FF: Rewrite Season 6, part 8 - NC17 - T/W, F/?

["carrkjar" <carrkjar@xxxxxxxxx>]

Rewrite Season 6, part 8
Tangled Webs

Author: Frau Hunter Ash 

Copyright © 2002 by Hunter Ash. All Rights Reserved.
Email: carrkjar@xxxxxxxxx Feedback welcome!!
Homepage Addy: http://www.hunterash.com/ 

Acknowledgments: Note: Plot collaborated on by Hunter Ash and Dark 
Gremlin 
Suggestions from many people and many boards. A special "thank you" 
to them.
 
Another special "Thank You" to Joan the English Chick 
(pisces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx) for her transcripts.  

Disclaimers: The characters and show all belong to Joss Whedon, Fox, 
Mutant Enemy, Kuzui, and God only knows who else. No harm intended.  
The character of Maggie Doyle belongs to whoever created ER and I'm 
just borrowing the absent character.

F/F romance: the story assumes a loving and sexual relationship 
between people of the same gender and opposite gender. 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: In my universe here, Season 6 is happening again! Starting 
with Bargaining and taking off from there. Things will be different 
here.  

Rating: NC-17 (US), 18 (UK), R (AUS) Pairings: W/T, X/An

Summary: Willow gets worse instead of better and the news Joyce/PTB 
brings the gang is not good or hopeful for the witch. Old faces 
appear on the horizon with even worse foreboding for the Scooby Gang 
and recently brought back Slayer.

* * *

"Tara, call Maggie Doyle," Giles suddenly ordered, watching 
Willow. "I've got an idea. Tell her to open the clinic."

"Giles?" Buffy asked as Willow's breathing became ragged and the 
witch struggled.

"Something your mother said, Buffy," Giles muttered. "Breaking the 
tie between you and Willow. I believe her life-line, her silver cord 
is connected to yours."

"So to break it I need to die again?" Buffy demanded.

"No, she does," Giles said softly.

"What? No! No way!" Buffy yelled.

"Calm down," Giles snapped. "I'm hoping this works, if not we'll 
lose her anyway."

"Alright, what's the plan?" Buffy snapped, holding a very frightened 
Dawn's hand as the teenager walked up beside her.

"Buffy, we made a friend while you were gone," Giles began explaining 
as Willow's body began convulsing. "Oh Christ!"

Buffy moved quickly and helped the Watcher hold Willow down so she 
didn't flail off the sofa. Buffy reached out with her foot and 
kicked the coffee table away.

"A friend," Buffy prompted.

"A doctor, she runs a clinic and she knows about the darker stuff of 
Sunnydale," Giles said, gritting his teeth as he held Willow's wrists.

"And?" Buffy demanded.

"Tara?" Giles yelled.

"She's opening the clinic and wants to know what to prepare for," 
Tara called back.

Giles winced as blood began pouring from Willow nose and mouth, 
staining the sofa between her legs.  

"Blood loss and possible cardiac arrest," Giles yelled as Buffy's 
eyes widened at the sight of the blood coming from her best 
friend. "Tell her we have two donor matches coming with us!"

"Donors?" 

"Your and Dawn's blood is the key, your mother said," Giles explained.

"Oh God," Buffy whimpered as Willow stopped thrashing, barely 
breathing.

"Help me put her on the floor," Giles ordered. "Did you take CPR?"

"Yes, we all did, remember?" Buffy answered.

"That's right, sorry," Giles mumbled as they moved Willow to the 
floor. "Dawn grab some blankets to wrap her in. Tara, you start the 
car and have the doors open."

"Giles?" 

"She's about to go into arrest, I believe," Giles explained, keeping 
a finger on Willow's pulse at her neck. "I'm hoping the connection 
will be broken when her heart stops. Wait, changed my mind. Tara, can 
you sense her spirit?"

"Yes, it's weak," Tara nodded, tears flowing down her cheeks.

"Dawn, open the car doors and start the car," Giles ordered.

"I'm driving?" the fifteen year old squeaked.

"No, but I know you can start a car," Giles corrected. "Oh God, I've 
lost the heartbeat."

"Giles!" Buffy cried.

"Wait!" Giles snapped back, waiting with shaking hands.

"She's gone," Tara whispered.

"Buffy, you do the chest compressions!" Giles cried, kicking the 
table further out of the way as he bent Willow's head back slightly 
in case he needed to breathe for her.

Buffy said a quick prayer and knelt beside her best friend.

"One, two, three, four, five, breathe," she muttered and hesitated as 
Giles breathed into Willow's mouth.

"One, two, three, four, five, breathe," Buffy counted each move and 
breath but wasn't sure how long they kept at it. She knew logically 
that it was probably only a couple of minutes but it felt like 
forever until they were both sweating and numb emotionally.

"Giles!" Tara cried out in shock. The Englishman stopped, felt for a 
pulse and listened.

"Oh thank god, thank god," he muttered.

"Giles?" Buffy whispered asked hopefully.

"She's back, I've got a pulse and she's breathing," he 
answered. "Get her in the car."

Buffy grabbed the blankets Dawn had thrown on the floor next to them 
and wrapped her friend up in them. Then the Slayer gathered Willow 
into her arms as Tara held the door open for them.  

* * *

Xander and Anya rushed past Giles as he opened the doors to the 
clinic, both panicked.

"Is she okay?" they demanded, both looking like they had tumbled out 
of bed at Giles' phone call and probably had.

"We don't know yet," Giles said wearily, taking off his glasses and 
rubbing a hand over his face.  

"You said she was bad, why isn't she in the hospital?" Xander 
demanded.

"Because they would first use whatever blood was available, we need 
Buffy and Dawn's blood," Giles tried to explain. "I think."

"You think? What happened?" Anya demanded.

"Willow's soul and life were connected with Buffy and being drained," 
Giles said as they sat down in the plastic chairs in the waiting 
room. "To break the connection, Willow had to die."

"What?" Xander asked, turning very pale.

"We did CPR and brought her back but she lost a lot of blood," Giles 
continued, his voice cracking with the emotions he was trying to keep 
in check. "Joyce said Buffy and Dawn were the keys, the connection."

"Dawn's mystical energy and Buffy's Slayer strength," Anya ventured.

"I think so," Giles nodded.

"Are they in with her?" Xander asked, wiping at the tears in his eyes.

"Yeah, Dawn and Buffy are donating the blood and Tara is monitoring 
Willow's?uh?her soul," Giles explained.

It was another hour before a very weary looking Maggie Doyle came 
out. Xander whined at the sight of blood on her tennis shoes and 
green scrub trousers.

"Maggie?" Giles asked as he stood up slowly.

The young doctor smiled and motioned for him to sit down before 
sitting across from the three friends.

"Willow should be fine," she said calmly. "The transfusions are 
helping. She's very weak and sleeping right now."

"Buffy and Dawn?" 

"I would love to get ahold of those two in a lab," Maggie 
grinned. "I've never seen healing abilities like those two have! 
That's why you made me swear not to even run their blood through any 
kind of tests, isn't it?"

"Yes," Giles nodded. "I'm sorry, Maggie, there's just some things I 
can't explain."

"How long has Willow been hurt?" Maggie asked, changing the subject.

"Hurt?" Xander frowned. "She's been weak since those?those bikers 
tore up the town."

"Did she get into a fight with any of them?" Maggie asked.

"Yeah, we all did," Anya nodded.

"Well, I don't know how she didn't notice but she was injured during 
the fight and has been bleeding internally for the last couple of 
days," Maggie informed them. "Giving up her energy to magic spells 
wasn't the brightest thing she could have done."

"Bleeding?" Giles asked.

"Her lung was punctured from a broken rib," Maggie explained. "Her 
partner says her lifeline is back and secure."

"Thank God," Giles muttered.

"Tara was amazing, by the way," Maggie smiled. "She kept Willow 
stable with her own energy until we got enough blood into her."

"How is she?" Xander asked.

"Doing alright, I've got her on a gurney next to Willow," Maggie said 
wearily. "It'll be better if they stay close to each other, all four 
of them, for a bit. I've got a feeling there's more magic going on 
in there than I'm aware of."

"Probably," Giles admitted.  

"I would have preferred to have her in the hospital, Giles," Maggie 
scolded.

"It would have taken too long, it had to be Buffy and Dawn's blood," 
he explained once again.

"Alright, I believe you," Maggie smiled. "You can take them all home 
in about four hours if you promise that Willow will not get out of 
bed for the next five days except to go to the bathroom."

"We promise," Xander nodded solemnly.  

"And no magic! Nothing to stress her energy," Maggie warned. "She 
almost died tonight and those ribs are going to be tender. CPR saved 
her life but didn't help that healing rib."

"She'll stay calm and in bed," Giles said firmly.

"Okay, come back in about four hours, go grab some breakfast or 
something," Maggie advised. "Bang on the door, I'll be in the back 
monitoring everyone."

"Thank you, Maggie, very much," Giles said gratefully.

"I gotta say, I never expected Sunnydale to be so exciting when I 
took over the clinic," Maggie grinned.

"Well, you do get interesting customers," Giles smiled.

"Just don't forget about our weekly tutoring session on demon 
physiology," Maggie grinned.

"My pleasure," Giles nodded. "Is Lisa still going to kill me for 
keeping you out at night?"

"Nah, she knows it comes with being a doctor's wife," Maggie smiled 
and headed towards the back of the clinic.

* * *

Faith looked up at a clear sky without bars or wire and smiled.

She looked over the top of the car at the Watcher with a smirk.

"Who are you again?" 

"I'm Ethan Rayne," he smiled and got into the driver's seat. Faith 
threw her backpack of belongings in the back seat and crawled into 
the passenger side. "I have good news. The witches monitoring Willow 
Rosenberg say that she's extremely weak right now. They managed to 
put a rider on that spell she did when she raised Buffy. The evil 
back fired on her and drained her, almost killing her."

The sorcerer glanced over and noticed Faith frowning.

"I know you liked her," Ethan said gently.

"We snipped at each other, but she treated me okay," Faith admitted.

"There's more news as well," Ethan continued. "The Slayer has 
rejected Spike's help and they've performed spells to keep him out of 
the house now. That should tell you something."

"That B is learning not to trust vampires without a soul?" Faith 
smirked.

"Spike is harmless since the government group put a chip in his head 
and has been working with the group during Buffy's absence. Buffy 
has eliminated him from the group because he'll be able to sense the 
evil in her soon," Ethan explained.

Faith continued to frown as the car moved onto the highway.

"We'll stop and get something to eat," Ethan said calmly, turning up 
the radio to an alternative rock station. "I'm sure you're wanting 
something besides prison food."

"Would be good," Faith agreed. 

"You'll find weapons in the trunk along with clothes, identification 
and other necessary things," Ethan informed her. "The car is yours."

Faith's eyebrows rose in surprise. The car was a brand new Ford 
Mustang V6 with a killer stereo system.

"This is generous, something the Council isn't known for," Faith 
frowned.

"Giles and the others will think you are the enemy, especially if you 
go after Buffy and Willow," Ethan explained. "You may need to move 
fast."

"What happens after I kill them?" Faith demanded.

"You leave Sunnydale and we'll reassign you," Ethan shrugged. "I 
suggest you look up Spike and use him. Word is among the demons he's 
taking rejection very hard and is bent on revenge."

"You want me to team up with a bad guy so I can kill Buffy and Willow 
even though no one else knows they're evil," Faith grumbled.

"That about sums it up," Ethan agreed with a smirk. "It won't be 
easy and none of the group will believe you."

"What else is new?" Faith grumbled, curling up in the seat and 
closing her eyes.

* * *

Buffy smiled as she sat up and looked over at Tara snuggled as close 
as possible next to Willow, both still asleep.

"Hey," Dawn said softly, sitting on the gurney Buffy was lying on.

"Hey yourself, kid," Buffy smiled. "How long was I asleep?"

"I just woke up," Dawn admitted. "I think we went to sleep around 
2am and it's sunlight now."

Buffy looked up as the door opened and an obviously tired Maggie 
Doyle entered the room.

"Good, I was hoping you two would be up," she smiled and walked over, 
immediately checking their pulses and their eyes.

"How's Will?" Buffy demanded.

"She's going to be okay if she takes it easy for the next week," 
Maggie said, checking Dawn. "Giles and your friends are out front, 
why don't you take them home and everyone get some rest today. For 
all of you, I want lots of liquids, orange juice, things like that. 
You went through a major blood loss too and you both should be a lot 
worse than you are."

"Sunnydale mystery?" Dawn suggested.

"I'm getting used to those," Maggie smiled.

"You might want to wrap Willow up in one of those blankets you 
brought her in. I cut her shirt off her and her skirt is ruined from 
the blood," Maggie advised.

"I'll take her," Buffy said firmly.

Maggie's eyebrow rose in surprise. "I think you might need some help."

"I can carry her," Buffy said firmly. "Dawn can help Tara."

"Wake up your friends," Maggie nodded. "I've left instructions with 
Giles, I want you all to double up on your iron and B-12 for a few 
days."

Buffy and Dawn smiled as they gently shook each witch. Tara mumbled 
but opened her eyes slowly. Willow whined in her sleep and refused 
to wake up.

"I'll carry her out," Buffy said softly as Dawn helped Tara sit up.

Dawn picked up the least bloody blanket and handed it to Buffy.

Tara watched as the Slayer wrapped the blanket around Willow and 
lifted the red-head into her arms. Willow whimpered but kept 
sleeping.

"Is she okay?" Tara asked with a frown.

"She will be, Dr. Doyle says," Dawn said slowly.  

Tara held the door open for Buffy and Willow and followed through, 
staying close to both of them. The group found Giles, Xander and 
Anya waiting for them anxiously as they received instructions from 
Maggie Doyle.

"Dr. Doyle says she's gonna be okay, right?" Xander demanded.

"Yes," Buffy nodded but with a worried expression as Willow lay in 
her arms.

"I want the four of you to take it easy for the next few days and 
Willow for a week," Maggie repeated. "Lots of vitamins, good food, 
and juice."

"And I think Tara and I should do some research on this," Giles 
suggested.

"Let's get home first," Buffy suggested.

* * *

Willow didn't fully wake up even when Buffy and Tara changed her 
clothes and put the witches to bed, Tara snuggling behind her lover.

"Buffy?" 

Buffy had just laid down on her bed when Dawn's voice caused her to 
look up. "What is it, Dawnie?"

"Could I?I guess I was kinda freaked?could I?"

"Come on, runt," Buffy smiled, patting the other side of her bed.  
Dawn smiled and crawled into bed with her sister, kicking off her 
house shoes. "Don't hog the blankets."

"Right, as long as you don't drool," Dawn teased back.

"I don't drool!" Buffy protested.

"Did you leave your doors open last night?" Dawn asked sleepily.

"No, I think someone tried to get in," Buffy admitted.

"Where were you?" Dawn yawned.

"I crashed with Willow and Tara," Buffy said softly. "I've been 
having trouble sleeping."

"That's cool, they're great at comfort," Dawn declared. "And you 
drool."

"Do not!"

"Do so!"

"Do not!"

Giles, in the hallway, shook his head with a smile. He had been 
worried when Buffy had seemed so out of it upon her return but now it 
sounded like life as usual in the Summers' home.

He walked quietly into Willow and Tara's room and checked Willow's 
pulse.

Tara opened her eyes sleepily.  

"She's okay," the witch said softly.

"Do you know what happened?" he asked, almost in a whisper.

"I think so, I could sense her life force," Tara nodded, almost 
asleep. "Someone tapped into the spell and tied her life to Buffy's, 
a continual and slow drain. The broken rib made it worse and work 
faster."

"How do you know that?" Giles asked, keeping his voice even.

"Joyce Mom told me in my sleep while I helped Willow," Tara answered, 
closing her eyes. "We're bound now."

Giles shook his head again and headed down the stairs, debating 
whether he wanted a cup of tea or a few hours on the sofa.

He decided on the sofa.

* * *

Spike snarled and threw an empty whiskey bottle across the room.  

"Bloody hell!" he shouted, kicking over a chair. "Lock me out? Put a 
fucking spell on the place? I'll rip your tongue out while I?I?fuck."

The vampire fell over onto his ass on the stone floor and then onto 
his back.

He didn't even look up when the door to the crypt smashed inward.

"Come to kill me or fuck me, Slayer?" he demanded, sensing Slayer 
energy.

"Well, I think I need you alive but the thought of screwing you just 
turns my stomach," a voice declared.

"What the hell?" Spike muttered, trying to sit up but unable to do so.

"You're pathetic!" the voice snarled. "Can't even protect yourself, 
can you?"

"Rack off, bitch, and just do it," Spike snarled.

"I said I need you alive," Faith growled, tossing her backpack onto 
the stone floor.  

"What the hell for?" Spike muttered.

"We're going to kill a Slayer and a witch," Faith snapped, grabbing 
up a half empty bottle of whiskey and taking a long drink.

* * *

Tara smiled as she felt Willow's arms wrapped around her ribs and her 
lips began nuzzling her neck. Tara stretched and started to turn 
over but Willow held her tightly. The red-haired witch began 
nibbling on Tara's earlobe, causing the blond to gasp.

"W-Willow?" she whispered as Willow began unbuttoning her pajama top.

"Need you!" Willow growled. "Too long!"

"Goddess, Willow!" Tara cried out as Willow's hands pulled her pajama 
bottoms down past Tara's hips and went between her lover's legs from 
behind. "You?you aren't?up to this."

"Wanna bet?" Willow growled, biting down on Tara's shoulder. "I feel 
great and I need to feel you!"

Tara pulled her pajama top off over her head and moaned as Willow 
moved up against her. She realized that the hacker already had her 
clothes off as bare breasts touched her skin.

"Oh Goddess, what you make me feel!" Tara whimpered.  

"Yes!" Willow growled and turned Tara over and quickly moved her 
fingers back to Tara's sexual center.  

Tara was breathing heavily as she looked into Willow's dark green 
eyes, surprised by her lover's sudden aggressiveness and how much it 
was turning her on. Willow was only Tara's second lover ever and had 
amazed the blonde witch with her gentleness and desire to please 
her.  

"Willow!" Tara begged, not quite sure what she was begging for at 
that moment. "It's been so long! Since?since?"

"Since Buffy died," Willow said softly, suddenly gentle. She stroked 
Tara's hair, looking deep into blue eyes. "What happened last night? 
I feel strange. No, wait, answer that when we're done!"

"Uh?" Tara hesitated, sitting up and pulling the sheet up over her 
shyly. "Joyce Mom showed up and told us you were dying. Someone used 
the breaking of the ritual circle to tap into the spell and attached 
your life force to Buffy's."

"Is that why I felt so terrible?" Willow asked, snuggling up in 
Tara's arms.

"Yes, the more Buffy came to herself the more it drained you," Tara 
explained.  

"What?what happened?" Willow whispered, a chill running up her spine.

"You?you were hurt during the fight with the demons and were bleeding 
inside," Tara continued, a tear escaping her eye as she held Willow 
tight. "It sped up the draining."

"What happened, Tar?" Willow repeated.

"You died, Will," Tara admitted. "We waited for you to die and for 
the connection to be broken. Then?then Giles and Buffy did CPR and we 
rushed you to?to the clinic."

"I died?" Willow whispered, her voice small and vulnerable.

"Yes," Tara nodded, pulling Willow close to comfort her. "Buffy and 
Dawn donated blood for you and I?I worked magic to help keep your 
soul here until your body was strong enough."

"Buffy and Dawn?" Willow asked, her mind reeling.

"Joyce Mom said they were the key, the blood was the key," Tara tried 
explaining. "Giles thought it meant a transfusion to save your life."

"I'm not in the hospital," Willow said, confused.

"We went to the clinic," Tara said softly, kissing the top of 
Willow's head as she held her lover. "Giles thought the hospital 
would take too long clearing Buffy and Dawn's blood and we'd lose 
you."

"I?I?died?" Willow repeated, beginning to cry.

"Willow, it's okay," Tara said softly. "Joyce Mom wouldn't have come 
to us with the answers if you weren't meant to be here."

"Slayer blood? Is that why I feel so good?" Willow asked after a few 
moments.

"I don't know, probably," Tara nodded.  

"It's different between us too," Willow said timidly. 

"I know," Tara said softly, pulling Willow's chin up so she could 
kiss her lover gently. "We bonded when I helped bring your soul and 
life line back."

"Like soul bonded?" Willow smiled, tears filing her eyes again.

"I think so," Tara nodded.  

"Willow? Tara?" 

Willow squeaked, grabbing the sheet up over her body and Tara's eyes 
widened, looking at Joyce standing at the end of the bed.

"A?a?a little spooky much!" Willow cried out.

Joyce smiled patiently.

"Sorry about that, it's a little hard to knock," Joyce teased.

"What?what happened to me?" Willow asked.

"Just as Tara surmised, you had to die to break the spell," Joyce 
said gently, her eyes soft. "To save you, Tara was willing to risk 
her soul to bring you back while the doctor worked on you. In doing 
so, she bonded her soul to yours."

"What does that mean?" Tara asked. "And Buffy and Dawn's blood?"

"It healed Willow's broken rib and blood loss," Joyce said slowly 
with a frown. "It also bound the four of you together. You'll be 
able to sense things about each other, almost on a psychic level.  
You'll also feel uncomfortable if you're too far apart from each 
other."

"Isn't that a little much without asking all of us?" Willow asked 
with a frown. "You're saying we're connected like?like?like soul 
mates? The four of us?"

"In a way," Joyce said calmly. "If you don't work at maintaining the 
bond with Buffy and Dawn, it will fade over time. The one between the 
two of you won't."

"How do we maintain it?" Tara asked. "And how do we tell Buffy and 
Dawn this?" 

"They're listening right now, I'm in Buffy's room too," Joyce smiled.

"Oh freaky," Willow muttered.

"A bit," Joyce agreed.

"What else about the blood?" Tara asked.

Joyce smiled sadly. 

"I can't say right now," she said softly. "What I can tell you is 
that if one of you dies, it's very likely the other will follow right 
then or grieve themselves to death shortly thereafter."

"That's not what I'd want!" Tara protested. "I'd want her to live!"

"You're my life, baby!" Willow countered.

"I wouldn't want you to follow, neither would you," Tara protested.

"No, you're right," Willow nodded, leaning heavily against her 
lover.  

"It's done," Joyce said firmly. "I'm sorry, it was the only way to 
break the hold of the sorcerer."

"Who did this? Who tried to kill me?" Willow demanded, suddenly 
energized.

"Buffy's demanding that as well," Joyce frowned. "I'm not allowed to 
say. I can tell you that not everything will be as it seems and 
sometimes people can change."

Willow blinked and glanced at Tara and when they glanced back Joyce 
was gone.

The two witches were stunned for several minutes. They could hear 
Buffy and Dawn moving in the room across the hall, excitedly about 
seeing Joyce and what they had heard but Tara and Willow were quietly 
absorbing the information.

In a few minutes Buffy pounded on their door.

"Dawn and I are going out for breakfast and dragging Giles with us," 
Buffy yelled. "Give you guys some time to process without Dawn's 
endless questions."

"I wouldn't bug them!" Dawn's voice protested.

"Yes you would, it's like a law or something," Buffy countered.  
Their voices began moving down the hall towards the stairs. "You're a 
little sister, you're naturally annoying."

It was a few minutes before the witches heard the front door slamming.

"You okay, Will?" Tara asked softly, stroking Willow's hair and cheek.

"Yeah, just a lot to take in," Willow admitted.  

"Regretting it?" Tara asked fearfully.

"No, not at all," Willow said firmly, sitting up to look Tara in the 
eyes. "You are my life, Tar. I know I went a little crazy when 
Buffy died but you are my soul!"

"You love Buffy," Tara said gently, not accusing but more of a 
statement.

"Not like I love you, Tar," Willow said firmly. "I love her more 
than a friend but not like I love you."

Tara's blue eyes suddenly sparkled with a mischievous glint.

"The Powers That Be said we have to maintain our bond," she said 
suggestively and Willow smiled and pulled the sheet down from Tara's 
body, taking the pajama bottoms with her.

"They did, didn't they?" Willow asked, her voice dropping an octave 
with arousal and Tara began breathing heavily.

"Yeah, they did," Tara agreed seeing Willow's earlier arousal 
returning as the witch crawled up her body, slowly and teasing.

"Then maybe we should spend some time being close, don't you think?" 
Willow suggested, running her nails up the inside of Tara's legs and 
smiling at the moan that escaped from her lover.

"Oh yeah," Tara agreed in a husky whisper.

Willow whimpered, she loved it when Tara's voice dropped like that in 
arousal. It amazed her that she could do that to the beautiful 
woman. The hacker moved slowly until she was at the heart of Tara's 
arousal and Willow sighed happily. She loved pleasing Tara, she 
loved making love to this woman and thought she could do it forever.

Tara moaned as Willow moved her back down onto the bed, red hair 
draping over her thighs as her mate settled in to make love to her 
thoroughly.

Tara cried out as Willow explored Tara's sex with her tongue, 
drinking in Tara's arousal and dancing her fingers between the blonde 
witch's labia lips. Willow purred, sending shock waves through 
Tara's system, causing her hips to buck against Willow's mouth.

Willow looked up and smiled at her lover, reaching her hand out at 
the same time Tara reached down, needing contact. Their fingers 
intertwined as Willow's other fingers entered her lover, easing some 
of the pressure and taking Tara's arousal higher.

"Oh Goddess! Willow!"

"Patience, my love," Willow said softly. "I've neglected you and I'm 
going to make it up to you."

"By killing me?" Tara squeaked, her other hand grabbing the sheet 
under her in frustration.

Willow laughed lightly and Tara realized it was the first time she 
had heard that wonderful sound, since long before Buffy's death. It 
sounded like Summerland, a pagan heaven, to the witch.

"Maybe," Willow agreed. "Love you to death and I'd follow you and 
make love to you for eternity."

* * *

Dawn squeaked with delight when she spotted Xander and Anya sitting 
in a booth at the local Dennys® and ran over to hug them as Giles 
rolled his eyes.

"Just what I need, to watch Xander eat," he mumbled. He was still 
trying to process what Buffy and Dawn had told him on the way over to 
the restaurant and he wasn't quite awake yet without his tea. Giles 
also knew that Dennys did not serve a decent cup of tea.

Buffy lost her grin when they got close and found Dawn examining 
Xander's face with obvious concern. The Slayer turned his chin so 
she could see the left side and took in his black eye and swollen jaw.

Anya looked tired and Buffy had the impression that the young couple 
had been there for quite awhile.

"Xan?" Buffy asked softly as they sat down and Dawn quieted down.

"It's nothing, Buff," Xander shrugged. "We thought we'd get up early 
and get food. Well, early for us since we went to bed at 7am."

"How long have you been here and what happened?" Buffy demanded as a 
waitress headed their way.

"No big deal, honest!" Xander protested.

"Xander's father," Anya snapped, meeting Xander's glare with one of 
her own. "His team lost last night and he lost money on a bet so he 
drank all night."

"He hit you?" Buffy exclaimed, causing the waitress to jump slightly 
as she was passing menus to the new arrivals. "Sorry," Buffy muttered.

"It's nothing, Buff," Xander protested.

"It's not the first time," Anya added.

"Anya!" Xander snapped and wouldn't meet Buffy or Giles' eyes.

"That settles it!" Buffy growled. "You two are moving in with us 
until you get a place of your own."

"You don't have the room," Xander protested.

"Dawn can share my room for a month," Buffy said firmly.  

"What about the social worker?" Xander countered.

"If I can't take in an abused friend then she needs an attitude 
adjustment," Buffy declared.

"Oh my God!" Dawn suddenly whispered, her mouth left hanging.

Buffy went on immediate alert, hand in jacket and scanning the room, 
looking for demons or some sort of danger. She even expected an 
appearance from Spike.

The Slayer did not expect to see familiar blue eyes looking at her 
and an unfamiliar pair next to him as they stopped approaching the 
waitress for a table.

"Riley?" Buffy whispered, noting the way he was holding the hand of 
the gorgeous brunette next to him as well as his stunned expression.

"Riley Finn?" Xander blinked rapidly.