CROSS ROADS
Part 10
Buffy, Giles, Mulder, and Scully were approaching Barrington and Stacy who were beside the hole in the ground. Stacy was kneeling beside the hole and Barrington was standing away from her, as if he were giving her space. She seemed to be concentrating all of her attention and focus on the hole in the ground.
Lenox was approaching from behind the group and he was dragging the terrorist he had captured alive. The man's hands were handcuffed behind his back and a rag was stuffed in his mouth. He glared at every one around him.
Lenox shoved the terrorist down onto the ground as he adjusted his headset. "Ace...Birdman. Come on down and make a pickup." He looked over at his wife kneeling beside the hole. "Looks like we'll need the gear you brought along after all."
"We're on our way," Vogel responded through the head set.
Giles looked at Lenox. "Er...Mr. Lenox...th-there's another terrorist in the trunk of the car. I hit him with a tire iron, and...well, I'm fairly confident that the man is still unconscious."
Lenox held up a hand and nodded. Into his microphone, he said, "Birdman, there's another pickup for you not far from where you dropped us. There's a terrorist in the trunk of a car...the one Mulder drove. You can't miss it. It's in the side of a shed."
"We'll get him first," Vogel responded through the head set. "We'll be there before you know it."
Buffy glanced with concern at Stacy. "What is she doing?"
Lenox looked over at Stacy. "She's praying."
"She's religious?" Scully asked.
Lenox shrugged. "Stacy tells me that it isn't a religion but a relationship."
"With God?" Mulder asked. He glanced at his partner. "This sounds like something right up your alley, Scully."
"Prayer is good if you really have that kind of power," Scully said. "But what is she praying for?"
Lenox paused. "I don't know...Yet."
Buffy looked confused. "Wait a minute...Why aren't you praying with her? I mean...do you believe as Stacy does?"
"I believe...but I haven't fully accepted." Lenox glanced at her. "I take care of things my own way. I don't rely on help from heavenly sources."
"What do you mean, 'heavenly sources'?" Giles asked.
"Stacy has a Guardian Angel. Or something guides her to safety when safety is not there." He shrugged. "I've seen her walk away from harm with out a scratch when others would either perish or be harmed in some way. I can't explain it. It's...it's not for me to say."
"What exactly does your wife believe?" Mulder asked.
"She believes that we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against powers...against the rulers of the darkness of this world."
Giles was intrigued. "What precisely does that mean?"
"It means that what we are fighting against is something that we cannot see with our eyes. The real battle is around us, and if our eyes were truly open to see it, we would not be able to stand." He shrugged again. "And that may be so. But, all I can do is fight what I can see. I can tell you this...if Xander and Willow are down in that hole, we'll find them. Stacy will take us right to them."
The helicopter was settling down to make the pick-up.
Something else was happening. Something they could not see. A host of angelic beings flew down from the heavens and soared right into the mouth of the hole. A host of demons were on the walls of the hole as the angels entered. The angels swung their mighty swords and many demons were cut in half. The earth swallowed up the demons that had been slain.
The angels continued until they reached the bottom of the hole. A tunnel was at the very bottom and it branch off in two directions. There was also another hole, but smaller...and some of the angels went into that hole, slaying demons as they went. Other angels went down one way of the tunnel, and others still went the other way where they passed over Rueben Julius, the Knife, who was facing three vampires.
The angels that had gone into the smaller hole found it to be steep and it led into a cavern. In this cavern in the dark, two teenagers were laying on the ground. Jeremiah was standing over them.
He looked at the angels. "She is the one," he said with his hand over the girl. "She must be protected at all cost. They both must be."
The angels took up a position around the teenagers to protect them.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Xander remembered only one thought as he had grabbed a hold of the rope that began the quick descent into darkness. *I have either got to be the craziest guy around to pull a stunt like this, or I am so much in love that I just can't stop myself from being crazy!* Then he thought, *That was the craziest thought I ever had.*
As he and Willow dropped, he focused his thoughts on her and he tried to position himself to take the brunt of the fall.
His feet crashed through the rotten wood that covered the hole as they fell through. Suddenly, it got pitch black and Xander couldn't see a thing. The rope pulled tight, ending the rapid descent and he hung onto the rope as tightly as he could. For a brief time, he and Willow dangled with her arms still looped about his neck. But it happened. Xander's hands felt numb and he loosened his hold. They began to plummet downward once again into the blackness that was all around them. The second fall, however, was not a long one, but because they were falling blind, it was unexpected. They hit the ground and fell down a steep decline.
Finally, they hit the ground and Xander waited for everything to stop spinning.
He found himself lying on his back with Willow's arms around his neck and she was lying on top of him. He groaned. At least he had somehow managed to take the brunt of the fall. His eyes were wide open, but all he could see was blackness. It was so dark, he could cut it with a knife...if he had one.
He was suddenly quite scared. What scared him the most was that Willow wasn't moving. He put his arms around her.
"Willow?" His hands were on her back. "Willow!"
He managed to sit up and he listened as he held her. He brought his face to hers and was very much relieved to hear her breathing. That had to have been a good sign, he decided. He moved her arms over his head and placed her hands in her lap. Then he reached into his pocket for something resourceful.
"C'mon, Mr. Zippo...where are you?"
Finding his lighter, he pulled it out and flicked it. He found himself sitting against a rock wall with Willow leaning against him, her eyes closed. He looked at her face closely, wishing he knew how to diagnose what was wrong and if there was anything wrong to begin with. All he saw was that she looked peaceful...and *God, she is beautiful.* he thought. He saw that her face had been stained by her tears.
"Willow," he said softly. He kissed her on the forehead.
Xander looked around to see where they had fallen. His eyes did not see the angels that were standing guard around them, but they did see some kind of workstation. He used one hand to try to make Willow comfortable, and then he went over to the old workstation to see if there was something useful to find. Perhaps something even better than Mr. Zippo.
He saw something at once that made him blink. "Well...we must have a guardian angel, Will." He picked up a lantern, and to his surprise, it was full of oil. He set it down and went about the task of lighting the lantern. Once he managed to light the lantern, he put away his lighter and looked around. A tunnel branched out of the cavern they were in and it appeared to be the only way out. The hole above he realized was where they had fallen into and he could see no way of climbing out that way.
He set the lantern down onto the ground and sat beside Willow. He gently took her hands and untied her wrists. He almost wanted to cry when he saw how tight the ropes had been. Willow had rope burns and dried blood around her wrists. Xander suddenly remembered that he was a guy and guys did NOT cry...but they did beat up terrorists who bullied their girl friends!
He looked at her wrists as he held her hands in his. Then he looked at her face. He wondered not for the first time why it had taken him so long to see her in this way. To see her not as just his friend...but as his girl. What had he been afraid of? He knew that Willow already felt strongly for him. He knew that she cared for him and loved him.
She looked so peaceful with her eyes closed, he couldn't bear to wake her.
He sat back and held her with her head on his shoulder. For what seemed like a long time, they sat together alone and Xander thought about Willow, and Willow slept. What she had gone through in the past day and a half had clearly exhausted her, and there was no way Xander was going to move her until she was ready to move.
It was some time later when Willow moaned.
"Willow?" he inquired softly with concern.
There was no response.
He sat back and listened to her breathing. He didn't understand why, but it was the most wonderful sound he had ever heard.
Minutes went by, and still he listened.
"X-Xander...?"
He gently squeezed her to let her know that he had her. "I'm here, Willow."
There was a pause. Then, softly, "Xander...?"
"Yes, Will. What is it?"
There was another pause. Then... "You stole my Barbie."
Xander blinked. Did he just hear her say what he thought she said? He looked down and with his hand, brushed aside Willow's hair so he could see her face. Her eyes were still closed, her breathing even.
"Willow...? Are you talking in your sleep?" he asked.
She nodded. "Yes...but you still stole my Barbie."
He smiled at the memory. "Yes, Will. I did."
There was silence. "Xander...?"
"Yes, Willow?"
"What did you do to Barbie?"
Xander frowned in thought. Was she actually still talking about her Barbie? "Oh, Willow...you know. We were kids. We were only five. I was-- "
"We broke up."
He regarded her. "We were kids," he repeated. Why wouldn't she open her eyes? Was she really still sleeping?
"Xander...is Barbie okay?"
He shrugged and hesitated. "Yeah, Will. Barbie is fine."
"Fibber."
He looked aghast. "What makes you say that?"
"Because you always shrug and you always hesitate and you always say, 'Yeah' when you fib."
Xander looked at her closely. "Willow..."
She didn't respond.
"Willow?"
She kept herself quiet.
"Willow!"
"I am still sleeping," she insisted.
"Willow, you are carrying on a conversation with me. You are not sleeping." He paused. "Open your eyes."
She kept her eyes closed and she frowned. "I-I can carry on a conversation in my sleep. I'm sure I-I've done it before."
"Open your eyes and look at me, Will."
She pursed her lips. "No."
"Why not?"
In a small voice, she answered, "I-it's a trick."
Xander looked at her with concern. "What's a trick?" He saw a tear form at the corner of her eye as she kept her eyes closed and it tore at his heart.
"They...they p-probably drugged me and-and now they're trying to trick me that you're here when you're probably really a-at school..." She paused. "With Buffy or C-Cordelia. They like to play tricks. They...th-they made me think you were d-dead." The tears flowed more freely now as she couldn't stop. She trembled and buried her face on his chest.
He held her and stroked her hair. "Oh, Willow! I'm so sorry!"
"I-if I open my eyes...you won't be here." She sounded so scared.
He held her tight. "Listen to me, Willow. Hear my voice. Feel my arms around you. I swear to you that I am right here with you. I'm not a trick. And I'm not with Cordelia or Buffy, because I am here with you...right where I want to be. I want to be with you, Will." He tilted her head up and looked at her face. "Please...open your eyes."
At first she didn't move. Finally, slowly, Willow opened her eyes. Her eyes met his and she didn't look away. She never wanted to look away from Xander's eyes again. She brought her hands to his face. "You're alive," she whispered. "You're safe. You really are?"
"I am." Xander found that he couldn't look away either.
"Th-that terrorist...he-he wiped blood on my leg...he-he told me that it was your blood, Xander."
"But it wasn't my blood. He lied to you." He looked deeply into her eyes. "We're together, Will. And I am so glad that I have you now."
"Me...me, too."
He took a deep breath. "I-I can't believe what a fool I've been. Willow, I have this overpowering urge to kiss you right now!"
A smile...a real smile began to touch her lips. Her eyes lit up. "R- really?"
He nodded. "Yes."
"You...you really want to kiss me, Xander? Me?"
"Yes, Willow. I do."
"I-I have always had this fantasy where-where you do, you know, press your lips to mine, Xander. Once, I even thought of your tongue in my mouth, you know, l-like I've heard the French people do, but...I'm not sure I'm ready for that." She shook her head. "Besides, we're really not French anyway. Uh, even though, I'd like to be ready for that, but I'm not 'cause we haven't actually kissed yet, except in my dreams, and-and I don't know how that will be, a-and--"
Xander smiled. "Willow, you're babbling. Stop talking and let me kiss you."
She put a finger to his lips as she studied his face intently. "Uh, no."
He stared at Willow in astonishment. "No?" He frowned. "You don't want to kiss me?"
"Oh, I do, Xander," she assured him. "I do want to kiss you, and...I-I can't think clearly right now 'cause I feel so tingly...It's that Xander thing you do...always does that to me." She took a deep breath. "Besides, I-I can't kiss you 'cause we haven't officially gone out on a date yet either and I thought that once we went on a date, then you could kiss me like maybe on the second or-or maybe the third date. A-and even then, the first kiss should be like when you're taking me to my front door. You know..." She looked at him. "You've just taken me out on a third or fourth date, a-and we're on my doorstep and...and then we kiss."
Xander shook his head as if to clear it. "Willow, we've gone out lots of times. Doesn't any of that count?"
"We hung out lots of times, Xander. That's not really dating." She shrugged. "We...we didn't hold hands when we hung out together. Or-or we didn't do any dating things that people get to do when they go out on...dates." She looked at him as if that explained everything.
"What dating things are we talking about, Willow?"
She hesitated, "Well...dating things like...like..." She pursed her lips in thought. Then, she said, "Well, I-I don't really know 'cause I've never really been on a date date, as you well know. But I know that there are dating things that need to be done before there's any real kissing involved. Okay, Mr. Xander-Better-Behave-Himself?"
Xander regarded her for a while. Then he chuckled. And then he laughed and hugged her. "That's my Willow." He ran his hand through her hair. "Well, then I'd better get you out of here so I can take you out on a date and we can begin doing...'dating things'." He paused as he realized something. "Are you saying I have to take you on a fourth date before I can kiss you?"
"Uh huh." She nodded. "Maybe five. Uh, b-but four if you behave yourself and act like the perfect gentleman I know you to be."
He paused. "Does this count as a first date?"
"No, Xander. 'Cause this isn't very much fun and you aren't spending any money on me."
He nodded. "Oh, I see. You're trying to train me, aren't you?"
She smiled. "Yep, I sure am."
WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW
The entrance of the tunnel led to the cavern where Xander and Willow rested. Standing at that very entrance, unseen by the naked eye, were Jeremiah and several other angels. Jeremiah was standing right in front of a vampire that was not like any other vampire he had ever encountered, but that vampire did not see him.
However, Angel sensed that there was a powerful presence right in front of him.
Spike was standing beside Angel and he was impatient as he ever was. "Why the bloody hell do you keep stopping?" he asked Angel.
Angel shook his head. "You wouldn't understand."
"Try me."
Angel turned to look at him. "There are other forces at work here, Spike. There is a powerful presence that I can feel...as if God--"
Spike recoiled. "Are you mad?! Don't use that name around me! He is the enemy!"
"Look, Spike. All I'm trying to say is that there are other forces of good and evil in this world besides Vampires and Vampires Slayers. Something is going on here. Something powerful. Like there is some kind of guiding force that is leading us all."
"Leading us where?"
Angel shrugged. "That's what we have to find out."
Spike looked at his in disgust. "What makes you so sure this guiding force is leading us all on a bloody date with some unknown blind fate?"
"I told you...you wouldn't understand."
"Why? Because you have a soul?"
"I can sense a powerful presence in front of us, Spike." He looked at the entrance, unaware that Jeremiah was standing right in front of him. "And it isn't evil. I'm going in. You coming with me or are you backing out of our truce?"
Spike growled, "As long as you don't say THAT name around me, I'll follow you in there with bells on if we can just get these bloody bastards and their bomb."
They moved forward. And Jeremiah-knowing that this was a part of the plan- moved aside to let them pass.
xwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwx
TO BE CONTINUED...
Part 10
Buffy, Giles, Mulder, and Scully were approaching Barrington and Stacy who were beside the hole in the ground. Stacy was kneeling beside the hole and Barrington was standing away from her, as if he were giving her space. She seemed to be concentrating all of her attention and focus on the hole in the ground.
Lenox was approaching from behind the group and he was dragging the terrorist he had captured alive. The man's hands were handcuffed behind his back and a rag was stuffed in his mouth. He glared at every one around him.
Lenox shoved the terrorist down onto the ground as he adjusted his headset. "Ace...Birdman. Come on down and make a pickup." He looked over at his wife kneeling beside the hole. "Looks like we'll need the gear you brought along after all."
"We're on our way," Vogel responded through the head set.
Giles looked at Lenox. "Er...Mr. Lenox...th-there's another terrorist in the trunk of the car. I hit him with a tire iron, and...well, I'm fairly confident that the man is still unconscious."
Lenox held up a hand and nodded. Into his microphone, he said, "Birdman, there's another pickup for you not far from where you dropped us. There's a terrorist in the trunk of a car...the one Mulder drove. You can't miss it. It's in the side of a shed."
"We'll get him first," Vogel responded through the head set. "We'll be there before you know it."
Buffy glanced with concern at Stacy. "What is she doing?"
Lenox looked over at Stacy. "She's praying."
"She's religious?" Scully asked.
Lenox shrugged. "Stacy tells me that it isn't a religion but a relationship."
"With God?" Mulder asked. He glanced at his partner. "This sounds like something right up your alley, Scully."
"Prayer is good if you really have that kind of power," Scully said. "But what is she praying for?"
Lenox paused. "I don't know...Yet."
Buffy looked confused. "Wait a minute...Why aren't you praying with her? I mean...do you believe as Stacy does?"
"I believe...but I haven't fully accepted." Lenox glanced at her. "I take care of things my own way. I don't rely on help from heavenly sources."
"What do you mean, 'heavenly sources'?" Giles asked.
"Stacy has a Guardian Angel. Or something guides her to safety when safety is not there." He shrugged. "I've seen her walk away from harm with out a scratch when others would either perish or be harmed in some way. I can't explain it. It's...it's not for me to say."
"What exactly does your wife believe?" Mulder asked.
"She believes that we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against powers...against the rulers of the darkness of this world."
Giles was intrigued. "What precisely does that mean?"
"It means that what we are fighting against is something that we cannot see with our eyes. The real battle is around us, and if our eyes were truly open to see it, we would not be able to stand." He shrugged again. "And that may be so. But, all I can do is fight what I can see. I can tell you this...if Xander and Willow are down in that hole, we'll find them. Stacy will take us right to them."
The helicopter was settling down to make the pick-up.
Something else was happening. Something they could not see. A host of angelic beings flew down from the heavens and soared right into the mouth of the hole. A host of demons were on the walls of the hole as the angels entered. The angels swung their mighty swords and many demons were cut in half. The earth swallowed up the demons that had been slain.
The angels continued until they reached the bottom of the hole. A tunnel was at the very bottom and it branch off in two directions. There was also another hole, but smaller...and some of the angels went into that hole, slaying demons as they went. Other angels went down one way of the tunnel, and others still went the other way where they passed over Rueben Julius, the Knife, who was facing three vampires.
The angels that had gone into the smaller hole found it to be steep and it led into a cavern. In this cavern in the dark, two teenagers were laying on the ground. Jeremiah was standing over them.
He looked at the angels. "She is the one," he said with his hand over the girl. "She must be protected at all cost. They both must be."
The angels took up a position around the teenagers to protect them.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Xander remembered only one thought as he had grabbed a hold of the rope that began the quick descent into darkness. *I have either got to be the craziest guy around to pull a stunt like this, or I am so much in love that I just can't stop myself from being crazy!* Then he thought, *That was the craziest thought I ever had.*
As he and Willow dropped, he focused his thoughts on her and he tried to position himself to take the brunt of the fall.
His feet crashed through the rotten wood that covered the hole as they fell through. Suddenly, it got pitch black and Xander couldn't see a thing. The rope pulled tight, ending the rapid descent and he hung onto the rope as tightly as he could. For a brief time, he and Willow dangled with her arms still looped about his neck. But it happened. Xander's hands felt numb and he loosened his hold. They began to plummet downward once again into the blackness that was all around them. The second fall, however, was not a long one, but because they were falling blind, it was unexpected. They hit the ground and fell down a steep decline.
Finally, they hit the ground and Xander waited for everything to stop spinning.
He found himself lying on his back with Willow's arms around his neck and she was lying on top of him. He groaned. At least he had somehow managed to take the brunt of the fall. His eyes were wide open, but all he could see was blackness. It was so dark, he could cut it with a knife...if he had one.
He was suddenly quite scared. What scared him the most was that Willow wasn't moving. He put his arms around her.
"Willow?" His hands were on her back. "Willow!"
He managed to sit up and he listened as he held her. He brought his face to hers and was very much relieved to hear her breathing. That had to have been a good sign, he decided. He moved her arms over his head and placed her hands in her lap. Then he reached into his pocket for something resourceful.
"C'mon, Mr. Zippo...where are you?"
Finding his lighter, he pulled it out and flicked it. He found himself sitting against a rock wall with Willow leaning against him, her eyes closed. He looked at her face closely, wishing he knew how to diagnose what was wrong and if there was anything wrong to begin with. All he saw was that she looked peaceful...and *God, she is beautiful.* he thought. He saw that her face had been stained by her tears.
"Willow," he said softly. He kissed her on the forehead.
Xander looked around to see where they had fallen. His eyes did not see the angels that were standing guard around them, but they did see some kind of workstation. He used one hand to try to make Willow comfortable, and then he went over to the old workstation to see if there was something useful to find. Perhaps something even better than Mr. Zippo.
He saw something at once that made him blink. "Well...we must have a guardian angel, Will." He picked up a lantern, and to his surprise, it was full of oil. He set it down and went about the task of lighting the lantern. Once he managed to light the lantern, he put away his lighter and looked around. A tunnel branched out of the cavern they were in and it appeared to be the only way out. The hole above he realized was where they had fallen into and he could see no way of climbing out that way.
He set the lantern down onto the ground and sat beside Willow. He gently took her hands and untied her wrists. He almost wanted to cry when he saw how tight the ropes had been. Willow had rope burns and dried blood around her wrists. Xander suddenly remembered that he was a guy and guys did NOT cry...but they did beat up terrorists who bullied their girl friends!
He looked at her wrists as he held her hands in his. Then he looked at her face. He wondered not for the first time why it had taken him so long to see her in this way. To see her not as just his friend...but as his girl. What had he been afraid of? He knew that Willow already felt strongly for him. He knew that she cared for him and loved him.
She looked so peaceful with her eyes closed, he couldn't bear to wake her.
He sat back and held her with her head on his shoulder. For what seemed like a long time, they sat together alone and Xander thought about Willow, and Willow slept. What she had gone through in the past day and a half had clearly exhausted her, and there was no way Xander was going to move her until she was ready to move.
It was some time later when Willow moaned.
"Willow?" he inquired softly with concern.
There was no response.
He sat back and listened to her breathing. He didn't understand why, but it was the most wonderful sound he had ever heard.
Minutes went by, and still he listened.
"X-Xander...?"
He gently squeezed her to let her know that he had her. "I'm here, Willow."
There was a pause. Then, softly, "Xander...?"
"Yes, Will. What is it?"
There was another pause. Then... "You stole my Barbie."
Xander blinked. Did he just hear her say what he thought she said? He looked down and with his hand, brushed aside Willow's hair so he could see her face. Her eyes were still closed, her breathing even.
"Willow...? Are you talking in your sleep?" he asked.
She nodded. "Yes...but you still stole my Barbie."
He smiled at the memory. "Yes, Will. I did."
There was silence. "Xander...?"
"Yes, Willow?"
"What did you do to Barbie?"
Xander frowned in thought. Was she actually still talking about her Barbie? "Oh, Willow...you know. We were kids. We were only five. I was-- "
"We broke up."
He regarded her. "We were kids," he repeated. Why wouldn't she open her eyes? Was she really still sleeping?
"Xander...is Barbie okay?"
He shrugged and hesitated. "Yeah, Will. Barbie is fine."
"Fibber."
He looked aghast. "What makes you say that?"
"Because you always shrug and you always hesitate and you always say, 'Yeah' when you fib."
Xander looked at her closely. "Willow..."
She didn't respond.
"Willow?"
She kept herself quiet.
"Willow!"
"I am still sleeping," she insisted.
"Willow, you are carrying on a conversation with me. You are not sleeping." He paused. "Open your eyes."
She kept her eyes closed and she frowned. "I-I can carry on a conversation in my sleep. I'm sure I-I've done it before."
"Open your eyes and look at me, Will."
She pursed her lips. "No."
"Why not?"
In a small voice, she answered, "I-it's a trick."
Xander looked at her with concern. "What's a trick?" He saw a tear form at the corner of her eye as she kept her eyes closed and it tore at his heart.
"They...they p-probably drugged me and-and now they're trying to trick me that you're here when you're probably really a-at school..." She paused. "With Buffy or C-Cordelia. They like to play tricks. They...th-they made me think you were d-dead." The tears flowed more freely now as she couldn't stop. She trembled and buried her face on his chest.
He held her and stroked her hair. "Oh, Willow! I'm so sorry!"
"I-if I open my eyes...you won't be here." She sounded so scared.
He held her tight. "Listen to me, Willow. Hear my voice. Feel my arms around you. I swear to you that I am right here with you. I'm not a trick. And I'm not with Cordelia or Buffy, because I am here with you...right where I want to be. I want to be with you, Will." He tilted her head up and looked at her face. "Please...open your eyes."
At first she didn't move. Finally, slowly, Willow opened her eyes. Her eyes met his and she didn't look away. She never wanted to look away from Xander's eyes again. She brought her hands to his face. "You're alive," she whispered. "You're safe. You really are?"
"I am." Xander found that he couldn't look away either.
"Th-that terrorist...he-he wiped blood on my leg...he-he told me that it was your blood, Xander."
"But it wasn't my blood. He lied to you." He looked deeply into her eyes. "We're together, Will. And I am so glad that I have you now."
"Me...me, too."
He took a deep breath. "I-I can't believe what a fool I've been. Willow, I have this overpowering urge to kiss you right now!"
A smile...a real smile began to touch her lips. Her eyes lit up. "R- really?"
He nodded. "Yes."
"You...you really want to kiss me, Xander? Me?"
"Yes, Willow. I do."
"I-I have always had this fantasy where-where you do, you know, press your lips to mine, Xander. Once, I even thought of your tongue in my mouth, you know, l-like I've heard the French people do, but...I'm not sure I'm ready for that." She shook her head. "Besides, we're really not French anyway. Uh, even though, I'd like to be ready for that, but I'm not 'cause we haven't actually kissed yet, except in my dreams, and-and I don't know how that will be, a-and--"
Xander smiled. "Willow, you're babbling. Stop talking and let me kiss you."
She put a finger to his lips as she studied his face intently. "Uh, no."
He stared at Willow in astonishment. "No?" He frowned. "You don't want to kiss me?"
"Oh, I do, Xander," she assured him. "I do want to kiss you, and...I-I can't think clearly right now 'cause I feel so tingly...It's that Xander thing you do...always does that to me." She took a deep breath. "Besides, I-I can't kiss you 'cause we haven't officially gone out on a date yet either and I thought that once we went on a date, then you could kiss me like maybe on the second or-or maybe the third date. A-and even then, the first kiss should be like when you're taking me to my front door. You know..." She looked at him. "You've just taken me out on a third or fourth date, a-and we're on my doorstep and...and then we kiss."
Xander shook his head as if to clear it. "Willow, we've gone out lots of times. Doesn't any of that count?"
"We hung out lots of times, Xander. That's not really dating." She shrugged. "We...we didn't hold hands when we hung out together. Or-or we didn't do any dating things that people get to do when they go out on...dates." She looked at him as if that explained everything.
"What dating things are we talking about, Willow?"
She hesitated, "Well...dating things like...like..." She pursed her lips in thought. Then, she said, "Well, I-I don't really know 'cause I've never really been on a date date, as you well know. But I know that there are dating things that need to be done before there's any real kissing involved. Okay, Mr. Xander-Better-Behave-Himself?"
Xander regarded her for a while. Then he chuckled. And then he laughed and hugged her. "That's my Willow." He ran his hand through her hair. "Well, then I'd better get you out of here so I can take you out on a date and we can begin doing...'dating things'." He paused as he realized something. "Are you saying I have to take you on a fourth date before I can kiss you?"
"Uh huh." She nodded. "Maybe five. Uh, b-but four if you behave yourself and act like the perfect gentleman I know you to be."
He paused. "Does this count as a first date?"
"No, Xander. 'Cause this isn't very much fun and you aren't spending any money on me."
He nodded. "Oh, I see. You're trying to train me, aren't you?"
She smiled. "Yep, I sure am."
WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW
The entrance of the tunnel led to the cavern where Xander and Willow rested. Standing at that very entrance, unseen by the naked eye, were Jeremiah and several other angels. Jeremiah was standing right in front of a vampire that was not like any other vampire he had ever encountered, but that vampire did not see him.
However, Angel sensed that there was a powerful presence right in front of him.
Spike was standing beside Angel and he was impatient as he ever was. "Why the bloody hell do you keep stopping?" he asked Angel.
Angel shook his head. "You wouldn't understand."
"Try me."
Angel turned to look at him. "There are other forces at work here, Spike. There is a powerful presence that I can feel...as if God--"
Spike recoiled. "Are you mad?! Don't use that name around me! He is the enemy!"
"Look, Spike. All I'm trying to say is that there are other forces of good and evil in this world besides Vampires and Vampires Slayers. Something is going on here. Something powerful. Like there is some kind of guiding force that is leading us all."
"Leading us where?"
Angel shrugged. "That's what we have to find out."
Spike looked at his in disgust. "What makes you so sure this guiding force is leading us all on a bloody date with some unknown blind fate?"
"I told you...you wouldn't understand."
"Why? Because you have a soul?"
"I can sense a powerful presence in front of us, Spike." He looked at the entrance, unaware that Jeremiah was standing right in front of him. "And it isn't evil. I'm going in. You coming with me or are you backing out of our truce?"
Spike growled, "As long as you don't say THAT name around me, I'll follow you in there with bells on if we can just get these bloody bastards and their bomb."
They moved forward. And Jeremiah-knowing that this was a part of the plan- moved aside to let them pass.
xwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwx
TO BE CONTINUED...