Willow shut her classroom door and shifted her briefcase to her left hand. Glancing at her watch, she smiled. She still had time before her date with Xander to stop in and see Giles.
A soft, snuffling noise behind her caught her attention and caused her to turn. Something not human was in the shadows, staring at her. She couldn't see it very well, other than its glowing eyes. She stood frozen until the creature lowered its head, snarled and took a step forward. At that point, she whirled around, started running and screamed.
"Giles!"
Her heart pounded as she ran for the library, her slight heels slipping on the waxed tile. She turned the corner, losing her briefcase along the way. Struggling to keep her balance, she screamed again.
"Giles! Get the tranquilizer gun!"
She slammed through the swinging doors, nearly knocking Giles down. She kept running, sensing the thing right at her heels. The doors swung open again and a huge, black beast leapt toward her, knocking her down.
The shot rang out in the library. The dart flew with unerring accuracy at the beast, at least until it rolled, keeping Willow with it and forced her into the path of the dart. She collapsed, the phenol-barbital taking an instant effect. The animal moved on top of her, growling and sniffing. Giles reloaded the gun as quickly as he could, this time hitting his mark and knocking it out.
He set the gun down, wiping his brow as he did so. Walking quickly over to Willow, he tugged the animal off of her, hoping she was able to breathe underneath its weight. Rolling the beast over, he grabbed its forelegs and pulled it into the rare book cage. Digging a couple of blankets out of the storage cabinet inside the cage, he placed them over the beast and left, locking the door behind him.
Willow, he gathered in his arms, and carried her over to the table. He lay her out on it, trying to make her comfortable. He bunched up his jacket and lay it under her head as a pillow then sank into a chair.
"It was supposed to be an early night, Willow." He sighed, glancing over at the werewolf in his cage. "Instead it's going to be quite a long day."
Xander slammed into the library, much as Willow had done hours before. His brown eyes were frantic, surveying the room in mere seconds. When his eyes landed on Willow's prone body, he relaxed then tensed again. "Is…is she okay?"
Giles was about to answer when Buffy charged into the room, running into Xander. They both tumbled to the floor and he couldn't help but laugh. "Why don't you both come in and sit down? There are some…rather unusual circumstances here."
They managed to make it to their feet and join him at the table. Buffy sat next to Giles, while Xander sat on the table, taking Willow's head onto his lap. His eyes were no longer frantic, merely concerned. "What happened, Giles?"
He related the story, gesturing over to the cage where the werewolf was contained. "It's been so long, I can't be sure that it's Oz. But I can think of no other person it would be."
"Katherine." Xander said softly. He explained what Willow had told him and sighed. "It's most likely one of them, but I don't know which." He looked up at the skylight. "And we won't know for a while."
Buffy got up and walked over to the cage. "I'm going to guess from the way it reacted to Willow that it's Oz. I would think Katherine wouldn't have given her a chance. But why would Oz come to Sunnydale if he and Willow were through?"
"Connor." Xander's voice was tortured. His greatest fear was coming true and he couldn't do anything to stop it. He and Connor were becoming closer every day, he and Willow were…well, he liked to think they were falling in love and becoming a family. Now, he looked at the cage, now they were right back where they'd started. "He came back for his son."
"Xander, I'm…"
"No. It's okay. We'll deal with it tomorrow. I'll call Willow's folks and tell them she's staying with me. Is there someplace more comfortable we can put her? Can I use the couch in your office, Giles?"
The librarian nodded and helped Xander carry Willow's unconscious form into his office. "She's liable to be out much longer than Oz or whomever the werewolf might be," Giles said softly. "There was enough of the drug to stop a small elephant. Which Willow is most decidedly not."
"She'll be okay though, right?"
Giles put his arm around Xander's shoulders. "She'll be fine."
The sun filtered into the library through the hazy glass of the skylight. Xander shook his head as the quiet popping sound that meant the transformation was taking place came from the book cage. He climbed off the table and walked over to the doorway.
The hair receded, the body shrunk and changed shape, and suddenly a pair of worried green eyes were looking up at him. "Hey."
"Oz."
"I guess I made it back to Sunnydale."
Xander nodded. "That you did."
"Is Willow here?"
"She's in the office. She took one of the darts, so she's a little passed out. I brought some clothes. They're probably not going to come close to fitting, but I figured you probably don't want all of us seeing you naked."
"Thanks."
"Get dressed. I'll go get Buffy and Giles." Xander walked away, his mind racing. He'd had all night to try and figure out what Oz's reappearance meant for his relationship with Willow and Connor, but he hadn't come to any conclusions.
Oz grabbed the clothes and put them on slowly. They were baggy but, as Xander had said, better than being naked. He imagined Willow wouldn't even want to see him that way now. After all the pain and heartache they'd been through, he didn't even know if she'd want to see him at all.
He moved out of the cage and sat at the library table. Chances were they all knew about him now, and he didn't want to upset or worry anyone by going to look at Willow all alone. It was almost funny. He'd been married to her for three years and he was afraid to see her alone.
"Hey Oz." Buffy entered the library and gave him a hug.
"Hey Buffy." He smiled at her, a quick grin that reminded her high school. "You look good."
"Thanks. Giles and Xander are right behind me. Willow's going to be out for a bit."
"Xander told me." He sighed. "I didn't mean to attack her or frighten anyone. I just didn't know what else to do."
"It's going to be okay." She nodded at him. "Somehow."
Xander and Giles came into the room then. Giles greeted Oz, apologizing for the tranquilizer dart, and they all sat at the table. "Shall we discuss this, or shall we wait for Willow?"
"Not necessary." Oz's voice was loud in the quiet room. His green eyes were locked with those of his ex-wife. "Hey, baby."
"Oz."
Xander closed his eyes, wishing that he didn't have to hear all the emotion in her voice when she said his name. He had been her husband. He was the father of her child. "How you feeling?" He smiled at her and moved over to help her to the table. He had to be strong. If he attacked Oz or screwed this up in any way, he was going to lose her and Connor forever.
"Oddly enough, like I got hit by a tranquilizer dart." She swayed a little as he led her to a chair. She smiled at Giles' abashed look. "You saved me. Don't be upset."
"Yeah, if anyone should be sorry, it should be me." Oz said. It was almost funny, Xander thought. He'd been thinking the same thing. "I owe you all an apology and an explanation. And after that, I'm hoping against hope that you'll help me."
"Help you?" Willow's voice was still thick with the mixture of emotion and medication.
"I want to get away from Katherine."
Oz felt laughter rising up in him at the looks on their faces, but tamped it down. "Don't look so shocked. I know it doesn't seem that way, but I…look, can I start over? Will you listen? And then you can decide if you want to help me?" His eyes sought Willow's and she nodded.
"Okay. We'll listen."
Xander nodded and watched as the others did the same. He refused to glance across the table at Willow. He didn't want to see her fall in love with Oz again. He couldn't handle it. He turned slightly so that Willow was only in his peripheral vision and looked directly at Oz.
"You all know the story of…well, you know what Willow saw. So I'll go over it a little more." Oz took a deep breath. "When Will and I got married, I was suddenly struck by this feeling of being overwhelmed. Not because I didn't love you, baby, but because all of a sudden I was responsible for you. And when we had Connor, it got even more intense."
He cleared his throat. "To make it worse, I wasn't able to be there when he was born, so the wolf in me, had some trouble accepting him at first. He…he *smelled* right, but we're not the most trusting breed when it comes to our young. But, because there was this doubt," he broke off at Willow's horrified look. "No, baby. I never doubted you or that he is my son. I…the wolf…doubted…shit."
Everyone looked startled at the profanity. Oz frustrated was a sight they weren't used to.
"Wolves base so much on smell. Connor smelled of hospitals and everything that wasn't right. So, it wasn't until a few weeks later that I could, the wolf could, accept him. But I knew he was being born. That was the first night I broke the chains."
"And that's when things went down hill. I lost my job and I started working with the band more. I felt so damn guilty that I couldn't look at Connor and automatically accept everything because of this…thing that I am. I just wanted to run away. And Katherine was the easiest way to do it."
Xander cast a quick glance at Willow to see how she was taking the story. Had she heard all of this before? Had they talked about what happened to their marriage or was it too far gone by the time it all happened? Was she still in love with him, despite her statement to the contrary?
Willow bit her lower lip. Xander was looking at her, his heart in his brown eyes. Oz was steadfastly not looking at her, guilt in his green eyes. Buffy and Giles were paying careful attention, but both were obviously uncomfortable.
"She told me she was a witch and that she sensed something supernatural about me. It was bothering me, so I told her the truth. About everything, the strain between us Willow, the difficulty with Connor, the guilt and anger I was carrying around. She understood. She commiserated. And she told me that she had a way to fix it."
Tears filled Willow's eyes as she thought about the fixing she'd done. But she stayed silent, knowing that Oz needed to get all of this off of his chest.
"And that's what we tried for a month. Then I made the mistake of telling her that you were a witch." He looked at Willow for the first time since he'd begun and flinched. Tears were trailing down her cheeks, but she wasn't making a sound. "I don't know if it was jealousy or just madness, but she changed her tactics. Every solution had to deal with sex. Mating rituals, that kind of thing. The wolf in me rebelled. Wolves mate for life."
He looked at the rest of them, avoiding Willow now. "I told her to forget it. I figured all the time I'd been spending with her would have been better used had I just stayed with my family and tried to work it out. I left. It was the night before the change and I was determined to spend time with you, Wills."
She nodded, sending more tears falling. "I remember."
"I don't know if it was something Katherine had done or not, but the sight of you…everything that night physically repulsed me." This time Willow's sob echoed through the room. Buffy got up and moved behind her friend, hugging her.
Giles spoke up. "Willow showed me the spell that Katherine used on you that first time. It was the spell working that night. It was meant to weaken your defenses to her as a man and strengthen your ties to her as a wolf. The wolf was already being called by her and that close to the full moon, he was the predominant force in your psyche."
Oz nodded. "I figured. The next day, Willow and I were barely speaking. She left a few minutes before sundown to take Connor next door. I was chained up in the basement and my mind was going crazy. Usually when I change, I don't think of anything. My normal consciousness fades into smells and lights and sounds that I don't process the same way. This time, this night, all I could see and smell and hear was Katherine. And the impulse to go to her was more powerful than anything I'd ever experienced."
Buffy squeezed Willow tight, supporting her with her strength. Xander swallowed his tears, unable to look away from the two women.
"So I unchained myself before the change took over and I waited until I transformed then I went to her. I…I bit her, which is what she was hoping for. She changed and we…we…"
"Mated?" Willow whispered. Even knowing all the events, hearing them from Oz's guilt wracked voice made them hurt.
"Mated," he nodded. "When we got married Will, I assumed that the wolf came along for the ride. Mating for life, that sort of thing. But on some level, even as the wolf, I realized I was wrong. By mating with her in wolf form, we were tied together tighter than you and I ever could be. I'm sorry."
She nodded quickly before getting up and running from the room. Everyone stood to go after her then froze. Oz sat back down. "I can't go."
Xander shook with the need to be beside her, but he knew that he couldn't. "I can't either."
Buffy started then stopped. "Go, Giles. You can tell her the things she'll need to hear."
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