The One Who Does Magic
Chapter 5
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Xander was slightly freaked out. After talking himself into and back out of it for a couple of months, he'd finally resolved to call Willow. He thought if he did it before work, he'd have a reason to end the conversation quickly if it wasn't going well.
The very idea of a conversation with Willow not going well made him even more nervous—why wouldn't it go well? They were best friends. Had been for almost twenty years. And they'd always been able to talk about anything, but this particular "anything" had never been broached between them before. Not even in high school, after the fluke. Or before the fluke, for that matter, when he'd suspected she had more than friendly feelings for him but didn't know what to do with either the knowledge or the feelings it stirred up in him. So he hadn't said anything, because if there's one thing a sixteen-year-old boy is good at, it's keeping his feelings to himself.
And now, he wasn't sure it was going to be any easier than it would've been seven years ago. He wasn't any more sure of his feelings than he had been then, and he was far less sure of Willow's. Oh, the pessimist in him was sure—sure that she could in no way entertain the notion of even considering being anything more than a friend to him, if that was what he wanted, which he didn't know. Even his optimistic side was only hoping she'd be able to be his friend again, that she would agree to see him before the year was up. She'd been so resolute when they parted. He'd have been proud of her strength if he hadn't supposed the separation idea had more to do with revulsion than resolve. If only she could look at it as counsel, comfort, a gift from her to him, and not as her best friend taking advantage of her good nature. It was all he'd let himself hope.
He took a deep breath and dialed the long number, almost wishing her machine would pick up so he could leave a silly, Xanderesque message and let her call him back when she was ready. He got a "disconnected number" serenade instead. At least the three tones were the same as they were in America. The words following didn't tell him much since he couldn't understand them, so he tried the number again, thinking he'd dialed incorrectly. He got the tones again. Could Mrs. Rosenberg have been blowing him off, giving him the wrong number? No, she wouldn't do that. She had always been kind to him, and they'd gotten closer over the last few months. If she didn't want him to call Willow, she would've gently refused to give him the number. He must've written it down wrong.
He dialed the Rosenbergs' number, but got a busy signal. Damn no-call-waiting-havin' Rosenbergs anyway, he thought. But no, it wasn't that they were behind the times. Willow had told him once that her parents thought it was rude to have call waiting, because no matter if you answered it or not, you were being dismissive to one party or the other. Well, there was one girl who'd have both Willow's number AND call waiting, and what with the time difference, she'd even be up now.
He dialed another long string of numbers and grinned when he heard his friend's voice say hello. "Buffy?"
"Xander! OhmygodXander!" Buffy squealed.
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Willow let her mother leave the room without informing her that, while it would be great to talk to Buffy, she'd have a hurdle to jump before they could discuss how to tell Xander about the baby. The hurdle being the fact that, as of yet, Buffy didn't know, either. "But, hey, practice!" Willow said aloud, psyching herself up for the conversation.
She dug out Buffy's number and dialed, her hands shaking but her heart a bit lighter. She knew that once she had a slayer on her side, it couldn't be too horrible to confront Xander. She wished said slayer was in Sunnydale, and not halfway around the world, but she'd take what she could get.
"Buffy?" she said when her friend answered. "Hi, it's me, Willow."
"Willow, you Brazil nut! I still recognize your voice, you know. How are you?" She covered the mouthpiece loosely, but Willow could still hear her yell, "Dawn, Willow's on the phone! Pick up the extension!"
"Oh my God, Willow!" Dawn squeaked into the phone. "How're you doing? We miss you! Can you come visit? How are things with Kennedy?"
Willow smiled. Human or not, Dawn was still a ball of energy. It made her remember the camaraderie they'd always shared and wonder why she hadn't called for so long. She laughed her response to the teenager's barrage. "Wow, that's a lot of questions. Okay, so um, I'm doing fine, I miss you guys too, and, well…Kennedy and I aren't exactly…well, it's complicated. Or…I guess it's not, actually. We're not together. And I'm not in Brazil. I'm back in Sunnydale, staying with my parents for a while."
"Seriously?" Buffy said, surprised. "I didn't know there was enough of it left for your parents to work. How is it? How many people stayed? Or, I guess, came back?"
"Is Xander there with you?" Dawn asked.
"Well, to answer the questions in the order in which they were received," Willow replied, "There is actually more of the town left than we would've thought when it was trying to swallow us up last summer. About half, I'd say. Maybe more. My parents are still working and a lot of businesses are coming back even better. Houses, too. Our old house didn't make it, but my parents rebuilt. It's a really nice place. Earthquake insurance really paid off for a lot of people," she said, laughing.
"Earthquake?" Buffy shouted. "Well, I guess that's the easiest way to explain it, huh?"
"Yeah, definitely easier than a PowerPoint on the Hellmouth," Willow joked. She felt better already, talking to Buffy and Dawn. Now for the hard part. "Xander is…actually, he is here. He was in Africa, you know, and I think he really liked what he was doing. He was doing good work. But I guess he missed home. He actually worked on my parents' new house for the last month or so, until it was finished. My mom won't admit it, but I kinda think she had something to do with getting him back to Sunnydale. Oh, and I'm pregnant with his baby."
"What?" screamed the sisters in unison. Then Willow heard a clatter, followed by what she supposed were shoes on Italian tile, and then a lot of squealing punctuated by the jostling of two girls jumping up and down.
"Well, I guess they're happy," Willow said to no one in the phone. "Hello? Buffy? Dawn?"
Buffy picked the phone up off the floor and proceeded to split Willow's eardrum with more squealing. "OhmygodWillow! How can this be? I mean, I KNOW how it can be, but, uh, well…"
"We're so happy, Willow!" Dawn screamed in the background.
"I know, it's pretty weird. We haven't quite got everything worked out, but—"
"Oh, Will. That doesn't matter. You guys were meant to be. I mean, if this doesn't prove it, then I don't know what—"
"What about being gay?" Willow protested.
"Pshht!" Buffy replied. "I mean, not to make light of your sexual orientation, Will, but you've always loved Xander. And don't forget, you loved Oz, too. That says 'bi' to me. Or if you don't want to label it, which I don't think you should, because labels? Sticky and hard to get rid of later. But if you want to avoid messy label application and future labelectomy, just say that you love who you love, Will. I mean, I only love guys, right? Well, who's to say the perfect person for me isn't a woman and I'm missing out? I'm a big dummy for not even considering the whole sex, ya know? And besides, if you were really, truly, 100 percent USDA gay, you'd obviously be in love with me. Because—hello—totally cute here."
Willow giggled. Buffy was good for her soul. "Who am I to argue with that logic? Better folk than I have lost their hearts to the Buffmeister. And with Xander…well, let's just say it's not all worked out yet, but I'm sure it will be."
"Definitely. So, quit holding out on me and tell me how you told him—ooh, wait a sec, Will. My other line's going and I really need to get it because I'm expecting a call. Hold on."
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"Buffy?" Xander said, feeling happy already hearing his friend's hello.
"Xander! OhmygodXander!" Buffy squealed.
"I'm glad to hear your voice, too, Buff—"
"Congratulations! Oh my God, I can't believe you called JUST NOW. I'm talking to Willow on the other line! She just told me—us—we're so excited!"
"You're talking to Will?" Xander asked, befuddled. "Where is she?"
"She's at her parents' house, Xan. As if you don't know. And why, might I ask, aren't you guys living together?"
"Well, I—we haven't talked about—huh?"
"Well, for God's sake, Xander. Don't you want to be there for everything? I mean, a baby—wow!"
Buffy heard a clatter and a thud. "Xander? Um, Xander? Hello?" He didn't come back on, and Buffy worriedly clicked back over to Willow.
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"Sorry about that, Will. So, uh, you were telling me how you told Xander about the baby. How'd you do it?" Buffy asked nervously.
"Well, here's the thing. Um…I kind of haven't actually told him yet. In so many words. Or, I guess, in any words," Willow stammered. "It's not that I don't want to, it's just that I wanted to tell him in person, and I haven't really had the chance—"
"Wait a minute—you haven't seen him in person? But then, I mean, how long have you been together?" Buffy asked, setting aside her guilt for confusion.
"That's just it, Buffy. We haven't been together. I mean, obviously we've been together, what with the whole conception and everything, but we haven't…well, seen each other since then. Oh, God, I'm a total slut," Willow moaned. "I just never expected that, ya know? And when it happened, I didn't know what to do with it afterwards, and I was still with Kennedy and he was mourning Anya, so I thought we should just go our separate ways, and—"
"Wait—stop the train, Will. You mean this happened—exactly how far along are you?" Buffy choked out incredulously.
"Seven months."
"Seven months! And you haven't told him yet? Or me? God, Willow, we all would've been there for you. We'd be there now. How could you keep this from us—him for so long? He's your best friend, and apparently more, and he'd want to know!" Buffy couldn't disguise her emotions, but she didn't want to upset her friend, either. "I'm sorry, Will. I didn't mean to go all wiggy on you. I'm just—I'm surprised, and I guess confused. How did this happen?"
"Well, you see, Buffy, a man and a woman are made to fit together, kind of like a puzzle, and—"
"Oh, for the love of Benji!" Buffy laughed. "I want to know how you went from…well, Barbies to puzzles. Dish, girl!"
"It's not so much that I 'went to puzzles.' It was just a one-time thing, and we haven't seen each other since, and this is just an impossible situation and do you see why I haven't told him?" Willow despaired.
"Take a breath, Will. It's gonna be okay. Hey, how about I tell him for you?" Buffy offered a bit too readily.
"Oh, I couldn't ask—okay, would you?"
"Done. Anything for my buddy, Willow," Buffy said as casually as she could.
"Buffy. What did you do?" Willow asked nervously. "Uh, who was that on the phone before?"
"Er…candy gram?"
"Buffy, you didn't—you couldn't—how could you? Oh my God, what am I gonna—Buffy!"
"Will, I didn't know he didn't know!" Buffy squeaked. "You know I would never—I mean, it's your news, and I respect your right to tell him, and—and why haven't you told him? Seven months is—it's crazy! He's gonna be thrilled, you know. Just as soon as he comes to."
"Comes to where—oh, great. My glorious news made him pass out, didn't it? Well, if that ain't a cheery portend I don't know what is," Willow said glumly.
"Nonsense," Buffy said firmly. "He's going to be thrilled; you'll see. Now pretty yourself up and calmly await the imminent arrival of father of your child."
"Eep!" Willow replied.
"Will, I'm so sorry. I know this isn't the best way to go about it, but you'll see; Xander will be fine with it. Better than fine. Hey, you know I have great instincts, right? And my instincts are telling me this is going to be great. Now go put on some tea and get ready to hash this out with Xander. And, upon threat of death, you will call me afterwards and tell me every single detail. Got it?"
"Okay, Buffy. I'll do my best. And I'll definitely call you. It might only be to beg you to fly out here and be by labor coach after Xander flees the country, but I'll call."
"That's my girl," Buffy said, grinning. "But I promise you it won't be necessary. Now go get him!"
Willow hung up the phone and sighed. "Oh, God. How can I do this?"
The doorbell rang.
"Good Lord," Willow shrieked. "Where does he live, in a shrub outside the den?" She walked to the door, took a deep breath, and grabbed the doorknob.
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To be continued…