Love Hangover

[Banshee]

TITLE: Love Hangover
AUTHOR: Banshee
E-MAIL: siren420@hotmail.com
FEEDBACK: Sure..why not.
DISTRIBUTION: You want it? Take it. Just let me know where it is.
SPOILERS: Everything up to and including the 6th season episode WRECKED.
CONTENT: W/T and Buffy
RATING: PG
DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of these characters.
SUMMARY: Tara finds out about the accident that occurred during 'WRECKED'--goes over the Summers house and talks w/buffy.
NOTE: If you haven't seen the 6th season or read the spoilers, none of this will make sense. Also, pretty angsty.

Five minutes.
It felt like five years. That’s how long it took Tara to run over to Buffy’s house after hearing about the accident. She was winded by the time she reached the door and took a moment longer to collect herself before she rang the bell. She wouldn’t have known about it if she had never called to see if Dawn wanted to go for lunch.

“Buffy, hey, it’s Tara. Is Dawn there?” She had asked when she called.
“Tara, yeah she is but she’s sleeping.”
“Sleeping? It’s two o’clock. Did she have too much sugar last night and stay up late watching bad television again?” Tara asked.
“No, actually. I’m glad you called Tara. Something happened last night. Tara, Willow and Dawn were in a car accident. Willow’s ok, a little shaken, but she’s ok. Dawns arm is hurt though. The doctors..they gave her something to help with the pain and she’s been in and out of it all day.”
There was no response from the other end. Tara sat there, silent and shocked.
“Tara?”
“Buffy, c-can I come over?” Her voice began to quiver.
“Sure, I’ll be here.”
Tara hung up the phone and ran out the door.

Buffy answered the door and Tara fell into her arms, embracing her tightly. Buffy, slightly taken aback but not surprised, held her there for a moment before Tara slowly pulled away.
Tara’s eyes were brimming with tears and she turned away before Buffy could say anything. Instead, she moved and closed the door behind her friend.
“Hey,” Buffys voice was soft as she spoke, “want to come into the kitchen and have some tea? Giles left so many boxes of English Breakfast and Earl Grey that I just don’t know what to do with them.”
Tara just nodded and followed Buffy through her, until recently, second home. When they entered the kitchen Tara instinctively went to the cabinets and retrieved two mugs as Buffy filled the silver teapot on the stove. As Tara was reaching for a canister that housed the teabags, Buffy stopped her.
“Tara, sit. Please. Let me do this for you, ok?”
Again, Tara only nodded and walked over to the table. She sat there and stared at the kitchen door.
“She’s sleeping, too. Willow. I guess that’s who you’re expecting to walk through the door.”
Tara shifted her focus from the door to Buffy, “Yeah. Guess it’s pretty obvious. W-wha,” she stopped herself as her voice broke and a tear ran down her face. “Buffy, w-what h-happened?” She forced the question to come.
Buffy recounted what she knew as she poured the steaming water into the mugs. She told her about Rack, Amy’s involvement, and the accident. She then told Tara about the conversation she had with Willow the night before. Tara’s face was further soaked as she just bit her lower lip listening to all of it. When Buffy was done, Tara just shook her head.
“I-I don’t know what to say. I don’t know whether I’m more mad at Willow right now or scared for her. I-I.. I can’t believe this. A magicks dealer? Her eyes were shooting sparks?” Tara couldn’t believe all that she had heard. She buried her face in her hands and started crying again.
Buffy sat there, saying nothing. She knew better than that right now.
Tara picked a napkin off of the table and wiped her eyes. She then turned to Buffy, ”Did you know about this?”
“About Rack? No, never heard about him before last night.”
“No, not Rack. Did you know about what she was delving into? Did you know why I left her, Buffy?”
“No, I didn’t. I mean I did know why you left, but I didn’t know how bad it was. I mean, I didn’t think she used some sage and a few chicken bones to bring me back. But, this, this was something else, Tara.”
Tara shook her head again, ”You did, though. You knew. I mean, if you knew why I left, then you knew what was going on," Tara paused for a moment. "Xander knew it,too, and Giles. Only they were the only ones who said anything to her before I did. She could have..” Tara trailed off. “S-she could have died last night,Buffy. She could have killed Dawn.”
“I know. She knows it,too, Tara.”
“What is it going to take? I take myself away from her. I take away my heart and my body and it’s still not enough for her.”
“I don’t know. She said last night that there wasn’t going to be anymore magic. She said..”
“She said it before, Buffy. Before I left, she said she would go one week without magic and she didn’t even go a day. She goes and casts that spell that took away all of our memories. If it wasn’t for Xander, you could still be Joan the Vampire Slayer. You think this is going to change her?”
“I don’t know, Tara. Part of me hopes that she can’t go any further than this. That last night was the last of it.” Buffy said, almost to herself.
“I can’t believe she did this, Buffy. I thought I knew her, you know? I-I don’t even know her right now. The Willow I fell in love with would never have messed with our memories, let alone almost get herself and Dawn killed. I,” Tara stopped herself again.
“Maybe you should talk to her Tara. She should be up soon. You can hang out here until then.”
“No, I should get back. I just kind of ran out,” Tara said as she stood up, walked over to the sink and put her empty mug into it. “Besides, I don’t think I could look at her right now. I’m too angry. I’m too upset. I’m a little too everything right now.”
“I know, I’m sorry.”
“I have to go. Tell Dawn to call me when she’s up to it, okay? Tell her I owe her a gigantic shake of her choice after this. Tell her I love her, okay?”
“I will.”
“Thank you, Buffy for letting me know. I’ll probably come by this week and pick up the rest of my things,” Tara leaned in and hugged Buffy goodbye.
“Do you want me to walk you out?”
“No, thanks. I think I’ve got it,” Tara walked out the kitchen door and down the hallway to the front door.
As she reached for the knob, she heard a voice behind her, “Tara?” It was Willow. She didn’t even have to turn around to know.
“Tara, baby?” Willows voice showed that she had been crying.
Tara started to turn around as she stopped herself. She paused for a moment, as if thinking of something, then turned back and let her out of the Summers home. Outside, she leaned against the banister and broke down in tears again. One the other side of the door, up the stairs, Willow did the same.

------------------
"Believe me I don't want to go,
And it'll grieve me 'cause I love you so
But we both know..."

[xita]

You are going to write more right? You gonna make it right? I could totally see this playing out like that.

[Rane]

shan, you're writing more, right?!!! you have to, cause i say so... this is so good! that last scene with willow was HEART wrenching. more, please, thanks! not of the wrenching but of the other stuff... you know...

[legend]

God, that was so sad! You can't just leave it there - we NEED resolution.....please....pretty please with sugar on top.

*goes off in a blubbering mess*

[moegirl1]

Yeah, Backbone! Tara. Good story, keep writing

[tommo]

Great stuff Shannon. I only hope for our sanity that you'll finish this the way we would like to see it done. Please?

------------------
"Yeah, cheers, thanks a lot." ~ Patsy Stone

[Warduke]

There will be more Shannon...right?

[Lonewolf]

Banshee: Really cool fic, it seems kinda like what would be said on the show, I hope you write more.

Lonewolf

[aladdin]

*sob*

that was so sad. Good, though. Write some more, PLEASE!

[Dumbsaint]

Oh, Shannon... so so so sad... but really, very well done.

------------------
Shiver me timberless.

[OneFlyChicken]

i think i speak for all of us when i say 'more'!

please?

[Hush]

Great fic! more please, please, please, please,.....

[Banshee]

TITLE: Love Hangover
AUTHOR: Banshee
E-MAIL: siren420@hotmail.com
FEEDBACK: Sure..why not.
DISTRIBUTION: You want it? Take it. Just let me know where it is.
SPOILERS: Everything up to and including the 6th season episode WRECKED.
CONTENT: W/T-centric
RATING: PG
DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of these characters.
SUMMARY: More post 'WRECKED' stuff.
NOTE: If you haven't seen the 6th season or read the spoilers, none of this will make sense. Also, pretty angsty

Buffy walked out of the kitchen when she heard Willows sobbing. She looked up the stairs and saw her friend collapsed on the floor, crying uncontrollably.
“She left. She didn’t even look at me. She left me. She’s gone. She’s gone,” Willow just said to herself over and over again.
Buffy ascended the stairs and went to Wilows side. She knelt down and pulled her Willows hands away from her face. Soaked with tears that she didn’t move to wipe away, Willow looked up at Buffy, “I really screwed up this time, Buffy.”
“She just needs some time, Will. She’s upset right now. She’s scared for you. She could have lost you in the biggest sense of the word, Will.”
Willow started crying again. “I need her so much, Buffy. She’s my everything.”
“I know, sweetie, I know. She needs you, too. You’ll be ok, I swear.” Buffy stood up and held her hand out to Willow. Willow took it and let her friend pull her up to her feet.
“You look like hell,” Buffy said, trying to lighten the moment.
“I feel like it,” Willow said, forcing a half smile. “I need to wash up. I need to do something. Is Dawn here?”
Buffy nodded, “Yeah, but she’s still sleeping. She’s been up once or twice, but she’s just kind of out of it. The doctor said that she’ll be like that for about two or three days. The wonders of modern medicine, huh?”
“Buffy, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I’ll make this up to you, I swear and Dawn.”
“Yeah, well, she’s the one you have to worry about right now.”
“I know. God and Xander is never going to speak to me again.”
“Yeah, pretty much you’ve got a lot of groveling until you’re in their good graces again. But, I’m sure it’ll be ok. Like Tara, they’re just going to need some time.”
Willow put her head down and and muttered in agreement. She gave Buffy a quick hug and walked back into her bedroom, closing the door behind her.

Tara closed her door and collapsed on her bed. From under her pillow, she pulled out a small stuffed animal that she had taken from her and Willows room. She held it close to her and searched for Willows scent on it. When the familiar lilac smell hit her, she squeezed it tighter and threw it against the wall.
‘Why Willow, why?’ she thought to herself. Tara’s anger began to turn inward at herself. ‘Why did I defend you so many times? Why did I let you go on for so long?’
Tara began to think about the first time they met, in the Wiccan group at school. How there relationship had started out so innocently. How Willow had thought Tara was the more powerful one of the two.
She picked up a picture of the two of them from her box of unpacked things. “You never would have been this powerful if you hadn’t met me—if we hadn’t spent so much time doing spells together,” she spoke to the framed image.
Tara opened her top dresser drawer and moved some things to the side. She put the picture to her lips and gave a light kiss to Willows image and put it in the drawer. She replaced the items and closed the drawer.

Willow walked up to the door of the magic shop, but paused before walking in. ‘Take nothing. Read nothing.’ She said to herself like a mantra. She took a deep breath and pushed open the door. Anya was there, but aside from her, the shop was empty.
Anya looked up from a magazine and brought her eyes back down to the paper.
‘Great, just what I need,’ Willow thought to herself.
She walked over to the table they researched at so many times and put down her bag. Then she removed her jacket and hung it from the back of a chair. Still, Anya said nothing to her. Willow sat down and pulled a book from her bag and started reading.
“Your friend, the rat, was in. I told her to go away. Can you imagine, me turning away a sale? Buffy said I shouldn’t let her in here. She told me what the two of you were doing. Told me about Amy taking those ingredients from your room,” Anya finally spoke to her.
“She took from my room?”
“Yeah, Buffy caught her last night. Didn’t you know? Doesn’t surprise me, though. Those kind of people will do anything to work a spell.”
Willow looked at Anya in disbelief. Amy had tried to take things from her room? She didn’t understand.
“Why would she do that?” Willow asked and then said, “And what do you mean by ‘those kind of people’?”
“Why? You think because you’re her friend that means something? She’s got all of those years of pent up magic inside her. Then she goes and gets caught up with someone like that guy? You think I haven’t seen someone like him before? Nasty little men, too. I had to have one disemboweled when I was a demon. His lover had caught him messing around with one of his little tricks. He almost got the better of me, though. It’s like messing with hell itself. What were you thinking? If you were thinking at all, that is.”
“Anya, you are not one to be getting on my case. I messed up one night, you caused suffering and death for over a thousand years,” Willow said, her voice raising in anger.
“Yeah, true,” Anya paused, “but, this wasn’t just once Willow. What about the last spell you did? I was making out with Giles because of you.”
Willows jaw dropped in surprise.
“If that wasn’t a lifetime full of therapy, I don’t know what is. And, besides, I heard about the ‘forget’ spell you worked on Tara. And when you went after Glory, using the darkest of magicks? You don’t know what you could have done to yourself or to the rest of us. You’re like one of those loose weapons. You..”
“Cannons,” Willow said, correcting her.
“Yes, you’re a loose cannon. You’ve hurt everyone with your magic. Dawn is hurt, Buffy was sucked out of heaven, Xander is making up his own swear words because he’s so upset and Tara, she’s probably left you for,” Willow cut her off right there.
“Don’t you dare talk about me and Tara. You know nothing about us. You’re too wrapped up in yourself to know that anyone else exists unless they come in waving a credit card in your face.” Willow quickly snapped up her stuff and started to walk out.
“You’re throwing everything away, Willow. Everything.” Anya called to her as she walked out.

------------------
"Believe me I don't want to go,
And it'll grieve me 'cause I love you so
But we both know..."

[tommo]

A nice exchange here, especially considering that Anya did cause prolonged suffering and I think we sometimes forget that. But it's the guilt factor isn't it? Anya doesn't torture herself with the guilt in the same way that Willow seems to be doing.

I loved the little mantra she repeats, by the way. Convincing. Poor Willow.

------------------
"Yeah, cheers, thanks a lot." ~ Patsy Stone

[The Rose]

Great fic!!!

I hope Tara and Buffy will have a talk on the show. Buffy should thank Tara for everything she(Tara) has done for Dawn.

------------------
Tara: My heart doesn't stutter.

Tara: Willow, I got so lost.
Willow: I found you. I will always find you.

Tara: Nobody messes with my girl!

[This message has been edited by The Rose (edited December 03, 2001).]

[Puff]

Great fic Banshee Tara starting to blame herself for everything was so sad though

------------------
Bloody hell, sodding, limey, shagging, knickers, bollocks...oh God...I'm English

[Warduke]

Great part Shannon, very angsty (and you know how much I love angst ) but I know the end will be worth the angst.

[mollyig]

Sob, Tara still has a picture of Willow.

There's hope, isn't there Banshee?

------------------
Anya: You think it's sensible for me to go down into that pit of
cotton-top hell, and let them hippity-hop all over my vulnerable flesh?

[nika]

I like Anya "loose weapon" tee-hee that's so her. On the serious side what she was telling Willow made a lot of sense someone on the show should be so brutally honest, it would be better for Willow in the long run.

------------------
"Eat lot's of applesauce, preferably fed to you by attractive young lesbians." Amber Benson

[Banshee]

TITLE: Love Hangover--pt.3
AUTHOR: Banshee
E-MAIL: siren420@hotmail.com
FEEDBACK: Sure..why not.
DISTRIBUTION: You want it? Take it. Just let me know where it is.
SPOILERS: Everything up to and including the 6th season episode WRECKED.
CONTENT: W/T-centric--with some other characters.
RATING: PG
DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of these characters.
SUMMARY: More post 'WRECKED' stuff.
NOTE: If you haven't seen the 6th season or read the spoilers, none of this will make
sense. Also, pretty angsty

Tara wasn't too surprised when she answered the phone and heard Xander's voice on the other end.
"Tara, can you come over the apartment? I kind of want to talk to you about things. And we've got pizza, which would take away the feeling of all business, no… Well, it's actually all business. But, there's still pizza," he tried to lighten the moment.
Her head felt funny, kind of heavy. She was tired of talking about things, about thinking about things. But, at the same time, she couldn't just let it all go. Talking and thinking about it kept Willow in her life. For as masochistic as it was, it was all that she had.
She told Xander that she would be over soon and then placed the receiver back into its cradle. She took one long breath and let it out. She wished that Giles had been around. Somehow, she felt like he would be the only one to offer up some kind of insight to getting across to Willow. She knew that Xander would be spending the next hour or so getting angry about Willow and everything that was going on and she had enough of her own to deal with.
'Maybe I'll call him later,' she thought to herself as she pulled on her sweater and her bag.

As Tara made her way over to Xander and Anya's, she felt herself being overly sensitive to her environment. Living in Sunnydale for just over two years made her that way, though. Would she run into a Kremale demon again, like she did last week? Would Buffy just happen to be passing in the area again and help her? Or, worse, would she run into Willow and not know what to say?
No, instead her close encounter would be with Spike. She saw him a few feet away, smoking his ever-present cigarette, and slowly walking up the street.
She quickened her step and caught up with him. Though she didn't know him as well as she felt she had known the others, she didn't feel like being alone at that moment.
"Uh, Sp-Spike, hi."
He turned to see who was speaking to him. She saw him as he unclenched his fist when he recognized her and she let out a small breath.
" 'ello, lass," he said as they fell into step along side each other. "What's got you out on a night like tonight?"
"I'm on my way over to Xanders."
"Ah, to have a chat about your pet, huh? Nasty little thing she's got herself into," he said, taking another drag off the cigarette.
"What do you know about it, Spike? I mean, B-Buffy said you knew about this guy, Rack. What, what has Willow gotten into?"
"Not to oversimplify it, love, but she's got herself into more darkness then a bottomless pit. You see, once a dealer gets into you-and that's what they do too, they literally get inside you, in all your nooks and crannies and blood. But, once they get in and you get a taste of that rush, of that euphoria, it's hard to go back. And the power, alone," he pauses for another drag, "makes some of the stuff that Willows been able to conjure look like a parlor trick."
"But, she can get it out of herself, right? I mean, it's not like she was doing it for that long."
"Don't need to be doing it long. Just need that little taste and it becomes the needle and the damage done. It depends on how much he gave to her. Doesn't help that she had a predilection to the darker stuff in the first place. What kills me about it, is how she so easily put the lil' bit in trouble. Doesn't she realize that Buffy's been through enough," He paused at this and seemed to think for himself for a moment.
They both walked in silence for another block, wrapped up in their own thoughts.
"Look," Spike started again,"I can't tell you that your girl is gonna be alright. I can't tell you much above what you already know. She's gonna get herself killed if she doesn't cut herself off and, chances are, she won't just take herself if that happens. Nobody likes to admit that someone they care about is hurting an awful lot, pet. And, it's pretty unheard of to hear me say it, but I know how much it kills you to be standing on the side, just watching it all go down. But, love, sometimes you gotta let 'em taste the flames before you can even get to 'em."
Tara just looked at Spike right then. The most she had heard him talk about something that didn't involve maiming or blood was when someone had made a reference to Timmy the Doll and "Passions."
When they reached the corner up from Xanders apartment, Tara turned toward Spike, "I've got it from here, thanks." The vampire turned his head and looked down her path.
"Right. Ok. Looks fine. Umm, tell Xander," he trailed off. "Hell, like I would tell Xander anything else then the buggar off."
Spike started walking off on his way, when Tara reached out and grabbed his arm. He turned to her quickly, with a look of surprise on his face.
"Thank you, Spike," she said as she met his eyes, trying to convey the truthfulness of her statement. She saw his face soften for a moment as he lowered his head, avoiding her eyes.
"Yeah, well, you and Miss Red took good care of the lil' bit while Buffy was gone. And, aside from me hittin' you that one time, you've always been more than civil to me."
"Well, thank you," she said again.
"Just don't be telling no one alright? I've got to keep what little shred of dignity a scrambled vamp is allowed these days," He looked up at her and gave a sheepish smile that she returned. He turned away from her and started down the street, pulling another cigarette from it's pack.
Tara turned and made her way down the street, Spikes voice echoing in her head.

___________________

------------------
"Believe me I don't want to go,
And it'll grieve me 'cause I love you so
But we both know..."

[OneFlyChicken]

yay! it's awesome! yay! yay! more yay!

[Rane]

"...And, aside from me hittin' you that one time, you've always been more than civil to me."

lol... i loved this interaction... more, please. thanks!

[tommo]

Oh Tara...oh Willow...damn you Shannon!

------------------
"You evil bitch troll from hell!" ~ Patsy Stone

[Banshee]

TITLE: Love Hangover--pt.4
AUTHOR: Banshee
E-MAIL: siren420@hotmail.com
FEEDBACK: Sure..why not.
DISTRIBUTION: You want it? Take it. Just let me know where it is.
SPOILERS: Everything up to and including the 6th season episode WRECKED.
CONTENT: W/T-centric--with some other characters.
RATING: PG
DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of these characters. Nor do i own the end lyrics which come from Radiohead.
SUMMARY: More post 'WRECKED' stuff.
NOTE: If you haven't seen the 6th season or read the spoilers, none of this will make
sense. Also, pretty angsty

Willow sat on her queen sized bed. She didn’t know what to do with herself. She wanted to talk to someone, but Buffy was out and Dawn wasn’t talking to her, which didn’t surprise her at all. But, still, it stung to see the anger in the young girls eyes. After her run in at the Magic Shop with Anya, she knew that it was best to stay away from her and Xander. Giles was all the way across the Atlantic and she knew that he would have just gone ballistic on her, anyway. Tara and Amy were the only ones left.
She wanted to call Amy, but she knew what that would bring. The second she got around her, Amy would want to do magic and she just couldn’t. She wouldn’t. And, if what Anya had said was true, then she didn’t feel very trusting of the other witch right now. There had been a message on the machine from Amy earlier, asking her if she wanted to hang out. Willow could hear the anxiety and shakiness to Amy’s voice. It just wouldn’t be good right now. Not now.
Tara was another story. She wouldn’t even talk to Willow right now. Buffy said that Tara loved her and was worried. If she loved her so much, then why was she doing this to her? Why wouldn’t she even turn around to look at her? Willow would have even wanted Tara to yell at her, scream until her face was red, something. Anything but this silence.
Thinking about Tara tore Willow apart. The nausea from last night was waning and was being replaced by guilt and the knowledge that what Tara had said was right. That she was being reckless and careless. If she hadn’t been so, then Dawn would still be talking to her, Xander wouldn’t be mad and Tara would be there to comfort her.
Willow wished she had never deratted Amy. At least then she would have had someone or, rather, something to talk to right now. She just had her empty room and oversized bed now. This isolation was killing her.
Willow stood up from the bed and moved over to her dresser. On top lied a crystal ball that Tara had given to her on their anniversary. She picked it up and sat down on the bed with it. She pulled a book out from the night stand and found the page she needed. She hovered her hand about the crystal and repeated:
Daughter Thalia
Bringer of sight,
Show me my hearts love
Bring mine eyes to her

The globe began to glow after a few moments and a haze drifted up to Willow’s eye level. Suddenly, like a projection on a screen, the images of Tara, Xander and Anya started to take form. Willow couldn’t hear what was being said, but she could see that Xander was visibly upset. Tara, to Willows eyes, looked like she had been crying. The image struck hard at Willows heart. Anya went about clearing off plates and an empty pizza box. As she watched the scene unfold, she saw Tara stop mid-sentence and turn around. The blondes eyes met Willows and she held them there for a moment. Willow saw Xander ask what was wrong and Tara turned back to them, shaking her head. Willow watched for ten minutes, then she saw Tara get up from the table and hug the other two good bye. Again, Tara turned around and stopped. Willow put out her hand to touch Tara’s face and, when she did so, the images disappeared. The spell was broken and Tara was gone, once again.

Something was there. Tara felt it. Willow. ‘God, she can’t stay away from it for one moment, can she?’ she thought to herself.
Tara reached her dorm room and walked in. Silence. She had been use to it for so long before Willow came into her life. Then chaos and random demon encounters ensued. She kind of liked it, though. Knowing Buffy and the Scoobies put some bit of excitement into her life. She would have done anything to be hanging out with the group again, have it be like it was just a few days ago. Then everything happened all at once. Not all at once, though and she knew it. She had seen it coming for so long. Still, she wished things had been different. If she didn’t have such a sense of Wiccan morals, she would have casted a ‘thy will be done’ spell, but she had heard they never worked out the way you planned. So, instead, she took the silence and let it slowly become familiar to her once more.

Dawn had gone to bed again and Buffy was still not home. Willow turned over to the clock that sat on the end table next to the couch. 1: 45am. It was late and she knew she should probably get some sleep. Even casting that small spell had made her tired and she was still not fully recovered from the previous night. Amy had called twice since her last message and Willow had let the machine answer it. With each phone call she had gotten more and more insistent that Willow call her back. ‘Let’s have fun and hang out. C’mon, where in the world could you possibly be? You’re not over at Racks are you? You wouldn’t go there with me, would you?’ The desperation in Amy’s voice made Willow sadder. She did want to be out, having fun. She wanted to be anywhere then on the couch, picking at a bag of popcorn and watching old sitcom reruns. But, she couldn’t. If she was going to stop it meant not going to Racks again.
She felt like she could still feel him inside of her. She knew that his voice was still in her head, ‘You ... have power, girl.’ Every time he came in, she tried to shake him off. Then he would come on stronger, ‘You taste ... like strawberries.’ She couldn’t get away from him. Time. Buffy said all of this, people ignoring her, Tara being away, it was all going to take time. He would be gone soon, she hoped. He would be gone and she would be able to be rid of him. But, the power…
“No, no,” she got up from the couch and shut off the television. “No power and no more magic,” she spoke into the air. She turned on the lamp and went up to her bedroom.
She changed for bed and turned on the stereo. Climbing in, she pulled the covers up as if guarding against his voice. ‘The blankets and a good night sleep will keep him at bay,’ she amusingly thought to herself.
As she drifted off, she heard the singer crooning through the speakers,
Where do we go from here?
The words are coming out all weird
Where are you now, when I need you
Alone on an aeroplane
Fall asleep on against the window pane
My blood will thicken

I need to wash myself again to hide all the dirt and pain
'Cause I'd be scared that there's nothing underneath
But who are my real friends?
Have they all got the bends?
Am I really sinking this low?

My baby's got the bends, oh no
We don't have any real friends, no, no, no….

------------------
"Believe me I don't want to go,
And it'll grieve me 'cause I love you so
But we both know..."

[This message has been edited by Banshee (edited December 04, 2001).]

[xita]

Oh Willow please stay away from it! Stay away!
Oh man I wish she hadn't done that crystal thing to see Tara. And she didn't realize Tara could sense it. She should know better.

[flamey]

I'm hooked, like... a kitty to catnip.

Very addicting fic.

[Banshee]

TITLE: Love Hangover--pt.5
AUTHOR: Banshee
E-MAIL: siren420@hotmail.com
FEEDBACK: Sure..why not.
DISTRIBUTION: You want it? Take it. Just let me know where it is.
SPOILERS: Everything up to and including the 6th season episode WRECKED.
CONTENT: W/T-centric--with some other characters.
RATING: PG
DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of these characters. Nor do i own the end lyrics which come from Radiohead.
SUMMARY: More post 'WRECKED' stuff.
NOTE: If you haven't seen the 6th season or read the spoilers, none of this will make
sense. Also, pretty angsty

But Willow didn’t get away from him that night. As she tossed and turned, she ran from him in her dreams. Every turn she took, he was there. Running in and out of alleys, in the woods, she ran through his invisible cloak and into his arms. He would leer at her and lick his finger, “I like strawberries.” The last time around, Buffy, Xander, Giles, Dawn and Tara were there, sitting on his ragged couch. They looked gaunt and worn out. Xander was scratching at his arm, mumbling something about worms. Giles was just staring off into nothing.
“They wanted to taste your power, red,” Rack said to her. “Not even the blonde one has known your power. They can’t get enough of it. But, her,” he said as he pointed to Tara, who was lying in the fetal position, “she doesn’t like my medicine. Makes her ill. If I’m lucky, I’ll drain her before the night is done.”
Willow woke up drenched in sweat and screaming.

Tara was startled from her sleep. She felt like someone had been next to her and had shaken her awake. She looked around but only saw the faint red glow of her alarm clock. Perhaps she had heard something, she thought. She laid down again and pulled the blankets closer around her, burying herself in their comfort. She shivered and tried to drift back to her dreamless sleep.

“So, she’s keeping my new one from me?” Rack stared up to his ceiling and saw Tara sleeping soundly in her bed. He had felt everything Willow had, the insecurity, the doubt, the broken heart. He also felt the guilt and the void she was trying to fill with his magic. The only thing that had separated her from the others was her power, aside from that Willow was just like the rest. Young and scared.
He needed her power and youth to keep himself strong. To fill her void, he would need five people a night and, with word on the street that the Slayer had known about him, business was not doing so great since. One person had come to see him, some old hag, dirty and smelly. She didn’t taste like strawberries, more like grain that left a bad taste in his mouth. He would need her and he would need her soon.

The next day passed quickly. Willow hadn’t slept well, so she only went to one class and spent the rest of the day trying to catch up on sleep. Though she searched for her, she didn’t see Tara that day. Was she ditching class so she didn’t run into her? Willow hoped not, last nights dreams had her unnerved and she wanted to make sure that Tara was ok. ‘I’m sure she is,’ Willow thought to herself. ‘She’s probably just getting settled in, buying things for the new place,” she tried to reassure herself. ‘Who am I kidding, she doesn’t want to see me. I’m an idiot who completely screwed things up and lied to her. I wouldn’t want to see me right now either.’
As night fell, Buffy took Dawn with her to the Magic Shop and left Willow home to catch up on some studying. After an hour of reading, she started getting antsy. She thought to herself and realized that she had only really spoken to Anya and Buffy in the past twenty four hours. She needed human contact. She put her books down and decided to go for a walk.

It was only a few blocks from the Magic Shop that she started feeling his vibes. They were unmistakable. A slow warmth started beneath her boots and started moving up her legs and she continued her walk. The further she walked, the stronger they got. Soon, her whole body felt warm and shaky. She stopped herself and looked down to her left, it was a Dead End. It must be there.
‘How appropriate,’ she thought to herself. She went to turn back the way she had come, but she couldn’t do it. She just stood there and stared at the sign over her head. Dead End. She would have a friend there. She would have fun and she was alone this time, so if anything happened it would only happen to her.
She started walking towards the end of the road and stopped again. ‘What the hell are you doing Rosenberg? Are you this pathetic? You don’t need his magic, you’re powerful, remember,” she was torn.
“But how powerful are you when you don’t even use what you have, girl?” Willow turned around and saw Rack standing behind her. “Are you coming to see little old me?”
She just stared at him and realized that if she wanted to get out now, it was going to have to be through him.
“I missed you, red. Last night, I was all by my lonesome. See, my people don’t like knowing that a Slayer is out looking for my place, so I’ve been alone. Doesn’t feel good to be alone, does it? Makes you feel hollow, a shell,” his eyes bore into her. “Doesn’t it?”
“I’m sorry to hear about your little accident. Very unfortunate, indeed. For both of us, huh? But, that’s half the fun of this, isn’t it? I mean, you loved the rush of it all, didn’t you? The magic, the running for your life.”
“You almost killed me. You almost killed my friend.”
“Wrong. You almost killed you and your friend. I wasn’t the one who decided to go all Dukes of Hazard with a stolen car. I was on my couch, satisfying another customer.” He smiled at her.
“What do you want from me? I’m done with magic.”
“Are you now? And, let me guess..” he paused for a moment. “You’ve gotten yourself a new job selling Amway? Avon? And you thought that I needed a new color scheme? Is that why you were going to come knocking on my door.”
“I-I wasn’t. I was just,” he cut her off.
“Shhh..” he walked up to her and placed a finger on her lips. “It’s ok, no one here but you and I. No need to lie to Rack, is there? I’m not going to judge you or tell you what you’re doing is wrong. I know what you are and I know what you’re capable of. Pity that you’re friends don’t know the same.”
He went to place a hand on her chest. She moved out of the way as her hand came up and slapped his away.
“Get away from me,” she said, her voice shaking with anger.
“Make me, girl.”
The two stared at each other for a moment. Willow didn’t know what she was up against and wasn’t up to finding out. She moved to the left and started walking by him. As she passed him, she closed her eyes and waited for something to hit her. But, nothing came.
As she got a few feet away, she exhaled.
“You know you can’t get away from me, girl. I’m inside you, crawling around and making myself a home. If you don’t come on your own, I’ll make you come back to me,” Rack shouted as Willow started to run.

------------------
"Believe me I don't want to go,
And it'll grieve me 'cause I love you so
But we both know..."

[Rane]

aw geez, he's scary. poor tara feeling all of willow and willow feeling like she's feeling. this story is becoming like a drug though, i need more.

[The Rose]

Loving the story, but I am ready for W/T to
get back together. The suspense is killing me.

------------------
Tara: My heart doesn't stutter.

Tara: Willow, I got so lost.
Willow: I found you. I will always find you.

Tara: Nobody messes with my girl!

[Warduke]

Great part Shannon, man I can't tell you how much I hate Rack