Author: Jadelyn Ja Lee

Story: Leaving The Past Behind

Pairings: Angel/Willow friendship

Disclaimer: I do not own Angel, Willow, or Buffy; they are the property of Joss Whedon and the WB. I similarly do not own Kimberly Hart, Jason Scott, or Billy Cranston. They are owned by Disney and Saban Entertainment.

Author Notes: This is a continuation one-shot from my original one-shot A Friend for Angel. You don't necessarily have to read that to understand this but it might help if you did. This is a crossover between Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the Power Rangers. Additionally, Kim, Jason, nor Billy are technically not featured in this, they're only mentioned heavily.


1999

Sunnydale, California

"You're leaving?" Willow's soft voice asked from the other side of the car. Angel closed his eyes briefly before looking up into the emerald orbs of the woman who had given him back his soul. He nodded.

"I can't stay, Willow. If I leave now, she'll have a better chance of having a normal boyfriend." He told her. The redhead studied him and smiled softly. She could see how much leaving pained him but Buffy's happiness meant more to the vampire.

"I understand. Doesn't mean she will, though." Willow told him. He sighed and nodded.

"I know." He replied as he hefted another duffle bag into the car.

"Where are you gonna go?" she asked. Angel paused.

"LA, I think. Eventually." He replied. Willow smiled a pulled a manila envelope out of her backpack. Angel watched her curiously. Nothing Willow did was without a reason.

"Remember before…before Angelus came back, you asked me to search for your old friend?" she asked hesitantly. Angel thought about it for a minute and then nodded.

"I asked you to search for Kimberly." He answered. She nodded and held the folder out to him.

"I found her. At least, I think I did. I didn't have a last name to go by, but there were three Kimberly's who was born in Angel Grove in 1979. One of them moved away when she was five, the other died in a car accident when she was seven. The third lived in Angel Grove until she was seventeen and then moved to Florida to train for the Pan Global Games in gymnastics. She recently opened up a gym with a guy in Angel Grove. Everything's included in the packet." She told him. Angel blinked and took the folder. He opened it to find a headshot of the gymnast. He smiled. She was older, definitely, but it was her. He looked up and smiled at the redhead.

"Thank you Willow." He thanked her sincerely. She beamed.

"It's her?" she asked. He nodded.

"Yeah. She hasn't changed much." He observed, going through the folder. There were more pictures printed off the internet and he stopped at one showing the tiny woman standing on a podium, roses in her arms, a gold medal around her neck, and a smile on her face. He smiled softly. He turned it over and was surprised to recognize the two men in the picture with her.

"Jason and Billy…" he whispered. Willow frowned.

"Who?" she asked as she peered over his shoulder. He showed her the picture.

"Jason and Billy were friends of Kim's." he explained. Both of them, at Kimberly's urging he suspected, had stopped to say hello every time they met him on the street. Kimberly herself had found out that he was a good vampire and somehow decided that he knew a lot of history and had stopped by every so often to ask questions pertaining to some era or another. She also talked to him about art. He had left in October of that year, deciding to go back to New York where he would be able to live a quieter life. Kim had become a constant in his life and he hadn't wanted her to get hurt.

"This was taken about a year ago. Seems they remained friends." She observed. Angel nodded. The last paper in the folder was a list of addresses. He looked over at Willow curiously.

"This is her home address, the address to the gym, and a list of places she's reputed to hang out at sometimes." She explained. Angel nodded. He should have known the redhead would have covered all the bases. He studied the list and made a decision.

"I'll call when I get settled in LA. I think I'll wait on going to see Kim." He told her. Willow nodded in understanding.

"Okay." She told him. He gently put the folder on the passenger seat and then hugged her. She was startled for a minute but quickly hugged him back.

"I can never repay you for what you did for me, Willow." He told her sincerely. She smiled shyly. "If you ever need anything, let me know."

"Keep in touch?" she asked hopefully. He nodded.

"No problem." He told her. She went with him as he did a quick survey of the mansion and then locked the doors. He stared at the keys for a minute before handing them to Willow. The redhead took them with a confused expression.

"If any of you need a safe house." He explained. Willow nodded and pocketed the keys. Another quick hug and he was gone, flying down the street in his car. Willow stared after him for a few minutes and wasn't too startled when Buffy came to stand next to her.

"He left?" she asked quietly. Willow nodded.

"He does love you Buffy, and it's killing him to leave, but he truly believes it's for the best." The redhead told the blonde Slayer. Buffy sighed.

"Yeah. That's what Mom said. He stopped by the gallery a few days ago and dropped off some antiquities for her as an apology." She told her friend. Willow smiled sadly and placed an arm around the slayer's shoulder.

"Ice cream?" she asked, steering the shorter woman in the direction of Main Street. Buffy nodded.

"Gallons."


End Note: All six of these fics will be one-shots.