Discovery

Chapter 13

Booth leaned back in his office chair, his email program open on his computer screen. He exhaled slowly, considering what he was going to type, before he lowered his hands to the keyboard.

Dear Willow,

This weekend sounds great; I'm looking forward to meeting you so much. I have arranged a ticket for a plane that will land at L.A. airport at about 1:00 in the afternoon on Saturday. I'm sorry for the lack of warning, but, like I motioned earlier, I'm really looking forward to meeting you at last.

It feels like we've been emailing for ages but it's only been a week. I'm glad you enjoyed my Star Wars joke. You seemed like the kind of person to get that kind of thing.

I was sad to read that your parents were away so much and that you were left alone so much when you were younger, but I was glad that they still look out for you financially at least. In my line of work, you see a lot of bad stuff.

I'm glad that you do lots of things with your friends It's important that you don't bury yourself in study too much and have the chance to get out and do fun stuff with your friends. On the same note, you need to be responsible and look out for yourself and your friends, but you sound very responsible.

I hope to hear from you soon. I look forward to seeing you on the weekend.

From your dad.

Hitting the send button, Booth leaned back in his chair again and rubbed his hands over his face nervously.

BtVS/BONES BtVS/BONES BtVS/BONES BtVS/BONES BtVS/BONES

As the week drew on, Willow felt increasingly nervous as the time of her father's arrival in Sunnydale drew close. The other Scoobies watched as Willow obsessively cleaned, both her room at Buffy's house, which she was still staying at, and the Rosenberg residence. Her already near-perfect behaviour in class improved to a point that it was practically faultless.

The others knew that Willow was doing it because she wanted to make a good impression on the FBI agent when he arrived on Saturday. Eventually, Buffy took Willow aside, sitting her down on the floor up in the stacks during lunchtime, before sitting down beside her.

"What's wrong, Wills?"

"Nothing's wrong, Buffy. Why should anything be wrong?" Willow smiled brightly but Buffy could tell that it was fake.

"Willow, relax, it's just me. You don't have to pretend, not with me."

Willow's face fell and her eyes filled with tears.

"I'm scared, Buffy. What if he doesn't like me? All my life, I've known that my parents didn't care and, ever since I found out that they weren't my real parents, I've been hoping that my real parents, you know, would really care about me, maybe even love me. Love me the way your mom loves you and, now that I know he's coming, I'm scared that he won't," Willow babbled, her tears running down her cheeks. Buffy immediately pulled Willow into an embrace.

"Aw, Wills, it'll be okay. I'm sure your dad will love you. You're sweet and kind, and smart, and you're really helpful when fighting the forces of evil. What's not to love? Your adopted parents are just too stupid to see it."

Willow sobbed into Buffy's shirt, leaving wet marks in the material, as Buffy rubbed her shoulders.

"Thanks, Buffy," Willow quietly whispered once she had a semblance of control over herself.

"Its okay, Wills. What are friends for?" Buffy asked.

Willow smiled and shifted out of Buffy's embrace.

"I got your shirt all wet," Willow said, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment. Buffy rolled her eyes and grinned.

"Willow, it's okay. Snap out of it."