The Slayer And The Witch Chapter 1/? - Flying Lessons

["Stefan Akerblom" <nagarek62@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hey again all.

Thanks for the welcome, as I'm not sure which way you want this done, I
am going out on a limb here and trying what I've seen others do, sending
single chapters as embedded text in the posts. If it's not the desired
method then apologies and tell me what's preferred.

A couple of things first:
Please forgive any weird spelling using 'ou' as in colour instead of
color, it's the english used down under as it is in the UK.
Also, any typos and other horrendous errors are entirely mine and
heavily copyrighted, please feel free to point them out.
I may be out of step with certain parts of the series, they're played
over here in a whacky order and pop up at god-awful hours and as filler
spots sometimes, I'm trying to capture canon as much as possible while still
heating things up between Willow and Buffy.
For any noticed huge (or even minor) non-canon discrepancies that grate
badly, please ... feedback.
Feedback is most certainly desired, flaming not. As this is my very
first attempt at writing fanfic of any type, I am trying my best, (whimper)
be gentle with me ... sniff!.
Either you'll like it or not, if you don't, then tell me privately,
don't bog down the group with negatives, if you do, then I'll continue
posting, simple.

Enough with the rubbish, on with the story. :o)


The Witch And The Slayer - Stefan Akerblom aka - nagarek -
nagarek62@xxxxxxxxxxx
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Critique:	Yes please, but no flames (I'm flammable)
Warning:	Building to NC-17, f/f relations, possiby f/f/m
Characters:	Willow, Buffy, Xander, Anya, Giles, Angel, Dawn, Spike, Wes,
Cordy, Oz (?), nurse Becky Chapel, nurse Erin Lonsdale,
Main Pairing/s:	Willow & Buffy, maybe Giles/Becky/Erin - who wants to see
that? :o) (not sure yet about Anya/Xander ... maybe) time will reveal all!
Disclaimer:	Joss Whedon owns all in the Buffy Universe, I have merely played
and embellished, not claimed any rights, apart from a couple of nice
nursies!
Brief: Buffy and Willow have both recently lost their partners, Willow is
hospitalised and Buffy is almost paralysed with guilt over it, both Willow
and Buffy realise how much they both really mean to each other, they embark
on a voyage of discovery while figuring out a way to break their new
relationship to their friends while keeping the minions of the hellmouth
from taking over. Meanwhile solutions present themselves which can have far
reaching effects on Buffy and Willow's future.

Many thanks go to Crys Loch (pagansoul@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx) for answering my
email, and a lot of inspiration and much encouragement (you said just the
right things to make me think while I channeled Willow), and to Cairo
(played at ear-splitting volume) for setting the mood.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
And from a deeper sleep I was awakened, hours yet until the sunrise,
An eerie whisper called me to a strange new place, I'd known long ago.
And as the swirling clouds grew calm before me, unearthly beauty filled my
mind ...
Suddenly from inside, I felt your touch, like the warming sun,
And I knew that I must follow your steps, search all the world just to find
you,
Then you were gone.
--
In the dusty heat, of Moroccan streets, I thought I saw your raven eyes,
But after tripping through the crowded market stalls, not a trace of you
could I find.
My heart was pounding as I ran down narrow alleyways ...
Mountains of desert sands, I am turning in vain, the very thought of you,
commands my soul,
And I have followed your steps, so many times, I thought I had found you,
Then you were gone.
--
I would coax raging fire for you, I could climb through the sky ...
--
As if old fabled streets of burnished gold, through ancient dreams I've
wandered,
Have I been hypnotised, as I staggered on, through city and wilderness.
My life will never ... never ... never be the same
...............................
--
I've followed your steps, so many times, I thought I had found you,
Then you were gone.
--
I would coax raging fire for you, I could climb through the sky ...
----
Cairo - Conflict And Dreams - Then You Were Gone
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 1 - Flying lessons
-----------------------------

Buffy strode cautiously amongst the refuse that littered the alleyway,
stake at the ready. Willow carefully trailed behind, expecting that at
anytime soon, the vamp was going to dive out from behind some cover and rail
on Buffy, which usually only succeeded in provoking the Slayer. Buffy
searched the alley carefully, circling parked cars and vans that stood
abandoned to the night, looking for the renegade blood-sucker. Finally she
straightened up and walking back towards Willow, she relaxed her vigil
slightly.

"It's OK Will, looks like our friend slipped away in the night. S'funny, I
didn't feel him fade, they usually do that when they're escaping. It still
feels like he's here, but where I couldn't tell you. Seems the old Slayer
radar might be outta batteries toni... WHOA!" The undead leapt off the top
of a parked van, landing heavily on the Slayer, from where he took off back
the way they'd just come, banging heavily into Willow's shoulder as he
passed, knocking her to the ground onto her back as well. There was a dull
smack as Willow's head hit the tar. The books and handbag she was carrying
flew out of her hands and landed haphazardly in the filth of the alley.

"Ow dammit, watch where you're going, you ... undead fiend!" Willow rose up
on her elbows and shook her head slowly.

Buffy quickly got up, ran over and lifted her friend up, and set her down
gently on her feet.

"You OK?" , she asked breathily, brushing Willow's hair off her face and
looking into her eyes. Buffy had resolute Slayer face on, vamp would pay for
knocking Willow to the ground. Willow nodded, blinked painfully and grimaced
sheepishly, waving one hand towards the vamp while holding the back of her
head with the other. Buffy nodded back, touched Willow's cheek softly,
smiled and took off after the vamp at a dead run, the heels of her boots
clacking loudly in the still night of the dimly lit alley. Willow sighed and
slowly brushed herself off, No doubt her clothes were a total mess after
this. Gahh ... that feels revolting! Trust me to wind up in the gutter, she
admonished herself. She could feel sticky wetness on her dress where she'd
landed. She pulled a face. Great! God only knows what this stuff is, and ...
and I really don't want to know either. After wiping her wet hands on her
dirty dress and anorak, she stooped to fill up her handbag, the contents of
which were now strewn all over the alley floor, then she picked up the
scattered books. She then turned and began walking out of the alley back
towards where she believed the vamp was heading, back to the Pinewood
Cemetery, her sneakers padding squishily on the rain slicked tarred surface.

They were patrolling along one of the outer fringes of Sunnydale, one of
the less populated areas of town, industrial and barren. She'd thought it
funny before, that there's a cemetery even in this unpopulated part of town.
It was a grim reminder of the attrition level that was a consequence of
living here on a hellmouth. Sunnydale had an astounding total of twelve
cemeteries, spanning the years back to the time of it's original founding by
Spanish explorers. That translated to a staggering death rate over the
years, which somehow wasn't questioned by the outside world, and was largely
ignored by it's own inhabitants. It was simply accepted as the norm for life
in Sunnydale.

Actually, Buffy was the one patrolling, Willow was just tagging along
tonight, everyone else had been somewhat pre-occupied or unavailable. Xander
and Anya had gone to one of Xander's less annoying uncles up north, Giles
had gone interstate to an alternative lifestyle convention, where one of the
Watchers from earlier this century was appearing. She was coincidentally
supposed to be a powerful witch in her own right, and Giles had tracked her
through one of his many information sources. Asking Willow if she'd been
interested in coming along, the girl had declined the offer which under
normal circumstances might have been thought strange, but lately Willow had
not seemed very interested in her wiccan studies, and in point of fact had
hardly touched any magic of any kind, not since Tara's departure. Mr. & Mrs.
Rosenberg had once again gone off on one of their many trips to Europe,
leaving Willow credit cards and cheque books to fend for herself, as she'd
proved many times she was fully capable of doing. In Willow's mind, if
nothing else, the lack of concern of her parents showed how mature they
thought Willow was. Willow's friends however thought it showed neglect and
an almost brutal disinterest, thought it showed a callous disregard by them
for the wellbeing of their only daughter, especially right now when she was
obviously in a very fragile state of mind. Giles believed they showed
incredibly poor parenting skills, and spoke voluminously and angrily of it
to Buffy and the others, but silenced about the subject when Willow
approached. Buffy had taken it upon herself to make sure Willow wasn't left
alone too much, just in case.

Willow was still a bit sad, bitter and let down by Oz leaving her. As her
first ever real lover, his departure had left her feeling a bit raw and
vulnerable. Willow had bonded strongly soon thereafter with the witch Tara.
which had also lasted some months. Tara had been very good for Willow after
Oz's departure, but problems eventually surfaced in the relationship due to
what Tara deemed Willow's inappropriate mis-use of magic. This eventually
took it's toll and in spite of their obviously strong feelings for each
other, they too parted. This of course proved to Willow once and for all,
she was never meant to be happy or be in a relationship. But through the
time when Buffy had died and the Scoobies had been left to fend on their
own, Tara had been a much needed balancing force to Willow, who had taken
Buffy's death very badly. Now after powerful sorcery by Willow, Buffy was
back from the dead, but Tara was gone and Willow had once again been left
alone and, much to the concern of all the remaining Scoobies, she had become
deeply depressed. Lately Willow had been acting so morose that tonight -
against her better judgement, Buffy had agreed to let her come along on
patrol. The reality was, Buffy thought Willow was letting Oz and Tara's
departure drag her down un-necessarily. It had all been very sad when it
happened, but time in it's inexorable way marches on, and so it was now time
to get on with life. Buffy had been much the same with her relationship with
Angel. Their breakup had been tough on them both, but Angel living in Los
Angeles made the pain duller and easier for her to deal with now. In
Willow's case, Oz moving away had not made it any easier for her to deal
with her loss, for one thing she had no idea of where he'd gone, she was
left without any feeling of closure. And with Tara leaving, Willow had been
left with feelings of sadness and guilt, insecurity and failure. Her magics
had caused the rift between herself and Tara, and she had blamed herself for
the departure.

After Angel departed, Buffy met Riley, which eventually proved to be a
disastrous mistake. There'd been some nice moments but he simply wasn't
Angel. In fact he hadn't really been what she needed at all. She'd been
fooling herself about that, and it took a long time for her to admit it to
herself. Angel had represented something to her, a perfection that could
never be hers. The mere fact that he wouldn't age and would simply watch her
wither and slowly die with the years was more than enough reason for them to
separate. Eventually Angel would either begin to feel sorry for, or tire of
the woman he was watching fade before his immortal eyes. And Buffy would
begin resenting Angel's preternatural youth and cursing her own fate and
mortality. Their affections and memories would be better apart, imperfect,
painful, unfulfilled, but memories of incredible happiness. Many people
lived their entire lives out and never once discovered what Buffy and Angel
had for the briefest moment in time experienced while they were together.
She had moved on from that, but had also felt unfulfilled and alone. It
seemed she would never experience true happiness, the kind that lasts
forever, she felt she simply didn't know how to do that. So accepting that
she'd probably be alone forever, Buffy had devoted herself to slaying, the
one thing in the world she knew she could do right.

One of the things that made it a little easier for Buffy to deal was
Willow. She was more than simply a friend to Buffy. She was also a
confidante, a peer, sometimes she was Buffy's conscience, and when Buffy's
mind became mired in self-doubt or indecision, or she wasn't taking the best
care of herself or behaving appropriately, Willow became her surrogate
mother. All in all, Buffy and Willow's relationship was a complex one. But
to Buffy it was also slightly scary and yet exhilarating on another whole
different level. There was no simple way for Buffy to think of it. Like a
lot of other people she thought Willow to be very attractive and oh so cute
one hundred percent of the time, and smart and clever and wise and a lot of
other things besides, but there were other feelings she had for her which
she carefully tried to keep shielded from Willow and the others.

She sometimes had urges to take hold of Willow's gorgeous chestnut-red
hair and stroke it, marvelling at it's softness, or to run her fingertips
softly along Willow's delicate cheekbone, down to touch the corner of her
sweet bowshaped lips, or to look into Willow's beautiful eyes and just smile
to her for no other reason than to show that she was very happy in Willow's
company. Sometimes she'd hug Willow quickly at an appropriate moment, making
sure it seemed just a nice hug from a friend and nothing more than that. But
the sensual thrill Buffy got from the contact belied her truer feelings for
the red-head. She had admitted to herself a long time ago, she felt more
than simple friendship for Willow, she wasn't sure in her own mind if she
could ever really tell Willow just how much she cared for her. She was
resigned that she would probably never find out how deeply her feelings for
Willow could manifest themselves. Like her feelings for Angel, they would
remain one of those things of her past, incomplete, and unfulfilled.

At least she had the girl here with her in Sunnydale still, and if nothing
else, she could keep feasting her own eyes on the wonderful red hair, the
glowing green eyes, and that sweet warm smile that could melt the coldest
heart. Buffy was supremely happy in the knowledge that Willow had proven to
her time and time again that she was the best and most loyal friend she had
ever had in her life, and would remain so until ... until ... Buffy knew her
life of danger could take her away at any moment, ever the uncertain way of
her life as a Slayer. As such she'd try to be the best friend in the world
to Willow for as long as she had left on this earth, she owed her all of
that. If it was possible and within her power she would remain Willow's
friend even after death itself. And even beyond that, Buffy had silently
sworn she'd love Willow unconditionally for all eternity.

Willow had seen Buffy take off after the vamp at full tilt as she had done
hundreds of times before, and as usual she revelled at the speed and power
of her blonde Slayer friend. She had always been envious of her athletic
prowess from the very first time she had known about Buffy's status as a
Slayer, and had seen her unleash her full strength. She sometimes marvelled
when she felt Buffy's arm graze hers or when Buffy grabbed or held her. She
could feel the Slayers muscles like coiled steel springs, cables of enormous
potential sheathed in a silky layer of smooth adolescent skin. She also knew
how soft and gentle Buffy could really be when she needed to be. In full
Slayer mode, Buffy was an explosion waiting to happen, when she was simply
Buffy the power lay quiescent and hidden, never far away but always under
full control. Right now, Willow thought she wouldn't want to be in that
vamp's shoes for anything in the world. She knew Buffy would take great
delight in toying with and tormenting the monster before she staked it,
simply because it had caused Willow discomfort.

Willow had always felt the strong bond she had with the Slayer, but
sometimes she'd wished the bond was stronger still. Since the very first day
they met, Willow had been more than just very fond of Buffy. Cordelia had
tried befriending Buffy when she had just arrived at Sunnydale High. As she
usually did, she derided Willow in front of everyone, and on this first day
she had done so in front of Buffy. Buffy had made a point of going to Willow
afterwards to seek her friendship, with full knowledge that Cordelia would
ostracise her for it. The strength and be-damned attitude she'd shown
Cordelia that day made Buffy a hero in Willow's eyes. More, it had made her
into someone Willow wanted to be with, but not just as a friend. She wanted
more, but afraid Buffy would see that as freaky behaviour, she had always
held off, sometimes covering her true feelings with feigned awkwardness, but
more often with simple embarrassment. To date, Willow didn't think Buffy
realised anything more than that Willow just wanted to be friends. Willow
had made every effort to be there for Buffy, so much so that she spent every
spare moment she had as a companion, just happy to be in the Slayer's
company. This was bonding time for Willow now, Buffy had lost Angel, she'd
just lost Tara, they both felt despondent and a little lost. She wanted to
spend this time with Buffy, hoping maybe something magical and wonderful
would happen, even if it was spent roaming cemeteries in the middle of the
night killing vampires.

Her head jangling with loose church bells and an annoying headache coming
on, Willow stumbled through the darkness along Monroe Street towards the
cemetery where she thought the vamp would have gone back to, not paying much
attention to her surroundings. The bells in her head prevented her from
clearly hearing the muted roar of the car engine, and the driver of the car
didn't see anything until the last moment, by which time it was too late.
Glaring headlights outlined Willow's slender form wrapped in a dark, baggy
anorak, her eyes glazing over like a startled rabbit when her situation
finally dawned on her, limbs frozen stiff in terror. The skid of tires on
wet tarmac and the sound of the blaring horn tore relentlessly through her
consciousness and approaching headache, and she later vaguely recalled
hearing the sound of Buffy's voice screaming out her name frantically before
the car struck her and sent her hurtling through the air.

to be continued in:

Chapter 2 - Formaldehyde and Chloroform, oh my

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