Discovery

Chapter 26

Willow poked her tongue between her teeth as she fiddled with her hair, trying to get the long red strands to sit the way she wanted them to. Normally she wouldn't care about it but she was going with her father (as his plus one... which was exciting because she'd never been plus anything before, except for getting A plusses at school) to the Jeffersonian Christmas party and she wanted to make a good impression and to be presentable enough that her father would be proud to introduce her as his daughter.

Willow finally slid the last pin into place and smiled at herself in the mirror. Sure, she wasn't nearly as pretty as Buffy and Cordelia and she wasn't very good and doing her own hair up nice, but at least she looked presentable. She glanced down at the clothes she was wearing, glad that Buffy and Cordelia had taken her shopping for some new clothes. She was wearing a knee length black dress with streaks of dark green worked into the soft material. She'd also a brought a matching dark green jacket and had pulled on some strappy black shoes.

Satisfied that she was ready, Willow walked out of the bathroom of Booth's apartment and headed back to the bedroom so she could put away her things. She smiled as she looked around the small guest bedroom. There wasn't much room in it, a big double bed and a dresser and a desk almost filled it, but it was cozy and Willow felt comfortable in there. She put her things in her suitcase and picked up her jacket from off the bed along with her handbag. She walked out of her room, heading towards the living room.

Booth had gone to work that day, his last day until after Christmas, so Willow had been alone in his apartment. Booth had offered to fake being ill so he could stay home with her but Willow had shaken her head and shooed him out the door. She'd entertained herself be doing a bit of reading, for once not school- or research-connected but instead some old cushy classic romance novels, and she'd had an afternoon nap, just because she could, and she guessed that it was going to be a late night, not that she wasn't used to it.

Now she was waiting for Booth to come and collect her on his way from the Hoover building to the Jeffersonian. Willow found herself looking forward to it. The previous night Dr. Saroyen, or as she insisted Willow call her, Cam, had offered to organize a personalized tour of the lab and the museum for Willow and Willow had happily agreed, looking forward to it. The Jeffersonian looked like an interesting place to visit and Willow, always a keen learner, anticipated that a personalized tour would be highly educational and with a bit of luck, it would be far more interesting than the psychology conferences in LA her mother had taken her to up until Willow was about fifteen.

Willow sat down on the couch and looked around the apartment. The place reminded her strongly of Booth. The movies and books on the shelf were a mixture of action, comedy and sports, with a good selection of children's movies on the lower shelves, obviously for Parker's benefit when he came to stay. The apartment was tidy but still felt lived in, the exact opposite of the sterile, impersonal home that she'd grown up in and Willow felt comfortable and safe, even though she'd spent less than a day there. Willow didn't know how to explain it, so she simply shrugged and went with the flow, fully intending to enjoy spending time with her biological father and half-brother and not worrying about things. She could worry when she returned to Sunnydale.

Willow's gaze flickered over to a framed photo of Booth and Parker together. She smiled. It was a Friday and tomorrow she and Booth were going to go and pick Parker up from his mother's house and then drop him off again on Monday. He'd be back again Wednesday afternoon, as Wednesday was Christmas Day, and then he'd spend the following week with her and Booth. Parker would go home on New Year's Day and Willow would fly back to Sunnydale on the fifth of January, so they would be able to spend lots of time together. Willow bounced a little in her chair as she thought of actually getting to meet her younger brother. She knew that over Christmas Booth was going to introduce her to his grandfather and brother but it was Parker, the loveable little boy who had sounded so excited on the phone and that Booth had talked about so much that she was really looking forward to meeting.