Causatum.alt
by sailor80
Nine
[reviews]
The alarm woke all of them at 6:30. Dawn rolled out of bed, slapping the snooze button en route.
Buffy pushed Willow's hair off her face. "Hi, sweetheart."
Willow grunted.
"You going to class today?"
"1030," Willow grumbled.
"No class until 10:30?" Buffy asked. 'I used to know her schedule,' she said to herself.
"Uh huh."
"Okay if I have breakfast with Dawn?"
Willow grunted again, but rolled off Buffy. Buffy leaned over and kissed Willow's cheek before getting out of bed. She found pajamas and dressed before going downstairs. Buffy started the coffee pot, then brought in the paper. She set a place for Dawn at the counter with a bowl and spoon, the cereal box, milk, and a glass of juice. After considering a moment, Buffy put a banana in the bowl.
When Dawn came downstairs, Buffy was reading the paper and drinking coffee. Neither of them talked while Dawn ate and cleaned up.
"Do you have lunch money?" Buffy asked before Dawn left the kitchen.
Dawn stopped. "No."
Buffy put the paper aside and followed Dawn to the living room. She got her purse and took the last $20 from her wallet and handed it to her sister. "Go to the Magic Box after school, okay?"
"Okay," Dawn answered. "Thanks."
"Have a good day."
"You, too."
"Thanks." Buffy waited for her sister to leave before going back to the paper and her coffee. After she finished the paper, she called Tara's dorm.
"Hi, Aislin, is Tara still there?"
"No, Buffy, she had an early class. Is everything all right?"
"Yeah, I just wanted to ask her something. I'll catch her later."
"I'll tell her you called."
"Thanks." Buffy ended the call and dialed Giles. "Hey, Giles."
"Buffy?" he asked. "You aren't usually up at this time of day. Is everything all right?"
"Mostly. Will had a nightmare last night."
"Yes, she probably will have them for a while."
"Well, yeah. But I couldn't wake her up, and then Dawn came in and Willow settled right down."
"I'm not surprised, after what we saw yesterday."
"Yeah, what's up with that?"
"I've been researching. Those kinds of auras have only been seen in couples before. Soul mates." Giles cleared his throat.
"So it could be like this for the rest of our lives?"
"I don't know yet. I'm still researching. Aislin is going to make some calls, as well."
"Let me know what you find out."
"I will. Are we meeting today?"
"Yeah, I'll be there this afternoon."
"Good. I'll see you then."
"Yeah. Bye, Giles." Buffy laid the phone down. She stretched, then headed upstairs to wake Willow.
* * *
Tara returned Buffy's call just after Willow left for her class. "Hi, Buffy, Aislin said you called."
"Yeah. It's kinda weird." Buffy sounded embarrassed.
"What's going on?"
"Will had a nightmare last night."
"I know. I mean, I could tell there was something wrong." Tara picked up the phone and carried it to the bed. She sat beside Aislin, who was lounging with a book.
"I couldn't get her to wake up. But Dawn came in and put her hand on Will's back and she settled right down. So Dawn slept with us for the rest of the night." Buffy spun the phone cord and looked out the window. "Dawn asked me what if it's always like this, if the three of us need to be together all the time."
"What did you tell her?"
"What could I tell her, Tara? I don't know. I'm more worried about Wills."
"Buffy, she's been through a lot."
"Amy tried to get to her last night."
Tara didn't answer right away, and Buffy could hear her frowning. "Buffy, do you know where Willow is now?"
"On her way to class. Big, big book. Two big books."
"Math or science. I don't have her schedule."
"Me, either," Buffy said.
"Hold on a second," Tara said.
Buffy heard muffled talking.
"You still there?" Tara asked.
"Yeah," Buffy answered.
"I'm gonna pull her schedule up in the computer and we'll meet her after class. She shouldn't be by herself right now."
"She won't like that one little bit."
Tara considered Buffy's comment. "You come, too, and we'll go for lunch. We can talk about it then."
* * *
Buffy grabbed Willow's arm and spun her into a kiss before Willow realized what was going on. "Hi, sweetheart."
"Uh, hi." Willow looked a little dazed.
"Thought I'd take all my favorite witches to lunch."
"Okay."
Buffy pulled Willow outside, where Tara and Aislin waited. They exchanged smiles and greetings and followed Buffy.
When they were settled and their orders placed, Willow turned to Buffy. "Not that this isn't nice and everything, but what's up?"
"Dawn told me about yesterday," Buffy said.
"Oh." Willow turned away and stared down at the placemat.
Buffy squeezed Willow's thigh gently. "I don't want anything to happen to you," she said softly.
"It's just until you get your reserves built back up," Tara added.
Willow glared at her. "So, what, you guys are gonna take turns babysitting me?"
"No," they said simultaneously.
"It's not like that," Tara said.
"I need you to be safe," Buffy said quietly.
Willow clenched her jaw and stared at the placemat. Her silence hung over the table.
After a few moments, Aislin asked Willow, "Do you want to go back there?" Willow's head snapped up and she transferred her glare to Aislin. Aislin held her gaze and asked again, "Do you?"
"No," Willow snarled, then turned to Tara. "Still think I'm not a freak?" she demanded. Willow stood, shoving her chair back.
"Yes," Tara replied.
"That makes one of us," Willow said and stalked away from the table.
Buffy stood to go after her, and Tara stopped her. "Leave her alone for a few minutes."
Buffy shook her head and followed Willow. She found her in the alley beside the restaurant, stomping and talking to herself. "Willow?" Buffy asked tentatively.
"What?" Willow kept moving.
"Please don't be mad at them."
"I'm not."
"Then come back inside and have lunch with us," Buffy asked.
"I'm not hungry." Willow stopped and looked at Buffy. "Why did you call them? Why didn't you just talk to me?"
"Why didn't you tell me about Amy?" Buffy countered.
"I was going to. I haven't had a chance."
Buffy looked at Willow for a moment before accepting her statement. "I called them because I don't know diddly about magick. And I'm afraid of what Amy can do to you. I can't protect you from magick, Willow. They can." Buffy took a step toward Willow. "I will do anything to keep you safe. Even if it makes you mad."
"I'm not mad. I'm frustrated. I didn't ask for this. Well, okay, I did. Not this exactly, but I asked for
the power. I wanted it and I worked for it and now I can't use it. I can't help you. I can't protect myself. I don't even know who I am if you're not with me. Stuff keeps happening all around me, stuff that involves me, and I don't even know about it. Everybody else knows, but I don't. I don't want to be a liability to you, Buffy, but that's how I feel. Like you think I'm something else you have to worry about and protect. Not only that, but you can't be bothered to do it yourself, you hand me off to someone else."
"No, Wills." Buffy interrupted. She reached tentatively for Willow's hand, relieved when Willow didn't back away from her touch.
Willow looked down at their hands. "I have never wanted anything as much as I want this." Willow squeezed Buffy's hand. "And right now it feels like everything that happens takes me further from it."