Disclaimer: Do you see Willow kissing Tara in this fic? There you go..you know I'm not Joss.

*****Part 16*********

Authors Note: This camping trip, is based on a documentary my father and I shot when we went camping. Just so you know...this is possible. Except with the whole cuddly thing with a boyfriend. That was just my imagination.

Willow woke up, emotionally exhausted from last night's small fight. Peering outside of the tent, she noticed that dawn was just now starting to approach. Yawning, stretching her arms out, her elbow connected with Oz's nose, and he flinched in shock. Wrinkling his nose at the slight discomfort, he looked up to see Willow mouth a sleepy apology to him before daring to close his eyes again. Feeling a yawn approach, she grabbed a pillow in front of her, and buried her face into the pillow, stifling her yawns. She shivered under the three thick blankets covering them, feeling content with her surrounding enviroment. Oz thinking it was a shiver from the cold, tightened his hold around her waist, and nuzzled her neck. Willow smiled sleepily, when he started kissing the flesh on her neck, and yawned again, more fully awake.

"I was hoping to get some more sleep, but this is a nice way to wake up," Willow said, cradling his neck with her hand, as he continued to tease the skin beneath her ear. Her ears wriggled, a trait she practically inherited, but never actually knew how to do. It just came to her without her knowing.

"How did you do that?" Oz asked, nipping at the soft skin of her shoulder.

"Do what?" Willow asked, tilting her head back slightly to look at him.

"Your ears. The wiggle. How did you do that?" Oz asked.

"I don't know. I never do it intentionally. I just do it subconciously when I'm happy," Willow said smiling some more.

"I can't do that. I never really figured it out," Oz said. "What do you generally do, when your happy that makes you do that?" Oz asked.

"Well...I feel warm, cozy, I smile, good thoughts start fluttering in my head, and then my ears start to wiggle," Willow said, turning around the rest of the way, rotating her hips through his arms so she could face him on her side.

"Okay...I'm smiling, I feel really warm, I'm on some level of being really cozy, really good thoughts are fluttering in my head...are my ears wiggling?" Oz asked. At the shake of Willow's head, he sighed. "Oh well. I had to try." Oz said light heartedly, before bringing his fingers up under her chin and Kissing her softly. Willow closed her eyes for a moment, as the kiss grew more sensual...if that were possible, and then opened them, smiling into his mouth at what she saw.

"Your ears are wiggling," Willow said softly, nibbling on his chin for a few seconds.

"Really?" Oz asked after breaking away. Willow sighed critically, than arched her eyebrows.

"They were," Willow said sheepishly. Oz grinned deviously, than tilted her chin up kissing her again.

"Are they wriggling?" Oz asked.

Willow opened her eyes to look.

"Nope," Willow said frowning, than resuming back to his hungry kiss.

***********Outside tent********

Willow shivered as she unloaded the fishing supplies from the back of the car. The sun beamed soothing strokes of heat down through the trees and Willow reveled in its comforting heat. It still didn't alleviate the cold feeling she got in the pit of her stomach. She had a dream last night, but she wasn't about to go and tell Oz, because both literally, and metaphorically, it was one bad dream. She had a dream, that she and Oz were fighting, than she heard phantom cries coming from her son...but than they made up, which would have ended up in a good dream if her parents weren't included.

The thought of such a dream spinning in her head, was nausiating, and she let out a deep breath, closeing her eyes as cold sweat formed at her brow.

Oz, ten feet away, noticed her flushed cheeks, fidgeting. He stopped his handy work with the tent, knelt down on one knee in the dirt, his elbows resting on the other knee propped up by his foot. He observed every move she made, scratching at his unshaved chin. Deciding to put an end to her intermanable distress, he stood on two feet, and strided over, rapping his arms around her shoulders, after she stood up to close the trunk of the car. She sighed in content, leaning back and relaxing into his warm arms, nuzzling his neck, and closing her eyes.

"Thanks. I was kind of getting cold," Willow mumbled, still some what asleep. Oz just nodded, some what baffled as to why she was sweating out in the cold weather.

"You okay?" Oz asked concerned.

"Mmmm hmmm," Willow mumbled, before yawning sleepily into his ear.

"Why are you sweating?" Oz asked.

"I had a somewhat disturbing dream last night," Willow said sadly.

"Want to talk about it?" Oz asked.

"Later. I want to go fishing right now, with a clear head," Willow said breaking away, bending over to pick up the fishing supplies than standing back up to notice that Oz hadn't taken down the tent yet. She gestured towards the tent with her eyes, and Oz followed her quick glance, broke out of his thinking haze, and rushed over to the tent, taking out the polls and loading it up into the back of the car, along with the now deflated mattress.

"Ready?" Oz asked, breathing hard in anticipation. Willow's eyes beamed at him.

"You bet," Willow said giving him an odd looking thumbs up with all the equipment in her hands. Oz, being the gentlemen, took half of the load into his arms, and walked with her, the two mile hike to the lake.

********The lake*********

Willow and Oz were astonished to see people actually swimming in the cold water, when they got there. Oz looked at Willow, quirking an eyebrow in her direction. Shaking her head she said...

"Don't even think about it," Willow said with menace in her voice. Oz's expression sobered up from its insane grin, and he cleared his throat, before smiling at the dirt, walking with Willow to a place where they could fish. 10 minutes later, they met up with a beautiful clearing.

"You like?" Oz asked, gesturing towards the shallow water twenty feet away. Willow looked up, breaking free from her random thoughts, and nodded tiredly.

"Its nice," Willow said yawning.

"Great!!" Oz said enthusiastically, dropping the fish bate on the ground, taking out a couple of sharp metal poles and sticking them in the water until they penetrated at least 3 inches deep in the dirt below. Willow looked at him confused.

"What are the poles for?" Willow asked, setting the fishing poles against a nearby tree.

"Well, when we catch a fish, these two poles will hold this string up, and we can line up the fish and take a picture of them when we are done to see how many we got,"

"But won't that kill them?" Willow asked, having second thoughts.

"No..." Oz said shaking his head. "The reason I put the poles in the water is so the fish can breath. They will be able to swim around a little, but they won't get away until you let them loose," Oz said. Willow let out a sigh of relief, nodded her head, and proceeded to pull out the rest of the fishing gear from her bag. She watched Oz pull out a bucket.

"Whats that?" Willow asked.

"This is bait. These little fellows unfortunately will not survive unless they find someway off of the hook and even then I doubt they'll live long," Oz said. Willow gulped.

"But I thought you said we weren't going to kill anything," Willow said standing up again. Oz sighed, frustrated. He loved her to death, but he absolutely hated taking a woman fishing.

"Did you not want to fish?" Oz asked, giving her a semi-frustrated glare with his eyes, but a warm smile with his lips. Willow panicked. She hated that look.

"No...no...I just...didn't know. I don't have to touch them do I?" Willow asked.

"If you want to get it on the hook, its probably a wise idea," Willow made a disgusted look with her teeth, grinding her molers together while she thought of what she was going to do.

"You going to show me?" Willow asked, letting out a sigh of resignation. Oz let out a sigh of relief, and nodded his head like he was some kind of silent wise guy. He stood up, and walked over to the rods at the tree, bucket in hand. He picked out a rod, and handed it to Willow. She accepted it wearily. Oz smiled again, wincing at what her next reaction would be like. He dipped down to pick up a 2 inch long minnow, and Willow squirmed at the site of Oz holding up such a slippery fish. He nodded to the hook Willow held in her hand, and she offered it, somewhat frightened at what he was going to do with it. Willow watched him, as he took the hook and slowly eased it through the fish's small abdomen. Willow squirmed some more at the site, and hid her eyes into Oz's shoulder. Oz smiled, and rubbed her back and shoulders. When he was done, the fish dangled from the string which was attached to the rod.

"See. All done. Don't worry, it doesn't hurt them," Oz said.

"What do you mean it doesn't hurt them?" Willow asked incredulous. *He just suck a needle through its stomach*

"Fish feel no pain in their abdomen, because they have no nerves. You know how a horse feels no pain in their feet when someone nails a horse shoe to their feet? That's what a fish's reaction would be like. It doesn't hurt them," Oz said, smiling at the feel of Willow no longer being tense.

"How do you know?" Willow asked.

"I actually remembered something from Marine Biology in highschool," Oz said, kissing her forehead, offering the pole back to her. She took it with little resistance this time.

"Do you remember how to cast?" Oz asked.

"Yeah. I remember how to cast. I'm just used to using plastic when I go fishing," Willow said, slightly embarrassed.

"Don't worry about it. You'll learn. For a moment. Watching your reaction to that fish....I almost thought you were Cordelia, but then I remembered she was on her honeymoon with Xander," Oz said laughing. Then he winced when Willow punched him hard in the shoulder. Willow smiled at him playfully, kissed his cheek lightly, before going up to the water front, swinging back the fishing pole and letting the small fish sale through the air for about 150 feet. Oz looked at her amazed. He'd never seen a cast go out that far.

"What?" Willow asked, noticing him gawking at her.

"How did you do that?" Oz asked.

"I pulled it back and let it loose. Why? You used to doing it some other way?" Willow asked. At the shocked shake of his head, Willow felt a grin suffuse her face, and turned back around to pay attention to the calm water. Willow eyed the water carefully, looking for any air bubbles, then widened her eyes at the sight of a group of air bubbles surfacing the top about 50 feet away. Quickly she reeled her fishing line in until it was about 10 feet in front of the group of bubbles. She jerked it around a bit, then held firm to the rod, at the feel of something biting. Squealing, catching Oz's attention, she reeled it in. It turned out to be a long fresh water bass. 3 feet long, probably some what 40 pounds. Oz stared at her amazed. Willow smiled at him, dragging the fish to the shallow area where Oz put the two poles. Oz put a small hook through its tale so it wouldn't get away, then took the hook out of its mouth and let it loose to swim in the surrounding area.

"How..." Oz asked, his eyes questioning.

"I don't know. I've never caught one that big...well I have, but I was like....14 I think. Only it was a cat fish. Well...then there was that one, no..two fish that I caught in Ontario but...that doesn't count because that was over 10 years ago. Right?" Willow asked. Oz smiled at her, grabbed her hand and kissed it, his breath warming her cold fingers. Willow smiled, and cooed at how sweet Oz was being. Dropping her hand, he set up another minnow for her and the two soon resumed back to work.

********2 hours later*********

Oz sighed in frustration, glaring at the water. Setting his pole up in the cast holder, so it could sit there for a few moments, he walked over to Willow's area. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he sighed in frustration into her neck.

"What's wrong?" Willow asked, rubbing up against him.

"I just don't get it. You've caught 9 fish...huge fish, since we've been here and I've caught, 3 fish that are smaller than a foot. What's up with that?" Oz asked desperately.

"Maybe its the poles. Here...use mine. I'll go over there and see what I can do," Willow said, squirming out of his embrace, handing him her rod and walking over to where Oz's was. She saw something tugging at the string in the water and smiled. Picking up the pole from the holder, she started reeling it in. Out came the biggest fish she had ever caught imaginable. Oz was completely oblivious. She dragged it up to the wood deck, tapping Oz on the shoulder. He turned around, frustration evident in his eyes. He huffed at the sight of a 5 foot long cat fish jumping all over the grass 10 feet away. Handing her the pole, he took the fish and stuck it with the others. Willow started reeling again when Oz turned his back around, his face nearly turning red at what he saw. Another fish!!!! Willow turned around impishly, smiling widely. Oz couldn't help but smile as well. Than walked over to where Willow was standing and traded poles. He went and mounted the fish with the others. Walking back over to Willow, he wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his chin on her shoulder, and sighed.

"Did you want me to show you a trick?" Willow asked.

"Right now, I'm considering all options," Oz said, sulking.

"Okay...here," Willow said handing over the pole. Oz took it, smiling when Willow wrapped her arms around his shoulders showing him how to cast it correctly. She pointed to where she saw a few air bubbles, and told Oz to take it in a bit. Then she showed him how to jerk it around a bit. They finally got a bite. Oz rejoiced, reeling it in quickly. And what do you know...it was a 40 inch long catfish. Oz looked at her with smug eyes, and kissed her lips sweetly. She kissed him back, than pulled away to go back to where she was fishing before.

Noon was arriving, and Willow couldn't help but growl at the need for food. Oz dragged out the cooler, and pulled out a couple of sandwhiches. They ate, and finished some time around 1 in the afternoon. The sun shone brightly in their eyes. Willow sighed in dissappointment at the thought of having to go back until the sun started to go down. Oz sighed as well, than dragged the poles holding up a long string with at least 20 fish dangling in midair out of the water, and mounting them in the ground. Willow pulled out her camera and took about half a roll of film in thirty seconds. Than, Oz dragged the fish back into the water, releasing them one by one. They swam around his feet for a few moments, nipping at his toes momentarily before swimming away.

They packed up their equipment and walked back to the main camp. Oz set up the tent again, but didn't go inside. Instead, the two decided that maybe it was a good time to go check out the Redneck Festival, 3 miles down the road. When they arrived, there were picnic tables littering the surrounding area. Each one held a different sign. One said: Spitting contest, sign up now. Another one said, eat all the chocolate pies in the world contest, sign up now. But the one that really got their attention was....Carnival tickets. $5 a ticket. Ride all the rides you want. Ferris Wheel, Roller Coaster, swings, etc.... That was the first table they went to. They rode three different roller coasters, the big bad ferris wheel, the spinning swings, and the paddle boats until 4 in the afternoon. Their feet were ghostly white from being in the cold water for so long. Then there was the dunking booth, and a table that said polar diving. Win up to 500 dollars, and your name in the paper if you stay in the longest. Oz looked at her suggestively. Willow mouthed to him with sweet eyes....

"Later. Like, maybe in the summer," Willow said. Oz sulked for a few seconds until Willow nipped at his ear, then smiled happily at the feel of warm lips on his freezing ears. It was so cold, white clouds could be seen coming out of their mouths. Oz shivered at the absence of warm air on his ear, and leaned up against the wall to keep warm. Oz noticed Willow was getting cold as well and opened his arms wide. Willow fell into them greatfully, snuggling up against his warm chest, while Oz wrapped his leather clad arms around her back, his hands riding up her sweater to keep warm. Willow yelped slightly, than relaxed when his hand went back to normal temperature. Oz smiled, kissing her forehead.

"Did you want to leave? The tent is supposed to be heated right now, so chances are, things might be a little more comfortable in there," Oz said shivering. Willow smiled up at him, her lips growing chapped from the cold, her cheeks turning a bright red at the harsh wind stinging at her skin like a thousand needles. Her eyes watered at the thought of being warm, in a tent, doing stuff other than cuddling with Oz, and nodded her head eagerly. Oz wrapped his arm around her waist, keeping her warm body against his, the right side of his jacket surrounding her body. Willow wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her head on his chest as they walked the long three miles back to the tent.

*****************Back at the tent*****************

They finally made it back to the tent around 5 in the afternoon. The sun, was no longer shining, but instead was covered up by blankets of cold white clouds dancing in the air. The temperature difference was incredible. Inside the tent, it felt like it was around 70 degrees. Willow loved it. She also loved the fact that once she came in from cold weather and into a warmer, cozier enviroment, she felt sleepy. Oz was the same way, never wanting to miss a moment of it. Snuggling up next to him, Willow curled into a little ball, her back facing towards him. Her legs dangled with his for a few moments, the two playing footsies in their warm white socks. He kissed her neck occasionally, causing her to squirm as if she were on a sugar high, and smiled when she started kicking every time his hands lunged towards her ribs. Laughter filled the tent, and tickeling led to snuggling, and snuggling led to smoochies, and smoochies led to....well you know.

*******************Mexico.*********************

"Grandma, grandma...look what I learned to do," Kevin said, anticipation and pride ringing in his eyes. Nanna turned around, enthused to see what else Kevin had come up with. First, he learned how to use all of her peroxide to make a stinky gas with potatoes that he liked to call a new form of Oxygen which could possibly be essential to mankind, provided they ever needed it. The second thing he learned how to do was make art out of grape juice, jelly, mustard, and ketchup, which he liked to call: "The scented colors of art". Then, the third thing he learned how to do, was how to give Toby a bath. Oh god, that was...messy. But hey, at least the dog smelled good. The kid did after all go through all the trouble as to cut out half of her roses, and used the petals as an extract for scented oil. Then, he took the cinnamon apple wax and put it on the tips of the dog's hair to make him smell extra pretty. Oh, and let's not forget his passion for food. That kid nearly ate her out of a house and home. But she still loved him.

She turned around to survey his new work, and gasped out in laughter at the sight before her. His nails were painted a bright white with the paint, and he somehow managed to get ahold of grandpa's shaving foam, molding it to his head until he looked like a 17th century colonial dude wearing a white wig. Oh...Jeremy would love this. Smiling widely, she stood up, running for the camera. Kevin blinked several times at the half a dozen flashes blinding his sight, then smiled when she was done, at the thought that she liked it.

Breathing hard, Nanna sat down again, holding her hand to her left shoulder as a sudden dull pain shot up through her arm. She waved it off as nothing, and went back to her reading once Kevin left to try something new.

A minute had passed, the dull pain muted by her steady breathing, and vast attempt to write it off as another false alarm. Deciding that she had enough reading, she reached across for the remote control, and soon regretted it, when another pain, only this time 20 times sharper lanced from her left shoulder to her heart. Gasping for air, she tried desperately to scream for help, yet no sound came out. She collapsed onto the floor, writhing in great waves of pain. Clutching at a glass, she threw it hard against against the wall, causing a loud shattering sound to vibrate through the house.

Kevin's ears perked up in worry at the sound of glass breaking. Running through the house, worried that something bad might have happened to Grandma, he skidded to a halt, confused at the sight of broken glass on the wooden floor, and his Grandma, lying on the floor, unconscious and barely breathing. His eyes widened in fear, and he charged down the hall to the phone. There was a number his mommy always told him to call if something bad happened and he didn't know what to do. Grandpa was at the stock market with Uncle Tom, and they weren't supposed to be back until 8'o'clock. Three hours!!!. He dialed 911.

"911, what is your emergency?" The operator asked calmly over the phone.

"My Grandma....isn't...she's..uh...not awake," Kevin cried in a tiny confused voice.

"Is she breathing?" The operator asked. Obviously this kid wasn't more than seven or eight years old.

"I don't know," Kevin said into the phone, tears evident in his sing song voice.

"Do you know how to check a pulse?" The operator asked.

"Yes, but I can't get to her because there is a bunch of glass blocking the doorway and I'm not allowed to go near it," Kevin said, blubbering.

"Is there anyone else in the house?" The operator asked, buzzing for a trained MD, and an ambulance.

"No. Grandpa is at the stock market,"

"Could you give me a name and Address?" The operator asked.

"My name is Kevin Rosenburg. I'm at...220 West Creek," Kevin said looking at a note addressed to his grand parents.

"Okay Kevin. I need you to stay on the phone. An ambulance is on its way. Now I'm going to ask you a few more questions so I can get to know you," The operator said, trying to keep the little boy calm.

"Okay," Kevin replied, huddling in a nearby corner.

"How old are you?" The lady asked.

"I'm 5," Kevin answered, wiping at his now itchy face.

"Really? You sound so much older. My name is Irene. I'm 26," The lady said. Kevin smiled through his tears.

"My mommy is 26," Kevin said.

"Oh really? Well where is your mommy?" Irene asked, taking out a piece of paper, preparing to get a couple of numbers to call.

"She's in California with aunt Buffy, and Daddy," Kevin said. "Really? California...wow!!! Do you have a number where I can reach your parents?" Irene asked. "My mommy is...has a cell phone...Its 1(817) 915-5556," Kevin said into the phone. "What about your daddy?" Irene asked. "I don't know my daddy," Kevin said into the phone. "Do you know any other numbers I can call?" Irene asked. "Well...sometimes my mommy's phone is busy, so she gave me a pager number. It's...." Irene took down the digits, then made a side note to call these numbers as soon as possible. She sighed in sympathy. *Poor kid. Doesn't even know his own dad.* "Do you know how to get a hold of your grandfather?" Irene asked.

"No. He's at the..." Kevin was cut off by a knock at the door. "Someone is at the door."

"That would be the ambulance. You need to go open the door and show them where your grandma is," Irene replied.

"Okay," Kevin said, putting the phone down, and running towards the door. When he opened the door, big tall men, at least six feet tall, walked in carrying a white metal case with a red '+' on it. Another man was carrying a hyperdermic needle, two men came in with a gurney, and another one with glasses came in, to ask Kevin a bunch of questions.

"Hey there kiddo. My name is Brian. Whats yours?" Brian asked.

"Kevin," Kevin answered, shaking the man's hand weakly.

"Hi there Kevin. Listen...I know this is hard for you, but until we can get your grandma to the hospital safely, I'm going to need you to answer a few questions, similar to the ones Irene asked you on the phone. Can you do that?" Brian asked. At the nod of his head, Brian went on.

"Okay Kevin. Your grandma is unconscious right now. She's breathing, and she's alive. What I want to know is when was the last time you saw her awake?" Brian asked.

"I think it was about...twenty minutes ago. About 5'a'clock, I guess." Kevin said, wiping at his eyes.

"Was she having any problems. Was she breathing hard, was she sick?" Brian asked.

"No. I don't know. I did something new, and showed it to her, and she got really excited. She ran for her camera, but she seemed fine to me," Kevin answered, inwardly thinking that maybe it was his fault.

"Were you there when she fell asleep?"

"No. I was in the Music room," Kevin said, pointing to the room outside.

"How did you find her?" Brian asked again.

"I heard glass break. I had a bad feeling it was Grandma. I saw her from the hall way," Kevin said.

"Okay...very good Kevin. Now I need you to listen. I know you've probably been told not to get into the car with strangers, but right now it is essential that you come with us to the hospital. Your grandma wants you there," Brian said.

Kevin struggled with his morals from what his mommy told him, then remembered that it was for Grandma's own good. But he still wasn't supposed to get in the car with strangers. At the sight of the two men rolling his grandma out on a gurney, his mind was made up. Kevin nodded his head, accepting the tall man's outstretched hand. The man put him in the front seat of the police car and buckled him in.

*****One hour later*****

"Kevin...I'm Doctor Jacobs. I was wondering if you could confirm these numbers as your mother's?" The doctor asked. Kevin gave him a confused face, and looked up at the man with puppy like eyes.

"I'm only 5. I don't know what that means," Kevin replied.

"Okay," The doctor said, kneeling down next to him with a piece of paper. "If I call this number, I should be able to get ahold of your mother. Am I right?"

Kevin looked at the number and nodded his head.

"If her phone is busy, I can call this number and page her. Am I right?"

Kevin nodded his head again. The doctor smiled, and left the children's nursery. Kevin yawned while a couple of hospital therapists came up to him, making sure he wasn't in shock. His cocky attitude proved otherwise, and the therapists left him to make friends with the other kids. It appeared that even with his silent demeanor, he was a babe magnet. And all the other little boys were jealous. He met a little girl named Debbie, another girl who didn't know what her name was, a boy named Jason, two twins that went by Kris, and Kristine, and a shy, little red head girl who went by Sunshine. He was hooked, and dead set on getting her to talk, instead of making a few unintelligible sounds, before blushing a bright pink everytime he asked her a question about herself. Eventually he had to stop though because some big mean kid who looked like maybe seven or eight, with dark brown hair started antagonizing him, and threatening to break his nose if he moved in on his girl. But he used other words.

*******Back in California.******

Oz woke up to the steady buzzing sound three inches away from his ear. It was Willow's pager. He looked over to Willow, noted she was still asleep and checked the message. It read: Your son, Le Mexico Verde Hospital. 1(435) 555-9787. Oz peered at it with questioning eyes. *Son? Must be the wrong number. I'll ask Willow about it when she wakes up.* Oz thought, shrugging his shoulders. Hovering his hands through the lack of light, he found what was supposedly Willow's jeans, and slipped it in the small pocket.

He remembered the pictures Willow had in her room. They were almost haunting. Well, they were haunting, if he was remembering them. A little boy, no more than five, red hair, no freckles, green eyes, and by the looks of it, the love of Willow's life. She did say he was practically a son to her. But she wouldn't...would she? This was Willow. A girl who could not tell a lie if her life depended on it. But...they looked so much like each other. But still, Willow wouldn't lie. Couldn't lie to him. He had the thought planted a foot in his head, and somehow managed to fall asleep with his troubled mind. She wouldn't lie to him. Couldn't lie to him. That's all there was to it.