Title: Shadows Of The Past
Chapter: One/?
Rating: NC-17
Pairings: W/B
Spoilers: Oh yeah. Buffy season six, all star trek is open
Crossover: Oh yeah. Buffy/Star Trek
Beta Readers: Dark Gremlin Vampire Koala

Summary: Willow runs away after a fight with the gang, and is gone
for a year, but when she returns is she the same person that she was
or has her time away changed her.

Note: Don't count on this being like the Star Trek universe you're
used to. I've changed a few things.

Disclaimers: Buffy belongs to mutant enemy, Joss Wheaton, and UPN.
Star Trek is Gene Robbenbury's, Ira Berman's, and UPN's.


PROLOGUE

Tears streamed down her face. She couldn't believe this was happening. She'd only
been trying to help. She'd been trying to fix what she believed was wrong. She was only
trying to get back the woman she loved. Instead, she'd traumatized her one love, sending
her into the arm's of that vampire. Hospitalized her best friend, creating a serious tension
between her and his fiancée. And lost Tara.

She entered her house. The one place she could be alone and not have to worry about
getting yelled at anymore. At least for tonight. She walked into the darkened living room,
letting her things fall to the floor

The light clicked on, drawing her eyes to the solemn dark haired man in one of the
recliners. She pulled a stake from her sleeve, eyeing him with caution.

" Who are you?"

" Relax, Miss. Rosenberg. I'm not a vampire, and I'm not here to hurt you." He pushed
his sunglasses further up his nose, and grinned darkly. " I'm Commander Richard Lex, and
I am here to make you an offer."

" What kind of offer? Commander in what military, and since when do you guys go
sneaking around in the dark, breaking into peoples homes? How do you know about
vampires?"

" I'm Commander Richard Lex. An officer of the Federation of United Planets, more
specifically, I am from the future." The tall thing man stood up, showing his uniform
for the first time. The all black flight suit, with a thin dark gray strip going around his shoulders.
A silver badge was fastened to his left breast, and he wore a utility belt with some
sort of weapon on it. " And you Miss. Rosenberg, are our only hope."

Her shoes clicked on the metal grates of the ship, every step echoing through the hall.
Her eyes took in every computer console they passed, every door, every light. The details
of the ship were a hackers dream come true. More so for her.

She'd spent so many years dealing with vampires, giant bugs, were's, demons, that she
was past the point of being easily surprised. But this time.. She could understand time travel,
she could even understand the fact that the future had enough technology for space travel.
But to come back in time for her, and her alone?

" I still don't understand what you need me for."

" At first, we believed that vampires and other...demons, were actually
aliens from other planets. But over the years, we'd come to realize that they were
in fact..."

" Paranormal?"

" Right. By that time, the council had been destroyed, and slayers were extinct
at best. So we started Section 13, in hopes of dealing with the threat once and for
all."

" What does this have to do with me?"

" Simple. On this night, if I hadn't showed up, you would've become the
very thing you are fighting. The end result would have been your friends
death. Then in about five years, a vampire named Angel would finally get
through to you. You would then go on to be the only major warrior to make
a difference in fighting demons."

" So then why are you here? Why don't you just go back to the future
and let me do my thing?"

" Because you were also the last." Commander Lex looked over at her, as
they stepped into some kind of elevator. " Bridge. Normally we would take
care of it ourselves, but several major events have dictated otherwise. One,
any and all information on demons have become obscure or destroyed in
the genetics war."

" And two?"

" Two, a vampire was assimilated into a race we know as the Borg, and
we can't find a way to stop him."

" I would love to help you, but I can't help you. I know absolutely nothing
about the future, I would literally be going in as a baby."

" We've already thought of that."

Willow stared after the Commander, walking out onto the command deck.
She somehow got the idea that she wasn't going to have a choice in this matter.
One way or the other.


CHAPTER ONE
IN THE FUTURE: EIGHT YEARS LATER

" Willow!!"

She ducked to the left, rolling across the rocky terrain, just avoiding the large foot as it crashed down. The cliff shook dangerously under the weight of the Kraagan. Huffing quietly she came up on her feet, cautiously eyeing the large hairy alien. She waved Jelan back as the hyper Orion started to charge the creature.

" I am Cadet Willow Rosenberg of Star Fleet Academy. I do not mean you any harm." She flipped back as the creature once more brought it's foot down where she was standing.

" No but I think big foot here does."

She glared over at Bear, as the large Scirion made light of a situation that had her immediate death
written all over it. Faking to the right, she dived left into a roll, coming up behind the creature. Making a quick, and semi suicidal decision, she jumped onto his back.

" YEAH!!!! RIDE HIM!!!"

The thick Texas accent shot through the painful headache she was starting to nurse. Silently, she made a mental note to torture the ex-cowboy, sure that the rest of her command group would gladly help her. A howl of anguish roared from the dark gray haired cat like creature, a sound she knew well. Filled with such pain and hurt that...

Pain. He was in pain. Her eyes focused on the dark black speck in the side of his neck. Grabbing the
speck with her right hand, she yanked. With a deep groan she found herself staring up at the red sky,
with a large gray haired Kraagan howling over her.

It charged her once more, and she rolled to her feet, backing up again. It approached her rapidly, with leaping steps it launched it's self at her, melting mid-air into a small girl. Surprised, she skidded to a stop, and held out her arms.

" Well how da ya like dat?" Rex ran a hand through his blonde hair, staring at the gray haired girl curled up into her arms. " It's a baby."

Willow sighed heavily, and held up the black speck, examining the two inch long thin shard of metal. No wonder the little girl had thrown a temper tantrum. " Let's get going, we still have to make it to the falls by zero hundred hours."

" And the child?" Jelan fell in step with her, the Orion's dark green skin becoming even darker under the red sky.

" Actually, the Kraagan are classified as a feline species." K'lan fell back, her dark eyes searching for
any sign of being followed. " And since the Kraagan are a species that is widely hunted, we can assume that the child managed to escape from smugglers."

She nodded to the half Klingon half Vulcan, glad that the passionate woman still had the famous Vulcan knowledge. " And according to Star Fleet's own rules, we're allowed to have pets."

Jelan's steps faltered before she caught up, " Whoa, wait a minute, you're keeping her?"

" It does seem to be the logical course of action."

Rex rolled his eyes at his lover, " I don't give a horses ass what Kraagan's are classified as, they're as
human as the rest of us. They need the same love and care that a human needs, so don't give me that
logical shit."

" I don't know, I think she's kinda cute." Bear grinned toothily at them, his massive bulk creating a cool shadow over them. " Besides, the kid's taken with her."

She glanced down at where the silver haired girl had curled up against her chest like a kitten. The gray silver tail wrapped passively around her forearm, and a soft distinctive purring that was vibrating
through her. She could see the tiny feline set of fangs as the girl yawned loudly, snuggling closer to her.

She knew just how human the Kraagan was, but for once she was glad for the feline classification,
because there was no way in hell she was going to give this girl up. Not for anything in the universe.

" I don't believe this. Five went on the survival test, and I end up with six. Just what the hell were you
thinking Cadet."

She stood at attention in front of Lieutenant Carrington, the urge to yell back at the man who'd been
riding her ass since her first year at the academy nearly coming to the surface. " Permission to speak
freely, sir?"

" Permission granted."

" Ebony is just a chi- a kitten, and Laron is not her natural habitat. If I had left her there she would've
been dead before morning."

The gold haired man seemed to grow even more fierce, his orange eyes turning a brown in his emotions. " You can not save every damned stray you find out there. If you tried then you wouldn't make it two minutes on a starship, not that I think you could now. A genetic freak like you would never..."

" That's enough Gar."

Carrington glowered at Captain Lex, barring his razor sharp teeth at him. " You stay the hell out of this. This is all your fault, you and your damned Section 13. Telling us what cadets to take, what they can or can't do. Just what the hell kind of universe is this, where a cadet can spend more time going on star fleet missions than going to school."

" Relax, she'll be out of your hair, when she graduates tomorrow."

" And just what makes you think she's graduating?" Carrington snarled at her darkly, " She's been
nothing but a damned trouble maker since she arrived."

" Actually, the way I hear it, she's one of the best students the academy has ever had." Richard moved to stand in front of Carrington. " And if you try to stop her from graduating tomorrow, then I will make sure that you never get off this post. Is that understood Lieutenant?"

Carrington snapped to attention so fast, she found herself trying to stifle the urge to laugh. " Sir, yes
sir."

" Good. Cadet, you're with me."

She quickly fell into step with him, forgetting to salute her principal. " Thanks Rich, I don't know what
his problem is."

The solemn man's mouth twitched, " It might have to do with the fact that you've broken his academy
record."

" Oh." She frowned slightly, still unable to see why he hated her so much.

" You know, what he said wasn't true. You're not a freak."

She snorted to herself, " Yeah."

Lex reached out and swung her around. " No you're not. What happened, was not your fault."

Willow stared at him through the small round reflective sunglasses that never left her face anymore. " I know."

" Do you?"

" Rich, I'm fine." She smiled at him wagging her eyebrows at him. " Now, about Ebony.."

He groaned at her, " Yes, yes. I've cleared your pet. She can go with you."

" Yes. Thank you." She hugged her father figure, running off toward her command squad's dorm. She
wanted to get back to Ebony as fast as she could. The trip across the campus seemed to take longer than normal as she sprinted into the building and was immediately hit by a dark silver blur.

She looked down into the big yellow cat eyes of her daughter, and affectionately ruffled her hair. " Hey, what are you doing down here? I thought Jelan and K'lan were watching you for me."

" We...huff...were..."

She smirked at the two women holding the other up. They kept throwing dark glares at the girl in her
arms. She noticed that their uniforms were soaked with sweat. " What happened to you?"

" Ebony isn't as sweet as she looks."

The small girl smiled up at her with bright eyes, then let out a loud yawn. Her yellow eyes slide shut as she curled up against her, purring loudly.

" No, of course she isn't." She patted K'lan's shoulder solemnly, barely holding in her smile until the
turbolift had closed. When she'd first picked out her eccentric collection of cadets, she honestly hadn't expected them to work out as a squad.

Star Fleet had never accepted an Orion female, or a half-Klingon half-Vulcan before. Muchless a Sicilian, and as for Rex... He'd applied numerous times, but never got in, simply because of his fathers half Romulan heritage.

For eight years, they'd lived together, ate together, went to class and studied together, trained together. For eight years, they had gone on star fleet missions together, learning in the field in a way no other cadet was allowed. For eight years, she lead them, she trained and taught them about demons and other supernatural beings. For the last four years, they had struggled through command school.

In the end, the differences that had kept them apart and hurt them as a group, now kept them together and helped them. They had developed a closeness that let them read off of each other, made it an easy to work together, made them the top ranked squad in the academy.

That closeness had gotten them through their freshman year of command school. It had driven them to going after her, to rescue her from the Silmarions. It kept them together the two weeks she'd spent in sick bay recovering, it had kept her sane during the following years of trying to deal with the freak that the Silmarions had made her into.

Absently, she rubbed the girls back, " Come on kiddo, let's get some sleep. We have a big day
tomorrow."


Chapter: Two/?

TWO YEARS LATER

Willow nodded to the rock built Scirion. Beside her the panther sized gray silver cat, stood right next to her. She absently adjusted her new uniform. The all black flight suit's, were the original uniform star fleet designed. The stripe tracing her shoulders under her rank pips, was dark red, keeping with the newest color codes. The other sectors wore the newest uniforms, but they stuck with what worked best for them.

Of course the material changed, whenever they found a better one. But the design was easier to move in, cooler or warmer depending on what they needed. It was more comfortable, fit better, and it was easier to blend in on recon missions.

The weapons belt hung low on her right hip, the gun resting on her right leg comfortably. The carefully crafted six inch wooden knife balanced in her hand. With quick moves, she spun out of the vampire's way, leading him closer to Jelan.

The Orion kicked him in the jaw, taking his attention away from her, so that she could concentrate on
one of the demons. The blue skinned monster growled at her, charging at a fast rate of speed. She flipped up over his head, and slammed the poison treated blade into the gill above his buttocks.

The demon's skin paled until all the pigment was gone, the howling monster shuddered once, then fell to the ground dead. Arm's wrapped around her, squeezing at her body. She grunted, bringing her head back into the demons face. She heard a sickening crunch, and dived away.

She watched Bear break the other demons neck with a sharp twist of his arms, and beamed at her.

" What the hell were you waiting for?"

" I just thought you might want to take him out yourself."

" I told you to deal with him." She glared at the large man, trying to remember why she'd decided he'd make a good addition to the group.

" Sorry, Captain."

" Well, don't let it happen again." She turned to the other's, watching silently as they quickly took care of the vampires. " Argahtin?"

K'lan shook her head with a scowl, " No. There was a few assimilated but the rest... There's still no sign of him."

" It's been ten years. Where the hell is he?" She ran her hand through her short hair. It was beyond
frustrating to be unable to deal with the very person she was brought there to deal with. " Alright, let's
see if we can clean out the other nest."

Ebony fell into step with her as she began the long hike down the mountain face. Using the transporter's around a mountain full of that much Cronot would be suicidal. The large cat head butted her hand, reminding her of the girls presence. The panther sized cat had become as much a part of their crew as the others, proving herself to be an incredible asset.

Like she used to be. Back when she was a Scooby, still trying to find her place in the world. Learning magic, using her computer skills to help the gang. Until Buffy had died. Then she'd found herself in charge of the misfit's, deciding what they would and could do.

Then one night she'd used that position to dictate their bringing Buffy back. She'd been so determined to believe that she was in some hell dimension, being tortured and tormented for all eternity. Buffy had even told them so, and when she'd left, to go home. She'd over heard her friend talking to Spike.

Heaven. The slayer that had lived twenty years without a moment of real peace and happiness, had
been in Heaven. She had finally found the one thing she'd always wanted, and she, her best friend had ripped it all away from her. No wonder Buffy hadn't been able to look at her with hate.

" This should be the last nest on this planet."

She nodded absently to K'lan, " Good. I want to move on as soon as possible."

" Have you considered...?"

" No, and I'm not going to."

K'lan fell silent, glancing over at her every few seconds. " It may be our only chance of stopping him."

" We still have other options."

" But they aren't the most logical."

Willow stopped to turn to K'lan, her eyes drilling into her friend, and second officer. " Oh, and going
back in time and changing the timeline is?"

" We did it for you. Why not him?"

" If it comes to that, then yes, we'll do that. But if we can find another way..."

K'lan growled angrily, " In the mean time, every day we wait another hundred people die."

" And if we go back in time to kill him, then it won't matter." Willow began to walk again, satisfied that K'lan wasn't going to try to mutiny on her. She'd learned a long time ago that what made them so
compatible was their passionate beliefs.

" It'll be okay." She muttered softly to herself, looking down to Ebony for confirmation. The cat purred, licking her left hand, and butting it with her head. " At least someone around here agrees with me."

She slowed down, her enhanced hearing picking up the soft whirl of a transporter. ' Who the hell would be crazy enough to...? Shit. ' " GET DOWN!!"

She drew her gun. The forms of drone's began to outline in the night air, as they opened fire on them.
The Borg closest to her, spun around and opened fire with a strange looking weapon. She ran hard,
leaping into a flying tackle, that sent her and Jelan into a heap of limbs. The bright blue beam shot cleanly through the spot where they'd been standing, hitting the nearby cluster of trees instead.

The explosion threw them to the ground in a rain of splinters and leaves. She heaved herself to her
feet, and made a run for the nearby boulders. Firing off her gun at the drones every few steps. Behind her the other's followed, Ebony on her heels.

Drone after drone fell and disappeared, only to be replaced with another and another. She fell against the boulder wall, her eyes staring up the long hard trail they'd just come down. There was little they could do, not without making sacrifices.

" K'lan..." She pulled the woman over to the side, keeping her voice down. " Remember that incident where the Borg queen went back in time..."

" Yeah, she programmed the sphere to..." K'lan stared at her. " Willow, you can't..."

" I'll need you to cover me. Once I'm beamed up... Get them out of here alive."

Her friend, and second officer turned on her Vulcan face, and nodded. " Yes, sir."

" Do me a favor take care of Ebony for me?"

" Of course...Willow."

She turned back to the other woman, searching her face for something.

" It was an honor to work with you."

Willow bowed her head. Taking in the site of her family one last time. She had no doubt that this was it, there wouldn't be any second chances with them. Either she'd get back and get stuck there, or she'd be killed. Either way, it was over.

She changed the clip in her gun, then made a run toward one of the drones. Ten feet...five feet...She shot the gun at his head sending him sprawling to the ground. The transporter engaged automatically, and she dived onto his body. She looked up at K'lan, and screamed as Ebony followed her into the transporter beam.

The large cat hit her as they landed on the floor of the Borg cube, a look of pride on her face. Angry at Ebony for not obeying her, angry at herself for getting so attached to the girl, and angry at the situation, she glared at the offending cat.

" Great. Now what?" She glanced around, knowing that she had no choice but to continue with her plan. " You and me are going to have a long talk later about which of us is the boss."

The cat meowed in response, leading her down the darkened corridor. They entered the assimilation
room, her eyes searching for the queens escape hatch. The microchips in her eyes, zoomed in closer to the walls and floor. Adjusting to look for any anomalies. The minute crack in the far wall was just barely large enough for her to see.

She slide her hands over it, sighing as she realized it was controlled mentally by the queen. The panel
next to it was probably a back up precaution in cas... She moved over to it, studying the read out with her hacker mind. Carefully, she lifted her arm, shooting an optical from her wrist into the panel.

Her eyes began to blink rapidly, processing the information that she was collecting. The urge to
download their entire systems was fighting against the need to get to the sphere. Ignoring the horrible
need to explore such advanced technology, she forced her way past the encryption's, and triggered the escape hatch.

Regretfully, she retracted the optical and followed Ebony into the sphere. It was time she went home.


Chapter: Three

OCTOBER 2002

She raced through the thick woods, the branches and thorns reaching out for her, ripping at her uniform. Her eyes scanned around her without pause, the night vision mode making everything brighter to her. Short dark red hair, stayed swept back with practiced ease.

Her legs stretched out in front of her, barely missing the thick log that was in her path. Behind her
Ebony leaped over it, taking the lead. The three year old's instincts becoming a homing beacon in the
vast silent tome.

A large cave grew closer, the torch light entrance signaling the closeness of her distention. She slowed to a jog, carefully staying in the shadows of the trees. Her hand drew her gun. The black laser targeting weapon balancing in her hand with familiarity.

The holy water treated, wood base, silver bullets sat ready to be used. She'd designed the weapons
during her second year at the academy. A small hand held gun phaser combo. Capable of firing in both stun and kill modes, but also at firing regular bullets.

Thumbing the safety off, she turned her attention to the unguarded cave. Her eyes zoomed in on several shadows hiding in the shrubbery, arguing in whispers. Without processing the voice patterns she already knew who they were.

Ebony head butted her leg, and meowed softly, reminding her of why they were there. Whatever her old family was up to this was not her business, the vampire nest inside that cave, however, was. She raised her gun, activating the phaser, and shot off two red bursts at the entrance of the cave.

The resulting explosion's caused her old friend's to go silent, watching helplessly as rocks started to fall. Rumbling started to domino, chasing vampire after vampire out of the cave. She watched as the one vampire she was concerned about came running out. His dark black eyes scanning the forest for the cause of the cave in.

She wanted to go after the bastard, make him suffer until he was begging for death. But as a Captain in star fleet she had to be concerned with the possibility of him getting away. She turned on the gun, and raised it, until the pin like laser was over the vampire's heart. She squeezed the trigger and it fired...

...hitting him in his shoulder as he dived to the side. Slamming her gun back into the holster, she raced
after the vampire sprinting into the woods by the cave. She ran across the clearing, shoving anyone in
her way aside.

" WILLOW!! "

Her legs pumped hard, taking her through the woods on Argahtin's trail. Ebony was just ahead of her, using her smell to keep track of the bastard. She put on more speed, spotting the back of the vampire through the thick trees.

She slammed through the trees and fell, a lean body holding her to the ground. Anger coursed through her blood as she realized that she'd just lost her chance to catch Argahtin. Using her weight she rolled over, kicking the person that had tackled her in the stomach. She watched with shock as Buffy flew back into a nearby tree.

Ebony leaped in front of her, the panther sized cat's ear's laid back in warning. The loud hissing freezing the other's in their place. She stepped away from them wearily, trying to decide what the best course of action would be at this point.

She could always say she wasn't Willow, but doubted she could pull it off. On the other hand, she could just put a sleeping spell on them, or make them forget her, but after all the trouble magic caused she just didn't have the heart to do it.

" Ebony."

The cat hissed once more at Buffy, then bound over to her, taking her place at her side. She rubbed the frustrated cat's head to calm her.

Xander looked down at the cat nervously, clearly trying to decide what to do. " Willow, where have you been?"

She eyed him, taking another step back. " Look, I have business to take care of so if you'll excuse me..."

" So that's it? You don't even care about how worried we were or how we felt when you disappeared?"

The shy hacker in her wanted to run into their arms, and beg for forgiveness. She wanted to stay here
with her family, to become a part of the gang again. But she wasn't the hacker anymore. She was a thirty one years old Captain, the Captain of the USS Destiny, and an accomplished witch.

" That isn't my problem." She cocked her head to the side, her hearing picking up a noise.

" The Willow I grew up with would never have thought that."

" People change.." She muttered softly, turning to look at the surrounding trees. Her hand lightly rested on her gun.

" So what are you going to do? Shot me?"

" Maybe."

She drew the gun, and fired it off, hitting the vampire behind Xander. The female vampire screamed
horribly bursting into ashes. She dived into a roll, coming up on her knee, as the group of vampires
charged out of the shadows at them.

She slid the gun back into the holster. The palm sized thin metal cylinder fell into her hand, with a simple twitch a long thing wooden needle popped out of it. The large male coming at her, growled at her, making a lunge at her neck.

She stabbed the needle into his heart, the ash falling to the ground. She came up in a round house kick, knocking another vampire back, and spun around, the needle slamming into his heart. She looked up and spotted another vampire sneaking up behind Tara.

She flipped the needle up, catching the wooden point, and threw it. Tara's eyes widened as the needle sailed right past her ear, and into the vampire's heart.

" I think we should talk." Buffy said.

She nodded wearily, and held out her hand, the needle flipping through the air to her. The long thin
wooden point disappeared back into the slim cylinder. " Fine. The magic box?"

" Yeah."

She slowly feel into step behind them. Seeing them again after so long was a shock to her. Ten years
was a long time to go without hearing or seeing them. The problem was that ten years or not, she felt how right it was to be one of them once more.

" Where did you go?"

" You wouldn't believe me." She turned the cup of mocha in her hands, not really wanting to explain her life.

" Try me." Xander leaned back, crossing his arms with a scowl.

" Fine. I was in the future." She took a large sip of the caffeine drink. Savoring her first real cup of mocha in two years.

" Uh, now, when you say the future you mean...?"

" 2373."

" I..I see. Um, wow. Is..is that why you're dressed like...that?" Xander cleared his throat, paling a bit.

" Yes." She took in their shocked expressions and decided that honesty was her best chance here. " An officer from the future was sent back to get me, to help deal with a problem they had."

" Whoa, hold the ship. Back up. Why you? I mean, why not Buffy or dead boy...? Not that you were a bad choice."

" Apparently, if they hadn't gotten to me when they did... I would've taken a path that would end with me being the last slayerette."

" Oh."

" How long were you there?" Tara asked quietly.

" Ten years." Willow sighed, " Look, guys, the only reason I came back was because I have to stop a vampire."

" The one you were chasing." Buffy asked from her place at the counter. The dead blaming eyes drilling into her's.

" Yeah."

She looked down at the mewing cat with concern. The three year old Kraagan was going through a
growth spurt, that tended to make the kitten crankier than usual. The large cat let out a loud yowl, then shifted into her human form, skittering up into her lap.

Ebony Rosenburg whimpered and curled up in her arms, kneading her claws into her uniform. The long tail wrapped tightly around her left arm, where she burrowed.

" She human... What's wrong with her?" Dawn inched closer, kneeling by her chair.

" Growth spurt." She ran her hand over the girl's back, rubbing the tense muscles. " After tonight, I'll
need your help in finding him."

" We'll help anyway we can." Buffy pushed away from the counter, and took a hesitant step towards
her. " Where are you staying?"

" I haven't thought that far ahead." She hugged the child closer to her body, knowing how much
Kraagan's depended on physical affection.

" You can stay with us."

" Are you sure?" She honestly would've been more at ease in a motel. The idea of staying in the same
house with the fixation of her guilt, was just painful.

" It's not like you can go to a motel with...What is she?"

" A Kraagan." She sighed with a single nod. Resigned to being out gunned on this one.

Dawn let out a squeal, and dragged her out of the chair, talking a mile a minute. ' What have I gotten
myself into? '

Chapter: Four

She paused in the doorway, her eyes taking in the sight before her. A year ago her best friend, the
woman that she loved, had disappeared. They had torn the town apart searching for some clues, some hint as to what happened to her. But it had been a fruitless task. It had been like she'd been transported into thin air. Now, they knew that that was exactly what had happened to her.

" Should we wake her?" Dawn peered over her shoulder.

" Not yet." She stared at her old friend with a softness that she hadn't felt in a while.

Willow was laying on her stomach, sprawled out on the floor, using her arms as a pillow. She had left
everything on the bed, sleeping in only a pair of dark red g-strings, and a black tank top that was at least two sizes to small. Her short dark red hair was spread out around her.

Her eyes drifted up the taunt lean body that lay there so innocently. The body that had once been
covered in baby fat, was now muscle. The once smooth flawless skin was riddled in white scars that
made her blood freeze just imagining how she'd gotten them.

Then there was Ebony. She admitted that the kid was cute, but she just couldn't figure out what her
story was. Willow had simply said that she was a feline breed that she'd found on a mission. But she
could tell that there was more too it than that. The way Ebony seemed to guard her friend, as though she was all that mattered. The cat like human stayed by her side or in her arms constantly, only leaving her to attack someone.

The three year old was currently laying on Willow's back, her left ear pressed into her back above her heart. She could see the cat like face shifting between content to pain, the cat like cheeks and nose that blended into her human face twitching occasionally. Her double jointed hands and feet had their claws sunk into Willow. The tail was wrapped around her waist in a death grip.

" How can she sleep like that?" Dawn leaned against her.

" You get used to it." Willow opened her eyes, with no hint of sleep in them. She sat up, leaning on her right knee.

" Why are you on the floor?" Dawn entered the room, taking a seat on the floor next to her. She ran her hand over the still sleeping Kraagan.

" The bed was too soft."

She looked onto her friend with sad eyes, hating what her friend had been through. " Why don't you get dressed while we make breakfast?"

" Why does she stay so close to you?"

Willow glanced over at Dawn as the younger girl continued to pet Ebony. Her entire attention on the
young child on her back. " She's a touch empath."

" So...she stays in contact with you because she can sense your emotions?"

" Kraagan's don't emotionally develop until their fifth birthday. Until that time they base their reactions
on their mothers emotions to a situation."

" Then your like her mother?"

Willow nodded absently, " You could say that."

Buffy felt her jaw clench at the haunted eyes that stared at the carpet. She was the slayer, her job was to protect, instead she'd failed. She failed to protect her best friend. " Come on Dawn, we should start breakfast."

" Okay." Dawn sighed heavily and brushed past her, muttering about bossy sisters.

She kept her eyes on Willow as the red head stood up and took a pair of black cargo pants from the
drawer. When Willow had disappeared, she'd left all of the witch's clothes in their appointed place, not having the heart to think that Willow wouldn't return.

Willow yanked the pants on, the once baggy pants now fitting her tightly. All the muscle that she'd
built over the years filling her body out.

" Why did you leave?"

The red head dropped her head as she tied the pants into place. " That day, I heard you with Spike."

Buffy swallowed back the urge to cry at the other anguish on her friends face. The uncertainty of the
last year hit her hard, driving her into the room. She grabbed the woman that kept her grounded through so much in her life, and roughly kissed her.

Lips opened into bottomless wells, demanding more, needing everything. Her fingers tangled into the
short red hair, keeping the red head tightly against her. Tongues moved over each other, exploring,
begging, caressing. The need for air finally forced her to break the kiss, and she slowly opened her
eyes...

...and found herself staring into the crystal light accusing gray eyes of Ebony. The three year old was
bearing her fangs at her with a low growl.

" Why don't you go downstairs and play with Dawn?" Willow ordered the glaring child.

Ebony eyed her darkly before jumping down off of Willows back, and shifting into a large fierce cat. She couldn't help but feel slightly nervous at the hungry look that she shot her before stalking out of the room.

" She can be a little possessive."

" A little?" Buffy raised an eyebrow at her friend, soon to be lover, and tackled the witch to the bed.
" Now, where were we?"

Willow stared up at her through a mask, then leaned up, kissing her gently. She forgot about trying to
figure out what Willow was thinking, and lost herself in the body under her. Everything else could wait...

Willow left the top half of her flight suit hanging around her waist, as she fastened her weapons belt
into place. She'd decided that she could get away wearing the black star fleet flight suit like that. Besides, she needed to keep what she came with close by.

" There's no hurry you know?"

Willow closed her eyes with a sigh, feeling Buffy's nude body pressed against her back. It was an
experience that she'd always dreamed of having, and now that she had, it was far better than anything
she could've imagined. " I'm just so close to stopping him..."

" And we will." Buffy kissed her bare shoulder.

Willow turned in the slayers arms, and sucked on her top lip. " We'd better get down there before
Xander shows up and eats everything."

" I'm not hungry." Buffy murmured into her mouth.

" I am." She smiled as the slayer groaned, throwing herself back onto the bed. " I'm going to go check on Ebony while you get dressed."

" Fine." Buffy returned the smile softly, " Hey, Will?"

She paused by the door, " Yeah?"

" I'm glad you came back."

" I love you." She replied, leaving the room. She wanted to tell Buffy that she wanted to be back. She wanted to say that she had planned on coming back. She wanted to say that everything would be alright now. But she would be lying if she did.

Her being back, was like Buffy being ripped out of heaven. It was hell for her. To go back to being plain Willow, the research girl and witch. To go back to being a single person fighting a world of evil, barely making a dent in their fight.

She was important in the future. She was one person in charge of a group of the best demon hunters in the universe. She was one of the leading founders of section 13, deciding ships, crews, weapons,
information. Everything that was done, she was involved in. They were the best at what they did, and
what they did made a difference.

" Mommy."

She smiled at the three year old that scrambled up her body and into her arms. The young girl had the ability to speak, but used it more rarely than Oz did. The silver haired girl glared over her shoulder at Buffy, totally disregarding how she felt about the slayer, or more important she was concentrating on how she felt about the slayer.

She pressed her forehead to the girls, projecting all her emotions and thoughts. A soft purring answered her, letting her know that for now, she would behave.

" Come on, let's eat."

The war ship was her Captains pride and joy. Their first year in command school, the red haired girl had become obsessed with designing the most advanced war ship in star fleet. She'd been working on star fleet ships the last four years at the academy and knew every detail of them. What she would do differently, what she would add, what she would throw away.

She wanted a ship that was small, sleek, and fast. She had used the Defiant class design as a base. She wanted it to be a dark gray with a reflective surface that would allow it to blend in with it's surroundings. A ship that had three layers of shields, all of which were created from the Borg's own designs, with a few changes. Multiple phaser banks with stronger, more powerful capabilities.

She had managed to get permission to use the transwarp engines that star fleet had trashed back during Kirk's reign. A month later, she'd redesigned them, and proven their effectiveness. A cloaking device had been added to the engine's, with the permission of the Klingon's.

The inside had been the hardest to talk Star Fleet into supporting. The bridge was smaller. The Captain's chair was black leather, with a master control board that folded down. The pilots station was in a lowered section in front of the captain, about a foot deep, and to the left. The u shaped control's locked into place on the chair, making it easier for the pilot to drive. A co-pilot, with the exact same station, was to the left, beside the pilot. The co-pilot and their station also controlled security. Weapons, mines, tractor beams, torpedo's.

The engineering and science stations were on either side, against either wall. The computer's taking up the back half of the bridge. The front was a black view screen, that was like a window, showing what was in front of them whenever it was turned off. With the ability to be linked to any computer, to show the information. Black transmitter's, under the carpet, inside the walls, and in the ceiling, let the view screen show everything in 3-D.

" Report."

" They're right on our tails, Commander." Rex's hands danced over the control's, twirling and spinning the Derringer class war ship around the Borg's phasers.

K'lan approached his chair, keeping her eyes locked on the virtual viewer at the front of the bridge. The view screen projected the 3-D vision of the surrounding area perfectly. Each star, planet, ship, etc, represented in a scale that made it easier for her to see.

" Use defensive maneuver's alpha four." She commanded. " Bear."

" Yes, Commander."

" Are we ready to jump?" She paced behind the pilot's station, trying to ignore the urge to stay
and battle the Borg.

" Yes, sir. However, might I remind you that the new hyper engine is still untested."

" Noted." She turned to her crew, each and everyone of them.

Jelan, a woman who'd grown up a slave, but who now wore the gold and red stripped uniforms that told of her duel role, as both a pilot and security chief. Rex, a man who stood no chance of getting into star fleet because of his Romulan heritage.

Bear, with his absented mindedness, but a genius at putting things together. A man who was larger than life, but more gentle than a Tarvainion mouse. Doc Rawling, a human raised on Bajor, who'd ended up part of their rag tag team after they had stowed away on a Bajoran transport ship.

" Our captain is currently trapped in the year 2002. She went in order to save our lives, and now, we
have a chance to save her's. Under the circumstances I can't force any of you to go." She stopped
talking, her eyes falling onto the Doc as he stepped off of the turbolift. " If any of you don't want to go, then I'll understand."

" And pass up a chance to save Will?" Jelan scoffed at her, letting her know that she couldn't believe
she was asking.

" I can get me a genuine pez dispenser. I'm in." Bear grinned through his sharp teeth, and flung his long blue hair out of his purple eyes.

" Like I'd miss a chance to see her face when we arrive. " Rex smirked happily as he spun the Destiny out of the way of another torpedo.

" Doc?"

Derrick nodded once, his Bajoran ear ring jingling. " I say let' s go."

" Bear, prepare to activate the hyper drive." She sat in her chair, trying to keep control over her tense
body. " Whenever you're ready."

" Whoooooo Hoooooooo!!!!!!" Rex yelped happily as the ship jumped forward into a bright silver like worm hole. " Look out Earth..."