Rabidreject- thank you very much for reviewness. And you think you've figured it out do ya? I wonder what it is you're thinking...hmmm...hehe. Like you said, guess we'll see if you're right. hehe.

Jason Barnett- not bad? well, erm, thanks. and well, you wrote a lot there, but i'll respond to what I can. Rack gets dealt with slightly differently in this chapter and he will have a later part in this season, before the season finale, and as for everything else...well, you'll just have to see how everything plays out, including the Xander/Anya wedding arc. Thanks for review

zigpal-yay- my loved claps. and jumping up and down as well? ooh- gives me a happy. hehe :-). So you like the baby storyline then, I'm guessing? Hehe. And as for the fertile comment well, Anya (and Buffy as well...atch) has a few blunt comments to say on that very matter. haha. And well, this pregnancy is gonna go a little crazy, particularly at the beginning because...well, you'll see. but yes, Rupert (i've gotten freakily used to using that name now, haven't typed it so often. Perhaps I should start getting worried...)

A/N: Okay, after this, until like mid next-week my updates might be kinda of all over the place. the big finando (i.e the wedding) is this Saturday so obviously, I'm of the extremely busy. Also, there is going to be LOTS of non-episody chapters between this chapter and Gone, because I have several storylines cooking in my head that are just dying to be served up. Got a lot of returns from non-cast regulars...mwa haha. Anyhoo...yes...moving on.
The group were still in a state of shock when Xander was driving them away from the hospital. Xander was the first to speak, although he was turning bright red as he spoke.

"Right you guys said that erm," He cleared his throat, clearly uncomfortable with the topic, "That it was that time in the shop last week...with the memory lossage?"

Giles and Joyce nodded silently, still looking entirely stunned.

"Right erm...Anya," He turned to his fiancée, "You're better at this than I am. You tell 'em what we were saying" Satisfied with this escape route, Xander returned his attention back to the road.

Anya turned in her seat slightly, craning her neck round so she could directly talk to the couple.

"What Mr Tongue Tied is trying to say here is that research studies show that people over the age of forty find it a lot harder to get pregnant, due to their decrease in fertility due to one of the many effects of aging," Anya said bluntly, "However you two had that one time last year and got pregnant and one time last week and got pregnant again- so you must be very, very fertile for you to be impregnated after just one instance of unprotected sex"

"That was in no way awkward Anya," Xander, wishing she hadn't gone into so much detail or spoke as bluntly, but clearly she had been thinking this over more than he had.

"Well..." Joyce murmured, looking down in her lap, not meeting the eyes of either Anya or Xander, "It wasn't just one time"

"Yeah, that's what Anya was saying- about last time" Xander nodded, eyes still firmly on the road as he spoke.

"No, ah...she means...it erm...wasn't just, uh, 'one time' in the...in the shop. Last week" Giles explained, just as quietly as Joyce.

"Oh," Xander nodded, before the full implication of what Giles had said sank in and Xander's eyes went impossibly wide, "OH..."

"How many times?" Anya asked simply, without any embarrassment at all.

"Anya!" Xander quickly reprimanded, before either Joyce or Giles would be forced to answer.

"What?" Anya asked him, completely stumped as to why he was yelling her name, "I was just asking..."

"Well don't," He told her quickly.

"Okay, fine...I won't ask..." Anya grumbled, falling into a sulk as she sat in her seat. When Xander's attention was fully back on the road, Anya craned her neck around to Giles and Joyce again and mouthed silently 'how many?'

They arrived at the Magic Box a little while later, where Joyce and Giles got out to head to their own car.

"Are you sure...either of you are okay to drive?" Xander asked, looking at the couple with deep concern, "You still seem a little zoned out"

"No, no, we're fine," Joyce told him, "Thank you Xander"

"Coz, I could like drive you home and then pick up your car" He explained, really not keen on the concept of one of them being at the wheel right now.

"No, that's quite alright," Giles told him and without another word he and Joyce headed to their car.

Xander watched them go for a moment, before shaking his head in disbelief as he and Anya got back in their own car.

"Jeez, don't we ever have normal uneventful days?" He asked in exasperation and Anya just shook her head.

"No"

Light was just starting to creep up over the horizon. It was nearly dawn. Joyce was just glad Tara was at home, looking after Dawn- well, it would be Buffy looking after her now after returning from patrol.

"Can you just stop here?" Joyce asked Giles as they were reaching 1630 and Giles frowned a little at the request, but pulled over at the sidewalk before the house. "We...before we go in there, we need to talk"

"Yes," Giles couldn't argue with that.

"This is a shock, right?" Joyce asked, as though requesting confirmation.

"Undoubtedly," Giles nodded.

"Yeah...I mean it wasn't like we planned or...and after what happened last time ..."

Giles didn't say anything in reply to that. They both remembered all too well what had happened last time. Thanks to Glory.

"B-But it's happened now and happening means you can't go back...on what's happened I mean..." Joyce was quickly falling into babble mode and her hands were shaking a little with nervousness. He put his own hand over hers to calm her down and her hands seemed to stop shaking immediately. "Thank you," She smiled at him, before carrying on with the point she was trying to reach, "But...but this shock that, that we can't help but feel...it's in a good way right? A good shock?"

Giles seemed to think this over for a minute or two, genuinely considering his answer deeply and Joyce worried that he was going to say no, it wasn't. That no matter whether he wanted this or not, with the things that went on in their lives it just wasn't safe and so no, no it wasn't a good shock. But when he finally turned to look at her, the corners of his mouth were turned up in a small smile.

"I'm not saying it won't be difficult but I-" He didn't even get to finish his sentence before she kissed him spontaneously on the lips. When she finally pulled away he was quite breathless. "W-well...uh...that was...erm...a...well," He looked at her, "A lot of that was new" He said, straightening his glasses as he finally got his bearings back, and she just smiled at him.

"C'mon," She said, pointing out their house just ahead, "Let's drive the four more seconds to home. And in that short time figure out how to tell Dawn and Buffy"

"Oh lord," Giles sighed, "Dawn- no problem, but ah, would you mind telling Buffy? Frankly, telling her myself, would give me the feeling akin to risking all of my limbs"

"She's not that bad," Joyce laughed at him, but he just gave her a look that summed up his feelings on the matter entirely. "Okay maybe she is. But she was perfectly fine last time..." She smiled comfortingly at him as they pulled up in the driveway, but Giles didn't look so convinced.

Opening the front door, the sound of cartoon voices poured out, hurting their ears after a whole night without sleep and yet so very chock full of shock.

"Hello?" Joyce called out, "Buffy? Dawn?"

The couple walked into the living room to find Tara and Dawn fast asleep on the sofa, ignorant to the cartoons playing on the TV screen. Joyce and Giles looked at one another, mutually puzzled by this scene, before heading forward to gently awake the two.

"Tara? Dawn, sweetie," Joyce whispered, tapping Dawn's shoulder lightly and the two girls blinked their eyes open slowly, looking extremely tired.

"Mom? Giles? What's...where...what time is it?" Dawn blearily searched around for her alarm clock to tell her the time, when she realized she wasn't in her bedroom, but in fact downstairs on the sofa with Tara.

"What time is it?" Tara asked, looking around for a clock.

"Light time," Dawn answered, seeing the light that was slowly pouring through the small slither of a gap in the curtains.

"Why didn't anyone wake us up?" Tara asked, suddenly fully awake and very concerned.

"Buffy didn't come home last night?" Giles asked and Tara shook her head.

"No that I remember...god, I just shut my eyes for a minute"

Joyce walked up the stairs at a brisk pace, heading straight to Buffy's room. She pushed the door open to find the bed empty and the sheets still neat and tidy. She hadn't come home all night and that thought made Joyce sick to the stomach.

"Tara's right. She didn't come home last night," Joyce said to the others, coming back down the stairs, "Oh god, where is she? What if something's happened to her?"

"She'll be fine," Giles told her, giving her a reassuring hug, "It's only just sunrise now...so, more than likely it was a heavy patrol and she's just walking back here now"

Joyce nodded more times than was necessary, evidently showing that her fears for Buffy were not allayed.

"Where were you two all night anyway?" Dawn asked with a frown, "Tara said you were researching...but I didn't, like, think it would go on that long. Did you guys find anything?"

"No, not yet," Giles told her, "Finding ourselves nothing but dead ends actually. But also-"

"We weren't researching all this time Dawn," Joyce told her daughter, "We were...we were at the hospital"

"At the hospital?" Dawn asked, panicking, "What? Why? What happened? Is it something bad? It's not like last year is it where-"

"No, no it's nothing bad," Joyce told her calmly, and Dawn quietened down and relaxed.

"It wasn't?" Tara asked. She had known the two had been at the hospital with Anya and Xander, but Xander hadn't told her why, because at the time of his call, they hadn't known themselves.

"No," Giles shook his head, "Actually, I believe it's something one would classify as..." He smiled at Joyce briefly before looking back at an intrigued Dawn and Tara, "Good news"

"Good news?" Dawn asked, slightly suspicious.

"At least...we hope you think it's good news," Joyce elaborated.

"Okay, I know you two like this whole vagueing up things scene," Dawn said patiently, "But the audience is still kinda needing back story"

"Erm...Dawn..." Joyce took a deep breath, "I'm pregnant"

There was a pause as Dawn and Tara both took this information in. The pause was a very silent one. That is, until Dawn let out her high-pitched trademark squeal and hugged her Mom tightly.

"I take it you do think it's a good thing then," Joyce said from beneath the overly-enthusiastic hug.

"Of course I do!" Dawn exclaimed, "This is so cool!"

While Dawn embraced the uber-enthusiasm, Tara just did her smile that while being small and sweet showed that she was genuinely happy for the couple.

"That's...wonderful," She said. Tara had never said congratulations for things such as pregnancy. It seemed to compare it to winning a race, which wasn't what it was like at all.

"Thank you, Tara," Giles said since Joyce was preoccupied with a hyped Dawn. Tara saw that while Giles was being quite calm and reserved about the entire thing (embracing the British stereotype once again), he was genuinely excited about the entire thing. More so than he was letting on. Actually, Tara believed, if he did let it all out he would be reacting much in the same way Dawn was right now.

More could have been said on the news, but at that point Buffy wandered in through the front door, looking extremely bruised and worn out. And she was limping.

"My god, Buffy what happened?" Joyce asked, immediately all over her, checking the bruises on her arm, the red mark on her cheek, the tears on her clothes.

"Erm...it was just...erm..."

"Did you come across the demon?" Giles asked, concerned and Buffy saw that everyone was looking on at her in worry.

"Demon?" She asked in confusion, wondering what the heck he was talking about.

"The one who attacked the security guard in the museum," He explained.

"Oh...uh no. Not that just..." She smiled tightly at them, "Just a vampire"

"A vampire did, uh, did this?" Giles asked in disbelief. A singular vampire rarely got the better of Buffy.

"Yeah...just caught me off guard is all," She said, showing them that tight smile once again, "Erm...not that it isn't nice to see you...but what, Tara, what are you doing here?"

"She was kind enough to look after Dawn last night," Joyce told her.

"Oh, it was no trouble," Tara assured Joyce, "We had a good time didn't we Dawny?"

Dawn nodded with a smile, but Buffy just looked as panicked and worried about Dawn as Joyce had been about her a moment ago.

"Tara was...why?" She turned to her Mom and Giles, "Where were you two?"

"I...ah..erm.." Both Giles and Joyce suddenly became a little uncomfortable and started stumbling over their words.

"You two know you're kinda freaky when you both do that, right?" Buffy asked them.

"They were at the hospital," Dawn told her sister and Buffy frowned in concern.

"Hospital, why were you at the- wait," She looked at Dawn questioningly, "Why were you grinning when you told me that?" She looked around at everyone, clearly suspicious at the way they were all behaving, "What's going on...?"

"Buffy...remember last week after we...well, we all lost our memories?" Joyce asked and Buffy nodded.

"Yeah..."

"And you found us in a, well, a compromising position?"

"Well, I try not to remember that part," Buffy told her, "But yeah..."

"Well-"

"She's pregnant!" Dawn burst out, earning a glare from both her Mom and Giles, "Sorry..." She apologized, "I think I'm just a little hyped"

"I'm sorry, that was my crazy ear," Buffy told them all, "Mom's what?"

"Pregnant," Joyce said with a weak smile, as she waited for Buffy's response.

"Again?" Buffy asked incredulously, "From just...how freakin' fertile are you?"

Joyce just smiled a little nervous smile and Buffy sighed.

"Well I guess...do people say congratulations for these things?" Buffy asked the others, with a puzzled frown.

"I've heard they hug," Dawn told her, as though this were some far away unheard of concept.

"Well...erm...I guess it's hugging time..." Buffy shrugged with a smile, before giving her Mom and Giles hugs.

"oh sweetheart, it means so much that you're okay with this." Joyce told her, "You are okay with it, right?"

"Yeah sure," Buffy nodded with a smile, "I mean sure it's a little wiggy...a mini Giles is definitely gonna be something...well, odd to see, but I was happy for you...last year and I'm still happy for you now"

"Oh," Joyce pushed Buffy's hair behind her ears lovingly and Buffy saw she was getting all teary eyed, "You're so grown-up"

"So...what are you guys up to now?" Dawn asked, bringing herself back into the conversation.

"Well, I don't know about the rest of you guys but I'm bed bound," Buffy told them all, before shuffling her way toward and up the stairs to bed.

"I'd better get going too," Tara told them.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay for breakfast?" Joyce asked, gesturing in the direction of the kitchen as though to emphasize the point.

"No...thank you...but it's fine. I should probably be getting back to...back to...my d-dorm." Tara smiled at them all, before leaving.

"You guys are for awakeness, right?" Dawn asked Joyce and Giles hopefully.

"Well as much as sleep is particularly appealing right now I do have to make that call to London about the diamond that was stolen the other night." Giles said, stifling a yawn as he did so. The moment he finished, Joyce started with her own cat-sized yawn.

"Sorry," She apologized, "But what with the hospital and...ev-ev-everything..." She was yawning again. She shook her head as though to shake away the tiredness, "I'm aw...I'm really not awake"

"So you're going to bed too?" Dawn asked, a little deflated.

"No," Joyce shook her head, "I have to be at the gallery for a new shipment anyway. I'm just going to rest my eyes for a bit on the settee..then shower, get dressed...the usual. Which means just for this morning, would you mind making your own breakfast?" Her face brightened as she thought of a better idea (After all, Dawn's cooking adventures tended to end up burning disasters)"Or, or Rupert can make you something"

And with that Motherly suggestion, Joyce happily flopped down on the sofa and closed her eyes, welcoming the restful darkness it brought.

"Joyce...Joyce,"

Joyce was vaguely aware of someone nudging her shoulder persistently. She wished they would stop so she half heartedly swatted the presence away. It didn't do any good.

"Joyce..."

She opened her eyes to see it was Willow who was doing the shoulder-nudging. And there she was with Amy.

"Willow?" Joyce frowned, "Why are you...what time is it?"

"I just came back with Amy to pick up some of her stuff...for her new place," Willow thought better of telling Joyce of their overnight magic-a-thon. No doubt Joyce would run off and tell Giles and then he would get all-knowing Watcher on her and bore the hell out of Willow.

"Oh, right," Joyce nodded, fully awakening now and seeming to gather some recognition of what was going on, "Amy's new...right. What time is it?" She asked, even though as she did so she looked down at her own watch. One pm. The shipment had been arriving at twelve. And she hadn't changed or had a shower yet. Damn.

"One o clock..." Willow told her anyway, "Sorry if this sounds all offensive-y but you look a wreck- tired wise, I mean"

"You're not looking so awake yourself," Joyce replied taking in both Amy and Willow's worn and exhausted appearance

"Oh, we uh, we kinda had an all-nighter at the Bronze," Willow told her, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine...just catching up on rest I suppose." Joyce reasoned, "We didn't get from the hospital till early in the morning so-"

"Hospital? Why were you at the hospital?" Willow asked hurriedly, concern filling her eyes.

"Oh, we had...and then..." Joyce sighed, deciding to just say it outright, "I'm pregnant"

Willow's eyes widened.

"With Giles' baby?" She asked, her eyes getting even wider as she spoke.

"No," Joyce shook her head, looking deadly serious, "From the mailman,"

Willow frowned, now even more concerned than she was before and Joyce rolled her eyes.

"Yes, of course from Rupert!"

"Oh...yeah, right. Of course," Willow said, realizing how gullible she'd just been. She'd thought she was past that stage.

"These demons are all starting to look alike," Xander complained, later on in the Magic Box, "Reptile, reptile with horn, reptile with gills..."

"I just got off the phone with one of the curators at the British Museum," Giles told them all (that is the three that were there researching- Xander, Anya and Buffy) as he walked back into the room, "Apparently the diamond that was in the Sunnydale Museum has no known mystical properties and the council, actually, weren't even keeping an eye on it. They said the most powerful thing it would be able to do would be to concentrate- that is, uh, strengthen and create a focus point- for magical energy that's already been created"

"I'm gonna take a wild stab in the dark and say that's not a good thing," Xander guessed.

"Quite," Giles agreed, "If we knew what energy was already being created- that would help a bit with our research." He sat down at the table, taking his glasses off abruptly as he did so- a clear sign he was frustrated, "But I'm afraid we don't know a bloody thing"

"Well, we know the diamond's definitely connected now, right?" Buffy checked, trying to focus on the positive, "So now we can narrow our search down to energy creating...frost making...demons" She sighed, "You're right. We got nothing."

"Anya, you appear positively fixated," Giles commented on how avidly Anya was reading one of the texts, "Have you found something?"

Anya didn't answer, she just carried on ready.

"Ahn, what you got?" Xander asked but yet again, she didn't reply, "Great," Xander rolled his eyes, "Not even married and she's already started ignoring me. Ahn..." He tugged at the book she was reading and from within out fell a bridal magazine...and suddenly it all made sense.

"I'm sorry!" She exclaimed in apology once her secret was discovered, "It's just...this is pointless! We can't find anything and we still have tons of decisions to make on the wedding anyway. I still haven't decided whether to put my bridesmaids in cocktail dresses or the traditional burlap and larva-"

"The traditional what?" Xander asked and while Anya rambled on about demonic heritage, Giles looked at Xander with a questioning look.

"What?" Xander asked.

"Speaking of tradition...I believe you, for lack of a better term, owe me one"

"Owe you one what? A tradition?" Xander was completely perplexed.

"Well, actually..." Giles reasoned, "If you'll remember my own wedding and what position you upheld"

"Yeah, I was- oh wait, you wanna be best man?" Xander asked, his nose scrunching up as he said the question, clearly iffy on the idea.

"Well, to be perfectly honest, I believe it's owed to me" Giles replied smoothly and Xander winced.

"Well, ya see...I kinda already asked Will to be my best man- er woman- best woman"

"Best W...Willow as- why isn't she a bridesmaid like Buffy, Dawn and Tara...?" Giles was flabbergasted and it was only Buffy that stopped the conversation from going any further.

"Guys! Hello? Something still out there remember?"

And it was still out there four hours later and they were still in there, researching. And finding nothing.

"Still all hard at work?" Joyce asked, walking into the store.

"Working. Working. And yet still? Nothing," Xander told her, clearly frustrated with the situation, "A big load of nada- that's what we got"

"Our research hasn't, as of yet, led us in any affirmative direction," Giles explained and Joyce nodded in understanding.

"Anything I can do?" She asked, "Willow's taken Dawn to the movies so the house is empty...tidy...and so leaving me with nothing to do but fight with the IRS."

"It's nice that you prefer us to...the IRS," Xander was highly sarcastic, "But," He added, his tone changing to genuine, "feel free to take several useless books and research through them"

Xander was right, Giles decided and found himself horrified by the thought. Yet, the truth of the matter was that Xander was indeed right. This research was useless. They had nothing to narrow down their search and nothing they'd found was even mildly related to the occurrences at the museum.

It was also getting increasingly difficult for him to research at all as he was reading the heavy book one-handedly, while his other arm was wrapped around Joyce, who had, after no more than twenty minutes of attempted research help, drifted off, eventually getting comfortable lay on his chest.

"Giles, we should just call it a night," Buffy said, shutting another book closed. "Look, even Mom- she of the inventory focus- is fast asleep"

"Yeah, but that's related more to her state of pregnancy than the research," Anya informed her factually.

"Pardon?" Giles asked. No matter how long he knew Anya, he doubted he would ever cease being surprised by the random facts she continued spouting out.

"Fatigue. A common symptom in the early stages of pregnancy. You can also expect moodiness in a general bad way as well as unpredictable mood swings and vomiting."Anya said this without any particular emotion, as though she were merely reading from a book. She cocked her head to the side in thought, as she contemplated all the symptoms she had just listed off. She then looked at Giles with a bright smile, "I wish you the best of luck with that"

"Pregnancy symptoms or not, Mom's got a point," Buffy commented, "I say we all sack it"

"I concur!" Xander said enthusiastically, attempting to sound authoritative and upper-classy. He failed.

"Oh thank God...the nightmare ends," Anya groaned, immediately shoving all books as far away from her as possible, as though if they were in the vicinity they may jump up at her and force her to read.

"Dawn!" Buffy called out as she, Joyce and Giles returned home. There was no answer, "She must still be at the movies with Will," Buffy guessed aloud and the other two nodded in agreement, when suddenly, all three of them heard a scuffling coming from upstairs. "Dawn?" Buffy checked, just to be sure, but again there was no Dawn to reply.

Gesturing for the other two to be as quiet as possible, Buffy starting creeping up the stairs to find the intruder. As she got closer to the noise, Buffy realized it was coming from the small spare room that had temporarily been Amy's. Buffy crept forward silently, before kicking the door wide open. Amy was startled so much by this she even let out a little high pitched yelp, that caused Joyce and Giles to follow Buffy up the stairs towards the sound of the noise.

"What are you doing here?" Buffy asked, eying the fact that Amy had been frantically searching under the bed.

"Amy?" Joyce asked, confused by the presence of the young girl, who, in all honesty, right now wasn't looking too fab.

"Uh oh, busted," Amy grimaced, not seeming quite all there.

"Why are you here if Willow's not?" Buffy asked, already suspicious.

"Willow's probably..." Amy muttered momentarily before breaking off.

"Willow's probably where?" Buffy asked, taking a step into the room, and therefore a menacing step towards Amy.

"She..."

Buffy then noticed the packets Amy was holding tightly in her hand.

"What is this?" Buffy asked, snatching it out of her hand. She looked at in distaste, before shoving it in Giles' hands, then returning her attention to Amy.

"It's not what you think it is!" Amy told them all urgently, "It's sage!"

"That is what I think it is," Buffy told her harshly. "What's going on? Where's Willow taken Dawn?"

"Wait...she's not at the movies?" Joyce asked, confused, "I thought Willow was taking her out for the night"

"She was," Buffy agreed, before fixing Amy with an even glare as she spoke, "But something here tells me that's not where she's taken her, is it?"

"Well...she's as bad as me. Needs this stuff. More than me. Definitely. She'll need her fix," Amy babbled out, clearly nervous.

"Fix?" Buffy asked in a tone of voice that clearly commanded 'talk'.

"At Rack's."

"She wouldn't," Giles suddenly spoke up, "She wouldn't sink that low,"

He seemed to be speaking to himself, but Buffy immediately pulled him up on it.

"Wouldn't what?"

"Rack. A powerful sorcerer. Bad majiks with a maximum high."

"So like drugs..." Buffy reasoned, "Only with magic."

"And with Rack that makes it even more dangerous," Giles told her deadly serious.

"How do you know..." Buffy trailed off as she realized she knew the answer to her own question, "From when you were running with Ethan and the rest..." She sighed, "How bad is it?"

"And she's taken Dawn there..." Giles said in horrified realization, ignoring Buffy's question as he seemed to be talking to himself again, "That stupid bloody ignorant girl!" He exclaimed and Buffy and Joyce could only take a moment to assume he was talking about Willow and not Dawn, before he had rushed off, down the stairs and out the door. Joyce and Buffy quickly followed, leaving Amy to get out while she could.

"Giles- do you even know where this place is?" Buffy asked as she and her Mom finally caught up with him down one of Sunnydale's darker alleys.

"He cloaks it- with several hundreds of charms if I'm not mistaken," Giles told her, never ceasing in his search, "The only way to sense it's presence is if you're tuned into the dark powers running through the city"

"But how-" Buffy began to ask, but Giles cut her off with a look that clearly said 'don't ask that question; you won't like the answer', "Into the dark age again then...?" Buffy smiled a weak, unamused smile as it all fell into place.

"What?" Joyce asked, initially confused, but getting it a split second later, "Rupert- what are you...you can't even think of- we don't even know that Willow's there. If she said she was going to take Dawn to the movies then why-"

"Because once you've got a taste of Rack's magic, it's damned near impossible to go back," Giles told her harshly, "Willow will be hooked already and she won't care about what danger she's placing Dawn in, only that she gets her fix. It doesn't matter to her what may happen to Dawn because of it " He sighed, his manner becoming warmer as he realized his harsh tone had caused Joyce to take a small step back as she was slightly frightened and taken aback by his attitude, "I'm sorry it's just...Buffy was right. It is like drugs. Only the effects are stronger, the fix is higher, and the addiction is worse. Instead of it being in your system for only a short time after the drug's effects last...the majiks- they course through your veins- not just traveling through them, but becoming one with them. Tapping into every fiber of your being, until you are no longer able to differentiate where you begin and the majiks stop. That is why we need to find her now. Dawn may very well be in trouble. And although she may not accept it, so is Willow"

He resumed his frantic search, leaving Joyce and Buffy stood there, completely stunned by this detailed and empathic description. A moment later they followed on.

It felt like they had been searching for hours, though it couldn't have been more than minutes, when Giles came to an abrupt stop.

"What?" Buffy asked, "Is this it? You found it?"

When Giles stepped forward and disappeared, Buffy frowned.

"I'll take that as a yes," She decided, looking at the space in front of her ominously. She had no idea what lay on the other side- and she wasn't prepared either. She knew she would have to though. She was the Slayer after all and,more to the point, it was Dawn and Willow.

Buffy took a deep breath before going to step forward, embracing her brave slayeryness. But it wasn't the Slayer that took the first step, it was the Mother.

Buffy rushed forward into the space immediately after her.

"Would you not do that?" Buffy asked her anxiously, before looking around at where they now were. Lowlifes was an understatement. "Oh god...but where's Willow?"

"Ripper,"

At the sound of that name Buffy rolled her eyes in annoyance

"Man, I hate it when I hear people say that name," She said,as from experience, hearing that name was usually followed by extreme badness. Buffy turned to the sound of the voice and saw a creepy looking guy, who could be no other than the infamous Rack.

"Haven't see you in an age," Rack continued, leaning against the door frame casually, as he talked directly to Giles, ignoring the other two despite the fact that one was The Slayer. Clearly, and scarily, he didn't view her as a threat, "Or any of your little power group actually...found something bigger didn't you?"

"You could say that," Giles replied, his voice remaining so even, it was impossible to tell what emotions he was feeling.

Rack grinned a predatory grin, bringing his palms together, before slowly parting them as crackles of blue energy flowed between the two hands.

"Always knew there'd be a time when you'd need me again...come back for more now have you?"

"Not exactly," Giles replied calmly, before, without any apparent warning whatsoever, he rushed Rack, grabbing him roughly by the throat and shoving him against the wall. He was lifted slightly off the floor by the effort and Rack's toes trailed on the floor. "Willow. How much and where is she now?"

"Strawberry. You're after strawberry..." Rack choked out. Buffy thought he was weakening through loss of oxygen. That is until he used both hands to propel Giles right back, sending him into the opposite wall. "You always were one for brute force," Rack grinned evilly, "Your friend, Ethan, was the one that used the majiks to fight. That would be more useful now-"

Rack was cut off abruptly as he was knocked to the floor by a powerful left hook on Giles' part.

"And yet," Giles commented lightly- thought there was that familiar edge of menace in his voice, looking down at Rack's crumpled form. Buffy wanted to intervene, or to help (she wasn't yet sure which) but something in her made her stay as still where she was stood as her Mother was. Despite the fact it was Willow and Dawn involved, she knew that for once, this wasn't her fight. "Willow, she came here tonight didn't she?" Giles asked in a way that suggested Rack and he were having this conversation over tea and crumpets.

"Strawberry came – wanted a little wild dance," Rack grinned, "Brought a girl with her. A strange power in that one..." Rack seemed intrigued by this.

"It's one you shall never touch I assure you," Giles told him, hauling Rack up by the scruff of his neck. "Now where is Willow?"

"Not here. She got hers, had ourselves a fine little time, but she isn't here now. That's all you'll get from me," he grinned that creepy grin again that sent Buffy's teeth on edge, "Now go...if you wanna catch her that is," He smirked at the thought of them even attempting to catch 'strawberry', "And make sure to take The Slayer, her-" He paused on 'her' as he looked at Joyce, scrutinizing her. It made her extremely uncomfortable- his eyes were dark,almost completely black and seemed to have untold depths in them that suggested there was more to him that what he appeared, something darker- but she forced herself to stand her ground, "-and whatever strange power's growing inside of her."

Instinctively and protectively, Joyce put a hand to her stomach, wondering what the hell he meant by that strange comment.

Without another word to Rack, Giles put his hand on the small of Joyce's back to gently nudge her forward, silently telling her and Buffy that they were leaving. Now.

"Remember...if you ever feel that darkness stirring again...needing a little pick-me-up...I'm always here and stocking, Ripper," Rack called out casually as the three of them left.

"What did he mean?" Joyce asked as they exited the alley, "About 'whatever strange power'?"

Any sort of suggestion or reply was prevented from being voiced by the sound of a loud, high-pitched, panicked scream. A scream that undeniably belonged to Dawn. The three immediately ran in the direction of the scream without a second thought, with Buffy leading in front by about five yards as her Slayer speed kicked in more and more.

They finally came to a dusty, deserted road under an old bridge. A car had crashed into one of the bridge walls and Will was barely conscious at the wheel. Dawn, however, was having a much worser time of it as a terrifying looking demon came after her. He grabbed her by the leg and tossed her into one of the concrete pillars, falling to the floor hard.

"Dawn!" Joyce exclaimed, rushing towards her daughter as her other daughter rushed the monster, tackling him to the ground with all her might and as the fight went on, Giles pitching in where he could to help, Joyce tended to Dawn, "Sweetie, are you okay?"

"My arm..." Dawn whimpered, cradling her limp and bloody arm with the other, "I think- I think it's broken"

"Oh my poor baby," Joyce said, almost crying herself, as she gently saw to the arm, surmising from what she saw and felt, that Dawn was right- it was broken, "It's okay now. Everything's gonna be okay," She told her soothingly and with her good arm, Dawn hugged her tightly, clearly terrified.

They both looked over in the direction of the fight just in time to see the monster implode, revealing a shaky-looking Willow crackling with energy, her eyes completely black, before she collapsed to the ground, completely exhausted.

"Mom? Is she okay?" Buffy asked, running over towards them with Giles, "Dawn- are you okay? What happened?"

"It- he was after Willow," Dawn explained, "She, she made the car drive by itself and then-"

"Oh god, Dawn, there's blood-" Willow said in shock as she stumbled over to them, looking completely horrified.

"She needs to get to the hospital," Giles stated, taking a look at Dawn's arm and the three of them helped Dawn up carefully, all of them ignoring Willow.

"Is she okay? Is she okay?" Willow asked urgently, "Buffy? Joyce, please I nee-"

"Not now, please Willow?" Joyce asked, looking at the girl sadly, "I know you're ...you're...concerned, but please. I can't. Not yet."

As Joyce looked away from Willow, returning her attention to Dawn, Will felt that was worse than if Joyce had shouted at her. It was pure disappointment, as though she could barely even look at her. Though Willow would never say it, she kinda saw Joyce like a Mom to her, more than her real Mom in some respects, and to have her so...disappointed...disgusted with her, really hurt.

They were all walking away from her. She couldn't let them. They couldn't just walk away from her, leave her here, so guilt-ridden; it would kill her. She ran forward, in front of them, stopping to stand in front of Dawn.

"Dawny, Dawny, please, I'm sorry. It was an accident- I just didn't see- I'm so so sorry-"

Dawn's slap stung more than it should have and it stunned Willow into complete silence. As she stood there, Giles, Joyce and Buffy, too shocked and hurt to deal with Willow right now, began leading Dawn away again.

"It was an accident," Willow cried, breaking down completely as she fell to her knees in sobs, "Don't...oh my god..."

The group stopped, obviously torn over what to do. Buffy looked at them all with a small, resignated smile, before turning back to head to Willow. Giles silently offered to help, but Buffy shook her head. No, right now- it was just her and Willow. No one else. Buffy didn't want anyone else around and Willow probably wouldn't be able to handle it, the state she was in. No, it just had to be the two of them.

It was late on in the night and Willow was in the spare room at Revello Drive, a complete and utter wreck while Dawn was fast asleep in her own room, knocked out by the painkillers.

"I don't think she even notices that it's not her dorm, the state she's in right now," Buffy said as she walked into the living where her Mom and Giles were sat on the sofa, clearly replaying in their minds everything that had gone on tonight, "She's going to quit." She told them, "The majiks. She knows what she did was wrong and she wants to stop. She's quitting, cold turkey"

Joyce nodded in acceptance of this fact, but Giles shook his.

"No" He said simply.

"No?" Buffy asked.

"No," Giles repeated, "She can't"

"What do you mean she can't?" Buffy challenged, "Giles, she can't carry on like this. It's destructive, it's-"

"I know and that's exactly why she can't stop" He told her, "Quitting so abruptly would put Willow in a dangerous and volatile state of mind- unpredictable and possible to snap at any time. Not to mention the dangerous effects the withdrawal symptoms could cause alone"

"So what is she meant to do?" Joyce asked the question that had been on the tip of Buffy's tongue.

"She needs to start from the beginning," Giles stated calmly, with a slight reflective sigh at the thought of it all, "As Tara has been doing, been trying to get Willow to do also, all along. Step-by-step, the basics, as though she were just being introduced to it all. It's my fault,really"

"What? Giles-"

"No," With a raised hand Giles stopped Buffy's protests, "I let her fall into it too fast, requiring her to do spells that were way beyond her experience. It's no wonder she's ended up taking this path. Which is why I'm going to have to teach her, teach her every basic step by very slow step," He sighed a sigh that just oozed pure guilt, "It's my responsibility"

"You sure this is the best thing for Will?" Buffy asked sceptically, "I mean what if even the basics just send her more majik-crazy?"

"They won't," Giles assured, "Believe me, I know from experience that this is the only way she will gain control again and not..." He sighed another heavy sigh, "and not have the majiks controlling her."