Characters: Willow, Xander, Giles

Pairing: None

Time: Post-Becoming Part 2

Warnings: None

Additional Notes: The Scooby-centric post-Becoming oneshot. I focused on the core three since Cordelia was away for the entire summer and Oz wasn't as close to Buffy as the other three.

Disclaimer: Joss Whedon owns them, not me.

Return to Us

Their first sign that something was amiss was when Buffy's mother called Giles. Willow and Xander watched, first with cheer and then with sinking faces, as Giles' expression tightened. He thanked her mother for telling him and then hung up.

"What's wrong?" They asked in unison.

"Buffy's gone."

(-+-+-)

The only assurance they had was the note. It promised them that she hadn't died along with Angel.

As far as assurances went, it wasn't very comforting.

(-+-+-)

"My spell didn't work." Willow sighed.

"Or maybe it was too late and she killed him before it could take effect."

"Maybe…" She sighed again. "But she knew I was going to try again." His eyes shifted away though Willow didn't notice. "She wouldn't have killed him."

"Unless she had to. Like if he was about to kill her."

"That's probably it… I just wish I'd done the spell faster. Then she'd still be here and we'd all be happy."

"Yeah." Xander murmured, looking down at his hands.

(-+-+-)

When Giles arrived home, his feet led him to the liquor cabinet. He considered drowning the pain of Buffy's departure in alcohol, drinking until everything turned fuzzy and he no longer had to think.

But, he couldn't.

This was a time for thinking, not grieving. If he wanted to find Buffy, he had to be doing something, not sitting there, drinking away the pain. He turned from the cabinet and went to retrieve his phonebook.

(-+-+-)

Xander lay against his bed, staring at a picture of himself, Willow, and Buffy. They were all grinning broadly, his arms around the two girls in friendly companionship. Would they ever do that again?

He hoped so. He hoped she would come back and they'd all be best friends again. He hoped they'd put the mess of the last few months behind them and move on.

Idly, he wondered what would've happened if he hadn't lied to Buffy. If he'd told her about Willow trying the spell again. Would she still be in Sunnydale? Would Angel be alive, well as alive as Dead Boy was ever going to be? Would everything still be normal?

(-+-+-)

Los Angeles was the closest large city to Sunnydale. If anyone was to run away, LA would be the logical place to go. Unfortunately it was such a large city, finding one girl would be like looking for a specific ant in a forest.

Giles went anyway. He hit the demon bars, but no one had heard anything about a Slayer in the city of angels. There were no mysterious slayings either, demonic or vampiric. He left with a heavy heart.

The thought that Buffy wasn't slaying never occurred to him.

(-+-+-)

Once upon a time, she had never felt loss over not having a female best friend to talk with. It'd just been Xander, Jesse, and her – an arrangement that worked well.

But now Willow missed having her best friend around. She missed having someone she could spend hours talking to about boys, insecurities, school, feelings, anything really.

She wondered if Buffy missed having someone to talk with too.

(-+-+-)

A long, lonely week had gone by since Buffy had left. Classes had ended, but neither Willow nor Xander had greeted the end of school with their usual amount of enthusiasm. It just meant more time to dwell on their missing friend.

Willow now sat on her bed, a few books laid out in front of her. They were magic books, books that she'd snuck into her bag when Giles wasn't looking. Her hand skimmed over the covers longingly and hesitantly.

The memory of the magic burning in her system had never left her mind. The feel of being useful had also been pleasant even though the spell hadn't worked.

Her blood ran both hot and cold thinking about magic. She feared screwing up, she feared the mystery and uncertainty, she feared the consequences that could arise of mishandled magic.

If Buffy was here…

Willow shut that line of thinking off and opened the first book.

(-+-+-)

Why wasn't she back yet?

He wanted to track her down, to drag her to Sunnydale and ask her why she'd left in the first place and more importantly, why she hadn't come back yet. She couldn't desert her friends and duty like this. It just wasn't right.

Sure, it was okay for her to take some time off to grieve over Angel, but what about them? What about Willow? What about Giles? What about her mother? What about him?

Weren't they worth staying for?

Didn't they matter?

Or was the world Hell now because her precious boyfriend was gone? News flash, he'd been gone for months, ever since her seventeenth birthday. He understood that mourning was necessary anyway, but what he didn't get was why it had to be away from Sunnydale.

He never told anyone, but he was angry with how she'd just disappeared, leaving them all behind.

(-+-+-)

"We need to start patrolling." Xander and Oz stared at Willow who crossed her arms. "Buffy's still gone and meanwhile the vampires are having fun. We can't let them take over this town. She wouldn't want that to happen."

Xander's eyes lit up. "Let's do it! They won't know what's hit them when we strike."

They turned to Oz. He nodded his head. "It's not every day three meals turn stakes on the predators… We just need some stakes and a solid plan."

(-+-+-)

Their first patrol was far from successful. They kept in a group, deciding against splitting up in favor of the safety in numbers principle. The trio ran into three vampires (separately – they were avoiding groups of vamps), none of which they managed to stake. Fortunately none of them were hurt.

The next night started with gloomy spirits. The first three vampires got away, but the fourth tackled Oz to the ground. Willow staked him in the back before his fangs could pierce Oz's tender neck. This victory bolstered them and sustained them through the rest of the night.

Patrols ranged from 'mildly successful, let's grab some ice-cream to celebrate' to 'at least none of us died'. They suffered bruises and scratches, bumps and aches. But they felt good about doing something to stave off the undead, even if it was such a small number.

(-+-+-)

Two months had passed since Buffy left Sunnydale.

There'd been sightings all over, but every time, Giles went to check, he returned home alone. It didn't stop him from going anyway though his eyes grew dimmer each time. Despite the hope he harbored, logic was telling him that this was a futile mission. Yet he always went when the phone rang.

Willow continued to practice magic in secrecy. Some nights she cried from the frustration of it and some nights she wondered why she even bothered. Other nights she reveled in the small victories she managed. Every night she wished Buffy was there to help her.

Sometimes he blamed himself for lying to her. Sometimes he kicked himself for not staying behind to make sure she made it out okay. Sometimes he raged at her for being gone. Mostly he just hoped that she'd come back because he was worried and all he wanted was his best friend back.

That's all any of them wanted.