THE POWER OF THREE
Book 1 Part 02
By DragonWriter17
 

Rating: PG-13 through Part 10, R after that

Disclaimer: All of the materials borrowed from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel belong to Joss Whedon and to the entities and companies associated with their creation.  I have borrowed them for creative and entertainment purposes only.  No compensation has been or ever shall be received for the writing below.  No copyright infringement is intended.

My Website: http://www.dragonwriter17.net/

Feedback: Yes, but only if it’s of the non-flamey variety: DragonWriter17@aol.com

Distribution: The Mystic Muse, Near Her Always  (If you are interested in posting my story on your site, please contact me first for permission.)

Spoilers: The end of BtVS Season 4’s “Wild At Heart” and beyond.

Pairings: Willow/Buffy/Tara

Author’s Notes: I have kept to the BtVS/Angel canon in some ways, borrowing directly from aired episodes; however, I have also made significant changes: deleting certain storylines, moving some, changing others, as well as adding some completely original plots.  You may want to read my stand-alone story “Out Of Shadow Into Light,” which tells my version of Tara’s life prior to her arrival in Sunnydale; it is the backstory for Tara for this series.

Number of Chapters: 13

Complete: 1-12

Series Summary: After Oz leaves Sunnydale, Willow turns to best friend, Buffy, and new friend, Tara, for comfort, resulting in a remarkable new relationship for all three.  Amidst the daily dangers of life on the Hellmouth, the three women forge bravely ahead, unaware that their relationship has been predestined. 

Chapter Summary: Thinking Willow is a dead-end, Buffy turns to normal guy, Riley.  Still hurting over Oz, Willow tries to be happy for Buffy and Riley, but strangely isn’t.  After a failed broken-heart-healing spell, Willow returns to Wicca group.  Tara has been waiting for Willow to return.  The two witches finally talk, and Willow comes home glowing, which doesn’t please Buffy.

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PART ONE       PART TWO       PART THREE       PART FOUR       PART FIVE      

PART SIX       PART SEVEN       PART EIGHT       PART NINE

PART TEN       PART ELEVEN       PART TWELVE       PART THIRTEEN

PART TWO

Willow stood inside Oz’s room and looked around.  She walked to his bed and sat down.  Then she noticed one of his t-shirts on the bed.  She picked it up and lifted it to her face.  She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply.  It still smells like him, she thought.  She looked sadly about the room and held the t-shirt to her chest.  Oz, I miss you, she thought.

*     *     *

Buffy walked into the UC Sunnydale Student Lounge, on a break between classes.  She stopped when she spied Riley on a ladder helping a group of girls put up a lavender banner.  He made one final adjustment and then flipped the banner over into place.  Buffy smiled when she saw the wording: ‘Lesbian Alliance.’

When Riley came down off the ladder, Buffy joined him.

“Oh, hey Buffy,” Riley said, his eyes lighting up at the sight of her.

Buffy eyed Riley warily and said, “Is there something you want to tell me?

“What?” Riley asked, truly confused.

Buffy nodded at the banner and raised her eyebrows inquisitively.  Riley followed her eyes.

“Oh,” he said, realizing what Buffy was getting at.  Then with mock sincerity, he said, “Yes, I am a lesbian.”

“Well, it’s good that you’re so open about it,” Buffy firmly agreed.

“Oh, hey, you know how we were talking about having a picnic?” Riley said as he went for his backpack in a nearby chair.  “I was thinkin’, do you ever hang out at Rhode’s field?  It’s beautiful there. Usually not that crowded, either.  I thought maybe we could have a little spread--some sandwiches, maybe some ants?  It’ll be fun.”

“We were talking about having a picnic?” Buffy asked, trying to remember when they’d had this conversation.

“So, was that a conversation I actually had, or one I was just practicing?” Riley admitted.

Intrigued, Buffy asked, “Practicing?”

“Okay, yes.  I have been known to do a little prep work before our conversations. It’s not easy, you know, talking to you sometimes.  It’s like an oral exam.”

“Boy, that’s just what every girl longs to hear.”

“Well, you’re tricky!” Riley insisted.

“Like an exam?”

“I never know how you’re going to react to something,” Riley explained.  “I guess that’s why I like you so much. You’re a mystery.” Riley shook his head at his incredibly stupid line.  “Probably every beautiful girl in the world has some jerk telling her she’s a mystery, but I swear.  You really are.  There’s a lot about you that needs puzzling out.”

As Riley spoke, Buffy began to stare at him with wistful look in her eyes.  Riley noticed Buffy staring.

“I lose you somewhere?” Riley asked.

“Right around…‘beautiful,’ ” Buffy said, smiling.

Riley returned Buffy’s smile, then blurted, “Hey, don’t you just love a picnic?”

*     *     *

Buffy and Willow walked slowly along the road inside the cemetery, finishing one leg of their patrol for the night.  So far, they’d seen no sign of Spike.  Buffy was telling Willow about Riley’s invitation to a picnic.

“It’s just, different, you know?” Buffy said, with more than a little nervousness in her voice.  “A picnic.  First of all, daylight.  Kind of a new venue, Buffywise.”  She looked down for a moment and then began again, this time with more enthusiasm.  “And the best part, he said he would bring all the food, so all I have to do is show up and eat. Those are two things I’m really good at.”

“So he’s nice?” Willow asked, although she already knew he was.

“Very, very,” Buffy said assuredly. 

Willow looked away.  She didn’t want to ask the next question.  Riley already had an A in the nice category, she thought, if there was chemistry too…  Willow shook away the thought and forced the question out: “And there’s sparkage?”

“Yeah, I mean, I think so.  He’s got…” Buffy struggled to think of an appropriate praise-worthy comment.  “Have you seen his arms? Those are good arms to have.”

“So, you like him?”

“Yeah, I guess I do,” Buffy said.  It wasn’t a lie, she told herself.  She did like him.  She just didn’t like-like him, not yet anyways.  But she had to try.  As much as Buffy wished otherwise, she knew that Willow was a dead-end.  It was time for her to turn around and move on.

Willow could sense that Buffy wasn’t completely comfortable with this new development.  She decided to push a little more.  “But…” she prompted.

“I don’t know,” Buffy whined.  “I really like being around him, you know?  And I think he cares about me.  But, I just feel like something’s missing.”

“Like what?” Willow asked, gently.

Like he’s not you, Buffy thought.  Then she sighed and said, “Like he’s not making me miserable?  Riley seems so solid.  Like he wouldn’t cause me heartache.”

She’s right, Willow thought.  Riley would be so good for her.  No hopeless situation like she had with Angel.  No jerk-wad user like Parker.  No--  Willow stopped that last thought before it went any further.

“Get out!” Willow joked, nudging Buffy with her elbow.  “Get out while there’s still time!”

“I know,” Buffy said.  “I have to get away from the boy thing, I mean, the bad boy thing.  There’s nothing but pain there.”

“The pain is not a friend,” Willow agreed.

“But I can’t help thinking,” Buffy added.  “Isn’t that where the fire comes from? Can a nice, safe relationship be that intense? I know it’s nuts, but part of me believes that real love and passion have to go hand in hand with pain and fighting.”

As if on cue, a vampire vaulted over a bush and landed in front of the two women.  Buffy staked him nonchalantly, dusting him instantly. 

Buffy and Willow resumed their walk as if nothing unusual had happened.

“I wonder where I get that from?” Buffy asked.

“Beats me,” Willow answered in a dead-pan.

*     *     *

Willow sat on Giles’ couch, pouring over a stack of books.  Buffy stood nearby talking with Giles.

“Any sign of Spike last night?” Giles asked.

“Nope.  Nary a hair off his bleachy-blonde head,” Buffy answered.

“Maybe he wised up and left town for good,” Willow offered hopefully.

Giles and Buffy both turned to Willow and looked at her with a yeah-right frown.

“Okay, maybe not.  I can hope, can’t I?” Willow said.

“We have got to find him, Giles,” Buffy complained.  “I can’t stand this constant looking over my shoulder.  I mean, I have to do that anyway, all the time, but now I have to do it extra.  It’s giving me neck cramps.”

“He’ll turn up, he always does,” Giles said assuredly.

“Hmmm,” Willow said, looking more intently at a particular passage in one of her books.

“What is it?  Have you found something?  A find-the-undead-creep spell perhaps?” Buffy asked as she and Giles joined Willow on the couch.

“Maybe.  It’s a special kind of locator spell,” Willow explained.  “It was used by the gypsies to find a person who had wronged the tribe and then disappeared.”

Willow passed the book to Giles and pointed out the passage.  Giles read the text that Willow had indicated.

“I-I-It looks pretty simple,” Willow said.  “We can probably get everything we need at the Magic Box.”

“Good work, Will,” Buffy said proudly. 

“Hold on a moment,” Giles interjected. “It says here that we’ll need something that belongs to the wrong-doer.  It won’t work otherwise.”

“Shoot!” Willow said.  “I thought I had something.”

“Wait!” Buffy interrupted. “Spike’s cigarettes!  W-W-When we were fighting, in the woods, he dropped them.  If I can find them again…”

Buffy and Willow looked at Giles expectantly as he considered this new information.

“Yes, I think that will work,” Giles announced.  “Buffy, you look for Spike’s cigarettes, and Willow, if you don’t mind going by the Magic Box…”

Willow smiled, pleased to be helping out.  “Like I’d mind going there!” Willow joked as she took the book from Giles.  “I’ll pick up what we need and be back in the morning with donuts and...” Willow looked down at the passage.  “…motherwort!  Among other things.”

Willow closed the book, put it in her pack, and swung her bag over her shoulder.  “Bye, Buffy!  I’ll see you at home.  Bye, Giles!”

“Great!  Thank you, Willow,” Giles said.

“Bye!” Buffy called to Willow as she exited Giles’ apartment.  Then she turned back to Giles.

“Ummm, Willow may have had a very helpful idea,” Giles said.  “She seems to be coping better with Oz’s departure, don’t you think?”

“I don’t know,” Buffy said warily.  “She’s dealing, but she still has a way to go.  Sometimes, she seems like her old self again.  Other times, it’s like she’s hanging on by a thread.  I’m still worried about her, Giles.”

*     *     *

Willow walked into Oz’s room, as she had every night since he had left, hoping he would somehow be there, but always being disappointed.  More than disappointment awaited her this time.  She found Oz’s room cleared out, all of his stuff completely gone.  She looked on in shock, then ran to find Oz’s roommate, Devon.

*     *     *

Willow lay on her bed, crying, trying to tell Buffy what had happened.  Buffy sat on the bed across, her own heart breaking at seeing Willow’s pain.

“Devon said that he sent for his stuff,” Willow explained in a choked voice.  “I guess that means he’s planning on settling down somewhere…else.  Not here.”

Buffy didn’t know what to say.  “I guess so,” she said, lamely.

“I feel like I’ve been split down the center and half of me is lost,” Willow said.

“I know.  It feels like that now,” Buffy said.

As if realizing it for the first time, Willow said in a strangled sob: “Oz is gone.” 

Willow’s tears began to flow in earnest.  Buffy leapt from her bed and pulled Willow into her arms.  She held her sobbing friend, wishing that there was something she could do to ease her pain.

*     *     *

Giles paced about his apartment.  Willow was more than an hour late for their appointment, and he knew that Willow was notoriously punctual.  After considering his conversation with Buffy the night before, Giles became deeply concerned.  He picked up the phone and dialed their dorm room.

When the call was answered, Giles heard Buffy’s recorded voice: “This is Buffy and Willow.  We’re not in right now, so please leave a message.”

When he heard the beep, Giles spoke into the phone: “Oh, uhhh, Willow.  It’s Giles. I…ummm…I thought you were coming by this morning, you know, to help me with the spell we discussed.  I-I-I’ll try and catch you later, then.”

Giles hung up the phone, with a worried look on his face.

*     *     *

Buffy and Riley sat comfortably on a blanket at Rhode’s field.  Buffy was currently looking at Riley with disbelief.

“Driving?” Buffy asked incredulously.

“Yeah,” Riley said certainly.

“You seriously drive for fun?” Buffy repeated.

“Well, not four-wheeling or anything, but yeah. Don’t you?”

“Actually, no-wheeling is more my specialty.  I’m an avid pedestrian.”

“You’re kidding, right? I mean, you know how to drive?”

“Well, I took the class.  Cars and Buffy are, like, un-mixy things.”

“It’s just because you haven’t had a good experience yet,”  Riley explained.  “You can have the best time in a car.  It’s not about getting somewhere.  You have to take your time.”  Riley’s words slowed as he felt the energy between them shift.  “Forget about everything.  Just relax.  Let it wash over you. The air…the motion.  Just…let it roll.”

Buffy was momentarily caught up in Riley’s words and in the energy shift that came with them.  But then she caught herself.  “We are talking about driving, right?” she teased.

“I thought I was,” Riley said, but realizing he had been anything but.

Buffy smiled, unable to prevent the pleasant lift she was getting from Riley’s attentions.  She didn’t know if she and Riley would go anywhere relationship-wise, but it could be a nice diversion.

“I’m taking you,” Riley said matter-of-factly.  “Some night when it’s warm. Up past the vineyards--it’s going to change everything for you.”

“I’m in,” Buffy agreed.

*     *     *

Willow plodded slowly across Rhode’s field.  Her shoulders were slumped, and she clasped her hands loosely before her as she made her way toward her dorm.  Her eyes were downcast.  When she looked up, she saw Riley and Buffy in the distance.  She started walking towards them.

When Willow got close, she stopped.  She saw Buffy and Riley move closer and look into each other’s eyes.  She saw them smile and duck their heads shyly, only to quickly make eye contact again.

Willow’s face creased into a deep frown.  A tear rolled down her cheek.  She changed direction and walked away.

What’s the matter with me? Willow asked herself as she hurried towards her dorm.  I should be happy for her!  Just because I’m sad doesn’t mean she has to be.

*     *     *

Buffy sat at a table with Anya and Xander at the Bronze.  Buffy had just filled them in on the latest development in the Willow and Oz Saga.

“Geez, you mean Oz just sent for his stuff and didn’t even call her? That’s pretty harsh,” Xander said.

“I only wish I had my powers back,” Anya said firmly and quite sincerely.  “I’d liquefy his entrails for her.”

“That’s sweet,” Xander said to Anya before turning back to Buffy.  “God, poor Will.  No wonder she’s--”

Xander’s mouth dropped open as he caught a glimpse of Willow on the dance floor, seemingly having the time of her life. 

“--having a wonderful time,” Xander stated with confusion.

Buffy turned to see what Xander was looking at.  There was Willow, dancing with energy and enthusiasm.

“Wow.  Way to re-bound,” Buffy said, unconvinced but wanting to believe.

“I believe that’s the dance of a brave little toaster,” Xander said proudly.

Willow noticed her friends at the table.  She left the dance floor to join them.

“Hey, guys!” Willow said with breathless cheer.  “C’mon! This music’s great!”

“It’s nice to see you brought your boogie shoes tonight, Will,” Xander said.

“Yeah,” Willow replied.  “I-I-I know I’ve been sort of a party-poop lately, so I said to myself, ‘Self!’ I said, ‘It’s time to shake and shimmy it off.’ ”

Wanting to encourage Willow’s effort to pull out of her depression, Buffy said, “Sounds like a good policy.”

“Yeah! And it works, too,” Willow explained.  “You know, I figure, in the grand scheme of things, we’re all just--”

As Willow grabbed her jacket, a bottle of beer slipped out and tipped over.  As the beer spilled out onto the floor, Willow looked up at her friends, knowing they had seen it.

“Drunk?” Buffy said, completing Willow’s former statement.

Willow laughed and picked up the beer bottle, trying to act nonchalant about the whole thing.

“Pfff.  Drunk.  Heh, heh.  I mean, that’s such a-a-a strong word.  Kind of a guttural Anglo-Saxon word.  Drunk.”

“Will,” Xander said, “not loving the drowning of the sorrows.”

“Not drowning,” Willow corrected.  “Wading.  A-A-And see?”  Willow pointed to the beer bottle.  “Light beer.  No big.”

“No big?” Buffy disagreed.  “Anyone remember when Buffy had the fun beer-fest and went one-million years B.C.?”

Xander looked at Buffy with a smirk on his face.  “Sadly without the fuzzy bikini.”

Anya refused to look at Xander but promptly reminded him: “Off topic, Xander.”

Xander immediately turned to his girlfriend.  “Right.  Helping now,” he assured her.  Xander got up and moved around the table towards Willow.  “Will, how about you give me that beer?”

Willow pulled the beer back firmly against her chest, refusing to relinquish it.  “No!  Why should I?  I’ve got pain, here!  Big-time legitimate pain.”

“We all have pain, Will,” Xander replied gently.

“Oh, like what?” Willow taunted.  “ ‘Oh, poor me, I live in a basement.’  Yeah, that’s dire.”

Xander couldn’t believe what Willow had just said.  He looked at her once, shook his head, and then walked away.  Anya glared at Willow, then went after Xander.

Buffy stood up, grabbed Willow’s coat, and then took Willow’s arm.  “Okay, you know what?  That’s it.  I’m taking you home.”

Willow pulled away from Buffy’s grasp.  “No!  I don’t want to.”

“Will, you’ll thank me when you still have a friend in the morning,” Buffy insisted.

Willow’s face fell, the anger giving way to tired frustration.  “I just can’t stand feeling this way.  I want it to be over.”

“It will.  I promise,” Buffy said, “But it’s gonna take time.”

“Well, that’s not good enough,” Willow complained.

“I know,” Buffy said sympathetically.  “It’s just how it is.  You have to go through the pain.”

“Well, isn’t there some way I can just make it go away?  Just ‘cause I say so?  Can’t I just make it go ‘poof ’ ?” Willow asked desperately.

Buffy looked at Willow sadly.  She wished there was a way, but she knew better, having gone through it herself with Angel.  She pulled Willow into a hug.  Willow was stiff at first, but then she softened and reached around Buffy to hug her back. 

When they pulled apart, Buffy looked into Willow’s eyes. 

“Come on.  Let’s go home,” she said, handing Willow her coat. 

She took the beer bottle from Willow’s grasp and set it on the table.  Then she linked her arm with Willow’s and led her from the Bronze.

*     *     *

Willow glanced over at Buffy’s side of the room.  Buffy appeared to be sleeping soundly.  Quietly, Willow slipped out of bed and opened her trunk.  She pulled out a bag of magical items and a spell book.  Then she tiptoed out of the room.

She went into the restroom and locked the door.  Then she quickly drew out her materials.  She put out four white candles at the compass points and lit them.  She sat down within the circle.  She laid out a square white cloth.  Then she set several items on it: an empty cauldron in the center, a dish of sand containing several rose quartz crystals at the top, an empty goblet to her left, a bowl of basil to her right, and a brazier at the bottom.  She set the spell book on the floor in front of her.  She filled the goblet with water from a bottle in her bag, lit the brazier, and opened the book to the passage she had marked.

Willow paused and drew a deep breath to center herself.  Then she took a pinch of the basil and threw it onto the brazier.  Then she picked up the empty cauldron and held it high over the altar.

“Great Mother, I implore you, hear my prayer.”

She lowered the cauldron until it was at face level.

“End the darkness, bring your light,

  Give me strength to win this fight,

  Let the healing pow’r begin,

  And rid my heart of mem’ries grim.”

She closed her eyes and exhaled a long breath into the empty cauldron. 

“These I give to you.  Great Mother, hear my prayer.”

Willow opened her eyes and turned the cauldron over and returned it to its place on the altar upside down.

Then she paused, waiting expectantly for the intended result.  She glanced around the altar.  Nothing was happening.

“So mote it be!” Willow added firmly as if that would make the spell kick in.  Again, nothing happened.

“Amen?” she said uncertainly.

Willow groaned and picked up the spell book.  She read through the passage again.

“If the spell is done correctly,” Willow read, “a clear signification should appear.”

Willow looked up and glanced around the altar again.  Then she slammed the book shut.

*     *     *

As the sun shined on her cage, Amy the rat went round and round in her spin wheel.  Willow lay on her bed, staring off into space.  Willow knew she had homework to do, but she couldn’t seem to get motivated.  She kept thinking about the spell she had tried the night before.  Why didn’t it work? she thought. I did everything right.  A knock on the door interrupted Willow’s thoughts.

“Come in,” Willow called to the door.  Then she looked surprised as a worried Giles stepped in.  “Giles, what are you doing here?”

“I’m…a bit concerned about you, actually,” Giles said.

“Did Buffy tell you about the beer, ‘cause--”

“Uhhh, Buffy didn’t tell me anything.”

“Oh, well, forget the beer part, then,” Willow said, relieved.

“Happily,” Giles replied before getting to his point.  “I came because we had an appointment the other day.”

“Oh. Right, right. The spell.”

“Yes, ummm…Willow, I know that you’re going through a very difficult time, but shirking your responsibilities--”

“But, I didn’t shirk,” Willow insisted.  She picked up the bag from the Magic Shop and held it out for Giles.  “I did the research, and I picked up the ingredients.  I just forgot the actual doing the spell part.”

“That isn’t like you at all,” Giles said, taking the bag from Willow and setting it at his feet.

“I know.  I-I-I've been off,” Willow said, disgustedly.  “I even tried to do a spell last night. But it just went nowhere.”

“A spell?” Giles said.  “I don’t think it’s wise for you to be doing that alone right now.  Your energy’s too unfocused.”

“Well, that’s not true.  I said I was off, not incompetent.”

“I only meant that you’re grieving, and it might be wise if you took a break from doing spells without supervision.”

Willow stood up angrily.  “So I get punished because I’m in pain?”

“It’s not punishment,” Giles tried to explain.  “I’m only saying this because I--”

“Oh, you care.  Yeah.  Everybody cares,” Willow said sarcastically.  “But nobody wants to be inconvenienced.  You all want me to take the time and go through the pain, as long as you don’t have to hear about it anymore.”

“N-N-Now that’s not fair,” Giles answered.

“Isn’t it?” Willow accused.  “ ‘Cause I’m doing the best I can, and it doesn’t seem to be enough for you guys.”

“And I see how you could feel that way, I do--”

“No, you don’t.  You say that you do, but you don’t see anything!”

Willow crossed her arms and stood by the window, her back to Giles.

Giles pulled off his glasses and rubbed his forehead before looking back at Willow.

“Look,” he said as gently as he could.  “I can see that you’re upset.  Why don’t we talk about this later?”

Willow refused to turn around.  “Fine,” she said hotly.

Giles looked at Willow with a mixture of pain and concern in his face.  Then he put his glasses back on, picked up the bag, and left the room.

*     *     *

Buffy worked on packing her weapons bag for the night’s patrol as Willow stomped around the room, ranting.

“I mean, I’m going through something,” Willow complained.  “I just don’t see why he was getting down on me.”

“Giles just worries ‘cause he knows spells can be dangerous. It doesn’t mean he thinks you’re a bad witch.”

“I am a bad witch,” Willow said, pouting as she plopped onto her bed.

“No, you’re a good witch,” Buffy said firmly.

“I’m not kidding anyone.  If I had any real power, I could’ve made Oz stay with me.”

“Will, you wouldn’t have wanted him to stay because of a--”

“And I didn’t have the guts to do the spell on Veruca!  The only real witch here is fuzzy little Amy,” Willow added, pointing at Amy in her rat cage.

“I think you’re being too hard on yourself,” Buffy said.

“Amy’s got access to powers I can’t even invoke!”

The phone ringing interrupted Willow’s ranting.  Buffy went to the phone and picked it up.

“Hello?  Oh, hey, Giles.”  Buffy listened intently for a moment and then frowned.  “Yeah.  I’m going right now.  Okay.”

“Y-Y-You’re going? Now?  It’s not even dark yet.”

“Sorry,” Buffy said.  “Sacred duty and all.”

“Well, I mean, what’s the rush?” Willow needled.  “Spike won’t be out and about until after sunset.  Besides, I figured since I’m kinda grievey, we could, you know, have a girl’s night. We could eat sundaes and watch ‘Steel Magnolias’ and you can tell me how, at least I don’t have diabetes.”

“Will, I have to go, you know that.  But hey, why don’t you go to Wicca Group?” Buffy suggested, pointing at the flyer on Willow’s night stand.  “Isn’t it tonight?  You haven’t been in a while.”

“See, you think I’m a bad witch too, so bad that I have to go to Wicca Group to get straightened out,” Willow whined.  “Well, I don’t need straightening out.  They’re nothing but a buncha wanna-blessed-be’s anyway.”

“Okay.  I think this is my cue to leave,” Buffy said as she swung her bag over her shoulder.  “I’ll be back as soon as I can.  I promise.”

Buffy walked out of the room, leaving Willow alone.  Willow frowned and sighed.  Then she opened Amy’s cage and took her out.  She laid Amy in her lap and stroked her fur.

“I’m sorry I haven’t been able to change you back, Amy,” Willow said sadly.  “I’ve tried everything I can think of.”

Willow petted on Amy for a while and then held her up to her face, nose to nose.  She looked at the Wicca flyer. 

“What do you think, Amy?  Should I go?”  Willow tilted her head as if listening.  “I should?  Because I can teach them a thing or two?” 

Willow laughed at her little joke, but then quickly sobered.  She put Amy back in her cage and walked to her night stand.  She picked up the flyer and looked at it, thinking hard.  Then she picked up a marker and wrote on it in large letters:  ‘I went. Okay?’   Then she pointedly placed the flyer on Buffy’s bed.

*     *     *

Buffy made her way across campus and back through the wooded trail.  She scouted the area, cursing herself for not doing this earlier when it was lighter outside.  Then she remembered the park bench.  She ran over to it.

There it was: the pack of cigarettes that she had taken from Spike and thrown to the ground.  She picked up the crumpled pack and smiled.

“Gotcha,” she said.  Then she tucked the pack into her pants pocket and headed for Giles’ apartment.

*     *     *

Tara hurried into the Student Lounge, hoping that the new girl, Willow, would be there tonight.  The cute redhead hadn’t been at the last few meetings, and Tara had been berating herself for not speaking to her the first time she’d seen her.  What if I never see her again? Tara thought.

When Tara arrived, her heart leapt.  Oh goddess, there she is! she thought, as she spied Willow sitting in the circle of chairs.  Suddenly, all of Tara’s courage went flying out the door.  She slipped in the circle, several chairs away from Willow.

Willow was staring at her hands when Tara sat down in the circle.  She looked up at Tara, smiled at her briefly, and then turned her attention back to her hands.

Tara sighed and hung her head, letting her hair fall over her face.  After a moment, she looked up and watched Willow.  Anytime Willow shifted her body, Tara quickly looked down, hiding once more.

You big chicken! Tara thought to herself. You’ve been waiting for her to show back up, and when she finally does, you can’t even go over and speak!

Tara looked up at Willow again.  She looks sad, Tara thought.  Maybe I should go talk to her.

Taking a deep breath and summoning the last vestiges of her courage, Tara rose from her seat and walked in Willow’s direction.

*     *     *

With her heart beating madly, Tara sat down next to Willow and waited for her to look up.  When she did, Tara spoke.

“Hey,” Tara said nervously.

“Oh, hey,” Willow replied, smiling faintly.

“Y-Y-You came back,” Tara blurted.

“Huh?” Willow asked, confused.

God, what a dork, you are, Tara! she thought to herself before explaining.  “To the m-m-meetings.  I h-h-haven’t seen you in a while.”  She inwardly cursed her tongue for its stupid stuttering.

“Yeah, I kinda…had some other stuff going on,” Willow said, as a pained look came over her face.

Great, now you’ve reminded her of whatever is making her so sad.  Leave now before you make things worse!  “Well, I’m g-g-glad you came back,” Tara said as she got up from her chair, intending to return to her former position.

“Wait,” Willow called, touching Tara’s arm and pulling her back into the chair beside her.  “You’re Tara, right?”

She remembered my name! Tara thought with joy as she nodded in affirmation.  “And    you’re--”

“Willow.”

“Willow,” Tara repeated with a half-smile.  “Yeah.  I remember.  Neat name.”

Willow smiled again, this time for longer.  “Thanks,” she said.

The two women paused and looked down at their hands, neither aware that they were making the exact same gesture at the exact same time.  Willow was the first to break the nervous silence.

“So, have you been coming to Wicca Group for a while then?”

“Not really,” Tara replied.  “A little longer than you, I think.”

Willow turned in her seat to face Tara.  “Lemme ask you something then.  The meetings I’ve been at, were they…typical?”

“Ummm…I guess.  Why?”

Willow leaned a little closer and lowered her voice.  “Well, to be honest, I was hoping that after a while we might actually get into something deeper.  You know, do some real magic.”

Tara could barely contain her excitement.  She had been right about Willow; she was different from the others.  “Me too!” Tara whispered excitedly.  “I-I-I was hoping that too.”

“Sisters!” the group leader called out, interrupting Willow and Tara’s conversation.  Willow and Tara immediately sat up straight in their seats as the remaining women sat down and the group leader continued.  “Let us take our places in the sacred circle and begin to focus our energies.”  Willow and Tara and the women around them closed their eyes and started meditating.

Willow sneaked a peek in Tara’s direction.  Then she leaned over the arm of the chair to whisper to her.

“Hey!” she said, slightly startling Tara, who looked up and met her eyes.  “After the meeting, you wanna get some coffee or something and maybe talk magic?”

Tara grinned widely and then nodded enthusiastically.  Willow smiled broadly as well.  Then they reluctantly closed their eyes again as the group leader began the ritual invocation.

*     *     *

Willow and Tara walked to a small table at the Grotto and sat down, putting their coffees on the table. 

“Look, I hope I don’t offend you or anything,” Willow said to Tara, “but I’m not really getting a lot out of these Wicca meetings.”

“Yeah,” Tara agreed.  “They’re nice and everything, but they don’t seem to know--”

“What they’re talking about?” Willow finished.

“I think if they saw a r-r-real witch, they would run the other way,” Tara added, giggling.

“So, how long have you been practicing?”

“Always.  I mean, since I was little.  My mom used to,” Tara said, ducking her head behind her hair for a moment.  “She…ummm…she had a lot of power.  Like you.”  Tara lifted her eyes to Willow’s as she spoke those last two words.

Willow was awed and embarrassed by Tara’s words.  She immediately went into denial mode. 

“Oh…I’m not…I don’t have much in the way of power,” she said, “I mean, really, most of my potions come out…soup.  I’ve only been practicing for a couple of years.  I’m definitely nothing special.”

Tara firmly disagreed, “No, you are.”

Willow and Tara smiled genuinely at each other, clearly attracted, before succumbing once again to the blush-and-duck.

“How can you tell?” Willow asked. “You haven’t even seen me do any magic.”

“I can just tell,” Tara explained. “I-I-I can see things…in p-p-people’s auras.  I could tell there was something special about you the first time I saw you.  Something very special.”

The two women smiled again, bonding big time.

*     *     *

Buffy lounged on her bed, reading a textbook, the Wicca flyer now on her night stand.  When she heard the door, Buffy looked up to see Willow come in.  She noticed that Willow was wearing a smile, a for-real smile.

“Hey.  You’re coming in kinda late,” Buffy said. “The Wicca thing must’ve been pretty good.”

“Oh, no, it was a bust,” Willow said, waving in dismissal.  “Same ole, same ole, bunch a pseudo sisters to the dark ones.”

Willow paused and then smiled, thinking of Tara.  Buffy looked at Willow warily.

“Okay, what happened?” Buffy inquired.  “There is definite glowage going on here, and I wanna know what caused it.”

“What?” Willow asked in surprise.  “There’s no…glowage.  But something did happen.  One of the girls in the group is an actual practicing witch.  We talked after, and we’re gonna do some spells together.”

“Will, that’s great!  I know you’ve been wanting to go further in that area.”

“I just want to be able to float something bigger than a pencil one day.  And I think Tara can help me do that.”

“Tara, huh?”

“Yeah.  She’s really cool,” Willow said, smiling again.  “She’s kinda shy, though.  Hey, maybe we could get together and have lunch one day soon.  I’d really like you to meet her.”

“Count me in,” Buffy said cheerfully.

Then she looked at Willow intently.  I don’t care what she says, Buffy thought. She is glowing.  Dammit.  Buffy hung her head at the thought.

*     *     *

Buffy laid out the map of UC Sunnydale on the floor of Giles’ living room.  She smoothed out the edges and then stood up and out of the way.

“Okay, we’ve narrowed it down to the campus,” Buffy said.  “Let’s see if we can pin it down a little more.”

Buffy nodded at Willow and Giles, who began again the ritual that they had just performed.  Willow picked up the pack of cigarettes and a handful of colored sand.  Giles took up a candle and another handful of sand.  They set their eyes on the spell book, which lay on a small metal music stand before them.  Then they started the incantation. 

Buffy didn’t have a clue what Willow and Giles were saying, since they were speaking in Romanian.  For all she knew, they were saying ‘Abracadabra, shazzam!’ 

When they finished the incantation, Willow and Giles simultaneously cast their magic sands toward the map.  The three of them watched in wonder as the sands floated in the air and then lit up before swirling around the map.  The tiny floating lights twirled into a tight tornado-like funnel and hovered over a particular spot on the map.  Then suddenly they all shot toward the spot with great speed, as if they were being sucked into that very point.  And then they disappeared.

The three observers let out their breath as they watched the spell end.  Buffy immediately knelt beside the map to look at the spot now marked on its surface.  Her brow creased in confusion.

“What is it?  Where does it say?” Willow asked nervously.

“That’s impossible!” Buffy said.

“What?” Giles asked.

“According to this, he’s standing in the middle of the quad, in broad daylight!” Buffy exclaimed.

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