Welcome to My Nightmare - 2/7 - B/W/T - NC17

["Hunter Ash" <carrkjar@xxxxxxxxx>]

Title: Welcome to My Nightmare
Part 2
Red Moon Rising, Book 5
Author: Frau Hunter Ash 
Copyright © 2002 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: This is part of the continuing Red Moon series which begins 
at New Moon Rising with some twists beginning there.
Summary: Willow is healed physically from the after-effects of 
detoxifying from the black magic Dracula forced on her and dealing 
with guilt for giving into Dracula along with Xander and Buffy. Now 
the gang wants to get out of town for some R&R. Can you say "Road 
Trip?"
Rating: NC-17 for sex


Tara grabbed the bars of the cell tightly as Willow's hand reached 
around from behind her. She was holding and roughly massaging the 
blonde witch's breasts as her fingers danced between Tara's legs, 
demanding entrance.  

"Oh Goddess!" Tara whimpered at the ferocity of Willow's sexual needs 
and how turned on she was by it.

Tara had gone into the cell to wake Willow up after the first night 
of the full moon and her being a werewolf. Buffy had snuck out to 
grab breakfast for the three of them and Tara had stayed behind.  

Instead of a sleepy red-head, she found a very frisky Willow who was 
already naked from her transformation from werewolf to human. Willow 
wasted little time and effort in grabbing Tara in an embrace that 
left the other witch breathless, her heart racing and her body very 
aroused. Willow had also wasted little time in getting Tara's 
clothes off.  

"Need you," Willow growled, her hands everywhere on Tara's body. The 
blonde witch felt like she had to grab something solid to hang onto, 
just to keep any rational thought in her head.   

Willow growled as her body melded against her lover and Tara 
whimpered.  

"Willow, yes!" Tara begged, feeling her body thrusting against 
Willow's as the red-haired witch lowered her mental shields, drawing 
Tara into her highly aroused state, joining them together. "Please!"

Willow entered Tara with several fingers as the witch gasped and 
thrust back, trying to take more of her lover. The red-haired witch 
whined as Tara's sensation swept back in through her own body.  

Tara felt Willow's arousal hitting back through her, jolting her and 
then her lover's other hand moved from her breasts down to her clit 
as Willow moved deeper into Tara's center. The blonde witch heard 
her own voice making whining and whimpering noises as her body begged 
for more.  

Willow growled and bit down on Tara's shoulder, the light touch of 
pain sending her lover over into trembling orgasms that had her 
clinging to the bars, slowly collapsing to her knees onto the 
sleeping bag.  

Tara pulled Willow into her arms, kissing her again and again.  

"I'm sorry," Willow mumbled, brushing Tara's hair back from her 
forehead.

"What for?" Tara asked softly.

"That was fast and rough," Willow grumbled but with a shy smile as 
Tara stroked her arm. 

"And it was intense, wonderful and wow," Tara smiled.

Willow squeaked as Tara flipped her over and was now on top, kissing 
her passionately and with rising energy.

The squeak turned into a moan as Tara's nipples brushed across hers 
and Willow's and her lover's body settled against each other, a thigh 
between each leg. Tara began an agonizing slow crawl down Willow's 
body, her tongue and lips trying to cover every inch between Willow's 
lips and her sexual lips, sending Willow into a trembling mass of 
muscles.

"Oh Goddess," Willow whimpered as Tara's hands stayed at her breasts 
and the lips and tongue moved lower.  

Willow felt Tara's hands move down to her hips and the other's 
witch's body shift slightly. The red-haired witch yelped when she 
felt her body slowly lifting off the sleeping bag. She looked down 
between her legs and found Tara grinning at her as she sat up on her 
knees, following Willow's body. The levitating witch was now at a 
height and angle that was totally open to Tara.

Tara took advantage of the position to drive her tongue as deeply as 
possible into Willow, her hands moving around the redhead's body to 
grasp her nipples. Willow felt an incredible sense of trust sweep 
over her and then a wave of Tara's arousal.

The weightless sensation added a new depth to her arousal but it was 
also maddening in that she couldn't grab onto anything as Tara's 
tongue began to drive her into a frenzy and her legs began to shake 
out of control.

Tara knew she would never get enough of her lover as she drank in 
Willow's essence. She knew Willow's body and what pleased her lover 
as she entered her lover first with two fingers and then danced her 
tongue over her lover's clit. The red-haired witch began thrashing 
in the air, sweat covering her body despite the cool winter morning.  
Tara added another finger as Willow's body opened further for her.  

The blonde witch increased her speed and depth and Willow screamed, 
her body convulsing around Tara's fingers and tongue.

Willow opened her eyes once her breathing calmed down and snuggled 
closer in Tara's arms as her lover pulled the sleeping bag up over 
them before they drifted into sleep.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Buffy grinned as she quietly opened the cell door. She expected 
Willow to wake up frisky and then attack Tara; she didn't expect to 
find both of them asleep. 

Buffy leaned over Tara and began kissing her lover softly. She then 
leaned over further to kiss Willow as well and then moved back to 
Tara's lips as both women began to stir. Buffy was kissing Willow as 
Tara's arms wrapped around her, surprising the Slayer by pulling her 
in between them.

The Slayer laughed for a moment until Tara's lips captured her.  
Buffy knew they were both naked when she woke them up but landing 
between them was a shock to her system, one of arousal. Especially 
when she felt Willow's hands pulling at the buttons of her blouse.

Tara's lips moved to her earlobe and neck. Buffy moaned as the witch 
began working her neck like an experienced vampire while Willow got 
the buttons of her blouse undone. Buffy felt her blouse being opened 
and Willow's lips on her nipples.

"Uh, guys?" Buffy asked as her breath quickened. She felt her hips 
arching in anticipation as Tara's hands began demanding entrance at 
the buttons of her jeans.

"This too much?" Tara asked softly, pulling back slightly. She felt 
Willow freeze, moving back from Buffy's breasts.

"No," Buffy hesitated. "I don't think so, just so everybody is okay?"

"Well, I know Willow is getting hit with Full Moon Friskies," Tara 
grinned as Willow began blushing. "I'm okay with this; I love you 
both, very much."

"I'm not wigging," Willow grinned and ran a tongue over one of 
Buffy's nipples, causing the blonde to jerk in response.

"Oh boy, me either!" Buffy agreed, pulling Tara in for another kiss 
that was demanding as Willow's lips and teeth returned to her nipples.

Both her lovers decided that Buffy was over-dressed and sought to 
remedy the situation as quickly as possible. As Tara attacked her 
neck and Willow began moving down her body with her lips, Buffy 
wondered exactly who was being attacked with Full Moon Friskies:  
Willow or Tara. Buffy knew it was going to look like she had been 
attacked by a vampire after Tara was done with her neck but didn't 
care, it felt too good.

Buffy had no idea whose hands or lips were where, the two witches 
seemed determined to drive her insane sexually and were working very 
hard at it, Buffy managed to think as her body arched off the 
sleeping bag. She felt her hands grabbing someone's shoulder as 
fingers entered her and others tweaked one of her nipples. Buffy 
forced her eyes open and managed to see red hair between her legs 
just before Tara claimed her mouth again.

Buffy's body jerked in reaction when she felt Willow's mental "ping" 
and Buffy dropped her shields, letting her lover connect with her, 
sending waves of love and desire zapping through the Slayer's body.  
Buffy felt Tara joining the connection and felt her mental jerk when 
Buffy surprised her by moving her hand between Tara's legs and 
entering her lover quickly.

Tara broke away from the kiss to gasp and then moan. Buffy cried out 
as Willow increased her attention to the Slayer's clit and labia 
lips.  

Buffy was always amazed whenever she touched Willow or Tara, they 
were both different yet each of them seemed to know her so well and 
each other. The Slayer figured it was part of their connection; each 
of them knew what the other ones needed when. Like now, Buffy 
thought, they knew she liked it a little rough occasionally and 
Willow was more than a surprising match for the Slayer. Buffy also 
knew that Willow's full moon madness was shooting through Tara as 
well and it was one of the times that she wanted it faster, deeper 
and a little rougher than she usually did.

None of them really knew how long they slept except that they woke up 
with the hot chocolate Buffy brought gone cold, the donuts a little 
stale and all of them intertwined; a mass of arms, legs and skin.

"God, you two are incredible!" Buffy grinned as Willow moved to 
snuggle on one side and Tara on the other.  

"It feels good to be somewhat back to normal, aside from the turning 
furry with no control thing last night," Willow smiled back.

Both Tara and Buffy had to agree with that assessment. Compared to 
the last six months, turning into a werewolf while locked away in a 
crypt was low on the excitement meter and they were all more than 
ready for a rest.

After the horrors of detoxifying from the black magic, Willow was 
left with the energy of a gnat. Only the continual intravenous 
feedings had kept her alive during the week and a half it took for 
her system to purge itself of the toxic and addictive energy running 
through her body.

Buffy shook her head mentally; she still couldn't believe that Willow 
had been in that condition less than 48 hours previously. Together 
with Tara, Willow had managed to heal her body, taking it back to its 
semi-healthy condition before crossing paths with Dracula.  

"I'll agree with t-that," Tara said shyly. "I d-don't think my body 
is used t-to it yet though."

Willow began to blush and Buffy laughed softly before hugging both of 
them.

"Well, we're stuck here for another night and no one told us how to 
spend the time," Buffy teased and then laughed when both Tara and 
Willow began to blush. "Aside from locking Willow away during the 
full moon, I suggest we only get dressed long enough to eat and get 
cleaned up a little. Other than that?." Buffy wiggled her eyebrows 
suggestively and Willow turned a brighter red and Tara tried to hide 
her face in Buffy's arm.

"Watch it, Slayer," Willow threatened playfully through her 
blush. "I still know your tickle spots!"

"No tickles!" Buffy cried, giving into the threat.

Tara leaned over Buffy to gently kiss Willow and then Buffy.

"Any idea where we're going to go until the Council calms down about 
Willow?" Tara asked.

"No, haven't a clue," Buffy answered and Willow shook her head as 
well.

"I suggest that it not be anywhere that we've talked about or made 
plans to visit before," Willow added. "We have no idea how much the 
Council knows about us."

"They're like some secret organization out of a sci-fi show," Tara 
complained.

"That's because they are," Buffy growled, remembering the Council's 
decision to magickally "zap" Willow's powers so that she would be 
helpless to use magick again. During her last phone call to Giles, 
Buffy had learned that they weren't too particular in what condition 
it left Willow either. They were viewing the young witch as a major 
threat to mankind and they were determined to either cripple her 
magickally or kill her.

"Well, do we flip a coin?" Willow asked.

"Well, I don't want to mess with passports and records of us crossing 
borders so Mexico is out and so is Canada," Buffy pondered.

"We can't take an RV to Hawaii," Tara smiled, her eyes dancing with 
amusement.

"There are a few states that what we were doing an hour ago is very 
illegal," Willow added, giggling at Buffy's surprised expression.

"You've got to be kidding!" Buffy protested but Willow lost her smile 
as she nodded. "What does anyone care what we do together in a 
sleeping bag?"

"Against God and Nature, you know," Willow said bitterly.

"Last time I looked most species in the world had homosexuality," 
Buffy protested. "Including primates, dolphins and otters!"

"Wow, science girl!" Tara teased, hugging Buffy's ribs.

"As for God, that's between me and him, her or it!" Buffy proclaimed.

"Welcome to Gay Liberation 101," Willow smirked and Buffy blushed 
slightly.

"Wow," Buffy muttered. "Okay, so a few southern states are out then."

"And Utah," Willow mumbled.  

"How about heading north, the weather is getting better and they 
won't expect us to head north in the cold," Tara suggested.  

"I agree," Buffy nodded. "They'll expect us to head for warmer 
climate and beaches somewhere."

"So, cold and mountains?" Willow concluded and the other two nodded.

"Can Anya and Xander go with us?" Tara asked, nuzzling Buffy's neck 
as her hand played through Willow's short hair.

"Yeah, now that Christmas is over, the mall has cut Xander's hours 
and didn't mind him taking vacation," Buffy answered. "They'll meet 
us tomorrow at noon, outside the cemetery."

"Why at noon?" Willow asked, beginning to drift off again. "Why not 
at dawn when I change back?"

"Because that's what the Watchers will be expecting and watching 
almost every route out of town," Buffy smiled as Willow closed her 
eyes.

Giles had warned them that Willow would want to sleep a lot, her body 
and mental state had been through a great deal and it would be 
natural for the body to try and catch up. The body still wanted to 
rest, even with the rapid healing.

Buffy nodded at her other lover and Tara got up slowly, reaching for 
clothes as Buffy put a pillow in Willow's arms, watching to ensure 
the witch continued to sleep. She grinned as Tara handed the Slayer 
her shirt.

"I'm starving," Buffy admitted. "Mom packed enough to feed an army 
for a week, what say we have some brunch?"

"I'm game," Tara agreed, hesitating a moment, watching Willow sleep.

"She's sleeping easier," Buffy commented, wrapping her arms around 
Tara.

"Yeah," Tara agreed. "Have you noticed she hasn't asked about 
Carson?"

"I think she knows and doesn't want to talk about it," Buffy said 
slowly. "He came to me that night and told me to live; I don't doubt 
he made the same trip to Wills."

"When do our friends stop dying?" Tara complained in a low voice.

"When do we stop suffering? Look at you, watching Willow, me and 
Xander become Dracula's playthings, watching Willow turn into a 
werewolf every full moon, Carson dying?"

"And look at the love I've got," Tara countered. "We have a c-
connection that even the great Watcher's C-Council c-can't figure 
out."

Buffy pulled Tara around for a hug and kiss. "I do love you, Tara."

"Back at you, Buff," Tara said softly and then smiled. "Now, food!"

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Giles opened the front door of the Summers' home and slammed the door 
behind him, meeting Robert Etheridge on the porch.  

"They still aren't here, they aren't coming back and Mrs. Summers 
doesn't want to talk to you," Giles said firmly.

"Giles," Etheridge began slowly. "We're not going away as long as 
Willow Rosenberg is a threat."

"Why not?" Giles countered. "You leave us in the lurch all the time 
when it comes to holding back information on prophecies, demons, 
Hellmouths and whatever else comes along. As long as we handle 
Willow, why do you care?"

Etheridge frowned at the former Watcher's logic.

"I agree with Ms. Summers that her relationship with the Council 
needed to change, yours too," Etheridge allowed. "We aren't 
accustomed to dealing with an adult Slayer and adjustments need to be 
made. We also need some cooperation on your end."

"No cooperation if it entails harming Willow in any way," Giles shook 
his head. "There is a distinct possibility that wiping Willow's 
magickal abilities out will leave her brain damaged or wipe all her 
memories out. That's not acceptable."

"You're insisting that we leave one of the most powerful, untrained, 
and black tainted witches to you and your group of children?" 
Etheridge snapped.

"I thought we just agreed that they were adults," Giles smirked.  

Etheridge's eyes narrowed in irritation.

"That's exactly what I'm insisting," Giles continued. "These 
children, as you call them, have seen more than all of your Council 
members could even dream of. They have been through hell several 
times and have survived. They are fairly sane, strong, and a good 
team."

Etheridge frowned, appearing to consider what Giles had said.

"To prove that, Buffy, Willow and Tara have left town and will stay 
gone until I tell them you aren't going to kidnap, ambush or harm 
Willow in any way and agree to Buffy's terms," Giles finished.

Etheridge's eyes hardened and Giles sighed.

"I'm authorized to issue an all out hunt for your Slayer and the 
witches if I need to," Etheridge said firmly. "Turn the witch over 
to us or we'll take them all out."

"I wouldn't advise trying that, mate," Giles growled, losing his 
English gentleman accent as Ripper came closer to the surface. "My 
girls sent Dracula, Acathla, Angelus, Adam, the Master, the Judge and 
many other horrors packing. Do you really want to kill a Slayer and 
the good guys?"

"A Slayer who had sex with a vampire, failed to kill him until it was 
almost too late for the entire world," Etheridge countered. "A 
Slayer who let herself get bitten by a werewolf to protect her 
girlfriend. A witch who will crawl on her hands and knees to get a 
dose of black magic."

"We don't know that," Giles growled. "I have faith in Willow and in 
Tara and Buffy's abilities to keep her on this side of the line."

"Two months," Etheridge said flatly. "Two months, regular progress 
reports and I'll consider letting her stay here unmonitored after 
that and untouched."

"Agreed. Until then, no hunting parties, no alerts and no other 
Slayers going after them," Giles bargained. "You bring in another 
Slayer to cover Sunnydale with their Watcher."

"You've never told them about the other Slayers, have you?" Etheridge 
asked, his manner shifting to general conversation. Giles pointed to 
the porch swing and they sat down.

"No, I'm surprised they didn't figure it out when Kendra was called 
forward and then Faith," Giles frowned. "I still wish we didn't keep 
that a secret from them."

"You know the temptation for a Slayer to quit if they knew they 
weren't the only Chosen One," Etheridge reminded the former 
Watcher. "How many times has your own Slayer complained about 
her `fate' to be the Slayer?"

"I know and it's natural for them!" Giles protested. "We take young 
girls, convince them they are the only hope for the world and turn 
them into Slayers. They go into it knowing they'll probably die very 
young."

"And if they knew there was some other girl to take their place?" 
Etheridge countered. "A large majority of them would quit, wanting a 
normal life of a teenager."

"A life, period," Giles complained. "You can't blame them, we don't 
even ask young men to go off to war as young as we take these girls 
out of their normal existence and start training them."

"Giles," Etheridge hesitated. "I hope they make it. Ms. Summers 
leaving the Council was a major blow and I don't think we can take 
another major shakeup and war with her."

"I'm glad, Etheridge," Giles said truthfully. "We're on the same 
side; going to war would only benefit the side of darkness."

++++++++++

Buffy watched the werewolf pace restlessly in the cell. Since the 
telephone call earlier from Giles had told the girls they were no 
longer in danger of being kidnapped or killed by the Council, Buffy 
had sent Tara home for the evening to get things ready for their 
upcoming trip. Giles had encouraged them to continue with their 
plans for getting out of Sunnydale. After everything that had 
happened, he felt the entire group needed a break and the three women 
agreed.  

Buffy also suspected that Giles didn't trust the Watcher Council not 
to jump in at the first sign of any problems with Willow. If the 
Council didn't know where they were, the Scooby Gang would have a 
better chance at relaxing and letting Willow heal.

The Slayer glanced up and found the wolf watching her closely, as if 
trying to read her thoughts. "You there, Will?" Buffy asked softly.  
She debated about getting closer to the cell but held back. The 
werewolf could be unpredictable on full moons, they had discovered 
over the last two nights.  

The werewolf cocked her head and then laid down on the sleeping bag, 
still watching the Slayer. 

Buffy sighed and leaned her chair back until she and it were leaning 
against the stone wall. In her lap was a tranquilizer gun and at her 
feet was a crossbow, both loaded.

"It'll be good to get away for awhile, Will," Buffy said softly, 
keeping her eye on the crypt and the cell door. "We all came so 
close to dying so many times in the last few months. I need a break 
and some new clothes."

Werewolf Willow closed her eyes as the moon got lower in the sky.

"Oz returning, realizing I was in love with you and Tara and that you 
both actually love me back," Buffy smiled to herself. "That's the 
upside of things, by the way."

Werewolf Willow whined, as if agreeing.

"Getting bit to protect you," Buffy continued reminiscing. Any other 
presence than Buffy or Tara irritated the werewolf but her lover's 
voices seemed to calm the primal beast on full moons. Willow had 
managed to control the change when Tara had been attacked by other 
werewolves but she hadn't attempted it since then. "Then you went 
and did that stupid spell. I still could whack you for that one!"

The werewolf opened her eyes and raised her head at the sound of 
anger in Buffy's voice.  

"Sorry, wolfie," Buffy lowered her voice to a calmer level. "I just 
wish you hadn't done that. I also can't believe that we just bared 
our necks and let Dracula walk right up and bite both of us."

Buffy closed her eyes wearily. It would be good to get away and 
spend time with the gang. Xander was also feeling guilty about 
falling to Dracula so easily and hurting everyone. Willow needed 
time to adjust to the magickal addiction and the three girls needed a 
chance to really reconnect and discover a stable relationship with 
each other.

Buffy and Red werewolf drifted off to sleep as the moon disappeared 
behind the horizon.

+++++++

Willow mumbled and pulled the sleeping bag over her head as gentle 
hands tried to wake her up. "Sleepy."

"Come on, Will," Buffy's voice encouraged. "We can sleep in the RV."

Willow didn't respond.

"Giles and the Watchers said she'd sleep a lot," Tara commented.  

"Yup," Buffy agreed. "Grab her clothes, I'll carry her if we need 
to."

Together, the two lovers managed to get a very groggy Willow dressed 
in a large t-shirt and sweat pants and then let her sleep some more 
as they gathered up their things from the crypt.  

Xander and Anya arrived shortly after dawn, the plans once again 
being altered to leaving Sunnydale at dawn instead of noon. The gang 
was anxious to begin their vacation and they also wanted to throw any 
kinks into ambush plans the Council might have just in case the 
Council had changed their minds about eliminating Willow as a threat 
to mankind.

Xander grinned at the sight of a grumpy Willow curling back up into 
the sleeping bag as Buffy and Tara packed up their clothes from three 
days and nights of werewolf babysitting.

"That's my Willow," he smiled as Anya walked up from behind him and 
hugged him. 

"She will be better when we get her away from guys in white coats," 
Anya commented and the tall male had to agree.  

"She's been through hell the last few months," he nodded as Anya 
broke off the hug to grab a box of snacks and as he bent down to grab 
the ice cooler. "We all have."

"It will be interesting to see the country as a human," Anya said 
thoughtfully. "When I came over here it was as a demon and I was 
always too busy with cursing males to appreciate the beauty of the 
land."

Xander shook his head with a smile. "Only I could fall for a former 
demon," he smirked. "I'm just glad that you've stopped telling me 
some of your more interesting curses that you put on men. The thought 
of boils all over my manliness is just too disturbing."

Anya grinned and wiggled her eyebrows at him. "Me too, I like parts 
of your manhood intact and functional, including your heart."

"Mushy stuff!" Buffy yelled from across the room and Xander began to 
blush a bright red.  

"Yeah?" he snapped back with a goofy grin. "I'd talk! Whenever Tara 
or Willow is around, you can't see, think or do anything!"

"That's not true!" Buffy protested, sticking her tongue out at her 
best male friend.

"Is so!" Xander countered.

"Enough!" Tara laughed, pulling Willow into an upright position and 
shaking the red-head. "Let's hit the road. Come on, Will, let's get 
out of Sunnydale for awhile."

"Out of Sunnyhell?" Willow mumbled, opening her eyes and rubbing at 
them. "I'm game."

Xander laughed and the girls giggled at Willow's sudden enthusiasm. 

Together the group managed to haul the snack box, backpacks of 
clothes, ice cooler and one groggy werewolf witch through the 
graveyard to the street where the RV awaited them.

"Your chariot, MiLadies," Xander grinned as he sat the cooler down 
and unlocked the side door.

Buffy stayed outside, watching for anything out of the ordinary on 
the daytime street of Sunnydale as Tara and Willow entered the 
rolling small apartment. The Slayer took stock of the vehicle from 
the outside as she hovered protectively over her friends and lovers.

The RV was new and bigger than a camper but smaller than a typical 
RV. Buffy was impressed with the smallness, she figured Xander and 
Tara, the most experienced drivers among the bunch could handle 
something that size. Buffy was also concerned about the smallness of 
the RV, the thought of two months with Xander and Anya with the three 
of them in that small space could be a frightening thought.

The Slayer shrugged to herself; they had planned on taking breaks 
along the way and renting hotel rooms now that the Council wasn't 
hunting them.

Xander grinned and shoved the ice chest inside the RV and followed 
Anya in, placing himself in the driver's seat. Buffy said a small 
prayer that his driving had improved since high school. Tara leaned 
out the door with a grin.

"The bed back here is Queen size and the one over the cab is big 
enough for Xander and Anya!" the witch smiled. "Willow's already 
curled up in the corner."

"Let's hit the road then," Buffy agreed, taking one last look around 
for anyone watching them. "Xander, wander around town awhile, get 
the feel of this small monster and see if anyone is following us."

"You got it, Buff," Xander smiled and turned over the motor as Buffy 
shut the door and took a look around their new home for the next 
month, at least.

Buffy headed first to the back of the RV where Tara was leaning 
against the bulkhead with Willow's head in her lap. The Slayer's 
eyebrows rose in surprise as she took in the size of the spacious bed 
and the small TV/VCR combination on a shelf above the foot of the 
bed. The closet could be bigger, she decided, but expected the small 
space was expected.

Willow was already dozing as Tara gently stroked her hair and Buffy 
felt her heart going out to the two witches once again as she watched 
them. Buffy often felt that life was one long string of "unfair" 
events, especially with her being chosen as the Slayer. Over the last 
few months, Willow especially had been through more than Buffy could 
ever wish on her worst enemy.  

Tara looked up with a gentle smile.

"We love you too, Buff," she said softly as Buffy grabbed onto the 
doorway as Xander pulled away from the curb.

"I love you both," Buffy responded with a loving smile and turned to 
survey the rest of the vehicle.

More closet space, refrigerator, sink, stove, microwave, overhead 
storage, dining table, lounge chair and a bed over the cab of the 
driver's area. What impressed the Slayer was the shower, toilet and 
sink area.  

"Thank God, no gas station bathrooms," she muttered and Anya, in the 
passenger seat nodded enthusiastically.  

"One time I cursed a male to his own private hell of cleaning gas 
stations bathrooms for eternity," the former demon commented.

"Interesting," Buffy acknowledged and sat down in the lounge chair 
behind Anya, glancing over at the dining table. The space didn't 
seem that small with everyone sitting down somewhere but it would 
probably be impossible if more than one person were up and moving 
about. They'd have to work on morning schedules or something, she 
thought to herself.

"Where to, Buff?" Xander asked as they approached the highway 
entrances.

"North, let's head north," she said easily, leaning back in the chair.

The young man pulled the RV over as Anya got out the map of the 
western United States. Xander, Buffy and Anya looked it over closely.

"No real plans of where we're going, right?" Xander asked. "There's 
three different ways to go north, guys."

"Nope, none, just cruising," Buffy agreed.

"Okay, are we going up the other side of the mountains heading into 
Nevada, through Bridgeport and the mountains to Reno, Nevada? Or 
there is the center of the State through the Central Valley? We would 
hit Sacramento and stuff. The other option is up the coastline 
towards San Francisco."

"There's always cross-over highways in case we change our minds too," 
Anya pointed out. "There's a highway that goes from Bridgeport 
through Yosemite to the Central Valley."

"And here's one from the Central Valley to the Coast," Xander pointed 
to another.

"Well, we're not set on making time getting anywhere," Buffy said 
thoughtfully. "Do we know if there is still snow in Yosemite?" 

"There's snow until late spring blocking Tioga Pass," Tara commented 
from the back. "We would end up going through Reno, through 
Susanville and dropping back into California from that route. We run 
the risk of snow."

Buffy smiled at her lover with a questioning glance and Tara shrugged.

"My family lives up north in the mountains," she explained.

"You've never said anything about them, I guess I thought you were an 
orphan or something," Xander commented.

"Are we visiting family types?" Anya asked, unsure if she was in 
favor of that thought or not.

"No!" Tara said quickly, startling Willow. Tara touched Willow's 
cheek softly. "No, they don't agree with me leaving home, going to 
college and they forbid the practice of witchcraft and homosexuality."

"Then we don't need to see them," Xander said easily.

"Okay, let's play tourist and head up the coastline," Buffy suggested.

"That's a long and hard drive," Xander pointed out.  

"Are we in a hurry?" Willow mumbled and Xander grinned.

"Nope, let's see seals, otters, and lots of twists and turns!" he 
said cheerfully.

Since all of them had been over this part of the highway before, Tara 
snuggled down next to Willow while Buffy, Anya and Xander debated 
what would be the first CD for road music.  

Willow nuzzled Tara's neck.

"I've been so scared of losing you these last few months," Tara said 
softly, kissing Willow for several long moments.  

Willow sighed, relaxing in her mate's arms. "I know, I am so tired 
of being kidnapped, tortured, bitten and separated from you and 
Buffy."

"You're so strong, Wills," Tara commented. "I love you."

"I love you, Tar," Willow said softly, running her hand over Tara's 
arm. "I don't feel so strong."

"I know, you're just tired right now," Tara smiled, stroking Willow's 
hair as the red-haired witch closed her eyes.

Tara glanced over her shoulder, catching Buffy watching them. The 
Slayer was smiling as she watched Willow drift into sleep. Anya had 
won the round of Rock-Paper-Scissors and they were currently 
listening to some group called Dead Can Dance.

Buffy smiled and walked cautiously to the back of the RV, sitting 
next to Tara.

The blonde witch smiled, turning over slightly so she could look at 
and touch her other lover.

"She'll probably sleep a lot on the road," Buffy said softly.

"Yeah, she's got a lot to catch up on after that mess with Dracula," 
Tara agreed.

"We all do," Buffy agreed, leaning down to kiss the witch tenderly.  
Buffy's eyes were sad when she pulled back. "I'm so sorry about 
Dracula, Tara."

"I'm trying to understand," Tara admitted. "It does hurt but I know 
you weren't in control. I know that."

Buffy continued to frown. "It feels weird, all he had to do was snap 
his fingers and we both jumped."

Tara reached up to wipe away the tears beginning to fall from Buffy's 
blue eyes.

"I didn't resist him, Tara," Buffy said softly. "Willow fought 
against breaking the connection with you, even when she was hurting 
so bad from the magick thing. She fought back, I didn't."

Tara felt Willow stirring and saw that Willow was awake and hurting 
for their lover. Together they pulled Buffy in between them as she 
began to cry.  

"You resisted him when it counted, Buffy," Tara countered.  

Because of Willow's crisis over the withdrawal from the magick, Buffy 
really hadn't had time to have her own emotional crash over the 
incident of falling to Dracula's mental control and desires.

Willow and Tara had actually expected it and held the Slayer tight, 
letting her cry. Tara glanced up and saw Xander and Anya 
purposefully keeping their eyes on the road ahead of them. She 
reached up and closed the curtain between the bedroom area and the 
main area of the RV.  

"We're safe, we're together, and Dracula's gone, Buff," Willow said 
softly, stroking Buffy's hair as Tara wrapped her arm around both of 
them.  

The comforting consisted of snuggles and gentle touches until Buffy 
and Willow had cried themselves out and drifted into sleep.

Tara moved up to the lounge chair behind Anya and smiled at her 
friends.

"They okay?" Xander asked softly.

"Yeah," she said easily. "They're j-just both exhausted and 
emotionally on overload."

"I can understand that," Xander muttered. He grinned and reached 
over to squeeze Anya's hand. "Dr. Xander and Nurse Anya at your 
service, we will do our best to get them to relax and heal. You too!"

Tara blushed slightly but smiled. Sometimes it wasn't easy for the 
shy young woman to believe that she was totally accepted by the 
Scooby Gang but it was getting easier. She knew that Buffy and 
Willow loved her very much and Xander loved both of them. Anya came 
along with Xander, therefore Buffy, Willow and Tara accepted and 
liked her. Tara came along with Buffy and Willow now, therefore 
Xander and Anya accepted and liked her.

What really amazed the young witch was Joyce Summers' and Giles' 
acceptance of her relationship with both Buffy and Willow.

Being in love with both Willow and Buffy was unusual enough, being 
involved with them in slaying and witchcraft was even more unusual in 
that it worked and the three of them seemed to balance each other.  

That balance was what was needed now, they all realized. Dracula's 
mental control over Willow and Buffy and Willow's physical addiction 
to black magick because of Dracula had damaged that balance. It had 
also damaged everyone's confidence in their skills and strength.

Tara glanced over as Xander drove along the highway. He hadn't said 
much about Dracula's mental control either but everyone knew he was 
feeling guilty for having betrayed Buffy and Willow to his Dark 
Master Dracula.  

Tara settled into the seat and dozed lightly, listening to Anya's 
continual tales of travel throughout the ages and how much nicer the 
RV was than a carriage in the 17th century.