Fic: The Island (2b/?) B/W PG

Buffy admired Willow?s skill in handling the small plane as it taxied down the tiny landing strip. She looked out at the water of the Sound as Willow parked the craft under what appeared to be an aluminum carport, only larger. After the redhead turned off all the switches and the plane settled to a stop, Buffy couldn?t help but marvel at the change in the water. From this angle the water looked clean as the early afternoon sun turned it into a sparkling wonder.

The sight of the water was breathtaking. Buffy watched as an osprey dove out of the sky, pulling up at the last possible moment before skimming the top of the water with its talons. The powerful wings breaking its downward motion, before they drove the bird upward back into the air. The bird soared upward with its prize, a long squirming snake. The Slayer watched the bird and its prey until it was out of sight.

Then with a sigh she turned towards the redhead next to her, taking off the headset. ?Well, that was ?.?

?Shh Buffy, keep watching.? Willow said as she pointed out to the middle of the cement airstrip.

The Slayer nearly jumped out of her skin a few moments later when the snake landed on nearly the exact spot Willow had pointed out. She stared with her mouth open as the osprey swooped down to its dinner and started feasting on the dead snake. And now that she was looking at it she noticed evidence that the bird had done this trick before.

?The snakes are always bad after a hurricane.? Willow said, taking off her headset and opening the door to the craft. Then she stopped and turned back to the Slayer, ?When I first came here I would watch a family of osprey hunt for hours.? Buffy watched as Willow?s face took on the wistful _expression_ that reminded her of time before Glory, when they were young and the world seemed so full of incredible things meant only for them.

?I would watch them for hours because they reminded me of you, Buffy.? Willow captured the Slayer?s gaze and held it. ?Beautiful, deadly; the huntress and ruthless protector.? Willow blinked and looked at the bird as it finished its lunch, breaking the spell. ?Cm?on I want to get things packed up and start out with the tide in the morning.?

Buffy was stunned. What did she say to that? ?Not much,? she thought to herself. ?But she actually cared, even though she was so incredibly angry ?. Another time Slayer! You have a job to do and remember that you don?t want Willow to be a part of your life anymore. Remember safety, remember you want her to have a chance at a normal life with ? but she cared then, and it seemed like she still cares now.?

The Slayer looked at her former best friend as she walked to a black SUV. Trying to put aside the hope that they could overcome what had happened eight years ago. ?Yeah, right, dream on Slayer. It?s always when you begin to hope that everything falls apart.?

It was only a short trip to the school.

During that trip Buffy was struck by how the flat the land was around them. She had been to Iowa and Nebraska but even they didn?t compare. It wasn?t like a desert, it was alive with green. Green upon green everywhere she looked. From the grass to the pines off in the distance. She could see the blue of the Sounds give way to the white sands of the islands. She saw how much the land mirrored the water; a seemingly endless sea of grass broken only by an occasional "island" of pine trees.

?We?re here.? Willow told Buffy, motioning out the windshield. They were parked in front of a white frame house that was on stilts. Buffy opened the door of the SUV and stepped onto the gavel parking lot as the front door of the house flew open.

A tall blonde hurried out of the house carrying two pairs of rubber boots. Buffy opened her door and stepped out onto the crunchy gravel as the woman reached Willow.

?Rosenberg, you had better have one hell of an explanation for authorizing The Belle Star to be outfitted and put out into that mess!? The woman told Willow, handing her a pair of the oversized boots, then waving her arm in the general direction of the Sound behind them.

?I do Clare, but I can?t tell you right now.? Buffy heard Willow answer as she walked around in front of the SUV.

?No, Willow you can?t tell me you plan to take a Fiberglass boat out into a debris clogged Sound! You know that Pfiesteria pisicida is especially bad when the Hog Shit hits the fan!? Clare towered over Willow, the woman had to be well over six feet tall and with her face red with anger she appeared much bigger to Buffy. The Slayer nearly stepped between the two women before she realized that Willow had her resolve face on, only this new version of it made the _expression_ much more intimidating.

Clare seemed to deflate when Willow stood her ground, staring the taller woman in the eyes. Buffy became really worried when the stand-off lasted more than a minute. But finally Clare blinked and looked away, signaling the end of it. The woman turned to Buffy, holding out a pair of the rubber boots, and then smiled.

?Hi I?m Clare, Willow?s boss.?? When Clare smiled like that Buffy realized that she was beautiful in a classic way. Short blonde hair, brilliant clear blues eyes, the crow?s feet around her eyes were made from laughing ? the Slayer couldn?t stop the answering smile.

?Hi I?m Buffy,? she said reaching out her hand to shake the one Clare offered. ?You?re Will?s boss?? She asked confused at how a boss could be bullied.

Clare took Buffy?s hand and placed the boots in it. ?Yes, I?m the impertinent youngin?s boss.? She said exasperated. ?And she'd just better be happy that she?s got such a top notch mind or one of these days she?s going to find herself on the unemployment line!?

Buffy stood there, slightly in awe of the woman before her and completely confused about the boots. Willow leaned against the SUV to put her pair on and explained to Buffy.

?The snakes are really bad after a ?.?

?? a hurricane.? Buffy finished for her. ?Thank you, that seems to be the ongoing theme.?

?That?s right, also this area was flooded by the storm surge and do you really want to walk around in that muck?? Clare questioned. And Buffy looked back at the Sound, the earlier sun-lit beauty was gone and it was back to the brown mess she saw from the plane.

?No, I guess not.? And she too, leaned against the truck to put the oversize boots on over her Nikes.

?Clare will you show Buffy to the guest cottage?? Willow asked after she put her boots on. The redhead walked around to the back of the SUV and opened it up, pulling out Buffy?s overnight and weapons bags.

?Sure thing.? Clare reached around to pickup the overnight bag.

?Thanks, I want to see how far Bonnie and Donna have gotten on installing the sonar.? Willow said walking off towards the Sound.

Buffy reached down for the suitcase that carried her weapons and Clare motioned for her to follow.

?So you are part of Rosenberg?s mysterious past that she never talks about?? The older woman asked, looking down at the Slayer.

?We went to High School together.? Buffy told her, wondering what she should or shouldn?t say. Willow must have kept quiet for a reason. As they turned a corner Buffy saw a row of small frame houses, just like the one where they parked. She searched her mind, trying to think of way to keep from answering questions about Willow.

?So what is Fester-teria?? Thinking that the name sounded like a new breed of demon.

?Pfiesteria.? Clare corrected her. ?It?s a form of Red-tide that lives in nutrient rich water.? The tall woman said, motioning that Buffy should follow her up the stairs to one of the cottages.

?And can I say Huh?? Buffy told her as she followed her into the pleasant three room house.

?In one of its forms it eats the pig shit and fertilizer that runs off from farms.? Clare told her showing her to the bedroom. The scientist placed the overnight bag on the bed and then got down on her hands and knees to look under it. ?Pfiesteria would be a good thing except it releases a neurotoxin that kills fish and causes Apashia in humans.?

She finished looking under the bed and then went to the closet and pulled out an airtight plastic tub with blankets and sheets in it.

?God is there anything in this state that won?t kill you?? Buffy said thinking that it was hard enough living on the Hellmouth.

?Actually,? Clare answered. ?There are a lot of great things about North Carolina, that?s why so many of us ?Yankees? have moved down here.? She winked at Buffy and smiled again. Walking towards the door she said, ?I?ll send a student to get you for supper.? She stood in the doorway and Buffy got the impression that she was measuring her.

?Don?t go outside without your boots, don?t pick-up any ?sticks? and if you see a log, run in the opposite direction. We don?t get many ?Gators around here but the ones we do get are really nasty after a?.?

?? a hurricane! I get it.? Buffy was getting tired of hearing about the darn hurricane. She just wanted to go kill some vampires and then get back to the nice, cold, snow covered city.

With her lecture complete Buffy thought Clare would leave but she stayed in the doorway of the bedroom. Buffy felt the confusion and compassion coming off the older woman.

?What do you do here?? The Slayer asked, thinking that the simple question could put Clare at ease.

Buffy watched as the woman blinked as if coming out of a daze. ?I?m the Director of the school; all these children are my responsibility.? Clare seemed to become smaller as her shoulders drooped. ?I assign the crews to the boats,? she paused. ?I mean one of the things I do is assign the crews ?.?

The emotion in the room became heavy as Buffy recognized the guilt that Clare felt. If she assigned the crews then she knew each of the young people in the crime scene photos Willow had shown her. Buffy sat on the bed and started to take off the thick boots. Deliberately facing away from Clare to give the woman some privacy with her grief and also because Buffy knew that this woman needed to talk about what happened. Yet, Clare was proud, so the Slayer tried to ignore the tears forming in the Director?s eyes.

?I was Willow?s Advisor when she enrolled 8 years ago.? The older woman said out of the blue causing Buffy to look at her. Clare gave her a half smile and then started to walk around the room, keeping her back to the Slayer. ?I had never seen such a? driven student. Willow tested out of most of the undergraduate courses.? Clare said over her shoulder still walking around the room. She paused at the open window and looked out at the water.

?Willow ? she has a haunted look in her eyes.? The woman turned around to face Buffy. ?Have you seen it? Do you know what caused it?? She asked in earnest.

Buffy felt like she?d been slapped as the images and emotions from that night assaulted her. She stood up with the thought of running out the door but was able to catch herself at the last moment.

?I guess you do know, then.? Clare answered her own question. Buffy turned back to her, dashing the tears out of her eyes, taking deep breaths, trying to purge the vision along with the pain.

?Gods I thought I was over this, or at least ? I don?t know, it still hurts so much!? She thought to herself, belatedly realizing that Clare was talking again.

?The police said Pirates, international waters ?. John?s mother couldn?t stop crying long enough for me ?.? Buffy watched as Clare was lost to a memory.

The Slayer waited patiently. ?So many times Willow helped me through the flashbacks, the nightmares ?. And when it counted the most for her I let her down.?

?Twice.?

? First with Tara and then with Kennedy.?

?Ah, where was I?? Clare asked, moving into the middle of the room. ?The police couldn?t help, but Willow said you could.?

The woman looked at Buffy with hope. And it wounded the Slayer. ?I don?t want your hope. I have none, so don?t give me yours.?

?I didn?t want to believe her, you see. I saw the bodies, I saw what they ?.? Clare stopped again, to swallow the bile.

?Whatever did it, enjoyed it.? She said simply. ?I had seen the look in Willow?s eyes when she came here, she still has it. That darkness she has inside of her has never gone away.? She paused, pinning the Slayer with her gaze. ?It has never given Willow one moment of peace in the eight years I?ve known her.? Clare took a step forward. ?So when she said she knew what did ? it, I believed her.?

Buffy could tell by the way Clare leaned forward that she was begging the Slayer to understand. What?.. Buffy didn?t know.

?I see them every night in my dreams, I miss them every day.? Clare continued. ?I can?t send another boat out until I know whatever did this is ? gone.?

The woman walked to the door of the bedroom, then turned back to Buffy once more. ?I don?t want the darkness to swallow me, like it has Willow. I don?t want to look in the mirror in ten years and see this pain staring back at me. Can you give my children justice?? She asked, staring at Buffy like she did with Willow earlier. Only this time Buffy knew that she wouldn?t back down until she had her answer.

The Slayer met her eyes. ?Yes, I think so. That?s what I do. That?s all that I am.?

Clare nodded once and then left.

TBC