Fic: Heroes and Lovers (3-4/?)

["another_soul_lost" <anotherlostsoul@xxxxxxxxx>]

Title: Heroes and Lovers
Author's Name: anotherlostsoul
Author's Email and URL: anotherlostsoul@...,
http://www.hopelessdreams.com
Pairing: W/Buffy
Disclaimer: Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and a lot of other people own
the show and all the characters. The plot and the story are mine.
This cannot be sold or used for profit in any way, shape or form.
Please don't sue me, because I really don't have anything to take.
Rating: PG, but may vary by chapter.
Spoilers: Set in season 4 of Buffy, so anything before that is fair game.
Summary: Spike escapes the Initiative without being chipped. How
will this affect the Scooby gang?
Author's Notes: This is my first attempt at fanfic, so send me
feedback, please! A big thank you to Filip Janik for his immensely
helpful beta-reading.

Chapter 3  The Return of Willow Rosenberg

It was Xander who spoke first, "Oh God&is she?"

"Willow!"  Buffy threw herself to the ground and gathered Willow's
still unconscious form into her arms, she was breathing and warm to
the touch.  "She's alive!"  Buffy glanced at Giles.  

Willow moved slightly in her arms and Buffy felt her breath catch in
her throat.  She looked down to see her friend's beautiful green eyes
staring up at her.  "Buffy," Willow whispered and reached up to brush
her fingers softly against Buffy's cheek, "I missed you."  

Buffy felt the tears flowing freely down her face, "Oh God Will, we
thought we'd lost you, Spike&he said he killed you, and I found your
clothes in the crypt and there was blood, just so much blood and you
were gone and&" 

Willow reached up and lay a single finger on Buffy's lips stopping her
gently, "Shh, it's okay now Buffy, I'm here and it's gonna be okay."

Suddenly Xander was with them, wrapping his strong arms around Willow
and Buffy, crushing the pale redhead between them in a strong hug.  

"Oh God Will, you scared us so bad, we thought&" Xander's voice was
full of relief and joy as he spoke, tears spilling down his face.  

"Xander&" came Willow's soft voice before being cut off as another
pair of arms wrapped around them wordlessly.

Buffy looked up to see tears falling from Giles' eyes as well.  He'd
been so strong, helping her and Xander try to deal with the loss of
Willow.  He'd never let them see his pain, his tears.  

The hug seemed to stretch on forever with everyone just basking in the
warmth of the love they felt for Willow.  

"Okay.  Oxygen becoming an issue," Willow half-gasped after a few
moments.  Her eyes went wide and her face turned the nearly same shade
of red as her hair, "Oh! And I just realized& I'm kinda&naked&under here"

Giles virtually leapt to his feet, "Um, yes, I'll get you something to
cover yourself."  He hurried away, blushing almost as deeply as Willow
had.

Xander, too, blushed as he stood and stepped away, chivalrously trying
to keep his eyes from wandering over his naked friend's body.

Buffy didn't move, she just continued to kneel on the floor, holding
Willow tightly.  She saw Giles return from the corner of her eye and
reached for the blanket he offered her.  Gently, Buffy wrapped Willow
in the soft blanket.  "Do you need me to help you to the couch?" she
asked quietly.

Willow started to reply but before she could get a sound out, Buffy
swept her up off the floor and over to a sitting position on Giles'
couch.  Buffy knelt on the floor at her feet looking up at her,
unwilling to be very far from Willow.  "Uh, thanks, Buffy, but I'm
okay&really."  Willow glanced at Xander and Giles and pulled the
blanket around her, blushing self-consciously.  "So how long was I&um,
gone?"

Giles spoke first, "Well, you, ah, disappeared almost a week ago.  All
we ever found were your-well, your clothes."  

"What happened Will?  Where were you?"  Xander asked.

"That's kind of a long story, and well, I'd sort of feel better
telling it if I were, you know, wearing clothes&instead of wrapped in
a blanket."  

Buffy felt her eyes go wide, "Clothes&yes clothes would be good,
`cause definitely more comfortable then just a blanket.  Right, um,
Xander, we need to get clothes for Will, can you&you know, drive to
the campus?  I'll go with and we'll get Willow clothes."  Buffy's face
went hot with embarrassment.  `What on earth is wrong with me? I don't
babble!' 

"Yeah, sure thing Buff, anything for the ol' Willster."  One of
Xander's goofy grins plastered itself across his face at the sound of
a babbling Slayer.  He walked behind the couch, leaned over and kissed
Willow gently on the top of her head.  "It's good to have you back
Will," he whispered quietly.

Hearing his words, Buffy threw her arms around Willow again, hugging
her roughly, "Willow, God I missed you so much."  She drew back from
the hug and saw the tears glistening in her friend's eyes, "You're not
going to disappear on me again right?"

Willow smiled softly as she spoke, "No Buffy, I'm not going to
disappear again, not ever."

* * * * *

Willow looked up at Giles as she heard the door to the apartment
close.  She felt the heat of her face flushing again as she became
aware once more of just how awkward the lack of clothing was.

"Giles?"  

"Yes Willow?" 

"I'm sorry, for everything.  I know how badly my disappearance hurt
everyone.  I could feel the pain you were all in, but I couldn't reach
any of you to help.  I couldn't let you know that it would be alright,
that I was okay." Willow could feel the tears welling up in her eyes,
the warmth flooding her face.

"That's&quite alright Willow."  She fought a slight smile as Giles
visibly got all uncomfortable and English at her words.  "Can I get
you anything, something to drink or eat?"

Willow considered for a moment.  She knew that she didn't need to eat
or drink anymore, but she wasn't quite ready to cross that bridge just
yet.  "Some water would be good."

Giles walked into the kitchen and got a bottle of water from his
fridge for Willow, "So, you seemed&surprised at how long you were
away?  Was it longer for you?"  Giles walked back into the living
area, chivalrously opening the bottle for her before offering it to her.

Willow awkwardly reached out and managed to take the bottle without
further exposing the former librarian to her nudity.  "Shorter
actually.  Though that's probably because I wasn't awake a lot.  It
felt more like a day&or maybe two at most."  She took a deep drink
from the bottle; the cold water soothed her throat and felt wonderful.  

"Ah.  Were you&er I mean, rather did you&was it&" She raised an
eyebrow at Giles; it was rare to hear him stammer like this.

"Some of it was very unpleasant and even extremely painful, but most
of what happened, was not."  She smiled gently at him.  "What hurt
most of all though, was being separated from the people I love and not
being able to comfort you all."

Giles nodded somberly, "I think Buffy was having the hardest time with
it.  I don't think I'd ever seen her so&hurt.  I think that must have
been very much like what she went through after she sent Angel to
hell."  Giles began cleaning his glasses, an act which brought a smile
to Willow's face.  "I think she cares more for you then any of us have
ever realized."

This was definitely not the conversation she'd been expecting to have
with Giles, but she certainly wasn't going to shy away from it, not
now.  Not after nearly losing Buffy forever.  "I'm in love with her
Giles.  I-I always have been, but I don't think she knows it.  I've
never felt like this about anyone before.  It almost killed me to feel
her hurting like that."  The tears were back in her eyes threatening
to push Willow over the edge.

"Willow," his voice was gentle and soothing.  She looked up and saw a
comforting smile on his face.  "You and Buffy have been like daughters
to me and I've seen the glances between the two of you when you
thought that no-one was looking.  I do not doubt in the slightest that
she feels the same about you."  

Willow smiled up at the misty-eyed former Watcher and gently whispered
"Thank you."

"Now then, they should be back soon with some clothing for you.  Why
don't you take a shower and get cleaned up.  I don't doubt it will
help you feel much better."  

He stood and turned his back toward her, giving her the privacy she'd
need to stand up and rearrange the blanket she was using to cover
herself.  With a smile, Willow did just that, pausing for only a
moment to give Giles a hug from behind before walking to the bathroom.

A short while after she entered the shower, Willow heard the door to
the bathroom open and a familiar blonde head poked in.  "Hey Will, I'm
laying your clothes on the toilet for you."

"Thanks Buffy, I'll be out in a minute."  She replied.  Willow could
feel Buffy hesitate, as if she wanted to say something.  But the words
never came and she heard Buffy pull the door closed. "God, this just
isn't going to be easy is it," she whispered to herself as she reached
down to turn the water off.

* * * * *

`Well, that wasn't awkward at all,' Buffy chided her self as she
walked back to the living area of Giles' apartment after leaving
Willow's clothes for her.  `Way to creep out the woman you're in love
with!'

Buffy heard Xander's voice and quickly joined the male half of the
Scoobies.  

"So, how is she G-man?" Xander asked.

Buffy jumped in before Giles could reply, "Did she tell you anything
at all about what happened?"

"Yes, well not much.  She'd no idea how long she'd been gone,
apparently she was unconscious for most of it."  Buffy released the
breath she hadn't even realized she was holding in.  "Beyond that she
said very little about it."  

Buffy frowned at her former Watcher.  He had that look on his face
again.  The one he usually got when he was withholding information
that he was afraid would hurt them.  A big part of her wanted to call
him on it and press for whatever he was holding back, but she heard
Willow turn off the water in the bathroom and thought the better of it.  

"Are we sure it's really Willow Giles?"  Even as she spoke them, the
words tore at her heart.

"Whoa&what?" Xander's mouth had dropped open, clearly stunned that
Buffy could have asked that.  Buffy couldn't bring herself to look
either of them in the eye.

"Buffy, why do you ask?  Is there something that's giving you cause
for concern?"

`That's the $64,000 dollar question,' she thought.  

"It's nothing, really.  Just, she `feels' different.  Not like touchy
feels, but like `feels' feels.  You know, it's hard to explain, I'm
saying this all wrong.  It's probably nothing."  She shook her head
and looked at the floor, ashamed to have said anything.

Ice water rushed through her veins as she heard Willow's voice from
the doorway.  "I was wondering if you'd felt that."

* * * * *

"I was wondering if you'd felt that."   She watched as Buffy tensed up
and turned at her words.  Giles and Xander looked at her with obvious
shock on their faces as well.  

Willow sighed.  `Nope, definitely not going to be easy.'

"Willow, I..."  Buffy looked absolutely mortified that she'd been
overheard.

"No, Buffy.  It's okay.  I would have been surprised if you hadn't
been worried about whether or not I'm really me, which I am, but not
exactly the same me I was before I left, but that's why you could feel
the difference&"

"I think I speak for everyone here when I say, `Huh?'"  Xander stared
blankly at Willow for a moment, trying to understand.  "Though, I
gotta say that the babbling is a pretty strong sign that this is the
Will we all know and love."

"Everyone should sit down, and I'll try to explain what happened and
hopefully, then you'll understand more."  She walked into the living
area and stood in front of her friends as they sat down.  They were
staring at her as though she'd just sprouted an extra head.  She
swallowed nervously before she began to speak.

"Well, um, Buffy.  A little while after I got home from the party,
someone knocked on the door to the dorm.  I didn't really think about
it, I just sort of said `come in' and it was Spike."  She was talking
too fast and she knew it, so she paused and tried to get a grip on her
nerves.  "Oh! So we should really do an uninviting spell on the dorm
room cause if we don't, well Spike might come back looking for you&"

"Willow, don't worry about that.  Spike won't be coming after anyone,
I staked him."  Buffy voice sounded calm and reassuring.

Willow looked at the floor as she spoke again, "Well, that's good,
cause if he wasn't already all dusty and stuff, what he did next would
probably make you want to go after him.  Spike bit me and drained me
and actually even tried to, you know, make me a vampire."  She
couldn't bring herself to look up at her friends, just yet.  "He
killed me and fed me his blood and dumped me in a crypt to wait for me
to rise."

"What?!" She should of known it would be Xander who said something
first, she looked up at him and the look of anger and hate on his face
caused her to drop her eyes back to the floor.  "You mean you're a
vampire?"

"Oh God no, Xander! I am not a vampire!  I mean I've got a heartbeat
and a body temperature and everything."  

`God I'm so stupid, I should not have said that like that,' she
berated herself, `Of course they'd jump to that conclusion, who
wouldn't?'  

"I mean I can pick up a cross or& since its still day I could go
outside and stand in the sun to prove it if you want."   She started
to walk toward the door.

Buffy stopped Willow gently before speaking, "Having checked your
pulse myself after you appeared on the floor and felt your heart
beating, I'll take your word on the vampire thing."  Her smile faded
quickly though, "But if Spike killed Willow, then who or what are you?"

"I'm still Willow."  She looked her best friend straight in the eye as
she spoke.  "I should've been a vampire when I woke up in that crypt.
But instead, when I woke up there was someone else there with me.  He
said his name was Whistler and that the Powers that Be had sent him,
to help me."  Buffy's eyes went wide at the mention of Whistler's name
and Willow understood in an instant.  "You've met him, you've met
Whistler before."

"A-A couple of times.  When Angel was trying to wake Acathla. 
Whistler was the one who told me how to stop him."  Buffy swallowed
hard.  "So he works for the Powers that Be?"

"Yeah, he does.  He's kind of a conduit between the Powers and the
mortal world.  He told me that the Powers were giving me a choice. 
They couldn't change the fact that Spike had killed me but that I
didn't have to become the monster that Spike tried to make me into,
that they could intervene and make me a champion, like you and Angel.
They could make it so that I wasn't taken away from the fight."  She
glanced around at her friends, seeing deep concern on all of their
faces.  "And I agreed to it, so the Powers took me away, and cleansed
me of the daemon-taint that Spike tried to inflict on me and sent me
back to help you&"

"So you're, ahem, you're still human then Willow?"  Giles voice was
soft, not accusing or angry, just concerned for her.

"Yes&well, no...Sort of." She was letting frustration get the better
of her. She'd known that her friends were going to have a hard time
understanding everything that had happened, but knowing and being
confronted by it were two very different things.  "What I am&it's
complicated, and it's not in any of your books.  There's no word for
what I've become, because the Powers have never given this to anyone
before."  

The looks on their faces&they were closing themselves off from her,
shutting her out as they tried to deal with this, she could feel it
and it hurt.   She could feel the tears welling up in her eyes as she
looked at them.

As she spoke again the tears in her eyes began to spill down her face,
"Please, don't shut me out, I need you, all of you, I can't do this
without you.  It's still me, only now I'm something else too."  She
sank to her knees sobbing, "Please, don't hate me, don't&"  The rest
of her words were choked off in her tears.  

* * * * * 

Buffy felt her heart breaking as she watched Willow begin to fall
apart and start crying.  It was in that moment that she knew beyond
any doubt that this was Willow, her Willow.  There was no doubt in her
mind, none at all.  She moved quickly, sitting next to her on the
floor and gently putting her arms around the weeping redhead.  "Shh,
it's okay Willow.  We still love you; everything's going to be okay. 
I promise." Buffy spoke softly, comforting her friend.

Within moments Xander and Giles had joined Buffy on the floor, each of
them comforting Willow, reassuring her that she was not alone, that
she would never be alone.  
Chapter 4  Answers

The late afternoon was quickly fading into twilight by the time Willow
had regained her composure enough to try and continue.  

"When I&" She began to speak, only to be interrupted by Buffy.

"Willow, you don't have to do this now.  We want to know what
happened, but we can wait until you're ready to tell us."  Buffy's
voice was gentle and supportive as she spoke.  

Willow took a deep breath and looked around at her friends, her
family, opening herself to what they were feeling.  A warm, comforting
strength filled her as she felt the love and support radiating from
them.  She could also feel a deep concern from Giles, he was worried
for her, for what all of this meant.  She looked at him and smiled
reassuringly.

"Buffy, I need to tell you, all of you, what happened."  Willow kept
her voice calm and even.  "When I woke up in that crypt, I was already
dead.  But the Powers that Be offered me a way to come back to you
all. A way that didn't involve me turning all `grr' and fangy or
having to do the whole blood-drinking thing."  She looked around,
making eye contact with each of her friends in turn, basking in their
unwavering love.

`Now for the harder part,' Willow thought as she took another deep
breath.  

"But I am different now."   She swallowed, fighting the nervous
feeling in the pit of her stomach as she felt the tension creeping
back into the room.  She could sense Giles' concern deepening into
worry and fear.  She turned to face him.  "For one thing, when I open
myself up to it, I can feel emotions from the people around me.  I can
draw strength from positive emotions and sort of feed on that energy." 

`So far so good.'  Willow looked back to Buffy now and closed herself
off from the others again.  She knew this next part was going to be
unpleasant, and couldn't bear to feel it.  

"In fact, I need to feed on that energy.  If I go too long without,
I'll grow weak and could even die."  She quickly looked at the floor.
Even without using her new empathic powers, Willow could feel the
shock and dismay from her friends.  "The energy I feed on that way, it
won't hurt anyone.  For someone to even feel it I would have to be
alone with them and I'd have to draw out a tremendous amount of power.
And even then, all they'd feel from it is a sort of emotional
exhaustion."

Willow looked around at her friends again.  The expression on Giles'
face was guarded and cautious, but Willow had expected that.  Xander
looked troubled by what she had said and unsure of how to react. 
Finally, she turned to Buffy, dreading what she might see on her best
friend's face.  To her surprise, Buffy looked thoughtful rather then
upset.

It was Buffy who spoke first. "Willow, could you show us what it's
like when you," she grimaced, just slightly at the next word, "feed?"

`Boy, the surprises just keep coming,' Willow thought wryly, but
before she could respond Giles spoke up.

"I think that," he broke of for a moment, as though uncertain and
Willow braced for the worst, "ah, I think that would be an excellent
idea."  He smiled slightly at Willow.  "It would certainly allay many
of my concerns about what've you told us."

"Are you sure?"  Willow couldn't keep the surprise out of her voice,
"I mean, I can try, but I can only feed on positive energies, things
like love, happiness, euphoria.  You guys would have to try and
project those kinds of feelings, which might be hard&right now."

"Then feed from just me Will," came Xander's voice.  He shrugged and
grinned slightly as Willow stared at him surprised.  "Will, you've
been my best friend for ever.  I can't look at you and not feel good
things."

Willow felt the tears welling up in her eyes again, only this time
they were happy tears.  "Thank you Xander."  She stood up and walked
over to stand next to Xander.  "It's easier to feed from just one
person if I'm touching them, but in groups, the energy naturally
circulates between people, so I don't need to touch anyone to draw it
in."  

She smiled and looked down at Xander as she reached out and gently
laid her hand on his cheek.  She noticed her hand glow with a faint
blue light as she opened herself to his emotions.  The connection was
instantaneous and powerful.  Willow gasped slightly at the strength of
his love for her.  Warm strength flooded through her, revitalizing her
mind and body.  After only a moment she pulled her hand away and
severed the connection.

"Wow," she said staggering back a step.  "Oh, head rush&"  The room
began to spin, and she closed her eyes, certain that she was going to
fall, but suddenly the slender, strong arms of the Slayer were around
her, supporting her and guiding her gently back to the couch.

The energy she'd absorbed was incredible, it left her body feeling
energized.  Her skin was tingling all over and her senses were
electrified, magnifying every sensation.  After a couple of deep
breaths, Willow realized that the Slayer's arms were still around her.
The feeling of Buffy holding her was incredible.  She closed her eyes
again, savoring the moment.

"Xander, are you alright?" She heard Giles say, though there was a
definite tone of amusement in his voice.  Glancing over at Xander, she
saw that the exchange had left him wide-eyed, slack-jawed and at a
distinct loss for words.

After a moment he finally spoke, "God Will, if we could bottle that
sensation, we could all get rich quick."  He took a deep breath, "That
was the most incredible thing I've ever felt."

"Yes, er, well, right.  And Willow, how are you feeling?"  Willow
didn't need to open her eyes to know that Giles was cleaning his
glasses as he spoke.

"I'm good," despite her best efforts to sound calm, her voice was
downright giddy.  "It was just really intense&probably because we've
been such close friends for so long and because he was concentrating
on how he felt about me.  Normally, it wouldn't be quite so intense."

"Ah, yes, I see.  And you were able to draw all the energy you needed?"  

"Way more then enough, actually," Willow couldn't help but smile, "I'm
completely overcharged right now. I can feel the energy tingling all
through me.  It's downright distracting.  Lucky for me the excess will
fade pretty quickly, otherwise I'd have to go find a way to burn it
off."  

"What do you mean burn it off?" Buffy asked.

"Well, this isn't the only thing that Powers changed about me.  I can
use the energy from feeding to do stuff."

It was Xander who piped up this time, "What kind of stuff?"

"Well, physical stuff for one thing&I could channel it to make myself
stronger and faster like Buffy.  Or I can use it to move things, or to
do magic&kinda.  But the more energy I use, the more often I have to
feed to replenish it."

"Wow, you're practically a regular old superhero now Will." Buffy
teased gently.

"I dunno about superhero&I'd settle for just being a better sidekick
for the Slayer."

Buffy hugged her tightly, "Nope, no sidekicks here&a good partner
maybe&but way too important to be a sidekick."  Willow felt the heat
rising in her face as she blushed brightly.  

* * * * *

`This is the most amazing feeling,' Buffy thought happily.  She'd been
sitting with her arms around Willow, just holding her, since she'd
shown them how she fed.  Neither of them had moved to break the
contact yet.  She could feel the energy flowing through Willow and it
gave her goose-bumps.  Willow felt so powerfully alive, that She
couldn't help but feel it too.  And it felt wonderful.

She looked down at Willow, entranced by the content look on her face.
Holding her felt right, like it was meant to be.  She realized Willow
was looking up at her, smiling gently.  `She's just so beautiful,'
Buffy thought as she leaned toward her.  Willow raised up slightly, as
if to meet her halfway.  `Oh God, I think I'm about to kiss her&' 

"So, ah," Giles spoke, startling them both, and the moment slipped
away, "is there anything else we should know about?  Anything that you
need to avoid or weaknesses that we should help you guard against?" 
Buffy frowned; deeply annoyed that another opportunity had slipped
past her.  However, she couldn't help but grin as she saw the equally
annoyed look on Willow's face.  And there was that tone again, Giles
was holding something back.

"Oh, well I'm still human in most regards," the giddiness finally
began to ebb from Willow's voice.  "I can still be hurt, or killed,
like anyone else.  Only, as long as I feed when I need to, I'll heal
really fast."  Buffy felt Willow shift slightly in her arms, as though
she were uncomfortable with what she was saying, "With steady access
to the energy I need, I should be able to recover quickly from
anything that doesn't, you know, kill me."

Buffy glanced at Giles, trying to understand what he was thinking
about.  He looked away immediately, avoiding her eyes.  `Okay then,'
she thought, annoyed at her Watcher's actions.

"Ok Giles, so what's the what?"  Buffy's voice was sharp and
reproving, "You're holding something back and it's starting to annoy
me.  Don't make me have to go all Faith on you."

"Yeah G-man, cause I'm gonna have to say cranky Slayer? Not so much
with the fun to be around." Xander joked, but a quick glance showed
Buffy that his face was very serious.

Giles sighed, "Willow, you must understand that we need to know more
about you, about your abilities and limitations.  Without that
information, we could conceivably put both of you in great peril."

Buffy opened her mouth and began to say something but Willow spoke
first.  "Buffy," she said quietly.  Buffy closed her mouth and looked
down at the reclining redhead to see her gently shake her head.

"Giles," Willow went on, her voice calm and sincere, "I can appreciate
your concerns.  I don't want to put Buffy or anyone else in any danger
if I can help it.  So if there are things you need to know, ask them,
and I'll answer as best I can."

Buffy looked over to observe Giles' reaction.  She couldn't help but
grin at his obvious surprise over how reasonable Willow was being.

"Ah well, then.  You mentioned that you could make yourself stronger
and faster?" 

"Well, yeah, but only for a short while at a time.  A few minutes,
probably&" Willow sounded a bit uncertain, "Renewing that kind of
power continuously would drain my energies really quickly.  Also, it
really wouldn't do a lot of good, since I'm not exactly much of a
fighter."

"I hadn't actually thought about that, Will."  Buffy admitted
surprised, "Do you think you could train her?  If she's going to help,
I'd feel better if she could defend herself a little better."

"Yes, well of course, I'd be happy to help."  Giles smiled a bit at
that, "And, Willow, I believe you said something about being able to
use your power to work magic?"

"Well, kinda, but not exactly."  Buffy felt Willow shift slightly
again, as though she were having a difficult time finding the words
she wanted, "I can focus my power to change things, the way that magic
does, only without so much of the spells and incantations part of it.
It's more an act of focusing my will on what I want to happen, and
then fueling it with my energy.  And of course, the bigger the effect,
the more power it consumes."

"So you're saying that you can pretty much do almost anything?" said
Xander, clearly bothered by the implications.

"Oh God no.  My powers are fairly limited&I can just do little things.
Move objects or maybe set a vampire on fire&stuff like that."  

"Ah, yes, well that's still quite useful&your powers should most
certainly be of great use in helping Buffy."  Giles sounded completely
taken aback by Willow's gifts.  "You might not even need to learn to
fight&"

"No."  Willow asserted, "I do need to learn to fight."  She shifted to
look directly at Giles, without leaving Buffy's embrace.  "Right now,
I don't know how quickly I might burn up my energy.  If I don't learn
to fight, then if my power got used up, I'd be defenseless and that
would put us both at risk."  Willow paused, swallowing before she
continued.  "With time and practice, I'll be able to do more, have
finer control of how much of my power I use, and even be able to
gather more energy then I can now, but that stuff's not gonna happen
over night.  So it's a good idea for me to learn more&conventional
ways of fighting too."

Buffy smiled at Willow. `That's my Willow,' she thought happily,
`always thinking of the big picture.'

"I should train with you too," Buffy said firmly, "If we're going to
be fighting together then we should get familiar with each other."

"Well, yes,  that's quite a good idea Buffy," Giles couldn't have
looked more like a proud father if he'd tried, "Excellent really, we
can, ah, well, we can start tomorrow."

"Ooo, and we can go to the Bronze after, `cause I think I can feed
there without bothering anybody," Willow said happily.  "You want to
come to the Bronze with us tomorrow Xander?"

Buffy shot a quick glance at Xander, hoping he would have other plans,
only to find him grinning happily.  

"Hmm, go to the Bronze with my two very beautiful best-friends or sit
at home all night in the musty basement?" he said with mock
consideration, "Well, just count me in for some Bronzy goodness
tomorrow evening." 






"It's a good fight, Buffy, and I want in."
"I kinda love you."
Buffy & Willow, 'Choices'

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