Author's Note: I'm imagining that Willow will be able to use magic again at some point on the show, and in this AU, she's able to do limited spells without going Darth Rosenberg. I did mention it before (in chapter 1), so I am being consistent with myself—no cheating there. I reserve the right to poke fun at you if you protest in my reviews now.
Note II: Tara's quote is by Mother Julian of Norwich
***
Chapter 6
Two Slayers moved swiftly and efficiently through the night. Buffy glanced at Amanda and recalled that the last time she'd patrolled with another Slayer, that Slayer had been Faith. It was an odd thought, as Faith and Amanda were so totally different.
"What do you think they're up to?" Amanda asked Buffy.
"No idea, but I'd lay odds against it being charity work." Buffy was scanning the area with her eyes, looking for anything out of the ordinary.
"Have any idea where they might be headed?"
"Again with the no idea. I think we should probably--" A shriek rang through the night. "—follow the screams."
"Good idea."
The Slayers ran across the street and into a park, where a couple of teenagers were being bundled into a large van by vampires. Adrienne's trademark white clothing gave her presence away. Six other vampires were with her, including the inordinately large one.
Adrienne and the giant held back while three of the others moved out to greet the Slayers, another two close behind them. One of the first three headed straight for Amanda, while the other two went for Buffy. Buffy neatly sidestepped one, sticking a leg out to trip him, sending him to the ground, and hit the second with a hard uppercut. He stumbled away. Buffy whirled, dropped to one knee, and staked the one on the ground. She glanced at Amanda long enough to see the other Slayer drive a knee into her vampire's midsection. It doubled over, and she staked him.
Buffy's second vampire was coming back at her. She stood and greeted him with a roundhouse kick. Before he could recover, Amanda wheeled around and staked him.
"Thanks, Amanda!" called Buffy.
"No prob!" Amanda yelled back, aiming a vicious kick at another vampire coming up behind her.
Number five raced at Buffy. He was a bit smoother than his brethren. When Buffy tried to stop the vampire's charge with a front kick, he dodged right and blocked her leg left, turning her body away from him. He was about to land a vicious kidney punch when Buffy spun and whipped the blade of her foot into the side of his head. The nimble vampire let the kick throw him sideways in an aerial cartwheel and landed squarely on his feet.
Buffy moved in. She threw a jab to the face; the vamp shunted it aside and drove his palm up into her chin. Buffy's head snapped back, but she managed to grab the arm he had just hit her with. She pulled the vamp to her, shoved her shoulder into his armpit, and threw him over her shoulder.
The vampire crashed scalp-first into a pole and was knocked unconscious. Buffy dropped to the ground and staked him. She looked up just in time to see Amanda finishing off her own opponent.
Only Adrienne and the big one were left.
"One Slayer apiece, Rocque," Adrienne said to her companion calmly. "I get the redhead. You take the blond."
"My pleasure," rumbled Rocque. He had an accent that sounded Caribbean and reminded Buffy just a little of Kendra.
Adrienne fixed her glare on Amanda. "You killed my love."
"Don't worry," Amanda said sweetly. "I'm sure you can find someone else, even at your age. What's the dating scene like for the undead?"
Adrienne's only response was to go into game face. Amanda came forward cautiously, ready for Adrienne's attack. The female vampire circled to the right as she and Amanda sized each other up.
Amanda took the initiative, making a tentative jab at Adrienne with her stake. Like a flash, Adrienne grabbed her arm, pulling her off balance, and drove her elbow into the young Slayer's face. A knee to the gut followed that. Then the vampire threw Amanda headlong into the slide's ladder.
Things didn't improve appreciably for the young Slayer after that.
Buffy, meanwhile, sized up Rocque and decided that perhaps she needed a little bit of an advantage. He came at her quickly. She dodged aside and nimbly scampered to the top of the van. There were cries from inside.
The roof rack on the van provided Buffy with an idea and a weapon. She pulled loose one long bar, smashed Rocque in the head, and then jumped down and used the same bar to bash in the lock on the back of the van. There was a loud thump from inside, and the doors gave way enough to let Buffy know those trapped would soon free themselves.
She whipped around, facing Rocque. The huge vampire came at her faster than anything his size should move. She struck a glancing blow across his chest with her bar, driving him back, and advanced, bringing the bar around for another blow.
Rocque caught it and began to twist it to loosen Buffy's grip. She braced herself and delivered a hard front kick to his groin. The enormous vampire gagged and doubled over, releasing the bar, and Buffy brought it down hard on the back of his head. He went down.
Buffy would have dusted him right then and there if she hadn't caught sight of Amanda's predicament. Adrienne had the bruised and battered young Slayer by the throat, and it was apparent Amanda was losing consciousness. Buffy winged the bar at the female vampire. It caught her headlong right in the neck, ripping through her larynx. Adrienne dropped Amanda, who crumpled, limp, to the ground.
Buffy ran to the other Slayer's side. Adrienne was staggering, but still on her feet, gripping her own throat and making grotesque gurgling noises. Rocque stirred, groaning. The teens trapped in the van had all gotten free.
Time to cut and run, Buffy decided. She hauled Amanda up, slinging the other Slayer over her shoulder, and ran.
***
It was only after Buffy had gotten Amanda back to the house and laid her out on the couch that the extent of the damage done to the young Slayer became apparent. Blood was running down Amanda's face from a nose that had to be broken, a split lip, and a deep cut in her forehead, one eye was blackened, and Buffy didn't want to even begin to guess at what Amanda looked like under her clothing. The elder Slayer went to get some water from the kitchen.
When she got back, Amanda's eyes were open, and a soft moan escaped her lips. Buffy gently wiped the blood away from her face.
"I won't ask how you're feeling, because, hey, stupid question," said Buffy.
"I got my ass kicked, didn't I?" Amanda asked weakly.
"Your ass and pretty much everything else, I think." Buffy set the washcloth aside. "Anything else broken besides your nose?"
Amanda tried to sit up and failed miserably, gasping with pain. "I-I think maybe some ribs. And possibly my head. My right leg doesn't feel so good, either."
Buffy carefully removed Amanda's shoes, drawing more sounds of pain from the younger Slayer. "I don't think there's anything broken, but your ankle might be sprained. She sure did a job on you, didn't she?"
"Oh, God," moaned Amanda. "I'm really stupid."
"No, Adrienne's just really old and really, really pissed off. You're gonna need some time to heal up from this."
"We don't have time," Amanda stated. She was right, and Buffy knew it. With the Order of Aurelius led by a Master who wasn't confined to a sunken church active in Sunnydale, they needed to move fast. "Tara," said Amanda. "Get Tara."
"Tara? I think she's asleep."
"Get her," Amanda insisted. "She knows a spell that'll help me heal faster. I think we need it." The young Slayer took a painful breath. "Please, Buffy."
"Okay. Be right back." Buffy ran up the stairs and to Willow's room. She knocked softly at the door. "Tara?" Hearing no response from inside, the Slayer opened the door and took a step inside. And stopped dead.
Willow and Tara were in the bed, wrapped around each other, deeply asleep, and didn't appear to be wearing a great deal of clothing. "Uh," commented Buffy.
Tara started awake at the sound. She lifted her head, eyes wide, instantly alert, and spotted Buffy. "What is it?" she asked, totally unselfconscious.
"A-Amanda," Buffy stammered. "Downstairs. She's hurt, and she said you've got some sort of a healing spell, and, um, that's why I'm here."
Willow mumbled something, coming to consciousness, as Tara slipped out of the bed. Buffy noted that Tara was wearing underwear as the witch dug a robe out of the box Buffy had brought up for her. Willow, meanwhile, had noticed Buffy.
"Buffy!" she gasped, pulling the blankets up to cover her chest. "We weren't, uh, I mean, we didn't do anything, we just, we were . . . I'm not being very convincing, am I?"
"You know what, Will? It's none of my business." And I'm not touching it with a ten-foot pole, Buffy added silently.
"Amanda's downstairs?" asked Tara, tying her robe.
"On the couch." Buffy led Tara back downstairs and over to where Amanda was resting.
Tara knelt down by the young Slayer's side, touching her bruised, swollen face. "Oh, Amanda," she sighed tenderly.
Amanda's Slayer resolve cracked at Tara's touch, and tears began leaking out of her eyes. "Tara," she whimpered painfully. "I'm so stupid."
"Shh. It's okay, sweetie." Tara smoothed Amanda's rumpled curls and turned back to Buffy. "Is there a bed we can put her in? Once I do the spell, she's going to need to sleep hard for a while."
"No problem. She can stay in my room." Buffy carefully helped Amanda to her feet, and they made their painful way upstairs.
Willow, wearing a nightshirt, met them at the top of the stairs. "Can I help?"
Tara spoke to Willow as Buffy took Amanda into her bedroom. "I need a few supplies. Do you have some lavender oil and a rose quartz crystal? Oh, and a beeswax candle."
Willow nodded. The constraints placed on her uses of magic did allow those items. "Yeah. Let me go get 'em."
Tara walked into Buffy's room. "I'll need to take a look, see exactly what and where all the damage is. Do you have some pajamas she could wear once I'm done?"
"I think Dawn's stuff is more her size. I'll go scare up something. You need any help getting her out of her clothes?"
"No." Tara winked. "I do have a little experience with undressing girls, you know."
Buffy chuckled and headed across to Dawn's room. The teenager was sleeping like a log and didn't stir once as Buffy located a tank top and a set of boxer shorts. When Buffy got back to her own room, Amanda was naked except for her panties. Buffy hissed at what she saw. Huge, dark bruises colored about half of Amanda's torso and trailed down both her legs. She looked like she'd been hit by a truck.
"I still don't get why she didn't just kill me," Amanda was saying to Tara. "She had a dozen chances, and Buffy was busy with that walking brick wall."
"She didn't just want you dead," said Tara. "She wanted to hurt you."
"Well, it worked." Amanda coughed and groaned as Tara gently probed her side, feeling the ribs underneath.
"Those are cracked, all right. Did you get something for her to wear, Buffy?"
Buffy presented the top and shorts. "They should fit. Dawn's taller and has more in the way of hips and boobs than I do. It's unfair."
Willow appeared in the doorway. "Okay, I got everything, and—oh, ow!" The redhead's eyes widened at the sight of Amanda's battered body.
"Here, give me those," ordered Tara. Willow handed over the supplies.
"What're you going to do?" asked Buffy.
"A spell I found a few years back. Maire n'ha Maighread, the witch who came up with it, actually thought it was a failure. What it is is a healing spell that draws upon the body's own resources to accelerate healing. The problem is, in most people, it's not worth it to even try; the spell ends up causing as much or more damage than the original injuries. With a Slayer, though, the body has so much more in the way of strength and energy to start with that the spell works the way it was originally intended to." Tara set the candle on the nightstand and lit it. "Can you turn out the lights, Willow? Thanks. What this will do is effectively cut in half the amount of time Amanda would have needed to heal. The only downsides are that she's going to need at least ten hours of uninterrupted sleep, and she'll eat you out of house and home tomorrow."
"Do you need any help?" Willow asked.
Tara considered it. "As a matter of fact, yes. I don't strictly need anybody else, but having you and Buffy to draw on should make this work even better than usual. Buffy, you stand over on Amanda's other side, and Willow, stand at her feet. We'll form a circle."
The Slayer and her friend took their positions. Tara took the lavender oil and dabbed a little on Amanda's forehead, then anointed all the visible wounds on the teen's body. After she'd done that, she set aside the oil and placed the crystal on Amanda's chest. Tara took Amanda's left hand and held out her other hand to Willow. Willow took Tara and Buffy's hands, and Buffy took Amanda's right hand. Then Tara began to chant softly in Gaelic.
At first Buffy thought it was a trick of the candlelight that made the quartz crystal seem to glow. Then she realized the glow was very real. Not only that, but it was now hovering about an inch above Amanda's chest. Slowly, it rose, the glow inside it growing brighter, until it was at Tara's eye level. Tara stopped chanting, drew in a deep breath, and spoke a single word.
The crystal burst. Not in a violent explosion; it just diffused into glittering, crystalline dust that slowly settled all over Amanda's body, but especially the areas covered in oil. The teen looked like she was in a trance now, her eyes heavy-lidded and her face peaceful.
"That should do it," said Tara. She let go of Willow and Amanda's hands and picked up the clothes Buffy had brought in. "You need to help me out just a bit, Amanda."
The young Slayer seemed too languorous to move, but with Buffy's help, Tara managed to wrestle her into the pajamas. Willow dragged Buffy's comforter up to cover Amanda, and Tara tucked it around her.
" 'All shall be well, and all shall be well,'" Tara murmured, stooping down to kiss Amanda's forehead, " 'and every thing shall be well.'" The teen was deeply asleep as the three women left Buffy's room, quietly shutting the door.
"I'm gonna go sack out on the couch," said Buffy, stretching a bit. "See you guys in the morning."
" 'Night, Buffy," said Willow.
"Good night, Buffy," said Tara. The Slayer waved sleepily as she disappeared down the stairs.
Willow was looking nervous as she and Tara made their way back to the bedroom. "You still wanna . . ."
"I still wanna," Tara reassured her. "A good cuddle is hard to find where I come from."
"Oh, I'm full of cuddles," said Willow. She got back into the bed, keeping her nightshirt on this time. Tara shed her robe and got in, too, and they snuggled back into each other's arms.
"Thanks for helping me with that spell, Willow," Tara murmured.
"No problem." And it wasn't. Willow had cast very few spells since she'd come back from England, and those only as a last resort. With each one, she'd felt the old pull of power and had had to actively struggle against it. This time, though, helping with Tara's healing spell, she'd felt no such temptation. It was a good feeling. Just like being in Tara's arms again.
Wish she could stay, Willow thought as she drifted off to sleep.
Why shouldn't I stay? Tara thought. They like having me here. They miss their Tara. I see it in Dawn's eyes, and Buffy's, and so very much in Willow's.
Tara allowed her mind to drift, to wander over what life would be like here in this house. In the morning, she would get up early, like she used to do once upon a time, and make breakfast for the family. If it was a weekend, perhaps Dawn would wander down to watch cartoons, and Tara could watch with her, big bowls of cereal in their laps. If it was a school morning, Tara would get up with Willow, they'd get ready for school along with Dawn, and Buffy would get ready for work. They'd all eat breakfast together, talking about what they were planning, hoping, and dreading for the day ahead. Later on, after school, they'd help Dawn with her homework, do their own, eat dinner together, and perhaps have an outing or just stay in and watch TV. Later would be patrol with Buffy. Eventually, bedtime would come. There would be the chaos of four women all preparing for bed, washing faces, brushing teeth, and saying goodnight. Then Tara would go to bed, make love to Willow, and fall asleep in her lover's arms.
I could be their Tara. They need her, and I need them. I'll stay. I've fought long enough, hard enough. This life could have been, should have been, mine. I could have had Dawn as a daughter, Buffy as a sister, and Willow as a lover. I still could have them, all of them.
I will have this life. I'll stay, and let the other world go to hell on its own.