Reward and Reprisal

by Lisa Countryman

© July- October 2001

Please do not archive, link or reproduce without Author's Written Permission

Disclaimers: All characters from Buffy the Vampire Slayer belong to Joss Weldon and no copyright infringement is intended. Many of the goddess, sacred places, and legends mentioned are based on actual myths. They have been changed to fit the more ‘good versus evil’ setup in the Buffy universe. Actual Pagan deities were not evil hellbitches like Glory.

This is a sequel to ‘Retribution and Reward,’ and it will help if you’ve read it first.

Spoilers: All episodes are fair game.

Disclaimers: I do not own any of these characters, and I am not making any money on them. (If I owned them, BTVS would be called "Willow and Tara’s Wiccan lovenest.")

CHAPTER ONE

Things in Sunnydale were more muddled than usual. Buffy had died, closing the porthole to other dimensions, but things had changed, and Willow Rosenberg had been the one to orchestrate this particular twist of fate. She used dark magic to change destiny. Change in Sunnydale was generally a much more complicated thing than in other towns. In this case it had meant that Buffy had awakened inside her coffin while her friends mistakenly thought the spell had failed. Because Buffy had been killed by mystical energy, she had been allowed to return, although waking up alone in a dark coffin had been a traumatic rebirth, but like always, Buffy had managed. Buffy wandered past her friends and they had finally realized that the Slayer had returned.

After that, Buffy adjusted to life, though at first it was difficult. The Scoobies were busy, and they went on with their fight against evil fully believing that all of the events that had cost Buffy her life were truly in the past.

Dawn had her own concerns. All that Giles’ books could explain was that as the Key, Dawn’s grief had ripped a hole in time and Space, and unlike when Joyce died, this time things could change. Buffy was not a normal mortal and her Slayer healing abilities and other attributes made her revival possible. Buffy was sent back to Dawn because the young woman loved Buffy more than anything else on Earth.

What the Slayer and her friends had not counted on, what they had not even known until weeks later, was that Buffy wasn’t the only one to come back. Because of the rip in the time continuum, Willow’s resurrection spell sucked back the not exactly mortal Slayer and it also brought back Glory.

The former hellgod had been tossed naked at the feet of the one who loved her most, Jinx. The tiny groveling minion had been overjoyed that his beloved Glory was back. Of course, having her beat him senseless for daring to look upon her nakedness did briefly cool his enthusiasm. Since Glory had died when Ben was killed, her physical form had no grave to rise from. She was sucked from the spiritual realm and spit out at Jinx’s feet and she was not happy with Buffy Summers.

Buffy and her friends had no idea that Glory had returned for some time. They were busy dealing with the consequences of Willow using dark magic to aid in Buffy’s return. A spat between Tara and Willow had erupted over Willow’s constant use of magic, but that had been forgotten when Tara’s life was at risk. An evil Jinn had decided to punish Willow by possessing Tara.

A few days, and many tears later, and Tara was safe. She and Willow even managed to take an astral trip into the future that left both women eager to face their fates. Everything seemed perfect.

Glory’s first order of business was to reestablish her network of followers and make plans to get the Key. Unfortunately, Glory’s minions discovered that Dawn’s mystical powers had been completely drained when Buffy closed the porthole. Glory had found Buffy in the cemetery and a brutal battle with the Slayer had ensued. Willow and Tara had injured Glory with another teleportation spell, but at least Dawn was no longer at risk of being drained to open portholes. Dawn was still at risk from Glory, who could tear her to pieces if the mood struck the hellgod. After finding out that Buffy ‘broke her Key,’ the mood definitely struck Glory. She wanted Dawn and Buffy dead, for good this time.

After the Slayer’s rebirth, and Tara’s run-in with the angry Jinn, they decided to lay low in case Glory decided to take advantage of their confusion. So they hid. It gave Willow time to recover from a nasty wound from an arrow to her shoulder. It gave Tara time to make plans to arrange a ritual tattoo so she could surprise her lover. And it gave Buffy and Dawn time to reconnect as sisters.

Lying low also meant staying somewhere Glory would never look. Glory would never look in Tara’s new dorm room. The blonde witch had a room on the second floor. Her previous room had been demolished by Glory, and Tara made sure that her new room number was kept secret. She didn’t want any hellgods ripping her new walls apart. She was definitely not getting her deposit back on the old room. Tara was living in the Summers house, but the school still had her listed in the dorms in case her family checked up on her. That was coming in handy now because the unused room was the perfect hideout.

Buffy and Dawn had gone to the cafeteria for a late snack, which had allowed Tara and Willow some much needed alone time. The two witches were still in shock over Tara’s possession by the Jinn, but they took it in stride. At the moment they had more important things to worry about, each other.

"Willow?" Tara asked from her bed. She was sitting on top of the comforter with her legs crossed Indian style. Her blonde was hair hanging down over her face like golden silk lace.

"Hmm?" Willow turned to face her lover. She held her hairbrush in one hand, having stopped midstroke to look over at the blonde.

"Are you coming to bed soon?" Tara blushed and then bit her lower lip.

"Is someone lonely?" Willow smirked and tossed the hairbrush onto the dresser. She glanced at the door and then moved toward the bed. "Buffy and Dawn will be here any minute."

"I know," Tara said as she scooted up to the top of the bed and swung her legs under the covers. She tossed back the blankets to make room for Willow. "I just wanted some private snuggles before they got here."

"Well, private snuggles just happen to be one of my specialties." Willow dove onto the bed and almost sent Tara flying off the other side. "Sorry." Willow giggled. "I see you, and then hear the words ‘private snuggles,’ and I get kinda’ carried away." She pulled Tara closer and settled into her arms. "Umm, nice." She rubbed her cheek on Tara’s chest.

"I love you, Willow," Tara said in a tiny whisper. She ran her fingers through her lover’s red-gold hair. "I love you so much it hurts," Tara said as her voice cracked.

"Hurts?" Willow eased up and looked down at the beautiful blonde. "No hurting. Hurting is not allowed." Willow shook her head and then leaned down and gave Tara a quick kiss. "This is a hurt-free zone, missy."

Tara smiled and reached up and traced the gentle slope of Willow’s cheek. "My Willow." She guided the redhead back down to her chest and sighed.

"Yes, I am yours," Willow agreed. She scooted off of Tara’s chest and rolled onto her back. "And right now, I want to hold you. My shoulder’s all better."

Willow opened her arms and Tara happily crawled into the redhead’s arms.

"I like that," Willow said with a smile. She kissed Tara’s silk soft hair and slowly ran her hand down onto her lover’s back, kneading the tense muscles of her shoulders.

"I love it here," Tara said. She moaned when Willow loosened a particularly tight muscle. "I wanna’ wake up here every day, forever." Tara traced her finger over Willow’s chest. "Is that okay?"

"Forever? Here?" Willow crinkled her brow. "I don’t think you can live in the dorms forever. Not to mention the thin walls…ew."

Tara lifted her head and looked down at Willow. She smiled at Willow’s confused expression. "I meant, here." Tara rested her palm on Willow’s chest. Tara’s eyes fluttered closed, and when she opened them her blue eyes were crisp and full of love. "In your arms, Willow. I want to wake up in your arms every day … forever."

It took only the fluttering of an eyelash, the proverbial blink of an eye. Everything could change in an instant, and it did. It was a cliché, one Willow Rosenberg had heard many times, but now she truly understood. Her life had changed, and if she was honest, it happened faster than the blink of an eye.

"Forever?" Willow felt tears welling up in her eyes. For the first time in the days after Buffy’s deaths and Tara’s possession by the Jinn, they were completely happy tears that spilled without reservation. After Willow had gotten Tara’s sanity back from Glory, Willow had cried happy tears. Unfortunately, the happiness she had felt about Tara’s return was overshadowed by Buffy’s death. Once the Slayer came back, many of Willow’s happy tears were mingled with feelings of guilt for using dark magic. The same was true when Tara had been rescued from the Jinn. They overwhelming happiness at Tara’s safe return had been tempered by the knowledge Willow had been responsible for her plight in the first place. Now, they had Glory to deal with so Willow was more than ready for a moment of pure bliss. Hearing the word ‘forever’ on Tara’s lips gave her that bliss in abundance.

Tara nodded and brushed a stray lock of hair off of Willow’s face.

"With me?" Willow felt a goofy grin covering her features. Tara and she had spoken of love many times, and Willow had even asked Tara to marry her, but after she had accepted the proposal, Glory had shown up. Forever was something Willow wanted with Tara, and a big part of that was the desire to wake up next to her lover every day. She loved living with her at Buffy’s house, but after the Slayer had returned it had almost felt like they were playing house.

"Who else, silly? I don’t remember getting engaged to anyone else," Tara bit her lip. "Will you let me do that?" Tara cupped Willow’s cheek in her hand. "Will you be my ‘private-Willow-bed-pillow’ forever starting right now?"

"Oh, yes." Willow blinked her eyes shut and felt a warm tear slide down her cheek. She smiled when she felt Tara catch it with one elegant finger. She opened her green eyes and saw Tara’s beautiful smile, the one she saved just for Willow, the one that lit her eyes from within. "And you better not get engaged to anyone else. I’d have to challenge her to a duel…and I would kick her ass." Willow narrowed her eyes playfully.

"M-maybe you could move in here for now, officially. Then after the semester break, we could get a place. I mean a place for just us." Tara continued caressing Willow’s cheek. After she and Willow had traveled to the future, Willow had proposed and Tara had accepted, but they hadn’t taken the discussion any further.

"Our own house?" Willow asked hopefully. "With a yard for Miss Kittty? And maybe a big ol’ hot tub?"

"Well, I don’t know if we can afford a house." Tara smiled shyly. "Or a big ol’ hot tub." She bit her lip. "But we could have a regular tub, in an apartment, and we could put hot water in it. That would almost be like a hot tub." She smiled brightly.

"As long as I have you, wherever we live will be perfect. Besides, living with Buffy and Dawn in their house… well, privacy…kinda’ becoming an issue." Willow leaned down and brushed her lips over Tara’s. "But it’s always perfect with you," she quickly whispered as she eased back to get a better angle to kiss her lover.

Tara’s answer was cut off as the kiss deepened and the two lovers lost themselves in the moment. Tara’s hands slid under Willow’s top and both women gasped at the instant fire the touch ignited.

"Mine," Willow said in a growl as she moved her kisses to Tara’s cheek and then throat. "My Tara," she said possessively. "Forever." The redheaded Wiccan felt a jolt of pleasure course through her as she realized that Tara was hers, forever.

"Yours," Tara said hoarsely. "Only yours, Willow." She moaned, and then let out a whimper when Willow’s lips moved downward.

"Buffy and Dawn will be back soon," Willow said even as she began unbuttoning Tara’s pajama top. "I need you, love."

"There’s no time," Tara whimpered. She helped Willow undo the last button and moaned when Willow kissed her nipple. "Hurry," Tara said as she dug her fingers into Willow’s hair.

"Don’t wanna’ hurry," Willow said and she lavished Tara’s breast with kisses. "I want our apartment to have at least two bedrooms," she added as her hands moved toward Tara’s flannel shorts.

"Two bedrooms?" Tara asked, clearly distracted. Her hands were moving across Willow’s back, urging her lover lower.

"Umm hmm," Willow mumbled around a tasty bit of skin under Tara’s rib. "So our guests can stay over and we won’t have to worry about rushing."

Tara giggled and lifted Willow’s head. "I don’t wanna’ rush with you." She locked eyes with her lover and smiled a bit sadly. "Come back up here, darling."

Willow’s lower lip quivered as she went into full pout mode. "But, You…me… us." Willow looked down at Tara’s exposed flesh and whimpered like a hungry puppy. "You, you’re so … and me, I’m…" Willow sighed. "Tara!"

"Oh, honey." Tara giggled and pulled Willow down and hugged her. "I want to, believe me, I really want to." She took a deep calming breath. "But I don’t want to have to explain the ‘birds and the birds’ to little Dawnie. It’s embarrassing enough when she complains about us waking her up at night. And I really don’t think she believes we’re doing spells."

"Hmm." Willow rested on Tara’s bare chest as she imagined Buffy and her adolescent sister walking in while she was in the middle of pleasuring Tara. That would definitely fall into the category of things Willow Rosenberg did not want to do. "Okay," Willow relented. She sighed dramatically and slid a hand under her and began tugging Tara’s top back into place.

Once again, everything changed in a split second, only this time Willow was none too happy. She had a nagging ache that was coursing through her body and that made for a very frustrated Willow. She wanted Tara, and her need for the blonde witch seemed to grow more with every passing day, every passing hour, every second if the truth were told.

"You changed me," Willow whispered and she buttoned her lover’s top. "I’m happy now."

"Good," Tara whispered as she saw a familiar look cover Willow’s face. The redhead would often get a contemplative look when she was deep in thought. Tara would just watch as thoughts raced through her beloved’s mind. The blonde was content to wait and simply enjoy the cute expressions that would dance over Willow’s face.

"You changed everything," Willow said as she snuggled onto Tara’s chest and let her mind wander.

When Willow had been with Oz, they had only made love rarely. The week before the full moon he would get too wolfy, his passion rising to an almost frightening level. The week after, he would withdraw from Willow as if he couldn’t handle human contact. The remaining two weeks would pass quickly, and they would make love only a few times. Back then, that was more than enough for Willow. She had never quite understood what the big deal was about sex. Sure, it was pleasant, and Oz was an attentive and generous lover, but she never really felt a hunger for lovemaking. That all changed the first time she touched Tara.

With Tara, it was as if Willow came alive. Her skin felt every sensation shoot through her soul. Every touch of skin on skin would ignite passion that Willow hadn’t even known she possessed. After making love with Tara that first night, Willow’s world had changed, transformed, blossomed into wholeness. She knew that she had come home. When she had gotten up the next morning and looked in the mirror, she saw a different Willow Rosenberg, a happy Willow. ‘Hello, gay now,’ was the first thought that came to her as she tilted her head to one side to get a better look at a small hickey on her collar bone. ‘My first Tara mark,’ she had thought. ‘I want more.’ After that, Willow wanted Tara all the time; every night just didn’t seem like enough.

Willow smiled as she came back to reality and traced her hand over Tara’s breast.

"Thinking about the ‘big change?" Tara asked playfully.

"No." Willow blushed, but thankfully Tara couldn’t see her face because she was resting on the blonde’s chest. "How do you do that?" Willow asked. "How could you possibly know?"

"Magic," Tara replied playfully.

Willow tickled her lover.

"Whenever we have to stop, you always remember what it was like before you became a sex fiend," Tara explained after a moment. "My sex fiend," she added with a loving squeeze.

"I’m not a sex fiend," Willow said with a giggle. "I just know what I like… and I like lots of it." She snuggled into Tara’s arms. "Like you should talk," Willow pointed out. "Miss let’s-skip-class-so-we-can-make-love-after-lunch."

"Can I help it if making love to you is addictive?" Tara asked.

"You’ll just have to get your daily dose of Willowy goodness. Otherwise, who knows what might happen."

"Oh, yes," Tara agreed sagely. "I could have withdrawals." She giggled. "Maybe you should open a clinic for the Willow-addicted."

"Really?" Willow asked suggestively. "So you wouldn’t mind me treating the hordes of Willow-addicted?"

"It would be a private clinic," Tara amended quickly. "Only one patient."

"Who might that be?" Willow peeked over the edge of the bed. "Miss Kitty, maybe?"

"Vixen!" Tara flipped Willow onto her back and yanked up her top. "I think I need my fix right now," she said as she playfully mauled her lover’s belly. "Grrr … argh." Tara continued her assault.

"Tara!" Willow squealed. "Stop," she said halfheartedly. She was incredibly ticklish, but having Tara’s lips and teeth skitter over her tummy wasn’t something she was going to actually try to escape from.

"I’m an addict," Tara explained. "Is it my fault you’re a drug?" She changed tactics and blew a raspberry over her lover’s navel.

Willow squealed louder and then let out an aroused scream when Tara moved up to her breast.

Tara was about to move her attack to the other side when the door slammed open.

"Willow?" Buffy said as she stumbled into the room wielding a stake. The Slayer had heard screams and thought the worst. Her eyes widened and then she turned around. "Oh, sorry. I, uh, heard…noises and I…"

"See?" Dawn said as she walked into the room. "I told you they were probably just doing the kissy-face thing. You wouldn’t believe the sounds that come from their room at night." She looked over at Willow who had scrambled out from under Tara. "Buffy’s always into the whole Slayer thing." Dawn rolled her eyes. "I swear, she almost staked a guy for taking eleven items into the ten or less line at the supermarket yesterday."

"I did not!" Buffy glared at her sister. "And he had at least 20 items."

"Eleven," Dawn insisted. "I counted."

"Twenty."

Tara used the minor distraction to shift her clothes back into place and then she settled under the covers and watched her friends interact. It was good to see them acting normal.

"So, you two done with the kissy-face?" Dawn asked as she spun and stared at Willow.

"There was no kissy-face." Willow blushed. "There was some minor tickling. That’s all."

"That’s all?" Buffy asked. She smirked at Willow. "Or that’s all that was going on when we got here?"

"I’ll bet it was 11 items," Willow said as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"You are so busted, Willow," Buffy said with a snort.

Tara smiled as she looked over at her lover. Willow’s face was quickly beginning to look like she had a severe sunburn.

"Don’t look so smug, Tara, Miss Innocent-Shy-Witch." Buffy went to the closet to get a sleeping bag. "You are just as busted as Willow."

Tara’s eyes widened.

"Ha!" Willow said as she gave her lover a gentle poke.

Several minutes later, Buffy and Dawn had their sleeping bags rolled out on the floor. The Slayer was sleeping next to Tara’s bed, with Dawn choosing to stretch out on Buffy’s other side.

"So why do they get the bed?" Dawn whined as soon as the lights were out.

"Because it’s Tara’s room." Buffy sighed and turned toward her younger sister. "Now, go to sleep."

"You’re not my boss," Dawn pointed out. "Just because Glory is coming after us again doesn’t mean you’re the boss."

"I’m the Slayer," Buffy said with a smile. "When it comes to hellgods, I am the boss. Look it up. It’s in the Slayer handbook."

Willow giggled.

"Maybe we could let Dawnie have the bed tomorrow?" Tara whispered. She was resting her face on Willow’s chest and had one leg tossed across her lover’s thighs.

"Umm, no," Willow said indignantly. She ran her hand through Tara’s hair. "That would mean reduced snuggles. I did not sign up for reduced snuggles."

"Oooh, Willow likes snuggles," Dawn teased in the near darkness.

"Dawn," Buffy said with a harsh, motherly tone.

"What? Willow brought up snuggles." Dawn let out a dramatic sigh. "You’re worse than Glory."

Willow shifted her weight under Tara and frowned at the thought of the hellgoddess.

"What is it, baby?" Tara whispered. She moved her hand up and rested it over Willow’s rapidly pounding heart. The redhead’s heart was fluttering like a hummingbird’s wings.

"Glory," Willow said quietly. "She gets my tummy all jittery."

"Mine too," Buffy said as she rolled over and looked toward the bed. She smiled. In the near darkness her Slayer’s night vision gave her an unfair advantage. She could see Tara’s comforting gesture and wasn’t above teasing the easily embarrassed blonde. "Hey, Tara, did Willow ever tell you about my spiffy night vision?"

"No," Tara said slowly, not quite understanding the question.

"Grope much?" Buffy asked with a snicker.

Tara looked at her hand. It had been resting on Willow’s chest to offer comfort, but somehow her hand had migrated. Her palm was now securely cupping Willow’s breast. She jerked her hand away.

"Hey," Willow protested.

"I wasn’t…I was… I mean I was just…" Tara stammered.

"Relax, Tara," Buffy said as she shook her head. "Go back to comfort mode. We can’t have Willow getting an upset tummy."

"Oh, honey." Tara quickly put her fingers under Willow’s nightshirt onto her belly and moved her hand in slow circles. "Is it bad?" she asked as she felt tingles shoot through her own body with the contact. Willow’s skin was soft and always felt hot to the touch.

"Not too bad." Willow let out a contented sigh as Tara continued her loving caress.

"Man," Dawn said disgustedly. "Were you and Riley this sappy?"

"Shh." Buffy smacked Dawn with her pillow.

"Ouch!" Dawn threw the pillow back but the Slayer easily deflected it. "Damn Slayer reflexes," Dawn mumbled under her breath.

"Willow, maybe some 7-up would settled your tummy," Tara suggested. "I’ll go get some." She tried to sit up but Willow held her in place.

"Don’t need soda," Willow assured her lover. "I need you."

"Oh, geeze!" Dawn pulled her pillow over her head.

"I’ll just run down the hall and get you a soda," Tara insisted. "Please?" she pleaded. She left a gentle kiss on Willow’s ear. "I love doing things for you, darling," she whispered. "It makes me happy."

"Hmm… ‘kay," Willow reluctantly agreed.

"I’ll be back before you know it." Tara climbed out of the bed. She carefully avoided stepping on Buffy and Dawn and dressed in the darkness. "Don’t look at my butt, Buffy," Tara teased. "W-with that spiffy night vision." She made her way back to the bed and ran her hand down Willow’s chest and gave her tummy a gentle pat.

"I wasn’t looking." Buffy blushed. She had actually been noticing that Tara had an incredible figure, a rather well kept secret. The blonde Wiccan generally hid under layers of loose fitting clothes, but in her sleepwear Buffy could make up all of her sensual curves. ‘Dang, Willow, you snagged a complete hottie,’ the Slayer thought with an evil grin.

"I’ll miss you," Tara whispered as she gave Willow a quick kiss on the temple before heading toward the door. "Anyone else want something?"

"Cherry coke," Dawn said from under the pillow.

"I’m cool," Buffy said nonchalantly. She was still wondering if Tara had actually caught her looking at her behind.

The door closed and Willow sighed.

"She’ll be right back," Buffy pointed out with a smirk.

"I know. I just hate it when she leaves the bed. It’s all empty and Tara-free when she’s gone." Willow crossed her arms over her chest and pouted in the darkness. "I prefer a Tara-full bed."

"I’ll bet," Buffy replied.

Dawn giggled.

"Buffy?" Willow asked seriously.

"Yeah, Will?"

"When the semester is over, we … meaning Tara and I … have to move out of our dorm rooms." Willow cleared her throat. "On account of school not being in session and us being students and the dorms being housing of a studently nature."

"Getting to a point anytime soon?" Buffy asked tolerantly.

"Tara asked me to move in with her," Willow said shyly.

"You already live with her, with us," Buffy said slowly. "When we’re not hiding-out from hell-gods, that is."

"She meant in our own place," Willow explained.

"Cool." Dawn peeked out from under the pillow.

"Wow," Buffy said as she sat up and rested an arm on the bed next to her friend. "That’s a big step. I mean, in the world of steps, that’s like…big."

"I know," Willow said dreamily. "I can’t believe she was brave enough to ask." Willow blushed in the darkness. "I wanted to ask her, but I was…well, the image of a big clucking chicken comes to mind." She smiled, remembering her proposal to Tara. That had been a perfect night and even though Tara accepted, they hadn’t made any plans to arrange a commitment ceremony. They hadn’t even told anyone they were engaged.

"You love her," Buffy said sincerely. "It might be quick on the normal human scale, but in hellmouth time, you’ve been together like years."

"Hellmouth time?" Willow asked, clearly intrigued.

"Yeah, well with all the life and death stuff and the weekly end of the world scenarios, I think people bond a little quicker. At least the Scoobies do," Buffy explained scientifically.

"You said Scoobies do." Dawn giggled and then hummed the Scooby Doo theme song. The Slayer and the redheaded witch ignored her.

"So, we at ‘apocalypse R us’ get to fall in love on a hellmouth accelerated timetable?" Willow was in scientist mode. "What ratio?"

"I don’t know." Buffy rolled her eyes.

"Like Giles and Miss Calendar," Dawn said sadly. She started to say more when it suddenly occurred to her that her memories of the murdered teacher were completely false. She hadn’t been created yet when Miss Calendar had fallen in love with Giles and then been killed by Angelus.

"So, you’re okay with it?" Willow asked.

"Sure, why wouldn’t I be?" Buffy reached over and took Willow’s hand. "I’m not gonna’ wig on you, Wills. I wigged when you came out to me, but that was a one-time wig option. No wiggin’ here. This Slayer is wigfree."

"You know I love you, right?" Willow said shyly.

"Yup," Buffy responded cheerfully. "And it is muy returnoed. See? My Spanish is improving."

"Buffy, you’re Spanish sucks," Willow pointed out. "But the sentiment is appreciated. Plus, the Slayer strength will come in handy on moving day."

"Anya will be so happy when we pack you two up… Not!" Buffy giggled as she remembered Anya’s reaction to helping the Slayer move…twice. The former vengeance demon had not been impressed…either time.

"And she gets to help two people move," Willow pointed out with a giggle of her own. She liked Anya, but the ex-demon was predictable. Willow sighed happily and grinned in the darkness. "I just love her so much," she said, her voice full of wonder.

"Anya?" Buffy teased.

"Buffy!" Willow rolled her eyes.

"Me?" Buffy asked devilishly. "I thought that was a best friend, sister kinda’ love. Geez, Will, I don’t swing that way."

"I love Tara!" Willow said with a snort. "And you knew what I meant."

"Well, with all the female pronouns, it does get confusing." Buffy settled into her sleeping bag. "Wow, I used the word pronoun and I wasn’t in class. This college thing seems to have rubbed off on me."

"Education is devious that way," Willow agreed. "Sneaks up on you when you least expect it."

"Run, Dawn, while you still have a chance to conjugate words improperly," Buffy deadpanned. "Join the circus, join some gypsies… join the Amway cult."

"I can’t believe you just said conjugate," Dawn said as she hit Buffy with a pillow. "It just sounds disgusting."

"It’s an English term," Buffy pointed out indignantly.

"I know," Dawn said disgustedly. "And I’m not in my English class."

Willow giggled and wondered why Tara was taking so long. ‘Probably ran into that chatty Resident Advisor, Kim, at the end of the hall.’ The pretty RA seemed to have a bit of a crush on Tara. ‘Hands off,’ Willow thought with a happy sigh. ‘That little witch is all mine… forever.’ She sighed again.

"God," Buffy grumbled as she leaned toward Dawn. "She’s thinking about Tara again."

"I know," Dawn agreed. "I just heard the ‘I miss Tara’ sigh, or it might have been the ‘I love Tara sooo much’ sigh. They’re easy to confuse."

"Unless you two wanna’ see my spiffy new spell that makes it rain indoors, I suggest you zip it." Willow cleared her throat. "Do I need to get my magical herbs? ‘Cause I will."

"No," Buffy and Dawn said in unison.

"All righty then," Willow primly. "Let’s just remember who has the power to soak your sleeping bags at any moment."

Buffy bit her tongue to stop from commenting. A decidedly non-PG remark sprang to mind, one involving Willow’s ability to make more than sleeping bags soaking wet, but with Dawn sleeping on the floor, the great one-liner would have to die without ever being used. It was rough being the older sister sometimes.

Tara stood at the soda machine chatting with Kim and Brittany. The soda machine was in the stairwell, and there were a few old couches beside it. It had become something of a late night hangout on the muggy, hot nights in Sunnydale. The students would prop open the door on the ground floor and let a breeze float up the stairs.

Brittany was Kim’s best friend, and they were always together. Tara wondered if they were dating. If not, she wanted to help them find each other. She leaned against the wall and made polite conversation for a few minutes and then excused herself. She explained that Willow wasn’t feeling well. Kim nodded knowingly and sent Tara on her way, but not before commenting that Tara was the perfect girlfriend. Tara blushed and headed for heavy door that led to the hallway.

"Say hi to Willow," Kim called out from the couch. She watched the beautiful blonde go and her eyes saddened.

"God, Kim," Brittany said. "You’ve got it so bad."

"She’s so sweet," Kim said as if that explained everything. "She gets outa’ bed to get Willow a soda to settle her tummy." Kim turned and faced her friend. "How cute is that?"

"Very cute," Brittany agreed. "And very spoken for."

Kim sighed and flopped back onto the couch.

Tara was hurrying toward the main hall, missing Willow more than she cared to admit. She rounded the corner, and she felt something terribly wrong. Her Wiccan spider senses were tingling, as Xander would say. She leaned around the corner and froze as her eyes locked with the intruder.

"Oh, the little witch!" Glory said happily. "You’ll show me where the Slayer is."

"G-glory," Tara whispered.

"You remember my magnificence. Guess that brain-suck really didn’t take." She tugged at the seam of her black miniskirt. "Is this too dark? I mean, hellgod, wearing black leather … too obvious?"

Tara stared mutely, not really sure if she was supposed to answer. ‘Do I tell an evil, omnipotent being that she looks like a skank ho?’ Tara wondered. ‘Probably not a good idea,’ she decided.

"Hello?" Glory demanded. "Am I speaking too quickly for you?" She stalked closer. "IS … this … too … dark?"

"N-no," Tara said as she looked past the hellgoddess and down the hall. "It’s nice."

"Nice?" Glory’s eyes flashed dangerously. "This is a Vera Wang original. Nice is not what I was looking for!" Glory paused, her head tilting to one side as she considered Tara. "You’re looking down the hall. Is the Slayer here? I’ve looked through three dorms already and no one has seen her. She wasn’t home so I figured I’d find you all hiding here somewhere."

Tara swallowed hard as she considered her options. She gripped the 7-up in her hand and threw it at Glory’s face as hard as she could and then sprinted around the goddess as the other soda fell to the ground and rolled away.

Glory used one hand to casually catch the 7-up a fraction of an inch before it hit her. The other hand shot out and grabbed Tara by the arm.

"Going somewhere?" Glory squeezed Tara, bruising her flesh.

"N-no," Tara said as her knees buckled from the pain. "Just t-thought you’d like a soda," she said with a weak smile. "Your goddess-ness … err, highness?"

"Your waitressing skills leave something to be desired." Glory looked down at the blonde as if she were a bug, a bug whose wings she could pull off just see how long Tara could live without them. "You helped that little red-haired bitch cast that spell again!" Her eyes narrowed. "Do you have any idea what a drop like that does to a pair of heels?" Glory lifted Tara by the arm and leaned into her face. "Not to mention the dress."

Tara winced as the pain washed over her in waves.

"Maybe I should just kill you right here," Glory suggested.

Tara’s eyes widened. She knew if she called for help, Buffy and Willow would be in danger, and she couldn’t let the hell goddess find Dawn.

"Maybe I’ll just take part of you," Glory said seductively. She ran her hand through Tara’s hair and licked her lips. "Smart girl like you with all kinds a’ brain power." She stared hungrily at Tara’s temple. "I remember what a rush I got the last time I sucked your nummy brain."

"W-when Buffy gets back into town she’s coming after you," Tara bluffed. "And she won’t like it if you’re here." Tara looked into the goddess’ eyes. "You don’t want to make Buffy mad."

"Out of town?" Glory smiled.

"I meant back from home." Tara widened her eyes and pretended that she had let the information out by mistake. "She’s at home right now."

Glory took deep breath and sighed. "Never…ever lie to a goddess, sweetness," Glory said as she tossed Tara across the hall into the wall. "It pisses us off."

Tara hit the wall face first. She groaned as her nose impacted and she slid down the wall in a heap. She was stunned, and reached up to rub her aching face. She pulled her hand back and saw that it was covered in blood.

"First that Slayer takes my monk, kills me and Benji, comes back from the dead, breaks my Key, and now you lie to me." Glory walked toward Tara. "Well, you won’t be saying much of anything when I’m done with you." She paused, and rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "Except for the babbling. I really like the whole babbling thing. Insanity is so underrated, but I’m sure you remember."

Tara stumbled to her feet and looked a few feet further down the wall and saw a fire alarm. She dove for it, leaving bloody handprint on the off-white wall. As she yanked the alarm she hoped that Buffy was smart enough not to come running, that the Slayer would get Willow and Dawn to safety.

"Now, why did you do that?" Glory said as she spun Tara around and pinned her to the wall. "Trying to warn someone? Hmm?"

"These p-people are innocent," Tara said as Glory lifted her off the ground. "Let them go."

"No one is innocent," Glory said as she tapped Tara’s bleeding nose with one finger.

The door to the stairwell opened and Kim came running in. "Tara?"

"Run!" Tara screamed. "G-get the police." She hoped the RA would listen to her, that she would run, and that Glory would be distracted enough to leave before she found Buffy and Willow.

"What the hell?" Kim stared at the petite woman holding Tara against the wall.

"S-she’s my cousin," Tara said. "She’s nuts!"

"Nuts?" Glory said as she glared at Tara. "That is so gonna’ cost you, you little witch!"

Kim paused, not knowing what to do.

Tara stared into the RA’s eyes and whispered a few words in Latin. The spell would make the young woman susceptible to suggestion.

"Go!" Tara yelled.

Kim turned and bolted down the stairs to call 911. She hated leaving the blonde with her demented cousin, but dorm policy required her to call the police before trying to interfere. Of course, the spell made it impossible for Kim to refuse Tara’s order to leave.

Tara closed her eyes and sighed. At least she wouldn’t have Kim’s death on her hands.

"Well, it’s been fun," Glory said casually. "But it’s time for me to go. You’ll have to give the Slayer a message for me."

Tara opened her eyes and saw Glory reaching toward her. She arched back trying to avoid the goddess’ fingers. She remembered all too well the searing pain Glory’s touch had caused. She also remembered the agonizing feelings she had lived with while her brain had been scrambled. Tara had been lost and alone and it was as if her mind was a prison full of horrific tortures to drive her insane. Only Willow’s love and a frightening spell had brought Tara back, but the blonde witch never wanted to go there again, ever.

Dozens of students poured into the hallway as they hurried toward the stairwell. Most went right past the fighting pair without giving them a second glance.

"Don’t struggle," Glory whined. "Why do they always struggle? You’ve done this before … it’ll be a piece of cake." She grinned like a cat toying with a mouse. "A painful, brain-sucking piece of cake, but I’ll do all the work." She moved her index finger toward Tara, intending to suck her sanity from the inner resources of her mind, but Tara’s body stiffened. "What the…?" Glory said.

Tara closed her eyes and her lips moved as she used an Egyptian incantation. It was one she had found several days earlier when she had heard of Glory’s return. She hadn’t told anyone about the spell, not even Willow. All Tara knew was that she was not going to become one of the mindless souls Glory left behind, not again. ‘Better to die than be insane,’ Tara thought as she quickly finished the incantation.

"Hey!" Glory yelled. She dropped Tara and stared as the blonde slid to the floor in a boneless heap. She kicked the witch to one side and watched in stunned silence as Tara rolled onto her back.

Tara’s eyes were open, but empty, without any sign of life. Her skin was pale and the blonde witch wasn’t breathing.

"No fair!" Glory straddled Tara’s lifeless body and grabbed her by the face. "You are not gonna’ cheat me," she yelled. "I want my nummy treat!" She drove her fingers into Tara’s temples. The temporal plane ruptured as Glory’s fingers seemed to pass through Tara’s skull, but there was no exchange of energy.

Tara’s life force was gone.

"Okay, this sucks," Glory said, clearly disgusted. "What does a hell goddess have to do to get a mental snack around here?" She stood and looked down at Tara and rolled her eyes. "Oh, well. Guess it still sends the Slayer a message." She spun and joined the crowd heading out the door and a smile covered her face. "And that damn redheaded witch won’t be saving her this time."

CHAPTER TWO

Willow sat up as soon as the fire alarm went off. She flipped on the light and looked over at Buffy.

"Dawn, get dressed." The Slayer was already out of her sleeping bag and looked ready for a fight.

"It’s the fire alarm," Willow said as she grabbed a pair of jeans and slid them on over her silk boxers. "They go off all the time, mostly some frat guys just being… well… being frat guys." Willow slipped on her shoes. "Tara should be back already."

"Buffy, why isn’t Tara back?" Dawn asked as she dressed quickly. She didn’t argue with Buffy; there would be time for snide remarks after she was sure they were all safe.

"I’m sure she’s fine." Buffy headed for the door. She paused and locked eyes with Willow. "Stay here. I’ll see what’s going on and then come back for you."

"Umm, Buffy?" Willow wrapped her arm over Dawn’s shoulder. "If there is a fire…umm, staying here could be a very bad thing."

"I don’t smell smoke," Buffy said as she wrapped her fingers around the doorknob.

"Spiffy Slayer senses," Dawn explained.

Buffy looked at Willow. "If I’m not back in three minutes, get Dawn outa’ here." Buffy smiled at her sister. "You take care of Willow."

Dawn and Willow nodded and then Buffy hurried out the door.

"Do you think Tara’s okay?" Dawn asked.

"She has to be," Willow said in a tiny voice.

Dawn wrapped both arms and around Willow and hugged the redheaded witch.

*****

Buffy pushed past the hordes of coeds rushing to get out of the building. She scanned the crowd hoping to see Tara, or at least some smoke. A fire she could deal with, but right now the thought of a demon was too much for the Slayer. Unfortunately, her instincts told her that there was no fire.

"That hot chick had Tara pinned to the wall," a tall blonde jock said as he went past Buffy.

"Dude, I know. Her girlfriend is gonna’ be pissed," responded his equally well-muscled friend. "I never thought Tara would two-time her redheaded hottie."

"Where’s Tara?" Buffy demanded as she grabbed the blonde jock.

"Hey, I don’t interfere with girl-on-girl action," he said. "You dating Tara too?"

"Where is she?" Buffy yelled as she grabbed him by the collar.

"At the end of the hall, by the back stairwell," he said as he struggled free. "There were too many people so we came this way."

Buffy looked down the hallway and her brow crinkled.

"Who’s the chick with the leather?" the taller jock asked. "She’s cute. Kinda’ high strung, but cute."

"Glory," Buffy whispered as she pushed her way through the crowd.

"Lesbians," the taller jock said with a smile.

"Dude, they’re hot," his friend answered and pulled him down the hall. "Come on, let’s get out the front stairwell."

Buffy ran through the crowd, pushing her way past people. She was, in effect, going against the flow of traffic. As she rounded the corner, she caught a glimpse of curly blonde hair. She stopped and watched as Glory went out the door to the stairwell. She debated going after her, but decided it was too dangerous. With all of the students in the hall, someone would get hurt or killed.

She walked slowly forward and noticed that the alarm had stopped ringing. Several students caught her eye near the fire alarm on the wall. The students were huddled in a circle and all were staring intently at something on the floor. They ignored the other people hurrying around them.

"Call 911," someone said from the small huddle.

Buffy’s throat went dry.

"I already did," Kim said in a panic.

Buffy recognized the RA’s voice and rushed forward. She pushed people out of the way, shoving several harder than she really should have, but Buffy knew something very bad was happening.

Kim looked up as Buffy reached the small group. The RA’s face was pale and her eyes were full of fear. Her hands were resting on Tara’s chest. "Buffy…" She looked down at Tara.

Buffy looked down and saw Tara. The blonde witch was on her back and she was not breathing. A trickle of blood from her nose was smeared across her face. Buffy watched as Brittany leaned down and blew a breath of air into Tara’s mouth.

"Kim," Brittany said harshly.

"Oh," Kim said quickly. She shifted her weight and continued giving Tara CPR.

Buffy stared in shock. Tara was dead. Tara was dead, and now she had to go tell Willow.

The door to the stairwell opened and two EMTs came in carrying a stretcher. They rushed over to Tara’s body and began barking orders.

"Get back." The taller EMT pressed his fingers to Tara’s throat. "No pulse," he said grimly. "What happened? How long has she been down?"

"A few minutes," Kim said. "I think she got hit, but I’m not sure."

Buffy backed away. The scene was all too familiar. She remembered seeing the paramedics work on her mother. She couldn’t handle hearing these EMTs tell her that Tara was gone so she turned slowly and headed back to Tara’s room where Willow was waiting. She stumbled when a young woman bumped into her. The Slayer suddenly felt as weak as a day old colt.

‘I can’t do this,’ Buffy thought. ‘I can’t tell Willow her lover’s gone.’ She continued walking until she stood in front of the door. ‘It almost killed her when that Jinn faked Tara’s death.’ Buffy cringed as she pictured Willow sobbing hysterically when she had thought that Tara had been killed. She took one last deep breath and reached for the knob. She knew she was about to destroy her best friend’s world.

****

Willow paced and looked over at the clock. Buffy had been gone two and a half minutes.

"Maybe we should just stay here," Dawn suggested. "I mean, Buffy will come back for us."

Willow started to answer when she heard the doorknob turn. She spun and hurried toward the door. "Tara!" She grabbed the door and yanked it open. "Buffy?" She stepped back to let the Slayer into the room and then closed the door. "Did you see Tara? Where is she?"

Buffy turned slowly and studied Willow.

"No," Dawn said when she saw her sister’s shell-shocked eyes. Dawn had seen the same look of pain and dread on Buffy’s face at the school after Joyce’s death. "No!" Dawn yelled. She ran toward her sister, then stopped short and looked at Willow. "No," she whispered.

"Where’s Tara?" Willow looked over at Dawn, part of her realizing why Dawn might be upset, but a bigger part not yet ready to believe it. "Buffy?"

"Willow…" Buffy moved over to her friend and took her by the shoulders. "I … I’m so sorry." She blinked back tears.

Willow shook her head. She couldn’t believe it. On some level she realized her world, her life was about to shift. Willow’s reality was shifting and the redhead wanted no part of it.

"Glory was here," Buffy said. "God, Willow, I’m sorry."

"Where’s Tara?" Willow felt tears welling up in her eyes.

"She’s gone, Will." Buffy’s voice cracked.

"Well, we have to go get her!" Willow tried to head toward the door. "There’s no telling what Glory might do to her. We can’t let her do the brain-suck. Tara can’t handle that again!"

"Willow." Buffy held the redhead in place. "Willow, honey, she’s dead."

Willow slapped Buffy across the cheek, hard enough to knock the Slayer’s face to one side.

Buffy stared in disbelief, but neither woman moved.

"Tara is not dead," Willow said angrily. "Don’t you ever say that."

"Will…" Tears slid down Buffy’s cheeks.

"No," Willow said as the truth hit her. "Tara," she said in a broken whisper.

Buffy pulled her friend into a fierce hug.

"No," Willow repeated. Her legs buckled, but Buffy held her up.

"I’ve got you," Buffy said. She was crying, but not as much as Willow. She had to be strong for the best friend.

Dawn sat on the bed and stared at the floor.

"This can’t be," Willow sobbed into Buffy’s shoulders. "I… Tara and I… we saw our futures. Tara can’t be dead."

"I saw her," Buffy said quietly. She wondered what her friend was talking about, then decided maybe the redhead was just in shock.

"We went to the future. We saw things." Willow’s entire body shook. "We were happy."

"Honey, what are you talking about?" Buffy eased Willow back.

"This isn’t supposed to happen," Willow said miserably.

"Giles always says that there are many possible futures," Buffy said gently. "Like dimensions. Maybe you were in a future… like that world without shrimp, just not our future." She didn’t want to hurt her best friend, but denial would only prolong Willow’s agony.

"I have to see her," Willow said between sobs. "Where is she?"

"In the hall," Buffy responded.

"Tara," she said as she backed away. "I have to… she’s… I can’t just leave her alone out there." Willow lost all composure as tears flowed freely. "She’s alone. She needs me to take care of her. What kind of girlfriend am I? I can’t just leave her out there. She must be cold. Should I bring a blanket? I have to see her."

Buffy took Willow’s hand and led her out the door. They made their way through the crowded hall, but when Willow saw Tara, the redhead’s legs buckled again. Buffy paused, holding her friend against her body.

"I have to go to her." Willow's voice was monotone and it frightened Buffy. It sounded like Willow’s soul had died. "Tara, my beautiful Tara, what did she do to you?"

Buffy half-carried Willow the rest of the way. She watched as the EMTs continued working. Tara had a plastic mask over her nose and mouth and the taller EMT was using a plastic bag to squeeze air into the prone witch’s lungs while his partner continued CPR.

"Tara, baby," Willow whispered as she pulled away and sprinted the last few steps to her lover. She dropped to her knees and grabbed Tara’s limp hand from the side of the stretcher. "Tara, don’t leave me," she pleaded.

"You’ll have to get back," the taller EMT said.

"Tara, please." Willow ignored the EMT and closed her eyes and kissed Tara’s cold fingers.

"Is she family?" the EMT asked gently.

"She’s everything," Willow said as she rubbed both hands over Tara’s fingers trying to warm them. She turned over her lover’s hand and her eyes widened. There were henna tattoos on Tara’s palm, tattoos that Willow had never seen before. They had obviously not been there when the blonde left the room earlier.

"We need to work," the taller paramedic said.

"We’re done here," the other EMT said sadly. "She’s gone." He shook his head and stepped back and let Willow stay with her lover.

"Willow, honey…" Buffy wrapped her arms around Willow and knelt next to her.

"She’s not gone," Willow said calmly.

"Um, Will?" Buffy gave her friend a comforting squeeze. Buffy had gone through similar denial when Joyce had died.

Willow held Tara’s palm toward the Slayer. Buffy’s eyes narrowed and she looked around at the gathering crowd. She leaned in close to Willow. "What the hell is that?"

"A henna tattoo," Willow whispered. She studied the markings. There were three hieroglyphics on Tara’s palm. She reached over her lover and confirmed that the same tattoo was on then other hand. "Go over there," Willow ordered. "Hold her hand."

The paramedics continued collecting their equipment and tried not to interfere with the two young women and their grief. They hated losing patients, and seeing the friends and family come to grips with loss was heart wrenching. They had seen many bizarre death rituals, so the two young women holding the dead blonde’s hands didn’t faze them.

"Those are hieroglyphics," Willow whispered. "See that one? It means life."

Buffy studied the markings. She recognized one as an aunk. Next to it was what looked like a crooked teardrop and beside it was a triangle inside a larger triangle. The three marks looked like they had been etched on Tara’s skin recently.

"Willow?" Buffy’s voice was full of fear but there was a hint of hope. "What does it mean?"

The redhead lifted Tara’s hand and held it in front of her and motioned for Buffy to do the same. The Slayer copied the action, and when Willow lifted Tara’s hand and pressed a kiss onto her palm, Buffy did that as well.

Willow traced the tattooed markings one at a time and said the meaning out loud. She started on the right, reading in the opposite direction as was custom with hieroglyphics. She traced the doubled triangle, then the teardrop, and finally the aunk. "May she have life." Willow locked eyes with Buffy. The terrified redhead knew this spell, she had found it weeks earlier in the book called ‘Darkest Magicks,’ but Willow hadn’t wanted to call upon the Egyptian gods of the dead. It never occurred to Willow that Tara might have found it as well. Willow pressed her lips onto Tara’s palm again and closed her eyes.

"May she have life," Buffy said slowly, then she mimicked Willow and kissed Tara’s palm.

The EMT’s were finished cleaning up and they cleared their throats, ready to leave. Most of the students had moved on, with Kim shooing them away.

Willow put Tara’s hand onto the motionless blonde’s heart and watched as Buffy did the same. Her hands were neatly crossed over her chest.

"Take life from these lips." Willow leaned down over Tara’s body. "Return she who was loved and taken by evil." Willow gave Tara a loving breath, letting her lips linger before pulling back and closing her eyes. A sob raked her body as she sent out a prayer that the spell would work.

"Take life from these lips," Buffy said in a barely audible whisper. She leaned down and looked at Tara. "Return she who was loved and taken by evil," the Slayer said slightly louder. She pressed her lips to Tara’s and gave the blonde all of the breath in her lungs as memories of all the people she had lost over the years filled Buffy’s mind. She didn’t want to lose Tara too.

Willows eye shot open and she saw Buffy giving Tara the breath of life. In her fear and haste, she hadn’t told Buffy not to mimic that final action. She was just about to pull the Slayer away when Buffy pulled back.

Willow burst into tears. The spell called for one person to recall the lost loved one. The redhead had no idea if the spell would work now.

A shuttering gasp broke the silence of the moment. Tara coughed and her body shook.

"What the hell?" The taller EMT rushed forward as Tara’s back arched and she let out a plaintive wail.

"Tara?" Willow grabbed her lover’s hand. "Baby?" She sent out a prayer that it was indeed her lover who had returned. Willow knew that resurrection spells were difficult and often ended in tragedy. The only reason she had tried this one was because she knew that Tara had taken her own life in a very specific way, a way designed to have her soul called back.

"What the hell did you do?" the other paramedic demanded as he grabbed Tara’s wrist and felt a steady pulse.

"It was just mouth to mouth," Buffy bluffed. "You musta’ got her heart going and not realized."

The two EMTs locked eyes and then nodded. They couldn’t accept any other explanation. They quickly loaded Tara into the ambulance, with Willow never leaving her side, and rushed the newly revived blonde to the hospital. By the time Buffy and Dawn got to the hospital with Giles, Tara was in with several doctors.

The doctors had wanted to keep her overnight, since they still hadn’t figured out what had caused her heart to stop beating, but the blonde witch insisted on going home. No amount of medical training or tests could have given the doctors the answers they sought. Tara had used an Egyptian chant that sent a person’s Akh, their soul, on it’s journey to the land of the dead. The chant, so sacred and deadly that it didn’t even have a name, would instantly kill any person who uttered it. The chant Tara had used was one that had been created by a wizard during Seti the First’s reign in the ancient world. He had altered a death ritual by a few words. Those words kept the soul waiting next to the body. The henna tattoos on the hands were the recalling chant. When uttered by two people who loved the dead person, it invited the displaced Akh back into the body. Tara’s spell had worked perfectly.

"She can’t be alive," Dawn said. "Resurrection spells don’t work." She was terrified, and a little angry. Willow and Tara had insisted that Dawn not resurrect her dead mother, that horrible things would happen, and it bothered the youngest Summers that Willow had not followed her own advice. "We got Tara back, we got Buffy back, so why couldn’t I use this spell when…"

"It’s not the same," Giles said harshly. "It’s not the same at all." He saw hurt wash over Dawn’s face and he sighed. "I’m sorry, Dawn, but this is nothing like when Joyce died." He moved closer and took the young girl by the shoulders. "Your mother died of natural causes. It was her time." He caressed Dawn’s cheek. "As painful as that is, we can’t change it."

"How exactly is this different?" Buffy wanted to be damn sure that she and Willow hadn’t brought back some demented zombie version of Tara, especially since it had only been a few weeks since Tara had been possessed by an evil Jinn.

"Tara didn’t so much kill herself as she…" Giles pushed his glasses onto his forehead and rubbed his face. "She… she… she used magic to make her soul leave her body temporarily, probably so Glory wouldn’t kill her."

"Or brain-suck her," Dawn pointed out.

"Yes, well, that does seem more likely," the Watcher agreed.

"So, Tara sent her soul out for a little cruise around the neighborhood?" Buffy crinkled her brow and shook her head, not quite buying his story even though she had witnessed Tara’s return.

"I had hoped to avoid this," Giles said and then cleared his throat.

"Oh god, Buffy." Dawn slapped her sister’s arm. "You made him go into teaching mode."

Giles glared at Dawn and then settled his glasses into place. "The spell is from the book called ‘Darkest Magicks," he began.

"Not the teaching mode." Buffy groaned and shook her head.

"It was originally used during mummification, to release a person’s Ahk, their spirit. During the reign of Seti the First, thousand of soldiers were slaughtered in battle when he reclaimed Damascus. Even more men were tortured. One of Seti’s priests devised this spell as a way for royal message bearers to avoid capture," Giles explained.

"So… the bad guys come…and you just keel over dead?" Buffy inhaled sharply. "That’s devotion." She frowned. "But how did they get the messages delivered? I mean, wouldn’t they run out of Fed Ex guys pretty fast?"

"When the chant was uttered and the person died, the tattoos mystically appeared," Giles said.

"I saw them." Buffy nodded. "Willow said those were like the instruction manual."

"Something like that," Giles agreed. "When the chant on the victim’s hands was recited by two people who loved the deceased, the Ahk was recalled."

"So you had to love ‘em," Dawn said. "So the baddies couldn’t just wake them up and torture them?"

"Exactly," Giles said proudly.

"So… these army guys had a whole lotta’ love?" Buffy asked. "I mean, as much as I love getting packages from eBay, I do not love the UPS guy."

"The priests only had members of their own families act as messengers." Giles looked toward the room where the doctors were still examining Tara. "That way when they died, they could be resurrected."

"Yikes." Dawn frowned at Buffy. "Don’t ask me to run any more Scooby errands."

"It is a difficult spell," Giles said as he stared at the door. "She must have done preparations in advance. She would have had to have predrawn the tattoos in her own blood and allowed it to dry in the sun and then washed it off with rosewater by moonlight." He looked at his own palm and traced a pattern along his lifeline. "She must have expected trouble."

"Why would she do that?" Buffy asked. She sat and let out a long breath. "I guess she didn’t think I could keep her safe." She slammed her hand onto the arm of the chair. "Which I couldn’t. Guess she was right on the money."

"The brain-suck," Dawn whispered. Giles and Buffy turned and gave her questioning stares, so Dawn elaborated. "Tara said it was the most horrible thing she’s ever been through. She said she’d never go back to that dark place again. She said it was worse that when the Jinn sent her away."

Buffy leaned forward and rested her face in her hands. She began to silently weep for all that Tara had been through in her short life. She knew that Tara had endured a great deal of abuse growing up, more than Buffy could have survived. If Tara was that upset by Glory’s brain-suck, it must have truly been hell. The shy blonde witch was gentle and kindhearted, and that only made her suffering seem more undeserved.

The door opened and Willow and Tara came slowly out of the examining room. The redhead looked as concerned as Buffy had ever seen her. Willow had her arm around Tara and was moving along beside her, keeping both eyes locked on the exhausted blonde.

"Tara?" Dawn asked. She rushed over to the blonde Wiccan and almost tripped over her own feet. "Are you really okay?"

"I’m fine, Dawnie." Tara gave Dawn a crooked half grin and she bit her lip.

Buffy also stood, and when she saw Tara’s trademark grin her heart soared. There was no way a zombie could mimic that smile. "Hey," the Slayer said as she waited for Dawn to finish hugging Tara to within an inch of her life.

"Sorry I scared you," Tara said. She held up one arm for Buffy and kept the other around Willow. Buffy hurried over and filled the space beside the blonde Wiccan. "I just couldn’t go back to that place," Tara whispered.

"I’m so very glad you’re all right," Giles said.

Tara’s eyes widened and she stared at the Watcher. He cleared his throat and moved closer so he could make sure Tara was back among the living. Tara broke away from Willow and Buffy and grabbed Giles and gave him a long hug.

"Yes, well…" Giles stiffened, but then relaxed and wrapped his arms around the young woman. Willow and Buffy were like his daughters, and Tara was quickly worming her way into his heart with her loving nature and her easy smile. "Don’t ever do something like this again," he whispered.

"I promise," Tara said as she pulled away after a moment and then went back to Willow. "Can we go home … okay … not home … because, well, Glory, but can we go somewhere not here?"

"Sure, baby." Willow smiled and led her lover toward the exit. "But we are gonna’ talk about that spell." She squeezed Tara’s hand. "We’re gonna’ talk about you not doing that spell ever again."

"Sure. Let’s wrap it up for today," Tara said confidently.

Willow stopped and looked at Tara. Giles and Buffy gave her a confused stare, while Dawn didn’t seem to notice the out of character comment.

"That means … let’s go." Tara shrugged and then let the petite redhead lead the way to the parking lot.

*****

Buffy decided it would be best if they went back to Giles’ house. As far as they knew, Glory had no idea where the Watcher lived. They settled in for the night, with Giles giving Willow and Tara his bed. The Watcher had blushed profusely as he made the offer, coughing and clearing his throat as he tried to explain that Tara should rest somewhere comfortable, and that she would be most comfortable with Willow. It had taken him almost five minutes to get his point across. Finally, Buffy had figured out what he was trying to say and she blurted out, "He wants to know if you two want to snuggle in his bed tonight."

*****

A noise on the staircase alerted Giles. He was on his couch and heard footsteps. He sat up and was surprised to see Tara coming down the stairs. The shy blonde still seemed a bit sleepy as she quietly made her way to the kitchen. Giles figured she was looking for a snack or a drink so he settled back into the cushions. A few minutes later he heard the distinctive clinking of fingers on a keyboard and his curiosity got the best of him.

He found Tara sitting at the table using Willow’s laptop. The blonde witch was chewing on the end of a pencil and seemed lost in her task. Giles quietly cleared his throat. He knew Tara was somewhat jumpy.

A set of clear blue eyes shifted and met his, but she never stopped typing. "Hey, sorry I woke you," Tara said around the pencil in her mouth and then looked back at the screen and crinkled her brow.

"What are you doing?" he asked as he stepped into the kitchen. He looked back up the staircase and wondered why Willow wasn’t with her lover.

"Sending out a request for information about ancient cults of Glorificus." Tara hit send and then typed in a URL and waited for the page to load. "I figure we might want to get a look at her followers if we want to fight her."

"Willow thoroughly researched this before…" Giles frowned.

"Before Buffy died?" Tara shook her head. "That didn’t turn out so well." She rolled her eyes and clicked around through a website. "Besides, she looked at historical information." She bit her lip and followed a link she found.

"Yes, and we decided that looking at Glory’s current followers might very well be dangerous." Giles crossed his arms over his chest and gave Tara his most stern, paternal glare. "Shouldn’t you be resting?"

"Don’t be such an old fuddy duddy." Tara waved at hand at him. "Got any coffee?" she asked without looking up. "Oh!" She scrolled down a page and then sighed. "Damn."

"Tara, are you feeling all right?" Giles stared at the shy Wiccan. She was acting strangely and he wondered if she had suffered some sort of injury from her experience earlier in the day.

"Fine, I’m just dying for some coffee." Tara’s fingers froze on the keyboard and she slowly looked over and Giles. "I hate coffee," she said slowly. "Giles?" There was a slightly panicked tone to her normally calm voice.

"You’ve been through a great deal," he said gently. "I think you should go back to bed." He stepped closer, tugging his robe tightly closed. "Besides, if Willow awakens and you’re not there, I’m quite sure we will have a panicked Wiccan on our hands."

"Yeah." Tara smiled and dipped her head. A blush crept over her cheeks. "I just need to look through this site."

"What did you find?" he asked as he moved around her so he could see the screen. He didn’t expect much, since Willow was the computer expert and she had spent months looking for anything usable.

"This is the homepage of a cult that worships Sumerian gods." Tara scooted her chair back and stood. "They have a section here on ‘the ancient ones.’ It’s got pictures of cave drawings dating back to the Lascaux site."

"Really?" Giles knelt on one knee and leaned closer. "Those wall paintings in France are some of the oldest ever found in Europe."

"These are from a site between the cave of Lascaux and the Chauvet Cave paintings." Tara motioned for Giles to sit. "The site hasn’t been publicized because they depicted pagan rituals. There were similar ritual depictions near Vallon-Pont-d’Arc. "

"What’s that there?" Giles pointed at a picture of a cave drawing displayed on the screen. "That looks like a Sumerian Spring sun, the Vernal Equinox." He shook his head. "That can’t be right. The Chauvet Cave paintings have images of hunting scenes. It’s Paleolithic art, and there’s never been any sign of organized religion, and they’ve certainly never found any signs of planetary awareness."

"Well, the history books might say that, but that’s the thing about the Net … it puts all the information at your fingertips." Tara yawned and covered her mouth. "Look around. I’m getting tired. Go for it."

"Use this infernal machine?" Giles blushed, but he stared at the monitor, leaning to one side trying to see what was just off the screen to his right.

"You can’t break anything." Tara reach down and used the mouse to click on the arrow bar so the screen moved over to show the text Giles was trying to read. "Go on, I promise not to tell the stuffy Watcher’s union." Tara spun and walked away.

Giles nodded and began poking at the mouse. He was distracted, and barely noticed that Tara wasn’t talking the way she normally did, that her word choice, and even the cadence of her voice was off. He also didn’t notice that as she walked out of the room, her slate blue eyes shifted color to rich brown.

*****

Sunlight eased through the window and danced across Tara’s face. Willow was sprawled across her lover, but the redheaded witch was awake. She was watching Tara sleep, something that always brought Willow joy, but today more than usual. She had almost lost her beautiful lover, and she wanted to savor every moment with her. She smiled wickedly and glanced at the door, which she had locked it the night before. She licked her lips and leaned over and kissed Tara’s ear, letting her mouth linger.

"Mmm." Tara smiled and nuzzled her face closer to Willow. Her smile widened when the frisky redhead nibbled on her ear.

"Morning, love," Willow whispered. Her hand dipped under Tara’s nightshirt and circled on her belly.

"Morning," Tara said huskily. She rolled toward her lover and guided Willow’s face closer for a kiss. After several luxurious explorations the two pulled apart. "Wow."

"Think anyone would notice if we stayed in bed all day?" Willow’s eyes sparkled. "I could tell them you’re exhausted and I have to tend to you in bed, all … day … long." She waggled her eyebrows.

"What would this tending consist of?" Tara rolled Willow onto her back and straddled her. She leaned down and kissed the redhead’s neck, then began sucking on her pulse point. "Hmm?"

"That, lots of that." Willow shivered. "Only I would be doing the … tending." She squeezed her lover’s hips. "Okay, so I’m liking this being tended. Maybe I was too hasty. Kiss me," she pleaded.

Tara licked her lips and smiled sensually. She ran her fingers through Willow’s hair and studied her beautiful lover. She frowned as a strange sensation snaked through her. Cold chills racked her body and her hand stopped next to Willow’s temple. She stared at her hand, and then her eyes went back to Willow. The redhead had a concerned expression.

"Oh, my god." Tara jumped off of Willow and scooted to the edge of the bed as she pulled the blankets up to her chest. "Willow … I … this … oh, my goddess."

"What is it?" Willow sat up and tried to move over to her skittish lover but Tara held out her hand.

"Stop." Tara closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She was shaking and when Tara opened her eyes, she looked at Willow in shock. "This is wrong, you’re … just a girl."

"What?" Willow stared at her lover. Tara’s words shocked Willow, but not nearly as much as the way Tara was looking at her. "Tara?"

"Willow…" Tara closed her eyes and shook her head. She eased open her eyes and they were back to their familiar expression full of love. "What’s happening to me?" she whispered in a tiny voice.

"Why did you say that?" Willow asked cautiously. "You said this is wrong…" Willow pointed to herself and then Tara. "Because we’re both women?"

"No!" Tara said instantly. She shook her head from side to side. "Because … you’re a girl."

"Okay, explain the difference." Willow was now scared and confused.

"You’re a child," Tara said hollowly. "I feel like I’m robbing the cradle."

Willow raised one eyebrow high onto her forehead. "I’m one year younger than you." She bit her lip and looked at the door and then back to Tara. "Honey, what’s going on?"

Tara crinkled her brow and rubbed her temples. "I don’t know. Willow, I’m scared." Tara reached her hand out tentatively. "I was kissing you, and suddenly I had this overwhelming feeling that it wasn’t right." Tears slid down the blonde’s cheeks. "Like I’m taking advantage of you … like it’s wrong."

"It’s not wrong, love." Willow took Tara’s hand and squeezed it. "But I’m scared too." She lifted Tara’s hand to her lips and kissed the blonde’s graceful fingers. "We need to talk to Giles."

Tara nodded and started to climb from the bed. She felt Willow squeeze her hand and she paused.

"Wait," Willow whispered. "Do you think … that this is…"

"No!" Tara fell into Willow’s arms. "Baby, there is nothing wrong with our love. I don’t know why I reacted that way, but it was not because you’re a woman." She kissed Willow’s temple. "I love you. I love that you’re a beautiful, sexy woman." She cupped Willow’s chin in her hand and kissed her trembling lips. "I love you."

Willow enjoyed the kiss but she was scared, terrified. She thought about the resurrection spell and how many things that might have gone wrong and she shivered.

"I’m here," Tara whispered. "I’m not going anywhere, darling." She rested her chin on Willow’s shoulder and took a deep breath. The same uncomfortable sensation flashed through her again and for an instant her eyes turned deep brown. She felt the redhead cling tighter and she could feel Willow shaking slightly. Tara’s eyes went back to blue and she gently ran her hand down her lover’s back.

Neither woman saw the eye change. They held each other, each woman consumed by her own fears, each unaware of the danger that loomed just out of sight on the horizon, like the vampires that lurked, waiting for darkness to fall so they could hunt. Something stirred inside Tara, and it was moving closer to the surface with each minute.

CHAPTER THREE

The sight that greeted Buffy when she wandered into the kitchen in search of breakfast made her stop and rub her eyes to make sure that she wasn’t still asleep and dreaming. Giles was sitting at the table on the computer, or rather, Giles was sound asleep on the computer at the table. He was slouched over Willow’s laptop, with his glasses pushed up onto his forehead and his mouth was half opened as he snored.

Buffy cleared her throat and edged closer to her Watcher. He didn’t move, so she cleared her throat a bit louder. This time Giles did move. He snorted loudly and moved his face, sliding the laptop a few inches away.

"Giles?" Buffy leaned down behind him and whispered in a sarcastically sweet tone. "Giles, wake up."

He groaned and then blinked rapidly and yawned. His eyes opened slowly and he took in his surroundings. "Oh, dear." He yawned again.

"Do you have an Internet addiction I should know about?" Buffy asked sternly. "You’re not in some icky old dude’s chat room are you?"

"Buffy!" Giles stood and spun. "I wasn’t … I was … this isn’t what it looks like." His glasses were still slightly askew on his forehead. He reached up and settled them into place on his nose, but his hair was still sticking up wildly on one side.

"It looks like you were up all night surfing the Web." Buffy smirked, knowing that was something that would never happen. ‘He was probably up putting dusty Latin books onto CD,’ she thought.

"Oh … surfing the Web?" Giles blushed, something Buffy had only seen happen on a few rare occasions. "Actually, it is exactly what it looks like," he admitted.

"You … surfing …web?" Buffy’s eyes bulged out as she was reduced to speaking like the Cave-Slayer.

"Yes, well I am capable of growth," Giles said indignantly. "You needn’t sound so surprised."

"Yeah, just last month you bought a book published after 1800. Go, Giles, you’re only two centuries behind on your reading." The Slayer leaned over to see what he had been looking at on the computer and frowned. The screen was black even though there were lights lit on the high tech keyboard. Even Buffy knew that was not good. "What did you do to Willow’s new laptop?"

"Tara assured me that I couldn’t hurt it," he said defensively. He stood and went to the sink and filled a pot of water to boil.

"She was wrong." Buffy poked at the keys but nothing happened. "You didn’t hurt it … you killed it."

"But Tara said…" Giles looked like a lost child. He did not want to tell Willow that her brand new laptop had fought the good fight, but lost.

"Giles, Tara barely knows more about computers than I do." Buffy tilted her head and tried poking two keys at once. She remembered hearing Willow talk about alt-control-delete. She typed the letters ‘A-L-T-C-O-N-T-O-L’ and then bit her lip and poked the delete key.

"Tara seemed quite knowledgeable," Giles said as he reached over Buffy’s shoulder and poked the home key.

"What are you doing?" Buffy asked as she fought the urge to giggle.

"Home is … well, it seems like a good key to push," he said angrily. "I don’t see you doing any better."

"Yeah, but I didn’t kill Willow’s newest toy." Buffy put both hands on her hips. "Have you seen her look at this thing? Only Tara inspires more drool."

"I … well … Tara told me to," he whined. "Willow can’t possibly blame me."

The door swung open and Dawn walked into the room. "Blame you for what?"

"Giles killed Willow’s laptop." Buffy backed away from the table as if the blame was going to rub off onto her.

Dawn’s eyes widened and she backed up.

"I didn’t kill it," Giles insisted. He sighed and glared at the darkened computer screen. "This never happens with books."

The door swung open again and Willow and Tara walked in holding hands. The redhead gave her friends a half smile. She was worried about Tara and she didn’t have to put on airs for her friends.

"Morning," Willow said.

"Hi," Tara said as she tried to stay as close to her lover as she could. She was feeling slightly disoriented from her morning difficulties.

"Willow…" Giles looked like he had just been caught smoking in the Pope’s private confessional.

"Umm … Willow…" Buffy backed as far away from Giles as was physically possible in the small room.

Dawn looked from Willow to Giles and then back again. Her eyes were open wide like a chicken that just wandered into the Kentucky Fried Chicken corporate headquarters.

"What happened?" Willow demanded. She pulled Tara closer and looked to her for support.

Tara wrapped her arms around Willow and held her close. She ran her hands over the agitated redhead’s belly as she waited quietly for an explanation.

"There’s been an unfortunate accident involving…" Giles couldn’t look into Willow’s eyes. He looked at her laptop and swallowed.

Buffy and Dawn both turned and stared at the computer.

"My laptop!" Willow said indignantly. "What happened?" She rushed over and began tapping keys. She frowned and turned off the power and then turned it back on. "Buffy?" she demanded as she glared at the Slayer.

"It wasn’t me!" Buffy practically climbed onto the counter to escape Willow’s wrath. The techno-addicted witch looked like she was about to try the ‘pain spell’ she had used on Glory.

"Dawn?" Willow looked at the young woman and took a step closer to her.

"It was Giles!" Dawn pointed at the Watcher. "He killed it!"

"Giles!" Willow spun and glared at him.

"It’s not like my books," he whined. "I was doing quite well. I was surfing. Me, surfing." He tried to smile. "Apparently … as they say on the beach … I had a wipeout."

"This is bad," Willow said as the power came on and the screen didn’t sparkle to life. "This is very bad." She dug through her computer case and pulled out a disk and inserted it and then restarted the computer. "Come on, baby," she whispered. She bit her lip. "Come on," she coaxed. Nothing happened.

"Let me try." Tara moved alongside Willow and turned off the computer. She restarted it and held down several keys as it powered back up. The screen blinked and a DOS prompt appeared. Tara typed in a few commands and was quickly jumping through several other screens.

"Tara?" Willow watched, stunned.

The blonde witch typed in another command and frowned. She glared at Giles. "What were you doing messing with the executive files?" She rapidly typed in a command and hit ‘enter’. The computer clicked and then whirred and the Windows logo appeared. "There," she said as she stepped back.

"That … was … wow." Willow looked at her lover and crossed her arms over her chest. "How did you do that?"

"Just did a backdoor manual restart." Tara shrugged. "He disabled some of the primary systems." She smiled at Giles. "See? You can’t hurt these things."

"That is not normal." Willow moved closer to Giles and scowled. "Tara’s been acting really … well, really not Tara."

"How so?" Giles studied the blonde, remembering his encounter with her the night before.

"Well, that for one thing." Willow pointed at the laptop. "She just used commands that I don’t even know."

"Anything else?" Buffy asked. She had a knot in her stomach that told her there was more.

Tara nodded. She blushed and then dipped her head, letting her bangs cover her eyes. "I had some weird feelings," she said in a muted whispered.

"What kind of feelings?" Giles moved over to the shy witch and rested his hand on her shoulder. She lifted her head and gave him a wistful smile. "Tara?"

"Oh." Tara frowned and took a step back. "About Willow. Very weird feelings."

"Should I have Dawn leave the room?" Buffy smirked, trying to lighten the moment.

Willow could see how uncomfortable her lover was. She stepped forward and took Tara’s hand. "Tell them," she said gently. "It’s okay."

"I felt like … being with Willow was … wrong." Tara’s eyes were full of tears as she looked over at the redheaded witch. "I love her, and I don’t want to have these strange feelings."

"Is it like that time at the fraternity?" Giles prompted. He recalled when a group of angry spirits had taken over a house that used to be a home for troubled children. Willow had touched Tara’s leg and one of the spirits had made the blonde witch recoil in disgust. Tara had been troubled by the reaction even after they had solved the mystery. She had talked with Giles about it on several occasions.

"Kind of." Tara furrowed her brow as she considered the similarities. "But I wasn’t disgusted. I just felt like it was wrong to take advantage of her."

"Well, just what were you doing to her?" Dawn’s eyes sprang open wide.

"Nothing!" Tara insisted. She blushed like a polished apple. "Well, almost nothing," she amended quietly. She was embarrassed, but she knew any detail could be important.

"Dawn, now would be a good time for you to go … somewhere else." Buffy pointed at the door.

"I’m not a child," Dawn whined. She pointed at the refrigerator. "And I haven’t eaten yet."

The Slayer opened a cupboard and grabbed a bag of bagels and tossed them at her sister. "Go. Eat. Somewhere not here." She watched Dawn stomp out of the room and then looked over at Tara and raised an eyebrow. "What were you doing to Willow?"

"Um, ah, well…" Tara blushed and her voice came out as a squeak.

"I believe they were being intimate," Giles said as he also blushed.

"Nuh uh!" Willow shook her head. "We were just kissing and stuff."

"And was any of this stuff out of the ordinary?" Giles looked like each word was painful. "Anything you haven’t done before?"

"I can’t believe I’m talking to you about this." Willow covered her face with both hands. She could feel the heat from her blush warming her fingers.

Tara wrapped her arm around Willow and held her close. She saw that the beautiful redhead was getting more embarrassed and a protective streak flared. "We only kissed," she said firmly. "Look, it’s not like we were doing naked downloads and orally interfacing."

All eyes locked on Tara. Willow moved her fingers away from her face and stared slack-jawed at her lover.

"And that would be the Non-Tara behavior you were talking about." Buffy pointed at the blonde witch.

"Just … adding some spicy-talk," Tara said as she bit her lip.

Willow’s eyebrows climbed up her forehead.

"Okay, that went over like the ‘genuine molded plastic ass’ comment," Tara whispered.

"Perhaps we should do some tests," Giles said delicately. "To make sure the resurrection worked properly."

"I have a pulse." Tara smirked at him and held out her wrist.

"And a very non-Tara mouth," Buffy pointed out.

The blonde furrowed her brow and looked over at Willow. The redhead nodded in agreement.

"Okay, let’s do it." Tara sat at the table and sighed. She looked over at the coffeepot longingly, but she didn’t ask for a cup.

*****

Three hours later, Giles had done every test he could think of and had found nothing out of the ordinary. He had tested Tara for any signs of demonic presence and used a stone of Thesulah to test for any sign that her soul was not her own. It was a technique he had used recently. By placing the stone over a person’s heart you could determine if the soul in that body belonged there. Giles had asked Tara to stretch out on the couch and put the stone of Thesulah on her chest. It glowed white, proving that the soul residing in Tara’s body was there rightfully.

They also grilled Tara about things only she and the Scoobies would know, and Willow questioned the blonde about more intimate details of her life. Tara passed every test.

Afterwards, Tara said that she was tired and went to take a nap. Willow had offered to lie down with her, but Tara had insisted that the redhead help Giles with his Internet discoveries from the night before. What Willow didn’t know was that Tara was restless. She was tired of hanging out in Giles’ house and wanted to go to the local mall. She talked with Dawn, and quickly convinced the younger Summers to go with her. Tara also decided to borrow Giles’ red convertible. Of course, they neglected to tell him they were taking his car.

The Internet sites that Tara had found the night before had led Giles to another site with information about a sect that worshipped Sumerian deities. Giles had discovered some information about one of the better-known goddesses, and that information concerned him.

"Okay, so this is the cult of Inanna," Willow said. "She’s pretty big as goddesses go, but why are we looking at her?"

"This sect worships her in her earliest form." Giles held out a piece of paper with several URLs listed. "That one there had something rather disturbing."

"You know, Giles, you could have just bookmarked these pages." Willow typed in the address and watched the page fill the screen. "Huh, I did not know that." Willow scanned the information. "Inanna was the goddess of battle and procreation. She musta’ been busy."

"Look here, where it lists her many names." Giles pointed at a link. Willow clicked it and he edged closer. "There," he said excitedly. "That quote from the Treasures of Darkness."

Willow read the information out loud. "Accounts of her are so many, so varied, and so often conflicting that she is likely a fusion of several earlier goddesses." She frowned. "Okay, so she was very, very busy."

"And this here," Giles said. He cleared his throat. "I am Inanna!" he read the sections that concerned him most. "Waging of battle and attack he gave me,

the flood storm he gave me, the hurricane he gave me!"

"Okay, she is not the warm fuzzy goddess I thought she was." Willow wondered why Giles was reading up on Inanna, and then she wondered if the Watcher wanted to enlist her in the battle against Glory. "Hey, look at that." Willow smiled and read from another section. "The gods are sparrows, I am a falcon." She looked up at Giles. "Falcon … and other gods are sparrows. She could kick Glory’s ass."

"I’m afraid you don’t understand," the Watcher said grimly. "This is the description of the goddess that would become known as Inanna." He leaned closer and read a translated ancient poem to Inanna. ""To pester, insult, deride, desecrate, and to venerate - is your domain, Inanna. Downheartedness, calamity, heartache and joy and good cheer - is your domain, Inanna," He paused and rested his hand on Willow’s shoulder.

"She doesn’t sound very helpful." Willow frowned.

"This last stanza," Giles pointed. "Trembling, affright, terror, dazzling and Glory - is your domain, Inanna."

"Glory?" Willow’s voice cracked. "That’s a coincidence, right?" She pointed at the screen. "We don’t want to fight the Falcon. We want the sparrow gods. Sparrows, not evil falcons."

"I’m afraid it gets worse," Giles said. "Tara found this passage last night." He scrolled down the page and pointed. "This is the description of Inanna. Amongst her many roles, she is the goddess of … fashion."

"That would explain her obsession with designer dresses and pumps." Willow took a deep breath and slowly released it. "But it could still be a coincidence, right?" she asked hopefully.

The Watcher took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. "Read the description of the invocation, to call Inanna," he said quietly.

"To invoke Inanna," Willow read, then paused. "Oh no." She looked up at Giles and then continued. "Perform the spell … at Dawn … in a warehouse." She furrowed her brow. "What kind of goddess hangs out in a warehouse?" She rubbed her forehead. "Buffy stole Glory’s monk form her at her first lair… in a warehouse."

"It would appear that we have found one of Glory’s other names." Giles put his glasses back on. "I just wish that our findings didn’t suggest that she is even more powerful than we realized."

"Hey, look at that." Willow raised one eyebrow and smirked. "Okay, that definitely sounds like Glory, the skank." She read the passage out loud. "Prostitutes who stroll the night worship Inanna by leaving offerings to her at Dawn." She crossed her arms over her chest. "I knew she was the goddess of skanks!"

"Yes, well, perhaps I should have checked the Watcher’s records for the supreme goddess of skanks. It would have saved us a great deal of time." Giles stood and went to the stove and poured a cup of tea.

The door opened and Buffy wandered into the room. "Dawn isn’t in here?" She crinkled her forehead. "Okay, I just looked upstairs and found no Dawn, and now, no Dawn downstairs. So help me … if she snuck off to hang out with Spike in his crypt I’m gonna kill her."

"Dawnie wouldn’t have left alone, not after last night." Willow stood. "Maybe she went to check on Tara." The redhead looked longingly toward the door. "I’ll go peek in and see if she’s up." She raced from the room.

"Man, she’s got it bad." Buffy giggled.

"Indeed." Giles smiled.

"So now you and Willow are surfing the web?" Buffy studied her Watcher. "Tara isn’t the only one acting out of character."

"We found something." Giles’ smile disappeared.

"And I’m guessing by the look on your face you did not find a website with free chocolates and mochas for all Slayers and their friends?" She scrunched her face.

"No," he said. He took a deep breath and began explaining Glory’s Sumerian history.

*****

Upstairs, Willow quietly opened the door so she wouldn’t wake Tara. She saw the crumple blankets of Giles’ bed and crept closer and then sat on the bed and rested her hand on the lump, needing her feel her lover’s breathing, her heartbeat, and the warmth of her body through the comforter. What she felt was a cold and empty bed.

"Tara?" Willow yanked back the blankets and she realized that her lover was gone. She jumped to her feet and looked around the room. Tara’s duffel bag was open, and the clothes scattered on a chair. She saw that Tara’s wallet was not on the dresser where she had left it the night before, so wherever the blonde went, she took her money and ID.

"Where are you?" Willow whispered as she spun and ran back to get Buffy.

*****

"You’re making this up," Buffy said as she pointed at the website. "They actually have a goddess of fashion … and her name isn’t Cordelia?"

"This is no joking matter." Giles leaned against the table and looked down at her. "If Glory is the same goddess known as Inanna, she has far reaching powers and followers on every continent."

"So she has international hobbits. Big deal. I beat her last time, I’ll beat her again." She rolled her eyes. "I mean if she is the goddess of fashion, you’d think she could talk to the hair dresser god and have him do something with her split ends."

"Tara’s gone!" Willow burst through the door. "She’s gone. And there’s no note, nothing. Tara wouldn’t do that. What if someone took her?"

"Calm down," Giles said. "Perhaps she and Dawn went for a walk."

Willow sprinted to the front of the house and ripped the door open. "I don’t see her or Dawn." She scanned the street and then realized something. "Giles … your car is gone."

"What?" the Watcher asked as he came into the living room. "That simply can’t be. My keys are right…" he pointed to an empty peg near the door.

"Okay, so joy-riding Tara took my sister." Buffy scowled. "I am not liking the new-and-oh-so-not-improved Tara."

"Tara hates to drive," Willow said. "Well, I mean, she never drives. She always asks me to drive." She frowned. "Do you think she likes to drive and just lets me drive? Because that would be so like her … letting me drive so I’ll be happy when she wants to drive but putting me first and then I don’t even know and then she’s—"

"Stop." Giles held up his hand. "For the love of all that is pure and good in this world, please stop." He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes.

Willow blinked at Giles, staring at him and wondering if he had finally exceeded his limit of babbling.

Buffy started to comment but then stopped when she heard squealing tires on the street in front of the house.

"That doesn’t sound like Tara." Willow’s spun and looked toward the front of the house.

"But, it does sound like my car." Giles put his glasses on hastily. "And it sounds like it’s being driven entirely too fast." As if to punctuate his response, the sound of tires screeching could be heard outside.

"Well, standing here isn’t getting us any answers." The Slayer headed for the door, but before she could grab the handle, the oak door swung open.

"You’re insane," Dawn said with a giggle as she stumbled into the house. "I swear you went around every corner on two wheels!"

"I did not," Tara said with an evil grin. She waltzed into the house with her arms full of packages. "Okay, maybe that last corner."

"Tara?" Willow was shocked as she looked at her lover. The blonde was wearing a sexy, billowy dress that could best be described as bohemian. She had on sandals and was wearing a pair of dark designer sunglasses. She was definitely dressed out of character.

"What’s with the…?" Buffy pointed at Tara’s outfit.

"We went shopping," Tara explained. She went to Willow and gave the redhead a quick kiss. "I got some stuff for you too," she whispered in her ear.

"From Victoria’s Secret," Dawn added helpfully.

"You took my car." Giles stepped in front of Tara and blocked her path. "Without asking, I might add."

"Sorry," Tara said sheepishly, but the gleam in her eyes told a different story. "Nice wheels," she added with a smirk and tossed him the keys.

"Okay, this is not Tara," Buffy said. She pointed at the blonde. "This confidence gal … this shopping sexy clothes wearing … smirking gal … this is not our Tara." She looked over at Willow. "This is so not Tara."

"Um, well, actually, Tara is confident, just not in front of others," Willow said slowly. "Maybe the resurrection … you know … energized her."

"I’m fine," Tara said as she tossed her bags onto the couch. Some of the bags fell onto the floor but she ignored them. "Really."

"You should have seen her when we got pulled over," Dawn volunteered. "That cop was gonna’ give us a ticket. I mean, Tara was doing like 95 miles an hour."

"Tara!" Giles gave her a shocked look.

"Cop?" Willow hurried over to her lover. "Did you get a ticket, baby?"

"Not exactly." Tara bit her lip.

"She flirted with the cop," Dawn said

"What?" Willow stopped halfway to Tara’s side. "You … flirted with a cop?" There was more than jealousy in the redhead’s eyes. Confusion filled Willow’s expression as she tried to comprehend her girlfriend’s unusual behavior.

"Not just flirted," Dawn said with a giggle. She didn’t realize the gravity of the situation, for Willow’s heart and for Tara’s condition. "She flirted really well. Man, that cop was all over her!" Dawn looked over at Buffy. "She totally hiked her skirt up while we were pulling over. It was like up to here." Dawn pointed high on her own thigh, higher than most of Buffy’s shortest skirts.

The Slayer raised one eyebrow and looked over at Tara. The blonde witch was blushing and she looked a little surprised by her own actions.

"It s-seemed like the thing t-to do." Tara furrowed her brow.

"Tara, you were … flirting?" Willow took another step closer. "With a man?" Willow looked thoroughly confused.

"Oh, the cop was a woman," Dawn said quickly. "And she was really cute." The younger girl’s eyes widened. "Not for me, for you guys." She pointed and Tara and then Willow. "Not only did Tara not get a ticket, she got the cop’s phone number." Dawn was in awe of Tara’s newfound skill.

"Phone number?" Willow said plaintively. Her concern flashed to anger. She took the last few steps to her lover’s side and stuck out her hand. "Give it to me." Tara gave Willow a blank stare so the redhead clarified. "The number. Now."

"I … I … threw it away." Tara shrugged. "I didn’t need it."

"Oh," Willow said, her anger deflating.

"We have a more serious problem here," Giles said. "Tara is acting completely out of character."

"Lighten up, Rupert," Tara with a sigh. She froze, then lifted her hand to her mouth and touched her lips as if she was shocked and mortified by the words that just slipped from her own lips. "I’m s-so sorry, Mister Giles," she said quickly. "I didn’t mean to … I would never … I … Willow?" She took her lover’s hands. "What’s happening to me?"

"I don’t know, but we’re gonna’ find out." Willow pulled her lover into her arms and held the slightly taller woman. Willow looked past Tara’s shoulder at Giles. He looked almost as concerned as Willow did.

"If Tara passed all your tests, why is she still acting all … not-Tara?" Buffy asked.

"I need to do more research," Giles said. "Perhaps there’s something in the Cuneiform Incantation text from ancient Assyria. It explains the Orb and stone of Thesulah. It’s the definitive text dealing with issues of returning one’s soul. Perhaps it gives mention of personality changes."

Willow felt Tara’s body stiffen at the mention of the mystical orb. It was the same Orb that Willow had used to return Angel’s soul after he had lost it a second time. The Orb had used by Gypsies to curse Angel the first time.

"That’s not something any of us are qualified to mess with." Tara pulled away from Willow and spun to face the Watcher. "We could make things worse." Tara began shake and her face went pale. She knew the orb was much more powerful than the relatively weak stone of Thesulah.

"Worse how?" Willow asked. "I used the Orb of Thesulah to return Angel’s soul, so it’s not like I’m an amateur." She smiled reassuringly.

Tara flinched and took a step away from Willow. "You never should have meddled in that. He was evil." She spun and ran from the house onto the lawn.

"Tara, come back here." Giles started after her, but Willow grabbed his arm.

"Let me." The redhead ran after her lover.

"This is so not good … calling it not good doesn’t even begin to cover how … not good this is." Buffy walked to the window and watched Willow approach Tara as if the blonde were a spooked animal. After a moment, Tara fell into Willow’s arms sobbing. "Not good."

"Perhaps I should do more tests," Giles quietly repeated.

"You did every test possible." Buffy nodded out the window. "That is Tara."

"Then why is she acting that way?" Giles walked over to his bookshelf and pulled out an ancient text.

"I wish I knew," Buffy whispered. She turned her head and saw Dawn standing a few feet away. Her younger sister was frightened. "Seems like you two did some Olympic shopping there." Buffy nodded to the pile of bags on the couch and on the floor nearby.

"We went a little overboard." Dawn blushed.

"And am I gonna’ be getting a credit card bill from hell soon?" Buffy crossed her arms over her chest.

"No," Dawn assured her. "We paid cash."

"Cash?" Buffy looked at the pile of bags and then back to Dawn. "As in the green paper of which you and Tara have none?"

"Tara picked out some lottery scratchers." Dawn grinned. "She made the guy let her pick through all the tickets."

"Wait … if she hit some lottery ticket, they wouldn’t pay off in cash." Buffy frowned, thinking Dawn was lying.

"They do for small jackpots." Dawn bit her lip. "We went to six different places and Tara picked all the winning tickets. We cashed in the small jackpots at a few other places."

"You mean she only picked out the small jackpots?" Buffy scratched her head.

"I didn’t say that." Dawn giggled. "Those are just the ones we cashed in today."

"Tara would never do that." Giles looked up from a book in his hand. "It’s completely unethical. She would never use magic for personal gain in such a base manner."

"Well, she did." Dawn tapped her new earrings.

"Hey, cool earrings. Kinda’ dangly, but they work." Buffy wondered exactly how many winning tickets Tara had managed to collect; judging by the number of shopping bags, it was quite a few.

"Tara picked them out," Dawn said as she walked over to her sister. She played with the silver earrings that hung down almost to her shoulders.

"Not really her style," Buffy commented.

"No," Dawn agreed. "But she even made a joke about going to a piercing shop so she could dangle one from somewhere other than her ear." Dawn blushed. "I can’t believe Tara mentioned piercings. I just thought she was testing out some spicy talk."

Buffy and Dawn were too busy talking to notice that Giles had been listening. He stood motionless and his face lost all color and he pushed the book aside and stared at it. He swallowed hard and moved to the opposite side of the bookcase and grabbed a different book and flipped through the pages with a bewildered look on his face.

Outside, Willow was still comforting Tara.

"What’s happening to me?" Tara whispered.

"Shh, baby." Willow kissed her lover’s ear as she held her. "We’ll figure this out. I love you, Tara, and I won’t let anything happen to you."

"You take such good care of me." Tara pulled closer, running her hands down Willow’s back and kneading the tense muscles there.

"Wanna’ go up and take that nap you were supposed to be having earlier?" Willow gave her lover a playful squeeze. "I could lie down with you to make sure you stay in bed." She smirked. "Make it a little more interesting?"

Tara pulled away and covered her face. She was overwhelmed with a feeling of guilt and shame. "I can’t do that with you," she whispered through her hands. "It’s not right."

"That’s not you speaking," Willow said as she put her hands over Tara’s. "Your heart knows better." She pulled her lover’s hands down and then gasped. Tara’s eyes were sable brown.

"What is it?" Tara asked as she yanked her hands away.

"You’re eyes are brown." Willow’s voice shook and she had to force herself not to back away. Only her love for Tara kept her rooted in place.

The blonde froze and her eyes darted from side to side as she began piecing together recent events. She swallowed and took Willow’s hand.

"You know what changing eye color can mean, right?" Willow asked hesitantly.

Tara nodded and closed her eyes.

"We have to tell the others." Willow started to move closer to Tara but stopped. She wasn’t sure if she should reach out for her lover or not. Tara made the decision for her.

Tara opened her eyes and fell into Willow’s arms. She sobbed again as she clung to the delicate redhead. Willow was built like a fragile bird, wisp thin, yet she had an inner strength that couldn’t be broken. Right now, Tara needed that strength.

"I think Buffy and I messed up the spell," Willow whispered as she ran her hand down Tara’s back.

"How?" Tara asked between sobs. "You told me what you said when you revived me, and you did the chant perfectly."

"I gave you the breath of life, and then I was crying and … and … Buffy gave it to you again." Willow felt her lover stiffen. "I just figured Buffy’s didn’t count."

"Oh, goddess." Tara eased back and locked eyes with Willow.

"Now, with your eyes…" Willow swallowed. "That must mean…"

"Ghost possession," Tara said calmly. "My soul didn’t come back alone." She wiped the tears that were falling freely from Willow’s eyes and smiled sadly.

Willow nodded in agreement and pulled Tara to her chest. She knew enough about possession to know that the invading spirit would get stronger as time passed, and in a few days, her Tara might be gone. She inhaled the scent of the blonde, memorizing the feel of their bodies pressed together. Tara’s pulse fluttered against her cheek. Willow wouldn’t let anyone come between them, dead or alive. The problem was, Willow wasn’t exactly sure how she would go about fighting someone who was already dead. When they had fought the Jinn, they had a diagram explaining how to cast out the creature. Whatever was inside Tara now was a complete mystery.

CHAPTER FOUR

The two witches came back into the house hand in hand. They walked over to where Giles was reading and Willow cleared her throat.

"We have a problem," the redhead said quietly.

"Yes, we do." Giles didn’t look up from his book. "Buffy, you mentioned to me that you repeated Willow’s chant during the ritual. What were you thinking about when you were chanting?"

"Other than ‘oh crap Tara’s dead?’ Not much." The Slayer walked over to her friends. "And that was not a happy thought, might I add." She noticed Tara’s brown eyes and took a step back. "Whoa! That’s not right."

Giles looked up and stared at Tara. He was sad, almost forlorn as he looked into familiar brown eyes he hadn’t seen in years. "Jenny," he whispered reverently.

"Rupert?" Tara stared back at him. She crinkled her brow and then her eyes went back to blue. "What was that?" She pointed at the Watcher and shook her head. "That’s … that’s … no." She grabbed Willow and clung to her arm. "No."

"Jenny?" Willow looked at her lover and suddenly she understood her lover’s behavior over that last two days. The recklessness, the playfulness, the flirtation with total strangers, and even Tara’s feelings of guilt about being with Willow made sense. "You’re Ms. Calendar."

"Nuh uh!" Tara shook her head. "I’m me."

Buffy staggered toward Tara. She was leaning to one side studying the blonde witch. "When I did the chant, I was thinking about all of the people who’ve died, all of the people we loved." She looked at Giles. "I was thinking that I didn’t want Willow to go through losing her lover they way you did with Ms. Calendar."

"You summoned Jenny’s soul," Giles said quietly.

"I am not this Jenny person." Tara took a step back.

"The computer knowledge," Giles said with a smile. "The teasing."

"As much as I loved Ms. Calendar," Willow said slowly. "How do we get her out of Tara? I mean, she’s kinda’ like a mystic hitchhiker or something and I want her to stop messing with Tara’s head." She didn’t know what Jenny’s aversion to intimacy might do to Tara’s emotional well being, but she wasn’t going to risk it.

"Perhaps Tara should try to relinquish control so that Jenny could speak to us directly," Giles suggested. "She may have a message."

"I don’t even pick up hitchhikers," Tara said as she gripped Willow’s hand. "I am not gonna’ let one drive!"

"What if Ms. Calendar has a message about Glory?" Buffy nodded toward the laptop on the table. "She did make a beeline for all the Glory-related sites."

"I wish Anya were here," Giles said. "She might have some knowledge of this sort of thing."

"I’ll go call her." Dawn ran to the phone.

"Better yet, I’ll go to the shop and get her. Now." Buffy ran for the door and grabbed Giles’ keys as she passed them. She was gone before anyone could even say goodbye.

"Great, so now Anya is our only hope?" Willow’s lips trembled.

"Not only hope," Giles said gently. "But she may have valuable information."

"So she’s not our only hope, she just our best hope." Willow frowned. "Not seeing a bright side here, Giles."

"Trust him," Tara said.

"Is that you talking or Ms. Calendar?" Willow glared at Tara and then Giles. "And you two were pretty chummy last night what with the staying up on the computer all hours of the night … my computer … my computer which you broke."

"I fixed it this morning," Tara countered angrily.

"What on earth are you suggesting?" Giles asked. His face shaded an angry red and he took a step back.

"She is Ms. Calendar," Willow accused. "Well, part of her is… and she was flirting with that cop … and then … and now … and she … She’s Ms. Calendar," Willow said in a panic. "And you two were up … bonding."

"She’s Tara," Giles corrected. "The love of your life, and she’s young enough to be my daughter."

"You actually think?" Tara’s eyes opened wide and she pulled away from her lover. "That we? That I? With Giles? You think I’d do that to you?" She held up her hands and backed away. "I need to get out of here."

"Wait, you can’t just go wandering off." Giles tried to grab her arm but Tara pivoted away.

"Stay away from me. Both of you!" Tara glared at Giles and then Willow. "How could you think that?" Tara spun and ran out of the house.

"Let her go," Giles said quietly. "She needs to cool off." His thoughts filled with Jenny and how she used to run out during arguments. She needed time to ‘process her feelings’ but she would always come back calm and rational … well, not that Jenny was ever rational.

"Tara … what have I done?" Willow stood frozen in place and tears began welling up in her eyes. She bit her lip and looked over at the Watcher. Giles looked as hurt as Tara had when she ran out. "I … I didn’t really think…"

"No, you most certainly did not." He spun and walked into the kitchen. He reached for the pot of hot water for his tea and then tossed the entire pan into the sink with a loud clattering crash. He opened the cupboard and pulled out a bottle of bourbon and poured a tall glass.

"Giles?" Willow asked from the door.

He drank the bourbon down in one gulp and didn’t even acknowledge Willow.

"Giles?" she asked again and took a step closer.

"Tara is a child," he said, his voice shaking. "Yes, she is a young woman, but to me, she’s a child … she’s like my child. You all are." He poured another glass of bourbon and stared at the amber liquid.

"I know that," Willow said as she took another step toward him. He had his back to her and she could see the tension in his shoulders.

He swirled the liquid in the glass. It was the same brand he had drank after coming home from Jenny’s funeral, the same bottle he had drank from after Joyce’s funeral. He knew drinking was never the answer but his heart ached and he wanted the pain to stop, and if he couldn’t stop it, maybe he could drown it enough to dull it.

"I loved Jenny more than I thought possible," Giles whispered.

"I know that." Willow edged a bit closer.

He gripped the glass and twisted it so he could look at it from the side. Guilt racked his body. When he had realized what might be happening, and just who might be possessing Tara, he was shocked. When he looked at Tara and saw Jenny’s beautiful brown eyes, all he wanted to do was pull her into his arms and hold her and never let go.

"Bloody hell!" He threw the glass across the room and it shattered, splashing bourbon everywhere. He felt liquid running down his cheek but he ignored it.

"I’m sorry," Willow said. She touched his shoulder. "I’ve been kinda’ wiggy about this whole thing. I’m barely over the Jinn possession," she admitted. "And there’s stuff … about … well … between Tara and I … and now … I’m wiggin’ and I can’t seem to stop."

"What kind of stuff?" Giles turned. There was a streak of blood on his cheek from a broken bit of glass that had bounced back and hit him.

Willow narrowed her eyes and went to the counter and got a clean dishcloth.

"Tara and I have always been very affectionate." She started to wipe the blood, but decided not to. Having just insinuated something so hurtful about him made her feel unworthy of touching him. Besides, she didn’t think he would let her help him. She gave him the towel and then wiped her own cheek so he would know what to do. "Last night, and then again today, Tara’s been … acting odd," Willow continued. "She hasn’t wanted to … well, she hasn’t been able … to show me affection." She blushed furiously. "Well, not in every way."

"Why not?" Giles asked as he took off his glasses and dabbed his cheek. He frowned when he saw blood on the towel and pressed it back against his face.

"She said that I was too young, and that it felt like she was taking advantage of me," Willow whispered. "That it was wrong." Her lips trembled. "There’s nothing wrong with our love," Willow said angrily.

"Of course not," Giles said delicately.

"She said I was just a girl, a child and that she felt like she was robbing the cradle." Willow began to cry. "There’s no cradle to rob here … and I … and she … and we…"

"I see," Giles said calmly. "That would be Jenny’s personality asserting itself. She would of course be horrified at the thought of being intimate with any student, especially you."

"What’s wrong with me?" Willow put both hands on her hips and glared at him.

"Nothing, but she thought you had a bit of a crush on her and she went out of her way to not lead you on," Giles said with a smirk. "I told her that you didn’t lean that way." He raised both eyebrows. "I imagine she’s rather amused now that you’ve proven her right." He smiled fondly. "That blasted woman was always right."

Willow smiled even though she was blushing furiously. She had indeed had a crush on Ms. Calendar, but she thought that she had managed to keep it under wraps. Apparently, she hadn’t been as successful as she thought.

"Okay, one former demon with 1100 years of knowledge at your service," Anya cheerfully announced as she walked in the door. "Look at me, all indispensable." She puffed her chest out as Xander and Buffy walked in behind her. She smiled at Xander. "I’m indispensable."

"Yes, you are." He leaned over and kissed her cheek. "Especially to me," he whispered in her ear as he pulled back.

Anya blushed and her smiled brightened by several megawatts.

"You’ve got that fiancée thing down," Buffy complimented. "Xander Harris, love expert. Wow."

"Yes, he does, and he’s mine." Anya pulled him over to her. "So, Buffy tells me that some dead school teacher took over Tara’s body."

Xander dropped his head forward and groaned. He covered his face with one hand and shook his head.

"And she said you used to sleep with her." Anya looked over at Giles.

"You know, you just make everything sound so romantic," Willow said sarcastically. "You should write greeting cards."

"She’s making fun of me," Anya whined. She pushed Xander toward the redhead. "I’m here helping. I’m being very helpful."

"Your assessment, while vile, is for the most part … accurate," Giles said with a cringe.

"Okay, so where’s Tara?" Anya looked around the room. "Buffy said her eyes changed color. That means we’re talking full blown soul transference."

Willow looked down at the floor. She was ashamed of her earlier behavior and couldn’t find her voice.

"She went out for walk," Giles said. He looked up when Dawn came into the room.

"Who went for walk?" Dawn asked. "Oh, Tara," she figured out by noticing who wasn’t in the room.

"So, do we know how Ms. Calendar got into Tara?" Xander asked.

"You didn’t screw up that Egyptian soul chant did you?" Anya asked. She knew about Tara’s run-in with Glory the night before and how she had evaded the hellgod. "It’s such a simple chant … even Dawn couldn’t screw that up."

"I didn’t screw it up!" Willow’s eyes flashed angrily.

"Well, someone obviously did," Anya pointed out. "Did you even call back Tara’s soul? I mean, the person cruising around in Tara’s body might be this teacher Giles boinked."

"She’s Tara! We checked with that Stone of the Hula," Buffy said.

"Thesulah," Giles whispered. He sighed, not knowing why he even bothered.

"And I’m the one who messed up the chant." Buffy took a deep breath and let it slowly out. "I repeated the soul call after Willow did it. I thought I was supposed to."

"Well, duh!" Anya rolled her eyes. "No wonder you’ve got a spare soul floating around. You doubled booked a single. Human bodies are a one-soul deal. No double booking. That’s bad. Very bad."

"How bad?" Xander asked. "Apocalypse bad, or mixing whites and darks in the laundry bad?" He knew his fiancée had a unique view of the world. Turning her whites pink would send her into a deep depression, while demons pounding down the door barely caused her to blink an eye.

"Eh…" Anya twisted her hand in the air. "Somewhere in the middle, leaning more towards the laundry side." She looked at Giles. "Unless this teacher woman is evil, then we’re more in the apocalypse area. She’s not evil is she?"

"No, most definitely not," Giles insisted.

"Well, okay then." Anya rubbed her hands together. "All we have to do now is exorcise her." She smiled dangerously. "I kinda’ liked kicking that Jinn’s ass. Bring on the dead teacher."

"I’m guessing you don’t mean that we get to toss Tara on a treadmill and watch her sweat." Xander smiled as he imagined just that. He could picture Tara jogging in a skimpy workout top, and she was bouncing … a lot. He smiled and got a dazed look on his face. "Ouch!" He spun around and glared at Willow after she hit him. "What was that for?" he demanded.

"That was for the disgusting gym fantasies you were just having about my girlfriend." Willow crossed her arms over her chest and scowled.

"I could write you in if that would help," Xander suggested. "Ouch!" he spun and glared at Anya. "Stop hitting me. Both of you."

"As much fun as this is, shouldn’t we be fixing Tara?" Buffy asked. She was enjoying watching Xander get double-teamed by Anya and Willow, but if she didn’t save Xander from his own overactive imagination, he would soon be covered in bruises.

"How do we do the exorcism?" Giles asked. "Would it harm Jenny?"

"Okay, wait a minute…" Anya held up her hands. "I am just getting the hang of caring what happens to people … now I have to worry about ghosts?" She shook her head. "No. No way." She wandered through the kitchen. "Not gonna’ happen," she said as she got a soda from the refrigerator.

"She didn’t answer my question," Giles pointed out.

"Shouldn’t we be asking about Tara’s safety?" Willow asked harshly.

"That goes without saying," Giles agreed.

"Well, I’m saying it." Willow gave him her determined look. "We aren’t risking Tara."

"I’m gonna’ agree with Willow on this one," Xander said. "I mean, Tara is well, alive … and Ms. Calendar … isn’t."

"We’ll do what we can for Ms. Calendar," Buffy said diplomatically. "But not if it puts Tara at risk."

Giles nodded. "I’ll start researching accidental possession." He furrowed his brow. "I’ve never seen a haunting were the spirit didn’t have a specific reason or some malicious intent. This is new to me."

"Show me to the books," Willow said. "I want answers when Tara comes back."

"Perhaps you could check your Internet," the Watcher suggested.

"Your Internet?" Buffy smirked. "Go, Willow, when did you make that little purchase? Our own Will Gates."

The redhead rolled her eyes and went to her laptop and logged on.

*****

Beaches in Sunnydale were never crowded. Even on beautiful days, things tended to happen, things like demons eating picnickers. One cloudless night, the former Sunnydale High School swimming team members came onshore to spawn on the beach. These unusual beach hazards made the cove just outside town a private place at any time of the day.

Tara took a cab out to the beach and walked along the sand and looked out at the churning sea. The tide was coming in and the waves crashed higher and higher on the shore. It was one of the blonde witch’s favorite sights. She loved to sit on the rocks with Willow and watch the waves. She sighed; seeing the ocean’s power and beauty seemed empty without her lover at her side.

She stood and walked around the small jetty and continued down the beach until she came to an even more secluded cove. She smiled and looked back toward the more popular jetty. Tara and Willow had come down to this cove one evening and made love at sunset. It had been a spontaneous decision, but they had a blanket and both had been willing so they took a chance. They cast a spell to keep out any of the nastier Sunnydale residents and then focused on each other. It had been incredible, Tara remembered. She and Willow had made love as the sun disappeared beyond the horizon. They had held each other as the sun seemed to dip into the sea with a hiss. After many hours of making love they stared up at the stars making up new constellations. They would have spent the night there, wrapped around each other, but high tide interrupted, soaking their feet and making them realize that not all romantic fantasies could be completely realized.

‘Willow, I miss you baby,’ Tara thought with a sigh. She looked down at the damp ground and kicked off her shoes and poked her toes into the sand. A fond feeling washed over her as she thought of her lover, but it wasn’t the normal feeling filled with caring and desire. This new feeling had caring, but it was almost maternal.

"Get out of my head," Tara said as she stood and rubbed her temples. She remembered the hurt in Willow’s eyes the night before when she had pulled away and she remembered the pain in Willow’s voice after Tara had said that their love felt wrong. "Why are you hurting me?" Tara asked quietly.

Sadness filled Tara but it wasn’t her own, and then she knew that Jenny hadn’t mean to hurt her or Willow. She had never known Jenny Calendar, but she had heard Willow talk about her many times. She rubbed her face and looked out at the sea.

"What am I supposed to do?" Tara relaxed her body and her mind and finally a thought came to her.

She smoothed out a large section of sand until she had a circle that was roughly six feet across. She then scooped water into the soda bottle she had brought with her and poured the seawater around the edges of the circle. She preferred to use sea salt to consecrate sacred space, but she knew that sea water would work.

Half an hour later Tara had a sacred circle, complete with seawater border, traditional Wiccan markings at each cardinal compass point and a small stack of driftwood in the center. She sat in front of the wood and did a quiet incantation and the wood began to burn. After a few minutes of meditation, she was focused enough to begin. She focused on relaxing and letting go. She focused until her body felt heavy, as if her blood had been replaced with sand.

Tara sat, carefully tracing patterns in the sand. First she drew an eye, for the inward visions and journeys, then she chose to draw a temple from Malta, represented by three stacked stones to symbolize breakthrough and awakening, and last she traced a simple triple spiral pattern to depict boundaries and barriers. She remained cross-legged and began slowly tracing a simple spiral to help focus. She imagined seeing Jenny and tried to make her image solid in the circle in front of her. As her heart slowed she pictured a temple gate and tried to see Jenny coming through it, only then did she invited Jenny to join her in the circle.

The blonde witch continued meditating inside the circle and began chanting. It was a song from a goddess book that Tara liked, and she often used the chant to center herself after a particularly horrifying Scooby encounter. She liked the simple rhythms of the chants and she knew that by altering her intent, she could alter the effects. She hoped her plan would work, otherwise she might very well make her situation worse.

"Maiden, Warrior, Mother, Crone,

Flower, sword-blade, ivy, bone,

Help us make ourselves our own,

Maiden, Warrior, Mother, Crone."

Tara repeated the chant again and then she heard an answering voice.

"Lover, Guardian, Hunter, Guide,

Wind and shield and bow and tide,

Help us shed what’s false in pride,

Lover, Guardian, Hunter, Guide."

It was Jenny, and when Tara opened her eyes she saw a beautiful brunette sitting across from her. She recognized her from pictures that Willow had shown her, but the static photos had never truly captured the radiance of the woman Tara was looking at. Jenny had a half smirk on her full lips and a sparkle in her eyes that probably meant trouble, the kind of trouble Tara had gotten into with the cop earlier in the day.

"Well, hello there, roomie," Jenny said. She looked at the sand circle around them. The world outside the sacred space was fuzzy as if looking through frosted glass or a thick fog. "Nice job. It’s tough channeling the dead."

"Ms. Calendar?" Tara bit her lip nervously and leaned forward.

"At your service." She smiled at the blonde. "And Tara, we’ve been sharing a body, I think you can call me Jenny."

"What do you want?" Tara tried to focus on the task at hand. Most spirits had specific intent when they took possession of a body.

Jenny laughed and crossed her arms over her chest. "Me? I didn’t do this. Talk to Buffy. She sucked me into this mess." She sighed looked at her hand. It was slightly translucent. "That’s the last time I come running when one of my loved ones starts waxing poetic about me."

"So, the dead can hear us think about them?" Tara studied her see-through companion and then looked at her own hand. She could see through it as well. Her eyes widened.

"Calm down," Jenny said when she saw that Tara about to panic. "Our body is still right there." She pointed behind the blonde.

"Our?" Tara turned and saw her body lying flat on the sand. Her arms were splayed out to the sides and her legs were still slightly crossed as if she had passed out while sitting cross-legged and just fell over backwards. "My legs are gonna’ fall asleep," she commented with clinical detachment.

"Those are our legs for the time being." Jenny stood and paced the small sand circle. "Couldn’t you have drawn this thing a bit bigger?"

"If you didn’t choose to come here, how do we get you back?" Tara asked, ignoring the previous question. She stood, and then staggered when a wave of dizziness washed over her. "Whoa."

"Easy." Jenny grabbed Tara and steadied her. "Takes a while to get your ethereal sea legs." She backed away from the younger witch and studied her. "Willow sure picked a beauty," she said with a smile. "I always wanted a shape like that."

Tara blushed and looked down at the sand.

"What? Just because I’m dead I can’t notice these things?" Jenny giggled. "Honey, believe me, you try floating around in energy form for a few years … you store up all that … mystic force and then go crashing back into a body … a young body full of hormones, and trust me, you’ll notice the physical."

"So how come when Willow and I were … you know … you stopped us?" Tara was still looking at the sand examining the tiny patterns in the white grains. She smiled when she noticed that her feet weren’t leaving any prints.

"With Willow?" Jenny cringed. "She’s … a child." She rubbed her arms. "At least she was when I knew her." She smiled wryly. "Although she’s definitely grown up a bit."

"Hey!" Tara glared at the apparition.

"What? I have eyes … for now. Thanks to you." She smirked. "Just do me a favor, no more funny stuff while I’m around."

"How long are you gonna’ be around?" Tara asked.

"No clue." Jenny let out frustrated sigh.

Tara’s eyes widened as she imagined having to curtail her more private activities with Willow for an indefinite amount of time. That was not an option.

"Well, how do we find out?" Tara asked whinier than she had intended.

"Someone feeling frisky?" Jenny waggled her eyebrows.

"No!" Tara could feel her cheeks blush. She looked down at her actual body and saw that it was not reacting; her actual cheeks weren’t coloring at all.

"Oh, yeah, you’re frisky." Jenny snickered. "And it’s only gonna’ get worse when we get back in there." She pointed at Tara’s body.

Tara’s brow furrowed as confusion covered her face.

"You ever do any astral traveling?" Jenny asked.

"I visited the elemental elders," Tara said. "I had to astrally project to do that."

"Not the same thing," Jenny said with a wave of her hand. "Leaving the physical body in this fashion releases all kinds of energy, and when you go back into your body, that energy has to go somewhere." She raised one eyebrow. "Take a guess as to where to goes?"

"Oh, my …" Tara’s eyes widened as she remembered a spell she and Willow had used to travel the mystic plane when Buffy and Faith had switched bodies. The two witches had been overwhelmed with powerful orgasms when they came back into their bodies. She frowned as she glared at her spiritual hitchhiker. "I … I don’t w-want to do that w-with you!"

"Well, that does worlds for my self-esteem." Jenny bit her lip as she tried unsuccessfully to suppress another giggle. "I mean, I finally come back and you act like I’ve got the neatherworld cooties."

"I only share that with Willow," Tara explained.

"Well, you’re not sharing it with her while I’m in there!" Jenny pointed to Tara’s prone body. "No way! She’s my student. I’m not carrying that memory into my next life. No. I’d be born needing therapy!" She waved her hands at Tara. "Can’t you just, you know, take care of it … alone?"

"With you in here with me?" Tara pointed from her physical body back to her mystic one. "That would be like … like we were … you know … and no! Absolutely no."

"Then I guess you’re gonna’ be one worked up Wicca." Jenny smirked. "I’m used to being in energy form, and yeah, I’ve been a bit … hot and bothered since I breezed into you hormone infested body, but I’ve been suppressing it." She got an evil grin as she decided to torment her young companion. "If you’d like … I could start letting all of my … lustful thoughts about Rupert out."

"Don’t you dare!" Tara backed away as if the other woman had struck her. "Ew! No, not with … no … Ew!"

"Hey, Rupert is an excellent…"

"Not another word!" Tara pointed at Jenny. "Or I swear… I’ll march right down to the Gypsy section of town and get an exorcism." She raised one blonde eyebrow. "And I think we both know if I do that you’ll end up in limbo forever."

"Oh, right! Threaten me." Jenny’s eyes flashed with anger. "You know, just because you’ve got control of the body right now doesn’t mean that I can’t run things, missy!" Jenny stepped closer. "I could just take over, you know. I’ve been respecting your rights. I’ve gone out of my way to not mess with you… to not ‘get in your head’ as you mentioned earlier." She smiled smugly. "Yeah, I heard that. So don’t go threatening me unless you want me to go to the Bronze and take care of some of my frustrations with the first hot babe that asks me to go home with him… or her."

"You … you … wouldn’t…" Terror filled the young blonde’s eyes. Her reaction was so strong that her physical body began to quiver on the sand.

"No," Jenny said gently. She could see how frightened the young witch was. "I was just angry." She moved closer. "I’m sorry. This whole thing is just weird and I’m very frustrated about a lot of things."

Tara nodded slowly but the anxiety in her eyes didn’t fade.

"Geez," Jenny said as she wrapped her arm over Tara’s shoulder. "I would never do that to you. This is your body, and I was always pro choice." She smirked. "Although I never thought ‘my body, my choice’ would be quite so literal."

"If you’re not here on some mission, why were you looking up stuff about Glory?" Tara wanted the subject changed, and fast. Just the thought of another soul making her body unfaithful to Willow was making it hard for Tara to breathe. She wondered briefly how that was possible considering she was in spirit form. She wasn’t even sure she needed air, in fact, she was air.

"That bitch with the evil little leprechauns from hell?" Jenny’s eyes narrowed. "Gee, why would I want her gone? She’s only tormented everyone I hold dear." She took a deep breath and faced Tara. "I finally have a chance to do something. I want to help while I still can."

"Okay, so how do we fight her?" Tara stumbled and Jenny caught her.

"You’re weakening." She nodded toward Tara’s body on the sand. "You need to get back in there."

"Tell me how to fight her. I don’t want Willow facing her again, or Buffy." Tara stared down at her own sweat soaked body. It was odd seeing her self lying prone on the sand.

"If she is Inanna, that’s where we should start." Jenny was worried, she didn’t want Tara getting too tired or the young witch might endanger herself. Doing an astral soul projection without having someone there to anchor her was dangerous enough, but the added stress of having two souls in her body would take its toll as well. She looked at the determined blonde and knew better than to argue. "What do you know about the Inanna myth and the seasons?"

"It’s like the Persephony myth … kind of. It explained winter and summer." Tara tilted her head as she tried to remember the details. "Inanna went to the underworld and ending up being stripped and tortured. Then, I think they dangled her body on the wall…" She frowned. "Aren’t any of these myths nice?"

"Go on," Jenny prompted.

"Then Inanna conned two others to take her place so she could leave the underworld. They swap places twice a year … which gives us the seasons." Tara’s eyes widened. "Glory! When she … when she … hurt me, she talked about being locked away and tortured. She talked about it like she’d been through it."

"If she is Inanna, then she has." Jenny scowled. "Plus she left two others in her place down there while she runs around free."

"The other two hellgods?" Tara suggested.

"Maybe." Jenny looked down at Tara’s physical body. The blonde witch’s actual body was breathing shallowly in fits and gasps. "We need to hurry."

"And if Glory did trap two hellgods in the underworld in her place, that would explain why the others fear her." Tara pressed her ethereal hands against her eyes. She was beginning to fade.

"Okay, back in the body." Jenny pushed Tara toward her real body. "Come on, this mystic girl’s night out is officially over." She nodded at Tara’s exhausted body lying in the center of the sacred circle.

"Okay," Tara agreed. She felt like she was about to pass out, which was odd considering that her physical body looked like it was already unconscious.

"Focus on your physical self and joining with it," Jenny said as she helped Tara move back to her body. The two souls knelt as they melded back into Tara’s body with a bolt of light.

The blonde on the beach took a gasp of air and sat upright and looked around the circle.

"What the hell?" Jenny asked in Tara’s voice. "Tara? Hello? Don’t do this to me."

She stood and walked over to Tara’s purse and dug through it until she found a compact. She looked into the mirror and Jenny saw her own deep brown eyes looking back at her. She inhaled and tried to search her mind and body but there was no sign of Tara.

"Well, crap! Now what am I supposed to tell Willow?" She began collecting Tara’s things from the beach and wondered how Willow would take the news that Tara’s soul was now AWOL. Probably not too well, Jenny decided.

"Good thing I’m already dead," Jenny said as she walked toward the main road where she could call a cab. "Willow is gonna’ kill me." She put on her sunglasses and wondered how long she could stall before going back Giles’ house.

*****

End Part One