Title: Tomorrow 14/?
Author: Madsdog
Rating: Errr- probably up to R
SPOILERS: UP UNTIL THE END OF 'TWO TO GO'
Distribution: NHA, AEFM (which will be updated at some point), ODD
Disclaimer: If I just owned Willow's body, Dawn's hair and Giles' voice to sing me to sleep... okay... none of it's mine- those bits belong to the actors and the rest is Joss' and Marti's (Tara-killers) and Love Letter #1 belongs to Red
Dedication: This parts for Kits, Gnome and Matthew- all of whom I've convinced to start writing fanfiction for me- love you all.

"I'm going in to speak to Quentin. Wait here and behave yourself." Giles rolled his eyes at his wife. Not only was she a stuck up cow, but she also didn't seem to realise he was more than eight years old. He sat and looked around the reception area. The woman on the desk eyed him suspiciously before going back to her computer.

Eliza and Travers were in a meeting to discuss ways to get Rupert 'gainfully employed' before he was 'convinced to rejoin The Council in a reasonable capacity.' Which basically meant they didn't want him moping around his own... well, his father's house any longer. Keep him occupied and stop him from finding out that they were trying to murder his fiancée- ex-fiancée. He remembered Travers' words;

"Return to England with Eliza and produce a child by 2010, and you present no threat to the betterment of The Council, who in turn, will present none to Ms Rosenberg." True he had no intention of going through with the 'offspring' part of the deal- not with Eliza, but there were about five years until Quentin would start getting antsy about that and they weren't using Willow as any kind of ransom to get him to do anything: they were just going to kill her: there was no logic to it, and if The Council was one thing- apart from made of hypocritical, self-centred bastards- it was logical- or at least practical, he just didn't understand.

He noticed the woman behind the desk glare at him once again before she stood and moved toward the door behind her seat. Struck by a brainwave- or possibly temporary idiocy, after about twenty seconds, Giles stood and briskly walked over to face the computer. Bringing up the 'search' box, he typed in 'Willow Rosenberg' and watched as five documents and a single folder came up.

Five minutes later he sat back down, not really thinking clearly- not really thinking at all. It was... he couldn't believe it, it wasn't- well actually it was entirely possible. But, as a man, he'd never thought that...

His thoughts were just as incoherent over an hour later when Eliza snapped at him to follow her. The words 'father,' 'pregnant,' 'baby' and 'how' were in great abundance, but there was no inkling of a complete sentence.

It was approaching forty minutes later when Giles suddenly began thinking of the ramifications this must be having on Willow's life. A full time student with no real means of income... he calculated in his head, the baby would most likely be due early in the summer, but even so she'd never be able to return to her studies immediately in the autumn. Even the brilliance of Willow would struggle under the stresses of her education, a job, and a baby. He was sure she'd muddle through but...

Now that his thoughts were more in order, things began to make sense; the constant invasion of privacy by The Council in tapping his 'phone calls and reading his mail, the fact that Buffy knew about Willow and him, Travers' eagerness to have him realise his future was wholly with his wife...

Everything was so frustrating. The place he was needed was half the globe away and there was no way to warn his friends of any impending danger. The files had not been specific but past and present assassins were referred to: there were two failed demon attacks, allusions to a 'rogue witch' who had planned to get Willow and consequently her child addicted to magic so as the baby could be overdosed and Willow would land the entirety of the blame, and there were other things Giles had not read the details of: some way of turning Buffy against Willow, and constant mentions of a minor force in Sunnydale that would simply try to attack in any way it could.

Willow had taught Rupert to see the light and good in things, Buffy had shown Giles the true darkness of being, and between them he'd learnt to see the truth in whatever he encountered, and the necessity of a quick and simple solution. Now he had the truth, be had to identify the problem and uncover the answer. He was sure there was a simple way; he just had to see it...

***

"Buff. You're late."

"Sorry Oz, Wesley." She stopped in front of the two men before her face broke into a huge grin. "Oz, it's so good to see you again. More so seeing as I now know that whole Veruca thing didn't hurt Will as much as she acted." He nodded at her.

"You too."

"Did you-"

"Here." Oz put down a disc and a set of print outs which Wesley instantly picked up and began to read.

"Cliff notes version?" Buffy really didn't feel like going through the whole lot.

"Will's in danger."

"Got that much."

"They consider her some kind of siren and her child an 'abomination.'"

"Wes?"

"Hmm?" He responded without looking up from the papers.

"Is there any way to make them think well of the baby? Presumably Will on her own is safe, it's just the baby they really hate?"

"Indeed. From what I can gather from this," he waved the papers he was holding, "and what I know of The Council, before they learnt of the conception, the plan was simply to isolate Mr Giles and Ms Rosenberg from each other, unknowingly assisted by his concealment of his marriage to Eliza. However, they cannot have an illegitimate Giles in existence- especially not an American- sorry- and it looks as if they're not afraid to murder Willow to reach her child."

"How very... Machiavellian of them."

"Indeed."

"Is there any way to ensure their safety?"

"Destroy The Council." Buffy looked sceptical.

"Oz may be right... this isn't going to be easy- at the least we need Travers and Eliza out of the picture."

"No- I don't do people- even people like them."

"Well something has to be done, and soon... of course it doesn't help that we're a rather large ocean away. You can't provide 'round the clock protection." Wesley knew he was talking sense, but the slayer didn't seem to be hearing it. In many ways The Council was similar to Wolfram and Hart- and if you knew who you had to target, the rest would stay in a sort of line. But the fact that they were human was an issue for Buffy in a way it would never be for Angel- and rightly so.

He'd failed his friends in LA and Angel and Connor especially- he had no intention of doing the same to Willow and her child- this was his chance of setting things, if not right, then better... it was a step in the right direction.

"I'm the slayer- it's my job to protect her and if that means I have to follow her around 24-7, then so be it."

"And how many others will be lost in the process? While you're looking after Willow, how many will be attacked while walking alone after dark. Your duty-"

"Don't talk to me about duty."

"Fine. Your conscience won't let you live with it."

"Buff, you're next." The arguing pair turned to Oz. "The Council has some sort of plan to turn you against Willow, for you to kill her."

"No."

"Yes."

"But I would never-" Wesley began rifling through the papers in front of him.

"Some kind of mind control, or maybe... planting illusions in your head. Or simply getting something to take over her body..." He read frantically through the passage he'd found. "Blast it. No details are given, just a reference to a demon."

"Is there a spell or something we can do to keep Will safe?"

"No!" The men looked startled at Buffy's outcry. "No magic- not unless we absolutely have to. Willow and magic... don't mix."

"Don't mix?" Both looked rather surprised at the news. "But..?"

"Abridged version- Willow got good- really good at magic- she was like this demi-goddess or something, I dunno. When I died over the summer..." She looked at Oz, "don't ask, long story, anyway, she got even more powerful and after she brought me back she got a bit, well, cocky- she managed to change Amy from being a rat to human again- but Amy used her, abused her- turned her heavy use of magic into an addiction of the black arts with the help of this warlock, Rack-"

"The Rack? As in dealer?"

"That's the one. When Will found out she was pregnant she went cold turkey- but seriously, no magic around her or on her- please." Neither Oz nor Wesley looked as if they could really deal with this news, but both agreed- although the former watcher was thinking of... well it wasn't really a spell, more a simple charm- a calling of benevolent spirits to aid in the protection of one of their children. It wasn't even magic really...

"Does Giles know?" Buffy looked the werewolf over a minute before answering.

"No."

"She doesn't want him to?"

"She hasn't got a choice- they're blocking all contact between the two of them."

"It must be killing her inside."

"She hasn't said so, but I'm guessing." Oz nodded before standing to leave. As he walked past her, he paused, placing a hand on Buffy's shoulder.

"Look after her- she'd the closest to a relative I've got- don't let her go unloved."

"That's never going to happen. I'll do everything I can." She reached up to place her hand on his, but only managed to brush his fingertips. She looked at the table a moment before turning and discovering him gone.

"He's a tough kid."

"Nah," Buffy shook her head, "he's not a kid anymore. Not sure he ever really was- not like the rest of us."

***

Willow looked down at the piece of paper in front of her.

June 1st.

On June 1st 2002 she was going to become a mother, four months before her own twenty-second birthday. It made her sound so old. She remembered turning twenty, just after Rupert had bought The Magic Box, thinking that 20 sounded so much more like an adult than nineteen did, and that scared her in a way. She didn't want to grow up. Her only consolation had been that she wasn't old enough to drink legally- which all 'old' people did. Rupert, hearing this, had unsympathetically pointed out that had she lived in Great Britain, she'd have been 'old' two years ago.

She remembered the moments that had shaped her life; meeting Buffy, learning about vampires, Jesse's death, meeting Oz, realising she was no longer in love with Xander, Angel's turn to Angelus, Jenny's death, falling in love with Rupert, Rupert asking to marry her, going to college, Rupert setting up a fund for when they were married, Dawn being The Key, Joyce's death, Buffy dying, Buffy coming back, Rupert leaving to live with Eliza, finding out she was pregnant. It wasn't a short list, but when it summed up twenty-one and a half years of a life, well... it could have been longer.

A year ago- six months ago even- Willow had had it planned: she and Rupert were going to settle down; either here or in England, get married, and, after a couple of years, try for a baby. They'd have a rabbit- if Anya wasn't too frequent a visitor- and a dog- something like a collie, that didn't drool too much and had brains. And they'd be happy- occasionally staking a vampire or two, but on the most part just helping to provide information to the forces of good, not doing so much of the battling. Rupert would have a shop, she'd so something with computers... Willow sighed. It didn't matter now; it hadn't mattered since he'd left.

Right now though, was her chance to make someone else's dream come true. Picking up her 'best man' dress, she moved to the mirror to put it on. It had been adjusted but she still looked fat. No, she decided, she looked pregnant. And maybe that wasn't such a bad thing. For the first time she admitted to herself that maybe she hadn't always thought this latest development in her life was a good thing. But right now, it wasn't sounding- or looking- so bad. Willow smiled at her reflection as the door behind her opened and Buffy ran in.

"Willow, they're horrible! And green!" Willow's smile never wavered.

"They're not so bad."

***

Signalling to Buffy to get everyone the hell out of here before a small war broke out, Willow sat on the floor, trying to gather the weeping girl before her into her arms.

Of all the ways this day could have turned out, this was about the last she expected. If she could get her hands on Alexander Harris right now she'd do something VERY nasty.

"You want to go home?" She asked Anya.

"Home where?" The ex-demon began to sob again.

"Anyanka? Willow?" The girls looked up to see D'Hoffryn. Willow smiled weakly.

"Give me a hand?" Between them, they got Anya up, into the car and then into Willow's bedroom, where, once changed, she fell almost instantly asleep. The pair stood by the bed for a moment before D'Hoffryn spoke.

"She is lucky to have you child." Willow smiled, bittersweet.

"And I her."

"No, I mean, the odds stacked against you are phenomenal. The Council have gone all out to stop you. She is very lucky you have survived long enough to take care of her like this. I can feel it boiling in you though."

"Feel what boiling in me?"

"Vengeance. You still have my talisman?" She looked at her feet, shuffling uncomfortably before answering.

"Yes."

"You have considered me then. Good. For that I will tell you this: you have a friend Amy?" She nodded. "And you have recently come across a most annoying trio of overgrown boys?" She smiled slightly at the description. "Watch them. The Council has lost some standards, and will stoop even to the level taken to employ them." Something on her face must have shown shock, because his next words were; "Do not be surprised. The Council are everywhere, it gives them a feeling of power- however they have very little actual control."

"Thank you." He nodded at her.

"I'll be back when she wakes." Before she could respond, he was gone. Reluctantly she descended the stairs to meet Buffy and Dawn.

"How's she doing?"

"As well as can be expected in the circumstances."

"I don't understand," Dawn said, "he loves her, why did he..."

"Because he's a man."

"But he's Xander."

"Xander the little boy. There are things you have to learn about the XYs of our race." Willow took up Buffy's opening;

"They never know what they want and it they decide they're too scared to take it, even if it's willing to be taken. And then they run off to England and leave you holding the baby- literally." Buffy and Dawn looked uncomfortably at each other. "Sorry," Willow said, "my stuff."

"Are you alright Will? You've been grumpy recently."

"No, I'm not. I throw up whenever I think of fish- formerly my favourite food, I'm always hungry and my jeans didn't fit when I tried to put them on yesterday. And my parents are coming home next week. I have to talk to them."

"Ah." Buffy nodded in understanding.

"And I can't believe Xander did that. It's so... grrrr."

"I know. I wonder where he is now."

"He's alive. Anything else, I don't care."

***

Dear Rupert,
Okay, so I'm pregnant and everybody knows now... except you. Which isn't the way it's supposed to be- what with you being the father and everything, but with The Council being total poop-heads and all, there's not an awful lot to be done about that.

Riley came back last week- with his new wife, Sam, and then Xander left Anya- not at the alter, but by the doors of the church, which is just as bad. And all this pain- from Buffy and the newlyweds-that-aren't is... well, painful. It brings back memories. It makes me think of you- not that I don't think of you all the time anyway, but it makes me remember the less pleasant times, the arguments, the 'lovers' tiffs' as you used to call them. And it reminds me that you're not here.

But you know what? I'm coping. If you'd told me six months ago I'd be here, now, like this, I'd have panicked and I don't think I'd have made it. But now... I'm tougher than I was, and my baby is coming into this world if I have to kill every last member of The Council of Botched-Jobs to keep it safe- except for you of course... and Wesley. And maybe Eliza Giles and Quentin Travers too- they deserve twenty years in a torture chamber before they die bloodily. D'you know how much that name creeps me out? Eliza Giles... Mrs Giles. No, it doesn't sound right. Maybe just because I always assumed I'd be Mrs Giles- don't count your chickens before they've hatched, hey?

I remember that song you used to sing me. It was so quaint, so English. So you. And it was special- it meant we were going to be the king and queen of our own castle one day...

Lavenders blue, dilly, dilly,
Lavenders green.
When I am king, dilly, dilly,
You shall be queen.

Now I've gone and got all sappy and made myself cry. I'll be fine in a minute. I should go though- Anya's so upset, no one deserves that.

If you ever come back, I'll give you all these letters. But for now this is going with the others in my drawer.

Bye
Willow.

***

"Okay, so we, as evil geniuses, and getting paid for it, have officially come up with the coolest plan ever." Jonathan looked dubiously down at the fish like demon on the floor before him.

"We have?"

"Ooooh yeah. And when we're done, we'll be the ones paying The Council."

"The what?"

"The Council nimrod." Andrew said, coming in from the back room. "The one funding all this."

"There's funding? Mom takes me to Florida for a month and when I get back we have money? How did this happen?"

"Well duh Furry-feet. What did-"

"Shut up Andrew. Don't worry Levenson- I went online, did a little fiddling and bam! We're in the money."

"And the giant fish features where?"

"Actually it's a plant. A self-replicating plant. A plant that reproduces asexually in any environment by first destroying the current inhabitant of the- whatever. It's very versatile and can feed off almost anything- in fact, if they didn't nearly all die before they can reproduce, I'm pretty sure they'd have taken over the world by now."

"That would be a barrel of laughs."

"Oh cheer up Shorty. Look, we're just gonna run some tests on it- see what it does in different situations. Everything will be just fine."

***

"Anya... what are you... where are you... you're leaving?" Avoiding the witch's gaze, the ex-demon continued to gather essentials from around her shop and pack them into a large bag.

"I just have to get away for a bit. I can't stay in his house."

"Then where are you going to..."

"I don't know, I thought I'd see... D'Hoffryn and Hallie both offered me a place."

"So... you won't be nearby?"

"I'll be back in a couple of weeks... you won't need me before then will you?"

"I... maybe." Finally, Anya turned to face Willow before smiling and moving to hug her.

"You'll be fine. If not- just think real hard... I can hear you."

"What?" She handed Willow a necklace.

"Here, put it on... if you need me, I'll know." Trusting the girl completely, she clasped it around her throat without another word.

"This is pretty, where's it from?"

"I found it behind the sofa... In hell." She winked, causing Willow to smile.

"You're rather... chipper today."

"Not really- if Xander or Buffy were to walk in I'd probably either scream or cry... but right now I'm good, while it's just you and me."

"I'm glad I can be of service, but I should head off... leave you in peace... find a shovel for which to beat Xander."

"How's that for friendship? Not many people would offer that so willingly."

"You'll tell me, won't you... if there's anything you need, anything I can do." Anya would have joked, said something inappropriate... but Willow's face was so serious, she couldn't do it.

"Just don't let The Magic Box get attacked okay? We both need this place up and running."

"I'll do what I can. Try and have a good time will you?"

"That isn't going to happen Willow."

"But try."

"I'll do what I can."

"And Anya?"

"Hmm." Willow opened her mouth to speak, before deciding against it and closing it again. In the end she said simply,

"Say hello to D'Hoffryn for me."

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