FF: Second Chances: Chapter Two

[aerisjade@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Birthday Fiction Challenge Response 
Title: Second Chances 
Chapter: Two 
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. 

<-------> 
W illow stared at the ex-vengeance 
demon behind the counter. She wasn't 
sure if she should trust the blonde or 
not. She was Xander's ex-fiancée, and 
therefore, not all bad, but she was 
still....Anya. Blunt, way too honest, 
more than a little unnerving, Anya. 

" Should you be here? You haven't 
relapsed have you? If you have you 
better be here to spend money, 
otherwise I'm going to tell Buffy that 
you're dangerous. " 

" Actually I needed to talk to 
someone." She said, walking over to the 
research table. 

" I don't know where Xander is and 
Buffy's not here. I also haven't heard 
from Tara since the wedding was called 
off, so shoo?" 

" I don't want to talk to them. I 
want to talk to you." 

The blonde eyed her with a dark 
suspicion that reminded her exactly why 
she was a vengeance demon. " You're not 
going to proposition me are you? I'm 
not into women anymore, although there 
was that princess that could..." 

" Anya!! I'm not coming onto you. I 
have a problem that I need help with." 

The ex-demon gaped at her in 
surprise. " And you came to me? Why? I 
thought you hated me. " 

" I don't hate you, I just...don't 
understand you sometimes, but I really 
think that you're this cool, talented, 
smart woman. " 

The ex-demon let out a choked sob 
and ran across the space between them, 
yanking the red head into a tight bear 
hug. 

" Um..Anya..." 

" I thought you didn't like me, I 
mean Xander used to tell me that you 
guys liked me, but I always thought 
that you guys hated me. Everyone is 
always giving me this looks like how 
dumb can you be and telling me to be 
quiet and..." 

" Anya..." 

The blonde stepped back with a 
glare. " Wait, you weren't just saying 
that because you need my help were you? 
Because if you were..." 

Willow wearily sat on a nearby 
chair, unable to stay on her feet any 
longer. She was just so emotionally 
tired from everything she'd lived 
through. " No. I meant it. " 

Anya nodded in satisfaction, and 
practically bounced into one of the 
seats. " Okay, tell me your problem, my 
new best friend and friend of my ex-
fiancée that I still want to castrate 
but will probably marry anyway. " 

Willow squeezed the blondes hand. " 
What do you know about the Diablo 
forest and Morrigan's old house? " 

" Stay away from that. Even the 
council isn't dumb enough to get 
involved in that stuff. " 

" Anya... I..." She closed her eyes 
trying to find someway to make the 
blonde understand, to make her see that 
she needed. " Are you capable of 
keeping a secret? " 

" Of course. Vengeance demons are 
one of the most honorable demons in the 
underworld. " 

Willow moved closer to the blonde, 
and ducked her head trying to force the 
words from her mouth. She had to tell 
the blonde what she knew. She had to if 
she was going to get some answers, now 
all she had to do was get the words 
out. 


<-------> 


Buffy fumbled with the microfilm, 
trying to get the end into the slit. 
She could handle stakes, axes, knifes, 
swords, and any other weapon she was 
given time to learn, but she couldn't 
get a simple microfilm viewer. Why 
couldn't they make the blasted things 
more slayer friendly? 

Finally the edge went into the turn 
thingy, and she flipped on the light. 
The blurred image of newspaper from 
March 25, 1990 she zoomed out until 
it was in focus. She immediately began 
to turn through the different pages and 
papers until she spotted the front 
page. 

" Local football star missing. " She 
eyed the picture of the Diablo woods 
under the headline, then started to 
read the story. " David Rosenberg was 
reported missing after his nine year 
old sister was found wandering on the 
outskirts of the Diablo forest. Sources 
say Willow Rosenberg was dazed and 
unresponsive. Further reports have 
indicated that the younger sibling was 
covered in what has been identified as 
human blood. However the detectives in 
charge refuse to comment on the 
possible origins of the blood until DNA 
tests have come back. Detective Johnson 
has said that Willow Rosenberg is being 
held at Sunnydale Sanitarium due to the 
younger siblings history of mania. In 
the meantime, police have started 
putting together search parties in 
hopes of finding the town's star 
athlete. Anybody who wishes to 
volunteer for the search parties should 
report to Lieutenant Hanson at Marker 
Nine at the boarder of the Diablo 
woods. " 

Buffy stared helplessly at the 
picture of the fifteen year old in a 
Sunnydale High school football uniform. 
He had dark red hair and the same 
piercing green eyes. He was boyishly 
handsome, obviously becoming a man that 
would have been gorgeous. His built was 
lean at about five foot six but she 
could tell that he was all muscle. 

She turned the viewers knob sending 
the pages into a blur, until she found 
the front page of the next days paper. 
Immediately her heart dropped into her 
stomach as the headlines screamed at her 
in bold, large letters. 

" Local Star Pronounced Dead. " 

She rubbed her tired eyes, unable to 
stop imagining what Willow must have 
gone through. She could see the utter 
devastation on the red heads face. The 
guilt and hopelessness. Was that why 
Willow took her friends problems and 
death, so personally? 

She flicked the viewer off. She 
needed more information but she was 
going to have to talk to Willow first, 
and hope the red head would give her 
the whole story. Hopefully. 

<-------> 

" They never found his body? " 

" No. " Willow whispered, turning 
her head from the blonde. 

" His head? " 

Willow cringed visibly at the ex-
demons blunt words, spoken with so much 
casualness. 

" I'll take that as a no. So if 
there was no head, and no body, how do 
you know he's dead? " 

" The blood. " 

" Blood? What blood? " Anya asked, 
leaning forward suddenly as though she 
was being told the secret to life. 

" I...I was covered in his blood. " 

" You didn't tell me that. Why 
didn't you tell me that? That is 
important, therefore you should've told 
me about it. " Anya glared at her then 
immediately launched into another series 
of questions. " How much blood were you 
covered in? " 

Willow closed her eyes, fighting 
against the bile that was hiccupping it's 
way from her stomach. " Submerged. " 

" Oh. Did they find more blood 
anywhere? " 

" No. " 

" He's not dead." Anya said, getting 
up to get back to work. 

" Wh-what do you mean he's not dead? 
" Willow forced her eyes open to eye the 
ex-demon. " The doctor said that he'd 
lost too much blood to survive. " 

" The blood was used to curse you, 
and unless that bitch changed her 
psychopathic tendencies then your brother 
is attached to the curse. " 

" What curse? How do I break it? " 
She asked. 

Anya sobered quickly at her 
question. " Um..." 


<-------> 


Buffy stood in the doorway of the 
bedroom watching the dark haired red 
head putter nervously around it. Dusting 
this, moving that, picking something up 
and putting it away. It was endearing, 
and completely Willow. She'd always 
start cleaning obsessively when she was 
scared or nervous. That or she'd find 
something to research and bury herself 
in it. But now, it worried her. After 
what she'd learned earlier it felt... 
doomy. 

" Hey." 

Willow quickly turned to the blonde 
and dropped her gaze. " Hey. Listen I'm 
sorry about earlier. I shouldn't have 
exploded like that, I mean you were only 
trying to do something nice for me and 
what do I do? I yell at you, and..." 

" Your forgiven. " Buffy said, 
cutting her lover off. " Actually I was 
wanting..." 

" Actually I was wanting..." 

They trailed off, smiling at each 
other. Buffy spoke up first. " Go 
ahead." 

" Are you sure? Cause I could wait 
until..." 

" No, I'm sure. " 

Willow nodded reluctantly and 
started to pace in front of the sleigh 
style queen sized bed. " The reason I 
reacted so strongly is because... I had 
a brother and I killed him. " Willow 
took a deep breath, struggling to regain 
control over her emotions. " He was the 
only real family I had. My parents hated 
me because I was born this damaged, 
premature screw up, and David... He was 
everything any parent ever wanted. He 
excelled at anything he tried. He was 
quiet, shy, but still out going. He was 
Sunnydale High's star athlete. He was a 
straight A student and was always the 
teachers favorite student. Every girl 
swooned over him, and wanted to date 
him. He was their perfect child. " 

" But me? My parents wanted to get 
an abortion, or anything else they could 
do to get rid of me. Except nothing they 
did worked. I was born two months 
premature, and was cranky and fussy. 
David practically raised me, because 
they wouldn't, and he hated them for it 
too. " Willow sped up her pacing. " When 
I was old enough I started having these 
episodes of Mania. I-I-I would start 
babbling non-stop, and I'd get worked up 
over the smallest things until I was out 
of control, I would make these stupid 
decisions at a moments notice, and they 
always ended up with someone hurt or 
embarrassed or something really really 
bad, and... " 

Buffy grabbed the red head in mid 
babble and pulled her into her arms. " 
Shhh. It doesn't matter, it's in the 
past. All that matters is the present. " 

" No, you don't understand. " Willow 
pulled away from Buffy's arms. " I 
begged and begged and begged David to 
take me to the old house and he 
wouldn't. I was so angry because it was 
my birthday and I thought that he should 
do anything I wanted because it was my 
birthday so I snuck out. I snuck out, 
knowing that he would come after me, and 
I went there anyway, expect I don't 
remember what happened because according 
to Anya I was cursed, and I was covered 
in his blood and I was all cut up and 
bloody and I have these nightmares where 
I remember something about what happened 
but then when I wake up I can't remember 
but I'm still scared out of my mind and 
Anya says that he's probably alive and 
somehow caught up in the curse and I 
have to break only Anya said..." 

" I slept with Spike." 

Willow froze, and squinted at the 
blonde slayer. " What? " 

" I slept with Spike...multiple 
times. " Buffy repeated. 

The red head threw her arms around 
the slayer, kissing her all over her 
face. " Really?!! That's the sweetest 
thing anyone has ever told me. Wait, 
you're not just saying that to make me 
feel better are you? " 

Buffy laughed softly at the ex-
witches reaction, hugging the red head 
back. " No, I meant it. Just like I 
meant it when I told you I loved you, 
which I always will, no matter what 
mistakes you've made. " 

" Why? I mean I'm this horrible..." 

" No!! " Buffy forced the red head 
to look her in the eye. " You're human, 
just like countless billion other people on 
this planet, and people aren't perfect. 
We make mistakes, we learn from them, 
and then we move on. " 

" I love you. " Willow whispered. 

" I love you too. " Buffy pulled the 
red head tighter. " And I promise that 

no matter what it takes, we'll find your 
brother. " 

Buffy slowly kissed the red head. 
She could see a red glow through her eye 
lids as the red head in her arms began 
to convulse violently. The slayer jerked 
back, keeping a grip on her lover. 
Willow's eye were rolled up into her 
head, the dark red blood rolling from 
the corner of her mouth, and nose, and 
then...it was over. 

Gently, the slayer lowered the red 
head to the floor, immediately searching 
the ex-witches wrist for a pulse. " Oh 
god..." 

" Buffy? What's going on? I thought 
I heard something and..." Dawn stopped 
just inside the doorway, staring at the 
unresponsive red head. " Is she...? " 

Buffy looked up at her sister with 
tearful eyes. 

<--------> 


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!"