Xander retrieved his baggage and began to move through the airport terminal with some trepidation. He wanted to see Willow again so badly he could taste it. But he was terrified that he would say or do the wrong thing and lose her forever. He felt the nervous butterflies of anticipation begin to rumble in his stomach as he searched the crowd. Cordy had said that she would pick him up at the airport, but he didn't know if Willow was going to come or not. He scanned the crowd collected at the gate, and smiled widely when he saw Cordelia waving wildly. She was alone. That gave him time to find out what Willow knew about his visit before he saw her.

He rushed to meet Cordy and gathered her up in a hug as best he could with his bags in his hands. "Hey!"

She was talking animatedly into his shoulder as she hugged him. She lifted her head finally and smiled at him. "My car's this way." She grabbed his carry-on from his hand and reached for his arm, which she draped across her shoulders as she started walking. "I'm so glad you came. I've been worried about her." They talked for a few more minutes about the weather in Colorado and Boston. They covered the topics of the latest White House scandal and Xander's weight loss. Then they arrived at Cordy's car.

She and Xander quickly loaded his luggage into her trunk. "Does she know I'm coming?" he asked.

"No. I was afraid that if I told her, she'd go to Chicago with Jason. The reason she stayed was so that I wouldn't be alone on the holiday. If you were coming, I wouldn't be alone. Now, it's too late for her to go. He left this morning." They got in the car and Cordy started it up. She navigated into traffic carefully.

"So, what are we going to tell her?"

Cordelia smiled mischievously. She whipped out her cell phone and punched in a number rapidly. She smiled at Xander as she began to steer onto the highway. "Will? Cordy. You'll never guess who just called me on the cell phone." Pause. "No. Guess again. No. It was Xander! Yeah! He's at the airport. He flew in to surprise us on the holiday! I'm on my way to pick him up now. No, well, yes, you'd better put the underwear in the shower away. Okay, Will, listen, I'm almost at the airport now, so we should be there in about an hour. Okay. Okay. Bye." She hit the disconnect button on her phone and smiled at Xander triumphantly.

Xander was regarding her with an admiring smile. "Cordy, you are the most devious person I ever met. I love you. In a purely platonic kinda way," he rushed on. Cordy laughed at him. She pulled off an exit of the highway and headed for the parking lot of a small mall.

"What are we doing here?"

"We have some errands. Come on." She pulled him from the car and led him into the mall. Forty minutes later, he had flowers, and a small gift for each of the girls, hand picked by Cordy. She explained that no one showed up out of the blue empty-handed. So she selected a scarf for herself and a new mystery novel for Willow. They waited for the woman at the gift-wrap counter impatiently and then hurried back to the car.

As they neared the apartment, Xander began to get increasingly nervous. He realized that the trip to the mall was just as much a diversion to relax him as it was real errands. God bless Cordy. He had almost forgotten to be terrified of the outcome of this weekend. But now, in the car, knowing that Willow was just minutes away, he was beginning to feel anxious. And really warm. And a little sick to his stomach. He smiled nervously at Cordelia. "Uh, I just wanted to thank you, Cordy, for arranging all this."

She looked over at him as she pulled into her parking garage. She began driving to her assigned spot. "Xander, I want my best friend to be happy. And you could make her happy. Heck, I want you both to be happy. Who'd've thought that, huh? I don't want Willow to settle with Jason just because she's afraid of her feelings for you. It would be the biggest mistake of her life. She's just spent so many years repressing her love for you, that when you began to reciprocate, she felt threatened. And so she jumped back into the old pattern of repressing for safety. Believe me, Jason was a complication I never expected. But she could never be happy with him. Not like she could be with you." She pulled into a parking space and shut off the car.

Xander smiled at her. "Wow, those psych courses are really paying off."

Cordy reached into the backseat and lightly tapped her textbook. "It's not me. It's all in here."

They exited the car and began to retrieve Xander's bags from the trunk. "I just hope that she believes me this time. I don't know how I can go back if -"

Cordy laid a hand on Xander's arm and waited for him to meet her eyes. "She loves you, Xander. She's never stopped loving you. She's just confused right now. I won't let this weekend end without a full-blown passionate kiss between the two of you, believe me!"

Xander shared her laugh and they went to the elevator. His heart was on the line this weekend. He hoped it came out intact.

Willow ran around the apartment in a whirl of activity. She gathered various unmentionables and put them away. She dusted, vacuumed, and fluffed pillows. Xander was coming! She felt guilty for being so excited. Wasn't she supposed to feel this way about Jason? She finally collapsed on the couch as she admitted that she'd been lying to herself. She would never love anyone the way she loved Xander. With her whole heart and soul. She remembered reading each of his letters over and over again. He'd said so many things in them. Things she had yearned to hear for fifteen years. He said loved her. He said all he needed was her. How miserable he was without her. How he needed her to believe that he meant what he said when he'd confessed his love on the camping trip. Even now it all seemed so surreal. Xander could not possibly love her. He'd ignored her for years. Viewed her only as a buddy, a best friend. She was sure Xander was confusing his feelings for her with deep friendship. But what if he wasn't? the small voice of hope inside her head reasoned.

She plumped the couch pillows furiously to make the voice go away until she finally heard voices in the hallway. Xander was here! Her heart hammered loudly in her chest and blood roared in her ears. She'd missed him. God help her, she had missed him both as a friend, and something more. She still couldn't let go. She'd tried. She tried to love Jason. Up until today, she thought she had almost succeeded. One look at Xander's face made her realize just how completely she had failed.

He half-smiled as he looked at Willow. She was so beautiful. Her hair shone in the setting sunlight from the window behind her. Her cheeks were slightly flushed as if she'd been doing something physical a few moments before. And then she smiled at him. His heart exploded. He moved forward and gathered her into his arms.

Willow hugged him back, knowing in that instant that she wouldn't be able to ever let go. She would love Xander forever. It was silly of her to kid herself. And it was wrong of her to pretend to both herself and Jason that she could ever love anyone else. She sighed, her heart breaking slightly as she realized that because she loved him, she couldn't let him continue his charade. He believed right now in his heart that he loved her. And he would feel that way until some other girl came along and stole his attention. She'd seen the pattern in Xander for years. She would have to save him from himself. She would have to prove to Xander this weekend that he didn't really love her. That she was still his friend and he didn't need to pretend to love her to have her in his life.

Xander backed up a little and presented her with the flowers. "Uh, these are for you."

"You mean for me and Cordelia," she corrected, accepting them with a slightly pained smile.

Xander's mouth gaped open once or twice and he turned to Cordy for help. She had disappeared with his bags. "No, Will, just you."

She flushed slightly and looked at the floor. "I'll just go put these in water." She rushed from the room.

Great Harris. Scare her on the first try. He raked his hand through his hair and looked to the ceiling. He would never survive this weekend. He spent the next few moments praying to whatever benevolent God who would listen that things improved. Cordy returned to the room, a small encouraging smile on her face. "How'd it go?"

"Oh, same old, same old," Xander joked weakly.

"You still have three days," Cordelia pointed out. "Hey Will!" She said more loudly as she saw her friend return. Willow was carrying a vase with the flowers, and she set them on the coffee table and fussed with them for a moment before looking at either of them.

"Well, guys, how about we celebrate this mini-reunion with dinner out?" Cordy suggested.

"Sure!" Willow smiled brightly, glad for a neutral topic.

"I feel like pizza," Cordy said.

Xander seconded her motion quickly. Cordelia went to get her purse. Soon all three of them were riding in the elevator down to the car.

With Cordelia around, it seemed more of a friendly visit. Less threatening for everyone. And soon they slipped into the familiar banter of old friends. They got to the pizza parlor and ate heartily, everyone contentedly rubbing their stomachs by the end of the meal.

Xander was only semi-surprised when a particular guy approached their table. Cordelia had been sending him motions all night. She must have planted him here. Xander's admiration for Cordy's trickery grew. He introduced himself as Jack, and he spoke to them all for a few minutes conversationally before he finally asked Cordy if she would like to go for a coffee somewhere. She happily accepted and was gone before either Xander or Willow could protest.

Minutes later, Willow seemed to gather her wits again. She reached for her purse and began rummaging through it. "I hope I have the keys to her car with me," she mumbled, relieved when she found them. "What was she thinking?" she said more loudly, looking at Xander.

"She was influenced by love. It makes you do the wacky." Xander replied.

"I see." Willow sought a way to nip this conversation in the bud. Xander was looking at her that way again. "How would you feel about picking up a video? I know it's kinda anti-climactic to fly across the country to watch a movie, but-"

Xander cut her off. "I'd love to."

He was staring at her intently. She swallowed hard and looked at her hands. "We'd better go if we want to have any kind of selection."

Xander stood and helped her on with her jacket. He threw some money down on the table and grasped her elbow lightly to steer her out of the restaurant. She shook her head slightly as he held the door open for her and then took the car keys from her to open the car door. He never acted this gentlemanly. Not even with Cordelia or Buffy. He was going to be harder to convince than she thought. She started the car and drove to the video store nearest to the apartment. She and Xander finally settled on a comedy, and she paid for the video quickly. His hovering was getting out of hand. She wanted to get home to her own turf.

Once in the apartment again, she told him to go sit down while she made some popcorn. In the kitchen, she almost collapsed with relief. Although her head was telling her that Xander didn't mean any of it, that he was confused, her heart and body were taut with the thrill of being near him again. He'd been so --- loving all night. Smiling at her in that way, holding doors for her, carefully steering her through crowds as if he was protecting her. Her heart was overfilled with joy at all this attention, while her head shrieked caution at every turn. She closed her eyes and prayed for the strength to do what she had to do. The timer sounded loudly on the microwave, indicating the popcorn was ready. She carefully emptied it into a bowl, and opened two cans of soda. She arranged it all on a tray and returned to the living room.

Xander was fast-forwarding through the previews when she returned. He smiled at her, hoping he was conveying all his love in the act. She nervously returned his smile and set the tray down. She sat beside him and handed him a drink. He wrapped his hand around hers as he took it, and her eyes flew to his. "Xander, I -"

"Shhh," he said, softly placing a finger against her lips. "I just wanted to get your full attention so I could tell you something." She was about to protest again, but he pressed his finger firmly against her lips. Which distracted him. They were so soft. He wanted more than anything in his life to kiss her right then. But he knew that would be the exact wrong thing to do, so he murmured, "Shhh" again. "Will, I just wanted to tell you that I'll wait as long as it takes until you believe me. I know that you think that this is just some silly phase I'm going through, but it's not. I was so stupid. I wake up every morning and go to sleep every night hating myself for being so stupid. I hate myself for not seeing the truth sooner. I've loved you for a long time, Willow. I was just too thick to realize it. And I'm sorry for all those years I hurt you. I want to spend the rest of my life erasing that hurt. I want to make you happy. And I'll wait until you're ready to believe me, because there are only two things in life I couldn't stand. One is if you don't love me, and two is if you don't think that I love you." He watched her eyes fill with tears as he spoke. Her lower lip began trembling against his finger. He moved his finger up to her cheek and swiped away the lone tear that had escaped her eyes. He stared deeply into them. "I LOVE you, Willow Rosenberg."

Willow stared back for what seemed to be an eternity. The enormous lump in her throat made it impossible to speak. She looked into his eyes, looking for any sign of that old passive Xander who would no doubt leave her alone and shattered. She tried to remember if his eyes had ever had that intense look when he looked at Cordy or Buffy. And her heart twisted and sang as she realized that he truly meant it. What was she going to do now? Did she love him? 'YES!' her heart shrieked back. What about Jason? 'Jason who?' her heart responded. Oh, Xander, it would be so easy to love you. But do you really mean it? Are you going to change your mind and leave me? He was looking at her expectantly. She couldn't speak. The tears wouldn't let words through.

"Will, you don't have to say anything now. Just think about it, okay?" She nodded her head vigorously and attempted a wobbly smile. He leaned forward and kissed her very softly on the lips. The pressure was slight at first, but then more insistent. It was a kiss that was everything she'd ever dreamed a kiss could be. Passionate, loving, daring and reassuring all at once. She felt tingly all over, and when his lips parted from hers, she felt her heart dip precariously.

He reached for her hand and entwined her fingers with his. His other hand hit the play button on the remote. He felt a ray of hope as brilliant as pure sunshine light up his heart. She didn't chastise him, didn't deny that his love was real, had let him kiss her and was letting him hold her hand. He knew he had a whole weekend of reinforcing the idea that he loved her ahead of him, but he smiled as he realized that he would gladly spend the rest of his life reassuring her that his love was real.