A/N: Okay, this story takes place after "Good Bye Iowa". Yes, many things will be quite
different, but I've stuck to the main stuff here. No twisted Angel/Willow romances. In
fact, staying true to the Buffy storyline, I do not even have Angel in here. So if you're
looking for Buffy/Angel mush, you've come to the wrong place, my friends. However,
since Joss is taking so long to bring Oz back, I'm doing it! Oh, also: there is no smut or
graphic violence etc. in here. This is rated what it's rated due to language, mostly from
everyone's favourite impotent, mean spirited vamp. That would be Spike, just in case you
didn't get it. And finally, these characters belong to Joss...yhadda yhadda...happy reading.
:)
Willow was looking for something. She was trapped in her Oz's room in the house
he shared with the band. She had checked under the bed, in the closet, in the drawers, she
had gone through his clothes, riffled through the towels, but still hadn't found what she
was looking for. Suddenly, the door behind her slammed and she turned. A bright smile lit
her face as Oz walked in toward her, sharing her grin. But no, he wasn't smiling, he was
baring his teeth...at her... Quite suddenly, she realized something was wrong, he was
wrong. His teeth were too sharp...too long...he was hairy...a werewolf. He leapt for her
throat just as she screamed.
"Will...ow....."
She could feel his teeth and claws tearing into her, shaking at her, ripping...scream!
Scream! her brain cried. But no, that was wrong...now he was running away. But she
didn't want him away, did she? Scream! Scream! Scream....
"Willow!"
She woke with a start, nearly falling out of bed. Where was she? Dorm room, her
own. No werewolf. Just a concerned Buffy kneeling next to her.
"Will, are you okay?" Buffy asked anxiously, "You screamed in your sleep..."
"Yea..." she felt tears running down her cheeks and she angrily brushed them away
with her fingers, "I-I'm okay....It was just..."
"The dream?" Buffy finished for her, her face sympathetic and pained all at once,
"I thought it was gone."
Willow hugged her knees to her chest and rocked back and forth on her bed,
"Yea...so did I," she whispered, "Buffy, why do I miss him so much?"
A look flickered across Buffy's face, a pain of her own...but she smiled at the
Wiccan.
"It's understandable...he left very suddenly...without a goodbye..." the Slayer
shook her head, sending her blond locks cascading down her back, "You'll get better.
Don't' worry about it." She stood, brushing her knees off.
"Oh..." Willow sighed, "What time is it?"
Buffy glanced at the clock and grinned wryly, "5:42 am. We don't have classes
until 9."
Willow looked at her sheepishly, "I'm sorry. Bad timing for nightmares, I guess."
The Slayer just shrugged good naturally, "Heartbreak has no timing," she said
softly, snuggling back into her own bed. She looked at her roommate in surprise as the
Wiccan stood and collected some clean clothes and her bath bag.
"Where are you going?" Buffy asked quizzically.
"I-I don't think I'll be able to sleep anymore," Willow replied with a small forced
smile, "I think I'll just go take a shower, get dressed, do the whole morning thing and just
walk around a bit. I don't think I'll be able to sleep anymore."
Buffy gave a small nod as Willow disappeared out the door and sighed as she lay
back in bed. She worried for the friend. Sure, she herself had mourned over Angel's
leaving, but then, she had known it couldn't have ever worked. Not with their
differences...but now and then she caught herself wondering if it had been the right thing.
Should she have gone after him? Tried to stop him? The image of his walking away,
through the smoke of the rubble and flames flashed painfully through her mind like a knife.
She gave a violent shake of her head, Stop, she thought, You need to focus on
Riley now. You love him, don't you? You want him to be better. To heal. Inside and out.
She gave a shuddering sigh, rolled over in bed and within moments lapsed into a
troubled sleep.
***
"Goooood morning, LA!" the clock radio atop a messy nightstand crackled to life
and stirred the occupant of the bed next to it awake.
Oz groaned and rolled out of bed with a thud. His head ached and he felt like hell.
Too many long nights playing with the band, too much noise, too much of everything...He
swatted at the sleep button of the clock, but missed.
"...and on a more tragic note, in Sunnydale California just this week, the death of
that viciously murdered little boy, now identified as Thomas Katylinar, is still under
investigation. Rumor has it that government action has been taken.."
Oz was groggy no longer, but quite awake. He had heard all he needed to. He
threw on what he hoped was a clean tee shirt and went about digging around the messy
room for some pants, noticing as he passed by the mirror, he was wearing the wolf boxers
Willow had given him.
Willow....his heart ached at the thought of her. Her soft, radiant red hair and how
it gleamed in the sun, her soft laugh and bright smile that had always had such an affect on
him. He felt so true...so pure with her.
"And yet, I was staying here to keep her safe," he said aloud, laughing at the irony
of it. Finally locating a pair of jeans, he hopped into them and grabbed his coat off the
back of the door.
Dashing outside into the bright sunlight of late morning, he climbed into the
driver's seat of his van and patted the steering wheel affectionately. He started up the car
and check his gas tank. Deciding it would suffice, he took one last look at the house.
Without really assessing his situation, he rubbed his hands together, Well, so long, LA,
hellloo Sunnydale, he said silently before pressing the gas down.
***
"... 'Aven't had a bloody girl in...seems like years..." Spike had stormed into
Gile's home, as usual, uninvited and unannounced, where the Scooby Gang had already
been located. It seemed he had fallen into one of his fits of depression again and the group
was forced to listen to his rant.
Giles sighed as he entered the room with his tray of tea and books, "Spike...as
always, a pleasure."
"... 'Aven't even kissed a gell in...forever..." he sighed and slumped down onto a
chair and glared at Xander, "pizza/nutrition bar-boy over there gets more than I do."
"You shouldn't talk so vulgar." Anya deadpanned.
Spike give her a look, "Since when has demon girl picked up manners?"
"Xander said I shouldn't swear," Anya replied.
Xander shrugged, "She screamed a very...explicit...word in the middle of Noodle
Kidoodle at the mall,"
"And you were in Noodle Kidoodle...why?" Buffy asked.
"He was trading insults with a 3 year old in some other store. We followed him."
Anya said.
"Hey! He called me a poop head out of the blue!" Xander protested.
"And will those of us with maturity levels past the second grade please step
forward?" Buffy sighed.
"Hey, hey, back to my problems!" Spike snapped.
"Why don't you go find some vampwoman of the night, or are even the
demon-whores avoiding you like the plague?" Xander asked.
Spike didn't seem to be listening, just rubbed his forehead with one hand, "I mean,
why did this have to happen to me? I'm not even 2 centuries old yet! I still like killing! I
should be out there smoking bad stuff, drinking the blood of women, living the life of a
bad boy with some chic at my side..."
"Well, if it makes you feel any better, you're really good looking for your age. I
mean, you don't look a day over 28..." Willow fell silent under Spike's intense glare. She
shrugged, "Just trying to help."
"Yea, thanks a lot, Red." he retorted.
Suddenly, Willow stood. A look of anger crossed her face and she marched up to
Spike and pulled the surprised vamp to his feet.
"Why don't you stop moping and start moving on?! Get over it! You need to do
something...go discover who you are! Take up...knitting or...sheep farming. Something!
You're just like...just like...." her voice faded, "Me...Oh, what's happening to me?" she
backed away from Spike, tears filling her green eyes. To her surprise, Spike lifted her chin up so that their gazes met,
"Hey, don't you worry about Dog-Boy, Red. You're right, we both need to move
on." he left one of his cold fingers trace her cheek bone. It paused, as though hesitant and uncertain as to what it was doing there, below her eye. Then he let his hand fall back to his side.
He turned to look back at the rest of the Scooby Gang who were staring at his, eyes
and mouths wide open. Willow was the only one looking away, her cheeks a pleasant
shade of rose.
"What?" he finally barked. Xander's mouth was pressed in a very firm line, his eyes
desperately bright with tears of laughter. Anya had an eyebrow raised. Giles's forehead
was wet with sweat and he quickly bent down to dust invisible dust off of his coffee table. Buffy's eyes were wide enough to match her mouth which hung open.
"What's so funny?!"
Spike looked at them again, then back at Willow who still wasn't looking at him,
then grabbed his duster off the hook, covered himself with it and dashed out the door.
***
"Don't wanna talk about it, I say why not? don't wanna think about it, I say there's got
to be some good reason for your little black backpack, upsmack, turn around he's on his
back and...don't wanna tango with you, I'd rather tangle with him...I think I'm gonna
bash his head in..be sure to concern you except that just don't expect to get your bloody black backpack back...."
Oz turned the radio up as he sped along the lonely highway. Only a little while
longer, Willow...only a little while longer....
His mind wandered, taking steps down memory lane. He remembered meeting her
for the first time...falling for her and mooning over her...their first date...how he'd ached
to kiss her, but hadn't....how she had found out about his transformations...how she'd still liked him...how she'd kissed him...the way it felt to be with her...by her...then, he cheating with Xander...but how they'd bounced back...moving onward in school...how he'd held her in his arms-a perfect fit...the scent of her hair...graduating, the horror and
fear...protecting her...her protecting him...him killing Veruca for her...him turning on
her...and finally, him leaving, the look of desperation and fear and pain on her lovely
face...
But he was coming back to it all. Now..
different, but I've stuck to the main stuff here. No twisted Angel/Willow romances. In
fact, staying true to the Buffy storyline, I do not even have Angel in here. So if you're
looking for Buffy/Angel mush, you've come to the wrong place, my friends. However,
since Joss is taking so long to bring Oz back, I'm doing it! Oh, also: there is no smut or
graphic violence etc. in here. This is rated what it's rated due to language, mostly from
everyone's favourite impotent, mean spirited vamp. That would be Spike, just in case you
didn't get it. And finally, these characters belong to Joss...yhadda yhadda...happy reading.
:)
Willow was looking for something. She was trapped in her Oz's room in the house
he shared with the band. She had checked under the bed, in the closet, in the drawers, she
had gone through his clothes, riffled through the towels, but still hadn't found what she
was looking for. Suddenly, the door behind her slammed and she turned. A bright smile lit
her face as Oz walked in toward her, sharing her grin. But no, he wasn't smiling, he was
baring his teeth...at her... Quite suddenly, she realized something was wrong, he was
wrong. His teeth were too sharp...too long...he was hairy...a werewolf. He leapt for her
throat just as she screamed.
"Will...ow....."
She could feel his teeth and claws tearing into her, shaking at her, ripping...scream!
Scream! her brain cried. But no, that was wrong...now he was running away. But she
didn't want him away, did she? Scream! Scream! Scream....
"Willow!"
She woke with a start, nearly falling out of bed. Where was she? Dorm room, her
own. No werewolf. Just a concerned Buffy kneeling next to her.
"Will, are you okay?" Buffy asked anxiously, "You screamed in your sleep..."
"Yea..." she felt tears running down her cheeks and she angrily brushed them away
with her fingers, "I-I'm okay....It was just..."
"The dream?" Buffy finished for her, her face sympathetic and pained all at once,
"I thought it was gone."
Willow hugged her knees to her chest and rocked back and forth on her bed,
"Yea...so did I," she whispered, "Buffy, why do I miss him so much?"
A look flickered across Buffy's face, a pain of her own...but she smiled at the
Wiccan.
"It's understandable...he left very suddenly...without a goodbye..." the Slayer
shook her head, sending her blond locks cascading down her back, "You'll get better.
Don't' worry about it." She stood, brushing her knees off.
"Oh..." Willow sighed, "What time is it?"
Buffy glanced at the clock and grinned wryly, "5:42 am. We don't have classes
until 9."
Willow looked at her sheepishly, "I'm sorry. Bad timing for nightmares, I guess."
The Slayer just shrugged good naturally, "Heartbreak has no timing," she said
softly, snuggling back into her own bed. She looked at her roommate in surprise as the
Wiccan stood and collected some clean clothes and her bath bag.
"Where are you going?" Buffy asked quizzically.
"I-I don't think I'll be able to sleep anymore," Willow replied with a small forced
smile, "I think I'll just go take a shower, get dressed, do the whole morning thing and just
walk around a bit. I don't think I'll be able to sleep anymore."
Buffy gave a small nod as Willow disappeared out the door and sighed as she lay
back in bed. She worried for the friend. Sure, she herself had mourned over Angel's
leaving, but then, she had known it couldn't have ever worked. Not with their
differences...but now and then she caught herself wondering if it had been the right thing.
Should she have gone after him? Tried to stop him? The image of his walking away,
through the smoke of the rubble and flames flashed painfully through her mind like a knife.
She gave a violent shake of her head, Stop, she thought, You need to focus on
Riley now. You love him, don't you? You want him to be better. To heal. Inside and out.
She gave a shuddering sigh, rolled over in bed and within moments lapsed into a
troubled sleep.
***
"Goooood morning, LA!" the clock radio atop a messy nightstand crackled to life
and stirred the occupant of the bed next to it awake.
Oz groaned and rolled out of bed with a thud. His head ached and he felt like hell.
Too many long nights playing with the band, too much noise, too much of everything...He
swatted at the sleep button of the clock, but missed.
"...and on a more tragic note, in Sunnydale California just this week, the death of
that viciously murdered little boy, now identified as Thomas Katylinar, is still under
investigation. Rumor has it that government action has been taken.."
Oz was groggy no longer, but quite awake. He had heard all he needed to. He
threw on what he hoped was a clean tee shirt and went about digging around the messy
room for some pants, noticing as he passed by the mirror, he was wearing the wolf boxers
Willow had given him.
Willow....his heart ached at the thought of her. Her soft, radiant red hair and how
it gleamed in the sun, her soft laugh and bright smile that had always had such an affect on
him. He felt so true...so pure with her.
"And yet, I was staying here to keep her safe," he said aloud, laughing at the irony
of it. Finally locating a pair of jeans, he hopped into them and grabbed his coat off the
back of the door.
Dashing outside into the bright sunlight of late morning, he climbed into the
driver's seat of his van and patted the steering wheel affectionately. He started up the car
and check his gas tank. Deciding it would suffice, he took one last look at the house.
Without really assessing his situation, he rubbed his hands together, Well, so long, LA,
hellloo Sunnydale, he said silently before pressing the gas down.
***
"... 'Aven't had a bloody girl in...seems like years..." Spike had stormed into
Gile's home, as usual, uninvited and unannounced, where the Scooby Gang had already
been located. It seemed he had fallen into one of his fits of depression again and the group
was forced to listen to his rant.
Giles sighed as he entered the room with his tray of tea and books, "Spike...as
always, a pleasure."
"... 'Aven't even kissed a gell in...forever..." he sighed and slumped down onto a
chair and glared at Xander, "pizza/nutrition bar-boy over there gets more than I do."
"You shouldn't talk so vulgar." Anya deadpanned.
Spike give her a look, "Since when has demon girl picked up manners?"
"Xander said I shouldn't swear," Anya replied.
Xander shrugged, "She screamed a very...explicit...word in the middle of Noodle
Kidoodle at the mall,"
"And you were in Noodle Kidoodle...why?" Buffy asked.
"He was trading insults with a 3 year old in some other store. We followed him."
Anya said.
"Hey! He called me a poop head out of the blue!" Xander protested.
"And will those of us with maturity levels past the second grade please step
forward?" Buffy sighed.
"Hey, hey, back to my problems!" Spike snapped.
"Why don't you go find some vampwoman of the night, or are even the
demon-whores avoiding you like the plague?" Xander asked.
Spike didn't seem to be listening, just rubbed his forehead with one hand, "I mean,
why did this have to happen to me? I'm not even 2 centuries old yet! I still like killing! I
should be out there smoking bad stuff, drinking the blood of women, living the life of a
bad boy with some chic at my side..."
"Well, if it makes you feel any better, you're really good looking for your age. I
mean, you don't look a day over 28..." Willow fell silent under Spike's intense glare. She
shrugged, "Just trying to help."
"Yea, thanks a lot, Red." he retorted.
Suddenly, Willow stood. A look of anger crossed her face and she marched up to
Spike and pulled the surprised vamp to his feet.
"Why don't you stop moping and start moving on?! Get over it! You need to do
something...go discover who you are! Take up...knitting or...sheep farming. Something!
You're just like...just like...." her voice faded, "Me...Oh, what's happening to me?" she
backed away from Spike, tears filling her green eyes. To her surprise, Spike lifted her chin up so that their gazes met,
"Hey, don't you worry about Dog-Boy, Red. You're right, we both need to move
on." he left one of his cold fingers trace her cheek bone. It paused, as though hesitant and uncertain as to what it was doing there, below her eye. Then he let his hand fall back to his side.
He turned to look back at the rest of the Scooby Gang who were staring at his, eyes
and mouths wide open. Willow was the only one looking away, her cheeks a pleasant
shade of rose.
"What?" he finally barked. Xander's mouth was pressed in a very firm line, his eyes
desperately bright with tears of laughter. Anya had an eyebrow raised. Giles's forehead
was wet with sweat and he quickly bent down to dust invisible dust off of his coffee table. Buffy's eyes were wide enough to match her mouth which hung open.
"What's so funny?!"
Spike looked at them again, then back at Willow who still wasn't looking at him,
then grabbed his duster off the hook, covered himself with it and dashed out the door.
***
"Don't wanna talk about it, I say why not? don't wanna think about it, I say there's got
to be some good reason for your little black backpack, upsmack, turn around he's on his
back and...don't wanna tango with you, I'd rather tangle with him...I think I'm gonna
bash his head in..be sure to concern you except that just don't expect to get your bloody black backpack back...."
Oz turned the radio up as he sped along the lonely highway. Only a little while
longer, Willow...only a little while longer....
His mind wandered, taking steps down memory lane. He remembered meeting her
for the first time...falling for her and mooning over her...their first date...how he'd ached
to kiss her, but hadn't....how she had found out about his transformations...how she'd still liked him...how she'd kissed him...the way it felt to be with her...by her...then, he cheating with Xander...but how they'd bounced back...moving onward in school...how he'd held her in his arms-a perfect fit...the scent of her hair...graduating, the horror and
fear...protecting her...her protecting him...him killing Veruca for her...him turning on
her...and finally, him leaving, the look of desperation and fear and pain on her lovely
face...
But he was coming back to it all. Now..
To Be Continued....