Operation: Bring Tara Home
"Well that was almost disappointing,” Buffy said, flopping into a chair at the war table.
Willow smiled. "I know what you mean.” The demon had dissipated as soon as Giles had thrown the potion and spoke the incantation. No fuss, no muss. The loss of the little cat saddened her and she would miss him. It wasn't as if he'd been trying to hurt anyone, not really, and slaying a demon that was pretty much harmless never gave her the same rush of satisfaction as slaying one that was hell-bent on eating someone. Usually her. She sat down next to Buffy, relieved that it had been so easy and anxious to start on finding a way to bring Tara home.
"Hey, anytime we face a demon and no one gets hurt it's a victory,” Xander chimed in as he sat down and tipped back in his chair.
"Besides,” Dawn added, "now we can focus on bringing Tara home.” Her face reflected her excitement at the prospect of bringing the blonde witch back to them. The grin never left her face as she grabbed the chair next to Xander and settled her lithe form into it.
Giles cleared his throat and the group looked up at him. "I think we're getting a little ahead of ourselves,” he said, beginning to pace. "While we know Tara is out there, quite probably with that dimension's version of Angel, we have no idea how or even if we can get to her.” He paused to look at the group and sighed. "I don't want to be a wet blanket, but there is much we don't know.”
"But Terese said . . .” Dawn started, her face falling in disappointment.
Willow's heart ached as she watched Dawn fight back the tears but she nodded in agreement with Giles. "Giles is right,” she said, her expression settling into her familiar 'resolve face', "we're getting her back but we need to figure out where and when she is and how to get her – or even if she wants to come here with us. This isn’t her world, really.”
"But she’s calling for help,” Dawn protested. "We’re help!”
"Well, yes, indeed,” said Giles. "The ‘if it can be done’ and ‘how to do it’ of bringing her and Angel to this dimension seems to be the main issues. The rest, I suppose, will be resolved as Willow has more communications.”
"How? What do we research?” Xander asked as he tipped forward in his chair, settling all four legs on the floor. There was an unfamiliar eagerness in his tone and in his eyes.
Willow marveled at Xander's apparent excitement over research. She couldn't remember a time when her childhood friend was excited over cracking a book.. 'Guess he liked Tara more than I thought,' she smiled to herself. Her friends really never did stop amazing her with their unwavering affection and loyalty.
"Portals. Dimensions. We can research those but the biggest obstacle is finding the right portal to open into the right dimension. We have to be certain before we do anything. Opening the wrong portal could be catastrophic. And we're not just looking for a portal to a dimension.” Giles said heading into the stacks. "We're looking for a specific portal to a specific place in a dimension of a specific alternate reality. The task before us is rather daunting,” he said with a note of caution in his voice as he looked at Willow.
She nodded, understanding the challenges that stood between them and finding Tara as they heaved a collective sigh. Giles started pulling books from their shelves and dropping them on the war table. Willow thought about what Giles had said and wondered how they were going to narrow it down. 'Think, Willow, think.' She realized forcing herself to think wasn't going to help them. She needed a clear head and some idea of what they were looking for. She looked at her friends as they started to dive into the books and remembered the book Terese had given her. Mati-Syra-Zemlya was the goddess of oaths and promises. She heard them all. Willow frowned trying to remember something and stood up suddenly as she remembered it.
"Guys, I'm gonna go upstairs to meditate.” She frowned at their puzzled faces before explaining. "Mati-Syra-Zemlya is supposed to help people keep their promises, not just remember them. Maybe she can help point us in the right direction. And, don't forget, we're probably looking for Angel and Tara. That'll make a difference when we open the portal. No point to opening a door that only has Angel or Tara behind it.”
"Excellent point and a good idea, Willow,” Giles said, nodding his approval. "Whilst it's not easy to open a portal, we will research opening one as we know it can be done in a non-malevolent manner,” he said as he placed another stack of books on the table. "We can start by researching how to access alternate realities without the aid of a demon trying to take over the world. Then, hopefully, Willow will have the answers for opening the right door.”
Dawn frowned at the mountain of books on the table. "Do we know anyone who could point us in the right direction? I mean,” she said with a glance at Xander, "we ruled out D'Hoffryn but, someone else?” She looked at her sister and Willow. "We know Angel did some dimension traveling, right?”
Buffy nodded thoughtfully. "Angel's dead or, at least, that's what we've been told. Is there anyone else? Wes, Cordelia, any of Angel's other friends?” She looked at Willow.
Willow thought for a moment then sighed. "Cordy and Fred died before Angel disappeared. Wesley and Gunn were lost when Angel was so even if they're not dead we don't know where they are.” She frowned, trying to think of anyone else they might be able to call. "Lorne disappeared around the same time the rest of them did and I can't imagine anyone at Wolfram and Hart would be eager or even willing to help us.” She shook her head and looked at the others. "Honestly? I think we know as much as anyone else at this point since, you know, we've actually opened one.”
They all nodded in acceptance of their situation. Willow headed upstairs, leaving the others to the ever-growing mountain of books on the table before them.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Willow scooped fine white sand from the large earthenware urn she kept in a corner of her room into a blue and green marbled bowl designed to allow for precise pouring. The bowl was beautiful and Willow absolutely loved it – as much for its beauty as for the fact that Terese had given it to her as a gift, telling Willow that she had chosen it because the green had brought to her mind the color of Willow's eyes. Willow smiled at the memory. Another reason she cherished the bowl was because the she had thought the blue matched the color of Tara's eyes and the way they marbled together always made Willow think of how well she and Tara had meshed together.
Grateful to finally be able to kick off her shoes, she slowed her breathing to long, deliberate breaths. She concentrated on the Truth and the traditional meaning of the pentagram: protection, creation, health and the quest for wisdom. With small steps and sure motions borne of long practice, Willow poured the sand into lines. At each angle, Willow murmured a prayer to each of the four elements represented; earth, fire, air and water. Her final connection was that of the Quintessence – the spirit. Already halfway into a deep trance, Willow closed the curtains, blocking out the sunlight. Sitting in the center of the star, she finished the pentagram by pouring sand counter-clockwise to encircle it, murmuring a quiet prayer to Hecate, asking for her blessing and protection.
Setting the bowl aside, she took several deep breaths to clear her mind of everything but the promise to Tara before beginning to pray:
"Mati-Syra-Zemlya
I come to you again in supplication
a promise remembered
yet to be kept
please help me find the path
back to my beloved.”
The images came slower this time; the crater that was Sunnydale, a doll's eye crystal, and claddagh ring were interspersed with images of Buffy, Tara and Angel. More images joined those; red, clear and blue crystals set in a bracelet, the Slayer's Scythe, a truck and a trailer, Buffy's house in Sunnydale, a portal window. As the images swirled, a pattern emerged: Buffy's house, Tara, Angel, the Sunnydale crater, Tara, Angel, a doll's eye crystal, Tara, a claddagh ring, Angel, the crystals set in a bracelet, the red crystal, a portal, the blue crystal, a portal, the white crystal, a portal, the scythe, Buffy, a portal, the Sunnydale crater, Buffy, a truck and trailer, Buffy, Angel, Tara, a portal window.
Willow roused from her meditations, closed and dismissed the circle and pentagram and again sat in the papa-san chair staring out the window. Trying to sort through what the images meant, she realized that the images had stopped once she'd recognized the pattern. Bolting to the desk, she snatched up a notebook and a pen. Quickly, she jotted down the images then sat back down to ponder their meanings. 'Well, the doll's eye is probably linked to Tara,' she thought, wondering where she was going to find one. All of Tara's things were in Sunnydale when it cratered. At least, she thought they were. Guilt washed over her as she realized for the first time that Buffy and Xander, and maybe Dawn, had probably packed up all of Tara's things in the aftermath of Willow's majick binge. Something she, as Tara's partner, lover and friend, should have done. It was just one more time when the others had had to clean up after her – as her karmic debt to them increased, so did her love for her friends. She sighed. 'Nothing to be done about it now. I wonder if Buffy still has Angel's claddagh ring?' Her mind focused on the other aspects of the vision as she thought to herself, 'Easy enough to find three crystals in red, clear and blue but what do I do with them once I have them – how do I make them into a bracelet? And why? The truck and trailer are probably the ones I saw the last time I saw Tara's Sunnyhell. The crater that was Sunnydale and Buffy and the scythe, not sure what to do with those,' she thought. She had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach that it meant taking a trip none of them ever wanted to make. Willow shook her head and stood up, heading out of her room and back downstairs to see if the others had found anything helpful.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Well,” Giles was saying as Willow walked back into the library, "without question, we can open a portal. We just have to find the right key, as it were. Willow, any luck?” he asked as the redhead walked toward the war table.
Willow nodded. "I think,” she said haltingly, "I think we need to go home.” When she finished, she looked at her friends. She was nervous, she was sure that's what her vision was telling her but she wasn't sure how the other Scoobies would take the news.
"Will?” Buffy looked puzzled.
Willow told the others about her latest meditations. "I'm not sure what all the images mean but I'm pretty sure . . .”
"The Hellmouth,” Buffy finished for her, her face falling in resignation.
Willow nodded. "The Hellmouth,” she agreed, albeit half-heartedly. She knew she was right but she wasn't happy about it.
"Uh, maybe I'm dense here but why, exactly,” Xander asked, his brow knitted into a puzzled expression.
"Yeah. I mean, we've done the research and can open the portal anywhere there's a 'hot spot'. No reason we can't find a hot spot closer to home - this home,” Dawn chimed in, also looking a bit confused.
Willow took a deep breath and tried to explain. "See, yeah, we can open a portal anywhere there's a 'hot spot' but I have a feeling we need to open the portal near the Hellmouth in Sunnydale because of the mystical properties there. I mean the Hellmouth is closed but the majick is still there and stronger than any other hot spot and we're trying to pull Tara from an alternate Sunnydale so, I think that's why, maybe, I mean . . .and, oh, plus if Tara and Angel don't want to come to England and we just 'poof' them here so you know, they can decide while we're in California and . . . ” Willow stopped, realizing she was babbling. It wasn't something she could actually explain, she just knew they had to go there. She took a deep breath and started again. "Okay, I admit, I don't know why we have to go home. I just know we do.” She looked at the floor and shuffled her feet. "It just feels right, guys.” She shrugged, looking up.
"Well, then,” Giles said, removing his glasses and cleaning them with a handkerchief, "I suggest we try to find the meanings behind these images, then find the proper portal spell. Then we can start making arrangements to go back to the Hellmouth.” He frowned as he balanced his glasses back on his nose. "We'll need to make hotel reservations and rent a car. I'll see if Andrew's back with the plane so we can take that instead of flying commercial.” He looked up at his young friends. "First things first, though. Willow, what do you make of the other images?”
Willow hesitated a moment. "I think the pattern is as important as the objects are. See, Buffy's house then Tara and Angel. I'm pretty sure Tara and Angel are living in Buffy's house in their reality, so that makes sense. Then a portal window followed by Tara and Angel again. So, again it makes sense that that's how we're getting to them. I think the doll's eye is so we can somehow link to Tara, same with the claddagh and Angel,” she frowned, biting her bottom lip, "Then I'm not sure about the crystal bracelet, the scythe and Buffy but I'm pretty sure the truck and trailer are the ones I saw the last time I saw Tara's Sunnyhell.”
Giles nodded as the others continued to look at the list. Willow sighed, knowing she had to ask about Tara's things. She needed to apologize and thank whoever had taken care of them. Clearing her throat, she felt the flush rise in her cheeks as they all looked at her. "Uh, guys, it's just that, uh . . . when I finished meditating, I was thinking about the doll's eye and how I thought maybe it was telling me to use Tara's doll's eye like I would use Angel's claddagh as a link . . . I mean, if Buffy still has Angel's claddagh . . .” she paused, unconsciously waiting for Buffy's affirmation, then continued, "but then I remembered or realized or something that, uh, Tara's stuff was all in Sunnydale when it cratered but then I, uh, well, that is . . .” she stumbled over the words before taking a deep breath and finishing in a rush. "I realized that I don't know who took care of Tara's things because I wasn't there to do it and I wanted to say I'm sorry and thanks.”
She could feel the heat in her face and couldn't look at her friends. She couldn't believe it hadn't occurred to her before now that someone else had had to take care of all of Tara's final business. A tear slipped down her cheek without warning, quickly followed by several others. She wasn't aware that anyone had moved until she felt Buffy and Xander's arms around her. She hadn't realized how badly this could hurt, hadn't realized that she had never really mourned Tara; guilt once again fought its way to the surface as she remembered how she had lost herself in learning majick and Kennedy, poor Kennedy, and the last apocalypse and had never dealt with the loss, not really. Realizing she didn't even have a picture or any remembrance of Tara caused another wave of grief to wash over her. After several moments she pulled away from her two best friends. Giles and Dawn were looking at her sympathetically.
"Sorry, gang,” she said, blowing her nose into the handkerchief Giles thoughtfully offered. She smiled wanly at him. "I'll wash it before I try giving it back, Giles.” He flushed and cleared his throat, causing Dawn to giggle. "I just, I guess I just never dealt with Tara's death. I mean, really dealt. You all had to deal with the aftermath of her death. I kind of buried myself in the majicks and Kennedy and whatever else I could. I guess it finally backed up on me.”
"It's ok, Will. We get it,” Buffy said, with a soft smile, "and, now, we're working on getting her back. So it kind of makes sense that it would all back up on you now.”
Willow nodded. "Yeah. I guess thinking about the doll's eye and knowing I don't have anything of Tara's, not even a picture, kind of shook me up.” She swallowed hard to keep the lump in her throat from burbling up and becoming a sob because that would lead to more tears and more grief and then more lumps and . . . she shook her head to stop the babble in her brain before it went from brook to stream to river in three short steps.
Giles cleared his throat and Willow looked up, catching a guilty look pass between Xander and Buffy. "What?” she asked suspiciously.
"Well, when Tara died and we packed up her room we kind of put a box of stuff aside and sent it to Giles,” Xander said, turning red with embarrassment. "We thought you might want some of her stuff but we didn't want to leave it at the house where you could just sort of stumble on it so we sent it to Giles to hang onto just in case you ever wanted it.”
Willow couldn't believe that her friends had thought about that, swallowing once again as the tears threatened to overwhelm her. She smiled warmly at Xander and Buffy, the tears shining unshed in her eyes. "You guys are the best, you know that? Thank you for thinking of that.” Turning to Giles she asked, a little afraid of the answer, "Do you still have any of it, Giles?”
He nodded. "Yes. It's actually in one of the storage bins in the basement. I never opened it so I don't know what's in it, but I'll go fetch it and we can have a look.”
"I'll go, Giles,” Dawn offered, "just tell me where it is.” Giles nodded and told Dawn where she could find the box.
"I'll come with you,” offered Xander, "that box was pretty heavy.”
Dawn's only response was a quirk of her brow and a flip of her hair as she turned to leave. No one said a word as Xander lumbered after her but a sidelong glance at her best friend confirmed that the "peep” heard when the door closed was Buffy, trying to stifle a giggle.
The rest of them reclaimed their chairs at the war table and Giles turned to the two young women still in the library. Eyebrow raised as though to quell any sort of comment, he said, "Well, we know how to open the portal and we've got a good idea of where to open it. What else do we know? What more do we still need to figure out?” He directed his questions to both young women but looked at Willow.
Willow frowned in concentration. "The crystal bracelet, Buffy and the scythe are the only things we have no idea about. Buffy? Do you still have the claddagh ring Angel gave you?”
Buffy nodded and looked thoughtful. "I think I have to go through the portal.”
Willow and Giles stared at her. Without inflection, Giles asked, "As the devil's advocate, I’ll ask, why do you think you should go through instead of Willow?”
Buffy looked at him and shrugged. "Because of the way I show up in the pattern of Will's meditation. Twice before the portal and once after the crater. The scythe is my weapon. I think I'm the one that has to go through and bring them back.” She shrugged again as if to say, 'no big, it's what I do,' but Willow knew it would be huge deal for Buffy to go back to the place that tried to kill her for seven years. Never mind that it succeeded twice.
Willow nodded in resignation. "That makes sense, Buff,” she said, unable to keep the regret out of her voice and again, Buffy just shrugged. "So the only real mystery is the crystal bracelet. We use something of Tara's and Angel's claddagh ring to 'key' the right portal, plus the right incantation. Buffy goes through the portal with the scythe and gets Angel and Tara. The three of them come back through . . .” she trailed off as she thought of something. "Wait. The truck and trailer are probably how you're coming back through the portal. I remember . . .” she closed her eyes in an effort to remember something she thought she knew about portals. "Giles, I seem to remember something about people going through a portal together not being a good thing for some reason?” She looked at the watcher and saw him frown in concentration.
Giles started sifting through the books on the table until settling on one of the smaller volumes. Flipping through it, he stopped toward the end. "Ah, yes, here it is.” He read for a moment then looked up. "I think Willow is right, you'll need the truck, at least, to come back through with Angel and Tara. When people go through a portal together, they don't necessarily end up in the same place. A metal enclosure with four sides will ensure that people going through together, stay together.”
"But I'm okay going through on foot?” Buffy asked, wrinkling her brow. "All of my parts will still be all of my parts when I go through it?” she asked as a look of concern went across her face.
"Yeah, Buff, I remember now. Wesley and I were talking about the trip he, Angel, Lorne, and Gunn took to Pylea to rescue Cordy. He said something about how they'd been worried about being separated and that was how they did it. They took Angel's car.” She nodded as the knowledge came back to her. "So you're fine going through on foot because it's just you. When you come back, though, it'll be the three of you and we want all three of you coming through together.”
"Quite right,” Giles said. "Oh, good,” he said as Dawn and Xander came back into the library.
Xander was carrying a medium sized box and had a befuddled expression on his face. Willow thought Dawn looked like the cat who swallowed the canary, 'poor birdie'. She frowned and shook her head at the non-sequitur but said nothing as Dawn slipped back into her chair. An image of Xander in a chicken costume popped into her mind. She stifled the giggle and wondered at her exhaustion level.
Giles asked, "Did you find it easily?”
Dawn nodded. "Yeah, no problem,” she said, as Xander set the box down in an empty space on the war table.
Willow looked at it with a mix of excitement and dread. "Thank you,” she whispered to Dawn and Xander.
Buffy put a hand over Willow's, smiling when Will looked at her. "It'll be fine, Will.”
Willow nodded and took a deep breath before pulling the cover off the box. Inside she found pictures of Tara and her and she lingered over them for a moment before sifting through the other items in the box; some of Tara's jewelry and clothing and quite a bit of her majick stuff; some herbs, statues and potions, the crystal ball Giles had given Tara for her twentieth birthday and there, among an assortment of other crystals, was the doll's eye. Willow again felt the tears start to fall. Taking a deep breath, she extracted the doll's eye crystal from the box. As she held it memories flooded into her mind. 'Goddess, we were so young. Everything was so new and exciting and… Goddess I miss her,' she thought, remembering the first night they'd used the crystal. It had been the first time they'd spent the night together. Tara was so sweet and shy as she had kissed Willow that first time. Willow had thought the power that had passed between them when they'd joined hands against The Gentlemen had been strong but it paled in comparison to the electricity that raced through her during that first kiss. And every kiss and every touch after that. The force of that memory made Willow feel as though she'd been punched in the stomach. She felt the blood drain from her face as her legs began to buckle and she was only vaguely aware of someone putting a chair under her as she began to sink to the floor. The roaring in her ears drowned out anything her friends may have said. She had thought she was all cried out but discovered she was wrong as sobs wracked her body. Her only thought – how could I have forgotten what that was like? She didn't want to follow that train of thought but it refused to be derailed – how could she have settled for the black and white pencil sketches that were her and Kennedy after experiencing the 3D, sixty-four bit, Technicolor world that Tara had shared with her?
Grief and guilt warred for supremacy, neither giving any quarter. She felt Xander and Buffy wrapping their arms around her and drew strength from them. Slowly the grief ebbed and the guilt loosened its grip. She drew several deep, shuddering breaths, willing herself to calm down. Giving her friends a watery smile, she held up the doll's eye. "This was what was in my meditation,” she said. "I think we're on the right track.”
Buffy looked as though she wanted to say something but Willow looked at her pleadingly, silently begging her best friend to let it go. Buffy frowned at her but said nothing, for which Willow was grateful. She was so tired, the emotional roller-coaster she'd been on all day had worn her out but they still had work to do. "So now all we need to figure out is the crystal bracelet,” she said, giving herself a mental shake and pulling herself back together. Grieving and guilt could be dealt with later. Much later.
"Well, we also need to get the right incantation and ingredients. Then we can make travel arrangement,.” Giles said then added, "I'll call and find out where the plane is.” He started leaving the library, turning back with a puzzled look to ask, "Does anyone know why we don't have a phone in the library?”
Willow giggled, releasing some of the nervous tension. "I was wondering that when Terese called earlier.” Giles just shook his head and continued out of the library. Willow then looked seriously at Buffy and Xander. "Really, guys. Thanks. For everything.” They both smiled and shrugged.
"So, how do we find out what we're doing with the crystal bracelet?” Dawn asked, breaking up the awkwardness of the moment and bringing their focus back to the task at hand.
"I don't know, Dawn.” Willow furrowed her brow and looked at the list, trying to figure out from the placement of the bracelet what it was supposed to do. "I wonder if, maybe, the crystals need to somehow be enchanted for the portal.” Willow closed her eyes and concentrated, blocking out the conversation going on around her, letting her mind drift. Three crystals set in a bracelet. The portal. Buffy. She sat still for several moments, drawing in the energies around her. She could feel Buffy, Xander and Dawn; aware of their energies without being aware of them. Her breathing grew shallow as she found her center. She had the answer: a crystal bracelet. What she needed was the question. All she was seeing, however, was a traffic signal with red, white and blue lights. Oh. Duh. After several more moments she brought herself back out of her trance, slowly becoming aware of her surroundings. They were all still sitting around the war table. Giles had returned and they were discussing the travel plans.
"Why can't I go, too?” Dawn was asking. "I'm not a child, Giles.”
"No, you're not, which is precisely why I need you to stay here. If we all go, there will be no one here to field calls from Watchers or about potentials.” He looked at Dawn, his face full of sincerity. "I need someone here I can trust, someone who knows what is being done and how. You know where all the temporary training facilities are and how to arrange the flights and necessary accommodations.” He smiled at her warmly. "I can trust you to handle whatever problems arise and I can trust you to keep Andrew in line.”
"Besides, Dawn,” Xander added, "you've been in on all the planning. You can read a blueprint. I need someone here to answer any questions the crew might have. You know what deliveries we're expecting. I know I can trust you to take care of the construction while I'm gone.” He smiled at Dawn and she flushed. Willow wasn't sure if it was embarrassment or pride but it was cute because when Dawn flushed, so did Xander.
"And you can write checks for anything that does get delivered. Face it, Dawn, you're right. You're not a child. You are everyone's second in command here at Scooby and Slayer Central.” Buffy grinned at her sister and Willow had to stifle a giggle. Buffy did have a point. Without realizing it, they had all come to rely on Dawn as 'backup girl'. She did know everything about the workings of both Scooby and Slayer Central.
"This is just all you guys' way of leaving me behind,” Dawn pouted, crossing her arms over her chest.
Willow finally spoke up. "Not really. Think about it, Dawn. You're as quick with research and computer stuff as I am. You know all the finance stuff, all the construction stuff. As a matter of fact, now that I'm saying it all out loud, you should be the head of the organization.” Willow was surprised as she realized how true that was. "I mean, you can't do spells but you made up the spell database. You know what ingredients are needed for which spell and if you don't, you have quick access. Buffy's right, we may have been thinking of you as a kid, but we sure haven't treated you like one. You know everything about everything the rest of us do.” Willow looked at Dawn with newfound respect and admiration. "Wow, Dawn, you really have grown up.” Willow also knew better than to add that she was also concerned about Dawn and would feel better if the young woman was far away from whatever dangers they might encounter. As grown up as Dawn was, she still didn't need to be placed in peril unnecessarily.
"Well of course she's all grown up. I could have told you she was a big girl,” Xander said, flushing at the looks he received from the three women. "No, not like that, I mean,” he stammered. "I mean yes, she is, but dammit! I just meant she's smart and she knows what's going on. Sheesh,” he finished.
Dawn flushed but ignored Xander's rambling, instead looking back at Willow and smiling. "Wow. I guess I never thought of it like that. I figured I was just helping out where I could, trying to make myself useful. I guess I didn't realize how much about our operations I was learning. Cool.”
"All right then? We're agreed? Dawn will stay here and hold down the fort while the rest of us head out to California?” Giles asked.
"Sounds like a plan, G-man!” Xander said enthusiastically, ignoring Giles' glare.
After a moment of glaring at Xander, Giles turned his attention to Willow. "Willow, when I walked back in you were, er, not quite here. Any luck figuring out the crystals?”
Willow nodded. "Yeah. I think they need to be enchanted to let Buffy know when the portal is opening. The red will glow so she knows it's closed, the blue can let her know the portal is going to open soon and the clear will let her know it's open.” She shrugged. "I have no reason for why I assigned the colors that way but I don't think it matters. And the color scheme seems to make sense so it won't be hard to remember,” she said.
"Sounds reasonable. The plane will be available the day after tomorrow. Will you be ready then?” Giles asked.
Willow nodded. "Yeah. I'll be ready.” She gave him a wry grin. "How hard can it be? Enchant a few crystals, imbue a couple of things with essences of Angel and Tara, figure out the proper incantation and who to incant to. Piece of not-so-easy pie.”
Giles chuckled. "Well, let me know if I can do anything to help. I'll make sure everything is ready for us to leave in two days.”
"Yeah, Will, whatever you need, let us know,” Buffy said, standing up. "Are we actually done? I mean, I know we've got a – do we have a plan?”
"Yeah, Buff, the plan is for Willow and Giles to do all the work and we go get ice cream.” Xander grinned his goofy grin and they all laughed. "Seriously, Will, whatever you need,” he said, the warmth in both his eye and his smile.
"Thanks guys. Just make sure you're packed and ready to go. I'm going to go gather the supplies we're going to need and try to figure out who to pray to and what incantation I'm going to need. Buff, don't forget the scythe.”
Buffy nodded and they all headed out of the library. Willow hung back a minute and called to Dawn, "Dawn, can I talk to you for a second?”
Dawn looked puzzled but hung back. "What's up?”
Willow smiled at her young friend. "Thank you. I know how much you want to see Tara and how hard it is for you to stay behind but I really appreciate you staying so we'll all have peace of mind while we're gone. Even if she doesn't want to make her home here, I know she'll want to come see you.”
Dawn nodded, tears forming in her eyes. "I miss her, you know? I mean, of course you know but . . . bring her back, okay?” she pleaded.
Willow nodded and hugged her tightly, saying a silent prayer to whoever was listening to help bring Tara home.