Repercussions, Reactions and Retaliation by TheBear

Rating: NC-17
Disclaimer: If I owned 'em, they'd have to show it on the Ecstasy Network.
Distribution: http://www.papa-bear.com/
http://mysticmuse.net
Feedback: Feed The Bear!
Pairing: Willow/Tara/Buffy

Summary: Sequel to the Triad Trilogy.

Xander Harris was tired. He rubbed his eyes and looked up from Willow's laptop, his eyes traveling the austere room without finding anything of interest. 'Why the hell did deadboy even have a dining table in the first place, it's not like he ate...' Xander thought.

He was seated at the long, heavy table in what would have been the formal dining room when the mansion had human inhabitants. The table and chairs were the only furniture in the room, which was otherwise completely bare of any adornment. 'Maybe it came with the place...' he thought. 'It's not like he did any decorating in here. Not that he did much in any of the rooms. I guess stark and empty is better for brooding.'

Xander looked at the time on the computer screen, as he had been doing almost every thirty seconds for the last half hour. 'Just a couple minutes now... Every hour, on the hour; Giles said they'd log on every hour and wait five minutes for us to check in. With Willow and the other three asleep, I totally spaced it!' he berated himself, too tired to work up much more than mild self-recrimination. 'He's probably freaking out, not to mention poor Dawn and Mrs. Summers; wondering if we survived, wondering if they have to worry about Glory any more... jeeze, now I feel really guilty!'

He looked out the archway into the main room of Angel's mansion, knowing that just out of his line of sight was the couch on which Faith was sleeping. He had spent some time earlier watching the dark haired Slayer sleep, trying to avoid Morpheus arms himself. 'She looks so different asleep,' he thought. 'Younger, more peaceful... not such a tough girl really. Not that I'd ever say that to her when she's awake!'

Xander's face broke into a melancholy smile as he remembered carrying Willow into the master bedroom, 'Poor Will, she looked tired even while she was sleeping. Buffy barely made it in on her own power... I knew she was tired when she let Angel carry Tara in for her. I bet they sleep late tomorrow.'

The computer beeped at him, breaking him out of his daze. He looked down to see a message box asking him if he wanted to join a video conference with username Dustyoldbooks. 'I still can't believe Willow stuck him with that name!' Xander thought with a chuckle. 'She did warn him; he should have learned how to set up his own username! I wonder if she made his password something embarrassing?'

Shaking his head at his wandering thoughts, Xander clicked the 'yes' button and was immediately rewarded with the worried face of Buffy's Watcher filling the conference window.

"Xander! Thank God! Good Lord, man, we've been waiting for hours!" The tired Scooby could see annoyance warring with relief in the Watcher's face. "Is everyone alright? Were you successful? Where is everyone?"

"Yes, yes, and sleeping," Xander answered with a wry grin at the normally stolid Brit's agitation. "Good to see you too, G-man,"

Giles blinked several times, seeming at a loss as what to say. After a moment, he took off his glasses and rubbed at his face as though fatigued. Xander was unable to stifle a yawn of his own in response.

'Which isn't the same as everyone's alright...' the younger man thought, once again repressing the turmoil that had his guts churning.

"Cordy, Gunn, Wes and deadboy all went back to LA, Faith's racked out on the couch and Buffy, Willow and Tara are in bed... sleeping for once," Xander explained.

A hint of a grin came across Giles' face at that observation, though he made no comment on the subject. "So, th-the enjoining spell worked then?" he asked.

"Plan worked, world saved," Xander quipped. 'I actually feel pretty good about that...'

'That would be the part I feel less good about...' Xander thought miserably. "It went down just like you thought it would," he said quietly.

Xander nodded, once again seeing the face in his thoughts. 'I really could do without reliving this again. And again, and again...'

"I recognized him," Xander said flatly, forcing his emotion down inside. "It was this intern from the hospital... I remember him from when Mrs. Summers was sick..."

"His name was Ben," Xander continued, ignoring the older man. "He was... he couldn't talk, but I could see his lips moving... begging..."

Again, Xander continued, ignoring the interruption. "I almost couldn't do it... then I had this image... Dawn... Glory... she had this look, like she was looking right into my eyes as Glory..."

Xander squeezed his eyes shut and rubbed his hands over his face, trying to erase the images from his mind. 'God! This is killing me! I... I'm not even sure what I'm supposed to feel...' The roiling emotions inside him mixed into such a mess that one became indistinguishable from the other. 'All I'm sure of is that I feel bad and empty and sick...'

Opening his eyes, Xander focused back on the image of Giles. When he spoke, it was with an intensity that sought to pound his pain and rage and confusion into the older man. "I stuck a knife through his heart and I watched him die." His breath caught in an aborted sob as he went on, "Then I threw his body on a pile of demons, stuck a willy pete under him, pulled the pin and got the hell out of there."

'Words... they don't... it just sounds like nothing when I say it like that... how do you explain something like this?' Xander wondered.

"It is a terrible burden that I've asked you to bear, Xander. You have to know that I would never have done so if there were another way..." Giles said, his voice ragged and strained.

"I know..." Xander said, fatigue rendering him unable to hide the sadness from his voice any longer.

A strange feeling of resigned despair crept through Xander's soul. 'I know he would have done it himself, it's not his fault... 'It had to be done, I know that. I just don't know how to live with it...'

"I have been in your situation myself, Xander; and as difficult as it is to imagine right now, you can get through this," Giles said in a reassuring tone of voice. "You will get through this..."

"Look, can we not do this right now?" Xander interrupted. "I'm beat. We can go through the details tomorrow, ok?" Xander dropped his gaze down to the keyboard, unable to meet the Watcher's eyes any longer. 'Please, G-man. Just drop it,' he thought, physically and emotionally exhausted.

Though not looking at his face, Xander could detect the disappointment in Giles tone as he answered, "Very well, Xander. Perhaps we could schedule another call tomorrow morning?"

Locking all the difficult and painful feelings into a little mental box, Xander attempted an approximation of his normal, comical demeanor. "Newsflash G-man, it's already tomorrow morning. How about two-ish, that should give the girls enough sleep..." Mentally he added, 'and enough time for a little wakeup nookie!'

"Very well, I suppose we could all do with a bit of a lie-in for once..." Giles said, resignation clear in his voice even over the computer. "I will pass on the glad news to Joyce and Dawn, and we shall call in at two p.m. tomorrow."

Xander was startled into a chuckle as the popup read: 'Dustyoldbooks has disconnected.'

Dawn stumbled back to her room as she overheard Giles ending his conference call with Xander. She had her left hand clasped over her own mouth in order to restrain the sobs threatening to erupt and her right arm was wrapped around her stomach, clutching tightly at the terrible ache she felt.

When she reached the sanctuary of her bedroom, she threw herself onto the bed and buried her face in the soft pillow. Her slender frame was wracked with harsh sobs as she wept.

For a moment as she had eavesdropped on the call, She'd felt warm affection at the inherent gallantry in Xander's actions. 'That just makes it even worse... it's all because of me. He had to kill that man to protect me!'

After a moment, Dawn began to try to contain her tears, knowing that Giles would be coming in to tell her about Glory's defeat. 'It must have been terrible... How am I ever going to make it up to him?' ' she wondered as she tried to wipe away the tears from her face.

Buffy gradually awoke, feeling languorous and dreamy. 'Mmm, feels nice,' she thought. 'All snug and warm... I could just lay right here forever.'

The Slayer slowly opened her eyes and saw Willow's face within inches of her own. The red-haired witch was staring at Buffy with a look of adoration in her heavily lidded eyes, and the blonde felt her mouth stretch into a smile, her heart beating a little faster at the sight.

"God, Willow!" Buffy softly whispered. "You... just opening my eyes and seeing your face makes me so happy!"

"My Mistress..." Willow crooned, sliding her hand along the leg Buffy had draped over hers. "My lover... my life!" the redhead continued. "May I wish you a proper good morning, Mistress?"

'A smile, a touch... and I'm just gone!' Buffy thought, feeling her body respond instantly to her pet's request. The Slayer brought her hand up along Willow's back until she was gently cradling the redhead's neck. She pulled her pet in for a sweet, gentle kiss before answering, "Now how could I say no to that, pet?"

'Oh, my Mistress awakes!' Buffy thought as she felt a hand slide up into her hair from behind.

Buffy's eyes slid shut as her head was pulled back and she heard her Mistress' voice in her ear.

Tara's warm breath in her ear caused Buffy to shudder. "Oohh! M-morning, Mistress," Buffy said, stuttering as her own pet began to nibble on her left nipple.

"I love watching the two of you together," Tara continued her breathy whisper. "You are both so beautiful!"

Buffy felt Willow smile against the soft flesh of her chest, but her wicked pet didn't let up on her ministrations for a moment. "Mmm, thank you Mistress!" she hummed, joyous at her Mistress' compliment and buzzing on her pet's attentions.

"Roll on your back, pet so I can see better," Tara growled, her voice sounding thick with arousal.

Willow sucked hard on Buffy's breast as the Slayer moved, causing a loud, slurping pop as the blonde pulled away.

Buffy was distracted from any comment she might have made when Willow nipped at the soft bit of flesh below the Slayer's navel, causing Buffy to gasp sharply.

"Oohh!" Tara groaned. "Your pet's in a mood, Slayer. I think she's begging for a spanking, don't you?"

"Oh, absoluuuuuutely!" Buffy agreed, moaning as Willow's tongue slid over her dribbling sex.

The redhead laved her Mistress' vulva with long, strong licks. She noisily slurped up Buffy's overflowing wetness, driving the Slayer mad with desire.

"Love your tongue, pet! Feels. So. Good!" Buffy growled, her hips undulating as her pet pushed her ever closer to climax.

Tara leaned in and softly spoke into Buffy's ear once again, saying, "When your pet is done eating you, I want her to eat me while you suck on my breasts, Slayer."

Tara's dirty talk pushed Buffy over the edge and she came with a loud cry. 'God! Every time, *so* good!' she thought as Willow continued to lick and suck, prolonging the blonde's orgasm for long moments.

After catching her breath, Buffy groaned out, "Oh pet, you're so *good* at that! God I love your tongue on me!"

Willow sat up on her knees and giggled. Her mouth and chin were shiny with Buffy-sauce and she was wearing a delighted grin. "Thank you Mistress!" she said in a happy voice. "You taste so good, I love it when you let me do that to you!"

Buffy looked up at her own Mistress and both she and Tara shook their heads. "When I *let* her..." Buffy mumbled, marveling at her pet.

'God, how did I ever manage to deserve these two?' Buffy wondered, not for the first time.

"Mistress, May I clean my pet's face before I have her service you?" Buffy asked, putting herself into submissive mode.

Turning to her own pet, Buffy licked her lips and said, "Come up here, pet. Lady Tara and I are gonna clean off your messy face!"

"Oh thank you, Mistress!" Willow said, bouncing excitedly and swiftly crawling up between Buffy and Tara.

'There's something so hot about tasting myself on your skin,' Buffy thought as she licked clean the left side of Willow's face. 'Not to mention the way you practically purr when I do it!'

Buffy finished cleaning and went further, nibbling and sucking on Willow's earlobe. She then growled low and quiet in her pet's ear, "I love your magical tongue, pet. I love the way you use it to make me cum screaming!"

Willow's whimper made Buffy even more excited. "I want you to use that talent on my Mistress, pet. Would you like that?" she crooned into the redhead's ear.

Buffy snaked a hand down between Willow's thighs, thinking, 'Mmm hmm, thought so!' as she felt her pet's overflowing sex. She easily slipped two fingers inside the trembling girl, eliciting a gasp and drenching her hand in Willow's honey.

"Does that get you hot?" Buffy crooned. "Hmm? Does the thought of licking Lady Tara's dripping pussy make you all wet?"

"I can tell!" Buffy said, adding a third finger inside her pet's sopping wet tunnel and pumping rapidly.

Buffy glanced at Tara's lust-filled eyes and then dropped her gaze submissively. "See Mistress? See what the thought of tasting you does to my pet?" she asked, offering her drenched hand to the blonde witch.

Just as the petite blond was about to suck her pet's honeyed juices from her hand, Tara ordered, "Don't swallow it."

Buffy couldn't resist a quick glance up at her Mistress' face. 'Oh dear God!' she thought, seeing the absolutely wicked grin on Tara's face. 'I am so wet again already!'

The moment Buffy was done lapping her hand clean, her Mistress grabbed her by her hair and pulled her in for a deep kiss.

'Tara tongue and sweet Willowy goodness! I so love my life!' Buffy mentally shouted, her body buzzing with arousal and her heart overflowing with absolute joy and love.

Tara broke the kiss, leaving Buffy cross-eyed and breathless, and rolled onto her back. Buffy panted, "Pet... begin..."

"Yes Mistress!" Willow happily cried as she scrambled to obey. "Lady Tara, may I...?"

Buffy eagerly latched on to one of Tara's erect nipples when her Mistress pushed her head in that direction. She sucked strongly while nibbling ever-so gently on the left, and took the right between her thumb and forefinger, rolling it around and around.

Between Buffy's ministrations on Tara's turgid nipples, and Willow's oral assault on the blonde witch's sex, Buffy's Mistress was arching and writhing, her voice a symphony of moans, groans, gasps and cries. After long minutes of continual stimulation, Tara went rigid and cried out her release.

Buffy had a vision cross her mind as her Mistress shuddered. She released Tara's nipple with one last hard suck, and then moved her head up to whisper in the blonde witch's ear, "Mistress, may I take my pet from behind while she makes you cum again?"

Tara was still twitching and her voice was rough with desire as she answered. "Oh, Slayer, that's a wonderful idea! Do that! Do it now!"

Buffy felt a warm, delicious flush move through her whole body. "Thank you Mistress!" she cried gladly, jumping up off of the bed.

Willow's "Yes Mistress, Thank you Mistress!" was muffled by Tara's thrusting pelvis, but was still audible thanks to Buffy's enhanced hearing.

The petite blond laughed delightedly as she skipped over to their luggage, thankful that someone had bothered to bring it in for them the previous night. She opened their toy box and pulled out her pet's massive toy, dubbed 'witchslayer'- twelve inches of orange and purple silicone in a spiral shape.

'Damn this thing gives me shivers! I don't know how it even fits inside her, but she loves it!' Buffy thought as she stared at the huge dildo. Shaking off her contemplation, she quickly donned the specially made harness and fitted the toy into place.

Stroking the length of the toy, Buffy looked up at the bed, and the redhead laying between her Mistress' legs. 'Oh God! You look so hot!' she thought at the sight of her pet's head bobbing up and down as she pleasured Lady Tara.

Caressing her way up Tara's body with her eyes, Buffy caught her blonde lover's gaze. 'Mmm, she's about to cum again!' the Slayer thought happily. 'God, Tara... you're so beautiful like this...' Buffy's heart thumped hard as love and desire flowed through her. '...your eyes half closed as Willow drives you mad with pleasure, your pouty lips open as you gasp and moan... ohhh! I love it when you do that!' Buffy moaned at the sight of Tara pulling at her own nipples, twisting and pinching as she neared her release.

Tara looked down at the strap-on Buffy was sporting and gave a loud groan as she came at the same time.

Buffy moved behind where Willow was laying on the bed and crawled up, pushing the redhead's legs apart to kneel between them.

Buffy again caught her Mistress' gaze and held it. "Keep going pet, I want you to make Lady Tara cum one more time!" the Slayer instructed her pet.

Tara's face reflected lust, desire, and a touch of 'I'm in so much trouble!' as she whimpered loudly.

'That look, that noise! Dear God you are *so* sexy!' Buffy thought as she looked upon her Mistress with adoration.

Turning to the matter at hand, Buffy grabbed Willow by the hips and lifted her to her knees, leaving the redhead's face buried in between Tara's thighs. The Slayer pushed her pet's thighs together and slid her strap-on between them, rubbing along the kneeling girl's most intimate flesh without entering her... yet.

"You're so wet, pet!" Buffy moaned as she lubricated the fake cock in Willow's dripping juices.

Buffy continued rubbing against Willow's pussy and stomach, waiting for her to finish off Tara. "Come on pet, make her cum again, use that tongue, drive her wild! I want you to make my Mistress scream!" Buffy growled out.

Willow's head began shaking rapidly back and forth, and whatever she was doing, it certainly seemed to be succeeding in driving Tara wild.

The blonde witch began chanting "Oh, goddess! Oh, goddess!" and her body was undulating frantically. She was pulling at her own nipples, distending her breasts out and away from her body as she writhed in passion.

"Oh Mistress! You're so beautiful!" Buffy cried hotly, seeing the tears of passion in Tara's beautiful blue eyes as the witch locked gazes with her. The Slayer bit her lip at the sheer magnificence of watching her Mistress scream through her third orgasm.

'God I love you two so much!' Buffy thought, feeling her heart squeeze with overwhelming joy. She pulled back and lifted the head of her strap-on toy, rubbing it over Willow's vulva as she crooned, "You're so good at that pet! God, I love your tongue so much... I know Lady Tara does too!"

The blonde witch was still crying and panting, but managed to gasp out, "Oh goddess yes. So good Willow!"

Buffy pushed her massive toy into her pet, slowly but steadily filling the redhead. 'I still can't believe this huge thing even fits inside you!' she thought in wonder.

Once fully buried in her pet, Buffy leaned over the girl's back, pressing her breasts into Willow's gloriously pale skin and whispering, "You like that big cock, pet? You like it when I stuff your pussy so full that you can't possibly take another inch?"

Buffy could feel her pet shivering as she responded to the Slayer's dirty-talk. "Oh goddess yes, Mistress! I love it so much!"

Buffy slid her hands underneath Willow and cupped her small breasts. She pulled the redhead up with her as she straightened upright. "You want me to move, pet? Want me to pound this toy inside you until you go insane with pleasure?" she whispered in the redhead's ear.

"Please! Oh, please Mistress?" Willow gasped; her voice sounding hoarse and desperate.

Buffy pulled out a couple inches and then snapped her hips, driving the toy back in to the hilt. Willow's grunt as the Slayer's harness-clad pelvis smacked against her ass inflamed Buffy's arousal. She wrapped her left arm tightly around the redhead's body, grasping the witch's right nipple and pinching it tightly. The blonde's right hand delved into the mop of red hair and pulled her head back so Buffy could taste her pet's mouth.

"Mmm, I love the taste of Lady Tara on your lips pet!" the Slayer growled as she began to repeat her short, snapping movements with her hips. Buffy started licking her Mistress' juices from her own pet's mouth and cheeks, all the while driving the enormous silicone cock in and out of the lithe redhead's dripping center.

Willow's face was a rictus of pleasure as Buffy dominated her so thoroughly. Grunts and moans were the only sounds she seemed capable of as Buffy pounded her.

After she'd finished cleaning her pet's messy face, Buffy let go the handful of red hair and crossed her right arm over her left to take hold of Willow's left nipple; pinching and pulling on it as she already was the right.

Willow whimpered and cried as Buffy took her. 'God, that's music to my ears!' Buffy thought lustfully. 'I love the sounds she makes when she's like this, lost in the pleasure.'

"You're so damn sexy, pet!" Buffy rumbled in the witch's ear. "I want you so bad, every time I see you I think of taking you like this! God, I love you *so much*!"

Buffy kissed her pet along her neck, sucking in and gently biting the pale flesh just behind and below the delicate shell of Willow's left ear.

This prompted the panting redhead to cry out, "Oh goddess, Mistress! I'm yours!"

Buffy released her pet's neck and looked at the mark she'd left behind. 'I so love marking you, pet. You and Tara both; I don't even blush anymore when I see it later... now it just turns me on!'

Growling in Willow's ear, Buffy said, "You wanna cum pet? Hmm, you ready to let loose?"

Another loud whine burst from Willow's panting mouth and she cried, "Yes! Yes Mistress! Oh goddess, please Mistress!"

'Mmm, I love to hear you beg! I can never deny you, Willow, but I do love to hear it... so sexy!' Buffy thought, shuddering in desire.

"You want to, but you can't, can you?" Buffy crooned, drawing things just a little more.

"N-no Mistress," Willow stuttered, her voice ragged. "Nuh-not till you s-s-say-ay-ay!"

'I never get tired of hearing that!' Buffy thought. 'I'm always so amazed that you could totally give yourself to me like that!'

Buffy let go Willow's right nipple and moved her hand across the pale skin of her sexy tummy, down to the wet flesh she was sliding in and out of from behind. Wetting her fingers in the copious honey flowing from the redhead, Buffy pushed against the stiffly swollen clit, pressing it down so that the motion of the dildo would rub against it.

Just before letting her whimpering, trembling pet have her release, Buffy looked at her own Mistress who lay before the redhead, eyes wide and glazed with desire.

'Again, Mistress?' Buffy thought with a mental smirk as she noted that the blonde witch was vigorously pistoning two fingers in and out of her own sloppy-wet center. 'You're such a glutton for it this morning!'

"Look at Lady Tara, pet. Look what it's doing to her, watching me take you like this!" Buffy said excitedly. "I want you to look right in her eyes, pet. I want her to see you cum so hard that the walls shake!"

Willow's piercing shriek filled the air, and Buffy's vision was erased in a flash of white light.

Pulse pounding, Xander could feel his heart hammering in his throat as he ran. His breath came in gasps, his lungs burning as he tried to push himself onward.

He could hear the footsteps behind him, chasing him, drawing inexorably closer as his body wore out.

Fear's icy talons clawed at his bowels as the pursuer called out, "I'm coming for you!" It was all Xander could do not to piss himself in terror as the voice continued; sounding like it was right behind him, "You can't get away from me!"

"Oh God!" Xander whimpered, trying to push his exhausted body just a little faster. The panic churning in his gut was making the bile rise up, burning his throat, choking him as he struggled to breathe. Even though he knew he shouldn't, he darted a quick glance over his shoulder and saw...

He looked again and saw the same thing, only this time, his exhausted body failed to maintain coordination and he tripped over his own feet, falling.

Time seemed to slow as Xander turned his head back forward to look where he was falling toward.

Xander let out a screech of terror as he saw, not the ground rushing up to meet him, but the beaten and bloody corpse of Ben, Mortal host of the goddess Glorificus; the man he'd killed.

Xander was still shrieking up till the moment he landed on the body. Somehow the knife Xander had driven through Ben's heart was still there, and the handle drove into Xander's solar plexus.

Xander's lungs emptied in one agonizing gasp, cutting off his scream and leaving him gagging for air.

Gulping like a fish out of water, Xander looked at Ben's face just as his eyelids opened. One eye was nothing but a pit of ruination, yet somehow seemed to focus on Xander along with the good one as the dead man spoke.

"You murdered me!" Ben said, and the accusation in his voice was like the weight of the world on Xander's already battered conscience.

'I'm sorry! Oh God, I'm so sorry!' Xander wretchedly cried out in his thoughts, still unable to speak but feeling bitter remorse and fear flooding his mind and heart.

"Now it's your turn," Ben's voice rang out in a proclamation of doom. The corpse's bloody hands reached up and encircled Xander's neck.

Xander struggled weakly, his body devoid of strength, while Ben's cold, dead fingers tightened around his throat. 'Oh God, I don't want to die!' he cried silently. Terror overwhelmed him as his vision darkened. 'Please, Buffy, Willow, somebody save me! No! No! No!'

As his vision went black, Xander suddenly felt someone's hands on his shoulders, shaking him, and a voice shouting, "Xander! Snap out of it X-man!"

Xander's eyes blinked open and he saw Faith straddling him and shaking his shoulders. A gasp turned into a panicked inhale as he tried to fill his lungs after nearly being choked to death.

"Faith!" Xander rasped, panting deeply. "Where am I? What the hell is going on?!" he demanded, still muzzy and confused. His eyes darted all over the room looking for his murder victim/attacker.

Faith got off of him, kneeling at his side as she explained, "Dude, you were having a wicked nightmare!"

"Nightmare?" Xander cried out as he jerked himself up to a sitting position. With that one word, realization began to set in.

'Deadboy's mansion,' he remembered where he was. "Oh God, it was just a dream," he whispered, feeling the icy residue of adrenaline flowing through his body.

"Your heart's going like a freakin' airhammer, man!" Faith said. "What the hell were you dreaming about?"

Xander briefly glanced up to meet the dark Slayer's eyes before dropping them back to the rug on which he had fallen asleep early that morning. 'God, if anyone would understand how I feel... but I can't. Can't let the girls find out, they'd hate me!' Xander thought miserably.

"I, uh... sometimes I get... soldier dreams," Xander mumbled quietly, picking at the fibers in the rug with his fingers.

"Soldier dreams, you mean from when you guys got turned into your Halloween costumes?" Faith asked in surprise.

Xander just nodded his head. 'It's not a lie, I do get soldier dreams, this just wasn't one of those...' he justified to himself.

"That sucks," Faith said, standing up and walking over to the couch she'd been sleeping on, thankfully not pressing the issue.

"What time is it?" Xander asked, trying to shake off the dream and move on to other subjects.

Rubbing his eyes to clear away any crusties, Xander headed for the courtyard and walked out into the sunshine. 'Ahh, blissful, warm sunshine!' Xander thought, closing his eyes and turning his face towards the sun. He stretched out his arms as though embracing the sky and just stood there for several minutes.

"Sunshine chases the nightmares away," Xander said, not thinking to censor his words from the subject of his dreams.

It took longer than normal, but eventually Xander felt the last of the fear and horror of the dream fade away as he basked in the warm solar rays. He dropped his arms and lowered his head, opening his eyes. As he turned, a smile stole across his face at the sight of Faith, standing as he had been.

'I wonder if it's some kind of rule; all slayers must be grade A1 hotties,' Xander thought. 'Buffy's got the whole California beach babe look, Kendra was a Jamaican beauty, Faith's a total sexbomb...'

'...with extra emphasis on the bomb! Talk about explosive!' he added. 'Ya'know, now that I think about it, pretty much every girl I hang around is a babe, Willow's hot... Tara's hot, now that she dropped the whole mousy thing. Even Dawn is turning into quite the sexy little hottie... and I did *not* just think that! God, I think I just shortened my life by a decade! If Buffy ever even got the slightest idea that I had sexy thoughts about her sister, she'd eviscerate me. Slowly. With a dull spoon!'

Shaking his head, Xander put that line of thinking away. Fortunately, Faith helped by dropping her arms and opening her eyes.

"Did it work?" Xander was curious. He refrained from any more direct questions about why she might need to use the technique.

Faith's face held a gentle smile as she answered. "Yeah, actually it did," she said with a note of pleasant surprise. Her smile turned into a smirk as she added, "Did you enjoy watching me?"

Xander just grinned back. "Yeah, actually I did," he answered, not at all embarrassed.

Whatever response Faith was going to make was interrupted by the muffled sound of a woman screaming, coming from inside the mansion.

For a moment, Xander tensed, ready to run to the aid of whoever was crying out. Before he moved, though, he realized what the sound was. 'Damn, the girls really know how to welcome a new day!' he thought with a smirk.

"Either that, or Blondie's having a wicked good dream!" Faith snarked. "Damn, I didn't know B and Red had it in 'em!"

'Sounds like Tara's the one with it in her... Doh! Bad Xander!' he thought, amused, but glad he hadn't said it out loud.

"I bet hanging around those three gives you plenty of jack-off fantasies, huh Xan man?" Faith said suddenly.

Xander, taken completely off-guard, choked in surprise. "Good God!" he blurted, feeling his face glowing hot.

"Come-on X, you can level with me," Faith crooned in a sexy tone. "Do you lay awake at night, thinking of B, riding Red's face like it was a rodeo bull; or Blondie stuffing B's tiny little body full with three or four fingers, hmm? Prim and proper Buffy, riding that witch's fingers, screaming like a porn-star?"

By this point, Faith had moved into Xander's personal space, on hand lightly on his chest and the rest of her so close that he could feel her body heat. She was looking up at him through her eyelashes, a coy, knowing smile on her face.

"How many nights do you reach down between your legs and touch yourself with images of them playing in your head?" She whispered, licking her lower lip and drawing it between her teeth.

Xander gulped heavily and his voice was hoarse as he responded. "Uh, probably no more than you do, Faith."

Faith's face transformed from the seductress into a wide grin and she chuckled. Her voice was filled with humor as she said, "Damn! Every night, huh?"

'Ok, I'm confused...' Xander thought, thrown by Faith's behavior. "Uh..." he tried to formulate a response, when Willow's piercing shriek filled the air.

Suddenly Xander began to feel hot waves of pleasure flowing through his body, centering in his groin. "Oh God!" he yelped as a powerful orgasm ripped through him, causing his body to shudder and twitch.

Faith was apparently affected as well. She grabbed a fist-full of his shirt with the hand on his chest, and her eyelids fluttered shut. Her legs bowed and she began writhing, rolling her hips like she was in the midst of intercourse. Her free hand trailed up into her hair as her head fell back and she shouted, "Oh hell yeah! Yes! Yes! Yessssss!"

Xander had no concept of time during that moment other than one realization, 'It's never lasted this long before in my life!'

When it finally ended, Xander was breathing hard and felt sweaty all over. "What in the *hell* was that?" he asked out loud.

"Dunno Xan," Faith said, releasing her grip on his shirt and running her hands over her forehead and through her thick curly hair. "But whatever it was, I want one of my own!"

Xander frowned at the dark Slayer and took a step away from her. "Oh God," he muttered as he felt sticky mess in his pants.

Xander looked back at Faith and saw her staring at his pants with a smirk on her face. He looked down to see the extent of the mess and closed his eyes, shaking his head in disgust.

Muttering dire imprecations toward certain redheads, Xander headed for the bathroom.

"You need a hand in there?" Faith loudly asked as he went by. She sounded highly amused.

As he entered the bathroom and grabbed the door to slam it behind him, he heard her call out, "Yeah, I bet you can... sounds like you've had lots of practice!"

"I don't understand; you mean she cast a spell?" Buffy's voice was filled with confusion and annoyance.

"I didn't mean too," Willow whined, sounding like a little kid who had broken a lamp or something.

Tara shook her head, once again trying to explain as the three girls exited the bedroom. "Not exactly, Buffy," she began.

They had recovered from Willow's 'big finale', showered in the en-suite bathroom and gotten dressed- during which Tara had tried three times to explain what she thought had happened.

"Remember how I told you that we can draw power from the earth around us, Buffy?"

The blonde Slayer nodded. "Uh huh, I remember that Willow doesn't like to do it, because it's too slow..." she said with an arch look at the redhead.

"So it was dark magic?" Buffy asked in a dismayed voice, apparently remembering the rest of that discussion.

At that Willow shook her head violently, meeting Buffy's eyes for the first time since the event in question. "No! I swear Buffy! I don't know what happened, but I know it wasn't dark magics!"

Tara stopped in the hall outside the bedroom, pulling her lovers to her. "Shh, Willow. It's ok. Buffy, there were no dark magics," she assured the shorter blonde.

"There are more power sources than those two, Buffy," Tara explained. "Certain Wiccan magic rituals involve sex as a major component... it can lend great power to a spell."

Willow's voice was still a little whiny as she said, "But I didn't cast any spells, I swear! In that state, I- I don't think I could cast..."

Tara saw Buffy's face soften into a gentle smile as she stared at her redheaded lover. The Slayer pulled her pet into an embrace and kissed her forehead, whispering just loud enough for Tara to hear, "It's ok Will, I'm not mad..."

"You're not?" Willow asked in that 'little-girl' voice that made Tara's heart skip a beat.

Tara smiled at both her lovers, once again feeling warmth and joy fill her at the sight. She sighed contentedly now that the tensions had eased. "Well, I think..." she continued the explanation as they began walking down the hall again. "I mean, a spell is just a way of focusing the magic energy and making it do what you want it to do. So, I think that... you didn't have any focus, but Buffy was building up the sexual tension in you, and you apparently translated that into magical energy and then you... when Buffy finally let you release the tension..."

By this point the triad had just entered the great room when they were startled by the sound of someone clapping their hands. Loudly.

Tara turned to the room to see Faith and Xander. Faith was laughing and clapping her hands, Xander had an annoyed look on his face, and was wearing only a towel around his waist. 'He looks like he just got out of the shower...' she thought, confused. 'why didn't he get dressed?'

Buffy must have had the same thought, because she said, "Xander, why aren't you dressed?"

Xander's look of annoyance grew into an open glower. Faith, on the other hand, began laughing out loud.

Xander shot a glare at the dark haired Slayer before answering Buffy's question. "Well Buff, I was dressed, in my very last set of semi-clean clothes, then *someone* decided to detonate little miss orgasma-bomb over there," he said, gesturing to Willow.

Tara glanced at her lovers and had to bite her lower lip to keep from laughing. 'That look reminds me of the time Mom and Dawnie teased us about being too loud...' she thought at Buffy's wide-eyed stare, and Willow's deep blush.

"and suddenly I needed a shower and a change of clothes- which I don't have," Xander continued grousing.

Faith interjected, "Don't listen to him B!" The brunette began rubbing her hands over her upper thighs, up her pelvis and back down along either side of her crotch. "You can set off your little sex kitten any time you like as far as I'm concerned! Hell, I could sell tickets!"

'Oh goddess!' Tara thought, losing control of her laughter as Willow's blush darkened and Buffy gaped, speechless.

Willow's voice was squeaky high as she stuttered, "You mean... you... you... had a... a... a..."

Faith seemed to relish Willow's embarrassment. "Orgasm, say it with me Red, 'Or-gaz-im.' I know you know what that is, hell you just shared yours with everyone in the house, and I, for one, wanna say thanks!"

Faith turned her attention from Willow to the two blondes, saying, "I don't know which one of you did that to her, but... Damn you're good! I haven't cum that hard in years!"

"Whichever one of you it was... I'd be happy to return the favor anytime you like..." Faith trailed off.

Faith was still smiling, but Tara thought she saw a hint of apprehension in the dark Slayer's eyes as she answered, "Easy now, I was just playing... besides, I'm not the one who was broadcasting orgasm signals to all the little girls and boys..."

"Oh goddess!" Willow cried suddenly. "How far do you think it went?" she sounded horrified.

Xander's face lost its annoyed look, and his mouth started to twitch, "Well, I didn't hear any screeching brakes, so either it didn't reach the street, or no one was driving by at that moment..."

Faith was laughing so hard that she collapsed back onto the couch, holding her stomach. "Can... can you imagine...?" she started, having trouble getting out whatever she wanted to say past the laughter. "Some old lady... sittin' there... just sittin' there watching... Judge Judy? And, she... she...?"

Xander apparently couldn't hold on to his anger either, as he began to laugh out loud. "Even better, some old guy watching Springer... and it's drag-queen day!"

Faith's laughter redoubled and tears rolled down her face as she laid back on the couch.

Xander collapsed back into a chair facing the couch, overtaken by his own laughter.

'Oh goddess, poor Willow, she's never going to live this one down...' Tara thought, fighting her own laughter. 'I'm just glad Mom and Dawnie aren't here... between this and the 'pancake incident' I don't think Willow could ever look them in the eye again...'

Tara's eyes traveled from her lovers past Xander who flopped back in the chair, wiping tears from his eyes to Faith, who was rolling onto her side on the couch.

Tara frowned in confusion when Faith's face underwent an immediate an dramatic change. All humor fell away, replaced by what looked like shock. The shock then quickly transformed into a predatory look.

'What?' Tara wondered, confused as Faith licked her lips and smiled hungrily. 'I've seen that look...' she thought, trying to remember where. The blonde witch realized Faith's eyes hadn't wavered during this course of events, and she tried to follow the dark Slayer's gaze.

"Oh my!" Tara squeaked, quickly turning her head away from the sight of Xander, sitting spread-legged as always, but wrapped in a short towel that gaped open, revealing more than he obviously realized.

"Damn X-man!" Faith's voice sounded out. "You musta had a growth spurt or somethin'! I don't remember it bein' that big last time I steered you round the curves."

Tara kept her eyes focused on Buffy and Willow. 'I'm sure my face must look like Willow's hair right now!' she thought, mortified. 'I've never seen a 'live' one before, and I'd be just as happy if I never saw one again!'

Buffy looked over in Faith's direction, a curious look on her face. "Faith what are you talking about?"

Tara watched as Buffy and Willow looked over at Xander, trying to figure out what Faith meant. 'No! Don't look!' she thought, but was unwilling to shout that out loud.

"I just might have to take you out for another test drive!" Faith said, her voice completely devoid of shame.

'I think she's enjoying this too much!' Tara thought, annoyed. 'I know we're kinda a lot more open about sex and stuff since we got together, but Faith is... well, actually I guess she's not as bad as Anya was... but almost!'

At that moment Tara saw her two lovers get an eyeful and react with shock, though, unlike her, they didn't immediately turn away.

"Ahem!" Tara cleared her throat loudly. 'Oh you two are definitely getting your butts paddled tonight!' Tara thought with a glare.

Xander apparently figured out what everyone was staring at, because Tara saw him jump to his feet out of the corner of her eye.

"Ok, that's it!" Xander said loudly. "I'm taking Giles car to my apartment. One of you is coming with me to go in and get me some clothes, so I don't have to walk through my apartment building in nothing but a towel..."

Both Buffy and Willow turned to Tara with a sheepish look when they saw her glare.

Tara turned around to see Faith smirking broadly as she laid back on the couch. "Your loss," she said, running her hand over her arched hip seductively.

Tara looked to Xander for his response and again blushed and ducked her head when the front of his towel visibly twitched.

Willow whispered something to Buffy, too low for Tara to hear. Buffy nodded slightly and Will piped up, "Come on Xander, I'll save ya' from the big bad Slayer." Her voice was clearly projecting her amusement at the situation.

Tara risked another glance at him and saw the corners of his mouth twitching into a small sheepish grin. 'Well, that was... an interesting start to the day,' she thought.

"If we hurry, we can get some donuts on the way back before we have to check in with G-man..." Xander said, walking toward the door.

"Oh my God! Giles and Mom! We forgot to let them know we're ok!" Buffy suddenly shouted. Her eyes were wide and she had an alarmed look on her face.

Xander didn't even slow down as he shouted back over his shoulder, "Don't worry Buffy, Xan-man was on the case. They know, and they're expecting our call at two!"

"Are you ok Xander? You're awfully quiet..." Willow's voice broke into Xander's thoughts. "Are you mad at me... us... for the, uh, for the magic thing?" she asked, her voice sounding hesitant and worried.

'Am I mad?' Xander thought with a sigh. 'Embarrassed, annoyed, freaked out, and a million other things all at once, but mad- how would I even know?'

"I'm not mad Will," he answered with another sigh. "I'm just... between the thing last night, and I didn't sleep very well, and then the weirdness that was waking up..."

Xander's tired mind didn't do its normal job of censoring his mouth and things he normally would hesitate to share just seemed to spill right out. "...and we hear you guys making Tara scream, and Faith starts coming on to me, hitting on me pretty hard. Then, in the middle of that, there's you screaming, and the, um, magic thing... Then I end up wearing nothing but a towel around four hotties... you three with the 'just got laid' look; Faith with the 'just came, want to do it again' look... I guess I'm a little stressed out right now," Xander finished in a muttering voice- stream of consciousness pouring out of his mouth.

Silence reigned once again as Xander's fatigued mind flitted about aimlessly from subject to subject.

"Cause we'd probably've ended up in bed together," Xander said, as if it were obvious.

This time his mind beat Willow to the punch. 'And that would have been a bad thing how!?' He was suddenly assaulted with flashed images from his one brief tryst with the dark Slayer, her incredible body writhing and bouncing above his own. He had to bite back a moan, and he felt himself start to harden under his towel.

He attempted to address his own subconscious, and at the same time answer the question he just knew Willow wanted, but was too polite to ask. "Look, I'm not really into casual sex, ok? I mean, I want the same thing you want, Will- love, a relationship... I'm not interested in jumping from bed to bed."

This time his mind flashed back to the day Anya had seduced him, not that it had been that difficult for her, but even then he had protested that 'Sex is supposed to mean something...' yet his mind had been too weak to overcome his body's desire. 'And so I ended up in a year long relationship that turned out to be no more meaningful than a one-night stand. A 300-night stand, I guess.'

"Besides," he added. "Faith already has a Xander-shaped notch on her belt, she doesn't need another one." His voice was devoid of the bitterness one might expect at such a statement. It was presented simply as an observation.

Xander glanced at his childhood best friend and saw a look of uncertainty on her face.

"You've got 'but' face, Will," Xander said with a small smile. "Whatever you're thinking, just go ahead and say it."

"Cordelia..." Xander said with a heavy sigh, remembering their two nights together earlier this week. "Cordelia was in a really bad place, Will. She was hurting physically, and emotionally... she really felt alone, and unwanted, and the vision thing... it really hurts her when she has one."

Visions of Cordelia Chase with tears in her eyes, and a look of hopelessness on her face played across his mind. 'I never imagined seeing her like that...' he thought. 'She was always so vibrant, even when she was busy verbally ripping me to shreds, she had a spark of life in her eyes... and it was missing when I saw her this week.'

Xander shook his head, bringing his attention back to the road in front of him, and the conversation he was having. "She needed someone who cared about her, someone who could make her feel special and loved again."

Xander smiled at the tone of Willow's question. "Of course I love her, Will! Just like I love you and Dawnie and Buffy and Tara... and maybe even Faith. You girls are like my family." Struck with a sudden thought, Xander frowned and added, "Without the whole disturbing, incest, angle."

Xander laughed a little before adding, "I just mean that you are all close and important to me, like family."

Again, mental fatigue made him continue when he might normally have stopped. "One of my girls was hurting and needed my help. God knows I'd lay down my life for any of you in a heartbeat," he said softly, his voice introspective.

Again, Xander shook of his reverie and refocused before continuing. "So, I'm not 'in love' with Cordy, but I do love her. So it wasn't casual sex... it was about my feelings for her, how much I care for her, and about her. I tried to make her see that she was special, and beautiful and important."

Willow's voice was a bit wondrous as she said, "Well it must have worked, cause she seemed pretty upbeat that next day!"

"God, she was magnificent!" Xander blurted out as he remembered their second night together.

Xander glanced at the redhead and saw that she was blushing. 'Mmhmm, methinks a little payback is in order for this morning...'

"Picture it Will. Forget for a minute what a bitch she was to us in High School, and just picture it; Queen C, striding down the hallway. Short, tight skirt, one of those blouses that were almost see-through and hugged every curve on that luscious body. That perfect hair, that beautiful face... only instead of a cruel look, imagine a warm, genuine smile on those full, red lips. Imagine her eyes wide and filled with joy and pleasure as she calls out your name... Now you look down and the clothes are gone... her perfect, tan skin... big, soft, round breasts... nipples crying out to be sucked on... that flat belly... down... your fingers moving inside..."

As Xander pulled into the parking lot of his building, he shot a glance at his friend and had to restrain a laugh. 'Oh I got you, Will! Someone's had a few fantasies of her own about Cordy, I see!' he thought as he saw her dilated eyes and her tongue darting out to lick her lips.

Of course, Xander wasn't unaffected himself, remembering everything he was describing, and now his best friend- his extremely hot and sexy best friend was sitting next to him, clearly aroused. Before his towel gave up the ghost, Xander pulled his keys from the ignition and dangled them up in front of Willow's face. "Enough fantasizing, Will. Time to go get Xander some clothes!"

"Hello pot, this is kettle," Xander said with an amused laugh. "You've got no room to talk, Ms. Radio-Free-Orgasm!"

Willow blushed and dropped her finger, her eyes dropping to her lap as well. "I didn't mean for that to happen..." she said softly.

"I'm sure you didn't," Xander said with a warm smile. His smile once again grew mischievous as he added, "Now, be a good buddy and get me some sweats to slip on so I can come in and change, and I won't tell Buffy how you were having lusty wrong thoughts about Cordelia."

Willow's head snapped up and her eyes were wide with outrage, "What?! Xander Lavelle Harris! Don't you dare... I'll turn you into a newt, Mister!" She once again shook her finger at him.

Xander laughed out loud at Willow's scolding. 'Thanks Will, I needed that!' he thought, laughing even louder as she snatched his keys and got out of the car, stomping away and muttering under her breath as she went.

Xander's laughter died out, but his mood stayed up as he watched his Willow walking away. "Damn, Buffy. You and Tara really are very lucky women..." he whispered, truly glad for his loved ones, that they could have such happiness with each other.

Xander smiled with amusement as he listened to Willow place the order for sandwiches.

"Two six inch tuna salads on whole wheat; one with tomatoes, the other plain. Two foot long BMT's on white, double meat, mayo and mustard, tomatoes, olives, green peppers, banana peppers, oil and vinegar, salt and pepper, no lettuce, no onions."

They'd gone to subway, deciding to forego donuts seeing as it was already afternoon, and something of more substance might be required.

Willow whirled on him, eyes narrowed. "That better not be a lesbian crack, Xander..." she whispered, sounding angry.

Xander's eyes widened and he held up his hands placatingly. "Whoa, whaddya mean Will?" he asked in surprise at her sudden mood swing.

Willow looked wary, but a little confused herself. Hesitantly, she said, "You know... lesbians... eating fish..."

'What the...?' Xander thought, truly befuddled. Then he caught the slight blush on Willow's cheeks and he goggled at her momentarily.

"Oh! God, no Will! I wasn't... eww, no way!" he stammered. "Not even... I mean I love going... south... and I hate tuna. I mean, it doesn't..." Xander felt his own face getting hot, at the same time Willow's blush spread. 'I never thought I'd be discussing eating pussy with my best *female* friend... especially in line at the Subway!'

Willow was clearly embarrassed. "Oh, sorry!" she said with a gulp and turned back to the girl behind the counter, who was staring at the two of them with a wide-eyed look of her own.

Finally, Xander had to chuckle at the absurdity of the situation. Nodding his head, he replied, "Yeah, I'd like two foot long subclubs with everything, and..."

Turning to Willow, who was still blushing a little, he asked, "What do you think Faith likes?"

Willow's face broke into a wicked grin as she answered, "Well, from what went on this morning, I'd say she's hungry for sausage."

Xander snorted a laugh at that. 'Score one for the redhead!' he thought humorously.

"I don't think they have that particular meat on the menu here..." Xander said, surprising his friend, and causing her to snicker. "She'll have to make do with meatballs." Turning to the teen behind the counter, he said, "Two foot-long meatball subs, on white, and that should do us."

As Willow was paying for the food, Xander had another naughty thought. 'Oh, I shouldn't... but I really want to...'

The little devil on Xander's left shoulder won over the angel on his right this time, and he leaned forward and whispered in Willow's ear. "You know, I never understood the tuna thing. I think of it more like cheesecake. You know... creamy, tart, rich, and just a little sweet."

Willow didn't say anything, but Xander could see the blush return to her face and neck, and she fumbled the change as she tried to put it in her pocket, dropping it to the floor instead.

'Oh yeah, The Xan-man evens up the score!' Xander thought, grinning madly as he picked up the sandwich bags and headed for the door, ignoring the glare the redheaded witch was shooting him.

'I'm gonna pay for that... I just know it,' he thought. 'But it was *so* worth it!' he decided as they headed for the car.

Tara walked back into the great room to find it unexpectedly empty. 'Hmm, I wonder if little miss Faith is off flirting with my Slayer somewhere?' she thought. 'She seems to enjoy pushing the envelope a little bit too much. Do I say something, or would that just make her do it even more...?'

The blonde witch looked in some of the immediate side-rooms to see if she could find the 'chosen two' off somewhere by themselves.

'It's not like I worry about Buffy doing anything,' she told herself. 'I just seem to have a little bit of a possessive streak when it comes to Faith being around my girls...'

Walking out into the courtyard, Tara was surprised to find Buffy, by herself, sitting on the edge of the defunct fountain, staring at a wall with a contemplative look on her face. 'Goddess, she's so beautiful! I always think that; every time I see her I can't help but think it again,' she thought with a warm flutter in her stomach, and a happy smile on her face.

Tara walked over and sat down next to the Slayer, laying one hand gently on Buffy's lower back and rubbing in a small circle. "Where'd Faith run off to, sweetie?"

Buffy leaned sideways against Tara and laid her head on the Wicca's shoulder. "She said she had to go check something. She'll be back in an hour or two," Buffy said softly, as though not wanting to disturb the quiet that had settled over the area.

'How adorable is this,' she thought, leaning her head and rubbing her cheek against the crown of Buffy's head. As always, a small shiver ran through her at Buffy's mere touch.

Buffy chuckled softly and added, "I think you kinda scared her... not that she'd ever admit it."

'Good!' was Tara's immediate reaction, but she managed not to verbalize it. "Scared her, how?" she asked instead, fishing for more.

"Uh huh, like you don't know..." Buffy said with a soft laugh. "Maybe it was the death-glare you shot her when she offered to 'return the favor'?"

Tara couldn't stifle a small snicker of her own at that. The smile quickly died on her lips though. 'Uh oh, I'm getting worried feelings from you all of a sudden,' she thought.

"You don't have to worry about me... I mean, I would never, like, leave you... you know, for someone else... you do know that right?" Buffy asked in a small, anxious voice; her left hand sliding over to Tara's knee and squeezing gently.

'Something tells me this is going to be a 'Talk' kind of talk,' Tara thought as her stomach rumbled with trepidation. She took Buffy's hand and stood up, saying, "Come on."

Tara pulled a somewhat reluctant Slayer behind her into the house. She sat down in the corner of the couch in the great room and patted her lap with her free hand. "Come here, Buffy," she said, trying not to make it sound too much like an order.

Buffy seemed hesitant for a moment, but after a light tug on her hand, curled herself up in Tara's lap, arms around her and face buried in the crook of the witch's neck.

'My poor Slayer,' Tara thought sadly as she stroked the petite blonde's back. 'So strong, but so full of doubt and anxiety... you have such a hard time believing in yourself!'

"What's wrong Buffy? Please tell me," she whispered, nuzzling the top of her lover's head.

Buffy softly kissed Tara's throat, creating a delightful ache in the witch's chest and stomach.

'Oh goddess! What you do to me.' Tara thought, suppressing a shudder. 'I won't let you distract me though... no matter how wonderful it feels!'

Tara gently cradled Buffy's head in her hands and pushed her away enough to make eye contact. "What is it my love?" she whispered.

"It's..." Buffy started, then dropped her eyes and added, "It's just me being silly. It's really no big deal."

'Uh huh, that's why you're all upset-worry-girl all of a sudden, because it's no big deal,' Tara thought, recognizing Buffy's self-deprecating, avoidance techniques.

"Trust me? Please?" Tara said in a quiet, needy voice- not above a few manipulative tactics of her own when necessary.

"It's dumb, you'll see," Buffy said, clearly capitulating to Tara, as she always did in the end.

"I've been the Slayer for like five years now..." Buffy started, settling back against her lover's chest and neck. "For most of that time I told myself that I hated being the Slayer, hated the way it stole my life from me... I knew I was destined to die young, so I never really thought about the future, or at least I never really thought about me being in it. Planning ahead for me was, like, if I picked out what I was going to wear to school the next day."

"So I never planned for the future. 'cause slaying meant I wasn't gonna have one."

Tara felt a pang of sorrow clench in her chest at the thought of a future without Buffy.

"But lately... I-I've started to have thoughts... about, you know, maybe making plans..."

"Well... I haven't actually made any," Buffy answered. "I've just thought about, like maybe I should, you know... make some."

Tara couldn't suppress a little giggle. 'You're just too cute sometimes,' she thought.

"Well, nothing's wrong with making plans... but..." Buffy trailed off into silence again.

"It's just... Lately I kinda started to realize something else, especially since Faith..." Buffy started, sounding ashamed and guilty.

A deep twinge of jealousy shot through the witch at Buffy's words. 'Easy now Tara,' she told herself. 'Buffy would never hurt you, or Willow, like that.' Despite her best efforts she stiffened slightly while waiting for Buffy to explain.

Buffy reacted by clutching a little tighter to her lover. "I know I shouldn't, but I can't help myself!" she whispered harshly.

'What could be so bad?' Tara wondered, forcing herself to relax and stroke Buffy's back and hair.

"It's the s-slaying..." Buffy began, her voice so quiet that Tara had to strain herself to hear. "I... I enjoy it."

"What?" Tara asked, unsure if she'd heard her lover correctly. She again cradled Buffy's face and pushed back so she could see her girlfriend's face. "What?" she repeated.

Buffy looked dejected as she answered. "I love it," she whispered, sounding ashamed with herself. "I love being the Slayer! I get off on the hunt and the kill!" she said louder, the shame turning into disgust.

Slowly, despite her trying to control it, a smile tugged at the corners of Tara's mouth. Once she lost her grip on that, the laughter she'd been holding back bubbled forth.

The very confused look on Buffy's face fractured any last restraint in Tara and she began howling in laughter.

"*That* is what you were so worried about?" Tara asked incredulously. "Oh, Buffy. Willow and I knew that all along!"

Buffy's face fell into a pout, causing a familiar reaction from Tara. 'You're so gosh-darn sexy when you do that!' she thought as she kissed the Slayer's pouty lips.

Tara leaned back and continued, "Even if we didn't know it before, we would have found out last night when we were enjoined! Did you get any sense that we were disgusted or upset while we were in there with you?"

Buffy was still pouting a little as she thought about it. "Well... no... but, how can I make plans for the future if I'm all embracing the thing that makes it so I can't have a future?" she asked with a 'so-there!' tone to her voice, as though she'd made an irrefutable point.

Tara shook her head. "Aww, sweetie. We can't let that kind of fear stop us from living our lives, from planning for the future. Anybody could die in a freak accident at any moment, and people like police officers, and firemen, and soldiers... they have dangerous and risky jobs too, but they still get married, and have kids, and buy houses, and get pets, and, and all kinds of 'planning ahead' stuff."

Buffy looked down after a moment and whispered, "But, doesn't it seem wrong that I should enjoy it so much? How can I be a good person if I'm a killer, and not just because I was chosen, but... but 'cause I love it"?

'Aha! Now the real truth comes out!' Tara thought. 'Now, how do I answer that...'

The blond witch pulled her lover in for a long, sweet kiss. 'Mmm, gives me more time to think, plus I love kissing you Buffy!' she thought.

Breaking the kiss and resting her forehead against Buffy's, Tara spoke. "I remember the first time I saw you slay a demon... I have to admit, it kinda freaked me out a little. But... I've seen stuff, and I've read Giles' books... and these things, demons and vampires... they're like a disease. Worse than a disease, cause they know what they're doing- they choose to do all those horrible things to people..." her eyes misted as she recalled some of the horrors she'd personally witnessed since being introduced to Sunnydale's nightlife.

Buffy's warm thumb wiping her tears away brought a smile back to Tara's face. "I imagine how happy a doctor must feel when they cure someone of cancer, or a surgeon when they remove a tumor and save someone's life..."

"Just like Mom," Tara said, her own smile beaming as she used the rapidly-becoming-familiar title. "When I was sitting at the prison waiting for them to process Faith's pardon, I thought about all those vampires we dusted at that weird seminar..."

"Doug the vampire self-help guru," Buffy said with a giggle. "How creepy was that!?"

"Right," Tara affirmed with a nod. "imagine, even if each of those vampire only would have killed one person a week for a year- we saved over five thousand lives that night. I remember how incredible I felt after that..."

"There's no bad here..." Buffy whispered, quoting one of Xander's favorite quips with a sense of dawning wonder in her voice.

"No bad at all," Tara agreed, her hands starting to wander over Buffy's body as memories of that night, and many other such nights, inflamed Tara's passion.

Fortunately, at least in the girl's minds, they were still fully clothed when Xander and Willow returned with lunch a few minutes later.

Dawn sat on the couch with her feet curled under her. Whether it was due to familiarity at last, or just the stress of her nightmares and lack of sleep, she no longer even noticed the horribly tacky d�r of Ethan Rayne's 1970's style pimp-pad. She'd come to think of it as 'Huggy-bear's house,' remembering the character from Starsky and Hutch re-runs.

Right now she was observing her mother as she watched her new lover puttering about the kitchen, making lunch.

'I don't think I've seen her being this happy before,' Dawn thought, feeling melancholy. 'Even when I was little, I don't remember her looking at dad like that... Why would the monks give me unhappy memories? Did they somehow know she wasn't happy with him? How could they know that?'

Dawn glanced around the room, as though noticing it anew. 'Why did they give me memories of watching Starsky and Hutch re-runs? Mom and Buffy didn't watch them with me very much... did one of the monks have a Starsky and Hutch fetish, and it got passed on to me?' The thought, while not especially appealing, didn't elicit any strong emotion, negative or positive.

'I wonder if I have that look on my face when I look at Xander?' she thought as her focus moved back to her mother. 'I see it in Buffy's eyes when she looks at Tara or Willow... I see it in their eyes too... I don't remember seeing it in Xander's eyes when he looked at Anya. I don't think I ever saw it in hers either.'

Dawn blinked her eyes rapidly, and reached up to her face to surreptitiously wipe away a tear as she thought, 'I wish he was here right now. I wish I could hug him, and just have him hold me... I always feel like everything's going to be ok when he hugs me... I'm so glad he didn't get hurt in that fight... that none of them got hurt.'

Refocusing on her mom, Dawn whispered, "You really love him, don't you?" Her voice was almost too soft for her mom to hear.

Joyce looked away from Giles and met Dawn's eyes. "What was that honey?" she asked with a gentle smile still gracing her lips.

"The way you look at Giles," Dawn replied softly. "You really love him a lot, don't you?"

Her Mom's smile faltered for a moment, and she said, "I know it must seem so sudden to you, it is to me as well..."

Dawn shook her head and smiled encouragingly. "Not really... I mean, it's not like you just met him, and barely know him... It's Giles." She nodded her head, adding, "I totally get it."

Joyce's face lit up in a hundred-watt smile. "Oh, honey!" she whispered, leaning over and wrapping Dawn up in her arms. "I glad you approve!"

'I'll take Rupert Giles over Hank Summers any day,' Dawn thought. 'Gosh, I just realized, I've never really actually even met my supposed 'father'!'

Tabling that random thought, Dawn whispered back to her mother, "He's a great guy, mom. How could I disapprove?"

Joyce let go the hug and sat back. "Honestly, honey... I was a little worried that you might... I don't know, resent the fact that I wanted to be with someone other than your father..." she said hesitantly.

'She's worried... that I would resent Giles?' Dawn thought. 'I... even if the memories were true, it's not like we've even heard from Hank Summers in, like years! I don't even feel bad about that... maybe the monks made me not care about him? Did they know he'd never be around again?'

When Dawn didn't respond, her Mom continued, "Giles isn't going to try and replace your father, honey..."

"Of course he is," Dawn interjected. She smiled warmly and continued, "It's ok, mom. I'm not a little kid; you don't have to pretend that 'dad' still cares about me, about Buffy, about any of us."

Joyce shook her head and Dawn could tell that she was going to try and deny it. She reached out and clasped her mom's hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "Mom, Dad ran off to Spain with his secretary. He abandoned all of us. Actually, he abandoned you and Buffy, 'cause it happened all before I even existed, actually. He doesn't love me- he never did. He's never even met me, not really."

'Funny how little that bothers me...' Seeing a tear run down her mother's face, Dawn had a different reaction; 'That bothers me, though,' she thought, feeling a lump in her throat and a squeezing sensation in her chest.

"It's really ok, Mom, don't cry," the youngest Summers said as her own eyes welled up. "That stuff doesn't matter, cause I know Giles does love us. He's the one who's actually stayed around... and things have been a lot tougher than they ever were when 'dad' was around. Giles took care of Buffy all that time before we found out she was 'the chosen one' and he's saved my life lots of times; twice even just this week."

"So, I know he loves me; even though he's never said it- he shows it. And, he loves you, and he loves Buffy... he's all the dad I really need," she said with a warm smile.

"Oh honey!" Joyce cried softly, again leaning forward and wrapping Dawn up in a tight embrace. "I love you so much Dawn! Never forget that for a second!"

'She could have so easily kicked me out when she found out about the whole Key thing- Buffy too, they could have let the Knights have me and still saved the world... but they didn't... they risked everything for me...' Dawn thought. 'God I'm so lucky!'

At that moment, Giles walked over and set a plate of sandwiches and a pot of tea down on the coffee table. "Is everything alright?" he asked, looking concerned as he gazed upon the embraced mother and daughter.

Seemingly of one mind, Dawn and her mother stood up and pulled Giles into their embrace, each pressing their face against his chest and hugging him tightly.

"Oh, m-my word!" Giles stuttered, apparently unused to such physical displays of affection. "What brought this on?"

She looked up, catching her mother's adoring gaze which was aimed at the befuddled Brit. Dawn smiled happily at both of them and said, "Sometimes you get hugged just for being a good guy, Giles."

After a moment, the group-hug ended and Dawn smiled to see the blush on Giles face. 'Aww, that's so sweet,' she thought with no little humor.

"If you ladies will e-excuse me, I've got to get something from th-the car..." Giles stammered. "I-I'll just be a moment, and then we can enjoy lunch..."

As he headed toward the door, Joyce leaned close to Dawn and whispered, "I think we embarrassed him..."

Dawn snickered, "Well, I think you've loosened him up a little, but he's still Giles."

'Oh boy! Look at that blush,' Dawn thought as she glanced at her mother. 'Gosh mom, dirty mind much?'

'Oh God! OhGodohGodohGodohGod...' Dawn's mind seemed stuck in neutral; that one thought- those two words- repeating over and over.

'No!' Dawn's mind shouted at her as she saw her mother rushing for the door. It was enough to break her body free of the paralyzing fear and she jumped up, grabbing her mother and yelling, "No Mom! You can't! You might get hit!"

Just then the door crashed open and Giles darted inside. "Bloody hell!" he shouted, sounding enraged. "I am getting bloody well tired of people trying to kill us this week!"

Joyce pulled free of Dawn's suddenly lax grip and fairly leapt into her lover's arms, crying, "Oh God Rupert, are you alright?"

"Yes, the protection spell worked rather marvelously." He said, still clearly very angry.

"What happened?!" Dawn shouted, surging relief warring with the remnants of paralyzing fear and incredulity, leaving her light headed.

"Some Bloody Pillock on the roof across the street decided to bloody well shoot at me! That's what happened!" Giles growled. Pushing away from Joyce, he almost grinned as he said, "They're about to receive a rather nasty surprise, though. There's a tunnel that opens up behind that building, and unless they can fly, they're going to have to use the fire escape right next to it."

Giles quickly ran into the bedroom he and Joyce shared and came out with his key crystal and pistol. "Stay put, the spell will protect you!" he said. Then he darted through a door along the back of the room.

"Oh God, be careful Rupert!" Joyce shouted after him, her voice laced with worry and fear.

'I never thought I'd miss Sunnydale...' Dawn thought as she dropped back onto the couch.

"Dawn, are you alright?" her mom asked, her voice now even more worried. "You're awfully pale..."

Despite that, Dawn put on her 'mom-smile' and said, "I'm fine, mom, just a little... light hea...'

'Well Faith, how do you feel now?' the dark haired Slayer wondered as she looked through the open doorway. 'You always wondered what it would be like...' She stood in the doorway for several moments just looking into the apartment that was once, briefly, her home.

'Crap, how am I supposed to feel?' she thought, annoyed with herself. She deliberately stepped into the room and shut the door behind her. 'I never thought I'd see this place again... I...' suddenly her stomach clenched into a painful knot, and a wave of combined anger, fear and sorrow crashed through her.

"Oh, God!" she hunched over, grabbing at her midriff and fighting back the urge to vomit as memories came crashing down in her head.

'I said, "Thanks sugar-daddy..." God, I was gonna seduce him... I thought that's what he wanted... what all men want,' she remembered. Looking around at the dusty room, untouched in years it seemed, the scene continued to play itself out in her head. 'I thought he loved me... I was so afraid when he said we had to kill Red, I was scared he'd stop loving me if I said no... then he didn't even care, he just said he'd have vamps do it, even tried to make me feel better, like it was the way he wanted to do it all along... made me hate her even more cause I couldn't do it myself.'

As Faith continued her perusal, the nausea seemed to subside a little and she stood up straight.

Her gaze moved around the room until she spied the still-broken window; someone had boarded it up to keep out the weather, but the image in her head was of that night. "The night Buffy killed me," she whispered.

Another cramping knot bent her in half, and this time she couldn't hold back. Her stomach emptied itself on the concrete floor, burning her esophagus with the pure acid, uncut by any food or drink. Flashes of memory from the fight she and Buffy had engaged in lit up the darkness behind her eyelids every time she closed her eyes. Dry heaves folded her in half and brought her to her knees.

'Oh God I can feel it!' she thought as each retch felt like that knife sliding into her gut all over again. It was as though she was reliving that brief moment in time again and again.

As she had that night, Faith felt a moment of shock: 'Christ, she's actually gonna do it!' Her body convulsed with pain as she relived the moment the blade pierced her skin, and it was as if she shattered. Three voices cried out at once- 'I hate you! I'll kill you!' her mind shrieked in rage. 'Buffy, I love you!' her heart screamed in desire. 'Please! Kill me...' her soul whispered, choking on the overwhelming remorse that filled her to bursting.

Heaves finally gave away to sobs and Faith fell over to her side and bawled. "Oh God Buffy I love you so much! I'm so sorry!" she cried out.

After several moments of uncontrollable tears, Faith dragged herself up and stumbled to the bathroom. Keeping her eyes down so as not to see her reflection and the recrimination sure to be there, she turned on the cold water and started splashing water on her face and rinsing her mouth out. When her eyes caught her reflection in the mirror, she stopped.

"I did the worst thing I coulda done. Everything else was nothin'... I loved you so much and I made you hate me enough to kill me," Faith whispered in agony. Her heart squeezed painfully in her chest as she continued, "I wish I could change it... fix it. God, I'd do anything..."

In her mind, she heard Buffy's voice from their discussion atop the Hyperion earlier that week.

>>"You're right, Faith," Buffy had said. "You can't change a single thing you've done. All you can do is be a better person, do the right thing from now on."

'I couldn't believe it,' Faith remembered her shock, this time for the opposite reason. 'I was sure she was gonna kill me again...'

>>"You're a Slayer, Faith. You can help us save the world. Again." Buffy had told her.

"And I did," Faith told her reflection with a hint of satisfaction strengthening her voice. "Fricken-A, we saved the world from the big bad hellbitch."

Her reflection just stared back at her as it always did. 'Not good enough Faith. It doesn't make up for what you did.' The disapproving tone echoed in Faith's mind.

A pang of guilt stifled the moment of pride in her voice. "I know, but all I can do is what Buffy said, be a better person now. Do the right thing now," she told herself plaintively.

The desire to argue the point flared for the barest instant before her shoulders fell and she sighed mournfully. "No. She won't. But maybe, someday... she might forgive me," she finished in a whisper.

"Ok, is it a Slayer thing, or a magic thing, or is there just something in the water?" Xander's voice startled Tara into breaking off her passionate twining with Buffy's tongue.

She could hear amusement and a touch of wistfulness in Xander's voice as he continued teasing, "I mean, seriously, Will; I think you guys do it more that me and Anya ever did!"

"Xander!" Willow exclaimed in mock annoyance, slapping him on the arm. "At least we don't uh, incessantly talk about it... in public... graphically!"

Tara smiled at the clearly false outrage in her lover's voice. A shiver ran down her spine as Buffy nuzzled her neck. "Vixen!" she whispered, her outrage as insincere as Willow's had been.

"That's only cause you're too busy actually doing it to spend any time talking about it," Xander said.

'I do feel for him,' Tara thought as a momentary look of pure lust crossed Xander's eyes as he focused on her and Buffy. 'He definitely needs a girlfriend of his own so he can stop lusting after mine!'

Xander shook his head and changed the subject. He lifted the bag from Subway and proudly proclaimed, "The hunt was successful! Let us savor the bounty of the kill!"

Tara heard Buffy say, "Ooh, food!" and then she was just gone- leaping from the couch and plucking the bag from Xander's hand, heading for the dining table all in the blink of an eye.

"Easy tiger," Xander chuckled. He made a show of counting his fingers, saying, "Whew, thought I might have lost one there for a second!"

Tara rose from the couch with a little more grace than Buffy's acrobatic performance. She slipped an arm around Willow's waist and gave the redhead a quick kiss. "Hmm, what prize have the mighty hunters brought us?" she asked with quiet humor.

Willow smiled happily and said, "We have slain the fearsome and terrible, though tasty, submarine sandwich beast!"

The thought of one of her favorites caused Tara's stomach to growl slightly and she excitedly said, "Ooh, didja get me..."

"Yay!" Tara cheered happily and gave her pet's pet a quick kiss. She blushed slightly at her own behavior and glanced toward Xander, explaining, "I just *love* tuna!"

Strangely, Xander's eyes widened significantly and he bit his lip, as though trying to restrain himself from doing something. Tara tilted her head slightly, confused by his response. She turned to look at Willow and saw that the redhead was blushing deep-pink.

Suddenly, Xander let loose one barking laugh, then slapped his hand over his mouth. His eyes grew wide as saucers and he turned and quickly followed after Buffy.

The voice calling her name barely registered on Dawn's consciousness. Right now all she could focus on was the body laying at her feet.

Dead eyes stared into Dawn's own, a ragged hole between them gaped obscenely, like a third eye gouged out. A pool of red ruin spread out on the ground like perversion of a halo- framing the dead man's head.

"No... I didn't... I didn't want this..." Dawn whispered, her throat aching as though she'd been screaming her lungs out. Fear like ice-water flowed across her flesh, causing her to shiver violently.

The dead knight's lips moved, and Dawn could hear the words in her head, even thought there was no sound. "You killed me."

A flash of light and suddenly Dawn was there again, pulling the trigger as the knight charged her. Another flash and it was back to the body on the ground, staring accusingly at her with it's dead eyes. Her heart hammered against her ribcage as thought it was trying to burst through her chest and escape.

"Mom?" Dawn cried desperately, turning and trying to find the source of the voice. Something grabbed her shoulder and spun her around, eliciting a startled squeak. She opened her eyes to find her mother's concerned face only inches from her own.

"Mom? What...?" Dawn shook her head, disoriented. Her pulse was throbbing fiercely in her throat and she didn't immediately recognize her surroundings.

Dawn's breathing slowed as the d�r filtered through her confusion and she remembered, 'Huggybear's house... right...'

'Good... good, he's back.' Just knowing he was back in the house helped quiet Dawn's panic.

She avoided his eyes and ignored the question by asking one of her own. "Did you get whoever was shooting?"

"Yes, I did. Now, tell me what happened to you?" Giles said, his voice quiet but the tone firm.

Dawn focused on her lap, picking at the fabric of the couch. "I don't know... I got light headed I guess."

'Great, I scared Mom, which was the whole thing I was trying to not do!' Dawn thought, frustrated and upset with herself.

Dawn put on a smile and tried to reassure her mother. "I guess I didn't sleep very well, what with waiting to hear what happened last night... and I wasn't really hungry this morning," she said self deprecatingly. "I should have listened to you and ate something anyway."

Fortunately, it seemed to work. Joyce immediately filled a plate with sandwiches and pushed it into Dawn's hands, saying, "Well, let's not have a repeat... I want you to eat something, Ok?"

Dawn picked up one of the sandwiches and forced another smile for her mom's sake. "Sure, ok." She took one bite and chewed it down before looking back to Giles and asking, "So, who's trying to kill us now?"

'Well, I wasn't trying to fool Giles,' Dawn thought as she dropped her gaze again and concentrated on chewing and swallowing. 'It's a valid question though...'

After a moment, Giles answered her question, though through his tone of voice seemed intent on letting Dawn know there would be further discussion later of her blackout. "Unfortunately, I don't know. Someone apparently hired this assassin through an intermediary, so he didn't know the client's identity himself."

"They certainly have motive." Giles stood up and began pacing as he continued, "I, however, cannot imagine the Knights of Byzantium using a third party. Also, it seems that I was the primary target, rather than Dawn, though he did have her photo as well... strangely, he had no instructions regarding you, Joyce."

Dawn frowned when Giles mentioned photos. 'How would... when did they take pictures? Where did they take our picture?' she wondered, working the problem in her mind.

"Photo? You mean like surveillance pictures, right?" Dawn asked aloud. "Like someone's been watching us?"

Giles stared blankly at her for a moment, before a look of shock came over his face. Shock gave way to anger and Dawn could see his jaw muscles working as he stripped off his glasses, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Pillock!" he growled out through clenched teeth.

"Rupert, what is it, what's wrong?" Joyce exclaimed, standing and gently grabbing the Brit's arm.

"I'm a bloody idiot! That's what's wrong," Giles said with a combination of irritation and embarrassment on his face. He focused on Dawn and said, "Thank you Dawn, I'm glad one of us is thinking clearly."

'Ok, huh?' Dawn thought, confused. She looked to her mother and saw no more comprehension there.

"Not surveillance photos. He had... I guess snapshots would be the word. Casual photos, where you knew you were being photographed..." he walked over to the kitchen table and opened a file folder, pulling out two pictures and bringing them back to the living area.

"I don't understand, how would he get pictures like that?" Joyce said, dropping onto the couch next to Dawn.

"From our house," Dawn said with a cold chill running through her. "Or from someone who knows us well enough to have pictures of us..."

"Someone told the Knights where we were. Perhaps..." Giles stopped pacing and frowned in thought.

Apparently lost in thought, Giles started slightly at Dawn's demand. "Oh, sorry. I was just thinking... what if someone set the knights on us for their own reasons, independent of the Knight's motivation..."

'Great, I thought it'd be over with Glory dead. It sounds like it's just getting started,' Dawn thought sadly.

Tara laughed, adding, "You'd better hurry Faith; Xander and Buffy have been eyeing your sandwiches pretty hard..."

"Hey, I just didn't want them going to waste," Xander protested, failing to entirely hide his grin.

Tara looked over toward the great room where Faith was walking in and was struck by the look on her face. 'She looks kinda down,' Tara thought as her face came into light. 'Wherever she went, I wonder what happened...'

Tara frowned and noticed Xander doing the same. 'Definitely not happy-Faith,' she thought. 'It kind of reminds me of how she was on the car ride from when we picked her up at the prison.

Willow seemed not to notice anything out of the ordinary as she responded, "Xander and I have slain the dreaded subway beast.

Tara saw Xander grin at the look of incomprehension on Faith's face. "Yes, mighty hunters are we- and the bounty from our kill is this..." He said teasingly, grabbing the remaining two paper-wrapped bundles and pushing them towards the unoccupied chair beside him.

'She seems almost like she's afraid he's going to do something, or say something bad...' Tara thought as Faith raised an eyebrow and cautiously slid into the seat next to Xander. She continued to scrutinize him for a moment before she reached for the sandwiches.

Finally her face changed as she unwrapped the first sandwich. The look of worry dissolved into a grin and she laughed a little. "What kinda animal's got eight balls?" she asked with amusement lacing her voice.

Tara felt herself blush slightly and a glance at her girls showed that they too were blushing.

Despite her blush, Tara was pleased as she thought, 'Now *that's* what I'd expect from Faith!'

As she was about to take another bite, Faith suddenly frowned and looked toward the great room. "You guys expecting anybody?" she asked.

"A car just pulled up to the front," Buffy added, obviously hearing the same thing as Faith.

"No one but Deadboy's crew and us know where we are," Xander said as stood up and strode out of the room, angling for the hallway to the bedrooms.

A loud knock caused Tara to jump slightly. Faith and Buffy stood as one and headed for the front door. As Tara and Willow stood to follow, Tara noticed Xander walking across the greatroom towards the door as well.

'Why does Xander have a gun?' Tara wondered, noticing a large, black pistol tucked into his belt at the small of his back.

"It's daylight, so not a vamp. The only way I can figure someone or something knows where we are, is if they followed us from either Glory's, or from your house last night," Xander explained. "So, if one of her scabby little minions is at the door, I thought I'd say 'hi'."

Faith and Buffy took positions on either side of the door while Xander cautiously approached. His right hand was on the gun in his belt, his left hand stretched out to the doorknob.

Tara grabbed Willow's hand and laced their fingers together. 'Oh, sweaty palm...' she thought, feeling somehow reassured that Willow was as nervous as Tara was herself.

Tara looked back to the door in time to see Xander yank it open and take a step back. He had drawn the pistol almost completely from his pants when he paused, then put it back as he tipped his head back in laughter.

Both intrigued, and relieved, Tara pulled Willow along to see who was at the door.

"Um... Hi, I'm with Classic Couriers..." said the woman at the door with a surprised and wary look on her face.

Xander's voice was sheepish as he quit laughing and said, "Sorry, we weren't really expecting anybody..."

The delivery woman nodded her head slowly, as though she thought she just might be dealing with an insane person. "Uh huh. Ok, no problem..." She looked down at her clipboard and asked, "Um, is there a Tara McLay here?"

"I have a package for you Ms. McLay," the woman said, now sounding cool and professional. "If I could just get you to sign right here," she said, pointing to her clipboard.

The delivery woman took back the clipboard and handed Tara a manila envelope. "Here you are, have a nice day," she said, turning and quickly walking back to her truck.

Tara couldn't help but grin at Buffy's tone. 'Such a little girl sometimes- a sexy little girl...'

"I don't know what it is, and it's not marked who it's from," Tara said, refocusing on the matter at hand.

"Well, open it already," Faith said impatiently. "Then you'll know what it is, and maybe who it's from."

"Yes, Faith. I wouldn't have thought of that on my own." Tara smirked as she turned and walked over to the dining table; four curious Scoobies in tow.

She sat down and was about to tear the envelope open when Xander suddenly said, "Wait a minute, what if it's evil?"

"I mean, like, maybe it's booby trapped, you know... like magically of something?" Xander explained sheepishly, ducking his gaze.

"I don't feel any magic..." Tara said, a little hesitantly. "Why did you think...?"

"I... it's just," Xander appeared to have difficulty expressing his reasoning. "Who would send you anything... here I mean? No one's supposed to know we're here..."

Tara dropped the envelope on the table and pulled her hands away without conscious thought. "That's true..." she began, suddenly concerned.

"I dunno, I'm not getting any 'evil vibes' or anything," Faith spoke up. "I mean, you gotta point, no one know's we're her 'cept Angel and them guys... maybe it's from him?"

"Yeah, no wiggy vibes here either," Buffy offered. "We could call Angel, I guess."

Tara smiled at the hesitancy in Buffy's voice. 'A sensitive subject still, I guess,' she thought. 'After all, it was only a couple of days ago that she took a pretty severe paddling for getting involving with him without my permission...'

Tara gave her lover's hand a reassuring squeeze. "I think you're right Faith, it must be from them in LA, no one but them knows we're here, and if it's not magical, and it's not setting off any Slayer sense, I think we can open it..." she finished, looking at Xander with a gentle smile. "Not that being cautious is a bad thing..."

"No, you're probably right. It's probably from deadboy..." Xander said looking a little self-conscious.

'I'm sure it's safe,' she told herself as she slid a finger into the flap and tore the top open. If her hand happened to tremble just a bit as she did so, Tara carefully ignored it.

When nothing untoward happened, Tara released the breath she hadn't been aware she'd been holding, and dumped the contents of the envelope onto the table. There was a smaller envelope, such as would hold a card that might come with a bouquet, and a thick paper which was folded in thirds.

"Well, that's good!" Willow said, a note of genuine relief noticeable through the humor in her voice.

"It's 'are we paranoid enough?'" Faith said, completing Xander's thought with a shrug and a smirk for the only guy in the room. Then she picked up her sandwich and resumed eating.

'Scary question,' Tara thought. She decided to think about that at a later date, and instead focused on the mystery before her. She picked up the smaller envelope and un-tucked the flap, opening it. Inside was a card with elegant, handwritten script:

PLEASE FORGIVE THIS LOWLY ONE'S PRESUMPTUOUSNESS; THOUGH HIS CORRUPTION PRECLUDES SERVICE IN THE NORMAL MANNER, ALL THAT THIS ONE HAS IS YOURS TO COMMAND.

She felt her face grow hot, and her heart sped up. 'What have you done Angel?' she wondered with trepidation.

Dropping the card, she ignored Buffy, Willow and Xander's chorus of 'What's it say?' and quickly grabbed the other piece of paper. Unfolding it with shaking hands, Tara scanned it quickly, then blinked several times and scanned it again, slowly.

"Oh my..." she sighed again in disbelief, dropping the paper to the table and looking up at her friends and lovers.

Licking her suddenly dry lips, Tara quietly said, "You're not going to believe this..."

Dawn slowly chewed her second sandwich as she watched Giles. 'I guess I really was hungry,' she thought, trying to curb her impatience as Giles phone call went on and on.

"Have you gone completely daft!?" Giles suddenly shouted. "Didn't you bloody well learn your lesson the last time you..."

'Poor mom,' Dawn thought, glancing to her left to see her mother wringing her hands and looking frightened.

"Yes, yes of course you're right..." Giles said, once again in control of his voice. "Thank you Quinton."

'I didn't know you could speak that clearly through clenched teeth,' Dawn thought with a surrealistic sense of humor despite the terribly stressful situation they were in. 'I wonder if thinking that's funny means I'm dealing with things better, or I'm about to crack and start screaming?'

The moment he hung up the phone, Giles took off and began furiously cleaning his glasses.

'That's never a good sign,' Dawn thought. 'I can't believe the council would be stupid enough to want to kill me. Buffy, Willow and Tara would kick their asses so hard it'd be raining Watcher for weeks before it all came down... Eww, mental image so not needed here!'

Giles favored her with a wan smile and returned his glasses to his face, dropping his arm around the elder Summers back.

Joyce immediately hugged herself up to his chest, clearly very upset and seeking reassurance.

With a glance at his watch, Giles said, "Dawn, would you please set up for our call? It's nearly time."

'Good, no dizzies,' she thought, relieved. She walked back over to the table and futzed around with the laptop for a moment, it was already all set up, she just needed to log in to the host and they'd be ready to go.

Turning back toward the two adults, Dawn realized he'd just wanted a moment with her mom. 'That's so sweet,' she thought, seeing Giles stroking her mom's face and whispering softly to her. 'God, I sure hope you keep him close Mom. He's definitely a good man. He's just like Xander... well, except way better educated. They both are so strong, and loyal... they both stick around no matter how tough it gets, even when it really hurts.'

Dawn turned back to the computer, allowing them the private moment they needed. 'They also have one other thing in common,' she thought, a tear welling up in her eye as she remembered last night's overheard conversation. 'They're both willing to do really terrible things when they have to, to protect the people they love.'

'Buffy and Willow are going to freak, I think, no matter how I say it,' she thought nervously.

"Well, don't keep us in suspense, Blondie," Faith said through a mouthful of meatball sandwich.

"Um, well," Tara started again, feeling her face grow even hotter. "He, uh, apparently felt the need to, ah, m-make up for... the thing... at the hotel..." she stuttered.

Tara glanced at Buffy, who was staring intently at the table, and Willow, who was looking like she was trying not to smile. 'Oh boy,' she thought.

Xander interjected before Tara could decide what to say. "Oh please, let me tell it!" He proceeded before Tara could say one way or the other.

Leaning toward Faith with a huge grin on his face, Xander said, "See, deadboy was apparently less than happy with the thought of the Buffster hooking up with Will and Tara, so he tried to get all territorial and stuff. Tara here put the smackdown on Mr. Broody..."

Clearly, Xander was both impressed, and pleased as he recounted the events. "She tossed him into his office, and then went in and closed the door. I'm not sure what exactly happened in there, but I know when he came out, he was as meek and mild as you please. He was minding his manners like a first-grader coming out of the Principal's office."

'Good thing you can't blush hard enough to actually pass out!' Tara thought as the heat poured off of her face and neck.

"I didn't spank him, Faith," Tara protested. "I just... explained that Buffy was mine, and that no one was allowed to interfere with that."

The last was spoken in a more serious voice, Tara's gaze locked firmly with Faith's. 'And that includes you Faith,' she thought, hoping the dark-haired Slayer would take the hint and back down on the flirting without a need for direct intervention.

For just the barest moment, Faith's face showed a flash of darker emotion. 'Like sadness, and anger mixed together,' Tara thought. Then, as quickly as it appeared, it was gone.

"Well, you musta done something to impress," Faith answered, once again sporting her usual devil-may-care attitude. "So, what'd he give ya?"

Blushing once again, Tara gestured to the room around them and said, "Um, this."

A moment of silence seemed to stretch out into infinity. The Scoobies glanced around the room for a second, and then all eyes were once again locked on the blonde witch. Tara had to force herself not to duck her head.

"This..." Xander said, drawing out the word into a disbelieving question; as though he thought he knew the answer, but equally believed that it couldn't possibly be the answer.

"The house? You mean this seven-bedroom mansion? That's the 'house' you're talking about?" Xander sputtered.

"Well, as grand gestures go..." Xander said, shaking his head in apparent wonder. After a second he began laughing uproariously.

"So, Tara," Faith started. "Where do you shop, cause I gotta get me a whip and some fetish-wear- that dominatrix gig sound like a real hoot. I just gotta find me some rich boy and beat his ass raw and I'll be on easy street..."

'I don't know if I'm more shocked at what she said, or that she used my actual name...'

Tara turned to the one person who had yet to say anything. "Buffy?" she whispered, taking in her pet's dazed look.

'I hope she's not upset,' Tara thought, feeling her stomach knot at the thought. 'Damn that vampire! He manages to come between us even when he's trying to do something nice... Now I'm going to have to convince her that I'm not interested in being Angel's Mistress...'

Tara's concern and worry evaporated as Buffy locked eyes with her and whispered, "I want to taste you so badly right now, Mistress. I can hardly stand it!"

The adoration and desire in her pet's eyes hit Tara like a slap, replacing fret with hot lust.

Willow must have noticed their looks, because she suddenly said, "I've got to set up for the call, you've got about ten minutes."

Glancing at her redheaded lover, Tara saw amusement and understanding in her beautiful hazel eyes. "Thank you!" she mouthed silently.

As she stood up and grabbed Buffy's hand, Tara thought, 'I'm gonna make sure your Mistress lets me reward you so good tonight Willow!'

"Come on Slayer, You've got work to do!" Tara growled as she dragged her unresisting pet off to the bedroom.

Tara was nearly panting by the time she yanked her Slayer into the bedroom and slammed the door. "Goddess! What you do to me Buffy!" she rasped, looking at her lover with pulse-pounding desire. "You'd think I hadn't had you in weeks, not just this morning!"

Tara saw her own lust reflected, even amplified in the Slayer's gaze. She couldn't hold back a gasp when Buffy dropped to her knees before her.

"Mistress please! Tell me to touch you, command me to taste you, to drive you insane with pleasure!" Buffy cried, her voice inflamed with raw need.

'How? How can I need you so badly?!' one small corner of Tara's mind cried. That small voice was drowned out by an electrical storm of searing passion that threatened to wipe away Tara's ability to think.

'I am possessed, you possess me!' Tara thought as she watched Buffy scramble to obey. She didn't bother taking off her own clothes, instead she just hiked her skirt up around her waist, yanked down her panties and moved over to the bed.

Tara grabbed a fist full of Buffy's hair and leaned down till her eyes were only inches from the Slayer's. "You've got five minutes to make me cum screaming Slayer, you got that?" she growled loudly.

Buffy's eyes opened up impossibly wide and she nodded as far as she was able with Tara gripping her hair. "Yes! Oh God, yes Mistress!" she cried out, panting like a dog in the midsummer heat.

Tara let go of her handful of hair and swung her leg over Buffy's head, settling herself down on the Slayer's face. Letting go her skirt, Tara reveled in the feel of her pet's frantic tongue and lips on her slick, hot flesh.

Had anyone dared to look in the room- and managed to escape alive- they would have forever remembered the vision of a naked, squirming Slayer buried from her collarbone up under Tara's skirts. Meanwhile, the witch in question was running her hands through her hair, undulating her hips, and grunting and growling more like an animal than a human being.

'Goddess! Feels so good, so right, so perfect!' Tara thought, her mind swimming in an erotic haze. After a minute, she blinked her eyes open and took in the sight of her pet's body before her. Her eyes trailed over the bare flesh and she was almost surprised that her gaze didn't leave a trail of fire, it was so hot. 'Touch... feel...' her mind grunted, all higher thinking wiped away.

Tara cupped Buffy's breasts in her palms, and then dragged her nails up the soft skin, leaving five red lines on each breast converging on the turgid nipples. Tara pinched, twisted and rolled that stiff flesh until she could feel and hear Buffy moaning and crying against her sex.

Enflamed and feeling something akin to madness building up inside her, Tara began grinding herself against Buffy's mouth and face. She raked her nails across Buffy's perfect, flat stomach, striping the flesh almost as if she been using a flog on her.

Tara's whole body shuddered as an orgasm rushed through her with the power and fury of an explosion. So intense was it that she didn't even realize for a moment that she was screaming.

She stopped shrieking, but continued to ride her Slayer's face, unable or at least unwilling to stop the roiling pleasure that pulsed through her. "Don't stop!" she commanded in a harsh rasp, riding the waves of ecstasy, climbing once again toward the peak.

Just before she shattered once again, Tara reached down and jammed four fingers inside Buffy's overflowing sex, pumping madly.

"Cum!" Tara shrieked. It was at once a command for her pet and an announcement of her own wracking climax. Suddenly she found herself astride a wild animal as Buffy arched up and twisted feverishly, riding out her own release, squeezing Tara's fingers in a wet, flesh vise.

She didn't loose consciousness, but it did take several moments for Tara's mind to swim up out of the depths and become aware of her surroundings once more. When she blinked her eyes back into focus she found herself face to face with her lover.

'Oh sweetie, I love you so much,' Tara thought at the look of adoration she saw in Buffy's wide, shiny eyes. 'Hmm, there's a little shock there too...' she realized. 'That was pretty intense...'

A moment of pure astonishment quickly turned into laughter, and Buffy rolled onto her back, deep belly laughs spilling out of her. "God Tara!" she exclaimed in laughter.

Tara rolled up onto her side and smiled as she watched Buffy laugh. 'So sexy, so... so Buffy!' she thought happily.

Noticing the angry welts on Buffy's stomach, Tara reached over and stroked them.

Buffy's laughter died away and she gasped as Tara ran her fingers up and down the hot, red flesh.

"You know, I used to be embarrassed when I'd see the marks on your skin..." Tara whispered. "After we'd cool down, I'd feel guilty... like I'd done something bad..."

Tara quieted her pet with a glance and a reassuring smile. Warmth flowed through her as she verily bathed in the afterglow of sex and love. "Then after a while, it started to feel good... and then that made me feel like I must be sick, or there was something wrong with me, to feel good about hurting you..."

"People who don't live it could never really understand... the difference between hurt and harm... I'd never harm you, my Slayer," Tara whispered, feeling her chest and throat tighten as intense joy and emotion welled up inside her. Moving her hand to cup Buffy's cheek, she continued, "But I love hurting you, I love making you scream in pleasure and pain... you make me feel like a goddess, Buffy."

"You are," Buffy whispered intently. "You're my everything, you're my Mistress!"

"We should get back out there," Tara said, giving Buffy a brief kiss, and then rolling off the bed. "I think we owe Willow something special tonight, what do you think?" She asked as she quickly found her panties and slid them back on.

"Because of this, or just 'cause she's Willow?" Buffy joked while collecting her own clothes.

Tara had an image flash though her brain suddenly as she watched Buffy drop her bundle on the bed and start to pick through it. 'Oh, Tara, you are a wicked, wicked girl!' she thought with a grin. 'I think a little payback is in order for flirty little Faith...'

"I want you to wear your black sports bra, and that hip-hugger mini-skirt of yours..." Tara said with a sultry voice.

"Oh, and no panties," Tara added offhandedly. "I may want to play with you later..."

"Now, get dressed, wash your face, and come out for the conference call," Tara instructed. She then walked out of the room with her chin high, leaving the stunned Slayer once again scrambling to obey.

"Hey, we're just waiting for Giles to log in, and we'll be ready," Willow said as Tara walked back into the dining room.

The redhead stood and hugged the blond witch when she got closer. "Mmm, you look like the cat that got the cream," she whispered as she wrapped her arms around the taller girl.

'Just wait till you see your Mistress!' Tara thought giddily as she kissed her girlfriend.

"I still can't believe deadboy gave you this place!" Xander said, shaking his head and chuckling softly.

"I can't believe you just dragged B off for a quickie!" Faith said disbelievingly. "You three were just bunny-bouncing, like, two hours ago!"

Tara answered with an inscrutable smile. 'Poor Faith,' she thought, feeling downright decadent. 'I can't wait to see her face when Buffy comes out...'

"Well, it's not every day someone gives you a big old mansion! I think that's ah, a reasonable cause for celebration," Willow said.

"Yeah, or maybe you guys are just big ol' horn-dogs," Faith said with a smirk. "What do you think X-man?"

All eyes moved onto Xander while he raised his brow as if surprised to be included in the conversation. "Uh, I think even I'm not dumb enough to get into this discussion."

"Come on X-man, don't sell yourself short," Faith snickered. She winked, as if to say she was just kidding.

Tara laughed when Xander stuck his tongue out at the dark-haired Slayer. 'Still such a little boy sometimes...'

Buffy entered the room at that moment and Tara could feel Willow stiffen in her arms at the sight. 'Ah, this should be interesting...'

Tara turned to see Faith's and Xander's reactions, keeping one arm around her girlfriend. She wasn't disappointed.

Buffy was dressed as her Mistress had instructed, a black sports bra and a black miniskirt. The two rather skimpy pieces of clothing showed off lots of skin, and acted as a frame, highlighting the long red lines scratched into the Slayer's tawny stomach. Her eyes were lowered, and her cheeks were stained red by her blush.

"Goddess, I want to go over there and lick each and every line!' Tara thought lustily. "Maybe Faith's right, maybe we are big ol' horn-dogs... like that's a bad thing," she thought with a big grin on her face.

When her eyes made it all the way to the Slayer's lightly blushing face, Tara realized, "She's enjoying this! She's trying to hide a smile there, the little vixen! Oh, exhibitionist Buffy... that has possibilities!"

Xander seemed stunned, his eyes glassy and wide as he stared at the sexy blonde.

Faith hid it a little better than Xander, but the way she was rubbing her palms on her thighs, and the sagged jaw told Tara that Faith was highly aroused.

"Faith, you're drooling," Tara teased, laughing delightedly when the Slayer nearly slapped herself in an effort to wipe the non-existent saliva from her mouth.

"So, the call?" Tara asked, sitting down and pretending to ignore the lust saturating the atmosphere.

"Uh, call?" Willow began, her mind clearly lost in the scenery for a moment. "Oh, the call... um, ready, yes." She dropped down into her chair and gestured toward the laptop. "We're all set... still waiting for Giles to log on..."

Buffy sat down between Tara and Willow and leaned over to the redhead, kissing her in greeting.

Tara could just hear Willow whispering in the blonde Slayer's ear, "You look so sexy, Mistress Buffy!"

Before Buffy could respond, the laptop made a chiming sound like a doorbell, and the message popped up: 'Dustyoldbooks would like to join the conference'

'Well, Willow warned Giles that he should learn how to set it up himself..." Tara thought with a humorous smile as well.

Dawn smiled and felt some of her tension loosen as the image of the Scoobies flared to life. "Giles, Mom, they're on!" she called out to the hugging couple in the kitchen.

Her eyes swept the screen from left to right. She smiled warmly at the triad, all three of them sisters to her.

She felt somewhat disconcerted to see Faith, thinking, 'So many unpleasant memories... and none of them are real.'

'Xander...' Dawn felt a pang of sadness as she drank in his image, remembering the previous night's revelation, 'I'm so sorry you had to go through that...'

"Hey Dawn!" Willow's cheery voice came across the speaker. "You guys enjoying your little getaway?"

Dawn was startled into a somewhat manic laugh, 'Right! Lovely, relaxing vacation.'

Before she could answer, Giles and her mother plopped down on the couch next to her.

"Hello Buffy, Willow, Tara, Xander... Faith, it's good to see you again..." Giles greeted everyone.

"We're so relieved that you all are ok!" Joyce exclaimed, obviously locked into full mom mode.

Another chorus of greetings came from the Scoobies, but Dawn noticed that Faith didn't seem willing to look into the camera, being more interested in the surface of the table in front of her.

'It must be hard, after everything she did she must have a hard time looking Mom and Giles in the eyes,' Dawn thought. 'Even through a camera.'

"So, where'd you guys go?" Willow asked, still bouncing with excitement. "Did you do anything fun?"

Peripherally, Dawn saw her mom wrap her arms around herself, obviously uncomfortable with the violence that had been happening as recently as an hour ago. 'Not that I'm very comfortable with it either, at least mom didn't pass out when the shooting started...' Dawn thought in self-recrimination.

"Spill Giles, what's going on?" Buffy demanded, apparently sensing that all was not well. "Did something happen to you guys?!"

Dawn leaned back on the couch, thinking, 'Oh joy, lets relive it again...' She turned her head and noticed something that shocked her, 'Uh oh, Giles has his arm around mom!' She quickly snapped her eyes back to the screen, 'Huh, doesn't look like anyone's noticing...'

A small smile stole across Dawn's lips as she found some levity even in the midst of what was sure to be a depressing conversation. 'This should be interesting...'

"Our attempts to escape danger by escaping Sunnydale, were... well, less than successful," Giles said.

"It wasn't any of Glory's scabby little trolls, was it?" Buffy asked, her voice radiating both concern and anger.

"No, no it wasn't Glory... We had a run-in with the Knights of Byzantium, unfortunately..."

"Yeah!" Willow agreed, sounding flustered. "We didn't even know where you were!"

"We managed to, ah, avoid any serious injuries..." Giles answered Tara's question first. He quickly continued, "However we were able to ascertain that someone in Sunnydale informed them of our location..."

A chorus of protests was cut off when Xander raised his voice and asked, "Giles; did anyone besides you three know where you were?"

Dawn's eyes were focused on Buffy's stomach, which had been revealed as she stood up from the table. 'Ouch! That looks like it hurt!" she thought with a wince.

"Oh please mom!" Buffy continued. "They tried to kill you! That's the least of what I could call them!"

Buffy's standing position, in addition to showing her tummy, also took most of her face up out of the camera's view.

Dawn had to stifle an inappropriate snicker as her focus widened beyond the angry red lines on her sister's torso. 'I can only see her from the mouth down! She looks very weird...' Dawn thought. 'and her mouth looks really big...'

"Good Lord!" Giles exclaimed. "What happened? Xander said none of you had been wounded in the battle with Glory..."

Buffy sat down as abruptly as she had stood. She was blushing strongly and avoiding looking into the camera as she muttered, "It's nothing."

Faith and Xander were both grinning madly. Willow less so, but still looking amused. Tara was blushing too, but had her chin up and eyes on the camera.

'Oh my God!' Dawn thought as she realized what Faith must mean. 'First of all, Eww. Second, ouch! I really don't get the whole pain is pleasure thing. I hope Xander's not into that stuff... I bet Faith is though,' she thought snarkily.

Xander looked like he was nearly biting through his lip in an effort not to burst out laughing.

No one said anything for a moment, then Giles cleared his throat and said, "Yes, well... I don't think the council sent the Knight's of Byzantium after us. It isn't really their style."

Buffy was still blushing, but seemed perfectly willing to drop the subject of her 'wounds' as she said, "Yeah, I remember their 'style' from last year.

'At least she has the good grace to look ashamed,' Dawn thought as she saw Faith duck her head.

Of all the Scoobies, only Xander seemed to catch Giles use of the past tense, and understand what it implied. 'He's the only one who reacted, anyway,' Dawn thought.

"Someone they referred to as 'the traitor' gave them both that information, and our location," Giles said.

Giles nodded wearily. "I'm certain that Quinton at least knows. Though how he could have found out is beyond me..."

"But, you still don't think the council sent the knight's after you?" Xander asked, incredulous.

"I agree that that would seem logical, however there are two reasons why I do not believe that they were involved," Giles explained. "First, the Knights were approached in Sunnydale by this nebulous 'traitor'. While not out of the question, it is unlikely that there is anyone from the council remains in Sunnydale after their recent debacle. Also, it is unlikely that the council would approach the Knights in person, if they were to contact them at all."

"Yes, well... someone, we're assuming that it's the same person who gave us up to the Knights, but someone sent another assassin after myself and Dawn specifically," Giles explained.

"Three very good questions," Giles said sardonically. "Unfortunately, I can only answer one of them. The 'what' is; someone hired a relatively inexpensive assassin, gave him personal photos of Dawn and I, and told him where to find us. Unfortunately, they acted through an unknown intermediary, therefore..."

"Precisely," Giles agreed. "While the council is know for it's ruthlessness, they have much better resources than this. They also wouldn't likely have used those photos."

"Buffy, I recognized the picture of Dawn... it came from my dresser!" Joyce said in a shaky voice. "Whoever it was that did this was in our house!"

'That's interesting...' Dawn thought. 'They all got a weird look on their faces all of a sudden. Kind of a 'we're hiding something' look...'

"The picture of me looks as though it was taken at the shop... though I can't recall the situation in which it was taken..." Giles said.

"Well, I'm pretty sure it wasn't the Knights," Xander said in the ensuing silence. "They kinda ran into Glory while we were in LA."

"What does that mean?" Joyce asked. She stared at Giles for a moment, and the look on his face was apparently enough as she answered her own question, "Oh, she killed them..."

'Poor Mom, she looks so lost in all this,' Dawn thought. 'I'm not sure if I'm supposed to be glad or not... I guess I'm relieved...'

"There is something else," Giles said, his voice screaming out how much he didn't want to have to bring this up.

"Giles, I'm not sure how much 'more' we can deal with right now..." Buffy said, clearly upset with that which had already been discussed.

"Yes... unfortunately we cannot avoid this issue. It would seem that the council has decided to dispatch another team to capture Faith and return her to England for trial."

'Oh my God! Buffy's already pissed, she'll beat them into the dirt!' Dawn thought. 'I can't believe they could be so stupid!'

"But... wasn't it the council that got her pardoned in the first place?" Joyce asked. "Why would they... I just don't understand..." she trailed off, shaking her head.

"Um, Giles? You did remind the council that these guys just defeated Glory, right?" Dawn asked, incredulous. She gestured at the computer screen and said, "They just took out a Hellgod that the watchers thought no one could stop... what makes the council think they have the slightest chance of getting Faith?"

"There are some on the council who feel that, given Faith's history with... well, Buffy especially, but all of us really... they believe that no one will protest too strongly..." Giles said ruefully, as if embarrassed at his fellow watcher's naivety.

"Are they really that dumb?" Xander asked, sounding angry. "Do they think we'd just stand by and..." His hands on the table were clenched in fists.

'Oh boy, I can almost hear his teeth grinding...' Dawn thought. 'Oh God, does he have feelings for Faith? I mean I don't necessarily want the council getting their hands on her, but...' Intense jealousy flooded through the youngest Summers at the thought.

"But... that doesn't make sense..." Buffy said, clearly confused. "Why would he tell you, did he think you wouldn't tell us?"

Giles shook his head, "No, he was fully aware that I would be sharing this information with you all. He gave me the impression that he rather strongly disagrees with this course of action."

"Isn't he, like, the head watcher-guy, or something?" Xander asked with a frown.

"Quinton is a senior member of the council, however he is one of seven, and while quite influential, he can be out-voted by a simple majority," Giles explained.

Xander's face suddenly had a look of comprehension drawn over it, while the others all still appeared confused.

'Well, I don't get it,' Dawn thought. 'At least I'm not the only one... everyone else looks confused, even Giles a little.'

"Did you get the feeling that he was against them taking Faith, or just that he didn't think Buffy would let them get away with it?" Xander asked.

"Of course... that manipulative bastard," Giles whispered. "Excellent deduction, Xander. I think you've hit the nail on the head," he said.

'He sounds almost... like he's proud of him or something,' Dawn thought. 'Xander's a lot smarter than he acts sometimes; of course I already knew that. Just one more reason...'

"Well," Xander started, sounding a little nervous. "I think this Travers guy probably thinks it's a good idea; the taking Faith thing. I just don't think he buys the idea that we'll just sit around and do nothing about it... so he's, like, hedging his bets."

Tara and Willow nodded their heads, but the two slayers still had looks of incomprehension firmly plastered to their faces.

"See, he thinks that this team they're gonna send... that we're gonna stop them." Turning to Faith, he added, "Which, we totally will Faith."

"So, if we're gonna stop them anyway, then he probably thinks it'll smooth things over, at least for him, and he'll seem like he's on our side, 'cause he warned us about it ahead of time," Xander explained.

'And the light bulbs turn on,' Dawn thought rather uncharitably as the slayers finally seemed to get it.

"So, does that make this guy Travers a good guy, or a bad guy?" Faith asked, speaking up at last.

"Neither, I'm afraid," Giles said, sounding tired. "I would say that Quinton Travers is a man with his own agenda... and while it may have worked to our benefit in this case, he may yet prove to be even more dangerous in the long run."

"You guys need to come ho... er, back to Sunnydale," Buffy said, sounding decisive. "We can deal with all this better when we're all together."

'My take-charge Slayer,' Tara thought with a smile. 'You've definitely gotten good at hiding your uncertainty... but I can see it in your eyes. You just need Mom and 'Dad' home.'

"I would agree, however, I am concerned about traveling with the possibility of another assassin lurking about." Giles said. "We are quite safe here..."

"We were only in danger when we went out," Giles explained in a calm, reassuring voice. "This building is protected by a very powerful spell- in fact the latest attempt was made while I was going out to the car for something, but still within the perimeter of the spell. The assassin utilized a sniper position on the building across the street, and the bullets were stopped seemingly in mid-air."

"How?" Willow interjected. "I mean, no offense Giles, but I didn't think your spell-casting was that strong..."

"Quite right, Willow. This spell was cast many years ago, when I was at the peak of my powers, and I was one of three sorcerers involved in the incantation," Giles said.

"Really?" Willow asked excitedly. "What kind of incantation did you use? Was it from Tollar's grimoire? There's some pretty cool defensive spells for multiple casters..."

"What?" Willow asked, clearly distracted by the talk of magic. "Oh, right. Sorry. I guess we can talk about that later, after all the 'people trying to kill us' issues are resolved."

"You're so adorable," Buffy whispered, leaning in to kiss her embarrassed girlfriend.

'You're both adorable,' Tara thought with a smile. 'And, speaking of adorable,' she thought as she turned back to the computer, 'if I'm not mistaken, that's Giles arm wrapped around a certain Summers lady in a more than just friendly manner.'

Tara had been noticing both the physical contact between the Watcher and her lover's mother, and Dawn's looks of humor and pleasure at the contact. 'Me thinks someone's bed is not so lonely any longer... Now, we just need to get Xander interested in our little Dawnie, and there will be a full family of happy Summers ladies.'

"Yes, well... we still have the issue to address. We three are quite safe from anything less than a third circle demon, a hi-level mage, or a small nuclear weapon; however, we cannot remain here indefinitely," Giles said.

"Yeah, not real wild about that," Faith muttered, still apparently having difficulty looking at the computer screen.

'I know I'd be scared of how Giles and Mom would feel too,' Tara thought sympathetically. 'I'll never forget how terrified I felt right after I cast that stupid blind-to-demons spell...'

'I think I've seen that look on Buffy and Willow before...' Tara thought at the look of adoration on Dawn's face. 'Dawnie, you've got it bad!'

Xander smiled wanly, looking around to see everyone looking at him questioningly. "Well, I think we should have some of us go to you guys, act as lookouts and do a chase-car kind of thing... that way if someone is watching and waiting, we can flush them with Ms. Summers' jeep, and where they'll just be expecting you three, we can catch them in a pincers and take them out."

"I'm not sure it would be a good idea to leave the Hellmouth unprotected any longer... you were, after all, away for nearly a week already," Giles said.

Faith's head jerked at that, and the look on her face was momentarily one of fear, before she schooled her features once again to present her mask of bored indifference. 'Not so tough after all. I wonder if she'll ever feel comfortable enough with us to drop it for longer than a moment...'

"...after all, the council team is coming here to try and take Faith, why give them a chance to get lucky..." he said to Buffy. He turned to the screen and added, "Plus it would be good to have a Slayer around if someone makes a play for you guys."

'Yes, Giles,' Tara thought. 'You don't have to make all the decisions any more, we're all capable of thinking on our feet now and then, though Xander is definitely showing a lot of strategic thinking lately... Hmm, speaking of strategizing...'

"Xander should also go, I think," Tara spoke up. "If the person coming after you is using a gun, Faith may not be able to get close enough to stop them in time." Turning to Xander, she added, "And maybe you could use those soldier memories to, ah, you know... anticipate ambushes..."

Tara glanced at the screen to see Dawn smiling madly. 'You owe me one, Dawnie!' she thought with a smile of her own.

"I think we should see if Gunn is available," Xander stated in the calm, even tone Tara had come to think of as 'Commander Xander'

'Not that I'd ever tell him that, his head would swell like a balloon. Maybe Dawnie will call him Commander Xander... ohh Tara, you're a naughty girl!'

"...As a Slayer, Faith is more than capable of handling most any supernatural threat," Xander continued. "But if we end up going up against a skilled sniper, it would be better to have a couple shooters of our own..."

Giles interjected, "Despite my national origin, I happen to be a fair hand with both rifle and pistol."

Xander nodded, but apparently disagreed with the implied offer, "Giles, you're the target. The bad guy will be looking for you- it's our job to be looking for him or her, and stop them before you even get involved."

'He wants to argue,' Tara though, seeing the look on Giles face. 'But it makes sense...'

After a moment, Giles nodded his head. "Yes, that too appears to be sound reasoning..." Giles admitted grudgingly.

"We can pack up some weapons here, we still have the stuff from last night... we'll want to fly though, driving will take too much time, so getting it there might be a problem," Xander said, apparently still trying to think it through.

"What do you mean?" Buffy asked. She was pouting a little, apparently at the idea of being the only one not able to help.

"You think it'll work on the metal detectors?" Xander asked, a hopeful look on his face.

"Sure!" Willow said confidently. "Light is just EM radiation within a certain range of wavelengths, Magnetometers broadcast a different frequency of EM Radiation across the space you walk through, and then receive it on the other side, measuring any changes that would indicate the presence of metal. X-ray machines do the same thing with another wavelength all together. We can tailor a glamour that will make your guns and ammo invisible to those wavelengths! It's easy!"

'Only you sweetie!' Tara thought, repressing a laugh. She turned to look at Giles, as the only other magically knowledgeable person in the group, and had to actually cover her mouth.

"I... Good Lord!" Giles said in a strangled voice. He looked flushed and his jaw sagged open. "Have you... are you mad?" he stammered.

"Hey, what do you mean by that?" Buffy demanded, obviously offended on behalf of her lover.

"I..." Giles started, still flustered. He took a deep breath, visibly calming himself before continuing. "Buffy, the magic Willow it talking about is both highly advanced, and amazingly difficult. The kind of power required..."

'Oh Giles, you have no idea what kind of power our little red witch has at her command...' Tara thought, feeling mostly proud of her lover, but also feeling a shiver of fear. 'Buffy and I will have to work hard to make sure she always rules the magic, and doesn't let it rule her...'

"Xander, do you still have that pistol?" Willow asked, sounding almost condescendingly confident.

Xander looked less sure, glancing at both Buffy and Tara before shrugging and saying, "Um, sure Will." He reached behind his back and withdrew a black pistol. He dropped the clip into his left hand and then racked the slide, catching the ejected round and setting it all down on the table in front of Willow.

Willow waved her hand one time over the pile of steel and plastic, muttering, "Onde lasciate dell'esposizione chiara con non diminuito"

"Holy Crap!" Xander exclaimed as the pistol and ammo seemed to waver as though looking through rippling water for half a second, and then was just gone.

"Good Lord!" Giles breathed out harshly. He leaned forward until his head filled the screen, apparently trying to get a closer look at his own screen.

"That's wicked cool Red," Faith said, sounding surprised and impressed. "definitely come in handy."

"Giles, maybe we should concentrate on other things right now?" Buffy said. "Don't get me wrong, I'm always up for a round of 'how incredibly amazing are my girlfriends,' but maybe we can wait till you guys get back here?"

Ignoring the conversation, Xander was instead handling the invisible gun in his hands with a look of amazement on his face. "How long will it last?" he asked almost reverently.

"Oh, it's permanent, or at least it is until someone undoes the spell..." Willow said nonchalantly. "I changed the molecular refractivity of the materials so that it'll pass any EM wavelengths from about ten thousand angstroms down to around a hundred angstroms or so..."

"Oh, um... that's down in the microwaves, to infrared light, up through visible, ultraviolet and X-rays," Willow explained to Xander.

"We most definitely need to discuss this newfound ability when I get back," Giles said, shaking his head in wonder.

Tara just nodded her head again. 'He is in for some surprises,' she thought. 'Not that he could actually change anything at this point...'

"So," Xander said, shaking off his amazement, at least for the moment. "Will and Tara will stealth our weapons, I'll call Gunn and see if he can come out to play, and then we can arrange the plane ride. I guess the main question is, where in the world are you, and how soon can we get there?"

"Rupert, why were you so upset with Willow?" Joyce asked after the conference had ended. "Did she do something wrong?"

Giles stood up and began to clean his glasses. "Wrong? No, not wrong... it simply shouldn't be possible. I knew she had great potential, but as recently as last year, she was operating on a very low novice level, and now... It just shouldn't be possible."

"Come on Mom! It's Willow, she's not dangerous!" Dawn protested. "She's... she's Willow!"

Giles slid his glasses back into place and said, "Of course she's dangerous, Dawn. So is Tara, so are Buffy and Faith. Faith especially has demonstrated how dangerous great power can be if used irresponsibly. Even Xander is dangerous with a gun in his hands, as he's clearly shown in these past few days."

"But... but..." Dawn sputtered. "They wouldn't hurt... I mean, ok, Faith did, but she's not like that anymore..."

Giles smiled, though his attempt at looking reassuring was compromised by the subject matter. "Dawn, the question is not whether or not they, or any of us really, are dangerous... you have demonstrated that you can be dangerous yourself, when necessary," he said with a smile that was warm, and almost... pleased. "The question is, are Willow and Tara a danger to us, and I do not believe that they are."

"That having been said, I think it would be folly not to consider the ramifications inherent in such power being in any one person's hands. We must do all that we are able to help Willow and Tara make certain that they exercise the proper care and caution, that is all that I am suggesting.

"Of course, we'll all be there to help in any way we can," Joyce said reassuringly. "Right Dawn?"

To herself, Dawn added, 'I think Giles is just realizing that he shouldn't have kept blowing Willow off when she wanted magic lessons all through high school. Now he'll have to take lessons from her.'

Changing the subject, Dawn said, "We've got, like, four or five hours till they get here, right? I think I'll go try to catch up on some of the sleep I missed last night."

Joyce latched onto that plan, saying, "That's probably a good idea honey." Turning to Giles, she gently placed her hand on his forearm and said, "We could probably use a nap too... after all it's been a very stressful day already."

Giles looked confused for a moment, then his face cleared and he quickly agreed. "Yes, wouldn't do to be less than fully alert and aware this evening.

'Right,' Dawn thought with a smirk. 'As if I couldn't figure out what you're gonna do...'

Dawn shook her head as her mom and the watcher went off to their bedroom hand in hand. 'Seriously though, I can't believe Giles ever thought he could keep Willow from learning magic just cause he was afraid of it; I love you Giles, but sometimes you can be pretty stupid.'

The youngest Summers walked into her bedroom and went right for her suitcase. "Ok, I've got about four hours to get ready before Xander gets here," Dawn said to herself. "That might be just enough..."

"So, can I ask you guys something?" Xander said as Willow and Tara finished the last gun.

'You know, Giles has a point,' Tara thought as she instinctively began drawing power from the area around her to replenish the magic she'd spent. Not that she needed a lot; being coupled with Willow when casting always meant lots of power to draw on. 'Not only did those spells normally use a lot of power, the intricacy and specificity of what Willow was doing to the material required a lot of complex calculation... yet Willow did it just like that. And, I could see it, watching her made it so easy...' she shook her head slightly in wonder, musing, 'I could never have even imagined something like that on my own...'

Xander looked like he was having difficulty figuring out what to say. "Well... look, it's all magic to me; floating a pencil, turning guns invisible, frying Hellgods with electricity... I don't know one from the other. So, I don't get why Giles was all freaked out." He got a serious look on his face as he glanced back and forth between the two witches before continuing, "I do know that Giles doesn't freak out for nothing... I mean, despite the whole British-drama-queen thing, he's usually only scared like this for a good reason..."

"There's nothing to be scared of Xander, it's not like we use our magic for bad things..." Willow said. A look of real concern came over her face as she asked, "You're not scared of *us* are you?"

'That's a terrible thought!' Tara suddenly worried. 'The Scoobies should never feel afraid of Willow and me!'

Xander smiled warmly, "Course not Will, if I was gonna be scared of your magic, it would have been when you turned me into a demon magnet, turned Giles blind, and made Spike and Buffy..."

Willow held up her hands and said, "No! Don't even say it! I never want to think of that again!"

Xander laughed, "Yeah, I can see that... but that's kinda the point too, I mean, a year ago you weren't quite the magic whiz, and now you're like this super witch..."

"That was before Tara," Willow said adoringly, looking toward her lover with shining eyes.

"It wasn't me, sweetie. It was us," Tara said, cupping Willow's cheek and smiling lovingly at her redheaded girlfriend. "Actually, it was the three of us."

Tara moved her hand down Willow's face, around her neck and down her back, pulling the unresisting girl tightly against her. She kept her eyes focused on her lover even as she answered Xander's question. "Both of us seemed to get stronger when we started practicing together, plus we became better at control too, focusing magic to make it do what we wanted."

"Yeah," Willow agreed, nodding her head, but keeping eye contact with the taller witch. "I had real problems with focus before we started casting together."

"When we became a triad with Buffy, it seems like everything magnified a hundred times. I never thought I'd be as powerful as mom, my birth mom, I mean..."

Tara shook her head, still gazing into Willow's amazing hazel eyes. "No. I've become much more powerful than that... the spell we just cast on your guns was way beyond anything I've even heard of before. It's almost like a new kind of magic entirely..."

Tara couldn't help but shoot a quick glance at the male Scooby. 'Most would freak out, or look at us like we were the freaks, he just smiles and says 'cool'. We're definitely going to have to work on getting you and Dawnie together,' Tara thought, feeling a strong sense of platonic love for Xander.

"Damn, B Your girls there got Jeeves wicked freaked..." Faith said, breaking the silence after the two witches left with Xander to enchant his firearms.

Buffy smiled, saying, "I think he'll be ok... He just didn't know how powerful they've gotten." Her pride in her girlfriends was evident in her voice as she added, "I don't think even they really knew how powerful they were until we took on that vampire seminar in LA."

'My lovers... They're so strong!' Buffy thought. 'It's unbelievable having them on my side, let alone in my bed. God, I get all tingly just thinking about it!'

"They are amazing," Buffy agreed wholeheartedly. She smiled warmly at Faith, her face lit up as she waxed rhapsodic on her favorite subject. "I never thought I could be so in love with anyone, let alone two women. I mean, sure, I loved Angel, but what I felt for him doesn't even compare... Willow and Tara... they're my everything!"

Faith's reaction wasn't what Buffy had expected. 'Huh, I wonder what's wrong?' she thought as she saw a dark look cross Faith's features. 'She must be worried about those guys from the council... I thought those idiots would have figured it out after the first two times!'

"Don't worry Faith, we won't let those jerks from the council get their hands on you!" Buffy said reassuringly.

Faith stared at Buffy silently for several seconds before dropping her gaze to the table and mumbling, "I know..."

"Faith? What's wrong?" Buffy asked, concerned at her sister-Slayer's dark mood. "Faith, I promise you, we'll protect you from them..."

Faith gestured towards where the witches and Xander had gone, saying, "B, you got this great thing going for you, why should you risk that on me? I'm the one that screwed up. I'm the one that tried to kill all you guys, worked for the big bad, tried to kill Angel- twice..." She shook her head slowly, a look of anger and loathing on her face as she said, "I was in prison cause I deserved it. As much as I hated being there, as much as I'd never want to go back... I was there cause it's where I'm supposed to be."

"Faith! No, you... we couldn't have stopped Glory without you!" Buffy protested.

"Yeah, and so the watchers got me out," Faith said flatly. "But Glory's done. It's over, I did what they needed, and now they're through with me. Why should you stop them?"

'Does she think we don't want her around?' Buffy wondered, feeling hurt. 'Doesn't she trust us?'

Feeling the urge to scream, Buffy stopped and took a deep, calming breath before explaining, "Faith... look, I know I didn't do a very good job of making you feel welcome when you first came out to Sunnydale... I had a lot of issues, and honestly? I felt a little threatened when you showed up at first..."

"We had a lot of bad stuff happen that year, and neither of us did a very good job of talking about feelings and stuff, and I hated that. I hated that you and I became enemies..." Buffy had to pause and take another deep breath just to keep from crying. "Look, you're a part of us. You're a Scooby, and the only one who can ever make you not be a Scooby is you. And Scoobies stick up for each other, ok? No one, I don't care if they're on the council, or what; no one gets to take you away from us! And we're all gonna fight to keep that from happening. Just like you and Xander are gonna fight to bring the rest of us back home, and you're not gonna let the knights of whatever- if there's any left- or some assassin that someone hired for whatever reason... you won't let them stop you. 'Cause it's what we do. We fight evil together, and no one gets to stop us!"

By the time Buffy had finished her rant, Faith was staring at her, wide-eyed with shock.

"Perfect sense," Willow's voice rang out as she and Tara and Xander re-entered the dining room. "Faith, we may not always be perfect, or even get along great. Lot's of times there's stuff we have to work through, but that doesn't mean we don't stick together."

"Especially when someone on the outside tries to mess with one of us!" Xander interjected. "We stand up for each other... always."

"That's what makes us a family," Tara said, a warm smile gracing her luscious lips. "More so than any of the so-called families we might have come from."

"Yeah, and that's putting it mildly. I don't think any of us had much to start with..." Xander said.

Faith by this point had a genuine smile on her face, one of the few any of the other Scoobies had been graced with from the normally dark Slayer. Her smile turned sly, though surprisingly not bitter as she said, "'Cept B. Hers was pretty much perfect."

'What?!' Buffy shouted to herself. 'I mean, ok I didn't get beat or anything, but come on!'

"Yeah, cause when dad abandoned us to go screw his secretary on the other side of the world, right at the same time I got called, lost my first watcher, all my old friends and then burned down my High School... that was good times," Buffy said sardonically.

"Oh, we've had our moments," Buffy said. "Boy oh boy, have we had our moments... But, I have to admit that it's been more good than bad, and things lately are great. It even seems like Dawn is finally past that bratty stage..."

"Hey!" Buffy said as everyone else laughed. "I wasn't *that* bad..." she pouted.

'Ok, crisis averted,' Buffy thought as she observed Faith's good humor. 'I guess it's worth being the butt of the joke for that...'

After the chuckles died down, Faith again spoke up, "You know, speaking of parents and stuff, specifically father figures..."

A sudden tension came over the room as Faith continued, "I noticed on that call... looked to me like Jeeves' had arm wrapped around a certain Slayer's mom..."

"Ladies and gentlemen, the captain has turned on the fasten seatbelt sign as we begin our final descent into Las Vegas. The ground temperature at McCarran International Airport right now is a balmy 92 degrees. You will be happy to know that that is down from today's high of 103 Fahrenheit," the flight attendant spoke over the intercom.

"Damn!" Faith muttered under her breath as the plane hit a little patch of turbulence and dropped slightly.

"What's the matter Faith?" Xander asked. "It's not that much hotter than good old sunnyD. Least it won't be humid."

"I dunno Xman, triple digits is triple digits. Dry don't make it that much better," Faith answered, thankful Xander didn't notice the death grip she had on the armrests at her sides.

'I think I'm gonna leave fingerdents...' she thought, feeling extremely nervous and having a hard time breathing normally. 'Hell of a time to figure out I don't like flying.'

'Damn, I thought I was hiding it pretty well,' Faith thought, feeling a little irritated with herself.

Immediately she tried to downplay it. "Yeah, well, you know. It just don't seem natural for a big chunk of metal to stay up in the air all by itself... plus, I'm not much for not bein' the one in control, you know..."

'God knows that's what my prison shrink kept telling me' over and over and fricken over..."

When there was no immediate response, Faith turned to see Xander smiling at her. "What?" she demanded.

Faith felt her face grow warm and she glanced away, embarrassed. "Crap!" she muttered in exasperation.

"So you don't like flying... big deal. You hid it real well, I wouldn't have figured it out..." Xander said consolingly.

"Look, forget about it, alright? It's nothing; change the subject," Faith grumbled.

'I don't need your fricken pity,' she thought, though not as angrily as she once would have.

"I dunno. What's up with someone trying to take out G-man and the little sis? That's new huh?" Faith said, trying to focus on something other than the descending plane.

Xander cocked his head for a moment, as if pondering the question. "Well, we've had assassins before... Spike put out a contract on Buffy with the Order of Teraka the year before you came to Sunnydale."

"Yeah, I remember you guys tellin' stories about that bug-guy... Wicked gross!" Faith chuckled.

"Yeah," Xander said with visible distaste. "The other two assassins were human, though. One of them even used a gun."

"Right," Faith said, remembering. "Big butch chick, dressed up like a cop, right?"

"Yep. Your predecessor took her out. Buffy did the biker dude, and me and Cordy stomped out bugs," Xander said with a wry grin.

Just then the plane's rear landing gear touched down, followed a second later by the front.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, Welcome to Las Vegas Nevada, where the local time is 9:45 p.m. Thank you for choosing United Airlines, we hope you have a successful stay, and we hope to see you again on your next flight," the flight attendant spoke over the intercom.

'Ok, now we're just on a big bus. I can handle that,' Faith thought, feeling a knot in her stomach release, and the muscles in her abdomen and lower back relax from their former tension. She looked over at her travel companion and glared in the face of his knowing smirk.

"Yeah, great. Six hour in a car- that's my idea of a good time," Faith said sourly.

Faith smiled right back, unabashed. "Nah, road-head's fine and all, but it's hard to get payback and still drive."

"Hey, you think G-man and Mrs. S will join the mile high club on the trip back?" Faith suddenly asked.

Xander's eyes bugged out. "Jesus Faith!" he choked out. "That's not a mental image I need right now, or ever, really."

"I'd have to put my own eyes out if I ever saw it," Xander groaned. "I mean, I'm happy for both of them; *if* they're even together like that. After all, it make sense- who else is gonna be able to handle the reality of Scooby life? But, I so don't need the visuals!"

"Come on, X-man, they're both pretty hot, for their age... what's not to like?" Faith asked.

'Hell, I'd probably have done Giles when I first came to sunnyD, just to see his eyes roll back in his head.' Faith thought. 'I've done worse...'

Xander shook his head, saying, "Faith, Giles is like a father to me. Way more than my own piece-of-crap old-man ever was. So, I can be happy for him, but I would much rather not ever see or picture him doing the nasty."

'Cept, I notice you didn't say you wouldn't want to see Mrs. S doin' the nasty...' Faith thought with a smirk. 'Yeah, you're pretty good for a guy, but you're still a guy!'

"She took it a lot better than I thought she would," Xander said, changing the subject slightly.

"Yeah, I figured she'd freak too... I guess it's better this way than finding out the way she did before," Faith agreed.

Xander chuckled a little, nodding in agreement. "Ah the downside of telepathy..." he pronounced.

"Yeah, you get to overhear your mom remembering when she got jumped on the hood of a cop-car... twice!" Faith crowed.

"Ok, enough with the disturbing parental-sex imagery," Xander said with a grimace. We're here, let's find Gunn, get the car, and get moving. I'd like to make it home sometime before sunrise.

'It's the right thing to do, but I'm still surprised Buffy agreed,' Tara thought as she looked at her lover and pet.

Buffy was staring at the empty drive, where Xander and Faith had just left in a taxi for the airport. Willow was by her side, arm wrapped around the Slayer's waist.

"They'll get them back Buff," Willow said, trying to reassure her girlfriend. "It'll be ok, you'll see."

Buffy answered resignedly, "I know, Will. I trust Xander, I even trust Faith... it's just..."

"Your family's in danger and you want to be there yourself," Tara said, knowing how Buffy was feeling.

"Come on, let's go inside for a little while and then later we can go on patrol," Tara said, taking Buffy's free hand. She smiled when Buffy's face lit up at the thought of patrol.

"That's right!" Willow said happily. "You can beat up some vamps, and me and Tara can be your cheerleaders!"

A smile slowly developed on the Slayer's face, almost as if in spite of her somber mood. "Yeah?" she asked slyly.

"Maybe, if you play really well, after the staking is over you'll get to score with a couple of the cheerleaders..." Willow whispered seductively.

'Uh huh, I see some uniform shopping in Willow's and my future... some naughty girl has a cheerleader fantasy!' Tara thought happily.

"Before we get too distracted, we should probably try and figure out what to do with the people that are coming for Faith..." Tara said, reluctantly putting business ahead of pleasure.

"Hey," Willow spoke up suddenly, as though struck by a thought. "You don't suppose they'd be dumb enough just to fly into Sunnydale and get a hotel room, do you? I mean, if the council thinks we don't care about Faith..."

'So cute when you get excited!' Tara thought in amusement as she took in Willow's eager expression.

Willow was bouncing with excitement as she replied, "Oh, easy! I'll just check all the hotel registries, and filter any new check-ins occurring within a couple hours of any flights arriving from England! Oh, and I'll check car-rentals too, and maybe I'll do the same for LA arrivals... Oh, and I could hack the watcher's bank accounts and check for any expenditures in the same time-frame... that could give us their credit card information and we'd be able to track them anywhere!"

'Mmm, every time she babbles, it reminds me of all the other wonderfully frantic things she can do with that mouth,' Tara thought as a warm shiver ran down her spine. Looking to her pet, she saw Buffy similarly fixated on the redhead's lips. 'I see I'm not the only one!'

"I'll get started!" Willow said as she sped off into the mansion, no doubt headed straight for her laptop.

Tara snickered as she moved over to wrap her arms around Buffy from behind. "Makes you want to have her drop to her knees and put that mouth to other uses, doesn't it?" she whispered into Buffy's ear.

"Oh God yes!" Buffy sighed, leaning against her Mistress and covering Tara's arms with her own.

Tara kissed Buffy's neck, enjoying the scent of her lover's skin for a moment before guiding her into the house after the redhead. "Come on, let's go figure out what we'll do once Willow finds them."

Buffy seemed subdued once again as Tara led her to the couch and they sat down. She took Buffy's hand between her own and pulled one leg under herself so she could sit facing her lover. "What's wrong sweetie?" she asked quietly, rubbing the Slayer's hand gently between her own.

"You've dealt with them before," Tara said, remembering when she'd first met Buffy- Faith had managed to do a body switch on the blond Slayer, and Tara had met both Buffy's body, and later the real Buffy, stuck in Faith's body.

"But you beat them!" Tara reminded her lover, giving her clasped hand a little shake to emphasize the point. "We'll beat them again this time!"

"You don't think we can stop them?" Tara asked, surprised. "They're just men, Buffy. We've faced a lot worse than that..."

"Oh, we can stop them; that's easy. Even with guns, they aren't that tough..." Buffy said.

Buffy closed her eyes and hummed lightly. She turned her head and kissed Tara's palm softly before answering, "The first time, they left cause Faith disappeared. When she showed up in LA, so did they. They left that time cause Faith was in prison."

Tara nodded as she realized what Buffy was concerned about. "So, we can stop them easily enough, but how do we keep them from trying again and again..."

Buffy nodded. "They're human, I can't slay them, and they aren't afraid of death anyway. The time I was in Faith's body, I grabbed one and threatened to kill him, and the other two were all like, 'Before we go on a job, we always put our affairs in order, just in case.' They would have let me kill him, and it barely even fazed them."

"Hmm, well we'll figure out something. Maybe Giles will have a good idea," Tara suggested.

Buffy smiled at that. "Yeah, as long as he's not to busy thinking dirty thoughts about Mom!"

Tara laughed as she remembered Buffy's surprising response to the idea of her Watcher and her Mother possibly being involved in an intimate relationship. 'Goddess, 'It's about time!' is probably the last thing I ever thought she'd say to that!'

"Buffy, don't take this the wrong way, but... I was a little surprised that you were ok with Giles and Mom, you know, being together," Tara said gently, her curiosity getting the better of her. "Mom told me about when you had the 'aspect of the demon'..."

"She did?" Buffy asked, surprised. Then she chuckled, "Getting to intimately experience Mom's memory of having sex on the hood of a police car was pretty traumatizing for both of us..."

Tara laughed, "I can imagine. She said that was the most embarrassing thing that ever happened to her. When you found out, I mean, not when it happened."

"Well, I've had a couple years to get used to the idea... I kinda figured they'd get together sooner than this, and when they didn't, I was actually a little disappointed."

"Giles has been like a dad to me for a long time... I mean, he stayed. Through times way tougher than my supposed 'real father' ever had to go through," Buffy said, her eyes welling with tears.

Buffy nodded, continuing, "He got tortured by Angelus and still stayed, he got fired by the council and still stayed... Lots of times I was afraid he'd leave... he never even thought about it. Even when I ran away, he stayed... he looked for me the whole time..."

"I always got the feeling- from the first time I saw the two of you together- that he thought of you as a daughter," Tara said tenderly.

"I think he kinda sees all of us as his kids," Buffy said with a happy smile. "That works out really well, since Mom feels the same way about all of us too."

"I'm glad you're happy for them. From Dawn's expression, I think she's happy for them too," Tara said.

"Yeah..." Buffy's smile faltered, and she began to frown as if she was having confusing thoughts. "Dawn... does Dawn seem different to you lately?"

"How do you mean?" she asked Buffy, not wanting to immediately bring up all the ways in which Dawn seemed to have changed.

"I dunno. It's just... I dunno," Buffy repeated, clearly confused by the changes in her little sister. "I guess I expected her to freak out about all this stuff lately, and she... she really didn't."

"No, she's been very... mature about all the changes in her life." Tara offered, hoping Buffy would take the hint.

Buffy did. "Mature!" she verily jumped on the description. "That's exactly it! I always thought of her as this bratty little girl, but lately she acts... older."

"What's up with that?" Buffy asked, almost as if offended that Dawn should be acting mature.

"I'm not an expert in the subject, Buffy. I have no idea what kind of magic was used to create a human being, almost from scratch... well, except for the traditional way, and I'm certainly no expert in *that*" she qualified with a grin.

Buffy tilted her head in confusion for a moment until she caught the reference. "Oh! No, I don't suppose you would be... and, can I just say, I'm really glad for that?"

Tara beamed joyfully at the tacit compliment. "Me too! Anyway, I was thinking that since most of our memories about Dawn were, well, not really real... we can't be sure... I'm not sure how to explain it..." Tara trailed off, having difficulty organizing her thoughts so that they made sense to her, let alone Buffy.

"She's real now. But, she's not exactly a normal human..." Willow offered, walking into the room and obviously having heard the conversation.

"Whaddya mean she's not normal?" Buffy asked, a hint of defensiveness in her voice.

Willow knelt down in front of her two lovers and placed a hand on each blonde's thigh. "Well, they made her from you, right? And, you've got that Slayer essence in you... that makes you different than most people..."

Tara felt Buffy stiffen slightly, and moved her arm around to embrace the Slayer. 'Be easy pet,' she thought. 'Willow'd never say anything to hurt you...'

"Just like having all this magic flow through us makes us different than normal people. It's not a bad thing, and it doesn't make us necessarily better, or worth more than regular humans, but it does make us different. Dawn's different too- she's not even a year old in reality, but obviously she's way more mature than a baby human would be..." Willow explained.

Tara nodded her head, "Yes, that's it exactly. All of our memories that were implanted are of a normal human, being born and growing up just like a regular kid- but none of that really happened- so it's natural that Dawn's behavior might be different than what we expect from the person we remember."

"It's ok though, right? Dawn's not dangerous or anything do you think?" Buffy asked, suddenly nervous.

Both witches shook their heads. "No, she's still Dawn, she's still your little sister..." Tara began.

"Just that she's unique, there's no one else exactly like her in the world, and we should just accept that there's gonna be some things that are not exactly what we expect..." Willow continued.

Tara laughed at that point. "Unexpected behavior, that's actually pretty normal in a teenager, isn't it?"

Buffy seemed reassured by her lovers, and she smiled as she responded to Tara's comment, "Yeah, I guess it's just even more unexpected that she's acting like a mature adult."

Tara teased her lover, saying, "You're just annoyed because Mom's going to wonder why you couldn't have been like your little sister is..."

Willow changed the subject, saying, "So, the only thing I found was I'm pretty sure they flew in last night- I found a charge on a credit card paid for out of council funds; it was for three tickets on a flight from Heathrow to Sunnydale landing at midnight last night. I couldn't find anything on hotel's though, so they must not be using one, or they paid cash..."

"Actually, using cash is smart, it keeps them off our radar, anyway," Willow corrected.

Buffy shook her head, "No, not the cash thing. I was thinking, last time they had a safe-house thingy set up in this warehouse down by the docks..."

"Could they be that arrogant?" Tara asked, torn between hopefulness and disdain.

"Well, we still don't know what to do with them when we do find them, why don't we wait till we pick up Giles and Mom... and then we can go visit the docks?" Tara suggested.

Buffy smiled widely and her eyes were filled with less with anger than with eager anticipation as she said, "Until then, I seem to remember that there was some cheerleading that was going to happen..."

'Mmm, post slayage hungries and hornies!' Tara thought delightedly, feeling a burst of heat flowing up from below her belly.

Xander looked to his left and saw Gunn standing a little apart from the crowd of people waiting at the gate.

'Back to the wall, eyes scanning the crowd...' Xander noted silently as he and Faith walked over to the LA demon hunter- part of the Angel Investigations team. '...He may not have ever been in the army, but he's definitely got the mindset.'

"Yeah, it's been, what... at least twenty hours or so," Gunn responded to Faith's comment with a sardonic smile.

'As much as the whole 'fighting evil' thing sucks sometimes, there are some damn good people fighting the good fight.' Xander thought, feeling a sense of pride that he was counted among such individuals.

"So, what's the deal?" Gunn asked, his tone growing serious. "You said it was a protection gig?"

"Ok," Gunn accepted with a shrug. He started to walk down the concourse, saying, "Come on, we're parked on the top level..."

"We lucked out!" Gunn said excitedly. They were out of the midsize your girl Red reserved for us, so they upgraded us for free! Wait till you see it, it's pretty sweet!"

'I hope it's comfortable, we've got a long drive ahead...' Xander thought as he hitched up the bag full of weapons and followed the other two.

Xander's eyes ran back and forth over the gleaming black car. 'Actually, this might not be too bad; it looks a lot like an unmarked cop car...'

"Hey, this is a 2001 Chevy Caprice Classic," Gunn protested. "It's got less than 300 miles on it, it's big, it's black, and it's bad!"

"Whatever," Faith said. She shook her head and got into the front passenger seat of the car.

Xander smiled at Faith's behavior and climbed into the backseat while Gunn got behind the wheel and started up the car.

"Ok, so what's the what, and where am I going?" Gunn said as he pulled out of the parking space.

Xander leaned back and closed his eyes, reviewing the situation in his mind. "Get on the 15 north until exit 46. We need to go to North Vegas. Giles, Buffy's watcher, took Mrs. Summers and Dawn, Buffy's sister up here to keep them out of the whole thing with Glory, to keep them safe."

"No it didn't. Someone set them up, told the Knights where they were, and when that didn't work, they sent an assassin," Xander said. After a sudden realization, he added, "At least we think they're related..."

'Although it's interesting that the main target was Giles the second time... If the knights could have killed Dawn without killing Giles or Mrs. Summers, they probably would have... but the second time they were targeting Giles specifically, so why the change?' Xander wondered.

"Not exactly. We're going to put Giles and Mrs. Summers on a plane, and then me and Faith'll play bait- drive Mrs. Summers jeep back to California- while you follow behind with Dawn." Xander said.

"Why don't they all just get on a plane and fly home? I mean, not for nothing, but y'all can replace their jeep, or come back and get it in a few days when things cool off, you know?" Gunn said, his tone of voice essentially saying 'Duh!'

Xander smiled at the remonstration in Gunn's voice. "Aw, where'd be the fun in that?" he joked.

Xander couldn't see Gunn's expression, but it must have been priceless because Faith took one look and started pointing at his face and cracking up.

After Faith had gotten hold of herself, Xander said, "Seriously, we did think of that. The problem is; there is a protection spell around the building that they're holed up in- it's all that kept Giles from becoming Swiss cheese when a sniper opened up full-auto on him. Giles managed to take him out, but..."

"If there's another one waiting, they can't leave," Gunn finished the thought, nodding his head.

Xander left him hanging till Faith took pity on him, explaining, "B's little pet witch made a couple charms that'll let us switch places."

'Jesus, Faith. I wouldn't let Willow, or Buffy for that matter, hear you describe her as Buffy's little pet witch...' Xander thought. 'I thought they worked things out, but that sounded kinda, I dunno... snippy?'

"Um, yeah," Xander muttered, getting back on the subject. "It's a glamour, uh, like a temporary illusion so that me and Giles will look like each other, and Faith and Mrs. Summers will look like each other."

Gunn nodded, saying, "So then it looks like you and Faith get on a plane, when it's really those two."

"Ok, so why not put Dawn on the plane with Giles, if she's one of the targets? Why Buffy's Mom?" Gunn asked, demonstrating a sound grasp of the situation.

Faith laughed, probably because she'd asked the same question. "Xander thinks they should be split up, cause they're both targets, so we should make it harder for one person to go after both."

Gunn gave Xander a questioning glance in the rear-view mirror. "They're gonna look like completely different people, right? Don't'cha think you're being a little paranoid?"

Xander glowered a bit. 'Yeah, maybe I am,' he thought. 'I just can't stand the thought of something happening to them when I'm responsible for the plan...'

Out loud, he quipped, "Just because I'm paranoid, doesn't mean they aren't out to get me."

They drove in silence for a few minutes and Xander stared out the window at the lights of the casinos along the strip.

"Ok, take the third right, then drive around both buildings at the end of the street, we wanna see if anyone else might be hanging around..." Xander said.

"So, why the bait thing," Gunn asked. "I mean, you don't think anyone's really watching, and we're checking to be sure before we go in..."

"Well..." Xander said. "There's also the fact that Willow's little magic charms only work as a switch... you can't just turn them into us, we have to exchange."

Faith laughed, "Yeah, that'd be a hoot, them switching while they're in the plane... people'd freak!"

"It's only an hour flight," Xander said with a grin at Faith's comment. "The glamour should last three and a half to four, according to Wicca-Willow."

After a moment's silence, Gunn spoke up, "You know, if it's all the same to you, I'd rather do the glamour thing and let you ride with the girl..."

Xander was nonplussed by Gunn's unexpected request. "Uh, ok? I was just... I didn't think it'd be fair to you to ask you to come out here just to play target..."

Gunn shot Faith a devilish smile and said, "Thought hadn't crossed my mind." Looking in the rearview mirror at Xander, he explained, "No offense to Buffy's little sis, but I'm thinking that six and a half hours in a car with some teenage girl I never met before tonight doesn't sound like good times for either of us, if you know what I mean."

"I'm ok with it though, I mean, if you're ok with the thought of someone coming after you, thinking you're Giles..." Xander said.

"You don't want Gunn taking the risk, but you're ok with me being a target?" Faith asked, her tone clearly teasing.

"Faith, Mrs. Summers wasn't a target. If she was, there's no chance in hell that I'd let you leave that building looking like her," Xander said, deadly serious.

Faith turned in the seat to look Xander in the eye. "I was just messing around, X-man..." she said, the humor seeping out of her expression.

'No one dies on my watch, Dammit!' Xander thought almost angrily. 'Not as long as I'm still breathing!'

Faith looked into his eyes for several seconds, as if trying to see deep enough to read his soul. Finally she nodded once and silently turned back forward.

"Cool," Gunn replied. "That their jeep?" he asked as they approached the end of the road.

"Yeah," Xander said, moving his mind back to the mission. "Drive around their building first, we want to make it look like we're cruising for a place to hang, not like we're scouting."

'Ok, calm down... this is going to be ok, it's going to work. You just need to chill a little,' Xander told himself. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. 'Now if I could just get the butterflies in my stomach to chill out too...'

"I just want this to go right, Gunn. So, I'm sorry if I seem paranoid, or I repeat myself... It doesn't mean I don't trust you guys to do your job, it's just... Buffy put an insane amount of trust in us, to let us come rescue her family while she stays behind. I don't want to blow it."

Xander scanned all around the area as they drove around the two buildings. The surrounding area was mostly flat and empty, but the weeds were high enough that someone lying prone would be difficult to spot.

'Great, and all I can think of is Charlie popping up out of the rice-paddies!' Xander thought angrily as soldier memories played that image over and over in his head.

"There's the dumpster," Faith pointed out as they went around the back of the building opposite Giles hideout.

"Ok, lets go back out a couple blocks and we'll call Giles and break out the toys. Then we'll come back and get this done," Xander said, his stomach churning with nervousness.

Dawn jumped slightly as the phone rang. Her breathing sped up as she thought; 'they're here!' before Giles even answered the phone.

Giles picked up the receiver without a word. A moment later, he hung up, having never spoken at all. He turned to Dawn and Joyce and said, "They'll be here in five minutes."

Dawn nodded. 'Five minutes... Man, my heart it beating like mad! I don't know why this is so stressful...' She looked to her mother and saw that she too seemed effected. 'Well, I'm glad it's not just me. Mom looks like she's gonna hyperventilate.'

Dawn looked down at her outfit, rubbing her damp palms on her hips. 'I wish I had something other than jeans and a tank top... I didn't pack for seduction I guess. These fit nicely, though... and the top shows off the boobage pretty well...'

Suddenly she felt her face grow warm as she realized what she was doing. 'He's here to rescue you Dawn, not check out your ass and look down your shirt!' she chastised herself. Still, nothing wrong with wanting to look good for the handsome rescuer, is there?' She had to resist the temptation to run to the bathroom and check her makeup and hair again.

Giles walked over and put an arm around Joyce's back, offering her a wan smile. He turned to look at Dawn and said, "Are you certain that you're up to this?"

'Well, it's not my ideal of how to spend an evening- worrying about someone shooting at me, but it's not like I've got a lot of choice in the matter,' Dawn thought unenthusiastically.

Instead of saying that, she just put on a brave smile and said, "I'll be fine, Giles."

"I trust him, Mom. I know he'll do what it takes to keep me safe," she said, trying to keep the deeper emotion out of her voice.

'He killed to keep me safe, he's not going to let anything happen to me now,' she thought, feeling both warmth and sadness.

"Yes, well then. Let's meet them at the end of the tunnel, and do this quickly." Giles said, leading Joyce toward the tunnel with Dawn following behind.

About a third of the way down the sparsely lighted tunnel, Dawn felt a tingly, chill sensation. "Was that the barrier spell?" she asked quietly.

"Yes," Giles said with a short nod. I'll give you the key crystal so that you can pass back through with the others once we stop."

They reached the end of the tunnel and it was empty. Giles gave Joyce a reassuring squeeze and then stepped away from her toward Dawn, pulling a bundle out of his coat and handing it to her. "Well, then, here's the key crystal, Dawn. Simply extend it before you as you reach the barrier and it will open for you..."

Dawn cocked her head as she reached out for the key. "Yeah, I've seen you do it, Giles..." she said, wondering why he was explaining it.

Dawn's eyes widened in surprise when the crystal in her hand was joined by the cool steel of Giles' pistol.

"Yes, of course." Giles said. "I simply wanted to be certain that you were properly geared..."

'Ah, not talking about the key at all are we...' Dawn thought as her heartbeat suddenly raced anew.

She swallowed heavily and answered his unasked question, "I know what to do." She nodded her head and added, "I can handle it, Giles."

She glanced at her mother and smiled for her benefit as she tucked the pistol into her pants at the small of her back- shielded by Giles body so her mom didn't see.

A muffled sound from above drew everyone's attention upward to the ceiling of the concrete enclosure some twelve feet above.

The manhole cover lifted up and away with a scrape and a gentle clunk-sound, and then a body dropped straight through the hole, startling all of them.

Landing gracefully on her feet, Faith flipped her hair back and graced them all with a devilish smile. "Hey, last time I did that, there was six vamps with swords waiting for me at the bottom," she quipped.

"Show-off!" the voice from above startled Dawn again, as she had been totally fixated on the dramatic appearance of the dark haired Slayer.

'That would be Gunn, I guess,' Dawn thought, only ever having seen him once- and that through a netcam videoconference.

The new arrival rapidly descended the ladder, jumping off from the third rung up. "Ok, Xan-man's waiting in the car, back door is open, let's do this and get you two out of here. He wants to make it look like we just stopped to water the roses if you know what I mean."

"Right, good thinking," Giles said, starting forward and holding out his hand, palm up. "What's the trigger phrase?" he asked.

Faith chuckled while Gunn got a sour look on his face. "Shazam," he muttered, looking embarrassed.

"You're joking!" Giles exclaimed. When the two shook their heads, the watcher shook his head and griped, "Willow's sense of humor..."

"Red said she thought you'd freak over that," Faith said, obviously enjoying the situation. She held her hand out over Joyce's outstretched palm and sprinkled some powder on it before clasping it with her own. "Ready?" she asked.

Disconcertingly, Gunn's voice came out of what looked like Giles mouth, as he said, "Ok, you guys better get going..."

The Faith lookalike rushed over and wrapped Dawn in a hug, fiercely whispering, "Be careful honey! I'll call you as soon as we land!"

'Wow, it feels just like real leather!' she thought as her hands rested on her mom's Faith-looking back.

Dawn watched until both of her disguised parental figures had climbed out, and the man-hole cover was moved back in place. 'Faith must have moved it the first time, Giles made a lot more noise,' she thought inconsequentially.

Dawn shook her head slightly, refocusing on the new arrivals. "That's really weird," she said at the dichotomy between sound and sight. "Do you look different to you?"

"No, but it was wicked strange looking at another 'me' standin' in front of me..." Faith answered.

'That's just freaky,' Dawn thought, suppressing a shudder at the sound of Faith's voice coming from her mother's body.

"Weird," Dawn muttered, turning gesturing for them to head back along the tunnel to the safehouse.

When they approached the point where the shield spell was, Dawn called for them to stop. "There's a barrier pretty soon here. Let me go first," she explained, pulling out the key crystal. She walked forward a few steps with the crystal extended before her and suddenly felt resistance. When she pushed forward through the resistance, the crystal flared bright green and there was a visible shimmer to the air as the portal opened up allowing them through the shield.

"Whoa!" Gunn muttered. "I've seen more magic in one week with you Sunnydale guys than I've seen in the last year."

'The last month has been the most surreal experience of my whole life...' Dawn thought, remembering all the changes that had happened recently. 'Of course, I've only been alive for six months or so...' she considered, feeling a sense of bitterness at the thought.

Dawn turned back around to lead the way down the tunnel when suddenly Faith exclaimed, "Hey, since when do you carry a gun around?"

"Jeeves gave you a gun?" Faith asked incredulously. "B'd have a freakin' heart attack! What the hell was he thinking?"

"I guess he was thinking that someone's trying to kill me, and maybe I should be able to do something about that if I have to..." Dawn interjected, her emotions churning with a combination of pride, fear, and sorrow.

Faith sputtered for a moment while Gunn asked, "You know how to use that?" His voice wasn't derisive or disbelieving, just curious.

Dawn stopped walking again and turned to look him in the eye. After a heartbeat, she had to look away, thinking, 'I can't... it looks like Giles!'

"Yeah," she muttered, images of her recent experience flashing through her mind. "I... yeah..." She turned around and started walking again, saying, "Look, let's just get inside, ok?"

'No way am I telling you guys about that,' she thought morosely. 'God, I hope Xander gets back soon... I could really use a big ol' Xander-hug right now.'

"So I guess Willow came through..." Xander said as he looked over his shoulder at the two in the back seat.

'Ok...' Xander thought, turning around and pulling away from the dumpster. 'Giles voice from Gunn's mouth... seriously weird.

"Xander... thank you. Thank you for coming, for protecting Dawn..." Joyce said, her voice filled with ardent emotion.

'Just don't look,' Xander thought, deliberately keeping his eyes off the rearview mirror when she was speaking. 'I'm pretty sure I'll have nightmares if I start picturing Faith speaking with Mrs. Summers voice.

"You know me, always ready to help a Summers lady in need!" Xander quipped. In a more serious voice, he added, "I'm just sorry you guys were in trouble in the first place. Buffy sent you away so you'd be safe..."

'Don't know why Buffy didn't just tell them... She didn't tell me not to tell them, maybe she wanted me to get it out of the way for her?' Xander pondered before continuing.

Seeing an exit in another relatively industrial area ahead, Xander checked the mirrors and crossed a couple lanes of traffic to take it. 'Good time for a little counter-surveillance,' he thought.

Xander ignored his passengers for the moment, speeding down the off-ramp, taking a left and then a u-turn so he ended up parked on the shoulder, under the interstate, facing the ramp he'd just exited.

They sat for a moment in silence while Xander considered his next move. 'Hmm, do I get back on the interstate here, or chance trying to get to the next exit on side streets?'

"Oh, that," Xander said. Making the decision to go ahead and tell them, he continued with a compassionate voice, "Well, Glory visited the Magic Box while we were in LA, and she also visited your house, Mrs. Summers..."

"Oh dear..." Giles said. "I don't imagine she was pleased to find no one home..."

'So... In England, is understatement, like, genetic, or do they teach it in school?' Xander wondered.

"Yeah, she, um, she pretty much leveled the place," Xander said hesitantly, hoping Mrs. Summers wouldn't lose it in the car.

"Um, more down, actually," Xander said tentatively. "There's pretty much just a pile of debris, surrounded by police tape..."

"Oh my God!" Joyce cried, sounding extremely upset. "Our house? Oh, God, Rupert, what are we going to do? Where will we live?"

"We'll deal with the situation, Joyce. We'll work out something..." he said, apparently attempting to reassure her. His voice, however, showed a great deal of strain as well. "The important thing is that we are all alive and uninjured... as terrible as this is, just remember that Dawn and Buffy are alive and well. The rest we'll just have to sort out as we can."

'Doesn't look like anyone is following us,' Xander thought. Immediately, his pessimistic side added, 'Or, they're just really, really good...'

Xander put the car in gear and started forward, turning up the on-ramp and back onto the highway. "So, there's actually some good news on the housing situation..." he said as they merged into the light southbound traffic.

"Right now, any good news would be most welcome." Giles said, sounding somewhat bleak.

Xander smiled, unable to help himself as this particular topic brought him such personal pleasure. "Well, you remember that mansion Deadboy stayed in while he was in Sunnydale?"

"Yeah, well it turns out that he wasn't just squatting there, he actually owned it," Xander started to explain.

"I... I'm not sure I'm comfortable with..." Joyce interjected hesitantly. "I'm sure he means well, but I don't know that I really want Buffy being beholden to him..."

'Oh yeah, I'm with you there Mrs. Summers!' Xander thought as he realized her intent.

Shaking his head, Xander explained, "No, it's not like that. He's not letting us stay there, he *gave* the mansion to Tara. Signed the deed over and everything."

Xander risked a glance at Mrs. Summers in the rear view, and couldn't help but laugh at the sight of Faith, looking slack-jawed and speechless. 'I'd love to see the real thing!' he thought with much amusement.

'I don't think I'll ever get tired of telling this story,' Xander thought, delighted. 'Someday I gotta get Tara to tell me what happened in that room...'

"You're gonna love this..." Xander started, his voice filled with laughter. "When we were in LA, Deadboy pitched a fit over the Buffster hooking up with Will and Tara. He went seriously jealous and possessive,"

Xander laughed out loud at that. "No! Tara smacked him down like you wouldn't believe. Heck, I was right there, and I almost don't believe it!"

"So, then she threw him into the office there, and when he came back out a few minutes later, he was acting like a little kid, just come from the principal's office," Xander recounted. "I don't know what she did to him in there, but after that, he wouldn't even meet her eyes, and I'm pretty sure he almost called her Mistress one time- he said Tara, but I was watching him and his mouth was trying to make an 'M', not a 'T'."

'I don't even have to look, I just know he's cleaning those glasses!' Xander thought with a chuckle.

"So, anyway, the mansion's got seven bedrooms, but only one has a bed in it at the moment, and you know that one's already full. I figure Mrs. Summers'll stay with you, Giles. And, if you want, Dawn can stay in my spare bedroom until we get the mansion set up," Xander said.

"Er, yes... well of course you can stay in my apartment, Joyce. I- I'll just, um, use the couch..." Giles sputtered.

"Oh screw it, Rupert," Mrs. Summers said tiredly. "I really don't have the energy to care how Buffy reacts- I love you, and you better believe I'm sleeping in your bed, with you in it!" she declared, almost as if daring Xander to say something about it.

Xander laughed out loud again, as Giles stammered, torn between reassurances for his lover and explanations for Xander- neither coming out with any coherency.

"Buffy's fine with it Mrs. Summers," Xander said as his laughter dissipated. "We all think it's great that you two got together."

Giles was speechless, and Joyce sounded both surprised and pleased as she said, "Really? How did..."

"Well, he did spend the whole last conference call with his arm wrapped around you, and you were definitely leaning against him," Xander explained. "G-man isn't really much of a touchie-feelie kinda guy, so, you know... we put two and two together and came up with tweed."

"This is the strangest, most awful, wonderful week of my life!" Joyce said in a bewildered voice.

"Definitely had its ups and downs... let's just hope the worst is over..." Xander said.

'Lets just get everyone home where we only have to deal with demons, vampires, the council, and some unknown person or demon who's sending human assassins after some of us... Boy, won't that be a relief!' Xander mused bitterly. 'Then I'll be able to focus on my nightmares...'

"I must say, I am surprised and relieved to hear that Buffy took things well. I was concerned that she might react... well, forcefully," Giles said contemplatively.

"Face it G-man, you two are the official parental figures of the Scooby gang. It makes sense for you to be together," Xander said, feeling the truth of that in his heart.

"Although..." Xander set up the hammer. He paused for a moment to establish dramatic tension before dropping it, "She did say something about keeping the two of you away from cop-cars..."

'Faith, blushing like a tenth-grade Willow!' Xander crowed silently. 'Now that is an image I'll treasure forever!'

"I can't believe you guys were staying in this place... it looks like something out of a bad seventies flick..." Gunn marveled as they entered the 'pad'.

Dawn nodded, warming up to the LA demon-hunter. 'So long as I don't look at them, it's ok.' She thought.

"Aren't you a little young to have watched that show?" Gunn asked with a hint of teasing in his voice.

"Neither of us is old enough to have watched that show..." Dawn replied. She went on to explain, "When I was a kid, I dunno, for some reason I always watched it. Every day."

"You know what I can't believe?" Faith interjected. "Aside from this total pimp pad, which I can't wait to bug Jeeves about... I still can't believe little sis is packing heat!"

Dawn cringed at the appellation. 'I always hated it when she called me that. I am not little; I'm taller than Buffy!' she mentally groused. 'Not that that's very tall...'

Dawn sat down on the couch and, feeling suddenly emboldened, asked, "Why do you do that Faith? Why do you call people nicknames you know they hate?"

'Maybe it's cause she looks like mom- unthreatening,' Dawn thought of her sudden willingness to broach the subject.

"Willow hates being called Red, Giles hates being called Jeeves, Buffy always complained about you calling her B... And I refuse to listen to you call me little sis any more. It was annoying enough when I was actually smaller than Buffy."

Gunn was failing to hide his snicker, while Faith painted the perfect picture of Dawn's mom, completely flummoxed.

Suddenly worked up over this seemingly inconsequential topic, Dawn's voice grew in intensity as she continued. "Do you really like pissing everyone off? Is that it? Or, is it some kind of defense mechanism so you don't have to get close to anybody? So you can protect yourself from being hurt by people?"

Joyce Summers' temporary doppelganger stood silently for several moments, her mouth flapping open, her eyes blinking rapidly.

Her momentary anger draining away just as suddenly as it sprang up, Dawn hugged herself and slumped into the couch. 'Good job, Dawn. Tell off the unstable Slayer, maybe she'll save the bad guys the trouble of paying someone to shoot you..."

Faith walked over to an unoccupied chair and dropped down into it. "Damn, you have had a bad week, haven't you?" she asked. The ever-present smirk on her face dropping to half-mast.

Faith's smile was back in full force as she leaned back in her chair and asked, "So... what should I call you?"

'I suppose my actual name would be out of the question,' Dawn thought with a feeling of resigned annoyance.

"Whatever. You'll do what you want, no matter what I think about it," Dawn said with a sigh.

The Giles look alike raised his hands as if warding off Faith's glare. "Not me, I got no problem bein' 'G'!" he said with a laugh.

"Man, Xan wasn't kidding about you," Gunn said with a broad smile. "Definitely not your normal fifteen year-old girl..."

"Ok, be there in five..." Xander said, closing the cell phone as he approached his exit from I15.

'Not sure if I'm happy that no one followed us to the airport or not...' he thought. The momentary relief that he'd felt from safely dropping Giles and Joyce off at the airport was being eroded by tension as he approached the safehouse.

'On the one hand, it could mean there was no one watching the safehouse at all,' he thought hopefully. 'After all, it was less than 12 hours ago... whoever set it up would have to find out that it failed, set up a new assassin, brief them, get them in place... not likely in half a day.'

'On the other hand, there could have been someone already set to go if it failed... someone already in Vegas, just waiting for the call...' his pessimistic side reminded him, causing his anxiety to grow even more.

"No, I'm not gonna freak over this!" Xander told himself firmly. "I made a plan, it's a good plan, just gotta focus and execute."

As he approached the end of the road, Xander shut off his headlights. 'One more turn around both before we go...' he decided. He rolled down his window and drove slowly around the safehouse, his eyes trained out into the open ground beyond the parking lot. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, he made the same circuit around the opposing building.

"Ok, it's as good as I'm going to get," he muttered to himself. "Now if I could just get my heart to quit trying to pound its way out of my chest!"

He parked alongside the manhole cover, so that it was only a step away from the driver's door. He turned off the engine and quickly exited the car. He used a trick Faith had taught him to open the manhole cover- a six inch shoelace with a chopstick tied to either end-one stick slipped through the hole, the other acting as a handle so he could lift the heavy chunk of steel up out of the recess in which it rested.

Xander felt the corners of his mouth pull back into a smile as he heard her voice. "Yeah, it's me." He called back quietly. After taking one last look around, and up at the building in front of him; Xander climbed down the ladder.

When he reached the bottom, he turned and looked at her. 'Wow,' he thought as he took in her appearance. 'God, it's only been a week, but she looks... different somehow. In a really good way.'

"Sorry," Xander muttered with a shake of his head. "Hey Dawn, it's really good to see you! You doin' ok?"

Dawn swallowed hard and her eyes were shining with unshed tears. Her smile died away and her lip started to quiver slightly as she said, "I... it's just been..." she swallowed hard again before continuing. "It's been a really long week..." Her voice was strained, as though she were holding back some deep emotion.

"Oh Dawn..." Xander whispered, stepping forward and wrapping his arms around her. "I know what you mean."

The youngest Summers clutched tightly to him, her head buried in his chest. He was surprised that she didn't begin sobbing, as she seemed so near to it. 'This is the first time I think someone's come after her like that... almost getting killed twice in a week is definitely not fun, especially the first time!' he thought.

"I'm really glad you're here," Dawn said in a small voice. "Thank you so much for coming!"

Xander leaned back enough to look into her eyes as he answered. "Of course I came, Dawn. You know I'd do anything for my favorite Summers girl!"

The teasing note in his voice faltered and his mouth went suddenly dry as Dawn's answering smile lit up her face. 'Holy God! Dawn's... not a little girl any more!' he suddenly realized. His hands brushing down her back were no longer tracing the narrow frame of Buffy's little sister, but rather the curves of a young woman who was in fact more 'womanly' than the Slayer herself.

"We, um... we should..." he stammered, backing away suddenly. "We should go... Long drive ahead..."

'Wow, Dawnie's got... boy that shirt looks good...' Xander closed his eyes and shook his head.

"Right, ok, uh... I'll go first..." he stammered, turning and starting up the ladder.

'Dammit Xander! Focus on the fricken situation! Ogle Dawn's chest later...' He again gave his head an angry shake as he reached the opening, thinking, 'I am so a dead man...'

He was able to pull himself together sufficiently to draw his pistol and begin scanning the surrounding area even as he opened the car door and waited for Dawn to follow.

Xander congratulated himself on the fact that he didn't once look down at Dawn climbing up the ladder, despite his inner pervert's pressure to get a look down that low-cut tank top. 'Good job Xan, you actually focused on the life-or-death threat rather than Buffy's little sister's body! God, what the hell is wrong with me?'

Of course as soon as his attention slipped, he found himself staring at her as she climbed across the front seat of the car. He quickly jumped in the car himself and started it up. As he hit the gas to pull away, his mind moved beyond the incredibly distracting image of Dawn's backside and he thought, 'Was that a gun in her waistband?'

"I know!" Willow gushed. "I mean, she's always been amazing, but this is unbelievable!"

Tara took a quick glance around at her surroundings. 'Don't want anything sneaking up on us while we're watching the show!' she thought.

Buffy was fighting five vampires and clearly loving it. She hadn't even drawn her stake from her belt, apparently enjoying the hand to hand too much to end it quickly.

One of the vampires that Buffy had thrown through a wrought-iron fence reentered the fray, brandishing a length of fence post. As the Slayer was stepping down from a spinning back kick, He stepped up behind her and swung the bar down like a hammer on a railroad spike.

Tara's eyes widened in fear- it seemed Buffy wasn't aware of the attack. Her perception of time slowed and the iron bar came down toward the top of her lover's head with a seemingly inexorable force. She barely had time to even think, 'Oh no!' when suddenly Buffy moved in a blur, seeming to disappear and instantly reappear behind her assailant.

Time snapped back to normal as Buffy took advantage of the vamp's over extension, kicking up between his legs with such force that the body flew up into the air. The vampire made three complete forward rotations, flying between two of his flabbergasted compatriots, and crumpling into a large marble monument.

"That's... that's not..." Tara stammered in shock. "No-one can move that fast, can they?"

Tara looked at Willow and saw a mirror of her own stunned disbelief on the redhead's face.

She looked back just in time to see Buffy flying through the air, pirouetting like a ballerina, except with her legs fully extended as her feet simultaneously shattered the skulls of the two vamps acting as goalposts to her earlier kick.

"Oohh!" Willow groaned loudly, echoing Tara's own internal warmth. "No panties Mistress!" the redhead crooned; her reaction to the shock of Buffy's movements apparently replaced by lust.

'I second that groan,' Tara thought as her desire flamed- though not quite sufficient to wipe out her lingering astonishment. 'But I still can't believe what just happened!'

Her playthings all lying broken on the ground, Buffy finally drew her stake and rapidly finished them off.

'Something is definitely happening to us,' Tara thought. 'We're getting very powerful, very quickly... I'm not sure how, but we need to find out.'

Buffy stood in the midst of the dusty remains of her attackers and reached up above her head in a giant stretch, arching her back, causing her breasts to jut out against the black sports bra she was wearing. Her lean torso looked pale in the moonlight, the marks Tara had put there were faded to light pink stripes. Her groan of pleasure as she released the stretch was loud and deep, and she began walking toward the two witches with clear purpose. The pleated material of her short skirt flared and spun around her hips enticingly with each undulating strut. Her hands slowly moved over her stomach and up to push her breasts together, deliberately enhancing and displaying her cleavage for her lover's pleasure as she neared them.

'Later,' Tara thought; her pet's behavior ratcheting the blonde witch's desire up a notch with each swaggering step. 'Research later...'

"How do you aim that?" Dawn asked, watching Xander as he knelt beside the car, scanning the area around her mother's Jeep with an invisible scope, attached to an invisible rifle.

Xander was providing cover as they waited for the disguised Faith and Gunn to exit the safe-house. They were parked about one hundred fifty yards from the two buildings, their car mostly hidden from view by the dip in the terrain at that point on the road.

"Well, it's kind of weird, but Willow made it so the scope still works," Xander quietly explained, not taking his eyes off the target area. "You just gotta be looking right in line with the lens, or it just disappears... very strange, but very useful."

Dawn was kneeling beside Xander, keeping her eyes open to the surrounding area as he had instructed. She'd been surprised at Xander's seeming indifference at the fact she was carrying a pistol. 'I figured he'd kinda freak, like Faith did,' she thought.

"Yeah, I always have; even before she could do neat tricks like completely defying the laws of physics..." Xander said in a humorous tone.

"Hup, there they are!" Xander interjected- still soft spoken, but all seriousness as he swept his weapon back and forth, clearly looking for the slightest threat.

The chill of adrenaline flowed once again through Dawn's body as the stress of the situation manifested. 'Ok Dawn, just breathe, no passing out this time!' she demanded of herself. She kept her pistol pointed downward, and her finger off the trigger, but her eyes relentlessly swept back and forth over the area. 'I'm not going to let him down! Not going to let him down!' she commanded herself over and over.

"Ok, they're in the Jeep..." Xander whispered. In the distance the sound of car-door closing was immediately followed by the engine starting.

Dawn's eyes flicked to the side as the Jeep Cherokee passed by with what looked like her mother and Giles inside. 'It's ok, it's gonna be ok...' she told herself, still feeling her heart pound and her veins flow with ice.

They remained in position for roughly half a minute before Xander stood up and said, "Ok, let's go."

'Thank God!' Dawn thought with a sigh of relief as she slid into the passenger seat.

"So, does that mean we're safe?" She asked; hesitant, yet very much needing to hear some reassurance.

"It's a good sign... but someone is out to get you and Giles, so I wouldn't say you're safe." Xander said, his voice tight.

"But it means we're probably safe tonight at least, right?" Dawn asked, her voice hopeful as they pulled back onto the pavement and followed after the departed Jeep.

Xander glanced at her for a moment before turning his attention back to the road. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly before answering. "Probably, but we should still be careful..."

"Of course..." Dawn agreed softly. She sat quietly and watched out the windshield as they drove onto I15.

The silence was uncomfortable, but she had no idea of what to talk about. 'There's all this stuff, and I don't know how to talk about it, or if I should even bring it up...' she lamented.

After a moment Xander broke the silence, asking the question she'd been expecting all along. "So, Dawn, what's up with the pistol?"

She was afraid, torn between wanting to avoid the subject, and wanting to unburden herself of the whole thing. 'If anyone could understand, it'd be Xander...' she told herself. 'But what if he doesn't? What if he doesn't want to be around someone who's killed people?'

"I didn't know Giles even owned a gun," Xander objected, breaking into her worrying.

"He, uh... well he took it," Dawn stammered. She shook her head and started over, "See, we were walking on the strip, looking at the casinos and stuff, and this guy tried to mug us, and Giles totally kicked his ass!"

"Wait a minute," Xander protested. "You guys got mugged?" His voice clearly conveying shock and outrage.

"Not exactly, see, we were looking at the shows and stuff that the casinos have outside along the strip- which, by the way, were pretty cool!" Dawn started once again. She had no problem telling this story, it being safe ground, as it were. "Anyway, we get to the Mirage, and they're doing all this construction and stuff, so there weren't really any other people around. So, this guy jumps out and starts yelling 'give me your wallet!' and stuff, and Giles was totally awesome. I was so surprised! I had no idea he could fight like that... he took out his wallet and hands it to this guy, but when the guy goes to grab it, Giles dropped it and grabbed the guy's gun, and the guy was bending down like he was going after the wallet, and Giles smashed the guy's face with his knee!"

"Giles hit him in the throat and that was it. We went back to the Jeep and took off," Dawn recalled.

With a laugh, Dawn remembered her mother's reaction. "Oh, and mom was so acting like Buffy after a fight."

"Dawn, we all know about Giles and your mom, we saw the way they were acting during that call this afternoon..." Xander explained.

Xander chuckled at that. "Trust me, you didn't miss anything. She was totally cool with it, she said, 'It's about time.' Everybody's cool with it."

"We all did," Xander said. "I think her not freaking was a bigger surprise than finding out they were together in the first place. Speaking of which, how long has that been going on?"

"It just happened," Dawn reminisced fondly. "It was the first night we got here, and Mom gave Giles this whole speech about how maybe she didn't need a man in her life, but she wanted one... and not in just a dating kind of way."

"Well... kinda..." Dawn confessed grudgingly. "But, only while they were talking! I took off before any smoochies started, I swear!"

Though she heard the teasing note in his voice, Dawn pleaded in a pouty voice, "Oh Xander, please don't tell, mom'd kill me!"

She put on her best sorrowful expression, leaning toward him and looking up through her lashes; shooting him pure puppy-dog eyes when he glanced her way.

His eyes widened and his mouth fell open a little as his breathing deepened noticeably. "Unh," he said in a grunt, and then he closed his eyes and shook his head for a brief second before turning back to watch where he was driving.

Xander licked his lips and his voice was slightly horse as he said, "Don't worry Dawn, I... I won't rat you out."

Worried, Dawn slid closer to him on the bench seat and put one hand on his shoulder. "You ok?" she asked, her voice laced with her concern.

"No, good, I'm good..." Xander said quickly, nodding his head as though agreeing with himself. He glanced over at her for just a second, then snapped his attention back to the road before them. He blushed and muttered, "It's... just... It's a little warm in here is all."

"Ok..." Dawn said, not believing him. She dropped her hand, but stayed where she was on the seat.

'What the hell...?' Dawn fretted, furiously trying to figure out what had happened just now. She looked down at her wringing hands in her lap, thinking, 'What did I do? What...'

Suddenly her focus widened beyond her hands, taking in her outfit, specifically her low-cut tank top and the not insubstantial amount of cleavage it showed. 'Oh my God! Oh my God! He was checking me out!' she realized excitedly. 'Xander Harris was checking me out, and he liked it! He got turned on! By me!'

She had to force herself to remain relatively still in her seat. In her mind she was turning cartwheels and jumping for joy.

"I'm, uh, gonna call Gunn... see where those two are..." Xander muttered, still sounding distracted.

Though her voice was cool, her brain was turning cartwheels. 'Xander thinks I'm sex-y, Xander thinks I'm sex-y!' she singsonged happily in her mind.

Buffy suddenly burst into giggles "I can't believe we just did it in the back of Giles car!"

The three girls were disrobed to various degrees, all piled in the back seat of Giles little BMW. After the slaying, they had barely made it to the car, and any hope of driving back to the mansion was thrown out the window when Tara slid the seat forward and pointed at the back, saying "In. Now!"

"Mmm, thank goodness for Slayer dexterity!" Tara said with a hum of pure pleasure.

"Oh goddess yes, Mistress!" Willow gushed. "The way you move... it's like you were everywhere at once!"

"Well, you two are just so... yummy! I want to taste and touch every square inch of you both, all at once!" Buffy said earnestly. "Is that so wrong?" she added with a wide grin.

"Ok, we should go back home now... clean up before we have to go to the airport," Tara said.

"I think, tomorrow, we need to talk to Giles..." Tara broached the subject as they were getting dressed after their shower.

"If you mean that we have to tease him mercilessly about him and mom, I'm with you!" Buffy joked.

"No. Well probably that too... but I was thinking more about talking to him about us," Tara explained.

Tara leaned back on the bed, bracing herself upright with her hands. "I mean, something's happening to us..."

Buffy immediately stopped what she was doing "Something bad?" she asked, sounding worried.

"No, no sweetie. Something good, I think," Tara said reassuringly. "I'm talking about how powerful we seem to be getting all of a sudden..."

"That too, but not just that..." Tara explained, "Buffy, did you notice how easy the slaying was last night?"

"Yeah, you cut through those five like they were standing still, Buff!" Willow said admiringly.

"Well... they were just a bunch of newbies..." Buffy said, her brow furrowing as she frowned.

"Well... they must have been... they were so easy..." Buffy said, suddenly sounding unsure.

"Just before the end, one of them nearly hit you on the head with a fencepost..." Tara said, remembering the bolt of fear that had shot through her.

"Buff, he... that post was, like, touching your hair! I thought for sure he had you!" Willow added, her face displaying the fact that she too was reminiscing with something less than fondness.

Tara shook her head, recalling what had happened next. "You moved... Buffy, you were literally faster than I could see. One second you were about to get smacked on the head, and the next you were just *gone*!"

"Yeah, it was like you blinked from in front of him, to behind him without moving the space in-between..." Willow said, suddenly contemplative. "I was looking right at you..."

Buffy looked thoughtful for a moment. "You know, I do remember thinking that he was really slow for a vampire... I mean slower than human even..."

"We should research it," Willow said. "You know, in case there's some prophecy or something."

Buffy seemed apprehensive rather than reassured by Willow's statement. "I dunno, Will. Buffy plus prophecy usually equals badness..."

"Don't worry Buffy. Whatever it is, we'll face it together," Willow said, walking over to Buffy and hugging her.

Tara stood up off the bed and joined her lovers in the embrace, reiterating Willow's reassurance, "We'll handle it, whatever it is. Besides, it seems like a good thing... so long as we make sure that we control the power, and don't let it control us..."

'Goddess, I love you two so much!' Tara thought with joy as they held the embrace for several moments. 'I think I have the perfect way to reward Willow tonight too...' she realized as the inevitable arousal from being this close to her lovers rose up to match the happiness she was feeling.

"I know, but I want you to drop me off at the dorm on the way," Tara explained. "I've got an idea for tonight, and I need to get some... supplies."

Buffy got a twinkle in her eye and smiled seductively as she met Tara's gaze. "That's right... we were gonna do something nice for her, weren't we?" she commented.

'Adorable!' Tara thought as Willow tilted her head questioningly and looked back and forth between her two lovers.

"Mmm hmm," Tara agreed. Turning to the redhead, she explained, "Since you were so very understanding when my little Slayer needed a moment with her Mistress, I thought we should do something nice for you this evening..."

Willow began bouncing up and down on her toes- clearly excited at the thought. "Ooh! What is it? Can there be cuffs and chains?" she asked eagerly.

"It's a surprise, sweetie!" Tara admonished. "Buffy doesn't even know what it is yet."

"A surprise for me! Oh I can't wait!" Willow gushed in a breathy, little-girl voice.

They were approaching the entirely tiny town of Primm, Nevada; about 45 miles outside of Las Vegas, where they were going to top off the tank and get some food for the road. About half-way through Vegas itself, they had caught up to Gunn and Faith who were traveling in the Summers' Jeep and- thanks to Willow's glamour- looking just like Giles and Joyce.

Trailing along a fair distance behind the Jeep, which occasionally dropped off the interstate to check for any tail, Xander had finally concluded that- other than himself- no one was following them.

Unfortunately, with that conclusion he had even less motivation to keep his eyes on the road, and off of the girl sitting next to him. 'I dunno what the hell's wrong with me!' he thought, feeling frustrated. 'This is Dawn! Buffy's little sister... except all of a sudden she ain't so little. When did that happen? Did she change in the last week or what? Am I just so damn horny that I've turned into some kind of outa-control hormone monster? It's like I'm sixteen all over again. Buffy's gonna kill me. Hell, I'll be lucky if she doesn't skin me, and then kill me.'

He glanced at his driving companion and was once again taken with what he saw. 'God, was Buffy that beautiful the first time I saw her?' he wondered. 'Look at that hair, like brown sugar! Those lips... that body... God, that body! And hey, she'll be sixteen in a few months...'

He snapped his attention back to the road, angrily chastising himself, 'That's four years younger than you are jackass! God I can't even believe I thought that! I am soooo dead!'

"Wha...?" Xander muttered. He suddenly realized they were about to miss their turnoff and, with a quick glance to his right, shot across two lanes just in time to reach the off-ramp.

'Ok, seriously, time to pull my head out and pay attention!' he thought; feeling the adrenaline rush mix with embarrassment. 'Just act like you always have with her... she *so* doesn't need to know you're checking her out... she'd totally freak!'

Xander shook his head quickly. "No! no... just, you know, thinking." He tried to lighten up things a bit, joking, "I know, I know. I shouldn't try to think and drive at the same time..."

When she didn't answer, he risked another glance at her and found her staring at him with an indecipherable look on her face. "Hey, I really am sorry, Dawn. I won't let it happen again..."

As they pulled into the gas station/travel center off the freeway, Xander's mouth kept running. "I... I'd never endanger you, or let you get hurt if I could do anything to stop it... you know that, right Dawn?"

Xander was stunned by the question. "Uh, whaddya mean 'why'? 'Cause you're important to me! I..." he trailed off as his brain caught up with his mouth before he could reveal anything more.

Dawn's smile was one of those that, once you see it, you'd do almost anything to make it happen again and again, as often as possible. The incongruous thought that went through Xander's bewildered mind was, 'Fifteen year-old girls should not be allowed to have that smile!'

"You're important to me too, Xander," she said in a soft voice that made his insides melt. "I'm gonna go get some road-food while you fill up, 'k?" she added, twisting around and reaching over the seat into the back to grab her jacket.

Xander's eyes followed her all the way to the building's doors before he snapped out of his daze.

"I'm so very, very much a dead man," Xander whispered as he leaned forward and thumped his head on the steering wheel.

"So, what do you think Tara has in mind for tonight?" Buffy asked as they pulled away from the front of the dorm. She and Willow had both sat there, unmoving, waiting until they watched their lover pass through the doorway into the dorm building.

"I dunno, but did you see that look in her eye?" Willow asked, her voice filled with eager anticipation. "Whatever it is, I think I'm gonna like it a lot!"

"I know, I can't wait!" Buffy exclaimed. "I love Tara-surprises! We'll just do a quick sweep of the docks and deal with those council goons if we find 'em, then it's back to the mansion for a night of fun!"

Willow laughed. "I like how you said that... you realize Giles is gonna want to talk about stuff, and if we do find the council team, it might take a while to deal with them..."

"Umpf," Buffy pouted. "Don't wanna take time with that stuff. Giles and mom can take our time talking in the morning. Council team... we'll just chain 'em to a wall somewhere and deal with them in the morning too."

Willow laughed again at that, but apparently was amenable to the idea, "Right. Gotta have priorities, and sex with girlfriends is definitely top of the list..."

"You know, speaking of talking..." Willow began, changing the subject. "Do you think Xander told them about your house?"

"Oh God, poor mom... I feel kinda guilty not telling her, but I totally didn't want to do it over the phone... or web, or whatever," Buffy said. "He probably told her... I think he would, wouldn't he?"

"She had to, I can't imagine her not..." Buffy answered ruefully. "Oh God, where's she gonna sleep tonight? We don't have any furniture in the other bedrooms!"

"Well, it's not like they just met or anything... and it wouldn't be the first time they've been, you know... intimate..." Willow replied.

"Ugh, I remember, believe me," Buffy said, amusement warring with distaste. "I just didn't really think about it... I mean, we're assuming a lot, just based on him having his arm around her."

"Yeah, but remember who we're talking about," Willow countered. "When he was seeing Ms. Calendar, there was almost no public touching at all. And when that Olivia woman was here, remember? We know they were together, but they still didn't really touch when we were around... so unless Giles has changed big-time, he and mom must be really, really close I think..."

As it always did, Buffy's chest squeezed at the sheer adorability of her babbling Willow. She couldn't help reaching over and stroking the backs of her fingers along the side of the redhead's cheek and neck.

'Ah, better stop before Will forgets she's driving and closes her eyes,' Buffy thought regretfully.

"God I love you so much Will!" Buffy said with the intense emotion in her voice that always arose when she brought up her feelings for her two lovers. She dropped her hand back down to her side and continued, "You're probably right about Giles and Mom... and I think that's great for them... especially mom. Lately I've been getting the feeling that she's been kinda lonely."

"Yeah, it can't be easy raising two daughters by herself, 'specially when one of 'em's the Slayer..." Willow said softly.

Buffy thought for a moment of all the difficulties since becoming the Slayer. 'I never really looked at it from her side... I probably wouldn't have reacted too well to all the trouble I got in all the time either...'

"Maybe when we get the whole watcher's council/unknown assassin thing taken care of, we should do something nice for your mom..." Willow suggested. "I have no clue what it would be, but..."

"Yeah, that's a good idea; I'm sure between the three of us we could come up with something..." Buffy agreed contemplatively. After another idea occurred to her, she said, "You know, I wonder if it was harder or easier with Dawn..."

"Well, it just occurred to me that, you know, we remember Dawn being there, so mom had to deal with all the extra from two daughters instead of one, which has got to be harder, but at the same time, at least she had Dawn there when she didn't have a clue what was up with me, and when I was gone that time..." Buffy said; to this day still feeling guilty for running away.

Buffy suddenly found her hand enveloped in Willow's warm hand, and the feeling of guilt eased slightly. 'one more in the millions of reasons to love Willow!' she thought.

"Dawn wasn't there, though. Not really," Buffy said softly. "I just suddenly wondered if that made it harder, or easier..."

"It's just... you seem..." Willow paused, apparently struggling for the right word. "Melancholy..."

Buffy pondered the statement for several moments before answering. "I dunno, Will. Today seems kinda... surreal. I mean, if you think about it, it's been a really weird day, even for us."

"Well, we didn't even get out of bed until, like, almost noon... then we had sex. And then Tara and I almost had sex while you and Xander were getting his clothes and our lunch, and then Tara and I did have sex just before the call to Giles, and we just had sex about an hour ago in the car by the graveyard, and then again in the shower and we just dropped Tara off so she can get some 'supplies' for us to have more sex later tonight," Buffy recounted.

"Yeah, nowhere near a record for us, but still..." Buffy answered with a sly grin. "But then in between the sex, we found out you can make everyone within shouting distance cum at the same time. My ex-boyfriend gave my girlfriend a multi-million dollar mansion cause she kicked his ass really well. Someone's trying to kill my family- and that's only unusual cause it's a human instead of a vampire or demon..."

"Right, cause we took out the hell-god last night," Buffy agreed. Let's see, what else... you made a bunch of guns invisible, and then you made mom and Giles look like Faith and Gunn- which we're about to see..."

"Right. Our house was destroyed- though technically, we found out about that last night. Oh, and the council sent some guys to capture or kill Faith..." Buffy added with no change in tone. "Did I leave out anything?"

"Xander's stuck driving Dawnie home all the way from Las Vegas?" Willow offered.

"Oh please, Dawn is so clearly in love with Xander..." Willow explained matter-of-factly. "Believe me, I totally know the signs."

"I dunno, Buff..." Willow rebutted. "When she was ten, it was a crush... after almost six years, I'm thinking it might be more than that..."

Buffy considered that idea as they pulled into the airport parking access. 'Lovesick Dawn, mooning after Xander- who, though clueless, would no doubt be wigged out if he found out,' she thought, sympathy and humor warring for dominance.

"Roger three, hold position. Unit two, return to base. Three, I will rendezvous your location in five minutes. We will then secure subject Tango and regroup with two."

"Roger One, Two acknowledges. Be sure and remember to completely secure the hands and mouth; intel on Tango includes knowledge and use of witchcraft."

'Earthquake? The bed is shaking!' Tara thought, feeling confused and bewildered as she awoke. 'Unh, not my bed,' she realized as she became aware of the unyielding flat surface on which she was laying.

The squeal of brakes and the sudden lurching sensation, followed by relative stillness clued the witch in to her situation. 'In a car... or a van,' she thought. 'Dark...' She tried to reach out and feel around her when she discovered, '...unh, hands are bound.'

The darkness was suddenly flooded with light, as the door to her prison was opened. She blinked furiously and tried to ask what was going on, when she discovered that her mouth was covered with something that restricted any movement of her lips.

'English accent... it has to be the watchers council team...' Tara thought with a thrill of fear. 'Surely there isn't another group of Englishmen running around kidnapping people in Sunnydale tonight.'

Two men reached into the van and pulled Tara out none to gently. They dragged her to the center of the room, and unceremoniously dropped her to the floor.

Tara struggled to move herself into a seated position, unwilling to lie on the floor. 'Duct tape!' she thought angrily as she looked down at her bound feet. 'They tied me up in duct tape! That's going to hurt when I pull it off...'

As her head cleared, Tara began to look around the room. 'It looks like a warehouse... not being used much, I'd guess. It's pretty dusty in here...' She inhaled deeply through her nose and was assaulted by a very pungent and easily identifiable smell. 'Smells like rotting fish and burned motor oil... Buffy was right, they are using the docks again... that's probably how they plan to get Faith out of here, on a ship.'

There were only three men as far as she could see. One of them pulled a pistol out of his belt and walked over to crouch down next to her. The other two stepped several feet back and also drew pistols, pointing them at her and glaring.

"Listen to me girl, we aren't interested in you, we just want the rogue Slayer. I don't know why you lot are hiding her, and I don't care." The man said in a menacing voice. "I'm not here to argue, I'm here to do a job, and that's take the rogue back to the council for a proper trial."

"Now we know you're important to the Slayer, and as long as she's willing to cooperate, you don't have anything to worry about..." the man continued to drone on.

Tara tuned out the diatribe and reached out through her connection with her lovers. 'Ohh, worry and fury!' she thought, shivering at the intensity of emotion she felt. 'They're coming and they are really, really mad!'

"So you just sit tight and this'll be over before you know it..." the man finished his speech, lightly slapping her on the cheek a couple times.

Tara looked at his face as he stood and contempt and arrogance written clearly upon it.

"Yeah, dinna ya worry, lassie," one of the other men said with a crude laugh. "We'll gi' yer lil chickadees a shout and y'll be back t' quim-quaffin' in nae time a'tall!"

'You...!' Tara ground her teeth as rage built up inside her at the situation and the men who had put her in it. 'Oh I am so tempted to just let them find me like this! Buffy would hammer that smirk off of your face... if Willow left you a face in the first place!"

"Oh, and don't think y'll be spelling y'r way oot o' this one, witch! We've taped y'r hands an mouth right proper, so there'll be no magic here."

Despite the uncomfortable pull of the tape, a smile tugged at the corners of Tara's mouth. 'Oh boy, are you in for a surprise!' she thought as she began to gather energy from the earth and sea around her.

'Mmm, they're getting close. I should deal with these... men... before they get here,' Tara thought, almost spitting in her thoughts at the idea that these creatures could be called men. 'Much as they might deserve a messy end, I can't have my pets taking a human life... that's some guilt we definitely don't need to be dealing with.'

Having drawn as much power as she could in the time she had, Tara used the concept Willow had shown her earlier that evening. 'don't need a spell... you just look at something, see the very structure of it, down to the atomic level...' the pride she felt for her lover rose up in her, overshadowing her anger for a moment. 'Goddess, Willow. I would never have even imagined something like this was possible... but watching you do it... it's so simple! I'm sure no one else in the world would have been capable of such a thing... only you Willow!'

Tara reached out with her inner eye and saw the structure of the tape binding her limbs and covering her mouth. 'It's woven together... like fabric almost,' she thought in wonder. 'I just pull here, and... It all unravels!'

'Oops! I should have done the guns first!' Tara realized as she felt the tape on her mouth dissolve and fall off of her face.

Her eyes snapped open in time to see three surprised faces. Unfortunately, their surprise wasn't enough, as she also saw three pistols coming to bear on her. Tara reacted instinctively, thrusting her hands out in front of her and unleashing a blast of power that sent not only the three men, but everything in front of her tumbling away like leaves in the wind.

Quickly, before the three could recover, Tara reached out once again with her inner sight and found the firearms. 'Willow could probably finesse them so they just wouldn't fire, but I'm not taking any chances!' she thought. As she had unraveled the structure of the tape that had bound her, she unraveled the fabric of the steel that formed the bulk of the guns' structure.

When the council team shook off the impact of being hurled into the corrugated steel wall of the building, they found themselves holding rubber grips and aluminum magazines full of bullets, but missing the pistols in which they had been.

By the time the men had shaken off their shock at this newest magic, Tara had cast the same spell she had used to immobilize Angel. The council team's first step toward the blonde witch was also their last, as the major muscle groups in their bodies completely relaxed and they fell to the ground like rag-dolls.

Tara took a deep breath and stretched the kinks out of her shoulders and back. Her nose twitched at the unpleasant smell and she thought, 'Why did it have to be the docks?'

Dismissing the thought, Tara focused her attention once again on the three who had abducted her. Shaking her head sadly, she cast the Spike spell, drawing the men up by their feet to hang in the air before her. "Well, this didn't go quite like you planned, did it?" she asked, feeling almost sorry for them. "The watcher's council is supposed to be fighting against evil, not against the other's who also fight evil. Don't you realize you only serve evil's purpose when you do that?" she asked.

"Shoulda kept you unconscious," the lead man muttered, his words slurred due the lack of muscle control rendered by the spell.

"Oh no, that would have been a big mistake. Right now, my lovers are on their way to save me... in fact they're very close. The only reason you aren't about to be very badly hurt, is because I'm standing here, and you're hanging there." Tara felt a pang of fear at the thought, "If they had found me unconscious on the floor, with you three standing there pointing guns...

'Willow might have killed them by accident if Buffy couldn't restrain her fast enough...' Tara shuddered at the thought. 'She wouldn't mean to, but it wouldn't take much, and our last two times were against a room full of vampires and a hell god. Ordinary men wouldn't stand a chance.'

Any response the dangling men might have made was interrupted as the building began to shake violently.

She whirled around to face the door, expecting to see it open rather violently. 'Willow and Buffy both love to make an entrance,' she thought, remembering how, while enjoined, they had blown Glory's doors off their hinges.

What happened next shocked even Tara, never mind the council team. Instead of the door ripping open, the whole metal structure was ripped from the foundations as though snatched up by the hand of God himself. Tara's eyes involuntarily followed the flight as it sailed into the harbor several hundred yards in the distance.

The incoherent cries of fear at her back were barely a blip on Tara's radar as her eyes returned to the place where the door had stood. The awesome sight of her lovers, standing larger than life, overwhelmed her as pride and lust filled her being.

Buffy seemed to radiate an aura of imminent violence, as though she were a drawn bowstring, ready to snap forward and slay whatever foe might lie in her path. Just looking at the barely-restrained fury in her expression would be enough to strike terror in the heart of any demon.

Willow though, was radiating more than just an invisible aura. Her eyes were solid orbs of glowing cobalt blue, and tendrils of magical energy fanned out before her. The sight of the magic crawling across the concrete floor made Tara think of something puissant and primeval, moving with almost malevolent intent- as though stalking its prey in order to wreak horrible vengeance.

She was so caught up with fascination that she remained unmoving until the energy reached her, crawling up her body. Where she might have expected pain though, instead the blue tendrils stroked her like the hands of a lover.

"Tara!" the flame-haired witch breathed- her voice almost a sob. Immediately the crawling energy retreated into the redhead's body, and the smaller girl was running into her lover's arms.

Buffy moved more slowly, almost hesitantly. The fury in her gaze had been traded for an equal portion of what looked like guilt and fear.

Tara whispered, "I love you Willow!" In the redhead's ear, then looked up at her blonde lover with confusion. "Buffy? What's wrong?" she asked, worried by the Slayer's diffidence.

Buffy looked miserable and fell to her knees when she was just about in arm's reach. "Mistress," she cried softly. "I... I failed you! Oh God!"

"Oh goddess Buffy, no!" Tara's heart clenched at the anguish in her pet's voice.

"They took you!" Buffy cried with agonizing intensity. "They took you and I wasn't there to stop them! Oh Mistress, I'm so sorry!"

Tara's own voice was a barely restrained sob as she reached out to her lover, "Buffy, oh my love, no!"

When Buffy wouldn't even meet Tara's gaze, she immediately moved, dragging Willow along as she dropped to her knees and threw her arms around the distraught Slayer.

"I failed you! I failed you! Oh Mistress I'm so sorry!" Buffy wailed, her body shaking with sobs as Tara and Willow held her, kissing her face and hair, trying to reassure her.

'Oh Buffy, don't do this!' Tara thought. Her stomach was flooded with cold fear that her lover might be on the verge of some kind of break down.

Finally, Tara grabbed Buffy's face and forced her to look at her own. "Slayer! Listen to me, you did not fail me! Stop saying that this instant!"

Buffy's seemingly instinctive desire to wallow in self-recrimination was evident by the effort it took for her not to continue her apologies. Her voice was obediently silent, but her mouth kept moving.

Tara didn't wait for her pet to regain control of her voice, instead she spoke slowly and clearly, reminding Buffy of the facts. "Even if I hadn't been able to handle the situation, you and Willow were only minutes behind- you would have been here in plenty of time to save me! Do you understand me? You didn't fail, you were magnificent! You made your Mistress proud!" She released Buffy's face and looked back and forth between her two lovers. "You both make me so proud to be your lover, always, and especially right now!"

The adoration on Willow's face was matched by her voice as she whispered, "We were so worried Tara! We should have known you could handle it."

"Honestly, the only thing I was worried about was that you would get here before I had taken care of it and do something we couldn't take back," Tara said with a smile.

"Buffy? I'm really ok, please don't beat yourself up for this..." Tara said emphatically.

"What is it, Buffy?" Tara asked, getting the impression that there was more to the Slayer's reticence than the guilt she was inflicting on herself. "Tell me..."

Buffy looked up, not at her Mistress, but rather past her, focusing on the still suspended council team. "I want... I want so badly to hurt them!" she whispered harshly. "Oh Mistress, I hear a voice screaming at me to tear them apart, to beat and shred and bathe in their blood!"

Tara gasped at the look of pure malice twisting her Slayer's normally beautiful face. 'Oh goddess, she would have killed them!' she realized fearfully.

Buffy looked back at Tara, and then at Willow. The blonde's face crumpled into a look of shame and horror. "Horrible, terrible things, Mistress. When I see them, or think about them... all I see is blood and death!"

'She sounds afraid, not angry... maybe that's a good thing...' Tara thought, terrified herself at the thought of Buffy giving in to her dark impulses and treating these men like the denizens of the night that she so routinely destroyed without compunction.

"Oh sweetie..." Tara sighed, holding both her girls tightly to her chest. She looked over them and noticed for the first time Gunn and Faith standing not far away. They were holding onto each other with looks of awe and fear on their faces as well.

'We're definitely not getting to Willow's surprise tonight...' Tara realized tiredly. 'I don't think Giles and mom are going to be willing to wait until tomorrow to talk about this...'

"What are we going to do with them?" Willow asked as Tara loosened her embrace. Her voice sounded more curious than violent.

A glance at Buffy showed that any answers she might have for that question involved violence.

With a sigh, Tara moved, pulling them all to their feet. "Let's go ask Giles..." she said, wanting to get Buffy away from temptation. "Oh, and Willow?"

"Could you please make Mom and Mr. Giles look like themselves?" Tara asked with a smile. "It's kinda weird seeing them like this..."

Even Buffy sounded like she was in better humor as she commented, "You think looking at them is weird? Getting a mom-hug from Faith may have scarred me for life..."

Tara laughed at that, feeling a sense of relief. "We're going to be ok. We'll need some time to work through Buffy's guilt, but I think we'll be ok," Tara thought. Seeing the looks on the other two's faces, she sighed again. 'Looks like we'll have to work through some fear issues there too...'

Xander's answering laugh was somewhat strained. "Well, we know Tara's spell worked..." he said in a raspy voice.

Dawn had almost been skipping with happiness as she left the travel center with two bags of food for the road. 'God, all I could think was how I was going to drive Xan to distraction now that I know he likes me... or at least he's attracted to me...'

When she'd gotten back to the rental car, instead of finding a smiling Xander to tease, she'd found him curled up in a fetal position on the front seat of the car. He had tears streaming down his face and he was muttering and growling in what sounded like rage and frustration. 'All he'd say is 'they took Tara!' over and over.'

Dawn had dropped the bags on the floorboard and moved herself so that Xander's head was using her left thigh like a pillow while she stroked his hair and tried to make reassuring noises. 'Any other time I'd have loved to have his head in my lap... oh, that could be taken the wrong way... or maybe the right way!' She thought. Of course she had immediately chastised herself, 'So not the time to be lusting!'

Twenty minutes later Xander had suddenly relaxed and with deep breaths he gasped, "She's safe, she's safe!"

"What do you mean, Tara's spell?" Dawn asked, now even more confused by the whole situation.

Xander rolled onto his back as he explained, "Right after you guys left for Vegas, Tara cast a spell that linked the four of us, you know, in case Glory took one of us... so the other three would know."

'Oh Xander...' Dawn thought with a pang of sorrow as she saw his face fall. 'You're remembering it again, aren't you...'

"So what happened? Who took Tara? How did they save her?" Dawn asked. She was ignoring the fact that she kept combing her fingers through his hair.

"Probably those council goons... since they can't find Faith, they must have grabbed Tara, hoping to get intel... though, I can't even begin to guess how they managed to get her away from Buffy and Willow in the first place...." Xander broke off, a thoughtful look on his face.

"Probably?" Dawn asked, still upset over both the Tara situation, and the effect it had had on Xander. "Don't you, I don't know... don't you just know? I mean, if you guys are linked together..."

Xander laughed, his smile more genuine now. "It doesn't work like that Dawnie. We can't read thoughts or anything, we just get strong emotions, and stuff." His smile faltered into a more serious expression as he added, "Oh, and remind me to never ever make Buffy really angry."

He shivered as his gaze focused inward. "I've lost my temper in a pretty big way on more than one occasion... but I've never felt rage like that before." He shook his head and focused once again on her eyes as he continued, "It was like, blinding! I wanted to hurt whoever took her, I wanted to rip them up into little pieces and then kill the little pieces slowly, I wanted to..."

Dawn's eyes had been widening at the look on Xander's face and the violence hinted at in his voice, let alone the graphic depictions. He must have noticed because he trailed off with an embarrassed blush and muttered, "Too much information, huh?"

"But they're all ok? Willow and Tara and Buffy?" Dawn asked, seeking reassurance.

Xander closed his eyes and scrunched his brow as though he was trying to feel for the answer. After a moment, he relaxed again and opened his eyes. "Yeah, they're ok... I'm getting some guilt that I think is from Buffy, but mostly relief and happiness... I'm not so good at figuring out who's who... we never really had to use this, what with no one getting kidnapped and all..." he finished with a light voice and a reassuring smile for her.

"Yeah, I'm good. I could use something to eat though, it's been a long time since lunch," Xander said, however, he didn't seem terribly inclined move from where he was laying.

Dawn felt her face warm slightly as she looked down at her long-term crush. She was about to say something when his last comment was punctuated by his stomach growling loudly.

Xander sat up at last, turning back around so he was facing her, and asked, "So, what did'ja get?"

Though she felt a pang of loss as he sat up, Dawn quickly covered it with a smile before he finished turning around. "Well, they had a Burger King, so I got a bag full of cheeseburgers. And I got some candy bars, and some chips and pretzels and some soda, of course, and..." she paused dramatically, grinning with exaggerated enticement.

'I knew the moment I saw them...' Dawn mused, delighted with the way his face lit up. 'They say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, and Twinkies are Xander's idea of snack heaven!"

"All that and Twinkies too...? you're like, the perfect woman! Dawn, will you marry me?" Xander asked with a grin.

Dawn froze. 'It was a joke Dawn! Just a joke! Calm down...' she thought as her heart tried to hammer it's way out through her ribcage. 'Oh God, say something! I've got to say something...'

"Um, I mean, I would, but... we, uh... well, all the wedding chapels are back in Las Vegas..." she stammered.

'Could I be more pathetic?' Dawn thought, closing her eyes and feeling her face burn with humiliation. 'Oh please God, someone just shoot me now...'

"Hey, we gonna hit the road or what?" Faith's impatient voice broke into Xander's fugue state, shocking him back to awareness.

'Oh God, when she licked her lips... and that look in her eyes!' Xander thought, his blood throbbing in his veins. 'Why the hell did I say that...? 'will you marry me?' what the hell was I thinking? I'm flirting with a fifteen year-old girl!'

He was torn between recrimination and desire as he remembered her reaction. 'Oh God, she... she looked like she wanted to kiss me! And I think... I'm pretty sure I would have kissed back... Oh I am so dead!'

Clenching her eyes shut in obvious mortification had stayed the actual smooching, but Xander had sat there like a poleaxed steer for several seconds until Faith's voice had roused him.

"What's up with you two?" her voice again rang out, this time curiosity rather than haste colored her tone.

"We, um... well..." Xander stammered, his brain starving for oxygen as his blood seemed to be mostly located elsewhere at the moment.

The instant he realized that, he shifted his legs, trying to hide the effect Dawn had had on him.

"Did we tell you about that spell Tara did on the four of us before we went to LA?" Xander was surprised that he'd managed to speak coherently.

"Right, so the other three would be able to tell if Glory took one of us..." Xander acknowledged with an explanation for Faith's benefit.

"Crap, you mean something happened to Buffy?" Faith asked sounding just a little panicky.

Xander furrowed his brow, something in Faith's tone niggling at the back of his mind. "No... Tara," Xander said slowly.

'Ok, now that not good...' he thought as Faith's face cleared with an expression of deep relief.

"Well don't leave us hanging, what happened?" Gunn asked, his voice displaying the tension Xander would had expected from Faith as well.

"Um, well I don't know exactly... someone took her, but I don't know who exactly," Xander began, still bothered by Faith's reaction.

"Or she rescued herself," Xander added. "Anyway, they're all together now, and everyone's ok... it was just, until they found her, Buff and Will, well they were pretty intense and I kinda got the backwash."

"Whoever it was, I sure as hell wouldn't want to be in their shoes with those two comin' after me," Gunn said and his voice held a thread of serious tension. "For that matter, I wouldn't want to be them if Tara got loose on her own either."

"Yeah, well... if they're all ok and stuff, we should head out, huh?" Faith interjected.

'What's her problem?' Xander wondered. 'The return of surly Faith not a welcome one.'

Xander did a double take, and then gave himself a mental slap to the forehead. 'And the 'Distracted much?' award goes to Xander, can-you-say-statutory-rape, Harris!'

'Well, at least I'm not the only retard in the group," Xander thought self-deprecatingly.

Gunn arched his eyebrows, but seemed unconcerned by it. "Dunno, musta just happened... I remember you having blonde hair when we were in the store," he said to Faith.

Xander looked at the time on the dashboard clock and said, "Well, they should have picked up G-man and Mrs. Summers by now... maybe Willow undid the glamour on them, and it made it drop on you guys too..."

"Whatever," Faith muttered. "Let's get outta here." With that she turned on her heel and walked away, not waiting for Gunn.

'And again I wonder what the hell her problem is...' Xander shot Gunn a questioning glance but received only a bemused shrug from the LA demon hunter.

"See you guys later," Gunn said genially before turning and jogging to catch up with the dark-haired Slayer.

"Ok..." Xander muttered, closing his door and starting the car. They pulled out of the parking lot and headed back for the interstate.

Dawn's voice betrayed her relief at the innocuous nature of the question. "Sure, cold cheeseburger and lukewarm soda coming right up."

'Well this is uncomfortable,' Tara thought as everyone sat silent in Giles living room. 'Buffy's pushed herself into the corner of the couch with Willow in her lap like a shield, mom's sitting in the chair hugging herself and Giles is pacing and cleaning his glasses.'

They had ended up at Giles apartment somewhat by chance. He had driven his car with Mrs. Summers, and the triad had followed in the van. The three men from the council were bound in the back of the van.

'At least we don't have to worry about them getting away any time soon,' Tara thought with some humor. Buffy had pulled several lengths of rebar out of the exposed concrete foundation and bound the three men hand and foot. 'She twisted those bars like they were pipe cleaners,' Tara remembered in awe. 'It was almost like watching one of those things where they wrestle the cows down and tie their feet together!'

The first one had tried to struggle when Tara released him from the spell, but Buffy was on him just like the rodeo event of which Tara had thought. She flipped him over and put her knee in the back of his neck like an episode of 'COPS', and then wrapped the rebar around each wrist and ankle in a clover pattern leaving him trussed up and completely immobilized.

'Goddess she's gotten so strong!' Tara thought. 'I thought Giles and Mom's eyes were going to pop out when she picked up two of them like milk pails and carried them to the van.' Tara shook her head as she remembered. 'I suppose we should probably talk about them first...'

"So, Mr. Giles, what should we do with those three men out in the van?" Tara asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence with the less unpleasant of the at least two topics she knew they would be discussing.

"Yes, well..." Giles started, slipping his glasses back on. "It's rather a sticky situation... technically I do work for the council, yet..."

He was interrupted by Buffy's simple declaration, "They touched Tara. They're lucky to be breathing right now."

'Only Willow can make such a menacing threat sound so cute,' Tara thought with a smile. She reached over and squeezed the redhead's hand appreciatively.

"Yes, well, believe me when I say that I sympathize completely," Giles responded, walking over to stand behind the chair in which Buffy's mom sat. He put his hands on her shoulders in an almost challenging manner as he continued, "I would not take at all kindly with anyone who threatened someone so close to me."

Joyce covered one of Giles hands with her own and looked up at him with adoration clearly written on her face.

"You guys!" Willow said in her excited little-girl voice. "That's so sweet! Congratulations!"

"Yes, congratulations!" Tara echoed, meeting Joyce's eyes with a knowing grin on her face.

Seeing Joyce's eyes seek out her daughter, Tara also turned to look at her blonde lover.

Buffy had a smirk on her face when she spoke. "All I've got to say is paybacks are a bitch..."

Tara looked back to see a blush and a hint of trepidation on her adoptive 'Mom's face. She laughed as she took in Giles puzzled expression.

"A-alright..." he answered perplexedly, "Regardless, we still have the matter of what to do with the council team. I believe that I have an idea... though, we'll need a way to make certain that they don't suffocate..."

'Oh my, that's an evil grin if I've ever seen one,' Tara thought with a shiver at the look on Giles face.

The shiver had been replaced with laughter by the time Giles had finished explaining his 'idea'.

"Wouldn't it be better to just put them in some sort of suspended animation, that way they wouldn't need air at all?" Tara asked.

Buffy bowed her head and was blushing as she apologized. "I'm sorry I shouted Mistress... but they need to be awake and aware..." her voice was low and angry as she explained. "We need to make sure they are so afraid of what'll happen to them here, that they will never come back no matter what the council tells them! They may not be afraid to die, but we can show them that there's worse things than death."

Willow leaned back and whispered in Buffy's ear for several moments- too softly for Tara to make out what was said. However, whatever she was suggesting made Buffy's eyes get huge and her jaw drop in what looked like extreme shock. When the redhead was finished, she leaned back to look into Buffy's eyes, all the while sporting a smug grin.

Buffy's look of surprise slowly morphed into a wicked smile of her own. She made a noticeable effort to put on a straight face before speaking, but Tara could see the deviousness in her expression even still.

"Um, if you guys want to get that set up, me and Will are going to go... uh, rearrange them... you know, so they'll fit better."

"Actually that's an excellent idea. Unless it was destroyed by Glory, there's a crate in the basement at the shop..."

"Right at the bottom of the steps on the left," Buffy interjected. "I remember I walked right into it when I was looking for the lights when Xander and I were getting the Dagon-sphere thingy." She stood up and set Willow down on her feet, saying, "You're right Giles, that's perfect! Tara can whip up something to make sure they can breathe and stuff, and me and Will will take care of the rest!"

"Ah, yes... well I'll go along and..." Giles started, sounding somewhat reluctant.

"That's ok Giles, I think the three of us can handle it... you guys should rest up from your flight," Buffy said, fooling no one with her 'innocent' tone.

'Mmm, I can't wait to see what my pets have in mind...' Tara thought, standing up to join them.

"They can handle it, Rupert," Joyce spoke up in a tone that brooked no argument. "I think our day has been plenty long enough." Turning her attention to the triad, she added, "You girls will come by tomorrow, right?"

Tara couldn't help but smile as her lovers answered in chorus with her, "Yes mom!"

"Indeed," Giles agreed with his new house-mate. "We most certainly have some issues to discuss."

"I'm not sure that's possible, Buffy!" Willow said with a laugh, "barring the gender issue, of course."

"Now then, about the watcher team," Tara said, moving the focus back to the immediate issue. "Just what devious ideas are percolating in those two lovely heads, hmm?"

Buffy and Willow looked at each other with a wicked grin. Buffy gestured to Willow and said, "Go ahead pet, it was your brilliant idea."

They were approaching Baker, California and neither had spoken beyond a few monosyllabic communiqu�necessary for transferring food from the bag to Dawn, and on to Xander.

'At least it's not completely uncomfortable,' Xander pondered the relative silence. 'Yeah as long as I ignore how she keeps 'accidentally' brushing my hand when she hands me stuff... or how I keep letting her do it...'

"So, Dawn..." Xander said. His thoughts were starting down a path he wanted to avoid at all costs right now, so he tried to change the subject in his mind through conversation. "Is it just me, or did Faith seem kinda..."

"Blunt," Xander corrected with a matching grin. "But, yeah. She seemed almost panicky when she thought it was Buffy that was in trouble, but then..."

"It was like she didn't care anymore as soon as she heard it was Tara," Dawn finished his thought.

Xander nodded. "Yeah. Not only like she didn't care, but almost like she was disappointed that she was ok?" Xander wondered aloud, concerned about the potential problems if Faith and Tara didn't get along.

"Do you think Faith is still in love with Buffy?" Dawn asked, her voice sounding uncertain and thoughtful.

"Still?" Xander exclaimed in surprise. "Faith was in love with Buffy?" even as he asked the question, a memory from earlier in the week came back to him.

'We were at McDonalds, going back to LA after getting Faith out of prison... Tara told her that she was with Buffy and Willow and Faith mumbled something... something about envying Tara,' he reflected.

"Yeah, back before the mayor and stuff I saw them together sometimes..." Dawn reminisced.

Xander's mind immediately supplied him with one of his old Buffy/Faith fantasies and he choked out, "Together? You saw them together, as in..."

"Ugh! No, Xander," Dawn said with a combination of annoyance and humor in her voice. "Did anyone ever tell you that you have a dirty mind?"

"All the time," Xander replied immediately. "It's like one of my defining characteristics."

'Nice one, slick. Way to impress...' Xander chastised himself for his knee-jerk response. Then he chastised himself for his chastisement, "What am I thinking?! I am *not* trying to impress anyone here, certainly not the Slayer's underage sister!'

"Anyway!" Dawn said with the same tone of amused annoyance. "As I was saying, I'd see them after patrol sometimes when they thought I was asleep... I never saw them having smoochies or anything, I don't even think Buffy felt that way about her... but I'd see Faith looking at her sometimes. Like the look I see when Willow looks at her now."

"Huh?" Xander asked, confused by the seeming change in subject. He darted a glance at the brunette and saw her studying his face with narrowed eyes.

"I said I saw Faith looking at Buffy like Willow looks at Buffy, and you said 'that's not good.' Why is that not good?"

"Uh, cause having a Slayer and a witch mad at each other is a really, really bad idea?" Xander answered, surprised by the question.

Dawn nodded. "So, you don't... it's not because you have feelings..." she started again, hesitantly.

"Feelings for Faith." Dawn quickly corrected. Seemingly nervous, she went on explaining, "I mean. I know you guys kinda have some history and stuff..."

"What?!" Xander squawked. "How the hell... no, lemme guess. You were spying on someone..." Xander paused, his emotions slightly in turmoil. "Had to be Buffy... Buffy and Willow?"

'Why do I care if Dawn knows about that? I mean, beyond the embarrassment factor, It's ancient history...' he consoled himself.

"Well..." Dawn's voice came out as a whine. "No one ever told me anything! It's not my fault I had to figure out everything on my own!"

"Ok, so it's not feelings for Faith," Dawn said, even though Xander hadn't specifically admitted to that. "You aren't worried about Tara are you? Don't you think she can handle Faith?" Dawn asked wonderingly. "I mean, if she kicked Angel's butt..."

"Dawn, just because I don't have feelings, or at least no romantic feelings for Faith doesn't mean I don't care about her," Xander refuted her presumption. His voice became subdued as he continued, "Believe me, I know what it's like when you're in love with someone who doesn't return those feelings... it hurts. It makes it hard to even be around that person, because you feel sad, and frustrated and angry."

The feel of a warm hand on the back of his own brought Xander's attention back to the present. He looked down to his hand, then followed the line of Dawn's arm up to her face, which was looking back at him with a soft, sympathetic smile. 'Oh I am in so much trouble...' he lamented, feeling is insides melt. 'How did you get so damn beautiful in one week away?' he asked silently before squeezing his eyes shut and focusing back on the road.

"Anyway, I don't want Faith and Tara at odds because I like both of them and it would just be bad." Xander said, returning to the previous subject. "It would be bad for Willow and Buffy too. It would just be bad for everyone."

Shooting another quick look at her, Xander saw that she was just kidding. "That too," he jokingly acknowledged. Before the conversation went in any uncomfortable direction, Xander changed the subject. "Hey, how about one of those Twinkies you bought..."

"Sure!" she said with a grin, letting go his hand to reach for the bag on the floor.

'I'm not going to survive another four hours in this car...' Xander bemoaned in self pity.

"Here you go," she said, tearing open the package and handing him one of the yellow, cream filled cakes.

'We used to flirt around all the time, but now I feel like a dirty old man every time I open my mouth!' he thought in frustration.

Dawn took a moment to stretch, arching her back and reaching back over her head with a groan of appreciation. "God I can't wait to sleep in my own bed," she said. "That waterbed in huggybear's house wasn't very comfortable."

The intense arousal Xander felt when he caught a glance of the younger girl in mid stretch was ameliorated by the realization, 'Oh crap, I didn't tell her yet...'

"Xander, what's wrong?" Dawn asked when she turned to look at him and saw his expression.

"My lords!" the chief clerk cried out as he entered the main council chambers. "A package has arrived from America for you, it's marked 'most urgent'!"

"To whom among us is it labeled, Percival?" a particularly snobbish voice rang out.

The clerk trembled in fear as he answered, "It is l-labeled t-to, to, to 'The Council of Watcher's' m-my lord!"

Quinton Travers merely shook his head at the antics of his fellow members of the council. Once the furor had died a bit, he took to his feet and spoke, "Gentlemen, come now, are you truly that daft? I believe we know from whom this has come. I did warn you that any advance upon the Slayer or her group would be received poorly."

He overrode the sputtering protests that arose and said, "Come then, let us see what consequence your heavy-handed actions have brought us..."

Continuing to ignore the outraged mutterings of his cohorts, Quinton exited the chamber, clerk in tow.

Immediately upon seeing the size of the 'package', Quinton believed he knew what it contained. With a resigned sigh, he commanded the clerk, "Have it opened, Percival."

The clerk gestured to his two aids who stood by with pry-bars in hand. They immediately fell upon the box and pried the top off.

Looking inside, Quinton saw a uniform layer of white Styrofoam packing material, on which lay an envelope. With an innate sense of superiority, Quinton stepped forward and opened the envelope, quickly scanning the contents.

Quinton closed his eyes briefly, shaking his head at his peer's folly. "Clear away the packing materials," he instructed the clerk. "And have one of your assistants fetch a doctor."

Another uproar arose at Quinton's mention of a doctor. Turning back to the council, He responded abruptly, "Be silent! For God's sake, have you no sense of decorum at all?"

He cleared his throat dramatically and then read aloud, "Gentlemen. I thought I was clear when you were last here, but apparently not. America is off limits to the Watcher's Council without a specific invitation. These gentlemen were not invited. They should still be alive by the time you read this, but I doubt they will ever forget the experience."

By that time, the packing material had been cleared away, and the clerk gasped out loud.

The whole council rushed the box like little kids, pushing to see what lay inside.

Quinton looked down in the box and had to restrain an entirely inappropriate chuckle. "Well, they certainly are creative, if rather crude..." he opined, turning and walking away. "That Summers girl is definitely something..." he muttered to himself as he walked away.

In his wake, the council stood stunned, looking down at the three men of their crack team. They were naked, on their sides, and interlocked together as though seated in each other's laps; with the rearmost's hands wrapped around the frontmost's privates. The way their skin pulled as they lay there indicated that they had been somehow glued together.

It would only be later, when the doctors got them separated, that they would be found to have been 'interlocked' in every way possible.

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Repercussions, Reactions and Retaliation

by The Bear

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