I scrunched my forehead. "But Buffy talked about being called a whole bunch, and she never mentioned the dream."

"Most Slayers don't remember it. They didn't know the previous Slayer, you see, so it's just a dream where a strange girl gives them something. But because you knew Buffy and lost her so recently, the dream stuck in your mind."

"So … so I'm the Slayer now? I'm Fight Girl?"

"It would, er, appear that way. But I'll need to get in touch with the Council … they keep a seer on staff who will be able to say for sure."

I nodded. "So when will we know? And what do I do until then?"

"Go home, Willow. Just relax – perhaps do some, er, stretching, or yoga if you like. Don't worry about it; If you come over tomorrow at three, I should know."

That night was a thousand years long. I tried reading a book on basic witchcraft Ms. Calendar had lent me, but it all blurred into one long spell requiring a lot of heather and plain yogurt. Finally, I fell into a fitful sleep.

The next day, I reached Giles' door at 2:57. He was smiling as he let me in.

"I've spoken to the seer. The dream was accurate. Willow, you're the slayer."

Excitement and fear hit me in equal measure. My brain ping-ponged back and forth; "I'm the Slayer! I'll fight the bad guys!," said one side of my brain. "I'm the Slayer! I'll die young!" screamed the other. The shouting match went on as Giles explained my duties, the "One girl in all the world," bit, and so on. He also told me a bit more; apparently, I'm the first Jewish Slayer since the Spanish Inquisition, and only the third Slayer in the last 500 years to have known the Slayer who came before her. "The last one was a Lakotan Indian, Spirit Horse; she was Called after her aunt was killed battling vampires," Giles explained.

I nodded. Her aunt, I thought. If she was old enough to be Called, that must mean sometimes slayers live a long time … except, it might have been one of those weird family things, where the grandma has a kid at practically the same time as her daughter … and people had kids younger then, too. So, maybe not so old. I shuddered.

"So when do we start training?" I asked, determined to be bright.

"Willow … " Giles said. "There's … one thing you have to know about that."

The hairs on my neck prickled as I turned around. I could tell from Giles's voice that this would not be good news. He stared at his lap and cleaned his glasses as he spoke.

"Willow, I … there's a tradition, you see, and … New slayers traditionally …" The motion of his hands became more frantic as he tried and discarded various sentences. Finally, he put his glasses back on and looked right at me.

"Willow, I won't be your watcher."

Doubt shot through me. When I'd pictured slaying, I'd pictured Giles at my side, training me, protecting me as he had Buffy. And look how well that went, a voice in my head added.

"But … why not?"

Giles sighed. "It's tradition. If an active watcher loses a Slayer, the Council likes us to spend a few months at headquarters. Get up to date on the new literature, try to figure out … what went wrong. It helps us as watchers to deal with each girl as an individual, rather than having our performance tainted by past … past failures." He stood up, as though that was that.

"But … no!" I said, through the lump in my throat. "You … you can't. I know you, Giles. How am I supposed to work with someone else?"

Giles picked up a book on his desk and began to leaf through it. I noticed his hands shaking. "Yes, I can see where it would come as a blow. But, Willow, it's really for the best. I believe you'll get on quite well with your new watcher."

"So you know him?" Hope glimmered in my belly. Another Giles … maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

"By reputation. His father was an instructor when I was at the Watcher's Academy, very strict but not unfair. Wesley must have been nine or ten then. I never saw him, but I know his father had high hopes for him. And from what I hear, he's done quite well at his studies." "Wesley?"

"Wesley Wyndam-Pryce. You're lucky, in a way – you'll be his first Slayer. I'm sure he's quite modern in his methods. Like me, his cover will be employment as librarian at Sunnydale High."

"When does he get here?" And when do you leave? went unspoken.

"He'll arrive in California on the fifteenth of August. I'll work with you until then, and stay on for two weeks to give him the lay of the land, as it were."

That gave me another month with Giles. And a lot can happen in a month, I reminded myself. Maybe Giles will decide to stay on.

"Do you … do you have any questions, Willow?"

I shook my head. "No…" I tried for a smile. "It all sounds great."

Finis, for now.

Be brutally honest, please. I know it's first draft-y.

I like it. I want to see what happens next.

I like it, Lyra Jane. I'll leave the high level stuff to other people, I am one with the picking of the nits.

After the last vamp fled the graveyard, I practically bounced over to the tree he had crouched behind. "Xander! Did you see that! With the stake and the branch and the high kick! And the – and the fun! That was fun!," I babbled.

Good Willow babble.

But the bag inspired Xander and I.

'I' should be 'me.'

That's all I got. Just wanted you to know I'd read and enjoyed it.

Lyra, I'm liking this, rather a lot.

Grammary and layout bits:

But the bag inspired Xander and I.

"....Xander and me." If you're uncertain as to which form, just drop the middle bit and see which would you say. "The bag inspired I", no. "The bag inspired me", yes. Which you already know, duh, but I figured I'd toss it out there, because, well, former tutor, can't help pedantic crap.

And from what I hear, he's done quite well at his studies." "Wesley?"

Paragraph break needed there.

I think you've totally nailed Giles' voice, and I'm very picky about the Gilesvoice thing.

And I looooove Willow as slayer. Whee!

Very intriguing idea. Now I want to know how you conceived it. It's interesting. I want to know more.

I'm looking forward to seeing what happens when Wesley arrives. In this timeline, he'd be arriving a full year earlier than in the canonical Buffyverse, right?

Having Buffy die in "Prophecy Girl" and having Willow become the Slayer certainly changes a lot of things, doesn't it? No loss-of-soul boinkage, no Kendra, no Faith...

Wonder if the confidence of being the Slayer brings Willow to come out earlier?

Thansk for the praise and nitpicking! The graph break is there in my document -- I must've lost it in the pasting.

Deb, I'm glad to hear you thought I had Giles. Tho, of course, I'm writing him out, at least for a chapter or two... (I know Angel will be back. I'm not sure about Giles.) It'll be interesting to write Wesley. I'm a bit worried about my Xander...

Now I want to know how you conceived it.

For the last few days, I've been thinking about that scene in "Becoming" where Angel watches Buffy come down the steps before she's called, and I've been wondering what if it was Willow. It turned into an AU S2 because it seemed the most natural place for Willow to be called, in terms of her storyline.

In this timeline, he'd be arriving a full year earlier than in the canonical Buffyverse, right?

Almost 18 months earlier. He will be VERY green, very perplexed that Willow isn't like the Slayers he read about at the Academy.

But I think uncertainty and danger bring out the best in Wes.

Having Buffy die in "Prophecy Girl" and having Willow become the Slayer certainly changes a lot of things, doesn't it? No loss-of-soul boinkage, no Kendra, no Faith...

Yeah -- that's another aspect that intrigues me. The characters don't have asmuch baggage as they would if, say, Willow was called after S5.

Wonder if the confidence of being the Slayer brings Willow to come out earlier?

Not super-early, because I can't pass up a chance to do Willow/Oz. But Amy Madison will be in the story, so there may be some wacky Wicca crushage. Can't say, yet.