What If??

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Travers.” Giles tries to keep the grin off his face as he sits down, sipping his tea while holding the phone a few inches from his ear as the head of the Watcher’s Council yells.

“She did NOT just get up and walk out of the room by herself!! They saw your slayer and a couple other people visiting her lately, and today. She disappeared right after she was visited by these people, so you cannot tell me that you bloody well don’t know what is going on!!” Quentin yells into the phone.

“Leave it to us, old chap. Buffy will be interested in finding Faith and seeing what her intentions are. We can take care of it.” Giles tries to be diplomatic, sighing quietly as he looks around the office, pulling open his bottom drawer. Unscrewing the bottle lid, he pours a hefty shot of scotch in his tea before replacing the lid and tucking the bottle back away.

“WE will bring her back here and take care of it!” Quentin growls angrily into the phone. “She is not your concern!”

“Yes, she is!” Giles growls right back, the anger finally getting the better of him. “If that young woman had been given the support and care that she should have been given from the beginning, everything that happened could have and probably would have been avoided! Accidents happen, Travers. She isn’t the first slayer that accidentally murdered a human, and she won’t be the last! I suggest you let us handle her, we’ll take care of her and help her to the best of our abilities. She deserves a second chance, and if you have half a brain, you bloody idiot, you’ll let us!”

“YOU are not part of the Council anymore, Ripper! And you DO NOT tell us what to do. We will take care of this threat ourselves, and tell your slayer that we are not interested in making any deals with her.” Travers slams the phone down.

“Fucking idiot!” Giles snarls as he throws the phone at the wall, staring as the handset shatters. Quickly downing his tea, he yanks out the bottle, filling the cup with whiskey and quickly finishing it off. Grabbing the newspaper, Giles flips to the real estate ads, looking for apartments for rent, circling a couple that are close to the college campus before standing and quickly leaving the Magic Box, locking it up for the night, and possibly for the next few days until they can decide what they’re going to do.

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Buffy growls as she paces back and forth angrily, her eyes flashing brilliant orange. “I will rip them limb from limb if they come after her, Giles.” Buffy snarls angrily, her eyes landing on the ex-watcher.

Giles unconsciously steps back from the anger flowing from Buffy. “Yes, quite.” Giles swallows nervously as he glances quickly from Buffy, to Tara who’s calmly approaching Buffy to land on Joyce and Faith.

Faith stares fascinated at the glowing orange eyes of Buffy, the obvious anger surprisingly enough not scaring her, as she realizes Buffy’s angry for her, not at her.

“Easy, sweetie.” Tara murmurs softly as she slowly reaches out, stroking a hand down Buffy’s neck. “Being angry is normal in this situation, but you need to channel the anger into figuring out a way for us to deal with them, and to protect Faith. Please try and calm down somewhat so we can discuss the best way to deal with this.”

Buffy searches Tara’s eyes, finally nodding as she tries to reign in her anger. “Do you think they’ll come after you or mom?” Buffy turns her gaze on Giles.

“Honestly…” Giles sighs heavily shaking his head as he pinches the bridge of his nose. “I haven’t the foggiest. I don’t put anything past them, Buffy.”

“Fine. You may not like what I’m going to suggest, but…” Buffy looks at her mother for a moment before looking back at Giles. “Maybe you two should take Faith and go on a little vacation out of Sunnydale for a while.”

“No.” Faith growls shaking her head. “They’re looking for me, this is because of me. I’m staying here for whatever happens to come around. I ain’t gonna have you risking your lives while I’m tucked away all safe and sound. If it comes down to it, I’ll turn myself in before I let you guys get hurt. I caused enough pain and heartache before, I ain’t gonna cause it again.”

“No one’s going anywhere.” Joyce states adamantly, shaking her head. “I’m here for anything and everything that’s going to happen, Buffy. So I suggest you figure something else out.”

Buffy growls angrily as she looks from one person to the next, seeing stubborn looks on all their faces. “Fucking idiots.” Buffy snarls before running her hands roughly through her hair, starting to pace again.

Tara shakes her head as she watches Buffy. “Joyce, you living by yourself is not an option. Either you should move in with Mr. Giles or he can move in with you. His apartment might be a little easier to defend if something should happen. Giles and I will go first thing tomorrow morning for me to rent the apartment. I’ll make a charm for him, to disguise him also. Everyone is going to have to be very, very careful to try and make sure they aren’t being followed. I can place a magical trip wire around the apartments, that will alert us if someone that bears us ill will comes within a certain distance.” Tara points to the open magical book on her desk. “I’ll need a few ingredients to do the spell, which you should have at your shop. If they come after Faith, we’ll deal with them.” Tara turns her gaze on Buffy, her eyes lightening with a burst of power. “WE will deal with them.” Tara stresses again as she looks at her lover. “They will not mess with my family or I will put the fear of God in them.” Tara growls.

Buffy whimpers quietly as she sees the power brewing within her lovers eyes, the past slayer’s memories unlocking and briefly hitting on a powerful witch that had come close to wiping out the Watcher’s Council because they had tried to kill her lover. “Oh, my God!” Buffy cries out, collapsing on her knees, shaking as the memories become hers and Tara becomes the witch from the past, realizing they’re both reincarnations of the previous slayer that had become one with her slayer half. “Not again! No, not again!” Buffy whimpers, tears streaming down her face as she curls up on herself.

Tara feels a pain like her heart being ripped from her chest, literally throwing herself at her lover, she wraps her up tightly in her arms, the slayer shaking uncontrollably as fear, pain and anger slams into her from her lover. Finally a hatred unknown comes flaring from Buffy for the whole Watcher’s Council. Suddenly it feels like a wall that was, unknowingly between them, blasts away, Tara knowing what Buffy had just come to realize. “Sweet, Goddess.” Tara whimpers, rocking Buffy as she holds her tightly in her arms.

“What the bloody hell?” Giles looks in confusion at the two women, afraid to approach them as the power literally seems to crackle around Tara. Grabbing Joyce’s arm gently, Giles shakes his head to keep her from approaching the two women. “Don’t go hear them, you can’t see it, but the power coming from Tara right now might harm you.”

“What the fuck is going on, Giles?” Faith snarls as she looks at the two women, wanting… no, needing to know what’s happening to the two women that are willing to risk their lives to protect her.

“I haven’t a fucking clue!” Giles growls as they watch the two women literally try and climb inside each other as they shake and cry. “Tara, please! Crank down the protective shield around you, let us know what’s going on.”

Buffy growls deeply in her throat, literally pulling Tara around her, keeping her as close as physically possible. Her eyes traveling over the three people, finally coming to land on Faith’s brown eyes. Silently asking Tara if she can borrow some of the witch’s power she now has complete access to, Buffy sends some of her healing and strength into the dark-haired slayer while sending her all the knowledge that was just unlocked before burying her face in Tara’s neck, the two women comforting each other.

“FUCK!” Faith growls as she feels her strength and energy come back to her before whimpering as the knowledge of what had happened to the two women invades her mind. Wrapping her arms around her head, Faith whimpers loudly before curling up in a tight ball on the bed.

“Faith?” Joyce turns worried eyes towards the whimpering slayer, unable to help her own daughter, she turns and wraps her body around Faith.

“They’re reincarnations of the previous slayer that had became one with her host, and the witch she was in love with. The Watcher’s Council…” Faith spit’s the words out angrily while shaking uncontrollably. “Couldn’t control her, they tried to wipe out the slayer because she no longer was their little puppet and could have brought the end of the Council. When they realized they couldn’t kill her because she always seemed one step ahead of them, and what had happened to make her practically indestructible, they took out the source of her strength and love.” Faith growls angrily, her eyes lighting on Giles. “They killed her mate, her witch, knowing that would end the slayer‘s life. After they killed her, the slayer went on a rampage and literally went to the head of the Council itself, she took out over fifty of the Council Members before they finally were able to kill her. They literally tore her apart. The slayer is a mystical being, when she accepted and was accepted by her mate, it unlocked her magical abilities and allowed her access to her mates abilities.”

Giles’ eyes open wide in disbelief, before they land on the two women silently rocking back and forth, the pain obvious in their silence. “That’s why there was almost no information on the other slayer. They executed her lover, in turn ending the slayer’s life. There was no mention of the Council coming under siege from one of their own.” Giles inhales deeply.

“No, they wouldn’t have record of it, would they?” Buffy snarls as she finally looks up. “There was a chance of ending demon kind on Earth, with the two women together. They would have been out of a job, then. They took out a contract hit on the slayer’s lover, knowing that the witch wasn’t protecting herself, since she honestly didn’t think she would be at risk, only her lover. She didn’t take the precautions to protect herself from the bastards, and in that simple mistake she was killed. It isn’t going to happen this time.” Buffy growls angrily as she stands, holding Tara cradled against her body. “We know how to protect ourselves and our loved ones. Tara will have no problem with doing protections around everyone and the house. We will be staying at the house together. She has the power to do what needs to be done now that the last wall between us has been torn down.”

Tara takes deep calming breathes, the occasional hitch obvious as she squeezes her lovers neck strongly, her head buried against Buffy’s shoulder. “I am sorry I was so foolish and didn’t take your warning to heart, Sarim.” Tara whispers softly kissing her lover’s neck.

“It will not happen again, my sweet Kalina.” Buffy answers softly, kissing her forehead gently. “We are together again, and we will finish what we started.”

Faith stands looking at the two women for a moment. “You obviously did something to me, to heal me. What do you want me to do?”

“Stay alive.” Buffy and Tara state simply at the same time.

“Set a trap for the Council’s goons, and I’ll make sure they get a very clear warning to leave us alone.” Tara’s eyes flash with power. “How many will they send after Faith? Including the ones probably already here watching her from the hospital.”

Giles runs shaking hands down his face as he thinks about what the women had just finished telling him, while running through his mind what the likely amount of people they would send after Faith would be.

Joyce shifts on the bed, sitting as she stares at Buffy and Tara, not knowing what to say or think as she tries to understand what’s going on. She watches as Tara turns, staring in Buffy’s eyes for a few long minutes before Buffy nods silently and sets Tara down on her feet.

“Giles, let’s go to your apartment.” Tara calmly states as she takes a deep breath, brushing her hands down her clothes straightening them. “All of us. Pocket your charms, ladies. You may have no need for them, but just in case, keep them on you.”

“But…” Faith stares at Tara, blinking.

“You’ll be safe.” Tara quirks her lip as she gently places a hand on the slayer’s shoulder before moving to Joyce, then Giles touching each one in turn while silently mouthing a soft incantation.

Tara turns to gaze at her lover, her life, Sarim from her past life, Buffy from this life. Closing the distance between them, she strokes her thumbs over her lover’s cheek bones. “I love you.” Tara whispers before kissing her deeply, reaffirming that love physically.

“I love you, forever.” Buffy whispers as they slowly ease back from each other, her eyes searching the blue depths of her mate. “Time to get this party on the road?”

“Yes. Do you want point, or rear?” Tara questions softly her eyes caressing over Buffy.

“I’ll take rear. You lead them out.” Buffy nods as she watches Tara smile briefly. “If they don’t heed our warning, this could very well spell the doom of the Watcher’s Council. I will not allow them to continue as they have been.”

“I know.” Tara nods her head in acknowledgement. “Let’s go, ladies and Mr. Giles.”

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

“Why do I get the feelin’ I’ve got a target on me?” Faith growls quietly as the five of them work towards Joyce’s vehicle.

“Because you do.” Tara growls as she flicks her hand out, sending a small burst of magic to their right.

“I don’t think he liked that.” Buffy comments, chuckling as she strides over towards the man.

The group turn to see a man patting at his crotch, putting out the flame as he curses with an English accent as he jumps around in pain.

“Got him, sweetie?” Tara watches unconcernedly as Buffy clips him not very gently across the jaw before throwing him over her shoulder and striding back towards them.

“Of course.” Buffy smirks as they continue walking. “You going to let the other one go running back to daddy to tell him what’s going on?”

“Whatever you think would be best.” Tara leaves it up to her lover.

“Don’t let him go. Make them wonder what happened to these two.” Buffy watches as Tara sends another magical bolt towards the other Watcher goon.

“How the hell do you two know they’re part of the Watcher’s Council?” Giles questions as he watches Buffy jog over to the other man, picking him up and tossing him over her other shoulder.

“I sort of sent out a little tag spell.” Tara admits as they make it to the Jeep. “Buffy and I will be able to tell who they are as soon as they are anywhere near us.”

“Should I be nice or mean?” Buffy questions seriously, looking at Tara.

Tara stares at the two unconscious men. “I would say mean, but they’ll be out of it, so it won’t be as much fun.”

“That’s true.” Buffy nods her head walking around to the back of the Jeep as her mom unlocks the back, opening it. Buffy tosses the two guys roughly into the back before slamming the hatch back.

“Ummm. Should I go ahead and drive my vehicle over to my apartment?” Giles questions, still in shock over the happenings of the last half hour.

“Go ahead and lead the way, we’ll follow.” Buffy nods before climbing into the back seat, pulling Tara in on her lap and wrapping her arms around her.

Faith sits down in the front seat, turning to look in the back seat at the two women for a moment before turning back to the front as Joyce starts the vehicle following Giles towards his apartment.

“I will not allow it to happen again, Kalina. It has taken me all this time to find you, my love and we won’t be apart again.” Buffy whispers against Tara’s neck, her arms holding her lover tightly.

“No, Sarim. Never apart again. I will never be so foolish as to dismiss your worries again.” Tara murmurs softly in response, running her fingers through Buffy’s hair, sighing deeply. “I love you, my beautiful one. We will not allow them to break us apart again.”

“Never.” Buffy states in agreement before lifting her head and running a hand up to cup Tara’s cheek, urging her down the short distance to kiss her passionately. Her other hand working it’s way under Tara’s shirt, to stroke strongly over her lover’s back.

“Goddess!” Tara whimpers arching into her lover as Buffy nips down her neck. “It’s been so long, my beautiful Sarim.”

“Okay, guys. I hate to say it, but you two need to break it up. First off, we’re at the watchers digs, secondly, you making out in front of your mom, is so not cool.” Faith blinks as she watches the two women, surprised at how quickly the two women forgot where they were. Knowing from what Buffy had sent her, that their previous selves were working their way through their bodies, yearning to become close with each other again.

“Sorry.” Tara whispers as she takes a couple deep, heaving breaths as she brings herself under control.

“Soon.” Buffy whispers, her eyes glowing with desire, her low purring becoming almost a roar as Tara growls leaning in to kiss her again while stroking her hands down her arms and side.

“What the fuck?” Faith turns back towards the Jeep as she was standing by Joyce, waiting for the other two to climb out of the vehicle.

“Part of the slayer thing.” Joyce whispers, her gaze on her daughter and girlfriend. “Just the two of them together, with Tara stroking over Buffy’s stomach or arm will get Buffy purring. I can only assume that the purring gets louder as the… caresses become more adventurous.”

“Damn, Mrs. S. You sure are pretty cool about this.” Faith tilts her head towards the Jeep.

“How can I not be?” Joyce admits, her gaze landing on Faith’s. “Even though they seem more like two horny kids right now, but you can see how much they love and care for each other. That is something that I wish all of us could find.”

“Are we going to break those two up?” Giles questions quietly as he steps behind Joyce, having heard her statement. Wondering to himself if she ever thought about their tryst when Buffy was in high school. Shaking his head at his own foolhardiness, Giles watches as Faith walks up to the vehicle and pulls the door open.

“Come on, you two! You can suck face later, right now we want to beat up on Watcher dudes.” Faith taps the two women on the shoulder, finally breaking them up.

“We will be getting together later, Kalina. That is a promise.” Buffy whispers, placing a quick kiss on Tara’s lips before allowing the blonde witch to step out of the Jeep.

“That’s surprising.” Tara admits quietly, blinking as she looks around and sends her senses out, not feeling any of the Watcher’s Council Goon squad around.

“Yes, it is. Surely these aren’t the only two?” Buffy questions as she opens the trunk, throwing one guy over her shoulder while chuckling meanly as she pulls the other guy out by his collar, allowing him to hit the ground hard before dragging him up to Giles’ door.

“Sweetie, bruising the merchandise?” Tara grins crookedly at her lover.

“Hey! You were the one to set this one’s crotch on fire.” Buffy pats the one over her shoulder on the leg. “He could be permanently scarred for life.”

“It didn’t make it that far. Maybe just a little blistering and pain for a while.” Tara explains, smirking.

“See, just a little pain for this guy for a while, also!” Buffy nods her head as she lets the man she’s dragging thump roughly up the stairs.

“Dear, Lord.” Giles mutters before turning back to his apartment door and unlocking it quickly. “What happened to my slayer and the shy witch?”

“Sarim and Kalina.” Buffy and Tara both answer at the same time. “There is no love lost in regards to the Watcher’s Council.” They continue, eerily together.

“Fuckin’ stereo.” Faith blinks before shaking her head and following the two women into the apartment.

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