Katherine moved from the opposite side of the fire and took a step toward Oz. He stood his ground, unwilling to back down or show any sign of weakness. Her voice was strong in his head, but he could feel the power of his own human intelligence working against her. Intelligence that, in her wolf state, she did not have.

Buffy watched them from a break in the trees, motioning the rest of the party forward. They all stared in silence, even their breathing seeming silent. Katherine lunged toward Oz and it was all Willow could do not to cry out. Oz dodged the attack easily, his mouth slipping into a grin.

Xander reached over and squeezed Willow's hand before moving into his position. He and Giles circled around the small clearing to take up positions opposite the girls. The snap of a branch brought both Katherine and Oz's heads up. Noticing his occupation with the sound, Katherine sprang forward and sank her teeth into Oz's shoulder.

The resounding howl filled the woods, sending a shiver down Willow's spine. She clutched the gun to her chest, holding it tightly enough to keep it from shaking. Oz shook his body, throwing her off. The sharp, coppery scent of blood filled the air and Buffy cursed softly.

She wondered if vampires would be interested in wolf blood. Buffy stifled her voice, hoping that no one heard her. Oz was concentrated on the wolf in front of him, so she turned her attention to the other wolves hanging back.

Giles had warned them all not to attack any of them until Oz had the opportunity to try to win over Katherine. Once the first shot was fired, she would be gone and Oz would never be free. She caught Xander's eye and knew he was thinking the same thoughts as she.

Katherine licked the blood from her lips, triumph in her eyes. Oz lowered his head slightly, giving her the sign of submission. He heard the whimper of the other wolves. They were prisoners just as he was, only they didn't have the fortune of having his friends.

Her answering growl came slowly. She stepped to him; ready to lick the blood from his wound to show him all was forgiven. Oz waited until she was almost next to him before leaping at her, tossing her to the ground.

Her harsh cry rent the air and she struggled to get back to her feet. Oz wouldn't allow her the luxury, instead biting at her and holding her to the ground. He felt the other wolves behind him, moving forward to show their fealty to him. Katherine lay still beneath him, her eyes promising retribution.

Oz waited until she lowered her eyes in submission before stepping back. His tongue darted out, licking the blood from his mouth. His bites hadn't been deep, so he'd barely broken the skin, thick as it was beneath her thick coat of hair. He closed his eyes, reaching with his mind for her voice that seemed to live in his head.

As his eyes closed, the soft whoosh of air surrounded him and Katherine's body was on his. The full weight of her form, hard with sinew and bone, landed on him, sending him forcefully to the ground. He heard Willow's cry as Katherine's muzzle lowered to his jugular, her intent obvious. He was about to butt her with his head when he felt her forcefully ripped from him.

The other two wolves had grabbed her body and were currently ripping it to shreds, sending blood, flesh and hair flying in all directions. The smell hit him and he backed away, fighting the wolf inside him with all of his strength. He heard the soft pinging of the darts flying from the tranquilizer guns as all four of his friends shot at the carnage. One of the wolves went down hard. The other yelped in pain, tossing Katherine's body toward the fire.

Giles fired again, this time bringing the beast down. Everyone coughed as the smell of burning wolf filled the air. Oz glanced around, using his front paw to push the blood from his vision. Willow was leaning against a tree, her face slightly green. Buffy had stepped forward and was trying to separate the wolves from the pieces of Katherine. Giles moved toward Oz, concern on his face. He tried to focus, struggling against his fading sight.

Giles caught him as he fell. Laying him on the ground gently, he disappeared into the woods and returned from their stash of equipment with the spell book and the first aid kit. Buffy leaned over his shoulder and took in all of Oz's wounds. "Are you okay?"

"I can still hear her," Oz gasped. Pain shot through his entire body. "She's alive." His eyes widened and he struggled to sit up. Giles pushed him back down, none too gently.

"Not for long."

"NO!" Oz's shout forced both Buffy and Giles to look up as Katherine's mangled body left the fire, intent on Willow's pale form. He tried to make it to his feet to save her, but he knew he'd be too late. He fell forward into the dirt as the sound of impact reached his ears.

Buffy, Giles and Oz managed to get to Willow in record time, but none of them was in time. The butt of the tranquilizer gun had knocked Katherine to the ground and Xander stood above her, his breath coming in harsh pants. He glared down at the fallen form.

"No one hurts my Willow."

Katherine let out one last whimper before she went limp. Oz leaned against a tree, using it as support as he sank down to the ground once again. "She's gone," he whispered. "The voice…she…" A huge, relieved smile transformed his features and, despite the wolfish cast, he looked very much like Oz. "I'm free." Tears ran down his face, seeping through the extra hair and washing away the blood. "I'm free."

Buffy supported him, helping him back to the first aid kit. Giles followed them, allowing Willow and Xander a moment of privacy. Her green eyes were like saucers as she looked at him. "You saved my life."

"It's my job."

Willow continued to stare, unable to find words. Her mind danced with images of her life, much as it had done when Katherine had lunged for her, when she'd thought she was going to die. But she hadn't. Xander had saved her.

Her Xander.

She thought of pigtails and Barbies, sandboxes and Twinkies, chocolate parties and secrets, vampires and dances, ice cream cones and broken hearts, homecoming and letting him go. She thought of everything he'd ever done to hurt her and weighed it against everything else.

She pictured her life without him.

"We should go help with Oz and the other wolves," she said quietly. "Oz might need a doctor and the others are going to be very disoriented."

"What about her?" Xander gestured to Katherine's body.

"Something mauled her," Oz offered in an eerily calm voice. "A wolf. Close enough to the truth."

Willow and Xander nodded. Picking up her gun, Willow started toward Oz. She cast a quick look back at Xander and offered him a small smile. "Shall we go then?"

Xander stared after her as she let Giles put Oz's arm around her so she could lead him back to the van. He stared after her long after they'd disappeared from site. He picked up the guns and first aid kit, handing them to Giles so that he could lift one of the wolves.

Both Buffy and Giles attempted to say something but he shook his head to stop them. "No. I don't want to hear I'm sorry. I think that's the one thing I can't possibly stand to hear right now."

Xander entered the library four days later, unable to repress his smile at the amount of decorations. Balloons and streamers, toys and presents were littered around the room. Giles was standing on the steps talking to Willow's parents, no doubt expounding on the virtues of being an adopted grandfather.

The virtues and, most likely the expense, if the amount of gifts was any indication.

Oz was sitting on the edge of the table, his arm in a cast and a few bandages remaining. Xander waved and smiled, trying to keep the pain out of his face. Buffy walked out of the office with her mother and came over to him quickly.

"You okay?"

"Sure, why wouldn't I be? I haven't seen Willow since she got her husband back. We're having a birthday party for her son, the only child she'll ever have, and she's going to tell me her decision. Not that I need her to tell me. Look at him."

Buffy looked over at Oz and shrugged mentally. She turned to Xander. "He doesn't seem that different to me."

"That's because you're not in love with her." He sighed. "And I'm going to have to hear Connor all day, calling him Daddy and wondering for the life of me if I'm ever going to get the chance to have someone call me that." He set his gift on the table as he and Buffy walked over to join Oz. Taking a deep breath, Xander pasted a smile on his face. "Where are Will and Connor?"

"Should be here soon."

"How are you feeling?"

Oz tried not to laugh at the tenseness of the conversation. But he had to give Xander credit. He was doing his best, in light of what could be a very bad situation. "Sore. But I'll take sore over enslaved any day."

"And the other guys?"

"Freaked, but Giles is helping them. He got them in touch with some counselors through the Watcher's Council. They should get themselves back together in the end."

"Great. I'm glad." He motioned at the table. "This kid's making out like a bandit."

"Yeah. He's got a lot of great people to spoil him."

Xander's reply was overshadowed by the arrival of the birthday boy and his mom. Chaos erupted as food and presents were warred over. Buffy squeezed Xander's hand and leaned over to whisper. "I'll take this kind of battle over vampires any day."

"You and me both, Buffy."

The celebration went on for at least two hours; Connor ending up almost buried in new toys and clothes. He bounced around the room from person to person, insisting on being paid attention to. He sat on Xander's lap as he ate his cake, determined to eat it as a master would.

The entire twenty minutes were the longest of Xander's life.

Finally, as Connor lay down for his afternoon nap, Willow cleared her throat to get everyone's attention. Closing his eyes, Xander tried to force his heart back down in his chest. He sank into a chair, his knees suddenly no longer strong enough to support him.

"I don't know that it's fair to do this in this setting, but I want to only have to do this once." Her eyes went from Oz to Xander. "I guess everyone knows that I'm staying in Sunnydale. I have the job here and I want to be near my family." She moved her gaze to take in her parents, Buffy, Giles and Joyce. "All of you."

Taking a deep breath, she went on. "That's one of the biggies. But it still leaves some questions unanswered, so I'd like to answer those now. Connor is Oz's son. And that's not ever going to change. Oz is the man he'll always call Daddy."

Xander closed his eyes, unable to look at her. His mind was racing and he had to remind himself to breathe.

"But, he loves Xander too. And so do I."

His eyes snapped open.

"And so, if it's okay with you, Xander, I'd like it if he could call you Daddy too."

Tears spilled down her cheeks, matching his. "Willow…" he stood and went to her side.

"And, I was wondering if you'd consider letting the baby we're going to have call you Daddy too."

According to Buffy's report, the library suddenly became a madhouse. Neither Willow or Xander heard it; both so caught up in each other.

"You're sure?"

"Alexander Harris? Will you marry me?"

"I thought you were too shy to tell me how you felt."

"High school was a long time ago. I've grown up a lot since then." She touched his cheek, bringing the tear to her lips. "Will you?"

"How soon? Is tomorrow too soon?"

She laughed, sniffing back her tears at the same time. "Maybe a little too soon."

He leaned forward and kissed her, his lips trembling from the emotion between them. Pulling away an eternity later, he looked at her intently. "And the other? I thought you couldn't?"

"That's what they thought. They were wrong."

"I guess they forgot to take into account this was us?"

They smiled at each other then at the assembled crowd. But their voices were only for one another as, before their lips met, they whispered in unison, "And this is the Hellmouth."