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FIC: In Another Life (16/22) - BtVS/Numb3rs
Title: In Another Life (16/22+Epilogue)
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
lyl_devil
Rating: PG-15
Fandom: BtVS, Numb3rs
Pairing: Willow/Don
Beta:strangevisitor7 & kallie_kat
Words: ~38,500 (as of Jan 11, 2009)
Disclaimer: I don’t own either show. I just like to play in their sandboxes.
Summary: Every action has a consequence and every deal comes with a price. Willow’s life is wiped clean, so she makes a new one for herself in LA.
Master Post
Note: I don’t claim to know anything about magic, medicine or the FBI – what I didn’t pick up from tv and books, I made up.
~!~
Part 16
Willow stepped out into the hot afternoon sun, pausing to put on her sunglasses. She ignored the slight tremble in her hands, and turned towards the nearest park. She had a lot to think about and the rest of the afternoon to kill. She felt like this entire past year had been leading up to something, and that this was finally it. This was the day that her world was going to come crashing down, and there was nothing she could do to prevent it. Something had twisted and turned in her stomach as she woke up this morning, and Willow wished she'd just stayed in bed like she wanted.
She'd had the same feeling a few months ago, the day her therapist said, “You haven't had even the smallest memory resurface in five years, Willow. I don't think it's ever going to come back.”
She hadn't dealt with it all that well, if she were honest with herself. That last little bit of hope she hadn't realized she still carried had been crushed. Willow would forever be grateful to Don for being there to catch her when she broke down. He'd been her rock of strength for the past few years, but never more so than these past few months.
He'd even taken her on a weekend trip to the ruins of Sunnydale to help jog her memory, though it hadn't done any good.
Finally reaching the park, Willow bought herself a well-deserved ice cream and focussed on not losing any of the rapidly melting treat, rather than thinking about her recent doctor's appointment. Thinking about it meant change, and she really didn't want anything to change right now.
The past year had been perfect. Or, as perfect as one could get with limited memories. It still bothered her that in five years she hadn't had the smallest glimmer of a memory. No sense of deja-vu when walking into a new place or meeting a new person, no flashbacks to childhood or high school, or even her parents. Her parents who had visited two more times to stilted conversations and borderline hostile looks from Don and his family when the Rosenberg’s continued to deny Willow any hint of her past. But she'd come to deal with that and was content and happy now.
She had a life that she loved, and while having her memory back would be helpful, she was also scared. What if full-memory-Willow was a different person? What if she had a life waiting for her if only she could remember? What if she changed? What if Don didn't like who she turned in to? What if nobody liked who she turned into?
What if she was in love with someone else?
She had a great job, wonderful friends and a hot boyfriend who made her feel special and important. She even had a family, as Alan had decided to adopt her the instant she and Don moved in together. Don sometimes joked that his father liked Willow more than his own son.
Willow smiled at the memory as she walked. There was something about Alan that made her feel loved and important; like no matter what she did or who she became, he would always love her. She got that same feeling from Don, though it was different and more intense, but there was still some part of her that was waiting for it all to end.
Willow stood by the edge of the small lake, finishing off her ice cream. LA really did have a lot of beautiful days, and people made the most of the sunshine and warm temperatures. Willow's attention was caught by a couple of small children, too young to be in school. The little boy was chasing the little girl across the grass, screaming and yelling unintelligibly, until the girl tripped and fell. Willow watched as instead of screaming for her mother or guardian, the little girl turned a mutinous gaze on her companion which promised dire consequences.
The boy turned and ran, screaming for his mother, while the little girl just picked herself up, dusted off her grass-stained clothes, and marched innocently after him.
Willow thought it was the cutest thing she'd ever seen. They looked to be about the same age, and so were either playmates or brother and sister, maybe even twins. Twins. Now that was two major changes at the same time for the parents, and one was scary enough for Willow.
Her hand had unconsciously settled low on her abdomen, and Willow tore it away determinedly as she pushed her thoughts in a different direction. Dr Heine’s words were still ricocheting around in her head, and despite the positive test, Willow wasn’t yet prepared to deal with the consequences just yet. All she could see was her life spinning out of her control, her mind filling with a million ‘what ifs’, and feeling more terrified than she ever had before. Willow tried to pull her racing thoughts back to the present, ignoring as best she could the wild plans and fantasies – and nightmares – already spinning through her mind.
She really needed to sit down, though. The ice cream had helped, but she could still feel her legs becoming unsteady. Shock.
Really, one should not be this familiar with the condition, she told herself.
Willow went to find the nearest bench that wasn't covered in bird poop, which turned out to be harder than it should have been, and --
“Willow?”
Willow paused and looked around briefly, but saw no one she recognised.
“Oh my God! Willow!”
There was a rush of feet just before a body slammed into her, taking them both to the ground.
Willow's first panicked thought after 'ow' and 'ground, hard' and ‘oh, my head’, was that something had happened in the park and someone had pushed her to safety. Upon later reflection, she would realize that this is what comes from spending too much time around FBI agents, cops and action movies. However, the arms that were wrapped around her didn't let go, and the body didn't get up. Instead Willow felt herself being squeezed tighter.
“Get off – let go of me!” Still, Willow wasn’t released.
This was when another aspect of living with an FBI agent, and having an FBI friend who teaches krav maga comes in handy: ‘how to get away from an attacker’ lessons. Granted, there hadn't been much wrestling involved, but Willow could improvise.
Or, she thought she could. Every move she tried to get out of this strange person's hold only resulted in a tighter grip, to the point where she was seriously worried about crushed ribs and breathing problems. She tried kicking out with her legs, but that did nothing more than make her wiggle under her assailant.
It was around that time that Willow noticed three things about her attacker. One, it was a 'she'. Two, she was very, very strong. Three, and most importantly, she was trying to kiss her. A lot.
Willow had no idea what was going on, but the constant stream of 'Willow, baby, I've missed you so much' had her panic ratchet up another notch, to the point where Willow was willing to be the crazy person in the park screaming for help. Well, the second craziest, anyway.
Which is what she did, and soon there were people and police, all yelling and screaming, which led to the desired effect of having Crazy Girl release her.
Willow inched back, and watched the incredulous sight of Crazy Girl put herself in between Willow and the cops who had arrived with guns drawn. One of the cops caught her eye, motioning to the side, and Willow took his advice, slowly moving away from where Crazy Girl was facing off with two more cops. Sirens in the distance let her know that even more help was on the way, and Willow spared a thought of gratitude to the rapid response time.
“Willow, you need to stay over here, where I can protect you,” said Crazy Girl, once she noticed Willow was edging her way towards the cops with the guns and the backup and the shiny badges. She'd really prefer to see a different kind of shiny badge right now, but the FBI weren't in the habit of patrolling the streets and parks of LA – that's what the LAPD were for.
Willow didn't even bother to spare Crazy Girl a reply of any sort, just quickly sprinted behind the nearest cop and waited. Within minutes, Crazy Girl was in cuffs and looking at Willow as if she had just killed her puppy, which Willow chose to ignore. Crazy Girl – or rather, Kennedy, as she found out – had attacked Willow, not the other way around.
Talking to the police officer thirty minutes later, Willow was not any calmer. She'd given her statement to the officer, who was fully confident that there would be no problems should she wish to press charges against Kennedy. There had been more than a few people who had seen the entire fiasco, but hadn't been sure it wasn't just a very enthusiastic reunion until Willow had started to yell.
“Is there anyone you want me to call?” asked the officer, leading her over to the ambulance they'd called. Willow didn't like to think that she looked that bad.
“I got it,” she said, holding up her cell phone. He nodded and moved a short distance away – enough to give the illusion of privacy, but still close in case she needed him for anything.
Hitting speed dial, she waited for Don to pick up, and was surprised to get his voicemail. “Oh, I forgot you were in court all day. Darn. I—well, something happened, here. I'm at the park near the doctor's office, and I could really do with some Don-shaped hugs and stuff. Call me when you get out, I'll call Megan next. Bye, Don.”
Hanging up, Willow frowned, not liking how shaky and incoherent she'd sounded, and knowing Don would like it even less.
“So, lawyer?” asked the cop from beside her, and Willow drew a blank for a moment before laughing. He'd heard the word 'court' and immediately thought lawyer.
“FBI, actually,” she said, smiling slightly at the deliberately blank look that was suddenly plastered on his face.
Hitting another speed dial on her phone, Willow was grateful to hear this one answered by a real person.
“Hey, Megan.”
End Part 16
Part 17
Author:
lyl_devilRating: PG-15
Fandom: BtVS, Numb3rs
Pairing: Willow/Don
Beta:
strangevisitor7 & kallie_katWords: ~38,500 (as of Jan 11, 2009)
Disclaimer: I don’t own either show. I just like to play in their sandboxes.
Summary: Every action has a consequence and every deal comes with a price. Willow’s life is wiped clean, so she makes a new one for herself in LA.
Master Post
Note: I don’t claim to know anything about magic, medicine or the FBI – what I didn’t pick up from tv and books, I made up.
~!~
Part 16
Willow stepped out into the hot afternoon sun, pausing to put on her sunglasses. She ignored the slight tremble in her hands, and turned towards the nearest park. She had a lot to think about and the rest of the afternoon to kill. She felt like this entire past year had been leading up to something, and that this was finally it. This was the day that her world was going to come crashing down, and there was nothing she could do to prevent it. Something had twisted and turned in her stomach as she woke up this morning, and Willow wished she'd just stayed in bed like she wanted.
She'd had the same feeling a few months ago, the day her therapist said, “You haven't had even the smallest memory resurface in five years, Willow. I don't think it's ever going to come back.”
She hadn't dealt with it all that well, if she were honest with herself. That last little bit of hope she hadn't realized she still carried had been crushed. Willow would forever be grateful to Don for being there to catch her when she broke down. He'd been her rock of strength for the past few years, but never more so than these past few months.
He'd even taken her on a weekend trip to the ruins of Sunnydale to help jog her memory, though it hadn't done any good.
Finally reaching the park, Willow bought herself a well-deserved ice cream and focussed on not losing any of the rapidly melting treat, rather than thinking about her recent doctor's appointment. Thinking about it meant change, and she really didn't want anything to change right now.
The past year had been perfect. Or, as perfect as one could get with limited memories. It still bothered her that in five years she hadn't had the smallest glimmer of a memory. No sense of deja-vu when walking into a new place or meeting a new person, no flashbacks to childhood or high school, or even her parents. Her parents who had visited two more times to stilted conversations and borderline hostile looks from Don and his family when the Rosenberg’s continued to deny Willow any hint of her past. But she'd come to deal with that and was content and happy now.
She had a life that she loved, and while having her memory back would be helpful, she was also scared. What if full-memory-Willow was a different person? What if she had a life waiting for her if only she could remember? What if she changed? What if Don didn't like who she turned in to? What if nobody liked who she turned into?
What if she was in love with someone else?
She had a great job, wonderful friends and a hot boyfriend who made her feel special and important. She even had a family, as Alan had decided to adopt her the instant she and Don moved in together. Don sometimes joked that his father liked Willow more than his own son.
Willow smiled at the memory as she walked. There was something about Alan that made her feel loved and important; like no matter what she did or who she became, he would always love her. She got that same feeling from Don, though it was different and more intense, but there was still some part of her that was waiting for it all to end.
Willow stood by the edge of the small lake, finishing off her ice cream. LA really did have a lot of beautiful days, and people made the most of the sunshine and warm temperatures. Willow's attention was caught by a couple of small children, too young to be in school. The little boy was chasing the little girl across the grass, screaming and yelling unintelligibly, until the girl tripped and fell. Willow watched as instead of screaming for her mother or guardian, the little girl turned a mutinous gaze on her companion which promised dire consequences.
The boy turned and ran, screaming for his mother, while the little girl just picked herself up, dusted off her grass-stained clothes, and marched innocently after him.
Willow thought it was the cutest thing she'd ever seen. They looked to be about the same age, and so were either playmates or brother and sister, maybe even twins. Twins. Now that was two major changes at the same time for the parents, and one was scary enough for Willow.
Her hand had unconsciously settled low on her abdomen, and Willow tore it away determinedly as she pushed her thoughts in a different direction. Dr Heine’s words were still ricocheting around in her head, and despite the positive test, Willow wasn’t yet prepared to deal with the consequences just yet. All she could see was her life spinning out of her control, her mind filling with a million ‘what ifs’, and feeling more terrified than she ever had before. Willow tried to pull her racing thoughts back to the present, ignoring as best she could the wild plans and fantasies – and nightmares – already spinning through her mind.
She really needed to sit down, though. The ice cream had helped, but she could still feel her legs becoming unsteady. Shock.
Really, one should not be this familiar with the condition, she told herself.
Willow went to find the nearest bench that wasn't covered in bird poop, which turned out to be harder than it should have been, and --
“Willow?”
Willow paused and looked around briefly, but saw no one she recognised.
“Oh my God! Willow!”
There was a rush of feet just before a body slammed into her, taking them both to the ground.
Willow's first panicked thought after 'ow' and 'ground, hard' and ‘oh, my head’, was that something had happened in the park and someone had pushed her to safety. Upon later reflection, she would realize that this is what comes from spending too much time around FBI agents, cops and action movies. However, the arms that were wrapped around her didn't let go, and the body didn't get up. Instead Willow felt herself being squeezed tighter.
“Get off – let go of me!” Still, Willow wasn’t released.
This was when another aspect of living with an FBI agent, and having an FBI friend who teaches krav maga comes in handy: ‘how to get away from an attacker’ lessons. Granted, there hadn't been much wrestling involved, but Willow could improvise.
Or, she thought she could. Every move she tried to get out of this strange person's hold only resulted in a tighter grip, to the point where she was seriously worried about crushed ribs and breathing problems. She tried kicking out with her legs, but that did nothing more than make her wiggle under her assailant.
It was around that time that Willow noticed three things about her attacker. One, it was a 'she'. Two, she was very, very strong. Three, and most importantly, she was trying to kiss her. A lot.
Willow had no idea what was going on, but the constant stream of 'Willow, baby, I've missed you so much' had her panic ratchet up another notch, to the point where Willow was willing to be the crazy person in the park screaming for help. Well, the second craziest, anyway.
Which is what she did, and soon there were people and police, all yelling and screaming, which led to the desired effect of having Crazy Girl release her.
Willow inched back, and watched the incredulous sight of Crazy Girl put herself in between Willow and the cops who had arrived with guns drawn. One of the cops caught her eye, motioning to the side, and Willow took his advice, slowly moving away from where Crazy Girl was facing off with two more cops. Sirens in the distance let her know that even more help was on the way, and Willow spared a thought of gratitude to the rapid response time.
“Willow, you need to stay over here, where I can protect you,” said Crazy Girl, once she noticed Willow was edging her way towards the cops with the guns and the backup and the shiny badges. She'd really prefer to see a different kind of shiny badge right now, but the FBI weren't in the habit of patrolling the streets and parks of LA – that's what the LAPD were for.
Willow didn't even bother to spare Crazy Girl a reply of any sort, just quickly sprinted behind the nearest cop and waited. Within minutes, Crazy Girl was in cuffs and looking at Willow as if she had just killed her puppy, which Willow chose to ignore. Crazy Girl – or rather, Kennedy, as she found out – had attacked Willow, not the other way around.
Talking to the police officer thirty minutes later, Willow was not any calmer. She'd given her statement to the officer, who was fully confident that there would be no problems should she wish to press charges against Kennedy. There had been more than a few people who had seen the entire fiasco, but hadn't been sure it wasn't just a very enthusiastic reunion until Willow had started to yell.
“Is there anyone you want me to call?” asked the officer, leading her over to the ambulance they'd called. Willow didn't like to think that she looked that bad.
“I got it,” she said, holding up her cell phone. He nodded and moved a short distance away – enough to give the illusion of privacy, but still close in case she needed him for anything.
Hitting speed dial, she waited for Don to pick up, and was surprised to get his voicemail. “Oh, I forgot you were in court all day. Darn. I—well, something happened, here. I'm at the park near the doctor's office, and I could really do with some Don-shaped hugs and stuff. Call me when you get out, I'll call Megan next. Bye, Don.”
Hanging up, Willow frowned, not liking how shaky and incoherent she'd sounded, and knowing Don would like it even less.
“So, lawyer?” asked the cop from beside her, and Willow drew a blank for a moment before laughing. He'd heard the word 'court' and immediately thought lawyer.
“FBI, actually,” she said, smiling slightly at the deliberately blank look that was suddenly plastered on his face.
Hitting another speed dial on her phone, Willow was grateful to hear this one answered by a real person.
“Hey, Megan.”
End Part 16
Part 17