Assignment 7

rnease@bellatlantic.net

Title: How Sweet the Sound
Author: Mediancat
Rating: PG

"So," I asked, "Where are we going to sleep tonight?" We were walking
along a deceptively normal Sunnydale. We'd been awake for what seemed
like forever, though I could only remember the last twelve hours or
so.

Everyone else had scattered, to deal with their grief in their own way.
Xander was handling the bureaucracy and keeping Dawn company. Spike was
terminating every last one of Glory's minions with EXTREME
prejudice. Giles, Anya and Dawn were asleep, while Willow and I were
supposed to call everyone else who might want to know, and then tomorrow
go up and tell Buffy's ex Angel in person. We reached a park bench
and sat down, and I repeated my question.

Willow sighed, put her head on my shoulder for a second, and said, "I
don't know. I haven't thought that far, I haven't done much thinking at
all. If I think then I might thing, what could I have done, how
could I have stopped it? And I don't want to think that right now.
Because if I do I'll get really really upset. I should be crying right
now but I'm not. I'm numb and I like being numb. So," I put my finger
over her lips and gave her a kiss. It had worked once before.

It worked this time too. "I understand," I said when I pulled away.
"I'll do the thinking for a while. I'm out of practice." I barely
remembered my two-day bout with Glory-induced insanity. I'm very glad I
don't remember. That I didn't go through that might be the only thing
keeping me from the same kind of grief. It just hadn't caught up to me
yet.

And I wasn't going to let it. Someone had to be strong during this, and
everyone else had earned the right to be weak.

"Thank you," she said tiredly. "Maybe we could just sleep here." She
settled her head back down on my shoulder and closed her eyes.

Despite the situation, despite all of it, I laughed. "I wouldn't mind
that," I said. "But the police might."

"Police are stupid," she said. "This is Sunnydale."

"Yeah," I said. "But we're, we're not invisible."

She waved her hand in the air and muttered a few words. "Now we are."

"That's nice," I said. "But what if someone tries to sit down here."

Without even opening her eyes, she waved her hands and muttered again.
"Now they won't." Then she snuggled in closer.

It amazed me sometimes how powerful she was. When she'd told me what
she'd done over the two days, I had NEVER heard of a more powerful
witch. And on some level that still scared me but, but, but --

She'd assaulted a god.

Twice.

For me.

She'd brought me back from insanity by attacking a god.

It was,

It was awe-inspiring

I was lost in the forest of my insanity and she brought me back.

Amazing.

I don't remember being thrown against the wall. All I remember is,
vaguely, the madness, and then the sweetest sound I'd ever heard:

The voice of the woman I loved.

She'd found me.

"Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound/that saved a wretch like me./I once
was lost, but now am found/Was blind, but now I see."

I never believed in one God over all, and I still don't. But I've never
come closer than when I heard Willow's voice dragging me out of my
madness.

I looked down at her, she was sound asleep. After all that had
happened, I could hardly blame her. It had been the roughest two days
she'd ever had. But when she woke up I'd be here to help her deal with
it.
There were no words I could come up with to describe how hard it was
going to be.

Kissing the top of her head, I came to a realization: I didn't care
where we slept tonight.

As long as it was next to her we'd get through it.