Disclaimer in part 1.
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“Oh honey, I’m so glad. Yeah. I’ve missed you too.” Xander paced the library as he talked to his girlfriend. “I don’t know. I’ve tried everything I can think of. But I just can’t find an answer. I can explain more when you’re here. Do you need me to pick you up? Okay. Okay, I’ll see you then. Bye baby.” Xander let out a sigh of relief when he hung up the phone. At least he wouldn’t be so alone any more. He’d never been so scared. Before, there had been somebody else to fall back on. To lean on. This time, there was just himself. And if he screwed up, nobody else could fix it.
He looked up at the sound of the doors opening. His feet started moving automatically. Now he knew he wasn’t alone.
Willow felt herself being folded in her best friend’s arms. She hadn’t realised how much she’d missed this, until she got it back. She pulled away from Xander. “How is he?”
“I don’t know. They won’t let me see him.” He looked across at the other occupant. “Hey Oz. Thanks for bringing her back.”
“Hey, I was in the area anyway.”
“Yeah, by about 200 miles.” Willow smiled at her boyfriend. His answering grin warmed her chilled heart. As long as she had him and Xander, she’ll cope. Then she remembered why she was upset at the other Slayerette this time. “Why didn’t you call me?”
“Giles wouldn’t let me. He said he didn’t want any of you to know. How did you guys find out?”
Oz volunteered the explanation “I read it in a newspaper. Seems the arrest of a High School Librarian is national news.”
“Yeah. Cordy just rang. She heard about it in Europe, of all places. She’s coming back, by the way.”
“I’m so glad.” Willow found she meant it. Who would have thought that she and Cordelia would become friends? “So. What now?”
They moved towards the research table. It was obvious Xander had already been hard at work. “I don’t know. I’ve tried everything I can think of. They were hinting at charging him with Miss Calendar’s and Kendra’s murders too.”
Willow knew how much that would have hurt their Watcher. “Oh no. Poor Giles.”
Oz found he was curious about one thing. “Do we know who brought the charges up against him?”
“They’re not saying. But I have an idea, yeah. The problem is, it all comes down to one thing.”
Willow looked down at Xander’s notes. “What’s that?”
“We have to find Buffy.”
“Try looking behind you.”