Disclaimers: Mutant Enemy and Joss Whedon own it all. I'm just doing this for fun, and hopefully entertainment
Reviews: Welcomed and appreciated
I'm thinking one more chapter to go. Did I hear sighs of relief?
Giles went into the emergency room with the two watchers and sent the others back to the mansion. "Once you've dropped off the passengers, come back for me. We'll see if Tara can get the truth out of them, but I want to be there."
Wesley was sure he was well enough to go with Giles, however the emergency room doctor disagreed. "That's quite an ugly concussion, we should keep you overnight. You wouldn't want to fall into a coma now would you? But I am sure you'll be feeling much better come morning." He looked over at Travers lying in the bed next to Wes. "However your friend is not doing as well. I'm afraid his tests show swelling in the brain and surgery may be our only recourse. If he has any family you may want to contact them." The doctor turned to Giles. "Please, Mr. Wyndam-Pryce needs his rest now. As for Mr. Travers, time will tell."
Giles turned to Wesley. "Well, I need to get back to it. I'll come by in the morning to pick you up. If Travers doesn't make it…"
"If he doesn't make it he only had himself to blame. He has no family, so I suppose I'll call headquarters and let them know what's happened." He paused, "Should I wait until it's all said and done then? Gwendolyn will have to take responsibility for this and I don't want to tell them she's alive if she won't be."
"Wait until morning, if she is still alive the council can deal with her. They can be even more heartless than a few vampires and a tired watcher." He turned to see Buffy and Angel waiting for him. "Do what the doctor says Wyndam-Pryce."
"Yes, indeed. And take care with that young witch. She's in over her head, I'm afraid."
Giles smiled. "Yes, indeed. Aren't we all?"
Angel and Spike entered the mansion carrying Gwendolyn and Ethan. "We'll put them downstairs. In separate cages." Angel saw Oz sitting with Willow and Cordelia. "It's not your down time is it Oz?"
"No. Xander had to bail his uncle out of jail and asked me to stay with the girls." He gave a non-pulsed look at the group. "The bad guys, huh?"
"Most definitely." Angel and Spike headed downstairs with their bounty. Buffy and Tara entered the house a few minutes later after Buffy had reassured the girl she was safe.
"A little late to be worried about that though, don't you think? I mean, saving two men and volunteering to come to a vampires' lair? Don't worry, we're the good guys, really." Buffy gave her one of her sunniest smiles.
Tara smiled back. "I know you're a vampire, but I also sense the soul. How is it possible?"
"I'm also the slayer, guaranteed a soul no matter what. And you can sense that stuff? Cool." Buffy shook her head to clear her thoughts. "Anyway, enough talking, we'll swap questions later, let's get in."
Oz looked up as they entered, "Tara?" He knew the shy girl from an extension course he was taking at UC Sunnydale.
Her face flooded with relief at the sight of a familiar face. "Oz. What are you doing here?"
"Umm, hello? Who are you?" Cordelia didn't recognize the girl and her territorial meter went up a notch. "Will, do you know her?"
"Guys, if you give me a sec I'll make introductions." Buffy had to shake her head at Cordelia's reaction. Who would've ever thought she'd be jealous of new people in their lives?
"Not now Buffy." Angel came up from the basement. "We'll leave it to Spike, we need to get Giles." He looked at Tara, "Tell Willow what you'll need for the spell and be ready. We'll be back soon." He grabbed Buffy's hand and headed out the door.
Spike put his hand at Tara's waist and led her into the room, causing Willow's eyes to spark just a little too yellow. "Okay then. Ladies and gentleman, may I introduce Tara. It would appear we have a white witch extraordinaire in our presence."
"Calm down Will, she obviously walked into this whole mess." Cordelia looked up to Spike. "Right?"
"Well, yeah. Those wankers kidnapped the poor girl. She's the one who got the watchers out of the mess they were in. So, she volunteered to help us with them." He walked over to Willow and kissed her. "So love, if you could show her to that Wicca supply room of yours, she's gonna get the truth out of those bastards downstairs. Then it'll be up to Angel and me to decide their punishment." He gave an evil little laugh.
Willow felt a bit insecure and more than a little left out. After all it was her locating spell that took them to Wesley. And now here was this girl, horning in on her terrain. I'm the witch, she thought. I could do a truth spell. Probably. She looked over at Spike who was heading upstairs. Probably to put on a tighter t-shirt, she thought.
"Okay, this way." Willow knew she sounded petulant, but she didn't care. One minute she becomes Spikes' lover and the next it's, here's a new and better witch, take care of her.
"Um, Will?" Oz could see all the conflicting emotions on the girls' face. "I know where you keep your stuff in the pantry, I'll show Tara. Think you should probably talk to Spike." He took Tara's arm and led her away.
"Am I that transparent?" She asked Cordelia.
"Well, yeah. Just go upstairs and tell him to reassure you. A woman always needs to tell a man what she wants and what she needs. None of that 'oh you just should've known' crap. A man needs to be told what to do and how to act. Always. How do you think Xander and I have made it this far?" Cordelia rose and gave Willow a little push. "Go!"
"So, how do you know all these people?" Tara stood away from Oz as he rummaged through Willows' jars.
"Met in high-school. Almost dated Willow."
She smiled, Tara always liked the way Oz had of condensing his sentences. No wasted thought or word, just statements. "Almost?"
Oz pulled out a couple of herbs Tara had asked for. "Yeah, well, she got turned and I discovered I was a werewolf. Just bad timing all around."
"She's with the blond vampire?"
"It was brewing for awhile. They finally took the plunge." He found the last ingredient. "Here it is." And handed it to her. "So, a witch, huh? Been doing that long?" He stood back up to face her.
"M…my whole life. Daughter of a daughter of a daughter and all that. When my m…m…mom died, she transferred her power to me and I just got stronger." She shrugged. "Thought Sunnydale might be a place I could do some g…good." She let her hair curtain her face, embarrassed by her stuttering.
Oz smiled and pulled a strand behind her ear. "I like it. It's real sexy when you talk slow."
Tara raised one eyebrow and smiled back. Accidents never happen, she thought, there is most definitely a divine purpose set forth by the powers. "Guess we should get started, the others should be back soon."
"Yeah, guess so." Hmmm, Oz thought. Possibilities come from the most unusual places.
Willow stood at the door of Spikes' room. He was putting on a fresh shirt, not tighter, just cleaner. He turned and smiled at her. "Well, hello ducks. Hoping you'd follow me up here." He went to her and took her in his arms. "Missed you."
"Really? You looked pretty chummy with the, what did you call her? White witch extraordinaire?" Willow couldn't quite bring herself to look him in the eyes, causing him to take her by the chin to look at her.
"What's this love? Jealous? After we made love for hours? Oh sweet, you are my mate. And you are mine. Never forget it. And I take it very seriously." He smiled at her youth. "She's a lovely little thing, but she isn't you."
"Everything just happens so fast sometimes. It's like, oh you're a high-school junior and then it's like, no you're not. You're a vampire now. And oh yeah, here's Spike, your best friend. And all of a sudden, oh no, he's your lover. I'm just not settled. And she's really pretty. In a voluptuous kind of sexy-sleepy eyed way." Willow buried her head in Spikes' chest and in a muffled voice continued. "Are you gonna see someone like her, or like Drusilla and not want me? I am so not sexy and I am so not ethereal."
"Oh sweet. You are all I have wanted since that first time I assaulted you outside the Bronze. How can you doubt it? We are as destined as Peaches and the slayer. Short of a sun attack or a stake in the heart or a beheading, I am yours for eternity." He had to smile at himself, he sounded a bit like his Willow. Spike felt her take a deep breath, she was never going to give up that habit, he thought.
"Thank you. I so needed to hear you say that. I mean, after last night I was afraid you might think I was, oh I don't know, a slut?" She couldn't look him in the eyes yet.
He laughed out loud at this. "Oh yes, my virgin slut. I love it."
"Well, I'm inexperienced and insecure. Not a good combination. And downstairs is a lovely girl who is a better witch than me. Besides your girlfriend, just what am I?"
Spike pulled away from Willow to look at her. "You are a wonderful friend, a fantastic lover and a burgeoning Wicca. You are powerful and once you have learned you will give any witch a run for their money. As for Tara, she's definitely one of the good ones and maybe it was fate that she comes here." He pulled her close again. "You know that saying? When the student is ready the teacher will come."
"Wow." She gazed up at him adoringly. "Whoever says you don't have a soul will have to fight me to the death. I really do love you."
"And I really do love you. So, why don't we go down and see what Glinda the good witch is concocting?"
"That was very impressive Tara." Giles was a little in awe of the young girls' talent. Jenny had been called to her dying uncles' bedside and she had been torn by her need to go and her feeling of obligation to Buffy.Jenny knew she might be needed but she wanted to spend the last few days him. So it was agreed on by all that she must return home. It was quite fortuitous that they found Tara. Or that she found them.Giles wasn't all that sure anymore.
"Just Post and Ethan are aware of Buffy's change in…status. I hate the thought of murder, but…"
Angelus stopped him mid-sentence. "They had no qualms about murdering all of us. Travers being the first and they may have succeeded there. If we're lucky." Buffy cast him a sharp look and he shrugged.
Giles pushed on. "As I was saying, I hate the thought, but if any in the Watcher's Council have even an iota of belief in her, we'll be in the same predicament. I think we need to think of the greater good here." He removed his glasses and rubbed his nose.
Tara raised her hand, as if she were in a class room. "Ummm…just a thought, and I know I'm not a part of this…this…group, but there's a spell. A memory spell. It involves Lethe's Bramble, I would ne…never suggest using it on anyone, ever. But as an alternative to murder?"
"Oh, oh!" Willow perked up. "I just was reading up on that, it's used for augmenting spells of forgetting and mind control. What a great idea. Maybe we can use it on Travers, as well?" She nodded to Tara, attempting to asuage her guilt at her earlier rebuff.
"I say we just break their bloody necks and leave them out for the fledglings to feed on. No one would ever be the wiser." Spike thought his idea was brilliant.
Willow shook her head. "Hey babe? Remember what I told you? Upstairs? About fighting to the death? I so take it back right now."
"They are bad people love. Just 'cause they happen to be human doesn't change that fact."
"I agree, but if we can keep any new council members out of town, this would be a good thing. And if we can get our hands on those journals...it could only be another good thing, for Buffy. Right?" Angel wanted to rip their hearts out and drain them dry but he had to do what was best for Buffy and this was it. Directing his gaze at Tara, he asked, "Will you prepare the spell and we'll try it?" He turned to the group. "Post and Rayne can still be blamed for the tragedy of Travers, Wes will back it up. And we all have an idea of how the council will deal with someone who has injured, possibly killed one of their own." He looked at Giles, "Agreeable?"
"Yes, quite agreeable."