Loving Willow More by Rin

Rating: R
Disclaimer: These are Joss's kids...I'm just another kid in the sandbox.
Distribution: The Mystic Muse: http://mysticmuse.net
Rin's Spot: http://www.geocities.com/rin_wag/index.html
Feedback: Of course…=)
Spoilers: Up to Season 4.
Author's Notes: This is a sequel to Loving Willow.
Pairing: Willow/Buffy

Summary: First year in college…are things about to change?

After graduation, the Scooby gang celebrated the entire summer. With new lives to lead, and journeys to be had, everything seemed pleasant. The entire summer had been spent on the beach, watching movies, consuming too many mochas, and getting back into the swing of things after the whole crystal incident. Fred and Willow had returned to their normal hormones on parade status, only with lots of sex to boot, and the others were managing to fall back into place, too. The Hellmouth was predictably quiet, and the hunt for Spike had been unsuccessful. However, everybody knew that the bleached blonde vampire would return. He always did for some reason.

Then, the shit hit the fan. College started, and everybody went their separate ways. The two that had taken it the hardest were Willow and Fred. With Fred in LA, and Willow staying behind in Sunnydale with Buffy, there were too many lonely nights for them. They would see each other every weekend, one or the other visiting their respective campuses but it just wasn't enough. Cordelia had left for LA, and surprisingly ran into Angel, who had started his own Investigations agency. She readily helped the souled vampire out, and Fred wasn't that far behind him. At least, it kept her busy (other than school), and she wouldn't have time to miss Willow as much, even though that little plan never worked. Gunn was the person that surprised them, when he too joined Angel at helping the helpless.

Xander had opted for the civilian route, and started getting odd little jobs around the 'Dale, while Willow and Buffy did the college thing. Giles retired from the Council, and was living the life as a bachelor. It wasn't that fulfilling, and he was always more than willing to help his Slayer. Faith stayed with Joyce, and kept up the slaying during the night. There really wasn't that much that she did, actually. Once Buffy defeated her demon roommate, Willow had moved in with her. It was a tough decision on both parts, especially considering the events of last year but they were best friends, and it made logical sense. However, Buffy was not faring well at all. She had to hide her secret love for Willow, and it was killing her even more each day. In her wildest dreams, she never would have placed herself in this scenario.

"Hey, Buffy? Are you okay?" Willow looked over from her laptop, and studied her best friend, who was currently sprawled across her bed, once again lost in her own Willowy thoughts.

"Yeah. I'm fine." The tone in her voice told otherwise, and she knew Willow wouldn't drop it but Buffy was having another depresso day. Fred was due to visit the next day, and the blonde just wasn't sure she could take much more. She had started pulling away from the redhead, and the worst part was that it was painstakingly obvious. There just wasn't much she could do about it anymore, she thought. She tried dating Faith again but that was dropped before it even began, and she had talked to Giles, wondering if her feelings were just residual from the crystal. The biggest problem came when she discovered that her feelings were genuine, and she was truly in love with her best friend, who was in love with another woman.

"That doesn't sound like the voice of somebody who's fine." Willow had been trying to find out what was bugging her friend but Buffy would always go on one of these kicks, if she would even be around to begin with, and they wouldn't see each other for days. It was almost like they weren't even roommates.

"Well, I am." Again, she was just waiting for the sun to set, so that she'd at least have something to kill in order to release her frustration.

"Something is obviously wrong, Buff. We should talk." Willow saved her computer file, and moved over to sit on the edge of Buffy's bed. The only movement the blonde made was the noticeable increase in her breathing.

"What's there to talk about?" Okay, so depresso Buffy wasn't the most exciting but her overactive senses were screaming at the moment. Being this close to Willow was like torture of the worst kind.

"Well, for starters. You've been like this for weeks now, and last time I remember, we were supposed to be roommates but you're never here. Are you avoiding me? Did I do something wrong?" Willow was honestly worried. This was Buffy, and there wasn't anything she wouldn't do for her. She wasn't blind, either. The blonde had been trying to hide it but Willow recognized the signs of affection, especially in Buffy's deep, hazel eyes. Sometimes, Willow could get lost in them, and would have to snap out of it herself. At first, she chalked it up to the residual effects of the crystal but ever since that night when Buffy gave her that necklace (which she never took off), the young hacker had noticed familiar stirrings within herself, the ones that were devoted solely to Fred, and that's what scared her, especially when she discovered that her own feelings were real. Instead of dwelling on them (mostly because she had Fred), the redhead went about daily chores just the same.

"No. You could never do anything wrong, Wills." Buffy's voice was flat, and she had to close her eyes. Her mind was just not in a stable place at the moment. Lying around, thinking about how much she longed for her friend, and how much said friend would reject her completely, Buffy just couldn't help it. It was like she had lost all reason to live, and was trying to bury herself above ground.

"No. No, that's not true. I do things wrong all the time. Why, earlier this morning, I tripped on my shoestrings walking to Psych class, and yesterday, I thought my shampoo was my body wash, and wasn't paying attention until it was too late. I do things wrong all the time; we all do, it's just a part of life." Willow paused, waiting for any kind of response, or at least Buffy to look at her. "Buffy, really. I'm worried. What's wrong?"

"I said it was nothing. Can we just drop it?" Buffy was getting agitated, and the mental image of Willow in the shower did not help matters at all. She had to think of something and fast, or else her friend would keep hounding her. "I got a C on my Lit paper, that's all. No big deal." While it wasn't a lie, it was still avoiding the truth of her problems.

"Buffy, I know that's not the problem. I also know that you're not going to tell me, and that if I keep searching that you'll snap, and it'll all come pouring out eventually anyway. Remember when we made that pact to not let things fester?" Again, no response from the blonde. "Well, I do, and this is letting things fester. I know it has something to do with me, and I also know it has to do with how you feel about me." Buffy looked at her curiously when she said that, and that only confirmed Willow's suspicions. "I know that you still love me, and I know it's not the spell. Truth be told, I…well, I…that is…um…" She cleared her throat, and was saved by the ringing telephone. That was not a conversation she was ready to have, either, and she could now understand why Buffy wanted to drop it. Now, though, the blonde had gained some semblance of movement, and reached the phone before Willow could. They both knew who it was.

"She'll have to call you back. We're busy right now." Buffy hung the phone up, not letting Fred get a word in besides 'Willow?' The conviction in her voice probably scared the slim brunette but that didn't matter. If Willow wanted to talk about this, then they would talk about this, and there was no way the redhead was getting out of her confession; not if Buffy was outed. Sitting back down on her bed, she positioned her body towards her friend. "Tell me. Please?"

"Buffy, I…" Willow was so sure earlier but now her resolve had faltered. "I…I mean…that is…"

"You kinda love me?" Her tone was hopeful, she knew that but how could she not be? However, she also knew that their confessions meant nothing. Willow was with Fred, and would never think of leaving her, and Buffy would never think of coming between them.

"Yeah." Willow nodded for added emphasis, on the verge of tears because she felt guilty, and somehow already betraying her girlfriend. After the last year, she just wasn't sure how many more times Fred could forgive her, even if her infidelity did have to do with a major spell, and not of her own free will. This was, though, and that's what hurt the most.

"It's okay, Wills. I'm not going to do anything to come between you and Fred. As long as you're happy, I'm happy." Buffy was well on her way to tears, and it didn't take long before they embraced after their confessions. It seemed the two roommates just couldn't catch a break in the love department.

"I know that, Buffy but thanks for saying it." Willow kept her in the embrace a little longer than usual, and cried into her shoulder. Nothing was ever simple.

When she arrived, Fred was excited. It'd been two weeks since she'd been back in Sunnydale. Her first stop was the college campus, and to greet her girlfriend with lots of gusto. Willow had called her back later that night, and explained that she and Buffy had a major talk but wouldn't mention what it was about, pleading the best friend code of secrets. Fred didn't push, figuring that it was just Slayer problems.

LA had been exciting. Not only was she well received on campus but she also was having a blast with Angel's crew. There seemed to be a genuine camaraderie there, and she was glad to be with her best friend. Cordelia always did have flair. The thing that bothered her, though, was that she couldn't stay away from Gunn. He had given up all pretenses of asking her out completely, and she found that she didn't like that too well, for some reason. Maybe it was just something constant, and she wasn't prepared for the sudden change. The two had started hanging out more and more, and soon developed a deep bond, completely understanding each other like best friends would. Last night, he told her about his new girlfriend, confiding as friends, and Fred found herself jealous, and that bothered her more than she liked. She was Willow's, and had every intention of being for the rest of her life, so why was she suddenly hyper aware of Gunn?

Not wanting to dwell too long, she pulled onto campus, and practically bounded up the stairs at Stevenson Hall. The students looked at her excited form, and just brushed it off but she didn't care about them. All she cared about was getting to room 214 as fast as her legs would take her. Catching her breath, since she had every intention to do some major kissage right off the bat, Fred stood at the doorway, ignoring the other students in the hall giving her weird looks. Finally, she was composed, and laid her overnight bag on the floor in front of the door. Knocking, she wasn't surprised to find Willow on the other side. Just as she was about to kiss her senseless, her girlfriend backed away, though. Confused, she looked around, and the only other person there was Buffy. The blonde had seen them kiss before, so she didn't understand what the problem was.

"Hey! You're here already!" Willow just stood in the doorway, and was acting strangely, Fred thought. Not just the lack of kissing but the fact that she was blocking the doorway, and hadn't been allowed in the dorm room yet. Plus, the redhead's body language screamed panic mode. Something was definitely off, and the brunette was determined to discover the problem.

"Yeah. My last class was cancelled, so I flew down here practically on the highway. Is something wrong?" Fred narrowed her big brown eyes slightly, and studied her girlfriend.

"No! Nothing's wrong. Oh, um…do you want to take a walk? Maybe get some coffee?" Willow placed Fred's bag inside the door, and closed the door behind her, not allowing her girlfriend to see beyond what was visible.

"Yeah. That actually sounds like a good idea." Fred was still confused, and was more than happy to oblige. There was definitely going to be heavy conversation; she could already tell.

When they arrived at the Grotto, she noticed that it looked a little different than a few weeks ago but Fred just followed her girlfriend inside, and took a seat on a comfortable couch, while Willow ordered the drinks. While she waited, the brunette started playing with the hem of her shirtsleeves, something she only did when she was nervous. Just then, the redhead handed her the warm oversized mug.

"You look deep in thought. Wanna share?" Willow sat next to her girlfriend on the couch, and tucked her legs underneath her.

"You didn't kiss me." Fred just laid her mug on the coffee table in front of them, and positioned herself more towards Willow.

"Yeah. Buffy was right there. I can kiss you now, though." Willow leaned in, and attempted to kiss Fred but the brunette only mirrored her earlier actions of ducking and avoiding the oncoming kiss. The redhead startled back with a worried expression. "What?"

"Why didn't you kiss me? Buffy's seen us kiss before; she wouldn't mind. Is something wrong?" Fred searched Willow's eyes for something but there was only worry there. Then, she looked a little deeper, and was scared. Her girlfriend was hiding something, and she was more than afraid of that something.

"Yeah but with everything that's happened, I just don't think it's a good idea anymore." Willow held her gaze, and was semi in resolve face.

"Why would it matter now? The crystal was destroyed; the control is lifted. There's nothing to worry about now." When Willow didn't answer immediately, Fred took it as a bad sign. "Or is there? There's something you're not telling me, Willow."

"I'm sorry about earlier. I just didn't feel comfortable; it's just me being silly, that's all." Willow put on her pouty face, and hoped that it would do some damage control. Luckily, Fred never could completely resist the pouty face, so she just sighed deeply in response. "I'm glad you're here. I missed you all week."

"Yeah. Me, too." Fred was unusually quiet, and not her chipper self. It was alarming for Willow to see this, especially since it was her fault.

"I really am sorry, Fred. I just…it's hard to explain." She took a sip of her coffee, hoping that it would hide her for a brief moment.

"I can't tell. I promised, and it wouldn't be fair. Just…we should probably not be so couply when around Buffy anymore." Willow's eyes were pleading, and what Fred saw scared her. The unsaid was easy to read but she refused to accept it.

"So…is part of the crystal still active? Should I be worried about losing you again?" Fred was on the verge of a breakdown, and any minute now, she was bound to yell at her girlfriend, something she had never done. This was far from what she expected when she got in her car in LA.

"NO! Absolutely not…I mean, there's no more crystal, and you're not going to lose me. I'm right here, aren't I? I'm not going anywhere." Willow clutched her now cooling mug with both hands, trying to shield herself from the anger she saw in Fred's eyes. She deserved it; she knew that she did but didn't make it hurt any less.

"Well…I'm not so sure anymore. I mean…with everything that's happened…" Fred was still fighting it. She knew this was unreasonable. It had all been a spell, a stupid spell that had torn their loving, trusting relationship all to pieces, and now the fear of losing Willow again was making her a little crazy. There was no way she'd survive it again with her sanity.

"Nothing's going to happen. There's no more crystal. Giles disposed of the liquid properly, and we tracked everything down. Don't you trust me?" Willow was almost crying but she held back, knowing that they would make a scene if she did.

"I…I…" Fred lowered her head. It's not that she didn't trust Willow…it's that she was still having a hard time with everything. It was all so fresh in her head. Even though it wasn't HER Willow doing those things, it was still her girlfriend's body. Faith and Buffy both had touched her, especially the younger slayer (and numerous times), and Fred had a hard time looking past that. "I don't want to fight."

"You mean…you don't trust me? You think I would really cheat on you?" The tears actually came at that point. There was no use fighting them because at that unsaid confession, it was a lost cause.

"It's not that exactly. I mean…I just don't…" Fred had to take several breaths to calm herself. She lowered her voice. "We haven't had sex the last two times you've come to LA, and now this…what am I supposed to think? Neither of us was on our periods, either, so that's not an excuse."

"I was just tired, that's all. It's not that I didn't want to because I did. I just…" Willow wasn't sure how to explain. She hadn't really thought of that fact, either until just now. She really hadn't even noticed it.

"We're falling apart." Fred laughed bitterly, and turned her body forward, no longer facing her girlfriend.

"No. No falling apart. We can't fall apart. I love you. There's no falling apart allowed." Willow knew she was begging; she wasn't too proud.

"It's true. What is it? Are you just not attracted to me anymore, or is there really somebody else? Is it the long distance thing?" Fred was searching for answers. This was definitely not how she expected her trip to go. "Tell me. Help me understand here because I'm at a loss."

"NO!" Realizing she had said that a little louder than she meant, Willow lowered her voice. "No. None of that. I still want you. Goddess do I, and there is absolutely nobody else that I'm with. I wouldn't consciously do that to you, and you know that."

"You mean…" Willow made no attempt to even try and wipe her tears anymore. There were just too many now. It was like a waterfall, and Fred had even started to cry, her resolve no longer in place. "Is this it?"

"Do you want it to be?" Fred had to close her eyes, afraid of her girlfriend's answer. She didn't even know what possessed her to ask it in the first place.

"No! Absolutely not. I don't want it to ever be over. I love you, Winifred Burkle. Never doubt that I love you." Willow tried to place her hand on Fred's thigh but stopped when she saw Fred shrug away.

"Baby? Please…this can't be it. I don't want this to be it. I want us to be together. Don't you?" When Fred just continued sobbing, Willow took her in her arms, and noticed that Fred stayed tense, never relaxing once.

"Go? Where?" Willow stood, completely not caring that she had spilled a large batch of her barely touched coffee all over her favorite sweater.

"I don't know. Away. I just can't be here right now. I'll call you later maybe." Fred started walking towards the doorway, and Willow threw her mug on the table, not caring if she damaged anything. She just ran after her girlfriend.

"Fred! No, wait! You can't leave! Please, baby? Stay? Please?" Willow was sobbing on the ground, begging her girlfriend not to leave her, not caring about the onlookers. They both knew that if Fred walked away now, it was the end. It was definitely not what either of them had planned for the weekend.

"I have to, Willow." She leaned down, and took her sobbing face in her hands, gently wiping the flowing tears with her thumbs. She kissed her lightly on the lips a few times, ignoring the hiccups from Willow's sobbing. "Just…promise me that you'll never forget that I love. I will always love you, Willow Rosenberg."

"Please, baby. Don't leave me. I need you so much." Willow wrapped her arms around Fred, crushing them together, not wanting to let go for fear of what that entailed.

"I need you, too but I have to go. Even if I want to stay, I have to go. I love you, Willow. Never forget that." Fred was crying again, too, placing little tiny kisses on the redhead's face to stop the tears. It only made things worse, so she extricated herself from the death grip Willow had on her, and started to walk away, feeling more than guilty about leaving her sobbing ex-girlfriend to fall to the ground completely, while students just watched. There was just no other way. For some reason, fate had decided that they were both fucked over radically.

It had been three weeks since Fred had left Willow crying on the ground, and those were the longest two weeks of Buffy's life. Although her mind did a little dance that Willow was available now, her heart just couldn't stand the sobbing wreck, and detached person the redhead had become after the sudden breakup. The whole thing seemed too surreal. Buffy had never asked Willow to do anything different; it was the redhead that chose to not act couply with Fred around her. The blonde felt guilty about confessing her love in the first place because if she hadn't, then her best friend wouldn't have avoided being affectionate with her girlfriend in front of her, and the two would never have parted. It was just hard to watch the girl do nothing but sob, and barely be responsive to anything. She had even missed classes those first three days, staying in bed, and doing nothing but sob into her pillows. The pillows still had tearstains.

Acting the part of the best friend had been easy; it came second nature to Buffy. There was nothing she would not do for the redhead, and it showed in the way she took care of her. There was a guy named Parker that had asked her out, and she had politely declined, opting to take lunch to Willow, who was having another 'dead to the world' mode. Angel had even come down to make sure some native tribe hadn't ruined their Thanksgiving holiday, and she had barely acknowledged his presence. One would never even have known that they had known each other by her outward appearance. The only thing she was focused on was helping her best friend come out of depresso girl mode, and getting the chipper, babbling redhead that she fell in love with back. There had been tons of chocolate, ice cream, and vid fests. Faith had even tried to get to the girl but there was no response from her, not even a blush at the lewd sexual innuendoes. Three weeks of this and no sign of recovery yet. Buffy was scared.

That's when they found Spike. He had returned to Sunnydale with Harmony (recently vamped) of all people, and had been searching for the Gem of Amarah. The big problem occurred when he had found it but the blonde had managed to take it from him, destroying the ring in the process. Spike had disappeared for a while after that, and the gang hadn't been able to find him again until Thanksgiving, when he had shown up on Giles's doorstep, and unable to harm any living person. The gang sighed in relief, and took to trying to find out who the mysterious soldiers were that had been running around killing demons, and neutered Spike. The vampire was proving to be a pain in the ass with helping them but at least he couldn't hurt them anymore. Xander's new girlfriend, an ex-vengeance demon named Anya, reminded him of that little fact frequently.

At the moment, Willow and Buffy were in the dorm room, discussing the gruesome after effects of the redhead's 'will it done' spell gone awry. The blonde had been engaged to Spike, and was still using Listerine on a 15-minute basis, trying to rid the taste of the vampire that had long died in her mouth. She had tried her hardest to help Willow but her hardest just wasn't good enough anymore. It was time to up the ante, even if she didn't like her idea.

"Even though I hate the idea of ever 'loving' Spike, I can't stay mad at you, Willow. You're still hurting, and I've done everything possible to help ease the pain. I need you to budge a little here, too. I can only do so much to help. You have to want the help, and I know you don't want to live like this forever." Buffy sat down on Willow's bed, and positioned herself more towards the redhead. This part was easy: the forgiving. The hard part came next, and she had to bring in more resolve to say it. Willow wasn't helping. She just had that same forlorn look on her face that had been seemingly plastered there for some time. "Look, Willow… I want you to be happy, and I…well, you're not going to like this, I don't think but I…"

"What is it, Buffy?" Willow leaned forward on her bed, pulling herself more towards the blonde, worried at the panicky expression on her best friend's face. Sure, she had been hurting but Buffy helped more than she knew. It's just that Willow had never been heartbroken before, and it hit her like a ton of bricks, just like the breakup had. She honestly was getting better thanks to the blonde, and she was eternally grateful. Buffy took a deep breath before answering.

"I called Fred." There was guilt in her voice, and the sudden increase in Willow's breathing, and the unshed tears behind the green eyes were heartbreaking in and of itself. Buffy cringed.

"Wh-what?" Willow's voice was low, scared, and guilty. She had been having such a tough time and wanted more than anything to talk to Fred but knew that there was no mending the relationship. That much had been clear in their last conversation, and the fact that Buffy had called her ex made her finally realize that as the truth. There was no going back; she would have to move on with her life. The only problem was that she wasn't sure how, or even if she wanted to try.

"I called Fred. Please don't be mad, Will? I just…I'm not getting through to you, and you cry all the time, and it's starting to scare me more and more each day. I have to help you; I have to make this better for you but it's so hard. I…I just need my Wills back, and I used my final lifeline by calling her. This is killing me watching you suffer like this." Buffy was in tears, clutching the bed sheets right next to Willow's crossed thighs. With that declaration, the redhead went into immediate best friend mode, and caressed Buffy's back, as she pulled her into a tight, awkward embrace overtop the maroon comforter.

"It's okay, Buffy. I'm sorry I've been like this. I'm getting better, honestly. I just…it's been hard, and you've been extra sweet and caring, and you'll never know how much …how much that means to me. I just…" Willow trailed off, rubbing Buffy's back until the crying subsiding but still holding the embrace. "What did you talk about? What did she say?"

"She can't believe it happened, and she wishes things were different but it's just too hard right now. She wants to come down here, and kick Spike's ass for ruining everything." Buffy loosely came from the embrace, just enough to put them in view of each other's faces, and looked resolvedly into green eyes. "I told her that I would be happy to do it for her because I can't stand watching you like this. I want you to be happy, and Fred made you happy."

"Oh, Buffy. I'm so sorry you had to do that. I know how much it must've hurt you." Willow pulled her into a tight embrace again, burying her neck into the blonde's neck, smelling the aroma of Buffy's tangerine body wash, and light perfume. She loved that combination, and more so when it combined on the blonde's natural scent.

"I don't care if I'm hurt, just as long as you're safe and happy. That's all I ever want, Wills." Buffy gripped the redhead's body to her just a little tighter, never wanting to let go, enjoying the feeling of Willow's hot breath against the skin of her neck. It surprised her when there was a warm, soft pair of lips brushed lightly against her pulse point, and she released a deep guttural moan before realizing what had just happened. Not wanting to flee, she had to fight the flight reaction. This couldn't happen, and they both knew it; at least not at the moment. "Willow…"

"I know, Buffy. Just… is it too much to ask for you to sleep here with me tonight? I don't want to be alone, and need you here with me. You always make me feel safe." When she received no immediate reply, she released the embrace completely, and went into babble mode, something she hadn't done in over three weeks. "I mean, that is that you don't have to… unless you want to, which is perfectly fine, too. I mean, I want you to but if it makes you feel uncomfortable, then I'll just cuddle up to Mr. Bear, and everything will work with…"

"Wills." Buffy smiled genuinely. The redhead was finally returning to the land of the living, and the distinct Willow characteristic of babbling had come out of hiding. Willow stopped, and looked with wide eyes at Buffy's smile. It took a few moments to realize herself what had just happened, and when it finally registered; her face fell into a thankful smile. Thankful for the chance to actually smile again, and thankful that, indeed, Buffy had saved her again by bringing her back to life.

"Sorry." She shrugged but the meaning was lost when Buffy started to lightly giggle, causing the redhead to roll her eyes at her best friend before giggling briefly herself. The blonde was too cute when she laughed, and that caused Willow to touch the gem on her necklace, something she had done for months to calm herself around her friend. When they stopped giggling, Buffy looked at her seriously.

"Of course I'll stay with you. All you have to do is ask." With that, the two went to get ready for bed, and it wasn't long until they were cuddled together underneath the covers. "Willow, are you really going to be okay?"

"I think so." She pondered in thought, relishing the feeling of Buffy's arm draped lightly over her torso, spooning against her friend. It wasn't normal best friend behavior but it still felt right. "I mean, sure it still hurts but you really have helped, even if it doesn't seem like it. I started going to classes again, which is good; I still can't believe I missed."

"Only you would worry about missing classes when you get your heart broken." Buffy tightened the embrace slightly for a moment before releasing it again.

"Willow, you missed three days, and the majority of the students have missed at least a month's worth already each. You have nothing to worry about, and besides, you were already a week ahead of the rest, so you weren't behind really." Buffy wasn't sure what possessed her to do it but she placed a warm, gentle kiss on Willow's shoulder, at the place where the redhead's flannel shirt exposed the skin. It was just too tempting. "Sorry."

"No. No, that's okay. I mean… it felt nice, and… I'm just not ready, Buffy." Willow swallowed hard, trying to strap her hormones in after that light touch. It was a simple kiss but it started a fire that burned so much brighter than she had ever felt. She remembered the feeling from when the crystal had caused them to kiss in the school lobby after Buffy defeated the mayor. Even though she wanted it, whatever it was just didn't feel right yet. It just felt too soon after Fred because she had honestly loved the girl with her entire being.

"It's okay, Willow. I know. It won't happen again." Buffy loosened her light hold on the redhead but the girl stopped the arm from leaving its spot, instead turning around in the embrace to place them face to face, breaths touching skin softly.

"That's the thing, Buff. I want it to happen again, just not yet. I do love you, and I want you so much but I'm just not ready. I hate to ask you to wait because I don't know how long it'll be before I'm ready but I don't want to lose you." Willow sighed, and closed her eyes briefly to compose herself. "I just… can we take things slow, and see what happens? It seems too soon after…"

"I will wait for you forever." There was no hesitation in her voice, only sincerity, and Willow smiled tenderly, sealing the silent pact. There would be eventual Buffy/Willow goodness, and they would take things one day at a time, no matter how many days it took.

Faith was patrolling her fourth cemetery of the night, and was contemplating on what to do when she returned to the Summers house. It was still hard to consider it her house but it was more than a home to her. Joyce had been super kind, and Buffy had managed to help her settle in during the summer. The thing that surprised the brunette the most was that she seemed a little tamer and not her usual wild self in her personal life. However, slaying was a different story. Her skills and techniques were improving rapidly, and she wondered if Buffy had been right by doing to good girl routine. She just shrugged, and decided that she'd still do things her way, even if her way was changing profusely. Giles had managed to talk her into trying to get her GED, since there would come a time when living on her own would be an issue. That thought had upset her, not wanting to lose the family and home that she had found in Sunnydale, California.

Eventually, she took Giles's advice, and started taking the classes to test for her GED. She still had two weeks left before the test, and her stress level was higher than average. The demons and vampires that were lurking about at night were getting the brunt of that, and when she returned 'home,' she felt more at ease, and pleased with herself for actually becoming somebody, and finding a place to belong. If she wasn't careful, she might actually start to drop the tough girl persona she had worked so hard to keep over the years.

The time that she had spent with Willow during that whole crystal incident had started her thinking along the lines of relationships. She had never really had a serious one, only one night stands, and that had been fine until then but the feelings that still lingered from that sense of trust and love during their 'time together' had caused her to stop sleeping around as much. When Buffy had suggested dating again, she had agreed but that had gone to hell. They were just too different, and the only thing they shared was their slayer stamina in the bedroom. She didn't know it but she really longed for something to call her own, something to be just hers. The problem was she didn't know what it was that she wanted, or even needed in that aspect.

Cordelia was tired. For three weeks, she had watched over a weeping Fred. It seemed that this had been happening too damn often, and she would switch duty with Gunn every so often. Eventually, the two had managed to get Fred to get out of bed, and start to do things. The thing that surprised them both was that the brunette had stayed on top of things in school. Even though she was hurting, she kept a conscious mind of her duties. She came to work on time, she studied, and she did whatever research Angel and the gang needed. Basically, she had buried herself in work so that she wouldn't have to deal with the fact that she had broken up with her girlfriend.

One day, Fred had received a phone call from Buffy, to everybody's surprise. Cordelia, being the best friend she could be, questioned what the whole thing was about, and just as she had suspected, Willow had been just as bad, if not worse. Fred had finally broken down after that, and the crew had started to bring her back. The part that surprised the former cheerleader was that Gunn was at her beck and call. Whatever Fred needed or wanted, he would be right there with it before she even asked. It was like they were tuned to each other, and it scared her. Something was going on, and she determined to find out exactly what, which is why she was currently interrupting their friendly lunch break to investigate. After all, it was a detective agency.

"So, Fred. How are things now? How are you feeling? Are you still burying yourself in work so that you don't have to deal with the breakup?" Cordelia wasn't one for beating around the bush. She wanted facts.

"Oh. Wow. Yeah, Cordy. I'm getting there. You and Gunn have helped." She started to devour her turkey sandwich again, and added as an afterthought with a mouthful still. "Oh, thank you by the way!"

"Eww…chew." She handed her friend a napkin, so that she could wipe the dripping mustard from her chin. "How is Gunn? I don't really see him around much anymore."

"He's great, actually. He just broke up with his girlfriend last week, and been coming over at night to play games, and watch movies. He even made dinner the other night. I had no idea he was so skillful." Fred beamed before biting into her sandwich again.

"You like him." Cordelia sighed, knowing that look in her friend's eyes all too well. It was always apparent whenever she had started dating Willow, and that look only blossomed into something more not too long after. "Don't try to hide it, either. I can tell."

"Would it make me a bad person if I did?" Fred placed her sandwich back in the foil wrapper, and placed all attention on the conversation. This had been bothering her a lot, and she hated the feeling of being without Willow. Gunn had just made the pain go away and placed happiness there instead, which she was grateful for, and she couldn't help but wonder if she was betraying some code.

"I don't think so but we could look it up to be sure." She smirked at her friend, letting her know she was there to talk anytime, like she had done a thousand times before, and would continue doing. "What about Willow?"

"I still love her, Cordy. I love her so much, and it's really hard without her but it just isn't possible. For some reason, I can't get over this whole crystal incident." She slumped in her chair a little bit, and played with her hands to avoid overflowing emotions.

"What about it is the problem? You never really said." Cordy pushed her half eaten sandwich forward on the table, indicating that she was all ears.

"She slept with somebody else, spell or no spell. I know she didn't do it on her own free will and that she wouldn't do it consciously but there's a part of me that can't get past the fact that she cheated on me. We were happy, and…"

"You don't think she fought the crystal's thrall hard enough, even though there was no way possible to do that. You still believe she could have done something because of her magick." She sighed, finally getting what had caused this whole fiasco. "Fred, you know there was no way she could have fought it. It had control of everything, even her magick. I know you probably don't want to hear this but you're being ridiculous."

"No, I'm not! You have no idea how this feels. When I went to her house, and she was there with Faith, I had lost everything. I can get over a kiss, fine. Kisses happen but Faith touched her in ways that I was only supposed to." Fred didn't mean to sound so bitter but it was still a sore subject, and probably always would be as far as she could tell.

"Oh, I get it." The realization of the unsaid behind the little rant was clear to the taller woman, and she had to smile at her skills for digging for the truth. "She liked it." There it was, it was out there, and Fred just silently cried, not even bothering to wipe the slow falling tears, or making eye contact with her friend. "Fred, I'm sorry. I never realized that…" Thinking quickly, she had to find something comforting. "Look, Willow loved you, still does. There is no doubt there for anybody, and the fact that she enjoyed having an orgasm is no surprise. I've never met a person yet that doesn't enjoy that feeling. The fact that she was being completely honest and open with you about that fact…that just makes your relationship so much stronger. She trusted you enough to let you know that enjoyed sex with Faith but did she ever once say that she enjoyed it more than sex with you?"

"No." Fred was quiet, barely audible but they were close enough that Cordelia heard the negative response, and all she could do was sigh. Things were so messed up at the moment, and all over a vampire's wish to take over Sunnydale…again. 'Can't they ever get original? They need a new MO because that went out of style long ago.'

"Fred?" She waited until the girl in question made eye contact before she continued. "Listen. I know it hurts but you can still fix this, considering whether or not it can be fixed, or that Willow even wants to fix things. Only you can figure that out, and if you even want to fix things. From what I understand, it'll take longer before you can release the pain that the thought of Faith and Willow together…"

"I said that it's not just that." Upon Cordy's questioning gaze, Fred clarified. "Willow is in love with Buffy, and she would have to choose between us. I'm not putting her through that or myself because she would…"

"…choose Buffy. There's no question there, I know. Her precious Buffy; but aren't you putting words into her mouth?" Cordelia pulled her sandwich back, feeling her stomach saying 'feed me.'

"Well…I mean, sure, sort of but it's not like the evidence isn't there. We always made our dates around her patrol schedule with Buffy; she would blush whenever she was around us this summer, and then the whole thing that triggered the breakup. As much as I wish it were me that she'd choose, it will always be Buffy in the end. She would never give her up for anything, or anyone, including me." Fred got quiet at the end, tired of crying, tired of thinking about the whole thing. The only solace from the situation was when Gunn came by at night. "Cordy, they're in love with each other, and they've told each other that. When Buffy called the other day, she told me everything that happened the night before the breakup, and the reason why Willow had steered from affection when I got there. She has too big a heart, and just didn't want to hurt Buffy. You have no idea how stupid I felt when she told me that, and I regretted breaking up with Willow again but when she said that Wills had done a spell to make herself better, and things had gone crazy instead, I just… When she said she'd kick Spike's ass for me, there was so much emotion in her voice. I want Willow back but I think the problem is that I want Willow back before the crystal interfered. That's not possible, and it's time to move on, I think. No matter how much it hurts still. Does any of that make sense?"

"Well, despite the fact that you are extremely long winded, I do understand." Cordelia stood up, and threw their trash away in the bin, moving back to Fred, who was standing up as well. "Willow loves you still, and I know for a fact that she wants you to be happy, no matter what. If you think that you can find that in Gunn, then so be it. I just wouldn't mention it to her too soon, which translates as until she manages to move on herself. Just go with what you feel."

"I feel like breaking something." Fred started walking towards the café's exit, and opened the door for her taller friend.

"Well, that's a start!" Cordelia walked out into the bright LA sun, or rather somewhat hazy atmosphere. The smog was high that day for some reason. The two just continued walking to the car, getting in, and driving back to the Angel Investigations building to continue their aid in helping the helpless, and ridding the world of the evil that had caused the whole thing to start.

The next month had gone by slowly, and with not much activity other than the norm in the big bad category. Willow had started acting like herself again, much to the relief of everybody around her, especially Buffy. They were all tired of mopey Willow, and were excited to find things back to the way they were, minus a few people. There were a couple episodes of big fights for the gang but overall it was slow. Their biggest project was to discover what and why the army guys were traipsing on the Slayer's territory, and what exactly they had in mind with the demons and vampires. So far, they hadn't been able to find anything but they felt like something was starting to click into place. They just weren't sure what yet.

With regards to the blossoming relationship between the two heroines, slow was an understatement. Willow was more than ready to get things on a roll but Buffy had backed off, wanting to let the redhead know she didn't want to rush things. The night before, since the blonde had a night off, they had gone on their first official date. Since none of the gang knew about them, and their budding romance, they had been extra careful about the way they acted around each other when they were with the gang. Xander's girlfriend, Anya, had a way of picking up on things, and stating things with lack of tact that scared the two senseless, and maybe they were overcompensating but they just wanted to be careful. For all they knew, there was the possibility that a relationship wouldn't bloom, no matter how much both of them craved it like chocolate.

They had tried holding hands, and had cuddled a couple more times after that first night, sleeping in each other's arms but things were just going way too slow for Willow's liking. She understood that Buffy was scared about being the rebound girl, and that she didn't want to get hurt again like she had with Angel (talk about emotional scars) but the redhead wanted to reassure her best friend that she was more than ready, and the thing that bothered her the most was that Buffy wasn't taking the hint, and she was dropping anvils. The worst part was that she couldn't talk to her best friend about it because it was her best friend she was trying to date. 'I want smoochies!' With that, she went about trying to find a way to get what she wanted.

Buffy wasn't faring any better. She really, really, REALLY wanted to get to that stage but her own insecurities were just too strong, and she was focused more on making sure that she wasn't pushing Willow too soon. 'That would be of the bad.' Day in, and day out, all she could think about was the redhead, and how much she just wanted to be with her in more than best friendly ways. Their first date the night before was decent, a little awkward because of the 'official date' thing, and it meant that their relationship from best frienddom was really changing into something more but it was still pleasant. Partway through the movie, she let go her insecurities, and grasped Willow's hand in hers, which caused the redhead to tense, so she let go, only to have her friend interlock their fingers again, and smile gently at her. It was a warm, loving smile, and when they managed to get comfortable, Willow even laid her head on Buffy's shoulder, as they cuddled together the best they could between the armrest. It took all of her willpower not to just attack the hacker in a passionate, private party right in the theatre. The semester was over in a week, so she hoped that the time outside the dorm would give them a chance to regroup, and think things through with complete attention. Now, though, she was having a hard time not lunging at the redhead, who was sitting on her bed studying for finals.

"What is it, Buffy?" Willow didn't stop copying her notes again, as she multitasked. She could feel the blonde's eyes boring into her, and wasn't sure if that was a good thing but it did make her feel all tingly when she caught a glimpse of the look on Buffy's face from her peripheral vision.

"Oh…um…what?" Buffy was too lost in Willowland to even start to comprehend words, reverting back to Cave Slayer without the beer.

"I said, 'what is it, Buffy?' Did you need to talk?" She looked up from her notes, and examined the confused expression on her friend's face, and internally giggled like a schoolgirl. "Is something wrong?"

"No. Nothing's wrong." Buffy saw the look of doubt on the redhead, and smiled lovingly. "For the first time, I think everything's just right."

"Well, you've done really well this semester, and Dr. Walsh is quite impressed with your work, which is great! Plus, you've been improving with slaying, and are even in earlier than usual, and with even less cuts and bruises, which actually gives me less time to fix you but I think I may have enjoyed that a little too much." Upon seeing the shocked expression on Buffy's face, Willow continued her babble. Her attempt at playful teasing didn't go as planned. "Oh! I mean, not that you were hurt but more that I liked fixing your booboos." Trying again, she smirked that sexy smirk that always drove Fred wild. "Besides, it always gave me a chance to feel you up without getting caught."

"Willow!" Buffy was shocked but extremely flustered, remembering that she would sometimes act like a cut or bruise was something more, just so that the redhead WOULD touch her. It was a guilty pleasure, despite the pain.

"I can't help it. Seeing you naked always was the highlight of my day." She couldn't help it, and she had no idea where the sudden boldness was coming from; this wasn't dropping hints or anvils but practically screaming 'come here, baby.' Her sudden personality change scared her, and excited her at the same time.

"I can't believe you just said that." Buffy pushed her own books aside on her bed, and swung her feet around to the floor. Looking at her friend with darkened eyes, she once again was having a hard time controlling the urge to just rip all their clothes off, and make with the merry.

"Well, you knew what you were getting into before you signed in blood." Willow pushed her books, and materials aside, and mirrored the blonde's position, challenging her to do something about it. Watching Buffy trail her lust-filled eyes up and down her body, and seeing the quickening breath from those slightly parted pink lips was causing all sorts of tingly feelings in Willow. Fred hadn't even looked at her like that, and even though it still hurt a little to think about it, she wished that she had. It was mesmerizing and erotic at the same time. "Buffy… do you want to go out again tonight?"

"No. Want to stay." Upon seeing the hungry look in the blonde's eyes, Willow suddenly understood… but knew that she had to stop it. She hated it but she just wasn't ready for THAT yet. Although she didn't want to go slow, she still didn't want to rush into things, which was what Buffy's tone implied. There had to be a happy medium.

"Buffy." Willow looked sharply at the blonde, and pleaded with her eyes. "Please don't make this harder than it already is to tell you no?"

"Right. Sorry, Wills. Um… wow, that was a little awkward." Buffy closed her eyes, took several deep breaths, and controlled her urges. It was not time for the slayer lust to be released yet. "Sure, I'd love to go out with you again. Sounds great. Where to?"

"Well, after you patrol, I was thinking maybe we could, I don't know…go to the Bronze? We haven't been there for a while, and it would be nice to…" Willow trailed off, as she watched Buffy walk away from her, and into her closet. "What are you doing? Do you not want to because that's fine, too? I mean, it was just…"

"I would love to, Wills. I just have to make sure I have something to wear." Buffy smiled at her in reassurance, and when she received a smile and nod from Willow, she went back to picking out a nice outfit. It needed to be sensible, which meant her knee-length, silky black skirt. It also needed some flair of hotness, too, which meant her maroon halter. Strappy black sandals finished the getup, and after patrol, that's what she put on, as she waited for Willow to get back from the library. After taking a cold shower to get the dust off, and to tame her hormones, she finished getting ready in record time, and was surprised that she didn't have to wait long. Willow was all ready to go, and it took her breath away to see her friend looking absolutely gorgeous in the green floral pattern shirt, and black skirt. Her short red locks were curled slightly on the ends, and she was truly a sight to see. Reeling in her drool, she snapped out of her daze. "Wow. You look…"

"Thanks. You look…too." Willow wasn't sure, so she closed the gap slightly, and stood there closer. "Are you ready to go?"

"Oh, yes." The two girls walked hand in hand to the Bronze, getting a few stairs as they walked, mostly because they looked hot, more than because they were holding hands. It wasn't an uncommon thing to see two girly friends hold hands on campus. Besides, the populace had seen stranger on the Hellmouth.

When they arrived, they were surprised to see Xander dancing close to Anya on the dance floor. Neither of them were too sure how serious that relationship really was, and neither really wanted to know. Basically, they just tolerated the ex-demon because she did have almost 1200 years of knowledge that they didn't. Even Giles, after he looked past the fact of her tactlessness, had found himself intrigued by the girl's plethora of demonology. However, nobody liked to hear about her days of blood and gore as a vengeance demon, so they all had mastered the art of blocking her from their concentration. Nobody was sure how to take her yet.

"Would you like something to drink?" Buffy leaned in towards Willow, making sure that the redhead heard her over the band.

"Water." Willow nodded for emphasis, and found them a table, dividing her attention between Xander and Anya dancing, and Buffy smiling back at her from the bar, being bumped forward when the line would move because she was paying more attention to her. That thought made her mushy inside and more than a little tingly all over, for certain.

The song ended, and Xander spotted the redhead, who was unaware, since she was watching Buffy paying for their drinks. The young man bumped her, and she jumped in fright, thinking that she was being attacked by a demon. Pulling out her tiny wooden cross from her purse, she jumped, and faced him with fright. Then, she recognized the mysterious bumper as her lifelong pal, and she breathed a sigh of relief. At that moment, Buffy jumped over to them, two water bottles in hand, smile plastered on her face. She definitely missed this.

"Hey, Xand! Anya! We didn't know you guys were coming here?" Buffy helped Willow take a seat, which earned her a blushing grin, and a quiet thanks. Then, she followed suit with the others, and they all sat around the tall, little round table.

"Yeah. Anya wanted to go dancing." Xander and the currently shorthaired brunette were huddled close together. The two other girls wished they could sit like that, too but thought better of it, both in fear of rejection if one moved, and the other didn't want it, and also the fact that they were currently concealing their growing relationship from the others. It was unnerving to be this close but not be allowed to touch, even hold hands.

"That's nice." Willow was really cautious of the new member of their group, not wanting her friend to get hurt, especially since he was dating a woman that formerly lived her life torturing and mauling men.

"Yes. After this, we are going home, and having sex." Anya's demeanor was straightforward, and she was unaware of the blushes, or quiet coughs around the table. It was just her way of adapting after a millennium of being a demon.

"Well, fun as that is… it's good to see you here having fun." Buffy tried to diffuse the situation before Willow blew a gasket. The redhead was already red as a beet, and obviously thinking sexy thoughts of her own. The blonde recognized the signs from years of being best friends: the red hue that followed down her neck, the darkened green eyes, and the partially opened mouth that was eliciting sharp intakes of breath. Truth be told, Buffy was along the same lines, thinking about the several sexy things she could do to Willow one day, if they could ever even get to the smoochies stage.

After they had all danced their shares, and there were several groans at having to not even hold hands, Buffy and Willow were ready to go, and so everybody left the nightclub. The entire evening, all the two girls wanted to do was wrap their arms around each other, and sway to the flow of a slow song, like two lovers, like Xander and Anya had all night. When they parted ways with the young man and his girlfriend, they immediately sought out the other's hands, smiling when their fingers interlocked. The slight shock from their fingertips jolted something in them, and they continued back to their dorm in comfortable conversation, all the while moving closer and closer.

"So…" They were nearing the dorm, and a sudden wind came upon them, chilling them. Willow shivered slightly, pushing her body more into the warm one beside her by clutching Buffy's arm, and holding tight. Immediately, the blonde reacted by reaching up with her free hand, and pulling the redhead closer. "Are you cold, Wills?"

"Cold…um…" The close proximity of their bodies and the jolt of Buffy's scent blew right into her face, causing her to become overly aroused. It was almost too much to take at once because the feelings coursing through her body and mind were overwhelming. "It did get a little colder all of a sudden."

"Yeah. If I didn't know any better, I'd think Mother Nature was pushing us together for warmth. Good thing that I could remember how to make a fire from Cave Buffy days." Buffy's mischievous smirk wasn't seen by Willow but the facial contortions of her mouth upwards against her cheek told the redhead that it was there. "Of course, I would run away from it once it started."

"Yes. Fire bad, tree pretty. I remember. You saved me again that night." Willow actually snuggled into Buffy, something they hadn't done yet. It was a step in the plus column. Sure, there were cuddles but never snuggles. Snuggles were always more intimate.

When they reached Stevenson Hall, the two didn't move from their walking positions, still snuggled together, despite their departure from the cold wind. Reaching their door, they reluctantly pulled apart so that Buffy could unlock the door. Neither went to move inside first, opting to stand in front of the doorway. There was no sense inviting the other in, since they both lived there but it was that awkward moment after a date, when neither party knew what to do or say.

"Well, this is our stop." Buffy swung her keys around, until they were resting inside her palm.

"Yep, which would mean we go inside now." Willow just stood there with her hands folded in front of her.

"Yeah. Inside, there's our stuff, and we live in there." They sighed, both glancing inside the darkened room, unsure of how to proceed.

"Uh-huh. We should just…" Buffy watched Willow take the initiative, and followed the redhead inside the door, moving to the bedside lamp to turn it on, as she shut the door behind them. The dimly lit room was quiet for a moment, as the two just stood there, taking shy glances towards the other, both wanting to make a move but afraid to at the same time. After a few more moments, Buffy sighed deeply, followed by Willow. Moving around, she took off her jacket, and hung it in her closet and turning back around, as Willow was doing the same. The sexual tension in the room was running wild, and their eyes gazed across the room again, breathing starting to come in pants. "Willow, about…"

"Buffy, I…" When they both realized they had spoken at the same time, they burst in giggles, releasing some of the tension. Buffy started to take off her sandals, when she saw that Willow had done so, and grabbed for her bathroom stuff and pajamas.

"I'm going to get ready for bed. Um… I had fun tonight with you, again." Buffy stood mesmerized at the beaming smile Willow gave her at that comment, and then urged her legs to move again, hoping that her knees wouldn't fail her at that moment. The redhead just nodded soundlessly, watching her friend leave to get ready for bed.

When Buffy had shut the door behind her, Willow had gone about the motions of preparing herself for bed. She had changed her clothes, choosing to put on just a light blue tank top with boxers. Her body heat was too hot to try sleeping in her normal flannel pajamas. Then, she grabbed her toiletries, and passed Buffy in the hall, who smiled and waved awkwardly as they passed. Once she was finished brushing her teeth, hair, and washing her face, Willow picked up her baggie, and started the trek back to their room, a little more nervous than before; the night had been supercharged with energy, it seemed, and things were definitely getting different. However, she wasn't sure if that different was good or bad yet. She shook her head before she entered the room, and noticed that the bedside lamp was off, and that she couldn't really see in the room that well, as she shut the door. As soon as the door clicked shut, she was suddenly pushed back into the door, apparently by Buffy, who was sporting a determined look.

"Something wrong?" Willow panicked, not sure what this sudden forcefulness was about, and trying to ignore her body's reactions to it if it was a bad thing.

"That depends…" Buffy was being cryptic, and that always brought out the concern in her friend.

"On what?" Willow could feel the blonde's minty-fresh toothpaste, and the warmth of her breath against her face was causing the baby soft hairs on the back of her head to rise to attention.

"What you do next…" Buffy moved her face to where it was practically touching Willow's, and her stomach was doing somersaults. When she had returned to the room, she had put her stuff away, and then groaned loudly, unsure of what to do next. With a determined expression, she turned the light off, and steeled her resolve, deciding to take the initiative.

"What do you…" All further questions were placed on hold, as Buffy leaned forward the little bit needed, and softly brushed their lips together. It took a second for Willow to register what was happening but when she did, it was too late to reply to the kiss because Buffy had pulled back slowly, watching for her reaction. It took a whole two seconds before Willow pulled in her own resolve, and dropped her toiletry bag on the floor before wrapping her arms around Buffy's neck, pushing into her for a kiss. The second kiss was more tender, and their lips were still closed tightly but the blonde was taken off balance, and fell to the floor with Willow landing on her.

"Will, are you absolutely certain about this because if you're not, just tell me? It's just that…if I kiss you again, there's no turning back." Buffy looked up into soft green eyes, as she moved the fallen red locks behind Willow's ears.

"There is no doubt in my mind that I am sure about this, Buffy." Willow just kept her gaze locked on Buffy's hopeful hazel eyes, and smiled, as she pulled herself to a standing position, and helping her friend up in the process. When they were both standing, they just looked at each other again, biting their bottom lips in anticipation, and darting their eyes back and forth between eyes and lips. Quietly but with much seduction in her voice, Willow replied to the unspoken question. "Kiss me, Buffy."

"I don't have to be told twice." With that, Buffy wrapped her arms tightly around Willow, one on the small of her back, pushing their bodies together, and the other behind her head, pushing their mouths together. The redhead's arms were tucked underneath Buffy's, and held their bodies together by tugging at Buffy's white tank top, her fingers gripping the back in tiny handfuls. Their kisses were gentle at first, and then Buffy took another bold move, and opened her mouth slightly, which caused Willow to follow her lead. It was refreshing, exhilarating, mesmerizing, absolutely the most wonderful experience either had ever felt before in their lives, and they didn't want to ever stop kissing. It was so much better than those forced, passionate kisses in the high school lobby. These held more meaning because they were doing them by their own free will, and they were actually pursuing a relationship.

Suddenly, after what felt like mere seconds but had been several minutes, Buffy guided them forward to her bed. When Willow's calf connected with the mattress, she didn't break the kiss, as she guided the blonde on top of her, as she lay down across the small single bed. Buffy moved one leg in between Willow's to gain better access, and the redhead didn't mind a bit, pulling the blonde further to her if possible, and being the first to add tongue to the slowly heating kisses. As the minutes ticked on, both girls just lost themselves in their passionate kissing, and neither knew which one contacted skin first. There were moans of pleasure filling the room, and they weren't sure if the moans were audible outside the room. They didn't think so, since they were deep in the back of the throat but one could never be too sure in those matters. When Willow felt Buffy's hand start to move further up her stomach, towards her bare chest, she broke away from the kiss.

"Buff… Buffy…" She had to catch her breath. They were going pretty heavy for quite some time, and there were only a few breaks for oxygen, neither wanting to stay away too long.

"Yeah?" Buffy's panting wasn't faring any better, even with Slayer stamina. The thought of the slayer not being able to keep up delighted Willow. After all, if numbers counted, she was the more experienced one in the sexual department. It was just too soon for that now.

"We…ungh… We have to stop." The heartbroken look on Buffy's face made Willow engage babble mode. "That is…to stop with the kissing…for now. There will definitely be more later. I just… The way we were going… if we'd gotten any further, there would have been no way to stop, and I don't want to jump into things. It's too soon."

"I know. I was getting a little carried away there. I'm sorry." Buffy thought of something really quick, as she peeled her body away from the redhead. "I didn't hurt you, did I? I mean…"

"No. You didn't hurt me." Willow sat up, as Buffy dismounted, and moved to sit beside her on the bed. "Not that I'm complaining, mind you…but why the sudden…you know." Willow gestured around the room, particularly to the door, and following their path to the bed.

"I couldn't take it anymore. It was driving me mad all night not getting to even hold your hand, and when we passed each other in the hall, I made my mind up that if you're ready, then I'm ready, and I knew you were ready because you were pretty much shaking me, and screaming at me to do it. I was just lost in my own insecurities to make the move. I get an 'F' in Willow, I know." Buffy played with her hands, doing everything to keep them in place, and not help the redhead fix her distorted tank top, which was showing a bit of belly skin at the bottom.

"Well, after that performance, I'm giving you an 'A+.' Where did you learn to kiss like that?" Willow took a second, and then changed her mind. "Wait. I don't want to know."

"Wills, don't laugh but I've never kissed anybody like that, not even Angel." Buffy traced the outline of the redhead's swollen lips with her thumb, which earned her a gentle kiss on it. "Yours are the MOST kissable lips I've ever seen in my life, and probably will ever see, and if you'll let me, I would love to kiss these lips often, and sometimes in inappropriate places."

"Well…" Willow blushed, loving the attention, her hormones rising high once again after they had just settled down somewhat. "That is… um… I would love you to kiss me, anytime, anywhere." Upon seeing Buffy's mischievous grin, and raised eyebrow, she backpedaled. "Oh! Um but not there." She quickly added. "Yet!"

"I will, then." Buffy leaned forward, and placed a tender kiss on Willow's lips again, loving the taste of their toothpastes and mouths mixing together. "Willow…"

"Yeah?" Willow's eyes were still half-lidded from that last kiss, and their foreheads were resting against the other.

"I'm not sure if I need to ask this, or what. You can say no if you think it's too soon to make this big of a commitment. I mean, we just started dating, and FINALLY got to do the smoochies thing but…" She trailed off, biting her lip nervously, afraid of the answer but willing to take the risk. "Will you be my girlfriend?"

"Oh, Buffy." Willow brought them out of their rest, and embraced the blonde completely. "I would love to be your girlfriend, and to have you as mine, too." Pulling back, she kissed Buffy again with gusto, licking her lips as they parted to get any residual taste that she may have missed. "You're still using that Colgate Total mint gel. I'm so proud of you."

Buffy giggled a moment, and loosened the embrace. "Only you would compliment me on my good hygiene practices after we do some serious smooching." Willow joined in the gigglefest. Suddenly, there was an awkward silence.

"Do you maybe… want to sleep in my bed tonight, or over here? Together?" Willow's plea was hard to pass up but Buffy knew that now would not be a good time for that close of proximity. She was already going to need a change of underwear, and maybe shorts for all she knew, and it was only their first makeout session. It only went up from here.

"Um, Wills." Her face was apologetic, and Buffy had to take a deep breath in order to keep her resolve. It was hard to say no to Willow. "I'm thinking that may not be such a good idea right now." Upon the redhead's confused face, she added. "I don't think I can control myself with you right there. It would drive me crazy even more than I am right now!"

"OH!" Willow understood, and went to move a couple inches over, so as not to make Buffy do something she would regret in the morning.

"I do want to… it's just that maybe tonight we'd better not." Buffy pulled Willow back to her, letting her know that there was no reason to move. Willow nodded, and they kissed one last time before retreating to their separate beds, and smiling at the change in their relationship but groaning at the stops.

Meanwhile, in a control room of the Initiative, Dr. Walsh was watching the screen in front of her with interest. She narrowed her eyes slightly, studying the two figures move. Riley Finn was standing by the screen at attention, not seeing the movements. Again, Walsh observed with interest, until she smiled, and headed to her office, indicating that Riley should follow her. When they were in there, she sat at her desk, as the young soldier stayed at attention.

"Agent Finn, I have a mission for your squad." Since she knew she had his undivided attention, she continued. "I need you to bag a possible HST that goes under the guise of one Buffy Summers. She's a student in my class that you aid in, so I believe you will recognize her easy enough."

"Yes, she's the pretty blonde in the third row, and sits beside one Willow Rosenberg. I know her. We have made contact a few times." Riley nodded for her to continue.

"It's strictly confidential, which means only Alpha Squad is to know about this one." Moving back to lean against the front of her desk, she continues the command. "I want you to befriend Miss Summers, and Miss Rosenberg. The danger is severe, so take caution when engaging but this is strictly undercover work, which means no military will be mentioned once. Then, I want you, and your squadron to report back to me. I'm assigning this to you, Agent Gates, and Agent Miller solely. Failing is not an option."

"What should we look for specifically and how should we engage?" Finn was still at attention, and had yet to show any sign of emotion or discomfort. Truth was, he had a huge crush on Buffy, and the others had teased him about it slightly. Now, he was being told she was a possible HST. He was torn between duty and his emotions.

"As I mentioned, you merely need to befriend the two girls, get inside their lives. Find out what makes them tick; in particular, find their strengths and their weaknesses. I have a theory of one Miss Summers' weaknesses but I need it confirmed to verify how to further proceed in this mission." She folded her arms in front of her white lab coat, and studied the young man in front of her. He was one of her favorite experiments. "If there is any danger, or even suspicion, report back to me, and only me. This mission could prove highly dangerous, and I want the HST unharmed. Do you understand?"

"Yes, ma'am!" With that, she let him leave with his orders, and went back to write what she had seen on the screen. The images of the two girls kissing had slightly surprised the woman but she had suspected it from their previous interactions. However, this could give them a better lead on how to capture the slayer for their testing. They just weren't sure where myth and fact about slayers drew the line but in the name of science, they were determined to know.

Willow had been humming joyously for a month now, and Xander was determined to figure out the cause. It seemed that she had gone from mopey Willow to happy Willow in the blink of an eye, and he was glad but found it oddly disturbing. The crystal had an effect on everybody, and the young man was wary that something was happening again. She had been wearing her 'love' face again for some time. He had called Cordelia, trying to find out if she and Fred were back together but the answer was a negative. The sad part was that he also found out that Fred was pursuing a relationship with Gunn, something that DID disturb him, and before he managed to find out what was up with his bestest redheaded pal, Xander knew that information was confidential for fear of unleashing mopey Willow again.

The good news was that Willow and Buffy were practically inseparable, and that both seemed happier when the other was around, which in turn made Xander happier. The only problem was that he knew they were keeping something from him; he wouldn't have suspected anything if Anya hadn't pointed the telltale signs out to him. The two always snuck off together, and hardly ever invited him to go out with them anymore. There were several times when he'd found them out and about town, and their reactions were jumpy, and their faces were blood red, as though they'd been caught with their hands in the proverbial cookie jar. It was time to find out what was going on, even though he figured it had something to do with Anya.

"Willow!!" He caught up with her, while she was sitting in the Grotto, talking to a longhaired blonde girl that was not Buffy. It was odd not seeing the two together for once but he had planned it this way, studying their schedules, so that he'd be able to catch them apart. Xander knew that Willow would be the easiest to crack, so he went to attack her first.

"Oh, Xander! Hi! I thought you were driving the ice cream truck today?" Willow stopped her conversation with her new Wicca friend, and was shocked to see her oldest friend making his way towards them.

"Yeah. I'm off shift already." He sat down next to them, helping himself to a piece of Willow's blueberry bagel.

"Well, that's good. Now you can have more time with Anya." Willow smiled genuinely, glad that he was over Cordelia but still uncomfortable around the ex-demon. Xander looked at her suspiciously, narrowing his eyes in deep concentration.

"Um, I can't tonight." Willow tried not to act happy, since it was she and Buffy's one-month anniversary. The blonde told her to dress extremely casual, and stayed cryptic about everything else other than a time and a place to meet: the dorm at 8. She was going to do a quick patrol around campus, and then head straight back to their room. Willow's anticipation for the night was on overload.

"What's going on lately, Wills? I feel like you don't want to be around me anymore…either of you." Xander looked at her with saddened eyes, and leant forward from his seat, getting straight to the point, which was something he didn't often do but knew he had to in this situation. Otherwise, there was a possibility he would stay out of the loop more and more, until one day, he was no longer allowed in at all.

"Oh, Xander. We don't mean to ignore you. I had… it's just… There's a lot going on right now, and I hate…" Willow moved forward in her own seat, brow scrunched in sympathy, knowing exactly what he was talking about but not willing to give up her alone Buffy time for anything. There needed to be a silent compromise, since the two girls were still in the hush stages to the others about their relationship.

"Is it Anya? I know she can be a little much at times but she's…" Xander looked down at his knee, seeing that Willow had placed a comforting hand there to halt him further. When he looked back up at her gaze, she explained.

"It's not Anya." She shook her head for a minute, sighing since she knew that spending time with his girlfriend wasn't high on her list, either. It just wasn't the main reason why he'd been excluded. "I mean, sure, she's a lot to take, and I'm still not sure how to take her exactly but there's just so much going on right now in my life that I can't explain. I wish I could but… Xander, believe me when I tell you that I miss hanging out with you all the time."

"Um, W-willow?" The girl in question looked at her new friend, wincing when she realized she'd ignored her for the last few minutes. "M-maybe I should…l-l-leave you two to talk. I…um. I'll call you later."

"Oh, sure. I'm sorry, Tara." Willow watched her friend stand, preparing to make her exit, and immediately went for the introductions. "Oh! Tara, this is Xander. Xander this is Tara. She was in that Wicca group that I tried to attend. She was the only one that actually cared about magick. She's really powerful!" The blonde girl ducked her head, and blushed under the praise, wanting to deny it but could only shake her head, since words were not her strong suit at the moment. Matter of fact, whenever she was anywhere near the redhead, Tara was at a loss for words.

"Hey, Tara." Xander waved half-heartedly, since he was still somewhat heartbroken that he was losing his best friend.

"Um. I'm just going to…" Tara pointed towards the door, and before anything could be said, Willow jumped up, and hugged her goodbye.

"I'll talk to you soon. We'll do that synchronicity spell sometime next week, if you want." When they broke apart, the blonde just nodded her agreement, and was on her way. Willow immediately plopped down on the couch next to Xander, focusing all attention on him. "Let's get together next week. I'm busy tonight but I would love to get together more often. You're absolutely right. After Fred…" She trailed off, the memory still a little painful but Xander noticed that there wasn't much sadness and woe there anymore. He looked in the direction the blonde witch had left, and started to suspect Willow was hiding a new lover. Instead of making a fool of himself, though, he decided to just observe, and wait for his best friend to talk to him when she was ready, since it was obvious that she wasn't yet.

"Sure thing, Will. What about Buffy? After patrol, she can come over, and play with us." Xander was unaware of the sudden blush on Willow's cheeks.

"How do you know?" He took another piece of her bagel, stopped for a moment, then just grabbed the rest of it, recognizing the familiar signs that Willow was finished with it.

"We're doing something tonight." At least she had the decency to wince a little, when she saw the look on Xander's face.

"Well, then. We'll just meet you there. Where are you going?" Xander's mouth was full but his words were unmistakable.

"NO!" Willow calmed down before continuing, especially after she noticed a few students looking at her because of her sudden outburst. "I mean, sorry. It's just that I don't know where we're going." Xander looked at her in disbelief. "No, I'm serious. She didn't tell me. I was just told to meet her in the dorm later." With that, Xander decided to pry a little further.

"I've noticed that you haven't used the F word in quite some time." He leaned back to get a little more comfortable, and to study her reactions. She always was expressional in the face, and her body language was sometimes easier to read than most people.

"Actually, I've wanted to talk to you about that so much but with everything happening, it was just hard. At first, it was hard to even talk to myself about it. Luckily, Buffy was there to pull me back, and I'm sorry I didn't let you in more." It was good to talk to Xander. During Christmas break, she and Buffy had moved back to their own houses but still spent most of their time together. On Christmas day, she had stayed with the Summers family, and even during a few nights of Hanukah, Buffy had stayed with her. It was as though they never parted when they returned the week before, and things were still intense. It was getting harder to hold back but Willow still wasn't ready, and truth be told, neither was Buffy.

"I should be going. Anya's waiting back in the basement." Xander stood, wiping the crumbs from his clothes. Willow followed, again with the apologetic face.

"I do want to do something next week." She hugged him but the hug was a little awkward. The two girls were going to have to do better if they expected to stay in the dark but still keep Xander, which was not an option of losing.

"Yeah. Sure. Next week." Xander nodded, and left without another word from either of them. Willow just watched him leave, and picked up her shoulder bag before heading to her last class.

Willow didn't have to wait long for Buffy to return from patrol. Actually, the crime rate lately around Sunnydale had gone down tremendously, and Buffy had been arriving home earlier each night, and usually unharmed for the most part. There were still nights of big fights but neither girl minded the extra care Willow took to mend each tiny scratch. Things had still been a little awkward at first but once they got into the swing of things, the two girls were all over each other, always kissing when they had the chance. There were lots of snuggling, dates, cuddling, holding hands, little warm fuzzies, and the occasional back massage but they still slept in separate beds, knowing that once they crossed that line, there would be even more changes. It wasn't so much insecurity of their love, especially their passion for the other; it was more like wanting to make things last, and getting to know each other on a romantic level.

"Hey, beautiful. Hope you didn't miss me too much." Buffy walked in with a bounce in her step, and bounded over to her girlfriend with excitement, hugging her for emphasis.

"Not too terribly much but there was one moment there that I didn't think I'd survive." They smirked, and drew together for a warm, tender kiss. Staying in the embrace when their lips parted, Willow kept her smirk. "So, I'm all casual, so what's the big surprise? Anything I should worry about?"

"Only if you're allergic to…" Buffy mumbled the last part lowly, teasing her girlfriend, and loving every minute of it. "Other than that, I think you'll be fine."

"Okay, Buffy Summers. You just wait and see if you get those extra smoochies later?" Willow broke the embrace, and walked to grab her backpack. She wanted to be prepared for anything. Buffy was quite spontaneous, and highly romantic, she was surprised to find, which didn't bother her in the least.

"Well, just let me change out of these dusty garments, and we'll be on our way." She leaned over for another quick peck before retreating into her closet. In order to keep her hormones in check, Willow turned around to allow her some privacy. "It's okay, Wills. You saw me half naked last night."

"Well…I …that is…." Willow was flustered, remembering the heated kissing and groping festival that she was a large part of, and when she looked at her bed (the scene of the crime), she became even more flustered. She had dated Fred for over a year before she managed to take her top off but for some reason last night, she had to feel Buffy's skin against her own. Things were progressing nicely…

"Ready to go?" Buffy patted her sweatpants, which caused Willow to turn around, and notice that she was only wearing a white tank top with it, her bra straps sticking out the sides. Suddenly, she felt overdressed in her jeans and faded maroon t-shirt. Buffy understood, and went over to wrap her arms around her again, kissing the worry lines away. "You look amazing. Don't worry. It's just us tonight, just the way I like it."

"Where are we going again?" Willow prompted. Her curiosity just couldn't stay at bay, and her inquisitive mind was still trying to coax the answer from her girlfriend, who still wasn't budging an inch on the answer.

"You'll find out in about fifteen minutes." Buffy picked up her own backpack, placed it over her shoulders, and immediately entwining their fingers together before heading in that direction.

When they walked through town, Willow was confused. It was like they were just taking a stroll, something they'd done numerous times already as a couple… not that she minded it this time. She just thought their one-month would be something a little different, something a little less ordinary. After all, Buffy was extremely good at steering away from ordinary. They stopped in the ice cream shop, and the blonde bought them single scoops of their respective flavors. Continuing their walk, they kept their hands clasped, and used their other hands to devour their waffle cones. Buffy even made a bold move by leaning over, and licking the dripping mint chocolate from Willow's chin, something totally unexpected. After the allotted fifteen minutes, the two girls arrived at the beach. Willow looked quizzically at Buffy, as the blonde dropped their hands, and her bag, too.

"Buffy? Are we allowed to be out here at night? Isn't it dangerous?" Willow looked around for beach patrol. The sound of the crashing waves were soothing, and the minimal amount of lighting on the area was a little romantic but she was still confused, and a little scared at being caught. Somehow, it made what came next more worthwhile.

"Danger I know. Trust me, Willow." Buffy's loving gaze melted the redhead's fears, and when she saw the blonde kneel down, and start pulling items from her backpack, she sat down next to her on the sand.

Willow watched, as Buffy placed a large blanket down on the sand, and started digging holes to place candles around the blanket, lighting them as they were positioned not to fall, or burn anything. The area now had a strategic glow, and the slayer managed to place little sand bunkers around them to prevent the wind from extinguishing them, even though the wind was really light, and barely there. It was still best to be safe. Next, she pulled out her portable CD player, and a small pair of speakers, plugging them up, and again placing them strategically in angled positions to give the best audio. Placing a disk in the player, she turned on the music, which shifted in the background of the waves. Next, she pulled out a bottle of Merlot, causing Willow to arch an eyebrow at where she got it from, and then opened the bottle, burying it in the sand by the blanket, allowing it to breathe, as she finished her preparations. Not the most romantic but she pulled out two thermos tops for cups, and then a Ziploc bag full of red grapes.

"Well, what do you think?" Buffy squinted her eyes in hopes of not disappointing her girlfriend. It was quite a surprise but it gave them the chance to be a couple in public without announcing it to anybody just yet. Willow snapped out of her trance.

"This is amazing. Buffy… wh…" Willow just shut up, and kicked her socks and shoes off, letting the grainy texture of the sand sift between her toes, as she made her way slowly to her girlfriend, laying them both down on the blanket. "You're amazing." She leaned on top of Buffy, and kissed her tenderly, expressing her appreciation.

"Mmm…" When the kiss ended, Buffy sat back up, and proceeded to pour them cups of wine.

"Not that I mind…I mean, it's nice and all but… where did you get the wine? And aren't you afraid of becoming cave slayer again?" Willow was stopped with another soft kiss, as she was handed the cup.

"Riley got it for me. He didn't even ask questions." Buffy was grateful for her former TA, and was surprised that the girls had actually become his friend, along with his other housemates, Graham and Forrest. The three guys were okay, as far as fraternity boys went, and the five of them usually met for lunch on the campus. The girls had also attended some of their parties at Lowell House, and even despite the awkwardness at first, the three young men actually proved to be decent friends when in a jam, and didn't crowd them, which eased their minds tremendously. Since their relationship was still hush-hush, there was still the possibility of being hit on, which Buffy was a lot, and Willow was on occasion. If the redhead was more extroverted like her girlfriend, then there was no doubt that she would have just as many, if not more offers that she would have to reject.

"Riley, huh?" Willow took a few sips of her wine before laying the cup down carefully next to her. Reaching into her own bag, she started to pull something from it. "Then you won't be mad that I asked Graham to get something for me." She pulled out a wrapped package that was small, and screamed of jewelry. Buffy's eyes lit up, and she leaned back into her own bag excitedly, pulling out a smaller jewelry sized box. "It's not illegal but he picked them up for me, while I kept you occupied." Willow smirked, letting Buffy know exactly how she occupied her, as she handed over the package.

"Well, you can occupy me anytime you want." Buffy leaned in for a kiss, finishing her cup of wine, and allowing Willow to finish hers before proceeding with the gift giving. "I haven't really done this whole one-month anniversary thing before. Angel and I…well, we never really had dates. It was more like…make out, have sex, lose a soul, and then kill him before he comes back from Hell, and eventually leaves for LA." The lack of bitterness in Buffy's tone shocked Willow. The blonde had talked about the whole situation like it really wasn't a big deal, and the sincerity in her eyes told the redhead that her girlfriend was completely hers. That was a great feeling.

"Well, it gets easier as we go along. I assure you." Willow finished her wine, stacked their cups, leaned over Buffy, placing them by the buried bottle, and kissed her before sitting down again. "You first, since this is your first time, and all."

"Well, a little sassy tonight, aren't you?" Buffy's eyebrows arched, and she exchanged their offered gifts. Willow just smirked mischievously in return. As Buffy unwrapped the carefully crafted wrapping, she was like a kid on a birthday, now holding the soft, velvet box in her hands. Looking up at Willow for permission, she saw the smile, and opened it carefully. Her eyes widened when she saw the beautiful silver necklace placed masterfully in its place. She looked at Willow again, tears brimming her eyes, and then started to trace the chain, down to the pendant hanging there. It was much like the onyx necklace that Buffy had given the redhead before prom the year before; only the stone was different.

"It's sherry colored topaz. It aids in protection, healing, love, and emotional balance. I thought that with being the slayer, it was the perfect gemstone. With us starting a relationship, I kind of thought it appropriate, too. It's also known to help with creativity and tranquility, which couldn't hurt in the slayer field, either. Tara and I may have added a little extra protection spell to the chain, since it didn't feel right to deduce the stone's properties but the deciding factor was the fact that it would bring out your eyes perfectly. I love your eyes." Willow stared into said eyes, and looked lovingly after her babbled explanation. The blonde was quiet, and she just wasn't sure how her girlfriend liked the gift, so she explained.

"It's perfect." Buffy sighed longingly, and handed the box back to Willow. When she saw the confused and hurt expression, she quickly explained. "I love it, Wills. Would you put it on me, please?" The redhead nodded, and immediately went about wrapping the chain around her girlfriend's throat, giving her a sweet kiss before Buffy let her blonde locks fall down her shoulders again. "Now you!"

"Don't have to tell me twice." Willow was a little more careful about opening the gift. Her fingers were a little shaky, her nerves on overdrive. The night so far was more than beautiful, and it had only just begun…they had only just begun…which made her start humming the Carpenters song again, much to her dismay. It'd been in her head for the past two days, and she couldn't get it out…darn it. When she finished unwrapping, she noticed a forest green, velvety box, and smiled when she saw the ring inside. It was gorgeous. "Buffy…wow. I mean…this is…wow."

"It's Unakite." Buffy removed the sterling silver band with a small crystal inlaid on top, and placed it on Willow's right ring finger. "I went to the store again, and the same lady said I needed to get this for the person I loved. When she explained this one, again, I couldn't deny wanting to get it for you."

"Wow…it's… wow. Buffy…" Willow was at a loss for words. The ring was gorgeous, and the green and pink were mingling in perfect harmony on the crystal. "This enhances personal power."

"Yeah. The lady said that it changes negative energy into positive energy, too. Being Wicca girl, I too thought it was perfect. Plus, it brings out your eyes, and I happen to be fond of yours myself." Buffy sighed lovingly again, and couldn't help but smile into the fierce kiss, as she was tackled onto the blanket by her over excited girlfriend. After making out for several minutes, the two kept their limbs entangled, as they just listened to the music and the waves crashing, while relishing in the comfortable snuggles that were just too calming.

"I love you, Buffy." Willow leaned up on her elbow, and Buffy followed suit, mirroring her girlfriend. "I didn't think that it'd be possible to love anybody more than I did Fred but with you… I mean…wow."

"You've said that quite a bit tonight." The blonde smirked, understanding the wows completely.

"I feel like… I should call her maybe. See how she's doing, ya know? It just… I'm so happy, and I feel guilty somehow that she may not be. Don't get me wrong; I wouldn't change a thing…here…being with you. It's just that… she was such a huge part of my life, and it's still strange not talking to her all the time, or seeing her. I miss her." Willow kissed Buffy softly to let her know that she truly was happy, and reassure the blonde that she wasn't going anywhere, even if she did miss her ex-girlfriend.

"I know you do. I do, too. She was a great friend, and I think maybe you should call her. She might surprise you. If nothing else, it'll be good for you to hear from her again." Buffy sat up, and poured them another glass of wine. Handing a glass to her girlfriend again, she raised her glass in a toast. "Here's to new relationships, and old ones. I love you, Willow." They tapped their plastic cups together, and giggled, while they finished the wine. Buffy moved back after they were finished, and placed the cork back in the bottle.

"We're leaving already?" Willow's tone was kind of whiny and Buffy smiled, as she stood up, holding her hand out for the redhead to take. When her girlfriend was finally up, she kicked her own sneakers and socks off finally, and pulled her closer to where the speakers were positioned in the sand. That's when she wrapped her arms around Willow's waist, and started swaying to the slow tune, one of many on the CD she had burned just for this occasion. She'd been a busy bee the last few days, preparing for this momentous occasion. They had officially been dating for a month now, and things were looking promising so far.

"Not leaving. Dancing. All those times we've been to the Bronze, all those times that I've just wanted to wrap my arms around you, and hold you like this, let everybody know that you're mine…now, I finally get, too." Buffy pulled her in closer, as Willow finally understood, and wrapped her arms around the blonde's shoulders, relaxing into the gentle rhythm. They both sighed, as they let go to the music, song after song, just dancing together in the moonlight, to the soft candle glow, crashing of waves behind them, the soft, grainy sand beneath their feet, and the random slow song from the speakers. "I want to tell people. What do you think?"

"Like who?" Willow was too wrapped up in the moment to worry about the possible outcomes. She'd been thinking about this herself, actually.

"My mom, maybe Giles. They have a right to know, since I don't plan on letting you go ever." Buffy just placed soft kisses against Willow's neck and shoulders, keeping her hot breath caressing the skin there.

"I want to tell Xander. He found me in the Grotto today, when I was having coffee with Tara before class, and he's feeling left out." Willow sighed again, reveling in the feeling of her girlfriend's soft lips against her skin. "I told him we'd get together this coming week. I don't like to see him hurting, and he has a right to know why we never invite him out with us anymore."

"Let's go home now." Willow was hesitant, not wanting Buffy to get the wrong impression but wanting more than anything to feel skin on skin again. She may have come out of her shell a little but there was still no way she was getting semi-nude on a beach, even if it was deserted. With their luck, that's the moment the beach patrol would drive by on his four-wheeler.

"Okay." They tentatively parted after a few more minutes of dancing, and started to pack up their things. Hand in hand, they made their way back to their room. When they got there, their bags were tossed as soon as the door was shut, and the shyness that was there a month ago was long forgotten, as they crashed together immediately, falling on the closest bed. It didn't take very long at all before Willow had torn their shirts over their heads, and in an extremely bold move, straddled Buffy, while kissing her with passion, and moving her bra to the side, giving her access to skin she hadn't touched yet. When she felt the slayer moan and gasp into her mouth at the contact, she just smirked into the kiss. Breaking apart only for needed air, Buffy wasn't sure when her bra had been completely discarded, and looked up at Willow's mischievous grin before rolling her lust-filled eyes playfully, and tackling the redhead, changing their current positions.

More kissing was involved, and before long, Buffy had managed to discard her girlfriend's bra, tossing it unceremoniously anywhere. She didn't care where it went, just that it was off her Willow.

"Buffy…" Their breathy moans were getting too heated again, and at anytime, they would need to break free… but they kept going. Willow took the initiative again, putting herself on top again, and kissed down Buffy's torso, while removing the blonde's shoes and socks, kicking off her own in the process. While she was there, she figured…why the hell not? So, she pulled her sweatpants down, too, while unbuttoning her own jeans, trying to kick them off but with no success. Buffy just huskily giggled under her.

"What are you doing, Wills?" Not that she minded but if things progressed much further, there was no turning back.

"What does it look like?" Willow finally managed to wriggle out of her jeans, and the two girls were clad in nothing but their undies.

"Well… it looks like you're trying to seduce me. Either that, or tease me into a frenzy." Buffy was speechless when she felt Willow's skin completely cover her own. They fit together perfectly, curve for curve, inch by inch. Their heated skin only added the fuel, and there was just one more question. "Are you sure about this?"

"More than anything." Willow started kissing her again, her auburn locks falling to either side of the blonde's face. She stopped kissing her briefly. "Are you sure?"

"Oh, gods, yes." Buffy breathed it out more than said it. She'd wanted this for so long, and it was finally here. Already, it was way beyond her expectations.

"Okay." Willow took a deep breath, smiled lovingly, and kissed Buffy one last time before moving to remove their final barriers. Kneeled between Buffy's legs, the redhead just stared, studying every inch of her girlfriend, and it was almost overwhelming. When she woke up this morning, this wasn't how she'd expected to end the evening; it was so much better than what she'd thought. "I love you, Buffy."

"I love you, Willow." That's all the encouragement either needed, as they stopped worshipping each other's naked bodies, and Willow laid down on top of Buffy again, this time without that one barrier in place. Now, they were fully exposed to the other, and both girls gasped, and moaned deep in their throats at the feeling of completeness. Buffy tucked Willow's auburn locks behind her ears, and pulled her down into a gentle kiss, keeping her there, as their passion took over again. After much moaning, groaning, and teasing, the redhead finally let her fingers explore Buffy's sex. She closed her eyes, and her knees buckled slightly, as she threw one leg over the blonde's, locking all four limbs together before opening her eyes, and pushing her thigh into her thrusts. "Oh, gods, Will. Sssss…" The hissing ecstasy that came from Buffy increased to moans, and quiet declarations of love, as the pace increased, and sweat formed all over their bodies. When the blonde was reaching her peak, she held onto Willow's body tightly, kissing her all over her face, running her hands through those now tousled red locks she adored. With a whispered declaration, and some soft shaking, she let all emotions rush over her body, as she experienced the most wonderful thing in the world: making love to Willow.

"Oh, Buffy." Willow was just as breathless. After all, she was the one trying to meet the blonde's hip thrusts, and kept her exploring fingers in the right spots for a good thirty minutes. Looking down into Buffy's eyes, she noticed the tears slowly falling. "What's wrong, baby?"

"Nothing's wrong. Everything's right." She let go of her tight hold on Willow, hoping that the redhead's back wouldn't be too bruised. Her lover just smiled, and wiped the tears away with gentle fingertips from her dry hand. "I'm so happy. I understand why Angel lost his soul, if it was half as great as this is."

"Buffy…" Willow looked into her eyes with nothing but love and joy, loving the way the topaz blended beautifully against the blonde's tanned skin. "I know."

"Trade me spots." At Willow's confused look, Buffy just did it on her own. Now looking down into amazing green eyes, she smiled again before ducking in for another passionate kiss. One of the joys of being the slayer was quick healing responses, so it didn't take long for her body to regain strength, and she proceeded to show Willow just how great that aspect was, as she clumsily made love to her Wills before they crashed for the night, once again snuggled together as they made their way into dreamland.

The sun was just starting to peak over the horizon, and as the rays slowly made their way into windows, people were starting to prepare for their morning rituals. This particular morning, though, was privy to a brand new morning ritual, the first of many to come if things went as planned. Just as the rays seeped through the uncovered windows of room 214 in Stevenson Hall at UC Sunnydale, a blonde girl started to stir. Physically, nobody would be able to tell because the room was still quiet as a mouse; the only noises were that of the heavy breathing coming from the redhead in the bed beside her. Mentally preparing herself for waking up, Buffy felt more relaxed than she ever had since she was a child. Taking the time to breathe deeply, she inhaled a few extra scents close by that she hadn't smelled in what felt like ages: the familiar clean aroma that was Willow mixed with the smell of the previous night's activities. With a shit-eating grin, she began to stretch her limbs, and the body that was snuggled to her stirred slightly in protest. After she opened her eyes, there was a huge pile of red hair in front of her face, and Buffy wrapped her arms tighter around her girlfriend, holding her in place, and knowing that she would die happy at that moment. Last night, she had experienced true happiness, and this morning, her soul was still in tact. The relationship was definitely going to work.

"Mmm…" Willow snuggled closer, coming out of her own dreamscape but hesitant to leave. There were visions of sugarplums, and a naked Buffy dancing in her head; not something she wanted to readily give up so easily.

"I agree…" The quiet, hoarse voices that were common in most after departing from a restful sleep was evident in both girls. Buffy more so, since she was already getting a warm, tingly feeling all over again by just being close to Willow. Their heated skin attached everywhere was not helping matters any. As far as morning-afters, it was better than her last one.

"Buffy, what time is it?" The blonde was so wrapped up in her musings, and body's reactions to notice that Willow had finally crossed back over, and was now looking dazed with pillow creases across her face, and auburn locks tousled every which way.

"Oh, sorry, Wills. Um…" Buffy looked up, and checked the clock. Instead of answering her girlfriend, she gave a mischievous grin before latching their mouths together fervently. There was time for at least another two rounds before their classes started for the day.

"Hey! No fair! I wasn't even…" All protests were halted by another feverish kiss. Apparently, Buffy had woken up a little horny. Breaking apart, Willow giggled at the way the blonde kept trying to keep kissing with a playful pout when she was held at arm's length. "As much as what you're implying sounds great right about now, we're both still a little sticky. Showers and class, missy! Scoot!"

With groans and grumbles that would put any kid to shame, Buffy crawled out of bed after her girlfriend. They put their robes on, and before Willow went out the door, Buffy wrapped her arms around her waist. Leaning in, she placed her chin on the redhead's shoulder, and gave her tiny, soft little kisses on the cheek and jaw.

"You'll never guess what I'm thinking right now…" Buffy swayed them slightly, as Willow finally rolled her eyes amusedly, and gave in a little by wrapping her own arms around Buffy's.

"I know exactly what you're thinking, which is why I need to get out that door before I change my mind. Otherwise, we'll never make it to class, and I have a quiz today." She leaned her body further back in the embrace, and fluttered her eyes closed excitedly when she felt Buffy start kissing the sensitive spot behind her ear.

"What am I thinking then? Hmmm??" Buffy just kept teasing her, knowing that she had to go to class, too. She needed to turn in a 10-page research paper for History on Rasputin.

"You're thinking that you can sway me with your lusty wrong ways. I tell you, I will not succumb to the pressure." The two were definitely playful together but eventually, responsibility rules over lust that can be quelled later. Seizing the moment would come later…

"Spoilsport." Buffy kissed her cheek one last time, and let go the embrace, patting Willow on the butt as she walked out the door to the showers. Taking a deep breath after she was gone, the blonde did a little happy dance inside the room. Outside the door, Willow was doing something similar, only getting stared at strangely by other student's in the hall. She didn't care, though. They were in love…

"Ms. Summers, I'd like a word with you if you have a moment." Dr. Walsh was standing by the water fountain next to where Buffy just finished getting a drink. She tucked her hair behind her ears before fully relaying her attention to her former professor.

"Is there a problem, Dr. Walsh?" She was in too good a mood to care about the answer but she asked the question anyways. Being the slayer always made you ask questions before jumping into situations. Not knowing what you were getting into could cost you your life. On the other hand, spontaneity was the spice of life, and she never knew what she'd face next. Apparently, her next foe was a psychology professor.

"Not at all. I'd like to see you in my office." The scientist started walking, not giving Buffy an ultimatum on the subject, so the young student followed her.

"Am I gonna like this?" Buffy took the offered seat, as Dr. Walsh walked around, and sat at her desk, placing her briefcase by her chair.

"That depends." Walsh tucked her fingers together, and studied Buffy over her knuckles. She was such a small girl but she had the ability to pick up five overweight men at a time without much effort. It was truly intriguing. "I have been studying you, Ms. Summers."

"Um…don't you have to have a permission slip, or something to do that? I mean, you can't just…" Buffy was interrupted by the stone glare being sent to her in waves. "Right, um…so, are you studying for a test? If so, then I'm sure you'll want to know that I like ice skating…WITHOUT the irony, dummies give me the wiggins, and if I never hear Cher's "Believe" again, then it'll be too soon. Anything else you need to know?"

"How long have you been the slayer?" Walsh tries to hold back her cocky grin but isn't faring so well. Her suspicions had been confirmed one night when her undercover squad ran across her dusting a vamp on campus. Her cover story was panicky, and highly unrealistic. She was a psychologist; she knew human behavior, and her reaction to them witnessing the event screamed confirmation. The night before, she had been watching the surveillance camera in the room, and was interested to note the intimacy between the two girls in the room. Like the true voyeur she was, Maggie Walsh took notes on everything: stamina, position, movements. After all, it was all in the name of science.

"Uh…" Buffy was startled, and the straightforwardness of her former professor was a little overwhelming. The way she had said it told her that the woman knew more than she let on originally. Now, it was time to go into defense mode. "I mean, what's a slayer?"

"No need to bullshit me, Summers. I know who you are. I've confirmed that you are the slayer, and now I want to study you." She released her fingerlock, and stood from her desk. Approaching Buffy, she towered over her, causing the young student to be intimidated for a moment. It was good to note that the intimidation didn't last long, and that Buffy could hold the stare with ease. "Now, I'm wanting to do studies on the slayer; get inside their minds, see them in action, know how they work. I want to separate the fact from the fiction, and do a full scientific study on you."

"Um, see…that's the thing. I'm thinking no." Buffy stood up to leave before there were any protests but for once, she wasn't fast enough.

"Haven't you ever wondered where your power comes from? Why it works the way it does? Just how far your limit is with your powers? You're the thing that demons are scared of; just by saying you're the slayer doesn't make them crawl with fear. Don't you want to know what does?" By the hesitation in Buffy, Dr. Walsh knew that she had hooked her bait. Now, she just had to reel her in completely. "The experiments would be controlled, and your safety would be our number one priority. Don't make any decisions just yet; talk it over with that girlfriend of yours, and then get back to me. Just remember; I'm giving you an opportunity here, Ms. Summers that people search their whole lives for: to know what and who they are. If I were you, I wouldn't pass up the opportunity because there may not be another one in your line of work." Buffy didn't say another word, just clutched her bag to her shoulder, and left. When she was gone, Walsh smirked because she knew by the interactions recorded from her room, a silent Buffy meant a thinking Buffy, and there was no doubt in the scientist's mind that her subject would return.

Willow was sitting in the library, studying with Tara, and humming again. Since she had never actually met Buffy, the blonde assumed that the two were just friends, and nothing more. She was majorly crushing on Willow, and had just found out earlier that day that there was a chance for her. When they were removing their items for study, Willow's picture book fell out of her bag, and Tara bent over to pick it up for her. The blush on her face when she handed it to her was redder than a radish. They just connected when they did spells, and the power that would flow through them was so magickal, intense, and physical that it felt like euphoria each time. Willow was beaming because she finally had a chance to show Tara all the friends that she talked about with her. She showed a newer picture of her and Buffy that they had taken two weeks ago at the park. They had asked an elderly lady to take a picture of them swinging together with Willow on her lap, while Buffy had her arms wrapped around her waist. However, the redhead left out the part that she had to deflect Buffy's hands from trying to cop a feel before the woman took the picture.

Then, she showed a picture of Buffy, Xander, and her their sophomore year, not too long after Buffy had moved to Sunnydale. They were just posing for Giles, who took five minutes to figure out the technology of the digital camera.

Next, a picture of her and Fred looking cuddly in the grass in the quad at the high school. They were still in that early stage of puppy love, and were snuggled together on the ground with Willow's head resting on the brunette's chest, arm wrapped firmly around her, while Fred was completely wrapped around her. Their limbs were tangled, and their eyes were closed. Xander had taken that picture, thinking to either use it as blackmail or for personal use later when he was alone. When Willow had found the picture on Xander's dresser the next year, she pilfered it, and slapped him playfully for thinking with his hormones. Still, she couldn't help smiling because they were cute all cuddled together taking a nap between classes.

However, it was the next picture that caused the eyebrows to rise, and the stuttering to occur. Willow and Fred were doing some serious kissage on a couch at the Bronze. Their limbs were again tangled together but hands were roaming through hair this time. Xander had once again earned a playful slap, and a blushing smile. Looking through the pictures again, Willow decided she couldn't wait to put more pictures like that of her and Buffy in the small book. She sighed, willing evening to occur, so that they could celebrate the blonde's night off from slayage. It was Faith's night with Giles, so she wasn't needed, and the redhead planned on making extremely good use of their time. When she came out of her reverie, she noticed Tara's shocked expression, and the two newfound friends discussed something else they had in common: they were both members of the upside down triangle club.

Now, though, they continued to study. Buffy was due any minute back at the dorm, and Willow wanted to finish quickly but she didn't want to make Tara feel rushed. Moving along, they just took it bit by bit until time finally rolled around to leave. Standing up, and putting things away, Tara raised a little nerve, and decided to try her luck. However, she could never get the words past her lips. Once they were walking along the sidewalks outside, Willow stopped in front of Tara's dorm to say goodnight. She really was enjoying the time she spent with her new friend; after all, she now had a sister in power, and somebody that could help guide her along the right path. The blonde Wicca was a pure, kind-hearted person, and it was hard not to like the shy girl.

"Thanks for studying with me." Willow was a little eager to get to Buffy, and she didn't want to seem so but she couldn't stop fidgeting. She was already getting all kinds of naughty thoughts.

"N-not a problem." Tara ducked behind her long mane, as she clutched her books to her chest tightly. She was going to do it. "W-willow…I, um…t-that is…"

"Hey? Is something wrong?" Willow stopped fidgeting long enough to notice the nervousness in her friend, and placed a comforting hand on the blonde's forearm. Little did she know that it was doing more than comforting her.

"N-no. Nothing's wrong. I was j-just wondering if you'd maybe l-like to…just go out?" The hopeful look on Tara's face sent sympathy to Willow. There was a time not that long ago that she was the same way: too afraid to meet new people.

"Well, I can't right now. I have to meet Buffy." When she saw the girl's face fall, she mirrored her earlier comforting gesture. "I would like to some other time, though. If that's alright with you?"

"O-oh! Um…fine. I mean, yes." Tara's eyes lit up, and her heart swelled. Willow had just agreed to go out with her. "When are you free?" Tara couldn't believe it, and she felt her confidence swell a little. This beautiful redhead that could probably get anybody she wanted had just agreed on a date…with HER.

"Great. Um, I'm free Thursday night before 9. That's when Buffy gets home, so I'll need to be there when she gets there." Of course, Willow was oblivious to Tara's true intentions. She thought that the blonde had just wanted to hang out, maybe have some coffee. The redhead was always the one asking her to do stuff, and it was the first time her new friend suggested getting together. Willow was floating too high on cloud Buffy to notice anything else. They'd agreed to meet that night around 5 at the Espresso Pump downtown, and they could go to the magick shop that had just reopened under new ownership, and grab some coffee afterwards. After hugs, Willow walked with a little more bounce in your shoes, and started humming again. One guy walked by, and dog whistled at her but she ignored him…she was on a mission: seduce the slayer.

When she got to the dorm, there was a note from Buffy, telling her to close her eyes. She grinned lovingly at the helpless romantic that was her girlfriend, placed her bag on her bed, and closed her eyes. After a few moments, nothing happened, so she opened them again. Thinking that maybe it was just a test, she started putting her things away, and when that was finished, still no sign of Buffy. Then, she started to panic, thinking that her girlfriend must've been called out to help Faith after all, and that something was the matter. She managed to calm herself down somewhat from her frantic pacing once she realized that the blonde would leave her a note, and the note there was to just close her eyes. Deciding to calm her flailing nerves even further, she sat on the end of her bed; hands clutched nervously on her lap, and closed her eyes. It took another minute and a half before the door creaked open, and Buffy came in startled to find her there.

"Will! You're not supposed to be here for another ten minutes!" Buffy pouted, sad that her little plan had been botched.

"Well, we finished early, and I may have run the rest of the way when I dropped off Tara." Willow grinned sheepishly, and just stayed in place. "Would you like me to close my eyes NOW?"

"Well, no. That's okay. You're here, and that's all that matters." Buffy tackled her to the bed, and planted little tender kisses all over her face, causing them both to giggle.

"Why did I have my eyes closed anyways?" Willow was pinned beneath her girlfriend…a very promising position from her point of view.

"I was going to surprise you." The huskiness in her tone indicated that Buffy had some naughty things in mind herself. The sex was still new but all day long, she'd been craving more. She just couldn't get last night from her head, and the emotions and feelings that ran high…it was overload, and she didn't mind one bit. Her history professor called her out for not paying attention, and she blushed even more than her already heated face was from thinking about the entire evening. The gift exchange, the kisses, the dancing…making love…it was perfect. Buffy had actually run into the bathroom between classes to wipe herself before she leaked through her jeans. It was torture. When she returned to the dorm, she was shaking all over, needing more…so much more…she was almost tempted to run to the library, and just take Willow on the table but she ruled that out for fear of embarrassing her lover. That's when she came up with the idea to surprise her.

"Surprise me how exactly?" Willow smirked, thinking along the same lines. Her insatiability was well known in her relationship with Fred. The redhead was looking forward to the slayer stamina she was once (albeit not on her own freewill) privy to, only this time from the person she loved.

"Well…I planned on an elegant evening of wining, dining, and sixty-nining." The mock seriousness in Buffy quickly made the two collapse on each other, and giggle endlessly. There was a major blush, heated bodies, and a playful slap but it was all in teasing fun. Actually, the idea didn't sound so bad…

About two hours south of Sunnydale, another new couple was having the opposite problem. Gunn lay next to Fred in her bed. They were both covered, and he looked pleased with himself. However, she just lay there, clutching the blanket to her body, and staring at the ceiling with a look of remorse. When Gunn finally fell asleep from exhaustion, Fred quietly left her bed, grabbed her robe, and left her room. Finding her way downstairs, she found Cordelia talking with Angel.

Doyle had died recently, and it was hard on the former cheerleader. There was actual relationship potential there, and Fred found herself consoling her best friend just as she'd done not that long ago. It seemed that Cordy was okay now, talking to Angel she was actually laughing. She was having visions now, and had confided in her that the headaches were unreal. Angel sniffed the air, and Fred could tell he smelled Gunn on her, and that made her feel dirty and ashamed. Making eye contact, and seeing the grim expression on her face, the vampire nodded, and left her with Cordelia. When he was out of sight, Fred finally broke down, and started sobbing at the end of the stairs. Her friend ran to her, and ushered her into Angel's office, shutting the door behind them.

"What? Fred, are you okay?" Cordy wrapped her arms around her friend, smoothing down her tousled locks. Fred's wails were apparently inconsolable until the tears subsided. "Why do you smell like sex?" That only made things worse, and Fred clutched tighter to Cordelia's blouse. Finally, after several long minutes, the young scientist released her death grip, and collapsed in a chair. "Now, tell me, sweetie… what's wrong?"

"I gathered that much. Now, why do you feel horrible?" Cordelia sat in the chair next to Fred, and placed one hand of comfort on her knee, and the other stroking her hair to keep her calm.

"I was wrong, Cordy. I was sooo wrong. I never should have left her. I wasn't thinking. If I hadn't've left, I wouldn't feel like this, and things would be okay. I would be happy. WE would be happy together, and things would be perfect, and what have I done?" Again, she broke down, and Cordelia just pulled her towards her in a motherly fashion, wondering where in the hell all of this mothering came from lately.

"Shh…it's okay. I know, sweetie. It still hurts but at the time, you were hurting more by staying together. Tell me what brought this on all of a sudden? I thought you and Gunn were doing…"

"Yeah. I tried, Cordy. I did, and I thought sex would make things better…that I would finally… oh, Willow…what have I done?" She just clutched to Cordy again, trying to make sense of it all. After talking it over with Cordelia and Angel, Fred had finally understood what had happened with the crystal was nobody's fault but Spike's, and there was nothing short of destroying the thing that would stop the things from happening. When Angel pointed out that it was Willow's love for her that managed to break the spell long enough to find the crystal to destroy it, Fred felt like a major problem had been lifted, and she had finally completely forgiven the redhead for something that didn't need forgiveness, and she managed to forgive herself for being so stupid, and reacting the way that she had. Cordelia assured her that time heals all wounds but the past month felt horrible. Fred felt worse than she did when she had left Willow sobbing on the ground, and it was all her own fault. She thought that it was because she felt guilty about moving on with Gunn but there was something else, and last night, she woke up with a huge part of herself missing. Okay, a little dramatic, true but it's how she felt…leave her alone! That's what made her jump into bed with Gunn tonight; she wanted to feel something, and that's what came to mind first. That, and the guy was coaxing her to finally do it. She just gave in; problem was that she didn't enjoy it…not at all. In fact, she just lay there motionless, and even emotionless, as he did his business inside her body.

"Sex doesn't always solve problems. I mean…take a look at Angel. He starts making out with Buffy, and they have nothing else to do…relationship is kind of a dead end…" Cordelia stopped to chuckle at her own joke a moment. She was channeling a little Xander, which reminded her to email back later about his problem. That was another issue entirely, though. "Sorry but seriously. They have sex, he loses his soul, and goes around killing all of her friends. You remember that time, I know…"

"I just don't know what to do anymore, Cordelia. I feel like I've ruined everything; I still love her soooo much. I never stopped loving her, and now I'm stuck in a situation I don't want to be in, and I'm sick. I just want Willow to hold me like she used to and tell me everything's going to be fine." There were quiet sobs, as she leaned forward in her chair, burying her head in her hands. Cordelia just moved her own position to rub Fred's back soothingly to calm her down. "I've got to do something about it but I just don't know what."

"Well, why don't you go to bed, get some rest, and we'll talk about this some more in the morning? We're all tired lately, and could use a little vacation." Cordelia watched Fred nod affirmatively, and helped her upstairs. Suddenly, the sobbing girl stopped, remembering the state she left her room.

"Why not?" The panic and pain in Fred's eyes made Cordelia have to look away, and she knew that her best friend needed to go up there, and fix the mess she was in with Gunn at the moment…at least kick him out of the room, but she sympathized, and went to help her.

When they entered the room, they found Gunn awake, walking through the room in his boxers, stretching with a shit-eating grin plastered on his face. When he saw Fred's tear-stained face, he immediately was concerned.

"What's wrong, Fred? Baby? Look at me…" Gunn leant down to her level, and coaxed her face to look at him. She still wouldn't make eye contact. "Did it hurt? Was I too big? I didn't realize…"

"Gunn, maybe you should head home for the night, and talk about this in the morning." Cordelia's face gave him no ultimatum, so he finished getting dressed, wrapped his arms around Fred, kissed her lightly, ignoring the tense reactions, and left the room.

"I feel so awful…" Fred was back to sobbing again, and collapsed on her couch. Cordelia just followed, and it wasn't too long until the two girls fell asleep on the sofa buried around Kleenex piles. Everybody needed some rest, and rest they shall have.

A few more loud nights were had in Sunnydale, and then there were a few eerily quiet ones. There were almost no demons out during those nights, and soon, the gang found themselves up against a group of fairytale monsters known as the Gentleman. Not being able to talk during those few days managed to halt the conversation Buffy and Willow wanted to have with their friends and family about their growing relationship. When their voices returned (thanks to Buffy's passing grade in Screaming 101), the two were just clinging to each other, and let the thought pass completely. They were so enraptured in each other that they didn't realize that the people around them were feeling left out completely.

Willow had met with Tara, and when the shy blonde took her hand in the coffee shop, the redhead stared wide-eyed at the affection. It was a bold move, and not one that she wanted from her new friend. Those touches were reserved for Buffy only. Having to let Tara down was hard to do but luckily she wanted to remain friends. She just needed some time. The shy Wicca really was an amazing, kind-hearted woman, and Willow was happy to tell somebody that she was in a relationship.

Buffy went to meet her in the coffee shop, like they had arranged, and overheard the part where her girlfriend was gushing all about her to her new friend. She had never actually met Tara, and Willow had arranged for them to meet them so that her girlfriend could meet the Wicca. When she felt her insides go to mush again, and heard Willow tell Tara how she really was madly in love but if things were different, she wouldn't hesitate to ask the shy girl out on a real date. The other blonde just nodded and smirked thankfully, and Buffy felt a large pang of jealousy run through her entire system. That's what made her declare to the entire shop that Willow was hers. Without warning, the slayer wrapped her arms firmly around her girlfriend's waist, and planted loving kisses all over her cheek.

"Buffy!" Willow was shocked at the display of affection, and her blush was more than evident. She began to think she was radioactive.

"Hey, my Wills." Buffy put emphasis on the possessive words, and the redhead rolled her eyes at her jealous girlfriend.

"Buffy, this is Tara. Tara, this is my girlfriend Buffy." Willow beamed at the thought of saying 'girlfriend Buffy' to another person. It made her all gooey inside, and she had to wrap her own arms around the ones around her waist, as she turned around to smile at the petite blonde. "You're early. I thought we didn't meet for another ten minutes."

"Well, I was going through Willow withdrawals, and thought I'd come meet your friend." Buffy released her hold on the redhead after another tight squeeze, and shook Tara's hand, who was ducking behind her hair nervously. "Nice to finally meet you, Tara."

"Y-y-yes. N-nice to f-finally m-meet you, too." The buxom blonde tried to hide her heartache but it was too hard once she actually met the beautiful slayer. She never could have competed with the petite girl. Buffy was the complete opposite of Tara. "I…uh. I n-need to g-go."

"Okay, are you sure?" Willow stood up, and followed the girl's movements with her eyes. They were hurried, and Tara was obviously trying to escape. "Are you going to be okay? Why not let us walk you…"

"No!" Tara was embarrassed by her outburst. It was just getting harder and harder to hide the emotional breakdown she was about to have. "No." She sighed, and avoided eye contact, as she clutched her bag to her front. "I-I'll call you w-when I'm r-ready."

"Okay." Willow was sad to see a friendship break like that. Tara was a really great person, and she wanted the Wicca in her life…just not how the buxom girl wanted to be. "Be careful…" Tara just nodded, and went along her way. That's when Willow turned to Buffy with her worried expression.

"I know. We'll follow her home to make sure she's safe." Buffy waited for Willow to grab her bag to her shoulder, and then the two clasped hands tightly, making their way to follow the obviously hurt blonde. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"She's a great friend, Buffy. I had no idea she felt like that. I didn't mean to lead her on… I wasn't even aware that I was…" Willow leaned more into Buffy's side, as the two kept their distance behind Tara.

"Well, you're irresistible. It's hard not to fall for you. Once you fall for Willow, you stay fallen, I believe." Buffy was confident in her tone, and as soon as the other blonde was in her dorm, the two embraced fully on the quad. "You're amazing, do you know that?"

"I don't feel like it right now. I feel like I've lost another great friend and all just because I'm in love with you." Willow sighed, and relaxed more into Buffy's embrace. It was one of her favorite places to be…just being held in her girlfriend's arms.

"Wills, you didn't lose anybody. She said she would call, and she will. I remained your friend, even though I wanted to jump your bones every time you were around…which was a lot." Buffy giggled a bit, and kissed Willow's cheek. "It's torture, and the heartbreak is unreal but you said she was strong, so I'm sure she'll get through this. I've never known you to misjudge a person's character before, and this time is no different."

"What?" Buffy just matched her adoring gaze with one of her own. It was one of those intimate moments, where they were so wrapped up in each other that they didn't care where they were. Luckily for them, it was Sunnydale, so there weren't too many students perusing the campus at night.

"Always make me feel great." Willow's smile was beyond words, and Buffy couldn't help but lean in conspiratorially to whisper playfully in her ear.

"Because you are…" With that, she started kissing the side of Willow's neck lightly. The redhead's eyes rolled in the back of her head when Buffy started sucking and nipping at the flesh behind her ear. They were so lost in each other that they weren't prepared when Buffy was flipped on her back with a stake just barely touching her above the heart.

"Shit, B! I thought you was some vamp out for a snack!" Faith's eyes were wide, and frightened at the fact that she had almost stabbed her sister slayer. She unstraddled Buffy, and tucked her stake back in her back pocket. Helping Buffy off the ground, she turned to smirk at Willow. "Well, I guess you were having a snack, just not the kind I thought."

"Faith…" The warning tone in Buffy's voice didn't bother her, so she continued.

"So… you really liked the slayer lovin' enough to try again, huh, Red?" Faith's cocky smirk was too much, and she didn't react in time to Buffy's fist on her jaw, knocking her back a little. "HEY, blondie!"

"Yeah, well… I thought you were out for a snack." Buffy cocked her hip to the side, and stayed in Slayer pose for a moment, waiting for Faith to stop wiping the blood from her mouth. Relaxing again, she grabbed the handkerchief from her back pocket that she carried for these types of occasions. Handing it to Faith, she was surprised that there was no argument. "Sorry, Faith. It's just… we haven't told anybody about us yet. It's not about the crystal, or 'slayer lovin'.' This is about Willow and me starting a serious relationship, and I'm sorry I hit you."

"Yeah, we're cool. Just… I haven't seen you guys in a while, and neither have the others, actually. Xand-man is kinda startin' to be mopey. I'm tired of dealin' with it. We all thought you just didn't need us anymore…what with being all college chicks and shit. At least now, I know that's not the case." Faith took the handkerchief from her healing split lip, and handed it back to Buffy, who just motioned for her to keep it. "That is the case, right? You still need us?"

"Of course we still need you. How could you think that?" Willow finally spoke. They had planned on 'telling' everybody, not get caught making out in the quad. At least it was Faith, and not Xander. They were really going to have to ease him into the whole situation, especially since he still had a jonesing for Buffy.

"Well, I mean, Red…you guys haven't been around much lately. I'm fine…it's the others that seem a little out of sorts with the whole thing. Do what ya gotta, I say…and looks like you've been doin' just that." The cocky smirk returned, and this time Buffy just rolled her eyes amusedly. "Look, I'm gonna finish patrol. I won't say nothin' to the others. It'll be just between us…for now. You can't keep ignorin' 'em like ya have, or somethin' bad might happen again."

"Like what?" Willow was curious. Faith obviously had something in mind based on the tones in her voice.

"Well, last year…when you and I…well, things were a little out of sorts. Nobody was together on anything; we were all on our own teams. It kinda broke lots of bonds between everybody. I'm just sayin'…look, I don't know what I'm sayin'…just… your secrets safe with me." Faith shrugged, and sighed before gathering her senses back, and heading to finish her patrol. Buffy had already patrolled earlier, so she was officially off duty for the night.

"Interesting, I know." Buffy watched the dark slayer walk away, bounce to her stride, and senses on overdrive. It wasn't like Faith to be cryptic. "You want to head back to the dorm?"

"Yeah, I'd like that." Willow smirked mischievously. All kinds of late night activities came to mind, and when Buffy locked eyes with her… they knew it was going to be another long night.

"What are you so happy about?" Xander questioned Faith, as she was humming along, walking into Giles's flat. The gang, minus Faith who had been patrolling, and Buffy and Willow who were doing who knows what, were all gathered at the Watcher's doing research on the soldier boys that Buffy and Faith had spotted a few times around the campus, bagging demons and vampires instead of dusting, or killing them. Thus far, they had come up empty.

"Well, let's just say I had an informative night." Faith smirked, as she walked over, and plopped herself down onto Giles's couch, throwing her boots unceremoniously onto the coffee table, earning her a glare from the watcher.

"Does it have anything to do with these demon snatchers in army garb?" Xander threw his book down, headache intact, and earned a glare from Giles himself for not treating the ancient tome with the proper care. He didn't pay it much mind.

"No, nothin' along those lines. Let's just leave it at fun times, and move on." Faith relaxed more into the couch, and Anya glared at her when she noticed the smug grin she was casting her way.

"What? We've gone over this more than once already; I'm no longer a demon, so stop staring at me with the intent of killing me." When Faith didn't stop grinning, Anya kept going. "Hey! Stop it!"

"What am I doing?" Faith dared her with her eyes but luckily Xander intervened. It seemed that Faith's favorite sport these days was to get Anya riled up, and paranoid. Xander was always on boyfriend duty long hours afterwards, reassuring Anya that there was nothing wrong with her, and that Faith was just picking on her.

"Okay, ladies. On that note, I think it's time we all head back home. I'm getting nowhere tonight." Xander stood up, and stretched his cramped muscles.

"That's about the truth." Faith snickered, and Xander shot her a warning glare. Unfortunately, Anya took the bait again.

"Hey! I'll have you know that Xander gives great orgasms, and he will most definitely be giving one tonight!" Anya grabbed the young man's hand, and stomped out the door with a huff. Faith only snickered as the two left the apartment.

"I don't know why you insist on urging her into her tirades." Giles finished cleaning his glasses, and sighed before placing them back on his face, and sitting in the armchair next to Faith. "Now, about what you said earlier. Am I to assume that you have found some information regarding something prevalent in our research, or were you merely titillating us for your own pleasure?"

"Interesting choice of words there, G." Faith smirked, and Giles thought back to what he said, again cleaning his glasses in a more flustered manner.

"Yes, well… um… answer the question, please?" He returned his glasses, no worse for wear…yet.

"I can't tell you what exactly but there are some interesting developments that have been happening underneath our noses." Faith smirked again; it seemed the smirk was permanently plastered on her face tonight. She loved knowing something that others didn't. It made her feel like she had power over them.

"Well? Care to elaborate?" He started to clean up the evening's research mess, as he paid complete attention to Faith. In his duties with the younger slayer, he found that he gathered more information from her when she believed he wasn't giving her the third degree. Luckily, his training in the watcher's council had prepared him for such a reaction, since the slayers normally tended to have voracious attitudes. Giles was happy that Buffy was quirkier.

"Can't say what exactly because I don't know all the details…yet." Faith added that; she had every intention of finding out details. "Seems like B and Red have been keepin' things to themselves not because they don't need us but because they're… needin' each other more." The smirk was back in place.

"Hmm… how do you figure?" He started placing the books that were null back into their proper places on his shelves.

"Ran into 'em tonight on patrol. Thought B was a vamp… it's how I got this lovely partin' gift." She motioned towards her already healing split lip, and he turned around to nod his assurance that he had noticed it. "We talked, they explained, and everything's five by five."

"Ah, yes." He nodded once, not really understanding but he was used to the expression by now, and knew that it meant something along the lines of 'okay.' "Tell me, did either of them seem disoriented to you?" Faith had to choke back a laugh, remembering that yes, indeed they were quite disoriented. "Really? How so?"

"Umm…" Faith searched her technical liar's bank for a good explanation without giving too much away to the man. "There was something else on their minds other than slayin' at the moment, which was why B didn't know what hit her when I knocked her down."

"Hmm… that's odd. Buffy is usually quite good at sensing. I'll have to add more exercises in training." Giles looked thoughtful, making a mental note to do as such.

"Well, I'm headed out. Got me a date with some music." Faith stood, and sauntered towards the door.

"Yes, well, anything else I should be aware of from tonight's slaying before you go?" Giles called out to her.

"Ah… nah. There were only about 3 newbies at Restfield, and 2 at Comrey. Other than that, I took out this really nasty guy with shit for brains… and I mean that literally." Faith made a look of disgust, remembering that she needed to shower THAT goo from her new leather jacket as soon as possible.

"Right. Well, I'll see you tomorrow for training then." Giles watched Faith nod and leave, and then he went back to cleaning up from the long night.

"Oh, good. Cordelia emailed me back…finally." Xander quietly announced to Anya, who was currently asleep in his bed. "Let's see…"

Thanks for the condolences. Doyle was a good man. Okay, so he liked to get drunk and party but… he really was a good man. I guess you could say he's like a martyr now…dying for the cause and all. That Anya…she sounds like a handful. How's that coming along? She still driving you crazy with sex?

I found the info you were looking for but it's nothing that's of use. Angel asked around the demon bars and on the streets but so far, there's nothing regarding any soldier types. We'll keep you posted.

You just need to talk to Buffy and Willow. I'm sure they miss you, too. They're not ignoring you. It's overwhelming at times moving away from everything you know. We all miss you up here.

Fred has been dating Gunn this past month or so, like I mentioned (thank you for not saying anything, by the way). Apparently, she's not happy like I thought she was. The other night, she broke down after having sex with him, and she's been staying in her room all day again. I hate all of this. I wish that stupid crystal thing never happened. Her room is full of all the pictures, and I had no idea that she even kept some of Willow's clothes, which are quite hideous. I don't think she's changed out of that ugly pink sweater for like two days now. It's atrocious. I'll keep you posted on that front, too.

I'm glad that Willow seems happier, though. I hope that these two nerds can work something out because I don't know how much more of this ridiculous sobbing I can take. Now, tell me more about this theory that Willow has a new girlfriend? What did you say her name was again…Tara maybe?

We'll figure something out regarding all of our problems soon enough. I know it's not something we can afford in this line of business but…be patient. Things work out eventually.

Xander smiled at that last part. For some reason, even though their relationship never worked out, the two got over their differences, and parted on a good note. They would always be each other's first love. The rest of the email was somewhat hopeful, and it helped to boost his ego a little regarding his feeling left out lately but it wasn't so hopeful on their soldier boy problem. The two had been emailing, or sometimes even calling when Xander found a free minute away from Anya, since she had moved away from Sunnydale. For that, the young man was happy but there were times when he missed the ex-cheerleader, and the many verbal tiffs that they would have. He smiled in reminiscence, as he turned his computer off, and cuddled up next to Anya on the bed.

"Mmm…have I told you how much I love it when you do that?" Buffy was still tingling all over. Yet again, Willow had far outdone herself.

"Well, I aim to please." The redhead beamed, and climbed off of her girlfriend's back, plopping down beside her on the bed. The massage that she had just given Buffy was more for her own pleasure; she just couldn't keep her hands off the blonde.

"Well, pleased I am." Buffy arched an eyebrow, as she hummed huskily in the back of her throat. Leaning over, she captured Willow's lips with her own. "I ran into Dr. Walsh the other day."

"Really? What did she say, 'Ms. Summers, I'm not interested in your excuses. I expect results.'" Willow did her best impression, which must have been decent, since Buffy giggled.

"No, nothing like that. More like she knew I was the slayer." Buffy said that last part with a little worry in her tone, which Willow caught immediately.

"How?" They laid on their sides, facing each other, and wrapping their arms loosely around pajama clad waists.

"Well, she just took me into her office, and explained that she had somebody confirm I dusted a vampire. I was trying to do my cover up but the women's glare…" Buffy shivered in memory of the woman's expression.

"I remember." Willow added a small shiver of her own. "Why did she tell you, though? Something doesn't make sense."

"I know it doesn't, or, well…didn't. She wants to study me." Buffy had been thinking a lot about the proposition, and waited until she had thought things through thoroughly before telling her lover.

"Study you? Like…test stuff study you?" Willow knew it was wishful thinking that it was all a joke but it was the Hellmouth. These things weren't funny.

"No… although, if she's ever asked my opinion on dummies, she knows the answer." Buffy shrugged.

"They give you the wiggins." Willow beamed, proud to know the answer. Her reward was a loving smile, and a quick peck on the lips. "Mmm…much better than a gold star."

"I agree. I might just have to test you later, and see how many gold stars you can earn…" The suggestive tone, and Buffy's leer made Willow's heart beat a little faster, and her eyes dilated.

"Uhh…" She snapped out of her daze, moving her gaze from Buffy's inviting lips. "Walsh! We were talking about Dr. Walsh, and how she wants to make you a lab rat."

"I'm not sure lab rat is the right term, though. She wants to know how I work." Buffy turned around to lie on her back. Willow just followed, turning around on her stomach, propping up on her elbows, and leaning over the blonde.

"Well, I could tell her that." The sexy tone was more fuel to the fire, and it was Buffy's turn to breathe faster.

"Not exactly what she meant…I don't think. If so, then…eww…" Buffy shivered again, not a pretty mental picture.

"Well, what did she say exactly? She wants to study your blood, or maybe endurance?" Willow was still unsure but something sounded fishy. She could also tell from the way Buffy presented the scenario that the blonde was seriously thinking about taking the psychiatrist up on her offer. The redhead knew she had to be wary, super best friend, and loving, supportive girlfriend but that didn't mean she had to let Buffy go into something dangerous.

"Um, I'm not sure exactly. It was all a bunch of medical crap that I didn't understand. From what I gathered, she wants to study what makes a slayer a slayer." Buffy turned her eyes, locking her gaze with Willow's worried ones. "Truth is… that's something I'd like to know myself."

"I know you do but are you sure it's entirely safe?" Willow started running her fingertips through the blonde locks splayed out beside her.

"She said it'd be controlled, whatever that means, and that their number one priority was my safety. I think this is a good opportunity, Wills. She's a world-renowned scientist." Buffy smiled over at Willow again, remembering how excited the redhead was when she explained the good doctor's credibility. "I want to know. Giles and the council only know the why … I want to know the how and what. I feel like doing this will finally give me insight into what a slayer truly is… what my limits are, how far I can actually jump, just how many grown men I can lift, and bruise their egos…" Willow giggled with her on that one.

"It sounds like you've already made up your mind." The redhead was still wary but knew that once Buffy decided something, it was decided.

"I did but I wanted your opinion. I won't do this if you don't think it's safe." Buffy bit her lip, waiting for the redhead to answer the question. After several seconds of obvious internal babble, her girlfriend finally spoke.

"If you think you'll find answers, then I'm behind you 100% but that doesn't mean I think it's safe. We just don't know enough about this, or what her true intentions actually are. Don't rush into something that you think will cause more problems." Willow kept her feelings known from the expressions that donned her face. Buffy loved that her girlfriend was so protective of her, and completed her in so many ways. Where she was irrational, Willow was rational. Where she was physically strong, Willow was mentally strong. They just fit together, snapped together like Legos.

"Will you be with me? If I do this, will you stay with me when it happens…whatever IT is?" Buffy knew she sounded like a pleading child but she also didn't want to go this trial alone. She needed her Willow.

"Of course. Even if you didn't want me there, I would be there anyways. You can't get rid of me, Slayer." Willow beamed down over Buffy, and was not at all surprised by the gentle kiss that thanked her.

"Alright. Good…I was hoping you'd say that because I really don't like hospitals, and I'm afraid this is going to be like that."

"I remember." Willow smiled sadly; remembering the time Buffy had the fever, and had to kill that invisible monster that sucked children's souls for food.

"I know you do." Buffy smiled at her again, and gave her another gentle kiss. Wrapping her arms around Willow's back, she urged her to lay down with her, which she found no resistance. The two just lie there on top of the covers until Willow finally yawned. That test full of fun prizes would have to wait for another day. "I love you, Willow."

"I love you, too." Willow let Buffy move them under the covers, and lean over to turn the desk lamp off before they cuddled in for the night, and just enjoyed the warmth and comfort. It was the calm before the storm but they had every means to take full advantage and appreciation of it.

"Faith, for the last time, we're late for an appointment. Can you wait until later to drill us about our sex life?" Buffy was getting frustrated. For the fifth time in two weeks, Faith was trying to coax answers from the blonde. Not only did she find it frustrating, so did Willow, who was sending an unhealthy glare towards the darker slayer. She'd given up on blushing, and went straight to glaring. However, Faith was not giving in; the girl wanted the scoop but they weren't budging an inch.

"She'll see you later on patrol." Willow gripped Buffy's hand a little tighter, indicating that they needed to move a little faster if they were going to get to the Psych building on time. When she got back from her last class, Willow was bombarded with excited kisses. Buffy'd been nervous, and wasn't sure she could go through with the appointment she'd set up with Dr. Walsh. However, the redhead calmed her down the best way she knew how…(get your mind out of the gutter, they only had ten minutes to get there), so she accepted the kisses, and showered a few of her own upon her girlfriend. As soon as they stepped out of Stevenson Hall, Faith caught up with them. Willow decided that they really did need to find Faith something better to do during the day.

"Alright but I expect answers, blondie! None of this beatin' around the bush bullshit this time." Faith pointed a finger at them, not even breaking into a sweat, as they almost ran to the building.

"Fine. I'll answer SOME of your questions but we really are late. I'll see you tonight at home. Mom's making pot roast?" Buffy stopped when they got to the front of the building. If she timed the conversation, and extra travel time, then they had approximately 12 seconds to talk to Faith before moving again.

"Yeah. Ms. S said somethin' about a roast and potatoes. Said to invite Willow, too." Faith nodded her head towards the redhead.

"Okay. We'll see you tonight, then. Bye, Faith." Buffy waved, and pulled her girlfriend into the building with 5 seconds to spare before they were officially late for their appointment. Knocking on the door, she let Willow catch her breath for a second.

"Come in." Dr. Walsh was standing there, medical coat and stethoscope at the ready. When the girls walked in, she jotted something down on her clipboard, and moved to close and lock her door. After their first talk about the testing, Buffy and Willow had several more, until they decided that it wouldn't hurt anything to at least check it out. If anything, it was possible reconnaissance for a potential danger, since their former professor knew what a slayer was already. "Are you ready, Ms. Summer?"

"As I'll ever be." She let out an uncomfortable chuckle, and gripped Willow's hand tighter for some added comfort. The redhead just squeezed in compliance.

"This way then." Dr. Walsh motioned towards a wall in that back of her office, and the girls looked at each other, both thinking the woman had truly lost her mind. When the wall opened, and an elevator appeared, they wondered what exactly they had gotten themselves into this time. "First off, I have to go over some basic procedures." The two girls just nodded, feeling as though they were walking into Dante's inferno, ready to descend to Hell in a hidden elevator. "We're part of a government agency, whose main objective is to capture and study Hostile Sub terrestrials or HST for short. We're called the Initiative, and we strive to understand the ways these HSTs work, and have even discovered ways to…"

"Neuter vampires." Buffy interrupted the doctor, and it was obvious she was annoyed by the interruption. It took a second listening to the scientist's spill but the slayer put two and two together. She looked over at her girlfriend, who had the same look of epiphany on her face.

"You always did interrupt me in class. I don't know why I would think it different in common conversation." Dr. Walsh had a hint of a smile but wouldn't let it grow fully. She really liked the blonde. "Anyways, here are your visitor's passes." She handed them both plastic badges with clips, and both proceeded to clip them to their shirts. The elevator door opens again, and they walk out onto a catwalk that overlooks the main chamber, where several people are walking around in lab coats and fatigues. The two girls scan the large, hangar-like area, and notice the huge swimming pool size cutout that leads to a place full of demons strapped to surgical tables, and people doing tests on them. Buffy turns her panicked eyes towards her girlfriend.

"This is…huge." Willow was concerned about what she saw, too. There was a whole other life in Sunnydale that captured monsters, and it was a big possibility that they had just become the monsters.

"Yeah. Yes, it's very…clean." Buffy wasn't sure what to say. She was the slayer; this huge government conspiracy should not have gone undetected in HER town.

"I've assembled some reading material to bring you up to speed." She handed the slayer a small stack of papers. Buffy immediately handed them to Willow, and the redhead started skimming them.

"Oh, and I thought I was never going to get homework from you again." Buffy was still a little shaken by the whole thing.

"You can't take that home. That's classified material. Highly sensitive. When you're through reading those pages, you'll have to eat them." She kept her demeanor, although inside she was chuckling at her little quip.

"Huh?" Willow looked up from her scanning, looked back down at the papers, then back to the professor.

"I'm joking." She grins, and leads them forward. "Don't worry; it doesn't happen often." They come to the stairs, and she motions for them to descend. "Shall we?" And they do. They continue to follow her, and stop when she does at the large hole in the ground. "Much of our hands-on research on the HSTs is performed here. We call this 'the Pit.'"

"And what do you call those?" Buffy pointed down, where two squid-like demons were being poked and prodded.

"Tough. It took our Alpha Squad 8 men to bring those two down but we'll have them under our control soon enough." She looks down towards a specific person. "Dr. Angelman!" A man in a lab coat looks up to acknowledge her with a nod, and returns to his conversation. "Head of our science team. He's a leader in the field of xenomorphic behavioral modification."

"Behavior modification?" Buffy was perplexed. Willow was still concentrating on the papers, allowing her girlfriend to lead her way by their entwined hands. She would glance up occasionally to listen to Dr. Walsh explain things, like now.

"We've made significant advances in reconditioning the sub terrestrials; bringing them to a point where they no longer pose a threat." Dr. Walsh kept them moving.

"So I've seen…" Buffy said under her breath but the scientist heard, so she had to cover quickly.

"…on the Discovery Channel. With gorillas and sharks. They…they made them all nice. You haven't seen it?" Buffy knew it sounded lame but at least they were moving again, even though it was obvious Dr. Walsh didn't buy it. "What's over there?" She points to a weapons cage that was guarded by a chain link fence, and starts walking towards it curiously, dragging her lover along.

"The armory. You'll have to be cleared for use on each of these weapons." Dr. Walsh leads the way again, and they come to a small area with table and monitors. Buffy walks away again, her attention lost on the scientist. It felt like she was in class again, and she was already being snoopy. Picking up a small device, she starts studying it curiously. She looks at it and the monitors behind her show a close up of her eye. Dr. Walsh is still facing the armory. "The more advance arsenal can be complicated but I'm certain you'll pick that up." She turns around, noticing what Buffy is doing finally, and moves towards the girls. Willow is trying to suppress a chuckle when she sees the monitor. "Don't pick that up." The scientist takes the device from her, and places it back on the table.

"About 20 thousand dollars." Getting the desired reaction from the two girls backing away from the table, Dr. Walsh pressed on further. "It's a prototype for a com-cam." She points to the monitors behind her, and Willow releases a small giggle. "Communications camera; soon to be standard issue. Gives the soldiers a direct comlink to Control when they're out in the field; also monitors the heart rate of the wearer. A valuable tool for research in stress in combat condition. If you'll follow me, I'll show you the HST containment area."

The girls followed the scientist, eyes wide in amazement. The place was surreal, and Buffy even recognized a few demons from earlier encounters from either their breed, or one or two that had managed to run away before she struck the final blow. When the tour was finally ended, Dr. Walsh had them in the main chamber again.

"What's in there?" Buffy pointed to a metal security door, where a man in a lab coat uses an ID card to enter. Dr. Walsh turns around to see, and turns back to the girls. By now, Willow was finished reading the material thoroughly, and was clutching the papers to her side.

"Research area. Very restricted for security reasons." She hands the girls two cards and beepers. "Here are your security cards and pagers."

"We're the only ones with the number, and it stays that way." She gave the girls her patented glare, and from the shivers they made, Dr. Walsh knew that they would follow the rules. They nodded. "Lose either one of those and there's hell to pay, and down here, we mean that literally."

"Well, thanks for the tour." Willow smiled sheepishly, not sure what to expect now.

"Thank you for the opportunity to study a slayer." She motioned for them to follow her towards the restricted research area. "If you'll follow me, we'll get started." The two girls nodded, and followed her into unknown territory.

"Well, that was certainly interesting." Buffy plopped down on her bed with an audible bounce when her body hit. Willow just smiled at her, glad that it wasn't extremely dangerous…yet. She shut the door, and turned the table lamp on to give the room some dim light. After the bright lights in the Initiative, their eyes wanted some cool-down time.

"Well, that was certainly interesting." Buffy smiled, and Willow turned around to give her a mock admonishing glare. Then, she chuckled. The redhead kicked her shoes off, and placed them in her closet before joining her girlfriend on the bed.

"At least you came out in one piece; that's a plus in my book." Willow cuddled next to her lover, and started absent-mindedly twirling her fingers around Buffy's sweatshirt strings.

"A definite plus." Buffy looked down at the redhead, and smiled. The tests were rather simple. After giving a few blood and urine samples (which were a little embarrassing but she was glad for the bathroom break), her vitals were tested: heart rate, blood pressure, etc. It was like the physicals she'd get before cheerleading started; only they went more in depth. After some minor tests, such as running on a treadmill on heart monitors, and lifting weights on a few machines, it was easy. They pitted her up against a single vampire that was still young and hadn't been in the behavioral modification program; there were soldiers standing by with taser rifles, too but just for safety caution. Afterwards, more blood and urine, and more vitals were taken. Willow was by her side the entire time; she was even allowed to stand on the side of the small training arena where Buffy fought the vampire. They were down in the Initiative for a total of 6 hours, and they were more than exhausted.

"About how amazing you are, and how I can't believe this, us is really happening." Buffy's tone was sincere, and held a definite affinity to awe.

"Buffy…" Willow shifted slightly, and her entire body blushed. "I meant with the testing."

"I know but you're just what I'm always thinking about…" Buffy kissed the crown of Willow's head, and rested her arms around the redhead in a snuggled hold. "I want thinking about how easy it seemed. I mean, I know that's not all of the tests, and that I've just committed myself to something that could be a potential threat but I can't help but feel I've accomplished something, and not just for myself but for future slayers."

"After reading those papers, if she'd handed me a pen to sign my name, it would've felt like a scene in 'Doctor Faustus.'" Willow grumbled slightly.

"Dr. Who?" Buffy pondered for a moment. "Oh, the guy who signed away his soul to the devil. I remember that; I actually read half of it by myself." She beamed slightly, and Willow chuckled. "I know what you mean, though."

"I just don't want you to put the cart before the horse, Buffy. There's still too much we don't know about the Initiative. I mean, up until 6 hours ago, we didn't even know it existed." Willow leaned up on her elbow, causing Buffy to loosen her grip.

"And now we're card carrying members. I know, Will." Buffy motioned for her to snuggle again. "Besides, you're there with me, so if I do something crazy, you'll help me."

"Always." Willow acquiesced to the request, and snuggled again. She held her girlfriend's side this time, though, instead of playing with her sweatshirt strings. A few minutes of quiet contemplation passed, with Buffy just running her fingers through Willow's auburn locks, and Willow humming in approval. Then, Buffy looked at the clock, and a sudden thought caused her to jump out of bed without warning, smacking the redhead in the mouth in the process. When she realized what she'd done, she immediately went into apologetic, concerned girlfriend mode, and dabbed the blood from where Willow bit her lower lip.

"I'm sorry, Wills. I didn't mean to hit you, honestly." Buffy was panicking; she'd been careless.

"It's okay, Buffy. You didn't hurt me on purpose; you never would." Willow just smiled at her lover, and kissed her lightly, the coppery taste of her blood evident on her lips.

"I'm still sorry." She dabbed the blood one more time, and smiled sheepishly in apology. "I just looked at the clock, and noticed that I completely forgot patrol with Faith tonight. She and Giles are going to kill me." Buffy stood up, and threw the tissue away in the small trashcan. Willow just stood up, and wrapped her arms around her worried lover's waist.

"It's okay. Faith's been late or missed tons of times before; you're allowed to miss. Besides, it's not like you forgot really; you were just preoccupied." Willow pulled her back over to the bed. "That reminds me."

"What reminds you?" Buffy sat down, and pulled Willow onto her lap. The redhead straddled her hips, and wrapped her arms around the blonde's neck.

"What are we going to tell Giles? I mean, we have to tell him something." Willow kissed Buffy's neck slowly.

"Well, are you ready to tell them about us? I don't mind; it's just that I like having you all to myself. I'm liking this selfish bit." Buffy closed her eyes halfway, enjoying the attention she was getting.

"I mean about the Initiative. We've obviously discovered our soldier boy threat; we're just not sure if it's a threat now, or what?" Willow continued her slow, tantalizing kisses.

"Well, yeah. Dr. Walsh said that we weren't to tell anybody about their operation but it's the gang, you know?" Buffy wrapped her own arms around Willow's back, and made a trail up her back to her shoulders, where she played with the short red locks.

"I know. I don't like keeping secrets from Xander." Willow started a trail up Buffy's neck to the sensitive spot behind her ear. It earned her a deep-throated moan; she grinned cockily. That spot always worked charms on the blonde. "I understand the 'us' secret, and I like being selfish, too but they're over there researching nonstop, trying to find information on the soldiers, and here we have firsthand knowledge. We've been to their base of operations, and met their coordinators."

"I know. I've never let Faith down before, and I hate this feeling." Buffy moved one hand to Willow's head, urging her forward but the redhead stopped, and looked at her with a panicked expression. It dawned on Buffy how what she just said must have sounded. "No, not that. I definitely liked the way that was feeling. I meant I hate the way standing up Faith, letting her down makes me feel. Please continue with what you were doing."

"I think that can be arranged." Willow did as she was asked, and made a trail of hot, wet kisses along Buffy's jaw line, earning her more low moans from the slayer.

"I should call Giles, and mom." Buffy just enjoyed the feeling of Willow's kisses again for another few seconds before she tensed again, and stopped the redhead. "Oh, no! Mom!" She rushed to the phone, and dialed home. After the third ring, her mother answered, somewhat out of breath.

"Mom?" Buffy tentatively replied. She sat down on the bed, and Willow cradled her legs behind her. The blonde placed the receiver in position where they both could hear.

"Buffy, thank God. Where are you? What's happened? Where's Willow? Is everything okay? Have you been attacked?" Joyce was shooting out questions feverishly, and the slayer needed to stop her worried mother fast before she blew a gasket.

"Mom, mom!" Finally, her mother stopped. "We're okay. Willow's with me; we're at the dorm. We got held up here on campus." She looked over at her girlfriend, who nodded her assurance. "There's nothing to worry about; we're both fine. I'm sorry we missed dinner. Mom roast beast sounded great." She looked over at Willow, and saw her tongue sticking out slightly at the side. "Willow agrees; she even has her yummy face on right now."

"Thank goodness. We were all worried. Rupert was calling every ten minutes, and Faith came back early, thinking that you would be here. I'm so glad you're both okay." Joyce sounded relieved, and that made Buffy relax slightly. "What happened?" Now came the tough questions.

"We just got held up here at school. We were working on a…" She looked over at Willow, and narrowed her eyes in concentration. Buffy hated lying to her mom but she didn't want to breach the trust Dr. Walsh gave them. "…project for extra curricular. It lasted longer than we thought, and we just got back to the room about twenty-five minutes ago. We would've called then but we needed to sit down for a minute, and collect our thoughts."

"As long as you're both okay. A mother worries about these things, you know." Joyce let out a deep breath. "When Faith came home, she was unusually quiet and detached. Now I know why; time for a motherly chat."

"Don't press too hard, or she won't talk." Buffy didn't want her sister slayer to lose trust in her. "Actually, let me talk to her for a minute."

"Sure, Buffy. Hold on a second." Joyce called up to the dark slayer to pick up the phone, and seconds later, there was a gruffy voice on the other line, and a click indicating that the older Summers woman had hung up her end.

"Did I wake you?" She decided on the straight approach. There was sense in beating around the bush. "I'm sorry I couldn't make it tonight. We were held up on campus; actually, I would've liked to patrol with you again. It feels like forever since I have; synchronized slaying." She chuckled under her breath, hoping to lose some tension but it didn't work. "How about I come help tomorrow night? I know it's my night off, and all but I'd like to hang out, maybe afterwards we could grab some coffee?"

"You hittin' on me, Blondie? I thought you and Red…" Faith was coming back to herself. It was obvious in her playful tone.

"We are. I meant that in a purely platonic way. Maybe the whole gang can get together after patrol; Bronze it?" Buffy had a hopeful tone. She and Willow hadn't seen Xander in a couple of days, only talked to him over the phone at night before bedtime. It hurt Willow, she could tell but she helped her come out of that depression quick with lots of smoochies and cuddling.

"Yeah, sure. I'll see if they're up to it tomorrow afternoon at Giles's. We're still on the soldier boys; they're givin' us a helluva time, that's for sure." Faith must've missed the quiet wince the girls gave. "Anyways, Cordy's emailed Xan, and the LA crew hasn't found nothin', neither. We're zero and O on this one, B. What about your front?"

"Um…" There was hesitation. That was dangerous because Faith was really good at reading her. "We've mostly been focused on school work and well…"

"Yo, it's cool. I get it. Red's comin' down from the whole Fred deal, and you guys are tryin' to…do whatever it is you're doin', which by the way, we're still havin' the talk." Faith had that tone of voice that told Buffy the other girl would press until she got some answers. At least it felt good to tell 'somebody' that she was with Willow. She hoped that they would be comfortable enough to tell the others. Xander was going to be really difficult because they were trying to ease him into the whole ordeal. A sudden thought struck Buffy, and she decided to mention it to her girlfriend after they finished the phone conversations needed for the night.

"Are we alright?" She sounded vulnerable. Buffy hated being vulnerable, especially to Faith.

"I need to call Giles; let him know we're okay. I'll see you tomorrow on patrol. Restfield at 9?" Buffy was eager to finish. Willow had started rubbing tiny circles on her stomach absent-mindedly but it was causing her slayer libido to rise tremendously.

"Yeah, that's my plan. See ya, B." With that, they hung up, and Buffy dialed Giles's phone. After one ring, the watcher answered in his clipped British tones that indicated his worry and anger.

"Giles?" She was tentative. There was no telling what was to come; it was either a lecture, or a 'dear lord.'

"Dear lord, Buffy. Where have you been? We've been trying to call you for hours, and Faith said you missed your patrol with her. That's not like you to miss. Is something wrong? Has something happened? Where's Willow?" Dear lord it was, then.

"Calm down, Giles. Everything is okay. Willow and I just got detained here on campus doing some extra-curricular work, and we lost track of time." Buffy needed this conversation to be short. Willow had started kissing her shoulder again, and was exceptionally close to her pulse point. If Giles heard her growl deep in her throat, or moan even, there was no telling how the banter would go from there.

"Thank goodness." He let out a deep breath. "What in the world were you two doing that caused you to miss your patrol?"

"We were with Dr. Walsh doing some Psych studies. It's not a big deal." She shrugged, knowing that it really was a big deal. Her breathing was starting to pick up, and she knew her girlfriend was doing this on purpose. She narrowed her eyes, thinking of a revenge plot.

"Yes, well. Next time, could you inform us of your plans? That way we can schedule accordingly, and Faith won't be left unattended." He was starting to go into lecture mode. She needed to diffuse the situation fast.

"She's a big girl now; I'm sure she handled things fine." Just a few more centimeters, and Giles would be cleaning his glasses feverishly on the other end of the line; that she knew for sure, since Willow had started nipping and sucking her way to that one spot that made her weak in the knees, especially when the redhead was there.

"That's beside the point, Buffy, and you know it. If you would come around more often, then we could get further on this soldier business. Have you any information to relay, or are you too busy with that blasted woman to bother with your duties as the slayer?" Giles was getting angry, and she was getting horny. This was not a good combination.

"Look, Giles. Dr. Walsh isn't all that bad, and I'm not ignoring my duties. You have nothing to worry about but Willow and I need to get off the phone." She was having a hard time suppressing her moan but her eyes were rolling back in her head, and Willow's hands started to knead her breasts outside of her UCSD sweatshirt.

"That's fine but I expect you to forego your duties more seriously, Buffy. I did attend university in the Mesozoic era. I do remember what it's like, and I know the thrall it has over a person. I just don't want you to forget your sacred duty." He was in full Watcher mode.

"Yeah." Her voice turned husky, since Willow had started sucking on her pulse point. "I mean, I'm not forgetting. I'm still patrolling on schedule. It was one night, Giles. Faith's missed before, and you don't drill her."

"Yes but I expect more from you." She could hear the disappointment in his voice, and she let out a deep breath of regret. Buffy hated to disappoint Giles.

"Okay, Giles. I'm sorry." That's when Willow started making her way under Buffy's sweatshirt, and skin contacted skin. "Look, it's late, and we have class in the morning. Talk to you tomorrow." She hung up without saying goodbye, or acknowledging the fact that it was Saturday, and there definitely weren't any classes. Buffy tackled Willow to the bed, and stripped them quickly, needing to feel that skin on skin. Their moans and sounds of ecstasy filled the room, and in an underground lab, Dr. Walsh watched them on her monitor, taking notes on every single thing she could on the slayer. She wouldn't admit to actually enjoying the show, instead chalking it up to scientific research. It never hurts to enjoy what one does for a living.

The Bronze was a blast. It was good to see old friends but once again, Buffy and Willow were late, and Anya was uncomfortable around the new boys in the group. Nobody was sure how to take Riley, Graham, and Forrest quite yet, especially Anya; she just got a weird vibe from them that she didn't like. As soon as the new arrivals got drinks, their beepers went off, and they had to make excuses to leave. Faith eyed them curiously, wondering exactly what was up; as far as she knew, neither Buffy nor Willow even had a pager.

During patrol earlier that night, they had bonded like old times. They were playful, and took out demons and vamps left and right with synchronicity. When they were waiting around for a fresh grave to break, Faith started the drill.

"So, you and Red, huh?" Faith was flipping the stake in the air, and catching it with ease.

"Yep. Me and Willow." Buffy's sappy grin was heartfelt but Faith still rolled her eyes in amusement.

"When did that happen?" She started juggling three stakes, and Buffy smirked at the display of boredom.

"Almost two months ago." Buffy just leaned against the tombstone, and watched for signs of the vampire to crawl from his grave.

"How does it feel?" Faith stopped juggling her stakes, and plopped down with an audible thump against an adjacent headstone.

"Amazing…beautiful…exhilarating…" Buffy was on cloud nine. Willow's last class was cancelled that day, and she was at the dorm sooner than usual, so they had time for some naked fun before Buffy took off for patrol with Faith. The blonde knew that the brunette could smell her girlfriend all over her, since they cut it right to the minute, giving her no time to shower.

"I get the point." Faith tossed a stake at her, blunt end forward. No need to stake your own people.

"I don't know, Faith. It's like…everyday we're together, we grow stronger. I know she still has a slight harboring for Fred but none of that comes between us; it's like it never happened. None of that crystal business happened; we're just Buffy and Willow, totally in love, no holds barred." She sighed longingly, already feeling the familiar stirrings again after only an hour. Willow was like her drug of choice, and she had no intentions to ever attend a Willow Anonymous meeting.

"I gotcha. I mean, I've never really been like that; relationships aren't my thing but I getcha. It's easy to love Red…don't tell nobody I said that, though, or I'll kick your ass, Blondie." Faith gave a scowl, and pointed her finger for added emphasis.

"Aw…Faithy…" Buffy chuckled, and took the light back tap on her shoulder that Faith let fly. "I've been in love with her for some time, even before the crystal was an issue. Loving Willow is the easiest and hardest thing I've ever done in my life."

"Why the hardest?" The ground started to budge, alerting them that the newbie was trying to escape its grave.

"It scares me that I'm making her an even bigger target for the baddies because I love her. She's my Achilles heel." Buffy stood up, and dusted the dirt from her butt, gripping her stake with one hand; Faith mirrored her actions.

"Huh?" Faith bounced from foot to foot, excited that there would be some release of energy. She loved this part.

"My weakness. If anything ever happened to her…I don't know. I know it sounds melodramatic but I don't think I could go on, fighting the good fight every night." Buffy stretched her arms above her head. They could sense a group of three vamps walking a few yards behind them but knew that the vamps didn't sense them…yet. "I would just…shut down. She's my reason for fighting, not all of humanity, although that's a plus. Having the weight of the world on your shoulders doesn't seem worth it if I can't protect the one person that means more to me than my own life."

"Wow, B…that was sorta poetic, or some shit like that." Faith pulled the vamp the rest of the way from the ground, and didn't even bother prolonging the fight. The other vamp threat needed more attention, since the two slayers could tell the three were older, which meant they would exchange blows better. Buffy allowed her to stake him, knowing that the brunette loved the fight.

"Yeah, well…it's the truth. Sometimes…sometimes I think that I would shirk my calling if it weren't for Willow." They started creeping up behind the other vamps, hiding behind larger headstones, and studying what they were doing. Apparently, the three vamps were planning a night at the Bronze themselves. Unfortunately, the slayers were there to ruin their plans. After playing a little, just for fun, the girls dusted them with gracefulness that belayed their primal nature.

"I really love her, Faith. I mean…REALLY love her. It's not that silly puppy love; this is a lifelong deal, and it makes me want to be the best slayer I can, so that I can come home every night to her. Everybody knows that slayers have short life expectancies but I want to change that, and I want you to do it with me." Buffy's eyes widened when she saw the sexual innuendo in her own comment that was causing Faith to smirk. "Work at living longer, I mean."

"I gotcha, B. No harm no foul." Faith sent her head back, and cracked her neck to relieve some tension in her collarbone. "I'm with ya. Let's make slayer history…not that we already aren't because there's two of us and all but you know what I mean…"

"Yeah, I gotcha, Faith." Buffy smirked, and the two girls took off to get ready for some Bronzing. The blonde picked up Willow, who was dressed comfortably but absolutely gorgeous (not that she wouldn't look gorgeous in anything she wore). They actually had to take time out to relieve Buffy of some of that 'hungry and horny' bit that Faith was always raving about after they patrolled. The redhead never did have any problems acquiescing to this simple fact…one that she enjoyed quite immensely.

Fred had FINALLY come out of her room, and had FINALLY taken off Willow's hideous pink fluffy sweat. Cordelia was elated, and managed to drag the girl to Caritas. After several drinks, Fred was somewhat slurring her speech, and nearly toppling out of her chair. Cordy mentally scolded herself for not paying more attention to how many drinks the girl consumed. Looking at the two empty glasses, and the one half filled, she realized that it apparently didn't take much. The young student was currently talking to a blue-skinned demon that seemed more interested in her cleavage than Fred herself. Cordy sidled up on the barstool next to her, and caught the end of their conversation.

"It's like something out of Fitzgerald: the man who can have everything but love. Well, maybe in some ways you're better off because love is…well, in a way it's everything. But it's also heartache and disappointment, and those things are good to avoid." In her inebriated state, she was barely aware of anything happening.

"Fred, I think it's time we headed home." Cordy tugged at her, and grabbed their jackets. The other girl made no movement to protest, and just followed her friend all the way back to the Hyperion. Getting there, Cordy helped her best friend get to the bed. Halfway up the stairs, she'd started crying again, and it was unnerving. Tomorrow, the former cheerleader had every intention of helping Fred out of her funk, and possibly move on from Willow.

"What do you want to do today?" Buffy stretched her muscles out across her bed, and watched Willow put her things away from class. After finishing her own classes, the blonde had met her girlfriend for lunch, then came back to sneak in a nap before Willow got back from her final class.

"I have an idea but I'm not sure if you'll like it." Willow placed her philosophy book on her desk, and turned back around to the blonde with a sheepish grin.

"I'm sure I'll like it. There's nothing I wouldn't like if you were there." Buffy got out of her bed with one final stretch, and moved to embrace the redhead. "Now, what is it you have planned?"

"Well…I was thinking that maybe…" Willow knew this was a big step in their relationship. They'd been together three months, and things were beyond perfect. However, she wanted to make it even more perfect if possible. Unfortunately, segueing Xander into them as a couple was harder than they originally thought, and it was taking too much time. Time they could spend doing couply things, even though they did those to an abundance; not that either was complaining. As their relationship progressed, Xander regressed further into bliss. The only person that knew in their group was Faith, and the dark slayer liked to egg them on during research at Giles's, making off-hand comments about them that were clean but full of innuendoes. Anya immediately would snap up the innuendoes, and think that they were directed at her and Xander instead, so it was safe but not progressive in their 'coming out' together, even though everybody knew their sexual preference status already. It was just the Xander issue; they knew it would break his heart, and neither wanted that, either.

"Come on, Wills…" Buffy kept them in a loose embrace, sliding her arms down around the redhead's waist.

"Okay, this sounds silly but do you think that maybe we could move the beds together, and make one big one? I mean, we don't have to if you don't want but I thought it'd be nice, and we wouldn't argue about which bed to use at night, and we could go shop for a bigger…" Willow was cut mid-babble by Buffy's soft lips. "I'll take that as a good sign?" Her little kid, hopeful voice made the blonde smile warmly.

"It's an 'oh-my-god' yes." Buffy pulled them together tighter, and squeezed Willow's ass playfully, which elicited a slight squeak from the redhead. "I was just thinking about shopping, as per usual."

"There's an Arden B in the new mall." Willow chirped up; turns out her idea wasn't that crazy. Buffy's awe-struck, excited expression and body language told her that.

"I'm having a wicked shoe craving." Buffy leaned forward, and kissed Willow sweetly on the mouth.

"I thought we put you on the patch." Willow arches an eyebrow in mock admonishment, and her playful quip gets her a playful wiggle.

"Those never work." Buffy was grins and giggles, as the girls gathered their purses, and made their way hand in hand downtown to the new mall. Once there, Buffy went on a super high, as she bought a few new pairs of shoes, and Willow bought a new pair of orange sneakers. Bags in one hand, and the others entwined together, the girls made their way from the shoe store. "Where to next?"

"I was thinking we could maybe shop for a comforter now?" Willow beamed, walking with a bounce to her step. They walked into the closest designer store, and started talking about color schemes, decorative pillows, and sheets. Walking through a few more stores (with a short break for mochas), the girls finally decided on a nice navy down comforter, a few matching decorative pillows, and new maroon 700 thread count Egyptian cotton sheets. In conclusion, a paradise between sheets was in the making. "Hey, do you want to make out in public?" Willow had her excited face on that Buffy never could ignore.

"Where did that sudden burst of sultriness appear from?" Buffy moved her body out from being directly beside Willow's, and using their clasped hands, swung herself back in before kissing the redhead briefly on the cheek.

"Last time I checked, that's not making out…unless I'm doing it wrong." Willow raised her eyebrow, and smirked at her girlfriend's cuteness.

"No, you have it mastered." Buffy grinned smugly, looking up between batted lashes.

"Darn tooting'! You're not the only super hero in this one Starbucks town. Just call me Master…err, Mistress Make Out, wronging bad kissers and saving good ones." Willow beamed. For some reason, her usual cloud nine emotions were tripled. Just being near Buffy had something to do with that but mostly it was because she was WITH Buffy. They were an 'us.'

"Well, as long as you're not the one doing the kissing, then I guesses that's fine." Buffy again leaned over, and this time captured her lips in a tender, lingering kiss. Since they were still walking, they had to end the kiss, or risk running into somebody, or something. It wasn't on their 'to do list' for the day, so they just started their walk back to their dorm. On the way there, they would stop briefly for some smooches, and that's how they were found by Buffy's mother, who was driving by at the exact moment that Willow allowed the blonde's tongue entrance into her mouth. They were surrounded by noise, and since it was still light outside, there wasn't a vampire threat, so the two girls just focused on the soft moans and mews coming from each other. That's why they missed Ms. Summer's Jeep pulling up on the curb beside them, and the reason they were startled to death when she blared the horn. "Oh, shit."

"You can say that again." Their breaths were still coming in pants from that last kiss (and also from the slight heart attack from the sudden intrusion), and Willow jumped back from Buffy as though shocked. They hadn't told Ms. Summers they were an item yet, and from the look on the older woman's face, they were about to get 'the talk.'

"Girls, why don't you get in?" Joyce had that mom tone of voice that left no room for arguments, so the girls climbed in the car. Buffy climbed in the front, saving her girlfriend the discomfort of mom peripheral vision while driving. Both of them just fiddled with their shopping bags until they reached Reveille Drive. The oldest summers was quiet the whole drive over, and didn't speak until they were all seated in the living room. Faith was upstairs reading comic books, listening to music, and doing whatever Faith does during the day. "Is it the crystal?"

"What?! Mom! No, the crystal's gone." Buffy took a deep breath. During the whole ride over, she was getting scared of the silent treatment. When her mom gave her the silent treatment, it usually meant she was either in trouble, or was going to be soon.

"Then…how did this happen? I don't understand." Joyce looked from girl to girl, confusion etched on her face. The last she had heard from either of them, Buffy had come home to do laundry a month ago, right before the night that she missed roast beast, which shocked the older woman, since Mom roast beast was Buffy's favorite. Apparently, she'd found a new favorite thing to eat.

"It didn't just happen. Well, okay it did kind of but it has nothing to do with the crystal." Buffy took another deep breath, and entwined her fingers between Willow's, attempting to calm the near-panicked girl beside her. Giving a little squeeze for reassurance, she continued. "I love Willow, mom. I honestly do, and sure, I thought the same thing with Angel but this is completely different."

"Breathing, for one thing." When she noticed the wide-eyed reaction, Joyce thought maybe she should stay quiet, and let them explain. It was just a shock to be driving home from the gallery to see your only daughter swapping spit with her GIRL best friend, right in the open.

"Okay, so…it's like this. Last year, the crystal didn't have much work to do because I was already in love with her. I was in love with her before I even met Angel." Buffy smiled warmly at her adoring girlfriend, and leaned closer to her for comfort.

"How long has this been going on? Why didn't you say anything before?" Joyce looked from girl to girl again, waiting for an answer. Finally, Willow decided it was her turn to explain, in order to give her lover a break.

"Three months. It was about a month or so after Fred left. We waited until I was ready before even going on our first date." Willow smiled sheepishly, hoping that the older woman that she considered more of a mother than her own wouldn't lash out at them.

"Well, I'm glad you waited, and didn't jump into anything before you were ready. I'd hate to see Buffy hurt again. With the crystal's thrall, it was bad enough; it'd be even worse if it were real." This time, she took a deep breath. "That still doesn't explain why you never said anything. Does anybody else know?"

"Faith does but only because she caught us kissing on campus during her patrol. We should've been paying more attention but it's just…" Buffy looked to her mom, willing her to not have to finish, and luckily, she got the wanted hand gesture indicating she didn't have to explain. "We wanted to tell you, really but I…we didn't think it would be fair to the others if we just told one person. We were actually surprised, and elated that she kept the secret this long."

"Elated? Buffy, I think Willow's starting to rub off on you." Joyce gave a slight rush when she noticed the deep blush the girls turned at her comment. "Anyways, I wish you would have said something; it's a shock for a mother to see her only daughter making out in the open like that, especially when she wasn't aware that she was even seeing anybody."

"Mom, it's just…Xander…" Buffy looked to her mom for some of that motherly guidance.

"What about him?" Joyce recognized the cry for help, and was more than happy to oblige.

"He's still crazy about Buffy, and we don't want to hurt him but no matter what we do, it'll hurt him, and we've tried to ease him into the whole thing but he just keeps going backwards, and it gets frustrating because then it prolongs our telling everybody, and it's hard to act all non-couple when we're around everybody, and…" Willow's babble would have kept going if Buffy hadn't wrapped her arm around the redhead's waist, pulling them closer together, and giving a gentle squeeze. "Sorry."

"Quite alright, Willow. I think I got that you're worried that Xander will be mad at you two because he's still in love with Buffy, and that you've been trying to drop hints so that the news wouldn't completely shock him when you decide to tell him. Am I close?" Joyce smirked in her teasing tone, and Willow blushed again.

"Yeah." Willow looked at her lowly giggling girlfriend with a mock pout before turning her attention back to the matter at hand. "I just don't want to hurt him, and I know that this will but it just feels right, like…like I'm supposed to be with Buffy."

"Awe…me, too. With you, though, I mean. It feels right to be with you." The girls got an interrupting cough before their lips even had a chance to meet.

"I do wish you had told me sooner but I understand your reasoning, and as far as Xander goes, you just have to trust that your friendships are more important to him. He'll either get mad, and come back apologetic later, get angry, and never talk to you, or be happy for you. It's just a chance you'll have to take." Joyce looked at the two girls, and her expression of 'sorry that I can't make everything right in the world' eased their troubled minds a little. "Would you like to stay for dinner, girls? I can take you back to the dorm when I drop Faith off at Giles's before patrol."

"Sure, sounds great!" Willow perked up; she wished that talks with her mother were like this but she could settle with Ms. Summers. After all, there was a large possibility that she could be her mother-in-law one day.

"Do you need any help?" Buffy called to her mother, as she prepared to pull Willow up to her old room, and kiss her feverishly.

"No. You girls settle in for a bit. It'll be ready in about half an hour." Joyce smirked, knowing exactly what Buffy had in mind. When she heard the footsteps on the stairs, she called out to them again. "Oh, and Buffy…could you spare me a rerun of yours and Faith's 'release,' please? Thanks." She snickered; it was hard to believe that she sat stock still at their dining table about a year ago, after having been privy to Buffy's attempts at releasing the crystal's thrall. It was hard for a mother to think of their daughter as a sexual creature, especially at such a young age…but at least she didn't have to worry about pregnancy. The awkward thing is that, since then, Faith hadn't really gone out too often. It was patrol, Giles's, classes for her GED (which she had finally convinced her to get), and the Bronze. For some reason, the darker slayer wasn't as wild as she used to be…not that she was complaining.

"Dammit." Buffy cursed under her breath, as she led Willow to her old bedroom. Head hung low, she shut the door behind them, and walked softly to sit on the bed beside her girlfriend. "Okay, so…"

"Yeah." Willow was fiddling with her hands, unsure what to do now. They'd been caught twice…this time by Ms. Summers. It was time to come clean with the rest of the group. The problem was, did they come clean about the Initiative, too?

Buffy's testing still seemed safe, and Dr. Walsh was better than fine. Willow found herself admiring the woman, and following the tests. Sometimes, the psychologist would show them the results they'd received thus far, and the redhead would bubble over with excitement. The scientist had sent Buffy out on a solo mission with a bum taser gun, and the blonde was pissed to high Hell. The redhead smiled, as she remembered the threatening words the blonde sent through her comcam to the underground lab they were waiting at. 'Professor Walsh, that simple little recon you sent me on? Wasn't a raccoon. Turns out it was me trapped in the sewers with a faulty weapon and two of your pet demons. If you think that's enough to kill me, then you really don't know what a slayer is. Trust me when I say you're gonna find out.' Willow began to panic at first, until Walsh explained that it was part of an experiment, and there were soldiers on guard if something went wrong. She wanted to test how Buffy did in a dangerous, real-life situation; she definitely got it, and when she emerged from the sewers, that was the moment that the slayer discovered that Riley, Graham, and Forrest were soldier boys. Realizing it as an experiment, she followed them back through the caves until she was back in Willow's comforting, tight embrace.

Now, they just had to make the decision about how much information to 'come out' with to the gang. It would be a hard assessment to make; that was for sure. Leaning over, Buffy kissed Willow's cheek softly, which resulted in an adoring expression on the redhead's face, and a quiet blush to creep up her neck. The blonde entwined her hand with Willow's fidgety one, and kissed their clasped hands softly, too.

"I think that…right now, we should keep the Initiative stuff quiet but it is time to come clean about us. I've waited long enough to be able to shout from the rooftops that I'm in love with you." Buffy pulled Willow's hand, and urged them to move up the bed, and lean against the headboard, giving them free reign to cuddle.

"Aww…you big softy. What would the evil of Sunnydale think of the big bad slayer now? Huh?" Willow lay her head on Buffy's shoulder, and curled her body completely into her girlfriend's, as their arms wrapped around each other in a loose embrace.

"I think that they'd know not to mess with me." She got quiet all of sudden, and Willow recognized the mood immediately.

"What's wrong?" She raised her head from its comfortable resting spot, and with concern etched on her face, looked up into Buffy's hazel eyes.

"Nothing." The blonde had that distant thing; she should've known better than to try to hide her emotions from Willow. The girl could read her like a book…and the girl had read many books.

"No…no, something's wrong. You've got your 'something's wrong' face." Willow traced the outlines of Buffy's brow with her fingertips, and the slayer sighed.

"I…it's…" She took a deep breath. "I feel that you're an even bigger target to the evil around because you're my Achilles heel. You're the one thing that means more to me than my own life. I'd die for you; hell, I already have once." Buffy giggled slightly, trying to ease the tension. "It's just…I love you so much, and I think that the baddies will use you to kill me, and if I'm completely honest…if anything ever happened to you, I don't know…it'd be like there was nothing left for me to fight for, and I'd falter as the slayer."

"Buffy, I can take care of myself, you know." Willow cupped Buffy's cheek, and lightly rubbed there with her thumb. "You don't have to be all big bad slayer all the time. If you want, you can be just Buffy with me sometimes. I'll take you any way that I can get you, and I refuse to let anything the Hellmouth throws at us to make me stay away from you. You're stuck with me, Slayer, whether you like it or not." She swallowed to gather strength. "So the baddies know how to best you? No matter…because they don't know who they're dealing with. I can't promise that something won't happen to me, just like you can't promise you'll live to see the next day. It's just the risks we take. It's love, pure and simple, complicated and solid. I'm yours, Buffy, and you're mine. We know the risks, and I'm willing to take them."

"Me, too." Buffy collapsed into tears, as she completely embraced her girlfriend. "Oh god, Wills. Me, too." She showered kisses all over the redhead's face, which caused soft giggles until their lips met in a passionate assault. Time flew by, and before they knew it, Joyce was calling up the stairs that dinner was ready, and they had to part; lips swollen, breaths labored, and bodies tingling for more.

"This is the best way to wake up…" Buffy mumbled from underneath the sheets. She was blocking the light from the window; it was Saturday, too early to get up at dawn. Willow was staring at her through half-closed eyes, and she couldn't resist placing tiny kisses against her fluttering eyelids.

"Sleepy…" Willow was only half awake, and was on her way to passing out again. Yesterday's activities were more than tiring. After a quick vitals test, Buffy was put through several basic training exercises from army camps, which she passed with flying colors. The blonde tried to pass her success off as lucky but poor Graham was feeling the aftereffects from the taser rifle from when she used him as a shield during an attack. After that, Walsh pitted her against seven vampires at once in the training room, and she had no problem taking them down. Since she wasn't training as often with Giles anymore, Buffy found the exercises to be beneficial to her rapid improvement as a slayer. Whether Dr. Walsh was aware or not, Buffy was actually improving because of the numerous experiments. When the tests were finished, the slayer patrolled, and the fights were heavy. When she got back to the dorm, Willow was barely finished bandaging her arm properly before the slayer pounced on her with the aftereffects of battle. Their sexual activities lasted well into the night, and had finally passed out in satiation around 5 that morning. Just two hours previous.

"Okay…sleep…" She kissed her cheek right as Willow drifted back to dreamland. Crawling from the covers, Buffy was still wired, so she pulled back her hair, and donned a pair of sweats, sports bra, and old Sunnydale High t-shirt. Kissing Willow one last time, she left the dorm, intent on a light morning jog.

As she ran, thoughts ran through her brain like crazy. Everything seemed perfect in her little world, except for the telling everybody part. They still were trying to ease Xander into the idea but he just would not take the hint. Willow mentioned that she suspected Anya finally caught on, since the two had started acting more couply around everybody. Buffy had talked to Giles, and got the 'dear lord' speech when she told him. When she told Willow about their talk, her girlfriend sighed in relief. That was one less person to tell, so now they just had to keep working on Xander.

When she came upon a clearing in the woods, she stopped and stretched. She'd been running for over an hour, and had tired herself out, a feat that takes a LOT of energy. While she was lost in her thoughts still, she stretched out across the tiny lake, enjoying the sun's sparkle against the water. Making a mental note to bring Willow along to see this one morning, Buffy just enjoyed the peaceful feeling coursing through her veins. Standing up, she started to run back to campus…to Willow.

When she barged into the room, she had every intention of jumping on her girlfriend to wake her but was halted by a body just inside the door. Umphing back, she had to bend over to catch her breath, hands resting on her knees. Looking up, she noticed Willow clutching their bed sheet to her body in a protective, panicked manner. That's when Buffy noticed that Fred was standing beside her. She had run into her girlfriend's ex, the girl that the redhead loved so much, and a former member of the Scooby gang. When nobody said anything for a while, Buffy decided to just come out with it.

"Well, this is awkward." She found no argument from the room. Fred was looking anywhere but at either of them, and Willow was scrambling to hold the sheets closer to her body. They had been caught again. "Maybe I should just…" She indicated towards the door but the redhead stopped her with a pleading look. "Right…I can stay."

"When did all this happen? Cordy said Xander mentioned something about a new girlfriend but I thought she said it was some witch girl named Tara." Fred was shocked, and utterly humiliated. This was the last thing she had expected to find. Angel needed Buffy's help for something, and was about to drive from LA to Sunnydale but Fred had stopped him. She hadn't been back since the breakup, and that was well over six months. Her parents were worried, and she would just assure them repeatedly over the phone that things were fine, that she was just busy with school. However, things weren't fine, and she had finally come to terms with everything. Cordelia had figuratively slapped her back to reality, and she was ready to see Willow.

Waking up, the redhead stretched luxuriously. Making love to Buffy all night…again…had been amazing, and something was definitely growing between them. She wasn't sure what it was yet but it felt great. Everything was perfect; she should have known something would disrupt that. Getting out of bed, she found the note on her desk, saying that her lover would be back shortly after a quick run. Since she was still nude, she just enjoyed the peaceful confines of their room together, and booted her computer. Just as she typed her password, there was a knock at her door. Seeing Buffy's keys on the bedside table, she unlocked the door before crawling back under the covers. There was a definite chance of staying in bed all morning. Lying back seductively under the covers, she called out for her girlfriend to come in, the door was unlocked. She just didn't expect it to be her EX girlfriend. Pulling the covers more fully on herself, they hadn't said a word to each other; that's when Buffy came crashing in the door.

"Where did he get that idea?" Willow scrunched her eyebrows in confusion. She'd been hinting about a new girlfriend for months but Tara had been nowhere around. Apparently, he was getting the hints she would drop, just not the right person. Shutting the door, Buffy cleared her throat before she moved to take a seat at her desk.

"He said you weren't around anymore but that you were happy. I just never…" Fred was at a loss for words; what could she even say?

"Do you want to sit down?" Buffy was panicky. This was the moment she'd feared for some time, and as per course on the Hellmouth, when things are perfect, the shit hits the fan.

"Yeah." Sitting in the other chair, Fred was in a daze. She wanted to see if she could get Willow back; she knew she'd messed up big time but she wasn't going down without a fight. From what she understood, the redhead wasn't even talking about the relationship to her friends, so she had a good chance. Now, though…now things were different. She held no chance against Buffy.

"Fred?" Willow didn't know what to do. Here she was, naked in front of the only two people who had seen her this way in her young adult life, both of whom she loved. She knew that a confrontation with Fred was inevitable but she thought it would be a mutual meeting, where both were clothed.

"Sorry…um…so…you didn't answer my question." She looked up, willing herself not to cry again. "When did…"

"About a month after you left." Willow never thought about the time factor before; to her, it had taken her more time than needed, and she suddenly felt guilty. "I should have…"

"No…no, I'm actually glad I didn't know." Fred looked at Buffy, who looked more powerful than she remembered. Something was different about the blonde, and it was frightening. "I was dating Gunn for awhile, not too long after…"

"Gunn?" The disbelief in the redhead's voice made Fred cringe at the memory. She'd used the guy big time, and now he wasn't talking to her.

"Yeah, it's not something I'm proud of…" She took a deep breath; it was hard to think. Buffy decided to pipe in her two cents, as she stood from her chair.

"Look, maybe I should go, and leave you two to talk. I'd only get in the way, and it's obvious you two…" Before Buffy could go any further, Willow stopped her.

"Please don't go, Buff?" The pleading in her voice was shaky; Willow was scared, and Buffy would protect her.

"Sure." The blonde sat back down, and an uncomfortable silence fell over the room again. "So…how is everybody in LA?"

"Actually, that's why I'm here…" Looking over at Willow, she felt the need to add something to her statement. "One of the reasons."

"Fred, I…" Willow could see what was on the girl's mind, and part of her really longed to be in the brunette's arms again. For a brief moment, she thought about it until Buffy spoke again.

"Let me get you something to wear, Wills…you've gotta be…" Buffy stood, stumbling to her dresser, and throwing a t-shirt and underwear to her girlfriend. At least it was something.

"Thanks." She proceeded to pull her clothes on, keeping the sheet firmly in place. When she was finished, she kept the covers over her underwear clad lower half. "What's going on in LA?"

"There's a law firm that's giving Angel a lot of grief, and they're out to hire a slayer to kill him. Naturally, he wanted to warn everybody here first." Fred kept her eyes averted, not willing to see the tousled hair of her ex, knowing why her hair was like that.

"To make sure we didn't take their offer." Buffy nodded, understanding exactly what was going on, and standing again. She was STILL wired, and now pacing the floor nervously. Willow sent a worried gaze to her lover, and received a smile from the blonde. "Why couldn't he come down himself?"

"He was going to but…but I wanted…needed to come, so Cordy and I convinced him to take a day to brood." Fred suppressed a chuckle at the memory. "I honestly didn't expect…"

"I'm sorry, Fred. Everything has been so hectic here, and we've not been together long." She motioned between herself and Buffy, and the brunette nodded in acknowledgment. "We've been trying to tell Xander but you remember his big thing for Buffy. It would hurt him, especially since it's me, and I don't want to…"

"I want to, though. You deserve that much." Willow sent pleading eyes to her former lover, and sad eyes to her current one, who nodded as she left the room. "Can you…I mean…" She indicated that she wanted to put some pants on, so Fred had to think about what she was asking. Then, it hit her, and the very thought of Willow, her Willow asking for her to turn around, so that she wouldn't see her without pants; well…her heart collapsed. "Oh…I can…"

"No, it's okay, Will. I don't have that right anymore, I guess." Fred sighed, turned around, and willed herself not to cry. She could hear her ex pulling pants on behind her.

"All done." She patted her legs for emphasis; it was a quick change. She just pulled a pair of pants off from the floor that was tossed last night in the heat of passion but looking down, Willow noticed that she had Buffy's pants on, and she felt guilty feeling aroused at the thought in front of her ex.

"Right." Fred turned around, and didn't even realize that they weren't her pants, so Willow no longer minded the guilt. "I…do you…"

"Fred, it's good to see you. I've missed you." Willow was the first to make contact. She didn't care that smelled of sweat, sex, and Buffy.

"Oh, Wills…I've missed you so much." Fred didn't care anymore; she let the tears roll. "Soooo much." Burying her head into the redhead's shoulder, she immediately regretted it because she could smell Buffy all over the girl.

"Shh…it's okay." Willow soothed the girl like she used to, and it almost felt like nothing had changed. They were still Willow and Fred, the twosome of cuteness. "You're here now; that's all that matters."

"Will, I knew…I knew you were in love with Buffy." Fred keeps the embrace; not letting the redhead let her go the way she had so many months ago.

"How could you; when I wasn't even sure?" Willow let her stay in her arms; it actually felt good to feel their bodies pressed together again after so long.

"You knew, too. We were just too caught up in each other for you to notice. If the situation presented itself, though…you would have figured it out sooner than later." Fred swallowed audibly before they both sat down at the edge of the bed. "You didn't have to kick Buffy out of the room."

"No…I know. I wanted to talk to you, though, and she would have distracted us. Plus, she would be hurt; I'm sure she's either brooding, or punching something right now. We need to talk, though, and she knows that." Willow moved a leg up on the bed, and positioned herself more towards Fred, who mirrored her actions. "I want you to know that I never stopped loving you; I still do, and it hurt. I…when you left me on that sidewalk, I didn't think I'd ever see you again. I was a wreck; I even missed three days of classes."

"No; you? I don't believe that." Fred's tone was sarcastic, and they both chuckled lightly to relieve some tension. "It hurt me, it still does, and I'm ashamed of myself for leaving you like that. We should have at least talked, and I'm sorry."

"No. No, you reacted on instinct. I understand that now, even if it still hurts a little. You'll always be a big part of me. Spike even apologized; although at the time he just said it because he wanted his blood…"

"Spike?" Fred hadn't been aware of that fact. If Cordelia or Angel had known, they hadn't said anything. "Why would you be…"

"Oh! Yeah…I thought Xander told Cordy that. He was supposed to tell that Spike has a chip in his brain right now, and it causes him immense pain if he tries to hurt a human." She grinned, remembering how happy she was that he was suffering.

"A chip?" Fred was surprised; even with a chip, she never expected the gang to take in Spike. "That hardly…"

"Oh but it does! It's really amazing. Do you remember Dr. Walsh on campus here? We went to a lecture she had once on communication. It was right before all the mayor stuff." Willow was excited. The part that she missed most (besides the sex) with Fred was the intellectual conversations. Sure, Buffy was smarter than she appeared but Fred was a genius, and the blonde just wasn't as concerned about quantum physics.

"Yeah. I remember; that's the night you stayed over for the first time. There's no way I'd forget a day like that; I was so nervous…there you were, in my bed, with me, and I didn't know what to do! You weren't faring much better, as I remember." Fred smirked, teasing the girl.

"Hey! It's not like I knew you slept half naked!" They giggled. "I really have missed you, Fred. I'm sorry that we can't…I mean…well, with Buffy…"

"I know, and…are you happy?" Fred took a deep breath, unsure of how she wanted Willow to answer.

"I am." Willow smiled, knowing exactly why she was happy. "It's not something I can explain…"

"Maybe it'd be better for us both if you didn't." Fred met Willow's green gaze, and smiled sadly. "At least for now; maybe sometime down the road…who knows? I'll meet some guy or girl, and the two of us will go on double dates. Just not now; I need some time to process all of this. I mean…you and Buffy? That's huge. There's no way I could compete with her."

"It's not a competition, and you know that." Willow didn't mean to sound upset; she was actually happy to see Fred. "Sorry. It's just…it was never a contest to win my affections, or to see who loved me more. I love you both, and even though it didn't work out between us doesn't mean I ever stopped. I'm just…"

"You're just in love with Buffy now. I get it, Will, and I can deal. Just…like I said, give me time?" Fred shrugged her shoulder, and had a pleading expression plastered on her face.

"I'll wait. At first, I didn't think anything could help." Willow was going into deep, emotional territory but recognized that they had to discuss what happened completely. "Like I said…emotional train wreck. Buffy waited. She gave me control over what happened, and I was the one that changed our relationship. I feel guilty telling you that it didn't take long; part of me was still hurting but the biggest part of me wanted to be with her. It just…it feels right."

"I guess I should admit that it was only three weeks after that I started dating Gunn." Fred smiled sheepishly, and watched the torn emotions cross Willow's face. "I was so upset, and he was really kind. I just confused thankfulness for affection. Needless to say, the relationship went nowhere; the first time that we…" Fred stopped, realizing what she was about to admit.

"No, go on. I'm…I'll be okay." Willow swallowed, not sure if she was ready to hear this.

"Well, I broke down, and I've been in a funk ever since. Will, are you sure there's no way…" Fred had to try; there was never harm in trying. Willow sighed.

"I will always love you, Fred but things just happened, and it's hard to…I'm with Buffy now, and I'm happy. Things are great here, and there will always be a place for you. Never doubt that I will always want you around. Who else am I going to argue with on the points of quantum mechanics?" Willow entwined their hands, staring deeply into Fred's, which were about to brim over in tears again.

" 'I think I can safely say that nobody understands quantum mechanics.'" Fred smiled through her tears, and kept her eyes focused on Willow's. It would be the last time they ever gazed in each other's eyes this way.

"Richard P. Feyman. See? Who else but you? I'll always want you…here." She pulled their entwined hands over her heart, "and here." Then, she placed their hands on her head. Kissing Fred's hand, Willow squeezed one last time.

"I should go see my parents. I've not been back to Sunnydale since." Fred stood, and Willow followed, keeping their hands entwined.

"Really? They must be worried out of their minds. I see them walking around town, and your mom honks her horn when she drives by me in her bus." Willow looked at her ex with surprise. The Burkles were the nicest parents, along with Joyce, that she'd ever met. They cared about Fred so much that Willow always longed to be a part of the family, and there was a point in time when she thought she would be someday. Now, it appeared she'd end up being a Summers instead of a Burkle; either way suited her just fine. "You did tell them what happened…between us…right?"

"Yeah. I didn't for a long time but mom finally coaxed it out of me. They were shocked but if it weren't for them, and Cordy…I'd be in a mental institution right now." Fred smiled, not quite ready to let go but knowing she had to now. "Can I call you now, or email maybe?"

"Anytime you want; never hesitate if you feel the need, and hey! Let me know when you're in town, and we'll try to get together. I miss you, and so does everybody else." Willow bit her lip. 'So this is closure?' Her first major relationship was ending on a good note.

"I promise." Fred went to entwine their hands, so that she could get going but Willow stopped her, pulled her body towards her, and kissed her feverishly. It took her a moment but she responded with just as much fervor. Breaking apart, the girls calmed down before speaking again. "This is really it, huh?"

"Yeah…" Willow sighed. "It really is." Fred nodded, and left the room, leaving the redhead behind to wait on a possibly irate slayer.

As soon as Buffy left the room, she was in a state of numbness. She had to shut herself off of any emotions in case Willow decided she wanted Fred. The slayer needed time to meditate on this idea before reacting. Angel had left her, why wouldn't Willow? 'No. This is Willow. She would never do that to me.' Sitting down in the lobby, she looked up anxiously at the clock every fifteen seconds. The guy sitting beside her looked at her in frustration before he moved to another chair. The sitting vigil lasted only two minutes and forty-five seconds before she was up pacing, which lasted one minute thirty seconds before the same guy yelled at her to sit down.

She thought that a walk would calm her down but that wasn't helping, so she tried running. Halfway across campus, she panicked, and realized that Willow would need her to be there when Fred left. No matter how the reunion went, the redhead would need to talk to her. Seeing that Fred's car was still there, she clinched her hands, and took a deep breath. Again pacing nervously, she sat on a bench outside, and watched the rest of the lazy campus make their way to the cafeteria for Saturday lunch. Legs twitching up and down, she watched the clock tower like a hawk, as her hands were starting to build calluses from the harsh rubbing. Buffy didn't even pay attention when blisters broke on her hands from last night's slayage, and blood started to appear. The other students didn't even pay attention at all.

It took Fred one hour twenty-three minutes and forty seven seconds to leave the dorm; she didn't even notice Buffy on the bench, since she had a huge grin on her face. There were all sorts of possibilities for that grin but the more painful ones caused Buffy to stay seated for another few minutes. Finally, she decided that she couldn't face the breakup that was about to happen, so she took another run through the woods, again finding the lake. The sparkling water didn't seem as beautiful as it did that morning.

She stayed out until dusk, knowing that Willow would be worried but still unable to face the heartbreak. Patrolling until dawn, she took out all her frustration, anger, heartache, and pain on the creatures of the night. She even managed to avert an apocalypse, beating three giraffe-looking demons to a bloody pulp before they could open the Hellmouth…again. Pocketing the artifacts, and carrying the spell book used, she kept walking in a daze. Finally, she decided to call on Giles, so she knocked on his door until he answered, scruffy in the early morning hours.

"Buffy, my God. We've all been worried sick; where have you been? Is everything all right? Willow called in a fright, having not seen you for hours. What's going on?" Giles retied his robe tighter, and ushered the obviously emotionally and physically exhausted girl to his couch. Making no sound, she placed the book and artifacts on his desk before exiting his townhouse. She'd held the talk with Willow off long enough. It was time to face the music.

The sun was almost completely blazing over the town of Sunnydale, and Buffy was still walking home to the dorms. All night, she'd had time to think everything through about her relationship with Willow, and there was only one constant: she was madly in love with the redhead. Nothing that she did, no matter how many demons she pummeled, no matter how many tears she let fly, and no matter how many punches she took, she felt that she wouldn't be prepared for a life without her girlfriend. It wouldn't take long to best the slayer if Willow broke up with her, and there was a large possibility that was about to happen. When she defeated those ugly giraffe demons, she didn't even pay attention to anything that was happening around her; she was just kill, or be killed. No questions asked; no holds barred. She needed time to cool off, so she went to Willy's, and actually had a decent conversation with Spike of all people. Without giving too much away, she explained the situation to him but he was quick on the uptake, and apologized numerous times for ever thinking that the spell would help him defeat her. He'd seen things in a new light, and was paying for it now. Once she cried her heart out to him (something she swore to never do), the chipped vampire explained that she should just talk to the girl. Loading up the book and artifacts from her earlier spoils of war, Buffy made a beeline for Giles's, and had no time to answer his questions. Enough was enough; it was time to face her destiny.

Walking into the dorm, she noticed that the early morning Sunday crowd was already making their way to their various religious meetings, something she envied them for having. Taking the stairs slowly, she had to breathe deeply a few times before having enough courage to face her worst demon ever. Inching in the room, she found tissues strewn about the place everywhere, and Willow leaning back with her knees against her chest, worried expression permanently plastered on her face. When she shut the door, Buffy immediately went to wrap Willow in a tight embrace, allowing the redhead time to vent. Her girlfriend just wrapped her own arms around the blonde, and released her frustration and fears. After several minutes of cooing quiet whispers, and smoothing matted red locks, Buffy kissed Willow's crown over and over again until the redhead bent back, and smashed their lips together violently in reassurance that she was really there. Their teeth cracked together, and lips were bruised and cut, as the two just kissed with fervor and fire.

"Where the hell have you been?! I've been worried sick! I called Giles, and he didn't know, then I called your mom and Faith, and they didn't know, so I called Xander, and he had no clue, and then I called the police and the hospital to make sure you weren't there, and I still couldn't find you, and I was so scared, and I didn't know what to do, so I just sat here, and waited but you still didn't come, and I just..." Willow was pulled into another tight embrace, and would not let go for anything.

"Shh, it's okay. I'm okay. See? I'm here now, Will. I'm here, and I'm not going anywhere." Buffy cradled the redhead's body completely into hers, and kissed her crown several times again to calm her.

"Where did you go? What happened?" Willow leaned back again, staying in the embrace, and looked up at her girlfriend with worried, sad eyes that were swollen, pink, and puffy from hours of crying.

"I panicked." When Willow showed no signs of understanding why, Buffy elaborated. "I saw Fred leave, and I was already antsy because I thought you would want to be with her now that she's back, so I took off, and it wasn't until Spike told me that I was being daft, and bloody stupid that I..."

"Wait. Spike? Spike told you?" Willow was utterly confused. Of course, she loved Fred, always would but that didn't mean that she would break up with Buffy. That was just plain crazy talk.

"Yeah. Spike." Buffy had to hone in her emotions again, since she noticed that her girlfriend mentioned nothing about Fred, or that part of her confession.

"I don't understand, Buffy. Why would you think..." She couldn't even finish that thought because it was so ridiculous.

"Well, I mean...it's Fred, Will. Your Fred...I can't compete with her. You have history together that we don't, and you deserve so much that I can't promise you." She held the girl, not willing to let her go again. She'd messed up big time by taking off...again. 'Why do I run when things get hard? I mean...this is Will! I hurt her enough the first time this happened; this would be worse.'

"Buffy, Spike was right. You are bloody stupid, and just a bit daft." Willow looked at her with all the love and admonishment she could muster in a simple gaze. When Buffy looked at her in confusion, she explained. "First of all, we have history together that Fred doesn't, too. Second, I'm in love with you so much that I hurt when you hurt, I cry when you cry. This thing we have is real, Buffy. Nothing's going to change that, and I don't need promises from you. I know that you can't promise that you'll live tomorrow, and you had me scared to death that I wouldn't see you again. We're in a relationship here; it's not a competition. If I wanted out, you'd know, and I will never want out. That's something I 'can' promise you."

"Will...I..." Buffy was speechless. She knew she'd been stupid, and it sucked that it took a vampire (pun intended) to clear her head.

"You don't get to do this every time something happens that scares you. I love you, Buffy. Sure, Fred was my first but you're my first in so many other things. You're two completely different people, and I'm not comparing. I'm just loving, and hope that you're loving, too because if you're not, then tell me now because I don't think I can take much more of this emotional drama before I burst into a million little pieces." She kept her resolve firmly in place, and made sure that everything was said through her expression.

"I love you, Wills. I'm sorry I panicked. It's just hard for me because this is so new. I've never felt this strongly for anybody before, and every second I'm scared of losing you, or never seeing you again. I just...I shut off inside, and can't seem to get my brain to work." Buffy kissed Willow's puffy eyelids, and the tip of her little nose, which was still red from crying, too.

"I get that, Buffy. I do but you've gotta let me in if we're going to make this work, and I have every intention of doing just that, so no more funny business. You're not going to lose me; you're stuck with me for life now, whether that means tomorrow, or when we're older, well into little old lady hood, forgetting to take our pills, and cheating at bingo together." Willow took the blonde's face between her hands gently, and sealed the deal with a solid kiss. "I love you, Buffy Summers."

"I love you, Willow Rosenberg." Buffy brought her arms up to pull Willow's body more into her own, kissing her passionately and full of love and adoration. "Eww...I need to shower."

"I thought that was me that smelled but you're right. What the hell did you fight? It wasn't one of those poopy monsters that Faith keeps coming across, is it?" Willow helped Buffy pull her clothes off, enjoying every second, and noticed the plethora of new cuts, bruises, and blood spots. When she eyed a particular symbol burned into the blonde's torso, she went eerily quiet, and tried to recall where she saw the arcane mark before but came up empty, as Buffy donned her robe, and grabbed her shower caddy full of promises of cleanliness.

"You're too cute sometimes." Buffy came over, and planted a quick kiss on her girlfriend's pursed mouth, and went to the communal showers, ready to rid herself of all things gross. When she shut the door, Willow went into immediate research mode, and it only took her three minutes (which she thought was too long) to find where she'd seen the marking before; it ended up being a Celtic symbol in one of her history of witchcraft books, and it had vague details but the message was clear. The shit was about to hit the fan, and there was a possibility with these shit demons running around lately that the phrase could be literal this time. In a rush, she laid her book on their combined bed, open to the appropriate page, and hurried to the bathroom, not caring that there were others getting ready for their Sunday services, as she stepped into the shower fully clothed with a surprised Buffy. "What are you doing?!"

"The symbol...on your belly..." Willow's clothes were drenched and heavy on her body but she moved her fingertips under the spraying water to study the marking on her girlfriend's torso. Sure enough, it was the same one, and her expression told Buffy all she needed to know, as she washed her body wash and shampoo from her hair, wrapped a towel around herself once she turned the shower off, and pulled an extremely wet Willow back to their room.

"Where did that come from? It wasn't there this morning." Buffy opened her towel, and let the cool morning breeze rush her exposed skin, as Willow went to work studying it again, while she dripped all over the floor. "We need to get you some dry clothes." Buffy left the soaked redhead to stand over her book, as the tips of her locks dripped little droplets of water on the pages. Willow was being uncharacteristically careless with the old tome, and that caused Buffy to worry even more. Pulling on some fresh underwear, jeans, and a simple tee, the blonde grabbed another pair of fresh clothes, and placed them beside the tome. Willow kept reading, as Buffy peeled each article from her body, only barely registering what was happening, as she read the pages over and over again, trying to find the hidden meaning.

"This isn't good, Buffy. Something's not making sense." Willow was bare, and blushed full-bodied when she realized that her girlfriend was smirking with lust.

"I'd say it makes perfect sense to me." Buffy went to wrap her naked girlfriend in a seductive embrace but Willow wiggled free.

"No. That symbol shouldn't be there. What all did you fight last night?" Willow started pulling on her clothes, and having to grab them from Buffy, as the blonde kept stealing them, not allowing her to dress. It was fun and all but they needed to fix things first before something utterly apocalyptic happened...again.

"There were these three giraffe demons that were trying to open the Hellmouth but nothing out of the ordinary really. Just your run of the mill vamps, and a Polgara demon. Other than the giraffe demons, nothing too fishy." Buffy sat down on the bed, pulling Willow to sit on her lap, as the redhead picked up the book to show the blonde.

"Well, it says here that there's a prophecy regarding the slayer and three long-necked Hell beasts, and this symbol is shown beside the artifacts they'd need to open the Hellmouth. We already have the word of Valios, so that's a plus. That means they can't do the sacrificial ritual but we have no idea where these four things are; to them, it's like a puzzle. A rather complicated puzzle because not all of these things can be found in Sunnydale. One's in Rome, and the others are scattered somewhere in Romania, particularly around Transylvania but we're not talking Dracula, we're talking something else." Willow bookmarks the page, and lays it on her desk before lifting Buffy's tee completely from her body again. "Lay down for me; let me see if I can get all the details clear." The blonde complies, now in serious slayer mode, too. Willow leans over her, only clad in her clean undies (she couldn't retrieve her other clothes from Buffy), and starts to trace the pattern with a light fingertip. She licks her fingers before rubbing them gently across the blonde's belly to make sure the symbols wouldn't rub off, and then she blew cool air across it to dry her saliva.

"God...Wills..." The huskiness in Buffy's tone caused Willow to stop suddenly. Looking up, she noticed that her girlfriend's eyes were darker, full of lust, fully dilated, ready for some action. It was apparent she was in slayer mode, which meant her senses were on overload, and that only multiplied the lust that much more. The thought suddenly excited Willow, and her own eyes glossed over with lust.

"I guess this can wait a couple hours..." Willow didn't give Buffy time to respond, as she quickly threw the blonde's clothing from her body, and tore her own undies off, too. Moving back to straddle her girlfriend, the redhead wasted no time in completely clearing her mind from all the fears and doubts that ran through her mind the entire night, as she waited on her slayer to either return to her, or leave her for good. Now, they both had reassurance, and neither planned on going anywhere for at least another five hours, or until their passions were quelled long enough to take a break to contact Giles. In other words, the symbol was on hold, as the two lovers went about strengthening their own symbol of love and lust through a dance as old as time, maybe older than the new tattoo above Buffy's belly button. Ah, screw it; they just wanted some loving. After all, they deserve it after last night's big emotional outbreak. Let's let them have their fun, as we check in with somebody else...

"So, I see Adam has gotten loose again." Looking up from her desk, arm in a sling, bandages across her midsection, and cuts across her face, Dr. Walsh raised an eyebrow at her fellow doctor. "Well, it was only a matter of time. Besides, I was ready to pit him against Ms. Summers, and now, he's just upped the time frame on his own. Looks like we'll get to see her in full action." Glancing back to the screen on her desk, Maggie noticed that Buffy was in full action already...just of the more sexual nature. "Let me know if our squads find anything. I'll be on post the rest of the night."

"Of course, doctor. We'll keep you updated to the second." The nervous young intern was shaking in his boots, internally yelling at himself for not keeping his guard duty perfect on the monstrous creature. Dr. Walsh pitted all of her research into this one being, and had been working on a way to study the slayer using it. Now, they had to find it first.

"On your way, then. I've much to do." Dr. Walsh turned back to the screen, as the young man left her office. Sighing, she rubbed her arm where Adam had attacked her only days before, cutting her in various places, and even sliced his new Polgara limb straight through her torso. She was paying for her miscalculation but soon, she hoped that the government would appreciate her mad scientist ways. Her superiors were driving her crazy with questions, and she couldn't give them any until the beast was taken care of by the slayer. If Buffy could do it...

"I don't understand, Giles. How does that constitute a big…Buffy!" Xander jumped up from the couch, and embraced her fully. Willow released her hand to allow him the moment. She had called him last night in a panic, so he naturally started to panic himself.

"A big Buffy? Now, that I'd like to see." Faith hopped up from her position on the couch, and stretched her arms above her head. She wouldn't tell anybody that she was worried, too. When she and Ms. Summers got the phone call from Willow, Faith went out last night for a late patrol to try and find the blonde but to no such luck.

"Hey, guys. Sorry about the big worry last night; just had some things to work out." Buffy encased Willow's hand in her own again, and dragged her to sit beside Faith on the couch, keeping their hands together the whole time. Anya eyed them suspiciously, and almost commented but Faith gave the ex-demon the evil eye that stopped her.

"What?! Do I have to remind you that I'm not a threat anymore? This is truly one of the more silly things I've ever experienced in my 1000 years. You…" Anya was about to further comment, and make some nasty comments towards the dark slayer at that but Xander put his hand over her mouth before she could release them.

"An, what'd I tell you? Faith wants you to react like this. Don't give her that if it upsets you that much." Xander took back his hand, and she just eyed him admonishingly.

"Be that as it may, I'm afraid I have some disturbing news, Buffy." Giles tucked the book in his hand underneath his arm, and prepared to deliver the bad news.

"Let me guess…another apocalypse? Gotta say…already know about that one. I gotta tattoo." Buffy lifts her shirt a little, and showcases the burned skin.

"Buffy, how did this happen?" Giles lays his book on the desk, and walks over to take a better look, leaning over to examine the symbol. "It's Celtic, that much is obvious but the exact origin is hard to…"

"It comes from the 10th century, somewhere around the time of the first slayer, I think. I'd seen this mark before but couldn't recall where when I saw Buffy naked earlier." Willow blushed, as she realized what she said, and hid behind her girlfriend's back. The blonde just smirked, and chuckled at the cuteness of the redhead.

"You saw Buffy naked? How come I can't see you naked?" Xander was glazed over with lust, picturing his wildest dreams, and Anya smacked him in the arm.

"Hey! There will be no Xander for you." Anya glared towards Buffy, who just shook her head in amusement.

"Back to the topic at hand…where did you find the information, Willow?" Giles finished cleaning his glasses before placing them back in place.

"Oh, well…in one of my history of witchcraft books. I remember reading something about a few months ago when Tara and I did a spell together but it didn't come to me until I looked it up. I had…um…I had Buffy let me examine the mark more carefully to double check." She averted her eyes, whole body flushed and a little excited from their previous activities.

"I'll bet you examined her top to bottom, Red." Faith smirked, and Buffy sent a warning glare her way. Anya eyed them all suspiciously again but chose not to comment…this time.

"Alright…again, we're steering off topic." Giles had to clean his glasses yet again, since he was fully aware of the truth in Faith's innuendoes.

"So…what's she look like naked, Wills? Care to share with your bestest bud?" Xander sent hopeful eyes towards the redhead but Buffy just looked at him in shock. Was he really saying all these things in front of his own girlfriend?

"Hey! There will be no sharing!" Buffy wrapped an arm around Willow's waist, and allowed the redhead to bury her embarrassment in her now warm shoulder. The heat coming off her girlfriend was intoxicating. "I fought some giraffe looking demons last night, Giles. That's where I found that book, and the artifacts that came with it. Willow found the information in her book at the dorm, and all we know is that I averted an apocalypse last night but we're still in major trouble because we have all of the artifacts needed to open the Hellmouth permanently right here in this flat. We need to find some way to ensure that they're all buried far away from each other, and I don't trust anybody else to do it for us."

"Certainly, that's excellent thinking, Buffy." Giles looked at his slayer, and beamed with pride. "I must say that Willow is ultimately a good influence on your rationality."

"I think so, too." Buffy, forgetting where she was for a moment when she looked into lustful green eyes, kissed Willow's forehead before moving her

lips down to send a brief, gentle kiss on her lips, shocking the hell out of the redhead, and causing Xander to pass out on the floor. Hearing the thud, both their eyes open wide, as they realize what just happened, and where.

"I knew it!!!!" Anya clapped, and practically patted herself on the back, as she beamed with pride herself.

"Um…we should help him." Buffy moved from their embrace, and the two lovers helped their friend onto the couch. It took several seconds before he opened his eyes back to consciousness.

"Hey, guys. You'll never guess the dream I had." He leaned up a little, and felt the pain from the bump on his head, where he hit it on the way down. Looking into everybody's faces, and especially Willow and Buffy's beet red ones, he knew it wasn't a dream. "Wait…Buffy's your new girlfriend that you're not talking about?"

"Uh…yeah." Willow ducks her head, and grins sheepishly. Xander shakes his head to clear it.

"Let me think about this…" He narrows his eyes in thought before getting up, and leaving the place. Everybody else just looks at each other awkwardly.

"Xander, wait for me!" Anya rushes out the door after him, and the others still stand there awkwardly.

"Well, at least we have nobody else to tell." Buffy grins sheepishly towards her girlfriend, who looks forlorn about her dearest friend leaving like that. "It'll be okay, Wills. He just needs time to process this. You said so yourself…"

"Yeah. Boy's still got a big hankerin' here for B. Just give him time, Red. You have lots of history together; he's not gonna give that up over somethin' like this." Faith's eyes actually soften, as she says kind words to her friends. Giles looks at her in shock, having never experienced the softer side of his dark slayer. "And if he does, then I'll just knock some sense into 'im." She pummels her fist into her other hand, and demonstrates briefly that she's serious.

"Now, there's no need for violence, Faith. I'm sure that Xander will return, Willow. He always does." Giles put his two cents in, and the awkwardness just continued, as they stood around, and tried to think of something to say. They all came up blank.

"How the hell did you beat Adam so quickly?" Riley walked rapidly beside a tiffed Buffy, as they made their way to the underground Initiative. The blonde had a few words to say to Dr. Walsh, especially ones that involved her evil little creature. Well, not so little actually.

"I didn't do it by myself." She was cold, distant, and a little more than worried about Willow. Adam had recruited several vampires and demons during his time above ground, and they had managed to kidnap Willow. That was a big no-no in the slayer's manual.

"Well…then, how did you do it?" The awe in his voice was on the brink of adoration. Even after he found out that Willow was Buffy's girlfriend, he still had a crush on the small girl. His corn-fed Iowa charm could maybe win her over one day.

"Had help." Buffy was on a mission. Adam had shown her things that Dr. Walsh was doing that were a little more than private. On his chest, he inserted a disk that uploaded a clip of her and Willow having sex. After getting over the initial embarrassment at the demons and vampires around her, and Faith, Giles, and Xander watching, she shook her arousal off, and took charge of the situation, besting Adam before he even had time to blink. Somehow, her slayer instincts told her to plow her hands within his chest, and pull out his heart; only, she didn't find a heart, and pulled out some sort of tube thing instead. Taking Xander's baseball bat, she broke it, and let all the frustration and anger release from her body before she moved to help her friends rid the demons and vamps with ease. That's when she ran, and found Riley and his crew not far from the site, as the boy followed her in her quest to pummel Dr. Walsh for taking such private videos, and find out what the hell she was thinking when she built Adam.

"What kinda help?" Riley stopped when he saw the evil glance Buffy sent him, and let her go along. After she made her way to the underground lab, she ran into the other doctor, and punched him, not caring that she broke his nose. She still had to find Willow, and her best bet right now was Dr. Walsh.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Buffy grabbed the (not so) good doctor by the collar, and lifted her carelessly from the floor.

"Now, Buffy, it's not what you think." For the first time in her research, Maggie was afraid of the slayer.

"Not what I think? I think you've been filming my personal life a little too much. How dare you tape me and Willow like that?! How is that researching a slayer? Huh? Tell me!" She pushed Maggie away from her, and didn't care that the scientist crashed against the wall, denting the steel.

"I had to find your endurance, and your weaknesses. I had no idea that Adam would rise this early; he wasn't due for another week and a half. I wasn't going to pit you against him for another two." For the first time, Buffy noticed the sling and bandages on Maggie but that still didn't quell her anger.

"Yes but you agreed to let me study you in any way I thought pertinent to the research." Maggie stood, and managed to humph herself into her chair, pulling out a bottle of painkillers to help soothe the added pain.

"Slayer lust. It's not just a myth; it does exist, and it makes you stronger." Dr. Walsh swallowed the pills whole, downing them without liquid.

"I'm sorry; huh?" Buffy heard the words coming from her mouth but the only thing on the slayer's mind was 'Find Willow.'

"For years, Watchers have written about concerns regarding slayer lust. There have even been a few Watchers that have taken course with their slayers, becoming privy to this strong sexual drive."

"Okay, eww…" Buffy suddenly got the picture of her and Giles together in her mind, and shivered at the thought.

"Ah but you see, the Watchers never discovered this lust before, chalking it up to complete myth. Others would watch their slayers, some to the point of obsession, and still they found nothing. Slayers over the centuries, since the first girl, have managed to hide this fact from their Watchers; but why?" Maggie could see that she had Buffy's attention, as she leaned back in her chair. "Because it makes them stronger, and the Watcher's council pride themselves on controlling the slayers. If they discovered that their slayers could become more powerful than even a thousand men, then…"

"How is that possible? I don't feel any different. I mean, it's a good feeling, really good, actually, and I'm sharing too much, aren't I?" Buffy scrunched her eyebrows, her whole body red.

"You forget I've seen you naked." Maggie smirked, keeping the situation light. "I've studied you to the point of no return, no holds barred, and I know the facts and the myths. Buffy Summers, you've just become a hero among the future slayers, and we now know how to make you stronger, better than any slayer that's come before you because we know what the Watcher's council doesn't. We know the truth."

"You had her the whole time I was here, and you didn't say anything?!" Buffy stepped forward in an intimidating fashion.

"Right. Well, I'm afraid that the mannerisms you relayed in my class go beyond the classroom." Maggie arched an eyebrow, letting Buffy know that she should sit down.

"I just want to see Willow." She ducked her head, feeling like she'd failed because 'she' wasn't the one to save her girlfriend.

"Rightly so. We want Ms. Rosenberg here, too." Maggie pushed a button on her phone, and directed the base medical team to send Willow to her office. It took all of two minutes before they rolled a worried Willow into the dim room.

"I was so worried!" Buffy immediately wrapped the redhead in a tight embrace, loving the feel of Willow's arms keeping her in place.

"I was okay. Spike found me." The way Willow said his name wasn't as bitter as she usually did.

"Hostile 17?" This was news to Maggie. From what Alpha team reported, they had found Ms. Rosenberg in an empty tomb.

"Yeah; there were five vamps just waiting for a snack, and he came to save the day. Of all people, I never would have thought…"

"Right, well, if you ladies would like to get comfortable, I'll let you know what I've discovered these past few months from my research." Maggie opened a folder, and started handing Willow sheets of paper with charts and crazy number schemes that Buffy didn't understand.

"Wow; a thousand, really? And, hey! How did you…" Willow's eyes became wide, when she noticed Buffy avert her eyes. "You told her about us?"

"No, no…not really. More like…she taped us." Buffy was still uncomfortable with the fact. It was good to know that she could become stronger because of the information Dr. Walsh got from the tapes but it was still a little voyeuristic for her tastes.

"They're the government; anything's possible." Buffy entwined their hands together, and pulled Willow's overly warm body into hers. She had to make sure that the redhead was really there.

"Rightly so, Ms. Summers." After taking back the charts from Willow, Maggie crossed her arms over her chest, and leaned back in a cocky manner. She looked like she'd just discovered the meaning of life, and it was quite a possibility that that could be said literally. "From the research, we've gathered that Buffy performs faster, stronger, and more agile when you're involved, and I don't just mean that in your sexual excursions." Smirking, she pursed her lips in concentration. "Though I must say, Ms. Rosenberg, you're quite agile yourself. There were a few times that I thought you would wear her out."

"Can we get back on topic, please?" Willow didn't want to talk about her private life with Buffy to their former professor. That was like talking about it to Giles. It's just not something you do.

"Of course." Maggie stood, and pushed the folder aside so that she could sit on the desk in front of the couple. "In short, Buffy has helped cracked the code to why and how a slayer works. It's all in their lust, and not just the sexual part of that lust, either. Slayer lust works differently than mere human lust. When Buffy is stimulated in any way, shape, or form, you are usually involved, and when this is in play, she performs to a higher capability."

"Yes, and when you two are involved sexually, you give her a challenge, so she stays on guard longer when she's out 'patrolling' as she calls it." Maggie wouldn't admit that she enjoyed watching them pounce on each other constantly.

"The thing that I don't get is…why didn't this happen with Angel?" Buffy was lost in concentration, trying to come up with any possibility.

"Obviously, I wasn't around when you were involved with the vampire but from what I can tell, it has to do with your instincts. Naturally, a slayer's bred to repel vampires, so even with a soul, Angelus would turn you off, no matter what your heart believed at the time." Maggie watched Buffy shake her head in the negative.

"…was all make-believe." Maggie could the slayer was having a hard time with this news. Who wouldn't?

"So, you're saying that Angel was a hoax? That we went through all of the stuff with Angelus for nothing? That what I felt was nothing?"

"Now, Buffy, you must understand that because he had a soul, your heart and mind were fooled but your instincts were still repelled. I realize that it's difficult…"

"You don't know the first thing about difficult." Buffy's tone was icy, and she stood, pulling Willow along.

"Buffy, I think you should hear her out." The redhead squeezed the slayer's hand, trying to calm her down; it worked.

"Talk." The blonde sighed, not really willing to believe that the love she felt for Angel wasn't real. It felt real enough to her.

"From what you tell me, there were even signs there before the Angelus incident." Seeing no argument, she continued. "First, your instincts didn't immediately pick up on his vampirism until you saw with your own eyes what he was. Also, there were always complications, and the pull you felt for Ms. Rosenberg made your slayer instincts, and your heart and mind confused."

"Wait. Confused?" Buffy was listening because she heard the truth behind the scientist's reasoning.

"Precisely." Nodding her head for emphasis, Maggie watched the slayer tense, indicating that Buffy was realizing the truth for herself. "There was always a pull between the two of you, was there not?" Seeing the synchronized nods, she continued her explanation with a smirk. "The confusion in your instincts about Angelus jumbled those instincts into confusing your slayer lust; the very thing that drives a slayer. Ms Rosenberg here brought out that factor, and the introduction of Angelus only made your instincts nothing but a junk car. When he was around you and Willow together, you thought that it was love, and you took your lust's hidden, suppressed instincts into believing that you loved the vampire, when in fact…"

"I loved Willow all along." Buffy remembered the confusion in her entire relationship with Angel. When she killed him, it broke her heart but for some reason in LA, she felt freer than she'd ever been in her life. Those first few months back in Sunnydale before Angel came back from hell were bliss. If Spike's crystal conjuring hadn't interfered, there was no telling what would have happened because there was still a huge possibility she would have still wound up with Willow. That very thought hit her to the core, and she had to sit down again, her girlfriend mirroring her action.

"You see, for some reason, you are connected to Willow more than anybody, and she's the key that makes you the slayer. If you hadn't met her, then there's a large possibility that you would have died your first night in Sunnydale. From what you tell me, you probably would have staked Angel that night, too, if you hadn't met her because your instincts wouldn't have felt that connection yet, leaving your mind and heart free to realize he was a vampire, soul or not." Maggie watched as her research finally registered to the girls.

"Well, if you like we can continue working with you; strengthening your skills and weaknesses now that we know what they are, or if you'd like, we can all part ways, and pretend we don't exist." Maggie watched them with a careful eye. It was true; now that she released her findings, it was all up to them.

"Can we think on it?" Buffy stood again, Willow following, and Maggie shook her head. "Oh, and take down your cameras in our room, and wherever else you have them because if you don't, you'll see that thousand man strength firsthand."

"Of course." Sighing, she was going to miss her free porn but knew not to cross the slayer, especially now. "We'll have them down before you get back to your dorms."

"We're headed there now, so they better be fast." Buffy gently took Willow's hand, and pulled her along out the door. The redhead was obviously still speechless, lost in thought herself.

"There's something I don't understand." She furrowed her brow, and tried to understand the missing piece to the puzzle for her. "Why me? What's so special about me that makes Buffy super slayer? I'm just Willow."

"That's not true, actually. We were testing you, too, watching your instincts, watching your reactions, watching your spells and incantations. There's a particular part of your pheromones that attracts the slayer. We've never seen or come across anything like it before, and it would certainly explain why the crystal spell worked as easily as it did. This pheromone is attracted to the slayer's as well, which makes you two the perfect match, actually. Something rare indeed; I would take advantage of that all that I could but don't listen to me, listen to your instincts. They'll tell you all you need to know." Maggie stopped walking, as the girls just walked away up the stairs to the elevator. She informed a lieutenant as he walked by to have the cameras removed immediately, and they had only five minutes to execute them, or there would be heavy consequences. Within ten seconds, a team made their way to eliminate them, and when she got back to her office three minutes later, the feed on her monitor was gone.

"You know, it's not safe to walk out here alone at night. Somethin' might come out and grab ya." Faith scared a young woman, who was standing by a tree, practically begging to be a snack.

"Oh…I-I-I-I'm s-s-sorry. I d-d-d-didn't realize." Tara tried walking away from the intruder to her prayer to the goddess but to no avail. The dark girl just followed her, making her more scared than just standing by the tree.

"What were ya doin' anyway?" Faith kept pace easily with her, and had no trouble following her into the resident hall.

"Um…just…" She noticed that she didn't stutter, as she caught Faith's gaze. The brunette had the most amazing brown eyes she'd ever seen, and she was immediately lost in them.

"You were just, huh?" Faith wasn't faring any better. Seeing the blonde's sad blue eyes melted something inside her, and made her more confident about herself all of a sudden. A little known truth about Faith is that she's afraid to let herself get too close but at the moment, she wants nothing but…

"Look, I have some tea in my room, if you'd like…" Tara had never seen this girl on campus before but she looked oddly familiar. She was just drawn to her, and for once, she felt safer than she ever had. Asking strangers up for tea wasn't something she'd normally do, and it certainly wasn't something she'd do for a girl that scared her moments earlier.

"Um, sure." Faith didn't care that she couldn't stand tea. She just had to be close to this girl. They walked up to her dorm room in silence, and the brunette found herself comfortable with the ambience in the room. The Christmas lights, the candles, the witchy stuff. 'Wait, witchy stuff?'

"Sounds perfect. Hey, ya don't happen to be a witch, do ya?" Faith wasn't known for her tact. Even with these new emotions running through her body, she was still Faith.

"Wicca, how did you…" Tara turned around from the tea can, and closed the lid again, not even removing any tea bags.

"Your stuff; I gotta friend that's into the witchy stuff. Actually, you might know her; she's goes here with her girlfriend." Faith watched for any sign that the girl had a problem with the girl on girl lovin'; seeing none, she did an internal happy dance.

"I don't really go to the group anymore. They were all wanna blessed bes, as a friend, or rather former friend put it."

"Hey, that's exactly what she said!" Faith was jumping from foot to foot but not like she would be when she was itching for a fight. No, she was actually nervous.

"Willow Rosenberg." Tara kept her voice low, still hurt over the way her emotions got the better of her.

"Hey, yeah!" Faith noticed the forlorn look, and walked over to the blonde, lifting her head to look into those blue eyes that captured her completely. "How do you know Red?"

"Or somebody." Faith wasn't as stupid as she liked people to think. She was always quick on the uptake. This was the Tara that Xander thought Willow was seeing. "You're Tara, right?"

"Well, other than the fact that we have a mutual friend, I happen to be Faith, if she ever mentioned me." She waited for any recognition, as the blonde searched her mental database for the name.

"Faith. Are you the other slayer besides Buffy?" Tara remembered everything that Willow ever told her; she hung on every word the redhead said.

"Well, I like to think of myself as the co-slayer but yeah, that'd be me. How did ya know about slayers and the like? Is it the witchy stuff?" Faith started browsing through the room, touching stuff, not caring what the girl thought. She was completely curious. "You stay in here a lot, don't ya? You don't go out much."

"I can tell." Faith couldn't understand it. From the first time she looked in this girl's eyes, she felt stronger, faster, freer than she'd ever felt in her life.

"Would you like to sit down?" Tara was confident, bold, brazen, and really wanting to feel those big, gorgeous lips pressed against her own.

"More than you know…" They both sat down, and it took them all of ten seconds before they were all over each other. The funny thing is that it was Faith that stopped them before things went beyond kissing. For some strange reason, the dark slayer felt complete for the first time in her life, and she didn't want to screw things up; without an explanation needed, they both just cuddled together atop the covers, and fell asleep to the lull of the crickets chirping outside, and the full moon shining through the window.

"I've been gone two minutes. I just had to get ready for bed; you were even in there with me!" Willow snuggled under their covers after she removed her robe, wrapping her underwear-clad body completely around her nude girlfriend.

"Well, that's too long. After all, you complete me." Buffy chuckled, and received a playful tap on her stomach, right above her new burn tattoo.

"I thought we agreed no 'Jerry Maguire' jokes?" Willow kissed her collarbone anyways. She had to admit that she missed Buffy those two minutes, too.

"Well, it's still true." Buffy ran her fingertips lightly against Willow's back, relishing the feel of the redhead's mouth devouring her shoulder and neck, sucking in the right spots. "Gods…"

"I love you, Buffy." Between kisses, Willow managed to get that out, and felt Buffy start to tug at her hair in passion.

"Love you, too…mmm…" The blonde tugged at Willow's underwear, needing to feel her body completely against hers without any barriers. "I want you so much…"

"Then have me…" Willow whispered against her ear, and moved her hands down to the right spot, feeling Buffy completely arch into her body. Moving in a rhythm that she'd mastered, the redhead dug her hand into the perfect spots that drove her girlfriend wild with desire, building up to the perfect moment of true happiness. The best part was there was no happiness clause, so they could have all the mind-blowing orgasms they wanted; free of charge!

"Sss…" Buffy pulled Willow's body tighter to hers, meshing their hot skin together, leaving soft bruises from her grip.

"Already?" Willow didn't stop, just chuckled, knowing full well that she'd done that on purpose. Denying her girlfriend the pleasure, she pulled her fingers away, and ran them across the burn tattoo, outlining it with her wet fingers.

"Seems like that's what I was doing to you." Willow smirked, crashing their lips together again, as she finally moved back to let Buffy release for the first out of several times that night. Dr. Walsh was right about one thing for sure; the slayer and witch were definitely a perfect match. For the first time in months, the two made passionate love without an audience, and they didn't care one way or another. All they cared about was that they were together, and they loved more.

"Hey." Faith hadn't been able to stop thinking about Tara. She woke up in the middle of the night, the blonde wrapped completely around her body. Even though her instincts told her not to move, she still had to patrol. For some reason, Faith felt the need to make the world a safer place.

"Oh, hey!" Tara turned around, shocked to find the brunette walking beside her. She had just gotten out of her Art class, and was heading back to her dorm. "Do you ever not show up out of nowhere?"

"Who I'm tryin' to scare." Faith smirked, and took Tara's bag and books from her. Unsure where the chivalry came from all of a sudden, she just went with the flow. The night before, she'd tried to think of anything, focus on her slaying, training, or even teasing Anya but even that wasn't fulfilling. She needed to see the blonde.

"Oh? Are you trying to scare me?" Tara arched her eyebrow. Her bold, vixen nature had been buried, and she didn't even know it existed but ten seconds with the sultry slayer, and she was on fire.

"Nope. Just tryin' to find ya." Faith bounced along beside her, brushing against the blonde's shoulder as often as possible. 'Since when do I bounce?'

"You wanted to find me?" Faith's stomach was nothing but knots, and her head was dizzy with ecstasy; and this time it wasn't the drug!

"Yes." A straight (okay, gay) answer, no need to beat around the bush. "I woke up, and you were gone; no note, nothing to indicate where you'd be. I was afraid that I'd have to call Willow to find out."

"Nothing wrong with that." Faith didn't miss the sadness that washed over the blonde's face, and she stopped them in front of Tara's dorm building. "Something's wrong?"

"Yes, no, I don't know." Tara was still heartbroken. Every ounce of her body screamed for Willow but the past few days, they'd been screaming Faith. It still hurt to think about the redhead but if she had to call the girl to figure out where the dark slayer was, she would do it, regardless the pain she would feel later. Besides, there was a promise of a much better feeling in return for her pain.

"You liked Red; nothin' wrong with that. I was into that for a while myself." Instead of saying something stupid about her sexual history with the redhead, Faith chose to focus on what to say that wouldn't bother the girl. "She and B; they're good together."

"So I've heard." Tara walked along, taking her stairs slowly. She was torn between her unrequited love for Willow, and the burgeoning passion she felt for Faith. The brunette just followed her all the way to her room, bobbing her head in time to a tune all her own, while Tara closed the door and locked it. "Tell me more about yourself. I feel so comfortable with you but I hardly even know you."

"Ah, ya know. I listen to music, dance, shoot the breeze. Other than slayin', there's not much else." Faith shrugged, and sat on the edge of the bed.

"I'm sure there's more to you than just slaying." Tara finished putting her school stuff away, and then plopped up against her headboard, bouncing the bed in her quake, causing Faith to bounce, too.

"Nah, I'm just about slayin'." Faith felt her cheeks start to burn, and she thought her nose would grow any minute. She didn't want to scare Tara off because of her addiction to sex. "What about you? There's gotta be more to ya than just this witchy stuff."

"Oh, well…mostly witchy stuff." Tara didn't want to scare off Faith because of the possibility that her 'demon' side would eventually surface. It wasn't just because the girl was the slayer, more because she wanted the brunette to like her.

"We sound like an excitin' pair." Faith chuckled, trying to hide her blush. The thought of her and the blonde as a pair drive the slayer insane with lust. "Want to go…"

"I'd love to!" Tara blushed and ducked her head when she realized Faith hadn't finished asking the question. "Sorry."

"No need to be." Faith just scooted up the bed, and leaned against the headboard beside her, brushing her leg against the girl's. "I was just wonderin' if ya wanna go get coffee?"

"I'd love to." Tara smiled, still blushing and ducking. Every ounce of her body was telling her to pounce on the slayer, and it confused the blonde to high hell. She hadn't touched another woman since junior year prom, when her best friend was drunk and came on to her. The blonde had mistaken the affection for something real, and that following Monday, she no longer had a single friend.

"Yeah, great." Tara just looked around, wondering why Faith wasn't moving an inch. "Something wrong?"

"Nah, just thinkin'." Faith shrugged, and mentally chided herself for being clumsy. The dark slayer had branded herself a bad ass, and here she was, wanting nothing more than to feel the girl's body under hers but in a sweet passion, not just a hardcore fuck and run.

"Nothin', let's get goin'." Faith stood, and that's when Tara had her brief moment of epiphany. "What?"

"I forgot that I'm supposed to help a classmate with her art history paper." Tara sent pleading eyes to Faith but the slayer only felt a bolt of jealousy run through her body. She hadn't felt it since her time with Willow.

"Yeah, she needs help with her Rembrandt paper. I forgot, I'm sorry." Tara made a move to get up but Faith tackled her back to the bed. It was sudden but definitely not unwanted. "What?"

"Nothin'." Faith held Tara's hands to the side, and sat atop her torso. Leaning down, she kissed the blonde's soft lips with her own, actually taking time to just feel the texture and sweetness of the kiss, and not rush it into something needy. "Just wanted to give ya that."

"Oh, well…uh, thanks." Tara's breathing was heavy, lips still tingling from the electrifying kiss. It took her all of seventeen seconds, gazing into Faith's eyes, before she pulled the slayer down for a much harsher, needier kiss. Never letting their lips apart for more than it takes to capture a harsh intake of breath, Tara gave Faith something that neither had experienced: love.

"Oh, I like the red." Willow was moving her eyes from the red dress to the blue one. Buffy just held the hangers up, nervously fiddling her fingers against the plastic.

"The red; are you sure?" Buffy held it out in front of her, and studied it a minute. "You're sure it doesn't scream 'randy sex kitten, ready for a good…"

"Buffy! No, it doesn't." Willow tried to hide her blush but the blonde saw it, and smirked in an evil fashion. Tossing the other dress on the bed, she pulled the red dress on before moving over to her fiery girlfriend.

"Can you help me with this, Will?" Buffy moved her long locks to the side, and let the redhead zip her dress. When she felt the girl's fingers linger a little longer on her neck, the blonde took a deep breath before turning around again. "Thanks, baby."

"Not a problem." Willow's high-squeaked tone indicated that the dress definitely screamed horny devil. "Looks good."

"Definitely." The redhead was having trouble focusing, as the blonde bent over her, exposing her cleavage by Willow's cheek. "Definitely looks good."

"Will? A little drool…" Buffy wiped the tiny speckle from her girlfriend's chin before sashaying her way back to the closet. "I think I'll go with the blue. Don't want Giles to have a massive coronary if I walk in the room looking like a slut."

"No but the other people at the party might think that. I mean, they're all stuffy British people, and even Faith is dressing down."

"Really? No leather or anything?" Willow and Buffy were baffled. The brunette slayer was improving in every skill and even finished patrolling earlier, disappearing for days at a time without telling Joyce where she was exactly. Mrs. Summers just chalked it up to Faith respecting her rules of no kink in the house but that didn't make her worry any less.

"Nope; just a pair of nice dress pants and blouse. I have no idea where she even bought the outfit." Buffy pouted, as she pulled the blue dress on, walking back over for the zipper help.

"Did she look nice?" Willow grumbled at the coverage but she still zipped up the dress. The stupid party started in an hour, and they had already delayed getting ready too many times to count, opting to stay naked instead.

"Why? You gonna pick her up?" Buffy turned around, and taunted her girlfriend. Secretly, she was fuming with jealousy.

"I was thinking about my goal for the night." Willow saw the jealous rage behind Buffy's eyes, and decided to play her a little.

"What goal?" Buffy sat down in a defensive posture, ready to battle anybody that vied for 'her' maiden's attention.

"Well, I plan on seducing a slayer tonight, and taking her home with me." Willow lay back on the bed in a lazy stretch, letting her own blouse ride up her belly a little.

"Well, there are only two slayers, and there'll be a room full of people wanting their attention, so how are you going about this little plan?" Buffy lay down beside her, running her calloused hand across her girlfriend's alabaster belly.

"Hmm…if I told you, then I might jinx myself." Willow smirked, and fluffed Buffy's curls a bit. "You look amazing."

"You look yummy, too." Buffy bent over, and kissed the redhead's torso, causing a sharp intake of breath, and sudden scent of arousal. "You're insatiable."

"You're a big tease." Willow wrapped her hand around Buffy's body, and they cuddled on the bed.

"Faith said she's bringing a date anyways, so that just leaves one slayer." Buffy bent up on her elbow, and looked down at her lover. "I don't think you'll have much convincing to do."

"Good because I can be kinda shy sometimes." Willow smirked, ready for action again. She really was insatiable. Buffy bent over, and started kissing her passionately on the mouth, her own scent of arousal starting to fill the room.

"We need to stop before we can't." Buffy still made no move to stop; Willow didn't argue, as she pushed the blonde's dress up her body a little, rubbing her palm on the slayer's bare cheeks. Tonight, Buffy decided she was part of the Initiative; at least that's how she explained going commando.

"Party…" Willow smothered the blonde's neck in lavish kisses, and just held onto the bare ass for dear life, pulling the slayer more into her.

"Later…" Buffy moved her own hands underneath the waistband of Willow's skirt, and started fiddling a tune with her fingers.

"That's Faith's date?" Willow and Buffy stared wide-eyed at the busty girl sitting in the corner at the Bronze. It was a semi-formal occasion, honoring Giles as Watcher of the year. Both of his slayers were showing signs of improvement, and he had shown signs of mastering their discipline. The room was filled with stuffy British types, and the gang stuck out like a menstrual cycle on a polar bear.

"Yeah; shocked the hell out of me." Xander stood, bobbing his head absent-mindedly to the classical music. He saw Faith walk in with Tara on her arm, and spit his coke all over Anya, who yelled and made a ruckus. However, she was really quiet when she noticed several watchers eyeing her suspiciously, so she just went home to change.

"Where's Faith, though? Is she just gonna leave her there all night?" Willow looked around, trying to spot the brunette but to no avail.

"How did you know that? I mean we were…" Willow noticed Xander paying closer attention. "…playing chess."

"Playing chess, Will?" Buffy smirked, especially when she noticed the deflated look on Xander's face. "You always were able to leave me in checkmate."

"Buffy!" Willow caught the horrible innuendo, and went for the bait. When she saw Xander's lust-filled gaze directed towards them, she pulled her girlfriend away from the hormone-driven boy.

"Relax, baby. It wasn't even my best!" Buffy smirked, and wrapped her arms around Willow, easing her to the dance floor. "It's not the easiest song to dance to but I don't care; I wanna dance with my woman."

"Let them." Buffy pulled Willow tighter to her body, and kissed her firmly on the mouth. The redhead just blushed, and buried her head in the blonde's neck; both from excitement and embarrassment.

Meanwhile, a certain other blonde watched the exchange from her seat. She was about to get up and leave but a strong pair of hands on her shoulders stopped her. Frightened, she sent a quiet prayer to the goddess, and she must've been listening because Faith placed a gentle kiss on her forehead from behind.

"Miss me?" Faith bounced back around, brushing off the remaining dust from the fight outside the building. She wanted to get a heads up; in case the vamps and demons knew that the slayers were both off duty tonight because of this shindig.

"Hi." Tara beamed a smile, and Faith was putty in her hands. She finally understood her sister slayer better, having experienced heaven in a witch's arms.

"Anything exciting happen while I was gone?" She scanned the room, and saw that the two lovebirds had finally shown. "When did they get here?"

"Not two minutes ago; you must've just missed them." Tara leaned into Faith's arms, and relished in the feeling of being held. "When is this thing over?"

"Who knows with these dudes? Why? You wanna leave? 'Cause if you're not comfortable, we can bolt. I don't care 'bout…" She stopped protect mode when Tara's soft lips halted her own.

"Faith, I'm fine." She fell back into the quiet embrace, and watched the other couples dancing the waltz on the floor. Buffy was trying to teach Willow but the redhead kept stepping on the blonde's feet, as they both chuckled to hide frustration.

"G-man's already got his award and shit, so we can bounce whenever ya want." Faith hitched her thumb to the door, feeling that low down tingling stronger than the night before, wanting to completely ravish the witch right here on the table. She didn't care; that low down rumbling was just a little louder than usual.

"Are you okay? Did something happen on patrol?" Tara, having not been on the receiving end of full slayer lust yet, was worried that her lover was hurt.

"No, I mean…yeah, there were a few vamps, and another coupla shit demons but luckily, I ducked before the shit flew everywhere." Faith scrunched her face in disgust, mentally checking over her body for any sign of shit demon goo. She didn't want to repel Tara. "I'm fine, though."

"Five by five? Five what by five what…" Tara wasn't used to the phrase, so she was a little confused at the context. For all she knew, it meant Faith was dying.

"Nothin'; let's get outta here." Faith pulled her lover from her seat, and practically carried her out the door. It wasn't two minutes that Buffy and Willow followed behind them, unaware that both slayers had taken their witches to bed to quell their slayer lust.

"Buffy, duck!" Willow screamed over the flying shit, as it started to go everywhere. The shit demons were growing in numbers, and nobody could figure out why. Giles had started researching, choosing to ignore the 'impossible' soldier boy problem. Things were heating up in Sunnydale, and the gang had a party to attend at Lowell house tonight. Riley and the others invited Buffy and Willow, who in turn invited the gang without knowing it until Xander informed them once again that they weren't hanging with them much anymore.

"They're gone. I don't need to…oh." Buffy looked beside the tombstone, and realized that a poor baby duck had been covered in the latest remains of the shit demon community.

"We can't just leave him there. He's covered!" Willow went to him, and almost scooped him up…but changed her mind at the last minute because of the hideous smell. Buffy had come home smelling like that too often, having been pitted against more than two at a time, and not having enough time to duck the last one's explosion of guts. Willow sent her to the shower before they made love those nights. Tonight they were supposed to have the night off but with the uprising, they didn't have a choice. Faith was at Restfield, and Buffy and Willow were at Minnow cemetery. These were the two popular sites where the demons liked to stay but so far, no luck on hideouts.

"Maybe we should leave him here." Buffy backed away. They were both covered anyways. What would it hurt? Plus, Willow had her little pouty face on that Buffy never could resist. If it weren't for the fact that they were covered, the blonde would've taken that lip between her own lips, and nibbled just a bit. Unfortunately, the shit demons strike again.

"We can sneak him in the dorm, and clean him up before anyone sees. Please, Buffy?" Willow always knew how to make her slayer give in to things.

"Okay." Buffy scooped the little baby duck into her arms after she tucked her brown covered sword back into yet another perfectly ruined slayer bag. Willow just carried the amulet this last demon had around his neck, and planned to clean it (along with baby duck now) back at Stevenson. Then, it was off to Lowell house to meet with the gang. The semester was almost over, and summer was a promise. No big apocalypse threats yet but these shit demons were sure causing a big mess.

"Are you gonna wear that sexy purple sweater?" Willow bounced on her heels. They both smelled bad.

"Almost there…must clean body…" Buffy just giggled along with her girlfriend, and twenty-six minutes later, they were clean as a whistle. After cleaning the amulet and baby duck, the two lovebirds took the baby bird back to their room, and made a makeshift cage for him. They would figure things out after their showers. Willow tried to get Buffy to shower with her but just like every night they fought these demons, the blonde was too embarrassed about the smell to have some foreplay in the showers.

"Mmm…you smell like fresh rain." Willow wrapped her clean, bare arms around Buffy's clean bare torso, and both girls loved it. The redhead kissed along Buffy's shoulder, all the way down to the small of her back before moving her way back up, and turning the blonde around to capture her lips, causing the slayer's bare body to wrap around Willow's towel clad one. "We could just skip the party…"

"Yeah…but it's not like…" Willow was doing the most delicious thing to Buffy's pulse point, and the blonde thought she would give in any second.

"We promised…" The blonde wrapped her hands in Willow's hair, loving the dampness of her jasmine shampoo against her fingertips. "We need to stop. The party starts in an hour…"

"Stop? Baby duck doesn't think we should stop…" Willow looked over Buffy's shoulder to the makeshift cage beside the bed, where said duck was just quacking a low quack. It sounded sad. "I think it misses its mommy."

"What?" Buffy was one second away from giving in right as Willow released her, and went to the duck instead. "Hey! Kissing and groping here!"

"Oh, sorry. You said party, though…remember?" Willow smirked that evil smirk the blonde loved, and both went about getting ready, sneaking peeks and kisses between, before walking with hands entwined the few yards to Lowell house.

The speakers outside were bumping, and the party was alive. It seemed as though those in attendance were ready for a good time. Buffy and Willow walked in to find Xander standing with Faith and Tara of all people. Walking over, Tara avoided eye contact, and Faith wrapped an arm around the blonde witch for comfort. Both Buffy and Willow looked at each other with odd, surprised expressions on their faces. Faith was being comforting? That was just…odd.

"My two favor…" Xander looked to see Faith eyeing him with death. He knew not to finish that sentence. Two witches and two slayers were in his presence, all of who happened to be paired with the opposite. "My two…uh…yeah…I lost it."

"Best keep it up, wonder boy. You'll never find you a woman in this crowd." Faith smacked his arm in a playful banter, and he rubbed it in response. It would leave a mark in the morning.

"What happened to Anya?" Willow was curious. She still had problems with the ex demon but they had found a semi-comfortable existence around each other, which consisted mainly of avoidance but still.

"Oh, I lost my ice cream truck job because she blurted out that we didn't have enough sex…right there in front of the crowd, in front of the parents. I can't believe she really would…" Xander kept talking, and Willow leaned over to whisper in Buffy's ear that she was going to get them fruit drinks…maybe a beer. Buffy nodded, and the redhead left the remainder to listen to story of how Xander was having too much sex.

"How's that going for ya?" Faith just held onto Tara's hand. No use in pretending they weren't together now. Besides, she could feel the uncomfortable vibe coming off of the blonde witch in waves.

"Then, she expects me to…" The conversation just kept going, as Buffy stared with lusty eyes towards Willow, who was waiting in line for the drinks, staring directly back, ignoring Graham, who was talking about something…she wasn't sure what. She was too busy thinking about naked Buffy…mmm…

"Buffy…you still with us here?" Faith snapped her fingers but it still didn't get the blonde's attention. She followed her gaze, and saw the two lovebirds just screaming for some loving.

"Yuh-huh…" Buffy just couldn't help it. There was something in the air…something screaming that she needed Willow…and they couldn't wait to get back to the dorm. They'd have to borrow one of the rooms. Maybe Riley's…it was just one floor up.

"Hey…now's a good time to mention that somebody that's not me borrowed your leather jacket, and got the shit demon goo splattered all over it. Still love me, don'tcha, B?" Faith just smirked, knowing full well what was going on in her sister slayer's head. Buffy just kept staring, and then came back to the conversation as Willow made her way back to them.

"Wait…huh?" Buffy looked at Faith, pretty sure she heard something about her leather coat.

"Faith was…um…Faith was just t-talking about the demons that keep m-making a mess." Tara tried to diffuse the situation. It was kind of funny the look on Buffy's face but then again, she refused to follow her line of sight because she knew where the other blonde's eyes rested.

"Uh-huh. I'll be back." Buffy met Willow halfway, and neither said anything. Willow handed her cups to Riley, as Buffy pulled her along. "Um…just gonna go study. We have a big paper due…"

"Yeah…study. Hope you don't mind us using your room!" Willow called, as they were already halfway up the stairs. Neither saw the downtrodden look on the soldier boy's face, as he followed Buffy's butt as it took three stairs at a time.

Anya and Spike chose that moment to walk in, and Xander and Anya had a fight, while Spike diffused a situation with the soldier boys. Faith had dragged Tara to a quiet spot on the stairs, where they started talking. Xander took off inside the house more, and flirted with a curly-headed girl…and actually succeeded to his surprise. Spike just went straight for the beer, not really caring, and Anya huffed her way through the crowd, her own beer in hand.

Buffy and Willow had locked the door for safety purposes of course. Both felt sorry for poor Riley's bed as soon as they tore each other's clothes from their bodies, crashing on the bed, immediately proceeding in their sexual activities. They'd never had sex outside their own room…it was a new experience for them. Well, okay there was that one time…well, two…okay, five… Whatever, they were just horny a lot. Give 'em some slack.

"I love you." Buffy crawled atop Willow under the sheets, and they moved with each other, inside, outside, up, down, around…it didn't matter. Wherever one went, the other followed, sweat pouring from their bodies. Once they reached orgasm, they would just heat up again, and keep going. It was worse than usual. They just couldn't stop. They couldn't get enough…they needed more. "Never stop touching me."

"Never." Willow rolled them over so that she was on top, and started to ride Buffy's fingers, eyes closed in ecstasy until she peaked, and then crashed completely over her lover, never, ever stopping.

"Tara?" Faith pulled back the shower curtain only to find an apparition drowning, and then turning around to find him standing beside her.

"You're too far away…" Buffy pulled Willow back to her, both of them breathing heavy.

"What the bloody…" Spike ripped the leather straps that were holding him to the chair. "Hey!"

"Something's in this house, we need to get out…" Tara found that nobody disagreed.

"Buffy and Will…they're still upstairs." Anya and Xander went to get them, and heard their pleasured voices bleeding through Riley's bedroom door. When Xander went to open the door, he was shoved back. When Anya went to open it, she was hurled over the railing, and her head hit the couch.

It wasn't long before everybody was standing outside. The house wasn't letting them back inside, and Buffy and Willow were still trapped.

"You don't know what it's like…to be hated…to be fated…" Giles didn't tell the kids where he'd be; he wanted to do this himself. Something for just him. Looking up, he was surprised to find four of them standing there with their mouths open, just as he was about to go into the chorus.

"Hey, it says here that the house was a house for orphaned children before it was a fraternity…"

"So, Buffy and Willow…they're feeding the house." Way to state the obvious Xander.

"Xander!" Anya was already upset that one of the vines tore through her hand, and now the ghost children were holding Xander captive. The others were supposed to be holding a séance to keep them away while she and her boyfriend saved Buffy and Willow from disappearing forever. If she'd known that's what happened when you wanted sex 24/7, she never would've gotten Xander fired from his job today. She was just so new to this human thing. Even when she was one back in the 14th century, she wasn't good with people.

Finally, success! They managed to open the door, thanks to some witchy magicks that made the children disappear right in the knick of time.

"Hey! Doesn't anybody knock?" Buffy tried to cover their bodies further but Xander and Anya were just looking at them. They were just making with the merry. It wasn't until the explanation afterwards in the lobby of Stevenson hall that they knew that they're sexing each other up had caused the house to come alive.

The bad part (or the good part, depends on how you look at it)? When Buffy and Willow got back to their dorm room upstairs, they had sex at least two more times.

"What happened with you and Willow?" Tara looked at Faith, who was lying right next to her in the bed. They were snuggled together. There was too much sex going around tonight, and neither wanted to give into the temptation, though both felt it stirring pretty strongly.

"I'm sorry?" Faith looked over at her lover, her girlfriend, and narrowed her eyes. From her voice, it sounded like Tara really was ready to hear what had happened. They had been dancing around the 'crystal incident with Red' for over three months. That's how long it'd been since they'd started dating. Dating. A weird thought to Faith but she liked it. She wouldn't have it any other way, and Joyce actually liked Tara. Adored her actually. The dark slayer had brought Tara 'home' to have dinner with her 'mom' at least twice a week, and Tara had stayed at the Summers' residence at least a dozen times already.

"I want to hear. I'm ready…I want to know everything that happened with the crystal incident." Tara felt free with Faith. Willow still hurt…but she was happier with Faith than she believed she would've been with the redhead. Truth is…and she hated to admit it…but Buffy and Willow were perfect. They fit…just like Tara felt she and Faith fit to some degree. It seemed irrational at first; a demon dating a slayer…but as she started hearing the stories of slaying past, Tara realized that she wouldn't be the first.

"You sure? It's pretty graphic. I mean…I can sober it down for ya, and all…but it's still pretty graphic." Faith wanted to keep Tara. Not as a pet. Not as a slave. She wanted to keep Tara for good…she'd never felt this way, anything remotely similar. She'd never been on a date, let alone several a week. She'd never just cuddled with somebody, fallen asleep in his or her arms, or having him or her falling asleep in hers. It was like…it was like magick. Her slayer lust enjoyed Tara, too. The girl was wild in bed. Tara acted nervous around other people but when they were alone…shooo….what a good time they had.

"Okay…" Faith took a breath, knowing that she'd see hurt in the other girl's eyes. She wanted to see the reaction in Tara's face, so the brunette moved to position them facing each other, while she could still stroke the blonde locks she'd fallen in love with…oh wow…she's fallen in love. "This crystal thing…it put a spell on B, Fang, Red, and me…we all kinda did this dance…tryin' to see who could win the contest. At first, we just knew B was in it…thinkin' she was after Red…couldn't control herself literally. She had no control over what her body did around Will…er…Red."

"Keep going…I'm okay." Tara mirrored Faith's actions, and just sifted her fingers through those long, wavy brown locks that mesmerized her.

"Yeah, well…thing was we all…uh…the four of us were all part of this dance but we didn't know it 'til it was too late." Faith checked Tara's eyes to make sure it was okay to precede, and found the light was green. Whether that meant go, or jealous…she didn't know. She may be feeling these new feelings but that didn't mean she understood them. "After slayin' one night, B had to rush home, and I walked Will…er…Red home, and long story short, I marked her."

"Yeah…uh…we kinda did the rough and tumble…a lot, and well…lots of problems happened." Faith was afraid that Tara would be angry that she'd touched another girl, let alone the girl being Willow.

"It's okay. I'm okay." Tara brought Faith's eyes back to hers, and kissed the tip of her nose before giving her the go ahead again.

"Yeah…real sweet, too…and smart. You'd like…" Faith realized she was letting her emotions show too much, and closed them again. "Back to the story. Anyways, I don't know…two weeks…a month…I'm not even sure how long it lasted really because the only thing I remember is Willow. I always had to be with Willow, or I would go crazy…literally. Whenever she was threatened, or I thought somebody was making moves on her…just a look, a head nod…anything…it didn't matter, I was just this…jealous monster. I had marked her; she was mine. B went crazy…it was a good thing Fang was outta town before any of this happened."

"Oh, simple…watcher man, and Fred did this spell…see, Giles completely looked over the idea that Fred and Will would've done the horizontal polka, and that changed everything. If it weren't for that, there's a probability that we'd still be Willow obsessed."

"Yeah…me and B. We were fightin'… I still don't know how we managed not to kill each other."

"Oh…it was before graduation last year…theirs, not mine. I just got my GED."

"You got your GED? Why didn't you tell me?" Tara sat up in excitement, and Faith followed her. They'd silently agreed to sleep in tanks and boxers because of the heating Sunnydale nights.

"Didn't think it was that big a deal." Faith just shrugged. It was a big deal to her but she didn't want people to know it. It may have been three months with Tara but most of Faith's defenses were still in place. In the past, whenever she'd start to show that she was opening up, giving herself to somebody completely, they would shut her down, belittle her, kick her to the curb. The brunette NEVER wanted that feeling to happen with Tara. There was just something about the blonde witch that spoke to every nerve in her body. She craved her.

"It IS a big deal. Faith, that's a HUGE deal. Baby, we should celebrate." Tara pulled the girl into a hug, not realizing at first that they're chests rubbed together.

"I thought we agreed no sex tonight because of the whole sex house thing." Faith wanted it…she'd wanted it since she finished patrolling. Hell, she just always wanted it…and just with Tara. Other guys and girls didn't register to her anymore. Whenever some of her past one nighters, or random people would try to hit on her while Tara was in the bathroom, Faith would just shrug them off…she was actually somewhat polite lately about rejecting them. It was an odd feeling, only wanting one person. She wasn't sure if she liked it or not yet…but she could sure get used to it.

"How about we watch bad kung fu movies until we fall asleep?" Tara smirked that sexy smirk that drove Faith wild, and the brunette knew it was done on purpose.

"You live to torment me." They chuckled together, as they snuggled back under the covers, and watched bad kung fu movies until they fell asleep.

Buffy and Willow were snuggled together, their nude bodies finally satiated for the night. It was quite a night…quite a pleasurable and eventful night. The sex was great…they were great…they were in love…and the baby duck stopped quacking after Buffy's last scream into Willow's shoulder. It might have been scared.

With the Sunnydale moon low, it was only a matter of time before it would fall, and bring about the morning sun. As the hours crept by, the two lovebirds just continued sleeping in each other's arms. The baby duck on the other hand…it grew a little too big for its makeshift cage…a little too fast…and pretty soon, it started growing fangs…horns, and then it started oozing poo. When Buffy and Willow woke to an awful smell about 7 o'clock that morning, only four hours after they'd fallen asleep…they found their room covered in shit, and the baby duck missing.

"Oh, no. Buffy, the baby duck's missing!" Even though Willow was covered, and the room was covered in shit, the redhead still looked everywhere in the room for the duck. "What if the shit demon ate him?"

"Baby? I think that's the least of our worries." Buffy came over, and looked over the smell. They were both covered anyways. She stopped Willow's frantic search, and held her hands.

"How can you say that? That baby duck was lonely. We were his only parents." Willow started to cry into Buffy's shoulder.

"Willow…it was just a baby duck. Don't you think we should worry more about…oh, I don't know… why the hell was the shit demon in the room to begin with, and why would it take just the duck?" Buffy sat Willow down on the bed. She internally groaned. This would take hours of work, and the comforter and sheets were totally ruined, not to mention her nice…well, okay…she slept nude. No pajamas were ruined. That was a plus. "Let's get this place cleaned as best we can, and then head over to Giles. I'm tired of this shit…literally."

"Yeah, and don't worry. I'm sure the baby duck just escaped through the door when the shit demon came in." Buffy wanted to kiss Willow to reassure her but being soaked in poo doesn't harbor sexy feelings.

The girls took a shower, and put on old…very old clothes, and cleaned the room, putting their ruined items in several trash bags. Groaning, they finished their task before taking the bags to the dumpster behind the building, where the baby duck turned shit demon stood. Willow stopped, not realizing the demon as the duck until…awkwardly enough…it quacked.

"What the…did you just quack, and hey! Why aren't you attacking?" Buffy took a defensive posture in front of Willow, and scanned the area for a good weapon. The demon just kept quacking.

"I don't think it wants to…" Willow focused on it; the smell was horrid but it wasn't like they smelled much better after cleaning the room. "Hi there. Um…do you have a name?"

"Buffy, baby…I think it is baby duck." Willow just studied the demon in that cute way that Buffy thought irresistible. The redhead in research mode was one of the slayer's favorites. "Baby duck, er…Quack?" The demon just cocked his head, indicating for her to go ahead w/ her question. It was amazing. The demon understood her. "Wow…um…what happened? How did you get like this?"

"Quack." The demon did something similar to Buffy's reaction at Giles's drawing of her on the overhead projector during the battle w/ the Gentleman. Quack didn't look happy.

"Buffy, I think I know why we can't find their hideout." Willow turned to her girlfriend, that sudden moment of epiphany shining in her eyes. That was another of Buffy's favorites.

"Because they start out as ducks. That would make sense because Restfield and Minnow are the only places we see them, and they're the only two beside lakes, in which coincidentally happen to reside thousands of ducks." Willow looked at the demon again, sympathy in her eyes for what the baby duck had become; it would never make any ducky friends now.

"They couldn't just…you know, like… think duck was a delicacy? Do they really have to be the ducks? I don't do duck season." Buffy grumbled, and that was one of Willow's favorites.

"We'll have to check." Willow turned back to the baby duck. He was being awfully cooperative; normally, the shit demons attack without thinking. This particular demon was gentle. "Who is right? Buffy with her duck as food theory, or me with my you are the ducks theory?"

"Quack." The demon understood them, and Willow had that glow in her eyes that let Buffy know she was intrigued. That look that she saw in Dr. Walsh's eyes sometimes that would indicate she wanted to do experiments. Quack pointed to Willow, and the theory was confirmed…well, to some degree.

"We should take him to Giles. See if we can do a spell to give him a voice. Maybe Quack here knows what we don't. Maybe he's the missing link."

"Goodbye." Buffy waited for the laughs but she only got confused looks from her girlfriend and the demon. "Okay, was I the only one to watch that show? I know Giles did…he's British."

"We just missed the reference, Buffy. Plus, shit demon? Not exactly known to watch pop culture television." Willow started to think about ways to get Quack to Giles's without causing too much of a scene. She didn't want to risk him taking off while they showered, so she decided it was a good idea to just go on. They could shower all the poo from their bodies at Giles's.

On the way, the demon would leave a slight trail, and the scent caused people to look at him with noses held, and eyes concerned for his hygiene. People in Sunnydale weren't that noticeable of the horns, or the fangs. They only saw what they wanted to see.

When the girls and Quack got to Giles's flat, they didn't even bother knocking, just barged in; it was strange but Quack just took a seat in a chair, careful not to stain the watcher's nice floors.

"Look, Buffy. He's considerate, too." Willow sounded like a proud mother; the blonde couldn't help but notice. Maybe they should talk about getting a pet to sneak in the dorm.

"What is that awful…" Giles came out of his room, holding a handkerchief across his nose and mouth. "Might I ask why there is a shit demon in my living room?"

"Funny story, really…" Willow started to blush, realizing that this was an awkward time. Maybe they should've called and warned him first.

"Not really. Willow and I brought home a baby duck last night after patrol, and…"

"Wait? A duck? What does a duck have to do with this monstrosity?" Giles backed away when the demon quacked at him, as though he were offended by the comment. "Quite sorry; do forgive me."

"This is the baby duck." Buffy was enjoying the reaction on Giles's face too much. He was baffled as well, and got that stuffy British 'hideous smell' look. He looked to her for further explanation. "We woke up, and the baby duck was missing but our room was full of sh…excrement."

"It was covered, Giles. It took us over three hours to clean everything up." Willow decided to pipe in a bit.

"Yeah, and our new comforter was ruined. That thing cost…" Buffy saw the 'she's going into her possessions tirade' face on Giles, and decided to just get to the point. "Right. Anyways, we took the ruined stuff out to the dump, and there Quack was."

"The baby duck, or demon now." Willow thought about getting the two to shake hands in official greeting, and giggled a bit at what Giles would do, wiping his hand, and showering directly afterwards. When they came over after patrol, Giles wouldn't deal with them until they showered. Every single member of the Scooby gang had a drawer of clothes in the extra bedroom for such an occasion.

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Loving Willow More

by Rin

Copyright © 2005

rin_wag@hotmail.com