Intro and FF: Red Moon Rising, part 1 Rated R

["carrkjar" <carrkjar@xxxxxxxxx>]

Greetings; May I introduce myself as a long time Buffy fan and FF 
writer? I'm Dana, aka Hunter Ash and I've been writing Xena FF for 
about two years now and recently became obsessed with writing 
Buffy. :)

On with the show. Hope you enjoy. 


Title: Red Moon Rising 
Part 1
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.

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 one. Feedback always 
welcome.

Red Moon 
Frau Hunter Ash
carrkjar@xxxxxxxxx
carrkjar@xxxxxxxxxxx


Part 1, Red Moon Rising

"Oz?" 

The young musician didn't looked surprised by Buffy's stunned 
response when she answered the door to the dorm room she shared with 
Willow. He expected nothing less than surprise and looked like he 
was ready to flinch at any moment if her reaction was even stronger.

Buffy Summers, the Slayer, was tempted but resisted slamming the 
guitarist into the hallway wall behind him and then bouncing him down 
the stairs a few times. Both of them knew as The Slayer she could do 
it; she had the skills, she had the strength and she definitely had 
the anger.

"Is Willow around?"

Buffy Summers felt her eyes narrow in anger as Oz did flinch and the 
Slayer sensed his muscles tensing in a pre "flight or fight" 
adrenalin rush.

"Haven't you done enough damage?" Buffy demanded. "She's just now 
getting back on her feet."

"With your help?" Oz snapped, his green eyes flashing.

The question puzzled Buffy but she refused to be drawn out of her 
original anger at him for hurting her best friend, her Willow.

"I'm not talking about me, you idiot!" she snapped back. "She spent 
a week in this damned room and refused to budge, we could barely get 
her to class. She wouldn't eat, she wouldn't sleep, her grades 
slipped!"

Oz had the decency to look ashamed at Buffy's description of Willow's 
suffering. He had left town with little word and no explanation 
other than to find himself and a way to control the wolf raging 
inside of him.

"Is she here, please?" he asked again.

"No, she's over studying with a friend," Buffy growled, her blue eyes 
almost flashing lightning at the small male.

Oz pulled out an envelope and handed it to the blonde. She saw it 
was addressed to Willow.

"Could you give that to her, please," he asked in his normally soft 
and low voice. "It has the number where I'm staying; I'd like to see 
her."

"Why? Are you back for good or do you plan on ripping out her heart 
again?" Buffy demanded.

"I don't know, one of the things I want to talk to her about is to 
say I'm sorry," he admitted and turned to walk away, stuffing his 
hands in his jacket.  

Buffy watched as he walked down the hallway towards the stairs, her 
eyes still angry. He hadn't changed outwardly in the six months he 
had been gone, she thought. He still had that scruffy look that 
Willow seemed to find adorable in him. His red hair was still spiky, 
an old baggy rock t-shirt, baggy green trousers in the style favored 
by a lot of the skateboarders and Doc Martin boots.  

Buffy slammed the door and turned back to the room she shared with 
Willow, wanting to punch something. She thought about ripping up the 
envelope and whatever it contained inside but she knew Oz would just 
be back and find a way to get to Willow.  

Buffy Summers, college student and Vampire Slayer, let out a yell and 
kicked her chair into her desk, shattering it. She laid the envelope 
on Willow's bed and threw herself on her bed and began pounding her 
pillow flat.

<It wasn't fair>, she thought. Willow was just getting her life back 
in order after her werewolf boyfriend had left. The young college 
student, computer hacker and witch had taken the breakup very hard.  
First Oz had slept with Veruca, a female werewolf, and then turned 
Willow down for intimacy. To finish off the hacker's self esteem, he 
left town with barely a goodbye to his girlfriend.

Willow had gone through everything Buffy had described to the 
musician. It had actually been closer to two weeks before Buffy and 
Xander had gotten Willow to pay attention to anything other than 
sleeping and crying.

She had started going out with them and attending a local on-campus 
Wicca pagan group and had met a new friend which helped distract her.
Buffy had just met Willow's new friend Tara and thought the new 
friendship was actually good for Willow. What was puzzling Buffy was 
her reaction to Tara in general; she didn't like the time Willow was 
spending with Tara even though it seemed to be helping the witch.  
<That didn't make sense>, Buffy scolded herself.

Buffy had her own distractions lately and had been spending less and 
less time with Willow. The Slayer knew that it was only natural for 
Willow to start turning to someone else for friendship and focus.  
Buffy was spending time with her new boyfriend Riley, the commando-
trained demon hunter. Time spent patrolling with him, studying with 
him, and sleeping with him.

It did bother Buffy though; she was used to Willow being there.  
<Willow had always been there for her: unconditional friendship and 
unconditional love.>

Buffy frowned to herself, <where did that come from? What was up 
with these thoughts?>  

<Her Willow? Unconditional love?>

<Gods, wasn't her life complicated enough?> A voice demanded from 
deep inside the Slayer.


************************

Willow pulled back from the kiss; knowing that she was blushing and 
lightly cursing her normally pale skin. Having red hair didn't help; 
it made her blushing more noticeable and embarrassed her even more.  
She noticed the same puzzled look on Tara's face.  

"Wow," Willow muttered and sat down on Tara's dorm bed. The other 
witch joined her on the bed, still looking puzzled.

"I've wanted to do that since we met," Tara admitted.

"Really? I mean, like, that's the nicest thing anyone's ever said," 
Willow stammered.

"But?" Tara added with a slight smile on her face.

"I don't know," Willow admitted.

"Not what you expected?" Tara asked gently.

"It's not you!" Willow began stammering again, "Oh gods, I just? I 
don't know. It's not because you're a girl and I'm a girl, it's not 
that it's the gay thing, even though I'm not sure about being gay. I 
am attracted to you, that's not it?"

"Willow!" Tara broke through the red-haired witch's babbling. "It's 
alright, I feel it too. Something isn't clicking or maybe it is and 
I'm just scared, I don't know either. The magik works, being with 
you is wonderful, but it?"

"Goddess, you're not mad at me?" Willow asked softly.

"No, not at all, it doesn't seem to be there for me either," Tara 
responded, her voice still soft and somewhat sad.

"Nothing changes between us, does it?" Willow asked, her voice 
sounding small and somewhat timid and Tara drew the smaller woman 
into her arms.

"No, I was hoping that maybe there was more but you can't force love, 
especially if both of us don't feel it," Tara whispered.

"But I do love you," Willow muttered and then smiled shyly. "Can we 
try that kiss again?"

"What about Buffy?"

Before Willow could puzzle out what Tara could mean by that question, 
the person in question barged through the door. 

"Willow," she almost yelled as a greeting when she stopped in the 
middle of the floor and took in the sight of her best friend in 
Tara's arms.  

Everyone seemed frozen in place, Willow in Tara's arms and Buffy 
gawking at her best friend.

"I? uh," Buffy stammered. "I wanted to find you before he did; I 
didn't want you to fall over in shock. I didn't mean to barge in?"

"Buffy," Willow sat up, moving slightly out of Tara's embrace. "Who 
him?"

"I? uh? Oz," Buffy stammered. "Oz is back and looking for you."

"Oz?" Willow whispered. "Oz? As in red hair, guitar, wolf fur and 
fangs, Oz?"

"Yeah," Buffy answered unhappily.  

"Oh God," the witch frowned and missed Buffy's puzzled look for a 
moment until she looked up and realized Buffy was staring at her 
holding hands with Tara. Willow began to blush an even brighter 
red. "I? uh? Tara, I need to go for a bit."

"You going to be okay?" Tara asked, turning to Willow with such a 
look of concern that Buffy felt her heart lurch a little.  

"Yeah, I think so," Willow said softly, appearing to think about it 
for a moment. "I guess I need to talk to him."

"You don't have to!" Buffy said firmly. "I can just tell him to get 
lost."

Willow appeared to continue thinking about it and shook her head as 
she stood up. "No, that would be cowardly, that wouldn't be good, 
no, not good."

Buffy managed to finally smile. "That's my Wills, babbling right 
along."

Willow blushed and smiled. The witch turned as Tara walked up behind 
her. "I'll call you or drop back by later, okay?"

"Sure, let me know, okay?" Tara asked.

"Yes, I will," Willow promised. "Let's go, Buffy."

************************

"So, where we headed?" Buffy asked once they got outside Tara's dorm.

"Buffy, I? uh," Willow tried to begin. "Let's walk, okay?"

"Okay," Buffy agreed and the two young women started walking along 
the campus. "I? I'm glad you found Tara, Willow. What does Oz 
returning mean though? I mean, like, I'm okay with the gay thing and 
I don't think Oz deserves you."

Willow began blushing, as if on cue. "It's not what you think it is 
with Tara. Well, actually, it was kinda but that changed, maybe. I 
mean, we're still friends and everything but we're not? we're not, 
like girlfriend as in girlfriend-girlfriend thing. At least, not 
yet, I don't know."

"Slow down!" Buffy laughed. "Try that without the babble."

"Oh boy," Willow sat down on one of the many benches and Buffy joined 
her. Buffy could tell the young witch was nervous and placed her 
hand reassuringly on Willow's thigh. The Slayer almost jumped at the 
feeling of electricity passing between them and saw Willow jump as 
well.

"I? uh? Tara and I, we admitted we were attracted to each other and 
kissed," Willow said in a rush, blushing profusely.

"And?" Buffy whispered, almost holding her breath.

"And we? it was nice but it wasn't? it totally," Willow tried to 
explain.

"Is it because of Oz?"

"No," Willow said thoughtfully. "We came to that before you showed 
up."

"So, like, you're not gay?" Buffy asked, puzzled.

"No, I think I am, or at least bisexual," Willow admitted.  

Buffy and the young witch sat lost in their thoughts for a few 
moments.

The Slayer was puzzled by her own reactions and couldn't seem to sort 
them out. Willow seemed happy around Tara, better than her own 
relationship with Riley which was turning out to be a disaster, but 
they weren't a couple? <What did that mean? What did that especially 
mean for Buffy?>

Ever since Oz had left, Buffy had started noticing how much she 
depended on Willow, especially since they hadn't been spending that 
much time together. Somehow, Riley seemed like a poor substitute for 
Willow in her life. <What did that mean?> The Slayer demanded from 
herself. <Just because she had found herself dreaming about Willow 
in a most "more than just friendship" way, did that mean she was gay 
or bi? Just because she found herself watching her best friend all 
the time, especially when the young witch changed for bed or got up 
in the mornings. Just because watching Willow got her hot and 
bothered, did that mean she was gay? > 

<Just because the thought of Willow with either Tara or Oz drove her 
crazy, did that make her gay?>

<Maybe,> it also meant she had fallen for her best friend somewhere 
over the last few years together.

"Are you okay with this?" Willow asked in a timid voice.

"Yeah, it's just a surprise, I never thought you went for females," 
Buffy commented.

"I didn't think I did but Tara and I got closer and I started 
noticing these feelings," Willow said. "You know that evil double 
vampire Willow thing, like she was totally skanky and kinda gay. I 
tried to ignore it until Tara. Then I started noticing other girls 
and kinda analyzing how I felt and I guess I'm kinda gay. "

"Other females?" Buffy asked, raising her eyebrows and noticed how 
flushed Willow suddenly got and how nervous. "Like who?"

"I? uh? shouldn't we be talking about Oz?" Willow asked.

"Okay, I've got an envelope he left," Buffy said, agreeing to the 
distraction for now. It might give her time to think too. She 
pulled the envelope out and handed it to the witch and watched as 
Willow ripped it open and began reading the pages inside.  

Willow read, letting Buffy drift into the background. It was 
something a part of her mind noticed though; she never really let 
Buffy totally leave her mind.  

"Willow, I'm staying at the Red Door Inn, room 17. Please call me.  
I just want to talk. Part of what I want to say is that I am so very 
sorry about what happened, especially with Veruca. I was wrong but 
didn't know how to stop her that night. I'm so sorry in leaving the 
way I did. We should have talked things out but talking has never 
been one of my strong points. I know I hurt you and I would do 
anything to make that up to you. I love you, Willow. Please call 
me."


Willow handed the letter over to Buffy as she leaned forward, putting 
her chin in her hands, elbows on her knees. The young witch was 
quiet as her best friend read the letter.

"What are you going to do, Wills?" Buy asked softly when she finished 
reading.

"I don't know. I'm going to call him."

"How can I help?"

"Just be here for me," Willow whispered, looking up at her friend.  
The compassion and caring in Buffy's eyes surprised Willow. Buffy 
had been so hung up lately with Riley that Willow wasn't sure about 
how close their friendship was now. Looking into Buffy's eyes, there 
was no doubt but there was a new level of confusion.

Willow had danced around the gay question and thinking about women 
other than Tara because the red head didn't want to think about that, 
especially when talking to Buffy. Willow had gone through something 
of a self analysis when she realized she was attracted to Tara and 
one her thoughts which seemed to constantly came back was about Buffy.

Not only how gorgeous the Slayer was, but also how much their 
friendship meant to Willow. They were close and Willow knew they 
loved each other, now it was time to admit that she was also IN love 
with Buffy.

<Maybe not admit it aloud though,> she thought to herself. The last 
thing she wanted to do, especially now, was lose Buffy's friendship.  
Willow didn't think she could face Oz, her changing relationship with 
Tara and the general stress of living in Sunnydale without Buffy.

"I'll always be here for you," Buffy said softly and felt her body 
moving forward slightly, her eyes half closing.

Both women suddenly sat upright and blinked in the sunlight a moment, 
both realizing they had been about to kiss. 

"I? uh? I guess I'll call him?" Willow asked softly.

"Okay," Buffy stammered, mentally smacking herself. <How could I be 
so stupid?> she yelled at herself. <Just because she likes females 
doesn't mean she likes YOU!> "I'll wait in our room."

"Okay, that's good," Willow stuttered. "Support is good, close is 
good. I mean, support close is good."

Buffy noticed she wasn't the only one blushing and at a loss for 
words. <Was she one of the females Willow had 'checked out'? What 
did her relationship with Riley mean?>

"Oh God," she whispered.

"Oh boy," Willow agreed. "I need to talk to Oz and get this over 
with," Willow muttered.

"Okay, I'll be in our room when you get done," Buffy said 
firmly. "You can do this."

"Yeah, my turn to hurt him," Willow muttered.

"Will, that's not it and you know it," Buffy scolded gently.

"I know, I'm not doing it out of revenge. I've changed and he's 
probably changed, I know I'm not in love with him anymore," Willow 
agreed. "I'm in... I, uh, gotta go."

The computer hacker was up and trotting away before Buffy could 
respond, leaving the Slayer with a slightly stunned expression on her 
face. <Was Willow about to say what Buffy thought she was about to 
say?>

************************

Willow had agreed to meet Oz at the Espresso Pump and was now 
nervously waiting, drinking her second cup of strong Earl Grey tea 
when she saw the familiar spiky red hair walking in the door.

"Oh Goddess," she whispered to herself as Oz spotted her and his face 
lit up. Watching the young man make his way to her table just 
confirmed what Willow had decided. She was no longer in love with 
Oz. She still felt a stirring for him but it was nothing like when 
she thought of Buffy and Tara.

Oz sat down slowly, his face and eyes cautious.  

"Hey, Willow," he said simply.

"Hi, Oz," the witch responded. "You're looking good."  

"Thanks, I'm doing a lot better. That's why I came back," Oz 
responded.

"How so?"

"I learned to control the wolf, no more losing it on full moons," he 
answered with a grin, taking her hand in the two of his. "I still 
change but I can control the rage."

"That's great!" Willow was truly happy for Oz, turning into a 
werewolf for three nights out of the month, especially when the wolf 
was a blood thirsty, out of control, killing machine was not what she 
wanted for anyone, especially her ex-boyfriend. It didn't matter 
that he had hurt her, a lot of that was because of the wolf.

"Yeah, I was hoping to make things up to you," Oz continued. "I was 
hoping we could start again."

"Oz," Willow hesitated, "I?"

The normally quiet musician waited.

"I don't think so," Willow said softly. "I'm not in love with you, 
Oz. I care, and I still love you, sort of, but not like `in love' 
with you."

Willow expected Oz to be hurt; she wasn't prepared for the anger in 
the young man's eyes. Feeling his hands clenched in anger shocked 
the witch.

"Oz? I'm sorry," she whispered.

"We're meant to be together, Willow," he muttered. "I love you."

Willow tried to pull her hands out of his but his grip tightened.

"It took that mess with Veruca and finding myself before I realized 
how I really felt. I can't live without you, Willow."

"Oz, please, don't do this," Willow winced as Oz squeezed even 
harder.  

"I can't do this without you, Willow," Oz continued, ignoring her 
struggles. "I can only control the wolf by thinking of you and of us 
being together."

Willow began to look around the coffee shop and was dismayed. There 
were only three other people in the shop besides the guy behind the 
counter. A couple so deep in love that they probably wouldn't notice 
if an airplane dropped on them and a student who had his head buried 
in two different pre-med books. The guy behind the counter was 
somewhere in the back and out of sight.

"Oz, please, you're hurting me," Willow pleaded, a little louder.

"Just come with me tonight," Oz kept on, seeming not to hear Willow's 
protests.  

"But tonight is a full moon," Willow whispered and then cried out as 
she got one hand loose but Oz clamped the other one tightly.

"Yes, come with me and see how I can control the wolf, we can be 
together like we're supposed to be," Oz's eyes had gone from his 
normally blue to a wolf yellow and Willow felt her heart begin 
pounding with fear. "We can join together, Willow. I can teach 
you."  

Willow knew she had gone pale as Oz's words sank in.  

"You want me to be like you, like in furry and fanged three nights of 
the month?" Willow squeaked, trying to lower her voice as she 
continued to struggle to get her hand free.

"Once we mate, nothing else will matter," Oz grinned but it wasn't a 
friendly grin, especially in his eyes.

"Oz, no, please!" Willow winced again. "I don't love you anymore, 
there's someone else. At least I hope they love me," she muttered.

A deep rumble from the young man's chest caused Willow to freeze.

Oz pulled her hand up to his lips and she almost screamed when she 
saw fangs when he smiled.  

"One bite, Willow," he said softly. "That's all it takes."  

"Oz, no! You can't mean that! Think of the suffering you've been 
through!" Willow protested. "Think what you put everyone else 
through, especially me! You can't mean to put me through that!"

"I'll take care of you until you can control it," Oz shrugged and ran 
his tongue over her wrist. "I could do it now, you know."

Willow was speechless with fear and then mentally shook herself. She 
was in danger and she wasn't going to be a helpless victim! She 
began searching her mental magick database for something to use 
against Oz as her heart pounded loudly, the terror breaking her focus.

Willow didn't know this Oz; this wasn't the kind and gentle young 
musician that had left Sunnydale to find a way to control his demon.  
Willow had a feeling that the demon inside had somehow conquered him.

"You know how I want it though?" Oz questioned, ignoring her stunned 
expression. "I want us to be together when it happens, I bite you 
and we both change and becomes mates forever."

Willow thought she was going to be ill. "You mean like having s? 
like doing it and turning all furry?"

"Yes, it'll be fantastic!" Oz grinned. "Or you continue to argue and 
fight me and I do it now and wait for you to change tonight or 
tomorrow."

Willow was beginning to panic, she couldn't think straight enough to 
form a spell and she knew she was running out of time.  

"I can't, Oz, please," Willow whispered.

Oz growled and tightened his hand abruptly and Willow cried out with 
the fire-like pain radiating up her arm from her hand.  

Instinctively, Willow's other hand grabbed the napkin holder and 
whacked Oz along side his temple and pulled her hand back from him.  
Oz yelled in anger, surprise and pain and was grasping for her shirt 
as she dashed past him, heading for the door.

The young witch almost bounced off the pre-med student suddenly in 
her way. The tall young man grabbed her arms to steady her and then 
pulled her behind him.  

"Get out of here, I want to talk with your boyfriend," he said and 
faced an enraged Oz springing up out of his chair.

Willow knew she should stay and try to protect the young man; it 
could be a major disaster if he was bitten by Oz. Buffy and the 
Scooby gang might actually have to hunt him down just because he had 
tried to help Willow. The witch also knew she was the focus of Oz 
and she needed to get out of there.

Willow hit the sidewalk running and stumbling, clutching her wounded 
hand. The pain was incredible and the red-haired witch bounced 
against a wall and almost fell. Willow bit her lip and kept moving.  
The hacker ducked down the next street and began running back towards 
campus; her only thought was to get out of Oz's sight and to get to 
Buffy. Oz wouldn't dare take on Buffy during the day.

"Willow!" 

The young woman squeaked in fear at the sound of Oz's voice behind 
her and sped up. She changed her direction abruptly and dashed 
through the doors of the dorm closer than the one she shared with 
Buffy. Willow was breathing heavily as she rushed up the stairs and 
down the hall to Tara's door.

"Tara! Help me!" she yelled, pounding on the door with her good 
hand. She could hear Oz's boots on the stairs and whimpered slightly 
but before she could bolt away, the door opened and someone pulled 
her into the room and slammed the door shut. Willow spun and saw 
Tara lock the door just as Oz hit it and grabbed at the door knob.

"Willow! Open this door, damnit!" Oz began screaming while he pounded 
and kicked the door.

Tara quickly got on the other side of a dresser as Willow got on the 
other end. Even with one hand, the adrenalin pumping through her 
system lent her strength beyond the pain and they managed to move the 
dresser in front of the door.

Willow felt her knees go weak and let Tara pull her over to her bed 
and then watched as Tara picked up the phone. The hacker was barely 
aware of her friend calling campus security as the pounding and 
yelling continued outside the door. After a moment Tara looked down 
at her, the other witch's eyes filling with tears of anger and 
concern.

Tara went to the door.

"Get away from here! I've called security! Leave her alone!"

The two witches heard Oz cursing them and then his boots pounding 
down the hallway.  

Tara quickly went to the bed and took Willow into her arms as the red 
haired witch broke down in tears, holding her hand that was quickly 
swelling.

************************

Buffy found she couldn't concentrate on anything. It was a losing 
battle to attempt to study or even surf on Willow's computer while 
she was waiting for her best friend to return.  

The Slayer's mind was racing too fast and she couldn't seem to stop 
it.  

"What?" she demanded into the phone as she picked up it before the 
first ring had ended.  

"It's Tara, Buffy," a timid voice informed her. "I've got Willow 
over here. Oz got a little rough and I think her hand is broken."

"I'll be right there!"

"No, Willow wants to meet you at Giles', we're going to take a cab 
over there," Tara informed the Slayer.

"Why?" Buffy asked.

"Because Oz wants to bite Willow tonight and the tranquilizer gun is 
at Giles' place," Tara explained and Buffy could hear the tears in 
the witch's voice. 

"Intentionally infect her?" Buffy whispered, not quite believing what 
she was hearing. That didn't sound like the Oz she knew, unaware she 
was reflecting the same thoughts Willow had earlier.

"Yeah, he wants to make her his mate," Tara said bitterly.

"Get her to Giles', I'll be right there," Buffy responded, looking at 
the setting sun outside her window. "Make it fast, Tara."

"I will, promise," the witch responded in a stronger voice.

Buffy quickly grabbed her jacket and several stakes. Then she went 
to her dresser and rummaged through the bottom drawer until she found 
something wrapped in a silk scarf. Unwrapping it, Buffy felt a tear 
escape down her face as she looked at the silver dagger.

"Oz, I liked you but I'm not going to let you hurt my Willow," she 
whispered and stuck the dagger in her belt behind her back.  

She wasn't surprised that the campus was beginning to clear for the 
evening. Even if no one admitted it in Sunnydale, people learned not 
to be outside unless it was in numbers once the sun went down. Buffy 
wasn't worried but she was in a hurry and broke into a trot as she 
headed for her former Watcher's home.

Even if Giles was no longer officially a Watcher, their relationship 
didn't change much aftter both of them had rejected the Council.  

Buffy was grateful that it hadn't, she depended on his guidance and 
especially his research in her task as Slayer. Between Willow and 
Giles, there wasn't much in the way of information that could remain 
hidden. Add in Xander's enthusiastic and dependable help, and the 
Scooby gang was a vital asset to the Slayer. Buffy knew that it was 
the combined efforts of all of them that had kept her alive as long 
as it had.

Buffy frowned, thinking as she trotted.

That's what was missing in her relationship with Riley, she 
realized. She knew he wanted a relationship with her but the 
Initiative would always come first. He looked at it like a soldier, 
as a job and didn't truly understand that Buffy really didn't have a 
choice in being the Slayer.  

Riley Finn really didn't believe in magic, demons, vampires, and 
werewolves; he believed there was a scientific explanation for 
everything and that demons were merely a different species that lived 
underground and hated mankind.  

Riley wanted Buffy but she didn't really feel he believed in her role 
as The Chosen and she didn't believe in the government approach to 
the problem of demons, vampires and werewolves. She had seen too 
much and knew that the Hellmouth had been real; she had died fighting 
that thing and its minions. Buffy had put a sword through Angel's 
heart, knowing that his soul had just returned, all to keep the 
demons from gaining power. She had betrayed his love and trust to 
save the world.

Willow had been there for her after that; Willow was always there for 
her.

Buffy was determined to be there for her Wills.

The Slayer was almost to Giles' house when her "spidey" sense kicked 
in and she skidded to a stop. Her sharp eyes caught movement in the 
shadows to both sides in front of her and behind her.

Oz stepped out into the light with an evil smirk. Buffy realized the 
other five figures surrounding her were vampires, in complete vampire 
demon face. What the Scooby gang called "game face".

"Sorry, Buffy," Oz said easily. "I need to talk to Willow without 
you around."

"Oz, don't do this! If you love her you couldn't possibly consider 
infecting her," Buffy begged. 

"Shut up! She's going to be mine! Kill her!" Oz shouted and the 
vampires moved in.

"'Kill her'?" Buffy questioned, "Didn't you learn anything more 
original in hanging with us, Oz?" she taunted.

Buffy struck out with her right hand, ramming a stake through the 
heart of a vampire on her left and kicking another vampire in the 
jaw. She spun and drove the same stake into that vampire. Vampire 
#3 grabbed Buffy from behind and threw the Slayer to the ground while 
Vampire #4 dived for her neck.

************************

Willow and Tara had made it to Giles' condo easily. Both young women 
tried to explain while he examined and wrapped Willow's hand, 
announcing that it was probably broken and should be looked at a 
hospital. That was, until he heard what Oz had planned for his 
favorite computer helper. He declared that the hospital trip could 
wait until morning, when it was safer.

Giles moved aside to let Tara sit next to Willow so as to comfort the 
distraught young woman as he headed for the closet where he kept the 
tranquilizer gun and sedative darts. He noticed the closeness 
between the young women and wondered exactly how close they had 
gotten in their friendship. The scholar and former Watcher didn't 
know Tara very well, Willow hadn't said much about her new friend but 
Giles had noticed how good Tara had been for Willow after Oz's 
departure.  

"Tara... I..." Willow whispered, leaning into the other woman. "Is 
it possible to love two people at the same time?"

Tara thought her heart would stop right then. "You mean Oz and 
Buffy?"

"Oz?" Willow's voice sounded confused. "No, not Oz. You and Buffy."

Willow waited, ready to wince at the rejection she expected. <How 
could Tara care for her when she was so damned confused? How could 
she feel so deeply about Buffy and have these beginning feelings for 
Tara?>  

The computer hacker broke into tears and Tara tightened her arms 
around Willow as the red-haired witch gave into the confusion, the 
emotional pain and the physical pain.  

Giles hesitated at the closet, unable to keep himself from watching 
the two young women. He wanted to comfort Willow but their 
protection came first, they needed that tranquilizer gun and maybe 
one of the real guns he kept. Somehow he wasn't surprised when 
Willow leaned up through her tears and kissed Tara and the other 
witch responded tenderly, the kiss becoming part of the comforting.  
After a moment Willow laid her head on Tara's shoulder and continued 
to cry.

Giles was just opening the closet door when his front door slammed 
open and Oz stood in the doorway.

Just like Buffy and Willow, Giles had a moment to contemplate that 
this didn't really look or act like the young and tortured musician 
he had known before he was backhanded into the wall. The scholar 
slid down the wall, stunned.

Tara and Willow both jumped to their feet and faced the werewolf.  

"Oz!" Willow yelled.

"You stay away from her!" Tara shouted.

"Is this the reason you turned me down?" Oz demanded, taking in the 
taller woman standing protectively in front of Willow.

"No! Don't hurt her!" Willow shouted "What you want is obscene, 
Oz. I don't love you, it would be all wrong."

"Won't matter after you join me," Oz said threateningly.   

"No!" Tara screamed and grabbed a lamp and flung it at the young 
male. Oz growled and batted it aside and charged the two women. He 
grabbed Tara by the arms, surprising her with his unnatural strength 
as he lifted her into the air and ignored Willow pounding on his back 
with her one good hand.

Willow screamed as Oz threw Tara through Giles' front window and 
turned to face her.  

"Don't fight it, Willow," he growled softly.  

"No, please," the young witch pleaded as Oz began changing subtly, 
his teeth growing into fangs and his eyes turning wolf yellow.  
Willow screamed in pain when he grabbed her injured hand and squeezed 
again, bringing her to her knees.

Willow whimpered when the changing werewolf threw her forward onto 
her knees and hand. Before she could move, clawed hands ripped her t-
shirt off her body and grabbed her around the waist, keeping her off 
balance.

The hacker tried to kick backwards but only managed to yell in anger 
again as the clawed hands reached for the front of her jeans.

"Hey! Back off, Wolf Boy! That doesn't look very consensual!" 

Willow thought she would break into grateful tears when she looked up 
saw Buffy standing in the doorway with a silver dagger in her hands.
Instantly, Willow was thrown aside and the werewolf, in wolf-man 
form, dived for the Slayer with a howl of rage.  

Willow looked up in time to see Buffy meet Oz's attacked with a 
backhand of her own and a slash of the dagger. Oz landed heavily in 
the hall with a howl of pain and rage.  

"Willow, grab Giles and run, I'll protect Tara. Barricade yourselves 
in a room or something!" Buffy shouted; trading blows with the wolf, 
unable to get another slash in on the werewolf.  

Willow stumbled over and cried out in panic when she noticed the 
blood flowing from Giles' scalp. She scolded herself and began 
trying to shake him into action while Buffy continued her sparring 
with the werewolf.

It was a difficult fight for the Slayer, how to fight something when 
you didn't dare get scratched or bitten and that was the main means 
of attack from a werewolf? The fight ended up in the doorway of 
Gile's place and Buffy felt the cool night air on her back.

Buffy's head snapped back from a backhand from Oz and felt herself 
flying through the air, landing hard on the grass, next to an 
unconscious Tara.

Willow screamed as clawed hands grabbed her by the shoulders, tearing 
her away from Giles'.  

Buffy jumped through the window as the werewolf pulled Willow close 
to him.

"Oz!" she screamed and the werewolf turned his head her way, the 
yellow eyes looking into her blue ones. Buffy felt a terrible 
revelation hit her when she looked in those eyes and saw 
intelligence. It wasn't the intelligence of a wolf or of a clever 
animal; it was human. Buffy suddenly knew, Oz did have control over 
the wolf and he was very much aware what he was doing.

It was Oz, not the animal, which was about to hurt Willow.

Willow saw the same intelligence when the werewolf turned back to her 
and whimpered as his fangs began to lower to her neck. She closed 
her eyes and gritted her teeth.

The sound of another scream and crunching bone snapped Willow's eyes 
open. The sight of Buffy's arm in Oz's jaws took a moment to sink 
into the computer hacker's mind.  

Buffy, ignoring the fire flashing pain, took the opportunity to bury 
the dagger into Oz's shoulder all the way to the hilt.

The werewolf released his hold on Buffy's arm and howled in pain. As 
Buffy fell to her knees and Willow joined her, Oz dived out the door.

***
Giles shook his head and groaned softly. After a moment he managed 
to sit up against the wall. He was confused for a moment until he 
remembered the attack by Oz. He looked over to his sofa and saw 
Willow and Tara fussing over Buffy, the two witches dashing back and 
forth grabbing the first aid kit and bandages.

Something seemed different, not like the usual "after battle care" of 
the Slayer. Not only was the energy more intense but no one was 
hovering over him. The blood on his hand when he checked the back of 
his head worried him and their reaction worried him even more.  

Another question seemed to run through his head a moment later, <was 
that one of his t-shirts Willow was wearing?>

"Oh God!" Willow was mumbling. "Why did you do that?" she kept 
asking.

"I didn't have a choice," Buffy was muttering back as she gritted her 
teeth against the peroxide washing out her wounds.

"Giles!" Willow spotted him sitting up and Tara was there in a 
moment, helping him up to a chair and held a gauze bandage against 
his head.  

"Buffy?" the scholar asked, his voice reflecting his questions and 
concern.

Buffy was extremely pale, sweating and her face was very pained.

"What happened?" Giles asked, noticing Willow's tears as she 
continued to clean some wound on Buffy's arm. He couldn't get a good 
look from his angle but it was obviously bad.

"You got banged up, Tara got tossed through the window, Oz was about 
to bite me and Buffy threw her arm into his mouth," Willow said in a 
rush, the tears flowing even faster.  

"Oh my God," Rupert Giles muttered, realizing his Slayer had just 
been bitten by a werewolf.

He leaned forward and looked at the wounds closely and frowned. He 
tried to put on a neutral face when he saw Willow's panicked 
expression. Giles knew that he couldn't lie to any of his kids 
though and he shook his head and saw fresh tears flowing down the 
witch's face.

"Buffy?" he said softly, the Slayer was leaning back on the sofa with 
her head laid back. Giles could tell she was in a great deal of pain 
as shown by her pale face and sweating. It was clear that the Slayer 
was hurting more than usual. He saw her wince as he shifted the arm 
and inspected it closely. "Both bones are broken but the bleeding 
isn't bad."

"We should take her to the hospital and get that set," Tara said 
firmly.  

"We can't," Giles said softly.  

"What? Why not?" Willow asked.  

"Because I was bitten by a werewolf and might get furry at any 
moment," Buffy said softly, her eyes still closed.

Everyone fought back tears.

"We don't know that!" Willow cried, leaning her head on Buffy's 
shoulder. "We cleaned the wound really quick and really good, maybe 
it didn't get through, and maybe she'll be okay?"

"Wills, its okay," Buffy said softly, reaching up with her good hand 
to stroke Willow's hair.  

"It's not okay!" Willow sobbed and Tara knelt in front of them and 
laid her hand on Willow's leg comfortingly. "My ex-boyfriend tries 
to rape me and turn me into a werewolf and you stop him by taking the 
bite, it's not okay!"

Giles, trying to work around a massive headache, the overwhelming 
fear of a werewolf Slayer, and now he was wondering what was going on 
with the three women in his living room. Willow began crying even 
harder when Giles placed the tranquilizer gun on the coffee table, 
close to hand. They all knew it really wasn't in case Oz returned; 
it was in case Buffy turned.

"What do we do about Oz? A loose werewolf, he could kill someone," 
Tara asked.

"He might but we won't be able to find him," Willow muttered.

"What do you mean? We know how to track werewolves," Giles asked.

"Can we track a werewolf with a human mind?" Willow countered. "It 
may have been the wolf's body but its Oz inside. He knew what he was 
doing. He wasn't trying to kill me, he was trying to bite and turn 
me."

"She's right, I saw his eyes," Buffy agreed as chills shook her 
body. "They were wolf yellow but it was Oz doing the thinking and he 
was totally evil."

"This is so not like Oz!" Willow complained, holding onto Buffy.
Willow pulled back when she felt Buffy continuing to shudder.  

"Giles?"

"I don't know, lay her down," the scholar suggested and Willow moved 
over on the sofa enough for Buffy to lay her head on the witch's lap 
while Giles grabbed a blanket out of the closet. Tara re-bandaged 
Buffy's arm with a splint.

The Slayer looked like she had developed a high fever and Giles was 
puzzled when he felt her forehead and didn't feel any heat. Buffy 
tossed her head restlessly in Willow's lap while the young witch 
stroked Buffy's hair and forehead.

"She doesn't have a fever," he muttered. He glanced down at her arm 
and frowned. He held the Slayer's arm up for the two young women.  

Willow's eyes widened and Tara gasped at the red streaks that ran 
from under the bandage and up to Buffy's elbow.

Buffy began muttering and jerking. Willow continued to stroke her 
forehead and began talking to her, attempting to comfort and calm the 
Slayer.

"Giles, what is it?" Tara asked.

"I'm assuming that it's the poison of a werewolf bite. Her unusual 
Slayer healing ability is trying to fight off the infection," Giles 
muttered, wiping his glasses with his shirt. "This may be why there 
have never been any records of a Slayer being corrupted by a 
werewolf."

"Or the fact that werewolves usually kill their victims?" Willow 
snapped.

"Well, yes, there is that to take into account," Giles responded 
easily, his scholarly mind shifting into action around the 
problem. "We might have a bit of luck here if she can fight off the 
infection and not turn into a werewolf."

"What can we do to help?" Tara asked, sitting on the back of the sofa 
behind Willow and pulling the witch back to lean into her while 
Willow stroked Buffy's hair.

"I don't know," Giles admitted, watching the Slayer moan and 
thrash. "Wait it out, I guess."

"You guess? Buffy could be dying or morphing into something furry and 
fanged with a really bad temper and all you can do is guess?" Willow 
demanded.

"Willow!" Giles snapped and then fought to control his own desire to 
raise his voice. "I'm sorry, you know we tried to find a cure when 
Oz turned into a werewolf, I haven't found anything new since then."

"Oh goddess, please," Willow's head dropped forward and Tara wrapped 
her arms around the smaller witch.

Four hours later, Giles was losing the battle to get Willow to go to 
the hospital and have her hand tended to, even with Tara joining in 
the argument and offering to drive the young witch. Willow refused 
to leave Buffy's side while she was still struggling with the 
werewolf bite.  

Giles had always known that the two girls were close but he was 
beginning to suspect that it ran deeper than just best friends and 
was also suspecting that all three of them had come to some 
revelations in the last few days.  

The Watcher muttered to himself that Buffy dating the vampire Angel 
was complicated enough; he wondered how complicated dating Willow or 
Tara or both Willow and Tara could get, especially in Sunnydale.
Giles also didn't bring up the fact that Xander and Anya hadn't 
arrived at his house yet. He was worried enough for everyone. Only 
Tara seemed to notice the former Watcher reaching into the closet and 
pulling out another tranquilizer gun and loading it. Giles looked 
over at his former charge, his Buffy, and laid the gun on the desk; 
within reach, just in case.

************************

It was dawn before Giles really lost most of his nervousness. He 
didn't think Oz could maintain his werewolf form in the daytime, 
especially if he had been out howling all night. The former Watcher 
was worried though, Buffy wasn't any better and Willow wouldn't leave 
her side. Tara had finally fallen asleep in a chair and there was 
still no sign of Xander and Anya.  

"Alright," Giles said firmly, getting to his feet and waking Tara 
up. "I don't think it'll be as dangerous in the daytime. I want 
Tara to take Willow to the hospital and get that hand set. If you 
wait too long then they'll have to re-break the fingers or you won't 
use that hand again." he gave Willow a stern look, cutting off any 
protests she might have.

Tara, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, nodded in agreement.

"I'll call Joyce and have her come over here and help me watch Buffy 
while you two are gone. I'm going to have her drop by Xander's place 
on the way over here," he continued. "He and Anya were supposed to 
come over here last night and they didn't show and there's been no 
answer at his place."

"Oh goddess," Willow muttered, placing a pillow under Buffy's head.  

She quickly examined the Slayer's arm and whimpered at the sight of 
the red streaks running now from Buffy's fingertips to her bicep.  

"What do we do with a Slayer werewolf?" Giles asked no one in 
particular.

"Get her through this!" Willow said firmly, her green eyes shining 
with determination.

"Of course, of course," Giles agreed readily. "Go and get yourself 
seen to."

Willow wanted to protest but knew that Giles was right; she 
definitely didn't want to lose the use of her hand. Most of the 
typing done on a computer keyboard was with the left hand, after all.

Tara insisted that Willow file a police report and the doctor agreed, 
calling in a police officer once he learned that her crushed and 
broken fingers were from an ex-boyfriend. Tara pointed out that if 
Oz was picked up by the police, he couldn't hurt any of them for at 
least the day and night. Willow managed to smile at that thought and 
willingly filed the report, giving the police the name of the hotel 
where Oz was staying and described him hurting her in the Espresso 
Pump and having to hit him to get away. Tara added in about Oz 
chasing her all the way to the dorm rooms and threatening to break in 
the door and how she had called Campus Security. She then added they 
had stayed all night at a friend's house because they were worried 
about Willow's safety.

Willow was amazed; normally shy Tara seemed to have been replaced by 
confident and quick thinking Tara. The blonde witch blushed at 
Willow's amused expression when the police officer left after writing 
up the report and leaving papers for Willow on how to file a 
restraining order. The police officer had been reluctant to take a 
report of a squabble between a boyfriend and girlfriend until he saw 
Willow's hand and talked with the doctor.

Willow also knew that it was unlikely that the police would find Oz.  
Normally, she would be worried about exposing police officers to 
possible death or infection by a werewolf but with Oz in control of 
the wolf, she didn't think they'd find him at the hotel or anywhere 
else.  

Judging by Anya and Xander being missing and the attack on Willow, 
the computer geek figured that Oz had everything planned before he 
had approached Willow. It was also very clear that he wasn't done; 
she knew he still wanted her as his mate.

The red-haired witch had been so focused on Buffy all night that she 
had shut out the pain until she and Tara arrived the hospital, then 
the pain hit. Despite her half-hearted protests about drugs, she had 
been given a shot of something that made the pain seem dull and a 
little distant. Better than the throbbing and red hot sensations 
running up her arms from her very swollen hand.  

Willow tried to pay attention as the doctor talked with the police 
officer but she found it difficult with whatever drugs they had given 
her and didn't really care at that moment. She wanted to get back to 
Buffy as soon as possible.

"Are you okay with me?" Willow asked softly as Tara sat on a stool 
next to her gurney in the emergency room trauma area.  

"Yes, as long as we stay friends, I think we can figure this out," 
Tara smiled slightly.

"No danger of losing that," Willow attempted to smile. "Thank you 
for staying last night, not that you could have left. No, that would 
have been dangerous, dangerous isn't a good thing. No, best you 
stayed, but I'm glad you stayed without thinking it was dangerous to 
leave?"

Tara grinned and Willow began blushing, realizing that she was off on 
one of her trademark babbles.

The doctor pulled the curtain aside and looked down at Willow.

"That is not a happy face," Willow commented. "That is not a face 
about to deliver good news."

The doctor smiled ruefully. "No, it's not," he agreed. "I don't 
know how you got through the night with that hand like that. The 
pain had to be incredible."

"We were too scared to leave the house," Tara explained. "He ripped 
the phone out and we couldn't call for help or leave until this 
morning."

Willow was once again impressed with Tara's quick thinking.

"Okay, here it comes," Doctor John O'Connor warned. "Three of your 
fingers are broken very badly and we're going to have to put pins in 
them to correct the break. He must have grabbed it at different 
angels to break the bones like this."

"Pins?" Willow asked softly. "Surgery?"

"Yes, I'm afraid so. They'll be coming for you in a few minutes.  
You'll be out of the hospital tomorrow morning with a cast on your 
arm for at least three months. Then we'll remove the pins and you'll 
be in a cast for another month, and then start on the physical 
therapy."

"Therapy? I'm a?" Willow stammered.

"She's a computer geek," Tara explained.

"Hope you've got the new voice recognition software or things will be 
a little frustrating for you," Dr. O'Connor attempted to joke and 
left the two young women.

"Surgery? I can't have surgery," Willow protested. "I've got to get 
back to Buffy!"

"Don't you dare get off that bed!" Tara warned, her finger in 
Willow's chest for emphasis. "I'll call Giles and tell him what's 
happening. He'll watch over Buffy and protect both her and Buffy's 
mom with his life, you know that."

"I know, I just? it's not fair!" Willow snapped and frowned at a 
nurse moving the curtain aside. The young college student really 
glared at the sight of another syringe.

"It usually isn't fair, honey," the older steel gray haired nurse 
commented. "This will help relax you before surgery."

"I don't want to relax, I want to go home," Willow protested.

"Easy now, I saw those x-rays, you don't want to play with this," the 
nurse responded. "They've called in a bone specialist. Your 
boyfriend must have a grip of iron."

"Oh goddess," Tara muttered and Willow managed to turn even more pale 
and sank back onto the bed as the shot began to take hold. "Do you 
want me to call your folks?" 

"No, they won't notice anything anyway," Willow muttered, her eyes 
finally closing after more than 24 hours of being awake and stressed.

************************

Giles hung up the phone with a heavy sigh. He heard Joyce talking 
softly to Buffy in the next room. They had moved Buffy into his room 
and on his bed, hoping to make the Slayer more comfortable in her 
struggles against the infection.

Joyce, of course, had rushed right over to Xander's place within 
minutes of receiving Giles' phone call and then to the Watcher's 
condo. Giles knew that Joyce was having a hard time seeing Buffy 
hurt as any mother would, but having the knowledge that it was very 
likely that Buffy would die at a very young age in what would most 
likely be a violent and painful death made it worse.

Buffy was still thrashing and mumbling, sweat had plastered her 
blonde hair to her forehead and the red streaks had reached from her 
finger tips and to above her bicep. The young Slayer didn't seem to 
hear her Mom talking to her or feel her gently wiping her forehead 
with a cool cloth.  

"Willow," Buffy muttered. "Wills, help me."

Giles entered his bedroom and found Joyce wiping tears away as she 
looked up at the former Watcher and occasional boyfriend.  

"Where's Willow, she keeps calling for her," Joyce asked.

"I just talked with Tara," Giles felt like crying himself, it just 
seemed that the situation was getting worse and worse. "They're 
taking Willow into surgery in a few minutes to try and repair her 
hand. The doctor told Tara that Willow will be lucky to regain full 
strength of her hand in a year's time."

"Oh my God," Joyce whispered.

"Wills!" Buffy muttered.

"She'll be in the hospital overnight at the least, I should think.  
Tara is going to stay with her," Giles informed Joyce. "The police 
have a report on Oz but I don't think they'll find him. Sunnydale 
seems to protect the darker individuals around here. I'm going to go 
to the hospital in a bit and make Tara eat something. I doubt she 
has money for the cafeteria," he muttered. 

"What about the others, Xander and Anya?" Joyce asked.

"I don't know. They haven't seen Xander at work and his parents 
think they went out of town or something," Giles responded.

"What happens if she can't fight off the infection?" Joyce asked 
softly as Buffy writhed in pain.

"I don't know, really," Giles answered. "There's never been a Slayer 
who was bitten by a werewolf and lived. Since we left the Council, I 
can't ask them for advice, help, or even let them know we could be in 
trouble."

"You told me about Buffy being a Slayer means she's stronger than 
full grown men, faster, and a natural fighter. You also mentioned 
her unusual healing ability, won't that help?"

"I think it's the only thing that kept Buffy from becoming a werewolf 
last night after the bite," Giles said uneasily. "With any other 
human there wouldn't be a question of her becoming a werewolf, but 
whether being a Slayer will help, I don't know ."

"Giles, I don't know if I can do this," Joyce said softly.

The former Watcher walked up and placed his hands on her shoulders as 
she turned to look at Buffy struggling.

"We don't have a choice, Joyce," he responded. "Just like she didn't 
have a choice in becoming the Slayer."

"Now I know why most of your Slayers didn't have family and friends, 
it hurts too much, doesn't it?" Joyce demanded.

"When we lose them?" Giles asked and didn't wait for Joyce's 
response. "Yes, it hurts too much but Buffy and I didn't have 
choices. Becoming a Watcher was the only choice to save my life and 
possibly my soul; for Buffy, it was the only choice she had. It may 
not be fair to take young girls in their teens and train them to kill 
demons, send them out after vampires until they die and wait for the 
next Slayer, but we weren't given a choice in the matter."

"I hate this, Rupert!" Joyce said fiercely.

"I know, I do too," he admitted.

"Buffy has told me about her boyfriend, Riley," Joyce said, changing 
the subject. "Doesn't he work for a government thing that deals with 
this? Maybe they have more research or equipment that can help Buffy."

"Even though Buffy has gone on patrol with Riley, I don't think she 
totally trusts the organization he works for," Giles 
pondered. "After being betrayed by the Council, we're both a little 
gun-shy of organizations with too many secrets. They might have 
answers or they might decide that the safest thing to do is 
neutralize her."

"Neutralize?" 

"Imprisonment or execution," Giles said bluntly. "We've heard rumors 
that they take and do experiments on captured demons, vampires and 
other creatures. We know of one vampire who they managed to 
neutralize his ability to drink from humans. He's one of their 
success stories; imagine how many experiments it took to reach that 
level."

"You talk like you feel sorry for whatever they're experimenting on," 
Joyce frowned and turned to look at her sometime lover. "Don't you 
train Buffy and help her kill these things?"

"Sometimes, not all demons are evil and werewolves are cursed 
people," Giles tried to explain. "Like Oz, we didn't blame him or 
hunt him down, we did our best to protect him and keep others safe 
from him. I'm not sure the Initiative would be so considerate, even 
if it is Buffy."

"Why isn't Buffy calling for Riley?" Joyce said thoughtfully.

"I'm not sure," Giles tried evasion.  

"You look like you're avoiding something, Rupert," Joyce almost 
growled. "I know that look; it's a look of when you don't want to 
tell me something, usually concerning Buffy."

"I have no idea what is going on with Buffy and her dating life," 
Giles said truthfully. "I do know that Willow was one of her first 
friends and they've been close ever since."

"But Buffy isn't...," Joyce hesitated, her own face puzzled. "Is 
she? I've only known about boys."

"I don't know, truthfully," Giles admitted. "I don't know what to 
think anymore with anyone's dating. You and me are off and on again, 
Willow is awfully close to Tara and Buffy, Xander is dating an ex-
vengeance demon, Buffy has been dating Riley but her track record 
with males is horrible and I've gotten the sense that she's not happy 
with Riley. I don't know, none of it adds up."

"Wills," Buffy muttered, tossing in her sleep.  

"How long before we know?" Joyce demanded. It was only 9am in the 
morning.

"I don't know," Giles mumbled.

"Either she dies, wakes up or turns into a werewolf?" Joyce snapped.

"Yes, I'm afraid so," the Watcher mumbled and hugged Buffy's mom 
tightly.

Both of them jumped at the sound of the phone ringing. Giles moved 
out of the room to answer it.

"Yes?" he answered.

"It's Oz," a voice growled on the other end and Giles' hand tightened 
on the receiver and he turned his back to the hallway, hoping to cut 
down the sound traveling to his room.

"What do you want?" Giles' demanded. "Haven't you done enough?"

"Shut up," Oz snapped back. "I have Xander and his girlfriend.  
Simple exchange, Willow comes with me and you get loser boy and his 
ditsy sidekick back."

"Willow isn't here, I sent her out of town to get away from you," 
Giles hissed.

"I don't believe you! She wouldn't leave Buffy injured," Oz protested.

"Believe what you want, she's not here," Giles insisted. "What the 
hell happened to you, Oz? The boy Willow loved never would have done 
this. You destroyed your relationship with Willow just to keep 
Veruca from hurting anyone in wolf form that night, now you've bitten 
Buffy!"

"I grew up, Giles," Oz's voice sounded so calm that it infuriated the 
older man. "I found a pack and learned how to live with the wolf 
instead of fighting it."

"You can't consider dragging Willow into that with you," Giles 
protested. "Please, Oz, just leave town or you'll force us to kill 
you."

Oz laughed and Giles felt like he had been hit in the chest.  

"Buffy won't be hunting me, old man," Oz laughed again. "She'll be 
hunting WITH me soon."

Giles stared at the phone after Oz hung up and resisted throwing it 
against the wall. He turned and saw Joyce standing in the hallway 
and knew she had heard his end of the conversation, despite his low 
voice.

"He's totally insane," Giles tried to explain. "He says he has 
Xander and Anya and wants Willow and Buffy."

"How can he have Xander and Anya?"

"He mentioned a pack, he obviously has help," Giles considered.  

"Well, we can't give him any of the kids," Joyce said firmly.

"That means finding him and rescuing Xander and Anya, keeping Oz from 
finding out Willow is in the hospital and praying Buffy doesn't..." 
Giles hesitated.

"Turn into a werewolf like Oz?" Joyce finished, choking on the words.

"No, worse than Oz," Giles said truthfully. "Oz has human control 
over his werewolf side now. Buffy wouldn't."

"Like the movies? Just out for blood?" Joyce whispered, a tear 
escaping down her face and Giles drew her into his arms, fighting 
back his own tears.

"Yes, a werewolf with the strength of a slayer."