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?"