Birthday Fiction Challenge Response

Title: Second Chances

Chapter: One

Rating: R

Pairing: Willow/Buffy

Timeline: Last seen episode

Spoilers: Only for aired episodes

Beta Readers: Drakes Shadow the
cute bat and Dark Gremlin

Summary: With Willow's 21st
birthday coming up, she's haunted by
past mistakes that cost her the only
real family she's ever had. But in the
process of dealing with her own medical
problems and searching for answers in
her brothers apparent death, she might
find that sometimes what you're
searching for is right in front of you.

Note: Shadow and Gremlin were huge
helps in the writing of this fiction.
In fact, you could say they tag teamed
me.

Disclaimer: All characters belong
to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, and
Paramount Studios.

-------

T he nine year old red head
tackled her fifteen year old brother
with a squeal. The athletic red haired
teenager barely grabbed the abnormally
small girl before she could knock him
down. Laughing at her antics, she found
herself pinned to the floor while he
tickled her mercilessly.

" David!!! "

The football player sat back letting
her get her breath back. " That's what
you get for trying to ambush me. "

" I wasn't. " She protested weakly.
" I was testing your reactions. "

David laughed at the innocence she
was practically radiating. " Willow, if
I didn't know you so well I might
believe you. "

Willow sat up turning on her best
pout. " Can we go to the Diablo house
now? "

David sighed at the question she'd
been asking non-stop for days. " That's
absolutely out of the question and you
know it. "

" But it's my birthday. "

" We've already been over this, I am
not taking you to that house. "

Willow glared at the bigger
Rosenberg, " Fine. I'm going to my
room. "

" Willow..."

She ignored his plea and stomped up
the stairs to her room, slamming the
door behind her. If he wouldn't take
her than she'd go herself. She didn't
care what all the stupid legends say,
there was no such things as ghosts and
witches and all that other mumbo
jumbo, and tonight she was going to
prove it once and for all.

She scrambled out the french doors
and down the trail. The only problem
now was getting to Diablo
forest before her brother discovered
she was missing and spoiled her fun.
Normally she'd take her bike, but after
Xander crashed it while trying to show
off for Cordelia it wasn't rideable.
The only bike in riding condition now
was David's, in point of fact, his bike
was one of those speed bikes. Twenty
One gears...

She quickly went to the porch where
the bike was propped up. From there it
was rather simple getting to the
stretch of forest on the out skirts of
town, so much so that she didn't
remember much about it.

The first thing she could clearly
concentrate on was the long dark dirt
road, disappearing into the thick trees
that ran along the untouched area not
more than a few miles from the main
road. The trees blocked out the small
amount of light that the moon produced
making it almost impossible to see very
far.

She slowed slightly, turning onto
the over grown dirt road, using the
bike headlight to see. Strangely there
didn't seem to be any of the noises she
expected from an untouched piece of
land. Animals, insects, owls... They
were all silent, and it made her
slightly nervous.

" WILLOW!!! "

She sped up at the sound of her
brother calling to her. If she could
just find the ruins of the house, than
maybe he'd let her...

She screamed out as something...

Willow sat up quickly strangling her
scream with her hands. " It was a
dream, it was only a dream. It was a
dream..."

She flicked the lamp on, climbing
out of the bed on unsteady legs. She
couldn't seem to stop the shaking in
her hands or the panicked breathing
that had her on the verge of
hyperventilating. It had been years
since she'd had those nightmares, or
memorymares, or whatever they were
called. She'd hoped that those were
behind her, but it seemed they weren't.
Maybe it was her up coming birthday, or
the fact that the last time she'd had
dinner with her parents they'd heaped
the blame of David's death on her more
than usual. Or maybe it was the news
report on the bodies discovered near
the old ruins. Whatever it was they
were back.

" Well I won't be getting anymore
sleep tonight." She muttered sadly.

Resigned to going without any sleep,
she quietly left her room in search of
something cold to drink. All she wanted
to do was to forget everything. The
problem was that with her birthday, the
same day that was the anniversary of
her brothers death, was coming up which
meant there would only be lots of
reminders. It didn't help that she
spent twenty four seven helping the
slayer save the world and stop evil.
Yet another reminder.

She ran one of her twitching hands
through her hair, and flicked on the
kitchen light, taking pleasure in the
cold tiles against her bare feet. She
probably should've taken the time to
put on something over the slightly damp
boxers and tank top. Except her mind
wasn't exactly engaged yet. It was
still running so fast that she couldn't
do anything but let it.

" Stupid mania..." She complained,
jerking the refrigerator door open.

" Nightmare?"

' Just what I need. ' She thought
dryly, turning to glance at the slayer
leaning in the doorway. " I didn't mean
to wake you. "

" I was already awake. " Buffy
entered the kitchen with that look that
said that she was trying to be careful
and that she wasn't going to stop until
she got some answers. " I heard a
muffled scream from your room and I was
worried. "

" I'm fine, it was just a bad dream. "

" It might help if you talked about
it. "

Willow gritted her teeth against the
sudden flood of memories threatening to
break free. " Actually I wanted to talk
to you about something. "

" Whatever you want, I'm always here
for you. "

The witch turned to the slayer,
trying to push back the guilt of what
she was about to do, but she needed to
stop Buffy from questioning her about
her dream. " What did you mean when you
said that once someone falls for me
they stay fallen? "

Buffy blanched visibly, gripping the
counter with clenched fists. " Wh-what? "

" I mean, it sounded like you were
saying it from experience. "

" You think I'm in love with you? "
Buffy choked.

" Are you? "

" Nonono, of course not. I-I mean
you're my best friend, and I wouldn't
want to do anything to lose you. "

Willow slowly approached the dirty
blonde, suddenly understanding what the
slayer was hinting at. " You'll never
lose me, and especially not over
something like that. "

Buffy tensed slightly as Willow came
to a stop a few inches from her. " It
doesn't matter. "

" Of course it matters. " Willow
said sharply. " Now answer the
question. "

" It doesn't matter, because even if
I did have feeling for you, you
wouldn't return them. "

" You don't know that. "

Buffy moved forward quickly,
claiming Willow's lips in a short kiss.
Their lips lightly brushing against the
other before deepening and retreating.
Leaving the slayer whimpering softly,
and Willow surprised. The witch eyed
the slayer than started out of the
kitchen. " We should go back to bed. "

" Yeah.." Buffy slammed her fist
onto the counter, holding back the
tears. She'd waited years for some sign
that Willow returned her feelings,
she'd stood by while she'd discovered
that her friend really was gay. She'd
even given her a shoulder to cry on
whenever something happened with Tara,
and through everything she'd been so
careful not to let any hint of her
feelings show, only for her to slip up.
Now she blew it, she'd not only been
rejected but she probably lost her
best friend in the process.

The saddened slayer made her way towards
the stairs not sure what to do. She
should talk to Willow of course, but
was it better to get it over with or to
wait until tomorrow? Should she lie
and say it was some spell that the nerd
brigade put on her, or just tell the
truth and promise it would never happen
again?

She put her hand on top of Willow's
boxers that were hanging off the rail
and started... Buffy froze, slowly
turning her head to look at the emerald
green silk boxers. They were Willow's,
and they had been on Willow just a few
minutes earlier, so why...? She firmly
stopped the naughty ideas that were
threatening to come out and play.

" She probably just..." She choked
as no logical, innocent explanation
occurred to her. " I..I should return
them. Now..right now. She'll get cold,
and I don't want my best friend cold. "

She quickly walked up the rest of
the stairs, pausing just before
reaching the top as she spotted a small
white tank top that looked suspiciously
like the one a certain red head had
been wearing. Suddenly those
outrageously naughty ideas were
rampaging through her lust idled
brain.

Snatching up the tank top she turned
to Willow's door and nearly choked on
her own tongue. Hanging from the knob
of the half opened bedroom door was a
pair of sheer satin emerald green
thongs, and just inside the door she
could clearly see bare skin lighting
candles.

' Naked. Bare. Skin. Willow. ' She
slowly inched into the room, absently
grabbing the thongs as she passed them,
and closed the door. If Willow killed
her for seeing her like that, than at
least she'd die happy. On the other
hand, if Willow didn't kill her, it would
be enough to get her through the rest
of her life.

She felt her arms go boneless,
dropping the cloths to the floor, not
that the slayer was capable of noticing
at that moment. All she could seem to
notice was the smooth pale skin on
Willow's back, the way it blended into
two round firmly shaped cheeks, and two
muscular thighs. The red head's arms
were slim and trim, covering her view
of her breasts, but giving her a
glimpse of her sides and just a hint of
the small pert orbs.

She wanted to take the larger woman
into her arms and explore the delicate
body until she'd memorized every
imperfection and crevice. She wanted
to go over and over the satin skin with
her tongue, lips, fingers, palms, and
press their bare bodies together, soul
to soul, heart to heart, body to body
until they were no longer Buffy and
Willow, but one soul, heart, and body.

" ..." She clenched her hands into
fists desperately trying to stop the
swiftly building pressure in her
stomach. If she didn't regain some kind
of control then she was going to... "
Oh god...!!!! "

She felt two warm arms pull against
her skin as her legs gave out under
her. The sheer enormity and the
resulting shame she felt drove her into
burrowing her face in the ex-witches
neck. " Please kill me now. "

Suddenly that damned bedroom scene
in American Pie wasn't so funny
anymore. Nope, definitely not funny. She
was never going to watch that movie
again.

" That was cool. I've never ever had
that reaction on anyone before. "

She risked looking up at her friend,
to make sure that the pride she'd heard
was there, and sure enough the
red haired woman was blushing with a
silly grin on her face. A silly grin
that made her look incredibly sexy and
edible. A sexy, naked, red haired
witch. ' Naked. Bare. Skin. Willow. '

" ... " She gripped her friend in
a death grip as she felt the problem
resurface and then Willow's mouth was
over her's, cutting off her scream. '
Oh...i-is it even possible to do that
with your tongu...oh... '

--------

Willow finished splitting the eggs
onto the three plates, careful to keep
them from getting mixed up with the
hashbrowns and turkey bacon. She was
feeling extremely happy that morning,
and wanted to surprise the household
with a large breakfast. After all, it
wasn't everyday that she became lovers
with the person she loved the most in
all the world.

" Someone's in a good mood. "

Willow beamed at the teen grumbling
her way into the kitchen. " Good
morning, Dawnie. Here you go, just like
you like it. "

The dark haired girl took the
heaping plate and one of the glasses
filled with juice, but made sure to
throw a glare in her direction. " Oh
sure, fine, keep the teen up all night
and try to buy her off with breakfast.
"
" What were you doing awake? "

" Gee I wonder. " Dawn muttered. "
Don't get me wrong, I'm glad you and
Buffy finally pulled your heads out of
your..."

" Dawn Josephine Summers, if you
finish that sentence you will spend the
next month cleaning this house, Xander's
apartment, and the magic box. "

Willow pulled the blonde slayer into
a soft kiss. " Good morning. "

" Yes it is. "

" Like I was saying. I think it's
great, but do you think you guys could
keep it down from now on. "

Willow squeaked turning a deep red
at the teens remark. She knew exactly
what the dark haired girl was talking
about. After she'd finally managed to
get the slayer undressed and into bed,
she'd spent the first couple of hours
playing with the dirty blondes over
sensitivity, and discovering just how
loud she was capable of screaming when
she had the right incentive. Of course
after that it had been the slayers
turn, and while the blonde had fumbled
quite a bit, it had still been an
incredible experience emotionally.

" I can't promise anything what with
Willow having such a talented tong..."

" NOOOOO!!!! " Dawn clamped her
hands over her ears and began to hum
loudly.

" You give up? " Buffy asked.

" Yes!!! Just no more Willow talk,
please." Dawn's eye went wide as she
turned to Willow with a deer in the
headlines look. " Oh, when I was
putting your laptop back I noticed the
birthday card from your great aunt. Why
didn't you tell us that your birthday
was in a few days? "

" What? It's your birthday? "

Willow stepped out of Buffy's arms,
" It's no big deal. "

" How can you say that? " Dawn
asked. " If it was you you'd be having
a mega tantrum over not knowing..."

" Dawn..."

" She's right Will. "

" Oh my gosh, you know what we
should do, we should have a party. "

" We can invite the entire gang, and
her parents of course, but we might
want to have it outside during the day
so that Spike can't crash it..."

" NO!! No, no party, no celebration.
Just forget it alright? "

" But Willow..." Dawn whined.

" I said no, Dawn! What about no do
you not understand?!!" Willow yelled.

The red head spun from them and
stormed out the back door, slamming it
behind her. The streets were a blur
through the tears streaming down her
cheeks, until she simply collapsed in
mid sob in the middle of the nearby
cemetery.

She'd spent so much time keeping her
friends from finding out when her
birthday was. Every time they asked her
she'd always say that they missed it,
or she'd simply changed the subject,
which until a few minutes ago had
worked. Xander just couldn't dates
straight so he wasn't the problem, and
Buffy was easy to distract if the
person knew what they were doing. Giles
was usually to caught up in some
apocalypse or some book to really do
any snooping. Tara had agreed after a
lot of begging and pleading to leave it
alone.

" Oh David, what do I do now? " She
whispered to the cold marble tombstone.
" I'm so scared. What if they find out
what I did? I've nearly lost them once
already and I don't think I could
survive without them. I just...I just
can't tell them. I mean, I could but I
can't. I can't remember enough to
explain, and even if I did, I can't
stand to even think about what I do
remember so how would I tell them about
what I don't remember, not that that's
an issue since I don't remember. "

She hugged her legs to her chest as
she squeezed her eyes closed. " It's
killing me you know, not knowing. I...
I go through each day wondering if this
is going to be the day I remember, the
day I'll get some answers, and it
doesn't happen. It's like..."

She trailed off as her mind wrapped
around the imagery from the nightmare.
She remembered the woods, how quiet it
was, the... She snapped her eyes open
with renewed fear. She'd brushed all
the old legends about Diablo forest
and the old house as urban legends.
Stories the adults used to keep their
children from wondering into the
wilderness of Sunnydale.

Even after she'd meet the slayer and
discovered that all the big bad
villains in fairytales were real, she
still didn't believe the old tales.
Because that's all they could possibly
be right? But what if they were more
than stories? What if they were real?
What if...?

She quickly stood as she came to a
decision. She had some research to do.
After all, she owed it to David, if not
herself.

-------

Buffy stepped out from behind the
tree with a sense of dread. She hadn't
meant to listen to such a private
moment, but she'd wanted to talk to the
red head about the out burst. Even Dawn
had been more worried than angry over
the red head's yelling. Now she'd
stumbled onto something that Willow
had obviously wanted...needed to keep
private, and damn it she should respect
that. So why was the slayer in her
making her stop in front of the grave?

' Don't look, don't look, don't
look. You can still walk away, just
don't look.. '

Her eyes slide over the head stone
taking in each letter with a rapidly
sinking heart.

David Joseph Rosenberg
Beloved Son and Brother
1975-1990

" Oh Willow..."

What was happening? What did Willow
mean about not remembering what
happened? Why didn't she known that her
lover had a brother? Why didn't Xander
ever mentioned him? Was that why
Willow's parents were always ignoring
her? Was that why Willow always took
people's deaths so hard?

She sighed up at the clouded sky.
How did Willow come to have so many
secrets from them? No, it didn't
matter. What mattered was making sure
that whatever was going on didn't hurt
her Willow anymore than it already had.
What mattered was being there for
Willow, unconditionally, the way the
red head had always been there for her,
and that was exactly what she was going
to do.

In the meantime, she was going to
find out everything she could about
David.

-------

Chapter: Two

-------
Willow stared at the ex-vengeance
demon behind the counter. She wasn't
sure if she should trust the blonde or
not. She was Xander's ex-fiancée, and
therefore, not all bad, but she was
still...Anya. Blunt, way too honest,
more than a little unnerving, Anya.

" Should you be here? You haven't
relapsed have you? If you have you
better be here to spend money,
otherwise I'm going to tell Buffy that
you're dangerous. "

" Actually I needed to talk to
someone." She said, walking over to the
research table.

" I don't know where Xander is and
Buffy's not here. I also haven't heard
from Tara since the wedding was called
off, so shoo?"

" I don't want to talk to them. I
want to talk to you."

The blonde eyed her with a dark
suspicion that reminded her exactly why
she was a vengeance demon. " You're not
going to proposition me are you? I'm
not into women anymore, although there
was that princess that could..."

" Anya!! I'm not coming onto you. I
have a problem that I need help with."

The ex-demon gaped at her in
surprise. " And you came to me? Why? I
thought you hated me. "

" I don't hate you, I just...don't
understand you sometimes, but I really
think that you're this cool, talented,
smart woman. "

The ex-demon let out a choked sob
and ran across the space between them,
yanking the red head into a tight bear
hug.

" Um..Anya..."

" I thought you didn't like me, I
mean Xander used to tell me that you
guys liked me, but I always thought
that you guys hated me. Everyone is
always giving me this looks like how
dumb can you be and telling me to be
quiet and..."

" Anya..."

The blonde stepped back with a
glare. " Wait, you weren't just saying
that because you need my help were you?
Because if you were..."

Willow wearily sat on a nearby
chair, unable to stay on her feet any
longer. She was just so emotionally
tired from everything she'd lived
through. " No. I meant it. "

Anya nodded in satisfaction, and
practically bounced into one of the
seats. " Okay, tell me your problem, my
new best friend and friend of my ex-
fiancée that I still want to castrate
but will probably marry anyway. "

Willow squeezed the blondes hand. "
What do you know about the Diablo
forest and Morrigan's old house? "

" Stay away from that. Even the
council isn't dumb enough to get
involved in that stuff. "

" Anya... I..." She closed her eyes
trying to find someway to make the
blonde understand, to make her see that
she needed. " Are you capable of
keeping a secret? "

" Of course. Vengeance demons are
one of the most honorable demons in the
underworld. "

Willow moved closer to the blonde,
and ducked her head trying to force the
words from her mouth. She had to tell
the blonde what she knew. She had to if
she was going to get some answers, now
all she had to do was get the words
out.

-------

Buffy fumbled with the microfilm,
trying to get the end into the slit.
She could handle stakes, axes, knifes,
swords, and any other weapon she was
given time to learn, but she couldn't
get a simple microfilm viewer. Why
couldn't they make the blasted things
more slayer friendly?

Finally the edge went into the turn
thingy, and she flipped on the light.
The blurred image of newspaper from
March 25, 1990 she zoomed out until
it was in focus. She immediately began
to turn through the different pages and
papers until she spotted the front
page.

" Local football star missing. " She
eyed the picture of the Diablo woods
under the headline, then started to
read the story. " David Rosenberg was
reported missing after his nine year
old sister was found wandering on the
outskirts of the Diablo forest. Sources
say Willow Rosenberg was dazed and
unresponsive. Further reports have
indicated that the younger sibling was
covered in what has been identified as
human blood. However the detectives in
charge refuse to comment on the
possible origins of the blood until DNA
tests have come back. Detective Johnson
has said that Willow Rosenberg is being
held at Sunnydale Sanitarium due to the
younger siblings history of mania. In
the meantime, police have started
putting together search parties in
hopes of finding the town's star
athlete. Anybody who wishes to
volunteer for the search parties should
report to Lieutenant Hanson at Marker
Nine at the boarder of the Diablo
woods. "

Buffy stared helplessly at the
picture of the fifteen year old in a
Sunnydale High school football uniform.
He had dark red hair and the same
piercing green eyes. He was boyishly
handsome, obviously becoming a man that
would have been gorgeous. His built was
lean at about five foot six but she
could tell that he was all muscle.

She turned the viewers knob sending
the pages into a blur, until she found
the front page of the next days paper.
Immediately her heart dropped into her
stomach as the headlines screamed at her
in bold, large letters.

" Local Star Pronounced Dead. "

She rubbed her tired eyes, unable to
stop imagining what Willow must have
gone through. She could see the utter
devastation on the red heads face. The
guilt and hopelessness. Was that why
Willow took her friends problems and
death, so personally?

She flicked the viewer off. She
needed more information but she was
going to have to talk to Willow first,
and hope the red head would give her
the whole story. Hopefully.

-------

" They never found his body? "

" No. " Willow whispered, turning
her head from the blonde.

" His head? "

Willow cringed visibly at the ex-
demons blunt words, spoken with so much
casualness.

" I'll take that as a no. So if
there was no head, and no body, how do
you know he's dead? "

" The blood. "

" Blood? What blood? " Anya asked,
leaning forward suddenly as though she
was being told the secret to life.

" I...I was covered in his blood. "

" You didn't tell me that. Why
didn't you tell me that? That is
important, therefore you should've told
me about it. " Anya glared at her then
immediately launched into another series
of questions. " How much blood were you
covered in? "

Willow closed her eyes, fighting
against the bile that was hiccupping it's
way from her stomach. " Submerged. "

" Oh. Did they find more blood
anywhere? "

" No. "

" He's not dead." Anya said, getting
up to get back to work.

" Wh-what do you mean he's not dead?
" Willow forced her eyes open to eye the
ex-demon. " The doctor said that he'd
lost too much blood to survive. "

" The blood was used to curse you,
and unless that bitch changed her
psychopathic tendencies then your brother
is attached to the curse. "

" What curse? How do I break it? "
She asked.

Anya sobered quickly at her
question. " Um..."

-------

Buffy stood in the doorway of the
bedroom watching the dark haired red
head putter nervously around it. Dusting
this, moving that, picking something up
and putting it away. It was endearing,
and completely Willow. She'd always
start cleaning obsessively when she was
scared or nervous. That or she'd find
something to research and bury herself
in it. But now, it worried her. After
what she'd learned earlier it felt...
doomy.

" Hey."

Willow quickly turned to the blonde
and dropped her gaze. " Hey. Listen I'm
sorry about earlier. I shouldn't have
exploded like that, I mean you were only
trying to do something nice for me and
what do I do? I yell at you, and..."

" Your forgiven. " Buffy said,
cutting her lover off. " Actually I was
wanting..."

" Actually I was wanting..."

They trailed off, smiling at each
other. Buffy spoke up first. " Go
ahead."

" Are you sure? Cause I could wait
until..."

" No, I'm sure. "

Willow nodded reluctantly and
started to pace in front of the sleigh
style queen sized bed. " The reason I
reacted so strongly is because... I had
a brother and I killed him. " Willow
took a deep breath, struggling to regain
control over her emotions. " He was the
only real family I had. My parents hated
me because I was born this damaged,
premature screw up, and David... He was
everything any parent ever wanted. He
excelled at anything he tried. He was
quiet, shy, but still out going. He was
Sunnydale High's star athlete. He was a
straight A student and was always the
teachers favorite student. Every girl
swooned over him, and wanted to date
him. He was their perfect child. "

" But me? My parents wanted to get
an abortion, or anything else they could
do to get rid of me. Except nothing they
did worked. I was born two months
premature, and was cranky and fussy.
David practically raised me, because
they wouldn't, and he hated them for it
too. " Willow sped up her pacing. " When
I was old enough I started having these
episodes of Mania. I-I-I would start
babbling non-stop, and I'd get worked up
over the smallest things until I was out
of control, I would make these stupid
decisions at a moments notice, and they
always ended up with someone hurt or
embarrassed or something really really
bad, and... "

Buffy grabbed the red head in mid
babble and pulled her into her arms. "
Shhh. It doesn't matter, it's in the
past. All that matters is the present. "

" No, you don't understand. " Willow
pulled away from Buffy's arms. " I
begged and begged and begged David to
take me to the old house and he
wouldn't. I was so angry because it was
my birthday and I thought that he should
do anything I wanted because it was my
birthday so I snuck out. I snuck out,
knowing that he would come after me, and
I went there anyway, expect I don't
remember what happened because according
to Anya I was cursed, and I was covered
in his blood and I was all cut up and
bloody and I have these nightmares where
I remember something about what happened
but then when I wake up I can't remember
but I'm still scared out of my mind and
Anya says that he's probably alive and
somehow caught up in the curse and I
have to break only Anya said..."

" I slept with Spike."

Willow froze, and squinted at the
blonde slayer. " What? "

" I slept with Spike...multiple
times. " Buffy repeated.

The red head threw her arms around
the slayer, kissing her all over her
face. " Really?!! That's the sweetest
thing anyone has ever told me. Wait,
you're not just saying that to make me
feel better are you? "

Buffy laughed softly at the ex-
witches reaction, hugging the red head
back. " No, I meant it. Just like I
meant it when I told you I loved you,
which I always will, no matter what
mistakes you've made. "

" Why? I mean I'm this horrible..."

" No!! " Buffy forced the red head
to look her in the eye. " You're human,
just like countless billion other people on
this planet, and people aren't perfect.
We make mistakes, we learn from them,
and then we move on. "

" I love you. " Willow whispered.

" I love you too. " Buffy pulled the
red head tighter. " And I promise that

no matter what it takes, we'll find your
brother. "

Buffy slowly kissed the red head.
She could see a red glow through her eye
lids as the red head in her arms began
to convulse violently. The slayer jerked
back, keeping a grip on her lover.
Willow's eye were rolled up into her
head, the dark red blood rolling from
the corner of her mouth, and nose, and
then...it was over.

Gently, the slayer lowered the red
head to the floor, immediately searching
the ex-witches wrist for a pulse. " Oh
god..."

" Buffy? What's going on? I thought
I heard something and..." Dawn stopped
just inside the doorway, staring at the
unresponsive red head. " Is she...? "

Buffy looked up at her sister with
tearful eyes.

--------

Chapter: Three

--------

Heartbrokenly numb, the crying blonde
clung to the red head with her face buried
in Willow's cold neck. Everything except
Willow was non-existent. The gentle nature
Willow smell mixed with green apples. The soft fine
skin that was rapidly becoming ridged and
clammy. The satin dark red hair brushing
against her face as she rocked their bodies
together.

" We need to call someone to get her body. "
Dawn whispered from where she sat in front of
her sister.

Buffy shook her head, pulling Willow's body
closer to her. " It's alright. She's just
sleeping. " The slayer tenderly kissed each
eye lid. " ...and when she wakes up we'll have
dinner and then we can watch a movie. "

" Buffy she's not sleeping. "

The slayer ignored her sister as her tears
fell on Willow's lips. " I love you so much
Will. It's like I never really knew what love
was until I was in your arms. It's not the
angsty over bearing love. It's like a steady
burning flame that gets brighter with every
passing moment, and it will always be there,
forever, and..."

The violent sobs shook her body, forcing her
into a loss of blinding fog. Needing to find
Willow again, she crushed her lips into the
red heads. Her tears coating their lips and
tongues, burning into both mouths in a flash of
blinding red light.

The cold stiff lips of her lover became warm as
they responded to the slayer's need. Buffy's
tears fell faster, covering their faces. The slayer,
over come with the instinct to assure herself that
Willow was really alive, began ripping the moaning
red heads cloth's from her body. Willow apparently
having the same idea, was tugging off the slayers own
cloths.

" Oh, ew, yuck. Hey teenager in the room. Oh man, bad
visual... way bad visual." Dawn squeaked, scrambling out
of the room.

" Did...you...hear...soemth...mmmmmm..." Buffy dived
back into Willow's mouth as they're bare skin finally touched.

" No. " Willow muttered harshly, flipping the
slayer over so that she was on top.

A dim globe of red surrounded them, lifting them into the
air, caressing and soothing them, winding in and around
them in a whirl of flaming lust, sending their needs into the
throws of heat.

Inquisitive fingers lightly skidded over plump breasts, tweaking
erect nipples, rolling them until they became a painfully
sensitive bomb waiting to go off. Pinching each small dark
pebbles drawing out a series of whimpering moans that left
the slayer writhing desperately against Willow.

The hollowed dimples on the slim muscular back twitched as
Willow moved her assault down over the taunt skin that
delighted and threatened her senses. Palms rubbed at the
tightness and stress of the slayer's body. Each strand of
tension, each worry line, each piece of evidence of
what the slayer went through was her fault, and that was
only one of many thoughts that ran rampage through her
mind.

Smooth salty skin meet her tongue in an explosion of
sensation through both bodies. Gasping in surprise her,
Willow bit down on the slayer's breast, arching as what
Buffy felt coursed through her own body. Moving to the
blonde's other breast, she sucked the nipple between
her teeth and nibbled at it.

Her mind reached out in search of Buffy's, wrapping
through it in a flood of emotions.

' Willow. '

' Buffy. ' Her mind sighed happily and sank completely
into Buffy.

---------

Buffy combed her hand through the shock of dark red hair.
It was so soft and thick that it soothed her hand's nerves.
She'd always loved the way Willow's hair smelled and felt.
The satin like hair had been a guilty obsession since they'd
first met. Braided, short, long, in a pony tail, pig tails,
it didn't matter.

She tightened her left arm around Willow's waist. Trying not
to loose the feel of the red heads body burrowed on top of hers.
Their breasts pressed together, legs intertwined, arms wrapped
around each other. It was everything the slayer had ever
dreamed of and wanted.

She rubbed her nose in the wavy thick hair, inhaling the
mixture of green apples and vanilla. Her favorite scents
in the whole world.

Her left hand slide up over the taunt curved back and over
her neck. Reluctantly, she pried open her eyes to gaze at
the emotionally and physically exhausted red head. She
just couldn't get enough of seeing Willow's gorgeous body.

The way her buttocks curved perfectly into the dimple in her
lower back. The way one of her ribs stuck out slightly and
caused the red head to whimper deep in her throat. How her
neck always produced a series of moans. The glint of light
against the slim silver wedding band on her left hand...
Wedding band?

She jerked her hand up with a strangled yelp. On her left ring
finger was a slender dark silver wedding band, covered in what
looked like runes. She could barely feel the ring that seemed
to fit her finger perfectly.

Letting go of Willow's hair, she yanked at the ring, determined
to get it off. Unfortunately, it seemed the ring had other ideas
because it wasn't moving. At all.

" Mbftosert. "

Willow stretched against her, then began to nuzzle at the
sensitive skin of Buffy's neck.

" Um...Will, I don't mean to break the moment but I have a
problem. "

" Hmm? You want me to kiss it and make it better? "

Buffy swallowed hard at the predatory grin that perked up
at her. In fact, the way the red head was suddenly gazing
down at her reminded her of Sylvester always looked at
Tweety.

Attempting to keep some control over her already raging
hormones, she held her left hand in front of Willow's face.
But instead of being upset, concerned, or suspicious the red
heads face brightened, as Willow held up her own hand revealing
an identical wedding ring.

" I didn't get a chance to warn you cause of the whole dying
thing. " Willow said.

" No, death bad. "

" Well look at it this way, one more time and we'll be even."

Buffy glared at the red head wanting to lay down the law on
death, but she decided to wait until later. " What warning? "

" Oh, right the warning. " Willow tore her gaze from Buffy's.
" You know how I was telling you there's a curse on me? "

" Yeah. "

" Well it's one of these several step curses. Anya said that I
have to break it in steps, and the first step was that I had
to be totally honest with my soul mate, and then we had to
declare our love for each other and mean it. The idea being
that the soul mate had to forgive me for anything I've done. "

" So I'm your soul mate? " Buffy asked quietly.

Willow nodded and dropped her head onto the slayers shoulder.

" What was the other parts? "

" When I died the next part was started. See for me to live
you had to vow your eternal love to the gods, your tears
were sort of like a lie detector test. "

" And? "

Willow snuggled deeper into Buffy's arms. " When you passed
you basically married us. "

" M..m..married? " Buffy squeaked as darkness enveloped her.

"..."

---------

Chapter: Four

--------

Willow shifted Buffy's favorite battle ax
onto her right shoulder, before swinging her
leg over the large fallen tree. Pulling her
other leg over, she started deeper into the
forest in the general direction of the old
house.

She was determined to stop the bitch that
had forced her lover into marrying her. It
should have been a choice that Willow and
Buffy made together. But that crazy, psychotic,
deranged ass hole of a witch had ripped it
from them and now Buffy was stuck with her
despite the fact that the slayer obviously
didn't want her.

She loved Buffy with everything she was,
which was why she was willing to do anything
to make her happy. Even if that something
was to give Buffy a divorce, in the only
way possible. Her death.

But like a famous movie once said, ' If
I'm going to go, I'm taking you with me. '

" So the primitive decided she wants to
play. "

The dark crackling rasp came from every
where and nowhere. It was loud, quiet, a
wind of an echo that shook the red head to
her very soul. It soothed, hurt, and ripped
at her heart until she shivered in uncontrollable
fear. It existed, died, destroyed in a tidal
wave of every fear, doubt, and hate that she
would or ever had.

" You think you can kill me? "

Willow hefted the ax trying desperately
to stop the quivering in her body. " No,
but I'm going to give you a crash course
in pain. "

She gasped as the mid-afternoon light
disappeared into night. The surrounding
trees spreading until she could make out
the dirty white burnt out ruins of an old
house. It was still standing even with all
the history it had been through. The first
house built on the continent. The first
house that existed hundreds of years before
anyone even considered that the world wasn't
flat.

" Willow!!! "

The ex-witch turned at the sound of her
lover. The slayer was sprinting towards her.
The dirty blonde was abnormally pale and
looked like she was on the verge of having
a full blown panic attack.

Before she could react either way to the
blondes presence, the slayer had pulled her
into a possessive hug.

" Oh god, when I woke up and you weren't
there... "

Willow sighed into the slayers hair, " I'm
sorry I just wanted to give you back your
freedom. "

The slayer pulled back in confusion, her
eyes running over her's in an attempt to
figure out what the red head meant. " I
thought I was. "

" No. Morrigan had no right to force you
into a marriage you don't want. "

" You're wrong. " Buffy whispered. " I
have never wanted anything more. "

" B-but you passed out. You... "

" ...wasn't expecting that. " Buffy said.

" I... but we've only been together a day
and... "

" We've practically been in a relationship
for the last five years, and the idea of us
being together forever is the most incredible
gift I could ever have. "

Willow dropped her gaze to the ax. " I just.."

" I mean it Will. I want it all with you. Love,
marriage, a family. " Buffy smiled gently at her
wife. " Now let's get out of here before that
witch decides to come out of hiding. "

" Too late. " Willow whispered, gazing over the
slayers shoulder.

Standing a few feet from the ruins of the house
was a raven haired woman, old and young, tall and
short, beautiful and grotesque. " The mighty witch
has returned. "

Willow stepped between the witch and the slayer.
This was just like it happened last time. She could
now clearly remember every detail, every nuance,
and she was not going to just stand by and let
it happen again.

" This ends now. "

" What are you doing? " Buffy asked.

Willow ignored the slayer. " I challenge you. Now. "

" A witches duel? " The raven haired creature asked.

" A witches duel. "

" No. I'm not about to let you get yourself killed. "
Buffy cut in, her piercing eyes glaring between the two
witches. " Besides, last time I checked you were a
recovering addict. "

Willow tore her eyes away from the nightmarish figure
across from her. " Part of the curse was turning any
magic I did into black magic. She was getting a high
off me. "

" I have to admit that you were an unusually strong
primitive. Most can't survive the draining. "

Willow grabbed hold of the slayer as the rage
began to take over the dirty blonde. " Easy. "

A force hit them hard, slamming them backwards
until they connected with the nearest tree. Willow
gasped as the air was violently forced from her
lungs, and pushed herself up onto her knees.

Her left hand came up, the palm faced toward the
monster of her past. She felt the surge of magic
leave her body and impact with Morrigan. The dark
haired witch was lifted into the air, spinning
faster and faster, until she was a circular blur.

The witch came to a stop, hovering feet first
above the forest floor with a cocked eyebrow.
Immediately Willow felt her eye sight fade,
leaving her in a world of darkness that
started to trap her in her fear. There was
no Buffy there, no forest or sky, no stars,
just darkness holding all the boogeymen and
monsters and...

" Will..."

A slim hand gripped her right hand tightly,
giving her all the love and strength the slayer
had. It wasn't a lot, but it was everything to
her.

Pulling away from the fear, she searched her
mind for some answer. ' When did this turn into
a Disney cartoon. ' It was just like that movie
that Dawn always watched when she was trying
to be funny. What was it... The Sword in the
Stone. She honestly thought that evil witch
and her getting all sick was funny...

Concentrating on the deadliest, most painful
disease she could remember, but everything she
could think of took too long to kill. However,
there was another option.

Thinking hard about what she needed to do,
she threw a large amount of energy at the
other witch, feeling the witches heart, and
cutting off the arteries.

The piercing scream cut through the otherwise
quiet air, stopping just as quickly as it started.
She could feel the under current around her,
easing the blindness from her eyes. Swirling
around them in a gentle hug before fading and
changing into a male form in front of them.

" David. "

She stood up on shaky legs and stepped towards
the bo...the man that stood before her. He looked
like he'd aged normally.

" It's about time. I thought I was going to be
stuck playing Harvey to you for the rest of my
life. " The lean red head flashed her a wide
grin that told her that he found the whole
thing too much fun to be mad.

The tears began to flow as she wrapped her arms
around the sibling that had meant so much to her.
His easy going attitude, his incredible sense
of humor, it made it so much easier to get
through the day, and now it was back.

" Come on sis, let's go home. "

---------

" I still don't understand the whole primitive/
natural witch thing. " Xander objected.

Tara glanced up from where she was helping Dawn
with the model kit she'd gotten from her newest
love interest. " Primitive witches are able to
convert dark magic into white magic. Unfortunately
they're very rare now. "

" Their were a lot of witches in my family, but
most of them were killed during the holocaust. "
Willow leaned into her wife at the thought of
all the people she lost during that time period.
" The only witch that managed to get out of it
alive was my great grandmother. "

" So the whole addiction thing was her feeding
off you? " Dawn asked.

" Yeah. " Willow smiled at the giddy teen.

Despite the girls initial trauma over being
exposed to Buffy's relationship, she was
ecstatic. She now had a larger, caring family.
Plus, she now felt more secure in the knowledge
that Willow wasn't going to just pick up and
leave on her.

Add to that, the latest turn in events.
Dawn could also start to trust Willow
again, since she'd discovered that most
of the dark magic addiction had been
due to the curse that had been placed on
her.

" Hey, I'm the one that gave her the
information. If it wasn't for me she'd
still be an addict, loveless, and filled
with guilt. "

Willow reached over and hugged the
disgruntled ex-demon, and softly whispered.
" Thank you. You're a good friend. "

Almost immediately the blonde sniffed,
sounding suspiciously like she was going
to cry. " Whatever. "

A soft tug on her arm made her glance
up at a happy slayer. " I want to show
you something. "

Willow let the slayer pull her to her
feet and out the back door. " Um, Buffy,
I've seen the back yard before. "

" Look over there. " Buffy smirked at her,
as she directed the red heads eyes over to
the left.

Where there had previously been a bare
patch of grass, was now a large brick grill
and a heavy, long picnic table.

It was strange. Most people would probably
balk at the present, but to her it meant
so much more.

She had once told Buffy that her vision
of a real family was parents that actually
took an interest in their children's lives.
Occasional vacations, shopping, being
grounded, and weekends where the family
could have outdoor cook outs.

" Happy Birthday Will. "

It said to her that they were a family.

---------

Announcers Voice:
Next time on Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

( Buffy and Willow are in the living room, which is lit by dozens of candles.
They are naked and wrapped around each other. )

CUT TO

( A man that looks about Twenty Five and a geek enters the living room and
gaps. He yanks on his tie, then makes a strange noise. )

MAN:
I'm Fred Hersh, your social worker.

CUT TO

( Buffy and Spike kissing, all we can see are their heads. )

CUT TO

BUFFY:

I want to have your child.

CUT TO:

( Willow glaring hard, and holding a stake. )

WILLOW:

That's it, no more miss nice witch.

CUT TO

( Buffy crying )

CUT TO

( Willow slamming the front door. )