Fic: The Wolf Within (19/19)

[Erin <erin@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Ok, folks. This wraps up the monster. Not that there won't be a
sequel if enough people ask. :) When I started this, I wanted to
write something, anything that would last longer than my usual
300-line short story. Well hell, now I can't write a story that short
anymore, so I guess it worked. :)  

If anyone is missing any parts, you can get them from my website
(address below), or email me and I'll send it to you in text.

Hope you guys like.

TITLE: The Wolf Within
AUTHOR: Erin (erin@xxxxxxxxxxx)
SPOILERS: None, really.
RATING: PG-13 at worst, because of some violence. It is a
Buffy/Willow fic, so if that bothers you, or it's illegal to even
think of a Slayer and a Witch getting it on, then just don't read it.
Or move.
DISCLAIMER: Buffy the Vampire Slayer and all characters belong to Joss
Whedon, Mutant Enemy, and Fox. I'm just borrowing them for a bit.
I'll put them back when I'm done, no worse for wear (but maybe a
little happier). Most of the werewolf stuff is copyright White Wolf,
such as Garou, Crinos, Child of Gaia, Glass Walker, etc.
ARCHIVE: Currently, I believe my stories are being archived at the
following places:
Kim's Corner - 
http://www.fortunecity.com/village/villageplace/93/
Bill's Page -
http://members.spree.com/entertainment/kerrison29/default.htm
Gary's BtVS Fanfiction -
http://psycho.simplenet.com/fanfiction/index.mv?index+buf
Please let me know if I've left someone out, or if one of the URLs is
in error. Anyone who isn't listed here who wants to archive my
stories is welcome to, just let me know so I can add you to the list.
Thanks.
FEEDBACK: Constructive comments are encouraged.
SUMMARY: (Buffy/Willow) Willow discovers that there is more to her
than meets the eye, and it could tear her life apart.

Part the Nineteenth

"Buffy, please stop pacing. You're wearing all the wax off of my
floor." Giles' calm, British voice cut into Buffy's thoughts.

"They should be back by now," Buffy muttered, barely pausing in her
pacing.

"They already called to say that they were on their way," Giles
replied, patiently. "Everyone is fine. They should be here any mi-"
Almost faster than he could see, Buffy grabbed the front door and was
gone in the blink of an eye. Giles could just now hear the sounds of
a car pulling up outside. "-nute."

Willow saw Buffy rush out of Giles' house, and she couldn't even wait
for the car to come to a complete stop. She jumped out and sprinted
across the courtyard, meeting Buffy with a huge, bone-jarring hug.
Well, it would have been bone-jarring if one participant wasn't a
Slayer, and the other wasn't a werewolf.

"God, I missed you Will," Buffy said, holding her love tightly.

Willow smiled, her face buried in Buffy's hair. "I was only gone for
two days!" She thought about that, and then hugged Buffy even tighter.
"I missed you too."

"...and so this Get of Fenris whelp told me that the best way to die
was to jump down the throat of a Wyrm beast, and choke it from the
inside. Well, I told him that if he found a Wyrm beast, I'd be happy
to be there to stuff him in!" Finian roared with laughter at his own
joke. He, Oz, Chris and Nichole walked across the courtyard toward
the two girls.

"Ok, lovebirds," Chris said. "Let's reconvene inside, shall we?" The
four Garou managed to get Buffy and Willow unclinched and back inside
Giles' house; the fact that the two girls didn't let go of each
other's hands the whole time wasn't lost on them, however.

"Ah, Willow," Giles said, in greeting. "How did the ceremony go?"

"Great!" Willow bounced on the balls of her feet, obviously excited.
"I'm now a full-fledged, card-carrying--well, not really card-carrying
since werewolves don't really carry membership cards or anything,
but--member of the Garou Nation, Glass Walker tribe!"

"Congrats, Will!" Buffy took the opportunity to hug Willow again. "I
wish I could have been there."

Willow smiled. "I understand, those vamps and demons were starting to
get cocky with just Giles and Xander fighting them."

"We weren't doing all _that_ badly," Giles protested. "I don't
understand how that vampire almost opened the Hellmouth..."

"The Ritual of Passage was pretty amazing," Nichole said. "Oz and
Finian told the story of Oz's death, and there wasn't a dry eye in the
house."

"Yes, I was going to ask you what happened," Giles said, "Buffy was a
little scant on the details of Oz's rescue."

Willow blushed; it was obvious she had been asked to re-tell her story
several times over the past couple of days. "Bear told me that every
Black Spiral has a bane, a Wyrm spirit. It's kind of a symbiotic
relationship, in a twisted, Exorcist-type way. When the Spiral dies,
the bane leaves. If the bane is killed, and the Spiral has a good
heart and didn't give themselves up willingly to the Wyrm, then Gaia
may choose to give that person life again." Willow smiled. "It's a
little more complicated than that, but that's the gist."

Buffy looked over at Oz; he was never the most talkative, outgoing
person but he seemed even more withdrawn than usual. "How are you
doing, Oz?"

He looked up at Buffy; the pain was still there, but it only shadowed
his eyes rather than haunted them. "I'm...better. Finian's teaching
me a lot about his--my tribe."

"Aye, that I am," Finian said, tousling the young man's hair fondly.
"We're going to be heading east, to find a sept where the young lad
can learn more about his heritage. We've got a long road to travel,
and a lot of Garou to tell about the lad's story, an' the courage of
the lass who redeemed him." He winked at Willow, who blushed again.

"The story is spreading like wildfire," Chris said. "Not only because
there has never been a case of a Black Spiral being redeemed, but also
because of the way that the Gurahl and the spirit of Bear helped.
There have been lots of calls for the Garou Nation to make peace with
the Gurahl--"

"Calls made mostly by the Children of Gaia, might I add," Nichole
interjected.

"--and even some Garou who want to find Bear in the Umbra, and learn
his healing gifts."

"I chose Bear as my Totem, or guardian spirit," Willow said quietly.
"And he accepted me."

Chris nodded. "That in itself is something that hasn't happened in
hundreds of years."

"That's great, Will," Buffy said, smiling. The smile didn't reach her
eyes, however; she still had that feeling, that misgiving that now
Willow would have to leave, go to LA to be with her sept. What would
she do without her? Willow was her strength, her comfort, her love.
It seems like they just found each other, and now...

Nichole caught the sad look Buffy was giving Willow, and she nudged
Chris. Chris followed her gaze, and whispered, "What?"

Nichole rolled her eyes, and said, "Chris hasn't told you about the
best part..." In a fierce whisper, she said, "Tell them about the
best part!"

"Huh? Oh! The best part," Chris said, suddenly comprehending. "The
best part is that Mr. Hartwell, sept leader and head of the LA Glass
Walkers, has agreed with me that we need a permanent Glass Walker
presence in Sunnydale, what with all the Wyrm activity and Lost Cubs.
And that means that I'm going to be staying in town!" He finished,
triumphantly.

Nichole slapped her forehead in exasperation.

"Oh, and Willow's going to be staying in town too," Chris added.

Buffy looked at Willow, unable to believe her ears. Willow nodded, a
big smile breaking across her face. "You didn't think you were going
to get rid of me that easily, did ya?"

Buffy wrapped her arms around Willow. "Never." She tilted her head
up and kissed the redhead soundly.

"Yes, well," Giles said, somewhat surprised by the display. "Would
anyone like anything to drink?" He retreated quickly to the kitchen.

"I'll take soda. Lots of ice," Oz replied, shuffling away from the
kissing pair.

"Herbal tea if you have it."

"Irish whiskey."

"Do I smell coffee?"

* * *

The small get-together had turned into more of a party; Willow and
Giles were listening intently to Finian telling stories about the
Garou heroes. Oz was watching the old Fianna too, soaking up
everything he was saying. Finian had really offered a life-line to
the young man, and Buffy was really grateful for it. For the first
time since Oz returned, she got the feeling that he was going to be
ok.

Nichole had actually squealed when she saw Giles' record collection,
and immediately put on some old Jimi Hendrix, or Led Zeppelin, or
something.

Buffy made her way into the kitchen, where Chris and Nichole were
talking quietly, giving each other those big, soulful looks. Buffy
was used to those; she saw them enough between her and Angel after he
came back from Hell. It was a look that said, "I can't stand to be
apart from you, but I can't be with you." Well, if she had anything
to say about it, Chris and Nichole wouldn't have that same problem.

"Hey guys," she said, interrupting shamelessly. "How are you two
crazy kids doing?"

"Fine," Chris said, somewhat suspiciously. Nichole just looked away.

"Great!" Buffy said, grabbing a carrot stick and munching on it. "You
guys seem to have gotten over your 'tribal differences.'"

Chris grinned sheepishly. "Yeah, well, I guess the Children of Gaia
aren't so bad. Their hearts are in the right place."

Nichole cleared her throat. "And I guess the Glass Walkers are ok. I
mean, their technology is pretty useful on occasion."

Buffy was positively beaming. "Fantastic. So, when are you two
lovebirds getting together?"

The two Garou just stared at her.

"What? I, for one, think it's pretty obvious how you guys feel about
each other," Buffy said, grabbing another carrot stick.

"Buffy, we've been through this," Nichole said with a sigh. "One of
our oldest laws, remember? 'Garou shall not--'"

"'--mate with Garou,' I know," Buffy interrupted. "But you know what?
I looked it up. 'To come together for the purpose of reproduction,'
that's what mate means."

They just stared at her again.

"What? Don't they have birth control where you come from?" Buffy
grabbed another carrot stick, and headed out of the kitchen.

Chris and Nichole just stared at each other, dumbfounded.

* * *

Willow leaned up against the breakfast bar, her arms wrapped around
her beautiful blonde Slayer. The two lovers were watching Finian and
Chris arguing about some point of Garou spirituality; Nichole and Oz
were sacked out, and Giles had excused himself earlier to go upstairs
to bed.

"So what happens now?" Buffy said softly, leaning her head on Willow's
shoulder.

"Well, Chris and Nichole are sticking around, which is nice because I
still have quite a bit to learn." Willow smiled. "What did you tell
those two, anyway? They look really happy together."

Buffy shrugged. "I just pointed out the obvious."

"Finian and Oz are going to be leaving in the next couple days. I'm
going to miss him, but I'm glad it looks like he's going to be ok."

Buffy nodded. "Same here." She turned around, facing Willow and
wrapping her arms around the redhead's waist. "So what happens now,
with us?"

Willow dropped her head and kissed the Slayer on her lips, her cheek,
her neck. Buffy's breathing quickly became shallow, and Willow
whispered, "I don't know, but I don't know how much longer I'm going
to be able to keep my hands off you."

"Okay!" Buffy said, breaking away from Willow and walking into the
living room. "Great party, glad you all came, see you guys later!"

* * *

Sparse moonlight trickled through the windows, gently illuminating the
two lovers. Willow was watching Buffy, her eyes soaking in every
detail -- the porcelain skin, delicate nose, perfect lips... Willow
stifled a groan, thinking about those lips on her skin, setting her on
fire.

It was an amazing few weeks, that was for sure. To find out that she
was a werewolf, a discovery only eclipsed by finding out that the love
of her life had been in right front of her for the past four years.
Buffy was the love of her life, there was no doubt about that. No one
made her feel as loved or wanted as Buffy did, not even Oz...

Oz. Willow was glad that she was able to help him. He wasn't back to
his 'old self' and might never be, but he was alive, he had control of
the wolf, and he had a purpose now. Hope. She sent a quick but
heartfelt prayer to Gaia to watch over him.

She wondered what she and Buffy were going to say to their friends and
family. Let's see, what to say first... "Hey guys, I'm a werewolf!"
or "Hey everyone, Buffy and I are seeing each other!" Of course, she
couldn't tell her family about the werewolf thing, which is too bad
because news of Buffy and her relationship would really pale by
comparison.

She absently stroked Buffy's cheek with delicate fingers, causing
Buffy to open her eyes. Those beautiful hazel eyes which looked at
her with such love that it almost broke her heart.

"Hey," Buffy said, reaching up to cup Willow's cheek. Willow covered
the Slayer's hand with her own.

"Hey yourself."

"Guess we really did it, huh?"

Willow smiled, her eyes twinkling with mischief. "Uh huh, more than
once too, from my count."

Buffy grinned and gave the redhead's stomach a quick tickle. "That's
not what I meant and you know it."

"I know." Willow grinned in response. "Yeah, we really did it. It's
weird, it seems almost like these past couple of weeks were spent in
some other world or something..."

"Part of it was," Buffy replied, smiling. "But I know what you mean.
I keep expecting to wake up."

Willow shot her a quick glance. "Think this is a dream?"

Buffy responded by climbing on top of Willow, placing soft kisses
along her jaw and neck. "This? No, this," more kisses, "is the most
real thing that has ever happened, or ever will."

Willow wrapped her arms around the Slayer, feeling her palms slide
over soft, bare skin. "I think so, too... I love you, Buffy."

"I love you too, Will...god, I love you."

END
-- 
Faith: "I mean, you're still going to that dance, right?"
Buffy: "Maybe."
Faith: "You got the tix already. Why don't we go together?"
*email: erin@xxxxxxxxxxx
*web: http://www.heckman.net/erin