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"Buffy" Willow says when she turns to see that her friend has joined her on the deck.
"Sorry Will, if you're out here I'll come back later."
"No" Willow holds out her hand, "stay"
Buffy's sitting next to her, they're both looking at the trees in front of them. Buffy's squeezing Willow's hand. The leaves on the trees are twinkling with the stars, in reality, it's the same breeze that's making Willow's feet cold.
Willow's been crying, suddenly Buffy is trying to hide her own tearstained face.
"Buffy" Willow says, and Buffy glances at her. "Are you scared?"
Buffy looks at her, and then back at the stars in the trees. "I don't have time to scared, Willow. But yes." She swallows back tears. "Yeah, I'm scared."
And then suddenly Willow is crying, and Buffy's holding her. And the trees are twinkling.
"I'm sorry Buffy." Willow says.
She doesn't say, 'I'm sorry I can't look after you. I'm sorry I can't fix this. I'm sorry you have to fix this. I'm sorry you have to be the mother to the whole world again. I'm sorry I can't make it better. I'm sorry I can't reach inside your chest and take all the aching away. I wish I could.'
Willow looks at the trees. Buffy looks at her. "I'm sorry." She says again. And it's Buffy's turn to cry. And it's Willow's turn to hold her. Willow closes her eyes against Buffy's hair, trying to push all the love and hurt she holds for her friend into her body. She doesn't know if it's working, but Buffy's still crying.
And so they hold each other, because it's all they can do, and the breeze makes them cold and, the trees twinkle in front of them.