FF: Red Moon Rising, Part 5 B/W/T

["carrkjar" <carrkjar@xxxxxxxxx>]

Title: Red Moon Rising 
Part 5

Author: Hunter Ash 

Copyright © 2001 by Hunter Ash. All Rights Reserved.

Email: carrkjar@xxxxxxxxx Feedback welcome!!

Homepage Addy: http://www.hunterash.com/ 

Disclaimers: The characters and show all belong to Joss Whedon, Fox, 
Mutant Enemy, Kuzui, and God only knows who else. The storyline, 
however, is the sole property of the author. This story cannot be 
sold or used for profit in any way. Copies of this story may be made 
for private use only and must include all disclaimers and copyright 
notices.

F/F romance: the story assumes a loving and sexual relationship 
between people of the same gender and may even include 3 at the same 
time <G>. If this offends or is illegal for you, then please leave.  
Come back when you are older, have an open mind, moved, or changed 
your laws. 

Spoilers: Some general 5th season stuff, but nothing major.

Story Summary: OZ is back and causes havoc when he demands Willow 
join him as his mate. Buffy, Willow and Tara have other ideas.  

Rating: R, violence, werewolf attacks, major character injury, angst, 
hurt and comfort. It's Buffy, there's violence.

Author's Note: While this is not my first story, it is my first Buffy 
story. So&.kind words are hoped for&<G>. Oh, and by the way, this 
will be posted in parts. This being part five. Feedback always 
welcome.



Red Moon Rising
Part 5


Joyce met Giles in the hall and they went back downstairs to the 
kitchen where she made coffee.

"Giles, do you even begin to understand what's happening with the 
three of them?" she asked, sitting down at the breakfast bar across 
from him.

"Not really," he admitted. "I don't believe it's a casual sexual 
experimenting thing, though."

"I think I'm glad of that," Joyce said with a frown. "I really don't 
want to see Buffy get hurt anymore and experimentation usually leads 
to some painful lessons."

"I agree," Giles said thoughtfully as Joyce poured the fresh brewed 
coffee. "Slayers don't usually live this long, relationships are 
usually just of the high school crush kind."

"Being the Slayer does rob the girls of their youth and most human 
pleasures, doesn't it?" Joyce asked bitterly.

"Yes," Giles admitted. "They seem to be sincerely in love with each 
other, all three of them."

"Giles, it's bad enough that Buffy is the Slayer," Joyce said 
softly. "She pays such a high price. She doesn't know it but I 
watched her tossing with nightmares months before we left LA. I 
figured out that's the time that Merrick found her and she began her 
path of destiny as the Slayer."

"Probably," Giles' voice was heavy with his own guilt at being a 
Watcher, at the heavy price he paid for his part in destiny and 
fate.  

"She truly loved Angel and couldn't be with him without endangering 
the world, what kind of destiny is that, Rupert?"

"I don't know," he admitted.  

"Now Willow almost died, Buffy would be destroyed if anything ever 
happened to Willow and probably Tara as well," Joyce said wearily.

"Willow and Xander both realize that they would have died a long time 
ago if it hadn't been for Buffy's Slayer skills and her love for 
them," Giles said gently. "They joined the fight, probably at first 
for the excitement, but later out of devotion and a sense of honor.  
Oz still would have been a werewolf and he probably would have killed 
Willow a long time ago."

"Giles, do you know how hard it is accepting that my daughter 
probably won't live long enough to get married, settle down and have 
children?" 

The Watcher reached across the bar and wiped a tear away as he felt 
his own eyes filling with tears.

"Yes, I do," he said softly. "I'm very fond of Buffy; working so 
closely with her day in and day out will do that. All of them are 
like kids I'll never have. Then I turn around and send her and all 
of them out into danger. Knowing each night could be their last."

Giles ran a hand through his unruly hair. "I send them out to find 
danger, not just to stay away from it like most parents try and teach 
their kids in Sunnydale, but to seek it out, fight it and destroy it 
and hope they come back alive."

Joyce gently took his hands into hers.

"I know, it's hard for both of us," she agreed. "Maybe even worse 
for you because you know what she's facing and I don't. Thankfully, 
she doesn't tell me what she fights against and how bad she gets 
hurt."

"I won't lie to you, Joyce," Giles responded. "She does get hurt and 
she even died once. Xander saved her with CPR. She's come very 
close to dying, all of them have and she's had more emotional pain 
than most Slayers."

"Then I guess we should be happy," Joyce announced.

"Excuse me?" Giles questioned, raising his eyebrows in question.

"If Buffy, Tara and Willow can find some happiness in this constant 
struggle they're in, shouldn't we be happy?"

"Well, if you look at it that way, I suppose that would be the 
logical thing, wouldn't it?"

"You are so British at times, Rupert," Joyce laughed lightly.

"Since we're talking about grabbing happiness while you can," Giles 
hesitated and glanced up into the eyes of his Slayer's mom. "Would 
you go out with me this Friday?"

"Yes, I would," Joyce answered softly and moved across the bar, her 
lips meeting the Watcher's.

* * *
October 17
Willow woke up to find Tara gone but Buffy still on the bed with her, 
the Slayer's arm over the computer wiz's ribs and her face nuzzled in 
Willow's hair. The hacker turned over and felt Buffy stirring 
slightly. Willow smiled when Buffy opened her eyes and smiled at 
Willow.

"Hey, beautiful," the Slayer muttered and smiled even wider when 
Willow began blushing.

"Hey, you, don't you have class?" Willow questioned.

Buffy groaned and raised her head to look at the clock on the 
nightstand. "Yup, just enough time for a shower and a dash across 
campus. Where's Tara?"

"Gone when I woke up a moment ago," Willow answered. "I hope she 
isn't regretting last night, not that we did anything last night.  
Unless kissing two girls in the same night in the same bed would make 
her wig, that might when you think about, it's not something&"

"Willow! I haven't pried my eyes open yet," Buffy protested with a 
laugh and a gentle hug.

"Sorry," the hacker grinned and was about to saying something usual 
about her babbling, which probably would have led to another trade-
mark babble when Buffy's lips stopped her.

Willow moaned and felt her body becoming very warm all over and 
settling below her stomach. She growled when she tried moving her 
left arm and found it encased in a cast once again. Willow wanted to 
touch the Slayer very badly right then as one of Buffy's hands roamed 
through Willow's red hair and the other was moving lightly over the 
hacker's ribs.

Willow pulled back slightly and Buffy lowered her head to the 
hacker's neck and lightly nibbled.

"Oh Goddess," Willow whispered, feeling her body jerk with the 
sensations that Buffy's lips and hands were sending through 
her. "Buffy, yes." 

Buffy's hand roamed under Willow's t-shirt and repeated her movements 
across Willow's ribs and stomach, under the cloth this time.  

Willow moaned again and pulled Buffy's head back up for another round 
of kissing, this time more intense and exploring as she felt Buffy's 
lips open in invitation. Then the computer student whimpered and 
jerked as Buffy ran her fingers lightly over Willow's nipples.

"Oh Gods, Buffy," Willow whispered, breaking the kiss. "We gotta 
stop! Class, you have class. I know you've missed too much watching 
out for me this semester."

Buffy reluctantly stopped and pulled back slightly. Willow was 
amazed at the sight of the Slayer, the flushed face, heavy eyelids 
and heavy breathing and it was all for her. Willow felt in awe that 
two of the most wonderful women she could ever know wanted her as 
much as she wanted them.

"Okay, I'll be a good kid," Buffy finally relented with a smile and 
then her face grew serious. "Wills," she hesitated. "It feels 
different than it has with anyone, even Angel. With you and Tara, 
it's like& I don't know how to describe it."

"Me either," Willow agreed. "Kissing Xander and having sex with Oz 
doesn't begin to compare with what just kissing you and Tara does to 
me."

"You're both different and yet it feels similar," Buffy said 
thoughtfully as she swung her legs over the side of the bed. "Damn, 
I'm going to be late," she growled and stood up quickly. "Do you 
need me to get you breakfast or help you get dressed?"

"No, go!" Willow said with a grin. "Anya is dropping by this morning 
until Tara gets back with the home teacher the university is sending 
out. I'll be fine. I promise I won't go downstairs without someone 
here and I have the cell phone and beeper right here on the 
nightstand."

"Okay," Buffy said reluctantly and walked around the bed with a 
feline grace that Willow knew the Slayer wasn't aware of. Willow 
blushed when Buffy leaned over and kissed her before heading for her 
own room and the shower.

A few minutes later she heard Buffy yelling a goodbye to her and the 
front door slamming shut.  

Willow knew that she wouldn't be alone long. One, they didn't want 
to leave her alone so soon after heart surgery; two, they didn't want 
her alone in case Oz found out she was still alive.

The hacker reached onto the nightstand and grabbed her laptop as she 
pulled herself into a sitting position on the bed. Willow knew her 
friends would throw a fit if she tried to take a shower without 
someone in the house so that would have to wait, in the meantime, she 
booted up her computer and began to surf. She had researched the 
subject a lot when Oz first went through the changes of becoming a 
werewolf but Willow thought there might be some new information 
somewhere, or some old information buried somewhere she might be able 
to get to now.  

Giles hadn't mentioned it but Willow knew he was very aware of the 
calendar and exactly how far away the full moon was for all of them.  
The first thing popping up on Willow's computer was a calendar with a 
large red star showing the first day of the full moon.  

Now that it was possibly Buffy who was infected, Willow was twice as 
determined to find a cure. After a cure would come tracking Oz 
down. Willow frowned at herself. <A few months ago she would be 
hunting for Oz to help cure him, no matter what he had done. > Willow 
even figured that she would have forgiven him killing someone while 
as a werewolf. Now she knew that she wouldn't be looking for him to 
offer him a cure if she found it, she wanted Oz dead.

The young witch felt slightly sick to her stomach when that 
realization hit her. <She was willing to wish someone dead, someone 
she had once loved.> Willow had been willing to look for a cure to 
save Angel from his Angelus self, even after he had killed Jenny 
Calendar. Even after he had tortured Giles for amusement and had 
tried to bring about the end of the world. While Buffy fought to 
stop him, Willow was fighting to find a cure. Buffy was ramming a 
sword through his heart and Willow was casting a spell to bring his 
soul back.

Now Willow was willing to kill someone. She thought about why and 
found her answer.

<Oz had tried to rape her and intentionally infect her with 
lycanthropy. What was unforgivable, however, was that he 
intentionally hurt her Buffy. She also knew he wouldn't hesitate to 
hurt Tara or Buffy again, especially if he knew how much they meant 
to her.>

"If Buffy is sick and a werewolf, I swear you will pay, Oz," she 
muttered over her computer. "I will find a way to hurt you, a lot!"

<One place to start was with one of her new on-line friends,> Willow 
reflected. She had made several acquaintances on the internet, 
especially among those interested in the paranormal. This one 
corresponding friend seemed to know what he was talking about when it 
came to psychology and parapsychology.

Willow grinned; she had a secret desire to meet her new friend, if 
only to get him in the same room with Giles. She had a feeling that 
once they met, they'd never shut up and wouldn't notice a tornado 
ripping the building around them apart.

Grayfox seemed like the scholarly type, like Giles.

Another nice thing about him is that he didn't go into personal 
stuff, unlike most of the males on the internet and some of the more 
needy females wanting anyone to latch onto. He hadn't said much 
about himself, hadn't asked her a lot of personal questions and 
hadn't offered to meet her.

After dealing with people on the internet for a few years, Willow 
knew this was unusual to the extreme for almost everyone 
corresponding on the `net. Grayfox genuinely seemed interested in 
exchanging information about anything paranormal and seemed to take 
Willow seriously.

The hacker began composing her email to him, trying to figure out how 
to word it without giving too much away. <It couldn't reveal that a 
friend was a werewolf and had bitten another friend and, by the way, 
did he know a cure for lycanthropy that no one else had heard of and 
would he give it to her?> The only time he had gotten personal was 
when Willow slipped and mentioned that she had dealt with a 
particularly rough demon, actually Buffy had but Willow had helped 
Giles research it. Grayfox was suddenly very interested in knowing 
where Willow lived and if things like that happened often.

Willow had politely refused to answer the questions and that was the 
only time Grayfox had pushed, trying to get the information out of 
her. She had finally shut down her chat with him and refused to 
answer his emails for a week until he apologized for pushing and 
promised he wouldn't ask those questions again.

She had answered his emails after that and even chatted on-line with 
him and he had kept his word. Willow had finally relaxed enough but 
was cautious after that. As a member of the Scooby Gang, she had a 
responsibility to protect their battles in Sunnydale, even if Grayfox 
sounded like he might be able to help. Willow knew she couldn't risk 
bringing in outsiders and endangering Buffy. It was bad enough that 
the Initiative had moved in.

<Initiative, Riley Finn,> Willow suddenly thought. She hadn't even 
asked Buffy how her relationship with Riley was going while she had 
been in the hospital. She didn't think Buffy would admit her love 
for Willow if she was still with Riley. The hacker wondered how 
Buffy had dealt with her unhappy relationship with Riley.  

Willow returned to her email. 

* * *
October 17 

"Buffy!" a voice caught the Slayer's attention as she walked down the 
hall after her first class. She smiled politely at the sight of 
Riley rushing towards her. She let him fall into step beside 
her. "I've been calling and just getting the machine, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I haven't moved all my stuff out of the dorm yet and haven't 
checked the machine for a few days," Buffy answered.

"Moving? Where to?" Riley Finn questioned, his face puzzled.

"Back home," she responded. "We moved Willow into the guest room so 
we can all watch after her and take care of her. I figured since she 
wasn't in the dorm, I might as well move back home too. I can 
protect her better if I'm living there."

"Can we talk, Buffy?" he asked.

"Yeah," Buffy agreed although inside she was screaming `no.' The 
last thing she wanted that day was to talk with Riley, especially 
when he looked so serious and hadn't tried to kiss her yet. All she 
wanted to do was get through with classes and get back home to Willow 
and Tara and a good home cooked meal from her mom.

They walked to a bench under a tree and sat down, Riley still didn't 
try to kiss her, hold her hand, or sit too close. Buffy knew the 
energy had changed between them and that Riley was finally realizing 
it.

"Why didn't you call me when Willow was attacked?" he demanded. "We 
could have had a squad there in minutes and could have protected her 
that night."

"We protected her, Riley," Buffy frowned.

"Some protection," he snapped. "I read the police report and figure 
it was mostly made up but between the lines tells me and my superiors 
that you, Giles and Tara got tossed around pretty good and Willow had 
her hand mangled."

Buffy's eyes flashed angrily at his accusation and with the guilt 
that he was actually right; they had failed Willow that night. Only 
taking the werewolf bite herself had kept Willow from being claimed 
by Oz.  

"Oz was our friend, we weren't sure he was that dangerous," she tried 
to explain.

"And you didn't want the Initiative getting hold of him because of 
how we treat hostiles, right?" he growled. It was an old argument 
between them.

"Some of those `hostiles' are people who can't help being born half 
demon, cursed as a werewolf, or being possessed, you treat them like 
animals!" she hissed back. Buffy didn't want to think of anyone she 
knew on the wrong side of the Initiative, especially now that she 
might be one of those `hostiles' as they were called by the 
government.

"Is that why you wouldn't let me see Willow? Was she bitten?" he 
demanded.

Buffy's eyes widened. "No!" she snapped. "You saw the doctor's 
report, right? Her hand might never be at full strength again but 
she wasn't bitten."

"What happened with her second attack?" he asked. "The police report 
says that Oz stabbed her in a fit of rage. Did he?"

"No," Buffy answered bitterly. "She stabbed herself."

"What?" Riley whispered, his face reflecting his shock as Buffy 
nodded.

"That's right, he didn't have a chance to bite her," Buffy growled, 
trying to fight back the tears as she remembered Willow lying on a 
cold crypt floor with a silver knife through her heart, blood 
everywhere. "She stabbed herself through the heart with a silver 
knife to keep him from biting her."

"Oh God," he muttered, his mind obviously racing.

"You can report to your superiors that Willow Rosenberg was brave 
enough to kill herself rather than turn into a werewolf and endanger 
her friends or innocent citizens," Buffy said softly, ignoring 
several students passing close by as she angrily wiped away the tears 
trying to escape her eyes. "What do you do with werewolves?" she 
asked.

"The scientists have had some success at implanting a chip similar to 
the one they used on that hostile that hangs with you now," Riley 
answered.

"Spike, his name is Spike," Buffy growled. "Not `hostile whatever.'"

"Okay, okay," he snapped back. "The chip doesn't prevent the change 
into semi-wolf form but it helps."

"What does it do?" Buffy asked softly.

"Its like an embedded dog whistle," Riley shrugged.

"A what?" 

"It emits a noise inside their ear canals that no one else can hear 
but the hostile, uh, werewolf. It drives them insane when they're in 
semi-wolf form. They roll around on the floor all night, howling and 
growling in pain. It doesn't hurt them or affect them permanently 
and in the morning they remember nothing," he explained.

"You torture them every night of the full moon?" Buffy asked softly.

"It doesn't hurt them permanently, it keeps them off balance and 
easily managed, and the human side doesn't remember it," Riley 
protested.

"The wolf is just an animal!" Buffy countered, trying to keep her 
voice down. "It's not like they can help changing! Would you do 
that to your mother?"

Riley's face flushed with anger. "No, I'd shoot her before letting 
her turn into one of those damned things!" he snapped. "Why the 
questions? Who got bitten by Oz?"

"No one," Buffy said hastily. "I wanted to know what the Initiative 
did with werewolves. We still might have to deal with Oz again."

"Let us handle it, Buffy," Riley urged. "Just continue killing 
vampires and demons, let our scientists figure out the lycanthropy 
virus."

"How, by torturing werewolves?" she demanded, a fear of falling into 
the hands of Riley himself if he knew she had been bitten swept over 
the Slayer.

"They're also looking for ways of preventing the change or giving the 
human control over the werewolf," Riley snapped.

"If you get your hands on him all I want is assurances that he'll 
never get near Willow again," Buffy said flatly.

"Done, those werewolves who like being the beast and kill for sport 
are locked away, permanently," Riley promised and Buffy was hoping 
she wouldn't be on the receiving end of that described fate. "Can we 
switch subjects now?"

"Sure," Buffy agreed with a tired smile.  

"What about us?" he asked softly. "You've barely said hello to me in 
the last couple of weeks. I know things were a little rough between 
us but I'd like to be given the chance to make it up to you."

"Riley, I apologize," Buffy began, hesitating. "I should have talked 
to you before this. I haven't been fair to you lately."

"There's someone else," he said bitterly.

"Yes, there is," Buffy answered softly. "I didn't realize exactly 
how I felt about someone until recently. Then there was the mess of 
whether they cared for me at all."

"So I was held in reserve in case it didn't work out?" he demanded.

"No," Buffy said sadly. "I wouldn't do that to you or me. I was 
about to break up with you when Willow was attacked. Things got 
crazy after that."

"It's not Angel," Riley growled and Buffy looked up into his eyes, 
puzzled. She didn't care for the grin that he gave her questioning 
look. "I've got friends in shadowy places. They tell me Angel is 
still in Los Angeles and that he's probably involved with his 
secretary."

Buffy felt the anger hitting her again and resisted smacking her now 
ex-boyfriend in the teeth.  

"Angel isn't capable of being `involved' with anyone, even Cordelia," 
she snapped. "No, it isn't Angel even though I still care for him 
very much."

"Oh don't goddamn well tell me the rumors are true!" Riley demanded, 
a look of disgust crossing his face.

"Rumors? What rumors?" Buffy asked.

"Well, I thought I had pretty well blown those out of the water, 
especially after that possessed Frat House thing and hours of 
incredible sex with you," he smirked and Buffy felt herself 
blushing. "Maybe it wasn't enough."

"What the hell are you talking about?" she demanded.

"The rumors about you and Red," he continued to smirk. "It's known 
she's hanging around with that other dyke witch. Tell me, Buff, did 
they pull you into their little game? Do you make it with one or both 
of them?"

Buffy felt like her blood pressure had hit the ceiling if she had 
been under one at the moment and heard nothing but a roaring in her 
ears from the intense and blinding anger sweeping over her. Riley's 
continued smirk caused something to snap inside the Slayer.

The Slayer became aware of her surroundings as she struggled against 
two very large football player type students holding her arms. She 
blinked and looked down at Riley, who was now lying on the ground, 
his hands between his legs as he moaned and turned very pale and then 
purple.

"You done?" one of the guys holding her asked and Buffy nodded, 
breathing heavily. Her hands hurt and she glanced down to see that 
her knuckles were bruised and cut. Riley's nose was bleeding freely 
and his lip was cut as well.  

The small crowd that had gathered waited, morally torn. They wanted 
to see more fighting, especially a small petite blonde beating up a 
tall and athletic looking male and yet they knew they should step in 
and stop whatever was happening.

"Did he attack you?" the other male asked.

"No, he just insulted my friends!" Buffy growled and mentally 
restrained herself, keeping herself from kicking Riley again. The 
Slayer realized the men had finally stepped in when she had kicked 
Riley between the legs, squarely in the groin. Their maleness had 
demanded that they stop her from doing any more damage to a fellow 
male after a blow like that one.

"Remind me not to piss you off," one of them grinned and let go of 
her arm, the other laughed in agreement and released the small 
blonde. The two males went to Riley and pulled him to his feet. The 
commando soldier looked stunned and still in a massive amount of pain.

"Let's get him to the nurse, he's going to need some ice for those 
balls," one suggested.

"Yeah, bet his girlfriend won't get any for a week!" the other one 
laughed, putting one of Riley's arms over his shoulders.

"That is his girlfriend," the other one grinned.

Riley managed to focus enough to catch Buffy's attention.  

"It's true, isn't it?" he whispered. "You're a fucking dyke after 
all."

"If the choice is having sex with a female or with you, I'll take any 
female, any day. Get him out of here before I really hurt him," 
Buffy warned and sat down on the bench heavily, trying to ignore the 
students gathered around her.

The two football players laughed and practically carried the wounded 
soldier away towards the Health Center. The crowd slowly melted 
away, leaving the Slayer alone, still fuming.

===============================================================

"Buffy?" Tara asked when the Slayer slammed open the door to the 
house and stormed into the living room.  

It was obvious that Buffy was very angry about something. Her hair 
was mussed up and the Slayer was practically growling with anger.  
Buffy threw her books down on the coffee table and began pacing 
across the room.

"Buffy, what's wrong!" Tara demanded from the doorway of the kitchen.

The Slayer finally looked up and acknowledged Tara's presence in the 
house. "Nothing," she muttered, making an effort to calm down. "I 
just got into a fight with Riley and he pissed me off."

"Come on in the kitchen, I'm cooking lunch," Tara 
suggested. "There'll be plenty for all four of us."

"Four?" Buffy questioned.

"Yeah, Willow's teacher is upstairs going over lessons and stuff.  
She's staying for lunch," Tara explained as they entered the 
kitchen. "Willow's missed a bit of school and they're trying to 
decide if she should withdraw from some classes or take incompletes 
and take the classes again next semester."

Buffy laughed lightly. "Willow Rosenberg dropping a class or taking 
an incomplete? The sun will not rise tomorrow and hell will bring 
forth an ice age that will cover Sunnydale for the next five years," 
Buffy predicted and Tara blushed and grinned.

Willow Rosenberg was well known as a straight A student and a 
permanent fixture on the Honor Roll and Honor Society. Dropping a 
class or taking an incomplete was about as likely as Buffy's 
predicted events.

Buffy sighed, trying to ease her anger away and walked up into a hug 
with Tara. Without a word her lips demanded attention from the young 
witch, pulling Tara to her almost forcefully. Tara moaned and ran 
her hands through Buffy's hair, melting into the embrace. After a 
moment she pulled back, slightly breathless.

"Gotta keep an eye on lunch," she muttered.

"Smells good, what's cooking?" Buffy asked, going to the refrigerator 
and grabbing a Coke.

"Lasagna, salad and garlic bread," Tara answered.

"I didn't know Mom had bought a big frozen thing of lasagna," Buffy 
reflected.

"She didn't, I'm making it," Tara answered, her head dropping and 
letting her hair almost cover her face, reverting back to her shy 
mode.

Buffy refused to let the witch become a mouse again and walked over 
to Tara and brushed the hair behind the witch's ear. "Smells 
wonderful and I'm very impressed," Buffy whispered. "With the cook 
and the person."

Tara really began blushing at that point and then frowned when she 
noticed Buffy's hands.

"What happened?" Tara demanded.  

"I got into a fight with Riley," Buffy repeated, smiling and hoping 
that it would distract the witch.

"I thought y-you meant a verbal fight," Tara protested, not being 
distracted by the charming smile at all. "A p-physical fight?"

Buffy shrugged. "Yeah, he told me what the Initiative does with 
werewolves, demanded to know about me and him, and then called you 
and Willow dyke witches."

Tara turned pale and her head dropped again and Buffy cursed.

"I knew people would talk, maybe I should&" Tara whispered.

"What?" Buffy demanded, lifting Tara by the chin until the witch 
looked at her. "Do what? Leave Willow and me because of some narrow-
minded jerk? Tara, I've been dealing with rumors since I became the 
Slayer. It hasn't been easy; all I wanted was a normal life and 
being the Slayer is anything but normal. Being in a relationship 
with me or Willow or both of us won't be easy and people will talk."

Tara nodded slowly.  

"If it's not about our sex lives then it'd be about something else," 
Buffy continued. "I remember how vicious Cordelia could be to Willow 
when I first met them both. She could cut another student down 
faster than a sword with that tongue of hers. Cordelia calmed down 
some over the years but there are a thousand more like her. They 
won't go away and they move in at the first sign of weakness and they 
don't stop unless you stand up to them or ignore them and they get 
bored."

"I just don't want Willow or you hurt because of me," Tara protested 
in a soft and shy voice.

"Tara, I'm falling for you and I'm in love with Willow," Buffy smiled 
gently. "Nothing is going to change that. Accept it with a smile 
and make me a promise."

"What?" Tara asked, smiling slightly.

"Teach me how to cook like this," Buffy grinned. "I think your 
lasagna is done."

Tara squeaked and rushed for hot pads and pulled out the most 
delicious lasagna Buffy had seen in a long time and the smell set her 
mouth watering. She quickly joined in setting the table for their 
guest and themselves.

"I'll go get them," Buffy volunteered and took the stairs two at a 
time to try and work off some of the energy left over from the fight 
with Riley.

Buffy's heart soared when she opened Willow's door and the redhead's 
face brightened at the sight of the Slayer.  

"Lunch is ready, guys," Buffy said simply. "Let's get you downstairs 
and good home cooked food in you."

"Sounds good," Willow agreed.

"I'm Buffy," the Slayer introduced herself to the woman sitting in 
the chair next to Willow's bed. The Slayer quickly took in mental 
notes about the teacher.  

The teacher looked to be somewhere in her late 30s with short brown 
hair, brown eyes and a calm manner that Buffy knew Willow needed 
right then. She was wearing a moderately priced tweed skirt; button 
up light blue blouse and Buffy spotted a jacket that matched the 
skirt. Buffy wondered if she should introduce the teacher to Giles 
if the Watcher and her mom didn't work out again.

"I'm Theresa Santiago," the woman introduced herself with a friendly 
smile.

"Santiago?" Buffy questioned and found Willow nodding slightly.

"Detective Santiago's wife, she's a home tutor teacher," Willow 
explained.

"Is this a coincidence?" Buffy asked with a slight smile.

"Not totally," Theresa Santiago admitted. "When Brad found out that 
Willow would need a home tutor for awhile, he suggested I request the 
assignment. That way he can sort of keep an eye on Willow through 
me."

"Very smart," Buffy admitted as she held out her arm for Willow to 
lean against as the hacker got up from the bed. "We'll move Willow 
down to the sofa in the mornings; doctor wants her to start walking a 
little more each day."

"Excellent, I'm impressed with Willow's school record and I have no 
doubt she'll catch up quickly," Theresa grinned and Willow blushed.

Buffy was pleased that Willow wasn't as out of breath when she got to 
the bottom of the stairs as the hacker had been the day before. Both 
teacher and student marveled at the sight and smell of the lasagna 
and Tara in turn blushed nicely.  

The Slayer grinned to herself. <It felt wonderful to have Tara and 
Willow in good moods.> Buffy was even more pleased when the lasagna 
was indeed delicious and she loved watching Tara blush when Willow 
raved about the cooking and so did Theresa. Within moments the 
teacher and the blonde witch were exchanging recipes.

Buffy saw Willow watching Tara and Theresa Santiago interacting and 
smiled. The look on the young witch's face was one of absolute 
affection and the Slayer found she wasn't jealous and that surprised 
Buffy a little bit. The Slayer knew that she was "supposed" to be 
jealous and should be hurt that Willow was looking at another woman 
like that and not at Buffy. The Slayer had the feeling that one 
glance in her direction and Willow would be looking at her like that.

The Slayer reflected that somehow everything felt good with Tara and 
Willow around.  

The other three women became involved in comparing recipes and school 
work and Buffy merely grinned when the telephone rang and she jumped 
up to grab it.

"Hello?" she answered cheerfully.

"Hi, Buffy!" a male voice answered as cheerfully and it chilled Buffy 
to her bones.

"Oz?" she whispered, hoping that Tara or Willow hadn't heard but the 
conversation around the table stopped instantly and a glance over 
there revealed a very pale Willow and an angry Tara listening.

"Yup! Ready to go howling at the moon?" he asked.

"Damn you, Oz!" Buffy shouted. "You can go to hell and I'll help 
send you there!"

"Been there," Oz said easily. "Don't worry, I'll take you into the 
pack and take care of you until you learn to control it."

"Never, damn you!" she hissed. The Slayer noticed Theresa pulling a 
cell phone out of her purse and talking rapidly in Spanish to someone.

"By the way, Buffy," Oz said sweetly. "I know Willow's alive. After 
I take you in, we'll bring her into the pack yet."

Before Buffy could respond the werewolf hung up the phone.

The Slayer stared at the receiver in her hand for a moment and then 
slammed it against the wall, putting a good sized hole into her Mom's 
kitchen wall, snapping the receiver in half as well.  

Buffy wanted to hit something, especially Oz but her anger quickly 
melted when she saw Willow's pained face and rapid breathing. Tara 
was up and wrapping her arms around the redhead in an instant and 
Buffy was kneeling beside her chair.

"Easy, Wills," Buffy said softly.

Theresa Santiago reached out and took Willow's wrist into her hand 
and quickly checked her student's pulse and frowned.  

"Oz?" Willow stammered. "Wh&what did he say?"

Buffy glanced at Theresa and hesitated over her answer. "He 
threatened my life and said he knows you're alive and still wants 
you."

"Does she have medication to slow her heart down or maybe one of the 
pain killers?" Theresa asked. "I called Brad, he's on his way over 
to take a report and put a tracer on your phone."

"I'll get her pills," Tara offered and dashed out of the kitchen.

"Buffy?" Willow asked softly, tears filling her eyes. The Slayer 
quickly pulled the young hacker into her arms.  

"Brad said not to go outside and don't answer the phone again," 
Theresa instructed.

"Okay, you'd better stay here, we have no idea where he is," Buffy 
suggested as Willow broke into tears. "He obviously knows Willow is 
here and he was willing to kidnap and kill our friends to get to her."

"Brad said the same thing," Theresa smiled at the strength radiating 
from the young college student in front of her. It was obvious that 
her husband had been right; Willow Rosenberg's friends were loyal and 
highly protective. "I'm going to wait in the living room for Brad.  
I'm also going to watch for your miserable ex."

Buffy was grateful for the moment while Willow sobbed gently in her 
arms. After a moment the hacker composed herself and pulled back 
slightly.  

"What did he say about you?" she asked softly.

"He said he'd take me into his pack and then we'd take you in," Buffy 
admitted.

"Goddamn him!" the witch suddenly shouted, wanting to slam her fist 
down and remembering the cast on her arm just in time to prevent 
injury to Joyce's kitchen table and possibly her arm.

Tara returned with several bottles of pills and Willow looked over 
the variety and pointed to one. The blonde witch quickly undid the 
bottle and handed Willow a pill. The red-haired witch swallowed it 
with her milk.

"I'm okay, guys," she tried smiling at the two concerned faces 
looking down at her and sighed happily as they both wrapped their 
arms around her and each other in a wonderful group hug.

"We'll get through this, Wills," Buffy said softly.

"We won't let him near you," Tara promised.

===============================================================

Joyce was dismayed to find two police cars, one unmarked police car 
and several strangers in her house when she arrived home from the 
gallery. She went very pale when Buffy described the telephone call 
from Oz and had quickly cornered Brad Santiago, demanding to know 
what he was doing to protect Willow and her other kids.

She was relieved to learn that the police were taking Oz's threats 
seriously but Detective Santiago warned her that it probably wouldn't 
last long. Something always seemed to come up in Sunnydale that 
often qualified as an emergency.

Joyce, knowing more about Sunnydale and its strange goings on, merely 
nodded. She quickly went to hug her daughter, Willow and Tara. She 
frowned at how pinched and strained Willow's face looked under the 
tension and the half open eyes.

"She took some meds to slow her heart rate down," Buffy answered her 
mother's unasked question.  

"Why don't you take her upstairs back to bed?" Joyce 
suggested. "Tara and I will come up in a minute."

"Okay, Mom," Buffy agreed and easily pulled a weakly protesting 
Willow into her arms and ignored the stares of disbelief from the 
police officers hanging around in the living room while technicians 
played with the telephone as she carried the taller Willow up the 
stairs.

Joyce walked over and introduced herself to Theresa Santiago and 
discussed Willow's schedule with her for a few minutes while Tara 
watched the technicians installing listening and tracing devices on 
the Summers' phone.

It had been planned for Willow to return to school within the week on 
a limited schedule, but both women and Detective Santiago agreed that 
the young college student should probably stay on home study for at 
least another week or two.

He also promised to increase the patrols around the Summers' home and 
an immediate response if Oz dared called back.

Joyce nodded, unhappy that it didn't seem enough but understanding 
that it was probably the best she could hope for in Sunnydale. She 
nodded for Tara to follow her upstairs.

They found Willow beginning to doze in Buffy's arms, the Slayer 
holding her protectively and gently. Willow opened her groggy eyes 
and smiled. Tara sat down on the edge of the bed while Joyce sat 
down on the end.  

"I'd like Tara to move in with us," Joyce announced and all three 
looked surprised and glanced at each other. "I know there's been an 
unspoken agreement not to discuss whatever is developing between the 
three of you, but I need to bring it up."

"Mom&" 

"Let me talk for a minute," Joyce insisted. "I want to see all of 
you happy and if it works between the three of you then I will be 
very happy, honestly. I think it'll be good for all three of you in 
the same house until all three of you figure out what is going on, 
especially for Willow's recovery. It would also make me feel better 
about Tara's safety. Oz has seen her and he knows what dorm room is 
hers."

"You're right, Mom," Buffy agreed and the three young college 
students glanced at each other, each questioning silently the 
suggestion and all three nodded to each other.

"Okay, Tara and I will go over with Xander and Anya and grab Tara's 
stuff," Buffy said firmly.

"Good, I'll also drive you both to campus in the mornings. I'm going 
to call Giles, Xander and Anya and work out a schedule to where 
Willow is never left alone," Joyce said firmly.

"Okay," Tara said softly.

"I need to go see Giles," Buffy said thoughtfully.  

"Something new?" Willow mumbled.

"No, but the full moon is coming up and I think Giles and I need to 
plan some precautions," Buffy said softly.

"Buffy!" Willow whimpered and Buffy held her closer and Tara reached 
over the redhead and touched Buffy's arm.

"We need to talk about it," Buffy insisted. "We had a couple of good 
days but we need to face it. Oz isn't going away and I was bitten by 
him. I might turn into a werewolf on the full moon and we need to be 
prepared for that."

"What's your plan?" Tara asked. "Especially since the full moon is on 
Halloween this month."

"Well, I'm going to suggest that we change the lock on that cell Oz 
had built and use it," Buffy explained.

"But Oz knows about it and used it to hold Xander and Anya," Willow 
protested. "Won't he go back there?"

"He might be there now," Buffy agreed. "I'm going to get Giles, 
Xander and Anya to go with me slaying tonight and check out the 
crypt. If he's there then we'll take him out."

"Goddess, you'll be careful, won't you?" Tara said softly.

"You bet!" Buffy said cheerfully but Willow and Joyce could sense the 
strain in her. "Tomorrow, I'm going to start teaching you self 
defense and you'll teach me cooking. How's that for a trade?"

"You bet!" Tara agreed.

"Maybe Tara, Giles and I can research a spell that will be more 
powerful on Hallows," Willow suggested. "It's not often that there's 
a full moon on Samhain."

* * *

October 24
Like Brad Santiago had predicted, the police protection had only 
lasted three days. The patrols continued their increased 
surveillance but even the men listening for Oz to call packed up 
their gear after a week.

The week went easier for the household. Everyone settled into a 
routine, Joyce taking Buffy and Tara to school in the mornings and 
Buffy ensuring they got home before dark after school. The 
University provided extra security in the halls for the two young 
women and for Theresa Santiago when she picked up Willow's schoolwork 
assignments and talked with her instructors.

It was decided by Willow, Joyce, and Willow's doctors that she should 
stay out of school for at least a couple more weeks. Willow 
continued to get stronger but still worried all of them with how 
easily she grew tired.  

Tara was indeed a magnificent cook and took over a lot of the duties 
around the kitchen for the household. Xander and Anya seemed to 
almost take up residence on the Summers' sofa after sampling Tara's 
cooking. The two of them helped Buffy on her slaying duties at night 
and watched over Willow during the day when Xander wasn't at work and 
Anya wasn't helping at the Magic Box.

Buffy kept to her deal with Tara and began teaching Tara self defense 
moves, demonstrating them for Willow and Tara began showing Buffy the 
basics around a kitchen. Joyce Summers, having long given up trying 
to get Buffy interested in household skills, merely shook her head in 
amusement.  

It was only one week to the Full Moon.


October 25
Willow grinned as Tara sparred with Buffy. Surprisingly Buffy and 
Giles were slow and gentle with both Willow and Tara because of 
Willow's recovery and Tara because of her shyness and lack of 
confidence.  

Giles had thought it a very good idea for Buffy to train the Scooby 
Gang in self defense.  

Willow slowly moved back upstairs to concentrate on her studies.

A submission hold brought Tara into Buffy's arms. After a moment of 
struggle they both hesitated and Buffy turned Tara around and they 
began kissing. Tara moaned at the contact and ran her fingers into 
Buffy's hair, holding the shorter woman to her as Buffy's arms 
wrapped around the witch.  

As the kiss became more passionate, Buffy felt a heat spreading 
through her system and her body jerked when Tara's lips left hers and 
the witch began nibbling on her ear lobe and her tongue trailed down 
to the Slayer's neck. Buffy clung to Tara when the other blonde 
lightly bit down on her neck.

"Oh God," Buffy whispered, her hands moving under Tara's shirt and 
moaning when her hands found Tara's breasts. Tara whimpered and fell 
back against the wall behind her as her hands fought their way under 
Buffy's sweatshirt as well.

Buffy moaned at how sensitive her nipples suddenly were and how her 
body jerked when Tara touched them. The Slayer felt her emotions 
beginning to rage and a growl beginning in her throat and so pulled 
back.

"I& I'm about to lose it here," she admitted as she leaned against 
Tara.

"I don't want to stop," Tara whispered.

"My mom is right upstairs," Buffy reminded both of them and Tara 
nodded.

"Okay," Tara whispered. "This is so hard to figure out. I keep 
having erotic dreams about you and Willow."

"Me too and Wills says she's having the same dreams."

"Are we all just frustrated or does this we mean we're connected?" 
Tara said thoughtfully.  

"I'm betting on the connection thing," Buffy smiled, backing out of 
Tara's embrace before she lost it again. 

"With all of us, it's not just because Willow and I got involved?"

"You mean am I paying attention to you and wanting to kiss you and 
make love to you just to keep you around because you make Willow 
happy?"

"I think I followed that," Tara grinned. "Yeah, s&something like 
that."

"I think you are beautiful, intelligent, sexy, strong, gorgeous, and 
have got some killer magick moves," Buffy grinned as Tara blushed at 
the gushing of adjectives describing her in Buffy's eyes.

With her emotions a little more in check, Buffy pulled Tara into an 
embrace again, wrapping her arms around Tara's waist and lightly 
kissed her.

"How can this work with three of us?" Tara questioned.

"I don't know and I'm tired of second guessing emotions, 
relationships and Fate," Buffy said in an irritated voice. "I did 
enough soul searching and yelling at the cosmos when I was with 
Angel. I turned around and got Mr. Boring Riley. I'm done 
questioning. If you and Willow make me happy and I can make you both 
happy, then I say if it's not broken then we shouldn't fix it."

Tara grinned and leaned down slightly and kissed the Slayer.

"If this goes any further, will we get jealous?" Tara pondered as 
they walked up the stairs out of the basement where Buffy had set up 
a sparring area.

"You mean if you end up in Willow's bed one night instead of mine, 
will I get jealous?" Buffy asked with a playful grin. "I don't know, 
I don't think so. The thought of you with Willow or Willow with you 
doesn't make me jealous for some reason. The thought of Willow with 
Oz, now that drives me nuts!"

"Me too! She's&she's so hurt that he tried to not only infect her 
but rape her as well," Tara commented with a frown.

"I know, he was her first in some ways and she can't believe he would 
turn out like this," Buffy nodded.

Both of them smiled at the sight of Giles kissing Joyce in the 
kitchen when they opened the basement door.

"Hi, Giles," Buffy said cheerfully, "Hi, Mom!"

Both girls giggled as the adults separated with blushing faces and 
stammering voices. Buffy and Tara ignored the stutters and moved 
into the living room with Willow. All three settling in for the 
early evening of homework.

Unknown to the others, Willow was also waiting for a response to her 
frequent emails to Grayfox. He was promising some new information if 
his leads panned out and Willow was praying they would It was only 
five days to the first night of the full moon.


To be continued&