Fic: Simple Choices...NC-17 Buffy/Willow (3/?)

["Chris " <elizabethrex1@xxxxxxx>]

Disclaimer: All things Buffy belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, and 
lots of people in expensive suits. I'm not making any money here, 
just trying to create a happier Buffyverse for my favorite characters.
Spoilers: I borrow heavily from "The I in Team" for this chapter. Big 
alterations ahead for the remainder of S5.
A/N: Thanks to the best beta crew: Zigpal and Zenithar. There would 
be no writing without you guys.

The walk back to the lab was as quiet as the trip out had been. Buffy 
stayed beside Riley, and watched the rest of the group. The Marines 
clustered close around the body of the demon, weapons still at the 
ready. She needed more information.

"So, Riley, how many demons have you captured since coming to 
Sunnydale?" The Slayer tried for a casual approach. 

"I don't really know&maybe 20," the young Marine replied. "If you add 
in the ones captured by other teams, probably closer to fifty."

*They've only been here how long? That's a lot of evilness to be 
studying.* "How'd you get into this anyway? They post a sign on base 
saying: `Demon hunters wanted?'" She watched her boyfriend carefully. 

Riley laughed at the question, but didn't really answer it. "Do you 
always talk so much on patrol?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, not if I'm alone. That would just be too weird. 
But when Will's with me, we catch up on all the latest gossip." She 
smiled. "Of course, she isn't usually carrying big guns. When the 
vamps or demons come out to play, I leave her behind one of the 
mausoleums or perched on a tombstone."

The Marine frowned. "Why bring a civilian on a hunt? It's too 
dangerous."

The Slayer nodded. "It is. The Scoobies are dedicated, though. Will 
and Xand aren't what I'd call civilians anymore. Willow's gotten 
pretty good with the magic; she holds her own in a fight."

"Magic? That's real?" Riley looked amused.

"Duh? Hello? You hunt and capture demons. How can you not know about 
magic?" This conversation was unbelievable, and she wasn't getting 
the information she needed. "You never really answered my question 
from earlier."

"Which one, Buffy? You're full of questions tonight," came the 
frustrated reply.

The blonde smiled brightly. "Oh, this isn't even a heavy information 
gathering night. I'm just trying to learn more about your job." She 
leaned into the Marine and peered up through her lashes. "That's OK, 
right? I mean, if you don't want to tell me stuff, just say the word 
and I'll be Supporto Gal."

Riley bent down and brushed his lips over hers. He pulled away and 
blushed when one of his men smirked at his open display of 
affection. "No. I'm good with you wanting to get to know me better." 
He tightened his hold on her hand. "So, which question didn't I 
answer?"

"The one about what happens to the demons." Buffy hoped she wasn't 
pushing too hard. He finally seemed non-wiggy about discussing 
Initiative stuff.

Her boyfriend hesitated, but relaxed when she wiggled her fingers in 
his grasp. "Well, I don't know all the details. This one'll be in-
processed." At the blonde's confused look, he elaborated. "That's 
just where we put its basic information into the computer: where we 
found it, how the fight went. That kind of stuff. After that, the 
demon will be placed in a containment cell and monitored."

"That's it? It doesn't seem like much."

"Professor Walsh and the other scientists learn a lot from the 
observations." Riley shrugged. 

Buffy didn't ask about anything else. They were getting close to the 
lab, and she could see her boyfriend stiffen. Like someone had 
flicked a switch, Riley Finn, boyfriend, had become Riley Finn, 
soldier. Releasing his hand, she dropped back, completing the last 
leg of the journey at the rear of the group. 

Following the two Marines carrying the unconscious demon, the Slayer 
ended up in the public lab at the base. The open area looked like the 
set for a B-grade science fiction movie. Yards of aluminum-foil type 
material hung from cables stretch from wall to wall. The shiny 
curtains reflected the light from the dozens of floor lights that 
littered the area. Once the demon had been placed on an examination 
table in the lab, the men hurried back to the briefing area. The 
Slayer glanced around. All of the personnel in the lab wore white 
coats. There wasn't a single military uniform in sight.

Not wanting to draw too much attention, Buffy also left the lab. On 
her way to join her team, she glimpsed Professor Walsh in a heated 
discussion with another scientist. The woman apparently in charge of 
the Initiative's mission gestured emphatically to her companion. 
Stopping and leaning against another exam table, the Slayer tried to 
block out the sounds around her and hear the conversation. Despite 
her enhanced hearing, the young blonde caught only a few words. 

"&don't care. Just do it," Professor Walsh snarled.

"But we don't have enough&" The man's words got lost when a golf cart 
carrying armed Marines raced by. "Maybe we can use the arm of the 
Polgara Finn's team brought in."

Walsh looked relieved and smiled at the news. 

"Buffy?" The blonde spun around. Riley's friend Forrest stepped away 
from her, hands held palm out in front of him. "Sorry. Didn't mean to 
scare you. We're getting ready for the debriefing. You coming?"

"Yeah." The Slayer looked toward Professor Walsh. The older blonde 
was striding rapidly toward the gathered Marines. "I think we'd 
better hurry. Looks like the Professor's on her way."

***

"You w-w-want to sneak in to the In-Initiative?" Tara stuttered.

Nodding energetically, Willow agreed. "Well, yeah. They won't have 
everything in the computer." She paused, thinking about that 
statement. "OK. It's the military. They probably have reports and 
notes on every detail. But I might not be able to get into all the 
files. So, we'd need to go there to find out what they're planning."

Smiling at the younger girl, Tara said, "Willow, even if we got 
inside, do you know where to look?"

"I'm sure there are blueprints," the redhead asserted.

"Probably." The older witch frowned. "Before we try the glamour, 
though, let's stick with the hacking and the simple spell." She could 
see Willow wanted to argue. "It's a lot of magic for the glamour, and 
we don't have any real information yet. If we find something, I'll 
hunt for a spell to change our appearance."

The other girl looked unhappy at the announcement, but backed down a 
little. "I guess that's OK. I'll head back to my room and grab the 
laptop."

Tara blushed and ducked her head. "If you wa-want, I could g-go with 
you." 

"Great! Bring your books and anything you need. I doubt Buffy will be 
back." The redhead sounded sad. "She'll more than likely stay with 
Riley."

Climbing off the bed and placing books and supplies into a backpack, 
Tara commented, "You don't see much of her anymore?"

"Not really," Willow said.

"Have you tried talking to her?" She glanced at her friend. "Maybe 
she doesn't realize how much time she's spending with Riley."

The novice witch pulled her knees to her chest. "I've been afraid to 
say anything." She grimaced. "What if she thinks I'm giving her an 
ultimatum? I don't want to push her farther away."

Stuffing the last of her things into the bag, the blonde held out a 
hand to Willow. "Are you sure you want to poke around the Initiative? 
If you're wrong, then Buffy might get really mad."

The younger witch let Tara pull her from the bed. Biting her lip, she 
said in a small voice, "I know. But I don't think I'm wrong." Green 
eyes met blue. "I'm scared she's gonna get hurt  or worse."

The blonde looped the backpack over her left shoulder and moved to 
the door. "Come on, then. Let's go find the information you need to 
convince Buffy to leave the Initiative."

Grinning in relief, Willow trotted after the other girl. "Thanks, 
Tara.

The two young women exited the dorm and hurried down the poorly lit 
path. "How detailed do you want me to be about the demons?" Tara 
enquired. 

"Um, I hadn't really thought it out that far." The redhead pursed her 
lips. "I'm thinking it might be a good idea to know how many demons 
the Initiative is holding, what kinds of demons they've got, and what 
kind of shape they're in."

The other witch whistled soundlessly. "That's a tall order for one 
spell."

Willow nodded. "It is. I just&" She ran a hand through her hair in 
frustration. "I don't trust them. Something isn't right, and Buffy 
can't or won't ask the necessary questions."

Smiling crookedly, Tara tried to comfort her friend. "It may be a 
little more complex than originally planned, but I think I can do 
what you want." She mentally ran through the spells in her 
books. "I'm probably going to have to cast more than just one spell, 
though. The number of demons is easy. Doing a wellness check as well 
as cataloguing is complicated."

"I borrowed Giles' copy of the Compendium of Supernatural Creatures. 
Would that help?" the redhead asked.

"You borrowed it?" The blonde arched an eyebrow. 

Blushing, the younger girl mumbled, "I intend to give it back. So, 
you could say I borrowed it."

Tara laughed. "It will be a big help. If I incant a variation of a 
locator spell, the faeries can point to specific demons in the book."

"Cool!" Willow grinned. 

"Sweetie, this may not work the way you want," the older witch 
cautioned. "Magic isn't a science. I can structure the words of the 
incantation, but that's no guarantee we'll be able to focus the 
energy on gathering information."

Nodding slowly, Willow acknowledged the point. "I get that." She 
sighed. "Buffy's my best friend, though. I've got to do whatever I 
can to keep her from making a huge mistake." She glanced at Tara and 
smiled slightly. "She may be a wonder at demon killing, but picking 
men? Not so good."

They reached Stevenson Hall and the safety of the dorm room. Flicking 
on the lights, Willow headed immediately to her desk. "Tara, spread 
out and use anything you need. I'm going to get to work on the 
computer systems." She opened her laptop and logged onto the 
Internet. 

***

Three hours later, Willow rubbed tired eyes and stared at the 
information on her screen. "I'm in," she announced.

"What?" Tara peered at her friend. 

"I'm in," the hacker repeated. "Now all I need to do is start raiding 
the files. How are you coming along?"

Resting her chin on the open book in front of her, the older witch 
said, "I've got two of the three spells worked out. The wording on 
the last one is tricky." She shrugged. "If I get the phrasing wrong, 
the information we uncover might be misleading, or the spell simply 
won't work."

Turning from the computer, the redhead asked, "What are you trying to 
do with the incantation?"

The blonde sat up on the bed. "The original spell activates latent 
empathy in the caster. I'm rewording it to alter the empathy. Instead 
of sensing feeling/emotions, it should allow me to feel what kind of 
physical condition the demons are in." Tara chewed on her 
lip. "That's the part that's causing problems. If I don't put the 
right phrases into the spell, I could end up reading everyone's 
emotions or worse."

For the first time, Willow wondered if this was a good idea. "Maybe 
we should just do the first two; I don't want to put you in that kind 
of danger."

"We'll compromise," Tara stated. "We do the first two spells. If 
anything unusual happens, I'll get back to work on the last 
incantation."

"If you're sure&"the redhead said uncertainly.

Scooting off the bed and grabbing some supplies, the older girl 
responded. "I'm sure. All we're doing is beefing up a locator spell. 
What's so dangerous about that?"






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

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