Discovery

Chapter 3

Two days after Willow sent the email to the adoption agency; Ira and Shelia Rosenberg left Sunnydale once again, this time for a lecture tour of South America, followed by a holiday in Europe. Willow remembered from the itinerary she'd been given before the confrontation that they were not due back in Sunnydale until the New Year. Willow was glad when Xander reported her parent's car was once again missing from the driveway of her house, as she'd been living in clothes that Buffy and Cordelia had been lending to her, and they weren't particularly to her taste, although the appreciative wolf whistles she had been getting from some of the boys at school had been nice for a change.
The afternoon after Xander discovered that the car was gone, Buffy, Willow, Xander and Cordelia went to the Rosenberg house. Xander was glancing around, enjoying having an opportunity to practice and hone in on his new found 'solder boy' persona, much to the amusement of his companions.
"Xander, you do know that technically it's not breaking and entering because I live here and I'm inviting you inside? Hell, you have your own key." Willow commented, smiling fully for the first time in days.
Xander pouted, as Cordelia and Buffy dissolved into giggles.
"Right, lets all make fun of the Xand-man," Xander frowned as Willow pulled her keys from her school bag and slid them into the front door. She turned the key, and the lock clicked. Willow grinned.
"At least they didn't change the locks on the door, Wills" Xander comforted reassuringly as Willow opened the door and stepped over the threshold. He followed his best friend, and the others followed them into the deserted house.
Xander had never really liked Willow's house, as it had always given him a wiggins. It was sparsely decorated house with very few photos on display. It was not very welcoming, and it felt cold and hard, and Xander hadn't liked it, despite his own home being less than welcoming.
The Scooby gang spread out, giving Willow some space, but at the same time staying close to her if they were needed. Willow walked into the kitchen and frowned, having spotted the large envelope left inconspicuously on the bench. She opened it cautiously (it was the hellmouth after all) and pulled out several pieces of paper. The top piece of paper was a hand written letter, and Willow instantly recognised her father's handwriting.
'Dearest Willow' the letter read,'I hope that this letter finds you well and safe. I am truly sorry for the way your mother and I treated you the night you asked us about your heritage. It was inexcusable and we can only beg for your forgiveness, and the forgiveness of the Lord.
Even though you may not be ours by blood, Willow, Shelia and I still love you very much. I know that we are often not there, but this is because we trust you. You have grown into such a wonderful young woman, and we are both so proud of you.
We hope to see you again in the New Year. Your loving Parents
Ira and Shelia Rosenberg.
P.S. Money will continue to be deposited into your bank account on a weekly basis, and you know where the emergency credit card is.Willow frowned and shuffled the letter to the back of the papers that were within the envelope. When she saw what it was, her jaw dropped, and her eyes welled up in tears. Buffy, Xander, and Cordelia were at her side in a moment.
"What's wrong Wills?" Buffy asked worriedly.
"It, it's from the hospital I was born at. Charleston Area Medical Center's Women's and Children's Hospital. That's in West Virginia. Wow, that's a long way away."
"That means you're not a Californian, which does kind of explain some things, because you were never really interested in things Californian girls are into." Cordy said calmly. Buffy and Xander glared at her, though Willow chuckled, getting what Cordy was trying to say.
'Cordy, I have fair skin and red hair; of course I'm not going to be into tanning." "Hey, maybe that's a common thing up there, you never know." Xander offered.
"Hey, Wills, let me put it this way, at least you weren't born on the hellmouth. I always knew you were too sweet, innocent and nice to have been born here in Sunnydale." Buffy consoled. Willow smiled tearfully.
"Aw, thank you Buffy." Willow hugged the slayer warmly.
"So, You were born in West Virginia, does it say anything about your mother?"
"No, but I don't think they would give out the mother's details." Willow said as she flicked to the next piece of paper. This one was a copy of the adoption papers. She scanned the paper with her eyes, looking for any new information. The others clustered around her, looking over her shoulder.
"She wasn't married" Willow murmured, pointing out a line on the form. It read 'Reason for adoption: Unwed mother'
"She could have been our age, or younger." Buffy murmured.
"She would have been so scared, especially if my dad had left, and her parents didn't approve." Willow whispered her eyes wide in horror. Xander held her closely, comforting her, while Cordy reread the information on the page.
"She might not have been really young, just not married yet." Cordelia offered comfortingly. "Oh my God, I'm a bastard." Willow murmured, her voice shocked.
"It doesn't mean anything, Willow. It doesn't matter." Xander stated firmly.
"Thanks Xand."
Together, they looked through the rest of the papers, but learnt nothing new about Willow, or her parents. Willow put everything back into the envelope, and put it in her schoolbag, before she went upstairs and got enough clothes to last her the rest of the week, having decided that she didn't particularly want to stay by herself. Once she had everything she needed loaded into a duffel bag, Willow shepherded the others out, before locking the house up again, and walking back towards Buffy's house with her friends.
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A week later, Willow walked the streets of Sunnydale alone, soaking in the sunshine. Buffy had a post school training session with Giles, and Xander and Cordelia were doing couple-ish things that Willow didn't want to think about. It was a nice day, the sun was shining and the birds were singing, and it was almost unseasonably warm, so she didn't want to go and see Angel, who was probably asleep anyway.
The course Willow was walking would take her past her house, and she decided that she should check the mail and water Shelia's beloved potted plants. Willow walked up the familiar front path up to her front porch and pulled her keys from her bag. She unlocked the door and stepped over the threshold, noticing the pile of mail that was waiting for her upon the doormat. She closed the door behind her, before crouching to the ground and scooping up the mail. She carried it into the kitchen, and dumped it on the bench, dropping her school bag on the floor before picking up the watering can from the pantry and filling it with water from the tap. She walked around the house, watering all the pot plants, before she returned to the kitchen, putting the watering can away. She approached the stack of mail and flicked through it.
Bill,
Bill,
Junk,
Bill,
Letter from the adoption agency, Junk,
Bill,
Willow froze and backtracked to the letter from the adoption agency. They'd actually responded. Willow gulped nervously, holding the letter loosely in her hand. She had the answer to her real heritage in her hand, and suddenly she was scared. She wished that everything was back the way it was, when Parents were parents, and she was blissfully unaware that the main reason that she lived in Sunnydale was because her parents thought she would add credibility to their own careers.
Willow grabbed her bag and the rest of the mail, bolting out of the front door and locking it, before she ran back towards the school.
She needed to be in a homely environment when she opened the letter, and the Sunnydale high school library was, for Willow, as homely as she could get.
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Giles tiredly wiped sweat from his brow as he watched Buffy bounce around the library. They had just had an extensive training session, and the Watcher was thoroughly exhausted. Nothing at the Watcher's Academy could ever prepare you for what training a slayer was like physically.
Giles jumped when the library doors burst open, and Willow ran into the room, her pale face flushed, and her breathing haggard. Obviously she had just run a long way.
"Willow, what's wrong?" Buffy asked, stopping her bouncing. Both Slayer and Watcher approached the young hacker.
"Is it your parents, I mean, the Rosenbergs?" Giles asked. Willow shook her head quickly.
"I went to check the mail, and water the pot plants, and the adoption agency has written back" Willow softly explained.
"And?" Buffy said.
"I can't open it, Buffy, I'm scared."
"Oh, Wills, It'll be okay. Me and Giles are here, and Xander and Cordy will be here later on for research stuff. You're not alone."
"Whatever that letter says, Willow, we will support you in exactly the same way that we always have," Giles added. Buffy nodded in agreement.
'Giles is right; it's not going to change a thing. You're still going to be our Willow."
"Thanks Buffy, thanks Giles," Willow said, before she dropped into one of the library chairs. Buffy and Giles sat on either side of her. Willow exhaled, before she slid her thumb under the seal of the envelope and began to open it. Once the envelope had been opened, Willow briefly hesitated, before she took the figurative plunge, holding her breath as she pulled the letter from the envelope and unfolded it. She read the letter out loud, her voice unsteady with nerves.
"Dear Miss Rosenberg,
I write in response to your application to be told the identity of your birth parents, and am pleased to inform you that on behalf of this adoption agency, I am able to give you their names. Unfortunately, however, due to law, we cannot give you their location, or any other information apart from their occupation at the time of your birth, their age at that time, and their names. Please bear in mind, if you choose to seek out your birth parents that their name might have changed through marriage or some other circumstance.
According to our records, your biological mother's name is Carmen Stuart. She was unemployed, and was nineteen years old
According to our records, your biological father's name is Seeley Booth. He was an enlisted solider, and was nineteen years of age.
I hope this information is helpful, and that you find the answers you are seeking. Yours Sincerely,
Luke Jones, Research Department"