Family Matters 4/6 B/W/T - PG13

["Hunter Ash" <carrkjar@xxxxxxxxx>]

Family Matters, part 4
Red Moon Rising, Book 6

Author: Frau Hunter Ash 

Parts of the episode "Family" transcribed by Joan the English Chick
(pisces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx).

Copyright © 2003by 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 even 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: up to Red Moon Rising and veers off from there.

Summary:  Tara's been hiding something from her lovers and friends and
her family has shown up to stop the secret from coming out.  Anya
learns more than she wants to about Xander's family as well.

Rating: PG-13 (US) 13 (UK) M (Aus) Pairings: B/W/T, G/J, An/X

* * *

Willow walked into the Magic Box expecting to find Tara helping Anya
as her note had said but the red-haired witch didn't see her mate
anywhere in sight. 

"Hey, Willow!" Anya called cheerfully.  "Tara went out to grab mochas
for us, she'll be right back."

"Oh, okay," Willow said, disappointment showing plainly on her face.
"Buffy is having Tara's birthday present wrapped."  

"Don't be down," Anya said cheerfully. "Would you like to look at the
money in the register? That always makes me joyful."

"No thanks, Anya, I'm just gonna look at the books, that's one of my
joys," Willow smiled a slight smile.  

She knew something was bothering Tara, very much, and all Willow
wanted to do was find a way to make it better.  Willow had a feeling
whatever was bothering her lover was more serious than what Tara had
talked about.  There was something that Tara kept shielded, something
she kept from both Buffy and Willow.  The red head wanted to solve the
puzzle and she also wanted to find a way to make Tara feel special on
her twentieth birthday.

Willow decided to head to the upstairs back shelves where the more
selective books were kept and very few customers wandered. Ever since
the earthquake had freed her werewolf self, Willow was in search of a
stronger protection spell to cast around the cell.  The protection
spells they had around the enclosure protected them from anything
getting in but it didn't protect them from a werewolf Willow getting
out if something went wrong again.

Even with the training from the werewolves in Luperacalia, Willow
didn't want to take any chances on full moons when she really had no
control over her wolf side.  She also wanted to start experimenting
with changing voluntarily and she wanted the cell secure.

"Hey, baby," a voice called softly and Willow leaned back with a smile
as warm arms wrapped around her and soft lips nuzzled her neck.

"Hey, lover, I didn't hear you come up here," Willow said softly and
turned in Tara's arms.  "You okay?" 

Tara smiled and nodded.  "I just need to get through today and then
I'll explain, okay?" 

"Okay," Willow nodded, leaning into Tara's arms, loving the feel of
their bodies together.  

A moment later Willow's lips met Tara's and her arms wrapped around
Tara's neck.  The blonde's hands moved under Willow's shirt, touching
bare skin along Willow's back, knowing just where to touch along the
spine to make the red head almost purr in her arms.

Willow backed Tara up against a bookcase as the kiss became more
passionate and Willow's fingers laced through Tara's long hair.

"Tara?" 

Willow growled at the interruption and pulled back slightly from Tara
to look at the owner of the startled male voice.  Tara herself turned
pale and dropped her arms from Willow.  The red-haired witch,
confused, lowered her arms as well and backed up a step.  Willow
thought she knew everyone that Tara knew and wondered if this was a
student from Sunnydale U but doubted it. Rumors had spread very
quickly about her relationship with Tara and quite a few were
beginning to catch on that Buffy was also included in the relationship.

"Tara? I&I was told that I might find you here," the male said softly,
his eyes wide with obvious shock.

"How did you find&I mean, how?" Tara stammered, her head ducking,
hiding her face behind her hair.

"We've been asking around campus and some of the students said they
knew you hung around here with a red-haired student," the male
answered, slight hostility in his voice. "Who's your friend?"

"Oh!" Tara exclaimed.  "Uh, this is my friend Willow, this is Donny.
My brother, Donny."

"Brother?" Willow whispered, feeling Tara's mental shields slam down,
shutting Willow and everyone else out.

"Wha-What are you doing here?" Tara asked, moving Donny out into the
general shop area with Willow following slowly behind. Tara glanced
back at her lover with an almost desperate glance that Willow couldn't
decipher.

"Well, why do you think, birthday girl!" Donny grinned and finally
hugged his sister.

"Hey, Tar!" Buffy called cheerfully as she walked in but frowned as
she caught the mixed energy coming from Willow and no signals from
Tara.  Also the fact Tara was being hugged by a strange male and
obviously not enjoying it.

"Hi, Buffy," Tara said quickly.  "This is my big brother Donny, this
is Buffy, another friend of mine and that's Anya behind the counter.
Giles is around here somewhere too."

"Wow, all of them your friends?" Donny smirked and Tara nodded.  "Hey,
that's more people than you ever even talked to in high school!"

Willow, knowing something of Tara's experiences in high school growled
and caught a worried expression from Buffy as the Slayer moved closer
to her.

"Where? How?" Tara stammered.

"Well, hell!" Donny exclaimed.  "We've been all over campus looking
for you."

"We?" Tara squeaked.  

Giles came from the back room with a box of herbs and took in the
sight of a very uncomfortable Tara and a stranger.

"Yeah!" Donny smiled and turned as the door opened and a stern looking
older man walked in with an attractive young woman.  The man was
shorter than Tara but everyone could see a resemblance around the eyes
and jaw.

"Look what I found, Dad!" Donny said enthusiastically, wrapping an arm
around his sister's shoulders.

"Well, here's my girl!" Frank MacKelvey smiled and held his arms open.

Tara moved forward to awkwardly hug him.

"How did you? My name&?" Tara stammered.

"Someone called and said that you had taken your mother's maiden name
and you were in school here," Frank answered.  "We'll talk about it
over dinner."

Frank MacKelvey looked around the shop with a frown and Tara blushed a
bright red as her father's eyes narrowed. The jars of herbs, athames,
pentagrams, skulls, and books were more than Halloween decorations and
Frank's expression told Willow that he knew that.

"These are my friends and that's Mr. Giles, he owns the place," Tara
said softly.  "That's Cousin Beth."

"Hey," Beth smiled shyly.

"Pleased to meet you," Giles said calmly, moving forward to shake
Frank's hand.

"Pleasure, I'm Frank MacKelvey," Frank nodded.  "Well, we don't mean
to bust in like this. Dinner tonight, Tara?"

"Yes, sir," Tara said softly.

"Pick you up here at 5?" Frank asked but it sounded more like a demand.

"Yes, sir," Tara nodded, her hair dropping over her face.

"Cool," Donny agreed.  "Can't wait to catch up with you, sis."

"Forgive us for running off, we're double parked outside," Frank said
as Beth moved out the door with Donny behind her.

Buffy frowned as Frank MacKelvey looked at his daughter, his
expression unreadable.

"Later, Tara," he said softly, his voice promising an in-depth
conversation that probably wouldn't be pleasant.

"Yes, sir," Tara nodded.

Everyone was uncomfortably silent after the door closed.  Tara stood
with her head lowered, hair covering her face as Anya and Xander
exchanged puzzled looks and Giles, Willow and Buffy looked worried.

Buffy walked over slowly and drew the blonde witch into her arms.

"How can we help, baby?" Buffy whispered.

"I just need some time, okay?" Tara asked, reaching out a hand to
Willow, pulling the other witch into the hug.  "I need to go back to
the house for something, I'll be right back."

"You want us to go with you?" Willow asked softly.

"No, honest," Tara tried to smile but neither lover was convinced.

"Tara, your shields are totally up and I'm getting really scared
here," Willow admitted.

"Just give me an hour," Tara begged, her eyes filling with tears.

"Okay," Willow said softly.

Buffy wrapped an arm around Willow's waist as they watched Tara flee
the store.

* * *

Tara was in tears by the time she reached the Summers' home and dashed
upstairs.  The witch threw herself on the bed, grabbing Willow's
pillow and holding it to her chest as she wept.  

"Tara?" 

Tara sat up on the bed in a panic.  

"Tara? Where are you, girl?" 

Tara was frozen on the bed as her father's voice got closer and he
finally appeared in the doorway of the bedroom she shared with Willow.
She looked at her on the bed she shared with both Willow and Buffy.

"Here you are," Frank MacKelvey muttered.  "You left the front door open."

"You&you followed me?" Tara squeaked.

"Yep," Frank nodded.  "I wanted to see where you were living, what
kind of lifestyle you had fallen into. They said at the dorm that you
had moved off campus with some friends."

Tara winced at the way he said 'friends,' knowing that he had probably
heard some of the less than attractive rumors about her, Willow and
Buffy or at least her and Willow.

Frank sighed heavily as Tara ducked her head and he glanced around the
room.  Her father walked over to the altar and picked up an amethyst
crystal ball and Tara winced.  

"You don't even hide it from them?" he demanded.  "Or are they into
this too? That why you were at that shop? Whose house is this?  God,
I'd hoped maybe you'd gotten over this. That you'd gotten it out of
your system."

He placed the ball down and looked around with disdain.

"You don't live in here alone," he accused.  "That side of the bed is
slept in. Who are you shacking up with? Male or female?"

"I&I didn't know you were coming," Tara said, trying to dodge all the
issues.

"Of course we came, it's your birthday!" Frank snapped.  "We haven't
heard from you in months. You know what your birthday means!"

Tara hugged the pillow tighter, fighting back tears. 

"That doesn't mean&it won't mean that!" she whimpered.

"You're turning twenty, Tara," Frank said softly, sitting down on the
edge of the bed.  "It's the same age your mother was when she&."

Tara tried to stop her crying but couldn't.

"Do your friends even know?" he asked.

"Y-yes," Tara answered, her voice soft.

"You lying to me, Tara?" Frank demanded and Tara dropped her eyes. 
"You're coming home with us. You know it's the only way."

"Home?" Tara whispered, her eyes widening.

"You can't control what's going to happen. You have the evil inside of
you and it will come out," Frank said sternly. "You know this, Tara.
We've been expecting this since you were born." 

"But I-I'm not evil! We&things have happened and I know I'm not evil!"
she protested.

"Where do you think the magic comes from? Playing with all this is
only going to make it worse," Frank growled.

"It&it doesn't feel evil, sir," Tara whispered, dropping her head
again. "Willow's not evil."

"Evil never does, Tara, that's how it works," Frank said softly and
stood up.  "I'll leave you to your thoughts and to pack your things. 
Your family loves you, Tara, no matter what.  How do you think your
'friends' will like your true face?"

Tara hugged the pillow as her father walked out of her room.

* * *

Buffy watched with a frown as Willow talked with the Educator from the
Watcher Council.  Willow was distracted and worried. Buffy caught
Giles watching both of them occasionally, the same worried expression
on his face. Willow was attempting to redo the deal they had made with
Travers with the education branch of the Council and Buffy actually
thought Willow might win the fight but the Slayer was distracted as
well as she worried about Tara.

Buffy thought it was bad enough when Willow kept the spell from them
that transferred Buffy's lycanthropy onto herself, but whatever was
bothering Tara seemed worse.  She was shutting both of them out, but
the Slayer could still sense an overwhelming fear from Tara.  The
blonde witch was terrified of losing them, not just Willow and Buffy
but all of them.

Finally, Buffy couldn't take it anymore and walked up to Willow and
the two Watchers sitting at the common table in the shop.

"Will, I need to go home for a bit," Buffy said softly.

//Tara?// Willow questioned her mentally, glancing at her watch.
//It's been three hours//  "Okay, we patrolling tonight?" Willow asked
aloud.

//Yeah, I'm worried.// Buffy admitted. "Yeah, not a problem, we will
do the Witch-Slayer-Witch thing and then go for mochas. We'll make
yours decaff," Buffy tried to smile.

"Okay, no caffeine late at night," Willow agreed.  //Let me know,
please. I'm worried as hell.// 

* * *

Tara's tears hadn't eased as she shoved clothes into a backpack along
with a few items she didn't want to leave behind, including a picture
of her, Buffy, and Willow on the beach.  The three looked incredibly
relaxed and happy and Tara hesitated, crying as she held the picture
to her chest.  

"Maybe there's a way I can keep them from knowing," she whispered.

Tara grabbed up a pouch from one of the dresser drawers and sprinkled
a circle of sea salt around her in the center of the room and sat down
with several other pouches. After lighting candles at each quarter and
invoking Higher Powers, Tara turned to the heart of the impromptu ritual.

"Blind Cadria, desolate queen, work my will upon them all. Your curse
upon them, my obeisance to you," Tara said softly and poured the
ingredients into her palm and let red dust flow out of her hand.  The
dust floated as red for a moment and turned yellow when it reached the
floor.

"Tara!" 

"Oh no!" Tara muttered as she quickly extinguished the candles and
jumped to her feet.  She quickly grabbed the rug from in front of the
bed and tossed it over her circle just before Cousin Beth knocked on
the open door.

"I just wanted to see if everything was okay," Beth said cheerfully as
she entered the room without knocking.  "See if you needed any help
packing."

She glanced at the backpack on the bed and the open drawers with a smile.

"Beth, I'm n-not not coming back with you," Tara stammered.

"You&" Beth's smile faded quickly.  "You bitch!"

"What?" Tara gasped, stunned at the rage flashing in Beth's eyes.
"You don't care the slightest bitty bit about your family, do you?"
Beth snapped.  "Your dad's been worried sick about you every day since
you've been gone. There's a, &a house that needs taking care of ...
Donny and your dad having to do for themselves while you're down here
living god knows what kind of lifestyle."
Tara looked away, trying not to cry.  
Beth looked around the room with disgust, grabbing up a picture of
Tara and Willow.  
"I can't wait till your little friends find out the truth about you,"
Beth snarled. "And they will, you know. No matter how innocent you
act, they'll see."
"No they won't," Tara said firmly
"They will," Beth taunted.  "Unless you ... do some kind of spell on
them!"
Tara glanced away and Beth's eyes widened.
"You did!" Beth accused.
"N-no!" Tara whined, her hair hiding her face again.
"You did something to them," Beth shouted. "I'm telling your father."
Beth started to turn away and Tara grabbed her arm in desperation.
"No!" Tara protested.  "No, it wasn't anything!"
"You think you can just go around cursing people?" Beth shrieked.
"Your dad's gonna pop!"
"It was just so they wouldn't see," Tara tried to explain.  "So&so&so
they wouldn't see the demon part of me! Please don't tell Dad! It's
harmless." Tara begged.

"Don't you see how out of control you are?" Beth shouted. "You've been
lying to these people for a year, and now you've put a spell on them,
is that right?"

The young woman shook her head in disappointment.  

"Is that a human thing to do?" Beth scolded.  "Now I'm telling your
father. If he doesn't force you to come home, and I think he should, I
know he's going to tell your friends the truth. If I were you, I'd
tell them first. And then I'd tell them good-bye."

Tara sank to the floor weeping as Beth stormed out of the room.

* * *

Buffy was just about to the house when she saw Spike making a mad dash
for the front door, covered with a blanket.

"Spike, what the hell are you up to?" Buffy yelled as he sought
shelter off the front porch.

"Bloody hell, run, Slayer! Lei-Ach demons!" 

Buffy's eyes widened as Spike went flying from the front porch, losing
his blanket.  The Slayer dashed forward, tearing her coat off and
throwing it over the vampire.  Buffy squeaked as something backhanded
her away from Spike.

She managed to kick whatever it was in front of her and grab Spike up
on his feet. They began running with him back towards the Magic Box.

"What the hell is going on?" she demanded.

"You've got eyes! Got fricking Lei-Ach demons on my ass!" he shouted
as they dashed down the alley.

"Are they invisible or something?" Buffy snapped, banging on the back
door.

"No, they're ugly, mean, and wouldn't mind killing you along with me!"
he growled and began fighting something she couldn't see.  

The door opened and Anya glanced out, a surprised look on her face.
"What's Spike doing? A new dance?"

"Inside!" Buffy shouted and something hit her across the jaw, hard.  

Spike grabbed her up and dashed inside past Anya but something slammed
through the door before he could shut it.

Buffy threw up an arm, blocking another punch but the invisible demon
knocked her to the floor, falling on top of her.  "Anya, Giles, help!"

"Good Lord," Giles exclaimed, as he dashed into the back room,
watching Buffy and Spike fighting something he couldn't see.  Then the
Englishman went flying backwards into the shop.  

Willow, sitting at the common table, squeaked and started to raise her
hands to work a spell when a chair crashed over her head.

"Will!" Xander shouted and began struggling against something choking him.

"Goddamn it! Slay the bloody things!" Spike shouted as Buffy struggled.

"I can't bloody well see them!" Buffy shouted back.

The Slayer threw the demon off and moved for the front of the shop,
grabbing a sword from the weapons rack on the wall. She saw Willow
unconscious on the floor and Xander fighting with another demon. Anya
was shouting and trying to get another one off of Giles as he
struggled, fighting with something for an axe, the creature was trying
to choke him with the handle.

Buffy turned and stabbed at the air just above Xander and he started
breathing again.

Tara slammed the front door open and looked at the chaos.

"Buffy! Behind you!" she shouted.

Buffy spun with the sword and heard/felt the sword going through
something and two separate things hitting the floor.

Tara ran over to Willow and watched as another demon grabbed Buffy and
began beating the Slayer.

"Blind Cadria, lift your veil. Give evil form!" she shouted.  

Buffy grinned as the demons became visible and rammed the sword into
the demon's chest as Anya smashed the one fighting with Giles over the
head with a crystal ball.

Frank MacKelvey, Donny and Cousin Beth entered the store and looked on
in horror as a demon tried to get past Buffy but the Slayer tripped
him and decapitated it.

"What in God's name was that?" Frank shouted, starring at the demon
corpse.

Anya helped Giles to his feet and then Xander.  Tara smiled as Willow
blinked and tried to sit up.  

"You okay, baby?" Tara whispered.

"Lei-Ach demon," Spike said, entering from the back.  "Fun little
buggers. Big with the marrow-sucking thing."

"I don't understand," Frank complained.

"Neither do I," Buffy growled, looking over at Willow and Tara.  

"I'm sorry," Tara began to cry. "I'm so sorry! I was&I was trying to
hide."

Willow blinked and stood up, pulling Tara with her.

"I didn't want you to see&what I am," Tara whispered, crying.

"Tara, what?" Willow demanded. //Lover? Let me in//

//NO!// Tara dropped her head.

"Demon," Frank answered.  "The women in our family have demon in them.
Her mother had it.  That's where the magic comes from."

Tara tried to look up at Willow but couldn't.

"We came to take her home before," Frank said and then sighed. "Well,
before things like&like this started happening," he said pointing at
the demons.

"You cast a spell to keep us from seeing your&demon side," Giles
explained.  "That's why we couldn't see our attackers.

"Tara, you nearly got us killed, love," Buffy frowned, looking at
Willow, the red-haired witch still holding her head.

"I'll go," Tara said softly.

"What? Go?" Willow whimpered. "After everything we've been through?
What&what we mean to each other?"

"It's not your concern!" Frank snapped.  "She belongs with us, we know
how to control&her problem."

"And teach her right from wrong and not turn her into a pervert,"
Donny added with a sneer towards Willow.

"Tara, we trusted you more than anyone in our lives," Willow begged.
"Our bond, our connection, you know that's not evil! Was it all a lie?"

"No!" Tara protested.  "No, not what's between the three of us!"

"Do you want to leave us?" Willow asked softly.

"That's not your decision, young lady," Frank growled.

"I know that! It's not yours either!" Willow growled back, her eyes
turning wolf yellow and back to green as she turned back to Tara. "Do
you wanna leave?"

Tara shook her head, crying.

"You're going to do what's right, Tara!" Frank said sternly.  "Now,
I'm taking you out of here before somebody does get hurt. The girl
belongs with her family. I hope that's clear to the rest of you."

"It is," Buffy said softly, looking at Willow and Tara.  

Willow thought her heart stopped and her mind stopped working as Tara
nodded sadly.  

"You want her, Mr. MacKelvey, go ahead and take her," Buffy said
firmly and spun to face him.  "You just gotta go through me."

The Slayer put her hands on her hips, dropping the sword on the table.

"What?" Frank demanded.

"You heard me," Buffy snapped. "You want to take Tara out of here
against her will? You gotta come through me."

"And me!" Anya volunteered.  

"I'm not going to be threatened by two little girls," Frank said
menacingly.

"You don't want to mess with us," Anya declared, crossing her arms
over her chest.

"Especially her, she's a hair puller," Buffy nodded.

"You're not just dealing with&uh&two little girls," Giles added,
taking off his glasses and moving closer to Tara and Willow
protectively.  

Tara began to smile as Willow reached for her hand.

"You're dealing with all of us," Xander said, despite his bandaged
face and encased arm, he managed to sound firm and strong.

"Except me," Spike muttered.

"Right, except Spike, he doesn't care about us," Anya nodded.

"This is insane! You people have no right to interfere with Tara's
affairs," Frank yelled.  "We are her blood kin! Who the hell are you?"

"We're her family," Buffy said firmly.  

Frank MacKelvey looked angry but unsure.

"Dad!" Donny protested. "You're not gonna let them just&"

The young male stomped forward towards Tara. "Tara, if you don't get
in that RV, I swear I'm gonna beat you down!" he threatened.

"And I swear by your full and manly beard, you're gonna break
something trying," Xander declared, holding his cast out, threatening
to thump Donny with it.  "I just got out of the hospital this
afternoon, wanna take my place?"

"Well, I hope you'll all be happy hanging out with a disgusting
demon," Beth snapped from behind Frank.

"What kind of demon?" Anya suddenly asked.

"What?" Beth asked, confused.

"What kind of demon?" Anya asked.  "There's a lot of different kinds.
Some are very, very evil. Some are thought to be useful members of
society."

Xander looked at his wife, proudly.

"Well&I&I&what does it matter?" Beth snapped.

"Evil is evil!" Frank MacKelvey declared.

"Not always," Willow said softly, her expression serious and thoughtful.

"Oh bloody hell," Spike muttered.  "Why don't I make this simple?"

Buffy watched, puzzled as Spike walked over to the witches and stared
at Tara for a moment.  He suddenly punched Tara in the nose and then
howled in pain as Tara gasped.

"Hey!" she shouted. "He hurt my nose!"

"Hey!" Willow turned angrily on the vampire and then her eyes widened
in realization.  "Hey!"

"He hit my nose!" Tara whined.

"And it hurt!" Willow smiled.  "Him, it hurt him, I mean!"

"That only works on humans," Buffy grinned at Frank.  

"There's no demon in there," Spike said calmly.  "That demon thing,
that's just a family legend, am I right?"

Frank looked uncomfortable and shifted on his feet.  

"Just a bit of spin to keep the ladies in line, right?" Spike
continued.  "Oh, you're a piece of work.  I like you!"

Tara turned to Willow, a smile on her face. "I'm not a demon."

"No, honey, I'm the only demon around here," Willow said softly.

"Oh, your wolf is a nice wolf," Tara smiled gently. "Spike hurt my nose." 

"You're welcome," Spike complained and stalked out the back out of the
store.

Giles smirked at Frank.  "Mr. MacKelvey, I'd say your business here is
finished."

"Tara, for eighteen years your family has taken care of you," Frank
growled.  "You gonna turn your back on us?"

"Dad, just go," Tara said sadly.

Frank turned to the door with Donny following him.  The brother turned
with a disgusted look.

"Magic!" he snarled.

Tara looked at Beth with a questioning look, inviting the girl to
stay, to find freedom. 

"I hope you're happy!" Beth growled.

Tara looked at Willow and Buffy and smiled widely, an impish glint in
her eyes.

"I am now," she nodded.

Willow stretched out her hand, drawing Buffy into a three-way embrace.

* * *

Buffy moved the three of them into the back room and hugged Tara
tightly and then moved aside so Willow could do the same.

"Goddess, don't ever do something like that again!" Willow complained.
"We said no more secrets!"

"I was scared," Tara said softly, tears filling her eyes.

"That's why part of you was always shielded," Buffy nodded.  "I
thought it was some horrible family abuse stuff."

"You mean besides Donny beating her?" Willow corrected. 

"Yeah," Buffy nodded, blushing red, suddenly realizing what Donny had
meant.

"No more secrets," Tara said softly.  "I promise."

"Okay, let's go welcome Xander back from the hospital and see if that
demon hurt him and the others," Buffy suggested.

Xander was a little bruised around the throat but was in good spirits.  

"I fought back," he said, pleased with himself.

"Xander, you're not a coward," Giles said firmly.  "You're one of the
bravest young people I know."

The young looked embarrassed and touched his eye bandage slightly.

"You couldn't fight your father, Xan," Willow nodded, reaching across
the table to touch his hand as Buffy and Giles picked up the demon
bodies to throw into the dumpsters out back.  "That's not you."

"Thanks, Will," Xander smiled and leaned his head on Anya's shoulder,
suddenly tired.

"Giles, why don't we watch the store while you drive Xander and Anya
home?" Buffy suggested, taking in Xander's weary expression.

"Yes, of course," Giles agreed quickly and helped the young man stand.
"You sure that demon didn't hurt those ribs?"

"Nope, I'm good," Xander said cheerfully. "Shall we, Mrs. Harris?"

Anya beamed and grabbed her purse.  "You'll lock up?" she asked the trio.

"Yeah, Willow knows the combination to the safe," Tara nodded.  "We'll
be fine for another hour."

"I'm very glad that you're staying, Tara," Anya said seriously.  "It
would not be the same around here without you."

"Thanks," Tara muttered, blushing.

"I agree," Willow muttered.

"Now we plan three weddings," Buffy grinned. "How do you mix Jewish,
pagan, and non-denominational whatever I am?"

"Very carefully?" Willow grinned.  "Oh Goddess, I haven't even told my
parents about either and both of you! They don't know I'm a witch either."

"Wow, more family stuff," Tara teased lightly.

"Let's hope they handle it better than Xander's did," Buffy frowned.

"Yeah, and he's straight," Willow muttered, looking worried.

"When are your parents due back?" Tara asked.

"Four days, I think," Willow shrugged. "If they stick to their schedule."

"They'll be pleased with Oxford," Buffy said hopefully.

"Yeah," Willow nodded, still worried.

"Let's close up and go home," Tara suggested. "We've got a lot to
think about and I want to snuggle with you both."

"Taking on your family and Lei-Ach demons in the same day is rather
tiring," Buffy teased.

"I'm sorry for doing the spell," Tara whispered.

"Done, forgotten," Buffy declared.

"Yep!" Willow smiled.  "We're headed to England as mates, no secrets.
We're going to need each other over there. The Council is going to try
and control all three of us."

"Yeah and we know how well I play with others in tweed," Buffy grinned.

"Willow, can I ask you something?" Tara asked as Buffy closed and
locked the front door and Willow began moving the cash from the
register to the floor safe.

"Sure, anything," Willow nodded absently.

"Why didn't you heal Xander?" Tara asked.

Buffy looked at the two witches as Willow stood up from behind the
counter.

"Well&I could&it would be a little harder than healing Giles without
the close ocean thing," Willow began thoughtfully.  "And after the
black magic stuff.  Well, the reason I didn't is that he didn't ask me."

"What do you mean, Will?" Buffy asked.  "You healed Angel and Giles
without asking them."

"Giles agreed to the working, he didn't have the specifics but he knew
I was going to try something on him," Willow corrected.  "Angel, I
should have asked him.  I did it without asking and that was wrong."

"Even if it was a good thing?" Buffy frowned.

"Wicca ethics, Buff," Tara smiled.  "You don't do anything to someone
without their permission, even a good thing."

"So Will not healing Xander is a good thing?" Buffy asked, trying to
figure out the morals of this witchcraft thing.

"Yeah, it is," Tara smiled.  "If he asked, then we could do a working
for him."

"Cool, way to go, Will," Buffy grinned.  "Don't worry about your
parents, we took on redneck Donny, didn't we?" 

Tara smiled at that description and nodded but Willow continued to frown.



Willow: "It's a good fight, Buffy, and I want in."
Buffy:  "I kinda love you."
                     'Choices'

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