A/N thanks for reviews
Chapter 12
As Britney stood awaiting Willow's response, Willow felt a sort of detachment from the entire situation. It was as if words were coming out of her mouth and she was afar off listening to them with no control over what the words were that she spoke. "Britney, I think that I'm bringing more confusion to your life then anything. I think that we need to just call this thing off and remember the good times." There was a part of Willow that screamed no inwardly, as her mouth spoke the words. But she couldn't stop them from coming out no matter how she tried.
Britney stood silently and looked at Willow with sadness in her eyes. She could not believe what she was hearing and didn't know what to do next. As she searched Willow's eyes for a sign, she saw a quick flutter in them. "Willow, if I thought you truly meant that, I would walk away and not bother you anymore. I will find a way to fix this insanity so that we can talk things out with clear minds." Having said that, Britney turned and walked out the door.
- - - - - -
"What do you mean you just called it off with Britney?" Buffy questioned with alarm in her voice as she checked herself over in the mirror. "Will, you really are acting strange. I never thought that I would say this but I'm thinking Harmony is onto something. I mean, she doesn't know what it is but thinks something is going on and well I stuck up for you. What's the sitch here?"
"Buffy you are starting to sound like me with the rambling." Willow said in a calm voice. "I think part of it is that I'm new at this lesbian thing and maybe jumping into some big lifelong relationship isn't for me yet. I have this attraction to Tara and need to spread my wings sorta." Willow added, which caused a shocked look to cross Buffy's features.
"Will, you aren't even talking like yourself," Buffy added as Joyce alerted her that Harmony was there to pick her up.
On top of having to deal with Willow, Buffy had her own things to deal with. She was going on her first date with a female and it was Harmony to top it all off. She never dreamt that she would, A. be dating a female and B, it would be someone like Harmony Kendall. "Are you all right Buffy?" Harmony asked the slayer, who sported an absent look on her face.
"Yeah," Buffy tried to cover. She didn't want her first date with the cheerleader to be filled with talks of the problems going on in Sunnydale. "I'm just a little nervous because we're taking a big step here and I am a little worried that you might decide that being a Cordette is much easier then the gay thing and being around a slayer."
"That's a no brainer Buffy." Harmony said with a smile on her face. "Being a Cordette is way easier then both of those things but I want to try something hard for the first time in my life." With that, the cheerleader took Buffy's hand and led her out the door.
- - - - -
Britney stood in an alleyway deep in thought. She could not believe how her second talk with Giles had gone down. She had thought that he would be receptive to helping someone close to him but grossly miscalculated the man. After she had explained her theory on Willow's situation to Giles and asked him for help on researching Tara, he countered with, "if you help me."
He laid out how the deal would work to her and it sickened her to think that he would bargain at a time like this. He wanted the slayer papers and her sworn oath to secrecy in return for his aid in freeing Willow. What sickened Britney further was that she almost went along with the idea but came up with a better solution. She would simply make copies of the papers, give him the original and Buffy her copy, if she decided to let the secret be known.
Upon further thought however, Britney decided to decline Giles' offer and go it alone. She went to her computer and found Tara's father. If the man was to be believed, Willow could be in grave danger and Britney wasn't sure how to stop it. "Damn it," she said aloud, as her face displayed a plethora of emotions. Sadness was the main one, with a hint of anger at letting this happen to Willow added to it. Pain was also evident on her face due to the words that Willow had spoke to her recently.
"What's your problem? Thinking on how to get Willow away from her new and improved girlfriend?" Xander Harris asked in a condescending tone of voice as he walked up to Britney.
"Not at all Xander," Britney said curtly. "I'm thinking on how to get her out of the trouble you have gotten her into by hooking her up with a demon."
"What the hell are you talking about? I think you're grasping here officer Walsh." Xander addressed her officially but in a sarcastic manner, as Buffy and Harmony got out of a car and walked towards them.
- - - -
"Willow, I'm so very sorry for the things that you are going through." Tara said soothingly as the two relaxed on the Rosenberg's sofa. "I hate to think that this is partly my fault."
"Of course it isn't Tara and I'm sorry that she tried to blame you." Willow said with a hint of an abnormal look in her eyes. "I tried to explain to her that this is all new to me but I don't think she took it well."
"Do you think that she may be spying on you or anything?" Tara questioned with a noticeable stammer. "I've read a lot of weird things about those army people, how they can flip out."
Something deep in the caverns of Willow's mind tried to alert her that this was all wrong but she couldn't pull it to the forefront enough to grasp it. It was as if she reached her hand out but the subconscious warning was just beyond the reach of her outstretched hand. "I don't think she would do that but if she is," a devious look crossed Willow's face as another thought tried to scream at her to stop. "Maybe we could give her a bit of a show. I mean, I'm not using you for that purpose or anything and maybe it's a bad idea." Willow hung her head in shame as Tara cuffed her chin in the palm of her hand.
"No, it's all right Willow. I'm not one for games like that but maybe she needs to see that you really do want to move on." Having said that, the blonde leaned over and kissed Willow.
As the make out session progressed, something began to claw its way into the forefront of Willow's mind. She felt her love for Britney but could feel it being pushed away by something unseen and angry. She knew that she needed to stop what was going on but something was pushing her to go forward, as the door burst open and Tara was dragged away from Willow by an angry Buffy Summers. "Game over demon!" Buffy shouted, as Spike stepped forward and promptly punched Tara in the nose. He did not flinch nor grab his head, officially outing the blonde.
"Get down!" Britney shouted as a spray of bullets entered through the front window.
"Willow, once you slept with this demon, you would be fully under her control according to her father." As Buffy spoke, the pretty blonde turned into a hideous looking creature and lunged for Willow but Spike and Buffy began to battle it.
"Stay down Willow," Harmony said softly with a look of fear on her face, as Britney fired back outside the window hitting Riley Finn in the chest.
As the demon dropped to the floor, tears sprang down Willow's cheeks fast and her sobs were hard. "Willow," Britney said softly and pulled the shaking girl into her arms. "It's all right, I got you now."
Buffy turned to look at Harmony as Britney tried to calm Willow. "So, do you still want to hang with me?" She asked in a tentative tone of voice.
"I've always been a coward Buffy and think that you would be the perfect person to protect me," Harmony said with a tense smile on her face, as the two stepped outside to give Willow and Britney some privacy.
"I feel so dirty, ashamed and low." Willow said as Britney wiped the tears from her cheeks. "I feel like my entire being has been raped and like I'm not worth anyone caring for." Willow said and began to sob again.
"I understand that Willow but you are very much worth my time and I care for you very deeply." Britney said, wanting to kiss her but knowing that Willow's mental state was not ready for such contact.
"I don't want to stay here tonight Britney but…" Britney scooped the redhead up in her arms immediately and walked out the door.
"You don't have to stay there ever again if you don't want to Willow." She said, placed her in the truck and kissed her forehead gently. "I'll take care of you to the best of my ability. I will give you the time you need to heal from this and I will love you for as long as humanly possible." The officer said softly, placed one more gentle kiss on Willow's forehead and then moved to start the truck.
- - - - - -
The sun shined through the window brightly that next morning. It gave a false sense of warmth both due to the cool winter breeze that was settling in and the happenings that were about to take place were anything but warm. As the breeze blew the branches of the big willow tree that was planted firmly outside Britney's bedroom window, Willow rolled over and snuggled in closer to her lover. She did not want to wake up and have to leave the security of Britney's arms nor face anymore possible trouble that might come their way.
As Willow's mind had decided to go back to sleep, a gentle kiss from her girlfriend prodded it to wake up. "Good morning Willow," Britney said softly and pulled her tightly into her arms. "Your mother was ringing your cell phone like crazy so I answered it. She said that it's important for you to return her call."
Willow groaned sleepily and returned the kiss. "Talking to my mother the first thing in the morning is the last thing I want to do." Willow said in a pouty voice and closed her eyes again.
"Well it's the last thing I want you to do too but if you hurry up and do that, we can find something more productive to do." Britney said as she kissed the tip of Willow's nose and then got up from the bed. "I'll go make you a nice cup of hot chocolate to awaken your senses while you take care of your mom," Britney said with a smile and left the room.
As she was pouring the hot drink in the glasses, her phone rang. "Hello," Britney said in a hesitant manner as she saw the caller ID.
"Officer Walsh, this is Lieutenant Peters and we are going to need to have a conversation about officer Riley Finn."
"Yes sir, of course. I have yet to submit a detailed report on the events of last night but can meet with you at your earliest convenience." Britney said and the lieutenant took note that there was neither fear nor hesitancy in her voice.
"I will review your report before we speak officer Walsh but I must tell you this. Another officer has reported that you gunned officer Finn down in cold blood."
Britney didn't flinch at all when the man finished speaking. She suspected that Graham would show his true colors at some point and figured now was as good a time as any. "With all do respect sir, I think it would be best if we met in person because there is extenuating circumstances that revolve around this case. I would rather not have some of the circumstances on paper. Colonel Samuel Wade should also be at this meeting if you can arrange it?" Britney questioned with a confidence in her voice that impressed the Lieutenant.
"I will get back to you officer Walsh but let me advise you of this, if he was gunned down you could be looking at very serious federal charges." The Lieutenant decided to see if he could crack the woman's armor.
"I am very aware of the charges that could be thrown at me sir," Britney said calmly and the two ended the call.
As Britney stood lost in thought of what could happen to her, Willow came down the stairs. She knew that the military was good at putting forward a scapegoat to cover up things and feared that she might be said scapegoat. She didn't even notice Willow come up to her until the redhead put a shaky hand on her arm. As she looked at Willow, she saw the tears form in the teen's eyes. "What's wrong Willow?" Britney asked in a soothing tone, instantly putting her own troubles on the backburner.
"My mother has given me some choices and they aren't good," Willow said and broke into an all out sob fest. "She said that my new lifestyle is tampering with their social status and if I don't stop it, I have to leave the house. She also said that she would turn you in to the military as being lesbian if I didn't call it off with you."
Though Britney's face didn't show it, the worry within her grew by leaps and bounds. The military was her career of choice ever since she could remember and it could all be ended because she was a lesbian. Not to mention the little problem of shooting Riley Finn in Willow's front yard could hamper any chance that she might have at moving up in the ranks of the military. Hell that could destroy any chance that she might have at living a normal life ever again, was her line of thinking as she pulled Willow into her arms. "Willow, I love you so much and am not willing to give you up because of some threat by your pissed off mom." Britney spoke with a false confidence as she kissed the tears from Willow's cheeks. "We'll get through this, I promise." She said and stroked Willow's face with her thumb as she continued to kiss her.
"Britney I love you but I don't want to be the cause of your career getting ruined." Willow said as the tears threatened to spill again.
"You won't be Willow," Britney said in a reassuring tone. "I'll sort this all out and, in the meantime, you can just stay here with me." She added and kissed her lover once more.