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Chapter 6: With Bated Breath
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"She's so tiny," Buffy whispered, as if her words alone could blow the child away.
Xander leaned closer to the incubator. "I know." Willow and Oz's child. Unbelievable. The child was only a smidge over 9 inches from the top of her head to the tips of her toes, weighing two pounds, looking all the smaller surrounded by tubes, wires, and machinery that dwarfed her frail body. Taped to the end of the plastic cradle was a sign which read "Rosenberg."
"So," Buffy searched for something, anything to say. "Do you know what you'll name her?"
Willow shook her head. "If it was a boy ... well ... I had been thinking about Alexander Daniel." This caught both boys attention, neither knowing exactly what to say to that unexpected compliment. "But a girl ... I hadn't really thought much about it. Well, that's not true. I just couldn't find a name I liked. And one that meant something to me."
Oz stood by Willow's side, the same place he had been ever since her labor had begun. He was slightly shocked that she would still consider naming the baby after him, considering everything that had happened. Xander he could understand, but Giles he would have expected, but him? What did that say about the place he held in her heart?
Xander, looking for a way to break the tension, spoke next. "Well, I might suggest that Alexandra would make a good name for a girl."
"I dunno if I want to name her now, anyway," Willow sighed softly. "Maybe it'd best if it just say 'Rosenberg Child' on her tombstone."
"Willow," Giles stood across the incubator from the girl. "I know you may feel that way now, but regardless of whether or not ... of what happens, you will look back on this moment and feel differently. That bonding, the act of naming your child, it is extremely important."
"I guess. I just can't think about that right now." Willow tried to shake herself from her dark thoughts. After all, she had been the one to encourage everyone to think positively. "So, I'm assuming you didn't lug all those books up here for your health. Any luck in the werewolf baby department?"
Xander looked shocked. "Werewolf babies? Why would you think ... well no. We didn't find anything. No."
"But one shouldn't jump to conclusions based on that fact alone," Giles added quickly. "We shall continue on, see what we can find before nightfall."
Oz looked to the window. The sky was beginning to grow dimmer. Even though the phases of the moon no longer brought out the wolf within him, he could still feel the change from night today, especially when that night brought with it the wolf moon. Night would be on them soon, and with it the greater possibility that he would lose his first born child.
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"I guess we'll know soon."
"Guess so." Oz squeezed Willow's hand in his own. Giles and the others kept their own vigil in the waiting room, leaving the two new parents alone with their child.
"Maybe," Willow blinked back tears. "Maybe Giles was right. We should name her, before the moon rises. Just in case."
Oz tested the wind. "Doesn't give us much time." He pondered the situation for a moment. "Aijou."
"What?"
"Aijou. It's Japanese," he explained. "I picked up a little while I was traveling. It means 'beloved daughter.'"
"Aijou." Willow sounded it out, letting it roll off her tongue. "Aijou Rosenberg. Not a traditional name, but a nice one. A meaningful one. I think she'd like it."
Oz stiffened slightly, feeling the change in the air. "It's coming. The moon."
"Oh. Oh god. Oh no." Willow began to sob openly now, leaning her head against the incubator. "Aijou, stay with us. Please, try! Please?"
Oz was by her side in an instant. He meant to just stand with her, to be close, maybe hold her hand. Instead, he found Willow in his arms, her tears soaking through his shirt and dampening his skin. Did he pull her there or did she come to him? It didn't matter. None of it mattered. All that mattered was the tiny life encased in a plastic bubble, the life they created.
Willow's voice was muffled as she pressed her face into his chest. "I can't. I can't. Just ... tell me when it's over."
A chill ran up Oz's spine, tiny fingers of ice, fire spreading through his limbs to all of his extremities. The moon had risen. Dreading what he might find, Oz turned to watch what may well have been his child's final moments.
"Willow."
"Is it over?"
"Take a look."
Willow looked up and gasped. Her child looked no different than it had when she looked away. "She didn't ... she didn't change!"
Oz smiled in return. "Nope." He tightened his grip around Willow's waist, overcome with the joy of life and the feeling of just being close to her.
And just as neither of them remembered how it was the embrace began, neither could recall how it came to be that their lips met in a kiss.
Chapter 6: With Bated Breath
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"She's so tiny," Buffy whispered, as if her words alone could blow the child away.
Xander leaned closer to the incubator. "I know." Willow and Oz's child. Unbelievable. The child was only a smidge over 9 inches from the top of her head to the tips of her toes, weighing two pounds, looking all the smaller surrounded by tubes, wires, and machinery that dwarfed her frail body. Taped to the end of the plastic cradle was a sign which read "Rosenberg."
"So," Buffy searched for something, anything to say. "Do you know what you'll name her?"
Willow shook her head. "If it was a boy ... well ... I had been thinking about Alexander Daniel." This caught both boys attention, neither knowing exactly what to say to that unexpected compliment. "But a girl ... I hadn't really thought much about it. Well, that's not true. I just couldn't find a name I liked. And one that meant something to me."
Oz stood by Willow's side, the same place he had been ever since her labor had begun. He was slightly shocked that she would still consider naming the baby after him, considering everything that had happened. Xander he could understand, but Giles he would have expected, but him? What did that say about the place he held in her heart?
Xander, looking for a way to break the tension, spoke next. "Well, I might suggest that Alexandra would make a good name for a girl."
"I dunno if I want to name her now, anyway," Willow sighed softly. "Maybe it'd best if it just say 'Rosenberg Child' on her tombstone."
"Willow," Giles stood across the incubator from the girl. "I know you may feel that way now, but regardless of whether or not ... of what happens, you will look back on this moment and feel differently. That bonding, the act of naming your child, it is extremely important."
"I guess. I just can't think about that right now." Willow tried to shake herself from her dark thoughts. After all, she had been the one to encourage everyone to think positively. "So, I'm assuming you didn't lug all those books up here for your health. Any luck in the werewolf baby department?"
Xander looked shocked. "Werewolf babies? Why would you think ... well no. We didn't find anything. No."
"But one shouldn't jump to conclusions based on that fact alone," Giles added quickly. "We shall continue on, see what we can find before nightfall."
Oz looked to the window. The sky was beginning to grow dimmer. Even though the phases of the moon no longer brought out the wolf within him, he could still feel the change from night today, especially when that night brought with it the wolf moon. Night would be on them soon, and with it the greater possibility that he would lose his first born child.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"I guess we'll know soon."
"Guess so." Oz squeezed Willow's hand in his own. Giles and the others kept their own vigil in the waiting room, leaving the two new parents alone with their child.
"Maybe," Willow blinked back tears. "Maybe Giles was right. We should name her, before the moon rises. Just in case."
Oz tested the wind. "Doesn't give us much time." He pondered the situation for a moment. "Aijou."
"What?"
"Aijou. It's Japanese," he explained. "I picked up a little while I was traveling. It means 'beloved daughter.'"
"Aijou." Willow sounded it out, letting it roll off her tongue. "Aijou Rosenberg. Not a traditional name, but a nice one. A meaningful one. I think she'd like it."
Oz stiffened slightly, feeling the change in the air. "It's coming. The moon."
"Oh. Oh god. Oh no." Willow began to sob openly now, leaning her head against the incubator. "Aijou, stay with us. Please, try! Please?"
Oz was by her side in an instant. He meant to just stand with her, to be close, maybe hold her hand. Instead, he found Willow in his arms, her tears soaking through his shirt and dampening his skin. Did he pull her there or did she come to him? It didn't matter. None of it mattered. All that mattered was the tiny life encased in a plastic bubble, the life they created.
Willow's voice was muffled as she pressed her face into his chest. "I can't. I can't. Just ... tell me when it's over."
A chill ran up Oz's spine, tiny fingers of ice, fire spreading through his limbs to all of his extremities. The moon had risen. Dreading what he might find, Oz turned to watch what may well have been his child's final moments.
"Willow."
"Is it over?"
"Take a look."
Willow looked up and gasped. Her child looked no different than it had when she looked away. "She didn't ... she didn't change!"
Oz smiled in return. "Nope." He tightened his grip around Willow's waist, overcome with the joy of life and the feeling of just being close to her.
And just as neither of them remembered how it was the embrace began, neither could recall how it came to be that their lips met in a kiss.