Good evening, One and All,
Here is chapter twenty-five. I know it is Spuffy free, but there are other stories coming to a head as well. So bear with me and try to love it!
Alas, I am having some massive computer issues, so I may well be late for Wednesday's chapter, however, I will be sure to have a two chapter week for you none the less.
Please enjoy and let me know what you think of my little jaunt into the minds of Willow and Xander.
*Cheery Vibes*, Nimue
"As sick as it sounds, in my little head, there's a little Sunnydale, and a widdle Spike and a widdle Buffy and Spike wubs Buffy." James Marsters 14 July 2002
Title: Twenty Years (Chapter Twenty- Five of The One)
Author: Nimue
Rating: PG -13
Pairing: Buffy/Spike. Most major characters included.
Feedback: Yes, please
For instant notification of fic releases, straight to your mailbox, please visit Always_Everyday@yahoogroups.com . Also, please visit the wonderful fan listing that Rachel put together. Sign up today and link to your website (or just sign up to say hi!). The fan listing can be found at .
Disclaimer: All characters belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, UPN, Fox... Just Borrowing. (With, of course, the exception of Emma and William, who belong to Buffy and Spike)
Summary: Willow finally talks to Xander about her plans with Tara and Oz.
Twenty Years
Rain pounded down against slick plastic and waterproof clothes. Thunder rolled every so often, white streaks illuminating the darkened sky. It was beautiful, really. Willow imagined that, were they somewhere. north. of Sunnydale, this might be a blizzard. But here, in the quiet sanctity of their own little world, it was a rolling thunderstorm that looked like it might last for eternity.
A static hiss returned her from her reverie. She dug hastily in her pockets, pulling out a handset. "Yes?"
"Loving of the walkie talkie." Xander's voice seemed distant, as if he were a thousand miles away. But he couldn't have been further than the other side of the house.
"We could have done the mind thing," Willow commented, smiling into the handset.
There was a pause. "Yeah, still not liking that. Don't know where it's coming from. Makes me all schizoid."
Willow sighed. "Fear of progress."
"Fear of voices in my head," the thousand-mile voice answered. There was a long pause before anyone spoke again. "Hey, two hours of walking on one big circle is really not. I'm bored. Think we could just sit for a spell?"
She thought about that for a moment. Sitting meant not watching the entire perimeter. However, the silvery blaze should be enough to see from anywhere within the confines of the front and back yard. What was really bothering her was talking. Sitting lead to talking. Talking lead to truth telling. Truth telling lead to embarrassing confessions of future events. She sighed deeply. Better than embarrassing confessions of the past.
"Yeah," she answered. "Sitting is good. Wet, but good. Meet you on the back porch in like.. 15 seconds?"
"Your umbrella or mine?" Xander joked. The static hissing went dead.
Willow rounded the corner to the back of the house, easing through the gate and stopped, her body shaking with laughter. Xander caught the amusement and shrugged, making Willow laugh harder. "Who'd a thunk that a Vampire has a raincoat?" Xander quipped as they walked towards each other in the driving rain.
She tried to stifle a giggle. "Good point. Better one, it doesn't fit."
Xander shot his arms out of the sleeves, showing the five or so inches of exposed skin at the ends of his arms and feeling the jacket stretched tight across his back. It wouldn't close if he'd had Buffy's Slayer strength pulling the front together. Xander shrugged again, eyes flitting up. "Hood works."
Willow smiled, making the sky a little brighter. "And that is of the good." She shifted, putting her golf umbrella over both of them and walked towards the step. "Ready for wet butt?"
"Check," Xander agreed, lowering himself to the step, Willow mirroring him perfectly.
"So, other than the rain jacket of the undead, did you find anything?" Willow chided, watching him shift uncomfortably in the tight coat.
"I'm just figuring out why he has it," Xander asked, wriggling. "I mean, what does the Big Bad want with a raincoat?"
Again, she laughed. "At least it's black," she joked, nudging Xander's shoulder. She was quiet, the smile still painting her face. "He's not bad anyway. And from the looks of things, he's not all that big. At least in the shoulders," she giggled. "But probably so his Big Bad kids have a good role model with daddy in his slicker."
Xander shuddered. "We have kids," he muttered to himself. "When did all this happen?" His eyes were bright, dancing even, as he directed the question at Willow.
Her eyes softened. "We grew up, Xander," Willow commented. "We . settled."
"We have *kids*," he repeated, staring up at the angry sky. "Wow."
"Wow," she repeated, her eyes traveling with his. She let the sound of the rain settle between them before she spoke again. "Xander, do you like it?"
"Like what?" He answered, turning his head towards his best friend. She lowered her eyes, capturing his. Eyes she had seen in every stage of existence. Eyes she had known for over twenty years. That was weird. She could remember a time where she was positive she would never say she'd known anything for twenty years. Now, she was looking right at it.
"Being a parent. Your life," Willow answered honestly, her eyes flitting between his and the sky.
Xander hesitated. Not because he didn't know the answer. He did. In more ways than he could articulate. But he didn't know the question. There was more. He could feel it in his bones the same way he could feel the lightning setting the hairs on the back of his neck on end. "Yeah, Will. I do. I love it. I love Takina. I love River. I wouldn't change a second." He was silent, watching the clouds plow across the sky. "Not even if River *does* end up attached at the hip to fang boy's son."
Willow had to laugh again. "Well, he's Buffy's son too. That's not all that bad," she comforted, patting Xander's back. "Not to mention, he has a cool name."
Xander quirked an eye. "Will," he muttered, smiling to himself. Amazing how you never notice the simple stuff. "Why do you ask?"
She sighed, but rather than a release of tension, it seemed as if the gesture simply pushed it all into Willow's back. She sat stiffly next to her best friend, her hand still clutched around the umbrella. In the back of her mind, she waited for lightning to strike. Then again, if it did, it did.
"Xander, I need to tell you something," she finally said, turning her face back to his with a deep breath.
He nodded, not sure of what to make of it. Although he had been very good at denial with Spike and Buffy, he'd noticed immediately that something was going on with Willow. Something that most everyone knew about but him. He wanted to be angry with her for that. But he knew this was why. This was what she needed. She was just waiting for the right time. "Go ahead."
Her eyes flitted back to the sky. "I'm jealous," she finally said, her small wet hand wringing on her lap. "You know. First of Buffy. Then of you. I mean, it all sort of fell together in its own. weird and supernatural way."
Xander chuckled. "Well, not much weird or supernatural about Takina and me."
"Except she is a demon," Willow commented, smiling.
"That she is," Xander agreed, returning the gesture. "My demon."
Willow couldn't help but smile more broadly before her thoughts took her back to neutral. She sat quietly, letting the rain set the pace for her heart. A fast, nervous thumping against her skin, as if it might just pop out of her chest and scurry away like a bunny.
"Is something. Are there problems. Is everything okay with Tara?" Xander asked, wondering how long he should wait before breaking the silence. Oh well. He had never been so good at the waiting.
"Oh...oh. yeah. Fine. I mean, wonderful," Willow answered, realizing that the way she'd been approaching things wasn't quite the way to her point. The Scoobies all seemed to have a congenital problem with that. Finding the way to the point. Good thing that we all paired off with blunt creatures with the patience of saints. At least with us.
"Then what is it, Will?" Xander asked, eyes full of concern. He laid his bare wrist against her wet jeans and pulled her leg flush to his. "There's nothing you can't say to me. Nothing we can't talk about."
Willow took a deep breath, feeling the electricity in the air pour down her throat like magic. "This is hard." she began. This time, Xander waited out the silence, letting her set the pace. "When I said I was jealous, I meant that I was jealous of the kids. Of Emma, and Will, and River, and Randy. It. I dunno. It gets to me sometimes."
Xander felt his heart sink. He knew that they had been bantering about the idea of adopting and artificial insemination and all sorts of things, but he didn't realize to what extent it had affected her. It made him feel guilty, as the tears slid down her cheeks. He hadn't even noticed. "Will."
"Just let me spit this out," Willow interrupted, a nervous smile breaking on her face in stark contrast to the little rivers of tears that almost blended in with the raindrops. "I know Takina had been giving us options, but. Xander. we really wanted our own. I mean, if we are capable, why shouldn't we?"
He sat dumbfounded, not sure if she wanted an answer or if she just wanted to speak. He decided the latter. At least until she prodded him into commenting. Instead, he nodded.
"So, I guess Spike of all people, figured that out. I don't know why or how. I guess he's just good at . reading people. Something he must have picked up in the whole century plus club." She swallowed, afraid to continue, but the confused look in her friend's face made her push forward. "Anyway, so he. I dunno. he called Oz."
"Spike. called Oz?" Xander asked, his brow furrowed in confusion. "Why? And Hunh?"
Willow giggled. "Don't ask me," she began, wiping her tears with the back of her hand. "I guess that he figured out that we were hesitating because we wanted to have our own baby, but we sorta had the wrong equipment to do it on our own."
"You should have asked," Xander whispered, his voice low. "I would have helped."
That made Willow laugh out loud, almost waking up the house. "Xan, I love you and all, but how were you going to help? I mean, you, family, baby. Wife. Relatively new. Problems abound."
"Takina would have. she would have understood," Xander whispered, his eyes dropping to the ground. Suddenly, it all fell together like one of the lightning bolts that had streaked overhead had struck him in the head, causing synapses to fire and two and two to equal four. "Oz?"
Willow sighed. "Spike apparently thought that we wanted our own kid. You were married off. he. well between possesso-Buffy and the whole sterility with anyone but the Slayer question.. And then Giles.."
Xander shuddered, causing raindrops to fly from the slicker like a dog shaking out his coat. "Okay, now EWWW."
"Exactly," Willow agreed, sharing the shudder. "Spike thought that we'd want someone we knew. That we trusted. I guess he talked to Buffy without really telling her and came up with Oz."
Xander was thoughtful a moment. "Single, cute, small, cuddly Oz who turns into a *wolf* once a month."
"Sort of redefines PMS doesn't it?" Willow joked, but Xander's face was still serious.
"He's a werewolf," Xander repeated. "That's gotta mean something."
Willow raised a brow, looking at Xander as if he'd grown an additional head. "I don't know if you noticed, but, um, Takina is of the demon variety. Anya...Vengeance Demon. Spike. Vampire."
"None of them have to get tied up at the full moon," Xander contributed half-heartedly, knowing he was defeated before he even started.
"Unless you count Spike, but I think Buffy does it only because he likes it," Willow joked, making Xander shudder like a wet dog once again.
"Okay, the kinky sex of my friends is not something I need to know about," Xander commented, as if he and Takina were minions of missionary only. That thought made him shudder all the more.
"Then you're going to *love* this," Willow chided, beginning to relax. The hard part was over. He hadn't walked away. "Tara and I. well. we couldn't decide. and she has *zero* experience with men."
Another lightning bolt struck Xander Harris and his eyes got huge and glassy. "Willow?" He almost gasped.
She blushed, her cheeks nearly as red as her hair. "Well, I don't want anyone touching my baby without me there to referee."
"Both of you?" Xander asked, torn between disgust and utter jealousy.
Willow nodded. "It doubles our chances and hopefully means we'll only have to do it once."
"I'm betting on Oz slipping some birth control pills in your carrot juice to prevent that," Xander joked, shaking his head. "Willow.I."
She sighed, letting her hand drop over his bare wrist. "He was right you know. About it all. In that annoying, Vampire sort of way."
"Spike?" Xander questioned.
Willow nodded, letting her head fall on Xander's shoulder. "We want this. We want our own baby. We want someone we know to be good, kind. to be the father. And Oz. he is all of those things and you know that."
She could feel him nod from her perch against his shoulder. "You could have gone for some height. You know. No potential basketball players coming out of this match."
"True," Willow chuckled, moving in closer. "But magically adept musicians aren't bad."
"No," Xander answered, lifting her chin with a gentle hand. "They aren't."
The tears began to well up behind Willow's eyes again, but this time, they were tears of relief. "So. you .. you understand?'
"Yeah," he answered, holding her gaze in his. "I get it." He was quiet this time, the rain still pounding overhead and bouncing off the wood all around him. "I just want you to be happy, Willow. That's all I have ever wanted from you. I'm sorry that I didn't see it sooner." The fact that Spike did was crawling under his skin. He wasn't sure whether or not to pummel the Vampire or to thank him for bailing out his best friend.
"It's okay," Willow answered, returning her gaze to the sky. "You know, if it had been different."
"If what had?" Xander asked, looking at a beautiful, almost pink trail through the clouds.
"Things. Life," she answered, following the same pink streak. "If everything had been different, I would have wished it had been you."
Xander was silent, turning towards Willow, watching her turn towards him. There was something deeper than love there. Something stronger and wilder and older than anything either of them would ever find outside of each other. A different love. Not one of marriage and babies and happily ever after. But one of peace and reliability and constancy. One that would never go away.
He nodded, swallowing, his eyes filling with tears of their own. "Really?"
"Yeah," she answered, swallowing a sob. "I can't think of a kinder, better man, Xander. I can't think of anyone I would have rather . that Tara and I."
He smiled nodding once again, wiping a tear from her cheek. It was too much. Too much to say. "But would I have gotten both of you at once?" He joked through the tears, winking.
Willow batted his arm playfully, knowing how he really felt. "Don't know if you're up for the task, Xander. All old and married."
He humph'd, batting her back and settling her into his shoulder. "Not sure if I should take the boy out and have a little party for him, or send him off to nap until the big night," Xander commented, sitting comfortably with Will under his arm.
"Let him sleep," Willow answered. Xander shot her an evil eye. "I mean. b.because he needs to do it right the first time, right? Not because he'll need any extra energy for anything."
Xander shuddered, this time half-heartedly. "Okay, what was I saying about the kinky sex lives of my friends?"
She giggled, snuggling against the undersized raincoat. "I love you, Xander."
Xander smiled, kissing the top of her wet head. "I love you too, Will. And I'm happy for you."
"Really?" She asked, pulling away enough to look at his face.
Again, he smiled, "Really."
To be contd.
Here is chapter twenty-five. I know it is Spuffy free, but there are other stories coming to a head as well. So bear with me and try to love it!
Alas, I am having some massive computer issues, so I may well be late for Wednesday's chapter, however, I will be sure to have a two chapter week for you none the less.
Please enjoy and let me know what you think of my little jaunt into the minds of Willow and Xander.
*Cheery Vibes*, Nimue
"As sick as it sounds, in my little head, there's a little Sunnydale, and a widdle Spike and a widdle Buffy and Spike wubs Buffy." James Marsters 14 July 2002
Title: Twenty Years (Chapter Twenty- Five of The One)
Author: Nimue
Rating: PG -13
Pairing: Buffy/Spike. Most major characters included.
Feedback: Yes, please
For instant notification of fic releases, straight to your mailbox, please visit Always_Everyday@yahoogroups.com . Also, please visit the wonderful fan listing that Rachel put together. Sign up today and link to your website (or just sign up to say hi!). The fan listing can be found at .
Disclaimer: All characters belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, UPN, Fox... Just Borrowing. (With, of course, the exception of Emma and William, who belong to Buffy and Spike)
Summary: Willow finally talks to Xander about her plans with Tara and Oz.
Twenty Years
Rain pounded down against slick plastic and waterproof clothes. Thunder rolled every so often, white streaks illuminating the darkened sky. It was beautiful, really. Willow imagined that, were they somewhere. north. of Sunnydale, this might be a blizzard. But here, in the quiet sanctity of their own little world, it was a rolling thunderstorm that looked like it might last for eternity.
A static hiss returned her from her reverie. She dug hastily in her pockets, pulling out a handset. "Yes?"
"Loving of the walkie talkie." Xander's voice seemed distant, as if he were a thousand miles away. But he couldn't have been further than the other side of the house.
"We could have done the mind thing," Willow commented, smiling into the handset.
There was a pause. "Yeah, still not liking that. Don't know where it's coming from. Makes me all schizoid."
Willow sighed. "Fear of progress."
"Fear of voices in my head," the thousand-mile voice answered. There was a long pause before anyone spoke again. "Hey, two hours of walking on one big circle is really not. I'm bored. Think we could just sit for a spell?"
She thought about that for a moment. Sitting meant not watching the entire perimeter. However, the silvery blaze should be enough to see from anywhere within the confines of the front and back yard. What was really bothering her was talking. Sitting lead to talking. Talking lead to truth telling. Truth telling lead to embarrassing confessions of future events. She sighed deeply. Better than embarrassing confessions of the past.
"Yeah," she answered. "Sitting is good. Wet, but good. Meet you on the back porch in like.. 15 seconds?"
"Your umbrella or mine?" Xander joked. The static hissing went dead.
Willow rounded the corner to the back of the house, easing through the gate and stopped, her body shaking with laughter. Xander caught the amusement and shrugged, making Willow laugh harder. "Who'd a thunk that a Vampire has a raincoat?" Xander quipped as they walked towards each other in the driving rain.
She tried to stifle a giggle. "Good point. Better one, it doesn't fit."
Xander shot his arms out of the sleeves, showing the five or so inches of exposed skin at the ends of his arms and feeling the jacket stretched tight across his back. It wouldn't close if he'd had Buffy's Slayer strength pulling the front together. Xander shrugged again, eyes flitting up. "Hood works."
Willow smiled, making the sky a little brighter. "And that is of the good." She shifted, putting her golf umbrella over both of them and walked towards the step. "Ready for wet butt?"
"Check," Xander agreed, lowering himself to the step, Willow mirroring him perfectly.
"So, other than the rain jacket of the undead, did you find anything?" Willow chided, watching him shift uncomfortably in the tight coat.
"I'm just figuring out why he has it," Xander asked, wriggling. "I mean, what does the Big Bad want with a raincoat?"
Again, she laughed. "At least it's black," she joked, nudging Xander's shoulder. She was quiet, the smile still painting her face. "He's not bad anyway. And from the looks of things, he's not all that big. At least in the shoulders," she giggled. "But probably so his Big Bad kids have a good role model with daddy in his slicker."
Xander shuddered. "We have kids," he muttered to himself. "When did all this happen?" His eyes were bright, dancing even, as he directed the question at Willow.
Her eyes softened. "We grew up, Xander," Willow commented. "We . settled."
"We have *kids*," he repeated, staring up at the angry sky. "Wow."
"Wow," she repeated, her eyes traveling with his. She let the sound of the rain settle between them before she spoke again. "Xander, do you like it?"
"Like what?" He answered, turning his head towards his best friend. She lowered her eyes, capturing his. Eyes she had seen in every stage of existence. Eyes she had known for over twenty years. That was weird. She could remember a time where she was positive she would never say she'd known anything for twenty years. Now, she was looking right at it.
"Being a parent. Your life," Willow answered honestly, her eyes flitting between his and the sky.
Xander hesitated. Not because he didn't know the answer. He did. In more ways than he could articulate. But he didn't know the question. There was more. He could feel it in his bones the same way he could feel the lightning setting the hairs on the back of his neck on end. "Yeah, Will. I do. I love it. I love Takina. I love River. I wouldn't change a second." He was silent, watching the clouds plow across the sky. "Not even if River *does* end up attached at the hip to fang boy's son."
Willow had to laugh again. "Well, he's Buffy's son too. That's not all that bad," she comforted, patting Xander's back. "Not to mention, he has a cool name."
Xander quirked an eye. "Will," he muttered, smiling to himself. Amazing how you never notice the simple stuff. "Why do you ask?"
She sighed, but rather than a release of tension, it seemed as if the gesture simply pushed it all into Willow's back. She sat stiffly next to her best friend, her hand still clutched around the umbrella. In the back of her mind, she waited for lightning to strike. Then again, if it did, it did.
"Xander, I need to tell you something," she finally said, turning her face back to his with a deep breath.
He nodded, not sure of what to make of it. Although he had been very good at denial with Spike and Buffy, he'd noticed immediately that something was going on with Willow. Something that most everyone knew about but him. He wanted to be angry with her for that. But he knew this was why. This was what she needed. She was just waiting for the right time. "Go ahead."
Her eyes flitted back to the sky. "I'm jealous," she finally said, her small wet hand wringing on her lap. "You know. First of Buffy. Then of you. I mean, it all sort of fell together in its own. weird and supernatural way."
Xander chuckled. "Well, not much weird or supernatural about Takina and me."
"Except she is a demon," Willow commented, smiling.
"That she is," Xander agreed, returning the gesture. "My demon."
Willow couldn't help but smile more broadly before her thoughts took her back to neutral. She sat quietly, letting the rain set the pace for her heart. A fast, nervous thumping against her skin, as if it might just pop out of her chest and scurry away like a bunny.
"Is something. Are there problems. Is everything okay with Tara?" Xander asked, wondering how long he should wait before breaking the silence. Oh well. He had never been so good at the waiting.
"Oh...oh. yeah. Fine. I mean, wonderful," Willow answered, realizing that the way she'd been approaching things wasn't quite the way to her point. The Scoobies all seemed to have a congenital problem with that. Finding the way to the point. Good thing that we all paired off with blunt creatures with the patience of saints. At least with us.
"Then what is it, Will?" Xander asked, eyes full of concern. He laid his bare wrist against her wet jeans and pulled her leg flush to his. "There's nothing you can't say to me. Nothing we can't talk about."
Willow took a deep breath, feeling the electricity in the air pour down her throat like magic. "This is hard." she began. This time, Xander waited out the silence, letting her set the pace. "When I said I was jealous, I meant that I was jealous of the kids. Of Emma, and Will, and River, and Randy. It. I dunno. It gets to me sometimes."
Xander felt his heart sink. He knew that they had been bantering about the idea of adopting and artificial insemination and all sorts of things, but he didn't realize to what extent it had affected her. It made him feel guilty, as the tears slid down her cheeks. He hadn't even noticed. "Will."
"Just let me spit this out," Willow interrupted, a nervous smile breaking on her face in stark contrast to the little rivers of tears that almost blended in with the raindrops. "I know Takina had been giving us options, but. Xander. we really wanted our own. I mean, if we are capable, why shouldn't we?"
He sat dumbfounded, not sure if she wanted an answer or if she just wanted to speak. He decided the latter. At least until she prodded him into commenting. Instead, he nodded.
"So, I guess Spike of all people, figured that out. I don't know why or how. I guess he's just good at . reading people. Something he must have picked up in the whole century plus club." She swallowed, afraid to continue, but the confused look in her friend's face made her push forward. "Anyway, so he. I dunno. he called Oz."
"Spike. called Oz?" Xander asked, his brow furrowed in confusion. "Why? And Hunh?"
Willow giggled. "Don't ask me," she began, wiping her tears with the back of her hand. "I guess that he figured out that we were hesitating because we wanted to have our own baby, but we sorta had the wrong equipment to do it on our own."
"You should have asked," Xander whispered, his voice low. "I would have helped."
That made Willow laugh out loud, almost waking up the house. "Xan, I love you and all, but how were you going to help? I mean, you, family, baby. Wife. Relatively new. Problems abound."
"Takina would have. she would have understood," Xander whispered, his eyes dropping to the ground. Suddenly, it all fell together like one of the lightning bolts that had streaked overhead had struck him in the head, causing synapses to fire and two and two to equal four. "Oz?"
Willow sighed. "Spike apparently thought that we wanted our own kid. You were married off. he. well between possesso-Buffy and the whole sterility with anyone but the Slayer question.. And then Giles.."
Xander shuddered, causing raindrops to fly from the slicker like a dog shaking out his coat. "Okay, now EWWW."
"Exactly," Willow agreed, sharing the shudder. "Spike thought that we'd want someone we knew. That we trusted. I guess he talked to Buffy without really telling her and came up with Oz."
Xander was thoughtful a moment. "Single, cute, small, cuddly Oz who turns into a *wolf* once a month."
"Sort of redefines PMS doesn't it?" Willow joked, but Xander's face was still serious.
"He's a werewolf," Xander repeated. "That's gotta mean something."
Willow raised a brow, looking at Xander as if he'd grown an additional head. "I don't know if you noticed, but, um, Takina is of the demon variety. Anya...Vengeance Demon. Spike. Vampire."
"None of them have to get tied up at the full moon," Xander contributed half-heartedly, knowing he was defeated before he even started.
"Unless you count Spike, but I think Buffy does it only because he likes it," Willow joked, making Xander shudder like a wet dog once again.
"Okay, the kinky sex of my friends is not something I need to know about," Xander commented, as if he and Takina were minions of missionary only. That thought made him shudder all the more.
"Then you're going to *love* this," Willow chided, beginning to relax. The hard part was over. He hadn't walked away. "Tara and I. well. we couldn't decide. and she has *zero* experience with men."
Another lightning bolt struck Xander Harris and his eyes got huge and glassy. "Willow?" He almost gasped.
She blushed, her cheeks nearly as red as her hair. "Well, I don't want anyone touching my baby without me there to referee."
"Both of you?" Xander asked, torn between disgust and utter jealousy.
Willow nodded. "It doubles our chances and hopefully means we'll only have to do it once."
"I'm betting on Oz slipping some birth control pills in your carrot juice to prevent that," Xander joked, shaking his head. "Willow.I."
She sighed, letting her hand drop over his bare wrist. "He was right you know. About it all. In that annoying, Vampire sort of way."
"Spike?" Xander questioned.
Willow nodded, letting her head fall on Xander's shoulder. "We want this. We want our own baby. We want someone we know to be good, kind. to be the father. And Oz. he is all of those things and you know that."
She could feel him nod from her perch against his shoulder. "You could have gone for some height. You know. No potential basketball players coming out of this match."
"True," Willow chuckled, moving in closer. "But magically adept musicians aren't bad."
"No," Xander answered, lifting her chin with a gentle hand. "They aren't."
The tears began to well up behind Willow's eyes again, but this time, they were tears of relief. "So. you .. you understand?'
"Yeah," he answered, holding her gaze in his. "I get it." He was quiet this time, the rain still pounding overhead and bouncing off the wood all around him. "I just want you to be happy, Willow. That's all I have ever wanted from you. I'm sorry that I didn't see it sooner." The fact that Spike did was crawling under his skin. He wasn't sure whether or not to pummel the Vampire or to thank him for bailing out his best friend.
"It's okay," Willow answered, returning her gaze to the sky. "You know, if it had been different."
"If what had?" Xander asked, looking at a beautiful, almost pink trail through the clouds.
"Things. Life," she answered, following the same pink streak. "If everything had been different, I would have wished it had been you."
Xander was silent, turning towards Willow, watching her turn towards him. There was something deeper than love there. Something stronger and wilder and older than anything either of them would ever find outside of each other. A different love. Not one of marriage and babies and happily ever after. But one of peace and reliability and constancy. One that would never go away.
He nodded, swallowing, his eyes filling with tears of their own. "Really?"
"Yeah," she answered, swallowing a sob. "I can't think of a kinder, better man, Xander. I can't think of anyone I would have rather . that Tara and I."
He smiled nodding once again, wiping a tear from her cheek. It was too much. Too much to say. "But would I have gotten both of you at once?" He joked through the tears, winking.
Willow batted his arm playfully, knowing how he really felt. "Don't know if you're up for the task, Xander. All old and married."
He humph'd, batting her back and settling her into his shoulder. "Not sure if I should take the boy out and have a little party for him, or send him off to nap until the big night," Xander commented, sitting comfortably with Will under his arm.
"Let him sleep," Willow answered. Xander shot her an evil eye. "I mean. b.because he needs to do it right the first time, right? Not because he'll need any extra energy for anything."
Xander shuddered, this time half-heartedly. "Okay, what was I saying about the kinky sex lives of my friends?"
She giggled, snuggling against the undersized raincoat. "I love you, Xander."
Xander smiled, kissing the top of her wet head. "I love you too, Will. And I'm happy for you."
"Really?" She asked, pulling away enough to look at his face.
Again, he smiled, "Really."
To be contd.