<see Part 1 for disclaimers>
Summary: the gang prepares for the next full moon and Buffy’s possible change into a werewolf but Willow has a dangerous plan.
************************
Buffy woke up and sighed, keeping her eyes closed,
wanting the moment to last a little longer.
She liked waking up in someone’s arms, especially warm arms. <Long hair tickling her neck was also
a nice touch,> she decided.
The Slayer felt Tara stirring behind her and turned
over in the witch’s arms with a smile.
Sleepy blue eyes met her own with a smile.
“Hi,” Tara mumbled.
“Hi back, you know I’m not usually a morning person, but I gotta say, this is nice,” Buffy said softly, brushing a strand of Tara’s hair behind the witch’s ear, out of her eyes. The Slayer moved closer and pulled the other woman into her arms for a long and passionate kiss.
After a moment they snuggled in each other’s arms.
“How did you sleep?” Buffy asked. “I know that a sleeping bag on an air
mattress isn’t the best.”
“With you here, I slept great,” Tara grinned.
“You know Willow is setting us up, right?” Buffy
said softly while playing with Tara’s hair.
“Yes.”
“You were with her,” Buffy pressed.
“Yes.”
“You still want to be with me?” Buffy asked, her eyes
dropping away.
“Why do you think no one wants you?” Tara
demanded. “You are so beautiful and
sexy.”
“I could toss that one back at you,” Buffy
countered, smiling as she looked at Tara again and the witch began to blush.
“No one pays attention to me,” Tara muttered.
“It’s that shy mouse routine you have that does it,”
Buffy said gently. “You say I’m
beautiful and sexy and we both agree that Willow is, right?”
“Yes, very much so, but she doesn’t believe it
either.”
“There you go,” Buffy declared firmly, “We all have
to adjust to the fact that we are beautiful because two of the most beautiful
women on campus want to be with us.”
Tara giggled.
“I can’t argue with that logic.”
“Good, let’s get dressed before Giles shows up with
breakfast,” Buffy suggested, stealing a quick kiss from the witch.
The crypt actually didn’t look too bad after the
girls had gotten through with settling in for the anticipated two days and
nights, possibly more if Buffy really was infected.
They had set up the air mattress, sleeping bags and
bedding in the main area of the crypt.
A cot had been set up in the cell but they didn’t want to go in there
any more than necessary, yet. A card
table and their backpacks were in one corner and they had swept and dusted as
best they could.
"Buffy, talk to me," Tara suddenly demanded.
"What about?" Buffy said slowly.
"You know what about,” Tara said irritably. "There's a real possibility that you're going to c-change into a werewolf tomorrow night. That's got to be a-affecting you."
Buffy sighed and sat down on one of
the milk crates the previous werewolves had brought in to serve as
multi-purpose furniture.
"Yeah, I might change into
something I usually chase," she admitted.
"I'm supposed to protect people from the bad things and now I might
be one of the bad things."
Tara walked up behind Buffy and
wrapped her arms around her, leaning in to nuzzle the Slayer's neck. "How can I help?"
"Just be here and don't let me
wig too much," Buffy smiled and leaned into Tara's arms.
"I can feel your tension,"
Tara said softly. "Your fear and
rage."
"It feels like a guitar string
wound too tightly," Buffy admitted.
"How about showing me some more
combat moves, work some of that energy off?" Tara suggested.
"I could think of something
else to spend energy on," Buffy whispered and leaned back far enough to
invite Tara in for a kiss, which the witch eagerly accepted. Tara moaned at the feeling of kissing and
holding Buffy and let her arms hold Buffy close to her before beginning to
explore the Slayer's ribs.
Buffy's tongue sought permission and
was granted entrance to the witch's mouth and they both moaned at the contact
and heat building between them. The
Slayer started to turn around but Tara tightened her arms and held Buffy in
front of her as they continued to kiss.
Buffy's body jumped as Tara's hands moved to her breasts from behind and
began massaging them and teasing the nipples into erect hardness that caused
the Slayer to squirm on the awkward seat.
Tara's lips left Buffy's to roam
down to the Slayer's neck as one hand trailed down to her jeans. Buffy leaned further back into the witch
with a whimper when Tara's hand moved past her belt line and past her underwear
to discover how very wet Buffy had gotten at Tara’s touch.
Buffy nearly fell off the milk crate
when Tara's fingers delved into the wetness and her teeth nibbled at her neck.
"Oh God," she whispered,
one hand behind Tara's head, holding the witch close to her neck, encouraging
her as Buffy's other hand held desperately to a flimsy card table for balance
as Tara's fingers danced at her entrance and over her button.
The Slayer squeaked as she tried to
regain her balance and had to sit up.
"Either we move this to the bed
or we stop now!" she said breathlessly, turning to face a smiling but blushing
Tara.
"You said Giles was coming
over," Tara reminded the Slayer and Buffy uttered a very graphic curse
under her breath. She grabbed Tara into
a crushing embrace and a kiss that left the witch's lips bruised, her knees
weak and wanting more.
Buffy broke off the kiss and moved
to the other side of the crypt, breathing heavily.
Tara wanted to follow Buffy, follow
through with what they started, but her logical mind told her that it would not
be amusing to deal with Giles if he walked in on them having sex. She could "feel" Buffy's energy
level going right off the scale, like something primitive.
Buffy's fists were clenched and she
was avoiding eye contact with Tara.
"Talk to me, Buffy," Tara
pleaded, sitting down at the table.
"It feels like Slayer Lust,
like when I was with Willow the other night," Buffy growled. "I shouldn't be hit with this right
now!"
"Willow warned me it might
happen," Tara said softly and waited as Buffy turned to her with a
surprised expression. "Willow said
Oz always got really frisky the night before the full moon and for the
following three days."
"Frisky?" Buffy asked, her
eyes widening.
"Apparently, from what she can g-gather
from the Lycanthrope people, most of which we c-can't trust because they're
just whacked out role playing geeks, it’s really, really c-common before the
moon," Tara explained.
"That means if I'm...frisky,
then the odds are I am infected," Buffy sat down heavily on a milk crate
on the other side of the table. Her
voice had gone flat and her energy level disappeared rapidly as the realization
hit her.
"I know," Tara whispered,
tears starting to fill her eyes.
"We d-don't know for certain but it’s very likely."
Buffy's head dropped forward and she
wrapped her arms around herself. Tara
was on her feet in a moment and holding the Slayer as Buffy finally began to
let loose the emotional turmoil that had been building.
"Haven't I been through
enough?" Buffy muttered between sobs.
"I'm the Chosen One, the Slayer.
I give up my life for the good fight, to protect the world which doesn't
even know I exist. I risk my life every
night and the only thing I can expect is to die young."
Tara felt her own tears flowing as
she held Buffy.
"Now this? I am going to kill
Oz!" Buffy snapped.
"You'll have to stand in line,
young lady," a distinctly British voice joined in and they both looked up
with small smiles at Giles as he shut the inner door of the crypt and walked
down the stairs.
"You know you should have that
locked or something, I could have been from the Initiative or Oz," he
scolded.
"I knew it was you coming
in," Buffy said bitterly. "I
could hear the other door opening and I could...your scent...I knew it was
you."
Giles looked like he had been hit
with a pillow. "I see, that might
be a sign...that, uh, you..."
"I'm a werewolf," Buffy
said calmly. "One of the traits,
extreme sensory overload. I already had
higher senses being the Slayer; this really puts them in the red zone. Then you got the friskies stuff."
Giles put two bags of groceries on
the card table and looked at Buffy with a puzzled expression.
"Friskies? As in cat
food?"
"No, as in sexual stuff that
your books don't seem to cover," Buffy tried to smile.
"Oh, well, yes," Giles
stammered and reached into one of the bags and pulled out a local fast-food bag
and Buffy grabbed it eagerly.
"Cool, grub," she grinned
and Tara cleared the card table for the three of them to eat. Giles pulled out a thermos from the other
bag and poured himself a cup of tea while Buffy and Tara popped open Cokes.
"Well, did Tara fill you in on
the plans for tomorrow night?" the Englishman asked while they ate.
"Yeah, you guys will be outside
protecting me, I'll be in the cage howling at the moon and Willow will be out
here performing some kind of spell," Buffy muttered. "Any more clue as to the spell? Tara hasn't seen it either."
"Yes, what I could get out of
Willow was that the spell is designed to put the inner beast to sleep, to go
dormant and prevent the change in the future," Giles explained.
"And the down side?" Buffy
asked.
"She admitted there is a risk
of it backfiring on her and sending her into a coma for a week, plus it may not
work," he continued.
Both Buffy and Tara frowned over
their food.
"She's determined," Tara
commented, looking Buffy in the eyes.
"Yes, she is, very," Giles
added. "She said she'd risk
catching up on her sleep if it meant saving you, I believe is the way she put
it."
Buffy smiled slightly. "We're going to kill ourselves trying
to save each other, aren't we?"
"Well, all three of you seem
willing to give your lives for the other two," Giles said with a smile for
both blondes. "That's rare and
special."
Both Buffy and Tara began to blush.
"I don't think I totally trust
Willow's plans though," Giles continued thoughtfully. "I get the feeling she's not telling us
something and the fact that Tara hasn't seen the spell worries me."
"You think it's more dangerous
than just falling asleep?" Tara asked, a worried expression on her face.
"Yes, actually," Giles
admitted.
"More likely it’s dangerous to
her and not me," Buffy added.
"Then we stop whatever she's planning. I took the bite to protect her; I'm not going to let her throw
that away."
"I'm not sure we should stop
her," Tara continued to frown.
"You know Willow and how s-stubborn she can be. If we don't let her t-try whatever it is now
she'll wait and do it alone. With us
there we m-might be able to protect her and I can lend my energies to the spell
and act as a grounding."
"You're right, of course,"
Giles agreed, still thoughtful and looked at Buffy.
"Alright," she agreed
reluctantly.
"How are you doing?" Giles
questioned his Slayer.
"I'm a Slayer who can't go
outside and slay because the Black Ops guys might grab me and lock me in a cage
forever," she complained.
"I'm almost certainly a werewolf, which really messes with your
mind if you let it, and I have two girlfriends. The last part is really terrific but kinda confusing. How's that for a run down?"
Giles looked exasperated.
"Oh yeah, my girlfriend's
ex-boyfriend is the reason we're in this mess and wants me to join his secret
play club and turn Willow into a wolf with us," Buffy threw in.
"Well, yes, there is
that," Giles muttered.
"How about sparring with me,
Giles," Buffy suggested and the ex-Watcher looked pleased to be able to
help and end the conversation. Tara
smiled and began clearing away the card table of leftover breakfast food.
===============================================================
Willow, Joyce, Xander and Anya piled
into the Summers' car before daylight, packing enough food to satisfy even
Xander for a picnic. They all had
backpacks filled with spare clothes for an overnight stay if they felt like it.
The orders from Giles and Brad
Santiago had been simple; disappear for the day and the night if they wanted,
but to stay away from Sunnydale for the day.
Joyce had been up to that task,
leaving her assistant in charge of the gallery and rounding up her “kids”. She had kept their destination a secret and
not even Anya's curiosity could get it out of her. After awhile the three friends were able to relax and start
joking among themselves and became playful again.
Joyce kept a close eye on her
rearview mirror for any signs that they were being followed. She had taken several round about roads and
doubled back several times and hadn't seen any sign of Initiative cars.
After a couple of hours driving, Willow
sat upright in the front seat and lowered her window slightly.
"Hey, cold back here!"
Anya yelled but the witch ignored her, sniffing the air.
Willow turned to Joyce with a grin
and Joyce grinned back.
"Hey, ocean!" Xander
shouted gleefully as he caught the scent of ocean air. "Cool!"
"Ocean, as in Pacific Ocean off
the coast of California?" Anya questioned and Xander grinned and
nodded. "Pleasant place to visit,
very nice!"
All the inhabitants in the car
agreed and Joyce had to laugh at their childish enthusiasm as the dunes came
into sight and seagulls made their presence known over their car as they slowed
to find beach access.
Joyce chose a place she knew from
when she and Buffy would travel to the beach, a combination of a wonderful
small beach and rocks that jutted into the ocean with lots of tide pools,
crashing surf and sea shells to find.
"Won't it be cold?" Anya
frowned slightly as the car pulled into a nearly deserted parking lot.
Unlike inner California, the coast
was experiencing a sunny day with mild temperatures and Xander hooted like a
movie Indian at the sight of the water.
"Water will be cold but it's
cool!" he yelled as he opened the car door and pulled his shoes off. He started to dash for the beach and stopped
suddenly when Willow yelled at him.
"Hey, some help here for the
cripple in the car!"
The young man grinned and trotted
back to his friend and quickly bent down and removed her shoes and socks. "Sorry about that."
"Don't get that cast wet!"
Joyce yelled as the three dashed for the ocean waves. She laughed as she went to the back of the car and got an arm
full of blankets and the picnic basket out.
Then she lost her smile when she thought of her daughter, stuck in a
dark, damp crypt in the middle of the graveyard because she was going to turn
into a werewolf the next night.
Nothing would have pleased Joyce
more than to have Buffy, Tara and Giles with them right then, she thought as
she watched the other three friends romping in the surf and exploring the rocks
for tide pools.
===============================================================
Giles called a halt to the sparring
session an hour later; puffing and sweating.
He let Buffy turn her attention to Tara and teaching the young witch
some self-defense moves.
The Englishman made a trip to his
car to retrieve several books he was doing research in and to take a look
around the graveyard. To the
experienced Watcher's eyes, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. He quickly used his cell phone to check in
with Brad Santiago and was informed by the police detective that Riley Finn was
being held in custody on suspicion of several major crimes in his home state
that had been committed during summer break.
It would probably turn out to be a case of mistake identity, Brad said,
the smirk in his voice obvious. It
would also hold Riley Finn in custody for at least two more days.
Giles shook his head when he
re-entered the crypt and found that one of the defense holds had led to another
round of passionate kissing between the girls until he coughed politely.
The Watcher continued his research
while Buffy and Tara practiced sparring and defense moves.
After an hour of practicing, the two
women gave up and Tara began weeding through the books, helping Giles with his
research while Buffy tried to read some of her homework. After twenty minutes she gave up and began
pacing the crypt.
Giles removed his glasses and began cleaning
them. “I was afraid of this; it’s going
to be very difficult to keep both of you cooped up in here for another night
and day.”
“Well, I can’t think of an alternative, can you?”
Buffy responded, feeling her irritability rising.
“No, unfortunately,” Giles agreed. “It’s just going to get worse, I think,
between now and tomorrow night.”
“Damnit! Stuck in this crypt for two days and a
night before I even become furry,” Buffy muttered.
“I seriously don’t know what to suggest,” Giles
countered. “The Initiative teams will
be looking for you everywhere; if you weren’t hiding in this crypt we’d be
hiding you in some attic or something.”
“I know, I know, it just sucks,” Buffy attempted a
smile.
Giles jumped when his cell phone rang in his
pocket. “Bloody thing!” he muttered and
fumbled to get it out.
“Hello?”
“Hello, I’m looking for a Willow Rosenberg,” a male
voice announced.
“Yes, well, her cell phone is forwarded to mine,”
Giles said. “I’m afraid she’s out of
town for the next few days. May I take
a message?”
“It is rather urgent that I speak to Ms. Rosenberg,”
the male insisted.
Giles held his hand over the phone. “A man is asking for Willow, sounds
official.”
“Probably one of the Initiative officers trying to
find out where we are,” Buffy growled.
“Yes, exactly.”
“Better sign off before they triangulate the call,”
Tara suggested.
“I’m sorry; I truly have no idea where she is except
that she was called out of town on family business. Can I have your number?”
“My name is Special Agent Fox Mulder, I’m with the
Federal Bureau of Investigations and it is urgent that I speak with Ms.
Rosenberg,” the male said.
“Your number, Agent Mulder?” Giles asked and wrote
down several phone numbers. “Yes, thank
you very much. As soon as I see Willow
I will pass along your message.”
Giles hit the button that ended the conversation and
then dialed one of the numbers he had written down.
“Special Agent Mulder, please,” he said and then
quickly hung up. He looked confused
when he glanced up at the two young women.
“I just called FBI headquarters in Washington DC and was about to be
connected to a Special Agent Fox Mulder.”
“What does the FBI want with Willow?” Tara asked,
reflecting the general question.
“Could they have traced some of her hacking?” Buffy
suggested.
“They wouldn’t be calling, they’d just show up
and…and take her away,” Tara mumbled.
“I agree with Tara, that would be their normal
operating procedure if they were about to arrest Willow for her illegal
computer activities,” Giles agreed.
“What did he say, Giles?”
“He said that it was urgent that he speak with
Willow and kept insisting that he had to talk to her.”
“What could an FBI agent from Washington DC want
with Willow?”
“I don’t know and I’m not going to call either, if
they are tracing calls or whatever I’m not going to lead them to Willow until
after this mess with the full moon is over with.”
“Good idea,” Buffy agreed and Tara nodded her
approval as well. “Now let’s kill some
time,” Buffy suggested, pulling out a deck of cards. “Strip poker?”
“Oh dear,” Giles muttered and reached for the cards.
“I don’t think so!”
Both girls giggled at his embarrassed blush.
===============================================================
Willow leaned back against the headboard of the
hotel bed and scowled at her laptop.
She was getting pretty good at typing one-handed but it was still a pain
and very frustrating.
She glanced over at Xander and Anya fighting over
the television remote and grinned. It
had been a good day and now they were waiting for pizza to top it off while
Joyce was in the shower.
Willow smiled and let the easy feeling hold for a
while. They all knew it was a temporary
bit of R&R before things got insane again when they returned to
Sunnydale. The witch sometimes wondered
why they didn’t just pack up and leave.
No one in Sunnydale would notice their absence. <Cordelia and Angel had made it out,
why couldn’t they?>
Willow frowned as she answered her own
question. <Because people would
miss them, they would miss the Slayer saving their lives and Buffy relied on
their help.> The hacker
remembered how happy Buffy had been when Willow chose to attend Sunnydale
University instead of one of the Ivy League schools that had been trying to
recruit her. It was actually one time
when her parents had paid attention to her, Willow reflected, and they had been
furious over her choice to stay in Sunnydale.
Willow knew that was what held them there, Buffy and
the Hellmouth. They were needed.
The hacker also knew that Angel and Cordelia really
hadn’t escaped either. They had merely
moved the same fight to Los Angeles.
Angel fighting the demons and other things in the night and Cordelia
pointed them out, with psychic visions that left her with migraine
headaches. <No,> Willow
thought, <they hadn’t escaped Sunnydale; they just found a different battleground.>
Willow booted up her laptop, let it do its warm-up
thing and quickly hit the Internet. She
wasn’t surprised to find several emails from Grayfox, he had been leaving
several each day urging her to destroy the spell she had translated or call
him. He had tried to reassure her that
he didn’t want to meet her like an Internet romance thing; he just wanted to
talk to her about the werewolf topic.
Willow had checked out the phone number he had given
her and discovered it was an Arlington, Maryland number. The hacker began to wonder exactly who her
Grayfox was. He had said he had
contacts and might be able to help her in dealing with the paranormal stuff she
hinted or asked about. Fox obviously
had access to some information that she didn’t and it was beginning to add up
that Grayfox was probably a government employee with access to some strange
information.
She opened up one of the emails.
<Red: I’m really worried about you, my friend. That spell you translated is not something to play around with and neither are werewolves. Trust me, I’ve run across a couple in my time.
<I’m asking you to believe me when I say that
I’ve seen a lot of things that can’t be explained away and I have the feeling
you have experienced some unusual things as well. I’m not using this as a line to meet you.
<Talk to me, Red. Tell me what the spell is for, what’s happening with you? Your friend always, Fox>
She closed that one and opened another one.
<Red; Please call me and let me help. I do have resources that you probably don’t
have. Fox>
Another.
<Red; we need to talk. Here goes honesty. My
name is Fox Mulder and I am a Special Agent with the FBI, assigned to a special
unit called the X-Files. The X-Files
are cases that don’t fit into any normal realms of possibilities. UFOs, ghosts, zombies, things like that.
<I know I promised not to try and contact you
outside of the emails but I’ve broken that promise. I know that you’re Willow Rosenberg, university student living in
Sunnydale, California. You’re known
around campus as a witch and you cruise pagan websites and especially
paranormal sites. You are an honor
student and don’t be surprised if the FBI and CIA come calling when you get
close to graduating.
<Willow; I’m not telling you this to frighten you
or make you paranoid. I wanted to find
out about you because I’m worried about you.
I have a large file on Sunnydale and have a pretty good idea of some of
the things that you’ve faced.
<Call me and let me help you. I’ve seen references to you in some files
belonging to a secret government group that I’ve been trying to investigate
called the Initiative. From what I’ve
been able to hack out of their systems, you and your friends are at the center
of some major activity the last few days and the orders are to grab you and
someone named Elizabeth Anne Summers, also known as Buffy.
<I fight against secret groups like this,
Willow. I believe they go against
everything that government should be working for. Let me help you and your friends. If one of your friends is infected, I can help you look for a
cure and help secure your friend from danger.
Call me – Fox>
Willow tried to smile when Joyce came out of the
bathroom and Xander and Anya debated about showering together.
“Enough you two!” Joyce laughed. “That shower barely fits one person and
won’t fit both of you. Xander, grab a
shower, the pizza should be here any minute.”
Joyce Summers sat down on the bed next to Willow,
noticing the intense look on Willow’s face.
“Are you in pain or deep thought?”
“Both,” Willow admitted.
“Then take some of your meds when the pizza gets
here,” Joyce suggested. “And tell me
what’s worrying you.”
“Tomorrow night; I’m worried my spell won’t work and
Buffy will continue to be a werewolf.
I’m scared that the Initiative might get their hands on Buffy and we’ll
never see her again. I’m worried that
Oz might be able to claim Buffy for his pack and they’ll hunt me down and
either force me to join them or kill me,” Willow admitted and wiped away her
tears angrily.
“Okay, that’s enough worry for one night,” Joyce
declared and pulled Willow into her arms as the witch cried softly. A knock at the door caused Joyce to glance
up. “Anya, grab my purse and pay for
the pizzas and sodas, please?”
“Sure!”
After a couple of moments, Willow sat up, rubbing
her eyes and face.
“We’re all worried about it,” Joyce said, her own
face worried as she tried to smile.
“For now, let’s watch bad television, eat pizza and get some sleep. Tomorrow we’ll head back and face all of
this mess.”
“Okay,” Willow agreed and shut down her
computer. She might call Fox Mulder but
not until after the full moon and after her spell.
The spell meant to kill the beast inside of Buffy,
not just make it dormant.
===============================================================
Buffy’s irritation only increased when the sun went
down and Giles finally gave up trying to engage her in any kind of discussion.
Playing games became useless with her lack of concentration.
“I’m going to go out and get some dinner for us,
I’ll be back shortly,” Giles announced but only received a growl from Buffy as
she paced the crypt.
Tara looked at the Slayer and then at the Watcher.
“We’ll be fine, Giles,” she said softly. “We’ve got enough snacks to get through the
night.”
Giles frowned as he watched Buffy pacing, her
fingers restlessly drumming on her legs as she paced.
“I really should…I mean,” he stammered.
“Giles, please, get out,” Tara begged a little more
firmly.
The ex-Watcher nodded sadly and put on his
coat. “I’ll be back in the morning.”
Buffy didn’t even acknowledge his leaving as she
paced back and forth.
Giles tried to ignore the tears welling up in his
eyes as he watched Buffy from the top of the stairs. <Pacing like a wolf caught in a cage,> he thought.
Tara tried to smile slightly as he glanced her way
and then left the lower crypt. She
waited a few minutes and stood up slowly.
A glance at her watch told her it was only 8 p.m. She and Buffy still had some long hours to
go.
The witch moved towards Buffy and resisted jumping
back when the Slayer turned and growled at her. Buffy’s face immediately was horror-stricken and Tara rushed
forward and grabbed the Slayer as Buffy’s knees gave out.
Tara wrapped her arms around the other blonde as
Buffy began to weep.
“Its okay, Buffy,” Tara whispered, holding the
Slayer tightly. “You’re not alone; you
will never be alone again.”
After a few minutes Buffy’s sobs reduced to sniffles
as she held firmly onto Tara.
“Sorry, guess I’m losing it,” she tried to smile.
“Who could blame you?” Tara asked with her own
smile.
“Tara, how can I be falling in love with you and be
in love with Willow?”
“I don’t know, maybe you can answer how I can love
both of you at the same time?”
“Got me,” Buffy managed to smile.
“Settled down for awhile?” Tara asked.
“Yeah, guess a good cry worked some of that wolfie
stuff out,” Buffy tried to grin.
“Then lets play a game or something,” Tara
suggested.
“Okay,” Buffy agreed.
===============================================================
Willow once again clicked away on her laptop after
pizza while Xander and Anya watched television; Joyce was passing the night
away reading from two of the books Giles had loaned her about lycanthropy. The Watcher had warned her that she wouldn’t
like reading them and thinking of Buffy in that context and the mother of the
Slayer discovered he was right. She
didn’t like reading about werewolves and other lycanthropes and what they went
through. Even the tales of voluntary
werewolves sounded horrible and painful.
Joyce also kept glancing at Willow sitting next to
her on the bed. She knew the young
hacker was worried and preoccupied, more so than usual. <Taking a day and night away from
Sunnydale gave the Wiccan some breathing space,> Joyce thought. <The day had been good for the three
friends.>
Joyce took a moment to ponder her daughter’s growing relationship with the redhead. Buffy’s mom didn’t quite understand her daughter’s apparent change in gender preferences but Giles had explained that most Slayers were bisexual in nature. He also agreed that since Slayers led short lives, they should accept whatever was going to make Buffy happy and that seemed to be Willow and Tara, both.
<That was the hardest thing to accept,>
Joyce reflected. She could actually
understand her daughter’s attraction to the hacker, Buffy had been friends with
Willow for years and Willow had always been there for the Slayer. Joyce also thought the computer geek was a
fantastic young woman who was probably the best thing that could happen to her
daughter. Joyce began to understand
when she looked at it from just a ‘person’ view, to examine just Willow’s
personality and love: <how could Buffy not fall in love with her?
>
Tara was the difficult part of the equation, Joyce frowned. The gallery owner found that she liked the young witch a lot and that was the problem. Buffy’s mom wanted to dislike Tara as the outsider, as the one who was most likely to be left on the outside when Buffy and Willow made their final decisions. The bitch of it was that Buffy’s mom liked Tara and she didn’t get the feeling that Tara was going to be left on the outside either.
<How did a parent deal with a three-way
relationship,> she wondered.
First she had to deal with the knowledge that Buffy was a Slayer, a
killer of vampires. Now she discovered
that her daughter was bisexual. The
next blow was that Buffy was in love with her best friend and her best friend’s
girlfriend and they apparently felt the same way.
<With human nature, how could three people
make a relationship work without jealousy getting in the way?>
According to Giles, the mark on Willow’s neck
confirmed that the girls were willing to give it their best shot.
Joyce frowned remembering Giles’ word for it:
mated. Willow had given herself to
Buffy as a mate. Her werewolf daughter
had mated and it probably meant for life.
Buffy’s mom continued to frown, <the girls weren’t even twenty yet,>
her mind protested. <Then again,
look at what they dealt with all the time>, she countered to herself.
Joyce glanced over at the redhead and smiled to herself. Willow had proven a lot stronger than most of them thought. They already knew she could be stubborn but her inner strength had been a surprise to Buffy’s mom and it made her proud that Buffy had chosen a life mate so well.
<Tara, somehow she seemed a calming influence
in both Buffy and Willow’s life,> Joyce thought. <She was the grounding element>,
the mother reflected. Buffy was like
fire, all energy and action and intense in her emotions; Willow was like water,
emotional, deep, a source of things; Tara was like the earth, grounding and
solid.
Joyce began to nod to herself; it was beginning to make sense to her. The three women somehow suited each other perfectly. Buffy was action, Willow was power and Tara was a grounding for both of them.
Noticing that Willow’s fingers had stopped clicking
on the keyboard, Buffy’s mom looked up from her book and noticed the red-haired
witch watching her.
“What?” she asked softly.
“I was wondering the same thing,” Willow said. “You’ve been reading the same page for ten
minutes.”
Joyce shrugged and set the books aside. “I was thinking about you, Buffy and Tara,
actually.”
Willow’s eyes dropped down to the comforter covering
the hotel bed.
“Is the judgment about us still out?” she whispered.
“No, I think I understand what is drawing you three
together,” Joyce smiled gently and placed an arm around Willow’s shoulder
comfortingly while the hacker closed her laptop.
“Wanna tell me and let me in on it?” Willow grinned,
enjoying the feeling of love and warmth from Joyce. <Her parents weren’t much for hugging>, Willow
reflected. <Her parents weren’t much
for emotion unless it had a major guilt trip attached to it,> she
thought bitterly.
“Well, short version, as Buffy would put it,” Joyce
continued to smile and noticed Xander and Anya listening quietly to the
conversation. “Buffy is like fire, all
action; you are like water, deep, emotional and the source of power; Tara is
like the Earth, welcoming, stabilizing, and strong.”
“Wow!” Xander muttered, looking at his friend for a
moment and grinning. “That’s a perfect
description!”
“Source of power?” Willow questioned. “I’m not powerful.”
“Yes you are, from what I’ve heard,” Joyce
countered.
“No I’m not,” Willow protested. “My spells always go wrong, Giles was
blinded, Xander was a demon magnet and I still can’t un-rat Amy!”
“And now that you’re with Tara?” Xander asked and
Willow’s eyebrows furrowed.
“It works,” she whispered slowly.
“And having you and Tara around gives Buffy
stability and strength,” Anya said firmly.
“Wow,” Willow repeated Xander’s assessment of the
description of her relationship with Tara and Buffy.
“I guess this means I have two daughters-in-law,”
Joyce teased and Willow blushed right on cue.
===============================================================
The games lasted another two hours before Buffy’s
concentration was lost again and she began pacing back and forth. Tara knew that getting Buffy to go to sleep
wasn’t very likely when she was keyed up like she was.
Tara stood up from the card table and moved behind
the Slayer. Buffy again growled, only
this time her human side didn’t kick in.
The witch continued to approach the Slayer and Buffy growled a lower
warning growl and turned to face the bars of the cell that Oz had built a year
ago.
The blonde witch stood behind the Slayer as Buffy
gripped the bars tightly. Tara knew
Buffy was trying to maintain control and Tara wasn’t sure if it was to keep the
Slayer from ripping her throat out or attacking her sexually. Buffy’s energy was so erratic that the witch
couldn’t decipher it. All she could
really tell was that Buffy was almost manic with it.
Tara pressed her body against Buffy’s and wrapped
her arms around the smaller woman despite the growl. She bent her head down to nuzzle the Slayer’s neck and felt Buffy
shudder and grip the bars even tighter.
Tara let her own body meld with the Slayer’s and she could feel the heat
radiating from the woman.
“Tara,” Buffy said softly, her voice almost a growl.
“Shhhh, let it go, Buffy,” Tara whispered back and
bit down on the Slayer’s earlobe.
Buffy cried out and jerked against the bars of the
cell.
“I’ll hurt you,” she pleaded.
“Not unless I ask you to,” Tara teased. “Let it go! Listen to me and let the control
slip. Let those shields down and let me
in.”
“I can’t! I know I’ll hurt you!”
Tara’s hands moved up to Buffy’s breasts and the
Slayer moaned and her head jerked back in reaction. The witch took advantage of the position to kiss Buffy’s neck and
shoulder.
Buffy whimpered and gripped the bars until she
thought they would start to bend under her hands.
Tara began to explore the Slayer’s neck and shoulders
with her lips, teeth and tongue. Her
hands massaged and teased Buffy’s breasts and nipples until Buffy was panting
and gripping the bars to maintain her balance from the arousal hitting her.
The witch leaned into Buffy’s ear again. “Think of a door and open it,” she
instructed.
Buffy concentrated and mentally pictured an iron
door, like one that might be found in an old castle dungeon. She made her mind open the door and gasped
as Tara’s psychic energy slipped in and connected with her, just as Willow had
with both of them.
The Slayer cried out at the intense sensation
hitting both of them. She could feel
Tara’s desire for her; the witch’s desire that was almost consuming, like a
flame. Buffy could feel how Tara felt
about her and almost cried at the openness and the unconditional love she found
there.
Tara whimpered herself and bit down on Buffy’s
shoulder as her hands went lower and unbuttoned Buffy’s jeans. The Slayer moaned from the bite and her hips
jerked her body back into Tara. Then
she whimpered from the backlash of those same feelings going through Tara and
back into her. It was an incredible
feeling. Buffy could also feel Tara’s
feelings for Willow and was relieved to feel Tara’s depth of love for the witch. <No one was going to be left on the
outside between the three>, she thought, unaware she was thinking the
same thoughts of her mother who was several hours drive away.
The Slayer cried out as one hand went down the front
of her jeans and into her wetness and the other hand of the witch went under
her shirt and began massaging and playing with her nipples again.
Buffy held tight to the bars as Tara kissed and bit
her neck and shoulder and her hands drove the Slayer into a red haze of lust
and connection. Buffy knew that Tara
was somehow feeling what she was feeling and could tell with her heightened
senses that the witch was as wet and aroused as she was.
Tara moaned and entered the Slayer and felt her own knees grow weaker. Touching Buffy was so intense that she wasn’t sure they were going to be able to stand up much longer, despite Buffy clinging to the bars