"How was your week away?"

Willow glanced up, grinning at her best friend Cordelia. "Hey, Del....it was great! We had sex on the beach."

Cordelia grimaced. "Ok, I know the three of you have been together for like, two years now, but you REALLY don't have to give me the details."

Willow shrugged. "Ok, if you don't want to know..."

Cordelia squealed and settled in her desk. "Ok, ok, I wanna know everything!"

Willow chuckled. "Yea, I knew you would!"

*-*-*-*

Angel and Spike walked up to the door of Angel Investigations. Angel glanced through it, seeing Willow and Cordelia huddled together, giggling. The dark haired vampire turned to his childe. "You know they are talking about us."

Spike laughed, leaning against the wall. "Yea, she's telling Delia how good I am, I'm sure."

"And how do you know that she's not telling her how good I am?" Angel asked, smiling.

"Because you are old, you bloody poof. I am constantly amazed you can keep up with me and Red."

Angel laughed out loud. "And who was it, Spike, who was begging Willow to stop last night because he needed a cigarette and about two decades of sleep?"

"Yea, well," Spike grumbled, "I was tired. Leave me alone."

Angel smirked. "I like it when you tire out though."

"Yea, I know, I know, you get Red all to yourself. I get her to myself too, you know."

Angel smiled at Spike. "I know. I fake sleep sometimes so you can."

Spike laughed. "I know, I feel you watching us. You are nothing but a voyeur."

Angel caressed his childe's cheek. "And I do so enjoy watching the two of you...."

Spike grumbled, brushing Angel's hand away. "Come on, Peaches, let's go inside." His voice was thick with emotion. <After all this time,> Spike thought, <you still get to me.>

The two of them walked in. The girls looked up at them and started giggling. Cordelia wiped tears away from her eyes. "Angel?" she chuckled. " 'How to tame your inner demons'? Are you learning much from it?"

"Shut up, Cordelia" Angel growled.

"Woah, tes-ty!" Cordelia sang.

"Shhh," Willow giggled, nudging Cordelia in the side. "Leave him alone. The old softie still has a soft spot about that."

"Sorry, boss!" She laughed, grabbing a file. "Here, me and Wesley took care of this case while you were gone."

Angel opened the file and studied it. "Good, good. Thank you, Delia, for holding down the fort while we were gone."

"Well, you three needed the time away. You've been getting on my nerves," Cordelia said. "Not one vision. Knock on wood." She knocked on the desk.

"Uh-oh," Willow said.

"Yea, I know," Cordelia sighed. "I just jinxed myself. Before the end of the day, I promise you another TPTB Special....with a side order of Headache."

Willow held up the bottle of extra strength aspirin she kept in her desk drawer. "I've got pills!"

"Leave them out," Cordelia requested.

"I'll be in my office," Angel said.

"I'm with Peaches," Spike said. "We've got important boss stuff to do." He followed Angel into the office.

"Yea, like you have the word boss attached to your name," Angel grumbled, shutting the door.

The girls laughed at the two vampires.

*-*-*-*

"I don't know, Willow," Cordelia said, opening the refrigerator and pulling out a bottle of water. "I mean, I think that Mrs. Caloni has more going on than she says that she does. It's obvious that there is some kind of witchcraft involved, but is it the evilness that she proclaims it to be?"

Willow frowned. "I don't know, Del....all the signs point to it."

Cordelia shrugged. "Instinct says that it isn't evil. Maybe she is trying to set someone up."

Willow studied her best friend. Over the two and a half years Willow had worked with Angel and Cordelia, she'd grown to trust Cordelia's instincts. The girl was usually right about her feelings. "What do you think it means?"

"Perhaps she is trying to frame someone for something. We find out who is allegedly doing all this evil witchcraft on her, and we find out the person she wants to hurt," Cordelia surmised.

"Makes sense..."

"Yea, I just wish she didn't use such a dangerous form of framing," Cordelia sighed.

"I know. She has no idea what she is dealing with. So many things can go wrong with magic, and she would have no clue," Willow groaned.

"Yea, I know. Come on, we have to let Angel know---" She grimaced. "Oh, god..." Cordelia dropped to her knees, clutching her head, cursing Doyle for the thousandth time for all the visions she had.

"Cordelia!" Willow cried, rushing to her side. "Angel! Spike! Vision!"

Angel and Spike rushed out of the shared office to their fallen co-worker's side. Willow cradled Cordelia's head in her lap, stroking her forehead.

The three waited helplessly until Cordelia came out of the vision. "Oh, god," she whispered.

"What is it?" Angel asked. "What did you see?"

"Oh, god no...." Cordelia whispered. "It...can't be..."

"What is it?" Spike growled.

Cordelia looked straight at Spike, fear in her brown eyes. "Drucilla. She's coming back for Angelus."

*-*-*-*

"Spike..."

Spike watched the smoke curl from his cigarette, the long ash glowing in the night. He didn't turn around; he hardly acknowledged his sire's presence.

Angel stepped up to Spike, standing beside him. He looked out over the city. The blonde spent a lot of time on the roof, watching the lights below. It was one of his favorite places to be, especially when he wanted to be alone. "You wanna talk?" Angel asked softly.

"Not really, Peaches," Spike replied, flicking his cigarette over the edge. "I don't really have much to say."

"You don't have much to say?" Angel asked. "You think I WANT to go to Dru? You think I want to leave you and Willow?"

Spike turned to Angel, growling. His eyes turned yellow. "I don't know what you want, Angelus. I never do. I know that the bloody soul in there loves me, but the demon is there too, and will always be there. And the damn demon wants Dru. He's always wanted her. He did way back then, back when you bloody changed her, he did when you lost the soul in Sunnydale, and I know that he does now." He sighed. "Now that your soul is permanent, your demon is much closer to the surface. I know the soul can control him, but I also know that he has a lot of decision in what you do. And if he convinces you that you need to go to Dru...."

"The soul won't listen," Angel promised.

"Yea, and if the demon convinces you that you need to go to save me and Red? What would you do then? If you thought that was the only way? Would you leave me? Would you go?"

"To save your life? In a heartbeat."

Spike growled, his vampire visage falling on his face. "Then life isn't worth bloody living, you pillock." He stalked away.

*-*-*-*

Willow sighed, sitting next to Cordelia. "You ok, Del?"

"Yea, as well as can be expected." She sighed. "Do you think that Dru is really coming?"

"The vision said so, and so yes, I do," Willow said. She looked down at her hands and sighed. She started turning the ring she wore, which was two bands (one yellow gold and one white gold) intertwined. It had been a gift from Angel and Spike, the yellow gold being the dark vampire and the white gold being the blonde. "I don't want him to go, Cordelia."

"He won't," Cordelia promised. "That's why The Powers That Be sent me the vision, so we can stop it."

"How can we stop it? Drucilla is CRAZY!" Willow cried.

"I don't know." Cordelia took Willow's hand. "But we will."

The two girls jumped at the slamming of the door behind them. They turned around to see Spike stalking through the office. He was in full game face, and very angry. "Spike, where are you going?" Willow asked softly.

"Out," he growled.

"But, Spike," Cordelia said, "the sun will be up in an hour."

"So don't expect me home," Spike growled. "I'll see you later." He grabbed his leather duster and walked out of the office.

Willow's head dropped into her hands. "Oh, goddess, it's starting already."

"What?" Cordelia asked.

"The fragile balance we have between the three of us," Willow mumbled. "It's going to crumble."

"Will...."

Willow felt a large hand on her back. She turned, to stare into Angel's dark brooding eyes. She stood up. The vampire engulfed his lover into his arms. "You are leaving," she said softly, tears filling her eyes.

"If that's what it takes to save you and Spike, then yes, I am."