A TIME TO MOURN...A TIME TO REJOICE
By: Lisette (lisette@chaletian.co.uk)
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Distribution: Just ask.
Okay, I wrote this ages ago. I'm not sure if I'd even seen season 3. Anyway, thought I'd post. Feedback is always hugely welcome.
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Prologue
Willow looked around warily. Walking home from the Bronze by herself was perhaps not, in retrospect, the smartest thing she'd ever done. Still, Giles had been saying only that morning that there seemed to be a drop off in vampire activity, so she should be okay. And she was probably just imagining that sound behind her. No, no she wasn't. Willow began to walk faster, then broke into a run. She remembered something Xander had said once - just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not after you. Yep, there was definitely something following her. Willow's insides start to feel shaky and cold, and she tried to hold off the panic that was threatening to overwhelm her. Seeing her house, she gave a sigh of relief...
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It was raining outside the church. The day was cold and gloomy, with a storm forecast for the afternoon. There hadn't been a funeral - with no body, it was kind of difficult. They had never found any trace of her. Giles, Buffy, and the others figured it must have been vampires, although it seemed unlikely that Willow had been turned. It was nearly six months since she had disappeared, and had she become a vampire she would no doubt have come after them already. No, Willow was dead.
They hadn't taken it well. Willow may have had some objections to being the group's reliable dog geyser person, but it was true that they had all depended on her. Buffy had lost true and unswerving friendship and support, Xander had lost his oldest and dearest friend and confidante, Giles had lost the one person who really shared his delight in research and knowledge, Cordelia had lost the eventual acceptance of a person who had been more of a friend than she could ever have imagined, and Oz had lost...everything. When they had all ended up in the library as usual the day after Willow disappeared, only to discover that she hadn't made it home, and her parents had no idea where she was. They had tried to find her, in desperation seeking out all the places where vamps congregated - Buffy had even hunted down Spike, but to no avail. Willow had vanished. Their lives would never be the same again.