~*~*~*~
"Wills?" Xander was saying somewhat frantically.
Willow focused on him. "Huh? What's wrong, Xander?"
"I don't know," he said, his voice a touch hysterical. "You completely zoned out on me and I was concerned. I didn't. . .I didn't know if you were ok."
She yawned, settling back in her pillow. "Yea, I was just thinking about how kissable your lips looked." Her eyes widened and she blushed when she realized she'd spoken out loud.
A slow smile spread on his face. "You think?" he asked seductively.
Willow giggled softly. "Not now. Wait till I get home. You've waited two months, you can wait another day."
He leaned over and kissed her forehead. "You've waited fifteen years. A day won't kill me."
"So you were hyperventilating. Did you know that I was dying?" Willow asked curiously.
"I did. I felt it in my soul, that I was very quickly losing a part of me. It was terrifying. I had a vision of this bleak gray life. . .no red." He reached out and twisted a strand of her hair around his fingers. "I was so scared. Deadboy told me that there had been an attack, you had lost a lot of blood. Spike had tried to save you, but there were more vamps than he could handle alone. He was taking you to the hospital and Deadboy came to get us." He sighed.
"When we got to the hospital, they said that you had lost a lot of blood, and Buffy and I gave some of ours for you. We were the only ones who matched your blood type. They had other blood, thank god. They wouldn't let any of us in, though, not at first. We weren't family. And then the words tumbled out of my mouth before I even thought about it. 'She's my fiancée,' I said. Everyone automatically agreed with me, and the doctors let me see you. It was. . ." Tears filled his eyes. "I never cried so much, not in my whole entire life. Not when my dad ever hit me, not when mom screamed that I was worthless, not when Anya left, not when I was alone in my room and scared that Angelus was going to kill us all. I sobbed and screamed at the doctors and prayed. Oh, I prayed to your goddess, to God, to anyone who might have been listening. I told them, I said, 'Please, let Willow live. If you do, I'd gladly give the heart out of my chest, just don't let her die.' " Xander's bottom lip quivered.
Willow reached up and ran her fingers over his lips. "I'm fine now, Xander. There's no reason for you to cry."
He laughed, tears spilling on his cheeks. "I drove the nurses crazy. I was always here. There's one nurse though, her name is Bonnie, she likes me. She would sit here, over in that chair," he said, nodding his head to the chair on the other side of the bed, "and she would let me ramble about all the things we would do when we were kids, and I told her about me and Del and you and Oz, and she told me that I was extremely lucky for getting a second chance with you and that if I screwed it up, I was going to ruin the best thing I've ever had the chance of having." He smiled down at her. "She's right, you know. You have always been the best thing in my life, Willow."
Tears ran down the side of her face, dripping into her ear. She laughed, rubbing at her ear. "You know my whole world has pretty much always revolved around you."
"I was so stupid in high school, Willow."
"No," she whispered. "You just didn't need me at the time. And it's probably better. I'm older, more mature now. I can have a nice normal relationship with you, not an obsessive have to have you all the time relationship."
Xander snorted. "How normal do you think we can *really* be, living on the Hellmouth?"
Willow chuckled. "Good point." She yawned. "I think it's time for bed. You wouldn't think I'd be tired, after sleeping for two months, but I am."
"I could sleep too," he said.
Willow moved over, raising the covers up. Xander's eyebrow went up. "Well," she defended, "it must be uncomfortable sleeping on the chair."
His face fell into a slow grin. "Yea," he mumbled, climbing in bed with her. She pressed her body against his, putting her head on his chest. He wrapped his arms around her. "I love you, Willow."
"I love you, Xander."
It didn't take long for the two to fall asleep.
*~*~*~*
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