Welcome to My Nightmare - 5/7 - B/W/T - NC-17

["Hunter Ash" <carrkjar@xxxxxxxxx>]

Welcome to My Nightmare
Part 5

Red Moon Rising, Book 5

Author: Frau Hunter Ash 

Copyright © 2002 by Hunter Ash. All Rights Reserved.

Email: carrkjar@xxxxxxxxx  Feedback welcome!!

Homepage Addy: 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: This is part of the continuing Red Moon series which begins 
at New Moon Rising with some twists beginning there.

Summary:  Willow is healed physically from the after-effects of 
detoxifying from the black magic Dracula forced on her and dealing 
with guilt for giving into Dracula along with Xander and Buffy.  Now 
the gang wants to get out of town for some R&R.  Can you say "Road 
Trip?"

Rating: NC17 (US) 18 (UK) MA (Aus)

Author's Note: Pairings: B/W/T, X/A/ G/J 


Willow murmured noises of pleasure when she woke up two hours later 
to Buffy's familiar lips nuzzling her neck.  The red head enjoyed the 
feeling of Tara in her arms and Buffy behind her.  Willow smiled as 
she opened her eyes and saw a sleepy Tara begin smiling.

"Hey, lover," Buffy whispered softly.

"Hey," Willow smiled back as Buffy's hands roamed over her ribs and 
then over to Tara's.

"I keep waking up in your arms," Willow joked.

"Yup, this time it's a good thing," Tara nodded.  "What do you 
remember?" 

"You guys always ask me that too," Willow quipped.  "I remember the 
trance and changing&"

Willow's eyes widened as memories began to flood over her and her 
smile became a grin.  "Wolf! I remember being a wolf and seeing you 
both in the woods!"

Buffy and Tara grinned as Willow sat up, obviously excited.

"That was real, wasn't it? It wasn't part of the visual journey?"

"Nope, it was real," Buffy grinned and nodded.  "We saw two gray 
wolves and a red wolf and then we found you in the circle, changed 
back to human."

"Wow! Oh wow!" Willow grinned and jumped up off the bed and turned to 
face her lovers.  "I did it! The wolf is so cool!"

Tara wrapped an arm around Buffy's shoulders as they watched Willow 
almost bouncing off the RV walls.

"Luke said to meet them for dinner at the diner," Tara informed her 
lover.

Willow turned at the sound of the door opening and grinned as Xander 
stuck his head in the door.

"Is everyone decent?" he asked, wiggling his eyebrow suggestively and 
then yelped when Willow leaped into his arms.

"Hey! You've got Buffy and Tara, no stealing my fiancée!" Anya 
protested outside.

Buffy and Tara laughed, following Willow's path outside as she 
released Xander and hugged Anya tightly.

"What is going on?" Xander asked with a grin.

"Her lessons went well today," Buffy explained.

"Wow!" Xander exclaimed.  

"We're about to head over to the diner for dinner," Tara said 
easily.  

"Sounds good!" Xander agreed readily.

Tara caught Buffy's eyes and the Slayer nodded towards Willow and the 
blonde witch moved to walk alongside her lover. Buffy distracted 
Xander and Anya, keeping them back a little ways.

Buffy knew that Tara was explaining what Luke, Phillip and Thena told 
them about Willow.

Willow's enthusiasm was a little more subdued when the group entered 
the diner and Buffy wasn't surprised.  The Slayer moved up behind her 
mate and hugged her quickly.

"Don't worry, you'll have complete control soon," Buffy whispered and 
Willow nodded.

"It was a good feeling," Willow said softly.  "It wasn't scary 
anymore."

"It won't be, Phillip said that the full moon won't be as hard and 
the werewolf won't rage anymore," Buffy said, trying to reassure her 
mate and the witch nodded as they crowded around a large table.  

Willow smiled and hugged Thena, Phillip and Luke fondly.

"Thank you for today," she whispered to each of them.

"Our pleasure," Luke grinned.

The Elders were gathered along with the young teachers and encouraged 
the young travelers to sit and eat.

The conversation around the table over dinner consisted of small talk 
about the town and various types of Weres.  Then the talk turned to 
Willow's training of the day and what she could expect in the future.

"So, eventually Willow will be able to change when she wants but it 
won't be into an evil werewolf like Oz?" Xander asked between bites 
of his steak.

"Yes, if she keeps concentrating and doing the visual journeys we 
show her," Thena nodded.  

"I can't believe she changed into a full wolf!" Xander 
grinned.  "Sounds like a good thing."

"It is," Phillip nodded.  "Willow's inner wolf is a gentle creature 
and she met and accepted it as part of herself today. When she 
changes on full moons it'll be different now."

"It'll still be painful for a long time," Luke advised. "But she 
won't be as vicious and dangerous."

"Does that mean we won't have to lock her up?" Anya asked.

"No," Robert Stockwell advised.  "Until she can totally control the 
change, especially on full moons, she should be locked up.  The wolf 
is closest to the surface on the moon and the human is almost 
unconscious. It could still be dangerous to others than her mates."

"I'd still feel better if you chained or locked me up," Willow said 
softly. "It was horrible knowing I had killed someone!"

"Even if the other was an evil were?" Helki Androvkoff asked softly.

"Yes," Willow nodded.  "I didn't know the details. I couldn't 
remember what I did as a werewolf. I woke up in the sewers covered in 
blood and I wasn't hurt."

"Oh sweet Goddess," Rowan whispered.

"Yeah," Buffy nodded as Willow blushed and lowered her head.  Tara 
wrapped an arm around the red haired witch's shoulders.  "She ran 
away from us and we went bananas."

"We understand that," Pietr nodded. "That's why we offer training to 
any were that hasn't crossed over into evil."

"Are there other groups like you?" Buffy asked and Tara sensed the 
Slayer's muscles tensing from nerves.  "We know our friend fell in 
with an evil group."

"We know of one settlement like ours," Layton said slowly.  "They 
were known as the Colony.  It was founded by a doctor who was trying 
to teach the same thing we do. Unfortunately he brought together a 
lot of weres who liked the hunt and it didn't matter if it was human, 
cow or deer."

"What happened?" Xander asked, sensing a major story.

"They tried to bring in a news reporter and her husband into the pack 
without asking," Lucille said as she cleared the table.  "It turned 
out badly. The reporter and a friend killed most of the weres and the 
others scattered, thankfully."

"I remember that!" Xander exclaimed.  "I thought it was an urban 
legend!"

"Nope, her husband had already joined the pack, her best friend was 
killed and she was bitten," Luke added.  "She changed on air to prove 
the existence of werewolves and was killed by her friend."

"And no one listened," Buffy said somewhat bitterly.  

"No," Luke nodded.  "They thought it was a publicity stunt by the 
station. We know there are packs around the country that are like us 
and others that are evil."

"Your friend found one of the evil groups," Sterling said softly.

Buffy reached out to hold Willow's hand as Tara squeezed her love in 
support.

"I wish he had found you," Willow said softly, tears in her 
voice.  "They took a kind and gentle musician and turned him into an 
evil killer."

Buffy winced at the memory of Oz trying to rape and infect Willow 
when he returned to Sunnydale.

"There's always a danger of giving into the rage," Stefn Wulfsson 
advised.  "The wolf is angry because it's confused."

"It wants to be free and the human body restricts it, along with the 
human mind," Rowan added.

"We try and get the two working together," Phillip explained.

"What happens if you come across evil Weres?" Xander asked.  

"We offer to teach them a better way," Luke explained.  "If they 
refuse, we escort them out of town and give them a friendly warning 
not to return."

"There are herbs and spells that Weres are susceptible to," Pietr 
added.  "They probably used those on your friend and brought out the 
rage. By staying with them, the spell they had cast on him continued 
and he became evil."

"Could they do that to any were?" Buffy asked with a frown.

"It is possible," Thena nodded.  "With the right combinations of 
drugs and magick, almost anyone could be turned." 

"How long are you staying?" Luke asked.

"Well, it's a week to the next full moon," Tara said 
thoughtfully.  "Can we stay that long?"

The small group looked around among themselves, each asking the 
question silently.  Finally, Xander nodded and the others joined in 
while Willow looked hopeful.

"Sure," Xander said.  "I don't see why not. Anya and I are surfing 
the web looking for ideas for the wedding. I think we can keep busy 
when I'm not working with the construction thing."

"And we'll keep the mates busy, especially Willow," Luke promised. 

"I'd like to stay," Willow said softly.

"Then we'll stay," Buffy said easily as Willow began to smile.

* * *

Helki started working with Tara and Willow in the mornings on 
repairing Willow's magickal abilities until the older woman was 
satisfied that the red haired witch was regaining control.  The days 
seemed to pass quickly with Buffy working out with several of the 
townspeople, their werewolf strength giving the Slayer a new level to 
work at that was usually reserved for full out fighting.

Xander and Anya found themselves mingling with the people easily as 
well.  Anya, after getting a little bored, worked with the librarian 
arranging and suggesting books for the town and Xander took on a 
temporary job with some of the men working at rebuilding a small 
fabric store.  The young man discovered that he liked working with 
his hands and tools and had a knack for picking up the different 
skills.

By day four, Buffy had joined him and the two friends found they were 
tired at the end of the day but it felt good as they could see real 
progress in their work.

Tara and Willow were both tired as well but it was more a mental 
tired from working on the magick. Willow concentrated on connecting 
with the inner wolf and how to control the rage that came with the 
confused animal.

By nightfall everyone was exhausted but content.

On day six of being in Lupercalia, Willow found the Elder Council 
waiting for her as she approached the Church.  

"Time to decide what to do with me tomorrow night?" she asked calmly 
as she approached the small group.

"Yes, young one," Stefn nodded.  "We don't have any cubs who aren't 
in control. The choices are locking you in the jail&"

"That's about all it gets used for," Luke grinned.  "Don't even get 
any drunks through here."

"The other choice is letting you change with several experienced 
weres and see how you react," Maggie finished.

Willow frowned as she thought about it.

"I've seen three werewolves before coming here and I killed them 
because they were hurting someone or about to kill Tara," she said 
thoughtfully.  

"You did fine with Luke and Thena," Robert pointed out.

"You all have more experience with this than I do," Willow smiled 
shyly. "What do you suggest?"

"Run with us," Thena said softly.  

Willow pondered the options, her training, and her instincts.  Her 
eyes were shining brightly when she looked up again.

"Yes," she said softly.

"Your friends will be protected," Rowan promised.

* * *

Buffy and Tara tried to ignore the worry they were picking up from 
Willow as they sat around tables in the Church dining hall with other 
humans and older werewolves who didn't want to go out roaming the 
woods.

The Scooby gang members were surprised to see a number of human 
adults and children among the older people.  Lucille smiled as the 
young adults sat down to join a game of PictionaryÔ with a couple of 
the children.

"Can you imagine bringing your girlfriend or boyfriend home to meet 
these families?" she joked.  

"They aren't Weres?" Xander asked, seeing a good mixture of men, 
women and children of all ages.

"No, these are the human mates and children of the Weres," Lucille 
explained.

"Must be hard approaching your girlfriend or boyfriend and telling 
them you're a werewolf," Tara nodded.

"How did your friend Willow do it?" Lucille asked.

"She didn't," Buffy said. "Her ex-boyfriend came back and tried to 
intentionally bite her.  Total evil stuff. I took the bite but then 
Willow turned around and did a spell to take it on herself."

"Wow!" Lucille exclaimed. "That's true love."

"Yeah, I wish she hadn't," Buffy complained.

"Probably better she did," Lucille commented.  "Sounds like her wolf 
is a lot nicer than yours would have been."

"What do you mean?" Buffy asked, frowning.

"Willow already had a wolf, she's part werewolf," Lucille said, 
sounding surprised that the Gang wasn't aware of it.  "Somewhere in 
her line there was a werewolf and a witch."

"From that Jewish family?" Buffy protested incredulously and noticed 
Xander shifting in his chair. "What?"

"Willow's adopted," he said softly.  "We don't know who her bio 
parents are."

"She never said anything!" Buffy protested. "Did she to you, Tar?"

"No, nothing," Tara shook her head.

"We didn't talk about it much," Xander said slowly. "She discovered 
I'm adopted and she told me she was."

"Both of you?" Anya questioned.

"Yeah, I figure that's why my parents don't pay much attention. I 
guess I'm not what they wanted," Xander said bitterly.

"Hey! You are most wanted here!" Buffy protested as Anya hugged her 
fiancée.

"So Buffy would have been cursed with the evil thing but when Willow 
took the curse, it was okay?" Tara questioned Lucille.

"In a way," Lucille said thoughtfully.  "With having a wolf already, 
the curse just brought it to the surface.  If she had stayed with her 
boyfriend and they were sexual, protection or not, her wolf still 
would have come to the surface, eventually. That's probably why he 
was so nuts to keep her and mate with her."

"Wow, we didn't know any of this," Xander muttered.

"That's probably why her spell worked," Tara nodded.  "It was already 
half there."

"If she hadn't taken the curse from me&" Buffy stammered softly.

"Oh Christ!" Xander exclaimed.  "You both would have ended up as 
werewolves!"

"Yup!" Lucille grinned.  

"That will help with Buffy's guilt over Willow taking the wolf," Anya 
commented.

"Enough," Buffy declared. "Let's play, shall we?" 

Buffy looked worried as they all looked at the clock.

* * *

On the third morning, Willow smiled at the familiar sight of the 
sleeping figures in the beds set up in the dining hall.  

"If everyone can control the wolf, why do the non-Weres sleep in here 
on full moons?" she asked in a whisper as Thena walked with her.

"Precaution, sometimes powerful emotions can overwhelm the wolf and 
we are human when it comes to emotions," Thena explained.  "If 
someone is fighting with their wife, it might come out in the wolf. 
It also protects them from any outsiders or hunters who might be 
stalking us."

"Hunters?" Willow asked with a frown.

"Something like your Slayer, they hunt down weres, vampires, demons, 
and daemons," Thena explained.

"We ran into one once, he almost killed Oz," Willow said 
thoughtfully.  She spotted Tara and Buffy sharing a cot and Anya and 
Xander on another one next to them, all still sound asleep.

"You'll run across Hunters in your life," Thena 
advised.  "Fortunately, with you being a witch along with Tara and a 
Slayer, you should be fine."

"Between fighting vampires and demons in Sunnydale, now somebody's 
going to be hunting me, terrific," Willow complained.

"You knew that when you took the curse," Thena countered.

"Yeah, I even knew Buffy might have to kill me," Willow 
nodded. "Dealing with it is different."

"Go wake them up and sleep for awhile in the RV with them," Thena 
advised.

Buffy and Tara were more than willing to move to the RV with Willow 
and fell back into sleep with Willow between them.

* * *

Tara murmured and smiled as lips kissed the back of her neck and 
hands roamed over her ribs, holding her tightly.

"Have fun," Buffy whispered. "I need a run."

Tara leaned up to kiss her Slayer and then wrapped her arms around 
Willow's body as the red-head began mumbling in her sleep, beginning 
to stir.

Buffy grinned as she started out the door when she saw Tara's hand 
roaming under Willow's t-shirt.  Buffy made sure that she locked the 
door when she heard Willow moan and Tara giggle.

The Slayer stretched, yawned and began trotting down the main street, 
waving at the old men hanging around outside the grocery store and 
Lucille smoking a cigarette outside the diner.

"Have fun, girl!" Lucille laughed.

"Yup!" Buffy grinned and veered off onto a path heading into the 
woods.

* * *

Willow smiled as Tara's kisses covered her face and the blonde 
witch's hand moved through her red hair.  

Tara smiled, pulling Willow's body close to her, moaning at the heat 
building between them.  The blonde witch held tightly as Willow's 
body jerked in surprise and instant arousal when Tara bit down on her 
neck from behind.

"Tara!" Willow whimpered, grabbing her pillow when Tara refused to 
let Willow turn over and face her.  The red-haired witch growled as 
her lover's fingers ran up the back of her legs and danced along 
Willow's spine.  

"That's it, lover," Tara whispered, her voice husky with 
desire.  "Tell me about the wolf last night."

"Oh goddess!" Willow whispered.  She could almost feel the wolf 
trying to rise to the surface.

"Full moon friskies," Tara teased, running her fingernails down 
Willow's back.

"Ah!" 

"You want gentle today, lover?" Tara taunted, knowing that mornings 
after a full moon were seldom slow and gentle with the wolf so close 
to the surface.  Willow could be the most hesitant and gentlest of 
lovers but on or close to the full moon and her body was more 
demanding. 

"Tara!" Willow cried out, gripping the pillow tightly as her lover 
worked the werewolf's body like a musical instrument. Tara's hand 
massaging and playing with Willow's nipples, her other hand teasing 
between Willow's legs.

"Tell me!" Tara insisted. "What does the wolf want? What is it like?"

"Oh goddess, please!" Willow begged as Tara raked her nails down 
Willow's back again and then ran her fingers through her lover's 
short hair.

"It&it's beautiful," Willow whispered and Tara's fingers dipped 
between her labia, causing Willow to buck against the blonde's 
body.  "Everything is sharper&oh gods&clearer."

Tara trailed her lips and teeth down from Willow's neck to her 
lover's shoulders and over the red-head's back as she inserted two 
fingers into Willow.

"Tara!" Willow whimpered.

"Tell me," Tara whispered, keeping her rhythm of drawing back and 
entering Willow erratic and varied.

"The&smells are sharp," Willow continued through gritted teeth.  "You 
can&feel the night&air through your fur&Tara, please!"

"Can you sense me and Buffy when you're the wolf?" Tara asked, biting 
Willow on the small of the back.  

"Yes!" and Tara grinned, unsure if Willow was responding to the 
arousal or answering the question.  Tara relented to Willow's needs 
and thrust into her lover. "Yes!" Willow shouted and then growled.  

Tara heard the growl and did her best to answer it.  Surprisingly, 
Willow whimpered and bared her neck.  Her blonde mate moved quickly 
back up along Willow's body and bit into the offered neck as she 
thrust into her mate, her other hand moving down to caress Willow's 
clit.

Willow screamed, a sound between a howl, growl and scream.

Tara pulled the blanket up over them as she whispered loving 
reassurances in Willow's ear, holding her mate close as her lover 
trembled from the after affects of the love making.  The two fell 
asleep moments later.

* * *

Buffy grinned and leaned over the flowing water of the small creek 
she had found and splashed some water on her face.  Her breathing had 
finally quieted down to normal after getting hit with the almost 
overwhelming arousal energy from Willow and Tara.  

"At least I wasn't having coffee with Mom and Giles this time," Buffy 
grinned to herself.  

The run through the woods had been designed to give her some privacy 
and space, knowing that Tara was about to get sexual with Willow.  
Most of the time their energy was intense enough to hit whoever 
wasn't present.

Even though the three of them had reached a point in their 
relationship where all three were comfortable together sexually at 
the same time, there were times when they still wanted one-on-one 
time with each other too.

Buffy smiled and began trotting back towards town.

* * *

Xander and Anya grinned when they spotted Buffy coming out of the 
woods and waved.  She changed her direction and trotted up to them.

"How goes, guys?" she asked.

"Not doing too bad for having slept on a cot," Xander 
shrugged.  "We're going to grab some breakfast, lunch or whatever we 
want to call it, want to join us?"

"Sure," Buffy agreed, extending her senses and finding Willow and 
Tara beginning to stir.  She sent a mental image of the diner to both 
and felt them 'nodding.'

"Let's eat!" Buffy said enthusiastically.

* * *

Willow reached out and carefully brushed a lock of hair from Tara's 
eyes with a smile.  Tara opened her eyes and smiled back at her lover.

"I love you too, Will," Tara said softly.

"What the heck did you do to me? All my muscles are jelly!" Willow 
teased, delighting in the way Tara blushed.

"Well, Buffy and I&well&we&," Tara stammered.

"Yes?" now Willow was really curious.  

"We've been talking a lot with Lucille while you were out with the 
pack," Tara admitted, blushing a bright red.  

"And?" Willow asked, sitting up on an elbow.

"Well, she said that sex can be fantastic if you&if&"

"If you want part of the wolf to come out and play?" Willow suggested 
and Tara nodded.  "Wow! I could feel the wolf with me, responding to 
you."

Tara gently ran her fingers through Willow's hair.  "Was it okay?"

"Yes," Willow said, her eyes and expression softening.  "It wasn't 
scary on my end, I was hoping I didn't scare you."

"No," Tara reassured her lover and felt her eyes filling with tears.

"Tar?" Willow questioned.

"Will," Tara tried to speak and then hesitated, swallowing.  "Buffy 
and I did a lot of surfing and reading on werewolves and wolves, 
especially when you were gone.  And we did a lot of late night 
talking with Lucille and a couple of the human mates."

"Yeah, maybe you can fill me in on some of it," Willow smiled.  

"Werewolves like you are a lot like wolves," Tara began 
explaining.  "We knew that but we're finding out details now. Like, 
how did you know to get Buffy to bite you and mate with you and me 
before that full moon?"

"Like I said then," Willow sat up and leaned against the RV wall.  "I 
thought maybe it would be like wolves and that a mating would be 
stronger than Oz' hold on Buffy as her sire."

"You were right too," Tara nodded.  "Sex with a were is one thing, 
what we've done is something like Alpha wolves mating."

"It's for life," Willow whispered and Tara nodded.

"We know that and accepted it," Tara added.  "Will, this morning 
something happened that I didn't expect."

Willow frowned.  "You're saying you're okay with the mating for life 
thing and weren't scared by my growling this morning but there's 
more?"

"Will, what does a wolf baring its throat to another mean?"

"Uh, it, uh, it's a sign of submission when wolves are fighting or 
sexual, it's also a sign of absolute trust during sex," Willow said 
softly, looking down at her knees.

"Will, you did that for me," Tara said, sitting up, tears filling her 
eyes.

"I didn't," Willow whispered.  "I would have, easily, any day, any 
minute but it wasn't me. It was the wolf."

Tara's eyes widened in surprise.  "Your wolf?"

"Yeah," Willow nodded. "I felt the wolf baring my throat to you. It 
was submission of the wolf to you and giving you total trust."

"Will," Tara tried but choked on her emotions and pulled Willow into 
her arms.  "Why? Why would the wolf do that? I'm not the strong one."

Willow wrapped her arms around her lover, relieved that Tara wasn't 
freaked or frightened by the action or revelation.

"You are the strong one, Tara," Willow insisted, her own tears of 
happiness spilling over her cheeks.  "The wolf recognized your 
strength, your love for me and my love for you."

"I can't ever&"

"Sshhhh!" Willow demanded, a finger on Tara's lips.  "It's not like I 
can sit down and have a talk with the wolf and say, 'hey what's your 
motivation?' Accept it, my love. You reacted perfectly, by the way."

"I love you, Willow," Tara whispered, clinging to her lover and then 
smiled when they got the flash from Buffy about food.

"That sounds good," Willow muttered.

"What? That I love you or food?"

"Yes?" Willow asked playfully.  "So does a shower. Food and then 
clean?"

"Yup!" Tara agreed willingly.

* * *

Giles smiled when he heard Buffy's voice on the telephone. 

"Buffy!" 

"Hey, Giles," Buffy grinned on her end of the phone.  "How's things?"

"Going well on this end," Giles said, his manner more relaxed than 
Buffy was used to.  "The Council is pleased with Willow's emailed 
reports. I can't believe you found a town of weres!"

"I know, we can't either," Buffy smiled as she munched on a French 
fry.  She looked out of the phone booth and smiled at the sight of 
her troop enjoying their meal, especially the aura of peace 
surrounding Willow.  "It's like Fate or something. Willow really 
needed something on the up side after the last few months."

"I totally agree," Giles said.  "The Council still wants progress 
reports when you get back, especially about her beginning magick 
again."

"We figured they would, they'll want to see how she reacts to danger 
and stuff," Buffy said, taking a sip of coke.

"Yes, exactly," Giles agreed.  "I do think this vacation was a good 
idea for all of you. By the way, Willow says that Xander and Anya are 
engaged."

"Yeah, it was so cool, Giles!" Buffy said happily.  "He got down on 
his knee and everything!"

"Well, yes," Giles stammered. "Sounds wonderful, tell them 
congratulations."

"How's your wedding plans going?" Buffy asked.

"Quite well," Giles said and Buffy could just imagine him cleaning 
his glasses.  "Your mother is getting excited and can't wait for all 
of you to get back to set the date."

"Yeah, well, we're heading back, probably starting tomorrow," Buffy 
said, munching away.  "We shouldn't take as long."

"How is Willow doing?" Giles asked.

"Really well," Buffy smiled, catching a loving glance from Tara 
before the blonde witch turned back to the conversation she was 
having with the others.  Buffy grinned at the sight of Phillip 
joining them, saying something that caused Xander to choke on his 
soda and Anya to laugh hysterically.  "I mean it, she's got her hope 
back and I think she won't be as afraid to take it slow with the 
magick."

"Excellent!" Giles agreed.  "I know you can't tell me where this town 
of Weres is because of the Council, but let us know where you are in 
a couple of days."

"Okay, will do. Tell Mom I love her and you too," Buffy smiled.

"Of course, give my best to the others," Giles said before hanging up.

Buffy stood up with her plate and soda in hand, noticing Phillip 
hovering over the table as he leaned over to show Xander something.  
The Slayer saw him moving Tara's soda out of his way as he drew 
something on a napkin in front of Xander.

Buffy sat down and reached out for Willow's hand as Tara leaned her 
head on Buffy's shoulder.  

"You two are so beautiful," Buffy whispered and laughed when both 
blushed.

"Back at you," Willow whispered.  

Phillip looked over and grinned.  "I'm showing Xander a short cut out 
of the valley. It looks longer but it isn't.  The route up over the 
mountains takes longer and is harder on RVs. This route goes along 
the river and is easier."

"Thanks, Phillip," Buffy nodded.  "Now that this round of full moon 
wiggin is over, we'll probably head out tomorrow."

"That's what the Elders were figuring," he nodded.  "I hope you come 
back sometime. You guys are family now."

"Yeah, part of the pack," Lucille grinned.  

Willow smiled gratefully, "Thanks, both of you."

"Our pleasure," Lucille laughed, clearing the dishes from the table.

"I need to talk to the Council, what are your plans, guys?" Willow 
asked the others.

"Anya and I are gonna hang out with the construction crew," Xander 
said with a grin, wrapping an arm around Anya's shoulder.

"I thought I'd show Tara a beautiful creek I found this morning," 
Buffy said, a little shyly.

Tara sat up and grinned.  "I'd like that, Buff."

"Cool, so we all meet back for dinner?" Willow suggested.

"Sounds good, tell the Council not to give you too hard a time for 
leaving," Phillip grinned.  "Just promise life long devotion and 
frequent trips."

Willow laughed as she blushed.  She knew she'd hate to leave the 
town, especially after finding such unusual acceptance of her 
werewolf side.

Buffy leaned over and raised Willow's chin, noticing the red-head's 
expression.  "What?"

"I just wish Oz had found this place instead of the bad werewolves," 
she said softly.  "He was himself again after the Initiative caught 
him and he was so sick about everything he had done."

"Will, he tried to rape you and infect you," Xander pointed out as 
Phillip got up quietly and moved over to the counter, giving the gang 
some privacy.

"I know and it sickened him," Willow countered.  "He was a good guy 
again and he understood about Buffy and Tara."

"You said he saved her life," Anya pointed out.

"Yeah, it's just still hard, Will," Xander complained.  "I know the 
wolf thing is going to work out eventually if you keep up your hard 
work and stuff but it's still painful and it was his fault."

"Let's just hope his soul found some peace," Tara said softly, 
effectively ending the conversation.

"I love you guys," Willow said shyly.

Xander surprised everyone by jumping up from his chair and rushing 
around to drag Willow out of hers into a bear hug that lifted her 
over his head.

"Xander!"

"We love you too!" he shouted, whirling her around as they both 
laughed.  

"Xander, you nut!" Willow giggled and playfully swatted his arm when 
he let her down.

"Anya, race you to the bar," Xander grinned and was out the door with 
Anya right behind him.

"Those two are perfect together in a weird Hellmouth way," Buffy 
commented as the three lovers walked out into the light of the 
afternoon sun.

"So are we," Tara grinned.

"I'll see you both in a bit," Willow said, quickly kissing both of 
them before trotting off towards the church.

"Let's go find that creek," Tara suggested and smiled as Buffy took 
her hand.




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"It's a good fight, Buffy, and I want in."
"I kinda love you."
Buffy & Willow, 'Choices'

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