PART 6

Angel looked up as his office door opened and Willow and Xander walked in. He took in the girl's wan appearance but hopeful look and knew he wasn't going to be able to do anything but tell her the truth. She deserved that at least.

"Did you find him?" Willow asked as soon as she'd sat down.

"Yes, I did," Angel replied quietly.

"You did?" she repeated in surpise. Even though it was what she had wanted to hear, it had still come as a bit of a shock.

Angel nodded and pulled a small business card out of his shirt pocket. "He's working at this club."

"But this is right here in L.A.," Willow gasped as she read the address.

Xander looked over her shoulder in surprise and also read the card. "That's not too far from here," he commented, then looked up at Angel suspiciously. "How long have you known about this?" he wanted to know.

The vampire looked away, not wanting to lie to the pair of them.

"You knew where he was when I came here last night didn't you? You've known all along," Willow surmised. "You went and saw him didn't you?" It wasn't an accusation.

Angel nodded his head and looked back at her.

Xander leaned forward angrily. "Why didn't you tell us? Don't you know what Willow has been going through?"

"It's OK, Xander. He was just doing what he thought was best," said Willow.

"You're defending him?" he questioned in surprise. He shook his head in disbelief. "I don't believe it."

"Look, I wanted to check out the situation before I gave out any information," Angel said calmly.

"And what is the situation?" Willow asked cutting across more protestations from Xander.

"Well, he has his own band now and they play at the Starlight four nights a week. He has his own place a couple of blocks from there and he's still in control of his wolf side…"

"That's good. And is he…is he seeing someone?" she asked with some hesitation.

"No, but there is a woman that he likes," he replied honestly. "A lot."

Willow felt her heart lurch. "Would you tell me about her, please," she requested quietly.

"Well, her name is Serena and she took over the club when her older husband died. She seems nice and it's pretty obvious that she likes him too."

"What does she look like?" she asked curiously.

"Long black hair, brown eyes, petite, beautiful..."

Willow nodded as she digested the information. "I see. Does he know I'm here?"

"No."

She felt relieved at that knowledge and smiled at the vampire. "Thanks Angel." She and Xander stood up to go.

"He still loves you, Willow," Angel said softly.

She stopped and looked back at him, a spark of hope lighting her eyes.

"He's playing at the club tonight. If I were you, I'd go and see him," Angel advised softly.

The witch smiled tremulously and nodded. On impulse, she walked around his desk and bent down, kissing him gently on the cheek. "And if I were you, I'd call Buffy," she whispered before quickly moving away and walking out of the room with Xander in tow.

***********************************

Serena sat down at one of the tables by the stage and settled herself comfortably on the seat to listen to the end of the rock number the band were performing. They were due for a break and she wanted to spend a little time with Oz.

A few feet behind her, the doors of the club opened and Willow and Xander entered.

"I don't know if this is a good idea," Willow suddenly said as she turned around and walked back out.

Xander shut the doors again and followed her out. He grabbed her shoulders and turned her around then stared into her face. "You've come too far to give up now, Will," he told her sternly. "That's Oz in there. You can't just leave without knowing if there's a chance that you could be together again."

"But, I hurt him and he likes someone else now. Maybe I should just go and let him be happy."

"He would be happy with you!" her friend pointed out.

"Xander…I'm scared," she whispered suddenly. "What if he won't even talk to me? I couldn't handle that."

Xander pulled her into a hug and sighed. "Oh, Will, of course he'll talk to you. I know this is hard, but if you don't at least see him, then you'll regret it for the rest of your life. You have to go in."

Willow pulled away and smiled. "When did you get to be so knowledgable about emotional stuff?"

He grinned and shrugged his shoulders. "Anya's taught me well."

The witch stared at him and nodded in approval. "You know, I think she has. I'm so happy for you both."

They hugged briefly again and then Willow held her head up proudly. "OK, I'm ready. Let's do this."

Xander opened the doors and they stood in the entrance for a moment, letting themselves adjust to the low lighting, then Willow spotted Oz.

Time stood still as images of when she used to watch him at the Bronze flooded her mind. She greedily drank the sight of him in. His hair was dyed strawberry blond and a little longer than the last time they'd met. Her eyes then lovingly reacquainted themselves with every feature of his sweet face that was a study in concentration as he played his guitar. Moving down, she stopped at the hands that were moving with their usual agility and grace over the instrument's strings.

But the thing that brought tears to her eyes most of all, was the overwhelming surge of love she felt course through her body. It was good to feel it again.

She grabbed hold of Xander's hand and squeezed it hard, causing him to yelp in pain. He looked at her then noticed her gaze was fixed upon something on the other side of the club. He followed her line of vision and, he too, saw Oz.

Xander patted her hand supportively and led her over to an empty table then sat down. The whole time, Willow's eyes never strayed from the stage and Oz.

"I can't see her can you?" Xander asked looking avidly around the club. "I mean, if she looks as good as Angel said then she should be easy to spot."

"Who?" responded Willow distractedly.

"Serena of course," Xander explained, still searching the faces of the people in the club.

"Xander!" exclaimed Willow in a hurt voice and dragged her eyes away from the stage fleetingly.

"What?" he replied all innocence. "I'm just curious."

His interest was soon satisfied when the band finished their set and they saw Oz jump off the stage and walk over to a young woman that was sat at a table nearby.

"I guess that's her," Willow said unemotionally as she watched him sit down and take hold of the woman's hand.

Xander let out a low whistle. "Nice…," he commented appreciatively then noticed his friend's pained expression at his approval and hastily covered,"…in a 'could be taller and wear less make-up' kind of way."

Willow smiled in spite of herself and felt some of the tension ease.

"Are you ready?" he asked her.

"No," she replied getting up from her chair. "But I'm still going to talk to him. Like you said, I've come this far…"

Xander also stood and followed as the witch made her way, albeit slowly, over to where the couple were sitting. They were a little way from the table when Willow stopped and drew in a sharp breath as she watched Oz lean forward and lovingly kiss Serena. As she stared, it felt like someone was inching a knife slowly into her stomach, the hurt was so intense. It was too late.

She went to turn away but Xander's hands clamped around her arms and held her fast. "You've already faced one demon Will…now's the time to face your personal one," he ordered quietly into her ear.

Willow knew he was right and looked back at the couple who were still kissing, wondering what she was going to say. She wasn't given any time to think about it however, because at that moment, Oz suddenly broke the kiss with Serena and turned to stare directly at the witch, shock evident in his eyes.

He'd recognised her scent as soon as he'd started kissing Serena and had momentarily let himself imagine that it was Willow he was with. The thought had brought him up short and he'd pulled back guiltily. For a fleeting moment, he thought he'd conjured up her familiar smell out of some perverted sense of betrayal, but then he realised that it was very real and it surrounded him totally. He'd looked around and there she was… standing a little way in front of him…after all this time.

Xander took hold of his friends arm and all but dragged her the remaining short distance to the table. "Hey," he greeted cheerfully and held out his hand towards the guitar player. "Oz, man, it's good to see you again."

Oz automatically reached out and shook it. "Xander, good to see you again too," he mumbled, never taking his eyes off of the redhead by his friends side.

Xander turned his attention to Serena. "Hi, I'm Xander and I'm guessing you're Serena?"

"Yes, I am," she confirmed with a puzzled look.

"We’re old friends of Oz’s," Xander supplied helpfully. "We thought we’d look him up on the way through town…you know." He saw the curious look Serena was giving his friend and introduced her. "Uh…this is Willow." From the look of pure shock that crossed the raven-haired woman's features, he knew that Oz had obviously mentioned her.

Serena recovered quickly, then held out her hand towards the witch. "Oz has told me so much about you, it's nice to finally put a face to the name," she told her graciously.

Keeping the happy smile pasted on his face, Xander gently nudged Willow on the back to try and snap her out of the daze she appeared to be in.

"What? Oh! I'm…I'm sorry," she faltered as she tore her eyes away from Oz and looked at the woman by his side. She gave Serena's hand the briefest of shakes and looked back at Oz, muttering, "It's nice to meet you too."

Serena looked from Oz to Willow then back again and suddenly stood up. "I think I'd better leave so that you can talk." She looked at Oz, hoping that he'd insist she stay but he merely shot her a quick glance and nodded.

Xander saw her dismayed look and took pity. It wasn't her fault, after all. "How about we go get a drink, huh?" he offered. Serena nodded and Xander stood back to allow her to walk passed him. "Good luck, Will," he whispered to his friend before turning and leaving her alone with Oz.

END PART 6