FanFiction Archive

Understanding

Part 12

Lorne came to an abrupt halt as he almost barreled into Angel. "Hey, you could give a demon some warning," he protested, stepping around the motionless vampire. He looked into the clearing and sighed. In front of him was Willow, or at least the girl who he assumed was Willow. All he could see was her back.

"Lorne, I can't get to her. There's something holding me back," Angel said, his voice hoarse with frustration.

Lorne nodded. "I can almost see the energy from the protections she's cast," he answered.

"Great. How do we stop her?" Angel asked.

Lorne shrugged. "I'm not quite sure," he admitted.

*****

Willow continued with her chanting as she heard footsteps coming toward her quickly. Glancing up, she saw Angel burst through the bushes. Taking a deep breath, she turned her back toward him, willing herself to continue the spell and not be distracted.

*****

"You're not sure?" Angel snapped.

"No need to get testy!" Lorne retorted. "Have you tried talking to her?"

Angel winced. "Well, no," he admitted before turning his attention back to the witch in the circle. "Willow? It's me, um... Angel. Listen, can we talk?" He waited a moment before asking again. Willow ignored the both of them. "Willow, please talk to me?" He sighed and turned to Lorne. "She's not talking to me! What do I do?" He asked in a loud whisper.

Lorne rolled his eyes at the vampire's attempt. He could hear the witch's chanting become louder. His eyes widened in sympathy as he read the redhead. "Oh the poor thing," he whispered.

Angel turned his head slightly, looking at Lorne from the corner of his eyes. "What do you mean?"

"She's hurting, bad," the green demon informed him. He winced as Willow's reading washed over him with each word she chanted. He spared a quick glance at Angel. "You need to get her attention, distract her or something. She's working on pure pain - anything that causes her to ignore it or forget it will bring down the barrier long enough for you to get to her."

Angel nodded and opened his mouth before closing it again. He cleared his throat. "Um, so Willow, Spike called me. And we didn't fight once on the phone," he offered to begin with. He ignored Lorne as the green demon rolled his eyes and gestured for him to continue. The vampire's mind raced as he tried to think of things to say to the redhead to distract her. He decided to try for humor first. "Did Cordy ever tell you that she got pregnant with demon spawn?" He paused, noticing no discernable change in the witch. "Guess not. Well, um, how about that I slept with Darla last year?"

Lorne groaned and closed his eyes. "Real smooth, Casanova," he muttered. His red eyes widened as a new tone in the chanting alerted him to a change in the redhead. "Keep going," he urged Angel. "You almost had her there."

*****

Willow tried to stay focused on her chanting. She knew the words by heart so she was able to take part of her mind off the spell to focus on the two people who were standing on the edge of her circle. 'Angel? And... that must be Lorne,' she mused before blinking. 'Stay focused, Willow!' She admonished herself.

As she realized that Angel was speaking to her, she began to tune him out. However, a few words broke through her concentration. 'Darla? He slept with that vapid... he didn't tell me! Oh, he and I are so going to have a little chat when this is all over!' She promised herself, tamping down on her anger at the revelation. She took a deep breath and felt her circle waver slightly. She quickly focused again, pouring all of her pain into the spell once more.

*****

Angel searched his mind for something that would surprise the redhead. Humor hadn't worked and his news about himself and Darla had only produced a faint ripple of interest. His mind finally latched onto something that the redhead couldn't ignore. He took a deep breath and mentally steeled himself. "Willow, I love you!"

Angel was pleased to see Willow whip around to face him, her mouth hanging open in shock and her eyes wide. He smiled and turned to Lorne to see Lorne rolling his eyes. "What? It worked, didn't it?" He asked as he strode toward the girl in the center of the now collapsed circle.

*****

"Willow, I love you!"

Willow heard the words but was unable to fully comprehend them. She turned quickly to face Angel, and was shocked to find him smiling beatifically at her. Her mouth fell open and her jaw worked soundlessly as her throat was unable to produce any sound. She glanced at Lorne who had a pained expression on his face.

She blinked as Angel quickly made his way to the center of circle. In dismay, she looked around and saw that the spell had been aborted. It was over. This spell was a one-time thing. Once started it couldn't be used again by the same witch. She swallowed as her eyes began to fill with tears. She knew why Angel had said what he did. She met Angel's eyes, now no more than a foot from her own. As her tears spilled over onto her cheeks, she raised a hand and slapped Angel hard on his cheek. "You *bastard*!" She screamed before she ran off past Lorne toward the entrance to the cemetery.

Lorne turned to Angel and shook his head. "You, my friend, have no sense of timing whatsoever," he chastised. When Angel looked at him with a blank look, Lorne rolled his eyes. He hurried to the shocked vampire. "If I didn't know you were over two hundred years old, I wouldn't believe it. I didn't think anyone could be that bad to the woman they love!"

Angel raised his hand to his cheek. "She slapped me," he said in a surprised voice.

Lorne shook his head and grabbed onto Angel's arm and propelled him in the direction the witch had gone. "Now hurry! Go tell catch up with her like a good little vampire and tell her you really do love her!"

Angel looked at him in confusion. "But I just told her that," he protested, not understanding.

"She thinks you said it just to stop her from doing the spell!" Lorne said in frustration. "Do I have to spell everything out for you? I mean, really, where would you be without me?" He asked, shaking his head.

"She... but why would... oh God!" Angel sputtered as he turned and hurried off through the bushes in pursuit of Willow.

Lorne smiled and nodded to himself. "Well, my work here is done," he said to himself, pocketing the keys to Angel's car. "I wonder if there's any place I can get a good Seabreeze around here," he mused as he made his way to the cemetery entrance and toward a sign that proclaimed that the bar was called 'Willy's'.

As he walked in he sat down at the bar. "A Seabreeze," he ordered when the barman looked at him quizzically.

"You're not from here, are you mate?" A voice with a British accent asked.

Turning Lorne saw a blond vampire. The face sparked a flash of memory he'd once read from Angel. Lorne smiled. "You must be Spike," he said.

Spike's eyes narrowed. "And just who might you be?" He asked.

Lorne laughed and patted the seat next to him. "Sit down, my good vampire. I think we have lots to talk about!" He said in a cheerful voice.

*****

Angel almost tripped over a sobbing Willow halfway to the Summers' house. Stopping suddenly, he loomed over the girl who was sitting with her knees pulled to her chest, her back against a parked car.

Willow looked up and upon seeing him, angrily wiped her tears away. Standing up, she poked him in the chest. "You... you are a mean, horrible - that was - I mean it was cruel!" She said, her tears streaming down her face.

Angel winced. "I didn't say it just so you'd stop the spell," he began.

Willow glared. "Oh really?" She asked in a disbelieving tone.

"Yes, really. I mean, yes that was what I was trying to do but it doesn't mean I didn't mean what I said!" Angel told her.

"Yeah right," Willow said sarcastically, turning on her heel. She began walking quickly in the direction of her house.

"Willow! Please stop and talk to me," Angel said as he watched the woman he loved walk away from him. Willow stopped but refused to turn to face him. "I do love you. Ask Lorne if you don't believe me!"

"So that was Lorne?" Willow asked, trying to work through the multitude of feelings that were coursing through her. 'He loves me? He really loves me?' She asked herself incredulously, almost not willing to believe her ears.

Angel nodded, sighing when he realized she couldn't see him. "Yes, that was him," he said softly. "Willow? Why'd you do it?"

Willow's shoulders sagged. "I can't do it by myself anymore, Angel. I just can't," she said. She felt strong arms envelope her from behind. Turning, she buried her face against Angel's chest. "It's just too much. And I'm missing Buffy so badly. She has to miss me right? Even if she's in Heaven. Wouldn't she want to be here? To be with Dawn and me and Xander and Giles? I mean, we're her friends! And I'm the only one who's here. And I just can't do it all myself."

Angel's eyes closed as he savored the feel of Willow in his arms. "You won't have to. I'll help," he offered.

"But..." Willow began to protest feebly.

"No buts. I love you and I'll help," Angel said in a tone that forbade any further discussion. "Well, unless you don't want me to."

"No!" Willow said, quickly, pulling away so she could see Angel's face. "No, I want you to."

"Good," Angel smiled.

"Now," Willow frowned, feeling confident about what she was about to do. "What was that about you and Darla? I don't remember you telling me about that earlier. If we're going to have a relationship, I need complete honesty!"

"Well, um," Angel began, almost regretting his decision to tell Willow that detail. A smile gracing his face when his mind finally caught up with the conversation. "A relationship?"

Willow nodded, pulling away. "Well, isn't that what happens between two people who love each other?" She asked, a smile forming on her lips.

"You love me?"

"I love you, Angel," Willow assured him. She fixed the vampire with her best resolve face before linking her arm through his. "Now, fess up, Mister! What else haven't you told me?" She asked as she led him toward the Summers' house.

Angel squirmed as he began to talk.

THE END...?

(Webmistress' Note: Well, I couldn't bear to see it end there, could you? So, with Kaz's permission, I'll be writing a sequel to Understanding *g*)

PREVIOUS

Back to archive