RoundRobin: Chapter 12 - Hunter Ash (NC-17!!)

["Jude" <AmberBensonFan@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

I'm sooooooo sorry. It's been brought to my attention that I didn't 
post this chapter after it was released. Ack! Really sorry. Anyway, 
I'd like to take this moment now then to introduce Chapter 12 - the 
first chapter contribution by Hunter Ash to the RoundRobin :-) Hope 
you enjoy.

THIS PART HAS SEX (Willow/Cordy 'ship ---- please bear with us, we'll 
get Buffy and Willow together and we hope that this doesn't come off 
as just a PWP, there is kind of a reason Cordy and Will got together.)


Chapter 12 - Alarm Call
Hunter Ash (with wonderful input from AmberBensonFan)

Giles frowned as he listened to Dawn's message one more time.  

"Hi, Giles. Uh, this is Dawn. I just thought that, well, I was 
wondering how you were doing, and, Giles, it's going to hell here!  
Willow's gone, Buffy's depressed, everything's falling apart here!  
Look, I don't know why you left for England, but you were wrong.  
Buffy needs you here. We need you. 'Bye."

"Bloody hell," he muttered. "How in the blazes are the three of them 
supposed to get together if Willow isn't even in the same city? And 
how am I going to make this up to Olivia? Watchers shouldn't do 
romance." 

Giles picked up the phone and dialed the number easily and waited 
impatiently. 

"H-hello?" a voice finally answered, sounding slightly out of breath.

"Yes, this is Giles, is that you, Tara?" Giles asked, trying to 
remain calm.

"Y-yes, Giles! Buffy! It's Giles!" Tara shouted. "J-just a moment, 
Giles."

A moment later and Giles felt his knees almost give out when he heard 
Buffy's voice.

"Giles!" Buffy said excitedly. "I know I'm supposed to be angry at 
you and everything but could you come home now?"

"Buffy," Giles said, unsure how to begin or even what to say. "I'm on 
the next flight. In the meantime, I, uh, I don't have time to find 
out what happened and who said what, but I need you to get Willow 
back to Sunnydale and on a friendly basis, please."

"What?" Buffy stammered, leaning against the wall as Tara watched her 
closely, suddenly concerned. "I?of course I want Willow back but she 
said she needed the time away and Angel says she's getting better. We 
don't want to push her."

"I don't care what it takes, Buffy," Giles said firmly. "It's 
important."

"What is it, Giles?" Buffy demanded. "You disappear without a word 
and now you're telling me to fix my relationships that you haven't 
even asked about?"

"I'm afraid I'll have to explain when I get there," Giles 
sighed. "Can I say that it's important and the future of the world 
depends on the friendship between the three of you being mended?"

"No, you can't!" Buffy snapped, tears beginning to escape down her 
face. "Do you know how much it hurts that she left and how bad it 
hurts because we all screwed up and it led to this? That includes you 
leaving when you did!"

Tara moved closer and took Buffy's hand slowly as Dawn watched from 
the top of the stairs.

"I accept that but I have to insist you do this, Buffy," Giles said 
softly. "It could mean the end of the world if you don't."

"Don't tell me, another goddamn prophecy!" Buffy growled. 

"How about the Beast from Revelations and the end of the world in the 
battle between heaven and hell?" Giles snapped back, feeling weary 
from his endless hours of research. "I'm on the next plane, I'll 
call when I know the connecting flight numbers and arrival times. 
Make contact with Willow and see if she has come back from the 
darkness yet."

"And if she isn't ready?" Buffy asked, holding Tara's hand tightly.  

"Then buy seats on the next space shuttle and get off the planet," 
Giles suggested and hung up before his Slayer could protest. Then 
Giles corrected himself, could he even call Buffy his Slayer anymore?

"Damn straight, I can," he growled at himself. He had been fighting 
for her even after leaving Sunnydale. The stipend and retroactive pay 
from the Council proved that. Now he just had to prove himself to his 
Slayer and the Scooby Gang.

The Watcher was tempted to call Angel and talk to Willow but that was 
an even harder task to contemplate. What could he say to her? Sorry, 
I left when you were falling apart. Now that you're only in pieces 
and putting yourself back together, think you could zip back to 
Sunnydale and join with Tara and Buffy to save the world? 

"God, Giles, you're losing it in your age," he muttered and started 
for the door where his cases waited. The Englishman spotted a recent 
photo of him and Olivia and Giles sighed. He pulled out his flat 
keys and dropped them on the side table along with the ring she had 
bought him. Not quite an engagement ring but a more-than-friendship 
gesture. He would send word to have one of the Council clean his 
place out and return the ring if he didn't survive. If he did, they 
could send the ring to America if Olivia was willing to extend their 
relationship into an international one again. He wouldn't blame her 
if she didn't want to face what he did almost every night. No sane 
person would, he thought to himself.

Giles picked up his cases and walked out the door, knowing he 
wouldn't return to the flat again, whether he made it through the 
struggle or not. His home was with Buffy and the others.

* * *

Willow glanced at the clock on the wall in surprise. As usual, when 
she got to working on a computer problem, she lost all track of time 
and now it was dark. Normally the witch wouldn't have worried, she 
could more than take care of herself now but that was before the 
meltdown and detoxing from the dark stuff.  

The redhead sighed and began the process of shutting down her work.  
Her car was only a block away in a parking garage. It had only taken 
two independent computer jobs for a decent down payment on a little 
car with Cordelia as a cosigner.  

As Willow stuffed her computer tools, disks, cords and other 
equipment in her backpack and smiled as she thought about Queen C.  
That relationship had turned interesting, Willow smirked to herself.  
Somehow the two women had bonded over their individual problems, 
finding the common ground, and had spent the days into weeks helping 
and supporting each other. Cordelia had cut back on the pain 
medication and, in turn, was helping stabilize Willow with meditation 
and just being a non-judgmental friend.

Many nights and mornings had been spent crying over past mistakes and 
pain, both emotional and physical. For awhile Willow had been 
frantic to find an answer to Cordelia's problem with the visions and 
the fact it was killing her now close friend. Finally she had come 
to accept what Cordelia was dealing with, Queen C was going to die 
eventually because of her "gifting." For Willow, she was starting to 
experiment with small bits of magic; going back to the basics. She 
was still shaky and scared to try much beyond levitating pencils 
again and Cordelia was patient, pointing out that energy was just 
energy - it was how you use it that made the distinction between dark 
or light. She was also learning to forgive herself for her addiction 
by watching Cordelia suffer with her own.

There were also times that weren't spent on angst and emotional 
turmoil. Nights of pizza and sappy movies, shopping, and time at the 
beach for the two women. Cordelia declared Willow much too pale and 
thin and promptly set about getting the computer geek and witch into 
the sun with beach time and long walks. She also got Willow to start 
eating again; Cordy surprising Willow with actually being a decent 
cook.

The only thing Cordelia couldn't help with was the empty feeling that 
should have been filled by the Scooby gang, especially Buffy and 
Tara. Willow tried to ignore that but there were many nights when 
Cordelia would pull Willow from the sofa into bed with her and hold 
her as the young witch cried, never saying a word, just offering 
comfort.

Willow smiled at the office staff remaining in the building where she 
was working on their computer problems and waved goodnight. The witch 
pulled her keys out, complete with pepper spray on the key-ring as 
she headed for the parking garage.

The witch frowned as her hackles rose on the back of her neck as she 
approached her car in the dimly lit garage.  

"Hello, witch!" a male voice called out cheerfully.

Willow spun with her pepper spray at the ready. The speaker was at 
least 20 feet away and instantly reminded Willow of Rack. She could 
see the energy dancing off of him and Willow whimpered in her throat.

The sorcerer was tall and lean, almost ferret-like in the sharpness 
of his face and black eyes. Willow felt nothing but power and 
darkness flowing from him as he raised his hands, his black coat 
flowing around him.

The witch barely had time to register a second figure next to the 
sorcerer before she was slammed into her car from an energy blast 
from the warlock. Willow fell to the concrete, dropping her keys. 
Willow shook her head and quickly extended her senses, sending her 
own energy lines through the concrete into the earth below and drew 
it back into her and out. She formed a protective shielding in front 
of her as the sorcerer sent another blast.

The shielding held and the sorcerer laughed as the smaller figured 
next to him growled. "Very good, witch," the sorcerer smiled and it 
chilled Willow rather than comforted her. "Nice response time, I see 
the rumors of you losing it were exaggerated. Ready to come back to 
the fold?"

"What?" Willow asked, her face puzzled.

"I'm supposed to offer you a job with a very powerful company," the 
sorcerer explained. "A company that uses magic for all it's worth. To 
gain power, strength, position, and control. Just the things you were 
seeking in Sunnydale until your friends abandoned you and made you 
feel like crap for wanting the same strength and power a Slayer has."

"What kind of company?" Willow asked, getting to her feet and keeping 
the shielding in place.

"Wolfram and Hart, lawyers," the sorcerer smiled.

"The guys my friends fight against," Willow nodded, recognizing the 
name from Cordelia's bitch sessions about her work with Angel and his 
dealings with Darla.

"Yes, they waste their time fighting against the true power," the 
sorcerer shrugged.  

"The true power comes from the Earth and cosmos, not from evil and 
chaos," Willow frowned.

The sorcerer laughed and the figure beside him stepped into the 
light. Willow felt her heart skip a beat at the sight of a very scary 
werewolf. Unlike Oz, who seemed like a mindless creature in a cage, 
only half-upright, this wolf stood up straight; had a full muzzle, 
and massive claws.

"Don't tell me you're going back to that white-light, love, harmony, 
and peace Wiccan weakness crap, are you?" the sorcerer taunted. "Why 
give up the power? You think your friends want you back like this?"

"My friends didn't like the dark stuff," Willow protested. "I hurt 
people."

"You lost control, you haven't had a teacher," the sorcerer 
countered. "They loved it when your magic helped them, didn't they? 
Now that you lost control, they've moved on without you. Threw you 
aside and moved on."

"No," Willow protested. "They call and ask about me."

"Have they asked you to come home?" he taunted. "Have they called 
you?"

Willow frowned, her shield slipping a little.  

"Now that you're no longer useful, they let you go and moved on," he 
continued. "Your lover has moved into the house and cares for the 
brat. The boy and demon plan their wedding. The Slayer works and is 
quite close to the witch. Guess she got tired of hanging with the 
neutered vampire."

Willow continued to frown as the shield slipped further away from her.

The witch straightened up and her shield brightened. "Alright, it 
hurts but I can't let them run my life, here or there," she 
declared. "I don't like what I became and I'm not going back!"  

The sorcerer sighed. "I knew they were wrong about you but I had to 
offer. You know what the alternative is, don't you?"

"Is this where I get in my car and promise to not to tell anyone I 
saw you?" Willow said hopefully, strengthening her magic shield.

"Actually, no," the sorcerer grinned. "But you knew that."

"Yeah, a girl c-could hope though," Willow tried to smile bravely.

"Just leave pieces," the sorcerer ordered the figure next to him, 
surprising Willow. She was expecting a magical fight, not a werewolf.

Willow squeaked and fell to her knees and wrapped her shield around 
her, turning it to silver light at the last moment as the werewolf 
hit it, claws and fangs extended.

The werewolf howled in anger and pain as it fell away from the 
shield. Willow yelled in pain as she was slammed against the car 
again, the sorcerer breaking her shield.

Willow rolled under a car as the werewolf growled and dove at her.  
She turned, pulling power from the ground again, and sent a bolt of 
energy at the car as the werewolf tried to get out from under it.  
Electricity shot through the car, sending sparks dancing over the 
werewolf's fur.

The redhead turned to run and barely saw the sorcerer swinging his 
staff at her, hitting her across the ribs. Willow fell back onto the 
concrete, throwing up her hands at the last moment to grab his staff.

Willow sent her own energy along the staff, up into the sorcerer, 
knocking him back into a wall. Willow spent almost the last of her 
strength turning the brass on the end of the staff into silver just 
as the werewolf launched at her again, impaling him.

Willow wiped the blood from her eye and stumbled for the elevator. 
She reached out and pulled the fire alarm. Next she smashed her hand 
through the glass and grabbed the fire axe.

The red-haired witch squeaked as she shut the door to the stairwell 
and something slammed against it with a loud growl. Willow slipped 
the axe in-between the handles, effectively locking the doors.

Willow whimpered from the pain that seemed to encompass her entire 
body. She said a quick prayer that she'd make it to Cordelia's.

* * *

Willow, I don't know how to write this. We've given you some time to 
do the recovery thing. I've given you time and I hate it. I hate that 
you felt you had to leave.

Buffy crumbled up the paper and threw it at the trashcan across the 
room where it joined several others. The Slayer lowered her head and 
banged it lightly on the desk.

Tara smiled softly as she walked up behind her friend. "Problems, 
Buff?" The witch began massaging the Slayer's shoulders.

"Yeah, this damned letter to Willow," Buffy moaned as Tara's fingers 
began loosening her tight muscles, the witch's hands and fingers very 
warm through Buffy's thin blouse.  

"I haven't gotten mine written either," Tara admitted. "Dawn's was 
lots of begging, hearts, kisses and more begging."

"I miss her but when I try to say that the words get all jumbled and 
don't make sense," Buffy complained. "It feels like a large part of 
us is missing without her."

"I know," Tara said softly. 

"And what's up with Giles demanding we get her back even if she isn't 
ready?" Buffy snapped, her muscles tightening again. "It's Will's 
decision, not his!"

"H-he did say s-something about saving the world again," Tara pointed 
out. 

"And how does that work? Will can't use magic anymore," Buffy 
frowned. 

"I don't know b-but maybe it is time to let her know that we really 
miss her and forgive her," Tara suggested.

"Yeah, but will she forgive me?" Buffy sighed, trying to relax into 
Tara's hands.

"Us, forgive us," the witch corrected.

"God, I miss her," Buffy mumbled.

* * *

Giles felt a sense of coming home when he stepped off the plane. The 
green meadows and tall oak trees of England would always be where he 
would return for visits but this had become home as long as his kids 
were there. He hadn't heard from Olivia since canceling their date 
and he sincerely hoped that she would forgive him and he could see 
her again. He liked the dancer a lot, she was the first romantic 
interest since losing Jenny and Giles liked the feeling of being with 
Olivia.

The Watcher frowned, noticing Buffy standing back as he passed 
through the doorway. She didn't rush forward to hug him but stood 
waiting with her arms crossed.

"Buffy, I, uh," Giles said, walking up to his former Slayer, no 
longer confident that he was still her Watcher or friend. "I had 
reasons for leaving that I couldn't tell you."

"Terrific," Buffy snapped. "Willow was falling apart, I wasn't 
feeling a damned thing, and Tara left Willow!"

Giles sighed. "I'm sorry, I really am. I, uh, was trying to? to stop 
a major threat before it reached the States and you for once."

"Why didn't you say something?" Buffy demanded. "I'm the Slayer, 
that's my job, isn't it?"

"I didn't want you dying again!" Giles snapped back.

"That wasn't your decision, Giles," Buffy countered. "Now you come 
back ordering us to get Willow back or the world ends. You don't even 
know what happened!"

"Can we take this outside?" Giles muttered. 

Buffy glared and motioned to the outside. She followed her Watcher, 
wanting desperately to hold him; she begged him to come home but the 
anger was interfering with her desire to have her father figure back.

"I can guess what happened," Giles said wearily. "Willow lost control 
over the magic, got messed up with some wrong characters, and made 
some mistakes. Did anyone die?"

Buffy frowned. "No one died, how did you know?"

"Remember Ripper and the tattoo of Egyhon?" he reminded her. "I made 
the same mistakes. Get her back, Buffy."

"Giles, she left to get better," Buffy said softly. "Willow felt like 
she had to leave us to do that. Angel says she's doing really well 
and getting better. It should be up to her when she returns."

"Buffy, I'll explain all of this to everyone, especially you and 
Tara," Giles said. "Can we go to your place now?"

An hour later found the Scooby gang, minus Willow, sitting around 
Buffy's dining table. Most were happy to see Giles but with 
reservations and some resentment that he understood.

"Okay, how do we save the world this time?" Xander quipped, frowning 
at how Tara and Buffy automatically sat very close to each other.  

"Actually, I haven't a clue," Giles admitted. "Well, that's not quite 
accurate, the answer is there. I'm just not sure how it 
works. "Three will stand against the Darkness--- One will be raised 
from madness, One will be raised from death, One will be raised from 
darkness. These are The Three, Who Are One--- United in power, United 
in weakness, And united in love, For all time"

Everyone thought about it and realization began hitting them.

Buffy reached for Tara's hand. "Raised from madness," she whispered.

"When Glory took Tara's mind and turned her simple, that works," Anya 
nodded, tactful as ever.

"And the raised from the dead is easy," Dawn muttered.

"Raised from darkness," Xander repeated. "Willow."

Giles nodded as he removed his glasses and cleaned them. "Yes, she's 
already been through the darkness and seems to be coming out of it 
from what Buffy says but she's no longer connected with you. We need 
to get her back and the friendship mended."

Tara and Buffy frowned. "Giles, she hasn't contacted us and it was 
her decision to leave. We were all wrong, Willow and us. It should be 
her choice to return and not for some damned prophecy!" Buffy 
snapped. "What is the prophecy anyway?"

"My source, who I don't trust most of the time but seems to be on the 
level now," Giles stammered. "He says that it's the Beast and he's 
planning on finally causing the end of the world as described in 
Revelations."

"Revelations?" Xander squeaked. "You mean like? like Bible stuff?" 

"Yes, exactly," Giles nodded. "The ultimate evil has been building."

"Shouldn't we call the Pope or something?" Xander asked softly.

"The Watcher Council is trying to work with the various leaders of 
the major religions and some smaller ones," Giles 
nodded. "Unfortunately, the Vatican doesn't have Slayers. They've 
always left that up to the Council."

Buffy was looking down at her hands and gladly accepted Tara's hand 
in between them when the witch moved closer.  

"Buffy?" Giles asked softly.

"I died fighting Glory," Buffy said softly, her eyes filling with 
tears. "A Hell God, I also died facing the Master, how can I fight 
the Beast?"

"Not alone," Tara said softly. "All of us will face it."

"Especially the three of you, but that means you must get Willow back 
and the three of you bond closely," Anya said calmly. "That usually 
means sex, which shouldn't be hard for the three of you now."

"Anya!" Xander squeaked. "They aren't going to have sex together! 
Willow and Tara are together not? not the three of them!"

"Why not?" Anya asked innocently. "They both want each other, they 
both want Willow and Willow has been with Tara and in love with Buffy 
for years, what would be the problem?"

Both Buffy and Tara decided that holding hands was suddenly 
embarrassing as they blushed at Anya's assessment of relationships.

"They can figure exactly what their relationship is going to be when 
Willow gets back," Giles snapped.

"Then you call her and tell her it's the end of the world if she 
doesn't," Buffy grumbled.

Giles glared at his Slayer for a moment. "I'm sorry for leaving, I 
was hoping to head off the danger before it reached you. If I was 
here I might have stopped Willow's decline and the Beast would win 
because the three of you aren't connected. Get over it, Buffy, and 
focus on the rest of the world please. You can be pissed off at me 
later."

"Alright, enough," Tara said firmly. "We'll write Willow and email 
her, try to start the rebuilding. Anything else, Giles?"

"Well, actually, yes," Giles smiled, and cleaned his glasses again 
before reaching into his case and pulled out a large folder. He slid 
it across the table to Buffy. "In there you'll find the paperwork 
opening a bank account in your name. You'll find I set up a trust 
fund for Dawn and a college fund, if you approve, they just need your 
signature. Here's the bankbook. I suggest not going crazy with the 
money, setting up monthly expenses and such. You can explain this as 
an inheritance from a distant cousin in England. That's already been 
handled as well."

Buffy frowned and began looking at the papers as Dawn grabbed the 
bankbook and opened it. "Uh, Buffy? Am I reading these numbers 
right?" she squeaked, handing her sister the book as Giles smiled and 
leaned back in his chair.

Buffy and Tara looked in the book. Tara sat back, obviously stunned 
and Buffy blinked several times. 

Anya's curiosity was immediately almost out of control. This dealt 
with money and the Slayer was in shock. "I know that look, I see that 
look when someone doesn't realize that the price of real rose oil is 
too expensive," she declared. "That means there is a lot of money 
there! How much?"

Buffy swallowed and nodded. "A-a hundred and fifty thousand dollars?"

"There will be another two thousand, five hundred every month as long 
as you continue Slayer duties," Giles nodded. "I went to the Council 
and demanded an actual salary for an adult Slayer and retroactive pay 
from when Merrick found you." 

"Giles? Does this mean I have to answer to the Council again?" Buffy 
asked with a frown.

"No, they are going to trust my judgment in dealing with you," Giles 
explained. "As long as you continue to be a Slayer and save the 
world, they'll continue to pay you, supply information, and stay out 
of your way."

"Good," Xander muttered, voicing Buffy and everyone's feelings about 
the Council. "What do they think about this latest threat?"

"They're not quite sure they trust that it's actually happening but 
they are planning to try and stop it on their end," Giles said slowly.

"Uh, I'm miserable at money and Dawn is getting nowhere near this," 
Buffy smirked. "Tara's been handling the finances; think you can 
handle all of this?"

Tara started to blush and dropped her head. "It? it's a lot of r-
responsibility and it's your money, Buff."

"We're family, Tar," Buffy said gently, wondering how to talk to Tara 
about what Giles and Anya both had said. Buffy knew Anya was right at 
least on some level, she wanted Tara and Willow as her family with 
Dawn. It felt so empty without both of them in her life. Was she 
ready to face what that might mean? Buffy wasn't sure.

"Okay," the shy witch said softly, with a smile for the Slayer. 
Xander frowned and Giles smiled to himself.

* * *

Willow stumbled towards the door to Cordelia's place. Her hands were 
shaking so badly that she couldn't get the key in the lock. The red-
haired witch began pounding lightly on the door. "Cordy, Dennis, 
please!"

The door clicked open by an unseen force as Cordelia started to rush 
into the foyer from her large bedroom. "What the..." she started to 
question but nothing more came out when she saw the damage done to 
her friend.

Willow stumbled into Cordelia's arms as the door shut behind 
them. "Cordy, I think it hurts a little bit. I took on a sorcerer and 
a werewolf."

Cordelia couldn't help but cringe at her battered friend and began to 
guide her towards the bedroom. "Dennis, please get the first aid kit 
from the bathroom," she called over her shoulder as she helped Willow 
onto the bed. She gave the redhead a quick once-over glance. The 
first aid floated into the room and Cordy grabbed it with a 
quick, "Thank you," before she sat on the bed next to Willow. "I 
don't know how to handle Were wounds, Will, can I stop the 
infection?" Queen C asked as she started to clean up the hacker's 
more obvious injuries.

Willow smiled. "After dealing with Oz and Verucca, I learned. I 
didn't get bit or scratched," she said proudly. "I didn't use bad 
magic either! They wanted me to join Wolfram and Hart and attacked me 
when I said no." The young woman winced as Cordelia began cleaning 
the wound over her eye. "Ouch! I think they got my ribs though," 
Willow said softly and realized how close Cordy was to her and how 
long it had been since she'd been close to someone.

Cordy stopped her work the second she heard the mention of Wolfram 
and Hart and looked right into Willow's eyes, which were a lot closer 
than she expected them to be. Her comment to call Angel about this 
as soon as possible never made it from her brain to her lips as the 
sudden closeness and the feelings that accompanied that took over 
residence. She gulped and pulled back, "Ahh, I'm gonna have to, 
um..." Cordelia pointed to Willow's shirt and then tossed the soiled 
gauze to the side before she slowly moved her hands to the bottom of 
the redhead's shirt. She wanted to look at Willow to make sure this 
was okay, but the second their eyes locked, she felt the need to look 
away.

Willow smiled and then winced as she pulled her shirt off. "Oh man, 
that hurts and I can't see the side of the ribs. Come on, Cordy, you 
used to tease me about my body when we were in school. Though I admit 
things have grown a little since then but not much," Willow 
babbled. "I'm shutting up now while you check and see how bad the 
bruising is and if I need a hospital?"

Cordy glanced up and had no problem looking into the green orbs that 
stared down at her, her own eyes showed a sadness and 
regret. "Willow, I'm really sorry about, ya know, all that back in 
school." She quickly looked down and ran her hands over Willow's 
sides, first in an attempt to gauge the seriousness of the Witch's 
wounds, but once she got her mind to settle that there was no major 
damage, the strokes became more of a caress.

Willow's breath quickened as she bit back a moan. It had been so long 
since a woman had touched her. After Tara left and Buffy turned on 
her, Willow felt unloved and unlovable. Cordelia's touch felt like 
there was more interest than just the witch's wounds.

"I, uh, forgotten, Cordy," Willow said softly and tentatively raised 
a hand to Cordelia's hair. "That was a long time ago." Willow wasn't 
sure if she meant the teasing or since she had been with Tara.

Slowly, the former May Queen raised her eyes and made sure to take in 
the sights along the way. She noticed how Willow's breathing changed 
and caught the increased pulse rate that pounded in the smaller 
woman's neck, until she looked at small lips before she finally moved 
to eyes that darkened with what could only be passion or lust. Not 
really sure what had come over her nor did she care, Cordy leaned her 
head into Willow's hand that was in her hair. Her confidence 
increased as her own hands started to venture further and she boldly 
allowed her fingers to stroke the sides of Willow's small but pert 
breasts, but frowned ever so slightly that the cloth of her bra was 
in the way.

Cordy caressed Willow's back and enjoyed the feel of their skin 
together, but once again encountered the obstacle of Willow's bra.  
Easily she slipped her fingers around the clasp and released it 
before she trailed her hands freely up and down the smooth back, 
moving deeper into the kiss.

Willow moaned and pulled at Cordelia's top, her fingers became almost 
desperate. The last logical part of her mind recognized that Cordy 
seemed awfully familiar with how to undo a bra on another woman. The 
witch pulled Cordy on top of her and only winced slightly at the sore 
back muscles. "Need you," she muttered.

Cordy was careful to keep the bulk of her weight off the sensitive 
ribs, but her arms almost buckled when their bare breasts made 
contact. She didn't even bother to stifle the groan that rumbled 
from deep in her throat and she quickly set to work; her lips claimed 
Willow's neck and her teeth nipped at the flesh on the redhead's 
pulse point.

She trailed kisses and nips along Willow's jaw, down the front of her 
neck, and down the valley between Willow's breasts. Just as she went 
to enjoy her next stop she noticed the lights flickered and some 
books slammed to the floor. She groaned and called out, "I'll move 
if you keep that up."

Willow squeaked and tried to grab the pillow and pull it over her 
chest. "Dennis! Privacy!" she stammered. "Oh to hell with it," she 
growled and pulled Cordy's pajama bottoms off while she kicked her 
own shoes off. "Don't stop, Cordy, please."

All but forgetting the ghost in her apartment, Cordy quickly set out 
to get Willow as naked as she was. Once the Witch's pants quickly 
joined the pile on the floor, Cordy pressed herself in between 
Willow's legs and moaned loudly at the contact. She cut off her own 
moan when she wrapped her lips around Willow's already hardened 
nipple and sucked it into her mouth and flicked her tongue over it, 
while her other hand joined in the fun as it kneaded the flesh of the 
redhead's other breast.

Willow moaned and returned the favor, one hand on a nipple, the other 
on Cordy's hip, and her lips on the brunette's neck. She brought her 
leg up to press against Cordelia's sex and started to rock her lover.

The words, "Oh, Willow," came out in a mumbled groan around the flesh 
in her mouth when she felt the contact against her center. She moved 
her mouth to Willow's other breast, her now unoccupied hand strayed 
down a firm stomach until her fingers dipped into red curls.

Willow cried out when Cordelia's fingers began to explore her, as 
they entered and then left to trail between her labia lips, danced 
over her clit, and refused to settle on any one torment just 
yet. "Oh Gods, Cordy," Willow whispered and bit into Cordelia's 
shoulder as she rocked up into the Seer's fingers when they entered 
her.

Cordy growled when Willow's teeth took purchase on her shoulder and 
she pushed two fingers deeply into Willow, before she slid them back 
out and only to thrust in with a third finger. When the hacker's 
mouth let go Queen C moved down Willow's body and planted kisses 
along the way. She stopped only to occasionally pull some skin 
between her teeth to suckle and lap at it before she moved further 
down. Cordy took a moment to enjoy the vision, one of the few she 
did actually like, of Willow as the witch writhed on the bed while 
her fingers danced inside the woman beneath her. With a smile she 
pressed her mouth against Willow's nether lips before she let her 
tongue slip in-between the wet folds to lap hungrily at the throbbing 
clit that begged for attention.

Willow cried out again and grabbed the headboard and she clung 
desperately as her body thrashed. The redhead moved her legs to open 
herself wider to Cordelia; her body begged for every attention and 
Willow thrust into her former tormenter, "Oh, Cordy, so good!"

Cordy maintained a steady, but firm rhythm inside Willow as she 
pulled the hacker's clit into her mouth to suck on it while her teeth 
grazed over the sensitive flesh and her tongue made quick and tight 
flicks at it.

"Oh Gods, oh goddess, Cordy," Willow panted as her muscles contracted 
and expanded. "Cordy! I... oh Gods!" Willow felt her back arch as two 
orgasms ripped through her. "Cordy!" she screamed; her hands clenched 
tightly on the headboard.

The Seer couldn't help but smirk as she easily rode Willow through 
her orgasms before she slowly pulled out of the hacker when her inner 
muscles relaxed enough. For a girl who was so shy and quiet, the 
woman that was here now was certainly the opposite with her loud 
screams.

Willow gasped and tried to catch her breath again as she unclenched 
her hands. She reached for Cordelia and whispered, "Come here. Give 
me a minute and then we'll see how loud you can be. I hope Dennis 
isn't still in here."

Cordy moved up and nestled down beside the redhead, her hands idly 
trailed over smooth skin. Her brow furrowed as she tried to sense 
the ghost, "I don't think he is, but if so," she spoke the next part 
louder and purposefully for Dennis, "then he's gonna get into soooo 
much trouble."

Willow smiled and kissed Cordelia and could taste herself on her 
lover's lips. "Cordy, you are no stranger to this side of the fence," 
she grinned as she held the Seer close.

"Well, I couldn't let the shy, hacker, nerd from high school have all 
the fun," Cordy teased. "Besides, you know me, I always have to be 
an expert in all the latest fads and right now it's in to be out." 
The Seer wiggled her eyebrows playfully.

Willow giggled. "Who knew?" Then Willow lost her smile, "I wish you 
had met Tara. She's... she's so special. I miss them so much."

"Have you thought about, ya know, going back?" Cordy asked and her 
hand stalled and laid flat against Willow's stomach.

"I... they haven't even contacted me," Willow said softly and quickly 
curled back into herself. "They ask Angel about me but they... they 
haven't even emailed me." The redhead fought back tears as she 
thought about Buffy, Tara, and the others.

Cordy pulled the smaller woman closer and ran her fingers through red 
locks to sooth the upset woman. "You guys have always managed to get 
through things before, why not now?"

"They've moved on," Willow said as she remembered what the sorcerer 
said. She didn't trust him but his words rang true and made 
sense. "Tara's now living in the house again. I... I said some hard 
things and... and even slapped Buffy." Willow felt the tears 
beginning to fall. "She won't forgive me."

"How do you feel about Tara moving back into the house?" Cordy knew 
there was something deeper that bothered the redhead and wondered if 
they could just figure it out, accept it, and get the Scoobies all 
back together again.

Willow frowned. "That sorcerer said... said they were close and Buffy 
wasn't spending time with Spike anymore. She was always with Spike; 
she wouldn't turn to us or me. Buffy couldn't forgive me for bringing 
her back. Now that I'm gone, Spike is gone, and Tara is there."

Cordy shivered at the thought of Buffy and Spike together. 'Didn't 
she learn her lesson with the first vampire?' the Seer mused to 
herself. "So you're feeling replaced, is that it?"

"I know that's stupid, but I guess I do," Willow mumbled. "I can't do 
the magic like before and they don't need me. She hasn't even called 
me!"

Cordy nodded in agreement and understanding for a second before a 
puzzled look came over her face. "Which she?"

"Huh?" Willow looked confused and then looked away from Cordy's 
prying eyes. "I, uh, Tara hasn't called me at all. Then again, we 
already broke up, so she's not obligated or anything, I just thought 
she still cared. I wasn't thinking about Buffy not calling; friends 
fight and break up all the time."

'Ah-huh,' Cordy thought silently. She looked over to see Willow 
refuse to look her way and said out loud, "Ah-huh. So this has 
nothing to do with a petite, world-saving, cute, beautiful, blonde?"

Willow turned very red. "I miss Buffy, we've been friends since our 
sophomore year," she protested. "I, uh, she... I love Tara totally. I 
went insane when Glory hurt her."

"Hey, I'm not saying you don't love Tara..." Cordy backed up a little 
and held out her hands in a gesture of surrender. "I'm also not 
saying that you don't have more-than-friends-who-fought issues with 
Buffy too." Cordy smirked proudly for a second before the sentence 
replayed in her head and she wondered if it even made sense.

Willow smirked, "Want to translate that? That was worse than Willow 
babble or Xander speak," the red haired witch teased before she 
pulled Cordy back into her arms. "Okay, maybe I like Buffy a little 
more than like. Doesn't mean anything and could never go anywhere. It 
just hurts that she hasn't called me. Just Angel to check and make 
sure I'm okay. Is she worried for me or about me? Am a danger to be 
kept an eye on now?"

The Seer cuddled back up against the Witch before she answered, "I 
think that's a question you really need to look inside yourself for 
an answer to. Are you a danger? Do you need someone to watch over 
you?"

"No, I don't," Willow said firmly. "I didn't use bad magic tonight, 
even when a sorcerer and a werewolf wanted me dead very painfully. 
They don't know that though, they haven't called to find out!"

"Hey! I'm not accusing you, Willow. I'm just trying to help out." 
Cordy shot back.

"I know that, Cordy," Willow said softly and kissed the brunette 
gently. "I'll think about it tomorrow. Right now, I want to see if 
you scream or not." Willow rolled over on top of Cordelia. "I know 
we're just friends and stuff, but thanks for this. I need this 
contact."

The conversation they were just involved in did little to quell the 
heat between her legs; Cordy quickly and easily succumbed to Willow 
and enjoyed the feel of the body on top of her.

* * *

Willow woke up before Cordelia. She leaned up on an elbow and took in 
the sight of her friend sleeping peacefully for once. Cordy had 
gotten through the night without her pain meds. Willow smirked to 
herself; maybe they had found an answer to Cordelia's headaches when 
she wasn't being hit with visions.

The witch stretched alongside Cordelia and enjoyed the feel of the 
brunette's body against hers. She knew Cordy liked her but Willow was 
also smart enough to know that they weren't in love with each other.  

What the night had been for Cordelia, Willow wasn't sure. What it had 
been for Willow was healing. Someone had desired her, had wanted her, 
and had loved being with her. Most of all, Cordelia had trusted her 
on all levels.

Willow slipped out of bed and pulled on a T-shirt and boxer shorts. 
She ached all over and knew she was going to have bruises that hadn't 
even come to the surface yet. 

The computer geek went into the living room and booted up her 
computer. She found the expected handful of spam mail and one from 
Wolfram and Hart. That one she forwarded to Wesley's computer without 
reading it. 

Willow blinked and sat back on the sofa. There was an email from each 
Scooby member. 

"They wrote didn't they?" 

Willow looked up at Cordelia who was dressed in a long shirt and 
nodded slowly.

"They want you back," Cordy said, more of a comment than a question.  

"Yeah, all of them," Willow said softly.

"When do you go back?" Cordy smiled as she headed to the kitchen; the 
smile grew when she found coffee already made and a note on the 
fridge from Dennis. She held the note up for Willow to read.

"I'm sorry! I like her better than the Hollywood jerk! You both have 
love bites showing."

Willow grinned and then frowned as she read each email again. 
Cordelia ignored the fact Willow hadn't answered her about returning 
home.