The Letting Go by the Rainbow Writers

Rating: NC-17
Disclaimer: Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Willow, Tara, Faith, Giles, Dawn and all other characters who have appeared in the syndicated series Buffy The Vampire Slayer, together with the names, titles and back story are the sole copyright property of Joss Whedon, Fox and Mutant Enemy. No copyright infringement was intended in the writing of this fan fiction. All other characters, the story idea and the story itself are the sole property of the authors. This story cannot be sold or used for profit in any way. Please contact the authors for permission to reproduce this story on any other fanfiction site.
Distribution: The Rainbow Writer's Homepage: /members.tripod.com/rainbowwriters/
Mystic Muse: /mysticmuse.net
Feedback: All feedback is welcome.
Author's Note: This story is set a little over eight years from the current time place of the series in season five, (with the premise that Glory has been defeated, without the loss of any of the gang or any severe trauma to them i.e. Tough Love didn't happen in this storyline). It is a severely traumatic story, which has come about in an attempt to deal with the topic of loss and the variety of emotional responses that evolve from these life-changing experiences.
Pairing: Willow/Tara

Summary: Willow needs Tara's and Faith's help in defeating the thing that killed Buffy.

Faith walked the high wall of the cemetery with her hand buried deep in her pockets. It was quiet, too quiet. The fact she had remarked on to Jack a short few hours earlier had become even clearer as time when on and she thought more.

"You are doing entirely too much thinking." She chastised herself. "Even Giles thinks you're losing it." She laughed as she thought of the look on his face when she'd dropped by the shop to check that all was going well in their plan.

That Willow had blissfully found other things to do with her time was working out fine in the ‘keep Willow from the shop' project. That Giles had made no promising achievements made her uneasy.

Without a sound, a dark pair arrived on the path directly in front of the Slayer. The two male figures walked side by side, completely in step. They were about the same height, easily topping six feet, and the moonlight shimmered back at Faith from their cleanly shaven heads.

‘Now we have action.' Faith thought as she dropped down silently from the wall. She leaned back against the fieldstone watching them carefully.

Dark gray dress pants holding distinct creases up the middle of each leg were matched with black button down shirts, and neat preacher collars closed up tight against pale throats. The shine on the toe of reinforced steel boots was almost as bright as the gleam off their heads as they continued their walk down the path. Their approach could easily be described as a march more than a gentle stroll as they walked in perfect military unison.

She was about to do nothing but let them pass when her vision shot down as they passed under a dim streetlight and the tattoo on their right hands became visible.

"Hey boys." She pushed herself off the wall, calling for their attention. "Can you recommend a good artist?"

In perfect synchronization the pair looked up, dark eyes following Faith's move closer. Their march came to a sudden halt as they stared at her silent.

"I said I noticed your tats. Can you recommend a good artist?" She sauntered over in front of them in the path. "I'm new to Sunnydale but I'm looking to get a great big one right here." She pointed to her bare forearm. "Maybe a big ol' ugly winged angel." She looked up to meet their eyes.

In unison the pair raised their marked limbs pointing their hands out towards Faith.

"Slayer." They chorused, their voices low and unearthly. As they did, two more identical minions moved out into the path behind Faith.

"Got it in one." Faith growled back moving up onto the balls of her feet ready to pounce. "Oh, so you boys were looking for me?" She did a slow three sixty to appraise them.

"Slayer." The two behind chanted, raising their arms in a similar fashion as they began to move forward.

"Okay, so Bitchface didn't go for the smartest minions on earth – she went for the shiniest." She laughed to herself eyeing one egghead. "Yes, slayer... come to the slayer so I can kick your ass." She begged them to come forward. It would be a good feeling to send these four back to their mistress missing a few parts.

There came a slight rustle from the bushes to Faith's left, and two more of the odd creatures appeared almost from no where.

"Okay losers, come out come out wherever you are." She beckoned, wanting them all out in the open before she started to take care of business.

"Caducus -a -um." Another pair appeared to her right and the low chant of the eight figures continued in a low gravely tone. "Caducus -a -um." They spoke in unison as they moved closer.

"Yeah, okay." Faith laughed and lashed out towards the initial two creatures, hitting them with a hard high kick and taking them both down with its arc. "See, that mumbo jumbo is lost on me, boys." She was barely landed before she was airborne again, snapping off two quick kicks to put another two down.

Landing she crouched down, coming up hard to knock another in the windpipe and send him spiraling away. Head butting his partner, she grabbed his stunned face and drove it down into her knee.

"It means you are going to die." In a flash of movement one of the minions on the floor behind her flicked up onto his feet and caught the dark Slayer completely by surprise when he landed a full boot kick into her spine.

Faith felt herself tumble forward, caught before she could land by strong muscular arms before she was thrown back into the arms of another and then suddenly sharply struck across the face.

‘This is like one of those bad movies.' She mused as she was tossed about. One of those classic ones where the geek kid on the playground was surrounded and thrown from bully to bully while being beaten. The only trouble was Faith was used to being the bully, not the beaten.

"The great Anezka knows how to defeat slayer scum." The lead minion slapped her hard again.

"She's going to bleed for that." Faith bit back her head snapping and the warm feeling of blood filled her mouth.

"The great Anezka does not bleed." He stuck out again. "Such ignorance is expected from a worthless killer such as yourself."

"I'm going to fucking teach her how to." Faith growled as she gripped the arms that held her and lashed out a heavy kick to drive her attacker away. Planting her feet down firmly, she dipped down and hip-tossed the two that held her over her head and away.

Faith reached out, grabbed the shirt of the nearest man, and pulled him to her. She didn't like to be played with, and in her enraged mood she shifted him into a headlock. A moment later the entire scene echoed with the sound of his neck snapping.

"And you're right, cue ball." She glared at the one who had slapped her. "Killing is what I do." She let the dead creature fall to the ground.

"Fuck you too!" Faith foot came up and out, catching him full in the throat as she used his own momentum to her advantage. As he sunk to the ground, desperate for air, she sidestepped over and snapped his neck as well. In her mind it was all becoming too easy – break their necks and they died.

The two she had tossed away before made their bid for her blood as they rushed at her in formation.

"Come on, I'm in the mood now." She turned and spat out a mouthful of blood as they came at her. "All hot and horny for you bastards." She charged back at them, throwing herself down into a headstand at the last moment, her legs rising to deliver crushing blows to their chests that sent them up into the air and crashing down, unconscious, onto the path.

As the action continued, the leader slowly backed away, nodding to his partner, who was one of the few left standing. Anezka's minion pulled a short dagger from his shirt, lifting it to shoulder height, ready to throw it at the active slayer. With a second nod from his captain the minion released his deadly projectile.

Faith dropped her arms, rolling on the pavement and arching back to come up to stand again. She heard the whistle of the knife before she saw it and her hand came up without her even thinking as she plucked the blade from the air, the sharp serrated edge digging into her palm.

"I think this is yours." She twirled the blade to catch the tip and threw it back at its owner. The dagger drove into his chest up to the hilt and with an inaudible cry the minion dropped to the ground. "Whose wants to play next?" She looked at the remaining three as she spit out another mouthful of blood.

"Aboleoitum!" The leader snapped at the two left standing, who both ran forward, splitting up to approach the bleeding Slayer from different points.

"I am so going to shut you up in a moment." She snapped at the one who kept talking as they came to circle her.

She waited till they got close and ducked down, doing a complete three-sixty leg sweep to take them both down. Diving over, she pinned one under her knees as she took his head in her hands and was only satisfied when it hung loose a second later in her palms.

A double fisted blow made her slump forward as she slid into the pavement. It stunned her slightly, but she had always worked best when her need for self-preservation was high. The taste of blood and dirt in her mouth made that feeling redline. She quickly slid over onto her back and arched up off the ground. The glint of steel came at her in a wide arc and she sidestepped the blade, catching the creature's arm to sweep it around and drive the tip into his own stomach.

"So babbly boy, you got anything else to say?" Faith licked at her lips as she walked closer to the lead creature.

"Now I understand why the great Anezka was not surprised that a slayer's heart continues to beat after it has been ripped from her useless body." He appraised somewhat in admiration. A fine powder trailed from between his fingertips as he moved his hand in a tiny yet complex pattern.

Her rage had no words as she pulled the knife out of the dead man beside her and charged the last creature. That he would dare mention Buffy, mention her heart, mention anything about her death, drove Faith instantly insane.

The moment the sand hit the floor the patch of ground beside the minion it lit up as if encased in a broad spotlight beam. She charged at him, as he took a slight step to the side, putting him fully in the light's beam.

"I'm going to know if an angel's heart beats after death too." She launched the knife at him knowing she wouldn't make it to him in time.

"This is of no consequence." He looked down as the knife struck him in his chest, as his form began to disappear in a simmer of light. "The diversion is complete." He concluded before disappearing completely

Faith felt his words hit her square in the chest as he disappeared. Her mind and voice screamed as she threw herself into a run. It had all been a diversion. Just a way to keep her occupied, which only meant one thing.

"For people who weren't all that hungry, we've demolished the tray quite completely." Willow looked down at the empty tray and sipped at the last of the juice she'd brought up.

"It's taken us two hours, love – I think demolished was a given." Tara smiled, moving the plate over to the side table.

"And we got sorta distracted there for a minute." Willow blushed, putting her glass aside as well before snuggling back with the blonde.

"Only sorta distracted?" Tara questioned, moving closer to her. "Are you short changing me with your concentration level?" She paused. "Already?"

"No, baby." The hacker objected. "You have my total, undivided… " She was about to lean in and kiss the blonde when the air was filled with noise. The amplified, violent chiming of the hacker's collection outside split the silent night with deadly warning. She stopped mid move and her eyes went wide. "Something's breached the perimeter of the house." Her voice was barely able to say the words as she pushed herself up and threw back the curtain above the bed.

"I'll get the magic case." Tara pulled back and pushed herself to the side of the bed.

The fence outside was clouded in spots by deep red mist where the intruders had entered.

In a fluid motion Willow picked up the small lightweight crossbow by her bed and rushed to the door. The sudden sound of shattering glass filled the house, as did the sound of Dawn's scream an instant afterwards.

"Donare lumen non abdere. - Give this structure light so that none might hide in the dark." Willow rambled off the incantation as she began to prepare herself internally. Instantly every light, lamp and candle in the house glowed up bright.

She hadn't expected to find the intruders so quickly as she opened the door and the large flat blade of a broad ax arched at her. Dropping down onto her knees she barely avoided being decapitated.

"Tara, stay back." She warned the blonde trying to bring the bow up in the short space.

"Repulsum Acris." Tara pushed two hands out in front of her and the minion close to Willow literally flew backwards, smacking into a wall and sliding down it lifelessly.

"Thank you." Willow whispered as she flashed up dark eyes and the second one bore down on her. "Onus consisto mundus incumbo mentis.- Pressure of the universe to your mind." The second creature wailed suddenly as he put his hands to his head as blood began to seep out of his ears and nose.

"Dawnie, I'm coming!" Willow was up on her feet in an instant and racing past the dying forms down the stairs. Tara was hot on her heels.

Willow stumbled into the kitchen, having taken the stairs far too quickly in her panic. She stumbled barefoot onto the shards of the broken glass door, not having taken the time to see that the front end of the kitchen was littered with the dangerous material.

"Shit." She cursed as she stumbled even further forward, threatening to send herself face down into the glass.

"Contirtium Maxim." Tara breathed as she reached the bottom of the stairs and saw two minions move towards the stumbling hacker. The pair suddenly exploded in a blaze of light that filled the kitchen with a buzz like electricity, which, when it was over, left the floundering Willow in there alone. "Incolumis." She breathed again before dropping down a little on her knees as an orb of white light surrounded Willow as she flailed to keep upright. The light settled around her, and the Wicca found herself on her strangely uninjured feet.

"Are you okay?" Willow was breathing hard and instantly turned back to her lover in worry. The loud sound of fighting called from the living room with an urgent panic.

"Fine." She responded breathlessly. Leaning heavily on the banister she motioned to Willow to go help Dawnie.

"Signum nun fugio. - Seal so none may enter." Willow flashed dark eyes at the broken glass of the door and it was filled with a sludgy gray. Quickly she raced into the hallway to the living room.

"Get away from her." Dawn reluctantly lifted the vase over her head and drove it down onto the shiny head of the creature that had grabbed Jack from behind as the blonde fought another two of the intruders. One of the minions already lay incapacitated on the floor.

"Dawn, get back." Willow urged her, fully grasping the center of magic inside herself when she saw the minion turn on Buffy's sister. "Te vello paries. - Put thee to the wall." She flashed a hand at him and his form sailed over stuck off the ground to the wallpaper. "Deprimo praemo cum multo vis. - The weight of the world." She pushed her other hand at him and he wailed as he was crushed under the imaginary force.

Suddenly released from the surprise attack, Jack threw herself into fighting the two that she was struggling with, sending one to the floor with a well timed kick while breaking the other's nose with her fist. Slamming another shot into his face, she drove the small broken bone shards back into his brain and he dropped. Still fearful of him, she dropped, following him to the ground, and tried to pummel him into the floor, all of her rage and fear channeled into destroying him.

When the one beside regained his composure, without looking she just kicked out again, sending him back down.

The minion that Jack had turned into a punching bag finally breathed his last, and she pushed him away. The blonde turned immediately, her focus on Dawn, not seeing the one she had floored twice begin to rise again behind her.

"Repel outside my sanctuary!" Willow flashed angry eyes at him and drove him back out the side window clear outside the fenced in area of the property.

"WIL..." There came a loud thud from the direction of the stairs suddenly and Tara's scream stopped mid word.

"Tara!" Willow literally thrust Dawn at Jack as she was off running again to the kitchen.

"Tui lamia? - Your witch?" Two minions stood at the top of the long flight of stairs. One of them fixed Willow with its dark eyes as it snarled the words in Latin at her. The other had Tara by the hair. The blonde witch was clearly unconscious, a trail of blood snaked round her neck onto her chest. He held her over the side of the stairs, her body hanging limply in the air.

"Mei precipuus - My precious." She snarled back as her light form lifted off the ground and her eyes went pitch black. "Iuvo levamentum, tribuo fuga. - Ease her pain, give wings to her form." She focused first on Tara, a smooth shot of loving magic winding out of her heart to encase and protect the blonde. Within his hand Tara's body grew weightless just as the hacker's, hovering without his effort.

"Willow." Dawn's voice came from somewhere just behind the red haired witch. "Tara!" She squealed as she caught sight of the horrific scene.

"Reduco mei carus. - Return that which is mine." She reached up her arms and his arm literally snapped off at the shoulder, releasing Tara as she floated over and landed in Willow's awaiting arms.

"Lamnia volatilis abrumpo corrumpo hostium. - Blade at my loving door, fly straight to sever that which clouds my house." Willow flicked her eyes up and as he turned, the ax from the bedroom hall came down and landed straight into his chest. He screamed in pain and toppled over the railing, the thick heavy blade nearly splitting him in two.

"Tergum repsi, morior, exuro. - Skin crawls, skin withers, skin burns and turns." She pierced her eyes on the last creature standing, her voice gravely and unnatural. "Viscus comburo viscus - Skin devours the flesh and itself in turn."

With the cadence of her words he looked down at his hands, turning them over as small bumps appeared under his skin and slithered up under his shirtsleeves. His eyes wide, larger bumps appeared in his cheeks and forehead, crawling like worms under his skin before he began to scream.

His white flesh began to bubble and blister, the squirming creatures underneath multiplying. Clawing at the material of his shirt, large lumps pushed back as his form contorted. As his skin began to split apart, pieces of it began to move. His skin was alive, alive and hungry.

Dawn turned away as his screaming began. Jack cradled the brunette's head to her chest, forcing herself to watch as the minion disintegrated into nothing but a bloody pile of clothes on the step.

"Incolumitas salus dom diluculo, nullus incedo, nullus ira - Make safe this house till light of day, that none shall pass and incur my wrath." Willow shot out a bubble of protection around the property and with the last of her words lowered both their forms to the ground.

"Willow, are you all right?" Dawn pushed herself out of Jack's arms making a move towards the recently landed hacker.

"I'm fine." Willow went down to the ground near the door to Faith's room struggling for breath as she cradled Tara in her arms. "Tara? Tara, honey, please talk to me." She held the blonde desperately. Her lungs burned as her body panicked and fought for breath

"Tara, honey wake up. Please." Willow felt her eyes welling up with tears as darkness crept in at the edges of her vision.

Dawn bent down on one knee close to the two witches, looking desperately between both pale faces.

"Jack, Jack, call 911." The youngest Summers called back, deciding she'd seen enough as she watched Willow's pupils dilate a little.

"Tara?" Willow registered the words, her breath coming fast and hot, though there didn't seem to be enough air arriving with the effort.

The dusty haired student at the sink glanced at the small group. She put down the glass she held and moved to the phone.

"I can't breathe." Willow didn't even realize she'd hissed the words as she moved her numbing hand over Tara's face to clear the stray hairs away.

"Jack!" Dawn's worried call grabbed the other woman's attention. Jack dropped the phone and was beside them in an instant.

"Give her here." Jack said gently moving to take Tara from Willow's arms. The blonde had begun to slip from Willow's grip no matter how she'd tried to hold on. "Sunny, clear the table." She instructed quickly as she eased the blonde away from Willow.

"I need a towel, something quite thick." She barked her instruction looking between the two women she tended. Without questioning her, Dawn raced to grab the thickest one in the drawer. "Roll it for me." She glanced up and Dawn rolled the towel up into a tight tube. "Great job Sunny." She eased the towel around Tara's slender neck before pushing herself up to her feet. Carefully she moved to the table and placed the blonde on it.

Willow struggled to keep her vision open, struggled against everything to breathe, though it burned and strained the muscles in her chest.

As the words ‘she's breathing' registered in Willow's head, she felt the little control she did have faltering. Tara was alive. The world suddenly started to close off completely as she felt herself sliding sideways.

"I got you, Willow." Jack made a bit of a sliding rescue dive to prevent Willow's slumping form from hitting the floor.

"Willow!" Dawn's shrill gasp came at the same time as the sight of the hacker tumbling sideways made her burst into tears.

"Hold it together Sunny, watch Tara." Jack called over her shoulder. She knew her words were almost coarse, but she had no choice. She needed Dawn attentive and in control – she could cry later. That was the sad urgent fact of the moment, crying would come later, and hopefully there wouldn't be need for much.

Stifling her tears, Dawn reached out her hand, carefully checking that Tara was still steadily breathing. Jack quickly worked to move Willow into a better position.

"Come on Willow, don't do this." She whispered under her breath as she worked, pained by the cold feel of the hacker's oxygen depleted body. Taking one small hand, the deep blue hue under her fingertips told Jack things were not going their way.

"I'll call ambulances." Dawn suddenly grasped that she needed to move and pushed herself to reach out. Snaking her hand down the phone cord, she soon had the receiver in her hand. The busy tone was soon cut off as she got an open line and dialed 911.

Jack maneuvered Willow into a better position and checked her airway. Though nothing seemed to be blocking it, the fact that she wasn't breathing well enough to get oxygen was obvious.

"Dawn, I know nothing about witchcraft and all that stuff but that spell that Willow did, doesn't that mean no one gets in or out of here?" Jack looked up as Dawn finished reeling off the details on the phone. Dawn turned back to her both stunned and shocked.

"Shit!" Dawn put her hands up to her head trying to think. "I have to bring the spell down. I have to...." She looked around the kitchen helplessly.

"Come on Sunny you can do this, we just need a door, a hatch, a window, anything." Jack tried to be calm and help focus her lover.

"I need...." Dawn looked around before going over to the knife block and pulling out one of the blade. "By grace of..." She poised the knife by the spell wall starting but then stopping. "That won't work." She chastised herself.

"It's okay Sunny, take it nice and calm. You can do it." Jack spoke words of encouragement, though she was worried about the redhead at her feet. Very worried.

"I don't do dark magicks!" Dawn cursed back, angry for every time Willow has shooed her out of the caldron room. "Wait I know, I know." She threw the knife in the sink and put her hands on the magic wall. "Bring forth the sun's true fight, make bright my small night, give to my heart delight, a ray of purest light." She closed her eyes as the sharp flash of bright daylight engulfed the house and the walls of Willow's spell melted away. "It's her ball of sunshine spell." She rushed back to Tara. "Her and Tara made it up in college to help Buffy."

"Woo hoo baby, you rock." Jack threw a smile Dawn's way. Now they just had to wait for help to arrive. She kept a close check on Willow's breathing, hoping she wouldn't have to start CPR.

Faith ran even though her legs felt like jelly, she ran even though she was gagging on the metallic taste of blood in her mouth as she swallowed the liquid down. She ran cause she didn't know how to stop running.

Rounding the corner of the street, her boots skidded slightly as she made an arc to keep her speed up. The sight of Willow's house, every light blazing in the night sky even at the late hour, sliced into her vision as the revolving flash of red and blue lights added to the distressing atmosphere. Surrounding the block in front of the house were a half dozen police cars and a few news crews.

"Tara?" She was already screaming the blonde Wiccan's name as she crashed through the crowds of gathered neighbors and ducked under the yellow tape barrier the police had set up. "Tara?"

"Miss!" A burly cop attempted to grab her and pull her back from her race to the house. "Police line!" He barked the words at her.

"Tara!" Faith expertly slipped out of his grip and continued her race towards the porch.

"Miss, Miss." A younger blonde haired man stepped into her path with his hands up. "They're not here, they are all at the hospital."

"Tara?" Faith felt her boots sink into the wet grass just shy of the front porch as something in his words made her stop.

"Were you here during the attack?" He stepped closer noticing the blood running out of her nose and mouth. "Charlie, get one of the paramedics over here."

‘Oh god B, I'm sorry.' Faith felt the deep pang of regret enter her head as she focused on the kicked in windows at the front of the house. Focused on the black tarps that covered the bodies within the living room. Focused on the broken furniture, the broken pictures the broken serenity.

"It looks like a gang attack." He reached out to her slowly and tried to turn her away. "Let's get you looked at." He waved at the approaching paramedic.

"I'm fine." Faith shook off his attempt. "I have to..." She looked around, a blind panic setting in. "Who was hurt?" She suddenly grabbed him by the collar.

"Get your hands off him." The burly cop began to come at her when the blonde trooper put his hand up to still him.

"Look Miss, this is not helping things." He kept his voice calm. "Let go of me and I'll drive you to the hospital, okay?"

"Giles?" Faith dropped the cop back to the ground and turned around. "Where the fuck are they? They won't tell me who's hurt." Her voice was an angry childlike plea.

The Watcher pushed his way through the barrage of people to get closer to the dark Slayer. Faith manhandled her way through whatever was in her way to get to him.

"Are you all right?" Giles looked the woman up and down as she pushed people out of her way.

"Who is hurt?" She almost brought her hands to his throat and lifted him up, demanding answers. She was completely oblivious to her own state of damage.

"Faith please, just calm down." Giles fought keep a level and clear approach even though he saw the deep fire in her eyes.

"Giles, it looks like world war three erupted in this house. I was not here." Her breathing was fast and erratic. "I need to know who is hurt."

"Jack called me from the hospital." Giles wanted to reach out and calm Faith by perhaps just touching her arm or holding her shoulder, but he knew better. "I came here to find you." He explained.

"Eight of the fuckers with the tats jumped me in the cemetery, it was a fucking distraction." She cursed herself. "I should have been here."

"Who is hurt?" Faith repeated, her anger momentarily turning into ice-cold fear. If they hit the house then it was likely two people had been the main target, and with Willow being one of them Faith knew Tara would be involved.

"You need to calm down Faith, here." The watcher handed her his handkerchief for her bleeding nose.

"Giles, please..." She pressed it to her face, pleading with him. "Is anyone..." She swallowed hard.

"Dawn and Jack are fine." Giles watched Faith carefully as she pressed the light colored cloth against the blood.

"Oh Christ." Faith literally rocked with the shiver that went through her. "And Tara?"

"We don't know yet, Faith, I'm sorry." Tentatively Giles reached out his hand towards her.

"Willow?" Faith felt the edges of the world go a dark black that began to creep in rapidly. She spoke the hacker's name as an afterthought really.

"Breathing difficulties." Giles replied. "Possibly born out of panic and strain. By the sounds of it there was some heavy spell casting going on." The Watcher tired to be informative.

"I am so going to kill this fucking angel!" Faith screamed to the heavens, not even noticing when the crowd around them stopped moving.

"Yes, I know you're upset…" Giles said under his breath, throwing a weary glance at the stunned onlookers. "I'm going to the hospital, would you like a ride?"

"Hospital, now." Faith poked his arm to urge him on. The first thing she would do was see Tara, see them all. Then she would go and kill the angel.

"Oh God, Giles." Dawn literally threw herself at the Watcher as he moved through the doors into the small waiting room that had been specially assigned for her and Jack.

"Faith, Christ what happened?" The tall coed stood up as well, her right hand firmly planted in a bucket of ice.

Giles carefully closed his arms around Dawn's slender body and moved her back further into the room.

"Where is she?" Faith only took a second to take in Jack and Dawn's state of health. They were standing… breathing… crying. ‘All good.' Her mind appraised as she fixed eyes on Jack's and demanded an answer.

"Tara's in x-ray, they are doing a CAT scan." Jack's voice was firm and didn't waver under the stare.

"And Willow?" Giles asked as he soothed Dawn, knowing that the young Summers would not be of much help right now.

"Are you all right?" Giles asked, guiding Dawn to a chair and gently setting her down in it. He looked at Jack, concern written on his face

"They think I cracked a few knuckles on ugly guy's head. It's nothing big." She motioned back to him with the bucketed hand. He nodded understandingly.

"I was so fucking stupid." Faith slammed her hand against the door again. Pain shot up her arm, but she didn't care.

"Faith, this isn't your fault." Jack moved a bit closer to her. "None of us knew they were going to hit the house till… like bang… they were there."

"There was no way to know she'd hit the house." Jack shook her head. "Especially not with all of Willow's witchy alarms."

"Yeah, I have so much faith in that spell shit now." Faith shook her head with a cynical laugh.

"The only thing that saved our asses in there was spell shit." Jack bit back. "I know I'm not you Faith, but look what they fucking did to you?" She gestured to the Slayer's face.

For the first time Faith did a brief physical stocktaking and felt her temper cool just a little.

"By my count ten hit the house." Jack didn't notice her momentary lack of attention. "Two upstairs, which Willow or Tara took out as four hit me and Dawn in the living room." She put the ice bucket down tired of its weight. "Two hit the kitchen, Willow or Tara took them out as well." She hesitated. "Two came in somewhere else, they were the ones that snuck up and did the real damage." Faith fixed Jack with deep brown eyes and made her words stop.

"What did they do?" She said very slowly, controlling every breath and syllable.

"We were in the living room." Jack stood back, hurting herself with the words. "We heard Tara scream, they'd knocked her out... he had her hanging over the stairs to drop her. Then Willow..." She took a deep breath, barely able to believe what she'd seen. After all, she knew that Dawn's ‘Aunt' was into all the weird shit. Hell, her sister had been the slayer – but this had been beyond belief. "Willow started floating and spouting off in some weird language. She ripped his fucking arm off and floated Tara into her arms all safe." She cringed. "She hit one with a floating axe from upstairs and then..." She felt her stomach turn. "Did some spell to make the other one's skin turn into bugs, and they ate him."

"She did too much, Giles." Dawn pressed herself into him. "She couldn't breathe, she went all blue." She started to cry harder. Giles held her tighter and stroked her back.

"It got really shallow." Jack looked up, meeting his eyes. "But I didn't have to do CPR, I stayed right over her till the paramedics got there just in case I had to start."

"Tara's unconscious?" Faith stared angrily at Jack. "You didn't mention she was fucking unconscious." She balled her hands into tight fists.

"I didn't say she was fucking conscious either." Jack shot back, her edged nerves unable to take the dark Slayer's badgering. "They think she has a severe concussion, that's why they have her in for the scan."

"Faith!" A stern word from Giles broke the Slayer's concentration. "You're not helping." He added pointedly. The dark Slayer took a deep breath, about to say something. She stopped as Jack spoke.

"Faith, I know you do this all the time." Jack bit back harsher words, her tone growing in anger. "But I killed three things with my hands tonight, my bare fucking hands. And by the looks of it they were partially human." She held out her hands, both swollen and bruised. "I did my best, we all did and I'm sure you did. So stop the finger pointing please."

"I'm not..." Faith began, her voice tight, but she abandoned her sentence, opting instead to pull the door open and stalk out into the corridor slamming it hard behind her.

The tall older woman opened the door and let her colleague enter the small waiting room before coming in herself. She kept her hands in the overflowing pockets of her white lab coat and looked around the sad and beleaguered group.

"My name is Dr. Drayon." She introduced herself sitting down near the door. "This is my colleague..." She pointed to the other doctor.

"We figured it would be best to speak to you together rather than spread out the wait for information." Dr. Drayon crossed her legs slowly. "As you know, Miss Rosenberg had previously suffered quite extensive damage to her lungs." She saw the blank stares and continued. "I have reviewed her hospital file and she had been strictly advised against any strenuous activity. While I know one would hardly think to include the horrors you all faced tonight as that..." She briefly thought of the Sergeant's chilling report. "In essence it took the equivalent toll as if Miss Rosenberg had run about five miles. She entered oxygen hypoxia, a state where, despite breathing, her lungs were unable to successfully transfer oxygen into her bloodstream."

"We're monitoring her blood gases and have put her on pure oxygen. She's going to be our guest here at the hospital for a few days, and hopefully with lots of rest she will be able to wean off the oxygen. If not, more permanent assistance may be required."

"With the aggravated damage I'm afraid Miss Rosenberg might be permanently dependent on oxygen." Dr. Drayon underlined the distressing fact.

"We should get a good indication in the next few days." The doctor smiled softly. "She sustained a tremendous amount of damage in the fire."

"When we're finished up here, you can go in and visit with her briefly if you like." She opened the floor up for the other doctor.

"And so we come to Miss Maclay." The other doctor looked around slightly from her place by the door and Faith's face shot up out of her hands immediately.

"After a series of x-rays and scans, we have been able to assess Miss Maclay's head trauma." The doctor briefly looked up to the dark haired woman whose attention she had grabbed by just mentioning the patient's name. "She has suffered what we call a linear fracture to the rear left of her skull." She pointed to the back of her own head marking out the area with the end of her pen

"Is she going to be okay?" Faith shot right to the point. Bones healed, it had to just be that, just a matter of time.

"The CAT scan showed some amount of swelling." The doctor continued, looking directly at Faith. "But no signs of haematoma. On the positive side, there was no bone splintering and most of the swelling is external. From what I can tell looking at her x-rays, considering past trauma to the area, she has been very, very lucky." She looked around looking for any queries or comments.

"We expect her to come round at any time." The doctor replied, glancing at her colleague.

"Thank god!" Dawn exclaimed crying again as she buried her head in Jack's shoulder.

"We need the swelling to go down, and for Miss Maclay to pass some simple tests. 48 hours most probably."

"It would be best perhaps if you had a brief visit, just to put yourselves at ease, and then went home to get some sleep." Dr. Drayon stood up.

"Perhaps I could ask you to limit it to two people per patient." The other doctor requested gently as she opened the door for her companion.

Jack shuffled behind Dawn as they approached the intensive care room that held the hacker. Her hand still hurt but the pain in it was diminishing by the minute. With more worry for Dawn than herself, she watched her lover's already pale face fade to a glowing white. She noticed that the brunette's paces were getting shorter as they got closer, and she could see the tension building in Dawn's shoulders.

"It's going to be okay Sunny. You heard the Doc." She tried to be honestly supportive. "We're just going to have to take good care of her."

"And we can do that, can't we?" Dawn's faltering footsteps finally came to a stop just a little way from the door. She glanced over her shoulder and caught her lover's eye.

"Of course we will." Jack underlined, raising her good hand to rub her lover's arm lightly. "Sunny, we'll be there for her every minute, her and Tara."

"I hate feeling so used and useless at the same time." Dawn admitted, laying her hand over Jack's. "Anezka is playing with us isn't she?" The very words made her feel almost violated.

"Dawn, I can't lie to you, we both know how the bitch works." There was an underlying bubbling tone of pure hate in the woman's voice. "But we're going to beat her, one way or another, and we won't let her hurt anyone else."

"We can't guarantee that." Dawn shook her head, knowing that though Jack meant every word, there were times that she couldn't even begin to let herself listen to such optimism. Every time they had a run in with Anezka or her people she knew they were lucky to escape with their lives.

"Do you want me to go in with you?" Jack asked knowing that it was both pointless and futile really to try and give guarantees. After all, she didn't really have them and couldn't delude herself into believing them. She knew she would do everything in her power to keep Dawn safe, keep everyone safe, but that didn't mean she would manage it.

"I think that I need to go in alone." Dawn admitted, looking up through the blinded window. "I won't be long."

"All right. I'll be here if you need me." Jack leaned against the cool painted concrete blocks of the wall.

Dawn nodded and moved gradually away from her lover's side and placed her hand around the cold metal handle of the door. Easing it down, she put a little force behind her push and took a slight breath as she stepped into the intensive care area.

The room was chilled, the cool feeling added to by the slow hiss of oxygen being pumped into the clear tent that encased the hacker's body. The scene seemed vaguely surreal. Willow's body was laid out beneath the plastic wrapping like a strange life sized doll. The other machines in the room kept silent sentry, tracking a steady but weak heartbeat and blood pressure. Her pale hands sat over the perfectly turned down blankets and sheets.

"Oh Willow." Dawn whispered as she moved closer to the clear plastic. She reached up one of her hands and gently spread it over the side of the tent. A tear forced itself out, spilling down the youngest Summers' cheek.

"Dawnie?" Willow's voice was raspy as her eyes sluggishly opened, the edge of them still a bit fuzzy, her foggy brain noted – but no longer completely black as they had been in the kitchen.

"Hi there." Dawn gave a weak but genuine smile. "You should've said you wanted to go camping." She smoothed her hand back and forth over the shear clear plastic.

"Well it's one of those things…" Willow licked her lips, trying to find some cadence in her words. "We've always meant to do."

"Do you mind if we get something a little less plastic and see through when we do. I just know that you and Tara will get up to stuff that will make the whole site blush if we have one like this." The younger woman kept up her jovial approach, not wanting to dwell on how serious it all really was.

"It's in the Summers blood." Dawn couldn't help but let her smile change to a slightly more somber version. "Does it hurt?" She added in a hushed whisper.

"It doesn't hurt really." Willow did her best to embellish the truth. "It just feels more like I've run a little too far. It burns a little."

"Do you want me to bring anything in from home?" The darker haired woman asked, her eyes flickering occasionally to monitor the various machines and screens surrounding Willow.

"I'm hoping not to be in here that long." She coughed lightly, trying to keep her body from contorting from the pain and making Dawn worry more. "Have they learned anything else about Tara?" She asked softly. She basically demanded information or threatened to pull the tent down earlier, so the doctor had given her a brief run down that sat hazily in her head.

"Only that she's going to be fine." Dawn underlined quickly. "Faith is with her right now." She added the details. "Jack's just outside, and Giles is kinda hovering between all of us."

"They didn't hurt you?" Willow asked worriedly as her brain caught up with her for a moment and fear set in. The view she had of the young woman behind the plastic was distorted and it made her worry all the more that she was missing something.

"I'm fine Willow." Dawn reassured. "Between you, Tara and Jack, there wasn't a chance of me getting hurt." She watched the effort the older woman put into forming her words, and speaking them with enough volume and fluidity to mask her pain. "I guess I should leave you." She acknowledged, her voice sad and quiet.

"Stay for a bit." Willow pushed her hand out of the plastic as best she could, desperately trying to reach Dawn.

"I don't wanna go." Dawn admitted her voice tiny. She pressed her hand right over where Willow's was. Even through the protective layer she could feel the heat and pressure from the other woman's hand.

"Then stay." The redhead whispered again and squeezed the brunette's hand as tight as she could. "Please."

Pulling her eyes reluctantly from Willow's weak form, Dawn glanced around for a chair, noticing one pushed into the corner of the room. She nodded to it for Willow to understand that she wasn't leaving, just moving her hand to get the chair. The hacker's weak nod of understanding made her dash quickly to get it.

Tucking the chair up tight to the bed Dawn sat down and moved her hand back to rest against the plastic barrier her fingertips touching Willow's just through the edge of it.

"Am I mad?" Dawn blinked a little and slowly lowered her lips to kiss Willow's pale fingers. "No I'm not mad, I'm just happy to be here with you. You're all I have Will, you're my family."

"I love you Dawn and we are family, we will always be." The redhead smiled, closing her eyes briefly at the contact.

"You should try and sleep." Dawn encouraged as she watched her ‘big sister's' eyes droop closed several times. "I'll stay right here." She vowed. "I'll be your watcher, just like I was when you had your appendix out when I was seventeen."

Dawn found herself smiling at the memory. The look of withering disbelief on Buffy's face was etched into her memory.

"I'll be Willow watcher." She whispered again, brushing her hand over Willow's cool skin.

Faith paced the bottom of the room by the end of the bed with a fevered worry. She didn't like this. She didn't like this at all. The machines, the bars on the bed, the badly decorated room, it was all just a bit too familiar.

‘This is the last time, Tara.' She thought firmly to herself as she stopped pacing and gripped her hands to the metal ends on the bed. ‘No more, okay, cause neither you nor I can take it. You're going to settle down into that little dream life you'd conjured up for you and Willow, and the only thing I'm going to have left to worry about is the fact it's her and not me, do you understand?'

She stopped, realizing that her internal rant was doing nothing. The unconscious figure in the bed was far beyond even realizing she was in the room.

"Faith." Tara whispered the name, her eyes still fully closed, her breathing deep and regular, the monitors and readouts not displaying any change.

"Tara?" Faith looked up, a little startled by the soft sound of her name. "Christ, let me get the doctor." She panicked.

"I don't need the doctor." Tara replied, still not opening her eyes. "Though you might." She added. "You're hurt, and you're dirty. Basically you smell bad." A gentle lopsided smile spread over the incredibly pale witch's face.

"Thanks baby, I'm now not at all worried about you." Faith couldn't help but smile at the comment. "That fucking angel set me up to not be at the house in time."

"She's smart." Tara very slowly eased one-eye open, but quickly closed it again as white-hot pain seared into her head through it. "Are you badly hurt?" The blonde's tone was apologetic, that she couldn't see for herself if the dark Slayer needed attention.

"Nothing that won't heal by the morning." The dark Slayer underlined that none of her pain was a big deal. "How do you feel?" She added softly, moving up to the side of the bed.

"I hurt." Tara pushed one hand out from under the blanket as she felt Faith approach. "But I've had worse."

"We don't want you to ever feel worse again." Faith wiped her hand on her jeans, trying to get the grit and blood off before she took Tara's in her own. "The Doc says you just need a few days of pampering."

"Is that Faith style pampering or some other style?" The blonde questioned closing her fingers around Faith's strong familiar ones.

"You don't really want Faith pampering baby, it never was that good." She gave her a slight smile. "Besides once Red is up and about you'll be all pampered out."

"Willow? There's something wrong with Willow?" Tara's eyes snapped open and the blonde pushed herself up in the bed, wrenching the IV line taut. Almost screaming in pain, she lifted her hand to her head before falling back against the white sheet that covered bed.

"No baby, she's fine." Faith urged her back down. "Just wore herself out a bit." She tried to soothe, realizing she was completely unequipped for this. "Not a scratch on her." She sewed the little white lie knowing it was partially true. The internal scarring from the forest fire was old and on her body there was not remotely a scratch.

"I have to go to her." Tara blindly pushed against Faith's hands, trying to swing her legs out of the tightly tucked in bed. The bright pain in her head turned into a heavy throb as her heart began racing.

"Oh no Missy." Faith put a little more force in her hands. "You are not supposed to get out of bed. Look, if you lie back down I'll tell you everything that's going on." She tried to use the only bargaining chip she had.

"I don't want to hear about it. I want to see her." Tara snapped, though this was somewhat of a stupid statement, as she couldn't actually see anything really. She put a little more effort into her fight against Faith when suddenly she was hit by a severe wave of nausea. "Faith I think I'm going to…" She didn't manage to finish her sentence before pitching forward and vomiting violently.

"Oh Christ." Faith said, unable to control her immediate reaction as a brief steady stream of puke covered her left leg. "Come on you, back in bed." She eased Tara back down while the overwhelming pain distracted her. "Willow trip postponed till you are a bit better."

"I heard a commotion." The door to Tara's room eased open and Giles looked in. "Is everything all right?" His voice trailed off as he took in the scene before him.

"Need a cloth and some water." Faith looked up at him as she rubbed the blonde's hair back off her face.

"Baby, it happens to the best of us." Faith managed to move out of the way as another wave of vomit barely missed her. "Just take it easy. I promise you, I'll get you to Red as soon as we can, if you just calm down."

"Did they hurt her?" Tara grimaced against the acidic burning in her throat. Needing to feel some relief she relaxed her body into Faith's arms. "I don't remember." She added, her tone confused.

"No, from what Jack said it was the magic." Faith tried to explain the best she could. After all she hadn't actually been there.

"Oh dear." Giles said as he walked in holding out a cup of water towards Faith. "Are you sure I shouldn't get some help?"

"A janitor in a bit might be nice." Faith rolled her eyes at his squeamishness. "Yes, she passed out."

"And what happened to you?" Tara again asked of Faith, somewhat letting the matter of Willow and what happened to her go. After all they were in a hospital and the dark Slayer had said she was going to be all right. Faith wouldn't lie to her. They had been through too much for her to start that now.

"Tara? Tara, you with me?" Faith ran her fingers softly over the blonde's hand. The nurses, cleaners and doctors had come and gone with barely any recognition from the Wicca. "You're freakin me out here, talk to me." She whispered, hoping Giles didn't notice her deep-set concern.

"You still hovering?" Tara didn't open her eyes but smiled in the direction of the dark Slayer's voice. She let herself blend back into the present, with all its new pain eliminating the memory of old agonies.

"More of a lurk really." The dark Slayer breathed a sigh of relief with the competent words.

"You must hate hospitals." The witch spoke softly as she let herself relax against the pillow.

"It's not so much of a hate as an ongoing seething loathing." Faith winked at her.

"Perhaps it's time we were leaving, Faith." From somewhere behind the dark Slayer the Watcher spoke up, the sound of a chair scraping on the floor alerted Tara to the fact he had stood up.

"Leaving? Faith?" Tara turned her head and momentarily fought to once again open her eyes, despite knowing the agony she would be letting herself in for.

"Giles is leaving, I'm not going anywhere." Faith shot a ‘don't even question me' look at the older gentleman.

"Yes Tara, I meant I am leaving. I'll sort out the house and things." Giles offered, taking steps to the door. "Do you need me to bring some fresh clothes Faith?"

"Right, then. I'll leave you in peace." Giles hung awkwardly by the door for a moment before moving away.

"You scare him. You know that, don't you?" Tara let herself relax a little more when she knew that it was just her and Faith in the room.

"A new head?" Tara smirked and squeezed Faith's hand lightly. "And to know you're near." She added quietly as she lessened her tight grip on control.

"I'm not going anywhere." The dark Slayer squeezed her hand back. "And I'll see about finding you a new head."

"Protect Willow for me." She whispered gripping Faith's hand tightly before letting unconsciousness claim her once more.

"It's what I do best for you." Faith nodded leaning back and running a gritty hand through her hair.

Dawn dug her hands into the pockets of the over large denim overalls that she wore and took a step back from the pile of glass and wood splinters that she had been sweeping up. She looked over to Jack, who was pressing filler into the large hole in the wall that had been created by the axe. She pulled one hand from the pocket and ran it through her dusty hair.

"I think the glaziers did a good job." She said glancing to the windows with their newly fitted glass.

"Yeah." Jack nodded as she fought to fill the enormous crack in the wall, wondering now if it would have been smarter to just bring in a dry wall contractor to replace the whole section. "We'll have the place looking as good as new for when they come home, Sunny." She smiled optimistically.

"I hope so." Dawn glanced around. They had made good progress clearing out a lot of the debris, but it still was painfully obvious that something bad had happened. "Do you think I did the right thing leaving Willow?" She asked, frowning softly as she absently picked up her broom again and started to sweep an already clean patch of tile.

"Dawn, you did the right thing." Jack momentarily put down the filler and putty knife, as she walked over to the brunette and put a hand out to still her movements. "She's out of intensive care and only on basic oxygen therapy. Even the doctor said she's doing great, so great that in a day or two we can take her home. The best and rightest thing you could do was leave her to a few hours of sleep while we get everything ship shape for her and Tara's return."

"Sunny, don't worry." Jack reached up and cupped Dawn's chin lightly. "We'll get it done, they'll be home, we'll all be together and we'll kick Anezka's ass."

"We so need to do that." Dawn's chin set firm. "I want to see her bleed." She hissed, her eyes turning cold. "And hear her scream."

"We'll make her pay." Jack repeated the sentiment, feeling a shiver go up and down her spine with her lover's harsh words. "So, working girl…" She playfully gripped the broom Dawn held trying to change the subject. "Shall I order us some pizza so we can take a union sanctioned break in a few?"

"I'm in more of a Chinese mood." The dark haired woman replied, letting her frosty façade melt for her girlfriend. "You make the call and I'll finish the sweeping."

"Fair deal." Jack motioned to the wall. "I think that needs a bit of time to set too. I'll start on the mess in the living room then."

It had sounded like a good idea when Tara had come up with the plan, and it was still a good idea, but now as she reached the corridor where her lover's room was, her head throbbed and she felt kinda sick. She had wanted to look good on her arrival, or if not good, at least conscious. She looked down the white corridor and watched as a nurse exited Willow's room and traveled the short distance to the nurses' station. Taking a slight steadying breath Tara focused on traveling the rest of the way.

By the time she reached the large plate glass window she was exhausted. She stopped what she thought was short of visibility and leaned her forehead against the cool glass, taking a moment to gather herself.

"Tara?" Willow looked up from the puzzle book one of the nurses had brought in for her. "Tara!" Her tone changed to a shrill worried one when she focused in on the distressed state of the Wicca.

The blonde witch slid her head up the glass to look through it, wondering if indeed she had heard her lover's voice. When she saw that the redhead was indeed looking at her and focusing on her position and state she made an effort to pull herself off the glass and straightened up. She gave an almost pathetic wave.

"Baby, baby come in here." Willow began to sluggishly move the heavy blankets off, trying to swing herself around in the bed in order to move to the blonde.

"No sweetie, don't." Tara shook her head and made a more hurried move to the door. Reaching it hellishly slowly, she pulled it open and stepped inside. "Stay still." She urged.

"How did you get here?" Willow stayed in place, urging her over as she tried to sort out the oxygen line that ran up to her nose.

"I walked." The blonde gave a little grin. "I needed the bathroom. They may come looking for me in a while." She gave her lover a childish smile.

"You're a sneaky girl." The hacker patted the bed and urged Tara to come sit with her as she pushed over to the far side of the hospital bed. "Are you all right?" She brushed her hand softly over her lover's arm. "I wanted to ‘go to the bathroom' too but I'm tethered." She pointed and smirked sadly at the line into her nose.

"They have ways of making you stay." Tara gratefully sat down on the hard mattress. "They've promised me my head will stop banging off sometime this year."

"My poor girl." Willow whispered worriedly as she leaned back on the pillows, silently encouraging Tara to join her. "I'm sorry." Her voice dropped even lower as the vivid memory of what had happened came to her again. "I should never have left you."

"Excuse me ladies, but should you be in here?" The nurse, who had appeared literally from nowhere, questioned, looking at Tara.

"Suka, this is my girlfriend." Willow gave the young nurse a bright smile. "She just had to go to the bathroom, and well…" The hacker smiled at the woman. "Visit."

"I thought that Tara has a head trauma." The young nurse looked at the blonde and then the redhead. "There is a washroom in her room."

"Do you want to stay?" The dark haired nurse asked, smiling patiently. "Do you want her to stay?" She looked back at Willow.

"Yes, yes, yes." Willow nodded, the movement making the pale drawn color of her face contrast more with her red curls. "If we promise she stays lying down? That we both do, there's no harm is there?"

"I suppose not." Suka shook her head. "Though if either of you take a turn for the worse, I have no choice but to advise the other staff where Tara is." She warned softly. "Now how about I make it so both of you are comfortable?" She offered.

"Hmmm." The nurse made an unconvinced noise and smiled. She moved over to the bed and carefully propped up some pillows and fetched more from a near by storeroom. "Here Tara." She said as she took the pale witch's hand and eased her back onto the new pillow arrangement. "When are your painkillers prescribed?" She inquired.

"Right, now you know the rules, no activity for you." She looked at Willow. "And watch the blood pressure." She looked at Tara. "Let me get the blinds." She added, moving to the window. She twisted the Venetian blinds shut and then moved to the door. "And don't even think of removing the nasal tube, it has sensors." She warned as she slipped out.

"Well that's just no fun isn't it." The hacker smiled at her lover in their reclined position.

"We'll adapt." Tara smiled back. "Though I have to say, green for your eyes is great, but as a mustache it's a big no-no." She ran a finger lightly over the slim green plastic tube.

"I never thought I'd suit a mustache." She laughed lightly, but didn't manage to dim the expenditure enough to keep herself from coughing for a second. "Are you okay?"

"I've been worse, a lot worse." Tara let her hand stroke over her lover's cheek. "And you?"

"Who really needs to breathe?" The hacker tried to joke. "I'm okay, they might let me out soon if I promise to use the portable oxygen."

"That's great, sweetie." The blonde encouraged. "Can I paint the bottle with nail varnish, like I would have when we were in college?"

"I'd be disappointed if you didn't, love." Willow grinned. "Has Dawn been by to see you today?"

"Yes." Tara nodded. "She actually convinced Faith to go and do something other than kill the undead in a barely controlled rage." There was sadness in the blonde witch's tone.

"I always said Dawn had talent." Willow slid her hand down, interlacing her fingers with Tara's. "So what did she convince her to do?"

"Go and visit Mr. Giles." Tara replied as she softly ran her thumb over the back of Willow's hand. "She sends you her love. She didn't want to crowd you with visitors, she knew that between Mr. Giles, Jack and Dawn, you're being kinda visitored out."

"Probably more like her regards or best wishes." Tara reasoned, smiling. "And by the way you, I though we had a deal, you know the whole not getting hurt thing."

"We do." Willow's eyes were soft. "But you can't expect me to just stand by and let some big ugly guy hurt my girl, now can you?"

"Oh I had him just where I wanted him." Tara put on a ‘tough' voice and gave a strange ‘hard girl' smile. "Thank you for saving me, Willow." She said her voice full of love.

"I didn't do that much, love, after all…" She smiled and slowly brought the blonde's hand up, kissing it. "You'd softened him up for me."

"Hey there's magic in the old witch yet." She wiggled the fingers interlaced with Willow's. "My head hurts, baby." She nestled closer to the hacker.

"Come here, love, let's see if we can make it better." Willow nestled closer too, kissing ever so lightly against blonde hair. "I shouldn't have let them hurt you, I'm sorry." She whispered, holding Tara close.

"Oh Willow." Tara breathed out carefully and breathed in again, blocking out the sterile hospital smell, replacing it in her nose and mind with the scent of Willow. "You didn't let them hurt me, I should have been more alert. They shouldn't have got past me."

"I should have gotten back to you sooner." Willow closed her eyes leaning in, drawing in the feel of the witch in her arms. "How about we just never ever let it happen again." She held the hand in her own tighter.

"Perfect." Tara closed her eyes and pressed herself a little closer. "I love you my Willow." She whispered.

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The Letting Go

by The Rainbow Writers

Copyright © 2003

rainbowwriters@hotmail.com