Accidents Do Happen...Sometimes

Buffy paced in her room. She hadn't heard from Giles in a full day...and she was starting to get worried.

Willow looked up from her desk where she was doing her homework, and shook her head and sighed. She stared at her blonde roommate for a moment. She had recently come to terms with her...lesbianism, bisexuality? Willow didn't quite understand it yet, but she could see what so many others had.

It was odd to finally understand what Xander and Angel had both seen in her...at least, in a physical sense. But now, Willow was surprised she hadn't seen it all along.

Buffy was stunning. Even when she was just wearing an every day outfit. It was a calf length, soft suede skirt, with a black punk t-shirt and brown ankle boots. On anyone else it might have seemed a bit oddly matched, but on her it looked good and complimented her petite frame.

Willow turned back to her homework for a moment, her thoughts drifting to Giles.

She remembered when she'd had her crush on him...actually, she would never admit it to anyone, but it was still sorta there. He was a good-looking guy...at least, when he wasn't trying to hide behind his glasses and his tweed.

He didn't wear it every day, anymore, but whenever they met as a group, he pulled a tweed jacket on, as if trying to make himself look older than he was. Willow had done her research when she had first met him, and she knew how old he was. He was only thirty-nine years old...and then she realized.

He made himself look older because he was the adult in the group. She knew how hard it must be to realize that they were becoming adults too.

It was too bad, she figured. Willow would bet anything that he would look amazing in an all black ensemble. Black jeans, black t-shirt, boots, black leather jacket...wow. She was getting a bit hot under the collar. 'No, Willow...bad thoughts,' she told herself.

Willow turned her attention back to Buffy. Buffy was still pacing...just like Giles did when he was worried. She honestly didn't understand why Buffy was so worried about Giles. He could take care of himself, and honestly Willow thought that there wasn't anything wrong. She thought Buffy was overreacting.

Buffy had been twisting the ring on her right ring finger over and over again, and every now and again glancing at the phone. She finally stopped pacing, and instead turned to look at her friend.

"Why hasn't he called? Willow, he said that he'd call me today, and it's already eleven o'clock at night!" She gave her friend a pleading look.

Willow sighed, again, and tried to reassure her.

"Buffy, he probably just got really busy...it might have just slipped his mind, did you ever think about that?"

At first, Buffy began to nod, but then she stopped and shook her head, vehemently disagreeing. "No, Willow. He's like absolutely incapable of welshing on a promise. He always calls me when he says that he'll call me."

The redhead just shook her head and turned back to her advanced calculus homework, finding it more interesting than trying to reason with a Slayer.

Out of the corner of her eye, she watched as Buffy continued to play with the ring on her right hand. Willow caught a glance at the stone placed on the ring as Buffy continued to rotate it, and she was shocked. Was that a...a diamond? When did she get that? Actually, the real question was how.

Her curiosity got the better of her. "Hey, Buffy...where'd you get that ring?"

Buffy looked up from where she was staring at the phone at the sound of her friend's inquisitive voice.

"Huh? What did you say?" Willow nodded her head towards the ring. Buffy smiled and then blushed. "Oh, this. Well, it's from Giles. He gave it to me a few days ago. He said that he felt guilty for never getting me anything for my eighteenth birthday...and for a couple of other birthdays, and that this was to make up for it. You like it?"

She walked over to Willow's desk and held out her hand. Willow pulled it close to look at it.

It was stunningly beautiful. Thick and solid celtic knots made up the band and wrapped around the small diamond in the center of the ring...and what was that?

"Buffy, what's this?" Buffy looked at where Willow was pointing and saw what she was curious about. "Oh, you mean that mark under the diamond?" Willow nodded.

Buffy quickly explained. "Giles says that the marking is an old Aramaic symbol for strength. He thought it was fitting, because, well, you know, I'm the Slayer." She pulled her hand back towards herself, caressing the ring once more as her visage clouded over, her brow furrowing with worry.

"Willow, something's wrong, I just know it. I'm gonna go and check at his apartment. If I'm not back in forty-five minutes, get Xander and Anya, arm up with weapons, and go over there, alright?"

Willow nodded, still thinking that Buffy was overreacting.

As she watched the Slayer throw her crossbow over her shoulder, and slide her best stake up her sleeve, Willow knew that Buffy was serious...if something had happened, that something was about to be coming into some serious pain.

Part 1/?