It wasn't Spike, Willow realised as she opened the door to reveal a young girl of about 14.

"Can I help you?"

"I'm looking for Tara Maclay. Does she live here?"

"Tara?" Willow repeated, confused. In the next room, Tara began to listen harder at the mention of her name.

"So she does live here."

"What do you want with Tara?" Willow asked, suddenly protective.

"I've got something important to tell her." The young girl said. "Can I come in? Please?"

"Sure." Willow said uncertainly.

She led the young girl to the living room and took her seat beside Tara while the young girl sat opposite them.

"Who's this Willow?" Tara asked.

"I'm not sure." Willow admitted quietly. "She says she's got something important to tell you though."

"I'm Holly." The young girl spoke up. "Tara, I'm your sister."

"My what?" Tara asked, confused.

"Sister." The girl repeated. "Well, half really. Do you remember when you were about seven, your mother went away for a while?"

Tara nodded. She squeezed Willow's hand nervously as the young girl went on.

"When she was away, she had me. Then she disappeared, back to you I guess and left me with my Dad."

"Why aren't you still with him? How did you find me?" Tara asked, looking at Holly.

"He kicked me out." Holly admitted and Tara and Willow's mouths fell open a little.

"He said he couldn't deal with me anymore. Not just with the regular teenage stuff, but with the…" Holly trailed off. "Well, he called it 'weird stuff'."

"Weird stuff?" Tara repeated.

"Magic." Holly answered. "I'm like you Tara. Dad. He told me stories when I was little. About how I had a sister somewhere else. So when he kicked me out, I thought I'd come find you. I didn't really have anything to lose."

Tara got up and crossed the distance between her and her new found sister. She knelt in front of her, resting a gentle, reassuring hand on her knee and looking into her eyes.

"How did you find me?"

"I looked you up. I saw both of you were part of a Wicca group at Sunnydale University. That's how I knew you were a witch and I figured you could probably help me with the other stuff too." Tara smiled.

"So, I went there to try to find you. They said you didn't live there anymore and sent me here." Holly explained.

"I'm glad you came to find me Holly. You can stay here with Willow and I tonight. We'll work a better plan out in the morning. How does that sound?" Tara asked.

Holly nodded.

"Who's this?" Buffy asked as she entered the kitchen. Willow and Holly were seated around the kitchen counter while Tara cooked by the stove. Tara and Willow looked up at their friend.

"Morning Buffy."

Tara came to the counter with a plate full of pancakes. "Buffy, I'd like you to meet Holly. She's my sister." Tara explained.

"Your what?" Buffy asked, staring at Tara in disbelief.

"I know. I didn't believe it either. I only found out last night. My mum. Our Mum," Tara corrected herself, dividing the pancakes in between plates for everyone. "went on a trip when I was 7. During that time, she had Holly. She left her with her dad and came back to me, Dad and Donald."

Buffy nodded, satisfied and turned to face Holly, smiling. "I'm Buffy." She introduced herself, sticking out her hand. "Holly." Holly smiled and shook Buffy's hand weakly.

It wasn't long before Dawn skipped into the sunny kitchen. "Hey Tara, hey Willow, hey Buff…" She stopped in her tracks, suddenly noticing Holly seated next to Tara. "Who's this?"

"I'm Holly." She offered, smiling nervously. "Tara's sister."

Dawn turned to look at Tara. "What?"

"I didn't believe it either. As it turns out, my Mum had another daughter."

Dawn smiled at Holly and took the spare seat beside her. "I'm glad there's someone else my age around here now. It'll be double the fun!"

"Technically I'm younger." Holly whispered.

"What?"

"Well, you're 16 right?"

Dawn nodded.

"I'm 14."

Dawn shrugged. "Still cool."

Later that afternoon, Dawn had taken Holly out to show her around Sunnydale so Tara, Willow and Buffy were left alone in the house.

"What are we going to do?" Willow asked, peering at Tara. She squeezed her hand supportively.

"She's your sister Tara," Buffy pointed out. "What do you think we should do?"

"I feel some sort of responsibility to her." Tara admitted, a hint of worry in her tone.

Buffy reached over and patted her knee. "Of course." She empathised. "She's your sister. Of course you feel that way."

Tara looked at Willow anxiously and she nodded. Taking Willow's gentle squeeze as a good sign, Tara allowed herself to relax. "I can't just leave her. Her Dad's kicked her out. Heavens knows why. She seems like such a beautiful kid."

"Maybe it really was getting too much for him? It'd be pretty hard to raise a girl by yourself as a single Dad. Especially during the teenage years. He was probably just at a loss." Willow suggested and Tara nodded.

"Besides, she's come all this way, from God knows where to find me. I can't kick her out. I've got to help her." Buffy and Willow nodded their agreement.

"Buffy, would it be ok if she stayed here a while? Maybe she could share with Dawnie? Only if both of you didn't mind…"

Slowly, Tara looked up at Buffy, who nodded. "She'd love that. Of course Tara. She could go to school with Dawn. We'll all help her."

Tara breathed a sigh of relief as Buffy smiled warmly. She turned to Willow, still slightly anxious.

"Baby, remember what you said when you almost got shot?"

Tara shook her head. "I'm sorry."

"You said, whatever happens, we'll face it together. You and me." Willow smiled and Tara nodded.

"I remember now."

"That still goes. I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere we'll do it together. You and me."

When Dawn and Holly returned, Tara, Willow and Buffy sat them down in the living room.

"Dawn, how would you feel about sharing your room?" Buffy asked seriously.

"With Holly?" Dawn asked hopefully. She'd taken a liking to the girl suprisingly quickly.

Buffy nodded.

"What do you think about that Holly? Would that be ok?" Tara asked, slightly nervous.

Holly nodded. "Thank you Tara. For taking me in. For everything."

"It's settled then. Holly will share with Dawn. For tonight, we'll set up a sleeping bag but we'll all go shopping tomorrow, get you a bed and maybe get Xander round to help set it up." Buffy said. "We'll all help you Holly. Anything you need, you can come to us. Ok?"

Holly nodded, seeming to have taken over the nerves from Tara.

"And Willow and I will help you hone your magic." Tara added and Holly smiled.

"What about school?" Holly asked.

"Do you have trouble at school?" Willow asked, leaning forward.

"A little."

"Well, Tara and I are both pretty good. But anything we can't handle, our friend Giles can."

"Ok." Holly agreed. "Wait, who are Giles and Xander?"

"Giles is kind of like my mentor. He teaches me things." Buffy spoke up.

"And Xander is my oldest friend. I've known him since I was about five. There's Anya too, She's Xander's girlfriend, or was until the wedding debacle."

"Huh?"

"Xander kinda left her at the aisle. Cold feet. They're ok now though. Civil at least."

"You'll meet them all tomorrow. I promise." Tara smiled. "We'll have a special dinner for you so you can meet everyone."

"I never really knew what having a sister would be like, but I think I'm going to like it." Holly smiled.

Tara blushed a little and returned her sister's smile, still a little shocked at her sister's unannounced arrival, but happy to have a family member that she could start afresh with.