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jesterladyficThe end, thanks for reading!
Title: Grace Fills Up Uneven Nature
by Jesterlady
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Willow/Oz, Xander/Anya, slight Spike/Buffy if you squint :)
Summary: A rewrite of BTVS S4, but this time, I'm really focusing on Willow/Oz.
Disclaimer: I don't own BTVS. Some lines are from the show. The title is by George Hebert. This chapter's title is by Barbara Brown Taylor
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen: Familiar Notions
“In our usual post-apocalypse style, I present newly popped popcorn.”
“Joyce show you the button on the microwave?”
“I refuse to be intimidated by you,” Xander said, pinching Willow on his way to sit by Anya.
She simply grinned and reached past Oz to grab the popcorn.
Giles looked up with a subtle smile from where he was bandaging Buffy’s arm. It was slightly hard to
accomplish seeing as how she was arguing with Riley on the phone. When she finally hung up, however, it was with
a smile.
“They’re shutting down and leaving Sunnydale for good. We showed them who’s capable of handling a
Hellmouth.”
“Don’t get cocky, Slayer,” Spike’s voice drawled from the shadows. “You’d have been kibbles and bits yourself
if it weren’t for your mates.”
Buffy started when she realized Spike was leaning against the wall and was in her mother’s house. He most
definitely did not have an invite after what had happened last year. She must have unconsciously included him when
she’d told everyone to come over for the party and was so used to his presence she didn’t even notice a vamp in the
house. That was a disturbing thought, but she didn’t want to think about it.
“Something you need?” she asked pointedly.
“Yeah, reassurance. I helped and I’m not changing. What does that mean for you?”
“Giles?”
Buffy turned to her Watcher and she could see the enormous boost in confidence he'd just gotten because she was
coming to him. Any worries over him suddenly leaving for England vanished.
“Well, in no way should we start to trust Spike, but as far as truces with us go, he has shown himself to be a
man of his word. Perhaps, more alliances can be made in the future.”
A groan resounded from Xander’s corner of the living room but Buffy ignored it. Spike was a pain in the ass, but
he could be a useful one and lately she’d noticed he wasn’t wreaking havoc in Sunnydale, but cleaning it up.
Provided he was allowed to continue drinking human blood from the hospital, she might be able to convince him to
lay off the human diet. And he’d saved her several times in the fight in the Initiative and without realizing it, she’d
done the same for him.
“Are you willing to play nice?”
“How nice do you want me to be?” he snarked suggestively.
“Nicer than that,” she returned.
“Have a little fun once in a bloody while,” he said.
“I could if you helped.”
“I might be willing to do that.”
“Do we have a truce then?”
“Temporarily,” he said, sticking out his hand.
She took it and was surprised by how normal his cold hands felt. He smirked and left.
“Can we all move to a place with two Hellmouths?” Xander requested.
“He’d probably follow,” Oz said matter of factly.
“He seems to like us whether he wants to or not,” Anya put in.
“An interesting theory,” Giles mused. “Well, for the moment, we can be glad of his help.”
“I am for one reason,” Buffy said, turning to everyone. “This way I don’t have to keep coming to you guys when
you have your own lives to live. I don’t want to put you in danger and I know you want to help, but I’ve really put a
stress on you this year and it’s sucked.”
“No, Buffy, it’s our fault,” Willow said. “We were so wrapped up…”
“In stuff that is really important,” Buffy finished. “Your lives are amazing and I want them to be as
un-Hellmouth-y as possible.”
“And we want them to be as Buffy as possible, which means Hellmouth-y,” Xander said. “I guess we should all
just admit we ran amuck with the priorities this year. Try to help each other.”
“Without risking relationships and lives,” Buffy said, flicking her eyes over to Anya.
Xander saw it and Buffy was glad to see happiness flooding his face. She had been able to show him she
understood about Anya and Xander squeezed Anya’s hand tighter. It was going to be all right.
“Sounds good,” Oz said.
“You’ve had it rather the hardest this year,” Giles said. “We’ll all work harder on your problem.”
“Yes,” everyone agreed.
Buffy hoped Oz felt a sense of inclusion. He had always been welcomed in the group, but sometimes it felt like it
was only as Willow’s boyfriend. She wanted him to know he was cared about for himself.
“Thanks. We’ve got some talking to do,” he said, motioning to Willow. “But you’ll be the first to know.”
Joyce entered the room and looked at all the serious faces.
“I thought the apocalypse was over.”
Buffy smiled.
“It is. I think movies are in order.”
“Apocalypse Now,” Xander agreed.
***
“Tired, tired is me,” Willow said, falling down on the bed. Oz followed her example. “Doing that spell was big stuff.”
“Not too much?”
“No, it was the right way to do something. I think I’d like to keep things like that.”
“I’m glad.”
“Now you can be caring, sensitive boyfriend all the time.”
“Sure thing.”
“You always are anyway,” she said, leaning in closer.
He brushed some hair behind her ear and told her about his experience while they had been doing the spell.
“Wow! Just wow! You did it. Did we…did we win?”
He had to laugh at her naïve hope.
“Just a battle, Will. The war’s kinda never over.”
“How do you know?”
“I’ve learned a few things. One is that the wolf is always there. Two is that you’re connected to it in a big way.
Three is that it won’t ever be tamed fully.”
“I still just want you to be okay.”
“I appreciate that. And you know that if I thought it would be best, I’d leave-“
“No!”
“-but…I can’t. Still, in trying to control it, we’ve unleashed it. Sunnydale can’t help me anymore.”
“So, you want to go to Tibet.”
“I think I have to.”
“Then I’m coming with you.”
“I don’t know how long I’ll be.”
“I don’t care.”
“They’ll miss you.”
“I know and I’ll miss them. But somehow, I think it would be best for me to learn some control too.”
“I hoped you would say that. I wouldn’t have bet on it.”
“Then you need to get to know me more.”
She moved closer and kissed him softly.
“Okay.”
And he smiled a wolfish smile.
Title: Grace Fills Up Uneven Nature
by Jesterlady
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Willow/Oz, Xander/Anya, slight Spike/Buffy if you squint :)
Summary: A rewrite of BTVS S4, but this time, I'm really focusing on Willow/Oz.
Disclaimer: I don't own BTVS. Some lines are from the show. The title is by George Hebert. This chapter's title is by Barbara Brown Taylor
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen: Familiar Notions
“In our usual post-apocalypse style, I present newly popped popcorn.”
“Joyce show you the button on the microwave?”
“I refuse to be intimidated by you,” Xander said, pinching Willow on his way to sit by Anya.
She simply grinned and reached past Oz to grab the popcorn.
Giles looked up with a subtle smile from where he was bandaging Buffy’s arm. It was slightly hard to
accomplish seeing as how she was arguing with Riley on the phone. When she finally hung up, however, it was with
a smile.
“They’re shutting down and leaving Sunnydale for good. We showed them who’s capable of handling a
Hellmouth.”
“Don’t get cocky, Slayer,” Spike’s voice drawled from the shadows. “You’d have been kibbles and bits yourself
if it weren’t for your mates.”
Buffy started when she realized Spike was leaning against the wall and was in her mother’s house. He most
definitely did not have an invite after what had happened last year. She must have unconsciously included him when
she’d told everyone to come over for the party and was so used to his presence she didn’t even notice a vamp in the
house. That was a disturbing thought, but she didn’t want to think about it.
“Something you need?” she asked pointedly.
“Yeah, reassurance. I helped and I’m not changing. What does that mean for you?”
“Giles?”
Buffy turned to her Watcher and she could see the enormous boost in confidence he'd just gotten because she was
coming to him. Any worries over him suddenly leaving for England vanished.
“Well, in no way should we start to trust Spike, but as far as truces with us go, he has shown himself to be a
man of his word. Perhaps, more alliances can be made in the future.”
A groan resounded from Xander’s corner of the living room but Buffy ignored it. Spike was a pain in the ass, but
he could be a useful one and lately she’d noticed he wasn’t wreaking havoc in Sunnydale, but cleaning it up.
Provided he was allowed to continue drinking human blood from the hospital, she might be able to convince him to
lay off the human diet. And he’d saved her several times in the fight in the Initiative and without realizing it, she’d
done the same for him.
“Are you willing to play nice?”
“How nice do you want me to be?” he snarked suggestively.
“Nicer than that,” she returned.
“Have a little fun once in a bloody while,” he said.
“I could if you helped.”
“I might be willing to do that.”
“Do we have a truce then?”
“Temporarily,” he said, sticking out his hand.
She took it and was surprised by how normal his cold hands felt. He smirked and left.
“Can we all move to a place with two Hellmouths?” Xander requested.
“He’d probably follow,” Oz said matter of factly.
“He seems to like us whether he wants to or not,” Anya put in.
“An interesting theory,” Giles mused. “Well, for the moment, we can be glad of his help.”
“I am for one reason,” Buffy said, turning to everyone. “This way I don’t have to keep coming to you guys when
you have your own lives to live. I don’t want to put you in danger and I know you want to help, but I’ve really put a
stress on you this year and it’s sucked.”
“No, Buffy, it’s our fault,” Willow said. “We were so wrapped up…”
“In stuff that is really important,” Buffy finished. “Your lives are amazing and I want them to be as
un-Hellmouth-y as possible.”
“And we want them to be as Buffy as possible, which means Hellmouth-y,” Xander said. “I guess we should all
just admit we ran amuck with the priorities this year. Try to help each other.”
“Without risking relationships and lives,” Buffy said, flicking her eyes over to Anya.
Xander saw it and Buffy was glad to see happiness flooding his face. She had been able to show him she
understood about Anya and Xander squeezed Anya’s hand tighter. It was going to be all right.
“Sounds good,” Oz said.
“You’ve had it rather the hardest this year,” Giles said. “We’ll all work harder on your problem.”
“Yes,” everyone agreed.
Buffy hoped Oz felt a sense of inclusion. He had always been welcomed in the group, but sometimes it felt like it
was only as Willow’s boyfriend. She wanted him to know he was cared about for himself.
“Thanks. We’ve got some talking to do,” he said, motioning to Willow. “But you’ll be the first to know.”
Joyce entered the room and looked at all the serious faces.
“I thought the apocalypse was over.”
Buffy smiled.
“It is. I think movies are in order.”
“Apocalypse Now,” Xander agreed.
***
“Tired, tired is me,” Willow said, falling down on the bed. Oz followed her example. “Doing that spell was big stuff.”
“Not too much?”
“No, it was the right way to do something. I think I’d like to keep things like that.”
“I’m glad.”
“Now you can be caring, sensitive boyfriend all the time.”
“Sure thing.”
“You always are anyway,” she said, leaning in closer.
He brushed some hair behind her ear and told her about his experience while they had been doing the spell.
“Wow! Just wow! You did it. Did we…did we win?”
He had to laugh at her naïve hope.
“Just a battle, Will. The war’s kinda never over.”
“How do you know?”
“I’ve learned a few things. One is that the wolf is always there. Two is that you’re connected to it in a big way.
Three is that it won’t ever be tamed fully.”
“I still just want you to be okay.”
“I appreciate that. And you know that if I thought it would be best, I’d leave-“
“No!”
“-but…I can’t. Still, in trying to control it, we’ve unleashed it. Sunnydale can’t help me anymore.”
“So, you want to go to Tibet.”
“I think I have to.”
“Then I’m coming with you.”
“I don’t know how long I’ll be.”
“I don’t care.”
“They’ll miss you.”
“I know and I’ll miss them. But somehow, I think it would be best for me to learn some control too.”
“I hoped you would say that. I wouldn’t have bet on it.”
“Then you need to get to know me more.”
She moved closer and kissed him softly.
“Okay.”
And he smiled a wolfish smile.
