After leaving the Magic Box, Tara and Willow were strolling through the park on a warm spring day.

Tara's curiosity got the best of her. "Do we have any books at all at home?"

Willow smiled mischievously. "Well, who wants to stay cooped up on a day like this? The sun is shining, there's songs going on, those guys are checking you out..."

"What?" asked a flabbergasted Tara, as a group of college freshman passed by and admired Tara's beauty. "What are they looking at?"

"The hotness of you, doofus," replied Willow, as she gently nudged Tara.

"Those boys thought I was hot?" asked Tara.

"Entirely," said Willow.

"Oh my god, I'm cured," said Tara. "I want the boys."

Willow grabbed Tara playfully, "Do I have to fight to keep you? 'Cause I'm not large with the butch."

Tara laughed the attention off. "I'm just not used to that. They were really looking at me."

Willow asked incredulously. "And you can't imagine what they see in you.

Tara replied whimsically. "I know exactly what they see in me…you."

The sampled beat from "Rise" dropped from nowhere. Tara and Willow were suddenly surrounded by girls in high heels and bikinis.

Willow started rapping:

"By incantation, note for the Slayer/

Your witch's tied up in a Hellmouth caper (shh)

Face it, Big Baddie, you best go away (yes away)/

Darker the magic, till you demons come and get me."

Tara sang the chorus:

"Willow, Willow, Willow, can't you see/

Sometimes your spells just hypnotize me/

And I just love your witchy ways/

Magic ain't a joke, don't go insane (uh)"


Tara awoke with start. She sat up and let her feet dangle over the bed. Her shoulders were hunched over as she processed the dream. It was the fourth night in a row that she dreamed of Willow. And each dream seemed to get even more bizarre. That's what I get for watching that Notorious B.I.G. documentary before going to bed last night.

The dreams also revealed just how homesick Tara was for Sunnydale. Everything was so different now in Scotland. For starters, Tara had yet to adjust to the cooler climate. It was so different from the cheerful California weather. If she looked on the bright side, at least she was getting more usage out of her cardigan sweaters. In California, she mainly just washed them to rid her bedroom of a stale, mothball smell.

But in her dreams, it was as if everything had just happened yesterday. The Magic Box. Anya alive and well and obsessing over money. Dawn still in braids. Now, the Magic Box was swallowed along with Sunnydale. Anya perished in the final battle. And Dawn…oh, Dawn. It hit Tara in the heart when she learned that Dawn wasn't a virgin anymore. And it didn't help that—due to cheating on her boyfriend, a thricewise—Dawn became a giant.

Buffy and the Scooby Gang knew that Dawn's ex was a thricewise, but they didn't know the full details. Dawn confided in Tara about the cheating, and asked her not to tell anyone. Not wanting to see Dawn forever cursed as a giant and who knows what, Tara decided to take matters into her own hands.

As Tara got up to brush her teeth, she remembered her conversation with Kenny last week. She marched into the café in full mama bear mode. She levitated Kenny upside down in the air. The crowd looked over in interest.

"I don't normally do this. But I don't appreciate it when somebody messes with my family. I have a teenager at home who's crying her eyes out because she's fifty-feet tall. Whatever you have against her isn't enough to make her a giant."

"She cheated on me with my roommate," said Kenny.

"Man, that's so wrong," said a horse-faced demon in the corner. Tara raised her left-hand, and made a soundproof barrier around her and Kenny. The customers gave a collective whine.

"Yeah, I know. Talking from personal experience, it's better to take the high road and forgive and forget," replied Tara.

"She broke my heart and humiliated me," said Kenny.

"Well, if you don't turn her back to normal, I'm going to humiliate you in ways you can't even imagine," said Tara.

Kenny undid the curse before the blood rush to his head made him pass out. Tara called Buffy while she still had Kenny upside down—just in case he was playing possum. She could hear an excited Dawn in the background, screaming "I'm back to normal. I'm back."

Tara sat Kenny back in his seat, and slapped his face a few times to wake him up. "Hey, hello, wake up. Okay, so she's back to normal. I'm glad we came to an agreement."

"Agreement? You weren't going to let me go until I changed her back," said Kenny.

"Well, I don't know if Dawn told you…but her sister's a Slayer," said Tara.

Kenny's eyes widened.

"So, be thankful that I convinced her sister to let me come instead," said Tara.

Kenny slumped in his chair.

Before Tara walked out the door, Kenny told her "Can you tell Dawn I'm sorry?"

"Sure," said Tara.

"And…can you tell her sister not to come after me?"

"I'll think about it," said Tara, as she exited the café. Needless to say, Tara's tough girl persona worked.


Tara's responsibilities increased tenfold because Willow went all gung ho. Tara understood that Willow was seeking tutelage to hone her magical abilities. But with so many Slayer sects scattered through the world, Tara was having a difficult time being the magical guru for the daily tasks. Plus, she knew in her heart that Buffy preferred Willow.

Well, none of that mattered last week. In addition to manhandling Kenny, Slayer Headquarters fought off an attack from zombies. Amy Madison revealed herself to be the mastermind. Buffy was down in a coma, and Tara tried to maintain the force field around Slayer Headquarters. But the strain was too much for her, and she had to choose whether to keep the defenses up or take Amy head on. Tara chose the latter, despite reservations from Xander and the others.

Tara marched outside to confront a floating Amy.

"Oh look, it's Willow's slim pickings. What've you been doing since your girlfriend dumped you?" asked a sarcastic Amy.

Tara pelted Amy with a magical sphere. "Playing Glinda. I presume you're the Wicked Witch?"

Amy recomposed herself. "Bitch, you have no idea." She beamed cosmic arrows at Tara. Thankfully, Tara surrounded herself with a protection spell in time. But the sheer force catapulted her backwards.

Before Tara could rebound, Amy wrapped what felt like chains around Tara's neck. Tara grabbed desperately at the magical hold, but couldn't break free.

Shortly before passing out, Tara could hear Willow say "As a friend of mine once said ... I'd like to test that theory."


Okay, so Willow arrived to save the day. Tara wouldn't have minded it so much if she didn't look like the damsel-in-distress. It was a little embarrassing and humbling that she made so much progress in her Wiccan abilities. Yet, she couldn't defeat Amy Madison—who she heard was an amateurish witch. Maybe I'm the amateur, thought Tara.

But Tara couldn't think like that. She had to stop the self-pity, and recognize that she was a valuable asset to the team. Had she been conscious, she would've warned Willow not to track down Amy's source of power. And when she regained her senses, wasn't Tara the one that aided Xander and the mystics in tracking down Willow when she was kidnapped? And what about that plan of action she made with Buffy (who was awakened by true love's kiss...seriously, Buffy was becoming Snow White)?

"Tara, Amy's probably got Willow head locked with magic. She's not going to let the most powerful witch in the world so much as utter 'yes' in Latin," said Buffy.

"Buffy, I know Willow. Maybe Amy could overpower me, but she's not going to do that with her. Willow's going to reach out to you, and it could go bad if I'm not there," said Tara.

"I'm not going to risk you. You're our main Wicca right now," said Buffy.

"I don't have to be physically with you. I'm going to link with you psychically, and be the buffer when Willow contacts you," said Tara.

"You're sure that she's going to do it?" asked Buffy.

"I swear on Miss Kitty Fantastico's grave," said Tara.

It was a close call. When Willow made contact with Buffy, Tara could feel that she was tempted to go dark. Tara could feel Buffy's eyes turn black from the force. But she counterbalanced any hint of black magic with white magic.

"You got to hit Amy hard with something, Buffy," said Tara in her mind.

"I know just the thing," said Buffy, as she conjured the image of Catherine Madison, Amy's mother.

This bought enough time for Satsu to launch the grenade.

Tara broke the link with Buffy. She didn't dare try to link with Willow's mind, lest she enrage whatever magical allies Willow has made. At least Buffy was able to rescue Willow, and Willow was intact and in good spirits despite the torture. It turned out that Amy and Warren were working together. Yes, that Warren...the man responsible for the gunshot incident.


And so, it was a new week. Tara had to caffeinate before she had that safety meeting with Xander. Not to mention the funeral arrangements that had to be made for the Slayers that perished during the zombie attack. Not since the Sunnydale skirmish did Tara have to perform final rites. But the Slayers had to be honored—no matter if their service was short.

Despite all her priorities, at least Tara didn't have to worry about running into Willow. Last she heard, Willow went back to Kennedy in South America.

Tara turned the corner into the kitchen.

"Uh, hi, Tara," said Willow. She was standing up, and holding a cup of earl grey in her hands.

Tara froze at the doorway. She mustered a weak "hello."