"Where're you meeting Angel?" Willow called out from the bathroom.
Buffy smiled into the mirror, admiring her costume. The dress was gorgeous, and the long, black wig fit better than she'd expected. She looked good, if she did say so herself.
"He's coming here," she said to Willow. "After trick or treating. Mom's gonna be out."
"Does he know about your costume?"
"Nope! Call it a blast from the past. I'll show him I can coif with the best of 'em."
Buffy turned to the bathroom door. "Okay, Willow, come out. You can't hide in there all night."
"Okay. But promise you won't laugh?"
Buffy smiled. "I promise."
Willow opened the door and stepped out. She was wearing boots, thigh-high stockings, a short leather skirt and a burgundy top that left far too much of her stomach bare for her liking. She quickly walked over to pick up her ghost costume.
Buffy's smile widened. "Wow! You're a dish!"
Willow started to pull the sheet over her head, but Buffy yanked it out of her hands and tossed it aside.
"I mean, really," she said.
Willow smiled uncertainly and tried to cover herself with her arms.
"This just isn't me," she said shyly.
Buffy nodded. "And that's the point." She walked around to the other side of Willow and pointed her towards the mirror. "Look, Halloween is the night that not you *is* you, but not *you.* Y'know?"
"I don't know, Buffy..."
"Well, I do," Buffy assured her. "And you look gorgeous."
"Really?" Willow asked.
"Absolutely. You look better in those clothes than I do."
"Oh, I do not," Willow said, blushing.
"You so do," Buffy insisted. "And I'm telling you, this is perfect for you."
"I don't know. I just don't feel right. I mean, the clothes feel weird enough, but the makeup and choker... I'm not used to wearing stuff like this."
"They're perfect," Buffy said. "They make the look. That guy Ethan was right. They look great on you."
"You're not... You're not just saying that?" Willow asked hopefully.
Buffy sighed and turned Willow until they were facing each other. Putting her hands on the redhead's shoulders, she said, "No, Will, I'm not just saying that. You look great. Beautiful. Sexy."
"I'm not used to looking any of those," Willow said. "I don't know how to do it."
"Well, if you want Xander to notice you, you're going to have to learn. It's okay, though. You're off to a great start. Don't worry about it so much! Just be yourself. Only..."
"Trampy?"
Buffy glared. "I was going to go with sexy again. But hey, if trampy works for you, go for it. It's Halloween, Will! Come as you aren't!"
The doorbell rang.
"That's Xander," Buffy said. "He's going to go insane when he sees you."
"Really?" Willow asked.
"Oh, yeah. Are you ready?"
Willow nodded. "Yeah. Okay," she said nervously.
Buffy smiled. "Cool! She walked out the door and down the stairs.
As soon as she left the room, Willow rushed over and grabbed the ghost costume. She started to pull it on, then caught sight of her reflection in the mirror.
She stopped and looked at herself. She had to admit, if it was anyone besides herself, she'd have said they looked good.
"Just be yourself," she whispered, then smirked. "Only trampy."
Before she could lose her nerve, she dropped the ghost costume and walked out of the room.
Xander strutted through the door in his fatigues. He brought his toy gun up in a salute.
"Private Harris reporting for..." He trailed off as he took in Buffy's costume. "Buffy! Lady of Buffdom, Duchess of Buffonia, I am in awe! I completely renounce Spandex!"
Buffy smiled and curtsied. "Thank you, kind sir! But wait 'til you see..."
"Willow," Xander said, staring up the stairs.
"Willow," Buffy agreed, her smile growing wider. "Good for you," she whispered. She'd more than half expected Willow to chicken out.
Willow gave Buffy a quick, nervous smile, then came to a stop in front of Xander.
"Hey," she said, trying to sound casual. She had a feeling she wasn't successful.
Xander just stared, his eyes bugging out.
Buffy gently elbowed him in the ribs. "The lady said, 'Hey.'"
"Hey!" Xander yelled. "Uh, hey," he said, dialing his voice down to a more reasonable volume. "Wow, Will, you look..."
"Great?" Buffy prompted, when he didn't say anything.
Xander nodded, not taking his eyes off Willow. "I was going to say different. But 'great' definitely applies here."
Willow smiled shyly. "Thank you."
Buffy watched them look at each other for a moment, then said, "Okay! Time to trick or treat!"
"Yeah," Xander said, shaking his head. "Trick or treat."
"Right," Willow said. "Trick or treat."
"Exactly," Buffy said, ushering them out the door.
Buffy waved her kids in close to her and crouched down to their level.
"Okay, what did Mrs. Davis give you?"
The kids all pulled out toothbrushes.
Buffy shook her head sadly. "She must be stopped. Let's hit one more house." She stood up. "We still have a few minutes before I need to get you back."
In the back room of his costume shop, Ethan chanted. He drew the magic into himself, reveling in it. The taste, like the finest scotch. The texture, like sharkskin rubbing against his nerves. Sheer, unadulterated power that filled every fiber of his being and begged, yearned, demanded to be set loose onto an unsuspecting world.
He smiled as he felt the spell come to a climax.
"Showtime!"
"I could've sworn I had more candy," the old lady said. "I'm sorry, Mr. Monster. Maybe I..."
The child in the green mask morphed into a demon and grabbed her throat, viciously choking her. The other kids screamed and ran.
"No!" Willow cried, frozen in shock. "Let her go!"
Another demon child, this one red, attacked the green one. The old lady managed to wrench herself free and fled screaming into her house, slamming the door behind her.
"Stop!" Willow screamed, trying to pull the demons apart. "Hey!"
She shuddered as she felt something pass through her. It felt like an electric jolt through her entire body. She shook off the feeling and looked around frantically.
"What the hell was that?"
She spun when she heard the sound of bullets tearing through the night.
"Xander?"
Fleeing from the still fighting demons, Willow ran into the street and searched for her friend. She caught sight of him and started running, coming up from behind.
She slowed down before she reached him and looked him over. He looked good. Very good. The fatigues seemed to fit him better than they had earlier. Or maybe he fit the fatigues better.
<Damn,> she thought. <Tear me off a piece of that.>
"Xander!" she cried, shaking off the thought and moving towards him.
Xander spun and pointed his rifle at her face.
Willow skidded to a stop and flung her hands out. "It's me, Willow!"
Xander didn't seem to recognize her. "I don't know any Willow," he said.
"Xander, quit screwing around. This is no time for jokes."
Xander looked at her blankly, then slowly brought his rifle down to his side. "What the hell's going on here?"
"You don't know me?" Willow asked fearfully.
Xander hefted his rifle to a ready position. "Lady, I suggest you find cover." He moved to walk past her.
Willow stepped in front of him. "No, wait!"
Xander couldn't stop in time and walked right into her, knocking her to the ground.
"Ow!" she cried, bringing her hands down to rub at her butt.
Xander stopped and looked at her for a moment. Then he sighed and held his hand out to her. "I'm sorry," he said, as he pulled her to her feet.
"Don't worry about it," Willow said. "You can bump me anytime." Her skin tingled where his body had touched hers.
Xander stared at her strangely, then said, "What is going on here?"
"I don't know," Willow said. "Listen, I'm on your side, I swear! Something weird is happening. People are turning into their costumes. There were some kids back there, dressed as monsters, and now they're really monsters! And you were supposed to be a solider, and now, I, I guess you're a real soldier."
"You expect me to believe that?" Xander asked, then spun to point his rifle at a monster that appeared across the street.
The monster ran away as Willow threw herself in front of Xander's gun. "No!" she screamed. "No guns! That's still a little kid in there!"
"Step out of the way!"
"No guns! That's an order, damn it!"
Xander slowly lowered the rifle.
Willow breathed a sigh of relief, then said, "We just need to find... Buffy!" Seeing the Slayer, Willow ran off down the street. Xander followed.
"Buffy!" Willow said. "Are you okay?"
Xander heard something behind them. He turned to see that the monster was back, and it had brought a friend. He brought his rifle to bear on them. "This could be a situation," he said to Willow.
Willow nodded. "Buffy," she asked frantically. "What do we do?"
Buffy fainted.
Willow sighed. Finally, they were safe. They'd made it to Buffy's house. Luckily, her mother was out of town for the night. One less person to worry about. Xander and Buffy were calm. Well, close to calm. Calm enough. And Cordy was here, and didn't seem to be affected by whatever was going on. She was still a world class bitch, of course, but considering the circumstances, that was sort of comforting.
<At least I'm not the only normal one,> Willow thought. <Okay, think. What do we do next?>
"Giles!" she cried.
"Gesundheit," Xander said. Buffy just stared at her.
"Yeah!" Cordelia agreed. "Giles will know what's going on. Where is he?"
"I'll bet he's at the library," Willow said. "I'll call him. You keep an eye on these guys, okay? If anything tries to get in, fight it off. But don't kill anyone!" She directed the last to Xander, then ran into the kitchen.
"Sure," Cordy said. "Just what I wanted to be doing tonight, fighting monsters and babysitting the amnesia twins."
"He is not my twin," Buffy said.
"And we don't have amnesia," Xander said, moving the curtains to look out the window.
"I most certainly don't," Buffy said indignantly. "I bathe quite often."
Xander and Cordelia turned to stare at her.
"Good for you," Cordy said. She turned to Xander. "How about we put something in front of the door, here?" She made her way to the dining room table.
"Yeah," Xander said. He leaned his rifle against the wall and followed her.
"I see," Giles said into the phone. He rubbed at his temples with his free hand, trying in vain to stave off the headache he could feel approaching. "So everybody became whatever they were wearing?"
"Yeah," Willow agreed, craning her neck to keep an eye on the back door. "Xander's a soldier, and his gun works and everything. Buffy's a noblewoman who's afraid of her own shadow."
"Right," Giles said. "What have you become?"
"Huh?" Willow looked at the phone in confusion.
"What is your costume?" Giles asked patiently.
"Oh! I'm normal. Nothing happened. Cordy's normal, too. Well, as normal as she ever gets."
"I heard that!" Cordelia yelled from out of sight in the living room.
Willow glared in her direction and flipped her the bird, then turned her attention back to the phone. "Partytown! Cordelia said she got her costume at Partytown! Xander and Buffy got their costumes at the new place, over on Fifth."
Giles nodded absently. It was starting to make something approaching sense. "And what about you? Are you wearing anything from this new shop?"
"No," Willow said. "Well, yeah, but just a choker and some makeup. It must not have been enough to do anything to me. Or maybe only certain things are enchanted."
"That could be," Giles agreed. "Where exactly is this shop?"
"It's called 'Ethan's,' and it's between the bank and the coffee shop."
"Ethan's?" Giles asked, his voice dark. "Are you sure?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"Nothing," he said. "You stay there. Barricade the doors and windows. Keep everyone safe." He hung up the phone.
"Giles? Giles? Fuck!" Willow slammed the phone down.
"Willow?" a voice asked from behind her.
Willow screamed and whirled around. "Shit, Angel! Don't do that!"
"I'm sorry," the vampire said. "I was supposed to meet Buffy. Where is she? And do you know what's going on out there?"
"It's a long story," Willow began.
"Ethan," Giles growled, locking the library door behind him. He started walking to his car, then broke into a run.
"Okay," Angel said, "Xander and Buffy have turned into their costumes, but you and Cordelia are normal?"
"Right," Willow said. "Giles is going to check out the costume shop. He said we should stay here and block off all the windows and doors."
Angel nodded. "That makes sense."
"Angel!" Cordelia smiled as she walked into the room. "Thank God you're here! You can help me with the windows!"
"Uh..." Angel said, allowing himself to be led away.
"What's the sitch?" Xander asked, entering the kitchen. He watched Cordy and Angel walk into the dining room. "And who's he?"
"Angel," Willow said. "Buffy's boyfriend. Where is she, anyway?"
"Fainted on the couch. She's not good for much, is she?"
"You'd be surprised," Willow muttered. "Hey," she said, a slow, sultry smile crossing her face. "How about you and I make sure everything upstairs is secure?"
Xander nodded. "Good idea. Just let me get my rifle."
Willow grabbed his hand and dragged him to the stairs. "You won't need it."
"Wow," Cordelia said, watching Angel position the hutch in front of the windows. "You're strong. I like that in a man. It makes me feel safe."
"Uh, great," Angel said. "We should check on Buffy."
"She's fine. So, tell me about yourself..."
"That's the last of them," Xander said, turning away from Buffy's window.
"Yeah," Willow agreed, closing and locking the bedroom door.
"What are you doing?" Xander asked. "We should get back downstairs."
Willow smiled. "Angel and Cordy can handle things for a little while."
"What..." Xander began, then gaped as Willow pulled her shirt off. He stared as she reached behind herself to undo her bra.
"You like?" Willow asked, dropping the bra on the ground and cupping her breasts. She moaned as she rolled her nipples between her fingers.
Xander continued to stare. Then he smiled.
"You like," Willow said confidently. She walked up to Xander and pushed his t-shirt up, exposing his chest. "I like, too."
"We probably shouldn't..." Xander began, looking towards the door.
"Oh, we really should," Willow said, licking and biting his nipple, her breasts pressed against his stomach. Xander groaned in pleasure.
"That's more like it," Willow smiled. She pulled away from Xander and looked up into his eyes. "Now, do you want to go back downstairs, or do you want to fuck me?"
Xander brought a hand up to her breast and his lips down onto hers. Willow gasped into his mouth as he roughly kneaded her flesh.
"I want to fuck you," he growled, pushing her back onto the bed.
"Yay!" Willow squealed, reaching down to squirm out of her stockings and underwear.
"What do you suppose is taking them so long up there?" Angel asked. He was sitting on the couch, watching over Buffy's unconscious form.
"Who knows?" Cordelia said. "They're probably having trouble getting the windows secured. Xander's not as strong as you are."
Angel didn't say anything.
"Do you go to UC Sunnydale? You're definitely not a high school boy."
"Harder!" Willow panted, wrapping her legs around Xander and pulling him deeper inside her. "Faster!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
"Do you hear that?"
"No. So, what do you think of my costume?"
"It's... very nice."
"It is, isn't it?"
"I'm almost there," Willow whimpered. "Almost there!"
"Tell me when," Xander gasped. "Better be soon!"
"So then I said, 'If that's what passes for fashion these days, I'd prefer to be out of date.'"
"You said that?" Angel asked, bored out of his mind.
"You better believe it."
"Gonna come! Come for me!"
Angel leaped to his feet as twin screams ripped through the house.
"Okay, I definitely heard that!" he yelled. "What is going on up there?"
Cordy stared at the ceiling. If she didn't know better, she'd have sworn...
Buffy screamed.
Angel and Cordelia looked at her. She was pointing at the window.
The window shattered inward as a scaled arm punched through it and started clawing at the makeshift barricade.
"Buffy! Cordelia!" Angel said. "Get into the kitchen!"
Buffy whimpered and ran to obey. Cordelia was right on her heels.
Angel ran to the foot of the stairs. "Willow! Xander! We've got company!"
"That was..."
Willow grinned. "It was, wasn't it? Wish I had a cigarette..."
"Willow!" Angel yelled. "Xander! We've got company!"
"Shit!" Willow cried. She sprang out of bed and started pulling her clothes on.
Xander didn't say a word as he did the same. He was dressed long before Willow. He grabbed her and planted a quick kiss on her lips before running out the door and down the stairs.
"So much for the afterglow," Willow muttered as she struggled with her stockings.
Xander, Willow, Angel and Cordelia walked down the street. Their eyes searched every direction, looking for Buffy.
"Are you sure she came this way?" Xander asked, holding his rifle at the ready.
"No," Angel replied, desperately scanning the shadows.
"She'll be okay," Cordelia said.
"*Buffy* would be okay," Angel snarled. "Whoever she is now, she's helpless. Come on!"
Giles pulled his car up to the curb outside Ethan's Costume Shop. He got out and looked at the sign for a moment. Then he walked up and kicked the door in.
As soon as he walked inside, he caught sight of the bust. Its eyes glowed green.
"Janus," Giles said. He looked into the shadows. "Hello, Ethan."
"Hello, Ripper," Ethan said, stepping out into the light. He smiled.
Buffy screamed as the pirate caught her and threw her against the wall of the alley. He leaned in close to kiss her, then went careening away as Xander tackled him. Buffy watched fearfully as Xander proceeded to thrash the pirate.
"Buffy!" Willow cried, running up with Angel and Cordelia. "Are you okay?"
Buffy screamed as she caught sight of Angel.
"What's your deal?" Cordelia asked. "Take a pill!"
"He's a vampire!" Buffy whimpered.
Willow and Angel exchanged a look.
Cordy sighed and turned to Angel. "She's got this thing where... Forget it." To Buffy, she said, "He's a good guy vampire. He'd never hurt you."
"Really?" Buffy breathed, looking up at Angel.
"Really," Angel promised.
Xander ran back to the group. "It's strange," he said, "but beating up that pirate gave me a weird sense of closure."
"Guys," Willow said, looking down the alley. "We have to get out of here. Now."
Spike walked down the alley towards them, a cruel smile on his face. Behind him were over a dozen demons. Some were vampires, the rest magically transformed children. They all looked hungry.
Xander grabbed his rifle from where he'd dropped it. "Ladies," he said, "we're on the move!"
The group turned and ran. Willow and Cordelia took the lead, searching desperately for some means of escape. Angel followed, carrying Buffy. Xander brought up the rear, clutching his rifle tightly and looking back frequently to keep track of the advancing demons.
"In here!" Willow yelled, heading for an open door.
The others followed her. Angel put Buffy down and helped Xander slam the door shut.
They were safe.
For the moment.
Giles glared at Ethan. "Break the spell, Ethan. Then leave this place and never come back."
Ethan's smile widened. "Why should I? What's in the bargain for me?"
"You get to live."
"Oh, Rupert, you're scaring me..."
Giles took a step forward and drove his knee into Ethan's groin. Ethan gasped in pain and doubled over. Giles punched him in the face, knocking him to the floor.
"Go!" Xander yelled, as the demons broke through the door he was trying to hold closed. He ran after his friends, darting glances over his shoulder at the oncoming demons.
Spike smiled as he led the pursuit.
"And you said the Ripper was long gone," Ethan wheezed from the floor.
"Tell me how to stop the spell," Giles demanded.
"Say 'pretty please.'"
Giles kicked him in the kidney. Ethan screamed and tried to crawl away. Giles kicked him again.
"Tell me how to stop the spell!"
"Janus," Ethan gasped. "Break the statue."
Giles grabbed the statue and sent it crashing to the floor.
Xander stared at the toy his M-16 had become. "What the...?"
The majority of Spike's demonic henchmen suddenly turned human. The younger kids started crying and screaming for their mothers.
Spike glanced over his shoulder at them, then turned to regard the wig he found dangling from his hand.
Buffy smiled at him. "Hi, honey. I'm home!"
She punched him in the stomach, then the face, then kicked him in the chest. He staggered back into a pile of crates, but came up swinging with a pipe he grabbed from the floor.
Buffy caught the end of the pipe and used it to swing him into the wall. She hit him in the jaw and stomach with it. Spike doubled over in pain.
"It's good to be me," Buffy said, then swung the pipe up into Spike's chin. He flew back onto some crates, then slid off onto the floor.
Giles turned back to Ethan. He was gone.
Buffy turned back to her friends after Spike ran off.
"Hey, Buff," Xander said. "Welcome back."
"Yeah!" the Slayer said. "You, too."
"You guys remember what happened?" Cordelia asked.
"It was really weird," Xander said. "Like I was there, but couldn't..."
He stopped talking. All the color drained from his face.
"Willow," he breathed, spinning around to look for her.
His best friend was gone.
Buffy walked into school alone. Xander and Willow hadn't met her outside, the way they normally did. Something was going on between them. Something that had happened Friday night, during the Halloween Fiasco, as she had taken to calling it. Willow had run off as soon as everything had gone back to normal. Xander had been quiet and distant as he'd helped get the confused children home.
Buffy had called both of them Saturday morning. They had assured her they were fine, but Buffy knew they were lying. She was worried about them. She had spent Saturday and Sunday in LA with her father, so she hadn't been able to check up on them in person. She had hoped to see them before school started, like she usually did.
Making her way to the library, Buffy walked in to see Giles standing alone at the counter.
"Hey," she said.
"Oh, hello, Buffy. How was your visit with your father?"
"Good," Buffy shrugged. "Weird night the other night, huh?"
"Quite," Giles said, with a shaky smile.
"Did you ever figure out who that guy Ethan was?"
"No," Giles said, taking off his glasses and polishing them. "I have no idea."
"Oh, well. I just hope he doesn't come back."
"As do I," Giles said.
"Yeah. Have you seen Xander or Willow?"
"No," Giles answered. "They usually come in with you."
"I haven't seen them all weekend, and they weren't outside waiting this morning."
"Perhaps they're already in class. Which is where you should be."
Buffy laughed. "Yeah, that's probably it. I'll see you later, Giles."
"Goodbye."
Willow wasn't in History first period. Buffy hurried to the second period English class that she shared with Xander. She didn't enter the classroom, just looked in the door. He wasn't there. She waited until the bell rang, but still no Xander.
<Something's wrong.>
She ran all the way to the library.
"Giles!" she yelled, bursting through the doors.
"What is it?" he asked, alarmed. "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine," Buffy said. "It's Willow and Xander. They're both out today."
"Oh," Giles said, calming down. "I don't see what the... Actually, that is rather odd, isn't it?"
"It's way odd," Buffy confirmed. "Especially for Willow. Could they be sick because of what happened the other night?"
"That's possible, certainly," Giles said slowly, "though I'd expect you to be feeling poorly, as well. Perhaps your enhanced immune system was enough to fight off whatever it is that's affecting Willow and Xander."
"Yeah, that makes sense. I should go check on them."
"Wait," Giles said. "Willow can't be sick. At least, not due to anything that happened on Halloween. She wasn't affected by the spell the way you and Xander were."
"Something happened to her," Buffy insisted. "She took off as soon as the spell was broken, and I haven't seen her since. Xander was acting weird, too. I'm going to go talk to them, okay? Can you cover for me here?"
"I... Yes," Giles said, sensing her concern and feeling more than a bit worried himself. "Go. Let me know if anything is wrong."
"I will," Buffy promised. She turned and ran out of the library.
Buffy rang the doorbell again. She was starting to think that Willow wasn't home. Just as she was about to give up and go over to Xander's, the door opened.
"Hey," Willow said listlessly. She looked horrible. And tired. She could barely hold herself upright, and her eyes were red from crying.
"Hey," Buffy said. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Willow whispered.
<Why do I doubt that?> Buffy thought. "Can I come in?" she asked.
Willow shrugged and walked into the house. Buffy followed her up the stairs and into her bedroom. Willow collapsed on her bed and clutched her stuffed frog tightly against her chest.
"What's wrong, Will? And don't say 'nothing!'"
Willow closed her mouth and remained silent.
Buffy sat down on the bed and gently stroked Willow's hair. "Giles and I were afraid it was some weird side effect of the spell, but he reminded me that you weren't affected by it, so that couldn't be it. Then..."
"I was," Willow whispered.
"Was what?" Buffy asked, confused.
"The spell," Willow explained. "It did affect me."
"What? But you didn't change, Will. I was Lady Scream-A-Lot, and Xander was Soldier-Guy, but you were just yourself."
"Only trampy."
"Huh?"
"Be yourself," Willow said, "only trampy. The choker and makeup were from the costume shop."
"Yeah, I remember," Buffy said. "But I don't get it. I thought they weren't enough to do anything."
"They were."
"But what did they do? I don't... Oh, God," she breathed, looking down at Willow in shock.
"Yeah," Willow confirmed, her voice dead. "Trampy-Willow and Soldier-Guy Xander."
"Oh, Will," Buffy whispered, shifting so she was lying down next to her friend. She pulled Willow into her arms.
Willow resisted at first, then broke down. She clutched at Buffy and sobbed, burying her head in Buffy's shoulder.
Buffy held Willow close and rocked her back and forth. "It's okay," she whispered. "I'm here. I've got you. It's okay."
Her mind raced. If Willow was feeling like this, what about Xander? He must be feeling the same way. She couldn't help him, though. Not without abandoning Willow.
<What do I do?> she thought. <I don't know what to do!>
Xander was lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling, when the phone rang.
He ignored it. One of his parents would get it. If they were home. He wasn't sure. It didn't matter.
"Xander?" Buffy's voice said, when the machine picked up. "Xander, it's Buffy. Pick up the phone. Please?"
Xander could hear the anxiety and concern in Buffy's voice. He didn't move. Buffy hung up.
The phone rang again.
Xander sighed. He reached over and picked up the receiver. He held it to his ear but didn't say anything.
"Xander?" Buffy asked. "Are you there?"
"Yeah," Xander rasped, then coughed. His voice was rusty. He hadn't seen or spoken to anyone all weekend.
"I'm at Willow's," Buffy said.
Xander squeezed his eyes shut to hold the tears in. "How... How is she?"
"She looks about the way you sound," Buffy said. "She's asleep now, which is good. I don't think she slept much this weekend."
"I know the feeling."
"Yeah. Listen, I know what happened. It was the spell, Xander. It's not your fault. Not Willow's, either."
Xander laughed. It came out as a sob. "I know that, Buff. It doesn't help."
"I know," Buffy said, clearly distressed. "Xander, I don't know what to do. I don't know how to help you guys."
"Don't worry about me. Stay with Willow. She needs you more than I do."
"I don't know if that's true..." Buffy began.
"I do," Xander said. "She's going to blame herself. You can't let her do that."
"I won't," Buffy promised. "I'll try not to."
"Good," Xander said. "Good."
"You shouldn't blame yourself, either."
"I know," Xander said. He did know, but it didn't help.
"I want to come over," Buffy said. "I want to see you."
Xander smiled slightly at the concern he could hear in Buffy's voice. "No," he said. "Stay with Will. She's the one I'm worried about."
"But..."
"Buff, if you want to help me, make sure that Willow's okay. That's all I care about right now."
Buffy was silent for a moment, then said, "I think she's waking up."
"You should go."
"Yeah," Buffy said. "Xander, you call me if you need me, okay? Over here or at home. Whenever."
"I will."
"Promise me!"
"I promise," Xander lied. "Go take care of Willow."
"Okay," Buffy said. "It's going to get better, Xander. It will."
"Sure," Xander said. "Bye, Buff."
"Goodbye."
Xander carefully hung up the phone and sighed in relief.
Buffy was with Willow. Willow was going to be okay.
He curled up into a ball and let the tears overwhelm him.