CH.3: Willow
Willow Rosenberg sat in the Watcher Council room as Rupert Giles sat before many of the stuffy members who had seen to critique him over the years. Leading of course was Travers, a man who by all rights defined the word stuffy and should be in a museum. Willow had little like for him but he still held up that lofty position and Giles of course wanted no part in it.
Since her brush with dark magic part of her addiction and loss of Tara, not her finest moment, she had been taken to England to detox under Giles's council. However upon arriving in England they were summoned here. It had been part of sort of a check in procedure that had been going on for a little bit now.
"And how is your Witch doing Rupert?" Quentin had taken to calling him by his first name but Willow just called him Giles.
"Her name is Willow and her progress is exceeding expectations, and by that I mean the standards you have placed upon her." Willow for her part remained an observer even if Quentin took a tone that she would like to zip shut.
"I see. And what is to stop her from ripping our flesh off our bodies turning us inside out? You should know Rupert about dark magic as you dabbled with it yourself in your youth-."
"We are not here to go down memory lane Quentin. I will have you know Willow is free of the darkness from within and any temptation or lure has been freed. Willow is at peace with herself and that part of her-."
"I beg to differ…such darkness is never gone, it exists and it can resurface. Bringing her here was a mistake however we cannot change what has been done. Have you given any thought to resuming your duties?"
Willow knew this was something that Giles had been on the fence about. Since leaving Sunnydale and no longer being Buffy's Watcher it had sort of left him free of time and duty. Being here he sort of put himself at the mercy of the Watcher Council and only by their say were they even allowed here. Still he had skirted around the issue…about as much as one would skirt and Giles did not skirt.
"I have told you that line of business is in my past. The only reason I have been coming to these meetings is to protect Willow and ensure she is safe and looked after. Aside from your character analysis of her and painting her mistakes the resources have helped in her healing."
Willow nods her head looking at each face in the room. There weren't many females here and Willow figured that was because of the fact the Watcher Council predated women rights.
"While I have been doing this because of our past Rupert…you will eventually need to give me an answer. I cannot continue to provide services for free. Buffy Summers is without a Watcher and it has been made clear numerous times you are to be the only Watcher she will allow. Sunnydale is a hotbed of activity centered on an active Hellmouth and we have received reports that Sunnydale is do for some serious activity. When you are ready we will listen." And with that they all left the room leaving her and Giles alone.
"Would you actually do it?" Willow inquires once they are alone and he takes off his glasses with a heavy sigh and cleans them off.
"I honestly do not know. I walked away from Sunnydale, from Buffy, from everything I have known because I felt like Buffy no longer needed me. I had served her well as a Watcher and she had flourished under my watchful eye but it got to the point where I was best using my services elsewhere. I had to return home…and taking you with me to heal seemed all for the best."
Willow slowly rises from her chair and goes to inspect one of the books and held it aloft cradling the spine before opening it up to the middle of the page scanning some magical history. "What will you do if you aren't a Watcher?"
"I haven't the foggiest idea Willow. I have dabbled in the arts in my youth with Ethan and have been a Watcher and of course a school librarian, and well a lot of my life has been on hold. I suppose I should consider settling down at a certain point-."
"Giles, I appreciate all you have done for me…but…if being a Watcher is what you want to do, well, I am behind you and it is fine if we do go back to Sunnydale. I feel like I have spent a lot of time healing and I do miss my friends-."
"And what of Tara?" Willow felt the book drop to the floor as the name was said. Her hand clutches at her chest as a sharp pain grabs at her.
"I-I…well…I know she wouldn't want me holding onto the past. She would want me to move on with my life. I feel like I have given plenty of time to mourn her loss." Willow picks up the book as she didn't feel right using magic to do something so simple. Part of the reason she and Tara had broken up was because of her magic addiction and of course tampering with Tara's memories.
"I see. I will sleep on this then and tomorrow when we meet with Quentin again we can sort this all out. I have plans though today so if you are fine on your own I will see you for dinner." Giles places his glasses back on the ridge of his nose and he walks over to her placing his hands on her shoulders.
"I will be fine Giles, go, take all the time you need." Willow watches as he goes to leave and she waves at him once he is at the door than away. Now all that remained was finding what to do with her time.
Willow found herself away from the stuffy confines of the library and she was now on a grassy hill with flowers around her and hands on her lap. Tara would have loved this place. Willow wore a sad smile as she had lost the capacity to cry anymore when thinking of her love.
Burying Tara and saying goodbye to her made things so final…so…lonely. Even with her friends to support her nothing could ever bring her back to her. The fact a bullet had killed her, well, it meant given the fact no magic was used left little doubt to all the forces out there that bringing her back was not possible.
Willow had gone to a dark place and had avenged her death but it had only made her hollow…no sense of fulfillment was granted. Xander had been the one to stop her and she would always be grateful to him for that. She did feel bad though that Xander and Anya never got married as she wished the best for her bestie. She wondered how that was going…was it still awkward?
Willow had taken to not using magic as she did not trust herself with it. The stirring of the flowers and the feel of the wind in her hair she felt a static current running through her. Something indeed was up but what was this feeling? Perhaps it was nothing and perhaps it was something on a grander scale. Would Giles resign himself to being Buffy's Watcher again and going back to Sunnydale after leaving?
Willow closed her eyes as she summoned up images of Tara but it was becoming harder to remember how she looked, how she felt…how she tasted. Her soft lips and her warm body enveloped in her arms and the sense that they had forever to be with one another. Is this what happened when someone died? Willow wondered if someday her fate would be the same and someone would be left thinking these same thoughts?
Would she love again? Was there anyone for her but Tara? So far she had loved twice in her life; Oz was her first love, and Tara was her second, so would she die alone? Willow focused on the current trying to draw upon it and that is when her eyes awoke, the image of Tara strong but there was a different feel to it.
"Tara?" Willow saw the image quickly vanish but for whatever reason it felt different than how she normally pictured Tara. This sense, this feeling…no doubt it was what was causing her to feel different. Tara was dead…and yet…she saw her so clearly and just as quickly it went. She had to talk to Giles and see what he thought of this.
"You say you saw Tara? How is that even possible? Are you sure you aren't…well…" Giles appeared to be pacing himself and she did not blame him.
"I know how it sounds Giles but it was her…well…least I think it is. I didn't mean to do any magic but while out there in the open there was this current and I was drawn to it. It was magic and it appeared to be strong one moment than gone the next." Tara…could her baby be back?
Giles went to fetch a book from the shelf as it was evening and the two of them had decided to dine in here, the very room Giles was grilled in.
"I am not doubting you so much as weighing my options carefully. I do not wish to jump to conclusions here. I also do not want you honing in on possibilities that may not exist. You say you felt her, well, given that Tara is…deceased…would it likely be another?"
"You mean like lesbian creepo vampire me?" Willow figured aloud and Giles takes off his glasses to clean them again, he does this when contemplative.
"I wouldn't have used such words, but, yes. Vampire…you, came from the Wishverse created by Cordelia when she wished to Anya, not knowing who she really was. Of course she was sent back and thus we have not had any other encounters with such a verse. It is likely she could be from there, but, it is also possible this Tara you are sensing could be from another plane of existence, another verse we have not even encountered."
Willow didn't know how she could handle another Tara. True dopplegangers existed, they had seen it, but even so…another version of the woman she loved…it seemed crazy.
"We cannot prove any of this of course until we find her, and, for that we need an exact destination-."
"Sunnydale…it is the center of all activity and it draws things there. It has to be there Giles. We have to go see her…get her story." Willow was eager to go.
"Now hold up…first we meet with Travers and then we decide our next course of action. Do not get your hopes up for this version might be like your vampiric self. We have no idea if she is on our side or not. Also I would think you'd want to see your friends before going off in search of this-."
"Right…I will just…put this on the backburner till later." Willow went to tend to her meal before it got cold but the notion of another Tara…it opened so many floodgates of emotions but she had to keep centered and focused…and the fact she would be going back to Sunnydale…where she lost her to begin with.
Authors note: Next chapter Ripper seeks allies and looks to turn Sunnydale into his pleasure paradise.
