FIC: Willowverses (1/?)

[PChazzman@xxxxxxx]

TITLE:  Willowverses (1/?)
AUTHOR: Chazzman
E-MAIL: PChazzman@xxxxxxx  
DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters in this story. They all belong to Joss and the WB network. Please don't sue. 
SPOILERS: BTVS though Season 6/Angel through Season 3. 
SUMMERY: During the end of 'Doppelgangland' Anya tries once more to regain her necklace.  But the Fates are not happy with her tampering with the tapestry of the multiverse.
RATED: PG
DISTRIBUTION: Just ask me, please...
FEEDBACK: Is very welcome.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: 


Willowverses

Chap 1: Back In a Flash

Buffy watched nervously as Willow took her place in the circle along with the vampire double, Giles and Anya.  She hated the feeling that she was helpless if anything should go wrong and Willow became endangered, but it was the truth.  She had already had enough nasty shocks for the evening when she and Xander had come across the Vampire-Willow, and for the longest hour she had thought Willow was dead.  Then 'Her Willow' had walked into the library alive and well, and it was like a scene from one of those nature films about the desert and how they suddenly burst into bloom after a rainstorm.  One minute she was feeling as if her heart had dried up, the next she was in paradise as she held onto a living, breathing Willow.

Everything seemed to be proceeding well. Buffy could feel the mystical powers gathering, making the hair on the back of her neck stand on end.  Suddenly, she saw Willow's head jerk up, and an _expression_ of alarm on her face.  With out a thought, Buffy was in motion leaping forward over Giles, pushing him back away from the circle, and diving forward to push Willow out of the circle and away from danger.

Only she was too late, and Willow was gone before Buffy could reach her.  Buffy crashed into the floor, rolled to her feet and spun about.  Only to see the two Willow's and Anya had vanished. 

Everyone stared in shock and horror at the empty space.  Angel bent to help Giles stand from where Buffy had tossed him. 

"Willow!" gasped Oz.

"W-What hap-" Xander began to ask when a sudden swirling of dust and electricity kicked up.  Everyone took a step back when a rip suddenly appeared in midair and out of it stepped a smiling Willow.  

A smiling Willow wearing a very short black mini-dress and black strap on heels. She carried a large leather satchel over her left shoulder and a half-full champagne glass in her right hand.  Her hair was cut short and she wore a party hat on her head that read 'Happy New Year'.

She looked around at the gaping faces and raised her glass.  "Hi, Guys!" she said cheerily before upending the glass and finishing her drink.  

"Willow. Are you-?" hesitantly Buffy tried to phrase her question tactfully.

Willow smiled. "It's really me Buffy.  I'm a little older.  Been around the multiverse a few times but I'm back."

"How? What? How?"  Xander asked in shock.

"Three excellent questions Xander.  But they will have to wait until tomorrow.  I'm a bit too tired to go into full explanations tonight, and if I recall correctly when I left here it was rather late and a school night as well."

The flood of questions was muted when Giles added his agreement to Willow's plan. The confused group of friends then dispersed for the evening.  Oz drove Willow home but was disturbed by how distant she was behaving.  Willow knew he was hurt but that could not be helped.  

Oz parked the van in front of her house.  "How long?" he asked quietly looking out the front window.

Willow looked over at Oz.  "If I say a very long time can we leave it at that?"

Oz nodded and looked down as Willow got out of the van.  

"Will you be at the library tomorrow?" she asked softly.

"I don't know."

Willow watched as the van pulled away.  She looked up at the stars for a few minutes before she walked into her house.  

Twenty minutes later she smiled, as the person she knew would be coming tapped on the window of her balcony's doors.  She opened the door and grinned at the hesitant way Buffy stood there.  

"Couldn't wait till tomorrow," Buffy muttered before looking up and seeing Willow standing in her short black dress.  Buffy caught herself staring and blushed.

"It's OK.  I kinda expected you would come by.  Would you like to stay the night?"

"You sure?  Actually, I thought Oz would still be here."

"Oz and I have broken up."

"What? But you just-"

"Buffy, I know for you I only was gone for a few minutes, but for me, it's been a lot longer.  I love Oz, but I haven't been 'In Love' with Oz for a long time now.  Years in fact."

Buffy stared at Willow.  One question nagging at the back of her mind.

"How long where you gone?"

"I honestly don't know anymore.  Problem is, every time I jump universes I almost always get shifted to another time.  So I couldn't really keep track of how long I'd been traveling.  However, I would guess it has been at least a decade."

Buffy's mouth dropped open. "Woah!" She looked at her best friend with sadness for all the lost time she had not been there for her. "Willow, God, I'm...I'm so sorry. I...I...I just wish I could have been there for you."

"Shush," Willow said gently as she placed a finger on Buffy's lips.  "You were there.  One way or another, you were always there.  No matter what universe I was in.  Sometimes things were good.  Other times things were really screwed up.  I just did what I could to help.  Sort of 'Quantum Leap' meets 'Sliders'. It became my job to 'put right what once went wrong'.  Sometimes."

"Sometimes?"

Willow hesitated for a second.  "A couple of times, there wasn't anything that I could do." Buffy saw Willow's eyes became misty at the memory of some past tragedy, then her voice took on a harder more bitter tone. "The worst times were when I wasn't allowed to do anything except watch as the world fell apart."

"Wasn't allowed?"

"The hardest thing I've ever learned was to accept failure.  I'm not perfect and I can't fix everything.  But I will never be able to accept having the power to change things and not being allowed to try.  It hurts too much.  But the Fates have hearts of stone.  If they have hearts at all."  Willow wrapped her arms about herself as if she had a sudden chill.

As Buffy looked on, several points began to make themselves clear in her mind.  This Willow was not the same Willow that Buffy had known this morning.  This Willow had lived ten or more years on her own.  This Willow had a confident and powerful presence.  This Willow had seen other universes.  This Willow had grown up.  

Her Willow had grown up without her.  

Her Willow didn't need her protection anymore.  

Buffy wasn't needed.

Buffy was suddenly feeling as if she was intruding.  "You said you were tired.  I should let you rest.  Will you be OK?"  

Willow looked at Buffy as if sensing her fears. 

"Buffy nothing would make me feel more OK than to have you stay with me all night."

Buffy couldn't help but smiled in delight at Willow's words and she moved forward to hug Willow.  "I don't know how to tell you how I felt when you disappeared tonight.  I mean first the whole vampire double thing, and then you completely vanish on me. I just... I couldn't feel anything but a huge ache in my heart."

Willow exhaled softly by Buffy's ear and whispered, "I love you, Buffy.  I'm so happy to be back where I belong."

Chills shot up Buffy's spine as Willow's breath caressed her ear and the words sent a shot of happiness through her that she couldn't quiet explain. 

Willow pulled back enough to look Buffy in the eye, but not to have to remove her arms. "You're going to insist I tell you what happened, aren't you?"

Buffy smiled. "What's a sleepover without a bedtime story?"

An enigmatic smile flitted across Willow's lips.  "OK. Why don't you call your mom first before it gets any later."

Five minutes later Buffy had spoken with her mother and told her she would be staying at Willow's.  After hanging up the phone she turned to Willow, "Got any jammies you could share?"

Willow smirked, "Nope. Something better."  With a wave of her hand Willow changed both her and Buffy's clothes into red silk pajamas.  Buffy gasped first in surprise then in delight at the sensual feeling of the new clothing.  

"WOW! Willow. Wow."

"Think that's good wait till you see the outfits I'm thinking about for us for tomorrow." 

Minutes later, Willow and Buffy were laying in Willow's bed, and Willow began her tale.

"Well it started when I sensed a change in that spell we were casting to send my double back home..."

****

TBC...