I rolled over, still shivering from the wonderful dream I had. I can't believe I dreamed of Angelus! I smiled to myself, wanting to call Xander to tell him about it. I reached over to the nightstand to grab my phone, only it wasn't there. I opened my eyes slowly, staring at a white ceiling. That wasn't anything different.

And then I realized that I was wrapped in satin sheets. I frowned slightly, sitting up. I gasped. I was still in my dream! And then the memories came crashing back. I wasn't in my dream, this was my reality!

My lip trembled as I thought about everything that happened. I only prayed that I didn't mess up my past too much.

I slid out of bed and grabbed one of Angelus' poet's shirts. I put it on and walked out of the bedroom, wondering where he was. As I looked at the different objects in his living room, some of which I recognized from his apartment in Sunnydale, I didn't feel the presence behind me until she spoke.

"Are you looking for daddy?"

I spun around, fear filling my body. It was Drusilla. I stepped back, my hands twisting the shirttail of his shirt. "Um. . ." I stuttered. "I. . .well. . ."

"Don't be scared, Little Tree," she smiled, gliding to me. "I won't hurt you. Daddy loves you too much."

I relaxed a bit. "Where is he?"

"Daddy?" Dru asked. "He is off with William, hunting." She licked her lips. "They promised they would bring me home something special." She smiled. "I don't know what they are going to bring me, but I always enjoy it."

I sat in the chair beside her. I was scared, but not terribly. I didn't get the impression she was going to hurt me. . .but then, you never knew with Dru. "Dru, this is. . .bizarre."

"We have to get you back home."

I looked up at Dru, shocked. "You know?"

"The stars told me a few days ago that we were getting a Little Tree and her friend from a land far away. They told me that I had to tell Daddy and Spikey not to hurt you."

"Thank you." I said softly.

"Wills?"

I glanced up and smiled at Xander. He looked. . .well, he looked like he'd had a wonderful day in bed with the love of his life. I think he was glowing. "Xander," I smiled, getting up to hug him. "You look. . ."

"Thoroughly fucked?" he supplied with a grin. "I am." He stepped back, looking me over. "You don't look that bad yourself, hun."

"Angelus is. . ." I shuddered at the memories of his hands on my body.

"Willow, do we have to go home?" Xander asked softly.

I blinked at him. I had never thought of staying here, in 1886. I opened my mouth to speak, then shut it. I frowned. I really wanted to go home, back to Buffy and. . .but then did I really? Would I want to go back to a world where the man I was falling in love with was in love with Buffy? "I don't know, Xander. We have to think of how much our being here complicates the timeline."

"You need to go home, children," Dru said, "or it will ruin everything." She walked over to us and took my hand. "Daddy and Spikey may love you and miss you here and now, but if you don't go home, they will ache horribly in the future."

"Did. . .the stars tell you that?" Xander asked softly. I could tell he wasn't really scared, but there was still a caution. This was still Drusilla.

"No, Miss Edith did," Dru said. "She's very wise."

"Dru," I said, pinching the bridge of my nose. "I can't get home without the spell."

Dru looked thoughtful. "Well, we can go where you got the book you did the spell from."

"What?" I asked, trying to figure out what the insane vampire said to me.

"She said," Xander started, like I was a child, "that we need to get the book from wherever you got the book before."

"That's impossible," I said, frowning.

"You got the book from a store?" Xander asked, his hope falling.

"No, it's Angel's," Willow said. "He let me borrow it before he went to LA. But how are we going to get it? It's not like I can go to Angel and say, 'Hey, I need this. . .' " My eyes widened. What if. . .what if Angelus had the book? I knew it was pretty old. . .

Xander's wide eyes met my own and I knew that we were thinking the same thing. We rushed to the bookshelves and started looking for it. "What color is it?" Xander asked.

My eyes scanned the familiar books. Angel had a thing for old books, some of which he had for over two centuries. I ran my fingers down the intricate leather spine of one of them. "Tan, light brown leather. Says 'Spells' on the front in gold."

"That doesn't sound familiar," Dru said softly as she joined us and tried to help us find the book. It didn't turn up.

"Damn it!" I cried, tears filling my eyes. We were *so* close.

"What's wrong, Kitten?"

I turned, and saw Angelus and Spike standing there grinning at me. I threw myself at Angelus, wrapping my arms around his neck. I sobbed against his neck. "I want to go home," I sobbed. I did. All of the sudden, the feel of my own bed, seeing my friends smile, knowing that we lived on the Hellmouth with all kinds of demons and other evil things. . .I wanted to be there.

Angelus pulled away with an angry look on his face. "What, you don't want to stay here with me?" His eyes were flashing yellow at me. For the first time since we met the night before and he made me feel at ease, I was terrified of him.

"No, Angelus. . .It's not that. . ." I whimpered in fear, trying to get out of his arms.

"Daddy," Dru purred, putting her hand on his arm. "If we keep our Little Tree, then you will be unhappy in the future. Spikey and I will keep you company until you can have her again." She batted her eyes at him, trying to get him to agree.

Angelus' rough features smoothed out. "Fine, Dru." He turned to me, a look of resignation in his eyes. "What do you need?"

I started to explain the book to him. He frowned. "That's odd," he said, reaching into his bag.

"What?" I asked softly.

"The couple we killed tonight, they had this book on them. For some reason, I wanted it. Spike said none of the spells really looked like anything he was interested in, and we should just throw it down, but for some reason. . ." He pulled out the book.

My heart started beating faster. "This is it," I whispered. "This is the book." I looked up at him, tears filling my eyes. "Thank you."

Dru and I busied ourselves, getting ready for the spell. Xander was talking to Spike, telling him other things that he wanted the vampire to know. I chuckled when I heard Xander's way of getting Spike to seduce him in the future. "See, when you find me, when Buffy comes to town. . .you two will be waiting, won't you?" Xander glanced at Angelus, then turned back to Spike.

"Sire and I talked about that. We figured we would catch you the summer before the Slayer shows up. If you trust us, she will have no choice but to trust us," Spike said. He frowned. "What year did she come?"

"1996," Xander responded. "Anyway, when you meet me, I'm very much in love with women."

"Girls," I shot at him. He threw me a look.

"Anyway, if you start telling me you want me, I'm going to completely freak. So. . ." He thought about it. "I don't know what to tell you to do to get me past that apprehension I have."

I shrugged. "Just kiss him. Sparks will fly." My eyebrows came together in thought. "Oh, that's going to suck for me though, because I'm in love with him in '96."

Xander looked over at me, a sad look on his face. "I'm sorry I hurt you so long, Wills," he said softly.

I shrugged. "It's cool. We are better than ever, and I have Angelus," I purred. I turned to my lover. "You are just going to have to sweep me off my feet. Show me what a real man can do, not a little boy."

Angelus' laughter was rich. "I will be sure to do that, my love." He ran his fingers on my cheek. I sighed and leaned into his touch.

"We should go," I murmured, closing my eyes, "or we will never leave. Miss Edith says we have to go." I opened my tear filled eyes. "I don't want to leave you."

"But I will be there when you get to your time," he purred. "I'm the one who has to live for the next century without you." He frowned. "Are you sure you can't stay?"

"They can't, daddy," Dru pouted. "Miss Edith says it will mess everything up, and you won't have your little tree if she stays."

Angelus pushed me away gently. "I can't touch you anymore. If I do, I won' t let you go."

"I love you," I said, surprising myself.

He smiled and said, "I love you too, Willow."

"Wills," Xander whined. I glanced over at him. Spike was running his fingers through Xander's hair, nibbling on his ear. "Are you *sure* we have to go home right now?"

"Yes," I said with enthusiasm I didn't feel. "If we stay longer, we won't go home. We won't be able to make ourselves."

"Ok, let's do it now then," Xander said, pulling away from Spike. "Come on, Spike, let's get this show going."

We gathered in a circle and started the spell. My eyes met Angelus' over the bowl of liquid. "I love you," I mouthed.

He smiled. "I love you," he mouthed back.

There was a flash of light, and then my world went black, once again.

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