If Only I Knew Then

Chapter 6: Tell Me Lies

“So, what’s the scoop?  What crazy new schemes have the evil undead been coming up with now?” Xander asked with a chuckle. 

 

Willow glanced over at Giles, looking uneasy.

 

“It’s not anything like that,” Giles explained.

 

“Then why are we here?” Anya asked.  “Oh! Are you leaving finally?  I mean…not that I want you to leave, but, you know…”

 

“No, it’s not that,” Giles replied with a frown.  “We have something to tell you all, that…”

 

“I’m bringing Faith back,” Willow blurted out.

 

“What?  Why?” Dawn asking, her expression hardening.

 

“Well, it’s the Hellmouth, a-and we need a Slayer,” Willow explained.

 

“We’re doing just fine on our own,” Dawn argued.

 

“Yeah, well, we’re doing okay, but,” she looked toward Giles for help.

 

“The demon world knows now that there is no Slayer watching over the

Hellmouth,” he told them. “They will be heading here in droves.  It will be more than we can handle.”

 

“Well, what about Angel?” Xander asked.  “I mean, as much as I hate Deadboy, maybe he can…”

 

“No!” Willow interrupted.  “He has his own demons to deal with, in his own city.  Look, guys, I know you don’t like the idea of it, but we need Faith back.”

 

“So, you’re going to replace Buffy with a new Slayer,” Dawn said through gritted teeth.

 

“No, Dawnie, it isn’t like that,” Willow tried to explain.  “Faith is a

Slayer, she was called years ago and…”

 

“I thought she was in jail for like, life, for killing some people,” Anya interjected.

 

“Well, I sort of figured out a way around that,” Willow said quietly before everyone looked at her in alarm.

 

“Magic?” Tara asked uncomfortably.

 

Willow shook her head.  “No.  Well, I mean, most of it was just hacking into the right files and changing a few things and then, I mean there would be a tiny spell to make people forget that she was supposed to be there, but…”

 

“You’re talking about messing with people’s minds, Willow.  You can’t do that.  That’s not what magic is for,” Tara argued.

 

“No, Tara, I know that.  And this would just be a very minor spell, really.  Not a big deal, and…”

 

“It IS a big deal,” Tara said, becoming increasingly upset.  “I can’t even believe we’re talking about this.” 

 

Everyone else looked around uncomfortably.

 

“How do you even know she’ll agree to come back here?” Xander asked. 

 

Tara looked away from Willow in frustration. 

 

“I mean, you spring her from jail, what’s to keep her from running off?”

 

“Well, I have to go talk to her first.  Make sure she would be willing to come back and help us,” Willow told him.

 

“Right, and I always take murdering prisoners for their word,” Xander grumbled sarcastically.

 

“We don’t need her,” Dawn stated.

 

“Dawnie, I know you’re upset, but…”

 

“No!  Just forget it!” Dawn yelled, before standing up and stomping out of the shop. 

 

Willow let out a sigh and slumped down into her chair, closing her eyes.

 

~*~

 

Spike had been brooding for the last few days.  He hated brooding. 

Reminded him way too much of Angel, but ever since the incident with Willow and the vengeance demon, he had been brooding.  The truth was, he hadn’t been able to get the girl out of his head…or well, the woman, really.  The new darkness in her drew him to her like a moth to the flame, but then, seeing her so innocent again…so vulnerable…and so quick to trust him, even when she knew exactly what he was. If she hadn’t already been in his heart before that, she certainly had built a place there now.

 

The darkness was like a drug, causing the love and memories he had of the Slayer to fade.  He wondered how he had missed it, buried in the witch all these years.  It had always been there, he was sure, though now it was much more visible.  She wore it on her sleeve, along with her torn heart and the predator in him called out to take the girl as his own, claim her and make her think of nothing but him.

 

Pt 2

 

“I’m so glad we were finally able to have our party,” Anya said with a smile as she reached into a bowl, pulling out a handful of chips and stuffing them into her mouth.  “I love parties that are for me.”

 

Willow smiled.  “Yeah, sorry about last time.”  No one had really said anything about the whole curse thing, much to her relief.  She didn’t really want to explain to anyone why the wish had been made in the first place and she didn’t want to know what she had said or done while under the curse. “Where’s Dawnie?” She asked, looking around the room.  She hadn’t seen the teenager since their argument earlier that day.

 

“Oh, she went to spend the night at her friend’s house.  Janice?” Tara told her. 

 

Things were still strained between Willow and Tara as well.  She knew that Tara was waiting to talk further about the magic stuff, but at least she wasn’t giving her the silent treatment for now.

 

“Oh, right,” Willow mumbled. 

 

There was something she should be remembered about this, she was sure, but she couldn’t quiet put her finger on what it was.

 

“The big bad is here, let the party officially begin.” 

 

Everyone turned around to see Spike walking through the front door, a bottle of wine in his hand.

 

“Oh! You brought us a gift!” Anya squealed, running over and taking the bottle out of his hand.

 

“Uh, actually that was for me to…” he paused, looking over at Willow.  “Uh…to give to you…as a present.” 

 

Anya smiled and went to open the bottle. 

 

Spike took off his coat, hanging it over the banister.  “Watcher, Moron,

Witch, Red,” he said, nodding to everyone in the room.

 

“Spike, ever so glad you could make it,” Xander said, his voice full of sarcasm and disdain.

 

The group spent the next few hours talking and laughing, eating and drinking, until eventually everyone grew drowsy and decided to call it a night.  Willow said good-bye to Xander, Anya and Giles at the door, shutting it and turning to survey the mess left over.

 

Spike came up behind her, leaning over her shoulder and whispering in her ear.

 

“Feel like a little walk, Red?  Maybe go out patrolling for a while, take some of that pent up frustration out on a few demons?”

 

“You get way too much joy out of killing your own kind, Spike,” she told him, before turning to look toward Tara who was about to head upstairs.

 

“Coming to bed, sweetie?” She asked.

 

Willow thought for a moment before responding.  “I think, actually

Tara, I’m going to go patrol with Spike for a while.”

 

“Oh,” Tara said, looking down dejectedly. 

 

Willow knew she had wanted to talk and really wanted to avoid that just now. 

 

“Okay, well, I’ll see you when you get home.”  By the time the words were out of her mouth, Willow was already on her way out the door.

 

~*~

 

Spike and Willow were walking through a residential area when they turned a corner and come upon a crime scene.  Paramedics were surrounding a woman on a stretcher and Willow moved in closer and saw that, as she suspected, there were fang marks on the victim’s neck.

 

“Oh, crap,” Willow mumbled.

 

“What?  Standard vampire attack.  Nothing new there,” Spike observed.

 

Willow shook her head.  “We need to head back to the house, call the others. We’re gonna need back up for this.”  She turned and rushed off in the direction of the Summers house.

 

“Why? What’s going on?” Spike called after her.

 

~*~

 

A few minutes later, Willow and Spike rushed into the house and Willow called Xander and Giles, telling them where to meet her.

 

“Willow, what’s going on?” Tara asked, as Willow began picking through the weapons chest.

 

“Dawn…vampires…in the woods,” Willow explained quickly.

 

“What? What are you talking about?  Dawn is at her friend’s house, and…” Tara paused as the phone rang and went to answer it.  A minute later she returned.  “That was Janice’s mother.  Apparently she told her mother she was staying here with Dawn,” Tara told Willow, worry etched in her face. 

 

“Willow, how did you know that Dawn was in trouble?”

 

“What?  I…I just knew,” Willow said distractedly.

 

“Yeah, but how?”

 

“Tara, I’m really sorry, but I don’t have time to talk about this now. 

We need to get out there.”

 

“Out WHERE?”

 

“The woods,” was all Willow said before turning and heading back out with Spike. 

 

Tara grabbed an axe and ran after them.

 

Pt 3

 

“Okay, I know it’s around here somewhere,” Willow muttered as the group wandered through the dark, misty woods.

 

“What’s around here?  What are we looking for exactly?” Xander asked.

 

“Dawn,” she answered.

 

“And you know she’s around here somewhere how?” He questioned.

 

“I just do,” she said, scanning the areas around them distractedly.

 

“Did…did Janice’s mother call you or something?” Tara asked Giles.

 

“What? Oh, no, um…no,” he answered, looking away uncomfortably.

 

“Willow, stop for a minute,” Tara called, jogging up to Willow and grabbing her arm.

 

“Tara.  We need to find her now.  She’s with a vampire.”

 

“How do you know that?” Tara demanded, becoming increasingly upset.

 

“I…I just do,” Willow said, shrugging off Tara’s grasp and picking up her pace.

 

“I don’t understand.  There’s something you’re not telling me and…”

 

Suddenly there was a scream in the distance.

 

“Dawn,” Tara whispered.

 

“No, Janice,” Willow corrected.  “Giles, you and Tara, go help Janice. 

She’ll be with one vampire. Don’t worry, he’s young and stupid.  Should be no problem.  Spike and Xander, come with me.”

 

With that, they took off in opposite directions.

 

~*~

 

“I just wanna be close to you.”

 

Willow’s ears perked up as she heard the vampire speaking.

 

“Hear that?” She asked Spike.  He nodded.

 

“Hear what?” Xander asked. 

 

She waved him off dismissively, trying to listen again. 

 

“Hear what?  What is going on?”

 

“Shhh…Xander, quiet,” she whispered, straining to hear the voice again. 

 

Suddenly, she picked up on it and ran a few feet, finally coming across

Dawn and the vampire.  She was pushing him away from her.

 

“Shhh, it will only hurt for a second,” he whispered to the teenager.

 

“I bet you say that to all the girls,” Willow said just before she pulled him away from Dawn and tossed him a few feet away magically.

 

The vampire jumped up and moved to Dawn with inhuman speed, grabbing a hold of her. Willow could hear Giles, Janice and Tara running up to the rest of the group as she advanced on him.

 

“Now, we can do this the easy way or we can…” Willow started, but was cut off as a car full of vampires pulled up and she rolled her eyes at the whole repeating scene.

 

“What were my choices again?” He asked with a grin.

 

The other vampires started to advance on Willow as she held Dawn’s date by the throat.  She looked around, trying to gage what to do when suddenly a hand fell onto her shoulder, causing her to jump.

 

“So, this a private game, or can anyone join in?” Spike asked.

 

She gave him a small smile, their eyes locking momentarily, the moment not going unnoticed by several of the people around them.

 

“Oh my god! Dawn…were you…parking?” Xander asked. “With a vampire?”

 

“I didn’t know he was dead,” Dawn tried to explain.

 

“Living dead,” the vampire corrected her.

 

Dawn and Willow both responded at the same time.  “Shut up!

 

“How could you not know?” Xander questioned.

 

“I just met him,” Dawn responded.

 

“Oh!  So you were parking in the woods with a boy you just met?” Xander asked incredulously.  “Dawn, you should have known better. Your sister was the Slayer!”

 

“Oh, like no one here has ever fallen for a vampire,” Dawn countered angrily.

 

“Buffy?  That was different.  Angel had a soul.  I might have hated Deadboy, but at least he had a soul,” Xander stated.

 

“Not Buffy,” Dawn said, turning and glaring at Willow. 

 

The redhead felt her face flush red and turned away, seeing Tara staring at her strangely.  Turning her head the other way, she saw Spike also giving her an odd look. She finally looked back toward Dawn.

 

“Dawnie, what are you…”

 

“Oh, come on!  I may just be a kid but even I can see it!”

 

“It?  See what?  Dawnie, there’s…”

 

“Come on, Willow.  I’ve seen you two together lately.  I see the way you are with each other, the way you talk to each other.  You look at him the way you used to look at Tara.”  She stopped and looked over sadly at Tara, sorry to have said that in front of the girl she cared so much about.

 

“No, Dawnie, we’re just…we’re just friends,” Willow tried to explain. 

“Tara and I, we…I mean, hello…gay now, remember?”

 

“Willow, you told me yourself one time that it isn’t the gender you fall for, it’s the person.  Right?  So man, woman or vampire…it’s the person inside that you love.”

 

Willow opened her mouth, about to answer, as she glanced again toward Tara, not liking the look on her face.

 

“Uh, excuse me, can we fight now?” One of the other vampires interrupted.

 

“Doesn’t anyone come up here to just make out anymore?” Xander asked, more to himself than to anyone else. 

 

A couple behind them raised their hands.

 

“Aw, see now…that’s sweet,” Xander said with a smile.

 

“You…run,” Willow told them, before looking back at the vampire in front of her. “You…scream.”

 

With that, the other vampires attacked.  The one so desperately looking to fight was trading blows with Spike.

 

“What is your malfunction, man?” The minion asked him.

 

“It's Halloween, you nit! We take the night off,” Spike growled, shoving the other vampire down to the ground. “Those are the rules.”

 

“Me and mine don't follow no stinkin' rules! We're rebels!” He shouted back, struggling to stand up. He swung clumsily at Spike, who easily blocked the punch, head-butted him and then jumped, kicking his chest.  The minion flew back into a tree before sliding down to the ground.

 

“No, I’m a rebel.  You’re an idiot,” Spike stated, just before pulling out a crossbow and dusting him. “Give the lot of us a bad name.”

 

The vampire with Dawn turned and looked at her. “Your sister was the Slayer? I totally get it! I knew there was something about you.” 

 

Dawn growled a little at the comment before kneeing him hard in the groin and turning to run.

 

 

 

Pt 4

 

Eventually, they managed to fight all of the vampires off and Willow looked around, realizing that Dawn was missing.

 

“Ah, crap,” she muttered, before running off after her.  She knew just where she’d be and she knew that the other vampire would be dusted, leaving Dawn more than a little upset.

 

~*~

 

Later that night, when they had finally returned home, Willow followed

Tara upstairs, knowing she was going to have to face a barrage of questions.

 

“I…I’m sorry, okay?” She said when she entered their bedroom and shut the door.

 

“Sorry?  Do you even know what you’re apologizing for, Will?” Tara asked wearily.

 

“Well, yeah, for…for the magic stuff, and for…”

 

“For?”

 

“Look, I know that you think that I’m keeping things from you, but…”

 

“Tell me how you knew about what was going to happen tonight, Will. 

You were always one step ahead, so tell me.  Was it some kind of magic, or…”

 

“No!  Well, not really, I mean, I can’t explain it.  I just knew, okay?”

 

Tara shook her head.  “No, Will, it’s not okay. Something has been going on with you and I tried to overlook it, but I can’t anymore.  And the whole Spike thing.  Dawn isn’t the only one to see it.  He’s the only one you open up and talk to anymore.  I used to be the one you confided in, the one you could tell anything to, and I’ve seen the way you look at him. You choose him over me.”

 

“Tara, no,” Willow started to argue.  “What can I do to make this better?  Reverse time and change it?” She asked with a bitter laugh.  “Because I probably could…”  She stopped, seeing the dark look on her girlfriend’s face. “Joke.  Tara, really,” Willow said, trying to force a smile to her face, more sure now than ever that she couldn’t tell Tara the truth about her time spell.

 

“Tell me what’s been going on with you,” Tara stated gravely.

 

“Honestly, nothing has been going on,” Willow lied.  “If there was something to tell I would but…”

 

Tara held up her hand, stopping her from continuing. “Willow, I don’t think this is gonna work.  Thing’s have changed between us,” she whispered.

 

“What? No, baby, please,” Willow pleaded.  “I…I know I haven’t seemed like myself, but…just…give me one more chance and I promise, things will be better.  Please.”

 

Tara thought about it for a moment and finally nodded.  “We’ll see,” she said as she climbed into the bed and turned her back to Willow, not wanting to talk anymore that night. 

 

For a moment, the urge to utter the tabula rasa spell ran through Willow’s mind, but she quickly shook it off and turned off the light sadly, climbing into bed and hugging her arms around herself as she drifted off to sleep.

 

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