Title: Fully Qualified

Author: mistymidnight

Rating: PG

Disclaimer: Do I look like Joss? (Well, technically, none of you know what I look like, since I don't post my picture on the Internet, but, to clear up any confusion, I don't. Look like Joss, that is.) And I also don't look like gidgetgirl. She owns the plot and the characters of Zane, Lola, Thayer, and Sophie, none of whom are mentioned in this chapter.

Spoilers/Timeline: Post-Chosen. Obvious spoilers.

Summary: Ever notice that when you think you've got control, the past comes back to bite you in the butt? Poor Willow...

Author's Notes: I've got...oh...about five or ten minutes to spare before I'm off to work. Let's see how fast I can write this chapter...

The Strange Case of Willow Rosenberg and Taylor Hill

"W-what did you say, Taylor?"

"I said, 'bored now'," Talyor snapped, then her voice became silky smooth. "Wanna know what'll make it better? If I can play with the puppy."

Willow frowned. "I don't remember there being a puppy."

Carly whirled around. "What are you talking about?" she demanded. "What do you know about Taylor?"

"This isn't about Taylor," Willow said, her voice void of emotion. "It's about me."
"What in God's name are you talking about?!" Carly asked. "Of course this is about Taylor! Something is wrong with my baby and you're not fixing it!"

"Carly," Willow said. "Taylor is...I don't really not how to explain this..."

Carly was becoming more upset by the second. "Well you'd better figure out how to explain it, and you'd better figure it out fast."

"Well--" Willow began.

Taylor started toward them menacingly. Willow held up a hand and said quickly: "Kali, Hera, Kronos, Tonic--"

"What are you doing?" Carly screamed. "What's the matter with you?"

Willow ignored her and continued to chant. "Air like nectar, thick as onyx, Cassiel by your second star, hold mine victim as in tar."

Taylor froze in mid-step, evil grin still in place. "That won't stop me for long, witch."

"Witch?!" Carly screeched. She grabbed Willow shoulder and jerked her around to face her. "What did you do to my baby?"

"It's a spell," Willow said. "Don't worry, it won't hurt her. But it won't hold her for long. I have to explain some things."

"You're damn right you do!" Carly shrieked. "What's the matter with Taylor? What did you do? Have you been doing this?"

"Swearing in front of the children," Taylor said silkily. "Tsk. Bad."

"Oh, shut up," Willow snapped. "Taylor--the real Taylor--won't remember it anyway."

"She remembers everything," Taylor taunted. "She says she doesn't, but she does."

"Oh, just shut your mouth," Willow snapped. She turned to Carly. "Listen, Carly, this is gonna be hard for you to accept..."

"No," Carly interrupted. "What's hard for me to accept is that my daughter is possessed or something and you've had a hand in it all along!"

"No, I haven't. Carly, you have to listen to what I'm about to tell you, and you have to believe me, or we may never get Taylor back."

Carly sat back. "Okay," she said coldly. "Give me the expostition."

Willow took a deep breath. "When I was in high school, I was really shy and only had two friends, Jesse and Xander."

Carly sighed. "I'm hoping this story has a point."

Willow nodded. "I met a girl named Buffy Summers. She was the Slayer."

Carly raised an eyebrow. "The Slayer."

"It sounds really dumb when I say it," Willow muttered. "Well, anyway, the Slayer is chosen to fight demons and vampires."

"And witches and goblins," Carly added sarcastically. "Listen, I don't know what kind of drugs you're on, but this is absurd."

"No, you listen," Willow demanded. "If you want to get your daughter back, you have to listen to me."

Carly's eyes narrowed. "Are you threatening me?"

"No. I'm trying to show you what's going on."

"Demons don't exist."

"I suppose you don't believe in witches or vampires, either."

Carly frowned even more. "No, I don't."

"Neither did I," Willow said, "until I was nearly killed by a vampire. I was sixteen and I was nearly murdered by an evil bloodsucking fiend. That's enough to make you believe," she finished dryly. "And how do you think I froze Taylor? Sheer will power? No, Carly, that was magic, witchcraft if you prefer, and you'd better start believing. If not for you, then for Taylor. She needs you."

Carly gave Willow a brave stare and seemed to soften to her story a little. "Okay. Go on."

Willow breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay, long story short, I think Taylor is a reincarnation of a piece of my personality. Not that I'm the seductive, violent type," she added hastily. "You see, a, uh, friend of mine was angry and made a wish, which came true, in a sense. She created an alternate world in which I was a vampire."

Carly's face looked strange. "If you weren't a pschologist," she said, "I'd send you to one. This just gets crazier and crazier."

Willow gave a small groan. "You haven't heard half of it," she sighed. "The wish was reversed and the world was right again. I actually came face-to-face with my vamp counterpart. Not fun, believe me. Well, anyway, after this I went off to college and began practicing magic. I became more and more outgoing, eventually falling in love with an amazing woman named Tara. She practiced magic, like me. I loved her so much. When she was...when she was killed, I was driven over the edge by grief. I went, um, evil. And I tried to destroy the world."

"Lovely," Carly remarked sarcastically. "Remind me again why I'm trusting you after all this?"

"Because my oldest friend saved me," Willow told her. "He stopped me from making the ultimate mistake. And I began to learn how to use my power for good."

"Okay, Glenda the Good Witch, that explains some of Taylor's behavior."

"Right. The shyness, the evil-ness, all me. I'm not proud of it, believe me."

"What about...?"

"What about what?"

"One of the first times Taylor was...changing. She said, 'I did it. I feel them all.'"

Willow thought for a second. "That was me, too. I cast a spell that activated Slayers all over the world."

Carly just looked at her.

"It's a lot more impressive if you actually know the Slayer lore."

"Frankly, I don't give a crap about your 'Slayer lore' right now. I want some answers. Why you? And why Taylor? Why now?"

"That," Willow answered, "is what we need to find out."

Not my favorite chapter by far, but I adore the title. I've been waiting to use it since the beginning of the story.

Also, forgive any grammer or spelling mistakes. No spellcheck and no beta makes misty a crappy proofreader.

mistymidnight