"Willow."  Angel stood in the doorway of the Summers house.  Angel looked over the rest of the gang.  It still hurt a little to see Buffy, he guessed that it always would, but it wasn't nearly as bad as it use to be.  He knew that his future simply wasn't with her.  His eyes settled on a figure he didn't know.

 

    "Angel, this is Sam Seaborn. Sam, this is Angel."  Willow made the introduction.

 

    Angel nodded at Sam, then refocused on the reason he was there. "Willow.  I need to talk to you."

 

    Willow was nervous, she knew this had to be about Spike.  "Of course, let's all go into the living room."  The group made there was into the other room.  Willow sat close to Sam, grasping his hand tightly.

 

    Angel paced the room in front of the others. "As you know, I was in Europe investigating reports that Spike had been seen there.  I didn't want to tell you what I found over the phone."

 

    Willow bit her lip.  She didn't like the sound of this. "What did you find, Angel?"

 

    "I have no reason to believe that Spike is still around.  I tracked reports of him for weeks.  It turns out news of his death hadn't reached Europe yet.  Some fledgling was trading on his name, using the fame of the scourge of Europe to gain power.  He got stupid, claimed he was William the Bloody in front of some people who actually knew Spike."

 

    Everyone let out a sigh of relief.  Willow buried her head in Sam's shoulder.  "Thank the goddess," she murmured.  Sam stroked her hair gentle, unsure of what was happening, but wanting to comfort her.

 

    To everyone's surprise, Xander stood up and shook Angel's hand. "Hey, man. Thank you for doing this."

 

    Angel shook his head slightly, "I just had to make sure he was really gone. I wouldn't have been able to live with myself otherwise."

 

    Willow pulled away from Sam, and went to give Angel a hug. "Thank you so much, Angel. For everything."

 

    "You're pregnant?"  Angel asked softly.

 

    Willow looked at him in confusion. "How did you..."

 

    He smiled, "I can hear their heart beats."

 

    Willow returned his grin.  Then her smile faded. "Wait a minute.  Did you say *their* heat *beats*?" she asked, emphasizing the plural.

 

    "Three of them.  Didn't you know?"

 

    Sam was on his feet in a second.  "Triplets?  We're having triplets?"

 

    "I didn't know." Willow said. "I mean, I only found out I was pregnant last week.  Triplets! Oh, Sam!"  Willow flung her arms around him, hugging him tightly.

 

    "That's great, Willow!"  Buffy couldn't have been happier for her best friend.  She knew that Willow would be a wonderful mother, if it the pregnancy had been far from planned. There was another round of congratulations, and yet another round of hugs.

 

    Finally, when everyone had quieted down, Sam turned to Willow. "Fell free to tell me that it's none of my business, but who is this Spike guy?"

 

    Willow took a deep breath.  She hadn't told anyone outside of the Scoobies what had happened to her that night.  But she wanted to tell Sam. She wanted him to know about her life, and how she had ended up working at the White House. She trusted and respected him, and she thought she might just be falling in love with him.

 

    "Why don't we go someplace, and I'll tell you all about it."  Willow led Sam out of the room. It was still light out, so she took him to the back yard.  She went to the swing set, and sat down, motioning for Sam to sit too. When he did, Willow turned to him.  "This isn't an easy story to tell, and it probably won't be easy to hear. Spike was a vampire who came to town several years ago...."