Title: Was It Always Like This?
Author: Haggis
Pairing: W/G
Rating: Starts off slushy, gets a bit naughty in the middle and for the remainder of the series (18 I guess?)
Author's Email: neeps.tatties47@ntlworld.com
Summary: Willow finally stops looking and notices what's in front of her
Disclaimer: Mr Whedon and those nice people at Mutant Enemy didn't give their permission for any part of my little fantasy world where Willow and Giles finally get together.
Feedback: Gratefully received – I get pitifully excited when mail appears in my in-box
Beta Reader: Jerri – thanks for all of the encouragement and suggestions –definitely the unsung hero of this team!
Notes: Takes place after the end of season 6. Replaces the Spike nakedness of Season 7 with some Giles nakedness instead!
Chapter 1
Willow took several calming breaths and opened her eyes. After a second or two to regain her focus she glanced around the room to see where he was. Slowly unwinding herself from the lotus position and standing up she looked around for him "Giles?" She could have sworn he was in the room with her, could feel his presence while she was finishing up her relaxation and centring exercises.
A small woman with incredibly neat, greying hair put her head round the door. "He had to take a call from America, said he'd be back soon" she smiled at Willow and shook her head at her. "You're still able to sense him aren't you?"
Willow looked a little embarrassed and studied her hands for a brief moment. "A little" she admitted in a quiet voice. "But now it's only when he's in the same room with me"
Morag held the door open further and stood back to let the young woman out of the room. "We did warn you that the connection would take a little while to wear off"
Willow headed downstairs and turned round to continue the conversation. "I know but it's been three months and unless someone is paying the bill surely we should be disconnected by now!" She heaved a big sigh of frustration and waved her arms around for emphasis "I mean, everything else is almost back to normal and I'm worried that this isn't ever going to go away"
Morag looked at her and put her hand on the girl's arm to still her movements. "I promise you that you will eventually lose the magical connection, perhaps you should try to stay apart for a while and see if that speeds things up any?" She suggested with an upward movement of her eyebrow. All of the coven members had remarked on the way that they seemed to be constantly in each other's company and several had wondered at deeper feelings than either were admitting to.
"Perhaps I can help with that" Giles said and nodded at Morag. "How did the session go?" he asked Willow.
"Fine" Willow said a little grumpily and headed past him to the garden. "What did you mean about helping?" she asked over her shoulder as they all moved to a garden seat to soak up the warmth of the evening.
"Buffy has just phoned and asked when we will be returning, it seems they have a rather interesting problem and need us to do the boring stuff for them" he smiled at Willow as they shared the joke about the lack of research skills from the others.
"Where are Dawn and Anya?" asked Willow. "I thought they were handling the book work?"
"Apparently the text is particularly ancient and nobody can figure out what language it is written in, never mind translate it" Giles leaned back and stretched a little. "Anyway Buffy asked how your studies were going and then started to tell me about the latest sale at the mall but I managed to get her to stop by promising you would call her"
Willow smiled at him and sighed. "I guess this means the actual decision to return is about to be made?" she asked, and squinted at both Morag and Giles.
Morag nodded. "Perhaps you should talk to Buffy about your return when you phone her back"
Giles put his arm round the young wicca. "You know that they are all willing to accept that you have changed but they need to see you and understand just how far you've come"
"I know" she looked pensive. "And I still can't believe that they have all forgiven me but perhaps it's easy to do over the phone, perhaps they won't feel the same when they see me again"
Giles squeezed her shoulder a little. "Things will be difficult at first but you are strong enough to overcome their fears and your own"
Willow gazed off into the middle distance and seemed to be deep in thought. Morag motioned to Giles that she was returning to the house and he nodded and sat back to enjoy the beginning of the sunset over the rolling green countryside. He let himself relax until he could feel the flow of energy around him in the garden and surrounding woods. Breathing slowly he was also aware of Willow sitting next to him and her obvious concern. He knew it was a big step and he also knew that Buffy and the others were just as concerned about how Willow would react to them on her return, however, both Buffy and Willow trusted him enough to know that he wouldn't let Willow return unless he was sure of her ability to control the dark energy.
In truth he had been anxious at the beginning that she would ever be brought back from the edge of the abyss. Upon their arrival at the coven everyone had realised the size of the task facing them, with one of the strongest witches of recent times in turmoil and seriously thinking of ending her own life to save anyone suffering at her hands again. The decision to make her responsible for Giles' recovery seemed to give her enough of a reason to put off the inevitable until he was safe. Obviously she hadn't been allowed to use any magic and the non-magical process of nursing him, tending his wounds and feeding him had taken long enough to allow her to begin grieving for all that she had lost.
The residual effects of the magical connection she had started at the Magic Box had become apparent while Giles was still quite ill. Despite sleeping in a different part of the house she was still acutely aware of his pain. On several occasions she had responded first to his numerous relapses. Over the intervening months the connection had lessened a little. Both of them had been very relieved when the initial stage had passed and they were no longer in constant communication.
However, it had taken a further two weeks for Giles to stop being able to see through her eyes, a very disconcerting ability that caused serious arguments when Willow refused to use a bathroom with a mirror and asked that he be sedated when she was showering.
The remaining link was more of an awareness of the other's presence and general state of mind. Giles had suggested that it was little more than their reaction as old friends, having spent many hours in each others company, but Willow still felt that she couldn't have confidence in her control until she was entirely on her own and knew the safety net he provided was no longer present.
Willow stirred and gave herself a small shake. She had known this time would come and that she had to return to Sunnydale. The only way she could think to redeem herself was to continue the fight to stop the Hellmouth from being opened. The decision seemed such an obvious one to her now, however, she was still scared about the reaction from her friends. Taking a deep breath she decided that the only way to find out how they were going to react to her was to go home.
She looked around the garden and watched the last rays of sunlight disappear over the nearest hill. She didn't know if she would ever return to this place but knew that the calm and beauty she had been shown here would always stay with her. Her gaze finally stopped at Giles, seemingly almost asleep on the bench next to her. As she smiled slightly she felt him return from deep relaxation. "Sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you" she said quietly and returned her gaze to the garden.
"You didn't" he smiled and sat up a little, leaning his forearms on his knees. "I was just thinking about the garden and how much it has changed in our time here"
"I'm going to picture it as perpetual spring time in my memories" she smiled. "I'm going to miss the green"
"You can always come and visit us again you know, you'll always be welcome" he suggested and noticed her stiffening slightly beside him.
"You're not coming back with me, are you?" she asked quietly, his earlier remark coming back to her. "That's how we're going to be able to be apart more"
He sighed and took his glasses off. "This is something you need to do on your own and I have work here I must finish"
"When you came back to stop me, you told Buffy that the most adult thing to do was to ask for help" she suggested and turned to let him see her smile. "I guess I can't play that card, can I?"
"I'm not saying I'll never come back or that I'm not here for any of you, but I have other things that need to be done and you are all more than capable of dealing with just about anything the Hellmouth can throw at you" He paused and put his glasses back on. "Although, if any of you try to destroy the world you might want to drop me a line"
"Dawn was suggesting that as a solution to her homework backlog but I think Buffy dealt with it" she kept her tone light, despite the incipient panic rising within her at their impending separation. "Besides it will be nice to get back to a bathroom with a full length mirror"
"I haven't been able to see anything for over two months" he protested and stood up, holding out his hand to help her up as they both laughed. He could tell she was concerned about his absence but knew that it was a vital part of the final stages of her recovery.
They headed back towards the house and preparations for dinner.
Chapter 2
Willow took her time collecting her hand baggage from the locker and waited till practically everyone else was off the plane before heading towards the exit. The flight had been long, uncomfortable and boring but she had seriously considered staying onboard for the return flight to London.
With a final glance at the cabin she took a deep breath and headed down the ramp to the arrivals lounge. Buffy and Xander had promised to meet her and also that nobody else would come with them. All of them were aware of a need for the original Scooby gang to get their feelings sorted through first. Willow felt that her choice to remain in Sunnydale or return to England would rest on the next ten minutes and she was dreading her first sight of her two best friends.
Xander was anxiously scanning the thinning crowd. "Giles definitely made sure she was on the flight?" he asked for the third time.
Buffy smiled at him and stared at the gate leading from the flight. She spotted the red head as soon as she cleared the final corner and tugged Xander's arm to get his attention. "She's here" she said quietly and immediately felt relief and worry wash over her.
"Willow" Xander shouted and waved frantically, only stopping when Willow nervously waved back at him. "She looks OK" he said and glanced at Buffy for her reaction, "Doesn't she?"
"She looks fine Xander" she smiled as she realised that it was Willow she saw heading towards them and that their friend had returned.
Willow stopped a couple of feet away from them and nervously scanned their faces for any sign of fear. The moment passed and slowly she saw Buffy smile at her and knew that it was all going to be OK, not fine, not perfect, but OK.
Xander could hold himself in check no longer and pulled her into his arms. "I missed you" he mumbled into her hair.
"Breathing" Willow gasped as he continued to squeeze. "Thanks Xan, I missed you too" she smiled as he released her. "Ooooofffff" was all she could manage when Buffy joined the group hug and pulled all three together with slayer strength.
"I've missed you so much Will" Buffy whispered in her friend's ear before letting them go and picking up her bag, "Come on let's get your bags and then we thought mochas were called for" she smiled and led the way to the baggage hall.
Xander followed with his arm still round Willows shoulders, as if afraid to let her go. "Yeah, we figured three month's of Giles' tea was enough to go without chocolately, sugary goodness"
Chapter 3
Dawn sighed in as loud and dramatic a manner as possible. "I told you we had tried that one" she shook her head. "We're not dummies you know"
Willow smiled while her head was still lowered to the book but looked quite serious by the time she raised her eyes to the others. "I'm not suggesting you are Dawn but I just need to work through all of the possibilities myself to get to the right one" she smiled a little and looked back to the book in her lap. "For instance, although this isn't the same language it contains several similar cuniforms and may be a later version of the one we are looking for"
Anya leaned across the table and looked at the page Willow had her finger on "You may be right but I couldn't identify where that text came from either so we were right back at square one" She returned to her coffee and slouched in her seat.
Dawn looked a little more disgruntled. "Giles would have this figured out by now and be buying us ice cream, why didn't he come back?"
Willow suppressed a sigh and, without looking up, said "He was busy looking for a counter spell to a particularly nasty curse that turned up in one of the Watcher enclaves and he thought we would be able to deal with this ourselves"
Dawn was about to make her own suggestions about this arrangement when Buffy caught her eye and shook her head slightly. Willow was aware of the byplay but ignored it as she did actually think she was near to solving the puzzle and was glad of the quiet that descended.
Half an hour later she yawned and stretched to get the kinks out of her shoulders and neck. "We should be able to sort this mess out tomorrow" she managed around another yawn.
"You got it?" Buffy asked and put her own book onto the table.
"Yep, it just took a couple more steps from this one" she indicated the book they had discussed earlier. "You guys would have got it yourselves in a couple of days" she suggested and smiled at Anya and Dawn.
Anya shook her head and began clearing up the empty coffee mugs. "I doubt it, we were down to choosing the book with the prettiest cover to get as far as we did"
"Hey" Dawn started to protest then let out an almighty yawn of her own.
Anya efficiently moved all of the excess books to the other table. "So how do we get rid of the critters?" she asked and moved over to prod Xander, who had fallen asleep an hour earlier.
"I'll need a few ingredients from your stock and then you'll need to leave Buffy and I alone in here for an hour or so" Willow suggested with a straight face. Buffy was the only one who saw the slight twinkle in her eye and struggled to keep a smile from her own face.
Anya stopped trying to waken Xander and turned to stare at Willow. "Are you mad?" she asked incredulously. "The last time that happened you demolished my shop and seriously undermined my earning potential for several months"
The increasing volume of her voice finally stirred Xander who looked up a little blearily. "What's up guys?"
"Xander, tell Willow that she can't wreck the shop again" Anya pouted a little and put her hands on her hips.
"Willow you can't wreck the shop again" Xander said in a mock serious tone and moved to hug his ex-fiancé. He looked over her shoulder at Buffy and was relieved to see a smile winning the struggle to remain on her face. "Buffy, now you tell Willow not to wreck the shop again" he nodded at her and gently rubbed Anya's back.
Buffy crossed her arms and smiled at her best friend. "Willow, Anya says you're not allowed to wreck the shop again"
Willow sighed and shook her head. "Anya" she said. "I need these ingredients and when I arrive with the extra stuff you will not want to be here, trust me on this"
Anya struggled from Xander's arms "Trust you?" she pointed at the red head but looked at Buffy. "Have you all gone mad? She could be planning on taking over the world again and you're all laughing and bonding and…"
Willow couldn't keep a straight face any longer. "It's rabbits" she giggled and stood back as Anya jumped up onto a chair.
"Where?" she screeched and wrapped her arms round her body in self protection.
"The cure for the infestation is rabbits" Willow giggled and then took pity on the petrified shop-keeper. "Once I'd got the translation sorted out I realised the reason you were confused about the text was because it kept mentioning the bringers of doom but it meant the good guys, the ones who would bring doom to the bad guys" Realising that the explanation wasn't making anything much clearer to any of those around her she sat back down and waited until Dawn and Xander had helped Anya down from the chair. "The text was written in the wrong point of view – you have to read it as if you're one of the bad guys and then the "bringers of doom" thing makes sense as the solution to the problem and not the cause"
Buffy struggled to follow this explanation. "You mean that we bring a few dozen rab.." she stopped as she saw the hysteria mount in Anya again. "A couple of those things in here and they will take care of the nasties in the basement?" she shook her head. "They may be small but those bugs really burrow under your skin and the paranoia toxin stuff hits pretty quickly"
Willow nodded. "I know, which is pretty clever if you think about it" she smiled at the genius of the cunning plan but realised that the others were less than impressed. "I mean in a really evil and dastardly way" she stood up to stretch a little and moved towards the counter. "The thing is they have been conditioned to activate themselves in the presence of humans and then to release the poison"
Xander raised his hand, as if back in class. "Doesn't that mean that dead boy could go down there and use a giant can of Raid?" He looked around, as if expecting a round of applause at his insight.
"Not quite Xan" Willow said apologetically. "But good guess" she smiled at him and then turned to the others. "The bugs would still detect the remaining human host body of Spike and I don't think having a paranoid vampire is the way we want to go"
"You still haven't explained why you're bringing the fluffy demon-spawn into my shop" Anya complained and moved to stand, protectively, next to the cash register.
Willow grinned and almost started to bounce in her excitement. "That's the really cool part" she began, completely ignoring Anya's continuing look of horror. "The text describes several of the animals used previously to destroy the bugs and, as far as I can make out, two of the species are extinct, one is very rare and only held in captivity and the other is.. "
Buffy held up her hand to stop the young witch. "We know what it is Will" she smiled and shook her head. "I'm sure Willow will make sure that all of the solution-bringers are cleared out of the premises once they've finished the job" she explained to Anya and saw the blonde relax a little. "So how do they get the job done?" she asked
"That's why I need some ingredients" Willow nodded. "We have to magically fool the bugs into thinking that they are facing an all you can eat buffet of human-ness. Then we sit back and allow the naturally occurring antibodies in the" she paused and looked towards Anya "things" she said deliberately "to work their own magic and bring on the doom to the bad guys"
"Xander will have to check the building from top to bottom before I'll come back in here" Anya sighed and then started to count the money from the day's trading.
"Of course I will An" he suggested and shrugged his shoulders to the others. "We'll all check the place out once Willow's worked the mojo"
He motioned the others back to the large table. "She'll calm down a bit now that she can count the money but I guess you guys should call it a night and I'll see her home"
"At last" Dawn mumbled and grabbed her bag, heading for the door. "Now Willow's solved this is she going to buy the ice cream?"
Willow looked a little surprised and glanced towards Buffy for guidance. The young girl had been a little frosty around Willow since her return a couple of days ago and Willow had feared that their relationship would never return to their previously easy going history. Buffy shrugged, as mystified as her friend at her sister's sudden thawing towards her. "I guess so" Willow said a little hesitantly and followed the two sisters out of the door.
Chapter 4
Buffy unwound the protective wrapping on her hands and slowly rotated her shoulders to relax. The punch bag was still swinging and she put her hand out to stop it before heading for the front of the shop.
"Hey guys" she said as she finished drinking from her water bottle. "What's the skinny?"
"Nothing" Xander murmured and returned to reading his comic book.
Dawn looked up from her homework. "I got algebra, other than that, zip" she said and returned to her books.
Willow smiled at both of them and indicated that Buffy should take the remaining seat next to her. "I'm writing to Giles to let him know that the Hellmouth has been particularly quiet for the last couple of weeks, to see if he has heard of any big, brewing evil"
Buffy leaned over to read the letter in front of her friend. "And he needs to know you're glad to be showering alone because?" she asked humorously and watched as the red head flushed and quickly covered over the rest of the letter.
"It's just an English joke" she muttered and prayed that the others would let it go.
Xander looked at her in astonishment. "Who did you shower with while you were over there?" he asked then clasped his hand to his mouth. After several seconds of stunned silence he finally removed his hand and waved it in the air. "Forget I asked that, I so don't need to hear about slippery when wet Giles"
"Xander!" Willow shouted in outrage and looked towards Buffy for assistance. Buffy just continued to stare at Willow with a look of deep concentration on her face.
"What makes you think it was a man?" Dawn asked Xander, with a completely straight face.
"Dawn!" Willow shouted, even more concerned at this turn in the conversation.
"Dawn, pack up your homework, I think it's time I took you home" Buffy smiled and leaned closer to Willow. "You and I are going to talk later tonight" she whispered and then moved to the doorway. "Xander, could you give Dawn and I a lift?"
The young man was sitting with a shocked look on his face. He had initially succeeded in removing an image of Willow and Giles in a shower from his mind, but the image of Willow and another woman in a shower was taking much longer to evaporate. He was finally brought back to the present when Willow punched his arm.
"You had better get home and clean out that dirty mind of yours Xander Harris" she suggested and kept eye contact with him as he rose and followed the others out of the shop.
Willow sighed in relief at being let off the hook and had uncovered and returned to her letter when Anya suddenly appeared behind her.
"The mind connection was still there, wasn't it?" she asked and then sat down in Buffy's recently vacated seat. "When you got to the coven, you and Giles could still see what the other saw?"
Willow cursed herself for forgetting Anya and the extremely silent nature of the ex demon's footware. She considered lying to her but realised that Anya wouldn't stop and the thought of this conversation lasting for days was more than Willow could bear. "It lasted for about two weeks" she admitted in a quiet voice, her eyes still on the letter.
"I didn't tell anyone else" Anya said quietly and waited for the Witch to meet her steady gaze. "After you both left we were all pretty busy with the clearing up and then everyone sort of dealt with their own pain. After a couple of weeks the day was never mentioned again and I never told anyone that Giles could see and feel what you were doing" Anya explained.
"Why?" Willow asked.
"Nobody asked how I was doing or made sure I was OK" Anya explained quietly and then smiled a little as she looked at Willow. "The others were all busy bonding again and dealing with their `issues' and I was just left to get on with it" Willow made to interrupt but Anya placed her hand on the girl's arm to stop her. "I stayed with him after you and Buffy left and I thought he had died"
Willow looked at her in shock and suddenly felt sick. "I didn't know" she whispered.
"I know" Anya replied. "I `ported over to Buffy and Dawn and told them where you were and that he was really bad, then I came back here and stayed with him. He told me he was dying and then passed out for a while" Anya stood up and straightened out some books on the nearby shelf. "He came back round and said that Xander had managed to stop you but I was just so happy to see him still alive that I didn't care what you had done. After a little while I helped him out of the shop and he met up with you at Kingsmans Bluff before you both teleported back to England"
Willow wiped her eyes, trying not to give in to the urge to sob. "I don't really remember much after I took his power" she said quietly and took a deep breath. "It really overloaded me and I didn't really come back to full awareness until I had been in England for a couple of days. The coven had been slowly removing his power from me and it was only when I was able to think straight again that I realised our connection was still there"
Anya nodded and sat down at the opposite side of the table.
Willow wiped here eyes once more. "Giles said that it had originally been a two way link but I don't remember seeing through his eyes and I've never been able to since then, but he couldn't switch the connection off from his end for a couple of weeks and…." she paused.
"And he was your back scrub buddy?" Anya asked and smiled a little.
Willow sighed and gathered herself. "At first I tried to shower with my eyes closed but you only need to drop the soap once and that's not going to work. Eventually he managed to cut that part of the connection and I was able to get clean without the trauma"
"Didn't you miss him?" Anya asked with the brutal quest for the truth that only she could bring to bear.
Willow blushed again and put her head in her hands. "The connection was never completely broken, just the visuals" she admitted and then looked up at a slightly surprised shopkeeper. "We were still able to sense each other's emotional state right up until I got on the plane to return. And yes, I do miss him inside my head and by my side every minute of every day but I will deny it if you ever tell anyone else"
Anya gazed at the determined young woman and sensed a build up of power around her. She held up her hands and stood, backing away from the table. "I've kept it a secret this far, you don't have to worry about me but I think Buffy is starting to get suspicious"
Chapter 5
Buffy put the mug of hot chocolate down in front of Willow and then sank into the armchair across from her. "Sorry about earlier, I didn't meant to read your private letter" she kept eye contact with her friend over the rim of her mug.
Willow sighed and realised she felt relief that Buffy had finally brought the topic up. She decided to tell her an abridged version of the truth in an attempt to placate her friend and head off any further questions. "When I took Giles' power in the shop that day it initiated some kind of mental link between us" she started quietly and saw Buffy lean forward slightly in her chair to catch her words. "He was able to keep track of what I was doing and that was how Xander knew where to find me" Willow paused, took a sip of her drink and let a small sigh escape her. "When we teleported back to the coven it became obvious fairly early on that the link was still there and he was able to see what I was seeing for a couple of weeks" Willow felt herself blush as she watched Buffy desperately trying to subdue her laughter. "As soon as he realised what was happening we were able to take... ehm… precautions but it was a bit tedious for a while"
Buffy finally gave up her fight and put her mug down on the table as she laughed. After a few seconds she realised how embarrassed Willow was and sat forward to put her hand on her friends knee. "I'm sorry but I was just imagining his reaction when he realised what was happening. I've seen his face when we talk about nakedness and it must have been priceless when he was actually tuning in on cable"
Willow smiled a little. "I have to admit I never thought of that. At the time I was too busy with the ranting and raving and finding of extremely baggy sweaters to wear"
"In the shower?" Buffy asked in wonder and then started giggling again.
"No" Willow finally gave into the infectious sniggering and joined in. "We made alternative arrangements for "naked time" until he was able to sever the link"
Buffy shook her head but gave Willow a break by changing the direction of the conversation. "How was he when you left him?" she asked quietly and returned to snuggling in the chair with her drink.
Willow looked a little distant as she pictured the last time she had seen him. "His wounds are mostly healed, although he still gets a niggling pain in his side from a couple of ribs broken once too often and the scar from the spear" She watched Buffy scrunch her forehead at the memory of his injury before continuing. "Other than that he was back to normal Giles" Willow paused and put her head to the side a little. "Although I don't suppose it was him who was abnormal was it?"
Buffy sighed and shook her head gently "I think that we were all a long way from normal for those two days. We all said and did things that we would probably love to take back but they are over and done with and we need to move on"
Willow stared at her for several moments before shrugging her shoulders, as if to release some tension. "I'm not going to argue that my `bads' were worse than yours but I do know what I did and I will spend the rest of my life trying to make up for some of it with the sure and certain knowledge that some of it can never be repaired"
Buffy nodded slightly and decided that the conversation that they needed to have was now done with. "So, you weren't able to get any Giles peeks?" she asked mischievously and ducked the cushion that Willow threw at her.
Chapter 6
Xander flipped the pages of the local newspaper as he worked his way through a giant bowl of cereal. An article caught his attention and he became quiet as the others continued their morning rituals around him.
"Xander, do you need to stand right there?" asked an exasperated Willow as she stretched round him for the third time to gather breakfast items.
"Hmm?" he murmured and continued to read the paper.
Buffy smacked him on the butt with a spatula as she passed him on her way to the fridge. "The comics aren't usually that engrossing" she said as he glared at her.
"I'm doing some research!" he replied indignantly and returned to the paper, completely oblivious to the laughter around him. When he had finished the article he finally tuned back into his surroundings and found all three women staring at him in disbelief. "What?" he asked and moved to put his empty bowl in the sink. "Read this" he instructed Willow, pointing out the article and taking over scrambled egg duty at the cooker.
Willow shook her head at him and moved the paper to the dining table to read it. After a few minutes she returned to the kitchen. "That is kinda weird Xan but I'm not sure it's Hellmouth induced evilness?" She handed the paper to Buffy and helped carry plates to the dining room.
Buffy and Dawn read the article together then joined the others in attacking the large pile of breakfast foods. Xander was the first to speak. "I just thought, since we were kind of quiet that we should maybe take a look at the wrinkly weirdness"
Buffy nodded in agreement. "He's right Will, after all we have been pretty quiet for the last few weeks and a bit of good, old fashioned snooping will do us all good"
Dawn bounced in her seat. "Ooohh, do I get to wear a trilby and trenchcoat?"
Xander joined in her enthusiastic bouncing. "Great idea, we could have code names and two way radios to keep in touch"
Willow shook her head. "Xander, we're checking out some senior citizens at a nursing home, not exactly Mission Impossible territory" Buffy started to agree with her when Xander and Dawn left the table, their heads together and whispering in conspiratorial tones about picking locks.
Several hours later the four friends were standing outside a residential nursing home arguing. "Let's just stick to the story we agreed on" Buffy hissed at Dawn. "If we start getting complicated then one of us will slip up and we'll end up being thrown out without learning anything" Dawn had a look of partially quelled rebellion on her face but nodded in agreement. Buffy nodded back at her and turned to Willow "OK, you and Xander are good to go, remember the signal?"
Willow nodded and headed towards the front door, Xander hurried after her. When she arrived at the entrance she buzzed and waited for the answering voice. "Hi, we phoned earlier" she shouted into the small grille. "We're from Parapsychology Monthly and we'd like to interview some of your residents" Willow smiled encouragingly at an obviously nervous Xander as the door buzzed and they entered.
Xander was a little nervous but in truth he was in awe of his friend. It had only taken two hours to prepare their back story as reporters with the ghost-hunting magazine, including hacking into the magazine's files to send confirmation emails and some very complimentary resumes for both of them to the residential home. They had then taken another hour to agree on their approach and change into some suitable `professional reporter' type clothes. All of this achieved the old fashioned way, without any magical interference whatsoever and he was so proud of her. He just didn't know the best way to express these feelings yet so he concentrated on the task at hand as a tall, thin woman in uniform met them in the foyer.
Willow extended her hand "Mrs Wayne?"
"Mrs Rosenberg and Mr Harris?" the woman asked as she shook hands with both of them.
"Ms Rosenberg" Willow corrected her but smiled to take the sting out of it. "Thank you for agreeing to see us at such short notice, but we're flying back to the east coast tonight and are very keen to talk to your residents"
"They are quite excited to meet you" Mrs Wayne explained and led them to a small room with several comfortable chairs. "When I told them of your interest they postponed their afternoon card game"
All three settled down into well stuffed chairs and Xander removed a notebook from his jacket pocket. "If we could just get some background from you before we meet the others" he smiled at her and prepared to take notes.
The woman took a moment to collect her thoughts before directing her answer to Xander. "It all started a couple of months ago when some of the residents complained of disturbing noises during the night, moaning and crying that sort of thing"
"Moaning and crying" Xander mumbled as he pretended to write this down in his notebook, nodding encouragingly.
"The staff on duty at the time reported nothing unusual and we soon narrowed it down to one corridor where the people were hearing things. After several nights I stayed on duty myself and sat with one elderly lady who was particularly frightened by the whole experience until she fell asleep" Mrs Wayne took a breath as she remembered the night in question. "At about two in the morning she buzzed the front desk and I went to see what was wrong. When I got to her room she was huddled in a corner with her hands over her ears"
"Was the room cold?" Willow asked quietly, not wishing to disrupt the woman's tale but trying to get the information as it occurred to her.
"It was very cold but the thermostat was turned up high and we just assumed there was a problem with the heating" Mrs Wayne returned her attention to Xander.
"Huddled in a corner.." Xander prompted her.
"She was convinced that there were loud screams all around her but I didn't hear anything"
Ten minutes later the tale had been related several times over, with small variations, concerning several residents and one area of the home in particular. The residents would be woken in the night by terrible screams of anguish, the rooms would be freezing cold and the shock engendered by these occurrences would last for several days. Once they had recovered somewhat, all of those who had experienced the ordeal reported a feeling of absolute terror and the certain knowledge of their imminent death.
While Mrs Wayne went to fetch some of the residents who had been affected, Willow sent a quick text message to Buffy and was deep in conversation with Xander over his notebook when four people arrived at the room. Two men and two women hovered nervously near the door and Willow smiled and extended her hand to the first man. "Hi, I'm Willow and this is Xander and we're here to see if we can help"
The man automatically shook her hand and Xander's before turning and introducing his friends. "I'm Mike and this is Ernie, Sheila and Kate" he moved further into the room to allow the others to enter and they all took a few seconds to find chairs and settle down.
Mrs Wayne returned a moment later and motioned to Willow, who stepped outside the room with her. "I'm sorry but I have some prospective client's who want to see our facilities before deciding on a place for their father, can you manage without me for a while?" she asked anxiously, looking over her shoulder at two young women who were standing outside her office door.
Willow glanced at them without allowing a trace of recognition and put her hand on the nurse's arm in reassurance. "We'll be fine, if we need anything else we'll be sure to ask"
Mrs Wayne smiled her thanks and headed towards the women. "Now ladies, how much nursing care would your father require?" she asked.
Willow could hardly hide her smile when she heard Dawn reply "He's completely incontinent and can't do anything for himself" She almost felt sorry for Hank and wondered how he would ever manage if he needed to call on either of his daughters in his later years.
Xander was deep in conversation with the two older women when she returned to the room. "So you're convinced it was a woman screaming that you heard?" he asked and they both nodded vigorously.
"Nonsense" Mike declared and turned to Ernie for support. "It was too deep for a woman's voice, it was definitely a male"
Willow sat down opposite the men and gathered their attention while the two women returned to regaling Xander with tales of their ordeal. "Was it just screaming or could you make out any words?" she asked and flipped open her own notebook.
Ernie scratched his head and closed his eyes in an effort to remember. "I think I could hear someone in the background shouting at people to get out while they could" he looked at Mike.
His friend nodded "Yeah, I remember thinking it sounded a bit like they were quite far away, maybe at the other end of a big hall or something and the guy who was screaming was standing right next to me"
Willow took them both through their stories a couple of times, noting down the salient points. They were able to pinpoint dates of the occurrences because they had started the day after Ernie's 72nd birthday and each man had experienced the event twice, although on separate nights.
When they had exhausted the questions they could reasonably ask, Xander tapped Willow's arm and pointed to his watch. She looked at her own and sighed. "I'm sorry but we really need to catch our flight tonight. We'll review our notes and perhaps give you a call in a couple of days if there's anything else we need to ask?"
Xander helped the women out of their seats and Willow held the door open for them. "You're such a nice young couple" sighed Sheila. "Are you stepping out together?"
Xander looked slightly panicked as they hadn't rehearsed this as part of their disguise, however Willow just laughed a little as she stuffed her notebook back into her handbag. "A long time ago, but now we're just friends and colleagues"