Fallen 3/6 - W/T - R

["Dana" <hunterash@xxxxxxx>]

Fallen
Part 3

Author: Frau Hunter Ash 

Copyright © 2002-2004 by Hunter Ash. All Rights Reserved.

Email: hunterash@xxxxxxx
Feedback welcome!!

Homepage Addy: http://www.hunterash.com/ 

Disclaimers: The characters and show all belong to Joss Whedon, Fox, 
Mutant Enemy, Kuzui, and God only knows who else. The storyline, 
however, is the sole property of the author. This story cannot be 
sold or used for profit in any way. Copies of this story may be made 
for private use only and must include all disclaimers and copyright 
notices.  Lawyers take a few hits in this one but no permanent 
injury is intended. 

F/F romance: the story assumes a loving and sexual relationship 
between people of the same gender and may even include 3 at the same 
time <G>.  If this offends or is illegal for you, then please 
leave.  Come back when you are older, have an open mind, moved, or 
changed your laws. 

Spoilers: Wreck

Summary:  Willow is recovering from the black magick detoxifying. 
What to do with Willow's demon child, how to protect her from Rack 
and Amy and how will Willow handle all of it.

Rating: R  Pairings: W/B?, W/T, X/An 

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


"Undead?" Buffy repeated, standing in the doorway of the kitchen.

"How's Willow?" Giles demanded. "Is she alone?"

"No, Xander and Anya are watching over her," Buffy answered.  "They 
have the meds that Dorothy brought to keep her asleep for the night."

The Slayer sat down at the table. 

"Now what was that about the undead?" she demanded.

"Willow said the messenger between her and the Arch Prince was 
Orcus," Dorothy explained.

"Messenger?" Buffy asked, beginning to realize why Giles had been so 
insistent all those years about paying attention to the scholarly 
stuff about Slaying.

"It would be extremely rare for an Arch Prince to actually show up 
for negotiations," Giles continued.  "He would send a messenger to 
work out the details and accept the deal. Orcus himself is a Prince 
of Hell, a higher level demon actually."

"So we know since the Vice President showed up to broker the deal 
then it's actually with one of the Presidents?" Buffy asked, turning 
it into terminology she could relate to.

"Yes, the owner of the corporation is Satan," Giles nodded, pleased 
with his former Slayer.  "The Presidents of the different companies 
are Arch Princes and the Vice Presidents are Princes."

"So who does Orcus work for and what does he do?" Buffy asked.

"He's the Prince of the Undead and he has absolute authority over 
skeletons, zombies, shadow demons and vampires," Tara answered.  

"So, why would the Prince of the Undead agree to a deal that would 
bring back the Vampire Slayer?" Buffy asked the question all three 
of them were pondering.

"The child," Tara whispered, her eyes widening.

"What?" Buffy demanded.  "How can a demon claim a child?"

"If the child is half demon from the Prince of the Undead," Giles 
pondered.  "I need to make some more phone calls."

He started to get up when Buffy reached over and grabbed him by the 
arm.

"No secrets, everything up front," she demanded.  "We're in this fix 
because everyone was keeping secrets and theories to themselves."

"You're right," Giles said, sitting back down.  "I'm sorry, Buffy." 

"For what?" Buffy asked.

"Everything," he exclaimed.  "I wanted you to grow up and be on your 
own and I'm still treating you like a teenager.  I think there might 
be a prophecy or something about an anti-Slayer I need to call the 
Council about."

"Anti-Slayer?" Tara questioned and noticed Dorothy's face looking 
very troubled.

"Is that anything like the Anti-Christ?" Buffy asked softly.

"Something on a smaller scale, actually," Giles said.  "If I 
remember correctly.  Let me make some phone calls, I'll be back in a 
few minutes."

Buffy frowned and played with the salt and pepper shakers while Tara 
and Dorothy appeared lost in thought.

"I'm not sure I can do this, Buffy," Tara said finally and the 
Slayer looked up into the witch's blue eyes.  

"What part?" Buffy attempted a slight bit of humor in the horrible 
situation.

"Watching Willow go through a pregnancy with a demon child," she 
whispered.

Dorothy reached across the table to hold her hands again.  

"I understand that one," Buffy muttered.  "Nine months of Rack 
trying to get to her."

"We have to stop him soon or he'll gather more dark and evil 
energy," Dorothy said firmly.

"How do we stop him?" Buffy complained.  "I kick ass with hands and 
stake, not magic stuff."

"Well, one way is to wear him down magically until he has to reach 
out to his demons and devils for support," Dorothy explained. "When 
he can't deliver on his promises, then the demons might kill him or 
abandon him, leaving him weak enough to defeat."

"Then I kill him," Buffy said, her voice flat and her eyes hard.

Tara looked surprised.

"He's human, Buffy!" she protested.

"No, he's not," Buffy growled.  "He's as bad as a demon, vampire or 
zombie."

"Enough, you two," Dorothy snapped. "The higher forces will decide 
what needs to be done when the time comes."

Three sets of eyes looked up expectantly as Giles walked back into 
the kitchen.  He looked pale and Buffy whimpered.

"That is not a happy face," Buffy muttered.  "That is not a face 
that is about to give good news."

"No, I'm afraid it isn't," he said softly.  "I've asked Dawn to keep 
an eye on Willow while Xander and Anya come down and hear this."

"Oh gods, so not good," Tara whimpered.

Giles cleaned his glasses slowly and didn't glance up even when 
Xander and Anya entered and silently sat down at the breakfast bar.

"Give, Giles," Buffy said softly.

"I was&uh, correct," he stammered. "There is an ancient gypsy 
prophecy that a powerful witch will bear the child that will destroy 
the Chosen One."

"Okay," Buffy said slowly. "That definitely is not good news."

"Yeah, but prophecies have a way of coming out screwy," Xander 
pointed out.

"So true," Anya agreed.

"What else, Giles?" Tara asked.  

"That the child will have the powers of both parents, the blood lust 
and evil of the father and the magic of the mother with the power to 
walk in day. Nothing that frightens the Undead will cause him 
worry," Giles said, obviously quoting what he had heard from someone 
on the Council.

"Okay, how do we kill the kid?" Anya asked bluntly.

"Anya!" several voices yelled at the same moment and she ducked her 
head. 

"What?" she yelled back.  "I'm asking what you all are thinking!"

"If the child is half demon then it will protect itself while in the 
womb and once born&" Giles hesitated.

"What?" Buffy demanded.

"Well, once born, it'll be unlike other half demons," Giles said 
slowly.  He was so tired and worried about Willow that he wanted to 
cry.  "We don't know how to kill the demon or what powers it's going 
to have. All we know is that he or she will be the mortal enemy of 
the Slayer."

Buffy frowned, playing with the pepper shaker. 

Tara looked at Giles and her eyes narrowed.  "What else, Giles?"

Everyone's eyes focused on Giles as he cleaned his glasses.  A tear 
escaped down his face and he wouldn't look up.

"The mother dies during childbirth," he said softly. "The Watcher 
scholar I talked to, a young chap, said something about some movie."

"What are you talking about?" Xander asked.

"He said it would be like Alien," Giles tried to explain.

Tara's hand shot to her mouth, Buffy dashed out the back door and 
Anya thought Xander was going to be sick right in front of her.  

Giles, not a Science Fiction movie fan, had never seen the movie but 
he had a pretty good idea that it meant something very horrible for 
his Willow.  Given everyone's reactions, there was now no doubt 
about it.

Dorothy got to her feet.  "I'll see to Buffy and protect her out 
there in case that rascal is out there."

"Thank you, Dorothy," Giles said softly.  "Apparently, the pregnancy 
isn't as long as a normal human one, about four months and is very 
rough on the mother."


"What do we do?" Xander asked, keeping his dinner down, barely.

"What can we do?" Anya asked.  "If Willow has this child then it'll 
be bad news for whatever Slayer is around when the child gets older."

"I don't care if we're talking Damian here!" Xander snapped.  "We 
can't kill Willow!"

"Wankers!" 

Everyone looked up wearily at Spike in the kitchen doorway.  

"You aren't harming Little Tree!" he snapped.

"No, we're not," Giles agreed.  "We're going to do anything we can 
to break her deal with the demon and protect her."

"Better not think of hurting her," Spike grumbled. "She may have 
slipped a bit from your Knight in Shining Armor routine but she did 
it for Buffy."

"We need answers, we know the demon who arranged the pact is Orcus, 
Prince of the Undead," Giles told the vampire.

For the first time in years, Giles saw something in Spike's eyes 
that he never thought he would ever see: Fear.

"Orcus?" the vampire whispered.

"Yeah," Xander said calmly.  "Prince of the Undead type guy, some 
kind of messenger for the head guy who made the deal with Willow."

"Fuck," Spike muttered. "What deal? You mean Rack's deal with the 
demons for Willow's soul and the child?" Spike asked.

Buffy and Dorothy came back in from outside.  Everyone could see 
that both women had been crying, especially Buffy.

"No, Willow made a deal with an Arch Prince demon for my soul and 
body," Buffy said softly.

Spike slid down the door jam with a stunned look on his face.  

"She made a deal with her soul for you?" he whispered and everyone 
nodded.  "With Orcus?"

"We know he was the messenger," Giles clarified. "And we think Rack 
set Willow up with a demon and she's carrying a half-demon child."

"Fuck," the vampire muttered.  "Listen, you'd better call Angel."

"Why?" Buffy frowned.  She did not want to deal with Angel right 
now; her feelings were way too confusing as it was without dealing 
with her vampire ex-lover.  

"He knows demons and he knows about Orcus," Spike explained.  "Then 
I need to leave town."

"What?" Buffy snapped, now she was really getting confused. "Why?"

"Orcus is the Prince of the Undead!" Spike snapped.  "Hello, Slayer! 
Undead bloke here! If he shows up I'm either toast or his servant."

"He could use you against us?" Giles asked with a frown.

"Since I can't attack any of you, I wouldn't be much use to the 
beggar, would I?" Spike snapped, getting to his feet.  "I figure I'd 
be a pile of ash if I got in the way."

"Alright," Giles said wearily.  "Xander, can you do something about 
that window upstairs?"

"Yeah, I think there's some plywood in the garage," Xander nodded.

"Good, take Anya with you," Giles suggested.  "Buffy's right, I 
don't think anyone should be alone while Rack and Amy want Willow 
back."

Xander and Anya moved towards the garage to find boards to cover the 
broken window while Buffy and the others stared at their feet or 
hands.

"Alright," Giles said finally. "We have several things to focus on 
and I suggest we start with the immediate threat of Rack and Amy and 
getting Willow through the detoxing."

"Okay," Buffy said softly. "What will all this do to a baby if she 
is pregnant?"

"Well, it's not exactly listed among the recommended activities for 
a mother-to-be," Giles admitted sourly.  

"Alright, let's call Angel and see if he and Wesley have any clues," 
Buffy suggested.  "Spike, are you up to watching Willow for awhile?"

"Yeah, I'm good," Spike muttered, sliding back up the wall until he 
was standing.  "Good choice, Slayer, I don't need to hear Peaches' 
voice."

"How could you sleep with him?" Xander demanded as he and Anya 
walked through the kitchen with boards, nails and hammers.  Spikes 
boots echoed throughout the house as he tromped up the stairs 
towards Willow's room.

Buffy began to blush a bright red when Giles dropped his glasses and 
looked at her.

"Everyone off my case about it!" Buffy snapped. "It was a mistake!"

"Yes, well," Giles stammered. "Let's get back to Willow, shall we?"

"Let's call Angel on the phone in the den, it's a speaker phone," 
Tara suggested.

Everyone moved into the small den area as Buffy frowned and entered 
the room last.  It had been her mother's office area for the gallery 
and she hadn't been in much since her mother's unexpected death.  
She also wasn't thrilled about talking with Angel, especially when 
she was so confused over her feelings for Willow, Spike and Angel.

Giles looked at his watch and dialed the number to the office from 
memory, hoping that an agency run by a vampire would keep hours 
later than the typical 9-5.

"Hello, we're heading out the door, talk fast!" Cordelia's voice 
ordered.

"Cordy?" Xander muttered.  

"Cordelia?" Giles said, a little louder.

"Whose this?" she demanded.

"It's Giles and everyone, Cordelia," Giles said firmly, signaling 
the others to be quiet.

"Giles? I thought you were in England," Cordelia commented and they 
could almost hear her settling in.  "Angel's downstairs, you want me 
to patch you through?"

"Yes, please. It's very urgent," Giles said gratefully.

A series of clicks and tones sounded and then Buffy closed her eyes 
when Angel's voice came through on the speaker.

"Giles, you're back from England?"

"Yes, I got into Sunnydale this evening," Giles responded.

The Scooby Gang heard him yelling at Cordelia to enter and then 
heard Wesley and Cordelia's voices in the background.

"I have you on speaker phone, Angel," Giles said.  "We need 
information and it's urgent."

"Okay, hang on," a moment later the voice tone changed. "We're on 
speaker here too. What's wrong?" 

"It's Willow, Angel," Buffy said, loud enough to be heard by both 
groups. 

"Willow?" Cordy's voice became very concerned and they could hear 
Angel and Wesley telling her to be quiet for a moment.

"She made a pact with an Arch Prince of Hell for the spell to bring 
Buffy's body and soul back," Giles explained.  "Willow's been 
involved with some serious dark magick."

"We think the sorcerer may have set Willow up for a Rosemary Baby 
thing," Anya added in.

"Cordy!" Wesley's voice startled all of them.

"Hang on, guys!" Angel yelled.  They could hear the muttered voices 
of the men and the higher pitched one of Cordelia for a few moments 
and then Angel's focused one.  "Sorry about that.  Awhile back 
Cordelia was a victim of something similar and almost had a demon 
child."

"Is she okay?" Giles frowned.

"Yeah, it was a mess," Angel responded.

"Sorry, Cordy, but can we get back to Willow?" Buffy asked 
impatiently.

"Sure, it just caught me off guard," Cordelia's voice answered.

"You said Arch Prince of Hell?" Wesley asked.

"Yes, she hasn't said his name," Giles continued 
explaining.  "Willow is detoxifying from the black magic and hasn't 
given us any information except that she exchanged her soul for the 
spell to bring Buffy back. The name of the messenger for the Arch 
Prince was Orcus."

"Orcus?" Angel's voice was almost whispered over the 
speakerphone. "Prince Orcus?"

"Yeah, Spikeboy had the same reaction," Xander commented.

"Orcus serves Baal-beryth, Giles," Angel said, his voice suddenly 
flat. 

Buffy watched Giles sink back in his chair, starring at the speaker.

"Baal-beryth?" he asked softly.

"Yeah," Angel's voice sounded amazingly saddened and Buffy felt a 
panic beginning to build inside her.

"Why would an Arch Prince agree to bring a Slayer back to life?" 
Giles asked, throwing the question to Wesley and Angel.

"The Anti-Slayer?" Wesley pondered aloud.

"That's what we were thinking on this end," Giles confirmed.

"Wait a minute!" Buffy snapped. "You mean Orcus, Baal or whoever, 
set Willow up with Rack so she could get pregnant?"

"More than likely they were using Rack," Giles corrected.

"Who's Rack?" Cordelia demanded.

"The sorcerer that Willow hooked up with and did some major black 
mojo," Xander explained. "He's the one that set her up to get 
pregnant with Bally's kid or something."

"Baal- beryth," Giles corrected absently.

"We think Willow was hoping to figure a way out of her pact with the 
Prince," Dorothy added in.

"This is Dorothy, she's with the Watcher Council," Giles 
explained. "She's a witch and a nurse and is helping Willow with the 
detoxifying thing."

"I'm Angel, Wesley is a former Watcher and Cordelia is our partner. 
Gunn isn't here right now," Angel said on his end.

"How do we break the pact and save Willow's soul, keep her alive 
during a pregnancy with a demon child, protect her during the birth, 
and what to do with a child that is a half demon?" Wesley pondered 
aloud.

"I think it's worse than that," Giles said.  "I think this might be 
the prophecy of the Anti-Slayer coming to pass."

"The gypsy prophecy," Angel commented.  "The child of a powerful 
witch and a demon."

"Yes," Giles nodded.

"Okay, let me think and make some calls, maybe visit a few demons 
down here," Angel suggested.  "I'll get back to you before dawn."

"Right," Giles agreed.

"Thanks, Angel," Buffy added.

"Not a problem, we'll figure it out," he said firmly and they heard 
a click and then dial tone.

"I'm going up to Willow," Buffy muttered and dashed out of the den.

++++++++

"Hello, Slayer," Spike muttered when Buffy slowly walked into 
Willow's room.  She was relieved to see Willow still sleeping 
soundly.  "What'd Peaches have to say about this mess?"

"He'll get back to us," Buffy answered, her voice reflecting her 
distraction as she watched Willow's troubled face.  She could sense 
Spike's irritation and ignored it and him as she walked across the 
room and sat on the bed next to Willow.  Buffy gently brushed a lock 
of red hair off Willow's forehead.

"You've got it worse for her than Tara does, don't you?" Spike 
demanded, almost spitting the words out.

"I don't know," Buffy admitted. She turned on the bed to face him as 
he sat in a chair near the dresser.  "Spike, I'm sorry. I do care 
about you but I don't love you."

"You can't deny the attraction, Slayer," he growled.

"No, I can't," Buffy nodded, accepting it.  "I couldn't turn to the 
one I was wanting and needing and I used you.  Spike, you were the 
only one I could turn to with that energy, anger and desperation. I 
was so angry at Willow for bringing me back that I couldn't turn to 
her."

"So I'm a substitute?" Spike demanded.

"Yes," Buffy admitted, a tear escaping her eyes.  "You're incredibly 
sensual, attractive, and dangerous. And a vampire.  I seem to have a 
weakness for good looking vampires."

"Well, I'm not sure if I should be flattered or insulted in all of 
that," Spike mumbled. "I'm a substitute but it's because I'm a sexy 
bugger?'

"Yeah," Buffy smiled wearily and laid down along the sleeping Willow.

"What about Tara in this?" Spike demanded.

"I don't know, Spike," Buffy mumbled.  I really don't know."

++++

Tara sat down at the kitchen table with Giles and Dorothy, trying to 
fight back tears.

"How do we tell Buffy?" she asked softly, ignoring the banging from 
upstairs as Anya and Xander boarded up Willow's window.

"Tell her what, child?" Dorothy asked.

"That Willow is lost," Tara whispered, not looking at either of them.

"Mr. Giles?" Dorothy looked to the ex-Watcher for answers.

"Do you know of Baal, Ms. Dorothy?" he asked.

"He's even got his name in the Bible, along with Lucifer," Dorothy 
nodded.

"Yes, and he's on the same level as Lucifer, just one step down from 
Satan," Giles began explaining. "If he has a claim on Willow, not 
even the Pope could stand a chance of saving her soul."

"What are you saying?" Dorothy demanded with a frown. "There's 
always hope!"

"Not with Baal and Orcus," Giles muttered and jumped when the phone 
rang.  Tara got up slowly and answered it.  After a moment she 
handed the phone to Giles.

"Angel, yes," Giles muttered, pulling out his notepad and 
pen.  "Yes, go on."

The conversation went on for several minutes while Giles scribbled 
frantically.

"Yes, thank you," Giles responded finally. "Yes, I've got that. 
Thank you, Angel. Yes, I'll let them know."

Tara hung up the phone and looked at Giles expectantly as he looked 
over his notes.
"Well?" she finally snapped.

"What? Oh yes," he muttered.  "There might actually be some hope.  
See, Angel thinks that Baal is playing Willow and Rack both for 
fools, which makes perfect sense if you know demons.  If Baal's plan 
works, he gets all of them: Willow, Rack, Amy and the child. If 
things don't go right, he still will get someone and the child."

"There's no hope for the child, then?" Dorothy demanded.  "I can't 
believe a child will be born to be evil."

"You believe in the Anti-Christ?" Giles countered.

"Of course," Dorothy grumbled.

"I assume he'll be a child at one point in his life before becoming 
powerful, like those movies," Giles commented.  "This is the same on 
a smaller scale."

"Was Hitler evil to begin with or was it a combination of nature and 
nurture?" Tara muttered, pondering an old philosophy question.  "If 
you could go back in time and kill Hitler as a child, before he 
became powerful, would you do it?"

"I hated that question in school," Giles complained.

"If you kill Hitler you might save millions of lives," Dorothy 
pondered.  "Or you change history and they still all die under 
Stalin. Do we kill young Willow and her child based on what they 
might do in the future?"

Giles frowned.

"I've made some mistakes," he muttered, thinking aloud. "I shouldn't 
have left. I knew she was headed for trouble. Willow is like a 
daughter to me, all the kids are closer than any child could be.  I 
couldn't kill her."

"We wait for her to give birth to a monster and kill the child?" 
Dorothy asked.

"And let Willow die in childbirth?" Tara reminded them.

"Damn!" Giles swore.

"What did Angel say?" Tara asked again.

"Well, Rack thinks that he's extending his life and powers by 
promising Willow's soul and that of the child to Baal," Giles began 
explaining again.  "The problem is that Willow's soul is already 
lost and the child is already Baal's to claim as his child and 
because Willow is his. Rack is selling property he doesn't have 
title to back to the original owner."

"Meaning that Rack will fail in his promise and because he can't 
fulfill his part of the deal, Baal gets to claim his soul for 
punishment," Dorothy reasoned.  "Gotta hand it to those demons, they 
can be worse than lawyers."

"I think most lawyers are half demons and don't know it," Giles 
muttered.

"That still leaves Willow and child in Baal's hands," Tara 
complained.

"Yes," Giles nodded unhappily.  "We can attack Rack and weaken him, 
forcing him to call on his demons for help. When he isn't able to 
produce Willow's soul, they'll probably turn against him and kill 
him. We can protect Willow from him that way but I don't know how to 
break her contract with Baal nor how to save her from this 
pregnancy."

"Well, we need to find out who the father is," Dorothy 
declared.  "If it's that bastard Rack, he's mostly human and we can 
deal with that.  If it is Baal or Orcus, we need to know that."

"Who do you call to figure out paternity of a demon? A witch 
doctor?" Tara asked sarcastically.

Giles raised his eyebrows in surprise.  Tara usually wasn't one 
known for her aggressive behavior and demanding presence.  He could 
see how tired and worried she was and he could also tell something 
was bothering her besides the demon stuff.

"Angel suggested Willy might have some answers as to who to call," 
Giles said softly.  "What is it, Tara?"

"I'm not thinking too clearly, Giles," she admitted.  "I've lost 
Willow on every level. If she comes out of this, Buffy is going to 
step in and I won't stand a chance. I've always known that Willow 
loves Buffy, I just didn't think it would hurt so much."

"Again, I say let's just get Willow through this and the three of 
you can figure out who is dating whom," Giles complained.

"Yeah," Tara nodded, feeling like she was going to lose again, like 
she always did in life.

++++++++++++

Buffy woke up to green eyes watching her and it took the Slayer a 
moment to realize that she was lying in Willow's bed with the witch 
curled up in her arms.  

"Hi?" Willow asked softly and Buffy pulled back with a frown as she 
realized that Willow had one arm out of the restraints.

"Hi," Buffy said cautiously, looking around for anyone else and the 
clock. The sun was up and it felt like she had slept several hours.

"I was tossing and turning in the middle of the night and someone 
unbuckled my arm so I could hold you," Willow explained. "I guess I 
fell asleep again."

"The clock says that it's 2 o'clock and I don't think it's the 
middle of the night. Looks like they let us sleep the day away," 
Buffy added, trying to restrain herself from nuzzling Willow's 
neck.  Buffy sat up quickly to avoid the temptation and looked down 
at her friend.

Willow was still too pale and thin but her eyes were green, alert 
and it looked like she was coherent.

"How do you feel?" Buffy asked softly, unable to resist brushing a 
lock of hair from Willow's forehead.

"Like I've been through hell," Willow answered. "I don't think I can 
even stand up."

"Probably not, you've been going through some pretty rough stuff for 
a few days," Buffy agreed. "I need to find Giles or Miss Dorothy and 
let them know you're awake and yourself."

"Don't leave me, please," Willow begged, her eyes afraid. "I can 
hear Rack calling me. I don't want to be alone!"

"You can hear him?" Buffy asked, lying back down on the bed next to 
her Will, letting Willow's head rest on her shoulder.

"Yeah, he's calling psychic like," Willow whispered. 

Buffy heard Willow's breaths quicken and opened her eyes, her face 
and lips only inches away from Willow's.  The Slayer stood up 
quickly.

"I'll yell from the door," she muttered.

Moments later the entire Scooby Gang, including Spike and Dorothy 
were crowding into the room, trying not to hover over Willow but 
anxious to see her awake and aware.

"Giles?" Willow asked softly. "How long have I been out of it?"

"Several days, Will," Buffy said gently, sitting on the edge of the 
bed, taking Willow's hand in hers, trying to reassure the obviously 
scared young woman.

"What's the last thing you remember, Willow?" Giles asked, sitting 
in a chair next to the bed.  Willow looked around the room and began 
blushing when she spotted Tara next to Dawn near the door and 
frowned at the plywood nailed to the window.

"Not a lot since I messed up so bad and hurt Dawnie," Willow said 
softly, unable to meet Tara or Dawn's eyes. "I remember talking with 
Buffy and then everything hurt. Did I hurt anybody?" she asked, a 
tear escaping down her face as Giles unbuckled her other wrist.

"Well, you threw a lamp at me with your mind, young one," Dorothy 
commented but with a smile.  "You probably don't remember me, I'm 
Dorothy."

"She's a nurse and a witch," Giles added.  "She's been helping us 
keep you here and not in a hospital."

"The window?" Willow asked.

"The same time you threw the lamp, you tried to get out to Rack," 
Buffy answered, pulling Willow into her arms as Giles unbuckled 
Willow's feet restraints. "She says she hears him calling to her 
mentally."

"What happened to me?" Willow questioned, her eyes turning to Giles 
for answers and the Watcher felt his heart skip a beat with guilt. 

"What happened is I was an idiot," Giles admitted in front of 
everyone.  "I didn't question you about that spell that brought 
Buffy back, I kept my fears and suspicions about all of it to myself 
and left."

Giles reached out for Willow's other hand and sighed when she 
reached back for him without hesitation.

"Please forgive me, Willow," he said softly.  "I shouldn't have left 
you."

Buffy brushed another tear away from Willow's cheek.

"What happened to me?" Willow repeated.

"Could we have some alone time?" Giles asked everyone else in the 
room.

"No," Willow snapped.  "I've obviously been the center of attention 
even if I didn't know it. I messed up bad and everyone knows it. Now 
tell me, please."

"You told us that you made a deal with an Arch Prince Demon for your 
soul in exchange for the spell and power to bring Buffy back," Giles 
began and Willow turned her eyes away.  "We managed to get out of 
you that Prince Orcus was the messenger."

"Then you went into total meltdown," Xander piped in.  "Like my 
brother."

Willow began blushing and Buffy tightened her hold around her best 
friend.

"I remember some of that, it hurt so bad," she said softly. "I feel 
so weak."

"Only the IVs kept you going, young Willow," Dorothy explained.  

"What happens now?" the red-head asked.

"Well, we found out some things that we need to talk about," Giles 
stammered, removing his glasses and beginning to clean them.

"Uh oh," Willow muttered. "That's not good."

"You still want everyone in here, Will?" Buffy asked softly, knowing 
they were going to have to bring up the possibility of Willow being 
pregnant and with what.

"Yeah, I guess I don't have any secrets," Willow 
muttered.  "Shouldn't have had them to start with."

Willow looked up into Buffy's eyes.  

"I don't regret bringing you back, Buffy, no matter what the cost 
was," she said, tears flowing down her cheeks.  "I should have left 
though when Tara left me."

"I'm glad you didn't," Buffy countered, wiping away her own 
tears. "I've been such a jerk the last couple of months, I'm sorry."

"Everyone is sorry, can we get back to it?" Giles snapped 
impatiently.

"Okay, what else is there? I'm addicted to magick, I give up and 
I'll go to Magick Anonymous or something," Willow asked, a little 
irritable as her energy began fading.

"Willow, let's go over this slowly," Giles suggested.  "We know that 
Orcus serves Baal-beryth, is that who you made the deal with?"

Willow turned her eyes away and Buffy could feel her withdrawing 
into herself.

"Tell us, Will," she urged.  "We need to know if we're going to find 
answers."

"I can't!" Willow whispered, her eyes growing fearful. "That was 
part of the deal, if I talk then it's guaranteed my soul is his."

"It already is, Willow," Giles countered.  

Tara approached the bed slowly.  Willow looked up at her ex-
girlfriend hopefully and broke into tears when Tara sat down beside 
Buffy and touched Willow's leg affectionately.

"Please tell us, Willow," Tara asked.

"Yes, it was Baal-beryth. The Arch Prince Demon over pacts, treaties 
and contracts," Willow whispered, closing her eyes.

"Oh my God," Giles whispered, closing his own for a 
moment.  "Alright, we figured it was Baal from Orcus. Why would the 
Prince of the Undead and an Arch Prince agree to bring back the 
Slayer?"

"I&I don't know," Willow admitted. "Baal-beryth said something about 
waiting for centuries for me."

"Goddess, the prophecy," Tara muttered.

"What prophecy?" Willow demanded.  "Don't tell me it's another 
damned prophecy."

"Yup," Xander said ruefully. "And you fell into it."

"What now?' Willow asked.

"Willow," Giles hesitated. "What do you remember about your time 
with Rack?"

"Don't like remembering that," Willow muttered, closing her eyes 
wearily.

"Come on, Will, stay with us," Buffy urged.

Willow opened her eyes reluctantly.  "I don't know; it was like 
someone describing a drug trip. Never done drugs so I don't know if 
that's right but it was like totally weird. Energy was dancing 
everywhere, different colors and power&" Willow frowned.  "I kinda 
woke up and dragged Dawn out of the there but I was still messed up."

"You need to try and remember what happened," Giles urged.

Willow's eyes blazed.

"I don't want to!" she snapped.  "I don't know what happened!"

"Will," Buffy choked. "We think something horrible might have 
happened besides you having sex with Rack."

If she had the energy, everyone had no doubt Willow would have 
jumped up and ran away. As it was she wailed like a wounded animal 
and buried her face in Buffy's shoulders, beginning to weep 
hysterically.

"What could&be&worse&than that?" she stammered after a few minutes 
of Buffy rocking her and Tara moving into Giles' place, holding her 
from the other side at Buffy's encouragement.

"We think Rack promised Baal your soul, Amy's soul and another one 
in exchange for power and longer life," Giles explained.  "We don't 
know how old he is. This is how he works."

"But my soul is already forfeit," Willow protested, reaching out to 
hold Tara's hand as she stayed in Buffy's arms.

"Rack doesn't know that," Spike pointed out.

"What other soul?" Willow asked. "What could be worse than sleeping 
with that sleeze?"

"We think Baal set you and Rack up, he plans on taking Rack's soul 
by tricking Rack into thinking your soul is free," Giles 
continued.  "We think he further set you both up in&well&by&"

"Ever see Rosemary's Baby?" Anya jumped in. "Remarkable film, a 
little old though."

Willow's eyes widened and Buffy could feel her heartbeat quicken. 

"No," Willow whispered. "Baal? I was with Baal? I'm pregnant?"

"Will?" Buffy asked softly.

Willow screamed, her body arching off the bed and out of Buffy's 
arms. The Slayer shouted in fear as her friend fell back on the bed 
unconscious.








------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> 
$9.95 domain names from Yahoo!. Register anything.
http://us.click.yahoo.com/J8kdrA/y20IAA/yQLSAA/RoMolB/TM
--------------------------------------------------------------------~-> 

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

Community email addresses:
     Post message: buffywantswillow@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
     Subscribe:    buffywantswillow-subscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
     Unsubscribe:  buffywantswillow-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
     List owner:   buffywantswillow-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Shortcut URL to this page:
     http://groups.yahoo.com/group/buffywantswillow

Official archive for the list:
     http://www.ikoly.com/fanfic

Other links to Buffy/Willow fics:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/buffywantswillow/links  
Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
   http://groups.yahoo.com/group/buffywantswillow/

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
   buffywantswillow-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
   http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/