Warnings: Some foul language, mentions of minors having sex/getting pregnant
Spoilers: Buffy up to Season 4 "Wild at Heart" & some of "New Moon Rising," though it's mostly AU after "Wild at Heart"
Harry Potter up to Prisoner of Azkaban (books mostly)-will go AU during PoA
AN: This story will contain some OCs. If you don't like that, don't read this.
AN2: Also, in my own head cannon, Harry was born in 1988. Therefore he attended Hogwarts from 1999-2006. The Marauders attended 1977-1984.
AN3: I don't hate Tara. I actually really like her character. That said, I'm a total Willow/Oz shipper and many of my stories end up with them together.
Chapter AN: There may be some direct quotes from both "Wild at Heart" and "New Moon Rising" in this chapter, though I tried to keep that to a minimum.
Disclaimer: I am not JK Rowling nor am I Joss Whedon. I am simply me. I own nothing that you recognize.
"Life is a road now and forever a
Wonderful journey.
I'll be there when the world stops turning
I'll be there when the story's through
In the end I wanna be standin'
At the beginning with you."
-"At the Beginning" by Donna Lewis & Richard Marx from Anastasia
Prologue: Come So Far (Got So Far to Go)
"Hey old friend, together
Side by side and year by year
The road was filled with twists and turns
Oh but that's the road that got us here
Let's move past the bad times
But before those memories fade
Let's forgive but not forget
And learn from all the mistakes we made"
-"Come So Far (Got So far to Go)" from Hairspray
XXXX
June 10, 1999: They had survived: Oz, Willow, Xander, Buffy, Giles, Cordelia, Angel, and Wesley. Of course, there were some who hadn't made it, like Harmony and Larry, but they had lost a whole lot fewer people than they would have if the Sunnydale High class of 1999 hadn't fought back.
Oz dropped Willow off at her house and gave her a goodnight/I'm-glad-we-survived kiss before heading back home himself. He slipped in the front door quietly, hoping not to wake his mother. When he looked up, he was slightly surprised to find that the light in the kitchen was still on. He entered the room to see his mother, Nancy Osborne, sitting at the table, a cup of steaming coffee held tight in her pale hands.
"You survived," said Nancy quietly as Oz stepped into her line of sight, never taking her eyes off the wooden table.
"Yeah."
Nancy blinked owlishly and looked at her son. "That's good," she said.
"I'd like to think so," he replied, leaning casually against the doorframe.
"Yes, well—"
"How long have you known?" interrupted Oz quietly.
"Known what?" asked Nancy, poorly attempting to conceal her twitching hands.
"Known about the things that go bump in the night—about the supernatural."
Nancy winced. "Since always," she replied. Oz raised a questioning eyebrow at his mother. Nancy sighed and explained, "My mother—your Gramma Nellie—is a witch. She explained all things supernatural to your Aunt Maureen and I when we were very young."
"So…does that make you a witch too?"
Nancy shook her head, her raven curls tumbling from the loose hold of her nighttime braid. "No," she replied. "Our dad—Grandpa George—was a muggle; Maureen and I are squibs."
"Muggle? Squibs?" asked Oz, brow furrowing in confusion.
"Non-magical people, like Grandpa George, and non-magical children of witches or wizards, like Aunt Maureen and I," explained Nancy.
Oz quirked an eyebrow curiously. "What does that make me?" he asked.
"Besides a werewolf?"
Oz tensed. "How?" he asked.
Nancy sighed. "My mother is the National Director of the Department of Magical Creatures—Maureen told her when Jordy bit you and she told me."
"Ah," said Oz, relaxing a bit. If she hadn't done anything to him yet, she probably wasn't going to. Besides, she was his mother; he'd hope she'd find it in her heart to love him no matter what. "So, what's that make me?" asked Oz, going back to his original question.
"Based on what I've observed, you're a wizard, Daniel."
"Really?"
"Mm-hm," replied Nancy. "Don't know if you're muggle-born, pureblood, or half-blood, but you're most definitely a wizard."
"How can you not know?" asked Oz.
"Daniel, you're adopted," confessed Nancy. "Your father—may his soul rest in peace—and I adopted you when you were only a week old."
"Huh," said Oz. "I think I need to go process this now."
As Oz left the room, Nancy said quietly, "I'll always love you, Daniel. You father loved you too. Never forget that. Please."
"I know," said Oz quietly from down the hall, his werewolf hearing coming in handy, "but I need some time and space right now."
XXXX
June 11, 1999: "Mom, I need to know."
"Know what?" asked Nancy, flipping the pancakes on the stove and brushing a stray raven curl out of her face.
"About my birth parents—about me," replied Oz, sitting down at the table.
"Oh," said Nancy, turning her gaze on her currently orange-haired son.
"Do you know anything?" asked Oz, his stormy blue eyes boring into his mother's moss green.
"They were both very young," she said. "They were still in school."
"Anything else?"
"You were born in London."
"England?"
"Yeah."
"Thanks, Mom."
"You're going to look for them?"
Oz shrugged. "I have to know," he said.
"Well, good luck then."
"Thanks Mom. Got any sausage?"
XXXX
"So," said Oz, sitting down on the park bench beside his girlfriend, "I found out I'm adopted."
"Huh," said Willow, turning her jade green eyes on him. "Join the club."
"You too?" said Oz, quirking an eyebrow at his fellow (natural) redhead.
"Mm-hm. We have t-shirts and everything."
"Cool," said Oz. The couple fell into a comfortable silence. "When'd you find out?" he finally asked.
"My parents told me at my Bat Mitzvah. That was the last time they were home for longer than a week straight," said Willow.
"Huh. You ever think of looking for them? Your birth parents."
"Yeah, I've thought about it, but it's hard—the orphanage I was adopted from is in London."
"Really?" said Oz.
"Mm-hm," replied Willow.
"Huh. I was born in London."
"That's kinda wiggy."
"Uber wiggy."
"Yeah."
"So why's that hard?" asked Oz.
"Hm?" said Willow. "Oh, well, you see, I was rescued from this creepy old guy—who they think kidnapped me as a baby—when I was a year old. The Rosenbergs—Ira and Sheila—adopted me a couple months later when no one came to claim me."
Oz hugged Willow and kissed her forehead lovingly. "I'm sorry, baby," he whispered in her ear.
"It's okay," said Willow, snuggling closer to Oz. "I don't really remember much about it anyway."
"So," he said, changing topics expertly, "do you know if Willow's your real name?"
Willow shook her head. "It might be, but I'm not entirely sure," she said. "The orphanage called me Willow cause of my willow tree necklace—it's the only thing I have that came from before everything," she explained, pulling the gold pendant from under her shirt and showing it to Oz. "What about you, Oz?"
Oz shrugged. "I'm still Daniel," he said. "Daniel Julius. Mom showed me the birth certificate—doesn't have my parents' names on it, though. Doesn't list a last name for me either."
"Why not?" asked Willow curiously.
"Apparently they were both minors at the time and the hospital wouldn't allow their names to be released to anyone but the adoption agency, and even then those records had to be sealed."
"Oh. Well, I guess that makes sense," said Willow thoughtfully. "So, are you gonna look for them?"
Oz shrugged. "Eventually," he said. "Right now I've got more important things to think about."
"Oh?" said Willow, quirking her bright red eyebrow at her boyfriend. "And what might these alleged 'things' be?"
Oz quirked his equally red eyebrow back at her, leaned in close, mere centimeters from her lips, and stopped. "You," he breathed before kissing her soundly.
"Eeep!" squeaked Willow happily as they pulled apart for air.
"I love you, Willow," said Oz, stroking her cheek with his thumb.
"I love you too, Oz," sighed Willow, a goofy smile on her face. "Kiss me again?"
"Always," replied Oz, leaning in to oblige his redheaded goddess.
XXXX
November 17, 1999
Dear Diary,
We all decided to hang out at the Bronze today, just to get a break from college life…and I guess Xander from whatever odd job he's doing now. And my whole predictable blanky theory was thrown way out the window 'cause guess who showed up? Giles! Mr. "I'm-so-English-and-proper" watcher-man showed up at the Bronze! Well, at least my predictable blanky person is still nice and predictable…mostly. Oz was acting kind of strange tonight. There was this band playing at the Bronze with this singer, Veruca, and Oz couldn't keep his eyes off of her; it was like he was mesmerized or something. I'll admit I'm worried, but I know I shouldn't be. I trust Oz, it's just—what if he likes her better than me? I mean, I'm just boring old reliable dog-geyser person Willow and she's exciting and daring Veruca who's in the music business too—totally the opposite of me. I'm just being paranoid, right? Oz would never leave me for her…would he?
Willow Danielle Rosenberg
XXXX
November 22, 1999
Dear Diary,
Oz was sitting with Veruca this afternoon. I was supposed to meet him at the campus café for lunch and when I found him he was sitting with her talking about music just as cool as can be. I made such a fool of myself too; I thought they were talking about singers, but they were talking about amps. How embarrassing! Oz was really sweet about it though, just like he always is. That's just part of why I love him so much. But does he still love me like I love him? I mean, I can tell that he thinks Veruca is sexy and he blushes that special blush that's supposed to be just for me when he sees her. I can't help but be worried. Buffy came by just after Oz left, so I was able to talk to her about my insecurities. She's the best! She totally made me realize that Oz loves me, not Veruca and that he'll totally be over her in a day or two. At least, I hope he will…
Willow Danielle Rosenberg
XXXX
November 23, 1999
11-23-99
Something bad happened last night. Something worse than just me breaking out of my cage as a wolf, which in and of itself is really bad. And not just because I could have hurt someone (though that is the main reason), but also 'cause, even though I'm untrained, I'm still technically a wizard and as such I fall under the jurisdiction of the Californian Wizarding Justice Department which requires all werewolves to sequester themselves safely away during the three nights of the full moon. At least that's what Grandma Nellie told me and if anyone should know werewolf laws its Penelope Zimmerman, long-time werewolf activist and stellar witch. Anywho, the really bad thing that happened is that I think—I think—I'm pretty sure I slept with Veruca. There, I said it. I mean, it's not like I remember anything from last night, but I woke up naked in the woods this morning with an equally naked Veruca beside me. She admitted to me (quite proudly) that she's a werewolf too, but when I asked her about her cage, she just made some sarcastic comment about a ball and a bell and told me I'd been "domesticated." She then tried to convince me that the wolf is more me than human me is and that we were meant to be free to run and kill as we please. She also tried to convince me that we belong together. I told her no. I love Willow with all my heart and I hate to think that I've cheated on her, even if I can't remember doing it. Still…I can't seem to get Veruca's words out of my head: "Or you're a wolf all the time and this human face is your disguise." I mean, I'm more human than wolf…right?
Oz
XXXX
Dear Diary,
When I went to visit Oz this morning ('cause that's what I always do after a wolf night), he was acting kind of odd—distracted, I guess—and his clothes looked more like something Xander would throw together than what Oz usually wears. When I tried to get him to get me to stop thinking by kissing me, like he always does, he was acting all uncomfortable and weird. When I asked him what was wrong, he said that he was just really beat from last night, but I'm not totally sure I buy that. There's just something weird going on with him.
After I left Oz, I went to visit Xander 'cause I always go to Xander when I'm confused; he helps make things all make sense again. Besides, way into guyville here; a place where Xander help is more a more helpful kind of help than Buffy help. I told him that I noticed Oz and Veruca making eyes at each other and he told me to talk to Oz about it. Strangely, it made sense when he said it. Huh, go figure. I guess I'll do that, then. Tomorrow. When Oz is a little less hairy and man-eating.
Willow Danielle Rosenberg
XXXX
November 24, 1999
Dear Diary,
Oh, my God. Oh, my God. I can't believe he did that to me! I thought he loved me! How could he? Was I not enough for him? Was he bored with me? I know I'm not as exciting as her, Miss "I'm-a-skanky-wolf," but did he have to sleep with her? He says it was the only way, but there are a million ways he could have handled this better to keep her from hurting anyone else. He could have told Giles or Buffy, for one. Or at least me. Doesn't he trust me? Doesn't he know I'd never betray him or hurt him? I love him. I just don't know if I can ever forgive him.
Willow Danielle Rosenberg
XXXX
11-24-99
I fucked up.
Oz
XXXX
Dear Diary,
I can't sleep. Oz is still a wolf for the rest of the night, so I can't even talk to him.
Veruca's dead. Oz killed her to keep her from killing me. It's almost sweet in a sort of morbid way; he chose me over her. I suppose if I had been able to finish the spell in the first place…but I guess I just love Oz too much.
Willow Danielle Rosenberg
XXXX
November 25, 1999
Dear Diary,
Oz is gone. Not dead gone, but gone as in not in Sunnydale. He left this morning. He would have left without telling me, but I stopped by to see him and happened to catch him first. I tried to talk him out of it, but he was pretty adamant. He said that he needed to figure out where the line between him and the wolf was before he could be around me. I asked him if he loved me. He said, "My whole life…I've never loved anyone else."
God, I love him. I just want him to come back home, back to me.
Willow Danielle Rosenberg
XXXX
January 2, 2000: Willow groaned as she leaned her forehead against the cool porcelain of the toilet. Being sick sucked. And then there was the pounding in her head…no that was the door. "Willow! Are you okay?" It was Buffy.
"'M fine," Willow croaked out as Buffy burst in.
Taking in Willow's disheveled appearance, Buffy said, "No, you're not fine, Will. You look awful."
"Feel awful," mumbled Willow, closing her jade eyes tight.
"Is this about Oz?" asked Buffy gently.
Willow shook her head, instantly regretting the action. "Head hurts. Brain's all mushy now," Willow mumbled.
Buffy pulled Willow up gently. "C'mon, Will. I'm taking you to the doctor's."
"Mmkay," mumbled Willow, slumping on Buffy and allowing herself to be led away.
XXXX
January 5, 2000: Willow had been deliberately avoiding her friends ever since her doctor's appointment three days earlier. The news she had received hadn't been bad exactly, just surprising, but she found that she couldn't avoid them any longer. Like so many times before (and yet, so unlike any time before), she found herself sitting on Giles' couch in his apartment, facing Xander, Buffy, Anya, and Giles himself, all waiting impatiently to hear that everything was okay.
"So…" began Buffy, breaking the uncomfortable silence.
"Is Willow going to tell us what's wrong with her soon?" huffed Anya to Xander. "I want to go back home so that you can give me lots of orgasms."
Giles began to clean his glasses furiously while Xander blushed. "We talked about this, An," Xander said quietly.
Anya huffed. "I don't see what's wrong with talking about se—"
"I'm pregnant!" Willow blurted out, interrupting Anaya. Everyone—even Anya—stopped and stared at her.
"What?!" croaked Xander.
"She said she's pregnant," said Anya, rolling her eyes.
"No I heard," said Xander, shocked, "but this is Willow! I mean, it's Willow! Our reliable dog-geyser person!"
Willow huffed angrily. "What do you think Oz and I did every time I spent the night at his place?" she snapped. "Bake cookies?"
"Yes!" exclaimed Xander. "I mean, you're Willow." The way he said her name made it sound as if that explained everything.
"Of course she's Willow," said Anya, rolling her eyes at her boyfriend. "Who else would she be?"
"A-are you quite sure, Willow?" asked Giles gently, ignoring the bickering couple.
"That's what the doctor tells me," replied Willow.
"How far along are you?" asked Buffy excitedly.
"About two months," replied Willow.
"Oh my God, that's so awesome, Wills!" squealed Buffy, hugging Willow tight.
"Thanks, Buffy," said Willow gratefully. "I'm glad you think so, cause I think it's pretty great. I mean, I'm pretty excited—and completely scared out of my mind. What am I gonna do, Buffy?" Willow babbled nervously. "I mean, Oz is gone and I have no idea how to get a hold of him or anything and—oh God, I'm gonna have to be a single mom, won't I? Unless Oz comes back—do you think he's coming back? I mean, I really want him to come back, and not just cause of the baby. I really miss him, you know. I mean, I know he said—"
"Willow! Breathe!" said Buffy, covering Willow's mouth with her hand. Once Willow obliged, Buffy removed her hand. "Good girl."
"Sorry," said Willow sheepishly. "Oz is the one who's supposed to shut me up when I do that. Not that he ever did, cause he said he loved it when I babbled and—"
"Will! You're doing it again."
"Sorry," Willow said sheepishly.
"Look," said Buffy seriously, "I know you miss him, but you need to get out of this slump thing you've been in, if not for you then for your baby. I have every faith that Oz will come back eventually—I've seen how much he loves you—but you need to prepare yourself for the worst case scenario here." Willow nodded resignedly.
"Willow," Giles said gently, "I hate to bring this up, but you need to research any possible effects that Oz's lycanthropy may have on the baby."
Willow started. "Oh God," she said, jade eyes wide. "I didn't even think of that! Giles—"
"I'd be glad to help you research this, dear girl," said Giles, squeezing Willow's shoulder reassuringly.
"Thanks Giles," said Willow gratefully. "Well, let's get cracking then. Anya and Xander can go on a doughnut run and the three of us can start looking up anything we can find on lycanthropy." Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at her again. "Now people!" said Willow, putting her hand on her petite hips and putting on her resolve face. "This is my resolve face," she said. "You all know what that means. Move it! We've only got about seven months tops till this baby gets here. Let's go!"
XXXX
April 18, 2000
Dear Diary,
Oz is back. He's back! He just showed up today while we were having a Scooby meeting. Buffy told me afterward that they had to fill in Tara and Riley about Oz (minus the whole werewolf thing); my mind was too much stuck on Oz to process anything other than the fact that he's back.
He's coming to see me later so we can talk.
I'm still mad at him for leaving me and getting me pregnant.
I love him so much.
Willow Danielle Rosenberg
XXXX
April 19, 2000
Dear Diary,
Oh, my God! Last night was a full moon and Oz didn't change! He did it! It's not a cure, per say—he's still technically a werewolf—but he doesn't have to change under the full moon! Oz and I stayed up all night talking about anything and everything…except the baby. I'm just thankful he hasn't noticed yet. I'm not quite ready to tell him about that. I mean, what if he up and leaves us again? I don't want to think about that, but I'm going to be a mom soon; I have to start putting the baby's welfare first.
Willow Danielle Rosenberg
XXXX
Willow sat alone in her and Buffy's dorm, clutching her stuffed wolf (Prince Charming was his name—she was such a hopeless romantic) tightly to her chest. As she sat there thinking about Oz and the baby, Buffy walked into the room, carrying her bag.
"Hey," Buffy said in greeting.
"Hey," replied Willow. "You okay?"
Buffy rubbed her neck in frustration. "Yeah," she lied. "I just—I don't wanna talk about it. I wanna hear about you and Oz. You saw him, right?"
"I was with him all night," replied Willow with a smile.
Buffy raised her eyebrows at her best friend. "All night?" she said, grinning happily. "Oh my God." She sat down with Willow on her bed. "Wait." Her face suddenly fell as realization hit her. "Last night was a wolf moon, right?"
"Yup."
"Either you're about to tell me something incredibly kinky, or—"
"No kink," Willow said, smiling. "He didn't change, Buffy. He said he was gonna find a cure and he did. In Tibet."
Buffy smiled back at her. "Oh my God. I can't believe it," she said happily. "So…did you tell him?"
"About Oz Jr.?" said Willow. Buffy nodded. "No, not yet."
"Why not?" asked Buffy.
"I-I'm not ready," Willow admitted. "I wanna make sure he's not gonna just up and bail again before I tell him. I don't want our baby to be the only reason he sticks around."
"Will—"
"I know, I should tell him anyway, but—"
"You don't wanna get hurt again," said Buffy knowingly.
"Yeah," said Willow with a sigh. "And I couldn't take it if he rejected the baby. Does that make me a bad person, Buffy?"
"No," Buffy reassured her. "Absolutely not. It makes you a good mom, putting the baby first, before everything else, even your personal feelings."
"Really?" said Willow hopefully.
"Really."
XXXX
April 20, 2000
4-20-00
I never want to go through something like that again. Yesterday I smelled Willow all over her new friend Tara and I guess I completely lost it because I changed into the wolf—without the moon. My memories are pretty fuzzy at that point, up until I woke up groggy and in a massive amount of pain in some kind of underground compound with people in white lab coats poking and prodding the hell out of me. I was in and out of it again for several hours (I'm told—I don't actually remember much of what happened there) until Riley came to rescue me. Then Willow, Buffy, and Xander came to help Riley rescue me.
I found out later that Riley is part of a group called the Initiative, which is a military research group that studies demons and the supernatural. A group of the soldiers had apparently captured me when I wolfed out, and as soon as Riley knew who I was he tried to help me out. I hope I never have to go through anything like that again. Hell. On. Earth.
I can't stay here anymore; just being around Willow apparently makes me wolf out. I have to keep her safe. She's my everything.
Oz
XXXX
Oz and Willow sat together in silence in Oz's van. The previous night had been spent recuperating (Oz) and talking to friends (Willow), so they hadn't really had a chance to really talk about what had happed on the last day of the full moon yet. "This thing looks pretty good, considering you drove it overseas," Willow finally said, breaking the silence.
Oz didn't look at her as he spoke. "Well it broke down outside of Mexico and I traded my bass to have it fixed and garaged," he said. He paused for a moment, "I shouldn't have come back now," he said, "…I just thought I'd changed."
"You have changed," said Willow, smiling at him. "You stopped the wolf from coming out. I saw it."
"But I couldn't look at you." He still couldn't. "I mean, it turns out…the one thing that brings it out in me is you…which falls under the heading of ironic in my book."
"It was my fault. I upset you," insisted Willow.
Oz finally looked at her. "Well, so we're safe then," he said sarcastically, "cause you'll never do that again." Willow tried to look amused, but failed. "But…you're happy?" asked Oz seriously.
Willow paused, then answered slowly, "No, I'm really not." Oz looked at her curiously, so Willow elaborated. "You see," she explained, "you're Oz, and I've been unbelievably miserable without you. I love you, Oz, more than anything I've ever loved in my life. It's like…you're my heart and soul and when you're gone, it-it feels like part of me is missing."
"But Tara…"
"Is just a good friend," Willow said gently. "I've been spending tons of time with her lately cause Xander's all busy being with Anya, and Buffy with Riley. And yeah, she has a crush on me, but trust me when I say that you are my one and only, Oz."
"So…you and Tara…"
"Are not so much with the me-and-Tara," said Willow. "Non me-and-Tara, actually. Only me-and-you, Oz. Now and forever, if you'll still have me."
"Willow—"
"What are you gonna do?" she asked, interrupting him.
"I think I better take off," said Oz softly, dreading his impending departure, but believing it was for the best.
"When?" asked Willow, her face expressionless.
"Pretty much now."
Willow nodded. "I was afraid you'd say that." Tears in her eyes at the thought of losing him again, she leaned over and hugged him tight. Suddenly she pulled back. "I'm going with you, Oz," she stated firmly.
"Willow…" he said, sighing, "I'm no good for you. All I do is hurt you and jump to crazy illogical conclusions. I don't deserve you; you deserve so much more than I can give you."
Willow snorted in a very unladylike manner. "Don't you dare pull an 'Angel' on me, Daniel Julius Osborne!" she snapped. "I love you so much, Oz. If you leave me behind again, you'll destroy me." Oz looked ready to protest, but Willow held up her hand to silence him. "I've already packed my bags, loaded them into your van, and said my goodbyes," she told him. "I'm all yours. We can go search for a cure that doesn't make you wolf out when you're under extreme emotional stress and we can search for our birth parents. Together. Just like we talked about all summer." She put on her resolve face. "You know what this is, mister, and you know what it means."
Oz finally gave in, finding himself no match for Willow's infamous resolve face. "When do you want to leave?" he asked.
"Pretty much now," said Willow, quirking a smile as she stole Oz's line.
Oz planted a tender kiss on Willow's lips. "Let's go," he said, smiling.
"You and me, Oz," she said happily. "Always and forever, right?"
"Always and forever, Willow. I promise."
XXXX
April 21, 2000: Oz was lounging on the hotel bed reading a book (The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis) when Willow got out of the shower. The newly reunited couple had been on the road for over twenty-four hours before they finally stopped in Chicago a few hours ago. Funny thing was, for all their conversations on the road, Willow had yet to mention her pregnancy to Oz. Well, there's nothing to it, she told herself; it was long past time to tell Oz.
Summoning her courage, Willow padded softly over to the bed wearing a pair of navy blue moon and star print pajama pants and an old, white, overlarge Dingoes t-shirt. Taking a deep breath, she said, "Oz, I have something I have to tell you."
Oz put down his care-worn book and patted the bed beside him. "Come sit," he invited. "I'm all ears."
Willow shook her head. "I-if I sit down next to you my brain will go all mushy and my heart will go all thumpy and I'll never tell you what I have to tell you cause I'll be so stuck on you."
Oz furrowed his brow worriedly. "Is it something bad, then?"
"N-no," she stammered. "A-at least I don't think it's bad…"
"Then what are you so worried about, Wills?"
"I'm worried that you'll be upset," she admitted timidly.
"Why would I be upset?" he asked her, puzzled.
"Cause I'm pregnant and I never told you!" Willow blurted out unintentionally, instantly slapping her hands over her mouth, her eyes flying wide open in shock.
Silence. "Pregnant?"
Willow couldn't tell what he was thinking. "Y-yes."
"How long?"
"I'm five months," she told him nervously.
"And that's why you've been all avoidy since I came back?" he said. Willow nodded. "Why?" he asked.
"Cause I thought you might be mad at me or not want me back or not want the baby or something crazy like that."
"Willow, I love you," said Oz firmly. "And even though you only just now told me, I already love the baby too."
"Really?" Willow's eyes were full of hope.
"Really. So…I'd still, if you'd still."
Willow smiled widely at him. "I'd still. I'd very still."
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