Part Six
Something was wrong with Connor. Pandora knew it the moment he walked
into the classroom that morning - it didn't take a psychic vision. He
shuffled in a slumped in his chair, eyes staring stormily at his
desktop. Pandora twisted in her seat to face him. "Connor, what's
wrong?" She hoped that his parents hadn't changed their minds about
him going to school and have friends.
"My aunt is dead," Connor whispered. It was weird to suddenly miss
someone he had never known personally. All he knew about his Aunt
Willow came from the stories his mother and father and sometimes his
Uncle Xander told.
"I'm so sorry, Connor." Pandora reached out and squeezed Connor's
hand.
"I, uh, didn't really know her. She was missing and my parents just
found out that she died a long time ago. They're really upset."
Connor swallowed hard. Pandora's hand covered his and her fingers
curled into his palm. It felt nice and comforting.
"Hey, no PDA's allowed, Halliwell," Amanda Vespy hissed from beside
them. Neither Pandora nor Connor had noticed when she had arrived, but
she was glaring at them now.
Pandora blushed a deep red and snatched her hand away. She turned to
face front to stare at the board. Connor wanted to say something to
her, but he didn't know what to say or how to say it. He also wanted
to hurt Amanda Vespy. Connor clenched his fists and took a few deep
breaths. His father had taught him how to control the rage that
sometimes bubbled up inside of him. It wasn't exactly the yellow-eyed
fury his father displayed upon occasion, but it still needed to be
controlled.
"What's going on?" Ron slipped into his seat across from Connor. He
noted the smug look on Vespy's face and Pandora's distress and
correctly surmised that the stuck-up snot had been bothering their
friend again. And Connor was pissed. "You know, Vespy, the next time
you go to one of those fancy spas you're always bragging about, ask for
an attitude adjustment. Yours is ugly."
Amanda snorted and her eyes narrowed on Ron. "Like I care about your
opinion, Weasley. You're as much a freak as she is." She tossed her
hair over her shoulder and faced forward as Ms. Foster walked into the
room.
"Good morning, children." As Ms. Foster passed by Connor's desk, she
paused. "Are you feeling alright, Connor?"
"I'm fine, Ms. Foster." Connor frowned as the teacher passed. He
didn't really see a reason for her concern - he had calmed down while
Ron and Amanda traded insults - Pandora looked more upset than he did.
The only way Ms. Foster could have known that he was upset was by
listening when he told Pandora about his Aunt Willow. But if she had
overheard, she would have interfered when Amanda had insulted Pandora.
That's what teachers did. Connor looked up at Ms. Foster as she smiled
sweetly at the class. Something wasn't right.
"Now it's very important that your parents get these notices." Connor
tuned back into Ms. Foster's voice. She was holding up an orange piece
of paper. The rest were being handed around and when they go to him,
Connor took one and passed the rest back. A parent/teacher night and
it was actually at night so his father could go. Connor hated to think
what Ms. Foster and his parents would discuss, but at least it would be
a distraction for his parents.
*****
Even though P3 was closed for renovations, it was still a busy place.
Piper directed a few workers who were 'updating' her club with virtual
video screens installed on the floors, walls, and ceiling. With these
screens she could transform her club into anything or anyplace she
desired. For re-opening night Piper desired an ancient Grecian theme.
It would be fun.
"Hey, watch it!" Piper snapped as one of the screens slipped a bit in
the worker's hand. She was totally prepared to freeze him if it was
necessary. "Those things weren't gifts from the Gods." Piper gave
them a dark look and then turned her attention to her second problem.
Phoebe sat at the bar staring at her laptop. Piper approached her
cautiously and eased onto the stool beside her. "How's it going?"
"Fine." Phoebe attempted a smile, but it fell short of her usual
lighthearted grin.
"Really." Piper peered around her sister to see the screen. "So you
just don't know what to tell Hopeless Romantic about her tendency to
fall for men she's knows are married?"
"Oh, no, I know what to tell her." Phoebe studied her fingers -
specifically focusing on the ringless left one. "I just don't really
care right now."
"You and Cole still aren't talking." Piper leaned over and hugged
her sister. "Oh, Honey, why don't you take the advice you give most
of your loyal readers - talk to him. Tell him what's bothering you.
We all know what's bothering him."
"I won't marry him." Phoebe sighed and moved out of her sister's
comforting embrace. "I can't talk to him, Piper."
"Then talk to me. Why won't you marry Cole? And don't say it's
because you're not the marrying kind. It's been so long even Paige is
the marrying kind." Piper smiled when Phoebe laughed a bit. But her
younger sister didn't answer her question. "Do you still love him?"
"I love him, so much that I can't let him go. But I can't marry him
either. Every time I think about Cole and marriage, I have this image
of him being evil and me being evil and...."
"Your children being evil," Piper finished for her. She reached over
and rubbed Phoebe's shoulder. "Honey, those are just fears. It
doesn't mean it will happen if you marry Cole."
"I know, but I just can't take that chance."
"Children are a wonderful chance to take."
Phoebe groaned. "Of course you would say that, Piper, Pan is a great
kid. She has great parents - a father who is a whitelighter and a
mother who wouldn't know how to be tempted by evil."
"Excuse me?" Piper waved her hand in the air. " Hello, Wendigo and
Fury remember? Don't put me up on a goody-two shoes pedestal as an
excuse."
"Those times you were possessed or infected by evil. We both know that
I have the most passive power because I was evil in my past lives."
"You're not evil in this one." Piper hugged her sister again. Life
was so much more complicated when you had to deal with demons and evil.
She dreaded the day that Pandora was old enough for romantic
entanglements. At least she was making friends and one part of her
life could be normal. "You have to tell Cole all of this, Phoebe, or
you might lose him."
"Then he'll think I don't trust him." Phoebe straightened, wiping a
few tears from her eyes. "And he would be right. I don't trust Cole.
I don't trust myself. How can I marry him when that's how I feel? If
I tell him that, Piper, I will lose him."
"Oh, Honey." The front door slammed and Paige clattered down the
stairs toward them before Piper could say anything else to comfort
their sister. "Hi, Paige, what brings you here?"
"Lunch." Paige bit her lip. She fiddled with her purse strap as she
reluctantly met Phoebe's gaze. "And to tell you that Cole's in jail."
*****
It had bugged Connor all morning. Why would Ms. Foster eavesdrop on
her students - him in particular? Connor had been raised to listen to
his instincts and so he had observed Ms. Foster closely all morning.
She hadn't done anything else to raise his suspicions, but they still
stuck with him. Something wasn't right about her.
"Do either of you sense something 'wrong' about Ms. Foster?" Conner
ventured the question to his two best friends. They were down in the
basement for the lunch hour and he figured this was a good a place as
any to bring the subject up.
"What do you mean?" Ron scratched his head. "Do you think she's a
demon?"
"I don't know about a demon exactly. She just acts weird. Like this
morning when she asked if I was okay when it was obviously Dory who was
upset. And I think she was listening when I told you about my Aunt
Willow."
"Who?" Ron's eyes widened in shock.
Connor gave him a strange look. "Ms. Foster. I think she was
listening when I told Dory about my parents finding out that my Aunt
Willow is dead, but she didn't do anything when Amanda started in on
us."
"Well, I have noticed that she watches you sometimes, but she's a
teacher - she watches everyone." Pandora felt her cheeks go a bit
pink. She hoped Connor didn't think she watched him too. "And now
that I think about it, she never touches me. I get my premonitions
from physical contact, only someone who knows that I'm a witch would
avoid touching me."
"And if she knows you're a witch then she probably knows about me and
my parents." Connor ran his hand through his hair making it stand up
in tufts. "Damn, my parents are going to pull me out of school so
fast when I tell them."
"Why don't I tell my Aunt Phoebe your suspicions first. She gets
premonitions too and if she comes to parent/teacher night, then Ms.
Foster will have to shake her hand when they're introduced."
"Okay, that sounds like a good idea. Then I don't have to tell my
parents until I'm sure. What do you think, Ron?"
Ron had heard his friends talking, but hadn't really listened. He was
a smart boy - something he had inherited from his mother - and he had
realized who Connor's parents were - his Mom had told him enough
stories about them. The only reason he hadn't said anything to Connor
about their parents' mutual past was because he thought Connor knew
nothing about his 'Aunt Willow.' Now Ron had a dilemma - should he
tell his best friend that his Aunt Willow was alive and well or should
he stay silent and let them grieve for nothing. He knew that his
mother eventually planned on telling her friends she was back and he
really didn't want to lie to his first real friends.
"Ron, are you okay?" Pandora touched Ron's shoulder. He was quiet,
which was unusual for him.
"Yeah, I...uh..." Ron took a deep breath and looked directly at Connor.
"Your Aunt Willow isn't dead. She's my Mom."
"What?" Connor's face darkened. "This better not be a joke."
"It's not. My Mom used to tell me stories about her childhood in
Sunnydale and how she and her friends used to slay vampires and demons
back in highschool - you know the Harvest, Graduation, Glory. Her best
friend was Xander, Buffy was the Slayer, your Dad the vampire with a
soul, and you Mom the cheerleader. If something ever happened to her
and my Dad, I was supposed to go to The Hyperion for help. I would
have said something before, but I didn't think that you knew about
her."
"Aunt Willow isn't dead."
"No. She was planning on telling your Mom and Dad she was back, but
she keeps putting it off. She's afraid they'll hate her."
"But they don't. They were looking for her os they could ask her to
come back home. Uncle Xander isn't doing too well, the guilt's getting
to him."
"Then we have to get them together," Pandora insisted. "I'll call my
Mom and tell her we decided to go to Ron's house after school instead.
Then, Ron, you can call your Mom and ask her if she can pick us up and
Connor can pretend that he needs something from home and she'll drive
us there to pick it up."
"And then what?" Ron wasn't sure about ambushing his mother with her
friends.
"Well, then we let whatever happens happen. Hopefully, Ron's Mom will
see that Connor's parents don't hate her and she'll tell them she's
still alive."
"Okay, but if she doesn't say anything, we can't tell. It has to be
her decision." Ron waited for Pandora and Connor to nod their
agreement to his condition before giving his okay for the plan. He
hoped his mother would thank him for this one day.
*****
Angel was worried about Cordelia. She was sitting at her desk, but she
wasn't reading a magazine or surfing the 'net or anything else to pass
the time. She was picking listlessly at imaginary lint on her navy
blue pants. He walked over and leaned against her desk. "Hey."
"They'll be here soon." Cordelia glanced at the door. "What am I
supposed to say to Xander? You know your best friend - the one who
disappeared but managed to send letters, cards, and presents for your
children - well, she's really been dead for the past ten years. Those
things, that hope, that you thought came from her were really courtesy
of your friendly neighborhood Dispero demon."
"There isn't a good way to tell him, Cordy. He's going to hurt."
"He'll want to die." Cordelia rubbed her temples with the heels of her
hands. She didn't want to do this. She so didn't want to do this.
The front door opened and the old Sunnydale gang - minus one - was
reunited. She didn't have a choice.
"Dawn had an exam today so she stayed in Sunnydale. She's looking
after Brenden and Michelle," Buffy announced. Giles still lived in
England so there was just Buffy, Xander, Anya, and Spike standing in
their lobby. Spike settled his duster down around his shoulders, but
didn't say anything - not even a smirk in Angel's direction. There
were no cheery greetings or hugs hello. "You have news about Willow."
"Yes, we do. Let's go sit down in the parlor." Angel led the way into
the room they had converted into a t.v./living room. He waited for
everyone to get comfortable. Buffy and Spike took seats across the
sitting area from each other. Xander and Anya settled on the couch.
Anya sat close to her husband and clutched his arm. Angel perched on
the arm of Cordelia's chair. "We found a really good lead and tracked
Willow to a Dispero demon in Milwaukee. Dispero demons help people to
find new lives. She had set Willow up with an identity in New York -
Alexandria Potter."
The name brought a smile to Xander's face. "Willow loved the Harry
Potter books."
"Willow changed her identity again to Marina Allen. We checked her
driver's licence photo and it's her."
"Then you've found her?" Buffy frowned at Angel and Cordelia. "Is
she still associating with demons and using black magic? Is that what
all this 'serious meeting' is all about?"
"Marina Allen - Willow - died in a car accident in 2003." Cordelia
ignored Buffy and focused on Xander. He was shaking his head.
Cordelia knew where he would go next. "The letters and presents were
sent by the Dispero demon using paper enchanted with Willow's essence."
"No, Willow isn't dead." Xander still shook his head. "You're wrong."
"Xander." Buffy moved to Xander's other side and hugged him as Anya
cried on his other shoulder. "We all loved Willow...."
"Not enough or she wouldn't have left." Xander shook off Buffy and
Anya and stood up. He paced around the room. "I never should have
turned my back on her. She's not dead. She's not dead."
It was too much. Cordelia stood up and stopped Xander. She gripped
his arms. "Xander, I'm sorry. I wish she was alive."
"She's not dead, Cordy," Xander interrupted. Tears glistened in his
eyes, but an unwavering conviction blazed through the watery haze. "I
would know. If Willow had died to 2003, I would have felt it and I
would know she was dead. I would know."
"Xander...."
"Hello?" a female voice called from the lobby. A petite blonde
woman appeared hesitantly in the doorway. "I'm Aria MacDonald. The
children wanted...." Her pleasant smile faltered as she looked around
the room. She swallowed hard. "I'm sorry, I've interrupted." She
started to back out of the room.
"It's okay." Angel stepped forward. He had never seen this woman
before, but she seemed familiar. She smelled familiar, but he couldn't
place why.
"Willow." Xander pulled away from Cordelia. He quickly crossed over
to the woman and hugged her tightly. "Willow, I knew you weren't dead.
I knew it. I love you."
For a split second everyone just watched in stunned silence.
Cordelia's heart broke. Poor Xander. He was crazy with denial and
grief. "Um, Xander, this is Aria MacDonald, not Willow." Cordelia
approached them slowly. She touched Xander's shoulder. "Willow is
dead."
"No," the word escaped Willow's lips before she realized she had
spoken. They were all here and they thought she was dead. Xander was
holding her so tightly. He had recognized her despite the glamor. She
hugged him back. No matter what had happened, she couldn't let her
friends believe she was dead. Willow gently extracted herself from
Xander's embrace and smiled at him. "I love you too, Xander, and
you're right - I'm not dead. My true face shall you see. This is my
will, so mote it be."
To be continued....
Something was wrong with Connor. Pandora knew it the moment he walked
into the classroom that morning - it didn't take a psychic vision. He
shuffled in a slumped in his chair, eyes staring stormily at his
desktop. Pandora twisted in her seat to face him. "Connor, what's
wrong?" She hoped that his parents hadn't changed their minds about
him going to school and have friends.
"My aunt is dead," Connor whispered. It was weird to suddenly miss
someone he had never known personally. All he knew about his Aunt
Willow came from the stories his mother and father and sometimes his
Uncle Xander told.
"I'm so sorry, Connor." Pandora reached out and squeezed Connor's
hand.
"I, uh, didn't really know her. She was missing and my parents just
found out that she died a long time ago. They're really upset."
Connor swallowed hard. Pandora's hand covered his and her fingers
curled into his palm. It felt nice and comforting.
"Hey, no PDA's allowed, Halliwell," Amanda Vespy hissed from beside
them. Neither Pandora nor Connor had noticed when she had arrived, but
she was glaring at them now.
Pandora blushed a deep red and snatched her hand away. She turned to
face front to stare at the board. Connor wanted to say something to
her, but he didn't know what to say or how to say it. He also wanted
to hurt Amanda Vespy. Connor clenched his fists and took a few deep
breaths. His father had taught him how to control the rage that
sometimes bubbled up inside of him. It wasn't exactly the yellow-eyed
fury his father displayed upon occasion, but it still needed to be
controlled.
"What's going on?" Ron slipped into his seat across from Connor. He
noted the smug look on Vespy's face and Pandora's distress and
correctly surmised that the stuck-up snot had been bothering their
friend again. And Connor was pissed. "You know, Vespy, the next time
you go to one of those fancy spas you're always bragging about, ask for
an attitude adjustment. Yours is ugly."
Amanda snorted and her eyes narrowed on Ron. "Like I care about your
opinion, Weasley. You're as much a freak as she is." She tossed her
hair over her shoulder and faced forward as Ms. Foster walked into the
room.
"Good morning, children." As Ms. Foster passed by Connor's desk, she
paused. "Are you feeling alright, Connor?"
"I'm fine, Ms. Foster." Connor frowned as the teacher passed. He
didn't really see a reason for her concern - he had calmed down while
Ron and Amanda traded insults - Pandora looked more upset than he did.
The only way Ms. Foster could have known that he was upset was by
listening when he told Pandora about his Aunt Willow. But if she had
overheard, she would have interfered when Amanda had insulted Pandora.
That's what teachers did. Connor looked up at Ms. Foster as she smiled
sweetly at the class. Something wasn't right.
"Now it's very important that your parents get these notices." Connor
tuned back into Ms. Foster's voice. She was holding up an orange piece
of paper. The rest were being handed around and when they go to him,
Connor took one and passed the rest back. A parent/teacher night and
it was actually at night so his father could go. Connor hated to think
what Ms. Foster and his parents would discuss, but at least it would be
a distraction for his parents.
*****
Even though P3 was closed for renovations, it was still a busy place.
Piper directed a few workers who were 'updating' her club with virtual
video screens installed on the floors, walls, and ceiling. With these
screens she could transform her club into anything or anyplace she
desired. For re-opening night Piper desired an ancient Grecian theme.
It would be fun.
"Hey, watch it!" Piper snapped as one of the screens slipped a bit in
the worker's hand. She was totally prepared to freeze him if it was
necessary. "Those things weren't gifts from the Gods." Piper gave
them a dark look and then turned her attention to her second problem.
Phoebe sat at the bar staring at her laptop. Piper approached her
cautiously and eased onto the stool beside her. "How's it going?"
"Fine." Phoebe attempted a smile, but it fell short of her usual
lighthearted grin.
"Really." Piper peered around her sister to see the screen. "So you
just don't know what to tell Hopeless Romantic about her tendency to
fall for men she's knows are married?"
"Oh, no, I know what to tell her." Phoebe studied her fingers -
specifically focusing on the ringless left one. "I just don't really
care right now."
"You and Cole still aren't talking." Piper leaned over and hugged
her sister. "Oh, Honey, why don't you take the advice you give most
of your loyal readers - talk to him. Tell him what's bothering you.
We all know what's bothering him."
"I won't marry him." Phoebe sighed and moved out of her sister's
comforting embrace. "I can't talk to him, Piper."
"Then talk to me. Why won't you marry Cole? And don't say it's
because you're not the marrying kind. It's been so long even Paige is
the marrying kind." Piper smiled when Phoebe laughed a bit. But her
younger sister didn't answer her question. "Do you still love him?"
"I love him, so much that I can't let him go. But I can't marry him
either. Every time I think about Cole and marriage, I have this image
of him being evil and me being evil and...."
"Your children being evil," Piper finished for her. She reached over
and rubbed Phoebe's shoulder. "Honey, those are just fears. It
doesn't mean it will happen if you marry Cole."
"I know, but I just can't take that chance."
"Children are a wonderful chance to take."
Phoebe groaned. "Of course you would say that, Piper, Pan is a great
kid. She has great parents - a father who is a whitelighter and a
mother who wouldn't know how to be tempted by evil."
"Excuse me?" Piper waved her hand in the air. " Hello, Wendigo and
Fury remember? Don't put me up on a goody-two shoes pedestal as an
excuse."
"Those times you were possessed or infected by evil. We both know that
I have the most passive power because I was evil in my past lives."
"You're not evil in this one." Piper hugged her sister again. Life
was so much more complicated when you had to deal with demons and evil.
She dreaded the day that Pandora was old enough for romantic
entanglements. At least she was making friends and one part of her
life could be normal. "You have to tell Cole all of this, Phoebe, or
you might lose him."
"Then he'll think I don't trust him." Phoebe straightened, wiping a
few tears from her eyes. "And he would be right. I don't trust Cole.
I don't trust myself. How can I marry him when that's how I feel? If
I tell him that, Piper, I will lose him."
"Oh, Honey." The front door slammed and Paige clattered down the
stairs toward them before Piper could say anything else to comfort
their sister. "Hi, Paige, what brings you here?"
"Lunch." Paige bit her lip. She fiddled with her purse strap as she
reluctantly met Phoebe's gaze. "And to tell you that Cole's in jail."
*****
It had bugged Connor all morning. Why would Ms. Foster eavesdrop on
her students - him in particular? Connor had been raised to listen to
his instincts and so he had observed Ms. Foster closely all morning.
She hadn't done anything else to raise his suspicions, but they still
stuck with him. Something wasn't right about her.
"Do either of you sense something 'wrong' about Ms. Foster?" Conner
ventured the question to his two best friends. They were down in the
basement for the lunch hour and he figured this was a good a place as
any to bring the subject up.
"What do you mean?" Ron scratched his head. "Do you think she's a
demon?"
"I don't know about a demon exactly. She just acts weird. Like this
morning when she asked if I was okay when it was obviously Dory who was
upset. And I think she was listening when I told you about my Aunt
Willow."
"Who?" Ron's eyes widened in shock.
Connor gave him a strange look. "Ms. Foster. I think she was
listening when I told Dory about my parents finding out that my Aunt
Willow is dead, but she didn't do anything when Amanda started in on
us."
"Well, I have noticed that she watches you sometimes, but she's a
teacher - she watches everyone." Pandora felt her cheeks go a bit
pink. She hoped Connor didn't think she watched him too. "And now
that I think about it, she never touches me. I get my premonitions
from physical contact, only someone who knows that I'm a witch would
avoid touching me."
"And if she knows you're a witch then she probably knows about me and
my parents." Connor ran his hand through his hair making it stand up
in tufts. "Damn, my parents are going to pull me out of school so
fast when I tell them."
"Why don't I tell my Aunt Phoebe your suspicions first. She gets
premonitions too and if she comes to parent/teacher night, then Ms.
Foster will have to shake her hand when they're introduced."
"Okay, that sounds like a good idea. Then I don't have to tell my
parents until I'm sure. What do you think, Ron?"
Ron had heard his friends talking, but hadn't really listened. He was
a smart boy - something he had inherited from his mother - and he had
realized who Connor's parents were - his Mom had told him enough
stories about them. The only reason he hadn't said anything to Connor
about their parents' mutual past was because he thought Connor knew
nothing about his 'Aunt Willow.' Now Ron had a dilemma - should he
tell his best friend that his Aunt Willow was alive and well or should
he stay silent and let them grieve for nothing. He knew that his
mother eventually planned on telling her friends she was back and he
really didn't want to lie to his first real friends.
"Ron, are you okay?" Pandora touched Ron's shoulder. He was quiet,
which was unusual for him.
"Yeah, I...uh..." Ron took a deep breath and looked directly at Connor.
"Your Aunt Willow isn't dead. She's my Mom."
"What?" Connor's face darkened. "This better not be a joke."
"It's not. My Mom used to tell me stories about her childhood in
Sunnydale and how she and her friends used to slay vampires and demons
back in highschool - you know the Harvest, Graduation, Glory. Her best
friend was Xander, Buffy was the Slayer, your Dad the vampire with a
soul, and you Mom the cheerleader. If something ever happened to her
and my Dad, I was supposed to go to The Hyperion for help. I would
have said something before, but I didn't think that you knew about
her."
"Aunt Willow isn't dead."
"No. She was planning on telling your Mom and Dad she was back, but
she keeps putting it off. She's afraid they'll hate her."
"But they don't. They were looking for her os they could ask her to
come back home. Uncle Xander isn't doing too well, the guilt's getting
to him."
"Then we have to get them together," Pandora insisted. "I'll call my
Mom and tell her we decided to go to Ron's house after school instead.
Then, Ron, you can call your Mom and ask her if she can pick us up and
Connor can pretend that he needs something from home and she'll drive
us there to pick it up."
"And then what?" Ron wasn't sure about ambushing his mother with her
friends.
"Well, then we let whatever happens happen. Hopefully, Ron's Mom will
see that Connor's parents don't hate her and she'll tell them she's
still alive."
"Okay, but if she doesn't say anything, we can't tell. It has to be
her decision." Ron waited for Pandora and Connor to nod their
agreement to his condition before giving his okay for the plan. He
hoped his mother would thank him for this one day.
*****
Angel was worried about Cordelia. She was sitting at her desk, but she
wasn't reading a magazine or surfing the 'net or anything else to pass
the time. She was picking listlessly at imaginary lint on her navy
blue pants. He walked over and leaned against her desk. "Hey."
"They'll be here soon." Cordelia glanced at the door. "What am I
supposed to say to Xander? You know your best friend - the one who
disappeared but managed to send letters, cards, and presents for your
children - well, she's really been dead for the past ten years. Those
things, that hope, that you thought came from her were really courtesy
of your friendly neighborhood Dispero demon."
"There isn't a good way to tell him, Cordy. He's going to hurt."
"He'll want to die." Cordelia rubbed her temples with the heels of her
hands. She didn't want to do this. She so didn't want to do this.
The front door opened and the old Sunnydale gang - minus one - was
reunited. She didn't have a choice.
"Dawn had an exam today so she stayed in Sunnydale. She's looking
after Brenden and Michelle," Buffy announced. Giles still lived in
England so there was just Buffy, Xander, Anya, and Spike standing in
their lobby. Spike settled his duster down around his shoulders, but
didn't say anything - not even a smirk in Angel's direction. There
were no cheery greetings or hugs hello. "You have news about Willow."
"Yes, we do. Let's go sit down in the parlor." Angel led the way into
the room they had converted into a t.v./living room. He waited for
everyone to get comfortable. Buffy and Spike took seats across the
sitting area from each other. Xander and Anya settled on the couch.
Anya sat close to her husband and clutched his arm. Angel perched on
the arm of Cordelia's chair. "We found a really good lead and tracked
Willow to a Dispero demon in Milwaukee. Dispero demons help people to
find new lives. She had set Willow up with an identity in New York -
Alexandria Potter."
The name brought a smile to Xander's face. "Willow loved the Harry
Potter books."
"Willow changed her identity again to Marina Allen. We checked her
driver's licence photo and it's her."
"Then you've found her?" Buffy frowned at Angel and Cordelia. "Is
she still associating with demons and using black magic? Is that what
all this 'serious meeting' is all about?"
"Marina Allen - Willow - died in a car accident in 2003." Cordelia
ignored Buffy and focused on Xander. He was shaking his head.
Cordelia knew where he would go next. "The letters and presents were
sent by the Dispero demon using paper enchanted with Willow's essence."
"No, Willow isn't dead." Xander still shook his head. "You're wrong."
"Xander." Buffy moved to Xander's other side and hugged him as Anya
cried on his other shoulder. "We all loved Willow...."
"Not enough or she wouldn't have left." Xander shook off Buffy and
Anya and stood up. He paced around the room. "I never should have
turned my back on her. She's not dead. She's not dead."
It was too much. Cordelia stood up and stopped Xander. She gripped
his arms. "Xander, I'm sorry. I wish she was alive."
"She's not dead, Cordy," Xander interrupted. Tears glistened in his
eyes, but an unwavering conviction blazed through the watery haze. "I
would know. If Willow had died to 2003, I would have felt it and I
would know she was dead. I would know."
"Xander...."
"Hello?" a female voice called from the lobby. A petite blonde
woman appeared hesitantly in the doorway. "I'm Aria MacDonald. The
children wanted...." Her pleasant smile faltered as she looked around
the room. She swallowed hard. "I'm sorry, I've interrupted." She
started to back out of the room.
"It's okay." Angel stepped forward. He had never seen this woman
before, but she seemed familiar. She smelled familiar, but he couldn't
place why.
"Willow." Xander pulled away from Cordelia. He quickly crossed over
to the woman and hugged her tightly. "Willow, I knew you weren't dead.
I knew it. I love you."
For a split second everyone just watched in stunned silence.
Cordelia's heart broke. Poor Xander. He was crazy with denial and
grief. "Um, Xander, this is Aria MacDonald, not Willow." Cordelia
approached them slowly. She touched Xander's shoulder. "Willow is
dead."
"No," the word escaped Willow's lips before she realized she had
spoken. They were all here and they thought she was dead. Xander was
holding her so tightly. He had recognized her despite the glamor. She
hugged him back. No matter what had happened, she couldn't let her
friends believe she was dead. Willow gently extracted herself from
Xander's embrace and smiled at him. "I love you too, Xander, and
you're right - I'm not dead. My true face shall you see. This is my
will, so mote it be."
To be continued....