Chapter. 8

Willow began to cry as she took the rose out of the box. She slowly brought it up to her nose, deeply inhaling the scent. Willow expected the rose to smell like a rose, but it didn't. The rose carried Tara's scent. She smiled as she realized that Tara must have placed a spell on the rose.

As she softly placed the rose back in the box, she removed the letter. Willow was unsure of what the letter said but she knew that as long as it was from Tara, it couldn't be bad. Before she opened the letter, Willow made sure to grab the box of tissues that sat on the bedside table. She knew that once the memories of Tara started, normally so did the tears. Willow then slowly opened the letter, wanting to treasure Tara's words.

My dear Willow,

If you are reading this, I am not there to be with you for this significant moment in both your and Leila's lives. As I'm writing this, we are currently living separate lives due to the fact that magic has come between us. But I spoke to Buffy today and she told me that you were doing extremely well with your addiction. I am so proud of you and I know that you will beat this, not only for Leila but for yourself as well. I have hope that we will find our way back to each other soon.

But if there is another reason that we are not together as you read this, then I want you to know that how much I love you and how I know that we are soul mates now and forever. I want you to know that I'll be waiting for you in heaven. But I want you to find love, find someone who will love you and Leila as I love the both of you.

No matter what, I know that you believe as I do that Leila is our daughter and nothing will ever change that. Not even when Oz returns. Oz is the reason why I've asked Buffy to give you this letter. Please don't be mad at her for keeping this from you, I made her promise me and as you know, Buffy keeps her promises.

No matter what you may decide to do with Oz's return, he is and always will be Leila's father and therefore a part of who she is as a person. And she has a right to know everything about herself, including the Oz part of her. There will come a day when she asks about who her father is, and that day might already have happened. But you have to be prepared in how you're going to answer that question because that answer, will be the answer that she bases her opinion of her father on.

There is also another side to this situation. Oz. He does have a right to know Leila and I think that he should. Leila is a bright ray of sunshine, just like her mommy and because Oz loved you, and probably a part of him still does, he will definitely love his daughter.

In the end it is up to you, whether or not you decide to tell him about Leila. I just hope that you make the right decision for yourself and Leila, and not allow someone else to influence your decision.

So many people love her, allow them to and don't push them away. I know that you want to protect Leila and you need to. She is a very powerful little girl and can do great things in her life. But without the proper guidance, those great things can mean death and destruction. She has the powers of two witches, with very different abilities, and a werewolf. You can help her with witchcraft but not with the werewolf part of her. The only one who could do that is another werewolf, Oz.

I love you and always will, please never forget that and never allow Leila to forget it either. I know that you will make the right choice. No matter what you decide, know that I support your decision fully.

I promise you that one day, we will hold each other again and I too also keep my promises.

Yours Always,

Tara.

Just as Willow finished the letter, she noticed that the box of tissues, that had just been full, now sat empty. She stared back at the letter and gently traced Tara's name with her finger. Her Tara had taken the time, while they were broken up, to write a letter letting her know who much she was loved by the blond witch.

She loved the fact that Tara had always considered Leila as their daughter. Willow remembered how scared she was when she found out that she was pregnant. She was afraid that Tara was going to leave her but instead of leaving, Tara took her hand and promised her that she would be around as long as Willow wanted. That was the most defining moment in their relationship. From that day forward the couple came inseparable; that was until Willow allowed her abuse of magic to get between them.

Willow still regretted the pain that she put both Tara and Leila through. But even though it was difficult for Tara to be around Willow, it didn't affect the way that Tara felt towards Leila. "I promise you, Tara, I will never let Leila forget you. Just like I'll never forget you." She promised aloud.

Willow was about to place the letter back in the box with the rose when she was startled by a knock on the door. "Come in." Willow answered, wondering who was on the other side of the door.

Just then a tall, muscular man walked into the room. Willow smiled as he pulled her into his arms.

"Courtin, how did you know that I needed that?" Willow asked while returning the hug.

"Buffy told me that you were up here. She also told me that you probably wanted some time alone. But with Oz being back in town, I had to come and check on you and Leila, myself. So how are you doing? Has he been around yet?" Courtin asked. He was concerned that Oz could be a complication in his plan for a possible future with both Willow and Leila.

"How do you know that Oz in back in town?" Willow paused for a moment before she realized how Courtin knew. "Last night was the full moon, and while you and the rest of the pack were all wolfy, you caught his scent."

"Yes, we did follow his scent. But we didn't know who we were following, we just knew that we were following another werewolf. The scent led us to some guy walking down the street. I didn't know what I was dealing with, so I was just going to run it out of town when Jordy stopped me. He told me that the guy was his cousin Oz. That's when I put two and two together and figured out that your Oz and this one must be one and the same. Plus I thought that you really wouldn't like it if I had ran him out of town." Courtin replied as he led Willow back over to the bed, motioning for her to sit next to him.

That was when Courtin noticed the letter in Willow's hand and the rose that sat in a box next to her. "Are those from him?"

Willow looked down at the letter one last time before placing back in the box with the rose. "No, it isn't from Oz. It's from Tara, Buffy gave it to me. Tara asked her to hold onto the letter for her, in case Tara couldn't be here herself when Oz returned."

"Does Tara think that you should tell him about Leila?"

Willow nodded in response.

"That's what confuses me, she was with you when he left the second time and saw the pain that it caused you. Yet she still thinks that him being here, is a good idea?" Courtin didn't see things from Tara's point of view. He didn't know the blond witch personally yet he felt as though he had. There were many nights in the last year that he simply listened as Willow spent hours talking about Tara and the love that they shared.

"She thinks that Leila needs to know the werewolf side of who she is and the only way that it's going to happen is if I tell Oz that he has a daughter. No matter what he's done, he doesn't deserve to find that out from someone else."

He knew that there was a good chance that Oz had already caught Leila's scent since it was instinctive for a werewolf to follow the scent of another. If he had, he probably already knew that there was something odd about her scent.

Courtin believed that Willow was taking a risk by allowing him back into her life and into Leila's. "He'll leave again as soon as things get tough. He's done it before, meaning that he could easily do it again."

"But he came back…"

"Oz did come back except he left again as soon as he found out about you and Tara. How do you think that he'll react to finding out that he has a daughter?"

Willow understood what Courtin was saying. She asked herself the same question many times before. But Leila was her main concern and she deserved to know who her father was. "I understand why Oz left, it would have been too painful for him to stay. And I wouldn't wish pain like that on anyone, not even him."

Courtin gently took Willow's hand in his own. "Which proves how much of an amazing woman you are. You don't want to see him hurt even though he's hurt you not once but twice. It's Oz's own fault that he missed out on Leila's life. He should have been here, a pup needs someone to show them how to control the wolf inside."

"I can't thank you enough for being there for Leila and for me. But we're not your responsibility. Now that Oz is back, I have to tell him that Leila is his daughter. I'm not doing this in any way for him, I'm doing it for Leila."

Courtin waked his fingers through his hair in frustration. "And what if he can't handle the news and takes off again?"

"If he leaves, then life will continue without him. Leila and I have been without him for 4 years now and we're okay. We're lucky enough to have a lot of people around us who love us." Willow knew that there was a chance that once he found out that he was a father, he would panic and leave town again. But a part of her had faith in the Oz that she knew and fell in love with. She hoped that he would embrace the news and take an active role in Leila's life.

"I just don't want to see you get hurt."

Willow was thankful to have Courtin and the rest of the werewolf pack in her life and Leila's. They had accepted Leila as one of their own even though she wasn't exactly like them. "Even if Oz stays in Sunnydale, it doesn't mean that we are ever going to get back together. If he does stay it will only be for Leila's sake."

"Well I might not be able to change your mind but there is one thing that I can control. Oz isn't welcome anywhere near the pack and that includes when Leila's with us."

"I can understand that and I don't see a reason to fight you on that matter. Leila needs the pack, she's part of the pack."

"And we need her, maybe not right now but I'm sure that her own unique abilities will benefit the pack in the future." Courtin had spent the last year, patiently waiting for Willow to get past her relationship with Kennedy and the ghosts of her past. He had hoped that she would eventually see him as more than just a friend and possibly return the feelings that he had for her. But with Oz's return, the chances of that happening were slim.

"So are you just here to check up on me or are you here to help with the party." Willow asked, wanting to change the topic.

"Both, actually. The whole pack is here, I think that they're having breakfast downstairs." Courtin replied.

Willow laughed as she opened the bedroom door. "I guess that I'm really not having breakfast this morning. I highly doubt that Dawn made enough for the Scoobies, Leila, 18 young slayers and now 7 werewolves."

"Poor Dawn. I really think that you guys should look into hiring a cook."

"I think that we need a full catering service when we feed this many people. I just hope with that many people around, someone has made sure that Leila hasn't showered herself in syrup." Willow cringed as she remembered the last time that she had to wash maple syrup out of her daughter's long red hair.

As Courtin followed Willow out of the room, he replied. "Actually, Xander and Kennedy have already left with Leila. Don't worry, Buffy made sure that Leila was clean but your little one still refuses to take off the pink tutu and orange Scooby-Doo t-shirt."

-- --

Oz couldn't believe that he was back in The Bronze. Nothing inside of the club had changed since the last time that he had been in Sunnydale. He took his time walking around the club, wanting to cherish the memories that began to flood his mind.

But his walk down memory lane was interrupted when he heard the sound of people approaching the club entrance. He quickly made his way to the stage and hid behind a large stack of speakers. Oz watched as the young woman that he had met the night before, walked into the club. He was about to walk towards Ken when he noticed that she wasn't alone.

"Xander, put the presents on the table over there. I think that Rona's probably still getting things ready backstage since she didn't come back to the school with the other slayers for breakfast. How about you start getting the tables ready and I'll go find her?" Kennedy said as she climbed onto the stage.

"Wait! Kennedy, where's Leila?" Xander asked, quickly turning around hoping to see Leila standing behind him except she was nowhere to be seen.

Kennedy spun around, almost falling off the stage at the mention of Leila missing. "Where is she? If anything happens to Leila, Willow's going to kill us and I really don't feel like having my girl fillet me alive."

From behind the speakers, Oz was able to hear the whole conversation between Xander and Kennedy. The mention of Willow's name caught his attention. He hoped that they wouldn't notice him standing there; he wanted to hear the rest of their conversation. Oz wondered who this Leila was and why she was so important to Willow.

"Willow isn't your girl anymore. And now that Oz is back in town, I think you might have some competition when it comes to her." Xander laughed as he walked back towards the door, looking for Leila.

"Do you think that he's back to try and win her back?" Kennedy hadn't even considered the fact that Oz might go after Willow.

Xander quickly checked under a tablecloth, hoping to find Leila hiding underneath. "Oz didn't tell me that that was why he's back but they do have a past. And with a past like theirs and a life like ours, anything can happen."

Oz was confused. He had heard Xander tell Kennedy that Willow didn't belong to her anymore. That could only mean that Willow had at one time been with Kennedy, which also meant that Willow and Tara were no more. Oz knew that if he understood everything correctly, it meant that Willow, his Willow, was now single. Unless this Leila person was Willow's new love.

"Leila! Where are you?" Xander continued calling out.

"Uncle Xander, I up here!" Leila immediately answered from the top of the balcony, sensing the fear in Xander's voice.

Kennedy looked up at the balcony and noticed Leila trying to climb over the railing. "Leila, don't you dare climb over that! Get your little butt down here."

Xander walked over to where Kennedy stood, in order to get a better view of Leila. He could tell that Leila's intent was to jump from the balcony. She had recently started pushing the limits of her abilities but he knew that he didn't want her testing. Xander had seen her jump many times from things that were about 6 feet high and land perfectly on her feet but this balcony was a different story, it stood at least 20 to 25 feet high. "Leila, You heard Kennedy. Now go back to the stairs and get down here that way."

From where Oz stood, he wasn't able to see exactly who 'Leila' was. But by the sound of her voice, it was evident to him that it belonged to a little girl. As Oz moved behind the speakers in order to try and get a better view of her, he suddenly caught a familiar scent. It belonged to the little girl he was searching for. Oz began to put the pieces of what he had seen and heard since returning to Sunnydale, together. The little girl on the balcony, was the same little girl that he had found the night before, the one who was in danger. Her name was Leila and she was important to Willow.

Leila waved as she looked down towards Xander and Kennedy. "Hi Uncle Xander! Look at me!"

"Leila, stop it. Go back to the stairs and use them." Xander repeated, allowing his voice to grow a little stern.

"Okay." Leila replied as she walked away from the railing and began climbing down the stairs. But halfway down the stairs, she stopped.

Oz now had a clearer view of the little girl and she was in fact the one that he had been searching for.

"She wouldn't." Kennedy looked over to Xander and whispered, as Leila stopped halfway down the stairs.

At the exact moment that those words left Kennedy's mouth, Leila jumped from the staircase, landing perfectly on her feet. As she stood back up, she looked up at Xander and Kennedy, clearly pleased with her accomplishment.

Xander turned to Kennedy and replied. "And she did." Xander then walked over to Leila and knelt in front of the little girl. "Leila, you didn't listen to us. We told you to climb down the stairs, not jump. Because you didn't listen, what do you think we should tell your mom?"

"No…No… I sorry. Please don't tell Mommy. Please." Leila begged.

"How about we give her a break, just this once. It's her birthday and we don't want Willow being in a bad mood all day." Kennedy added.

Xander thought about it for a moment, he didn't want Willow to have more on her mind than she already did, with Oz's return. "Okay, I won't tell your mommy this time, but if you do it again, then I have to. I don't want your mom to get mad at me and put a spell on me."

Leila nodded in agreement, as she began to pout.

Kennedy quickly changed the subject, knowing that once Leila started crying there was no stopping it. "Xander, how about you start decorating the tables with Leila and I'll go find Rona? She's probably backstage and it might had some excitement to this party if Willow did put a spell on you."

"She gonna turn you into a frog." Leila replied, her frown quickly disappeared as she began to laugh hysterically at her own joke.

"Come on, Birthday Girl, you can help me get the decorations out of my truck. But no trying to peak at your presents." Xander said as he walked over to Leila and swung the little girl into his arms.

Kennedy couldn't help but start to laugh as Leila's laughter filled the room.

Hearing the little girls laughter made Oz smile. He was grateful that Xander and Kennedy had not noticed him standing behind the speakers, he had learnt more from listening to them than he had since he started his search for the little girl. Oz now knew that the little girl's name was Leila, she was the birthday girl and that Willow was her mother. He wondered who Leila's father was.

"What is it, Leila?" Xander knew that something was wrong as Leila stopped laughing and her eyes locking on the speakers. But from where Xander stood, he couldn't see anything out of the ordinary with the speakers. Xander couldn't see anyone or anything there; therefore he turned and started walking out of the club with Leila in his arms. He figured that she was probably only catching the scent of Rona or possibly another one of the slayers who worked at The Bronze. "Let's go get those presents now." He said as they exited the club.

Oz looked around the speaker and watched as Xander left the club with Leila. Oz was too occupied watching Leila; he hadn't noticed someone walk up behind him until they tapped him on the shoulder. Oz quickly spun around to find Kennedy standing in front of him.

"Did I scare you or something? Because if I did, you are seriously not meant to be in this town." Kennedy asked. She had seen the look exchanged between Oz and Leila as Xander left the club with the little girl. Something about exchange made Kennedy feel very uncomfortable.

"You just caught me off guard. I don't scare very easily, I've seen things that you wouldn't believe." Oz answered, as he caught Willow's scent coming off of Kennedy. He could sense the wolf in him trying to free itself, just as it had when he confronted Tara about her relationship with Willow. This time the strength of the scent wasn't as powerful but it still meant that Willow had at least hugged Kennedy multiple times.

Kennedy laughed, she doubted that he had seen anything compared to her. Being a second-generation slayer meant that you fought vampires, demons and other weird creepy things, everyday. "How did you find the song? I know that it is a little childish, but as you saw, the birthday girl is only turning 4 years old. So it fits her age group. Are you okay? I saw the way that you were watching her."

"The song's okay. The little girl just looks a little familiar." Oz had a feeling that Kennedy could possibly answer some of his unanswered questions. "Who is she?"

Kennedy knew that there was and had always been an unspoken rule that no one was to talk about Leila to anyone because they never knew who was a demon or working for one. But this guy seemed normal; something inside of her told her that he was no danger to them or Leila. "Her name is Leila and she's my girlfriend's, I mean my ex-girlfriend's daughter."

"You're ex-girlfriend? I'm sorry that's none of my business."

"No, it's fine. Yes, I like women and even though I now live in Cleveland, my ex-girlfriend and I still work closely together." Kennedy replied, there was something about this guy that instantly made Kennedy comfortable talking to him. "My ex-girlfriend's name is Willow, she's amazing. I don't know how anyone could do all of the things that she does. She takes care of her daughter, she teaches at the school and she runs this place."

Oz looked around at The Bronze, it hadn't changed one bit since he had last been there with the rest of the Scoobies. "Willow owns The Bronze?"

Something about Oz's reaction made Kennedy uneasy. "Do you know her? I'm sorry, I didn't get your name."

Oz wasn't sure if Kennedy knew about his relationship with Willow but he knew that he now had to talk to Willow, especially since the little girl in danger was her daughter. "I'm Oz, and you can say that I know Willow. Well, I used to."

"Oz…" Kennedy face went white as she realized who the man standing in front of her was.

"So you've heard of me." Oz wondered how much Kennedy knew about his past with Willow and how much more information he would now get from Kennedy.

Kennedy knew that if Willow, or anyone, were to find out that she had talked to Oz about Leila, she would be dead. She also knew that Willow was still unsure if she was going to tell Oz about Leila or not. But now Oz probably knew enough to put the pieces together himself. "I have, kinda."

"Kinda?"

"Yeah, I knew that Willow had dated a guy before Tara and that his name was Oz. That's about it."

Oz wasn't sure how he felt about Kennedy. She seemed normal and yet the fact that she had once dated Willow and still clearly had feelings for the witch, made him weary. But the idea of Willow having a daughter, blew Oz's mind. Of course he had spent many nights dreaming of having a family with Willow, but he had never imagined that Willow would have started a family with someone else. He wondered who the lucky man was. It then occurred to him that he still hadn't seen any men around Leila other than Xander. And since Xander and Anya were married, Oz doubted that Xander was Leila's father. Oz's thoughts then moved onto the little girl, Leila. He loved the way her name sounded on the tip of his tongue, it seemed somehow natural for him to say. "Will Leila's father be here for the party?"

Kennedy had no idea what to say. She knew that she couldn't just say 'Yeah, he's standing right in front of me'. Just then Kennedy turned as she heard Leila's laughter as she ran back into The Bronze, with Xander.

Oz had both heard Willow and caught her scent, before he even seeing her. But as instantly as he caught her scent, a stronger second scent caught Oz's attention. It wasn't Willow or Leila's but that of another werewolf, a male. The scent was soon forgotten as he watched Willow enter the room. She was even more beautiful than when he had last seen her. Her hair was now longer and slightly darker, and not quite the same shade of red as Leila's.

"Courtin! Grab Leila before she runs into Xander." Willow warned the large werewolf as she watched Leila run towards Xander, who was carrying the birthday cake. But it suddenly wasn't needed as Leila stopped and looked towards the stage. Willow wondered what had caught her daughter's attention so quickly. It wasn't a what but a who. Oz.

Willow hadn't expected Oz to be in The Bronze, especially on this day, Leila's day. Fear over took her. She still hadn't figured out how she was going to tell him about Leila. But she knew that she now had to figure something out quickly as he now stood right in front of her. Except the moment that their eyes met, all the fear disappeared.

Courtin couldn't believe that Oz had the nerve to show up at The Bronze. He quickly looked back towards Willow, to make ensure that she was still behind him. As his wolf instincts kicked in, Courtin quickly scooped Leila up in his arms and took a step in front of Willow, shielding her from Oz's view.

Oz felt as though he and Willow were communicating without words as their eyes remained locked on each other until someone block their view of each other. It was apparent to Oz that the man who stood between them was just a normal guy. He was also a werewolf. Oz then thought to himself. 'He must be Leila's father, it explains her werewolf-like scent.' But this fact confused Oz even more. With all the research that Oz had done on werewolves, he had never once heard of a werewolf and a human having a child together.

"Courtin, it's okay." Willow said as she walked around him. "Hi Oz."