__Hitchikers Guide To...__
By Adrian
"What's the pity party for?" Willow asked sitting down.
"My life's gone completely downhill," Wesley said, sighing.
"Well, I bet I can beat you at pity points."
"Why do you care? You're just being civil because you know I'm leaving."
"That's not fair. Maybe I like you. So, what's got you all depressed?"
"Do you really want to hear this?" She nodded.
"Well, the Council has, in so many words, exiled me; Cordelia's already left for L.A., without so much as a good-bye; I don't have anywhere to live, since I was planning on going back to England; no referrals to find a job; and no friends or family. What's your excuse for not being your bubbly self?"
"My mother still thinks I'm a freak because a I'm novice witch and she threw me out, saying I could fend for myself for the summer and that I should be glad that my parents are still paying my tuition for
college. Buffy's with her dad for the summer. Giles is at the University setting things up there. Xander went with Cordelia to L.A. to help her get settled.
Amy's still a rat. And," she sniffed, "Oz left this morning on tour. He said he wanted to put some space between us and give us some time to make sure we were the right ones for each other. He still doesn't
totally trust me after what happened between Xander and me. Not that I don't blame him, but it still hurts, especially since we've been through so much together." She started thinking of some of their more
intimate moments, but wasn't allowed to dwell on it for too long.
"Do you have a place to go?"
"Nope. You?"
"No."
A light blanket of silence settled over them. They reflected on their circumstances. Then Willow suddenly remembered something.
"I have an idea!" she exclaimed.
"What? We camp out on the grounds of the school?"
She smiled at his attempt at humor and how it had gotten a tiny bit better over the time he had been with them. "No, this might be better. An aunt of mine owns a cabin in Colorado just this side of the mountains, but she doesn't actually live there. It's in a small, and I mean small, town called Montvale. It's in the middle of nowhere and about an hour from anything decent. Hardly anyone from our family goes up there to use it, but she has a maid that lives there and she makes sure that there's food in case some of us want to go to get away. I could call her up and tell her that we're coming and staying for a while. She'd be really happy that it will be getting some use and she'd call the maid to let her know we're coming."
"What do you mean 'we'? I never said I was going with you."
"Do you have any better options? I don't think you're going to be camping out here."
"Well, you do have a point."
"Exactly. So where's your car?"
"So, I'm to be the one to drive? Why aren't you driving? You're the mastermind behind this."
"My parents never trusted me with a car in the first place. So, please?"
"My car was taken away too."
"Is that all you have?" She pointed to a large duffel bag that seemed to be filled to the brim.
"Yes. And I'm to guess that that's all that you have?" He motioned to a similarly packed suitcase and a smaller backpack.
"Yep. It's all I have left in the world."
"So, how are we planning on getting to Colorado?"
"How much money do you have?"
"Useable or nonuseable? I have a substantial sum that was left to me by some ancestor, plus what I've made at my jobs, but they're locked up in CDs. I have about $1,000 that's not locked up."
"What about credit cards?"
"I never had any."
"So flying's out."
"How much do you have?"
"About $400."
"What about renting a car?"
"Too expensive."
"What about some type of bus line?"
"There's none that go in that direction. Believe me, I've already tried."
"Well, I'm not walking there."
"We could try hitchhiking."
His eyes grew wide. "Isn't that dangerous?"
"Only if you're not careful."
"Have you ever hitchhiked before?"
"Nope."
"Then how do you know it's not dangerous?"
"Because only the paranoid people who want attention are the ones you read about in the paper."
"Okay, so supposing it's safe to hitchhike, how do you do it?"
"Well, you stand on the side of the road and when a vehicle comes, you try to flag them down and get them to give you a ride."
"How far should you ride with them?"
"As far as you can in the direction you're going, or until they kick you out, whichever comes first."
"How did you find all of this out?"
"Buffy told me."
"Is there anything else Buffy told you that I should know about?" He raised his eyebrows in a way that reminded her of Giles.
"Nope. Not that I can think of, anyway. We should get going to the bank before it closes."
They got up and shouldered their bags and walked the few blocks to the bank. There, they withdrew their money without any problems. Wesley also prepared to have the rest of his money put into one account when the CDs matured. Once they were outside, Willow called her aunt. The conversation was short and after about a minute, Willow hung up.
“Well?” Wesley asked expectantly.
“She said it was fine and that it'll be ready for us when we arrive in a few days.”
“Okay, shall we get started?”
“Are you going to go like that?” She looked over his impeccable suit.
“Why not?” he asked somewhat indignantly.
“Why not?!? You're going to get us mugged if you go like that!”
“What do you mean we'll get mugged? I thought you said we'll be safe.”
“I didn't say it was totally safe. If someone sees that outfit, they'll assume that we have more money than we do and they'll take the little we do have and beat us to a bloody pulp, if not kill us outright.”
“Well, what do you expect me to do about it? The demands of my occupation require that I dress with a certain level of dignity and stature.”
“God damn it! Why do you take your job so seriously? They must really must have bred all the emotion out of you.”
“Don't use that tone of voice with me. As the most recent leader of the group, I demand a certain level of respect, which you are not giving me.”
“No wonder the Council sent you out here. No one can stand you for more than five seconds.”
“Now, that is not fair. You hardly know me.”
“First impressions are a killer, aren't they?”
“Since when have you become so like Buffy?”
“Since I don't know when, but that's not the point.”
“And the way I dress is? Why was Mr. Giles' fashion sense never attacked?”
“Just because it never was. Besides, it's not like you ever really cared about getting to know us anyway.”
A car slowed beside them and the window went down. “Are you in trouble, Miss?” a young man asked through the passenger side window. “Do you need some protection?”
“No,” Willow replied. “We were just trying to figure out what to do. Our car broke down a couple miles back. It's unrepairable. We need to get to Colorado to see my aunt. She's expecting us soon. Is there any possible way we could catch a ride for a way?”
“I must be crazy, but I've always been a sucker for chicks in need. Throw your things in the back and come on in.” They did so. “I can take you to the border of Utah. Then I'm going north.”
“We'll take whatever you're comfortable with.”
They drove off. “My name's Shawn,” he said. “So, where are you two from?”
“My name's Willow and that's Wesley,” she replied. “Nowhere in particular.” Wesley looked at her questioningly. “I don't think he really needs to know, do you?” she whispered to him.
“True,” he whispered back. “Should I really let you do all the talking?”
“Do you have any better ideas?”
“No.”
They rode in silence for a few hours. “Are you two okay back there? Hungry or anything?” Shawn asked.
Willow and Wesley's stomachs growled when he mentioned food. They hadn't realized how hungry they really were. They agreed to pull over for a food break.
Shawn pulled into a rest stop a few minutes later. Willow and Wesley quietly decided that Wesley would wait to make sure that their stuff wasn't taken and Willow went in to get food. She came back out a few
minutes later with a bag and a carrier with two drinks and sat down on the curb next to him. She opened the bag and began to pull out food. She handed him his half of it.
“The ice tea's on the left,” she said as she pulled out her food.
“What about hot tea?” he asked.
“It was really expensive and you wouldn't have gotten a lot. I figured this would be better since it saves some money. It may not be the best ice tea in the world, but it's not going to hurt you. It's already been sweetened.”
Wesley tentatively took a sip and spit it out, spraying over the ground in front of him. “They're allowed to call that tea? It is the worst tea I've tasted. How do you Americans drink that?”
“Well, only the really desperate drink rest stop ice tea, at least around here anyway. Most drink soda. Homemade ice tea is much better. I'll have to make you some when we get to my aunt's, if there isn't
already some made. You can have some of my soda if you want.”
“Thank you.”
They finished their meal in silence and used the restroom before meeting their ride. As they got back out onto the highway, Willow leaned her head against the window and closed her eyes. She had forgotten how easily she fell asleep on long trips. Before she knew
it, she was being lightly shaken awake. She drowsily opened her eyes. They had pulled over in the shoulder of the road before an exit.
“This is my exit,” Shawn said. “You two know where you're going?”
“Yeah,” Willow replied. “Thanks so much. Let me give you something for your trouble.”
“Don't worry about it. I like helping out people in need and your friend and I had a nice conversation while you were taking a nap. Good luck.”
“Thanks again.”
Willow and Wesley got out, pulled their bags out, and shut their doors. Their now ex-driver waved out his window as he drove away onto the off-ramp of the exit.
“So, now what do we do?” Wesley asked. “Do we even know where we're going?”
“Yep. I have a map right here,” she said pulling it out of her bag. “What were you two talking about?”
“Nothing much.”
She unfolded the map and located their position. “We're right here,” she pointed to Wesley. “If we continue on this interstate until we get to this exit, then take this highway and get off at this exit, we'll be able to make it most of the way there.” She drew her finger along the line of road she was talking about. “The last bit after that exit is mainly back roads.”
“Are you sure you're reading it right and not getting this confused with another one?”
“No, I'm positive. I've known how to read maps since I was little. Let's go. We're wasting time.”
She picked up her bags and started walking in the direction she had pointed. Wesley didn't know what else to do besides pick up his bag and followed her. They walked for a while, before he had to stop. He
couldn't understand where this girl was getting her stamina and energy from. It must have been from the nap she'd had in the car. And he didn't think the food he had eaten was agreeing with him very well. He asked Willow if they could stop for a few minutes so he could catch his breath. Willow replied that there was a little rest stop not too far up the road and that it would be safer to stop there.
Deciding it would be easier to not argue with her, he continued to follow her. They soon arrived to the rest stop, which
consisted of a few picnic tables, some bathrooms, and a little vending area. Wesley quickly deposited his bag next to one of the picnic tables and wearily sank onto one of the benches. Willow disappeared and came back a few minutes later with two water bottles.
He gratefully accepted one and took a large sip out of it. He wearily placed his head in his arms as he had seen the children do many times in the library when they were tired. Willow smiled. He was letting them rub off on him more than he was willing to let on.
“How much farther?” he mumbled.
“A great deal,” she replied. “Hopefully we'll be able to get another ride soon. It's going to get dark in not too long and I don't want to be out walking in the dark.”
After they had rested for a while, drunk the remainder of the water, and used the facilities to freshen up, they went over by the on-ramp to see if they could snag a ride. After a few people passing them by, a freight truck stopped.
“Where you headed, cutie?” a woman called out of the cab.
“Colorado,” Wesley replied, hoping she was talking to him.
“I can take you as far as Winnemucca. Get in.” Wesley got in and Willow started to follow. “She can't come.”
“Well, then I'm not going. Come on, Willow.” He started to nudge her out of the cab.
“Fine, the girl can come too. Just don't try to dump her on me. Name's Sarah.”
“Wesley.”
They got settled in and she drove off. Their new traveling companion was listening to a whiny Country and Western station loud and sang just as loud, with no apparent training. During commercials or songs she didn't like, she would tell them her conspiracy theories.
At one point during one of the songs that she did like, Willow rolled her eyes and quietly asked, “Can I slay her now, please?”
Wesley let out a silent chuckle, much akin to Giles', which wasn't lost on Willow. “Do you really think I'm a 'cutie' as she referred to me?” he asked quietly in her ear, thankful the radio would keep their driver from hearing.
“I guess so. I've never really thought about it. Sorry. When you came, we were all too occupied with the Ascension and all. I know that at least Cordelia thought you were attractive.”
“Possibly because I gave her the illusion that I have a lot of money. When she found that I wasn't any good at the physical aspect of a relationship, she decided to forgo it.”
“Well, Cordelia isn't a real test of if you made it in this world. There's a lot of better ways of doing it.”
“What did our esteemed hostess mean when she said, 'Just don't try to dump her on me'?”
“Some people in this country, instead of giving their child or children up for adoption or something, they just leave them somewhere for someone else to find and hope they take pity on them and take them home. I don't know what gave her the impression that you were trying to get rid of me, besides maybe getting in first. You weren't trying to get rid of me, where you?”
“No. What gave you that idea?”
“Nothing. Forget about it.”
Wesley nodded. His eyelids were suddenly feeling very heavy. He leaned his head back against the seat and closed them. He only intended to shut them for a minute. He awoke to a gentle nudging. He opened his eyes to find he was leaning against Willow's shoulder.
“Where are we?” he asked sitting up while taking off his glasses and rubbing his still sleep-filled eyes.
“Coming into Winnemucca,” Willow replied.
“How long have I been asleep?”
“A couple of hours.”
They pulled into a truck stop just inside of town. The pair got out and grabbed their bags as the driver shut off the engine. They started walking into town, but her voice stopped them and they turned back to her.
“It was a pleasure ridin' with y'all,” she said. “There's a hotel two blocks down this street. It's got pretty reasonable prices. Take care now.”
“Thank you,” Wesley said. He smiled down at Willow as they turned around. “She was nice enough.”
“You didn't have to listen to her for two hours.” She giggled.
“What?”
“Never mind. Lean your head down.” Not quite understanding but trusting Willow anyway, he did so. She gently combed her fingers through his rumpled hair, her fingers becoming coated by the hair gel he used. She wiped her hand on her jeans shorts. “There you go. You had some hair out of place.”
“Thank you.”
They continued into town and found the hotel. It was a small building, only two stories. They went in and walked up to the reservation desk.
“Is there anyway we could get two rooms for the night?” Willow asked.
“We have one room left, Miss,” the clerk replied trying to act condescending, but not doing very well.
“How much will it be?”
“Seventy-five dollars.”
“Okay, we'll take it.” She pulled out her wallet and paid him the money. “You owe me $37.50 when you get some change from those traveler's checks,” she whispered to Wesley. He nodded.
The clerk had her fill out the necessary paperwork, and then he put some things in the computer. After he had organized everything and put things where they needed to be, he handed her the key.
“It's number 213. It's a no smoking room. Check out is tomorrow at eleven and there's a continental breakfast from seven to ten in the main lounge.”
“Thanks,” Willow said taking the key.
“What's a continental breakfast?” Wesley asked as they started to move to the elevator.
“It's like donuts, muffins, bagels, juice, coffee, tea, stuff like that.”
After getting to the second floor and navigating their way to the room, Willow unlocked the door and they went in. They deposited their bags in the little alcove for them and went to scout out the room. It
wasn't very large. It had a chest of drawers with a mirror, a table and two chairs, a TV in an ornate cabinet, four lights, and a double bed.
“Figures,” Willow said.
“What?” Wesley asked coming out from washing up in the bathroom.
“There's only one bed.”
“Well, you take it.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, definitely.”
“Okay. I'm too tired to argue. Plus, it's only one night.”
They moved around the room getting ready for bed. Willow suddenly became shy when she had to go back out into the room after getting a shower. True, Xander had seen her in pajamas, but it had been a while. And Oz had seen her naked. But she hardly knew Wesley. True, her pajamas weren't that bad. They were a light pink cotton set with red cherries on them. Well, it wasn't like he was going to see anything revealing. She grabbed her stuff and went out into the room. She put her stuff away and hung her towel up to dry. As Wesley went in to get a shower, she grabbed a book on the Druids that Giles had lent her earlier in the year and hopped into the bed. But she couldn't concentrate. <What am I doing in a hotel in the middle of Nevada with a guy who is about 30 years old and that I hardly know?> she thought. <Going insane, that's what.> She heard the water shut off and a few minutes later Wesley came out. His hair was neatly
parted in the middle and still damp, the ends curling. He was clad in a navy blue pajama set that looked like it was made out of silk or something close to it and the breast pocket was neatly monogrammed with his initials – WRWP.
“These were a gift,” he said almost embarrassed when he caught her watching him.
“What's the 'R' stand for?” she said.
“Reginald,” he replied and she thought she heard a twinge of embarrassment in his voice.
After he put his stuff away, she gave him the comforter and a pillow and he began to settle on the floor. <He's not so bad, at least not yet,> Willow thought.
“What are you reading?” he asked.
“A book about Druids that Giles lent me before the library was packed up.”
“A very interesting group of people. I had to do a paper on them for my GCSEs.”
“I didn't think you could write a paper for your GCSEs.”
“Well, I think that the teacher was expecting me to fail anyway because we had always been at odds. But I did the paper and passed it.”
Willow suddenly yawned. “Excuse me. Must be more tired than I thought.”
“Well, we did have a long day. We should probably get some sleep now. I'm sure we'll have a long day tomorrow.”
Willow got up to put her book away and brush her hair. When she got back in bed, she turned off the lights.
“Good night,” she said.
“Good night,” Wesley replied.
Wesley heard Willow turn over and settle down to sleep, but he couldn't sleep right away. His thoughts raced around at a frantic pace and somewhere in the midst of them, he fell into a restless sleep. The next morning they awoke at 9:30. After dressing and
getting the few items they owned together, they went down to check out and get breakfast. Willow watched Wesley choose his breakfast from the little table from the seats she had saved with a bit of amusement. It seemed like he still hadn't totally become comfortable
here in America. Some of her friends online from England had told her that it had been a pretty big culture shock when they had come to the States to visit family for a few weeks. Plus, they were only her age and not planning on spending an indefinite amount of time here.
<It must be really hard for him,> she thought. <He's older than they are and it's not like he knows he's going home any time soon.> A
pang of guilt went through her. <I could have helped him adjust. But I was too busy with Buffy and the Ascension to really pay attention. But it wasn't as if he was actually asking for help,> she tried to
justify. <But still, I should have tried to help him. That's going to be my mission from now on, to help him adjust,> she resolved as Wesley came over with a cup and a plate.
“What'd you get?” she asked.
“A cup of hot tea, which I'm hoping will actually be good, and a muffin. I'm not quite sure what kind it is,” he replied. “You?”
“Some orange juice and a bagel with cream cheese.”
“How far away are we?”
“About a state and a half to the Colorado border. I'm not sure how many miles that is.”
“I still haven't gotten used to the different system of measurement here. It's a good thing time is still measured the same way.” Willow laughed. “What's so funny?” He looked a little miffed.
“Nothing. It's just that there are so many things here that we take for granted that other people think are weird and we don't try to help them out with understanding them.”
He nodded as he took a small sip of his tea. “Now, that's what tea should taste like. That is definitely true. There are so many things here that are so uniquely American.”
“Like what?”
“Like your acceptance of other people. People seem to be accepted so much easier here than in England.”
“Do you think you were accepted easily here?”
“Well, I didn't really come here to be accepted. I came here to do a job, which I failed at.”
“You know, I think they sent you to fail.”
“I don't follow.”
“They would have known you wouldn't go over very well with Buffy after Giles, and nothing against you, but sometimes it might not be the best idea to send someone without a lot of experience to an active Hellmouth.”
“I understand what you're saying. And it's pretty true, that wouldn't be the wisest decision. I don't know exactly why they'd want me to come out here. Maybe we should be considering how to finish getting
to Colorado right now and why I was sent here later.”
“Well, walking along the road and all has seemed to work.”
“Excuse me,” a young man said. “I couldn't help but overhear the last bit of your conversation. I'm going pretty close to the border. If you would like a ride, I wouldn't mind the company.”
“That would be great,” Willow replied. “When were you planning on leaving?”
“As soon as the two of you are ready.”
They finished their breakfast, threw away their plates and got their bags. They followed their new escort, Max, out to his car, a 1986 Mazda 323 Hatchback. He put their bags in the trunk and they got in. Wesley allowed Willow the front passenger seat and tried to fold himself up as best he could in the small back seat.
<This car was definitely not made for the unvertically challenged,> he thought as they drove off. He looked out the window at the passing
countryside and wondered what it would be like to actually belong somewhere.
After driving a while in comfortable silence, Max broke it. “So, how long have the two of you been going out?” he quietly asked Willow, carefully making sure Wesley couldn't hear.
“We aren't going out,” Willow replied.
“How long have you known him?”
“A couple of months, why?”
“Just wondering. He just doesn't seem like the most interesting travel companion. If you want, we could dump him and you and I could –.”
“No! I'm not leaving him anywhere! He's staying right here!”
“If that's the way you want it. I'm not picky. If that's how you get your kicks.”
“I don't have to put up with this. Stop the car.”
“No, please. I'll behave. I was just teasing you. You gotta lighten up, girl.”
Willow just crossed her arms and looked out the window. The rest of the ride was quiet. They were dropped off at a rest stop near the border.
“Now what?” Wesley asked while cleaning his glasses.
“Start walking?”
“What time is it?”
“About twelve.”
“Might as well get something to eat while we're here. I've noticed it's usually been a while between eateries and we don't know if your next ride, provided we'll get one, will be obliged to stop for us.”
“True. I'm kind of hungry too, now that you mention
it.”
They picked up their bags and headed into the building. The pair found something to eat and a place to sit in the crowded eatery.
“All of these places are starting to look the same,” Wesley said after they had eaten quietly for a few minutes. “How much farther do we have?”
“One more state, then we'll be at the Colorado border. From there I don't think it'll be too far. Anxious to get there?”
“I don't know. I guess so.” Wesley felt a tug on his jacket and looked down. A small boy with cow-licked blond hair, who had to be no more than five, held the corner of his jacket in one hand and a well-worn blanket in the other. “May I help you?” he asked him.
“My mommy thinks you're cute, Mister,” he said, “and she likes your accent.”
“Thank you, young man, but don't you think your mommy is wondering where you are?”
“Jimmy! There you are!” Wesley looked up as a young woman hurried over to them. She was carrying an infant in a carrier and was obviously very pregnant, but she didn't look much older than Willow, if not younger. “I'm so sorry, sir,” she said. He just wandered off. How many times have I told you not to do that, Jimmy?” she scolded. The child looked as if he was about to cry.
Wesley stood. “It's quite all right, ma'am. I'm sure he meant no harm.”
“I still feel bad about his intrusion. If there's anything –” Her voice drifted off as she noticed their bags on the floor. “Could I maybe offer you a ride somewhere?”
Wesley looked nervously at Willow and she only raised her eyebrows. She was going to leave him fend for them this time. “Only if it's not out of your way. Wouldn't want to trouble you any.”
“No problem. We're going east. You two?”
“Same with us. We'd be appreciative for any distance you could take us.”
“No problem. Any objection with going through Utah?”
“Not one. We were actually hoping to go that route.”
“Great. My name's Carrie, by the way.”
“I'm Wesley and this is Willow.”
“Nice to meet you both. I'm ready whenever you are.”
Wesley nodded and sat back down to see Willow trying to suppress laughter. “What's so funny?” he hissed as their new ride walked back to her table with her children in tow.
“Oh, nothing. You just sounded so, so, unnatural,” she said giggling.
“Did I really?” She nodded and he blushed. “Must remember that – work on sounding more natural.”
“Ready?” She finished the last of her soda and fries and piled her trash on the tray. He nodded, taking the last bite of his sandwich and doing the same with his trash.
They threw away their trash and gathered up their bags. Their new “hostess” met them at the door, children in tow and the group walked out to her van. She had them stow their things in the back while she
got her children situated. Then the three adults got in, Wesley in the front passenger seat and Willow in the back.
As they pulled out on the highway, Wesley asked, “When are you due?”
“Any day now?”
“Do you think it's wise to be traveling by yourself with two young children then?”
“It's better than where we were. We're on our way to my parents' place. What's you're relation to –?” She cocked her head toward Willow.
“Just friends.”
“Oh, do you think she'd mind then if –?” She placed her hand on his thigh, dangerously close to his groin.
“Yes, I think she would.” He gently removed her hand.
“And so would I.”
She huffed and looked straight ahead, concentrating on her driving. Things were quiet for a good amount of time and Wesley began to count mile markers.
“Oh, God!” she screamed.
“What's wrong?” Wesley asked in surprise.
“I think my water just broke.”
“Are you sure?”
She felt down on the seat. “Yep, I'm sure.”
“Have you been having contractions?” She nodded.
“Why didn't you tell us?” he asked, his voice calm.
“I thought it was just the baby kicking or a reaction to lunch,” she replied, her voice showing her panic.
Wesley had taken hold of the steering wheel and began to guide them over to the side of the road. “Willow, come up here and take the wheel. By some coincidence, I happened to spot a sign for a hospital not too far back. I want you to drive as quickly, but safely, as
possible, keeping your eyes peeled for more signs. Think you can handle it?”
She nodded, moving quickly, noticing on her way past that the two children were asleep. Wesley quickly moved Carrie to the now empty
back seat, at the same time stripping off his jacket and tie and rolling up his sleeves quicker than Willow thought was possible. He had her take off her pants and had her lay back against the corner of the seat, with her legs propped up on the back of the seats and was assembling baby blankets and towels around her.
“Drive!” he commanded and Willow quickly complied. As she drove, Wesley made Carrie as comfortable as he could. “How are you doing?” he asked quietly. “Okay?”
She nodded. “I think the baby's coming, Wesley,” she replied.
“Can you hold on?”
“I don't know.”
“We're almost there!” Willow called back.
“Try pushing,” Wesley said. She did and screamed in pain. “You're doing good. Feel like trying again?” She did, this time suppressing any cry of pain. “Keep pushing.” A minute later, he said, “I think I see a head.” He looked up at Carrie. She smiled weakly and continued pushing. He grabbed a blanket and draped it over his knee. Then he began to help guide the baby out. When the baby finally came, he wrapped the blanket around her and she cried loudly. He wiped her
eyes, nose, and mouth with the edge of the blanket and cut the cord with his pocketknife. “Congratulations, you have a baby girl,” he said, smiling and quickly handing the baby to the smiling mother. He put the cord in some paper towels and tried to clean things up
a bit.
“We're here!” Willow announced pulling up in front of the emergency room doors, throwing the van in park, and dashing inside. “Help!” she cried. “We have a woman outside who just gave birth in her van!”
A few nurses sprang to life and followed, gathering necessary equipment on their way out. They placed Carrie on a gurney and took the baby from her.
“Go with her,” Willow said to him. “I'll move the van and then find you.” He nodded, grabbed the paper towels with the umbilical cord, and quickly followed. Willow got back in the van and moved it to a legal parking spot. She grabbed their bags, woke up Jimmy, and took
him, his little brother, and their various odds and ends into the hospital. She went up to the desk.
“Where can I find the woman and her baby that just came in?” she asked.
“Third floor,” she replied, not even bothering to look up.
“Thank you.” She managed to get the three of them and their things up to the third floor all in one piece.
“Is mommy okay?” Jimmy asked, rubbing his eyes as they got off the elevator.
“You're mom's fine,” Willow said. “And you now have a little sister.”
“Can I see them?”
“We're going to see them now.” They approached a nurse's station.” Excuse me, could you –”
“Willow!”
She turned to see Wesley down the hall, motioning them to come. “Never mind, found them.” She went to Wesley, taking in his ruined and rumpled shirt, wrinkled pants, and disheveled hair. “How is she?”
she asked when they reached him and put the bags down.
“The doctor should be finished with her soon.”
“And the baby?”
“Haven't heard anything yet.”
“Excuse me, you accompanied the young lady in, right?”
“Yes, we did,” Wesley said turning to a young man. “How is she?”
“She's doing just fine. The baby's perfectly healthy. She's asking for you.”
They went in with her two kids. She looked younger and smaller in the bed. A bassinet was set up next to her bed, where the baby was sleeping peacefully. She smiled and sat up.
“How do you feel?” Wesley asked.
Before Carrie could say anything, her son was in her arms, hugging her tightly. After he settled down, she said, “Better. Thank you both so much for what you've done for me and my children.”
“Would you like us to call anyone for you? The father perhaps?”
“No, not him. But could you call my parents? I would like them to know. They don't live that far from here.”
“Sure.” He wrote down the number and went out to call.
“He's a special guy,” she said to Willow. “You're lucky to have a friend like that.”
“Thanks,” Willow said. “If you don't mind, what's wrong with the father?”
“He isn't fit to be a father.”
“Oh. Here's your keys. It's parked out in the lot by the entrance to the emergency room.”
Wesley came back in. “They said they'd leave immediately and that they'll be here shortly.”
“Thank you. I'm sorry about your clothes.”
Wesley looked down, as if noticing them for the first time. It seemed like all the mess was on his shirt.
“Don't worry about it. At least you and the baby are all right.” He disappeared for a few moments to get changed and cleaned up. When he returned, her parents had arrived.
“Thank you so much,” they said when he walked in. “How can we repay you?”
“Don't worry about it. I'm just glad I was in the right place at the right time. We should probably be going.”
“Thank you again and God bless you both.”
“Good-bye, Carrie,” Wesley said.
“Good-bye, Wesley,” she replied. “Good-bye, Willow.”
“Good-bye,” Willow said. “Good luck.” Carrie nodded and smiled.
They left the room, gathered their bags, and went outside.
“Now what?” Wesley asked blinking in the bright sun.
“You were really brave back there,” Willow said. “How'd you know what to do?”
“Watcher Training, don't ask.”
“It really hasn't changed then.”
“No, it hasn't.”
“Hey! You the one that helped that lady give birth in her van?” a gruff voice said behind them.
They both turned. A large man in leather with sunglasses was behind them. “Yes, I am,” Wesley said managing to keep his voice calm. “What can I do for you?”
“One of the gals in our group is pregnant. We want you to ride with us.”
“Which way are you headed?”
“Towards Colorado, for now anyway.”
“Be happy to. When are you planning on leaving?”
“Now.”
“Okay. Lead the way.”
They followed him out front to where the rest of the group was. There were about ten people, six guys and four girls. Two of the bikes only had one rider and Willow and Wesley's bags were strapped to these bikes and they climbed on behind the bikes' owners. A few hours later they blew into a rest stop for food.
“Do you think our bags will be safe if we leave them?” Wesley asked.
“They have so far. Besides, we'll only be a few minutes and we can eat out here if you would like,” Willow replied.
Wesley agreed and they went inside. After washing up, they found some food to eat and went back outside. They went to where the bikes had been parked, but they weren't there.
“We came out the right exit, didn't we?” Wesley asked a bit bemused.
“We came out the only exit,” Willow replied.
“The bikes were parked here, right?”
“Yep, and now they're not.”
They checked all over the parking lot, finding nothing. Their things were gone. Willow, not knowing what else to do, called her aunt's house. From the conversation, Wesley gathered that she was probably
talking to the maid because he had never heard her speak French when something went wrong before. Not that he knew the language, only bits and pieces, but he could recognize it. When she got off, he just
raised an eyebrow.
“She said to wait here,” she replied.
“For what?”
“I don't know.”
“How far are we from our destination?”
“We're almost at the Colorado border, actually.”
“And how far is that from where we're going?”
“About a two or three hour drive.”
“We're not going to get our things back, are we?”
“It would take a miracle, to say the least.”
He sank to the curb and put his head in his hands. “What do we do now?”
“I don't know. Wait I guess, although I don't know what for. Did you lose anything important?”
“Not really. Just all my clothes, what was left of the money that I had withdrawn from the bank and a book.”
“What kind of book was it?”
“A book about demons and monsters and such, but I've had it for as long as I can remember.”
“So it's kind of like a security blanket?”
“I guess you could call it that if you mean that having it with you means that everything's going to be all right even when you don't think so.”
“Yep.”
“So, what did you lose?”
“Clothes, the rest of the bit of money that I had left, my laptop, and my spell book.”
“The latter two I'm sure you'd want to get back.”
“Definitely – at least my laptop. I can always buy a new spell book if worse comes to worse.”
Silence fell over them as they thought about what had happened and what the future might hold for them. It started to get dark and the headlights of passing cars were increasingly bright.
After about two hours a car pulled into a spot near them and a woman in her mid-thirties got out. She rushed over to them. “Oh, my dears,” she said hugging them both, “I'm so sorry about what happened. You
must be tired. Come, let's get you home.”
Wesley was a bit confused by this woman's actions and the fact that she was shepherding both him and Willow to her car. “Do you know this woman?” he asked Willow.
She nodded. “She's my aunt,” she replied.
After they had gotten into the car and gotten out onto the highway, the woman spoke again. “You must think my manners are atrocious, Mr. Wyndham-Price,” she said. “My name's Maryanne Cardew and I am Willow's aunt. She has said much about you in our conversations.”
“All good things, one would hope,” Wesley replied both at ease and suddenly made shy by this woman. He did the only thing he could think of and retreated into his shell.
“The best. She seems to think highly of you. Oh, before I forget,” she handed back a pen and a notebook. “I would like you both to write down the items you have lost with as much detail as possible.”
Willow gave it to Wesley to do first. He obediently wrote down a description of his book. He put as much detail into it as he could remember, even though he didn't know why this needed to be done. When he finished, he handed it back to Willow and she began writing a description of her laptop and spell book.
“Thank you very much,” Maryanne said when she took the items back after Willow had finished. “This will be a great help. It won't be much longer now, only a few more miles.”
They hadn't realized how long they had been driving. She took the exit for the next town and once there began to navigate the streets. About fifteen minutes later they pulled into a long and winding driveway about a mile outside of the opposite end of town. The
driveway led up to a large house.
“I thought you said it was a cabin,” Wesley whispered.
“I thought it was,” Willow replied. “I've never actually been here.”
Maryanne parked the car and ushered them into the house. “Welcome home,” she said once they entered the foyer.
* * *