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Birthday Fiction Challenge Response Title: Second Chances Chapter: Four Rating: R Pairing: Willow/Buffy Timeline: Last seen episode Spoilers: Only for aired episodes Beta Readers: Drakes Shadow < the cute bat > and Dark Gremlin Summary: With Willow's 21st birthday coming up, she's haunted by past mistakes that cost her the only real family she's ever had. But in the process of dealing with her own medical problems and searching for answers in her brothers apparent death, she might find that sometimes what you're searching for is right in front of you. Note: Shadow and Gremlin were huge helps in the writing of this fiction. In fact, you could say they tag teamed me. Disclaimer: All characters belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, and Paramount Studios. <-------> Willow shifted Buffy's favorite battle ax onto her right shoulder, before swinging her leg over the large fallen tree. Pulling her other leg over, she started deeper into the forest in the general direction of the old house. She was determined to stop the bitch that had forced her lover into marrying her. It should have been a choice that Willow and Buffy made together. But that crazy, psychotic, deranged ass hole of a witch had ripped it from them and now Buffy was stuck with her despite the fact that the slayer obviously didn't want her. She loved Buffy with everything she was, which was why she was willing to do anything to make her happy. Even if that something was to give Buffy a divorce, in the only way possible. Her death. But like a famous movie once said, ' If I'm going to go, I'm taking you with me. ' " So the primitive decided she wants to play. " The dark crackling rasp came from every where and nowhere. It was loud, quiet, a wind of an echo that shook the red head to her very soul. It soothed, hurt, and ripped at her heart until she shivered in uncontrollable fear. It existed, died, destroyed in a tidal wave of every fear, doubt, and hate that she would or ever had. " You think you can kill me? " Willow hefted the ax trying desperately to stop the quivering in her body. " No, but I'm going to give you a crash course in pain. " She gasped as the mid-afternoon light disappeared into night. The surrounding trees spreading until she could make out the dirty white burnt out ruins of an old house. It was still standing even with all the history it had been through. The first house built on the continent. The first house that existed hundreds of years before anyone even considered that the world wasn't flat. " Willow!!! " The ex-witch turned at the sound of her lover. The slayer was sprinting towards her. The dirty blonde was abnormally pale and looked like she was on the verge of having a full blown panic attack. Before she could react either way to the blondes presence, the slayer had pulled her into a possessive hug. " Oh god, when I woke up and you weren't there... " Willow sighed into the slayers hair, " I'm sorry I just wanted to give you back your freedom. " The slayer pulled back in confusion, her eyes running over her's in an attempt to figure out what the red head meant. " I thought I was. " " No. Morrigan had no right to force you into a marriage you don't want. " " You're wrong. " Buffy whispered. " I have never wanted anything more. " " B-but you passed out. You... " " ...wasn't expecting that. " Buffy said. " I... but we've only been together a day and... " " We've practically been in a relationship for the last five years, and the idea of us being together forever is the most incredible gift I could ever have. " Willow dropped her gaze to the ax. " I just.." " I mean it Will. I want it all with you. Love, marriage, a family. " Buffy smiled gently at her wife. " Now let's get out of here before that witch decides to come out of hiding. " " Too late. " Willow whispered, gazing over the slayers shoulder. Standing a few feet from the ruins of the house was a raven haired woman, old and young, tall and short, beautiful and grotesque. " The mighty witch has returned. " Willow stepped between the witch and the slayer. This was just like it happened last time. She could now clearly remember every detail, every nuance, and she was not going to just stand by and let it happen again. " This ends now. " " What are you doing? " Buffy asked. Willow ignored the slayer. " I challenge you. Now. " " A witches duel? " The raven haired creature asked. " A witches duel. " " No. I'm not about to let you get yourself killed. " Buffy cut in, her piercing eyes glaring between the two witches. " Besides, last time I checked you were a recovering addict. " Willow tore her eyes away from the nightmarish figure across from her. " Part of the curse was turning any magic I did into black magic. She was getting a high off me. " " I have to admit that you were an unusually strong primitive. Most can't survive the draining. " Willow grabbed hold of the slayer as the rage began to take over the dirty blonde. " Easy. " A force hit them hard, slamming them backwards until they connected with the nearest tree. Willow gasped as the air was violently forced from her lungs, and pushed herself up onto her knees. Her left hand came up, the palm faced toward the monster of her past. She felt the surge of magic leave her body and impact with Morrigan. The dark haired witch was lifted into the air, spinning faster and faster, until she was a circular blur. The witch came to a stop, hovering feet first above the forest floor with a cocked eyebrow. Immediately Willow felt her eye sight fade, leaving her in a world of darkness that started to trap her in her fear. There was no Buffy there, no forest or sky, no stars, just darkness holding all the boogeymen and monsters and... " Will..." A slim hand gripped her right hand tightly, giving her all the love and strength the slayer had. It wasn't a lot, but it was everything to her. Pulling away from the fear, she searched her mind for some answer. ' When did this turn into a Disney cartoon. ' It was just like that movie that Dawn always watched when she was trying to be funny. What was it... The Sword in the Stone. She honestly thought that evil witch and her getting all sick was funny.... Concentrating on the deadliest, most painful disease she could remember, but everything she could think of took too long to kill. However, there was another option. Thinking hard about what she needed to do, she threw a large amount of energy at the other witch, feeling the witches heart, and cutting off the arteries. The piercing scream cut through the otherwise quiet air, stopping just as quickly as it started. She could feel the under current around her, easing the blindness from her eyes. Swirling around them in a gentle hug before fading and changing into a male form in front of them. " David. " She stood up on shaky legs and stepped towards the bo...the man that stood before her. He looked like he'd aged normally. " It's about time. I thought I was going to be stuck playing Harvey to you for the rest of my life. " The lean red head flashed her a wide grin that told her that he found the whole thing too much fun to be mad. The tears began to flow as she wrapped her arms around the sibling that had meant so much to her. His easy going attitude, his incredible sense of humor, it made it so much easier to get through the day, and now it was back. " Come on sis, let's go home. " <-------> " I still don't understand the whole primitive/ natural witch thing. " Xander objected. Tara glanced up from where she was helping Dawn with the model kit she'd gotten from her newest love interest. " Primitive witches are able to convert dark magic into white magic. Unfortunately they're very rare now. " " Their were a lot of witches in my family, but most of them were killed during the holocaust. " Willow leaned into her wife at the thought of all the people she lost during that time period. " The only witch that managed to get out of it alive was my great grandmother. " " So the whole addiction thing was her feeding off you? " Dawn asked. " Yeah. " Willow smiled at the giddy teen. Despite the girls initial trauma over being exposed to Buffy's relationship, she was ecstatic. She now had a larger, caring family. Plus, she now felt more secure in the knowledge that Willow wasn't going to just pick up and leave on her. Add to that, the latest turn in events. Dawn could also start to trust Willow again, since she'd discovered that most of the dark magic addiction had been due to the curse that had been placed on her. " Hey, I'm the one that gave her the information. If it wasn't for me she'd still be an addict, loveless, and filled with guilt. " Willow reached over and hugged the disgruntled ex-demon, and softly whispered. " Thank you. You're a good friend. " Almost immediately the blonde sniffed, sounding suspiciously like she was going to cry. " Whatever. " A soft tug on her arm made her glance up at a happy slayer. " I want to show you something. " Willow let the slayer pull her to her feet and out the back door. " Um, Buffy, I've seen the back yard before. " " Look over there. " Buffy smirked at her, as she directed the red heads eyes over to the left. Where there had previously been a bare patch of grass, was now a large brick grill and a heavy, long picnic table. It was strange. Most people would probably balk at the present, but to her it meant so much more. She had once told Buffy that her vision of a real family was parents that actually took an interest in their children's lives. Occasional vacations, shopping, being grounded, and weekends where the family could have outdoor cook outs. " Happy Birthday Will. " It said to her that they were a family. <-------> Next time on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. ( Buffy and Willow are in the living room, which is lit by dozens of candles. They are naked and wrapped around each other. ) CUT TO ( A man that looks about Twenty Five and a geek enters the living room and gaps. He yanks on his tie, then makes a strange noise. ) MAN: I'm Fred Hersh, your social worker. CUT TO ( Buffy and Spike kissing, all we can see are their heads. ) CUT TO BUFFY: I want to have your child. CUT TO: ( Willow glaring hard, and holding a stake. ) WILLOW: That's it, no more miss nice witch. CUT TO ( Buffy crying ) CUT TO ( Willow slamming the front door. ) Aeris Jade Orion Grey Fox, and cause of Discord. Gabrielle: "Do you deny spying on these women?" Joxer: "I resent that." Gabrielle: "Do you deny it?" Joxer: "No, I just _resent_ it." Joxer: Hello--heh-heh-- name's Joxer-- spelled, uh [Clears throat]-- J-o-x-e-rrrrrrrr. Rh: "Would you wanna make a baby with me?" Jox: "What?!" Rh: "Will you help?" Jox: "Wait a minute! You want me to-- to-- to-- make a-- " Rh: "Right-- will you?" Jox: "Of course not! Hey, listen! We're not just machines, you know, you can use to-- . Besides-- you know, uh-- we can't just do it on command. We need stuff like, uh-- cheap motel rooms and dirty pictures and lingerie-- stuff like that! We're _not_ animals! But I can get those things!" |