DISCLAIMER: All things Buffy belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, and lots of people who are not me. The original characters belong to Aeris Jade Orion. I'm just borrowing everyone for a little fun.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is an answer to a challenge issued on the www.ikoly.com website. The challenge was to finish an abandonded story by Aeris Jade Orion. The original chapter is included here or you might find it at: http://moonlit-musings.net/wls/eFiction1.1/viewstory.php?sid=812. The WLS site has been down for the last month or so. A very special thank you to Tim, Ivy, and Malea for all their help on this one. One last item - For the purposes of this fic, Dawn is 18 during the events of S7.
SPOILERS: A lot of general spoilers, including quotes from "Dopplegangland" and "Conversations with Dead People." Big time spoilage for everything after "The Gift." The fic mixes S6 and S7 with reckless abandon.
ARCHIVING: Only with the permission of the author.
Finding Her Way Home
By rebelrsr
CHAPTER 1
The winter winds whipped around her in a continuous beating of cold. Her coat seemed to offer only a thin protection against the inhuman attack of Jack. It was yet another element out to get her. It, and everyone else. It wouldn't matter in the end though, because when you got down to it, no one really cared. Buffy was caught up in the whole Spike soap opera. Xander was too busy trying to keep his fiancé happy, and Tara... Well, Tara wasn't really in the picture anymore.
"Wouldn't you feel better having Buffy or Tara with you?" Dawn asked quietly.
She shook her head, not wanting to think about the others. Dawn was the only one that had bothered finding out the real reason behind her magic use, and about the incident with the warlock. Then again, Dawn had ended up playing nurse to her, experiencing first hand what the magical growth spurt that the warlock had triggered had done to her.
In a matter of days she'd made a leap in magic that should've taken her the rest of her life to achieve. Now, instead of learning to control it as she went along, she had an enormous amount of magic in her that was on a hair trigger. The slightest loss of control in her emotions or her thoughts, was causing disastrous results.
Buffy and the other's had simply jumped to conclusions about her use of magic, not bothering to ask her about it. Personally, she wasn't about to tell anyone anything when they couldn't simply ask her. Dawn, of course, had actually asked her one night, and in return she'd told the teenager the truth.
Now, a month later, the teen was determined to drag her into the police station to meet Agent Reiner. Something she didn't want to do. In fact, this whole thing had been Dawn sticking her nose where it didn't belong. A characteristic that she was currently grateful for.
If it hadn't been for the teen, she never would've gotten up the nerve to call the hot line about her suspicion. The missing person poster that they'd found after Buffy had died had weighed heavily on her mind as a constant reminder of who she really was. A crisis of emotions that had left her sinking in a dependency of magic because it was the only thing she could depend on at the time, or so she thought.
Dawn was the one that had forced her into calling the investigating Agent. She had also been the one that had made the appointment for the DNA test, to verify her identity. The first time they'd gone to the hospital just her and the nurse that had taken a swabbing.
Now, they were about to meet the agent. Personally, she couldn't see why he couldn't just tell her the results of the DNA test over the phone, or better yet, they could've just mailed her the results.
"Ohmygod, she looks just like you."
Willow came out of her daze to find herself staring at two women seated outside the conference room. The one on the left was about 5'6, with a tautly built muscular body. She had green eyes, and long curly raven hair. She was tanned, and dressed in faded jeans, and work boots. She was clasping the hand of the woman next to her. A 5'4, red head, with the softest curves that she'd ever seen. She had emerald eyes, with pale skin. The thing that caught her attention was the identical wedding rings on their left hands.
The red head looked up, shocking her with how much they looked alike. The black haired woman seemed to be the only thing holding the red head in place. The red head's body was tensed, with tears streaming down her cheeks in answer to whatever the raven haired woman was whispering.
"Miss Rosenberg, if you would come into the conference room then we can get started." Agent Reiner stepped into her view of the two women, herding them in.
She numbly sat in the chair next to Dawn, watching the two women sit across from her. "What's going on?"
Agent Reiner leaned against the table as he opened a file. "Miss. Rosenberg, this is Katrina and Jennifer Hirsch, the parents of the missing girl. When they heard about the test they wanted to be here."
"Oh." She swallowed back the urge to run, grateful once more for Dawn's forcibly presence. "Am I Denise?"
Reiner snapped the file shut, and tossed it in front of her. "There was a 98 percent match to Dr. Hirsch's DNA."
"Oh. O-okay." She tried to smile at the two women. "S-so what happens now? Because I for one am clueless. I mean, up until... well now, I was always plain old dependable Willow Rosenberg. Only now you're telling me I'm Denise Hirsch, although I guess that means I'm still Jewish, which is a good thing. And what about my...what about Ira and Sheila, I mean, what will happen to them? And where am I supposed to live now. They sold the house, I can't live at the dorms cause I gave my room up, and Buffy wants me moved out by Friday..."
"You can stay with us." Jennifer interrupted quietly. "It would give us a chance to get to know each other."
"B-but what about college, I can't miss any of my classes..."
"Our ranch is only an hour outside the city. You'd have to leave earlier but you would still be able to make your classes."
She looked from Jennifer to Katrina nervously. She wanted to know her parents, her sisters. What it would be like to have a real family for once, and it wasn't like the other's would be missing her too much.
"Alright. I'd like that."
The tension drained from her parents' bodies, letting the three women study each other comfortably. Maybe this was going to work alright after all.
"Are you sure about this? I mean, I'm positive that once Buffy knows what's going on she'll let you stay."
Willow put the last box in the back of her old jeep. Dawn had been great about the whole thing up until she found out she'd be moving out of town. The teenager had tried just about everything to keep her from leaving. Hiding her keys, unpacking her stuff, hiding her stuff....
"I need to do this. I need to find out who I really am, to find out if my powers were inherited or not." Willow hugged the girl close, hating to lose the girl, but she had to go. "Besides, it's only for a little while, and you can come visit me."
Dawn nodded, clinging to her. "I don't want to lose anyone else. You're like my really cool older sister, you know."
"And you're like a really adorable but slightly neurotic little sister." She chuckled with the teen, then slowly extracted herself from Dawn's arms. "I'll call you when I get there."
"Promise?"
"Promise." She hugged the girl again quickly, then hopped into the black leather driver's seat. She wanted to get to the ranch before night fall.
"Be careful." Dawn sniffed, wrapping her arm's tightly around her body.
She cranked the engine, and released the brakes, trying not to notice the crying girl. If she looked up then she would start crying to, and then she would end up staying there another night. She shifted the jeep into drive, and slowly pulled out. She had a long way to go before the sun set.
"Dawn!! What are you still doing up? And where's Willow? Did she get moved out?"
She ducked her head to hide the tears. It was all Buffy's fault. If she'd bothered asking Willow instead of jumping to assumptions, then the witch would still be there. "Yeah. You won't have to put up with her anymore."
"We've talked about this. She's abusing magic. If it was only me then I'd let her stay, but I have you to worry about. I won't risk you for her sake."
She jerked away as Buffy reached out to her. Anger bubbled up in her chest, anger at her sister's stubbornness, and naiveness. "You don't know anything, because you never bothered to ask. Instead you guys are so busy jumping to conclusions that it's never occurred to you that there might be an explanation."
"Anya and Giles already told us all about how easy it is for innocents to become addicted to magic."
Dawn couldn't help it, she had to laugh. Willow? Innocent? What world were they living in? "Willow isn't innocent, she hasn't been since she first found out about vampires, or the first time her parents left her alone, or the first time she realized that she was gay, or even the first time she was forced to kill a demon."
"It doesn't matter, she'd still using too much magic."
"Well considering that she found out that her parents are really escaped felons that kidnapped her when she was a child, I can't really blame her." Dawn stood up angrily, pacing the length of the living room. "Or how that warlock forced her body to over load on magic, and now she can't control it."
"B-but she never said anything."
She glared at her sister coldly, "She was trying to tell you last night, but somebody was to busy kicking her out."
Dawn turned away from her sister, if she stayed there she would try to comfort her, and right now, she didn't deserve any comfort. Not after chasing Willow out of her life.
She stared at the wood door of the large ranch house, searching for the courage to knock. She raised her fist again, and paused, still lacking the nerve to perform something so simple. Jennifer had come off as a mother hen, very affectionate and easily emotional. Kirstan seemed to be a wall of strength, letting out her emotions only in extreme situations. They had both showed how much they wanted her to come home, but that was then. What if they had changed their minds already?
"Nervous?"
She turned to the quiet voice that jarred her from her thoughts. She gulped in shock at the sight of one of her identical triplets. The twenty one year old was a mirror image of her, down to the hair. But the differences were just as noticeable. Where she was now interested in brighter clothes, this girl was wearing work clothes. Where her body was out of shape, but thin, this girl was well toned.
"A little. Oh, I'm Willow by the way."
"Dorian." The other girl stepped forward, pulling her into a hug. "Mom told us you'd be staying here a while."
"I hope you don't mind."
Dorian grinned at her happily, "We're going to have so much fun. I can teach you how to ride, and we can go swimming in the lake, and we can explore the surrounding forests, and Drew's looking forward to teaching you kick boxing, and Morgan and Elle have always wanted another sister to play pranks on...."
"At least now I know where I get my babbling from."
Dorian laughed, breaking out of her shy smile. The girl's entire attitude put her at ease. There was no expectations of her, no pressure, or goals that she had to live up to. "Come on, let's go introduce you to the others."
She looked back at her stuff still in her jeep, trying to disengage herself from her sister, "What about all my stuff?"
"James will get it."
She squeaked as her sister pulled her towards her parents where they were instructing a young girl on a pony. She could see the other triplet and another girl sitting on the wood fence, playing pep squad for the girl on the pony. The youngest of the girls had red hair and green eyes, but resembled a cross between her mothers. The other girl, Morgan, looked more like Kirstan then Jennifer. With dark raven-auburn hair, and emerald eyes.
"I-I can't do this."
Dorian glanced over at her shyly, "Is it because our parents are lesbians?"
Willow blushed under her sister's gaze, "I'm gay, so no. I'm just... I don't know how to act or what to do, I mean what if they hate me? Or I make a fool out of myself? Oh goddess, you don't have a problem with witches do you? Because I don't want to end up burned at the stake or anything. I think I should leave..."
Dorian latched onto her arm, holding her in place with an amused smile. "Just be yourself and you'll be fine. Besides you're our sister so by default we have to like you. And as for being a witch, so is half our family."
"Oh." Willow hurriedly searched her mind for another reason to leave. She didn't want to do this anymore, she just wanted to go back home.
"Hey, can one of you give me a hand? She's trying to make a run for it." Dorian called out happily.
Morgan and Drew leaped off the fence, sprinting towards them at a full run. The two girls skidded to a stop in front of them. Drew grabbed her other arm and began to help Dorian drag her towards her parents. Morgan started to giggle at them, and pushed on her back.
"Well, it seems that you've been accepted into our clan." Kirstan remarked dryly.
"Guess what? She said that she's a witch." Dorian piped in, finally letting her go.
Jennifer sat Elle on her feet, looking up with genuine interest. "Really? How long have you been practicing?"
"Since eleventh grade."
"Why did you start so late?"
Willow nervously looked around trying to figure out what to tell them. She couldn't tell them the truth. They'd put her in the looney bin if she told them that she'd had to learn when her best friend's vampire boyfriend lost his soul and killed her teacher who was a rom gypsy.
"It's a long, long, complicated, and not quite believable story."
"You'd be surprised by what we believe." Kirstan remarked.
She studied the dark woman curiously. The athletic woman was giving off a familiar vibe that was just on the tip of her tongue. She was positive that she'd meet someone with that same vibe before, but she couldn't place it. It was a strong, dark, powerful vibe, that reminded her of a creature of the night. A vampire, or werewolf, or even a slay...
"You're a slayer." She hadn't meant to say it, but it just slipped out of her numb lips.
Kirstan's closed face opened up in surprise, and even more suspicion. "How do you know about slayers?"
"Hello. Lives on a hellmouth?" She swallowed at the darkening expression on her mother's face. "The current slayer, or one of the current slayers is my best friend."
"Wait, you're the witch that helps her." Jennifer muttered.
"How....?"
"I may be retired but we still get the occasional news from the council." Kirstan smiled at her, "And from what I hear, you and the slayer have caused quite an uproar inside the old boys club."
"Oh, right. Um, so I guess you want to know about my involvement with the slayer?"
"That might be a good idea."
Buffy sat on the edge of the bed, watching her sister try to ignore her. "Did she tell you where she's staying?"
"Why? So you can go slay her now?"
"So I can apologize."
"She's moved in with her biological family."
She scooted a little closer to Dawn, smoothing back the teen's hair. "Can you give me their address or phone number?"
Dawn rolled onto her side and took a piece of paper from her night stand. Taking it from her sister, she took a look at it, and froze.
"This is outside the city."
"I know." Dawn said coldly, then went back to the book she was reading.
The room was large, with dark wood walls, and a long bed. The furniture that decorated the bedroom was hand crafted antique. Various stuffed animals, clothes, and toys was placed around the room. Pictures of her family hung on the walls, showing them at different times in their life, times that she'd been robbed of. Even the pictures where they were laughing and carefree, there was strain of sadness in their faces.
"We didn't have the heart to pack your stuff after you were taken." Jennifer slowly entered the room, her worn eyes tracing over everything. "We'd buy you birthday and Christmas presents every year in hopes that that would be the year we'd get you back. Then we'd put your presents here, in your room, knowing that someday you'd be able to enjoy them."
"Why didn't you do a tracking spell?"
Jennifer picked up a picture of her with her identical sisters. "We tried, but there was a tracking block on you. We spent years looking for you, using all our resources, but we had two other daughters to raise and another one on the way."
"It wasn't your fault." She was unsure what to do, how to comfort this stranger that had given birth to her. "Is Kirstan our father, or did you get a sperm donor?"
"After we were married her watcher gave us a spell that allowed us to have children."
She nodded, having suspected that it was something like that. There was too much of both women in all of them for her to be anything but biologically related.
"I've talked to Kirstan about your problem, and we want to start training you immediately. You need to learn control your magic before someone gets hurt."
"What about Kirstan? She doesn't strike me as much of a witch."
Jennifer chuckled softly at her remark. "No, she'll be handling your physical training."
She gulped at the idea of having to learn how to fight. Just the idea alone was enough to make her tired. "B-but I don't fight, fighting is bad, very bad."
"Part of your problem is your physical condition. A lot of a witch's control depends on your physical fitness, breathing control, how much control you have over your body." Jennifer smiled reassuringly at her, "It'll be fine. Kirstan's a great teacher, and she'll get you in shape in no time."
"That's what I'm afraid of." She muttered.
"Why don't you get washed up? Dinner's almost ready." Jennifer laughed as she left.
"Okay....Mom?"
The red head looked back at her with tears in her eyes. "Yes?"
She walked up to the woman and hugged her tightly, "It's good to be home."
"It's good to have you home, sweetie."
She stared off at the stars in a haze of sadness. She'd been so ready to believe the worst of her friend, that she'd forgotten to look for the best. She'd just been so angry over being ripped away from heaven, that it was easier to think of her friend doing it out of hate rather than love. Now, in her own pain, she'd over looked Willow's pain.
"There you are luv. I was looking all over the place for you. I thought you'd be out patrolling already."
"Not now Spike."
Two strong arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her tightly against a cold chest. She flinched at the feel of his cold lips against her pulse. She shrugged off the vampire, hating herself for giving in to her need for some amount of comfort.
"What's wrong?" Spike moved to stand in front of her, "It's Red. It isn't your fault, you know. The chit should've told us."
"We wouldn't have listened, and she knew that. I should've known. We were living in the same house, saw each other all the time. I should've seen it."
The vampire flicked his cigarette butt to the ground, "You're in love with her."
"What? No. Of course not. She's my friend, that's all." She glared at Spike, just daring him to contradict her. All he had to do was open his mouth and say it, then she could stake the S.O.B. One word that's all it would take.
"I may be a vampire, but I still know love when I see it."
"I..." She trailed off as the vampire disappeared into the shadows. "I don't want to be."
The fire blazed higher and higher amidst the laughter and talking of the large group. It was an incredible gathering, one of love and friendship. Her grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, sisters, and parents were all gathered by the lake, around the large bon fire. Food was scattered on a cluster of tables nearby. Kirstan was standing over the barbecue pit, cooking various hamburgers, steaks, and beef hot dogs.
She could hear the gentle drift of music as Dorian played her guitar with Morgan's voice soothing her nerves. An angel lifted from the mortal realm with wings a far.
"She has an incredible voice." The cool blonde pulled herself up on the fence beside her, the pale ice blue eyes sparkling with mischief. "I'm Alex by the way."
"Willow." She glanced back at her eclectic family. "They're very friendly."
"That's one way to put it."
"Are you another relative?"
Alex shook her head in amusement, "Goddess no. I'm your neighbor."
"I didn't know we had neighbors."
"This place is pretty far out. How are you adjusting?"
Willow was tempted to laugh at that question. Adjusting was an understatement. "At this point, I'd say it's like entering a whole different world."
"Yeah, but a good world."
"So...Your boyfriend here?" She winced inwardly at her not so subtle question. She was really going to have to work on her flirting.
"Nope, gay and single. Just like you."
Busted. She tried to look innocent but the pouty face the other woman had was making it impossible to think. That body, with curves that went on forever and ever. The thick, luscious, blonde hair that was pulled into a careless pony tail. Those thick moist ruby red lips that stuck out just...so.
"Would...would you like to do something sometime?" She choked out.
"Depends. Would it be a date?"
She swallowed hard at the steady gaze, "Yeah, unless you don't want it to, then it wouldn't be, but I want it to be."
"There's an old mining cave close by, we could take a picnic lunch up there and talk."
"I'd like that..."
"Willow!!! Come on!!!"
Alex smirked as Drew beckoned them over. The adults were gathering around the bon fire, signaling the start of the story sharing.
CHAPTER 2
Buffy stood on the porch long after Spike left, trying to understand what was happening. The warmth and peace of Heaven were distant memories. She was cold, inside and out. Leaning against the railing, the Slayer let her mind wander over images from the past: her first day at Sunnydale High; visiting Willow before going to confront the Master; hanging out in the Bronze; holding Willow after Glory had sucked Tara's mind. Damn. Even I can see the pattern here. Willow, Willow, Willow. Straightening, Buffy reentered the house.
Dawn was in her room. Without the two witches, it was eerily quiet. It's time to stop drifting through life. If Spike's right, she frowned at the thought, then I can't just let Willow walk away. Firming her resolve, Buffy marched into the kitchen and picked up the phone. Two rings later, a quiet voice answered.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Tara, it's Buffy."
The Slayer waited impatiently through the pause. "B-Buffy, is som-something wrong?"
"Not exactly. Dawn mentioned a few things about Willow's magic use." She gripped the receiver tightly. Come on, Buffy, don't stop now. "We were way off base on what's been happening. Can I come over?"
"I d-don't th-think th-that's a good idea." Buffy closed her eyes at the response. "Even if she was able to st-stop using magic, we aren't getting back together."
The closed eyes flew open. Whoa! Definitely not getting back together, Tara. No way. "Yeah. I know. But, I didn't really understand everything Dawn told me, and there's some other stuff, too."
The blonde witch's reluctance was clear. "I don't know, Buffy. It's been really hard to move on. I don't know…"
"Please, Tara. I promise not to mention even once you getting back with Willow. I just need some answers, and I don't want to do it over the phone. How about I meet you at the Espresso Pump in half an hour?"
"Alright, Buffy." A sigh sounded in her ear. "I'll see you there."
Nodding in satisfaction, the Slayer replied, "Great. Thanks, Tara. Bye." After replacing the handset, Buffy trotted up the stairs and knocked on Dawn's door. No one answered, but she knew her sister was there. Gently opening the door, Buffy saw the teenager sitting at her desk, headphones on, reading.
Dawn looked up when she walked in. Removing the headphones, the brunette asked, "So, did you call her?"
"Um, no."
Dawn looked disapproving. "Geeze, Buffy, don't you think you owe her an apology?"
"Yeah, I do, Dawn. I thought maybe she needed a little time to settle in. And," she decided a little honesty was in order, "I wanted to talk to Tara about the magic stuff. I'm meeting her at the Pump in a few minutes. Think you'll be OK on your own for a while?"
The younger Summers smiled, "Sure, Buffy. I got plenty of stuff to work on."
"OK, then. I'll lock the door when I leave. Don't wait up." She left the room, Dawn's laughter following her.
Willow followed Alex to the bonfire. The redhead still felt awkward joining the Hirsches. Perhaps sensing her discomfort, Jennifer smiled at her prodigal daughter from her position against Kirstan. The young girl smiled back, though the effort was obvious. Choosing a spot between Drew and Morgan, Willow listened as one of her many new relatives asked for volunteers to start the storytelling.
"I'll start," Kirstan's sure voice easily topped the various side conversations taking place around the huge fire. She kissed Jennifer lightly before continuing. "It seems appropriate, now that we're all together again, to tell Willow how her mother and I met."
Groans sounded from various locations. "Not again, Mom, please," Morgan begged from Willow's left. "Tell us anything but that. The rest of us could quote the whole thing, word for word."
Kirstan laughed. "OK. I'll spare you that tale. But we need to help Willow feel more comfortable being back. Any suggestions?"
A vocal free-for-all began. Suggestions, questions, and bickering surged from kids and adults. Willow was touched; her family was trying so hard to make her feel at home. Maybe she was the one who needed to let them in on who Willow Rosenberg – now Hirsch – really was. "How about I start us off?" she shouted over the din.
"Really?" Jennifer asked.
"Sure. Goddess knows living on the Hellmouth with a Slayer for a best friend gives me plenty of tales to choose from." Willow thought for a moment. "Have you guys heard of a demon named Anyanka?" A chorus of 'no's' sounded. "OK, then," she continued with a grin. "You'll get a kick out of this one."
Sitting cross-legged, hands resting comfortably on her knees, Willow started things off. "About three years ago, Anyanka came to Sunnydale. She was a vengeance demon who granted wishes to scorned women." Briefly, the young witch sketched in the details of Cordelia's original wish. "When the alternate Giles broke her amulet, she got stuck in real Sunnydale, much to her chagrin. So, she found a naïve and poorly trained young witch to help her restore her powers."
She paused and looked around. She had everyone's attention. "For those of you who don't have great observational skills, that was me." She smiled at the memory. "Of course, I wasn't the cool, collected Willow you see before you. Oh, no. I was shy, babbling Willow. A Willow who was having a very bad day." She continued the story, touching on her pathetic attempt to storm off after the 'Old Reliable' comment and made sure to give a description of her Willow-wear for the day. "I know it seems kinda unimportant, but the clothes are a key element to the day's developments," she said to the group listening attentively.
Buffy finished telling Tara about Willow's family and the truth about her magic. The blonde witch looked stunned.
"How did we not know this?" she asked the Slayer.
"As my sister would no doubt say, 'Duh.' We were too busy treating her like a magic junkie to look at any other options." Buffy shook her head in disbelief. "At least you tried to help. Me, I just yelled and told her to move out."
"Wow. I mean, if that warlock ripped her channels open, it's no wonder she was using magic for everything." She answered Buffy's confused look with, "Her magic is tied to her emotions. Or, it is right now. That means she has no control. Even a stray thought would have some kind of magical result." Tara went pale at the implications of that statement. "Dear Goddess," she breathed, putting shaking hands over her eyes.
"Tara, what's wrong?"
Without removing her hands, the witch replied, "The memory spells. I suddenly realized Willow may not have done them intentionally."
"Oh, you mean she just thought about making everyone forget and it happened." Buffy sat back in her chair. "It makes sense. It's kinda like what happened right after Oz left the first time." The Slayer had her own realization, then. "Wait a minute. You said memory spells, not spell. What other memory spell did Willow cast?"
The older blonde didn't answer.
"Tara, what else did Willow do? Is it part of the reason you were so sure you would never get back together?"
With a sigh, Tara lowered her hands and looked at Buffy. "Yes. The spell that wiped all our memories was her second attempt at erasing memories. She tried the first one just on me after we had an argument."
"What?!"
"I wouldn't even have known, but Dawn heard our argument and commented on how glad she was we weren't mad at each other the next morning. Goddess," she lamented. "I gave her an ultimatum that day: either she stop doing magic or I would leave. She couldn't do it. She only lasted about twelve hours, and I left. I left her, Buffy, and I never once asked why she used the magic or tried to help her find a way to control it. I just left."
Buffy reached across the tiny table and took the crying girl's hand. "We all made mistakes, Tara. We just have to find a way to fix things. Is there a way to help Wills get this stuff under control?"
"Y-yes," Tara sniffed. "We ha-have to find her a teacher, another witch who can train her in controlling her emotions and her magic."
"Can't you do that?"
The witch laughed. "Maybe before the warlock speeded up her magical growth rate. But not now. Willow's too strong for me. She's always had amazing potential, and we were working on the proper controls." She shrugged and looked away.
Buffy's eyes narrowed. "You're not telling me something." Tara hid behind her hair and didn't answer. "I wonder…Oh, my God, Tara. It was because she used Dark Magic to resurrect me, isn't it? That's when all of this got started."
CHAPTER 3
Buffy stared across the table at the curtain of blonde hair. "Tara, what happened to Willow when she brought me back?" She fought to keep from screaming the words.
"I don't really know, Buffy. But the spell she used called on the God Osiris. Sh-she was actually channeling him at one point."
"How could you not know? Weren't you there?
It didn't seem possible, but Tara pulled even further into herself. "We were there, but Willow was really the only one involved in the spell. The r-rest of us j-just provided the props."
"Could Osiris have done something to Willow during the spell?" Buffy felt cold, numbness spreading to all of her limbs. Dear God, how do I fix this? She put her life, maybe even her soul, on the line to bring me back.
The witch finally raised her head. "It's possible, Buffy, but I don't think that's what happened."
"You don't think? What's that supposed to mean? Damn it, Tara, are you telling me that Will could be controlled by some God?" The Slayer thought she might be sick. Willow, her Willow, could not be a reincarnation of Osiris. "If Osiris did do something to Will, wouldn't there be some obvious thing that points out 'I've been touched by Osiris?'"
"B-Buffy, I ca-can't say for sure. It is po-possible that some of Osiris' essence got a hold on Willow. But, we knew going into the spell that possession was one of the risks. Willow and I did our best to set up wards. We used all the safeguards we could think of to protect Willow. It's just with any casting things can go wrong."
"Tara, not really wanting to interrupt, but what the hell is a ward?" Buffy clenched her teeth. What the hell were they thinking when they did this spell? My God, no way am I worth this kind of risk.
"Oh, sorry." The blonde witch blushed. "It's a magical, um, well force field. It keeps the witch protected from external magical forces. I'm pretty sure that Osiris wasn't able to mark Willow."
Buffy slumped in her chair at the statement. Some of the adrenaline rush slowing down at Tara's reassurance. "OK. So, you don't think Will's problem started with Osiris. But," her heartbeat picked up again, "you don't know for sure. Is there a way to find out, once and for all? 'Cause you do remember what happened the last time we fought a god?"
Tara paled and shuddered as memories of Glory surfaced. After a minute, though, she glanced at Buffy thoughtfully. "Um, I sup-suppose we could find someone to do a deep scan of Willow's aura. Th-that would show if anything or anyone other than Willow was occupying her mind."
Buffy sprang to her feet. OK. Good. Now we have a plan. I do better with plans. "Great. Who do we need to talk to?" She bounced impatiently on her toes, waiting on Tara's answer.
The other blonde stared at her in shock. "It's not that simple, Buffy." She gestured at the chair next to the Slayer. "Please, sit down. Let me try and explain this a little more."
Grimacing in irritation, Buffy dropped back into her seat. She crossed her arms and glared across the table at the older girl. "OK. Explain it to me slowly, in simple language," she ground out. "What is wrong with Willow, and how do we fix it?"
Tara took a deep breath. "OK. I c-can do th-that. But you have to let m-me do this my way." She caught the smaller girl's eye. "No interruptions. No ch-charging off before we have an idea where w-we are going. No questions until I'm finished." The witch sat back and waited for Buffy's reaction.
The Slayer placed both shaking hands flat against the tiny table. She still wanted to do – something. Inactivity was not a Slayer's friend. But Tara had a point. They really needed to figure out what was wrong with Willow and have a plan before moving forward.
Willow leaned toward the warmth of the fire and watched her audience. So far, so good. "Anyway," she continued her story, "I bounced into the library and Giles, Xander, and Buffy just kinda stared at me. I mean, I was acting a bit giddy, but…As I got closer, all three of them rushed at me. Xander had this big cross Giles kept in the stacks in case of emergency. He holds it out and yells, 'Back. Get back, demon.' I just looked at him like he was possessed again, and he pulled the cross back and shook it a little. Like you do when your pen runs out of ink. Then he shoves it back in my face. I don't know how long he would have stayed like that, but Buffy walked over with this scary look on her face. 'Willow, you're alive.' I thought she was crazy, so I asked, 'Aren't I usually?'"
The redhead paused for effect. "Then things got really strange."
A couple of chuckles floated out of the darkness outside the fire's glow.
"Xander and Buffy grabbed me in a big hug. I mean, it wasn't like we never touched each other, but I was pretty sure broken ribs were a possibility. Finally, they let go. And then Giles hugged me. Ribs be damned, all three of them were seriously freaking me out. So I asked, 'Say, you all didn't happen to do a bunch of drugs, did ya?'"
This time, outright laughter filled the night air. "Yeah, it was lame, but I didn't know what else could be wrong with them. Finally, they explained about Vamp Me. Wow, I didn't know what to say. It got worse, though. Angel came in and said I, or rather, Vamp Me had taken a bunch of hostages at the Bronze." She shrugged slightly, staring at the hands resting on her knees. "We didn't know what we were going to do with my alter-ego, but we couldn't let her kill all those people. Buffy and the gang grabbed weapons and headed out. I stayed behind to check on something. That's when the night went beyond weird and became big with the ewww."
She took a sip of her beer. "Vamp Me was in the library and she had more than just killing on her mind." Willow grinned in remembrance. "Seems my skanky, leather wearing double thought getting it on with me was a hot idea."
Groans and shouts followed her last statement.
"Hey, not kidding. She kept purring and licking my neck. Do you have any idea just how disturbing that was?" she asked. "Anyway, she got kinda pissed when I turned down her offer to 'be bad.' Luckily, she threw me over the check out desk and I was able to get the tranq gun and shoot her. We locked her in the book cage and I couldn't stop staring at her. I mean, it was me, but it wasn't. I remember whispering to Buffy that my vampire self was so evil and kind of gay."
Drew piped in from behind, "Wow, never saw that one coming."
"Yeah." Another voice chimed in. "Do we even want to know why there was a tranquilizer gun in the school library?"
She straightened out her legs, stretching. Morgan smiled encouragingly from one side. Willow glanced around the bonfire. Most of the people were in shadow. Her moms were cuddled close, watching her intently. "It was fairly obvious that Vamp Me didn't mind a few sexual adventures. Real me, on the other hand, couldn't say the word sex without blushing to match my hair. To be honest, I think I was most wigged by the fact that my alter ego was at least bisexual if not openly gay. I was dating a guy at the time – a guy who happened to be a werewolf. In fact, he was the reason for the tranq gun." Willow hoped that Alex was still in the crowd. If she still wanted to date after this little tale, she might not be shocked at the rest of Willow's strange life. "Now I had to worry that maybe, just maybe, Oz wasn't what I really wanted."
The young witch realized silence had descended around the bonfire. Oops. Forgot this was supposed to be lighthearted and funny. Time to move past my own sexual inadequacies. "So, we left Vamp Me in the book cage, with one minor alteration. She was now wearing my pink fuzzy sweater with the row of daisies on the collar. And I was decked out in a herd-full of leather." She zipped through the strategy session outside the Bronze, and didn't slow down until she marched into the temporary vamp lair. "I sort of waved at the vampire who opened the door and chirped, 'Hi, I'm back.' If they had been even slightly smarter than shoe strings, I would have been dead right there."
Despite the humor of the remembered situation, Willow was starting to feel depressed. She missed the closeness she'd shared with Buffy and the gang. She didn't want to disappoint her family, though, so she shook off her feelings, and continued. "Well, I did my best to keep everyone alive, but somehow Anya figured me out." The redhead shrugged. "Must have been my idea to let all the hostages go and give them a 30 second head start before we hunted them down. It was a good plan!" she insisted to the audience. "But, no one else liked it. So, I was trapped in a nest of hungry vamps. I did the only thing a well trained Slayerette could do in that situation." She paused for effect. "I screamed. Buffy and the gang came storming in and the vampires all went 'poof.'"
"What about Vamp Willow?" someone shouted.
Willow couldn't make out the speaker, but she was pretty sure it was Alex asking the question. "Ah, well, she got to the Bronze in time to kick my ass and nearly strangle me to death. Buffy saved the day, as usual. But, neither one of us could kill me, even Vamp Me. So we did a spell to send her back to her world. I think she was glad to leave; she said this world wasn't much fun. Of course, she couldn't leave without one last come on – she groped me when I gave her a hug."
Finally finished with her tale, Willow leaned back and listened to a group of kids telling traditional ghost stories. The whole night felt surreal. She glanced around at her family. Her family – she still kept looking for Buffy and the Scoobies. She needed another drink. As the young witch stood up, the flickering orange from the fire dimmed and went grey. Time seemed to freeze. The redhead started to panic. The magic inside her built; she could feel the energy pulsing through her. Struggling to push the power back behind her shielding, Willow closed her eyes. It was no use. The energy swelled a final time; just at the point the redhead thought she might black out from the strain, the magic spewed out.
Willow opened her eyes to more grey. But the shadowed world wasn't the revelry at her parents' ranch. The witch found herself standing inside the Espresso Pump in Sunnydale, watching her ex-girlfriend and her best friend.
To Be Continued