A/N Julie Q, you ask really good questions yourself and as a result I'm reworking a couple of upcoming chapters. Principal Flutie rarely is given more then a footnote in any story, I've decided to give him a bigger role in this one. And yes, Willow will get a proper send off, but she's Jewish and I know little about their religious practices, so I'm doing some research. She matters too much to Xander and Jesse for me not to do something for her, even if as a character, I never liked her. Thank you.

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"Xander, when is Willow's funeral? I'd like to pay my respects." Buffy asked later that day.

"It's too late for a funeral, even if there was a body to bury." Xander answered. "Willow's family is technically Jewish. I mean they identify as Jewish, but they never attended Synagogue, simply because they didn't have the time, their work kept them too busy. But being Jewish isn't just a matter of faith, it's traditions and culture and beliefs and family. Jewish tradition holds that a body be buried no later then three days after death. There's no body anyway and her parents don't feel the need to come back to Sunnydale just to sit Shiva, the first stage of mourning."

"How are they dealing with there being no body for them to bury?"

"We told them she disappeared on a class trip."

"Won't they ask questions? Talk to the school? File a police report?"

"You're assuming they care enough to do any of that. They don't. There's a reason why Willow and I spent so much time at Jesse's house, because he willingly shared his parents with us. My father is angry and bitter because the life he thought was going to be his, being a Grimm, isn't. That both his brother and his son are Grimms just adds to his bitterness. My Uncle Dave could care less about being a Grimm, he's happy with the life he's built with his family and not having the responsibility being a Grimm entails."

"And Willow's parents?"

"As long as she was quiet and academically successful and never got into any trouble, they felt no need to pay any attention to her. Willow didn't dress like she was eight years old because she wanted to, but because that's what her mother bought her. Sensible, long lasting clothes. For an eight year old. That they weren't fashionable and would only result in bullying by the in crowd, simply never occured to her. Nor would she have cared if it did. She'd consider her reasons for buying the clothes she did to be more important than how people perceived Willow as a result."

"That sitting Shiva thing, is that something we can do for her?"

"We can, in our own way. Like having a wake would be in another tradition."

"What do we have to do?"

"Share our memories of her."

"I don't have many memories, I just met her, but I'd like to come. We had the potential of being friends. I certainly wanted to try."

"In Weatherly Park than, on Saturday."

"I'll be there, thank you."

"As Jesse said, she was our psuedosis, our substitute sister. People remembering her matters to us. Thank you for caring enough to want to come."

"What about if someone else decides to investigate her disappearance?"

"We have contacts on the police force who will tell us if that happens and we can act accordingly. Wesen society has spent centuries working out ways to ensure problems are dealt with in house, as the expression goes. They had to, regular police can't handle a criminal Wesen or one that has no choice but to feed on humans. If Wesen were publicly known and accepted into society at large that would a different matter, but they're not and that's why Grimms are charged with policing them. Every society needs laws and to enforce those laws. This is how we do it."

"Do the Wesen here in town get into trouble very much?"

"No, most of the trouble we've had, according to Uncle Rory, came from outsiders. Being the boogie man of the Wesen, isn't fun and unfortunately, some like to test themselves against Grimms."

"The boogie man of the Wesen? Weird, I think that's how demons perceive Slayers. And some like to test themselves against us too."

"We seem to have a lot in common, aside from the fact that you detest being the Slayer and feel it's destroyed your life and I welcome the purpose being a Grimm has given mine."

"True and the things we have in common mean maybe we can be friends ourselves."

"We can try, as long as your Watcher pulls his head out of his Council's ass. I'm going to post an announcement on the bulletin board about the gathering for Willow. See you later."

"Principal Flutie doesn't have a problem with you doing that?"

"No, he understands."

Several people told Xander that they would attend the gathering for Willow. As Amy had told Buffy on her first day of class, it wasn't a large school and everyone knew everyone else. But that didn't mean there weren't some surprising visitors at the gathering.

"I didn't like Willow. I thought she was a nerd and weird and someone to pick on. And she was all that. But she also helped me with my homework and I didn't have to bully or bribe her to do it. So I guess she was okay, for a nerd, who was weird and badly dressed." Harmony said, when it was her turn to share.