FIC: A Story Moves On

October 2000

Sunnydale Cinema, Sunnydale

The slayer was learning a hard lesson, but she was definitely getting through. Never *ever* get in the middle of a demon feud. The other night she had seen two groups going at in the park. One looked like zombies, skin pinkishand rotted, two eye sockets but only one eye. They wore armor over their chests. The other group was gray-haired all over, green-skinned with noses that looked like pig snouts. They were wearing helmets and carrying shields. Both groups had swords.

She wouldn't have gotten in the way, but there were people in the park. Well, she had been fighting one of the zombie-like demons when one of the gray-haired demons shoved a sword through its enemy's back. She got the people to safety, and then grilled Giles for information. The zombie demons were known as the Yashang, the gray-haired demons known as the Bnhei. They were two warrior species whose "who's better" rivalry went back centuries. They traversed the globe clashing in agreed upon cities and training harshly when they weren't.

They usually moved on after the battle, but Buffy's interference had gotten the winning side, the Yashang, very displeased. Mostly because she had lostthem a comrade. Word quickly got around that they had taken over the movie theater, the screaming patrons running out of the building were a dead giveaway, andthey were waiting on her. That's where she was now, with the gang, fighting for their lives. There seemed to be a whole hell of a lot of them.

Upon Tara's suggestion, she had brought Olive along, but she was sort of regretting that decision. It was dangerous. The dove was sitting on the head of the Yashang warrior she was fighting in the lobby, and he was flailing his arms trying to get the animal off. It was just the kind of distraction she needed. A swift kick to the stomach and she wrenched the demon's sword from his hand,and beheaded him as Olive flew off and above her. The bird was certainly helping. The decapitated head flew right into the popcorn maker, smashing the protective glass.

"Not gonna eat any snacks from here for awhile." Buffy muttered. The gang was spread all over the theater, and they weren't going to win this without having some kind of advantage. "Better give Tara the go ahead." She told the bird,and it took off, searching for the blonde witch. Buffy, more cautiously, ventured further in.

***

A little farther away from her, in one of the screening rooms, "The Whole Nine Yards" was playing. Xander couldn't watch it however, because he was ducking sword swings and dodging thrusts. Anya jumped on the Yashang's back, and the demon stumbled backwards down the aisle, frantically slashing the movie screen. Because of his girlfriend's efforts, the film had gotten Xander's attention, and he was currently standing there laughing as Anya held onto the enraged demon.

"Xander!" She screamed.

"Anya!" He snapped out of it, and charged the demon. She let go, and fell to the floor harder than she would've liked. Xander was on top of it now, pressing all his weight down on its neck with his forearm. After a couple choked gasps, the thing was dead. He got off of it quickly. "That's not right. If you have two eye sockets, I say you damn well better have two eyes to fill the sockets with."

They saw Olive fly in and up to the projectionist booth where Tara was sitting. When she saw the bird through the tiny window, she began to recitethe spell. She didn't think she'd be interrupted in here. They knew two things about the Yashang for sure. The demons would fight until the very last warrior involved in the attack was dead. Retreating wasn't something the demons did, so killing the leader wouldn't help them. But they also knew the species had bad eyesight. What Tara planned to do, was make it worse. If the demons couldn't see, they couldn't fight.

"You better get out of there. It's gonna get foggy." Tara yelled down to Xander and Anya.

They wouldn't be able to fight well either, but the spell would give them an unintentional bonus. Because the Yashang wouldn't be able to see or fight, Buffy, Willow and Tara hoped that they'd end their lives rather than except defeat. That part was just theory, but it was a sound theory.

"We're coming to you!" Xander called back, grasping Anya's hand. The last thing they needed was to be separated.

The two of them got to the booth just as Tara finished, and opened the door. Xander offered his free hand, and they all left there as a thick gray mist began to cover over everything. The plan was to follow Olive, by the sound of her cooing to the exit, on the assumption that the animal could navigate through the fog.

"What about Willow?" Xander asked, walking as fast as he could.

"Forget her! I wanna get the hell out of here!" Anya said.

"Buffy's getting her." Tara answered, ignoring the ex-demon.

They froze then, seeing the outline of a Yashang that was a few feet ahead. Standing still, they prayed it wouldn't see them. It moaned out of frustration, walking blindly down the hall. As it got closer, Xander extended his arms in a protective gesture in front of the girls. It stopped and turned in their direction, and they were sure they had been spotted and were done for. It remained there, removing its sword from the holster at its side.

Xander was prepared to attack it, but it turned the blade toward its own head, and shoved the sword right into its empty eye socket. The sword went straight through the back of the Yashang's head, and it dropped, deceased. They all breathed a sigh of relief, but also had the urge to throw up.

***

Buffy relied on her slayer senses to get her to Willow, and through the fog. She had already tripped over two Yashang bodies. Apparently her senses didn't help her avoid dead things, only living and undead things. There had been ahuge ambush waiting for them when they had first entered the cinema, and they had had no choice but to separate to draw the demons away. Only now, in semi-safety, was she able to worry about her girlfriend. And that worry hit her like a truck.

Even though she knew she had nothing to worry about, that Willow could handle herself, it was automatic. She couldn't help it. But she had yet to get that feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach, so she was fairly positive. She tensed, stopping, because her hearing perked up. It was coming from her right. Sounded like...gurgling. Stepping closer and turning a small corner, her hands touched a swing-through door.

The bathroom. It was the bathroom. And she could hear Willow's voice, Willow's angry voice. She pushed the door open, and went inside. Walking over to one of the stalls, she wanted to laugh. Willow was standing in one, holdinga Yashang's head in the toilet, and constantly flushing.

"Attack me, huh? Not only is that extremely not nice, but this is the girl's bathroom. *Girl's* bathroom. You're a guy. At least I think you're a guy, so you can't be in here. What if I had been...'busy'? You broke a big gender rule, society says so and I say so, so I can't let you get away with that. It wouldn't be good citizen-y of me. And I'm a darn good citizen. Little advice too, you've gotta be real careful with swords, cause they can poke your eye out." She giggled.

"Having fun?" Buffy got her attention.

Willow turned around, knowing whom it was even with the seeing problem.

"Buffy, did you hear? I made a joke! A good one!" The redhead said happily.

"You sure did." The blonde smiled. "Say, you just about done? I think you drownded him good enough. Very thorough job, however."

"Oh! Remembering! That's why I put his head in there! Guess I got...um...carried away." She said sheepishly, coming to stand by her girlfriend. "And drownded isn't a word."

"You can update my dictionary later. First let's get back to everyone, okay?"

"Don't you mean rewrite your dictionary?"

Buffy grasped Willow's hand, and they were off.

***

Getting outside took a bit of trial and error, as they didn't have a bird guide, but when they did, their friends were waiting for them. The group smiled wearily, and Olive reclaimed her spot on Buffy's shoulder.

"Guess who's getting spoiled when we get home?" The slayer addressed the dove. It cooed. "That's right. You and Aunt Willow. Good job. Everybody." She kissed her girlfriend softly.

"All in night's work. Easy as banana cream pie." Xander said. "Pushing aside the fact that my shoulder and I aren't getting along right now."

"Banana cream pie?" Tara asked with a big smile. She loved banana cream pie. Eating it, not getting it thrown at her face like a clown. It was her weakness.

"How long is that gonna stay?" Buffy asked her, filing away the euphoric _expression_ at the mention of the pie into her memory, and gesturing to the fog.

"Another hour or so." The witch answered. "The cleansing spell Willow did, you know, before we went inside? It should send all the bodies to an uninhabited dimension after the fog clears. So nobody asks questions."

"It exists for demon garbage." Willow assured the group. "So it's not like we're littering or making somebody's home really smelly or anything."

"Good. Cause I was not picking up those putrid corpses." Anya said adamantly. "And this was my night, Xander. That I agreed to help on. Once a month only. That was the deal, so I'm done for a very long time, understand? I don't like painful exertion. I like orgasm exertion better. You know that and you still made me do the fighting."

"Hey, don't you think 'The Whole Nine Yards' looks like a hoot and a half?" Xander asked immediately.

***

Later that Night

Buffy's House, Sunnydale

Buffy smiled from the doorway of her sister's room as she watched Willow sitting on the bed with Dawn talking about something. She wasn’t paying attention to the words so much as the fact that they were laughing. Willow was really good with her, and Dawn obviously enjoyed the redhead's company. The blonde's eyes saddened for a moment. Buffy didn’t have that close a relationship with her sister, and it hurt. Key she was, but the fourteen years of feelings and remembrances was still very real.

She knew she came off as bossy and overprotective fairly often, even slightly distant, but that's the way she was with everybody. Sometimes it helped things, other times it didn't. Sometimes it made things worse. Maybe it was a slayer trait, but she thought it was more *who* she was, not *what* she was. But where was the line between Buffy Summers and the Slayer? They were the same person, weren’t they? She wasn't quite sure; there were instances when she felt like she wasn't herself. Like something else had taken over.

How much was she that primeval essence of strength and skill, and how much was she the nineteen-year-old college student?

She had asked that question a lot since Toth missed his shot and hit Xander instead of her. Would she ever know? Did it matter? It wasn't like she could change it. She tried, of course, to let people in and shut off her automatic "shut them out" slayer reaction. She had a great family, great friends. She didn’t want to lose them because of her own conflicting emotions and personality traits, but she had come close on several occasions. Willow was the one whoshe had gotten the closest, but there were still parts of herself Buffy didn't open up.

Giles pushed her sometimes, Xander too, but Willow kept at it, never letting up. If it wasn't for their new relationship, she didn't think the hacker would push her as much as she was. But when you added "girlfriend/lover" to the equation, the boundaries changed. There were no boundaries. The boundaries were erased. You couldn't even pretend there were boundaries. According to Willow, anyway. And she was glad Willow did what she did, even though it made her uncomfortable some of the time. She needed someone to draw things out of her, to force her to cry and tell her it wasn't a weakness. That she didn't have to hide. Something told her she'd be leaning on the redhead a lot in the coming weeks.

Turning away from the scene, she walked quietly to her mother's room and peeked in. Sleeping soundly. She was glad for that. Her mother needed rest,and she couldn't stand feeling helpless every time Joyce moaned or cried out in pain. She closed the door gently, and headed into her room. Pulling back the covers on her bed, she lied on the mattress and smiled.

Tara came through big time tonight. At the beginning of summer, she really made an effort to include the blonde witch in the group and make her feel welcome and comfortable. When it wasn't her, it was Willow. They both liked Tara, and Buffy was very thankful she didn't try to go after the hacker. Buffy knew Tara had been completely amazed by Willow, anyone who met her was, andif the witch wanted to, she could've made Willow fall for her. Not by using spells, but by using old fashioned charm and sharing more sames than differences. Both witches, both with their own quirks and shyness...the slayer realized she was lucky.

Tara had seen the love between the two of them though, and stepped aside. Sacrificing her own happiness. She could kind of relate to her there. Very few people would do what Tara did. And in no way did Buffy want her to feel left out. They would find her a significant other eventually too. It was going to happen.

"You're in 'thought mode.'" Willow noticed, coming into the room and closing the door. She was wearing her soft cow pajamas.

Buffy grinned, looking down at her unimaginative white tank top and gray flannel pants. At least the redhead was making a statement. One that she could take advantage of.

"Come over here, you cow person, you. You need to be milked."

"Well...okay, " Willow agreed moving closer to the bed, "but then you'd have to pasteurize the milk, send it off to one of those companies that bottles it and sells it to the supermarket...really, after it's all over, you see very little money."

"All that hard work for barely any cash?" The blonde looked horrified. "Too much like the real world. Must stay away."

"Thought you'd say that." Willow smiled, lying down and being snared by her girlfriend's waiting arms.

"So what were you and Dawn talking about?"

"The guy from N'Sync who's supposedly dating Britney Spears. She's crushed."

Buffy raised her eyebrow. "But you were laughing."

"Yes. Yes we were. Making fun of Britney seemed to cheer her up. I was surprised I knew any jokes, but it's weird what you hear during the day. All that stuff you think you're not paying attention to, you remember it somehow."

"I guess that's true." She hadn't thought about it much.

"Oh, it is." Willow told her, then lowered her voice. "She's real, but she's not. Doesn't that -?"

"She's my sister." Buffy sighed. "When that monk told me, I was thrown, but she's a Summers right down to her DNA. That's not gonna change. Unless she transforms into this big looking key at some point, which would be really bizarre. And awkward. Like one of those ancient ones. That they used in the castles that had moats around them."

Willow yawned. "What were you thinking?"

"Whole bunch of stuff. Happy, sad, ran the gamut of thoughts. One of them was that I was tired. Looks like you are too."

"No, I..." Bigger yawn this time. "I wanna talk."

"In the morning." Buffy kissed the back of Willow's neck. "Tara's birthday's coming up, right?"

"Real soon. We should...do...something."

"We will. Planning begins tomorrow. Night, Will."

But the redhead was already asleep. Turning off her lamp, Buffy joined her.

***

A Few Nights Later

Magic Box, Sunnydale

"You cast a spell on us, to keep us from seeing your...demon side." Giles said to a teary-eyed Tara, who was sitting up against the counter. Then he turned to Buffy. "That's why we couldn't see our attackers."

'Nearly got us killed.' The slayer thought quietly, glancing at the dead demon on the floor, then at her sister.

Tara's father, brother and cousin had blown into town, apparently for her birthday. The blonde wicca had never once mentioned her family, and seeing them for the first time, Buffy could understand why. She hadn't spoken to them, but the vibe she had gotten was "Warning...Warning...Total Assholes Ahead...Proceed with Dislike and Caution."

Her father had just accused Tara of being a demon. It was a family traitthat all Maclay women had. The demon would emerge on the twentieth birthday. Andit was evil. Tara's dad kept reiterating that. But if the witch were a demon...wouldn't her senses have picked up on it?

"I'll go." Tara said, getting to her feet. She looked at Buffy. "I'm v-very sorry."

"The camper's outside." Mr. Maclay told his daughter.

"Wait! Go?" Willow said frantically, looking to her girlfriend for support. "She just did a spell that went wrong. It-it was just a mistake."

"That's not the point and it's not your concern. She belongs with us. Weknow how to control her...problem."

'No. There's no way she...' Buffy was certain now.

"Tara...look at me." Willow instructed. Her magick partner did, though hesitantly. "You helped me so much. Through one of the most confusing timesof my life. You helped me and Buffy get...we trusted you. You were our friend.Was all that just a lie?"

"No!" Tara insisted, through more tears.

Willow believed her. "Well, do you wanna leave?"

"It's not your decision, young lady." Tara's father said.

"I know that!" She said sharply. "Do you wanna leave?"

Tara shook her head.

"You're going to do what's right, Tara. Now, I'm taking you out of here before somebody *does* get killed. The girl belongs with her family. I hope that's clear to the rest of you."

"It is." Buffy assured him. "You want her, Mr. Maclay? You can go ahead and take her." Both witches looked shocked a moment, and then Tara looked as ifshe had expected that. The backwoods man nodded with a smile. "You just gotta go through me."

Tara 's eyes widened, and a smile began to form.

"What?" He asked.

"You heard me." She crossed her arms over her chest, and Dawn stood beside her, mimicking. They both stared the man down. "You wanna take Tara out of here against her will? You gotta come through me."

"And me." Dawn said, confidently.

"Is this a joke?" He moved down the steps by the entrance. "I'm not gonna be threatened by two little girls."

"You don't wanna mess with us."

"She's a hair-puller." Buffy informed him. "Like a demonstration?"

Giles came up behind the two Summers women. "And...you're not just dealing with, uh, two little girls."

Tara's smile grew.

"You're dealing with all of us." Xander said.

"'Cept me." Spike said, near the back of the store.

He had come with the intention of watching the Slayer get slaughtered, but he ended up helping her. He had to get past this 'love' problem, and fast.

"'Cept Spike."

"I don't care what happens."

"This is insane." Mr. Maclay announced. "You people have no right to interfere with Tara's affairs. *We*...are her blood kin! Who the hell are you?"

"We're family." Buffy shot back at him. She turned to Tara, and smiled.

"Dad!" The brother, Donny, was furious. "You...you gonna let 'em just...Tara, if you don't get in that car, I swear by God I will beat you down."

"And I swear by your full and manly beard, you're gonna break something trying." Xander said, threateningly. Donny backed off.

"Well. I hope you'll all be happy hanging out with a disgusting demon." Cousin Beth sneered.

Anya raised her hand. "Excuse me. What kind?"

"What?"

"What kind of demon is she? There's a lot of different kinds. Some are very, very evil. And some have been considered to be useful members of society." She smiled at her boyfriend, proud of herself.

"Well, I-I..." Beth didn't know what to say. "What does it matter?"

"Evil is evil." Mr. Maclay said.

"Well, let's just narrow it down." Anya said, and Xander nodded in agreement.

"Ohhhh." Spike was on the verge of whining. He was getting bored. "Why don't I make this simple?" He tapped Tara on the shoulder, and when she faced him, he punched her. "Oww!"

"Hey!" Willow said angrily, but then she got it. Buffy glared and was about ready to stake him, when she got it too.

"He hit my nose!" Tara complained.

"And it hurt! Uh, him, I mean."

Tara looked surprised.

"And that only works on humans." Buffy told Mr. Maclay.

"There's no demon in there. That's just a family legend, am I right? Just a bit of spin to keep the ladies in line." Spike smirked. "Oh, you're a pieceof work. I like you."

"I'm not a demon." Tara had to say the words aloud.

"You're not a demon." Willow smiled.

"He hurt my nose."

"Yeah, you're welcome." The vampire rubbed his forehead, then walked off.

"Mr. Maclay, I would say your business here is finished." Giles said.

"Tara, for eighteen years your family has taken care of you and supported you. If you wanna turn your back-"

"Dad...just go." She told her father softly.

Both father and son headed out the door.

"Are you happy now?" Beth asked with a glare.

Tara had a lopsided, happy grin on her face, as the last of her biological family walked out the door. She breathed a huge sigh of relief, and turned around just in time to accept a hug from Buffy, then Dawn, then Willow, andthen Xander. Anya didn't understand the whole hugging thing, so she stayed out of it. Knowing that the witch was probably running short on air, they all released their grips.

"I know your birthday's tomorrow and everything," Buffy said, "and it'llbe a bash -"

"You're throwing me a party?" Tara smiled.

"It's a gang rule." Willow said. "Even Giles gets parties."

"Though I protest profusely every year." The ex-watcher made sure to state.

"It would break tradition if you didn't." Buffy smiled. "Anyway, that's all later. But I've got a banana cream pie sitting in my fridge. It's begging to be eaten."

"How did you...?" Tara trailed off.

"I'm a slayer. I notice things. Comes with the non-paying job." Buffy said. "So you're welcome to come pig out at my house." Xander was looking pleadingly at her. "Would you like to come, Xand?"

"Thought you'd never ask." He said.

"T-thank you." Tara spoke quietly.

"No...thank you." Buffy smiled again.

***

Day Before Halloween

Buffy's House, Sunnydale

'You know the nothing that I've been dealing with the last couple of weeks? It might not be nothing. I'm staying overnight at the hospital for observation. I'm getting a CAT scan.'

After spending the night with Spike and hearing him tell her that one day she would want to end it all, she had to come home to those words. Her mother was going into the hospital. Buffy sat on the steps of her back porch, hands over her face, crying, because she knew. She knew Spike was right, and she knew there was absolutely nothing she could do to take away her mother's pain. The harsh reality forced her emotions out.

She felt like she was spinning. It was all coming loose. Everything she thought she had a handle on, she didn't. It was scary too, how much needed her family and friends. She needed them to breathe, when it came right down to it, yet she pushed them away. Her quiet thoughts from weeks ago were coming back around again. She needed Willow so much, but was that fair to her? She was supposed to make Willow happy.

Was she doing that, or just clinging to her so tightly because she was afraid to lose her and giving the redhead the short end of the relationship stick?

Buffy knew why she loved the hacker. The innocent and adorable personality, the never-ending supply of energy, the intelligence, the ability to light up a room, the strength, the cuteness...the sexiness. And Willow could be sexy and cute at the same time, or switch between the two in an instant. It was quite a talent. She didn't doubt that Willow loved her, but she didn't understand why. The majority of the time she was a black cloud, burdening her friend with problem after problem.

Now it was going to get worse, because the thought that her mother mightdie became even more possible. Her mother couldn't die. No. Life couldn't be that cruel.

She didn't want to think she was using Willow, but how could she not? How was being a girlfriend to a slayer who was one step away from having a death wish, any fun? Footsteps. Why did she hear footsteps? Oh. She had told Willow that she was going to talk to Spike for most of the night, so she and Tara had gone...somewhere. They must've been coming back from...wherever they were. She remembered she had been told where, she just couldn't remember what the where was. Trying frantically to wipe off any sign of tears, she smiled at them as the came into the yard.

"Buffy! You shoulda came! He did a demonstration and everything! Next toyou he's an amateur, I know, but..." Willow trailed off.

"You could've publicly humiliated him." Tara suggested.

"There ya go!"

That's right. The gang had gone to see Chao Yung Fat. He had spoken at the campus. Reporters and everything. The witches had tried to get her to come,to take her mind off the stake she took in the stomach, but she had to get information out of Spike. Had to do her duty. She was regretting not going.A lot.

"I'm sorry I missed it." Buffy said. "Maybe I'll go see a Jackie Chan movie. Fill the void."

Willow could see that her girlfriend's eyes were puffy and red. "What did Spike say to you?"

"Not a thing." She responded half-heartedly, knowing the wiccans could she that something was bothering her. "You know how he is. Only talks if you give him cash or injure him. I was feeling stingy and I didn't want to waste a punch, so it was a short conversation." The redhead was tapping her foot. "It wasn't just him...it's mom." She sighed. "The doctors want her to stay overnight in the hospital."

"Tara, could..." The hacker said softly, trailing off. "Please?"

"Good night." The blonde witch knew it was time for her to go, so she made a silent but quick exit.

Willow walked over to the steps, and grabbed the slayer's hand, pulling her up.

"Where are we going?" Buffy asked.

They walked a few steps, and then stopped.

"Right here." Willow answered. "Down on the grass you go. Lay on your back."

Being the hormonally imbalanced person that she was, the blonde played out several different scenarios in her head. All of which involved a sexual actof some kind. But she kept her mouth shut, and did as instructed. Willow soon lied down beside her.

"K, so what are we do -?"

Buffy shut up in mid-question, because she had concentrated on the sight before her. The clear, black, night sky. It was dotted with the lights of long dead stars, and a half-moon sat amongst it all, shining brilliantly, even though it was millions of miles away. For a second she thought she could reach herhand out and touch the universe. She forgot everything. But her eyes were playing tricks on her. Space was huge, beautiful. Vast and never ending. It made her feel...

"Everything stop spinning?" Willow asked.

Insignificant.

"When Oz left, there were times when I felt it was the biggest thing I'dever had to face. That it was crushing me. Crazy old, 'Toying With My Life' Guy stuck me on a Ferris wheel at the very top, and just left me there. I couldn't get down; I couldn't do anything but sit there. Life not in my hands.

"Then one night, I just...looked up. I realized how small I was. It slowed things down for me, so I didn't get suffocated. It didn't solve any of my problems, but it got me thinking clearer, and saying, 'Hey, maybe things aren't that hopeless. If I ride it out and take one thing at a time, it'll eventually get better. I'll move to the next phase, just like the moon.' Gave me a boost kinda.

"And it worked, cause now I'm here with you." She smiled. "I don't know what's gonna happen with your mom, but if you give her help when she needs it, and stick by her, you'll be helping. Cause she'll need you, Buffy. Maybe not in a slayer, demon fighting way, but definitely in the daughter way. We'll allbe there too.

"I really hope it'll all work out for the positive, but if it doesn't, and even if it does, I pinky swear and promise you that I'll get you to the next phase. Like you did for me."

Buffy turned her head to look at the girl beside her, once again teary-eyed. Though for a different reason this time.

"Why do you love me?" She didn't know what she was expecting, but she had to know how this amazing person put up with her.

Willow turned her head and smiled. "Cause you make it so easy to."

The redhead got up, and with a glance back at her girlfriend, went into the house.

***

November 2000

Sunnydale General Hospital, Sunnydale

Willow entered Joyce's hospital room, carrying a bag full of gifts. Buffy and Dawn were sitting at a table near their mother's bed, and all three women smiled at the redhead when they saw her. Buffy had insisted on being there for her mother twenty-four hours a day as long as she was in the hospital, so the slayer was practically living in the room.

A tumor. It was a tumor. She'd need an operation to remove it, and it was risky. Buffy couldn't deal with anything else right now.

So Willow went to both their classes, and made sure Buffy had notes. It was an exhausting schedule for both of them, but they weren't going to tell each other to take a break.

"Care package! Special delivery for the Summers girls." Willow put the bag on the bed, and Dawn hurried over, Buffy following. "Now, let's see what I have in this sack of mine. Oh, I feel just like Santa Claus, except thinner and younger and female and, well, Jewish."

Joyce smiled. She was such a nice girl.

"This," The redhead turned to Dawn, "is an extra-special gift for your mom, that I know she'll need." She pulled it out. "A beer hat! See, i-it's got cup holders, and a straw that goes directly into your mouth, and," She turned to Joyce, "you can fill it with other stuff than beer. And somehow, when I wasin the store this seemed like the most important idea," The sisters smiled at each other, "and now there's the whole part where I'm crazy."

"It's perfect. Thank you, Willow. You're very sweet." Joyce said.

Willow gave the hat to Dawn. "Now, let's see, who's next? Dawn, I believe I have something in here for you..."

Joyce put her hand to her head, and winced.

"Headache?" Buffy asked worriedly.

"Just a little one." Her mother smiled. "A biggish little one." Everyonewas concerned now, and not moving. "I'm fine! Go on, what else is in that sack of goodies, Willow?"

"All right. Dawn, to keep you busy." Willow said, getting a book entitled 'Spells' out of the bag.

"Ooh, spells! Thank you, Willow!" Dawn squealed, hurrying over to a chair so she could read it.

"You got her a book on spells." Buffy said to her girlfriend. "The girl who can break things by just looking at them, now has a book to teach her to...break things by looking at them?"

"Oh, well, it doesn't actually have spells in it. Just history, and anecdotes, stuff like that." Willow assured her. "Oh, Buffy -" She grabbed a large textbook out of the bag. "I have this for you."

"Homework?" The blonde pouted. "Oh. I don't believe in tiny Jewish Santaany more."

The hacker smiled. "And a yo-yo." She reached into the bag and gave the toy to Buffy.

"Thank you." She kissed her, forgetting that Joyce was looking right at them.

Joyce didn't say anything, but her eyes saddened.

"The book is just in case you get a chance to look it over." Willow explained. "We're doing World War I now. The last exam was really pretty easy, just underlying causes and trench foot. So it should be no hassle to make it up."

"I don't even know if I'm gonna take that exam."

"I'd rip it in half and stick it in bed with me!" Joyce scowled.

They were all taken aback. "Mom?" Buffy asked cautiously.

Joyce brought her hand to her head again. "You know, I think I'm gonna take a little rest now."

"Okay. We'll be right outside if you need us."

Dawn followed her sister and Willow out into the hallway, and then Buffy closed the door to their mother's room.

"What was she talking about? I mean, that was weird." Dawn said.

"She's gonna be fine." Willow responded.

It's okay. I'm sorry, the doctor spoke to me, and uh, I should have toldyou. Um, the, the thing that's pressing on her brain, sometimes it, it might make her say weird things." Buffy struggled with the words.

"Does she know she's saying them?" The brunette asked.

"Not really. It's sort of like a flash, you know, but you saw her two seconds afterward. She was normal."

"And after the operation, no more pressing. She'll be all normal all the time." The wicca told Dawn confidently. "I promise."

Buffy gave Willow a grateful hug, then they each grabbed Dawn's hands, and started to walk.

"Is that right?" The younger girl wondered.

"Hey, Santa doesn't lie." Her sister said with a smile.

***

Two Days Later

Sunnydale General Hospital, Sunnydale

She was standing over her mother's bed as the nurse finished putting theIV in, and left the room. It was time. The surgery. They were both nervous, their thoughts racing. Would this be the last time they'd see one another? As much as they didn't want to think so, Joyce had to go into that operating room knowing something, and having a clear head. Her daughter had to know how much she meant to her.

"Buffy, uh, I'm gonna ask you something, a-and if I'm, if I'm being crazy you just tell me, okay?" Joyce asked.

Buffy nodded. "You got it."

"The other day...well, actually, I'm, I'm not sure when, the days seem to all bleed together..."

"It's not important."

"No, I guess it isn't. I do know I was...pretty out of it, and I had ...not-not a dream ...exactly, more like I had this...knowledge, i-it just came to me like...truth, you know?" Buffy frowned. "Even though it didn't seem...possible, even though I shouldn't even think such things..."

"What?"

"That Dawn...she's not...mine, is she?"

The slayer and the daughter battled for a few moments, and then they both decided.

"No."

Joyce thought silently. "She's...she does belong to us, though."

"Yes, she does."

"And she's important. To the world. Precious." Buffy nodded again. "As precious as you are to me." Her daughter smiled bashfully. "Then we have totake care of her. Buffy, promise me. If anything happens, if I don't come through this -"

"Mom -" She was voicing what they were only supposed to be thinking. That wasn't right.

"No, listen to me." Joyce grabbed her hand. "No matter what she is, she still feels like my daughter. I have to know that you'll take care of her, that you'll keep her safe. That you'll love her like I love you."

"I promise." Tears were going down the younger blonde's face.

"I do love you, honey. And I'm so proud of you. I know I haven't shown that lately, and that's a mistake I won't ever make again. Everything turned upside-down for me when you and Willow...became more than...friends, and then the headaches started, and..." She sighed. "I didn't have time to deal withone thing, before another thing came along. But during my luxurious stay here, I did a lot of thinking. When I wasn't acting nuts." She laughed softly.

"That's not funny." But Buffy smirked anyway.

"I haven't been able to tell you this, but I'm happy for you and Willow both. I really am. You chose the right one to switch sides for. She's special, and you're never going to find anyone else like her. And she's never going to find anyone else like you. Consider yourselves lucky."

Buffy smiled broadly. "Thank you. That means...I've wanted to hear that for...wow. Awhile."

"Better late than never, right?" Joyce grinned. "Oh, one more thing. I know parents should butt out of their nineteen-year-old child's love lives, but take my advice. If you can help it, don't ever let her go. The way she looks at you...that kind of love only comes around once in a lifetime."

"I don't plan to. Let her go, I mean."

"Good." There was a look of admiration in Joyce's eyes. "What would I do without you, Buffy?"

Buffy hugged her mother tightly. "I love you so much, mom. You'll come out of there good as new, I know you will."

***

The gang stood in the waiting area, watching Joyce get wheeled toward the OR. Dawn hugged her sister's waist, Giles had his hand firmly on Buffy's shoulder, Willow stood on the other side of the slayer, and Xander, Anya, and Tara stood by Giles. There were nervous lumps in everyone's throats.

"You guys don't have to be here." Buffy said. "It's gonna be -"

"We want to be here." Tara interrupted.

"Yeah, your mom means a lot to us, Buff." Xander said. "We're here for you."

"Yes. From our brief exchanges, she seems to be a very pleasant woman." Anya said. "I'd like her to be okay also."

"Would you like some coffee?" Giles asked Buffy with a smile.

The blonde looked at the group, and smiled. "That'd be great."

"And a Twix." Her sister added.

"One Twix for Dawn."

"Wanna sit?" Willow asked.

Buffy nodded. "Good call. My legs were telling me they were about to buckle."

"Then you would've fell. I wouldn't let that happen." She led her the two Summers over to the chairs, and when they sat, Buffy rested her head against her shoulder.

"Remember what you promised." Dawn reminded the redhead.

"I remember." Willow smiled reassuringly.

The waiting then began.

***

February 2004

The Bronze, Sunnydale

Whew. Exhausting. Especially with all the noise.

So, do you want more? Buffy thinks I shouldn't...she's a tease. But you knew that. And not telling more would be mean.

I'm not mean, am I? Hmm...

The End?