FIC: Following the Bullet (2 of 2)

[Patrick Kelly <bandits@xxxxxxxxx>]

Title: Following the Bullet (2 of 2)
Author: Pat Kelly
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Sequel to "Questioning Dreams", "Jumping the Gun", and Part 1 obviously. Ties in
with "Questioning Dreams", so if you need a refresher...oh, based on some spoilers I've
heard about Season 5...
Disclaimer: Joss and Mutant Enemy only. I do not own..
No money is being made. Thanks to Alex for the title. :-)

FOLLOWING THE BULLET (TO AN END)
2/2

Eventually, they had gotten Xander cornered on the deck. Deciding he had been scared
enough, the girls called off the lynching. The three of them then brought in the bags of
groceries, and immediately began to cure their hunger. Xander had already dug into the
chips, but Buffy was making ham and cheese sandwiches by the counter. Willow sat next to
Xander at the dining table, trying to find things they could do.

"Boardwalk is our best shot." Willow said.

"Mayo or mustard?" Buffy asked her friends as she prepared to apply one of the condiments.


"Mustard." Came the echoed answer.

"Guess I'm the only one who likes the white goodness that is mayonnaise, then." She
feigned a hurt expression. "And yeah, the boardwalk's got that huge amusement park."

"I'll have mayo too." Willow said, just to see Buffy smile. It worked.

Xander rolled his eyes and grabbed the brochure as soon as Willow set it down.
"Ooh. A roller coaster! And min-golf! And bowling!"

Buffy came to the table and placed lunch in front of her friends. As she sat down, she had
an amused smile on her face that was directed at Xander. "I may have devolved with beer,
but he can do it without any help at all. Amazing talent you have there, Xander."

"Oh like you're Miss Maturity." Xander retorted.

Willow just sat, eating her sandwich, and watched as Buffy got her "I've got wicked idea"
grin on her face.

"We'll see who's mature."

The blonde got up off the chair, and walked over to Willow. She took her new girlfriend's
hand, and Willow wordlessly stood. Buffy watched Xander's face closely. He was
unsuccessfully pretending to be focused on eating, but in obvious truth, he was watching
his friends intently.

"Buffy, what -" Willow began.

"Just gonna do a little experiment, Will."

"But the last time we -" Her eyes bugged out, but she stayed silent, and grinned inwardly.

"Now. Xander, you're fine with us being together, and believe me when I say I'm glad. This
is something we want, and you not flipping out is a happy bonus. However, don't think that
I don't know what you're thinking."

"Um&okay." He choked out.

"You're imagining every possible scenario between Will and I right now, aren't you?"

"Possibly."

"That's immature right there. I can't get mad, well, because it's a guy thing. But what I
don't understand, is why. I mean, if we, say, kissed right now, would you object?"

"Not as such, no." There were beads of sweat running down his face, and his throat was now
a tad dry.

Willow surprised the both of them by kissing Buffy. Not very long, but a full-fledged
locking of the lips nonetheless. She looked at the friend she'd known since childhood, and
his mouth was now agape.

"He's going to overload. Fantasies just raised a little too, I think. Immaturity level
seems to be maxed out. It was because we gave him a visual reference." Willow said in her
best scientist voice.

Buffy touched her lips. "As enjoyable as that was for me, wouldn't you rather have been
the one doing the kissing?"

It took a second for him to answer; he had to move his jaw a few times.
"Uh&yeah. But will I ever get that opportunity?" Two shaking heads answered his question.
"Then to be realistic, imagining two females&you know&is an enjoyable alternative."

He stood, walked past them a ways, and turned back around. "And if you ask me, it's pretty
immature to manipulate someone's hormones in such a nasty way. Now, if you'll excuse me, I
have to go to the bathroom now."

Xander headed down the steps quicker than usual.

"Revenge." Buffy smiled.

"Gotta love it." Willow said, finishing Buffy's thought.

The slayer and hacker couldn't help but burst into a giggle fit.

***

"I still say it's impossible, Wesley."

Giles had been sitting at home reading Anne Rice's latest and drinking tea when his fellow
ex-watcher called from LA. The younger man had first called him two days before, very
concerned. When Wesley had calmed down and Giles had heard the cause for his concern, he
had become somewhat alarmed as well. But the fact of the matter was that it was still
highly unlikely.

"I know it's a bit of a stretch, but prophecies are almost always fulfilled."

Giles stood and walked to his kitchen. He felt the need for the soothing effects of tea.
"But this prophecy was never recorded. It came straight from his mouth. A vampire's mouth.
Forgive me if I don't find him credible."

"He's nearly a thousand years old, Giles. A Master Vampire."

"Today, yes, he would have been. But he died two-hundred and fifty years ago."

Giles began to boil some water.

"Supposedly. I know the story." Wesley said. "The Master, whom Buffy killed four years
ago, was in Germany around 1750. Only he wasn't called the Master at that point. No one
knows what his actual name was. He was old, about 450 years at the time. He challenged
Krischten, who was the ruler over those parts, and had earned a Master title at 850 years
old."

"Right. And then in a feat of almost David and Goliath proportions, Krischten was killed,
'The Master' was placed in control, and followed. All the way to the Americas, where he
tried to open the Hellmouth and failed. What's your point?"

The teakettle went off, whistling.

"His prophecy was that he would return in the new millennium after the Master perished."
Wesley pointed out.

"There's something else, isn't there?" Giles asked.

He poured the water into a cup, and stuck a teabag inside. He started mixing it up as he
went to sit back down.

"He hunts slayers first, and&" Wesley took a deep breath. "About an hour ago,
Angel went to county lockup and found the bars torn clean off of Faith's cell."

"And Faith?"

"Huddled in the corner, bruised and bloody. He didn't get to kill her, because he was
interrupted by the cops on duty, and their gunshots. She was taken to the hospital. Faith
isn't a threat to him, and I think he knows that, so he probably won't return."

"So you think that -?"

"He may be going after Buffy. Angel's already trying to track her, but it would help if -"

"She didn't tell me where they were going. Something about 'spur of the moment'. And her
mother is out of town." Giles said helplessly.

"Buffy's&very resourceful." Wesley tried to comfort.

"Yes, I know. But if it is truly Krischten Taelano, then&" He drank his newly made tea in
one gulp, ignoring the burning sensation in his mouth. "When Angel finds them, call me
immediately."

He hung up, and sat quietly and nervously, waiting for it to ring again.

***

On the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk and Amusement Park, three friends looked up at a
magnificent sight. The Giant Dipper. A seventy-six year old wooden roller coaster. Speed
was fifty-five miles per hour. Roller coaster enthusiasts considered it one of the best
coasters on the West Coast. It dipped, it turned, dropped, and curved. Buffy and Xander's
eyes were glazed over in anticipation as they moved through the line. Willow's, however,
were not.

"It'll be fun." Buffy swore.

Willow shook her head vehemently. "No, no, no. Dangerous. Scary. The Carousel is fun. Why
don't we do that instead?"

"She's always been coaster phobic." Xander said sadly.

"Well, it's time we changed that." Buffy said, now with a purpose.

They were almost to the front.

"Change is bad." Willow looked at Buffy. "Okay, maybe not all change&but&it's wood. Wood
breaks. Then there's plummeting."

"You're not getting out of this, Will." Buffy handed the man their tickets. "Besides,
Xander and I'll be right beside you."

"Maybe I'm not tall enough." Willow tried scrunching down.

"I didn't want to have to do this, but you leave me no choice." Buffy turned to Xander.
"I'll get her arms, you get her feet."

They picked her up, and placed her in the car, much to her protest. After the ride was
over, Willow didn't want to get out.

"Wow." Willow felt energized, alive. "Wow. I wanna do it again."

"Sorry miss, you'll have to get in the back of the line." The man said.

"But&but&the line's too long." She protested.

Buffy and Xander looked at each other.

"I'll get her arms this time." He volunteered.

***

Willow on an adrenaline high was an interesting thing to see. She dragged her friends to
every fast-paced ride on the boardwalk. They went on the Hurricane, the other, more modern
coaster. Then they rode the Tsunami, which launched them forward and then backwards, very
quickly. After several others, Xander and Buffy regretted ever introducing Willow to
"thrill rides".

It was just getting dark now, and the redhead showed no signs of slowing down. They ended
up at Sector 7 Laser Tag. Buffy made her promise that they would go back to the house
afterwards. Willow grudgingly agreed. Suited up now, with special vests and laser guns,
they realized that they had the arena all to themselves. They would be trying to take each
other down.

There was music pulsing all around them. Soft glowing neon lights were the only things
letting them see. Other than that, it was completely dark inside. There were barriers all
around, and they each positioned themselves waiting for the buzzer to go off so they could
start the hunt. Buffy got an adrenaline rush herself, suddenly feeling a chill as she
barely heard the buzzer over the heavy music.

Shaking it off, she began the search for her opponents. Ducking and crouching behind any
barrier she came across, she figured that she had the advantage because her slayer vision
was well adapted to the dark. She saw a figure move. It was Xander. She grinned. It was
just too easy. She was about to move when she thought she caught a glimpse of red hair.

Could they be double-teaming her?

As quickly as she saw it, it vanished. Playing it safe by sticking to the walls, she
backed herself into a corner. That's when she felt it again. The chill. She looked up, and
definitely saw red hair. But it wasn't Willow. Not by a long shot. Before she could react,
the figure was swooping down on her, knocking her to the ground. She couldn't see a thing.
Then the pain started.

Over near the other side of the arena, Xander scored a hit against Willow. As he was
celebrating, she zapped him in return. They both held up their hands in temporary
surrender. Xander had to practically scream over the noise.

"Where's Buffy? She should have whooped us by now!"

Willow began scanning the room. "I don't know! But I can't see anything!"

They looked at each other, and quickly took off the heavy vests. Then they began the
search. It was almost impossible, and the dread was going full force now. Willow stood
still, and cleared her mind. Tara had taught her a locator spell. All she had to do was
focus on a name, and with Buffy's supernatural abilities, she was pretty easy to pick up.

"This way! He's hurting her!" She screamed.

"Who?" Xander asked.

"I don't know!"

He followed her, and finally they caught sight of a figure, crouching. But they didn't see
Buffy. Whoever it was, he was wearing a long leather jacket, and had flowing, red hair.
Even from their vantage point, they could see how muscular he was. Xander ran up to the
guy, and yanked on his jacket. The figure turned his head sharply, and stared at Xander
with piercing blue eyes. Then he focused on Willow for a few seconds.

Finally, they were able to see Buffy, and the man had disappeared, leaving the slayer on
the ground. Willow ran up to her, and bent down, seeing Buffy as she had never seen her
before. Beaten. Bloody. And in all around bad shape. She gasped, and then the lights went
out completely. Just as they were about to totally freak, the whole arena lit up. No more
music or dim lighting.

The attendants ran in, and they helped Buffy up. She struggled out of their grips though,
and practically clung to her friends for support. She craned her neck and whispered to
Willow what was on all their minds.

"What the hell was that?"

***

Angel was pushing so hard on the gas pedal of his car, that with a little more pressure,
he would have made a hole in the floor. He glanced up at his speedometer. It was pushing
one hundred and twenty, but it still wasn't fast enough. He reached for his cell phone and
hit auto dial.

"I know where they&I'm almost there&no, Giles can't do them any good, I'll get them
out&just tell him to start researching. They're gonna need it."

He hung up to eliminate further argument. He was about five miles away from Santa Cruz.

***

Willow walked into the bedroom, and knelt by the bed, which Buffy was currently laying in.
The slayer had a moist cloth over her forehead, and touched her cut chin. The rest of her
face was bruised, as were her ribs. Willow gently removed the cloth and grimaced at the
gash that had been hidden under there.

"You should have stayed in the hospital overnight." Willow admonished, reaching for a
bandage on the bedside bureau.

"And been a sitting duck? The guy was a vamp. He had to be. Nothing human can do what he
did. Point is, he could have strolled right in."

"That's just an excuse. Super healer or not -"

"I would have had to blow the vacation money just to pay the bill."

Willow carefully applied the bandage, but Buffy still winced a little.

"Sorry. Forget the vacation. He almost killed you. I don't want you dead."

She gripped Willow's arm. "But he didn't. I'm living. And until I'm not, vacation is on."
She crossed her arms over her chest.

Buffy was way too stubborn. Instead of telling her that like she wanted to, Willow tried a
kiss for comfort. She took a deep breath.

"You need anything?"

"Bottle of aspirin?"

Willow forced a smile. "Be right back. Don't move."

Buffy rolled her eyes, but smiled nonetheless. "Thanks, Will. Love you."

"Love you too, Buffy."

***

Willow trudged upstairs. No matter what Buffy said, she knew their vacation was shot. And
there were so many things they didn't get to do, too. She guessed they should be thankful
that they all had gotten two days at least. Any amount of time that they remained
evil-free they should be grateful for. But this vampire, or whatever, really wigged her.
They were hours away from the Hellmouth, and it came all the way to Santa Cruz to go after
Buffy. Not good.

She saw Xander on the couch, staring at the TV, as she went to look through the cabinets
for some aspirin. He turned his head, saw her, and quickly made his way over. He sat
himself down on a stool that was in front of the counter.

"How is she?"

"Not a hundred percent, but well enough to be 'Stubborn Buffy'." Willow answered, thinking
she wouldn't mind some aspirin either.

She snatched a bottle and set it down. Grabbing a glass, she went to the sink at filled it
up with water. She uncapped the Advil bottle, and downed two pills, sighing and closing
her eyes.

"Doesn't want to end the summer fun, huh?" Xander asked. Willow shook her head. "Well,
while you went to the hospital with her, I packed everything up. It's gonna be fine." He
grabbed her hand and squeezed.

She smiled. "I know&I mean, we've been through worse, right? But now&"

"You're feeling worry on a whole new level. I know what it's like. Boy do I."

"We have to convince her to go," She put her resolve face on, "but first I better go give
her this. Or else -"

Willow interrupted herself when they both heard a knock. Coming the sliding glass doors.
She looked at Xander with the same questioning expression he was giving her, as they
walked over to investigate. It was dark out, so they couldn't see much of anything. It
didn't look like there was anything out on the deck.

"Are you going to let me in?" Angel's voice asked.

Which was why that made them practically jump out of their skins. Willow opened the door,
and sure enough, the brooding vampire stood there. And her worry for Buffy increased a
whole heck of a lot.

"Angel, hi." She greeted half-heartedly. "Come in."

Xander shook his head once Angel stepped in. "Don't you ever use the front door?"

"Is she here?" Angel asked.

"Downstairs. Resting." Willow told him.

"He got to her. Damn it."

"What's going on, Angel? Who is he?"

"Yeah, fill us in, Deadboy." Xander smiled. "Forgot how much I liked saying that."

Angel ignored both of them and went right for the steps. "We have to go now. Anything you
brought, hurry and get it in my car. The quicker we are, the better chance we have of
staying alive."

"Or in your case -" Angel shot him a look, just as he opened the door to the bedroom.
"I'll just pack it&oh wait. I can't leave my car here. It's a whole, cop, uncle's a felon,
car might be stolen kinda deal."

Buffy shot up when she saw Angel, and started to flip.

***

"No way. This is supposed to be a happy time. I'm going to pretend you're not here, and
you'll disappear." Buffy shut her eyes. "He gone yet?" She asked her friends, slowly
opening an eye.

"There's no time, Buffy." Angel said forcefully. "He already tested you and won. He'll
come back."

"Who?" Three voices asked in unison.

"A very old, master vampire."

Buffy looked at him like he'd gone nuts. "I killed him remember? Smashed his bones? I seem
to recall something about 'making bread'&"

Xander raised his hand. "That was me."

"It's not the same&look, it's complicated. He'll kill you. That's why he's here. Trust me,
I wouldn't be here otherwise." Angel tried again.

Buffy sighed and shook her head sadly. It was so unfair. She couldn't get one week of
peace? She felt Willow pulling up the blankets, and turning her around. She looked up
apologetically.

"We can have tons of fun back home, right? Only with more weapons. And these last two
days...we haven't had that much fun in so long." Willow assured her.

"A good time was had by all." Xander agreed. "And it's not like we'll never do this again.
Well, if you -"

"If I die." Buffy stated.

"Well it would put a damper on future vacations." Xander admitted.

"Which is what we're trying to prevent, by leaving now." Willow proceeded to help the
blonde to her feet. Buffy fell back onto the bed. "Okay, little problem here."

"Hold it." Buffy emphasized that request by raising her hands. "Angel, I'll go with you.
Will, you ride with Xander. Xander, the stuff?"

"On it." Xander said, rushing out of the room.

Willow was getting ready to protest, but Buffy stopped her, and pulled her into a hug. "I
know you want to be with me. I want you there too, but I'm what this vamp wants, and that
means I want you to be as far away from me as possible. I'll be okay."

The redhead nodded into Buffy's chest. She could never argue logic. Besides, Angel would
be right there. By her side. Where she wanted to be. Her distress was clearly visible on
her face. Buffy cupped her cheek.

"Turn around." The blonde said to Angel.

He must have, because in the next second, Willow felt Buffy's lips pressing to hers. And
she didn't want to stop. But they had to. Buffy stared at her with so much love, that
Willow thought she was going to faint. They separated, and Angel scooped Buffy up so he
could carry her into the car.

"You better be behind us the whole way." Buffy said to her, ignoring the awkward position
she was currently in.

"Even if we have to break every law of driving in the state of California." Willow swore.
"And you stay alive." She looked at Angel, shaking her finger. "And you, you keep her that
way."

After a moment of silence, they went out to the cars.

***

Buffy glanced into the rearview mirror to make sure Xander was still behind them and
keeping up. Angel was speeding a long at a good pace. Thankfully, there weren't many cars
on the road at eleven thirty at night. They were on a highway, cliffs on the right, beach
past a guardrail, on the left. He turned and looked at her briefly, with a concerned
expression she knew all too well. He probably reserved that specific one just for her.

"Are you upset?" He asked finally.

"Hell yeah. But not because of you. So don't flatter yourself."

"I never thought that you -"

"Yes you did." She moved to run her hands through her hair, but brushed up against her
bandaged gash instead. After she bit her lip to hold back a curse, she remembered who had
bandaged it. "I'm upset with myself. Who was I to think that I could have a small vacation
with friends? Just cause I averted a couple apocalypses, I think I can slack? How stupid
of me."

"Are you and Willow -?"

"Just concentrate on the road."

He'd try a different topic then. "Buffy, you could have been training and preparing for
weeks to face him, and that still wouldn't have been enough. He's not big on conversation,
unless he has a reason, and he's not out in the open. But he does like to play."

"That supposed to make me feel better?" She asked sarcastically. "Did you know him?"

Angel shook his head. "He disappeared, well, 'died', a few years before I was changed."

"So all you've heard are stories. That may not be true. I'm not even going to bother
asking about the 'dead' thing."

"Let me put it this way. In 1705, the Watcher's Council decided to launch an offensive
against him. It was the only time they ever broke protocol and brought the slayer at the
time, together with the ones in training around the world. They had all the weapons
available at the time, and the odds."

"How many slayers?"

"Thirty. Maybe forty. Plus ten watchers who were giving the orders."

"And how many stooges did this Master Vamp guy have?"

"None."

Buffy's eyes widened, and she cleared her throat. "I don't want to know the ending, do
I?" Angel stayed quiet. "What's his name?"

"Krischten Taelano."

As he was turning to stay with the curve of the road, a figure appeared on the cliff side,
almost out of nowhere. It walked right into the middle of the highway, and turned to face
Angel's speeding car. It was him. Krischten stood there staring at them, the bright glow
of the headlights and the oncoming car they were attached to, not seeming to bother him at
all.

"Stop!" Buffy screamed.

The car screeched, and turned around one hundred and eighty degrees before coming to a
halt. Buffy and Angel looked to make sure they were both all right, and knew there was no
way they didn't hit the vampire.

***

Xander was going a little bit slower than Angel had been, so when he and Willow came up on
the curve and saw Angel stopped a few feet up, they were able to stop without causing an
accident. Willow was ready to jump out. Bad images were running through her head. She felt
herself shiver as a chill coursed through her body. The weirdness of that was muted by her
concern for Buffy.

"Why'd they stop?" Xander asked.

"The best way to get an answer is to -" Willow began, and then felt the chill again.

Turning around, she saw him standing on the rear of the car.

The one from the Laser Tag arena.

The one after Buffy.

He looked at them. She checked the rearview mirror, and sure enough, he wasn't there. She
tapped Xander on the shoulder, and he turned around and saw him too. Before either of them
had time to react, the vampire, with faster speed than any they had ever seen, grabbed the
back of Xander's head, and slammed it into the steering wheel. He was out.

Willow screamed and then called her friend's name, but she was next. It grabbed her neck,
and pulled her out of the car. It seemed almost less than second as he ran across the road
with her in tow, and jumped over the guardrail. She was being dragged, and felt the sand
of the beach as they moved downhill. Then, eventually, they stopped.

It had yet to say a word. She tried to struggle, tried to remember a spell, anything, but
it was no use. He let go of her neck, and his iron grip switched to the top of her head.
She was being pushed down. After a few seconds, she couldn't move her legs; could barely
feel them. Willow had no idea what was going on. And that's when she realized something.

He was pushing her into the sand. She was sinking.

***

Buffy saw Krischten for about a split second, but she knew he had Willow with him. Filled
with panic and rage, she flung open her door, and ran out. She was still stumbling because
of her injuries, but she told her body to knock it off. She looked back at the other car,
and saw Xander unconscious. She started towards the guardrail, and then Angel caught up
with her.

"Buffy, you're giving him what he wants. Let me go."

"You think you can do any better?" She asked him angrily. "Don't. I'm going after her. I
need her, and she is not going to die. Even if I have to die to keep her alive. Go help
Xander. He's hurt."

She cut off any more discussion, and ran with a renewed energy. The pain was gone, at
least for now. She ran and hurled herself over the rail, but she wasn't expecting the
change in surface, and hit the sand the wrong way. She ended up rolling down the hill, and
when she came to a stop, she had to spit grains of sand out of her mouth. She was on her
feet quickly, scanning the night.

Whether it was by sheer luck or an extension of her slayer powers, she got an image of a
hand sticking out of the sand. Running, a couple feet later, she saw the hand and
immediately knew whom it belonged to. Pulling with all the strength she had, Willow slowly
emerged from beneath the sand. When Willow was at chest level, she gasped, trying to suck
in air.

"Oh thank God. Are you okay?" Willow nodded, still not speaking. "Let's get you all the
way out then. Whataya say?"

That's when Willow pointed at something, her arm shaking. Buffy turned her head just in
time to see a boot connect with her face. She fell onto her back, and was able to roll out
of the way quickly enough to avoid that same boot from crushing her chest. Flipping up
onto her feet, she knew she had to move the fight away from Willow. So she started to run
towards the water.

She reached the beginning of the wet, darker sand, when he appeared in front of her, his
long red hair covering most of his face. But she could still see his eyes.

***

Back a little bit, Willow was desperately trying to free herself from the sand to go help
Buffy. It wasn't going too well. Then she saw a shadow looming over her.

"Give me your hands." It was Angel.

Willow outstretched both of her arms, which Angel grabbed. In one swift pull, she was
free, and he held her up while she learned how to move her legs again.

"Is Xander okay?" She asked.

"I laid him down in the backseat and cleaned the cut on his forehead. He'll be fine. I'm
going to help her."

"I'm going too."

"Figured you were going to say that. Come on."

***

Krischten threw the first punch, which she almost didn't block. After that, it was
non-stop. All she could do was block. He was too fast, and she couldn't knock him down.
She knew he was barely trying, and that pissed her off. Launching herself into the air,
she made her legs perfectly straight, and then flipped backwards, connecting with his chin
as she brought her legs around. When she landed, he was nowhere to be seen.

That's when she felt something behind her. Bringing her elbow back, she was satisfied when
she felt it connect. Before she could follow up though, she was being flung into the air.
When she impacted with the ground, she felt the incoming tide hit her face. Then her face
was being pushed into the sand. Hard.

"The girl is on her way here." He whispered to her, speaking for the first time. "When I
saw her, I thought she might be family at first. Maybe a descendant. But her scent was all
wrong. Though that can be easily changed."

Buffy kicked her leg up, throwing off his control. She shot up, and if he was surprised,
he didn't show it. Her face was covered in wet sand, but her face was burning. Her blood
was boiling. He was not going to hurt Willow anymore. Least of all drink from her. Not
while she was still a breathing slayer.

Krischten smiled. Rather evilly too. It had gone well. "There's your fire. The other one
has lost hers, but I had a feeling about you. We'll see each other again, Slayer."

And literally, within a blink of her eyes, he was gone.

"Looking forward to it." Buffy muttered unenthusiastically.

Willow and Angel came running up, and the redhead knocked her back down to the ground in
an embrace.

"You're alive!" Willow squealed, then she made a face. "But your face is all mucky."

"Does this mean you don't love me anymore?" Buffy asked with a pout.

"That's nonsense, Buffy Summers, and you know it! Course I do." Buffy smiled.
"But I hope you don't think I'm gonna kiss you while you have 'icky sand face'."

"Where'd he go?" Angel asked.

"Away." Buffy said as Willow helped them both up. "Which is fine by me."

"Let's get you home."

Buffy suddenly remembered how much her body hurt.

"Loving that idea more every minute."

"I second that." Willow agreed.

The three of them trudged towards the road, two with their arms around each other.

***

A few hours later, back in Sunnydale, the sun was just about ready to come up. They had
risked getting Xander's car towed back. After cleaning up the blood off the steering wheel
to avoid the police, of course. Inside Giles', they all were asleep. Well, everyone except
for Giles and Angel, who didn't want to let the three friends out of their sight.

Out in the courtyard, two figures stood quietly, just watching the house. One was an older
girl who looked to be around nineteen. Her companion was somewhat younger. The older was
blonde, the other, black-haired. The younger seemed apprehensive.

"They're not ready for you yet." The blonde said.

"Well good. Cause I'm not ready for them either. This is just a little scary, Tara."

"Relax. Everything will be fine, I promise." Tara said in a comforting tone. "I'll help
you as much as I can. I just thought you'd like to see."

"I don't see why they need my help."

"They will. Just as you'll need theirs." Tara grasped the girl's hand. "Now hurry. Lots to
do, and the day is dawning."

The two of them silently walked off Giles' property, the younger of the pair smiling, as
she thought of a name for herself.


--
"I wanna set the record straight. I thought the cop was a prostitute." (Homer J. Simpson)

"You think you know? What's to come? What you are? You haven't even begun."
(Tara to Buffy, BTVS)


"Since when is there a cowboy in 'Death of a Salesman' anyway?" (Willow, BTVS)