Fireflies

"We're almost there." Oz informed Willow as he wheeled her through the sleepy streets of Sunnydale. It was mid-June, a time when, for some reason or another, almost all of Sunnydale's inhabitants were either out of town or staying inside, and the streets were almost always empty.

"Can I open my eyes yet?" Willow asked from her place in her wheelchair. She'd been walking a lot in the past week, but the doctors still insisted that she stay in it if she was going to be out for a long period of time.

"Nope, keep 'em closed just a little longer." He said, his voice light. He hadn't seen her in this good of a mood since... *No.* He promised himself. *You aren't going to think about Buffy, and you're going to try and keep Willow from thinking about her, too.*

Ever since Buffy had left, the vampire activity had seriously decreased. They'd finished school, and on the last day, a couple days after they'd discovered Buffy had run away, Willow got... well, it could be called a letter. From Buffy. All it said was "I'm sorry." They hadn't heard from her for nearly a week, and were beginning to get really worried. That had also slowed Willow's healing process. That, and the spell she'd performed. Oz didn't care how much Willow insisted that it hadn't hurt her, he knew it had. She'd been so tired lately... and her mother had actually called him and pleaded him to get her out of the house that night. So he'd come.

"You know..." Willow said, non-chalantly. "Xander actually seems really UNHAPPY that Cordelia is leaving on vacation tommorow..." She trailed off. "A year ago, he would've been paying money and driving him to the airport himself..."

*We've all changed this year.* She thought. *Xander, Cordelia, Giles, Buffy...* She thought sadly. *Even me.*

"I guess she's not THAT bad anymore..." She finished.

"She has her moments." Oz agreed. Truth was, even he was upset about Cordelia leaving. He knew that Xander would have more time to think about Willow... to think about loving her. *He didn't mean it like that...* Oz tried to assure himself, remembering the little 'confession' he'd over heard outside Willow's hospital room, right before she'd awoken. Xander's words echoed in his mind. *He doesn't love her like that... like I do... she's his best friend...*

"Oz?" Willow sounded worried. "Are you okay?" Her voice brought him out of his own thoughts, and he smiled lightly, wheeling her into the Sunnydale park.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He assured her. "Sorry, just thinking."

"It's okay." She said.

"We're here." He said, and he stopped, surveying the empty playground. "You can open your eyes."

Willow did so, and her mouth slowly turned into a smile as she looked around. "Oh, I haven't been here in years!" She said, looking up at her boyfriend.

"Just wanted to take you somewhere... out of the way."

"We haven't really had much time together." She said, sounding almost guilty.

"We've all had a lot to deal with." He said. "But tonight, you have the option of putting that in the back of your mind for awhile."

Willow smiled at him. *He's so sweet... really worried about me.* She thought. "I think I'll do that." She said. He smiled back.

*Oh good.*

"So... what do you want to do first?" He asked. Willow looked around the playground.

"Well, hopscotch is out." She said, and Oz laughed. "Hmm... would you push me on the swings?"

"Of course." He said, and he walked around to the front of her wheelchair and picked her up in his arms, carrying her over to the set of swings a few yards away, Willow giggling. He set her down in one, and then walked behind her, waiting for her to get situated in the seat before he began to gently push her, and she slowly began to swing back and forth. Her giggles got louder and more frequent, and he couldn't keep the smile off of his face. She sounded actually... happy. Her voice echoed through the twilight-lit park, a few fireflies the only other disturbances to the perfectly clear air. Finally, Willow began to slowly come down, and when her swing had finally stopped, she slowly stood up. Oz immediatly made a movement to help her, but Willow stopped him with a movement of her hand.

"I can do it." She said. "I wanna try."

Oz sighed, but stepped back, willing to give her a shot. She was trying to get better. When she was in safe distance from the swings, Oz strode to meet her, and she took his hand as they walked over to the jungle gym on the other side of the playground. Willow climbed on top, signaling for Oz to come with her. He grinned, and fought to keep up with her as she scrambled to the top and sat.

"It's so pretty up here." She said, looking up at the sky, which was beginning to be dotted with stars.

"It's peaceful." He agreed.

"Do you..." She trailed off, looking down in her lap. "Do you think Buffy can see the stars, too?" She looked at him, her eyes wide, hopeful.

He touched her hand, smiling lightly at her. "I think she can... wherever she is." Willow leaned against Oz's shoulder, and Oz put his arm around hers.

"Do you think she's okay?" Willow asked.

"I do." He said truthfully. "I mean... I didn't know her that well, but I can tell she's strong, and I think she can take her of herself."

"But she's all alone..." Willow said, a tear rolling down her cheek. "I just wish I knew where she was."

"She'll come back when she's ready." He said. "Or we'll find her."

"Yeah." Willow said, not fully assured.

"Yeah." Oz repeated, his voice soothing.

Willow picked her head up and looked him in the eyes. "Thank you, Oz."

Oz blushed slightly. "For what?"

"For everything... for wheeling me around this past week and being there when I woke up and... just for being there." She smiled at him. "You're my first boyfriend that's not a demon... and... and I..." She trailed off. "I really care about you." She looked down in her lap. "A lot." She added.

Oz smiled at her, his eyes taking a dreamy look. "I care about you, too." He said. "And... thank you for being the wonderful person that you are."

Willow looked up at her, her eyes shining. She leaned over and gently pressed her lips against his. He kissed her back, his hand moving to support her back and make sure they didn't fall off of the large playground structure. Finally, after a few long moments, they pulled away, smiling at eachother.

"It's getting dark." Oz said. "We should go... just to be safe."

Willow nodded, and the couple started to make their way down the jungle gym, fireflies occasionally lighting their way. After they were both down, Willow took Oz's hand in hers as they slowly walked back to her wheelchair, which she sat down in. Then Oz proceeded to push her out of the park and towards her house.

*Things are going to be okay.* He thought to himself. *Regardless of Xander, or Buffy, or... anything...* As if to reassure him, Willow looked up at him and smiled that beautiful smile of hers that always stopped his heart.

"So what does the monkey always say?" She asked, jokingly. Oz laughed.

* * *

The end