The Power of Three Book Two

Parts 1-6

by DragonWriter17

Copyright 2006

dragonwriter17@aol.com

Rating: NC-17 (for language, violence, and sexual situations)
Content Advisory: This book eventually contains extreme violence, including torture and sexual assault. You can read Parts 1-6 safely. After that, the book turns dark. It does end happily, though, I promise.
Disclaimer: All of the materials borrowed from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel belong to Joss Whedon and to the entities and companies associated with their creation. I have borrowed them for creative and entertainment purposes only. No compensation has been or ever shall be received for the writing below. No copyright infringement is intended.
Distribution: Dragonwriter17's Cyber Lair: http://www.dragonwriter17.net/ If you are interested in posting my story on your site, please contact me first for permission.
The Mystic Muse:  http://mysticmuse.net
Spoilers: For Book One: The end of Season 4's "Wild At Heart" and beyond. For Book Two: None, really. It's mostly original material.
Feedback: Yes, but only if it's of the non-flamey variety.
Author's Note: (1) Early in Book One, I kept to the BtVS/Angel canon in some ways, borrowing directly from aired episodes; however, I have also made significant changes: eleting certain storylines, moving some, changing others, as well as adding some completely original plots. Book Two is mostly original material, but I have borrowed another character from BtVS but totally out of sequence of where he normally would be in the real show. You'll know him when you see him. (2) If you haven't read my back history story for Tara, "Out of Shadow into Light," you need to because it is critical to Book 2. (3) There's a side story that comes along in Part 13; it's called "Pony Time." Watch for the link embedded in the story. (4) Late in the book I've borrowed two things from Watchers: a ritual and a character (Althenea Dimmons). There is an endnote explaining what I borrowed. (5) Thanks as always to Lilly for her invaluable feedback and editing.
Pairing: Buffy/Willow/Tara; Wishverse Faith/Wishverse Vamp Willow
Summary: With the resident evils at all-time low, Buffy and Willow and Tara have time to focus on themselves--both on their new relationship and on their new powers. As they start the process of moving in together off campus, they become the target of a plot by Wolfram & Hart.

PART 01    PART 02    PART 03    PART 04    PART 05    PART 06
PART 07    PART 08    PART 09    PART 10    PART 11    PART 12
PART 13    PART 14    PART 15    PART 16


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PART 07

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It was night in the Wishverse, and Giles was in the dining room of the Mansion, concluding a meeting of the White Hats. Faith and Vamp Willow were there, as were Riley, Forrest, and several others from the Initiative. As the meeting broke up, Faith and Vamp Willow walked out of the room. Riley and Forrest were right behind them.

"Willow and I are heading out for patrol," Faith called over her shoulder to Giles.

"Sure you're up for it?" Forrest said, pointing out the fresh bite marks on Faith's neck. "Looks like you been letting Red here make some recent withdrawals." He appeared to be joking, but more than a little disgust was in his voice.

Without even saying a word, Faith nonchalantly elbowed Forrest in the face, bloodying his nose. Vamp Willow laughed and put her arm around Faith's waist as the two kept on walking.

Riley stopped beside his friend. "Man, when are you gonna learn?" he said, shaking his head.

Forrest was holding a handkerchief to his nose. "Geez, get a sense of humor, why don't ya!" he called out angrily to Faith, who ignored him.

Faith and Vamp Willow grabbed a few stakes in the foyer and headed out the front door. As they came down the steps, Vamp Willow suddenly gasped and put her hand to her chest as if she were in pain.

"What is it?" Faith asked.

The sensation had passed as quickly as it had come, so the vampire simply said, "Nothing."

When Vamp Willow shrugged it off, Faith did too, and they set out for their patrol.


Later that night in a nearby cemetery, Vamp Willow and Faith were in the middle of dealing with a large nest of vampires who had taken up residence in a crypt. Faith twirled and kicked one vampire into the wall of the crypt while quickly staking another. Vamp Willow wasn't using her stake at all. Instead, she was magically calling up small fireballs in her hand and slinging them into the vampires, incinerating them.

"Look at you," Faith said to Vamp Willow mid-fight. "Puttin' the fiery hurt on the vamps. Wicked! You're really takin' to this magic stuff."

"Yeah, I've learned quite a lot from Ethan," Vamp Willow said.

"I don't like that guy," Faith grumbled. "I don't trust him. I mean, he just shows up, Mr. Super Warlock, and we take him in without so much as a background check."

"We don't need a background check. He and Giles go way back. He knows all about Ethan's untrustworthy ways," Vamp Willow said. "Still, that won't keep me from learning everything I can from him." Vamp Willow shot Faith an arrogant smile. "Besides, I'm his star student." Then she sent out multiple fireballs that took care of the rest of the vamps all at once, including the ones Faith was fighting.

Faith turned and gave Vamp Willow an incensed look. "Excuse me," she complained. "Those were mine! Show-off."

Vamp Willow laughed. "Yeah, I wonder what my fuzzy other self would say about me now? I'd spell circles around that little--"

The redhead gasped as she'd done before, this time falling to her knees because of what was hitting her. Her hand flew to her chest, and she began panting in distress, not from the need for air, but from the intensity of the pain she was experiencing.

"Oh god..." Vamp Willow said in a choked voice, as tears started to stream down her face.

"Willow!" Faith said, running immediately to her side. "What is it? What's wrong?"

Vamp Willow paid Faith no mind and just let herself slip to the ground. She curled into a fetal position, crying even harder.

"Willow!" Faith called again, brushing the redhead's hair back from her face.

Vamp Willow gave a big sob and then abruptly stopped. Whatever had been assailing her had apparently ceased its attack. She drew in a few more hiccupy breaths and sat up, wiping the tears from her face.

"Will...babe...what's going on?" Faith asked, holding tightly onto the vampire's arms.

Still shaking from the ordeal, Vamp Willow said, "I-I-I don't know."

"C'mon, I'm getting you back to the Mansion," Faith said.

The slayer pulled Willow to her feet, and wrapping her arm firmly about the vampire's waist, she led her from the crypt.


Giles sat in his wheelchair with his back to the fireplace. Faith stood nearby, but Vamp Willow paced nervously.

"You said this was urgent. Are you sure you don't want me to call the others?" Giles asked.

"No!" Vamp Willow objected sharply. "You think I want Forrest and his Initiative buddies knowing about this?" The vampire growled and went back to pacing. "Vampires are not supposed to have breakdowns. They don't bawl their eyes out over stupid, human, emotional shit!"

Faith dropped her gaze, hiding a grin at Willow's tirade. She knew better than anyone how much these "touchy-feely" moments annoyed the vampire. Hell, she herself shared a lot of those same feelings.

"Especially when it's not even their own shit," Willow added in a huff.

"What do you mean?" Giles asked.

Vamp Willow stopped pacing then sighed heavily. "I think that what I was feeling was tied to my goody-two-shoes self over in the other Sunnydale." She thought for a moment. "I don't know what's going down over there, but it's bad. Really bad."

"Is it happening to Willow herself or to one of her friends?" Giles inquired further.

"I don't know," the redhead replied with a frustrated shrug.

"Well, we should just hop over there and see what's up, then," Faith announced.

Vamp Willow nodded in agreement, but Giles shook his head. "Absolutely not," he said firmly. Faith looked at Giles in shock. "You are the slayer for this dimension," Giles lectured. "You simply cannot leave it unprotected."

"We didn't have any problem yanking Buffy from her dimension," Faith pointed out, "and besides, we owe her...her and Tara both. They didn't have to stay and help us, but they did, and because of them, we defeated the Master."

"That's right," Vamp Willow added. "Besides, Willow could have let Buffy kill me, but she didn't, so I guess I owe her for that."

"Okay then, off to Buffyville!" Faith said, and she and Willow did a high five.

"Yeah, so get your boyfriend down here, and let's talk magic," the vampire witch said.

Giles got an insulted look on his face. "Ethan is not my--" A blush crept into his cheeks. "I don't know where you get such ideas," Giles insisted, folding his arms across his chest.

"Maybe it's the fact that he sneaks into your room late at night?" Faith said slyly, causing Giles to blush even more.


Giles and the other leaders of the White Hats were once again seated in the dining room for a meeting. Giles sat at the head of the table. On one side of him were Ethan, Riley, and Forrest. On the other side were Faith and Vamp Willow.

"So let me get this straight," Riley said. "Willow got a funny feeling, so she and Faith are going to do some risky ritual so that they can pop over to the other Sunnydale and see what's up?"

"They need our help," Vamp Willow stated firmly. "I'm sure of it."

"Your little 'soul seed' tell ya that?" Forrest asked snidely.

"That's right," Vamp Willow said, glaring at Forrest.

"How exactly were you planning to get to the other Sunnydale?" Giles asked, putting the conversation back on track.

Vamp Willow looked over at Ethan then said, "Well, we were thinking we'd use a modified version of the spell that brought Buffy here. In that spell, we reached out and made a connection with the slayer energies--in other words, Buffy--and teleported her here. We figure we can use that same connection, but instead of bringing her here, we send ourselves there."

"I can see how that would get you there," Giles commented, "but how will you get home?"

"The spell will work like a rubber band," Ethan explained. "The band will get stretched when we send them there. When it's time to come home, they'll simply release what's holding them there, and they'll pop right back."

"We'll need to set an anchor here, though," Vamp Willow added. "You know, so that we don't go flying off into the ether or ricocheting around dimensions."

"The timelines between dimensions aren't the same," Giles said. "How do you even know you'll get there in time to be of any assistance at all?"

"We don't," Vamp Willow said, "but I still think we should try."

"Riley and company can handle patrolling while we're gone," Faith said. "It's been nothing but the usual lately anyway. No hints of anything major brewing. Trust me, you won't even miss us."

Giles turned to Ethan. "Are you sure you can do this?" he asked.

"Ah, Ripper," Ethan quipped, putting his hand on his chest in dramatic fashion. "You wound me with your doubts."

"I'll take that as a 'yes'," Giles replied, rolling his eyes. He thought for a moment then said, "Very well."

Vamp Willow and Faith smiled excitedly.


In the "real" Sunnydale, Buffy and Willow and Xander were at the Three's new apartment, unloading the latest set of boxes from Buffy and Willow's dorm room. When they finished, they stopped for a break in the kitchen, quenching their thirst with ice cold bottles of water.

"Hey, did I tell you about this new show I saw?" Xander said. Willow and Buffy shook their heads. "Well, it's pretty good, but it bears an uncanny resemblance to what's going on here in Sunnydale. It has three witches whose house rests on a magical nexus of some kind, and they have to vanquish demons every week. Coincidence? I think not."

Willow and Buffy both made a scoffing sound, discounting the notion. "Yeah, right," Willow said.

"And when they go up against a really bad demon, they have to chant 'the power of three will set us free' three times," Xander continued, giving the girls a knowing glance.

Buffy and Willow exchanged nervous looks, then they chuckled and shook their heads. "Nahhh," Buffy said, leaning against the counter. "It's just a TV show."

"Well, I guess you're right," Xander said. "After all, on the show, the 'Three' are sisters, so there's no hot lesbian sex at all..." Buffy smacked Xander on the arm. "Owww."


Meanwhile, Tara was in her dorm room, finishing up packing her stuff. Anya was there with her helping. Tara stopped packing one box and looked over at Anya.

"Thanks for helping," Tara said.

Anya looked up and grinned. "Well, according to Xander's latest lecture on human etiquette, that's what friends do: they help each other move. Even when they don't want to."

Tara hid a chuckle at Anya's statement, knowing better than to be hurt by the former demon's blunt honesty. Despite her lack of tact, Anya had a good heart, and she was trying very hard to re-learn human ways and to be a good friend. Tara went back to packing.

Suddenly, a big ugly demon broke in the door to the dorm room, startling both Tara and Anya. The beast was about seven feet tall and had shaggy hair on its shoulders and torso. Between its coal-black eyes was a single horn coming out of its forehead. It roared and headed for Tara.

Tara held out her hand to cast. "Thicken!" she commanded.

As the air shimmered and thickened around the demon, he simply passed his arm through it and shattered the immobilizing spell. He rushed Tara and grabbed her by the arm. She screamed and started to fight back.

"Leave her alone!" Anya cried, picking up an unpacked lamp and crashing it over the demon's back.

"

"Tara!" they said simultaneously then dashed for the front door.

Xander ran after them. "What is it? What's going on?"


Back in Tara's room, Anya was hanging off the demon's back, beating him on the head with a candlestick. Tara was still locked in his grasp, desperately running through her repertoire of spells, none of which were working.

"Let her go, you big sasquatch!" Anya yelled, smacking him once again in the head.

The demon gave an aggravated roar and reached back for Anya. He ripped her off his back and flung her violently across the room.

"Anya!" Tara cried out when she saw the former-demon crash into the wall and slip to the floor.

The demon instantly turned back to Tara and savagely backhanded her, knocking her unconscious. When Anya groggily looked up, she saw the beast put Tara over his shoulder and haul her off through the broken door. Anya wobbled a moment, bleeding from her temple, then dropped back to the floor as she passed out.


Mere minutes later, Buffy and Willow and Xander arrived on the scene. They rushed inside and found Anya just coming to, pushing herself off the floor. They ran to her side. Xander pulled her into his lap.

"Anya! Are you okay?" Xander asked frantically.

"What happened?!" Willow said.

"Where's Tara?!" Buffy asked.

Anya blinked slowly, still a little disoriented. "It took her."

"It?" Buffy asked. "What took Tara?"

"Big demon," Anya said. "It broke in the door. We tried to fight, but it was too strong."

"Oh god, Buffy!" Willow blurted, the tears already coming.

Buffy turned and grabbed Willow's arms. "We'll find her," she reassured the witch, "but we've got to stay calm, okay?" Willow got herself under control and nodded. "I need you to call Giles. As soon as he gets here, we'll take Anya to the hospital. In the meantime, I'm gonna see if I can track this thing."

Willow sucked in a big breath and let it out. "Okay," she said and walked purposefully over to the phone.

Buffy went and kneeled next to Xander and Anya. "Anya, are you okay? We can call an ambulance if..."

"No," Anya said. "I'm okay. Go."

Buffy nodded gratefully then got up and rushed out the broken door.

Xander pulled a blanket from a nearby box and settled it over Anya. As Willow watched Buffy go, she waited anxiously for Giles to answer his phone.


Outside Tara's dorm, Buffy followed her senses. They led her around the front of the building to the side yard, where the demon's tracks could be clearly seen. She followed them to a small alcove. There, in the shadows of multiple trees, the trail just vanished.

Buffy looked from side to side, behind and in front of herself, but there was no sign of either Tara or the demon.


A couple of hours later, Willow and Buffy were sitting with Giles in the waiting area of the emergency room. They cast nervous glances toward the door to the treatment area. Eventually, Xander came through and walked over. Everyone immediately stood up.

"How is she?" Giles asked.

"She's okay," Xander replied, taking a seat. The others sat back down. "It's just a mild concussion. Nothing broken. Some bruises. She'll be fine." He tried to say this matter-of-factly, but it was clear that he was shaken by the event. "I can take her home in a bit."

"Good because we've got work to do," Buffy said. "We have to find Tara. And Anya's the only lead we have."

"Anya did say she got a good look at the demon that took Tara," Xander said. "If we find out what we can about it, maybe that will help us find her."

Willow and Buffy seemed encouraged by this news, gripping each other's hands tightly.

"What about this-this bond the three of you have?" Giles offered. "Can you use it to find Tara?"

Willow's face fell. "We've tried, and we can't..." Willow trailed off.

"We can't sense Tara," Buffy finished for her.

"Oh god, is she--?" Xander asked in a panic.

"No! No," Buffy answered immediately. "If she were, we'd know. A-A-And it doesn't feel like that."

"She could be unconscious," Willow suggested. "Or blocking us, I suppose."

"Or someone's blocking her," Giles said ominously.


Back in the Wishverse, Ethan was looking over his preparations for the portal spell. They had moved the furniture in the living room out of the way and set up the ritual there, directly in front of the fireplace. Faith and Vamp Willow waited nearby as the warlock made his final checks. At last, Ethan sighed in satisfaction and turned to the group.

"Is everything prepared?" Giles asked.

"Indeed it is," Ethan answered. "Shall we?" he gestured grandly for Faith and Vamp Willow to join him in the ritual area.

Vamp Willow immediately stepped forward, but Faith suddenly pulled her back. "Wait!" the slayer said. "You can't go like that," she told the vampire.

Willow looked down at her attire: tight black jeans and black boots, a low-cut white blouse. "I already dressed down so that I'd quote 'fit in' unquote," she said sarcastically.

"No, I mean, what if we get there and we're right in the middle of the football field at high noon?" Faith explained.

"Oh," Vamp Willow said. "Good point. So what we do?"


About a half-hour later, Vamp Willow trudged awkwardly from the downstairs bathroom and into the living room. She was wearing a hodgepodge of protective gear: a ski mask pulled over her head, a motorcycle helmet on top of that, a heavy scarf around her neck, a fireman's jacket and pants, and thick ski gloves.

Faith, Ethan, and Giles tried not to laugh but failed.

"I am not amused," Vamp Willow grumbled under the heavy visor of the helmet.


In the "real" Sunnydale, Buffy and Willow and the others were back at Tara's dorm, examining the scene of the demon's escape.

"You said you couldn't track it?" Xander asked, hovering protectively near Anya, who had a bandage on her temple.

Buffy nodded. "I tried, but it's like it just disappeared. Right there. See? Hundreds of feet of solid track, then poof! Nothing."

"Do you think it teleported?" Anya asked, patting the bandage on her head. Xander took her hand and pulled it away. She glared once then pouted.

"I don't know," Buffy said. "Maybe."

"But if it could teleport," Giles asked, "then why did it choose to break down Tara's door to get inside?"

"It's a sucker for a good entrance?" Xander offered.

"I can do a magic tracking," Willow said with confidence. "If it did use teleportation, there will be a psychic residue. I'll need to get supplies, though, and check something in your library." Giles nodded.

"Let's do it," Buffy said before leading the group away.


In a dank, poorly-lit, window-less room, Tara lay face-down upon the floor. Slowly, she came to, pushing herself up groggily.

"Anya?" she called out. She blinked her eyes several times and then took in her surroundings. She quickly realized that she wasn't in her dorm room, and Anya was nowhere to be seen.

Carefully, Tara got to her feet, wincing as some of the soreness from her fight with the demon made itself known. She touched her bruised cheek and then looked around the room.

It was a small room with cinder block walls. A single heavy metal door was on the other side of the room. An old metal desk and chair were to one side, along with a set of rickety filing cabinets. The room was dirty and filled with cob webs, apparently unused for some time. Various papers lay about the floor. The ceiling was low and un-paneled. The bare metal beams of the internal structure were visible as well as the electrical and plumbing duct work. Out of the four rusty light fixtures hanging from the ceiling, only one was working. Several bare I-beam-like columns ran from the floor into the ceiling. One wall was partially framed on one side, crossed with metal conduit that was part of the electrical system that would have been hidden behind the finished wall.

Tara went to the door and tried it. It was locked. She stood before the door and gestured at it. "Resera," she commanded. Nothing happened. She spoke the word again. The result was the same. A look of frustration came over her face, and she turned from the door.

Tara walked a few feet away. I've got to contact Buffy and Willow, she thought to herself. She closed her eyes and concentrated, gathering her energy; then she reached out and made contact.


"Willow! Buffy! "

Willow and Buffy were at Giles' apartment, sitting on the couch next to each other, conducting research with the others, when their heads shot up at exactly the same time. They both jumped to their feet.

"Tara?! " they said, sending their thoughts out.

"What is it?" Giles asked, hurrying over from his desk.

"I-I-It's Tara!" Willow blurted excitedly. "She's contacting us!"

"Tara, are you all right? " Buffy asked.

"I think so," Tara replied via their psychic link.

"Where are you? " Willow asked.

"I don't know," Tara said. "A room somewhere."

"Describe it," Buffy told the witch. "Tell us anything you can. We'll find you."

"Well, I think it's underground. A basement maybe? And it's--" Tara's mental message stopped.

Willow got a worried look. "Tara? What is it? "

"Someone's coming," Tara replied, but she didn't say anything else.

"What's going on?" Xander asked.

"We don't know," Buffy answered. "She was trying to tell us where she was, and then she heard someone coming."

"She's scared, Buffy," Willow said, reaching out to take the slayer's hand.

"I know," Buffy said, wrapping her arm around Willow.


Tara nervously watched the door as the old lock began to turn. After a hefty clank of the lock, the door swung open, and Caleb walked arrogantly inside the room, a proud grin plastered on his face. Tara backed away.

"Oh, good," Caleb said when he saw Tara standing. "You're awake."

"Wh-Wh-Who are you?" Tara asked.

"Caleb's the name," the dark-clad man said, "but I'm not the one who's important here, darlin'. You are." He closed in on Tara, who backed all the way to the unframed wall. "In fact, you're the key to ev'rything."

"What do you want from me?" she said, trying to sound brave.

Caleb smiled broadly. "Pain," he replied simply.

Caleb thrust his hands forward, sending two huge bolts of energy directly into Tara's body. She fell to the ground, screaming and convulsing, as the Caleb continued to zap her with a maniacal look of glee on his face.


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PART 08

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In Giles' apartment, everyone stood anxiously waiting for Tara to contact Buffy and Willow again. Buffy and Willow exchanged worried looks as they felt Tara's fear at her captor's arrival. Suddenly, Buffy and Willow screamed in pain and fell to the floor. Giles, Xander, and Anya looked on in shock as the two women thrashed about in a convulsion-like fit.

"Oh my god!" Xander exclaimed. "Giles, what's happening?"

"It...it looks like a psychic attack of some sort," Giles said.

"We've got to help them!" Anya cried.

"What do we do?" Xander asked desperately.

"Let's move the furniture so they don't hurt themselves," Giles replied, not knowing what else to do.

As the three pushed the sofa, chairs, and coffee table away from the two stricken girls, Buffy and Willow stopped screaming. They gasped frantically for air but remained on the floor. Xander and Giles and Anya moved quickly to their sides.

"Willow! Are you okay?" Xander asked.

"Buffy! What's happened?" Giles added.

Traumatized by their shared experience, Buffy and Willow were completely unaware of the others around them. The two sat up and reached out for one another.

"Tara..." Buffy whispered to Willow in a choked voice.

"Buffy! She's--"

"I know."

Willow collapsed into Buffy's arms, crying hard. Giles, Xander, and Anya pulled away, thinking the worst.

"Oh god..." Anya said, turning and hiding her face in Xander's chest. He wrapped his arms around her. Giles looked on with shock and grief in his eyes.


Back in the underground room that served as Tara's cell, Caleb was wringing his hands. They were still crackling with energy, but that faded as he powered down his magic.

Tara was on the floor, gasping for air, her muscles still jerking from the aftermath of his attack. Her blouse and skirt were covered with dirt from her convulsions on the filthy floor.

Caleb circled her then squatted down beside her, a gloating grin on his face.

"So, how'd'ya like my 'psychic scourge'?" Caleb asked her. "It's a fine tool, if I do say so myself."

Caleb's expression became one of haughty instruction, and he gestured overdramatically with his hands as he began to explain.

"You see, it's designed to attack the nervous system. It hits all the nerves in your body and fires them into pain mode all at the same time." He flashed a wide smile at Tara. "Excruciatin', ain't it?"

After his smile, Caleb put his hand to his chin and put on a fake look of disappointment.

"It does have one itty bitty drawback, though," he said. "I can't overuse it." He leaned closer and poked Tara's forehead several times. She jumped with each touch. "Why, if I used it too much, I'd fry that little brain of yours like overcooked bacon."

Caleb stood up and laughed. "But don't you worry, darlin' !" he said, beginning to wring his hands once again. "You ain't even sizzlin' yet." As the crackling began, Tara's eyes grew wide with fear.


Back in Giles' apartment, Buffy and Willow were recovering their composure. Giles knelt beside them to venture a question.

"Buffy, what is it?" he asked gently. "What's happened?"

Buffy turned to Giles. "Whoever or whatever's got Tara, he's...he's hurting her...bad."

"Oh god..." Willow seemed to fall apart again at Buffy's words.

"We can...feel what she's going through," Buffy explained, pulling Willow closer. "It's like it's happening to us."

"But she's alive, right?" Anya pushed for clarification. "He hasn't killed her?"

Buffy nodded. "Yes, she's alive."

"Well, then there's hope," Anya said firmly. "We just have to find her."

"Yeah, we'll find her," Xander said grimly, "and then we'll kill the son of a bitch who's--"

Giles cut Xander off. "Buffy, you said that Tara was trying to tell you where she was before...before she was attacked. What did she tell you?"

"Not much," Buffy answered. "She was in a room of some kind, underground. She was trying to describe it to us when she heard someone coming."

Willow touched Buffy's arm, making the slayer turn to her. "Buffy, she's hurting so much, we have to do something."

"I know, baby," Buffy said reassuringly, cupping Willow's tear-stained cheek. "And we will, we'll find her."

"Buffy, this bond of yours, between the three of you," Giles interjected, "do you think you could use it to contact Tara again?"

Buffy shrugged uncertainly. "Maybe. We've been working on it lately, trying to figure out what we can do with it, you know, opening and closing our mental shields. We can definitely feel what the others are feeling, especially if it's an intense emotion, but it's been hit-and-miss at best."

"Well, I think you should try," Giles suggested. "Perhaps with the two of you working in tandem, you could--"

Giles' words were cut off as another psychic blow hit both Buffy and Willow. Once again they fell screaming to the floor.

Giles reached out for the slayer and witch. "Buffy! Willow! Close your shields!" he commanded.

Buffy and Willow didn't seem to hear him and continued to convulse on the floor. Giles grabbed Buffy's arms and shook her.

"Buffy! You have to cut off contact with Tara!"

Buffy didn't respond. Giles grabbed both sides of Buffy's face and made her look at him. Through her pain, she met his gaze.

"Buffy! Close your shields! Now!" he told her again.

Buffy looked terribly distraught. She closed her eyes and shook her head. When Giles pleaded with her once more, she reluctantly slammed her mental shields shut. She was immediately released from the shared attack. She gasped in relief and tried to regain her breath.

Willow, however, was still fully in the throes of the painful experience she was sharing with Tara as she was attacked. Buffy crawled to her knees beside Willow and shook her, forcing the redhead to look at her.

"Willow! Close your shields!" Buffy told her girlfriend.

Willow shook her head. "No! I can't!"

"Baby, you have to!"

"No!" Willow sobbed. "I'm not...going to leave her...alone in this!"

"Will, you have to!" Buffy begged. "We can't help Tara if we're incapacitated! Baby, please! Close your shields!"

As Buffy's had before, Willow's expression became extremely distraught. But she did as Buffy told her and broke contact with Tara. Her convulsions instantly ceased, and she fell crying into Buffy's arms.


In the underground cell, Caleb was gleefully zapping Tara with his psychic scourge, sending bolt after bolt into her body.

The blonde witch was beyond fighting, beyond screaming, as she jerked uncontrollably on the floor. Finally--fortunately--her eyes rolled back in her head, and she fell into blessed unconsciousness.

Caleb noticed and ceased his magic assault. "Damn," he said. "Out already?" He let out a disappointed sigh.


A short time later, back in Giles' apartment, Buffy and Willow were recovering enough to talk. They were seated on the couch, which had been moved back to its normal place. The others hovered nearby.

"Buffy, I know this will be difficult," Giles said, "but, ummm, can you tell us what happened? Anything at all?"

Buffy took a deep breath. "I think...I think she must be unconscious. I can't sense anything." Buffy turned to face her girlfriend. "What about you, Will? Do you sense anything?"

"No," Willow said, shaking her head. "It's different now. Even after I closed my shields, I could still feel a little, you know, like when you can still hear the lawn mower through the door? But now, there's nothing."

Anya got a worried look. "But she's still...you know? Right?"

"Yes," Buffy confirmed. "Tara is alive. I think we'd know if...if she wasn't. But we have to find her and fast. I don't know what that monster's doing to her, but if he keeps it up, she won't be alive for long."


In the Wishverse, Faith and Vamp Willow were standing inside a small circle inscribed on the floor. Ethan stood outside their circle, but inside a larger circle drawn around the other. Giles was outside the larger circle, watching with interest.

Ethan went through a series of incantations then held up a small crystal in his hand. Vamp Willow held up a similar crystal in her gloved hands. The two began a call and response in a language Faith didn't understand. The dark-haired slayer watched with more than a little worry in her eyes.

Slowly, the edges of the inner circle began to glow, and Faith felt a wind-like force begin to whip around their legs. Just then, Ethan belted out the final line, and the portal opened.

"Hang on, baby!" Vamp Willow yelled from her motorcycle helmet as she tucked her crystal into her glove. "We're off to Oz!"

Faith wrapped her arms around Vamp Willow, and in a flash they were gone.


Back in "real" Sunnydale, the Scoobies returned to the outside of Tara's dorm, where the demon's trail had ended. Buffy, Giles, Xander, and Anya watched as Willow walked a weaving path through the wooded alcove. She waved a smudging wand before herself and whispered a chant as she moved through the area. When she was done, she returned to the group.

"What did you find?" Buffy asked.

"There's clearly a magic residue present," Willow answered.

"So the demon did teleport," Anya said.

Willow shrugged unhappily. "Looks like."

"But that means--" Xander started.

"Right," Giles said. "He could've taken Tara anywhere."

Buffy wrapped her arms around herself and looked at the ground. Willow frowned sadly before bending over to snuff out her smudging wand on the ground.


After the spell, the gang returned to Giles' apartment. All five trudged in, with heavy thoughts clearly on their minds. Anya and Xander immediately sat down in the living area. Willow stopped at Giles' desk and set her bag on it. Buffy walked a few feet away and just stood there by the hallway, a lost expression on her face.

"I'll, um, get out the necessary volumes," Giles said. Then he headed for the bookcase.

Willow walked over to Buffy and rested her hand on the slayer's arm. "Are you okay?" she asked softly.

Buffy stuffed her hands in her pockets. "Yeah...just gonna...head to the little girls' room."

"We'll start researching the demon," Willow said.

Buffy just nodded in response and then turned to go down the hallway.


Buffy shut the bathroom door carefully. She walked to the center of the small room and hugged herself tightly. Soon her shoulders began to shake, and tears began rolling down her face. She quickly put her hand over her mouth to muffle her cries.

Less than a minute later, Buffy jumped in surprise when the door opened and Willow came inside. Buffy tried to compose herself. She wiped the tears from her face and straightened her stance. When the slayer gave a nervous laugh, Willow pulled her into her arms, hugging her warmly. Buffy tried to stay strong but couldn't. She fell sobbing against Willow's shoulders, finally letting out all the worry and grief and frustration she'd been holding in. Willow cried with her, stroking her back and hair.

After a long cry, Buffy pulled away from Willow. She looked down at her hands, a sad and helpless expression on her face.

"I'm supposed to be action gal," Buffy lamented. "Slayer who saves the day." She shook her head ruefully. "I can't even find Tara, much less save her."

Willow reached out and touched Buffy's arm, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Buffy, you--"

"Why can't we sense her anymore?" Buffy asked in a choked whisper. "Do you think that she--"

"No!" Willow said instantly. "Don't even think that." Willow caressed Buffy's cheek. "She's still alive, and we're going to find her."

Willow gave Buffy a comforting kiss, which Buffy eagerly returned. Then the two just held one another, relishing the reassurance of the other's presence.


Later, in Giles' living room, the Scoobies were still hitting the books, researching the demon that had taken Tara. Anya and Xander sat on the couch while Giles worked at his desk. Willow and Buffy sat on the floor, leaning against the chair for support.

"Hey, I think I may have found something," Buffy announced. She handed the book to Anya, who peered at the picture on the page.

"That's it," Anya said. "That's Sasquatch, all right."

Giles got up from his desk, perched on the arm of the couch, and took the book from Anya. He studied the text carefully for a moment.

"Gorif Demon," he read aloud. "Large and strong, its defining characteristics are its shaggy shoulders and single horn in the forehead. Not particularly intelligent, this beast has no special abilities other than its inhuman strength."

"Nothing about teleportation?" Willow asked.

"No," Giles answered, shaking his head. The watcher got a confused look on his face. Then he turned to Anya. "You say Tara tried to use magic on it, but it didn't work?"

"Yes, that's right," Anya confirmed.

"Maybe this Gorif guy has an accomplice who's the magic guy," Buffy offered.

"Well, it would make sense," Willow said. "If Gorifs aren't too bright, then it could be that the magic guy is the one running the show and he's just using the demon to do his dirty work. He could have cast a spell on the demon to protect him from magic, and--"

"No, no," Anya said, interrupting. "The Gorif wasn't just protected. He was casting. It wasn't like Tara's spells just bounced off some protective shield that someone else put in place. The Gorif was actively casting counter-spells."

"Are you sure?" Giles asked. "Because that just doesn't fit what--"

"I don't care what the book says," Anya insisted. "I know what I saw."

Giles glanced around the group, a helpless look on his face. The others had similar expressions as they pondered what to do next.

"Maybe this demon isn't the demon," Xander suggested.

"No," Anya said firmly. "I swear that's the one."

"No, Xander may be right," Willow interjected, the wheels clearly turning in her head.

"I may be right?" Xander replied, looking surprised.

"Yeah," Willow continued. "What if the attacker was disguising himself--you know, to throw us off the track?"

"Interesting," Giles said. "A glamour perhaps?"


Later, in the underground room, Tara slowly awakened. Her eyes blinked in slow motion several times, then she opened them wider as if trying to focus. She went to sit up but found herself unable to since she was tied down to the old metal desk in the room.

Her wrists had been bound together with rope, and her arms had been pulled over her head and then tethered to that side of the desk. Additional cord had been tied around her ankles, pinning them to the legs of the desk on that end.

Tara looked up between her arms to find Caleb standing over her, smiling. Intense fear came over her face, but she took a calming breath and closed her eyes.

"Willow! Buffy! " Tara called out mentally to her girlfriends. She got no response. She tried again, but the same result occurred. She opened her eyes and looked at Caleb, the terror on her face even more intense than before.

"Whatsa matter? Can't git your girlfriends on the phone?" Caleb taunted. "I guess they got somethin' better to do." The dark-clad man stepped closer, wearing his familiar gloating grin. "Or maybe I just took your phone off the hook, so to speak. They don't need to feel all of it, anyway. They just need to know it's happenin'." Caleb reached over and ran a surprisingly gentle hand across Tara's forehead. "After all, we don't want them crashin' our party, now do we?"

"Why are you doing this?" Tara forced herself to ask. "What do you want?"

"I believe I have already answered that question," Caleb replied. "But don't you be frettin' about the why's and wherefore's, li'l darlin'. You've got quite enough to worry about with the what's and the how's and especially the how long's. Like...'what's he going to do to me next?' and 'how long can I hold out?' That sort o' thing."

Tara swallowed hard but didn't say anything else. She was trembling with fear, a fact that Caleb noticed. His only response to it was a slight smirk.

Caleb took a step back and cracked his knuckles by interlacing his fingers and bending them back. "Now, I love my 'psychic scourge', don't git me wrong," he said before making fists and massaging out a few more knuckle pops. "But that don't mean I have no appreciation for the traditional methods of pain infliction." He gestured dramatically as he continued. "After all, physical torture has a long and hallow'd hist'ry." Caleb scanned the full length of Tara's body, a look of gleeful anticipation shining in his eyes. Then he leaned over until he was right in her face. "Besides, physical torture leaves a permanent physical reminder of our time together."

Caleb straightened and then reached for Tara's blouse. When he started to unfasten the top button, Tara whimpered and closed her eyes. She began whispering a desperate prayer to her goddess.

Caleb laughed. "Oh, that goddess o' yours can't help you now," he said as he continued unbuttoning Tara's blouse.

That comment seemed to anger Tara, and her eyes flashed open. He ignored her, finished undoing her blouse, and spread it open. The blonde's defiance vanished when she saw Caleb materialize a large knife out of thin air. He twisted it several times in his hand, causing the blade to reflect the room's light. Tara began to tremble harder, with tears flowing freely down her face.

Caleb ran the flat edge of the blade along Tara's tear-stained cheek. A small, choked gasp escaped her mouth before she clenched her jaw tightly, clamping down on the other sobs trying to get out. Caleb pulled the blade slowly down Tara's neck, before turning and trailing it nonchalantly across her collarbone. Her chest was heaving as she panted in fear, but when Caleb passed the knife over her breasts, she instinctively sucked in her breath and held it, expecting the worst. She felt the cold blade slip under her bra between her breasts. She gasped and jumped when he suddenly snapped his wrist, slitting her bra up the middle and exposing her breasts.

Caleb pushed back the bra, brushing Tara's breasts ever so slightly. She felt the bile rise in the back of her throat, but she forced it back down. Caleb straightened up to admire his work. Tara looked at him as he examined her torso. Her eyes showed a glimmer of hope when Caleb zapped the knife away.

"You know I always thought that expression 'milky white skin' was just an exaggeration," Caleb said in amazement, "but I see now that I was mistaken." He leaned over and ran his hand between Tara's breasts and over her stomach. She jerked at his touch, but he didn't seem to notice. "It's perfect," he said, "just perfect."

When he stood up, he materialized something in his hand. It wasn't the knife he had held before. It was a metal rod, about two feet long, with a wood handle on one end, and an iron head on the other. It was a branding iron. As Tara watched with terror-filled eyes, Caleb conjured fire into his free hand and held the head of the branding iron in the flames. After a few moments, he withdrew the iron; its head now glowed an angry orange-red.

When Caleb brought the hot iron near her, Tara struggled uselessly against the bonds that held her. "Oh god, oh god," she repeated as he drew the item closer and closer to her skin. Caleb gave a savage grin as he thrust the branding iron against her stomach. She screamed as the hot metal seared into her skin.

As Tara panted through the initial pain, Caleb pulled the iron away. He smiled at the red brand left on Tara's skin, clearly pleased with the result. When he met her eyes, she managed to glare furiously at him, but that only pleased him more. Without moving his eyes from hers, he gleefully conjured up the fire in his hand once again.


Back in Giles' apartment, Buffy and Willow and the others were in a deep discussion, trying to develop a strategy to find Tara.

"So what's the plan?" Buffy asked. As her eyes turned to Giles, both she and Willow suddenly groaned in pain. They reached out for one another, but just as quickly as it had come, the feeling passed.

"Tara?" Giles asked softly.

Buffy nodded. "I think he's doing it on purpose. Blocking, then unblocking. I think he knows we can feel her. He's taunting us."

"He must be a very powerful warlock," Anya commented. "He can disguise himself, he can teleport, and he's somehow blocking your connection to Tara. That's pretty high-end stuff."

Giles nodded in agreement.

"So, how do we get around that?" Xander asked. "I mean, there's gotta be a way, right?"

Giles thought for a moment and then said, "The last time you tried to connect with her, you said that you could actually feel the barrier. Perhaps you could track it instead of Tara herself."

Willow lit up at that. "That could actually work," she said excitedly. "It takes a lot of power to maintain something like that. The energy signature would have to lead back to him."

"Can we track it on the fly?" Buffy inquired.

"I think so," Willow said. "Being on the move makes it harder, but I think we can do it."

Buffy stood to her feet. "Okay then, let's get some wheels and hit the road. We've got a warlock to find."


About an hour later, Caleb was finished with his branding. Multiple burns covered Tara's stomach and breasts. Several ran up her arms, and one was prominently placed on her neck, right next to her jugular. After zapping away his branding iron, Caleb waved his hand at Tara, and the ropes holding her untied themselves and fell away.

Tara was so exhausted from the physical and emotional trauma of Caleb's torture that she could barely move. She brought her arms down to her sides, but that was as far as she got before Caleb grabbed her hands and pulled her up to a sitting position on the desk. She swayed precariously on the edge, but he held her firmly in place as he met her eyes.

"You know I have to say, I'm impressed with how you're holding up," Caleb told her. "I imagined you just crumpling like a fragile flower, but you have quite the pain tolerance." He flashed a curious grin. "If I didn't know better, I'd think you'd done this before." Then he snickered wickedly. "Don't tell me you let the Slayer and your little Red Witch tie you to the bed and have their way with you?"

Tara shot an angry glare at Caleb.

His smile fell away, and he looked at Tara intently. "No, it's not that," Caleb said, thinking out loud. "It's something else. I think I'd better take a peek."

He wiggled his index finger at Tara's face, and her eyes grew fearful as she wondered what he was going to do. Suddenly, he magically sank his finger right into Tara's forehead. She shrieked in agony as her mind was invaded.


In the van they had rented, Xander sat in the driver's seat with Anya sitting shotgun next to him. An open map was on her lap. The engine was running, but the van was in park. In the back of the van, Buffy and Willow and Giles sat in a circle, chanting softly together. After the chant ended, the three sat silently for a moment, their eyes still closed.

"North," Willow said.

"North," Xander repeated uncertainly. Then he looked over at Anya.

"Just head out of town and catch Highway 10," Anya instructed.

Xander put the van in gear and did as he was told.


As Tara struggled weakly and uselessly against Caleb's violation, the warlock himself seemed energized and exhilarated by the experience. His eyes were closed, and his head was tilted back. An intoxicated-like grin was on his face.

"Oh I see," Caleb announced. "Daddy Dearest, huh?" Then he gave a small laugh. "Oh, and Brother Donny too."

He tilted his head back up and reluctantly pulled his finger out of Tara's head. She gasped in relief and nearly fell off the desk when he did so. Caleb easily caught her.

"Well, no wonder you've held up so well," Caleb said. "You've had years of practice." He gave a simple shrug. "That's okay. Just makes it more fun for me."

He yanked Tara off the desk and to her feet. She wobbled in place, almost too weak to stand, so he grabbed the front panels of her shirt and held her up with them.

"Why don't I make this a little more familiar for you?" he said.

Before her unbelieving eyes, Caleb morphed into the image of Tara's father.

"No!" Tara said, shaking her head and trying to pull away. "You're not my daddy!" she yelled.

He smacked Tara across the face, sending her to the ground. "Don't talk back to me, little girl!" he shouted as she went down.

She landed hard on her back. When Caleb came after her, she scrambled backwards away from him. "You're not!" she spat at him.

"Don't even try to deny it!" Caleb said, pointing furiously at Tara. "I saw the demon rising up in you, like a coiled-up snake, lifting its head."

He backed Tara against the unfinished wall and locked eyes with her. As Tara stared, terror-stricken, at her father's image, she became hooked into Caleb's illusion.

"D-D-Daddy, no, please, I didn't m-m-mean to," she whimpered, shrinking in fear before the disguised warlock.


The van was now on a twisting gravel road in a highly wooded area somewhere north of Sunnydale.

"Left," Willow called out from the back of the van. "We're close."

"Umm, I can't," Xander said.

"She said turn left!" Buffy yelled.

"I can't!" Xander insisted, looking back briefly. "There's no 'left' to turn to!"

When he turned back to face front, both he and Anya suddenly screamed. He slammed on the brakes, and the van came to a loud and skidding halt, making the three in back tumble forward and out of their circle.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Giles demanded. "Why are you stopping?"

"I ran out of road," Xander explained, pointing at the dead end sign inches from the front bumper.

"Oh," Giles replied.

"Okay, everybody out!" Buffy ordered. "We'll do this on foot."


Still in Mr. Maclay's form, Caleb stalked closer to Tara, who cowered near the unfinished wall, wishing she could just disappear into it.

"You never mean to, do you?" Caleb said. "But you just keep on letting it come out, don't you? It has to be beaten down, and you have to be punished."

"I'll do better, Daddy...I p-p-promise," Tara stuttered, without meeting her father's eyes.

"Take your place," Caleb said simply.

"Daddy, please...don't," she cried, not moving from her place at the warlock's feet.

"I said, take your place! Now!" he roared, frightening Tara even more.

"Y-Y-Yes, sir!" she answered instantly, crawling to her feet as quickly as she could.

Once standing, she faced the wall, reached up above her head, and took hold of the metal conduit inside the unfinished structure. She gripped it tightly then spread her feet shoulder width apart and tried to be still.

Behind her, Caleb materialized a riding crop in his hand. Tara could hear the familiar tap-tap of the leather crop in his palm as he drew closer.

"Daddy, please," she tried once more, not daring to look his way.

"Shut up!" he warned, raising his arm to strike.

WHACK!

The crop came down hard on her back. Even through her clothes, it stung and bruised.

WHACK!

He hit her again, beginning his assault.

In Tara's mind, she was back in her father's barn stretched over the ladder to the loft, crying out as her father laid blow after blow on her back, buttocks, and thighs. She could feel the rough wood of the ladder rung in her hands, she could hear the horses shuffling nervously, she could smell the manure and the hay. She bit her lip and prayed for her punishment to end soon. She gasped in pain with each stroke and struggled to remain both standing and still. She knew that to fall or to move would only mean additional punishment.

Slowly...ever so slowly....through the haze of pain...Tara's mind began to fight what it was sensing.

No...this isn't right, she thought. I don't live here anymore.

She cried out as an especially hard smack to the back of her legs caused her to lose her balance and fall to her knees.

"Get up!" her father demanded.

Tara closed her eyes and shook her head. When she opened them, the scene before her changed from the barn to the basement and back again several times.

No, no...I got away, she thought.

The image of the barn faded away, replaced by the image of the basement wall. Her eyes darted about until they settled on a large piece of jagged concrete beside her leg. It was the corner broken off a cinder block. She wrapped her fingers around it.

I got away, she said firmly in her mind as she brought the stone to her chest.

"I said get up!" Caleb screamed.

"You...are not...my father!" Tara said somewhat maniacally before screaming in rage, turning around, and braining Caleb with the piece of cinder block.

He crumpled instantly, but the blow took Tara to the ground with him. She landed on top of him, nose to nose. She immediately scrambled backwards away from him, holding up the brick in readiness. Luckily, Caleb was out cold. Tara dropped the brick and crawled away. She pulled herself to her feet and stumbled for the door. She left the small room and building and went outside.

"Buffy! Willow! " Tara screamed with her mind.


Buffy and Willow and rest of the gang were searching in the woods off the gravel road. Xander and Giles both carried small backpacks on their backs.

"We're close, I know it," Buffy said to Willow, who nodded in agreement.

"Buffy! Willow! " came Tara's mental cry. They stopped in their tracks when they heard it.

"Tara! " they called back to her.

"Are you okay? " Willow asked.

"Where are you? " Buffy added.

"I've got to get away! " Tara rambled almost incoherently. "I can't let Caleb find me! "

"Tara, honey, tell us where you are," Buffy said.

"We're close. Help us find you, " Willow prompted.

"What's happening?" Giles asked.

"Tara's contacting us, she must've broken through somehow," Willow said to Giles. Then she turned to Buffy. "Keep her talking. I'll track her."


Back in the underground cell, Caleb came to and groggily got to his feet. He touched his bleeding forehead and roared in anger. Then he rushed out of the room.

When he got outside, he scanned the nearby area, looking desperately for his escaped victim. Within seconds, he saw her stumbling through the brush. A look of savage hate came over his face.


"Tara, stay with me," Buffy told Tara. "We're going to find you. Describe where you are."

"Woods, trees, lots of trees," Buffy heard Tara say frantically. "Wait, tower, watch tower, like for--"

Tara's words were cut off by a mental scream.

Buffy started looking for the tower right when Willow pointed off in the distance. Over the highest reaches of the trees, they could just make out the top of the forest observation tower.

"Come on, this way!" Buffy cried out.


Tara screamed out loud as Caleb materialized directly in front of her. She tried to run, but he caught her by the arm.

"You little bitch!" Caleb yelled angrily. "You're gonna pay for that!"

He punched her violently in the face, sending her to her knees. He hit her several more times, before letting her slip to the ground, face-down and dazed. He stepped away and pulled a bandana from his pocket. He began blotting at the wound on his bleeding head, cursing to himself angrily.

Tara started trying to crawl away, pushing weakly with her feet and clawing at the leaf-strewn forest floor. He walked back over to her and kicked her hard in the side. She groaned in pain and tried to curl up into a fetal position. He yanked her arms behind her and tied them with his bloody bandana. Then he picked her up and threw her over his shoulder. He took a deep breath and teleported away.


With the others close behind them, Buffy and Willow rushed up a hill. When they reached the crest, they saw the tower not far away. As they struggled to catch their breath, they scanned the area, looking for any sign of Tara.

"Do you feel her?" Giles asked upon arrival.

"No," Willow said desperately. "We heard her scream and then pain and then nothing!"

"There!" Buffy said, pointing out a building just beyond the tower. "That building--it has to be!"

The group dashed off, heading that way.


Back in the building, Caleb threw Tara onto the old desk face-down, knocking the breath out of her. As she gasped for air, he kicked her legs apart and held her down with one hand while he pulled her skirt and underwear off with the other hand. Tara whimpered and tried to lean up, using every bit of strength she had left, but he grabbed a handful of her hair and shoved her back down, slamming her already bruised face against the hard metal of the desk. He quickly unbuckled his belt and unzipped his pants.

"No, please," Tara begged hysterically as she felt him move into place behind her. "Please don't do this...god, no..."

Caleb merely grinned and rammed himself into her.

As Tara sobbed and cried, he rode her roughly, laughing as he did so. When his laughs became ragged grunts, he grabbed Tara's hair and forced her head back.

"Time...to pay...for your sins...bitch!" he growled in her ear before magically sinking his free hand into the back of her head.

Tara screamed in agony as both her body and mind were violated at the same time. Caleb echoed her scream as he achieved his ecstatic release. Their screams ended simultaneously, and Caleb fell forward on Tara's now-limp form.

After regaining his breath, he pushed himself up with both hands, pulled his pants back up and fastened them, and re-buckled his belt. He stepped to the side of the desk and looked at Tara's face. Her eyes were open, but completely vacant. He reached up with his index finger and closed her eye lids one at a time, saying "Chuh-Ching" as he did so.


As Buffy and company reached a point about a hundred yards from the tower, they passed through an invisible shield of some kind. It shimmered when they went through it, and they felt its energy ripple across their skin. They stopped and looked around, expecting an attack, but none was coming.

"Did you feel that?" Willow asked.

Buffy nodded. "Be ready," she told the others.


In the underground cell, Caleb turned toward the door as if he had just felt Buffy and the others arriving. He smiled and looked back at Tara.

"Only one more thing to do," he announced.

The large knife materialized in his hand once again.

"After all, presentation is everything," he added with a sick grin on his face.


Minutes later, Willow and Buffy burst through the door. They rushed into the room with Xander and Anya and Giles right behind them. Willow and Buffy froze at the sight before them.

Tara was strung up by her wrists, hanging from ropes tied to pipes in the ceiling. She was completely naked with her back to them, her head hanging limply against her chest. A message had been carved into her back:

Slayer's bitch,
Witch's whore,
The weakest link,
Is no more!

"Oh, dear god," Giles said in horror.


==========================================

PART 09

==========================================

After helplessly staring at Tara for a moment, the group finally clicked out of their daze. Buffy took control and ran over to Tara. She gently tilted Tara's slumped head to the side and checked the witch's pulse at her neck.

"She's alive!" Buffy said excitedly.

"Oh, thank god!" Willow cried in relief.

"Giles, Xander, help us cut her down," Buffy ordered. The two men pulled off their backpacks and came over to assist. Buffy turned to Anya and pointed at one of the backpacks. "Get out the blanket."

Giles and Xander each took a wrist and cut the rope holding Tara in place. Buffy and Willow caught Tara and eased her to the floor onto the blanket that Anya had just laid out. They wrapped her up in it.

"Tara, baby, we're here, it's us," Willow said, crying and softly pushing Tara's hair away from her bruised and battered face.

"Tara, sweetie, can you hear us?" Buffy asked.

Tara's eyes remained closed, and she gave no response.

"We have to get her to the hospital now!" Buffy said.

Buffy scooped Tara into her arms and left the room.


A short time later, Xander was zooming down the highway, racing back toward Sunnydale. In the back of the van, Buffy and Willow held each other while cradling the unconscious Tara in their laps. They both cried freely while crooning encouraging words in their girlfriend's ear.

"Hang on, baby," Willow whispered as she stroked Tara's hair.


At the Sunnydale Hospital, Buffy rushed Tara into the Emergency Room, with Willow hot on her heels. They blasted right past the admitting nurse, who blustered toward them until Giles intervened, leading her aside to explain. As Buffy and Willow got Tara on a gurney inside the treatment area, the doctor came over.

"What happened?" the doctor asked.

"We found her, in the forest, like this," Buffy said. "Somebody took her and tortured her and--" A sob caught in Buffy's throat, and she couldn't go on.

"Do you know her?" he asked.

"Yes," Buffy said, having regained her voice. "Tara, her name's Tara."

"Does she have any medical conditions, allergies?"

"Shrimp!" Willow interjected anxiously. "She's allergic to shrimp."

"No, I meant any allergies to medicines," the doctor said.

"Oh. Right. Stupid," Willow said, hanging her head.

Buffy took Willow's hand in hers but kept her eyes on the doctor and answered his question. "I don't think so. She's never said."

"That's okay. We'll take care of her," the doctor said. "If we need any more information, we'll contact you in the waiting room."

"But--" Buffy started to object to the doctor separating them.

"You've done all you can for now," he told them. "Leave the rest to us. We'll update you just as soon as we can, I promise."

When the doctor gestured at the door, Buffy and Willow reluctantly left the treatment area.


When Buffy and Willow trudged unhappily into the waiting area, Xander and Anya rushed over.

"How is she?" Xander asked.

"We don't know," Buffy answered. "They just started on her."

"They'll let us know something as soon as they can," Willow added.

They all stood there, saying nothing for a moment.

"She'll be okay," Xander stated. "We found her, she's alive, so she'll be okay."

Buffy nodded, trying to be hopeful and agree with Xander's words. Willow began to cry and crumpled onto a nearby bench. Buffy went with her. The two just held one another and cried.

Xander and Anya were at a loss at what to do. They finally just sat down on the same bench, Xander next to Willow and Anya next to Buffy. They put a comforting hand on the backs of the distraught girls and waited.


About an hour later, Giles re-joined the group, having filled out all the requisite paperwork for Tara's admission to the hospital. It had taken a while to explain the unique relationship that the Scoobies shared, but once Giles supplied the necessary legal documents proving that he and the others were all health proxies for one another, the admitting nurse gave him no further difficulties.

"Have you heard from the doctor yet?" he asked upon his return.

Buffy shook her head.

"Here he comes now," Xander said, pointing behind Giles.

The doctor came over to the group. They all stood to greet him. "Are you Tara's family?"

"Yes, we are," Buffy said.

"How is she, Doctor?" Giles asked.

"Stabilized, but still critical," the doctor replied. "Unfortunately, her brain activity indicates that she's...well, she's in a coma essentially."

Willow whimpered. Buffy shored her up.

"She was beaten very badly, but she doesn't appear to have any broken bones or internal bleeding. We're going to do some x-rays and scans to be sure, of course." The doctor looked down and cleared his throat before looking up and continuing. "The, um, the other injuries...the cuts and burns and the, um, the sexual assault...they're not life-threatening."

"Oh god..." Willow cried before slipping back down to the bench. Buffy wrapped her arms around Willow, and the two of them went back to crying.

The doctor shifted on his feet nervously before moving closer to Giles. He lowered his voice and said, "I know you're all very upset, but...I'm required to report things like this to the police and..." He shrugged and trailed off, not knowing what else to say.

"I understand, Doctor," Giles said. "Please keep us informed of her progress?"

The doctor nodded and went back inside the treatment area.


Hours later, Buffy was sitting on the bench, staring off into space. Willow was lying on the bench with her head in Buffy's lap. Buffy absently stroked Willow's back. On the bench next to them, Xander and Anya were huddled together, leaning on each other's shoulders, sleeping. Giles was walking out of the waiting room with Joyce, headed for the vending area down the hallway.

An orderly in white scrubs pushed an empty metal cart with a broken clanging wheel through the ER, earning him glares from the Scoobies. Once he was gone, the group closed their eyes once again.

The orderly went to the elevator that was near the ER. He pushed the down button, waited for the car, and entered it once it arrived, clanging the metal cart over the jamb loudly.

When the doors opened again, he was in the basement. He rolled the cart out and clanged down the hall a short ways before entering a set of double doors. Inside the doors was a makeshift office: desk with chair and lamp and phone, filing cabinets, a computer station. Around it were clumps of broken wheelchairs, gurneys, and carts and other unused hospital equipment. He parked the cart and sauntered over to the station, where a white-clad woman was sitting in the chair looking bored.

The orderly reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes.

"You ready for a smoke break?" he asked.

"Yes!" the woman said enthusiastically as she got up from her chair. She glanced down the hallway toward a room whose light was on, then turned back to the orderly. "Let's go," she said.

The two of them walked through the double doors to the elevator and pushed the call button. When the elevator arrived, they entered and closed the doors, and the elevator started its way up.

Back in the now-empty office area, a huge whoosh hit the room. The lamp fell over and off the desk, and file folders blew open, sending papers everywhere. A portal was opening. Within seconds, Faith and Vamp Willow came tumbling out of it and slammed into an abandoned gurney, sending it crashing into a clump of metal tables. As the portal dissipated, they both groaned and sat up. Faith was the first to get up. Vamp Willow was slower because of the protective gear she was wearing.

"Where are we?" Vamp Willow asked as she pulled off her motorcycle helmet and ski mask. She gave her hair a fluffing.

"A hospital, looks like," Faith answered. "Some kind of storage area maybe?"

Vamp Willow finished taking off her bulky getup. "A hospital? Why would we end up here?"

"I don't know. Wasn't the spell supposed to tap into the slayer energies?"

"Supposed to," Vamp Willow replied.

"Well, maybe Buffy's here in the hospital," Faith said. "If she's like me, she's been to the E.R. more times than she can count. Let's look around."

Vamp Willow noticed the lighted room down the hallway. "There," Vamp Willow said, pointing at the door. The two headed that way.

When they reached the room, they realized it was a working patient room. Faith took the lead and went inside. A curtain on the far side hid part of the room. Faith slid the curtain aside slightly.

From behind Faith, Vamp Willow asked, "What is it?"

"It's me," Faith said in a shocked but calm voice.

"What?" Vamp Willow pushed the curtain aside so that she could see. She froze in place. Her mouth dropped open.

In the hospital bed lay the pale body of this world's Faith, still comatose since her battle with Buffy the night before Graduation Day.

"Holy shit!" Vamp Willow said.


Moments later, Faith and Vamp Willow were still in shock, staring at the comatose woman in the hospital bed.

"What happened to me?" Faith asked, upset. "Why am I here?"

Vamp Willow shrugged uncertainly. "I don't know."

"Buffy and Tara never said anything about my counterpart when they were in our world," Faith said. "What about when you were here?"

"Nope, never saw her, and I really don't remember them mentioning her."

Faith went to the end of the bed and pulled the chart from the slot. "Chart says I've been here...she's been here...since May of last year."

"She's been in a coma all this time? Even with slayer healing?" Vamp Willow noted. "Damn."

"If she's in such bad shape, then why's she stuck down here?" Faith asked, anger entering her voice. "I mean, shit...she's thrown down here like another piece of fuckin' broken equipment!"

"Look, we can ask the others when we see 'em okay?" Vamp Willow said, giving Faith's arm a squeeze. "For now, let's just do what we came here to do: find Buffy and see what's going on."

Faith nodded at that and didn't say anything else.


Faith and Vamp Willow took the elevator up the ground floor. It opened near the ER. Faith walked out of the elevator and headed for the main exit. Vamp Willow didn't follow; instead, she hovered at the door to the ER.

"Faith," she called out, drawing the slayer to where she was standing.

Together they both looked inside and saw Buffy's face across the room. They rushed inside the ER waiting room and found Buffy on the bench with Willow in her lap.

"Oh, man, we're too late," Faith said to Buffy, who was staring at the Wishverse duo in shock.

"What happened to Willow?" Vamp Willow asked, kneeling down and putting her hand on Willow's arm.

Willow awakened groggily. "Whuh...what is it?" Then she saw Vamp Willow. "Ahhhh!" she yelped and scrambled closer to Buffy.

At the yelp, Xander and Anya woke up. When Xander saw Faith, he screamed too and pointed at the brunette. "Ahhh, evil slayer, evil slayer!"

Giles and Joyce returned just then and stood protectively behind the Scoobies and glared at the two intruders.

Faith and Vamp Willow backed away. This was not the welcome they expected.

"No, no!" Buffy interjected frantically to the group. "She's not evil! That's Bizarro Faith."

"Gee, thanks," Faith deadpanned. "That's way better than 'evil slayer, evil slayer'."

"This is Faith and Willow from the Wishverse," Buffy explained.

Xander and the others took on an "oh" expression. Anya gave a pleased smile. "I was always awfully proud of that wish," she said. She stopped smiling when Giles frowned at her.

"What are you doing here?" Buffy asked, getting to her feet.

"Red here got some bad vibes from Willow," Faith said. "We thought we'd better come see what was up."

"But Willow's okay," Vamp Willow noted. "Maybe Ethan did get it right, and we're here before it happens."

Faith shook her head worriedly. "No, something's already happened, hasn't it?" she asked.

Willow nodded, tears falling again.

"It's Tara," Buffy said.


About an hour or so later, Faith and Vamp Willow sat with the Scoobies in the ER waiting room, getting the scoop on what had happened.

"So, let me see if I've got this," Faith said. "This evil law firm in L.A. hired this Caleb guy to attack Buffy and Willow and Tara because of this power-of-three-guardians-of-the-hellmouth thing. Caleb kidnapped Tara and left her for dead, but you found her in time."

"Why didn't the so-called 'curse' kick in?" Vamp Willow asked. "Shouldn't Caleb have gotten some kind of karmic lightning bolt or something?"

"Well, we don't actually know for sure that he didn't, but...I imagine that the curse failed to activate because Tara never died," Giles said.

"Maybe that was Caleb's plan all along," Buffy suggested. "Hurt us but not kill us."

"It's devious, but effective," Anya noted.

"No kidding," Xander agreed. "With Tara alive but out of the picture, there's no Power of Three and no curse to worry about."

"But why is this L.A. group going to so much trouble to hurt Buffy and Willow and Tara?" Joyce commented. "They're not even in L.A. What is this group up to? What's so important that the Power of Three has to be crippled?"


In L.A., Holland was meeting with Lilah in his office. While they were mid-discussion, Holland's private line rang. He picked up the receiver and put it to his ear.

"Yes?" he answered. After hearing who it was, he smiled. "Ah, Caleb. One moment please." Holland put the call on the speaker. "You have news?"

"Indeed I do," Caleb said over the speaker. "I bring good news from Sunnydale," he bragged. "Stage one is complete."

Holland's expression brightened into a smug smile. Lilah looked on anxiously.

"Excellent," Holland said. "And who was the 'unfortunate' target?"

"Well, they all were, thanks to that wonderful connection they share," Caleb said with a laugh. "But it was the blonde witch who earned my special attentions. She was...well, lemme just say that I haven't had such a pleasurable assignment in quite some time."

"And you're certain that she's out of the picture?"

Caleb gave a loud scoff, which Holland took as an affirmative answer.

"Very well. Once my contacts have verified the assignment's completion, your payment will be wired to the account you specified," Holland said.

"Why, thank you," Caleb said happily. "It's been a pleasure doin' business with you. Should I move on to stage two? Or have you changed your mind on that one?"

Lilah cast a shocked look in Holland's direction, as if she suspected what the elder lawyer had in mind. Holland ignored her. "Maintain surveillance," he told Caleb. "We'll talk about stage two later."

"Will do," Caleb said cheerfully.

Holland ended the call and hung up the phone. He turned to Lilah and stared at her hard, daring her to question him. She opened her mouth as if to speak, but then closed it and glanced away. Holland smiled and leaned back in his chair.

"I take it you don't approve," Holland said, offering Lilah the chance to speak her mind.

Lilah turned her eyes back to her boss. "I'm just concerned, sir. What you're doing...it's risky."

"Lilah, my dear, great accomplishments always come out of great risks," Holland lectured. "That's how I've gotten to where I am now, and it's how I'm going to earn myself an elevation to senior partner." He paused for a long moment, then gestured grandly at his office. "Which would, of course, leave a vacancy in my current position."

Holland stopped again, allowing Lilah time to consider the implications. As he expected, her eyes flashed with greedy ambition. She covered it up quickly, but Holland had already seen what he had wanted to see. He smiled wickedly.

Lilah crossed her arms and returned his smile. "What's next?"

"Oh, plans within plans," Holland replied. "There is so much more at stake than you can possibly imagine."


Back in Sunnydale Hospital, the Scoobies were still deep in discussion with Faith and Vamp Willow when the doctor entered the waiting room and came their way. Once again, they all stood, anxious to hear what he had to say.

"Doctor?" Buffy prompted.

He gave a sweeping nod as a greeting to the group. Then he turned to Buffy and Willow, who had taken a step forward to meet him.

"How is she?" Willow asked.

"We've done all we can here in the E.R.," the doctor said. "She's stable enough, so we've moved her to a private room."

"Can we see her?" Buffy pleaded.

"Yes," he replied. "Just get the room number from the admitting nurse, and remember, not too many visitors. Two or three at the most at a time, okay?"

"Of course," Buffy said, nodding enthusiastically.

As the doctor turned to go, Willow grabbed his hand and held it. "Thank you," she said with deep sincerity. Buffy added her hand to echo Willow's statement. The doctor merely smiled, pulled away, and returned to the treatment area.

The Scoobies immediately engaged in a group hug, taking some comfort in the fact that Tara was stable enough to be moved. Faith and Vamp Willow stood awkwardly nearby, still very much the outsiders in all this.

After the hug, Buffy and Willow rushed over to the nurse's station and soon left the E.R. to find Tara's private room.


After Willow and Buffy left the E.R.'s waiting room, the Scoobies turned back to each other. The smiles of relief that had been on their faces faded when they considered all that lay ahead of them. As a heaviness returned to the mood, Giles and Joyce unconsciously moved into each other's arms in a sideways hug; Xander and Anya did the same. But no one spoke.

Faith looked over at Vamp Willow then cleared her throat and stepped into the group. "So, um, what do we do now? I mean, what can we do to help?" The Scoobies moved apart slightly and turned to the pair.

Giles pushed his glasses up on his nose and said, "Well, um, I think it would be very helpful if you two could handle patrol for the time being."

"No prob," Faith assured them. "We can do that. You got a place we can crash?"

"Yes...my apartment," Giles said. "I can take you by there. Joyce?"

"I'll stay here," she replied. "Someone needs to stay here with the girls."

Giles nodded at that then said, "Oh, and someone should call Angel, let him know what's happened."

"I'll do that," Xander said. "I've got his number back at my place."

"All right then, meet back here later?" Giles said.

Everyone nodded, and the group broke up, with Joyce heading to the nurse's station and the others moving toward the exit.


Meanwhile, upstairs in the hospital, Buffy and Willow eased into Tara's room. Holding hands, they anxiously approached her bed. They crossed to the far side, away from the I.V. and the electronic equipment monitoring her vital signs. The girls' faces creased in pain when they took in the sight of the injured blonde.

Tara appeared to look worse rather than better. The bruises on her face that had before been merely red and slightly raised were now dark purple and fully swollen. Butterfly closures were taped along a nasty cut on her forehead. Light gauze bandages covered the brand marks on her neck and arms. She was breathing on her own, but she was so pale and still that she seemed to be barely alive. Thankfully, the heart monitor indicated a faint but steady rhythm.

Willow let out the sob she'd been holding in and reached out to touch Tara's arm. She stopped inches above it, not wanting to touch her anywhere that might hurt. She settled on just taking her hand. With her own tears flowing, Buffy stroked Tara's hair several times then rested a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"I'm so sorry," Buffy whispered.

"Please come back to us," Willow said in a choked voice. "Please..."

Their cries came in earnest then, and the two fell sobbing into each other's arms. They were crying so hard that they didn't hear Joyce come inside. She went instantly to them and pulled them into a warm, comforting embrace. They wrapped themselves around the older woman, seeking solace in the mother's touch.


Having been by Giles' apartment, Faith and Vamp Willow were now on their way to patrol in the last few hours of darkness. Carrying their borrowed weapons, they approached one of the many graveyards in Sunnydale. Neither had had much to say since they had left Giles' place.

"Weird seeing a stand-up Giles, isn't it?" Faith commented, breaking the silence.

"Yeah," Vamp Willow said flatly before looking up and seeing the cemetery's gate. "Oh, good. We're here. I so need to kill something right now."

"You and me both," Faith agreed grimly.

The two determined White Hats entered the graveyard, gripping their weapons tightly and hoping for demon prey to be awaiting them.


In L.A., Angel was just coming in from a long night of demon hunting. He took off his jacket and headed for the bathroom to wash up. He stopped when the phone rang. He wondered who would be calling at such a late hour. He walked over and picked up the receiver.

"Hello?" he answered.

He listened intently for several moments. Then his face tightened into barely-contained fury.

"Don't worry, Xander," he said through clenched teeth. "Somebody's definitely going to pay, and I know just who to start with."


==========================================

PART 10

==========================================

"Do you have any other questions?" the neurologist asked as he stood in the hallway outside Tara's hospital room.

Buffy and Willow looked at each other and shook their heads. Joyce smiled and held out her hand. "Thank you, Doctor."

The doctor shook Joyce's hand, gave a small smile to Buffy and Willow, then headed down the corridor. He passed two detectives in dark suits, one male and one female. The two police officers approached the three women and caught them before they went back inside the hospital room.

"Excuse me," the male detective said. "I'm Lieutenant Land, and this is Sergeant Dunn. Are you Miss Maclay's family?"

"Yes, we are," Joyce replied.

"Are you one of the people who brought her in?" As Land asked the questions, Dunn began taking notes.

Joyce started to reply, but Buffy broke in. "No, that would be us," she said, pointing to herself and Willow.

"And you are?"

"Buffy Summers."

"Willow Rosenberg."

Detective Land looked at Joyce.

"I'm Joyce Summers," she said. "Buffy's mother."

"Thank you," Land said. "Dr. Salinger in the E.R. filed a report regarding Miss Maclay's condition. We're here to investigate the alleged attack."

"It wasn't 'alleged'," Buffy said hotly. "Take one look at her and you'll--"

Joyce put her hand on Buffy's arm and called her daughter's name. Buffy backed down but still cast an angry glare at the officers.

Land softened his tone. "Look, we're just trying to find out exactly what happened." Buffy gave a reluctant nod, and Land went on. "Start at the beginning...tell us what you know."

"We were moving to a new apartment," Willow said. "Me and Buffy and Tara. Tara was back at her dorm room packing."

"We'll need her room number," Dunn interjected without looking up from her notes.

"Sure," Willow said. "Anyway, we found Tara's dorm room broken into. The door was busted in, a-a-and Tara was gone."

"The place was trashed," Buffy added. "Like there'd been a big fight."

"We didn't know what had happened to her," Willow added. "We just started looking everywhere--"

"And you didn't call the police?" Land asked.

Buffy and Willow looked at one another. "No, we didn't," Buffy answered without elaborating.

Land and Dunn stared at Buffy and Willow for a moment. When the two girls didn't say anything else, Land said, "Go on."

"Later, she must've gotten away from whoever took her because she contacted us," Buffy said. "We rushed to where she was, and--"

"Who's 'we'?" Land asked. "Just you two?"

"No, me and Willow and Giles and Xander and--" Buffy explained.

"And that's all," Willow interjected, stopping Buffy from saying Anya's name.

Buffy looked at Willow a moment and nodded. "Right. That's all."

"We'll need their full names and numbers," Dunn said.

"Okay. Anyway, that's when we found her like we did."

"Where was that?"

"In the forest reserve north of town, in the building next to the watch tower."

"And how did she contact you? Was there a certain number she called?"

"Umm..." Buffy hesitated, unsure of how to answer. She looked at Willow.

"Oh my god! They want to know how she contacted us. What do we tell them? " she said mentally to Willow.

"W-W-Well, we can't tell them it was a cell phone or something. They'll check," Willow answered. ""

"The truth?! They'll think we're crazy! "

Willow shrugged and turned back to the detectives. "Umm, well, actually...that's the weird part," she said, giving an embarrassed chuckle. "I-I-I know this is gonna sound totally crazy, but...Tara's kinda, well, slightly psychic. She contacted us with her mind."

Dunn froze and looked up from her note-taking. Land's mouth had dropped open. "She contacted you with her mind?" Dunn asked incredulously.

"Yes," Willow said. Buffy added a corroborating nod.

"Ohhh-kaaaay," Dunn said and went back to her note-taking.

Land had recovered from his shock. He cleared his throat and said, "And when you got to the watch tower, what did you find?"

Buffy started to speak but couldn't. She turned to Willow.

"We found Tara..." Willow stopped, also unable to go on. Joyce put a hand on each of the girls' backs.

"I know this is difficult," Land said, "but we need to know everything."

Buffy took in a shaky breath. "We found Tara hanging from the ceiling, strung up by her wrists," Buffy said. "She was...naked...with her back to us. I think he wanted us to see what he had done to her. Particularly the message."

"Yes, the message," Land commented. " 'Slayer's bitch, Witch's whore, The weakest link, Is no more.' Any idea what that means?"

Buffy and Willow exchanged pained looks. Then Buffy turned back to the detectives. "No, not really," she said. "Sounds like crazy serial killer talk to me."

"Do you have any idea who might have done this?"

Buffy and Willow sadly shook their heads.

"We'll check out Miss Maclay's room and the watch tower, collect what evidence we can," Land said. "We'll need to speak with you again after that. We'll need Miss Maclay's dorm room and the names of numbers of those who were with you when you found her."

Dunn turned to a clean page in her notebook and handed the notebook and her pen to Buffy. Buffy nodded and began writing down the necessary information. Land pulled out several business cards and handed them to Willow.

"If you think of anything else, please call us," Land said. "And we're very sorry for what's happened to your friend."

At that, the two detectives walked away, allowing Willow and Buffy and Joyce to go back inside Tara's room.

"They're not telling us everything," Dunn commented as they headed down the hallway.

"No kidding," Land replied grimly.


In the Harris basement, Xander and Anya fell back into the bed, their nude bodies glistening with sweat. Both were breathing hard. After they had caught their breath and cooled off a bit, they snuggled back together.

"Feel better now?" Xander asked.

"Yes, thank you," Anya replied sincerely, running her hand over Xander's chest.

"Good, I aim to please."

Anya leaned up on her elbow. "But we really need to do this more often. We could die at any moment, and the last thing I want to do is to die thinking, 'Gee, I sure wish I'd had sex more often.' I mean, if we're going to be stuck in these fragile, mortal bodies, we'd better get every ounce of pleasure we can squeeze out of 'em. Am I right?"

Xander smiled indulgently at Anya. "You betcha," he said before kissing her forehead and pulling her down into his arms once again.


Meanwhile, in his apartment, Giles was leaning over his desk, talking on the phone. A legal pad covered with notes was before him. The former watcher tapped his pen.

"Are you sure, Quentin?" Giles asked. "There's nothing more on the Power of Three, nothing on this 'Caleb' fellow?"

Giles listened intently as Travers answered.

"Very well," Giles said, disappointed. "If you find anything..."

Giles listened again then nodded with a faint smile.

"Thank you, Quentin, and good night. Oh, yes...good afternoon, I mean."

Giles hung up the phone. He sighed heavily, took off his glasses, and rubbed the bridge of his nose.


Faith and Vamp Willow were outside a mausoleum, finishing off the last few vamps of rather large nest they had discovered on patrol. Vamp Willow was trading blows with a female vampire, who matched her move for move. When the redhead brandished her stake, the vampire kicked it out of her hand.

"Lost your stake," the vamp taunted.

"Don't need it," Vamp Willow replied, dropping her hands nonchalantly. "Incindere!"

The vampire instantly caught fire. She gave a quick shriek then combusted in a fiery poof.

Vamp Willow gave a satisfied harrumph and turned toward Faith, who was body-slamming a male vampire over the stone bench in front of the crypt. The concrete cracked in two under the force of the blow. Before the vamp could recover, Faith leaped on top of him and plunged a stake into his heart, dusting him.

Vamp Willow smiled and sauntered sexily over to Faith. "Mmm...I just love watching you work, baby."

"Is that so?" Faith said with a grin, tucking her stake into her back pocket.

Vamp Willow grabbed Faith by her belt and pulled her close. She nuzzled into the slayer's cleavage, then moved upwards, trailing the very tip of her tongue along the slayer's skin. When she reached Faith's neck, she stopped and whispered, "Makes me hungry."

Faith tangled her fingers in Vamp Willow's hair and pulled the vampire's head back before planting a crushing kiss on her lips. Then, with hands roaming, they kissed as if devouring one another. After finally separating, they still held one another, leaning their foreheads together.

"It's gonna be dawn soon," Faith said. "Wanna take this party indoors?"

Vamp Willow's lips slowly lifted into a playful smirk.


The door to Giles' apartment burst open with a loud bang. Faith and Vamp Willow inched their way inside, their attention solely on each other as they hungrily made out. Faith felt behind herself for the door's edge and fumbled with trying to close it. She finally gave it a backward kick, making it slam once again. They continued kissing and groping until a loud throat-clearing interrupted them. Faith froze and looked around Vamp Willow to see a very peeved Giles staring at them--or rather trying not to stare at them.

"Giles," Faith said. "Didn't expect you to be here." Vamp Willow turned to face the watcher as well, but still clung to the slayer's body.

"Yes, well, I, um...had some, um, very important calls to make." Giles kept his gaze averted. "And-and-and some books to consult." He flashed an embarrassed smile. "I'll be returning to the hospital soon."

Vamp Willow had gotten bored during Giles' flustered reply and had begun to nibble at Faith's ear. "Good. Great," Faith said, trying to ignore her girlfriend's attentions. "We'll just hit the shower then. Get cleaned up. And...join you there later."

"Very good, very good," Giles said, nodding way too much. "You can call Xander to pick you up," he added as the slayer with vampire attached backed down the hallway. "The number's by the phone."

"Cool. Bye!" At that, Faith opened the bathroom door and shoved Vamp Willow inside.

Within seconds, Giles heard bodies thud against the door. And then the moaning started.

"Oh dear lord," he groaned unhappily. Then he hurried to shove his notes and papers into his leather satchel. As he picked up his keys, he heard a crash from the bathroom. "Good god, I hope my apartment survives," he muttered as he left the living room, closing the front door behind him.


When Giles entered Tara's hospital room, his hands were full. With his satchel swung over his shoulder by its strap, he held a large white sack in one hand and a cardboard tray of Styrofoam cups in the other. Joyce got up from her chair and took the sack and tray from him. He thanked her and set his satchel on the floor. As Buffy and Willow joined them, he pointed toward the rolling table where Joyce was setting out the sack's contents.

"I, um, brought donuts, oh and coffee," Giles said. "Not exactly the breakfast of champions, as it were, but um..."

"Thanks, Giles," Willow said sincerely, giving him a small smile. Then she and Buffy moved into the watcher's arms for a warm hug.

When Buffy and Willow left him to check out the donut selection, Giles embraced Joyce and gave her a quick kiss. "How is she?" he asked quietly.

"The same," Joyce said sadly.

Giles nodded, and the two fell silent. Just then, they heard a light tapping at the door. Buffy was closest to the door, so she said, "Come in."

The door slowly opened, and Caleb stepped inside. He was dressed in a black clerical shirt with a white collar and black pants; his head showed no sign of the wound Tara had given him. He smiled politely at the group.

"Mornin'," he said. "I'm Father Mallory. I wanted to stop by and see how you folks were holdin' up."

"That's very kind of you, Father," Joyce said, returning his smile. "Thank you."

"No need to thank me, ma'am," Caleb said. "Jus' doin' my job." He looked at Tara sympathetically then glanced at a piece of paper in his hand. "Miss...Maclay. You're her family then?"

"Yes, we are," Buffy answered.

"Well, she's lucky to have such a fine family standin' vigil at her side," he commented. They nodded their thanks. "I'll be heading to the chapel shortly. Would you like me to light a candle and say a prayer for Miss Maclay?"

Buffy and Willow looked at one another and then at Joyce and Giles. Then they turned back to Caleb.

"Um, sure," Willow said a little uncertainly, "but Tara's not Catholic or anything. Heck, she's not even Anglican." Her hand went to her mouth, and she said worriedly, "Oh...I said 'heck' in front of a priest!"

Caleb chuckled. "Don't fret, my sister. The Lord is forgiving, the Lord is merciful." He sobered and took a step back toward the door. "I shall pray for Miss Tara, and for you all, that my God will make Himself known to you, for truly He is all-powerful."

At that, Caleb smiled once more and then stepped out of the room, closing the door quietly behind him. As he moved down the corridor, a malicious grin spread across his face.


A little later that morning, Buffy held a meeting in the hospital cafeteria. Everyone was there, except for Joyce, who remained in Tara's room to watch over her. The group sat at a long table in the back corner.

"How's Tara?" Faith asked.

"Not good," Buffy said, shaking her head. "Will did a healing spell, a-a-and I think it helped. I mean, physically she seems to be healing some, but..."

"She's still in a coma," Willow finished for Buffy. "Well, it's not even really a full coma, the neurologist said. It's more like a mini-coma combined with catatonia."

"Have you tried contacting her?" Xander asked. "You know, with that mental walkie-talkie thing you guys do?"

"Yes, we've tried," Buffy said, "but she's just...not there."

"It's like she's withdrawn so deeply inside herself that she can't even hear us," Willow explained.

"Can't you do something to reach out to her?" Anya asked.

"Maybe. More on that in a minute," Buffy said, putting on her boss voice. "First order of business: I want someone with Tara at all times, and I want them armed. For all we know Caleb could come back and try to finish what he started."

Everyone at the table nodded in agreement, clearly ready and willing to defend Tara with their lives.

"Second item," Buffy continued. "We got a visit from police detectives last night, and more than likely, they'll be contacting the rest of you as well. We need to get our stories straight."

"We told them that we found Tara's dorm room broken into. We left you out of it, Anya," Willow said. "We weren't sure if your new human identity would hold up under police scrutiny."

"Good answer!" Anya confirmed gratefully.

Willow went on. "We said we looked for her and couldn't find her, but then she contacted us during a brief escape, and we tracked her down using information she provided."

"We didn't say anything about the magic part, but we did admit that Tara contacted us psychically," Buffy added. The others got a shocked look on their faces.

"Is that wise?" Giles asked.

"We had to," Willow said. "If we had said she used a phone, they could've checked and known we were lying. The last thing we need is to be considered suspects ourselves."

"We told them where we found her," Buffy continued, "but we didn't say anything about Caleb or Wolfram & Hart; they are not something the regular police can handle."

"We just said we didn't have any idea who might have done this to Tara and left it at that," Willow supplied.

"Everybody clear on that?" Buffy asked. When everyone nodded, Buffy went on. "Next item: Patrol." She looked expectantly at Faith and Vamp Willow.

"Don't worry, B, we got it covered," Faith told her. "We bagged ten just last night, right babe?"

"Yep!" Vamp Willow answered proudly.

"Thanks," Buffy said sincerely, "but just the same, I'm gonna call Riley and ask him to get the Initiative to help out--increase their patrols or something. And maybe post an undercover guard here at the hospital."

"Speaking of the uber-powerful secret government agency," Xander interjected, "can't the Initiative pull some kind of Feds takeover here? You know, get the local cops off our backs?"

"I don't know," Buffy answered. "Maybe. I'll ask."

"What did Angel say?" Willow asked Xander.

"He's working the Wolfram & Hart angle," Xander replied. "Said he had a 'contact' he was going to hit."

"Hit up, you mean, right?" Faith asked.

"No, I'm pretty sure he meant hit," Xander answered. "And the way he sounded--with near-Angelus scary-tude--that 'contact' of his better talk fast."


In Los Angeles, Lilah busied herself with getting ready for the work day. She sat at her dressing table applying her makeup and styling her hair. As she looked at her own reflection, she met her own gaze, staring deeply into her eyes.

"Lilah, my dear, great accomplishments always come out of great risks," she heard Holland's voice say in her mind.

She closed her eyes and let out a long deep breath. She opened her eyes and looked at herself sternly.

"You can do this," she told herself. "It'll work." She looked at her watch nervously. "It'll work," she repeated as if trying to convince herself.


About a block from the Wolfram & Hart tower, Lilah came out of Starbucks carrying a large coffee in her hands. She sipped gingerly at the hot drink while walking leisurely to the sidewalk. After taking a few more drinks, she set her coffee on the newspaper box next to her, glanced at her watch, and opened her purse. She pulled out her Palm Pilot and started scrolling through her schedule for the day.

Suddenly, a van came roaring up to the curb right in front of her, screeching to a halt. Lilah gasped in alarm and stumbled back away from the curb, dropping her Palm Pilot. The van door slid open, and two masked, black-clad men leaped from the vehicle and grabbed her. She screamed and tried to fight them off, but within seconds they had dragged her into the van and driven away.

Bystanders were shouting and pointing and looking at each other in shock, as if they couldn't believe what they had just seen. The man who had been nearest to Lilah was already on his cell phone, calling 911.


Holland Manners was in his conference room, talking with several of his staff members prior to their morning meeting. Suddenly, one of the interns burst into the room, a frantic look on his face.

"What is the meaning of this?" Holland demanded.

"I-I-I'm sorry, sir," said the frightened young man, "but I thought you'd want to know: Ms. Morgan's been kidnapped!"

Holland jumped to his feet. "What?!!"


After many twists and turns and misleads, the kidnappers' van pulled into an unmarked garage. At a beep from a remote, the garage door closed. When the garage was cloaked in darkness, the black-clad man holding Lilah released her and pulled off his mask.

It was Angel.

Cordelia in the driver's seat and Wesley next to Angel removed their masks as well. All three stared intently at Lilah.

"You wanna tell me what the hell's going on?" Angel demanded.

"Yeah, like...why do you want to help us and why did we have to kidnap you to get it?" Cordelia added snarkily.


"Good!" Willow said, crossing her arms tightly. "I hope Angel does go all Angelus on whoever's responsible at Wolfram & Hart." Then she turned to Buffy and corrected herself. "In a totally not-lose-his-soul kind of way, of course."

Buffy gave a small smile then grew grim. "Right now...what I want...is Caleb. Any ideas on how to find him?"

"We could, um, use that gypsy spell that Willow found...the one we used to locate Spike," Giles suggested.

"But that needs something that belongs to Caleb, right?" Buffy asked.

"Well, yes, but perhaps we could find something at the watch tower?"

Buffy gave a pleased nod. "Okay, let's do it."

"Wait a minute," Faith interrupted. "I don't mean to be the party pooper here, but say you do find this Caleb guy, what are you gonna do with him then? How are you gonna fight somebody like that?"

"We don't know yet," Xander said. "That's what we have to figure out."

The Scoobies looked at one another in silence, all waiting for someone to come up with a viable solution. No one had an answer.

"We need our Power," Willow said finally.

"I know," Buffy replied, "but I'm not sure we can get it. Not with Tara out of it."

"What about that spell Giles told us about?"

Everyone looked at Giles.

"There's a ritual we can perform," he answered. "Seers used it in joint vision quests; they would join their minds and move through the spirit realms together. In addition, some Shamans used it to enter the minds of the possessed, in a kind of exorcism from the inside out."

"That doesn't sound very safe," Faith pointed out.

"It's not," Giles confirmed. "The herbs one must take...well, they're rather mind-altering."

"What? Like mushroom-munchin'-toad-licking-acid-dropping kind of altering?" Xander asked.

"Not exactly," Giles said, "but the ritual will allow Willow and Buffy to fully enter Tara's psyche."

"What's the catch?" Anya asked, eyeing Giles suspiciously.

Giles sighed. "The catch is that it's a completely internalized ritual. They start it, and they have to end it. We won't be able to intervene at all. And they won't have an external anchor."

"Which means they could get lost in there," Vamp Willow pointed out.

"Yes," Giles said.

"And we could end up with all three of them in a coma," Faith clarified.

"Yes," Giles confirmed. "And of course, they'd be completely vulnerable during the ritual because they would have no connection to the outside world. They'd be as helpless as Tara...in the physical realm, at any rate."

"I don't like this idea," Xander said warily. "Maybe it would be better to wait, let Tara come out of this on her own."

"No, we can't wait," Willow said urgently. "What Caleb did to her, it was made to last, I'm sure of it."

"Willow's right," Buffy said. "He didn't go to all this trouble to disable the Power of Three just to have her come out of it on her own in a week." Buffy turned to Giles. "How long will it take to get the ritual materials together?"

"If the magic shop has what I need, a few hours maybe?" he answered.

Buffy looked at Willow intently. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Yes. Anything to save Tara."

Buffy turned back to the group, ready to issue orders.

"Giles...get everything together for the ritual. We'll do it as soon as we can get everything ready." Giles nodded in compliance.

Buffy turned to Xander and Anya. "I want you guys to go back to the watch tower, see if you can find anything connected to Caleb there. Get back as quickly as you can. We'll need you when it's ritual time."

"We're on it," Xander said.

"Willow...I want you to go the apartment and pack us a bag. We're gonna be up here at the hospital most of the time, and I'd really like to get cleaned up, and I'm sure you would too."

Willow looked down at herself. "No kidding."

"And pack any magic stuff you think we might need."

"Okay."

"Faith...I want you with Willow. My Willow, I mean. We don't know if Caleb might be waiting to target one of us. Oh, and stop at Giles' and get weapons...lots of them."

"You got it, B."

Buffy turned to Faith's girlfriend. "Willow...I mean, Other Willow...you're with me. I'm gonna send Mom home for a while, and we'll stay with Tara. Not much you can do during the day anyway."

"Okey-dokey," the vampire replied.

Buffy made eye contact with all in the group. "Everybody clear?" When she got nods all around, she said, "Okay then. Let's do it."


As the Scoobies got up from their table to start on their tasks, they paid no mind to the people who were sitting nearby. The sparse crowd was a mix of doctors and nurses and technicians as well as visitors who had family or friends in the hospital. The Scoobies walked right on by all of them without a thought.

After the Scoobies had passed him, Caleb turned around in his chair and watched them make their way through the dining hall toward the exit. He had been sitting less than twenty feet away, eavesdropping on their entire conversation. He smiled wickedly and pulled out his cell phone. Within a minute, the voice of Holland Manners could be heard answering on the other end of the line. Caleb shared all he had heard then waited as Holland considered the matter.

"Proceed to stage two," Holland said finally.

A huge smile spread over Caleb's face as he watched Buffy and Willow and the others leave the cafeteria. "I was so hopin' you'd say that."


==========================================

PART 11

==========================================

After sending her mother home for some much needed rest, Buffy took over the job of staying with Tara. Vamp Willow was there too, as a protector for them both, in case Caleb initiated another attack. As Vamp Willow stood beside Tara's bed, Buffy was in the corner talking on her cell phone.

"Thanks, Riley," Buffy said. "I owe you big time."

"You don't owe me anything," Riley said softly but sincerely.

Buffy's eyes glistened with tears. "Thank you," she repeated in a slightly choked voice.

"No problem," Riley said. "See you in a bit."

" 'Kay," Buffy said. Then she ended the call and put her phone away.

Buffy sniffed a couple of times, wiped her eyes, and let out a long breath. Then she walked over to the bed opposite Vamp Willow. She took Tara's hand in hers and stroked her arm gently. She looked at Tara's face--still bruised and battered--then let her gaze move down to the brand on Tara's neck. Buffy felt the tears returning and even allowed a few drops to fall before clamping down on her emotions, funneling all that grief into a determined hardness. She breathed in deeply and straightened her stance. Then she glanced over at Vamp Willow.

Vamp Willow's expression was a mirror image of Buffy's: pain masked by intense resolution. Her face would crease into an unhappy frown, then relax into a look of cold determination, then return to the frown. She looked up and met Buffy's eyes.

"She was nice to me," Vamp Willow said, "when you were in my world."

Buffy gave a small smile. "Yeah, I remember. Tara's like that." Buffy looked down at Tara once more. "She's the kindest person I know."

Vamp Willow's face hardened. "This should not have happened. Somebody should have to pay for this."

"And somebody's going to," Buffy promised, looking back up. "A somebody named Caleb."

"Good," Vamp Willow replied, giving a satisfied nod. Then a wicked smile spread across her face. "And I can help with that, ya know. I happen to be very experienced in meting out punishment. And this time it would actually be deserved."

Buffy couldn't help but grin at the redhead's well-intentioned offer. "I don't doubt it," she answered. "And I may take you up on that."

At that, the two turned their gazes back to Tara and waited.


Meanwhile, at the Three's new apartment, Faith kept a wary watch as Willow dug through boxes to find clothes for herself and Buffy. Faith looked at Willow as if she wanted to ask something, but instead of saying anything, she looked away. It wasn't long before she repeated the motion. Busy with packing, Willow didn't notice. In her third attempt, Faith finally spoke.

"So, what's up with my counterpart down in the basement of the hospital?" the slayer asked nonchalantly, as if she really didn't care.

Willow glanced up, a surprised expression on her face. "You saw Faith at the hospital?"

"Yeah, the portal opened down there. It was supposed to tap into the slayer connection to guide us here. I guess it connected with her instead of Buffy."

"Oh" was all Willow could say.

"So, what's the sitch?" Faith continued. "Why did Xander call me 'evil slayer'?"

Willow sighed and took a deep breath. "Did Buffy tell you about when she went up against the Master?"

"Yeah, she said he bit her and drowned her and she died, till Xander brought her back with CPR."

"That's right. Well, when Buffy 'died,' another slayer was called."

"Me," Faith guessed.

"No, Kendra was her name, but she was killed later, and that's when you were called. Well, when our Faith was called."

"So, there were two active slayers at the same time?"

"Yep."

"Well, that shoulda been kickin' wicked. Me and B...we did some serious damage while she was in town."

"Yeah, it should've been, but it wasn't," Willow answered. "Faith was...a loner, wild, unpredictable, she took dangerous chances. She...she killed a man one night."

Faith looked surprised.

"It was an accident, but...Faith was never the same after that. Later, we learned that she had switched sides and was working for the Mayor--the Big Bad of the time. She threatened to kill me and Xander, and she tried to kill Angel. She poisoned him, and the only cure was for him to drain a slayer."

"Buffy said that when Angel had been hurt, she had to let him feed on her so he'd get better."

"That's right," Willow confirmed. "She tried capturing Faith first, but Faith wouldn't let it happen. Faith let herself fall off the building rather than let Buffy take her in."

"And she's been here in the hospital ever since?"

Willow nodded.

"Man, she sounds fucked up."

Willow shrugged. "I don't know how much history you two share, but..."

"I don't think I wanna know," Faith muttered.

"...none of that matters," Willow insisted, ignoring Faith's comment. "Buffy believes in you, and that's good enough for me. It's good enough for all of us."

Willow held Faith's gaze to emphasize her point, and Faith eventually gave a nod of acceptance. As soon as Willow went back to her packing, though, Faith's look of doubt returned.


Miles north of Sunnydale, Xander and Anya retraced their steps until they had located the watch tower in the forest reserve. They crept around it to the building nearby. When they got close, Xander pulled a handgun from his jacket pocket and took Anya's hand. They found the entrance crossed by yellow police line tape.

"Well, whatd'ya know," Xander commented. "The Sunnydale Police actually investigated."

After looking around nervously, they tore the tape down. Motioning Anya to stay behind him, Xander went in first.

In less than a minute, they found their way into the basement room where they had found Tara. They both stopped and looked at the beam in the ceiling where Tara had been strung up. Pain filled their eyes as their minds took them back to the gruesome scene. After a long moment, Xander clenched his jaw and got a determined expression on his face.

"Come on," he said. "Let's get busy. Maybe we'll get lucky and find something the police overlooked."

At that, the two began searching the room.


Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, Lilah was spelling out her plan to Angel, Wesley, and Cordelia.

"Let me see if I've got this right," Cordelia said sarcastically. "You've got information on Wolfram & Hart's plot against the Three, and out of the goodness of your heart, you're willing to share that information with us. Sorry, not buying it."

Lilah gave her a disdainful glance. "Of course it's not out of the goodness of my heart," she said bluntly. "I'm covering my own ass." Lilah turned back to Angel. "You don't get the information until you give me what I want."

"And what would that be?" Angel asked.

"Something I'm sure you'll enjoy," Lilah answered unhappily. "I certainly won't, but it's the only way."

Angel looked over at Wesley, and the two shared a confused look, wondering what Lilah had in mind.


Back in Sunnydale, Riley and four of his Initiative soldiers arrived at the hospital. They were dressed in civilian clothes, but each carried a backpack containing weapons. Riley sent two soldiers to patrol the outside of the hospital. Then he and Forrest and Graham went inside.

"So this Caleb guy's gunning for your girl, eh?" Forrest asked as they entered the elevator.

"She's not my girl," Riley answered as he hit the button for the third floor. "Not any more. But yes, there's a chance Caleb will go after Buffy next. Or maybe Willow. Or he might try to finish off Tara. No matter who his target is, we have to be ready."

"Don't worry, man," Graham said. "We got ya covered."

"Yeah," Forrest agreed. "We'll put the take-down on this guy."

Graham and Forrest high-fived each other just as the elevator doors opened. When they exited the car, Riley turned to his comrades.

"Graham, you take the south end. Forrest, you take the north end. I'll take the room itself. Stay in radio contact. If you see anything even remotely suspicious, call it in."

Forrest and Graham nodded and then headed off in opposite directions to take up their posts. Riley headed for Tara's room.


After knocking softly and identifying himself, Riley heard Buffy say to come in. He slipped inside the door and shut it behind himself. Buffy came around the bed and walked to meet Riley. The two hugged warmly. When they separated, Riley looked over and saw Vamp Willow standing on the near-side of the bed.

"Hey Willow," Riley greeted politely.

"Oh...this is the Other Willow," Buffy corrected.

"Oh," Riley answered.

Vamp Willow rolled her eyes and pouted. "Other Willow," she grumbled to herself.

Riley then did a double-take as he suddenly realized the implications of Buffy's statement. "Huh?"

"Long story," Buffy said.

"I'm Willow's vampire doppelganger from another dimension," Vamp Willow stated.

"Apparently not that long," Buffy commented.

"Oh...that's...good...I guess," Riley said uncertainly before turning back to Buffy.

"Tell ya later," Buffy said.

Riley gave her a grin and a nod. "Lookin' forward to it." Then he sobered. "So how's Tara?"

"Pretty much the same," Buffy said, leading him over to Tara's bed. Riley frowned when he took in the sight of the battered blonde. "We're going to do a ritual...try to bring her out of this state she's in. That's why I wanted you here, watching our backs."

"I've got a team outside and Forrest and Graham on this floor," Riley said as he removed his backpack. "And I'll be right outside." He opened his pack and pulled out a radio. "If you need help, call."

Buffy took the radio with a smile. "Thank you," she said.

Just then, they heard a knock at the door, and Giles and Joyce came in, followed by Willow and Faith. After greetings were exchanged, Giles informed Buffy that Xander and Anya were on their way back.

"Good," Buffy said. "As soon as they get here, we'll do the ritual."


Back in Los Angeles, at the Wolfram & Hart Law Firm, a delivery man struggled to get a large wooden crate in the front doors and over to the reception desk. He plopped it near the desk then sauntered over to the receptionist, who did not appear pleased. He wiped the sweat from his forehead then pulled out his handheld.

"I'm sorry, sir, but deliveries are to be made to shipping and receiving in the back," the receptionist said.

"Look, lady," the delivery man said, "I ain't moving this thing again. You want it out back, you can take it there yourself."

The receptionist started to object, but the obstinate look in the delivery man's eyes stopped her. She knew she'd be wasting her breath. "Fine," she grumbled and held out her hand.

The delivery man handed her his pocket computer. She used the wand to sign the screen and handed the device back. The delivery man tipped his hat and handed her a long white envelope. Then he walked away.

"Wait!" the receptionist called out. "Where does it go?"

The delivery man ignored her and exited the building. The receptionist let out an annoyed huff. She looked at the envelope he had given her. It was blank on the outside. She decided to open it.

Inside was a single sheet of paper which read, "Open the crate immediately or she'll die."

The receptionist paled and dropped the sheet. "Oh my god, oh my god...Jake!" The security guard came running over just as the receptionist came out from behind her desk. "Hurry, hurry, help me get it open!" she cried.

Together they managed to lift the top off the wooden crate. When they saw what was inside, they stepped away, a look of utter shock on their faces.

Inside was a stripped and beaten Lilah Morgan. On her back was carved the following message:

Touch the Three,
You deal with me.
-- A.


In Sunnydale, with Riley and his men in place, the Scoobies were finalizing their plans for the ritual. They had rearranged the room so that there were two additional gurneys in the room, one on each side of Tara's bed. Buffy stood between the gurney and the bed on one side, and Willow did the same on the other. Xander stood beside Willow, and Giles stood beside Buffy. Anya and Joyce were in the corner, out of the way, watching anxiously. Faith was by the door, where Vamp Willow was finishing a spell.

"That should do it," Vamp Willow announced as she turned back to the group. "Anyone who's not on our VIP list will feel an irresistible urge to be elsewhere if they try to approach the room. Anyone who ignores that and attempts to get in the door will get a severe psychic backlash, like the migraine from hell. Too many attempts at that and they'll fry their brains."

"Good. Thanks," Buffy said. Then she turned to Willow. "Are you ready?"

When Willow nodded, the two joined both their hands across Tara's bed. They closed their eyes and began to concentrate, slowly merging their thoughts together. After several minutes, they opened their eyes.

As one, they each released a hand and took Tara's hands into theirs, forming a linked triangle. Willow began intoning the spell's lines, pausing after each one so that Buffy could echo her words. Their voices became louder and louder as the spell grew in power. When they reached the last line and belted it out together, Willow and Buffy instantly passed out.

Giles caught Buffy, and Xander caught Willow. They lifted the girls into their arms and laid them out on their respective gurneys. When they were certain that the girls were safely in place, they stepped away.

"What now?" Xander asked.

"We wait," Giles answered. "The rest is up to them. They're beyond our help now, unfortunately."

All assembled shared a worried look.


Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, Angel waited anxiously in his office. He looked at his watch and then the door then repeated those motions again.

"It's time, right?" he said, looking at Cordelia and Wesley, who sat nearby.

"Yes, it's time," Cordelia said wearily, clearly having told Angel that multiple times already.

"Then where is it? Why isn't it here yet?" Angel said. "Do you think Lilah was jerking us around?"

"With what you put her through...I doubt it," Wesley answered.

"She asked for it," Angel said defensively.

"And you enjoyed it," Wesley countered.

"Damn right, I did!" Angel answered. "She was an accessory to the plot against Buffy. No matter how hard she's trying to wash her hands of it now, she--"

"Angel," Cordelia said, cutting him off. She pointed at the door, where a delivery man now stood.

"Package for Angel?" the man said.

"That's me," Angel replied, rushing over to the door.

Angel quickly signed for the package, and the delivery man handed over a thick manila envelope. As the delivery man left, Angel hurried over to the desk to open the envelope. He spread the documents over the table, and the three of them began pouring over the contents; Angel started with the first couple of pages.

Angel read silently for a moment. When he reached a certain part, his face fell. "Oh no," he said. He looked to the next sheet, which was actually an 8X10 photograph. "Damn it!"

"What is it?" Cordelia asked.

"Scan this, now!" he barked, handing her the photograph.

Frightened by Angel's intensity, Cordelia jumped to the task without question. Angel dropped the sheet he had been reading onto the desk and ran to the phone. He rapidly punched in a number and waited.

"Come on, come on..." he murmured impatiently as the phone rang.


Giles stood in the corner speaking into his cell phone quietly. "Dear lord!" he suddenly exclaimed, frightening the others present. He turned around and frantically looked at the Three, who were deep within the bonding ritual.

"Giles, what is it?" Xander asked worriedly.

"The-the ritual...it's already begun," Giles told Angel over the phone.

"Well, wake 'em up," Angel said. "Do what you have to, but get them out of that ritual!"

"We-we can't," Giles told him. "Only they can end it, and we have no way of contacting them."

"Then find him," Angel said. "I'm sending you a picture now."

"Giles," Xander prompted again.

"Angel was able to obtain some information on Caleb's attack," Giles explained. "From what it says, he's going to attack them psychically, while they're bonded. Apparently, there's a loophole in the curse. If he can kill them simultaneously while they are bonded, the curse won't be triggered."

"Son of a bitch!" Faith swore. "We played right into his hands!"

"The good news is that Angel was able to procure a photograph of the assassin," Giles said. "He's sending it to me now. If we can stop Caleb before he can--"

Just then, Giles' phone beeped. He punched a few buttons, and within seconds, a picture appeared on his phone's tiny screen. His eyes grew wide at the sight.

"Rupert?" Joyce said, stepping closer.

"He was here," Giles said in shock. "He was here, the bastard was right here, and we didn't--"

Joyce looked over Giles' shoulder at the picture. "Father Mallory?"

"Who's that?" Anya asked.

"A priest making visitation rounds, or so we thought," Giles answered.

"Let me see," Xander said, and Giles passed the phone to him.

"Yes, everyone take a good look," Giles said. "We've got to keep him away from Buffy and Willow and Tara."

"Barricade the door," Xander offered. "Keep him from--"

"No," Giles said. "He doesn't need to get in here to do what he wants to do, but he does need to be close. We need to find him before he makes contact with them."

"Damn it!" Xander said. "If only we'd found something of his at the reserve!"

"Can't fret about that now," Giles said to Xander as he reached into the weapons bag and pulled out two pistols. He gave one to Anya and the other to Joyce. "Stay here with the girls," he told them. "If Caleb shows up, shoot him."

Then he and Xander and Faith and Vamp Willow armed themselves and left the room to search for Caleb.


Inside Tara's mind, Buffy and Willow materialized, holding hands, in what appeared to be a desert. They saw a flash of dark rocks and reddish dunes before a hot wind gusted against them, sending sand into their faces. They lifted their arms to shield their eyes and then turned to put their backs to the wind.

When they did so, they found themselves facing a stone wall that was at least twice their height. It wasn't intact, though. A few yards away, it looked as if a tank or a bulldozer had crashed into one section of it, crumbling the wall from the outside in.

Buffy's face creased into a pained expression. "Did we do that?" she asked worriedly. "Getting in here?"

Willow gave Buffy's arm a squeeze. "No," she said reassuringly. "I'm pretty sure that's Caleb's work."

Buffy's frown became a hard glare. "I am so gonna kill this guy."

"You and me both," Willow agreed grimly. "But first we need to find--"

"GET OUT!!!!!!"

Just as the booming voice hit their ears, a surge of power blasted them hard against the wall. The two women slid to the ground, dazed and shaking their heads. When they looked up, they saw a swirling maelstrom before them, separating and reforming in the air, creating a vague outline of Tara's face.

"GET OUT!!!" the image of Tara screamed, sending another wave of abrasive wind against the couple. Once again, Buffy and Willow held up their arms to shield their eyes.

"Tara! It's us!" Buffy cried out to the sand storm.

"Tara, let us in!" Willow called out. "We're here to help!"

"NOOOOOOOOO!!!"

The blonde's image disappeared as the storm intensified. The wind became so strong that Willow and Buffy had to turn away.

"What do we do?" Buffy yelled over the roar.

"We run through it," Willow yelled back.

"What?!" Buffy asked incredulously.

"We can't communicate with Tara here. We've got to move further in."

"Okay then," Buffy said, nodding and taking Willow's hand. "Let's go."

At that, Buffy and Willow dashed into the sand storm.


On the floor beneath Tara's ward, Caleb sauntered nonchalantly off the elevator. Dressed in an orderly's white scrubs, he whistled softly as he pushed a mop and bucket out of the car and down the hallway.

As he passed the nurses' station, no one paid him any mind at all. He smiled to himself and headed for the patient rooms.


Screaming through their clenched teeth, Buffy and Willow ran as hard and as fast as they could through the sand storm. When the biting wind became too much, they ran with their heads down and their eyes closed. They didn't stop until they felt the hot wind suddenly cease. They stumbled to a halt and looked around, gasping for air.

The desert was gone. In its place was a cold, dark, damp forest. The girls could see their breath in the dim light, and they shuddered when the chill air seeped into their bodies.

Willow rubbed her arms to warm herself and shot a quirky grin at Buffy. "Well, now that the 'heated exchange' is over, I guess we're in for the 'chilly reception'."

Buffy rolled her eyes but grinned back. "Yeah, she's really giving us the 'cold shoulder', huh?"

The two tried to maintain their smiles but failed. They reached out to each other and moved into a much-needed hug. They spent a long moment embracing, drawing strength from one another's touch.

"Come on," Buffy finally said, separating them. "Let's go find Tara."

Willow and Buffy started down the narrow path that led into the heart of the forest.


Without so much as a glance over his shoulder, Caleb entered one of the patient rooms, pushing the mop and bucket ahead of him. The room was empty, the bed clean and white and ready for the next patient.

Caleb left the mop and bucket by the door and walked to the near side of the bed. He closed his eyes and cocked his head, almost as if he were trying to listen to the conversations taking place several doors down. He made one complete turn and then stopped, tilting his head back so that he was facing the ceiling. He opened his eyes.

"Perfect," he said with a pleased grin.


Directly above the room Caleb was in, Joyce and Anya hovered near the girls' beds. Joyce stood between Buffy's bed and Tara's, holding her daughter's hand. Anya was on the far side of Willow's bed, gripping the gun and looking anxiously at the door.

"Where do you think he is?" Anya asked. "Do you think he's close?"

"I don't know," Joyce replied. "I hope not."


Meanwhile, Giles was downstairs on the first floor, showing Caleb's picture to everyone who crossed his path. So far, no one had recognized the man as someone they had seen before.

"Any luck?" Xander asked as he walked up.

Giles shook his head and closed his cell phone. When the former watcher looked up, he noticed the sign for the hospital chapel.

"Come on," he said, giving Xander's arm a tug before heading in that direction.


As Willow and Buffy moved deeper into the forest, the path became more narrow and rugged. They were forced to step over fallen trees and to climb up and down rocky ravines. After reaching the top of one particularly difficult hill, Willow held up her hand.

"Wait," the witch said. "Let me catch my breath."

As Willow leaned over, resting her hands against her thighs, Buffy circled slowly around her, directing her senses into the brush all around them.

"I could use some of that slayer stamina about now," Willow said. "I--"

"Shhhh," Buffy said, cutting Willow off. "Listen."

Willow listened intently. "I don't hear anything," she whispered back.

Buffy cocked her head. "Come on...this way."

After making their way down the other side of the hill, they came to a small brook. As they followed it, the sound that Buffy had heard became clearer. It was someone crying.

"Tara!" Willow said urgently. When she tried to dash ahead, Buffy stopped her.

"Let's not rush her all at once," Buffy suggested. "We might frighten her."

Willow nodded in agreement. Then the two of them crept closer.

Tara sat on a log beside a pool of water. She was doubled over, her arms wrapped tightly around herself, crying so hard that her body shook. Through the sobs, she was trying to speak, but the only words that could be made out were "why" and "hurts".

Finally, Tara took a big shuddering breath and said in a wavering voice, "I just...have to...align the energies..." She wiped the tears from her face and began to rock back and forth in an agitated manner. "That's what I have to do." Rock, rock. "Align the energies..." Rock, rock. "Open the chakras and-and..." Rock, rock. "Align the energies and..." Rock, rock. "And everything will be..." Her rocking slowed, and her crying started back up. "...okay." She lifted her hand to her mouth but couldn't stop the sobs from returning. She bent over and hugged herself once again.

Tears were rolling down Buffy and Willow's faces also. When they could stand the separation no longer, they took a step forward. Unfortunately, they stepped on a twig, and the loud crack was heard by Tara. Her head snapped up, and she jumped to her feet.

"No...no..." she said, backing away from the pool.

"Tara! Wait!" Buffy called out to her.

"Tara, please!" Willow cried. "It's us!"

"No, no, no..." Tara said, shaking her head frantically. "NOOO!!!"

Tara turned and ran. Buffy and Willow had no choice but to give chase.

As Tara crashed through the brush, she was heedless of the branches and briars that tore at her arms and legs. "I have to get away," she cried desperately. "I can't let him find me!"

Although Tara had a head start, Willow and Buffy quickly gained on the blonde. When they were just a few yards behind her, they called to her, trying to get her to stop or to recognize them somehow. But Tara only screamed as they neared and reached out for her.

The two women were mere inches away from her when...BLAM!...their forward progress was suddenly stopped by the side of a house.

Buffy and Willow ended up on their butts, on the ground, clutching their bruised noses.

"What the hell?" Buffy griped, looking up at the wooden structure.

"Owwww," Willow whined.


In the vacant patient room, Caleb now lay upon the bed. His long legs were crossed lazily at the ankles, and he had his fingers steepled over his stomach. His eyes were closed, and his face was expressionless.

Slowly but surely, he reached out with his mind, straight into the room above him.


Vamp Willow waited in the shadows of the staircase as Faith checked out the roof of the hospital. After a few minutes of searching, Faith returned to the stairwell.

"Anything?" Vamp Willow asked.

"Nah," Faith replied. "It was a long shot anyway. Figured we'd better check, though."

Vamp Willow pouted. Then she made a face as if she weren't feeling well, resting her hand on her stomach.

Noticing her girlfriend's change in expression, Faith asked, "What's the matter? Are you sensing something?"

"Willow must be upset," the vampire said unhappily. "She's making my stomach all knotty." Then she reached for her nose. "And for some reason...my nose hurts."


Buffy and Willow had walked around to the front of the house and were looking up at the front porch. It was an old farm house, weathered but sturdy. On one end of the porch were a couple of rocking chairs; on the other end was a bench swing. A small wind chime made of metal pipes was making tiny ta-tinks in the breeze.

"What is this place?" Buffy asked.

"I think it's her father's house," Willow said.

"Oh" was all Buffy could say.

Willow took a deep breath and held out her hand. "Come on. Let's check it out."

Buffy took Willow's hand, and the two of them approached the front door. After knocking and calling out and getting no response, they entered the house. They searched the first floor and the basement, then the second floor, and finally the attic. But there was no sign of Tara.

"I don't get it," Willow said, confused. "Where is she?"

"Hey, Will," Buffy said, motioning her over to the attic window. "Look."

After seeing at what Buffy was pointing out, Willow looked back at Buffy and smiled. "The barn," she said.

Buffy nodded knowingly, and the two of them rushed out of the attic.


Willow and Buffy approached the barn cautiously. They called out Tara's name but got no answer, so they opened the barn door and went inside. It smelled of hay and horses, and except for the slightest creaking of the wood, it was silent.

Buffy pointed at the ladder. "I'll take the loft."

Willow nodded, and the two of them searched the barn. After having found nothing, the two met back up at the doorway.

"I thought for sure that we'd--" Willow started to say, but she suddenly stopped and grabbed Buffy's hand just as Buffy did the exact same thing. Then, as one, they turned toward the far corner where the main room met the stalls in the back.

Several bales of straw were stacked neatly against the wall that jutted out. Carefully and quietly, the two moved the bales away from the wall. There they found a small door leading to some storage space behind the first stall. Holding their breath, they opened the door.

Tara was sitting inside, with her knees pulled against her chest and her arms wrapped tightly around her legs. When the door opened, her head shot up, and panic filled her eyes. She shook her head several times and tried to scoot away, but there was nowhere for her to go. She whimpered and turned away, pressing herself against the back wall of the cubbyhole, as if trying to will herself into the very wood itself. Buffy and Willow immediately went down on their knees and crept closer to the door.

"Tara, i-i-it's us...Willow a-a-and Buffy," Willow whispered, reaching out to Tara, but not daring to touch her for fear of frightening her.

"Tara, sweetie, please...look at us," Buffy pleaded.

Buffy took Willow's hand. "We love you," they said together, projecting their thoughts to the distraught Tara.

Eventually, Tara ventured a fleeting glance in their direction, but she quickly looked away. She soon brought her gaze back, though, and met her girlfriends' eyes. A sob of relief escaped Tara's lips as she finally let herself accept the reality of Buffy and Willow's presence. She crawled out of the room and into their arms.

For the longest time, the Three just cried and held one another. When they did pull apart, they stayed close, not wanting to be out of physical contact. Buffy and Willow stroked Tara's hair, her back, her arms; they caressed her face and kissed her on the cheek or the forehead. And Tara simply let them. With tears flowing freely down her face, she soaked up the love that was pouring from Willow and Buffy.

When she felt she could speak, Tara pulled her girlfriends close and said, "I love you too." The Three clasped hands and smiled.

"Well, now...isn't that special?"

Upon hearing that voice, Tara immediately gasped and stiffened in her girlfriends' arms, her eyes widening in fear. Buffy and Willow kept their arms around Tara, but turned to face the speaker who had interrupted their embrace. The two looked confused when they saw who it was.

"Father Mallory?" Willow asked.

Tara started shaking her head and trying to pull away from Willow and Buffy. "No...no..."

The dark-haired man flashed a big smile and crossed his arms. "Actually, Caleb's the name, and I believe we have some unfinished business."

"NOOOOOO!!!!"Tara screamed in terror.


Meanwhile, as Giles and Xander came back empty-handed from the chapel, they found Faith and Vamp Willow just coming out of the elevator onto the first floor.

"Any luck?" Giles asked as they approached the two women. Faith just shook her head.

"But he's got to be somewhere!" Xander said in a frustrated voice.

"Have we searched the actual patient rooms yet?" Vamp Willow asked.

"No, and I seriously doubt the hospital would allow such an invasion of privacy and--" Giles began.

"Screw privacy!" Faith said. Then she stomped back towards the elevator.

"What she said," Xander added before walking toward Faith.

Vamp Willow grinned and shrugged then joined Faith and Xander by the elevator. Giles rolled his eyes and did the same.


As Tara frantically scrambled back into her cubbyhole, Buffy launched herself at Caleb, attacking him in a flurry of punches and kicks. He easily evaded or deflected each attempt, smiling the entire time, as if the slayer were barely pressing him. He caught one arm as she punched and then caught the other in the same way. He wrenched both arms to her sides and held her in place.

"You think you can test me, little girl?" Caleb said menacingly.

Caleb tossed Buffy across the barn and into the far wall where a number of tools were hanging. She crashed into the tools and then hit the ground; the tools tumbled off the wall and fell on top of her.

Caleb grinned at Buffy's fall but grunted in pain as a magical burst from Willow hit him in the side, causing him to take a few steps back. He laughed off the pain and straightened up.

"And making the tag from the white corner...the little witchy wannabe," Caleb said snidely.

"We'll see who's a wannabe," Willow said before belting out an incantation in Latin.

The dusty dirt floor of the barn began to churn under Caleb's feet, sucking him into a muddy maelstrom. The warlock struggled for a moment then cast his own counter-spell. The dark quicksand started to backflow and to still; then slowly but surely Caleb rose from the floor unharmed. Once he was clear, the whirlpool exploded, sending a backlash against Willow, knocking her into the straw bales near Tara's hiding place.

As Willow sat dazed on the floor shaking her head to clear it, Tara barely took notice. The blonde was on her knees, with her hands over her ears, bobbing hysterically, repeating "no" to herself, as if trying to block out what was going on around her.

Behind Caleb, Buffy got to her feet, picked up a pitchfork, and threw it directly at Caleb's back. Just when it was about to reach him, he whipped around and caught it midair.

"Now, now...stabbing a man in the back...is that any way to--"

Caleb's smart remark was cut off when he realized Buffy was coming at him with a sling blade. As she swung the hooked axe toward Caleb's head, he moved the pitchfork into place, tines up, and caught the blade. Then he swept the pitchfork down and to the side until both tools struck the ground. Buffy immediately yanked the sling blade back and swiped at Caleb's torso. He evaded once, then twice, but the third time she cut him across this stomach, chest, and arm. He growled and backhanded the slayer before she could reset herself. Then he kicked her hard in the stomach, sending her smashing against the wall by the barn door.

"You bitch!" Caleb said angrily as he touched his bleeding chest.

At that point, Willow hit him again with a magical burst, this time in the back. It hurt him but not nearly enough. He dropped the pitchfork and stumbled forward but quickly turned toward Willow. He deflected her next blast and sent it right back at her. It knocked her several feet back and to the ground. He followed the blast right over to Willow and stood over her threateningly.

Buffy dashed from the other side of the barn and leaped onto Caleb's back. She wrapped her arm around his throat and tried to strangle him. He clawed at the slayer on his back and finally got a handhold. He flipped Buffy over his head and slammed her on her back onto the ground right next to Willow. As Buffy turned over to face him, he rammed his knee into her face, snapping her head back and sending her falling back against Willow.

As Buffy and Willow lay stunned on the floor struggling to regain their senses, Caleb took a moment to settle himself. He shook his head, shrugged his shoulders, and shook out his arms.

"Now then," he said, rubbing his hands together until they crackled with power, "let's see how you two like my scourge."

His face lit up in a maniacal grin as he shot lightning bolts of energy into Willow and Buffy. The witch and the slayer screamed in agony and thrashed on the floor violently.


In Tara's room on the third floor, Anya and Joyce were freaking out. Buffy and Willow had begun to seize on their beds for no apparent reason.

"We have to call the doctor!" Joyce cried out desperately as she struggled to keep Buffy from falling off the bed.

"We can't!" Anya called back as she did the same for Willow. "The spell would keep him out."

Helpless to do anything else, Joyce looked back down at her daughter. "Come on, honey," she encouraged. "Fight that bastard!"


As Faith and Vamp Willow left the elevator lobby and walked onto the second floor, the redhead suddenly cried out in pain and fell to her knees.

"Will!" Faith wrapped her arms around her stricken girlfriend.

Vamp Willow clenched her jaw and grimaced through the pain. "We've got to hurry," she told the slayer.

Faith helped Vamp Willow to her feet, and the two of them headed down the hallway.


Caleb zapped Buffy and Willow with his 'psychic scourge' for a full minute before stopping and moving closer. The girls were still jerking and whimpering in pain when he came to stand over them.

"A little more juice and you two will be out like a light," Caleb gloated. "And then I can turn my attentions back to--Arggkkhh!!!"

Caleb looked down and found the pitchfork sticking into his right side. He looked up and found Tara holding the handle of the pitchfork.

"Leave. Them. Alone." Tara had an insane determination in her eyes as she carefully enunciated each word.

Caleb groaned in pain and wrenched the pitchfork out of Tara's hands. As he stumbled away and went about the task of pulling the tines from his body, Tara ran over to Willow and Buffy. She put a hand on each of them, sending a softly glowing golden light into their bodies. They instantly recovered from the attack, and Tara helped them to their feet. By the time the Three had stood up, Caleb had the bloody pitchfork in his hands.

"You're gonna pay for that, bitch!" he screamed at Tara, pointing the pitchfork at her.

"Not this time," Tara said grimly.

Then she reached behind herself for her girlfriends' hands. As Tara and Willow and Buffy joined their hands, they also joined their minds, pulling their wills together into one. They started whispering a phrase over and over, so softly the words could not even be made out. A wispy tendril of energy began swirling around Caleb.

"You can't throw me out of here!" he yelled as he tossed the pitchfork to the floor.

The Three ignored his threat and kept repeating their phrase, getting louder and louder as they went along. "Get out, get out, get out..."

"This mind is mine!" he ranted. "MINE!"

"Get out, get out, get out..."

Caleb tried to twist away from the tendrils now encircling him. "I took it!" he said directly to the glowing ribbons in the air. "When I took her!" He turned back to the Three and locked eyes with Tara. "You're mine, bitch! You can't make me--"

"GET OUT!!!" shouted the Three as One.

At that command, the swirling energy totally encompassed Caleb, squeezing tighter and tighter until he screamed and then blipped away.


Caleb jerked awake and tumbled off the hospital bed, howling in pain from the violent ejection he had received at the hands of the Three. He was grimacing and breathing hard as he pushed himself up from the floor. He clutched his side, growled angrily, and then got to his feet.

"Bitches!" he hissed. He cocked his head from side to side, popping his neck. Then he bent his back to pop it as well. "This isn't over," he muttered to himself.

Just as Caleb came around the bed to head for the door, Faith and Vamp Willow walked in.

"It's him!" Faith yelled.

Vamp Willow instantly put on her game face, and before Caleb could even power up, she whipped out a small packet of spell ingredients and threw it against his chest. The tiny bag broke, splattering its contents all over Caleb's white scrub shirt.

"Ha! Gotcha!" Vamp Willow cried out when she saw she had hit her target.

Caleb looked down at his shirt, took a step back, and held his arms out, as if he were waiting to see what the spell would do. After several seconds, nothing happened. Caleb looked up, a grin forming on his lips.

Faith shot an angry glance at Vamp Willow. "What happened?!" Faith demanded.

"I don't know!" Vamp Willow answered testily.

"Looks like somebody's vampy twin needs to go back to magic class," Caleb taunted.

At that, Vamp Willow sent a huge burst of magic in Caleb's direction. The warlock had been expecting her move and deflected her bolt, sending it booming into the wall.


Above the battle, Joyce and Anya braced themselves as the room shook.

"Oh my god, what now?" Joyce asked in a frightened voice.

"I think they may have found Caleb," Anya speculated.

Suddenly, the door shot open, causing both women to jump. Anya pointed her gun at the door. Riley rushed in.

"Are you--whoa!" Riley raised his hands in surrender. "Hey, it's me...Riley...one of the good guys."

"How do I know you really are Riley?" Anya pressed, still pointing the gun.

"Ummm...'cause I don't have the migraine from hell?"

"Oh. Okay then." Anya lowered her gun.

"I was going to ask if you were all right in here, but I see that you are," Riley said. The room shook from another blast. "I'm gonna go see what's happening below us. Graham and Forrest will still be here on this floor."

"Thank you, Riley," Joyce said sincerely. Riley nodded and then rushed out of the room.


On the floor above Tara's ward, Giles and Xander heard the boom from below. Xander whipped out his walkie-talkie.

"Faith!" Xander called into the radio. "Did you find him? Where are you?"

"Second floor!" came Faith's voice over the radio. The sounds of a magical battle could be heard in the background. "Willow!" The radio went dead as another boom rocked the building.

Giles and Xander dashed for the stairwell.


Caleb's hiding place was demolished. Huge holes were in all four walls; tiles and metal framing and electrical duct work were hanging from the ceiling; the lights were blinking on and off. Caleb himself was still standing, though with difficulty.

Vamp Willow was lying dazed in the corner, a victim of Caleb's last magical attack. A bruised and battered Faith was circling Caleb, who was wiping his own blood from his mouth and nose.

"Yeah, you're all high and mighty in the magic department," Faith taunted, "but when it comes to a big smack-down, you bleed just like everybody else."

Faith rushed Caleb, hoping to finish off the weary warlock. When she threw a punch at his face, she was surprised when he easily evaded her and snatched her by the wrist. He clearly wasn't as tired as he had let on. He wrenched her arm, and the sound of breaking bones could be heard. Faith screamed in pain but didn't have time to scream long because Caleb swung the slayer by her broken arm, lifting her off the ground and throwing her against the far wall near where Vamp Willow lay. Faith groaned and somehow sat up, cradling her broken arm.

Caleb smiled and took a few steps toward the women. "Well, ladies, as fun as this has been, kickin' your ass and all, I really must take my leave. I'll see y'all soon."

Caleb made a little salute and then tried to teleport away. Nothing happened. He tried again with the same result. His forehead furrowed in confusion, and he looked all around the room before coming back to the vampire and the slayer.

"Gotcha," they both said at the same time, grinning widely.

Caleb glanced at his shirt, where the spell ingredients had earlier splattered. He looked back at Faith and Vamp Willow. Then he dashed for the door. As soon as he opened the door, he met two gun barrels.

Thunk! Thunk!

Caleb looked down at his chest, from which two tranquilizer darts now protruded. He looked back up and saw Xander and Giles lowering their guns and coming in the doorway. Caleb stumbled back into the room. "Son of a--" Then he hit the floor with a thud.


Back in Tara's room, Willow's and Buffy's eyes shot open at the same time. They looked up at Anya and Joyce, who smiled at them. They smiled back briefly but then looked past them to see Tara. When they saw her, they jumped off their beds and rushed to Tara's side. They each took one of Tara's hands in theirs and waited. Joyce and Anya politely stepped away and stood nearby.

Within seconds, Tara's eyes fluttered open. Buffy and Willow let out a relieved breath, and tears of joy began rolling down their faces. Tara cried too as she gratefully embraced her girlfriends. Soon, however, she was sobbing against them as the memories of her ordeal came rushing back to her. Willow and Buffy just held her and cried with her, telling her over and over how much they loved her.

From their spot several feet away, Joyce and Anya watched with mixed emotions. Anya wiped the tears from her face and looked at Joyce.

"They'll be okay now, right?" she asked with hope-filled eyes.

Joyce smiled and said, "I'm sure they will."

She wrapped her arm reassuringly around Anya's shoulders, and they both turned back to the Three. Out of Anya's gaze, Joyce allowed a worried frown to take over her expression. She knew it would be a long time before any of them would ever be "okay" again.


==========================================

PART 12

==========================================

In Los Angeles, less than hour after Lilah Morgan had been discovered in the crate, a very nervous security guard stood trembling before the desk of one of the Senior Partners of Wolfram and Hart.

"And you're absolutely certain of what was carved on Ms. Morgan's back?" the Senior Partner asked.

Security Officer Jake Manning nervously twisted his cap in his hands. "Yes, sir," he said. "Just like I told you."

The Senior Partner smiled. "Thank you, Jake. Your cooperation is most appreciated. You may go."

Jake nodded and nearly bowed. "Yes, sir." He hurried out the office door.

Several figures, previously hidden in the shadowy corners of the office, stepped into the light. "Shall we take action against Angel?" one of them asked.

The Senior Partner shook his head. "No. Not yet." He rose from his chair to face the figures. "What matters now is discovering why Angel targeted Lilah and how the Three are connected."

"The Power of Three," another of the figures said disgustedly.

"Why were we not informed of their rising?!" barked another.

"That's what we have to find out," the Senior Partner said grimly.


Back in Sunnydale, shortly after Tara had awakened from her coma,Xander's voice came over the radio. "An! Are you there?"

Anya quickly snatched up the radio. "Xander!"

"We got him!" Xander said excitedly. "We got the son of a bitch!"

At the good news, Anya and Joyce hugged while Buffy and Willow and Tara did the same. After a few moments of shared elation, Anya and Joyce politely excused themselves, leaving the Three alone.

For the longest time, Buffy, Willow, and Tara had simply cried--out of a mixture of relief and release, joy and pain. Once their crying had finally subsided, they had settled into a kind of quiet "being". It was enough that they were together; words could wait.

Their silence was broken, however, when Tara let out an intense groan, closing her eyes and scrunching her face in pain. Buffy and Willow instantly went into action: leaning closer and gently touching her.

"Tara, are you okay?" Buffy asked. "Do we need to get the doctor?"

"We should do that anyway," Willow said to Buffy.

When Buffy nodded, Willow gave Tara a small smile and then headed for the door.

"Hey, Will?" Buffy called out, stopping the redhead before she could leave. "You might wanna un-zap that door. Otherwise, you're gonna migraine the doc."

"Oh, right," Willow said. Then she turned her attention to the door. She spoke a short incantation. Immediately, a shimmer flashed around the door and then disappeared. Willow smiled and left the room.

Buffy turned back to Tara and smiled, giving her hand a squeeze of reassurance. Tara tried to return the smile, but it didn't last long before a frown took its place.

"Everything's going to be fine now," Buffy said, lifting Tara's hand and kissing it softly. "Okay?"

Though Tara nodded in reply, her expression was full of doubt. She gave a shaky sigh and glanced away for a moment before turning her eyes back to Buffy.


Later, in the emergency room, Vamp Willow hovered nearby as the doctor worked on Faith. Both women had already had their superficial wounds treated while still on the second floor. Vamp Willow, of course, had waved off any additional treatment, not wanting her lack of a pulse to become common knowledge. However, Faith's arm had been badly broken and could not be ignored. Despite the slayer's objections, Vamp Willow had dragged her girlfriend downstairs to the E.R.

Faith grimaced as the doctor set her arm. She let out a long breath of relief when he was done. When he started to bring over the material to put a permanent cast on her arm, she held up her hand.

"Thanks, but no thanks," Faith said, slipping off the exam table.

"But if we don't immobilize that--" the doctor objected.

"Trust me, I'll be fine," the slayer insisted.

The doctor opened his mouth again, but didn't get the chance to speak. Faith had already left the exam room with Vamp Willow right on her heels.

As they walked to the elevator, Vamp Willow linked her arm with Faith's good one and sidled up close. Faith didn't look amused.

"Oh, you were such a good girl," the redhead cooed playfully. "So brave."

Faith rolled her eyes, a reluctant grin tugging at the corners of her lips. "Shut up," she said, trying to sound annoyed.


Back on the second floor, two of Riley's Initiative soldiers were guarding the door to the destroyed patient room where Caleb had been defeated. Riley himself was standing nearby, deep in conversation with several Sunnydale police officers who had arrived on the scene a short time before. One of the officers was talking on his cell phone. When he finished his call, he turned back to the group.

"What's the word?" Riley asked.

"Word is we're supposed to turn this investigation over to you," the officer announced. Although the officer appeared slightly annoyed, his colleagues seemed glad, nodding and barely containing their relieved grins.

Riley gave the policemen a cordial smile. "Like I said, this is a matter of national security. We'll be taking the prisoner into custody and handling the investigation from here on out."

The officer put away his notepad and made a sweeping gesture with his arm. "Be my guest," he said before motioning the other policemen to follow him.

After the local police left, Riley walked over to the guarded door, where Giles waited anxiously. They soon stepped aside, though, as Forrest and Graham brought Caleb out on a hospital gurney. The warlock was unconscious and strapped down tight. The other two guards took position ahead and behind the gurney as Forrest and Graham pushed Caleb down the hallway. As Riley went to follow, Giles stopped him with a hand on his arm.

"It's imperative that you keep him sedated at all times," Giles warned. "He's extremely dangerous...a sorcerer of immense power. He cannot be allowed to awaken under any circumstances."

Riley gave a sober nod. "Don't worry, we'll keep him knocked out and locked up till you guys decide what to do with him. What are you going to do with him?"

Giles shrugged uncertainly. "I don't know."


Outside Tara's room on the third floor, Xander was updating Anya and Joyce.

"Yeah, Riley and his government goons are taking Caleb into custody for safekeeping," Xander told them.

"Good," Anya said firmly. "We should tell them he's an alien," she suggested. "Then maybe they'll do a gruesome autopsy on him and videotape it for us." Her eyes lit up at the prospect.

"An, he's not dead," Xander pointed out.

"Oh, I'm sure the experiments will kill him," Anya said with confidence. "That's what secret government agencies do, you know. I saw it on The X-Files."

"I just hope they can handle him," Joyce said. "What he's capable of...it's frightening."

"Nothing massive doses of tranquilizers won't fix," Xander said, hoping that he sounded reassuring.


A short time later, the doctor was examining Tara. He made a note of her pulse and blood pressure then pulled out a penlight.

"You gave us all a scare," he said as he passed the light over her eyes and watched them dilate. He turned the penlight off with a click. "We're so glad you finally woke up."

Tara gave him a quick smile before grimacing uncomfortably.

"The pain pretty bad?" he asked.

Tara continued to frown, but nodded her answer.

"You've got some cracked ribs," the doctor said as he stepped away to where he had placed a small tray on the table. "Hate to tell ya, but those are gonna hurt like hell for a while." He pulled a vial and a syringe from the tray. "I'm gonna give you something for the pain," he went on. "It'll probably make you sleepy but--"

"No!" Tara blurted out abruptly, surprising the doctor as well as Buffy and Willow. "I-I-I'm fine," she insisted. "It's n-n-not that bad. Really."

Willow moved back to the bedside and touched Tara's arm. "Sweetie, if you're hurting..."

On the other side, Buffy leaned closer. "Tara, what is it?"

Tears filled Tara's eyes as she looked at Buffy and Willow in turn. "I...I don't want to go to sleep," she finally admitted in a choked voice. "I got so lost before. What if I can't--"

"We'll find you," Buffy said with certainty.

"We will always find you," Willow emphasized.

Tara seemed reassured by that, but fear was still in her eyes as she stole a glance at the doctor.

"Don't worry. We'll be right here with you," Buffy told her. "The whole time. I promise."

Willow gave Tara's arm a squeeze to second that notion.

After looking intently at her girlfriends once more, Tara nodded. Willow took a step back and let the doctor return to Tara's side. He had already prepared the syringe and was now waiting for Tara to give her permission.

"Okay?" he asked.

Though still frightened, Tara nodded and said in a whisper, "Okay."

The doctor smiled and then injected the solution into Tara's I.V. line. Within seconds, Tara relaxed, and soon her eyes drifted shut.

"She'll be fine," the doctor told Buffy and Willow. "She just needs time."

"Speaking of time," Buffy said as she came around the bed to stand beside the doctor. "When do you think Tara can go home?"

The doctor thought a moment then said, "As long as her vitals hold strong and we're confident there's no neurological damage, probably in a day or two." After setting the used syringe on his tray, he turned back to Willow and Buffy. "She'll need someone to stay with her for the first few days, to make sure she gets around safely. Even with pain meds, her injuries are going to make even the smallest tasks very difficult: getting into and out of bed, using the bathroom, brushing her teeth, even eating and drinking. She'll need help with all of those things."

"We can do that," Willow insisted.

"Right, we can do that," Buffy echoed.

The doctor gave them a sober stare. "Someone who's been through what she's been through...she's got a lot of healing to do beyond the physical. She'll need to see a counselor."

Willow and Buffy frowned but nodded, unconsciously reaching out to take each other's hand.

"Thank you, Doctor," Willow said.

"Yes, thank you," Buffy said.

"No problem," he said. Then he took his tray and left the room.

When the doctor had gone, Willow and Buffy turned to each other. They sighed and slipped into a long and needful hug. When they separated, they had tears in their eyes.

"We can do this," Buffy asserted, though with less assurance than before.

"We can help Tara through this," Willow added with a similar lack of confidence.

Then they both cast worried glances in Tara's direction.


A short time later, with Tara sleeping peacefully and the two extra gurneys having been removed from the room, Buffy and the others held a Scoobies meeting.

"Caleb is now in Initiative custody," Giles told Willow and Buffy, "where he will remain, locked away and safely tranquilized."

"Yeah, Riley pulled a Feds takeover, so no need to worry about nosy local police either," Xander added. "Not that they would have done much investigating."

"The question now, though," Giles went on, "is what to do with Caleb."

"That's easy," Willow said. "We punish him, and not quickly either. Something like...slow roasting over an open fire?"

Anya gave Willow an enthusiastic point with her index finger. "Good, good. But only after the government does experiments on him."

"Yes," Xander quickly added. "Experiments involving many sharp objects. And perhaps power drills."

"I'm thinking more like car batteries hooked to certain vitals," Joyce said grimly.

"Ooo, way to go, Joyce," Faith noted. "That one definitely tops the list."

While Willow nodded approvingly at all of the suggestions, Buffy just shook her head. "No," she stated. "No punishment. Not--"

Willow whipped around and angrily interrupted the slayer. "Buffy, you know what he did to Tara. He has to pay for that."

"And he will," Buffy said. "Just not right now. Best thing for us is to focus on getting Tara better. Then we can deal with Caleb." When Willow didn't reply, Buffy met Willow's gaze and held it. "Caleb will pay," she told her mentally. "I promise." Willow returned Buffy's look for a long moment; finally, she nodded in acquiescence. The two shared a quick smile; then Buffy turned to Giles. "How long can they hold him?"

"As long as it takes," Giles answered. "They'll keep him sedated at all times. I've made it very clear exactly what kind of threat they are dealing with."

Buffy turned back to address the group. "Well until Tara's home safe and sound and on the mend, we'll just have them keep Caleb on ice. We'll figure out what to do with him later."


After the meeting, Buffy sent everyone home to rest and get cleaned up. Only Willow and Joyce remained with her in Tara's hospital room. As Tara continued to sleep, Willow went into the small bathroom to wash up and change clothes. Buffy stood beside Tara's bed, holding the witch's hand. Joyce stood beside her daughter, her arm resting lightly on Buffy's shoulders.

"Buffy," Joyce said, causing the slayer to look her way. "What are you going to do when Tara's released from the hospital?"

"Ummm, I don't know. Finish moving into the apartment, I guess," Buffy replied. "We'll have to work out a schedule, so Tara's not alone, and..." Buffy frowned and trailed off, her mind overwhelmed by the myriad of details that would need to be addressed.

Joyce shook her head then looked at Buffy intently. "I think you should move home," she said.

Buffy became appalled, and she pulled away from her mother. "I'm not moving home! I'm not gonna leave Willow and Tara alone at a time like--"

Joyce waved Buffy into stopping her tirade. "No, no, I didn't mean that," she said, trying to correct Buffy's misinterpretation. "I meant all three of you. I want you home with me. All of you."

Buffy's expression changed from upset to embarrassed to grateful in a matter of seconds. "Oh" was all she could say before wrapping her mother in a warm hug. Joyce returned the hug, stroking her daughter's hair lovingly. When Buffy separated them, she said, "Thank you, I-I-I don't know what else to say."

"Say you'll do it," Joyce replied.

"I'll talk to Will and Tara," Buffy said, postponing a definite answer, but it was clear that Buffy loved the idea.

Joyce nodded her acceptance of that plan. Then she returned to sit on the bench near the window, while Buffy remained standing beside Tara's bed.

Just then, Willow came out of the bathroom carrying the bag that she had packed for them before they had done the ritual. She looked very refreshed and sighed contentedly. Buffy left Tara's side and walked over to where Willow was setting the bag on the chair.

"Feel better?" Buffy asked.

"Much," Willow replied. "Best sponge bath ever." Buffy frowned, and Willow did the same. "Did that sound as pathetic as I think it did?"

"Yeah, pretty much," Buffy said with a grin.

"We'll just have to do something about that, won't we?" Willow said huskily, pulling Buffy close and kissing her soundly. "You could be Nurse Buffy, and I could be--"

Willow's fantasy description was interrupted by Joyce loudly clearing her throat. Joyce peeked over Tara's bed at Willow, who was now blushing furiously.

"Ha, ah, um, Mrs. Summers...didn't realize you were still...ha, yeah."

Joyce's face lit up in an amused smirk, and then she returned to her seat. Buffy, a little embarrassed herself, still snickered a bit as Willow turned back to face her girlfriend.

Willow gave Buffy a small smack on the arm. "How could you let me do that?" she whispered urgently. "You're supposed to stop me before I put my foot in my mouth."

Buffy scoffed but smiled as she did so. "I didn't have time," she answered in a similar whisper. "You just blurted it out." Then Buffy leaned closer. "But for the record...I'm all for a new sponge bath scenario."

At that, the two giggled wickedly. An instant later, they ceased their laughing and cleared their throats, casting a guilty glance in Joyce's direction. They kept smiling, though, until Buffy sobered and looked Willow in the eyes.

"So...are you mad?" Buffy asked. "You know...about the punishment thing?"

Willow stiffened a little but didn't pull away. "No, not really," she said. Then her expression became very serious. "I just don't want to see him get away with what he's done. He deserves to be punished."

"And he will be, Willow, I swear," Buffy said. "As soon as Tara's back on her feet."

When Willow nodded her okay, Buffy pulled away and grabbed the bag from the chair. "My turn," she said before heading for the bathroom.


After Buffy entered the bathroom and shut the door, she turned on the faucet to let the water get warm. She put down the seat on the toilet and set the bag on top of it. She tested the water temperature then set the plug and allowed the sink to slowly fill. By the time she had stripped off her clothes, the sink was full, and she turned off the faucet. She leaned over, scooped some water into both hands, and splashed her face. When she straightened up, she didn't reach for the towel. Instead, she stared at the wall, her mind clearly elsewhere.

Images flashed in her mind: Caleb gleefully zapping Tara. Tara convulsing in pain. Caleb smiling as he stuck a red-hot brand to Tara's neck. Tara running in fear. Caleb savagely beating Tara until she slipped to the ground. Caleb--

Buffy shook her head. She couldn't let her mind go there, to what Caleb had ultimately done. It hurt too much to think of it. She shook her head again and then looked at her reflection. Her expression became grim and determined. She cast a quick glance at the door, thinking of Willow outside. She closed her mental shields tightly. Then she let her mind go where it truly wanted to.

To Caleb.

She saw herself viciously stabbing Caleb with a large knife. She felt his blood splattering all over her as she thrust the blade into him again and again. She heard the sickening sound of wet flesh as his lifeless body finally slid off the knife and slipped to the floor.

Buffy blinked and came back to reality. Her heart was racing, and she was breathing fast. She gripped the sides of the sink and made herself calm down. After letting out a long breath, she reached for a wash cloth, forcing herself to focus on the mundane task of washing up.


Later that day, Faith and Vamp Willow returned to Tara's room. They found Buffy and Willow alone with Tara. Giles had come by earlier and had finally persuaded Joyce to go home for a while. The slayer and vampire had also washed up and changed into clean clothes. Fortunately, the wounds the two visitors had received in the battle with Caleb were already fading--Faith's thanks to her slayer powers, Vamp Willow's thanks to vampire healing.

"Look at you," Buffy teased when Faith and Vamp Willow walked in wearing their borrowed clothes.

Faith held out her hands and looked down at her outfit. "Yeah, good thing you kept that stuff of hers."

Buffy looked a little uncomfortable. "I-I-I know it's weird," she said, "but...I just didn't feel right leaving Faith's things at her apartment."

"Hey, worked out for me," Faith said with a big smile. "And look at what Red found over at your place."

Buffy's eyes widened a bit at the sight of Vamp Willow. She was dressed in shiny leather pants, dark green, with a slinky, smoky-colored, low-cut blouse with a slightly ruffled collar.

"Not exactly my taste, but close enough," Vamp Willow said approvingly.

"You found that in Willow's stuff?" Buffy asked. Then she turned to her girlfriend, who was blushing slightly.

"I bought it for Oz," Willow admitted. "You know...when I was all worried about the whole Veruca thing?"

Buffy nodded then grinned. "Well, feel free to wear that for me anytime," Buffy said, giving Willow a nudge, which made the redhead blush even more.

"How's Tara?" Faith asked, changing the subject.

"Still sleeping, thank goodness," Willow said. "Best thing for her probably."

"What about you guys?" Faith asked. "You ready to take a little break? Maybe go for a walk or something? We'll stay with Tara." She hitched her thumb at herself and Vamp Willow.

Willow shook her head. "I appreciate the offer, but I-I-I really don't want to leave her right now."

"What about you, B?"

Buffy looked at Willow and Tara as if torn between two decisions. Then she looked back at Faith. "Actually, I do have somewhere I'd like to go."

Willow looked at Buffy curiously.

"I want to go to the Initiative," she said. "I want to make sure Caleb is secure. I know I won't feel safe until I see it with my own eyes."

Willow nodded as if she considered that to be a good idea.

Buffy turned back to the others. "If you two will stay with Willow and Tara, I can run over to the Initiative and--"

"Not by yourself, you're not," Faith stated firmly. "Willow can stay here. I'll go with you."

"That's really not nec--" Buffy started to say.

"Buffy," Willow said, cutting Buffy off. "We don't know who else might be out there gunning for us."

Buffy was quiet for a moment. Then she reluctantly said, "Okay." She gave Willow a quick kiss then headed for the door.


After arranging for clearance, Riley took Faith and Buffy into the fraternity house's hidden elevator. Neither Buffy nor Faith said much on the long ride down, but when they stepped off the elevator, their eyes grew wide at the sight of the elaborate facility.

"Damn!" Faith said. "This is like the Bat Cave or something. Only better."

"Wow," Buffy added. "It's so secret agent-y."

Riley grinned proudly. "Come on," he said, motioning them to follow. "Let me give you the tour. The restricted tour, anyway."

After showing the slayers those areas that had been approved in their clearance, Riley finally took them to the containment area where Caleb was being kept. He led them down a long hallway of cells, each one with an invisible barrier blocking the entrance. They passed several vampires and a handful of other types of demons.

One large beast rushed its cell entrance, only to be repelled by a massive electric shock delivered by the invisible shield. Although Buffy and Faith had jumped at the demon's initial rush, the two slayers relaxed when they saw that the monster was being easily contained by the Initiative's technology.

"Cool," Faith said. "Sure beats a pair of rusty ol' shackles, right, B?"

"No kidding," Buffy replied.

Riley led the duo to the end of the hallway, to a larger cell sitting off by itself. Two armed guards were outside the cell. At a nod from Riley, they stepped away, moving several yards down the corridor. Riley went to the keypad on the wall and entered a code. As the invisible shield shimmered and disappeared, the light on the pad changed from solid green to flashing red to indicate that the room was no longer secured. When Riley motioned to them, Buffy and Faith stepped inside.

In the center of the room but pushed against one wall was a hospital bed. Around it were several machines, two of which were monitoring systems--one for heart rate and blood pressure, the other for brain activity. Caleb lay strapped down in the bed, unconscious and unmoving.

"We've got him in an induced coma," Riley explained. "Dr. Walsh felt that this would be the safest way to contain him. With the right meds, there's no way in hell he's waking up. And we can keep him suspended like this indefinitely."

"Good," Buffy said, her jaw clenched tightly. "That's what I wanted to hear." Buffy turned to Faith and Riley and put on a vulnerable expression. "Do you guys mind giving me a moment alone with him? I have some things I need to say."

"He can't hear you," Faith pointed out.

"It's not for him," Buffy said. "It's for me."

"Oh." Faith still made no move to leave.

Riley nodded and pointed his thumb toward the door. "We'll be right down the hall if you need us." Riley touched Faith's arm and gestured for her to follow him. After staring at Buffy questioningly, Faith finally relented and went with Riley into the hallway.


After they had gone a few yards away, Faith stopped Riley and confronted him.

"Do you think that's a good idea?" she asked him.

"What?"

"Leaving her alone with him, you nimrod."

"She's perfectly safe," Riley said. "He's completely out of it."

"She's not the one who's in danger."

"What? You think that she'd...?"

"I don't know," Faith said with a shrug. "If it'd been my girlfriend that he had attacked..."

They both looked toward the cell with worried expressions on their faces, but neither took a step that way. Faith tilted her head and strained to listen.


Buffy walked the short distance to Caleb's hospital bed. Her fists were clenched tightly at her sides as she stood next to him. Her eyes were locked on the metal railing of the bed.

"You hurt Tara," Buffy said matter-of-factly. "You tried to kill her. And Willow. And me." She lifted her gaze to Caleb's face. Angry tears were in her eyes. "But you hurt Tara. You hurt the kindest, gentlest, most loving person I have ever met, and you liked it." Buffy's voice became choked with near-sobs as she forced the words out past the tears. "You got off on it...you sick...son of a..." She couldn't finish for crying.


Meanwhile, back at the hospital, both Willow and Vamp Willow paced anxiously in Tara's room. Even Tara stirred restlessly in her sleep, as if she were having a bad dream.

"What's going on?" Vamp Willow asked in a near-growl.

"It's Buffy," Willow said in a voice not unlike her twin's. "I think she must be with Caleb."

"Better her than me," Vamp Willow said. "I'd be killing him right about now."

"Me too," Willow said, but without the conviction she intended. She stopped pacing and looked away, a worried expression on her face.


Back in the Initiative, in Caleb's cell, Buffy had stopped crying. She was now looking down at Caleb with a hard coldness in her eyes. There was a knife in her right hand. When she took it in both hands and raised it over Caleb's chest, she suddenly heard a voice behind her.

"Whatcha doin', B?" Faith asked calmly.

Buffy didn't even glance back. "What has to be done."

"'Has to be'? You sure about that?" Faith slowly circled around until she could see Buffy's face.

"He's a monster," Buffy said, her jaw clenched tightly. "I kill monsters."

"Last I heard, Caleb here was human," Faith said, moving closer to the bed. "Slayers don't kill humans."

Buffy whipped her head around to face Faith. New tears were streaming down her face. "That 'human' tortured Tara, raped her, left her so terrorized that she had to hide in her own mind! He deserves to die!"

Faith was only a few feet away now. "So what's stopping you?"

Buffy turned back to Caleb. She was still holding the knife over him. Her brow furrowed as she tried to focus on bringing the knife down, but it didn't move. Her arms started to shake.

Faith stepped up right beside Buffy, mere inches away. "Quick thrust to the heart, a little blood...okay, a lot of blood...and it'll all be over...Right?"

Faith held her breath and waited, letting her question sink in. After the longest moment, Buffy finally burst into sobs. Faith instantly moved in and caught Buffy's hand as she let her arms drop harmlessly to the metal railing. Faith took the knife away and, with a sigh of relief, stuffed it into the back pocket of her jeans.

When Faith turned back to Buffy, she was surprised when the blonde just fell into her arms crying. Faith seemed unsure of what to do at first, but then she just wrapped her arms around the sobbing slayer and held her close, stroking her back and her hair.

"It'll be okay," she whispered, her own eyes welling with tears. "It'll be okay."


Later that day, Joyce and Giles and Xander and Anya returned to the hospital. They found Buffy and Willow helping Tara eat a little supper. Vamp Willow was slouched in a chair. Faith was standing nearby, trying not to pace. By the time warm greetings had been exchanged by all, Tara had finished eating.

"So...how's the hospital fare? As bad as they always say?" Xander teased.

"Just some chicken broth and Jell-O," Tara said. "But n-n-not together," she added for clarification.

"Thank goodness," Buffy said, grimacing at the thought of the odd food combination.

As everyone chuckled a bit, Willow set the food tray aside and returned to stand next to Buffy. She leaned against the slayer and let out a weary sigh.

"Buffy, you and Willow look so tired," Joyce said. "Why don't you come home with me for a while?"

Willow immediately stood up straight and exchanged a look with Buffy. "No, thanks, we're fine." They turned back to the group. "We'd rather stay with Tara."

"We'll stay with Tara," Anya offered, linking her arm with Xander's.

"And it's not like we got anywhere else to be," Faith added, indicating herself and Vamp Willow. "We gotta patrol later, but that can wait."

Buffy shook her head. "We appreciate it," she said, "we do, but--"

"Buffy?"

Buffy stopped when she heard Tara speak up. Both she and Willow leaned closer.

"Mrs. Summers is right. You should go," Tara told them. "At least for a few hours." She gave them a small smile. "I've got four babysitters. I'll be fine."

Buffy and Willow looked at each other then back at Tara. They didn't look convinced.

"We don't want to leave you," Willow projected mentally.

"We promised we'd stay," Buffy added.

"You're both exhausted," Tara replied in her mind. "I can tell. Please...for me...go home and rest a while."

Buffy and Willow looked at one another again. When they turned back to Tara, they reluctantly nodded in agreement. Then, after way too many goodbyes and kisses to their girlfriend, Willow and Buffy finally allowed themselves to be dragged away by Joyce and Giles.

Not long after Willow and Buffy had left, the nurse came in and gave Tara another round of pain medication. Soon the blonde was sleeping peacefully again. After settling themselves on the bench beside Tara's bed, Xander and Anya encouraged Faith and Vamp Willow to take a break, and the two women gratefully accepted.


As Faith and Vamp Willow made their way down the hallway toward the elevators, Faith took her girlfriend's hand. "Come on," she said, "let's hit the cafeteria. I'm starved."

"Me too," Vamp Willow said.

Faith stopped and turned to face the redhead. "Are you?" she asked, concerned.

Vamp Willow grinned. "Nah, not really. Nabbed a bag from the blood bank this afternoon. Still hungry, though. Got all riled up when you and Buffy were gone. What happened over there?"

Faith started walking again and led them to the empty elevator. When they had gotten on board and she had pushed the button for the first floor, Faith turned to Vamp Willow, shaking her head. "Man, Buffy scared the bejesus outta me. She pulled a knife on Caleb. I thought she was gonna kill him."

"What did you do?"

"I talked her out of it," Faith said. "Close call, though."

"Why?"

"Why was it a close call?" Faith asked, confused.

"No, why did you talk her out of it?" Vamp Willow clarified. "Why not let her kill him?"

Faith looked a bit appalled by the question. "Because it's not right, that's why. Slayers don't kill humans."

"I don't think Caleb qualifies."

"That's what she said...that he was a monster, that she killed monsters."

"She was right."

Faith shook her head again. "No, she wasn't, and she knew that. That's why she couldn't kill him." Faith sighed and looked away. "I don't expect you to understand."

Vamp Willow looked a little miffed at that. "Maybe I understand more than you think."

Just then, the doors opened, and Vamp Willow strode angrily out, leaving Faith behind. Faith had to hurry to catch up to her.


Later that night at the Summers home, Willow and Buffy lay awake in bed. Though they were both exhausted, they could not fall asleep. For hours, they had tossed and turned and fought the covers, their minds bombarded by a never-ending smash-cut slide-show of the last few days' events. And, above all, they keenly felt Tara's absence.

"Should we just get up?" Willow said finally. "We're obviously not going to sleep."

"Might as well," Buffy wearily agreed. She reached for the light on her night stand and turned it on, then propped herself up against her pillows.

Willow sat up as well, sighing heavily once she was in place. "Do you think Tara's okay?" she asked worriedly.

Buffy turned to Willow, smiled, and held out her hand. "Let's find out."

Willow grinned and took Buffy's hand. Then they both leaned back against their pillows and closed their eyes. They focused on their breathing, joined their minds, and reached out to Tara.

When they connected with her, they found her sleeping soundly. Not wanting to disturb her rest, they just sent their love and then broke their connection. Although Willow and Buffy now felt some relief, their mood was still somewhat heavy. After several long moments, Willow glanced at Buffy, who seemed deep in thought.

"You haven't said much since you got back from the Initiative," Willow commented. "You or Faith."

Buffy's eyes darted to Willow's but only briefly. "Not much to say," she answered. "Checked out Caleb. He's secure. Came back."

"Something happened...something you're not telling me," Willow accused, but not harshly.

Buffy refused to either confirm or deny.

"Buffy, I could feel what you were feeling. It's that nifty little bond of ours, remember?" Willow said, exasperation slipping into her voice. "I know you were trying to block it, but whatever happened...it just blew right past that. So...just tell me."

Buffy still didn't answer. She pulled her knees to her chest and looked away, not letting Willow see her face.

Willow growled in frustration and plopped back against her pillows. "Fine! Don't tell me. I'll just--"

"I tried to kill Caleb," Buffy said softly, not looking in Willow's direction.

Willow instantly shot back up. "What?" she asked, not sure she had heard correctly.

Her eyes wet with tears, Buffy turned back to face Willow. "I tried to kill Caleb," she repeated, though not much louder than she had before.

"'Tried'?" Willow asked.

"I-I-I couldn't do it," Buffy said. "I wanted to, and I could have, he was right there, but...I just couldn't."

Willow went stock-still. The only movement in her body was the sweep of emotions crossing her face: rage, pain, disappointment, sympathy. Then she looked away without speaking.

Buffy became both alarmed and distraught at Willow's reaction. "Willow, please...talk to me."

When Willow turned back, she was crying too. In a choked voice, she said simply, "I wish you had." Then Willow shook her head and rose from the bed. Without another word, she headed for the bathroom.

All Buffy could do was watch in shock as Willow left the room.


==========================================

PART 13

==========================================

"I wish you had..."

Willow's statement hit Buffy like a rock hurled at her chest. She crossed her arms over her heart and hunched in, hugging herself, holding her breath, as if halting that life-giving function would somehow stop the pain inside.

She wishes I had killed him, she thought sadly. I couldn't do it, and now I've let her down. I've let Tara down.

The need for air finally forced Buffy's lungs to expand. Her heaving breaths came as hiccupy near- sobs that she had to struggle to suppress. It took her several moments to regain control. When she had done so, she wiped her eyes and then cast a troubled glance at the bedroom door. She longed to reach out to Willow telepathically, but didn't dare to--not when the redhead was so upset, so angry...at her.

Buffy glanced away. Then she turned off the lamp on her nightstand and curled back up in the bed, facing away from Willow's side.

I'm sorry, I'm sorry, she imagined telling Willow in her mind. Why can't you understand? I just...can't. I want to so bad, but if I do...

Buffy closed her eyes tightly. She couldn't bear to think of it--what would happen if she gave in to the dark rage seething inside her. She sighed and tried to focus on going to sleep.


Her tears now gone, Willow stood at the sink, holding the edges of the counter with both hands, her white knuckles attesting to the intensity of her grip. She was staring at the polished chrome of the faucet, breathing slowly and deliberately as if trying to calm herself. Finally, she looked up at the mirror above the sink and met her own eyes. They were blazing with barely-controlled rage.

She had him. Right there, right in front of her, and she--

Willow stopped her thoughts and growled, pushing off the counter to pace around the small bathroom. She clenched and unclenched her fists multiple times, feeling a dangerous energy building inside her.

Doesn't she care what he did to her, what he put Tara through?

Willow let out another frustrated growl and then stopped at the sink once again. She took a deep breath and slowly released it. When she turned to her reflection this time, her gaze was hard and cold.

Caleb deserves to die, she thought. And if Buffy won't do it, then I will.


When Willow came back in the bedroom, she found Buffy seemingly asleep. The blonde was in bed, with her lamp off, and she was giving no indication that she had heard Willow come in. But Willow could sense that Buffy wasn't asleep. The angry expression that the redhead had been wearing softened a bit, and she padded over, turned her own light off, and eased into the bed.

At first, she lay on her back, almost halfway sitting up. She stared at the far wall, her face constantly changing, as a tide of emotions rolled through her. She looked over at Buffy, how the slayer was turned away from her, and frowned at the sight. Willow could feel Buffy's pain--or at least the portion of it that was seeping past the slayer's mental shields--and she longed to do something to ease it. But Buffy's positioning had made it clear that she didn't want to talk. With a heavy sigh, Willow scooted down in the bed and turned onto her side, away from Buffy.

Though they were only a small distance apart, it felt like a gaping chasm between them. Yet neither one spoke or made a move toward the other. They simply lay there, staring into the darkness, praying for sleep to take them.


Meanwhile, at the hospital, Xander and Anya were keeping watch over Tara. As she slept, the couple sat quietly on the bench nearby. Xander had a worried gaze locked on Tara, but Anya was completely absorbed in the notepad she was writing on.

Tara was frowning in her sleep and tossing her head from side to side. When she began to whimper slightly, Xander rose to his feet and stood next to her bed. He put a gentle hand on her forehead.

"She must be having a bad dream," he said softly.

"Not to worry," Anya assured him, holding up her pen but not taking her eyes off her notepad. "I know just what will make her feel better when she wakes up."

Xander turned from Tara and cast a suspicious eye in his girlfriend's direction. "What are you up to?"

"Just makin' a list and checkin' it twice," Anya answered, once again not looking up from her work. Suddenly, she stopped and shot an inquiring glance at Xander. "Does 'disemboweled' have one L or two?"

Xander merely slumped and rolled his eyes upward in a heaven-help-me expression before turning back to Tara.


Later, about an hour before dawn, Faith and Vamp Willow were finishing up a long night of patrolling. At the moment, they were in the middle of dispatching a fanged foursome near the Mercer mausoleum. After slaying her two adversaries, Faith turned to watch her lover in action.

Whirling with practiced skill, the redhead was systematically pummeling the two vampires, alternating from one to the other until they were both just tottering on their feet. She could have dusted them much faster, especially if she had used her magic, but she was intentionally prolonging their demise--a pattern she had been repeating all night. When the fight was completely gone from the pair, Vamp Willow eyed them with disgust and staked them.

"Good work," Faith complimented.

Vamp Willow gave Faith a haughty side-glance and refused to speak--another pattern she had been repeating all night. Then she stomped away.

Exasperated and somewhat annoyed, Faith hurried to catch up with her. "Look, I said I was sorry, okay?"

Vamp Willow stopped in place and whipped around. "Sorry for what?" she shot back, finally ending the silent treatment.

"For what I said."

Vamp Willow just glared at Faith expectantly until the slayer was forced to go on.

"For saying that I didn't expect you to understand."

Vamp Willow stared at Faith intently for a long moment. "You don't have a clue, do you?" she accused.

"About what?" the slayer asked.

"About why that pissed me off so goddamned much!!!"

"I, um...uhhh..." Faith looked totally lost.

Vamp Willow shook her head and started stomping off once again. Faith ran after her and grabbed her arm to stop her.

"You're right...I don't," Faith admitted. "But I wanna know." The slayer's voice was sincere, and her eyes were pleading.

The irate vampire sighed and glanced at the ground for a short time. When she looked back up, the anger in her eyes was tinged with hurt. "Just because I don't have a full soul doesn't mean I'm less than you."

"I know that," Faith said defensively.

Vamp Willow huffed in disbelief and took a few steps away before giving the slayer a skeptical eyebrow lift. She watched Faith's brow furrow deeply as she struggled to understand what her girlfriend was trying to tell her. She wasn't encouraged by the confusion she saw in Faith's expression, and she felt her anger rising once again. She let her eyes bore into Faith's.

"If all I am to you is some soul-less plaything," Willow told her sharply, "then this is not gonna work." She gestured between herself and Faith. "This...whatever it is we're doing. I won't be somebody's bitch, not even for you!" She crossed her arms tightly and turned away.

"You're not," Faith insisted as she closed the distance between them. She stood in front of the redhead and reached out to touch her shoulder. "I swear."

Vamp Willow didn't respond to her touch and didn't appear to be the least bit mollified by her words. Faith reluctantly went on.

"I...I didn't realize...how it sounded...what I said," Faith offered. "I...I'm sorry."

After several extremely long seconds, Vamp Willow finally met Faith's gaze. "Okay then," she said in testy acceptance of Faith's apology. She pulled out of the slayer's grasp and walked a few feet away. Then she stopped and glanced back at Faith. "We should go," she told her. "It'll be dawn soon."

At that, she strode away, with an only slightly less confused Faith following.


A short time later, Faith and Vamp Willow were at Giles's apartment, cleaning up after their night of slaying. Vamp Willow had showered first and was now in the bedroom, halfway through getting dressed. Just then, a naked Faith walked in, towel-drying her wet hair.

She found her girlfriend sitting on the edge of the far side of the bed, intentionally faced away from her. It was obvious from her current posture and her return to silence that--despite her earlier acceptance of Faith's apology--the redhead was still holding a grudge.

Faith made a silent sigh and went about the task of drying off and putting on her underclothes. When she sat down to put on her socks, she cut her eyes in Willow's direction. The redhead was fiddling with her hair, clearly stalling any need to turn around.

Faith turned back around and slumped for a moment as she thought deeply. Then she took a deep breath, got up, and walked around to Vamp Willow's side of the bed. She knelt at her feet and took both of the vampire's hands into her own.

"I'm really sorry about what I said earlier," Faith began. "I don't think of you as less than me or as some disposable plaything."

She gave Willow's hands a squeeze, and the redhead returned the gesture, looking deeply into Faith's eyes as she went on.

"What we have--whatever it might be--it matters to me. A lot. And I don't want to lose it. Or you."

Vamp Willow gave Faith a tiny smile and nodded but said nothing in reply.

"So, what do I need to do to make things right?" Faith asked.

Instantly, Vamp Willow's face lit up in a brilliant but mischievous grin. "Pony time?" she offered with hope-and-lust-filled eyes.

Faith groaned in mild complaint and let her head fall back against her shoulders. Then she laughed at herself and turned back to her girlfriend. "Walked right into that one, didn't I?"

Vamp Willow's grin became a sexy smirk. "Uh-huh!" she chirped in a pleased-with-herself tone.

Faith laughed again and then gave her lover a nod of acquiescence. Before she could even finish her nod, Vamp Willow was on her, growling and taking her to the floor.

[Editor's note: Click here to see the NC-17 side story Pony Time]


Later, but still fairly early in the morning, Buffy awoke in her bedroom. She blinked her eyes groggily, slowly but surely remembering where she was and why. When her mind brought back the memories of the previous night's events, she quickly looked over her shoulder at Willow. The redhead was asleep, still curled up on the other side of the bed, as far away from the slayer as the slayer had been from her.

Buffy sadly hung her head. She considered waking Willow up so that they could talk but then decided against it, choosing instead to let her girlfriend sleep and to give herself time to think.

Silently, she slipped out of the bed, donned her robe, and left the bedroom. As soon as Buffy had gone, Willow's eyes popped open. She sat up in bed and sighed, staring at the back of the closed door.


When Buffy trudged into the kitchen, she was surprised to find Giles there. His face was unshaven, and his hair was tousled, and he was going from cabinet to cabinet and peering inside. She couldn't help but grin at the sight.

"What are you doing here, mister?" she called out in a stern voice.

Giles jumped and turned around. "Oh! Buffy. You startled me." He nervously adjusted his robe and glasses.

Buffy crossed her arms and tried to glare. "Listen here, I don't recall giving you permission for a sleep-over."

"I, um...well, you see...uhhh...i-i-it was late, and-and Joyce and I were--"

"Relax," Buffy said, interrupting her watcher's babble. She walked over and gave him a playful jab in the arm. "I'm just giving ya a hard time."

Blushing a bit, Giles laughed in relief. "Good, good," he said. "But, um, if my staying over upsets you in any way, then I can--"

Once again Buffy cut Giles off. "Giles, I'm cool with you and Mom. Really." She paused and then said, "More than really, actually." The two shared a warm, sincere smile before Buffy spoke up once again. "Now...can I help you find something?"

Giles held up a cup and said somewhat sheepishly, "Tea?"

"You're in America now, Giles. You should learn to drink coffee in the morning," she teased as she went to the correct cabinet and pulled out a box of English tea and handed it to him.

"Well, if you Colonists hadn't gotten your knickers in a knot about taxes, you'd be drinking tea right now," he countered with a grin.

"Yeah, and we'd all be singing 'God Save the Queen,' too."

"Precisely," Giles said as he dropped a tea bag into his cup and headed for the kettle he'd already set to boiling on the stove.

Buffy, on the other hand, walked over to the coffee maker. She checked to see that it was set and then punched the brew button. Soon, the rich smell of freshly brewed coffee filled the air. She sniffed and sighed and retrieved a cup from the cabinet. Before long, both watcher and slayer were seated at the dining room table sipping their hot beverages and nibbling on toast and jam.

More than once as they ate, Buffy looked up at Giles as if she wanted to say something, but every time she quickly turned back to her food without speaking a word. After the third or fourth occasion, Giles reached across the table and placed his hand on hers.

"What's troubling you, Buffy?" he asked.

She looked surprised at first and then just ashamed. She pulled her hand back and dropped her gaze to her lap. Finally, she spoke, but in a voice that was barely above a whisper. "I tried to kill Caleb last night."

Her eyes flickered up to gauge her watcher's reaction, but his expression was unreadable. So she went on.

"It was when I went to check the security at the Initiative. I took a knife with me and convinced the others to leave me alone with him."

"And what happened?" Giles asked in an even voice.

"Faith stopped me. She talked me out of it." Buffy gave a rueful laugh. "Ironic, isn't it? Faith lecturing me on the slayer morality of not killing humans."

Giles chuckled briefly and said, "Yes, I must admit it is. But she's not our Faith."

"I know," Buffy replied. "But sometimes when I look at her, I remember what happened--what our Faith did, what I did, and..." She trailed off and was quiet for a moment. "Maybe we're not that different after all."

"You are not like Faith," Giles said firmly. "Our Faith, I mean. You proved that last night by not killing Caleb when you had the chance."

"But I would have, Giles," Buffy said in a choked voice. "If Faith hadn't stepped in when she did, I would have." Tears were trickling down her face as a rage entered her eyes. "I would have taken that knife and stabbed it right in his heart and then kept on stabbing and...I would have liked it."

Buffy began to cry in earnest then, and Giles left his chair and came around the table to wrap his slayer in a warm hug. Buffy accepted the hug but not for long. Soon she pulled away and looked into her watcher's eyes.

"I scared myself last night," she confessed. "Even when our Faith tried to kill Angel, what I felt then...it was nothing like what I felt when I stood over Caleb with that knife. If Faith hadn't been there and kept me from going through with it...I don't think I would have come back from that. I think I would have been lost. Forever."

Giles nodded in agreement and sympathy. But Buffy withdrew even more, hunching down in her chair, a pained expression on her face.

"Buffy, what is it?" Giles asked. "What are you not telling me?"

It took a while for Buffy to get out the words. "When I told Willow, she got really upset."

"Well, I'm sure she did," Giles said. "She loves you; it's natural that she'd be worried about you."

Buffy shook her head. "No, not like that. She was upset that I hadn't killed Caleb."

"Oh, I see," Giles replied.

"What if she's right?" Buffy asked. "I mean, what are we supposed to do with Caleb now that we've caught him? Turn him over to the police and the justice system? They can't handle someone like Caleb."

"Well, um, I believe that the Initiative may be our best avenue for permanent imprisonment," Giles suggested. "They have access to the latest weapons and best technologies the government has to offer, and they have experience in capturing and containing a wide variety of demons."

"But they don't understand and respect magic," Buffy pointed out. "Induced coma or not, how they can possibly deal with a sorcerer of Caleb's caliber?"

"They can't."

Buffy and Giles turned to the sound of the voice and found Willow standing several feet away at the doorway to the hall.

"That's why we have to deal with him ourselves," Willow continued as she stepped inside the room. "And there's really only one way to do that. We have to kill him."

"So...what?" Buffy challenged. "We're judge and jury now? We get to decide who lives and dies?"

"Buffy's right," Giles said. "We mustn't--"

"We don't need a jury!" Willow shot back, ignoring Giles entirely. "Or a judge or a trial. We know he's guilty. We were there, remember? We felt what he did to her, we saw him in Tara's mind. He deserves to die!"

"No," Buffy said, shaking her head. "Slayers don't kill humans."

"I didn't say you had to do it," Willow answered sharply.

Buffy clenched her jaw and swallowed hard. "Last night you said you wished I had."

"Yes, I did," Willow said, "and I do wish that. I wish more than anything that he was dead and in the ground right now! What I don't understand is why you don't wish it too." Her eyes filled with tears, and her voice grew strained. "For God's sake, Buffy...he raped Tara, he tortured her, he--"

"You think I don't know that?" Buffy asked. "You think I don't want to see him punished for that?"

Willow shook off her tears, and her anger returned. "Then why are you standing there pleading for mercy for that bastard?!"

Giles attempted to step between the girls, but Buffy just pushed past him.

"I am not pleading for mercy!" Buffy shouted back. "I'm just saying that--"

"STOP IT! RIGHT NOW! "

Buffy and Willow and Giles turned to see a furious Joyce Summers approaching them. She made brief eye contact with Giles but then stalked right over to the girls.

"What the hell is the matter with you two?" she accused.

The girls glanced angrily at each other for a second then warily met Joyce's eyes. Once she had their attention, she continued her reprimand.

"Tara is in the hospital, out of her coma less than a day, facing God knows how much recovery time, and you two are here arguing about Caleb!"

Both Buffy and Willow dropped their heads in shame. Joyce let them stew in their guilt for a long moment; then she reached out and touched their arms to make them look at her.

"Tara needs you," she told them. "Both of you. Together. So, put your differences aside for now. Caleb can wait."

Reluctantly, the girls made eye contact with each other and then nodded at Joyce.

"Good," Joyce told them. "Now go upstairs and get showered and dressed. I'll have breakfast ready for you when you come back down."

Without a word, Buffy and Willow did as they were told. Once the girls had left, Joyce turned to Giles. Deep worry was in her eyes.

"How are they ever going to get through this?" she asked.

"They'll make it, you'll see," he said with a reassuring smile.

Then he gave her a kiss on the forehead and pulled her into a comforting hug, which she gratefully accepted.


A short time later, while Giles went to pick up Faith and Vamp Willow, Joyce drove Buffy and Willow to the hospital. When the three women arrived, they went straight to Tara's room. When they came in, they found Xander and Anya inside, but Tara and her bed were gone.

"Oh God! Where's Tara?" Willow asked in alarm.

"What happened? Why isn't she here? Why didn't you call us?" Buffy added, just as frantic.

Xander held up his hands to stave off the panic attack. "Don't worry...nothing's wrong with Tara. They came and got her earlier to run some tests, that's all. She should be back just any time now."

"We shouldn't have left last night," Willow said, turning to Buffy. "Then we would have been here when she woke up, before she had to go for those tests."

"I know, I know," Buffy agreed sadly. "We shouldn't have let her talk us into it."

"Okay, okay," Xander said, walking over and putting an arm around both girls. "Enough with the guiltapalooza. Tara was completely okay while you were gone, I promise." He guided them to the bench and sat them down. "As you'll see in just a few."

Just then, there was a knock at the door, and both Buffy and Willow jumped back to their feet, their eyes expectant. When the door opened, though, it wasn't Tara. It was a very chipper Vamp Willow. Buffy and Willow's faces fell.

"Oh," Buffy mumbled.

"It's just you," Willow finished.

Then both of them plopped unhappily back onto their bench.

Vamp Willow's grin became a pout, but only for a moment. She was in too good a mood to let a little morning grumpiness from the others get her down. She ignored the remark and turned to prop the door open so that Faith and Giles could enter.

As Faith came in the room, she was moving a bit slower than usual, and every so often, her face would scrunch into a quick grimace. Despite her best efforts to hide her discomfort, the others easily picked up on it.

"Faith, are you all right?" Joyce asked in concern.

Faith involuntarily cut her eyes in her girlfriend's direction. Vamp Willow merely crossed her arms and smirked. A slight blush entered Faith's cheeks.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Faith said, shrugging and trying her best to stand up straight and act nonchalant. "Just sore." Instantly, she clarified, "From slaying! Patrol, you know, last night."

"Must've been rough if it's got you walking like that," Willow commented.

Vamp Willow shot another smirk at Faith. "It was rough all right."

"Did ya go up against some extra-bad-ass demon or something?" Xander asked.

"She sure did," Vamp Willow answered, grinning wickedly now.

"Well, you're here in one piece, so I guess you came out on top," Buffy noted.

Vamp Willow snickered. "Oh, I wouldn't go that far." When she gave Faith a playful nudge, the slayer blushed even more and took a step away.

"Can we stop talking about me now?" Faith said grouchily. "Where's Tara?"

"Getting some tests run," Xander answered.

"How was she this morning?" Buffy asked worriedly. "You know...before they took her for the tests?"

"Just groggy," Anya said, joining Xander. "She was asleep when they came for her."

"Did she sleep okay? Was she in any pain?" Willow pressed.

"Barring a few instances of wake-up-for-vitals-check, she slept just fine," Xander said.

"Well, except for the bad dreams," Anya added matter-of-factly. Xander gave his girlfriend a glare, but she didn't notice.

Both Buffy and Willow looked stricken. "Bad dreams?" Buffy asked.

"Understandable," Giles interjected gently, "given what she went through."

Everyone grew silent as their minds went unwillingly to their own imaginings of what Tara had endured while in Caleb's clutches.

Xander got a look of disgust on his face. "That guy really needs to pay, and I mean pay."

"No kidding," Vamp Willow said grimly. "And the sooner, the better."

Willow gave Buffy a vindicated glance but said nothing.

"Fear not, my troubled friends," Anya announced proudly. "I have the solution." She waved her notepad in the air and then went on. "Having served as a vengeance demon for over a thousand years, I possess a certain expertise in this area, and I've devised a list of what I feel are crime-appropriate punishments for Caleb--including some of those terrific ideas we came up with right after he was captured." She smiled and turned to the first page in her notepad. "Okay then, let's start with basic torture and work our way up to the truly horrific. Then we can--"

"No!" Buffy barked, making everyone jump. She got to her feet and walked to an unoccupied corner. "We should not be talking about this right now!"

"Yes, we should!" Willow countered angrily. She got to her feet and faced Buffy. "Until that man is dead on a cold, hard slab--"

"'That man'," Faith said, cutting Willow off. "Do you hear yourself? Like it or not, Caleb is human; he has a soul, and we don't have the right to--"

"So what?!" Xander said. "Ted Bundy had a soul. Does that mean the State of Florida shouldn't have killed the son of a bitch?"

"But that's not the point," Anya said. "It's punishment we should be talking about, not quick execution. I mean, zap-zap-he's dead...where's the justice in that?"

"He Doesn't. Deserve. To Live." Willow enunciated each word with icy deliberateness.

"He's too dangerous to live," Vamp Willow added.

"But at the moment, he's not a danger to anyone," Joyce interjected. "Which means we don't have to make a decision right away."

"Joyce is correct," Giles said. "The Initiative is holding Caleb in a deep comatose state. There's no way he can harm anyone."

"That we know of," Xander pointed out.

"Exactly!" Willow told Xander. Then she turned back to Buffy. "Look, if we don't do something permanent about him, he could come back. He could hurt Tara all over again! Is that what you want?!"

A hurt and appalled expression came over Buffy's face. "Of course not! God...how can you even say that?!"

"Here we go," came a nurse's sing-songy voice from the hallway. It stunned the arguing Scoobies into immediate silence.

When they turned toward the open door, they saw an overly-cheerful nurse wheeling Tara's bed back into the room. They quickly moved out of the way, sending smiles Tara's way, hoping that she hadn't heard any of their heated debate.

Once the nurse had finished and left, Buffy and Willow went immediately to Tara. Caleb was forgotten, and nothing else mattered but the woman they loved. They took Tara's hands in theirs and looked deeply into her eyes. Then, as one, they whispered her name. Tara smiled and let out a shaky breath as she gave their hands a squeeze in return.

For the longest time, no one said a word. The Three had temporarily retreated into their own little world, and the others were reluctant to disturb their moment of re-bonding. It was Xander who finally broke the silence.

"Well," he said, slapping his hands together in announcement fashion, "I believe Anya and I have earned ourselves a waffle breakfast and a long day in bed." He took Anya's hand and then turned to Faith and Vamp Willow. "Care to join us?"

"He means the waffle part, not the bed part," Anya clarified.

Vamp Willow snorted. "Don't be so sure," she told the ex-demon before giving Xander a steamy up-and-down look.

Anya's eyes widened and then narrowed. She gave Vamp Willow a glare and pulled Xander closer, literally latching onto his arm.

Faith rolled her eyes and muttered, "Just a sun-free ride back to Giles's place will be fine."

"Rupert and I have some work to attend to as well," Joyce said, giving Giles a pointed look.

For a split second, Giles didn't get it. Then he caught on. "Oh! Yes, that's, um, quite right," he said, joining Joyce near the door.

Buffy chuckled. "Real smooth exit, guys...but thanks." Willow gave them a grateful nod too.

At that, the Scoobies made well-wishes to Tara and then slipped from the room, closing the door and leaving the Three alone.


Outside Tara's room, Joyce and Giles met briefly with the others.

"Get some rest," Giles told them. "We'll call you if anything changes. Otherwise, we'll meet back here this evening. Agreed?"

The two couples nodded then headed off down the hallway. Joyce and Giles watched them go and then turned back to Tara's door. They stared at it for a long moment, with deep concern in their eyes. Joyce finally spoke up.

"Could I interest you in some boring small talk over a really bad cup of coffee?" she offered with a self-deprecating grin.

Giles grinned back. He took her hand and kissed it. "I assure you," he said, "conversations with you are the very antithesis of boring."

"Flatterer," Joyce teasingly accused as they started down the hallway. "Go on," she quickly added.

With a shared chuckle, the two made their way toward the elevator.


Meanwhile, back in Tara's room, the Three had reverted to just a silent basking in each other's presence. Through the simple touch of their hands, they reconnected on both a physical and an emotional level.

"We missed you," Buffy said.

"Sooo much," Willow added.

"I missed you, too," Tara replied.

"We're sorry we weren't here when you woke up," Willow said.

"Yeah," Buffy echoed.

"It's okay," Tara said. "It was like the crack of dawn when they came, anyway."

"What did they do? What kind of tests did they run?" Willow asked.

"What didn't they do?" Tara answered wearily. "I must be the most highly-tested patient in the hospital." She sighed and started the list. "They drew blood, took another set of x-rays, put me in two different kinds of scanners. I'm probably glowing from the radiation."

"Is that what that is?" Buffy said, peering curiously at Tara's head and body. "And here I thought you were just extra glowy because of us."

Tara rolled her eyes then smiled warmly. "I'm always glowy for you," she said sincerely as she gave her girlfriends' hands a squeeze, which they happily returned.

"Did they give you something for the pain?" Willow asked, brushing her fingers against Tara's forehead.

"Earlier," Tara said. "It's worn off a little, but I'm okay," she assured them. "Really."

"What did the doctor say?" Buffy asked.

"I haven't talked to him yet," Tara said. "The nurse told me he'd review the test results and see me this afternoon."

"Maybe he'll let you go home soon," Willow said encouragingly.

"I hope so," Tara said.

"Oh! About that," Buffy said. "When you get out, Mom wants us to move home with her. You know, till you're well again. But I told her I'd have to ask you guys about it."

When neither Tara nor Willow answered right away, Buffy nervously went on.

"I mean, true, our apartment is closer to the school, but it's still a wreck from the move, just a bunch o' boxes with hardly any furniture, a-a-and we're off for the summer anyway, so I figured it might not be such a bad idea, you know, having some extra help, 'specially if Giles stays over, but i-i-if you guys don't want to do it, then that's okay, it's not like I'm super-glued to the idea or anything, but..." Buffy trailed off when she realized Tara and Willow were staring at her. "What?" she asked.

Willow turned to Tara and said, "She's so cute when she babbles." Tara giggled in agreement.

Buffy let out a long-suffering sigh. "Okay, okay...enough with the Buffy-tease. Do I get a Yea or a Nay on the offer?"

Willow turned back to Tara and looked at her questioningly. When Tara nodded in the affirmative, Willow turned back to Buffy and said, "That would be a Yea. Two of 'em."

"Yay!" Buffy blurted excitedly. "I'll tell Mom when she comes back. She'll be really happy to hear it."

For a few moments more, the Three discussed the ramifications of the move and made other safe small talk, but eventually they grew quiet. It wasn't the peaceful silence of before; it was the awkward tension of unresolved issues and unasked questions.

"So, um, w-w-what was going on earlier?" Tara asked hesitantly. "W-W-When I came in?"

Both Buffy and Willow looked at a loss. They worriedly locked eyes as if debating how to answer Tara's question.


Meanwhile, in a hospital in Los Angeles, Lilah Morgan lay uncomfortably in her bed. It wasn't her injuries that were causing her discomfort--it was the presence of one of the senior partners of Wolfram and Hart...and the man in black who had accompanied him. Whether the man in black was a telepath or an assassin or both, Lilah didn't know.

"I know that you're still recovering from your ordeal, Ms. Morgan," the senior partner said, "but I and the other partners have questions that need answering."

"Yes, of course, I understand," Lilah forced herself to say.

"Who did this to you?"

"Angel," she said, clenching her jaw tightly.

" 'Touch the Three'," the partner said. "What was Angel referring to?"

Lilah knew that her interrogator knew the answer, but she replied anyway. "The Power of Three, the guardians of the hellmouth. Angel's ex, Buffy Summers, is one of the Three."

"How is that you knew of their rising?"

"Holland told me."

The senior partner just crossed his arms and said nothing.

"H-H-He had this big plan to somehow take out the Three," she stuttered in panic. "I-I-I warned him, but he insisted he had a way around the curse."

"And Angel got wind of this plot, I presume?"

Lilah nodded, frowning in remembrance. "He wanted...d-d-details...He..." She trailed off, unable to put into words what the vampire had done to her.

"And you told him, didn't you?" the senior partner said coldly.

Lilah's eyes darted from the partner to the man in black and back again. "Yes," she finally admitted in a frightened whisper.

For the longest time, the senior partner just glared at her, but eventually his expression softened.

"Thank you, Ms. Morgan, for your candor," he said. "We hope that you have a speedy recovery, and we look forward to seeing you back at work soon."

At that, the senior partner and his companion left the room. After a long moment, Lilah finally let out the breath she had been holding.


At the same time, Holland Manner was sitting in his office, looking very unsettled. He glanced frequently at his phone, as if he were expected an important call. His wall-mounted television was showing a news anchor doing a teaser commercial.

"...and authorities are still investigating a mysterious explosion that occurred yesterday at a hospital in Sunnydale," the anchor was saying. "We'll look at these and other stories on KCAL 9 News at Noon."

An anxious look on his face, Holland used his remote to turn off the television. He glanced at his phone, thought a moment, then activated his secure line. He punched in the number for Caleb's cell phone and waited.

"Hello?" answered a male voice.

Holland sat up straight in his desk chair. "Who is this?" he demanded.

"Who are you?" the voice demanded right back.

Holland instantly hung up the phone. His eyes, once merely worried, were now extremely frightened.


At the Initiative, Riley pulled Caleb's cell phone away from his ear and looked at it. The screen still showed no identification of the number that had called. A cable ran from the phone into a computer system, where a technician attempted to analyze the call statistics.

"Did you get it?" Riley asked.

The technician made a few final strokes on his keyboard and then sadly shook his head. "Sorry, man. Couldn't track it."

"Damn!" Riley swore.


Tara grew impatient with the lack of response to her question, so she asked it again, this time more sharply. "What was going on when I came in?"

"Oh, umm, it was nothing," Buffy said, attempting a dismissive wave.

"Yeah," Willow agreed. "Nothing you need to worry about."

Tara's expression tightened. "It was about Caleb, wasn't it?"

Once again, Willow and Buffy just looked at each other without answering Tara. It was obvious that they were having a telepathic conversation that did not include her.

"Stop talking behind my back!" Tara's sudden outburst completely startled her girlfriends.

"S-S-Sorry," Willow said. "We just..."

"We just didn't want to upset you," Buffy finished.

"I...am not...a child," Tara enunciated slowly and with great emphasis. "So tell me."

After a deep breath, Buffy admitted, "Yes, it was about Caleb." She quickly added, "But don't worry...he's safe. All locked up at the Initiative. He's not going anywhere."

"What were you fighting about, then?" Tara asked.

"We weren't fighting...exactly," Willow said. "We were just...debating." She paused then said, "About what to do with him."

"I see," Tara said in a not-pleased voice. "And you were just going to decide all that without me?"

Buffy and Willow looked at Tara and then each other. They didn't know what to say, but Tara's tone was starting to scare them.

"Do you think I'm helpless?!" Tara accused angrily. "Or-or mentally incompetent?! Do you think I can't make decisions for myself?!" She was practically screaming at them.

Buffy and Willow flinched at her words and pulled away, taking a full step back from the hospital bed. They had never seen Tara like this--never seen such rage in her. And they had certainly never been on the receiving end of it. All they could do was hang their heads and stare at the floor.

"We're sorry," Buffy whispered.

"So sorry," Willow added.

The two kept their gaze averted until they heard a small sob from Tara. When they looked up and saw her crying, they rushed back over to her.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Tara told them over and over, in a voice choked by tears.

Willow and Buffy took her hands in theirs once again. "It's okay, it's okay," they both reassured her as they stroked her hair and caressed her shoulders and arms.

"I-I-I...I don't know why...I s-s-snapped...like that," Tara said, still hiccupping a bit as she struggled to get her crying under control.

"It's okay," Buffy said, tears rolling down her own face. "You're allowed."

"But I don't wanna be," Tara said. "It hurts." She closed her eyes and whispered, "Everything hurts."

Tara began to sob again, and Willow and Buffy quickly joined her. For a time, it was all they could do--just cry. But at least they were together, and soon they felt the worst of their pain subside.

Buffy and Willow leaned over to place twin kisses on Tara's temples. "We love you," they told her. "No matter what."

Tara smiled a tiny bit and said, "I love you, too." Before Buffy and Willow could pull away, Tara reached up and grabbed their shoulders. She locked her eyes on theirs and said, "Is Caleb really secure?"

"Yes, he is," Buffy said firmly. "He's in the Initiative, being kept in a deep coma in the most secure room they have."

Tara acknowledged that and then glanced away for moment. When she looked back, she said, "Then just keep him that way. For now. I-I-I need time to think. Okay?"

"Okay," Buffy promised. She looked over at Willow and got a nod from her.

At that, Tara relaxed somewhat, and the Three turned their conversation to less stressful topics.


About an hour later, Tara was asleep. The morning's tests and the high emotions had taken their toll, and she had drifted off right in the middle of talking with Willow and Buffy. They didn't mind, though. They were grateful that she could rest, and they prayed that her sleep would be undisturbed by bad dreams. Once Tara's breathing became deep and regular, they slipped their hands from hers and stepped away.

They moved to the end of the bed, where they simply stood and watched Tara sleeping. Their expressions grew pained as they took in the sight of Tara's still battered condition. Although the swelling had gone down, the bruises on her face had not yet begun to fade. After a long moment, they drew their eyes away.

When they looked at one another, they realized that they were standing a least a yard apart. On any other day, they would have been side by side, hugging or holding hands, touching in some way. They both looked away, not knowing what to do next.

After a seemingly interminable series of seconds, they finally turned to each other and blurted out simultaneously, "I'm sorry!"

When Tara stirred at the noise, they froze and waited until Tara was still once again. Then they closed the gap between them and took each other's hands.

"I'm sorry," Willow whispered urgently.

"I'm sorry too," Buffy echoed.

They fell into a long and desperately needed hug. The intensity of their reconnection moved them both to tears.

"I don't like it when we fight," Willow said in a choked voice.

"Me either," Buffy agreed. She sniffled as she pulled them apart. "So let's not, okay?"

"We need to be together in this," Willow affirmed. "Not just for Tara, but for us too."

"Right," Buffy said. She reached up and wiped the tears from Willow's face with her thumb. "We'll deal with Caleb, and he'll get what he deserves," she told her. "I promise. But right now, let's honor Tara's wishes and just keep him on ice."

When Willow nodded, Buffy leaned in and gave her a heartfelt kiss, which Willow gratefully returned.


Meanwhile, Holland Manners was at his office, cramming items into his briefcase. When he was finished, he forced the case shut and hurried for his office door. When he opened the door, he found the man in black who had been in Lilah's room waiting for him outside. Holland froze in place.

"The Senior Partners would like to have a word," the man in black said.

"No..." Holland said, backing away. "No..."

At a nod from the man in black, two burly guards rushed inside and grabbed Holland, causing him to drop his briefcase. Holland began to struggle and scream, but it was no use.

As the guards dragged Holland away, the man in black calmly picked up the briefcase and followed after.

==========================================

PART 14

==========================================

Later that morning, close to noon, Joyce and Giles rejoined the Three in Tara's hospital room. The two adults joined Buffy on the near side of the bed and greeted the three girls warmly. Then Joyce reached out and touched Tara's arm.

"How are you feeling?" Joyce asked.

"I'm okay," Tara answered with a shy shrug.

"She went to the bathroom!" Buffy chirped proudly. Her smile changed to a sheepish wince when she saw Tara and Willow roll their eyes. "Okay, that didn't come out the way I intended."

"She got to get out of the bed and walk to the bathroom," Willow clarified.

"That's wonderful!" Joyce said.

"Of course, it took two nurses and two girlfriends to manage it," Tara commented with a hint of a half-smirk.

"Well, maybe the doctor will let you go home if he's letting you do that," Joyce noted.

"Yes, h-h-has he come by?" Giles asked.

Tara shook her head.

"A counselor came by, though," Willow pointed out, trying to be upbeat about that bit of news.

"Good...that's good," Joyce said. "Did you, um, get a chance to talk?"

"A little," Tara replied but said nothing more.

She kept her head down and only occasionally glanced up. It was clear that the topic of counseling was making her very uncomfortable. Giles noticed and decided to broach a topic he'd been considering.

"Tara, I don't mean to overstep my bounds," Giles began, "but I'd like to make an offer, if I may."

Cautious but curious, Tara looked up and met the older man's eyes. "O-O-Okay."

"I have a friend who's a counselor," he told her. "In fact, she just recently moved from England to Los Angeles, temporarily at any rate, so she's not far away. I-I-I think you'd like her, and-and she's a witch as well, which would give you some common ground. Would you like me to call her?"

Tara cast quick glances at her girlfriends and then ducked her head once again as she considered the offer. She didn't really want to see a counselor at all. Counseling meant talking, and talking meant sharing, and sharing meant reliving her nightmare, which was the last thing she wanted to do. Her logical side, of course, reminded her of the value of counseling, particularly in light of such a traumatic event. Still, it was difficult for her to break the pattern of secret-keeping, especially after having spent years covering up her abusive home life.

But a counselor who's a witch, Tara thought. Maybe that wouldn't be so bad...

After thinking for a moment more, Tara looked up and gave Giles a nod of approval. His face lit up in a smile. "Excellent," he said. "I'll-I'll call Althenea first thing tonight!"

"Buffy, have you spoken with Willow and Tara about my offer?" Joyce asked.

"Oh!" Buffy said, just remembering. "Yes, I did, and they both said yes, so that's three votes for moving in with you when Tara gets out. Yay!"

"Oh, I'm so glad to hear it," Joyce said as she directed smiles at both Tara and Willow before drawing her daughter in for a hug. Giles moved closer and placed a hand on the backs of both Summers women.

Willow smiled happily at the embrace, but a frown crept onto her face when she was reminded of her estrangement from her own parents. Tara saw Willow's reaction and reached over to take the redhead's hand in hers. Tara's reassuring gesture wasn't needed for long, though, because soon the hug-fest was extended to both witches, and everyone just beamed in the happy family moment.


Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, deep within Wolfram and Hart, Holland Manners was getting a good dose of karma. He was in the same interrogation room to which he had sent Lindsey McDonald, strapped in the very same medical chair, bound by the very same leather straps. And now, just like the unfortunate young attorney, Holland had been reduced to vacant-eyed, drooling imbecility.

The clawed demon responsible for torturously ripping information from Holland's mind stepped away from the man and approached the group of senior partners who had been watching the proceedings. The demon bowed slightly before speaking.

"That is all...there is nothing more," he told them.

"Very well. Thank you," one of the senior partners replied. After the demon had stepped away, the man turned to his colleagues and gave them an expectant glance.

"It was a good plan," one of them admitted. "Kill the Three...open a new hellmouth in L.A. Too bad it didn't work."

"Too bad?" another added with contempt. "We're lucky this idiot didn't get us all cursed."

"Well, the 'idiot' has earned his reward," still another pronounced. "We should make sure that the video of this interrogation is forwarded to all employee inboxes...as a reminder that one should never forget the chain of command."

The other partners nodded in agreement to that suggestion.

"What of the Three?" one of the group asked. "And Angel?"

All turned to the first partner who had spoken. He thought a moment and said, "Leave them be. For now. Their time will come, sooner or later. We have patience."


Later that afternoon, Lilah Morgan was still in the hospital, recovering from the injuries that Angel had inflicted on her. It had been a dangerous plan on her part, but not nearly as dangerous as Holland's had been. She had weighed the pros and cons and made her choice--she would play along with Holland but give herself a 'out' if he failed. And failed he had, and Lilah was just damn lucky that the senior partners had not ordered a deep scan. With only a cursory scan, she could tell the truth and come out of this ordeal intact. So far, so good.

When she heard a knock at the door, a hint of terror flashed in her eyes. She got her emotions under control and then called out to her visitor to come in. Lilah relaxed when she realized it was only Lee, one of her male colleagues. He was a snake, but weren't they all at Wolfram and Hart?

"Lee...hey..."

"Boy, you are one lucky bitch, you know that?" Lee said.

"Yeah," she said, grimacing in pain as she shifted in her bed. "Feelin' real lucky right about now..."

"You should," Lee said grimly. "Holland got the 'Treatment.' Just like Lindsey. Only this time, the partners sent a copy of the video to everybody. That could've been you, too."

Lilah shuddered and pulled the cover more tightly around herself.

Lee gestured at the hospital room. "This is like a paper cut compared to that."

"True," Lilah said with a rueful smile. "So...what's the scoop on Holland's project?" she asked. "The Three...Angel?"

Lee scowled and shook his head. "Well, the Three are out of our cross-hairs, obviously," he replied. "But what I don't understand is why the senior partners took Angel off the 'Most Wanted' list. That Mr. Goody-Two-Fangs needs to be taken down."

Lilah's eyes narrowed as she nearly growled, "Agreed."

Lee looked down at his watch and hitched his thumb at the door. "Look, I gotta run. Deposition at two."

"I understand. Thanks for coming by. Tell everyone I'll be back to work soon."

"I will. Ciao!" Lee waved and left.

Lilah waited about five minutes and then gingerly pushed the covers back and eased out of her bed. She put on her hospital-provided robe and slippers then began rummaging through the drawers of her nightstand. She found her purse and dug around inside until she had located a small amount of change. With money in hand, she left her room.

Slowly but surely, she made her way down the hallway to the small waiting area that was set in the corner of the building. She stopped to smile at the bright sun shining in the windows, then moved to the payphone on the wall. She put in the requisite coins, punched in a phone number, and waited while it rang.

"Hello?" came Angel's voice over the phone.

"Holland got taken down," she told him.

"Good," Angel said in a near-growl, not unlike Lilah's earlier tone with Lee. "What about Buffy and the others? Are the senior partners going to leave them alone?"

"As far as I can tell, yes. They consider Holland's actions to be foolishly risky, and they've made sure that all employees have seen the consequences of putting the firm in danger."

"You'd better make sure they steer clear of the Three," Angel warned Lilah, his Irish accent re-emerging. "Otherwise, I'll be makin' another example of you...a much more lengthy one."

At that, Angel ended the call. Lilah's face tightened, and her eyes grew hard and cold. "We'll see..." was all she said as she too hung up.


Meanwhile, back in Tara's room, all of the Scoobies had gathered to hear what the doctor had to say. He seemed a little flustered by the crowd in the room, but Tara told him that she didn't mind.

"I've looked over your charts and talked with the nurses about your progress," the doctor said. "I've decided that you can go home tomorrow if you have someone to stay with you for the next few days."

The room immediately burst into a cacophony of jubilation, volunteering, and reassurance. It got so loud that the doctor had to quiet them.

The doctor laughed and said, "Okay, okay, I get it. You've got her covered." Then he looked at Buffy and Willow. "But you'll need to go through some training on the care Tara will need."

"No problem," Buffy said.

"Just tell us when and where," Willow added.

"I'll set it up with the on-duty nurses. They'll get you squared away." He met Tara's eyes. "And you rest up. We don't want any setbacks keeping you from going home tomorrow."

Tara smiled and nodded. At that, the doctor left. As soon as he was out the door, the noisy and celebration returned. Within a few minutes, the phone rang. Buffy was closest, so she answered it.

"Hello? Angel." As the others quieted, she listened intently for a while. Then a look of relief came over her face. "That's wonderful." She listened once more, and this time her expression became stern. "Good," was all she said. Her face lightened again as she said, "Thank you so much, Angel. Really. Okay. Bye."

As Buffy hung up the phone, Willow asked, "Good news?"

"Yes," Buffy confirmed with a smile. "We're off the hit list. Apparently, Wolfram and Hart is cutting its losses and moving on."

"What about that Holland guy?" Xander asked. "The one who started all this?"

"He's toast," Buffy replied. "It seems the higher-ups did not appreciate his little private campaign."

"Good," Vamp Willow said with satisfaction. "One down, one more to go."

"Amen, sister!" Anya added with gusto.

The room went silent. Buffy and the others shot appalled looks at Vamp Willow and Anya for raising an already sore and supposedly tabled subject.

"Sorry," mumbled Anya, although without any real conviction.

Vamp Willow held out her hands and said defensively, "What?"

The air was tense for a moment, but Xander broke the mood with a quick slap of his hands and a big smile. "So...I'm thinking homecoming party, yeah?"

He waggled his eyebrows at the Three and gave Tara a wink. Soon everyone's smiles returned, and the group happily went about making party plans.


Later that afternoon in another room, Buffy, Willow, and Joyce received training on the proper ways to care for Tara at home. They learned how to help her to and from the bed and how to clean and redress her wounds. The nurse explained all of her medications: what they were for, how they should be taken, and what side effects they had. She warned in particular about the pain medication Tara would be on.

"Rib injuries are a real pain, literally, so the doctor's putting her on a low-dose of Vicodin," the nurse said. "It won't knock her out or anything, but it will put her in a kind of haze at times. Dizziness is a side effect, so no matter how good she feels, she shouldn't walk around without assistance, at least for the first few days as she adjusts to the medication."

The three women nodded in acknowledgement to the nurse.

"She gets one in the morning and one in the evening," the nurse instructed. "No more. Vicodin is a narcotic, and it's very addictive. No matter how badly she may be hurting, you are not to deviate from the prescribed regiment. Understood?"

Joyce glanced at Buffy and Willow then said, "We understand."

"And no alcohol," the nurse added.

"I don't think we have to worry about that," Joyce said pointedly. "Do we?"

Buffy and Willow grinned and shook their heads. "No ma'am," they both chirped compliantly.


That evening, Giles, Xander, and Anya were at the Three's new apartment. A small moving van was parked outside. Buffy, Willow, and Tara had never been able to complete their move due to the attack on Tara. As a result, almost all of their belongings were still packed in boxes, which were clustered in heaps in the apartment's various rooms. Giles, Xander, and Anya had already stopped at Tara's dorm room and picked up what remained there; now they were in the process of moving the boxes into the van.

In the kitchen, Anya was repacking the few items that had been put into place when the original move began. Xander and Giles stopped by for a drink of water.

After slugging down a big gulp of water, Xander turned to Giles and asked, "We're leaving the furniture, right?"

"Yes, that's correct," Giles confirmed. "Most of it isn't theirs; it came with the apartment. Buffy said she'd come by later this week to pick up anything we missed."

"Do we need to make a moving run by your place?" Xander said, giving the watcher a teasing nudge. "You and Buffy's mom...gettin' mighty cozy, I hear."

Giles blushed slightly and cleared his throat. "That won't be necessary," he said. "I assure you, Joyce and I are not nearly as cozy as that."

As Giles immediately returned to his work, Xander and Anya shared a snicker.


Meanwhile, Joyce was at the grocery store, stocking up for the invasion of the college co-eds. As she pulled into the checkout line with an overly full cart, she noticed Sheila Rosenberg in front of her.

Sheila glanced briefly at Joyce but said nothing, her eyes cool and distant.

Joyce considered fighting cold with cold, but then she decided more was required. She moved to the end of her cart and stood there staring at Sheila, making the woman very uncomfortable. Finally, Joyce spoke.

"Aren't you going to ask me about Willow?" Joyce accused.

Sheila kept her nose in the air and her gaze forward. "I'm sure she's fine," she replied evenly.

Joyce folded her arms across her chest. "She's not."

Sheila actually showed some concern then. Alarmed, she turned to Joyce for an explanation.

"Tara's in the hospital," Joyce went on. "She was attacked, beaten within an inch of her life. She nearly died."

Sheila's eyes went wide. "Was that the attack I read about in the paper? The girl in the coma?"

Joyce nodded.

"Oh my goodness..."

"Willow and Buffy were devastated," Joyce said, "but thankfully Tara's awake now. They expect a full recovery. But it's not going to be easy."

Sheila shook her head. "No, I imagine not."

Joyce stepped closer and put a hand on the other woman's arm. "Sheila, whatever objections you have to Willow's relationship, you need to set that aside." She gave the redhead a pleading look and said, "Willow needs her mother."

A guilty expression came over Sheila's face, but it soon disappeared under a stony wall. As soon as the cashier finished processing the sale, Sheila snatched up her receipt and hurried away with her cart.

Joyce could only stand there and shake her head.


Later that evening, Faith and Vamp Willow were out on patrol. They had just finished slaying a couple of fledgling vampires near the Hudson tomb. Faith rotated her neck a few times then did a big overhead stretch.

"That's better," she said. "Feel like I'm finally getting some of those kinks worked out from this morning."

"Better not lose all your kinks," Vamp Willow warned teasingly.

Faith grabbed Vamp Willow by the hips and drew her close. "I don't think you have to worry about that," she told her before giving her a hungry kiss.

After indulging in a brief make-out session, the two resumed their patrol. A somber mood seemed to settle upon them as they walked.

"Guess it won't be long before we have to head back home," Faith said.

"Yeah," Vamp Willow agreed, herself not immune to the sadness of that prospect. Her demeanor quickly changed to grim determination, though. "But we're not going anywhere until Caleb is dealt with."

"Agreed," Faith said without elaborating. She didn't want to get into another argument about appropriate punishments for Caleb.


Meanwhile, Buffy and Willow were alone with Tara in her room. While Buffy was setting up a fold-up bed on wheels that the hospital had provided, Willow was helping Tara walk out of the bathroom.

"We should have asked for one of these the other night, but I didn't realize we could get one," Buffy commented.

As Tara passed by the sink in the bathroom, she caught a glimpse of her reflection in the mirror. She frowned at the sight of her own face, still bruised and battered. She shook her head and resumed walking.

"Bet you can't bear to look at me," Tara said.

Willow moved around to Tara's front. She carefully cupped Tara's cheek and looked straight into her eyes. "Not so," she told her then placed a gentle kiss on her lips.

Buffy walked over and did the same. "Not so at all," she said firmly.

Tara's eyes grew a bit watery, and she gave them a grateful smile.

When Tara turned to head toward her bed, she groaned loudly and stopped walking. She scrunched her face into an intense grimace. The pain was so great that she felt dizzy and swayed on her feet. Buffy and Willow steadied her and eased her back a step to the folding bed.

"Just go ahead and sit down here," Buffy directed. "We'll get you in the big bed later."

After Buffy and Willow had gotten her seated, Tara took several moments to breathe through the pain, all while her girlfriends murmured reassurances and watched with concerned eyes.

Once she was past the worst of it, Tara grumbled, "I really hate rib injuries." She sighed heavily and said, "It hurts to be still, it hurts to move, it hurts to just breathe."

"Y-Y-You've had broken ribs before?" Willow asked cautiously.

Tara nodded but said nothing more. Buffy and Willow exchanged glances. They knew that, more than likely, the previous injury had come courtesy of her abusive father. They decided not to inquire further.

Willow looked at the clock on the wall and then at Buffy. "It's time to redress Tara."

Buffy's mouth quirked into a smile. "Shouldn't we undress her first?" she said in a deliberately husky voice.

"Ooooo, yes," Willow said, joining Buffy's game and speaking in a fake French accent. "Ooo, la, la..."

Then Willow and Buffy made loud kisses in the air until a chuckling Tara swatted at them.

"Stop it," she told them. "You're making me laugh, and it hurts."

"Sorry," both of her girlfriends chimed, although neither looked particularly repentant.

"It is time for us to redo your bandages, though," Buffy said, all serious now.

"I know," Tara said, not looking too happy about the prospect.

"Hey, why don't you lie back in my lap?" Willow offered, grabbing the nearby pillow and setting it in her lap. "Buffy can do the front, and then you can sit up and I can do the back." Tara smiled and nodded at that idea. But Willow reached out to touch Tara's arm. "It won't hurt your back to do that, will it?"

Tara shook her head. "I don't think so. It actually hurts more to sit up. After a while, at least...without something to lean on. I'll take the lap."

"Great," Buffy announced cheerily. "I'll get the door."

She put up the 'Treatment in progress. Do not disturb.' sign on the door and then gathered up the things the nurse had given them during their earlier training session: some hand sanitizer, a bottle of mild antiseptic, soft gauze, a roll of tape, and some aloe. Then she returned to the bed and set the items down. Together Willow and Buffy helped Tara out her hospital gown and into position in Willow's lap.

After sanitizing her hands, Buffy gave Tara a smile and a shrug. "Hopefully, I won't mess this up too much."

"I'm sure you'll do fine," Tara said sweetly.

"If it hurts too much, just--"

"You'll do fine," Tara repeated, this time more firmly.

"Okay," Buffy said, ready to begin.

She met Willow's eyes, and Willow began stroking Tara's hair in a soothing gesture. Then, Buffy turned to her work. One by one, Buffy removed the loose gauze dressings that had been placed over the burn marks that Caleb's brand had made on Tara's torso, arms, and neck. She forced down the rage and pain she felt at seeing what Caleb had done and focused on the task at hand. After setting the old dressings aside, she picked up a fresh piece of soft gauze. She wet it with the antiseptic and began cleaning the wounds. After a while, she could see that Tara's breathing had increased and sweat had broken out on her forehead. Buffy looked at Willow then back at Tara again.

"Are you okay, baby?" Buffy asked. "If it's hurting, we can stop..."

Tara shook her head. "It's okay. It's not you, it's just..." A few tears trickled out of her eyes. "The marks...every time they're touched...I-I-I remember, and..." Tara couldn't go on.

"Oh, sweetie, I'm so sorry," Willow crooned.

"It's okay, it's okay," Tara said, regaining her composure. "It'll get better, right?"

"Right," Buffy assured, although there was sadness in her eyes.

Buffy went right back to work. She finished cleaning the remaining wounds. After letting them dry, she applied a small dab of aloe to each burn then loosely applied a new clean dressing over it. Within minutes, she was done.

After discarding all of the old dressings and the gauze used for cleaning, she gave Tara a kiss and then asked, "Ready for the back?"

When Tara nodded, Buffy and Willow helped her sit up again. As Buffy held Tara's hands and helped steady her, Willow went through the same basic process that Buffy had: sanitizing her hands, removing the old dressings, cleansing the wounds. The difference was that Tara's back didn't have burns; it had deep lacerations, letters carved by Caleb directly into her flesh, letters that formed a message Willow and Buffy could never forget:

Slayer's bitch,
Witch's whore,
The weakest link,
Is no more!

Willow tried not to let the words get to her as she gently cleaned each cut, but she couldn't stop the tears from rolling down her face. When Willow made eye contact with Buffy, she could see that Buffy was struggling to keep down the tears, too.

"Stop it, Will," Buffy chided telepathically. "I can't keep a calm face with you crying back there."

"I know, I'm sorry," Willow replied. "It's just...I mean...Does she even know what's here? Has anyone told her? "

"I haven't, and I know you haven't."

"How are we going to tell her? " Willow wailed.

"I don't know," Buffy answered. "We'll cross that bridge when we get there."

When Willow finished, she and Buffy helped Tara back into her hospital gown. They noticed that Tara's demeanor had changed; she seemed testy now as they helped her to her feet.

"So...what were you two talking about just now?" she asked.

Buffy's and Willow's eyes widened in fear. "Uhhh...nothing!" Willow instantly answered.

"Nothing...important," Buffy corrected when she realized that Tara wouldn't buy a straight denial. "We're just worried about you, that's all."

Tara glared, unhappy with the answers she was getting. "It's about what's on my back, isn't it?"

Willow and Buffy looked at each other again, panicked expressions on their faces.

"What did he do?" Tara asked pointedly. "He wrote something, didn't he?"

Buffy and Willow opened their mouths, but no words came out.

"What did he do?!!" Tara nearly screamed.

Buffy held out her hands in a placating gesture. "You're right," Buffy confirmed. "He did write something."

Getting no satisfaction from being correct, Tara pressed on bravely. "What did he write?"

Willow tried to answer but couldn't, so Buffy spoke the words. In a slow, strained voice, she said: "Slayer's bitch...witch's whore...the weakest link...is no more."

Tara was in shock at first. Then tears began streaming down her face, and she shook her head several times. As a sob escaped, she stumbled on her feet, and Buffy and Willow had to help her back to the folding bed.

"Oh my god," she cried. "It's my fault. He told me I was the key to everything...It's my fault, everything that happened...He was able to attack us because of me."

"No, sweetie, that's not true," Buffy insisted. "He could've taken any one of us and gotten the same result."

"Buffy's right," Willow added. "He didn't have to pick just you. He probably chose you just because you were alone a-a-and we were together at the time he needed to act. If I had been the one alone, he might've picked me."

Tara shook her head, refusing to hear their reasoning. "No, no...he knew to pick me, he knew I'd be the one to break." She began to sob in earnest. "I'm not strong like you..."

Buffy and Willow took her hands in theirs and tried to get her to look at them. When she finally did, they gently touched her face and shoulder.

"Do you really think that either of us could've gone through what you did and not break?" Buffy asked. "My god, Tara, anyone would have."

Tara looked at them with anguish in her eyes. She wanted so desperately to believe.

"What he wrote...it was just part of his plan to tear us apart, that's all," Willow said. "Please don't blame yourself. We don't."

Tara couldn't hold back the rest of her tears any longer. Ignoring the searing pain in her side, she crumpled over onto the bed and let the sobs come. Not knowing what else to do, Buffy and Willow curled up around her, forming a cocoon of love and compassion, and cried with her.


Slightly before sunrise, Faith and Vamp Willow finished patrolling and returned to Giles' apartment. The former watcher wasn't home; he had stayed with Joyce that night. While Vamp Willow showered, Faith wolfed down a meal of leftover pizza, not even bothering to heat it up. When Faith was done, she too showered and then plopped naked into bed where Vamp Willow was waiting.

As soon as Faith was situated on her back under the covers, Vamp Willow snuggled up next to her, wrapping her left arm and left leg over Faith's body. She rubbed Faith's stomach and asked in a teasing voice, "All better?"

"Uh-huh."

Vamp Willow moved into a kneeling position over Faith"s leg. Then she leaned over and planted a few nips along the side of the slayer's neck until she ended up at Faith's ear. "Know what?" she asked, breathing huskily into Faith's ear.

Faith knew exactly what her vampire girlfriend wanted; she smirked and played along. "Whaaaat?" she asked.

"I'm hungry."

"What a shock," Faith said, chuckling.

Vamp Willow put on a surprisingly effective pout. Then her lips curled into a seductive smile.

"So, can I?" she pleaded.

She used her little girl voice, but her eyes suggested something very adult. She leaned back down and began kissing and nibbling Faith's neck again. Faith murmured contentedly and brought her hands to rest on her girlfriend's back.

"Sure," Faith answered.

The redhead grinned to herself and instantly morphed into her vampire visage. However, right before she could sink her fangs into Faith's neck, the slayer pushed her back, causing Vamp Willow to get a confused look on her face.

"But not the neck this time," Faith said. "Nowhere visible. Okay?"

Vamp Willow grinned teasingly. "What's the matter? Did my little slayer get embarrassed today? Don't want your 'kinks' showing to your new friends?"

Faith glared in response, but the vampire just laughed. "I know just the place," she said before running her finger along the inside of Faith's thigh. "Don't worry," she added with a wink. "I'll make it worth your while." Then she disappeared under the covers.

Soon the blanket started to move in a rhythmic pattern, and Faith began to groan in pleasure. She gripped the sheet with both fists. "Mmmm, that's it, baby," Faith crooned. "Don't stop..."

The movements became stronger, and Faith's moaning became panted breaths. Finally, Faith arched in release and fell back on the bed, exhausted but satisfied.

Before Faith could even say thanks, Vamp Willow's voice came chirping from under the covers. "Eating now..."

Faith laughed, but then her smile changed into a slight grimace. For a moment, her face was contorted in pain, and she closed her eyes tightly. Her smile quickly returned, though, when Vamp Willow found a use for her currently unoccupied fingers.

Faith groaned as she felt another orgasm building. "Thank god for multi-tasking..."


Later that morning in Tara's room, Buffy and Willow were finishing up a healing spell. They were on opposite sides of the hospital bed, Willow on the door side and Buffy on the far side. They had formed a complete triangle, holding hands with each other across the bed while also holding Tara's hands. Their eyes were closed; their expressions were focused but relaxed. Willow was whispering an incantation, her voice so soft that it was almost inaudible. After finishing her last repetition, Willow drew in a deep breath and slowly let it out. Then she opened her eyes. Seconds later, Buffy and Tara did the same, and the Three released hands.

Willow smiled at Tara and touched her shoulder. "How's that?" she asked. "I know it's not much, but every little bit helps, right?"

"It helps more than you know," Tara assured them with a smile.

"I modified the basic spell a bit," Willow said.

"I noticed," Tara replied.

"Well, it seemed like a good idea," Willow explained. "I mean, we've got a slayer here. Might as well make use of some of that slayer healing' energy. Besides, she's like our own little private power station, you know?"

"Oh, I know..." Tara said with a half-smirk.

Buffy rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Don't mind me...not even here..." she mumbled in mock complaint.

Tara and Willow snickered.

Buffy's gaze fell on the water pitcher on the nightstand. "Why don't I go fill up the water pitcher?" she suggested sarcastically. "Then you two can talk about me even more."

"Nope," Willow said, holding out her hand. "It's my turn. You filled it up last time."

Buffy glared but with a smile and then handed over the pitcher.

"Be right back," Willow announced cheerily before leaving the room.

As she stepped outside and closed the door, she removed the 'Treatment in progress' sign and headed down the hallway toward the ice machine.


Moments later, Willow was on her way back to Tara's room, now carrying a full pitcher of ice. When she looked up, she saw a sight that made her eyes grow wide in disbelief. It was her mother, cautiously approaching Tara's room. Willow hurried over, meeting her several yards away from the door.

"Mom?" she called out hesitantly, drawing her mother's attention. When her mother looked at her, she said, "What are you doing here?" She didn't ask this meanly; her tone was surprised but curious, perhaps even a bit hopeful.

At first Sheila looked as if she were ready to bolt, but she eventually stood still. "I, um, I don't know exactly," she admitted. "I heard about Tara," she added in an even but not quite cool tone, "and I felt I should come."

Willow angrily narrowed her eyes. "Well, if you've come to lecture me about consequences, how this is what happens to those who choose to live 'unnatural' lives, then--"

"No!" Sheila interrupted in an appalled voice. "No, of course not," she insisted.

Willow didn't seem convinced and said nothing.

Sheila wrung her hands nervously and then went on. "I-I-I just wanted to see how you were," she said. "I can only imagine how upset you must be."

Willow let out a bitter scoff. "Having your girlfriend abducted, tortured, and raped...'upset' doesn't really cover it, Mother."

Sheila dropped her gaze to her hands. "No, I suppose it doesn't."

After a long, extremely awkward moment of silence, Sheila finally spoke up again. "Anyway, for what it's worth," she said, "I'm sorry."

Sheila gave her daughter a small smile then turned to walk away. Willow watched her go, her face showing a sea of emotions. When Sheila had gotten several yards away, Willow called out to her.

"Mom!"

Sheila turned around.

"Thanks," Willow said simply.

Sheila smiled a bit more this time and nodded. Then she turned back around and headed for the elevator.

Willow had a troubled expression on her face as she slowly walked back to Tara's door.


When Willow walked back into the room, she found her girlfriends looking at her with deep concern in their eyes. They had felt Willow's strong emotions but hadn't known the cause.

"What happened?" Tara asked.

"Yeah," Buffy said, "our stomachs went all Tilt-a-Whirl on us, but not in a fun way."

Willow sighed heavily and walked over to the bed. As she handed the pitcher to Buffy, she said, "I saw my mother."

Buffy's and Tara's eyes went just as wide as Willow's had moments earlier.

"She was here?" Buffy asked incredulously.

Willow nodded. "She heard about what had happened to Tara. She said she wanted to see how I was."

"That's wonderful, Will," Buffy said with a smile. When Willow's mood didn't lighten, Buffy added, "Or...maybe not..." She gave the redhead an inquiring gaze.

When Willow still didn't go on, Tara reached out and touched Willow's arm. "Are you okay, sweetie?"

"I don't know," Willow answered. "I...I'm not sure what to make of this."

"The important thing is...she came," Tara said gently. "She was worried about you, and she came." Buffy added a nod of agreement to that assessment.

Willow let herself smile at that.


Early that evening, Tara was finally released from the hospital. Giles picked up the Three in Joyce's SUV and drove them to the Summers home.

When Buffy and Willow helped Tara inside the front door, they were greeted by a loud 'Welcome Home!' from Xander, Anya, Faith, Vamp Willow, and Joyce. A colorful banner was taped on the wall, streamers were woven along the staircase, and small bunches of balloons were clustered around the room. The table in the dining room was covered with enough food and drinks to feed an army. Lively music was playing softly from a boom box in the corner.

As she received careful hugs from everyone present, Tara was moved to tears. After regaining her composure, Tara sincerely thanked them all. As soon as Buffy and Willow had gotten Tara seated in a comfortable chair, the party began.


After a couple of hours, Tara was looking more than a little worn out. Her girlfriends noticed and knelt beside her chair.

"Are you getting tired?" Buffy asked.

Tara nodded.

As Buffy waved Faith over, Willow told Tara, "Xander said they've got us all set up upstairs."

Tara eyed the stairs warily. "Stairs?"

By then, Faith had joined them, carrying a wooden chair from the dining room.

"Don't worry," Buffy assured Tara. "We got it all worked out."

The two slayers set the chair with its back facing the stairs. Then Buffy and Willow helped Tara move from the living room to the wooden chair. Willow moved a few steps up the stairs, and Buffy moved into place behind the chair. Faith moved in front.

When she saw Tara tightly grip the arms of the chair, Buffy gave Tara a kiss on the temple. "Relax. We're slayers. We won't let you fall."

Faith grinned and added, "Yeah, just sit back and relax and let us do the drivin'."

Together, Faith and Buffy tilted the chair back. Then Faith reached down and grabbed the legs of the chair while Buffy gripped the back. On the count of three, they easily lifted Tara and the chair off the floor. As Willow directed, the two slayers moved up the stairs, around the bend, and down the hallway to Buffy's room. Joyce followed, but the others stayed downstairs. When they had gotten situated in the room, Buffy and Faith carefully set the chair down.

"See? That wasn't so bad," Buffy said.

When Buffy and Willow helped Tara from the chair and then turned toward the bed, Buffy suddenly froze. She blinked, shook her head, and blinked again. In the place of her old double bed sat a brand new king-sized bed, big enough for three. Buffy's eyes shot to her mother, who was wearing a self-satisfied smirk. Buffy rushed to Joyce and gave her a big hug.

"I can't believe it," Buffy told her. "I don't know what to say except thank you'." Tara and Willow instantly echoed those thanks.

"You're very welcome," Joyce said. "Oh, and by the way, the boxes from your apartment and the dorm room are in the spare bedroom." Then she nodded at Faith and gestured her towards the door. "We'll leave you girls alone now. Have a good night, Tara."

Without waiting for a reply, Joyce and Faith headed out the door, leaving a still-in-shock Three behind.


A short time later, after Tara had gone to sleep, Buffy and Willow came back downstairs. Everyone was still there, although much of the party mood had dwindled. It had been a harrowing series of days for all of them. After a series of hugs and good-byes, everyone departed. Giles drove Faith and Vamp Willow home with him while Anya and Xander headed for his basement apartment. With the crowd now pared down to Joyce, Buffy and Willow let their own exhaustion show.

"Come here, girls," Joyce said, calling them over to the sofa. She sat down at one end and patted the cushions.

Hearing the seriousness in Joyce's tone, Willow and Buffy eyed her warily. But then they walked over and sat down anyway.

"I don't mean to rain on your 'we just got Tara home' parade," Joyce said, "but we need to talk about some of the issues that may come up."

"I-I-I thought we covered all of that at the hospital," Buffy said. "We know what to do."

"I'm talking about Tara's emotional state," Joyce said. "I had a chance to talk to the hospital counselor today, and he gave me an idea of what to expect."

Willow and Buffy nodded solemnly as they listened.

"He said the most important thing to do was to be patient and to give her your unconditional support."

"Of course," Willow said.

"More than likely, she'll have severe mood swings: even-keeled one moment, then sobbing or lashing out the next. She may be open and talkative one day, then completely withdrawn the very next day. You'll see sides of Tara you've never seen, and it'll be some time before you begin to see glimpses of the Tara you know and love."

Buffy and Willow shot worried looks at each other.

"She'll probably be easily startled and have frequent flashbacks or nightmares," Joyce continued. "We need to do everything we can to make her feel safe."

"We will," Buffy said firmly. "We will."

"This won't be easy," Joyce said, "and it's going to take time...a long time. I don't want you getting your hopes up that she'll bounce back right away."

Buffy and Willow looked at one another again and then turned back to Joyce. "We understand," they said, their determination tinged with trepidation.


==========================================

PART 15

==========================================

Two Weeks After Part 14

It had been two weeks since Tara had been released from the hospital and since she and Willow had moved in with Buffy at the Summers home on Revello Drive. Thanks to repeated healing spells courtesy of her witch and her slayer, Tara's bruises had vanished, her cuts and burns had diminished into scars, and her cracked ribs had mended enough that she could move about normally without experiencing excruciating pain. Physically at least, Tara was well on her way to recovery.

Tara's psychological progress was another matter entirely. There was no magic that could restore what she had lost, no spell that could hasten her emotional healing--or that of her lovers, Willow and Buffy. Their counseling sessions with Althenea Dimmons, Giles's friend, were helping, but the road that lay ahead of them was rocky and treacherous. Still, tiny step by tiny step, the Three were forging ahead and rebuilding their lives, though at times it felt as if they were losing ground more often than they were gaining it.

Like today.

For several days now, Tara had been having recurring nightmares. The trauma of reliving Caleb's torture and the cumulative lack of sleep had pushed Tara to the edge. Instead of reaching for the comfort of her lovers' arms, however, she had holed up in the guest room. At the moment, Buffy and Willow were doing their best to coax Tara out of the room for a little while.

"Come on, it'll be fun," Willow called out to Tara, who was facing the window.

Tara merely shook her head, refusing to turn around.

"Yeah, we can walk down to the ice cream parlor...maybe split a fudge mountain sundae?" Buffy added.

."No, I don't want to," Tara replied sharply, still keeping her back to her girlfriends.

Willow and Buffy looked at each other, then cautiously moved to the window. They stopped a few feet away from Tara.

"Sweetie, you need to get out of this room," Buffy gently pleaded.

"Even if it's only for a few minutes," Willow added. "You'll--"

"I'll what?!" Tara shot back as she whipped around to face her girlfriends. "Feel better? Stop hurting? Seem like my old self again? Well, let me give you a news flash in case you haven't figured it out yet: I will never be like I was, and it's all your fault!!!"

Their eyes widened in surprise at Tara's unexpected attack, but neither Buffy nor Willow had time to formulate a response before Tara went on.

"You knew we were being targeted, and you left me alone! You let him take me!" she accused, pointing viciously at them.

Buffy and Willow flinched at each accusation but made no reply. Their faces twisted in anguish when Tara's voice began to crack.

"And...and...when I reached out to you...when he was hurting me...you cut off our link!!! You just...left me there...you left me alone with him..." Tara's gaze bored into theirs.

"Oh god, Tara, we're sooo sorry!" Willow wailed before covering her face with her hands.

"We tried to find you in time," Buffy insisted tearfully. "We did..." But then she trailed off, knowing it was useless to attempt a defense. They had failed Tara, and now she was paying the price. Buffy wrapped her arms around herself and whispered, "We're sorry..."

When Tara saw the effect of her rash words, her rage instantly transformed into regret. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." she blurted as she rushed over to Willow and Buffy. "I didn't mean it...God, I didn't mean it..." She started to touch their arms but felt as if she didn't have the right, so she just hung her head and cried.

Buffy and Willow pulled her close and held her as she sobbed against them. "It's not your fault," they told her repeatedly. "It's not your fault."

When her tears had subsided enough, Tara lifted her head and looked at her girlfriends, her eyes pleading for forgiveness. "I'm sorry," she said in a choked voice. "I'm all broken inside, and I don't know how to fix me."

Buffy and Willow reached out to caress Tara's hair and to gently wipe the tears from her cheeks.

"So are we," Willow told her, "but we're gonna get through this."

"We love you," Buffy affirmed.

"I love you, too," Tara replied before pulling Willow and Buffy into another desperate hug.

After this intense moment, Tara allowed Buffy and Willow to lead her downstairs. Although the Three didn't go for ice cream, they did sit on the front porch for a time. They didn't say much, but that was okay. They didn't need to; togetherness was enough. At least for now.


That evening, two of the Three--Buffy and Willow--were sharing a table with Xander and Anya at the nearby World of Waffles. All four were deep into plates piled high with various types of waffles, all smothered in different syrups and toppings.

Buffy finished off a mouthful of maple-syrup waffle and then waved her sticky fork in the air. "Okay," she said, "I was skeptical at first, but I have to admit...waffles for dinner instead of breakfast...totally awesome idea."

"I completely agree," Willow added, swooping her fork down for another bite of strawberry-and-whipped-cream-covered waffle. "Excellent choice of venue, my good man," she quipped to Xander, who sat across from Buffy.

"Thank you, my dear," Xander answered, putting on his best Thurston Howell III impression. "You simply can't imagine what it cost me to reserve this table."

After indulging in a fun giggle, the four friends resumed eating. Suddenly, though, both Buffy and Willow grimaced and reached for their stomachs.

Both Anya and Xander noticed. "What's wrong?" Xander asked.

"It's Tara," Willow answered after the queasiness subsided. "She's in her counseling session with Althenea."

"Must be a bad one," Buffy said sadly to Willow.

Willow nodded and reached for Buffy's hand. The two took a moment to connect with each other and find equilibrium. Then they turned back to their plates and pushed their half-eaten waffle dishes to the center of the table.

Anya gleefully snatched the abandoned plates and pulled them over to hers.

"Anya!" Xander scolded.

"They surrendered them," Anya insisted.

Their appetites completely gone now, Willow and Buffy just shrugged in agreement.

Anya gave a happy squeal, then started swiping strawberries from Willow's plate. After popping a small berry into her mouth, she said, "So when are you guys going to make a decision about Caleb?"

Xander sank a little in his chair at Anya's question, but Willow answered it.

"We don't know," Willow said. "Tara hasn't mentioned it, and..."

"...we're giving her the space and time she needs," Buffy finished.

Willow and Buffy shared an uncomfortable glance.


"I hate this!"

Tara paced around the room and then stopped. She whipped around and faced the other person in the room--her counselor, Althenea Dimmons.

"I hate him," she added with a maniacal kind of look in her eyes. "For what he did to me..." she said as she circled back around to her chair. "...for what he's still doing to me..."

At that point, Tara's rage gave way to grief, and she let out a sob before sinking back into her chair and wrapping her arms around herself.

"I can't stand having this hate inside me..."

Althenea let Tara cry for a time. Then she said gently but firmly, "It's okay to hate him. Let yourself feel that."

Tara looked up, anguish in her eyes. "But it hurts..."

"I know," Althenea said with sympathy. "But the more you let it out, the more you express it, the less hold it will have on you."

Tara took in a deep breath and let it out, nodding in understanding.


Meanwhile, at Giles's apartment, Vamp Willow paced in front of the bar like a caged tiger.

"What's taking you so long?" she griped loudly to Faith, who was still primping in the bathroom. "It's patrol! It's not a fashion show!"

Faith swept out of the bathroom and struck a pose. "I can't just be good," she said as she twirled a stake in each hand. "I have to look good!" She laughed and tucked the two stakes into the pockets of her leather jacket.

When she looked up, she didn't find Vamp Willow laughing with her. Instead, the redhead was still pacing. Faith moved in her direction.

"What's up?" she asked, concern on her face.

"I'm on Roller-Coaster Tara by proxy," Vamp Willow growled.

"Ah," Faith replied, recognizing the problem.

Vamp Willow abruptly stopped in place. "I don't understand why she's being so...so...wimpy!" She let out an exasperated huff and slapped a strand of her hair out of her face. "About Caleb, I mean. She wants to make him pay. I can feel it. There's a part of her that wants to rip him apart with her bare hands."

Faith gave her a skeptical glance. "Are you sure you aren't just picking up Willow's feelings on that point?"

Vamp Willow shook her head with certainty. "No, this is definitely coming from Tara. Via Willow, yeah, but it's Tara's stuff. It's just...every time she lets herself feel some of that good ole retribution vibe, she caves into guilt. It's so frustrating!"

"Maybe it's not just guilt," Faith offered. "Maybe it's fear."

"Fear?" Vamp Willow shot back. "Fear of what? If she wreaks vengeance on that bastard, he'll be good and dead. Nothing left to fear."

"There is," Faith countered. "It's herself she's scared of. She's afraid of what taking a life will do to her. It's the same thing Buffy's afraid of, what I'm afraid of."

"You kill things all the time," Vamp Willow pointed out.

"Things. Demons. Not people," Faith clarified. "If I actually killed a human, I-I-I don't know what might happen." Faith hung her head. "I guess I'd end up like this world's Faith. Off the deep end."

Vamp Willow threw her hands into the air. "Well, when it comes to Caleb, it's not like you guys have to 'do the deed' yourselves, all personal-like. We can find a way around that."

Faith nodded but then said, "Still..." She stared off, thinking deeply. After a moment she said, "I just wish I could do something to help the other me, ya know? I mean, I can't make those murders go away, but if I could just talk to her, maybe I could..." She looked away and sighed, "I don't know."

Vamp Willow latched her arm around Faith's and tugged her toward the door. "Well, you can't. She's in a coma. Maybe on our next inter-dimensional visit. But right now...I realllllly need to kill something. Preferably several somethings."


The next morning at the Summers home, Joyce and Giles were in the kitchen having breakfast together. They were alone since the girls hadn't come downstairs yet.

"We should talk to Buffy," Joyce said. "I know it's almost moot at this point, but we owe her that."

"Agreed," Giles said. "So when are you going to tell her?"

"Me?" Joyce replied, giving Giles a nudge. "Did you miss the We's in there?"

"Oh, um, well, I-I-I just assumed that..."

Joyce nailed him with a raised eyebrow.

Giles cleared his throat and said, "When shall we meet?" Then he flashed her a smile.

She smiled back. "As soon as possible, I think."

"Morning," Buffy greeted as she entered the kitchen.

As her daughter headed straight for the coffee pot, Joyce whispered to Giles, "Like now, maybe." She turned to Buffy. "Hey honey. Are Willow and Tara coming down? I can whip up some eggs and--"

"Don't bother," Buffy replied. "Willow's still in the shower, and Tara's not up yet. Don't think any of us feel much like eating this morning."

"Rough night?" Joyce asked sympathetically.

Buffy took a long sip of her coffee and then nodded. "Tara had a really tough session with Al last night." Buffy sadly stared into her cup. "She barely spoke to us when she got home. She went straight to the guest room. Stayed there all night. Again."

"Oh, honey, I'm so sorry..." Joyce said, rubbing her daughter's arm.

"It's okay," Buffy said, forcing an optimistic smile as she lifted her gaze. "I-I-It's what she needs right now, and it's not forever. We know that."

Giles and Joyce smiled back at her, but after a brief moment of silence, Joyce glanced at Giles to let him know she was ready to speak with Buffy about what was on their minds.

"Sit down, Buffy," Joyce said, gesturing at the empty bar stool next to her. "We want to talk to you about something."

Buffy got a worried look but did as she was told.

"You know that Rupert's been staying here during Tara's recovery," Joyce said.

"Yeah..." Buffy said warily, glancing back and forth between her mother and her watcher.

Giles picked up the topic. "But, um, now that Tara's doing better--"

"Oh my god! You're not leaving, are you?" Buffy leaned onto the bar counter in alarm. Giles tried to answer, but Buffy's words kept tumbling out. "'Cause-'Cause...we still need you! I-I-I know we're doing better, but we've got a long way to go, and-and...well, Mom too. I mean, I probably shouldn't speak for her, but...I thought things were cool between you guys..." When she saw Joyce and Giles giving her a long-suffering stare, she sheepishly said, "But I should probably let you finish."

While Joyce smirked, Giles went on. "As I was saying, now that Tara's doing better, your mother and I felt that we should speak with you about something that has, um, been on our minds of late. Now, we don't want you to think that we're attempting to circumvent the avenues of propriety, but--"

"Oh for goodness' sake, spit it out," Joyce said teasingly to Giles before turning to Buffy. "I've asked Rupert to move in permanently."

"A-A-Assuming you don't have any objections," Giles quickly added.

Buffy looked at the two adults like they were crazy. "Are you kidding me? Of course, I don't have any objections!" She jumped from her stool and ran to pull both of them into a fierce hug.

"What's with the hug fest?" Willow asked as she came into the kitchen.

Buffy turned to the redhead and excitedly motioned her over. "Guess what? Giles is moving in!"

Willow looked confused. "I thought he was already in."

"He was, he is, but now he'll be permanently in," Buffy crowed proudly.

Willow's face lit up, and she joined the group embrace. "Oh! Yay!" She gleefully rocked the others back and forth, causing them to chuckle. Then she separated herself and touched Buffy's arm. "I hate to break up the happy huddle, but we better get going. We don't wanna be late for our appointment with Althenea."

Buffy nodded solemnly. Then she and Willow made their good-byes and headed out.


A short time later, Buffy and Willow were beginning their session with Althenea.

"So...how are things going with Tara?" Althenea asked.

Willow and Buffy exchanged a glance and then shrugged.

"Okay, I guess," Willow answered.

Althenea gave them a small smile. "And how are you two feeling?"

"We're fine," Buffy answered automatically, putting on a brave face.

Willow began to snicker. She leaned over to Buffy and said, "You said 'fine'." She gave Buffy a mock frown of chastisement. "Don't forget what she told us about the word 'fine'."

"Yeah, yeah...I know..." Buffy replied good-naturedly. "'Fine' means Fucked-up, Insecure, Neurotic, and Emotionally unstable." She paused to think. "Actually, that's probably a pretty good description right now," she said, slumping sadly. Willow's lightness faded as well.

"Things have been...intense, I presume?" Althenea guessed.

Buffy nodded.

Then Willow said, "Tara's been pretty lash-y lately."

"I mean, we understand," Buffy interjected. "We know she doesn't mean it, but..."

"It's hard," Willow said. "We feel like we're walking in a mine field, all the time. We never know when we're gonna make a wrong step and set one off. She always apologizes after, but..."

"It still hurts," Buffy added. "A lot."

A few tears trickled down their cheeks. They both glanced down at their laps before wiping the tears away. Althenea waited until they looked up and met her gaze.

"I know that it's difficult," she told them, "but you need to remain vigilant. You are doing exactly what you should be. I promise you, the lashing out will lessen, but it will take time. She's filled with emotions that are much larger than herself. They will spill out. And, more importantly, they need to.


That evening, while Joyce and Giles were at the opening of a new exhibit at the university gallery, the Three were having dinner together in the dining room. Although Tara was physically present, her mind was obviously elsewhere.

"So what are you and Vamp Willow working on tonight?" Buffy finally asked Willow, changing the topic to one she felt might interest Tara.

"Fireballs, I think," Willow replied excitedly. "At least I hope it's fireballs. I really want to learn how to dust vamps like she does."

Buffy chuckled and turned to Tara. "I think Will's trying to take over my slayer job, don't you? Tara?"

At the sound of her name Tara jumped to attention. "Um, yeah, sure," she answered automatically, flashing a small smile.

Willow and Buffy smiled back, not knowing what else to do.

A short time later, Willow was on the porch, making her good-byes to Buffy just outside the open front door.

"Are you gonna be okay?" Willow whispered, tilting her head toward the living room, where Tara sat on the couch, staring at the TV but not really watching it. "I can stay if..."

"No, you go. These sessions are important. I can handle things here."

Willow nodded and then gave Buffy a warm and thorough kiss. "I'll be back soon."

"Be careful," Buffy warned.

"I will," Willow promised.

After another quick kiss, Willow turned and hurried toward Joyce's SUV in the driveway. Buffy took a deep breath, stepped back inside, and shut the door.


Once she had locked the front door and switched on the porch light, Buffy turned back to the living room. Sadness filled her eyes as she took in the sight of Tara sitting alone at the far end of the couch, so quiet and so withdrawn. Although the bruises on Tara's face had faded, it was clear that the emotional wounds within her were still very much present.

Letting out a sigh, Buffy returned to her seat on the near end of the couch. She tried to focus on the television, but she couldn't--not while the sense of separation between herself and Tara was so keenly evident. Physically, they were only a few feet apart, but emotionally, it felt like light years.

At least she came downstairs, Buffy reminded herself. Be thankful for that.

Hanging onto that thought, Buffy turned and looked at Tara. When Tara didn't reciprocate, Buffy began slowly reaching out to her with the special connection that the Three shared. Just as she was about to make contact, however, Buffy abruptly pulled back and turned away.

Tara had been so unpredictable lately--sometimes gratefully receiving the mental touch, at other times sharply rejecting it. Buffy didn't want to give Tara a reason to bolt after she had made such an effort at participating that evening.

Most importantly, though, Buffy couldn't face the possibility of another rejection. Her logical mind understood the reasons for Tara's reactions, but her heart could only hurt; it could only feel the anguish of their apartness.

Buffy felt hot tears begin streaming down her face. She squeezed her eyes shut and ordered herself to stop.

You can't do this now! she thought urgently. Not in front of Tara!

But Buffy couldn't stop. The tears kept coming, and she was forced to put her hand over her mouth to keep from sobbing aloud.

"Buffy?"

Buffy jumped when she heard Tara softly speak her name. She couldn't bring herself to look in Tara's direction. She just started wiping at the tears on her cheeks.

"I"m sorry," she blurted while getting to her feet. "I shouldn't be-- I'm sorry..."

Buffy ducked her head and started for the bathroom, but she found her path blocked by Tara, who had risen from the couch and intercepted her. Buffy kept her eyes locked firmly on the floor. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words would come. And still the tears fell. She didn't look up until she felt Tara take her shaking hands in hers.

"I'm sorry," Buffy whispered, finally raising her head to meet Tara's gaze. "I try to be strong, but..."

"I know," Tara whispered back, her own eyes full of tears.

"I miss you, Tara," Buffy said as she let the sobs finally come. "God, I miss you so much..."

Tara pulled Buffy into her arms and held her. "I miss you, too," Tara cried. "Both of you. I love you."


Meanwhile, across town, Willow hurriedly pulled Joyce's SUV over to the side of the road and put it in park. Then she fell crying against the steering wheel, her body heaving with sobs just as Buffy's and Tara's were.

Thank you, thank you, she thought, taking a moment to send a prayer of gratitude to whatever deity was responsible for this small but much-needed gift.

When she had calmed down--and had felt Buffy and Tara do the same--Willow put the SUV back into drive and soon made her way to Elmwood Cemetery, where she was scheduled to meet Faith and Vamp Willow. After exiting the vehicle, she swung her bag over her shoulder and headed into the graveyard, keeping her eyes open and her hand on a stake.

When she arrived, she called out a 'hey' of greeting and put her bag on the ground. In reply, Vamp Willow shot a glare in her direction and then went back to studying a meticulously prepared set of multi-colored note-cards. Willow turned to Faith, who gave her an apologetic glance before leading her several yards away from her vampire counterpart.

"What was that for?" Willow asked in a low voice.

"You made her cry again," Faith explained.

"Oh," Willow replied. Then she brightened into a relieved expression. "This was a good cry, though. Trust me."

"Try telling that to Miss 'Bad-Ass Vamps Don't Cry'." After sharing a smirk with Willow, Faith sobered and said, "I've been meaning to ask you something that's kinda related. Is there any way that you and Red can communicate with each other once we go back to our dimension?"

"I'm not sure. Why?"

"Well, we can't just zip over here every time she gets a psychic stomach ache. We won't know what's important and what's not. Not that we wouldn't love to visit, but...we do have our own world to protect."

Willow nodded solemnly and then thought for a moment. "Do you have a copy of the ritual that got you here?"

"I don't, but Red does. Plus that crystal thing we gotta use to get back. They're probably over at Giles's place."

"If she can get those things to me, I'll take a look and do some research."

"Great!" Faith said. "Talk to her about it tonight, okay?"

"Will do," Willow assured her.

Faith fidgeted in place as if she had more to say. Willow noticed but merely waited expectantly. Eventually, Faith spoke up again.

"Look, I know you and Buffy have your hands full with taking care of Tara and everything, and will for a while, but..." She trailed off, causing Willow to prompt her.

"Faith, what is it?" the redhead asked with concern.

After a long pause, Faith answered. "It's...it's the other me...your dimension's Faith. I know she killed people and hurt people, especially you guys, and I know that she's seriously fucked up, but..." She stopped and sighed heavily before going on. "If her past is anything like mine, then...she needs help. I mean, she was barely outta juvie when all that went down. I was lucky. I had my watchers. If they hadn't stepped in at the right time, I might've ended up just like her." Faith's tone grew urgent. "And if someone doesn't reach out to her, then this Faith is gonna wake up one day to a world that still doesn't give a shit about her, and--"

Faith stopped and looked at Willow intently, her eyes glistening as tears threatened to come. But she quickly glanced away, swallowing hard before throwing her hands up in helpless confusion.

"I don't know what I"m trying to say," Faith continued. "I don't know what I expect you to do. She probably won't even wake up. And even if she does, I can't expect you and the others to just--I mean, you don't owe her anything, but..." Faith shook her head. "Never mind. Just forget I said anything. I'll go check out the cemetery while you guys are working."

At that, Faith turned away and walked off. Willow called after her, but Faith didn't reply. Willow watched her leave, a worried expression on her face.


After a fairly successful session of fireballing, Willow and her vampire counterpart were reviewing the details of the spell. With Faith still away on patrol, Willow took advantage of the opportunity to ask about the troubled slayer.

"Has Faith told you much about her past?" Willow asked.

"No, not really," Vamp Willow replied. "I gather it wasn't pleasant, though, from the few comments she's made. Why?"

Willow shrugged. "She just seems really concerned about our Faith."

"Yeah. Kinda hard seein' the you that might have been, ya know? Only the not-so-good you."

Willow laughed. "Oh, I can totally relate to that."

Vamp Willow gave her a mock-glare. "News flash...I'm good now. Thanks to you." She tilted her head in thought. "Well, sort of. Most of the time."

"But you weren't when you popped into our Sunnydale the first time," Willow pointed out playfully. "You were so evil and skanky, and I thought you were kinda--"

"Skanky?" Vamp Willow said, incensed. "Skanky??!"

"Oh, uhhh, well, you had the, um, the leather a-a-and the makeup and the..." She glanced at her breasts and made a gesture as if pushing her breasts up. "...you know." When the vampire glared at her for real and stalked toward her, Willow squeaked, "Uh-oh..."


Over the next several weeks, the Three stayed the course, continuing their sessions with Althenea, experiencing both the highs and lows of recovery. Slowly but surely, they began to see real progress. Tara spent less and less time in the guest room and seemed at last to be becoming more like her old self, although she still had occasional instances of lashing out. At the moment, she was discussing her latest lash-out with Althenea.

"I don't understand why I keep doing that," Tara said. "I know it hurts them, but I keep doing it anyway."

"When you're lashing out at them, you're actually lashing out at Caleb," Althenea said. "You need closure with him."

"I know," Tara said, hanging her head. "But...I-I-I'm not ready yet." She looked up and changed the subject slightly. "Of course, sometimes they really do hover too much. I'm trying really hard not to run away to the guest room all the time, but I don't know what else to do."

"Talk to them," Althenea urged. "Be honest with them. Speaking up won't hurt their feelings any more than running away will. In fact, it may hurt them less. Just say it with a smile, 'Honey, I love you, but you're hovering'."

Tara laughed a little and then nodded. "Okay, I'll try."

"Now...back to Caleb," Althenea said. "I know you feel that you're not ready, but I have an idea I'd like you to consider."


That same evening, Tara shared Althenea's idea with Willow and Buffy. She didn't get an enthusiastic response.

"What??!" Willow blurted, hoping she had heard incorrectly.

"I want to spend the night in my old dorm room," Tara repeated. "Alone."

"Tara, that's just crazy," Buffy said. "Why would you want to put yourself through that?"

"Althenea said there's this cleansing ritual I can do there, and--"

"This was Al's idea?" Willow asked incredulously.

"Yes, but--"

"No," Buffy insisted. "It's a bad idea. Going back to where you were first attacked, dredging all that up again when you've come so far, it's just...wrong."

"Buffy's right," Willow said. "I can't believe Al is even suggesting it."

"She thinks it's time for me to face some things--outside my comfort zone."

"Can't you be outside your comfort zone somewhere else?" Buffy objected. "Why does it have to be there?"

"Because it's where all of this started," Tara explained. "And because it's a place that used to be mine, a place where I used to feel safe. I need to reclaim that place."

"But why?" Willow pressed. "You're not going to live there anymore."

Tara sighed slowly and patiently. "It's not the actual physical space that matters. It's what that space stands for." She put her hand over her heart, and finally she saw the light of understanding show up in her girlfriends' eyes.

"But...by yourself?" Willow asked. "Can't we--?"

Tara reached out and pulled Buffy and Willow to her. "I know you want to help. You've helped me sooo much--more than I can ever explain or thank you for. But this...this I need to do alone."

Buffy and Willow looked at one another and then back at Tara. They opened their mouths as if to speak, but no words came out. Tara didn't give them to chance to come up with any other objections.

"And when it's done," she promised them, "I want to talk about Caleb."

Not knowing what else to say, Willow and Buffy reluctantly agreed to Tara's plan.


The next morning, Buffy and Willow let Althenea know exactly how they felt about Tara's plan--and Althenea's role in planting it in Tara's mind.

As the two girls paced, pointed, and accused, Althenea calmly listened, her hands steepledover her lap. When they reached the end of their rant and slammed the ball back into her court, Althenea just abruptly changed the subject.

"Have you been intimate since Tara was attacked?"

"W-W-Wha...what?" Buffy asked, confused.

"Of course not!" Willow replied angrily. "Not after what she's been through!"

Althenea raised her hand to stop the girls' objections. "I don't mean with Tara," she clarified. "I mean you two alone."

"No!" Buffy insisted in an appalled tone. "Not without Tara. It wouldn't be right."

"It's going to take a while for Tara to be ready," Althenea explained. "You mustn't neglect your own needs during that time."

Willow and Buffy exchanged awkward glances before plopping back into their seats.

"But...she can sense what we're doing," Buffy said, a bit embarrassed.

"Yeah, we don't want to rub her nose in it," Willow added. " 'Woo-hoo! Look at us, we're having sex without you, and look at how much fun we're having!' That's only gonna make her feel worse."

"Don't you think she can also sense the sexual need in you, the frustration you're feeling?" Althenea said gently. "She knows that you're denying yourselves because of her."

Buffy frowned. "Did she tell you that?"

Althenea shook her head. "No. She doesn't have to. I can sense it in you, and I'm not even bonded with you."

Buffy rolled her eyes and snorted. "That obvious, huh?"

"To some, yes."

"Is that why she won't sleep with us sometimes, why she goes to the guest room?" Willow inquired worriedly. "'Cause we're giving off all this needy negative sexual energy?"

"It could be part of the reason," Althenea said. "Much of it has to do with Tara feeling safe."

"A-A-Are you saying she doesn't feel safe with us? Like we're going to do something to her?" Buffy interjected. "'Cause we're not, I swear!"

"She knows that," Althenea assured them. "But right now, her physical and emotional selves still haven't quite convinced themselves that the danger has passed. As a result, even the most well-intentioned touch can be interpreted as an attack, a potential violation. Her logical self, of course, knows otherwise, but logic alone isn't enough to override her gut reactions to these situations. It's extremely frustrating and frightening for her...to feel so out of control. Her way of coping has been to withdraw."

"Then why are you encouraging her to pull away even more by doing this ritual?" Buffy demanded.

"Your support of Tara, your love for her, and your bond with her have been immensely important in her recovery, but some steps she simply must take alone," Althenea explained. "It's time for Tara to take back her life."

Buffy and Willow shared an uneasy glance.


Over the next week, Tara spent a lot of time on the phone with Althenea, who wouldn't be back until the night Tara would be staying in her old dorm room. As they finalized the details of Tara's ritual, Althenea continued to encourage her so that she wouldn't back out.

Despite their misgivings, Buffy and Willow also showed their support of Tara's decision. At the same time, however, they were struggling with the issue that Althenea had raised in their last session--namely, their own sexual frustrations. The night before the ritual, while Tara was on the phone with Althenea, Buffy pulled Willow aside to discuss the matter once again.

"We should just do it," Buffy suggested. "You know, be all Nike-like, and just do it."

"Without talking to Tara first?" Willow questioned.

"Now's the perfect time. Tara's all distracted by this ritual stuff, and we can do it really quick. She'll hardly know it happened. It'll be like...ripping off a Band-aid."

"Gee, honey, when you describe it like that, I can hardly contain myself," Willow said sarcastically. "Take me now!"

"Take you where?" Tara asked, startling the other two by her sudden arrival.

"Uhhh..." Buffy stalled while flashing a panicked look at Willow. "To the...ummm..."

"...video store!" Willow interjected lamely.

"Yes, the video store!" Buffy joined in. "We have to hurry before they close in..." She glanced at the clock on the wall and winced. "...four hours."

Willow laughed nervously but kept up the lie. "Gotta beat the crowd! I mean, otherwise the only thing that'll be left is The Adventures of Ford Fairlane, and we sure don't wanna go there, do we?"

After a brief but entirely too loud span of laughter, Buffy and Willow abruptly went silent and stared wide-eyed at Tara, hoping that she would believe their hastily improvised fib.

Tara wasn't buying any of it, though, and raised a skeptical eyebrow in response. She let them squirm for a full minute before letting her lips curl into an amused smirk.

"You guys really suck at lying, you know that, right?" she teased.

Even though they were busted, Willow and Buffy immediately relaxed, grateful that Tara wasn't angry at them. Tara reached out and took her girlfriends' hands in hers.

"If you were talking about what I think you were talking about," she told them, "it"s okay. I don't mind. Don't hold back on my account."

"A-A-Are you sure?" Buffy asked worriedly.

"We don't want to do anything that might hurt you," Willow added.

"If there's even a chance that it would make you--"

Buffy's objection was cut off by an earnest kiss from Tara. She planted a similar kiss on Willow. Then she looked at them fondly.

"I love you both so much, and I want you to be happy, not frustrated. So please...do what you need to do. It's okay to go ahead without me. I'm sure I'll be joining you in no time. Besides..." Tara ducked her head for a moment. When she lifted it, she flashed them a very different kind of smile--a smoky, sultry one, full of promise. "...I've heard 'catch up' sex can be as good as 'make up' sex."

Buffy and Willow grinned widely and somewhat stupidly as their minds simultaneously went to very naughty places. After letting out Xander-worthy gutter-chuckles, they sobered up and gave Tara a warm hug.

"We love you, too," they told her.


Willow and Buffy didn't take advantage of Tara's generous offer right away. With the time for Tara's ritual rapidly approaching, they chose to stay close to her instead. In fact, the next night, when it was time for them to leave Tara alone in her old dorm room, she practically had to shoo them away.

"Look," she told them, "Al is right down the hall in the lounge, I got a brand new door here courtesy of the college physical plant, I'll be just fine. And no smart-ass comments about me saying 'fine'."

"I wish you didn't have to cut yourself off from us," Willow said, frowning.

"I know," Tara replied, "but I have to."

"If you need us--" Buffy started.

"--I'll contact you," Tara finished for her. "Now go! Faith and Vamp Willow are waiting. They promised me they'd keep you busy till I was done."

"Okay," Buffy said with a pout as Tara guided her and Willow out of the room.

"We love you," Willow said.

"I love you, too," Tara said sincerely before making herself shut the door.

Willow and Buffy lingered in the hallway until they felt Tara invoke the shielding spell that cut her off from everything outside the room, including them. They had a momentary gut wrench as they remembered the last time their special connection had been severed.

No, it haden't been severed then, and it wouldn't be now, they reminded themselves. It would merely be blocked. Temporarily. For just this one night. It wouldn't even be for a whole day.

They looked at one another sadly, let out a heavy sigh, and then trudged away to meet Faith and Vamp Willow outside.


After shutting the door, Tara instantly moved to the center of the room. She bowed her head in supplication and said aloud, "Sacred be this chosen place, shield it now from every face."

When she felt the magic barrier surround the room, she let out a long, shaky breath and dropped the brave facade she'd been wearing in front of Buffy and Willow. She hadn't wanted them to know how scared she was. It would've been too easy for them to coax her out of doing the ritual. As terrified as she was, she knew that this time of cleansing was necessary. She prayed that she would be strong enough to see it through to its end.


Hours later, at the Bronze, Faith and Vamp Willow were in the corner, re-evaluating their distraction plan.

"Okay, the all-you-can-eat at Buster's failed miserably," Vamp Willow analyzed. "I should've known they wouldn't have an appetite."

Faith glanced over at the worrywarts, Buffy and Willow, who were standing by the bar, looking lost. "Apparently the Bronze ain't workin', either," she noted.

"However," Vamp Willow went on, "the breaking and entering at the blood bank worked for a good hour at least." She stopped theorizing and shot a 'duh' look in Faith's direction. "I mean, where did they think I got my blood from anyway? I don't do pig's blood unless I absolutely have to, and it's not like the blood bank just hands out the good stuff to needy vamps."

"They probably thought you got it from me," Faith said.

"And I dooo," Vamp Willow purred as she pushed Faith against the wall. She ran her tongue up the side of Faith's neck and then whispered into her ear, "But if I drank from my deliciously hot slayer as much as I wanted, I wouldn't have her anymore, would I?"

"That's right," Faith said with a grin. "I'm the top o' the line...gotta ration me out...make me laaasssst..."

At that, the two came together in a smoldering kiss. They let their hands roam freely along each other's body for a long moment before finally tearing themselves apart. They were breathing heavily as they looked toward the bar where Buffy and Willow still stood.

"Guess we better get back to the babysitting," Faith grumbled.

Vamp Willow poked her lip out in a petulant pout. "Sometimes I really hate being good..."


A few hours later, Buffy and Willow were battling a nest of vampires in a nearby cemetery. While they dealt with the core of the pack inside a mausoleum, Faith and Vamp Willow were running down the stragglers outside.

After magically fireballing the last vampire inside the crypt, Willow raised her arms in the air and let out a triumphant 'woo-hoo!' As she started to let out a second, she found herself cut off by an urgent kiss from Buffy.

After kissing them both breathless, Buffy pulled back and said in a husky voice, "I need you, Will...I need you now."

"Good," Willow replied desperately, "'cause I need you, too."

As they came together in a series of crushing kisses, Buffy back-kicked the door closed and then maneuvered them toward the sarcophagus in the rear of the mausoleum. They stopped kissing long enough to take off their jackets. Then Buffy practically tossed Willow on top of the stone slab before leaping up to join her there.

Willow had barely finished scooting down the stone when she saw Buffy land like a cat at the end of the slab. As she felt Buffy slink predator-like into place over her, Willow thought, Looks like I'm gonna get my first real taste of slayer lust. Thank God! At that, she grabbed a handful of Buffy's shirt and yanked her down for a searing kiss.


Meanwhile, outside the mausoleum, Faith came striding up to the door but stopped short when she heard what was going on inside. It's about time! she chuckled to herself. Thought those two were gonna pop before they finally did something! Then she turned from the door to jog toward Vamp Willow, who was heading rapidly in her direction.

"Hey, guess wh--mmmm?" Faith's words were smothered by Vamp Willow's lips closing over hers.

When the redhead pulled back, she didn't waste time with seduction or foreplay. Instead, she commanded, "You. Me. Sex. Now."

Faith laughed and then said, "Yes, ma'am."

They kissed their way to a wide, waist-high tombstone, shedding jackets and shirts as they went. As Faith slammed Vamp Willow against the side of the headstone and pressed against her, Vamp Willow pulled her even closer.

"I know we didn't think we'd have the chance tonight, but pleasssse tell me you're packing," the redhead begged.

Faith smirked and said, "What can I say? I'm an optimist." Then she guided her lover's hand down to feel the slight bulge of the dildo inside her jeans.

Vamp Willow kissed Faith hungrily as she began unbuckling the slayer's belt and unbuttoning the fly of her jeans. She felt Faith do the same, unzipping her leather pants and shimmying them past her hips. Before Vamp Willow could finish her unbuttoning, though, Faith flipped her around and shoved her face first onto the top of the headstone. Within seconds, Vamp Willow's pants were crumpled around her ankles and Faith was inside her.

As she heard her vampire let out a lengthy moan that was as much growl as it was groan, Faith grinned wickedly and started a merciless pace of thrusting. It wasn't long before they both roared and shuddered their way through a massive simultaneous climax.

It was just the first of several, and by the time they were done, both slayer and vampire were completely spent. They were nothing but a trembling tangle of naked limbs.


Meanwhile, inside the mausoleum, Buffy and Willow were in a similar state of complete exhaustion. As they lay side by side on the stone, the only movement they were capable of was breathing...and now talking.

"God, I needed that," Buffy said.

"Me too," Willow agreed. "Wouldn't-a picked a dusty ole crypt to do it in, but at this point...I am definitely not knockin' it."

The two were quiet for a moment. Then Buffy wondered, "Do you think Tara could feel us?"

"I don't know," Willow replied. "I hope not. I mean, not if it was gonna make her feel bad, like left out or something."

"Let's go see if she's done," Buffy blurted, suddenly no longer exhausted.

"Okay!" Willow chirped, apparently as equally energized by the thought of seeing Tara.

The two scrambled to redress themselves and then hurried outside.


As Buffy and Willow exited the mausoleum, they scanned the area for their patrol partners, Faith and Vamp Willow, but didn't see them anywhere.

"You don't think something happened, do you?" Willow asked worriedly.

Buffy didn't answer. Instead, she yelled out, "Faith? Hey Faith!"

Willow called out for her vampire doppelganger. "Willow?"

After a few seconds, they heard Faith reply, "Over here."

Willow and Buffy headed in that direction, weaving among the tombstones until they got to a secluded one.

"Hey," Buffy said as they approached, "what's going--oh good golly!"

Buffy and Willow immediately averted their eyes when they saw the other two women half naked in front of them, still in the process of redressing.

"Guess we're not the only ones gettin' down and dirty..." Willow murmured under her breath.

"We're, um, we're gonna go check on Tara," Buffy told the others while still not looking up. "Catch ya later?"

"Yeah, sure," Faith said, giving the two a distracted wave of her hand as she glanced around the area. "Where's my bra?" she asked aloud to no one in particular.

"Leaving now," Willow said as she and Buffy quickly scurried away.


==========================================

PART 16

==========================================

It was near dawn, and Tara's solo soul-healing ritual, held in her former dorm room, was almost done. As she finished the last stage of the ceremony, she sat cross-legged on the floor, her palms up, her arms resting limply against the tops of her legs. Her eyes were closed, and her face was completely relaxed as she breathed in and out with deliberate slowness. Soon she released an especially long breath and opened her eyes. She glanced around the room, smiling to herself, then got to her feet.

After indulging in a series of stretches, Tara once again bowed her head in supplication and spoke the incantation that broke the shielding spell. Then she opened the door and headed to the lounge, where she knew Althenea, her counselor and fellow Wiccan, was waiting.


When Tara entered the lounge, she saw Althenea sitting in a chair, looking at her warmly. Then Tara noticed Buffy and Willow sound asleep on a nearby couch. She smiled widely at the sight but didn't immediately rush to them. Instead, she quietly tiptoed over to her mentor.

Althenea stood up and reached out to grasp Tara's hands. "So how did it go?" she whispered.

"It went great," Tara answered, still smiling. "I was scared at first, and there were some really rough parts, but I feel so much better."

"I'm so glad," Althenea said enthusiastically.

Tara gave Althenea a grateful hug. When she pulled out of the embrace, her eyes went automatically toward her sleeping girlfriend.

Althenea noticed, of course, and said, "I know you're anxious to reconnect, so why don't we save our 'debriefing' for our next session?"

"Thank you!" Tara said, hugging Althenea again. "Thank you so much!"

"My pleasure," Althenea said before taking her leave.

Tara silently crept over to where Buffy and Willow were sleeping and moved to stand behind the couch. Then, without touching them, she reached out to them by way of their special psychic bond.

"Waaake uuuupppp..." she mentally sing-songed to them.

Buffy and Willow slowly sat up, blinking, calling out Tara's name uncertainly.

"Sleepyheads..." Tara commented aloud from behind them, making them whip around in surprise.

"Tara!" they both exclaimed happily. They turned around and knelt on the couch so that they could pull Tara into a big hug.

After kisses all around, Buffy said, "Get over here, girlie!" Then she and Willow pulled Tara over the back of the couch and into their laps. Tara didn't resist. She giggled as they settled her onto her back across their legs.

"Gosh, it's good to see you," Buffy said, stroking Tara's hair.

"Yeah, we missed you," Willow added as she took Tara's hands into hers.

Tara made eye contact with both as she said, "I missed you, too."

The Three stared happily at each other for a bit until Tara finally sat up and squeezed in between Buffy and Willow.

"So, um, how did everything go? You know, with the ritual and everything?" Willow asked.

"It went really well," Tara answered. "I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off of me. I mean, I know I've still got a long way to go, but for the first time, I feel like I've finally gotten somewhere, you know?"

"Yay!" Willow and Buffy cheered, giving Tara another dual embrace.

After a moment of hugging, Buffy glanced at the window and saw that the sun was just rising. "Hey, why don't we take this hug to our nice comfy bed at home?" she suggested.

"I second the motion," Willow chimed in. She and Buffy looked at Tara expectantly.

"Sounds wonderful," Tara said in response.


When the Three returned to the Summers home, Joyce and Giles were still asleep. Choosing not to wake them, the Three crept quietly into their room. As Tara began putting away the ritual items she had taken with her to her old dorm room, Buffy and Willow started stripping off their clothes and putting on their robes.

After picking up her dirty clothes, Buffy sniffed them and said, "Ewww, I so need a shower."

"Tell me about it," Willow said, dumping her own clothes into the basket. "I've got crypt dust in my crevices from our little lust-fest--"

Willow and Buffy both froze and shot a look at Tara, who was gazing at them with an eyebrow raised. Tara let them fumble and babble for a moment before giving them a playful smirk.

"Don't worry," she said, crossing over to them. "I know what you did. I could tell the minute I saw you. And I'm glad. Honestly."

Buffy and Willow let out a breath of relief as Tara went on.

"Not sure why it happened in a crypt..." she teased.

Buffy and Willow blushed and glanced away.

"You can tell me about it later," Tara said, turning them both toward the door. "Go get clean," she ordered. "I don't want a speck of crypt dust in our bed!"

About a half an hour later, the Three were snuggled up together in bed, with Tara in the middle. She patted the covers and prompted, "So, crypt story?"

After a few nervous chuckles, Buffy began her attempt at explaining. "We were out on patrol, and we'd just finished slaying this big vamp nest, a-a-and, you know, it just... happened." She ended with a nonchalant shrug.

Willow snorted and shook her head. Then she turned to Tara and said, "You remember when I told you about what Our Faith said about slaying?"

Buffy groaned and covered her face with her hands. "I am never going to live that one down..."

Tara nodded. "She said it made her 'hungry and horny'?"

"Right," Willow confirmed. "But Buffy would admit only to occasionally craving a non-fat yogurt afterwards."

Tara cast a sly eye toward Buffy, who was doing her best to ignore her girlfriends. "I'm assuming Buffy's claim has been busted?"

"Totally," Willow said, smirking.

Buffy reached across Tara and gave Willow a poke in the arm. "Hey, I wasn't the only one all hot and bothered, Miss Lusty Butt. You're the one that got Faith and Vamp Willow in on the action."

Tara's eyes nearly bugged out of her head. "Excuse me?" she asked in an incensed tone.

"No! Not like that!" Buffy rushed to correct.

Willow frantically pointed at Buffy. "She just means that when I got all excited, Vamp Willow picked up on it, and she got all excited, which meant Faith got all excited, but their excitement was totally separate from our excitement!"

"Swear!" Buffy said, holding her hand up in an oath-taking gesture.

Tara gave them a mock glare then laughed. "I know. I'm just giving you guys a hard time."

As Buffy made a show of huffing and rolling her eyes, Willow looked at Tara warmly and said, "It's so good to see you smiling again."

"Yeah," Buffy agreed.

"It's good to be smiling again," Tara told them. Then she glanced down for a moment. "There have been days when I didn't think I'd ever smile again."

Willow and Buffy frowned in sympathy but didn't speak. They merely put their hands over hers and gently squeezed.

"But you were there, both of you, through everything," Tara said, lifting her tear-filled gaze to theirs. "Thank you..." she whispered in a voice choked with emotion.

"We wouldn't have been anywhere else," Buffy assured her.

"You're our everything, Tara," Willow added. "We love you."

She pulled her hands from their grasp and wrapped her arms around them, hugging them as close to herself as she could. "I love you, too...so much..." When she released them, she added, "And I'll be back in the 'action' soon, I promise."

With a final round of smiles and hugs and kisses, the Three settled down for some much-needed sleep.


The Three slept most of the day, rising only for the occasional bathroom or water break. By the time they got up for good, it was nearly sunset. Luckily for them, Joyce had prepared a large meal of pot roast with potatoes and carrots. Both Joyce and Giles were happy to see all three girls, especially Tara, eating with ravenous gusto. After serving everyone a large helping of blackberry cobbler, Joyce broached the subject of Tara's night at the dorm.

"So, Tara," she asked, "did your meditation time go well?"

Tara smiled and nodded her head while she finished off a bite of cobbler. "It did. It went great, actually. I feel a whole lot better."

"We can tell," Giles commented. "You seem, um...lighter, as it were."

"Yeah, I feel like I've...made it to the next level, you know?" she said. "I may not be to the 'coasting downhill' part yet, but I'm getting there. I'm ready for what's next." She shot a quick look at Buffy and Willow and then said, "In fact...I think I'm ready to talk about Caleb."

"Are you sure?" Giles asked worriedly. "There's no need for haste. He's completely contained and can be for as long as necessary..."

"I'm sure," Tara said, nodding firmly. Then she let out a long breath. "It's time."


That evening, Giles called the rest of the Scoobies to schedule a meeting for the next day to discuss the Caleb situation. When Anya hung up the phone from Giles's call, she gazed off and thought for a moment. Then she smiled to herself and walked into the living room of her apartment.

"Halfrek!" she called out in loud voice. Nothing happened. "Come on, Hallie," she added, whining a bit.

After a dramatic flash, Halfrek appeared. She crossed her arms and gave Anya a stern look. "I'm not supposed to be talking to you, you know."

Anya rolled her eyes and growled, "D'Hoffyrn sooo needs to lose the grudge."

"Well, you know how he is when it comes to losing one of his own." Halfrek uncrossed her arms and asked, "So...what's up?"

"I've got a job for you."

Halfrek eyed her friend suspiciously. "A job?"

"A vengeance job," Anya replied. "It doesn't fall into your usual realm of interest, but..."

Halfrek's suspicion turned to excitement. "Oh, I hope it's a juicy one."

Anya chuckled. "Oh it is. Trust me."


The next day the Scoobies gathered in the living room of the Summers home to discuss the matter of what to do with Caleb. The Three sat on the sofa with Tara safely tucked in the middle. Xander sat in the recliner with Anya perched on the arm beside him. Faith and Vamp Willow were parked on the coffee table, which they'd pulled off to the side. Four chairs had been pulled from the dining room to complete the circle. In those sat Althenea, Riley, Joyce, and Giles. Giles had been elected to preside over the meeting.

"First of all," Giles said, "let me say how happy we all are, Tara, that your recovery is going so well." The others echoed this sentiment.

"Thanks," Tara said, a bit embarrassed at being the center of attention.

"We know this is going to be difficult," Giles went on. "If it becomes too much at any point..."

"It's okay," she assured him. "I can do this. I need to do this."

"Good, good," he said. "Ahem, well, on that note...have you given thought to what you'd like to see done with Caleb?"

Tara nodded, then stopped and gave an uncertain shrug. "I-I-I don't have it figured out or anything, but I have some ideas." She glanced at her girlfriends, who gave her smiles of encouragement. She took a deep breath and continued. "Well, the police are out, obviously. Caleb is too dangerous for a conventional prison. Whatever we decide, it has to be something we can do...o-o-or can arrange."

"I think it's safe to say we all agree with that," Joyce stated. "I doubt that the judicial system would know what to do with someone like Caleb."

Everyone nodded and then looked back to Tara. After thinking a moment, she said, "I know it's not a feeling most of you share, but...I can't kill Caleb." When she felt Willow about to object, she cut her off. "Yes, I know he deserves it, and yes, a part of me would love to see that happen, but I took an oath a long time ago to live by the Wiccan Rede. 'Harm none,' it says. I believe in that. It's a part of who I am, who I've chosen to be. If I violate that, I won't just be killing Caleb. I'll be killing a part of myself." Tears began rolling down her cheeks as she pressed on. "And I can't do that. I just can't..."

Buffy reached over and squeezed Tara's hand. "You don't have to."

Tara turned to Willow. The redhead was crying, too, but she wasn't ready to relinquish her position. "Baby...he hurt you...nearly shattered you, body and soul...he has to pay for that. He has to."

Tara was torn between nodding and shaking her head. "I know, but..." was all she could say.

Painful silence hung over the group until Riley dared to speak up.

"What about the Initiative?" he suggested. "Why not just keep him there, as is?"

"No offense," Buffy interjected, "but the Initiative isn't exactly inspiring the trust these days."

"You don't trust me?" Riley replied, a little hurt.

"I trust you," Buffy answered. "It's the rest of them I don't trust. I mean...Spike managed to escape, for goodness' sake."

"Plus, who's to say your scientists won't decide to play 'wake up the warlock'?" Xander pointed out. "You know, just for some 'experimental' fun."

Althenea blew out a wary breath. "With his powers...if he ever got out..."

"Indeed," Giles agreed.

"Which is why you need something permanent," Vamp Willow said, practically growling on the final word.

Willow and Xander nodded in agreement. Joyce, Giles, and Riley seemed to consider the matter but remained noncommittal. Buffy shared an uneasy look with Faith and Althenea before turning to Tara, who kept her eyes on the floor.

Anya, though, eagerly shook her finger in the air, ready to elaborate on Vamp Willow's suggestion. "Yes! Absolutely!" the former vengeance demon interjected cheerily. "Something permanent but something with some 'umpf!' behind it. And I know the perfect person who can help us with that."

"Anya, no," Xander said, reaching out to stop her before she spoke. He was too late, though.

"Oh, Hallie!" Anya called out. In less than a second, there was a flash of light near the front door. When the light faded, they saw what appeared to be a perky, curly-haired brunette now standing in the room.

"Anya! We talked about this!" Xander said. "No vengeance demons."

"Vengeance demon?!" Riley and Faith cried out, jumping to their feet.

"Relax!" Anya told them as she got up and walked over to her friend. She waved her hands at the soldier and slayer to sit back down. "She's not here to hurt us. She's here to help us."

Riley and Faith glanced at Buffy. When they saw that she seemed more annoyed than alarmed, they reluctantly returned to their seats.

"Look, Anya," Buffy said, "we appreciate the thought, but I think we're better off handling this on our own. We don't need help from a...demonic consultant."

Halfrek stepped toward the group. "Forgive me for my bluntness, but from what Anya's told me, you need all the help you can get." When several among the group started to object, she just forged ahead. "I'll summarize to prove my point." She gestured toward the Three on the couch. "Tara here was brutalized, physically and mentally, by an evil warlock named Caleb, all while psychically connected to Willow and Buffy, and now that he's been captured, your little group of do-gooders can't decide what to do with the raping bastard. Is that about right?" She smiled and waited for them to answer.

Everyone glanced guiltily around the room, with no one able to deny the description.

Halfrek shook her head in disbelief and turned to her friend. "What is wrong with these people?"

Anya just threw her hands up in a helpless gesture.

"I don't think this is what Tara had in mind," Althenea said firmly.

"Yeah, she already said she doesn't want Caleb killed," Faith added in support of Althenea's statement.

"But...y-y-you don't always kill the people you're getting revenge on, do you?" Willow pointedly asked Halfrek before turning to look at the other Scoobies.

"Of course not!" Halfrek replied enthusiastically. "There's no time for them to suffer if you kill them." She chuckled a moment before sobering. "The important thing is that they pay appropriately for their crimes. That makes sense, right?" She leaned over to Anya and said, "You know...I'm circulating a petition to get our name changed to 'justice demons.' But I digress."

She merrily clapped her hands and turned back to the group. Then she made a slight swirling gesture with her fingers, and a notepad and pen instantly materialized into her hands. She poised the pen over the paper.

"So...what're we thinking here?" she inquired. "Something traditional like a slowly-rotting-flesh curse or something more...imaginative, like a reality bubble in which he wakes up every morning to find a penis-eating parasite attached to his crotch? Hmm?"

Anya, Willow, and Vamp Willow grinned and nodded vigorously at Halfrek's suggestions. Tara and Buffy, however, could only look appalled. The rest of the group just glanced around the room, unsure of how to feel or respond.

Halfrek didn't seem to notice the general discomfort. "As a matter of fact," she said, tapping her pen against her chin in thought, "I've gotten wind of this unusual demon from the Parflek dimension who has a real taste for humans..."


Over an hour later, the room was littered with crumpled pages, and everyone looked completely exhausted. Halfrek herself was at her wit's end.

She let out a long, calming breath and started over. "Okay let's run through this again. You want something that makes him permanently a non-threat but without killing him, yet you do want him to suffer something appropriate to the crime, preferably for a long period of time, but not anything too horrible that you can't live with. Is that correct?"

Most of the group nodded as she gazed around the room.

Turning back to Anya, Halfrek let her notepad and pen drop from her hands. "I give up. I can't do this. I've pitched all my best scenarios, and they've shot them all down."

A somber silence fell over the group for a time, which wasn't broken until Althenea softly spoke up.

"I have an idea," the witch said. "It's...troubling, which is why I didn't mention it before."

Tara looked at her mentor curiously. "W-W-What is it?"

"A ritual," she answered. "Seldom if ever used. It's called the Ritual of Sundering."

"Of course!" Giles exclaimed. "I should have remembered."

Willow looked confused. "I've never heard of it. What does it do?"

"It severs a person's connection to magic," Althenea answered. "Strips them utterly of the ability to work magic. Centuries ago, it was used on witches and warlocks who had abused their powers."

"So...if you used this on Caleb," Joyce asked, "he would never be able to do magic again?"

"Ever?" Xander added to Joyce's question. "As in totally never ever?"

"Not even borrowed magic?" Willow pressed even more.

"Yes," Althenea answered. "From that point on, he would no longer be able to draw upon any type of magical energy. It's completely permanent."

As Tara shot a hopeful glance at Buffy and Willow, Faith smiled and said, "Well, that Ritual of Sundries sounds pretty good then."

"Ritual of Sundering," Giles corrected.

"Whatever," Faith replied. "Point is, he's taken out of the game. He won't be a threat anymore. 'Specially if Finn and company throw him into their secret prison for monsters."

"Right," Riley agreed.

"Well, that sounds reassuring but not particularly satisfying," Vamp Willow groused. "I mean, where's the punishment? He can't do magic anymore, boo hoo."

"I don't know," Buffy said. "For a warlock like Caleb...having to live without magic and to be imprisoned for the rest of this life...that'd be pretty hard."

"Not hard enough," Willow complained.

"Although I've never witnessed one personally," Althenea said, "the written accounts of the few rituals that were done indicate that the process is extremely painful for the warlock. The more powerful he is, the more excruciating the ritual will be. And...that's where the 'troubling' part of this comes into play."

"What?" Buffy asked worriedly.

"Most warlocks don't survive the ritual," Althenea replied. "The shock of being severed from their magic...it's just too much. They usually die."

"Well, that's poetic," Halfrek said, sharing a giggle with Anya. When the group glared at them, Halfrek pouted defensively, "I'm just saying."

Everyone then looked expectantly at Tara, who did indeed seem troubled by what she had heard. She stared at her lap and wrung her hands. Both Buffy and Willow reached over and placed their hands over hers.

"I know this is hard," Buffy said sympathetically, "but this ritual is the best option we've come across so far. It's not killing Caleb outright...it's giving him a chance. Most importantly, it'll protect us and everyone else from his magic."

"Right. Just think about it," Willow added. "Which would cause more harm? Stripping Caleb of his powers, in which case only he gets hurt? Or letting him keep those powers, in which case a lot of people could get hurt--hurt like you were?"

Tara didn't answer right away, and the silence was nearly unbearable as the group anxiously awaited her decision. After a moment, Tara finally raised her head. Her cheeks were wet with tears, but she nodded to her girlfriends and spoke a single word: "Okay."

The Scoobies let out a collective sigh, relieved that the intense debate was now over. Seeing that the group was in relative agreement about the plan, Giles stood up from his chair.

"Right. Very good," he said. "Now...if Riley can make arrangements and if Althenea has no objections, I'd like to hold the ritual at the Initiative."

"No problem," Riley said. "Just give me a day and a time."

"A natural, more sacred place would be better," Althenea said, "but safety and secrecy are paramount here. I have no objections."

As Giles continued to rattle off ideas and instructions, Anya led her friend Halfrek aside.

"Sorry, Hallie," she told her. "I tried."

"That's okay," Halfrek said with a light-hearted wave-away. "It's not your fault your human friends are defective."

Anya snorted. "I know! I mean, if ever a situation called for extreme vengeance, this was it. And that Parflek idea of yours? Genius!"

Halfrek smiled and preened. "Thanks!" Then she pouted again. "I was really hoping to use it on this guy, though." She let out a resigned sigh. "Oh well."/p>

"So...you wanna come watch 'em fry the warlock?" Anya asked. "We can get a cappuccino afterwards?"

"Okay! Call me!" Halfrek happily agreed. "Gotta run. Ta-ta!" In a flash she was gone.


A few days later, the Scoobies were prepared to do the ritual. Riley had overseen the preparation of the "Hole," the large area recessed into the floor of the underground base's main workspace. Althenea had obtained the supplies necessary for the ritual and had trained the two others who would be casting with her--Vamp Willow and Giles. The Initiative scientists had begun bringing Caleb gradually out of his induced coma.

That evening, when the moon had fully risen, four soldiers transferred the still-unconscious Caleb to the restraining device specially prepared for the ritual. It was a sturdy, solid-steel X-frame, welded to several I-beams embedded into the concrete floor of the Hole. The metal device was inclined to a 45- degree angle from the floor, with the head of the table in the upper position. Once Caleb was strapped spread-eagle into the device, his back was to the north, and his face was to the south.

Behind the X-frame, in the north position, was a small table; on it were a magic book, a dish of sea salt, an athame, three blue candles in silver stands, one lit and two unlit, plus a softball-sized spherical crystal with multiple facets of many colors. Behind this table stood Althenea, Giles, and Vamp Willow.

Once Caleb was in place, Althenea nodded to one of the soldiers, who administered a hypodermic into the warlock's arm. The injection contained a cocktail that would awaken Caleb but leave him fuzzy -headed enough to be unable to cast any spells. After the injection, the soldiers retreated to the perimeter of the Hole on the east and west sides. Dr. Walsh along with a team of scientists and a squad of soldiers watched from above. Several video cameras were stationed around the upper rim, already recording. In the south, directly in Caleb's line of sight, stood the Three--Tara in the center with Willow and Buffy on each side of her. Behind them but against the wall were Joyce, Xander, Faith, and Riley; nearby, in another grouping, were Anya and Halfrek, both inappropriately giddy with anticipation.

As Caleb slowly came to consciousness, Althenea, Giles, and Vamp Willow began the Ritual of Sundering. While Althenea chanted in a low voice, Vamp Willow poured a clockwise line of sea salt in a large circle around the X-frame. Following her, Giles used the athame to imbue the circle with power. When the circle was solid and glowing, with only Caleb inside it, Giles and Vamp Willow returned to Althenea and traded their current items for the unlit blue candlesticks. Joining Althenea in her chant, they lit their blue candles from hers and then moved to their positions at the southeast and southwest.

Caleb shook his head and groggily took in the scene before him. "What the hell...?"

Althenea cupped her hands over the flame of her candle. "By Hectate's right hand," she invoked.

"So mote it be," Giles and Vamp Willow replied.

"By Samhain's right leg," Althenea recited.

"So mote it be," Giles and Vamp Willow replied once again.

"By the left limb of Azreal..."

"...so mote it be."

"By the left hand of Nuntet..."

"...so mote it be."

Caleb tried to rise from the table but realized he was bound. He struggled in vain against the straps holding him down. "What the fucking hell?!" he growled.

Althenea pulled her hands from the flame and held them palm up as the three casters spoke in unison, their voices growing louder. "East, west, south, and north...we summon earth, fire, wind, and sea... elementals thy power to summon forth...in dreaded judgment, mote it be!"

It was then that Caleb's eyes met those of the Three. "You!" he spat in fury before aiming his glare directly at Tara.

The blonde witch trembled but stood her ground, strengthened by the presence of her lovers beside her.

Althenea took the round crystal in her hands. "In the name of the four corners, and in the name of the center, we invoke the three words that shall sunder flesh from fire, blood from sea, breath from the spirit of the winds, and bones from the mother who is earth!"

"What are you doing?" Caleb asked as he glanced nervously around him. Then he let his fear return to rage. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?!! You think you can hold me? You think you can hurt me? You can't touch me!!!"

A damp wind began to swirl through the Hole, and the ground began to shake. The air became charged, and the inhabitants could feel the hair on their bodies stand on end.

"Here it comes," Halfrek whispered. Anya gleefully clapped her hands together.

Vamp Willow raised her candle and spoke the first word, "Duroc!"

Giles raised his candle and called out the second, "Melankurion!"

Althenea raised the crystal over her head and commanded the last, "Abatha!"

When Althenea spoke the final word, there was an ear-shattering crack of thunder as a streak of lightning came from nowhere and struck the crystal in her hands. A ragged beam of energy surged from the crystal and into the metal X-frame. When the magic hit Caleb, he screamed in agony. Despite the restraints, his body bucked violently upon the table as if it were being electrocuted.

A full minute went by, then two, then three, and still the power poured in, and still Caleb's  screams continued. Tara was weeping openly, but Buffy and Willow did their best to soothe and support her. They held strong arms behind her back and kept a firm grip on her arms, all while crooning words of comfort to her.

Suddenly, Caleb went rigid, his body frozen in place, his jaws locked open, his screams reduced to hoarse, whimpering groans. From his open mouth came a stream of mottled light. Tiny glowing motes, like stars the size of sand grains, swirled amid the flow. The lights gravitated toward one another, forming a maelstrom of energy that hovered above Caleb. When the last of the light left him, the ball of roiling magic blasted off like a rocket and disappeared into the nothingness from which the spell's lightning had come. Caleb's body collapsed against the table. He let out a single gasp and then went still.

For a moment, everyone held their breath and stared, waiting to see if Caleb moved. When he didn't, Tara turned and fell sobbing into her lovers' arms. Willow and Buffy hugged her tightly and stroked her hair.

After completing the steps necessary to end the ritual, Althenea, Giles, and Vamp Willow crossed the circle of salt to examine Caleb's body. Vamp Willow stood at the ready as Althenea laid her hand over Caleb's forehead and Giles felt for a pulse at the warlock's wrist. All three casters, as well as everyone else, jumped in shock when Caleb abruptly drew in a gasp of breath.

Althenea and Giles leapt back, and soldiers drew their weapons. Willow and Buffy instantly pushed Tara behind them, backing her toward the wall, where Joyce joined them. As Faith, Xander, and Riley took up position in front of the Three, Vamp Willow cast a binding spell, encasing Caleb's body in a shimmering green light. Anya and Halfrek merely ogled the scene in amazement, wondering what would happen next.

"You...bitches..." Caleb cursed, but in a voice slightly slurred by his ordeal. "What did you... what did you do to me...?"

"It's okay, it's okay," Althenea blurted out to everyone, holding her hands out in a reassuring gesture. "The spell worked. He doesn't have any magic. He's just an ordinary mortal man now."

"Are you sure?!" Faith demanded. "You better be fuckin' sure," she added in warning.

"I'm sure," Althenea said. She turned to the Three and repeated with emphasis, "I'm sure. You're safe."

The Three didn't look reassured, particularly when Caleb continued to rail at them. After a moment, Buffy looked over at Willow and said, "Come on. Let's get Tara out of here."

Willow nodded and gestured Buffy toward the ladder that led from the Hole to the upper level. Then she paused and glanced back at the ranting former warlock. Her mouth curled into a disgusted scowl, and she shook her head. "God, I wish this was over," she muttered under her breath. "Like, really over." She let out a heavy sigh and followed her girlfriends up the ladder.

Having overheard Willow's comment, Anya turned to Halfrek and raised an eyebrow expectantly.

Halfrek made a conspiratorial lean-in and for a mere moment transformed into her demonic visage. "Granted," she said, smiling wickedly.

Once Halfrek had returned to her human face, the two friends grasped hands and giggled.


Later that night, at the Summers home, Joyce quietly left the girls' bedroom and moved across the hall to her own, where Giles was sitting up, reading in bed.

"How are they?" Giles asked, setting his book and glasses aside on the nightstand.

"They're sleeping now," Joyce replied. "Finally. Thanks to the sedative."

"I'm glad you convinced them to take it."

Joyce nodded and got into bed. "After everything they've been through, they needed it."

Giles took Joyce into his arms and kissed the top of her head. "And what about you?"

"You're my sleeping pill," Joyce replied, snuggling closer. When she realized what she'd said, she pulled back and looked Giles in the eyes. "That didn't come out right."

Giles chuckled. "It's all right. I got it."

He leaned down and kissed Joyce warmly before reaching over to turn out the light. Once he had settled back into their embrace, it didn't take long for both of them to fall asleep.


Meanwhile, at Giles's apartment, Faith and Vamp Willow lay in bed, wide awake. Both stared at the ceiling, lost in their own thoughts. Eventually, Vamp Willow broke the silence with a heavy sigh.

"Well, now that Caleb's been taken care of," she said, "I guess we'll be heading back to our dimension." Unlike her former visit to Sunnydale, she didn't look particularly happy about returning to her own world.

"Yeah," Faith agreed, looking no happier. After a pause, she turned to the redhead. "Did you ever give Willow a copy of the ritual that got us here?"

Vamp Willow nodded. "Yeah. In fact, she's still got my copy and the crystal. I'll have to get 'em both back before we can quantum-leap outta here."

"Maybe she can come up with something--some way for us to communicate between dimensions."

"Where there's a Will, there's a way," Vamp Willow quipped, snorting at her own joke. "Get it? Will...Willow...ha! Good one."

Faith gave her girlfriend a funny look. "I swear, you can be so goofy sometimes."

Vamp Willow's smile scrunched into a glare as she sat up and punched Faith's arm. "Take that back!"

"Ow!" Faith said, grabbing her arm where she'd been punched.

"I am not goofy! Take it back."

"No."

"Take it back!"

"No!"

"Take. It. Back."

"Or else what?" Faith offered in challenge.

With inhuman speed, Vamp Willow suddenly ripped the covers off Faith, straddled the slayer's body, and pinned her wrists above her head; then she brought her mouth down on hers in series of crushing kisses.

When Vamp Willow pulled away, Faith had to stop and catch her breath. Then she laughed and said sexily, "Heh, heh...I like 'or else'."

Vamp Willow grinned and began kissing her once again.


Later that night, at the Initiative, Caleb paced furiously in his cell, cursing and screaming at the video camera above the force-field door. In the security room, a bored soldier was pressing his finger against the audio button below the monitor that showed Caleb's cell. He could hear the former warlock's ranting blaring out of the speakers on the console.

"What's he saying now?" asked another soldier sitting nearby.

"Same ole shit," the first soldier answered, removing his finger from the audio button, silencing the rant coming from the speakers.

"I liked him better when he was in the coma," the second grumbled.

"They're gonna put him back in it tomorrow, but till then, we're stuck with him. And the rest of this monster zoo," he said, gesturing at the banks of monitors showing cell after cell of demons and other hostiles.

The second soldier sighed. Then he brightened and said, "Hey, let's ditch this place for a bit, take a break."

"We can't both leave the security room at the same time, you know that."

"Not even for this?" He held up an open cigarette case that contained two joints and a lighter.

The first solider glanced nervously around the room then back at the cigarette case. "Okay, but let's make it fast. The colonel catches us, we're toast."

The two soldiers slipped out of the security room and headed for the east stairwell, totally missing on the monitor the flash of a visitor appearing in Caleb's cell.


Caleb jumped when Halfrek suddenly materialized in his cell.

"Who the hell are you?" he demanded.

"I'm Hallie," she replied. "I've come to get you out of here."

"Hot damn!" he said excitedly. "Come on, let's go."

She held up her hand to stop his progress towards her. "First, there's someone I'd like you to meet. From the Parflek dimension."

As Caleb regarded her with a puzzled look, Halfrek transformed into her demon face; then she closed her eyes and spoke a short incantation in a language he didn't recognize. Soon the room began to swirl with energy. Within moments, a portal opened in the far corner, and a horrifying creature came through.

The Parflek demon was large and worm-like; its skin was leathery and dry and ringed with overlapping layers of fat. The creature didn't have arms; instead, it had dozens of long tendrils protruding from both sides. It also didn't have legs; its method of movement was a hovering platform on which its obese body reclined.

What was most terrifying, however, was the creature's chest, which lay between the vertical rows of quivering tendrils. Within this expanse of fat and skin, literally melded into the creature's flesh, was the sunken body of a live human being. Multiple tendrils snaked into the trapped man's body. One of these went straight into his forehead. His face was creased into a grimace of agony, but no sound escaped his lips.

At the sight of the creature, Caleb made a choking sound and backed himself against the wall. The Parflek demon paid him no mind. As the portal remained open behind it, the demon moved forward on its platform straight toward Halfrek, barking at her in the language she had used earlier.

Halfrek smiled and answered him in English. "Don't be alarmed. I've brought you here to give you a gift." Then she gestured at Caleb.

As the creature turned its gaze toward him, Caleb frantically shook his head. "No...no... no!" he screamed as he scrambled into the corner. There was no escape as the creature bore down on him.

"Mmmm..." the Parflek demon said, examining his 'gift' with piqued interest. "What will this one cost me?" it asked in English. "What must I give you in return?"

"Nothing more than his slow and painful death," she replied.

As Caleb stood frozen in place, he was suddenly seized by several of the creature's long tendrils. As the demon immobilized him and brought him closer, Caleb began to scream in terror. His screams instantly ceased when the creature sank a special tendril right into the middle of his forehead. The former warlock's face was still twisted into a wide-eyed, open-mouthed scream, but no sound came forth.

"Mmmm..." the demon said, a smile quirking at the wide slit it called a mouth. "This one will feed me long...for a decade of your decades perhaps..."

The creature groaned in pleasure, savoring the taste of Caleb's mind. Then it sloughed off the husk of the human it had been feeding on and drew Caleb into his place. The released victim let out one sickening gasp and then died, disintegrating into dust. As Caleb was drawn in, tendrils snaked into all parts of his body. In a matter of minutes, Caleb was fully absorbed into the demon's body, the frozen look of horror still on his face.

Halfrek and the Parflek demon exchanged mutual thanks in the creature's language. Then the demon passed back into the portal. At a final command from Halfrek, the portal itself disappeared.

Halfrek put her hands on her hips and let out a very self-satisfied sigh. "I just love it when justice prevails." She turned to the security camera and waved, then gave a quick giggle, twirled her hands, and vanished in a flash.


The next morning at the Summers home, while Tara was still sleeping, Joyce, Giles, Buffy, and Willow were having breakfast in the dining room. Although all had slept well, there was still a heaviness in the room courtesy of the Caleb situation. As a result, the small talk over breakfast was small indeed. The somber semi-silence was ended when the doorbell rang.

Buffy shot a puzzled look at the others and then rose to answer the door. When she opened it, she was surprised to find Riley outside, backpack in hand.

"Riley, hey...come on in," she said, waving him inside. Suddenly, her voice took on a fearful tone. "What is it? Is something up with Caleb? Did he--?"

As the others came in from the dining room, Riley held up his hands to stop the impending deluge of worry. "He didn't escape or anything like that," he explained. "He can't hurt anybody. Everybody's still totally safe."

"Then...what is it?" Buffy asked. "I can tell something's up."

Riley glanced around the living room and into the dining room. "Is Tara around?"

"She's still sleeping," Joyce answered.

"Good," Riley said. "I've got something to show you, and it'd probably be better if she didn't see it."

As he walked to the dining room table, he pulled a laptop from his backpack. After shifting a few breakfast dishes aside, he placed the laptop on the table, opened it, and booted it up. Within seconds he had a video program loaded showing security footage from the Initiative's containment area.

"I-I-Is that Caleb's cell?" Giles asked.

Willow groaned when footage from Caleb's cell was brought up on the screen. "Really not looking for a rerun of Caleb's ranting, Ri."

"Trust me, you gotta see this," Riley said grimly before pressing the play button.

Over the next several minutes, the group watched in disbelief and horror as Halfrek dispensed her own sense of justice against Caleb.

When Halfrek's recorded image gave the camera a wave, Riley reached over and pressed the pause button. For the longest time, no one spoke.

Buffy put her hand over her stomach and said, "I think my French toast is starting a revolution in my stomach."

"I know we wanted Caleb punished," Joyce commented, "but this..."

"It's one thing to cry for the death penalty," Giles interjected. "It's quite another to actually witness the execution."

Willow shook her head and walked away. "I am not gonna let this bother me." She turned around and pointed at Riley's laptop. "As horrible as that was, he deserved it." Her tone, though firm, was tinged with discomfort and lacked much of her earlier conviction. She took a deep breath and let it out. "What matters to me is that Caleb's gone...that he can't hurt Tara, or any of us, or anyone, ever again."

"Caleb's gone?"

At the sound of Tara's voice, everyone jumped and whipped around. Buffy instantly moved to stand in front of the laptop to block Tara's view of it. As she and Willow eased forward to join their girlfriend, Riley surreptitiously eased the computer shut.

When they reached Tara, they took the blonde's hands in theirs. "I'm sorry, Tara," Buffy said, "but...Caleb didn't make it."

When Tara's gaze dropped to the floor, Buffy shot a look at Willow. "That is all we are telling her," she emphasized telepathically. Willow nodded in agreement.

"Oh. I..." was all Tara managed to say. When she lifted her head, tears were trickling down her face.

Willow reached out and cupped Tara's cheek. "It's okay, baby, it's okay," she crooned. "We knew this might happen."

"I know, I know, but..." Tara let out stuttered breath. "It's hard." Willow and Buffy squeezed her hands and rubbed her back. In a moment Tara spoke again, this time in a stronger, more relieved voice. "At least I don't have to be scared of him anymore. After last night, all I could think about was him getting out, coming after us again."

"That's never going to happen now," Buffy told her.

"We're safe," Willow added.

Then the Three pulled into long, warm hug.

***

Meanwhile, across town in Giles's apartment, a fully dressed Faith was sitting on the edge of the bed, quietly putting on her boots.

A fully naked Vamp Willow remained sprawled in the bed. ""What're you doin'?" she murmured, her words slurred by sleep.

"Getting dressed," Faith answered over her shoulder.

"But whyyyyy?" Vamp Willow said with a pout.

Faith turned around and lay across the bed. Although there was a grin on her lips, her eyes were serious. "Got something I need to do before we leave tonight. I won't be long."

Without allowing time for a reply, Faith gave the redhead a kiss and then hurried away. Vamp Willow leaned up on her elbow and frowned as she watched Faith leave the room.


A short time later, Faith was in her counterpart's room on the basement floor of the hospital. She stood in silence and looked down at the pale, comatose form of this world's version of Faith Lehane.

"Hey," she finally said. "I know you don't know me, but..." She trailed off and shook her head. "That's kind of a stupid line. I mean, you are me. Sort of. Only not." She put her hand to her forehead and massaged it. "God, this makes my head hurt."

She ran both hands through her hair and took a minute to compose herself. Then she raised her head and looked at the bedridden slayer once again.

"Look...I don't know if you can hear me or if you'll ever wake up or if I even know anything about you...but I know you screwed up real bad. Don't think there's a real question about that."

Faith paused and took in a deep breath, then slowly let it out.

"I just...I just wanted to say that...if you do wake up--and you can, you know, I mean, you're a slayer, can't nothing keep a slayer down." She started again, gently but earnestly, "When you wake up, things don't have to be like they were...you can change...you can--"

Faith stopped and sighed once more. "Anyway, that's all I had to say."

She backed away from the bed toward the door and put on a small smile. "I'd say 'see ya', but that ain't likely to happen, not after tonight. So...I guess 'bye' will have to do it."

At that, Faith turned around and left.


That evening, the extended Scoobies clan gathered in the Summers living room to make their final good-byes to Faith and Vamp Willow, who were returning to the Wishverse. After heartfelt hugs and handshakes all around, the rest of the Scoobies stepped away and allowed the Three some alone time with the two alternate dimensional travelers.

Buffy paired off with her fellow slayer. "Thanks again," she told her. "For everything. For risking your life to come here, for handling patrol, for being with us, for..." She stopped and let out a breath. "For keeping me from making a really big mistake. If you hadn't been there with me in Caleb's cell..."

"Hey, no prob," Faith replied. "That's what friends do, right?"

Buffy smiled widely. "Yeah. That's what friends do."

Nearby, Willow and Tara were making similar expressions of gratitude to Vamp Willow. After that, Tara focused her inner eye on the Vamp Willow as she had done back in the Wishverse.

When the redhead noticed the look Tara was giving her, she became concerned. "What? Did something change in my aura?"

Tara ended her mystical exam and answered the vampire. "Yes, it did."

Willow squinted at her doppelganger and pouted. "I wish I could see auras."

"What is it?" Vamp Willow asked worriedly. "What did you see?"

"Your layer of light is bigger," Tara explained.

"Really? Does that mean my soul has grown?"

Tara nodded and smiled. "I think so."

Vamp Willow lit up into a wide grin. "I've been promoted from soul seed to soul seedling, I guess."

"Nurture it, Willow," Tara advised. "It'll probably grow more."

"That means 'continue trying not to kill people'," Willow said to her vampire twin.

Vamp Willow just rolled her eyes in response.

A short time later, Faith and Vamp Willow reluctantly announced that it was time to do the ritual. Buffy brought over the protective gear that Vamp Willow had been wearing upon arrival, which Faith had retrieved from the hospital early on in their visit. Willow returned to Vamp Willow the spell papers and the crystal that she had used to bring herself and Faith from the Wishverse. Once the vampire had tucked the papers into her back jeans pocket, Willow handed her another set, along with a small silver compact.

Vamp Willow opened the small mirrored compact. It still contained the pressed makeup but was missing its powder puff. She raised an eyebrow at her counterpart. "What's this? Is my makeup fading?"

Willow shook her head. "Just an idea I have about establishing communications between dimensions." She pointed to the new papers. "Read 'em, see what you think, and give it a try." Then she held up a compact identical to Vamp Willow's. "I've already got my end of the magic mirror set up."

Vamp Willow let a wicked smirk spread across her face. "Coooool."

It took a few minutes to get Vamp Willow re-outfitted in her fireman's suit, ski mask, gloves, and scarf, and motorcycle helmet.

"It shouldn't even matter going back," Vamp Willow grumbled as she situated the crystal in her thickly-gloved hand.

"Better safe than sorry," Faith lectured.

"Yeah, yeah..."

"Okay, you guys," Faith told the Scoobies. "You better step back 'cause we're heading back to Kansas!"

Once Faith had wrapped her arms around her, Vamp Willow spoke the incantation that would take them home. A wind kicked up in the living room, and a swirl of energy began to surround them. In a flash, they were gone.

As the gusts of air died down and the room grew silent, the Scoobies exchanged sad glances.


Back in the Wishverse, Faith and Vamp Willow burst from the ether and into the living room of the Mansion, which was the site of the original spell. They tumbled to the floor and slid through the chalk lines of the spell's circles before coming to a stop in front of the fireplace.

"Bloody hell!" Ethan cursed as the two got to their feet. "Did the spell even work?!"

"How long were we gone?" Faith asked, helping Vamp Willow remove her protective gear.

"About ten seconds," Giles answered.

"Ha!" Vamp Willow crowed. "We kick ass!"

"You were gone longer that that, I presume," Giles commented.

"Oh yeaaaah," Faith replied. "You better put on some coffee, folks, 'cause this one's a doozy."


Several Weeks Later

It was early evening in the "real" Sunnydale, barely past sunset, and the Three were getting ready for bed at the Summers home.

Late that afternoon, Tara had come back from her final follow-up visit to the doctor with a clean bill of health. Although her sessions with Althenea would continue for some time, in the physical aspect of things, Tara had been pronounced fully recovered. When Tara privately informed her girlfriends that she was ready to be intimate with them again, Buffy had immediately rushed to her mother and, with no subtlety whatsoever, had begun hinting that her mother and Giles would enjoy spending the night at his place. Getting the drift, Joyce had happily complied. After packing a few things into an overnight bag, Joyce and Giles had vacated the premises, leaving the Three blessedly alone.

The Three spent some time preparing the room. They put on soft music, lit candles, and lowered the lights. They even cast a privacy spell to be sure they wouldn't be disturbed. As they undressed one another, their hands shook slightly--thankfully more from anticipation than nerves. When they got into bed, Buffy and Willow placed Tara between them and kissed her warmly.

"Are you sure you're ready for this?" Willow asked.

"We can wait longer, you don't have to rush things," Buffy added.

Tara shook her head and then caressed the faces of her lovers. "No more waiting," she told them in a voice husky with desire.

As she repeatedly kissed one then the other, the room became filled with the sounds of their joyous lovemaking. As their bodies became one, so did their minds and souls, and soon the entire Summers home shook with the true Power of the Three--their love.

END OF BOOK 2
(And probably the end of the series, although I do have an idea for a Book 3)

Endnote: The part that I borrowed from Watchers was the Ritual of Sundering, which was a key feature to the episode "Hell Goddess," written by Zahir al Dauod (with additional writing by Susan Carr and CN Winters). Some parts of the ritual here are straight from "Hell Goddess," but I modified and elaborated on the ritual for the purposes of this story.

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