Chap. 8- The phone call
The test results came in at 6 am; 15 minutes later the police were calling the Rosenberg house. Willow had fallen asleep just after 2 am, so Angel answered the phone.
"Hello? Rosenberg residence, how may I help you?"
"Yes, this is the Sunnydale police department. Is Miss Willow Rosenberg at home?" An older voice crackled over the phone. Spike and Angel both worried how Willow would take the news. She had been calm when Buffy told her, but that was before she'd been called to come identify the bodies.
"Yes, she's sleeping right now. Give me a minute to wake her up." Angel put his hand over the microphone end of the receiver. He looked to Spike with an all knowing glance. "William, find a way to go with her. I don't want our girl alone for this. I'm gonna go wake her."
Spike covered the windows of Willow's jeep and got ready to go as Angel brought her downstairs. They stood nearby while she received the news. Willow stood silently and calm as the officer spoke to her. Willow made the appropriate noises but that was it. When the officer finished, Spike and Angel heard the distinct click of the phone and Willow dropped the receiver. Only Spike's superhuman speed saved Willow from a concussion as she tumbled to the floor. Spike cradled the girl in his arms as she began to shake with tears. It had finally hit her. The Rosenbergs were gone. They hadn't been much as parents, but they had been hers. Her eyes grew red with swollen tears as the men she loved moved to comfort her.
"Come on luv, let's get this part over with then we'll come home and take a nice hot bath. I promise we'll get through this pet."
At the station
"Miss Rosenberg, Mr. Angelus, Mr. Bradstreet. What we're about to show you is going to be very difficult. I'm sorry to do this to you. But here we are," the young officer had led them down a grey hallway. It was dimly lit and had a sick sanitizer smell to it. A sign flickered over the morgue. Willow breathed in deeply, her lungs filled with tears. Bile rose in her throat. Angel and Spike were on either side of her for support.
"You can do this Wills. We're here for you," Angel whispered in her ear as he gently squeezed her arm. Spike rubbed his thumb over her hand soothingly. Willow looked up at them both. She nodded slowly. Only Willow was allowed to enter the morgue itself. Spike and Angel were allowed to watch from the doorway. The coroner, a rather plump little man with round glasses on his red face, greeted Willow. He wasn't an unpleasant man but the circumstances forbade pleasantries. Angel watched uneasily as she was led towards the cold steel slabs.
"Burnt beyond recognition. Dental records and DNA tests to identify." Spike only caught snatches of what was being said. The two vampires watched in horror as the sheets were pulled back to reveal Mr. and Mrs. Rosenberg. Willow gasped and looked like she might throw up. The police officer moved to catch her in case she fell but Willow steadied herself. Only Angel and Spike were allowed that honor. Tears poured from her eyes as she ran out and into their arms.
"They're really gone. Oh goddess!" Willow buried her head in Angel's chest. A few moments later, though still crying, Willow began to laugh. "At least we don't have to figure out how to tell them about us now."
Spike joined in her morbid laughter. "Come on luv, let's go home."
The rest of the day was spent calling family and friends. Angel and Giles decided to make any arrangements. Meanwhile Buffy and Cordelia helped Willow cope. They decided as a group to wait until after the funeral to worry about moving anymore than Willow and a few bags out of the house. Spike and Xander were making arrangements to get his guardianship transferred. Needless to say it was a very long day and one in which no one had the time to think about their relationships.