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Chapter 19: Girl Talk

By the next night Buffy was feeling guilty about what she had done. So she invited Willow so that she could unburden, although ostensibly the purpose of the evening was to commiserate with her friend over Oz’s departure. One day he had just packed up and left. He hadn’t even given Willow a forwarding address, only a note telling her how sorry he was, and that he had to leave. Willow had cried for days. She had even taken time off from work, which was something she almost never did.

“I’m so glad you decided to come over for dinner tonight, Willow. I’m sure it will cheer you up. Just us girls, okay? Just because Oz moved to Cleveland without you doesn’t mean it’s the end of the world. He’ll probably hate it there and be back before you know it.”

Willow still wasn’t saying much, so Buffy decided to continue the conversation on her own. “And get this, Willow. I have this really great pasta and sauce leftover, and I made it. Can you believe it? Buffy in the kitchen and nothing got burned. Well, almost nothing. The dessert came out a little crispy, but hey, that’s what ice cream is for. I got all the best flavors.”

“You actually cooked dinner?” The redhead let a tentative smile show around her tears. Cooking was totally not her friend’s style. Something had to be up. “Why?”

“It was work related actually, so I can only tell you about it if I swear you to secrecy.”

Of course Buffy was teasing. Willow’s security clearance was actually higher than hers was. If Willow wanted to pry, she could have access to every report that her friend had filed. But she’d rather hear it straight from Buffy. Besides, she was sure that Buffy was giving Giles the edited version. She wanted to hear all the juicy bits.

“You had Spike Thorndale over, didn’t you?” Willow also wasn’t stupid.

“Yeah. But it was totally Giles’s idea.”

“Right.” Definitely not stupid. “So, that’s what put you in such a good mood! There were smoochies, weren’t there?” For a moment it felt like they were back in school giggling about boys. It was a good feeling. Oz had been great and all, but he had taken up so much of Willow’s time. Buffy had missed spending time with Willow.

“Yeah, you caught me.” She decided to go with it. It seemed to be cheering Willow up. “He’s just so yummy, sometimes it’s hard to resist.”

“Unless of course you come up with the goods on him and have to send him to Sing Sing or some equally horrible place.” Just because Spike was fun to talk about, she didn’t want Buffy to get too attached to him.

“You know I am a firm believer in the Constitution. Innocent until proven guilty and all that. So right now I’m going with innocent.”

“You do know you’re never going to convince Xander of that, don’t you?” Both girls knew she wasn’t talking about possible Federal charges. “Xander didn’t like Spike much BEFORE he learned about Anya. Now he’s likely to kill on sight. Speaking of which, doesn’t it bother you too?”

“It’s a case Willow. I have to keep seeing him. It’s not like I really have any choice in the matter.”

“Now that’s a cop out if I ever heard one. You know and I know that it’s more than a case. You really like the guy – why else invite him to meet the gang at the Bronze?”

“Fine, I’ll admit it. I…don’t dislike him. And for the record, I agree with Anya. It was a long time ago, Spike and I talked about it, he admitted he’s made some mistakes in the past, and it’s not that big of a deal. Xander will get over it.”

“You have it bad, Buffy. Let’s hope you’re right, or Xander may be trouble.”

“And let’s hope that Oz just hates Cleveland. He’ll be back, Willow. I just know he will.” If she was with Spike, it would be nice to go on double dates with Willow and Oz. At least those two had seemed to hit it off okay, unlike Spike and Xander. Despite what she’d just said to Willow, she knew that Xander was probably never going to warm up to Spike.

“I’m not so sure, Buffy. Oz was really torn up about what happened. I mean, that’s a pretty drastic response, to just pick up your entire life and move to another state.”

“But it wasn’t about you, Willow. Oz told me before he left, so he must have told you. It was the job he was running away from.”

“Yeah. Some times I wish we had never gotten involved with the whole Federal investigations thing. I mean, life would be so much easier if all we had to worry about was our personal lives.”

“Yeah, but then those pesky things like bills would become more and more important Willow, without the extra cash to cover them. Or in the case of you and Oz, any cash at all, since neither of you has ever held another job. At least I have the gallery to fall back on. And it looks as if Mom’s paintings are becoming really popular. If that happens, I’ll have enough money that I may quit the Agency all together.”

“I suppose. I still don’t understand why Oz couldn’t have looked for another job right here in LA. If he wanted to quit the Agency, he could have done it without moving half-way around the country.”

“I don’t think it was quite that simple, Willow. You’ve never worked undercover, like I’m doing, like Oz did. It changes you, Willow. Sometimes, you’re just not sure who you are anymore. And I’m undercover posing as myself, investigating someone relatively harmless. I really can’t understand why William Thorndale was on our docket to begin with.”

“You mean I didn’t tell you? The case came down from above. Rumor has it that Ethan Rayne ordered the investigation. That’s why Giles was adamant about it. He’s not going to close that case until he either finds something, or William Thorndale comes out as clean as mountain spring water.”

“Rayne? Isn’t in charge of the real heavy duty stuff, like weapons, homeland security, things like that?”

“Yeah. Rayne’s men don’t usually bother with any crime that won’t get you seriously dead. So you can kind of see why Rayne asking Giles to get someone to tag Thorndale set a bee in Giles’s bonnet.”

“I suppose. Though it kind of upset me that Giles didn’t stand by his own word, Willow. I did everything he asked, came up with nothing, and he still wouldn’t close the case. He made me get him Spike’s fingerprints. That’s why I had to invite him over last night. I feel like such a Judas, Willow.”

“I’m sure Giles had his reasons, Buffy. And to be honest, I don’t see what else you could have done. I’m sure this will all blow over soon, you’ll close the case, and then you’ll be left with a serious case of man hunk, and nothing to get in your way. Then what are you gonna do, if I even need to ask?”

“Willow! Just because I like the guy doesn’t mean I’m ready to jump his bones.”

“Of course not. Just keep telling yourself that. I’m sure it will work.”

“I just feel badly for you, Willow. I hope that Oz gets his head on straight and gets himself back to LA. Sooner rather than later would be good. Have you heard from him?”

Willow frowned. “For a while he called every day, but I told him not to. I mean, a part of me agrees with you, Buffy, and I want Oz to come home really badly. I hope he’ll be unhappy in Cleveland and come back to LA. But another part of me really wonders if this isn’t all for the best. For him, I mean. He never told me exactly what happened, what upset him so much, but it had to be bad. If nothing else, I hope that he finds peace out there in Cleveland, Buffy. He deserves to be happy.”





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