Chapter 18
It had been a few hours since Willow had been brought to the hospital and
stacy hadn't strayed from her side once. She sat by her bedside and watched
over her. Scully had left them to make a phone call and Stacy was grateful
to be alone with Willow for a moment of quiet and peace. Scully was so full
of anxeity and she had told Stacy what she had seen with Mulder and
Barrington...or at least though she had seen.
"It was all a blur!" Scully had blurted out in frustration. "I still find
it hard to believe. Did I see what I thought I saw? Is this all a bad
dream and I'm going to wake up any minute to tell Mulder 'I told you so'?"
She had thrown up her hands. "This can't be real! This can't be
happening!"
And then she had stormed out to make her phone call.
Stacy sat watching Willow, and she had the feeling that for Willow, it
wasn't over yet. "Oh, God..." she said softly, "she's so young."
"And her heart is pure."
Stacy turned her head. Jeremiah was standing at the foot of the bed,
looking down at Willow fondly.
"Willow doesn't understand the battle she is in," Stacy told him as if
trying to plead with him not to let Willow go through any more pain. "She
cannot be thrown to the wolves like this. They'll..." she hesitated,
"they'll tear her apart."
Jeremiah smiled reassuringly. "Willow is right where she needs to be,
Stacy. It is her innocence and purity that can save her in this battle. It
is her child-like faith that will help her defeat the enemy." He looked at
Willow again who was sleeping peacefully.
Stacy looked at him. "What must she go through?"
"He will come for her soon. He will take her away."
Stacy closed her eyes and tried to keep her tears back. She looked at him
imploringly. "Jeremiah...please don't let her go through this!"
Jeremiah shook his head. "She won't be alone." He paused to look at her
thoughtfully. "He will also take you, and one other."
"One other? Who--?"
"Be strong and of good courage. Let not your heart be troubled. You will
go and you must wait."
"Xander...?" Willow called out softly.
Stacy sat up and looked at her. "Willow...it's me...Stacy."
Willow opened her eyes. "Stacy?" She looked around and discovered that she
was lying in a hospital bed and she was wearing a hospital gown. She
frowned. "Oh..."
Stacy glanced toward the foot of the bed but Jeremiah was gone. She
returned her gaze to Willow. "What's wrong?"
"Well...if I'm in this bed and not my own...then none of it was a dream."
She looked at Stacy. "I was kind of hoping that's all it was."
Stacy brushed aside some of Willow's long hair from her face with her
fingers. "No. I'm afraid it wasn't a dream."
Willow had a look of thoughtfulness on her face as if she were trying to
figure something out. She let out a sigh. "All of the parts that I was
with Xander...that was probably when I was dreaming."
Stacy shook her head. "He was with you when we found you, Willow. In fact,
he got to you before we did."
Willow regarded her closely. "Uh, really?"
She nodded. "I'd say he cares for you." She smiled. "I can tell by the
way he looks at you."
"Oh oh..." Willow had a far-a-way look on her face.
Stacy looked concerned. "Willow, what is it?"
"Oh...uh...nothing...really. I-I'm feeling just a bit tingly." She turned
her head to look at Stacy and tried to reassure her that she was okay. "No,
no...th-this isn't a bad thing. It's really a good thing because,
well...I-I only get tingly when I think of Xander." She took a deep breath
and closed her eyes. Then, she opened them again. "Oh, boy...I-I'm still
thinking about Xander."
Stacy smiled. "Would you like me to get him for you?"
Willow looked surprised. "Uh...Xander's here? I-In the hospital?"
"Yes. He's in the waiting room." Stacy added, "Buffy, Giles, and Cordelia
are here, too." She wasn't about to tell her that Jenny Calender was also
in the hospital as a patient, at least not yet. Not for awhile. "Would you
like to see all of them?"
Willow hesitated, "Oh...d-do you think I look messy?" She ran her fingers
through her hair.
"I think you look beautiful, Willow."
Willow stopped fussing with her hair as she looked at Stacy. There was
something on her mind and she had to know. "Stacy...h-how did Xander find
me?"
Stacy moved back toward the bed. "You said that you were in the tower
waiting to be rescued by a knight from a dragon. It was something like
that." She looked at her, puzzled. "Why?"
"But...how did he know I said that? I re-remember having a dream, and I
told this angel named Jeremiah that I was in a t-tower waiting for my knight
to save me from the-the evil dragon, but...how did Xander hear that?" She
looked at Stacy in desperation. "D-did Xander have the same dream I had?"
Stacy decided not to tell her about the video tapes at this point. There
was no telling how she would react. "Willow...we found you. Does it matter
how we found you?"
Willow looked thoughtful. "Well...I suppose it doesn't." She rested her
head back against her pillows. "At least tell me one thing..."
Stacy almost dreaded the question. "What?"
"How did you throw those vampires at the factory without even touching
them?" Willow's eyes were wide with wonder.
Stacy laughed. "Well...Willow, that wasn't me."
"It wasn't? But you told them to get back...a-and they did!"
"It's called faith. That's how I was able to do that. Faith can do a lot
of things for you if you truly believe with all of your heart. It makes you
stronger, even when it seems that you are at your weakest. And sometimes,
it is the only thing that can get you through a battle."
"Don't you need a lot of faith to be that strong?"
"No. Sometimes a little bit of faith is enough." Stacy put her hand
affectionately on Willow's faith. "I'll go get your friends."
Willow grabbed her hand. "Thank you, Stacy."
"You're welcome."
Stacy turned to go. In the waiting room, she was in time to see Buffy,
Giles, and Scully running off through the ER's exit. She frowned as she
approached Cordelia and Xander. "Where are they going?"
"That Special Agent lady called the police to see if there were any more
news about the terrorists," Xander began, "and they told her that there were
hideously deformed men on a killing spree at the Mall." He glanced at
Cordelia and rolled his eyes. "Not 'shopping' spree."
Cordelia sighed. "I didn't say they were on a 'shopping' spree. Vampires
don't have any taste to shop anyway!"
Xander shrugged. "Anyway, Buffy went to do her thing, and Giles went as
back up. I really don't know why Agent Scully went with them, unless she
really is special." He looked at Stacy. "How is Willow?"
Stacy smiled wryly. "Willow is asking to see her friends."
"Well...she will understand that Buffy and Giles had to run off," Cordelia
commented. "After all, they have to save the world."
They headed for Willow's room.
"Uhm..." Xander began, but then he hesitated, "Stacy...has Willow said
anything about..." He trailed off as he glanced at Cordelia.
Stacy winked knowingly at Cordelia. "Willow has mentioned your name quite a
bit, Xander. And every time she says your name or thinks about you, she
experiences a symptom."
"A symptom?"
"Yes. She says she gets all tingly."
Xander's eyes widened as he thought about that. The three of them entered
the room, and Cordelia and Xander hugged Willow at the same time. Cordelia
backed away after the hug, But Xander found that when he went to back away,
Willow wouldn't let him go.
"Don't leave!" Willow exclaimed.
Xander smiled at her. "I'm not going anywhere, Will." He sat on the side
of the bed and held her hands.
Willow laid back on her pillows and looked at Xander. She was studying his
face and searching his eyes. Without saying a word, she was trying to
determine if he was a dream or if he was real. Xander seemed to know what
she was thinking. He squeezed her hands reassuringly to let her know that
he was truly there. She was not dreaming.
Her smile to him was far more beautiful than he had ever imagined.
"How are you feeling?" Cordelia asked.
Willow kept her eyes on Xander. "I'm tingly all over," she said dreamily.
Stacy smiled.
"And that's a good thing," Xander replied. "Right?"
Willow nodded. "Oh...i-it's a nice feeling." She paused. "Don't you feel
tingly, Xander? I-I was kind of hoping that it was a contagious
thing...like a sharing kind of tingly." She wanted to know if he felt the
same way.
Xander shook his head. "No, Will...I don't have the tingles."
She looked at him. "Oh..."
"But I think I have other symptoms. One in particular I won't tell you
about...because I'd really rather not." He cleared his throat. "But I can
tell you about the sweaty palms, the rapid heart beat, shallow breathing,
and sometimes...the room begins to spin."
"O-oh, that's nice." Willow smiled. She was wondering about the symptom he
wouldn't talk about. She wanted to know what that one was.
Cordelia smiled at them. "Do you two want to be alone?"
Willow blushed and again Xander cleared his throat.
"Well, I'll leave you be. Besides, I'd like to look in on Miss Calender
anyway." She gave Willow another hug. "I'm so glad that you're back,
Willow. It's really kind of dull around here without you."
Willow stared at her incredulous. "It is?"
"Yeah. You're all right, in your Willowish way." Cordelia waved and she
left the room.
Willow looked at Xander. "Did Cordelia Chase just compliment me?"
Xander grinned. "Will wonders never cease?"
Stacy was watching Willow with concern. She was hoping that Willow had not
grasped where Cordelia had said she was going. Unfortunately, Stacy saw the
sudden knowing look in Willow's eyes.
"She's going to see Miss Calender?" Willow looked from Xander to Stacy.
"What's wrong with Miss Calender? Why is she in the hospital?"
Xander looked at Stacy. "Willow...you need to think about you right now."
He ran his fingers through her hair. "You've been through so much."
She grasped his hands. "No, Xander! You have to tell me what happened."
Stacy put her hand on her shoulder. "Miss Calender is here, Willow. She's
been shot, but she is okay."
"Shot?! But who shot her?"
"One of the terrorists shot her."
Willow's eyes began to form tears. "I-I don't understand. Why did they
shoot Miss Calender?"
"We don't know. We don't have all the answers but we will stop them."
Xander hugged Willow to him. "Miss Calender is going to be all right."
"B-but if they're still out there, Xander," Willow began, fear trembling in
her voice, "w-what if they come after me again?! Please don't let them take
me!" Her body was trembling as she wrapped her arms around him tightly.
Xander was suddenly scared for her. "They're not coming back for you, Will.
I promise you, they're not. Michael is out there right now making sure
that they leave you alone. He won't let them come after you. And he will
get them for what they put you through and for what they did to Miss
Calender."
They held each other for awhile in silence. Stacy rubbed Willows back as
Willow buried her face on Xander's chest and cried softly. Stacy had seen
this so many times before with other victims who had been kidnapped by
terrorists. But this time it was harder. It had happened to someone whom
she called family.
"Wiiillooow..."
Everyone froze.
Stacy and Xander turned their heads toward the door and Willow peeked out
from where she was huddled against Xander. Her eyes widened in fear.
Julius had entered the hospital room and he had four others with him. He
smiled as he showed Willow her collar and leash. "Willow...I've come to
take you home." He showed her a box of Animal Crackers. "I've even gotten
you some Willow treats for when you behave yourself."
"N-no..." Willow shook her head.
Julius' minions spread out and moved toward them.
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Chapter 19
There were five of them.
The five terrorists of the Iranian Liberation Front were on a mission and
they fully intended to carry out that mission at any costs. They were
prepared. What they were doing was as simple as diverting the enemy from
Abhar Jhamel to buy him time. Before long, it would be all over. Their
fearless leader would set off the bomb that would literally destroy the
world. However, the terrorists foolishly hung to the belief that their
actions would give them great reward in the afterlife.
Because of their beliefs, they did not fear death. Unfortunately for them,
there was one large flaw in their great scheme of things. There was an
underlying factor that would shortly seal their fate.
Pride.
The terrorists entered into the large cavern of which the Master himself had
once resided. It was exactly as they had imagined when they had been told
about this great place of evil. They discovered the large pool of blood and
they marveled at it as they gathered around it to stare. When the time came
for the Hellmouth to open because of the nuclear device, they wondered if
the portal would open from within the pool of blood.
Within the cavern around them, there were several other avenues to gain
entrance into the Master's Lair. Mulder was keeping to the shadows at one
of those entrances directly above the terrorists, and the Special Agent of
the FBI knew that Lenox was at one of the entrances below. Lenox was at an
entrance behind the enemy.
Lenox and Mulder had gone over a plan and they realized that it was
relatively simple...in theory. The plan was a two-fold plan.
Pick a target.
Take it down.
Mulder had his Uzi at the ready as he waited. Behind the terrorists, he saw
movement. Then he saw that the movement was caused by Lenox as the Hunter
moved away from the entrance that he had been in.
One of the terrorists, however, saw a shadow moving across the pool of
blood. Mulder had unknowingly moved in the light of a dim bulb above his
head at the mouth of the tunnel.
The terrorist suddenly whipped his weapon around to level it at the entrance
above and he fired off a burst. Bullets flew around Mulder and he was
forced to dive back into the shadows. He pressed his face into the ground
as the bullets continued to fly above him. A second terrorist joined in
with the first, and they sent a double burst of gunfire Mulder's way.
The other three terrorist began to spread out from the others, intending to
take up better positions to gun down the intruder. One of them, however,
turned and found himself face to face with Lenox. Lenox just didn't have
the heart to shoot the man so "up close and personal." Instead of shooting
the man, the Hunter broke the man's jaw with one quick strike from his Uzi.
The terrorist fell hard as Lenox opened fire on the remaining four
terrorists. Suddenly, everyone was shooting and looking for cover. Mulder
was finally able to return fire and he was almost overcome with a manic glee
as he saw one of the terrorists fall into the pool of blood.
"Wahoo!" he shouted. "Hot-diggity-damn! I got one!"
Lenox glanced up in Mulder's direction. "Don't get cocky, kid!" He looked
around the cavern, but the remaining terrorists had taken cover where they
could find it. "There's still three more!"
"Don't worry, Yoda!" Mulder called down to him. "The Force is strong in
this one!"
A terrorist rose up from hiding and he opened fire at Mulder's position. As
Mulder ducked back into the shadows, Lenox opened fire at the terrorist.
However, the terrorist quickly took cover. No one had been hit.
The Iranian shouted out obscenities in his own language.
"Speak English if you're going to insult us!" Lenox shouted. "How are you
going to make us feel bad if we don't understand what you're saying?!"
There was a pause.
Then the Iranian terrorist responded with, "You cannot defeat us!"
"We've heard that before!" Mulder exclaimed. "Tell us something new!"
"You will fall! Your great country will be crushed! We will detonate the
bomb that will unleash hell on this earth! Infidels! You will die and we
will have our great reward!!"
Mulder shook his head, even as he knew they couldn't see the gesture.
"That's a bunch of horse manure!! You won't detonate any bomb! You won't
unleash hell on earth! You will fail!"
Lenox rolled his eyes. When would the FBI learn that there was just no way
to reason with terrorists? Why was Mulder even trying?
"You are a fool!" the terrorist shouted at Mulder. "The nuclear device is
being prepared...even as we speak!! It is being set!!"
Mulder reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. "You won't
get any reward! We will...because we'll set our bomb to go off before you
set yours!!"
Lenox frowned. "Wha...?" he said to himself.
Mulder pressed a few buttons on his phone.
Beep...bleep bleep...beep...
In the cavern, the beeping from Mulder's cell phone sounded quite loud. The
remaining three terrorist began to look around nervously, wondering what was
happening. Even Lenox could not be certain what Mulder was up to, but he
was chuckling to himself and shaking his head.
There was sudden silence.
Sometimes, when a person strained to hear the slightest sound around him, he
could discover that silence was very loud. For what seemed like a long time
but was only ten seconds, no one spoke and no one moved.
Finally, Mulder said softly, "Oh, shit..."
Within the cavern, his soft spoken comment could be heard be all.
Lenox frowned. "Mulder...? What the hell are you doing?"
"Well..." Mulder paused for affect. "I...uh...I set it to go off a minute
earlier than I had meant to."
The terrorists looked at each other with suspicion.
"At least we'll beat the Iranians, Lenox!!" Mulder shouted. "Our bomb will
go off before theirs will and we will get the great reward!!" For affect,
he opened fire toward the terrorists and shouted out a manic war cry. After
his burst from the Uzi, he ducked back into hiding.
Lenox grinned. Nice try, he thought, but it wouldn't accomplish any thing.
Just as that thought crossed the Hunter's mind, all three of the terrorists
suddenly came out into the opening with their weapons at the ready. They
began to open fire as they waved their weapons before them. They didn't aim
at anything in particular for they were counting on mayhem to do their work
for them. All they knew was that they had to kill their enemy before the
Americans bomb exploded first. They wanted to go to their deaths fighting.
Lenox and Mulder were a bit more careful, and a lot more accurate. They
leveled their weapons and fire with extreme prejudice. Bullets ravaged the
enemies bodies and forced them to dance. Finally, they fell where they had
been standing, their weapons no longer firing.
Silence descended within the cavern.
Mulder poked his head out from hiding and he looked down. "Hey! Is that
all there is?"
Lenox glanced up at him and nodded his head. "Yeah...We got them all."
Mulder began to climb down as he chuckled out loud. "I can't believe they
actually fell for that old 'cellular phone-beeping bomb' routine."
Lenox looked down at the bodies, and then he surveyed the cavern with his
eyes. Finally, he shook his head. "Neither can I."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Jhamel and his driver strode with determination down the long corridor of
Sunnydale High School. They were looking for the library for it was there
that Jhamel intended to carry out his plan. He had been waiting for this
moment for a long time. Finally, everything he had been trained for,
everything that he had been prepared for had been leading him to this great
moment in his life.
To this very hour.
It would be his final hour and it would change the course of history for the
entire world. His name would be spoken with reverence and respect, and with
fear and awe. He would be hailed and hated. But it would be a glorious
thing for him. He smiled as he and his driver continued to make their way
along the corridor.
Suddenly, there was the sound of loud screeching that assaulted their ears
with no mercy. They stopped in their tracks and covered their ears with
their arms. It was worst than when someone scraped nails on a chalkboard.
It was so bad that they couldn't move. They begged for the noise to stop
but it seemed like there would be no end to this hideous torture.
However, just as quickly as it had begun, it stopped.
Slowly, the terrorists lowered their arms and they glared up and down the
corridor. Jhamel looked up at the speakers inserted into the ceiling and
pointed up at it. The driver nodded his head. But before either of them
could say anything, the screeching returned. This time, it was worst on
their ears than the first time. Again they covered their ears and Jhamel
was almost on his knees.
The screeching stopped again.
Jhamel shouted obscenities at the speaker. Then he grabbed his driver by
the collar and he shook him. "Find this school's PA system!" he shouted.
"Kill whoever is responsible for it!!"
The driver nodded anxiously and then he ran off.
Once the driver was gone, Jhamel continued to glare up at the speaker as if
he were daring it to make more noise. When it didn't make any noise, he
straightened and began to resume his walk down the corridor.
*"Attention! Attention!"* came a man's voice over the speaker.
Jhamel stopped, spun around, and glared at the speaker.
*"This is Principal Crazy Man speaking! Otherwise known as...the
Speaker!!"*
Jhamel fumed in anger.
*"Due to a lack of homework participation amongst the student body, there
will be no more chocalate pudding allowed for dessert. It will now be
rice-a-roni pudding. The non-creamy, very sticky, very bad uncooked rice
pudding."* There was a pause. The man cleared his throat...loudly.
*"Abhar Jhamel, please report to the Principal's office. You have been a
very bad boy and the School Board has called for drastic disciplinary action
against you! Therefore, a public spanking has been decreed to be your
punishment in the school auditorium. Tickets are on sale. Iranian
terrorists must leave all weapons with security!! Thank you very much."*
Suddenly there was silence.
Jhamel stood still and listened. He could tell that the PA system was still
on. Then he heard a scuffle, as if two people were struggling. The more he
listened, the more he was certain that there was a fight going on between
two people. A gunshot sounded followed by a thud.
And then silence.
Jhamel waited.
But the voice returned. *"We return to our regular broadcast to announce
that an Iranian student has just been expelled for his uncontrollable
flatulence!! It will be some time, however, for the odor to dissipate, so
please...all students must wear their gas masks! As for the bad boy Abhar
Jhamel, your spanking is long over due!!"
Jhamel shouted in anger at the speaker, raising his fist at it. He gripped
the nuclear device and ran. For awhile, it seemed like he was just going in
circles but his determination paid off when he finally found what he had
been looking for.
The Library.
He ran into it and stopped at the center of the library so he could prepare
the timer to explode the bomb.
Someone tapped on his shoulder.
He spun around.
"Welcome to the Cross Roads," Barrington told him, and then he punched him
in the face.
The only weapon Jhamel had on him was the device. It was a weapon designed
by men. Jhamel, however, considered his own rage to be the most powerful of
all weapons that he had ever used. He called upon his anger now and
unleashed it upon Barrington with a vengeance.
The two men fought hand-to-hand combat. They traded blow for blow, swinging
their fists or sending a foot into each other. Jhamel had tried to hit
Barrington with the device but the Hunter grabbed his arm and shoved him
into a bookshelf. Both of them crashed into the bookshelf, which caused it
to topple and fall. They fell hard with it and Jhamel dropped the device.
Barrington sent three fast and furious blows with his fists to the
terrorist's face. Then he dove for the device, scooped it up with both
hands, and rose to his feet. He just managed to open the side panel of the
device when Jhamel dove at him and caught him in a tackle. The two men went
crashing through the window where they took the fight outside with them.
Barrington managed to get to his feet first, and he sent a flying kick to
Jhamel's face to keep him down longer. Then he took off at a run with the
device still in his hand. As he ran, he scooped up something from the
ground.
Jhamel angrily rose to his feet. In his hand, he gripped Barrington's .44
Magnum that he had managed to take from the Hunter as they had come through
the window. He saw Barrington running off on the school's lawn and so he
gave chase. He was very angry and determined to catch the American. No one
was going to stop him from his sacred task!!
At the center of the lawn, Jhamel fired a warning shot and Barrington
stopped.
"Stay where you are!!" Jhamel shouted.
Barrington slowly turned to face the terrorist as the man approached. "You
won't get away with this," Barrington said lamely.
Jhamel leveled the gun at Barrington's head as he held out his free hand.
"Give me the device," he ordered calmly.
Barrington paused. "What if I just decide to keep it?"
"Then I will simply shoot you and take it from your corpse."
Barrington nodded thoughtfully. "So...you're giving me one of two choices.
Death by bullet or death by nuclear fire." He let out a weary sigh. "Those
are not very good choices. Isn't there a third option?"
Jhamel scowled. "No."
Barrington hesitated. Then he handed over the device.
Jhamel took it and stepped back. He quickly looked it over, was apparently
satisfied that there was no damage to it, and then he began to set the
timer.
"Uh..." Barrington took a step back. "How many minutes are you setting
that for?"
Jhamel smiled. "Why? Do you think you can outrun the blast?"
"I was the best track runner in my high school."
Jhamel laughed. "Then, run, fool! But you will never make it! 'Welcome to
the Cross Roads,' infidel! You only have ten seconds to run!" He held the
device up proudly.
Barrington took another step back as he held up the Orb of Tesa. "I'm
running...with this! By the way, I switched it and replaced it with a mere
stone! Your nuclear device is now as powerful as a grenade!" He spun
around and ran as fast as he could.
Jhamel stared in horror at the device.
3...2...
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!" he shouted.
The explosion behind Barrington lifted him off his feet and threw him to the
ground. It had not been a nuclear explosion. It was a small explosion and
it only took the life of one man...Abhar Jhamel, the Speaker.
Barrington rolled onto his back and looked up.
Billy Fronk looked down at him. "Lying down on the job again, I see.
Wait'll I tell the others about this. They have such high expectations of
you, ya know."
Barrington grabbed his hand and Fronk helped him to his feet. Then they
turned to look at the fire from the explosion.
"You know what this means, don't you?" Fronk asked him.
Barrington glanced at him. "We won't be allowed to the School Dance?"
"It means detention. But so much detention that it'll be passed onto our
kids...and their kids. And the great grand kids. They'll all have
detention because of this."
Barrington looked at him. "Crazy Man...I'm not having any great grand kids
with you."
Fronk pretended to sniff back a tear. "Damn...Now I have to go and listen
to some Country music."
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Chapter 20
(Believe)
Scully could not believe her eyes.
The Sunnydale Mall was a place of terror. Men, women, and children were
running for their lives and screaming out of fear. There were so many
things that Scully had seen throughout her years on the X-Files and she
thought that many of those things could be explained whether Mulder wanted
to except that or not. What she was seeing now could also be explained, but
not in the way she would have expected.
She could not deny what her eyes were telling her.
The villains chasing after innocent lives were clearly not terrorists. And
they were not people who's bodies were being ravished by some unknown plague
or sickness.
They were vampires.
Scully stood at the top of the stairs and she stared in horror as a vampire
sank its teethe into a young woman's throat. The woman had been screaming,
but now a blank look crossed her face as the vampire fed from her.
Giles grabbed Scully by the arm and he shook her. "Deal with your disbelief
later!" he exclaimed. "For now, pick a target and aim for the heart!"
Scully nodded as she brought up the crossbow she had been holding and it was
already loaded with a wooden bolt. Giles had given it to her to use as they
had neared the Mall and at first, she had thought it to be a bit too extreme
and outdated. But now she understood the need for it.
She even approved of it.
Below them on the main floor, Buffy was fighting off three vampires. Scully
was amazed at the Slayer's fighting ability's. The girl was fast on her
feet and quite deadly. As Scully raised her crossbow and sighted on her
first kill, Buffy had already staked two, turning the blood-sucking leeches
into dust, and was working on the third.
Giles leveled his own crossbow and he fired. The bolt hit its target and a
vampire turned to dust. Side by side, Giles and Scully began to pick off
vampires one by one.
"I'm quite impressed," Giles told her as he reloaded his weapon. "You
haven't missed a single one of your targets."
Scully reached for another bolt. She was getting into this. "You're not
too bad yourself...even if you did miss one shot."
Just as she was saying that, Giles fired off a shot. The bolt sailed
through the air and stuck into the vampires left eye.
"Make that two." Scully fired as the wounded vampire looked up at them with
its one good eye. The bolt from Scully's crossbow struck its heart and
ended its miserable existence.
Giles frowned. "I-I didn't realize we were keeping score."
The Watcher was impressed with something else besides the Special Agents
superb marksmanship. He noticed that there were several people who refused
to run from the impending danger...that they had no desire to become victims
then or at any other time. Many of them turned the tables and actually
began to attack the evil villains. Giles watched in amazement as four
teenagers dragged one vampire to the floor and they proceeded to stab it
repeatedly with crossbow bolts they had retrieved from the floor.
One of those teenagers was a boy named Jonathan. He was the one who finally
hit the heart. When the vampire turned to dust, he looked at the floor in
amazement. Then he joined the other teenagers and they sought for another
target.
"They're running off!" someone shouted.
Buffy had just slain her seventh vampire and turned it into dust when she
heard the shout. She looked around and discovered that it was true. The
remaining vampires were fleeing. She had the strangest feeling, however,
that their sudden departure had nothing to do with their vivtims fighting
back. Something else was going on. Sch could feel it.
"Buffy!"
She spun around. She was surprised to see Cordelia running toward her.
There was a look of fear and anxeity on her face.
"Cordelia!" Buffy called out as Giles and Scully joined her.
Cordelia ran up to Buffy but then she had to sit down to catch her breath.
She reflexively brushed her hair back and Giles, Scully, and Buffy stared at
what they saw. Cordelia's neck had imprints of a hand, as if a large hand
had been around her throat. There were bruises and her skin was an angry
shade of red.
"Oh, my God!" Scully exclaimed as she began to look closely at her neck.
"What happened to you?"
"H-he picked me up and choked me!" Cordelia responded in a rush. "H-he
squeezed my throat...I couldn't breathe." There were tears in her eyes and
she was still shaking from the experience. "I-I couldn't stop him. H-he
picked me right up from off the f-floor and I couldn't stop him!!"
Giles looked at her with concern. "Who did this?"
"T-the Heir!!"
Buffy put her hand reassuringly on Cordelia's shoulder and she sat next to
her. "I'm so sorry, Cordelia. I should have been there. Are you okay?"
Cordelia shook her head as she tried to control her breathing. "No. I'm
not okay. He said he wanted to feed but that he would come back for me at
another time. He wanted me to give you a message first."
"What message?" Buffy didn't like the way this conversation was heading.
She had a very bad feeling that it was only going to get worst.
Cordelia looked at Buffy. "I saw Miss Calender, and then I went back to see
Willow. He was taking her away. The Heir was taking Xander and Stacy,
too!" She hesitated. "I couldn't stop them! You could have, but not me!"
Buffy was already blaming herself. "No one's blaming you, Cordelia," she
said softly.
Cordelia looked at Buffy and she realized that what she had said made her
sound like she was casting blame. She shook her head and would have said
something, but Scully also realized what Buffy was thinking. "No one's
blaming you either, Buffy," Scully told her. "This is the Heir's doing.
Not anyone else can take the blame for these actions."
"The Heir let you go, Cordelia," Giles said as he removed his glasses.
"It's quite obvious that we are meant to go after him to free Willow,
Xander, and Stacy."
Buffy shook her head. "I must go, Giles. No one else has to. I'm the
Slayer and that's what I do."
"He has an army, Buffy. You'll need back up."
"Giles, I--"
"Buffy, if you go alone, you will fall alone. And we will eventually join
you. If we go with you, we have a fighting chance." He paused as he
regarded her. "You are not meant to fight this battle alone."
Buffy didn't know what to say.
"Our only major obstacle right now is in locating his lair."
She threw her hands up into the air in frustration. "I don't know where he
took them, Giles! I haven't a clue as to where the Heir's lair is! How are
we supposed to find it?" She let out a weary sigh. "They could be
anywhere!"
Scully grabbed her cell phone and used the speed dial to pull up her
partner's cell phone number. She hit send and looked at the others. "I
know where the Heir is taking them. I've seen his lair."
Everyone turned to look at her, surprise evident on their faces.
There was a look of determination on Scully's face as she put her phone to
her ear. "Mulder...It's me. We've got a problem. Do you remember that
large chamber we saw deep below the quarry?" She paused for affect. "We
have to go back!"
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Willow was full of despair.
She was forced to wear a collar around her neck, a collar she had tried in
vain to remove. The collar was attached to a leash which only increased the
despair she was feeling. The leash itself was secured to a metal ring
inserted into a pillar far above her head, out of her reach. This forced
her to remain on her feet at all times. She could not sit down for the
leash did not give her any room to manuever. All she could hope to do was
stand next to the pillar and lean on it for support because her body could
only take so musch. She had been standing for almost an hour in her
hospital gown and her body was trembling with fatigue and stress.
It was a humiliating experience.
She leaned back against the pillar and looked at the altar on the raised
platform. She herself was near that altar. She could look down from the
platform and below, there were several vampires standing about. Most of
them were leering up at her with malicious grins. They were envious of the
Heir, but they would not disobey him. Inspite of that, they dreamed of
draining her blood.
She quickly looked away from them and tried to control her breathing.
"D-don't hyperventilate," she told herself. "Breathe...breathe...Think
h-happy thoughts."
Then she looked over the altar and at the far wall on the other side of the
chamber. She could see Xander and Stacy chained to the wall. Even though
she had a clear vision of them, they were too far away from her for them to
be able to talk with each other.
Xander didn't like the distance either. He periodically gave his chains a
yank, trying to pull them free from the wall, but he kept on failing in his
quest for freedom. He slumped against the wall for what seemed to be the
hundredth time and scowled. Then he turned his head and he saw that Stacy
was watching him.
He let out a weary sigh. "Did I mention to you that I hate terrorists and
vamires?"
Stacy nodded. "Yes. You did mention that a few times."
"Well...I still do."
"Xander, I know this looks bad," Stacy told him as she looked across the
chamber at Willow. "But we will be okay." She saw Jeremiah standing beside
Willow.
Willow and Xander were unaware of Jeremiah's presence.
Xander looked at Stacy and frowned. "I'd really hate to be the bearer of
bad news, Stacy, but this not only looks bad...it is bad." He saw the love
of his life suddenly stumble and she nearly fell. "Willow!!"
Willow put her hands on the pillar and steadied herself as a wave of nasuea
and dizziness passed over her. She looked toward Xander and Stacy.
"I'm-I'm okay!" she called out to them.
Xander angrily gave his chains another tug. He braced his feet against the
wall and pulled with everything he had. But the chains would not budge.
"Xander, that won't do any good," Stacy said softly.
He let out another sigh. "I know. I know. It's just that I can't stand to
see Willow treated like this!" He looked over at Willow, suddenly aware
that she was watching him. He tried to give her a reassuring smile but
realized that all he was doing was showing her a grimace.
Willow, however, smiled back at him.
Her smile alone touched his heart and he yearned to be near her. He smiled
back without the grimace. It was a smile for Willow like she had a smile
for him. He didn't understand why but he thought that it was the most
precious thing in the world just to be sharing something so simple as a
smile with the one he truly cared for. Someone he loved.
Stacy watched them. Then she said, "She has a very strong spirit, doesn't
she?"
Xander nodded his head. "Yes, she does." He hesitated, "But will it be
enough for what the Heir has planned for her?"
Stacy didn't answer. She didn't know what the final outcome would be. She
only knew and believed that it would be okay. Finally, she said, "You love
Willow, don't you?"
Without hesitation, Xander answered, "Yes. I do."
"Let her know it."
Xander turned to look at Stacy. She smiled encouragingly at him.
He looked over the altar at Willow. Willow smiled at him and kept her eyes
focused on him and him alone.
He put his finger at the corner of his eye. "I..." Then he crossed his
hands over his chest as if to hug himself. "...love..." He pointed at
Willow. "...you."
Willow stared. Then she stumbled and caught herself. Her vision blurred as
the tears came.
"Oh, Willow!" Xander cried out. He glanced at Stacy. "I'm a bad boy!!
Bad! I made her cry!"
Stacy shushed him. "Xander, it's okay. It's not a bad cry. It's a good
cry."
Xander looked over at Willow and she saw that she was giving him the same
sign as he gave her. But she added one more at the end by spreading out her
arms wide. Then she leaned back against the pillar and smiled.
"What was that?" Xander asked Stacy. "At the end, she added something."
Stacy smiled at him. "She loves you more."
Xander grinned.
Willow smiled at him from the pillar.
"Why do you smile, pet?" inquired a voice.
Willow spun her head and she saw Julius walking up the stone steps toward
her. She froze with fear as he drew closer. He stopped before her, looked
down at her, and regarded her.
"GET AWAY FROM HER!" Xander shouted.
Julius laughed. "There shall be entertainment here tonight!" He turned to
face the lower chamber, where his followers had gathered to adore him. They
cheered him. "This is a glorius night! And I can only promise that it will
get better." He glanced at Willow. "I highly recommend that you go out and
find yourself a human. Refrain yourself from feeding though. They make
wonderful pets."
His followers laughed.
"As for the Slayer...she will soon meet her end." He turned to regared
Willow. "Where is your Slayer, girl? Why has she abandoned you?"
Willow didn't respond.
"She will not save you, you know. No one will save you. You will remain
here with me until I grow weary of you, and then you will die." He paused
as he watched the tears form in her eyes. "You have only yourself to blame
for your situation."
She looked puzzled. "What?" she asked hoarsely.
"You were using your computer to access information about Michael Lenox,
weren't you?"
She stared at him. "How did...?" She stopped. She was trying to make
sense of what Julius was telling her.
"The Iranian Liberation Front has its own computer hackers and I can assure
you, they are much better at their jobs than you are. You allowed them to
trace your own inquiries about Lenox. We knew who he was. We know that he
is a man who is given free reign to hunt us down and kill us like animals.
But you didn' know. When you began to look on the internet, you opened up a
trail that led us right to you. We broke into your files, Willow. We
learned about the things that you learned about Sunnydale and the Hellmouth.
We learned about everything...from you."
Willow was in shock. She stood against the pillar and trembled. "I-it's my
fault you came here?" she whispered.
Julius nodded. "Yes." He pointed at Stacy. "Now look at her."
Willow did.
"Did you realize that because of who she is and who her husband is, she has
more enemies in this world than you can possibly imagine? Each of her
enemies would do anything to have her in their clutches." He smiled.
"Perhaps I can contact them and sell her to the highest bidder!"
"No...please..."
"And then we come to the matter of your boyfriend." He looked over at
Xander. "I have thought of a most suitable way to kill him for you. And it
will be slow and quite painful, I can assure you."
Xander pulled on his chains. Then he spun around and glared at Julius.
"You're a coward !" he shouted. "You think that by keeping us chained up
makes you feel like a real man!"
Julius turned to face him, his face was bulging, his eyes were yellow, and
he revealed his fangs as he growled menacingly at Xander. He began to
approach his captives.
Xander swallowed a lump in his throat. "Okay, I take that back. You
couldn't possibly be a coward...with a face like that. Grotesque, maybe.
But not a coward."
Julius put his hand around Xander's throat and picked him up without any
effort at all. "You want to play, little man? Then play we shall!" He
released Xander and he pulled out a key. He unlocked the manacles, and
before Xander knew what was happening, the Heir picked him up and walked him
to the edge of the platform.
He tossed him.
Xander hit the ground hard, and he felt his breath rushing out. As he
caught his breath and got to his knees, he found that a large gathering of
vampires had formed a circle around him. He looked up at them and knew that
he was going to be very dead very soon.
Julius smiled as he turned to look at Willow. "Watch as your boyfriend gets
torn apart."
"Xander!!" Willow screamed.
Phhhhtt!
Phhhhtt, phhhhtt, phhhhtt!
Four vampires suddenly turned to dust right before Xander's eyes. He got to
his feet and something just brushed past his ear. Another vampire turned to
dust.
Julius frowned. "What have you done?!" he demanded.
Three more turned to dust just as one of the minions pointed up to a hole in
the wall above them. "There!" he shouted.
All eyes turned and Xander blinked. Giles and Scully were firing bolts from
crossbows.
Suddenly, there was the wild sound of Tarzan doing his wilderness call.
Vampires turned to one of the entrances and one of them immediately turned
to dust as a wooden pole was thrust through his heart. Fronk whipped the
pole aside and speared another one.
"'Here he comes to save the day!!'" Fronk sang out. "'Mighty Fronk is on
the way!'"
Behind Fronk, Lenox and Barrington charged in with their silver swords at
the ready. Mulder, Spike, and Angel charged out from another entrance and
Mulder gripped a sword.
Mulder swished the sword through the air. "Wahoooo!" he exclaimed.
Spike ducked. "Hey! Watch it with that thing, you dolt. I am on your
bloody side."
Mulder laughed. "Sorry about that, Blondie. But I've never experienced an
X-Files like this." He shook his head. "Fighting with vampires while
teamed up with two vampires? Hell, forget aliens! Thet'll lock me up and
throw away the key after this one!"
Julius stared in astonishment as he watched the battle begin. Xander had
taken the opportunity to try to get up the stone steps intending to get to
Willow but two vampires got in his way. Ignoring them, Julius decided that
in his rage he was simply going to kill his beloved pet. It was all her
fault anyway.
"Willow," he began as he turned to look at her. His back was to the altar.
"I think it's time for a treat."
"I've got your treat right here for you, Heir," said a voice from behind.
"I would have thought that you liked your steaks raw and juicy, but all I
could get you was this nice pointy, wooden stake."
Julius turned around.
Buffy was standing on the altar with her hands on her hips. "Let's just get
to the point, shall we? When you see the Master right after I send you to
Hell, you can give him my regards."
"You think you can defeat me?" Julius growled.
"Let me think..." Buffy nodded. "Yep. I can. In fact, Heir today, gone
tomorrow sounds just about right to me. Actually, let's make that gone
tonight!" She swung her foot and caught the Heir below the chin, throwing
his head back. Then she dove off the altar and the real fight began.
Buffy got in a lot of good hits when the fight started. She spun and kicked
him several good ones, but then he began to block her blows. He gave her
several hits of his own and she began to worry. She realized that he was
barely hurt from what she had dished out and yet her body was aching
horribly from his blows.
Willow watched in horror as she, too, realized that Buffy was not going to
win this fight. Buffy was going to lose.
Buffy was going to die.
Willow shook her head. "No..."
As if in slow motion, she saw Julius send a blow to Buffy's face. The
Slayer's head turned with the blow and blood flew from her lips.
Willow looked toward the lower chamber and saw two vampires trying to kill
Xander. He threw punches and kicks at them, but they were wearing him down.
It was only a matter of time before they...No! There had to be a way.
There just had to be a way!
Suddenly, the collar around her neck slipped off and fell into her hand.
She stared at it. Then she looked up and she saw Jeremiah.
He put a hand upon her shoulder. "Willow..." he said with a reassuring
smile. "Believe. The most powerful force on earth is to have faith and use
it."
Willow turned and saw Julius holding Buffy by the throat. He had her above
the ground and he was laughing as he squeezed. Buffy was unable to breathe.
"Noooo!" Willow shouted.
It was at that moment when a sudden feeling of calm came over her. She knew
without a doubt that somehow she was going to win this battle. She looked
at Julius with a new determination as she slowly approached him.
"Let her go, demon!" she commanded.
Julius didn't let Buffy go, but he did turn his head to look at Willow. He
opened his eyes to say something, but he stopped when he saw Willow's face.
There was fire in her eyes.
"I said...LET HER GO!" Willow shouted. She rose a hand.
Somthing pried Julius' fingers from Buffy's throat and she dropped to the
ground. She gasped for breath, and she looked at Willow. Willow was
completely engulfed in a white light, and yet her features could be seen
clearly. Her hair whipped around her head by as if caught in a wind.
Julius spun around to face her. "How can this be?! You are not strong!"
Willow's hands went to her sides and she had her palms facing Julius.
"Back, demon!"
All motion seemed to stop. The fighting below ended as everyone seemed to
sense that something powerful was happening. They saw Julius flying across
the entire length of the chamber where he collided into a wall. He fell to
the ground, groaning. As he staggered to his feet, he was aware that all
eyes were upon him.
Willow was standing on the raised platform with her hands still at her sides
and her palms facing out, and she was looking out toward Julius with her
head bowed low. Bright colorful spots were spinning around her head.
"I will look upon my enemy, and I will cast him into the void. I will send
him to the blackest depths of Hell where he may never return." Her voice
echoed loudly throughout the chamber. "He will be bound and cast into outer
darkness! There shall be wailing and gnashing of teethe!!"
Suddenly, it was as if all of their eyes were opened.
Everyone stared as seven large angelic creatures appeared from behind
Willow. They dove onto Julius with a fury and the struggle began. He
shouted and cursed as he tried to fend them off, but they were upon him and
they would not be so easily defeated. The angelic creatures began to bind
him with heavy chains and they lifted him up off the floor. In fact, they
were all floating up from the floor.
Lenox and Xander ran up the steps to reach Willow. But they stopped
suddenly as the ground began to shake.
Buffy looked down at the lower chamber. "GET OFF THE FLOOR!" she shouted.
Angel, Spike, Mulder, Fronk, and Barrington managed to make it to the raised
platform as the ground literally began to tear open directly below the
vainly struggling Julius and the angelic creatures. Several vampires fell
into the hole and they screamed as they vanished into it. A horrible sound
omitted from that hole. There was screaming, and the sounds of a roaring
fire. Julius continued to struggle but it was no use. The creatures
dropped him into it and the earth closed, swallowing him whole.
The angelic creatures vanished.
The shaking stopped.
Even all of the vampires were gone with the exception of Spike and Angel.
Giles and Scully had joined the others from their hiding place from above,
but everyone was looking at Willow. She had collapsed onto the platform and
was lying still.
Xander reached her first and he held her in his arms.
Slowly, she opened her eyes to look at him. "Xander?"
Xander smiled at her. "Will...are you okay?"
"I-I think I'm going to fall...will you catch me?"
He didn't want to tell her that she had already fallen. "I've got you," he
assured her.
She paused. She looked at him with her green eyes. "I-is it over?"
"It's over."
"Oh...well, good. Becuase I th-think I'm going to p-pass out." She closed
her eyes. Then she opened them. "Y-you don't mind, do you?"
He shook his head. "No. I don't mind, Willow." He kissed her on the
cheek. "You rest, and I'll take care of you."
She looked into his eyes. "You won't let me go?"
"Not in a million years."
She smiled. Then she closed her eyes and she lost consciousness.
Xander kept his promise. From that day on, he didn't let her go. And he
never would.
xwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwxwx |
|
Chapter 21 (End)
(The Conclusion)
Willow opened her eyes.
She was in a hospital bed...again. She could see that the sun was just
beginning to rise as the sun rays came in through her window. She looked
around and then she found that Xander had pulled up a chair beside her bed.
He was currently in that chair and his arms were on the bed by her side with
his head over them.
He was sound asleep.
Willow smiled thoughtfully and she marveled at the idea that he was truly
there with her. She hesitantly brought her hand to his head for she didn't
want to wake him, but she did want to run her fingers through his hair. She
wanted to touch him.
*Was it possible?* she asked herself. *Was there a chance that we could
really be together?*
She found herself twirling his hair with her fingers.
For awhile, she continued to play with his hair. She did this until Xander
spoke without moving. "That kind of feels good," he said softly.
Willow froze. "Oh...uhm...do you want me to stop?"
He turned his head slightly so that he could look up at her. "Willow, I
said it feels good. You don't have to stop...unless you want to."
She continued to run her fingers through his hair. "If I stop, th-then you
won't be like putty in my hands, so I'll just keep on doing this." She
paused. "Yeah, that's what I'll do. I heard that this can make a man
completely susceptible to suggestion, so all I have to do is keep on doing
this and then I'll give you orders." She nodded. "I'll have you wrapped
around my little pinky. You'll do whatever I say, won't you, Xander?"
Xander chuckled. Then he sat up, took her hands in his and looked into her
eyes. "You don't have to run your fingers in my hair to make me do your
every whim, Will." He smiled. "All you have to do is look at me and I
swear to you, all I can give you and all that I have is yours."
"Oh, that's so sweet!" Willow smiled. Then she blinked and looked at him.
"Xander..."
"Yeah, Will?"
She took a deep breath. "I-I'm feeling tingly again."
He looked at her. "I do that to you? I make you go all so tingly?"
She nodded, watching him. "Well, yeah...That is all your fault, the
tinglies."
"What exactly about me makes you tingle?"
She took a deep breath again. "Oh, well..." she hesitated, "it-it happens
whenever you walk into a room, or when the light shines on your face, o-or
when you come near me, when you smile, when you-you talk to me." She smiled
and she snuggled back as she thought of the things she liked about Xander.
"Oh, and when you do those frustrating pouts when you can't grasp something
during the times we study. And when you carry my books, and--"
Xander looked surprised. "Will, there's more?"
She looked at him. "Yes. There's more." She paused. "It's just you and
your Xanderish ways that make me feel the way I do, Xander." She gazed into
his eyes. "Everything about you makes me tingle. Everything about you
makes me love you more."
Xander regarded her in wonder. "How, uh...how long have I had this affect
on you?"
She glanced at their hands, marveling that Xander was still holding her
hands in his. She looked at his face. "Since the day you stole my Barbie."
"Your Barbie?"
"Well...Xander...i-it's not about the Barbie really. It wasn't the Barbie
you stole 'cause soon after that, you stole my heart."
Xander took a deep breath. "Wow. I had no idea what I started. But we
were kids back then, Willow."
"We were kids. Out hearts were open. At least mine was. And you were the
only boy who ever talked to me or spent time with me. You planted a seed,
Xander. Now the seed has sprouted and you're all I think about when I'm
thinking." She paused. "You stole my heart, and even now, you still hold
my heart in your hands." A single tear appeared at the corner of her eye.
"They say that true love can hurt. I know that's true. There were days
when I wanted so badly to be with you and when I couldn't, it hurt to
breathe."
Xander moved from the chair and he sat on the bed next to Willow. He still
held her hands in his. "I'm sorry that I hurt you in that way," he said
softly. "I can't stand the thought of hurting you, Will."
"Xander, I--"
"No, Willow. It's my turn now. I guess I have some things to say to you
that...well, that I should have said long before now." He cleared his
throat. "I know I've done things to hurt you. You know...the Buffy thing.
The Cordelia thing." He stopped and tried to gather his thoughts. "I know
I've practically thrown myself at their feet and you were even there to help
me overcome my fear of asking Buffy out...which I did. And that blew up in
my face."
"I'm sorry."
"No. Don't be sorry, Willow. Don't you ever be sorry." He looked at her.
"I went home that night, I listened to Country music, and for awhile, I
wallowed in the throes of self pity. But then I found myself thinking about
you."
She looked at him. "You thought of me?"
He nodded. "I did. And, well...I have a confession to make to you." He
got up and walked over to the stand on the other side of the bed. He opened
the drawer and pulled out a brown paper bag. Then he returned to sit beside
her and he looked at her. "When we were kids, Will, I stole your Barbie."
She shrugged. "But...we were kids, and-and I've heard this confession
before."
"No. You didn't. I stole it from you but there was a reason for it."
"You were a boy. It's what boys do to girls. They steal things from them
because they think they can get away with it."
"I did it because I was afraid."
Willow looked puzzled. "You were afraid?" she asked. "Of what?"
"of losing you." He ran a hand through his hair. "You see, I really liked
you...a lot. And, well, what do kids know? The real reason that boys steal
things from girls is not because they can. At least, that wasn't it with
me. When a boy likes a certain girl, he'll take something that belongs to
her. Something important to them. I took your Barbie because it was
important to you but having it made me feel like I had a part of you with
me." He looked into her eyes. "Does that make any sense to you?"
She thought about it. "Well...I guess that makes sense." She paused.
"Wait a minute...are you saying you stole my Barbie because you liked me?"
He nodded.
"But...well, what did you do with Barbie, Xander?"
"Well, I uhm I--" He took a deep breath and looked at Willow.
"You stood her up and shot at her with your BB-Gun?!" she exclaimed, her
eyes wide.
Xander shook her head. "No, I--"
"You used her as a voodoo doll and stuck pins into her!" She frowned.
"Xander! You used her as a science project a-and dismembered her! How
could you?!"
Xander put a finger to her lips and he shushed her. "Willow! Willow." He
smiled wryly. "I didn't do any of those things to Barbie."
She looked at him.
"I kept her."
"You kept her?"
He nodded. He opened the bag and he brought out Willow's Barbie. He handed
the doll over to Willow and watched her face.
Willow stared in wonder at Barbie. It was the same doll and there wasn't a
blemish on it. The doll still looked brand new. "Xander...you really kept
her?" She looked at him in surprise. "Y-you play with dolls?"
He shook his head and chuckled. "No, Willow." He paused. "I've kept
Barbie on a shelf in my closet since the day I took her from you. And
whenever I was feeling down or even whenever I was feeling good, I would
take her down and...and I would think of you."
"Having Barbie there made you feel like...I was there?"
He nodded. "Something like that. Yeah." He reached into the bag and
pulled out something else. "Do you remember when I gave Buffy a bracelet
during cheerleader tryouts?"
Willow nodded.
"That was the second bracelet I had engraved." He handed her a bracelet.
"This was the first."
Willow looked at the bracelet. On the front was engraved...
XANDER & WILLOW
And on the back was engraved...
ALWAYS & FOREVER
She looked into Xander's eyes. "You...y-you really do have feelings for
me!"
"Willow...I love you."
She threw her arms around him and hugged him tight. Xander returned the
embrace and together, they simply just held each other for awhile. Willow
didn't want to let go. She pressed her face into his neck and held onto him
tightly. Xander had no desire to let go either.
While they held onto each other, Willow said, "Xander?"
"Yes, Willow?"
She paused. "D-do we really have to wait for the fourth date?" Then she
said quickly, "Uhm...M-maybe we can still wait, but...you know what they say
about practice, d-don't you?"
He moved and looked into her eyes.
She found herself gazing at his lips.
Xander smiled. "Yeah. I know what they say about practice. It make
perfect."
Willow hesitated, "Well...then shouldn't we uhm...practice just a little?"
Xander brought his face close to Willow's and as she closed her eyes, he
pressed his lips softly to hers. They kissed each other and Xander held her
face in his hands gently.
After their kiss, Xander moved back and looked at Willow. She still had her
eyes closed and a dreamy smile played across her lips. Her breathing was
steady and he was surprised to discover that she was sound asleep.
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