Everyone was gathered at the house still waiting for Buffy and Tara. "I wonder why it's those two who are conspicuously late all the time when it used to be black magic girl and Tara." Anya chided.
"An please, this is hard enough on everyone," Xander chastised looking at Willow gauging the hurt in her eyes at his fianceé's tactless remark.
"At least Buffy has a friend who cares," Willow snaps getting up to leave the room. With little sleep the night before she wasn't ready to deal with the tactless ex-demon today or anything else for that matter.
Just then Cordy opened the door all smiles and greeting everyone. "Oh great, now another of Xander's exes to goad." Anya chimed moving closer to him.
"Honey If I would have wanted to keep spineless boy I would have done just that," Cordy retorted flashing her eyes at the verbal slug fest that was about to happen.
"Oh great, our dreams have come true, we get to see who's the better jabber," Buffy piped up stepping into the room followed by Tara then the room grew quiet as Faith walked in.
Memories of Faith holding her at knife point and trying to kill Xander raced through Willow's mind and before she could stop it the eyes went black and she hit the slayer hard in the face. "Glad to see you too Red."
"Willow stop!" Tara said raising her voice.
"Stop? You bring another monster in here to add to the others we're trying to find and you tell me to stop?" Pure rage showed on the redhead's face.
"Will, we need help and I am the one who brought her here." Buffy lied of course and didn't care much for Faith being there either but she knew she had to deter the redhead and fast before another possibly regretful incident happened.
"I agree with Willow, she has no business being here." Xander added.
"I don't want to be here either and believe me, it's not for any of you!" Faith yelled feeling her own anger about to boil over. "I'm here because I want to help Angel, he helped me so I owe him and screw the rest of you." She turned to walk out the door but Giles put a hand on her arm.
"Everyone do calm down, we don't know what we're facing here, we know absolutely nothing at this point so it is imperative that we recruit all the help we can. I'll give you the fact that I don't trust her either but if she can help Angel so be it. If she turns on us, we call the police, simple as that."
"You all hash it out," Faith said walking out the door into the yard where Spike stood.
"A bit um holier than thou aren't they?" He said smiling.
"As only the scoobies can be." Faith answered lighting a cigarette.
"Well what say we ride on out of here for some fun." Spike said hoping to have fun as well as make Buffy jealous.
"Remember when I said what I'd do to you in B's body? Well I didn't then and ain't gonna now." She flashes him her big smile and walks off in that sultry way that she knows gets them all watching her every time.
~~~~~~~~~~
Willow had sat in her room four an hour at least trying to calm the bubbling magic inside her. She shed tears, cursed herself, slammed her fist hard on the pillow and did it all alone. This fact seemed to resurface the anger. How could they let her go through this on her own was her mind frame when the door quietly opened and Tara stepped in.
Willow knew it was her right away, the soft smells of her perfume trickled through the air and, for a moment, took Willow back to a happier time in this room. A time when she and Tara danced, kissed, talked and loved the nights away. That was all gone now she realized and began to cry. To cry for the hurt she'd caused her love, the anger she couldn't make go away, the dark magic she seemingly couldn't defeat and for herself; the mess her life had become and no one to blame but herself this much she knew.
Tara walked softly over to the bed and put her arms around Willow hugging her tight. How she wished things were as they used to be but inside her heart she knew they never would be again. What Willow had done to her would always be there and she'd always wonder would it happen again. A tear dropped from her own cheek at that realization. Her heart ached for Willow. It desired to have her as she used to be but mostly it ached for fear of what she'd soon become if she didn't learn to get away from this as an easy problem solver in life.
When Willow saw the tear escape Tara's eye a part of her leapt with joy believing there still may be a chance. "See Tara, you still love me, if you'd just take me back and help me I know we can beat this. Please baby," she was begging now.
Tara so wanted to say all right but knew she couldn't. It wouldn't help Willow any, she had to do this on her own. "Willow we've been through this. I will help you all I can but I can not take you back right now and put my heart at such risk. You hurt me badly Willow. Playing with my mind like that was terrible. Making me forget things was wrong and I don't know when I'll ever get over it." It hurt Tara to say these things but they were all true and honesty was the only way she knew how to handle situations. Her intuition was right which convinced her all the more she was doing the right thing.
As she finished speaking Willow's eyes went black as the night. "How dare you only say you! I don't count in this, you never did love me!" Before she could stop herself the magic flew from her fingertips knocking Tara backwards.
Suddenly her eyes returned green and she began to wale how sorry she was and it'd never happen again as the tears flooded from her eyes. Tara just looked at her sorrowfully so she fled the room and the house.
Buffy then entered seeing Tara still sitting on the floor in tears. She knelt down beside the shy wiccan and hugged her tightly. "I'm so sorry Tara. You tried to help her, really you did."
"Then why do I feel like it's all my fault. I rejected her and she's run off to do God knows what." Her sobs grew at that thought but Buffy sat wiping the tears as they trickled down her face.
"You blame yourself because you are a selfless person Tara. That's why we all love you." Buffy's eyes grew big after saying those words and it was true, she did feel the love she had for Tara, deep down inside her heart which was now aching for her friend.
Tara noticed it too and looked up at the slayer, in her big soft orbs Tara saw it, the love, compassion, the caring that only Buffy Summers could carry. "Buffy?" She questioned tentatively.
"Yeah Tara, you make me feel, everything and you make me know it's in here somewhere and it gives me the will to keep fighting." The two women shared another long hug. "Something still doesn't feel right though with all this but I know I can feel, it's in there and I pray someday others bring it out as you did just now. Now, lets go grab a bite to eat and watch a movie."
~~~~~~~~~
Faith had chugged down a couple drinks in the bar and was dancing when she felt something, something in the energy was moving to much. "Damn," she said and walked outside.
After her lovely welcome home party she'd thought of turning herself back in right away but knew she had to help Angel. Hopefully by saving him from himself but if need be, killing him which she knew Buffy shouldn't have to do again.
She walked down a couple of streets before she found the strength of the energy. Buffy and Spike tried this several times before when looking for Willow but were unsuccessful. Faith, however, wasn't.
Though she couldn't see it she felt a force and connected that with the notion that something invisible was near. She stuck her hand out feeling for where it was the strongest, when she found the spot she moved her hand around in a thrusting motion then found herself in a room. "He has a visitor," a demon said.
"No matter to me," Faith said shoving him aside and going in where Rack had Willow levitated juicing her up.
Her eyes looked like a junkies eyes but the connection was broken as Rack saw Faith come in. "Get out of here slayer! Maybe I'll take your energy too, I bet you got some good juice like strawberry here."
"Fuck that man," she said leaping into the air kicking him to the ground before he could do anything. He shot her across the room with a strong magical current though. She then pulled a dagger readying to throw. He used his energy to knock it from her hand but with the other hand she connected with a crossbow. She then scooped the magically induced high wiccan up and raced from the place.
"Faith this feels so good but why did you do that?" Willow asked in a drunken tone of voice.
"Cause if anyone gets to screw you up it's me Red." Willow giggled at the retort.
"You know I have the power to pay you back for everything you've done?" Willow said in a seething tone.
"Go for it, put me out of my misery called life," Faith shot back as she watched the magic flow from Willow's hands creating a huge party in the street. "That's pretty cool and all Red but I don't think it's gonna work out to well." Faith said as a large demon came running up shouting you beckoned me witch!
She shifted Willow to one arm and punched him but he knocked them both to the ground. "Hell Red you're more trouble than you're worth." She said letting go of the redhead beating down the demon and finally killing him which ended the illusion of the party. "See Red, this shit is all evil, you're not evil, now you've got to stop this before you get hurt!" Faith yelled spinning around to see Willow now laying on the side of the road sobbing like she'd never cried before. "Damn."
She knelt down beside Willow trying to coax her up. "I-I-It's all my fault, everything, I'm worthless, I'm the one who is all the things I said you were. Look at me Faith, look what I've done." She bangs her fist on the ground hard.
Red we shouldn't be havin' this discussion here. You haven't done anything that bad yet, you haven't killed in cold rage-filled blood and have to live with it every day and night of your life! You haven't purposefully tried to kill someone who was trying to help you! You haven't screwed countless people all because you're to damn chicken to let someone care for you! Because you are afraid that you will get hurt again! So Red honey you got nothin' on me man now come on, get your ass up and lets see if we can bring you down from this fucked up trip." Faith's regret showed clearly on her face and the pain Willow saw in her eyes was immense but her body continued to twitch and shake from the magic that badly needed released from her body.
As Faith picked her up and walked off, neither woman saw Angelus watching them smiling as if he'd just hit the jackpot.
~~~~~~~~
Faith got Willow to a motel room and lay her down on the bed. Her eyes flickered back and forth from black to green then back again. Her hands trembled with energy and Faith's slayer senses picked up on its magnitude easily.
She picked up the phone. "Hey C, tell them all Red called and is ok." She said calmly never taking her eyes off Willow and it wouldn't be Faith if she didn't get some sort of sexual wonderment as to what she could do with all that energy.
"Is she ok?" Cordy asked in a half caring half not tone.
"No but she will be and whatever you do, don't tell them she is with me." She hung up the phone and went back over to the bed. "Red, talk to me."
"You know I could share this with you Faith, we could literally paint the town, it's such a euphoric feeling man. It's as if Willow doesn't live here anymore." She said her eyes brimming with magical sparks.
"You slapped me not so long ago, now you want to juice me up? Well Red, I don't need juiced, I got lots of energy." Faith touched her arm gently having made up her mind, though it was wrong, she only knew of one way to burn so much energy and she had the energy to match it she hoped.
"I've done so much, hurt Tara so badly and she can't even help me now. It's my own fault I know," Willow began babbling as the tears fell again. "I just need someone to hold me, to help me and to be with me. She'll never do that again."
Faith pondered what to do, she knew exactly where Willow was coming from. She used to want someone to comfort and help make her pain go away but that never came so it quickly turned into bitterness and anger towards the world thus beginning her downfall. "Red, I know we got a bad history and I'm no Tara by any means but I can try to help you relax if you want. I'll probably suck at it though cause I've never done the comfort deal but it's the least I can do after all the bad stuff I put you through." She looked into Willow's eyes with sincerity and hoped the redhead could see the honesty in her words.
"Why would you want to help me?" Willow asked curiously. She still feared the slayer was up to evil doings but something in Faith's eyes told her different. Something told her Faith knew exactly what Willow needed to stop her from taking the treacherous path Faith once took.
"Ya Red cause I'm trying to learn how to be a better person and going it alone is rough. Who knows, maybe we can help each other in the long run."
She moved Willow into her arms rubbing her back gently. She looked into the big green pools that seemed to be begging for a way out, for someone to solve the mess she created. As Willow stared back into deep brown ones full of strength, confidence, edge, darkness was hidden there too but something Willow never saw in them before either because it wasn't there or Willow was to blind to see it. Something that showed Willow Faith cared deep down and only wanted to be cared for in return though her tough exterior wouldn't let it show. It was at that moment, of searching, looking for something to hold on to to ease their pain that a mutual first kiss was shared which led to more, much more as it wouldn't be the dark slayer if it didn't.
In the wee hours of the morning after they finished their night of pure animalistic sex which did indeed calm the magic high Willow was on, they lay in each others arms coming to a new understanding, a new dawn so to speak. Faith knew Willow still loved Tara and always would. She also knew she wouldn't make waves if they chose to patch things up but knew if that wasn't the case, someday she'd like to make love to Willow rather than just sex and that scared her tremendously.
Willow knew that she had to climb out of this rut, get away from the dark magic hold and something deep within told her Faith would be the one to help her. Beyond that she didn't know much though as her love for Tara was still there looming large and probably always would be.