Author's Note: Since I was asked so nicely via review, here's a second chapter to make up for not posting on Monday :) Enjoy! :D
When Willow woke up a few hours later, she wasn't sure what exactly had torn her out of her uneasy dreams; next to her, Pat was still fast asleep, snoring softly into the pillow, a clear sign that it hadn't been some sort of attack which had woken her, but something else, a feeling she couldn't quite put her finger on yet.
"No worries", a female voice came from her side of the bed moments later, tearing her out of her musings and making her jump, "I'm not here to hurt you, witch…"
Startled, Willow sat up straight, even letting out a small squeal; smiling, the nightmare demon moved another step closer to the bed, her smile widening when the redhead grabbed her partner and tried to wake her up by shaking her, with no success though.
"Your fiery lover won't disturb our little talk", the nightmare demon let her know, "I made sure of that. But as I said, I'm not here to hurt you, so don't be afraid, child. I'm here with an offer."
"An offer", Willow repeated, not sure what to think of that – and not liking the fact that this demon was capable of making Pat sleep through all this, "what kind of offer?"
"You let me finish feeding and keep your girl here away from me, and I'll return your magic", the nightmare demon gave back, smiling again, probably in an attempt to look friendly, even though it was ruined by the fact that she had sharp and pointy teeth which glinted dangerously in the weak light that fell into the room through the half-opened curtains, the effort to look friendly ruined even further by what she said next. "If you insist on going after me, I'll kill you girlfriend, your friends, everyone who's dear to you, and you'll be left alone without a spark of magic left. Sounds reasonable, doesn't it?"
"Get out", Willow flatly replied, not willing to consider this for even a moment, well aware of the pain and suffering this demon would cause in the future if they didn't stop her now, even if she wouldn't have any more offspring, "I'd rather go on without magic than letting you live for God knows how long and torment people whenever you feel hungry."
"So self-righteous", the nightmare demon sighed, shaking her head, "and that even though I just told you what will happen to all your loved ones if you don't back off?"
"My loved ones know how to take care of themselves, even if I can't help them with magic", the redhead gave back, "and once I tell Pat about your little nightly visit here, you better stay out of her way, she won't like that at all."
"She'll be the first one to go", the nightmare demon gave back, sounding so confident that for a moment, Willow asked herself if she really had made the right choice now, "the things my son was capable of doing are nothing compared to my powers. She'll die in your arms, tomorrow, and maybe you'll reconsider then."
With those words, the nightmare demon did a mocking little bow – before she just vanished into nothingness, making the redhead jump slightly, a movement she repeated involuntarily when next to her, Pat let out a grunt and sat up as well, blinking sleepily as she looked at her girlfriend.
"What's going on", she then wanted to know, frowning when she saw the fearful look on Willow's face, "did something happen…?"
"The demon was here", the witch replied, her voice trembling as she thought of the last words said demon had directed at her before she had vanished, "to make me an offer…"
"What?" Pat gave back, going from sleepy to wide awake within the blink of an eye, "what offer? Did she do anything to you? Why didn't you wake me up?"
"I tried", Willow defended herself, "you just slept on, and she said she did something so you wouldn't wake up… She said that she'll return my magic if I promise that we'll back off and just let her finish feeding, but if we keep going after her, she'll kill all those dear to me and I won't get it back…"
"Now I wanna kill her even more", Pat grumbled in reply, "who does she think she is, coming here and threatening you and offering you idiotic deals…"
"She said she'd start with you", the redhead blurted out in reply, her fear growing as she couldn't help herself, but just had to imagine various awful scenarios which would make the nightmare demon's words come true, "that you'd die in my arms tomorrow, and that I might reconsider then…"
"No one of us will die", Pat reassured her at once, sensing how much this was disturbing the witch, moving closer to her and putting both arms around her, "I promise. The only one who'll do some dying will be that bitch."
"Maybe we're taking her not seriously enough", Willow gave back, looking at her partner nervously, "she told me that what her son was capable of is nothing compared to her powers, and her son did that little replacement trick so you'd stab me instead of that thug… And that was powerful magic already…"
"She's bluffing, I'm sure", the demon replied, shrugging at the disbelieving look her girlfriend gave her in reply before she elaborated on that statement. "If she's oh so powerful, why are we all still alive? She could have killed us all when she was here earlier today. She's just trying to scare us into leaving her alone."
"And what if you're wrong?" Willow demanded to know, clearly not as convinced of this as her partner, "remember what her son told us, he wasn't interested in pain and suffering, just in the fear the nightmares caused… Maybe she's like that, too, maybe she doesn't want to kill, but will if she has to…"
"All demons want to kill, Sweetie", Pat pointed out to her in reply, "that's part of being a demon. I tell you, she's just bluffing to make us back off."
"Let's hope you're right", Willow sighed after a moment, making her partner nod at once, still quite confident; she gave the smaller woman a calming smile, then pulled her closer for a tender kiss, giving her best to sound soothing and reassuring when she spoke up again. "Don't let her scare you… That's just what she wants. We'll find a way to give you magic back to you, and then we'll finish her off, and no one of us will die."
"If scaring me is what she wanted, she accomplished that", Willow the witch admitted in reply, "she sounded so confident and sure of herself… and I love you, I don't want to lose you…"
"You won't", the demon gave back, "I promise. I love you too, so much in fact that I want to spend many more years with you, so I won't let some random nightmare demon with delusions of grandeur kill me."
"Good to know", the witch replied, finally smiling weakly; returning the smile, Pat reassured her once more that it'd be okay and that no one would die before she kissed her briefly, suggesting that they should get some more sleep afterwards, making her partner nod her agreement, the couple sharing yet another kiss before they finally laid down again, the redhead snuggling up to the taller woman the moment her head had touched the pillow.
It didn't take long until Pat was fast asleep again, her calm breaths turning into soft snores just a few minutes after she'd laid back down; unlike her though, Willow didn't fall asleep at once again though, lying next to her instead and watching her sleep, her heart filled with fear once more as she asked herself if her partner was right and the nightmare demon just had been bluffing – or if Pat was underestimating their new foe and much more terrible things would happen to all of them in the next day.
In the next morning, the smell of coffee and toast was already drifting through the house when Willow woke up, as so often doing so before her partner, Pat still slumbering soundly next to her; she took a moment to look at the sleeping demon, once more remembering the nightmare demon's visit in the middle of the night and the threats she had made, then forced those thoughts aside while she carefully got up, not wanting to wake her partner, and, upon realizing that she still was wearing the hospital gown she had been put into after the operation which had saved her, grimacing to herself, hoping that Buffy would have some clothes that would fit her as she left the bedroom and made her way downstairs, finding the blonde in the kitchen there.
"Good morning", Buffy greeted her, smirking at the sight of her best friend in a white hospital gown and with tousled hair, "nice gown you're wearing, you planning to run around like that all day?"
"No", Willow grimaced at once, sitting down at the table and giving the Slayer a thankful look when she put a cup of coffee down in front of her seconds later, "actually, I wanted to ask if you have some clothes I can borrow."
"Sure", Buffy shrugged, "but for pants, you should ask Dawn, I doubt any of mine will fit you, you are taller than me after all. Why am I so short if I'm the Slayer, I should be the tallest of all of us."
"So people will underestimate you?" Willow guessed, asking herself where that had come from now; Buffy gave her a look that showed she wasn't really convinced, all thoughts about her height forgotten though at what her best friend said next. "Talking about underestimating someone, I'm quite afraid that this is what Pat is doing with our foe, she came to me last night…"
"What?" the blonde nearly squeaked, staring at her friend in shock, "what do you mean, she came to you?"
"I woke up and she was there", Willow explained in reply, not sure what had been so hard to understand about that, "and she offered me a deal, if we back off and just let her feed, she'll give back my magic… and if we don't, she'll kill everyone who's dear to me."
"Charming", Buffy commented, "and why didn't you wake me up? Or Pat, so she could have kicked her ass?"
"I tried to, but I couldn't", the redhead defended herself, "she did something so Pat would sleep through the whole thing. And once she was gone, I saw no point in waking you up… Pat thinks she's just bluffing and tries to scare us into backing off, she said that, if she's so powerful, why didn't she just kill us all earlier that day, when you were fighting and I was out cold."
"Well, that's a good point", Buffy agreed after a moment, sitting down opposite of the redhead and giving her a concerned look, since her distress was quite visible on her face, "but you're not so sure about that, are you?"
"No", Willow sighed, idly playing with the handle of her coffee cup, "I mean, of course I hope Pat is right, but what if she isn't? That demon told me Pat will die in my arms today, maybe I'll reconsider her offer then…"
"So she could keep Pat from waking up, but didn't kill her right away?" Buffy pondered out loud, "that doesn't make sense, why make you wait? I think your girl's right and she's just bluffing."
"My words exactly", Pat's voice came from the doorway, startling both of them and making them jump, Willow nearly spilling her coffee, their reaction prompting the demon to give them an apologetic look while she moved to the kitchen counter and helped herself to a cup of coffee as well.
"I told you yesterday night, Sweetie", she went on while she did so, "if she's so powerful, she could have killed us all by now, instead she's just talking and making threats and offers. You don't make offers to anyone if you're sure you can take them, you just get rid of them."
"Good point", Buffy agreed, "I tend to agree with you about this, but we should still be careful, her son already was quite powerful, who knows what she can do."
"She said that the powers of her son were nothing, compared to hers", Willow let her know in reply, "and I wish I could agree with the two of you, but… I don't know… I'm just worried…"
"That's just what she wants", Pat told her, sitting down next to her and grasping her hand, "to worry you and to freak you out. I know it won't be useful if I just tell you to stop it, but it'll all be okay, don't let her control you like that…"
"I'm trying", Willow sighed, giving her partner a slightly dismayed look, "but it's easier said than done… You should have heard her, she was so sure of herself, she didn't sound as if she's bluffing…"
"People who bluff hardly ever sound that way", Buffy threw in, smiling when immediately, Pat nodded her agreement, "as I said, I'm agreeing with Pat here, she's most likely bluffing. We still should be careful, but there's no use in getting all paranoid now."
"Good point", the redhead finally agreed, making both her girlfriend and her best friend smile; Pat took the time to squeeze her hand reassuringly once more, then pulled back to find her cigarettes, rolling her eye at the pointed look Buffy gave her before she wordlessly pointed at the front door.
"Aw, come on", the demon tried to protest, "do I really have to? I've smoked in here before, you know…"
"Yes, and it took me days to get the smell out of the house again", the Slayer replied at once, "so not this time. Go outside or don't smoke at all."
"Fine", Pat grumbled, getting up from her seat and picking up her cup of coffee; she bent down for a quick kiss from Willow, then made her way outside, the redhead looking after her for a few moments before she focused on Buffy again, giving her best to sound confident and not all too worried when she spoke up again. "We should call Giles after breakfast, and ask him if the coven had any useful information, and maybe Pat can try a locator spell so we can find that demon…"
"Good ideas", Buffy agreed at once, nodding, "let's do that once your girlfriend joined us again. Let's hope she won't take too long."
"Nah", the witch smiled at once, "whenever she smokes outside alone somewhere, she's pretty quick. She says it's boring."
"I imagine", Buffy giggled, then downed half of her coffee with one large gulp; smirking at the sight, Willow took a much smaller sip of her own cup, nodding when the blonde asked her if it tasted okay.
"I hope the coven will have some way to help", she then sighed, now not able to keep the dismay out of her voice anymore, "I still feel so empty without the magic, I've gotten so used to having it…"
"I can't even imagine how that must feel", Buffy grimaced, reaching over the table and grasping her friend's hand, eager to give her some comfort, "and to be honest, I didn't even know it's possible to do that…"
"It shouldn't be, not so easily, at least", Willow let her know in reply, smiling slightly at the reassuring touch, "it shows that this demon is really powerful…"
"Let's wait and see what Giles found out before we decide on how powerful she really is", Buffy gave back, squeezing the redhead's hand again, "maybe it's just some silly little trick which can be undone quickly."
"I hope so", the witch sighed, then took another sip of her coffee; smiling at her reassuringly, Buffy gave her hand yet another squeeze, then focused on getting done with her breakfast as well, glancing at the front door every now and then as they both waited for Pat to come back inside so they could call Giles and hopefully find out how to solve this whole mess.