| Distribution: Please, take it! I'd like a note so I can visit it, though. Disclaimer: Willow, Xander, and the rest of the people you recognize belong to Joss Whedon and the WB. Melanie belongs to me. Rating: PG-13 Willow Rosenberg was sprawled on her living room couch, soft classical music playing in the background, reading a book for her sophomore Lit class. Buffy Summers, her roommate, was training with Rupert Giles at his place, and she had the whole apartment to herself. The warm April sunshine filtered through the window, softly lighting the small, but comfortable, room. Her red hair, grown long again, was pulled back in a braid, and she twirled a loose lock as she concentrated on what she was reading. The phone rang, and she absently reached for it. "Hello?" "Hi, Will." At these words, she dropped the book and sat up straight, grasping the phone tightly. "Xander?" she breathed. "Oh, my. Where are you? Why haven't you called me? Or written? I've been worried about you! Ten months. . .you better have a very good excuse, Alexander Harris," she told him, only half joking. "I know, I know. I'm sorry, Wills," he apologized. "Oh, man, you don't know how good it is to hear your voice again," he sighed. "It's good to hear from you, too," she admitted with a smile. "So, where are you now?" He hesitated. "I'm in Chicago. I have been since just after we last talked. So, um, how are you? And Buffy and Giles?" he asked, trying to change the subject. This conversation was even harder than he had imagined, and he hadn't even told her anything yet. "I'm doing good. Evan and I started dating, and then we broke up a few months back, but we're still kind of friends," she told him. Willow and Oz had broken up during freshman year when he went on tour with the Dingoes. She hadn't dated anyone for a long time after that, until she met Evan Simmons during a summer course. By Christmas, they were going out, and by St. Patrick's Day, they were over. "Just didn't work out for us. Giles is good. His bookstore is doing fairly well, and he's happy. Buffy and. . .oooh! This is new for you," she grinned. "What's new?" he asked, playfully suspicious. "Well, you know how Spike came back to Sunnydale last year after Drusilla was killed?" she asked. "Yeah," he said slowly. "Oh, no," he groaned, realization dawning. "Oh, yes," Willow said with a giggle. "Buffy and Spike are now involved. Giles really wasn't thrilled at first, but Spike has been really helpful with Slaying and stuff. He's head over heels for her, and behaves a lot better now, so it's all good. How have you been?" And here it was. He took a deep breath. "Well, you know, I'm good. Really. . .I'm going to be a father." "Oh!" Willow squeaked, stunned. "Oh. Well, congratulations. Who's the mother? I didn't know you had a girlfriend. Or a wife. You'd tell me if you had a wife, wouldn't you?" she asked quickly, her tone turning urgent. "Oh, no, of course I would have told you that, Will," he hastened to reassure her. "Her name's Megan. I met her in Chicago, obviously, and we started dating. We've broken up now. We had before she found out she was pregnant," he explained. "Oh," Willow said again. "When's the baby due?" "Um, May 17," he said nervously. Willow was silent, and he closed his eyes, praying that she didn't hate him. "Of this year? Sorry, of course of this year. But it's April. April 25. Today is. And you're telling me this now?" She sounded so hurt, and Xander felt even worse. "I'm sorry, Will. I am. I just. . .," he sighed. "I didn't know how to tell you. I knew you would be all disappointed in me, and I just couldn't handle that. So I put it off. Many times. And now Megan is nine months along, and I don't have much time left. So, here I am. Telling you." Willow sighed. "Xand, you've known me for almost twenty years. You didn't know that I'd be thrilled for you? That I would be there to help you any way you needed it?" "I know. I should have known that, but I was so scared, Wills. You. . .your opinion means everything to me, and I couldn't bear to know you'd think less of me," he tried to explain. "Well, you told me now, so I guess that's what counts, right?" she said, trying to relieve the tension a little. "So, um, you guys broke up, huh? What are you going to do now? About the baby, I mean." "I have no idea," he said bluntly. "It started out with Megan wanting the baby, and I wasn't sure, and now Megan definitely wants nothing to do with it, and I think I want to raise it. I mean, the baby is mine, Will. I created this living thing, and it's going to come and depend completely on me. Which sounds horrifically scary and wonderful all at the same time. I just don't know if I can do it. I mean, what do I know about kids? And I can't raise a child in the dump I live in. And who am I to raise a kid? I am a kid!" Xander's mind was racing with the negatives of him keeping the baby. "Xand?" Willow broke into his tirade. "Xander, stop it. You have a knack with kids, probably because, yes, you still act like one. If you want the baby, keep it. You can do it. And I'll help you when you need it. We all will. Okay?" "You'd help me?" he asked, needing the reassurance. "Yes, I would," she told him softly. "I'll always be here for you, Xand. Call me, okay? Soon. None of this ten months stuff again." "I will," he said, voice trembling. "Thank you, Willow." "Anytime, Xand. Bye now." She gently hung up the phone and dissolved into tears. Buffy found her there, still crying, twenty minutes later. "Will? Willow, what's wrong? Are you okay?" She rushed over to her friend and knelt down next to her. Willow's red rimmed eyes met her friend's. "Xander called. He's going to be a father." She dashed her hands over her eyes as Buffy's mouth dropped open. "Yeah. Girl named Megan, in Chicago. Baby's due in three weeks, and he just told me today." "Oh, Willow, I'm sorry," Buffy said softly, inwardly cursing at Xander for his stupidity. Willow tried to smile. "I'm okay. Really. It's just a shock. 'Cause, you know, I always thought that I would be having Xander's babies." She started crying again, and Buffy quickly moved to hug her. "I'm sorry, Willow," Buffy soothed. "It'll be okay. Really. I promise." She rocked her friend slowly. "You'll be fine." |
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