AUTHOR'S NOTE Almost done guys! Thanks to those of you who review, your thoughts mean a lot to me!

DISCLAIMER Don't own them…just messing with them a little, lol.

…

Buffy and Xander quietly let themselves into the Bed and Breakfast, careful not to wake anyone inside. They were surprised to find that no one was at home, including Willow. "Wonder where she went?" Buffy asked.

Xander shrugged. "Probably off hunting her Good Witch of the North. Or something."

"Ah." Buffy flopped down on the couch. "You know, I bet everyone's at Midnight Mass. Sheridan mentioned that it's a huge deal here."

"Who's Sheridan?"

Buffy and Xander were surprised when Willow emerged from the top of the stairs. "Will, we didn't think you were here!" Xander said.

"Oh, I, uh, I was lying down. I had an interesting talk with the girl next door and it drained me." She smiled wanly.

With a concerned look, Buffy asked, "Are you okay? What happened?"

Willow joined her on the couch and leaned her head back tiredly. "Well I went over there to investigate, because there is power over there more powerful than I've felt in a long time. So I met the neighbor Tabitha that Ivy told us about. She has a daughter, Endora, who is only a toddler but is even more powerful than me. I mean, than I was when…" She stopped talking.

"Tabitha and Endora?" Xander asked, trying to lighten the mood. "Bewitched much?"

Willow smiled sadly before she continued. "Endora isn't a threat, not yet anyway. But there is this other girl there, Kay. She's Chief Bennett's daughter actually. She has a baby too, a little girl named Maria. She's done stuff. Horrible stuff to her cousin Charity. Charity was a good witch and she used to live in this house. That's what I sensed here." Willow's lip trembled. "I came here searching for good and found more evil."

Buffy sat up and put her arm around her best friend. "Just because the good witch of Harmony left town does not mean anything! Are you forgetting all the good that you've done since then? Will, you are not dark anymore."

Willow nodded miserably. "I suppose so. You never answered my question, though. Who's Sheridan?"

"Oh, Sheridan is Detective Lopez-Fitzgerald's fiancé. She and I had a little heart-to-heart at the park."

"Are you sure that that's a good idea?" Willow asked. "We don't need Detective Lopez-Fitzgerald watching us any closer than he already is. He won't let Xander drive, he thinks you're a murderer, and it's only a matter of time before he finds out that I am too."

Xander knelt down in front of Willow on the couch. "Will, you have to stop. You are not a murderer. Dark Willow, maybe, yeah. But you aren't her anymore, remember?" He flashed her a half-smile. "Do I need to pull out the yellow crayon speech again?"

Willow smiled slightly. "No, no yellow crayon."

Xander patted her knee. "Good. Look, as soon as you find whoever you're looking for, we can blow this town and go back…" He paused. "Home."

They were silent, for they knew that they weren't ever going home again. Home was Sunnydale and home was gone.

Willow finally sighed. "I don't know. I think what I sense here is the residue of Charity's power, but I can't be sure. There may still be someone else in town. I wish I could just inspect everyone."

"We can go to Midnight Mass!" Buffy piped up.

Xander and Willow shared a look. "Uh, Buffy, if you're all into the religion thing, then – "

"No!" Buffy cut Willow off. "Sheridan told me that everyone in town goes to the Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve. You can see everyone there, then we can go, uh, back to Europe."

Xander and Willow shared another look. "Sure," Xander said. "It's worth a shot, isn't it?"

"I guess." Willow stood up. "Anyone have anything to pack up?" she asked.

Buffy gave her a look. "Will, we've been here less than 12 hours."

"Oh yeah." Willow blushed. "Hey, guys, I'm sorry that I dragged you all the way back to the US just for a couple hours of investigation."

Buffy shrugged. "No big. We got the Council: The New Generation to pay for it and it was a nice little vacation." She grinned. "No demons, no apocalypse, no nothing." Suddenly, she frowned and tapped on the Bennett's coffee table. "Knock on wood."

Xander laughed. "Here here!"

Buffy sighed and threw herself to her feet. "Better get going then. We can go to Midnight Mass and then grab the car from the police station and sneak out while everyone is in church."

Xander mock-glared. "Sneaking out while they're in church? Buffy, I'm shocked!"

Buffy just shrugged and grinned. "I'm a sneaky kinda gal. Must have been all those years of sneaking out of my house in the dead of night to go kill things."

"Must have been." Xander turned to Willow. "You game?"

Willow too stood up. "Lead the way!"

Xander grinned and allowed the two girls to link arms with him. Together they went upstairs to gather their things. Softly, Buffy's voice floated down the stairs. "Wait, do we have to lug our stuff all the way over to the church?"