still alive to fuck it up."

And with that, two things happened simultaneously. First the minions there to kill me, they attacked. Secondly, my spell became real and all of the creatures chanting were thrown back. The next instant I am fighting for everything I am worth. Creatures and vamps all dieing around me. Darla is trying to get out the way they all came in. Fuck that. I place a force field around the room preventing anyone from leaving. Take that cow. All that is left of the living things in the room, are all passed out or bleeding to death. Darla is trembling, trying to get me to have mercy on her.

"Please Reina, it was all in fun. I would never think to kill you. I just…"

"Shut…the bloody…hell up, bitch. I came her to…kill you, not the other way around. Tonight is your night to die, not mine." Blood loss and the nature of my injuries was starting to have an effect on me, but it wasn't enough to stop me from enjoying the deaths about to come.

The last thing Darla did many hours later, after having been under my ministrations, was beg me to stake her. After that, I kept going. When I finally got to drowzy for more, I cut her head off, with a pocket knife. I had just enough energy to teleport to a safe place before I passed out. The safe place, it turned out, surprised me in the morning. It wasn't mine and Spike's place, it was Angel's.

Morning found me in Angle's bed with him patching me up from the night before.

"hey," I say, "what's going on? Why am I here?"

"You tell me. I woke up with you in my bed. With you bleeding all over my bed. What were you doing last night?"

"I went to talk to Darla because I had had a premonition of her murdering Spike and setting you up for it. I went there and she had a trap all set up for me. Caught me by surprise, it is bloody well safe to say, but she is rather dead at the moment. More so than she has ever been before."

For a few moments Angel doesn't say anything.

"She…she's dead? But…she…no, this is good. She can't hurt you any more, or my child. This is good, but she is really gone?" He starts out talking to me and starts to soften his words so I can just barely hear him.

"I am sorry. I had too. Spike is all I have. I have no one else. He can't die. I need someone and he is all I have got. Do you understand?" I ask.

"Yes I understand needing someone, but why Spike? He doesn't love you."

"I know. I don't know if he ever will, but he still cares for me, at the very least. He is the only one."

"He isn't the only one who cares. He really isn't." Angel whispers.

"Who then?"

"I care. More than he does at any rate."

"Has he even called you? It's been what two-three days since you've called him? Has he wondered where you are? He probably couldn't care less. Don't you see that? Why do you put yourself through that?"

"Which question would you like me to answer first? Oh wait, none of them are your bloody business. He cares, I am his home. I'm the one he bloody lives with. He comes home to me. He could love me one day. He could. Don't tell me otherwise. He has to love me at some point. He just has to." I start out angry but I slowly am begging whatever god there is that Spike will one day love me. By the time I am done I am softly crying.

Angel comes and sits by me, holding me. I can't hold it all in any longer. I start sobbing because as good as it is with Spike, that is as bad as it gets. I am all alone.

"No you're not all alone." Angel says.

Did I say that out loud?

"I am though. I hate it. I hate me."

"You're not alone. You have me. You always have had me. Without you I am alone and I hate it too. I hate that feeling. And as for you hating you, I love you. I know you don't love me, but I love you."

He emphasizes that last point by kissing me. Very soft and gentle.

"Why?" I ask.

"Because you are her, the woman that I have always wanted. Strong in both the physical sense and in mentality. You're gorgeous, brave, vengeful, vindictive as hell, scary and comforting at the same time, you can take care of yourself, but you will also let people help you, you…you're her, and I love her."

I really don't know what to say to that. I love Spike, I know I do, but when I hear this, I can't help but wonder if love will be enough when it is only one sided. Could I ever love Angelus? If you had asked me when I was young, I would have said hell no, but now, I think it could be possible. I don't know what to say, so I don't say anything. I lean forward and kiss him. I don't know where to go from here, but this seems like a good place to start.