Welcome to My Nightmare - 3/7 - B/W/T - PG13

["Hunter Ash" <carrkjar@xxxxxxxxx>]

Welcome to My Nightmare
Part 3
Red Moon Rising, Book 5

Author: Frau Hunter Ash 

Copyright © 2002 by Hunter Ash. All Rights Reserved.

Email: carrkjar@xxxxxxxxx Feedback welcome!!

Homepage Addy: 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: PG-13

Author's Note: Pairings: B/W/T, X/A/ G/J 


The first real stop of the trip was at the classic Malibu beach. The 
day was clear and in the low 70s, perfect for roaming along the sand, 
Xander declared. The weather in Sunnydale was still in the grip of 
winter and hadn't let go of temperatures in the 50s and 60s.

Xander grinned and parked the RV, satisfied with the vast amount of 
parking on a weekday.

"Beach!" he shouted. Tara grinned as Anya clapped. The back 
partition opened to reveal a grinning Buffy and a blinking but 
smiling Willow.

"First stop!" Xander announced.  

"Excellent choice!" Tara agreed. 

"We've all been keeping too many night time hours," Buffy added. "I 
could use some sun. You too, Will."

"I am in total agreement," the red-head grinned.  

The first real test of the motor home came moments later when it was 
debated whether it was warm enough for shorts and who would change 
where. Given Willow's recent physical problems, they decided just to 
run around a bit on the beach and not change their clothes this time.

Xander and Anya picked a picnic table to sit on as Buffy, Willow and 
Tara romped on the edge of the surf, tackling each other and ending 
up playing tag. Until the teasing during the play ended up in a 
three-way snuggle and kissing fest. 

The next test for the group came with the second decision: make time 
as far up the coast as they could get, play tourist along the way or 
both.

Anya leaned back in Xander's arms on the sand as the triad settled 
down, each grinning and flushed from their romp by the ocean.

"It's so weird," Buffy commented. "We're always chasing our tails, 
either with school or saving the world. I'm not used to having time 
to think, let alone slack off."

"I agree," Willow added, leaning against Buffy's shoulder as Tara lay 
on a blanket, her head in Willow's lap.

"I suggest we just hit Highway 1 and stop whenever and wherever we 
want," Xander proposed and everyone nodded in agreement.  

"Let's move then and at least get out of the county," Buffy 
suggested, sitting up with a grin.

+++++++

The next week was spent moving slowly up the California coastline.  
After the first day Xander began to relax and settled into driving at 
a calm pace instead of rushing through the scenery.  

Malibu beach, a cruise around the Channel Islands; La Purisima 
Mission; Point Sal; Pismo Beach; Los Osos; Morro Bay where they spent 
the afternoon eating calm chowder and French bread on a dock; 
Harmony, a town of artists that barely registered on a map; a very 
long day in Hearst Castle; the magnificent beauty of the rough coast 
of Big Sur; another day exploring Carmel, Monterey and Cannery Row.

Tara threw herself onto the RV bed with an exaggerated sigh as Willow 
spun around in the Captain's chair, laughing softly.  

"Got tired of the noise too?" Willow asked, knowing that about her 
sometimes shy lover.

"Yeah, that arcade is enough to make you dizzy," Tara nodded, leaning 
up on her elbows. "Buffy and Xander are competing with a shooting 
game. I think Buffy forgot that Xander was some kind of soldier for 
real one Halloween and he's giving her a run for her money in sharp-
shooting and Anya claiming all the prizes."

"Yeah, you should have seen him that Halloween," Willow smiled. "For 
a scary thing it was actually interesting. He was like John Wayne or 
something."

"And you were a ghost," Tara added, remembering being told the story 
of haunted costumes.

"Yup and the only one thinking clearly," Willow smiled.

"The others should be gone for awhile," Tara said softly and Willow 
felt her heart skip a beat as her mate's eyes darkened in desire.  

Willow moved slowly out of the chair as Tara turned over onto her 
side. The red-haired witch grabbed something from the back of the 
door and placed it on the outside door handle before closing it.

Tara smiled as Willow climbed onto the bed next to her and closed the 
partition.

Willow touched Tara's cheek gently, as if afraid her mate was a 
dream. Tara pulled Willow into her arms and moaned as their lips 
met. Her red haired lover snuggled down into her arms with a sigh 
and a smile.

"We haven't had a lot of time to snuggle since Dracula," Willow 
commented.

"Before that actually," Tara observed, beginning to unbutton Willow 
blouse as Willow drew a leg over Tara's. "I love you Willow, don't 
you ever dare run away again!"

"I won't, I promise," Willow said, her voice getting husky as Tara 
pulled her blouse open. "I'll never leave you or Buffy again."

Willow's hands were pulling at Tara's t-shirt as well and growled as 
it remained stubbornly on. Tara smiled and rose up enough for her 
mate to get the t-shirt over her head. Bras were removed quickly and 
mutually as both women began breathing heavily and movements became a 
little more frantic.

"Goddess, Will," Tara mumbled.  

"Yes, now!" Willow growled, pulling at Tara's jeans as the other 
woman tugged at her shorts.

"It always feels like fire when I'm touching you!" Tara whispered, 
kissing Willow's neck and biting her earlobe before moving to her 
lips again.  

"I love you, Tara," Willow moaned as clothing was shoved aside, 
impatiently. She cried out as Tara's lips and teeth moved lower to 
her breasts and nipples. Her back arched as her lover's hands roamed 
all over her skin. 

"Need you! It's like I'm in heaven when I touch you and I'll die if I 
don't keep touching you," Tara mumbled.  

"Yes," Willow whimpered, agreeing with the sentiment.  

Willow willingly gave up the lead to her lover as Tara's body covered 
her. A leg between hers caused Willow to cry out again and thrust 
against Tara. The blonde witch felt herself whimper as her hand 
moved between their bodies, touching warmth and wetness as Willow bit 
her lip.  

* * *

Xander stopped in the parking lot, his arms filled with stuffed 
animals and packages. Buffy and Anya snapped in protest as they 
nearly ran into him until they saw the red bandana tied to the door 
handle of the RV.

"Looks like we're supposed to stay out for awhile," Xander smirked.  

"Should have known this would happen when they both decided they had 
enough of big noises," Anya complained. "We are getting a hotel room 
tonight, Xander!"

"Yes, dear," he said willingly. The only real draw back of traveling 
with the Scooby Gang was the lack of privacy for sex.

Buffy grinned, she intended to give Tara and Willow another work out 
later that night in their own hotel room. She needed snuggle time 
and sex as well and sometimes having Anya and Xander just on the 
other side of a thin partition wasn't enough space.

* * *

The next day was spent along the beach at Santa Cruz. Xander and 
Anya took in a few of the rides on the Boardwalk while Buffy, Willow 
and Tara lounged on a blanket on the beach. The weather was nice; it 
was a weekday so it wasn't crowded and they wanted to relax from 
playing tourist.

"This is really nice," Willow murmured, her head resting on Buffy's 
stomach.

"Yeah," Tara, lying on her stomach next to Buffy, agreed.

"Any Jonesing for the magick thing?" Buffy asked the red-head, 
running her hand over Willow's hair.

"Some," Willow admitted. "It's not bad, though. I look at the two of 
you and it passes."

"You'll let us know if it gets too hard, right?" Tara repeated.

"You bet," Willow nodded. "I think the real test will be when we get 
back to Sunnyhell and facing danger."

"Yeah and I don't think the Council will let us off the hook just 
because we played tourist all this time," Buffy said thoughtfully.

"I know, they'll still want to keep an eye on me until we either 
prove I can handle it or can stay away from it," Willow nodded.

"Which do you want to do?" Tara asked, sitting up to look down at her 
lover.

Willow frowned as she thought for a moment. "I've been going over it 
in my head, a lot. I want to work on controlling it with you. The 
magick started working for me when we worked together. I'd like to 
start slow and go back to the basics."

"Okay, we can start any time you'd like," Tara nodded and used the 
opportunity to bend over and kiss Willow and then Buffy before lying 
back down.

"Well, well, well," a masculine voice intruded into the conversation.

Buffy sat up instantly as Tara and Willow looked up to find three 
college-looking males standing nearby.

"Here we were going to ask for a date tonight," the voice continued 
with a smirk.

Willow and Tara sat up slowly as Buffy's muscles tensed.

"Guess that's out of the question, huh, Steve," the middle one 
grinned. "Looks like they're either very, very kinky or a bunch of 
dykes."

Buffy glanced around, gauging her surroundings, her lack of weapons, 
and her growing irritation. She had heard the word `dyke' muttered 
around them after Willow and Tara had been open about their 
relationship but never to her face.

The blonde Slayer slowly got to her feet and moved to where Tara and 
Willow were slightly behind her.

"Look, guys," Buffy said slowly. "We're just trying to grab some sun 
and quiet. How about giving us some space?"

The Slayer knew that it wasn't likely that the three males would 
leave but she really wanted it to end peacefully.  

The three smirked again and Buffy quickly sized each of them up in 
their baggy shorts, baggy t-shirts and baseball caps. No weapons of 
any kind but they were big, probably football players, she surmised.

"What's the matter, sweetheart," the third one grinned, crossing his 
arms over his chest. "Don't dig guys?"

The other two snarled, their eyes hardening.

The beach was fairly deserted and there wasn't anyone close enough to 
help or encourage the males to leave. Buffy had a sinking feeling 
this was going to get messy.  

Buffy felt a "ping" at her mental shields and opened them.

//Buffy, this isn't good,// Willow said mentally.

///Don't worry about us,/// Tara reassured their mate mentally.

Buffy's sense of fair play demanded that she wait until they made a 
move before she beat the hell out of them but that didn't mean she 
couldn't push them.

"Well it has been awhile since I got to kick some ass," she 
muttered. "Look, guys, if you are the alternative to women, I'll 
choose women every time."

It took the males a moment to realize what she was saying and then 
they got angry. 

"Why you little dyke!" Steve growled and swung his fist at Buffy's 
nose as the other two moved to grab her.

Buffy knew they expected her to try and go for the groin. Instead 
the Slayer thrust upwards with the palm of her hand, shattering 
Steve's nose. She bent her body over to one side and brought her leg 
straight up under the chin of the one on her right. He fell heavily 
to the sand.  

The remaining male stopped his advance and looked at his friends, one 
lying on the ground with a broken jaw and the other on his knees, 
holding a broken nose.

"I'm cool," he muttered.

"Take them and leave, you ruined my sun," Buffy complained. "And that 
wasn't even a decent demonstration of self defense."

"Come on, let's head back," Willow said behind her as the male helped 
his friends to his feet.

Buffy kept an eye on the wounded males as Willow and Tara gathered 
their things.

"Bummer," Buffy muttered. "Let's grab something to eat."

"Good idea," Tara agreed.

* * *

Xander had been disappointed that he missed the minor altercation on 
the beach but Anya was overjoyed. She had managed to drag her 
boyfriend into a deserted janitorial closet for some kinky private 
time.

Xander's hand over her mouth stopped any further graphic descriptions 
of their sexual encounter when he blushed a bright red as Tara and 
Willow giggled. Buffy grinned at his embarrassment.

"At least we wait until we get back to the RV or a hotel room," she 
smirked.

"Hey, that's enough now!" he protested. "Okay, how about?.uh, food! 
Food would be good!"

"He's trying to change the subject," Willow pointed out the obvious 
to Tara and the witch nodded, still feeling as playful as Willow.  

"How true. You know he's always hinting for descriptions about what 
we do together sexually but he never lets Anya share what they do, 
ever notice that?" Tara teased.

Anya pulled Xander's hand away from her mouth and nodded vigorously.  

"I too have noticed that!" she agreed.  

"I think I'll crawl under the RV now!" Xander shouted. "No talking 
about my sex life!"

"Gee, that seems one-sided," Buffy joined in on the teasing.

"Food or Anya doesn't get sex for a week!" Xander threatened.

Anya was quickly sitting in the passenger seat and buckling her 
safety belt, very compliant. 

Buffy and her mates laughed hysterically for several moments as 
Xander started the RV up and moved out of the parking lot.

The Slayer took the chance to watch her lovers and friends over 
dinner and smiled. For the first time in six months they finally 
were relaxing and it felt a bit like old times as Willow laughed and 
leaned against Tara as Xander made goofy faces over his slice of 
pizza, resting his cast on the table.

Anya was trying to understand male juvenile humor as Tara blushed.

Buffy found herself grinning as Tara and Xander raced for the jukebox 
in the pizza parlor, fighting to see who got to choose the next set 
of songs. Anya shook her head and watched Xander with loving eyes.

"He is special," she declared.

"Yeah," Buffy agreed.  

Xander caught the look from Anya and grinned a goofy smile and began 
blushing, giving Tara an opening to insert her dollar into the 
machine while he was distracted. He threw up his hands in defeat and 
began to beg Tara for a chance to pick at least one of the songs.

Tara, laughing, relented and let him pick the first song.

Buffy, watching Xander saw him suddenly get a very serious look on 
his face as he dug into his jacket pocket for something. The Slayer 
had noticed him checking the pocket every ten minutes ever since they 
had left the RV for dinner and wondered what he was up to.  

Xander was obviously nervous when he and Tara came back to the table 
causing Willow and Buffy to get very quiet. Anya, catching Xander's 
expression fell silent a moment later.

"Xander? Is something wrong?" Anya questioned after a moment of the 
young man standing at the table instead of sitting, shuffling on his 
feet, hands deep in his pockets.

"No! Nothing!" he squeaked.

"Xan, what gives?" Willow asked softly.

"I?I've been doing a lot of thinking lately," he stammered. "That 
deal with Dracula really twisted me up inside?I almost lost all of 
you?I was almost lost."

"Xan?" Buffy asked softly, almost afraid of where he was headed.

"I don't want to miss any chance I've got," he continued 
quickly. "Seeing the three of you together makes me?"

"Horny?" Anya questioned.

"NO!" he snapped, blushing. "Kinda like warm fuzzies, I guess. You 
three just fit together and Willow and Buffy are finally happy. I 
want that too."

"You do not have this with me?" Anya demanded, beginning to 
pout. "You wish more women or men in your bed?"

"NO!" Xander snapped and went to one knee, fumbling with something in 
his pocket.

"Oh God," Buffy muttered as he pulled out a jewelry box.

"Oh boy," Willow muttered.

"Anya," Xander continued, ignoring his friends and opening the box to 
reveal a very nice diamond ring. "Will you marry me?"

Anya blinked as the other three women held their breath, eyes wide in 
surprise. Buffy was surprised when the former vengeance demon's eyes 
filled with tears.

"You mean a traditional-like wedding and marriage?" she whispered.

"Yes," Xander nodded. "Whatever you want; white dress, preacher, our 
friends, a small house, kids, everything!"

"Yes!" Anya shouted and pulled Xander to her for a long and 
passionate kiss as Buffy, Tara and Willow began to cheer and clap. 

Other customers, figuring out what was happening when they saw the 
young man on one knee with a ring box, joined in on the cheering and 
clapping. Xander got to his feet with Anya still in his arms. He 
kissed and held her tightly.

He began moving slightly with his fiancée as Bryan Adams began 
singing "Everything I Do."

Willow leaned against Tara and held Buffy's hand as they watched the 
young couple sway, lost in the moment and in each other's eyes.

* * *

The next three days were spent in San Francisco celebrating the 
engagement and their freedom. The only 'bitch' during the trip to 
that point was Anya complaining that Xander wouldn't let her buy 
everything in sight. Her mercenary heart quickly calculated the 
resale value of several things they saw along the way that she could 
resale in the Magic Box and Xander put his foot down by saying there 
wasn't enough room in the RV.

Willow consulted the map as they crossed the Golden Gate Bridge. A 
quick detour to the Marin Headlands for a picnic and travel decisions 
led to the general idea of driving slowly, continuing up Highway 1, 
taking in the little towns and the magnificent coastline above San 
Francisco.

Tara, having lived in Northern California, stood back and watched 
Buffy and Willow discover the crashing ocean against the sea cliffs 
and the pine trees that lined the other side of the road. Willow was 
delighted with the combination of coast and forest and the rest of 
the group was more than happy to indulge her desire to explore almost 
every spot along the way. Xander took special delight in pointing 
out that they could take a tour of the area via horror movies.

Buffy asked what he was talking about and he happily pointed out that 
several movies had been filmed in the SF area and above.

"'Scream' was filmed at the Santa Rosa high school; 'The Birds' at 
Bodega Bay; 'The Fog' was at Point Reyes; 'Interview with the 
Vampire' in San Francisco," he grinned.

"And 'Time After Time' in San Francisco too," Tara mentioned and 
Willow raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"I remember that one!" Willow said happily. "Jack the Ripper and H.G. 
Wells, so romantic!"

Tara grinned and nuzzled Willow's neck as they lounged on the bed in 
the back.

Buffy laughed from the seat behind Anya. "Only Xander would know what 
horror films were filmed where," she grinned.

* * *

The small band took their time traveling up the coast, taking several 
days before they reached Eureka.

As they got closer to the California-Oregon border, they decided it 
was time for more traveling decisions and huddled over the maps one 
evening in a hotel room.

"Well, we have 15 days before the next full moon," Tara pointed out, 
looking at a calendar and holding Willow's hand. "We need to decide 
if we want to be back in Sunnydale by the full moon or chance 
sedating and chaining Willow up somewhere on the road."

"What do you think, Will?" Buffy asked softly.  

Willow's jaw muscles clenched as she struggled against her feelings 
of guilt for putting her friends through the hassle of dealing with 
her as a werewolf as she looked over the map.

Buffy leaned forward and raised Willow's chin.

"None of that, Red," Buffy scolded. "None of us are to blame for 
this, not even Oz really. No guilty feelings, we just deal with it."

"Yeah," Xander agreed as Anya played with her ring. "It's no deal, 
Will. Just like when we watched over Oz."

"It still makes me feel bad," Willow mumbled.

"I suggest we take our time heading back," Tara said 
thoughtfully. "I can help hold the werewolf magickally and it'll 
show the Council that we're not afraid of dealing with Willow on any 
level."

"Wow!" Buffy said with a smile. "That's a great idea."

Tara blushed under the praise and Willow leaned up and kissed the 
blonde witch.

"Okay, how about crossing over from here to Redding, over to 
Susanville, down to Reno and then back to Sacramento and then down to 
home?" Xander suggested, pointing out his suggested long 
route. "It'll take us through some major mountains, into the fun 
gambling city of Reno and then down the State. We can veer off and 
see Yosemite from Merced or something else if we want."

"Grand idea and we can see Lake Tahoe, it's so beautiful this time of 
year," Buffy agreed. "Giles isn't complaining about the credit card 
charges or yelling for us to hurry back, so I agree."

"I'm in!" Tara said with a smile. "As long as we avoid Scott Bar."

"Where is that?" Xander asked with a frown.

"Probably not even listed," she mumbled. "And it's further up than 
we're going."

"Then not a problem," he grinned.

"Let's do it," Willow agreed.

"I am in agreement," Anya said, looking at her ring and the diamond.

"Let's get some sleep and we'll start the mountain tour tomorrow," 
Buffy suggested.

"As if the three of you ever sleep," Anya complained.

"Well, I remember the hotel manager threatening to break in your door 
last time we stopped at a hotel," Buffy teased and Xander began 
blushing again.

"Yeah," Willow joined in quickly. "He wasn't sure if you were having 
sex or killing Xander."

"Well, can you blame him?" Tara added as Xander groaned. "Seeing 
Xander tied to the bed and Anya with a?."

"Nothing! That wasn't a riding crop in her hand!" Xander protested 
and dragged Anya off the bed. "It was the belt off my robe!"

"I thought that's what I tied your hands with?" Anya began to correct 
him as he dragged her out of the room.

Buffy, Willow and Tara laughed until tears flowed and ribs hurt.

"Goddess, we have got to stop teasing him!" Tara insisted, still 
giggling.

"Anya makes him such a great target though," Buffy commented as 
Willow lay back on the bed holding her ribs.

"One of these days he's going to catch us doing something and tease 
us forever," Willow warned as Buffy moved slowly to lay beside her.  
Willow's breath caught in her throat as Buffy's eyes darkened with 
desire and she began unbuttoning Willow's blouse.

Tara moved up along Willow on the other side and nuzzled the red-
head's neck.

"Oh boy, you two drive me insane!" Willow whispered.

"Oh yeah and I enjoy every minute of it," Buffy muttered as she 
unfastened Willow's bra and took a nipple into her mouth. She then 
moved up to Willow's lips.

Tara snuggled on one side and Buffy on the other, Willow sighed with 
happiness.

The evening was spent snuggling, nuzzling and slowly building to 
sex. One of the times the three lovers had the chance to take things 
slow and lovingly and they intended to treasure it.

Even if they didn't get enough sleep.

* * *

Two days later Xander pulled over and consulted the map as they 
traveled from Susanville towards Reno, Nevada. Anya turned and 
smiled at the three women snuggling in the back of the RV. The trip 
had been good for everyone, Anya included.  

Most of those two days were spent snuggling in the RV, either Xander 
and Anya in the bed above the cab or the three lovers in the bed in 
the back. A gentle and romantic mood had descended on the group 
after Xander's proposal and Anya's acceptance of marriage.

Anya frowned as she changed the channel on the radio. Xander looked 
over with a puzzled looked as she swore under her breath.

"What is it, honey?" he asked.

"Radio religious fanatics are more annoying now than in the 15th 
century," Anya complained.  

"Just change the channel," Xander suggested.

"It is so stupid! These uptight men and women who probably have never 
achieved an orgasm go around telling people how to live," Anya 
continued to complain.  

"What's the problem this time?" Xander grinned.

"That moron was saying that homosexuals are evil people just because 
who they have sex with and love," Anya bitched loudly.

Xander glanced in the rearview mirror and noticed Buffy leaning up on 
her elbow, as the three women got quiet.

"Can't change those types, Anya," Xander said sadly as he looked 
around at the road signs. "Just change the channel."

"They are stupid and should be educated," Anya protested. "All they 
would have to do is spend time with our friends to know that they 
aren't evil. We fight evil, they aren't evil."

Xander grinned as he saw Buffy shake her head with a grin. Anya 
switched seats with him and wrangled the RV back onto the road, 
managing quite well.

"They wouldn't even agree to talk with Willow and Tara, Anya," Xander 
tried to explain. "They think witches are evil too."

"So, they think Willow and Tara are evil because they are gay and 
witches?" Anya asked.

"Pretty much, Buffy gets included because she's gay now or at least 
bisexual with them," Xander nodded, putting in a CD to avoid any more 
preaching from the radio.

"But Buffy fights evil more than any of us! That is not fair! She's 
died for the good side, don't those idiots think about such things?" 
Anya asked.

"Not really," Xander pondered. "They think Buffy is wrong because 
she now sleeps with women, two of them at the same time and has 
unmarried sex. Lots of things, I guess."

"This doesn't make sense," Anya complained.

"No, sometimes strong religious beliefs don't make sense," Xander 
said gently.

"They never have, I know that," Anya snapped. "It just shouldn't 
continue is what I'm saying. They should be willing to take time to 
learn their mistakes."

"I agree totally," Xander nodded. "Unfortunately, we can't tie them 
to a chair and make them listen."

Anya sighed as Xander grinned. "I miss the days when we could," she 
smiled.

Xander shook his head as Willow giggled softly.  

"Can we stop for lunch, guys? I'm a little tired and would like to 
switch drivers," Xander called. "We've got a town coming into sight 
down in that valley below."

"That's strange," Anya muttered, looking over the map. "There's no 
town listed this soon."

"Well, maybe it's too small for the map," Xander suggested.

"They might not have a coffee shop then," Tara called from the back.

"I hope they do, I'd really like a good greasy hamburger, please," 
Xander begged.

"We could all use a stretch break," Buffy agreed.

"Cool, thanks," Xander smiled and worked the RV slowly down the 
mountain road slowly. The group had decided to take some off highway 
roads and see the mountains. Now they had found a small town that 
wasn't even listed on the map.

He grinned with relief when they spotted a small coffee shop at the 
end of the one road town.

The three mates moved up to check out the town as Xander slowed to a 
crawl.

"Wow! This is like something out of a bad horror movie!" Xander said 
softly.

"Or some biker film," Tara added.

"Deliverance," Anya chirped in.

"Oh, so not a place I want to visit!" Xander declared. "I don't want 
to squeal like a pig!"

The place looked like a stereotypical small mountain town from a 
horror movie. Small little shops, a sheriff's office, a bar and a 
few houses. A couple of roads branched off from the main road and 
they could see several houses in the woods along those roads.

"Let's eat!" Xander said enthusiastically.

"You're always hungry," Willow laughed.

The small group emerged from the RV, smiling and joking among 
themselves. They spotted several locals hanging around outside a 
small general store but didn't pay too much attention to them.  
Buffy, of course, immediately gauged strength, potential weapons and 
possible danger from the men and two women and anywhere surrounding 
them but her "spidey" sense wasn't buzzing so she followed her mates 
and friends into the coffee shop.

"Mel's diner!" Xander whispered with a grin.

"You watch too much TV!" Tara whispered back as a waitress with a bee-
hive hairdo approached them with menus.

"Five of you?" she asked, snapping her gum.

Buffy could tell that Xander was barely hanging onto his composure 
and not laugh in the woman's face. She did look like something out 
of a TV truck stop.

"Yes, please," Anya said politely.

The group sat down in the booth, with Willow squeezing in between 
Tara and Buffy. Xander grinned at the typical menu and leaned 
against Anya.

The waitress returned a few moments later with her order pad and 
smiled.

"Can I take..." Xander looked up as the woman hesitated, her face 
puzzled as she looked at the three young women.

"Order?" Xander asked quickly, wondering if they were about to get a 
dose of small town prejudice. "Yeah, I'd like a double cheeseburger, 
fries and a coke."

The woman blinked and quickly wrote on her pad.  

"I would like a cheeseburger, a small salad and milk, please," Anya 
requested.

"Same here, please," Willow said softly and Tara nodded.

"Sounds good," Buffy agreed.

"Okay," the waitress smiled but Willow caught Buffy's frown, the 
smile seemed forced.

"Was that weird or what?" Tara whispered as the woman leaned over a 
back counter and handed someone in back their order.

"Yeah," Xander agreed and frowned when he noticed the waitress moving 
to the far end of the counter to urgently talk with one of the 
locals. Buffy continued to frown when the scruffy young man got up 
with his meal only half finished and moved out a back door.

"Is anybody else getting wigged here?" Xander whispered.

"Yeah, there's something?" Willow muttered.

"What is it, Will?" Buffy asked, frowning with worry.  

"I don't know," Willow frowned. "It's like?I don't know, damnit. 
Maybe she's a magic user and I'm sensing that."

The waitress returned with three plates and made a return trip with 
the last two, including Xander's double cheeseburger. Drinks 
followed next and Willow continued to frown.  

Buffy felt Tara trying to extend her "senses" at the same time Buffy 
did but couldn't sense anything out of the ordinary.

"Okay, Willow senses something weird," Xander said between large 
bites. "Why isn't Buffy sensing something?"

"Or Tara if it's magic?" Anya asked.

Willow's eyes widened and her breathing quickened.  

"Get me out of here, guys!" she whispered, her voice almost panicked.

"Will!" 

"Buffy, please! Let's get out of here!" Willow begged and Xander was 
on his feet in a moment. He quickly crossed to the counter and 
pulled out some money.

"I'm sorry, my friend isn't feeling well, thanks!" he said quickly as 
the girls dashed for the door with Anya right behind them. Xander 
grabbed his burger and moved to follow her friends.

Willow squeaked as the door slammed open and a huge man in uniform 
stood in their way. Xander turned to find that the same scruffy 
young man had returned and was standing at the back door.

"Good afternoon, ladies," the Sheriff said calmly. "Sir," he 
continued, including Xander as he looked over their shoulders.

His eyes settled on Willow as she whimpered and stumbled back into 
Buffy.

"Welcome to Lupercalia," he said with a smile. "Sister."

Willow felt her heart racing as the Sheriff's eyes changed from dark 
brown to wolf yellow and his canines extended into fangs.