The Wheel
Disclaimers: See part one.
Part Seven
Visiting the mansion after so long was very strange. It looked abandoned…but then, it always had. Still, she knew that inside would be dusty and worn. Willow could still see in her mind the last time she had been here. She could see Angel suffering from the effects of Faith's poison. It made her shiver.
She was very glad for the sun shining outside.
Only Angel's car in the driveway showed her that anyone was here. None of the rest of the gang was here yet, but that was the way she wanted it. She needed to speak to Angel alone. She only hoped he was awake.
The door opened only moments after Willow knocked hesitantly. For a second she glanced into the open doorway in confusion, not seeing anyone. Her eyes adjusted to the darkened interior and she spotted Angel standing behind the door, out of reach of the sunlight.
"Hey," she said softly in greeting as Angel closed the door behind her. "I wasn't sure you'd be awake."
"I couldn't sleep," he replied just as softly. "Though…I guess that's not too surprising with the last week and all."
There was a long moment of silence between them.
"You're early," Angel said at last.
"I needed to talk to you."
Angel nodded and the two of them walked deeper into the house. They sat facing each other on the couch. Angel waited patiently for Willow to begin to speak.
"You're looking better," Willow said, trying to figure out where to begin.
"I recover fast," Angel explained. "But you didn't come here to talk about my health."
Willow was silent for another moment. "It…has to do with Buffy's death." Angel nodded but said nothing. Willow swallowed hard. "When…the doctors were trying to save her, she called out to me. I don't know what she was talking about. She said… 'tell him I never forgot.' No one has a clue, and you're the only *him* left I can think of."
An odd look crossed Angel's face. He sighed and sank back into the cushions of the couch. He looked tired, and instantly smaller.
"It does mean something to you!" Willow exclaimed. Angel nodded silently. "Are you going to tell me what it is?"
"It doesn't matter," Angel said dismissively.
"Yes, it does," Willow disagreed. "It matters to you." When Angel still didn't respond, Willow sighed. "We've got a big battle coming. It may be the biggest yet. And…we don't have Buffy this time. Which means we're really going to need to work as a group. Anything that effects one of us could effect all of us."
When Angel did not reply or even look at her, Willow came to a decision. "I blame myself for Buffy's death," she blurted.
Angel's head shot up and he stared at her. "You couldn't possibly-"
Willow's gaze stopped his words. "I was the first one to be captured. It was stupid, really. I walked out after dark…. I thought I was prepared for vampires…but crosses and holy water did no good against these guys. Not stakes either…I tried to get one of the ones that came after me that day. We had no clue there was anything unusual going on in Sunnydale before that. So Buffy was totally unprepared when she came to rescue me. And she died for it."
"You can't blame yourself for her death," Angel said finally. "Buffy would have done the same for anyone she knew. And anyone she didn't know, for that matter." Angel stared at his hands for a moment. "Maybe it was just her time."
Willow smiled sadly. "Are you trying to convince me or yourself?"
Angel met her empty smile. "Both, I think." He looked her in the eyes. "There's something else."
Willow nodded. "Someone else died…in my place. Someone I knew. She was a friend of mine, and when the demons needed a witch and lost me…she died instead." They gazed at each other in silence for a long moment. There was really nothing for Angel to say to that. Except… "Well, I've told you what I hadn't told anyone else. Are you going to tell me what's bothering you now?"
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