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Title: IT Chapter: Fourteen/? Rating: R Spoilers: Up to and including the last season shown. Beta Reader: Scotty Welles Sam The Koala Summary: Alt-Buffy/IT verse and crossover. What if Willow was the seventh member of the choosen group instead of Ben. Disclaimer: Nope, don't belong to me. <><><><><><><> Winter of 1995 <><><><><><><> Willow ducked around the students crowding the halls of Sunnydale high, to her locker. She twirled the lock with practiced ease, and dumped the last of her books inside. Homework was completed in study hall, and she'd spent every spare second studying. Which meant she had the weekend free. "Hey, there you are, I've been looking all over for you." Buffy cleared her throat pointedly and corrected Xander. "WE'VE been looking for you." She saw the blonde lean against the locker next to hers. "So where were you?" She glanced over at them, and looked back at her locker. "I...wasn't feeling well this morning." Buffy pressed her hand to her forehead with a frown. "You don't have a fever." Willow sighed and dodged away from her hand, closing the locker loudly. "I'm fine now." "Willow!!" 'Oh no not this. Not now.' She felt Amy behind her, the witch's hand touching her arm tenderly. To Buffy and Xander, she said, "I'll meet you in the library, I need to talk to Amy for a minute." Her two friends exchanged concerned looks. "Sure. Don't take long, okay?" She ignored Buffy's remark and followed Amy into an empty classroom. Once alone, the other witch gently kissed her, pulling Willow into her arms. She allowed herself to relax in the warm embrace of her lover. "Did she hurt you?" Amy asked. Willow let go of her and leaned into the teacher's desk. "Yeah." "I never should've left last night, if I hadn't..." "Then you would be dead, or worse." She sighed tiredly, running her hand through her jaw-length hair. "I'm fine, I managed to get to my hiding place before it got too bad." "We need to tell Giles, he'll..." "What? Call child protective services and have me removed from my home? Then what, they put me with one of my relatives who are crazier than she is? Maybe send me to live with my drunken father in Georgia? Or maybe they put me in foster care." Willow softened at the sad, loving look on her lover's face. "She wasn't always this bad, you know. It wasn't until..." She choked slightly. "...sixth grade, when my father divorced her, that she got so bad. She blames me for his leaving." "Oh, Willow." Amy wrapped her arms back around her, kissing her forehead. "There has to be something else you can do. I won't let her keep hurting you." "It's only until I graduate. I can make it. It's only two and half more years." Willow buried her face into Amy's chest. "I've lived with it for sixteen years, two more should be easy." "Just promise me you'll be more careful." She nodded in agreement. She hated doing this to her lover, keeping their dating a secret, but if it came out, it would get back to her mother. A woman of God, who believed girls dated boys, end of story. After the summer of '89, her mother had known about her being gay, and when she'd gotten home, she'd paid dearly for it. Since then, if she even looked at a female, or had a female friend, then she had to relearn 'the lesson'. Now, after becoming Buffy's best friend, and dating Amy for three years, she was walking a dangerous line. So she kept her sexual identity a secret, not even Xander knew. She kept it hidden so deep that only Amy knew, and the witch understood, having seen the results the lessons she received regularly. Her only escape was her closet. A few years before, she'd accidently found a secret panel leading to a small room, just big enough to make an impromptu bed and store certain items she didn't want found. But it didn't always work. Then last night, she'd paid big time. Her mother had been gone for two weeks on a business trip to London, and wasn't supposed to be back for another two days. So when Amy had told her that they couldn't practice their magic at her house, Willow had invited her over, deeming it safe. Of course, as always, while they were setting up for a spell, one thing had led to another, and clothes had been shed. They had been so intent on each other that they didn't hear the taxi pull up, or the front door open, or the footsteps on the stairs, or even her bedroom door opening. She'd managed to keep the situation under control long enough to shepherd Amy out of the house, but once the door had closed behind her, she'd been taught a lesson about sin that had left her laying in bed until noon. "I'd better get to the library," she mumbled, standing up and kissing her girlfriend. "Call me." "As soon as I have a chance," she promised. Slowly, she walked out into the now-empty hall, careful not to pull the welts on her back or the bruises on her chest. She could hear the joyous laughter and banter from the library, and paused at the doors, just listening. Buffy, Xander, and Giles. They were her family, they were the ones that showed her love and acceptance. Yet, she found it so hard to hold the sadness and guilt at bay. The summer so many years ago was still there with her, day after day, reminding her of her failure, and the price that they had all paid to stop a billion-year-old monster. Now, she was afraid of failing her family. She fingered the pentagram hanging from her neck, remembering the other survivors. They had stayed in contact, writing and talking on the phone. She regretted having to come back here, instead of hanging around to help deal with the backlash, but it all worked out anyway. "Earth to Willow..." Buffy waved a hand in front of her face. "Hey, you okay?" She forced a goofy grin across her face and entered the library. "Fine, just tired." She sat carefully in one of the chairs and looked at Giles. "So, any new baddies? Evil master vampires that are schizophrenic, demons trying to kill Buffy, or maybe a nice little evil leprechaun like in that horror movie?" "Does Snyder count?" Xander asked. "I mean, that guy is just...eugh." "Yes, well, while I appreciate your attempt at..." Giles cleared his throat. "...humor, I just received the books from the Council, and I need your help getting them sorted." Buffy and Xander groaned loudly, shaking their heads in denial. "Are you sure there's nothing I need to slay?" Buffy asked hopefully. "Maybe I should patrol?" "As helpful as that is, I believe that it might be more effective after the sun sets." "Oh. Yeah." Buffy stood up and glared at the two large crates of books. "We'll never get this done." "I think it's fun." Willow walked over to one of the crates, wrapping her arms around her chest. "That old leather smell that takes you off into another world or adventure or romance, and then..." She trailed off at the looks Buffy and Xander were giving her. "Quite right, I agree," Giles said, as he pried the first crate open and passed the first book to Willow. <><><><><><><> She slid the last book onto the shelf and stretched her back, the deep pain grounding her. She was so used to it by now that she knew how to continue functioning, and what scared her the most was the fact that it was now a part of her. Buffy sneezed from where she sat at her feet, interrupting her dialogue about Angel. "...so he took me out to this cliff that had the most romantic view." She let out a dreamy sigh, and leaned her head against Willow's leg. Willow closed her eyes, taking in the warmth of her best friend. "I'm glad you two are working out so well." She ran her hand through Buffy's blonde hair, and her friend sighed again and nuzzled her arm. "Hey, guys, we're through, now we can party!!" She jerked her hand back and moved away from her confused friend, glaring at an oblivious Xander. He was bouncing from foot to foot excitedly. "I can't," she said, "I need to get home." Buffy hopped to her feet, and threw her arm over Willow's shoulder, causing her to hiss in pain as she hit the tops of the welts. The blonde froze and slowly stared at her closely, her eyes going to her back and then to her pale face. "Will?" She tried to pull away from her friend, but the Slayer kept a tight hold on her. "Yes?" "What's wrong with your back?" "M-my back? Nope, nothing wrong, it's fine. What could possibly be wrong with it? I mean, we haven't fought any baddies lately, so how would I get hurt?" She tried to back away again, but Xander moved around to stop her. "Then why did you flinch?" "Me? Did I flinch? I might've had a tic, but no flinch." Buffy kept a tight hold on her and yanked the back of her shirt up, gasping at what she saw. Xander sobbed and fell back, his face pale green. "Don't..." Buffy growled under her breath, then yelled, "GILES!!!" She dragged Willow towards the Watcher that had stepped out of his office. "Look at this." Unceremoniously, she twirled the young witch around and lifted her shirt. "Good lord... Who did this to you?" She harshly yanked away from the Slayer and backed away. "Nobody. I-I fell. Down the stairs. I-it was an accident." "You aren't a very good liar," Xander whispered, his eyes searching her for an answer. Confusion turned to concern, and something clicked as his mouth fell open. "She did this, didn't she?" "No one touched me," she insisted. "I don't know why I didn't see it before," he muttered to himself, running a hand through his shaggy black hair. "The way she's been since the divorce, how scared you seem to be of her..." He stared up at her with tear-filled eyes. "Why didn't you tell me? I would've helped." "Oh really? How?" she asked sarcastically. "Maybe kill her, leaving me with only a drunken father to live with? Or maybe you'd just kidnap me and I'd be living on the street. I don't need your help, I can take care of myself." Buffy started at her with frustration. "Yeah, and you've obviously been doing a dandy job of it so far." Giles gently pushed her into a chair, and sat on the table. "You're right, we don't have a lot of choices here. Most of which would end with you moving or in foster care." "Giles, can I use your phone?" Buffy asked. "Yes, of course." He kept his eyes on Willow. "You obviously can't continue to stay with this...woman. If this pattern of abuse keeps up, she's liable to kill you." "It's only for two more years." Giles took off his glasses, and cleaned the lenses. "Nevertheless, two years may be all it takes for you to get killed. I have a responsibility to address this, Willow, for your own safety." "Great, then what the hell am I supposed to do?" "Live with me," Buffy stated firmly coming out of Giles office. "I just spoke with my mother, and she's agreed with the idea." "No, Buffy..." she started. "This isn't up for debate. Now let's go get you packed." Giles replaced his glasses with relieved anger. "Legally speaking, I'm not certain that's a viable option. Willow's mother still has legal custody of her. However..." He allowed himself a thin smile. "I believe I may be able to cope with that aspect." Buffy smirked. "And it's not like everything we do is legal to begin with. Vampires probably have rights to protest being slain, for all we know." Xander snickered humorlessly. "Vampire lawyers. There's a scary thought." "Actually, they're the same thing, when you think about it." Giles' smile grew warmer. "I'll drive you." "I'm going, too," Xander said as he grabbed his book bag. Willow slumped her shoulders in surrender, trying to hold back her tears. She loved these guys, and maybe, just maybe, she was finally going to get away from her so-called mother. <><><><><><><> Willow slammed the last suitcase shut, letting Xander run it downstairs to the car with all the other stuff. She looked over the bare room and sighed. She'd never see it again, and as far as she was concerned, that was a good thing. "Ready?" Buffy asked quietly. Willow started to nod, then glanced over at her closet. "Not yet." She went into the empty closet and triggered the latch on the secret panel, smiling at the intake of breath from her friend. She reached in, grabbing a large Nike sports bag and handed it to Buffy, then grabbed the stuffed frog Xander had won for her and the black canvass army bag her father gave her. She closed the panel and turned to see her friend's questioning look. "The bag is magic books and supplies," she explained. "The bag was what I always carried instead of a pocketbook, but since it used to belong to my father, my mother would get...angry when she saw it. And Xander gave me the frog." "And that?" Buffy asked, pointing to the panel. "The only place I'm safe from her." Buffy's jaw clenched. "Let's get the hell out of here." Willow nodded tiredly, at her unspoken words. 'Before I kill her.' <><><><><><><> Giles let himself into the house, walking quietly into the living room where the older woman was sitting with a glass of wine. He could see the uncanny resemblance between her and Willow, making his anger boil even more. He folded up his glasses and stuffed them into his pocket as he cleared his voice. Dr. Rosenburg looked up, her fragile face lined with anger. "Just who the hell are you, and what the hell are you doing in my house?" "My name is unimportant...Ma'am," he spat out in rage. "I came to tell you that your daughter is now living with a friend of hers, and to bring you a little warning: if you even think of trying to do anything to interfere, then I will personally go to the police and report your...lessons." "Like anyone would believe a pathetic old man like you." He smiled darkly and leaned against the wall. "Oh, but they would. Not only do I have pictures of the scars and injuries on her body, but I am part of a very powerful organization that could -- and would -- gladly see you locked away in a padded cell for the rest of your fucking life." Willow's mother gulped with fear, her hand shaking so badly that she dropped the flute to the floor. "Well...I never wanted that bastard child anyway," she stammered, obviously cowed. "Let someone else deal with that little fag." Giles paused as her words registered. "I see. Then you wouldn't mind signing this." He handed her a number of legal documents. "Just what the hell are these?" "Papers that will give me power of attorney." Giles handed her a pen. "Now sign them." Dr. Rosenburg jerked the pen from his hand and scribbled her signature. "Here, now get the hell out of my house." Giles pocketed the documents, tipped his head quite civilly, and walked calmly out of her house without looking back. <><><><><><><> " I signed the release waiver, so feel free to put things in my slot anytime." - Charles Angels. Odo: Madam Ambassodor, I'm not like you. Every sixteen hours I revert to a liqiud. Lwaxana Troi: I can swim. - DS9: The Forsaken. Aeris Jade Orion list mommy: erslash@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx erslash-adult@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx AIM: Aeris Jade ICQ: 51496263 AT&T/Pow-Wow: Jade Pow-Wow Community: Orion Web Site: http://members.fortunecity.com/aerissword/Index.html |