Jackter remained as he was, sitting on an ancient tree-stump, stroking his beard. “Who is next?”
As per usual, the group exchanged glances and finally Tara stepped up. “I’ll go,” she offered. “But first…I think I can help you out with Harry,” she told the demon shyly.
His eyes brightened. “Really?”
Giving him a small smile she closed her eyes momentarily and held her hands before her. There was a small flash of blue light and the orange cat appeared in her outstretched arms.
“Harry!” Jackter cried, jumping to his feet. “You’re back! Thank you, thank you!”
Tara grinned. “You’re welcome.”
Jackter stroked his purring friend and turned shining eyes to the girl before him. “Please…what may I do for you?” he asked kindly.
Tara took an unsteady breath and turned to her friends. “It’s no secret that my father didn’t want me to go to college,” she began. “But it was my mom’s wish, she made him promise to let me go before she died. So I applied for a few schools and got into more than I expected, including U.C. Sunnydale and the other one I really wanted…Lewis Women’s College. I ended up picking Sunnydale because it was co-ed, and I thought the diversity would be a good idea.” She grinned knowingly. “My father had insisted I attend an all-girls high school, even though it cost a fortune, so I wouldn’t be with boys and ‘fall from glory.’”
“Oops,” Willow grinned back at her evilly. “Sinner.”
“If he knew, about us, I’m sure he’d tell me it was the all-girls school that did it,” Tara added to the side.
“So you want to know what would have happened if you’d attended the other school?” Dawn asked, taking her friend by the hand.
Tara nodded. “Sort of. My father agreed to let me go to college until my twentieth birthday, when the “demon” side of me would have been exposed,” the Sunnydale Scoobies grinned at that, “but not without doing everything he could to convince me to stay home first. The only time I ever really stood up to him was when he started talking about me going to Clearwater Society of Redemption for a few months. It was a camp started by this scary religious woman near our house. She started it to help “cleanse” women of immoral and impure thoughts and behavior. If I’d gone there, I would have missed an entire semester of school.”
“Where the hell did you grow up?” Gunn snorted. “Deliverance country?”
Tara smiled nervously. “But I didn’t back down. My mom had made my dad promise that I could go to college, and I held him to it, using his own words against him.”
Willow took her hand. “And he gave in, so you went to U.C. Sunnydale.”
Tara beamed. “Yes…and I met you guys…”
“But you wonder,” Willow concluded, smiling easily. “What it would be like, if you weren’t here with us. It’s okay…to wonder.”
They looked into each other’s eyes. “You don’t mind?”
The red head shook her head. “Nope. I don’t relish the idea of my life without you, but I think I can handle seeing it like this. A lot of things will be different for you. For all of us.”
Tara looked unconvinced, and turned to Jackter. “That’s what I’d like to see. Wha-what my life would be like if I’d gone to that camp and didn’t show up at UCS until a semester later. If that’s okay, sir.”
The demon was happily petting his cat and nodded. “Yes yes,” he said dismissively.
Cinder and ash, flame and fire,
‘Tis the other’s life to see we desire
Two roads before us, but one to take
Show the other, the choice not made.
*FLASH!*
February, 2000
The only thing that had kept her going, that had gotten her here, standing on the curb at the University of California, Sunnydale campus, was the thought of freedom. She’d endured over five months of pseudo-brain-washing at the hands of freaks and religious zealots, hell-bent on squashing any original thought that might enter her mind, any non-passive behavior that endangered the beliefs of her counselors, and of her father.
A month into it she’d learned that if she made her eyes vacant, and kept her head down, life in the camp was easy. It wasn’t too different from being at home. Get up early, feed the animals, clean the house, make the meals, find time to read suitable books that were approved by the John Birch Society and then bathe and go to bed. The only difference here was that she was tutored in lessons straight out of books like the Godey’s Lady’s Book, published in 1848, and articles such as “How To Get Plump” from a 1908 Harper’s Bazar. It was absurd, and Tara’s natural sense of humor barely made it possible for her to keep the grin off her face as Mother Henry preached her ethics to a classroom of drones.
When she’d returned home her father had seemed pleased, though, in all honesty, he’d had very little to be displeased with her before the summer away. He declared the camp a wonder, though Tara noticed he had no words when she announced her intent to begin school in January, at UC Sunnydale, and to live on campus. She’d earned a scholarship that would more than pay for her studies. In the end, there was little her father could say that would change her mind.
And now she was here, and she’d survived. Left to move herself in all on her own, she discovered that, with nothing short of a grand stroke of luck, and the timely departure of a struggling second year student, she would be living alone for her first semester. Nothing could have pleased her more. She’d always been quiet, somewhat of a loner, and here…she could practice magic alone, the magics only she and her mother had shared until her mother’s death only a few years earlier.
Tara adored school, more so than she’d ever expected. Her classes were interesting and she was beginning to make some friends. And here she could dress as she chose, no longer stuck in the prim outfits her father had provided. For years she’d squirreled away her own money whenever she’d come across it, mostly from her liberal grandparents on her mother’s side who believed in birthday presents, and during her first week in Sunnydale she’d managed to find several good buys by hunting through the racks at funky thrift stores.
Her favorite thing to do was sit under a tree on campus and watch people. Her hometown had been small, quaint, even, and dreadfully boring. Most people there were of the same mind as her father, and all were God-fearing people. She’d known, had been told by her mother, that not everyone was like the townsfolk. There were places where diversity was a requirement, and free-thinking was encouraged. Being different…a witch, for example, was not something to be ashamed of, a belief her father pushed upon her.
It had amazed Tara for years that her parents were married to each other. She tried to understand it, even asked about it, but her mother would just smile softly. “Love is what it is, Tara-bell. It chooses you.” Her mother chose to keep her secret, that she was a powerful witch, limited to only a few chosen people, mainly her family. Tara was the only one who had embraced what her mother was, who accepted the gift she’d had passed down to her, a gift of power, magical blood. Her father had outright refused to let her practice. He had barely tolerated it from her mother. Once her mother was gone, Tara had been afraid to even mention magic.
It was on a chilly winter afternoon, with perhaps only an hour of sunlight left, but that didn’t stop Tara from bundling herself up in a blanket and sitting underneath her favorite reading tree. Propping up her history text she let the sun warm her when it dared to peek out, and half read, half watched the students as they drifted by, catching bits and pieces of their conversations. If they lingered long enough, Tara would join their dialogue, if only in her mind. In her own head, she offered witty commentary and bright suggestions about every possible topic.
She had drifted back into the Russian Revolution when a new conversation between two females sailed over on the breeze. “I just wish I knew where he was,” a miserable-looking redhead was telling an athletic blonde. “He just left…didn’t even give me a chance to process everything…”
“Did he say when he’d be back?” the blonde asked.
“No, nothing. Just poof ‘Hey, Willow, here’s your heart that I’ve just finished squishing. Poof! I’ve gotta go!’” the redhead moaned. “Not even a post-card. And all his stuff’s gone…Devon said he sent for it. He couldn’t even come and get it himself. What does that mean?”
The blonde shook her head. “I don’t know, Will. I’m sorry.”
The redhead (Willow?) sighed. “When does it stop hurting?”
The blonde gave her a sympathetic smile. “He slept with someone else, Willow…it’s gonna hurt for a while…but you and Oz have history. And it’s good history. Book-worthy.”
Willow looked unsure. “But you know what? I feel like…I feel like maybe I shouldn’t be this upset though, you know? Like…what happened with me and Xander…”
“Doesn’t even compare,” the other girl cut her off. “That was years ago, you and Xander were in a high-stress situation, and it was a kiss. A simple kiss. Oz forgave you, and that’s supposed to be behind you. It doesn’t constitute a freebie.”
There was a beat before the redhead answered. “I know…you’re right. But, Buffy…are you sure I can’t just--”
“Look out!” the blonde shouted suddenly and Tara looked up just in time to see something barreling straight for the two girls. The blonde pushed them both out of the way, their bodies landing on Tara’s blanket as the thing rushed past them, then turned for another pass. It was huge, purple, with two giant horns on either side of its head, and Tara had never in her life seen anything like it before.
“Stay back!” the blonde ordered Tara and the redhead, and bound to her feet.
Tara watched as the blonde engaged the monster in battle, moving so quickly sometimes it was hard to watch without getting dizzy. And then she noticed there were now two monsters, one was creeping up from the other side of the wooded path. “Watch out!” Tara shouted, but there was no time. Narrowing her eyes, she swallowed hard, and stretched out her hand. “Doma!” she shouted, and the second demon was thrown backwards.
The redhead next to her gasped and stared. “You—how—you!” she cried excitedly.
Tara’s eyes went wide. She hadn’t thought…had just reacted…Gasping for breath she grabbed her book and blanket and took off running.
*~*~*
*FLASH!*
March, 2000
“Still no luck getting witchy woman to talk to you, huh?” Buffy asked Willow as they got ready for bed.
Willow shook her head. “Her name’s Tara. And, no…I tried talking to her again outside Psych the other day but she just got really flustered and ran away. Like I’ve got people lying in wait, ready to grab her and burn her at the stake just because she’s a witch.”
“Did you try her dorm?” Buffy asked, pulling back her sheets and slipping under the covers.
“I don’t want to stalk her…she already seems sorta timid. Plus, I’m trying to remember that she probably witnessed her first demon that night…that would freak anyone out. It’s no wonder she’s not large on meeting up with me.”
Buffy grinned. “It’s just because she doesn’t know you. Everyone should have some Willow in their life.”
Willow beamed. “That’s what I try to tell people,” she agreed, and bounced on her bed. “So…how’s Riley?”
Buffy shrugged. “He’s still having some residual effects from Prof. Walsh’s secret house blend.”
“Was anything but the food contaminated?”
“Hard to say, but he’s not taking any chances. He pretty much declared his dorm a clean room and swears he’s only living on Doublemeat burgers from now on.”
Willow wrinkled her nose at the thought. “I don’t think he’s doing any better going that route.”
“Agreed,” Buffy nodded and nestled down in her bed.
“I’m glad he figured out what was wrong with him, but I was actually talking about how he’s doing with the Faith-thing.”
“Oh…that,” Buffy said lightly. “I sorta just gave him the Cliff Notes version. You know, she’s a Slayer, she’s batty…she hates me and all things associated with my existence.”
“No mention of…?”
“Anything having to do with people we know in LA? That’d be a big no.”
Willow nodded. “Understandable,” she told her friend, watching the Slayer carefully. After a moment, “You’re doing that again.”
Buffy’s eyes ticked to hers. “Doing what?”
“Thinking. ‘I know it’s three in the morning but I should still be out looking for Faith even though I spent the last five hours scouring the city for her with all my friends,’” she mimicked, teasingly.
The Slayer rolled her eyes and grinned. “I know…I’m sorry. But I can’t help it. She’s out there somewhere. And two guesses why she’s sticking around Sunnydale.” Rolling onto her back Buffy stared at the ceiling. “Worst timing ever…we’ve got Riley going through a twelve-step program in what’s more like three steps, and this Adam thing is out there…Spike’s back in town and now Faith decides to come out of her coma doing her best Invisible Girl act. It’s a little much.”
“And the story of our lives,” Willow agreed with a smirk.
*FLASH!*
“Any luck?” Willow asked as she and Buffy strolled across campus.
Buffy shook her head. “Couldn't find her. Don't know where I'd place that in the luck continuum.”
“At least you're not alone on this. Right now I'll bet every cop in Sunnydale's looking for her.”
Buffy nodded and blew out a breath. “Pressure's definitely high. If I were her, I'd get out of Dodge post-hasty.”
They approached the campus bulletin board when a brunette in front of them turned. “You’re not me,” she sneered.
Faith.
*FLASH!*
The scenes changed quickly now, flashing first to Faith switching bodies with Buffy, then to the elder Slayer’s struggles in the back of the Council’s retrieval team van.
Buffy-Faith glared at the Council goon in front of her. “Listen to me. You've made a mistake.”
“Threats, is it?” he sneered.
“I'm not threatening you. Listen. I am not Faith.”
*FLASH!*
“I’m gonna get drinks, you want?” Xander asked as he, Willow and Anya relaxed on a couch at the Bronze.
“Sure,” they nodded in sync.
He rose to head to the bar and ran smack into a person coming their way. “Buffy!”
“What are you doing here?” Willow asked.
Faith-Buffy shrugged. “Got bored. Thought I’d blow off some steam.”
Willow nodded. “Good! You should blow. Steam, I mean.”
Faith-Buffy smirked.
“And not even a military-type boyfriend in sight,” Xander joked. “Where is our own little army-guy tonight?”
Faith-Buffy stared at him. “You know? I think I should go find out.” And with that, she slunk off, only to run right into Spike.
“This is all the same,” Buffy moaned. “And she so doesn’t act like me! How could you guys not know?”
Her complaints died down as the scene switched to her body, but Faith’s persona, seducing Riley.
“Now this was entirely worth the trip out,” Spike laughed.
*FLASH!*
Faith-Buffy and Riley.
“I love you.”
*FLASH!*
Buffy-Faith escaping the Council, running to Giles.
“Faith switched. She had some device, she switched our bodies.” Giles stared at her. “I swear, Giles, it's me.”
*FLASH!*
The door to Giles’ flat opened and in burst Willow, Xander and Anya. “What’s going…Faith!” Xander cried, jumping in front of the girls.
“It’s okay, Xander,” Faith-Buffy began. “It’s me.”
“It’s Buffy,” Giles said, unconcerned as he paged through a book.
“It’s—huh?” Xander asked.
“It’s me, Xander…you guys…it’s Buffy. Faith, she switched us,” the Slayer implored.
“Switched? Nice. Nice try,” Willow bit out.
“It’s true,” Giles said, coming to Faith-Buffy’s side. “I invite you to question her for yourselves and we can waste more time trying to figure out the means to switch them back, or you can just for once trust me and get started now,” he told them, motioning at the stacks of books on his table.
The trio stared at him, surprised, and made up their minds.
“Where’s…she?” Willow asked nervously.
Faith-Buffy shrugged, worriedly. “I don’t know. She could be…She went after the people I love. She already attacked my mom.”
“Oh God…Riley,” Xander moaned.
“What?” Faith-Buffy gasped.
“We met up with you…her…at the Bronze. She was going to see…”
“Riley…” Faith-Buffy whispered in horror. Her eyes filled with tears but she pushed them back down. Picking up the phone she began to dial, then shut off the cordless phone. “Willow…could you? My…voice.”
Willow took the phone from her and dialed. Speaking briefly she replaced the phone after a moment. “He’s okay, Graham says he’s in the gym. He just saw him.”
Faith-Buffy nodded. “Ok. Now would you…?” she indicated the phone.
Willow nodded again and for a second time, dialed the phone. “Hey, Cordelia? It’s Willow.”
*FLASH!*
Tara stepped out into the light, relieved to be done with classes for the next ten days, and to just enjoy her Spring Break. Her midterms were completed and she was remaining on campus, alone, planning to work on some more complicated spells that she’d been promising herself with. Just the thing for a perfect Sunday afternoon.
First, she wanted to stop by the magic shop for some supplies, and she quickened her pace. “Excited over some herbs,” she chastised herself, almost giddy now. Okay, maybe not so much the herbs as the girl selling the herbs, she thought with a smile. Margot was so pretty, and a talented witch…and she and Tara had become friends quickly after Tara became a frequent shopper of the store. More than friends, if Tara was honest with herself. Quiet evenings spent reviewing magic had quickly grown into something much more between the two women.
“Wow. Margot?” Willow asked, just a hint of jealousy in her voice.
“I—I. Hey! I can’t help what Other-Tara’s doing!” Tara cried with a grin.
Tara leaned over the counter of the shop, grinning at Margot, who was ringing out the cash register for the day. “Good day?”
Margot nodded. “Not bad. Better than average, I’d say.”
“Well, good. That’s good.” She spun off the counter and walked to the back. “I love this place. It’s so inviting. Comforting. Like your favorite blanket. Mr. Bogarty did a great job fixing it up.”
Margot smiled. “Silly. I don't know why you don't just ask him to hire you on part-time.”
The bell over the door rang just then and they both looked up. “Sorry, we’re closed,” Margot began. “Oh, Willow!”
Willow grinned. “Hey Margot!” she called, looking rushed, then noticed Tara. “And…Tara!” The redhead looked from woman to woman. “You…Tara!”
“W-Willow,” Tara stammered.
“You two know each other?” Margot asked.
Willow’s face scrunched up a bit. “Uh…not exactly. Sorta,” she explained feebly.
“We…uh…run into each other sometimes at school,” Tara supplied.
“Ah…fun. Well, what’s up?” Margot asked.
Willow cast another curious glance at Tara, then addressed Margot. “What do you know about body-switching spells?”
“Body-switching?” Margot asked gravely. “Dangerous business. Serious magic. What are you planning on?”
“Oh, no, not me!” Willow corrected. “It’s…happened. To a friend of mine. And I have to find a way to switch them back.”
“You know who the other person is, I assume?” Margot asked, moving past Tara to the back of the shop.
“Unfortunately,” Willow groused, following her.
“I’ve heard of a few things…here and there. What do you know about the initial spell?” Margot asked.
“Not much. We only figured it out because the other girl’s body found us and convinced us. You know, knew stuff only my friend could know.”
“Who’s the friend?”
“Buffy,” Willow told her seriously.
Margot’s face went ashen. “Oh no,” she gasped.
“Exactamundo. So, can you help?”
“I’ll try.” Margot turned to Tara. “Tara, do you know anything about body switching?”
Tara had been staring at the two women. “Uh—I—no, not—not really.”
Margot looked at her curiously. “You okay?”
Tara nodded.
“If you’re nervous about talking in front of Willow, don’t be. She’s cool. Powerful Wicca.”
Tara’s blue eyes twitched. “You-you’re a witch?”
Willow smiled at her sympathetically. “I tried to tell you.”
Margot was feverishly paging through some books when finally she closed them all and stacked them. “Here. On loan,” she told Willow pointedly. “Figure it out then bring them back.”
Willow nodded gratefully. “You know I will. Thanks. We’ve got to get this done quick…she’s done some damage.”
“Do you know where she is now?”
“Headed to LA, we think. More people to hurt there.”
“Sounds messy. If you need help…”
“Thanks.” Willow turned to the door, then turned back. “It was nice to see you again, Tara,” she told the blonde.
Tara gave her an unsure smile. “Uh…yeah, you too.”
Willow hurried out.
“Holy schnikies!” Xander yelped. “Tara’s not there to conjure up that switcherouybob!”
“The Katra,” Willow corrected him. “So Buffy and Faith are still switched.”
“And she’s heading for LA…in my body,” Buffy gasped.
*FLASH!*
“Well, we were right. Faith arrived in Los Angeles and went straight for Angel and Cordelia…and Wesley,” Giles informed the Scoobies as he and the faux-Buffy walked from the back of his flat into the living room.
“What happened?” Willow asked worriedly. “Did they stop her?”
Faith-Buffy shook her head, sadly Faith’s dark hair rustling as she did so. “No.”
“Is everyone okay?” Xander asked.
Giles cleared his throat. “For the most part. Faith did…ah…toy with their emotions, it would seem. And both Wesley and Cordelia suffer from some physical harm, but they should recover just fine.”
“More of the mind games, huh?” Riley asked bitterly, still deeply ashamed of what had occurred between he and the faux-Buffy.
A new thought entered Willow’s mind and she murmured it to Buffy. “Did they…Angel didn’t…he knew it was…”
Faith-Buffy’s eyes were shining with tears, but she shook her head. “No…he knew. More or less right away.” Speaking so the room could here her, she went on. “Cordelia was a little miffed though that we didn’t call them sooner. Could have saved them the trouble.”
“Angel figured it out initially, but Faith revealed herself to Cordelia and Wesley separately,” Giles told them. “And after the damage was done, she left the area.”
“So we have no idea where she is,” Xander moaned.
“She could be anywhere. Hundreds of miles away,” Anya added. “You’re never getting your body back,” she informed the Slayer.
Faith-Buffy stared at her. “Thanks.”
Anya caught the look Xander was sending her and straightened up, plastering a smile on her face. “This one has bigger breasts,” she added, cheerily.
“I just can’t believe…it’s you…in there,” Riley said shakily.
Faith-Buffy’s eyes snapped to his face. “Well, it is.”
He looked up at her, apologetic. “I-I know. I’m sorry. It’s just a lot to deal with.”
“Do tell,” she told him and got up, walking across the room.
It had been days since their bodies had been switched, almost two weeks, in fact. And Buffy was going crazy inside this body. It wasn’t hers. It didn’t feel right.
“We’ll figure it out Buffy, there has to be a counter-spell,” Willow informed her.
The Slayer didn’t answer. Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Confused, she turned and opened it, eyes flying wide at the person standing on the other side.
“Oz.”
To his credit, Oz took in the sight of Faith standing before him and stayed in place. “Faith,” he countered warily.
“Oz?” Willow asked softly, rising to her feet. Xander and the rest were right behind her as she headed to the door.
The werewolf’s expression softened a bit as his eyes lit on Willow. “Hey,” he said casually, his gaze flickering back and forth between Faith and Willow.
“It’s okay,” Faith-Buffy reassured him. “I’m Buffy.”
Oz glanced at her sideways. “I knew stuff would change while I was gone…” he said after a moment.
The Slayer gave him a half-smile. “It’s…ah…complicated.”
*FLASH!*
July, 2000
“It’s been months,” Oz told her as they walked along campus. “Months. I think it’s time to start thinking of a plan B.”
“Plan B, though, right?” Willow asked him. “Plan B’s just trying something else, right? Not giving up?”
Oz nodded seriously. “I’m not giving up. But Angel and I have been everywhere. Neither of us can pick up anything on her. She’s disappeared.”
Willow’s heart was breaking. “You tried. Werewolf senses and stuff. It’s not your fault. She could be anywhere.” She took his hand and kissed it lovingly. “I just miss her. I know that’s Buffy in Faith’s body…but it’s not the same.”
“I’m inclined to say she’d agree, especially now that we have the cure. But she knows. She knows we’re all trying. Any luck with the location spells?”
Willow shrugged. “A little. I’ve only done short-range stuff. Riley’s got the Commando’s working on it. I think he still feels guilty.”
“He didn’t know it was her,” Oz pointed out. “He thought he was with Buffy.”
“But Angel knew, sorta right away. I think that kinda bothered him.”
Oz considered that. “Well…still. Angel and Buffy had that history thing. Plus, vamp senses.”
“I tried to tell him that,” Willow said softly. They knocked on the door to Giles apartment.
“You and Oz worked things out,” Tara murmured.
Willow took her hand and squeezed it, trying to ignore that her other self had done the exact same thing, but to Oz.
“I was in her body for months,” Buffy whispered, horrified. “Months.”
The door swung open abruptly, answered by a harried-looking Giles.
“Giles, what is it?” Willow asked, concerned.
He stared at her for a moment, his face stricken, his eyes round, hollow. He was pale, his body shook. Giles held open the door just wide enough for them to enter, and insde they found Xander, Anya, and Faith-Buffy, along with Riley, Angel, and a girl they didn’t know. Faith was staring blankly at the floor, tears streaking her cheeks, Riley was holding her hand, with Angel lingering in the background looking devastated. Even Xander and Anya looked as though they’d been crying.
“What’s going on?” Willow demanded. “Tell me. Please!” She turned frantically from one person to another. “Who’s this?” she asked, facing the newcomer.
Oz took her hand, put another on her back to steady her. Even without wolf senses he would have been able to detect the sadness, the horror that permeated the room.
No one spoke.
“Somebody!” Willow cried, her stomach churning.
Giles cleared his throat finally. “We’ve just…that is…Buffy…” he stopped, collected himself, and started again. “Willow, Oz…we’ve just received some news. This is…this is Marisol. She…ah…she’s the new Vampire Slayer.”
Willow blinked. “Wait, she’s what? But Buffy’s…and Faith…”
Faith’s eyes, showing Buffy’s emotions, looked into her friends.
“That would mean she…she’s gone?” Willow whispered. “Faith…she’s dead.”
Willow crumpled to floor and Oz caught her in an embrace as the girl began to cry.
“What does this mean?” a stunned Oz asked.
"It means I'm stuck in this body," Buffy managed to get out before her own tears took over once again.
“Wow. If ever there wasn’t a life you were going to choose,” Anya said brightly. “Isn’t anyone going to have a happy ending? I know I was hoping for mine to end with marriage to Ty from Trading Spaces. See anything like that for one of us?” she asked the demon.
Xander shook his head in amazement and ignored his girlfriend. “May I just say…Tara…good to know you.”
Tara gave him a wobbly grin.
Willow took her hand. “I think this gets me out of ever having to prove I’m glad you’re around.”
“Me too,” Buffy chimed in shakily. “For once? I’d like to see a path without the death and dismemberment. Especially to my person.”
“Thank you,” Tara told Jackter, still happily stroking his purring cat. “I’m staying here, but thanks…I’ve always wondered.” She turned to Willow. “I’m sorry…that things would have worked out with you and Oz…if I hadn’t…”
Willow shrugged with a grin. “You forget…I chose this path, too.”
“How many are left now?” Jackter asked. “One, two, three, four…Four,” he sighed, pointing to Angel, Buffy, Gunn and Giles in turn. “Fine, fine. Who is next?”
