Note: Shout to Pat Patterson (created by The Silent Scream) coolest fire demon/ medical superhero/ butt kicking hottie ever thought up. And much love to an alternate universe where Pat and Willow live and love and kick ass. (Check out The Silent Scream's Hearts on Fire).

Note 2: Please read this only after chapter 12 in The Red Witch or it will make no sense.

The Red Witch Outtakes

The Demon Assassin

"She was in my classes again today Buffy." Tara spoke to her Slayer shaped friend while chopping a huge heap of vegetables to go in one of her lasagnas for dinner.

"Oh the cutie from all your classes yesterday." Buffy perked up from her spot near the stove where she stirred the meat sauce and the marinara sauce with all the steamy heat making her sleepy until Tara said something.

"She is gorgeous but not my type Buffy."

"Of course she is for the first time in three and a half months something has gotten you to look at the world again. The First doesn't bother you as much and you actually smiled yesterday when you told me about her! I swear it Slayer's honor!" Buffy emphatically moved her right hand to her heart forgetting for a moment that the marinara spoon was in it. So all the hot sauce went flying all over the kitchen including Tara's face, the vegetables and Buffy's chest.

Buffy was horrified that she may have unintentionally harmed Tara so she rushed over with a dish towel ready to clean off her friend and apologize over and over. Tara stole the towel from Buffy though and push her hands away laughing all the while wiping her face. Buffy stood back a little from Tara soaking up her laughter, the first it had been heard since Willow's death.

"Honestly Buffy she's more Willow's type than mine." Here the laughter stopped. "But she seems nice and I can picture myself friends with her despite the smoking. I'm just not ready for anything else though it wasn't so long ago... She was my heart, my forever I may never be ready for more with anyone else. But friends that I can handle."

"Well then you better let her know that. I don't think she's been sitting next to you in every class for nothing especially if she isn't even on the roster."

"Yeah I guess you're right it isn't very likely that she's on the roster at all we are half way through the semester and I've never seen her before. But what if she just changed professors I don't want to make a fool of myself and assume something that isn't true. Maybe she isn't into me like you think."

"Tara you are hot! She'd be crazy not to be into you! But if it makes you feel better I'll talk to her and let her know to back off with the romance."

Really you'd do that for me?"

"Sure what are friends for!" Buffy rushed back over to the sauce to give it another few stirs as it was beginning to burn. Once she had that under control and the pot was safely off she turned back to Tara. "So tell me again what she looks like so I don't get the wrong girl."

"Well she wears glass for one and she has dark blue eyes. Black hair with bright red streaks and a serious nicotine addiction. Whenever I've seen her outside it was with a cigarette in her hand. She has a deep voice so I'm pretty sure she's been smoking for awhile now and she's kind of tall."

"Sounds distinctive." Buffy mused over the description.

"Yeah I doubt you'll mistake her for anyone else" This from Tara with a faint smile.

Buffy could only think that if Tara had met this girl a few years from now there might be a chance of her moving on and finding happiness again. As it was both Tara and Buffy were still deep in mourning over the red head witch but it was nice to see Tara smile and laugh for once.

Andrew was scared but he tried very hard not to let it show. Jonathan pansy that he was, was not afraid to show his fear right on his sleeve, but Andrew was more suave than that Warren wouldn't appreciate a cowardly, incompetent and idiotic Joffrey Baratheon he'd want a brave, heroic and charming Han Solo instead.

"What are you blabbering about inch worm?" Warren spoke sharply to Jonathan who had lost the rocks, paper, scissors game that decided whether he or Andrew would have to tell Warren about the airlock they were all about to be tossed out of.

"The money we were supposed to have to pay off the demon assassin is not there. And she'll be here tonight for it before she kills the Slayer."

"What?! How the hell is it not there?! I specifically sat that money aside when we came up with this plan. Why is it missing now?!"

Jonathan looked at Andrew and gave him a shove forward so Andrew had no choice but to speak up. "You brought the mint condition Tardis collectible with the two action figures using that money. And the grey cat suit Seven of Nine doll was also paid for with that money."

"Ah, right." Warren said a creepy look of lust on his face. "Money well spent Seven is hot in that suit but I bet she's hotter out of it!"

Both Jonathan and Warren grinned stupidly at this. Andrew made noises of agreement though he was more interested in Seven's Borg circuitry than her figure. He shuddered to think how Jonathan would befoul the intelligent, socially awkward drone while no one else was looking and made a mental note to always clean it before he played with it. But none of this solved their problem. They had no money to pay the short tempered, foul mouthed demon assassin he'd summoned to kill Buffy. If they didn't come up with something before she showed up tonight they might all die. And then there was a knock on the outer door and all the levity in the room was suddenly drowned in fear as they all knew who was on the other side of the door.

Unfortunately for then there was no other exit to their lair. Warren in a show of his true colors shoved Jonathan towards the door ready to offer his accomplice as a sacrifice. Jonathan who was not a total fool ran to the opposite end of the hideaway and hid behind a pile of trash that had yet to be cleared. The door boomed as if whoever was on the other side was becoming extremely annoyed. Andrew was the next to be offered up by Warren, which broke his heart a little. But Andrew sucked up his feelings instead choosing to see this as an opportunity to show Warren how brave and noble he could be, by sacrificing himself for his love.

Think Klingon think Klingon maybe Vulcan too he thought to himself. We need a diplomatic Vulcan like Spock who is ready to fight like Worf. Are there any Vulcan/ Klingon hybrids? Cause that would be so cool. Would they be logical fighters or emotional volatile lovers?

Andrew's Star Trek thoughts carried him to the door and before he could think of the correct star date so that he could mentally record his (possibly last) thoughts, he'd opened the door to their visitor without being aware of his action. But he snapped quickly to attention by the pissed off look on the demon's face. The demon resembled a tall human woman with red and black hair and dark blue eyes. It'd be hard to recognize her as what she was except for the raging flames that now covered her fists. Fire demon right, Andrew thought stepping aside so that she could enter before she decided to set the place on fire and let them burn.

"I don't like to be kept waiting" The demon known as Pat spoke irritably to Andrew as she moved past him to main part of the lair letting the flames die.

"Our sincerest apologies, we had not expected you so soon." Andrew said using his best Spock impression. Diplomacy first then fighting (who was he kidding if diplomacy failed they were all dead).

Pat looked at him with an incredulous expression (she knew just enough Star Trek to know what he was attempting), but she ignored his act in order to get down to business faster. "As agreed I spied on the Slayer a bit for the last two days I saw her another blond and the little sister shopping and going to school. I have made myself an in with the blonde witch so once you pay me it won't take more than a week for me to get close enough to the Slayer to off her."

"Yeah about that..." Warren was at a loss for what to say next.

"We don't have your payment right now. It was set aside for you but emergency expenses have come up." The look on Pat's face became quite frightening so Andrew dropped his act to quickly try to dig his group out of the six foot hole he could now foresee around each of them. "If you are willing to wait another week we will have the mo..."

Andrew's voice was cut off by the demon grabbing his shirt in her fists in such a way that when she lifted him from the floor it cut off his airway.

"Did you not summon me? Hire me to perform a service? Have I not upheld my terms of the fucking agreement? How dare you think to stiff me! You waste my precious time and fucking effort!"

While the demon suffocated Andrew, Jonathan and Warren both made a break for the door which still stood wide open and promised escape. However, their mad dash was stopped by the arrival of the Slayer who held in her hands the remains of an ugly garden gnome and wore an irritated expression that changed to a neutral one when she caught sight of the scene before her.

"Drop the nerd!"

"Slayer" the demon spoke up a cool tone lacing her words.

"Hey these guy are total idiots but you can't kill them for that." Buffy said as she moved further into the room ignoring Warren and Jonathan who retreated back into the rear of the room. Moving towards the demon and Andrew she raised her hands in a calming motion reiterating her request for Pat to drop the nerd.

"Your friends here," Pat began, dropping Andrew to the floor where he lay gasping for breath "were intending to pay me for a service before they tried to screw me over. They were going to pay me to kill you in fact. But don't worry no payment means no job, so you and yours are safe from me which is lucky for you because I am damn good at my job. I have another job lined up away from here so I won't be returning and I'll leave the weasels to you."

Pat walked away towards the door purpose in each movement. Buffy let her pass without argument momentarily stunned at what the nerds were willing to stoop to. She'd kill them herself if that wasn't barred to her as a slayer.

Once Pat reached the doorway she stopped and spoke a few parting words to Buffy before walking out and away from Sunnydale. "Slayer, do tell your witch friend that I sincerely enjoyed her company and I'm glad not to have to kill you for her sake. And tell her goodbye for me."

While Buffy stood frozen watching the demon disappear Warren snuck up from behind her blowing a sleeping powder that Jonathan had just whipped up into her face. When she woke up an hour later the room had been cleared of most valuables including the Tardis and Borg doll. She didn't know it but her life had been saved by Jonathan and Andrew who for once stood up to Warren neither wanting another helpless woman's death on their conscious. Apparently it was one thing to hire someone to kill someone else in cold blood and quite another to do it yourself. The notion was abstract to Andrew and Jonathan until Pat's arrival forced them to face the reality of what they were doing. However, Warren was still the leader and he still wanted the Slayer taken out but that is another story for another day.

Buffy walked home angry that the three urchins got the drop on her and made it out of her reach, especially now that she knew just what they were capable of. Walking in the door she heard movement and sound coming from the kitchen so she walked in that direction. Entering the kitchen she saw Tara cleaning the room something she did quite often since she moved back in, going from room to room cleaning even if the areas were spotless. Buffy figured it was a coping mechanism and as it was harmless and seemed to help Tara she didn't speak out against it.

"Well the nerds got away but I did see your stalker."

"Oh did you" Tara said with a faint grin "what happened?"

"She said that she really enjoyed your company, but she had to leave I guess she transferred or something. She asked me to say goodbye to you for her. At least you don't have to worry about fending off romantic advances now."

"True." Tara said briefly, a look of sadness ghosting across her face before she shook herself free of that. "I guess it is for the best I wouldn't have minded a new friend though, our circle is rather small. Would you like some Chicken Kiev for dinner? I found the recipe and I really want to try it."

"Sure, what is that exactly?"

The rest of Buffy's night was spent discussing dinner then helping Tara make it while in her mind she planned ahead for her next inevitable encounter with the nerd herd. She'd have to find a way to deal with them before someone got really hurt...