Part 1
At the magic box Xander was sitting on the bottom stair leaning on his knees while Giles was standing at the counter with Buffy sitting on Faith's lap at the table. They were watching a frantic redhead pacing back and forth and gesticulating nervously
"We have to do something" Willow said shaking her head "we can't just sit here and do nothing"
"Willow…there isn't much we can do until we find out what's wrong" Giles said trying to calm down the witch
"Yeah, Will…we've already searched every book, but it's hard to find anything when we have no idea what we're looking for" Xander tried to reasoned her
"Yes Will…we need help" Buffy said
"Help from whom?" the moment the words left Willow's lips, a glowing white light spun around her and exploded in small fragments, revealing a white-robed handsome blond man.
"What the hell!" Willow exclaimed startled by the appearance that had made the gang jump to their feet
"Don't be afraid" he spoke softly "I wish you no harm" the five people in the room stared at the tall figure standing in the middle of the room with his arms crossed behind his back and his head slightly bowed
"Who are you?" Giles inquired lifting a suspicious eyebrow
"My name's Klaus…I'm a keeper" he informed keeping the low tone of voice
"Keeper of what?" Buffy asked warily
"Of the light" he answered and the gang exchanged worried glances
"What can we do for you…Klaus?" Xander asked
"I came to help you" he informed simply
"Help us?" Faith joined the conversation
"Yes" he nodded at her "you'll need help if you wish to destroy this great evil"
"What do you know about it?" Giles was curious about the visitor
"I know everything that has to be known" he replied cryptically
"And what's in it for you?" Buffy asked still not believing him entirely
"I beg your pardon?" he sounded confused
"What do you take from helping us?" she clarified "or is it your job to come and assist people in need?" she crossed her arms in front of her chest
"No Buffy…that's not my job" he answered watching her surprise when he spoke her name "but by helping you, I'll be helping us"
"Who's us?" Xander questioned him
"The Guardians" he opened his arms as if presenting himself "our job is to protect the light and keep the balance between good and evil…right now this balance is broken and evil is taking advantage of it" his face turned serious as he spoke full of concern "it is using this opportunity to stream out some powerful energy straight into Tara's heart" he looked directly at Willow who was breathing heavily "it's contaminating her body and destroying her soul…it must be stopped" he concluded sternly
"Okay, let's start from the beginning" Willow nodded slowly "why is the balance broken? And what does it have to do with Tara?" she asked slowly and in a very serious tone. He sighed and broke her gaze
"I think we should sit down…it's going to be a long story"
Three months earlier
Willow came home from work and entered the Summers' house to watch a chaotic scene before her eyes. Xander was lying unconscious on the couch having Faith underneath him; Anya was shaking him hard and Buffy came from the kitchen with a glass of water in her hand
Willow walked over to Tara who was sat calmly at the table with a giggling Ariel on her lap
"Hi honey" she kissed both of her girls "what's going on in here?"
"Anya's water just broke" Tara answered amused by the comic display
"Oh my Goddess" Willow's eyes bulged "why isn't she on the way to the hospital?"
"Because Xander just passed out" she answered and giggled along with her daughter
"They are trying to wake him up" Ariel informed enjoying the situation
"I can't believe that" Anya lifted her arms exasperatedly "I'm about to expel a watermelon from my vagina and he faints like a girl" she sighed and snatched the glass of water from Buffy's hand
"Wake up sleeping beauty and take me to the hospital so I can get rid of this dreadful belly" she then threw the water mercilessly at her husband's face. He jumped startled and coughed
"Help…I'm drowning" he shook his arms funnily making Ariel double over with laugh
"Ah, Xan…are you ok?" Willow asked chuckling "do you want me to drive?"
"I think that's an excellent idea" he answered looking at his giggling friends
"Oh my god she's so cute" Tara said cradling the little infant in her arms and showing her to Ariel who was in Willow's arms
"Yes she is" Xander agreed puffing his chest proudly "and most importantly…she's 100 human" he smiled gladly
"Congratulations…have you guys chosen a name yet?" Faith asked watching the baby from over Buffy's shoulder
"Her name's Joan" Anya informed the gang and held her husband hand in hers
"Nice to meet you Joan" Willow smiled and nodded in the baby's direction
"Yeah…welcome to our big dysfunctional family" Buffy said and everybody stared at the newly born child