Their heads both turned within a fraction of the other.

"She's near."

"I know."

They crept forward as silently as they could, Tara concentrating overtime to keep their illumination controlled. Suddenly she stopped in her tracks.

"Wait," she whispered.

"What?"

"What are we gonna do when we get there?"

"You rescue Willow and I'll fight…whatever this thing is."

"Oz, if he's as bad as you say he is…he'll kill you." Oz looked at her and didn't say anything. "That's unacceptable," Tara said.

"If it comes to that, it won't be...Besides, if you don't rescue her I'll tear your throat out."

"I guess I have no choice."

"No."

"O-o-Oz?"

"No, I won't be careful. Careful in a werewolf fight gets you dead."

"I was just going to say…t-thank you. I know this is hard for you."

"Where the redhead goes, so goes my nation."

Tara would have smiled at that but the oppressive tension of the situation was getting too much for her.

"Just remember that I'm not doing it for you," Oz said.

"I know."

"I still don't like the fact that—"

"I know that too. We should be getting on."

Tara was becoming increasingly uncomfortable and hoped that by refocusing Oz's attention on what they were trying to do she could get him to drop the subject. He seemed to accept that and they pressed forward for a while when he suddenly asked,

"How did you meet Willow?"

Startled, and giving him long sideways glances the whole time, Tara told him about the college's Wicca group and how she and Willow had both been disappointed to find so little Wicca in it. Then she told him about the Gentlemen and the way they had been thrown together to escape from them. She left out certain details, of course. She didn't think Oz really needed to hear about the spark that had traveled between them the moment they clasped hands, and the way their magic was stronger together. Especially in his current state of mind. He didn't look good at all. Dark shadows seemed to have appeared as if from nowhere under his eyes, which were darting around nervously, skittish, almost like a spider. Tara reminded herself again that Willow trusted Oz almost as much as she trusted her. But at the same time, she reached into the bag and reassuringly stroked the handle of the tranq pistol with her thumb.

"I've been trying to think of a spell," she said. "Something that could help you fight—"

"Nothing will help me as much as knowing that you've gotten Willow to a safe place."

"That is my first priority too," Tara said, and was surprised at how arch it sounded. "But there ought to be a way—"

"Let's just…deal with that when we come to it," Oz interrupted, and Tara heard the weariness in his voice.

"Willow will really appreciate this, you know."

"Yeah. I'm sure she'll show me all kinds of gratitude."

Tara didn't know what to do with the bitterness she heard in his voice. It broke her heart because she, of all people, knew what it was like to love Willow Rosenberg. She thought for a moment about how horrible it would have been if she had come to herself again after being so lost in her own brain only to find that Willow now loved someone else. Would my voice have sounded like that? That was why she could never hate Oz. Even though he was Willow's ex, even though he'd hurt her badly…even though he'd tried to kill Tara herself. They had a kinship that went beyond any of that—they each had pieces of Willow's heart. Tara liked to think she had the biggest piece, but she knew Oz would always have a little bit that she couldn't touch, and she was okay with that. Mostly. And Xander had some too, but she didn't even want to get into—

They had stepped out of the darkest part of the forest into an open field that was lit by electric moonlight. The wind blew cold against Tara's body and she shuddered. The field was huge and vast, but on the other side of it Tara could just make out a figure outlined against a tree. It was mostly in shadow, but she could see a shock of red hair at the top that was as familiar to her as home. It was home. Almost before her mind had completed the thought, Tara's legs began pumping, rushing to Willow's side as quickly as she could.

Willow!

She couldn't see her eyes. She wanted to see her eyes. She was going to get there and everything was going to be okay and she'd never—

TARA! STOP!

The words almost screamed in Tara's mind and she obeyed them instinctively, stopping right in the middle of the field. Now she could see Willow's face and was horrified to see that she was gagged, but elated that she was clearly still alive.

What's going on, baby?

We're not alone.

Tara looked around with a start…and suddenly realized that Oz was nowhere in sight. She turned around in a circle, looking in all directions for him, but all she could see was Willow.

Where…

And then she saw them.