Xander grabbed a couple books off the bookshelf and brought them over to the table in the Magic Box where Anya, Buffy and Dawn sat.

"So, Anya, you're alternate reality girl. Give us some pointers," he said as he sat next to Buffy.

"I'm not alternate reality girl. I'm vengeance girl," Anya said, slamming her book shut.

"But somebody wishes and it makes a different world, right?" Dawn asked. "Like when Cordelia wished for Buffy not to be in Sunnydale and it made that freaky world where there were vampires all over the place."

"It doesn't always make an alternate reality," Anya said. "The wish has to be big. Cordelia's wish was huge. I had no idea what kind of world that wish would create when I granted it."

"We're all assuming this world was caused by a wish," Buffy said. "We don't know that it was. It could have been anything. It could have been a demon or a spell…"

They all looked up when Buffy trailed off. "You have an idea?" Xander asked.

"None of us have even thought about Willow," Buffy said. She stood and shook her head. "Well, maybe we thought it, but we didn't wanna say it. We have no idea what Willow was like in the world Tara saw."

"That Willow might not have been free from magic," Xander said.

"And with Tara dead in that world, Willow casting a spell to bring her back is pretty likely," Dawn finished. "If Willow changed the world, would she know it?"

"Maybe, but not necessarily," Anya said. "Some spells allow you to remember what you've done, but some of them don't."

"Maybe we're jumping to conclusions here," Xander said. "I mean, we're just assuming it's Willow."

"Think about it, Xander," Buffy said. "If your soulmate was dead and you had the power to bring her back to life, wouldn't you?"

"Willow's definitely got the power," Anya muttered to herself, flipping a page in the book she was reading.

Xander nodded his head. "You're right. Willow is the most likely candidate."

"So we should ask her," Dawn said. "Right?"

"If she'll even tell us the truth," Xander said. "Maybe we should look up spells that could do this before we talk to Willow. If we can't find a spell for it, maybe it wasn't her."

"Anya, can you ask around to some of your…friends or whatever?" Buffy asked. "Find out who's granted a big wish lately."

"If someone has granted one, I'm surprised I haven't heard about it by now," Anya said as she stood. "We like to brag. Especially on the big ones."

"Okay, spells 'r' us," Buffy said as she sat back down. "Whether Willow cast this spell or it was someone else, we've gotta figure it out."

* * *

He walked along the street, right past the Espresso Pump where two police officers were enjoying some coffee donuts. He knew they saw him, but they didn't make a move. He decided to test his theory. So he walked up to them.

"Officers," he said with a smile. They looked down at him, just like everybody did because everybody was taller than him. "My name's Jonathan Levinson. I just came back into town. I graduated from Sunnydale High." They didn't say anything. "So I just thought two upstanding police officers like you might be able to bring me up to speed on what's been going on in town for the past couple years. I've been in Mexico."

"Nothing much going on lately. It's been pretty quiet for about the past year," the older officer said. His name badge identified him as Officer Bill Mitchell. "A couple unsolved murders are about as big as we've had."

"So no major robberies or anything?" Jonathan asked.

"Just the murders," the other officer said. He was Officer Mack Roberts. "In fact the new high school is reopening in a couple weeks. Big news."

"Wow. That's amazing," Jonathan said. "You know the old high school blew up at my graduation."

"Really?" Officer Mitchell asked. "That must have been quite a memorable experience for you."

Jonathan nodded his head and smiled. He was safe. It really had worked. He couldn't believe it. He wasn't a fugitive. As far as everyone was concerned he was the same unknown nerd he had always been. For the first time in his life he found being a nerd a very good thing.

"Well, it was nice talking to you, officers," he said. "I better be going."

"You take care, sir," Officer Roberts said. Jonathan waved and started walking down the street. As he walked past the Magic Box he didn't notice Buffy Summers and Xander Harris inside. He had found a new world and a second chance. Now he just had to figure out how he wanted to use it.

* * *

It was nearly midnight and Willow was still hard at work at her computer. She had been searching for hours, trying to find anything on anybody named Warren. So far she had found absolutely nothing. She had widened her search to go outside Sunnydale. As far as she could tell there was nobody with the first or last name of Warren in the entire state of California. That didn't make sense to her, but she was still searching. The name certainly existed, but it seemed like nobody used it. She looked up when she heard a noise.

"Hey," Tara said. She was standing in the doorway and leaning against the doorjamb.

"Hey," Willow said quietly. "You got your strength back?"

"Pretty much. I mean, I'm walking and everything," she replied with a smile as she stepped forward. She felt her balance waver and she grabbed the back of a chair to support herself. "Well, I'm sorta walking. Not running yet."

Willow pushed the seat next to her out and Tara slowly made her way over to sit in it. She pointed to the computer.

"You're not having anymore headaches?" Willow asked. "Because you said there were headaches."

"They're gone. I think the headaches were trying to tell me…to get me to do that spell," Tara replied. "Once the memories…or whatever they were…once they were released the headaches ended."

"That's good then," Willow said. She looked back to her research on the computer.

"Any luck finding Warren?"

"Absolutely none," she replied. "It's like the name Warren exists but for some reason nobody ever used it."

"Or maybe all Warrens in the world ceased to exist," Tara said.

"I like my theory better," Willow said. "Less death involved."

She continued to search on the computer, neither of them saying a word. Tara wasn't sure if she should try to apologize or not. She decided she might as well try.

"Willow, I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I thought I could handle it," she said. "I didn't even know if I was right about the headaches being related to magic."

"You thought that if you told me, I would try the spell, more people would get hurt and I'd get addicted again," Willow said. "That's why you didn't tell me. You still don't trust me."

"I'd be lying if I said I trusted you completely," Tara said. "It's only been six months, Will."

"Six months where I haven't said one single spell or used incense or potions or even lit a candle, and believe me the candle thing is hard," Willow argued. "Haven't I proven myself to you? Or are you never going to trust me again?"

"Not never, but it's going to take more time."

"How much time? A year? Ten years? Thirty?" Willow asked angrily. She stood and walked over by the window. She paused a moment and then looked back to Tara. "I love you, and I would never hurt you. Not now. Not after what happened before. You have to believe you can trust me."

"How do I know you didn't do this?" Tara asked, not even thinking before the words left her mouth. The look on Willow's face was one of pain, like Tara had just shoved a sword through her heart. "When I did that spell, I saw things. I saw my own death. I saw what you're capable of. I felt it. The pure rage as you skinned Warren alive. You were about to destroy the world. You nearly killed Giles. How do I know that you're not the one who changed things?"

Tears sprung in Willow's eyes and one escaped down her cheek. "I can't believe this. Are we right back where we started? Was there ever any point in getting back together?" Tara didn't say anything. Willow stepped forward and looked her in the eyes. "Don't you think that if I was capable of changing the world like this, I would've done it right after you were killed rather than going on a psycho-killing spree first?"

She waited for a response, but Tara said nothing. She didn't know what to say. Willow shook her head and wiped at her tears.

"I've gotta get out of here. I just…I can't do this," she said. She quickly turned, grabbed her jacket and left the house. Tara could do nothing but watch her leave.