The next day Cordelia gathered all of the female Scoobies, Willow, Tara, Faith and Amy and they descended on the Summers home. She knocked once and then opened the door, as was her custom and yelled. "Hey, mini-me, get your butt in gear, there's a Mall that needs strip mining!"

Joyce smiled when she heard that, the girls were working to keep Dawn occupied and feeling normal. That was so them. They were a true family, the kind that wanted to be and chose to be. She heard Dawn come galloping down the stairs, Buffy following more slowly.

"You two up for some shopping?" Cordelia asked.

"Always!" Dawn beamed.

"Then grab your jacket. Tara's birthday is next week, pay attention, she'll be giving hints as to what she wants and later you and I can go pick up what you want to get her. And don't forget, mine's the week after!"

"Okay!"

"I hope your doctor visit goes well, Joyce." Amy offered.

"So do I." Willow said. "Please let us know as soon you can, we worry about you."

"I worry about you girls, too. Go on, have fun and leave something in the Mall for other people."

"No promises!" Cordelia grinned and they all piled into her car as Joyce headed to her own.

Tara was walking back to her dorm after several hours of shopping with the other girls. It had been a nice day, a good day with her friends. She wasn't paying attention and was startled when someone stepped in front of her. She was even more startled when she realized it was her cousin, Beth.

"Beth, what are you doing here?"

"Is that anyway to greet your cousin? Your birthday is next week. You know why we're here. Your friends, do they know the truth about you?"

"You mean the fact that there's no demon in me? Yes, they know."

"What are you talking about? You know damn well there's a demon in you. Your Pa told you so."

"Yes, he did and he may believe that, but I got checked. There's no demon in me."

"Of course there's a demon in you. You do Magic, like your Ma and you're unnatural in your desires. There's evil in you."

"There's evil in everyone. No one's perfect. But there's no demon in me."

"Your Pa's waiting for you, he'll have something to say about that, I'm sure."

"No doubt, but it won't change anything." Tara continued on to her dorm room where she found her father waiting for her.

"Dad, something I can help you with?"

"You're not even trying to hide any of this...stuff. You act as though you're not ashamed of yourself."

"That's because I'm not. I like myself. I like who I am. By the way, I had myself checked, there's no demon in me. This is how I was made. I don't want to change."

"You might believe that, but I know sooner or later, your evil will manifest. We're here to take you home, where you belong, before your evil manifests."

"I'm not going anywhere, Dad. This is my home. You're welcome to stay and help celebrate my birthday, but I'm not leaving."

"We'll see about that." He said and pushed past her out of the door.

"Yes, I'm sure we will."

Joyce's appointment hadn't gone as well as she hoped. Which is why she was now calling a meeting of the Scooby Gang. This news on top of the revelations regarding Dawn was going to be difficult to deal with, but her family was worried about her and would worry more if she kept them out of it.

"My doctor's appointment didn't go so well, I'm afraid." She said, once everyone had assembled. "The doctor found what he's calling a shadow. In my brain. He says I'm lucky, it's still small and can be removed. If I'd waited even a few weeks more before coming in, it might have gotten bigger. I'm going to have surgery in two days."

Dawn instantly attached herself to Joyce and Buffy wasn't far behind. Everyone was clamoring to ask questions. Finally, Joyce got them to calm down.

"Until they remove it, they won't know if it's malignant or not. Best case, it's benign and removing it is the only thing they need to do. If it's malignant, I'll need chemotherapy. But, like I said, they won't know until after it's removed."

Later, everyone was at Giles and Jenny's new store, The Magic Box, helping with inventorying and trying to keep their minds off of Joyce's impending surgery. when they were suddenly attacked by some way ugly demons with what looked like sores on their faces. Fearing this was an attack against Dawn, everyone moved to protect her. They shoved her and Joyce behind the counter and grabbed weapons and caught and killed the demons.

Just as the door of the store opened and three people walked in. An older man in his mid fifties, a younger man in his mid twenties and a young woman around the same age. They were startled by the sight of several demon bodies.

"What is this?" The older man yelled.

"They're demons, dad. You know, what you claim is inside me." Tara said.

"This is your fault, isn't it? Your evil is manifesting, I knew it!"

"This had nothing to do with Tara." Xander said. "This is Sunnydale, this is normal. After all, there's a gateway to Hell under the town. We're use to fighting and killing demons, it happens pretty much everyday around here. So don't go blaming Tara. She had nothing to do with it."

"A gateway to Hell? And you live here? Why?"

"Because the people need to be protected. Most of them don't know. Tara helps fight monsters. You should be proud of her." Cordelia told him.

"Tara, you're coming home where you belong. We know you have a demon, we know how to control it." Her father insisted..

"Dad, just go. I told you, this is my home and I'm staying here."

"We are your blood kin! Who are you people?"

"We're her family. Get out, the last time someone threatened one of my girls, I punched him. I'd be happy to demonstrate how." Joyce told him.

"Fine, if that's how you want it, Tara. So be it." And they left. Dawn hugged Tara and Xander told her he was proud of her for standing up for herself. Tara got a lot of hugs and cheek kisses from her real family.