Willow walked into the library, smiling at everyone. "Hi," she said cheerfully, taking a seat that wasn't usually the one she sat in. "What's going on?"

"Just talking about you," Xander said carefully. "Will...ow, I need to talk to you later." She nodded. "And we all need to discuss, as a group and as people." She nodded again. "You're awfully calm."

"Xander, I knew what was going to happen when I offered myself. This isn't a shock for me. None of it is." She reached across the table to touch his hand but he drew it away. "Di can tell you I'm me," she said, sighing at the end. "I'm not going to hurt you or anything."

"I'm sure, but my mind isn't so decided on the subject," Xander told her. "All it knows is that you stepped into the arms of that demon of your own free will and then you show up looking very strange and very not-you." He waved at her white hair, this time the sides twisted and gathered in the back.

"It happened when he touched me with his powers," Willow said softly. "When the portal closed. All the color drained from my hair and dripped away." She looked at Buffy. "But you've probably seen that happen." Buffy shook her head. "No?"

"Nope, Giles mentioned it though." She looked her friend over. "We'd like to believe you're fine, Will, but I can't do that. My slayer-sense wants me to get up and beat you to a pulp because you smell like a demon even though my heart knows better." She leaned forward, looking across Xander at Oz, who was sitting beside and a little behind him. "I don't know how the others feel, but I'm feeling *real* betrayed."

Cordelia walked in, smiling at everyone. "Hi," she called, walking up to the table and stopped at the sight of Willow, gasping. "Oh, god, did you have the guy that did that to you arrested?" She walked around touching the white hair, or trying to since Willow moved it away from her. "What's the big? I'm not demon girl of the week."

"No, I am," Willow said sadly. "Cordy, I offered myself to a demon to get rid of Angel and we're discussing whether or not I can come back to the Scoobies."

"Oh, okay then. So why the white? You look really odd." She sat down next to the witch, looking her over. "The rest of you looks normal but your hair just screams ‘trauma' to me."

"It was," Willow admitted. "A power trauma. His power touched me and all the color drained from it for good." She shrugged. "The price you pay sometimes."

"So, are you leaving or not?" Cordelia asked, squinting in confusion. "I mean, that's bad and all but you're here and we could use you. And I'm sure you learned some really dirty tricks from this demon, right?" Willow nodded. "So, why aren't we using them against the evil guys, like leather-boy."

"Because the demon has him," Buffy said simply, getting up and leaving. "Later. Gonna patrol," she called from the doorway. Nobody wanted to mention it was actually daytime and she wouldn't get much out of it, she was hurting in her own way over Angel.

Xander shook his head. "Willow, this is going to be a long discussion and it can wait for a few days. We still have to deal with Giles when he comes back too."

"*I* made him," Willow said hotly. "None of this was his doing. Matter of fact, I'm not sure he could have resisted since I started the calling and made him finish while I prepared myself."

"TMI," Oz said quietly.

"Sorry." Willow looked at Di. "When you saw him, did he look normal?" Di nodded. "But I spelled him to help me do this."

"You're not that strong," Di told her gently. "Though you may be now, before all this, you weren't strong enough to hold him under a compulsion." She looked at the boys. "I need to talk to Willow, why don't you two go to the office and get the books I had Andre send to Oz." They got up and left. "You too, please Cordelia," she said when the young woman hadn't taken the hint.

"Huh? Oh, sorry, just looking at the jewels in her hair. Are they real?" Willow nodded. "Killer then, very unique." She got up, walking out too.

Di looked down the table at the younger witch. "Are you a minion or are you a willing consort?"

Willow sighed. "I went willingly, Di, I really did, but I did like what he did to me, after that first couple of times. Though time runs differently there. What was ten days here was a couple of centuries there." The older witch nodded. "And I can't help but feel bad for what I did to Oz and the rest of the gang, but I'm not bad, no worse than Andre is." She looked up to make sure her meaning was clear. "Sorry if you now have a lower opinion of me, but I'm not spying for him and I'm going to enjoy it while it lasts."

"Just remember, you can come to me if you want or need help getting free," she said quietly, "and he has the right to pass you around."

Willow nodded, grinning. "I know. And I enjoyed that too." She one sided shrugged. "I'm kinky that way I guess." She stood up. "I'll go so they feel better." She headed out the back door, leaving the Library totally until she was called on to return. After Giles got back.

Di held her now throbbing head, eyes closed. She head the door open but didn't look up, guessing it was probably one of the other teens.

"What? No dreams today?" Snyder asked snidely from behind her. "Or are we not paying you to sit around."

Di put her head up, looking at the principal. "No, actually it's just a normal headache. I get them when trolls come around to bother me." She stood up. "Did you need something or is this just an excuse to get out and bother people?"

"I saw Rosenberg come in here, I know I did. She's supposed to be out of town so that must mean she's skipping and lied to the office."

"She forgot something." Di walked around him, heading for the office. "She's gone again, just had to get her computer that I put in the office for her."

His eyes narrowed. "Why do I think there's more to this than that lie?" He snapped his fingers. "I think you're here to take over the Brit's job of seducing her. Yeah, maybe doing the whole group."

Xander coughed from the doorway. "Not really, don't like women like her." He walked in, followed by Oz. "Books," he said simply.

"Cage?" Oz suggested.

"Please," Di said. She looked at the troll...principal and shook her head. "I have a very nice *man* at home, thank you, Principal Snyder. Would you like me to try and wake him up so you could talk to him?" He shook his head. "Then I suggest you calm your innuendos. I do not sleep with people ten years, or more, younger than I am. My mate is older than I am and foreign. I seriously doubt any teen in this school could match him so they have very little to worry about. Now, if there's nothing else, I'm going to take something for my head and you will please go and harass someone else for a change, like the English teacher that only wanted private information for that report for some reason." She slammed the office door, almost in his face.

Snyder stormed out, slamming the library door in his haste to get away from her.

"Uh-oh," Xander said quietly. "Me thinks the troll doth have a crush on her."

"Shakespeare was good for you, wasn't it?" Oz asked with amusement. Xander nodded, grinning. "I have a book of his stuff at home if you'd like to borrow it."

"Cool. Liked Shakespeare. Had a really dirty mind. Him and Byron. Only good things that came out of Freshman English." He closed the cage door behind him. "How many more days?"

"Five," Oz reminded him. "We'll get a calendar to put in here." He patted the younger man's arm, heading back to the table. "Di?"

"You living?" Xander added.

She opened the door, leaning against the frame. "Yes, but I need a distraction. Come help me move furniture on my computer."

"Bring it out here," Oz suggested. "Less Snyderly overtones." Xander nodded and she shrugged, going for her laptop.

*****

Buffy wandered into Giles' apartment, sitting down on the couch. "I'm sorry I ran out that way," she called, bringing the older woman from the kitchen. "Really am, it just got a little too close to home."

"Hey, if it had been Andre, I would still be in bed." She shrugged, heading back to her supper. "There's enough here for left overs, want some?"

"No thanks, I grabbed a cheap burger." Buffy moved so Di could sit beside her and talk. "How did you deal with him? I mean, had I know that all it would take was happiness to kill my Angel, I would have become a supreme nag."

"Andre once told me that vampires were a lot like they were as living people. He's never killed to feed, matter of fact, when he's been injured he usually feeds off me." She took a bite of her casserole. "But, and I do stress this since I was informed of it, the Hellmouth has a different principle in operation. Here, the darkness pulls at those that are already bad. If you went to somewhere like New York, you'd never see a bad vampire again probably. Of course, almost all of your hunting would be in clubs nowadays, but still." She took another bite, relaxing. "So, how you holdin' up, kid?"

"Fine," Buffy sighed. "It's just hard. I miss him. I miss what he was, and have since he became Angelus again, but this just makes it worse. Before we might have cured him, now he's sleeping with the demons."

"Literally," Di muttered.

"Huh?"

"Um, nothing,"she said, stuffing her mouth quickly. Buffy scowled at her. "I said literally," she said finally. "That's their usual thing. Demon's have more sex than most creatures on any plane of existence."

"So, did Willow..." Di nodded. "Eww!" Buffy shuddered, wrapping her arms around her. "Seriously sickening. How *can* you be eating?"

"Easy," Di said, taking another bite. "Practice and necessity."

Buffy shook her head. "Guess that's like that does-autopsies guy that was in the paper that was found eating pb&j sandwiches over his clients." Her face scrunched up. "Gonna stop that thought right there, thank you."

Di put down her plate. "Okay, that was a little gross after all. Not even I can eat after that thought." They looked at each other and laughed. "Buffy, you're a very special girl," she said, brushing one sticking hair off the younger girl's cheek, "and one day, you'll find someone who makes you insane while he makes you happy and you'll be set. But Angel wasn't it. His curse was too fragile to withstand unless he had pulled himself away from life. As soon as he started living again, it was doomed to happen." Buffy nodded. "It wasn't you, it was the fact that he was living again. You didn't know beforehand and he did. He could have told you but he didn't. I think that means that he secretly wanted you to break it."

"Or he thought I wouldn't be the one," she said.

"You've known him since you got here, right?" The younger woman nodded. "There was no way he didn't see it before you two got together. He probably had a few near misses as you two fought together and grew closer. This is not your fault." She picked up her plate. "And with those wise words, I'm off the clock unless you need me for something else."

"Nope, just wondering if I was supposed to patrol tonight."

"Do you want to?" Buffy shrugged. "I'd say, if it's quiet, go take a long bath and soak. It's a Monday, it's not payday or a holiday, almost nobody's out tonight probably so go relax and think." She accepted the hug one armed and watched as the young woman left. "Later," she called, starting to eat again. "Thank the Lady I never went through that with Andre," she said quietly.

*****

Buffy ran into Willow outside of her house, frowning at her friend. "Mind if I agree with Cordy? The hair is freaky, it's like it's glowing in the dark." Willow smiled gently at her, patting the porch swing. "So, what's up?" she asked, sitting beside her friend.

"I wanted to come see how you were," Willow said, taking her hand to hold. "You know, reconnect on a nice level again."

"Will, we're friends, but I'm not sure how good." Buffy shifted to look at her. "I mean, you go and make a change that affects both of our lives and you don't say a word, not even a hint?" Buffy shook her head. "Never mind, that sounds like you ran off and got married."

"Buffy..." Willow stopped to gather her thoughts. "Buffy, I want to show you what I did. I want us to go somewhere this weekend and for me to show you something. Will you allow it?"

"Depends, am I gonna end up doing what you did?"

"Not if you don't want it."

Buffy shrugged. "As long as it's not harmful I guess it'd be okay. I mean, Xan and Oz went off to LA for a night and they came back normal, though Xander was walking funny there for a few days."

"There's something else you should know," Willow said quietly. "I slept with him."

"Who? Xander? Did you make him walk funny?"

"No, I think that was Oz." She cleared her throat, pulling out a piece of her hair to play with where her friend could see it.

"Oh, you slept with *him*," Buffy said, then gagged. "Um, please no more okay? My stomach can't take too much of that thought."

"Then I won't tell you," Willow said simply. She stood up. "I'm not bad, Buffy."

"Willow, you keep saying that like you're trying to convince somebody, I've been wondering who."

"Both of us," Willow said, walking off into the night.

Buffy watched her go, her face showing her sadness. "I'm sorry, Will, I should have stopped you." She sat up suddenly. "The prophecy said male." She ran inside, straight for the phone. "Di," she said. "The prophecy said male."

Part 9