By Julie


Willow sat down on her bed and let out a deep breath. It was late Saturday afternoon and Willow was tired. With Xander gone on a three week vacation with his parents, Buffy and Willow had to work extra hard to fill in for him. The last night, there had been a demon sent after the Slayer and Willow had spent half the night researching information to find out about this demon. The other half of the night had been spent tracking down and killing the demon and Willow, for one, was happy that Buffy was safe. 'God, what a long week. Thank goodness it's over.' Then she remembered that she had a date with Oz last night. 'Oh my god! I stood him up! I completely forgot. He's going to be so mad at me. How am I going to explain this to him?'
Oz didn't know that Buffy was the Slayer or about any of their adventures, so he wouldn't understand why she wasn't there for their date. She didn't want to get him mad at her. She really liked him. Ever since he took that bullet for her, she found herself liking him even more every day. He was helping her get over Xander and he didn't even notice that he was. She sighed and got up to take a walk to think about what she was going to do.

'You stood me up!'

Willow had run into Oz at the park. She had tried to turn around, but he had spotted her. 'I'm sorry! Something came up. Let me explain?'

'Explain this! I was waiting there for three hours last night. Three hours! Why was I waiting there for three hours?' Willow felt her eyes fill up with tears as she tried to explain. Oz cut her off short. 'Never mind. I don't think I want to know.'

'I'm sorry.'

'Yeah well, so am I.' He turned and started to walk the other way.

'Don't go,' Willow pleaded. Why does this hurt so much? 'Why?'

'Because,' Willow realized as Oz rounded the corner of bushes. 'I love you.' Willow started to cry uncontrollably and turned to walk away. She heard a noise and something attacked her. She barely had time to scream before she was knocked unconscious.

Oz reached his van and leaned against the door. How could I have done that? I guess I'm not mad at her, just mad at myself for not being what she wanted. I'll talk to her tomorrow'

Oz heard a scream come around the corner. He looked in the direction of the scream and slowly walked back around the corner. He saw a body lying on the ground, but he couldn't identify it yet. As he got closer, he recognized the mass of red hair surrounding the figure's face. 'Oh my god, Willow!' He ran to her side and turned her over. She had a long cut on her cheek and a bruise forming over the other one. She had scratches on her arms, which made Oz consider grabbing her arms. He put a hand on her waist and the other on her shoulder. He quickly pulled away his hand from her waist as he felt something warm and sticky beneath his hand. He lifted her shirt and found a huge gash on her lower abdomen. Not only was it huge, but it was deep. He felt for her pulse. It was barely there. He listened for her breathing which was shallow. He knew that if he didn't get her to the hospital, that she would die. This is all my fault. If I only hadn't of left her. He picked her up and carried her to his van and sped off for the hospital.

Buffy burst in through the hospital doors to find Oz there, pacing back and forth. 'What happened Oz?'

'We were at the park and we got into a fight. I walked off to my van and when I got there, I heard a scream. I went back and found Willow lying on the ground.'

'How is she?'

'Not good. She's suffering from internal bleeding, she has an incredibly huge gash on her right side, and she's in a coma.'

'What do the doctors think?'

'They don't know. They sat that there's a chance that she could die. Oh god, if only I hadn't left' He trailed off and sat down. He hid his face in his hands and started sobbing. Buffy sat down next to him and put an arm around him. 'If she dies, I'll never live with myself. I never got a chance to say I was sorry.' He sighed and continued. 'And that I love her.'

'You love her?'

'Yes. I do. I love her so much. Every time I see her, it's like nothing else matters just as long as she's there. My day seems so much more complete when I see her. They won't even let me see her.'

At that moment, a doctor came out. 'You can see her now.' Buffy and Oz got up and followed the doctor down the hallway.

The doctor opened the door and let them in. She closed it behind them as Buffy and Oz walked to the bed. 'God, she's beautiful,' Oz said as he gently touched her cheek.

'That's what I always say, but she never believes me.'

Buffy and Oz talked about Willow for the next hour until Buffy realized that she had graveyard duty. 'I have to go Oz.'

'Why?'

'I have to go do...' She realized that she was about to tell Oz about her extra-curricular activities. 'Home. I have to go home.'

'I'm going to stay here.'

Buffy looked at Oz with incredible sadness and pity. He shouldn't blame himself. It's not his fault. He didn't know. 'Bye Oz.'

'Bye Buffy.'


Willow slowly sat up, shaking her head roughly as to wake herself up. She looked around and saw that she was in a room was completely dark. What the hell? Where am I? She looked around some more and saw a faint light in the distance. At first, she thought that she shouldn't go, but her curiosity beat that thought.

'It couldn't hurt' She slowly got up, trying not to fall over. Ouch, my head. She staggered over to the light. It seemed to take an eternity to walk over there. She suddenly found herself in the graveyard and a wave of panic rushed over her. I shouldn't be here. Not at nighttime, not without a stake, and definitely not without Buffy. She reluctantly started to walk around the graveyard, taking each step slowly. A crunching noise came from behind on of the gravestones nearby. She crept over there and jumped back in surprise. Holy shit! This is not good. What am I supposed to do.>

What she had found was two vampires crouching there, waiting to attack. I guess there's only one thing I can do. Run.

She took off in the other direction, hoping that her endurance would last throughout the chase. Buffy, I wish you were here'


Oz looked down at Willow's sleeping form with a look of fascination and worry on his face. He had been there, at her side for almost two days now, hoping upon hopes that she would wake up and be ok. Buffy had been in and out for the last couple of days, visiting Willow and bringing him food. When she wasn't there, she was with Giles, trying to find out what attacked Buffy's best friend, and hunting for vampires and other creatures that might harm another innocent person. Buffy still hadn't told Oz about what she and Willow and Xander did in their spare time. He wasn't ready to handle it yet, so he was still left in the dark. Oz glanced at the IV tube that was connected to her arm and then back to her. He gaze slowly found the machine that was monitoring Willow's heart beat. The longer he stared at it, the more he noticed that the speed of her heart was getting faster. As it picked up in speed, his heart did the same, worrying that something bad might be happening to her again. He looked back onto her and noticed that her face had tensed up, like she was having a nightmare. His suspicions were confirmed when she started talking.

'No, no. Get away from me. Buffy, help me. They're after me. The vampires are after me. Please, slay them. Make them go away. Please Buffy, where are you?'

Oz looked at Willow with a look of confusion. What does Buffy have to do with vampires? He laughed to himself. It must be a joke that turned into a nightmare, but then why does she sound so scared. It's like vampires are real? maybe I'm starting to get delusional.

He lifted his hand and started stroking her hair. 'Shh, it's ok. They're not going to get you.'

He heard the beeping of the machine get slower. She weakly lifted her hand and he grabbed it, lacing his fingers with hers. I'll hope she'll be ok.


Willow screamed again as another vampire stepped in front of her path. She had already tried calling for help, but no one responded. They surrounded her in a circle, blocking off all escape possibilities. That's it. I'm dead. I'm never going to escape them. She had given up all hope when she heard a familiar, distant voice. 'They're not going to get you.'

'Oz!!! Where are you?' She reached out for him, hoping that he would grab her hand. She felt his hand firmly grasp hers, but she couldn't see it. She looked around and found that the vampires had gone. She sighed in relief at the sight of the vampires gone. Then she remembered Oz. She frantically searched around for him, but she couldn't find him. That's weird. I can feel his hand holding mine, but I can't see it. Maybe something's wrong?

She looked around and found herself in a familiar place. Oh-no. It can't be. She found herself at the computer factory where Malcolm, or rather Moloch, held her hostage, intent on killing her. She rounded a corner and saw a door that was open a crack. She slowly opened the door and peered in. She saw nothing, so she opened it further.

She screamed when she found Moloch standing there. 'This time my dear,' he purred, 'You cannot escape.' With that, he closed the space between them in two strides, grabbed her by the waist, picked her up, and carried her into the room. 'You won't ever escape'


Buffy and Giles walked down the hallway to Willow's hospital room. Giles looked nervous and Buffy looked grief-stricken. Willow was getting worse, and there was nothing the doctors could do about it. Buffy looked into her room and found that Oz wasn't there. 'That's weird. He's been here for the past 5 days. Why wouldn't he be here now? Anyway, it's good that he isn't here Giles, because we need to talk. What do we think we know?'

'It's hard to tell. It could have been your average, random attacks caused by a drunken man. The more I try to research, the more that I am starting to believe that that's what happened.'

Buffy looked furiously at her Watcher. 'A random attack'! Oh, a random attack. I see. I guess that this means that I can protect my friend from vampires, giant bugs, Internet demons, and who-knows-what, but I can't protect my friends from some guy who had been drinking too much?'

'Buffy, that's not what I said. What I meant was...'

'Oh, I know what you meant. What you're trying to say is that I can't protect my friends. Giles, I have fought vampires, giant bugs, people who have been possessed by hyenas, an invisible girl, a giant snake, and just about every other average demon! But what really bothers me, is that with all my strength as the slayer, I wasn't able to protect my friend from your average drunken guy. I-I '' Buffy collapsed onto the floor and started crying. 'She's dying Giles, and I can't help her.'

'Huh?' Buffy and Giles looked up to find a very confused Oz standing at the doorway.

'Oh-no.'


Oz had left Willow to go to the bathroom. On his way back, he heard voices in Willow's room. He peered in through the door crack, listening to the conversation that was going on.

'Oh, I know what you meant. What you're trying to say is that I can't protect my friends. Giles, I have fought vampires, giant bugs, people who have been possessed by hyenas, an invisible girl, a giant snake, and just about every other average demon! But really bothers me, is that with all my strength as the slayer, I wasn't able to protect my friend from your average drunken guy. I-I''

Oz turned away from the doorway and stared down the hall. Vampires' Demons' Real' Is there something I'm missing' Then he heard Buffy say, 'She's dying Giles, and I can't help her.'

Oz decided that it was time to make himself known. He pushed the door open and stared at the two with shock. 'Huh?'

The pair looked up at him. Buffy, in her crouched state on the floor muttered, 'Oh-no.'

'What were you talking about' Whatever it is, I want to know, because I heard the whole thing. About vampires and demons and whatever. Just explain it to me and explain what it has to do with Willow.'

For the next hour, Buffy and Giles explained to Oz the whole Slayer/Watcher thing. 'So let me get this straight. Buffy, you're the slayer. You kill vampires and any other demon that causes trouble in this town. And you, Mr. Giles, you watch over her and guide her. And Willow and Xander and Cordelia all help you fight whatever causes harm in this town?'

'That's the sitch.' Buffy looked at Oz, trying to figure out what he was thinking.

They were silent for a moment before Oz spoke up again. 'So that explains the nightmares Willow was having.'

'What nightmares?' Giles asked worried.

'Oh, a few nights ago, she was having nightmares about vampires and she was calling for you Buffy. I grabbed her hand, and she calmed down, but then, the next morning, she started to get worse, like something had her and wasn't letting her go.'

Buffy and Giles looked at each other, realizing what Willow was dreaming about. What's the only thing that now could scare Willow so badly that it would make her sick' Buffy thought. 'Moloch. That's what's worsening her situation,' Buffy said softly.

'Moloch? Who's Moloch?'

Buffy turned to Oz and said, 'Moloch was a demon that posed as a human over the Internet and he captured Willow, intent on either keeping her for his own pleasure or killing her. We killed him after he had captured Willow. For months, she had nightmares about him. Nightmares where he was coming to get her or where he already had her and wasn't letting her go. That is what's making her like this.'

'How do we get her out of it?' Oz asked urgently.

'I don't know. We're just going to have to hope that they go away soon, because the dreams are killing her.' Oz's face got solemn and he got quiet as he stared at the woman he loved. When Oz didn't speak, Buffy and Giles quietly got up and walked out, leaving Oz alone with Willow.

Oz watched the two make their hasty exit. They didn't even say good-bye! How rude of them. He turned back to Willow and gently fingered her cheek. Dying. She's dying. We have to figure out how to wake her.

He decided to tell her how he felt, even though she probably couldn't hear him. He sighed and began. 'Willow, why can't you wake up? If you don't wake up, just please don't die. Don't do that to me. I can't help but feel like this is my fault for walking away. If I hadn't, you would most likely be ok. I'm sorry for yelling at you like that. I'm not mad at you. How could I be mad at you? You're everything I want. Beautiful, smart, sweet, and all the other things that make you Willow. I can't even begin to describe how much I love you. I'm sorry I didn't say that sooner. That I love you. I wish you would wake up so I could tell you this while you were awake. If you die, I won't ever forgive myself. For yelling at you, or walking away, and for not telling you how much I love you and how much you mean to me.'

When Oz finished talking, he was crying again. He looked back onto Willow'sface and what he saw shocked him.


Willow had been tied up by Moloch. He walked back into the room and lifted her chin. 'This time your friends won't be able to save you.'

'I wouldn't be so sure of that,' Willow lied, trying to sound as believable as possible.

He only laughed at her statement. 'Not this time. This time we can be together forever. I love you, my dear Willow.'

'Yeah well I don't love you. My heart belongs to someone else. Sorry Moloch, you lose.'

'No, I win either way. Even if you don't love me, you are not escaping me this time. I lost you once, but I'm not going to again.' He walked away, slamming the door behind him. Willow frantically tried to untie the ropes.

After an hour of work, she finally got them untied. 'He thinks he can keep me here forever. He's wrong.' She started to walk away when she heard Oz's voice talk to her.

She ran in direction of his voice, hoping that she would find him. She heard him say as she reached the entrance of the building,


''and for not telling you how much I love you and how much you mean to me.'
She knew that Oz was on the other side of the door. She burst through the double doors and found nothing besides a bright light. She walked even farther into the light, finally disappearing from that world.


'Willow''

Willow's eyes fluttered open and she smiled. 'Hello.'

'You're ok?'

'Yeah, aside from the fact that my head hurts and I want to go to sleep.'

She closed her eyes again, but kept awake. 'Willow, I'm so sorry I walked away.'

'I know. I heard you.'

'What do you mean?'

'I could hear you talking to me. By the way, what happened to me?'

'You were attacked by something or someone and you've been in a coma for the past week.'

'Me? In a coma? Well, that would explain the dreams.'

'I know. You were talking and mumbling stuff about vampires and what-not.'

'I remember that dream. I was being attacked by vampires and then I heard you talking and I felt you grab my hand and the vampires went away. Knowing that you were there made me feel safe. I liked it.' Oz blushed as Willow spoke.

"I'm just glad you're alright.' He gathered her into a hug, which she gladly returned.

'I'm glad I am to.'


A week later

Willow was lying on her bed. She had been in bed for a week, after going through that coma. She held the phone receiver in one hand and was twirling her hair with her other. 'I don't get it Buffy. He's been avoiding me for the past 4 days.' Oz hadn't talked or seen Willow for almost a week. Every time she tried to call, his parents said he was out. Buffy had even gone over to his house to see if he would talk to her.

'Maybe he doesn't want to see you because he feels guilty about what happened.'

'But it's not his fault. I don't know Buffy. I really like him. I mean a lot. I may even love him. But I miss him and for reasons I can't even explain. I just think that... I don't know what to think.'

'I'm sorry Will, but let's leave this depressing topic. When are you coming back to school?'

'Monday.'

'That's great Will. Hey, I have a plan to get Oz to talk to you.'

'Yeah' What is it?'

'Well, what we do is...'


Willow walked into the Sunnydale High School library to find Buffy sitting on the table. 'Hey Wills. What's up?'

'Nothing at the moment. Are we going to start the plan thing tonight?'

'Yep, but first, I have to get him to the beach and I know just how to do it.'

'How?'

'I'm going to say that either he comes to the beach tonight or I go Slayer on his ass.'

'You told him, didn't you.'

'Not really. He just sorta found out while eavesdropping on us when Giles and I were visiting you in the hospital. But, that threat usually works against those who know I'm that Slayer.'

'Ok Buffy. Hey, have you seen Xander?'

'Nope. But he called me last night and said that he wasn't coming back until tomorrow. That's good thought because he'd probably be against this whole shindig.'

'Well, I should get to class. I have to catch up majorly. See ya Buffy. And don't forget.'

'I won't Will.' Buffy laughed lightly as Willow left the library.


Oz was lost in a daze as he wandered through the halls of the school. He reached his locker and found a note taped to it. He took it off and opened it.


Turn around.
Oz promptly turned around and Buffy put both hands on the lockers, trapping Oz there. 'Listen, you are coming to the beach tonight. I have to talk to you about something.'

'And what if I refuse?'

'I go Slayer on your ass and you know I will.' Oz agreed, not wanting Buffy to test her strength on him. 'Great. Be at the beach parking lot at 7:30. And if you're late? well, you know. Bye.'

Buffy walked away with a smile of her face. Now starts the fun.


Willow and Buffy were at Willow's house, preparing her for the evening. 'Does Oz know that I'm coming?'

'Nope and that's the fun of it all.' Buffy turned to Willow and stared at her. 'You're gorgeous Will.'

'I'm not.'

'Yes you are. How many times do we have to go over that? Now come on. We have to get at 6:00 to prepare the spot.'

'How are we going to do this again?'

'Well, tonight's the full moon, which makes the beach look beautiful. So, Oz will be there and he'll see you walking down the beach, towards him. The rest is up to you.'

Willow smiled at the thought. 'Good. I'd hate to have you plan how I'm going to kiss him.'

'What?!'

'You heard me. No talking. I'm just going to walk up to him and kiss him. He won't know what hit him.'

'Go girl!'

'Don't I know it.' They both smiled at each other and walked out of the door.


Oz parked his car at the front of the parking lot, the end closest to the beach. He stepped out and walked around for a while until he found Buffy. 'So Buffy, what did you want to talk about?'

'What I wanted to talk about was...' Buffy turned around with a genuinely, and fake, look on her face. 'I'm sorry. I'll be back in a second. There's a vampire over there.'

'How do you know?'

'I can feel it. I have to go do my job.' Buffy walked away thinking, He bought it. Now it's up to Willow'

Oz sat down on the log that was a few feet away from him. He watched Buffy walk, or rather run the other way. He sighed and looked down at the sand and started playing with it. He sat there for a few minutes, playing with the sand. He decided to see what was taking her so long, but when he got up, his breath was taken away. There was a girl standing at the edge of the serf, her long hair blowing in the wind. The waves crashed against her bare feet as she started to walk over to him. She was wearing a short, black velvet dress. Oz was absolutely amazed at the sight of the girl. He was even more amazed when he recognized the girl as Willow. He could do nothing but stare at the beauty in front of his face. She approached him and raised her hand, gently running it across his face. Oz was completely frozen in place. What is she doing' Willow looked him in the eyes and kissed him. Oz was paralyzed with shock for a moment, but then he responded by kissing her back. She put her hands around his neck and his arms naturally went around her waist. She ran a hand through his hair, letting her hand rest on the back of his head. She pulled away and looked at him.

He smiled at her with that smile that Willow loved. 'Willow, can I tell you something, since we're into the whole romance thing. I love you. I really do.'

'I know. I heard you, remember? When I was in the coma? I could hear you talking to me and telling me that you loved me. It's what woke me up.'

'Are you serious?'

'Yeah, I think I am. Oh, and I also have something to tell you.'

'What?'

'I love you too.' She pulled him into another embrace of kisses as the moonlight surrounded them.


Buffy looked at the scene and sighed happily. She loved seeing Willow with someone as sweet and kind as Oz. She was so engrossed with watching the two kiss on the beach that she didn't feel Angel walk up behind her. 'Hey Buffy.'

'Angel. Hi. You shocked me. I was just...'

'Watching Willow make out with a guy on the beach?'

'Yeah, that's it.'

'Who is he?'

'His name is Oz. You have to meet him. He's so nice and sweet towards Willow. He felt so guilty after what happened.'

'What happened?' Angel hated being out of the loop, especially when it came to Buffy's life.

'She was in a coma for a week after being attacked by some guy. Oz felt guilty about it because before she was attacked, they had gotten into a fight and he had walked away from her. Then she got attacked. He was the one who found her lying on the ground.' Buffy looked back onto the couple and smiled. 'Isn't that just the cutest thing you've ever seen?'

'It is pretty cute.' He smiled. 'Hey Buffy.'

'Yeah Angel'' Angel scooped Buffy up into a deep kiss. They had become so engrossed with each other that they didn't notice Willow and Oz come up next to them.

'Ahem. Hello' Buffy' Angel?' Willow said. Willow finally smacked Buffy on the back, desperately trying to get her attention. It worked and Buffy was a little more then annoyed.

'Yes?'

"We just wanted to say hi, but it looks like we came at a bad time.'

'I should say so,' Buffy snapped. She quickly gathered herself. 'I'm sorry guys, it's just that I haven't seen Angel for a while and I missed him.'

'Ok Buffy, we'll go. Come on Oz, let's go.' Oz led to her to his van, where he opened the door for her. She climbed in, letting Oz close the door behind her.

'Where to my fair lady?'

She smiled at him and said, 'How about the Bronze?'

'You got it,' he said smiling back at her as they sped off for the Bronze.




(more stories by Julie)

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