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)

 “Thank you so much officer Dawney.” Willow called out as the officer drove
  away.

  Xander waved to him and the two started up the walk to Willow’s house. The
  Rosenberg’s were out of town, so Xander was staying at Willow’s. It actually
  started when they were thirteen. Mrs. Rosenberg didn’t think Willow was old
  enough to stay home alone, just in case anything happened. Willow had
  convinced her that if Xander stayed in the guest room they would be fine and
  she wouldn’t need a baby-sitter to come stay with her. Mrs. Rosenberg had
  grudgingly
  agreed and had called home twelve times in the two days they were gone.
  Since
  then, it had kinda become a ritual. Xander would come over and the two would

  stay up half the night watching old movies in the living room until one of
  them fell asleep, though typically Willow was the first to go. Willow had no
  idea that now when her mother was gone, instead of worrying that Willow
  would
  be alone, she was worried about Xander and Willow being alone together. Not
  that she didn't trust them, but they were both teenagers now, with raging
  hormones, and any mother would be worried. The only thing that comforted
  her
  was knowing that Willow now had a
  boyfriend. She knew that if Xander was there Oz would not be. It was the
  lesser of two evils.

  Willow unlocked and opened the door closing it behind Xander and relocking
  it.
  When she turned around Xander was already headed for the kitchen. She
  smiled
  and followed him, tossing her house keys on the counter and sitting on one of

  the stools that surrounded the kitchen counter. Xander was rummaging
  through
  the freezer.

  “So I’d say we got in our excitement for the night. Five bucks says your
  Mom’s
  called three times.” Xander said as he emerged from the freezer with a carton
  of ice cream.

  Willow got up and walked to the answering machine that sat beside the
  kitchen’s wall phone. “Nope. Only twice,” she extended her hand out to
  collect
  her money when the phone rang. Xander smirked as he grabbed a spoon and
  sat on
  top of the counter eating his ice cream directly from the container. “Hello
  Mrs. Rosenberg,” he said in a little sing song voice as Willow picked up the
  phone.

  “Hello?”

  “Oh Willow, thank goodness your home! Was that Xander I heard as you
  answered?”

  “Yes mom it was,” Willow said as she balanced the phone between her
  shoulder
  and her ear.

  “Well, where have you to been? I’ve called twice in the last hour and no one
  was home. It’s after midnight Willow Ann. Even though I’m not home, you still

  have a curfew.”

  “I know, mom and I’m sorry. We were on our way home two hours ago when
  we saw
  a woman being attacked. The guy ran when he saw someone coming, but we
  couldn’t just leave her there so we called 911. The police came and they took
  her away in an ambulance. I went to the hospital with her and we had to give
  the police our statements and all. I didn’t realize how late it was, and I’m
  sorry I made you worry,” Willow told her mother a shortened version of what
  happen in a quick rush.

  “A woman was attacked! Well, that’s horrible! Is she all right? Did you lock
  the doors behind you? Did the police catch the attacker? He didn’t hurt you or

  Xander did he? Maybe I should come home.”

  “Maahhmmm” Willow replied her speech garbled by the spoonful of ice cream
  Xander had just shoveled into her mouth. She quickly swallowed so her
  mother
  could understand what she was saying “What would be the point of you
  leaving
  now? There’s nothing you could do here and you wouldn’t even get back till
  early morning. You’d just be exhausted and miss out on two days of
  vacation.”
  Xander gave her another spoonful. “Beshihdes, whe’ll ba fahne.” she
  swallowed
  again. “Were gonna be going to bed soon anyhow. It’s been a long day.”
  Xander
  shook his head to indicate that he wasn’t going to bed anytime soon. It was a

  weekend and he had an adrenaline high going. Willow swatted at him, trying
  to
  focus on what her mother was saying.

  “All right mom......We will.......I love you too.”

  “Lahve yuh Maw,” Xander added trying to talk around his ice cream.

  Willow rolled her eyes and then laughed at whatever her mother said. “All
  right Mom I’ll tell him. Good night. See you Sunday.” Willow hung up the
  phone
  and turned to Xander.

  “Mom wants me to tell you goodnight,” she said coming up to him, “and that
  she
  loves you too” she took the spoon from his hand “and not to eat us out of
  house and home.”

  Xander just stuck his tongue out at her and dipped a finger in the ice cream.

  “Xander!” Willow exclaimed. “That’s gross.” She took the ice cream and put it
  back in the freezer.

  Xander leaned back on the kitchen counter. “Y’know if I owed you five bucks,
  I’d be nicer hoping you’d let me out of it.”

  Willow spun around. “How do you figure I owe you five dollars?”

  “Whose mother called here three times?” Xander replied rolling his eyes.
  “However,” he said raising his hand and cutting off Willow’s remark, “If you
  were to agree to watch the movie I brought over, I just may let it slide,” He
  gave her a wicked little grin.

  Willow tried to hide her smile but failed. “Fine. We’ll watch whatever you
  want.”

  Xander jumped off the counter and did his little Xander dance. Willow rolled
  her eyes. She started upstairs to get ready for bed.

  “Be back down in a few.” Willow said as she headed up.

  When Willow came back downstairs a few minutes later, she had washed her
  face,
  brushed her teeth, undone her braids and was wearing her matching shirt and
  shorts satin pajamas. She walked into the living room where she found Xander

  sprawled out across the couch with a big bowl of popcorn in his arms. She
  noticed he had on shorts and a T-shirt now instead of his jeans from earlier.
  <Are those actual shorts or his boxers?> She shrugged and went to sit in the

  reclining chair next to the couch so she was able to reach the popcorn. She
  also noticed that Xander had brought out a soda and a glass of OJ, which was

  what Willow tended to drink this late at night to avoid the caffeine which
  didn’t seem to affect Xander.

  “So what are we watching?” Willow asked a little afraid of his choice.

  “Showgirls,” Xander replied brightly.

  Willow stared at him in disbelief. “You’re joking right?”

  Xander looked at her, surprised that she would think so. “Umm.....No.”

  Willow sighed. “Xander,” she whined.

  Xander rolled his eyes. “Will, you said we could watch my movie,” he said in a

  very patient voice.

  “But you didn’t say you wanted to watch trashy porn,” Willow pouted.

  Xander threw up his hands in exasperation. “It isn’t porn, Will. It’s a
  documentary style movie about a young girls struggle to achieve her dreams,
  and what she’s willing to go through to see those dreams actualized.”

  “And the fact that it has naked bisexuals dancing around and having
  indiscriminate sex in it doesn’t have anything to do with you owning the
  film?” Willow asked innocently, eyebrows raised.

  “Well, there’s that, too,” Xander shrugged and gave her one of his little
  half-smiles. “Regardless of why I like it, you agreed to watch it, so on it
  goes.” Without further ado, Xander hit the play button. Willow settled back to
  try and tolerate <Since I’m sure I won’t enjoy> the film.

  It was a fortunate coincidence that they ran out of popcorn right before the
  “lap dance” scene. Willow happily jumped up and went to retrieve more,
  waiting
  in the kitchen for it to finish popping. She brought it back just in time to
  miss the whole scene.

  “Want me to rewind?” Xander asked more than willing to do so.

  “That’s quite all right,” she replied shaking her head.

  “Are you sure? Cause it’s not a problem.”

  “I think I’ll live.”

  He mumbled something and they both settled back. It was relatively quite
  until
  they came to the little bisexual dance scene.

  “Hey, Will, you think you and Buffy might be willing to do something like that
  to be recorded for posterity?” His remark was greeted by a pillow to the face.
  Xander was off his feet in record time, armed with his own pillow. Willow
  scrambled out of the chair and onto her feet, her arms raised defensively as
  she back away from him.

  “You so deserved that Xander. Come on, now. Play nice.”

  Xander just fluffed the pillow with his hand and got an evil little look.

  “Xander think about this...” she grabbed the pillow and began to pummel him
  with it.
  Xander counter-attacked with his own series of blows, but Willow was clearly
  winning, having had the advantage of the first strike. Xander dropped his
  pillow and lunged at Willow, tackling her and sending them both flying onto
  the couch. Xander now had the advantage. Not only did he outweigh her by at
  least fifty pounds, but he was on top. The two struggled for about a minute
  before Xander had successfully pinned her. His shirt had become tangled
  during
  their fight and
  was now up around his ribs; his body pressing hers down into the couch as
  they
  gasped for breath. He could feel the satin of her pj’s caressing his bare
  stomach as she fidgeted. He looked down at her face, just inches from his,
  her
  lips parted with her breathing, cheeks flushed from exertion. Their eyes
  locked and they just stared at one and other for what seemed an eternity.
  Willow’s tongue slowly ran across her lips and she drew in a shuddering
  breath. Xander’s eyes caught the motion and he looked down at her lips,
  watching as she caught her lower lip between her teeth. He had a sudden,
  almost uncontrollable urge to kiss her. <God, I’m getting turned on by my
  best
  friend!> He sat up quickly, releasing her and turning back towards the TV. He
  motioned towards the screen. “We’re missing the movie,” he said quickly,
  righting his shirt. Willow pushed her self up into a seated position and
  pushed back the hair that had flown out of place during their scuffle. She sat
  quietly for a few minutes and then stood up, grabbing their empty cups.

  “I’m gonna go get us some more to drink,” she explained as she moved out of

  the room. When she reached the kitchen she leaned her forehead against the

  refrigerator and closed her eyes. <Calm down. It was just innocent playing.
  Nothing to get excited about. You have a boyfriend, remember? Oz. Think
  about
  Oz.> She opened the fridge and refilled their glasses. She started to drink
  hers as she walked back into the living room, but almost choked as she saw
  what was now on the screen.

  “What the hell is that?” she asked trying not to laugh and spew OJ out of her
  nose.

  Xander just looked at her and took his drink as she sat down.

  “They’re having sex, Will.”

  This time she laughed out loud. She couldn’t help herself.

  “She’s flopping around like a fish out of water, but.....in water,” she
  managed to contain some of her laughter. “If they’re gonna fake these things
  at least they could make them look more realistic,” she finished, taking
  another sip of her drink.

  “And how would you know what looks realistic and what doesn’t?” Xander
  asked.
  Willow could hear that disbelieving, protective side of his voice coming out
  as he spoke.

  “Well,” Willow said quietly, “I know that’s not normal,” she replied snuggling
  up in her chair, that little spot between her eyebrows crinkling in
  frustration.

  “Uh huh. Just watch the movie Will,” was his response as he gulped down his

  drink.

  They watched the rest the movie without much comment.

  “So what do you wanna watch next?” Xander asked when the movie was over.
  He
  got up, went over to the VCR and ejected tape. “Willow?” he asked when he
  didn’t get a response. He put the tape down and walked over to the recliner
  where Willow was sleeping peacefully. He reached down to push her hair
  back
  out of her face.

  “Willow?” he whispered gently, trying to wake her.

  She moaned a little and then rolled contentedly onto her side. “Five more
  minutes, Mom,” she mumbled. Xander smiled down at her, as he reached
  down and
  tucked his arms under her legs and around her back. Her arms encircled his
  neck as he picked her up out of the chair. He felt her warm breath on his skin
  as she sighed, nuzzling her face into his neck in her sleep. He carried her
  upstairs and put her into bed. Xander stood for there for a second watching
  her sleep. Every now and again he just needed some reassurance. He
  needed to
  know she was
  OK. She had had far too many brushes with death lately. Sometimes he’d
  close
  his eyes and still see Angelus holding her by the throat, his voce taunting
  them “<I>But she's so cute and helpless. Really a turnon.</I>” Xander felt the

  bile rise in his throat and closed his eyes to rid himself of the memory.

  He leaned over Willow’s sleeping form and gently caressed her cheek. He
  bent
  down and placed a kiss on her forehead, “Night Willow.” He continued to
  gently
  rub her cheek with his thumb. “Sweet dreams,” he whispered as he pulled
  away.

  “Night,” she muttered in her sleep, curling up on her side.

  Xander walked out of the room, and went into the guest room across the hall
  to
  sleep.
 
 
 
 

  “XANDER!!!” he heard Willow’s screams and ran down the corridor. He kept
  running, but he couldn’t find her. He could barely see through the dense fog
  surrounding him. He was filled with dread and apprehension. He knew he
  needed
  to get to Willow, HAD to get to her, but he couldn’t find her.

  “Xander, help me!!” her voice cried. “Please!” His heart was breaking as he
  heard the fear and anxiety in his best friend’s voice. He starting running
  faster. Then suddenly the corridor began twisting in front of him, slowing him
  down. With each step he took there was a new twist or turn taking him farther

  away from Willow. She had started crying now and the sound tore at his heart

  as he searched for her in vain. He turned around another corner and the
  corridor straightened again.

  “Xander” she cried the sound torn out between sobs. He still couldn’t see her,
  but the sounds were coming from directly ahead. He ran as fast as he could;
  he
  had to get to her. She was calling his name over and over again.

  “Xander. Xander. XANDER!”

  Xander awoke with a start, bolting upright in bed. Willow stood beside him,
  already dressed for the day.

  “Are you OK?” she asked concerned. “I came in to wake you up and you were

  tossing and turning.”

  Xander rubbed his eyes and ran his hands through his hair. “I’m fine. Just a
  bad dream.” Xander stifled a yawn. “What time is it?”

  “Ten-thirty,” Willow replied. Xander fell back onto the bed, rolling onto his
  stomach, and pulled a pillow over his head.

  “Time to get up.”

  He just groaned.

  “C’mon lazy bones,” she said poking him in the ribs. “I put out clean towels
  for you in the bathroom. If you get up and take your shower now, I’ll have
  breakfast ready by the time you’re done.”

  Xander peeked out from under the pillow. “Breakfast?”

  “French Toast with powdered sugar,” Willow said smugly.

  Xander moaned and said something Willow couldn’t comprehend..

  “I won’t make it unless you get up now and get ready to go.”

  “Go where?” Willow heard his muffled speech from under the pillow.

  “To the hospital. I called this morning to see how Melinda was and the nurse
  said she was asking about us. Wanted to meet us, see who we were, that
  kind of
  stuff. I told her we’d stop by,” He still refused to budge.

  “Xander get up!” Willow exclaimed smacking his rump. Xander yelped and
  rolled
  onto his side, pulling the pillow away.

  “If I get up you’ll make French toast with powdered sugar?”

  “Yep. It’ll be done by the time you get downstairs, but only if you get up and
  get ready.”

  Xander sighed as he sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the bed.
  “How I
  can I refuse my favorite breakfast when all I have to do to earn it is get
  dressed and out of bed?”

  Willow crinkled her nose. “Not in that order. And consider breakfast as a
  thank you for putting me to bed last night,” she smiled softly at him.

  “Shouldn’t you be downstairs cooking?” he replied jokingly and then ran
  towards the bathroom before she could smack him.
 
 
 

  Willow and Xander arrived at the hospital an hour and a half later, dressed,
  showered, and fed. They went inside and asked a nurse where they could find

  Melinda Masters. The nurse gave them the appropriate floor and room number
  and
  they were on their way. Willow fidgeted with the flowers that she had cut from
  her mother’s garden, retying the bow to make sure it was perfect. The
  approached the appropriate door and she knocked softly.

  “Come in,” was heard from within. Willow pushed the handle and walked into
  the
  room. Melinda sat in the middle of the huge hospital room surrounded by
  some
  of the most beautiful floral arrangements Willow had ever seen. She suddenly
  felt embarrassed by her humble offerings and cast her eyes down as she
  walked
  into the room.

  “Willow?” she heard the soft voice from the bed.

  “Yes?” she replied looking up.

  Melinda flashed her a brilliant smile, shifting to a sitting position on the
  bed. “I was hoping you’d come by. And you must be Alexander,” she reached
  out
  a hand to the two of them. Xander took her extended hand in his and shook it.
 

  “Actually everyone calls me Xander, Ms. Masters.”

  The young blonde woman laughed. “Oh please don’t call me that. I’m not that
  old yet. All my friends call me Mindy,” she looked over at Willow. “Are those
  for me?” she asked gesturing to the flowers. Willow nodded sheepishly.

  “I realize they aren’t a nice as your other flowers, but...” she trailed off
  as she handed them to her.

  “You’re right,” Mindy said nodding. “They’re ten times nicer than anything
  else in this room. All the thought that went into the others was a phone call,
  and even that was probably done by a secretary.” Mindy brought the flowers
  up
  to her nose and inhaled deeply.

  “Did you grow these yourself?” she asked, looking up at Willow with
  admiration. Willow nodded, pride shining in her eyes.

  “They’re gorgeous. Xander could you hand me that vase over there?” she
  asked
  pointing to a large vase with a dozen or so pink roses in it. Xander retrieved
  the requested vase and brought it to Mindy. She promptly removed the roses
  and
  put Willow’s bouquet into the vase, placing it beside her bed. She then
  collected the pink roses and handed them to Willow, who blushed slightly.
  Mindy smiled.

  “Look, Xander, the roses match her cheeks,” with this comment Willow
  blushed
  even more and heard Xander chuckle.

  “Not anymore. So...umm...we just wanted to see how you were doing.”
  Xander
  stammered to Mindy.

  “Well, I’m doing very well thanks to you two. I mean, other than the fact that
  the nurses think I’m a pin cushion and I’m firmly convinced they’re trying to
  kill me with what they claim is food,” she smiled at the two of them. She
  patted the bed beside her and Willow sat on the edge of it, Xander standing
  over her shoulder. Mindy took one of their hands in each of hers, and looked
  down at their joined hands.

  “I don’t know how I can ever thank you. You put your lives in danger to save a
  complete stranger. Not many people would do that.” she looked up at them
  and
  there were tears glimmering in her eyes. She squeezed theirs hands in hers
  and
  smiled at them. She pulled Willow towards her and into a hug. “Thank you for
  staying with me. I don’t think I would have made it through the ambulance ride

  without you there to hang onto,” she whispered into Willow ear. She released
  Willow and reached for Xander, hugging him as well. “Thank you for coming to

  my rescue,” she said lightly before releasing him. “I’d really like to get to
  know the two of you better, if you don’t have anywhere you need to be right
  now. I’m going stir crazy in here as it is.” she offered them a teasing smile,
  which they returned before finding a comfortable spot in her room.
 
 
 

  They had spent nearly four hours talking with Mindy before the nurse chased
  them out, claiming she needed rest. They had promised to come back the
  next
  day and they did. Mindy was a really great person. It turns out that she was
  soon to be twenty, which won Willow two bucks since Xander had guessed
  older,
  and she was Richard Masters one and only child. She had been born at
  Sunnydale
  Memorial which was her mother’s hometown. Her mother had died when she
  was
  two, and her father had tried his best to raise her by himself. They traveled
  a lot when she was a child and she never had any really friends since they
  moved around so much. When she was twelve Mindy had begged her father
  to go to
  school and not stay at home with a tutor. She had graduated high school at
  sixteen and then went on to college to study business. She still had a year or

  two of study left, but her father had basically turned over one of his hotels
  to her. He wanted her to have first hand knowledge of how they were run,
  since
  that was how the family had made it’s fortune.

  Mindy was completely down to earth and easy to talk to. Both Willow and
  Xander
  had sat for an hour or two alone talking to her. She was one of those people
  that one could talk to about anything. She made them feel completely at ease

  and didn’t judge anything that they said to her, but offered her advice on
  situations when asked. Willow and Xander counted her as one of their friends
  after knowing her for only two days.

  When the two stopped by Monday after school, they were surprised to find
  Mindy
  up and about collecting her belongings.

  “Hey, you guys!” she called to them, hugging each of them as they came in.
  “I’m officially discharged from the hospital as of today!”

  “That’s great,” Willow replied sitting in one of the chairs. Xander sat down
  beside her as they watched Mindy place her toothbrush into a little bag.

  “And I have a surprise for the two of you,” she came and sat Indian style on
  the bed facing them. “I want to invite the two of you to come stay at my hotel
  during spring break. And before you say no, just let me tell you that it will
  be an all expense paid week long get away. I’ve already talked it over with
  both of your parents and they’ve given the OK for you guys to go,” Mindy
  leaned forward waiting for a response. “So do you want to spend spring break
  at the Master’s Resort?”

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