Chapter 29

“Just what kind of spell do you have in mind?”

“Oh, something on the simple side of things. Maybe a three-pronged attack. I’m thinking first, we locate the bastard, then we give him some kind of ailment—a paralyzing bit of this and a painful dash of that—and finally, as the kicker, we make some shit reappear, like guns with his fingerprints all over them or maybe some sort of undeniable record of his dirty deeds. You and I will call in the troops and we’ll get our glory back.”

“Honey, that doesn’t sound very simple. It’s…imaginative…creative, but definitely not simple.” Although William wasn’t standing much taller on his bare feet than she was, Buffy stood on her tiptoes to kiss his forehead. After he watched her dress, she pulled him off their bed and led him toward the closet. She was dressed from head to toe, but William was still in only his jeans. “William, what if they don’t agree to it?”

“You mean the witches? Honestly, my plan doesn’t go that far.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah,” William replied with a little laugh while pushing his fingers through his hair. “But we can ease them into it no matter what…well, for the most part, I’m sure of it. And if worst comes to comes worst, I’ll pull a Willow and shed a tear.”

“Now that would totally give you the upper hand,” Buffy remarked with an amused smirk as she thumbed through William’s part of the closet. She grabbed a soft long-sleeve shirt and slipped it over his head so it hung around his neck like a lumpy scarf. “Willow will be easier to win over, but we might offend Tara. Will you be able to live with that?”

William brushed his fingers against his chin thoughtfully. “We could exclude her, but Glinda the Good Witch keeps Willow in line. We’ll need her to pick up the pieces when Red spins out of control.”

“Hey, don’t say when. It makes it sound as if we’re setting Wills up for failure. I know you think it wouldn’t be a big deal if a spell backfires on Angel, but what if he loses his memory? Wouldn’t that be terrible? Or what if someone completely innocent suffers because of us?”

William slipped his arms through the shirt. He yanked down the hem and smoothed down his hair one more time. “You always have to be the practical one, don’t you?”

“I try,” she admitted with a soft smile. “Does this mean you won’t be surprised when I tell you we should head downstairs in about two minutes from now? You won’t put up a fight?”

“Believe me, I’ll be tempted,” he muttered, pulling her close. He let out a quiet sigh when Buffy wrapped her arms around his neck. “But I won’t fight.”

“Good. Just take deep breaths. Listen to what they have to say. Keep the cussing to a minimum.”

“That might be easier said than done.”

“Don’t yell,” she said, brushing a kiss against his cheek.

“I won’t. Not with the kids in the room.”

“I’ll have your back.”

William nodded. Then he followed her out of their room and down the stairs.

Typically, Buffy thrived in tense situations. Being a police officer, she enjoyed taking someone else’s anxiety and using it to her advantage, but she was feeling just as anxious as the rest of the adults in her home. Her emotions were scattered and conflicted. She felt nervous for her friends, but she shared her husband’s anger and disappointment.

At least I won’t have to choose sides, Buffy thought. She looked back toward William, caught his eye, and smiled. “I’m on your side,” she whispered. “Just play nice, that’s all I ask.”

They entered the living room and she stepped aside as he greeted Tara and Willow. It was a brief welcome, but it was polite. Buffy was proud to see that William didn’t roll his eyes too noticeably as Willow pulled him into a hug as she fought back tears. Instead his eyes scanned the room, and the second Willow set him free, he scooped Joy into his arms. He settled into the recliner with his daughter cuddled against his chest.

He’s using our baby like a human shield, Buffy realized silently. She tried not to grin as she took a seat on the couch. Tara sat next to her and Willow sat at the end, in the seat farthest away from William.

“I can’t get over how big the kids are getting,” Willow remarked, tucked safely in the corner of the couch. She let out a light sniffle and swept a finger under one of her eyes. “They’ve changed so much since I’ve last seen them.”

“How was breakfast? Was there enough for you to eat?”

“Oh, yeah, there was plenty and it was really good, Buffy. We’ve been having a great time. Jamie’s been talking my ear off and Sarah…well, she’s just as shy as ever. Joy’s a cutie like always.”

“Sarah isn’t shy,” Buffy replied. She slipped off the couch and down to the carpet. She crawled on her knees and sat cross-legged beneath William’s chair. She opened her arms and said, “Come here, Sarah, sit with me for a minute. I see you have your new barrettes sitting next to you, are you waiting for me to put them into your hair?”

“She only likes me to fix her hair,” Buffy explained. As she spoke, Buffy combed through Sarah’s wispy fine hair with her fingers and snapped the barrettes into place. “Sometimes she lets her dad do it though. She’s just selective about a lot of things, even about the people she talks to. I don’t see a problem with that. In fact, at times I wish Jamie weren’t so friendly. Sarah’s more cautious.”

“She’s got a good head on her shoulders, don’t you, kitten?”

Sarah giggled as William’s toe poked into her side. “I have a good head, daddy?”

“I’d say it’s one of Sunnydale’s finest.”

“Daddy, don’t—daddy, stop poking me!” Although Sarah protested, she didn’t move away. She held onto to William’s squirming toes with both hands. She laughed and smiled up at her father, enjoying every second of the attention he was giving her.

“I never said there’s anything wrong with being shy,” Willow began. If she planned on continuing, Jamie wasn’t going to let her be heard.

“Mommy!” he cried, dancing over to Buffy’s side. “Wanna see what my Aunt Willow got me?! She got me more cars! A blue one, a green one, and a, a red one!”

“Very cool. Did you thank her for them?”

“Yeees! Which is your favorite, mom?”

“The red one is nice.”

“Dad?” Jamie called out cheerfully. He went from person to person, conducting an impromptu poll until he declared that the red car was the best. He dropped to the floor, lined up his cars, and rolled them one at a time along the length of the living room while making engine noises.

With Jamie distracted, Willow cleared her throat and started to speak again. “I brought a little something for the girls too. I know I just sent a box for Christmas, but I couldn’t show up empty-handed. I’m the godmother, so I must spoil my godbabies. It’s in the job description.”

“That must explain the little ball of fluff Sarah has tucked under her arm. Can I see your new present?” Buffy asked, speaking softly to Sarah. Her daughter lifted her bent elbow, but she didn’t let go of William’s toes. A stuffed white cat rolled onto the carpet. Buffy smiled, noticing the cat’s hot pink beret and spotted scarf.

“I know it’s cheesy, but I couldn’t resist. It’s so girlie and, well, Sarah’s a girlie girl, isn’t she? Joy was given a matching black cat in a purple outfit, but she had no interest in it whatsoever. She threw it off her highchair. When I gave it to her again, she threw it back at me. It bounced off my nose and Joy found that incredibly amusing.”

At the sound of William’s soft snicker, Buffy snuck her fingers up his pant leg. She gave the skin above his ankle a warning pinch. “Thank you for bringing the toys. You shouldn’t have, but thank you.”

“I have some stuff in my suitcase for the new baby too,” Willow said. Tara cleared her throat and placed a hand on Willow’s knee, but that didn’t stop Willow from continuing with a wide grin on her face. “It’s so hard to believe you’ll have four kids this time next year, Buffy. Are you hoping for a boy or girl? Jamie, sweetie, are we keeping our fingers crossed for a new baby brother or a baby sister?”

Tara said Willow’s name and looked apologetic just as Jamie jumped to his feet. His face was scrunched up in an annoyed frown. “Aunt Willow, I don’t want—no more sisters! Okay?! My mom—um, my dad won’t—no more babies!”

Buffy closed her eyes as Jamie started to cry.

“Buffy, William, I’m so sorry--.”

“Quiet, Will. Just stop talking. Please.”

“Maybe we should go?” Tara offered quietly. “We can step outside for a minute.”

“No. Stay where you are, and just…” Buffy trailed off once Sarah pulled at the corner of her shirt.

“Mommy?” Sarah whispered. “Mommy, Jamie’s crying.”

Buffy opened one eye. She watched as Sarah scooted off her lap. She reluctantly let go of William’s toes, only to wrap her arms around his leg. Her daughter’s worried expression tugged at Buffy’s heart. She took a deep breath before standing and lifting Jamie into her arms.

Tiny fingers dug into her ponytail and Jamie’s wet face buried into her neck. “No more babies, mommy,” he mumbled in a pout. “No more sisters.”

“I’m sorry, buddy, but a new baby is coming, whether you like it or not. And it might even be a girl.”

“But…why?”

“Why what?” she asked. Her eyes finally locked with William’s and she walked to him. “We’re going to have a baby because I’m pregnant. My stomach is going to get really big again. You remember how big it was before Jo came along? My tummy looked like a huge beach ball, remember?”

“You walked funny. Daddy said you walked like a duck.”

“He said I waddled. That daddy of yours, he’s…sweet, isn’t he?”

“My dad—he won’t let me have more sisters!”

“We’re having a new baby because of your dad, Jamie.” At the sound of Jamie’s surprised gasp, Buffy laughed. “He isn’t the only one to blame though. It was a joint effort, a…well, your dad and I thought you wouldn’t mind another baby in the house. And there is a pretty good chance of us having a boy. We just won’t know for a while, sweetie. You might have a new sister or you might not.”

“You’re being awfully quiet down there,” William said, leaning forward to give Sarah’s hair a little tweak. “What do you think about all this?”

Sarah batted William’s fingers away from her hair with a wave of her hand. “I like Jo, daddy.” To prove her point, Sarah stretched out to pat Joy’s back while never releasing her hold on William’s leg. “Jo’s a good baby. Let’s have another baby like Jo.”

“I’m glad we have your approval. On both accounts,” William answered. He surprised Buffy by being able to keep a straight face. “I’m sure Jo appreciates it as well.”

“I like Jo too!” Jamie said, suddenly turning in Buffy’s embrace so he could look down at his father. “Jo doesn’t want a baby either!”

“She told you that, did she?” William asked, causing Jamie to bob his head up and down enthusiastically. “Alright, but did she also tell you about how much fun you’ll have with a new sibling? Think about it, mate. There will be even more toys cluttering up our house, getting to sleep will take longer when you each pick out your own bedtime story, there will be one extra birthday party to celebrate each year and—best of all—if it is a boy, we won’t be outnumbered by the girls any longer.”

“But—but…okay.”

“Okay?” Buffy asked. She studied Jamie’s face and found it free of tears. “That’s it?”

“Don’t provoke him,” William sang under his breath. “Let’s just be thankful we dodged that bullet.”

“Where is my brother, mommy? He isn’t in your tummy. I can’t seee him!”

“Oh, he’s in there. He’s just really tiny right now. But, Jamie, we won’t know the baby’s gender for a long time--.”

“My brother’s gonna sleep in my room! Just boys, no sisters!”

“My room?!” Sarah squeaked. “Daddy! Jamie can’t--.”

“He won’t,” William said to Sarah. “No one is moving in or out of their rooms. Everyone is staying put until your mother and I say otherwise. Does everyone understand that?”

Sarah nodded, but Jamie just squirmed in Buffy’s arms. “My brother’s gonna like my toys. I’ll share with him, daddy.”

“I’m glad to hear it, but--.”

“Let me go, mom! I wanna play with my toys before my brother gets here!”

“Okay,” Buffy said, lowering her son to the ground. Letting out a heavy sigh, she leaned over to hug her arms around William’s neck. “Do you still think we avoided a bullet?” she whispered. “If this kid isn’t a boy… I had no idea he’d react this way. He was happy about Joy.”

“He was younger and he didn’t know what to expect. He didn’t really understand back then and he just barely understands now.”

“He only wants a brother…”

“He’ll get over that nonsense. We did alright, pet. It didn’t go smoothly, but—Buffy, we were backed into a corner. We did our best.”

Buffy grunted softly, still convinced that she could’ve handled the situation differently. She gave William’s head a squeeze and kissed the bottom edge of his white-blond sideburn. “I wanted to wait until after our appointment tomorrow. I wanted to know more before we told them anything.”

“I know,” William said quietly. “Don’t be hard on yourself.”

“He’s right,” Willow blurted out. She blushed under the gaze of three sets of eyes. “I eavesdropped. I know it’s awful, but we’re all in the same room. Even though you were whispering, I couldn’t help but see your lips moving. But that isn’t really the point. The point is, I have a big mouth along with my big stupid ears and I’m sorry. I just assumed that the baby was common knowledge.”

“You assumed? If I’m not mistaken, wasn’t it your false assumptions that led to you giving my wife about a week’s worth of amnesia?”

“Now there’s a good way to get the ball rolling,” Buffy muttered, standing up straight. “Honey, you just kicked the ball and it hit Willow in the teeth.”

“Guess I took my cue from our youngest.”

At the mention of Joy, Buffy lightly touched back of her head. The baby was sleeping soundly, curled up against William, completely oblivious to the awkward tension among the grown-ups in the room. “Want me to take her upstairs?”

“Don’t even think about it.”

“Okay,” Buffy answered with a smile. “Sarah, are you still okay down there? Do you need anything?”

Sarah shook her head. She was still close to William’s recliner, but she wasn’t clinging to him. She was quietly dressing her dolls in various fashionable outfits. Every once in a while she squealed when William concealed a miniature shoe or skirt under his foot.

Buffy quickly glanced at Jamie, finding him now busy with a different group of toys. With her children content, Buffy returned to the couch and shifted her attention to her friends.

“Let’s make this painless. I lost my memory because of a spell. You both thought I was keeping secrets from my husband. That was kind of true, but--.”

“But it doesn’t matter,” William interrupted. “It wasn’t your business and you shouldn’t have interfered without at least speaking to one of us first.”

“Um, yes, but.” Buffy turned to give William a look. He rolled his eyes in response and mumbled under his breath words that Buffy couldn’t quite understand. “Anyway,” she continued, looking back to Tara and Willow’s guilty faces, “you had nothing to worry about. You will have nothing to worry about when it comes to William and me. We can handle each other and our own problems. You shouldn’t have done that spell. I know it didn’t work out as you had planned, but really, you went too far. Without my memories, my kids didn’t have a normally functioning mom. William had to…you put him through hell, guys. Thank God, I had him to lean on. If I hadn’t…”

She stopped, hit by a flood of emotion. It was a mixture of good and bad feelings, along with a great deal of love for her husband. She looked over at William again and cleared her throat.

Taking the silent cue, seeing the tears glittering in Buffy’s eyes, William inhaled sharply. “We’re willing to forgive you both, damn it, but there isn’t a chance that we’ll be forgetting a moment of this. Tara can continue to be our nanny, if she wishes to stick around. Red, you can visit. But the spells and the bloody witchcraft--.”

“You won’t see it again. Not in your house,” Willow promised breathlessly. “When I travel, I hardly bring anything with me, and Tara, she’s so particular about her practice she doesn’t usually have the resources to perform spells that can backfire like this one did. William, she’s one-hundred percent white magic. She heals. She--.”

“And what color of magic are you? Something a little on the cloudy side, yes? You’re not as wholesome as our sweet Tara, are you?”

Buffy watched Willow’s face fall. She didn’t interfere though, trusting William and his approach. He wanted her friend’s help and knew how to get it, but not without putting Willow in her place.

“I’m powerful,” Willow responded. She wasn’t boasting; she just looked more guilty. “When I write spells, they work, but sometimes I don’t word them with the best terms… I’m not as focused as Tara, but I’m more powerful.”

“And this power is hard for you to control.”

“I’m working on it,” Willow grumbled. “I’m getting much better.”

“So if I wanted a spell, what kind of margin of error would we be looking at?”

Buffy watched Tara blink in reaction to William’s question. Willow’s eyes grew wide. “Um,” she began, “that depends on a lot of things, but I thought--.”

“Don’t think and don’t assume, Red. Here’s the deal: my wife and I are shopping for a spell. We didn’t know a lot about witchcraft, but we know enough about it now to think it can get a job done for us.”

“What job?” Tara asked. “What kind of job?”

“Angel,” Buffy answered.

“You want me to put a spell on the man who shot Buffy? What kind of spell are you talking about? The worse the spell, the more control I need. You don’t want to punish him, do you? I don’t think I could hurt somebody…not willingly.”

“They wouldn’t ask you to that,” Tara said, squeezing Willow’s hand. “It wouldn’t be right. Surely, they want something similar to a locator spell.” Tara looked from Buffy to William and then back to Buffy. “A locator spell won’t hurt anyone. If you want to find him, we can point you in the right direction, if he’s staying in one place.”

“We’ll need more than just his location,” Buffy explained. “He shot me and got away with it because we didn’t have solid proof. Neither of us saw Angel pull the trigger. We never have found the gun. If you can find the gun, great, but Tara, we’re open to suggestions. If there’s anything you and Willow can do, we’ll take all the help we can get. We just want to move on. We’ve been going after him our own way for years and you know it’s getting us nowhere. If magic can give me amnesia, why can’t it put a criminal in prison?”

“It would definitely make your track record a little less murky,” William added, looking at Willow. “If putting a bad man behind bars isn’t an act of pure lily-white magic, I don’t know what one is.”

“We’re in no hurry, Will. I mean, I don’t even know how long you’re in town, but think about everything,” Buffy continued. “Talk to Tara. Look at your…spell books. Just take your time. The bottom line is we want this done right, if we’re doing it at all. And if you think there’s too much of a risk, tell us. We won’t push. Will we, honey?”

“No. We’ll respect your decision,” William answered quietly. “But I hope you’ll help us. Both you and Tara. I’m fucking tired of Angel. I want him gone. If you can do that with your spells and potions… I’d be grateful. I’d owe you.”

“Of course I’ll help,” Willow announced without pause. “I’ll do anything I can to help. I’ll get my hands on some books. I’ll research some possible spells. I’ll do some shopping. And with Tara on board…” She glanced at Tara and was met with a slight nod. “It’ll be fun.”

“You can have fun, but don’t get carried away,” William warned, although Buffy could tell he was pleased. “I’d prefer it if you brewed your potions and waved your magic wands elsewhere, but I’d like to keep an eye on what you’re doing. I probably won’t know what the hell I’m watching, but I’d like to supervise regardless. Study your books and shop by day, but do the conjuring at night. You can use the kitchen here, but when Buffy and the kids are asleep.”

Buffy and the kids?” Buffy asked. “You want me to sleep while they’re conjuring in my kitchen?”

“We’ll take as many precautions as possible,” he continued as if Buffy hadn’t said a word. “No one is getting hurt on my watch.”
***





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