Disclaimer: All I own is a Dog a Cat a laptop computer and a 15 year old ford Windstar van with a shot transmission. I do not own anything having to do with the BtVS universe including but not limited to (lol) the characters, plot, cast, or episodes. In fact this is an AU story so it only involves the characters. If you feel the need to sue me I'd have to say get in line behind the credit card collectors who are trying to get my money also and good luck.
AN: Not all the Military mumbo-jumbo is true. Some of it is there just to move the plot along. Mostly the Contracts are not realistic and neither is the type of unit that Faith is in. Someday we can hope but not today we still have a long way to go before then.
AN: Not all the Military mumbo-jumbo is true. Some of it is there just to move the plot along. Mostly the Contracts are not realistic and neither is the type of unit that Faith is in. Someday we can hope but not today we still have a long way to go before then.
AN: The first chapter is the only chapter of this story to have a Beta look it over. After that my beta just had a few too many things on her plate but that's ok. I'm hoping to find a new one through going ahead and throwing this out there at the advice of my mate Grumbello. So if that doesn't work I'll blame her. LOL Any way please forgive and spelling mistakes unless you want to point them out so I can fix them, I know my spelling is horrid and is reason enough for me to need a beta. Other than that I have about 4 chapters of this already written up and ready to go. I started this years ago and it never got finished and has been bouncing around my noggin ever sense and now it's time to finish it. Let me know what you think please be honest and blunt but if you're going to be rude and hurtful don't bother I won't pay it any attention. Thank you all for reading this far and enjoy.
FLASH BACK
"Jenny I'm home." A call came from the front door as a man walked in caring a briefcase and news paper. As he waited for an answer he slid his briefcase along the wall setting it down and tucking the newspaper under his arm.
"Hi Giles how was your day." A girl wearing a cut off t-shirt and work faded blue jeans came down the stairs.
"Oh hi Buffy. Umm rather depressing acutely. Where is your mother?" A thick British accent came from the man who pulled off his coat and hung it on the coat rack by the door. He was wearing a gray tweed suit and tie. He loosened the tie and started unbuttoning the suit jacket.
"They went out to the barn to check on the horses." The girl picked up the news paper and shuffled through it until she found the funnies and pulled it out.
"Now you have it all out of order. I'm going to have to try to figure it out and put it back together." the man picked up the scrambled pages and looked through the mess.
"Relax it's not that bad and Will can go through it before you get to reading and put it back in order" Buffy looked over the Comic strip "Goodie they have Marmaduke in this one. I love that dog. Hay can we get a Great Dane?" She walked away reading the short stories and laughing.
"Hi honey" he herd behind him and turned to see his wife and other daughter enter the door. "I thought you were going to be late tonight"
"Hi dear." He kissed his wife and hugged his daughter. In a sad voice he continued "Sadly I received some news today, and decided I needed to come home."
"Oh dear what happened" a worried look crossed over her face as she saw Rupert look down. "Is everything ok?"
He shook his head and pulled an envelope out of his pocket. "We should do this with Buffy here also" He looked in the direction his eldest daughter had gone.
"Of course dear. Willow go get your sister" She put a hand on Willows back and guided her in the right direction before continuing in a hushed tone "What is it Rupert" She held out her hand for the envelope and waited for him to hand it to her.
He handed her the envelope "It's Xander and Faith."
She pulled out the letter and red it quickly "No it can't... they can't... Willow..."
"I know it will be hard on her, hard on both of them." he watched as the girls walked back in to the hall by the door with their parents.
"What will be hard on whom?" Willow turned to Buffy looking worried.
"Mom Dad what happened" Buffy looked to the papers in her moms hands.
Rupert put a hand on his wife's shoulder "Girls something has happened with..."
"Xander and Faith" Willow began to shake "I... I can see the names" Willow grabbed the envelope and papers with shaking hands and watery eyes she read.
"They were on a search and recover hostage mission in Kufa Iraq" Rupert started.
"Their bodies weren't found. They could be alive and hostage or something" Willow looked to Buffy both shaking and crying.
"Willow baby" Jenny held Willow's face in her hands "our best wish for them is to be… and not hostage. We don't want them to be suffering. "
"A witness said that everyone was killed and he left for dead" Rupert looked down "I'm sorry girls. I know what they meant to you and..."
"Meant… what they meant to us." Willow choked through a sob "He means the world to me. They mean to world to us." She gestured to Buffy who was standing there shocked as her usually easy going bubbly sister broke down yelling at her parents like she had never seen before. "Xander is my brother the only thing that has always been there for me." She stopped yelling and wrapped her arms around herself as her eyes glassed over remembering her past. "When I was left alone he kept me alive and safe. He held me that night he let me cry like I would never stop. He was strong even though he had been left just as I had been, even though he was just as scared and worried and lost as I was. He is all I've had my entire life." she dropped the papers and looked up at the man "He means everything to me and nothing will ever change that and you will never understand."
"What did I miss" A voice came from the door. A man stood there in a black leather coat and jeans. His skin was white and his hair was bleached from the sun.
Willow looked over and a new wave of anger came rushing down on the man "Spike you insensitive prick ass bastard." Willow rammed in to him shoving him back against the still open door.
"Bloody hell" he cried when the door knob rammed in to his back.
"Willow" Rupert called after her "Willow come back"
"Willow" Buffy ran out the door and tried to keep up but failed when Willow got to the woods. "Shit she always does this" Buffy was breathing heavy when she stopped "Willow" she screamed hopping it would help but it didn't "Where the fuck does she go when she runs." Buffy went back in to the house to start a search party "God I miss you Faith you could always find her."
END FLASH BACK
The air was thick and smelled heavily of lavender oil. Willow recognized the smell from all the times she would burn it. It is used for easing depression and speeding the healing process. She felt like shit, not only did her head throb but her entire body throbbed. She tried to move but her head swam with a wave of nausea and pain. She groaned as she relaxed in to the bed. The bed was soft and warm she couldn't ever remember being so comfortable. She knew she wasn't home but somehow she wasn't scared she was relaxed and felt safe in a way she only felt with Xander.
Willow opened her eyes and saw that she was in a cabin like room, or that's what it looked like. She tried to sit up again and groaned as the nausea came back. She pushed even harder wanting to sit up but her muscles were screaming and she couldn't quite make it. She started to relax when a hand started to push on her lower neck and between her shoulders. With the help Willow was able to sit up and look to see who had helped her.
"You shouldn't be trying to sit up" a girl stood beside her with her hand still on Willows back. "You're weak and hurt and don't look so good."
Willow looked at the girl in surprise "Wh..?" She tried to ask who the girl was but her voice was scratchy and trying to talk made her throat hurt and her cough. When the coughing faded she tried again but choosing to ask where instead of who "wher..?" but she didn't get any farther in that question either.
"I'm Tara and this is my house" she raised her hand holding up a glass of something thick and brown looking like a chocolate milkshake "Now I have some questions." Tara pulled a small table over to the bed while Willow took a long slow drink of the milkshake to calm her throat. "Who are you?"
"Me... um... I'm no-one." With a pain filled groan Willow moved so that she was leaning on the wall.
"Ok so do you have a name or do I just call you no one?" Tara was putting assorted dishes on the small table.
"Oh my name is Willow" she looked down at her legs and arms and for the first time realized how cut up she was.
"The worst is on your head Willow" Tara noticed that she was checking out her cuts and marks. "From your last fall I think it's just under your hair line. Then another one under your eye it was hard to fix up. You shouldn't be able to feel the pain I have a lot of numbing meds on it." She handed some pills to willow and some water. "Take this it should help with the rest of the pain."
"Um. what is it" Willow looked at the pills.
"Simple aspirin for the body aches and chocolate milkshake cause it makes a sore dry throat feel better and face it who doesn't love chocolate." she turned back to the table "are you hungry?"
Willow took the pills and looked up quickly "yes very hungry, very, very hungry, stressing the very in very, very hungry. I haven't eaten since breakfast it was time for lunch when I left. So what do we have, what kind of food. Well I really don't care what kind of food. As long as it's eatable it's good enough for me. I'm sorry I tend to babble and that can be bad and when I ramble I start to notice it but then I ramble about my rambling and you should stop me but seeing as you're not I'm just going do it myself and be quiet now." Willow looked down and put her hand on her head feeling for the cuts.
Tara stared for a moment before she smiles and chuckled "oh goddess" she continued now laughing "sorry" more laughing "its just" even more laughing "that was so cute" she finished laughing and wiped a tears from her eyes. "Your throat must be feeling alright." A few more chuckles "Was that all in one breath?"
"Yes and it was not funny." Willow felt the cut on her forehead "and why or how do I have stitches in my head?"
"There are some under your eye too." Tara handed Willow a mirror "I had to put them in the cut was too deep and split to grow back together on its own but now it shouldn't scar too much. Wouldn't want such soft skin scared"
Will blushed and looked down "So food" Tara handed Willow a plate and utensils "I will be back soon."
"Where are you going? When will you get back? What do I do while you're gone?" Willow panicked as Tara walked away.
Tara turned to face Willow while she answered her questions "I'm going out to get some herbs and other natural gifts. I shouldn't be more than an hour. You will eat then probably fall asleep, side effect of medicine and pain." The worry on Willows face prompted her to continue "Relax your safe here I don't know what you were running from but it won't get you here"
Willow nodded sadly remembering what she was running from and watched Tara leave as she ate her food. "It's not something that I can run from though." She said softly to herself with a sigh. She looked around and saw that the room she was in wasn't only one room but it was connected to a hall with one or more rooms off that. The room was big and had cupboards and shelves all over. There were book cases filled and over flowing with books a collection that Giles would kill for.
As her thought turned to the man who had acted as the only father she had ever known she remembered how she treated him. She was upset about Xander he was her brother and the only blood family that was worth the blood but Giles had been a father to Xander too. In one foul swoop Giles, and Jenny, had lost Xander who was his son and Faith who was his daughter. Buffy had lost them too and Faith had been her lover for almost 3 years now. After Will and Xander had been sent to live with the family Buffy and Faith had helped them adjust to being part of a real family quickly becoming sisters to them.
Willow pushed the thoughts from her mind and looked around the room once again seeing many different candles and oils and incense placed about the room. She looked up at the ceiling and found a multi colored star and circle, note to self ask about the ceiling. With that she finished her food, feeling slightly less pain, lay down and curled up under the blankets. Feeling warm and safe she pushed all thoughts of Xander and Faith and her family from her mind and fell in to a dark dreamless sleep.