Chapter 20: Tara's Big Mouth

Challenge: partially to answer a forum request/challenge by DeepBlueJoy for a story with a 'person of color' as a main character – who doesn't die immediately.

Warning: Tara's a bit OOC, but I thought this was the best way to handle the reveal. And this isn't Spike-friendly, but c'mon…this is the morning after he tried to rape Buffy.

Disclaimer: BtVS and AtS characters belong to Joss Whedon / Mutant Enemy. I claim no rights to any copyrighted material. Please do not copy or take this story without my permission.

Hospital waiting room

The females – sans Dawn – looked very uncomfortable at the mention of Spike, while the males just looked confused by the females' reactions.

Tara tried to ease into the explanation gently, "Spike can't come, Dawn, because he's gone."

"No," Dawn denied, shaking her head vehemently. "He wouldn't leave without saying goodbye." He couldn't have left her, he just couldn't have!

Willow bit her lip nervously, really wishing they could have this conversation someplace else, but knowing Dawn wouldn't let it go until she knew what happened – as much as they were willing to tell her anyway. "He didn't leave, Dawn. His chip stopped working, and he was attacking Buffy and-"

Dawn just kept shaking her head, refusing to accept where Willow was headed with this. Spike couldn't have done that; not without Buffy pushing him into it. If he attacked her, then he was a monster and-and…no! 'It had to be Buffy's fault!' Dawn thought desperately. Aloud she yelled almost the same thing, "Then Buffy made him do it! She got angry he had sex with Anya – which he only did because she broke his heart – and I bet he went over to the house to try and apologize, but she probably was being a bitch to him until he snapped and-"

She didn't get any farther in her rant because Tara reached the end of her patience. "He tried to rape her!" she snarled, shutting Dawn up instantly. On the other side of the room, Xander dropped into a chair with a soft thud. Wes quickly followed suit.

"I'm sure he was upset when she broke off their…sexual encounters, but she wouldn't have had to turn to him in the first place if any of us had been there for her instead! We all had great reasons for not helping her," she bit out sarcastically, "but the point was she felt alone, and Spike took advantage of that. He told her over and over that she belonged in the dark with him because we brought her back wrong!"

When she paused to take a breath, Tara saw all the stunned faces surrounding her. "Oh shit!" she muttered, burying her face in her hands. Buffy was going to kill her for betraying her confidence like that – and to Dawn of all people!

The motherly Wicca straightened her back with resolve. Maybe this was for the best, though. Buffy was vulnerable to Spike's manipulations because she hid things from everyone, like how off-balance she felt after she returned. Assuming everyone loved Buffy as much as they should, the blonde Slayer would have the support she needed to get through this – even if she fought them.

Meanwhile, Dawn broke down sobbing. Spike tried to take her sister away from her. He wasn't the man she thought he was. Oh…that's right; he wasn't a man at all, just a demon wearing a man's face. Couldn't they count on any man to live up to their expectations? Their dad disappeared off the face of the earth. Giles left – even after finding out where Buffy had been.

She glanced over at Xander out of the corner of her eye. At least he was still there. Sure, he left Anya at the altar, but he didn't leave Sunnydale to get away from her. All he needed was time to figure out if it was right to get married. They- well, at least he was only 21; in this day and age, that's pretty young to be making such a huge commitment.

And Wes was here. Why was Wes here again? No matter…those two were proof that not all men were complete scum.

A/N: I hope everyone appreciates how difficult it was for me to write a defense of Xander at the end of the chapter. Consider it proof that I need some sleep desperately.