A/N: Now that Sweet is here, don't you think that some of the songs will be different? And because Willow knows what's happened that it would happen differently? I'll only touch on a few things here, most of this day happens the same way it did in the episode.

I'm not so good with song writing but I hope you like it.

Please leave me a review. An author on here ( can't remember who) said that every time someone reads without reviewing, Angelus nails a puppy to a wall. Poor puppies.

(Smoky the Bears voice) "Only YOU can prevent writer's block!"

~Babbles~

Willow woke with Tara in her arms. She felt safe and whole. She kissed the blonde awake.

"Morning," Willow said.

"Mmm. Don't wanna," Tara said.

"Have to. We have to try and stop this from going overboard. I'll go check on Dawn."

Willow left the room, noticing the quiet in the house, and realized that everyone was gone already. So much for giving Dawn the talk she had planned on about stealing. She went back to the room and got ready. They left the house, hand in hand, walking to the Magic Box. Willow felt something strange pass through her and turned to Tara nervously.

The redhead started to sing softly.

"Just the feeling of your hand in mine

Reminds me that I'm alive

I haven't felt alive for so long

And now you know the worst of me

You know that I'm a monster caged

How can it be that you can love me?

There's magic in the air whenever you're near

You calm the beast inside me

My heart beats and I know that now I can heal

Just don't let go and we can heal."

Tara squeezed her love's hand in reassurance, telling Willow without words that she wouldn't let go, and picked up where Willow left off.

"There is no beast to cage

No monster inside, my love

Now there is only you and the love we share

Now that I know the worst of you

How can I not love you more?

I'm proud to love someone so strong

You had your weakness, we all have our times

But you pulled through and let your light shine

So bright I can see it in the darkest times

So bright that it makes the darkness hide."

They gave each other loving smiles and began to sing together.

"There is no beast to cage

No monster inside, my love

We take the magic as it comes

And let the light shine through to heal

Now there is only us and the love we share

The love we share."

Willow turned back towards the street and sand out one last line, "Reminding me that I'm alive."

They walked in silence, entering the store just as Buffy was singing out, "I've got a theory, it doesn't matter."

Unable to resist, they joined in the song, laughing as Xander stated, "See, disturbing."

Willow wasn't sure how much she should change about this day, knowing that some of the things that had happened, still needed to happen. Tara followed her lead of playing clueless, giving Willow a confused look. She leaned over and whispered to Tara, "There are things that happen today that need to happen."

And so they played along all day, letting things be said in song that their friends would normally never say. When Buffy sang about being torn from Heaven, Willow cried, just as she had the first time. After Sweet left, and the singing was done, the witches walked Dawn home. Willow tried to think of what to say, but then decided to just tell the younger girl how she felt.

"Dawnie?"

"Yeah?"

"You know that we love you, right?"

"Yeah…Of course I do."

"Then you should know that you don't have to steal to get our attention. We may be busy a lot, Dawnie, you know, saving the world and what not, but that doesn't mean that if you ask, we won't stop and give you some time. I know that we haven't been really good about it, but we'll do better, okay? But you have to stop acting out to get us to pay attention." Willow let a hand run softly down Dawn's hair.

"How did you know?" Dawn asked softly.

"People that love you the way we do notice these things," Tara said gently.

"Buffy didn't notice."

"She's not all here right now, Dawnie, but she will be," Willow told her.

"Promise?" Dawn asked as they walked through the front door.

"Promise," the witches said together. They said their goodnights and headed to bed.

The next morning, Tara woke to an empty bed. The sheets where Willow had been were cold. Thinking that maybe she had slept in, Tara glanced at the clock and was surprised to find that it was barely past six in the morning. Willow never got up that early, at least not on her own, if she could help it. The blonde got out of bed and dressed quickly.

She started searching the house, but couldn't find her lover anywhere. Deciding to double-check the kitchen for a note, she saw Willow sitting out in the backyard through the small window in the door. She let out a breath of relief and walked outside. Willow was sitting in the grass Indian style, with her eyes closed and the tips of her fingers gently probing the earth.

"Willow? What are you doing?"

The red head looked up with a smile. "Meditating."

"You've never meditated before."

Willow smirked. "Not yet. The coven taught me this. Showed me how to connect with the earth."

"I thought that you didn't do magic anymore?"

"I have to do magic. If I don't, I'll die, but I know how to control it now, and I know a source for my magic rather than feeding off the dark stuff."

Tara sat down next to Willow. "Oh. You know, I didn't think to talk to you about all that before."

"About what?"

"Connecting with the earth and drawing your energy from it."

"Well, if you want to join me, you can."

They closed their eyes and began feeling the earth together. As they meditated, Tara began thinking of the woman beside her. This Willow was different. Older, wiser, and she carried many more emotional scars than the Willow she had known just days ago. But it didn't matter, she was still her Willow. A Willow who had watched her love die, who had killed, and who had redeemed herself. Tara knew, somehow, that this Willow fought a daily battle with herself, trying to make things right, and she knew that somewhere inside, this Willow hated herself for the things she had done. Tara had to make sure that Willow knew she was loved, and resolved to help this Willow heal and love herself again.

"What are you thinking?" Willow asked. Tara opened her eyes to find the redhead staring at her.

"About how different you are."

"Is it a problem?" Tara shook her head. "Okay, do want to know what you said to me the night you came back?"

"Is it important?"

"It was to me. I think it fits somehow, with both situations, and I can understand if you want to get to know the new me better before moving on. You told me 'Things fall apart, they fall so hard…You can't ever put them back the way they were…There's so much to work through.. Trust has to build again, on both sides...you have to learn if you're even the same people you were, if you can fit in each other's lives, it's a long and important process and…can we just skip it? Can you just be kissing me now?'"

"Sounds like something I'd say," Tara laughed. She quickly became serious. "Was it hard? When left, I mean."

"Yeah, it was. I got really bad, and I changed Amy back, so it got worse, but after I hurt Dawn, I went cold turkey. That was the really hard part. You know, going through the withdrawals alone, and having everyone hate me. But that was better than them being afraid of me."

"I'm sorry, love," Tara said and pulled Willow into her arms. "We'll change it. You have a second chance now. A chance to make it right."

"Yeah," Willow breathed, reveling in the sound of Tara's heartbeat. "A chance to make it right." Willow stood and brushed grass from her pants.

"Where are you going?" Tara asked.

"I have a phone call to make." Willow held out a hand and Tara took it, following Willow into the house. She listened quietly as Willow called someone. "Hello? There's a group of men, well boys really, who are planning on stealing the diamond. The leader is Warren Mears. If you go after him, be careful, they have weapons. Yes. Yeah, I'm aware of that. No, believe me, all their plans are there in the basement. Okay, thank you." She hung up the phone.

"What are they going to do?"

"They're going to find the Trio and setup a surveillance team. That way, when they take the diamond, they can be put behind bars."

Several days later, the witches were sitting on the couch together, smiling as they watched the news. Buffy walked out the front door with a cage, the rat inside squealing indignantly.

The image of three young men in handcuffs being brought to police cars flashed across the screen. Willow's smile grew brighter. She snuggled up against her lover, feeling as if things were finally going to be made right.