By Tracy

Author's Notes: Thanks to Laura, Amy and Serendipity, who inspire me more than they'll ever know.  Thanks also to Annie, who volunteered to beta this for me. This fic is dedicated to everyone who sent me feedback for Tunnel Vision.  You guys keep reading, and I'll keep writing. Deal?

Part Four

Willow sat near Oz, lightly stoking his head as Buffy motioned Giles to join she and Xander across the room. Willow didn't even notice when Giles stood and left Oz's side.

Giles removed his glasses and stared inquiringly at his Slayer and her dark-haired friend.

Buffy lowered her voice, "If we shoot him again when he wakes up, the problem for the night is solved."

Giles' eyebrows rose as he considered her suggestion. "You mean just keep him unconscious?"

"Well, we can't fix the cage in time, and I don't have any other ideas," she countered.

"There's only one real obstacle," Xander added, nodding to Willow.

Giles watched her tender ministrations to the sleeping werewolf and sighed. "She's not going to like it."

"She doesn't have to. She just has to go along with it. Giles, we're going to have to shoot him anyway when he goes on his next rampage without the cage to stop him. She'd rather have him here and unconscious than loose and hurting people. That's what Oz would want, too," Buffy argued.

"I can hear you," Willow said quietly from across the room. She didn't turn to look at her friends as she spoke; her eyes remained on her boyfriend in front of her.

Buffy moved to kneel beside her friend. "It's the only way, Will. I'm sorry, but we can't let him hurt anyone."

Willow looked at the Slayer and nodded, her eyes shimmering with tears. "I know. He would hate that worse." She glanced up at the ceiling in an effort to keep her tears from spilling over. "I'll do it."

"What?" Xander asked, kneeling on her other side and wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "Do what?"

"I'll shoot, when he wakes up. I'm the best shot with the gun, and I'm going to be the one to do it."

Buffy met Willow's green eyes. "If that's what you want Will, fine, but if you change your mind, let me know."

***

Xander was having trouble staying awake. Normally, he relied on those chocolate energy bars that Willow brought, along with a healthy dose of cookies for the sugar rush. He yawned, a huge jaw-cracking yawn, and tried to get more comfortable on the sofa. Buffy and Willow were still in the cage, waiting for Oz to wake up. Xander had been idly considering how exactly Oz had managed to stay awake after Willow shot him the first time. Usually, on the few infrequent occasions when she'd had to restrain Oz with the gun, he had fallen within three seconds of being shot, and been out cold within ten. Xander considered the possibilities. He wasn't research boy for nothing. Finally, he narrowed it down to two things. It could be that there was something special about this particular full moon, or there was something different about Oz. They'd need to do some research. He turned to Giles to ask him about going to get some books from his apartment, but Giles had fallen asleep on the other end of the sofa a half hour earlier. "Stamina not what it used to be, eh, G-man?" he asked, taking advantage of Giles' unconscious state to slip in the hated nickname.

"Xander…" Buffy said warningly in Giles' place.

"Sorry." He stood up and stretched before making his way over to the figure of the prone werewolf in the cage. "Should we put the towels up now?"

Willow shook her head. "It's only ten to three. May as well wait a while." She'd long ago taken Oz's head into her lap, and was absently stroking the fur on his head.

Buffy had been watching them for a long time, and she felt the keen edge of envy every now and then as Willow lowered her head and kissed the puckered and altered skin of her boyfriend's face. Willow could still love him through these nights. Even though she hated them more than anything Buffy knew about. And he loved her more than enough the rest of the month to make up for the full moon times. She wished she had something that special in her life. A vampire and a vampire Slayer were denied that kind of happiness. It was against all the rules. Apparently, the idea of a witch and a werewolf together was perfectly fine with the cosmos.

Xander squatted down beside Willow. "Shouldn't we take up a defensive position? Get the gun and wait outside the cage? He'll be waking up soon."

Willow sighed, and gently extricated herself from Oz. "I'll check the gun," she murmured, so quietly that both Xander and Buffy had to strain to hear.

Buffy stood, helping Xander to his feet as well. "She's so quiet tonight."

Xander nodded in agreement. "She hates shooting him. She gets all guilty. Even though she knows it's the right thing to do. She feels responsible for him and for what he might do."

"Duty sucks," Buffy concurred.

They took up positions outside the cage, and Willow soon rejoined them, gun freshly loaded and ready. "You okay?" Buffy asked.

Willow nodded dumbly. "As good as can be expected, I guess."

"Awww!" Xander exclaimed. "Someone needs a group hug!"

Buffy and Xander enveloped Willow on both sides, squeezing and making silly noises until she rewarded them with a smile. Giles stirred on the couch, mumbling something about teenagers, causing them all to laugh.

"Guys!" Willow finally asserted, "I'm going to need my arms free for this. He could wake up any second."

Both her assailants backed off with huge smiles on their faces.

Then they waited.

***

Willow nervously checked her watch. It was three-thirty-six. According to the dosage, and previous experiences, Oz should have woken up by now. Should have woken up long ago, in fact. Buffy and Xander wore concerned expressions as well. "Any minute now," she whispered, out of respect for Giles, who was still sleeping.

Buffy nodded, her body automatically coiling into the defensive fighter stance she was so familiar with. "Should we wake up Giles?"

"I think Oz'll manage to do that," Xander noted. "He's not known for being the quietest were-creature on the block."

Willow toned them out. She gazed at Oz with wide eyes as she felt something begin to pit in her stomach ominously. Her pulse began to thunder in her ears, and she focussed on Oz's chest, seeing nothing but the steady rise and fall of his breathing. Buffy was the first to notice when Willow's breath began coming in gasps, and was quick to catch her as her legs gave out.

"Will!" she cried, lowering the redhead to the floor gently. "What is it?"

Giles woke up with her cry and hurriedly straightened his glasses. He bolted off the couch, eager to find out what was amiss. He took the gun from Willow as Buffy wrapped her arms around her. Xander hovered protectively around the group, not sure what was going on.

Willow's breath came in ragged wheezes, and she continued to stare at Oz's still form, several feet away.

"Willow!" Giles said, trying to get her attention. "Willow, what is it?"

She met his alarmed grey eyes with her desperate green ones. "He's, he's not going to, to wake up."

Giles' eyes flew to Oz quickly, relieved when he saw the steady rise and fall of the werewolf's chest. "What do you mean?"

"He should have, woken up by now, Giles!" The tears streamed out onto her cheeks, and her friends felt their hearts constrict with pain for the slight witch. "He's not going to wake up," she repeated softly. Willow searched for the words to explain how she knew that Oz was in trouble, but she couldn't describe it as more than a gut feeling.

Buffy tightened her hold on Willow, starting to rock her slightly. "How do you know that, Will?"

Willow shrugged helplessly. "I just do." She tapped her chest lightly. "I know it here."

Buffy didn't doubt her friend. Buffy herself was one person with first-hand experience with premonitions and instincts. "It's okay, Will," she reassured her, "we'll figure something out."

Giles handed the gun to Xander, moving cautiously to check on Oz. He kept in mind that the werewolf could actually awaken at any time. He tentatively pressed his hand to Oz's neck, relieved when he felt a slow, steady beat beneath the hair and skin. His heart rate *was* lower than he would have liked, but he was confident that the sedative would wear off. It had to. He really had no idea what else would awaken their friend.

Willow continued to weep on the outside of the cage, and Giles exchanged worried glances with Buffy and Xander.

It was clear that tonight was something out of the ordinary indeed.

***

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on to part five