Title: Thou Shalt Not Suffer a Witch to Live
Author: Angelina
Email: angelina2006@hotmail.com

Part 3


Back in Sunnydale the mood was somewhat more sombre. Buffy had taken Willow back to her house so that she wouldn’t have to be alone. Joyce had taken one look at Willow and known that something was seriously wrong. However, she could tell from her daughters face that she should leave them alone for now. Sometimes it was better not to know when Buffy’s nocturnal activities were involved. Ignorance had indeed been bliss in this case. In the past Joyce had worried that Buffy was getting involved with undesirable people or that she was in a gang, smoking, drinking, any number of other things. And now Joyce wished every single night that that was all she had to worry about. It was not easy being the mother of the slayer.

In Buffy’s bedroom the two friends had talked, laughed a bit, cried a whole lot more and eventually Willow had fallen into a fitful sleep. Buffy sat, unable to sleep, thinking. Yet again one of her friends was in mortal danger. This could probably be termed an occupational hazard but it seemed to be happening with alarming frequency.

Maybe the slayer wasn’t supposed to have friends she thought as she watched Willow sleep, her face the picture of innocence. Giles’ watcher diaries had never really mentioned the slayer having a posse of friends. She was the Chosen One blah, blah, blah. And yet she was never alone in her fight against the forces of darkness. Her friends had never let her down, despite having no divine obligation to battle demons and vampires. She was grateful for each one of them. Even those who fought evil very reluctantly...with a spatula.

A smile played at the corners of Buffy’s mouth at this memory. She thought of Willow and Xander, the two people who had befriended her upon her arrival in Sunnydale and hadn’t left her side since. The original Slayerettes. Of course the gang had grown since then. Cordelia had battled in vain, trying to resist being associated with Buffy but she had eventually succumbed. Oz had joined to be with Willow. Buffy wished Oz were there now instead of touring with his band. He would know what to say....well, maybe not say exactly but his presence would be a calming influence on Willow, and all of them. And of course there was Angel. Buffy tried not to think about him too much but it was hard. There was no way the could be anything more than friends now but his beautiful eyes still haunted her dreams. However, some things had to stay firmly in the past.

Each one of these people had put themselves in life-threatening positions, repeatedly, for Buffy. And now Willow might.....Buffy couldn’t bring herself to even think the word. Willow was the first genuine friend she’s ever had. In LA all her friends had been shallow, self-centred bitches. Willow couldn’t be more different from them. She was the most caring, selfless, sweet person Buffy had ever known. And now she was sick. Very sick. Because of Buffy. Hot tears spilled down Buffy’s cheeks as she cried silently into her hands. She’d never forgive herself if something happened to anyone she loved because of her duties as the slayer.

She was trying to calm herself down when the phone rang, making her jump. She sniffed and wiped her eyes before lifting the receiver.

“Hello, Giles?”

“Yes it’s me.” Giles sounded as close to excited as he could get.

“Did you find something?”

“I think we may have, however, we need Willow’s web skills. Do you think she’s up to it?” Giles asked.

“Well, she’s got one hell of an incentive, hasn’t she?” said Buffy, trying not to get her hopes up too high. Giles hadn’t said anything concrete.

“Indeed, indeed. I’ll come and pick you both up now.”

“OK Giles, we’ll be waiting.” They both hung up. Buffy looked at herself in the mirror. She was a mess. It was obvious she’d been crying. She went to the bathroom to wash her face - she didn’t want Willow to see her in such a state. She patted her face dry and checked her reflection again. A slight improvement.

She headed back to the bedroom to wake Willow. She smiled down on the sleeping form on her bed, the gentle rise and fall of her breathing told Buffy that she was sleeping more peacefully now. It was a shame to disturb her, but it was a necessary evil. Buffy sat on the edge of the bed and shook Willow’s shoulder gently.

“Willow. Hey Will, wake up.” She said softly. Willow slowly opened her eyes. Buffy smiled but Willow didn’t return it.

“Are you OK?” asked Buffy. Willow sat up and rubbed her eyes.

“Yeah I’m fine.” She tried to smile at her friend. “I guess I was just kinda hoping that this was all a dream, that’s all.” Buffy looked into Willow’s huge eyes and felt as if a stake were being driven through her own heart. She put her arms around Willow and held her tight. Willow buried her face into Buffy’s neck, grateful for the comfort.

“I wish I could make all this go away.” said Buffy, her voice thick with emotion. “After all, if it wasn’t for me you wouldn’t.....”

Willow abruptly pulled away from Buffy. “What??” she looked genuinely shocked. “Oh Buffy.” She shook her head. “The last thing I want is for you to blame yourself. None of this is your fault.” She wiped a solitary tear from Buffy’s cheek.

“But if you hadn’t got involved with me you would....”

“Be a lot less happy than I am right now. I’d still be the shy girl no-one spoke to. I’d be in Denialville with the other residents of Sunnydale.” She smiled. “Buffy, being friends with you has changed my whole life and I wouldn’t trade a second of it for the world.”

Buffy found that she couldn’t answer, her voice had stopped working, so she just pulled Willow back into a bear hug. They stayed that was for a long time, until Buffy remembered why she’d woken Willow in the first place.

“Oh God, I can’t believe I forgot. Giles thinks they may have found something. He’s coming to get us - he needs you to check the web for something” she said, wiping her eyes again.

Willow’s face brightened at this news. “Really? He thinks we can do something to stop this?” her voice sounded hopeful. Buffy nodded.

“He didn’t give me any details but he sounded pretty worked up about something”

A horn sounded outside. Buffy and Willow got off the bed. Willow staggered to the side as she straightened up and Buffy reached out to steady her. Willow looked at her and smiled.

“I’m OK, I was just a little dizzy because I’d just woken up.”

Buffy smiled back but it didn’t quite reach her eyes which were clouded with concern. She kept an arm firmly linked with Willow’s as the walked downstairs and out to Giles’ car. She was terrified that Willow’s health was deteriorating.

Giles got out of the car and opened his door to allow Buffy to clamber into the back while Willow took the passenger seat.

“How are you feeling?” Giles asked.

“I’m OK right now thanks.”

Giles nodded and started the car. The journey to the school was silent. Both girls knew that it was better to wait until they got to the library to ask for explanations - Giles was always more comfortable around his books.

When they reached the school Buffy once again took Willow’s arm as they walked to the library. There, Xander was waiting, impatiently.

“There you are! God, you were gone so long I was sure that heap of junk you drive had broken down somewhere” Xander was obviously relieved to see them safe and well.

“OK Giles, what’s the news?” asked Buffy after getting Willow seated and standing behind her.

“Well, we read up on this Proctorion person...mostly it was what Willow had told us earlier. However, what was more interesting was what we found out about the witch who banished him into this state of limbo...or tried to at least..”

“Giles, do you think we could get the highlights here?” asked Buffy, making winding up motions with her hand.

“Yes, yes, I’m getting to the point” said Giles, looking a little flustered. “This witch was called Heather Warren and she was part of, as far as I can tell, a long line of very powerful witches, good witches who take it upon themselves to protect innocents and....”

Xander cut in “Short story: only a descendent of this Warren dame can reverse Proctorion’s curse”

Giles looked at Xander. “Yes. Quite.”

Buffy and Willow looked at Giles, Willow was first to speak.

“So do we know if there are any of these descendants still around?”

“Well, now this is the part I found to be quite exciting,” said Giles, his voice getting higher pitched with every word. “According to various prophecies I’ve read, the Warren line is destined to produce the most powerful witches the world has ever seen - three sisters, known as the Charmed ones - and here’s where it gets interesting, all the prophecies indicate that they will be born of your generation.” Giles finished with a flourish and looked at the three faces regarding him with varying degrees of alarm - it was unusual for him to be so worked up.

“Sooooo, this is a good thing right?” Buffy asked, to clarify things.

“Indeed it is. If these witches are so powerful, it may just be possible that not only will they be able to help Willow, but also they may succeed in finishing what their ancestor started.”

“OK, so this is a plan,” said Buffy, rubbing her hands together. “Where do we find these Wicca-chicks?”

“Ah.” said Giles.

“Ah?” asked Willow. “Is that a good ‘Ah’ or a bad ‘Ah’?”

Xander answered for him. “Well that’s where you come in my friend. The books kind of lose track of the line around 1900. We hoped that you could work your magic on the web...” Xander realised what he’d said and slapped his hand over his mouth. “Sorry Will, that was a bad one.”

“It’s OK Xander,” said Willow, standing up and heading for the computer. She took a few steps and suddenly doubled up in pain, clutching her stomach. The others were by her side in an instant.

“It’ll pass, it’ll pass” said Willow through gritted teeth as she rocked herself back and forth. Buffy pushed her hair off her face while Xander rubbed her back. Giles paced nervously. Slowly Willow straightened up. “I’m OK now.” She took a seat at the computer and called up a search engine. Xander pulled up a seat beside her. Giles headed into his office, closely followed by Buffy.

“She’s getting worse” she stated, matter-of-factly.

“Yes” Giles agreed.

“So, do you have any idea how long we have to stop this thing?”

“No, I don’t have the slightest idea.” Giles leaned his elbows on the desk and put his face in his hands. He lifted his head and looked Buffy in the eye. “I’m so sorry Buffy. I want to do something to help her, help all of you. I feel so useless.” He slammed his fist onto the desk.

Buffy sighed and took a seat. “Tell me about it. I never thought I’d want to fight some big, hairy monster but compared to this I’d take an army of them.”

Giles nodded. “It’s terrible to see someone you care about in trouble and not be able to do anything.”

“Giles, if anything happens to her...”

“We can’t afford to think that way.” Buffy knew he was talking to himself as much as he was to her. “We must believe that we will find these women and put and end to all of this.”

“I guess.” Neither continued the conversation. They sat in silence, Buffy knew Giles was thinking about Jenny. They couldn’t go through something like that again. They just couldn’t.

Xander watched as Willow surfed the net. “Does that happen often? The pain?”

“Not that often” Willow replied, keeping her eyes on the screen.

“Any other symptoms?”

“No, Dr Harris.” Willow said with a slight smirk. It faded quickly. “Xander I’m scared.”

He reached for her free hand and held it. “We all are Will, but we’ll get through this, we always do.”

She looked at him, her eyes bright with unshed tears, and nodded. She turned back to the screen. A grin spread on her lips. “Gotcha!”

Buffy and Giles came out of the office upon hearing Willow’s exclamation.

“Did you find something?” asked Giles.

“Well, it’s not much but the last known whereabouts of the family line is San Francisco. They bought a house there around the time of the big ‘quake. And there’s no record of the house ever being sold.”

“Is there any indication of the existence of the Charmed Ones?” asked Giles, peering at the screen.

“I can’t find anything specific, but if the family never left the house surely they’d be able to tell us something?” Willow looked at Giles with pleading eyes.

“Yes....yes that’s out best hope.” Giles confirmed.

“So we’re off to San Francisco?” asked Xander.

“Maybe Willow should stay here.” Buffy said.

“No!” replied Giles and Willow together.

“No.” Giles repeated. “I think the best thing would be for us to get Willow to these women as soon as possible so they can help her.”

Willow looked relieved - she knew Buffy was only thinking of her health but she didn’t want to be left behind.

“OK then,” said Buffy. “It’s settled. What about school...and your parents?”

“I’ll deal with that.” said Giles. “We can say that we’re going on a field trip to look at various historical earthquake sites. And we can take my car.” None of the others looked particularly thrilled at this prospect but since it was unlikely that Cordelia would join them it was their only choice. Giles continued, “Willow, do you think you can type up a permission slip to that effect on the computer?”

Willow turned back to the screen and set about her task. The others watched the screen too. Each one hoping beyond hope that this was the answer, that this would make it all stop. The alternate outcome was too terrible to contemplate. This had to be it.




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