__Everything's Great__
By Monique and David Barton




Dear Giles,

Everything's great.

I think we're really getting the hang of this
defeating the Evil thing. Okay, so Harmony isn't
exactly the Master, but she does slap-fight with the
best of them. And I think her kidnapping Dawn was a
good thing. Not that being kidnapped is a good thing.
it's a bad thing, a very, very bad thing. But Dawn is
okay and something seemed to change between her and
Buffy. You know how they're always at each other's throats?
Well, they still are, but it's different, better somehow. I
guess there's nothing like a near death in
the family to make you count your blessings.

They seem closer than ever and that's great. Riley's
being the perfect boyfriend, so that takes some of the
Slayage induced pressure off and that's good.

You won't believe what happened to Xander. That's
silly, of course you will. You've seen all this stuff
before, but anyway. He was split in two, not halves
cause that would be gross, but like two Xanders. And
we thought one was evil and the other was good, but it
wasn't exactly like that. Ends up they were both just
Xander.

Okay, that didn't make any sense, did it?

Anyway, foe vanquished. Chalk another one up for the
Scoobies.

And Anya, who is really starting to not annoy me as
much as she used to, seems to finally be appreciating
what she's got. I know Xander isn't the ripest grape
in the bunch, but he's a good man. And that's the
strange thing. Somewhere along the line, he went from
being the boy who snorted milk through his nose, to
responsible adult working person. Scary, isn't it? I
know he loves Anya and she makes him happy and that's
all I want. So that's of the good. See, everything's
great.

And how are you? Any word on your brother? Are you
going to take that offer from your friend at Oxford? I
think that would be so cool. Sometimes I wonder what
my life would have been like if I'd accepted that
scholarship. But, all water under the bridge now.
Right?

I love being a Scooby and UC Sunnydale does have a
decent curriculum. What else do you need? I mean,
between the Slaying and the studying there isn't time
for much else. Sure, it's not for everyone. It is kind
of a strange way to live, but I can't imagine doing
anything else. There are people out there who need us
and I can't just sit by and do nothing, can I?

Not that I think you're doing nothing. That isn't what
I meant at all. Wow. Somewhere I took a sharp turn
into stupid. You know I don't think that about you,
right? You fought for so long, you deserve some peace
and quiet. I've only been doing this for five years
and there are times when you just don't think you can
make one more sacrifice or let another part of
yourself go. But then, I don't need to tell you, do I?

Gosh, that sounds like there's something wrong here
and there isn't. I mean, everything's great. Buffy and
Riley are the happy Slaying couple. Anya and Xander
are, well, whatever it is, it works for them. And, oh!
I did a spell that did not result in blindness or
other badness. I was rather proud. It wasn't a big
spell exactly. It was more of an itty bitty spell.
But, a success nonetheless. You would have been proud.
I did the research all by myself and then cast a
successful, non-blinding spell.

I couldn't have done it without you. I mean, I did do
it without you, but... What I mean is.. thank you. I
know I wasn't exactly Glinda the Good Witch all the
time.. I mean she didn't go around blinding the
munchkins, did she?... but... I just wanted to thank
you for being, well, so many things. It's funny now
that you're so far away, I'm remembering all the
things I should have told you when you were here. I
guess we always expect things to stay the same and
they never do. People change, people leave. It's just
the way it is, right?

Anyway, sorry about that. It makes it sound like I'm
depressed or something. But I'm not, so don't worry.
Not that you would worry. But in case you might just a
little, don't. Everything's great.

I hope life there is everything you thought it would
be. You deserve it, Giles. You really, really do.

Write back soon, okay?

Yours,
Willow

***

Dear Willow,

Thank you so much for writing again. I was hoping you
would.

I'm glad to hear things are going so well on the
Slayer front. I hope Buffy is still taking the proper
care and attention in her training sessions. You know
how she gets when things are quiet, or the forces of
evil are failing to meet her "Slayage" level.

I'm still adjusting to the life of an Englishman.
Frankly, being English in England doesn't stand out.
You will no doubt take the oppurtunity to mock me for
saying this, but none the less, I am very much missing
the sun. And all of you, of course. Most dearly.

Still, it is could to be back in England. And I was no
longer needed. It was for the best. Indeed... While I very
much regret leaving things unsaid... That was for the best
too, I am sure.

I have managed to track down my brother, and we are
meant to be meeting up tomorrow. I will let you know
how that goes, that, of course, is assuming you have
an interest.

I'm glad to hear the Buffy and Dawn are quarreling
less. Sometimes, it takes moments of stress, or of
change, to make us see what is truly important to us.

I hope Xander is feeling well after his, division. I
agree with you, Willow. He has grown up into a fine
young man. When I reminisce of you, which is often,
and I think back to when we first met. I'm truly amazed by
the maturity and growth. I'm proud of you. All of
you.

Of course, I would appreciate it if you didn't tell
Buffy or Xander that. They seem to record any sign of
approval from me as a generational kiss of death, of
sorts. So let's keep the proud feelings between us.

Willow, never worry about making sense. I have
constructed a mental tool kit for the express purpose
of reinterpreting Willow speech back in to the Queen's
English. Now that I am living this far away I would
hate for it to fall into disuse.

I'm glad to hear you vanquished the foe. No
difficulties, at all? No equipment, or research material
required? Just because I am further away, doesn't mean
I am unable or unwilling to help.

To backtrack for a second, I have to agree with what
you said about Anya. In a strange way, she has been a
strong, maturing influence on Xander. Which is, quite
frankly, a scary thought. As you say, The bonds there
have grown very strong. I could see Xander falling in
love with her before he even realized it himself.
I'm glad she is learning to appreciate him for this.
It is good to know it works out sometimes.

I am still considering my friend's offer, for the
position at Oxford. To be completely honest, after
dealing with the residents of Sunnydale High, I'm not
sure if I'm ready to deal with another group of
young people. They simply couldn't match up.

However, if you are starting to regret your decision
to stay at Sunnydale University, and want to give
Oxford a try, I may be able to speak to my friend here.
See if there are likely to be scholarships opening soon.
If you would like to, of course. We'll just call it a
standing offer and leave it that, all right?

It is true that Sunnydale University is very good.
And I would hate you to think that, having left the
"gang" myself, I was trying to coerce you into leaving
too. Nothing could be further than the truth. I
understand the responsibilities and the duties you
feel, very well. I feel them still myself. It is not
an easy life, the one you have chosen. I hope you
remember you have a friend who knows the pressures,
and would be entertained by some Scooby stories, and
honoured to help in anyway he could.

I understood entirely what you meant, regarding my
leaving Sunnydale, so please rest assured, I wasn't
offended. The truth is, I miss my life as a Watcher,
in many many ways. However, it became evident that I
was no longer helpful to Buffy, or to any of you. In
fact, in many ways, I was stunting all of your growth,
as it were. I did the right thing, moving away.

Congratualtions on the spell. What kind of a spell
did you cast? Did you take the necessary precautions?
Was everything as you expected? It is kind of you to
thank me for the small assistance I was able to render
you when you first started to learn the ways of magic.

But remember most of your achievements, your learning,
you have found out for yourself, and quite a lot
against my wishes, in your rather stubborn fashion.

I'm terribly, terribly proud of you. However If I can
help you with them, or in any way, please just ask.

Please don't be sorry, for anything you say to me. I
mean this with all my heart, when I say that I cherish
every word. And yes, I do worry. I worry about all of
you constantly. 5 years, and hopefully many more of
friendship give me the right of that and nothing you
can say could possibly change it. I'm the worrier so
don't begrudge me one of the small pleasures I have left.

And I'm glad to hear you aren't depressed. If you
were, of course, I would hope that you may, well...
only if you wished to, of course, tell me about it. If you
were to decide to share such troubles, if you were to have
any, with someone who regards you as their dearest
friend. Because, dear Willow...in all honesty, you are quite
possibly the dearest and closest friend that I have.
Never doubt that. I'm always here for you. Just
another offer should the need arise.

I hope this letter finds you all well, physically and
spiritually. I hope you like the paper. I'm sorry, I
couldn't resist once I saw the Willow water mark. And
it is recycled, of course.

Life here is fine, Not all that I had hoped for, I
freely admit, but fine. There are things, however,
that are missing from it, that I cannot replace. But
such is the way of things.

I hope to hear from you again soon.


* * *