Beautiful Trash
Jan. 8th, 2010 08:33 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
whedonistOn the trip back to the apartment, Willow was able to ground most of the energy she had channeled. Working a small glamour, she masked her dark hair and eyes. What she couldn’t suppress were the waves of nausea that rolled through her system. She had broken out into a cold sweat during the cab ride home and her body began to shiver on the elevator ride up. It was worth it though. Sick or not. Withdraws or not. He needed that. Just hope Buffy can forgive me. Inhaling a deep breath, Willow suppressed the urge to vomit and tried to gain control of her body.
Willow entered the apartment first and was smothered in an embrace before she made it halfway through the entry. Her assailant was a one-eyed father-to-be. Xander held tight to his lifelong friend until a few loud coughs from two slayers caused him to let go.
Laughing, Willow pulled back and smiled. “I’ve missed you too, Xander.”
Xander turned his attention to Dawn and Kennedy. He had Dawn off of her feet in a bear hug before she could say a word.
Settling into the living room, Willow asked, “When did you two get in?”
“About fifteen minutes ago. So, Will, what is this? You come to town, people start dying, what’s the deal? Is there something you want to tell us?” Xander teased with a smile.
“I can assure you, Mr. Harris, this isn’t me. It might have something to do with me, but I’ve had good alibis for my entire time here.”
“Heya, Cupcake,” Jimmy called out, returning from the back of the apartment. “I just got off the phone with Pat. We’re back at work tomorrow. We also, in an uncharacteristic act of kindness, are the primary on both Murillo and Poulsen.”
An amused Faith mouthed ‘cupcake’ to Willow. Willow just shrugged.
“Good.” Buffy smiled, relieved. “I was thinking we need to start looking into past Sunnydale residents. Also Faith, Ken, Will, I’m going to need you guys to do some foot work. Start asking around at any of the local demon haunts and see if anything or anyone is being talked about.”
“We can get started today,” Kennedy replied.
“Giles, Dawn, Xan, can you guys look over the girl’s info, see if anything pops out at you? Besides the fact they’re from Sunnydale.”
“Aye, Aye, General Bufferton. But can I take a nap first? I drove all night,” Xander begged.
“Do whatever. Faith and Xan, you guys got Willow’s room. The rest of you know where you’re at. Sorry again, Giles. It’s a really comfy couch. I’ve spent many a night on it.”
“It’s quite alright, Buffy,” reassured the watcher.
“Cupcake, if you want, I got a spare twin at my house. It’d fit nicely against the wall if Rupert doesn’t like your couch. It looks lumpy.”
“Hey, there are no lumps in my couch.” Buffy shot a glance at the item in question and rethought her stance. “Okay, so there may be a few lumps. If it’s not an issue then, yeah, the other bed may not be the worst idea ever.”
“Nah B., the worst idea ever was this carpet. Who the hell put it in?” Faith snarked from the chair.
“Faith,” Buffy warned. “Nevermind. Xander, control your honey.”
“You’re kidding, right? I can make suggestions, but she’ll never listen.”
Willow put her head in her hands. If I have to listen to this for more than a week, I’m gonna go loopy. Oh, my head’s still all spinny. Stupid numbskull detective. I think lying down might be required.
Buffy finally noticed the paler than usual redhead and went over to see what was wrong. “Will, you don’t look so hot. You feeling okay?”
“Yeah,” she lied, “Just kinda icky. I’m gonna go lay down for a minute and see if it gets better.” She smiled at everyone and excused herself.
Buffy watched her lover’s retreating back with worry marring her features. Turning to everyone, she said, “I’m just gonna go check on her, make sure she’s, ah…okay and all.” Lamely, Buffy slinked off to the room.
“You do that B. Give her whatever she needs,” Faith teased the retreating blonde.
She ignored the parting comment and headed straight for her room. Her hair was darker. I’m slow on the uptake most days, but I caught that. What did she do? Buffy gently tapped on her door then walked into the darkened room. Willow was flat on her back with a washcloth draped over her eyes. Cautious of moving the bed, the slayer sat down and ran a gentle hand over her witch’s cheek. “Will?”
“Hmm.”
“I’m thinking something’s more off than you just being tired,” Buffy whispered, “I noticed the darker-than-usual hair. Is there something you want to tell me?”
Willow removed the wash cloth from her eyes and heard the sharp intake of breath. Should have kept the glamour up just a bit longer. Now she’s gonna freak. And hate me and I’ll deserve it.
“Willow, what…what happened?” Her eyes are—they’re this weird, murky, greenish black. How did she…? I didn’t think it was possible. I should know by now.
Willow shrank farther away from the blonde and answered the question, “I tracked down our homophobe of a jerky cop. We had a, uh…well, I talked to him.”
“Will, if it was just a chat than why are…”
“I used magic to get him to stand still. I showed off. It was bad and probably over-the-top.”
“Why?” Buffy asked, trying to keep anger out of her voice.
Willow sat up and rested her back against the head board. A short, hard laugh escaped her and she snickered, “Because he deserved it. Because I wasn’t going to stand around and watch you get hurt like that. That dummy wasn’t going to get away with it.”
Buffy stammered, “But you’re all…Willow, this isn’t—you shouldn’t have—” unable to finish the thought.
“Shouldn’t have what, Buffy? Stood up for you, for us? Look, I get it. You aren’t happy, but I did what I needed to do. I talked to him, that’s all.”
“No, that’s not what I’m saying. I just—” Buffy scooted in closer to the witch and grabbed her hand. I’m gonna mess this up. I am messing this up. “Willow, this—you like this—it scares me. Sticking up for us—I’ll never tell you not to. It’s just the way the sticking-up happened.”
Buffy brought her lover’s hand to her lips and placed a kiss on the knuckles. She looked up into murky green eyes and replied with the most honest answer she had, “Seeing you like this worries me. I lost you when you—when Tara died. I—well…now, I don’t think I could survive that again.”
Willow’s expression softened at the admission. “I’m sorry, Buffy, but you won’t lose me. This is…it’s just run off. I can control it…for the most part. I can’t guarantee the not-losing, but I can promise to try my best to not let it happen.” Willow took her left hand and smoothed out the worried brow of her slayer.
“I love you, Will.”
“Love you too.” Willow smiled as the honesty of the words sunk in. We should have done this awhile ago. Wonder if it would have prevented some of the badness?
Buffy moved further onto the bed and gently eased Willow onto her back. Lying next to her, Buffy used her right arm to prop herself up and ran her other hand along the delicate features of Willow’s face.
“I love you,” she whispered again as she leaned down and placed a supple kiss on Willow’s lips. She repeated the words and actions as she moved to kiss each corner of her witch’s mouth. She moved gracefully to the tip of the redhead’s nose, her eyes and back down along her jaw line all the while murmuring the admission.
She stopped and teased the hem of Willow’s shirt up. The blonde pulled herself up and straddled her lover. Once her position was sure, she leaned back and in one swift motion, removed Willow’s top. Definitely lots of time wasted. She’s just…how Cordelia or anyone else ever thought she was less than perfect is beyond me. I always thought so. I will always think so. Buffy leaned down and rested her forehead against Willow’s as she let her hands explore the newly exposed soft skin.
Willow relaxed and let her lover explore her mouth and body. She arched up into Buffy’s soft caress and moaned as Buffy moved from her mouth to her neck and down her body. The magic ebbed from her system with each stroke of the slayer’s hands and lips. The witch felt her body begin to hum in different ways. Goddess, dunno how she ever got this good—I’m going to have to thank whoever taught her. She felt her skirt and underwear go in one quick move, letting the anticipation and adrenaline flow through her body.
Buffy shifted and parted her lover’s legs to settle between them. Her lips trailed down her witch’s stomach and teased the flesh below Willow’s navel. She looked up before moving further down. Buffy stifled the sigh of relief when Willow’s clear green eyes met hers in an adoring gaze. She smiled softly and dipped her head down, letting her tongue swipe at the redhead’s moist outer lips.
Willow’s hips jerked up and she whimpered as Buffy spread her open. The blonde’s tongue danced around her nerve bundle. To steady herself, Willow reached down and placed one hand on Buffy’s shoulder and let her other tangle in soft blonde hair. She moaned when the slayer slipped two fingers inside her and began a slow, steady rhythm. Her slayer’s tongue moved languidly around her core, lapping at the juices her body produced.
Buffy increased the cadence as her lover tensed underneath her. Focusing her attention on Willow’s engorged clit, Buffy added a third, then a fourth finger. Steadying her lover, Buffy held on as Willow’s back arched off the bed and her legs went rigid. Buffy teased the soft flesh and rode out the orgasm with her witch while she listened to her name uttered in a hushed cry. She lapped greedily at the moisture, slowing her movements as Willow went limp. She looked up into half closed eyes and placed a soft kiss at the apex of Willow’s sex.
She crawled up and rested her head on Willow’s damp shoulder. “Love you,” she whispered one last time before watching her lover drift off into a comfortable sleep.
I need to do less thinking when I should be sleeping. Agitated, Buffy covered her eyes with her forearm. Willow breathed softly next to her as insomnia pushed sleep out of Buffy’s grasp. One week of insanity and here I am at three a.m., trying not to wig out on everyone. Sure, maybe running like I did after Sunnydale wasn’t the brightest idea, but necessary. With everyone here, I know why now.
I missed it when Dawn became a woman. That’s of the suck, but she’s doing good. She and Ken seem happy at least. Maybe she’ll have better luck than me with the relationship stuff. God knows I wasn’t the best role model. The best she could’ve hoped for were Will and Tara.
Sighing, she carefully got out of bed and padded to the kitchen. When she rounded the corner, she found Faith eating a sandwich.
“Heya B. What brings you out at this hour?” whispered Faith.
“Couldn’t sleep. You?” Buffy asked, pulling out a kitchen chair.
“Hungry. Fourteen weeks pregnant and you’d think that the doc would tell you that your appetite would increase by a thousand percent. Hell, I sent Xand to the store a dozen times since I got knocked up. The cooks at the school can’t seem to keep the pantries stocked.”
“Well, you always ate a lot. Maybe being pregnant just kinda made the slayer metabolism extra metabolizey.”
“Eh, dunno. What I do know is that I need some pie.”
“Pie?”
“Yeah, maybe a chocolate cream or key lime.”
Buffy thought of a diner she knew of on the Upper West Side and figured pie wouldn’t be a bad idea.
“Let’s go. I’ll get changed and tell Will.”
“You serious?”
“Yeah there’s a place I know that has some great pies, and as a bonus, they’re open 24 hours.”
“Sweetness. I’ll meet you here in five.”
The diner was a retro throwback to the ’60s. It had mini-juke boxes on each table, the floors were white and black checkerboard linoleum, and the only light source was from the neon signs causing the place to glow. As the two women entered, Buffy recognized Elvis Presley singing softly in the background. Dirty man, that Elvis. Did anyone pay attention to the lyrics in Little Sister?
“B. this place is wicked strange. What did they do, build a damn time machine and go back to get this stuff?”
“I don’t think so. Look at the menu. There’s some historical info.”
The waitress on duty allowed them to pick any available booth. Seeing how they were two of the four customers, the women took liberties choosing a corner booth towards the back of the diner. Faith smiled as the polished leather hissed when she sat down. B. might be a bit better for comin’ to the city, but even this place is a bit strange for her. Must be her partner, Jimmy What’s-His-Face. “So, B., how’s life?” asked Faith when Buffy had settled into the bench across from her.
“Besides the dead girls, things are good I guess. You?”
“Five-by-five, y’know? The girls at the school are pretty cool. Sometimes a little much. Kinda like Teletubbies on crack if they get too much caffeine, but Xand handles them pretty good. I usually just go take a walk when things get too crazy. Vamps there are wicked easy to kill. It’s like they think they’re immortal.”
Buffy’s brow scrunched, trying to make sense of Faith’s last comment. “Uhm, Faith, they are for the most part.”
“Yeah…but you know what I mean. So, what about you and Red?”
“What about Willow and me?” Buffy’s eyes narrowed. Had to come up eventually. Wonder if I’m going to have to punch a pregnant woman. Will the PTB care?
“Well, I mean, you two seem to be awful cozy, picture of domestic bliss and all. How’s it going?” The brunette tried to take any teasing tones from her voice. It was a genuine inquiry and she saw Buffy bristle with the initial question.
“The same could be said for you and Xander, Faith. I mean, let’s face it, you as a mom? Not the first thing I would ever think of.”
“Stranger things have happened.”
“Like?”
“I dunno, you and Willow. Xand and I had that bit of a past, but you were you, B. You never let yourself get close enough to her. If you would’ve listened to me when I first got to Sunny-D, things could’ve been different for you.”
“Faith, haven’t we had the conversation about you and putting in your two-cents where it doesn’t belong?”
“Yeah, but it ain’t never stopped me before.” Faith smiled, taking the sting from her words. She offered a cheerful, “Thanks,” as the waitress brought her three slices of pie and decaf coffee. “Take it for whatever you want, B. Just a genuine question from an ex-pain-in-the-ass,” replied Faith. She dug into her food with delight.
“Hhmm.” Who said anything about her being an ex-pain-in-the-ass? ‘Faith’ and ‘friendliness’…my world is skewier than previously thought. That says lots. Not sure it’s good.
Exiting the diner, both slayers stopped halfway out the door. Buffy cast a glance over at Faith and saw the brunette already had a stake in hand. Buffy nodded and reached for her extra sidearm that was holstered at the small of her back. While she usually didn’t carry her working piece with her off duty, she’d been thrown in the thick of a few situations where having her backup helped.
Spidey or slayer sense, dog or cop instinct: it’s all the same. It all boils down to me getting a case of the wiggins with the butterflies and weird, fine hair on endings that I will never get used to. Just a quiet night out for some pie? Ha! That’ll be a sure sign of the apocalypse. Buffy moved down the steps cautiously towards the source of her agitation. She knew Faith shadowed her and a small smile crept through to the corners of her mouth. Sometimes change is a bad but at least it gets you to appreciate the before.
The feelings of unease persisted as she neared to the mouth of the alley. Now, do I take a pregnant woman into a potential fight with me, or do I make her stay put? Buffy looked over her shoulder at Faith. Right, so not gonna try to stop her. She’s all in slayer-mode. Buffy inched closer to the mouth of the alley.
Pressing her back against the right wall, she craned her neck and peered cautiously around the corner. Halfway down the alley she saw a vampire leaning over a lump on the ground. Damnit. She retracted herself and glanced at Faith. “Why are you looking at me like that?” Buffy whispered.
Faith’s voice was just as hushed but more annoyed, “B., what the hell are you doing?”
“What?”
The brunette hissed, “Last time we were gonna throw down, there was no creeping bullshit. Why are we not walking into that alley like we own it?” The annoyance she felt perfectly clear in her tone and posture.
Rolling her eyes, Buffy’s jaw clenched to keep her anger in check. “Because there’s one vamp down there and something—the something is human or demony something. You’re pregnant in case you hadn’t got the memo. I’d prefer to keep you that way.”
“This is stupid.” Faith rolled off the brick wall she was standing against and began marching towards the mouth of the alley.
“Faith!”
“Can it, B.,” the brunette snapped, preparing herself for the fight as she sauntered into the dark. Weird shit. Not getting the tingles. Not getting much of anything anymore. Buffy probably gave it plenty of time to get away. Figures. Itchin’ for a fight and T.J. Hooker here messes it up.
Buffy stepped up behind Faith and peered down the deserted alley way. “Nothing he—” Damnit! Shoving Faith back, Buffy followed a tight path to the object of her displeasure. Her gun was holstered and her cell phone was in her hand by the time she reached the corpse.
“So let me get this straight, kid, you guys go out for a late night snack and it happens to be in the same area where this punk drops off the next body?”
“That sums it up, Jim.”
He harrumphed and lumbered over to the tech guys. Exchanging words, one of the workers handed Jimmy three plastic evidence bags. Buffy heard him cuss from fifteen feet away and she tensed wondering what he was going to bring back. Marching back over to Buffy and Faith, Jimmy thrust the three bags under Buffy’s nose.
“Cupcake, this started bad and it’s gettin’ a whole lot fuckin’ worse.”
Buffy snatched the bags from his hands and looked at the contents. Three photocopied IDs stared back at her, the victim, Lenna Eaton, Alexander LaVelle Harris and Faith Lehane.
“That’s you, doll face, and your hubby, right?” Jimmy sent a concerned look to the brunette.
“Yeah, but Xand isn’t my—”
“You live together? You’re havin’ a kid together? In all fifty states, that’s enough to be common law. Suck it up and join the ranks.” Jimmy smiled and winked at the scowling brunette. “So you’re family looks to be seriously involved. Cupcake, I’m thinkin’ we should pull out of the case and let someone else take over.”
“What?”
“It’s like here you are in the thick of it and to say the guy is being a little obsessive about you would be an understatement. It don’t feel right, is all. Think about it. ’Sides, when Pat sees this, he might pull you off because of protocol.”
Buffy blew over her morning coffee and watched the bickering amongst her family. She and Faith had gotten home last night and gone straight to bed. It was Faith who had roused everyone this morning and explained what had happened last night. Really can’t take this right now. I’ve got a meeting with Pat in thirty. Exhausted and frustrated, Buffy threw the rest of her coffee in the sink, grabbed her suit jacket off the back of her kitchen chair, and stormed out of the house.
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph… Great, and now I’m starting to cuss like Jimmy. This—whatever it is—needs to go away. It needs to be slain, put behind bars, or something. But it needs to quit screwing with my life. I can’t take them being this close. Even Willow. I mean, as great as she’s been. It’s just with all of them around, screeching teenagers are easier to deal with. I. Can’t. Deal.
Buffy threw the cab driver some money and launched herself from the cab. Shutting the door, she made a check to see that her badge was visible and started towards the precinct doors. You get used to the quiet, then suddenly all hell breaks loose and there is no quiet anymore. You get home from work and there’s noise, so much noise. Willow’s been giving me looks…the kind that say, ‘you’re not telling me something; what is it?’ Those sorta looks and I’m having a hard time dealing. Fuck!
Her heels clicked over the cheap linoleum. She pushed through the double doors and into the main floor of her division. Way too much. Way too soon. Maybe a hotel would be doable. Making a beeline for her desk, she smiled and said ‘good morning’ to the few plain clothes and uniforms that she passed. Yanking out her chair, she slipped off her jacket and tossed it on the back of the wooden chair.
“Cupcake, good morning to you,” Jimmy said taking a sip from his coffee. Buffy’s raised eyebrow was the only response the other detective received. He whistled and chided, “What’s up, kid. Someone piss in your Wheaties this morning or—?”
“My family. I swear, Jim, if I kill one of them, I’m claiming temporary insanity.”
“That bad eh?”
“I have a fifteen-hundred square-foot apartment which seven people currently occupy. It’s about as cozy as a backlogged meat locker at county. Okay, I need space. Why the hell do you think I came to the city? I came to get away from them and I couldn’t figure out why until the past week.”
“Cupcake, do me a favor? Put the family on the back burner. We got bigger fish to fry. They’re as involved as civs can be in an investigation and you know as well as I do that they’re gonna have to stay in town until this wraps.” He saw Buffy’s nod. Wonder if she’ll…well, might as well offer. “Hey, here’s an idea. I’ve got some room. We can house some people at my place if you want. Save some cash on hotels, especially in Manhattan. Shit’s too expensive.”
She cocked her head at her partner and asked what had been on her mind for a few weeks, “Jimmy, not that it’s not appreciated, but why are you being so nice to me?”
The older man fidgeted with his tie and shrugged. “Dunno, kid, seems like the thing to do. I mean, you see a person that’s really good at their job and then you get to spend time working with them and shit. You find out stuff, like maybe they need you as a friend just as much as you need them. I think maybe that’s what it is. You’re like a pain-in-the-ass niece. My kids don’t talk to me and you’re about their age. So, I figure maybe it’s like you let me be a friend to you ’cause my kids never did.”
For the first time in two days Buffy’s smile was genuine. “Thank you.”
“Summers, McAllister, you comin’ or you waitin’ for an official escort? Move it you two,” Pat’s voice boomed from behind the blonde.
“He’s in rare form today,” Buffy commented dryly, standing and moving towards the back set of offices.
“He proly didn’t get any last night. Bastard,” Jimmy grumbled.
They walked past the three rows of desks and into Pat’s office. Shutting the door, Buffy took the left chair and waited.
“Summers, I hear you were the primary on another vic. IDed as Lenna Eaton, twenty-three, Caucasian, and from none other than Sunnydale, California. I’ve been over the reports on Murillo and Poulsen. Seems to be that that’s the common denominator on all three DBs. Murillo came in with a single ID, her own. Second vic, Poulsen, had your old C.A.D.L. and a Willow Rosenberg, whom it seems you have known for goin’ on nine years.
“To further complicate matters, she has recently moved to the city and is living with you. The new girl, Eaton, was found with IDs for herself, a guy named Alex Harris, and a Faith Lehane. Both Harris and Lehane are friends of yours and currently here in the city with you. I’m really not liking this so far. If either of you want to jump in with some headway or an explanation, now’s a good time.”
“Well, there’s been a bit of a challenge nailing down anyone,” Jimmy started. “These girls were either transients or had no reason for being in town. Jessica Murillo was a transient; Jennifer Poulsen went to school in Virginia, she was working on something for school. Her roommate said that when she came home there was note from Jennifer stating that she wouldn’t be home for a few days and to not worry. We’ve yet to get started on Eaton.”
Jimmy shoved a hand through his graying hair and finished up, “Right now, Cap, I’m not sure what else can be done. Nothing’s come back from the ME’s office. Every lead that we’ve been able to track has been a dead end. The only thing we got are the photocopied IDs, and with that—well, the only way we were able to link them were from the IDs.”
“Buffy, do you have any idea why the unsub seems to have a hard on for one my D’s?” Pat asked leaning back in his chair.
Buffy shook her head no. Prob’ly, not the answer he wanted. It’s what I got. Tough cookies all around this morning.
“Right. I’m also to assume that you know nothing on the info that was pulled off of N.C.I.C. for Lehane? Your friend was quite the delinquent. I’ve pulled her jacket and it looks like she was a primary suspect in several homicide cases. She’s got an overturned conviction on a Murder One charge too. When you were brought on board, I know your minor records were brought out, but they weren’t nearly as bad as hers. To say that this makes me uncomfortable would be stupid at this point. I’ll assume that Harris and Lehane are both staying at your apartment?”
“Yes. I know her record is, umm…colorful, but it was all false accusations. Both of us, really.”
“McAllister, anything you want to add?”
“I’m not sure what the motive is, but the M.O. is clear and personally this shitbag’s time is running out. There were a few things found on Poulsen’s body that could point to a location of the kill site. Nekko is doing a rush on the autopsy for Eaton and he’s pressing the lab geeks to come back with something sooner rather than later. Give us a week and let’s see what we can do.”
“Fair enough, you two. Keep me in the loop and let’s see what you can do.”
“Xander, I’m serious, you’ve got to relax. Not only are you driving me crazy, I think Buff’s entertaining the idea of shooting one of us.” Willow sat at the couch working on her computer as Xander carried on about how rude Buffy had been that morning. The witch had grown tired of listening to her friend whine.
“Will, the Buffster is doing okay. I know it’s big having all of us together again, but she’ll get back in the swing of it.”
“Xander, why do you think she moved to New York? Why do you think she rarely talks to anyone? She’s just ‘oh so busy and has better things to do with her time’?”
“Don’cha think you’re overreacting just a bit?”
Frustrated with her friend’s density, Willow ran her fingers through her hair. She was working though backtracking each of the dead girl’s recent moves, trying to find some other type of common denominator besides Sunnydale and the Scoobies.
“Willow,” Xander pleaded, “Buffy just needs to get back in the swing of things. She’ll be fine. It’ll be like old times.”
Leveling a glare at Xander, Willow was, in short, fed up. “Are you that oblivious or just that stupid? I don’t mean to be mean, but things haven’t been right with everyone for a long time. What was the righting moment of our relationship? When we kicked Buffy out of the house? Or maybe it was when she literally ran away and moved here? Things haven’t been right for a long time, Xan. And you guys acting like nothing’s changed or that what has changed is no big deal is foolish at best.
“I was here seven weeks before everyone came. Seven weeks. Everything. The work I’ve put into my relationship with her. It’s going away. It’s being all poofed away. Crumbling into…into crumbly things and I don’t know why. I know I’m gonna fix it. I can’t…I won’t lose her again. Figure out what you want from her, but she’s not the Buffy from high school. She’s not the Buffy from Sunnydale. Why can’t you see that?”
Xander balked at his friend’s words, “Will, that’s silly. Why is it that you’re the only one that sees this? You come here, confess the feelings that we’ve known you’ve had for years and everything’s okay between you two? Right. Have we forgotten so soon? I’m not the one that decided to do the resurrection spell. I was in the non-resurrect camp. You insisted. I’m not the one that nearly killed her again when my lover was shot. That was you.”
Rage burned through the witch’s veins. It took nearly everything she had to not hit the man.
“Xander, Willow, would you two please stop this bickering?” Giles ordered from the kitchen.
“I will not. Giles, how can you sit there and pretend that things are okay? Have you not been paying attention? Are you just as blind as Xander? I can’t put up with this. I’m done.” Willow shut off her computer and threw everything into her messenger bag. She stormed out of the apartment and left a startled group of people behind.
