The Author Wishes To Thank:
  Serendipity (for reading and posting this! You rock, girlfriend!)
  Doug and David (for proof reading with a fine tooth comb. Any mistakes, blame
  them!!)
  Max (for listening to me ramble as I try to figure stuff out)
  Brian (For also listening to me ramble)
  And now, INDISCRETIONS Part 1

  “Hey Will are you almost done?” Xander poked his head into Willow’s room and
  was greeted by the sight of her bouncing up and down on a suitcase on top of
  her bed. She looked up at him.
  “Do you think you can get that zipper?” she asked smiling at him through a
  curtain of hair. Xander walked over and together they managed to get the
  suitcase closed. Willow jumped off the bed and went over to her night table
  where she started putting everything into a travel bag.
  “Xander don’t you feel a little weird about the fact that we’re going to
  spend our Spring Break at a five star resort all expenses paid and our
  friends, well....aren’t?” Xander flopped down on her bed and propped his head
  up on one arm, staring at her.
  “You know come to think of it.....no. Not at all.”
  Willow turned around to look at him and he flipped onto his back and started
  to toss her stuffed snake into the air.
  “C’mon Will no one’s even gonna be in town.” She took a seat next to him on
  the bed. “I mean, Cordy’s going shopping in New York , Wolf boy” Willow
  smacked him with a pillow, “Ow. Sorry, Oz is going to Arizona to see his aunt,
  and Buffy’s going to be in LA with her dad. And with Buffy not in town and
  Angelus on the lose, Sunnydale is the last place I want to be. Besides,” he
  added sitting up, “Just you, me, the sun, the fun, and all the five star food
  we can eat. It’ll be great.” He smiled up at her and she found herself
  returning his smile. “I guess so.”
  “You guess so?” He sat facing her on his knees, ready to pounce. “Guess so?”
  He lunged forward and she found herself flat on her back with Xander
  straddled over her, fingers ready to tickle. She put her hands up in a
  defensive jesture.
  “Xander don’t,” she said, trying to sound stern. “I’m serious. You know how
  ticklish I am.”
  Xander got a wicked little gleam in his eye. “Say we’re going to have the
  time of our lives just you, me, the sun, the fun, and all the five star food
  we can eat.”
  “Xander,” his hands lunged for her ribs and she laughed out loud, trying to
  squirm away.
  “Wait! Stop!! OK,OK.”
  “Say it,” he commanded his face just inches from hers.
  “We’re going to have the time of our lives just you, me, the sun, the fun,
  and you stuffing your face.” She grabbed for his hands as he went to tickle
  her, and they started to wrestle. Xander eventually got his hands out of her
  grasp and started to tickle again.
  “OK,OK!!!! I’m sorry. We’re going to have the time of our lives just you, me,
  the sun, the fun, and all the five star food we can eat. Can you get off me
  now?” Xander stuck out his tongue at her as he got off the bed. She went over
  and zipped shut the little bag that she had been loading. “All right. I’m
  done.” As she started for the door Xander grabbed her arm, stopping her in
  front of him. She started to squirm away, but then looked up into his eyes and
  saw he had grown serious.
  “Yes?”
  “Will, all kidding aside, I’m really looking forward to this. It’ll be just
  like old times.” He pulled her into a hug. “I’ve missed you.”
  She knew what he meant. Things had been different between them lately. Ever
  since she found out he was dating Cordelia, and then she had started dating
  Oz. Something had just changed. They were awkward around each other. And then

  that love spell, when she had offered herself to him. They had just put that
  weirdness behind them. Maybe he was right. This was just what their friendship
  needed. She pulled away from him smiling.
  “All right enough of all this mushy stuff. What’s going down stairs?” Xander
  said, his mood light once again.
  “Well if you can grab my suitcase and that bag, I’ll get my garment bag out
  of the closet,” Willow went to the closet to retrieve her bag and picked up
  her travel bag as well. Xander reached down and picked up her two remaining
  bags.
  “Umm, Will you do realize that we’ll be gone for seven days not seven weeks,
  right?” He asked sarcastically as he lugged her huge, heavy bags down the
  stairs.
  “Really? And here I was thinking we were running away together,” she
  playfully hit his shoulder as she reached the bottom of the stairs.
  “I can’t believe my baby’s going to be gone for all of Spring Break,” her
  mother said bleary eyed as she embraced Willow.
  “Mom it’s only seven days and I’ll be fine.”
  “Yeah,” Xander chimed in. He put his arm around Willow’s shoulders “No
  worries Mrs. R. I’ll take care of her and her twelve tons of luggage.” Willow
  elbowed his ribs, but he just held on tighter. Mrs. Rosenberg smiled at his
  little joke.
  “I know you’re teasing Xander, but in truth, knowing that you’ll be there is
  what made me agree to this trip.” She put her hands on either side of his
  face. “You’ve always looked out for Willow and I know you’ll never let
  anything happen to her.” She leaned in and gave him a motherly kiss on the
  cheek. Xander blushed and pulled shyly away. He’d always thought of Willow’s
  mother as more of a mother to him than his own. He thought himself lucky to
  have earned the trust and respect of someone like Sara Rosenberg. It made him
  feel special to know that she thought so highly of him.
  She repeated the motion with Willow, then leaned her forehead down against
  her daughter’s. “Promise to call me when you get there?”
  “I promise,” Willow nodded to her mother.
  “My little girl’s growing up so fast. When did I miss the fact that you’re
  practically an adult now?” Willow was her only child and this was her first
  extended trip away. Soon she would be going off to college.....<I’m not even
  going to think about that.>
  “OK, you have to stop now or I’ll cry and I’m in a happy mood so that would
  be bad,” Willow teased her mother. Mrs. Rosenberg hugged her one last time,
  pulling away as she heard a car horn beeping outside. Willow let out an
  excited little noise.
  “That must be your ride. Hold on,” her mother said quickly rushing off as
  Willow and Xander gathered their things.
  “Just think tonight we’ll be at the Master’s Resort,” Willow practically
  squealed. Xander did his little happy dance, which reminded Willow of a fish
  out of water, when a bright light filled the room.
  “Mom!! I can’t believe that you feel this is a Kodak moment,” Willow rolled
  her eyes at her mother.
  Xander stopped his dance and looked at her. “You know the Xander dance has
  never before been immortalized on film. Only use that photo for the forces of
  good.” Mrs. Rosenberg laughed.
  “All right you two. One more photo for Mr. Rosenberg. Your Dad really wanted
  to be here to tell you good-bye Willow,” Willow sighed and smiled.
  “Mom you act as though I’m going away forever. It’s only gonna ....”
  “be seven days.” They said in unison.
  “I know, I know. Just humor me. Smush together,” Willow and Xander got cheek
  to cheek and made faces for the camera as her mother snapped the shot.
  “All right Mom.” Willow leaned over and kissed her cheek. “I love you. I
  promise to call. Bye.” Xander leaned over and kissed Mrs. Rosenberg’s cheek as
  well.
  “Bye Mom,” he said with a smile. Willow opened the door and started to trudge
  out with all her luggage, Xander four steps behind. Willow had gotten all of
  two steps out the door when she stopped dead in her tracks. Xander ran into
  her from behind, not able to stop in time.
  “Hey Will you’re holding up.......jeez. Is that here for us?” Xander looked
  at the stretch limo parked in front of Willow’s house. Willow just stood there
  and stared. The driver walked up to the house.
  “Miss Rosenberg? Mr. Harris? I’m here to see that you get to the airport.
  May I take your bags?” He asked smiling at the two of them.
  “Actually I’ve got mine under control, but she has another 3,000 or so that
  are still in the house,” Xander smiled and walked towards the car. Willow just
  stood there stunned.
  “Miss Rosenberg?” The driver repeated. Willow looked at him. <God, but he’s
  handsome.> He looked to be in his early twenties, with brilliant blue eyes and
  a nice tan. His hair was sun-kissed blonde and it looked as though he had a
  terrific physique under his gray business suit.
  “Willow?” Her mother’s voice behind her put her into motion.
  “Oh! Sorry, um if you could take the ones still in the foyer, then....
  that’ll be good.”
  He smiled at her. <He has a perfect smile. I’ve never seen teeth so white.>
  “No problem,” he replied. Willow started to walk towards the limo when she
  noticed a man in a black suit and cap helping Xander put his luggage into the
  trunk. Willow was slightly confused as the man introduced himself as Walter,
  their driver.
  “But if you’re our driver than who’s....?”
  The blonde walked up just then with Willow’s remaining luggage. “Matthew Ryan
  Carpenter. But everyone calls me Matt” he said as he extended a hand to her.
  “Willow Ann Rosenberg” she replied.
  “Alexander No way I’m telling you my middle name Harris. Everyone calls me
  Xander.” Xander reached over the dazed Willow to shake his hand.
  “ Nice meeting both of you. I’m a friend of Mindy’s. I was in Sunnydale on
  business and I’m on my way up to the Hotel to join her. I told her I’d stop by
  and pick the two of you up.” He motioned to the limo, “I mean, it is a nicer
  way to travel than a cab. Thank you Walter.” He smiled at the driver and
  motioned Willow and Xander towards the car door holding it open for them.
  “After you.” Willow waved one last time to her mother and stepped inside.
  They all settled into the backseat of the limo and Matt began to talk.
  “We’ll be getting to the airport in about twenty minutes and then we’ll hop
  onto my private jet and make the flight to the Hotel. Well actually a little
  airport about two miles away. All in all we should be there in about three
  hours. Have you ever been to the Master’s before?”
  Willow and Xander both responded in the negative. Matt smiled. “It’s
  exquisite. And as personal guests of Mindy’s.....well, prepare to be amazed.”

***************
 

  Willow settled back in her plush leather seat on the jet. <This is amazing, I
  can’t evenbelieve that Xander and I will be staying at the ritziest hotel in
  Northern California!!> She closed her eyes and let her thoughts drift back to
  the events that started it all.

  “Xander, they look exactly alike!”
  “I just don’t see it. I think you have Oz on the brain.”
  Willow sighed in frustration. They had been having this argument since they
  left the Bronze and she was getting no where. “Oz looks exactly like Scott
  from Austin Powers.”
  “Will, it’s not even close. I mean, maybe a vague resemblance if you look
  really hard....”
  “Vague resemblance? They could be twins! I think you’re just jealous because
  you don’t look like a movie star.”
  Xander stopped in his tracks. “Movie star? Playing Dr. Evil’s son in Austin
  Powers isn’t what I’d call a movie star. This is just like that time you tried
  to convince me that those two kids in My Stepmother is an Alien looked like
  you and Oz when you were twelve.”
  “Well, they did.” Willow said with a shrug.
  “Willow, the girl had brown hair. You’ve been a carrot top ever since I’ve
  know you,” he reached out and tugged one of her braids.
  “I am not a carrot top. My hair’s auburn,” she replied huffily.
  “Whatever, Pippi Longstocking,” he replied and then ran quickly away.
  Willow chased after him with the intent of bodily harm. He was just in reach
  when all of the sudden he stopped dead in his tracks.
  She punched him in the arm. “You know I hate..”
  “Shhhh,” he shushed at her holding a finger to his lips. “Did you hear that?”
  Willow stood on her tiptoes, leaning into him. “Hear what?” she whispered.
  “That,” he responded as they heard a scream nearby. He looked at her and
  nodded. “C’mon.”
  The duo ran down the road towards the screams and found a vampire in an alley
  way struggling with a girl about their age. As they arrived they saw him
  backhand her across the face. She hit her head against the wall and slid down.
  The vamp grabbed her head and slammed it into the ground, knocking her out.
  Xander grabbed him by the arm and slammed his crucifix across the vampire’s
  face. The vamp howled as the religious relic scalded his skin and ran off.
  Willow leaned down over the young blonde and felt for a pulse. Xander looked
  down at her.
  “Well?” he asked panic lacing through his voice.
  “She’s breathing and her heart’s beating, but she’s unconscious. She hit her
  head really hard; she could have a concussion. We need to get her to a
  hospital,” Willow replied in a rushed calm.
  “Right,” Xander shoved his cross in her hand. “Here, keep this just in case.
  There’s a pay phone at the end of the block. I’ll call 911.”
  Willow nodded as he ran off. She looked down at the woman. She appeared to be
  around eighteen or nineteen. She was well dressed in pinstriped business pants
  and a matching vest, with her long, thick blonde curls hanging loose about her
  shoulders. She wore make-up, but not a lot. Just enough to highlight her
  facial features. Willow wondered if she would remember what had happened to
  her. <She’ll probably assume it was just a mugging not a vampire attack.
  The mind tends to protect us from the unbelievable like that.>
  The young woman began to stir slightly, moaning as she tried to turn her
  head. Willow took her hand and began to talk soothingly to her.
  “It’s all right. You were being attacked, but your attacker ran off when he
  saw me and my friend. The ambulance should be here shortly.” Willow gave her
  hand a reassuring squeeze.
  “Who... are..?”
  “My name is Willow. Don’t worry, everything will be all right,” Willow
  reassured, hoping she was telling the truth. The woman nodded slightly and
  then went unconscious again.
  “Willow! They’re on their way,” Xander said rushing over to the two women.
  “They should be here any minute,.” he knelt down beside them. “How is she?”
  “Still unconscious. She came to for a second and I told her we saw her being
  attacked, but the ambulance was on it’s way, and then she blacked out.”
  Xander looked at her. “You didn’t mention vampires did you?”
  “Of course not,” Willow reached down and pushed some of the woman’s long
  blonde curls out of her face. “She probably will choose to forget she was
  attacked by a fiend and just think it was some ugly looking guy, if she
  remembers at all.”
  “I don’t know. It looks like she put up a pretty good fight.” Xander replied
  noticing the various scrapes and the beginning of bruises on the woman’s arms
  and face.
  Willow looked down at her then and realized how right Xander was. She had an
  ugly red mark that would probably result in a nasty bruise on her cheek where
  she had been struck. She also had scratches on her arms, probably from hitting
  the brick wall behind her and a couple on her otherwise flawless face as well.
  Willow looked down at the hand she was holding and noticed blood under the
  perfectly manicured nails.
  “She sure did put up a fight. That vampire will be easy enough for Buffy to
  find should he be stupid enough to show his face anytime soon. Aside from the
  burn your cross left, I’d bet he has nail marks on either his arms or his
  face.” She held up the woman’s hand for Xander to see the proof of her
  statement.
  “I wonder who she is? I’ve never seen her around here before. I mean, I’m
  sure I would remember,” Xander said gazing down at her face.
  Willow knew exactly what he was thinking. She was beautiful. She had the face
  of a china doll, though at the moment and beaten and bruised china doll. She
  was probably the same size as Willow physically, she just appeared delicate.
  Xander reached over and picked up her briefcase searching through for some
  clue to the woman’s identity. He flipped through her wallet.
  “Well?” Willow asked impatiently.
  “Says here her name is Melinda Masters.”
  She looked down at her again, finally having a name to go with the face. She
  bent down so her mouth was next to the woman’s ear and whispered. “My name is
  Willow.” Willow heard the screaming of the ambulances sirens as it
  approached. “Sorry we had to meet like this.” She said as Melinda began to
  stir. Willow felt her hand tighten it’s grasp.
  “There’s the ambulance, now. You’ll be just fine. Sunnydale Memorial is an
  excellent hospital,” Willow reassured.
  “Don’t leave me.” she urged in a hushed whisper. Her hand now became like a
  vise on Willow’s. Willow found herself surprised by the strength that the
  injured young woman had. “Please.” Her eyes were deep blue and brimming with
  unshed tears. Willow nodded dazed. The ambulance pulled up and Xander ushered
  the emergency workers over to the two women. They quickly began to assess the
  injured woman’s her condition. It all was a blur to Willow, who realized as
  they lifted the gurney that her hand was in the young woman’s.
  “What’s her name?” she heard the EMT ask.
  Willow just looked at him stunned. “Melinda...Melinda Masters.”
  The EMT, whose name plate read WATTS, looked at her in shock. “Richard
  Masters daughter Melinda?”
  Melinda obviously heard the exchange because at that moment her eyes flew
  open. She looked frantic. “Willow!” she shouted looking around.
  Willow leaned down towards her, somewhat surprised that she would be calling
  for her of all people.
  “I’m right here.” she said calmly, smoothing the girls hair back in a
  motherly fashion.
  “Please don’t leave. I’m terrified of hospitals.” She certainly looked
  terrified. Willow understood now, why she didn’t want her to leave her side.
  <I’m the only face around here she even recognizes, and I’m really just a
  stranger.>
  “I won’t. We’ll call your family when we get to the hospital.”
  Willow exchanged a confused look with Watts. He smiled at her as he and the
  other EMT hurried to put Melinda in the ambulance. Willow rushed along side
  the gurney, her hand still in Melinda’s.
  “Guess you’re coming along for the ride,” Watts announced.
  “But...” Willow protested, “What about my friend?” She looked back to see
  Xander talking to a police officer. <Probably giving his statement about what
  happened>
  “Don’t worry about him, the police will escort him to the hospital as soon as
  they’re through here.” He lifted her from around the waist and put her in the
  back of the ambulance before shutting the doors.

***************

  Willow was sitting in the hospital waiting room, wondering where Xander could
  be. Watts had assured her that Melinda would be OK. They were probably gonna
  keep her for a day or so to make sure she didn’t have a concussion or any
  other head trauma. Right now they were
  treating all of her less serious injuries, mainly scrapes and cuts. Watts had
  also told her Xander was on his way. So she sat there swinging her feet and
  thumbing through the lasted edition of Scientific America. She had many people
  come up to see if she needed anything and she had already talked to the police
  officers. Everyone was being really friendly to her. It was nice, but a little
  weird. The hospital staff seemed to be going out of their way to help her,
  coming to give her updates on Melinda’s progress, getting her this magazine
  after an overheard comment about
  how dated the rest of the magazines in the waiting room were. They had even
  offered to bring her something to eat and drink, though she had politely
  refused. The officer that she had talked to assured her that she and Xander
  would have an escort home tonight and said something about contacting her in
  the future in case there were any other questions. Willow sighed and placed
  her magazine on the table beside her. She got up and walked around the room.
  <Wow, look at that plaque. Must be someone important.> She walked across the
  room to the plaque.

  “In dedication to Richard Masters for his generous contributions to this
  establishment"
  Masters’ Wing

  In a blinding moment of clarity everything fell into place. <Melinda Masters
  must be his daughter.> “Well, that explains the way they’re treating me,” she
  said to herself.
  “The way whose treating you?”
  Willow jumped at the voice in her ear. She turned to see Xander’s grinning
  face and she slapped him lightly. “You scared me,” she muttered. “What did you
  tell the police?”
  “The truth basically. We saw her being attacked and rushed to her rescue. I
  just left out the vampire stuff. They were really friendly too. I guess they
  figured since I was a hero and all...”
  Willow rolled her eyes at him. “Or maybe it’s because her father donated
  enough money to this hospital to build a wing in his honor.” She gestured to
  the plaque behind her. “I bet he donates to the police too. That would
  explain why everyone was going out of their way to be nice to us.”
  As if on cue a police office stepped up to the two teens.
  “Ms. Rosenburg, Mr. Harris, I’ll be waiting to escort you home, at your
  convenience.” he smiled grudgingly at the two of them.
  They looked at one and other and Xander shrugged. “We’re ready to go now, if
  that’s OK.” The officer smiled and started to walk away, the two teens
  following closely behind.
  “How much money did Mr. Masters donate to the Police Station this year
  officer?” Willow asked in a tone that implied she had merely forgotten the
  amount, instead of not knowing whether he actually donated or not.
  “25,000 dollars. Ms. Rosenberg. We’re renovating the station with the money.”

Part 2

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