Fic: Homeward Bound (1/1) Revised.

["buffythebushkangaroo" <buffythebushkangaroo@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

In the continuing cleanup of my drive (and because Phoen asked) here 
is the finished Homeward Bound.

Anne-Lise.

--


Anthropomorphics. Its amazing how we can imagine a name or a face 
to our distress; The little green jealousy monster, the scythe of 
death. Yet we've never really managed to put a face or a name to our 
fear. So strange, for our fear can be a living entity, feeding from 
us, breeding anew.

*

"Dawn, listen to me. Listen!" I was never much good at this. "I love 
you. I will always love you... But this is the work that I have to 
do." Death is my gift. "Tell Giles... Tell Giles I figured it out... 
And I'm okay." I stroke her cheek and kiss her, and then I dive into 
the maelstrom.

*

"What's wrong?" Colin gave his brother the Vulcan eyebrow. "You seem 
concerned."
"Its the timer." Quinn held up the offending item so Colin could 
see. "Its flipping back and forth between two times and I don't know 
which one's right. If the timer screws up on this world, there's no 
way I can find the tools or resources to fix it."
"Bummer." Colin's grasp of technology was still shaky at best, but 
he understood that Quinn was worried and that was enough for him.
"Guys!" Rembrandt shouted over from their makeshift bivouac.
Quinn looked over. "How is she?"
"Not good. We need to get off this world."
"Yeah..." Quinn rubbed the back of his head. "That might be a 
problem."

*

This wasn't what she expected. She had no idea exactly what to 
expect, but this was nothing like she imagined. The sensation could 
almost be considered pleasant. She felt like she was moving at great 
speed, but all she could see was a bright light. And she wasn't alone.
"Who are you?" she called out but got no reply. The stranger glared 
at her... and attacked.
She was weary from the battle against Glory and she had no weapon, 
but that didn't matter to her anymore. She was a weapon. She was a 
killer. She was the Slayer, and she fought.
"Who are you?" The stranger echoed. A stranger who looked just like 
her, even down to the clothes she wore.
"I'm Buffy Summers." Buffy smiled and unleashed a powerful 
combination of punches, elbows and kicks that drove her assailant 
backwards. "And I'm the Slayer."
Her assailant's eyes widened and left an opening. Buffy took it, 
and ended the fight. Then the near-blinding light managed to get 
brighter, and Buffy felt herself fall.

*

The letters started three weeks after Buffy's death. I was so not 
coping. I tried to be the strong one, I tried so hard. I went to see 
Angel in LA and broke the news to him. He took it in stride, as if 
he'd expected the news. He just walked away to his private rooms.
Cordelia hugged me until she remembered I was a lesbian. Then she 
scooted away to make coffee. She mumbled something about living on a 
world without caffeine.
Wesley was great. I've never thought much of him. But he had some 
words that made sense, and I broke down in his arms. I fainted... in 
his arms. Cordelia told me later that some girl called Virginia had 
found us like that. Apparently she'd slapped him upside the head and 
stormed out. I wish I'd seen that... I really needed cheering up.
I got back to Sunnydale to find everything different. Giles had 
driven off. Its funny, but I've never thought of Giles as someone who 
couldn't cope. Losing Buffy... I guess that's what it took.
Tara wasn't around. She was over at Buffy's house taking care of 
Dawn. Poor dawn. Xander and Anya... I think they're in Vegas having a 
wedding... in the style of Shaft or something. Seeing Xander in a 
large Afro is something I can live my life without. So I'm here, all 
alone. With the letter and my fear.

*

"The first counter's almost at zero." Quinn stated as he watched the 
readout alternate between the two times.
Rembrandt nodded. "How much time do we have left?"
Quinn glanced down again. "None." Light flared and a portal breezed 
into existence.
"Step back!" Quinn warned as he stared at the oscillating whites and 
blues of a portal unlike any he'd seen before. "Something's not 
right." Rembrandt scooted backwards while Quinn and Colin helped pull 
Maggie away. She was having trouble breathing the atmosphere of this 
world, and was suffering terribly.
A crack, like thunder, pealed away from the portal and a young 
woman dropped from the balefire light and fell to the floor. The 
newcomer tried to stagger to her feet, but the effort proved too much 
for her and she slumped back onto the ground.
Behind her, the portal winked out of existence.
Quinn looked down at his timer. There was now only one time 
counting down.
"We've got another twelve hours and change," he said. He carefully 
stowed the timer and knelt beside the unconscious girl.
"She's pretty," Colin said.

*

The newspapers called him The Reaper. Another screwed up little 
white boy aged between twenty and thirty-five, highly educated and 
emotionally unstable. That was the prognosis.
Four kills so far; All the bodies found within the State of 
California.
All four girls had red hair, and all four were missing their little 
fingers.
And then the letters started.

*

I know hate. I can understand hate. Hatred is an old ally of mine. 
Worse than hatred though is disinterest. Like the Slayer and her 
pals. I wanted them to see the real me. I even cast a spell so that 
they could... And afterward? Nothing. No recognition of what I had 
once been, only the antipathy that had been there before. I wanted to 
show them. I wanted them to see that just once... I could be 
somebody. And now its too late. The Slayer... Buffy... gone.
Gone before I had my chance at revenge.
The newspapers have taken to calling me The Reaper. I kinda like 
the name. Much cooler than Jonathan. Who would be scared of a 
Jonathan? But fear... I'm beginning to learn all about fear. And 
soon, so shall Willow Rosenberg.
Time to write another letter.
Maybe this time... I'll enclose a finger.

*

"Hi." Quinn's to-die-for eyes met Buffy's as they opened.
"Hey," she greeted and pulled herself to a sitting position. "Where 
am I?"
"No idea." Quinn replied with a grimace.
"You don't know?" Buffy frowned. "You don't... live here?"
Quinn raised his eyebrows as he looked around the desolate 
landscape. "Nope."
Buffy raised her shoulders in an infinitesimal shrug. "Okay."
"I'm Quinn. The guy behind me is my brother Colin." Colin nodded a 
greeting. "My friends Rembrandt and Maggie are in a shelter over 
there. Maggie has trouble breathing the air here. She's gotten better 
at Earth-standard atmosphere but this place is oxygen-rich."
"I'm Buffy," Buffy replied. She felt the vortex of conversation 
forcing her to say something else. "I'm from Sunnydale."
Quinn grinned. "That narrows it down."

*

"Hello?" Tara's voice called tentatively through the door. "It's 
m... me."
I open the door to find Tara has brought some company. "Hey Dawn," 
I say through my embarrassment. "I'll just... get my clothes on."
Dawn nodded as I span and grabbed my bra off the bed. So much for a 
romantic evening. Tonight, or ever.

*

"Are you sure you should be up and about so soon?" Quinn asked. "You 
didn't look so good earlier. Maybe you should rest some more."
"No," Buffy replied. "I'm good. I need to know what's happened, find 
out where I am and what I'm doing here. I want to know why I was 
attacked by an evil twin. I want to know what your deal is."
"Hey!" Quinn gave her another disarming smile. "Calm down. I'll tell 
you my story, but be warned, we've less than twelve hours before we 
have to leave."
Buffy's eyes grew wide. "Less than twelve hours? Jeez, can't you 
just give me the digest version?"

*

"Wow." Dawn's eyes widened. "Now I see why my sister was so totally 
into you."
I can see the muscles in my lover's back tense. I know she's taken 
Buffy's death hard. I've given her the space... But I don't think 
things will ever be the same between us again. She's built a wall to 
keep us apart.
Willow turned slowly, clad only in her midnight-black panties and 
hands over her breasts. Her demure smile burned its way into my heart.
"She was?" Willow asked, staring curiously at Dawn.
Dawn swallowed. "Please..." she pleaded. "Put some clothes on?"
"Okay." Willow seemed to move as if covered in treacle. Well, 
almost. I remember how she moved when smeared with yoghurt.
"Your face has gone all red," Dawn pointed out with the tact of 
youth as she stared at me. "I'm sorry if I embarrassed you." Her 
apology extended to Willow who was rapidly fastening up her blouse. 
Dawn's mischievous smile resurfaced. "But you are beautiful, you 
know."
Willow squeaked and pelted into the bathroom. I couldn't help but 
join in Dawn's giggles.

*

"So you're jumping blind each time?" Buffy asked.
"Yeah, kind of." Quinn grimaced. "The Kromaggs' have a technology 
that can more accurately pinpoint the destination."
"Kromaggs?" Buffy giggled. "Sounds like something from The Time 
Machine."
Quinn sighed. "These things are no joke. They prey upon humans. 
They're demons."
"Demons?" Buffy's eyebrows rose. "Now we're talking shop."

*

Willow and Tara gazed at each other while I pretended not to stare.
"Hey Dawn..." I looked up. "You want to play with some of the cool 
things Giles would never let us touch?"
I gazed around the Magic Box and giggled. "Yeah, right. How about 
we summon another one of those cool troll guys?" I asked. Suddenly I 
couldn't help myself and the tears started to flood once more.
"Oh god, Dawn." Both Willow and Tara wrapped me in their arms as I 
cried. I don't know when it happened. I don't know when the hugs 
turned into kisses. I only knew... It was what I wanted. After all, 
wasn't I made from the Slayer? Summers blood... Look, we're the same.

*

"Its almost time to slide," Quinn reported. Buffy and Colin helped 
support Maggie. Rembrandt stood off to one side, tired from his 
ceaseless care for his charge.
"Kinda like Quantum Leap." Buffy mused. "Each leap... could be the 
leap back home."
"I loved that show." Quinn said.
"Me too," Buffy agreed. "Willow used to come over and watch it with 
me on Thursday nights. Good times had by all."
"Willow?" Quinn shared a glance with Rembrandt. "From Sunnydale? 
That would be Willow Rosenberg?"
"You know her?" Buffy's mouth dropped open.
Quinn nodded. "We met a Willow Rosenberg. She was a demon hunter on 
this weird vampire-infested alternate earth. She had this creepy 
librarian guy with her all the time... Really spooked us out. That, 
and she was really into leather. She got killed helping us fight the 
Kromaggs. That was a... long time ago. It couldn't have been your 
friend."
Buffy nodded, spooked.
"Its time!" Quinn pressed a button on the timer and the portal burst 
into existence. "Let's slide."

*

The Reaper watched them from across the street. His interest and 
libido piqued by the strange twist in events. In his twisted world he 
was punishing Willow by hurting redheads and cutting off their 
fingers... But here was a more pertinent happiness he could 
destroy... And one closer to his victim's heart.
Fear... he must engender more fear... She must feel afraid. Afraid 
for herself, and for her friends.
The Reaper smiled.

*

"Are you okay now?" Willow asks, shifting uncomfortably.
"Sure," I reply. "I'm okay."
Tara's eyes drill into mine. I've never before noticed how caring 
those eyes can be. Sometimes... I feel like she can see into my 
soul. "Are y...you sure?"
I kiss her. Not passionately, but with a soulful need that draws me 
to her. I can see Willow's frown in the corner of my eye.
"I'm... sorry." I pull away. "This must be really weird for you 
guys."
"We're more worried about you," Willow states.
There's nothing I can say so I stare dumbly at the floor.
"I..." A pressure stops me from speaking further. Everything seems 
to run slowly. Tara's scream, Willow's shocked expression. I can't 
make any sense of the arrowhead jutting out from my blouse. The trail 
of crimson spattered on Tara's cheek is the last thing I see before 
darkness claims me.

*

Buffy exited the portal followed by her scream. The scream died 
with her impact into the frigid water. She surfaced and pulled 
herself out of the stream to sit beside Maggie, who was howling in 
laughter.
"I'm so sorry," Maggie said. "It's just... This must be so tough for 
you." She collapsed into a further fit of the giggles.
"Gee thanks," Buffy replied with a trace of a smile. "I'm glad my 
misfortune has brightened up your day!"
"I'm sorry," Maggie calmed herself down. "It feels so good to be 
able to breathe normally again. We tried to warn you, but you'd 
already dived into the portal. Don't jump in head first!"
"Everyone okay?" Rembrandt asked as he sidled over to join 
them. "You should never jump headlong into those things unless you've 
got no other choice," he remonstrated.
Buffy nodded. "I'm getting the picture," she said, running her 
fingers through her wet hair. "Where's Quinn?"
"Over here," Quinn replied as he walked over to them, Colin in 
tow. "I see you got the stream and not the sandbar. You were lucky, 
diving in like that. You could have landed on rock."
"Check," Buffy agreed. "Rocks are bad."
Quinn unexpected kissed her cheek. "Its good to see you're okay."
"Thanks."

*

"Dawn?" Willow's angelic voice calls out to me as I open my 
eyes. "Oh god, Dawn! I'll just go and get the doctor."
My vision swims wildly but soon a balding lab-coat bustles in and 
puts his gnarled hand on my forehead. I half expect him to give me a 
lollipop. 
"Good to see you back with us again, Miss Summers," the doctor 
states, flatly.
"My chest... hurts." So does trying to speak. Agony, in fact.
"You shouldn't try to talk, Miss Summers." There's that Miss Summers 
again. That's not my name, that's my moth... I'm Dawn. Dawn. "D..." 
before I can explain, I pass out once more.

*

"So where are we?" Buffy looked around her at the rolling green 
hillside. Small slate walls separated the fields.
"You're really not getting the gist of the whole 'jumping blind' 
thing are you?" Quinn asked with wry humour.
Buffy crossed her arms and glared. "I'm with it. I just thought 
you, with your vast experience in all of this, might at least have 
some clue."
Quinn nodded and glanced behind Buffy. "We're in Wales."
Buffy turned her head to follow his stare. A sign by the side of a 
road read 'Welcome to Wales'. Underneath the sign was a picture of a 
red dragon and the word 'Cymru'. Under the sign was a dead sheep.
"So," she said. "We're in Wales."
"I'm not," Rembrandt called out from the other side of the sign. 
Maggie was beside him throwing stones idly into the stream. "I'm in 
England, land of tea and scones!"
"Yay for scones," Buffy mumbled, as she ambled over to join them.

*

This time as I awaken its Tara and not Willow whose face greets me 
with a smile.
"Hey you," I greet. Her smile radiates happiness and an inner peace. 
I think I'm falling in love. She kisses my cheek, and the warm 
dampness lingers after her lips part company. I can't help my blush. 
She notices but says nothing. She doesn't need to... Her smile says 
it all. I must look hideous in all these bandages. Like some sort of 
mummy girl. Rarr!
"I'm glad you're okay," she says.
I am?

*

"It's almost time to slide," Quinn stated.
"But I haven't had my scone yet!" Buffy pouted.
"I don't think scones will be very forthcoming." Quinn stared out 
over the fields where barbarians in kilts fought hard against men in 
suits carrying uzis. The suits were winning bigtime.
"If I was to try and explain this to anyone," Buffy mused, "they'd 
lock me up and throw away the key."
Colin giggled. "You think this is strange? There was this one world 
where this guy was wearing cheese."
"Weird." Buffy agreed, thinking about a strange dream she'd once 
had. "I like cheese."
Colin stared at her.
"But I don't feel the urge to wear any," Buffy pontificated.

*

"This can't go on," Willow frowned at her lover, anger and self-
recrimination written on her features.
"It was what she wanted. We d...didn't force her to make any 
decisions."
"We took advantage of her when she was emotionally confused. We 
can't just close our ears and go 'La la la, we don't care' just 
because she isn't complaining." Willow's mouth firmed into a straight 
line.
"She's in love with me."
Willow went quiet. Then, in a mouselike voice, "she is?"
Tara nodded.
"Do you... Are you..."
"I..."

*

At last! The first blow is struck. Revenge is mine! How sweet the 
blood brought forth by the sword of righteous indignation. Maybe now 
I can pay her a visit, claim my trophy. 
A finger for my collection, perhaps?

*

Buffy relaxed into the soft kiss. After their experiences together 
on a number of strange yet hauntingly familiar worlds, she'd finally 
come to know and respect her fellow sliders. She knew now what was 
driving her home. She missed her best friend and she needed to find 
her way back to her sister. however, that didn't mean she couldn't 
take time out to enjoy the few pleasures that dropped into her path.
"You're so..." Maggie broke off as Buffy's tongue explored her mouth.

*

Willow sat opposite Tara in the Espresso Pump.
"How?" Willow asked after an eternity. "After all we've..." She 
trailed off.
"It j... just happened." Tara said. "But we've been drifting apart 
since Buffy... died."
Willow closed her eyes yet her tears still left moist trails down 
her cheeks. Tara came round the table to give Willow a hug, but 
Willow pushed her away.
"No!" she shouted, making everyone turn to look at her. Willow 
glared at Tara. "Leave me alone!"
Tara fell over backwards as unseen hands pulled her away. Willow 
got up and left.

*

Things are finally coming together. Pain and torment, oh how I 
revel in such feelings... Yet the fear... Oh yes, there must be fear, 
there must...
"Who's there?"
Silence. Then a figure steps forth from the shadows.
"I've been watching you."

*

"So what have you learned from all these experiences?" Quinn asked.
Buffy hiccuped. "Beer. S'foamy."
"Damn right." Quinn stared morosely into his glass.
Rembrandt giggled causing Buffy to break out of her stupor. 
"What's funny?" she demanded.
"I was just thinking about that world we visited, where all the 
buildings were made of rubber and people didn't wear clothes. Your 
face was a picture!" Remmie broke off into a peal of laughter.
Buffy grinned. "That didn't spook me as much as when I thought I 
was back home and everything seemed the same, except Cordelia was a 
librarian and Xander was a vampire."
"With a soul," Quinn pointed out.
"Yeah..." Buffy took a drink from her glass. "Lots of those going 
round."
"I don't think we're from the same Earth." Quinn said.
Buffy blinked. "No?"
"No. No vampires on my Earth. Or... At least I don't think there 
are."
Buffy nodded. "You're lucky." She sighed. "I wish I could get back 
home somehow."
"You can."

*

"So you're The Reaper?" Spike smiled. He leafed through the journal 
avoiding Jonathan's eyes. "Pain, suffering, hatred and fear. This 
looks like bloody good fun!" He thought for a moment. "Yeah... Yeah! 
I can so enjoy doing this! Since that damn chip ran out of juice," he 
tapped the side of his head, "I've been looking for something to fill 
up my idle days. The Reaper! Yeah... That'll cause people to fear me 
again..."
Jonathan said nothing. His sightless dead gaze remained still; his 
head tilted at an impossible angle.

*

Quinn nursed his black eye while a near-sober Buffy glared at him.
"There was no need to hit me!" he exclaimed.
"Why didn't you tell me earlier there was a way I could get back 
home?"
Quinn winced as his fingers probed around his eye. "Because its not 
easy. When your portal opened, my timer scanned it and stored the n-
spatial co-ordinates. But without a Director those co-ordinates are 
useless."
"So," Buffy stated, "we just need one of these Director things."
Quinn nodded. Rembrandt snored. "Yeah." He waited for Buffy to ask 
the next obvious question.
"Where do we get one from?" Buffy asked.

*

"You broke up with Willow?" Dawn's eyes seemed impossibly 
round. "Over me?"
Tara stared at the hospital bed. Dawn was recovering well, but she 
seemed gaunt. "I l...love you." Tara said.
Dawn tilted her head. "I love you too," she whispered. Tara hugged 
her, gingerly and awkwardly because of Dawn's wound, and they kissed.
"but what about Willow? Is she okay?" Dawn asked. She looked up and 
screamed.
Willow stood in the doorway. She wore gothic clothes and black 
mascara. her eyes were completely black.
Tara turned and felt a wall of force ram into her. She staggered, 
and Dawn cried out. Tara's head snapped up. "Deixe a luz do amor 
impedir que as coisas más aconteçam neste lugar!" she cried, no trace 
of her usual stammer or hesitancy in her voice.
The lights went out and the room fell into darkness.

*

"Tell me more about the Kromagg," Buffy asked.
"They're evil," Colin said. The sliders sat around a makeshift table.
Maggie agreed. "They're power-mad and extremely technologically 
advanced."
Quinn sighed. "I know what you're thinking. You think you can just 
take them on and win through somehow. But you're wrong. I met a 
slayer once. She was beautiful, and deadly. She fought like no-one 
I've ever seen and she had wonderful red hair." Buffy smiled. "But I 
also saw her throat explode and her head severed."
Buffy swallowed.
"The only way to win against the Kromagg," Quinn said, "is by 
attrition. Have a goal and aim solely for that goal. If you want us 
to risk our lives to get a Director just so that you can get home, 
then I'll help you do that. But I can't speak on behalf of the 
others."
"Thanks Quinn," Buffy said in a small voice. "And... I'm really 
sorry about your eye."
"Forget about it."

*

Buffy fought hard against the Kromaggs. After spending three days 
in a world ruled by Lord Giles, a viciously evil vamp, she'd been so 
spooked that she would have happily taken on Adam and ripped him 
apart with her teeth if she'd had to.
In fact the Kromaggs were a bit of an anticlimax after everything 
she'd been through. The Sliders watched in trepidation as she whirled 
through an echelon of Kromagg marines armed with an axe and a 
spatula. (The only sharp-edged implements she could find in the Welsh 
cottage they'd spent the night in.)
Colin would never be able to look at eggs the same way again.
"All done!" Buffy said, wiping the dust and gore from her 
clothing. "Now let's get what we came for and get out of here!"

*

Quinn scanned the geometry stacks through the Director's clavicle. 
Myriad versions of the Earth revealed themselves to him, each 
slightly different to the last. He especially liked the world without 
shrimp.
The clavicle warmed to his touch and directed him deeper into the 
metamathematical realms as defined by each n-spatial geodesic 
probability. Through sheer willpower alone he rode the singularity 
that defined the quantum separations in continuum circuitry, until he 
could see the exact space/time location revealed in the timer's 
memory store for Buffy's universe. He grasped it within his thoughts 
and aligned the quantum flaw with the clavicle's own singularity. 
A gateway formed, opaque, a glass lens separating the two disparate 
dimensions. Perfectly under Quinn's mental control, the gateway he 
held open had none of the raw lightning power of an unstable gate, 
despite the tremendous forces held at bay by the ion flow.
Buffy looked up from her fingernails. "Are we there yet? I'm 
hungry."

*

Dawn held one hand against her painful chest wound and peered out 
from behind the hospital bed. Emergency lighting lit up the bitch 
fight between Willow and Tara.
"S...so its true, hell hath..." Tara broke off as Willow blatted her 
on top of the head with a Lucozade bottle.
"Whatever," Willow sighed, balefire flickering from her fingertips. 
She released a stream of her power towards Tara, but it seemed to 
simply wither and die as an opaque barrier flickered into existence 
between the two battling wiccas.
Willow's eyes cleared as she stared at the lens, impressed despite 
her ravaged feelings. "How did you...?"
Tara shook her head. "I didn't..."
Buffy stepped through the gateway into the hospital room.
"Hi guys!" she said.

*

The scoobs all sat around the coffee table on comfortable chairs in 
Giles' place. Buffy seemed more than a little embarrassed by Willow's 
dreamy smile as it radiated up out of her lap.
"I must say," Giles said as he cleaned his glasses for the sixteenth 
time that hour, "I really should get used to you just turning up on 
my doorstep as if back from the dead."
Buffy smiled as Giles' discomfiture. "It *is* becoming a bit of a 
habit," she agreed.
Giles nodded, smiled, and made a break for the kitchen to de-mist 
his glasses.
"So... Are we good?" Dawn asked, round eyes staring at her sister.
Buffy gave Dawn a noogie that unseated Willow and made her sister 
squeal. "Of course. I love you, you little imp!"
Dawn smiled softly. "So you're okay with Tara being my girlfriend?"
Buffy's mouth dropped open. "Tara's your girlfriend?"
>From the kitchen, they heard Giles say, "Bloody hell!"

*

Willow sat on the end of Buffy's bed, and looked at the Slayer with 
a demure gaze. "Are you okay?"
Buffy just shrugged as she peeled off her clothes. "I will be."
Willow's pulse quickened at once, surprised by Buffy's willingness 
to get undressed in front of her with the lights on. Since Buffy had 
returned from dimensions unknown, their relationship had altered 
drastically.
Willow watched, curious, as the welts and cuts on Buffy's back 
faded slowly. This always amazed her. "Are you going to sleep 
already?" she asked.
"Do you have a better idea?" Buffy countered with a serious 
expression.
Buffy and Willow stared at each other for the longest time, neither 
of them able to move and break the spell that had fallen upon them. 
Their breathing became uneasy, their mouths were half-open, their 
lips dry, their cheeks warm... Willow shivered from the cold, 
realising she had nothing on except for her bra and panties. She 
licked her lips as she rubbed her arms warm.
"Come here," Buffy said eventually, patting her bed. "I'll warm you 
up."
Without hesitation, Willow slid into Buffy's bed, closing her eyes, 
almost not believing what was happening. She couldn't describe 
exactly what she felt. Her body seemed to have turned into a burning 
torch. She trembled uncontrollably.
"You're warm," Buffy said, stroking her hair.
Willow didn't say a word because she couldn't speak. She didn't 
want to think about anything, emptying her mind of all thoughts. She 
could feel Buffy's body cuddling up against her back, Buffy's hands 
taking hold of hers, warming them as she had promised. Once again 
Willow could feel Buffy's breasts brush against her naked back, 
Buffy's breathing against her neck. She wanted to turn over and face 
her, but she didn't dare move as she was afraid Buffy would change 
her mind and send her back to her own bed.
Buffy began to toy with Willow's luscious red hair. She 
said, "Willow?"
Willow turned round, her eyes turning toward Buffy's face, so close 
to hers. "Yes?"
Buffy kept stroking Willow's hair, brushing it away from her eyes 
and forehead. "I've been thinking..."
"About what?"
"About us."
"And?" Willow asked, her breathing coming to a complete stop.
"I can't help thinking about making love to you all the time. You're 
so beautiful, and I love you so much."
As Willow burst into tears, Buffy pulled her closer until they 
kissed, mouths thirsty for probing tongues, hands craving for soft 
curves, breasts yearning for patient, yielding caresses...
"Oh Willow..." Buffy gasped, feeling her sex respond instantly.
Only Willow made her feel that way. She came to realise how much 
she'd longed for this moment, how much she'd denied her true 
feelings. This crazy passion, this overwhelming lovemaking was all 
she wanted. Willow touching her breasts, her deft fingers grazing her 
nipples, was enough to make her heavy breathing stop. Her legs 
pressed against Willow's thigh, holding in the wave of ecstasy. Then 
she breathed out, covering Willow's face with kisses.
Realising what had just happened, Willow smiled. "You came?"
"Yes," Buffy said, blushing.
"But I didn't even..."
"You didn't need to. Sometimes, just your touch is enough."

*

In the darkness of the shadowy undergrowth an evil presence smoked 
a cigarette amongst the damp foliage.
"Bloody hell," it moaned.

*

END.