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Life is Change	By : trudyw000 Category: BtVS Crossovers > Misc - Slash - Male/Male Views: 9166 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Sentinel, I make no money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 24
- 25
Chapter 25
As they stood waiting they heard a muffled voice inside the apartment call out "I'll get it!" and the door was pulled open to reveal a grinning young man in red plaid flannel pyjamas
"H..." Tara got no further than the first sound, the tentative smile of greeting falling from her face as she took in the red tinge of those grinning lips, the red outline of each tooth and she stumbled back in horror, they were too late!
Even as she fell back Tara was reaching instinctively for the vial of holy water that would normally have permanent residence in her pocket, but due to the security restrictions of airline travel there was nothing there. Nor did she have the back-up stake that would normally be somewhere about her person. Dragging Willow with her she kept retreating, the vampire in the doorway watching her with a puzzled frown.
Tara dared not look back over her shoulder to see how much further to the stairwell. For some reason the vampire Blair wasn't attacking yet but she didn't dare make any sudden moves that might change that.
Without moving her head she shot a sideways glance at the redhead who she hoped might have a plan. One look was enough to squelch that notion. Willow was staring at the stationary vampire in horror. It was obvious that she wouldn't be of any help. Not knowing what else to do Tara continued to retreat down the corridor pulling Willow after her.
Finally her back hit the elevator doors, there was no space left to run.
Something seemed to jolt Willow out of her daze and suddenly she came to life and started chanting under her breath. Listening carefully Tara was able to recognise the beginning of the sunlight spell, the one that would generate a blast of imitation sunlight, incinerating any vampire in range.
Tara was torn, should she feed her own strength into Willow to boost the spell as she frequently did when using this incantation on patrol, or should she stop the other witch. After all, they had been brought here to save Blair, not to destroy him. There was something not right here and it held her back from assisting Willow, even with the image of blood-stained teeth and lips in the forefront of her mind.
Blair still stood in the doorway, his grin had slipped a little, replaced by a puzzled frown but the was no animosity there, no aggression. Over the years since joining the scoobies Tara had seen many newly risen fledgling vampires, far too many for her own peace of mind really, but none had ever behaved as this one did.
Surely Spike would have been able to control a fledge, he was a master vampire with over a century of experience. A newly turned, long-haired academic would never be able to defeat him, but what options did that leave. Could Spike have left Jim alone in the apartment with an unrisen Blair. Surely not! And it was even more unlikely that he would have left Xander alone with the vamp. Everyone had seen how seriously he took his responsibilities as a Guide. The two may not have got along before but that had all changed, she was sure of that.
Making a decision Tara pulled herself up to her full height and with a deep breath yelled "Spike!" before shifting her hand from Willow's sleeve up to her wrist, skin to skin contact was better for the transfer of power!
Three hours earlier.
Spike sat in the silent apartment watching his childe. In over a hundred years this was his first! He'd made minions before, hundreds, probably thousands of them. They were tools to be used up and thrown away. A childe was different, someone he could nurture and mold as he grew from fledgling to a Master vampire. Reaching out he ran gentle fingers through Blair's gleaming curls then down his alabaster cheek, now cooled to room temperature.
Of course that wouldn't happen if the witches didn't get here and restore his soul before he rose. Turning his head slightly he glared at the door as if he could summon the tardy wiccans by force of will alone. When that didn't work he turned back to his contemplation of the still form laid out on the sofa before him. Watching with the patence developed during over a hundred years of unlife.
A short while later he turned towards the door again. There were footsteps sounding out in the hallway but where was the excited jabbering he would expect from his boy once he was reunited with his childhood friend. With vampire speed he crossed the room and had the door open before Jim had even reached for his keys.
Scanning the corridor something was obviously wrong, "Where are they" he asked. Xander just shrugged, eyes downcast until with a questioning glance at Jim who stood behind Xander, Spike reached out and with a finger under the younger man's chin he tilted Xander's face up to finally look at him.
Dejected brown eyes met his and Spike felt his unbeating heart break anew at the pain those Sunnydale bitches could cause without even trying.
"Pet?" the gentle endearment caused something to crumble and suddenly Spike found himself with an armful of Xander as his lover stepped in close and wrapped his arms around him, burying his face in Spike's neck.
Surprised Spike could do nothing but hold on tight as the damp feeling at his collar and the tremors told him that Xander was silently crying.
After a moment he pulled away slightly, just enough to turn and lead Xander into the apartment and over to the vacant couch. Jim followed wordlessly, setting the cooler he carried down on top of the kitchen cabinet as he passed. When it had become clear that the girls they had gone to meet weren't getting off the plane he had expected Xander to be worried about them. Instead he had seemed disappointed and at the same time almost resigned. If made Jim angry to think just how many times these so called friends must have let him down before to provoke such a response. But even with Xander's unusual behaviour at the airport this emotional outpouring had taken him by surprise and he didn't quite know how to react.
Lifting Blair's head he slid back into his place with his partner's curly head resting on his lap. A position he had only given up two hours earlier because it was clear that Spike needed someone to go with Xander to pick up the two witches, and that the vampire couldn't go himself because he had to stay close in case Blair woke too soon.
Spike had felt relieved to dispatch Jim and Xander off to the airport to pick up Willow and Tara from their plane. It made him feel incredibly anxious to have his lover so close to an unrisen vampire, one who could awake at any moment, hungry and soulless. He didn't know why, but he had a strange feeling somewhere deep in his gut that Blair would awake sooner rather than later. From what he had seen over the last few days the curly-haired detective was a gentle soul and he didn't know if he'd be able to fight off the demon for long.
Now, trying to pull Xander down to sit beside him on the couch he found the young scooby had other ideas and as Spike sat Xander squirmed around so that he was curled up facing the back of the couch with his head on Spike's lap, his face buried against Spike's stomach. Resting one hand on Xander's hair and the other on a convenient shoulder Spike looked across the coffee table to Jim.
"Well, what happened?" he asked.
Before Jim had a chance to answer Xander rolled back slightly, just enough to pull his face clear of Spike's t-shirt, "they didn't show," and with those words he rolled back to press his face to Spike's abdomen once again, clearly unwilling to say anything more.
Spike waited to see if Xander would say anything else and when it was clear that the young man had no intention of adding more to the conversation he looked back to Jim, quirking a questioning eyebrow.
"We stopped off at the local butcher's for blood on the way to the airport as agreed. They're used to Blair needing strange ingredients for some of his more unusual dishes so that went fine." He gestured towards the cooler sitting on the kitchen counter as testimony to his words. "We got to the airport about 30 minutes before their plane was due in so we had plenty of time to get a good position to see them as soon as they came through security to the arrivals lounge. The flight landed about 20 minutes late, they told us that the delay was caused because some travellers had missed their connection".
"That was when Xander started to worry, we waited over an hour after the first passengers from that flight came through. By that time he wasn't worried anymore, he seemed almost resigned. We went to the service desk but they wouldn't give us much information. They could confirm that the tickets from Sunnydale to San Francisco had been used and they said that the onward tickets from San Francisco to Cascade had been changed but they wouldn't give me any details even though I had paid for the tickets." Jim sounded angry about that and Spike could understand his frustration, still he found it hard to believe that the witches weren't coming. Willow could be flaky and often took Xander for granted but he'd never known the witch to be unreliable when she knew that her friends really needed her. Oblivious when that need wasn't directly related to herself maybe, but that was a different matter, and Tara might be quiet but he'd trust her with his life.
"I don't know what prompted that though" Jim waved towards Xander and Spike understood him to mean the boy's little freak out.
Looking down at his lap and stroking his hand over wavy brown hair he realised that Xander had fallen asleep. Slow, deep breaths tickled his stomach where his t-shirt had ridden up with all the burrowing Xander had done to make himself comfortable.
"It's been a long, emotional day and I took far more blood from him this morning than I should have." Spike's guilt at the admission was clear but there was nothing to be done about that now and he continued "I think it's just that he's tired and over-wrought. Let him get some sleep and hopefully he'll be feeling a little brighter in the morning."
Jim nodded his understanding before gesturing to the curly head laid out in his own lap, "but what about...?"
"I suppose he tried to call their mobiles?" Spike asked thoughtfully.
"He did, they went straight to voice mail, just as they have been doing all afternoon. I was able to find out that there is another flight in from San Francisco tonight, landing in" Jim glanced over at the clock above the fireplace, "2 hours. I'll head out later and see if they're on that one."
"OK" Spike nodded and the two men sat in a companionable silence for a while until the sound of a gentle snore broke the quiet of the night and Spike realised that Jim had dozed off too, it wasn't surprising Spike might not have come as close to draining Jim as he had Xander, but the older man was bound to take longer to bounce back from what had still been a significant loss of blood. In fact the only surprising thing was that he had managed to stay awake as long as he had.
Resolving to wake the detective in time to go and see if the girls had caught the later flight, Spike enjoyed the restful atmosphere as he sat surrounded by those he now considered family. Unfortunately he underestimated just how much turning Blair had taken out of him too and he soon followed the others into sleep.
-------------------------------------------
Blair felt strange, his gums were sore, his forehead felt wierdly tight and he was hungry. As soon as the thought registered the feeling roared from a dull ache to a sudden overwhelming desire to eat, to gorge himself, to devour anything that would assuage the savage beast clawing at his gut, but he remained still, there was something else.
Eyes still closed he sniffed the air, the most amazing aroma filled his nostrils. He shifted his head slightly from side to side trying to identify where that delicious scent was coming from. As he moved his head the smell intensified, drifting up from whatever was serving him as a pillow.
It was stronger from the left and he turned that way to find his nose pressed up against the source of the smell. Immediately the tightness in his forehead intensified and he felt his canines lengthen as he prepared to bite!
As he pulled back slightly, getting ready to strike a stray thought niggled at the very back of his mind but he shook it off. Nothing else mattered now, only the need to slake his thirst.
Not wanting to risk alerting his prey he kept his eyes closed until the last moment. Ready to strike he eased his eyes open, a quick glance assured him that his prey was asleep and he turned to selecting the best place to bite.
In front of him was a t-shirt covered stomach, but looking up he saw the man that stomach belonged to. A good-looking man with the air of military service about him, he was slumped, sound asleep with his head lolling slightly to one side. Blair felt that he should know who this was, should care, but the feeling was distant, detached, buried under the hunger that drove him. Instead all his attention was on that exposed neck and the pulse he could see beating beneath the skin.
He gathered himself for the upward movement that would allow him to sink his teeth into the vein and assuage his hunger at last. He could feel the pounding beat as the blood pulsed beneath the skin. Hypnotized he stared at the spot, his entire being focussed on the sound of that pulse, the heat of the body before him. He knew how it would feel, that first gush of life giving blood as he sank his teeth into the vein, to feel the hot fluid spurting into his mouth, pouring down his throat as he struggled to swallow fast enough. The feel of the delicious heat spilling over his lips and running down his chin when he failed to keep up.
Shifting his weight to get an arm under himself he raised his upper body so that he was now practically sat in the lap upon which he had previously lain. Leaning in he sniffed at the warm skin. Drawing back his lips he bared his teeth but something kept him from biting. The position still wasn't right, his weight was all supported on one arm. Hauling himself upright he hitched one leg over so that he was now straddling the sleeping man's lap. That was better, he thought, then he noticed the frown between the sleeping man's eyes, he was beginning to wake up, disturbed no doubt by all the fidgetting that had been going on on his lap. Instinctively Blair reached up one hand to cup the sleeping face, leaning in to croon wordless reassurance into the exposed ear. It seemed to work and the other man settled back into sleep.
Confident that his prey was deeply asleep once more Blair bared his fangs once more, leaning in he pressed them gengly over the tempting pulse and his eyes fluttered closed in anticipation as he steadily exerted more pressure. He felt the slight 'pop' as the tips of his teeth finally broke the skin, pushing harder he could smell the welling blood and sealing his lips around the wound he reached out with his tongue to lap up the first delicious droplets.
But as those first drops hit his taste buds he was suddenly overwhelmed by a wave of vertigo. Pulling back he shook his head to clear the unwelcome feeling, but instead it intensified as the room seemed to spin around him and his gut roiled and heaved. Agonizing pain struck throughout his body and the inside of his skull felt like his brain was trying to batter its way out with a pickaxe.
Grabbing his head he curled into a ball, curling forwards to bury his head in the junction of neck and shoulder where he had just tried to bite, pulling in great lungfuls of the glorious scent that seemed to be the only thing to give him any comfort.
Strong hands rose on either side of him, grasping him tightly and holding him close but he didn't feel them. The pain that wracked his body overwhelmed all other sensation and he curled in closer to the only comfort that penetrated his misery. Hands fisting in the soft cotton of the other man's t-shirt he struggled to contain the keening cries that were trying to tear free from his chest.
Slowly the agony began to subside, it still felt as if he was being torn apart from the inside, but it was lessening faster now and he slumped exhausted against the broad chest in front of him as the last of the pain passed leaving only a stange tingling feeling in his extremities.
As he leaned there he realised that blood was filling his mouth once again. His own this time, he had bitten through his lower lip in his instinctual efforts to keep from screaming out in the grip of the terrible torment that had passed as quickly as it had begun.
As he swallowed the metallic tasting mouthful Blair licked over the wound in his lip and realised that it was already healing. Lying there a small frown creased his brow, the thoughts that had dominated his mind since he awoke were replaying through his head. It was strange, he remembered thinking those thoughts, remembered the desperate need to feed but now the feelings were distant, as if they belonged to someone else.
Suddenly his head shot up and his eyes which had faded back to their usual blue met a pair of ice blue eyes sparkling with suppressed laughter.
"Jim!" he exclaimed, "shit Jim, I bit you!"
"And you stopped yourself," Jim replied with a happy smile, "trust you to become an unusual vampire."
Blair raised a hand to Jim's chin, tilting his head so that he could examine the bite wound there. "Oh God Jim, it's bleeding, I was going to feed, I didn't care who you were, I wanted to drain every drop of your blood!"
"It's just a scratch," Jim waved off Blair's concern straightening his head, "how do you feel now? Do you still want to drain me dry?"
"What! No! Of course not! I'm really hungry but, God! I could never be hungry enough to want to hurt you." and he pushed Jim's chin around again to continue his examination of the wound.
A slight sound from the other side of the coffe table as one of the Sunnydale duo shifted in his sleep reminded the two men that they were not alone. Jim tensed as his partner turned to look at the Sentinel and Guide asleep across the room. He had been confused when he had first awoken from his unplanned nap to the feel of Blair's canine teeth pressing in to his neck. It hadn't hurt particlurly, just stung a bit and he had taken more notice of the armful of Blair straddling him than he had of the bite.
Blair's reaction as he pulled away and then curled up into a ball of misery on Jim's lap, obviously struck by some debilitating pain, had driven the last fog of sleep from his mind. Not knowing what else to do he had held the shuddering, keening bundle in his arms, crooning words of comfort. The attack looked uncomfotably like the result of the chip firing in Spike's brain, not that Jim had seen that happen but Xander had been very graphic in his description of the agonies Spike had suffered. He had been about to call out to Spike for help when Blair seemed to relax slightly and as he waited with bated breath the attack passed as quickly as it had begun.
Suddenly Blair's head had shot up and his eyes met Jim's, that was when Jim had realised that everything was going to be alright. There looking back at him was the same generous, loving man he had fallen in love with.
Now, as Blair turned to look at Xander and Spike sleeping on the other couch Jim was on guard once more, ready to grab hold of Blair and yell to wake the others if needed but Blair simply watched them for a moment before turning back to continue his examination of Jim's wound.
"You should get this cleaned up" he decided.
Raising a hand to his neck Jim was surprised at just how much blood covered his fingers when he looked at them. "Perhaps you're right. Will you be OK for a minute whilst I go and sort this out?" he asked.
"Of course!" Blair replied, "but I am really hungry" he finished on a plaintive note as he eyed the blood on Jim's fingers and neck.
"Do you want...?" Jim asked, offering his gory fingers.
Blair was tempted for a moment and it showed in the brief golden flash of his eyes. But he resisted, "I'd better not," he replied with regret, "I'm not sure how good my control is."
"I could warm up some pig for you if you want," Jim waved in the direction of the kitchen where Blair could see a bag from their local butcher sat on the counter.
Blair grimaced briefly before nodding reluctantly, "I suppose I'd better get used to it."
However as Blair tried to move aside to allow Jim to stand up Jim tightened his grip. "Did I do the right thing?" he asked, the pain of that decision still haunting him.
Blair didn't hesitate for a moment, lightning quick his hands flashed up to cradle Jim's face, "Never doubt that decision, there may have to be some changes in my life, but because of you I'm still here and I have a whole new sub-culture to explore," he grinned widely with all his old enthusiasm, "all life is change Jim!"
Blue eyes searched blue for a moment until Jim found the reassurance he needed. With a decisive nod he dismissed his doubts and leaned in to plant a playful kiss on the end of Blair's nose. Loosening his grip he gave a gentle shove to Blair's hips and with a laugh the younger man released his face and slid to the side giving Jim room to stand. "Go, clean up" Blair laughed lightly.
"In a minute" and standing Jim instead made his way to the kitchen where he pulled a plastic tub out of the butchers bag on the counter and poured the thick liquid within into a mug before putting it into the microwave and setting it running for 60 seconds. Leaning wearily against the side he waited for it to finish before pulling it out and taking it over to offer to Blair, still curled up on the couch carefully watching his every move.
Stepping back as Blair took the mug Jim hovered, not wanting to make Blair uncomfortable but also anxious about leaving the newly risen vampire alone with the two sleeping men so close.
"Go, clean up" Blair waved him off, "I'll be fine and I feel absolutely no inclination to bite either of them," he paused, "leave the door open if you'd rather" he offered, trying not to sound hurt at the thought thatJim might not trust him with the lives of their friends.
Leaning in and cupping Blair's jaw he pressed a kiss to the gleaming curls, "Sorry, this is all going to take some getting used to." With a caress to the side of the other man's face he straightened and walked wearily to the bathroom, closing the door quietly behind himself.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The sound of a female voice screaming his name yanked Spike out of sleep and he bolted upright in his seat. Unfortunately the sound had also woken Xander who bolted upright from his position on Spike's lap. The resulting collision as Xander's head smacked into Spike's jaw made two sets of teeth rattle in their respective skulls.
Xander slumped back down, rubbing his head with a groan whilst Spike ran a careful hand over his jaw.
Suddenly Xander remembered what had woken him, "Tara!" he exclaimed and pushing up more carefully this time he quickly extricated himself and stood, looking around for the source of the voice that had ripped him from his sleep. At first he thought he might have dreamt the voice but then he noticed the empty couch opposite and the half open apartment door.
"Spike, where are...?" He didn't have time to finish the sentence, Spike had surged up from the couch and was already half way to the door at a dead run. Pulling it the rest of the way open Spike quickly took in the sight that greeted him.
Blair stood in the hallway just outside the door whilst down the other end of the corridor Willow and Tara stood with their backs to the wall. Tara had her hand wrapped around Willow's wrist as the red-head chanted the start of a spell that was very familiar to Spike.
Reaching out he grabbed the back of Blair's collar and pulled him back inside the apartment. Slammimg the door closed he spun the other vampire round, throwing him up against the wall and pinning him there with all his considerable strength.
That was when he saw the red stains around the other mans teeth and his blood ran cold. Fisting his hand in the cloth over Blair's shoulder he jammed his forearm across Blair's throat, pushing back and upwards so that the other man had to stand on his tip toes to relieve the pressure.
The move would have had no effect on an older, more experienced vampire but Blair still remembered the need to breath and instinctively tried to protect his airway, fingers scrabbling at Spike's arm whilst he pushed up and back to try to make space.
"Where's Jim?" Spike growled, pushing harder so that Blair could no longer reach the floor, even on tip-toes, leaving his heels drumming against the wall.
"What's going on!" a loud voice demanded.
Blair suddenly forgotten Spike turned to share at Jim who had just emerged from the bathroom. "That's what I'm wondering," Spike replied in a slightly bemused tone.
"Perhaps you'd like to put my Guide down and then we can work this out?"
Looking back at the newly risen vampire, still pinned to the wall Spike frowned. Blair had finally caught on to the fact that he couldn't suffocate and was simply hanging there with a mildly amused expression on his face as he watched the byplay between his Sentinel and his Sire.
At that moment a flare of bright light blazed briefly through the cracks around the door. Spike flinched automatically away from thre deadly sunlight but as Blair threw up his hands to protect himself the blast grazed the back of his hand causing the skin to instantly bubble up in a vicious burn.
Finally Xander spoke up, he had been staring at Blair in shock since Spike had dragged him back through the door and thrown him up against the wall. "Willow and Tara must have performed the soul restoration spell!"
Slowly Spike released the pressure on Blair's throat, allowing the other vampire to stand on his own two feet once more, stepping back he surveyed his childe. Blair certainly wasn't behaving like your average newly risen but there was one thing that bothered him about Xander's suggestion. "If that were true why would they be trying to incinerate him?"
Roughly grabbing hold of Blair's shoulder Spike steered him behind the door, out of direct line with the corridor. "Xander, check on the girls".
"Wait a minute!" Jim interjected. "Should Xander be going out there if those two are as dangerous as you say."
"They wouldn't hurt him," Spike paused "not intentionally anyway."
Xander strode over to the door but he was stopped as he reached for the door handle by Spike's worried voice, "be careful though, yeah?"
Xander flashed a smile at his lover before easing the door open and poking his head through warily. Looking down the corridor he saw his best friend and her partner backed right up to the wall at the far end. As they saw him smiles broke out on their faces and they rushed forwards.
Stepping through the door he pulled it closed behind him just in time before the excited girls crashed into him. Wrapping his arms around them he held them close for a moment. Finally Willow pulled back slightly to look up at him, "Xander, we were worried about you, what's going on?"
"That's what we've been wondering, come inside and you can help us figure out what's happening." Xander could feel Tara shaking slightly as he held her but then she too pulled back out of his reach. Looking at the blonde witch Xander could see that something was worrying her. His gaze darting between the two girls Xander knew something was up. Willow might be playing it cool but they'd been best friends since kinder garden. She was hiding something, something that was making Tara very unhappy, he just hoped she hadn't done anything irreparable or anything that would drive the other witch away. Tara had been good for Willow, he would hate to see the red-head ruin that but neither would he allow the other girl to be sacrificed to keep Willow stable if she did go off the rails again.
"Look, before we go in there, Blair's awake, he seems fine and Spike's there to control him if he tries anything, so don't do anything..." he paused, searching for the right word settling on, "rash, OK."
Both girls nodded and Xander turned, opening the door and leading the way into the apartment.
Standing back Willow allowed the other girl to go first. She knew that Tara had meant what she said, if Willow didn't tell all then she would tell the others exactly what had delayed the spirit animals. When she'd felt Tara's hand on her wrist as she intoned the sunlight charm she had hoped that the blonde was still on her side, then she'd felt the flow of power. Tara was draining magic away from her, not feeding it in as she normally would. Fighting against the drain slowed her down so that it took her far longer than it normally would to conjure a decent flash of sunlight but she had done it and that re-affirmation of her own raw power gave her confidence.
As Tara stepped through the door ahead of her Willow raised one hand slightly and started muttering a charm under her breath. Staying behind the blonde so that she would be blocked from the other's sight she kept muttering, smiling slightly as Tara shook her head slightly, trying to dispel the confusion that was creeping into her mind, smothering her thoughts. Then, as Willow passed the door a hand flashed out and grabbed her by the wrist, disrupting the spell as it pulled her arm painfully behind her and twisted it up her back.
Alarmed at Willow's yelp of pain Xander turned to see his lover kicking the door closed behind him as he held the red-head in a vicious arm-lock that had the girl straining up on tip-toes to try to relieve the pressure in her abused limb. "Spike, what's going on?" he asked.
"I think Red here has forgotten that I'm no stranger to the mojo," he paused to give his captive a shake, "why were you trying to cast a confusion charm on blondie?"
"No," Xander protested, but even as he did so he was taking in the small frown creasing Tara's brow and the clouded look in her eyes. As he watched she staggered slightly and he darted in to support her, wrapping an arm around her waist and leading her to a seat. As he got her settled he could see her expression already beginning to clear, he was about to stand and get her a glass of water when a hand was thrust over his shoulder containing just that. Taking it he handed it to the seated girl who accepted it with a grateful smile and took a long sip.
"Why Willow, why would you do something like that?" Xander stood to confront his best friend.
Inwardly Willow was fuming, the confusion charm was simply intended to buy her a little time to get Tara on her own so that she could cast a more permanent memory spell on the other witch. She was getting quite proficient at them by now, she'd cast them so often and Tara had been the recipient of her efforts so frequently that it took very little work to achieve the desired result. She hadn't expected anyone to be hiding behind the door, certainly not anyone who might recognise what she was doing. A quick adjustment to Tara's memory and all would be well again, but no, Spike had to interfere, and now here was Xander, not protesting Spike's manhandling of her. No, he was listening to the bleached vamp, since when had Spike's influence outweighed her own. Angrily she started to chant, the chant from minutes earlier in the hallway, and without the traitoress draining her strength she felt the power build quickly. Before she could unleash the full power of the spell in a burst of enchanted sunlight however Xander stepped forward and drawing back his arm let fly a right cross That connected sharply with Willow's jaw and she crumpled in a boneless heap at Spike's feet.
"Oops," Spike looked down at the red-head lying sprawled on the floor in front of him. He supposed he should really have held on, keeping the unconscious witch from falling. Such petty vengeance was surely beneath him. Nah, who was he kidding, it had felt good and he'd do it again in a heartbeat.
Xander surveyed his handiwork nervously, Spike wasn't the only one who could recognise the beginning of the sunlight spell, it was one that Willow and Tara had been working on perfecting for a while. All the scoobies knew the sound of it so that they could cover their eyes and protect their night vision when it was used. Xander hated to hurt a friend, but there would have been no hiding place for Spike or Blair if she had been allowed to complete the chant.
Kneeling the blonde vampire laid two fingers over the pulse point in Willow's neck. The slight relaxation of the tension in those broad shoulders was all Xander needed to see to know that she would be fine. Now they just needed to figure out exactly what was going on, why was Willow behaving like this? Why wasn't Blair a ravening beast? There was one person who might be able to enlighten him and she was currently seated on one of the sofas staring in horror at the crumpled form of her girlfriend.
He followed Tara's stunned gaze, Willow was out cold for now but they needed a more long-lasting solution, at least until they could figure out what was going on. "What are we going to do about...?" he gestured helplessly to where Willow still lay with Spike crouching over her.
Jim strode purposefully to the door and retrieved his hand-cuffs from the basket on the small table there, "We cuff her!" he stated firmly.
"It won't be enough!" Xander objected, "she's a powerful magic user."
"Then we gag her as well." Blair suggested from his position behind the door.
"It still won't be enough," a tentative voice offered. Tara faltered as four pairs of eyes swivelled to stare at her, summoning all her conviction she continued, "we've been working on wordless magic with Giles. She still prefers verbal magic but she can do a lot without words."
"Then what can we do?" Xander asked, "I can't keep slugging her every time she starts to come round!"
Tara found herself the focus of the four men in the room, she hated to be the centre of attention but she knew she was the only one who could do what needed to be done. Taking a deep breath she placed the water glass on the floor next to her chair and stood. "Giles has been teaching me a spell to bind a magic user."
Blair looked doubtful, "but if she knows the binding spell wouldn't she know how to counter it?"
Tara ducked her head briefly before raising it defiantly, "she doesn't know the spell, Giles only taught it to me. I think he may have been concerned about what she could do if she were to go off the rails again."
Standing Spike nodded his head decidedly, "right, wha'd'ya need?"
"Our bags," she replied.
Blair asked what everyone was thinking, "what bags?"
Startled Tara scanned the empty floor between her and the door.
The bags of course were right where the witches had left them, just outside the door, completely forgotten in the panic when they had first seen a red mouthed Blair open said door.
Once retrieved the bags were quickly opened so that Tara could sort through the contents and find what she needed for the binding spell. The words to the incantation Tara had committed to memory. It would have been far to dangerous to risk them falling into the wrong hands. The herbs had been mingled amongst those required for the re-souling, Tara had added a variety to those already packed by Willow, options to cover all eventualities and she had been confident that Willow wouldn't question her packing choices. The only other requirement was a silken cord and Tara had been wearing that daily for months as her new favourite belt.
Looking over to the unconscious form of her lover, now stretched out on a sofa where Xander had laid her, Tara really wished there was another way. As if reading her mind Spike stepped up behind her, laying a gentle hand on her shoulder he inclined his head slightly so that he could murmur discreetly in her ear, "you don't have a choice Pet, once you can get her safely back to the Watcher he may be able to come up with another way, until then you need to do this to keep everyone safe."
Tara didn't like it, but she knew that the blond vampire was right, and he didn't know the half of it, she had yet to tell them what Willow had done, why Blair had died.
Nodding resolutely she started the necessary preparation, measuring out the herbs and other ingredients, sifting them gently through her fingers to check the granularity and deftly wielding the pestle to even out the texture where needed.
When she was happy with the results of her work she poured the prepared portions into a medium sized earthenware basin and with her fingers she carefully stirred them to achieve an even mix. Chanting the first part of the incantation she coiled the silken cord and laid it on top of the ingredients before digging in with her fingers around the edge of the bowl, shovelling the contents over the cord until it was fully covered.
Moving on to the second part of the incantation now she continued chanting in a strong, confident voice as she took up her well-used flints and struck a spark into the bowl. This was the crucial part of the ceremony, if the spark didn't catch immediately it boded ill for the outcome of the spell.
The spark caught and the contents of the bowl were consumed instantly in a column of pink flame which flared up to a height of four feet above the tabletop and then disappeared as quickly. There, left coiled in the bottom of the bowl was the silken cord, now transformed into a cord of gently glowing pinkish light.
Tenderly lifting out the iridescent coil she walked softly over to the sofa where Willow lay. "Xander, can you sit her up please?" Tara asked and he quickly moved to do her bidding, sliding in behind Willow to support her in the new position. "Hold out her left hand please." Tara instructed and as Xander complied she began to bind the red-head with the enchanted cord chanting the final part of the incantation as she did so, first around the fingers, then around the palm, two long loops around the arm took the cord to the shoulder, then three loops snuggly around the head, one over the mouth, one over the ears and nose and then over the eyes. From there she worked back down the right hand side of Willow's body, starting at the shoulder, two long loops down to the wrist, then a loop around the palm and a final loop about the fingers.
As she fastened off the cord she indicated Xander to lay Willow back down and step away.
With a confidence she was far from feeling Tara completed the incantation, her voice rising to a commanding tone on the final words. As the last syllable fell from her lips the glow from the cord suddenly intensified for a moment before it seemed to sink into the red.headed witches skin leaving no trace of it's existence.
"It's done" she said and then staggered slightly in reaction to the strain of the last few minutes. But even as she wavered Spike was there at her elbow, supporting her and guiding her to the vacant sofa where she slumped looking over to the woman who had been her heart and soul for the last five years, wondering if Willow would ever forgive her for what she had just done.
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Life is Change