RC 2018: NEW CHAPTER 7/7/07

[Sheridan]

Title: Home Ground

Author: Mike Mullen

Rating: NC-17/18 because of violence, adult themes and sex.

Spoilers: None what so ever

Disclaimer: All the original BTVS characters belong to Joss Whedon and ME, everyone else in the stories are my personal slaves.

Summary: Willow and Tara are drawn back to Tara‘s hometown and find themselves facing the forces that claimed Tara‘s mother.

Authors notes: This is quite a sad story, and in fact the happy fuzzy ending won‘t come until ‘Divided Loyalties’ is written.

Feedback: Just add your comments at the end of the story.

Home Ground

1. "Best Birthday"

The table was filled with brightly coloured packages; though Tara's view of them was currently obscured by a large broom being held by Dawn. Buffy's sister had a look that just begged Tara to like the gift. Tara smiled, "Well it's sort of old fashioned, but it's cool."

        Dawn looked incredibly relieved and happy, "Well I thought it was the one witchy thing you didn't have except for a crystal ball and well," she waved in the direction of Giles and nearly knocked a drink out of a girls hand.

        Giles looked at the crystal ball in his hands to make sure it was safely out of Dawn’s reach, "I thought of it first, and please be careful Dawn."'

        Tara thought Giles was being overly concerned, both he and Buffy had been overly protective around Dawn the last couple of days. Granted Joyce was ill and Dawn could be handful but they seemed to be going overboard. Tara spotted Buffy near the dance floor with Elias; he appeared to have distracted her for the time being from the way Buffy was wrapped around him.

The sight of them embracing set Tara to looking for her own other half, she couldn’t see Willow and then she felt arms sliding around her waist, "Hey lady want to dance?"

        Tara tipped her head to one side, "I don't know, my girlfriend might get jealous," she replied coquettishly.

        Willow spun her round, "Damn right," she murmured before kissing her hard and long.

        A couple of the other guests found other places to look Dawn just smiled at how sweet they were together. She remembered the weekend when Willow had suddenly disappeared from Sunnydale and Buffy, Xander and Giles went off in pursuit. Dawn had been more than a little surprised when they had returned with this blonde girl in tow and Willow acting like she had known Tara forever, as though someone had just magicked her up fully formed.

        At first it had been a huge pain when her mom had agreed to put Tara up at their house but Tara was nice and Willow seemed to really like her, which meant Dawn almost had to like her. The reason why the two were spending so much time together only became clear after Dawn eavesdropped on a conversation between her mom, Tara, and Willow the night after a lot of strange noises had kept her awake. Once the couple was out Dawn finally got it, Willow and Tara were in love.

        In the years since Dawn had grown to idolize the pair, and not just because they were such kick ass witches. It was the way they always seemed to be so happy around one another, there was none of the angst there had been with Buffy and Angel or the constant bickering of Xander and Cordelia. If she ever found someone that was how she would want it to be.

        "Get a room you two." Buffy announced as she and Elias joined them.

        "We have a room, we just choose not to use it at the moment." Willow responded. Buffy didn't say anything; she just smiled and shook her head.

        "Besides Elias had his tongue down your throat just a minute ago." Dawn interjected.

        Buffy looked exasperated, "Dawn do you want to make an early night of it?" she threatened.

        Elias put a hand on Buffy's shoulder, "Actually she sort of has a point." That got him a hard look but Elias wasn't going to back down, at least not totally, "Not a great one, but a point." His hand slipping onto Buffy's butt probably cut off a sharp retort, even if it did earn a look of disgust from Dawn. Elias couldn't help smiling, Willow and Tara could practically tear each others clothes off and Dawn wouldn't bat an eyelid, all he had to do was kiss Buffy on the cheek to earn coughing and fake gagging noises.

        To get out of this awkward moment Elias reached into his jacket and produced an envelope that he handed to Tara, "You already gave me my present," she commented in a tone of confusion.

        "It's not from me," Elias explained, "It's from my boss, a thank you for your help last month."

        Tara opened the envelope with Willow peering at it closely. The contents turned out to be a check, a check for a thousand dollars. Tara was wide eyed, "Elias this is way too much!" All they had done was modify the vampire uninviting charm to work with a hotel suite.

        Elias shook his head emphatically, "Trust me, preventing Brit... I mean the client from getting turned into some sort of queen of the damned by that vamp was worth an awful lot more than that to the company, and if you want you can think of it as a retainer, in case we need your special skills again." Willow and Tara were too dazed to say anything more so Elias led Buffy back to the dance floor before they could recover and protest further.



        The music had slowed down as Willow led Tara onto the dance floor. As much as she had enjoyed the banter with her friends this was so much better. Tara settled her head on Willows shoulder and Willow returned the gesture, "Good birthday?"

        "The best." Tara replied softly.

        Willow smiled, "We aim to please."

        Tara kissed her neck, "And you always do."

        Willow's smile broadened into a grin, "So which was the best birthday present?"

        Tara could tell she was fishing and decided to tease her, "Well the check was pretty hard to top."

        Willow gave her ass a hard squeeze, Tara squealed, "Ok, ok, I liked what you gave me best, I mean I am wearing it right now."

        "But I can't see it." Willow pointed out, pouting.

        "Well unless you want me to become the floorshow you will just have to wait, won't you?"

        "It might be entertaining, I think I want to keep that show just for me though." Willow decided and Tara was only too happy to agree.



        The low sound of purring stirred Willow from her sleep. She opened her eyes to see cat eyes staring back at her. Miss Kitty Fantastico was sat on her haunches, perched on the bedside table and swishing her tail back and forth. Willow suspected the cat had been sat there for some time; it seemed constantly fascinated by everything she and Tara did. That had been a little unnerving at first but they had gotten used to it. Willow noticed that MKF was sitting on something and as she realized what it was she shooed the cat away. It dropped to the floor and stalked away with an air of injured dignity.

        Willow picked up a black bustier that was draped across the bedside table and checked it for claw marks. Fortunately for the cat’s well being there was no damage to the silk and lace, it would simply be too bad if Tara's birthday present were ruined after a single wear. It was partly Willow's fault of course, she had undone the garment and tossed it aside wantonly; at least on this occasion there hadn't been an open window for it to fall through.

        Tara stirred next to Willow and looked over to see her other half examining her underwear. Tara had not been lying when she had told Willow that the lingerie was the best present she had received, any present she got from Willow was by definition the best present. In fact the lingerie had particularly pleased her by the way it made it clear once again that Willow was still passionate about her physically as well as emotionally, not that the previous night had left much doubt of that.

        "I don't think it will fit you." Tara commented lazily.

        Willow pulled the garment up against her chest, it was a little big for her, "Some of us are more well rounded than others." Willow commented.

        Tar sat up and let the bedclothes fall away. She plucked the bustier out of Willow's hands, "I think you're pretty well rounded," she let her hands cup Willow's breasts. She could feel Willow's nipples perk up in response, "Cold hands?" she asked,

        Willow shook her head, "No, warm, very warm."

        Tara slid her arms around Willow and drew her close before she fell back onto the bed and wrapped her body around Willow's. She rolled over so she was on top of Willow; after all she was still the birthday girl so she was going to call the shots. Tara pressed her mouth against Willow's again and let her tongue probe around Willows while her hands moved down along Willow's sides, stroking and caressing as she went. She let them rest on Willow's hips, slow sliding her legs apart to let her sex press against Willow's. Willow let out a low moan as she felt Tara's heat press against hers. Tara slowly began to rub her body against Willow's; generating moans and groans from the both of them. The bed sheets were thrown to floor as the pair tumbled around the bed, lost in each other.

        Miss Kitty Fantastico was sat on the carpet watching as the pair writhed and moaned, she cocked her head to one side; trying in her feline way to comprehend why her owners spent so much time doing this.



        After all the physical activity the pair were more than ready for a good breakfast; or at least as good as the campus cafeteria was capable of providing, "I wonder if there's a special school they send state employees to so they can learn how not to cook. Or maybe a special supply house that provides equipment guaranteed to burn toast and turn eggs into rubber?" Willow speculated.

        Tara knew Willow was prone to these bursts of weird curiosity, "Maybe both," she offered, more than willing to play along.

        "You aren't taking me seriously." Willow pouted, but her eyes glittered with amusement.

        Tara was going to frame a suitable response when a voice called out from behind her, "Hey sis how are you doing?"

        Both girls spun round to look at the source of the voice, and both stared open mouthed at the sight of Donny Maclay.

2. "Old Wounds"

Tara's brother stood looking at his sister nervously; he avoided staring at Willow. Which was a mistake as she recovered first and with a flick of her wrist dumped him on to the grass and strode over to where he lay and stood over him, "Don't you move!" she commanded, and a dazed Donny was only too happy to comply.

        Any other time Tara would have tried to restrain Willow from wielding her power against a person; right now she was willing to let Willow do what she wanted. The last time Tara had seen her brother they had been standing in a diner her hometown after he had ratted out her plan to leave home to their father. Needless to say it hadn't been a fond farewell and could have become truly ugly if Buffy and the others hadn't arrived at the last moment.

        Donny worked up the nerve to speak, "Hey I just came here to talk to Tara, that's all," he put his hands up in a defensive gesture.

        "You can talk from there." Willow told him bluntly.

        Donny looked at Tara pleadingly, "Look this is something between me and my sister."

        The words rather than the expression prompted a response from Tara, "No Donny if you want to speak to me you have to speak to us."

        Donny had never seen such a determined look on his sister's face before, not even the day she had upped and left home, "Ok I'll talk too the both of you, but can't I get off this grass?"

        Willow glanced at Tara and spoke telepathically, not here, not now.

        Tara considered that and nodded, Willow was right she was far too shook up to face him right now, "We can meet at lunch time, there's a coffee shop downtown, we'll be there at one."

        Donny wanted to protest that this was urgent, but it was clear he wasn't going to get anywhere right now, "Ok one o'clock. See you later sis," he got up and rubbed at the grass stains on his jeans as he watched them walking away.



        Spending the night at Elias' apartment had been a rare break for Buffy and she had been so glad for it, for him. She could tell that Elias knew there was something she wasn't telling him and he accepted that, he trusted that if Buffy felt she had to keep a secret then she had a good reason and he would wait until she was ready. Ironically it was that utter faith he had in her that made Buffy so reluctant to tell him about Dawn. Anyone who knew the truth about Buffy's manufactured sibling was in danger and Buffy was not going to take that risk with Elias, or any of her friends for that matter. The sight of Willow and Tara entering the cafeteria gave her pause; the pair commanded a lot of magic, maybe they should be brought in on the secret?

        Willow spotted Buffy sitting alone and after she made sure Tara filled up her tray the pair made their way over. "You two look like you've seen a ghost." Buffy commented light heartedly, and then frowned at the reaction, "Ok, whose ghost?"

        "Not an actual ghost," Willow explained as Tara shakily sipped her orange juice, "Donny turned up in town. You know, Tara’s brother?”

        Buffy wracked her brain, she knew she had encountered the guy in Quincy but after three years she drew a blank on the face. The only memory that lingered was a certain nastiness. "Not a happy reunion I'm guessing."

        "Good guess." Willow replied. "The SOB doesn't even tell Tara that her grandmother is dead until after they buried her." Willow stopped and looked at Tara remorsefully, "Baby I'm sorry I'm just running on here like a big dummy."

        Tara patted her hand, "It's alright, I pretty much feel the same way; you’re just more articulate.”

        Willow was relieved, "Thanks baby."

        Buffy remembered that when Willow had heard about how the way her family had denied Tara the chance to see her grandmother buried Willow had been prepared to bring down the four horsemen of the apocalypse on Quincy for the pain they had caused Tara. Buffy decided this was a good moment to move the conversation forward, "So what did he want?"

        "I don't know." Tara admitted, "I wasn't really ready to listen to him."

        "We're meeting him in town at lunchtime." Willow filled in.

        Buffy frowned, "Well I guess that's ok, as long as he's alone."

        Willow picked up on Buffy's dubious tone and looked at Tara, "He wouldn't be dumb enough to try something would he?"'

        Tara wanted to say no, but found she couldn't, "I don't think so, I mean not after what you did to him earlier."

        Willow nodded, any smart person would have taken the hint; of course nothing said Donny was all that smart.



        Donny had the uncomfortable feeling that everyone in the coffee shop was watching him; which wasn't paranoia. The fact was Donny stood out like a sore thumb amongst the other customers who were mostly college students and office workers, he looked like he would be more at home on a ranch. He suspected that Tara had chosen this place to remind him that he was on her territory. That didn't seem like the Tara he had known back home; she would never have had the nerve to assert herself. He always been able to get Tara to do his chores and tease her mercilessly about her shyness and inability to fit in. The girl he had found on the campus was nothing like that, she had been upset by his presence but she hadn't budged an inch. As for the red headed girl that Tara had run off with; she was just plain scary.



        Tara spotted Donny sat a table in the middle of the coffee shop. All the surrounding tables seemed to be occupied by local people and she and Willow had taken a walk round the block to make sure that there were no suspicious types lurking around. She had no doubt that they could handle any of Donny's friends if they tried to throw their weight around, it was more the risk of collateral damage that worried her.

        The couple walked over and sat at the table across from Donny. The waitress wandered up and Willow and Tara ordered their usual. Their posture made it clear they weren't ready to talk to Donny yet.

        As soon as the waitress returned and deposited the cups Willow gestured and the air around the table shimmered. "What was that?" Donny asked uneasily.

        "A magical barrier," Willow explained bluntly, enjoying the uneasy look on Donny's face, "It just means we won't get interrupted."

        Donny shook his head, "What, you think I'm here to try and drag you back home?"

        "Aren't you?" Tara demanded with equal parts anger and anxiety.

        Donny looked shocked, "No that's not it. It’s, well I want you to come home.”

        Willow interrupted muttering, "I knew it."

        "I didn't mean it like that." Donny insisted.

        This time Tara interrupted him, "Donny I can't come home because I am home."

        The vehemence of the statement took Donny by surprise, "Ok fine this is your home but I need you to come back to Quincy."

        Donny was practically pleading which was unsettling in itself. Tara hesitated to respond. Willow wasn't having any of it, "Look if you and your father have gotten yourself into trouble then you can just get yourselves out of it again, you didn't feel the need to see Tara when her grandmother died."

        Donny winced, his father hadn't asked his opinion about telling Tara about grandma Lydia's funeral, and if he had Donny would probably have gone along with him, "This ain't about me or dad, it's Quincy. Something weird is going on around town; your kind of weird.”

        That last comment did nothing to improve Willow's mood, "You mean magic? What sort of magic?"

        Donny shrugged, "How should I know? I don't understand this voodoo shit, hell I barely even believe in it."

        Tara found his irritation and profanity more convincing than his pleading; it was more like the Donny she knew, "You just expect me to drop everything and come with you to fix this whatever it is?"

        "I kind of thought that's what you did now." Donny responded.

        That struck home with Tara, if Sunnydale was in peril she wouldn't hesitate to get involved with trying to stop it; could she just leave her former home to suffer? "Where are you staying?" she asked.

        Donny tossed a matchbook on the table, "This place, room one twenty."

        Tara picked the matchbook up, "I'll call you there tonight," she gestured to Willow who took down the barrier, looking very unhappy as she did so.



        The gang had gathered in Xander's apartment after Willow had made a couple of phone calls. Xander had found himself hosting more of these meetings as Giles had made comments about 'insurance rates' and 'the cost of home repairs'. Xander had offered to get them done at cost but in the end he took the hint, besides these days it was getting to be about the only way he could contribute to the cause. Elias knew way more about the soldier stuff than he did, and had contacts that could get hold of some heavy-duty hardware. As for patrolling it had become clear to Xander that he was strictly a third wheel there. No the only things he could do were patch up damage and pass around the dip.

        When Tara and Willow had finished their account of the meeting at the coffee shop Elias was the first to speak up, "I have to go with Willow, this sounds like a setup. Luring her on to his home ground to give himself the advantage and distracting her with some BS story."

        Tara considered that but shook her head, "No Donny isn't that smart or devious," she realized how that sounded, "I don't mean devious as a bad thing."

        Elias waved it away, "Hey devious was part of the training."

        Willow interrupted, "Maybe Donny isn't that devious but what about Mr. Maclay? I mean honey are you sure he couldn't have put Donny up to this?"

        This time Tara couldn't refute the idea, "Maybe, but why would he? He hasn't shown any interest in me for the last three years why would he start now?"

        No one responded for a moment, despite all the time that had passed there had still been unmistakable pain in Tara's comment. Willow finally spoke up, "I suppose the only way to know for sure is to actually go there and find out," she conceded.

        "And if it is some sort of trick we can handle it." Tara stated firmly.

        That got a smile out of Willow, "You bet we can."

        Elias couldn't help but see something predatory in that expression, and felt a moment of genuine pity for whoever got on the wrong side of Willow Rosenberg, but only a moment.

3. "Return Ticket"

The sight of the motel did nothing to make Willow feel better about Donny; it was the same one that Faith had shacked up in when she came to Sunnydale. That didn't trigger any happy memories and made Willow even tenser. Despite the consensus that they had to find out what Donny was up to Willow was still unhappy with having anything to do with Tara's family. At some level Willow was still afraid that somehow they would take Tara away from her; it was irrational bordering on the insane but Willow couldn't quite rid herself of the idea.

        The desk clerk looked up as they walked in; the two young women were a little too fresh faced for cops and a lot overdressed for his regular clientele, "What can I do for you ladies?" he asked in what he imagined was a polite voice.

        To Tara the mans effort came across as creepy, "Could you buzz the guest in room one twenty and tell him his sister is here?"

        The man shook his head, "Guy in one twenty checked out, left this guess it's for you." The man produced a cheap envelope with 'Tara' scrawled on it and handed it over.

        Tara took it with a murmured 'thank you' and as soon as they were standing outside she ripped it open and read the terse note:



"Tara,

Dad tracked me down and told me to get home now. You have to come after me sis, this really is bad and I don't think anyone else could believe it. You've got to do this."



        Willow felt the knot in her stomach grow as she read the note over Tara's shoulder. She could practically smell the cheese in the trap and see the worm wriggling on the hook; this couldn't be anything but a setup and yet she knew it wasn't her decision; "What are we going to do now?"

        Tara took a deep breath, "We do what we were going to do, we go to Quincy and we settle this, one way or another."



        It was impossible to be absolutely certain but Willow felt sure that the bus they had boarded was the same one that had carried her to Quincy years before. One word kept going round and round in Willow's mind; symmetry. She had gone to Quincy to get Tara and brought her back. Now she was going to Quincy with Tara and coming back... She couldn't even finish the thought; Quincy wasn't getting Tara back and that's all there was to it. And just how far will you go to make sure of that? A little voice in the back of her mind asked; Willow refused to answer it on the grounds that she might incriminate herself.

        Tara was dozing as Willow looked at her, angelically beautiful and so sweet. Willow knew that the bond between them was unbreakable but there was always that nagging concern that the rest of the world didn't really accept that, and she wished more than anything that she could do something that would make the world accept the truth. If either of them were a guy of course a trip to the jewelry store would be the obvious way to go, and the way that now she thought of it seemed awfully attractive. A sign on the road jolted Willow back to reality. They were five miles from Quincy and they needed to settle Tara’s past before they worried about the future.

        Some of the billboards on the road into town were new, most were peeling and sun bleached, evidence that even the advertising industry had given up on Quincy. The main street also conveyed an air of slow decay; a place that life had vacated and was just waiting for that fact to sink in. Tara found she had to make herself take a breath as she alighted from the bus, as if the air here was somehow poisonous. She tried to calm herself down; she was determined not to let this place get to her. Tara Maclay was going to show Quincy she wasn't the girl it had tried to grind down. Maybe it was unfair to blame the whole town for her childhood, still it had seemed that at every turn there was some resident of Quincy ready to put her in her place, and it hadn't been a good place. I lived my life in shadow, never the sun on my face. Tara wondered where that had come from; she was sure it was from a song but for the life of her she couldn’t place it. "What the heck happened there?" Willow wondered, drawing Tara's attention across the street and towards the diner; except the diner wasn't there anymore.



        The pair walked across the street to take a closer look at the place. The diner wasn't simply boarded up or abandoned; the front of the building was a ragged wound. The glass and wood facade had been ripped out leaving a few jagged splinters sticking out like stalactites and stalagmites. Willow imagined that the diner had been side swiped by a truck until she looked through the empty space and saw huge pile of wood, glass, and furniture piled in the centre of the room. It could have been that it had all been swept in here when someone cleaned up after whatever had happened, except that some off the glass was imbedded in the tables and chairs, implying that it had struck at high speed. The way some of the other stuff was tangled together suggested it had all been hurled into the middle of the room at the same time and with great force. "Does Quincy get tornadoes very often?" Willow asked semi-seriously.

        "About as often we get snow in Sunnydale." Tara replied and then remembered that one white Christmas courtesy of some higher power, "Actually less often." Tara continued to examine the scene and felt something pricking at her senses, there was an aura hanging over the diner, the trace of something living, or that had been living, it was far from clear.

        Tara explained her sense to Willow who felt oddly relieved, the presence of magic meant this might not be some huge trap after all, just some supernatural nasty lurking around, that was just an ordinary sort of problem. "I guess this is what Donny was so worried about," she commented.

        "I wonder if it's an isolated incident." Tara pondered.

        "The only way to find out is to go and see him." Willow couldn't keep the look of distaste off her face.

        Tara looked just as unhappy, "Actually I don't really want go to the house, and I don't really want to see my dad."

        Willow could go along with that, "Well does he have a favorite bar? We could stake it out and wait for him to turn up."

        "That's a good idea." Tara agreed; Donny wasn’t likely to go very long without a beer unless he had radically changed his habits since she left town.

       

        There was actually only the one bar in Quincy and Willow had taken one look at it and decided they could stake it out just as well from the outside. It was well before noon and there were already half a dozen pickup trucks parked outside the dingy brick building, "Is it as nasty looking inside?" Willow asked.

        "I've never been inside," Tara answered, "My dad would have killed me if he had found me hanging out there, not that I ever wanted to. Way too much testosterone."

        "Guess the Bronze is more your speed huh?" Willow said with a smile.

        "Definitely." Tara responded warmly. She glanced around the street to see if there was any sign of Donny or the truck, there was a familiar face approaching but it wasn't Donny. "Michelle?" Tara called out before she caught herself.

        Willow looked at the girl coming down the street. She was their age with long brown hair, hazel eyes, and high cheekbones. She was pretty, and would have been prettier if she hadn't gone so overboard on the makeup.

        The girl looked back with a blank expression for a few seconds before she hesitantly asked, "Tara Maclay?"

        Willow reached out with her mind, Who is she honey?

        An old classmate, one of the in crowd, we sort of said hello once in a while when she noticed I existed. Tara explained.

        "It is you," Michelle continued, "When did you get back into town?"

        Tara was a little surprised at Michelle's tone, as if Tara was an old friend rather than someone she barely knew. "I just got back today, on a visit," she hastily emphasized.

        "Right, I heard you went off to college somewhere, from someone." Michelle frowned as she tried to recall details she didn't actually know. She shrugged it off and turned her attention to Willow, "Sorry I don't remember you."

        "That's because we've never met. I'm Willow Rosenberg, I'm with Tara." Willow tried to keep the sarcasm out of her voice.

        Michelle nodded in understanding, "Right a college buddy."

        "More or less, more actually." Tara responded and then pressed on before Michelle followed that up, "What brings you here? I didn't think this was your sort of place."

        Michelle made a face, "It isn't, but they were hiring and I needed the money, you aren't the only one who wanted out of this town."

        Tara was about to sympathize when a figure emerged from the bar and marched over, "Michelle what the hell are you standing here yakking for? You have a shift." The man was sloppily dressed in jeans and a worn t-shirt with the bars name on it, which implied that despite looking more like a hobo he actually ran the place.

        "Not for another five minutes Ed." Michelle sounded as annoyed as the man.

        The man laid a hand on her arm, "Yeah? Well I guess your watch is slow."

        "Hey take your hand off her!" Willow demanded.

        Now the barkeep looked at her and snorted, "Just keep out of this lady."

        Tara offered up a silent prayer that Willow wouldn't do anything too outrageous. Willow simply swept her arm through the air and the legs were knocked out from under the man. He released Michelle to try and steady himself; it didn't help and he was unceremoniously dumped on his butt.

        The pain did nothing to improve the mans temper and he struggled to his feet clearly intent on pushing this further; oblivious to how bad an idea that was, "Dave I hope you aren't thinking of assaulting one of these ladies." The approaching deputy was shaking his head discouragingly.

        Dave the bartender wanted to insist that the redheaded girl had attacked him, however he couldn't say exactly how she had knocked him over, and he wasn't all that keen to explain that he been knocked over by this little girl. "It was just a disagreement."

        "Uhuh, maybe you should get back in there and look after your customers, you too Michelle." The deputy ordered. The pair silently complied and Michelle waved goodbye to Tara. "You're the Maclay girl aren't you?" The deputy’s question was clearly rhetorical.

        "Tara." Tara offered.

        The deputy nodded, "Right, I hope you aren't trying to join your brother."

        "Donny? What's the matter with him?" Tara felt a moment of worry.

        The deputy filled her in, "He's taking up space in a jail cell, has been since he got back to town."

Willow: ...I have to tell you....

Tara: No, I understand you have to be with the person you l-love

Willow: I am

[Sheridan]

4. "All The Old Familiar Places"

The Quincy sheriff's office was clean and modern, the one thing the people of Quincy were firm believers in was law and order and had been happy to raise funds for a new and more imposing building. Like the bar this had been one of Quincy's sights that Tara had avoided when she lived here. She wasn't keen on changing that now but she had to see Donny and figure out what was going on here, before the bus back to Sunnydale left if possible. Any doubts that there was something bad and supernatural loose in Quincy had been dispelled by the sight of the diner so they couldn't simply turn around and go home; that didn‘t mean Tara wanted to spend one second longer in Quincy than she had to.

        Willow didn't quite see it that way. The encounter at the bar had reinforced her view that Quincy should take care of it's own mess, and that went double for Tara's brother. Everything she had seen just reinforced her view that she wanted nothing to do with Tara's family, heck she didn't want all that much to do with her own family. Willow felt a little ashamed of that thought, but only a little. Her father had managed to learn to be civil towards Tara and her mother seemed to have accepted reality and tried to see the good in Tara, though not without a fair amount of help from Joyce Summers. Still they hadn't really taken Tara to the bosom of the family and Ira Rosenberg occasionally made comments about grandchildren that Willow was very tempted to answer but they really would think their only child was insane if she explained about LJ.

        The deputy on the desk wasn't the one they had run into earlier. This one didn't know Tara and seemed unconcerned as to why they wanted to see Donny. He just waved them through and turned back to the hunting magazine he was reading. If Donny normally looked a little down at heel now he looked like a street person. He had clearly been wearing the same clothes for days and hadn't been near a razor for longer.

        Donny looked up as they walked in and stared in amazement, he hadn't really expected Tara to follow him, and he certainly hadn't expected her girlfriend to tag along. "What happened Donny?" Tara's voice didn't contain any concern, just bewilderment.

        "When I got home dad had me slung in here for taking the truck without permission, teaching me a lesson I guess." Donny sounded regretful, though Tara suspected it was mostly feeling sorry for himself.

        "What happened to the diner?" Willow demanded. She wanted to get whatever information there was to get from Donny and get out of the jail.

Donny shrugged, "That happened when I was in Sunnydale, it just means things are getting worse, you need to do whatever it is you do and stop it."

        "You don't know what is?" Willow was indignant.

        Donny became defensive, "Hey I didn't even believe in this magic crap, 'til now," he conceded.

        Willow threw up her hands and turned towards the door. Tara had a little more patience, "Donny isn't there anything more you can tell us?"

        He appeared to consider this for a moment, "I don't think this thing is new, I figure it's been around here before."

        "What makes you think that?" Tara found the suggestion made her uneasy, though she couldn't say why.

        There was a noise from the office and Willow looked through the window in the door, "Uh honey, your dad is here."

        Tara was startled and Donny looked positively sick, "Go check the place in the woods, you'll find some answers there," he didn't sound like he wanted to share this piece of information.

        Any further discussion was forestalled as the door opened and the sheriff and Mr. Maclay entered. The elder Maclay wore the expression of a man sucking a lemon as he walked in; it grew even more sour as he spotted Willow and Tara, "Sheriff I don't believe these two should be in here alone with my son."

        The sheriff didn't like being told how things were supposed to be done in his jail, Maclay was however correct and the sheriff knew it, "I'm going to have to ask you two to leave now, unless you have some legitimate business here."

        Neither girl was going to try and explain their presence so they filed out the door; in no way, shape, or form did Mr. Maclay did acknowledge his daughter as she left.



        There was silence as the pair walked down the sidewalk. Willow could see that Tara was trying to process everything that was going on, Willow was tempted to go back and hit Tara's father with a lightning bolt, that might get some kind of reaction out of him, and if not it would at least make her feel better. As the quiet dragged on Willow decided it might be better to interrupt, "What is this place in the woods Donny was talking about?"

        Tara almost jumped in the air as Willow spoke up. It was a sign of just how distracted Tara was that she had forgotten Willow was there, "It used to be some sort of hunting lodge but it was abandoned before I was even born. It's a place where Donny and his buddies could sneak off to drink beers and smoke."

        Images of the 'Evil Dead' flashed through Willow's brain but she kept that apprehension out of her voice, "So what does he think you would want from that place?"

        Tara shrugged, "All Donny ever gave me was chores and grief," her voice was about equal measures bewilderment and bitterness.

        Willow slipped an arm around her, "I have to say honey it sounds to me like he's still doing it."

        Tara nodded, the feeling of Willow close to her lifted her spirits but she couldn't help thinking that Willow was right, Donny may have been more conciliatory today but it still seemed like he was making a mess and expecting her to clean up; the thing was that she didn't see much alternative except to do it.



        The sight of the shack reinforced the whole 'Evil Dead' vibe. The boards that made up the shack looked like they were holding together out of habit rather than anything else. The windows were covered over with boards and the brick chimney that projected from one end of the building was broken and ragged. Up close Willow saw the walls were peppered with bullet damage, the broken bottles and punctured cans littered around it suggested they were the result of drunken target practice, "A real fixer upper," she commented sourly.

        "The inside is worse." Tara explained.

        The smell of stale smoke, beer, and other things that Willow didn't want to identify wafted out; backing up Tara's statement. She had seen demon lairs that weren't as messy as the inside of the cabin, "Are we seriously going to search through this place?" Willow's voice was filled with disgust.

        Tara looked at the piles of beer cans and the ratty cigarette burned furniture, "I don't think so, I mean unless Donny wanted us to find beer can or a worn-out sofa."

        "It must be something hidden and we can use a little scrying on it." Willow sounded happy for the first time in several hours at the prospect of doing some magic.

        Scrying for lost objects was a spell they had been practicing lately; mostly because of Dawn's uncanny talent for borrowing items of clothing from Buffy and making them disappear. The charm itself was pretty straightforward; all it really required was a piece of glass to focus the magic through. A careful search outside found a decent sized piece of a broken bottle that would do the job.

        Back in the doorway of the shack Willow and Tara both gingerly held the glass and intoned a few words of Latin that would infuse the otherwise worthless shard with the magical energies to help them search. The clear glass took on a green cast as the incantation took hold. Looking through the glass the trash in the room melted away, the magic picked up on things that were lost and hidden. In the small shack it didn't take long to highlight something underneath a floorboard. Tara walked over and tugged at the board that came up easily revealing a shoebox lying in a hollow.

        Letting the magic disperse Willow dropped the piece of glass and joined Tara as she took the lid off the box. The contents were a black leather bound volume embossed in gold with the phrase 'DIARY 1991'. Tara took the diary and opened the front cover, allowing a cream coloured envelope to flutter out. Willow caught it before it could land on the filthy floor. "It's addressed to you." Willow explained as she offered it to Tara.

        Tara put the shoebox down on a tattered chair and took the letter. It did indeed have her name on it and the instruction; 'read the diary first'. Tara would have known the writing even if she hadn't read the name written on the flyleaf of the diary, "It's grandma Lydia's."

        "What's so special about this Diary?" Willow wondered.

        "It's the year my mother died." Tara replied in a whisper.

5. "Blast From The Past"

Twelve, she was twelve when it happened, Willow couldn't help but do the math. When she was twelve the worst thing that had happened was her parents had mortally embarrassed her by hiring a clown for her birthday party. "I think we should go back to town, so we can find someplace to sit down and read this," before you fall down, she didn't add.

        Tara nodded and put the letter back inside the diary as they made their way outside. Willow was relieved to be out of the oppressive atmosphere of the shack and hoped it might raise Tara's mood as well, a quick glance said it wasn't going to be that easy. Willow cursed Quincy silently but comprehensively with the kind of language that would have horrified her parents and stunned her friends if they had ever heard her use it. She was a hairsbreadth away from turning to calling down the more literal sort of curses on Quincy in general and Donny Maclay in particular. Right now she didn't care what kind of threat was hanging over the town, the underworld could have the place.

        "Hope you two didn't mess the place up." The voice was young and male and had a sarcastic tone that put Willow's teeth on edge.

        The pair turned and was immediately on edge as the man who had emerged from the trees was cradling a shotgun under his left arm. The young man wore a beard even more scraggly than Donny's, and a predatory expression on his face, "What are you two ladies doing in my place?" he asked.

        "It isn't your place Freddy, it isn't really anybodies." Tara pointed out.

        That got Freddy looking hard at her, "Tara Maclay, jeez could never get you to come out the shack when you lived here," that comment got Willow's attention, "What brings you out here now? Looking for Donny, or maybe me?"

        Tara blushed, "Neither."

        "I'm wounded, I figured you would at least give me a call if you came home." Freddy's manner was positively possessive.

        Willow had endured quite enough, "Ok I think we are going now."

        Freddy now paid attention to Willow for the first time, "Sorry honey, just catching up with Tara, we used to be real close."

        Tara was going to protest but Willow got in first, "Really? Well then I should thank you."

        That put a dent in Freddy's air of arrogance, "What for?"

        "Because you must be the one who put her off men." Willow announced while very ostentatiously taking Tara's hand.

        Freddy stared for a moment and then in a voice full of outrage, "You mean she's a..."

        He never got to the end of that sentence, Willow's eyes turned dark, "You use the word you were going to use and it might be the last word you use."

        That left Freddy speechless, he was so numb that he didn't even remember he had a gun. He was still trying to recover when a breeze sprang up and began to swirl around him. Freddy brushed the hair it blew into his face out of his eyes, and then was knocked to the ground as the breeze turned into a hurricane.

        The wind swirling around Freddy sucked up dust and dried leaves outlining a funnel that moved back and forth across Freddy, undulating like a snake. Willow's eyes returned to normal, "That has to be a spell."

        Tara shook her head, "I can feel it, it's a thing, a being."

        That startled Willow, she didn't however doubt Tara's word for even a moment, seeing the thing batting Freddy around she commented, "I guess we have to save him," she didn't sound wildly enthusiastic.

        Tara was much more firm, "We have to, we can't just leave him to that."

        Willow nodded and stretched out her hand. A fireball leapt from it and struck at the funnel of wind that was tormenting Freddy. The fireball smeared out and illuminated the swirling mass of air for a moment but did nothing more than that. Willow looked at Tara and the pair raised their free hands in the air. Lightning tore loose and struck at the funnel, crackling over it for several seconds. The thing still seemed undamaged, it did stop moving however and Willow judged they had got its attention. Freddy was lying on the ground, too winded to take advantage of the respite and escape. He did manage to reach out for his shotgun and bring it to bear on his tormentor.

        Tara and Willow threw themselves to the ground and landed several feet apart as the gun swung up and Freddy gave the thing both barrels. The pellets were simply soaked up by the funnel and carried upwards and away. Willow was expecting that Freddy's action would draw the funnel back to him, to her horror the swirling mass of air and dust moved towards Tara.

        The energies that flowed through the being had been very distinct to Tara, it wasn't just magic; she could feel emotions mixed in with the power. That was what had told her that they were dealing with more than a spell; this was a living thing, as much as you could call a demon a living thing. She was startled to feel the shift in the creature’s emotions, what had been a cold distaste had flared into anger and a sort of malevolent hunger, all of which seemed to be focused straight at her.

        Tara tried to pull herself to her feet; the funnel knocked her to her knees and pressed in tightly. Tara tried to summon a spell, however it felt like the thing was sucking the energy out of her. Then she was flat on the ground again as Willow landed on her and carried her out of the funnel.

        The demon was taken by surprise by Willow's action but swiftly moved to confine Tara again. Willow wasn't going to give it the chance. She unleashed the spell that summoned up a magical barrier. It raced out from Willow and drove back the funnel; it also slammed into Freddy who was thrown through the air, landing face first twenty feet from where he had started.

        The wind howled and pounded against the barrier; Willow had put everything she had into that wall and it wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. The demon apparently realized that as the wind died and the scooped up debris settled back to the ground. Willow was relieved to see that, however she wasn't about to let the barrier down till she was sure the thing had left. "Are you ok baby?"

        Tara pulled some blades of grass out of her hair before replying, "I'm fine honey, thanks to you." She got up to finish brushing herself off and spotted Freddy standing staring at them. She raised her arm and pointed at him; Freddy decided he desperately needed to be somewhere else and ran back from where he came. Tara turned back to Willow, "You know what he was saying, it's just nonsense, he used to come onto me because he knew it embarrassed me."

        Willow put a finger to Tara's lips, "Baby I know that even if you did visit boys town once you wouldn't have stopped off there."

        Tara breathed a sigh of relief; Freddy had been the bane of her life once. He had constantly been making passes at her and she hadn't gotten up the nerve to tell him to back off, and why he wouldn't succeed if he were the last guy on earth. She moved to hug Willow and when she felt something hard pressed against her belly realized that she hadn't dropped the diary even if she had managed to forget about it.

        Willow also felt the book as Tara embraced her, she looked at it dubiously, "I suppose we better go find somewhere to read that."

        Tara didn't look any more enthusiastic than Willow, "I suppose we had."



        The demon was in two minds about how it should feel; on the one hand it hadn't found what it needed, what had been stolen, which was frustrating. On the other side of the equation it had returned to find its enemies gone and all possibility of revenge lost. Now like a gift to it from lower powers the foe had returned. On balance the creature decided that pleased was the appropriate sensation.

6. "Family"

The walk back to town left plenty of time for brooding, Willow glanced at the diary clutched in Tara's hands, she didn't really want to get into that just yet. On the other hand she wanted to break the silence, "That thing back in the woods, are you sure it was a demon? It was kind of insubstantial."

        "It wasn't a demon, it was an elemental." Tara said absently and then frowned, why was she so sure of that?

        Willow was also wondering that, "An elemental? Like earth, air, fire, and water? Not Copper, Sodium, Uranium?"

        Tara nodded, "The four fundamental elements of the universe, there are beings associated with them, they aren't good or evil, they just are." Tara sounded as if she was reciting by rote.

        "Well the one in the woods was doing a pretty good job of being evil if you ask me." Willow commented.

        Tara was about to agree; she had felt an air of malevolence directed at her. She decided that Willow was unhappy enough without hearing that right now, "I think it was more angry, upset about something. I think the answers might be in here," she tapped the book cover.

        Willow grimaced, that was the thing she wanted to avoid talking about, "Maybe."

        Tara sighed, "I just wish I could actually talk with grandma Lydia, you know?"

        "I know baby, we can visit her if you like, take some flowers, make sure her, place is being taken care of." Willow didn't want to utter the word 'grave'.

Tara took her hand, "That would be good."       



        The plan was to find a quiet spot where they could sit down and take a look at the diary; unfortunately quiet spots were hard to come by in Quincy. Willow was seriously missing Sunnydale. For one thing she was itching to do some research on elementals. Granted she had managed to repel the entity, however Willow was worried that might have been because she took it by surprise. She was cocerned she might not get so lucky if there was a next time. She would feel a lot better with a few extra tricks up her sleeves, literally.

        The other thing that was bothering Willow was the feeling of being an outsider. Once upon a time that feeling had been a constant of Willow's life. Between the Scooby gang and Tara that feeling had passed away, she had a life in Sunnydale and despite the Hellmouth and everything that went with it she knew she belonged. Willow was far from happy to reacquainted with that old sense of alienation.

        In the end the pair found themselves back on main street sitting on the bench next to the bus stop, "Sort of makes sense, this is where we met." Willow pointed out.

        Tara smiled at that fond memory, "I think that's the only good thing that happened to me in this town."

        She turned the diary over her hands and then opened it. Tara handed the letter to Willow; she was tempted to tear it open and just read it now. Instead she examined the book and noticed there was a page with a folded corner. Tara let the pages flip open to the marked one; she nearly dropped the book, "What's the matter baby?" Willow asked.

        Tara pointed at the date on the page, "That's the week my mother died."

        The intellectual part of Willow's brain wanted to exclaim 'ahah' or 'eureka!' She had been sure what was going on tied in with Tara's mother. Willow put the intellectual part of her mind in a corner and told it off. She gently took the diary out of Tara's hands and began to read the entry.



        Lydia's life shared a lot of similarities to those of other widows in their 'golden years'. She had a handful of friends, mostly women in the same position as she was. Of course unlike most senior citizens she could commune with spirits and make her keys come to her if she happened to lose them. Lydia wasn't casual about her abilities, it was just that these magics were like old friends, she was comfortable with them and they were too well worn in their groove to go awry.

        The thing that made this otherwise comfortable existence less than perfect was Ellie; Lydia loved her daughter dearly but if asked whether she was proud of Ellie or respected her... Then Lydia would have a hard time coming up with a convincing answer. She wasn't sure how much of that was her fault; should she have been stricter with Ellie or was she too strict? Had she warned Ellie too often of the dangers of misusing magic? Made her daughter afraid of her powers?

        Of course Ellie had helped create her own problems. Lydia had never liked Jefferson Maclay from the first day she laid eyes on him. His aura had a cold hard quality to it that spoke of someone who wouldn't easily budge from an opinion or a decision. That wasn't necessarily a fatal flaw of course; perhaps if Ellie had been more open with him about her talent at the beginning he might have had an easier time coping. More likely he would have dropped her on the spot; which would have suited Lydia just fine.

        Instead he didn't find out until Donny was a toddler and Ellie tried to work a protective charm on him. Jefferson had been furious and might have thrown her out if she hadn't been carrying Tara at the time. It had been after that Jefferson started to talk about magic as evil, demonic. Lydia had laughed that off but Ellie hadn't and as time went by she seemed to listen more and more to her husband's pronouncements and less to her mothers reassurances.

        Her granddaughter had become the focus of Lydia's attention. There was little she could do about the mistakes Ellie had made, she was determined to make sure that Tara understood her heritage and accepted it for what it was, a gift from the higher powers.

        When Tara was born Lydia turned to her Tarot cards to gain an insight into Tara's future and when she was old enough Lydia had Tara draw the cards for herself. Both methods produced the same baffling results. As much as Lydia understood magic she still found the readings impossible to accept, they implied Tara being exposed to enough of the other realms for three lifetimes.



        Willow stopped reading, "I think your grandmother was better with the Tarot cards than she thought."

        That extracted a smile from Tara, Willow decided to add another comment quickly, "I also think she meant you to read this all along, the way she's written it to pack so much in."

        "I guess she did, there's a lot about that time I don't really remember." That I don't want to remember, she didn't need to add.

        Willow was tempted to throw the diary in the nearby trash bin, however they needed the answers it might contain and Willow turned her attention back to the handwritten text.



        The morning was moving along and Lydia had to get moving; she was supposed to be going shopping with Ellie and Tara and it was a rare enough occasion that she got to spend time with them without Jefferson looking over their shoulders. She felt a little guilty about not asking whether Donny was coming but her grandson had begun to take his cue from his father and his attitude towards his mother and sister was questionable to say the least.

        Lydia found Ellie and Tara standing on main street. Tara's attention was on the bus that was just pulling away. On those occasions when Tara showed enthusiasm it was mostly about the world beyond Quincy. Lydia was determined that Tara would get the chance to go and see for herself, perhaps that was the mistake she had made with Ellie, not getting her out of this town. "Grandma!" Tara shouted, and instantly looked embarrassed at drawing so much attention to herself.

        "Hello elf." Lydia replied smiling in advance at Tara's inevitable reaction.

        "Grandma I was eight when I did that play, can't you treat me like a grown up." Tara said it with utter seriousness.

        Lydia nodded, "I'll try to remember that. Hello Ellie have you been here long?"

        There was a powerful resemblance between Tara and her mother, Ellie’s hair was a little lighter and her eyes a little darker but there was no doubting they were mother and daughter. "No mom, we were a little late getting away."

        Which probably meant that Jefferson hadn't wanted to drive them here. "Well I'm glad you made it anyway." Lydia couldn't help but notice that Ellie was nervous, more than usual anyway. "Tara would you like to go get some candy?"

        Tara frowned, "I'd rather get a magazine."

        "Probably better for you as well, as long as you don't get one those ones with some boy band on the cover." Lydia agreed.

        Tara made a face, "I won't get one of those."

        Lydia handed Tara a couple of dollars and she disappeared into the nearby store, as soon as she was out of earshot Lydia turned to Ellie, "So what exactly is the problem?"

        Ellie didn't even look surprised at the question, Lydia could read her like a book, "I found Tara reading a book on magic and she had a couple of herbs she was checking the magical uses of."

        "For goodness sake Ellie you make it sound like you caught her smoking pot, or with a boy in her bed." Lydia didn't even try to keep her irritation out of her voice.

        "I was hoping that she wouldn't take an interest, that maybe it would skip over her." Ellie explained gloomily.

        "It's not a disease Ellie, it's a part of who she is." Lydia said emphatically.

        Ellie was equally blunt, "That doesn't make it good or right."

        "That comes down to each person, you can use the magic for good or ill." Lydia had told Ellie this who knew many times, it wasn't making any more impression this time.

        "So you say," Ellie replied bitterly, "I think she would be better of without it."

        Before Lydia could ask what that meant Tara emerged from the store clutching some science magazine with a Koala bear on the cover, her expression asked what was going on but neither of her elders saw fit to enlighten her.

Willow: ...I have to tell you....

Tara: No, I understand you have to be with the person you l-love

Willow: I am

[Sheridan]

7. "Seven Days"

The argument in the street ended Lydia's entry for that day. Willow looked over at Tara who had been listening intently, "Do you remember that day, that argument?"

        Tara shook her head, "Not really, they argued a lot, and mostly about magic."

        "Your mom really did think it was demonic." Willow really couldn't understand that. Yes she had seen terrible magic but she had also felt the power of magic used for good and the fact that they were still alive suggested which was more powerful.

        "She really did, she had a lot of power but she always seemed so scared of using." Tara stated sadly.

        Willow tried to pull her away from that thought, "Sounds like you felt differently from what's in the diary."

        "I thought it was cool." Tara confirmed, "Grandma Lydia showed me a couple of spells and I was excited by it, I thought magic might make people like me more."

        "Baby you don't need magic to make people like you." Willow reassured her.

        Tara couldn't help teasing Willow, "I don't need magic to make you like me, but not everyone is so easy."

        Willow pretended to look offended, "I am not easy, you are just so fricking hot."

        That comment drew a shocked stare from a passing middle aged woman. Willow gave her a look that said, what's the problem? The woman looked away and hastened on her way.

        The interplay between them had refreshed Willow, and she hoped it had done the same for Tara because the diary was weighing heavily in her hands. Tara saw her glancing at it, "The sooner we get through it the better I suppose."

        Willow nodded and went back to reading.



        The day after the argument on main street had been relatively quiet, Lydia didn't have the opportunity to speak to Ellie again and decided that may have been a good thing; the last thing they needed was a blazing row on the phone with Jefferson Maclay listening in. There was however the matter of Tara and her interest in magic, which was what led Lydia to think about what Ellie had told her. Her husband had been firm about Ellie not keeping magic books in 'his' house and regrettably Lydia was sure she had followed his wishes.

        Lydia looked at the shelves where she kept her more mundane magic volumes, the kind that could be passed as simply a collection of antique books to those who didn't know the craft. As she had expected Lydia found those shelves intact, they were so familiar that she would have noticed any absence instantly.

        Left with a much more alarming possibility Lydia went to her bedroom and unlocked a rather ornate old trunk at the foot of the bed. The key that opened it lay on the bedside table; Lydia had never felt any need to keep the key out of sight. She found her hands were shaking as she unlocked the trunk and looked at the contents. Not one of the books in there was written in English and not one was less than a hundred years old. Lydia also had a number of ritual items and magical paraphernalia that would have raised a few eyebrows at the bridge club. A single glance told Lydia that she had rather fewer of them than she had the last time she had looked.

        After firmly locking the trunk and pocketing the key Lydia made a cup of tea and sat down. At her last doctors appointment the man had insisted that she needed to take things easy, avoid any unwarranted excitement. Right now Lydia was having a hard time obeying that. Lydia knew with an absolute certainty that Tara would never have snuck in and raided her trunk; it simply wasn't in her granddaughters nature. There was only one other person who could have done it. That Ellie had taken such powerful magics was alarming; that she was so distracted that she had accidentally spilled the beans was terrifying. A single slip with some of the magic contained in those volumes could be disastrous.

        After gathering herself and deciding on how to approach the matter Lydia took herself off to the Maclay house. She didn't go there very often, a few barely tolerated visits at Christmas and thanksgiving aside she and Jefferson Maclay operated a policy of mutual avoidance.

        Perhaps it was somewhat inevitable that the first person she ran into at the Maclay house was Jefferson. Lydia had expected him to be out working, the white bandage wrapped around his left hand suggested why he wasn't. "Are you alright?" Lydia asked, she might as well try and keep this polite if she could.

"It'll heal." Jefferson replied flatly, "What brings you here?"

        Lydia gritted her teeth and kept her tone pleasant, "I wanted to talk to with Ellie."

        "Out picking up some groceries, what is it you want to talk to her about?" Jefferson's voice grew suspicious as he asked.

        "Bet its magic stuff, I bet they want to teach Tara that junk." Donny had emerged from the kitchen; his voice was unpleasantly like his fathers.

        He was Lydia's grandson and she knew it was wrong to favour one grandchild over another. Truthfully though Lydia didn't like Donny; she had looked into his aura and seen a mean streak a mile wide that he exercised on Tara. Try as she might Lydia couldn't forgive that.

        "Now Donny your grandmother knows we don't allow that in this house." Jefferson's expression defied Lydia to contradict him.

        Lydia wanted to point out that Ellie had a right to make her own choices but Jefferson would take that to mean that Ellie was exploring her magic, which she almost certainly was, which would in turn lead to another tirade about how it was dangerous and demonic, which Lydia feared was uncomfortably close to the truth on this occasion. "Ellie has made it clear to me that she intends to respect your wishes, regardless of how foolish I think they are," she simply couldn't resist throwing in that last barb, besides it would focus his anger on her rather than wondering what his wife was up to.

        Walking back to main street Lydia brooded on the ill luck that kept Jefferson Maclay home; despite her best efforts she suspected he would trot out a lecture on the evils of magic just on general principles. Perhaps if Ellie's father were alive he could have talked some sense into Jefferson on a man-to-man basis; Lydia doubted it however.

        As she walked Lydia spotted a group of children coming in the opposite direction. As she looked at them Lydia realized that they weren't making much progress, mainly because they were circling around a figure in the centre of the group, a figure with long blonde hair.

        "Come on Tara do a trick for us." One of the boys sneered.

        "Maybe she wants to do a spell so people will like her." Another one suggested.

        "Hey maybe she wants to put a love spell on us." Another called out; Lydia recognized Freddy's voice. She saw him leaning towards Tara with his lips puckered and making sucking noises. Tara's cheeks were bright red

        "What do you think you are doing young man?" Lydia asked in her most commanding tone.

        Practically as one the boys whirled towards Lydia. Most of them looked sheepish and guilty, Freddy however looked defiant. As the nominal leader of the gang he wasn't about to back down in front of some old biddy, if he did he would be the one being mocked and ridiculed. "We weren't doing anything wrong," he insisted, willfully ignoring the fact that Lydia had seen exactly what he was doing.

        Lydia decided to remind him, "I saw you being very rude to my granddaughter."

        Freddy still wouldn't back down, "Well she was being weird, and it’s a public sidewalk."

        Lydia could see several of the other boys beginning to smirk; she had to re-establish control and bring this little drama to a quick close. As much as she hated to be ostentatious with her magic Lydia fixed Freddy with a stare and let her eyes change to pools of inky darkness.

        That drained the colour from Freddy's face, "Come on let's go." Several of the other boys seemed reluctant to back down now, "I said come on!" he repeated hotly. This time the others trudged after him casting the occasional glance at Tara.

        "Thanks grandma." Tara breathed as the boys disappeared around a corner.

        Lydia frowned, "I don't think I made you very popular with those boys."

        Tara shrugged, "Well they didn't like me anyway and I don't like them, they're just dumb boys."

        Lydia adopted her best grandmother knows best smile, "Perhaps but I think you'll feel differently in a couple of years."

        "No I won't." Tara declared fixing Lydia with a determined, "Boys are nasty, I'd rather just hang out with girls."

        Lydia was going to comeback with another grown ups know better remark when it suddenly hit her that Tara was telling her the absolute truth. Lydia didn't use her ability to read auras to pry, especially not into those aspects of her granddaughter’s life that she had every right to keep private. Still there had been an unmistakable surge of energy when Tara spoke, the flaring of a passion that Tara probably didn’t even understand herself yet. At least I won't have to worry about her getting knocked up and stuck in this place. "Well I suppose girls do smell nicer." Lydia commented lightly.

        "Yes they do." Tara seemed relieved.

       

        Willow stopped reading and looked at Tara a little awestruck, "Did you really know, I mean right then?"

        Tara tried to find the right words, "If you mean did I know I was gay, not so much. I just knew that I enjoyed being with girls and I really didn't have much use for boys. It took a while longer to really understand what that meant. And it wasn't until we met that I was sure that it was a good thing."

        "And it is a good thing?" Willow asked innocently.

        "It's the best thing." Tara reassured her. Willow couldn't stop grinning as she turned back to the text.



        Lydia decided to walk with Tara for a while. Partly to make sure the boys didn't reappear, partly to ask her a couple of question. She would have preferred to speak to Ellie direct and not place Tara in the middle. "So have you been practicing magic in school?"

        Tara blushed again, "No, I just talked about it, I don't know enough to really do spells yet."

        "Well I'm glad you are taking an interest. Your mom mentioned you were doing some reading." Lydia tried to keep it as casual as she could.

        It didn't work because Tara looked stricken, "I didn't mean to start reading your book, I just found it and I knew that if dad saw it there would be trouble so I took it back to my room and I thought I might as well just take a look."

        It was the longest speech Lydia had ever heard from Tara who seemed genuinely worried that she had done something bad. "Tara I don't mind you looking at my books, and if you come over I'll be happy to help you learn. But if the book was at your house what makes you think it was mine?"

        "I found it in a pile of magazines when I was tidying up. I was afraid dad would see it otherwise I would have left it where it was. When I opened it I saw a piece of paper that had your handwriting on it so I guessed it must be yours. It was written by somebody called Antorius." Tara looked relieved as she spoke.

        "That is one of mine, what did your mom say when you gave it back?"

        Tara looked worried again, "I didn't give it back, there just wasn't a moment when we were alone and I could tell her. She found me reading it and took it away, she seemed pretty mad."

        Lydia patted her reassuringly, "Don't worry dear, I'm sure she was just worried." Tara seemed to accept that for which Lydia was grateful, it wouldn't do to frighten her. It was however crystal clear that Ellie was both on edge and exploring some powerful magic, a potentially lethal combination.

8. "The Last Day"

Tara leant over and plucked the diary out of Willow's hands, she wanted to read exactly what her grandmother had written. As she scanned the page she muttered, "She knew and she didn't tell me," she saw an uncertain expression on Willow's face, "she knew something bad was happening with mom and she didn't tell me."

        "Baby you were twelve and it sounds like you had enough trouble already, all you could have done if she had told you was worry." Willow didn't add that Tara could have gotten hurt, or worse.

        "But if I had known I could have taken the stuff back or told my dad," she stopped as she realized how unrealistic that was.

        Willow also saw that as unlikely, "Well maybe now you would, but back then even if you had would he have listened, or understood how serious it was?"

        Tara handed the book back, "It would have been worth trying."



        Lydia laid down the last card and then swept them back into the deck. Time and again they warned of disaster and doom and time and again they refused to offer any hint as to what it might be or how it might be averted. She had tried every form of scrying she knew to gain some insight into what was happening and they had all failed; more than that they seemed to be willfully refusing to show her what she needed to know.

        There were simply too many possibilities in the books and material that Ellie had stolen for Lydia to decipher her daughter’s intentions. Of course she could simply ask Ellie what she was doing, if she could get Ellie alone and if her daughter could be counted on to tell the truth. It hurt Lydia to know that neither of those things was likely, Ellie might as well have become invisible as far as her mother went.

        That had led Lydia to turn to scrying and now that had failed her she was left with only one choice. The jewelry box in her bedroom contained a number of trinkets amongst which was a rather plain silver locket. Lydia had never worn it in all the years she possessed it and she had been tempted to throw it away more than once, of course they knew I wouldn't.

        Lydia opened the locket. Inside was a small vial of liquid and an intricately carved pentacle where a photo might otherwise have been. She opened the vial and let a drop of liquid fall into the centre of the pentacle before placing the locket on the floor. The droplet began to glow and swirl and the light flowed outwards to fill the room. Lydia stood perfectly still and waited. It seemed like forever before the figure of a woman formed out of the light, "Took you long enough, weren't you expecting me?" Lydia asked sarcastically.

        The woman seemed unfazed, "Nothing is ever certain Lydia, you know that."

        "Unless it suits you for it to be." Lydia responded.

        The woman sighed, "Lydia have you decided to speak with us again after all this time just to repeat an old argument?"

        Of course Lydia hadn't, and that was part of the reason she was so annoyed, the thought of asking her former comrades for a favor stuck in her throat, "I have a problem and all other means have failed so I'm here to ask for your help. I don't want to rejoin the coven and I don't want any lectures, I just want to stop my daughter from doing something stupid."

        "That is certainly possible." The woman agreed cordially.

        Lydia was instantly suspicious, "That's unusually positive for the Circle, what's the catch?"

        The woman's smile broadened, "Well that's progress, actually considering the consequences of intervening."

        Lydia would have slapped the woman if she were actually physically here, "You mean I didn't spend so much time considering them that I did nothing." The woman didn't react so Lydia took a deep breath and asked the question, "So what are the consequences?"

        "A simple matter of choice Lydia, whose life do you value more, Ellie's or Tara's?" The woman answered sadly.

        Now Lydia did try and slap the woman's face, her hand simply passed through the image, "Is this your idea of revenge, take away one of the people I love because I walked away from you? Show what happens to anyone who crosses you?"

        Now the woman looked angry, "You think we want this? You never could accept that some times all you have is the choice of the lesser evil. Very well Lydia stand where I stand. If Ellie lives Tara will stay home for her sake until that place you chose to live crushes her. If Ellie falls then Tara will leave and find all the things you would wish for her. Which do you want?”

        Lydia was horrified, "There has to be an alternative, a way to have both."

        "There is no perfect future Lydia, simply better and worse." The woman sounded sorry.

        "I can't make that choice, you can't expect me to." Lydia was dazed.

        The woman looked at her for a moment and then nodded, "Truthfully I don’t, consider this a gift from an old friend." The woman uttered some words and the light engulfed Lydia.



        Everything was dark and Lydia wondered if she was in some sort of cave. As her eyes adjusted she realized it was simply night, which was actually considerably worse because it had been mid morning when she had activated the locket. She knew the Circle were perfectly capable of doing this sort of thing, indeed their refusal to do it more often had been the reason for her break with them. She could imagine only one reason to do it now; she couldn't face making a choice so they had removed her power to do so, with all the ugly implications that possibility carried.

        Even as the explanation struck her Lydia refused to accept it, there had to be something more she could do. She was going to race back to the house when she spotted a small figure in the moonlight, a small female figure with long hair crawling through a gap in the bushes. Lydia couldn't make out the face but she knew who it had to be; Tara. Lydia knew her granddaughter wouldn't be out here like this unless something was wrong. Lydia felt a surge of anger; if the Circle had endangered Tara she would find a way to strike back at them, only later did Lydia realize that she hadn't thought about Ellie.



        Following Tara proved hard going for Lydia, the gap the girl had disappeared through was too small for her to get through and it was hard to see where she was going with just the moonlight for illumination. Lydia knew she could just summon some witch light but she was reluctant to draw attention to herself until she knew what exactly was going on. After a little while Lydia found she could see better. At first she thought her night vision was improving but as it got progressively brighter Lydia realized there was a light coming from somewhere.

        In daylight the meadow was home to a small herd of cows, now it was occupied only by Ellie Maclay and a writhing pillar of flame. Lydia stared at the pillar with a mixture of panic and admiration; she had never imagined Ellie could muster the strength to do something like this, or the sheer desperation to consider it. As Lydia watched something emerged from the pillar. The demon was a pretty impressive specimen; not one of the half breeds that could be found on the earth. It towered over Ellie and displayed an astounding array of horns as well as two broad leathery wings; it was just the sort of thing some medieval illustrator would have drawn as a warning to the faithful. The pillar had brightened as the demon appeared and Lydia got a good look at Ellie. Her daughter's face looked bruised and there was a trickle of blood running from her nose, Ellie had worked the magic but clearly it had taken all she had. "Do you have it?" Ellie asked, in a voice that sounded tired and weak.

        "Of course." The demons voice was deep and gravelly. It extended a fist and opened it to reveal a brilliant red teardrop shape, luminous with some internal energy.

        "It will do what I require?" Ellie demanded, not yet reaching out to take the teardrop.

        "It's elemental fire, with it you have the power to do what you want. If you wish to try and purge the demon blood from another this will do it." Ellie snatched the gem from the demon's hand as he explained. The demon hadn't finished speaking, "That assumes you can keep it of course."

        Ellie snapped back at the demon, "You can't take it back, you submitted to me."

        The demon sounded smug as he responded, "I can't but you didn't ask where I got it from. You don't take elemental flame without attracting some serious attention." A wind sprang up as the creature spoke, "and I imagine that would mean they have discovered it's missing. Good luck." With that the demon stepped back into the pillar, which collapsed in on itself leaving Ellie standing in the middle of the field with the wind beginning to howl around her.

        Lydia began to run towards Ellie until she saw that she wasn't the only who had been watching what had happened. Tara stepped out from behind a tree with a look of total terror on her face and Lydia turned towards her granddaughter without hesitation. She grabbed hold of Tara before the girl could move any further into the meadow, "Tara don't move this is dangerous."

        Tara blinked; the girl seemed to be in shock, "Grandma? You have to help mom."

        Lydia turned to where Ellie was still standing with the wind swirling tightly around her. The luminous gem was clasped in her hands, "Ellie give it up, just give it back." Even as she begged her daughter she already knew the answer.

        Ellie looked startled to see her mother but when she spotted Tara her features froze into a mask of grim determination, "I won't! It's the only way we can be free of it! I need it!" As she shouted Ellie raised her hands above her head. A beam of brilliant red fire leapt from the gem into the wind, illuminating the swirling mass of air. Lydia could have sworn it shrieked with pain just before the wind died away. There was a moment of stillness and then Ellie slumped to the ground.

        The gem lay on the ground burning no less fiercely than it had when the demon gave it to Ellie. Lydia kicked it aside as she rushed to help her daughter. Lydia placed a hand at Ellie's throat, there was no pulse and worse than that her other senses told her that Ellie's aura had dispersed, there was no bringing her daughter back.

        "Grandma help her! Wake her up so we can go home, wake her up!" Tara's insistent pleas descending into uncontrolled sobbing and Lydia put her arms around Tara, it was a long time before the sobbing stopped.

9. "The New Day"

Willow closed the diary with a thud and let it drop to her side. She had always known that Tara's life had been rough before she left Quincy, rough enough that she never talked about it if she could help it, rough enough that Willow never asked. She wanted to offer comfort but what could she do that could make this better? Tara had an answer for that, "Could you just hold me? Just put your arms around me?" she didn't have to ask twice.

        They sat there holding on for dear life for several minutes before it occurred to Willow that this bench was extremely uncomfortable and Tara could use more consolation than she could offer on a public street, "Lets get out of here baby. Is there anywhere in this town we can get a room?"

        The question pulled Tara out of her contemplation; "There's a place, more of a boarding house than a hotel."

        "Does it have beds?" Willow asked. Tara nodded, "Good enough for me, lets go."



        The proprietor of the Quincy Inn was surprised when two young women walked in looking for rooms. Her usual clientele were traveling salesmen and county repair crews working on the roads. "I can let you have a good deal on two singles." The woman offered; she had the air of a kindly grandmother, which wasn’t designed to put either Willow or Tara at ease right now.

        "A double will be fine." Willow responded as politely as she could manage.

        "You mean a twin." The woman corrected pleasantly.

        Quincy had drained Willow’s reserves of politeness and right now the cupboard was bare, "I mean a double, one large bed for two girls to share."

        The proprietor absorbed that with a degree of shock that rapidly shaded into disapproval. She was about to tell Willow that she simply didn't have one available when she caught the look in the red heads eyes. The girl was petite and quite pretty and in no normal way remotely intimidating; it was simply that as she looked in Willow's eyes the proprietor had the sudden conviction that upsetting this girl would be a horrible mistake, "Number sixteen," she squeaked as she handed over the key.

        The room wasn't bad and had an ensuite bathroom, with a nice sized bathtub, one advantage of the old fashioned nature of the Inn. To Willow's regret it wasn't big enough for two but it was good enough for a long relaxing soak, "I'll fill the tub while you get undressed." Willow stated it firmly and Tara nodded gratefully.

        Tara had to lower herself into the tub very gingerly; Willow had made it about as hot as she could stand. It did have the desired effect in that the heat drained all the tension out of her. Willow shed her clothing and knelt beside the bathtub, letting her fingers dig into Tara's shoulders.

        Despite all the pain dredged up by the diary Tara felt better as Willow's fingers traced over her shoulders and back. It was amazing how Willow could always make her feel better, make her feel strong. "I always felt so guilty," she said.

        Willow's fingers stopped for a second and then resumed, "About not being able to stop it? You couldn't have done anything."

        Tara shook her head, "No, about being there. If I hadn't followed mom then grandma would have gone to her, maybe she could have saved her."

        Willow had to think very carefully before she answered that point. Ellie Maclay had clearly been planning to 'purify' Tara with that elemental fire; remove the demon from her. Of course since there was no demon in Tara who knew what damage her mother would have done to her? That made it hard for Willow to feel sympathy for Ellie, "Honey I don't know that anyone could have helped your mom then, she had made decision I don't think she could come back from."

        Willow held her breath waiting to see how Tara responded to that. Tara sighed, "I suppose so, I just wish...you know?"

        "I know, after all that I'm sort of surprised you pursued witchcraft." Willow wanted to move Tara on from thinking about her mother.

        "Everything was so confusing, I wanted to understand what had happened and magic was the biggest part of it. Plus I just felt drawn to it, it was like a part of me." Tara explained slowly.

        Willow kissed her neck, "I can understand that feeling."

        That did more than take the tension out of Tara; it sent a surge of energy through her, "Are you sure this tub isn't big enough for two?"'

        "Not if we are going to have any water in it." Willow replied sorrowfully.

        Well in that case," Tara got up and stepped out of the tub, "I think we can finish cleaning up later." Tara grabbed a towel from the rail and used it to pull Willow close.

        Somehow they managed to reach the bed without tripping over one another and fell on to it in a tangle of towel and flesh. Willow managed to grab one corner of the towel and began to use it to dry Tara off, rubbing and stroking as she went in a manner which didn't remove a lot of water but did make Tara's skin glow.

        Soon the towel was simply getting in the way and Tara balled it up and threw it across the room before rolling over on top of Willow. Her mouth found Willow's breast and she used her teeth to tease the nipples. She tugged at them and felt them harden.

        Willow reacted by drawing her nails down Tara's back, enough to draw a delicious shiver from Tara. There was a powerful mutual need that Willow saw only one way to meet. She managed to get Tara over on to her back and then turned around so her face was poised above Tara's sex then she dived in.

        Tara arched her back as she felt Willow's tongue push into her and slid her hands around Willows butt and pulled her groin down so she could return the favour.



        Willow was lying on the bed stretching like a cat and feeling pretty good. She turned to see that Tara had picked up the envelope that had been tucked inside the diary. Willow was tempted to 'accidentally' incinerate it with a little magic. She restrained the impulse, whatever was in there hopefully was going to fill in the missing pieces and let them get out of this town.

        Tara sensed Willow's eyes on her and walked back to the bed, "I couldn't help thinking about it," she apologized.

        "Guess I'm losing my touch." Willow grumbled.

        Tara kissed her on the forehead, "Never." She dropped on to the bed next to Willow and slid her finger under the flap of the envelope. She hesitated for a moment and then ripped it open. Willow leaned in close and read over Tara's shoulder as she opened the carefully folded letter.



Dearest Tara,

By now you've read the diary and seen my view about what happened. I'm not going to try and excuse anything your mother or I did, it will be up to you how you judge us.

        I retrieved the fire and I tried to find some way to dispose of it. It seems however that elemental power like this is near indestructible. In the end I resorted to hiding it so no one else would come for it, and because its power was too alluring. I buried the gem in the graveyard, counting on consecrated ground to shield it.

        In the years since I've continued the search for a way to destroy it without much success. There may be one way, but it’s far too risky. Now I have no choice but to pass this secret on to you and your friends in the hope that you can find the means to do what I could not.

        If all else fails you could go to the Circle of the Glade, but I would strongly suggest avoiding my former comrades, they tend to ignore the individual in favor of 'the big picture'.

With all my love,

Lydia.



        Tara read through the letter twice; she had expected some long apologia and that certainly wasn't what it was. It didn't need to be Tara decided, she knew her grandmother had always done her best for Tara, and without her she would never have escaped from Quincy.

        Willow had also read the letter more than once; however she was more concerned with the practical aspects; "The thing that attacked us in the woods is the same one as in the diary. If the gem was hidden away for all these years and it's come back now, doesn't that mean that the gem is back in play?"'

        That made sense to Tara, "There's only one way to be sure though; we should go to the graveyard and look."

        "Ok but we need to do something else first." Willow commented.

        "What's that?" Tara asked.

        "We find some place we can buy flowers in this town." Willow explained. Tara answered her thoughtful suggestion with a kiss.



        The morning had dawned cold and foggy in Quincy, which didn't bother Willow. She was still clinging to the warm glow of the night before to keep the weather at bay. As they drew closer to the church and graveyard Willow felt that dissipate and the cold making her shiver, or she told herself that it was the cold anyway. The thought of what they might find in the graveyard was one that Willow would rather avoid.

        Tara didn't look any happier about the prospect of the visit but she was more focused on the prospect of seeing her mother and grandmothers graves. She looked at the bunch of flowers she was carrying. Tara couldn't shake the feeling that they were inadequate. That they were the best the town had to offer was no comfort.

        The church was the oldest building still standing in Quincy; a good hundred years older than anything in earthquake and Hellmouth afflicted Sunnydale. The graveyard reflected that age with many of the stones marked by moss and lichens and showing clear signs of weathering. Willow stood inside the gate while Tara looked around to get her bearings. Willow felt nervous about entering the place, which was ridiculous given the amount of time she spent in graveyards. This place felt different, more eerie somehow. "This way." Tara said softly.

        The two gravestones were set side by side, regardless of what Jefferson Maclay might have preferred Lydia had secured the plot next to her daughters. Tara stepped up to her mother’s grave and laid her flowers there; it was painfully obvious no one else had done so in a long time. Willow put the bunch she was carrying on Lydia's grave. "I wish she could have been here." Tara said.

        Willow put an arm sympathetically around her and decided to keep her mouth shut. She suspected that what was written in the diary was true; if Ellie Maclay had lived Tara would have been bound to this place and then where would Willow Rosenberg be? It was totally selfish and she wasn't about to discuss it with Tara.

        If Willow had mentioned it she would have found that Tara was sharing the same guilty feelings. She loved her mother but she also loved her life, and not just the Willow part of it. If it really came down to a choice between the two, which would, she have chosen?

        After a minute or two of somber reflection Willow decided that she had to say something or they might be stood here forever, "Maybe we should check out the rest of the graveyard, look for clues as to exactly where the Fire is."

        "I guess we better." Tara agreed.

        They walked around the graveyard and nothing much seemed out of place until they turned the corner and saw the cracked and broken headstones, "Guess the demon beat us to it." Willow offered resignedly.

        "I'm afraid this was no monster young lady, the perpetrators were all too human." The tired male voice from behind them announced.

Willow: ...I have to tell you....

Tara: No, I understand you have to be with the person you l-love

Willow: I am

Edited by: Sheridan at: 1/10/03 8:21:21 pm

[Sheridan]

10. "Firestorm"

The minister who ran the church never knew how close he came to being hit by a bolt of lightning. Willow had already been tense and having someone sneak up behind them didn't help any. To be fair to the minister he had been walking normally on the soft grass. That didn't stop Willow from thinking some very unkind things about him. "Who would go and do something like this?" Tara asked him.

        The man sighed and shook his head, "I don't believe it was intentional. Some of our young people consume rather more alcohol than is prudent and of course they lose all sense of what they're doing." It was part of his job description to see the best in people; in this case it was something of a struggle.

        "Just a bunch of drunken yahoos?" Willow asked giving Tara a significant look as she did so.

        Tara caught it but didn't react, "I'm sorry about that reverend, I hope it isn't as bad as it looks."

        "A number of headstones damaged, a few holes dug in the ground, hopefully nothing we can't repair." The preacher hesitated, "I know you don't I?"

        "Tara Maclay." Tara filled in.

        The reverend nodded, "Of course it's been quite sometime, wherever you went to college it obviously agrees with you."

        Tara smiled in Willow's direction, "Must be the company I keep."

        The preacher saw the smile and wasn't quite sure what to make of it, "Yes, well, I do have to be getting on, good day to the both of you."



        Willow waited until the man was well out of earshot, "I bet I know who one of those yahoos was."

        Tara shrugged her shoulders and shook her head wearily, "I wish you were wrong but it has to be."

        "So they dug up the gem from its hiding place and this elemental came back for round two." Willow knew that Tara didn't need the exposition she just couldn't help herself.

        "Which means we are going to go see Donny and make him give it back." Tara's tone was uncommonly harsh.



        The spasm of relief that ran through Donny's back was almost painful as he dropped the box on to the bed of the truck. Agreeing to his fathers terms to get out of jail had seemed reasonable at the time; anything would have seemed reasonable to get out of there. Now as the immediate awfulness of that experience faded sitting in the jail cell looked like a good idea compared with all the humping and hauling.

        Going to Sunnydale had also looked like a good idea. Dad was visiting cousin Beth's folks for a few days; he could go to Sunnydale, get Tara, come back, fix things, and get her back to Sunnydale before dad found out. In his vision of things of course he simply found Tara and she jumped in the pickup when he told her she had to come home. Reality hadn't gone along with his plan, especially as dad had come back early and found him absent. Tara had been the bigger surprise, the girl who had left Quincy was gone and this person who had taken her place had a heck of a lot of backbone.

        As if by magic, which he couldn't entirely rule out, Tara and Willow appeared on the street. Donny couldn't figure out the expression on Tara's face at first, which wasn't surprising as he had never really seen her mad before. "Did you do it?" she demanded.

        Donny had done several things so it wasn't simply evasion that caused him to respond, "Do what?"

        Tara tried to restrain her anger, "Did you read the diary and go steal the gem?"

        "Hey no that wasn't it, I read the diary a while back and when the whirlwind thing showed up I figured one of the one others took it." Donny explained desperately.

        "So why didn't you just make them put it back?" Willow asked, she wasn't quite as upset as Tara since she had expected something sleazy from Donny since he had come to Sunnydale.

        "What go ask one of my buddies if they stole a magic stone? Yeah right."

        The sarcasm in Donny's voice told Tara that he was probably telling the truth, "So you decided to get me to find it for you?"

        Donny shrugged, "It's all the same magic crap right?"

        Tara bit her tongue, "Just tell me who else was there.”

        Donny felt tremendously relieved, he had half expected Tara to turn him into a frog or something, "There was Tommy, Ralph, Jack, and Freddy."

        The last name got Willow and Tara looking at one another, that would explain what happened in the woods, Willow thought and let the words pass into Tara's mind as well.

        Tara nodded, "Ok Donny, I'll clean up your mess one last time," she turned to walk away and then hesitated, "how come you kept the diary?"

        Donny looked angry and embarrassed, "She was my mom too, remember?"



        It turned out that Freddy was still living in a room at his parent’s house and Tara knew the way. She was still brooding about what Donny had said. Tara wondered if she had ever really considered his pain and finally decided that none of that justified his behavior over the years. "Tara! Wait right there!" The sound of her fathers voice brought Tara to a halt.

        Willow turned to see Mr. Maclay striding along the street towards them; she couldn't read his expression and she wasn't going to give him any leeway, if he so much as laid his hand on Tara Willow was going to send him into orbit.

        "What do you want dad?" Tara's voice was weary more than anything else.

        The elder Maclay pursed his lips at the lack of respect in Tara's voice, "I wanted to talk with you."

        It sounded like an order to Tara and even after all this time away she still found it hard to ignore that tone, "Why would I want to talk with you?"

        Jefferson looked baffled for a moment, but her recovered, "Well maybe we both have things we need to say, in private," he cast a sour glance at Willow.

        Willow put an arm around Tara, knowing it would offend the man, "Honey you don't have to waste any time with him, we have things to do."

        Tara was still thinking about her father's words, "Maybe I do have some things to say to him, and it might be better if it was in private," she wasn't concerned about Willow hearing anything, more that her other half might take some direct action if things got heated.

        Willow understood without having to be told, "Ok baby, I'll go check out that other stuff."

        Tara nodded and kissed her on the cheek, "Be careful."

        "You too." Willow murmured.



        Freddy's home was empty which made things easier for Willow. She was quite prepared to use the concealment glamour to sneak in but was glad she was spared the effort. The room Freddy occupied was a self-contained unit over the houses garage with a separate staircase leading up to it. Springing the lock with a little telekinesis she walked into a disaster area. It looked as though something had turned the room upside down and someone had made a halfhearted effort to clean it up.

        Willow had shrewd idea what had made the mess to begin with; she just didn't know if it had found what it was looking for. She cast her glance around the room taking in the spilled magazines and other debris, there was even a bible sticking out rather forlornly. Willow stopped; what she had seen of Freddy didn't make him seem like the sort of person who spent a lot of time reading bible stories, of course if hallowed ground protected the stone maybe a holy book would do the job as well.

        As she reached for the book Willow heard the door handle turn and spun around to see Freddy walking in the door. He froze as he spotted Willow standing there and a look of apprehension spread across his face. Sensing that she had the advantage Willow decided that she had to seize it before he recovered. She swept the bible off the floor and threw it open to discover a hole had been cut into the pages but the gem was gone, "Where is it Freddy? Where did you put it after the demon came here?" she demanded.

        Lying to Willow crossed Freddy's mind for about a second, "I put it back in the graveyard, under that big angel headstone near the entrance."

        "You just walked out of here with the gem and that whirlwind thing didn't come and try and take it?" Willow was dubious.

        "Since the woods I haven't heard from it, so I took the chance." Freddy responded.

        The mention of the woods made Willow think of the way the whirlwind had turned away from Freddy and towards Tara, and an awful suspicion grew in her.



        The front room of the Maclay house hadn't changed much since she had left; which did nothing to put her at ease. Her father was pacing back and forth, clearly he was every bit as tense as she was, "Why have you come back here?" he finally asked.

        "Is that all this is about?" Tara asked incredulously.

        Jefferson Maclay's expression remained stony, "Well what else is there to discuss?"

        "Maybe how am I doing? What's happening in my life?" Tara reminded him pointedly.

        "I'm not sure I'd even want to know about that, given the 'lifestyle' you've chosen," her father replied harshly.

        "Do you mean Willow or the magic?" Tara demanded.

        "As I see it their part of the same thing; you chose to turn your back on us. You can't get upset if I choose to respect that decision." The elder Maclay's demeanor was now insufferably smug, as he believed he had delivered the killer argument.

        Tara was ready to top him however, "All you want to know is why I'm here? Fine; I'm here because Donny and his buddies released a magical horror and he needed me to fix it."

        That left her father looking disbelieving, "That's ridiculous."

        Tara was spared an explanation by the front door being practically torn off its hinges as the whirlwind blew in.

        The shock of having the thing blow into the front room only lasted a second and Tara moved to defend herself. She began the incantation that would raise the magical shield but the wind seemed to pull the air out of her lungs cutting it off. Suddenly she found her feet weren't on the floor anymore and she was being carried towards the door.

        Some instinct made Jefferson Maclay leap towards his daughter to drag her from the maelstrom; he was thrown back without even slowing the thing down. Lying on the floor he looked up to see Tara vanishing out the door.

11. "Touch The Fire"

Willow ran towards the house with her lungs burning from the effort. She had been so frantic that she had even thought of trying teleportation; only the realization that she was too upset for it to work held her back. Her nagging fear turned to panic as she saw the state of the Maclay's yard and the door lying wide open.

        Inside Willow discovered a shocked Jefferson Maclay slumped in an armchair with blood trickling from a cut in his forehead, "It just took her," he mumbled, apparently unaware of who he was talking to.

        "Do you know where it went?" Willow demanded.

        Maclay looked at her with unfocused eyes and shook his head. Willow wanted to slap him, drag him from his seat and make him tell her what she needed to know. Only the fact that he simply didn't have the knowledge restrained her.

        Willow had feared that the creature might want revenge against those who had stolen from it and hurt it in the past and since the one who had done that was gone it was clear the creature was going to punish the child for the sins of the parent. None of that mattered right now; Willow simply had to find Tara before it was too late. Without another word Willow turned and swept out of the house.



        There was no sign of the reverend as Willow marched into the graveyard. She was glad of that because she wouldn't have wanted to have to knock a man of the cloth on his ass. The angel tomb stood out from its more sober neighbors and the patch of disturbed earth was equally distinct from the surrounding grass.

        Willow pushed her hand into to the dirt and felt a tingling sensation of power before she even touched the gem. As she pulled it out of the ground Willow could see that it was a brilliant red and faceted, but it felt nothing like stone; it felt alive.

        The power that razed forests and turned civilizations to ash, the power that forged iron into ploughshares and swords, the power that lit the night and allowed men to conquer the beasts of the field. It was the power Prometheus had stolen from the gods and Willow Rosenberg held its essence in her hands.

        As Willow looked at it she knew this was dangerous, just a touch of it had killed Ellie Maclay. She however had been weakened and far from being as skilled in the craft as Willow was. That didn't really matter, this was the only means to fight the thing that had stolen the love her life and be sure of beating it. Willow pressed her hand around the gem and was engulfed in flame.

        The power crackled over Willow and then began to work its way in. It was terrible and glorious and it flowed into every corner of Willow and she burned. Every spell she hadn't dared try seemed so simple and the location of her enemy was clear.



        Tara was sat on the ground in the middle of a clearing that was familiar; it was the same place her mother had died and Tara was certain that the creature was intending to finish destroying the female line of her family. Tara was however staying calm; she knew that she wasn't the last of her line having met the next generation in person. To her mind that could mean only one thing, Willow was going to come to the rescue. You better believe it baby, the thought sounded loud and clear.

        Willow materialized in a swirl of flame and the Whirlwind moved away from Tara towards her. Willow raised her hand and energy leapt towards it, "Back off creep and let her go or I'll wipe the floor with you." Willow's voice was brimming with confidence.

        Tara was relieved to see Willow, but a little taken aback by her devil may care attitude, "Honey please don't play with the demon; lets just get out of here."

        Willow smiled rakishly, "But I want to play."

        The whirlwind seemed to pick up Willow's attitude and take offence. It pressed in on Willow and swirled around her. Willow kept on smiling and raised her hands over her head. The energy crackled around her and Willow launched her strike. The fire smashed into the creature and lit it up.

        Tara watched as the creature seemed to waver, it wasn't going to be driven off this time, it wasn't going anywhere. The thing exploded in a burst of flame that left Tara blinded.

        When her sight returned Tara saw Willow standing in front of her which was good, she also saw Willow's eyes were glowing with red flames, which definitely wasn't good.

        Willow saw her concerned look, "Don't worry baby, nothing can stop us now." Willow offered reassuringly.

       

        Standing at the bus stop with their bags Willow's appearance had returned to normal. Tara though could still feel the hairs on the back of her neck rising up like there was static electricity in the air. It grew more intense when Willow took her hand. Still and all Willow seemed happy and they were heading home which made her feel a lot better. As they got on the bus however Tara couldn't help thinking about Willow's words in the clearing, nothing can stop us now, and she couldn't suppress a small shudder. Tara had promised herself that the Fire wouldn't hurt any more of her loved ones, she had the nagging feeling that she hadn't kept that promise, at least not yet.

Willow: ...I have to tell you....

Tara: No, I understand you have to be with the person you l-love

Willow: I am

[willntlover]

Did Willow keep the gem?!



Another awesome update, I really enjoyed it. Especially your version of Family



Also I liked the background on Quincy, was a great treat to read.

-Will

"I think finding her soulmate would have made Tara a more confident and secure person" -Amber Benson

[The Rose24]

Sheridan,



WOW. I think this is your best series of stories to date. Your last series of stories was really confusing but intriguing(not in a bad way). I love how W/T revisit Tara's past. We learn a lot about what Tara's life was like back in Quincy. It amazed me how Tara' s grandmother knew Tara was gay even before Tara herself knew what her feelings for girls were. Lydia is the type of grandmother we all would like to have. I wish the show would have went into the details of Tara's life before she came to Sunnydale. I always wanted to know more about Tara and her mother. There could have been a lot of good stories there.



It is unfortunate Tara's mother was brain-washed into thinking magick was bad. I am pretty sure she was afraid to explore that part of herself in huge part due to Mr MacClay's bigotted thinking. It is nothing scarier that a woman in love with an abusive man.



Willow is starting to worry me too. She has been thinking of using magick entirely too much. I am guessing your next series of stories will have to do with Willow misusing(not addicted to) magick. I never bought the addiction storyline in season six.



Also, I am glad W/T could get away from Sunnydale and have the main focus placed on them. I wish there could have been more W/T -centered shows in season six, but I guess this will never happen now.



Phew. I got kind of long-winded there, but there is a lot going on in this story. I can't wait until your next series is complete.

Tara: My heart doesn't stutter.


Tara: Willow, I got so lost.

Willow: I found you. I will always find you.

Edited by: The Rose24  at: 1/16/03 8:56:44 pm

[dekalog]

This is an amazing series of stories. I am amazed at how you have re-worked the events - they still have the charm of the series, but are WAY better - more W/T. Off to read now. Thanks.

[barnabasvamp]

Wow this was great!



And you left us with so many questions. Did Willow keep the gem? Will she be using it again, or perhaps too much?



It almost sounded like the demon might be "in" Willow.



Look forward to more.

BV

"In front of total strangers won't you kiss me, Flowers for no reason but you miss me - OOH, I wanna be in love"

Melissa Etheridge-Skin

[Sheridan]

Quote:

---

This is an amazing series of stories. I am amazed at how you have re-worked the events - they still have the charm of the series, but are WAY better - more W/T. Off to read now. Thanks.

---

Glad you enjoyed it dekalog

Quote:

---

Willow is starting to worry me too. She has been thinking of using magick entirely too much. I am guessing your next series of stories will have to do with Willow misusing(not addicted to) magick. I never bought the addiction storyline in season six.

---

Quote:

---

And you left us with so many questions. Did Willow keep the gem? Will she be using it again, or perhaps too much?

---

Rose24 and barnabasvamp glad you enjoyed the story. Yes this sequence of stories is my take on Willow getting overwhelmed by the magic. In essence the fire is now a part of her and appeals to the worst parts of her personality, leading to what I hope will a real, 'but they can't do that!' conclusion. Oh and Rose? If you thought the last series was complicated...

Willow: ...I have to tell you....

Tara: No, I understand you have to be with the person you l-love

Willow: I am

Edited by: Sheridan at: 1/11/03 7:25:33 pm

[Grimaldi]

great update



i liked the bits of Tara's history, and Tara's mother's attitude towards magic was a suprise.



"Don't worry baby, nothing can stop us now." that doesn't sounds good, does Willow still have the gem?



Dawn thinking that when she first met Tara she was created by magic was funny considering how Dawn was created

you can't just go declaring shenanigans on innocent people, that's how wars get started!
I'm not stealing, I'm just taking things without paying for them. In what twisted dictionary is that stealing?
He's not dangerous, he's just stupid

[Sheridan]

Quote:

---

"Don't worry baby, nothing can stop us now." that doesn't sounds good, does Willow still have the gem?

---

Well Grimaldi it's more a case of the gem being part of her now...

Willow: ...I have to tell you....

Tara: No, I understand you have to be with the person you l-love

Willow: I am

[tkheaven]

I finally got to reading the update.. WOW!! Absolutely incredible. Though I enjoyed having Donnie in trouble, I think I'd like to see him grovel a bit more. I'd knock Tara's dad on his ass a little more as well The gem's part of Willow now. Not good, definitely not of the good...

Tk's new and improved "GrrArgg"...Tk's Heaven

---

"I've become really protective of her. I want to make sure if Tara comes back, it's for good reason." -Amber Benson
Tara ate her, devoured her from beneath. -The Edge of Silence giving new meaning to this season's catch phrase.
"Got it: that's a 'yes' to petals; a 'no' to pricks. I should remember that more often." -On Second Thought

[Sheridan]

Quote:

---

I'd knock Tara's dad on his ass a little more as well

---

Well tkheaven I figured if I beat him too much it might make him sympathetic, of course I might change my mind and bring him back for round two later...

Willow: ...I have to tell you....

Tara: No, I understand you have to be with the person you l-love

Willow: I am

[tkheaven]

we can make him sympathetic later, can't we?

*tk gets comfortable on a loveseat with feet up in the air while her hand disappears into a bucket full of popcorn...

I'm up for it....

Tk's new and improved "GrrArgg"...Tk's Heaven

---

"I've become really protective of her. I want to make sure if Tara comes back, it's for good reason." -Amber Benson
Tara ate her, devoured her from beneath. -The Edge of Silence giving new meaning to this season's catch phrase.
"Got it: that's a 'yes' to petals; a 'no' to pricks. I should remember that more often." -On Second Thought

[Sheridan]

Just to let people know that there's been a slight delay in the writing porcess owing to my return to the UK, but I hope to have the next installment up in a couple of weeks.



Edited to add:

After something of a writing blitz 'Crime & Punishment' is now finished. I just need to do some editing and formatting and figure out how to get it somewhere I can upload it, so watch this space!

Willow: ...I have to tell you....

Tara: No, I understand you have to be with the person you l-love

Willow: I am

Edited by: Sheridan at: 2/6/03 2:59:14 am

[elessar007]

I just wanted to say that this is a great read. One of my favorite aspects of this series is how confident and unapologetic Willow and Tara are regarding their love for each other. They don't feel any need to 'just get along.' If someone has a problem regarding lesbianism then it is just that--their problem. It's not Willow's and it's not Tara's problem.



I thought the dialogue was very funny. Especially when Tara said

Quote:

---

Honey please don't play with the demon.

---

The blase manner in which she spoke was so on target with how I picture Tara talking to Willow.



Lastly I want to say thank you for sharing this with everyone. You obviously put great effort into your work and I count myself priveleged to read it.

***

"Hey, Will. This is me. It doesn't all have to be 'good' and 'fine.' This is the room where you don't have to be brave and I still love you."

[Sheridan]

elessar007 glad you enjoyed the read, and hopefully you will enjoy the next post in this thread...

Willow: ...I have to tell you....

Tara: No, I understand you have to be with the person you l-love

Willow: I am

[Sheridan]

Title: Crime & Punishment

Author: Mike Mullen

Rating: NC-17/18 because of violence, adult themes and sex.

Spoilers: None what so ever

Disclaimer: All the original BTVS characters belong to Joss Whedon and ME, everyone else in the stories are my personal slaves.

Summary: A spot of larceny leads the gang to a threat to blow up California. Willows approach to preventing this suggests that may not be the worst problem they face...

Authors notes: Again with the angst warning, but they will be heading back up into the sunshine soon.

Feedback: Just add your comments at the end of the story.

Crime & Punishment

1."Life On The Streets"

Elias took a good look around the graveyard before he opened his coat and extracted the weapon that was concealed in the lining. Buffy looked at it dubiously, "Dearest are you sure that thing is safe?" she asked uncertainly.

        The weapon bore a certain resemblance to a super soaker water pistol; though those were constructed out of brightly colored plastic and not machined aluminum and copper tubing, "This is as safe as any weapon fitted with a cylinder of propane can be." Elias offered cheerfully and not at all reassuringly.

        Giles decided to throw in his two cents worth, "I really don't see why you can't be satisfied with a good old fashioned crossbow."

        Elias raised his free hand and began to count off points on his fingers, "They're heavy, you need to reload after each shot, and when was the last time they actually did any good?"

        That was a point Buffy had to concede, and by the looks of it Giles didn't have any good arguments to offer either. Still she wasn't happy to have her significant other playing with a prototype weapon. "I just wish you could have spent more time testing it."

        "Having a nice chat are we?" Spike asked sarcastically as he walked round a corner with Xander.

        "Well here's an opportunity for a field test now." Elias growled under his breath.

        He watched Spike intently. The vampire had started insisting on joining in with patrolling and demon hunting, getting his kicks hunting down his former drinking buddies and filling otherwise empty nights. That at least was Spike's explanation and Elias didn't believe a word of it. He had seen the look in the vamp's eyes when he looked at Buffy, predatory but a different kind from hunter and prey. Spike wanted Buffy in his bed and all this was just an effort to ingratiate himself with her.

        Elias hadn't mentioned this theory to Buffy; she was already coping with her mothers still mysterious illness and whatever big secret she was keeping about Dawn. The last thing she needed to hear was that Spike had the hots for her. Elias had settled on a simpler plan; as soon as the vampire gave him the least excuse Elias would take him out.

        "Is there a reason for you coming back here Spike or did you just miss my company." Buffy could hear Elias choking and coughing at the comment. She turned to find out what had happened and he just waved her away without any explanation.

        "We spotted a couple of vamps." Xander began.

        "You mean you let them see you." Spike sneered.

        Xander’s expression suggested that he would be more than happy to hear about Elias‘ plan, "There was one male, one female and the girl looked pretty dressed up. They did see me but they didn't seem interested."

        "Were they heading out of the graveyard?" Buffy asked.

        Xander shook his head, "Heading in."

        "Sounds like vamps with a plan." Buffy commented, "Let's go spoil it."



        The scene looked a little like a party, if you were prone to holding parties in the middle of a graveyard. There had to be a dozen vampires dressed up for a night on the town. "You know I heard there was some open house frat party going tonight." Xander whispered as he ducked back down behind the tombstone. Buffy was fixing him with a stare, "Hey I just hear stuff." Xander responded defensively.

        "Why don't they just hang up a sign 'All you can eat vampire buffet'?" Elias asked witheringly.

        "Well lets crash their party first. Spike and Xander go left. Giles, you come with me and Elias, we'll take the right."

        “And whose going to take the front back and middle?” Spike wondered, but he was talking to himself.

        The vampires had paired up into couples and were about to head off and pig out when Buffy stepped out from the shadows, "Sorry but your invites are cancelled." A couple of the vampires recognized the Slayer and hesitated, several more ignorant examples rushed forward. At that point Giles and Elias stepped out to support Buffy, now the vampires who had been in such a rush hesitated.

        With the targets now strung out Buffy didn't hesitate, she leapt and rolled past the nearest creature and came to her feet in front of the scantily clad example behind him. Buffy delivered a fierce kick to the vampires chest and then drew a stake and dived on it.

        The vampire Buffy had bypassed turned to look at her which gave Giles the chance to close up with him and swing his axe to strike. The third of the impetuous vampires moved to help the one Buffy was pinning and Elias ran forward and dropped to one knee to take aim. The vampire spun towards him and Elias pulled the trigger. A jet of pale blue flame leapt out ten feet and struck the vamps chest. The creature began to burn but kept moving and Elias realized it was on a collision course. He tried to move out of the way, however just before it disintegrated the creature sent him sprawling and the flame gun went flying out of his hand.

        Buffy drove the stake through the female vampires chest and it vanished in a cloud. She jumped to her feet and saw things weren't going as well as expected. Elias was scrambling for his gun and Giles was wrestling for control of the ax with his intended target. Spike and Xander were nowhere to be seen. Buffy muttered and moved to help Giles, only to be tackled from behind by another vampire.

        Xander and Spike were trying their best to help but currently they were playing hide and seek with a couple of late arriving vampires who had taken them by surprise and the latecomers were clearly a couple of veterans.

        Elias scooped up the flame gun which had smacked into a tombstone. He turned it and pulled the trigger without any result. He cursed and dropped the weapon before pulling a stake out of his pocket, they were looking seriously outnumbered. Need a hand? The thought echoed in the mind of every member of the gang.

        There was a shimmer of red flame and Willow and Tara were standing in the middle of the graveyard, "Hi guys we're home." Willow announced. A trio of vamps ran towards the new arrivals. Willow waved her left hand and a wall of energy raced out and expanded. It struck the vampires and carried them with it, finally dropping them a good fifty feet from the action. Willow raised the palm of her right hand and a bolt of energy leapt towards another pair of vampires. Halfway there it split in two and caught both creatures, turning them into pillars of flame that burned for a surprisingly long time.

        Buffy had her back to the action and was the only one not immobilized with surprise. She drove her stake into the vamp that had attacked her and dusted it before she turned. As she did so she saw Willow gesture upwards with both hands. The vampire fighting Giles shot a good fifty feet in the air before falling at Giles feet with the sound of cracking bones. Giles swung his ax and finished off the creature which was wailing in a piteous manner.

        The sight of this sudden devastation broke the other vampires will to fight. "Oh no you don't." Willow muttered. She raised her hands to the sky and chanted a few arcane words. Lightning arced out of the clear night sky and struck four of the running vampires turning them into billowing dust.

        The members of the gang gathered around Willow and Tara with wide astonishment, "So did you guys miss us?" Willow asked impishly.



        There was an unspoken agreement that they needed a drink amongst Willow and Tara's friends which naturally meant a retreat to the Bronze. While Tara was at the bar fetching another couple of drinks Willow got into the details of what they had found in Lydia's diary. There was an appalled silence as they contemplated the fate of Ellie Maclay. Willow saw Tara approaching and decided she needed to change the topic quickly, "How is your mom doing?" she asked Buffy.

        Tara came up in time to hear that, "Do the doctors know what's wrong?"

        Buffy shook her head, "No they're talking about taking her in for more tests."

        "I'm sure she'll be ok." Willow offered reassuringly. Liar the voice in the back of her head responded, you know Joyce is going to die. When she had been launched into the future one of the things that had stuck in her mind was Buffy mournfully explaining about her mother passing away. Willow had agonized about telling Buffy but she had no idea how Joyce had died and Willow had entertained the hope that in changing the future she had erased that.

        Now with this illness and its timing Willow had the uneasy feeling that she hadn't changed that particular path. Perhaps some things were fated and if that was true what was the good in telling Buffy, taking away her hope? It occurred to Willow that she had told Buffy there was no magical way to heal Joyce, perhaps that wasn't true anymore, perhaps this new power opened up new possibilities. Willow shivered with a mixture of apprehension and excitement at the concept of power over life and death.

        Willow got up to go to ladies room and Buffy switched her attention to Tara, "This Fire thing, Willow was a little vague. Does she still have that gem with her?"

        Tara looked troubled, "The gem was just sort of the physical manifestation of the power. When Willow tapped into it she absorbed it all the power."

        Xander had been idly listening to the conversation, "Hey how much power could there be in one measly gem?" The look he got from Tara left him turned his guts to ice.

2. "Criminal Intent"

The Magic Box had a mixed security system. There were alarms around the doors and windows and several small charms designed to discourage the less human element. The burglar was a little uneasy about that side of things. B & E carried its own set of unique hazards in Sunnydale; there weren't many places where you went out to commit a little larceny and ran the risk of being eaten.

        The man drew a plastic bag full of powder from his pocket and shook out in a line along the bottom of the back door. The powder shimmered and vanished. The man turned his attention to the alarm cable that ran over the top of the door. A couple of crocodile clips, a multimeter, and a length of wire dealt with the sensor on the door. After that it was just plain old brute force. The thief inserted a crowbar between the lock and the door frame and just levered until he heard the metal crack and twist.

        Once inside the man played a small flashlight over the floor; it would be down right embarassing to trip over a chair or a misplaced box at this point. The shop till was an antique and it was the work of moments to spring it and remove the meager contents. The safe didn't offer much more of a challenge. Neither of them contained a fortune, clearly the owners were scrupulous about putting their money in the bank. In other circumstances that would have made for a disappointing evening, it was lucky that on this occasion the money was just a bonus.

        Making his way up the staircase the burglar played the flashlight over the spines of the books on the shelf. He lifted them out and piled them to one side until he finally came to the volumes he was looking for. He stuffed them into his backpack and made for the back door, he had no desire to be in this creepy place one second longer than he needed to be.



        After they got back from the Bronze Tara had found she was still thirsty. Willow announced she was going to get ready for bed so Tara had padded down the hall to the vending machines. She returned to find the room lit by the glow of a dozen candles, which was a lot more than Tara thought they owned. Willow was sat on the bed; bare naked and in the lotus position. "Close the door," she murmured.

        Tara closed the door and made to cross the room. Willow raised her hand, "Stay right there."

        Now Tara was confused; standing in the middle of the room eager to pull Willow into her arms. After a moment she realized she was rising into the air. "Just relax." Willow suggested silkily. She wasn't moving a muscle and there was no evidence of effort on her face as she levitated Tara. Her girlfriend was clad in a v-neck sweater and a wraparound skirt. the belt at the top of the skirt undid and slid out of the loops before fluttering to the floor. The buttons holding the skirt closed undid and it unwound like a length of rind peeled from a piece of fruit.

        There was a gentle pressure on Tara's arm to raise up. She let them go and as they stretched above her head the sweater slid up her body and off.

        Willow's telekinesis made short work of Tara's underwear. It was an extremely odd sensation floating in mid air stark naked and Tara wasn't sure what Willow had in mind; she was sort of expecting Willow to float up off the bed. Instead Willow let her hands fall to her sides.

        Threads of lightning like energy emerged from Willow's hands. The pair slithered across the floor like electric snakes. As they reached the space below Tara they reached up and wrapped around her legs. Tara felt an amazing tingling sensation as the energy spread out over her skin and worked its way up her thighs. Isn't it amazing baby? Willow whispered in her mind. Tara could feel her lover's mind wrapping around hers sharing the sensation. The energy spread outwards and upwards, not to mention inwards; flowing through the lips of her sex. The energy seemed to inflame every nerve it touched, leaving Tara gasping and groaning as it engulfed her breast and flowed over her face. It caressed her mouth like a lingering kiss. The energy pulsed in time with her heartbeat and grew intensity until Tara screamed with pleasure, and kept screaming.



        Morning sunshine was streaming through the window as Tara woke. She reached out a hand and discovered that Willow wasn't there. That didn't surprise Tara very much; even after she was exhausted and ready to sleep Willow had still been hyper. Tara found her thoughts turning to what they had done the night before. The whole thing had been incredible and satisfying. Tara's thoughts hesitated. Maybe satisfying was the wrong word, there had certainly been a powerful physical response but she could have gotten that with Willow wrapping her body around her under the sheets.

        Emotionally Tara had to concede that there had been something off about it, the whole thing had been sterile. It had been somehow impersonal, Tara couldn't shake the feeling that Willow had been more interested in the magic than in the sex.

        The door opened and Willow walked in with two large foam cups of in a cardboard holder and a bag that practically shouted muffins. "You've been to the mall and back already?" Tara wondered.

        "Took a shortcut." Willow explained with a sly smile. She dropped on to the bed and handed a cup to Tara as she struggled to a sitting position. Taking a sip Tara determined that was indeed a sweetened mocha. She caught a powerful coffee scent when Willow pulled the lid off her cup, "What have you got there?"

        Willow took a gulp before answering, "Espresso."

        As far as Tara was concerned Willow might as well have said 'speed' or 'cocaine'. "I thought you knew better, those things make you hyper." Or more hyper anyway.

        Willow shrugged casually, "I figured it was time I grew up and got a handle on this."

        Tara's reply was cut off by the phone ringing. Willow bounced off the bed and grabbed the phone. "Hey Giles...A break in? You’re kidding me...Ok not your sense of humor...Yeah we'll be right down."

        "Was Giles apartment broken into?" Tara wondered.

        "No someone broke into the Magic Box." Willow sounded like it was a personal affront; and since she had set up the charms to protect the place perhaps it was.



        In imagination Tara had seen the Magic Box filled with crime scene people looking for forensic evidence and police men interviewing everyone in a five block radius. What the actually had was one uniformed officer standing outside, a technician taking prints in a half hearted manner from the till, and there was also one plain clothes man standing talking to Giles. From the expression on Giles face Tara guessed it was not going well.

        Giles saw the pair standing in the doorway. He signaled them in and was a little disturbed that the uniformed officer didn't even try to stop them.

        "What happened Giles?" Willow demanded.

        Giles didn't address her right away. He looked at the detective, "Are we finished?"

        "Yeah we're finished." The man replied absently and walked towards the technician who was now photographing the till.

        Giles turned to Willow and Tara, "The thief came in through the back door, he opened the safe and the till. He also removed several books from upstairs." Giles delivered that last piece of information in a whisper.

        "I told you we should have had a more powerful protection spell." Anya insisted.

        "We couldn't simply incinerate any poor deliveryman who happened to set it off." Giles reminded her.

        Anya just looked sad and walked away, "She's in shock over the money." Giles explained.

        "If they broke the spell and went looking through the books then this wasn't any old burglar." Willow pointed out impatiently, "What are the cops going to do about it?"

        "Well they've taken statements and they are looking for any clues." Giles sounded far from happy.

        "Meaning that they are just going to file it away and eat donuts." Willow snapped. Giles silence confirmed her words. Willow turned on her heel and walked over to the detective. She vaguely recalled seeing him at the high school and other places which made him one of mayor Wilkins old minions; that would make it a lot easier, "Excuse me detective."

        The man looked at her, "Are you an employee here?"

        "No I'm just a friend of the owner." Willow's tone was even and she fixed her gaze on the police officer.

        "Well then if you'll excuse me I'm busy." The man wanted to turn and walk away but instead he found himself staring at Willow.

        "I understand that," Willow replied softly, "but you have to understand how important this case is, that there's more to this that just a simple robbery. You do see that don't you?"

        The detective simply stared at her for a moment and then turned back to the evidence technician, "I want you to cover the stairs, the book shelves, everything. I don't want you missing anything."

        The technician looked very unhappy at this instruction but he simply let his shoulders slump and go on with it.

        Giles stared at Willow as she walked back with a pleased look on her face, "You just manipulated his mind," he accused her.

        Willow was unfazed, "Well what was the alternative? Explain how the thief stole magic books and is planning to summon a demon or start the apocalypse?"

        Tara looked at Giles and could tell he wasn't going be able to answer that. He clearly wasn't happy with what Willow had done but on the other hand he couldn't argue her point. Tara definitely wanted to argue it but without support she couldn't see anyway of winning.

        Buffy walking in broke up the tension, "Perhaps you two could fill her in while I keep the police busy. I think we should meet at my apartment and discuss strategy." The way he said that suggested he hadn't forgotten about what Willow had done.

3. "Law & Order"

"Honey there are sodas in the fridge; wouldn't you prefer one of those?" Tara asked.

        Willow took a sip from the mug, "This is fine baby," she commented casually.

        A lot of things had bothered Tara the last couple of days; Willow's new found taste for caffeine was somewhere near the top of the list. After they had gotten to Giles' place there had been the traditional raid on his fridge and the making of drinks. Willow had snagged a large mug of black coffee without even bothering to add any sugar. The last time she had accidentally picked up a cup like that and taken a drink she had almost sprayed it over the furniture. Now she was happily sipping from it as she perched on a chair arm.

        As much as Tara cared about the rest of the gang it had become painfully clear that they weren't the most observant people in the world. No one else seemed to be aware that Willow was breaking the habits of a lifetime; or maybe she was just overreacting. Could it be that Willow's experience with the Fire was just opening her up to new ideas? Somehow Tara didn't find that idea any more comforting.

        Giles walked in and Buffy rose from the sofa, "What did the police say?"

        Giles took off his glasses and polished them before he answered, "The detective seemed fairly confident that he could solve the case," he put the glasses back on and stared at Willow, "of course that could be because of your efforts."

        Willow took the suggestion in her stride, "Well at least he's taking it seriously now, maybe he can come up with some clue and I can hack it from their database."

        That sounded a bit blasé to Tara; then again Willow spent more time in Sunnydale PD's files than the officers did.

        "I don't think that's the issue here." Buffy insisted, "We need to know what kind of demon or apocalypse this thief is trying to summon."

        Xander shook his head, "We already have Glory to deal with. Don't these big evils keep some sort of schedule?"

        The comment was thoroughly ignored. Giles kept his attention on Buffy, "The books that were stolen don't relate to demonology or the Hellmouth. They related to elemental magic."

        That grabbed Tara's attention, "Earth, wind, fire, and water."

        Giles was startled by her comment, "I don't think this is connected to what happened in Quincy."

        Willow put her empty mug down on the table with a thud, "But you can't be sure of that. We need to track this person down fast and put a stop to whatever they have planned."

        "Well I think we all kind of figured that." Buffy's tone was humorous; her eyes said she was disturbed by the vehemence of Willow's remark.

        What Willow said next really shocked Buffy, "Well you do also realize this isn't really a Slayer type of thing."

        Buffy didn't even try to keep up an amused front, "What exactly does that mean?"

        "It means this is an investigation putting the clues together kind of thing, my kind of thing." Willow explained succinctly if tactlessly.

        "And your saying you should be in charge." Buffy's breath practically froze in the air from the chill in her tone.

        "I didn't think there was anyone 'in charge', I thought we worked as a team." Willow said it quite evenly but firmly.

        "We do." Buffy responded.

        "Then all I am saying is that maybe I should take point on this one." It sounded like the most reasonable thing in the world the way Willow said it.

        The room was silent; Elias Carter had seen plenty of tense situations in his military career and he had the powerful feeling that the wrong word was going to start a firefight here. "Maybe we should focus on our own skills. I can go with Buffy and hit some of the local dives, maybe this guy likes to drink and talk. Willow can hit the computers, and Giles, Xander, and Anya can hit the books and see if they can narrow down what magic this guy is planning."

        Giles hastily moved to back him up, "That does sound like a good idea, multiple approaches should lead us to a quick resolution." Much to Giles relief there were a round of slow nods of agreement.



        Willow had set up the laptop at the foot of the bed and was stretched out behind it studying the screen. "Did the police come up with anything?" Tara asked.

        "The thief wore gloves and everything else they found sounds to me like it belonged to Giles or Anya." Willow replied distractedly.

        "So it looks like influencing that detective was a waste of time." Tara bit her lip, she hadn't meant to be that blunt.

        Willow didn't seem to notice the tone of her comment, "Well it was worth a try, and at least that was one Sunnydale cop earning his pay for the day."

        Tara wasn't about to argue on behalf of the Sunnydale police, "So what are you trying now."

        Willow finally turned away from the computer and gave her full attention to Tara, "Well I did a search for anything about the books that were taken, that just came up with a sites that mentioned them, mostly antique book sites. The I decided to do a search for a search."

        "Now you've lost me."

        "I decided to find out who else had been looking for information on those books," Willow sounded extremely pleased with herself.

        "And what did you find?" Tara wondered.

        That broke Willow's air of confidence, "I haven't actually got it working yet." With that she turned back to the computer.

        Looking at Willow Tara considered trying to start the conversation again but she wasn't sure what to say. She didn't want to start a row with Willow and Tara was pretty sure that's where it would end up if she tried to bring up the subject of what happened back at Giles. Yes Willow probably was the one best equipped to do the whole sleuthing thing but there were more diplomatic ways to go about it.

        Try as she might Tara couldn't see a way to approach this. She just shook her head and decided to try and help as best she could, if only by massaging Willow‘s shoulders.



        Most of the time Elias could pretend that Buffy really wasn't capable of tossing him around like a basketball. When she was mad however she was prone to displays that reminded him she really was superhuman. Right now he was trying to keep up with her without having to abandon all semblance of cool and break into a run. "Is there any chance you're going to calm down while I still have some breath left?"

        Buffy came to a stop; which truthfully was the purpose of his question. "I am being very calm." Buffy responded.

        "Relatively speaking." Elias smiled as he said it.

        That got through Buffy's bad mood, "I think I'm more confused than mad."

        They started walking again, "What's confusing?" Elias asked.

        "Willow's always been there for me, I could always count on her to back me up." Buffy sounded puzzled.

        Elias had half expected that answer, "Well I think that's where the problem lies."

        "Meaning that I've taken her for granted." Buffy didn't want to sound totally unobservant.

        Elias decided if Buffy was in the mood for some introspection he might as well give her the whole of it, "A little of that maybe, more the fact you can't quite face the awful truth."

        With anyone else this would be the point where Buffy would start getting mad again, but being in love with him bought Elias a lot of leeway, "And what is the awful truth?"

        Elias tried to think of the best way to put it, "Look at it like this. If it came to a one on one throw down between you and Willow who would win?"

        It was something of an absurd question to Buffy's mind and she was going to give the obvious answer when Willow's display in the graveyard came to mind. Even before that Willow's power had been considerable; "You're saying Willow could kick my ass."

        "I was more thinking that she's on an equal footing now." Elias lied, Buffy had hit on exactly what he was thinking.

       

        The search protocol was just refusing to do what Willow wanted. She had worked on it for an hour and she was losing patience. The mundane world simply refused to move at the speed she needed. "This is ridiculous."

        "Not going well baby?" Tara sat beside Willow and let her fingers dig into Willow's neck.

        Willow shrugged and unwittingly pushed Tara's hands away, "It is way too slow." Willow swung up into a sitting position with the laptop in her grasp, "It's time to speed things up."

        laying her hands across the top of the laptop screen Willow closed her eyes and began to chant. An image peeled off the computer screen and hung in the air. The computer flicked to another site and that image leapt into the air. The process kept going and sped up until the air around the couple was filled with a cyclone of images. They blurred together into a swirling mass of colors and then collapsed into a single image; a backdrop like gold veined black marble with gold letters that looked like they had been carved into stone. The text read:

THE

MILLNER

FOUNDATION

FOR

ANTIQUARIAN

STUDIES

        "I think we have a winner." Willow announced smugly.

        Tara nodded slowly, she was more concerned with the blank computer screen and the wisps of smoke rising from the air vents.

Willow: ...I have to tell you....

Tara: No, I understand you have to be with the person you l-love

Willow: I am

[Sheridan]

4. "Hunter"

The demon hit the concrete wall with a bone crunching thud. It staggered forward to clear its head and was propelled backwards again by Buffy. "I told you; you aren't getting out of here until you talk to me."

        When Buffy and Elias had hit one particularly sleazy bar and started asking questions this particularly sleazy customer had tried sneaking out the back way. Naturally he hadn't gotten very far and the couple had spent the last few minutes 'persuading' the demon to be co-operative.

        The creature had just about reached the point where it was obvious to it that co-operation was the only choice, "Then tell me what you want to know."

        Buffy was a little disappointed; working over a demon was a good way to work off some of her stress. She had barely gotten started on reducing her current high levels, "Is it me or are demons getting to be total wusses these days?"

        "I can live with that." Elias pointed out.

        Buffy hefted a knife in her hand and stepped up to the demon, holding the blade an inch from its chest. "I want to know who was asking about the Magic Box."

        The demon looked at the blade and then back at Buffy, "It was a human wearing a cap and dark glasses. Waste of time cause I can barely tell your kind apart."

        Buffy let the tip of the knife press home, "Less commentary, more information."

        "He wanted to know what sort of protection the shop had. I told him that I heard the owner knows a couple of serious witches and so it probably had some sort of protection charms." The demon paused as it realized it had just admitted to colluding in the break in.

        Buffy didn't care about that, "Was that all he asked about?"

        The pressure of the cold metal against its belly made the demon candid, "He also wanted to know about Sunnydale museum, and I don't know why."



        Tara put the phone down, "Giles says that Buffy and Elias have found something. We should come round right away," She saw a frown cross Willow's face, "It sounded important." Tara didn't enjoy the fact that she was having to persuade Willow to do what would usually be a matter of course.

        "Well I suppose we better go and find out what they think they know." Willow conceded impatiently.

        Tara took a deep breath, she felt like she was heading for one of those cold war summits.

        The scene in Giles apartment did nothing to erase the cold war motif. Buffy and Elias were sat together on the sofa so Willow had decided to prop herself against the kitchen counter. Tara looked across at Buffy and Elias; she felt like she should be doing something to bridge the gap. She caught Elias' eye; they didn't share a lot in common but at that moment she knew they felt the same and they weren't taking action for the same reason, they both owed their loyalty to the person they loved.

        Giles was pacing back and forth as Buffy explained what they had discovered, "Your sure this demon wasn't simply trying to get rid of you with this story about the museum?"

        "It was probably willing to do a song and dance routine if I asked, but I'm pretty sure it was telling the truth."

        "Actually that would fit in with what I found out. I think the thief is working for someone else. I found out someone has been doing a lot of research on those books and it turned out to be a Foundation that collects antiquities, that would explain the interest in the museum. I mean its not exactly unknown for that place to give a home to some magical doodad." Willow looked pleased with herself, evidently feeling she had topped Buffy's effort.

        Tara noticed that Willow avoided any mention of how she had trashed her laptop in the process of getting this information and decided against sharing that with the group.

        "I don't suppose we have any idea what this guy is planning to heist? Or where he might be now?" Xander's simple question punctured the tension and left both Willow and Buffy looking a little sheepish.

        Willow recovered quickly, "That doesn't really matter; we know where he's going to be so we just stake out the museum and grab him when he turns up."

        "It's a large area to cover Willow and we can't be there all the time." Giles pointed out. It wasn't that he disagreed, he simply wanted to restrain her almost predatory enthusiasm.

        Willow waved the objection away, "His MO says he'll break in at night and with a little magic I can pinpoint him and teleport him to someplace where we can interrogate him."

        "This isn't going to be a one woman operation right Will?" Buffy asked, sounding more like she was issuing instructions than asking a question.

        "I think I could handle one little burglar." Willow responded coolly.

        "We know this individual has some familiarity with magic, we can't count on spells alone to detain him, even if such a profligate use of power was wise in the first place." Giles comment was phrased reasonably but the rebuke was clear.

        "Fine, I suppose some back up can't hurt." Willow conceded grumpily.

        "Ok I think I'm hearing the sound of low blood sugar here." Xander jumped in, literally as got out of his chair and got in the eye line of Willow and Buffy.

        "You know I am pretty hungry." Tara offered in support.

        Willow turned to face Tara and her expression softened, "I could go for a pizza or something."

        "Why don't you come with Will?" Xander suggested. Willow nodded and kissing Tara goodbye she walked out the door behind Xander.



        Tara was pulling plates out of a cupboard and searching for enough cutlery to go around when Buffy cornered her in the kitchen. It was no big surprise, Tara had been expecting it since the front door closed behind Willow. "What's going on Tara?"

        "Maybe you should ask Willow that Buffy." Just because she had expected the question didn't make Tara any more comfortable about answering it.

        "I would if I thought I would get a straight answer." Buffy didn't seem comfortable making the statement but she did it anyway.

        Tara was sorely tempted to spill her doubts to Buffy who would in turn share them with Giles and Elias and Xander. Then there would be the inevitable attempt at intervention to set Willow back on track. It was tempting but there was a nagging doubt that held her back. What if this was nothing more than Willow needing time to adjust? What if all Tara's anxiety came out of the fear that Willow would move beyond her? If she was wrong and she set that whole train in motion would Willow be able to forgive and forget?

        Tara couldn't take the risk, "I think we just need to give her a little space Buffy; the Fire is a big thing for her to process."

        For a moment Buffy looked unimpressed and about to press Tara when the front door opened and Willow and Xander appeared bearing pizza. Buffy walked away and Tara was relieved; if Buffy had pressed Tara was afraid she have might crumbled.



        The night air at the museum felt cool to Willow, even though other people were wandering in t-shirts and summer dresses. Willow muttered under her breath and a wave of warmth washed over her. With her comfort level restored Willow considered opening telepathic communications with Buffy. Since Buffy was with Elias Willow decided to leave it, she really didn't need to pick up any of their sensations if they were making out.

        Instead of using her talent to reach out to her friend Willow tried something different. She had always used her telepathy as a sort of psychic radio; now she tried it as a form of radar. With her eyes closed she let her mind push outwards and almost instantly felt 'echoes' coming back. Buffy and Elias were easy to identify; a mix of passion and tension. There was a sensation of boredom bordering on the comatose which had to be a security guard inside the building. There was also one other echo but it was much fainter. At first Willow thought it might be a guard dog, then she felt a hint of magic that was all too familiar, the concealment glamour.

        The security system around the museum made the Magic Box look like Fort Knox. Municipal funds didn't stretch to upgrading the protection of a bunch antiques and the museum trustees were more interested in raising funds for new acquisitions. The living breathing security guard they were relying on wasn't much more of a challenge.

        The thief barely needed the glamour to escape his attention. Nonetheless the burglar stood still while the man went past and watched as the guard turn the corner. It would be at least an hour before the man was back, maybe a lot more if he went for one of his frequent coffee breaks.

        With plenty of time the thief moved slowly towards the wing he was looking for. The museum's mesa American collection was one of its better exhibits, featuring artifacts from the local Chumash Indians as well as from South America. Unlike the shop there was nothing here that suggested it would make a decent bonus, he didn't know enough about this ancient crap to choose amongst it or fence it.

        He checked the glass case carefully to see if there were any little surprises wired to it. Certain that it was just glass and wood he got to work on removing the panel. The lock on the front gave the thief some trouble, mostly because it was rusty rather than any great complexity. It gave way to his lock pick and he gently swung the panel open. The centre of the display in the case was a large silver medallion with the outline of a mountain beaten into it and what looked like a snake wiggling below it. It was an ugly piece of junk as far as the thief was concerned; however as long someone was willing to pay for it he could care less.

        "I don't know which is worse; your stealing or using one of my favorite spells to do it." The thief spun round at the sound of Willow's voice. He was staring at an empty room and then quite suddenly Willow was standing about ten feet away. The thief's instincts kicked in and he leapt off to his right. Willow gestured with her right hand and a trail of fire ran across the floor and cut him off, it also collided with an elaborately dressed display dummy and knocked it to the floor where it began to smolder. "I really think you should just stay still." Willow suggested mockingly.

        The thief knew he was in severe trouble, still he couldn't bring himself to just surrender. He flexed his wrist and a knife slipped into his hand. He threw it at Willow and it did a ninety degree turn en route and smashed another of the glass cases. Hoping for a distraction the thief tried running again. Willow unleashed another line of flame and this time it knocked a pedestal over; smashing the bust that was sat on it as well as trapping the thief in a ‘v‘ of flame.

        Now the thief stood transfixed as Willow stared at him. Her gaze moved to the medallion he was still clutching. It was torn from his grasp flying towards Willow’s open hand and slicing open his fingers in the process. The thief gasped in pain. Willow ignored him as she studied the medallion, that it was some sort of ritual item she had no doubt but it was nothing she had seen documented.

        Buffy and Elias rushed into the room, "Good grief." Buffy was horrified at the mess the room was in. The fire trails were still burning and half the displays in the room were trashed. In the middle of it all was Willow standing looking at something in her hands. The thief had slumped to the floor and was wrapping a piece of cloth around his fingers. "You go fetch him, I'll get Willow." Buffy instructed Elias and strode towards Willow.

        As Buffy approached Willow stuffed the medallion in her pocket, "Hey Buff you missed all the excitement," she sounded as though they were sat in the coffee shop discussing the weather rather than in a wrecked museum.

        Buffy tried not to sound exasperated, "Will why didn't you call us when you spotted him?"

        "Well I thought I could grab him on my own and if he made a break for it you and Elias would still be able to grab him." Willow made it sound eminently reasonable.

        Buffy was tempted to argue but restrained herself, "We need to go, that security guard has probably already called the cops."

        Willow shook her head, "He's still cowering in his office. You're right about going though, nothing else to do here." Cheerily ignoring the devastation Willow lead the way out.

5. "Special Victims"

The trip back to Giles apartment was subdued to say the least. The thief was in no mood to talk, Elias was driving and watching the road, Buffy was keeping an eye on the thief and Willow appeared lost in her thoughts. All of this was simply a series of excuses to avoid another blazing row.

        Buffy had a few choice things she wanted to say to Willow; and even Tara's earlier advice wasn't holding her back, only the prospect of showing disunity in front of the bad guy kept her silent. Elias was afraid that any comment no matter how innocuous might break the fragile ceasefire and his car would wind up like the museum. Willow on the other hand was simply thinking ahead to their next move and doing her best to overlook Buffy's ingratitude at her efforts to stop whatever plot was afoot.

        Tara didn't need telepathic contact with Willow to tell things had gone badly at the museum; the black looks on Buffy and Elias' faces was more than enough. Everyone else’s attention was on the man Buffy was escorting in. "Is that him?" Anya demanded, "Is that the person who broke into the Magic Box? Where's the money?"

        "Anya perhaps we should focus on the larger issue, though the return of our goods wouldn't go amiss." Giles commented, not immune to a little bit of avarice.

        Buffy maneuvered the thief around Giles and Anya and pushed him into the armchair, "Where is the stuff you stole?"

        Willow stepped up next to her, "And who were you stealing it for?"

        The thief had dealt with interrogations before. His usual approach was to ask for a lawyer and say nothing; right now that didn't seem like a very practical notion. He looked at the red head the blonde had called Willow, she clearly possessed some serious magic, and a willingness to use it. "I spent the cash and I passed on the books to the people who hired me."

        Willow was pleased to see that her theory was on track so far, "Good, now tell us who it was."

        The thief looked hesitant, "I don't know who. I was hired by phone, I dropped the books and picked up my money for the first part of the job. No names, no faces."

        That wasn't a response that made anyone in the room look happy. Xander looked around, "Hey if he tells us where the drop is we could stake it out and catch the contact," he was pleased that he had come up with the idea before Elias; beating soldier boy to such a covert ops type thing made Xander feel useful.

        Buffy grimaced at the suggestion, "That's a good idea, or it would be if someone hadn't started world war three at the museum; if whoever hired this guy has half a brain they were listening to a police scanner and won't go within a mile of that pickup."

        Willow's cheeks had gotten redder and redder as Buffy spoke, "You're assuming he's telling us the truth," she insisted finally; ignoring the issue of the museum all together.

        The thief couldn't restrain himself, "You think I'm going to lie after what I saw you do?" he was hoping that the brewing argument amongst this group would take the heat off him, maybe even give him a chance to escape.

        The man was about to find out he had made a serious mistake. Willow fixed her gaze on him, "I scared you at the museum but maybe your more scared of whoever you work for."

        Tara saw that eerie red glow fill Willow's eyes again. She shifted her senses and could see energy flowing out from Willow and invading the thief’s aura. Little tendrils of fire spread out and touch every part of the thief’s essence. As Tara watched the mans aura began to shimmer and fade, "Willow isn't that enough?" she called out pleadingly.

        Willow's gaze switched to Tara and faded back to normal. After a moment she smiled, "Yeah he couldn't hide anything."



        Watching the interaction between the two lovers Buffy wasn't sure just what had happened; she was only sure from the way that Tara's face had gone pale it had to be something bad. The thief was sweating profusely in his seat and looked to be on the edge of a panicky run for the door, "What are we going to do with him?" she pointed towards the thief; whose incremental motion to rise out of the chair halted as attention turned back to him.

        "Can't prove he robbed the Magic Box, and I bet we left more fingerprints in the museum than he did." Elias pointed out.

        Giles nodded but realized there was still one question that hadn't been answered, "We don't know what he was trying to steal from the museum."

        "Oh I know," Willow interrupted breezily, "it was this," she reached into her pocket and pulled out the talisman.

        Giles stared at Willow with the kind of expression that suggested that Willow might have pulled a beating human heart from her pocket, "You took it from the museum?"

        Willow looked aggrieved, "I took it off of him," she pointed at the thief who flinched at the gesture, "and I didn't get the chance to put it back before Buffy hustled everyone out."

        Now Buffy looked put upon. Giles intervened before another round of recrimination started, "Well perhaps I should look after it until we can arrange to return it."

        Willow considered that for a moment, "No offence Giles but you couldn't protect the books and if the people who want this send someone else after it you could be in a lot of danger. Buffy could take care of it, but with Joyce being ill and having to take care of Dawn do you really think she should?"

        Neither Giles nor Buffy could refute the logic of the argument. Giles knew that if this foundation really was determined to have the talisman they might easily send a minion who could overpower him.

        For Buffy it was the mention of Dawn that struck home; she couldn't risk anything that brought attention to her family, anything that might point a certain crazed blonde in the direction of the Key.

        Seeing that no one was going to contradict her Willow pocketed the talisman again. Elias wanted to get back to what he saw as the main issue, "So are we actually going to let this guy go? No cops, nothing to stop him trying again."

        "I can take care of that as well." Willow offered. She opened a telepathic link to the thief, You've felt what I can do and that was just a little taste. If you don't leave Sunnydale and stay out it will be the last mistake you ever make.

        The thief went very pale and then got out of the chair and walked slowly to the front door. As soon as he opened it he ran out into the night; he didn't stop until he saw the 'You are now leaving Sunnydale sign'.



        After the thief ran away the meeting broke up; no one had the energy to discuss anything more. Tara wasn't surprised to see that the exception was Willow. As they walked back to the dorm room she could tell that Willow was turning things over in her mind and Tara decided that she wanted to break her train of thought, "What did you tell that man before he bolted?"

        Willow looked confused for a moment; as if only just realizing she wasn't alone, "Just the usual, if we ever saw him again he would be sorry."

        Tara always trusted Willow's word; it was as natural to her as breathing. This time however she couldn't resist. Tara looked hard at Willow's aura as she answered the question and found for the first time that she couldn't read anything useful; the energy of the fire was blotting out all the fine details. Tara wasn't about to give up, "Would you have put the talisman back if Buffy hadn't been there?"

        Willow smiled and Tara still couldn't read anything, "Probably not; I mean that would just have let those Milner bozos have another go at it. This way if they want it they will have to come to me."

        "Willow it isn't ours to risk; and we need it to do research." Tara added the rest to sound less preachy.

        Willow accepted that suggestion, "Well how about we take a rubbing or something. Then we can use that for research while I dig around for a connection with the Foundation."

        The distinct use of 'I' and 'we' didn't escape Tara's attention but she let it slide, "Do you think it's just a coincidence that this whole thing seems to be connected to elemental magic after what happened in Quincy?"

        Willow seemed genuinely uncertain as she answered, "I don't know baby; it could just be a huge coincidence but in Sunnydale who knows." Willow considered the possibilities for a moment and then shrugged them off, "Let's not worry about that tonight. How about we just skip dinner and hop into bed?"

        As long as we're in bed and not floating above it, Tara couldn't help thinking.

        As it happened on this occasion Willow was more than happy to stick with the conventional, and respect the limits of Tara's endurance. As they lay together afterwards Willow turned her still burning energy in another direction, "I think I know how to pull the Foundation out into the open."

        Tara was too sleepy to be wary, "How honey?"

        Willow smiled and pressed close so she could whisper in Tara's ear, "Offer them the talisman."

        Tara was suddenly wide awake, "Baby we don't even know what it does, and what if they got their hands on it by accident. That could be really bad."

        Willow idly stroked her hand along Tara's flank as she considered that point, "Well I could make a fake, then even if things did go wrong it wouldn't do them any good."

        That wasn't really what Tara had hoped for, "But what if the Foundation doesn't know about the theft? They might just go the police."

        Willow laughed, "Baby Sunnydale PD aren't the strongest willed people in the world, I'm sure I could handle them."

        Even in the warmth of their embrace Tara couldn't suppress a shiver.

6. "Fastlane"

Low blood sugar had drawn Tara from her sleep and propelled her into the university cafeteria. The food there had never tasted so good; which had to be a bad sign. She had managed to find the time the night before to create a copy of the symbols on the talisman and Willow had dropped the whole idea about making a fake in favor of some snuggling. That all contributed to Tara wondering once again if things were really as bad as she imagined; Willow was still Willow even if now she seemed to have unlimited physical and magical energy.

        Tara put the last piece of toast back on the plate, try as she might she couldn't avoid the feeling that at the very least this power was making Willow reckless and impatient. She pulled the paper with the talisman images out of her pocket and studied them. She had every good reason to be doing research on elemental magic so it wouldn't be like she was going behind Willow's back or anything, would it?



        The gang had decided to reconvene at the Magic Box and Tara walked in to find that Buffy had brought Dawn along and although Buffy was valiantly working to keep her sister out from underfoot it was clearly a losing fight, "Tara!" Dawn called out and rushed over to her; nearly taking out a statuette on her way. "Is Willow with you?"

        "She wanted to check a couple of other things, but she should be along soon."

        Dawn looked a little disappointed, "I wanted to ask her about what happened last night; I heard she caught that thief single handed and blew up the museum!"

        Buffy heard the rising note of enthusiasm in Dawn's voice, "Dawn what did I say about that?"

        "That blowing up the boring old museum isn't cool." Dawn replied with an expression that made it clear the words were being forced out against her will.

        "I don't think it was quite that dramatic anyway Dawn; according to Willow it was just a little broken glass." Tara's attempt to stem Dawn's enthusiasm was a little more successful that Buffy's had been; though Tara caught a rather arch look from Buffy implying it had been a lot worse than that. "I have a copy of the talisman symbols to work with."

        Giles abandoned the book he had been studying, "Well that certainly would be useful."

        "And much better than randomly searching through the books in the way we have been." Anya added.

        "Of course having the actual talisman would be better." Giles was unhappy at the way his position had been usurped by Willow.

        "What you think the thing had some sort of hidden compartment?" Xander wondered, "Come on Giles this place already got broken into once, do you want it to happen again?"

        "I definitely don't." Anya stated emphatically.

        Seeing that he wasn't getting anywhere Giles took the sketch from Tara who turned her attention to the pile of books on the table.

        "I could help you look for this talisman." Dawn offered eagerly.

        "No research." Buffy reminded her without looking up from the book she was studying.

        "But it's just a dumb old amulet; it's not like it's some icky demon. How bad could it be?" Dawn pressed.

        From what Tara knew of Mesa-American culture the answer was very bad indeed. The stony silence sent Dawn into a huff and she retreated to a corner.

        Tara was relieved not to have Dawn looking over shoulder because she wasn't all that interested in the talisman right now. She was more interested in the mechanics of elemental magic. The books said that the elemental powers predated any other magical force, they were the basic components which had formed out of the Chaos and blended together to make, basically everything. Since they were part of everything control of any one of them granted almost unlimited power over the world. Ancient as they were they predated any notion of good and evil; they were strictly neutral. In theory, Tara brooded and she could resist thinking about the old cliché; power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely. Of course sometimes sayings got to be clichés because they were true. Willow was a good and noble human being, but could Willow resist the power to do anything she wanted?



        I didn't promise I wouldn't pursue this, Willow reminded herself as she worked. She had broken out a small cauldron someone had given her as a gag gift the year before. it did feel a little stereotyped but it was a solid piece of metal and perfect for what she had in mind. Willow was not big on jewelry but she had relatives who kept giving her pieces regardless. She had also gone out and filched a rusty spanner from a caretakers toolbox, the man wasn't likely to miss such a worn out piece of equipment.

        Willow wrapped a couple of cheesy plated chains around the spanner and dropped it into the cauldron. She stretched her hands over the mouth of the cauldron and concentrated. Energy drifted down and mixed with the contents. Slowly the metal objects melted even though there was no heat radiating from them. The different metals flowed together into a single liquid mass that shone like quicksilver.

        Dipping a finger into the mixture Willow nodded, satisfied with the results so far. The talisman was laid on the bed and Willow now picked it up in her left hand and turned back to the cauldron. She ran her finger around the edge of the liquid metal and it flowed away from her and formed into a perfect circle. Willow let her finger move over the surface and the metal sluggishly replicated the symbols pounded into the surface of the talisman.

        Willow moved her hand away from the cauldron and brought the talisman next to it. The still liquid metal was now magically constrained into a pretty good facsimile. Willow tossed the talisman aside and ran her hands back over the cauldron; drawing the magical energy back out.

Lifting the fake talisman out of the cauldron Willow knew that it wouldn't fool anyone who had handled the original, the weight was wrong and the color wasn't quite right. Since the point was that her target hadn't seen the original it would do. Willow wondered if perhaps she should bring the others in on the plan but given Tara's lack of enthusiasm Willow doubted she would get much support from the others. Better to wrap this up and present the gang with a fait a complit. Once they had seen her full capabilities maybe they would stop whining about all the little details.



        Distracted by her concern for Willow Tara had forgotten all about the talisman until Xander gave a shout of triumph, "Found that puppy," he slid the book across the table in a way that made Giles wince. Tara focused her attention back on the group and saw that despite the earlier injunctions Dawn had crept back to the table to peer over Buffy’s shoulder. Everyone else joined her in crowding around Giles and Tara could see that Xander had indeed found the amulet.

        Giles read through the all too brief notes that accompanied the illustration and then picked up another book and turned carefully to a page he had placed a bookmark in, "I thought this might be relevant but it wasn't explicit about the talisman so I put it aside. The information Xander found makes the connection." Giles hesitated at the concept of Xander being helpful while Xander had a pleased grin on his face.

        "So what does that book say Mr. Giles?" Tara was more interested in the contents of the book than the group dynamic right now.

        Giles nodded, "This book relates a series of legends about Xiloclan."

        "Isn't that what they give you when you're getting your teeth fixed?" Buffy interrupted.

        Giles looked pained, "Xiloclan was a Central American city perhaps a thousand years ago ruled by a caste of priest-kings. Despite being a relatively small city it lorded it over several more populous neighbors."

        "A little sorcery right?"

        This time Giles just nodded at Buffy's interruption, "The priests controlled a ritual that summoned what they called 'earth serpents', surges of earth energy that could create small earthquakes and release fountains of boiling lava. As you can imagine that made life difficult for any potential enemies."

        Elias had sat listening to Giles description quietly, "Difficult to put an army in the field if the ground is going to open and swallow it."

        Giles resumed his explanation, "Xiloclan might have risen to be the equal of the Incas, Aztecs, or Toltec’s if it hadn't succumbed to an internal power struggle. The priests fell out over who should be the supreme ruler. They turned the ritual against one another and in the end the earth serpents destroyed the city and according to the stories, 'cast it back into the earth it rose from'."

        Tara was looking at the book Xander had found and tracing out the picture of the talisman, "Not of all of it."

        "No not all of it," Giles agreed, "The stories suggest that a few pieces did survive; seized by other cities as symbols of power to raise their prestige."

        Buffy digested Giles grim little story, "Just how much damage could these earth serpents do?"

        Giles considered that, "Well Xiloclan was in a geologically stable region and it was destroyed. In a seismically active region like Southern California the effects could be enhanced by several orders of magnitude."

        "So Las Vegas gets an ocean view?" Xander suggested jokingly, and became very pale when Giles nodded somberly.

        Xander wasn't the only one who looked appalled. Buffy jumped out of her seat, "We need to call Willow and get that talisman back."

        Giles got in just ahead of Tara, "I don't think that is really a good idea," he raised a hand to forestall Buffy's protest, "I know I wasn't keen on her rationale for keeping it last night but given its true nature we have to assume the people who are after it are ruthless and indifferent to human life. Willow may be the only one who can offer the talisman adequate protection, don't you agree Tara?"

        Tara nodded, unable to speak owing to her heart being in her mouth.

Willow: ...I have to tell you....

Tara: No, I understand you have to be with the person you l-love

Willow: I am

[Sheridan]

7. "Boomtown"

It hadn't been difficult to make an excuse to leave the Magic Box and go find Willow. Someone had to fill Willow in on what they had found and it was entirely natural that it should be Tara; she just hoped they hadn't been able to tell how panicked she really was. Tara knew Willow wouldn't intentionally do anything bad but she couldn't shake the image of Willow sitting on the bed with the talisman, trying to figure out what it did and accidentally reducing Sunnydale to rubble.

        Not finding Willow in the dorm room was actually something of a relief in the circumstance and Willow had left a note explaining that she had gone to the library rather than joining the others at Giles. That tempered Tara's relief as it suggested that Willow was up to something.

        Tara walked into the library and found Willow working with one of the scanners; she was glad to see Willow doing something so ordinary until she caught the glint of metal as Willow opened the lid of the machine. "Willow why did you bring that thing here?" Tara was appalled at how casually was treating a talisman that could lay waste to California. What if the scanner somehow triggered it? Not very likely perhaps, but Tara had heard all about Moloch.

        Willow answered by smiling and dropping the talisman into Tara's hands. Tara was horrified for a moment and then confused, there was something different about it. "Told you I could make a copy." Willow announced smugly.

        Tara decided she needed to sit down and slumped into an uncomfortable chair next to a empty table. "How did you do it?" she asked as Willow took the chair next to her. Willow gleefully explained the process, "Of course the thing is mostly still iron. I think with a little more work I could do a complete transmutation. Do you think being rich would be as cool as it looks?" Willow giggled.

        "Maybe we should concentrate on what the talisman can do right now, money isn't much good if your underwater." Tara commented and was glad to see that wiped out Willow's frivolous mood. Tara filled Willow in on what they had learned from the research about Xiloclan and the earth serpents.

        "This Milner Foundation really needs taking down." Willow stated firmly.

        Tara wasn't so sure, "As long as the real one is safe do we really need to rush into this?"

        Willow smiled sadly, "Baby do you really want to spend all our time guarding one little talisman? I mean I covered it with a whole bunch of wards but there's no such thing as perfect protection and we can't just leave it somewhere." Tara couldn't argue with that so Willow went on, "I've dug up a lot of information about Milner; his grandfather set up an engineering firm that wasn't very successful. He also seems to have been disappointed in his personal life. He only had one child, a daughter. Being an old fashioned chauvinist this was a big let down." Willow didn't hide her disgust at that attitude.

        "I guess things turned around somehow?" Tara guessed; broke engineering companies didn't usually endow foundations.

        "Big time," Willow confirmed, "his daughter has a son so the old man can pass the company onto, and since around that time the company starts to get a lot of fat contracts there's plenty to pass on. The grandson runs the company now and it's still doing pretty good business. Most of the companies factories and offices are in Arizona and Nevada, but the Foundation isn't far from here."

        "That seems sort of odd." Tara commented.

        "Maybe he just wanted a base close to the Hellmouth, the way company boomed really was miraculous, or magical."

        "You think granddad did a deal with the underworld?" It had already occurred to Tara that was where Willow's story was heading.

        "I don't know if he signed anything in blood but yeah pretty much." Willow confirmed.

        That made the Foundation even more dangerous to Tara, "Maybe we should discuss this with the others and do some brainstorming."

Willow shook her head, "No we have to go with the plan, let the foundation know we have the talisman and use the copy to draw them out."

        Tara didn't recall agreeing to that plan, "Maybe that is the best thing but should we really do it on our own? I think we at least need to tell the others."

        "They're just going to get in the way." Willow was certain that if she told Buffy about the plan she would just insist on sticking her nose in and making a mess of it.

        Tara didn't really have any further arguments to offer, "I just don't think we should get into this without someone else knowing."

        The concern in Tara's face got through to Willow better than any of her arguments and with a shrug Willow conceded the point.



        The group left behind at the Magic Box were feeling harassed. Giles had launched a further blitz of research in an attempt to find some way to neutralize the magic of the talisman which appeared to involve emptying the shelves of every book in the shop.

        Buffy was trying to come up with reasons why Dawn should stay out of it, "Why isn't because I say so good enough for you?" she was simply getting exasperated.

        "Because I'm not five anymore." Dawn snapped back.

        You were never five Buffy was tempted to tell Dawn but managed to hold her tongue.

        "Can I give it a try" Elias offered pleasantly.

        Buffy threw her hands up and walked away in response. Elias took Dawn through to the training room.

        Dawn shook his hand off, "You nearly broke my arm," she complained hotly.

        "Not even close." Elias dropped any pretence of tolerance, "And any pain you felt is nothing to what your inflicting on Buffy."

        Dawn stared in wide-eyed shock and made to walk out. Elias blocked her way. "For once you are going to listen." Elias was using the tone of voice he usually reserved for interrogating prisoners. "Right now Joyce is sick, Willow seems to have gone crazy, this Glory character has taken up residence to do who knows what and now there's this whole talisman thing. Buffy is coping with all of that and all you can do is bitch and whine."

        Dawn's first instinct was to just give Elias some sarcasm and barge past him; after a moment she reconsidered, "I'm the same age she was when she started slaying, and I know I don't have superpowers but neither did Willow or Xander and that didn't stop them helping," she blurted all her grievances out in a single breath.

        For once Dawn was making sense and Elias had to concede she had a point. Buffy did seem to be massively overprotective of Dawn even though simply being the Slayer's sister and living in Sunnydale was pretty hazardous in itself, "Ok that's true but it doesn't excuse your being a brat. However if you can show me that you can act your age I will talk to Buffy about getting more involved and I might even be persuaded to teach you a few self defense moves. How does that sound?"

        It sounded just a little condescending to Dawn, on the other hand it was the best offer she had gotten or was likely to get for that matter, "Ok it's a deal."

        Elias hoped he had really gotten through to Dawn and decided he probably done all he could for the moment. He led Dawn back into the shop and into the middle of a small war.

        Willow and Tara had walked into the shop about two minutes before Elias and Dawn reappeared and it hadn't taken half that time for things to degenerate into a blazing row, "You just decided to do all of this without even telling us?" Buffy shouted, standing less than a foot away from Willow.

        "What do you think this is? This is me telling you!" Willow was every bit as loud. Tara was desperately trying to get in between the pair but there was no room and Giles was holding her back.

        Buffy was incredulous, "You know I mean before you did it. This is isn't telling, this is gloating about how clever you are."

        Willow looked at Tara with an expression that said 'I told you so' and turned back to Buffy, "We needed to find these people and stop them and since you have Glory and Dawn to worry about I thought maybe I could just deal with this and take some of the load off you."

        Tara looked at Willow, "Honey maybe we should calm this down," And you shouldn't say things that aren't true. Even telepathically Tara couldn't use the word 'lie' to Willow.

        It is true baby, its just not the only reason, Willow responded soothingly.

        Buffy had been thrown off by Willow's comment, "Ok so maybe you wanted to help but this is a pretty strange way to go about it Will."

        "Why?" Willow asked calmly.

        That left Buffy even more uncertain, "Why? Why am I so upset? Or why is it such a bad idea?"

        "Either or both." Willow wasn't being helpful and actually seemed to be enjoying Buffy's confusion.

        Buffy rallied quickly, "I'm upset because suddenly you want to be a solo act, and it's a bad idea because you are basically jumping up and down and yelling; 'here I am!' to the bad guys."

        "Buffy I'm not the scared little girl you had to save from the vampires. I can handle things on my own; it's time to face facts, we aren't always going to work on everything together."

        Looking around at the others Buffy could see Giles nodding ever so slightly and a general air of reluctant acceptance. Faced with that and remembering her conversation with Elias Buffy had to concede that her continuing uneasiness might just be her holding on to the past, "Ok Will, just remember you can still call in the cavalry if you need to."

        Willow smiled and nodded but Buffy still couldn't shake her bad feeling, it would probably have gotten worse if Buffy knew what Tara was thinking at that moment.

        Tara had been hoping that the gang would somehow talk Willow round from this reckless scheme; instead she seemed to have persuaded them this was some sort of rite of passage. Maybe it was and maybe Tara was being unreasonable but she really didn't think so.

       

8. "Special Victims"

The crowds in the university library had thinned out by the time Willow and Tara made their way back there. Most of the students were either in late lectures or back in their dorm rooms; alone or otherwise.

        Tara wished she could persuade Willow just to go home and curl up together in bed. So far her every effort to restrain Willow's enthusiasm for this plan had seen things snowball, going faster and faster. Tara almost felt like begging Willow to stop; just use her power to destroy the talisman and tell the bad guys to forget it.

        Only the fact that it would be futile held Tara back. Willow had staked so much on this that there was no way she could back down now. Even if it would be the right thing to do Tara couldn't bear to think of the humiliation it would inflict on Willow and who was to say that would make things any better? Willow might just seek out some bigger big bad to fight; like Glory maybe. Perhaps this was better, let Willow show she could work on her own and prove her equality with Buffy and then Willow could work with the others with her head held high.

        Besides as Tara thought about it Buffy's attitude had been a little condescending, as if her and Willow's magic were some how less than her muscle power. It might be good for Buffy to finally appreciate the power of the Wicca. Tara didn’t think about how hard she was working to rationalize the situation

        While Tara was musing Willow found an empty terminal and accessed the anonymous e-mail account she had set up to contact the Milner Foundation. She was surprised and annoyed to discover there were several pieces of spam already waiting there; maybe she should find out what sort of locator spell the spammers were using. The fourth e-mail drove that thought away, "We have a bite!" Willow announced eagerly. Tara leaned over to look at the reply and Willow stole a kiss, "We're on our way baby."

        Tara smiled, even with her doubts Tara found Willow's enthusiasm infectious. The e-mail itself was pretty dry and made no reference to the talisman. It did contain an invitation to an exhibition that the Foundation was holding the following night. Willow printed out the attached file that contained a fancy version of the bald invitation. There was no name in it, the invite simply said;

You and a guest are requested

to attend the latest presentation

of the collection of the

Milner Foundation."

        "Looks like we're going to a party." Willow could barely contain herself at the prospect.

        "It's leaving it I'm worried about." Tara pointed out.

        Willow threw her arms around Tara, "Don't worry baby, we're in control now."



        The Milner Foundation was housed in several acres of neatly clipped grass surrounded by a dense, high hedge, less intimidating than concrete or wire but no less impenetrable. The building itself was set in a hollow in the ground which concealed it from the long looping driveway. That was doubtless intended to extract expressions of amazement and appreciation when visitors finally set eyes on it.

        It actually left Tara cold. An Aluminum clad wall curved up and over from the ground for five or six floors. From the top of the wall a stretch of silvered glass reached back towards the ground, giving the building a shape like a chunk cut from a wheel of cheese. To Tara's way of thinking it was clever but sterile; a great high tech lump dropped into the middle of all this greenery without any consideration for whether it belonged.

        If it reflected the personality of the actual person called Milner it suggested a callousness that might go with an interest in the 'earth serpents'. Tara frowned; she didn't usually judge people before she met them and this was no time to start, especially as Willow already seemed to be planning an all out confrontation before they were even offered a finger sandwich.

        Picking out appropriate outfits for a gallery exhibition had been a great distraction, as they sifted through dresses and underwear; especially the underwear. In the end Willow had suggested going 'commando' would be a good solution to the apparently impossible choice. Thus Tara was sat in the back of a limo wearing a formal dress that Willow had magically modified to be extra clingy and very conscious that the driver could make out every curve of her body.

        The interior of the gallery was single broad space with natural light being filtered in through the great glass roof. The exhibits were housed in hexagonal glass pillars spaced broadly around the room and glittering like crystal. The mechanics weren't that different from Sunnydale museum but it somehow conveyed the sense that it was much more expensive.

        There were people wandering around with trays full of snacks and drinks. Tara did manage to restrain Willow sufficiently to grab a cracker piled with some imported cheese and a glass of champagne. Wandering around the room Tara became aware that she was being watched. She tried to look around casually and realized that a number of men in the room were looking at her, or at her bust line anyway.

        As she paid more attention she saw there were also a number of men, and a couple of women, staring at Willow. Tara was tempted to put a possessive arm around Willow but that would just feed into the fantasies some of the guests were clearly entertaining.

        Willow hadn't noticed the attention they were getting; she was more interested in the contents of the display cases, "This Foundation has a collection Giles would kill for. According to his books that statue in the corner doesn't exist anymore."

        "Do you think they might just want the talisman for their collection?" Tara didn't really think it was likely but it had to be considered. They would feel pretty stupid if this turned out just to be an avaricious museum.

        "I don't think so; if it was even remotely legitimate they could probably have persuaded the museum to part with it, why risk displaying stolen goods?" Willow explained.

        That made sense to Tara, this place clearly had enough funds to get whatever it wanted. If they weren't going the legitimate route that implied they didn't want to be officially connected to the talisman. Only Willow's magical search had turned up the link.

        A podium had been set up at one end of the room and now a figure emerged from a door in a walled off area of the gallery and mounted it. Even before the introductions Tara knew it had to be Milner himself. She had been anticipating some sort Bill Gates type Ubernerd but Milner didn't really fit the profile. He wasn't very tall and he was quite wide, though not fat. It was more like he had been squashed and stretched sideways. His hair was sandy colored and cut quite severely. He sported a pair of tinted glasses that effectively obscured his eyes.

        Tara didn't need to look into the mans eyes to see into his soul. She looked at his aura and saw that despite his air of confidence it was riddled with doubt and apprehension. There was more; lurking beneath the human aura there was something altogether darker, "Willow I think Milner is part demon." Tara's apprehension was rising again.

        Willow took it in her stride, "No big surprise, sinking California is a demony kind of thing."

        Tara nodded, there was no arguing with that.

        Milner had been making a speech while Willow and Tara were talking and he was wrapping up when they finally paid attention, "As you know the collection will be going on tour soon and I'm sure we all hope that the tour will raise a lot of money for the development charities we are supporting. So please take this last opportunity to see the collection for the time being and enjoy the evening." Milner waited for the polite applause to die down and then stepped down from the platform.

        "Nice move," Willow commented cynically, "looks like a great humanitarian and gets his collection out of California."

        Milner was glad handing his way through the crowd and managing to make a straight line for Willow and Tara. "I believe you charming young ladies were a last minute addition to our guest list?"

        It was offered as a bland pleasantry and Willow wasn't having any of it, "Well I suppose changing circumstances didn't leave many options."

        Milner didn't try to evade, "That is certainly true. I have to confess you aren't at all what I was expecting."

        "Maybe you were imagining something more like this?" Willow brushed her fingers across the back of Milner's left hand and let a little of her power pass through the connection.

        Milner jerked his hand away, "Yes that would be more what I was thinking of," he rubbed his hand thoughtfully as he spoke, "perhaps it would be better if we talked about this privately. We could meet in my office in a couple of hours after the other guests are gone?"

        Willow nodded, "Fine by me I'm sure I can find the way."

        Milner smiled, "Until later then."

        As soon as Milner was out of earshot Tara grabbed hold of Willow, "Please tell me that 'I' was just a figure of speech."

        "Baby we can't both go in; one of us has to be on the outside in case there's a screw-up." Willow pointed out.

        Now she thinks of this? Tara thought; and then began to get suspicious. Why would Willow start getting cautious this late in the day? "You just want to confront him on your own," she accused.

        "I just don't want you in the firing line." Willow responded, "Please baby I promise if anything goes wrong I'll teleport straight out."

        That wasn't as reassuring as it might have been. There was a logic though to one of them keeping watch from the outside and Tara knew that meant her. Also the fact that Willow was clearly concerned for her safety did address some of Tara's fears about her lovers recklessness.

9. "Dragnet"

Willow watched as Tara departed with the last of the party guests and was finally able to relax. For a moment when she had explained her reasons for wanting to confront Milner alone Willow had been afraid that Tara would rebel and refuse to go along with the plan. It was disappointing to Willow that even the person closest to her was able to appreciate the reality of the situation.

        Perhaps she was expecting to much Willow decided, after all how could anyone who didn't have this kind of strength understand it? Tara and the others were stuck in a world of limited possibility while she was looking at limitless horizons. There would have to be some adjustments in her relationships Willow knew; right now it was time to get on with business.

        The door that led into the administrative areas of the museum had been left unlocked and Willow stepped into the corridor. Milner apparently didn't believe in cutting corners, the walls and floors of this unseen part of the museum were lined with paneling and thick carpet. Willow also suspected that there cameras concealed in those richly decorated walls to make sure no one walked off with the museums treasures.

        Willow ran her hands along the wall and felt for any energy flowing beneath them. The flow of picture information was distinct and similar to what she had felt when she used her power to search the internet. Willow directed some energy into that flow and it ceased. There were also a series of magical wards buried beneath the wood, Willow also took care of those. They were no great threat but it served to make a point that she wasn't going to be an easy mark.

        Milner's office was big and dimly lit. It had a vaguely futuristic look broken up a quartet of antique bronze statues set in the corners, "Nice," Willow observed, "reminds me of a Bond villains lair."

        Milner smiled and nodded, "Well when you run a successful company people tend to see you in that light, so why not?"

        "I know how it got to be so successful and it has something to do with you only being part human." Willow observed sharply.

        Milner was unphased, "Well you aren't precisely human either."

        "I'm one hundred percent human." Willow corrected him.

        Milner pursed his lips and sounded irritated, "Perhaps you feel the need to tell that to the blonde girl you were with, and I am correct in assuming that she's more than a traveling companion, but don't stand there and insult my intelligence."

        Willow was disturbed by Milner’s insistence and bought some time to regroup by sliding into a leather and chrome armchair, "Fine, but it doesn't change the facts; your grandfather traded your mother to some demon in exchange for success. Now that really was ruthless."

        Since this was old news to Milner he slid back into his polite mode, "Hardly the first person to do it I assure you and I can hardly complain given all this," he waved his hand to encompass the room.

        That gave Willow the intro to move onto what she really wanted to talk about, "So why do you want destroy it all?"

        Milner looked unhappy, "In the human world I have a certain position. In the underworld though I'm a nonentity, an also ran. It's extremely frustrating. If I controlled the earth serpents and wrought such carnage on the mortal realm then my standing would be increased considerably. Of course there is the fact that while several of my competitors are based in Southern California my assets are further east so there are considerable financial advantages as well."

        "Money and power." Willow's voice was thoughtful rather than sarcastic.

        Milner interrupted her contemplation, "So why are you trying to stop me? I mean if the great mass of mortals believed you had saved they might admire and respect you for a little while but where does that get you? The paparazzi camped on your doorstep and endless whining the next time there's a plane crash, or an oil spill, or an earthquake and you don't stop it, trust me..."

        Milner halted and Willow supplied what was missing, "Willow, Willow Rosenberg."

        Milner gave a grateful nod, "Trust me Willow the whole superhero thing only works if your Stan Lee."

        To her discomfort Willow found herself considering Milner's little speech. She knew he was a bad guy but that didn't mean he was wrong or lying; Mayor Wilkins had nailed the doomedness of Buffy and Angel when no one else would tell Buffy the truth. And thinking of Buffy sort of backed up Milner's point; what had Buffy ever gotten for saving the world? The chance to do it all over again next week that‘s what.

        "I know you brought the Talisman with you," Milner commented. He was keen to move the conversation along, "I have enough magic around here to discern that or

I wouldn't have bothered with this meeting, at least not originally. I don't suppose I could see it?"

        Willow opened her bag and pulled out the talisman copy. She threw it across the desk to Milner who showed quick reflexes in snatching it out of the air. He turned it over in his hands and shook his head, "A fake, a pretty good one but a fake nonetheless," he tossed it on to the table with a thud. "Well that would seem to be that, unless of course I could persuade you to join up with me?" Milner raised a hand to still her protest, "I realize I'm not your romantic taste but I'm discussing a purely professional relationship. You have a lot of power and I have the means to get you whatever you need to exploit that. I think it could be good for both of us."

        Willow was astonished, "You want me to work for you?"

        "No, no, no, I'm talking about working with me, not for me. I'm not stupid enough to think that someone like you is going to take second place to anyone."

        That bit of flattery resonated with Willow in spite of herself and it took an ominously long time for her to reply, "Thanks, but no thanks."

        Milner nodded sadly, "I suppose it was too much to hope. Well Willow it's been nice to sit and have an honest conversation for once."

        "Likewise." Willow replied and meant it. It was the first time in a week that she felt like she hadn't had to hedge about her feelings.

        "Thank you Willow, and now would you mind telling me where the real talisman is?" As he spoke Milner let his demonic side out. His arms grew longer and thicker, giving him proportions similar to a gorilla. Milner's face lengthened and narrowed giving him a pair of reptilian jaws filled with interlocking rows of teeth.

        He leapt over the table, intending to land squarely on top of Willow and pin her to the chair. Willow raised her hands and a wall of force spread in front of her. Milner bounced off it as if he had struck a trampoline.

        The half demon slammed into the wall behind his desk and left a distinct dent as he crashed to the floor. Milner leapt to his feet and squeezed his hands into tight fists. Bony protrusions that had formed over the knuckles flew out like bullets. Seven of them ricocheted off the magical barrier; one broke through and Willow had to throw herself to the floor as it buried itself in the back of the chair.

        With her concentration broken the barrier fell and Milner lunged forward. He landed on his feet straddling Willow and reach out with those long arms to wrap his hands around her throat, "Where is the talisman?" he demanded.

        Willow slammed the palm of her right hand against the carpet and muttered an incantation. The floor rippled and melted. Milner's foot sank down and he toppled over. Willow rolled away from him and pulled herself up to her knees.

        Seeing that Milner was still trying to pull himself free Willow let loose with a fireball that turned the demons expensive jacket into a mass of flame.

        Milner howled and tore the jacket off. The hard scaly flesh underneath was unmarked by the flames. Willow was about to let fly with another bolt when Milner swept a paperweight off the table and straight at Willow. It hit her in the shoulder and she cried out in pain. Milner took a brief satisfaction in actually getting to his opponent. It evaporated as Willow turned away from her wounded shoulder and stared at him; her eyes were filled with flames.

        Milner stared at her for a second, time to call this a write off, he decided. He clapped his hands together with a sharp smack and called out a single inhuman syllable. In response the four bronze statues stirred on their plinths. "Sorry Willow but I really think it's time for me to go." With that Milner dived through a door at the back of the office.

10. "Most Wanted"

Operating on an extremely high energy level time seemed to run slowly for Willow. She checked out all four statues; none of the was more that three feet high and each represented an ancient warrior of some sort. One was a Roman Centurion wielding a sword and shield. The next looked Greek; carrying a javelin and wearing a plumed helmet. The third was a gladiator; armed with a trident and net. The last was a medieval knight with its form molded to look like it was covered in plate armor and keeping a two handed grip on a broadsword.

        All four statues were closing in on Willow and it wasn't hard to figure out what they had in mind. The gladiator was the closest to Willow and it threw its net with surprising force. It was headed straight for her face and Willow reached out a hand and caught it with a little telekinesis; she let it twirl around her fingers before throwing it back. The net wrapped itself around the gladiator and began to shrink, slicing through the metal and reducing the statue to a pile of shards.

        The knight swung its sword at Willow's legs and she got out of the way by rising into the air. As she did so the Greek let fly with the javelin. Willow grabbed it with her telekinesis and bent its flight path so it slammed into the knight. With a little assist from Willow the spear went right through the knight and pinned it to the wall. The knight struggled to free itself and Willow unleashed a bolt of lightning that melted it as though it were made of wax.

        The centurion appeared to have some of the qualities of the soldiers it was modeled after. Where the other two had rushed in to the attack it hung back studying Willow and the way she dealt with the others. It waited until she was staring at the melted knight and then leapt on to the chair and used it as spring board to land on her back. With a single quick thrust it drove its sword into Willow.

        Under any other circumstances the wound would have been paralyzing and probably lethal. At this moment the pain just brought another surge of anger and power. The Fire drove the blade from her body and the power flowed into heal the wound. Willow grabbed the Centurion off her back and wrapped her hands around its head and neck. With a single superhuman twist she took the head clean off the statue. She also broke the torso in two for good measure and let the pieces drop to the floor.

        The Hoplite had pulled back after throwing away its only weapon. Willow wasn't in any mood to be generous. She fixed a hard look on the hoplite and black smoke engulfed it before vanishing and taking the statue with it.



        Drifting back down to the floor Willow realized that the whole battle had taken only a couple of minutes, meaning Milner couldn't have gone far. There was a momentary urge to forget it, just let Milner go. It passed quickly; Willow knew that Milner wouldn't give up on acquiring the talisman. Even if she destroyed it that would just focus Milner's attention on her power, on making her work for him, and since you told him your name it won't be hard for him to find you. Willow's anger flared again as she realized how Milner had manipulated her. He would track her down and find out all about her friends and family. Everyone she cared about would become a means to blackmail her into co-operating. Tara would become a target. Willow's anger boiled over and her form was wreathed in flame.



        Tara had been trying to find a comfortable place from which to watch the gallery and it wasn't easy in a formal dress, especially as she didn't have a jacket to keep her warm. She had expected Willow to make some sort of telepathic contact and when she didn't Tara wondered if Milner had some sort of shielding around the building. A little magical probing crossed off that notion, Willow simply wasn't bothering to communicate.

        As Tara was reaching the point where she was going to go in regardless of Willow's reaction someone ran out of the building and headed for a parked car. From the shape Tara guessed it was Milner and she was going to try and stop him escaping when the roof of the gallery exploded.

        A fiery red glow appeared just under the glass before the whole of it disintegrated and rose into the air in a cloud of glittering shards. Tara watched in horror as the walls followed the roof in being blown apart. The aluminum wall crumpled but remained largely intact. It sailed across the open ground and landed on the car.

        The wave of flame that had destroyed the building flowed past the debris and faded out. Standing in the middle of the destruction was the very thing Tara had been afraid of; Willow standing there completely untouched and her aura burning with magic.



        Willow strolled across the debris and found Milner pinned under a corner of the aluminum wall. He had shifted back to his human aspect and was wearing a pained expression on his face. "I don't suppose a plea for mercy would do any good?" he kept a pleasant tone but grimaced with each word.

        "Not really." Willow's voice was equally polite but also resolute.

        "Of course not, if the roles were reversed I'd be doing the same." Milner's voice became harsher as he continued, "Just don't expect them to be fucking grateful Willow."

        "I won't." Willow assured him and then placed a single finger on Milner's forehead; the surge of energy killed him before he knew what was happening.

        Willow straightened up and saw Tara watching her, "That was kind of harsh Willow."

        Don't expect them to be grateful, Milner's words echoed in Willow's mind, "I did what I had to do." she saw the look of hurt and surprise on Tara's place and from somewhere found the need to relieve that, "I had to protect everyone baby, I couldn't take any chances."

        Tara considered that for a moment and then nodded. Willow smiled and slid an arm around Tara's waist. As they walked away Willow began to think about all the changes there were going to have be when they got home.



        The gang were gathered in the Summers living room with bowls of chips and popcorn while Willow regaled them with her tale of the confrontation with Milner, "So he's threatening to make me into his minion or something and when I told him no that's when he set all those statues on me."

        Xander shook his head, "Man wiping out California just so his demon buddies would think he's cool, that's just pathetic," he felt the looks he was getting, "Hey I never even thought of wiping out California."

        Willow laughed and looked at the clock, "Anyway guys I think its time to call it a night, I've got an early lecture tomorrow."

        There was a long round of 'goodnights' before Willow and Tara finally got out of the door, "You don't have an early lecture." Tara reminded Willow.

        "I know, but I figured it sounded better than I want to go jump Tara's bones."

        Tara smiled and then stopped in her tracks and snapped her fingers, "I forgot to get that art book back from Buffy."

        Willow looked unhappy, "Do we have to get it now?"

        Tara considered it, "Well I could go back and see if she can find it while you go and warm up the dorm room."

        That suggestion hit the spot with Willow, "That I can live with," she kissed Tara on the cheek, "don't be long."

        "Promise." Tara watched as Willow disappeared from sight and only then let herself relax. The Fire thought it had her fooled; that Tara couldn't see the way it had overwhelmed every part of Willow's aura. Tara had been waiting for an excuse to be alone with the gang and tell them what was really going on. Tara wasn't sure what she could do about it but she knew one thing; It took my mom but isn't having you my love. Tara turned and went back inside.



        Willow was at a loss as to how this had happened; she thought she had been using the power of the Fire to protect everyone, to fight the good fight. Then in the middle of the gallery it the power had slipped the reins and run out of control; or maybe that was just when she realized it was out of control. After that she had been trapped here. 'Here' was a patch of rock in a sea of molten lava that stretched off to the black horizon. Willow knew it was just a metaphorical image; a way of visualizing where her mind was. The lava was metaphorically burning hot and Willow wasn't keen to find out what would happen if she tried to just walk out across it. ...it isn't having you my love. The words came out of nowhere but Willow was in no doubt who they had come from. She sat down on the rock and crossed her legs; she might as well be comfortable while she waited. Willow didn't know how long it would take but she knew the important thing; Tara Maclay was coming to the rescue.

Willow: ...I have to tell you....

Tara: No, I understand you have to be with the person you l-love

Willow: I am

[SlayerSydney]

Ooooo...Sheridan...that was a great update.



Although Cliff-hangy and I don't do well with those.



I can't wait to read how Tara saves Willow from the Fire.



I enjoyed reading your version of Willow beginning to lose control. It hasn't quite sent Tara over the edge like in Tabula Rasa, but the tension and angst are there.



I will impatiently await the next installment.

---

"You have to believe we are magic. Nothin' can stand in our way."---Olivia Newton-John.



It's never too late to do nothing.

[The Rose24]

Oh. My. GOD. Willow is losing it.



I do not like the way she uses magick to make love to Tara and the way she uses it to make Tara's dress tighter. It is like Tara, the way she is, no longer good enough for Willow. Like Tara says in Tabula Rasa, Willow is fixing things to her liking including Tara.



I can't wait to see how Tara saves her

Tara: My heart doesn't stutter.


Tara: Willow, I got so lost.

Willow: I found you. I will always find you.

[Grimaldi]

great update



man, Willow really was misusing magic big time, and now the Fire has her trapped. poor Tara, she was torn between standing by Willow and trying to help her at the same time. can't wait for Tara to rescue Willow

You can't just go declaring shenanigans on innocent people, that's how wars get started!
I'm not stealing, I'm just taking things without paying for them. In what twisted dictionary is that stealing?

[Sheridan]

Quote:

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Although Cliff-hangy and I don't do well with those.

---

Oh dear SlayerSydney is this a good time to tell you the next story is a two parter?

Quote:

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I enjoyed reading your version of Willow beginning to lose control. It hasn't quite sent Tara over the edge like in Tabula Rasa, but the tension and angst are there.

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Quote:

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Willow really was misusing magic big time, and now the Fire has her trapped. poor Tara, she was torn between standing by Willow and trying to help her at the same time. can't wait for Tara to rescue Willow

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Quote:

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I do not like the way she uses magick to make love to Tara and the way she uses it to make Tara's dress tighter. It is like Tara, the way she is, no longer good enough for Willow. Like Tara says in Tabula Rasa, Willow is fixing things to her liking including Tara.

---

Well SlayerSydney, TheRose24, Grimaldi this is fairly obviously my take on DMW and Joss' claim that there was 'no other way'. Big difference is that my story arc won't throw away the relationship and there will be a happy ending, promise.

Willow: ...I have to tell you....

Tara: No, I understand you have to be with the person you l-love

Willow: I am

Edited by: Sheridan at: 2/10/03 10:50:15 am

[barnabasvamp]

Again, your descriptions kept me on the edge. I enjoyed how you took your time, and lead into Willow's gradual abuse of power. And yet again, Tara began to realize what was happening, yet the rest of the gang has no ides.



I like your take much better, having the two support each other and try to help, rather that letting it destroy their relationship.



BV

"In front of total strangers won't you kiss me, Flowers for no reason but you miss me - OOH, I wanna be in love"Melissa Etheridge

[Sheridan]

Thanks Barnabasvamp, I hope you'll enjoy the resolution as well. I'm about 20% of the way into 'Body and Soul' now.

Willow: ...I have to tell you....

Tara: No, I understand you have to be with the person you l-love

Willow: I am

[darkmagicwillow]

There are definitely other ways to dark Willow, and this one makes much more sense than addiction, while providing the same type of deniability where Willow is not completely responsible for what happens, allowing her to more easily be redeemed. I like the gradual abuse of power that you've built up over these stories leading to Willow reaching this point, but it will be interesting to see if Willow takes responsibility for that immediately or tries to hide behind the Fire. The connection to Tara's mother makes Willow's fall all the more poignant, but also helps to prevent Tara from walking away from Willow as she did in s6.

--

"Omnia mutantur, nihil interit." -- "Everything changes, but nothing is truly lost."

[Sheridan]

Quote:

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...it will be interesting to see if Willow takes responsibility for that immediately or tries to hide behind the Fire

---

darkmagicwillow Without giving away the plot Willow is going to have to confront some hard truths and take some personal risks before this is all settled...

Willow: ...I have to tell you....

Tara: No, I understand you have to be with the person you l-love

Willow: I am

[tommo]

I really liked this story; I feel that it's a distinct change from your other fics in this series. There are serious issues here; in that Willow is struggling with her own sense of identity and her place in the Scoobies, and finding some respite or short-term answers in her magick. I liked the way that you explored the power and how that affected her relationship with Tara, particularly the sexual aspect, because we weren't really shown a great deal of that in the show itself.



Looking foward to more. Thanks for this.

"There's so much more to wiccan Willow than muff-diving gimmickry" ~ SFX

[Sheridan]

Thanks Tommo this was actually one of the earliest idea I had for the series, but I fiugred I better leave it for later, quite enough angst last May without me writing more...

Willow: ...I have to tell you....

Tara: No, I understand you have to be with the person you l-love

Willow: I am