Title: Walkabout – Voyage of Rediscovery 13/?

Author: Mike McD

Rating: R

Summary: Two bitter and lost souls on rock bottom decide to go Walkabout. Two years after 'Chosen'.

Distribution: Anywhere, just let me know.

Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer nor do I own any other characters. This is a work of fiction written for fun and enjoyment.

WARNING!!!

If you don't like fics with some Buffy bashing then move along now. Everyone else, enjoy.

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It was a very happy Willow who practically skipped into Xander's room the next morning. Xander was still in bed, sitting up with Willow's laptop. He eyed her off suspiciously.

"You know I think it's illegal in this country to be so cheerful before noon. As your best friend I thought I'd better inform you of that fact before you go outside and end up committing a bootable offence."

Willow giggled. Xander was stunned to hear Willow actually giggle like a schoolgirl at his rather lame Simpson's reference. He put aside the laptop and examined her face as she sat on the end of his bed.

"Hmmm... It's not the jittery-eyed 'I've had a weeks worth of mocha's in one hour' sugar rush look, because the nearest Starbucks is like 50 miles away. And it's not the black eyed 'I've been working the major mojo' magic crack look, because, like I said, no black eyes. And it's definitely not the sleepy eyed 'I've got 57 gigabytes of hardcore porn on my hard drive' stress free look, because I've had your laptop here for the last two days."

Willow let out an indignant squeak and whacked Xander several times, all the while blushing brilliant red.

"Oh my God! You... you..."

Xander was laughing like a madman as he tried to defend himself from Willow's attack.

"Hey! I'm not being judgemental here. It's high quality porn. OK, it's 57 gigabytes worth of high quality hardcore porn, but still..."

Willow stopped hitting him and hid her face in her hands in embarrassment. She wondered if you could die from too much blushing. Xander decided that he'd had enough fun teasing Willow and reached over and grabbed her in a big, old-fashioned bear hug.

After a while she looked up at him and gave him the evil eye.

"You're despicable." She told him in her best Daffy Duck voice.

"Yeah, ain't I a stinker?" Xander responded al la Bugs.

The two friends cracked up in a new fit of childish laughter that went on for a while. When it ended they were laying side by side on the floor next to Xander's bed, Willow having fallen off the bed laughing and Xander having been dragged there after laughing at her.

"You wanna go out tonight?"

"Dunno, what you got in mind, Wills?"

"This."

Willow handed Xander a flyer she had picked up the hotel lobby.

"Uh, I don't know if you've noticed, but this is a Country and Western shingding."

"Yeah, so? You like Country and Western."

"And you don't."

"Come on Xander! I want us to go out and have fun together. There's gonna be food and dancing and stacks of people just having good old fashioned clean fun and I want in on it." Willow gushed with enthusiasm. Xander shook his head in wonder at the massive and positive change in Willow he was witnessing.

"Alright, alright. We'll go." He conceded.

"Yay!" Willow cheered and got up. "Get dressed. We've got some shopping to do!"

"Shopping?"

"Of course. We've gotta look the part for tonight." She insisted before racing into her room.

Xander's head flopped back onto the floor with a thud and he looked up at the ceiling.

"Shopping. I bet you're laughing your ass off right now, aren't you Cordy."

----

Xander had wondered just how much fun Willow would actually have, but it turned out that she had the time of her life. She had gone the whole hog with her clothes; boots, jeans, flannel shirt tied at the bottom, denim vest, and hat. He had to admit that he hadn't scrubbed up to badly either. Using the ever-present black eye patch as a theme, he had gone all black; black boots, black jeans, black shirt, and a black Akubra hat.

All he needed was a moustache and a six shooter hanging off his hip and he'd be the classical western bad guy.

There were long rows of tables and benches surrounding the dance floor and a stage for the musicians. The organisers had done a good job of giving the event a real country feel.

Dinner was great, the two former Scoobies had shared their long wooden table with several families with children. Xander and Willow had chatted happily to the adults and played games with the kids. After dinner Willow dragged Xander to the dance floor.

Xander's idea of country music was music that spoke of pain, loss, and heartbreak. But the music he and Willow danced to was bright and happy. It was a celebration of life, love, and fun. Neither Willow nor Xander were the best dancers there, but Willow's enthusiasm and happiness more than made up for it as Xander found himself being swept up by it.

It was a toe tapping, thigh slapping, boot scooting fun time.

And for one night, there were no vampires, no magic, no epic battle between good and evil. Just two life long friends having a good time together.

----

Once they had returned to their hotel, they had showered and lay on Willow's bed together watching TV and talking about their night of fun. As they talked, Xander watched Willow's expressions and body language carefully. Something had definitely changed for the better in her. Come to think of it, something had changed in him tonight as well. It was almost as if...

"You found them, didn't you?"

Xander didn't need to explain who he was talking about to Willow.

"Yeah. I did." She admitted.

"How?"

"I was talking to you the other day and you were carrying on and I was all 'Damn it! He's making feel like I'm 16 all over again'. Then suddenly I thought to myself 'Isn't that who you've been looking for?' And it was.

"Here we were doing all this self introspection and seeking our inner child and it turns out we were looking in the wrong place. We so totally screwed up our lives that there was only one place where those kids could live on."

"Where? Where were they?" Xander whispered, desperate to know.

"The safest place they could find. The little girl... here..." she reached out and touched Xander's heart "The little boy... here." She touched her own heart.

It sounded so... simple. So trite. But Xander knew in the bottom of his heart it was true.

In reconnecting with each other, they had found themselves.