Aftermath and College

by Buffy Writer

Copyright © 2005

feedbacktome@hotmail.com

Rating: NC-17
Disclaimer: Not mine, I do not have that honor.
Distribution: The Mystic Muse:  /mysticmuse.net
My Site: /www.angelfire.com/vamp/bwriter/
Anyone else, just ask.
Feedback: Gimmie gimmie gimmie.
Spoilers: Everything up to the end of season 4.
Author's Notes: Buffy and Willow were together in High school up until the end of season two when Buffy moved over to England with Giles for Special Slayer training, (her mom knows all about it) leaving Faith (who was the second slayer called not Kendra) to guard the Hellmouth. Not knowing how long she would be away, Buffy broke up with Willow. This story starts with Buffy coming home after two years just as Willow is starting college.
Pairing: Willow/Buffy

Chapter 21    Chapter 22    Chapter 23    Chapter 24    Chapter 25

Chapter 21

Willow snuggled into Buffy's side as they walked over to the Gallery.

"I'm thinking of redecorating my room."

Willow looked at Buffy out of the corner of her eye.

"That's what you're thinking about right now?"

Buffy blushed and shook her head no.

"So what are you thinking about then?" Willow loved it when Buffy blushed.

"Throwing you up against that wall and eep-" Buffy slapped her hand over her mouth, she hadn't meant to actually tell Willow that.

Willow blushed, but snuggled closer.

"Time was, I wouldn't have minded."

Buffy stopped walking and turned Willow to look at her.

"'Was'? you mean you would mind if I did it now?"

Willow looked at the ground before raising her head and meeting Buffy's eyes.

"I would mind, but only because we haven't gotten back to that stage in our relationship yet."

Buffy could always tell when Willow was lying. She could only remember one other time, apart from right now, when Willow had lied to her.

Deciding not to push, she let the matter drop.

Smiling, she picked up Willow's hand and started them walking again.

Willow sighed when she saw how strained the smile was.

"Come on, let's get this done so we can enjoy the rest of the day. We still have planning to do, but I guess that will have to wait until we meet the guys later at Giles' place. How about we go for a picnic? Just the two of us?" Buffy tugged Willow along with her, stopping when Willow paused.

"About that, I kind of said that I would meet Tara. There's this new spell we've been working on and I think that we are nearly there to cracking it."

Buffy frowned and dropped Willow's hand.

"Your still going to the meeting though right?"

Willow nodded her head yes and began walking beside Buffy.

The Slayer keep her discomfort over the other blonde to herself, not wanting the redhead to see her getting jealous yet again.

Willow was late. Not much, only by half an hour or so, but Buffy was worried. It was getting dark outside.

Hearing the door open, she turned her head, hoping to see Willow.

Sighing when she saw Xander come back with food, Buffy turned back to clock watching, waiting on her girlfriend to show up.

"Will still not here?"

Buffy shook her head no and looked over at her friend.

He must have seen what she was feeling, which was strange as she hid herself well, because he set the food down and walked over to her, crouching down to eye level.

"How about we go out for a walk?"

Buffy was going to say no, then she realized what he was asking, and why.

Giving him a smile of thanks, she stood up, grabbed her coat and the two headed to the door, only to be halted when it opened.

Willow bounced into the house, excited.

Her spell had worked.

It was only floating a rose, but still, a rose was a lot more complicated to float than a pencil.

Throwing his hands up, Xander smiled at Buffy and trotted back over to the pizza he had brought with him.

Before she could even get a word out, Buffy had pulled Willow into a hug, not caring that they were in a roomful of people.

"You're late."

Willow pulled out of the hug and looked at the clock.

"Only a little."

"A little is enough in this town."

Willow looked out the window, seeing the sun setting low in the sky above the town.

"I was fine, see, suns just going down now. Perfectly safe."

Buffy pulled back and pointed into the corner of the room.

"Vamps can move round in sunlight Willow, if they could get here, something could have gotten you. Besides, that's not the only thing we have to worry about in this town, remember?"

Spike waved at the redhead before Angel grabbed his arm, knowing that Buffy was upset and not in the mood.

"Sorry, but we wanted to get the spell finished, and it worked!"

Buffy pulled back from her girlfriend.

"We, you mean you wanted it finished, or Tara did?"

Willow frowned at Buffy.

Neither noticed the rest of the gang leave the room, or Angel pulling Spike from it.

"Both of us."

The look in Buffy's eyes hardened.

"Yeah, but only one of you had to walk across town."

Willow opened her mouth to reply to that, when the door opened again.

"Hey, where is everyone?"

Tom and Jonny looked between the two, aware that they had interrupted something.

Buffy lowered her gaze and took deep breaths. She tried to do it without alerting the fact to Tom or Jonny, but Tom noticed and threw her a worried look.

Willow caught it and looked at Buffy. She really looked at her for the first time since she arrived.

The Slayer looked tense. Really, really tense.

Lowering her own gaze, Willow saw Buffy's hands repeatedly clench, then unclench.

Stepping forward, Willow grabbed them with her own.

Buffy looked up and met Willow's worried gaze before taking one more deep breath.

Grabbing the redhead by the front of her shirt, she pulled her forward until their bodies crashed and smashed their lips together.

Willow's eyes widened before she gave herself over to the kiss, no longer caring that Tom and Jonny were standing not five feet away.

When she felt Willow needed to breath, Buffy pulled back, not even winded as Willow panted for air.

Turning to look at Jonny, she gently pushed Willow over to him.

"Tom, with me. Will, I'll be back in an hour. Tell the others."

Not waiting on a reply and knowing Tom was behind her, Buffy left, but not before she grabbed the sword she had brought with her for that nights patrol.

She needed to kill something, and soon.

Chapter 22

Tom watched Buffy play with the Vampire like he used to watch his sister play with her dolls.

It was disturbing to see his friend like that.

She was enjoying the violence.

"Buffy?"

Receiving no answer, he walked closer to the Slayer, aware that if he got to close, he could get hit by a stray hand or foot.

Buffy glanced at him while she continued beating the broken vamp at her feet.

One look in her eyes and Tom stopped cold. He actually moved back a few steps.

"She okay?"

Tom jumped and turned to scowl at Angel.

"Does she look okay? She has some aggression to work on I'd say."

Angel nodded his head and turned to watch his friend at the exact moment she staked the Vampire.

He had never seen her more satisfied by a simple staking, and he didn't like the look in her eyes.

Buffy took a deep breath, trying to get herself under control.

She knew Angel had showed up, she could sense when he was round, and she found that was extending to Spike, having been in the younger Vampire's company for a while now.

Ever since she had learned how to harness this power thing inside her, all her senses, both human and Slayer, had increased.

And right now, both were screaming at her.

Turning, she grabbed the metal bar that had been on a direct course with her head and threw the attacker back, causing him to crash into a nearby headstone.

When he didn't get back up, Buffy walked over to him, ready to fight some more, when she paused.

It wasn't a demon.

It was a human.

And it was wearing an army uniform.

Hoping to god she hadn't killed a human, Buffy leaned down, even as she heard Tom and Angel approach.

Reaching out, she checked for a pulse, sighing in relief when she found one.

"Buffy, there's more coming."

Buffy nodded absently to Angel that she knew that and reached out again, lifting the ski mask the commando wore.

She recognized him.

She had seen him a few times at the Bronze, always hitting on one girl or another.

Lowering the ski mask again, she stood up and began walking away, Tom and Angel on her heels.

A few minutes after they had left the area, five more commandoes appeared and lifted their friend, checking him for injuries themselves and wondering what the hell had happened in the last five minutes since they had radioed in with him.

Giles looked up as the door opened, and he breathed a sigh of relief at seeing his Slayer, her bodyguard, and the Vampire all walking in.

Buffy still couldn't focus properly, and she knew the exact reason for it, and it was driving her nuts.

She was jealous and scared, and it was tearing at her insides and she wanted to just scream her frustration into the night.

"Right, now that you three are back, perhaps we can discuss ways of getting information on this group." Giles had everyone's attention now, until Buffy spoke up that is.

"We met one tonight. I recognized him but don't know his name. I do know he goes to college with you guys though if that's any help."

Xander perked up.

"You mean its students doing this?"

Giles shook his head.

"I'd say no. They may be the commandoes certainly, but I have doubts that its them pulling the strings."

Willow edged closer to where Buffy sat and linked hands with her girlfriend, receiving a small smile in return before the Slayer's attention was back on the matter at hand.

"Okay, so we need info, how do we get it if the demons don't know and these guys aren't advertising?"

Willow's brow crinkled in thought before her eyes widened and she turned to the watcher excitedly.

"Would a truth spell work?"

After a few seconds, Giles nodded his head yes.

"Though I have none of the ingredients here."

Willow waved her hand at him.

"I can swing by Tara's, she should have it all there."

Buffy tensed and let go of Willow's hand before standing up and beginning to pace, trying to keep in her nervous energy.

"Okay, so we have an answer to how we get the info, but first we have to grab one of these guys and make them talk." Xander smiled at the looks the others were sending him.

"What? I can be smart too."

Jonny threw a magazine at Xander, which never connected as Buffy caught it before glaring at Jonny.

Tom nudged him and shook his head no, indicating that the younger Brit should let it drop.

Buffy looked at the magazine in her hand and then back to the Englishman.

Giving him a sheepish shrug, she set it down. Its not like that could have hurt Xander.

"I'll see if I can get one of them on patrol tonight."

Willow looked away from Xander, who was looking at Buffy, a thoughtful expression on his face, and turned to face her girlfriend.

"I thought you just did a patrol."

"Well, I did, but I ah, I have to do another one, the ah, the one earlier wasn't overly, ah productive."

Buffy could tell that Willow didn't fully believe her and looked to Angel and Tom for help.

"Yeah, only one vamp the entire time."

Buffy sent Angel a look of thanks, her smile fading when Willow piped up again.

"Then, why were you gone for over three hours?"

Buffy, Tom and Angel looked from one to the other, trying to come up with an answer.

Willow's mouth set into a grim line before she stood up.

"Where are you going?" Buffy followed Willow to the door, out of earshot of everyone else, apart from Angel and the seemingly sleeping Spike.

"Over to Tara's. If your going to get the commando tonight, we need the spell stuff don't we?"

Buffy couldn't argue with that, but she could argue about Willow going there on her own.

"I'll go with you and meet the guys later."

Willow opened her mouth like she was about to argue before she saw Spike shake his head no at her.

Frowning at him, she nodded to Buffy and the two left, with Buffy arranging to meet the others on patrol in an hour.

They walked along in silence, the redhead observing the Slayer, the Slayer making sure the redhead was safe.

"Buff?"

Buffy turned her head to look at Willow.

"Yeah?"

Willow opened her mouth to speak, before sighing and shaking her head.

Buffy growled low in her throat, causing Willow's head to whip round.

Spotting a bench, Buffy pulled Willow over and sat her down.

Scanning the area they were in with her eyes and her senses, the Slayer found nothing and sat down beside the redhead.

"We need to talk."

"We really do."

They both looked at each other before looking away, neither sure how to begin.

Willow sighed and leaned back into the bench.

"This is stupid."

Buffy snorted, but agreed with her.

"What's wrong?"

This time, it was the Slayer that sighed.

Turning her head, she was ready to tell Willow what was on her mind, however, when she sensed something near by, her head whipped around to see a tall boy looking at them.

"Hey Willow, Buffy."

At Buffy's confused look, Willow smiled before introducing Buffy to Riley yet again.

"You know, its not really safe to be out, after dark that is, in this town."

Buffy rolled her eyes at him, a part of her fuming that he didn't think she could defend herself or Willow.

Especially Willow.

Willow looked at Buffy, hoping for some help from that corner.

"Well, we were just heading back to Wills place when we stopped for a chat."

Riley nodded his head, his eyes never leave the blonde.

"How about I walk you there?"

Buffy was about to say no, when she paused and turned to look at Willow.

Knowing what her girlfriend was asking, Willow nodded her head and watched as Buffy stood up.

Riley never knew what hit him.

Buffy hefted him over her shoulder, and together, she and Willow set off back to Giles.

"We can get the spell stuff once we get him out of sight."

Willow reached down and linked their hands together.

"We still have to talk about what it is that's bugging you."

Buffy gave the hand in hers a gentle squeeze.

When they were touching, she could push everything to the back of her mind, until her world narrowed down to just them.

She liked that.

"Giles, you got a chair or something we can tie him to?"

Giles looked over and stood up when he saw the body of a young man threw over his Slayer's shoulder.

Slapping Xander on the shoulder, the watcher took his chair from him and sent him off to find some rope.

Five minutes later, Riley was tied up and still out cold, and Buffy and Willow were setting off again to go to Tara's.

After refusing company from both the Englishmen and the Vampire's of the group, the two set off, their hands linked together.

After walking for ten minutes, Willow gave Buffy's hand a small squeeze.

"Your jealous."

Buffy tensed and tried to drop Willow's hand, but the redhead wouldn't let her.

"I only just figured that out. Must be getting slow in my old age." She hoped for a laugh, but she didn't even get a chuckle.

Stopping, she tugged on Buffy's hand and forced her to turn around.

"Why?"

Buffy looked to the ground before looking up again, her heart in her eyes.

"Because, I'm scared."

Willow's eyes widened.

"What of?"

"Losing you."

Willow smiled and leaned in, kissing Buffy gently on the mouth before pulling back.

"You are not going to lose me. Buff, I don't think you get exactly how much I love you, so I'm going to spell it out for you. I. Love. You. More than I ever thought possible, and I know that things have changed between us since you've been gone, but we're still the same people, almost anyway, and I don't want to spend one more day away from you."

Buffy had tears in her eyes.

"I love you too."

Willow smiled and pulled the Slayer in for a kiss, one that quickly progressed.

Pulling back, panting for air, Willow frowned before looking over at Buffy.

"But why would the fear of losing me make you jealous?"

"Tara."

Willow's eyes widened yet again before she burst out laughing.

"Buff, Tara is completely straight. To be honest, she has a little crush on Xander, just don't tell Anya. She gets possessive when it comes to him."

Buffy could relate to that, and her glance at the redhead told Willow all she needed to know.

"But then why is she always off with me? And this morning, I caught her looking when you were changing." by the end of her sentence, Buffy's voice had changed to a low growl, causing Willow's eyebrows to rise.

The growling was new, and not a turn off.

"She doesn't know how to take you yet. We talked, a lot when we became friends, and I told her about us, and about how I was like after you left, I guess she just doesn't want to see me hurt."

Buffy lowered her head, knowing the pain she had put Willow through.

Looking down at their joined hands, Willow caught a glimpse of the only ring she ever saw Buffy wear now, and felt bad because she hadn't excepted the ring when one was offered to her.

She noticed Buffy was wearing it with the heart pointed it.

She belonged to someone.

She belonged to Willow.

That didn't suck.

Buffy saw where Willow's gaze was going and reached up.

Taking off the chain she wore around her neck, she opened the clasp let the silver ring fall free, before taking a deep breath and looking up at Willow, knowing she wouldn't be able to handle it if Willow rejected it once again.

Willow's eyes widened at the romantic gesture.

"I know that Angel told everyone what the ring meant, but I want to tell you again."

Buffy took a deep breath and lifted Willow's left hand.

"The hands represent friendship, the crown loyalty, and the heart, the heart means I love you with all of my own."

Looking up into Willow's eyes, Buffy smiled, though it was kind of watery.

Willow smiled back lifted her hand a little higher, offering it to Buffy.

Buffy frowned before looking up again at Willow.

"How do you want…there's different meanings to the ring depending on how you wear it." Buffy didn't want to push, but she knew how she wanted Willow to wear the ring.

Willow leaned in and gave Buffy a soft kiss.

"I want it with the heart pointing it."

Buffy's smile was enough for the redhead.

"You know that means that-"

"I belong to someone."

"I love you."

"I love you."

Smiling, Buffy lifted Willow's hand higher and kissed the ring, before kissing Willow, pouring everything she could into it, smiling when she felt rather than heard the redhead moan.

"Come on, we really need to get those ingredients and get back to Giles."

Willow pouted at Buffy, but followed her anyway, knowing that the Slayer was right.

Looking over at her girlfriend, Willow knew that as long as they were together, then they could work through whatever problems Sunnydale threw at them.

Chapter 23

Tara opened her door, surprised to see both Buffy and Willow on the other side.

"Hey…em…what can I do for you?"

Buffy stepped aside and let Willow follow the other girl into the room before going in after her.

"I was wondering if we could borrow some ingredients? The Magic shop is closed and we need them in a hurry."

Tara frowned but asked Willow what she needed.

Buffy handed Willow the list of things they needed and watched as Tara's eyes skimmed over it.

"I have them all, but this is a truth spell, you know how they can go wrong Willow."

Willow smiled at her friend.

"I know, but its important."

Tara seemed to be studying them before she nodded her head and started packing up the things they needed.

Riley was awake when they got back to Giles.

"Willow what the hell is going on?"

Buffy didn't like the tone he used on her girlfriend and glared at him as she walked passed.

"Riley, we know what you are apart of."

His eyes widened before turning stormy as he looked around the room.

He had just woken up and saw the blonde vampire the Initiative had been looking for.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Everyone rolled their eyes at him.

"Did you get it?"

Willow nodded her head and handed the bag to Giles, watching as he left to prepare the spell.

Buffy took hold of Willow's hand and led her out into Giles private courtyard, knowing the man in question would be busy for a while, giving them some spare time.

Willow followed without protest and sat down in one of the comfy seats the watcher kept out there.

Buffy smiled at her before lifting her up and taking Willow's seat, before sitting Willow in her lap.

"I've missed being able to do this." Buffy sighed and buried her head into Willow's neck, smiling at the shiver that ran through the redheads body.

Willow pulled back and brought their lips together for a gentle kiss.

Buffy moaned low in her throat and tightened her grip on Willow, pulling her flush against her body.

Willow shifted so that she was straddling Buffy, making the slayer growl at the sensation.

Willow broke off the kiss, but never moved her body away.

"Okay, so explain the growling."

Buffy blushed and laughed at the same time.

"That's what your thinking about right now? I'm offended." She didn't look it though. She looked happy.

"Well, its new, I was just wondering."

Buffy pulled Willow close and breathed in her smell.

"Good new or bad new?"

Willow's eyes rolled back as Buffy ran her teeth over the sensitive spot behind her left ear.

"Good, definitely good."

"Then what does it matter?"

Buffy never gave Willow the chance to respond as she captured her lips again.

As her mouth made love to Willow's, Buffy hands began wandering.

Willow moaned as one of Buffy's hands crept under her tee-shirt, caressing the smooth skin she found there.

Wanting to give as good as she was getting, Willow tangled her hands in Buffy's hair and pulled her girlfriend closer, scrapping her nails along the blondes scalp, making her purr in response.

Shocked, Willow pulled back.

"You purr now too?"

Buffy didn't bother answering and pulled an unresisting Willow's back into the kiss.

Each were breathing hard through their noses, but neither wanted to stop kissing the other.

Just as Buffy's hand was moving to cup Willow's breast, the door opened.

"Sorry to interrupt guys, but Giles says he's ready." Xander snuck back inside so Buffy wouldn't hit him for interrupting what he knew was a personal moment.

Buffy sighed and leaned her head back, groaning as Willow followed the movement, running her tongue along Buffy's neck and pausing where her neck met her shoulder, placing little kisses there.

"We need a holiday, somewhere no one knows us and where no one can interrupt us."

Willow smiled, liking the idea.

"Come on, the sooner we do this, the sooner we can do…other things."

Buffy looked up and their eyes met.

They both knew that tonight was the night.

Giles finished the spell and the rest watched to see what would happen.

Willow squeezed Buffy's hand before letting go and walking over to the bound commando.

"What should I ask him to make sure it works?"

Buffy shrugged her shoulders and watched her girlfriend moved closer to Riley.

"Something personal."

Willow's forehead creased before her eyes widened.

"When did you first have sex?"

"Willow! I didn't mean that personal."

"Nineteen." There was no emotion in Riley's voice.

"Okay, so it worked. Who is going to ask the questions?"

Everyone turned to face Buffy and she sighed before walking forward.

"Okay, who are the commandoes?"

"Solders that protect humans against evil."

Buffy rolled her eyes.

"He's been brainwashed."

Tom nudged her to keep going.

"What do you call yourselves?"

"The Initiative."

"What do you do to the demons?"

"I bag and tag them, then the scientists do what they want, after I hand them over, I don't care what happens to them." Still there was no emotion in his voice.

"Is it only demons you hunt?"

He hesitated, like he wanted to say yes, but he couldn't.

"No, we take anyone who is considered to be on the side of evil."

Buffy frowned and stepped closer to him.

"Like who?"

"Anyone that befriends a demon, warlocks, witches, anyone with any supernatural ability who are completely human."

Buffy's eyes turned cold as she turned her head to look at Willow.

"Witches?"

Riley answered without hesitation this time.

"They are filthy, playing with their magic's, its against nature. They are no better that the demons themselves."

Buffy lifted him out of the chair, ripping his bindings off him without thought and hauled him against the wall. Everyone flinched when they heard the plaster crack.

Jonny went to try and stop her, but Tom held him back.

Buffy had murder in her eyes, and he didn't want anything to tip her over the edge.

"Are they making a demon?" Each word was clipped, showing he occupants of the room just how angry Buffy was.

"Yes, but its classified. That's all know."

Buffy released him and stalked over to Giles weapon chest.

Opening it, she grabbed out her favourite sword.

"Take me to someone who knows more then."

Tom walked to stand beside him charge, knowing that there would be no changing her mind over this.

"Walsh, Professor Walsh will know."

Willow's eyes widened at the implications of that and slumped down in her chair.

Buffy looked at her in sympathy.

"So much for being world renowned."

Willow scowled before stranding up to give Buffy a kiss goodbye.

"Be careful."

Buffy smirked and pulled Riley out by the arm.

"You know me."

Willow's worried gaze met Tom's and he smiled at her reassuringly.

"I'll look after her."

As the slayer manhandled Riley out, Tom shook his head.

'famous last words'

Buffy walked one step behind the bound commando with only one thought in mind.

'Finish this and go home to Willow'

Tom walked beside his charge, throwing her concerned looks every so often, and it was grating on her nerves.

"What?" she snapped.

Tom didn't flinch from her tone the way his body was telling him to, he simply smirked at her and gestured at Riley.

"What happens when he leads us to the boss?"

"Simple. We find the bitch, we stop the bitch."

"Yeah, that's all well and good, but Buff, she's human, and I'm sure that this organisation is more that one woman."

Buffy stopped walking and halted Riley.

"Your right," she sighed and looked up at the sky before making eye contact again.

"Okay, we find her and get the information we need, then we back off after a friendly warning, if that doesn't stop her, we'll call in the council, see if they can't convince the authorities over here to see the light."

Tom smirked at her wording, hearing Giles come through loud and clear.

"Lead on MacDuff."

Buffy rolled her eyes at the Englishman, a small smile playing on her lips.

Willow looked from Xander's serious face, to Giles matching one, before her gaze moved over to Anya' beaming one.

"So, a Royal Flush wins then?" she said as she pulled all of the candy they were using as chips over to her side of the table.

Willow threw down her cards. Poker just wasn't her game.

Giles caught her looking at the clock again and sent her a little smile, grateful when she returned it.

"I will accept this candy as payment, though for future reference, money would be better."

Everyone groaned at Anya's comment, Willow throwing her pillow at the girl.

Buffy stared at the middle aged woman in front of her.

"You know, a very close friend of mine actually liked you, thought you were the best thing since sliced bread."

Maggie looked the blonde up and down, wondering why Riley just stood there, not doing anything when there was a Slayer with a sword to her throat.

"Your point being?"

Buffy smirked and withdrew her sword from the woman's throat.

"They say that there is a fine line between a genius and insanity. Which category do you fall into?"

Maggie's face twisted into a scowl.

Buffy saw her eyes flicker into the corner of the room and stepped back.

"T."

Tom followed her eyes and nodded, making his way over.

Buffy gasped when he opened it, not expecting to see who was on the other side.

"Kim?"

Kim walked into the room, after a little persuading from Tom.

"Buffy."

Buffy stared at Willow's ex, wondering just what the hell was going on.

Looking over at Tom, she saw that he was as confused as her.

"Okay, I want answers, and I want them now. What the hell is going on here?" The look on Buffy's face, the hard tint of her eyes forced Maggie to flinch before sighing.

Their plans were ruined now, but that was okay, she still had Adam.

Buffy stepped towards the woman and raised her sword.

"I'm waiting."

Willow jumped when the door opened to reveal Buffy and Tom.

Buffy took the offered kiss and led Willow over to the couch, sitting down and pulling Willow into her lap.

"Well, how did it go?"

Buffy looked at her watcher and shook her head, her eyes moving to Willow.

Deciding that she couldn't not tell Willow in private, Buffy stood up and pulled Willow into Giles spare room, ignoring the questions coming at her from those assembled in the room.

"Buffy? what's so bad that you brought me in here to tell me?"

Willow sat on the bed facing the Slayer and waited for her to start.

Buffy took a deep breath and looked up, meeting the eyes she longed to just lose herself in.

"How well do you know Kim?"

Willow was taken aback by the question.

"Why?" There was an edge to her voice.

Buffy shook her head, "It's not what you think, Willow, when Riley led me to Walsh tonight, Kim was there."

Willow sat back in her chair, a frown creasing her forehead.

"What?"

Buffy reached out and took Willow's hand.

"Willow, she is a part of the Initiative."

Willow's eyes closed as she thought about what that meant.

Buffy closed her eyes, not wanting to tell Willow what she was about to tell her.

"Willow, Walsh told me tonight, though I did have a sword to her throat, that Kim…well she had a special project."

Willow looked up, tears in her eyes.

"Me." It wasn't a question, just a simple fact.

Buffy nodded her head anyway.

"They got close to you…to find out things about me."

Willow flinched back from Buffy's touch and the Slayer sighed.

"And I fell for it hook line and sinker."

"Will…"

Willow stood up and began to pace between the bed and the door.

"I was so stupid, I should have questioned her. She came from nowhere and swept me off my feet, right when I needed it. And I was pathetic enough to fall for her act. I mean, who would find me attractive at first glance."

Buffy jumped into her way and grabbed her by the shoulders.

"Me."

Pushing forward, she smashed her lips against Willow's.

Pulling back, Buffy leaned her forehead against her girlfriends and spoke calmly.

"You are a beautiful, smart, sexy strong woman. Never doubt that."

Willow's face crumpled and she collapsed into Buffy's strong arms.

"She used me."

Buffy lowered Willow to the bed and lay her down before spooning against her, one hand resting on Willow's tummy, the other entwined with Willow's.

"You must be wondering."

Buffy frowned and leaned up so she could see Willow's face.

"What?"

"What I told her about you."

Buffy shook her head and pressed a gentle kiss against Willow's lips, tasting the salt from her tears.

"I love you."

Buffy pulled Willow tighter and rocked her as her girlfriend cried over the betrayal of her ex.

She knew how hard it was for Willow to find out the truth. The redhead had told her once before about how Kim had helped take away the loneliness that shrouded her life when Buffy left.

Now, that was all a lie.

As Willow drifted off into a restless sleep, Buffy's eyes turned hard and cold.

Maggie may have told her what she wanted to know about Kim, but by the time Buffy had gotten around to asking about the home made demon, the room had been swamped with soldiers and she and Tom had to fight their way out.

The Initiative was going down, and Buffy was going to make sure that Kim and Walsh went along for the ride.

Tom had filled everyone in on what had happened when Buffy and Willow re-entered the room.

"If I was still a demon, I would have been happy to grant you a wish."

Willow sent Anya a small smile and sat down on the couch, close to Buffy.

"We still don't know what we need to. What about the demon they're making?"

Buffy stroked Willow's hair and half listened as Tom explained about the soldiers and the fight that followed.

"Why were they so interested in Buffy?"

Willow flinched and Buffy tightened her grip on the redhead.

"We don't know for sure, but I assume that they wanted to know about the Slayer, how she works. I figure that a place like that would have loved to get their hands on the Chosen One."

Buffy kissed Willow on the cheek before standing up and heading over to Giles phone.

Dialling a number she now knew by heart, Buffy waited for someone to pick up, not caring about the time difference across the Atlantic.

"Hello?"

"This is Buffy, put Traver's on the phone."

She waited for a minute, her impatience growing, before he finally came to the phone.

"Miss Summers, I trust you are well?"

Buffy snorted and rolled her eyes at Tom.

"You have one day. I want the entire special ops teams over here by sundown tomorrow. Leave one unit with Faith, but I want the rest in Sunnydale."

He spluttered on he other end of the phone.

"Don't make me repeat myself." Buffy's voice had turned hard.

The was silence before he cleared his throat.

"Of course."

Buffy went to hang up before a thought occurred to her.

"Oh and Traver's? There is enough going on right now, I don't want to have to deal with you too. Stay in England and send over Phillips."

Phillips was head of the special ops programme, and Buffy knew that Traver's hated him for it.

"Of course."

Buffy hung up after muttering a tense 'goodbye' and turned to face her family.

"The teams will be here by tomorrow night."

Tom nodded, as did Jonny.

Xander looked from Buffy to Giles.

"How many people are we talking here?"

Buffy smiled and shared a glance with Giles.

"Ten groups of three, each highly trained in all manners of combat, both the human variety and the demonic."

Xander sat back, a weird look on his face.

"You do realise that we are about to take on the US Military?"

Buffy smirked at Giles.

"Ready for the Civil War take two?"

Giles snorted and reached for his tea.

"Just pray it works in the favour of the English this time."

The Americans in the room didn't know whether to laugh or not, though they all echoed the statement.

Buffy looked at her tired girlfriend and picked her up.

"Giles, we're staying here."

She never gave him the chance to object as she carried Willow back into the spare room.

Buffy closed the door softly behind them, not bothering to listen to Xander questioning Tom on the Special Ops teams.

"What time is it?"

Buffy's head twisted to look at the clock before she lowered both herself and Willow to the bed.

"Ten thirty, still early."

Willow snuggled into Buffy and the Slayer sighed, wrapping her arms tightly around her girlfriend.

"You have to patrol still."

Buffy closed her eyes and breathed in the scent of the redhead in her arms.

"Tom is going to do it."

Willow smiled and in minutes, she was sleeping.

Buffy lay awake and stared at the ceiling.

Giles stuck his head in the bedroom two hours later and had to smile at the sight before him.

Buffy was curled around Willow, purring as she slept.

Closing the door as quietly as he could, Giles made his way back into the living room.

"Right, Tom take Angel on patrol with you."

Tom nodded his head and looked over at the Vampire in question.

"You ready to go now?"

Angel nodded and stood up, grabbing his sword as he passed Giles' table.

"Ready."

Giles told them to be wary of the Initiative and to try and lean more about this demon from the locals.

Buffy woke up, letting the remains of her dream float through her mind.

If it was a Slayer dream, she knew that what they were about to face was bad.

Hearing a groan come from Willow, Buffy curled herself around the redhead and soon, she calmed again.

Looking at the shadows on the ceiling, caused by the moonlight, Buffy pictured the thing in her mind.

Part demon, part machine, and chillingly enough, part human.

Just how insane were the Initiative anyway?

Angel and Tom returned just after two in the morning, each one looking tired.

"For some reason, the demons and vamps were out in force tonight."

Giles gave Angel a half smile.

"Buffy will be sorry she missed that."

Angel nodded, and went into the kitchen to eat.

Tom looked between Giles and the door to the spare room.

"Anything?"

The watcher shook his head no.

"I expect they are still sleeping."

Tom nodded and lay down on the couch, hoping to catch some sleep himself.

"Wake me up when Buffy comes out."

Giles smiled and nodded.

Willow groaned as she woke up, and smiled when she realised that Buffy was with her.

She was also staring at her.

"Hey."

Willow smiled and leaned in, placing a small kiss on Buffy's lips.

"Hey. What time is it?"

Buffy twisted her head to look at the clock.

"Its just after six."

Willow sighed and snuggled into the pillow.

"Too early to be awake then."

Buffy smiled and tightened her grip on the redhead.

"Did Angel and Tom get back okay?"

"Hmm, I heard them come back around two." Buffy nuzzled Willow's hair, and closed her eyes.

Willow sighed and snuggled into Buffy.

"Did you get any sleep?"

Buffy hmm again, and Willow smiled as her girlfriend drifted off.

"Sleep Buffy."

Buffy sighed and pulled Willow tighter to her.

Willow smiled and closed her eyes, letting sleep claim her yet again.

To be continued...

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