"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??!"