~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Chapter 7: Decisions
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Almost as soon as their lips met, both pulled away. "Oz, what ..."
But before they had a chance to talk any further, Buffy stuck her head into the room. "I'm sorry. We couldn't wait. How is she?"
"It's okay," Willow hoped that the rapid beating of her heart wasn't evident in her voice. "She didn't change."
"Oh my God, really?" Buffy smiled widely, then turned and called over her shoulder. "Guys! C'mere! She didn't change!"
Soon the entire gang was assembled around the child, laughing and exchanging hugs. No one noticed that for the first time that day, Oz was standing as far from Willow as possible.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"I can't remember the last time we were all up this late," Buffy yawned, stretching her arms over her head.
Xander lifted his hand from his chin. "I do. Mayor. Ascension. Lots of explosives."
"Oh yeah." The five friends were sitting in the waiting area directly outside of the neo-natal intensive care. The large leather chairs were quite comfortable for a hospital; a little too comfortable if you didn't want to find yourself falling asleep in them.
"I'm exhausted. I guess being in labor all day'll do that to you," Willow added. "But I just can't imagine going to sleep now. I want to be here, in case anything happens."
Giles nodded. "Of course you do. Perfectly understandable. But we all are a little tired ... perhaps Oz and I could go get some coffee for everyone?"
Oz looked up, about to say that he didn't need any coffee, and didn't feel like going anywhere anyway. But something in Giles' eyes told him this wasn't really about coffee. "Sure. No problem."
"Oh, bring me an extra large!" Willow called as they walked down the hall. "I haven't had any caffeine in six months!"
As soon as they were out of sight, Xander leaned over. "Will, is there something wrong?"
Willow looked at her friend as if he had antlers growing out his head. "Well, Aijou still isn't in the clear you know. All the doctor said was that if she survived the night that was a good sign."
"That's not what I meant."
"Is it that obvious?" Willow was concerned.
"Willow," Buffy said softly. "Oz wouldn't even let go of your hand until a few hours ago. Now he's barely even looking at you."
Willow sighed. "See, this is why I didn't want to tell him about the baby. It complicates things. Before it was just me he had to decide about, and for me it was between him and Tara. With Aijou thrown in the middle, it makes it ... hard."
"But that's the way it is. So what happened?" Buffy leaned closer, so that Willow wouldn't feel like she was telling the intimate details of her life to the entire nursing staff.
"He ... we ... kissed." Willow began to ramble. "We weren't supposed to. We didn't mean to. It just happened. And now I'm all confused again."
"You're not the only one." Xander looked puzzled. "What's to be confused about? Oz is back. That's a good, right? And what's this about choosing between Tara and ... oh. Oh!"
Willow smiled sheepishly. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you. It was just ... I didn't even know what it meant."
"Okay. Okay. My best friend since I was two was both pregnant and possibly a lesbian and I didn't know." Xander frowned as he attempted to process the information. "Okay, I can deal with that. No more secrets though, okay?"
"Deal. No secrets. Bad for the complexion," the new mother agreed. "But that still leaves the bigger problem. What do I do about Oz?"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"I take it you didn't just want coffee."
"Hhm?" Giles had been deep in thought, considering exactly how to broach this delicate subject with the boy. "How did you know?"
Oz shrugged. "I watch people. It's a gift."
"Well," Giles cleared his throat. "You must know that in a way I feel like a parental figure to you all, to Willow in particular. And since her father is not here, there are some questions I feel I need to ask about your intentions towards the girl."
"Oh." Silence descended, thick and almost impenetrable.
Eventually Giles continued. "In the course of my research I discovered something interesting. It seems that the reason your transformations are now beyond your control is because you broke the natural order."
"Natural order?" Oz asked incredulously. "There's a natural order to being a werewolf?"
"Well, yes." The watcher pushed his glasses up on the bridge of his nose before going on. "The lunar cycle is supposed to control the transition between human and wolf form. Now that control has been broken, and your will is not yet strong enough to finish the job you began."
"So if I gave up the chanting, the charms ..."
"You would be back at the mercy of the moon," Giles finished. "But the uncontrollable changes would stop."
Oz frowned, not quite sure how he should be feeling.
"I know it would be a lot to give up, but you have a lot to gain. And as a father, you also have new responsibilities." Giles laid a hand on the shorter boy's shoulder and looked him in the eyes. "But the decision, ultimately lies with you."
"I wish it were that simple," Oz's gaze fell to the floor. "But it also lies with Willow."
Chapter 7: Decisions
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Almost as soon as their lips met, both pulled away. "Oz, what ..."
But before they had a chance to talk any further, Buffy stuck her head into the room. "I'm sorry. We couldn't wait. How is she?"
"It's okay," Willow hoped that the rapid beating of her heart wasn't evident in her voice. "She didn't change."
"Oh my God, really?" Buffy smiled widely, then turned and called over her shoulder. "Guys! C'mere! She didn't change!"
Soon the entire gang was assembled around the child, laughing and exchanging hugs. No one noticed that for the first time that day, Oz was standing as far from Willow as possible.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"I can't remember the last time we were all up this late," Buffy yawned, stretching her arms over her head.
Xander lifted his hand from his chin. "I do. Mayor. Ascension. Lots of explosives."
"Oh yeah." The five friends were sitting in the waiting area directly outside of the neo-natal intensive care. The large leather chairs were quite comfortable for a hospital; a little too comfortable if you didn't want to find yourself falling asleep in them.
"I'm exhausted. I guess being in labor all day'll do that to you," Willow added. "But I just can't imagine going to sleep now. I want to be here, in case anything happens."
Giles nodded. "Of course you do. Perfectly understandable. But we all are a little tired ... perhaps Oz and I could go get some coffee for everyone?"
Oz looked up, about to say that he didn't need any coffee, and didn't feel like going anywhere anyway. But something in Giles' eyes told him this wasn't really about coffee. "Sure. No problem."
"Oh, bring me an extra large!" Willow called as they walked down the hall. "I haven't had any caffeine in six months!"
As soon as they were out of sight, Xander leaned over. "Will, is there something wrong?"
Willow looked at her friend as if he had antlers growing out his head. "Well, Aijou still isn't in the clear you know. All the doctor said was that if she survived the night that was a good sign."
"That's not what I meant."
"Is it that obvious?" Willow was concerned.
"Willow," Buffy said softly. "Oz wouldn't even let go of your hand until a few hours ago. Now he's barely even looking at you."
Willow sighed. "See, this is why I didn't want to tell him about the baby. It complicates things. Before it was just me he had to decide about, and for me it was between him and Tara. With Aijou thrown in the middle, it makes it ... hard."
"But that's the way it is. So what happened?" Buffy leaned closer, so that Willow wouldn't feel like she was telling the intimate details of her life to the entire nursing staff.
"He ... we ... kissed." Willow began to ramble. "We weren't supposed to. We didn't mean to. It just happened. And now I'm all confused again."
"You're not the only one." Xander looked puzzled. "What's to be confused about? Oz is back. That's a good, right? And what's this about choosing between Tara and ... oh. Oh!"
Willow smiled sheepishly. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you. It was just ... I didn't even know what it meant."
"Okay. Okay. My best friend since I was two was both pregnant and possibly a lesbian and I didn't know." Xander frowned as he attempted to process the information. "Okay, I can deal with that. No more secrets though, okay?"
"Deal. No secrets. Bad for the complexion," the new mother agreed. "But that still leaves the bigger problem. What do I do about Oz?"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"I take it you didn't just want coffee."
"Hhm?" Giles had been deep in thought, considering exactly how to broach this delicate subject with the boy. "How did you know?"
Oz shrugged. "I watch people. It's a gift."
"Well," Giles cleared his throat. "You must know that in a way I feel like a parental figure to you all, to Willow in particular. And since her father is not here, there are some questions I feel I need to ask about your intentions towards the girl."
"Oh." Silence descended, thick and almost impenetrable.
Eventually Giles continued. "In the course of my research I discovered something interesting. It seems that the reason your transformations are now beyond your control is because you broke the natural order."
"Natural order?" Oz asked incredulously. "There's a natural order to being a werewolf?"
"Well, yes." The watcher pushed his glasses up on the bridge of his nose before going on. "The lunar cycle is supposed to control the transition between human and wolf form. Now that control has been broken, and your will is not yet strong enough to finish the job you began."
"So if I gave up the chanting, the charms ..."
"You would be back at the mercy of the moon," Giles finished. "But the uncontrollable changes would stop."
Oz frowned, not quite sure how he should be feeling.
"I know it would be a lot to give up, but you have a lot to gain. And as a father, you also have new responsibilities." Giles laid a hand on the shorter boy's shoulder and looked him in the eyes. "But the decision, ultimately lies with you."
"I wish it were that simple," Oz's gaze fell to the floor. "But it also lies with Willow."