Triskellion 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: Book two of the Triad Trilogy. Sequel to the Please Trilogy.

Xander Harris walked through the door of his apartment deep in thought. Anya was, not surprisingly, absent. This would be the first time since he got this apartment that she'd stayed at her own place for a whole night. Xander had thought they were getting closer lately- up until this week anyway. He actually told her he loved her. On several occasions.

He'd thought she was getting better, being more human. Then there were episodes like tonight when it seemed the humanity was a cloak she was wearing- and while it might be fitting her better and better of late, it was still a garment she wore over the real her- the one that came out tonight. "She really didn't understand why we were upset with her," he thought incredulously.

He was starting to realize that things like tonight- it wasn't that she was slipping back into old habits; it was more like the real her was peeking out. She hadn't really changed at all- she'd just gotten better at hiding the real her.

With that realization came another one, one less comfortable; "I'm trying to change her," he whispered.

An observer might be forgiven for saying, "Duh!" Of course he was trying to change her, but he had always thought of it as helping her- you know, learn the rules, how people talk and act and get along with each other. Now he was starting to understand that he was making his supposed love for her dependant on her changing. He didn't love Anya, he loved his picture of what Anya should be. He loved the cloak she wore. Anya wasn't a twenty year old girl with a few quirks, she was an eleven-hundred year old demon who got stuck in a mortal body.

She wasn't to blame for her behavior, because she had every right to be the person she was, and that included incredible, often painful bluntness and zero sense of tact or discretion. Whether she ever changed those aspects of herself- she would have to do it because it was who she wanted to be, not just to please him, which is what she'd been doing. He was the a-hole. He was the one demanding that she fundamentally change who she was to suit his desires.

God, some of their worst fights had been because he resented her trying to keep him from things like patrolling- trying to keep him from doing the things that made him him. And yet, he was guilty many times over of doing exactly that to her. He constantly corrected her and sniped at her every little slip…

Xander dropped heavily into his sofa as he had an epiphany. "I'm in an abusive relationship… and *I'm* the abuser!" he raged at himself.

Artie was bored. Of course, being the night porter at the Sunnydale station wasn't a job calculated to expand his horizons. He'd graduated from UCSC with the ambition of being a television producer. After writing a bunch of plays that no-one was interested in, and a bunch of tv show episodes that got rejected, he'd been forced to find a job that paid. "Though this one barely qualifies," he thought. Now, after doing this for a few months, he felt like he was stuck in a rut.

He was leaning against a fence, reading a Spiderman comic as the last train of the night approached with its horn blowing. It came to a stop and Artie tucked the comic in his pocket, waiting for the passengers to start coming out.

After several moments, Artie frowned and walked forward to the door of the train. He called inside, "Sunnydale Station! Last stop this line."

"What the…" Artie mumbled to himself. He climbed up into the railcar and walked to the first row of seats. Suddenly he stopped, shock and horror pumping adrenaline into his system. He felt like someone had poured ice water down his back, and he had a sudden, overwhelming, urge to urinate.

In the first seat there was a male passenger lying slumped over with blood on his neck and on the pillow behind his head.

Artie quickly looked the other direction. He saw a female passenger also lying slumped over, dead and bloody. He walked a little further into the train. Everywhere he looked he saw dead people. He saw another woman with her arm stretched out into the aisle, covered with blood from a wound on the wrist. His breathing was coming heavily when he heard the sound of footsteps.

He turned and his eyes widened in terror. His voice was high and screechy as he shouted, "Oh God! Oh please! Help me! Somebody please! Help me!" He quickly ran back the way he came, still screaming "Help me!"

He was about to head down the stairs, when something grabbed him from behind and dragged him back into the train.

His screams increased in terror and volume for a moment, then silence once again dominated the Sunnydale Train Station.

Buffy was lying in the middle this time as they awoke. Tara was spooned up against her right side, one leg draped over hers, one hand softly stroking the Slayer's abdomen. Buffy smiled at the thought that Tara seemed to have a fixation on her stomach. She was always stroking it, or rubbing her face on it; not that Buffy minded- she found it soothing, comforting.

On her left side, Willow was positioned in much the same manner as Tara, except her hand was between the Slayer's breasts- not moving, just resting. Buffy was glad the door was locked, because with her girlfriends legs between hers, she was spread open for the world to see.

They had thrown the covers off during their play early that morning, and had yet to really cool down. They were just lying there, enjoying the pure sensuous pleasure of being so entwined with each other.

Buffy finally broke the comfortable silence. "I still can't believe what you guys did for my birthday!" Turning her head to look at Willow, she asked, "Are you sure about wearing that collar? All the time, like out in public?" she clarified.

Willow nuzzled the side of Buffy's breast with her nose and lips before answering, "If it pleases you, Mistress. I am yours to do with as you wish."

Willow frowned a little herself as she tried to think of how to explain herself. "I… I know it's a game we play, Buffy. But I- I like the thought that I belong to you." She moved her hand to touch the collar around her neck, "This is… it's like I'm wearing a big sign that says 'Buffy Summers loves me.' And I like it that I'm yours. And, since you belong to Tara, that means I'm hers too; and I know that in some ways it's just a game but I kinda wish…"

Buffy waited a moment for Willow to finish. When she said nothing, she finally asked, "What, Will? What do you wish?"

Willow's voice was small and a little uncertain at the thought of how Buffy might react. "I- I wish it… wasn't just a game. I… To me, it's real."

"I- I meant what I said, Buffy. I… submitting to you… it…" Willow couldn't find the words to adequately express what she was feeling.

Buffy turned sharply to Tara, expecting to see sorrow and pain along with that statement, but all she saw was love and affection.

Tara saw the concern in Buffy's gaze and tried to explain. "Buffy, you love your mom, right?"

Tara moved her hand from the Slayer's stomach to her face, soothing the scrunched up brow. "Willow loves me. Don't you Willow?" she asked the redhead.

"Oh, goddess yes! I love you so much, baby. You know I do," she answered, her voice thick with emotion.

Tara's grin lit up her face. "I know you do. And I love you, too." Focusing once again on the blonde between them, Tara said, "It's ok for it to be different between you and Willow than it is between me and Willow. It doesn't mean she loves me less, or more."

Buffy wanted to be reassured, but couldn't help feeling a little like she was coming between Willow and Tara. "You're really ok with me owning your girlfriend?"

"Our girlfriend, Buffy." Tara reminded her. "You're going to have to get past the fact that Willow and I were lovers before you joined us. Just like it took me a while to get past the fact that Willow has loved and idolized you for years." She resumed stroking the Slayer's tummy as she said, "I was afraid from day one that you would finally pull your head out of your ass and realize you were in love with Willow just like she was in love with you. I was deathly afraid that I'd lose her."

Tara kissed the frown off of Buffy's face. "I never imagined you could love me too; that I could have both of you."

Tara's grin broke into a wide smile. "I know you do, Buffy. I feel it. And, I'm grateful for it. That's why it's so ok that you own Willow. She's my gift to you. And even though I gave her to you, it doesn't change the fact that she and I love each other, and will continue to love each other." Tara looked at Willow as she continued to speak to Buffy. "It was a gift to Willow, too. I know how much she wanted it, and how happy it made her. She likes being your pet."

Buffy turned back to the redheaded witch. "Ok, what do you like so much about it?"

"Lady Tara's right. I like being your pet- when you stroke me or run your fingers through my hair… it makes me feel like Ms. Kitty. Like I want to curl up in your arms and purr. And, I- I like it when you dominate me; possess me and command me. I like it when you grab my hair and put my head wherever you want it, when you push me down or lift me up. I like it when you take control… I like that a lot!"

"What else?" Buffy said in a sultry voice, pulling her close. She was really beginning to warm to the idea. "Tell me pet," she commanded gently.

Willow ducked her head in embarrassment. "I… I like it… in public," she whispered.

Buffy's eyes shot wide open. "In public?" she squeaked, thinking that Willow wanted sex in public.

"Oh, I don't mean…" Willow began, but then reconsidered, "well, we haven't done that…" she sounded like she was considering it. She then gave a little headshake, internally tabling that discussion for another time. "What I meant was, when you play with me in public- call me pet, or dominate me. I'd really, really like to play a scene where we go out and you totally dominate, like order my food for me, or grab my hair and pull me into a kiss, or anything like that." She blushed lightly and added, "Kinda like telling the world I'm your pet, and you're my Mistress…"

"Mmm, that idea doesn't suck," Buffy mused- imagining it. She almost choked at the image of dressing dom and making Willow wear her leash while they went to a club… probably not the Bronze- maybe in LA or something. It was something to think about anyway.

Tara laughed when she saw Buffy's eyes dilate, and her nipples harden. She moved her hand down to Buffy's smooth pussy and lightly trailed one finger along her opening- feeling the wetness that was starting to collect. She said, "I think your Mistress likes that idea very much, Willow," as she brought the finger to her mouth and thoroughly licked it clean. She rolled away from Buffy and got up on her knees. She bent over the petite blonde and kissed her, hard. "Your pet needs to be dominated, Slayer. So, get to it!" she commanded as she got up off of the bed and went over and sat in Buffy's desk chair. She didn't bother putting on any clothes- it was better that way; nothing to get in the way of touching herself while she watched her own pet perform.

Buffy was amazed, and honestly thrilled, with the revelations this morning. "Willow needs to be dominated, huh?" she thought. "Well, how can I deny my best friend?"

Buffy sat up and grabbed Willow's hair at the nape of her neck, pulling the redhead's face up to her own. "You enjoy submitting yourself to me?"

Willow was in heaven, she could feel her whole body vibrating with arousal at being roughly handled by her Mistress. "Oh goddess yes, Mistress!"

Buffy was amazed once again at how Willow's body reacted- her nipples were fully erect, the areolas roughly crinkled, and she could smell the instant arousal wafting up from her pet the moment she grabbed her hair. "Wow," she thought. Out loud she growled, "I want you on your knees, out in the middle of the floor," as she released her handful of red hair.

Willow assumed the position, on her knees, head down and hands clasped behind her back.

Buffy got up from the bed and walked over to stand in front of the kneeling redhead. "So, You want me to control you and dominate you," she said flatly.

"Oh Yes, Mistress," Willow said. Her awareness was focusing; narrowing down to eliminate everything but Buffy. She hadn't discussed it with either of her girlfriends, but when they were being especially strict with her- whether in giving or demanding pleasure, or in any other way- she kinda entered a trance-like state. It was like when she centered herself for a complex spell; the rest of the world faded away.

"And, you're mine. I can do anything I want with you?" Buffy asked. She was ashamed to outright admit it, but she had really enjoyed it when Willow misbehaved and she got the opportunity to spank her. Something about Willow's skin reddening, the way she cried out as though it was a combination of pleasure and pain… well it really, *really* turned her on. She enjoyed it a lot when Tara would consent to really lay in to her with the paddle- the pain, though physically uncomfortable of course, gave her emotional and mental pleasure. She was discovering that inflicting a little pain was fun too.

Part of Buffy felt dirty admitting that fact- if only to herself- like she was a bad person for wanting something like that. There was another part of her, however; one that longed to explore this new development. She never wanted to harm Willow; to inflict injury on her beloved was abhorrent to her. But the thought of pain-play, as the stuff Willow had printed off of the internet called it; well, she was about to see if Willow might not be into that as well. "After all, she's the one who printed it off," Buffy rationalized.

Willow gulped a little. "Yes, Mistress; anything you desire," she answered. She wondered if Mistress knew her deep dark secret- that she got off on the pain of discipline almost as much as the pleasure of the sex. The other night when Buffy had spanked her while she was eating out Tara had been so incredibly awesome. She could have cum a bunch of times if her Mistress would have allowed it. It was the way the pain caused such a delicious sensation- that hard sting of discomfort sensitizing her skin, the way the warmth flowed out from the point of impact as the blood rushed to the surface… it was so intense! "And the nipple clamps! Oh goddess," she thought to herself. She felt a bolt of sensation shoot straight to her clit whenever Mistress put the clamps on her.

Buffy squatted down next to her pet and whispered in her ear, making sure it was loud enough for her own Mistress to hear- she knew that Tara wanted a show. "What if my desire is to spank your little ass- hard! Not because you've been bad, but just because I want to?" Buffy asked- keeping the trepidation she was feeling out of her voice through sheer force of will.

Willow felt like she could cum just from the thought. Her breathing was fast and labored as she answered her Mistress, "Oh yes! If it pleases you Mistress; I beg you to whip me, spank me hard! Use the paddle, Mistress; make me scream for your pleasure!"

Buffy felt hot desire shoot through her; Willow wanted it! She went over to the closet and grabbed the riding crop Tara had bought after the last time Buffy'd marked her. She knew that if Willow felt like she herself did, she'd come to adore this toy. She piled some pillows on the bed and grabbed Willow's leash.

Hooking the leash on Willow, she commanded her, "On your feet, pet," she commanded.

"I'm going to whip your ass with this crop. Twenty strokes; then you can show me how grateful you are."

Willow was practically vibrating with excitement. She was so focused that she didn't even hear Tara moan when Buffy described what she was going to do. "Oh Thank You, Mistress!" she said sincerely.

"All right, pet. Up on the bed. Get on those pillows, I want that sexy ass of your up in the air!"

Willow said, "Yes, Mistress!" she realized she was already very wet, and would end up making quite a mess by the time she was done, so she quietly asked, "Would Mistress like for me to put down a towel so I don't ruin Mistress' pillows?"

Buffy hadn't considered that. Much as she loved the smell and taste of her pet, she didn't relish the idea of sleeping on pillows that were covered in dried Willowcum. She reached down and ran her fingers through Willow's lips, finding her to be very wet already. "Going to make a mess, pet?" she asked, amused.

Willow dropped her head even further, deep in the submissive persona. "Sorry, Mistress."

Buffy grabbed Willow's hair, pulling her head back. "No, pet; it's a good idea. I'm pleased that my pet is so thoughtful." She then pulled the slightly taller girl's face to her own for a bruising kiss. "I need some high-heeled boots for this," she thought.

When she broke the kiss, she saw that Willow was almost cross-eyed with bliss. She smiled and said, "Get some towels, pet"

Willow was so far into subspace that she didn't consider her state of undress for even a moment. Mistress hadn't told her to put anything on, so Willow didn't put anything on, she just walked out into the hall and got some towels. She didn't even notice that Dawn had walked out of the bathroom and was standing there gaping at her.

Buffy grimaced when Tara laughed at her. "You should have told her to put something on, pet," Tara said.

Buffy said, "Put a couple down on the pillows, pet. I know how messy you get. Then I want you face down, ass in the air!"

"Yes, Mistress," Willow said happily. It didn't occur to her that most people would be horrified at the thought that Willow was actually looking forward to getting whipped. More than just looking forward to it, Willow was proud of the fact that she was going to please her Mistress. She belonged to someone- someone who loved her and took pleasure in her; someone who wanted and needed her. While she didn't actively verbalize these facts- even to herself- she was secure in the knowledge of their truth, secure in the rightness of this.

As Buffy took in the sight of her pet laid out on the bed, her shapely derrière raised up as though in offering, she was suddenly struck with an idea. She had planned on whipping Willow and then having the redhead eat her out, but she suddenly thought of a better plan.

Willow lay calmly as she heard her Mistress moving around behind her. She caught the clink and rasp of buckles being secured and pictured her Mistress putting on one of the strap-on harnesses. Her breath caught at the thought her Mistress slipping inside her and riding her after whipping her ass into hyper-sensitivity. She had to bite back a moan as the image caused her arousal to climb ever higher. She knew she was going to have to make a special effort not to cum when the delicious blows began to fall.

Buffy kneeled on the bed beside her pet and ran the end of the crop over her pale buttocks. She said, "You can make all the noise you want, pet, but no cumming until I say! Understand?"

Willow had expected that, but couldn't help the whimper in her voice as she acknowledged, "Yes, Mistress."

Buffy needed to feel the soft skin with her hands before using the crop. She set it down and reached over with her hand, stroking Willow's soft ass, loving the feel of the downy hairs against her palm, like rubbing a peach. "Who does this belong to?" she asked.

Buffy slid her hand between those cheeks and trailed down to the dripping heat between Willow's legs. She slid one finger in as she asked, "And who does this belong to, pet?"

Willow's breath caught as she felt Mistress' finger slide into her slick center. "I- its yoooouuurs, Mistress."

Buffy couldn't keep the smile off of her face at Willow's groan. "That's right, pet. This pussy belongs to me, and I say when it cums, and when it doesn't." She dragged her finger out of Willow's pussy and rubbed the slick wetness on her finger over the rosebud of her ass.

"If you're good, and don't cum while I'm whipping this," Buffy said, running her hand over her ass cheeks again. "I'll let you cum all you want while I'm sliding in and out of here," she added, trailing her finger round and round Willow's exposed sphincter. "Would you like that pet?"

Willow was nearly in tears already, anticipation spiking her arousal to maximum levels. "YES! Oh goddess yes, Mistress!" She cried.

Willow screamed as the first blow landed. She could feel every nerve ending in the little patch of flesh tingle as the sting faded into the sweet, sweet warmth.

Every successive strike landed on a different spot, and the shock and warmth was spreading all over her pink cheeks.

Tears were streaming down Willow's face and she was crying "I'm yours," with every blow.

She didn't know how she was doing it- the need to cum was driving her insane. Her mind was floating on a cloud where agony and ecstasy intermixed and she didn't know which was which.

Willow's mind had given up even trying to restrain herself from orgasm. All it could do was chant over and over, "I'm yours, I'm yours," and yet, she didn't cum. Mistress said no, and Mistress owned pet; so, pet couldn't cum. She had utterly submitted. Both her conscious and unconscious mind had given themselves over to her Mistress. If she'd been aware enough to think about it, she would have realized that this was the single most amazing thing that had ever happened to her in her life.

Buffy was surprised that Willow had made it without cumming. She herself was so close that she knew all it would take is sliding home into Willow's ass and she'd cum like a tidal wave. She imagined Willow would too. As her breathing calmed a little, she heard Willow mumbling, almost chanting, over and over, "I'm yours, I'm yours."

Buffy started to cry at the unbelievable gift Willow had made of herself. She looked over at Tara, whose eyes were glazed and had tears of her own streaming down her face.

Tara had cum several times during the performance. "That's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen in my life," she breathed. She locked gazes with the Slayer and could see that Buffy was fully aware of the amazing and priceless gift Willow had given her. She cleared her throat and said, "Don't keep her waiting pet. I think she's earned it."

Buffy nodded her head, "That was awesome!" she whispered, her tone reverent and full of love. She moved between Willow's parted thighs, taking in the sight of her slick passion coating her all over; the hot, red flesh of her ass, marked with little square welts. She bent down and traced each one with her tongue, marveling at how hot her skin was.

Willow groaned at the feel of Mistress tongue against her hypersensitive flesh. Awareness was only just starting to settle over her when she felt Mistress rub her silicone cock into the soaking wetness between her legs. She moaned even louder and felt Mistress press the now slick head against the tight entrance to her ass.

Buffy worked the head of the dildo into the tight ring of her pet's sphincter. Just before it popped past, she leaned over and whispered, "You may cum…" She was going to add, 'as often as you wish,' but the moment the first three words left her mouth, Willow shrieked.

Massive waves of pleasure rolled though Willow's body as she felt Mistress press into her ass and was given permission to cum. When she began crying out her lover's name, it wasn't 'Buffy,' but 'Mistress' that came out.

Two strokes and hearing her pet scream 'Mistress' at the top of her lungs was enough to push Buffy over the edge. She slammed the dildo home, the end inside the harness mashed up against her clit. She began to pound into her pet, neither woman's orgasm subsiding for over a minute as Buffy rode Willow for all she was worth.

Now, a minute may not seem like a long time, but when you consider that the average orgasm lasts only three to six seconds- you begin to grasp the mind-blowing pleasure these two were experiencing.

Buffy collapsed on top of her pet, dildo still buried in the redhead's ass. Had Angelus himself walked in at that point, Buffy would have been unable to do more than groan as he bit into her. In the end it was Tara who had to pull the two apart, clean them up and tuck them under the covers.

Though very tempted to join her lovers, she refrained. She wasn't at all jealous- rather she was motivated. She planned on putting Buffy into subspace just like that- even if it took months to work up to it. So it was with a smile on her face that she gathered up soiled garments, towels and toys and went downstairs to do some laundry and socialize with the other two Summers women for a bit, while these two slept it off.

Dawn had been relieved to wake up next to her mom. The shock of the previous night's revelation had been tempered, though not eliminated, by the unquestionable love of her family and the Scooby gang, minus Anya, of course. "Not like I missed her," Dawn thought.

A little part of her felt weird, waking up in the same bed as her mother; what with her being fifteen and all. Mostly, though, it was a comfort not to wake up alone. It was weird, but the thing that bothered her most was the fact that the people closest to her, weren't her friends, but Buffy's. Not that she really had a lot of close friends of her own, but now it was like there was this wall between them. Her whole life was a lie- but because the Scoobies knew it, and accepted it, it was ok. She could never tell Janice, or Terri, or Taylor. No way she could ever tell Kevin.

"Yeah, I could just see it, 'Hey Kevin. Wanna go out Saturday? Oh, and by the way, I'm not really a fifteen year old girl, I'm really only six months old. Before that I was a big green ball of light!' Yeah, that'd go over well." She thought.

After she got out of the shower and dried off, she walked out of the bathroom thinking of what she was going to wear today. She was also thinking of whether or not mom was going to make her go to school today, "Shouldn't I get a day off? I mean it's not every day…"

Her thoughts trailed off as the door to Buffy's bedroom opened and Willow walked out.

Dawn stopped dead in her tracks at the sight. Willow was completely naked, and she had a collar on, with a leash hanging from it. Dawn just stood there, jaw dropped, eyes round, as Willow walked over to the linen closet and grabbed several towels. She then turned and walked back into Buffy's room, not saying a word, or even apparently noticing Dawn at all.

Even more than the fact Willow was naked, Dawn couldn't get out of her mind how amazingly happy Willow looked. Like, 10-year-old-getting-a-pony-on-their-birthday happy. Dawn didn't think she could remember a time that she was anywhere near that happy in her entire life- well fake-life… "whatever," she mumbled.

Dawn just didn't get it. She'd seen pictures and videos of it, and couldn't imagine that stuff feeling that great. How could that S&M stuff make her so happy?

She'd have to figure out a way to get Willow alone and ask her. There was no way she could ask Buffy… or Tara. But, Willow was more like a sister to Dawn than her own sister was. She was getting along good with Buffy lately, but Buffy was still somewhat of an authority figure to Dawn. And, so was Tara- even though she felt more comfortable with Tara than Buffy. Willow was a lot more like Dawn herself; even though she was five years older, she acted like a kid. Maybe it wasn't that Willow was like a sister- maybe it was more that Willow was like a girlfriend, "Friend, girlfriend, not lesbian girlfriend," Dawn was quick to think. You had to make that distinction with these girls.

Dawn didn't bother trying to reconcile how Willow was like her because she was like a kid, when Dawn would get pissed off at anyone who treated her like a kid. That was definitely one for the denial file.

Joyce was a little worried when she woke up in Dawn's bed, and there was no Dawn. But, she heard the shower running and decided not to give in to panic quite yet.

She assumed it was Dawn, because she didn't hear any 'other' sounds, and the girls rarely showered alone, or managed to be quiet when in the shower together. She was mostly happy for Buffy's relationship, even if it was unconventional. Buffy herself seemed much happier than when she was seeing Angel or Riley. As funny as the 'pancake incident' was, she had to admit she was a little relieved when the girls had started using the sound spell. Not that she'd ever tell them, but it wasn't that she was offended by the sounds, it was… well she was divorced and not seeing anyone. "And, the last time you got laid was two years ago; on the hood of a police car!" the sneered at herself.

She'd been mortified when Buffy had found out about that. Especially because she'd found out by hearing Joyce's thoughts. "God, could that man ever lay pipe!" she thought; and then immediately chastised herself for thinking such a crude thought. "That's what comes from having three *very* sexually active women living under your roof!" she muttered to herself.

Even with the actual sounds of their escapades being blocked, Joyce couldn't help thinking about what was going on in there at night. She couldn't miss the sly smiles of satisfaction on their faces when they came out of that room. It wasn't that she was turned on by women, it was just… well, it hadn't been so bad, when she hadn't had a daily reminder of what she was missing.

She missed that closeness, that intimacy… her vibrator didn't cuddle afterward. Her fingers didn't look into her eyes as she quivered through her release and say, 'I love you.'

Her thoughts were interrupted by Dawn's return. Joyce noticed the pensive look on her daughter's face and asked, "What's wrong, honey?"

Dawn blushed. She considered blowing the question off, but for some reason, she didn't want to. "Does it ever bother you?" she asked waving her hand in the general direction of Buffy's room. "Them, I mean."

It was Joyce's turn to blush, given her train of thought just before Dawn walked in. "How do you mean, Dawn?" she asked- certain that Dawn couldn't know what she'd been thinking. "Does it bother you that your sister's gay?"

Dawn was surprised by the question. "No! Totally not that," she assured her mother. "No, I mean the other," she was kinda embarrassed to say it out loud to her mom. "You know, the… dominatrix stuff."

"Oh," Joyce said. She hadn't really thought about that too much. It didn't really bother her in abstract. She'd done some pretty kinky things growing up as a young woman in the 1970's. It bothered her just a little bit to think of her daughter being on the receiving end of that damn paddle. But not as much as it would someone who hadn't played such games herself once. She knew the difference was that Tara loved Buffy more than life itself. The ones she had played with, once upon a time, hadn't been quite so solicitous. She shook her head, dispelling those memories and focusing once again on her youngest daughter. Regardless of her origins, Joyce couldn't help but think of her as her daughter.

Dawn was waiting, she noticed a bunch of stuff going through her mom's mind, if her eyes and the looks on her face were telling.

"No, *that* doesn't really bother me, dear." Joyce said finally. "They're happy, and I'm happy for them."

Dawn sat down on the bed. "I guess," she said. "Buffy seems way happier than she did with Angel or Riley…" she stopped talking as her mom started laughing. "What's so funny?"

"Oh," Dawn said. She gathered her nerve and asked another question. "If *that* doesn't really bother you about Buffy and Willow and Tara, what does?"

"Damn," Joyce thought. "You caught that, huh?" she asked resignedly. Joyce thought that Dawn was too sharp for her own good sometimes. She didn't know if it was the whole 'Key' thing, or something else, but Dawn seemed to be a strange combination of maturity and innocence. Buffy wasn't nearly so aware of the world around her at that age.

Joyce sat up and ran her fingers through her hair. This was not the discussion she envisioned having with her daughter this morning. She'd been prepared to be the loving, supportive mother, comforting her daughter who had found out something terrible about her past. Instead, she was discussing her other daughter's sex life, and her own lack thereof. There wasn't really any point in lying, however. Dawn seemed to be able to tell when someone was hiding things from her, and she didn't react well to it.

"No, Dawn. That doesn't bother me either. It's just, your mother's a little tired of being alone, honey." She answered resignedly.

Dawn got it. "So… they remind you of what you don't have." She nodded her head in understanding. She longed for physical intimacy as well. She thought it was probably both harder and easier for her mom; harder, because she had all this mom-responsibility and no one to share it with; but easier because Dawn's hormones were going like gangbusters lately. She said as much to her mom.

Joyce was amazed by Dawn's statement. "Can I just say that this is so not the conversation I thought we'd be having this morning?"

Dawn laughed. "Yeah, it's totally weird," she said. "I've just had sex on the brain a lot more since Buffy came out of the closet."

Dawn laughed at the look on her mother's face. "Come on, Mom. I'm fifteen. What did you spend most of your time thinking about when you were fifteen?"

Given the fact that Joyce had moved way beyond just thinking about it when she was fifteen, she decided it was well past time to change the subject. "You know, I think it's time for breakfast."

Dawn laughed again, enjoying the feel of simple laughter after all the drama last night. "Ok; just not pancakes. Willow still can't even look at 'em without blushing."

Joyce shook her head and laughed along with Dawn. "I think things are going to be ok," she thought happily.

Xander woke up with a stiff neck. Apparently, he'd fallen asleep in his living room chair. After spending half the night tossing and turning in bed, unable to fall asleep, he'd finally just given up and went out to sit in the living room, in the dark, thinking.

He had to break up with her. He couldn't go on like he was. Anya wasn't the person he thought she was- or more honestly, she wasn't the person that he'd tried to convince himself that she was. "Really, she should be breaking up with me, for being such a jerk!" he thought.

Two hours later saw Xander Harris sitting in that same chair; showered, dressed, hair combed, and holding an ice pack against his face where Anya'd punched him in the eye.

She'd come over just as he was getting dressed after his shower. She explained that she was ready for him to apologize to her for their fight the previous night. She added that she expected the makeup sex to be very good- "many orgasms."

Xander had explained how he felt like he was being a jerk for trying to change her. She readily agreed- he was definitely being a jerk.

Xander explained that it was unfair of him to always harp on the things she said, or the way she said them. Again, she agreed that he had been unfair to her, and owed her many apologies. Xander knew the Anya-code well enough to substitute the word 'orgasms' for 'apologies'.

Xander went on to explain how this obvious failure on his part to accept her for the person she was, coupled with his reprehensible attempts to change and control her; indicated that they were not compatible, and should end their relationship.

Xander looked around his apartment as he held the ice pack against his sore eye and hoped it wouldn't turn black. Xander was glad that he wasn't a big collector of stuff. Especially breakable stuff. What stuff he did have was broken. Mostly a few picture frames and some collectable plates. He'd felt so bad, he didn't even try to stop her as she raged and threw things. He finally got between her and the entertainment center when it looked like she was heading that way next.

Hey, there's guilt, then there's a man's TV. "You've gotta have priorities," he thought.

That's when she'd slugged him. She screamed that she'd make him sorry for scorning her, and then tromped out.

He was already sorry. He felt horrible, knowing he'd hurt her. "It would have hurt even more if I waited," he told himself. There had been a couple of moments where Xander had actually considered the possibility of the idea of… marriage. "God, what a mistake *that* would have been."

He pictured the ceremony, demons, devils and the denizens of a dozen hells on one side, and Anya's guests on the other… so pretty much the same thing on both sides. Maybe at least her guests wouldn't have drained the cash bar in the first thirty minutes. He chuckled weakly at the image in his head. "Probably would have turned into a brawl anyway," he thought, dismissing the whole idea.

He knew he should get up and clean up the mess in his apartment. He needed to be at work soon anyway. He ended up staying right where he was until the last moment when he needed to leave or risk being late to work.

It was around 9:30 in the morning when Buffy and Willow woke up for what was now the second time this morning. Buffy had pulled Willow on top of her at some point, and woke up looking up into hazel eyes shining with unshed tears. The broad smile on Willow's face belied any thought that the redhead might be sad about something; rather, Buffy recognized it for a look of adoration. She imagined the look in her own eyes must be about the same, 'cause her feelings of love and adoration for Willow were in the forefront of her heart right at that moment.

Buffy brought her hands up and cradled her lover's face and said, "Thank you, Willow." She gently kissed the witch for several moments- no tongue, just soft lips caressing. "What you gave me this morning…" she had to pause to swallow the lump forming in her throat, "was the most amazing, most special, most wonderful thing ever! God, I love you so much I think I'm gonna explode!"

Willow giggled, "It was amazing! I felt like I disappeared, except I was still there and the only thing I felt was you," she said. She pulled her head out of Buffy's hands and slid down a little to nuzzle against her neck as she tried to explain, "It was like I left my body and was totally wrapped up in this cloud of warm, sweet Buffyness. There was no me anymore- just Mistress' pet."

Willow got up on her hands and knees, straddling Buffy's waist and looking down once again into the Slayer's eyes. "In that moment you totally and completely owned me. The only thing in my whole world was you!" She swung her leg over so she was off of Buffy and assumed the position; kneeling, eyes down, hands behind her back. "Thank you Mistress, please tell me how I may show you my gratitude," she softly spoke.

Buffy sat up and looked at her pet. She shook her head in wonder at how amazing Willow was, how completely giving of herself to Buffy. She realized to her chagrin that Willow had always given of herself to Buffy, and she just hadn't properly appreciated it. Part of her mourned all the wasted time and missed happiness, but another part was glad it took this long. She couldn't now imagine not loving Tara as well as Willow. So, she resolved to just be happy with where they were, and not worry about what might have been. She'd just have to be happy with what was. Now, if they could just figure out how to get rid of Glory…

She reached out and tilted Willow's chin up till the redhead met her eyes. "What would please me is if we could be Buffy and Willow for a while. Let's leave Mistress and pet here in the bedroom, and then Buffy and Willow can go and find their wayward lover Tara, and convince her to join us for a shower. Then we can show her how grateful we are for what she did for us this morning, not to mention last night."

Willow smiled, "I think I could be up for that!" and bounced off of the bed, grabbing her robe and saying, "Come on, slowpoke! Time to wash that sexy body!"

Buffy laughed out loud, and scrambled to join her hyper girlfriend. "And no coffee for you, Will. You obviously don't need any!"

After a long and invigorating shower, in which Buffy and Willow had each taken two turns showing Tara just how grateful they were for her selflessness, the now showered and dressed triad made their way down to the kitchen.

Seeing the smirks on the faces of her mother and sister, she whispered into Tara's ear, can you guys cast that spell on the bathroom too?

"Good morning Mrs. Summers," they said in unison, causing Buffy and Dawn to snicker, and Joyce to mock scowl.

"You know, you might as well be my daughter's in law, so why don't you call me Joyce?" almost as an afterthought, she added, "Or just mom…" She realized that that might be a bit presumptuous of her; it wasn't like Willow didn't have a mom, and Tara might be upset or think she didn't respect her feelings for her own mother. "If you want to, I mean…" she finished awkwardly.

Willow and Tara exchanged glances, each stunned and delighted with Joyce's offer. They walked over and wrapped the older woman in a simultaneous hug. Stepping back after a moment, Tara could see that Willow was too choked up to speak.

"Thank you. Th- thank you so much… Mom," Tara said haltingly. She had loved her mother with everything she had; her death was a horrible blow to the then painfully-shy witch. Buffy's mom had taken her into her family, even despite the weirdness of the triad relationship. Tara felt honored to call this woman mom.

Willow was overcome with joy. Her own mother had always been so emotionally distant; cold even. Willow had long considered Joyce Summers as her surrogate mother- more of a parent than her own had ever been. To be invited to publicly acknowledge such a relationship- that she thought of Willow as a daughter, well, it was just so amazing. Between Buffy's ownership of her, and Joyce's acceptance of her… "Wow," she squeaked out.

Willow nodded vigorously and hugged Joyce again briefly. Her face wet with tears of joy. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a thought streamed through Willow's mind. It was just two words, but their impact was staggering.

"Oh, wow. Maybe I'd better not think about that," she said to herself, knowing that it was futile. It was virtually guaranteed to be on the top of her mind now. Maybe she'd talk to Tara about it. Later. Like after they beat Glory later. "Yes, that'd be best, I think," she counseled herself.

Buffy smiled at Willow's reaction. "Breathe, Will," she said, taking her hand and leading her to a chair. Changing the subject, and giving Willow a moment to calm herself, she turned to Dawn with a raised eyebrow, "No school today?" she asked.

Dawn smirked at the look on her mom's face. She obviously didn't even realize that the time had slipped by. "It's, uh, a… holiday?" she asked with a hopeful twist to her voice.

Dawn struck a pose, arms crossed under her breasts, hip thrust out- the pose Buffy secretly thought of as her brat-stance- and said, "It's Key-Friday. All the good little energy portals get to have a three day weekend."

Dawn saw the effect of her statement and took pity on her sister- she still hadn't broached the subject of learning magic, and wanted as many brownie points as possible. "It's ok, Buffy. I'm not freaking out, I was just kidding." Seeing that Buffy was still gulping like a fish, she uncrossed her arms and put one hand on Buffy's arm, "Seriously, I'm ok. I mean, its still weird and all, but I'm dealing."

Buffy's eyes narrowed and she said, "Why you little…" she turned to the other three women and said with an angry voice, "I think Dawn seriously needs to be…" turning back to Dawn she kept the stern look on her face for a moment, and then said, "Tickled!"

Dawn had really been getting worried. When Buffy finally said 'tickled,' her eyes shot wide and she shrieked, "NO!" and ran out of the kitchen, giggling and shrieking madly as Buffy, Tara, and Willow gave chase.

The tickle fight had finally ended when Dawn had to run for the bathroom before she embarrassed herself. Buffy and Willow were still lying on the floor trying to catch their breath from laughing so hard. Tara managed to make it over to a chair before collapsing. She was the first to notice Joyce's face when she came in the front door with the newspaper. "What's wrong, m- mom?" she asked, still trying to get used to calling her that.

"I… there was a… on the train last night some people were murdered." Turning from Tara to the other two girls, she said, "Buffy…"

Buffy jumped up and went to her mother, taking the paper and reading aloud as the others crowed around to look over the Slayer's shoulder.

Buffy shook her head and said, "I don't think so." Resuming reading aloud, she continued, "Unconfirmed reports of severe trauma to the throats of one or more of the victims." Lowering the paper, she looked at Tara for a moment, "Survey says… vampire."

Buffy's natural inclination was, of course, to put Dawn off. She still had a hard time not wanting to keep her isolated from the entire slaying thing. Of course, despite that, she had to agree that including her on things was much more effective at keeping the peace. Plus, the little brat always seemed to know when people were hiding things from her, and she inevitably stuck her nose in and found out what was going on anyway. So, Buffy forced herself to override her knee-jerk reaction.

"No big, Dawn. Looks like a new vamp may have rode the train into town last night is all. We're just gonna go check the scene and see if we can… well… see anything," she finished lamely.

Fortunately, Buffy didn't have to be the one to answer Dawn's predictable response. Joyce cut in the moment she saw Dawn's eyes light up, "No. You may not go with them."

"No buts. I don't want you seeing that kind of thing any more than you can help it." The regret was clear in Joyce's tone as she added, "You'll see enough of that in this town without having to go looking for it."

Dawn deflated when she saw the complete lack of flexibility in her mother's voice and posture. "Fine. I'm gonna go hit the shower. There *might* be enough hot water by now," she said, teasing the triad on their habitual long showers.

Joyce, Tara, Willow and Buffy all looked shocked by that. "Dawn!" they shouted in unison.

Dawn laughed and turned to run up the stairs. As she ran, the other women could clearly hear her snickering, "Truth hurts…" as she went.

Joyce couldn't quite keep her own smirk under control as she looked at Buffy and her girlfriends- all three of them blushing hotly at the allegation. She told herself she wasn't jealous, but couldn't resist needling them just a bit. "Out of the mouths of babes…"

Joyce laughed out loud at Buffy's outraged tone. Changing the subject, she asked, "Will you girls be back for lunch?"

Willow thought that was a good idea and said as much, "Yeah, he probably had a rough night, what with him and Anya fighting and all."

Buffy nodded her head, "That's a good idea." Turning back to Joyce she said, "Maybe you can take the brat out for lunch- you know, celebrate Key-Friday."

Willow suddenly had an idea, "Oh, we could get some stuff and come back and make dinner for everyone! You know... have a nice family dinner…" she trailed off; afraid she might be being presumptuous. She was still buzzing from her earlier thoughts about the new closeness with Buffy, her mom, and Dawn. She was excited by the thought that she and Tara were more than just Buffy's girlfriends, or Mistress and pet, they were kinda becoming a part of the Summers family.

"That would be lovely, Willow," Joyce said. "It sounds like a plan." She turned to walk up the stairs and make sure Dawn saved her some hot water too.

"Well, that was thirty minutes of our lives we'll never get back," Buffy groused as the three girls left Sunnydale station.

Willow and Tara exchanged a worried look. Buffy'd become agitated on the train, frustrated that there was nothing to help them. They couldn't even tell if it was the work of one vamp or several. Not without the bodies.

Willow said, "I'll be able to look at the coroner reports and then we'll know if it was more than one." Her voice was conciliatory, trying to cheer her girlfriend up. She moved behind the petite blond and hugged her, saying, "We'll figure it out, I promise!"

Buffy stopped walking when Willow hugged her. She knew she was being unreasonable, but… "Dammit! I hate it when stuff like this happens."

Tara moved to wrap the slayer in her arms from the front. She whispered in her ear, "Buffy, there's nothing you could have done."

Buffy felt so good, bracketed by her lovers like this. It was almost enough to make her forget the feeling of helplessness that threatened to overwhelm her when this kind of thing happened. "I know guys. I get it, I do- I can't save everybody."

Tara said, "That's what bothers you, isn't it? You feel like you should be able to save everybody?"

"Baby," Willow said, feeling a sharp pang of sadness at the thought. She hugged the slayer even harder and said, "Baby, you can't blame yourself for every vampire attack that happens! If there were a thousand slayers, people would still get bitten…"

Buffy wiggled out of the hug and turned to face her two lovers. She took in the looks on their faces, seeing how much her pain had become their own. She reached out and laid her hands along their necks, stroking them both. "I know that. In my head, I know it. I even believe it… there's just something in me that takes every one of them personally." She donned a genuine smile as she went on. "It's better now… now that I have you two. It hurts less, really."

Willow stepped in to Buffy's embrace and kissed her for several seconds. A gentle, loving kiss. "I love you so much Buffy. I will always be here for you."

Tara moved in as Willow stepped back. She emulated Willow almost exactly; a sweet, loving kiss, and then; "Buffy, I love you with all my heart. I will never leave you, and I will do everything in my power to support and care for you."

Buffy felt a lump in her throat, and her voice broke as she said, "You guys! Thank you… I love you both too!" her eyes were wet and she rubbed at them almost in annoyance. "You know, I think I've cried more in the last month than in my whole life!"

Tara's eyes were suspiciously moist as she said, "Sorry about that," though her voice didn't sound particularly sorrowful."

Willow's eyes were shiny too, but she had an enormous grin on her face. "Yeah, we feel really bad about that."

Buffy laughed out loud; the joy she felt from her lovers overcoming the sense of failure that clawed at her whenever confronted with vampire victims she couldn't save. "Somehow," she said as she insinuated herself between the two, spun around and put her arms around their backs and began to walk once again, leading them forward, "I don't believe you. You lack a certain… sincerity."

The witches laughed, and Buffy joined them. "Come on, Lets go find Xander," she said.

It was Willow's turn to pretend to be annoyed. "I'm sure I don't know what you mean, Ms. Summers," she answered haughtily.

"Anyway," Tara began, before they could get even further off on a tangent, "I thought that it might be nice if you two invited Xander to go to the Bronze with you. It might be nice for Xander and for you guys, you know, kinda the core Scooby gang."

Willow instantly said, "Hey, you're just as much a part of the gang as Xander or…"

Tara tried to reassure the redhead, "Shh, I know that, Willow. I just thought it might be nice for Xander. You know, without the whole Triad thing, just the three of you hanging out. I think maybe, our relationship- and Xander's relationship with Anya- may have kinda kept the three of you from being as close as you used to be."

"What about Anya?" Willow asked. "I don't know if we'll be able to pry Xander away from her, especially after last night's fight…"

"He could probably use a couple of hours away from her after that," Buffy opined.

"I thought it might be a good idea for me to spend some time with… Mom," she said hesitantly, still getting used to calling her that. "She keeps looking at me with this big question mark look to her," she explained.

Willow gave a little squeak; "You think she want to ask about…" she reddened at the idea of Buffy's mom grilling Tara about their sex life.

Buffy said, "Please, Tara. How could we possibly go to the Bronze and have any fun at all if we know you and my *mom* are going to be…"

"No! Oh gosh, I was thinking that she might be… that she would w- want to know about m- me," Tara stuttered, suddenly nervous herself at the thought of sitting down and explaining their sex-life to Mrs. Summers.

Both Willow and Buffy visibly relaxed, and then were somewhat embarrassed at their automatic assumption.

Buffy let go of Willow for a moment and stopped walking, placing herself directly in front of the taller blond. "You know mom loves you…"

Tara smiled, touched that Buffy would worry about her so much. "I know, Buffy. It's just, she's known Willow for years, and I'm kinda new in her life. I just thought she might want to get to know her oldest daughter's love interest a little better."

Tara pulled Buffy closer and kissed her for several moments- completely oblivious to the fact that they were almost to the jobsite Xander was working on.

The lunch wagon was pulling up to the curb not twenty meters from where the girls were standing as Willow put her hands on her hips and mock pouted, "Hey, starting to feel left-out, here!"

The construction crew was lining up at the truck when they started to notice the scene happening just down the street; two blond girls were kissing while a redhead stood there with her hand on her hips, watching and saying something. It didn't take long before the entire crew had their full attention focused on the straight-from-fantasy scene.

Hearing Willow's plaintive voice, Buffy broke off the sweet, gentle kiss with Tara. She turned slightly toward the redhead and got a wicked grin on her face. She remembered Willow's comment that morning about how she wanted Buffy to play with her in public.

Tara's eyes widened as she watched Buffy reach over, grab Willow by the hair on the back of her head, and pull the witch sharply toward her and into a rough, possessive kiss.

Willow melted against Buffy the moment she felt Mistress' hand gripping her hair. Her whole body was humming with arousal as she submitted to Mistress' rough kiss.

Tara could see what the other girls couldn't; the crowd of construction workers that were watching the action with rapt attention. She began to blush hotly.

When Buffy broke the kiss, Willow smiled dreamily and whispered, "Thank you, Mistress!"

Buffy was about to say something when cheers and applause broke out behind her. Her eyes swept toward Tara and saw the taller blond was stained crimson from her hairline all the way down to the collar of her blouse. She closed her eyes and asked, "Lemme guess. We made it to Xander's worksite, didn't we?"

Tara tried to regain her composure; her voice only broke a little bit as she said, "Uh, yeah."

Willow actually smiled. Willow might have been a little bit embarrassed to have a bunch of strangers watch Buffy kiss her; the same act, between Mistress and pet, was an entirely different story. Pet was proud to be shown off by Mistress. Again, Willow would have found it amazing, if she had stopped to analyze it- how quickly she could drop into subspace.

Buffy turned around to see the crowd hooting and clapping. Xander was about halfway between them, walking their way.

He'd been in a bit of a funk all morning, after this morning's screaming breakup with Anya. But, how could he not smile to go to lunch and see his three favorite ladies caught making out by his entire crew? He was trying very hard not to laugh out loud as he walked over toward them, not wanting to get hit, but couldn't help the huge grin on his face. Of course, even the prospect of being smacked wasn't enough to prevent him from making a little quip.

"If it isn't my three favorite ladies! I don't remember booking entertainment to go with lunch, but I have to say, you've definitely got a winning act there!"

He just laughed at that. "What's up? Some big-bad decide they couldn't wait until dark to try and destroy the world?"

"Nope, we just thought we'd see if we could take our Xander shaped friend out for lunch," Buffy explained. "You up for it?"

It took a lot of willpower, but he resisted the obvious response and just said, "Are you kidding?" He held out his hands as though weighing his options on an old-fashioned balance scale, "Let's see, I could have cuisine a la roach coach…" he lowered his left hand, "or, I could have lunch with three smart, funny, gorgeous ladies…" he lowered his right hand and raised his left as though throwing something over his shoulder. "Lunch with the ladies it is!"

Xander turned to the crowd at the lunch wagon and called out, "Jimmy! I'm going out to lunch!" He knew he'd get a smack for the next part, but couldn't help saying it anyway, "If I'm not back in an hour, at least you'll know I died happy!"

Buffy smacked him in the shoulder, as expected. Willow just rolled her eyes and said, "Yeah, in your dreams!"

Xander's laughter died. "Anya…" he started. "Yeah, well… that's kinda a funny story…"

"I… I don't know what to say, Xander," Willow said after a moment. All three girls were stunned to silence.

Xander and the Triad had walked down a couple blocks to a diner Xander liked. They grabbed a booth and sat down, Willow next to her childhood friend, Buffy and Tara across from them. Xander had refused to elaborate on his comment about Anya until they got to the diner and got situated. They made small talk, Xander teased them about being busted during a particularly hot PDA by all his coworkers, and they ribbed him back and so on.

Once the waitress took their orders, Buffy'd said, "Ok, out with it carpenter-man; what's the story on Anya- you two still fighting after last night?"

Xander gave a mirthless chuckle. "No, actually we aren't fighting- not really anyway."

Willow joked, "Lemme guess, a few makeup smoochies and she let you off of the hook?"

Xander almost smiled at his friends efforts. "God, I love these girls," he thought. Even Tara, who he didn't always understand, was a wonderful friend. "No, no groveling. And, if by 'smoochies,' you mean orgasms, she probably would have forgiven me after a few."

Xander gave a wan smile to the not-so-shy-anymore blond. "Yeah. We… actually, I broke up with her this morning."

Xander sighed. He felt bad for hurting Anya, and he was ashamed of the way he had been treating her, so this admission was somewhat uncomfortable. "I realized… You know, she's not human. I mean, physically she is, but really, she's no more human than Spike, or Angel."

The girls were shocked. They couldn't believe Xander broke up with Anya because he was prejudiced.

Xander saw the look on Buffy and Tara's faces, and tried to explain, "No, that's not why I broke up with her."

"Then why?" Willow asked. She had, just for a moment, thought it might be because of that, and that made her feel responsible because of the whole fight thing they had going on during the 'Troll incident' several weeks earlier.

"I was trying to change her. I was always harping on her for everything she did that didn't fit in or seem 'normal' whatever the hell that is." Xander sat back in his seat, looking defeated. "Who am I to tell someone how they should act or think? I'm no better than someone who tried to tell you guys you can't love each other 'cause you're all women."

Tara was impressed with Xander's realization. He was right- Anya had the right to be her own person and it wasn't very nice of any of them to try and change her against her will. "I think you made the right decision, Xander," she said. Then with a self-deprecating half-smile she added, "For what it's worth."

Xander gave Tara a smile in return. "Yeah, I think so too. Doesn't make me feel any better, though," he added.

Willow grasped the hand of her best friend since kindergarten and said, "I'm guessing… badly?"

Xander said, "Yeah, she channeled some of her past- broke a lot of stuff, made a lot of threats…" he turned to look directly at Willow, and said, "Hey, if she comes to you and asks you to help her find her old necklace? Do me a favor. Don't, Ok?"

Willow smiled, but Buffy frowned, "Do you think she'll try to get her powers back again?"

Xander's smile became strained as he said, "Uh, I hope not. The last thing she said as she walked out the door was that I'd be sorry for scorning her."

"Not to change the subject," Tara began- deliberately changing the subject. "I guess you didn't have any plans for tonight?" she said, reminding her girlfriends that they should invite Xander for a Scooby hangout.

"Uh, no. Not counting cleaning up all the broken stuff in my apartment, my social calendar is pretty free at the moment." Xander joked.

Their waitress brought the food just then, and Buffy picked up the giant burger she'd ordered. "Dinner- our place. The three of us are cheffing it tonight," she said just as she took a huge bite.

Xander finished his mouthful, mostly, and said, "You know I never turn down free food, Buff."

Willow and Tara smiled at the other two, as they carried on a conversation while scarfing down their meals in enormous bites.

"You know I never turn down the chance to spend and evening dancing with three beautiful women, Buff," Xander mumbled around an equally large mouthful of food.

Buffy said, still chewing, "Just two beautiful women, Xan. Tara's hanging with mom tonight."

Tara had a mouthful of food, and didn't trust herself to speak without spiting it all over the table.

Willow finished her own mouthful and- shaking her head in wonder, said, "How can you guys carry on a conversation like that and not spit food all over the place?"

Tara had to cover her mouth to keep from doing just that, as she laughed. She'd been thinking the exact same thing.

"Slayer powers," Buffy said at the same time Xander explained, "Years of practice."

Buffy, Willow and Tara were still giggling as they entered the Summers' house, bearing bags of groceries.

Joyce and Dawn got up from where they'd been watching TV and joined the triad in the kitchen.

"Oh nothing, really. It's just Xander…" she began before she broke into giggles again. They'd been giggling about it ever since walking him back to work.

Joyce couldn't help but smile at the devilish merriment on the girl's faces. "What did you girls do?"

"In front of his whole crew," Tara laughed. She remembered how he'd stiffened like a board when the three of them surrounded him and wrapped him up in a hug. She couldn't see his face, as she stood directly behind him, but she'd felt his stomach muscles clench under her hands, and Buffy and Willow had described the look of shock on his face to her several times so she could picture it in her head. She'd never been interested in boys sexually, but she could appreciate that Xander had a strong, muscular body. She could understand how a het-girl might be attracted to that. "Or a bi-girl," she suddenly thought with a narrowed gaze at her two lovers.

She in no way feared that Xander could come between her and her lovers, but she still decided that she'd better re-assert her self, just on general principles, especially if she was going to let them spend the evening with him un-chaperoned.

Joyce smiled at the thought, thinking the poor boy must have been overwhelmed with such a collection of beauty pressed against him. She said, "You girls are terrible! Teasing poor Xander like that," but there was laughter in her voice. "Won't Anya be terribly jealous?"

The girls hadn't noticed Dawn's glower at their prank. She consoled herself that they were no longer interested in boys, so Xander was safe. Her frown didn't improve when her mom mentioned Anya. God, she really couldn't stand that bitch anymore. "What the heck does Xander see in her?" she asked herself for the millionth time.

The girls all sobered a bit at the mention of Anya. Buffy said, "Xander broke up with Anya this morning."

"Yesss!" Dawn hissed loudly, pumping her fist in the air. A chorus of, "Dawn!" made her realize that her celebration shouldn't have been quite so public. She blushed scarlet from hairline to collar, and mumbled, "Sorry," not caring to explain why she was so happy about it.

Joyce, Buffy and Willow put it down to the girl not caring much for Anya. Willow even empathized, though she'd managed to keep her 'Yesss!' internalized when Xander first said it. Of course she also saw how hard Xander was taking it, whereas Dawn wasn't sitting right beside him when she found out.

Tara, on the other hand, thought she saw something in Dawn's eyes, something almost predatory. She wondered if Xander hadn't better watch out for himself around the teen.

Joyce said, "Dawn, I know you didn't get along all that well with Anya, but that wasn't very nice. I'm sure they are both hurting over this…"

Relieved that her mother mistook her motivation- although it was true, Dawn didn't like Anya for more reasons than the fact she had stolen her Xander from her. "You're right mom. I'm sorry." Turning to her sister and Willow, she asked, "How is Xander doing? Is he ok?"

Four sets of eyes narrowed at Dawn. Behind three of them, the thoughts were along the lines of surprise at how mature Dawn was acting. Behind the fourth was the feeling of confirmation. "Oh Xander," Tara thought. "You'd better watch your back!"

"Uh, he's ok," Buffy said, still surprised at both Dawn's initial outburst, and her suddenly mature response. She addressed both Dawn and her Mom, finding it easier not to think too much about the weird behavior from little sis, "She broke a few things, and it looked like she might have slugged him one, but overall he seemed ok; a little sad, but mostly ok."

Joyce also went the route of denial rather than focus on Dawn's response at the moment. "Was it because of last night?"

Buffy started putting groceries away as she answered. "I think that was just the last straw, you know? He realized that they weren't working out, and probably weren't going to."

"He cares for her still, I think," Tara said. "And even though Anya can't see it now, it was for the best."

Willow remained silent on the matter- she sided with Dawn on this one; Anya was just bad news; demon or human.

Buffy put away the last jar from her bag and jumped up to sit on the counter. "I think it would have hurt more in the long run. I just hope Anya can get past it and move on." Changing the subject a bit, she said, "Uh, we invited him to dinner- Ok?"

"Of course, honey. I was just thinking of suggesting it," Joyce answered with a gentle smile.

Willow said, "Yeah, a little dinner, then some dancing at the Bronze; we'll take his mind off… uh, things."

Joyce froze for a moment, a disturbing thought going through her head, "Uh, you three… and Xander… aren't…" She was relieved when the three girls started laughing.

"God, no!" Buffy said. "This is just- Scooby gang; hang out at the Bronze; just like old times stuff."

Joyce sighed, "Ok, good. I mean, it's just that, not that there's a problem or anything,"

Buffy interrupted her mother's babble, "It's ok, mom. No more weirdness," she reassured. "Not for a while anyway," she added with a smirk, earning a mock glare from her mom.

Dawn was glad her back was to the room when mom had brought that up. She knew she'd flushed with anger at the thought of her sister adding Xander to her harem. Of course then she'd blushed even harder at the thought of Willow and Tara as Buffy's harem. "It's more like Tara's harem, anyway," she thought, and then chastised herself for that. Fortunately no one commented on it taking her over a minute to put away a single can.

Now that all the groceries were put away, Tara decided she wanted to play a little before they had to make dinner. Turning to Buffy she said, "Why don't you and Willow go pick out what you want to wear tonight? I'll be up in a few minutes."

Dawn smirked at the taller blond. "You know, you guys don't need to use code words…"

Tara only blushed a little bit, but boldly said, "I know, but I don't want to sound like Anya, now do I?"

Joyce did laugh at that; Dawn just nodded her head, "Good point; I stand corrected." She then went back into the family room and threw herself onto the couch, knowing it'd be at least a half-hour/forty-five minutes before she saw the girls again.

Tara went over and whispered to Buffy, "Be waiting for me, Slayer; your pet too."

Buffy felt a frisson of warmth run down her spine, "Yes Mistress," she whispered. She grabbed Willow's hand and said, "Come on pet," as she pulled the unresisting girl up the stairs.

Joyce had been staring into space when Tara spoke to her. She was thinking, "God, I need to get laid!" She blushed, embarrassed at her thought, even though Tara couldn't know what she'd been thinking. She needed to get a man in her life soon or she was going to go crazy with all the sex going on in her house.

With a little shake of her head, she focused her attention on her daughter's girlfriend, "Yes Tara?"

Tara had made enormous strides in overcoming her innate shyness, becoming a very confident young woman; but some of that confidence eroded when she was alone with Joyce Summers. Mostly because they never spent time alone together, "and wasn't that the whole point of tonight?" she asked herself. "Uh, I was w- wondering… tonight, I thought…" she cursed her damn stutter making a comeback.

Joyce smiled to see Tara being shy around her. She hoped to get to know this woman better. Buffy so adored her, and yet Joyce didn't really know her that well. She'd known Willow almost since they had moved to Sunnydale. Even though she'd never thought her daughter would be falling in love with the redheaded girl, she could see it. Once she got past the fact that they were both girls, it made sense; they were so close, and so compatible. Tara, however, was an enigma. Joyce knew a little about her unfortunate family life from her daughter. She knew Tara was a witch, and that's how she and Willow met. Beyond that, and knowing that the girl was very sweet and loving to her daughter- "when she's not tying her up and whipping her," she thought uncharitably- she didn't really know much about her.

"Buffy and W-Willow are going to take Xander to the Bronze tonight," Tara continued when Joyce didn't say anything.

"You're not going?" Joyce asked, surprised. The three of them had been joined at the hip for weeks.

"Uh, no. I was hoping that w-we could maybe spend some time." suddenly nervous that maybe Joyce might not want to spend time with her, she felt oddly compelled to justify herself, "I-I don't know you as well as I'd like to, and I'm s-sure you have questions you'd like to ask…" she explained.

Joyce felt warmed by Tara's thoughtfulness, surely the girl would rather go dancing with her girlfriends, than spend time with her. "You don't want to go to the Bronze with Buffy and Willow?"

"Oh, that's ok. If you had other plans, I can…" she thought Joyce was trying to brush her off and felt an unreasonable knot of emotion in her throat.

Joyce could almost see the girl retreating into her shell. "Tara, I'd love to spend some time with you. I just thought you'd have more fun at the Bronze than spending time with boring old me," she said self-deprecatingly.

Tara felt relief wash through her. She didn't know why she was so nervous about this. "Oh, no, I want to. I mean, yes I'd have fun at the Bronze, but I'd really like for us to spend some time together. It was my idea for them to take Xander out- I thought it might be nice for them to just hang out- you know, the original Scoobies. And, it gives us some time to get to know each other."

For some reason Joyce felt inordinately pleased as she watched Tara virtually skip up the stairs. She shook her head and went to join her youngest on the couch, in front of the TV.

At the same time, her thoughts drifted back to the subject of finding a man. Not that she begrudged her daughter' choice of sexual partners, but for Joyce it was definitely a man she wanted. More and more lately she couldn't get the thought out of her head that what she really needed was a nice stiff cock, pounding her down into the mattress of her bed. She decided that it was getting time to stop thinking about it, and go out and find what she needed.

Tara quickly ascended the stairs, her heart was light from having finally forced herself to do what she'd been thinking of since her first weekend with Buffy and Willow; talk to Joyce Summers. Oh, sure; she'd spoken to her before, just never anything of substance. She'd thought back then that she should spend some time, just her and Joyce. She wanted to get to know her as more than just Buffy's mom. Since she planned on spending the rest of her life with Buffy, it was only fitting that she get closer to Buffy's family.

She didn't even consider it strange that she couldn't care less about getting to know Shelia and Ira Rosenberg- after all; they didn't even make time for their own daughter- why would they care about their daughter's girlfriend?

Tara's thoughts quickly moved to more pleasant things, like the fact that she was about to enter Buffy's room and find both her girlfriends naked and on their knees waiting for her.

Buffy had no more than closed the door behind herself and Willow and she had the witch by the hair, pulling her into a deep kiss. She was already addicted to the way Willow would just melt whenever she grabbed her hair. "She wasn't kidding when she said she liked me to possess her!" Buffy thought happily.

The Slayer broke the kiss off quickly, however. She didn't want to be caught making out with her pet when she was supposed to be ready and waiting for her own Mistress.

Willow whimpered when Buffy broke the kiss. She adored it when Buffy did that to her, took control and possessed her. She began to get wet the moment she put her hand in her hair. Basically, anything that reminded Willow that she was Mistress Buffy's property, caused her to be instantly aroused and compliant. And, now that she knew Buffy would give her the pain that she craved, as well as the pleasure, Willow didn't feel even slightly motivated to resist her Mistress.

Willow hadn't really taken the time to analyze it, and maybe she never would, but even when they weren't playing, Willow seemed to exist in subspace- at least partly. Sure, she talked and joked around with Xander at lunch, but some aspect of her awareness was constantly centered on Buffy. She was so proud to be Mistress Buffy's pet! She loved her collar and what it conveyed to the world, just like she loved it when Mistress grabbed her and roughly kissed her outside of Xander's worksite today. She'd been totally unembarrassed by the hoots and hollers of the construction workers. It was just more proof that Mistress could do with her whatever she willed.

Buffy looked into her pet's eyes and saw the wonder and adoration there and it made her feel like she was the best thing in the universe. She hoped that someday Tara would be able to look into her own eyes and see the same thing. Buffy knew that she wasn't there yet, but she already felt amazingly free when Tara dominated her, and she could see how Willow seemed to just give herself up completely when Mistress Buffy came out to play. "Tell me, pet; how do you feel when I dominate you."

"I feel, Mistress. I feel you. You surround me, and I'm… safe inside you. There's only you, Mistress."

Buffy wasn't sure she understood exactly what that meant, but it certainly seemed that Willow was happy about it. "Take off your clothes, pet. Mistress Tara is gonna come up and play with us."

Willow immediately began divesting of her clothing. "Yes Mistress. Thank you for letting me play with you and Lady Tara."

Buffy quickly stripped herself, but kept an eye on her pet while she did. She took great delight in Willow's body. She was supple and slender and her pale skin was luminescent by candlelight or moonlight. She loved her pert little breasts; she could almost get one entire breast into her mouth when she sucked on them. She loved squeezing and nibbling on her pink nipples, loved putting the clamps on them and hearing that combined gasp of pleasure and whimper of pain.

Buffy listened with her enhanced hearing and could detect Tara and her mom talking still, so they had at least a moment yet. "Turn away from me, pet. I want to look at your backside."

"Yes Mistress," Willow said excitedly as she obeyed. She loved to pose for Mistress; It never failed to yield complements, and usually some lovely touching as well.

Buffy stared at Willow's ass for a moment. She loved the graceful lines of her shoulders and back, topped by a thick mass of red hair… but the ass was her favorite part. "All those baggy jeans and bulky sweaters you wore in high school," she said- a mild tone of disapproval in her voice. "All that time you were hiding this from me, you naughty girl." Buffy moved near the redhead and rubbed her hands against the object in question.

Willow moaned slightly at the contact as she said, "I apologize, Mistress. How may I make it up to you?"

"Yes, Mistress. Thank you Mistress!" Willow said. She hadn't thought about changing her clothing style. She was intimately comfortable with her body now- knowing how much it turned on her Mistress and Lady Tara had helped undo a decade of poor body-image. Yet, she had just continued to dress as she had during high school, just because she still had the clothes. They fit, and they were comfortable. Now she had the image of Mistress Buffy picking out her clothes, and it was an incredible turn-on.

Buffy knelt down behind Willow and examined her- she could still see a few faint welts from her spanking with the crop this morning marring her otherwise smooth and creamy flesh.

Willow's train of thought was completely derailed by the feel of her Mistress face rubbing against the cheeks of her butt.

Buffy nuzzled her pet's ass with her face, and then traced the few remaining welts with her tongue, delighting in her pet's gasps and moans. She heard Tara start up the stairs and reluctantly broke off her ministrations. "On your knees, pet. Hands behind your back, and facing the door; Mistress Tara's coming.

Tara entered the room to see her pet and Willow in the expected positions. Neither looked up as she entered, just as it should be. "Slayer," she began.

Buffy thrilled to the thought of taking her Mistress in the ass. She'd never been allowed to put more than a finger in there before. "Oh, yes Mistress! Which toys would you like?" she asked.

Tara smiled, "It's your show, pet. I leave the entire thing up to you." She wanted to see what Buffy'd do. "But," she added after a thought, "Leave that monstrosity of your pet's in the toybox. I want pleasure, not pain."

Buffy had to work to restrain a giggle. "Yes, Mistress. No Witchslayer for you." She leapt to her feet and said, "Pet, strip Mistress Tara and then pleasure her while I get the toys ready."

Willow had managed to keep from gasping at Tara's request, but her breathing had quickened. Even before they had included Buffy in their relationship, Tara had never let her put anything beyond a single finger into her ass before. And, while she was sure Buffy would be taking first shot at it, Willow was nonetheless excited at the prospects for future fun.

Before she moved from her position, Willow said, "Lady Tara, may I disrobe you?"

Willow got up and quickly, but respectfully took off Tara's blouse and skirt. She kneeled to take down her panties and slip off her sandals. She licked her lips hungrily as she moved back up and saw the blonde's wet pussy.

Tara let out a small moan when she saw Willow lick her lips in anticipation. She loved the way Willow's tongue made her feel.

Willow reached around and undid Tara's bra, removing that final item of clothing. She was salivating, but asked, "May I pleasure you, Lady Tara?" before making a move.

Willow stopped long enough to give a single hard suck to each of Tara's stiff nipples before dropping back to her knees and moving her face between Tara's legs.

Buffy had her harness and dildo on, and had picked out Willow's, when she turned to see the girl on her knees before Mistress Tara. The blond witch was already moaning and pressing Willow's head hard against her, grinding herself against the redhead's mouth. Buffy knew it wouldn't be long, so she just let Willow finish what she had started.

Tara only lasted a couple of minutes before shouting Willow's name as she came. She let go of the girl's hair and stumbled back to fall on the bed, basking in the afterglow. She praised Willow, knowing how much pleasure the redhead got from it, "Oh, goddess Willow. You do that so well!"

Willow smiled, her face shiny with Tara's cum. "Thank you, Lady Tara," she said.

Buffy walked over and pulled Willow to her feet by her hair. She cleaned Willow's face with her tongue and said, "Such a good pet. You make me so proud!"

Willow virtually swelled with pleasure at her Mistress' statement. "Thank you Mistress!" she whispered.

Buffy kissed her briefly and handed her the harness and the seven-inch red jelly dildo. "Put this on and lay back on the bed, pet" she instructed.

Once Willow was in position, Buffy said, "Mistress, if you would care too…" She gestured, indicating the prone redhead.

Tara sat up and was relieved to see that Buffy had chosen the thinnest toy they had that would fit in a harness for her very first time playing this way. It was a soft silicone sheath over a slim, five-inch vibrator. She could feel shivers go up and down her spine at the thought of having that vibrating sensation, which she loved to feel in her pussy, in a new and untried place.

Tara straddled the supine witch and slowly slid herself onto the silicone cock. She began kissing Willow as she set a slow pace of rising and falling, only a few inches- leaving most of the red dildo embedded inside her.

Buffy let her ride Willow for a minute or two before getting on the bed behind her. She rubbed a generous amount of lubricant onto her toy, and then stilled the other blonde's movements with her hands on the girl's hips. She began stroking the pink rosebud of Tara's ass with one lubricated finger, eventually sliding it in, down to the second knuckle. She stroked in and out, listening to her Mistress moan loudly as the muscle relaxed. After a minute, she added another finger, now crossing the line of what Tara had ever had penetrate her there before.

It took a couple of minutes before Tara's sphincter relaxed enough for Buffy's satisfaction. She withdrew the two fingers and immediately pressed the head of the slim toy into Tara's ass, before the girl could tense up again. She waited a moment and then began to press the length of the toy slowly into her Mistress.

Tara groaned loudly as she felt the toy slide in past her tight sphincter. Once she felt Buffy's harnessed pelvis pressing against her ass cheeks, she began to move again. Slowly sliding off of the two toys, and then back onto them. It took a minute to get a comfortable rhythm going but she then felt more confident and started to pick up the pace.

Within a couple of minutes the girls were thrusting to meet Tara's movements. There was nothing but the sound of skin slapping on skin, and moans and groans in three-part harmony.

When Tara started grunting with each downward thrust, Buffy reached between them and switched the vibrator on.

Tara shouted and instantly began to quiver and shake with the power of her orgasm. The waves of pleasure kept moving through her as the other two kept thrusting, searching for their own release.

It didn't take Buffy long, with the base of the vibrator buzzing against her clitoris, and soon she was screaming out her orgasm along with Tara.

Willow kept thrusting, waiting for her release to happen. She felt on the edge but couldn't cross over. She began to whimper as the feeling built up and up. Finally she cried, "Mistress, please!"

Buffy heard her pet's cry through the haze of her own pleasure and looked over Tara's shoulder at her. She saw Willow's face scrunched up on the verge of orgasm, and realized with amazement that the girl couldn't cum without her permission. "Cum, pet," she said quickly.

The moment Mistress gave her permission, she shrieked with pleasure, the release undulating through her in large, slow waves.

Finally all three girls could take no more. Buffy switched off the vibrator and pulled away, rolling onto her back beside the other two.

Tara rolled away to the other side of Willow, panting and heaving at the massively extended orgasm.

Buffy was instantly solicitous- "I'm sorry, pet. I should have told you that you could cum. I thought; I hadn't forbidden it, so I guess I assumed you would know it was ok." She gently stroked the still quivering girl.

Tara caught her breath and said, "Shouldn't assume, pet. Your Willow is totally submitted to you when we play. She won't do anything you haven't specifically permitted her to do."

Buffy was ashamed, "Yes Mistress. I apologize. I'll do better from now on." Changing the subject, while silently vowing to make it up to her pet later, she said, "Was it pleasing for you, Mistress? Being in the middle?"

Tara sighed mightily. "Oh, goddess yes. You and your pet were absolutely wonderful."

"Thank you, Mistress" Buffy said at the same time Willow said, "Thank you, Lady Tara."

Dinner ended up being quite a hit- the girls made lasagna, and both Xander and Dawn said it was the best they'd ever had. Fortunately, Joyce hadn't made lasagna in years, so there was nothing to be jealous about. Her comment was that since it was so good, she expected that the girls would make dinner more often; too which Buffy groaned. Both Willow and Tara thought it was a great idea.

Xander was properly impressed when Buffy and Willow came back downstairs after changing into club attire.

Buffy was in a red cropped tank top and matching stretch skirt that left very little to the imagination. Her shoes were black with heels so high that it took Slayer coordination just to walk in them, let alone dance in them.

That Buffy had chosen Willow's outfit was obvious to everyone. She was in a black halter top that ended just a couple of inches below her breasts, which were pushed up and in, creating quite a fair amount of cleavage for the small-busted girl. The black leather miniskirt ended a couple inches short of mid-thigh. At the far end of her long legs was a pair of strappy black shoes that had three inch heels- conservative compared to the rest of her outfit, but she wasn't quite coordinated enough to wear anything higher.

The only adornment Willow wore was her collar, Buffy wore only the key. Buffy decided to leave the leash at home, for Xander's sake; though Willow had been more than willing to wear it.

The outfit's had both Joyce and Tara tempted to send the girls back upstairs, though for different reasons.

It took Xander a minute to regain control of his voice, and he praised God, and anyone else who would listen, that he'd worn baggy slacks and a long untucked silk shirt. His outfit managed to look moderately stylish, while also having the utility to cover his nearly erect state. "Who could blame me, seeing that?" he thought. He knew half the people in the Bronze would be sporting wood the moment they laid eyes on these two.

Once he could speak again, he turned to Tara and said, "You're really going to let me go with these two, without you?"

Tara got up and kissed her two girls, saying, "Have fun! Try not to torture Xander too badly. We don't want to break him."

The girls laughed, along with Joyce. Xander gulped loudly and said, "I'll be good, Promise!"

Dawn had a hard time not frowning. Her thought as she watched the three walk out the door was "You'd better keep your slutty hands off my Xander!" The thought was mostly directed toward her sister.

Joyce asked Tara, "Do I even want to know where she keeps a stake in that outfit?"

Spike was shocked when he returned to his crypt. He'd gone out at first dark to get some blood and smokes- he'd been gone less than an hour, but when he got back he found someone he'd never thought he'd see again; Drusilla.

The insane vampiress had been all atwitter about Darla and Angel and something about yummy lawyers. As always it wasn't the easiest thing to follow her words, even though Spike had spent the better part of a century with her. He said, "So, uh, let me get this straight. Darla got mojo'd back from the beyond... you vamped her..." He paused momentarily while Drusilla slowly circled around him, then continued, "…and now you two are working on turning bloody Angelus into his own bad self again.

Drusilla either missed or ignored the look on spikes face as she smiled broadly and said, "It is… Like lollipops at the circus." Her face fell and she stroked the not-quite-healed burn marks on her face and chest as she pouted, "Although... didn't care for Angelus setting us on fire."

Spike's bitterness came through pretty clearly as he said, "And this has got you, what, all nostalgic now, has it?"

Drusilla walked over to the bleach-blond vampire and said, "I want us to be a family again, my William." She leaned up and whispered in his ear, "Come back with me," then pulled back just enough to look at him.

"I've done the whole L.A. scene, Dru. Didn't agree with me." He pulled out of her arms and walked away, explaining, "Besides, I've got a sweet little setup here in Sunny-D." He gestured around, saying, "Decent digs..." he collapsed into his armchair, "…not to mention all the tasty townies I can eat."

Dru rubbed one finger along the other in a scolding gesture, and said, "Naughty!" She put her finger to her lips and said, "Shh, you needn't make up stories. I already know why you're not coming. Poor boy." She put her hands to her head and began walking around in circles, saying, "Tin soldiers put funny little knick-knacks in your brain. Can't hunt! Can't hurt! Can't kill!" she jerked her head on each "can't" as though miming Spike being zapped in the head. She walked up to him and went to grab his head as she said, "You've got a chip."

Spike jumped up from the chair and moved away before Dru could touch him. "Right, so you've heard. Poor Spike's become a cautionary tale for vampires, right? 'You better be good, kiddies, or else they might wire you up someday!' Bollocks!" he shouted and angrily kicked some bit of detritus on the floor.

Drusilla said, "I don't believe in science. All those bits and molecules no one's ever seen. I trust eyes and heart alone," she said as she stalked over to him. "Do you know what my heart is singing out right now?" She asked, taking Spike's hand and putting it over her heart.

She said, "You're a killer. Born to slash... and bash... and..." she gasped in pleasure, "…oh, bleed like beautiful poetry!" She began to get excited, turning in a circle with Spike's hand still on her chest.

Drusilla looked intently into his eyes and droned, "No little tinker-toy could ever stop you from flowing."

Spike whispered, "yeah…" almost salivating at the images of blood and killing running through his mind while Drusilla moaned.

He suddenly shook his head and pulled his hand away from her, saying, "But the pain... love, you don't understand, it's... it's searing. It's… blinding."

She put her hand on the top of his head and pulled it down toward her. "All in your head. I can see it. Little bit of... plastic, spiderwebbing out nasty blue shocks." She moves her fingers across his head imitating a spider. "And every one is a lie. Electricity lies, Spike. It tells you you're not a bad dog, but you are," she said in a seductive tone as she moved her hand around behind his head and then across his face, taking his chin and lifting it to look at her.

Spike growled, starting to get aroused again as they gazed into each other's eyes.

The moment was broken when Harmony's whiny voice rang out across the crypt, "What the heck is this?"

Spike felt the arousal drain out of him again, "Oh, bloody hell," he growled. That voice was like ice water, deflating him the moment he heard it. He turned around to see Harmony entering the crypt.

Harmony walked over to the other two vamps and said, "Who is… oh, wait. I get it. Our little sex game was just the beginning. Now you've gone and picked up some cheap queen of the damned to dress up like your precious Drood-zilla…"

Harmony ignored his interruption, "You'd better not be thinking what I think you're thinking. 'Cause my answer is the same as always. No threesomes unless it's boy, boy, girl. Or Charlize Theron."

Harmony walked toward Dru, complaining, "Oh. Well, you've got some nerve showing up here like this. After all this time. After breaking my sweet boo-boo's heart."

Spike just shrugged. Unfortunately it wasn't the worst of the little pet names the idiot had made for him.

Harmony continued, "Do you have any idea how hard it's been to break down the walls he put up after you left? I mean, *serious* trust issues!"

Harmony again ignored his interruption, continuing her rant, "So it's no use you crawling back to him, 'cause Spikey don't play that game any more, Morticia."

Dru put up a hand as if to block out the horrifying sight of Harmony. Harmony turned back to Spike to say something else, but was cut off… literally when he grabbed her by the throat.

Spike looked at Drusilla as he said, "It's been fun while it lasted, Harm, but I think it'd be best now if you hit the road…" He threw the blond bimbo across the room.

Harmony hit the wall and slid down to the floor, clutching her throat and panting. She whined, "Why? Because she's back?"

Spike- still looking at Dru- said, "No…" He stepped closer to Dru, "Because I am."

Harmony climbed to her feet, watching in horror as Spike put his arm around Dru's waist and pulled her up against him.

Drusilla preened, "And there you are, my darling, deadly boy." She put her hand on the back of his neck and they kissed.

Xander and Willow were dancing to a moderately slow trip-hop number. Mostly, they were just swaying and gently bobbing to the electronic beat and the singer's sad and soulful lyrics.

Willow was having great fun. They'd been there for about an hour, mostly just taking turns dancing with each other- switching off in pairs, while the third watched. They got the most stares, of course, when it was Buffy and Willow dancing together. "Tara was right," she said with a happy laugh.

"About what?" Xander asked. He also was having a lot more fun than he thought he would, what with breaking up with Anya that morning.

"We needed this. Just the three original Scoobies, hanging out at the Bronze like old times." She said.

"Whaddya mean?" Willow asked in her innocent voice, as she raised her hands above her head and swayed her hips exaggeratedly.

Xander was still dealing with trying to hide his partial erection. It hadn't subsided since he walked out the door of the Summers' house over an hour ago. He couldn't believe how hot these girls looked! Buffy was hot just like always- but familiarity did not breed contempt. Xander may have moved on from his High School crush, but he still found her to be a very beautiful woman. Willow, however was affecting him even more- not only was she dressed sexier than he had pretty much *ever* seen her before, but she had a new confidence and self-assurance that turned her from the pretty, but shy little hacker of days gone by, into this amazingly sexy woman before him. He smirked as he answered her question, "Well, in old times you and Buffy didn't spend quite as much time making out on the dance floor as now…"

Xander just shook his head; she was amazingly unembarrassed by the whole thing. Somehow she had totally changed, while still being the same Willow he had loved his whole life- she still had that lighthearted innocence of her youth, even after years of dealing with the most horrifying evil in existence. He continued his 'then and now' retrospective, "Buffy was busy moping after Angel all the time and you…" he trailed off as he realized that he might be opening old wounds.

Willow didn't break stride, continuing to move and sway to the music in a way that was sexy, without being aggressive- as though her movements were a celebration of her own sexual awareness without being designed to necessarily entice anyone to her. She completed Xander's statement, "I was busy moping after you." She said it without rancor or bitterness. It had taken her a long time to get over her desire for Xander, but she had. Not that she didn't find him attractive even still, but she no longer ached for him; she no longer desired Xander as a boyfriend or lover. Tonight was, however, reinforcing just how much she had missed their easy friendship. She laughed again, as she added, "While you, were busy moping after Buffy. Just think; if Buffy'd had the hots for me back then, we could have had a fun little unrequited love triangle." She giggled at her own silly thought.

Xander did falter a little at Willow's easy statement. "Yeah. I… I want you to know, Willow…"

Willow met Xander's gaze. She saw sorrow there, and even a little regret. That concerned her, because she didn't feel there was anything for him to be sorry for.

Xander continued, "I want to apologize, Will. I wasn't always as good a friend as you deserved. I'm sorry for being so blind to your feelings for so long, and then for finally returning them at the worst time."

"Xander…" Willow started, wanting to assure him that she didn't hold any grudges.

He interrupted, "I think things are finally good between us again, Will. I know you have moved past all that, and I think I have too." He tried to explain why he'd even brought it up, "It's just… I don't think I ever actually said I was sorry for all that. And I am. And you deserve to hear it, even if it is years later than it should have been."

Willow thought that was probably the sweetest thing she'd ever heard Xander say. "Oh, Xander. You know I forgave you for that stuff years ago," she said and then pulled him into a hug."

"Oh Crap." Xander thought as Willow pressed up against him. This wasn't exactly the best time for Willow to be hugging him. Not that he wasn't enjoying it; as a matter of fact he was enjoying it a little too much. He quickly broke the hug and began stuttering, trying to think of a way out of getting slapped. "I… uh, sorry…"

Willow giggled melodically at Xander's deep blush and his stuttering embarrassment. "Oh, how the tables have turned!" she thought. She couldn't help but tease him, "Xander Harris! Is that a stake in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?"

Xander's eyes bugged out, "Ok, who are you, and what have you done with Willow?" he asked, partly shocked at her new boldness, and partly relieved that she wasn't angry about it.

Willow laughed out loud again, and Xander marveled, thinking that he hadn't ever heard Willow so free and easy in a public place before. He liked the new Willow a lot. She was the perfect combination of all of the best of his childhood friend, without the painful shyness and embarrassment of old. He as much as told her so.

Willow fingered her collar as she reacted to his compliment. "I feel so free, so alive; for the first time in my life, Xander. It's… well it's indescribably wonderful. I mean here we're facing a hellgod, and I feel happier than I think I ever have before!"

Xander looked at the choker Willow was stroking. He'd never seen one quite like it, it apparently clasped in the front, with a tiny little lock, and there was a ring set into the lock, it almost looked more like a… "no, that couldn't be it," he thought. "Nice necklace, Will. Buffy give that to you?" he asked.

Willow laughed again- it was quickly getting to be a habit. "No Xan, not really," she answered. She imagined he'd be shocked by what she was about to tell him, but the triad had decided not to hide anything from the Scoobies- though they wouldn't share actual intimate details, of course. "Tara gave it to Buffy. And it's a collar, not a necklace."

Xander was suddenly confused again. "Wait a minute- if Tara gave it to Buffy… A collar?" he asked, his voice cracking a bit.

Willow nodded her head. "Tara gave me to Buffy for her birthday," she explained. Seeing Xander's dumfounded look she stopped dancing and took his hand. "Come on, I have to ask Mist… Buffy before I say any more."

Though dazed, Xander caught that slip. "Oh God," he thought, "Mistress?" He was suddenly glad to be heading for a seat. If he remained standing much longer, he was going to be pitching a tent for all to see.

Dawn called Janice soon after her sister left the house. She didn't think her mom and Tara would want her hanging around while they played 'getting to know you.' Plus, she needed to seriously start planning now.

Dawn didn't just want to seduce Xander- she figured she could probably do that with a little work and maybe some alcohol or something. No, what she wanted much more than one night of sex. She wanted Xander for a boyfriend. And, she knew she had some pretty big obstacles to overcome to get him. And while Janice didn't have any more experience with what Dawn wanted to do than she did herself, she did have that computer with open access to the net, and she was devious- both were going to be necessary for this project. She'd have to overcome her mom and Buffy, as well as convince Xander that she was girlfriend material. She figured it would take a year, easy- but then she'd be sixteen, and he wouldn't be quite twenty-one yet. It wouldn't be illegal if she had her mom's approval…

Ok, so this was starting to sound more and more like mission impossible, but she figured she didn't have anything to loose- none of the boys in school were remotely appealing to her… Anyway; shouldn't she aim high? Both Buffy and her mom would have to admit that Xander was a great guy… and, well… she had to try. Xander was worth it.

She walked into the living room. "Mom? Is it ok if I spend the night at Janice's?"

Joyce was more than happy to let Dawn spend the night at a friend's. She was looking forward to spending time with Tara, and getting to know the mysterious girl that had not only captured her daughter's heart, but had apparently managed to subjugate the wild-child as well. That was something no boy had ever come even remotely close to accomplishing- on any level, let alone the Mistess/sub relationship Tara had with Buffy.

Joyce decided the conversation would go more smoothly with a little wine to break the ice. "Tara, I'm having a glass of wine, would you care to join me?"

Tara wasn't much of a drinker, but she occasionally indulged in a glass of wine with dinner- on special occasions. Wasn't this a special occasion? A little wine sounded alright. "S- sure, that sounds nice," she said. And, she thought it might help her get rid of this annoying stutter. Stuttering was Tara of old, and she wanted it stopped.

She liked the person she had become in the last couple of months. She was a powerful witch, and had two powerful lovers- another witch like herself, and the vampire Slayer. She was part of a team of demon hunters that had saved the world on more than one occasion! No more the shy mouse, she was strong, self assured, and confident. Except when it came to Joyce Summers; the mother of her girlfriend; the mother of her pet- whom she regularly tied up and whipped with a riding crop. "Gosh! Could that be why I'm so nervous?" she asked herself sarcastically.

Maybe she would have to talk about her sex-life tonight. If she didn't, it was going to continue to eat her up. "I'll just have to ask Buffy and Willow to forgive me later." She thought. She blushed lightly as she also thought of a few ways she might make it up to them.

Joyce walked in to the living room with two glasses and a just opened bottle of German Riesling, one of her favorites- it was just a little bit on the sweet side, without being cloying.

She offered Tara a glass and she sipped at it and then smiled. "Oh, that's good!" she said.

Joyce sat down at the end of the couch and turned so that she was facing Tara, who was at the other end of the couch.

Tara was desperately trying to think of something to say that wouldn't sound stupid, but she wasn't coming up with anything.

Joyce was noting the differences between the commanding young woman who dealt so effectively with Spike the other night, and this shy, quiet woman now sitting next to her. They almost seemed like different people. "You're awfully quiet tonight Tara." She finally said.

Tara rolled her eyes at herself. "This is going well," she thought. "Uh, yeah. Willow usually babbles when she's nervous. I usually just kinda… keep quiet," she said.

Joyce said, "I make you nervous?" "That's a dumb question," she thought. "Obviously I do. The poor girl's sitting there like she's been sent to the Dean's office."

Tara took a little larger sip of wine and tried to answer honestly. Maybe if she just talked, and didn't worry so much about whether it sounded stupid, she could make this work. After all, sitting there and not saying anything was worse than sounding stupid anyway. "Normally, you don't make me nervous, when I'm with Buffy and Willow, but this is the first time you and I have talked alone. Plus, now I'm involved in a non-traditional relationship with your daughter, so there's that…"

Joyce smiled, and even laughed a little at that. "I guess I could see how that might make you nervous to be alone with me for the first time." Joyce had something on her chest so she decided she should just say it and maybe she could get past it. Her smile disappeared as she said, "Tara, I have to be honest. I'm not entirely comfortable with the S&M thing."

Tara's eyes got huge, and she thought, "Ok, that didn't last long!" she had been wondering if their sex-life might come up… "Well, that question got answered."

Joyce went on, "I know it's not really my business, and Buffy would be horrified to know I was even bringing this up, but… I got into 'that scene' when I was younger, and I had some bad experiences, and I worry…" She finished her glass of wine in one gulp and went to refill it. Then she gestured toward Tara's glass questioningly.

Tara was still a little shook up at both the subject, and Joyce's admission that she had firsthand knowledge of it. She copied the older woman, downing her wine in a big gulp and holding out her glass for a refill. She was going to need something to relax her if this was how the conversation was going to go.

As Joyce refilled the glass, she noticed that Tara's hand was shaking just a little bit. She smirked and said, "I bet you're wishing you'd gone to the Bronze after all, aren't you?"

Tara smiled, appreciating her attempt to diffuse the tension. "Well, yes… but this is something we probably should discuss, if it bothers you that much."

Joyce quickly reassured her, "It doesn't. Not always, anyway. I… I know that it isn't the same as it was for me… you have to understand though; I know she's the Slayer, but it bothers me- the thought of her being hurt. I mean, I've accepted the fact that that's her job, it's what she has to do- being the Slayer, I mean… not the other… Anyway, I know it's her calling and all, but I hate it. I hate that she's facing death every night. She's my little girl and I worry about her."

That was one subject where she and Joyce were on exactly the same page. "I know what you mean. Willow and I hate the thought of her having to face death on a nightly basis too. That's why we try to be there with her, to help her and protect her." Tara caught Joyce's gaze and added, "I know it's harder for you, because you can't be there to protect her. But, I want you to know, Willow and I both would die to protect Buffy. And, I made her promise not to patrol without one of us there, ever again."

Joyce said, "I do feel better knowing you two are there for her, especially after seeing you handle Spike the other night."

Tara smiled at that memory. She then addressed Joyce's original concern. "I take it that you're experiences in 'the scene' were as a sub?"

Joyce blushed, remembering some of her experiences. "Yeah. A couple of different times, I had doms that ignored my safe word."

Tara's eyes got wide again. She had only just started learning about the whole BDSM scene since she and her girlfriends had started playing, but that was a basic tenant- when a safe word was used, the scene stopped immediately. "Oh, my gosh, that's… that's…Horrible!"

Joyce dropped her eyes, focusing for a moment on the upholstery on the couch. "It's my fault. I was playing at being the rebel, and I ended up with the wrong crowd, and played with people I didn't know well enough…"

Tara was still shocked, "But, but that's as bad as… rape." There were tears in her eyes as she continued, "I could never… we don't… I wouldn't ever hurt Buffy like that."

Joyce saw that she had upset the girl terribly. She set her wine down and moved over, hugging the now crying blond. "Shhh, I know you wouldn't. I never imagined that you played like that." She rocked Tara gently, saying, "I think I was just letting my own bad experiences prejudice me."

Tara pulled away, "No, i- it's good… you were just concerned… she's your daughter. That's the way a parent is supposed to be… Buffy's lucky to have you watching out for her like that."

Joyce moved back away from Tara, but only to the midpoint of the couch, so there was only about a third of a meter separating them. She picked up her wine glass and sipped at it as she calmed herself down.

Tara said, "Oh, no. My mom was great. She taught me every good thing I know, practically." She gulped down half of her glass, then said, "She died when I was seventeen." Tears welled up, but didn't spill as she said, "I still miss her a lot."

Joyce filled the silence with, "Buffy told me your father and brother… weren't very supportive."

Joyce tried to keep the grin off of her face as she said, "Well, those weren't the exact words she used…"

"Hey guys, you done already? Whatsamatter Xan, did my girl wear you out?" Buffy joked when her girlfriend bounced over to their table, with a somewhat stunned-looking Xander in tow.

Willow giggled, while Xander gave her a wan smile as he collapsed down into the corner of their booth.

Xander took a moment to thank God that Buffy hadn't kept the ability to read minds, 'cause his was filled with images that would probably get his ass kicked. He watched as Willow kneeled on the seat next to the Slayer and clasped her hands behind her back, leaning in to whisper into her ear. He barely stifled his groan as Willow's posture served to arch her back, squishing her breasts even more tightly up and out of the bustier-halter top thing she was wearing. He had to close his eyes as the pressure of his cock at full mast, trapped in the confines of his pants, made him squirm.

Buffy's breath caught a bit when Willow assumed her subservient position, even though she was fully dressed. She found her body reacting almost instinctively- her nipples tightened and she felt a moist warmth begin to develop at the junction of her thighs.

Willow almost brushed her lips against Buffy's ear as she whispered, "Mistress, may I tell Xander about the collar, and what it means?"

Buffy turned to look at Willow as she pulled away, the question clear on her face- 'Why?'

Willow explained, "He complemented me on my 'necklace', and asked me if you gave it to me, and I said not really, that Tara had given it to you and it was a collar, and then I thought I'd better ask you before I went into any more detail, Mistress."

Buffy couldn't help but smile at Willow's babble. She hoped the day would never come when she would stop thinking it was cute. "Have I told you how much I love you lately, pet?" she whispered.

The grin on Willow's face warmed Buffy's heart as much as Buffy's words did Willow's heart. She said, "It's been at least ten minutes, Mistress." Her eyes involuntarily closed as she felt Mistress' fingers comb through her hair. She gasped as those fingers tightened, grabbing a fist full of hair and drawing her forward. She felt like she was in slow motion as she moved, pulled roughly by her Mistress. Her breathing sped up, and she could feel Mistress' hot breath against her lips moments before Mistress' began to devour her mouth, running her tongue over her teeth and gums as if re-establishing her territory. Willow felt her own tongue drawn out of her mouth as Mistress sucked on it, even biting it slightly, before releasing it and nipping at her lower lip. She couldn't help the whimper that escaped her as Mistress ended the kiss. Willow thought she could do nothing but kiss her Mistress forever; even though she knew that wasn't really possible, when she was in the moment, it felt like it was. It felt like it could go on forever and it still wouldn't be enough.

Buffy finally had to push Willow away. She was so worked up, all she could think of was that there was a storage area behind the stage that no one ever used. (She only knew about it because she followed a vamp, who was taking a snack with her back there once.) She was imagining taking Willow back there and ravaging the girl.

Willow pouted when Buffy got up from the couch-like thing they were sitting on. She was hot enough that she would have serviced Mistress Right there if she'd asked it of her. She was so focused on her lover that she missed Xander's groan.

Buffy didn't miss it. She looked at Xander peripherally and smirked to see him looking like he was in agony. She didn't miss his surreptitious manipulation of his pants at the crotch. She couldn't see it through the table, but she imagined he must be rock hard after seeing that kiss. "Bad Buffy!" she chastised herself for taking some pleasure in the fact that she was driving poor Xander crazy. Somehow the humor of that, overcame the embarrassment of such a public display. "I'm going to go and get us a round of drinks. I suddenly need to cool off a bit," she said to them both.

Willow got a devilish look to her and said, "I could, you know, take care of that for you, Mistress…"

It was all Buffy could do not to groan out loud as a sharp slap of arousal coursed through her. Her voice was rough as she said, "Behave pet."

Despite her submissive attitude, Buffy could see the smirk pulling at the corners of her mouth. She silently vowed to make her pet work extra hard to earn her release tonight. "You have my permission to explain things to Xander, but keep it general, pet. I don't think he needs anything too intimate."

Buffy thought for a moment, then looked over at Xander, who was still staring at both of them with wide eyes. She smirked and said, "I think Willow might be subconsciously getting back at you for all those times in High School when you left her frustrated, Xan.

Buffy looked back at Willow and said, "Be nice Willow," tacitly implying that playtime was over for now.

Willow relaxed out of her posture and said, "I'm always nice, Buffy!" with mock-indignation.

Buffy just mumbled, "Mmm hmm…" and went over to join the long line at the bar.

"They convinced you that you were a demon?!" Joyce was outraged. This sweet, loving girl had grown up thinking she was tainted with some unspeakable evil. Her father and brother had used it as an excuse for beating on her and treating her like…

Tara put her hand on Joyce's knee, seeing the rage behind her eyes- it was the same look Buffy got whenever she thought about it. "It's in the past mom. They can't hurt me anymore," she reassured this wonderful woman who had taken her into her home, who had accepted her despite the unusual relationship she had with her daughter- something that most parents would probably have a coronary over.

Joyce gave a sad smile, sighed and said, "I know, honey. I just… it makes me angry to think you were treated like that."

Tara got serious and said, "You know, I think that's the moment I fell in love with Buffy."

Tara nodded her head. "I mean, I'd just cast a spell on everyone to hide my supposed demon side, nearly getting everyone killed in the process- and that's the moment my supposed family comes to try and take me back." Tara shook her head, tears in her eyes as she relived that horrible, wonderful night in her head. "I was so sure everyone hated me. I hated myself. Poor Willow was so confused because I kept saying, 'I'll go' thinking that's what they wanted. Willow had this look of betrayal on her face, and she asked me if everything I'd said and done with her was a lie. Then she asked if I wanted to leave and all I could do was shake my head and try not to cry."

"And then my dad said, 'We're taking you out of here,' and Buffy said that if they wanted me they could have me. Right then, I think my heart broke. I felt like the worst person on the face of the earth."

"And then, Buffy said, 'you've just got to go through me first.'" Tara looked up into Joyce's eyes and bit back a sob as she continued, "And then Dawn, then Mr. Giles, and Xander… everyone but Spike, of course, and t- then when he asked who they thought they were to interfere, Buffy said…" she could barely speak, she was so choked up with emotion, "…'We're family.' I fell in love with her right at that moment."

Joyce pulled the weepy blond into her arms again and hugged her tightly as she whispered, "you are family, Tara; and I'm glad you're there for Buffy… and Willow." She let go of the hug as she continued, "I've thought of Willow as a daughter almost since we moved here. I'm glad you are in their lives, and…"

Tara could see that she was having a hard time figuring out how to say what she wanted to say next.

"…I guess… I think I get it. The three of you, I mean." She took a moment to refill both wine glasses, emptying the bottle. She immediately got up to go get another.

Tara picked up her glass and took a sip, taking a moment to collect herself after the high emotion of a moment ago.

Joyce returned with another bottle of the same wine, saying, "I wouldn't have ever thought of the three of you being… together. Not in a million years. But seeing you… I get it." She sat down and picked up her own glass, taking a sizeable drink. "Buffy has conflicting needs. She needs to be in control, but she seems uncomfortable being in control sometimes, so with Willow she gets to be in control, and with you she gets to be controlled."

Tara was amazed. That was a frighteningly accurate simplification of their relationship.

Joyce continued, "I mean, I'm sure there are a lot of dynamics involved, but I know those are two primary, but conflicting, needs she has. That's why sometimes she would rebel against me with all her might, but other times it seemed like she wanted to crawl in my lap like a scared little girl; though I doubt she'd ever admit that."

Joyce gave her a funny look. "Tara, I know you love her, but come on; this is her mother you're talking to. A little? Sometimes?" she snorted with disbelief.

It took Joyce half a beat to catch the joke and then she almost choked on her wine. "Oh, I like this girl!" Joyce thought as she caught her breath.

"So, let me get this straight. Tara gave you to Buffy." Xander asked. His head was swimming from Willow's babbling explanation.

"…but you and Tara are still…" he trailed off, trying to think of how to put it.

"Lovers? Girlfriends? Yes to both," Willow said. She could see that Xander was having a hard time with the concept, so she tried again to explain.

Willow suddenly thought of a comparison that might help; "Your boss, Jimmy right?" she began.

"Foreman, right. You work for him, but he has a boss too, right? Someone that he reports to…"

The little light in Xander's head went on for a moment, "Right, the owner. I technically work for the owner, but not directly…" the light flickered out. "But, I never see the owner, practically…"

Willow quickly said, "Ok, now imagine you and the foreman and the owner are all friends and you hang out together and do stuff outside work. And, sometimes the owner might come out to the place you guys work and take a more direct hand in things."

The light flickered back on, "But, not always. And, the three of us spend time together outside of the 'work' thing." He started nodding his head, "Ok. I think I get that…" Suddenly he shuddered and cringed.

"You couldn't come up with a better example?! I don't know if I'll be able to look at Jimmy ever again, without becoming ill."

Still laughing, Willow said, "Hey Xan, at least now you can stand up without embarrassing yourself!"

Xander blushed, "Embarrassing but true," he thought. That mental image had cured him of any erection. As he started toward the men's room he wondered if he'd ever be able to get a hard-on again after imagining his boss naked.

Xander hadn't made it three steps when he was struck hard in the chest. He had a brief image of pale skin and long black hair before he landed on the table and crashed to the floor on the other side.

Willow looked up, shocked, as her best friend's body flew past her, crashing through the table and onto the floor. She saw a face she hadn't seen in years. "Drusilla!" she whispered.

Drusilla stood before the redheaded witch and the boy she had once thought of as her kitten. "You! You nasty witch with your dirty, hurtful spells! You've ruined my darling Spike with your bad magic!"

Willow took in the sight of the insane vampire with wide eyes, momentarily stunned. She could see burn scars on the vamp's face and chest, where revealed by the low cut white dress.

Drusilla began moaning loudly and scratching at her face with both hands, oblivious to the crowd that had formed a half circle some distance from her and the two Scoobies in their secluded booth. "I knew something was different, the stars were singing about danger, but Ms. Edith wasn't there to show me where the flowers were planted!"

Willow began muttering a spell under her breath while the lunatic moaned and spat nonsense. She really didn't want to have to cast in front of an audience, but she'd be darned if she'd let this creature of the night hurt anyone.

"It smelled like rotting orchids! I followed it here; I knew it was you- bad, bad girl!" She began wagging her finger at Willow, saying, "You shouldn't have done that to poor, poor Spike. Now he's all over me from within, and he'll never be the same again!"

Willow realized what Drusilla's gibberish must mean, and couldn't help herself. She started to laugh.

Xander had just managed to extricate himself from the position he ended up in, when he heard Willow start laughing. He looked at her like she was the insane one.

Willow thought of a spell that would be less showy and was a simple cast- though it would only last for ten minutes, it should be enough.

Buffy arrived back at the remains of the table ready to start kicking ass, but was suddenly struck by the scene. Drusilla was just standing there, pulling at her face, like her hands were glued to the skin. Willow was almost cackling, she was laughing so loud and Xander was covered in bits of wood, looking back and forth between the vampire and the witch like he was trying to figure out which one was the craziest.

Willow managed to get a hold of her self and stood up. She whispered something in Xander's ear, and then went over to her girlfriend.

Buffy frowned as Xander shrugged and walked away, carefully circling the vampire who was now moaning loudly and yanking her hands away from her face, but unable to let go somehow. "What did you do Will? Where's Xander going? And why is Drusilla having tug-o-war with her face?" she asked, completely confused by the situation.

Willow smiled and hugged Buffy, whispering in her ear, "Xander's gonna flip the breaker, and then when it's dark you can…"

Buffy nodded, understanding that part at least. "You, what, froze her or something?" she asked.

"Let's just say, she's almost as stuck on herself as Harmony was in High School, only literally."

Buffy wasted no time, grabbing a shard of wood from the remains of the table and driving it through the vampire's heart.

Xander counted to thirty before flipping the breakers back on. He figured that would give them ample time to take care of Spike's insane girlfriend.

He started to head back toward their booth, or the remains of it. He wanted to know just what the heck was going on. He just got his mind wrapped around the concept of Willow being a birthday present from Tara to Buffy, "And why does no one ever give me such a thoughtful gift?" his mind interjected, interrupting his own musings. Shaking his head at himself he continued with the rumination.

He just worked out the latest dynamic in his friends' relationship, when he got tossed around like a sack of potatoes. "No, I think potatoes get more respect," he thought. "Although there is a 'being dinner' theme to us both." He was ignoring the scary mental images that occurred between the Willow-present part and the being-thrown-through-a-table part.

Xander's thoughts were once again interrupted, this time much more pleasantly as Buffy and Willow met him halfway back from the fusebox, wrapping him in a hug.

"That mean old vampire didn't hurt you too badly, did she?" Willow asked, only half teasing.

Xander decided he definitely liked the new, touchy-feely behavior his friends were displaying. "No serious injuries," he said. "Nothing that the healing power of a BuffyWillow hug can't fix, anyway."

The girls pulled away, giggling. Willow said, "I don't know, Xander. You seem to be getting light headed a lot tonight," Willow joked.

Buffy laughed, while Xander pouted, "Hey, be nice. It's not my fault you guys dressed with lethal intent." Attempting to change the subject, he segued, "Speaking of lightheaded, I take it Princess Psycho is dust-buster chow?"

Buffy nodded, "Yep. I even managed to keep from getting her all over my skirt!" she said, brushing her hand over the front of said skirt and not seeing any dust. When she looked back up, she noticed both Xander and Willow had equally hungry looks in their eyes, which were focused on her hand as it moved over the stretchy fabric. She blushed and the thought popped into her head that, with Anya gone, Xander would probably spend his late evening masturbating to the thought of her and Willow. "Poor Xan. We need to find you a new girlfriend soon," she thought.

Willow noticed Buffy's blush and turned to Xander. Seeing his look, she giggled and teased, "Hey bucko, quit ogling my girlfriend, or I'll have to kick your ass!"

It was Xander's turn to blush in embarrassment. "How can I possibly help myself?" he lamented silently.

Buffy said, "You know what? I think I'm Bronzed out. Why don't we take off while Xander can still walk upright, and then you can explain exactly what just happened here."

Xander was starting to feel like his brain wasn't functioning right. He had to ask for clarification once again, "You cast a spell to make his… manhood… explode?"

Buffy and Willow were still laughing about it, which in and of itself was giving Xander the wiggins. Sure, he hated Spike, but there was a certain… visceral sympathy… that any guy had when another guy took a shot to the groin. When you saw that, you cringed. It was just instinctive.

Willow calmed down enough to try and explain it again. She'd gone over it a couple of times already as they drove to the Espresso Pump, and now they were sitting at a table, drinking mochas. She'd been almost giddy when Buffy let her have a regular, caffeinated, version. She hoped it meant Mistress had plans for channeling her pet's hyperactivity. In answer to Xander's question, she said, "It wasn't supposed to make it explode, it was just supposed to be a punishment for mackin' on Buffy last night. Last time he did it, I cast a spell that made him stay… up, and not be able to do anything to make it go away, or, uh, be satisfied. It lasted for about a day."

"I changed it so this time it would just keep getting more and more… uh, erect. It was supposed to make him stop his fun. It wouldn't keep going if he didn't, uh, keep going," She said.

Buffy was still wiping tears away from the laughter as she said, "Drusilla must not have let him stop."

Xander cringed again and held up his hands as though surrendering, "Ok, I give up. I think that's about all I can take of that subject for one night." He finished his mocha, and said, "Are you ladies ready to head home?"

"Actually, Xander, I think Willow and I are going to stay out for a little while."

Xander didn't miss the nature of the look between the two girls; he said, "Yeah? Don't do anything to get arrested, ok?"

Xander laughed ruefully, but smiled as he said "Hanging at the Bronze, getting sexually frustrated; being attacked by insane vampires, and then going for coffee… Yup, just like old times."

As Xander went out to his jeep, he felt an itching sensation on the back of his neck. He turned around, but didn't see anything. Shrugging his shoulders he climbed into the driver's seat. A thought struck him as he turned the key, "You know, Spike's gonna be pretty pissed off when he finds out about Drusilla…" He whispered, "Maybe I should go break the news personally…" as he drove off into the night.

Buffy watched Xander leave the building and then turned to Willow, "Do you think we teased him too much?"

Buffy laughed, "You're probably right." Her laughter died off as she said, "But now, we have to deal with the idea that Xander's probably gonna fantasize about us tonight." She wasn't sure how she felt about that- knowing her best friend was going to be thinking about her and her girlfriend while he touched himself.

"Well, let's just say I spent many an evening with thoughts of Xander, and my shower-massage…" Willow admitted.

Willow teased, "Don't worry, Buffy. I spent a lot of quality shower-time thinking about you too… Sometimes both you and Xander!"

Willow laughed. "I haven't needed much time with the shower massage since I started dating Tara, Buffy. Plus, I told her about past crushes and stuff."

Willow said, "Well, if I were in the market for a guy- which I'm so not- I might go after Xander again. He's grown up nicely," she said with a wistful smile.

Buffy recognized that there would be a little bit of Willow that would always have a crush on her childhood best friend. To be honest, she agreed; "yeah, he has filled out well…"

Willow snapped, "Hey, you better not be thinking about heading back to boy's-town!" Her voice became sultry as she continued. "Cause, ya' know, witch here and all… I'd have to do something nasty to ya'!" she teased.

Buffy shook her head, "No, no trips to boy's-town in my future." She got a sly smile on her face and said, "However, I do have a different trip in mind right now…"

Willow felt a shiver run up her spine at the sultry tone Buffy employed, "Yeah? W- where did you wanna go?" she asked in her little-girl voice.

Buffy stood up from her stool, walked around the table until she was standing pressed against her girlfriend. She put one hand on Willow's knee and began to slowly slide it up her thigh, moving down between her legs as she reached the hem of her skirt, and continuing slowly toward her goal. She leaned in and whispered into Willow's ear, "Someplace warm… and humid."

Willow was doing her best to stifle the moan that wanted to pour out of her. A strangled whimper squeezed out when Buffy captured her earlobe between her lips and sucked on it for a moment before gently biting it.

"Y- y- y- yes." Willow managed to finally say. Buffy's hand had reached her wet panties and was stroking, feather light, over them, giving Willow just barely enough sensation to feel.

"Then let's get going, pet! You've got a lot of work to do," Buffy said, grinning in anticipation.

"Yes Mistress!" Willow breathed out heavily, climbing unsteadily to her feet when Buffy withdrew her hand. "Thank you Mistress!" she said, both dreading and anticipating what was in store for her. From Buffy's look, she knew she was gonna be on her knees begging before Buffy'd let her cum.

Xander was trying to figure out something. Why hadn't Buffy staked Spike already? He knew that the reason she gave was because he was unable to hurt humans, and because he was useful against demonic threats. Xander didn't buy that.

"He's hurt us time and again despite being 'chipped'," he thought. The time when he had been working for Adam was the most obvious; but he was always trying to come between them, and now he seemed to have developed an unhealthy obsession with Buffy. "He's a freaking stalker!" he thought angrily.

Xander also didn't really believe that Spike was necessary to 'help' them. Not against Glory, not against anybody. "We didn't need his help to beat the Mayor, or the Master, or Adam!" he thought as he came to a park alongside the cemetery where Spike's crypt was located.

Xander looked in the direction where Spike's crypt was and whispered, "He's a blood sucking vampire." There it was; that was the real reason Xander wanted to kill Spike. Everything else was just rationalization. Spike was an evil, murdering, sadistic vampire. If he had his chip out he'd kill them all, how many times had he said that himself?

With that, he loaded up his vampire kit and set off for the crypt, stake in one hand, cross in the other, and the kit slung over one shoulder. After all, Spike wasn't the only vampire he might find out here.

"You turned your hair Green?!" Joyce said as tears ran down her face from laughing so hard.

They'd made their way through the second bottle of wine while telling stories about their past.

"I was trying to make it red like a strawberry!" Tara lamented as she couldn't help but chuckle along with the elder Summers woman.

"W- w- what happened?" Joyce said, trying to catch her breath from the laughter.

Tara ducked her head, embarrassed by her mistake to this day. "I misunderstood the Latin, and when I cast the spell, I used the name of the plant, instead of the fruit."

Joyce pictured Tara with bright leaf-green hair, and couldn't help breaking out into giggles again.

"I can just see you… walking into High School on your very first day… with… with…" she was trying to get the words out but was breathless with laughter again.

Tara said, "It didn't help that I was really shy. I could see someone really outgoing pulling off that look… maybe, but not me." She waited until Joyce had calmed down slightly and then asked, "What about you?"

Joyce was still wiping the tears from her eyes. "My most embarrassing moment?" Joyce closed her eyes, thinking a moment. "Did Willow or Buffy ever tell you about the band-candy incident when they were in High School?"

"Willow told me all the adults reverted to teenagers…" Tara said, not sure exactly to what she might be referring.

Joyce blushed as she remembered the events of that night. Only partially was the blushing in embarrassment; that was also the last time she'd had sex. Two years was a long time to go without.

Tara saw Joyce's blush, but also noticed her eyes dilating; and the smirk on her face told Tara that this was going to be a good story.

Joyce began, "There was something in the candy… it made us act like teenagers, it… it removed our inhibitions. I was with Rupert when it started to take effect… at first we just sat around listening to his old records, drinking wine. He changed out of his tweed and put on a pair of worn old jeans and a t-shirt…"

Tara grinned madly at the look of desire on 'mom's' face. "He's not bad looking, for a man I mean," she offered.

"Are you kidding? God! He looked sooo sexy dressed like that," Joyce responded, her voice thick with desire.

Tara thought she could see where this was heading, "You and Mr. Giles… had sex?"

Joyce chuckled, "Oh, not yet. It gets far worse…" She resumed her story, "Ripper- he had me call him Ripper instead of Rupert; I guess he was a real ruffian in his youth… Anyway, Ripper got restless and wanted to go out. We were walking downtown when I saw this feather-trimmed, knee length top in one of the store windows. Ripper asked me if I liked it, and I said, yes, but the store's closed. So he picked up a trash can and smashed the window! I just thought it was so romantic…"

Tara's eyes bugged practically out of her head as she tried to picture Mr. Giles acting like that.

Joyce took in Tara's look and laughed. "Oh, it gets worse- Ripper grabbed the top and put it on me, and just then the police showed up and this cop gets out of his car and draws his gun, pointing it right at Ripper!"

"So I shouted 'look out Ripper, he's got a gun!' but he didn't care." Joyce recounted. "He took the gun from him and knocked him out just like that," She said, snapping her fingers on the 'that'.

Joyce had had enough wine that she was only mildly embarrassed to be telling Tara this. Mostly, she was getting horny, remembering it. How hot it had been- thrilling and dangerous.

Tara thought she couldn't get more shocked. She just waited, knowing there must be more. She just couldn't picture the Mr. Giles she knew acting this way.

"He sort of nonchalantly strolled over to where I was sitting on the hood of the police car… I could tell what he was thinking by the look in his eye. I… I was so turned on…"

Tara sat stunned for a moment, and then the wine's effect on her made her verbalize her question. "How was it…" she blushed.

"Well, that's fair, I guess. I've never been with a girl," Joyce said. "Let's just say that Rupert Giles is a definite ladies' man- or at least Ripper sure is," her voice trailed off as she once again relived that relatively short time- not more than half an hour, though at the time it felt like it lasted forever. "He knew just what to do, how to move, when to be tender, how to be rough without being brutal… It was wonderful."

Tara smiled at the wonder in Joyce's voice. "That was your most embarrassing moment?" she asked, confused.

Joyce laughed, "Oh, no. My most embarrassing moment was when Buffy was able to read minds."

Joyce nodded, "Yeah, that was it. It was all I could think about… I kept trying to think of other things, but… She read my mind." She blushed at that memory. "That was definitely my most embarrassing moment- when my daughter found out I screwed her watcher on the hood of a police car, twice."

Tara laughed out loud, picturing the outrage on Buffy's face, the mortification on Joyce's. "Oh, yeah. I can see how that would be embarrassing."

"After she got over the whole mind reading thing, she never mentioned it to me again, but every once in a while I would catch her looking at me… and I could tell she was thinking about it…" Joyce trailed off.

"If you don't mind me asking, why didn't you two ever… get together after that?" Tara asked. "It's just, sometimes you seem… lonely. And, I know Giles feels that way too sometimes; lonely I mean." After no immediate response she asked, "Weren't you attracted to him anymore once the candy wore off?"

"That wasn't it. It was just… too weird, I guess. I mean, the way we are now, we would never do any of those things- not in a million years." She answered. "And then, there was Buffy- He was her teacher and her watcher, and I don't think either of us was brave enough to press that issue."

Xander slowly opened the door to Spike's crypt, listening intently for any movement inside. He cursed himself for his nervousness. He'd waltzed in here several times when he needed to speak to the bleached wonder- and he'd never been nervous then. "You weren't coming to kill him those times," he thought.

As Xander went across the empty crypt towards the access to the lower level, he was asking himself, "Can you really do this?" Sure, he'd killed vampires in fights before, but this was pretty much going to be in cold blood. "Vampire; remember, he's a vampire," he told himself. Sure he might be helpless now, but he was still a soulless vampire that would kill them all if given the chance.

Xander climbed down the ladder in to the lower part of the crypt, his heart racing as adrenaline pumped through his veins. He turned around and saw Spike curled up on his side on the bed; the sheets were soaked with blood. Xander almost felt sorry for him. He had to stiffen his resolve just to walk over to the bed.

"Oh lovely, it's the moron. Come to gloat, have you?" Spike rasped as he saw Xander approaching the bed. "Your little friend tell you how she cast a spell on me? You must have gotten quite a laugh."

Spike's eyes lit up just a little bit and he said, "Yeah? Good for her. Little redheaded bint had it coming for this." He groaned as he tried to move, and then gave up. He said, "But, wait, let me guess; the Slayer got there before Dru could finish the job, right? Just in the nick of time to keep her lover from being drained dry, I'll bet."

Xander frowned, confused. Then after a moment he got it. He laughed as he said, "You think Drusilla actually managed to hurt Willow? Guess again, Deadboy jr. Willow's fine, we're all fine."

Xander walked around the bed as he spoke when he saw two bodies on the floor. "What the hell is this?" he demanded angrily. "I thought you couldn't kill humans anymore!"

Spike managed a raspy chuckle, "Dru brought 'em as a present. She broke the girl's neck and drained the bloke." In answer to Xander's questioning glare, he said, "I can feed off 'em if they're dead already."

Any sympathy Xander ever felt for Spike went right out the window. He felt a coldness fill him as he grinned at the debilitated vampire. "You know, you and Drusilla deserve to be together."

"So it'll probably upset you when I tell you that she's presently filling an ashtray at the Bronze." He took a moment to bask in the warm glow he got from the look of shock and dismay on Spike's face, then continued, "But don't worry, Spike. You'll be together in a minute."

Spike's eyes widened when he saw Xander raise the stake. He had never really believed any of the Scoobies had it in them to kill him as long as he had the chip in his head.

Xander felt nothing but pure satisfaction as he plunged the wood into Spike's cold, dead heart.

Willow stopped short as Buffy came to a halt two houses down from her Childhood home. Willow tugged on her hand, eager to get inside with her Mistress and begin whatever service or punishment she had in mind. She was undecided on which she would prefer more.

Buffy said, "Shh, Will…" and began looking behind them as if searching for something.

Buffy shook her head, "No more like my spidey sense was tingling, but it didn't feel like a vamp… I'm not sure what it was, whatever it was, I don't feel it now." She took Willow's hand again and started towards the house. "Come on, I've got plans for you pet!"

Willow smiled widely, "Yes, Mistress!" she said, her mind running wild with possibilities.

They just made it into the house when Buffy pressed Willow up against the door and began fiercely kissing her, while cupping and gently kneading the redheads breasts through her top. She kept her pelvis pressed up against Willow's, locking her in place against the door.

Willow was, of course, in heaven. She so loved it when Buffy took charge. She groaned when Buffy moved her mouth down from her own, kissing and sucking on the flesh of her neck on her way down.

Buffy left a trail of love bites down the pale flesh of Willow's neck and attacked the upper slopes of her breasts where they were set on display by the tight, stiff material of her top. She took great delight in the girl's moans and groans as she assaulted her flesh with lips, teeth and tongue.

Willow cried out as Buffy began stroking her lust dampened panties, pressing the silky material into the soft, wet flesh.

"Who do you belong to?" Buffy growled after she finished marking the milky skin of her pet's breast with little red bitemarks.

"You Mistress; I belong to you!" Willow sighed, having to concentrate to respond in the face of the sensations coming from Buffy's hand under her skirt.

Buffy looked Willow in the eyes and said, "Look at me, pet." She waited until her pet met her eyes, and then started rubbing the redhead's clit through her panties as she said, "Are you going to cum?"

Willow felt on fire- she knew she could come at any moment, if Mistress would permit it. "N- not… not till you say, Mistress," she managed to groan out.

Buffy smiled at Willow's acknowledgement of her dominance. God she loved this girl! She felt so amazingly powerful- and in a way completely unlike her Slayer powers; this was an intensity that was pure Buffy and Willow. Being the Slayer had nothing to do with it. It made her feel joyful- almost giddy.

Buffy stopped her ministrations and pulled her hand out from under Willow's skirt. She brought her slick fingers up to Willow's mouth and smeared her lips with the sticky secretions. She then leaned in and licked those shiny lips clean, transitioning into a slow, hot kiss. When she was finished, she sucked the remainder off of her fingers and then said, "Such a good pet… you deserve a reward; but I cum first. You do a good job on me and I won't make you wait too long before I let you cum."

Willow managed not to whine in disappointment when Mistress stopped rubbing her pussy- barely. "Th- thank you, M- Mistress," she said. Her whole body was vibrating from being on the edge of orgasm.

Buffy stepped back and observed her pet, she was almost shivering with arousal and desire; her skin was flushed pink, her hair was tousled, her lips were swollen and glistening from her kisses, and her eyes were glassy as she stared at Buffy with an overwhelming hunger. "Pet, you are so beautiful… you make me so hot!" She reached out and trailed a single finger down from Willow's nose, over her lips, chin, neck, down between her breasts, and down to the waistline of her skirt. "Every time I'm with you, I want you."

Willow was panting, every nerve ending in her body felt like it was buzzing with pleasure and anticipation as she took in her Mistress' words.

Buffy had followed her finger with her eyes, and now brought them back up to meet her pet's ravenous stare, "When you kneeled next to me tonight at the bronze, I almost got up and dragged you behind the stage to ravish you!"

Buffy smiled in delight. "Take off your clothes and then kneel in front of the couch, pet."

Buffy felt a lassitude overcome her as she slowly disrobed and sat down on the edge of the couch, leaning back and moving her feet up onto the couch next to her.

Willow looked up through her lashes at her Mistress, spread open before her and her mouth watered in anticipation of what was to come. She loved pleasuring her Mistress almost more than she enjoyed being pleasured herself. She always felt fulfilled when she could make Mistress scream in pleasure.

Buffy smiled at her pet, seeing her eagerness, but appreciating the fact that she was waiting for permission. "I'm in the mood for slow and gentle pet. Just use your mouth, and draw it out a little bit," she instructed.

Willow was just happy to be able to begin. "Yes, Mistress. Thank you for letting me serve you Mistress," she said as she moved in, hands on her knees to help support her.

Willow began by gently kissing the insides of Buffy's thighs, tasting and very gently sucking on the tender flesh as she worked up each leg bit by bit toward her heavenly goal.

Buffy sighed with pleasure as her pet followed her commands perfectly, making this a languid and unhurried experience. She knew Willow was on edge and virtually chomping at the bit to charge full steam ahead, but she was forcing herself to fulfill her Mistress' instructions.

Willow felt a weird disparity; her body was buzzing with arousal, virtually bouncing with energy seeking to release itself, yet she found herself slowly and gently teasing her way up her Mistress' thighs, licking and suckling the soft, satiny flesh, grazing her teeth across it with little 'almost-bites'. It was as though she was two beings in one body- one seeking furious action and immediate release, the other was stuck in low gear, unable to speed up despite the pressure from her body. This dissonance was only serving to heighten the arousal in her, like a feedback loop; the pressure got higher and higher as she went.

Buffy moaned low and long as her pet finally made it to her extremely hot, wet center. Even though she was obeying- making it slow and gentle, Buffy could feel that it wouldn't take long for her to cum- she was so incredibly excited.

Willow began laving her Mistress' swollen labia with her tongue and lips- no teeth here! She couldn't contain her own groan of delight as she took in that rich, musky syrup; Goddess! she loved going down on her Mistress! Sure, she enjoyed games and toys and being tied up, but there was something so amazingly intimate and sensual about this act; both the way it made her Mistress feel- the overwhelming pleasure- and the way it made her feel- so special, so wanted.

Buffy had degenerated into continuous moans and groans as her pet laved and suckled- following her instructions, avoiding her clit and drawing it out. Something told Buffy that her pet would keep her on the cusp until instructed otherwise. When she couldn't take it any more, when the need to cum overwhelmed her she gasped out, "Now pet! Make me cum now!"

Though she didn't think about it, she nevertheless felt pleasure wash through her as her Mistress, in essence, begged for release. Willow immediately paid attention to Mistress' swollen clit, grinding small, fast circles over it with the tip of her tongue.

Buffy began to feel the muscles in her stomach and legs tighten as her pet finally moved onto her clit. Her groan transitioned into a high-pitched whine as the orgasm finally washed through her in long hard waves.

She finally had to gasp out, "Stop, pet! Stop!" as the attention to her over-stimulated flesh became almost painful in its intensity.

Willow backed off, nuzzling Mistress' thigh as she trembled through the aftershocks of her release. Willow felt her own body still buzzing on the cusp of orgasm.

Buffy was enjoying the pleasant buzz of post-orgasmic bliss. "Come up here, pet," she said, guiding the redhead so she was straddling Buffy's lap and laying up against her, skin to skin from the waist up. Buffy could feel her pet vibrating with anticipation and excitement; but she wasn't ready to do more than snuggle yet.

Willow was lost in subspace, her body responding to her Mistress' commands, but her mind was washed away but the desire coursing through her. She needed to cum before she would be able to think again- the only coherent thought in her head was the words 'please, Mistress please!' over and over again.

Buffy took advantage of their positioning, and her pet's greater height; burying her face in the redhead's neck and nuzzling the soft flesh of her throat. Her hands ran up and down the redhead's back, stroking from neck to ass.

Willow was getting more and more turned on, until she was almost crying at the intensity of the energy flowing through her.

Neither girl noticed that some of that pent-up energy was translating into magical power- the air was almost crackling with it, like the ionized charge in the atmosphere before a lightning bolt appeared.

When Buffy was ready to reward her pet, she moved her hands around to the sides of her body, stroking up, briefly caressing her breasts on the way up to her face. She put both hands into the wild mass of red hair and grabbed on, pulling her pet slightly away from her so she could look into her eyes.

Buffy marveled to see Willow's pupils dilated so far that there was almost no iris visible at all. Just as she was about to speak, her sensitive hearing caught the sound of her pet's voice- almost too quiet even for her to hear- as she chanted, "Please, Mistress, please!" over and over again. The Slayer decided to reward her pet by allowing her to cum as often as she wished, knowing the first orgasm would be only moments after she touched the redhead's dripping sex- as keyed up as she was.

That was as far as she got when Willow's eyes suddenly crackled with blue arcs of energy and the redhead screamed her release. Buffy didn't even have time to marvel at it before she was blinded by incredible brightness; it seemed the very air in the room itself was on fire. She saw a brilliant white flash and then nothing, as her body convulsed with pleasure- an orgasm rippling through her unexpectedly.

Willow didn't know what happened, all she knew is Mistress permitted her to cum and she did- powerfully. Her body was shaking like she was having a seizure as she writhed and quaked on Buffy's lap.

Buffy was rapidly blinking her eyes, trying to regain her sight. She felt like she was looking into a dark room through a bright purple fog. Her pet was draped on top of her, completely slack- as though she were unconscious- but Buffy could hear her as she groaningly whispered, "Thank you, Mistress," with each exhaled breath. "Oh My God!" she thought. She let go of the death grip she had on the girl's hair and pushed her away from herself enough to see her face, now tinged the same bright purple as everything else in the room. "Willow? What the hell just happened??" she asked, incredulous.

Willow smiled lazily, her eyes for some reason not impacted by the brilliant flash- indeed she was unaware that anything out of the ordinary had happened, beyond the intense orgasm her Mistress had just given her. "Mmmm, you just made your pet cum really, really hard! That's what happened, Mistress," She said lethargically as she still felt spent and boneless.

Buffy was seriously wigged out. "Willow! What was that flash? And how did you cum? I didn't even touch you! And me too… How?!" she trailed off, seriously confused and still trying to get her eyes to clear. Now the color had faded from bright purple to bright blue.

Willow heard the panic in Buffy's voice and pulled herself together. "What do you mean? I didn't see a flash… Well, beyond the normal… I mean I came really hard… What do you mean, you didn't touch me?"

Buffy tried to explain, "Willow, I was just about to, I was going to tell you you could cum as often as you wanted, but I didn't get it out, and then, Boom! big white light and, oh! your eyes had blue sparks, and then you were cumming, and I was cumming and…" Buffy's babbling ended as they both heard a muffled curse, and then what sounded like something fighting with a large leafy bush outside the living room window.

Buffy had Willow placed next to her and was up like a shot, not even bothering to dress as she ran across the room, opened the window, and jumped out.

Willow scrambled to put on at least her bra and panties before rushing to the window. She heard the sound of someone getting their ass kicked, and then had to swerve to avoid a body flying through the window. She was taken aback to see what looked like a scabby, gnarly miniature troll landing, unconscious, on the floor of her parent's living room.

A moment later the very naked body of the Slayer flew through the window, landing in a tuck and roll, popping up to her feet and taking on her defensive stance; fists up and ready, feet shoulder width apart and one slightly in front of the other.

Despite the demon laying on the floor in front of her, Willow had a hard time not laughing. Buffy didn't quite carry off the look of kick-ass warrior so well when she was buck naked.

Buffy was distracted by the quiet snicker of her lover. She looked over at Willow. "What?!" she said, slightly outraged.

Willow just gestured toward Buffy's body, still fighting the outright laughter threatening to spill forth.

Buffy looked down and saw her nakedness. "Oh," she said, sheepishly. Then she realized she'd just given everyone in the neighborhood that might have been looking out the window a free show. "OH! Oops!" She quickly found and pulled on her skirt and top, ignoring undergarments for the moment.

"What do we do now?" Willow asked as she started looking for the rest of her clothes, the question of what had happened between them just a little while ago was forgotten for the moment.

Her voice cold, Buffy said, "We tie this thing up, and then wake it up and ask it a few questions."

The ringing phone interrupted Tara and Joyce as they were laughing together over another childhood exploit of Buffy's- the one when a precocious eight year-old Buffy had come home from her first day of third grade complaining that boy's were gross and demanding to know why they were allowed to exist.

Joyce had laughed extra hard when Tara illuminated the double entendre by waggling her eyebrows and saying, "All the way back in third grade, Huh?"

Joyce's laughter died down as she saw the serious look on Tara's face when she hung up the phone. "What is it?" she asked worriedly.

Tara gestured for the elder Summers to follow her into the kitchen. She leaned close to her ear and whispered, "Buffy and Willow found one of Glory's minions spying on them. It told them Glory was having all of the Slayer's friends watched."

Joyce didn't bother to wonder why the spy had volunteered the information, and from Tara's saying 'it' rather than 'he or she', she deduced that the spy was not human. "What do we do?" she whispered back, suddenly afraid.

Tara smiled, no longer nervous or shy around 'mom'. "I'm going to scry and see if there's one here," she said, getting a bowl from the cupboard and filling it with water.

Joyce watched, fascinated as Tara set the bowl of water on the kitchen counter and began to softly chant in some foreign language. Fascination only grew as the reflection of Tara's face in the surface of the water faded and she saw another image take shape. It was an ugly, scabby humanoid, but Joyce didn't mistake it for human.

Tara concentrated, having found a demonic signature in the immediate surroundings of the house, she pulled the view away, as if reducing the zoom in a camera, so that she could see where it was, exactly.

Joyce couldn't hold back a gasp as the image in the bowl resolved and she could see that the creature was making its way around the house from where it had been apparently watching them through the living room window, back to the side of the house and the kitchen where they were now.

Using the view in the water to focus, Tara cast the spell she had used twice now on spike, sweeping the demon off of it's feet and smashing it's head against the ground. This didn't quite render the creature unconscious, but it was enough to stun it while Tara cast a different spell, leaving the creature tightly bound in a cocoon of garden hose.

Joyce felt amazement as she watched the scene unfold in the surface of the water. She could hear the muffled sounds through the open kitchen window, but the images in the bowl were silent.

Tara blinked, nonplussed for a moment by the question. "I- I suppose Buffy will ask it some questions, and maybe keep it for Giles to look at."

"But then what?" Joyce insisted, imagining she knew the answer and not sure how she felt about it.

Tara realized where she was going with this and blushed. It was easy to forget that, though she knew her daughter was the Slayer, Joyce hadn't really been involved in Scooby activities. "Uh, well… it is a demon…"

Joyce felt just the tiniest tendril of fear creep up her spine. It was one thing to know intellectually what her daughter did every night- to live with the fear that her daughter could be hurt or killed at any time, but it was something else entirely to be faced with the fact that her daughter killed things. Not just her daughter, but both the witches that she called lovers. Even Xander, the boy who she loved to watch eat her cooking with such relish, who joked incessantly about everything; even he went out at night and killed things. Not people, no- but still… Her 'children' were hunters. Their prey weren't animals, they walked and talked. They were intelligent beings. Evil, yes, but…

Tara understood Joyce's feelings. She had felt them herself when she had first become involved with the Scooby gang. She leaned up against the sink and crossed her arms below her breasts, looking at her feet as she said, "The first time I went on a patrol with Willow and Buffy, we were waiting for a new vampire to rise from the grave. It came out, Buffy staked it, and it exploded into dust. I thought, "Wow, that's incredible!" I was a little scared, but it all seemed so unreal. About the fourth time I went, there was some kind of demon; I- I don't know exactly what kind, but it looked like a normal guy, except for a big head and two little horns."

Joyce just stared at her as she paused in her narrative and blushed, looking embarrassed.

"Buffy killed it with an axe… it's blood was like purple slime and it got all over all of us…"

"Willow and Buffy both complained, but acted like it wasn't that big of a deal. Buffy even kicked the b- body… she was mad because… she said 'do you know how hard it is to clean demon slime off of suede?!' I- I got really sick…" Tara paused again before saying, "They both thought it… it was because the slime was really gross and smelly…"

"Buffy cut it's head off. I saw something get it's head cut off. This... it walked and talked just like… it looked like a guy in Halloween makeup, and she cut off it's head like it was nothing."

Only her sympathetic concern for the girl in the story kept Joyce from loosing the contents of her stomach. She realized that the girl in the story wasn't the same girl standing before her now.

Tara shook off the memories, looking at Joyce's sad/horrified expression. "They might look sort of like people, Joyce. But don't let that fool you. The evil ones would think nothing of doing the most unspeakable horrors to you, just for a laugh. They aren't people, they aren't human. They exist only to destroy life."

"Oh, no!" Tara said. "There are lots of supernatural creatures that just want to live and get by, just like us. Some of them look really scary too- lots worse than some of the more evil ones. That's why research is so important."

Joyce still looked upset, so Tara said, "Just remember," pointing to the wall where the demon was secured on the other side, "that works for Glory. And Glory wants the Key…"

That worked. Joyce's resolve stiffened when she realized that the thing outside her back door wanted to take her daughter away from her. It didn't know her daughter was the Key, but if it ever found out, it would take her away.

Tara saw as Joyce 'got it'. It was a hard thing, but once they had realized the stakes, realized that this was a war with the Scooby gang on one side, and literally the forces of hell on the other, it made it possible to take the risks they took, to do the things they had to do, and still maintain their humanity.

The next morning saw the whole gang, plus Joyce and Dawn, but minus Anya, gathered at the magic box. Everyone was tired. Giles was tired because he'd been up most of the night, researching. Buffy, Willow and Tara were tired because they had spent the night going to Xander's, Giles, and Janice's houses looking for more of Glory's minions. Joyce was tired because she'd spent the night lying awake in her bed, thinking about the three girls and what they were out doing. Dawn was tired because, duh- slumber party; teenage girls do not have sleepovers to sleep. Xander had gotten more sleep than any of the others. They hadn't even woken him up when they took out the minion spying on him. His sleep, however had been restless with nightmares. One didn't kill in cold blood- not even when the target was a demon like Spike- without one's conscience prodding one. He was also feeling trepidation about telling Buffy and the rest of the gang.

Before beginning the meeting, Willow and Tara cast a spell to determine if there was any demonic power in their area- they wanted to make sure there were no spies for their meeting. Tara blushed as they cast the spell, calling on the goddess Thespia. It was the same spell she had sabotaged the first time she and Willow had cast it, back when she still believed that she was part demon, and was trying to hide that fact.

Willow caught the blush and realized what was causing it. She gave her lover a wink and a smile, letting her know all was forgiven.

The spell showed that they were, for the moment at least, free from any demonic presence in and around the shop. It also showed what they all thought must be Glory's stronghold.

"Makes sense," Buffy said, once the witches had oriented her to their mystical 'map' of Sunnydale. "The park where I killed that cobra-thing is pretty much in a straight line between here and there."

Tara and Willow sat down at the table, while Buffy began to pace, telling everyone what they had discovered from the minions, which wasn't much. "Basically, they were supposed to watch me and everyone that I hang around."

Willow added, They pretty much all said the same thing- Glorificus instructed them to, 'watch the Slayer, watch her friends, and find out where the Slayer was hiding her Key'."

"That's good, though; right?" Xander spoke up, seeing the other two Summers' reactions. "That means she doesn't know about…" he gestured towards Dawn- circumspect even though they were supposed to be 'demon free'.

"Right," Buffy nodded. "We can't count on that to last, though. We need more information about how and especially when she plans to use the key." She walked over and sat down in Tara's lap, completely unselfconscious about it, and needing her Mistress' comfort right now.

"Did the excerpts from the book of Tarnis that the council sent you have anything Giles?" Tara asked as she absentmindedly rubbed the Slayer's back.

Giles looked up from the sheaf of papers he had been scanning. "There is reference made to a ritual th- that may be the one Glory will need to use… I'm trying to see if there is anything to cross-reference and confirm that," he started to explain.

Buffy perked up at the idea of having some information, any information that might help them. "If that is the one… where, when, and how?"

Giles, as was customary for him- and despite the fact that it always fell on deaf ears- counseled caution; "W- while it does seem likely, that this is the ritual she would need…"

With a resigned sigh, and ignoring the smiles of everyone else who wasn't Buffy, Giles, or Dawn, he said, "If, and again I must emphasize…" he broke off his disclaimer at Buffy's low growl and steely glare. "If this is correct, the ritual may only take place once in a century- when the stellar alignment matches…"

Giles dropped the sheaf of papers and took off his glasses. He pinched the bridge of his nose and said, "Two weeks from tomorrow night." He emphasized, "*If* this is correct- which I cannot be sure of until…"

Giles felt sympathy for the girl. Certainly this must be hardest on her, knowing only that some evil force wanted you for something- not knowing what, or how, or even why she was singled out for such a fate.

Giles picked up the sheet on top, put his glasses back on and summarized as he read, "Hmm, it requires the… living energy of… the Key… it is to be… flowed? Or perhaps poured… into a particular point in space and time… then the portal will open… and remain until the energy flows no more."

Giles once again set down the paper and took off his glasses, meeting the young girl's gaze sadly. "In most all living creatures, life energy is… blood."

Main What's New Fiction by Author Fiction by Pairing eBooks

Subject Index Submissions Gallery Forums Links Awards Contact Us

If you find problems on these pages please email your host.

Triskellion

by The Bear

Copyright © 2003

TheBear@papa-bear.com