The Devil on My Shoulder

by LilBit

Copyright © 2007

Epallen@tampabay.rr.com

Rating: NC-17
Disclaimer: All the characters from Buffy the Vampire Slayer are the property of Joss Whedon/Mutant Enemy, Inc.
Distribution: The Mystic Muse http://mysticmuse.net.
Feedback: Of course. Please!
Spoilers: Post-Chosen.
Author's Notes: Sequel to Misdirection.
Pairing: Willow/Kennedy

The cemetery was located about a mile in the woods behind the "Cork and Bottle", the oldest continuously operating store in Attleboro, Massachusetts. Now, the building was a convenience store, a mom & pop version of a 7-11. When it first opened in 1812, it was a feed store. The particular cemetery in question had long since 'filled up.' It was the resting place for several hundred poor souls, from mere babes to some nearing ninety, that had all passed from this world at least 100 years ago. The place was an historical landmark; the founders of the town and a well known state legislator from the 1880's were buried there.

Pilgrim's Cemetery, as it had become to be known, though of historical significance had been deprived of true preservation for years. It was located far enough into the woods that noone really ever went there. Because of that, the town council members saw little need to devote precious fiscal resources to its management. So there it stayed, unattended, ungroomed and forgotten by the townspeople.

The shame of the matter was that the patch of sacred ground was, in its own way, quite beautiful. The cemetery was comprised of several acres nestled amongst the oak, maple and pine trees. It seemed everyone back in the "ol' days" wanted to be buried under a sprawling tree. The land was enclosed by a rock fence, the kind found everywhere throughout New England. Though the grounds were not tended to, the grass wasn't too unruly due to the lack of sun from the expansive timbers.

The place had a serene majestic quality about it. At this moment in time, that attribute was evident not merely because it was nighttime. The headstones, those being the ones that had been made of slate or marble, jutted up from the earth. Time had broken some and tilted others. The elements had also worn down many of the etched lettering on the stones. For many of the dead, the smooth unreadable tombstone was all that marked their existence. But that didn't deter from the solemn regalness of that patch of ground. What remained was a testament to the souls that had lived through real hardship and strove to forge the American dream. That cemetery symbolized the struggles, strengths and prejudices of the early Americans.

Beauty was found not only in the figurative meaning of the area. Even at night, its splendor could be seen in its physical simplicity. Lining parts of the inside of the rock wall were wild raspberry plants and lilac bushes alongside infant birch trees. On the north side of cemetery, where most of the 'residents' inhabited was a very large wild rose bush. Being June, the flowers were in full bloom. Even in the night light, the buds shined a magnificent red. The rose bush had been there for years. The few who had seen it dated its life to over one hundred years.

The plant was massive, in actuality a compilation of several bushes grown and entwined together. Its stalks were as thick as small tree limbs and the thorns long and sharp as a six penny nail. The bush was the perfect deterrent to any animal seeking to use it for a nesting area. The rose bush gave the cemetery a living quality to it, the endless cycle of brilliant blooms appearing for only the dead to enjoy.

Pilgrim's Cemetery, as enchanting as it could be, was overlooked by the creatures of the mortal variety. But, it was well known by dwellers of the 'non human' kind. The place was used occasionally by vampires and demons of all kinds as a place to gather, perform evil spells and, on the rare instance, to devour prey.

Because of that fact, the cemetery was on the list of 'stops' made by the slayers entrusted with the responsibility of that corner of the world. Whether alone or together, Kennedy and Lee Gagno, the brunette's second-in-charge since the death of Marla Bradshaw, always made a nightly visit to the area at least once a week. Since the time Kennedy discovered the volatility of it and had begun patrols, the demon activity there had decreased. However, the brunette knew that if patrols stopped, the demons would amplify their use of the place again.

So on this very warm June night, Kennedy and Lee once more walked the cemetery.

"…You should have seen Willow…She's got the dice in her hand, and some guy tells her she needs to blow on them for good luck…Wwwelll…Willow gets all nervous, coz a bunch of people are looking at her by now…So she tries to blow, and SPITS on the dice instead…I swear I almost peed my pants…her face got redder than her hair." Kennedy was laughing, trying to keep the volume of her voice low. By the end of her sentence she half talked and half choked it out.

Lee Gagno was also laughing, attempting to do so quietly. "Did she ever throw the dice?" she asked still chuckling.

"Hell yeah!…and rolled a seven the hard way…We won two hundred bucks…then Willow grabbed our chips and my arm and yanked me outta there."

Kennedy was telling her fellow slayer about the couple's time in Las Vegas. She had told the younger slayer the highlights of their long weekend several weeks earlier when the couple initially returned and was now recanting some of the funnier and more embarrassing moments they had. The night of the slayers' patrol was actually the day after Kennedy's birthday and the couple had been back from their trip to the Grand Canyon for almost two weeks.

Lee Gagno turned out to be a good match with Kennedy. Lee was mature about the responsibilities of her job. Sometimes, the brunette wondered if she was too serious. There was no mistaking that Kennedy was lead slayer. The short, brown haired twenty year old slayer was a good fighter and respectful of Kennedy's position. The fact that both women were gay gave them another level of understanding. Though Kennedy didn't grow up in the lower social class that Lee had, the brunette could certainly relate to the harassment the younger went through when her sexuality was discovered.

Lee Gagno was also polite, the by product of growing up in the heartland of Wisconsin where manners were often stressed more than real tolerance. She always said "Please" and "Thank You" and rarely swore or got outwardly mad. Of course, that side of the woman took a run for the hills when she was engaged in battling a demon. Having grown up with several older brothers, Lee might have been courteous, but she also knew how to handle herself. Though she wasn't into verbal quips, her attacks were precise. She didn't use her energy on small talk. Lee Gagno got down to business; she left the wise cracks to the boss, Kennedy.

Since the time that Lee had moved to Seekonk, a town close to Middleton, she and Kennedy had forged a close slayer partnership. They didn't always patrol together. In fact, they both had the slayer installed need to 'go it alone' quite often. Trusting each other's skill level made single outings no problem. Having one slayer patrol also gave the other more down time. Kennedy was able to spend time with Willow and Samantha that she was never able to do with Marla.

Lee appreciated the nights off, too. Five months after moving to the area, she met Paulette Singer at a Barnes & Noble. They were both perusing the science fiction section. Paulette was a local girl who worked as a waitress at Denny's. When Lee first got to her new home, she told herself she wasn't going to get into a relationship too soon. One of her reasons for leaving Cleveland was a nasty break-up – 'Just have fun, nothing serious.' Paulette's dazzling smile threw that plan out the window. The two had been dating for three months and had just moved in together.

So there the two slayers were, patrolling Pilgrim's Cemetery yet again on that June night. They didn't know if they'd see any action. It had been somewhat slow since Kennedy's return from vacation. Lee had heard nothing except the usual demon banter from the area snitches. It seemed there was always gossip about an alleged new vampire in town. Until either slayer could get some hard evidence, they kept the information in the back of their minds. Demons were known to be great exaggerators.

The slayers canvassed the north side of the place, where the rose bush was. In the northeast corner, there was a bald spot of trees and a displacement of the rock fence. It was the easiest point of entry into the cemetery and one that gave the best overall view of the grounds. Even the two women on patrol didn't notice the beauty in that spot. To them, it was just one more place where demons liked to cause trouble. They were there only because vampires might be.

"…No, I'm not kidding. There were slot machines right in the airport. I heard they have them in the grocery stores, too." Kennedy was still discussing Vegas with Lee who was fascinated with what she heard. The Wisconsin girl hadn't had much opportunity to travel. Though they talked, they made sure to keep a low tone; it was still a patrol and they had to keep aware of their surroundings.

The women were moving along the stone wall continuing their conversation when Kennedy instantly stopped talking and walking. She gave Lee a look that let the younger know the brunette had heard 'something.' They both started to slowly and intently scan the area.

Then Lee heard the noise. She motioned Kennedy with her hand to look to their right. Both women stood completely still, waiting for whatever was making the noise to reveal itself.

Kennedy and Lee stared into the empty night, squinting to help pierce the darkness. They heard the sound grow louder. It was definitely footsteps. Some one or thing was walking through the cemetery. The slayers blended into the night scene and waited for the first glimpse of their unknown company.

Finally, a shadow came out of the night, which turned into the silhouette of a man. That form, within a few more footsteps became an actual man…or vampire more properly named.

When he finally came into full view to the slayers, neither could believe what they saw. They were startled by the sight before them. Expecting to see a black outfitted creature of the night as they had on so many occasions, the person before them was quite unexpected.

The vampire, his status obvious from the fangs and "bumpy" forehead, was dressed very uniquely. The creature had on bell bottom jeans with a leather belt. The pants almost covered the hemp sandals adorning his feet. On his torso was the male version of a peasant top, tie dyed in the brightest of colors. The vamp's hair was long, well past his shoulders. He also sported a beard, thin but untrimmed. There was a long, leather strand around his neck with a peace sign pendant hanging from its end. He was carrying a small burlap bag tied to his belt.

The slayers examined the thing walking not to far from them. He hadn't noticed the slayer's yet. Kennedy found that surprising. Vampire hearing was usually as acute as a slayer's.

"Is that your stash in the bag?" Kennedy said nonchalantly.

The vampire immediately stopped. He turned toward the voice and saw the two women. His expression let the slayers know he knew who they were.

"You know drugs are bad…They can kill you."

Lee chuckled at Kennedy's comment.

The vampire stood motionless, not saying a word. He was carefully scanning the area trying to decide on a way out.

"Don't bother," the brunette uttered, knowing the vamp was looking for an escape. "Two slayers and one tweaked out hippie vamp?…Odds are better for a Woodstock reunion."

At that moment, the vampire took off. He started running toward the far end of the cemetery.

Kennedy glanced at Lee. "They never learn." Instantly, the slayers chased after the demon.

"Catch up to him from behind…I'll swing around and head him off before he can get to the corner." The brunette was shouting the plan as they ran.

The older peeled off from their path and darted over to cut off the vampire's angle. Lee kept running straight for the creature.

Lee caught up to the vampire first and leaped at him, knocking him down from behind. They both went sprawling on the ground. The vampire was fast enough not to get pinned down. In fact, the younger slayer was surprised that her combatant had that much speed considering how 'out of it' he seemed only seconds before.

Instead of being able to hold him down on the ground so that she could stake him, Lee found herself tussling around the grass and dirt underneath them. The vampire was much stronger than she expected too. Sure, she'd fought enough demons to know the raw power of them, but like people, some vampires were stronger than others. From his first appearance, the slayer figured this one would be the equivalent of the proverbial "80 pound weakling." She was wrong. The vampire fought with vigor and impressive muscle.

Lee Gagno was able to come to these conclusions in the few moments of fighting with the vamp. Still, she knew that the demon would not win out because she was not the only slayer bent on doing the creature in. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Kennedy running toward them.

That speck of distraction, the slightest of visual movement, was enough for the vampire to take action. The demon took one hand and dug at the dirt. He got a handful of ground and, just as Lee had turned her full attention back to him, threw the soil in her face. It caught her full in the eyes and open mouth.

Lee quickly reacted by reaching her hands to her face. She started choking and wiping at her eyes, trying to stop the painful blindness caused by the earth. The vampire didn't have to push the slayer off him because she rolled over on the ground.

The creature didn't go after the downed slayer. He stood up and tried to run away again. But, he ran in the direction of Kennedy. When he realized what he had done, he halted, pivoted and began to run toward the rock fence.

Kennedy didn't miss a beat. She could see that Lee wasn't harmed, only out of commission for a few minutes. So, she went after the demon. The brunette didn't understand why the vampire didn't try to kill the defenseless slayer or even why he hadn't made any attempt to attack her. As far as Kennedy knew, killing a slayer was still a major coup for any vamp.

That thought was pushed to the back of the slayer's mind as she caught up to the creature. They were right by the rose bush which hugged the rock fence when she grabbed the demon by his shirt and pulled. Kennedy thought that she'd be able to pull him off balance and throw him to the ground. However, the vampire had more stability and strength than she expected. Instead of falling backwards, the demon yanked his body forward, sending the slayer crashing into his back. The momentum from the contact sent the two adversaries hurling forward. As they went, the force of Kennedy hitting into him caused the string of the bag on the vampire's belt to come undone. The two adversaries collided into the rose bush and the stone wall. The bag went hurling forward into the air.

The first to land was the bag which had opened in flight. When it hit the ground, its contents spilled out. There were several spiny urchin-looking objects. They were round, the size of golf balls, and had soft bristles all over them. On one side, though, there were two long, thick pointy spikes jutting out from the objects. The quilled balls scattered on the ground.

The slayer and vampire landed at the same time. The slayer was underneath the demon and landed with her back to the bush. As soon as she hit the rose bush, the long, needle sharp thorns pierced into her flesh. She fell through the bush and hard against the top edge of the wall. She felt a flat thick stone crush against her ribs.

The weight of the demon on her pushed the thorns in even further, also furthering the force against the stone fence. As she landed on the ground, she also fell on one of the spiny objects that had fallen from the burlap bag. Its two tough spikes tore into her lower back on each side of her spine. The object then broke apart. The vampire, being on top of Kennedy as they fell, was hardly affected at all by the bush or wall.

Kennedy screamed in pain on impact. She heard a rib crack. The pain and debris in the air blurred her vision. She thrashed her arms about trying to get the demon off her so she could dislocate herself and make a stance against the creature. The brunette did manage to kick the vamp off. Still embedded in the rose bush and experiencing pain from different sensations, she prepared for an onslaught from the creature. As in pain as she was, there was no way Kennedy would go down without a fight.

The fight never came.

Instead of going in for the kill, the '60s retro vamp hurriedly grabbed his bag, picked up the spiny urchin-like objects that remained…and ran. The creature of the night ran from the slayers, jumping over the rock fence and quickly out of sight.

Kennedy was finally able to get dislodged from the rose bush. Holding her side, she crawled on her hands and knees. The pain was still intense and she could now feel something wet running down her sides.

During that entire engagement that hardly lasted any time, Lee had been struggling to gain her eyesight back and clear her breathing. By the time the vampire took his items and escaped, the younger slayer finally was able to see and breathe. She ran over to where Kennedy was kneeling on the ground.

"Geez! Are you ok, Kenn?" Lee could see the blood soaking through Kennedy's torn shirt and she saw the slayer holding her side. She helped the older slayer to her feet.

Kennedy was dazed for a bit. She felt around to her back with her other hand and winced. The brunette then looked out into the black night where the vampire had vanished. "What the hell happened to that guy?…Why didn't he try to kill us?" The vampire's actions made no sense to the brunette.

"He seemed more interested in getting outta here than us." Lee wondered about the creature's actions also. But, for right now, she was grateful that the demon had acted out of character.

Both women looked around. They saw the damage done to the rose bush, the split limbs and crushed blooms, along with the disarray caused to the rock fence. They really didn't notice the smashed spiny ball on the ground. In fact, neither slayer realized that the vamp's bag had spilled its contents.

Kennedy went to talk again but grimaced instead.

Lee gingerly lifted the bottom of the brunette's shirt up enough so she could see some of the damage caused by the fight. She also saw where Kennedy was holding and noticed a purple bruise already forming. She cringed. "Ya know, let's forget about the vamp for right now. You're really bleeding, and it looks like you broke a rib…We need to get you out of here and to a hospital." The back of Kennedy's shirt had numerous ripped areas and was completely soaked by blood by this point.

The slayer put her free hand to her back again and felt around. She knew she was bleeding but didn't like the mention of a hospital. "No hospital. This'll stop soon. The rib's cracked. Nothing they can do for me that I don't already know. Let's just leave. I can take care of this at home…Willow'll clean me up."

Lee wasn't so certain that Kennedy's injuries were mild enough to forget about medical personnel. But, she understood the aversion slayers had to anything dealing with real professional medical help. They never wanted to have to explain how they got their wounds. Also, she knew that Kennedy and Willow had had years of tending to the slayer's wounds. She decided to go with the brunette's wishes.

"Alright, no hospital. But Willow's gonna have her hands full tonight. You look pretty bad."

The slayers started to walk out of the cemetery, Kennedy bending slightly to get a comfortable position. Lee's car was a thirty minute walk away based on Kennedy's condition. The brunette knew, though, that within the hour Willow would be nursing her back to health. She smiled. 'Almost pays to get hurt,' she thought.

As they walked over the rock fence on the far side of Pilgrim's Cemetery, Kennedy touched her back one more time. She felt several holes in her obviously wrecked top.

Shaking her head, "Shit, I can't believe it. Wil just bought me this shirt for my birthday."

Lee laughed. "Don't think she'll be worrying about the shirt when she sees you looking like a human pin cushion…What a strange night."

Up until that evening, the time since Kennedy and Willow came back from the Grand Canyon had been outwardly uneventful.

The few weeks since the couple's return from their Grand Canyon adventure had been busy yet comforting in a way. They had left behind another battle with evil, victorious once again.

When Kennedy and Willow landed in Cleveland, they immediately went to Xander's. It surprised them how much they missed their daughter. Even though they had enjoyed the time they spent just being alone, Samantha was always on their minds. After the episode with the phone messages and Xander's strained explanation, the two mothers had even more reason to see their daughter to make sure she was alright.

Of course, Sammie was fine. In fact, she was great. The little girl squealed when she saw her mothers, and after about ten minutes of hugging, proceeded to tell them about the "fabtastical" time she had playing with Nate and Joey.

After the reunion settled down, Kennedy and Willow were able to talk to Xander and Jessica about the weekend and especially about the Kamous. Both reconfirmed that the demons had come after Buffy and that, although they all ended up at Slayer Central, Sam was never in any real danger. Kennedy let Xander and Jess listen to the messages on her cell phone. Xander said he realized that his tone and word choice did give the impression that there had been a crisis. "I guess I coulda been less frantic…I did kinda sound like I was saying the Kamous were after Sam…But they weren't." Internally, the Scooby was wondering to himself why he said what he did on his messages. 'Sam was never in trouble.'

In the end, Jessica summed up the miscommunication best. "I think deep down Xander really is a drama queen." She said Xander had gotten caught up in another one of Buffy's demon fights and had gone overboard in his emotions. "I'll try to keep him from acting like a scared little girl," Jessie apologized.

Though strange, the witch and slayer took the explanation as valid and put the incident behind them. Samantha didn't mention the matter to her mothers and both women agreed to let 'sleeping dogs lie."

The Prescott/Rosenberg family stayed two more days before heading back to Massachusetts. The day before they left, there was an early birthday party for Kennedy at Slayer Central. Everyone in Cleveland was there and a good time was had by all. The brunette slayer spent a lot of the time recounting her and Willow's battle with Seraph for the other newbie slayers. Finally, it was time for the three to say good-bye and head home. They promised to visit Cleveland again in a month or so.

Life back in Middleton quickly got back to its regular routine. Willow took Samantha to swimming and tumbling classes while Kennedy got right back into her patrolling schedule with Lee. For those first weeks back, there wasn't much demon activity happening. Lee told Kennedy about some minor skirmishes she had with a rather nasty ugly demon trying to collect human fingers. Other than that, nothing was on the radar except for the usual vampire banter parlayed around the demon hangouts. For Kennedy, the days back before her birthday were a relaxing slide back into the comfortable. No crazy demons trying to hurt Willow or her. She was back in command and knew what was on the horizon.

But there was another part of the slayer that didn't have that relaxed feeling. The brunette realized that she had, once again, gone from dealing with danger she hadn't gone out looking for to patrolling for danger that she purposely sought out. Her life was a series of never ending struggle with the evil in the world. Never a break, never a real chance to reflect or recoup; Kennedy had gotten used to the tightwire act. There was a sense that her life should have some period of down time, even when she seemingly didn't want it, the equivalent of summer vacation. But that wasn't her life. Even though she loved what she did and knew that she was making the world a better place, occasionally her life as a slayer struck her as the endless grind. No opportunity for spontaneity of the legitimate kind, Kennedy carried that strange dichotomy of her slayer life with her after her return from the Grand Canyon.

For Willow, being home carried a good feeling. She was not built for the anxiety and intensity of battling demons the way her brunette was. The witch got a knot in her stomach every time she had to confront evil forces. Her time in the alternate South Beach dimension proved to her that she could stay alive and fight demons but that was not her real calling. She knew that there had been times that luck had kept her alive more than her skill. The redhead found out that being a witch wasn't the medicine for every ailment. Though Willow could hold her own around demons and do quite well in defeating them, she never really ever got used to it. As she occasionally still joked with Kennedy, "I'd rather have a good foot massage."

The time back in Middleton left Willow at a bit of a crossroads. Her experience with the convergence gave her a glimpse at what was possible for her with her magick. She had gone to places in her mind and the cosmos that she never thought was possible. The redhead realized how much she didn't know about her own power. Her time with Tuzi White Fox made her wonder if she could ever reach that stage of 'knowledge' on her own. Willow knew that she was able to do what she did only because of Tuzi. 'Maybe I'm not supposed to get that good.'

The episode with Seraph had Willow pondering other aspects of her control over her magick. She began to wonder why she only thought of certain spells or actions at certain moments. She analyzed her inability to teleport on demand and her failure to think of binding spells or other defensive or offensive moves at all instances of battle. It seemed to her that she didn't automatically conjure up the right magickal action when needed. She also contemplated why she didn't sense more of the evil that seemed to 'hang around' her and Kennedy. Why didn't she sense Seraph or his minions earlier? Why didn't she sense the identity of the bones when the brunette first gave them to her? These and a hundred other questions raced in her mind.

Willow, however, was not only struggling with her craft. Upon the return to Massachusetts, the redhead saw her slayer easily get back into 'the groove' of her slayer responsibilities. Kennedy had a "job" and she was proud and excited to do it. Willow, however, wasn't in that position. Not to say that taking care of Samantha wasn't work. But, she and Kennedy took on that obligation together. The brunette was with Samantha almost as much as the witch. In fact, with the arrival of Lee Gagno, Kennedy was able to spend even more time with her daughter leaving additional time for the witch to pursue her interests. The issue after the Seraph ordeal was what did the redhead want to pursue.

Willow found herself talking to Kennedy about it. The slayer knew the weekend meeting had profoundly affected her witch. She knew that Willow would want to explore that matter more. Since she didn't know what would be the best way for her redhead to go about it, she decided the best she could do was let Willow have free reign. "I'm behind you one hundred percent, babe. Whatever you think you need to do, we'll make sure you can do it." Kennedy's encouragement and understanding, though thoughtful and sweet, didn't answer the witch's ultimate question – what did she want?

Terri Pallouda turned out to be Willow's sounding board. Ever since the battle with Camilia Horn that almost killed both of them, the two witches had garnered a closer bond. Willow, in some ways, felt responsible for the physical condition in which the fight with Camilia left her friend. Terri never once intimated that her permanent limp was anything but the fault of the avenging witch. The older woman did realize that Willow, rightfully or not, harbored feelings of regret for the damage done to her life. That touched the woman deeply. Pallouda came to understand the true depth of the redhead's compassionate nature.

Over the months after Terri's return home from the hospital, she and Willow spent more time together. They talked about magick and many other subjects. Terri still headed the Clearing Place witch gathering but her friendship with the redhead took them to a deeper level of connection with their witchcraft. They became true friends, the kind that could talk freely about each other's problems. Though Terri wasn't the 'sister' to Willow like Buffy was, she was valued for her kindness and perspective.

After her return, Willow discussed the saga with Seraph and her convergence break-throughs with the older witch. She expressed her dilemma of not being able to have the 'mackical answer' at the tip of her fingers or tongue whenever necessary.

"I don't know, Terri. When Kenn's in a fight, she knows exactly what to do. It's like she doesn't have to tell her body what to do…It just knows…There's no thinking involved. Why can't I get to that point? Why don't I think of teleporting whenever there's a tight situation…or, since I know how to send a demon to another dimension, why isn't that something I automatically do?…Why can't I make myself strong or fast if I know it'll help in a fight?"

Pallouda could hear the frustration in the redhead's voice.

"Sometimes I don't know if I spend too much time trying to get better with magick or if I should concentrate on something else and let it come out when it's time."

Terri and Willow were in the redhead's kitchen. They'd been talking for a while. Kennedy was training and Samantha was at tumbling class.

"I think you're being too hard on yourself, Will. You're just human. You can't expect to have all the answers. Besides, I bet if you ask Kennedy, she'd have a different picture about how her slayer powers work." She saw the confused look on the younger witch's face. "What do you want, Willow?…Is fighting evil what you want your life to be?…Is being a witch the only thing that interests you?"

Willow shook her head. "That's just it, it's not. I feel like I'm supposed to want to do only that because of what I learned at the convergence…It was incredible how connected I felt."

Terri stopped her. "But didn't you say that the Indian lady told you that you had to go at a safe pace?" Willow nodded. "Maybe you're trying to do too much, too fast. You have to be satisfied with more than just what you can do as a witch…What else do you like?"

Willow didn't even have to think about that question. "Teaching…I really liked when I was tutoring…Did I ever tell you I actually taught a class when I was in high school?…I was going to see about maybe getting a position in the school system this fall…but that was before the Grand Canyon."

Terri gave an encouraging look. "Then do it…be a teacher."

The redhead got a concerned expression. "But that would take away from me being able to help other witches and from…" Once again Pallouda stopped her.

"Will you stop worrying about everybody else for one minute? You're such a sweet person…but sometimes I want to knock some sense into your head. You think that that the magick gig is what you have to do because you're so powerful, regardless of anything else you might like…or need to do. Do what you want. If you want to teach a bunch of hormonal, disrespectful teenagers, then do that…I bet the rest will fall into place."

Willow admired how Terri could boil the problem down to the essentials. She was right. Willow hadn't felt truly grounded for awhile. It wasn't that she was unhappy. She merely didn't have another outlet in her life. Coming from an upbringing with a working professional mother, Willow appreciated the independence and stabling effect that type of obligation gave to a person. With her and Kennedy handling the raising of Samantha equally, the witch could seek out a profession for herself. 'Maybe I am expecting too much with the magick…I do better when I'm not pressuring myself…and I really do miss academics." Willow knew that she was the still the kid who couldn't wait for summer vacation to be over. She loved the academic life, always had and always would.

She smiled at Terri. "You know what? You're right. I'm going to see about teaching, somewhere. Wait til I tell Kennedy. She was all behind me getting back into teaching before."

Terri saw a relieved mood come over Willow with that statement. Knowing that she didn't have to identify herself as the all knowing, all powerful witch seemed to put the redhead at ease. Somehow, Pallouda got the hunch that, taking the witchcraft burden off her shoulders, Willow would end up making more progress in that arena.

That night Willow told Kennedy of her talk with Terri. The slayer felt bad that she didn't realize the extent of her redhead's conflict. After discussing the matter, the slayer whole heartedly agreed that her wife should look into teaching.

"I always told you that you'd make a great teacher…smart and sexy…every school boy's dream…and a few school girls', too."

The witch tenderly kissed her slayer. It felt like a giant weight had been lifted from her. She would still continue her witchcraft studies. However, she would not push herself in that area. If she was meant to have a greater connection with the universe through her craft, then she would get it in due time. In the meantime, she was going to go back to her first love…learning, or rather teaching others to learn.

Willow went to bed that night with a whole new perspective. She was going to concentrate on her life and her family. For the very near future, that meant Kennedy. The brunette slayer was just a few days away from her birthday and the witch had much in store for her slayer, some known by the brunette, some not.

"I can't believe you're making me do this. I feel like an idiot. Why do I have to wear this?"

As Willow drove, she listened to Kennedy whine about the blindfold she was wearing. It was about 3pm on the slayer's birthday.

"My god, Kenn. You'd think I was making you wear a frilly dress. I told you I want this to be a surprise."

Kennedy, though unable to see, turned her head as if looking in the back seat. "Sam? Do you know where Mommy is taking us?" the slayer said sweetly.

Willow slapped the brunette's thigh lightly. Jokingly, "You are so pathetic, asking your daughter to snitch."

Kennedy turned back to face forward. "Fine. But this better be good. You know I hate surprises."

Willow busted out laughing with that remark. She knew although the slayer didn't like feeling left out of things, when it came to her birthday, the slayer loved being surprised. Willow knew from her talks with the brunette that her childhood birthday parties were always a well orchestrated social event. Every minute and activity was etched in stone- party at the country club, followed by dinner with her paternal grandparents. By the time she was twelve, she dreaded that event. When she was fifteen, at the beginning of her rebellious stage, she ditched going to her party and took off with her girlfriend. They had no idea what they were going to do. They drove into New York City and spent the whole day doing whatever came into their heads. Kennedy never had a better time. After that, the family planned parties were trashed.

Birthdays with Willow had turned into an even better time. The redhead always knew how to astound the slayer. Sometimes it was with a perfectly chosen present or a party with friends. Even the intimate times when it was the two of them seemed perfect to the brunette.

One time before Samantha was even an idea, Willow and Kennedy went to California. The slayer thought it was solely to visit her redhead's parents. The brunette's birthday wasn't for several weeks. Willow took Kennedy to a long stretch of beach on the Pacific Ocean, southwest of where Sunnydale once stood. It was a place that, when she was growing up, Willow went to every so often with her parents. It was the also the spot where the witch had only good memories of times with Buffy and Xander, and Tara, too.

She and Kennedy sat on the sand and watched the waves roll up. Willow told Kennedy how, when she was as a little girl, she used to look out and stare at the horizon, wondering what was just on the other side. "I'd get this feeling that something was out there…on its way to me…It made me feel good." Willow thought about her comment for a second then added, "I've never told that to anyone before." The redhead turned and lovingly looked at her brunette. "It was you…That's what I felt."

The redhead held out her open palm upon which rested a small wrapped present. The slayer was surprised because she didn't see Willow bring anything with her. Kennedy took the gift and unwrapped it. The present was a very small hinged, double picture frame. On the left side was a picture of the witch and slayer embraced. Kennedy recognized it from a party at Xander's. The photo on the right was one of a very young Willow posed in front of a beach, the very beach where they sat. The backdrop was the shimmering water leading to the horizon which gave way to a bright blue sky.

"Happy early birthday, baby. It seemed right to give this to you here." Kennedy took the picture and admired how cute and adorable that skinny redhead was even as a kid. Then she read the words at the bottom of each picture. Each side had its own inscription, but together they formed one sentiment. In Willow's perfect handwriting, it read:

"Always together…Even before we met."

Being driven to her present birthday surprise, Kennedy remembered those tender and thoughtful gestures of her witch. She recalled full well why she was completely in love with the woman sitting next to her. With that, she quelled her bantering and got ready for what she knew would be another wonderful birthday.

The slayer wasn't disappointed.

After stopping the car, Willow and Samantha led the blindfolded slayer into a building. Kennedy heard nothing except some whispering between her wife and some voice she'd never heard before. After a few seconds, she was led to another spot in the building. By this time, the brunette was getting the smell of food in the air. 'A restaurant?' she thought. Willow stopped and, on the count of three, took off the scarf around her eyes.

When Kennedy was able to see, she was greeted by a roomful of friends. They were all standing in the most highly rated Italian restaurant in the New England area. They were the only ones there. Later, the slayer would find out that her redhead had booked the entire place for the afternoon.

But better than the choice of eating establishments were the people there. Lee and her girlfriend Paulette were there as was Terri Pallouda. Dawn was there despite preparing to leave for Italy in two days. There were also several couples with which the witch and slayer had become friends through Sammie's activities.

The Cleveland Scooby contingency, consisting of Xander and Buffy was there, despite having given Kennedy a party only several weeks earlier. They felt the trip needed after the close call she and Willow had had in Arizona.

The best surprise, though, was that Faith was there. In fact, that's the first person that caught the slayer's attention. As Willow took off Kennedy's blindfold, the brunette could hear Faith's unmistakable voice shout, "Happy Fucking Birthday!"

Kennedy's party was a success. Everyone had a great time and took turns talking to others and catching up on things. Buffy spent a good while talking with Faith and Xander couldn't help but be interested in Lee and Paulette. Samantha played with a few other kids there while Terri took turns with their parents keeping an eye on them. Faith took time to see how Terri was doing. Having basically saved her life, the former rogue slayer felt obligated to make sure she was fine.

Dawn told everyone about her trip to Italy. She was helping Giles on an assignment…with Andrew. Though she couldn't wait to get back to Florence, the thought of six weeks with the Sci-fi man-boy was making her worry. At least it would keep her mind off her personal life for a while. The younger sister to Buffy had run into a stretch of bad luck with relationships. "I don't know why I keep finding these guys who turn out to be jerks." The only answer Willow could give was a shrug of the shoulders and an optimistic, "You'll meet the right guy, I promise." That was better than Xander's "Hey, at least they're not demons."

The truth was that, although Dawn had grown up to have a strong character and smart head on her shoulders, she fell in love too easily. She was a romantic to a fault. She trusted in matters of the heart quickly and fell hard when that trust got broken. There wasn't any need for a psychiatrist to figure out her issues. Having grown up with an absent father had wiggled its way into her adult life behavior. It seemed brains didn't insulate one from carrying the baggage received in youth.

Kennedy enjoyed the party and the presents received. Everyone was given a five star Italian dinner. Kennedy appreciated the fact that Willow would go so far out of the way to give her all the things the witch knew her slayer loved. The brunette secretly knew that if everyone could eat food as good as their meal was, Italian would be number one on every dining list.

Throughout the party, Kennedy was able to talk sporadically to Faith. But she really was able to sit down with her after dinner. They discussed the demon situation in New York, the Seraph ordeal and a hundred other things that best friends do. Kennedy tried to talk about Miguel, or rather his non-appearance. All Faith would say was that "He couldn't make it…had family obligations in Brazil." The younger slayer could tell she wasn't getting the whole story. She tried to press further, but her friend wouldn't comment other than to say, "It's your birthday. Things are fine." Kennedy knew something was wrong; she also knew that Faith didn't want to put a damper on the birthday girl's mood. In the end, the compromise was that Kennedy stopped pressing but made a mental note to try to talk to the older slayer in a few days.

The party finally ended and everyone left the restaurant contented. Though Buffy, Faith and Xander had flights the next morning, they still planned on a good old fashioned Scooby outing. Terri thoughtfully agreed to take Samantha for the night- "Consider this part of my present to you, Kenn."

The Scooby gang, including Dawn, went out and partied like they did when they first got to L.A. after defeating the First. They danced and drank. They laughed and got drunk. It was old times for friends that were getting older but didn't feel it. A taxi brought Buffy and Dawn to the younger's apartment; another took the rest to the Prescott/Rosenberg residence. Xander wanted to spend as much time as he could with his oldest friend. Those at the couple's house stumbled in, talked a little more and then realized that they needed to get some sleep. Faith got the spare room and Xander ended up in Samantha's twin bed.

Willow and Kennedy went to their bedroom, still drunk and giddy from the night out. As soon as the door closed, the brunette embraced her witch from behind and kissed the nape of her neck.

"This was an excellent birthday."

The witch smiled. She knew her slayer had enjoyed herself. It was good to see her, and everyone for that matter, take at least one day out of their hectic serious lives and just have pure fun.

Willow placed her arms over the bronzed ones that were around her waist. Chiding, "I'm glad you were amused." The witch leaned back into the slayer. "I guess you're too tired for a little more fun?" Willow tried to sound serious.

Kennedy squeezed her witch tighter and ran her tongue lightly along the outside edge of Willow's ear. Whispering, "Does that answer your question?"

The redhead turned around in her slayer's arms and wrapped her own arms around the slayer's neck. She leaned in and gave Kennedy a sensuous kiss. The slayer's pierced tongue still sent shivers to the witch's belly.

It didn't take long for the couple to be on the bed naked. They were kissing and caressing and starting to make the sounds foreplay always brought forth.

Willow giggled.

Kennedy stopped her assault on the redhead's breasts and looked at her confused.

The witch said quietly, "I feel weird. They're just down the hall. What if they hear us?"

The slayer lifted herself up so that she was face to face with her witch. She began to run her lips softly along Willow's cheek and closed mouth. Saying seductively as she did, "We're in our house, in our bed…and it's my birthday. Let them hear…I betcha they could learn a thing or two." The expression on the brunette's face when she glanced back into green eyes was one of pure lust.

Had Willow's life been shared with anyone else besides Kennedy, the witch may have kept her shy, reserved nature in this area and persisted in keeping their love making low key. However, the witch lived her life with a woman for whom sex, and in particular sex with Willow, was a natural and treasured part of her life. When she made love to her redhead, Kennedy blocked out the world. It was only them and she acted that way. Early on, she got the witch to appreciate that style and to shed many of her own inhibitions.

Willow's fleeting concerns vanished. She wanted to have sex with her wife and that's what mattered. The witch gave in and giggling was replaced with deepening breath and searching hands.

Since their return from the Grand Canyon, she and Kennedy had had sex every day. The redhead assumed it was because of their close call with Seraph. A brush with possible death always made them crave being physically closer. She knew it would wear off eventually, but she enjoyed it while it lasted. During those times, they satisfied their need for the flesh like they did when they were in Brazil. They made love whenever they could- at night or in the morning, in the shower, once even against the washing machine after Samantha went to bed.

This night was no exception. The two women wanted to feel the touch of each other's skin, taste each other and listen to the moans when they brought the other to their fall. Kennedy's birthday ended with Willow's face between her legs bringing her to her final climax. There had been many that night for both, one of the perks about being a woman…multiple orgasms. Their bodies were covered in sweat. The smell of sex hung in the air. Both women had pleased her partner to the point of exhaustion. Kennedy's last release went through her as her hands clutched the bed pillows. She jerked and bucked as Willow's hands clung to her thighs pulling the slayer to her until she was certain the brunette could take no more.

Both women eventually slumped under the covers. They could do no more that night. The rich food, loud music and hard liquor mixed with the physical exertion to make them barely able to move.

Kennedy glanced at the clock- 4:41am. The couple promised to wake up Xander at 5:30am so he'd be ready when Buffy picked him up to make their 7am flight to Cleveland. Faith was kinder to them. She didn't have to get up until 6:30. The brunette rolled over to hug her wife. "So much for a good night's sleep," she said softly as she draped her arm over the redhead. She kissed Willow on the cheek. "Worth every minute of it."

The witch smiled and put her hand on top of her slayer's. "I couldn't agree more," she said yawning.

Willow fell asleep quickly. She drifted off knowing that she was happy and so was her family. Life was a joy.

Little did she know that in less than two weeks her entire world would shatter.

Willow awoke abruptly from her place on the couch when she heard the door close hard. She had fallen asleep while reading a book. It was the night after Kennedy's birthday and the redhead was still feeling the affects of her 'late' night with Kennedy and the early morning good-byes to the Scooby members who headed back to their homes. Samantha had already gone to bed. The witch thought she'd be able to wait up for Kennedy who'd gone on patrol with Lee. She never made it past 9:30pm; the lack of sleep caught up with her. She was dozing peacefully until the sound of a door slamming and feet shuffling startled her to consciousness.

The redhead rubbed her eyes and looked over to where the noise was. That's when she saw Kennedy walking gingerly and standing in an awkward way. The witch knew instantly something had happened.

Getting off the couch and walking toward the slayers, Willow questioned, "What happened? Kenn? Are you hurt?" With a few more steps, the witch was able to see the blood soaked shirt on the brunette's back. "Oh no! Baby, what happened to your back?" Willow hurried to the slayer to examine her injuries.

Before she let Kennedy respond, the redhead was already carefully trying to lift the slayer's shirt so she could assess the nature and extent of the wounds.

"Hippie vamp and a rose bush." Kennedy saw the totally confused look on the redhead's face. "Tell ya about it later. The back's not as bad as it looks, Will. It's messy because the shirt's kinda smeared the blood around, and I cracked a rib…By the way, I'm sorry about the shirt." Kennedy really was sorry. She didn't like it when items given to her by her witch got ruined. Unfortunately, because she was a slyer, it happened more often than she liked.

That last statement took Willow out of her examination. "Huh?, What about your shirt?" The redhead took a moment to look at the cloth and realized what her slayer meant. "Geez, don't be silly. It's only a shirt. So long as you're ok, who cares about it…I'll get you another if you liked it that much." Willow shook her head slightly. It struck her funny sometimes what Kennedy focused on.

"I thought maybe she should go to the hospital, but you know your wife…she'd have to be cut in two before she stepped willingly in a hospital." Lee wanted Willow to know that she did everything she could to get the elder slayer medical attention.

"Cut in two," the slayer said to herself quietly. Remembering the Fear Caller demon in Sao Paulo and the sword to the gut, the brunette thought 'Almost been there and done that.' She recalled how that little battle did end with her in a hospital.

The witch glanced at Lee and nodded. "I know. She said I'd fix her up, right?" Willow didn't even have to hear Lee's answer. She knew that's what Kennedy's plan always was. This wasn't the first time that the brunette slayer was tended back to health after a fight by her witchy nursemaid. There were times when Willow thought she should get a nursing degree just so she'd be better prepared to comfort her wounded slayer.

"Hello…I'm right here." Kennedy wanted to put an end to the 'Kennedy acts too tough' conversation going on in front of her. "I think I should know how hurt I am…and I don't need a hospital. A few band-aids and I'll be good to go."

Willow took another look at the slayer's bloody shirt and frowned her disagreement. The witch knew it was going to take some time to get her slayer patched up. She also knew she needed to get started.

"Thanks for getting her home, Lee. I'll take it from here."

Lee made sure she wasn't needed anymore and left. After Willow said thank you for the last time and closed the door, she turned to Kennedy. In a comforting voice, "Well, let's get you cleaned up."

The witch took her slayer's hand and led her to the upstairs bathroom. Because they had people in the house who had no idea of the slayer universe, the real heavy first aid supplies were kept in the couple's master bathroom. Kennedy grimaced with each step up the stairs. When they got into their bathroom, the slayer slowly sat down on the edge of the tub. It felt good to sit.

Willow knelt down in front of her. "We need to get that shirt off." She watched as the slayer tried to unbuttoned the front and take the article off. The brunette flinched each time she tried to pull on the sleeve.

Leaning to the side, Willow saw that the blood on the slayer's back had begun to dry. As a result, the shirt was as if glued to the slayer's back in several spots. "Wait, baby. Don't pull. It's stuck to you." If Kennedy had a cracked rib, the witch knew it would be useless for the slayer to try to take her clothes off. The redhead got up and grabbed a washcloth. She ran warm water over it. Then she took the chair that was at the vanity and placed it next to the tub. "Can you sit here? I'll get your back wet again so the shirt won't stick."

The slayer did as told and soon the redhead was softly patting down her back with the warm cloth. At first, the heat made the slayer twitch, but after a few moments, it felt nice. It didn't take long for Willow to be able to remove the slayer's shirt. Kennedy winced each time she had to move to get an arm out of a sleeve. Willow then also carefully removed the slayer's bra.

Willow saw the big bruise on the rib section of the slayer's right side. It was purple and black and definitely showed off injury to the brunette's rib. The redhead then scoped out the cuts and puncture wounds on the slayer's back. What she saw seemed too serious to be caused by a bush. Seriously, "Oh, Kenne. You've really got a lot of cuts here. How did this happen?"

"Would you believe a bush attacked me?" The slayer chuckled at the near accuracy of the statement.

"Only if the bush had long pointy fangs." Willow talked while she got the supplies she'd need to wash out Kennedy's wounds and bandage them. Her plan was to wipe off the blood, wash and clean the wounds and then bandage them until they had a chance to heal. There wasn't much she could do for the rib. Kennedy just needed to stay immobile for a while. As she poured some antiseptic on a cloth, "Why don't you tell me exactly what happened…This might sting a little."

While Willow cared for her slayer, the brunette recalled the events of the evening. Each time the antiseptic hit her skin, the slayer flinched. But she kept to her story and let the witch do her magic with the first aid kit. Kennedy told Willow about the hippie vampire and his strange behavior. The slayer told her about the old thorny rose bush and how she fell on it. She recalled the bag the vamp carried on his belt and the way he ran away instead of trying to kill her or Lee. She never mentioned the urchin-like creatures because the slayer never got a look at them and didn't know she had fallen on one.

"I for one am glad he decided to run. Maybe he knew who you were and didn't want take the chance of getting dusted." To Willow, why the vamp ran was unimportant. She was just glad her slayer was safe.

"Yeah, me, too…but still. It doesn't make any sense. What vampire doesn't want to kill a slayer?"

Just then, the witch placed more antiseptic on some wounds which caused the slayer to lose her thought.

"Kennedy, some of these still have the thorns in them." The witch knew what she was going to have to do.

So did the slayer. "Get the tweezers or pliers or whatever you need, Red. It's ok."

The witch got a pair of surgical tweezers and carefully removed all the thorns that were stuck inside the slayer's flesh. As she removed them, the redhead couldn't believe how long some of them were. This alarmed her. "These things could have hit something important inside…There could be internal damage, Kennedy." The witch was very serious in what she was saying to the slayer.

Kennedy knew that her witch was looking out for her well being. However, she'd been a slayer long enough to know her slayer body and how it reacted to injuries. Kennedy could tell when she had a broken bone, a bruised muscle or even more esoteric internal injuries. With this latest fight, the slayer knew she had a cracked rib and received some deep puncture wounds, but otherwise her body felt like there wasn't any worse damage caused.

"I'm ok, Will. I can feel some of them healing already. Even the rib feels a little better. Nothing important got hurt." Kennedy wanted to reassure her witch. She knew Willow worried every time the slayer got injured. Trying to lighten the mood. "Look, my tongue and fingers are fine," she said as raised a brow and wiggled her fingers.

Willow rolled her eyes and lightly smacked the slayer's leg. Sensing that her girl wanted to get past this conversation, the redhead acquiesced and continued her triage duty. She finally got to the lower part of the slayer's back with only several more cuts to tend to. She noticed that the slayer had two noticeably larger puncture wounds low on her back, near the waistband of her pants, on either side of her spine. The redhead also saw that the thorns were still in them.

"I'm sorry, baby, but these two are going to be a little trickier." Willow knew she was going to have to dig harder for them. This would cause discomfort and not only because of the rib issue. At the same time, the witch needed to make certain that she wasn't even coming close to infringing on her slayer's spine.

Carefully the witch guided the instrument into the brunette's flesh, taking painstaking care that she not do more injury to her girl. By the time Willow drew the thorn out, she was sweating slightly on her forehead. The rigidity in her slayer's form and complete silence let Willow know the removal had been very painful.

Willow examined the object pinched between tips of the surgical pliers. She creased her brows. "This one is a lot bigger and darker than the others…It really must be an old rose bush to have thorns this size." The witch dropped the object in the trash with the other thorns. Willow proceeded to take the other barb out of her slayer's back. It too was different than the others. The witch wondered if it was the right decision not to have a professional remove the thorns.

After all the wounds were cleaned and bandaged, she knelt in front of Kennedy again. "All done, baby." Then looking pensive, "What am I going to do with you?"

Kennedy understood her witch's question. Willow loved her girl and hated to see her get hurt. But the brunette was a slayer, so getting injured, severely at times, was part of the job description. The redhead's question was more of a resignation. Kennedy knew that her wife would have to go through life seeing the woman she loved get hurt, beat up and sometimes seriously wounded. It pained Kennedy to think how much that must bother the witch. The slayer knew that if roles were reversed, she'd have a hard time seeing her wispy redhead knocked around like a punching bag.

The slayer also knew that there was nothing she could do about their situation. She was a slayer. She had to fight evil even if that meant she got injured. She couldn't look herself in the mirror if she cowered because of the personal toll to her or on her body. The most she could do for Willow was to be the best slayer she could be, the best fighter, the smartest. Not allowing her demon enemies an opportunity to hurt her was the most she could give to Willow.

Kennedy leaned forward and carefully put her arms around her witch's neck. In answer to the woman's question, "Why don't you help me to bed?" It wasn't said sensuously. This was no night for that. Kennedy was in pain. She was in more pain than she thought she would be because of a broken rib and 'bush confrontation.' Kennedy merely wanted to get a good night's sleep. She was confident her wounds would be healed the next day, two days at the most.

"Okay, baby. That's probably the best thing for you." Willow stood up and took her slayer by the hand. She cautiously helped the slayer to her feet and they walked to the bedroom. Willow went to get Kennedy some pj's but the slayer waved her off. She watched as the brunette undid the fly of her pants and dropped them to the floor, soon followed by her underwear. "Doing the Full Monty tonight," the slayer remarked with a grin that she hoped let her girl know she didn't feel too bad. Willow gave her a small smile and laugh back.

The redhead turned down the bed covers and let Kennedy take her time getting in and positioned comfortably. The slayer had to lie on her stomach. With the rib, the slayer knew she wouldn't be able to find any position that was pain free. As she adjusted her body, the brunette noticed that she also had a headache, a small throb at the base of her skull. 'This is gonna be a fun night' she thought sarcastically.

After the slayer was situated as best as she could be, Willow changed into her pajamas and got into her side of the bed. She lay on her side facing her slayer. Kennedy had her head turned so she could see her witch. Willow saw an apologetic stare from brown eyes. The redhead knew that, although Kennedy depended on her for nursing her wounds, the slayer disliked having to put her through it. Willow knew that Kennedy wanted to spare the witch as much of her battle scars and pains as possible.

The witch also understood that Kennedy still had a part of her that thought getting hurt meant she wasn't a good slayer. Kennedy Prescott was proud and didn't ever like having someone else get the upper hand. Her slayer had 'lost' tonight in her own eyes. Sometimes the redhead wondered if that look the slayer had now had some shame in it. Though Willow never thought her girl anything but courageous and the best at her 'trade', she wondered if Kennedy saw herself as less than what she should be. Willow doubted if that over critical character trait would ever leave her slayer.

Looking at her brunette, the redhead could see that Kennedy was in real pain. She was surprised at that given the nature of the injuries. That gave the witch small cause for concern. She contemplated if there was in fact some internal injury that went unnoticed, or maybe the rib had punctured a lung. But, the witch knew that there was no way she'd get her girl to do anything about that. She'd have to wait to see how the slayer was in the morning.

At times like these, Willow often wondered what was going on inside the slayer's body. Slayer healing powers fascinated her. Could the slayer feel herself heal? What did it feel like? What was happening on a cellular level in a slayer's body? Those as a hundred more questions wiggled in the redhead's mind as she watched her slayer. It was one of the mysteries that were never far from the witch's natural curiosity.

On this night, Willow shoved the scientific query from her mind. What she wanted now was to comfort her ailing girl. Because, slayer or not, Kennedy was her girl and she was hurting. That alone was enough to make Willow focus on easing her brunette's troubles.

Still on her side, the witch reached over and brushed back some hair that had fallen onto the slayer's face. She softly swept the back of her fingers down the bronzed cheek of the woman. Her hand followed the brunette's shoulder and down her arm which was by the slayer's side. The alabaster hand ended by interlacing with the slayer's fingers.

Willow leaned in slowly and gave Kennedy a gentle kiss on the lips. "You'll feel better tomorrow." The words were soft and reassuring. The witch snuggled as close as she could to Kennedy without causing the slayer any additional pain.

The slayer nodded slightly as she closed her eyes. She was tired, her back, side and head ached, but she had her woman beside her. Kennedy had all she needed. The slayer welcomed sleep. She knew a good night's slumber cured a lot of ills.

What Kennedy didn't know was that she wouldn't have another peaceful night of sleep for quite a while.

The next few days after the run-in with "Bong Boy", as Kennedy referred to the cemetery vamp, did not go as well as the slayer expected. She had assumed on the night of the fight that she would wake up in the morning with all her wounds healed and a refreshed burst of energy. She was wrong.

The morning after the event Kennedy was awakened by the headache that started the night before. It was a throbbing pain at the base of her skull. A handful of aspirin did nothing to reduce the intensity. In fact, the brunette stayed in bed until 11:30am when it finally started to recede enough for her to get up.

Her wounds also were not healed. For sure, many of the small ones were gone. But, others were still in the healing stages and several of the more predominant ones didn't look much different than the night before. This Kennedy knew because Willow had checked on her injuries and changed her bandages.

The witch did notice that Kennedy's rib had improved but was still not completely mended. The bruise on her skin in that area was a dark purplish black with some yellowing mixed in. It looked horrible but Willow knew the coloring meant it was healing. When asked, the slayer said that her side felt better but there was still pain upon any significant movement.

The health status of Kennedy was of some concern to her but more to Willow. Kennedy realized that she wasn't healing like she usually did. In the back of her mind, she wondered if it had anything to do with "Bong Boy". But the slayer didn't see anything unusual about her fight other than the very outdated garb of her adversary. Horrible taste in style was not a reason for Kennedy to get worried.

Willow, on the other hand, was more troubled. She'd seen Kennedy, and Buffy for that matter, in pretty bad shape and their bodies always behaved in the slayer manner. Though she didn't say anything to her brunette, the witch cautiously wondered if something had transpired during the slayer's fight about which even she didn't know. It was the fact that the slayer was healing at some pace of a slayer that made Willow keep the thought to herself.

Because of the slayer's physical condition, and a lot of whining by the redhead, Kennedy didn't patrol the night after the fight. Lee handled it without the slightest hesitation. She didn't want Kennedy tracking demons until she was completely healed.

The next two days brought better results for Kennedy. Her wounds were almost totally gone. The only punctures remaining were the most severe. Even those were nearly completely healed.

Kennedy's cracked rib was back to normal, too. Willow had helped with a little meditation healing for that one. The bruise was mostly a light yellowish color. The slayer could move freely without discomfort.

The one thing that hadn't gone away was the headaches. The brunette still got them at the base of her head. However, unlike the last two days, the pain wasn't constant. She got them sporadically but mostly at night. In fact, of the effects of the fight, the only lingering one was the headaches that kept waking her up in the middle of the night. Kennedy didn't tell Willow about them. She'd merely get out of bed, down a handful of aspirin and go back to sleep. She even flushed the toilet so that if the witch did wake up when she got out of the bed, she'd think the slayer only had to go to the bathroom. Kennedy wasn't exactly sure why she didn't tell Willow about the headaches. The slayer was certain they were of no real significance and would go away. She didn't want her witch worrying about such a minor detail.

Kennedy, despite feeling better, didn't patrol the second night after the fight either. It was the regular night for Lee to patrol alone and the younger slayer told Kennedy earlier in the day to enjoy the night off. "Spend some time with your family…I'm sure Willow wouldn't mind a night with you without having to bandage you up." The day wasn't spent doing nothing. Willow, Kennedy and Samantha brought Dawn to the airport and bid her bon voyage to Italy. The rest of the day was spent grocery shopping, doing laundry and all the other mundane chores that make up the bulk of life.

That night the Prescott/Rosenberg family cozied up on the couch and watched tv until it was the little one's bedtime. After that, it was the two mothers' turn to snuggle in front of the television. Evenings alone together were something the couple still enjoyed. They still liked to sit embraced on the sofa. Whether they were watching tv, listening to music or even reading, they enjoyed the closeness.

Many times such intimacy would lead to a romantic session. But not this night; not that the redhead wasn't in the mood. After putting Samantha to bed, the couple snuggled on the couch and watched some nature show on discovery. As boring as Kennedy thought they were, she never complained because she knew how much her witch enjoyed them.

As they lay there, Willow, being spooned from behind by the slayer, started to run her fingers along the tanned skin of her brunette's arm which was draped over the witch's stomach. Her fingers moved slowly and barely touched the slayer's skin. It was an action that took conscious thought. That tiny act was enough to let Kennedy know her witch was 'in the mood.' The brunette then also felt the redhead lean back into her and rock her hips slightly. Again, it was such a small move that it had to be planned.

Though Willow couldn't see it, a wide smile grew on the slayer's face. Kennedy knew her wife well enough to notice the signs of Willow's infant foreplay moves. The witch was in the beginning stages of seducing her and the slayer was ready for more. It had been several days and the brunette missed the physical closeness. Kennedy leaned forward and sensuously kissed her witch's neck to let her know that she was reciprocating the desire.

Then the pounding hit. In an instant, Kennedy got a throbbing headache. As before, the pain was in the back of her head. She clenched her eyelids closed, hoping that she could will the pain away. She kept motionless waiting for the ache to stop.

Willow felt the sudden stiffness and turned her head to see the slayer's eyes closed tightly.

"Kenn? Are you ok?"

Kennedy opened her eyes. The headache was still there. ""Yeah, just got a little headache."

Willow chuckled. "Well that's the lamest excuse I've ever heard…Not very original, baby."

Kennedy tried to laugh but the pain got stronger. "I'm sorry, Red, but I think I need to get some aspirin…Let me see if I can get rid of this thing…" Kennedy moved Willow and got up off the couch. As she left for the bathroom, "Don't move…Once I get headache free, we're gonna do some damage to that couch."

Willow waited patiently once her slayer left the room. After fifteen minutes went by, the redhead began wondering where the brunette was. She got up and went to find Kennedy.

The witch found her slayer sitting on the edge of their bed with her head tucked down between her knees and her arms covering her head.

"Baby, what's wrong?" Willow didn't like what she saw.

Kennedy looked up at the witch like she was looking directly into the sun. "Man, I think I've got a migraine. My head's pounding and the light is killing my eyes."

That ended any chance for romance that night. Willow had gotten migraines in the past, usually from spells she did that took too much toll on her. Sometimes, they even gave her nose bleeds. She knew how bad the pain could be and what the cure was- silence, darkness and solitude.

The witch told Kennedy to lie on the bed, which she did. Willow covered her with a small throw, made sure she'd taken aspirin and then turned off the light. "You need to just relax. I'll let you rest and check on you later." Willow left the room, closing the door as she went. 'No snuggles tonight I guess.' The witch's disappoint was soon replaced with regret for her slayer.

The next day found Kennedy feeling better. The night hadn't led to much sleep. The headache lingered for a while. But the slayer was eventually able to fall asleep. She didn't even wake when Willow got into bed.

"I feel much better," the slayer told her wife that morning. It was the truth. The rib was healed as were the puncture wounds. There were several miniscule scars and only two of the wounds, the ones on either side of her spine, were barely visible.

Kennedy decided to do some slayer reconnaissance. The several days of inactivity had made her edgy. During the day, she went to her usual demon bars to see if there was anything new she should know about. All was quiet on the demon front so she then went to her workout gym to let off some energy.

Lee was already there. The two sparred and got in a good workout.

"I can tell your back to full strength," Lee said while on her back on the mat, put there by a round house kick from Kennedy.

Smiling proudly, "Can't keep a Prescott down for long…If you haven't guessed, I'm good to go on patrol alone tonight…" Then giving a devilish look. "I'm sure you can figure some way to spend the time with Paulette."

Kennedy put out her hand to help Lee up. Then they headed for locker room.

"Oh, by the way," the younger slayer said, "remember tomorrow's party starts at three. Jones' Beach. You now the one by Phil's Diner."

Kennedy nodded. "Gotcha. Who's coming again?"

"Some friends from Paulette's yoga class and her cousin, Alice, and a friend of Alice's…Her name is…Traycee."

Kennedy nodded again. "Samantha's all excited about going to the beach…I heard back from Chris and Sandy, they're coming too."

"This should be a great Fourth of July party." Lee's voice sounded excited.

Kennedy was looking forward to it also. She wanted her, Willow and even Samantha to get out more with people. She knew how easy it was, being who they were, to seclude themselves from the world at large.

"We'll see you tomorrow then." Kennedy said. The women ended their session and went their separate ways.

Kennedy's patrol that night went well. She had a renewed sense of strength, like she had gotten a deep night's sleep even though she hadn't. The brunette encountered only one vampire, a vamp trying to pass through on her way to Canada. Kennedy easily dusted the demon. The slayer was a little disappointed that she didn't run into Bong Boy. She wanted to give him 'payback' for their first meeting.

After she was done patrolling, Kennedy couldn't wait to get home. She had always gotten a case of the "Double H's", as it was euphemistically named, after a good staking. But this night, the "Horny" factor had kicked in full gear. She even stopped at a McDonald's drive-thru to squelch the first "H" so as not to disrupt appeasing the second.

Kennedy strode into her house shutting and locking the door in almost one action. The small light in the foyer entrance was on which meant Willow and Samantha were in bed. The slayer didn't hesitate. She ran up the stairs, taking the steps four at a time.

As she walked down the hall to her and Willow's bedroom, Kennedy was already taking off her clothes. She walked into the room and saw her witch sleeping in their bed. A feeling flushed over the slayer. She could have taken Willow right then. However, she knew she was sweaty from her fight and still had vamp dust in her hair. The brunette hurried to the bathroom and took a quick shower.

She came out of the master bath naked. The only thing in her hand was a towel that she was using to help dry her hair. The light was on in the bathroom and the slayer's silhouette could be seen from the bedroom.

"All clean now?"

Willow's voice startled Kennedy. But the slayer was instantly glad the witch had awakened.

Dropping the towel and walking seductively toward her bed, "A whistle would be envious. I'd say I'm sorry I woke you up…but I'm not."

When the last word left her mouth, the slayer was at the bottom of the bed. She grabbed the bedcovers and started to pull them. Inch by inch they exposed the form of her witch. When the sheets were completely off the redhead, Kennedy let out a deep breath and shook her head.

"Tsk, tsk. Pajamas on that hot little bod of yours…No, no…we can't have that." Kennedy placed her hands on Willow's feet and slowly ran them up the witch's legs until they reached the bottom of the SpongeBob SquarePants shorts she was wearing. The brunette took hold of the hem and just as methodically began to pull them down off the redhead. She didn't wait for Willow to shift her hips up; the clothing was off the witch and thrown to the side before the witch had a chance to cooperate.

The slayer then stood up at the end of the bed and took Willow by the ankles. With a wicked smile she dragged the witch, who was giggling by this time, to the end of the bed. The witch's legs dangled off the end.

"Seems we still have something covering these," said the brunette as she cupped Willow's breasts with her hands. "I think I can help with that." Again, the slayer didn't wait for a reaction from the redhead. Kennedy slid her hands under the bottom of Willow's top on each side of the witch. She let her fingers tease the alabaster skin there for a moment and then grazed her palms against the witch's skin as she lifted the shirt off. It landed on the other side of the room.

"Ahh, that's what I like to see," commented the brunette as she gazed at Willow's naked form. Willow hadn't said a word. She knew her slayer was in a feral mood. At times like these, the witch had learned to let her brunette take charge. It always turned out to be an exciting ride.

Kennedy leaned in and captured Willow's lips with her own. The slayer's tongue probed and caressed her lover's mouth. Kennedy loved kissing Willow. It was as if their mouths were made for each other. They moved in synch and knew when to linger and when to reach for more.

Kennedy's next destination was her redhead's firm hard peaks waiting for the wonders her tongue and mouth could do to them. The slayer didn't disappoint. The brunette enjoyed the feel of Willow's nipple on her lips, on her tongue. She took one in her mouth while her hand's thumb playfully grazed the other breast. Willow's body by now was tingling all over. She could feel the jolts of pleasure running to her core. The redhead ran her fingers through long raven hair. The witch's face cringed in pleasure with each new flick of the tongue or touch of a finger. Willow didn't understand how Kennedy could keep her love making seem so new and fresh after all the years they'd been together. Though the brunette did the same things to the witch, the moves that drove the redhead wild, they always seemed to be different somehow.

Finally satisfying her need on the redhead's breasts, Kennedy knelt down at the foot of the bed. Even though her own body was ready and on the verge of release, Kennedy wanted even more to make her lover fall. She got a strange sense of power and fulfillment in giving Willow an orgasm. The stronger the release, the more satisfied she was. There were times when it far outrivaled dusting the nastiest of vampires.

Kennedy lingered near the witch's center, letting her hands roam and press. Willow could feel the slayer's breath on her. The brunette made sure that Willow was ready. When the witch leaned back on the bed and whispered, "Oh, God…", the slayer knew it was time.

Kennedy placed Willow's knees over her shoulders and went in for the kill. The moment her mouth touched the witch, alabaster hands clawed at the bed sheet beneath her. The witch murmured, "Oh, God,…Baby…" The rest that came out were moans and sighs, the witch's body having taken over all senses.

Kennedy worked like a master artisan, creating a piece of living art. And that was what she was doing, using her tools, the perfect combinations of moves with her mouth and tongue, to bring her lover to perfection, the height of gratification. The slayer had taken her 'talents' to the pinnacle of expertise. She was Michelangelo and Willow was her David. Kennedy wanted to make Willow know that noone else in the world could ever come close to giving her satisfaction the way her slayer could. Kennedy wanted to be an opiate to the witch.

It didn't take long for slayer's 'aptitude' to bring Willow to a roaring release. The witch arched her back and raised her hips off the bed as the waves rolled through. Arms reached above her trying to find something to grasp to anchor her as the sensations poured over her. As the last spasm left, a silly thought ran through the witch's head. 'This is so much better than a foot massage.'

Kennedy regaled in the effect she had on her witch. She felt the tension in the redhead's muscles as the orgasm hit, then the calm afterwards.

But the slayer's body was still humming for release. It demanded attention. It sought out Willow's touch.

Kennedy got up just enough to place her hands on Willow's waist. She pulled the witch toward her. As the redhead's body got further off the end of the bed, the slayer leaned back on the floor and brought the witch on top of her. Willow was in the moment again, knowing her slayer's body needed to be tended to. She could feel the heat resonating off the slayer's naked body, her breath short and chopped.

Within seconds, Kennedy grabbed Willow's hand and shoved it between her legs. The slayer was frantic in her actions.

In jagged, insistent breath, "Fuck me, Red…" It wasn't a request. Kennedy's body was ready to explode and she needed Willow to push her into the divine.

Willow was caught up in the emotion and fervor of the moment. The need in the slayer seemed to come from some new depth. Willow saw an extra 'want' in those chocolate eyes. The witch didn't bother to wonder from where the desire sprang; she just wanted to set it free. Willow wanted to give her slayer exactly what she desired. The witch entered the girl hard and she did what was asked of her. The redhead fucked her wife. She pumped her fingers in and out and attacked her slayer's neck and nipples with her mouth. She could taste the sweat on bronzed skin. Willow didn't stop her movements until she saw brown eyes begin to roll back. Kennedy's fingers grabbed onto the witch's back and she stammered "Ohh…fuuuckk!" as her orgasm hit. She held onto the redhead and let the powerful spasms shoot through her body. She felt a blaze deep from her core. It was exactly what she needed. The slayer ended by dropping her arms out to the side on the floor.

After a few moments, the witch was the first to speak.

"I guess this means you're feeling better." Both women began to laugh.

After laying there for a while longer, the women got up and climbed into bed. The sheets were gathered to cover them and they soon fell sleep in each other's arms.

Chocolate eyes popped open like a spring loaded latch. The slayer remained still as her eyes darted about. The room was dark except for light given off by the alarm clock on the bed stand and moonlight spread on the walls. As eyes searched, Kennedy's slayer hearing waited for the sound that woke her up. When she heard the faint noise again, the slayer sat up quickly in the bed. Her first impulse was to look out the window that was to her right. The drapes were pulled back allowing in the moonlight. As the brunette looked, she saw a form. It took only a second for the slayer to recognize the silhouette before her.

It was Bong Boy.

Except now, the vampire didn't look as if his attention was in outer space. The demon was in full vamp mode with fangs outstretched from his lips and the most harrowing expression under his protruded forehead. This time the vampire's look showed he meant business. The creature was staring intently at the slayer. Kennedy could do nothing but stare back.

"Kenn?…Baby?"

The voice startled the slayer. She shut her eyes and opened them again. As she did, she noticed she was standing naked over by the window through which she had just seen Bong Boy. Confused, Kennedy shook her head quickly and turned to the voice. The slayer saw Willow, in bed, propped up on her elbow giving the brunette a bewildered look.

"Is everything ok?" the witch asked groggily.

It took another moment for the slayer to get her bearings. She wasn't sure what had happened. Somehow she had gotten from the bed to the window without knowing it. The slayer instantly turned back and looked at the window. Bong Boy was gone. She scanned the outside area she could see but there was no sign of the demon. 'He was right there,' the brunette said to herself.

"Kenne? Is something out there?" Willow wasn't sure what Kennedy was doing but the slayer seemed preoccupied.

Kennedy, resigning herself to the fact that she'd missed a chance at the vampire, walked back to the bed. Upon further thought, she decided that she must have been dreaming and sleep-walked to the window.

"Everything's ok…Go back to sleep. I thought I heard a noise…I guess I didn't." The slayer didn't know how else to explain what just occurred.

Kennedy got into bed and snuggled up against her redhead. 'That was weird.' The slayer put the event out of her mind and soon both women were asleep once more.

Neither knew at the time, but that was the beginning of the descent.

From the Country's first to most recent, the Fourth of July in Massachusetts has always been a slice of Americana. The Commonwealth that spawned the Boston Tea Party, John Adams and the midnight ride of Paul Revere knew how to do Independence Day right. There were the old time parades in almost every town along with picnics, parties and of course fireworks.

For the younger crowd, the Fourth also signified a day at the beach. Time to take in some sun and fun at the rustic beaches of the Bay State. On this Fourth of July, Lee Gagno and her girlfriend Paulette had put together a nice get together for old and new friends to enjoy the holiday at Jones Beach in Assonet, Massachusetts. Though not the sugary white sand found on the Florida Gulf Coast, the Assonet beach was considered one of the better for that region of the country.

By 2pm, Lee and Paulette had staked out their area on the wide sandy beach and pitched several umbrellas, the same number of blankets and had coolers and radio set to go. The others invited started showing by three. By the time Willow, Kennedy and Samantha got there, almost everyone was accounted for. Several friends of Paulette's friends were present. Two were gay women, one a gay man with his boyfriend and another two women who were straight. Lee had invited a couple of council employees who were able to make the drive from Boston. They were gay women also. They had a six year old boy who immediately began to make sand castles.

The Prescott/Rosenberg clan got there just as the two women they had invited arrived. The two were friends of the witch and slayer. They were sisters; one straight and one gay. The straight one, Sandy, had her two year old daughter with her. The little girl and Samantha had played together before.

All introductions were made and the holiday festivities started. The kids played in the water along with most of the adults. Samantha and Willow made a large sandcastle while Lee and Kennedy talked 'shop.' The weather was perfect for a July day. It was hot and sunny enough for Willow to pay special attention to sunscreen for her and Sammie. Luckily, she had no problem 'convincing' her brunette to rub the lotion on her back. Everyone brought food to share and, despite the illegality of it on the beach, there were plenty of alcoholic beverages to go around.

The party was in full swing by 5pm. The music was cranking; everyone was laughing and enjoying themselves. Willow kept staring at her slayer in her skimpy two piece bathing suit. 'What a body.' Willow never tired of looking at her slayer. She was in awe of how comfortable Kennedy was so scantily clad. The redhead knew that her brunette enjoyed showing off her beautiful physique. She had been that way even before she became a slayer. Modesty never got in the brunette's way of having a good time.

Because of the couple wounds on her back that still weren't completely gone, the slayer wore a loose shirt over the two piece bikini. That didn't distract from the view as far as the witch was concerned. Kennedy was a sight to behold regardless of her dress. Bronzed shapely legs and a perfectly curved taut body were the things for which bikinis were made. Willow couldn't have asked for a better view.

Kennedy was also having a good time. She knew that she kept getting the 'look' from her wife. And the slayer gave the adoration back. Kennedy spent most of her time making small talk with the different guests at the party. But even when she was, the brunette always had a special glance ready for her witch. She watched as Willow talked to others or played with the kids, always with a smile that could outshine the sun. Kennedy saw how graceful the redhead moved. The witch wore a bikini top and cut off jean shorts. Her head, covered with a sun hat to protect her delicate alabaster skin, made Willow look like something out of The Sound of Music. The witch was the slayer's own personal sweet, adorable Maria. Kennedy couldn't help but notice how beautiful her wife was. 'I'll have to show her just how hot she is when we get home,' the slayer chided to herself.

Right when the party goers were getting ready to eat, the last of the guests appeared. Paulette ran over to greet the two women as soon as she saw them on the beach's entrance boardwalk. The others watched as Paulette yelled to the shorter of the two and gave her a big hug. Then the three proceeded to join the party.

"Hey, everyone? This is my cousin Alice." Paulette had a tone of pride in her voice as she hugged the small brown curly haired woman. Alice was rather short, not reaching more than 5'2". She had big brown eyes. Her outfit was a linen sage paisley print and linen shorts of the same solid green color. The whole ensemble covered a one piece lime green bathing suit.

Then Paulette pointed to the woman beside her cousin. "And this is her friend, Traycee."

The two women waved to the group and looked around silently saying "Hi" with a nod of their heads. The other people at the party said 'Hi" and "Hello" as they continued their festivities. There was plenty of time to meet and greet the newcomers.

Kennedy was standing talking to Lee when the two women were brought to the group. While Paulette was introducing them to the crowd, Lee was giving some additional information to Kennedy.

"Alice is Paulette's cousin on her mother's side. She goes to Syracuse and is supposed to be pretty smart. Her friend, Traycee comes from money Paulie told me. Got some rich real estate dad or something like that. I'm pretty sure she goes to Syracuse too."

Kennedy heard part of what Lee was telling her. She nodded every so often. The slayer's attention kept going back to the cousin's friend. The brunette couldn't help staring at her every so often. Traycee wore a white bikini that left nothing to the imagination. Her shorts were the skimpiest ones Kennedy had seen in a long time. She had a sheer yellow coverall as a shirt. There was no mistaking that the outfit was meant to be noticed. The woman was stunningly beautiful; rather tall, which was mostly legs, and had glistening blonde hair with just the right amount of wave in it. Kennedy could tell she had piercing blue eyes. The woman was shaped like an athlete, toned and chiseled in a way that didn't come without serious exercising. Traycee had a tan that was perfect from head to toe. The slayer could tell that it was a tan and not the blonde's natural skin tone. It didn't matter; she looked amazing. Tryacee reminded the slayer of a Victoria's Secret model. Kennedy was entranced by the woman.

It took the slayer a few moments to realize she was again looking over at the newcomer. She gawkily shifted her eyes down and then got a guilty feeling. Kennedy wasn't sure why she had been affected by the blonde. She'd seen hundreds of beautiful women, none ever captured her attention like that…except for Willow. The brunette turned to see where Willow was. The witch was talking to their friend Chris. For some reason, the brunette felt relieved. Realizing what she'd just done, Kennedy started to talk to Lee about her previous patrol. The slayer wanted anything to get her attention off the beautiful new party guest.

When Kennedy looked at Willow, she thought the witch was engaged in other conversation, which she was to a degree. However, Kennedy didn't know that Willow had seen her reaction to the 'friend.' When Paulette came over with her two arrivals, Willow looked around to find her slayer. Paulette had told her about Alice and really wanted the witch and slayer to meet her. The redhead searched for her wife and spotted her beside Lee who was obviously talking to the older slayer. But, Willow noticed right away that Kennedy was not talking back to Lee. Willow watched as her slayer sporadically stared at the beautiful blonde. She saw chocolate eyes fix on the woman. At first, the witch thought nothing. But the stare continued just long enough for it to be a conscious action. Willow felt uncomfortable for an instant. Finally she saw the brunette divert her eyes. Willow quickly turned to talk to her friend, Chris, so that Kennedy wouldn't think she was spying on her. Why the slayer would think that, Willow didn't know. It was just a gut reaction.

The party kept on and, eventually, Paulette and Lee were able to introduce Willow and Kennedy to Alice and Traycee. Paulette told the group about Alice's scholarship and accolades at Syracuse. Tracyee told them about her activities at the college also. The women were actually in a summer internship at the New York institution but decided they had to take a break for the holiday. "Paulie's been bugging me to come over here…so I though what better time than now. We have a break in our research so Traycee and I decided to fly in and do the touristy beach scene for a week."

It was evident to Willow that Paulette was very proud of her cousin. It was just as plain that her cousin and the blonde were friends. The six women talked some more and got to know each better. The whole time, Kennedy tried not to analyze Traycee, deduce her family background or her sense of 'self.'. The slayer didn't understand the fascination she had with the woman. There was something about her, the way she held herself, her moves. They exuded confidence and sensuality. The blonde wasn't an empty head either, no Paris Hilton comparison. The woman was beautiful and had spunk. That was a combination that Kennedy always found very appealing.

Finally, the women dispersed to talk to others. Kennedy stayed with Willow and Sammie and didn't think about the blonde again. The party went on until after sunset and soon it was time for the local fireworks display. The city's display was to be over the open water. Just before they started, Kennedy found herself next to Traycee once more. They had both gone to a cooler for a beer.

"So, Kennedy, you live with Willow, right?"

"Yeah. We're married." For some reason, the slayer thought it important the woman know of her marital status.

"Wow, and that's your little girl?" Traycee pointed to Samantha who was sitting in between Willow's legs waiting for the fireworks to start.

Kennedy smiled. "Sure is…mine and Wil's." Kennedy was very proud of her family.

Traycee looked at the child and then Kennedy. "She looks like you…very beautiful."

Kennedy didn't know how to take that statement. With any other woman, she would have thought it a nice compliment for her daughter. But the way the blonde said it gave the brunette the impression it was meant for her. Kennedy froze for a second and then said, "Thank you. She is a beauty." The slayer saw the blonde give her a glance out of the corner of her eye.

It was then that the fireworks started and Kennedy excused herself and went to sit by Willow and Samantha. The family enjoyed the show, Samantha squealing and screaming and asking for more noise and bigger bangs.

Finally, the fireworks were over as was the party. Everyone had had a wonderful time. People started to gather their belongings to head to wherever their destination. For most, that meant going home. Lee and Kennedy were patrolling together that night. Paulette, Alice and Traycee were going out to a bar to continue the party. In fact, Paulette asked Lee if she, Kennedy and Willow wanted to go with them. The slayers had to decline because of their obligation. Willow declined also but couldn't have gone anyway because of Samantha. The little girl was almost falling asleep, even before they left.

As Paulette and her cohorts left, she kissed Lee and told her she'd see her at home. She told her slayer girlfriend to be careful. Lee kissed her back. "You go have fun. I know how much you've been waiting to see Alice." Paulette was all excited.

As the three said their good byes, Traycee went over to Kennedy. "It was nice meeting you, Kennedy…" The woman took the slayer's hand for a handshake. She held on with both hands. "I hope we meet again."

Again, the slayer's reaction was that she'd just received a come-on. It made her feel good that she still had the ability to attract someone so beautiful. Before the slayer realized what she was saying, the words "I'm sure we'll get together again," came spurting out. Kennedy stopped at that and watched the woman leave.

Soon thereafter, Kennedy was driving home with Willow in the front seat and a sleeping daughter in the back.

Willow started first. "That was fun. I'm exhausted though. Paulette's cousin seems really nice. Did you know that she's going for an architectural degree?"

Kennedy shook her head. "No, I didn't. But she did seem nice. She and Paulette are hilarious together. You can tell they're related."

Willow was silent for a minute, looking out the front window. Then, "And her friend, Traycee…She seems nice too. She's really beautiful." Willow didn't like what she'd just done. She knew she wanted to see Kennedy's reaction and hear her answer.

Kennedy tried not to fidget or act any differently. She nodded slightly. "Yeah, I guess. Lee said she comes from money and you know how that can be. Probably has a personal trainer." Kennedy couldn't believe what she'd just said. She came from money and never liked when those type of comments where made about her or others of wealth. She also knew her answer sounded like she was trying to find fault with the blonde. She decided to shut up.

"Maybe." Willow saw her slayer trying to act nonchalant. She felt a split second of jealousy and then tossed it out of her mind. There was no denying that Traycee was a very attractive, sexy woman. Willow would have been lying if she said that she hadn't noticed the woman when she first arrived. The blonde was statuesque; with the type of look that men, and the right kind of women, drool over. A person would have to be blind not to see the natural sexuality that oozed from Traycee. Willow didn't expect Kennedy to never look at nor notice a pretty woman again. 'Geez, stop with the high school insecurities.' Willow knew she was having an unnecessary flash back to all those times in high school when she was intimidated by the popular and beautiful girls. Willow stopped her internal dialogue as they went home.

Later that night, after Kennedy had dropped Willow and Samantha home, the brunette and Lee went patrolling at the neighborhood vampire hot spots. It turned out that although Halloween was slow for demon activity, the Fourth of July was not. So many drunk, cheery people were hard to resist. There was usually some vampire stronghold waiting to strike at the innocents.

As the two slayers patrolled, they discussed the day's event. They talked about how great a time they all had and how it was nice to meet new people and try to widen their circle of acquaintances to more than just the slayer/demon connection. Because there were more slayers now, there was naturally more opportunity for contact by them with the general public. And with the new Watcher's Council's attitude about slayers, the chosen were no longer forced into the lonely existence those before had lived. So long as they were careful, slayers were beginning to have actual normal friendships with people that had no idea about their true calling.

It wasn't that slayers around the world were now opening up to every person under the sun. They were still a very close-knit group who mainly kept to themselves. In fact, in Lee's case, she'd only recently told Paulette about what she was. Frankly, the younger slayer didn't think anyone would believe her anyway if she told the truth.

With Kennedy and Lee, both had friends that knew nothing of their 'abilities' but who nonetheless were considered pals. It helped give them some relief from the nonstop pressure that was the life of a slayer.

As they walked, Kennedy tried to casually get more information on Traycee. For some reason her mind kept pushing for information on the woman. She purposefully mixed in questions about the blonde with those of Alice and their other friends. But there was a slightly different tone to her queries about the blonde that went unnoticed by Lee. Kennedy finally stopped asking about the woman for fear that the younger slayer would think there was more to her curiosity than there was. Kennedy changed the subject.

"So, Paulie and Alice seem more like sisters than cousins." The slayers were heading back to Kennedy's car to go to their last patrol spot.

Lee nodded. "Yeah. Paulie told me that they lived practically next door to each other when they were little. They were always together. Alice's family moved when they were in freshmen in high school…I think to New Hampshire. Paulie said it really tore her up for a while. Alice was her best friend. She's the only one that Paulie told about her being gay. She's so proud that Alice got a scholarship to Syracuse. She's supposed to be pretty good at the architecture stuff."

Kennedy listened as Lee talked about her girlfriend and the girl's family. The brunette got a smile on her face with an obvious realization. When Lee saw the look, she asked the slayer what was wrong.

"You're really in love with Paulette, aren't you?"

The younger slayer didn't know how to respond. She was still trying to pretend that she was in control of her emotions. The last break-up was so hard and messy that she didn't want to chance that again.

Defensively, "We're taking things one day at a time…Just having fun…No big plans."

Kennedy shook her head. "Didn't answer my question. That's because you are in love with her…You'd never tell her you were a slayer if you weren't head over heels."

Lee could only let out a "Humph."

Putting her hands in her pants pockets, Kennedy spoke sincerely. "Don't try to kid me. I was the queen of denial when it came to love. It's good you have someone. She'll make you want to…try harder…ya know?" Then turning to Lee, "I'm happy for you. Paulette's a good woman."

Looking directly back at Kennedy, Lee got a serious tone, "I know…" Then in a lower tone but just as seriously, "…So's Willow." Lee wasn't sure why she said that; it just seemed to come out.

Kennedy went to answer but didn't. She wasn't sure how to take the younger slayer's comment. Was it a compliment or a reminder?

At the last patrol stop, the slayers finally saw some action. Fortunately, there was only a small a group of three new vampires waiting outside a late night drinking establishment for the last Independence Day stragglers to wobble out of bar ripe for the picking. Though outnumbered by one, the outcome was in the slayers' favor. It took hardly any time for the two women to dust every last one of the vamps. After they were done, Kennedy commented on how "slow" patrolling had been lately.

Afterwards, both were wired and the "Double H's" set in. They got rid of the first part by stopping at an IHOP and devouring enough food that even the short order cook left his post to watch. As to the second problem, both headed home knowing that each had a beauty waiting that would relive them of that burden.

As Kennedy drove home after dropping Lee off at her apartment, all the brunette could think about was satisfying her 'hunger.' 'Sex…I want sex.' That kept running through the slayer's head.

Traycee flashed in the brunette's mind.

That startled the slayer and she quickly thought about Willow. Kennedy brought the image of the witch's naked body to her. "That's more like it," she mumbled. She thought about feeling her witch under her and touching and tasting her. The slayer knew that her libido was in high gear. She usually got a 'sex rush' after slaying. However, she did notice that her desire for sex was especially strong recently. Kennedy relegated it to the Seraph situation and the couple's reaction to it. Regardless of the catalyst, Kennedy was appreciative of her lustful condition. Having sex with her redhead was one of life's great pleasures for her.

By the time Kennedy got home, she had visualized her and Willow together to such an extent that she was already primed. She ran into the house to find her slayer sitting in a chair reading a book on Tantumarian Spells and Potions.

The slayer didn't hesitate when she saw her witch. Kennedy went over and scooped her witch out of the chair and started up the stairs.

Willow was surprised by the move. Finally realizing what was happening, she let her slayer take control. The redhead put her arms around her slayer's neck. She saw the 'look' in the brunette's face. Willow smiled knowing it must have been an eventful patrol.

"From your expression, I take it there was demon dusting?"

Kennedy answered "yes" as she sucked on the witch's neck.

Giggling, "And how many got you in this riled up condition?"

Kennedy's mouth had moved to the redhead's ear. "Just two." The slayer kept attacking the witch's skin with her mouth.

They got upstairs and as they passed Samantha's room, Kennedy asked quickly, "Sam ok tonight?…She go to bed without a fight?" The witch answered in the affirmative to both as she let her slayer bring her into their bedroom.

The witch expected to be thrown on the bed, but the brunette took them both into their bathroom.

"What are we doing here?" the witch questioned slightly.

Seductively in response, "You…me…in the shower."

Willow was taken slightly aback by her slayer's actions. Kennedy was never a timid lover and her sex drive was 'active' but lately the witch noticed that her girl seemed to be brimming over with 'the urge.' And she was being very inventive with their 'session' locations. For her part, Willow was willing and happy to oblige her slayer's desires.

It took only a nod of the head from the witch and within a few minutes the two women were in the hot steamy shower lathering each other up and in the middle of serious foreplay. Kennedy couldn't keep her hands and mouth off her witch. She pressed her body against the girl and her hands roamed all over the contours of her redhead's slender form. The witch and slayer kissed and Kennedy used her tongue piercing to track sensations along the witch's shoulders and neck. She made Willow moan when the metal skirted across her nipple. Both women were captured in the passion as they rubbed and kissed, the soapy water a lubricant for caressing hands.

Finally, Kennedy could stand it no longer. She turned Willow so her back was against the shower wall and pressed her body hard against her wife. Her hand searched for and found its destination. Kennedy kissed Willow deep as her fingers began their rhythmic dance. Willow's body reacted immediately and it undulated in unison. The water sprayed over their bodies, the glistening from their actions unnoticeable under the liquid cascade.

Kennedy kept her actions at a fervent pace, watching her witch for the sign that her release was coming. Then she saw it. Willow's chest began to rise and fall faster and her breath caught in her throat. The witch groaned as she clung to her slayer.

Kennedy felt Willow's release hit. She felt the muscles contract and her redhead go rigid while the orgasm rippled through her. Kennedy felt like she was on top of the world.

As soon as the last wave left her, Willow quickly grabbed her slayer behind her neck and brought her in for a deep sensual kiss. Now it was the witch's turn.

Willow wasted no time in pushing the slayer back and turned her so she was facing the opposite shower wall. The water still pelted them as Willow 'did unto' Kennedy as the slayer had done unto her. Not so long after the witch had fallen, she got her slayer to the same frantic incredible height. The slayer fell as hard and as long as had the redhead.

After their interlude, the two women stayed in the shower for a few more moments, holding one another while the water cascaded over them. Heaven could only hope to be as wonderful.

The couple eventually got out of the shower and got into bed. Neither bothered with clothes. Willow was satiated. Though Kennedy was feeling relieved, the slayer knew she could easily go for another round. She thought to herself that maybe she was going into another slayer phase, one in which the slaying after-affects were intensified. She smiled with that possibility. 'If that's what it is, Wil's gonna be one tired witch.' Kennedy turned off the bedside lamp. Darkness enveloped the room.

"Night, babe." Kennedy's tone was of a contented woman. She would forego driving her witch past the point of exhaustion this night.

"Ni…" Willow was too exhausted for cogent speech.

Kennedy rolled over onto her stomach. The witch draped her hand over the slayer's back and gently ran her fingers over the small of her back.

Willow didn't know that as she ran her fingers on the bronzed skin, there were two small, blackish marks the size of a grain of salt where the slayer had been punctured by the urchin like objects the night of the Bong Boy incident.

They were too small for Willow to have seen while in the slower. But they were there.

They were there and as the slayer and witch would find out later, they were not harmless.

The morning after Independence Day, the witch and slayer could have easily slept in if their daughter would have let them. However, the little girl was up bright and early. She ran into her mothers' room and jumped on the bed. Kennedy rolled over and put her head under the pillow. She had the beginnings of a headache and couldn't handle the rambunctious nature of Sammie. Hearing her wife grumble, Willow got up with the child and took her downstairs for breakfast. It took another hour before the slayer pulled herself out of bed.

Kennedy went downstairs and into the kitchen where Willow was having coffee. Samantha was looking sternly at a piece of toast with jam. There was spilt milk on the table and a plastic glass on the floor beside the girl. Kennedy looked at the scene then at Willow.

"We're having a stand-off. She won't eat her breakfast…and she decided she didn't want milk and knocked the glass over. Now she won't pick it up like I asked her to." Willow stood there knowing that her daughter was trying out the boundaries of new found defiance.

Usually, Kennedy would have been amused at the development of her daughter's personality. But not today.

"Sam! Pick up that glass…Now!…and eat your toast!" Kennedy was in no mood for the toddler's independent streak.

The brunette didn't bother to see her daughter's reaction. She walked over to the coffee maker, grabbed a clean mug from the cabinet and poured herself a cup. She turned around and sat down at the table nook by the kitchen bay window.

At first, Willow didn't say a word to her slayer. She could tell the woman's mood wasn't 'happy.' She assumed the brunette still had the headache from when she woke up. Willow felt a little bad for her slayer. Their 'romantic' night had been intense and that type of activity usually left the slayer in a glorious mood the next day. The redhead tried to make conversation to see if she could talk her girl out of her mood.

"Did you talk to Faith yet and find out what's up with her and Miguel?" Willow had been told by Kennedy after her birthday party that the slayer suspected Faith and Miguel were having problems.

Kennedy snapped at Willow. "No! Jesus, I've been busy ya know..It's not like Faith's love life is my top priority."

Willow was surprised with the angry response. "Don't bite my head off. I was just asking…You were concerned about it the other day." She decided not to bring the subject up again.

Kennedy really didn't hear what Willow said. Her head was hurting and she just wanted to shut down her brain for a few minutes. Sitting at the table, the brunette tried to empty her mind. She ignored the pain and tried to relax.

Then the face of Bong Boy jumped into her head. He was just staring at her.

Kennedy opened her eyes and the vision was gone. 'What the hell?' she wondered. Kennedy lifted her head and her line of sight was directed out the bay window. It looked out over the yard lined in the back by large oak and pine trees. The slayer seemed to stare at nothing.

Something caught her glance. It was Bong Boy.

Hiding among the trees out of the direct line of the morning sun, Kennedy saw the hippie vamp from her patrol several nights earlier. Though far away, the slayer was certain she could see the demon laughing…laughing at her.

Without hesitation, Kennedy jumped out of her chair, threw open the back kitchen door and ran across the back yard. The vampire had gotten away once. She was not going to let him do it again. By the time the brunette got to the line of trees, there was noone in sight. Kennedy ran into the woods, searching around for the demon or some sign of where he went. She found nothing. After a few minutes, the slayer came out of the woods and headed for the house.

She was met by Willow at the back door.

"What happened, Kenn? You took off like you saw a ghost." Willow had no idea what got into her slayer. One minute she was Ms. Grumpy at the kitchen table and the next she was Slayer-in-action.

"Not a ghost…a bumpie…Bong Boy. The hippie freak was in the back yard." Kennedy's voice was angry and frustrated.

Willow was startled by the news. They'd never had a demon go to their house before. She knew it was just a matter of time, but had hoped for the event to be put off longer.

"Did you see where he went?" Willow got a creepy feeling wondering if maybe the demon was still out there watching them.

"No. I don't know what happened. He must have busted it as soon as he saw me coming." Kennedy was pissed. Not only did she still have a headache but she'd also lost the same vampire twice.

The witch didn't say anything more. She saw how upset her slayer was. Trying to talk about it more would just get the brunette mad at her.

The two stood there for a few moments, noone speaking. Finally, Kennedy muttered "I'm getting dressed. I gotta meet Lee for a training session." The slayer walked off before Willow had a chance to respond. On her way upstairs, the brunette stepped on one of Samantha's toys. She kicked it hard down the stairs while saying under her breath, "Fucking toys everywhere." Kennedy couldn't wait to let off some steam.

Later, Kennedy and Lee were sparring. The slayers, even though in physically fit condition and well versed in hand to hand combat, still worked out almost every day. They trained on different weapons to keep their skills sharp. The fought each other to make sure that they didn't become lax in their fighting styles. Kennedy had shown Lee some of her techniques learned in Brazil. The sparring got intense but never out of control.

The slayers were battling each other. Each had moments when one got the advantage over the other. Kennedy, however, was still the better skilled. Lee noticed that the older slayer was particularly ready for the fight that day. She pressed for more intense contact. Kennedy's headache was gone and she had pent up energy to lose. The two women fought. For anyone looking at them, they would have thought the two were trying to kill each other. Such was the nature of slayer workouts.

They sparred for a good while and then Lee decided she'd had enough. Standing up and lowering her arms. "Ok, that's enough. I've got some errands to run."

Kennedy didn't want to stop and caught the woman with a right jab to the side.

"Hey!" Lee shouted. "Cheap shot. I said I'm done. If you need to keep hitting something, go beat the crap outta the hard bag." She started to walk toward the locker room.

Kennedy got a smirk on her face and decided to tease her. The brunette snuck up behind her and went to throw a light punch at her head. However, Lee heard the slayer coming up from behind and turned at the last minute and caught her boss square in the jaw with a left hook. Lee had meant it as a friendly reminder that she too was a slayer who had a few tricks up her sleeve.

When the punch landed on Kennedy's face, something in the slayer snapped. It was like a voice in her head told her she was being "dissed" by the younger, a physical act of subordination. Kennedy responded by lashing out in rage.

Out of nowhere, the slayer became incensed and went after her fellow slayer. The brunette jumped on Lee, forcing her on the floor. She began hitting the woman. The older slayer didn't even seem to have a plan of attack; she just kept lashing out.

Lee was taken completely off guard by Kennedy's actions. At first, she wasn't sure what was happening. But she quickly realized she was in a real fight and started to defend herself. She fought back and after taking some hard hits was able to kick Kennedy off her.

The brunette landed on her back and slid for a few feet before stopping. She was ready to get back up and attack again but her mind started to clear. The fog of anger lifted and she realized what had occurred. Kennedy, still on her back, got up into a sitting position. She stared at a still very surprised but also pissed off Lee.

"Shit! Sorry…Lee…I don't know…what…Fuck!…I didn't mean to…" The slayer really didn't know how to apologize for an action that she had no clue as to why she did it.

Lee was silent for a long time. She had trouble looking at her slayer partner. She too was trying to decipher what got into the older woman. Eventually, she decided that Kennedy's enthusiasm had gotten the better of her. Even slayers lost control once in a while.

Accepting Kennedy's attempt at a sincere "Sorry", the younger slayer gave her an expression that let Kennedy know she was forgiven. Lee went over to the brunette and held out her hand to help the woman up. Kennedy took it and, once standing, the two slayers were eye to eye.

"Don't ever do that again," Lee said directly.

"I won't," Kennedy answered apologetically.

Nothing else was said and the two went to the locker room to shower and change. The two didn't speak but went about their business.

As the two slayers were packing up their things to leave, there was a knock at the door. The gym that Kennedy and Lee used for training was a private building bought by the Watcher's Council for the sole benefit of Lee and Kennedy and any other slayer, Council member or affiliate who might need its use. Noone from the 'regular' world knew about it except those close to the slayers.

Lee opened the door. It was Paulette, Alice and Traycee.

"Hey guys! We saw your cars out front and figured we'd see if you wanted to go to Hailey's…Alice is hungry and Traycee desperately needs a rum and coke. Whatdaya say?"

Lee glanced over to Kennedy. The brunette felt bad about her actions and thought this might be a way to help smooth things out with the younger slayer. Drinks and laughs did wonders to put friendships back on track.

"I'm game if you are," Kennedy stated. There was a hint of request in the brunette's tone.

Lee cracked a smile. "Sure. Kinda feel like a beer would be a good thing right about now."

The decision made, they all exited the building. Kennedy called Willow to see if she could go over also. She got the answering machine and left a message. As the women walked to their respective vehicles, Traycee was beside Kennedy. The slayer noticed that the blonde was dressed very conservative compared to her astounding bikini on the Fourth of July. She wore expensive blue jeans and a designer t-shirt. Before Traycee veered to Paulette's car, she leaned over to the brunette.

Softly so noone else could hear, "Glad you're coming.…" Then coyly, "Paulette says only good things about you."

Kennedy didn't respond. She kept walking and got into her car. But, the whole way to the bar, the slayer had the scent of the woman's perfume swimming in her head.

While Kennedy's day unfolded, Willow was having a few glitches to her own day. After the brunette left, Willow got Samantha ready and took her to her tumbling class. While she waited, the witch organized her thoughts on what she needed and wanted to do. First, she was still upset about a demon hanging around their yard. She thought she could do a little research to see if there'd been any strange "dog bites" in the area lately or if there was anything on the internet about a "counterculture" vampire. She knew the demon had gotten under Kennedy's skin and wanted to help her slayer in whatever way she could.

The witch also had a few telephone calls to make about a possible teaching position in the fall. She'd already submitted her resume to various school districts.

Most importantly, Willow wanted to spend some time trying to tap into her 'magickal' source as she did at the Grand Canyon. She was attempting to deepen her connection with the universe and her power. So far in her attempts, she'd been unsuccessful. The redhead chalked it up to all the issues she'd had on her mind in the recent weeks. Now that she had a clearer picture of what she wanted to do, she hoped that her 'channel' wouldn't be so blocked.

After tumbling class was over, Willow dropped off Samantha at one of her friend's house for a "play date." With Kennedy training, the witch knew she had several hours all to herself to practice her craft.

"Cripes…What is the problem?" Willow was talking to herself as she walked around her upstairs 'office.' The redhead had been trying to develop that deep connect with her psyche that she felt in Arizona. Her results were less than she expected. The witch had been able to briefly sense that same feeling of attachment to another dimension or reality. But it was unsustainable, as fleeting as time itself in the Great Mystery. The more Willow tried, the more blocked she became.

Finally, the redhead took another approach. She decided not to try to connect. Instead, she closed her eyes, breathed deeply and thought about…nothing. There was no magick, no sensing of the universe, no mind expansion. Willow did nothing but 'be.'

The witch was brought of her state when she heard the doorbell ring. She quickly opened her eyes and looked around from her sitting position on the floor. She was tired. The redhead felt like she'd run all day. She glanced at the clock on the desk top. Almost three hours had gone by. The doorbell rang again.

"Uh, oh." The witch jumped up and hurried down the stairs to the front door. It was the mother of Samantha's friend bringing the girl home.

Flustered, "Hey, Shelly. Sorry for not answering sooner…I was in the laundry room. Didn't hear the doorbell at first."

The women talked for a bit and then the mother left.

"You have a good time with Kaley?" The witch was tired but still wanted to know how her daughter's play time had gone.

"Uh, huh…I'm hungry."

Willow smiled. "Then let's see about dinner."

Mother and daughter went to the kitchen. It was close to dinner time so the redhead decided to start fixing something quick for the fa