CAUSE AND MANNER
AN-This story is set current day, ten years after the defeat of the First Evil and destruction of Sunnydale. Events occurred as depicted in the show with two major differences. Tara never came to Sunnydale and Anya didn't die. I have made some changes in historical facts, primarily that the United States suffered a prolonged drought which devastated food supplies followed by an economic collapse in 2008-2010 with significant legal and political implications. Times are hard and unsympathetic leaders are in charge. The focus will be primarily on Willow and Tara, but I love to write all the BTVS characters and have added a few of my own as well where needed. No copyright infringement is intended. I hope you enjoy this tale of more 'adult' Scoobies still finding ways to combat evil in all its forms and trying to find love along the way.
Chapter One-A Heart Apart
The heart lay gently in her gloved hand as she turned it carefully evaluating each side of the external surface. Anterior, posterior, apex and base all appeared initially unremarkable. Taking up the scalpel she began to section through the coronary arteries that ran just beneath the exterior until her blade struck firmness. Applying more pressure with the sharp edge revealed hard yellow plaque lining the inner aspect and nearly occluding the lumen of the left anterior descending coronary artery, also known as the 'widow maker'.
Placing the heart down on the surface of the cutting board, she took a longer blade and made clean cuts of equal thickness through the muscle and placed them down on the surface before her for evaluation. As suspected, a firm white scar marred the otherwise red-brown muscle tissue in the anterior wall of the heart in the area supplied by the diseased vessel she had discovered.
She marveled at the simplicity of the process that had taken the life of the 52 year old businessman whose body was lying supine on a cart next to her and whose heart was in pieces before her. Block a major artery, stop blood flow to a portion of the crucial muscle which dies resulting in scar tissue. A ticking bomb waiting for extreme physical exertion to strike at the most inopportune time, such as an afternoon tryst with your mistress at an expensive downtown hotel when your wife believes you to be at an out of town business meeting. Le grande mort in the middle of le petite mort.
Even lying separate, severed from the vital connections to the body, the heart remained a fascination. Taken together with the knowledge of what it did during life, a delicate balance of electrical impulses taking spent blood into chambers and feeding it through the lungs to be oxygenated and returned to the body; that was a scientific wonder worth a lifetime of study.
Deeper still, one could probe the true meaning and purpose of the human heart. How it can physically ache at hurt and loss, how it can race and skip from joy and love. Sadly, she thought, she had experienced too much of the former and not enough of the later in her own history.
The heart can still be a source of destruction even after the beat has been lost, if you are a member of the undead. So many vampires she had staked over the last fifteen years, and that only a fraction of the number slain by her best friend and housemate, Buffy Summers, oldest of the hundred or so current vampire slayers scattered around the world. Those hearts would never be subject to her forensic evaluation, the redhead laughed to herself, seeing how it is hard to examine dust.
"Willow. Dr. Rosenberg. Earth to Rosenberg!"
The increasingly loud male voice finally clicked in her head and brought Willow out of her deep moment of introspection. "Oh. Hey boss. Sorry, I was just thinking about the heart." Willow answered the physician who had hired her two years ago and had been the man in charge of the office for the last twenty years, Dr. Allen Banks.
"I saw you just thinking. How about actually doing instead?" The older man spoke gruffly, but with an undertone of teasing and a wry smile on his face. "We've got ten more bodies in the incoming cooler; I need you to do at least one more autopsy today."
"No problem Chief. I'm on it. This one is straightforward coronary disease; I'll be done in a jiffy." Willow responded as she reached for a small tissue jar filled with formalin at the cutting station.
After selecting the worst areas of damaged tissue, Willow Rosenberg, MD, cut small sections of the heart and a few of other major organs to place in the jar. These would be processed, stained and returned on glass slides for her review under the microscope in a few days. Finishing up, she nodded to her assistant who placed the organs in a red biohazard bag which went into the main body cavity that was then loosely stitched for transport to the funeral home.
Stripping off her protective plastic gown, gloves and face shield, Willow exited the morgue and headed down the administrative hall. It had taken over a year, but she finally had a doorplate identifying that the office belonged to Dr. Willow Rosenberg, Deputy Medical Examiner and in smaller letters beneath, North/Central Region, State of California.
The office itself was a typical government 8 X 12 rectangle and as a junior member of the staff, she had not yet earned the privilege of a window with a view, but it was her own personal space at least. A surplus metal desk and squeaky rolling chair took up most of the space not occupied by the voluminous bookshelves that lined the walls. Two straight-backed visitor chairs sat in front of the desk, but one was stacked with papers and journals that had found no place available on the overflowing shelves.
"Coffee. I need an espresso badly. Preferably a direct intravenous infusion." A tall brunette slumped into the single spare chair, managing to drape herself elegantly while looking exhausted at the same time. "You'll help a friend out with that fancy machine of yours, right?"
"You're my only friend here and you know it Elise. Go get some water and I'll grind." Willow turned to her one office indulgence, a top of the line countertop espresso machine that sat on a small table in the back corner of the office. When she had started working at the department, she found the ancient break room communal coffee pot contained a bitter watery liquid over a layer of thick black sludge, neither of which was drinkable.
She had also found a friend in Elise Jones, another of the Deputy Medical Examiners with about eight years' experience. The offer of free espresso might have started their friendship, but Willow had found Elise to be an incredibly intelligent and savvy forensic pathologist who was willing to mentor the young redhead on things both medical and political in the office.
The two had barely taken their first sip when a short cropped balding brown head that sat over a sour visage appeared in the doorway. "There are more cases you two. I'm headed back to start my second."
Elise didn't even turn to acknowledge the speaker, rolling her eyes at Willow to show her displeasure. "When we have taken our quick coffee break, we will both do another case James. And it will be my third today."
Willow couldn't hide her snigger as the brown haired man left in a huff. James Pierce was a co-worker and one of the other seven Deputy Medical Examiners for the North/Central California region. He had been with the office for six years and had been at a different office for four before moving to California. He clearly viewed himself as being in an administrative position of authority based on his experience, but the Chief Medical Examiner had not named him, or anyone else, as the Assistant Chief since the State ordered office consolidation two years ago. James was a climber with political connections, but his work as a forensic pathologist was mediocre.
"Insolent prick. Who the fuck does he think he is? I'm getting really tired of that asshat thinking he is our boss already." Elise commented coolly in contrast to her colorful word choice.
Willow laughed and almost snorted out a gulp of her espresso. Elise was full of interesting contradictions. She was a brilliant forensic pathologist with a reputation as the fastest in the office, yet she never missed the smallest detail. She was strikingly beautiful in a tall lean sort of way, but her wardrobe was utilitarian and her makeup sparse. She had married young to her college sweetheart and had two school age children who she adored and who exasperated her in equal measure. And her language was legendary. She had a vocabulary that a lifelong sailor would be hard pressed to keep up with.
"I don't know what I'd do without you around here to cut the tension." Willow smiled as her friend finished up her coffee.
"Let's hope neither one of us ever has to find out. I think it's safe to say we both really need these jobs and having you around makes it enjoyable and not just tolerable Willow." The brunette responded kindly. "I guess we better get back down there before James complains to the boss about me, again. I don't know why he thinks I'm such a threat; I never want to run this place."
Willow pondered her friend's statements as they walked back towards the morgue. She certainly did need the job, and for more reasons than Elise understood. The money was important, she had medical school loans to pay off and other bills, but being a Medical Examiner gave her access to information about deaths occurring all over north and central California, including the entire San Francisco bay area, Sacramento and the central agricultural regions.
Already in her two years here she had identified several vampire and demon related murders and Buffy had been able to take Slayer action based on the information. On the books, the murders would unfortunately remain unsolved, but she felt good knowing justice had been served and further deaths prevented with her help.
The two female medical examiners arrived at the entryway to the morgue where several clipboards hung on the wall, each with a single sheet of paper displaying the basic pertinent information of the cases remaining to autopsy that day. Name if known, age if known, circumstances if known, description of the death scene and any obvious injuries.
Elise grabbed the top clipboard with a defeated sigh. "Damn. Domestic homicide. Looks like a strangulation out of San Jose." She looked over at the redhead. "Catch you for a late lunch, Ok? This may take me a while."
Willow nodded and reached for the next clipboard. Jennifer Clausen, age 42, married, no children, found hanging by a dog leash off the balcony of the townhouse she owned with her husband. Mrs. Clausen was a PhD research biologist with Pharm Ag Industries, but had recently been fired.
Pharm Ag Industries or PAI was the largest corporation in California having developed from a warehouse in Richmond rented by a couple of science geeks to become the biggest employer of high tech chemists and biologists as well as the employer of most agricultural workers in the state. The combination was unusual, but so was PAI. The company had developed the serum for the 'pacification program' used to mollify and control the laborers who performed the bulk of the work growing, harvesting and producing the food consumed by Americans.
Following the great drought of 08-09 and subsequent economic collapse, PAI had positioned itself as the great savior of the country, providing 'solutions' to skyrocketing food prices and severe shortages while gaining control of the infrastructure of California's agricultural industry.
Perhaps Ms. Clausen was just one of the countless secondary victims of the economic collapse who could not face a jobless future and took a different way out.
Just as she was about to read on to the details of the scene, a hand reached over her shoulder and swiftly lifted the clipboard out of her grasp.
"I'll take that case." Dr. Pierce stated confidently as he stepped towards the morgue door.
"I thought you hated suicides." Willow knew she should just keep her mouth shut, but she was annoyed at him taking the clipboard away from her when there were several more cases to choose from.
"I don't know what you mean Dr. Rosenberg. I do a full range of cases and I resent the implication that I avoid certain types. As I will now demonstrate by handling this hanging." The brown haired man tried to look insulted as he rested the clipboard on his protruding belly.
"Fine, I'll just take the next one." Willow tried to appear casual as she selected another clipboard and scanned down the page. "This motorcycle accident from Chico."
James nodded as if approving the selection and moved through the door into the main autopsy suite.
"Not like I needed your permission." Willow muttered to herself before following him into the morgue to start her own case.
The incident with James Pierce didn't cross Willow's mind again until she was riding the BART train back to San Francisco from the office location in Oakland. She knew for a fact that he intensely disliked suicide cases and actively avoided them. He had commented on several occasions that families of the decedents often refused to accept that a loved one had killed themselves and would insist on speaking directly to the Medical Examiner, and he felt uncomfortable talking to family members.
Willow didn't understand why he had gone into forensics. Talking to bereaved family was often difficult, but they were usually grateful that someone would take the time to speak to them and explain all the medical jargon in terms they could understand.
Why then would James not only willingly take such a case, but literally take it out of her hands? Something in the back of her Scooby mind signaled a warning and she decided to pay more attention to the case selection of James Pierce in the future.
The redhead relaxed into the seat thinking about her life as the train rumbled under 135 feet of water of the San Francisco bay. Living in the city had been an easy choice after Sunnydale was destroyed. Buffy was ready to do something else with her life other than full-time Slaying and there was no question that Willow would stay at her best friend's side wherever life took them. Dawn needed to finish high school someplace stable and Xander had convinced Anya to settle down with the Scoobies. The hacker had 'modified' her UC Sunnydale transcript to allow her to immediately apply for medical school at UC San Francisco and Buffy had finished a degree in criminalistics at San Francisco State.
After the First Evil had been destroyed along with their hometown, Buffy had announced she was semi-retiring. She planned to help out as needed in San Francisco, but would not work full time as a Slayer. Most of the newly activated slayers had gone to Cleveland with Giles and Faith where they had set up a sort of training facility. Faith was focused on controlling the vampire and demon population at that Hellmouth, now the most active in the world. Giles was focused on identifying and training the new slayers as well as some new watchers.
A few months after leaving Sunnydale, Willow had come across an announcement that the city was auctioning off several old firehouses that were obsolete. She convinced Giles to pry into the remaining Watcher's Council funds to purchase the three story building in the Tenderloin district of the city and remodel it for their use. The top floor was now a separate apartment for Xander and Anya. The second floor held a suite in the back with bedrooms for Willow and Buffy with a common kitchen and living space. The front had several small guest rooms with another galley kitchen and a large meeting room. The first floor held the street front office for Buffy and Xander's private investigation and security firm and a small private office for Willow's witchy and hacker research material. The back portion was a training and weapons room where Buffy sometimes gave self-defense classes.
All in all the trio of high school friends was doing remarkably well, or so Willow told herself. They had survived multiple apocalypses, grown into adults with careers that had purpose and helped to raise Dawn into an accomplished young woman who was now a reporter on the crime beat with the San Francisco Chronicle.
But for all that, Willow knew what was missing, at least in her life and in Buffy's. They had both dated over the years, but none of their relationships ever seemed to stick. Every man the Slayer dated backed away from her after they found out about her unusual strength and talents.
The longest was a two year relationship with a good looking cop who had gone so far as to offer to help Buffy with a vampire nest that had taken up residence in a small cave near a local beach. The first glimpse of ridged foreheads and fangs had sent him running. He later claimed Buffy must have given him PCP to fuel his hallucination, a charge that made the Scoobies laugh thinking back to all the 'drug gang' attacks the residents of Sunnydale had suffered according to the local police.
The laughter simply covered the pain of yet another failed relationship for Buffy.
The redhead herself had been subject to much mirth from her friends regarding her love life. Not being able to decide which gender she was interested in hadn't helped. She had dated Oz in high school and into college, but he had left to find a way to control the werewolf and she hadn't seen him since. She had been involved with Kennedy during the year leading up to the battle with the First, but after Sunnydale both women had agreed the relationship didn't have a future and they had parted amicably.
Since then medical school followed by four years of pathology residency hadn't given her much time to date. A few awkward dates with a very nice but shy fellow medical student named Collin had led to an uncomfortable make out session at his apartment where his fumbling hands and her obvious disinterest in that aspect of the relationship had encouraged her early departure for home and decision not to go out with any more men.
She had met an attractive woman at a Wicca group she had attended during residency and they had dated for several months. They had slept together, but the sex had quickly turned more comfortable than passionate and Willow was almost relieved when the woman had been transferred to the East Coast for her job.
So here she was in the city of the gays for the last decade and she couldn't seem to find the right woman. The sound of the train pulling into the Embarcadero Station caught her attention and she readied herself to get off two stops later. 'Maybe someday Ms. Right will walk into my life,' she tried to think hopefully. But as she exited the train and headed out onto the street the reality of her life struck again. 'Hard to imagine since most people I meet now are zipped up in a body bag and rolled in on a cart.'