Author: Duchess
Email Address: Duchess235@aol.com
 
(Set after Amends in Buffy and Love Hurts in Charmed)

Part 1


“Hey Will!”

Willow looked up from the book she’d been reading and smiled at Xander as he approached while at the same time surreptitiously closing the book and slipping it into her bag. “Hi Xander, whatcha up to?”

“Oh you know, the usual. This morning I performed life-saving surgery on a new-born child and right now I’m taking a break from splitting an atom or two to have lunch with my good buddy Willow” He grinned widely and dropped down onto the ground beside her. “You not eating this fine lunchtime?” he asked.

“Nah, I’m not very hungry right now.....at the moment I mean....not now in general.”

“You sick?” Concern filled Xander’s normally mischievous brown eyes.

“No, I’m fine...it’s just...nothing, I’m 100%, A-OK.” She saw his doubting expression. “Honest”

“OK” Xander conceded for now but resolved to keep an eye on his close friend. He decided to change the subject. “So, what were you reading?”

“Nothing” The reply came too quickly and too forcefully. Willow nervously put a strand of red hair behind her ear.

“Nothing?” Normally Xander wouldn’t have pursued this avenue of conversation but Willow’s reaction had puzzled him. “Come on Will, I know I’m no Andrew Einstein..”

“Albert” Willow corrected him, absentmindedly.

“Whatever, I’m no scholar but I do have a vague idea what a book looks like and you were reading one when I came over”

“Oh, you know, it was just one of Giles’ demon books, what else? So have you got anywhere with Cordelia yet?” Willow asked, hoping to distract Xander from the subject at hand,. Either that or depress him enough that he would forget about it.

“No, she still won’t take my calls. Her answering machine message told me to....Hey! No fair changing the subject!” Xander was a little miffed at how easy he was to get around. “Now don’t lie to me. That wasn’t a book from the library, it was one of those modern ones with the shiny jackets that Giles hates. Now why won’t you tell me what it was?” Willow wasn’t the type to be secretive about things and she certainly wasn’t a liar. Just as he was about to quiz her further, the bell rang.

“Oh, gotta go Xand, I have a class. Later” Willow sprang up and practically sprinted into the sanctuary of the school building. Xander was left alone and worried. He decided that the best thing to do would be to talk to Buffy. He got up and set off to find her.

********

It was the end of the school day before Xander managed to track Buffy down. He located her putting books into her locker.

“Hi Buff.”

“Hey Xander, what’s up? Any luck with Cordelia?” Buffy offered him a supportive smile. She knew that he hadn’t meant to hurt Cordelia by carrying on a clandestine affair with Willow. Something had been building between those two their whole lives and it was bound to explode sometime...the fact that it came to a head while they were both in relationships with other people was unfortunate timing to say the least.

“No, look we can talk about that later. We have something serious to discuss” He raised his eyebrows to intensify the drama of his statement. Buffy was amused and intrigued by Xander’s behaviour. She doubted whether he could spell ‘serious’ never mind act that way. She decided to humour him.

“And what would that be?” she asked, suppressing a smirk.

“Willow.” That one word was enough to wipe away Buffy’s smile.

“Xander....” she began slowly, “I thought you and Willow were finished. I though your fling was flung. She’s back with Oz and you want back with Cordelia, isn’t that the situation or am I missing something?”

Xander sighed in frustration and then fixed Buffy with an annoyed look.
“Why is it when I mention Willow’s name do you automatically, no questions asked, assume that it’s about sex?”

Buffy was a little taken aback by Xander’s reaction, she continued tentatively. “Well Xand, you don’t really talk..or think, about much besides that. And given recent events between the two of you I just thought....”

“OK, OK so you’re probably justified in jumping to the wrong conclusion.” Xander allowed. He paused for a second, the word ‘sex’ had caused some very pleasant images to appear in his head. He shook it, reluctantly, to clear them away. He carried on “But it’s not about that this time.”

“So what is it about?” Buffy was getting confused.

“I’m worried about Willow” Xander said simply.

“Why?” asked Buffy, concerned. Xander wasn’t one to worry needlessly.

“Haven’t you noticed anything weird about her lately?” Xander prodded.

Buffy considered Willow’s behaviour over the last few days. “Ummm, she’s been kinda tired”

“Yeah, and she hasn’t been eating properly...and she’s hiding something?”
Buffy was becoming worried now, up until the whole Xander thing Willow had never kept anything secret. And keeping the Xander thing under wraps had completely stressed her out.

“Hiding what?”

“I saw her reading a book earlier and when I asked what it was she blatantly lied about it.”

Buffy closed her locker and headed towards Willow’s without another word to Xander.

The walked silently through the halls until they spotted a familiar head of red hair bent over a water fountain. As they drew closer they saw that she was splashing the cold water on her face.

“Willow, are you OK?” Buffy called while hurrying to her friend’s side.
Willow stood up, wiping her face with a tissue. She smiled.

“Hey guys, I’m fine, why do you as...” Her sentence was cut short as a dizzy spell overcame her and the last thing she remembered before the blackness enveloped her was two sets of arms around her, cushioning her fall.

********

When Willow awoke she was lying on a bed in the nurse’s room. Xander was sitting in a chair close by and Buffy was perched on the edge of the bed. Both visibly relaxed when they saw Willow’s eyes were open.

“Hey sleepyhead, howya doin’?” Xander asked softly, smiling down at her. Buffy’s face was still etched with worry.

“I’m fine.” Buffy and Xander exchanged a look. “Honestly guys, I was just a bit too warm earlier” Willow sat up slowly to avoid giving herself another head-rush and scaring the pants off her friends for a second time that day. The nurse came over to talk to her and Buffy and Xander stood aside, muttering softly to each other. When Willow was ready to leave they each took one of her arms, to give her support of course but mostly so that she didn’t run off before they could talk to her.

“Guys I’m totally fine, really, I’m Health-Gal!” Willow tried in vain to convince them of her all round well-being but they were having none of it. They marched her to the library and sat her down at the table.

“OK, now spill.” Xander’s eyes made it clear that this was not a request.

Giles peered around the stacks. “Oh hello, I thought I heard voices” He came down to join them. “Too much to hope for that any other student of Sunnydale High would actually want to borrow a book I suppose” He took off his glasses, rubbed his eyes and replaced them. He looked at the three young people he had come to know so well. There was something wrong, Willow looked as if she were being questioned in the Spanish Inquisition....or the Salem Witch Trials Giles thought with a smile.

“What’s the matter?” he asked lightly, hoping that it wasn’t another demon or monster problem. He was busy cataloguing his collection of medieval texts on vampiric activity in Eastern Europe and could really have done without the distraction.

“The matter is, Giles” said Xander without taking his gaze from Willow’s face “that Ms. Rosenberg here is hiding something from us.”

Willow was concentrating intently on removing a speck of dirt from underneath one of her fingernails. Buffy, who had said nothing since they’d left the nurse’s room, gently cupped Willow’s chin with her hand and made her look up. “Talk to us Will, if something’s bothering you then tell us and maybe we can help.” Willow’s eyes were filling with tears with every word. “But we can’t do anything until you tell us what’s wrong.”

Willow sniffed and attempted a watery smile. “I know I can talk to you about anything and I swear I was going to tell you....I just wanted to do a little investigative work on my own first....to make sure.”

“Make sure of what?” Giles was also worried now.

Willow sniffed again and inhaled deeply to steady her breathing. “To make sure that I didn’t have a regular illness” she said finally. These words elicited a collective gasp from the other three who then tried to cover up their reactions by all talking at once.

“Illness, so you are sick?” asked Buffy.

“I knew it” said Xander, taking no pleasure in being right.

“What do you mean, ‘not a regular illness’” put in Giles.

Willow stood and turned her back on the others. She began to speak, “Remember a little while ago when we were fighting that demon?”

“Uh, you’re gonna have to be a teeny bit more specific there Will,” said Xander, earning a ‘shut-up’ look from Buffy.

“Ariadnon, remember? He had a particular distaste for anyone with uhhh, Wiccan tendencies”

“Oh yeah, the one who called you a vile little tr..”

“We all know what he said Xander, we were there too” Buffy had been incensed by the things he had said to Willow and had no desire to hear them repeated any time soon. That particular demon had met with an especially sticky end. Total coincidence of course.

Willow continued with her story. “Well, it seems he comes from a family of witch haters. He has a brother, Proctorion, who is even more powerful than he was.” Willow appeared to be tiring and she was now leaning on the back of a chair for support. “This brother was banished from the mortal realm by a witch, but unfortunately her spell was never completed, she was killed while still reciting it. So this Proctorion, although he can’t appear in the world, can get to witches when they are practising their craft. There usually has to be some kind of link for him to do it...” Buffy, Xander and Giles were absorbing this news with a growing sense of dread. “Last week I was floating my pencil when there was a sort of explosion and black smoke came out of nowhere. I was sure I heard someone laughing too” She sat down heavily in the chair, unable to stand any longer. “That’s when I started to feel sick.”

“So I’m guessing that you’ve been reading up on this guy?” asked Buffy, not really wanting to hear the answer.

Willow nodded wearily. “At first I didn’t make the connection. I went to the doctor but he didn’t find anything physically wrong. I bought a book on health - you saw me reading it earlier Xander - but there was nothing in there either. It was by total chance that I stumbled across this guy on the web”

“So what does this demon fellow actually do?” asked Giles.

Willow swallowed and looked Giles straight in the eye. “His speciality is long, slow, painful deaths with no apparent cause..for witches” Willow couldn’t hold back any longer. A sob escaped from her throat, followed by another. Buffy immediately went to her and pulled her into her arms, at which point Willow broke down completely, sobbing pitifully into Buffy’s shoulder. Buffy was crying too, while Xander and Giles were in shock. After a few minutes, Giles broke the silence.

“Did you find anything about how this blasted demon can be stopped?” he asked.

Willow shook her head. “I didn’t read anything after what I just told you....I was....I couldn’t...”

“It’s OK Will, we understand” Buffy squeezed Willow’s shoulder a little tighter.

“Well there’s still hope then.” Said Giles, brightening a bit. “We’ve beaten demons before on numerous occasions. There must be some way to reverse this curse”
Willow smiled a little though her tears

“Buffy, why don’t you take Willow home, you should both try and get some rest - I’ll tell Faith to patrol tonight” Giles was getting into organiser mode, it calmed him down. “Xander and I will stay here until we find something to help you.” Xander nodded in agreement.

Willow was so overcome with gratitude to her friends that her tears spilled over again. Buffy told Giles to call her house as soon as they found anything and then led a still sniffling Willow out of the library. Xander and Giles did not speak. They merely got to work on what was probably the most personally important information search they had ever undertaken. They both knew the price of failure and neither was prepared to pay it.

Part 2

Meanwhile, not so very far away, chaos reigned in Halliwell Manor. Prue and Phoebe were trying to get ready for a business dinner and a date respectively while Piper was attempting to unblock the kitchen sink with a plunger...and not having a great deal of success. She threw away the useless tool in disgust.

“Phoebe” Piper yelled over the noise of MTV and a hairdryer. “Pheebs could you come in here a second?”

The hairdryer was switched off and Phoebe wandered into the kitchen still brushing her hair and singing along to the latest Blink 182 song that was blasting out of the TV.
“Yeah, what is it?” she asked

“Could you hold the flashlight for me while I look underneath the sink to see if I can clear this blockage somehow?” Normally it was Phoebe who did these little odd jobs around the house, she was quite the little handywoman, but Piper didn’t like to ask her when she was all dressed up for her date. Phoebe lifted up the flashlight and then looked at Piper, concerned.

“Are you sure you know what you’re doing?”

In truth Piper had no idea, but she’d seen people on TV banging on pipes with a wrench to clear them so she figured that was her best course of action.
“Of course I do, it’s not exactly rocket science is it? Now are you gonna help me or what?”

“Sure, Brandon won’t be here for another 20 minutes and there’s no way I could improve upon this image of perfection.” Phoebe twirled to show herself off. Piper whistled appreciatively.

“Yep, you’re gonna knock him dead.”

“Not before he pays for dinner I hope!”

Piper laughed and then noticed something about Phoebe’s apparel. “My goodness, we are organised tonight aren’t we? Usually you’d make the poor guy wait half an hour while you simultaneously shave your legs, paint your nails and get dressed.” She raised her eyebrows questioningly. “This new-found punctuality wouldn’t have anything to do with the fact that you don’t want Prue to see that you’re wearing her new dress now would it?”

Phoebe looked at Piper with wide-eyed innocence. “No......well, maybe a little” she relented, scrunching her face up at Piper who just shook her head. Phoebe switched the flashlight on and positioned herself so that Piper could see under the sink. Piper took the wrench and whacked the pipe with it a few times, a gurgling noise could be heard faintly.

“Anything happening up there?” she asked

Phoebe took her attention away from checking her nails - with all this physical labour Piper was making her do she could easily have chipped one - and glanced at the taps.
“Nothing” she replied.

Piper sighed. She decided to give it one last go. She brought the wrench down with more force than she had intended. Inevitably, the pipe burst, spewing water all over Piper. Phoebe screamed and jumped out of the way as a few drops splashed her legs. Piper was left in the dark, coughing and spluttering and fumbling for the shut off valve. Just then, a blood-curdling shriek came from the direction of the bathroom. Piper located the valve and managed to turn it off. She struggled to her feet, soaking wet, just as an irate Prue, wrapped in a towel and with soap in her hair, descended the stairs.

“What on earth are you two doing down here?” she asked in a scarily calm voice. Her sisters recognised that voice, it meant that an explosion wasn’t far off.

“Me? I didn’t do anything” said Phoebe, relieved not to be on the receiving end of Prue’s fury for a change.

“Well that’s a first” said Prue, surveying the puddles of water on the floor and her sister who resembled a drowned rat.

“Oh now wait a minute, time out. Piper makes your shower run cold...”

“Try freezing” Prue interrupted with a murderous glance at Piper.

“Whatever, she does that and you use is as an opportunity to take yet another pop at me?” Phoebe was not amused.

“Well Phoebe, you make it so easy for me.” Prue turned her attention to Piper “What the Hell did you do?”

Piper stared at Prue in disbelief. “Well Prue I just thought to myself ‘Hey, I know, I’ll go and whack that pipe until it breaks so I can totally soak myself and freeze Prue’s ass off in the process’ because you know that’s my idea of a good night’s entertainment!!” Piper glared defiantly back at Prue.

Phoebe looked back and forth between the two of them and suddenly saw the funny side of the whole thing. Her sisters, who rarely argued, were standing staring each other out, both dripping wet - Piper’s clothes were clinging to her and the soap had started to dry and leave white patches in Prue’s hair. Phoebe tried really hard to contain her laughter but it bubbled up and erupted out of her mouth before she could do anything to stop it. Her sisters both turned to look at her, incredulous.

“And what, pray tell, do you find so funny missy?” Piper demanded.

Phoebe was about to explain the humour in the situation when she noticed that Prue was looking at her strangely. In much the same way as a lioness would look at a wildebeest she imagined. Prue looked Phoebe up and down slowly before meeting her gaze. Prue’s eyes were pure ice.

“Please tell me that you’re not standing there laughing at my predicament while wearing my brand new Donna Karen dress which, as far as I knew, still had the tags on it.”

Phoebe’s laughter had completely dissolved by now. “Ummm, I could tell you that.....i.i.if you want me to.” She tried her best doe-eyed expression, it had no effect whatsoever on Prue. Phoebe continued. “And it does still have the tags on it, see? I just tucked them inside”

Prue shook her head. “Well this is just great. I wanted a chance to wear that before you had crammed your chest into it and stretched it.”

Phoebe’s eyebrows shot up, “Jealous much?”

Prue just gave her a look that was colder than the shower she’d just had. Phoebe glanced at Piper who looked quite amused by this turn of events, she shook her head as if to say ‘I’m staying well out of this one.’ Phoebe looked back at Prue worried that her anger might unconsciously trigger her power - things could start flying through the air at her at any moment.

“I’m waiting for an explanation Phoebe.”

“Prue, I had nothing to wear and I wanted to look nice for Brandon and...” Phoebe had run out of excuses and she realised the ones she had given were feeble at best. Prue started walking towards her and she started backing up. Piper decided that now was the time to get involved. Prue might do something to Phoebe that they’d all regret later so she quickly got herself between her sisters facing Prue.

“OK Prue, I’m sorry about the water and Phoebe’s sorry about the dress, now you’re gonna be late for dinner if you don’t start getting ready now. I’m sure we have a six pack of Evian in the fridge. I’ll help you rinse your hair and then..”

Phoebe had backed into the table when all of a sudden she was hit by a premonition. Piper turned to face her and both sisters waited until she had opened her eyes.

“What was it?” asked Piper

“Let me guess, it was me killing you right?” Prue put in, sarcastically.

Phoebe shook her head slowly but said nothing. Prue and Piper realised that it must have been something bad.

“Honey what is it?” asked Piper, putting a hand on Phoebe’s shoulder. Phoebe looked at both her sisters and then sat down at the table.

“I’m not sure exactly what was going on but whatever it was it was happening in this kitchen. There was a girl lying on the table and some other people I didn’t recognise. We were standing, chanting I think and then there was a kind of explosion and black smoke filled the room. And then it ended.” Phoebe was shaken by this, as she always was when her visions involved her sisters. Piper took Phoebe’s hand and looked at Prue.

“It’s not really much to go on...” Prue began

“Oh, I’m sorry, next time I’ll request a more detailed vision” said Phoebe.

“I wasn’t getting at you. I just meant that we don’t really know where to start looking in the book,” Prue explained.

Piper nodded.“Chanting and black smoke aren’t exactly specific. Are you sure you didn’t recognise anyone in the vision?”

Phoebe closed her eyes, trying to picture the people again. “No, they don’t look familiar. There was the girl on the table....another girl - a blonde...and two guys, one of them a bit older.” She opened her eyes. “That’s all I can remember.”

“Would you recognise them if you saw them again?” asked Prue. Phoebe nodded. “Then I guess you’ll just have to keep your eyes peeled.” The doorbell rang.

“Oh my God, that’ll be Brandon, I completely forgot. Maybe I shouldn’t go out.”

“No, I think you should, you’ll have more chance of seeing these people if you’re out and about” said Piper.

“I suppose, “ replied Phoebe, a smile crept onto her lips “And it would be a shame to deprive people of seeing me looking this stunning.”

“Phoebe!” said Piper, warningly. She didn’t want the whole dress topic to come up again.

“I’m going, I’m going!” said Phoebe grabbing her jacket and running out the door.

Prue was looking thoughtful. “I hate these premonitions we can’t act on”
“Yeah, I know, me too. But there’s nothing we can do now. And you should really be getting ready.” Prue grabbed Piper’s wrist to check her watch.

“Oh no, Claire’s gonna kill me! I’m never gonna make it on time!”

“Yes you will, I’ll help you rinse your hair and then you can get dressed and I’ll fix your hair while you do your make-up.” Piper reassured her while ushering her to the stairs, which Prue took two at a time.

Piper returned to the kitchen and stood with her hands on her hips looking at the mess. She sighed. It was a pity that she was no longer in the dark about Leo’s Whitelighter status. She’d feel guilty now about calling him away from his healing and teaching duties just to fix a pipe in her kitchen. What a shame, she loved watching him fix things, especially from behind. She sighed again, for a different reason.

“Piper, are you coming?” Prue’s voice interrupted her reverie. Piper headed to the fridge to get the Evian. She debated whether or not she should heat it in the microwave first.

“PIPER!! What are you waiting for, an engraved invitation?”

Piper arched an eyebrow in an attempt at an evil expression. Nah, chilled would definitely be much more fun. And with a smile on her face she started up the stairs.


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.



Part 4

As usual the sun was shining in San Francisco. But for once Phoebe wished it wouldn’t shine so brightly. The intrusive light creeping through the gap in her curtains had steadily made its way across the room and was now beaming directly onto her face. Phoebe groaned as she risked a peek and was momentarily blinded for her trouble. She fumbled about on her nightstand with her eyes closed until she tracked down her sunglasses. She put them on with a sigh of relief. That was one problem dealt with, now if she could only stop the incessant pounding in her skull and prevent her stomach from doing somersaults she’d be fine. Oh, and some mouthwash would be nice too, her tongue felt like sandpaper and the taste in her mouth was vile to put it mildly. She cursed silently, swearing never to touch alcohol again. Just as she was contemplating testing the stability of the contents of her stomach by sitting up, the door to her room burst open and Prue bounded in and leapt onto the !
bed next to Phoebe.

“Rise and shine, sister dear!” she said, none too quietly, to the pile of blankets under which Phoebe had retreated.

“Mmmmph” came the reply. Prue started pulling off blankets in search of Phoebe who she suspected was nursing a killer hangover. She planned to make her suffer.

“Come on Pheebs, it’s a gorgeous day outside, you can’t waste it lying in bed.” Prue sounded unusually chirpy. Phoebe finally emerged from the covers, hair sticking out in all directions, traces of last night’s make up smudged around squinting eyes, sunglasses perched on the end of her nose at a very strange angle. Prue looked at her and exploded into a fit of laughter.

“Piper!” she spluttered “Piper c’mere quick, and bring the camera, this should be recorded for posterity.”

Piper appeared in the doorway, without a camera, but even she had trouble hiding her amusement at the sight of her hungover sister. She walked to the bed and sat down and Phoebe immediately scooted over and put her head on Piper’s knee - she was in need of comfort and clearly Prue wasn’t’ going to offer any.

“Awwww, poor Pheebs” said Piper as she gently rubbed Phoebe’s temples.

“Sympathy works, keep going,” mumbled Phoebe.

“You don’t get sympathy for hangovers, they’re self-inflicted” said Prue, still smiling widely.

“Why are you so jovial this morning anyway?” asked Phoebe, peering up at Prue.

“Well, yours truly just happened to land an ENORMOUS account for Bucklands last night . Plus Claire got so drunk that she admitted that I deserved a raise” said Prue, looking very self-satisfied. “And, by the way, it’s afternoon, not morning.”

“Whatever” said Phoebe, “Oh, and congrats on the raise” she added as an afterthought.

“Thank you” said Prue, “I thought to celebrate I’d take my sisters out to lunch and then we could hit the mall, my treat. But if you’re not feeling well I’m sure Piper and I could...”

“Your treat? I’m up, I’m up!” said Phoebe sitting bolt upright and regretting it a second later. “But before we go I need a shower, a toothbrush and 2 bottles of aspirin.”

Piper looked at Prue “Looks like it’s gonna be dinner instead of lunch.”

Phoebe swatted her playfully. “I’ll be twenty minutes, tops”

“And I’m the Queen of Sheba” said Prue.

“OK, forty minutes” said Phoebe, heading for the bathroom.

Prue and Piper looked at each other, it would be at least an hour and a half before they even thought about leaving. Phoebe stuck her head back into the room.

“And while we’re out I can keep an eye out for the people in my vision” The face disappeared and the bathroom door slammed shut. Prue turned to Piper.

“So what’ll we do while we wait for her?”

Piper shrugged, “I’ve always wanted to read ‘War and Peace’, I reckon I could make a good start on that.” Prue laughed and the two sisters went downstairs together.

********

Giles’ battered old Citroen was making its way through the streets of San Francisco, slowly. In the front Xander was holding a street map and arguing with Giles about the best way to get to Prescott Street. In the back seat Buffy was listening to them, Willow’s head was resting on her shoulder. She was asleep and had been almost since they’d left Sunnydale.

They’d gone home from the library to tell their respective families about the trip and get the permission slips signed. Not that either Xander’s or Willow’s parents paid all that much attention to what they did anyway. It had been harder for Buffy who had to tell her mother what was truly going on. She had been trying to avoid it because she knew her mother would be upset. She was very fond of Willow and was distressed to discover the seriousness of the situation. At first light Giles had picked them up one by one. Buffy was last and Joyce came out to say goodbye. This of course led to hugs and tears before they finally set off on their way.

Buffy glanced down at Willow. How could she sleep with all that racket? Not only from Giles and Xander but from the car itself which was finding the hilly streets to be something of a challenge. Buffy touched Willow’s cheek and withdrew her hand sharply, she was scalding hot.

“Giles.” No answer, the bickering continued. “GILES” she shouted in a voice she usually reserved for troublesome vamps.

“Yes? What is it Buffy?” Giles was feeling, and sounding, rather harassed.

“Willow’s burning up back here. What should I do?” Buffy, who was no stranger to crisis, was at a loss as to how best to help her sick friend.

“You should wake her up, I think we should try to keep her awake.....especially if she’s developing new symptoms.” Giles thought for a moment. “Xander, get a bandage from the first-aid kit and wet it, Buffy, use it to cool her down as best you can” He looked at Xander who was pouring bottled water onto a rolled up bandage. “It shouldn’t be too much longer until we’re there.”

Buffy nodded. She shook Willow gently. No response. She shook her again, harder this time. Still nothing.

“Willow! Willow come on, wake up!” Buffy was becoming frantic and started shaking Willow quite vigorously. “Willow wake up!”

Willow’s body suddenly jerked and her eyes opened wide. “The tadpoles have left the building....” She allowed her eyes to focus. “Buffy?”

“God Will, you scared me half to death!” said Buffy, her heart still racing.

“I’m sorry” said Willow sleepily. She swallowed several times. “Buffy I’m really hot.”

“I know, I know” said Buffy gently, taking the damp cloth from Xander. She placed it on Willow’s burning forehead.

“Oooh, that’s nice” breathed Willow. Buffy wiped all over Willow’s face, down her neck and onto her pulse points. Willow let her head rest against Buffy’s, it was too much of an effort to hold it up right now.

Xander watched in silence from the front seat. He hadn’t cracked a joke throughout the whole journey - a fact that had not gone unnoticed by Giles or Buffy. Xander grimly turned around to face forward again. By sheer chance a sign caught his eye. It said ‘Prescott Street’.

“STOP!!” he screamed and Giles practically stood on the brakes. Everyone in the car lurched forward and Buffy only just managed to keep Willow from ending up on the floor.

“Xander what is your damage?” she demanded, eyes blazing.

Xander was gesturing backwards wildly. “We just passed Prescott Street!”

“Oh my word” said Giles, struggling to find reverse and crunching the gears in the process. The little car shot backwards up to the junction and turned into the street. They crawled along looking for number 1329, finally coming to a halt in front of the manor.

“OK, so what’s the plan of attack?” asked Xander.

“I figured we’d just go in and tell them why we’re here” said Buffy.

“And what if they won’t help us?” asked Xander worriedly.

“I kick their asses until they do.” Buffy replied without hesitation.

“Buff....” Willow looked at her disapprovingly.

“I agree with Willow, I don’t think that’s the best way to go about it,” Giles rubbed his eyes as he spoke.

“So what’s your suggestion?” asked Buffy.

“Well, our first task is to determine whether or not the people we are looking for actually live here and whether or not they have the means to help us.”

“The means?” Buffy looked confused. “I thought you said they were mega-powerful witch types?”

“No, I said that the prophecies indicated that they were. For all we know the family could have stopped practising witchcraft years ago” said Giles. “We can’t very well knock on the door and start talking about demons and spells...th.th.they might have us committed!”

Willow was looking worried. “But even if they’re not active, they’re still bona fide witches right? With powers?”

Giles was quick to reassure her, “Yes indeed, these are witches by birth and should be able to help us no matter what. Provided that they still live here of course.” Buffy shot Giles a look which Willow noticed.

“No, it’s OK, I know this is a long shot. But it’s better than sitting around waiting for....” She didn’t finish and no-one prodded her.

“Right, well, I think it would be best if you all waited here while I go in and assess the situation.” said Giles.

“You’re gonna go and suss out what’s going on in a house full of young women, huh Giles?”

“Buffy’s right, I think I should go” said Xander opening the car door.

“No, Giles and I will go” said Buffy firmly. “He can be there with the back story and I’ll use my women’s intuition to see if they’re our girls or not.” The others nodded.

Xander got out of the car, followed by Buffy, then he climbed into the back beside Willow. As she walked towards the house with Giles, Buffy’s ultra-keen sense of hearing picked up the conversation from the backseat.

“Hey, I know what we should do! I spy with my little eye, something beginning with ‘C’”

“Car”

“No fair, you could at least pretend not to know!”

“Sorry Xand” Buffy could almost hear Willow’s smile. Xander could always be counted on to cheer her up.

When they reached the door they paused and looked at each other. They were both thinking the same thing - Please let this be the answer.

Giles pressed the doorbell. A voice from inside shouted “Coming” then the door was opened to reveal a petite woman in her mid-twenties with long brown hair. She smiled warmly at the strangers on her door step.

“Hi, can I help you?”

Buffy was a little taken aback by the woman’s appearance, she didn’t look like a witch. But then again, neither did Willow. Buffy scolded herself for having such stereotypical preconceptions in her head. But she was still a little disappointed that the girl wasn’t wearing black robes and a conical hat. Just then a cat ran past their legs, it was white, another myth dispelled.

Giles replied to the woman’s question. “Yes, I’m terribly sorry to bother you, I hope this isn’t an inconvenient time.” Polite and apologetic as ever.

“Well that depends on what you have in mind” realising how that sounded the girl blushed a deep red, as did Giles, and tried to backtrack. “Wh..what I mean is..”

Buffy smiled at her. “It’s OK, we know what you meant. Giles just wants to ask you a few questions. Oh and I’m Buffy Summers by the way” she said holding out her hand. Still blushing slightly the girl shook hands with Buffy.

“Piper Halliwell.”

“Halliwell?” enquired Giles, sounding slightly worried. “Not Warren, then?”

“Warren? Not for a few generations, no.” Piper looked puzzled and somewhat apprehensive. She reminded Buffy of Willow. At that point Prue appeared behind Piper and looked questioningly at the odd couple on the porch.

“Hello” she said, without smiling.

“Oh hello,” said Giles looking relieved. “Is this your sister?” Piper nodded. “You don’t happen to have another by any chance do you?”

Piper raised her hands and Giles and Buffy froze in place.

“Oh my God, Prue, this guy freaks me out.”

“How come?” asked Prue.

“Well, he knows that we’re descended from the Warren line and now he’s asking if there are three of us, doesn’t that worry you a teeny bit?” asked Piper, her eyes wide.

Prue looked at her. “Warlocks?”

“Warlocks, demons, blacklighters, shapeshifters. Take your pick.” Said Piper shrugging.

“They’re not your run-of-the-mill warlocks are they? A guy dressed in tweed and a teenage girl? Weird.” Prue observed.

********

As this discussion was taking place Willow was waving her hand in front of Xander’s eyes. He appeared to be frozen stiff. Willow looked outside and saw a cat chasing a leaf - both were suspended in mid-air. She turned her gaze to the door of the manor and was amazed to see two women talking animatedly while Buffy and Giles stood beside them like statues.

Willow sat for a moment, wondering what she should do. Then she made up her mind. She got out of the car and headed unsteadily up the steps to the house.

“Excuse me...umm, hi!” she said to the chattering women who turned to face her, stunned.

“Uhhhh, Prue, why is she moving?” Piper looked to her big sister for an explanation.

“How the Hell should I know?” said Prue snappishly, never taking her eyes off Willow. “Who are you?”

“I’m Willow Rosenberg” She squirmed under Prue’s scrutiny. “Umm, did one of you do this to my friends?”

“You know these people?” asked Piper. Willow nodded. Piper looked at her more closely. “Are you OK?” she asked more gently.

“I’m actually not feeling too well right now.”

“Maybe we’d better all step inside and discuss this further” said Prue.

Piper raised her hand again and everything unfroze. Buffy and Giles looked at each other, then at Willow, confusion was evident on their faces.

“Hey!” Xander called from the car. “What’s going on here? Willow?”

“Come on up Xander.” Willow beckoned to him weakly. Buffy was still looking at her with question marks in her eyes.

Piper and Prue stood aside as the four travellers trooped into the manor.


Part 5

Piper showed the visitors from Sunnydale into the livingroom and invited them to take a seat. Buffy decided that she definitely liked Piper better than her sister who was still looking at them with an ill-disguised air of suspicion. Buffy, Willow and Giles sat on the couch while Xander remained standing, staring at Prue and Piper, trying to decide which one he was more attracted to.

Prue spoke, “OK, does one of you want to tell us what is going on here?”

“No, wait a minute, before we get into that I want to know what just happened on the doorstep” said Buffy.

Willow looked at Piper. She had appeared to be the one to unfreeze things so it was probably safe to assume that she had been the one to do the freezing in the first place. Piper was looking at Prue.

“So do we tell them?” she asked

Prue gave an exaggerated shrug. “Well personally I think we should just put a neon sign on the front of the house.”

Piper sighed and turned back to their guests. “What do you know about us and why are you here?”

Giles spoke up. “Well, it would appear from the events just now that you have magical abilities, and that is why we are here.”

Prue’s eyes narrowed. “Are you warlocks? Demons?”

“Good gracious no!” Giles was quite amused that he had been mistaken for a demon.

Piper turned to Willow. “But you are a witch right?” she asked. “I mean, that’s why you didn’t freeze when everyone else did.” Willow nodded in agreement.

“You can freeze time?” Buffy interjected. Piper glanced at Prue who still looked annoyed, and then nodded.

“Cool.” said Xander.

“How did you know about us?” asked Prue. “If I find out that Phoebe’s been putting ads in the paper or something I’ll...”

“Look, maybe we’d better introduce ourselves,” said Buffy. “I’m Buffy, I’m the Vampire Slayer. This is Giles, he’s my Watcher and you already know Willow’s a witch. And the deal is that we fight evil, a lot, and now Will’s under some kind of curse and we read somewhere that only the Charmed ones could reverse it so that’s why we’re here.”

Prue and Piper looked mildly shocked at all this information.

“You’re....a vampire slayer?” asked Prue.

“Well, THE Vampire Slayer actually.” said Buffy. “Now are you the Charmed Ones or not?”

Piper and Prue both nodded slowly.

Xander stepped forward. “Hi, I’m Xander by the way. Buffy omitted me from the introductions, an oversight I’m sure. And your names are?”

“I’m Piper and this is Prue. So what do you do in the group?”

“Lots of stuff.....what do you mean?” Xander was puzzled

“Well, Buffy’s the slayer, Willow’s a witch, Giles is a looker....”

“A watcher actually” said Giles.

“Sorry” Piper blushed again. “I was just wondering what you are.”

“I’m the resident wise-guy, I keep the troops entertained.” He forced a smile then he was quiet. This had never really occurred to him before.

“Right” Piper smiled awkwardly at him. Just then footsteps were heard thundering down the stairs.

“Hey, I heard voices, who was at the doo......hi!” Phoebe smiled uncertainly at the people in her livingroom.

Xander’s deep thoughts were forgotten at the addition of another gorgeous woman to the equation. Phoebe was looking from face to face, as if trying to remember something. Then realisation dawned in her eyes.

“Oh my God, it’s the people from my vision!” she said looking at her sisters. She looked at Willow. “You’re the girl on the table.”

“We like to call her Willow for short though” said Xander.

“So I guess this means we’re supposed to help you?” said Prue.

“You can see the future?” Willow addressed Phoebe.

“Yeah, sometimes, I can’t totally control it though.” Phoebe realised that she’d just told a stranger about her powers. She looked at Prue expecting to be yelled at but Prue just sat down on the arm of Piper’s chair.

“And you saw us?” asked Buffy.

“Yeah, all of you, with us, in the kitchen. I think we were doing some kind of spell.” Phoebe looked form the strangers to her sisters. “Does someone want to fill me in on the situation here?”

“We’re not all that sure ourselves but these people need our help.” said Piper.

Xander stepped towards Phoebe. “I’m Xander.”

“Phoebe.” She held out her hand and he took it and kissed the back of it. Willow rolled her eyes and Buffy made a throwing up gesture. Xander ignored them.

“Charmed I’m sure.”

“You got that right” said Phoebe, smiling at the young man who was so patently flirting with her. He was kind of cute in a dopey, puppy dog kind of way. Phoebe wondered what age he was. Buffy wanted to turn the conversation back to the matter in hand.

“So what can you do?” she aimed her question at Prue.

“Telekinesis.”

“Oh, Willow can do that!” said Buffy, proudly.

“A little” said Willow, modestly. “I can float a pencil.”

“Were you born a witch?” asked Phoebe.

“No” Willow shook her head. “I kind of got into it through helping Buffy with all the demon fighting and stuff. I’m not very good, I haven’t been doing it that long.”

“Same with us” said Phoebe.

“Oh really?” Giles was interested. “You haven’t always had powers?”

“It’s a long story. Prue and I had them when we were little but when Phoebe was born our Grandmother bound our powers so warlocks wouldn’t come after us. We only got them back when she died last year.” Piper gave them a brief overview.

Phoebe turned to Buffy. “So, you fight demons?”

“I’m the Vampire Slayer.” Buffy told her, realising that Phoebe had missed the formal introductions.

“Cool title ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’. I wish we had something like that.”

“We’re the Charmed Ones” said Prue.

“And you were ‘The Amazing Phoebe’ for a little while.” Piper said, grinning at her.

“OK, OK, I was just saying it sounded cool” grumbled Phoebe.

Piper thought of something. “Have you guys eaten?”

“Not since breakfast, which was really just half a cup of tea each from Giles’ Thermos.” said Xander.

“Well listen, I’ll rustle us all up some lunch and we can talk more when you have something in your stomachs.”

“Maybe we should make it dinner” said Prue looking at her watch and then at Phoebe. “Would you like to stay here tonight? You all look pretty exhausted.” Everyone knew she was talking about Willow.

“How very kind of you, are you sure we wouldn’t be putting you to too much trouble?” asked Giles.

“Of course not” said Piper. “I’ll share with Prue and Buffy and Willow can have my room.”

“And Xander can sleep with me” said Phoebe, smiling impishly at the teenager who was rapidly nearing the drooling stage.

“Phoebe” said Prue sternly “Stop teasing.”

“Who’s teasing?”

“Xander and I will be more than happy to sleep on the couch or the floor down here” said Giles, halting this conversation before it caused Xander to explode.

Piper took Willow and Buffy to her room. On the way upstairs Piper noticed that Willow was leaning on Buffy heavily. Piper caught Buffy’s eye and was moved by the profound concern and worry she saw there. She supposed that Buffy felt a certain amount of responsibility for her friends. Maybe she should talk to Prue, Piper thought. She left the two friends alone for now and headed back down to the kitchen. In the livingroom Giles was telling her sisters more about what was going on. Piper listened in as she went about her business.

In Piper’s room Buffy was shaking her head. “No Will, I really don’t think you should go to sleep again.”

Willow was seated on the bed looking up at Buffy imploringly. “But Buffy I’m so tired, I just want a little rest, I’m all sore and...”

A strangled cry escaped Willow’s lips before she clutched her chest and collapsed backwards onto the bed gasping for air.

“GILES!” Buffy screamed from the doorway and then sprinted to Willow’s side. She thought it was probably best not to move her or speak to her when she was in so much pain but she didn’t want to just do nothing. The big, bad slayer had never felt so impotent. She laid a hand gently on Willow’s back as Giles and Xander entered the room, closely followed by the Halliwells.

“What’s happened?” asked Giles.

“I...I don’t know..she’s in pain, I think it’s her chest.” Buffy was on the verge of tears. Giles looked as helpless as she felt. He bent down to look at Willow more closely but didn’t touch her for fear of making the pain worse.

Xander stood back , watching as his best friend fought agony he couldn’t even begin to imagine. The Halliwells didn’t know what to do or say. Phoebe tentatively reached out and squeezed Xander’s arm. He looked at her and smiled slightly. But just then his attention was drawn by a multitude of floating, glowing spheres which had appeared in the room. They seemed to be taking shape and then all of a sudden a very attractive man stood before Xander.

“Leo!” Piper’s exclamation was both happy and relieved.

“Hey Piper.” Leo glanced quickly at the woman he loved before turning to the suffering girl on the bed. He walked towards her and held out his hands which started to glow. Buffy watched mesmerised as Willow’s breathing became easier and then returned to normal except for the odd hiccup caused by the sobs which took time to subside. She gingerly sat up, her hand still covering her chest where the pain had been. She looked at Leo.

“Thank you,” she said solemnly before another wave of tears overcame her and she reached out to Buffy who embraced her tightly. Xander walked over and enveloped both girls in a hug, rocking then gently as the three friends cried together. Giles regarded Leo.

“Are you...I mean I take it you are....it’s just that I’ve never..are you a Whitelighter?”

Leo nodded and turned to the Halliwells.

“I’ve only eased the pain for now, I can’t reverse the curse, that’s up to you but you don’t have much time. She was in a tremendous amount of pain just now which means Proctorion is stepping up his plan.”

“Are you going to stick around in case this happens again?” asked Prue.

“Yeah I’ll stay but I won’t be able to stop the pain for much longer.” He looked back at Willow who was looking steadily at him, he realised that she’d heard what he’d been saying. He walked over and took her hand.

“I’m going to do everything I can to help you Willow but I can only help to a certain extent. It’s going to get worse from here on in.” He heard Buffy trying to contain a sob but Willow remained calm.

“How do you know my name?” she asked.

Leo smiled. “Whitelighters know all new witches. We’ve been watching you, you’re progressing very well.”

Phoebe thought of something. “Leo, why doesn’t Willow have her own Whitelighter?”

Leo glanced at Phoebe. “A Whitelighter is someone who guides a new witch,” he said looking at Giles “And also someone who protects her and looks out for her” his gaze moved to Buffy. “Willow is an exceptional case, it was felt that a Whitelighter was unnecessary for her.”

Everyone pondered this statement for a moment until Xander clapped his hands together twice.

“C’mon people, you heard the weird healing guy, we’re on the clock here.”

“Right, OK” Prue assumed her normal leader role. “Attic everyone, I guess the Book of Shadows is our best starting point.”

“And I brought some demonology volumes I thought might come in useful they’re in the car. Xander will you give me a hand?”

“Sure thing G-man.”

There was a flurry of activity as everyone started to leave the room. Buffy stood up but felt Willow’s hand on her arm pulling her back.

“Don’t leave me by myself.” The fear she’d been successfully hiding was apparent now on her face and in her voice. Buffy felt tears well in her eyes for the millionth time since the previous day.

“I’m not going anywhere Will, I was just going to close the door.”

“Oh...OK”

After the door was closed Buffy climbed onto the bed. Willow immediately moved so that she was sitting as close to Buffy as possible and rested her head on Buffy’s shoulder. Buffy noticed that Willow was shaking so she pulled a blanket around them both and held Willow close.

“Are you cold?” she asked.

“No.....Buffy I’m so scared.” Willow’s voice was a whisper. “Leo said we don’t have much time and that pain was so bad and it’s going to get worse and I don’t think I’ll be able to stand it.” She lifted her head to look at Buffy. “I’m such a coward aren’t I?”

“Willow listen to me, that could not be further from the truth. You’re the bravest person I know. Of course you’re scared now.” Buffy paused. “I want to tell you that everything will be fine but I can’t because I don’t know that and if I’m being really honest.....I’ve never been as scared as I am right now. Never.” Buffy fought back the lump in her throat because she had to finish what she’d started to say. “Willow, I don’t know what I’d do if you....I mean I don’t think I could go on. You are the best friend I’ve ever had and I love you so much....” The lump was now too big to fight and further words were impossible. Willow smiled at her friend.

“I love you too” she began, “but I don’t want to hear any of this ‘I can’t go on’ stuff. You have to go on, the world needs you to go on. Promise me that if...that you’ll keep fighting.”

Buffy looked at Willow through blurry eyes. “How about if I promise to try?”

“Is that as good as I’m going to get?” Buffy nodded. “Then I’ll take it.”

Buffy laughed and rested her cheek on the head of red hair on her shoulder.

********

Upon their arrival in the attic the Halliwells had found that, to their relief, the Book of Shadows was already doing that handy page flicking thing. It came to a stop on a page about Heather Warren. The three of them and Leo read intently while Giles and Xander stumbled into the attic weighed down by piles of books.

“Now I’m really impressed that that car of yours made it this far” said Xander panting from his exertion. Giles chose to ignore him.

“Any luck so far?” asked Giles. Three worried sets of eyes met his. Prue spoke first.

“According to this Proctorion can’t be defeated in the limbo state he’s in”

“Yeah, we know that” said Xander.

“Oh, right, well we have to summon him back into this realm where he can be killed like any normal demon.”

“Wow, I thought we were the only people who used phrases like ‘any normal demon’” said Xander. Again he was ignored.

“So there shouldn’t really be a problem then?” asked Giles.

The Halliwells looked at one another. Phoebe spoke up.

“Well, we don’t really know how to summon people from other realms”

“We can summon people from the past if that’s any help?” Piper put in.

“Not to worry, there should be something in this lot which will do the trick” Giles nodded to the pile of books.

“Then let’s get to work.” For once Xander was keen to participate in the research.

“I’m going to check on Willow and Buffy” said Leo heading for the door. On his way he paused to kiss Piper firmly and passionately. Xander mentally struck the middle sister from his list. The remaining people in the attic each picked up a book and started the search.

********

Downstairs Leo knocked on Piper’s door and entered when Buffy called.

“How is she?” he asked softly, seeing that Willow had fallen asleep.

“I don’t know, she’s really hot but she’s shivering. And she’s been kind of moaning, I don’t know if she’s in pain or not.”

Leo held up a hand passing it over Willow a few times.

“She’s in slight pain but nothing like she was earlier.” Leo settled down in a chair beside the bed. “You’ve been doing a great job looking after her,” he said after a while.

Buffy snorted. “Is that supposed to be funny?”

“What?” asked Leo. “There was nothing you could have done to avoid this Buffy.”

“And what about all the other times she’s been hurt or been put in danger because of me?” she asked, her voice full of bitterness.

Leo shook his head. “But you’ve always come through for her and that’s what a Whitelighter does. You’re a good friend and a good protector. We know, we’ve been watching. If you hadn’t been up to it she would have been assigned to someone else.”

Buffy let this sink in. She was silent for a long time. “So, do I get some kind of Whitelighter badge or anything?” she asked trying to lighten the mood.

Leo laughed. “Nope, I think being the slayer overrules your Whitelighterness.”

Suddenly Willow’s body stated convulsing violently in Buffy’s arms. It took a great deal of her strength to hold her down so that Leo could try and stop the fit. The convulsions eased off but Willow was now awake and in considerable discomfort.

“Oh God, my stomach hurts...it really hurts.” Willow was whining like a child. She looked back and forth between Leo and Buffy. “Please make it stop...please” she begged.

Leo shook his head. “My powers aren’t working any more, there’s nothing else I can do.”

Buffy wanted to scream at him, or hit him, but she stopped herself. She knew it wasn’t his fault. Instead she pulled Willow around so that she was facing her.

“Come on Will look at me.” She held Willow’s chin so that she was staring straight into her eyes and she began to talk in a low soothing voice about anything that came into her head. From Harmony’s latest fashion trend to what had happened in the last episode of Xena. And Willow listened. Almost like she was hypnotised. She never broke eye contact and her pain seemed to be forgotten for the time being. Leo was impressed, this kind of thing usually required a great deal of skill and training but the slayer seemed to be a natural. Buffy kept up her steady flow of words until Giles stuck his head around the door.

“We’re ready. Bring Willow downstairs, we’re all set up in the kitchen.”

Buffy looked towards him and stopped talking, straight away Willow’s pain returned.

“Owwwwww” she moaned pitifully. Leo moved to pick her up but Buffy was already on her feet with Willow in her arms and on her way out of the door.

********

In the kitchen candles had been lit and various herbs were burning. Buffy gently put Willow down on the table but kept a hold of her hand.

“So what’s going to happen here?” she asked the assembled crowd.

“Prue, Piper and Phoebe will summon Proctorion into this realm, they will reverse the curse and then..”

“And then I’ll kill him just like I killed his brother” said Buffy firmly. “Only I think I’ll hurt him more.”

“Yes, well, quite.” said Giles. “Shall we begin?”

Prue nodded. “Buffy, you’ll have to step away from Willow now, we need to form a triangle around her.” Buffy did so, reluctantly.

Prue, Piper and Phoebe stepped forward and held hands around Willow’s prone form. They began a low chant. Giles spoke softly to Buffy.

“You see, this is an everyday spell but with this much power behind it it will work in these extraordinary circumstances.” Buffy nodded but didn’t take her eyes off Willow. Leo and Xander were also looking at the young witch, willing the spell to be successful.

All at once there was a puff of black smoke which mushroomed from some point above Willow and filled the room. When it cleared, a tall, thin, dark man was standing at the foot of the table. He was dressed in flowing green robes. For a second he seemed disorientated, then he threw his head back and laughed.

“Foolish mortals! You have brought me back to the world from which I was banished, an act you would come to regret....if you were to live.”

“NOW!” Giles bellowed. Piper broke a small bottle she’d been holding, a strange red vapour emanated from the shards of glass, then Prue began to speak.

“The curse which came

From a realm other than this

Shall thence return

And remain forever in the mists”

Proctorion watched in horror as a red vapour left Willow’s body and mingled with that which had come from the bottle.

“No, how could you...you are of the Warren line!” he spat the words accusingly at the sisters.

“These demon types are so melodramatic huh?” commented Phoebe.

“The curse is reversed right?” Buffy asked. Giles, Prue and Leo all nodded. “Oh goody, now for the fun part.” And with those words she launched herself at the demon hitting him with everything she had in her. He went down under her assault and was soon howling in agony as bones broke and flesh ripped. Giles picked up a knife from the drying rack and handed it to his slayer. She accepted it and with one swift movement she drove it deep into the demon’s chest. She made sure that she looked into his eyes as he died. She pushed the lifeless body backwards and stood up.

“Nobody messes with my friends.” she said, but the tremor in her voice didn’t quite match the bravado of her words.

“Is it over?” The weary voice from behind caused everyone to turn. Willow was sitting up on the table looking at the faces of the people in the room before she was smothered by Buffy Giles and Xander all hugging her and crying.

Leo pulled Piper into his arms and kissed her. Then they watched the touching scene taking place before them. Prue and Phoebe smiled at one another.

“This is way better than a raise” said Prue softly.

“Or a shopping trip at your expense.” added Phoebe.

Prue, Piper and Leo all pretended to look shocked at this statement.

“What?” asked Phoebe. She shook her head and turned back to watch their new friends.


Epilogue

The Sunnydalers had stayed on another night in San Francisco to allow Willow time to recuperate and to avoid questions about why their field trip had been cut short. Many interesting conversations had taken place. Prue and Buffy had discussed their feelings of responsibility, Phoebe had shown Giles points of interest in the Book of Shadows and Leo had told Willow more about the work of Whitelighters. Xander had spent most of his time in the kitchen marvelling at Piper’s culinary skills which she was only too pleased to bestow on someone who appreciated them.

But the time came to say goodbye. Promises to write and call were exchanged. Phoebe and Willow agreed to meet in a Wiccan chat-room. Phoebe’s computer alias - SxyWtch - had caused some amusement.

As the visitors stood on the front porch Willow turned to Piper.

“Isn’t Leo coming to see us off?” she asked, disappointed.

Piper shrugged. “Who knows, that’s the trouble with supernatural boyfriends.”

“Tell me about it” said Buffy and Willow at the same time. At that moment, the now familiar spheres appeared, followed shortly by Leo.

“Couldn’t let you leave without saying goodbye” he said hugging Willow. He shook Giles and Xander by the hand. Then he turned to Buffy and gave her a small box and a hug.

“What’s this?” she asked, puzzled.

“Open it later” was all Leo would say.

Finally everyone was piled onto Giles car and they waved and called goodbye until the house was out of sight then they settled down for the journey home.

********

Back at the manor, once the door was closed, Piper couldn’t hold back any longer.

“So? Should I be jealous or what?”

“Huh?”

“What did you give Buffy?”

Leo chuckled. “Just a little bit of recognition.”

********

In the back of Giles’ car Buffy reached into her bag and retrieved the box Leo had given her.

“I wonder what that is.” Willow said, peering over Buffy’s shoulder.

“Beats me.” said Buffy. She opened the box carefully. When she saw what it contained she smiled. It was a silver lapel badge with one word engraved on it:

‘Whitelighter’.

THE END