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Author's Chapter Notes:
THANK YOU for the reviews for this story - you all are simply amazing!
And by no means do I think I will win, but my story is up against another for the featured Fic @ BSC. If you enjoy the story and are so inclined to, I'd love it if you could cast your vote for it here: http://www.livejournal.com/community/bscentral/

Chapter 15:

 
Buffy drove to work, trying to figure out if she should say anything about William to either Willow or Anya. She wasn't entirely sure who was supposed to be working with her this morning, so she told herself that if Willow was there, she would talk to her, and if it was Anya, she would not. It wasn't that she didn't like Anya, it was just that Willow knew her best. If anyone could help her, it would be practical and wise Willow.

She cursed when she saw both Willow and Anya's cars in the parking lot. Figures, she thought to herself, since she had been hoping that she wouldn't have to say anything after all. Should she say anything with both of them there? Buffy just wasn't sure if she could handle Anya's lack of tact after everything else she had been through in the last twenty-four hours.

When Buffy walked inside, both Anya and Willow were sitting at her desk, both leaning over and writing something on a pad of paper from what she could tell.

"Good morning, Buffy," Willow greeted.

"Hi, Buffy," Anya said, briefly waving before going back to what they had been doing before Buffy walked in.

"Hey, Will, Anya," Buffy replied. When she neared the desk, she realized that her friends were in the middle of playing tic-tac-toe. Yep, those are my hard working employees, all right, she thought.

"How are you?" Willow asked.

Confused about how to act towards William. Worried that he's going to disappear before my eyes. Angry with myself that I can't get up enough courage to actually do something about how I feel towards him, Buffy thought. Gee, guys, take your pick, seriously.

"I'm pretty good," Buffy finally answered. "I didn't sleep very well last night, but I'll make it through the day."

Which was the truth. With William sleeping just a room away and the possibility that he might disappear sometime in the middle of the night, Buffy had wound up tossing and turning for hours before finally drifting off in a restless sleep.

"Sorry to hear that, Buffy," Anya replied, frowning. "You should try taking some Nyquil, that always puts me right to sleep."

"Thanks, Anya, I'll keep that in mind."

"But at least all you have to do today is work on the painting for Mr. Harrison," Willow pointed out.

"That's true. And if you and Anya don't mind, I think that I will take the evening off, say around 6:00?"

"Sounds fine to me," Anya said.

Willow nodded. "Sure, that's fine."

A wicked gleam formed in Anya's eye before she asked, "Any specific reason why?"

Buffy shrugged off her coat and placed it on the back of her chair. "What? Can't a girl just take the evening off and relax at home?"

Now Willow and Anya both eyed her skeptically.

"Okay, okay, fine," Buffy muttered. "I never could handle the tell-me-now Willow face."

"Goodie! I knew something was up. Now, tell me, tell me."

Both Willow and Anya sat down as Anya stated, "I am always up for some girl talk, especially if it involves sex."

Buffy blushed. Oh God, she couldn't even think of what William's reaction would be to how open everyone was about sex these days. He would be as red as a beet, Buffy thought. If she ever had the opportunity to introduce him to her friends, she would have to place a strict "no talking about sex" order on Anya.

"Anya, not everything has to do with sex," Willow said, rolling her eyes.

"To me, it does," she proudly stated.

"It would."

Buffy rolled her eyes. Willow and Anya had a tendency to get on each other's nerves when talking together. Having Xander as the main commonality between them, there were times when both girls were jealous about the other's relationship with him. Times like now, when neither could resist prodding at one another, were the moments when Buffy wished she wasn't around to listen.

"Willow's right, it has nothing to do with sex," Buffy said, hoping to end their little spat.

Anya looked disappointed and slumped in her chair. "Well, this won't be nearly as interesting, but go ahead. I'm listening."

Buffy sat down in her desk chair. "Okay, but what I'm getting ready to tell you, you can't tell anyone else, promise?"

"Cross my heart."

"Promise."

Buffy paused, making sure that she was making the right decision. "Okay, here goes. William, do you remember him?"

"Sure, your pen pal."

"Yeah, right. Well, he is...he's visiting."

Willow's eyes doubled in size and she sat back in the other chair. "Wow, you mean he's here right now?"

Buffy nodded. "He's staying at my apartment right now."

"Wow."

"Sounds like it's about having sex to me," Anya stated.

"Anya!" Buffy exclaimed. "There is going to be no having with the sex. He's just here visiting."

"Yeah, we'll see about that," Anya muttered to herself.

"Wow," Willow repeated. She was very surprised that Buffy had decided to invite William to stay at her house so soon after they had just began writing to each other.

Buffy smiled. "Yeah, I think we covered the wow-ness of this situation, Will."

"So, whose idea was this?" Anya asked.

"I guess both of ours. It just seemed like, with the holiday coming up...why not?" Buffy felt horrible lying to her best friends, but knew that she could never tell either of them the whole truth.

"How long is he staying for?"

Isn't that the ten thousand-dollar question? Buffy thought sarcastically. "We aren't too sure. We're just taking things day by day, trying to see if...I guess, if this is what we want."

"And...how is he?"

"You mean is he just like Warren?" Buffy asked, knowing that's what Willow had wanted to ask more than anything else.

"Well..."

"William is a gentleman, I told you that months ago, Will," Buffy said defensively. Although she wasn't too sure of how things were between the two of them, she was still willing to defend him against her friend's accusations.

Willow looked at Buffy for a moment, noticing how seriously she was in regard to William's nature. "Well, then I hope everything works out for the two of you."

"Me too," Anya said.

"Thanks, Willow." Me too.

"And then you two can have many happy orgasms together like Xander and I do," Anya finished.

The other two groaned, Buffy covering her face in embarrassment. How does Xander put up with it day after day? she asked. But, then again, this is almost like Anya's form of giving us her blessing. "Gee, uh...thanks?"

"You're welcome."

"Oh, last question?" Willow asked.

"Shoot."

"What does he look like?" Willow asked. "Is he what you picture when you write to him or the complete opposite?"

"Oh yeah, is he a hottie?" Anya asked. "Salty goodness and all of that good stuff?"

"Remember that painting you did a couple months ago?" Willow asked, thinking of it herself. "Does it look anything like him? Because - y'know, coincidence if it does."

Buffy thought back to her painting of William that she had created when they had first begun to write to each other. It was back in her gallery safely protected behind a few thick blankets. She had refused to sell it, yet felt strange about hanging a portrait of what in all likelihood looked nothing like him.

However, when she thought back to it, she realized that her painting was not so off from what William actually looked like.

She had painted his hair slightly longer in her portrait, and his cheekbones not quite as sharp as they were in real life, but the color of his eyes...

She distinctly remembered painting that brilliant azure shade of blue for his eyes, and then the minute she had finished painting, she had been unable to come up with that exact color again no matter how much mixing she had tried.

And that shade of blue was the exact same shade as William's.

Wow, Buffy thought. What the frilly heck is going on here?

"You know, he doesn't look that dissimilar from my painting actually," Buffy finally said. "In fact, the similarities are slightly eerie."

"But is he hot?" Anya asked again.

Buffy thought back to seeing his dark blonde curls, his sharp cheekbones, and that mysterious, ever-changing shade of blue. God, I would love to paint him for real, she suddenly thought. "He's...well, I wouldn't call it hot, Anya. I guess I would say...beautiful."

Both girls seemed impressed with that, well, before Anya went "pfft!" and rolled her eyes. "Please, guys aren't suppose to be beautiful. That's our job."

"Well, that's the best word I can think to use," Buffy admitted. "His eyes are just beautiful. He has cheekbones that you could cut glass on, and he's just so..."

He's so not going to be here for very long, you keep telling yourself that, her inner pessimistic voice told her.

"Somebody's got it bad," Anya softly said to Willow. "If it's not about sex now, it will be before too long."

Willow nodded. She could tell by that dazed look in Buffy's eyes and that half-smile on her face that her best friend definitely had deeper feelings for William Stafford than she was telling either of them. "Well, Buffy, I'm glad that you two will get to spend Christmas together."

Buffy froze - Christmas! She had completely forgotten about that! Now that he was here, assuming he was going to stay, she would have to get him a Christmas present. And how was she going to explain William to Dawn? "Yeah, only I have to get him a gift," Buffy told her friend.

"Well, that shouldn't be too bad," Anya said. "Just get something sexy for yourself, guys like that."

Buffy quickly shook her head, thinking back to their first morning together when William saw her in one of her more conservative silk nightgowns. If he couldn't handle that, there was no way that he would be able to handle seeing even more of her skin. "I don't think so. I mean, we've only known each other for three months, and that was just through our writing."

"Well, then what does he like?"

"I have no idea," Buffy admitted. And, for the most part, that was true. Because while she did know what he did like in 1882, she had no idea what he might like that was in the year 2004. "I'll just have to go searching for something."

"Maybe he'd like something from Sharper Image," Willow suggested. "We've gotten gifts for Xander there in the past."

Buffy chuckled. Right, she sarcastically thought. I can just see William's response to over half of the objects in that store. Complete and utter confusion. "I'll check it out, Will. Thanks for listening."

"No problem," she answered. "And Buffy? If this is a good guy, then I'm really happy for you, even though he does live in an entirely different country."

And different era, Buffy thought dryly. "Thanks."

The two girls stood and walked out of the front room, most likely going to gossip and make more assumptions about her relationship with William. Buffy picked up the phone at the front desk and dialed the number to her apartment. She let the phone ring, figuring that it was very likely that William wouldn't know what the sound was or where it was coming from.

When the answering machine message came on and it beeped for Buffy to leave a message, she began to speak. "William? It's Buffy. I know you're there. Look, do you see the black thing in the living room table beside the couch? Pick that up, it's the telephone. Sorry, I guess I should have gone over that with you-"

"Buffy?"

Thank goodness he didn't leave the house out of fear, Buffy thought. "Yeah, it's me."

"This is the telephone? It hardly looks anything like what they do now," William said. "Or, I suppose when I say 'now,' I mean 1882."

"I'm sorry," Buffy said.

"No, it is quite alright," he said. "Buffy, this is extraordinary. It is like you are right here with me and we are having a conversation together in person. Telephones are quite advanced."

Buffy smiled at his eagerness over seeing how much something that was considered a brand new invention in his time had developed and changed over 100 years later. She always enjoyed hearing his excitement over new or updated objects in 2004. "Yeah, phones are pretty cool. Anyway, I should have explained all of that to you yesterday," she apologized. "I didn't even think...well, I didn't really think that I would need to explain even half of this stuff to you."

There was a beat of silence on the phone where she could tell that William was trying to digest what she had just said. "Buffy? Did you think that I would not be here for very long?"

Buffy sighed and rubbed her forehead with her hand, wishing now that she hadn't said what she did. "Look, can we not talk about this on the phone? I...I don't know what I meant by that."

She could tell from William's silence that he did not believe her words for one second.

"May I ask why you are calling, Buffy?" He asked.

"I just wondered what I should pick up for dinner?" She asked. "I won't be home for several more hours, until around 6, but I will pick up some food on the way home. Is there anything in particular that you would like to try?"

William paused, trying to think through all the different foods that were now available to him. "I did just see an advertisement for Chinese food that looked quite appealing."

"Okay, Chinese it is then. I'll try to be home around 6:30."

"Alright, I'll look forward to seeing you then."

Buffy frowned, although William couldn't see her expression. "Yeah, same here," she said with little enthusiasm.

"Buffy, are you quite certain that you are alright?"

"Yes, I am William, thank you," she answered. "I'll be home later on tonight."

The two said their good-byes and hung up the phone, neither one particularly happy by the end of their conversation.

 
~~~

 
Buffy walked in a little after 6:30 with a big bag of Chinese food in her hands. "William, I'm home," she announced, loving how wonderful it felt to announce her presence to someone waiting for her to return.

William came out of his bedroom and smiled. "Good evening," he said, walking up and taking the plastic bag out of her hands. "Did you have a productive day at work?"

"Yeah, it went pretty well," Buffy said. She began taking off her jacket when William spoke up.

"Here, let me help you with that."

"Oh, well...thanks," she said, turning back around and letting him help take her jacket off.

"You said that you are now working on a painting for one of your clients," William began as he hung up her jacket. "How did that go?"

"It went..." Buffy stopped mid-sentence, as the realization of just how very domesticated this scene was began to sink in. Here she was, coming home from a long day at work, as William casually asked how her day had gone. It was bizarre. It was unreal. And, like with everything else that the two had done in the last thirty-six hours, it felt like it would not - could not, last.

"Fine, it was fine," she finally said.

William immediately noticed her change of attitude. What the cause was, he didn’t know however, since he hadn't said anything offensive. In fact, he had been nothing but polite and genuine since she arrived home.

"Are you alright?" William asked, the concern evident in his tone. When she didn't say anything in response, he continued to speak. "Does this perhaps have anything to do with what you said in our phone conversation earlier this day?"

Buffy stopped walking, unsure of what to tell him. How could she tell him in person about all of her conflicting feelings towards him? If it was in writing, sure; that was easy. But talking face-to-face in person was completely different and much harder to do.

"I don't want to talk about what I said earlier," Buffy softly said. She took the bag of Chinese food out of his hand and began to walk towards the kitchen.

"I have noticed that you are a bit...nervous, ever since I arrived," William remarked. "I have begun to wonder if that is merely because of my presence? If you do not want me here all of the time, I will try to find another place to stay."

"No, William, it's not you. I'm just...I'm just afraid."

"Of what?" He asked, taking a couple steps toward her. "What could you possibly be afraid of? You were not the one who was taken away from everything familiar to you, Buffy...away from your family and comforting surroundings, I was." William swallowed, trying to keep his voice steady, although he could feel the beginnings of despair creep upon him from thinking of his mother and sister. "Now, I do not know how I came to be here, but-"

Buffy dropped the bag of take-out food onto the floor and spun around. Her look was one mixed between anger and anguish. Tears welled in her eyes, and Buffy fought them off, trying not to let William see her cry. "But it won't last!" she exclaimed loudly.

William looked at her, clearly surprised by her outburst. "What? But-"

"It won't last," she repeated, this time with less anger in her tone and more despair. She felt a couple tears drip down her face but was past the point of caring, as she felt all of the worries that had been building up over the last two days begin to pour out of her. "I'm going to wake up one morning and you'll be gone, sent back to 1882 without me even knowing it. We don't know what really brought you here, so how can we possibly know what might be the trigger to send you back?

"And - and I can't handle it, not when it comes to you," she continued, feeling all the worry that had been building inside over the last couple of days coming rushing out even faster now. She felt her knees give way and fell to the floor, curling her legs beneath her and leaning back on the front of the couch as she carried on. "This, with you being here, is...is more than I ever dreamed of...all I - all I wanted, but I'm just waiting...waiting for you to be taken away from me. So here I sit, waiting for the other shoe to drop - to have whatever the hell brought you here take you back to 1882. Leaving me here, after...after I got a glimpse of what things might be like if...I'd be here. Alone."

William resisted his urge to reach out and wipe the tears from her cheeks. Instead, he slowly approached her and bent down on his knees to look at her. "Buffy, he softly began. "I highly doubt that I will be able to return to 1882. After all, we do not have to write to one another anymore since there is no need for it. Now, as much as I would like to say that this is a permanent change, we cannot say that for sure-"

"I know, William, and that's what worries me so much," Buffy confessed. "I can't...can't be with you for a month and then wake up and poof! You're gone."

"Well, I must say that it would be one month more than I ever thought we could have together," William admitted. "I am thankful for each and every day I have with you, Buffy."

"But what about your mother? And Emily-Grace?" Buffy asked. "You three are just so close and I can't be responsible for dragging you away from them."

"Trust me, you did no such thing," William said, trying to ease her guilt. "I admit, I miss them terribly, and I think about them quite often. It pains me to know that I will never see them again, that I will not be there to watch Emmy be married, or see any of my nephews or nieces."

Buffy listened to him, feeling fresh tears run down her face. "Oh, William, then you should be with them."

William was silent, as if considering what Buffy was saying. He softly chuckled and Buffy looked at him with a confused look on her face. What could he be possibly thinking that was funny at a time like this?

"I do not believe I wrote this to you in our journal," William began, "But on the day that I finally informed Mother and Emmy that we had been corresponding for several months, she came up to me in private and essentially gave me her blessing."

"She did?" Buffy softly asked.

William nodded. "Yes. I imagine that, with my absence, that they suspect I have decided to sail to America after all." At Buffy's look, he quickly explained. "I simply said that you lived in the States and we agreed never to meet since the trip was so involved. Emmy always thought that our situation was terribly romantic."

Romantic, huh? Buffy thought. She patted her cheeks dry and raised her head to look into his eyes. "But with your mother being sick..." she tried again, wanting to make sure he knew what he was telling her. She didn't want to jump to any conclusions right now.

"Buffy, I do believe that I am in the year 2004 for good," he said. "And now..."

When his voice died off, she looked up, wondering what he was now trying to say. "Yes?"

"Shall we just see how things progress with the mindset that I am a permanent addition to the twenty-first century?" William asked.

Buffy leaned closer towards him, breathing him in - the smell of the soap he had used this morning, the after-shave she had bought for him at the mall, and something else that was uniquely...William. "And when you say 'things,'" she began softly. "Are you implying...us?"

William blushed and slightly nodded. "I believe that I would like that very much."

"As would I," she agreed.

William moved slightly to make himself more comfortable on the floor. "What do you propose we do now?" He asked.

Buffy took a deep breath and summoned up all of the courage she had left in her. "What I've been wanting to do ever since you got here," she said. "Can you just hold me?"

William tried not to blush - I really must work on that, he told himself, hoping he would eventually overcome his embarrassment with so many things in 2004. "Of course."

He wrapped his arms around her shaking shoulders and breathed in her scent of vanilla and citrus. Both were instantly calmed at the contact, and the two leaned against each other as they tightened their grip around the other. Buffy slowly brought her arms up and wrapped them around his chest, pulling him as close as she was able to.

Part of William, the part of him that was raised in 1882, was screaming at him that this wasn't proper, but another part was telling him that everything was fine. This was Buffy and he was in the year 2004 now, not 1882 where the very idea of hugging a young and unmarried woman would be frowned upon.

You can guess which part of him won the inner battle.

For some reason, William thought back to when they had first signed their entries with different words - "yours." That afternoon when he had seen it for the first time, William had believed that it was a step in the right direction, although what direction he had not known. Tonight, he finally knew what direction it really was.

He was here in 2004 with Buffy Summers, holding the woman whom he never thought would even bat an eye in his direction. He didn't know how long he would be permitted to stay, but he would cherish every moment that he had with this beautiful woman. And although he missed his family - Emily-Grace's positive outlook on everything and his mother's serene presence, if this was his chance with Buffy, William knew that he must grab on and not give up without a fight. His mother would have wanted it that way, after all.

If their signature had been a small step, then their conversation and Buffy's breakdown this evening was a gigantic leap, and as William thought about how this could turn everything around, he realized that it was a jump in the right direction - one he was actually aware of.

"I do believe that our Chinese food is getting cold," William whispered, not making any motion to get up from where he sat. No, he wouldn't move unless she forced him to. And even then, he would fight to keep holding her in his arms.

Buffy sniffed and tightened her clasp around his shoulders. "Don't worry about it. I'll either reheat it or we can just order some new food."

"Are you certain?" William asked. He glanced at the bag and saw a dark stain coming from underneath the bag growing larger against the carpet.

"I'm sure," Buffy assured him softly, moving to rest her cheek against his shoulder. "Just...just don't let go yet, okay?"

"I promise," he whispered.

 
TBC...

See? Told you all it wouldn't be too mucy longer - yay! I hope you all really liked the chapter; I had a lot of fun writing this one, especially this last scene. Thank you all for the continual feedback - you guys ROCK!

Until then - you know the drill by now, please let me know what you thought of the newest developments in our favorite couple's relationship.

And finally - THANK YOU for voting for my story at the LJ poll - I'm just amazed there are so many people out there supporting this story. Honestly - thank you for everything, you guys!





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