Title: Jaded
Author: M. Jade
Summary: When the worlds of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Star Wars collide, hilarity and smoochies ensue
Rating: PG-13
Email: jaderozegirl@yahoo.com
Spoilers: Up to “Restless” for BtVS, and “Vector Prime” for SW
Feedback: Flamers can and will be ignored, but all others are welcomed with open arms
Disclaimers: It all belongs to Joss and George, and the novel “Vector Prime” was written by R.A. Salvatore and the song "Tonight and the Rest of My Life" is Nina Gordan's
Distribution: Strange Brew, Bite Me…Please?, the W/G list, the L/M list, and any one else who asks nicely
Notes: Just give the crossover idea a chance. I think you’ll like it
More Notes: I have now combined my two outstanding obsessions. Enjoy!

Willow Rosenberg walked into Rupert Giles’ apartment with a large smile on her face and a book tucked under her arms. Giles had invited the young witch over for some magic practice, and it seemed like a good opportunity. She had been doing a lot of different types of magic with her new girlfriend Tara, but today Giles wanted to work with Willow, and Tara was away for the weekend, visiting relatives, so she thought the practice time with Giles would be good.

"Hello, Willow," Giles greeted her as she entered his apartment and Willow flashed him a smile.

"Hey, Giles." She came in and sat her book down on the table. Giles glanced down at the book with an air of surprise.

"Star Wars?" he questioned. Willow gave an enthusiastic nod. "Aren’t all the bloody movies enough?" he muttered.

"The novels are good, Giles," Willow insisted. "There’s plenty of stuff in them that’s not in the movies." Giles gave a sigh.

"I just didn’t even realize that you even read that type of thing." Willow smiled brightly.

"Well, I didn’t until recently. You can thank Spike for that one." Giles was slightly taken aback.

"Spike?"

"Sure. He’s the one who introduced them to me. We were on patrol shortly after that First Slayer incident a few weeks ago, and he started to tell me about them. In fact, this book is his. I’m just borrowing it." Giles shook his head. The blonde vampire never ceased to amaze him. First there was the anti-violence chip he had been implanted with, his betrayal of the Slayer and her friends to ADAM, and now it seemed as if Spike was doomed to be a full-fledged Slayerette after ADAM’s plot had been spoiled by Buffy and her friends. Now it was Star Wars. If it wasn’t one bloody surprise what that prat, it was another, Giles decided.

"It figures," he grumbled. Willow gave a little laugh.

"Well, it is soap opera enough for him," Willow informed the former Watcher. "He’s still addicted to "Passions", which isn’t that much different different, so it does make sense," Willow reminded him. Giles shrugged.

"I suppose. Shall we get on with it," he finally said. Willow nodded.

"Sure. What did you want to do, Giles?" Giles walked over to his bookcase and pulled out the appropriate book.

"There’s a good calling spell in here that can sharpen the caster’s focus. I think that will be as good as any," he told her.

"Is it any harder than floating a rose," she quipped. Giles gave a short laugh.

"It’s similar to that, I supppose, but, uh, it does require a bit more concentration." Giles gestured over to his table and sat down, placing the book in front of him. Willow joined him and took the book, glancing over the spell he wanted to do.

"This is it, huh?" she said absent-mindedly as she read over the incantation. "This doesn’t look too bad," she decided.

"Do you want to begin?" he asked. Willow nodded. Giles had placed a plain white votive candle in the middle of the table and he proceeded to light it with a lighter he had gotten along with the book. "Now, I want you to pick an object, something to call. Focus solely on that one object and begin the incantation. When it’s done, you should have what you called. You may want to make it something simple this time," he added.

"Like a feather or something," Willow surmised. Giles nodded. Willow took a deep breath as she picked her object.

"Are you ready?" Giles questioned. Willow nodded. "Then just stay focused and begin," he instructed her softly. Willow closed her eyes, took Giles’ hand, and began to recite the spell as he looked on.

"I call on the spirit of Yevetha, the bringer, to know my heart and what it desires. I implore thee, Yevetha, to call forth what I seek. Please bring it now." As soon as she ended the spell, the room was filled with a rush of wind and a burst of light that took both of the room’s occupants’s off guard. After the wind had died down, Willow and Giles opened their eyes to find that they were no longer the only ones in the room.

Standing by the couch was a man in his mid-forties with a strong build, sandy blonde hair, and blue eyes. Standing next to him was a woman of about the same age who had a very lithe build and sported long hair of a red similar to Willow’s and green eyes. Both wore clothes of a style that Giles had never really seen before. The man wore a black tunic and pants with calf-length black boots while the woman wore a dark green tunic, brown pants and short ankle-length boots in black.

"Sweet burning stars," the elder redhead muttered and looked over to the man. Her companion let out a slow whistle.

"Bloody hell," Giles muttered as he released Willow’s hands and stood up to face his "guests". The four just stared at each other, no one knowing what to say next. After a lengthy silence, Giles was the first to speak. "Who are you," he asked as calmly as possible.

"I’m Luke Skywalker," the man answered evenly. "This is my wife, Mara." Giles sighed and looked back to Willow crossing his arms.

"Eep," she said sheepishly.

****************************************************************

"Willow," Giles said gently, trying to hold his growing temper, "What were you trying to call?" Willow shrugged her shoulders innocently.

"I was trying to call a feather, Giles, I swear! I guess I was a bit di-distracted, huh?" Giles gave her a pointed look. "Okay, understatement much. I really wasn’t trying to call them, though," the hacker added.

"But you did none the less," Giles said a little too sharply. "Perhaps we should look into sending them back," he added. He sat down again and began to thumb though the book as Willow stared at the room’s new visitors.

"Sorry," she told them. "My name’s Willow Rosenberg, and that is Rupert Giles. You really aren’t supposed to be here, as you can probably tell. We’re going to try to send you back home," she added with a small smile.

"Where is ‘here’ exactly," Mara asked with a curious look in her eyes. This place was certainly not like the one they had left moments before. Willow looked over to Giles as he looked up from the book. He shrugged and Willow turned back to the Jedi.

"Well, this planet is called Earth, and I’m sure you never heard of it, have you?" Luke and Mara shook their heads.

"No, we haven’t. How did we get here?" Luke questioned. Willow shrugged.

"I kind of fumbled on a magic spell, I guess. I was trying to call a feather, but I got you guys instead. Any luck on the going home spell, Giles," Willow asked a little apprehensively.

"None so far, but I haven’t had much time yet, Willow. You may want to sit down," Giles told the Skywalkers. "I’m afraid this may be awhile." Willow grimaced as Giles went back to work. Willow sighed again as she stood up and took a seat in a chair by the couch.

"He gets kind of grumpy when something like this happens. He’ll be better as soon as we find the answer," Willow explained. Luke and Mara nodded.

"So this is due to…magic?" Luke questioned, slightly perplexed as Mara mirrored his look. As a Jedi, they had never really been taught to believe in such things.

"I’m guessing that you don’t believe in magic, do you?" Willow replied, realizing the situation.

"Not really," Mara told the Wicca. Willow sighed at Mara.

"Well, at one time, I didn’t either," she admitted, recalling the time before she had known about the Hellmouth. "Not until I witnessed it for myself and even then I didn’t start practicing until we found I spell had no choice but to do. After that, it was just kind of natural that I became a witch." Giles looked up from his book after hearing that.

"I would hardly say that it was a natural choice, Willow. You became a witch because you were interested and had the talent," he stated matter-of-factly.

"I take it you believe in this too, then," Luke said to Giles. The former Watcher gave a wane smile.

"I’m afraid that I’ve seen too many things in my years NOT too believe that magic exists. Or that it is easily misjudged," Giles mumbled under his breath. Mara gave a chuckle.

"Aren’t the instructors always supposed to be more constructive when the student makes a mistake?" Mara asked him. Giles gave her a small grin.

"Perhaps you’re right." He turned back to his book to investigate further, feeling a little less put off.

"So how did we get called here," Mara asked Willow. The witch gave her a sheepish grin.

"Well, I had been reading a book that had you guys in it, and I guess my focus was totally off, so I got you because of that." Luke gave a nod.

"What type of book?" Willow picked up the book from the table and handed it to the Jedi. It was labeled "Vector Prime", and Luke began to thumb through it.

"In our world, you and Mara exist as characters in these stories. This is the one I was reading," she explained. Mara gave a nod as Luke continued to examine the book.

"So we’re basically like characters out of a holonovel?" Mara clarified. Willow nodded.

"To us, yes. That’s what it’s like," the hacker agreed. Luke gave a slow nod in reply as he put down the book.

"Kind of surreal, isn’t it, Mara?" he asked his wife. Mara shook her head and gave him a smile.

"No more so then some of the things we’ve been through before, Luke. Kardde once told me that you and I have cornered the market on surreal, next to your sister and Han," she added with a grin. Luke gave her a chuckle.

"Just don’t tell them that. I think Leia has it hard enough as it is without being reminded of it by someone like Kardde." They were interrupted by the sound of Giles slapping the book he had been reading closed.

"I have come to the conclusion that whoever wrote the counter spell section of this book was more familiar with knitting than with magic. I can’t find a bloody thing," he said dejectedly as he sat down next to Willow and took off his glasses to rub his eyes.

"Is there anywhere else that you think the counter spell may be," Willow questioned gently. Giles gave the idea some thought.

"Perhaps I could find it at the local shop, but it’s closed for the weekend by now. It won’t be open until Monday. Even then, I’m not sure they would have the correct volume. We may have to see if Wesley can find it in Los Angeles." Willow nodded, realizing how difficult this situation could become. "It looks as if you two are our guests for the time being," Giles told Luke and Mara. "At lest until I can find the right book." The Jedi nodded.

"We’ll find it, Giles," Willow said as she gave him a quick, reassuring hug. Giles gave her a wane smile.

"So we’re stuck here," Mara surmised. Giles gave her a grim nod.

"I’m terribly sorry. It looks like there’s nothing we can do to get you and your husband home now." Luke nodded, along with Mara.

"We understand."

"It’ll be just another adventure added to our list, which I think is in orbit by now anyway," Mara said with a smile. Luke and the others gave her a laugh until Willow calmed down some and her expression sobered.

"What do we do now, Giles? Where are they going to stay?" Giles gave the idea some thought.

"Well, I don’t believe there’s going to be enough room here. Perhaps Buffy’s mother could put them up for the time being," Giles offered. Willow nodded.

"It’s worth trying. I’ll give her a call. I should probably call Spike while I’m at it, too. He would be better at helping them adjust and understand all this than I could." Giles gave a nod and Willow picked up the phone next to the couch to dial the numbers. "Hello, Mrs. Summers?" As Willow was explaining the situation to Joyce, Giles turned to face his visitors.

"I have to admit that I think you are being surprisingly calm about all of this. One would assume what this would be quite a shock to the system for you," he told them. Luke gave him a nod and his best farmboy grin.

"We’re Jedi. When it comes to the Force, there’s very little that comes as a shock to us." Giles gave a short laugh and nodded and Mara shook her head.

"Speak for yourself, Skywalker," she said teasingly. "You may have the whole stoic, serene Jedi calm going, but I think more along the lines of ‘panicking is what gets you killed’"

"That is what makes you the practical one, Mara," Luke told his wife. "I would have to say the same thing of you, Giles. You’re extremely calm yourself," Luke said turning to face the former Watcher. Giles shrugged his shoulders.

"I’ve encountered far too much surrealism in my time to be surprised by this…I’m not even sure what I’m supposed to call you," he admitted with a sheepish look.

"I think just Luke and Mara would suffice," he told Giles with a grin.

"Indeed. Well, it looks as if we should all get comfortable. We’re going to be here awhile."

****************************************************************

Half an hour later, Spike had shown up. Willow had explained the situation to him over the phone, but he didn’t believe it until he actually came in and seen it. The blond vamp came in, and was greeted by Giles and Willow, who were sitting on the couch, chatting with their new "guests". The vamp couldn’t believe his eyes. "Bloody hell! I thought this was a joke, Red. You really conjured the whole damn thing, didn’t you?" Willow gave him a sheepish look.

"Well, it’s not like I meant to." Spike gave her a pointed look.

"I’m sure you tell all the guys the same thing after a magical mishap, don’t you, Red?" After hearing Spike’s pet name for Willow, Luke gave Mara a look.

"Don’t you even think it, Skywalker!" Mara insisted. Luke gave his wife a mock-innocent look while the others tried unsuccessfully to stifle their laughter.

"I wasn’t thinking anything, Mara!" Luke exclaimed.

"Good, cause I would just hate to have to repeat the "Don’t Call Me Red" speech I did for Solo and Karrde, cause it may get drastic," Mara warned mock-seriously, then grinned at her husband. Just then, the group was interrupted by voices approaching the door, and then by the entrance of Xander Harris and his girlfriend, Anya Emerson.

"Well, I happened to like the movie, Ahn," Xander told her as they walked into the living room. Anya gave him a look. "X-Men wasn’t that bad!"

"There’s no accounting for taste," the ex-demon grumbled. Xander sighed and finally looked over to say something to Giles.

"Hey, Giles. I was just coming by to return that cross… and I see that we have visitors," the dark-haired teen amended as he noticed the room’s occupants. "Care to fill us in?" Giles took a deep breath as the others looked to him to answer.

"Yes, well, Xander, I’d like to introduce Luke Skywalker and his wife, Mara Jade Skywalker," the former Watcher told him, then took a deep sip from the cup of tea he had made himself earlier while they had waited for Spike. Xander gave Giles a hardy laugh as Anya eyed the scene curiously.

"That’s really funny, G-Man! That’s…" he seen the serious look on the other’s faces. "God, you’re not kidding, are you?" Giles shook his head. "Then this is the real…" Giles nodded his head, along with Willow and Spike. "What! How! What!" he said frantically. Willow looked over to Giles and decided to answer for him.

"This is Luke and Mara Jade Skywalker, I accidentally called them with a spell I was trying with Giles, and you already asked that," she answered matter-of-factly. Xander gave a disbelieving look, the shook his head.

"Leave it to you, Will," Xander muttered. "So much for magical supervision, hey, Big Guy?" he asked Giles.

"That’s beyond the point, Xander. They’re here now, and we have yet to find them a way back to their world. Unfortunately, that appears to be more difficult than I had anticipated."

"So the hero from a galaxy long ago, and far, far away is now your houseguest?"

"Actually, they’ll be Mrs. Summer’s houseguests," Willow piped up cheerily. "Buffy and Riley are coming over to pick them up now," Willow told him. Xander gave a sigh. Anya gave the new arrivals a final look-over.

"I always thought he’s be more menacing," Anya blurted out. "He doesn’t look very threatening, does he, Xander?" Xander sighed at his girlfriend and shook his head.

"Did we forget our "Be Nice to Guests" talk, hon? Guests don’t tend to be friendly if you insult them, Ahn." Anya nodded.

"I still don’t think he’s threatening," she muttered under her breath. Xander was about to say something else until he noticed Spike in the background, grinning at them.

"What is HE doing here, Giles? I thought we kicked his shiny white bum out after we got rid of ADAM," the teen said.

"Well, seeing as I’m the only one who really knows anything about where these people come from, Rupert and Red thought it may be a wise thing to have me around a little longer. As soon as they’re gone, I’ll leave you and your little Scooby Club alone to your own pathetic devices," the vamp intoned. It was then that Luke gave him a curious look. There had been something about him…

"You’re not human are you," Luke whispered. Spike cursed under his breath.

"It really is that good, huh?" The vamp asked and Luke and Mara nodded.

"Technically, no I’m not. I am a vampire, but I’m not like the ones you’ve heard of," he told them.

"What’s the difference?" Mara questioned, followed by Xander giving a snort.

"They have vampires, too!" he exclaimed. Spike gave them all a goofy grin as he let them take it in. It was an almost comical sight. Slayerettes and Jedi being shocked was a rare sight indeed. He faced Luke and Mara to answer.

"Well, first off your vampires are born that way. All the Anzati are known as Snot Vampires while I, on the other hand, was human at one point. I was bitten and turned by another vampire, which meant the end of my human life. Also, I have a different diet than an Anzati. I drink blood to keep myself alive, an Anzat drinks…well, I’m not sure what it is. It’s just some kind of body fluid they call Soup. Rather disgusting if you ask me," Spike added. "I also can’t walk in daylight and am practically immortal. I may have been young when I died, but I’m well over a century and a half old, if you count the years I was alive." The Jedi looked slightly dumbfounded. All the others shook their heads.

"What will the literary community come up with next? True daywalkers?" Giles muttered. Spike gave him a smile.

"I didn’t make it up, Rupert, so don’t ask me. To tell the truth, I didn’t like the wanker anyway. He was a bloody assassin, and a bad one at that. A chap’s got to have some respect doesn’t he?" Giles shrugged his shoulders.

"But your definitely not Anzati," Mara clarified. "Because I hear they don’t make for pleasant company," she added. Luke nodded.

"Well, my kind don’t tend to be a pleasant lot on the whole, either, but I’m what you call a special case," he added with a look of disgust on his face. Luke nodded, not sensing any danger from the defanged vamp, but also sensing the truth.

"I see. Wasn’t it an Anzati who killed those workers while you were working for Jabba?" Mara nodded.

"That’s what we suspected, but I didn’t really have enough time to investigate before Jabba forced me to leave." Willow gave a disgusted look.

"You worked for a Hutt?" the hacker asked Mara and she nodded.

"My cover at the time was as a dancer, and I got hired." Xander gave the Jedi a surprised look that made Spike grin. He knew exactly what was going through the teen’s head.

"You danced for Jabba the Hutt, and you had to wear one of those skimpy outfits to do it?" he intoned with a devilish look in his eye while Anya gave him a punch in the arm. "Okay!" he told his girlfriend. "Shutting up now." Mara smiled and took the young man’s comment in stride.

"Jabba wasn’t has bad as some of the other covers I had when I worked for the Empire. I’ll have to tell you about the time that I was hired to work for a Corellian escort service. That one always gets a laugh." Luke gave his wife a pointed look.

"What! All I did was the reception work! Of course, there were all the stories my coworkers told me when we would all go to the local cantina," she added slyly.

"You must have been born a Corellian," Luke told his wife with a grin and Mara shrugged her shoulders.

"I guess we’ll never know," she said decisively. The Slayerettes collectively gave them a perplexed look. Spike rolled his eyes. This is what he was here for.

"All right you sods, here it goes. Corellia is a planet. The people from there are basically like you bloody Americans. The best example of a typical Corellian is Han Solo. As for Mara’s story, well, she’s have to tell it to you, because there’s no reason to be familiar with it." Mara nodded, only to be interrupted by another knock at the door. Giles got up to answer it, to find Buffy Summers and Riley Finn standing outside, ready to pick up their new guests. Giles let the Slayer and former soldier in, and they were shocked at the sight.

"Holy God, you weren’t kidding, Will!" the Slayer exclaimed. She turned to face the visitors. "I’m Buffy, by the way. Oh, and Giles, Mom invited all of you over to dinner tonight. She thought it would be a nice thing to do for our guests," Buffy added.

"Well, that’s generous of her," Giles intoned politely, covering up the slight edge he still felt around Joyce since their notorious "Band Candy" fiasco. After that strange night, being around Joyce only reminded him of police cars, handcuffs, and…other things he would rather not think of. Buffy gave him an enthusiastic nod, not sensing his discomfort, then turned to face Willow.

"I brought what you asked for, Will. I just hope they fit," she said as she looked at Mara. Earlier, Willow had told the Jedi that their clothes were far too different from the ones that were worn here, so Willow had asked Joyce if Mara could borrow some clothes while she was there and Willow had also talked Giles into letting Luke borrow some of his. Giles nodded, as he stood to retrieve the clothes he had told Willow he’d let Luke borrow. As he began to leave the room, Willow placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder that stopped him.

"It’ll be okay," she told him quietly as the others chatted on, asking the Jedi various questions. Giles gave Willow’s hand a gentle squeeze and a thankful look as he continued on upstairs, feeling slightly better about the situation, not particularly looking forward to the dinner, but not having much choice in the matter. "Willow would make sure of that", he told himself. Neither of them noticed Luke watching their silent exchange.

"This is interesting" Luke thought as he watched them.

****************************************************************

Two hours later, the group was over at Joyce’s for a late dinner, with Mara dressed in the tan slacks and blue blouse Joyce had lent her and Luke sporting a pair of Giles’ jeans and a button-up shirt. Joyce had cooked some baked chicken, some mashed potatoes, carrots, rolls, and an apple pie for her guests, which everyone had eaten happily. Luke and Mara enjoyed the new foods they had been exposed to, and the conversation had been interesting. Giles had explained the Slayer and her duties as well as the position of Watcher and Slayerettes while Luke and Mara gave some of the details of their life together. After they were done eating, they all made their way to the living room, taking their places around the room.

"And you really found Luke out in the middle of no where, just through the Force," Xander said. It was still a wiggins to think that it existed, but then again that was the same thing he thought about the Hellmouth when he first discovered it’s existence.

"Well, it’s not half as difficult as it sounds," Mara insisted. "Once you latch onto a particular presence, you don’t really let go. The real coincidence was Karrde being near enough for us to help."

"Of which, I will always be grateful," Luke added with a grin and Mara smiled back. "And it's definitely an interesting way to say you've met someone," he added.

"It’s just sad we couldn’t see everything back then," Mara told her husband with a slight edge in her voice, remembering the difficulties of their past. "Myrkr may have been very different if we would have taken some time to open our eyes." Giles’ interest was piqued.

"What do you mean?" Mara chose to explain.

"We were strictly friends for a very long time. Of course, the potential for us to go further was always there. The interest, the respect, the way we could read each other, we’ve always had that. It just took us ten years to see that." Riley gave a short snort of disbelief.

"Ten years! What did you guys do in the mean time?" Luke gave the ex-soldier a wry smile.

"Mara always had her work, I had my duties at the Jedi Academy, and that’s not to say that I haven’t explored other options. There was Callista." It had been a long time since he had uttered his former love’s name, and it still pained him to a point. Mara placed a supportive hand on his shoulder.

"Who’s Callista," Willow asked softly. Spike looked on, wondering if the Jedi would want to recall the sad episode. As it turned out, he did.

"A woman I had loved very much once, a Jedi. Unfortunately, she lost her powers in a mishap and felt she needed to go on her own journey to find them. One that didn’t include me. I haven’t seen her since." He remained eerily calm as he retold the sad tale, but Mara kept up her support.

"Like Oz," Willow whispered softly, and Giles, who had sat next to her, placed an arm on her shoulder for support. The memory of the wolf who had left her the year before still left an ache in her heart.

"You see it too," Spike muttered as he seen the melancholy look in her eyes. The similarity of the two stories had occurred to him from the first time that he heard of Oz’s departure the previous November. He even went so far as to think of Oz’s leaving as ‘Pulling a Callista’ on Willow, but there was no one else who would have understood the reference at the time, so he kept it to himself. The others gave him a pointed look.

"What do you mean," Buffy asked, not placing the two stories together.

"Duh, Summers. Skywalker’s girl ups and leaves him, saying it’s for the best, and then dog-boy ups and leaves Red for parts unknown, also saying it was for the best," Spike scoffed.

"Oh," Buffy said quickly. The room lapsed into an uncomfortable silence as both groups pondered the similar stories. It was Xander who broke the silence and changing the subject.

"So you really have to teach your own nieces and nephews, Luke? That has to be interesting," the dark haired teen quipped. Luke gave a short laugh.

"Not as difficult as one may think. Jaina, Jacen, and Anakin aren’t half as difficult as I was at that age. As much as their parents grumble, they don’t give them the grief I gave my aunt and uncle. I always bothered them about how boring Tatooine was, or how I wanted so badly to leave. It liked to have driven Uncle Owen to the edge."

"I’m not so sure Solo would agree with you, Luke. I believe his favorite saying these days is ‘teenagers!’, and as much time as I’ve spent around Jaina recently, I can see where he’s coming from," Mara added and Luke smiled. Giles himself gave a knowing laugh.

"Care to add to that thought, Giles," Buffy teased. Giles just gave his Slayer a pointed look.

"I have not said a bloody thing," he protested.

"But you’ve spent the past three years surrounded by practically nothing BUT teenagers, so you must have an opinion," Anya interjected. Willow nodded.

"You can’t say you haven’t been frustrated with us even one little bit, Giles," the witch offered. Giles relented to the look in her eyes.

"Well…" Spike gave a snort.

"Come on, Rupert. How many times have I heard ‘The Slayer did this, the witch did that, or Droopy Boy said this’. It can give one a bleeding headache at times, mate."

"Well, it’s not like I had much choice in the matter," Giles insisted. "I was the Watcher. The company I kept came with the job. After awhile, one just becomes accustomed to it."

"Have you always been a Watcher," Mara asked. Giles nodded.

"For the most part, yes. There was a time when I wanted nothing to do with the Council, but I soon gave up even trying to get away from it and took up my position. I did and eventually, I was assigned to Buffy," he explained. Buffy gave a quick nod.

"And Slaying will never be the same," she added with a grin.

"Everything I need to know about Slaying, I learned from G-Man," Xander mused, only to get a dirty look from Giles. "Now, I would say life lessons, but how much can a guy learn from the tweed loving librarian?" That got an even nastier glare from Giles’ direction.

"Xander, that wasn’t nice. Giles has done a lot for you, so shush!" Willow insisted.

"Like what, Wills?"

"Who helped reverse that love spell you had Amy do for you Junior year?" Xander blushed as he recalled the now infamous Valentine’s Day episode that involved yet another spell gone horribly wrong and the fall out it caused. Anya, who had never heard about that particular incident, was shocked. And pissed.

"You had some woman do a LOVE SPELL for you? This had better be good, Xander!" The dark haired young man looked forlornly at his girlfriend, wondering for the millionth time why he was going out with her.

"Ahn, can we talk about this somewhere else?" Xander asked. He could feel the fight brewing.

"If you think having sex with me is going to make me any less pissed off, then you are so wrong," the former demoness told him coolly. Xander sighed as the others in the room gave them a strange look.

"Okay, I think that’s our cue to leave. Say goodbye to our guests and don’t forget to thank Joyce for the nice dinner." he instructed Anya as he grabbed her wrist and began to lead her out of the room.

"Bye, and thank you. The food was lovely, Mrs. Summers," Anya grumbled as they left.

"Lovely girl," Mara mused as they left and Luke grinned. "She reminds me of this concubine I once knew. I always wondered how the Emperor stood her." Luke laughed.

"I would have believed that it would be the other way around. I don’t see Palpatine as an easy person to get along with," he told his wife.

"You weren’t raised around him, Skywalker. You just get used to it," she decided.

"Much the same with Xander and Anya," Willow added and Mara smiled at her.

"I still can’t get over the fact that you were raised by the Emperor. That’s just… well, freaky comes to mind," Riley commented to Mara.

"It’s not like I had much of a choice. He picked me to be his assistant, his Hand. What was I supposed to do, say, ‘gee, you Highness, can you pick some other nice little Jedi girl to do your work for you?’. It didn’t work that way," Mara shot back. Her days as an Imperial agent still stung to a degree, even though they were long over.

"But without an Emperor, there is no Emperor’s Hand, so that was the end of it," Luke reminded her, almost mirroring her thoughts.

"That must have been quite a shock to the system, Mara," Giles said. "To be without that position, and no support."

"It was, for awhile" Mara agreed. "Then the New Republic came along, and I found my way into that. Brave new galaxy for us all, so I had to adjust, right along with everyone else." Mara explained.

"I think it’s kind of sound like when you find out about the Hellmouth. Everything you knew before is different. Once you knew, there was no going back." Willow commented wryly. Spike listened calmly with a slight edge of earnestness. He wondered if anyone was thinking what he was thinking. The similarities were uncanny, even for the Hellmouth. Watching Giles and Willow absent-mindedly give each other soft looks, the same as the Skywalks. Of course, the Slayer was too busy giving googly-eyes to her own soldier boy to notice. Perhaps Joyce noticed. She was pretty perceptive, for a Slayer’s mother, Spike decided as he sipped the tea she had made him earlier.

"I’m sure you have lots of interesting stories for us," Luke commented to Giles and Willow.

"Not especially," Giles commented as he looked to his watch. "Well, I believe it’s time for us to be leaving. Do you need a ride back, Willow," he offered.

"Sure," the witch accepted happily as they stood up to go.

"We’ll be back in the morning," Giles told Joyce and the others. Then Buffy and Riley began to stand up, taking their cue.

"We’ll be back after patrol," Buffy told her mother.

"Just be careful, dear," Joyce told her.

"And don’t forget to check in with me," Giles reminded her as he and Willow left and Buffy nodded.

"See you," she said as she took Riley’s hand and walked out the door. As they heard Giles’ car start, Luke turned to his wife. Both had been paying particular attention to the Watcher and the witch during first the dinner and then the conversation afterwards.

"Does he remind you of anyone?" the Jedi commented. Mara smiled.

"I’m thinking the same thing, husband, dear. I guess the Force does always have its strange ways, doesn’t it?" Luke nodded. "The question is what do we do about it?"

****************************************************************

As the Citroen pulled to a stop in front of the Rosenberg residence, Giles took a curious eye to the darkened home. The only illumination came from the nearest street lamp. As Willow began to gather her belongings to leave, Giles put a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Are you going to be all right, Willow?" he asked softly. He had known Willow long enough to suspect that the house was almost certainly deserted, and he didn’t feel like prodding her.

"I’ll be fine, Giles," the witch assured him. "I know where my spare cross is, and there are no invitations whatsoever, so no baddies coming in tonight," she joked.

"I just don’t like the thought of you being all alone, Willow. I don’t think I need to remind you of all the things that could happen to you. I’m only concerned about your safety," he added.

"That’s sweet, Giles, but I’ll be fine. I don’t want to worry about me, okay," she said and Giles gave a short nod. "Good night, then." She leaned over and gave him a small kiss on the cheek. As soon as she done it, she knew something had happened. Willow could feel the electricity begin to flow through her from the intimate contact, and she quickly began to flush. It stunned her to feel such powerful effects from a simple kiss, yet a part of her knew it made sense. It was Giles. That was all she needed to know. Giles had a similarly perplexed look on his face, and Willow could tell he was having the familiar dilemma. Before she could think about it, she reached out, pulled Giles’ face toward her, and pressed her mouth to his in another kiss. His mouth easily yielded to her exploration, and she opened her mouth slightly to allow him access to hers. They spent several, long, languorous moments wrapped up in their kiss until Willow finally broke away and gave Giles an exasperated look. "I’ve gotta go!" she cried and left the car, running towards the house.

"Bloody hell," Giles murmured. The kiss was…he couldn’t quite describe it. Part electricity, part fire, part shock, and partly as tender as anything he could imagine. Giles had always thought the redheaded witch was one of the most fascinating souls he had ever encountered, but now there was something different most definitely coming into his vision of her after that kiss. Willow’s silken lips, her gentle touch, that sweet caress. Tonight had been a taste of all the possibilities she possessed, and he found himself aching for more. "Good Lord," he muttered to himself as various images of the two of them together flooded his imagination. Then he felt the need for a cold shower. Giles stared the car with a groan, and puttered home, pondering what it all meant, as well as Willow’s reaction. Had she rejected him? Was she startled? He wasn’t quite sure, and he was terribly afraid that it was the former.

After arriving back at his flat and taking that much needed cold shower, he dressed for bed, and lay there restless for some time. His mind wondered until he finally fell asleep and began to dream.

In his dream, Giles was on a spectacular white sand beach, surrounded by emerald green hills, various colorful varieties of flora and fauna, and a perfectly blue ocean. Willow had joined him, and they spent the day together on the beach, which was otherwise uninhabited. They swam in the ocean, spoke of their favorite books and music, Giles played some songs for Willow on his guitar, ate a picnic dinner from a basket Willow had brought, and watched the sun set together. After the sun set, they watched the stars from a soft blanket on the sand and made love under the moonlight. Giles could remember falling asleep with Willow cradled in his arms, and drifting off. When he awoke, she was gone, and there was no sign that she had even been there. Giles began a frantic search for her, but all to no avail.

He snapped back into reality disoriented and in a cold sweat, his mind still seeking out his Willow. "My Willow," he said softly to himself. The thought had simply come to him as if naturally, yet at the same time it was so profound he couldn’t ignore it’s significance. The idea that Willow belonged to him. He briefly wondered that if all of this emotion had been stirred up by one kiss, what would happen after two. "That’s a thought for later, old man," he added aloud as he began to get out of bed. Giles felt the overwhelming need for a strong cup of coffee, and possibly another shower. He had the feeling it was going to be a long morning.

*******************************************************************

Giles wasn’t the only one having a restless night. As Willow tossed and turned, her own dreams were haunting her. She too dreamed of a fateful day at the very same beach, mirroring the events of Giles’ dream, and feeling more content and fulfilled than she could ever remember, enjoying Giles’ company as much as possible. They laughed and joked, and told each other that loved each other. As they expressed their love under the moonlight, Willow could feel that there was a connection with the man in her arms she felt that she could never have expected or hoped for, and she relished it. This was love, she told herself as she drifted off. As she awoke, though, the pristine image shattered when she reached over for Giles. He was gone without a trace. She desperately searched the beach for him, combing as far as she dared, and finding no sign of him. She found a large bare rock to sit on, slumped down, and started to sob.

She awoke to find her pillow moist from her tears, and her eyes were still puffy from crying in her sleep. "Damn" she grumbled. She made her way to the bathroom and took a good look in the mirror. She looked disheveled and worn out, to add to the appearance of her eyes. "Great. Where’s a really good glamour when you need one?" She sighed as she began to get ready for the day, hoping that a long shower and makeup would approve her appearance enough so that Giles wouldn’t notice. She didn’t feel like explaining. "Get over it, Rosenberg. He’s probably as scared as you are." The thought didn’t help much.

********************************************************************

Over on Revello Drive, the menace of nightmares was visiting Luke Skywalker as well. He awoke in the middle of the night with a start, jarring his companion out of her sleep as well. "Luke," Mara whispered. "Are you okay?" Even in the darkness of the guestroom, she could see the look on his face and feel the dread flowing off him. "What happened?" Luke took his time to answer.

"I had a vision," he told his wife softly. "I saw you and Willow," he explained. "You were both together in great pain and you were afraid. All I could see is a stone room and some kind of locked door. Mara, you were preparing to die," he whispered coldly. The air between them took an eerie quality, and the tension was nearly palatable.

"It’s all right," Mara tried to assure him as well as herself. "We can fight it. There’s also no telling what it means," she added with as much confidence as she could muster. "It doesn’t have to mean anything."

"But you know it does, Mara. You were in that situation, and there was nothing I could do about it." Mara shook her head.

"Don’t worry about things you have no control over Skywalker. We will face it when we get there," she declared practically. "And I don’t plan on going the way of Yoda any time soon, Luke. I plan on being right here for some time."

"Doesn’t it worry you?" he asked softly.

"Sure it does, but we have much bigger things to be concerned about right now. One thing at a time, husband dear," she reminded him with a smile. She kissed the top of his head.

"One thing at a time," he repeated. "Why is that easier than it sounds?" Mara gave him a wry grin.

"You simply have to know how to handle the pressure, Master Skywalker," she teased.

"Any suggestions?"

"Oh, I have some ideas," she purred. "I could give you a lesson," Mara offered.

"Do you think this is the time and place," Luke said with the slight air of the prim and proper farm boy Mara had slowly come to love.

"My husband is in dire need of some tension relief, and that’s all I need to know. As for the others, if you follow my lesson plan, they won’t be the wiser." she explained. Luke gave her a wane smile. Leave it to Mara to be that practical.

"Then I leave myself to my capable teacher," he told her, then leaned over and met her mouth in a kiss.

****************************************************************

The next evening found the Scooby Gang and the Skywalkers gathered around the Summers' living room, except for Xander, who had to work, and Anya, who didn’t want to go without her boyfriend. Giles and Willow had ended up sitting next to each other, and there was an awkward tension between them after the previous night’s events, which Buffy and Riley didn’t seem to notice, but had caught the attention of Luke, Mara, and Spike. They were all eager to see what would happen between the witch and the Watcher, but knew that it would come in time. Meanwhile, Luke was ready to fill the others in on the vision he had experienced. "It wasn’t very specific, but there was no question that Willow and Mara were in great danger. Someone was preparing to kill them, and they both knew it." Willow’s eyes were wide.

"You’re sure… I mean absolutely sure about this?" she asked quietly and Luke nodded.

v "As sure as any of my visions have been. Of course, there are many explanations and possibilities as to what it means. That’s the most difficult part of it. There’s no way for us to be sure why you and Mara were there or just how much danger you were in, real and imagined." Buffy gave Luke a perplexed look.

"What does that mean?" the Slayer questioned.

"That there may be more to a situation than what a vision leads you to believe. I’m not sure who was behind the door or what they intended to do to Mara and Willow. All the vision means is that specific scene will take place, but we can only guess as to the circumstances." Giles gave a short nod.

"Vagueness does tend to go hand in hand with prophesy, does it not," he muttered. Spike gave a laugh.

"And what would you like, Rupert? A detailed play-by-play followed by a full synopsis of the game? No one works that way. No matter who’s playing, its taken moment by moment, and no bleeding higher power can compensate for that," the vamp explained.

"Well, Spike, then let me apologize for worrying about someone’s safety other than my own," Giles spat out. Spike gave him a pointed look.

"I’m not saying you shouldn’t be concerned, mate, but it’s bloody useless to try and get more information when none’s available. Didn’t the gits you worked for teach you that, or did they leave that lesson out of the manual?"

"All right, you two," Riley interjected. "That’s enough. We all know that we’re not going to have any more information to work with than what we’ve got, so can focus on that, or are you going to continue to bicker like children?" That got Giles and Spike’s attention, and they both quieted down. "Thank you."

"So we step up our patrols," Buffy declared. "And no one goes out alone. Will, maybe you should think about staying here, with us. It may not be a good idea for you to stay in that house alone," Buffy added. Willow shook her head.

"I can’t do that to you and your mom, Buffy. You have more than your fair share of houseguests as it is. There’s no reason that my house isn’t safe anyway. You know that," the hacker finished. Giles interrupted.

"I have to agree with Buff, Willow. Being alone right now is not advisable." Willow gave him a pointed look.

"I’m not some little girl, Giles," she said haughtily, glaring at him. "I don’t need twenty-four hour protection."

"I am only saying that it would be safer for you to be staying with someone, Willow, and Buff’s offer is more than reasonable," the former Watcher explained. Willow was not convinced. The others could feel the argument that was coming on.

"Here we go," Buff whispered to Riley, who had yet to experience the wrath of Willow, much less that combined with Giles’ own ire. Buff would recall that last Thanksgiving; the combination was quite a remarkable sight. Luke and Mara just looked on, their faces expressionless as Spike rolled his eyes.

"And that should impress me? Giles, I don’t think any of us are safe right now, if we ever have been, you don’t need to be so overprotective about it." Giles glared at her.

"That is no reason for you to go off and do something that ill advised. You should know better, Willow."

"Giles, you’re not being fair… If it were Buffy, we would not be having this conversation, would we?" The comment visibly stung Giles and Willow looked pleased. "No, little miss Slayer can take care of herself, but little Willow needs to be as guarded as possible." That had definitely raised Giles ire.

"Willow, that was uncalled for…"

"Oh, I think it was totally called for…" Mara chose to interrupt their fight.

"Do you two want us to leave you alone for this?" she asked pointedly. Spike snorted, and Luke could barely suppress his smile. Buffy gave Willow and Giles a small, disbelieving smile, while Riley chose to remain mum about what was going on.

"What," Willow and Giles called out at the same time.

"I just thought you may want to continue this discussion in private, that’s all," Mara explained, accentuating the word "private". Both of the combatants turned red with that thought. It was as if Mara knew what had happened the night before…

"No," Giles said quickly and slightly nervously. "We’re fine," he stuttered. The implications of what she had meant…

"Giles is just being stubborn," Willow told them, picking up the same idea. "As usual," she added under her breath.

"I heard that," Giles retorted. Willow was about to reply before Spike cut her off.

"There’s no need for you two to be so bloody tense," the vamp insisted, stressing the tense part. The word caused both of them to blush. "Is there something you’d like to share, Rupert," Spike asked mockingly. Giles only grew redder.

"Shut up," he warned coldly.

"If you say so," Spike said laughing.

"So what is the final call," Riley asked tentatively.

"She stays with Buffy," Giles said quickly.

"I say alone," Willow said just as Giles made his reply. They both looked at each other. For a heartbeat, no one spoke as they waited for an answer.

"We can discuss that later," Giles finally decided, putting the discussion to and end. Willow nodded.

"Then I think it’s time we break into patrol groups. I’m with Riley, Giles can go with Will. Spike, you can stay here with Luke and Mara," the Slayer finished, automatically taking full control of the situation.

"We can go out and help," Mara said defensively. "We’re not newbies, you know." Luke nodded.

"I agree with Mara. If we’re stuck here, we may as well do some good." Buffy looked to Giles and he shrugged.

"I don’t see the harm in it," he told her. "They are experienced fighters. If they go, Spike can accompany them." Buffy rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. Just don’t blame me if you get hurt," she retorted to Mara. The other glared at her.

"Can we go," Riley asked, not wanting to perpetuate an argument. He grabbed Buffy’s arm and led her out into the dusk.

"That’s supposed to be the savior of your world," Mara muttered. Giles shrugged.

"Buffy’s methods may seem a bit unorthodox, but I assure you that they are highly effective," he assured her. Mara nodded.

"I guess I’m just not used to a dictatorship any more." Luke gave her a look, stopping any further comment.

"Giles, are you ready to go," Willow asked softly and the former Watcher nodded.

"Be careful," he reminded Spike as he and Willow headed for the door. "And rule of thumb: go for the head. It works every time," the told Luke.

"I’ll remember that." With that, Giles and Willow were gone. Luke took a deep breath. "I guess it’s our turn, right?" Spike nodded.

"Hi-ho, hi-ho. It’s off to slay we go," the vamp muttered dryly as he lead the Skywalkers out the door.

********************************************************************

"This is fun," Willow grumbled sarcastically as she leaned back onto a tall headstone. The Memorial Gardens Cemetery was one of the many that occupied the Sunnydale city limits, and their focus on that particular night. Earlier that day, a Benjamin Lyle had been buried here, and there were strong suspicions as to Mr. Lyle’s fate. They expected him to rise that night, so it was up to Willow and Giles to take care of it. So far, the grave had yet to be disturbed, but Giles figured that the vampire would rise soon enough.

"Patience as always, Willow. These things do take time," he admonished her softly as he stood next to her. Willow nodded.

"Sorry. It’s been some time since I had to watch a grave."

"Do you have some ideas on how to pass the time?" he asked tentatively, trying not to push her. It was the first time they had been alone since the strange events of the previous night, and Giles desperately wanted to discuss it.

"Well… Giles, last night, I’m not sure where my head was." she said quickly. "Okay, that may have come out wrong. I know what I was thinking, but I’m not sure why I did it."

"Willow, if you don’t want to talk about this, I won’t press you…" Willow shook her head.

"No, Giles, you’re not. I mean, I enjoyed the kiss. I really did." she said quietly.

"Is that so?"

"Yes!" she replied with a touch too much enthusiasm. "I mean, yes, but, it’s complicated. I mean, I have Tara, and you have Olivia. Goddess, Giles, does that make what we did wrong?" Giles gently placed his hand on the side of her face, stepping in front of her.

"No, my dear. It does not mean that you care any less for Tara, or that I care any less for Olivia. It was…" Giles took a deep breath as he fought for the right words. "Something special, in the moment. Perhaps the type of thing than can never be repeated. Maybe no more than a momentary spark." He hoped he sounded more convinced than he felt. Even her touch felt electric, and he was silently praying that she felt it too, but he couldn’t be sure. "A one time only thing," he added dryly, more for his benefit than for anything else. Willow could feel her breath getting shallower, her heartbeat racing as Giles began to absently stroke her cheek.

v "One time only," Willow repeated in a whisper. Slowly, almost torturously so, Giles began to lean in and press his mouth to Willow’s. They both felt the heat of the kiss immediately, their tongues teasing, pleading for more. They pressed their bodies closer in an effort to satiate the fire they were feeling, but it refused to die. Giles hand grabbed onto Willow’s hair, gently stroking the silky mass. Soon, however, reality, and the need for oxygen, set in.

"Bloody hell," Giles murmured. He looked into Willow’s deep eyes, and after a heartbeat, kissed her again with all the passion he could muster, Willow returning it with all of her might. Suddenly, a low rumble brought them back to earth. Giles heard a sickening crack from behind him as Benjamin Lyle broke free.

"Giles!" Willow shouted, but it was too late. The vamp came up from behind and gave Giles a violent blow to the head before the Watcher could react. Willow gasped, but her fingers automatically reached for the stake she had been carrying. She tested the weapon’s weight in her hand as she prepared to strike. She quickly brought her left hand up, faking the vamp with the movement, then used the right to drive the stake home. The vampire turned to dust, the ashes covering Willow and the fallen Giles. She bent down to check on him. "Are you okay," she asked, helping him up.

"Bloody marvelous," he said rubbing his head.

"Anything I can do?" Giles raised an eyebrow.

"Well, we could pick up where we were so rudely interrupted," he suggested. Willow smiled. Only they would think that making out in a cemetery was a normal thing to do, but, she reminded herself, this is Sunnydale. She eagerly leaned in to catch his mouth in a kiss, forgetting about the attack in all the emotion.

****************************************************************

In another part of town, Spike sat with Luke and Mara as they waited in the shadows of the Peaceful Acres Cemetery for another suspected newbie, one Victoria Grey. Ms. Grey had died with Lyle, so it was suspected that she had met her companion’s fate. Of course, this wasn’t easy to explain to the Jedi. "Look, she’ll pop up soon enough, mate. Give her time. It’s not like she’s on a bloody schedule," Spike said with a grimace.

"Does it always take this long," Mara asked quietly, watching Spike light a cigarette.

"Sometimes longer," he affirmed as he let out a puff. Just then, a low shaking began, and the fresh grave was turned into a hole as Victoria Grey came out to her new life. Spike cursed under his breath, and threw his smoke to the ground, grinding it with his heel as he withdrew a stake. The vampire hadn’t seen them yet, and Spike was using the surprise as his advantage. He stepped in front of Luke as the vamp came close and raised the stake. The vampire walked towards the shadows, believing all was safe, right into Spike’s waiting stake. Before she had a chance to react, Spike forced the stake into her chest, and was rewarded with a pile of dust covering his jacket. As he dusted himself off, Mara and Luke gave him a curious eye.

"What happened," Mara breathed and Spike sighed.

"That’s what happens to us when we die," he explained simply. "And there are only three things that will do it. Stake to the heart, beheading, and direct sunlight. We get dusted every time." It made him somewhat uneasy to be so casual about how to kill a vampire, but Spike ignored it. It wasn’t like they would use the knowledge against him anyway.

"Dust being in the literal sense," Luke confirmed. "That’s…unusual," he decided, Mara nodding her affirmation.

"Just the way things are, mate. It’s not like I made to rules." Spike mused. Mara gave him a pointed look as he began to walk towards the entrance of the cemetery, followed by both Jedi.

"Then who did," Mara asked. Spike turned to face her.

"Well, if I knew that, Jade, I wouldn’t be in this bloody hellhole acting as one of Slutty’s bleeding Slayerettes." He turned back on his heel and continued for the exit, letting the Jedi absorb the experience, and Mara and Luke followed close behind. Suddenly, Mara’s danger sense went into overdrive, and she spun to the right to see a tall dark-haired man in full vamp face. She automatically reached for her lightsaber, took the handle in both hands, and thumbed the activation switch. The blade lit with a snap-hiss, coming to life. She was on the defensive, allowing the vampire to dictate her moves, and he tried to keep his distance, too surprised and scared to the strange weapon. She let him circle once, twice, three times, the vamp coming closer each time. Spike was about to say something when Luke cut him off with a quick gesture, signaling him to stay his ground. The vamp inched closer to Mara, until she was in a position to strike. The vamp launched himself at her, figuring he would be to fast for her to react to her moves, but Mara was already swinging the blade, heading straight for his vulnerable neck. She caught him on the right, finishing her arc well past his left shoulder. The vamp was able to give one squeal of surprise before he succumbed and turned to dust and Mara deactivated her weapon, clipping it onto a belt loop in her slacks.

"That was fun," Mara mumbled. "Can we do it again some time?"

"Pretty impressive, Jade," Spike returned. "Although, I’d watch the use of the saber. It’s not often the gits around here see one, well never actually, and we don’t want to draw too much attention, even if you did put on a damn good show," he added, his voice oozing was all the charm he had been known for.

"Is that all we’re supposed to do," Luke asked casually, changing the subject, and Spike nodded.

"The vamp activity has been light for the past few weeks," he explained. "It’s the Virjah demons that are becoming the bloody nuisance. The Slayer and her Soldier Boy went over to take care of their big muckety-muck, which they’ve been setting up for two weeks. Once he goes, the others will easy to mop up. We’re on the official vamp duty tonight, since those two were likely to rise. She just wanted us to get this one and her boyfriend, which Red and Rupert took, while she and Riley have all the fun," he added with a grumble. Luke raised his brow when Spike mentioned the former Watcher and the witch.

"What exactly is going on between those two?" he asked seriously. Spike shrugged.

"The same as always with them- a bloody great deal of tension with no outcome. They’ve probably been playing at the same game since they met. Hell, I’m SURE they’ve been that way for that long. Bloody pathetic if you ask me, but if I so much as suggest doing anything about it, the Slayer would more than likely dust me, and I happen to like all my parts being solid, thank you very much." he explained.

"Why would she do that?" Luke said out of curiosity. "It doesn’t make sense. Doesn’t she want them to be happy?"

"To Buffy it does. She’s just too blind to see all that much beyond her own pathetic goings on, and she certainly couldn’t see this. She sees Rupert like he’s her father, and no child can grasp his or her parent’s love life, much less deal with their best friend being a part of it. Just one of those things," he declared to them.

"Makes sense," Mara said carefully. "I suppose." Spike looked to her.

"Look at your niece and nephew," he told them. "How do they act around Han and Leia? Now image that Han and Leia had somehow separated and Leia married someone else, doesn’t matter who the chap is, because the kids would still have a hard time accepting him, but if they had known him before, it would be worse." he illustrated for them, and they understood.

"Not that that would ever happen…" Luke mused, "But your point is clear enough."

"Yeah, you have four unhappy Solos and Leia breaking in a new husband at the next political function," she quipped, and Luke glared at her, but his eyes betrayed his mirth.

"Are you saying that those galas Leia makes us go to are boring," he admonished his wife.

"Stars forbid," she gasped mock seriously, causing Spike to laugh as they walked on. The Jedi joined him in the racus as they heading for the Memorial Gardens to meet up with Willow and Giles. They walked the rest of the way in silence until they reached the cemetery ten minutes later. Spike led them to the Lyle grave, stopping in his tracks before they reached it. In the distance, he could see Willow kissing Giles full on the mouth a few feet away from the open grave.

"Bloody hell," Spike whispered. "They’re going at it all right," he finished. He turned to stop Luke and Mara.

"I thought you said no outcome," Luke whispered back sarcastically as he stood next to Spike. Spike glared at him.

"I don’t call the shots here, mate. If they want to get frisky, it’s none of my concern." Mara rolled her eyes.

"Should we be watching this," she hissed. "Or should we give them a few moments alone," she asked, but Spike shook his head.

"Not sure how that would go, Mara. This is a public place after all, and even I have my standards, and there’s no telling where those two would stop," he added with a vicious grin. Luke gave Mara a pointed look as Spike walked towards the obviously busy pair and began to whistle a tune loudly, choosing his old standard, "My Way". Willow’s eyes went wide as Giles spun around to face him.

"Spike!" Willow cried. "You’re here. Now. Wow. He’s here, Giles. To see us. With his vampire vision," she babbled, her face turning a deep shade of red, and Giles gave her a pointed look, then turned to face Spike.

"What are you doing here," he asked with an edge to his voice.

"Well, I don’t know about you, Rupert, but I was investigating some vampire activity and was under the impression that I was to meet up with you and Red afterwards," he said with a smile, and it was Giles’ turn to blush.

"What did you see," Giles probed, trying to keep his voice even.

"Well, I’m too much of a gentleman to… oh, Hell, I never was a gentleman. I saw you and Red snogging each other like there was no tomorrow. As for what comes next, I don’t think I need to draw a picture." Giles glared at him. Luke and Mara silently came up and joined him, the group forming a small circle.

"Spike don’t be crude," Willow snapped, then remembered to hold her tongue. "Sorry," she added in a small voice.

"Actually, bonus points for you two for being so damn adventurous," he quipped, causing both of them to blush even harder.

"Are you quite through," Giles bit out.

"Not until I tell the Slayer what kind of games you two play on patrol, but that comes later," he quipped. Mara silenced him with a look.

"Whatever happened here is none of our concern, but it is time to get back, isn’t it," she reminded them. Giles nodded.

"Indeed. Buffy will be reporting in soon, and I want to make sure that her campaign went as planned," he said as he adjusted the collar of his Oxford, straightening it. The men all began to head for the exit, Mara and Willow a few steps behind.

"Sorry you had to see that," Willow whispered. "I didn’t plan on performing in front of an audience," she added, her embarrassment showing.

"It’s okay," Mara whispered back. "But next time, you might want to rethink your setting," she finished.

"I’ll remember that," Willow replied dryly.

****************************************************************

The others were silent as they made their way to Giles’ apartment, so Willow made her way up to Giles and took pace beside him. Together, they quickened their pace to gain a slight lead on the other, which they allowed, until they were out of earshot. "This is so strange, Giles," Willow whispered. Giles raised his eyebrow.

"How so?" he questioned curiously.

"It’s just… well, I never really thought this would happen. The you and me thing, I mean. It’s still kinda hazy, like a dream," she added.

"Which part?" Giles asked quietly.

"All of it," Willow returned softly. "I’m still waiting to see if I wake up, and then everything will be the way it was before." There was an air of sadness in her eyes as she said it. Giles tried his best not to return it.

"Is that what you want, love," he questioned gently, using the term of endearment for the first time. Willow’s bright eyes looked up to him. They had grown even sadder at the sentiment.

"I’m not sure what I want anymore, Giles," she admitted. "Goddess, I thought I did, but I really, really don’t. I’m doing it again, aren’t I," she whispered, and Giles gave her a knowing look.

"This has absolutely nothing to do with what happened before, Willow. That was a completely different situation," he told her seriously. She shook her head.

"No, it’s not, Giles!" she insisted adamantly. "I was dating Oz, had feelings for Xander and couldn’t decide between the two. Now I’m dating Tara, have feelings for you and I STILL don’t know what I want, and someone’s going to be impaled because of it! Again!" The emotion playing across her face was enough to break his heart. She was fully convinced that something horrible was going to happen to someone, and it would all be her fault. Giles took her firmly by the shoulders as they walked on.

"Willow, I don’t want to see you thinking that way," he said sternly. "No matter what happens, this will work out, I assure you, and not be as terrible as before," he said confidently. Willow’s eyes began to mist over.

"Yes it will, and you’ll just end up as another one of my greatest mistakes, just like Xander did," she said softly. She looked up to him, a tear forming already. "Do you realize that I have not had a serious conversation with Xander since that night? We just kind of forgot to forgive ourselves for what happened to Cordy. Xander was my best friend for more years than I can care to remember, Giles, and now he’s just the guy I happened to have known since elementary school," she admitted. She had never before admitted the reality of what the so-called clothes fluke had done to her and Xander’s relationship, not even to Buffy, but it felt good to finally let it go. "Xander and I can’t take back what happened that night, and I don’t want that to happen to us, Giles," she finished, the tears streaking down her face. He looked into those misty green eyes, drying the tears with his thumb, and gathered Willow into a hug as they kept walking.

"What happened before was a bad decision, Willow, and the sooner you and Xander see it as that, the faster you will be able to begin repairing your relationship. As for us, if you’re already beginning to see what we have done as a mistake, then it’s already a lost cause, and I don’t want to believe that," he added in a hushed tone.

"I’m doing the best I can," Willow whispered up to him.

"I know you are, love. It’s just a terribly difficult situation, but not an impossible one. You have to believe that," he told her as he hugged her.

"I do."

********************************************************************

Further down the path, Spike and the Skywalkers walked along, taking in the silent display before them. They all knew something was up, but no one felt like questioning the witch or the former Watcher. Mara had taken Luke’s hand as they went on, and Spike was giving the Slayerettes before his a silent scowl. Finally, it was Mara who spoke. "They’re way too apprehensive for what was going on before," she remarked casually. "Shouldn’t they be, oh, say blissfully happy by now?" Spike gave her a pointed look.

"Not in this lifetime," he muttered. "The one absolute about this bloody town is that bad things happen to good people. Red and Rupert are the perfect example. They’re so in love they can’t see straight, but there’s one small problem," Spike explained. "Well, two in fact," he amended. "Namely his girlfriend, Olivia, and Red’s girlfriend, Tara. Neither one is going to be happy about this, and you know what they say about a woman scorned, much less two, or do you?" he added, remembering that they weren’t exactly locals.

"I believe we’re familiar with what we call the Alderaanian Breakup Syndrome," Mara said with a wry grin. But look gave Spike a perplexed look. "Ancient queen of Alderaan, unfaithful king, bloody civil war, the fall of the ruling clan," Mara explained.

"Oh. Haven’t heard that one before. And here I thought Alderaan was supposed to be a peaceful world. Guess everyone goes through changes," Spike commented.

"Willow has a girlfriend," Luke asked carefully. Spike gave a little scoff.

"You really are a farm boy, aren’t you?" Spike asked with a grin. "Well, to put it mildly, when all the other little girls were prattling on about the chaps they had crushes on, Red was eyeing both sides of the fence, if you know what I mean," he said wryly, causing Mara to laugh, forcing Luke to stifle his own laughter.

"I didn’t mean it that way," Luke told him with a smile. "I just didn’t realize that that was the case," he said innocently.

"Face it, Skywalker, you’re just not cosmopolitan enough for this world," Mara said mock-sternly. "These are not the kind of girls you met on Tatooine," she added.

"You never met Camie," Luke said under his breath.

"Who’s Camie," Mara asked carefully.

"A local girl who had quite an affect on the whole teenage population of Mos Eisley. She was quiet the wildcat, in more ways than one," he added wryly.

"Care to elaborate," Mara asked jokingly.

"Not really. Youthful indiscretions and all," he added sternly. Mara gave her husband a wry look.

"I’m having a bad influence on you, Skywalker," she joked. "Now you’re having delusions of a misspent youth." She gave him a smile and kissed him sweetly on the forehead. As they walked on, Spike grinned at the amusing display, but then his look became serious.

"This is the first time Red’s had relationship problems, mates. I’m not even sure she’s recovered from the first time," he said darkly.

"And you feel responsible for it?" Luke pressed. Spike gave a scowl.

"Has anyone ever told you how annoying that is," Spike asked, and both Luke and Mara nodded. Spike went on with a sigh. "Not directly, but I was involved. Willow was dating a nice enough chap named Oz, but she found herself attracted to Xander, and I kidnapped them. Bugger, if I had known…well, I would have done it anyway, but that doesn’t make it any easier to hear her whine about it. I was trying to force Willow to do a spell for me and had her and Xander locked in some hole alone together, bad idea, and in the heat of the moment, they snogged. Bloody hell that gives me chills, but Oz found out when he came in to rescue them, as did Xander’s girlfriend at the time, Cordelia. Cordelia was injured fleeing the scene. The chit impaled herself on some bleeding metal rod, nearly dies, and it’s all because I didn’t want to see my girlfriend prance around like some doxy! God, am I pathetic?" he finished.

"I’ve heard worse," Mara said.

"Yeah, well, the point is Red still has impalement issues, whether or not she wants to admit it, and is probably telling herself that it’s starting all over again," he explained. "Only this time, she feels she should know better, so it shouldn’t be happening. Guilt trip, here we come."

"That’s a pretty interesting observation," Luke commented.

"Well, I’ve had nothing to do since I lost my bite but observe. As much as I hate to admit it, these blokes are more interesting to watch than "Passions". All the melodrama, none of the commercial fuss," he said nonchalantly. "Plus, it saves on the cable bill," he added.

"You have a very strange outlook on life," Mara huffed.

"Well, being dead will do that to a man. We’re here," he announced as the courtyard of Giles’ apartment complex they came into view. Willow and Giles were just ahead of them. They made they’re way past the entrance into the courtyard itself, only to find that they weren’t alone. Tara stood outside of Giles’ door.

"Oh, hi, Tara," Willow greeted her meekly.

"Hi, Willow," Tara returned brightly.

****************************************************************

"Thought you weren’t supposed to be back until Monday," Willow squeaked as she squirmed under the gaze of her girlfriend. Tara, however, was as sweet as ever, having no idea what she had missed.

"My aunt wasn’t feeling well, so I decided to leave early. What have you been up to," she asked in her quiet way.

"Up to," Giles stuttered nervously. Spike shook his head and interrupted.

"Well, it seems Red here is a big enough fan of Star Wars that she accidentally called up some of the characters. Tara, meet Luke Skywalker and his wife, Mara Jade Skywalker," the blonde vampire said politely. Tara didn’t skip a beat.

"Nice to meet you," she greeted them. "I didn’t realize that you liked Star Wars," she told Willow. "Must be interesting, having them here I mean." The redhead blushed nervously.

"You have no idea, Blondie," Spike muttered under his breath as he looked at Giles, a comment that elicited a look from Mara, who had stood back with Luke. Spike just shook his head at the display.

"Well, it’s a recent thing," Willow explained. Tara just smiled at her and was about to respond when something suddenly hit her. During the whole conversation, Willow had been absently holding Giles hand. Tara stared at their entwined hands, and both realized their mistake.

"What’s going on," Tara stammered. Willow and Giles both blushed profusely, and had trouble answering her. "Willow?"

"Tara, I… We… I can explain…" Tara knew enough to guess that her girlfriend had cheated on her. A tear began to streak down Tara’s face as she ran out of the courtyard, off into the night.

"Tara!" Willow cried after her, but it was in vain. Tara was already out of sight. "Oh, God," Willow whispered as she backed up against the wall and sat down on the sidewalk, and she began to sob.

"Bloody hell," Giles muttered. He handed Spike the key to his apartment and gestured for him to go inside with the others. Spike nodded as he led the Skywalkers inside and closed the door. Giles sat down next to Willow and took her in his arms. "It’s okay, love," he whispered softly to her.

"No it’s not," she replied. "I’m a horrible, hurtful, guilty person, Giles. Tara’s never going to forgive me," she added. Giles face fell somewhat at this, but he tried not to let his disappointment show. From a near-by neighbor’s window, some music began to waft out into the cool night air. As the slow, sweet melody began, Giles couldn’t help but focus on the angelic vision in his arms.

{Down to the earth I fell}
{With dripping wings}
{Heavy things won’t fly}
{And the sky might catch on fire}
{And burn the axis of the world that’s why}
{I prefer a summer sky to the glittering and stinging in my eyes}

That’s what she was to him. His very own smiling, beaming, wonderful angel. He had always felt blessed for the people in his life, especially the Slayer and her friends, but Willow was something beyond that. She was the first person he could ever honestly call his best friend, and he had never known how to tell her that or how to show her. Until now. Now she would come first, so he pushed his feelings, disappointment, and apprehension aside for her.

"I’m sure she’ll come back," he assured her, not letting on how much it hurt him to think that Willow may go back to Tara, and Willow shook her head.

"She won’t, Giles." He was a little stuck by how concerned she was about this, but let it slide. "And I’m not sure I even want her to," Willow finished in a whisper.

"What do you mean, Willow?" he asked cautiously.

{I feel so light}
{This is all I want to feel tonight}
{I feel so light}
{Tonight and the rest of my life}
{Tonight and the rest of my life}

"I realized something tonight, Giles." Willow explained. "As long as I’ve been with Tara, I can’t see us as being together permanently. I can’t see us together five years from now, much less twenty and beyond. I want a relationship that will last, Giles, more than anything, and I don’t believe Tara can give that to me. You can," she finished. Giles found himself awestruck. Of all the things she could have told him, this was the last on his mind. And the best.

"I would like for that to be true, Willow, more than you may realize, but I want you to be sure," he said. She gave him a smile and his heart danced in his chest.

"Can’t you see it, Giles? Planning your retirement party together, still trying to keep the demons in line, Xander making fun of your gray hair while I tell you how sexy it is." Giles gave her a small laugh.

"You paint such a wonderful picture, Willow," he said wryly.

"I know."

{Gleaming in the dark sea}
{I’m as light as air}
{Floating there breathlessly}
{When the dream dissolves I open up my eyes}
{I realize that everything is shoreless sea}
{Weightlessness is passing over me}

"You make it sound so easy, Willow," Giles sighed. Willow nodded and looked up to him.

"It is." She gave him a serious, sober look. "I love you Giles. That’s all I need to know." He looked into those lovely green eyes of hers, and maybe it was the song, or hearing those magical words, but suddenly he began to feel slightly dizzy, his mind swirling with a myriad of emotions and he hugged her.

"I love you, too, Willow," he said softly into her hair.

{I feel so light}
{This is all I want to feel tonight}
{I feel so light}
{Tonight and the rest of my life}
{Tonight and the rest of my life}
{Everything is waves and stars}
{The universe is resting in my arms}

He leaned in and pressed his mouth to hers in a kiss to seal their revelation. This was their moment, and he couldn’t think of any better way to express it than by kissing the woman he loved. The kiss was tender and full of promise and longing, as gentle as the song that was still hanging in the air.

"Wow," Willow said as they broke apart. "I should tell you I love you more often," she added.

"I’ll hold you to that, Ms. Rosenberg," he warned gently.

"Good," she replied with a smile.

{I feel so light}
{This is all I want to feel tonight}
{I feel so light}
{Tonight and the rest of my life}

"Can I stay here tonight," Willow asked tentatively. Giles nodded.

"Of course you can, Willow. I have some extra blankets and I can take the couch if you wish to stay," he offered gentlemanly, but propriety was the last thing Willow had on her mind.

"Who said I intended to kick you out of your bed," she answered demurely, giving Giles an impish smile, which he returned.

"You’re incorrigible, Willow," he told her.

"You have no idea," she purred as she leaned up to kiss him again.

{I feel so light}
{This is all I want to feel tonight}
{I feel so light}
{Tonight and the rest of my life}
{Tonight and the rest of my life}

As the song ended, Giles could hear the approach of another vehicle. "That’s probably Buffy and Riley," he surmised. "We should probably head inside," he added. She nodded as they stood up and headed into the apartment together, followed a few moments later by Buffy and Riley, who reported fully on their demon raid.

As they gave their report, Riley couldn’t help but feel like something was going on he didn’t know about. He’d catch Giles and Willow giving each other soft looks when they thought he and Buffy weren’t looking. Then, he once turned to them to catch Willow’s hand resting lightly on Giles’ left knee, and the look she was giving him was full of what Riley could only describe as passion, tinged with lust. A few moments later, he caught Giles resting his hand on Willow’s thigh. For a few moments he wondered if he was hallucinating, but the smirk on Spike’s face told him that the vampire had gotten the same message he had. He was at a loss as to what to say about it, so he finally decided not to say anything. He figured that was better than telling Giles, "Hey, you and Willow are getting awfully touchy-feely. What’s up with that?" Just when he thought he’d had enough, their report was over, and he and Buffy were free to leave and take the Skywalkers back to Joyce’s house. That’s when he found out Willow intended to stay with Giles that night. As the four of them made their way to Riley’s jeep, he couldn’t stand it any longer. As he sat down in the drivers seat, he looked over to Buffy and said, "Was it my imagination or did Willow and Giles look like they were on the verge of naughtiness." Buffy gave him a huff.

"Don’t be ridiculous, Riley," she said. "This is Willow and Giles. No naughtiness will be involved. She’s just spending the night. That’s all," she insisted. In the back, Luke and Mara shook their heads. Now they knew what Spike had meant about Buffy.

"Are you sure, Buffy, because they looked very cozy from where I was standing," Riley replied seriously.

"Oh, come on! Willow doesn’t even think Giles is sexy… well, okay, so the time she saw him sing, maybe… Giles has never looked at her… except that time she wore that leather corset, but that was a fluke, I swear! … she’s not his type… well, she is kind of like Jenny…" Buffy trailed off.

"I though you were sure there couldn’t be any thing between them," Mara interjected.

"Well, it’s Willow! And Giles! They wouldn’t…" She looked around the jeep’s passengers, their faces giving her the answer. "Oh, God they would." she added.

"Is that such a horrible thing," Luke asked gently.

"For them, probably not, but it’s not doing anything for my metal picture of them." She began to go off on that particular tangent. "My Watcher getting all sweaty with my best friend… I’m already hyperventilating! Riley, get us home before I get queasy!" Luke gave his wife a small smile as they sat back for the ride to Joyce’s house, chuckling at Buffy’s exclamations about the situation the whole time.

*******************************************************************

As the rosy light of early morning streamed into his room, Giles began to stir. The fog of sleep was beginning to slowly rise from his brain, his memories of the previous night flooding back, bringing a tide of emotions with it. He turned to his side to peer at the woman beside him, finding it a wonder to even think that this was real. He gently reached over to brush an errant tendril of her gorgeous red hair from her face, trying not to wake her in the process. She lightly began to stir with his touch, and he pulled back. She slowly rolled over to face him, her eyes still hazy with sleep. "Morning," she said sleepily.

"Good morning, Willow," he returned softly. "Sorry if I woke you." The sleep began to wear off her face as she looked at the clock on the near-by nightstand.

"The others will be here soon," Willow murmured as she realized the time.

"Yes, they will, and unless you'd like a chance to explain our current… situation, we may want to get dressed," he told her.

"Do I hafta," she said mock-innocently. Giles gave her a pointed look.

"Willow…" he warned. She shushed him with a quick gesture.

"I'm joking, Giles." She turned with a dramatic flourish as she began to get out of the bed. "See me getting up," she added as she started for the bathroom. As she neared the door, she turned to face with Giles. "I still say Riley caught on," she told him. "The look he gave me when I told him I was staying here last night… and you know if he suspects anything Buffy will know," she finished. "There's still probably going to be questions," she added as she turned back to the door.

"Yes, I have no doubt of that, but I'd just as soon answer any questions with my clothes on, thank you," he grumbled under his breath as she turned back to the door. She threw him a casual look.

"I heard that."

"Perhaps I meant for you to hear that, love," he replied impishly.

"And perhaps I want to confide in by best friend just how my love life is going…" she returned as she walked through the door and into the bathroom.

"Touché," he answered as he entered the bathroom himself to give her a hug from behind as she was looking into the mirror.

"Well, hurry up. Riley and Buffy will be here soon," she told him as she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

******************************************************************

"I'm not ready for this," Buffy complained. "I just can't … Riley, I can't do this. I mean, it's Willow… and Giles… together…" Riley hugged her closer to him.

"They're not going to share, Buffy. You know that," he assured her. "I'm sure that if anything happened, they'll be discreet."

"But Willow's my best friend… she'll want to talk about it sometime!" Buffy insisted.

"But not now," Riley told her. "She'll give you some time to adjust, I'm sure." From behind them, Luke came up with Mara and nodded.

"If it helps, I don't sense anything unusual from them. You'll be fine," Mara added.

"Nothing unusual going on in there," Luke murmured.

"Promise," Buffy said quietly, and Luke nodded.

"Jedi's honor," he replied. As they strolled into the courtyard, they caught sight of Xander and Anya, who had come just ahead of them and were approaching Giles' door.

"Buffy, Riley. What's the what?" Xander asked. "Anything new in the land of Buffdom?" he quipped. Buffy almost answered him, but thought better of it and shook her head.

"Nope. Another research party, another pizza and possibly a video if we get too tired," she added. "I got The Sixth Sense." Xander groaned.

"I was traumatized the first time we seen that, Buffy! I went around the house whispering 'I see dead people' for a week. My mom was considering having me see a psychiatrist."

"Um… being creeped out by a movie? Excessive adrenaline levels prompted a fear response. I don't see anything wrong with you," Riley told him.

"Thanks for the diagnosis, Dr. Finn." Xander said as he walked on towards the door. "Glad to know I fit the mold."

"Remember that when you see my bill." Xander shook his head.

"Preparing for your profession early, I see," Xander quipped as he walked in front of Riley, Anya still beside him.

"Well, at least he can say he'll make money," Anya grumbled from behind him.

"Ahn, not now please," Xander told her.

"Well, I don't see you doing the whole 'job to job' thing forever," she shot back. "It's almost pathetic really."

"Anya…" Xander warned as he opened the door to Giles' apartment. Willow was sitting casually on the couch, leafing through some ancient book as Giles was in the kitchen, setting out the pizza he had promised them.

"I just don't see why you can't get a skill… do something useful," Anya continued on. "Other men have skills."

"Hey guys," Willow said with a smile as she looked up from her book. The others mumbled their greetings as they all took a seat around the living room. "Have I missed anything since last night?" Buffy took her seat next to Riley, giving her friend a curious look.

"No. Not a thing," Riley assured her. She gave him a smile.

"What about you? Anything interesting that we missed?" Buffy asked with a sweet smile. Both Giles and Willow gave a slight blush while Riley nudged Buffy in the ribs.

"Nope. Not a thing," Willow returned, her voice a little too high. "Nothing at all." Luke and Mara sat back and gave a smile at the by-play. Then Giles cleared his throat.

"Um… I do believe the food is ready," the told them. Xander took his cue and got up from his seat to grab a piece of the pizza, followed by Riley. The others all joined in, except for Luke and Mara, who didn't know what to expect from the new food.

"Looks similar to Correllian food to me," Luke commented as he eyed the food.

"I thought you liked Correllian food," Mara returned, and Luke nodded.

"I thought you didn't," he explained. Mara shook her head.

"I can eat ration bars for months, Skywalker. I think I can handle greasy food just as well as you can." Luke gave his wife a smile.

"Then lets eat." They stood up to join the others and tried the food. As the Slayerettes sat around the room chatting as the ate, the apartment's front door opened to reveal Spike, holding a thick blanket over his head for protection, who closed the door quickly behind him.

"Hello, mates," he said as he folded the blanket and placed it by the door. "Just though I'd drop by and see if you needed anything." Xander gave a sigh.

"Well, if we needed someone to go out and sunbathe for us, you're the top of the list," the dark-haired young man told him.

"Funny, mate. Just remind me later and I may even decide to laugh." The blonde vamp found an empty chair and plopped himself down, picking up a magazine on the table next to him. "By the way Red, I saw that little girly-friend of yours on my way over here. She was going into the magic shop," Spike intoned casually, and Willow's face paled.

"You saw Tara? At the magic shop?" Willow's eyes went wide, and she began to stutter. "What…wh…why…was she… okay?" The others sat and watched as the young witch began to hyperventiliate.

"I couldn't tell you, Red. Too far away to make out too bloody much, but I know it was her," Spike admitted. Willow gave Giles a horrified look, her breathing erratic.

"Oh, God! I… she…. she must hate me, Giles! She'll… I should have gone after her," Willow stuttered out, and Giles took her by the shoulders.

"Breathe, love," he told her softly, and she inhaled. "That's better. Now, I'm sure Tara wouldn't overreact…" he told her, but Willow shook her head.

"I've horrible to her, Giles! I … she must hate me," Willow said sadly. Willow sat back into the couch. "I've been a bitca. Giles, I don't know what she'll do." Giles nodded as he sat back next to her.

"What's this all about," Xander asked from his seat. "Why would Tara be upset with you, and what's with the calling Wills 'love' G-Man?" Willow looked over to Giles, who sighed.

"Because Tara and I sort of broke up," Willow explained.

"And I called Willow love because I do love her," Giles added as he looked at Willow. Xander, Anya, Buffy, and Riley did a double take.

"What!" they cried.

"When did you decide this," Xander asked harshly. "I mean, I'm for the express and all, but this is … creepy!" he quipped. Giles sighed at him.

"Xander, this is something that's been building for some time. It's only now that Willow and I have come to realize it," Giles explained. "Unfortunately, Tara found out last night in the most awful way, and I'm afraid she didn't take it well."

"And you think Tara is so upset she may do something … rash?" Riley asked, and Giles and Willow nodded.

"She didn't leave here last night on the best of terms, to say the least," Willow told him. "I wanted to explain, but I got … distracted," the redhead said with a slight grin as she looked at Giles. The ex-Watcher returned it easily.

"So I noticed," Riley said under his breath, and Buffy jabbed him in the ribs.

"So how do you plan on handling Tara," Buffy asked seriously. "I mean, she has a right to be upset, but I don't want to see you or Giles getting hexed, Will," the Slayer said softly. The others looked at them.

"I agree that it would be wise to try to get in contact with Tara, gage how she's reacting to the situation. If she could possibly doing something foolish," Giles said he cleaned his glassed. Willow nodded, sitting up from her seat.

"I'll go by the magic shop. I can see if she's still there or if they know where she went. I don't think you should come though," she told Giles. "Seeing you may upset her even more," she added, and Giles nodded.

"I'll come with," Buffy offered, getting up to join Willow. "Give you some back up in case she goes all Alanis on you," the Slayer told her. Suddenly, from her seat, Mara's danger sense went into hyperdrive, and it centered on Willow. The Jedi snapped over from her position, trying to grab Willow in an attempt to help her. Luke was right on her heels, and just as Mara's fingertips brushed Willow's arm, a bright yellow light surround the witch, enveloping her and Mara. The others tried to shield their eyes from the bright onslaught, but after a few seconds, both Mara and Willow were gone.

"Bloody hell!" Giles cried.

"What happened?" Buffy asked quickly. They all looked to look, who shrugged.

"Can you sense where they went," Spike asked gently. Luke closed his eyes and stretched out with the Force, trying to connect with his wife and Willow. After a few moments he opened his eyes, defeated.

"No," the Jedi Master whispered. "I can't sense either of them."

"Oh, good Lord," Giles said aloud.

"So the disappearing is not good," Anya asked Xander.

"No, Ahn, it's not," the teen answered his girlfriend. "It's far from it."

*****************************************************************

"How can anyone disappear without a trace," Riley asked. "That doesn’t seem physically possible." Buffy nodded, then looked to Giles.

"Normally, I’d go with the ‘when in Sunnydale, all things are possible’ approach, but I agree with Riley, Giles. Luke should at least be able to sense them, shouldn’t he?" Giles had to nod at the logic.

"I admit that it doesn’t make that much sense, but I don’t know how to explain it, Buffy. It’s as if they’ve disappeared all together, without a trace, and I’m not ready to accept that possibility. They’re … not here." The ex-Watcher summarized. As Giles described the situation, Anya was hit with a possibility.

"Not here … or not with us," the former demoness whispered aloud to herself. Xander turned to her and gave her a questioning look.

"What do you mean, Anya?" the dark-haired young man asked her. Anya took a deep breath as she prepared to explain her theory.

"Well, we know that this reality has alternates, and that it’s possible to go between this reality and the next." The others nodded their agreement, including Luke, who was willing to buy it because the others obviously believed for some good reason. "I know that when a person goes between the worlds, it can either seem like nothing has happened at all, or it can seem like they’ve totally disappeared, at least if it’s done in a certain way," she added. The others took in the explanation.

"In what way," Giles asked her, his interest piqued.

"If it were spell induced, and the spell was specifically targeted to make it seem that way to us. It’s usually not done that way, but it can be. As a demon, I did it myself," Anya finished. Spike was catching on.

"You mean, if you wanted to intentionally make two particular people miserable, you separate them that way and intentionally make it seem like each had lost the other," the vampire interjected. Anya nodded, answering his guess.

"Someone meant to hurt Will, so they took her away, and let us know about it," Xander asked.

"Yes, Xander. Someone did this to Willow on purpose, and Mara accidentally got caught in the spell," Anya replied.

"How do you know the spell was meant for Willow," Riley asked.

"Because we’re the only ones who know who Mara is and that she’s here, and because the spell emanated from her, not Mara. After awhile, you can tell the difference," Anya surmised. "It’s the only possibility that makes sense."

"So what do we do," Luke spoke up after listening to the scenario. "Now that we have an idea of what the cause is?’

"I find whoever did this, make them bring Willow and Mara back, and then I get to kick their ass for doing it," Buffy answered as she began to go towards Giles’ weapon’s chest. Luke shook his head.

"Don’t you think it would be wiser to look into this person’s motives and convince them to undo what he or she has done on their own?" the Jedi questioned evenly.

"You really have mastered the art of a guilt trip, you know that," the Slayer replied as she sighed, putting down the weapon she had taken out of the chest. Luke smiled.

"I’ve been told that a time or two," he said with the slightest hint of wryness in his voice. "But we need a place to start, and I believe that we already have one," he added as the others nodded.

"I don’t think it would be best for Buffy to question Tara," Riley spoke up. Buffy was about to reply, when Riley shook his head, cutting her protest off. "You’re too emotional, Buffy. You would be too upset, and that’s not going to help anyone, least of all Willow and Mara."

"Then who’s going to do it," the Slayer asked, partially challenging Riley.

"I think Spike and Luke should do it," Riley said quietly. "They’re the most detached of all of us," he added, and Luke and Spike nodded and picked up his blanket.

"Follow me, then," Spike directed the Jedi. "We’re going the long way," he vampire added as he draped the thick blanket over his head. As Luke began to walk out the door, he placed his hand on Giles’ shoulder.

"We will bring them back," the Jedi whispered, and Giles nodded. They left together without another word, leaving the rest to wonder what had happened.

"Do you really think Tara would do this," Anya asked Xander. "I mean, in my time as a vengeance demon, she just doesn’t fit the profile of my usual clients," she added.

"I don’t know," Xander said. "Tara did have a reason to be upset with Will, but I have a hard time believing she would intentionally hurt her that way." He gave Anya a hug. "But I know someone did, and Tara’s the place to start." As Xander was speaking, Giles had taken a seat on the chair across from him and Anya, and had taken off his glasses, rubbing the fatigue from his eyes. "You okay, G-Man?"

"Perfectly fine," Giles grumbled, but Xander wasn’t convinced.

"Look, I’m sure Willow will be okay," Xander added to try to convince him it would all end up all right.

"I’m sure they’ll be all right, Xander, it’s just … I’ve been such an idiot. This whole thing… It’s all my fault," the former Watcher added.

"Giles, don’t say that," Buffy said when she heard. "This is none of your fault."

"In a manner of speaking, it is Buffy," Giles sighed as he took off his glasses. "I’ve gone about this the wrong way from the beginning, and now it’s caught up with me, and Willow’s the one being hurt."

"You couldn’t have known this was going to happen," Xander interjected. "No one could have seen this coming."

"No, Xander, but I should have known better than to pursue… I should never have allowed my feelings towards Willow go that far," he finished. Xander shook his head.

"It was never about that, Giles. It was bound to happen sooner or later, and you still would have had to face something when it did."

"Xander, it was never bound to do anything," Giles replied. "I let my emotions overrule my logic, and now Willow and Mara are paying for it."

"Logic has nothing to do with it, Big Guy." Xander looked directly at Giles. "Do you remember that first time we came to the Expresso Pump and seen you?" Giles nodded his head, recalling the incident. "Well, as we were watching you, Willow commented that she remembered why she used to have a crush on you." Giles gave a him a look of disbelief. "I really didn’t think about it then, only now, I’m guessing it wasn’t in the used to sense of the word."

"And what about that fight you two had about Hus over Thanksgiving," Buffy added, following Xander’s example. "You two totally fought in a couple-y way," the Slayer said. "At the time I just thought it was gross, but… It was there."

"And if it’s a spell, than you can get Willow back, and it wouldn’t be likely that she would be hurt," Anya added, trying to cheer up the mood. "Emotionally scarred maybe, depending on how bad the reality was, but she probably would be okay."

"Thank you, Anya, I feel better already," Giles said dryly.

"All we can do now is wait, and hope that Willow and Mara are both doing okay, wherever they are," Riley added.

"Indeed," Giles commented.

*****************************************************************

Willow and Mara woke up in the middle of the Sunnydale High School library, which was still in shockingly pristine condition. Willow was the first to rise and look around at her familiar surroundings. "This is not good," the witch said to herself in a hushed voice.

"Where are we," Mara asked as she stood up to join Willow. She looked around the room, and knew that Willow was familiar with it.

"The old school library, only it’s not supposed to be here," Willow explained. "It was sort of … blown up about a year ago," she finished. Mara nodded.

"So…"

"I don’t think we’re in Sunnydale anymore," Willow surmised. "At least not the Sunnydale I knew." She looked over to a calendar on the far wall, displaying the current year and date. "Nope, I’d say a big ‘no’ to that one," she added, pointing out the calendar to Mara. As she spoke, the door along the opposite wall opened, and Willow and Mara watched as Xander walked in with his former girlfriend, Cordelia Chase. It looked like the same Xander, but this young man sported a full beard and somewhat longer hair. Cordelia also appeared in a cropped haircut that was done in a professional matter, as well as a neatly pressed suit.

"I just don’t get it, Cor," Xander was saying. "Dr. Mitchell wasn’t speaking in terms of the traditional martyr…" the young man broke off as he looked over to see Willow. "Willow," his voiced cracked, dropping his jaw.

"Oh, God," Cordelia whispered. The vain brunette dropped the book she had been carrying, leaving it forgotten on the floor about her feet.

"What’s wrong," Willow asked softly, having no idea why her presence had startled them. From the door of the library office, an oddly familiar voice came from behind them.

"I believe they’re surprised to see you, Willow, because you are supposed to be dead," Wesley explained shakily as he came out of the office, staring at her.

"Dead!?"

"This is not happening," Willow murmured. "This is…" she shook her head. Mara sighed from beside her.

"Something strange is going on," she finished for her.

"The school finally lives up to it’s motto," Xander quipped. "Bringing back the dead."

"But I’m not… I’m not who you think I am," Willow insisted earnestly to him.

"So you’re not Willow Rosenberg, hacker and my best friend since we were in nursery school?" he asked her with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, yes, but I’m not your Willow," she empathized. "None of this is… right. Things were … different," she tried to find the right word for what was happening. "This library was destroyed a year and a half ago. The whole school went in an explosion the day we graduated."

"Why didn’t we think of that?" Cordelia remarked quietly. Wesley took off his glass and began to clean them as he looked at the witch.

"Amazing. Could be some multi-dimensional phenomenon, although it would take some very powerful magic for that to be accomplished. The logistics alone are a nightmare, much less the execution of such a feat. If one was experience with that kind of magic, however, it is possible." He rattled off his thoughts absently as the others listened. "Simply amazing," he finished, looking at Willow curiously.

"Do you think… is it reversible?" Willow asked softly. Wesley gave a soft sigh.

"If we could find the source… but that is … it requires a great deal more magic than we could possess," he told her, her voice taking on a sad edge. It was then that Willow realized how drastically things could change.

"But I’m a witch," she commented with a bit of hope, mixed with disbelief. She had been a practicing Wiccan for some time, but she quickly rebounded, remembering that this world was different, and the rules were not the same. "I may be able to help you!"

"You… you practice witchcraft?" Wesley said with an air of astonishment and Willow nodded.

"Well… yes. What, I didn’t do that here?"

"No, Wills. Always in charge of the computer stuff, but you were never down with the magic," Xander told her slowly.

"Wow, I guess. I must have …" She didn’t want to finish the thought. "When did it happen?" Xander gave a sad sigh while Cordelia laid her head on his shoulder, placing her arms around his waist.

"End of our sophomore year. We were… the Master was trying to rise again and you … you bought Buffy the time she needed to stop him by taking him on yourself. You died to save the rest of us." Willow was stunned.

"Our sophomore year. Well, I didn’t start dabbling in magic until our junior year, so that explains that." She looked over to Mara. "One of our teachers was what she termed a techno-pagan. She specialized in magic and technology, and I sorta… after she was killed, all her files were given to me, so I started to learn my way around spells and charms and stuff."

"Which teacher?" Wesley asked softly, still fascinated by the change of events.

"Ms. Calendar." They all nodded.

"The computer science teacher?" Cordelia asked. "But she’s still here, teaching that class. She’s a techno-pagan?"

"Well, yes, but our Ms. Calendar was killed our junior year. I took over her class after…" she trailed off as she seen Buffy and Angel stroll through the main doors. The Slayer had a triumphant look on her face.

"Hey, Wesley. I am happy to report, vamp nest problem solved…" she trailed off after she finally caught sight of Willow. "Oh, my God," she whispered.

"Willow," Angel whispered.

"Hi," she said a cheerily as possible, giving the Slayer a small wave.

"What the hell is going on, Wes," she said with a bit of panic in her voice. "Please tell me I’m not crazy."

"Of course not, Buffy. We think that it’s some sort of multi-dimensional phenomenon. Essentially, we have a Willow who belongs to another reality." He took his glasses off again.

"How?" Angel asked. Willow shrugged.

"I’m not sure… one minute I was going to talk to Tara, saying good-bye to Giles… and poof, I’m back in the library, and you tell me that I’m supposed to be dead." She gave them a hopeless look.

"Okay, may I ask who is Tara and who is Giles." Cordelia asked. All the sudden, Willow knew it all clicked.

"Tara’s my girlfriend and Giles is your Watcher," She said, looking at Buffy, who was as baffled as before. Neither of the names had gotten a response from the Slayer or other Slayerettes, meaning they had met neither person.

"You have a girlfriend," Xander questioned curiously.

"Yes, I have a girlfriend, Xander, that’s beyond the point. You don’t know who Giles is, do you?" All five of them shook their heads. Mara was starting to get it.

"You met Tara after the time you should have died, but Giles came before then, didn’t he?" she asked Willow, and the witch nodded.

"Giles took over as Buffy’s Watcher the spring of our sophomore year. He was librarian here." Wesley was starting to understand what was happening.

"But that’s when I took over my duties as Watcher and started here… meaning that he never came Sunnydale, correct?" Willow nodded. "Willow, what were the circumstances just before your… displacement?" he hoped he had found the right word.

"Well, we were afraid Tara would … she was very upset, and I thought it was best for me to talk to her about it."

"Why was she upset with you?" Wesley asked carefully. Mara looked to Willow, urging her on.

"She sort of saw me… IwaskissingGiles" she said quickly. Buffy, Xander, and Cordy’s eyes all got wide, and Wesley gave her look of disbelief. Angel just raised an eyebrow.

"You were kissing MY WATCHER?" Buffy shrieked. Mara gave Willow a casual shrug.

"I guess something never change, do they?" the Jedi commented. Xander just stared at them both.

"Who are you," he asked Mara. The Jedi gave her best smile.

"Mara Jade Skywalker, Jedi Master and second time traveler via accidental magic." Willow gave a small giggle.

"Jedi as in Star Wars?" Cordelia asked, still confused about everything. Willow chose to answer, giving a quick explanation.

"Yes, Cordy. I sort of used this calling spell which went very wrong, and so we got Mara and her husband, Luke, and … well, we couldn’t find a way to send them home, and then this happened, and Mara ended up caught in the middle."

"The Hellmouth does work in mysterious ways," Wesley commented dryly. He looked to the others. "I think we should first allow Ms. Rosenberg to give a full explanation of the events surrounding her and her friend’s displacement, then we should know better where our research should be headed." Everyone nodded, and took seats at a large research table big enough to seat them all.

****************************************************************

"How much bloody longer should this take!" Giles fumed with his irritation. Luke and Spike had been gone for some time, and he was clearly restless.

"Calm down, Big Guy," Xander told her. "I’m sure they’ll be back with some news."

"Well, excuse me for not wanting to sit on my arse while Willow and Mara could be in great danger," Giles bit out.

"Giles, we’re all worried about Will and Mara, but we need to know if Tara had anything to do with it," Buffy added. Just then, the front door of the apartment opened, and Spike dashed through with his blanket still over his head followed by a grim-looking Luke.

"What have you found out," Giles said quickly.

"Nothing, mate," Spike said, looking into Giles eyes. "I’m sorry."

"Tara had no idea Willow and Mara were missing, nor an idea as to why," Luke told them evenly. "As a matter of fact, she is also worried about it."

"So we’re back to the beginning?" Riley asked.

"We at least know that Tara had nothing to do with the incident," Luke reminded them.

"But you still think it has to do with what happened between me and Willow, don’t you?" Giles asked, sensing the look on Luke’s face. The Jedi nodded.

"Call it a Jedi hunch," he remarked dryly. "Or simply look to any recent changes that may affect those around you as the most obvious start," he added.

"But who would have anything against Mr. Giles or Willow and why now? They haven’t exactly been hard to find," Riley pointed out.

"I had to say this G-Man, but is any one else wondering if this is connected to the sudden smoochies?" Xander quipped, eliciting a glare from Giles. Neither noticed the far off look on Anya’s face.

"I think I know what’s going on," the ex-demon declared in a soft voice.

**************************************************************

"What is it, Ahn," Xander asked quietly. "What happened?" Anya closed her eyes, as if in thought, before she began.

"About a thousand years ago, not long after I became a demon, there was a young witch who was betrothed to a powerful warlock. She didn’t have any love for the man, but of course, the marriage had been arranged by her family, so she had little choice, and the warlock was very infatuated with her. A year before they were to be married, the witch met a local scholar, her teacher actually. The girl fell madly in love with him, and secretly, they had an affair. The witch then decided to run away from her village, she disappeared to get away from the warlock, and her lover planned on meeting up with her later. He left the village on his own several weeks later, but someone told the warlock about him and the witch. When the warlock found out about the witch and her teacher, he called upon some ancient dark magic to curse them. The warlock got both of them cursed, so that their souls would spend eternity walking the Earth, always knowing each other in each successive lifetime, always being soul mates, but never having each other for any length of time. The witch and the teacher were going to secretly marry once they met again, but he died in a horrible accident shortly before the wedding. The witch spent the rest of her life in a nunnery, vowing never to let the warlock find her. He didn’t, but the curse was waiting for her in her next life. Most sources believe that this story is a legend, but I know it’s not. I saw D’Hoffryn help the warlock perform the course. It was very real," she finished.

"And you think the curse has something to do with this?" Giles asked, amazed.

"I can’t be sure, but D’Hoffryn was dead set about me punishing both Xander and Willow when I came here, and he rarely interfered with my wish granting. He wanted Willow hurt, and I think this may be why." Anya was clearly not comfortable dredging up her sorted past, but she felt she had little choice.

"But you’re not sure," Xander asked.

"No. D’Hoffryn wouldn’t tell me about his ‘special cases’ if he could help it, to keep me from interfering with his own work. If Willow was under one of his courses, he would have hidden it from me, but the way he spoke of it, Willow was the worst of offenders, and he convinced me to punish her as well. I never asked why, but now… this is exactly D’Hoffryn’s style, although," the ex-demon added with a smirk, "you two must have really done something very interesting for D’Hoffryn to resort to such drastic measures to keep you apart." Giles cleared his throat.

"Indeed," Giles commented dryly.

"Are we forgetting that this same demon offered Willow your old job as a vengeance demon, Ahn?" Xander pointed out, and Anya sighed.

"Of course I haven’t forgotten about that, but if he would have turned her into a demon, the curse would be as close to a permanent thing as you can get. Perfect ending really. Then H’Hoffryn could keep them apart on a long-term basis, and best case scenario, she herself punishes Giles for something he did. D’Hoffryn also let her off way too easily, and that would make more sense if he had already cursed her in the first place. Plus, it would make the her sleeping with Giles thing easier to deal with. It’s destiny, really. Cursed destiny, but I guess that’s better than no destiny at all." Giles glared at her, but Riley interrupted with an uncomfortable cough.

"Is there any way to prove this theory of yours, Anya," the former soldier asked. Anya nodded her head.

"A French sorcerer had a sort of spell to see spells. More like a trance, actually." Giles closed his eyes and nodded his head.

"Of course, Tirer la Couture." Anya gave a happy nod while Buffy gave them a ‘huh’ look.

"Rotate many foodstuffs?" the Slayer guessed at a translation. Giles gave her a pointed look.

"Pull back the curtain," he corrected her. "It would show if there are any spells or curses surrounding me."

"So you get trance-y," Xander piped in. "And you’ll see if some ancient sorcerer has cursed you and Will?" Giles nodded, but the look on his face wasn’t as confident as he would have liked to show.

"I’m not sure I can perform the spell, though. The level of mental concentration is… very difficult to achieve, but it seems our best route now."

"I hate to say this, Giles, but is doing this spell on your own a smart idea?" Anya asked skeptically. "I mean, it’s a high level sort of spell, and not many people can trance that well." Giles gave her a pointed look, his stare intense.

"I will do whatever it bloody well takes. If we find out this is a curse, then we will know that it can be broken. We have to know." Giles began to take a piece of paper from the desk and a pen to write down the ingredients to the spell. "We’ll require several things, but I don’t believe they’ll be difficult to acquire." He looked over to Buffy. "We can get these things from the magic shop, and I can perform the spell as soon as we have all the ingredients."

"Hey, G-Man I know you want Will back, but are you sure about this? The way you and Anya talk, this trance thing is not going to be easy." Xander asked softly.

"I don’t care if it’s easy, Xander, but we have to know, the sooner the better." Giles insisted.

"But can you do it?" Riley asked, empthizing his point. "I mean, what spell is going to do any good if you can’t perform it properly." Anya nodded.

"Riley’s right. This is dangerous, Giles, and if this curse does exists, then D’Hoffryn will do anything to keep you from finding out, because if it is him, then I may know how to break it. He’s not going to allow you to prove it if he can help it." Anya pointed out.

"Then I’ll do it," Luke replied calmly from the doorway. "I highly doubt a demon would have any idea how to break through Jedi defenses, and I believe I have the concentration thing down." He had a calm look on his face, but they could all see he was dead serious.

"That’s for sure," Spike muttered. Luke raised his eyebrow. "Hey, I’m with you, Skywalker. All you’ll need to know is what to look for." Anya nodded to Giles.

"It could be many things. Perhaps it could be a cloud of black mist, an apparition of D’Hoffryn, or perhaps even of the warlock himself or something hanging over me. You’ll know it when you see it," Giles assured him.

"Then let’s get it done." With that, Giles gave a nod as he grabbed his jacket and headed to the door with Luke.

"We’ll be back soon," he told the others. The two men left the apartment without another word, heading on to the magic shop. They made most of their short journey in silence, until Giles broke that silence. "I was under the impression that you did not believe inn magic," he commented casually.

"Anya knew what she was talking about, and so do you. Whatever it is we’re doing, you believe that it can get Mara and Willow back. That’s what I believe in." Giles gave a small smile.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence." he commented dryly.

"Well, lying would be too obvious, and if you didn’t had any doubt, so would that." He looked into Giles eyes and gave his best farmboy smile. Giles returned the sentiment, but then his look sobered.

"We will get them back. I promise you that."

"One step at a time," Luke told him knowingly.

"Precisely."

****************************************************************

As they waited for Giles and Luke to return, the Slayer and Slayerettes sat around the apartment in anxious anticipation. Xander noticed, however, that Anya had remained oddly silent as she sat on Giles’ couch. She barely gave him a glance as he sat down next to her. "You okay, honey," he asked softly.

"Yes," Anya said simply, but she still didn’t look at him.

"Are really okay with this," he asked again, trying to get a response from her.

"Yes, Xander, I am … I only wish I was wrong about this."

"Is that why you waited to tell us?" he added, and she finally looked at him and sighed.

"Yes." She looked away after she answered.

"Why? If it’s D’Hoffryn, then we can get Will and Mara back," he pointed out. Anya looked back to him, but she didn’t smile.

"Because I’m the one who told the warlock about the teacher. If they’re cursed, then it’s because of me," she answered shortly, then looked away again. Xander closed his eyes for a moment, then used his hand to gently turn Anya’s face back to face him.

"None of this is your fault. If they’re under this curse, then it’s the fault of the people who cursed them, not you, and if it is this cure that made Will and Mara disappear, then it is because of you that we’ll be able to get them back." The look on his face was honest and clear, and for a brief moment, Anya smiled.

"Thank you," she whispered, then placed her head on his shoulder, and Xander stroked he hair silently.

***************************************************************

"And so their souls are doomed to always walk the Earth, knowing each other in every successive lifetime, but never knowing the love of the other," Wesley finished as he closed a thick book labeled "Ancient Myths and Legends." Willow gave a sad sigh.

"That is so sad," she commented. Wesley nodded, then took off his glassed.

"All sources I’ve seen have labeled this story as a myth or legend, but when in Sunnydale, these things tend to have a way of becoming real," the Watcher added dryly, and Willow gave a short, bitter laugh.

"And we have a tendency to run smack into the middle of them," Willow added.

"But curses have ways of being broken," Angel pointed out. "Almost all magic has some sort of counter, doesn’t it," he added.

"Most, yes," Willow agreed, "But … wouldn’t I have shown some signs of this before? Isn’t there some way to tell?" Wesley nodded.

"Often times, the signs of things like this are subtle, almost unnoticeable and can many times pass as other things. Dreams, momentary feelings, fleeting glances at what was…" Willow closed her eyes.

"Oh, God…" she trailed off, as if remembering something. Her voice was far off. "It was perhaps five hundred years or so ago, I’m not sure where. I think I’m speaking French, but it’s hard to remember. He was… a tutor, sent to teach my younger brother. He was with us for almost two years until my parent’s found out that I fancied him. My father had already promised me to another family, so they sent him away. I tried to write him, but my father found out and he decided to make me marry as quickly as possible. I still tried to write, but my husband was very strict about my activities. I never heard from him again," she finished. By the time she was done, tears were streaming down her face. After a few moments, she looked up. "I had that dream and others like it on and off for a few years. They were different lives, different times and places, but they were always similar. They always seemed to happen after I seen or read "Romeo and Juliet" so I thought it was because of the play, but … they stopped after my sophomore year. After I met Giles."

"Amazing," Wesley commented. "Although it would prove difficult, one may safely assume that you have experienced these lives at some point."

"So Willow could just be cursed," Cordelia added simply. Xander gave her a look. "What? That means we can reverse it, right? That’s a good thing."

"Yes, reversal is of the good," Buffy told the former May Queen, "But to think… these two people have spent lifetimes trying to be together…" she didn’t finish the thought.

"Until now," Mara finished confidently. "Whatever has come before, it’s over now. We just have to find a way to make it right." All those gathered around the table nodded.

"Here, here," Xander added. "And the sooner the better."

"Sooner would be good," Willow commented.

"So now comes the waiting," Mara sighed as she made herself comfortable in one of the library chairs. "My favorite part," she added dryly.

"Well, Wes is still trying to find some more information on dimensional portals and stuff," Xander explained. "Hopefully there’ll be something about getting you home."

"Home would be nice." She gave a critical eye to Willow and Xander before she went on. "I think that the more people who are looking, the faster we’ll get back," Mara added.

"Faster would be nice," Willow commented as she sat down by Xander.

"I think I’ll join Wesley. Maybe a Jedi sense or two would be helpful," Mara replied, leaving the room. Buffy and Angel had left to get them all something from the school’s snack machine while Cordelia had claimed there was something she needed from her car, leaving Willow and Xander alone. She looked over to her friend, and knew the look on his face. "You okay?" Xander sighed.

"It’s just… I don’t know. It’s been three years, Will. And it still … I can still see you there, like the brave little toaster. You knew. I could see it in your eyes. You knew what would happen, but you also knew it would buy Buffy the time she needed. We killed the Master that night. I still wish you were there to see it." Xander couldn’t look at her as he went on about that night. He was aware, logically, that this was not the same Willow, but having her there… it almost did feel like his best friend had returned to him.

"Xander, I know it’s hard for you. I would never mean…" she trailed off, unable to finish the idea. It didn’t matter if she meant it or not, her presence had managed to bring back what must have been horribly painful memories for these people. Memories that they didn’t wish to dwell upon.

"I know, Will. It’s not you…"

"But it is," she finished for him. For the next few seconds, his dark eyes seemed almost to show a glimmer of understanding.

"Something like that." She gave him a smile, then decided to change the subject.

"So … you and Cordelia, huh? Never would have guessed that one." The tone of her voice gave away her mirth, and her eyes shone with the idea.

"Your world too, huh?" Willow nodded. "Guess some things will never change." Xander smiled.

"Yeah, you and Cordelia had some wild times all right. You two were going pretty heavy there for awhile. It… it would have lasted longer, but … um… something happened." It was never easy for her to dwell upon what she and Xander had done to the former May Queen, but she had found her own way of dealing with her mistakes long before.

"What happened?" Xander asked, giving her a curious look. Willow sighed as she looked to him.

"Me," Willow admitted. "It was our senior year and … I don’t know. I had spent so long wanting you just to notice m