"Oz!" Willow screamed as Spike staggered in her arms, "What the hell?!" she turned her attention from a shaking Oz back to the vampire, "Omigod...omigod, Spike!"
"Uh..." he grunted, "S'okay...okay...narrowly missed my heart, bloody bastard," feeling better knowing he wasn't about to turn into dust, he whirled to face a very bewildered Oz.
"Will...he...he turned you..." Oz said, aghast. His face paled but he bravely reached for another stake in Buffy's duffel bag.
"No! No!" Willow ran over and grabbed his wrist, "No! I-I can explain. It's a long story...you see, well, you know those commando guys...?"
***
Buffy rushed into Giles's house and was greeted by the sight of her former watcher, Xander and Anya pouring over a sort of map at the coffee table. Hearing her enter, they all turned.
Xander was the first to speak, "hey, Buff, we have some places plotted out on this map but-"
"Oz is back," Buffy interrupted.
"What?!" Xander nearly fell off the couch, "He's back? Does Will know?"
Buffy smiled grimly, "When I left, he was going up to see her."
Xander mock winced, "and just how hard do you think she's going to smack him?"
Anya looked up at him, "I thought you said smacking was a good thing."
"Anya..." Xander began.
"Oh dear..." Giles said, saving Xander from his awkward situation, "Oz is going to see Willow now?"
"Yes, why?" Buffy asked cautiously.
Giles paused to clean his glasses on his shirt, "Ah, well..." he chuckled, "It's a rather embarrassing situation but, ah, well, Spike stopped in a few minutes before Xander and Anya came and, well, he apparently has a "thing" for Willow." He cleared his throat, "He, um, wanted my advice, so I told him to go seek her...of course, he told me to never tell anyone about our encounter or he would make sure I would pay despite the fact that..."
But by now, no one was listening.
"I knew it!" Buffy laughed and tried to hit the couch for emphasis, but accidentally missed and punched Xander in the back.
"OW!" Xander yelped, but he too couldn't keep a grin off of his face.
"So, it would be nice if-" Giles began.
"Wait..If Spike is there...and Oz is there...and Oz doesn't know...Omigod!" Buffy leaped up, grabbed her bag and headed toward the door, "This is soo not a good thing."
Xander and Anya followed, "We'd better hurry," the former said with urgency in his voice. The three quickly exited, leaving Giles quite alone.
"Just don't tell Spike what I told you..." Giles said meekly.
***
Oz looked from Willow to Spike and back to Willow. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Riley...Initiative...
"So Spike's virtually impotent?" he asked.
"Hey, I resent that word. I can kick demon ass. I'm back. How many bloody times do I have to say that?!" Spike demanded angrily. He paced around.
"In a matter of speaking yes..." Willow said, still not believing Oz was there. She longed to reach out and touch him, make sure he was real.
"Then what happened? I mean, it sure looked like he was draining you, I saw his mouth on you---" he stopped, jaw slack, "Omigod....."
Willow stood as he did and caught his arm, "Oz...I-I had..."
"She's moved on. You left, she's not gonna wait." Spike interrupted.
Willow sighed and wished she could just sit down somewhere and massage her temples.
"Spike....could you just leave for a second, I think I need to talk with Oz," she finally said.
He flashed her a look. It was hard to decipher, but Willow definitely saw some human pain and wished she hadn't sounded so harsh.
"Spike, I didn't mean it that-"
But he headed toward the door, letting his duster swish behind him dramatically, "No, I get it. I understand." It seemed to her that he was trying to convince himself as much as he was her. The door closed firmly behind him and Willow turned to face Oz, a mixture of emotions on her own face. She opened her mouth to speak, but...
In rushed Buffy, Xander and Anya along with Spike.
"I didn't let them in!" Spike called.
Willow gazed from her friends to Oz to Spike.
Oz...the person she had considered her friend and one true love for so long...he had always brought so much out of her. He meant so much....
And Spike...what was Spike to her? A mortal enemy, a vicious vampire, someone who may kill her if he ever got the chance. But he started something within her...a longing, really.
She looked at all of them again and just burst out laughing. Who would've thought, Willow Rosenberg, the geeky 10th grade computer nerd with the bad clothes and bad hair would grow to be Willow Rosenberg, the fairly well adjusted college freshman with experience, brains and a new found confidence, loved by these two me...well, er...people.
Yea...if only you could see me now, Cordelia...Mom...
She surfaced out of her thoughts and focused back on her friends.
"...maybe she's just really confused..." Buffy was saying.
"Confused is a gross understatement, Buffy..." she sighed.
"See, she's nuts," Anya insisted.
"C'mon you guys, let's all just leave her alone for a moment..." Buffy said, beginning to usher everyone out the door. Both Oz and Spike protested momentarily, but stopped when they saw the look on Buffy's face. They each gave Willow one last look and shot each other nasty ones as well.
The door clicked shut and Willow finally collapsed back onto her bed with a deep sigh.
Dear Diary, she thought to herself with a rueful laugh, this is one very confused Wiccan...
TBC