Buffy opened the hatch slowly, letting a burst of cold air into the submarine. She climbed out first, sliding to the ground. Willow and Tara came next, the redhead immediately spotting the young man sitting on the hillside in front of them.

He got slowly to his feet and she took an uncontrollable step forward, only vaguely hearing the others climbing out of the submarine over the blood rushing through her ears. "Oz…"

He walked forward slowly, staring at her. "Willow? How…?"

She was surprised to feel tears burning at the corners of her eyes. She didn't realize how much she had missed him until his arms folded around her, hugging her tightly. She hugged him back, breaking into tears against his shoulder.

Buffy watched Tara carefully as the redhead hugged her ex-boyfriend. The blonde witch was staying back from the pair, her arms crossed over her chest with her blue eyes locked on her wife. The Slayer put a hand on her friend's elbow and Tara looked at her. The witch forced a smile, still obviously anxious about Oz's reaction to seeing her again.

Willow stepped back, wiping her tears as she did so, looking over her shoulder for Tara. She could see her lover's anxiety and looked back at the werewolf. "Sorry we just dropped in on you like this, but we need your help, Oz."

He smiled calmly, eyeing the crowd of girls, all of them bruised and bloody. "I figured."

She smiled uncontrollably at how little he had actually changed. "Are you…I mean…." She stumbled over the words, surprised how much seeing him again was shaking her up.

He shook his head at her, stepping around her to greet Buffy, hugging the Slayer. They pulled back after a long moment and he turned to look at the other witch. "Tara." Willow stepped up beside her wife, sliding their hands together without thinking about it. "It's good to see you," he said calmly, touching her gently on the arm. She let out a deep breath, giving the werewolf a cautious smile.

He shook hands with Xander and Giles as they came forward, hugging Dawn. She was shivering and he gestured for them to follow him. He led them into the monastery, the girls crowding into the front room. Buffy called for their attention, raising her voice. "You all stay in here, but don't touch anything. We're guests here. We'll get the bed situation worked out as quickly as we can."

Oz slid a door open, waving the Scoobies into another room. They all stared at each other for a long moment. "So, long time no see," Xander said, grinning around the room.

"Well said," Oz commented, shrugging out of his jacket. The one eyed man reached up to touch his eye patch, laughing.

Willow rolled her eyes, squeezing Tara's hand. "Are you okay with this, Oz? I know we just busted in on your life here."

He looked at her seriously, glancing at Tara, his eyes flickering down to their joined hands. "It's okay. I'm not in danger of ripping you up, if that's what you mean."

She blushed, looking between Tara and Oz. "I guess that's part of it. There's a bit more to it than that, but that was a big part of it." She hesitated, swallowing. "I really don't want you trying to kill my wife."

To his credit, Oz's expression didn't change. There was a long pause and he smiled. "That's fair, as long as you don't kill mine either."

Willow's jaw dropped, a smile coming to her face immediately. "Oz! You didn't tell me you got married!"

He shrugged, a small smile of his own curling the corner of his mouth. "You didn't tell me you got married either. And strictly speaking, Bay and I aren't married in a legal sense, but she's the rest of me."

Willow grinned over at Tara, slipping an arm around her waist. "I know exactly what you mean." Tara smiled gently back at her. "I'm happy for you, Oz."

He smiled at them, looking at Tara. "I'm happy for you too, Will." Just then there was a gentle tap on the door and a young woman poked her head in. A grin split Oz's face and he waved for her to come in. She did so, and the others could see that she held a baby in her arms. "How's he doing?" he asked, taking the baby from her.

She smiled, straightening the baby's cap. "He's fine. He just woke up." She glanced at the group. "We have company?"

He nodded, bouncing the baby happily. "These are some friends from home." He looked up from the infant to the group. "Everybody, this is Bay." He introduced the Scoobies, everyone waving to the young lady. "And last but not least, this is our son, Kelden."

Dawn squealed, a hand coming up to cover her mouth. Willow was grinning at him and she squeezed Tara closer to her. He bounced the baby a final time and handed him back to his mother. "Well, I'm sure you're exhausted, so let's find you all some places to sleep."

"Thank you, Oz. You're really saving us here," Buffy said seriously.

He just shrugged. "No problem. There should be more than enough room, but you'll probably be separated some."

"Anything is great with us," Buffy said, looking around at her friends. "We're all about to fall asleep standing up."

"Actually, it appears as if some of your friends have already done so," Bay said, pointing over her shoulder to the room where they'd left the slayers.

Tara woke up the next morning hearing Willow talking to someone quietly, obviously trying not to wake her up. She could feel Willow sitting next to her on the bed and there was another person sitting at the foot. Her attention was grabbed as she heard her own name and she lay still to listen.

"So you and Tara have stayed together all this time? That's impressive, Will," Oz said quietly.

Willow nodded, looking down at her sleeping wife with a loving smile, brushing a hand gently over her back. "It wasn't smooth. I messed it up so much." She got a deep breath. "I got addicted to magic and I hurt her and she left me." She decided quickly that explaining Tara's return from the grave would take a much longer conversation than they had time for at the moment.

"We all mess things up, Will. You and I would know that better than anyone. And you're together now. That's what matters."

She smiled at him, nodding. "You're right. When did you get so wise, Oz?"

He shrugged, smiling. "It must be all the mountain air."

"You've changed so much, but in so many ways you're the same guy I knew before," Willow commented. "And you have a kid now!"

Oz grinned at the mention of his son. "Yeah, he's the best thing that ever happened to me. Him and Bay. They really are the rest of me. She's been here longer than I have, she took care of me in the beginning, when I was still learning to control the wolf."

"So you've known her for a long time…"

He nodded. "Yeah, I guess I've known her about as long as you've known Tara. I messed it up with her too, you know, when I left. Of course, when I left I didn't even know she felt like that about me. My only thought was to get back to you. I didn't even notice that Bay had feelings for me. I found out when I got back because she was acting so strange. It took a while, but we worked through it eventually."

"That's great, Oz. I'm so happy for you."

"I'm happy for both of us."

Willow smiled at him and they both heard a bell chime in the distance. He got up from his seat at the end of the bed, looking around for his jacket. "I'm sorry, I've got to go. We're starting group meditations in a few minutes. I'll come find you after, maybe, if you're up?" He paused in getting ready to leave. "It was good to catch up with you, Willow."

She nodded. "You too, Oz."

He slid the door open quietly, a burst of cold air causing Willow to squeak and pull the blankets up over her as she laid back in bed quickly.

"It's not dawn yet, so you might want to go back to sleep," Oz advised cheerfully as he slid the door closed behind him.

Willow rested a hand on Tara's back for a moment, leaning forward to press a kiss to the back of her neck. "I know you're awake. Turn over and talk to me."

Tara turned to her other side, smiling sleepily. "Busted."

"We've been sleeping together too long now for me not to be able to know when you're faking being asleep. How much did you hear?" Willow asked, brushing hair out of her lover's face.

"Not much. How long have you been awake?"

Willow shrugged. "A few hours maybe." She squirmed under the blankets, trying to find a warm spot. Tara jumped as the redhead's cold feet found hers. The blonde slid back, pulling Willow into the spot she'd just vacated. "Ooh, it's warmer the closer I get to you," Willow commented playfully and Tara slid closer, wrapping her arms around the redhead's waist. Willow snuggled into her, smiling. "This is much better. I didn't realize how cold I was."

"We are in Tibet, sweetie," Tara observed, pulling the blankets more snugly around Willow's shoulders. The redhead yawned as she warmed up and Tara smiled gently. "You have to be exhausted. Get some sleep."

Willow shook her head, pouting. "You're awake now, I want to talk to you. I feel like we've barely seen each other lately. We're always so busy working. And now we specifically can't do magic. It's like we have to just stay here and talk."

Tara arched an eyebrow. "Talk huh? You don't have anything else in mind for this time off?"

Willow smirked, leaning in for a quick kiss. "Of course I do. We can have a picnic, or stargaze, take long walks in the mountains, or spend lots of time in bed, not sleeping. For now though, I just want to lay here and talk to you. I miss you, baby."

Tara squeezed her closer. "I miss you too, Will. How was catching up with Oz?"

"It was great. He's really doing well. They've got a really good thing going up here. They're teaching a lot of werewolves to control the wolf. He said they've had some trouble with a rogue wolf who leads a group who all have Veruca's attitude about the wolf, and he and his pack attacked the monastery a few months ago, but in spite of the struggle Oz seems really, really happy."

"That's good. And you're not jealous?"

Willow blinked in surprise. "Jealous? What would I be jealous of? I've got you," she said, squeezing Tara and grinning.

"Of Oz and Bay. I mean, he was your first love. That's not easy to get over."

She stared at Tara for a long moment, her face gradually growing serious. "Baby, he might have been my first love, but you're the only one that matters. You'll be the last person I love. The only thing I might be jealous of Oz and Bay about is Kelden." She ran a finger over the blonde's face. "I wish I could have your baby."

Tara blinked, a tear falling suddenly. "Willow, really?"

The redhead nodded, smiling. "Of course. Our kids would be perfect." She sighed. "Even if we could have kids though, it's way too dangerous with the way we live." She snuggled in closer and Tara shifted to rest her head on Willow's shoulder. "This is enough for me," the redhead said, pressing a kiss to the top of Tara's head. "This is what I want."

Tara sighed. "Thank you."

"What for?" Willow asked, confused.

"For being exactly who you are, mostly. I love you, Willow."

Willow smiled against her hair. "And I love you, Tara. You're my future, my family. That's all I need." Tara sighed again, settling closer to her wife. They fell asleep quietly, peaceful for the first time in a long while.

Tara woke again a few hours after sunrise, but couldn't drag herself away from the warm blankets or Willow's arms. She brushed hair away from the sleeping girl's face, pressing a gentle kiss to her lover's forehead. The redhead shifted a little but stayed asleep. Their battle had left them all wounded and Tara gently traced the scrapes and scratches on her wife's skin.

Her inspection was interrupted by a quiet knock on their door. She quietly got out of bed, carefully tucking the blankets back around Willow, making sure she stayed warm. Tara pulled a sweater over her pajamas and opened the door a crack. Buffy was on the other side, a serious expression on her face.

"What is it? What's happened?" Tara asked, suddenly worried.

The Slayer shook her head quickly. "No, nothing happened. I just…can I talk to you for a second?"

Tara frowned thoughtfully. "Okay, do you want me to wake up Willow?"

"No, it's…it's about her. Let her sleep."

Tara shut the door quietly behind her and Buffy led the way back down the hallway to where Giles was waiting for them. Tara glanced between the two of them. "What's going on?"

"We're worried about Willow. About the magic she's being using," Giles said.

Tara frowned. "She's had it under control the whole time. She's doing great."

Buffy lifted a hand to stop her. "I know that. We know that. There's nothing specific we're worried about, it's just, recently she's been using so much, pushed much farther than she's ever pushed her control. We just wanted…I just wanted to make sure I wasn't killing my best friend by asking her to do so much."

Tara nodded, taking a deep breath. "She has been using a lot of power, but she's always careful. She stays more aware of the risks than any of us realize. She's never let herself forget how much it cost her last time."

"And what about our plan now? Hiding our magic? What does she think of that?" Giles asked, his arms crossed over his chest.

Tara smiled. "I think she'll do better with it than I will. We talked about it a little right after you went and talked to Tichajit. We were talking about the affect the death of magic would have on our connection."

Buffy blinked in surprise. "I didn't think about that." She looked at Giles. "What will happen?"

He looked thoughtful. "I don't know. We'll just have to figure it out as we go."

Tara sighed. "That's what we figured. Even if it does go away, it doesn't change how we feel about each other and it won't change our commitment. We'll just have to get used to living without it again. And if we're off magic completely, we'll have other things to get used to also."

Buffy sighed, looking at the witch. "I'm sorry, Tara. I know this is going to be rough on the two of you."

The witch nodded, pulling her sweater closer as an icy breeze came down the corridor. "It's not your fault, Buffy. We'll get through this." She smiled reassuringly. "Who knows, it could be fun to be normal again."

Buffy smirked. "I don't think any of us will ever be normal Tara, even if we do manage to hide our powers."

Tara shrugged. "We wouldn't know what to do with ourselves anyway." She looked at Giles. "So, we're doing this?"

He sighed, nodding. "It might well be our best option. We'll have to discuss it further with the girls and Oz."

Tara nodded and pointed back down the hall. "Should I go get Willow?"

Buffy shook her head. "No, no. Everyone else is still sleeping. I asked Oz if we could meet with him tomorrow morning. Stay in bed the rest of the day." She winked at the witch teasingly. "Even Oz seemed tired when I talked to him. We must be rubbing off on him."

Tara blushed, shaking her head. "Oh, he was in there talking to Willow this morning when I woke up. They talked until he had to leave for morning meditations at dawn."

Buffy's eyes widened. "He was in there all night?"

The blonde shrugged. "Well he wasn't in there when I fell asleep, but Will said he was in there for a few hours at least."

The Slayer smiled carefully at Tara. "You're okay with that, right? You know there's nothing between them anymore."

"Oh I'm sure there is, but it's nothing that threatens what Willow and I have." She smiled reassuringly at Buffy. "I know Willow loves me. And Oz loves Bay. Everybody is where they're supposed to be."

The Slayer grinned, nodding. "Exactly! I'm happy for Oz. And how cute is his son!"

Tara grinned. "He's adorable, that's for sure. Willow said…" She trailed off suddenly, a wistful expression coming over her face and Buffy had a feeling she knew what had caused her friend's abrupt mood shift.

The Slayer yawned widely, stretching suddenly. "I think I'll go back to bed. G'night everybody." She headed down the hall, pulling Giles with her. Tara lingered for a moment, watching them leave before she returned to the room she was sharing with Willow.

The redhead was just starting to wake up as the blonde slipped back in beside her. She blinked up at Tara as she leaned over to kiss her. "Are you okay?" She could feel that her wife was sad about something, but couldn't tell what it was. She returned the kiss, breaking it gently after a minute. "Baby, what is it? What's wrong?" Her eyes searched Tara's face for some clue, concerned.

Tara just shook her head, kissing her again. Willow went with it, slipping a hand into her hair. Gradually, the blonde shifted her kisses to her lover's neck. The redhead was surprised by her wife's sudden passion but found herself too caught up to fight against it.

It was much later before she had another opportunity to ask about it. Tara's head was resting on her shoulder, idly pressing kisses against her damp skin. "Tara? What was bothering you earlier?"

Tara let out a deep breath, feeling Willow's fingers threading through her hair. "It's nothing. Or at least, nothing you can help me with sweetheart."

Willow smiled tenderly, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "Why don't you let me figure that out, baby? You know I'll do anything for you."

Tara tilted her head back to look up at her. "I know that, love. I just…I asked you if you were jealous of Oz and Bay…and I guess it turns out that I am…"

Willow looked down at her thoughtfully for a long moment, figuring out her meaning. "You mean the baby?" Tara nodded, burying her face in the side of the redhead's neck. "Oh Tara. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I wish I could have our baby. For you I'd do anything…"

The blonde cut her off mid-babble, pressing a hand over her mouth, as she pressed kisses across her neck. "I know that sweetie, I know. I've known since before I came out that I'd never have children. At first it was because I didn't want to risk having a daughter and having her grow up the way I did, with my family. And that was fine, I was okay with it." She leaned up on an elbow to look down into Willow's eyes. "But I never imagined that I'd ever feel this way about anyone." Willow reached up to press Tara's hand tighter against her mouth, pressing kisses to her lover's palm. "I love you Willow, and we would have beautiful children, but I don't need it. I just need you. I don't know why I'm letting it bother me. It's not something I've even thought about really. Just seeing Oz and Kelden…" She sighed. "If it wasn't for me he could have been your son."

Willow blinked in surprise, lifting Tara's hand from her face. "Baby, if you think for one second that I regret my choice, you're dead wrong."

"I know that, I do," Tara rushed to assure her, the look on Willow's face taking her breath away and stopping her words.

Willow squeezed her hand. "Tara, there's not one moment of happiness in my life that isn't directly related to having you in it. I wouldn't give up one second of my life with you, even if it meant having a child with Oz." She leaned up for a kiss, which Tara immediately provided. She smiled as they pulled back, tracing a hand over her wife's face. "Besides, even if we can't have kids from it, going through the motions is still fun, right?"

Tara's eyebrows raised, blinking in surprise as a lopsided grin came across her face. "Yes ma'am," she agreed, leaning down for another kiss.

Buffy was relieved to see that both witches seemed relaxed and at ease when they showed up the next morning for the meeting. They sat down against the wall, Tara laughing at something Willow had whispered to her, leaning her head against the redhead's shoulder and playing with Willow's fingers while they waited for the rest of the girls to show up.

There were a dismaying number of girls killed or wounded. Of the two hundred residents they'd had at the castle, only about half remained. Most of the casualties had been younger girls who'd only been at the castle for a short time, but there were several veterans missing from Buffy's elite squad. The remnants of Buffy's squad limped in, still exhausted, but obedient to their leaders' orders. Satsu was on some scavenged crutches, Kennedy helping her. The slayers would have followed Buffy into another battle if she'd asked it of them. They knew the cost of doubting Buffy, and the sudden worldwide antagonism against them was serving to unite the girls.

Xander had the blanket from his bed wrapped around his shoulders, both hands holding it closed in front of his chest. Everyone was bundled up in the spare jackets and sweatshirts Oz and his group had been able to scrounge up. Giles had a scarf wrapped around his neck, his arms crossed to keep his hands warm. Dawn had the hood pulled up on her sweatshirt and rushed over to sit next to Willow and Tara. Xander joined them, sliding down next to Dawn and spreading his blanket so it covered all of them.

Buffy stayed standing, talking quietly to Giles until Oz and Bay came in, Kelden riding on Oz's shoulder. Bay took the child from him and stood quietly at his side. Oz looked around and found Willow with his eyes, giving her a small nod of acknowledgement. She waved back with her free hand, smiling cheerfully at him and putting her arm around Tara's shoulders as she brought it down. Buffy stepped forward to address the group as Oz nodded to her.

"Okay guys, here's the deal. Willow got information from a captured demon that Twilight and his followers have been tracking us through the magic we use."

One of the youngest slayers looked over at the witches. "So it's their fault?"

Buffy scowled at the girl. "Absolutely not. Willow and Tara saved your ungrateful ass two days ago and no one had better forget it. We're all to blame. The base of our power is magical. That's what we're here to do something about." She pointed to Oz. "This is an old friend of ours. Oz is a werewolf, but he's one of the few in the world with the ability to control his transformations. He's learned to control his wolf side. He's going to help us learn to harness and control our powers."

Oz stepped forward, crossing his arms over his chest. "The process is not easy. It's going to be a lot of work. You're all strong women, but what we'll be doing is going to test even your slayer strength. And it's important that you're committed to finishing the training. If you quit before you master the techniques, it could do more harm than not starting at all." He scanned the crowd. "If you're not willing to stick with it to the finish, you might as well leave now…staying will only lead your enemies to your friends."

"We're not asking you to decide right now. We'll give you the rest of the day to make up your minds, but we'll need to know who's staying and who's going by nightfall tonight," Buffy said seriously, taking the lead back from Oz. "Does everyone understand?" She received nods from the girls and she nodded back. "Good, then you're dismissed until sundown."

The slayers scattered and the Scoobies wandered out onto the porch. There were rocking chairs outside and they all sat down. Willow chose to sit on the ground in front of Tara's chair, leaning back against her wife's legs. Dawn sat down against the wall of the monastery so she could keep using Xander's blanket, pulling him down to sit beside her.

"So what's involved in this training?" Buffy asked Oz as Bay put Kelden down on the ground. He promptly crawled straight to Willow. She laughed as he turned over to sit on his bottom, his tiny fists wrapping around her fingers as she helped him sit up.

Oz smiled at his son before he turned his attention to the Slayer's question. "When the wolf comes, the trick to controlling the transformation is to let him come, but rather than keep the power contained within, you have to let it pass through you, into the earth."

Willow nodded. "That makes sense. The coven taught me about that. How everything is connected, through the earth." She looked up from playing with Kelden and smiled at Oz's nod.

Bay spoke up, "So you've been trained before?"

"Not like what you're talking about. I have some training in controlling my magic, but I've never done anything like we're going to do soon," Willow said, shaking her head. Kelden was pulling on her fingers and she leaned down to make faces at him.

"It should give you an advantage though, Will," Oz commented.

She nodded, smiling at him. "Yeah, well I have a feeling that we'll all need all the help we can get."

Buffy sighed, stretching. "How hard is this going to be anyway?"

Oz and Bay exchanged glances. "It normally takes a werewolf a year's worth of full moons to master the technique. I'm not sure how long it will take the slayers. The power is different." He glanced at Willow and Tara. "And I'm even less sure how long it will take for the two of you. You're both incredibly powerful. In some ways, your power is greater even than the slayers."

Xander laughed. "We've always known that Willow's the strongest of all of us. I've been afraid of her since first grade."

She stuck her tongue out at him. "That's just because I hit you in the face with the tether ball every time we played."

He shrugged, grinning at her. "Whatever, you're a formidable woman, Will."

Tara smiled, running her fingers through Willow's hair. The redhead tilted her head back and smiled at her wife.

Oz nodded in agreement, watching her. "The training will be easy enough for you, Xander. Watchers don't have any inherent magic, do they?"

Xander shook his head rapidly with a wide grin. "None at all. I'll have a good time watching all of you. Dawn, as the other normal person, will you be joining me in the best seat in the house?"

Tara shook her head with a smile. "Wish you could sweetie, but you have your own power to hide now. You'll have to go through the training with the rest of us."

Dawn pouted. "I knew practicing magic would come back to bite me in the butt. If only I had listened to Buffy in the first place."

The Slayer choked on her air, falling dramatically out of her chair. The others laughed loudly at her display while Dawn rolled her eyes. Buffy was grinning widely as she sat back up. "I can die happy now," she declared. "Dawn just admitted I was right about something." She glanced at Willow and Tara. "Not that you guys haven't been great teachers for her. And Dawnie, not that you haven't become a great witch." She grinned and laughed. "I just like being right."

Willow rolled her eyes and leaned down to cross them at Kelden. The baby gurgled happily before a look of concentration came across his face. "Um Oz…he's looking kind of intense…he might need a change here in a minute."

The werewolf chuckled, nodding as he reached over and picked up the baby. "That's my guy," he commented proudly. Bay moved to take the baby, but Oz stood up with him, smiling down at his wife. "It's alright, I've got him." He walked back inside and the Scoobies looked around their new surroundings.

Buffy stretched, popping up from her chair. "I'm going to go explore, who wants to come with?" She looked at Bay. "If that's alright. I don't want to intrude."

She shrugged, smiling. "It's no intrusion. Just be quiet, some people will be meditating on the hillside." She lifted a finger to her lips.

Buffy nodded, shooting a look at Dawn and Xander. "Can you two handle that? Inside voices."

They glanced at each other, both rolling their eyes at the Slayer. "Yes, we can," they sighed in unison and Giles was polite enough to hide his laugh behind a cough.

Willow looked up at Tara before shaking her head. "I think I'll stay here. I'm still kind of tired from the other day."

Buffy raised a teasing eyebrow at the two and Willow blushed brightly. "The battle," she hissed through clenched teeth. The Slayer just shrugged and grinned as she walked off. "Pervert," Willow muttered as she rested her head back against Tara's knees. She quickly sat up, turning to look at her lover. "Unless you want to go, baby. We can go if you want to."

Tara smiled gently, shaking her head. "No, I'm fine here, sweetie. We haven't really had a chance to talk to Bay."

The other woman was studying them quietly and spoke slowly. "You're the one he left to return to." Her dark eyes were locked on Willow and the redhead blinked in surprise, nodding.

"Yeah, I am." Her confusion was obvious, but she was willing to address the subject, just surprised by the suddenness.

Bay's gaze moved up to Tara. "And you're why he came back."

The blonde nodded, one hand resting on Willow's shoulder.

"When he returned, he was very angry. Much of his training had to be recovered. He lost control of the wolf again for many months."

Willow swallowed, frowning. "I'm sorry. We never…I never meant to hurt Oz. I hope he knows that."

Bay nodded. "He does. I do not mean to rehash the past, I am just…he talked of you often. I have been interested in meeting you for a long time. He loved you very much."

Willow nodded, smiling gently at her. "And I loved him very much." Her head turned to look up at Tara before shifting back to Bay. "But not anymore."

The other woman nodded. "No, not anymore."

Just then Oz came back with Kelden, sitting down in the chair next to Bay. "Was it something I said?" he asked, glancing around at the vacant chairs.

Tara shook her head with a smile. "No, they went exploring. We were just talking to Bay."

He glanced between them. "Oh? And what were you ladies discussing?"

Willow grinned at him with a wink. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

He eyed them all carefully before shaking his head. "Actually, I don't think I would."

Willow laughed. "Wise man."

He shrugged. "I told you, it's all this mountain air."

Tara changed the subject for them, curious. "So, what will be involved in this training? Unlike my beautiful wife, I have no idea what to expect." Willow wrapped one arm around Tara's calf, squeezing it gently and leaning her head against her lover's knee.

Bay gave her a smile as she answered. "Well, it will involve meditation and we'll have to teach you all some chants."

"What do the chants do?" Willow asked thoughtfully, her head still resting on Tara's leg.

Bay lifted Kelden into her lap. "They're ancient prayers to the earth to accept our power and grant us protection. I have some old scrolls and papers you can look over that talk more about it if it'll make you feel better," she offered.

Willow's eyes lit up and Tara smiled at her wife's never ending eagerness for any kind of knowledge. "I think Willow might enjoy that just as a recreational activity, actually," the blonde witch said and Oz laughed.

"I'm glad to see you're still as studious as ever," Oz commented, wiggling his fingers playfully in Kelden's face.

They all laughed as the baby grabbed his father's fingers and Willow asked, "And how about you? Did you ever master that cord you were working on?"

Oz grinned proudly. "You better believe it!" His smile softened tenderly as he looked at his family. "My life is definitely complete."

The slayers all gathered back together at sundown, joining their leaders on the porch of the monastery. They all agreed to the training and Oz stood up to address them.

"You'll want to get as much rest as you can tonight. We'll start tomorrow. Physical exertion helps with the training, makes it easier for your body to accept the new control you'll be exerting. To that end, you will all help me bury the submarine tomorrow morning at first light." The girls nodded reluctantly, starting to stand up. "There will be a bell chime at dawn. I'll meet you at the sub," he called after them as Buffy nodded her approval.

Xander was laughing in his seat and the others shot disgruntled looks at him. "What? Why's everybody giving me the hairy eyeball? Giles doesn't have to do it either, and no one is giving him hateful looks."

"He's not sitting in his seat laughing about it," Willow said, pointing at the older man for emphasis.

Xander shrugged. "I'm sure he'll be enjoying it just the same as I will come tomorrow morning."

"Actually, I will be required to go through the training," Giles commented, shooting a look at Xander. "I have a small measure of magical ability, if you recall."

Dawn shot Xander a look as well. "You're not seriously going to just sit up here and watch all of your female friends dig while you're sitting on your butt drinking tea, are you?"

Buffy crossed her arms over her chest, smirking at him. "And you're their Watcher, Xand. Shouldn't you show them some support? My Watcher is doing it," she said, pointing to Giles with a wide smile.

He sighed, glancing around at the girls. "Fine," he sighed. "I'll help bury the submarine." He glared at Oz as the werewolf cracked a smile. "I'm not meditating though."