Willow's Child

AN: My first Buffy fic. This is set three years after Chosen, the Scoobies are living near the Cleveland hellmouth that Giles mentioned.

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Buffy was returning home from yet another successfull patrol. She walked through the door and almost bumped straight into Willow, who was heading out the other way. She frowned.

"Going somewhere Wil?"

"Just taking a walk" said Willow, giving one of her trademark lopsided grins as she pulled on a jacket.

"This late? Again?" Buffy asked, thinking of how often the witch had slipped off on her own at night in the three years since they had moved to Cleveland, and more specifically, since her break-up with Kennedy, which had happened not long after the move. "If you love late night walks so much you could always come on patrol with me." Willow shook her head, smile fading slightly.

"I kinda wanna be alone Buff" she said, walking out the door. "Dawnie went to bed a while ago. Don't bother waiting up for me."

"Okay" said Buffy, with a hint of concern. "Be careful, Wil. And don't fall asleep under a tree and forget to come home again. You know how totally freaked everyone was last time you did that. Giles almost declared a magical state of emergency."

"I won't. See ya later." The red-head headed off down the street, and Buffy watched her until she turned the corner, then closed the door. She sighed. The slayer was worried about her friend. Around everyone else, Willow appeared to be the same kind, friendly, happy-go-lucky member of the Scooby gang that she had always been. But when she was alone, or thought she was alone, she became a different person. Willow hadn't been happy, Buffy thought, truly happy, since before Tara had died. Sighing again, Buffy, heading to her bedroom, climbed the stairs to the second floor of the house she shared with Willow, Dawn, and sometimes Faith. The dark slayer would turn up on her doorstep at least once every few months, but she never stayed longer than a week or two at a time, no matter how much Buffy tried to convince her to stay. There was no good reason why she shouldn't, because as a reward for her help battling the First Evil, the Watcher's council, along with a little magical help from Willow, made Faith's criminal record non-existent. Buffy entered her room and flopped onto the bed. Suddenly, she and the whole room, were engulfed in a brilliant, blinding white light.

"What the hell?! What's going on?!" Buffy cried.

"Slayer" said a voice, which sounded as though it was coming from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. "You're tenth anniversary in your position approaches."

"Well, yes, it is actually" Said Buffy, trying to regain her composure, "But who, or what are you, and why do you care?"

"Very few slayers reach this milestone" said the voice. "I am a representative of the powers that be. We are offering you a gift in return for your ten years of service. Slayer, we are offering you one, pottentially life altering wish. You have a week to decide what you want"

The light disappeared as quickly as it had come, and Buffy was left sitting in shock. She shook her head, and took a second to gather her thoughts. All she came up with was this:

"I gotta call Giles"

AN: Parts of this story are based on Joss Whedon's "wish" idea, but not closely. I've toyed with it a little.