Author's Notes: This is a shorter update, and like "Smashed" leads into "Wrecked" it is mostly to set up the next chapter. There's a big change at the end, but given the difference in this timeline I think it's appropriate. Don't worry; it won't be long until we get there. Trigger warning for Spike's thoughts in this chapter; He's still got a monster in him.

I'm glad people are liking the Spuffy, but I hope some of you are also Tillow (that's the abbreviation, right?) fans, since I clearly spend a lot of time on them too. This story is turning out to be as much about the friendships between the gang as the three romances, particularly Buffy/Willow and Spike/Dawn. That's only fitting; family and friends are just as important as significant others.

Chapter Eight: Uprooted

Spike had realized what his subconscious had been telling him soon after Willow's spell was broken. Remember, remember, the fifth of November. Witchcraft, treason, plot. He wasn't quite sure why he had forgotten that they were going to forget, but he chalked it up to the vagaries of magic. Magic was unpredictable, especially when performed by that little redhead. Hopefully none of his other memories from before the time travel had been lost, but aside from that November fifth had worked out great for him.

The next few nights Buffy would inevitably run into him on patrol. At first she would act like nothing had happened between them and they'd simply go hunt down demons together. But after a couple of kills she'd always end up back in his arms, kissing him hungrily. She'd never bring up what it meant to her, and while Spike enjoyed making out the demonic side of him was impatient for more. He took a swing at her one night while she was distracted, and the instant migraine confirmed his chip still worked on this Buffy. He wasn't sure what it would take to escalate things without being able to fight her, and it was frustrating having to hold back when he knew just how to please her, if only she'd let him further in. Still, he didn't pressure Buffy to explain herself; he knew that was a quick way to piss her off.

Buffy didn't know what was happening. Was she acting out loneliness, horniness, some weird obligation to repay him for protecting Dawn? She did her best not to think about it. Kissing Spike certainly helped her brain shut off. When she was with him she didn't have to miss Giles, wonder about the other timeline, hate her friends or even worry about being the Slayer. Maybe that was the real reason; it took her away from herself, let her feel something positive even if was just lust. She wasn't ready to confront this… whatever it was yet. For now all she could do was go with the flow and let herself forget the world for little while each night.

…

A few nights after moving out found Tara visiting her friends Caitlin and Miss Kitty to ease her isolation. The other Scoobies had been understanding about her need to leave; even Dawn had calmed down and had assured her that she still wanted to go out with her for their movie and shake days. But even with their support, she knew that Willow was a longer standing and more firmly entrenched member of the group. Spending time with the others would eventually mean having to spend time with Willow. She couldn't be around her yet, not for a long time.

Caitlin was stunned by the whole situation. Tara had filled her in on the whole sordid tale and the brunette witch could hardly believe one of her mentors would behave so recklessly.

"I'm sure she didn't mean to hurt you." Caitlin said in an attempt to reassure her older friend. "Willow's so crazy about you… No way she'd ever want to make you upset."

Tara sighed as she stroked the black and white cat curled in her lap. "No. She was so determined not to make me upset she went and hurt me more. It's not about that."

"It's about the magic, right?" Tara nodded. "Well, are you sure leaving was the right thing then?" The blonde glared at her in shock. "You guys stayed by me when my spell went wrong."

The Wiccan shuddered at the memory. Caitlin had cast a spell well beyond her means and summoned the goddess Morrigan to protect her. Unfortunately Morrigan took protection to mean: kill anyone who might hurt Caitlin in the future. It had taken the combined powers of Tara, Willow and entire Wicca group to cast the goddess out.

"That was different. If your spell had gone the way you intended, you just would have been safe from harm. It's good that Willow's spell went wrong." Miss Kitty could feel Tara's anger and stopped purring. "If it hadn't I w-wouldn't have even remembered what she'd done to me, and gone on being happy and clueless."

"But if Willow's using magic unsafely she needs someone to talk her out of it, right?"

Tara shook her head. "I tried. I tried for months, and I didn't get through to her. She couldn't even go one week." She set her jaw, willing her tear ducts to stay dry. "If she wants my help, she'll have to come to me."

…

The redhead in question was watching a movie with Xander at his apartment. Neither of them was paying much attention to the film, Willow being too busy thinking about not thinking of Tara and Xander was too frustrated that his best friend was pretending nothing was wrong. Since her night on the couch she had been going around with a fake smile plastered on her face and he could tell her separation from her girlfriend was eating her up inside.

"You know Will," he said with an uncharacteristically serious tone, "You can talk about this if you need to. I'm not going to judge, or tell you what to do. I can just listen."

"Talk about what?" She asked, her pitch slightly too high. "I'm doing fine Xand. Hanging out with best guy pal, munching popcorn, watching flicks. What's not fine with that?"

In her mind Willow knew she was in the Denial phase of grieving over her damaged relationship with Tara. On Halloween it had been Anger, the night before the spell it had been Bargaining, and after Tara left it had been Depression. Now she was back to Denial like she had been since the second time Tara told her was frightened of her magic.

Xander groaned silently. He often thanked the gods he'd never had a break up as horrible as Willow and Oz's or Buffy's with Angel and Riley. Still, he knew to some degree what his friend was going through. Xander would always remember how it felt after Cordelia fell on that metal rebar; the flowers, the dozens of ignored phone calls, and most of all the guilt that made him feel like his side had been pierced too. If Willow wasn't ready to deal with the consequences of what she'd done, there was little he could do to help her.

"Well, whenever you need a shoulder, come to me first."

…

Tara waited for a time she knew Anya would be alone in the Magic Box before doing something she had been putting off. To her ex-demon friend's dismay, she had to quit.

"I-I'm sorry, I know Giles just left, so the timing is bad but…" Tara pursed her lips before taking a deep breath. "I can't be around Willow right now."

"Don't worry about the store, I'm more than capable of running things without Giles, or anyone else." Anya said proudly. She bared her teeth in a snarl. "If anyone should be quitting it's Willow. She's already gotten too much of this magic stuff into her system."

Tara didn't say anything to that. It was the naked truth, delivered starkly as only Anya could.

"If I still had my powers I'd enact vengeance on her for you." The store owner continued, trying to cheer up her friend. "I don't usually put vengeance on women, but she deserves it after what she did to you. This is all academic of course, because like I said, I don't have any powers." A bright idea came to her. "Oh! You have powers. You could curse her, see how she likes having spells cast on her without consent."

"W-what?" The blonde witch said as her eyes widened in horror. "N-no! I love her. I don't want to see her hurt, o-or harmed in any way." Anya looked back at her in confusion. "I want her to realize what's she's doing is wrong, and dangerous. And… to stop before someone gets more than their feelings hurt."

"You always were a softie." Anya said shaking her head. "You're way too good for Willow. If losing you wasn't a big enough kick in the ass to make her stop being irresponsible then I don't know what would be."

Tara gave her a weary smile, knowing her angry ranting was just Anya's way of showing she cared.

"I'll watch her like an eagle." The ex-demon said firmly. "I'm not letting her mess around with anything from my store. You can count on that."

…

A couple weeks into November Buffy roughed up a pair of "vampires" who turned out to be muggers. Spike just watched and clapped after she sent them on their way. Again she was drawn to him, and she still wouldn't let herself examine why.

She came in after patrol to hear Willow talking to someone. She called up to her, but got no reply. Buffy went to Willow's room to find her laying back on the fully made bed in her clothes.

"Hey. How you doin'?" Buffy wasn't fooled by the forced smiles. With her Slayer senses she could still hear the nights Willow cried herself to sleep.

"Oh, um, okay." Willow pushed herself off the pillows as Buffy sat beside her. She knew the other girl would be less likely to buy the "everything's fine" line than Xander.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Not parades and cotton candy, but okay."

Buffy played with her sleeve. Since the memory wipe and her subsequent comforting of Willow she'd been able to push past the disgust and get back into best friend mode, or a near approximation. Right now she needed someone to talk about her confused feelings for Spike. If there was anyone who knew about the allure and dangers of illicit kissing, it was Willow.

"Will, um, can I talk to you about something?"

"Of course."

"Right, okay. Um… do you think it's wrong to…" She heard the bathroom room door open and a woman walk in. "Oh, Tara, hey-" When she looked up, she saw it was a different blonde witch. "Amy?" The surprise of seeing her former classmate in human form after three years as Willow's pet knocked her worries about Spike right out of her brain.

"The whole school?" Amy asked Willow, almost angrily. The other magic user nodded, having given her old friend time in the bathroom to adjust to the news. "By a giant snake thing?" Amy nodded to herself this time, seeming numb with shock. "Okay, still adjusting. Hi Buffy."

"Hi." The Slayer had no Earthly idea what to say to the now ex-rodent. "How've you been?"

"Rat. You?"

"Killing things." And dying, only not.

"Oh." Amy's voice was eerily high pitched.

"Well, I should let you guys catch up, I can…" She began to get up from the bed but Amy urged her not to.

"No no no no. Stay. Do you have any cookies?" She asked, eyes glinting with hunger.

"Uh, yeah. What kind?"

"Any kind. Not cheese." She added darkly.

"Um, sure. In the-the kitchen. I'll just get 'em." Buffy wanted some excuse to extricate herself from the awkwardness. Amy was walking for the door first though.

"No no. I'll grab them."

"Okay, well, um, at least you know, let me make up the coach for you. It's late. You should stay here." She offered. Buffy had never been close with Amy, but the girl was clearly disoriented and needed help.

"Thank you." The witch left for the kitchen, her movements slightly off and her eyes barely blinking.

"Wow!" Buffy exclaimed once Amy was well out of the room.

"I know." Willow had trying for three years to transform Amy back with no success. It astounded her that the solution had come to her so simply. Maybe wanting company badly enough had given her some weird boost of power.

"Is she gonna be okay?" The Slayer asked looking out the door in worry.

"Don't know." Willow answered honestly. "I mean, she's kinda freaked out. But then, I would be too."

"Wow." She felt stupid saying it a second time, but there was really no other word for it. Except maybe "How?", and if Buffy was really honest about her concerns, the words "What kind of dark arts are you playing with now?"

"Yeah, I- I just realized I could. Thought of the right thing and…" Buffy was unnerved to see the first genuine smile since Tara had left cross her friend's face at that. Willow was pretty pleased with herself. Not that she shouldn't be for helping Amy, but it proved how in the grip of own power the redhead was. "It's nice, having another magically inclined friend around." Buffy looked down, hesitant to voice her feelings. Willow's loneliness was something she wanted to get better. She shouldn't discourage her from reconnecting with an old friend. "So what were you gonna tell me? You were sounding all serious."

"Huh?" Suddenly Buffy remembered why she had wanted to talk with Willow in the first place. But the girl was dealing with too many things of her own right now. She could tackle how to deal with vampire smooching on her own. "Oh, it's nothing. I mean, the whole Amy-rat-Amy thing, no way I'm topping that."

…

After seeing the news about the freaky jewel heist Buffy made a trip to the museum in time to see the frozen guard being wheeled out. The next day the gang, minus Tara and Dawn who were off on their own outing, went into research mode. It seemed to be going well until Willow pulled out her laptop… and then went inside it with her power to do a search. They all got uncomfortable and Willow acted like she didn't know that what she was doing wrong. For Anya that was the final straw and she chewed the girl's head off. The witch was still in Denialville and left to go check on Amy before the restored witch made any "pellets".

The research didn't feel so urgent, as the security guard had already been thawed and the diamond wasn't supernatural. Xander for one was more concerned about Willow. After several hours he wondered aloud where she might be.

"Out with Amy I guess." Buffy said, wondering how the former rat would do out in the world in her shell-shocked state of mind.

"Great." Anya said with a groan. "Someone to do more magic with."

The Slayer couldn't deny the risk in that. If she hadn't seen the resurrection ritual, she probably wouldn't be as worried. As it was she couldn't be sure Willow was safe without Tara around to anchor her.

"I know. She's been using way too much wooj recently." Buffy agreed. "It's hard to wrap my brain around it sometimes. I mean, it's Willow, she of the level head."

"Well, those are the ones you have to watch out for the most. Responsible types." Anya said sagely.

"I miss when Willow going crazy just meant re-alphabetizing her wardrobe."

"Responsible people are always so concerned with being good all the time that when they finally get a taste of being bad, they can't get enough- it's like all kablooey." And Anya would know. She had been an attentive wife and an upstanding citizen before Olaf's betrayal. Then she got a taste of inflicting righteous pain, and she hadn't been able to stop. She hadn't wanted to.

Buffy winced, thinking of her own recent indiscretions. One kiss with Spike every now and then didn't make her some out of control wild woman, right? She could break it off whenever she chose. "That's not true."

"Okay, not kablooey. More like bam!"

"It's human nature, Buff." Xander chimed in. "Will's getting a taste of something powerful, way bigger than her."

"Yeah, and she was getting out of control with it before Tara left, and now that she's gone…"

"It's gotta be seductive just giving in to it… going totally wild." Xander's words stirred up lurid thoughts in the Slayer's imagination. She could break it off whenever she wanted… but it wouldn't be tonight. "We need to keep an eye on her."

Buffy snapped her focus back to the conversation. "Okay. Okay. We'll keep an eye." She fidgeted, eager to get going. "I think we can pick this up later. I'll do a quick patrol tonight and after a good night's sleep, we can solve this tomorrow."

"Optimism. I remember optimism." Anya said wistfully as they got up from the table.

"That's because you're like a thousand." Xander teased her.

"Good night, guys."

"Night." Buffy barely heard the couple's farewell as she left the Magic Box for a certain crypt.

…

It was less than twenty minutes before the Slayer arrived at Spike's tomb. He looked up from his armchair in mild surprise as she opened the door. He hadn't called her, of course. Without the fight to build up to the fucking he didn't foresee this night ending in the spectacular revelation it had before. God he would never forget that night. The way she was looking at him it didn't seem so crazy to think they were about to relive it. He got up and turned off the television.

Dawn's salve had worked like charm, erasing any trace of the burn scars from the vampire's skin. But Spike was sexy with or without wounds. Buffy kept drinking in the sight of him as they walked toward each other.

"And what brings you here tonight pet?"

"I was wondering if you might have a lead on the frost monster thingie." Buffy said, pretending she had come to the crypt to do work. She could fool herself partly at least.

"So that's it?" He asked. "You've come to pump me for information?"

"What else would I want to pump you for?" Her eyes shot open when she realized her poor choice of words. Spike coyly raised an eyebrow, his teasing having the intended effect. "I really just said that didn't I?"

"Sorry to disappoint luv, but if you're just here to talk shop I've nothing to offer. Don't know a thing." He didn't show her the door, as she was still devouring him with her fierce hazel eyes.

"You must know something." Buffy came a step closer. He could feel the heat of her body and smell her desire.

"Do I?" They were almost touching now.

"Show me." She whispered into his open mouth. In seconds she was pressed against him, pulling his cool tongue into her mouth where it danced passionately.

The Slayer was more unrestrained than she had ever been since the wish, wrapping her leg around Spike's hip and snaking her arm under his duster to grab his ass. He instantly did the same, clutching her tightly to his hungry body. He could smell her getting wet as she began to grind against his stiffness.

Take her! His demon roared. Forget what she bloody wants, just take her, now! Fuck her, claw her, drink her, show her you're no neutered dog. The urge to ravage her was only tempered by his fear that the microchip would stop him if she changed her mind halfway through. That fear seemed farfetched when he felt Buffy's free hand trace over his fly. She was wondering whether to unzip it. He could just let her, and then he'd be thrusting inside her again at long last.

Then she'd wake up in the morning, realize she'd left Dawn alone, and hate him and herself for it. And every time she came to him she'd remember and feel guilty for abandoning her responsibilities. His demon raged at him as he pulled back from her, moving his hand from her bottom to her shoulder blade.

"Is anyone home with Dawn?" Spike asked, fighting his instincts in order to get out the question.

"She was out with Tara." Buffy toyed for a moment with the idea of leaving her sister with the witch and just continuing what they were doing. She grimaced at her own callousness. Tara had done so much for them. Buffy couldn't dump that responsibility on her friend just so she could get her rocks off. No matter how tempting it was. "I should… go home and check on her."

"Right." Spike said, forcing himself to step back from the blonde.

"I'll…" The words hung in the air, the Slayer unsure of what to say in this tense situation. "I'll do that."

The vampire howled after she left, furious at himself for his own pragmaticism. He definitely had to find something to kill.

…

Dawn and Tara were asleep on the couch, television still on when Buffy got home. The girls stirred at the sound of the door and the younger Summers yawned.

"Buffy?" She asked sleepily. Tara looked around, startled at having drifted off.

"W-What time is it?"

"Almost midnight. I was… patrolling." Buffy looked around as well, wondering why there were only two girls instead of four. She couldn't hear anyone but the three of them in the house. "Did, Willow not come back yet?"

"Nope. We haven't seen her all day." Dawn answered. She had been hoping her other surrogate mother would show up and start reconciling with Tara. The older woman wasn't blind to her designs, but cared too much about Dawn's safety to leave. A tiny part of Tara, well, maybe a more than tiny part was disappointed that Willow hadn't come home before the Slayer. It was just as well. She had no idea what she'd say if she had.

"I guess she is out with Amy." Buffy saw Tara look away, hurt in her eyes. "You know, Amy the rat. Willow found a way to turn her back. She's uh, adjusting." Dawn shook her head at Buffy indicating this was not a good topic of discussion. Tara knew that transforming Amy back was a good thing, but it meant that Willow was still delving deeper and deeper into magic. That and it was the realization of one of her fears: that Willow would replace her as a magic partner.

"Good. Good for Amy." The Wiccan stood, giving Dawn a last hug. "I-I should get going. It's really late."

"Right. Do you uh, want me to take you to the dorms or…?" Tara shook her head.

"It's fine." She stood in the doorway, taking one last look at the house that had been the truest home she had ever known. "Good night."

Buffy seemed the only one of Tara's friends who didn't have some opinion on what she should do about Willow. Caitlin thought she should help her, Anya wanted her to seek revenge, and Dawn wanted her to forgive her. Tara couldn't forgive the girl until she actually admitted that she had done wrong. She couldn't help her if she refused to admit she had an addiction. As for vengeance, well, being apart was punishing both of them plenty.

…

Author's (Other) Notes:

Cailin Rua and S1r3h: Very good questions, and those are both clearly important plot points. They'll be answered, but we have a bit more middle to get through before then. I think Spike has grown into a better person by now than he was as of this time in the original Season Six, but he's still acting selfishly. For instance, he could tell Buffy about the nerds and take them out right now but he's waiting to benefit himself.

spiked-love: In the original episode, Spike sees Anya and Giles sleeping on each other and comments, leading them to think they are involved. He wasn't in the room yet this time, so there were any number of conclusions Anya could have come to after finding out she and Rupert own the store together. She's kind of vain and so without prompting could have assumed a middle aged man would be her father, not her partner.

spike's mate: There will be plenty more. This together with the Season Seven and Angel Season Five/Season Eight sequels will add up to 74 chapters. By that point I can promise happy endings for (almost) everyone.