"Hey Willow!"
Willow turned and broke into a grin. "Hi Oz!"
Oz sat down next to her. "What're you doing this weekend?"
Willow shrugged. "I'm supposed to help Giles organize a box of books on Saturday....why?"
"Well, my mom is going on a weekend retreat...And I'd like to see you."
Willow backed away slightly. "Um....Oz....I don't know if I'm ready...."
Oz frowned for a second, then laughed. "Not that. It's a full moon this Saturday."
"Oh!" Willow blushed slightly. "Right. You're going to need someone to make sure you're...."
Oz nodded. "Exactly. You could just come over before dark."
Willow thought for a second, then nodded. "I'll see you tonight then?"
Oz smiled. "Thanks." He turned towards his lunch and pulled out his usual snack. "Monkey?"
Willow rang the doorbell, waiting nervously.
A tall red-haired woman answered the door, smiling. "Hi, you must be Willow. I'm Maureen, Oz's aunt."
Willow nodded. "Oh...Hi!"
Maureen opened the door. "Come on in." She turned towards the stairs. "Oz! Willow's here!"
Oz walked down the stairs. "Hey Willow," he said softly.
Maureen smiled, then picked up a small suitcase. "Eileen!" she shouted up the stairs. "Come on, we're gonna be late!"
Oz's mother made her way down the stairs carrying several small bags. "Okay, we're going to be gone until Monday morning. You have the number of the retreat." She paused for a second, catching her breath. "Oh, hi Willow," she said. "Call if there are any problems."
"Eileen! Let's go!" yelled Maureen from the front yard.
"Okay, I'll see you on Monday, Oz. Bye!" His mother ran out the door.
Willow turned to Oz. "Hi," she said quietly.
Oz smiled. "They're going to another self-awareness retreat up in the hills. Aunt Maureen says it helps her get over the divorce."
Willow nodded. "Right." She looked out the window. "It's...It's getting dark outside."
Oz moved closer to Willow and looked out the window with her, wrapping an arm around her waist. "You're right." He turned towards her. "I set up the basement for tonight. All you'll have to do is lock up the basement door before the moon rises and then unlock it in the morning."
"Great!" she said brightly. She leaned back against him for a second, then moved away. "You....you should get going..." she said softly.
Oz nodded. "I know." He began to walk towards the basement.
"Hey wait..." said Willow. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him softly. After some time, she broke away. "You really should be going," she said, a bit breathlessly.
Oz sighed and walked down into the basement. "I'll see you tomorrow then," he said quietly.
"Yeah," she said before closing and locking the door.
Willow sighed and leaned up against the door. "A werewolf for a boyfriend," she muttered to herself. She made sure that the locks were secure, grabbed her backpack, and prepared to leave.
Suddenly, the doorbell rang. Willow jumped for a second, then ran to open the door.
A frazzled looking man stood there. "Where's Oz?" he asked.
"He's....in the basement...getting...some snacks, yeah..." Willow blustered.
The man frowned, then shook it off. "Whatever. I'm dropping Jordy off." A little boy walked in, clutching a small backpack. "Tell Maureen that I'm too busy to watch him this weekend."
"But....but..." Willow stammered.
"Bye," said the man before walking back to the car.
"Hey....but....um...." Willow watched the car leave. "Great," she muttered under her breath. She turned and faced Jordy. "Um...hi, I'm Willow, Oz's...friend."
The little boy just looked up at her, his face pale. "My tummy hurts," he said quietly.
"Oh no," said Willow as comfortingly as she could get. "I'll...I'll be right back. You stay right here, okay?" She walked back towards the basement and unlocked the door. "Oz?" she asked quietly.
There was no answer. She opened the door slightly. "Oz?" she said again, a bit louder.
The door suddenly slammed against her, a clawed hand reaching around for her neck. She screamed and tried to put all her weight on the door.
The werewolf slammed against the door, nearly dislodging her from her place. Willow slammed her body against the door again and quickly slid the lock into place.
She leaned against the door, breathing heavily. Suddenly, she heard the front door open. "Jordy?" she said. She made her way to the living room. "Jordy?"
The front door was wide open. Jordy's backpack was on the ground next to....Willow picked up one of the crumpled pieces of clothing. "Oh no...." she said.
She heard a yipping noise from the outside. She looked out on the front porch. "Jordy?" she said again, a bit hopeful.
The were-puppy yipped and scampered out into the yard.
"Jordy! Come back here!" Willow ran out into the front yard, trying to catch the puppy. "Jordy!"
The puppy yipped and ran around the front yard.
Willow suddenly had an idea. She dashed back into the house, and ran into the kitchen. After a minute of raiding the fridge, she ran back outside. "Jordy...." she crooned. She held out a leftover pork chop. "Jordy...."
Jordy sniffed the air and warily took a step towards Willow.
"That's a good boy....Come here..."
Jordy took a few more steps towards her.
"Come on Jordy...Come on..."
Suddenly, there was a loud hiss. Jordy jumped back, his eyes darting around quickly. He focused behind Willow and growled. Willow whirled around.
A cat tensed and yowled before running off into the bushes. Jordy barked and followed it.
"Jordy! No!" Willow lunged for the puppy, but only grazed his leg. The puppy's bark grew fainter the further he went.
Buffy grabbed a nail file and started filing her nails again. It was already dark and she could see the almost-full moon outside of her window. Her shut and locked window, with holy water carefully dabbed along the window sill. She sighed and tried to distract herself from that particular train of thought. She was luckily saved by the phone ringing.
"Willow, you're late! You can't be locking lips now, he's got to be a total wolf now." She paused for a second, listening. "His cousin?" She listened some more. "Okay, you stay there. I'll try Cordy's cell phone. We'll organize a search. I'll be over in a bit, okay?"
Buffy hung up the phone and grabbed her bag, first checking to see if she had all her necessary slaying material. You can never be too careful, she thought to herself. She grabbed the phone and started dialing.
Cordelia closed her eyes and tried to ignore the ringing she heard. Xander broke the kiss. "Is it just me, or do you hear bells?" he breathed into her ear.
Cordelia swore under her breath and grabbed her cell phone. "Yes?" she said sharply. "Buffy, where did you get this number?" Cordelia frowned when she saw Xander's lips mouth the word "Buffy". "I think I would have remembered giving you my number. No...okay....What? But I'm busy! All right, all right. We'll be there. Bye." She closed up the phone.
Xander looked at his girlfriend. "What's up?"
Cordelia frowned and sighed. "Something about Willow, werewolves, and Oz's cousin. We're supposed to go over to Oz's house right now."
Xander fell back into his seat. "So much for tonight," he said under his breath.
They sat in the car for a second, attempting to slow their breathing and re-gain control of their hormones. Cordelia sighed and turned on the ignition. "Okay...Where's his house again?"
Willow paced around the house, trying to ignore the growlings she heard from behind the basement door. "Come on come on come on come on..." she said to herself, an almost calming mantra.
The doorbell rang. Willow rushed to the door. "Buffy! Thank God you're here!" she said relieved. "We have to find Jordy!"
Buffy nodded and grasped Willow's shoulders. "We are. Just calm down, Will. Now what happened?"
Willow took a few gulps of air and told Buffy the entire story. Buffy nodded while scoping out the house. "All right. We'll just wait for Cordy and Xander to show up —"
"We're here now," said Xander, breezing in and attempting to smooth down his rumpled clothing. "So what's up?"
Buffy took a deep breath. "Oz's three-year-old cousin is a werewolf and he's gotten loose. We have to find him."
Xander nodded, unfazed. "All right. What does he look like?"
The trio looked at Willow. "He....he looks just like Oz did...as a werewolf....but smaller...with brown fur."
Cordelia sighed. "So I gave up my evening to look for a puppy? I hate dogs!"
"Cordelia, can you possibly stop thinking about yourself for a second?" Xander snapped, an almost trained response. He turned to Willow. "Okay," he said crisply. "Which way did he go?"
Willow pointed towards the shubbery in the far corner of the yard. "That way, towards the beach."
Buffy nodded. "All right. Cordelia, you scope out the beach. Xander, try the docks. Willow, you look around the neighborhood. I'll check out the park. We'll meet back here in an hour. Okay?"
The group nodded and broke apart.
Angelus walked the streets of Sunnydale, out on the hunt. His dark eyes glittered in the moonlight, rimmed by darker smudges of black eyeliner. It was a good night. He could smell the young flesh in the air — sweet, innocent high school girl, smelling of cheap perfume and new-found sexuality — just like his "precious" Buffy. He inhaled deeply and grinned. Oh yeah...it was going to be a GREAT night.
He crossed the street quickly, making his way to the Bronze. It was always good to visit the local meat market....with the girls so young and fresh and pure —
A loud yipping noise interrupted his train of though. Angelus looked down.
A small dog-like creature crouched in front of him, panting eagerly. Angelus glared at the creature, who seemed to be oblivious.
He sneered. "Stupid animal," he muttered under his breath. He raised his foot and gave it a swift, decisive kick.
The creature howled and ran off into the bushes, still barking loudly. Angelus grinned and resumed his stroll to the Bronze.
"I looked all around the docks. A few rats, some dead fish, but no were-puppies," said Xander tiredly. "How about you?"
Willow shook her head. "I looked everywhere...Oz is going to be so sad....I've lost his baby cousin..."
Buffy then walked in, breathless. "Any luck?" Willow asked, her voice hopeful.
Buffy shook her head. "Sorry, Will. All I found was a vampire. I'm sure glad I remembered my gear."
Willow then turned towards Cordelia. "Did you see anything?"
Cordelia frowned. "No were-puppies....There was an animal control truck driving by, but that was about it..."
Buffy paled. "Animal control?"
Cordelia nodded. "Yeah...I guess someone's finally cracking down on that stray dog population."
Willow turned to Buffy, a stricken look on her face. "Oh god.....Buffy...."
Buffy nodded. "He's at the pound."
Cordelia's car pulled into the animal shelter parking lot. Buffy and Willow got out. "Okay," said Buffy. "You and Xander stay here. We'll go find Jordy, break him free, then speed on out of here. Got that?"
Xander nodded. "Good luck," he said.
Buffy and Willow quietly moved away from the car and towards the shelter. Buffy gestured towards the fence and the two friends climbed over it.
Within a minute, Willow found the cage and pointed to it. "There he is," she whispered.
Buffy followed Willow's gaze and saw the small werewolf. She also saw the lock on the door. "Come on," she said quietly.
Buffy made her way over to the cage. Once there, she studied the lock, looking for a way to open it quietly.
Unfortunately, Jordy had other ideas. He began to yip energetically, jumping up and down. Willow attempted to shush him, which only made him bark louder.
"Damn," Buffy said under her breath. She wrenched the cage door open. Jordy jumped out and right into Willow's arms.
"Gotcha!" Willow said. Jordy struggled for a minute, then howled pitifully.
A nearby dog joined Jordy in the howling, then another, then another, then another. Before the two girls could react, the entire shelter was howling.
The lights flashed on. Buffy fell into a crouch, then yelled "Run!"
Willow wrapped her arms around Jordy and sped off towards the fence. Buffy quickly scampered over the fence. "Come on, Will!" she shouted.
Willow tried to climb the fence, but Jordy struggled against her. "Stay still, Jordy!"
Buffy climbed up and bent over the fence, holding her hands out to Willow. "Give me Jordy!" she said to Willow.
Willow held up the squirming werewolf. Buffy grabbed him and jumped off onto the pavement. Willow quickly scrambled up and over the fence.
The two friends ran to Cordelia's car and jumped in. Once in, they let themselves breathe.
The door was unlocked and opened slowly. "Oz?" Willow said brightly. "Oz, it's morning..."
Oz woke up to the sound of her voice. He sat up and winced. Cold floors and bare backs did not mix. Wait a second. It wasn't just his back that was bare. "Just a minute, Willow," he said briskly, hunting for the clothing he had stashed down here.
After dressing, Oz made his way upstairs. In the kitchen, Willow stood next to the stove, busily making pancakes. "Hi!" she said again, as bright as the sunlight streaming through the window.
Oz nodded, frowning slightly. "You know, you didn't have to make me breakfast," he said.
Willow grinned and nodded. "Oh, I know, but Jordy was hungry."
Oz looked around in shock. "Jordy?"
"Hi Oz!" said the little boy, barreling into the kitchen.
"Uh...hi..." Oz frowned, trying to figure it all out. "Um...aren't you supposed to be at your dad's?"
"His dad dropped him off last night right before the moon rose."
Oz raised his eyebrows in disbelief. "You were okay, right?" he asked, placing a hand on Willow's shoulder, almost protectively.
Willow beamed. "Oh, after rescuing him from the pound, we were just fine." She turned towards him with two plates in her hand. "Now, want some pancakes?"
Night fell on Sunnydale. Vampires rose from their daylight slumber while children ran home to avoid becoming the next statistic.
Willow kissed her boyfriend sweetly, then shut and locked the basement door. She hoped he would have fun tonight romping with Jordy. Puppies could be such fun.
This Angel/Buffy the Vampire Slayer story was written by Kate Bolin. If you liked it, there's plenty more at http://www.dymphna.net/fanfic/. And you can feedback her at dymphna@dymphna.net.