Part 9

Willow blearily blinked her eyes and saw Xander sitting in a chair next to her bed. "Hey, Xan. You would not believe the dream I just had."

Before Willow could continue she saw a movement out of the corner of her eye and turned her head. Jesse? Jesse! Willow closed her eyes as her brain finally kicked in gear.

With her eyes still shut she sighed and whispered, "Sorry. I'm sorry."

Xander looked over at his best friend Jesse and winced. God could this have gone any worse?  Well, yeah it could have but he didn't want to dwell on that. What should they do? He had so many conflicting emotions. Angel had tried to prepare them but could you really be prepared to see someone who was your best friend but not?

Jesse looked at Willow with panicked eyes and then looked at Xander. He mouthed, "What do we do?"

Xander's eyes got huge, "Like I know?!"

Neither one noticed Willow watching them. She couldn't help but smile. They were so her Xander and Jesse no matter the reality. She couldn't take her eyes off Jesse. So this is what he would have looked like if he hadn't been turned.

No matter that this wasn't their Willow her reaction to them proved that this was another Xander and Jesse's Willow. Xander's head hurt with that thought. When all else failed fall back on what you know.

Xander cleared his throat and looked down to see Willow smiling at Jesse and him. He couldn't help but smile back, "So? Am I some studly high wizard in your reality?"

Jesse took his cue from Xander and fell into the easy relationship of the three musketeers of his childhood. "Pfft. Please why would you be that in her reality when you're not even that in this reality?"

"Hey I am SO the studly wizard. Okay maybe not a high wizard but hello Rupert put ME in charge of LA."

"HA! You just think you're in charge of LA. Rupert really put me in there to watch your back 'cause most of your spells go wonky."

"Wonky? WONKY! My spells do not go wonky. They just have decidedly different minds of their own."

Rupert relaxed in his room when he was greeted with laughter. Willow's laughter mixed in with Xander and Jesse's floated through the walls. They had insisted on seeing Willow alone with no interference and he had reluctantly agreed. Their reunion should be private but he had paced nervously in his room next to hers. He had been determined to interrupt if he had heard crying or shouts or very awkward silence.

Rupert went downstairs to let Dru and Darla know that everything would be all right. And to give Willow a chance to connect with Xander and Jesse.

~~~~

Willow snuck a peak at Xander and Jesse. They had made her feel comfortable and welcome right from the beginning. She hoped it was a truth in all realities that she, Jesse and Xander were best friends. She couldn't imagine a life without at least one of them in it.

Jesse caught her looking at him again. Angel and Wesley had told him that in her reality he had been turned by Darla and staked. He had shuddered at that thought. He couldn't imagine life as a non-souled vampire. He had made Angel and Xander promise that if he ever did get turned they would give him his soul.

Jesse smiled over at Willow and winked. He had wanted to put her at ease. With his and Xander's antics she had finally really relaxed. She had been so tense when she first woke up and now she was genuinely laughing at Xander. 'Course that was easy to do. Xander was very good at easing a tense situation through humor.

Xander noticed her nervous picking at the blanket that covered her.

"Do you want us to leave so you can get more rest?"

Willow shook her head no, "I'm fine. I-I just want to thank you for making this potentially awkward situation less of one."

Jesse looked at Xander and smiled with an evil glint in his eye. "You know what I think this calls for, Xander?"

"I'm with ya, buddy."

They simultaneously jumped on Willow on the bed, "GROUP HUG!!!!"

Rupert took the stairs two at a time when he heard Willow's squeal. If they hurt her in any way he would . . . The thought died as he slammed open the door and saw Xander and Jesse helplessly tickling Willow.

"What?!?"

Xander and Jesse tried to look innocent. "You know it's a very interesting fact that our Willow and your Willow are ticklish in the same exact spots. What are the odds, huh?"

Rupert's heart had calmed down from a triple beat to a double beat got kicked back up to a triple beat with Jesse's very innocent phrase of your Willow.

A light bulb seemed to go on over Rupert's head at that phrase. His Willow. When had he begun to think of her that way? Sure he'd been attracted but he thought he'd put a rein on those emotions. Shit he was falling even further under her spell. Great, just great. Another complication Willow needed on top of everything else. He hoped she didn't notice his change of feelings for her. He didn't want her to feel awkward around him.

Willow cocked her head as she looked at Rupert. He seemed to have a shell-shocked look on his face.

"Is everything all right?"

Rupert nodded absently and smiled at Willow, "Y-yes, everything's fine. I just heard your scream and came up to make sure you were all right."

Willow disentangled herself from Jesse and Xander and went to put her hand on Rupert's arm, "I am so sorry, Rupert. I didn't mean to worry you."

Jesse looked from Rupert to Willow to Rupert again. Well, well that's interesting, he thought and nudged Xander. Xander looked over at Jesse who was waggling his eyebrows at him.

"What?" Xander mouthed to Jesse.

Jesse motioned for him to look at Willow.

Xander's eyes got wide and then a slow smile spread across his face. Sooo, someone had feelings for Willow. He mentally rubbed his palms together in anticipation of meddling and teasing. His two specialties.

Rupert looked up and caught the look between Xander and Jesse and mentally groaned. Great. Well he could divert their attention.

"Well, since you two seem to have excess energy why don't you go patrol with Faith and Wesley?"

Jesse smiled at Rupert. He thought patrolling was gonna deter them? Rupert was sadly mistaken. It would give them alone time to develop a plan while also including Faith in their discussions.

"What about Tara?" Willow asked.

"If you're up to it she's downstairs ready to help me with your training."

It had gotten easier for Willow to be around Faith and Tara since she'd arrived in this reality. She had come to see the differences in them and even though she was attracted to Tara she didn't get the butterfly feelings in her stomach that her Tara gave her.

She glanced over at Rupert and felt the butterflies. Great, just great. Another complication in her life. Rupert certainly didn't see her in that way and she wasn't going to explore the tentative feelings she had for him and ruin the only true friendship she had here.