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Special thanks to Edgehead for the lovely banner and to Cordykitten for letting her know that I was in need of a pretty


Author's Chapter Notes:
WARNING: TWO POSTS TODAY-MAKE SURE YOU READ CHAPTER THIRTEEN FIRST-OTHERWISE YOU WILL BE WAY LOST!

So here's the thing-you folks who review have made me so happy that I just can't resist-I'm going to give you all another post.

Thanks. :D You all rock ! (Keep the reviews comin'!
Buffy woke first and couldn’t help but feel a little warm thrill at the sensation of waking up in William’s arms. Though, she acknowledged guiltily that the circumstances were pretty far from a fantasy. Buffy’s arm rested on the arm William had curled around her waist and, without even realizing it, she began brushing her thumb slowly back and forth to gently caress his wrist. She figured that she should probably get out of bed, that William would likely be uncomfortable with the situation once he woke up, but she couldn’t bring herself to move just then. She was in love with him; there wasn’t a doubt in her mind that it was the real thing. However, she thought, he’d made it clear last night that they weren’t together. “Not your sweetheart.” he’d said. The message there seemed pretty clear to Buffy; he wasn’t interested in her romantically. Trying not to cry at the thought that she might never get a chance to do it again, Buffy decided to stay snuggled against him for as long as possible.

William woke gradually. He felt like he was pushing through a cloud of dense fog in his head. He was warm, really warm. It struck him as odd. He realized that he was still dressed and acknowledged that that was strange. When his brain finally registered Buffy’s soft rubbing on his hand, he realized that he wasn’t alone. He forced himself to blink his eyes open and he saw her. Buffy was curled up against him; it should have been a dream come true. But as soon as he saw her, his memories from the night before began rushing back. He struggled not to groan out loud.

Buffy felt William’s breathing change and knew that he had woken up. She rolled on to her stomach and looked up at him. “Hey; you’re awake.”

William nodded, unsure of how he should respond.

“How are you feeling? Do you think you’re going to be sick again?”

He shook his head. “I’m fine. I’m…sorry Buffy; there’s no excuse for my behavior. You should never have had to…”

“Whoa.” Buffy lifted a finger to his lips to quiet him. “There’s every excuse. Of course you were worried about your mom.” She shook her head. “Of course you were.” She slid her hand over to cup his cheek.

“That doesn’t…I should never have come here like that last night. I …”

“No you should have called me sooner so that I could’ve been with you at the hospital. But since you didn’t, I’m glad that you came last night.”

He shook his head. “But I was…”

Buffy smiled. “Drunk.”

William nodded and looked away. He’d humiliated himself, he thought disgustedly.

“Hey.” She tugged his chin to make him meet her eyes again. “I’m not saying the whole ‘drink your sorrows away thing’ was a good plan, but I’d say you should give yourself a break on this one. You know, let it slide just this once. OK?”

He studied her for a moment but couldn’t find any repulsion in her pretty green eyes, just compassion and a touch of amusement. He nodded once. “Thank you for…for everything.”

“That’s what friends are for right?”

William frowned slightly. Really, he thought skeptically. He was fairly certain that sharing a bed went a bit beyond the realm of even a good friend, but he didn’t mention it. He was becoming increasingly aware of a more immediate concern. The feel of her pressed so intimately against him was warming more than his heart. He looked down and saw that, even with the blanket, his arousal was becoming noticeable. He quickly tried to sit up but couldn’t.

Buffy noticed that he was starting to get up and shifted her weight to press him down. “Hey, you don’t have to get up yet. You know you could try to get a little more sleep; it’s still pretty early.”

William tried to move subtly away. “Thank you, but…”

Buffy misunderstood the urgency on his face. “Oh! My mom knows you’re here already. She’s cool with it. Actually she wants you to stay with us until your mom comes home. So see, no reason to rush.”

“Oh…umm…that’s…”

Buffy leaned across him to resettle the blanket around him. “So why don’t you get a little more rest and then we’ll…” She gasped when she felt his erection pressed against her stomach. “Oh.”

William groaned and closed his eyes as Buffy moved to his side. Once she was off him, he quickly sat up. He forced himself to open his eyes, but he couldn’t make himself look at her. He settled for a spot of the far corner of the room.

“Oh.” Buffy’s eyes were wide. She looked up to see William’s obvious misery. “But it’s normal. I mean, when guys sleep…that…umm…it just happens. I know…” She got off the bed. “I just mean I know that it has nothing to do with me; there’s no reason for us…to umm…there’s no reason to be embarrassed. I’ll just…” She headed towards the door. “I’ll just go get started on some breakfast and umm….see you downstairs.” She gave him a weak smile and quickly left the room.
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William forced himself to go downstairs a short while later and found both of the Summers women involved in cooking an apparently large meal.

Joyce turned to him immediately and gave him a warm smile. “Hey, Buffy said you were up.”

William almost groaned at her choice of words and stole a quick glance at Buffy. She blushed, but smiled encouragingly. He nodded in response to Joyce’s statement.

“So I hope you’re feeling up to a big breakfast.”

“I…that’s very kind but I really need to get back to the hospital. My mum…”

“Your mother knows that you’re here with us and she’d want you to eat.”

His brow furrowed. “She knows that I’m here?”

Joyce nodded. “I called the hospital last night. She was awake so they patched me through. We both agreed that it would be best if you stay with us for right now.”

“Thank you, but I’ll be fine. I can…”

“William, I know that you’re an adult and that you can take care of yourself. Your mother and I have spoken about…about when she was sick. I know that you handled everything on your own and you did an amazing job.” Joyce had walked while she was talking and was now standing directly in front of him. “But there’s no reason for you to be alone in this, you have us.” She placed her hand on his shoulder. “The four of us will get through this together. All right?”

William was almost overcome. He nodded silently.

“Good. So we’ll eat some breakfast, you’ll get cleaned up and we’ll all go to the hospital together.” Her tone, though still warm, made it clear that her plan was the final plan.

He turned to Buffy. “You’re not going to school?”

She shook her head. “Nope. Family emergency equals I get to skip. Besides we have tomorrow off anyway and lots of folks are going to turn our three-day weekend into a four-day weekend. I won’t miss much.”

He nodded and wondered if she meant that she thought of him as family. It was a nice thought; it had just been him and his mother for a long time and he’d often wished that they’d had more family. He just hoped that it didn’t mean that Buffy thought of him as a brother.
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After breakfast Buffy joined William on the walk to his house. Joyce had made it clear that he needed to shower and change before he went to see his mother. William had looked embarrassed, but hadn’t argued. So he and Buffy were going to stop by his house so he could clean up and then head over to see his mother. Joyce had already left for the hospital.

When they reached his door, William fumbled with the key for a moment and then quietly let Buffy in. “So umm…I guess I’ll just run up and take a quick shower. Please… uh…make yourself at home. I won’t take long.”

Buffy nodded. “I was thinking that I’d just gather up some clothes and stuff for you so we don’t need to stop back for a couple of days.” His words from Monday morning suddenly came back to her and she paled. “Or I guess…I mean you should probably do that yourself so you can… you know, pick what you like. I’ll just umm…I’ll just wait down here.”

William realized immediately what had made her pull back. “Buffy, I’m sorry about…about what I said; I was a git. Please…I’m sure whatever you choose would be just fine. I’d…I’d be glad for the help.”

She looked at him anxiously. “I didn’t ever mean to make you feel like you had to change. I mean I know I’m a bit pushy, but if you don’t like something…I just want you to be happy.” She sighed gently.

William stepped towards her and slowly pulled her into his arms for a hug. “You do make me happy pet. I don’t…I don’t really know what I’d do without you.” He surprised them both then by brushing a soft kiss on her forehead before pulling away.

Buffy watched him walk up the stairs for a few seconds before following. She brought her fingers up to feel the spot his lips had touched and smiled. Maybe, she thought, you’ll give me a chance to make you really happy some time. Even if he didn’t know it yet, Buffy was sure she could.
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Buffy found a duffel bag in William’s room and quickly put in a couple of pairs of jeans, some tee shirts and a few button downs. She went back to his closet and pulled out one of his old pairs of khakis, just in case they were what he really wanted and added them to the stack. A quick rummage through his dresser added a few pairs of socks and some comfy looking pants that she suspected he used for pajamas. She grinned thinking about how yummy he’d look wearing just those pants and then shook her head. There’s no denying it, she thought, you are a bad person; the poor guy is coming to stay with you while his mom is in the hospital and you’re hoping for a chance to play peeping Tomasina. She opened the final drawer and frowned; she hadn’t found any boxers or anything. Just as well, she thought with a shake of her head, he’d probably freak if he came back to find you pawing through his unmentionables.

She put her hands on her hips and tried to figure out what else he might need. Some bath room stuff, she thought, but that would have to wait until he came out. She walked over to his desk and was considering whether or not to grab his school stuff when he appeared in the door.

“Umm…Buffy.”

“Yeah.” She turned, looked up and froze. William was standing rather awkwardly in the doorway, as though he felt uncomfortable entering a room with her while wearing only a towel. His hair was a mess of dripping curls and he was holding a toiletry bag. Her mouth went dry. Yeah he’s hot, she thought; you knew this and you need to pull it together. “Oh you need to get dressed.” She blushed.

He laughed. “That was my plan too.”

“I didn’t mean…I mean of course you were…I just meant that…I’ll just get out of your way now.” She hurried past him into the hall.

William continued to laugh quietly as he went in his room. “Figured you’d prefer it that way pet.” He closed the door.

Well you figured wrong, Buffy thought with a grin. She shook her head. This was all Faith’s fault she decided; her talk with Faith about jumping William had put all sorts of naughty pictures in her head and now her hormones were out of control. You’ve seen his chest before, she reminded herself, when you went to the beach; you acknowledged the general prettiness but you didn’t turn into a babbling fangirl. Shaking her head again, Buffy wondered exactly how she was going to hide her new-found nympho-tendencies while he stayed with them.





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