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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