Years Later Series:
Enemies and Allies
by KNS

How about a memorial for those that made it through the war but still died before their time?
~ Jim Northup - "Wahbegan"

The old friends gathered together in Willow and Xander's livingroom. The furniture had been cleared back to leave the middle of the floor bare the usual background music had been shut off to leave the air quiet. Still, the place was neither empty nor silent - the people within were too ecstatic to let either occurrence happen.

They certainly had enough to be happy about. They'd saved the world - not anything new for them, but this time they'd managed to save themselves in the bargain. They'd discovered their purposes once more: what was important, what was not what was worth surrendering, what was worth fighting to the death for. They were all whole again, both as individuals and as a group.

All but one of them, and in few minutes he would be whole once more as well.

"Whatcha thinkin'?" Willow asked, breaking Giles away from his thoughts.

"Nothing important." He looked back to the livingroom, where Xander, Angel, and Buffy were lighting candles placed in a circular ring. There was another woman there as well, a Sister Elen, the fifth person Willow had said was necessary to complete the spell. Apparently the sister worked at a safehouse in the lower part of the city, and knew all about vampires and demons and what have yous. He wondered how Buffy had met her. She seemed friendly enough, with her constant laughter and smiles. He thought it a bit odd that a woman of the church was so willing to engage in the ‘black arts', but who was he to talk about oddness. . .

His one sadness was that Marianna could not be the fifth person for the spell. She had taken Willow and Xander's three children to the states early that morning, after the head of the Watchers' Council had threatened their lives if Buffy attempted to take the spell for Angel from him by force. Marianna had taken the children so that Angel could have his spell. Marvelous woman.

"Come on," Willow said, pulling on his arm. "Let's go cast a spell."

Together they went into the livingroom. The people there were all smiles and laughter, but when Willow appeared they grew silent, their laughter tempered by formality, as people are at a wedding. Buffy took Angel's hand and together they stood within the ring of candles as their friends circled them.

Willow tried to keep her facial expression somber as befitted the occasion, but she was too happy, and couldn't resist smiling just a little. Her voice was full of excitement and happiness when she asked the couple, "Are you ready?"

Angel nodded. "Waiting on you," Buffy answered, grinning.

"Let's do it, then," Willow said, then paused. "I - I have to tell you some things first. I checked out the spell, and it'll work great - but there's a catch."

"Oh God," the two said together. Buffy's face lost it's color. "Not another happiness clause?"

"This is not happening," Angel growled. "Something always goes wrong. . ."

"No, no! I didn't mean that!" Willow said, waiving her hands. "The catch is that you'll be linked to each other. Not linked like where you hear each other's thoughts or anything - a different kind of link." They looked at her, confused. "Angel, to become human again, you need some strong tie to humanity - Buffy. You'll be bound to her." Still they looked confused. Willow sighed, then said, "Angel, if Buffy dies, you'll die too."

Angel glanced at Buffy, then back to Willow. "And if I die first?"

Willow looked away. "She'll most likely go insane."

"I don't think this is a good idea," Buffy said slowly, earning her surprised glances from the others and a hurt look from Angel. "Don't look at me like that," she said, catching his expression. "Haven't I proven that I'd do anything for you? Anything in the world?" She took hold of his hands. "What I meant was, I think you should be bound to someone else. Someone - with a younger body." Her voice dropped with the last, as if she were embarrassed. "Find some young girl to do this with, someone who'll give you a long life -"

Angel's soft laughter interrupted her. "Buffy, Buffy, don't you get it yet? I don't want to live without you. I told you that before we went after the Master. What good would it do for me to be bound to some young girl if I only wanted you?" His voice suddenly grew somber and low. "If I can't have you, I don't want anyone at all."

Buffy actually blushed. Quickly she turned to Willow. "Well, that settles that. Next?"

"That's it," Willow said, smiling. "The spell won't take more than five minutes and then - walla, one human Angel."

"And one very happy Buffy," Xander couldn't resist adding.

Willow made sure the circle was perfectly round, then pulled out the parchment scroll upon which the spell was written in Latin. She told Buffy that she'd have to leave Angel alone in the small circle for a moment. After a quick kiss and a squeeze of hands Buffy stepped across the ring of light. Willow began to chant from the scroll, and after a moment Sister Elen, who stood beside her, joined her voice with the witch's. The others were silent, watching intently for any change from Angel.

They didn't have long to wait. After two or three minutes of chanting, Angel gasped and dropped to his knees. He grimaced and clutched at his head.

Buffy bit her lip and looked to Willow. Willow slowly nodded, and the Slayer stepped into the circle and knelt down beside the one she loved.

Angel looked at her with lost, confused eyes. Knowledge slowly leaked back into them, and with it came love. He smiled at her, and after a moment she helped him to his feet. They shared another smile.

And then the room exploded into sound.

The large windows shattered into a hundred pieces as rocks from Willow and Xander's own yard were thrown through them. The rocks were followed by firebrands that immediately ignited whatever they touched. The front door could be heard slamming open, and then there were people in the room, strangers made dim by the smoke filling the area.

"What the hell - ?" Buffy cried as the chaos erupted. She turned and the crossbow bolt that would have hit her back instead lodged itself in her shoulder, sending her spinning half way across the room.

Angel called out her name and ran to her, barely avoiding another bolt cast in his direction.

The circle was broken.

Giles grappled with three figures that had him backed into a corner. Xander saw him, fended off his own opponent and went to help, snatching up a heavy statue as he ran. Willow chanted out the spell at an accelerated, breakneck speed until the moment Angel set foot outside the circle then she launched herself at one of the figures who had invaded her house.

"This way, this way!" Sister Elen called, pointing towards the kitchen. She held a broken vase in her hand, and a figure lay sprawled at her feet.

Xander clobbered the last person trapping Giles, and then the two of them made a dash for the kitchen. Buffy stumbled ahead of Angel, who ran behind her, watching for more bolts headed in their direction.

They made it out of the house and stood gasping and coughing in the darkness. In the distance the city's fire squadron could be heard approaching.

"Where's Willow?" Xander asked, coughing.

"I'm here," she gasped, appearing before them. There was an odd look on her smoke covered face.

"What?" Buffy asked, her voice rough with pain.

"I saw one of those people's faces," she said, turning her head to look at the burning house. "It was a man I used to work with. A Watcher." Slowly she shook her head. "He tried to stab me."

They used public transportation to get to the safehouse in the lower part of the city. They were quite a sight, too, with their smoke covered skin and clothes, Willow's bandaged arms and hands, the cuts and bruises Angel and Xander sported, the fading bruises around Buffy's neck and the awkward, bloody bandage around her arm. It had only been last night that they faced the Master tonight they had faced the Watcher's Council. There was no conversation between them.

At the safehouse, Sister Elen gave them rooms and told them where the bathrooms and kitchens were as well as where they could find the small clinic. The group went there first, where Giles examined Buffy's arm. Although the wound was deep, it was already healing. He applied peroxide and a decent bandage.

"He tried to have me killed," Buffy said quietly.

"Not you," Angel corrected, brushing a strand of hair away from her face. "Me."

The Slayer wearily shook her head. "What are we -"

"Let's discuss it in the morning," Giles suggested. He motioned to Xander and Willow, who had fallen asleep in two chairs across from them. Willow's head rested on Xander's shoulder and he had an arm draped half over her shoulders. It would have been a sweet picture, if not for their various wounds and smoke covered skin. As it was, they looked like war refugees.

"It's been a rough few days," Giles added, stifling a yawn. With the stress and excitement of the past days, he had only slept undisturbed for a handful of hours he doubted any of them had, either. Even Angel was struggling to keep his eyes open.

"Tomorrow then," Buffy agreed, yawning widely. She walked over to wake up the two in the chairs. They would thank her more for waking them now than for allowing them to awaken stiff and sore in the morning. Besides, Willow needed her bandages changed as well.

"Will. Hey, Will, wakey-wakey."

Willow groaned and rolled over, absently reaching for sheets that her bandaged hand couldn't seem to find. "Gimme, Xan," she demanded sleepily.

"It's past noon, Will. Open your eyes and see the light," Xander teased. "Besides, I got a question for you."

She muttered something about what he could do with his question, but she was awake now and he knew it.

"Did that spell work on Angel?"

Her eyes blinked open. She rolled over to look at him. They stared at each other for a moment, then bolted out of bed.

"Giles!" Xander called to the ex-Watcher walking down the hallway. He and Willow quickly threaded their way through the people between them.

Giles waited patiently for them just before an open door leading outside. He carried three glasses of some yellowish substance, probably lemonade. On his face was an oddly content smile.

"Have you seen Angel?" Willow asked breathlessly.

Giles softly laughed. "Oh yes."

The couple waited anxiously. "And?" they demanded together.

Giles nodded towards the door. "See for yourselves."

Willow ran through the door, Xander on her heels. Outside was a small garden, complete with soft, ankle high grass, a few tall trees, and beds of flowers lining the walls. The garden was empty except for the couple that sat side by side beneath one of the trees.

They were holding hands. Not kissing, not speaking, but simply holding hands and surveying the beautiful day that surrounded them.

Willow began to cry. That couple sitting together in the garden under the light of the sun was the most beautiful sight she had ever beheld.

Buffy heard the sound and saw her friends standing there, watching them. Without releasing Angel's hand she stood up and walked towards them, grinning from ear to ear, and Angel followed her, right out into the sun.

"It worked," Xander said, grinning goofily. "It worked."

"It worked," Angel agreed with a smile.

"It worked!" Willow sobbed, throwing one bandaged arm around Buffy and the other around Angel. Suddenly she was no longer crying but laughing and dancing about with them. "It worked, it worked!"

Xander turned his goofy grin on Giles. He gestured at the trio spinning around the garden. "It worked."

Giles nodded, laughing. "Indeed."

"Oh, come on, say it," Xander teased.

"It worked," Giles said, rolling his eyes and smiling.

Success had made them all a bit giddy. This was why they had gone up against the Master this was why they had risked everything in a fight that by all odds they should have lost. For friendship. For love. For a chance to dance in the sunlight and act like fools on the grass.

Eventually they all sat beneath one of the tall trees and passed around the three glasses of lemonade. For a brief moment in time all was right with the world as five old friends sat in silence and basked in the light of the sun.

Two weeks. Two glorious weeks. Two weeks of absolute, unparalleled perfection. At least they had that.

Willow and Xander returned to their home. It hadn't suffered much from the fire, for which they were both grateful. Some carpeting and furniture had to be replaced, and a few walls had to be repainted, but within three days it was as if nothing had ever happened. Having free time on her hands, Willow applied for a few jobs. The same day she applied, four different companies offered her a contract. Her skills with computers were in such high demand that the companies vied with each other for her time she finally went with the software company that gave her a nice sized paycheck, plenty of paid vacation, and even a sign-on bonus. Her hours were flexible, which was nice since Xander wasn't spending so much time at the office anymore. Going up against the Master had realigned his priorities.

Everyone was worried at first that the Council would attempt some other Wesley-driven antic, but the Council was strangely silent. Marianna was going to bring the three children home after a couple of days, but she was having so much fun with them at a beach house in the states that she begged to keep them longer. They were as close to grandchildren as she would ever come her only son had died in the same war that gave Buffy nightmares. Understanding this, Willow and Xander consented to keep the three out of school for a while longer. They felt it especially important for little Buff to have lots of fun, for who knew when she would become the next Slayer?

Giles considered returning to the states to be with his wife, but then opted for staying in England and visiting some old acquaintances. It was only for a short time, after all - and he talked with her every night on the phone.

As for Buffy and Angel - they were in paradise. Being wary of the oddly silent Council, they decided to stay in England for a while in case trouble arose. They rented a small flat in London and traveled throughout all of the country, visiting every tourist attraction and sight-seeing spot available, just as Buffy had always wanted to do. It was like a dream, the two of them together both in the daylight and the darkness. The sweet, fun days. . . the long, passionate nights. . . There was no happiness to match theirs.

Buffy no longer dreamed nightmares of the past.

Angel no longer brooded, guilt-ridden with the things his demon had done. His demon was gone, and he was completely human. Even if the spell was never completed, leaving him with an odd craving for rare meat, a slight sensitivity to sunlight, and a good deal stronger and faster to heal than most humans, he knew he would never again be faced with an every-moment battle with a demon locked inside him.

He and Buffy went back to the hotel they had stayed at for a little less than half a month. They collected their things - and spent some time on the bed they had chastely shared for many a night - before returning to their flat, never to return to the hotel again.

"Ireland," she said dreamily. "I can't believe we're actually going."

He laughed softly. "You can't believe it. . ."

They sat side by side on the steps outside their flat, watching the last few minutes of the sunrise. Neither one of them wore more than their pajamas and robes, but the people passing down the street didn't seem to mind. Some even smiled and waved to them after all, they sat drinking tea on the front steps every morning, and they always smiled and waved back.

Marianna and the children were returning today. They were going over to Willow and Xander's place tonight for a mini going-away dinner. Tomorrow they were going to Ireland to play tourists for a few weeks - or perhaps longer, depending on how things went.

Buffy was practically bouncing off the walls with excitement. She had dragged Angel shopping and purchased several outfits for herself and even one or two for him. Her excitement was contagious he found himself looking forward to showing her around his homeland. He knew he could convince her to stay. . .

Smiling, he reached out and tenderly ran a hand down her face. She returned his smile with a beautiful one of her own and asked him if he wanted another cup of tea.

When Willow arrived home that afternoon from her office, Marianna's rented vehicle was already in the yard. Willow grabbed the bag of groceries she'd bought for dinner and jumped out of her vehicle, playfully touching the horn to let them know she was home.

Coming up the walk, she noticed a note stuck to the front door. Marianna and the kids must have gone through the back and missed it. There were only two words on the paper:

Council's Judgement.

She growled in frustration. She had a party to throw tonight. If Wesley and his Council had trashed her house, she was going to hack into their computer system and delete all their files. Teach that little frog (as Buffy called him) a thing or two. . .

She opened the door and called out, "Hey guys, I'm home!"

Only an eerie silence greeted her.

"Marianna!" she called again, slowly setting her bag of groceries down on the floor. "Angel! Oz, Buff!"

No answer.

Now she was worried. Where were they? Their vehicle was out front. What was going on?

She called out again, then began to look around. The kitchen was empty, although the door stood wide open. She shut it and moved into the livingroom.

She didn't see her at first. When she did see her, she didn't immediately understand. Laying there so sweetly on the new couch, she looked like she was peacefully sleeping.

And then Willow understood what she was seeing. What had happened.

She started to scream.

Buffy and Angel were just getting ready to leave the flat when the phone rang.

"I got it," Angel said, making a dash bach to the kitchen before the machine answered the call. "Hello?"

Silence - an odd, thick silence.

"Is anyone there?" he asked. He turned to see if he recognized the number of the caller. "Okay, Xander, ha-ha. What do you want? And if you call me Ex-Dead Boy one more time, I'm gonna reach right through this phone and slug you."

There was a little whimper from the person on the line. That was all.

Angel suddenly had a weird feeling in his chest it took him a moment to realize it was fear. "Buffy, please come here!" he called.

Buffy walked around the corner and into the small kitchen. "What's up?" Her smile faded when she saw the concern on his face.

He handed her the phone. "I think something's wrong. It's Willow and Xander's number-" he gestured to the caller identification tag -"but no one's saying anything."

Buffy frowned, put the phone to her ear. "Hello, this is Buffy ."

"Buffy. .."

Buffy's eyes flew open. "Oh God. Will. Willow, what's wrong?"

Willow wouldn't say anything. She just whimpered.

"Hang on Will, okay? We'll be right there. Hang on, okay?" Buffy slammed off the phone and made a dash for the door.

Angel was only a step behind her. "What's wrong?" he asked as she climbed into the vehicle they had rented for their stay in England. He swung around the bumper and slid in beside her.

"I don't know," Buffy confessed, activating the engine, "but something's sure not right."

Part Two

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