I honestly don't do a lot of AU stories ever, so I wasn't exactly sure how to do this one. Much of S7, including "Same Time, Same Place", COULD have happened, but I'm just pretending it didn't because it isn't important to this story in particular, and I don't like stories that just rewrite actual episodes with only slight changes. I'll be skipping whatever parts of S7 don't matter, and if I don't write them or mention them you're to assume they didn't happen. Enjoy!
It's two months later.
"Are you ready?" Giles asked the witch sitting next to him in the grass.
"No." She said, "But...I won't ever be ready, will I? And if they need me… Do you think I'm ready?"
"I do." Giles looked at her seriously, "But, Willow, being back on the Hellmouth...the energies there can overwhelm you. I just want you to be prepared-"
"Don't worry, Giles. It's all connected, remember? I feel the whole Earth all the time. Sunnydale is always the strongest."
Giles nodded, "Okay, Willow. Just remember your meditation if it gets too hard for you."
"Giles...what if I...y'know…"
"Willow, you haven't had an episode in five weeks. Althenea says it's likely that you'll never have one again."
Willow frowned, "She doesn't know that."
"None of us know anything, Willow. A witch with your amount of power is extremely rare. It used to be that they were simply killed. Helping you, we are all treading new ground here."
"No, Giles. You've dealt with this before." She said, "Not the magick. The guilt and the grief…"
"All I'm saying is that your situation is unique, Willow. We aren't sure what will happen, exactly, but would we really be sending you back if we were afraid you were going to have another psychotic break?"
"I guess not." Willow sighed, "And what if I snap? It still almost gets me whenever I do even simple spells, and, like you said, the energy from the Hellmouth could…" She trailed off.
"The same goes, Willow. The coven and I are all confident that you can control your powers." Giles smiled proudly at her, "But I'll be sending you back with some...precautionary things to give to Buffy. Just in case."
Knowing what those 'precautionary things' were, Willow shuddered, "Oh."
"But, Willow, if we are right, then Buffy will likely never have to use them." He stood up and held out a hand for Willow, "So, are you ready?"
Taking his hand, Willow replied, "As I'll ever be, I guess."
Willow grabbed her luggage from beside the tree and they headed for the airport.
-x-
"Did you talk to Giles, Buffy?" Dawn asked, standing with her and Xander in Sunnydale airport.
"Yeah. But he still didn't tell me much. He kept his stuffy British mouth shut about everything that was going on with Will in England, and now all he told me was that she's coming back. He really skimped on the details." Buffy answered.
"He didn't say anything about her going, I dunno, evil again, did he?" Asked Xander.
"No."
"Then we probably don't have to worry about it." Xander smiled and held up the yellow sign he'd made for Willow's return to Sunnydale."
"He just said to look out for her." Buffy continued, "He sounded pretty confident that she can control herself now, so I thi-"
Dawn and Xander's faces lit up and Buffy turned around to see Willow approaching them.
"Wills!" Xander said as they all exchanged hugs, "Didja see my sign?"
"I like it." Willow said, "I mean, it has sentimental value, y'know?"
"That's exactly what I was trying to tell these two young ladies!" Xander gestured to Buffy and Dawn, who had both earlier questioned the unreadable color of the sign.
"So, how are you, Will?" Buffy asked.
"Uh…" Willow didn't answer, and an awkward quiet settled over the group.
"You know, you're probably tired." Buffy smiled.
"Yeah. Long flight." Willow agreed, "Let's go back home. I've been missing the Summers residence." She hadn't been.
"Oh yeah!" Said Xander, "Let's go! Buffy made cupcakes."
"Actually, she bought them. I went with her to the store." Dawn said.
"Oh! Buffy," Willow reached into her carry-on and clutched the small pouch Giles had given her in the airport in England, which was full of 'precautionary things'.
"Yeah, Will?" Buffy asked when she didn't continue.
Thinking for a moment, Willow let her hand slide off of the pouch and exit the bag, empty. "Uh...nothing. So let's go! Cupcakes!"
They headed toward the airport's exit as Buffy, Dawn, and Xander shared a concerned look.
