TITLE: Careful What You Wish For [unfinished]
AUTHOR: Siobhan Gormley
EMAIL ADDRESS: siobhan@nbnet.nb.ca
SPOILER WARNING: "The Pack"
RATING: PG
CONTENT WARNING: Nothing right now, but possibly sexual situations hinted
at later on.
SUMMARY: Strange things begin happening in Willow's life...
DISCLAIMER:  The only thing I 'own' is this story, Willow and the rest of
the BtVS crew 'belongs' to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, and WB, as well as
anyone else who has money in the show.


Willow sat in front of her computer, finishing up typing in her journal.

'I still can't help but think back to what Xander said, how our life had
been before Buffy came, and I have to admit, I have thought a lot about it.
I know I should be grateful that Buffy is here to make sure that the demons
don't have the chance to take over, and I am, but at the same time, I wish
she had never been here, that none of this weird stuff had happened, that
Xander had never seen her, and that we could go back to being alone
together. Not that it would probably help things, but I still can't help
but wish it when I'm feeling my most low.'

Willow pulled her hands away from the keyboard, thinking. Finding nothing
more to write, she decided just to close up her journal program, making
sure it was properly 'locked' with the password.

She turned off her computer, stretching as she got up from her chair. She
felt good writing that stuff down, because she'd never say it aloud. The
first time she had ever admitted anything was when she and Xander had
talked while he was possessed. Not that he'd remember since he had amnesia
about all that had happened.

Willow sighed, slipping in to bed. There was a lot he forgot lately, and
not only from his time being possessed. But, unfortunately for her, she
didn't. And it hurt all the more that he didn't share her enthusiasm or
remembrances of important things in their life together...as friends.

"Gawd I'm pathetic. I should just be happy that he's in my life at all,"
she whispered to herself.

[Yeah, but you still wish he was *more* in your life, don't you?] her
nagging inner voice asked. She thought about that as she drifted off to sleep.

****

"Poor kid, she needs help..." a quiet, male voice stated from its place of
observation outside Willow's window.

"Oh no you don't, I won't have you meddling again! You remember the havoc
you caused last time!"  another voice, this one female, exclaimed in a
quiet whisper from the same place.

"Oh come on, it wasn't *that* bad!"

"You call mass hysteria 'not  that bad'?" No answer came from the male, and
the female harrumphed in triumph. "Now come on, we have better things to do
while the kid is sleeping." The female headed off, the male lingering a bit
longer. He looked at the sleeping Willow,  making a quick decision. He
closed his eyes, then nodded his head to no one in particular.

"I just hope that it works out for you, kid. I hate to see you suffer." And
with those final words, the male followed after his female companion.

****

Willow woke up the next morning, feeling groggy from lack of sleep, but
otherwise okay. Dragging herself out of bed, she headed towards the
bathroom, then shoved herself under a hot shower.

Leaning her head against the tiled wall while the water streamed down her
body, she thought about what she had been writing the night before. She
felt a little guilty still for wishing that Buffy was not in her life, but
she knew that this was just the way it was for her. Until she either
finally got Xander's attention or by some miracle of miracles she stopped
feeling the way she did, her thinking probably wouldn't change.

Half an hour later, Willow was grabbing a breakfast bar as she ran to get
out of the house and to school on time. She had never been late yet, and
she had no intention to start today.

As she hurried down her front walk towards the sidewalk, she was surprised
to see Xander actually coming down the street at the same time. 

"Hey, there's my woman!" he yelled. Willow gave him a Look. "Oh, sorry,
that's right, you're a 'liberated' woman. So I guess you should be calling
me your man?" A wicked grin appeared on his face, and once he got in to
pace beside her, he put an arm around her. Willow was utterly confused, but
she decided to play along with Xander's 'little game', for now.

"So, did you study last night?" Willow asked. Xander made a face.

"How could one think of studying on such a lovely night as last night was..."

"In other words, you didn't crack open a single textbook."  Xander
continued grinning, despite the disapproving look Willow was now giving
him. Willow just sighed, shaking her head.

Once they finally reached the school, Willow looked around for Buffy, but
couldn't see her anywhere.

"Xander, do you see Buffy around?"  Xander looked pensive.

"Buffy? I remember there being a Muffy in biology, but can't say as I
remember a Buffy." Willow looked to see if he was joking, but she couldn't
tell, as usual.

"Okay, whatever. I'll go see if she's in the library." Xander simply
shrugged in response.

"Sure. I'll see ya in math?" Willow nodded and went to leave, but she was
stopped by Xander's hand on her arm.  "What, no kiss goodbye?"

"What!?" she exclaimed. She was beginning to really wonder what was up
because he actually looked serious. She began to question whether he was
possessed again when he pulled her to him, leaning in to kiss her. Despite
this having been part of her greatest fantasy, she found herself pulling
away from him. Xander looked confused, and a bit hurt.

"Something wrong? Can't be my breath since I brushed this morning."

"Um, actually, I'm starting to get a cold, and, uh, I don't want you to get
it," Willow lied, thinking on her feet so that she could get out of what
was becoming an increasingly uncomfortable situation.

"You are just too good to me, you know that," he replied with a lopsided
smile, gently caressing her cheek. She leaned in to the caress, enjoying
the moment. Xander quickly gave Willow a peck on the cheek, then left for
class. 

Willow blushed deeply after the kiss as she watched him walk away.
Something had to be up with Xander. Maybe it was some after-effect of the
hyena possession. Not that she was really complaining, just that she wanted
to be sure that he wasn't still 'sick'. Whatever was going on, she knew
there was one person who would have the low-down, and that person was
hiding out in the library, where she was going right away.

****

Willow finally reached the library doors, feeling utterly confused. When
she had been on her way to the library, she had tried to find Ms. Calendar
to let her know she'd talk to her later. She hadn't seen Ms. Calendar
anywhere and she knew the computer teacher was supposed to be in early
today to help her with her extra credit project. And when she had asked her
fellow computer classmates, they had looked at her funny, denying that they
even knew of a teacher with the name Calendar.

Willow pushed open a door, entering the student-filled library. She was
stunned. The library never had seen any more than three students at a time:
mainly her, Xander, and Buffy. But here it was, full of people. And behind
the desk was a middle-aged, cheerful man, not the quiet, bookish Brit that
she was used to seeing. And even though the library itself didn't seem all
that different in decor, at the same time it seemed brighter, more lively,
with all the students chatting, doing last minute homework, and taking out
books.

Willow walked over to the front desk and was finally able to get the
attention of the librarian who graced her with a wide smile.

"What can I do for you today, Willow?" the man asked. Willow had only felt
slightly surprised that he had known her name since it had already been
such an odd morning.

"Um, uh, actually, I was wondering if you knew where Giles was?" she
queried. By the bewildered look the stranger gave her, she was pretty sure
what his response was going to be.

"Giles? Is that some new subject or person I was unaware of? I know I'm not
as 'hip' as some of you..." he replied, chuckling along with the students
who were around the desk. Willow gave him a weak smile.

"Don't worry, I'm sure I can find out what I need to on my own." The
librarian simply nodded in reply, turning to help another student. Willow
left the library, feeling rather spooked now. Xander acting strange,
claiming there was no Buffy, no Giles in the library, and students other
than the Slayer and the Slayerettes *actually* in the library. There had to
be *some* explanation for this, and she no longer was sure where to turn to
find the answers. 

She had never felt so alone in her life.



'Things were weird all day. Nobody seems to know anything about Buffy,
Giles, or Ms. Calendar and it seems like Xander and I are supposed to be an
item. That last bit about Xander and I being an item, well, I must admit,
it is kinda nice on one level, but on another, I'm totally weirded out. I
always wanted him to pay this much attention to me, but now that he
actually is, I feel like it's all
wrong. I don't know what to think anymore. Maybe I should just stop thinking.'

Willow paused, giggling a little at her last written statement. She was
tired and it *had* been a long day. And she was none the wiser than she had
been earlier on as to what had happened to change things. She had already
pinched herself black and blue in the hopes that it was some sort of dream.
When she hadn't woken up, she thought perhaps she was in some sort of dream
state
where her wishes had come true and that the Hellmouth was affecting it so
that she couldn't wake up. And that was the best she could come up with,
unless some great inspiration hit her.

"Well, hitting isn't my thing, and I don't know about *great*, but I have
been called 'inspirational' before, amongst other things," a male voice
suddenly proclaimed from in front of her partially open window. Willow's
head whipped around from looking at the computer screen to see a small,
winged-being. She figured she should probably be afraid, considering where
she lived, but this
being didn't seem too fear-inducing. He, assuming it was a 'he', seemed
rather friendly, jovial even.

"Who...who are you?" Willow finally stuttered out. The being flew closer to
the young hacker, then seemed to bow in mid-air.

"My actual name is unpronounceable as far as you are concerned, but you may
refer to me as your 'fairy godfather'."  Willow's eyebrows raised in
curiosity.

"'Fairy godfather'?"

"Yeah, yeah, let me guess, you've never heard of a 'fairy godfather'?" As
Willow nodded in agreement, the being, or 'fairy godfather' snorted a
laugh. "Colour me surprised. The 'fairy godmother' *always* gets all the
press while we 'fairy godfathers' get ignored like we don't exist."

"But you do," she stated matter-of-factly.

"Yep. So, how do you like my handiwork? You seem a little tense about it
all, but not *entirely* upset." 

"You mean what's going on has to do with you?" she asked, her voice going
up an octave.

"Well, yeah. Don't you like it?" he questioned when it started to become
obvious that Willow was not as happy as he had hoped.

"No! And I'd think this has a high 'Duh!' factor! What have you done!?
Where are my friends and why is Xander acting like he is!?" Willow was now
standing, staring down the fairy.

"Hey, whoa there kiddo! Take a few Prozac and chill! I can explain!" Willow
simply fumed. "Take a seat and I'll explain everything." She did as he
asked, sitting on her bed, but her face was making it obvious that she was
still not pleased.

"I was 'assigned' to you, for lack of a better word, from before you were
born. But of course, you aren't my only 'godchild', there just aren't
enough of us to have two for each human. Nah, not like the old days
when..." he stopped himself when he saw that Willow was giving him an
exasperated 'get-on-with-it' look. "Ahem. So, my female counterpart and I
were assigned to you to watch out
for you and try to make sure that nothing happened to you that wasn't
supposed to. For instance, you remember when you were seven and you took a
header off your bike?" Willow nodded. "Well, we were the ones who made sure
that you landed safely."  Willow now looked slightly in awe. Then a thought
came to her.

"Well, um, if you have been watching over me all this time, then does that
mean there *is*, um, some sort of 'higher being' that 'assigns' you to
people?" she asked almost meekly.

"That I can't really tell you. See, I've been so far removed from things
for such a long time that I can't remember who does what and whatnot. We
fairy godfathers and godmothers have had our own hierarchical structure for
such a long time now, it's hard to remember who started everything."

"So you're trying to say that you guys are autonomous?"

"Yeah, I guess that about sums it up. Any other questions?"

"Yes. You still haven't answered why you've recently gone and mucked about
in my life so drastically!" The being gave her a look.

"I think it was a good thing I got you away from that Brit, you're starting
to sound like him." Willow glared at him, and he held up his hands in a
gesture of appeasement.

"Alright, alright. I admit, that was a bit uncalled for." He paused
momentarily before continuing. "Okay, the reason why kinda 'shifted' things
in your life was because you wished for it, and I was tired of seeing you
get the bum end of the stick."

"Wait a minute. When did I...?" Willow trailed off as she thought back to
the previous evening when she had been typing in her journal. "You mean you
were *spying* on me and reading my journal! How rude!"

"Hey kiddo, we're supposed to be around to watch out for you as much as we
can, and if we happen to overhear a stray thought or read..."

"Whoa, you can read minds?"

"In a sense, yes. Thoughts just sorta float about, ya know. Where do you
think they go once they leave your mind?" Willow was now rubbing her eyes,
feeling distinctly like this had been *way* too long a day.

"Okay, so you were around when I wrote in my journal last night and decided
to grant me my wish, even though I'm not so sure now that it was a true
wish..." Willow sighed. "Do you normally go around 'granting wishes'
without so much as checking with your 'godchild' to see if they really want
it granted?"

"But, you've always wanted Xander, haven't you?"

"In a sense, yeah," she admitted, finding herself blushing mildly.

"And in a way you had him before your friend Buffy appeared and all that
weird stuff was going on, right?"

"Yeah, I suppose. But that doesn't mean I really wanted to lose my best
friends! Isn't there some way you change everything back? I mean, you
changed it to become the way it is now..."  The fairy godfather made a face
as if he was thinking really hard.

"Well, ya see, therein lies the problem. See, I don't seem to get along all
that well with the other ones, they kinda hold certain things against me..."

"Like what?" she asked, starting to get worried.

"Oh, just minor little things, nothing for you to worry about. They just
like to blow things out of proportion." The look on Willow's face did not
say that she was reassured in the least by his reply. 

"But, see, the reason why we're paired up in the first place is to sorta
have a balance, to ensure that we come to a consensus on things and not
just go around changing things willy nilly. And also, it requires the two
of us to change things back."

"Well if the two of you changed it in the first place..."

"Um, well, it didn't *exactly* happen like that..."

"Then exactly *how* did it happen?" Willow asked, her tone sounding dangerous.

"Ya see, to change things back it does require two of us, but to change
things in the first place, well, it only requires one."

"So are you trying to tell me that you decided, on your own with no
agreement from your counterpart, to mess around in my life?"

"Uh, in so many words, yeah." Willow attempted to remain calm as she went
to make her next statement.

"So, does this mean that since you changed things on your own, and you say
that you don't really get along with most of the others in the first place..."

"That things can't be changed back? Um, well, they could be, but that would
require me sucking up in a major way to the others, and let me tell you, I
know I'm not wrong, and..." he trailed off as Willow started glaring at him
again.

"Look, it can't be all *that* bad! You've got Xander and..."

"And I have no idea what has happened to my friends! What happened to Buffy
and Giles and Ms. Calendar!?"

"I...that's not my department." He sighed like he had the weight of the
world on his shoulders.

"Tell ya what, I'll see what I can do about this stuff, but, um, why don't
you just enjoy this bit of time alone with Xander. Maybe you'll come to
like it." Willow gave him a look that said 'don't count on it'. He gave her
a weak smile, then went out the window.

[This is going to be a long night,] she thought, lying back on her bed to
contemplate all that she had learned.

End of Part Two

--

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