DISCLAIMER AND AUTHOR'S NOTE: All Buffy The Vampire Slayer stuff belongs to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and Warner Brothers. No copyright infringement was intended in the writing of this fiction. All other characters that appear belong to me. This story cannot be sold or used for profit in any way. Copies may be made for private use only and must include this copyright notice and disclaimer. There is some subtext in this story. If this kind of stuff is not legal where you live, if you're under 18 or if you don't like the notion of two women being in love, then you should read no further. Oh, my Mr Joss Whedon is not the Joss we all love and envy. This story is a sequel to In the Family.

Love Is In the Air
By Kristjan Brezovnik

"Hey, guys," Faith said when she came across Sara and Daisy at the Bronze.

The girls smiled at her.

"Hey, Faith," Daisy said.

"Haven't seen you around here in a while."

"Yeah, we've been staying in."

"How come?"

Sara and Daisy glanced at one another.

"Well, we've had a serious conversation with our parents," Sara said. "They were pretty pissed, so we decided to stay in."

"They didn't ground you?"

"No, no, just, you know, they were shocked when they saw us kissing and when they found out we've been having sex since we were ten or so."

"Oh."

"They freaked out at first," Daisy said, "but then they talked about it. Then they talked to us about it." She smiled. "They were pretty embarrassed to talk about sex, but they did promise that they would try to stay home more."

"And they've kept the promise so far," Sara said.

"Yes."

"Cool," Faith said. She smirked. "So you're out on the hunt again?"

Sara and Daisy glanced at one another.

"No, not really," Daisy said. "I mean, we love sex, and it, I don't know, filled the emptiness we felt because our parents were never home, but lately, we're starting to learn that there's more to life than just sex and we don't have sex every day like we used to."

Faith raised an eyebrow.

"Does that mean that you're not interested in me and Cordelia anymore?"

"No!" Sara and Daisy said in unison and Faith laughed.

"We are," Daisy said.

"Yeah," Sara said. "But you should let us know a couple of days in advance."

"Okay," Faith said.

"Oh look," Daisy said, "Denise and Mike are finally on a date."

Sara and Faith looked.

"Finally?" Faith asked.

"Oh yeah. Mike's had a crush on her for a long time."

"He even turned us down because of her," Sara said.

"Yes. And Denise was also interested, but she was always bitchy. I think there was a conflict of interests, having Mike or being popular. I guess Mike finally won."

"Yeah," Sara agreed.

"Oh.

"Have you been on patrol yet?" Daisy asked.

"No. I just came here for a drink first and to make sure there are no vamps around."

"Oh."

"Come on, Daisy, let's go dance," Sara said as the music changed.

"Gotta go!" Daisy called as Sara dragged her away.

Faith laughed and then went to the bar to get a drink.

"So, how was it?" Monique asked when they were back home.

Renee shrugged.

"Okay. Mom and Dad came."

Monique raised an eyebrow.

"And?"

"Nothing. They didn't say anything, but I could feel that they were not very happy. Hope felt it too."

"Sorry."

Renee smiled and sighed.

"Yeah. Oh, I told her about James."

Monique frowned, surprised.

"Hope?"

"Yes. She asked me about Mom and Dad when they came and I tried to explain and then she asked me about her… dad."

Monique squeezed her hand.

"Sorry."

"I would have to tell her sometime." She thought for a moment. "I… I think I'll go pay him a visit."

Monique raised an eyebrow.

"Are you sure?"

Renee nodded.

"I have to face him, I can't live in fear for the rest of my life."

Monique thought about it.

"If you want me to go with you…" she offered.

Renee smiled.

"Thanks. I'm not gonna go visit him just yet, I'm not ready."

"Oh. Well, when you're ready then."

Renee nodded.

"Thanks."

In the afternoon, Cassandra visited Nici again, like she now regularly did.

"Hi," she said as she entered Nici's room.

Nici smiled at her.

"Hi," she responded and they kissed.

"Mmm, I like that," Cassandra then said. "So, you ready to go out?"

Nici nodded.

"Nici just finish this."

Cassandra looked and dropped her jaw.

"Wow," she said, amazed.

Nici looked at her.

"Cassie like painting?"

"You bet. It's so… real. It's absolutely awesome." She looked at Nici. "I didn't know you painted."

Nici shrugged.

"Nici like to paint."

Cassandra smiled.

"Obviously. What else did you paint?"

"Cassie want to see?" Nici asked, excited.

"Yes."

Nici beamed and opened a map. Cassandra started to look at the paintings of various sizes.

"This is so great," she said, amazed, and Nici beamed even more, glad that Cassandra liked her paintings.

"Cassie want one?" she asked.

Cassandra looked at her, surprised.

"You want to give me one?"

Nici nodded.

Cassandra continued to look and finally picked a small painting of Nici.

"This one."

Nici smiled.

"Okay."

"I'll put it in my locker, so I can see you even when I'm in school."

Nici blushed.

"Okay."

"Now, why don't you finish the painting or whatever you were doing and then we'll go out and you'll tell me all about it."

Nici nodded and returned to her painting.

Cassandra quietly observed her and admired both the work and the artist.

On the way to Giles, Tara was unusually quiet.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Willow said.

"What?" Tara said, surprised, and looked at her girlfriend.

Willow smiled.

"You seem very quiet today."

"Oh. I… em… I… well, I… em… I've b-been th-thinking."

"About what?"

"About wh-what y-you said."

Willow was confused.

"When?"

"A wh-while ago. About us g-getting, you know, m-married like Faith and Cordelia."

"Oh," Willow said, flashing a big smile. "And?"

"I-I would marry you," Tara said, blushing.

"You would?" Willow asked, excited.

Tara nodded, blushing even more. Willow stopped, turned Tara around and kissed her.

"Wh-What was that f-for?"

Willow mock pouted.

"What, now I can't kiss you just because I want to?"

Tara smiled, blushing a bit.

"Y-You can."

"Good." Willow thought for a moment. "How about we talk to Faith about it? You know, get a little more details, decide whether we want to do it alone or have company."

Tara nodded.

"Okay."

"Good." She frowned. "Em, I don't suppose you want to tell your family about it?"

Tara shook her head.

"No," she said. "You are my family."

Willow smiled.

"And you are mine."

"Are you going to tell your family?"

Willow laughed.

"Are you kidding? They'd both have a heart attack."

"Oh."

Willow smiled.

"Maybe sometime in the future. Come, let's move on."

"I think I've found a solution," Lara said after several hours of searching for the spell to help Kara.

Willow, Tara, Raelee and Giles looked at her.

"You have?" Giles asked.

Lara nodded and handed him the book. Giles studied it for a few moments.

"Yes, that could be it. But, it's a very difficult procedure. Are you sure you're up to it?"

"We will need Hope's help."

"Can we see it?" Willow said.

"Yes, of course," Giles said and gave them the book. Then he scratched his head. "I know Hope would want to help, but is it really necessary to involve her?"

"We're not strong enough," Lara said. "We might be able to do it on our own, but even the tiniest distraction would be fatal to all of us."

"I see."

"We'll go talk to Renee," Raelee said. "After you're sure you've got the right spell."

"It looks the right one to me," Tara said.

Willow nodded.

"Yes." Then she frowned. "Though I think we might need to modify it a bit. Look."

Raelee sighed, bored. She didn't know much about magic, so she couldn't help them. The only thing that kept her occupied was giving Lara massages. But even as enjoyable that was, she was still getting bored. Well, at least she was getting bored near Lara and she could touch her and stare at her all she wanted.

Sara and Daisy noticed that Ms Delfino was in a bad mood, sad even, and they decided to talk to her after the period was over. They waited until everyone had left the classroom and then approached the teacher.

"Ms Delfino, are you all right?" Daisy asked.

Ms Delfino looked at them and smiled.

"No." She sighed. "Mrs Fuller said she'll fire me and Claudia as soon as she gets replacements for us."

The girls glanced at each other, confused.

"Why?"

Ms Delfino waved her hand.

"Because we're together."

"What?!" Sara said, outraged.

"She's gonna fire you because you're gay?" Daisy asked.

Ms Delfino nodded.

"Bitch," Sara said.

"Do you regret it?" Daisy asked.

Ms Delfino looked at her, confused.

"What?"

"That you two are together?"

Ms Delfino smiled and shook her head.

"No. Thank you."

The girls smiled back.

"You're welcome."

"Don't worry, we'll take care of it," Sara said.

Ms Delfino raised an eyebrow.

"How?"

Sara smiled.

"You'll see. You just tell Ms O'Brien that everything will be okay. If anyone is going, it's gonna be Mrs Fuller."

"Yes," Daisy agreed. "We'll see you later."

"Thank you," Ms Delfino said.

The girls smiled and left.

"Hi, guys," Sara said when they got to Faith, Raelee and Lara.

"Hey," Faith said.

"Em, we need your help."

"Sure, what can I do?"

"Well, I'm sure you've noticed that Ms Delfino and Ms O'Brien are a couple."

Faith grinned.

"Oh yeah."

"Well, Ms Delfino told me that Mrs Fuller wants to fire them as soon as she gets replacements for them."

Faith frowned.

"Why?"

"Because they're gay."

"What?! That bitch."

"What are we going to do?" Raelee asked.

"First, I'll go talk to Mrs Fuller, see what she has to say about it."

"And if it's true?"

"Then she's in deep shit. Wait here, I'll be right back."

"Okay."

"Hey!" the secretary tried to stop Faith as she stormed Mrs Fuller's office, but Faith walked right past her.

"Faith," Mrs Fuller recognized her.

"Yes."

"That's all right, Nancy."

"Yes, Ma'am," the secretary said and left.

"Is it true that you want to fire Ms Delfino and Ms O'Brien because they're gay?"

"Where did you hear that?"

"It doesn't matter. Is it true?"

Mrs Fuller smiled.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because I don't approve of it and neither does God."

"Wrong, God, sorry, Goddess, she does approve. And you better change your mind."

"Or what?"

Faith grinned.

"You'll see."

Mrs Fuller's face became serious.

"I am not changing my mind. And I suggest you leave now."

Faith nodded.

"I'll see you later," she said and left.

"And?" Raelee asked when Faith got back.

"Bitch. She said God doesn't approve."

Raelee and Lara glanced at each other.

"At least we know better," Raelee said.

"Yes."

"So what do we do now?"

"Petition."

"Petition?"

"Yep. We get all the students and the staff to sign it and then present it to Mrs Fuller. Add some threats and our parents' support and she'll have no choice but to let them stay."

"A good idea," Daisy said.

"Raelee, you put together a suitable text, Lara, you help her," Faith said. "I'll get the guys. Sara, Daisy, you get the Trinity." She frowned. "What are their names, by the way?"

"Alyssa, Iris and Neely."

"Oh. Okay. Tell them what this is all about and tell them to meet us at the fountain during the next break."

Sara and Daisy nodded.

"Okay," Sara said and they left.

"I'll see you during the next break," Faith said and left.

"Any idea what we should write?" Raelee asked Lara.

"Okay, everyone, you know what this is about?" Faith asked when everyone was there and she got a chorus of nods in return.

"Like we don't have enough problems already," Renee mumbled.

"Yeah," Faith agreed and looked at Raelee. "Do you have the text?"

"Yes," Raelee said and gave Faith the paper.

Faith quickly read the text and then grinned.

"Alright, it'll do." She frowned. "Do we have the paper?"

"Yes, we got some," Monique said and took some paper from her bag.

"Okay. Start copying this text to all papers." She looked around. "Everyone's gonna get two pieces of paper. I want you to go around then and gather the signatures. Lara and I will take care of the staff during the next break. Sara, you and Daisy will make sure that Ms Delfino and Ms O'Brien are delayed."

Sara and Daisy glanced at each other, grinning.

"No problem," Daisy said.

"And tell everyone to come to the gym at the beginning of the sixth period."

"You sure the teachers will let us?" Renee asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I'll talk to them."

When the next break started, Faith went to the staff room.

"Okay. You make sure Mrs Fuller stays in her office," she told Lara.

Lara nodded and Faith entered.

"Em, excuse me," she said and the teachers all looked at her. "I'm here about a petition."

"What kind of petition?" Mr Emerson asked.

"I don't know if you've heard, but Mrs Fuller wants to fire Ms Delfino and Ms O'Brien because they're gay. We're against it."

"Who is we?" Mrs Leary asked.

"The students. Everyone is signing the petition right now and we were hoping you would back us up."

Faith gave Mrs Leary the petition and Mrs Leary read it.

"Well, at least some has learned something in my class," she said approvingly when she detected no mistakes. She looked around for a pen. "Can I borrow your pen, Joss?" she asked Mr Whedon.

"My pen?" Mr Whedon asked, puzzled.

Mrs Leary reached and took the pen from his breast pocket.

"This one," she said.

"Oh. Yes, go ahead."

Mrs Leary signed the petition and passed it on.

"Does Mrs Fuller know?" she asked.

"Not yet. We're going to give her the petition at the beginning of the sixth period. In the gym."

"Some people have a test then," Mr Hammond said.

"Oh," Faith said and frowned. "Well, it's not gonna take long, ten minutes max. And you could let them write longer since not many have the seventh period."

Mr Hammond thought about it.

"I can't see why not," he said and looked around.

Some teachers nodded.

"Cool. Thanks. Oh, and if you would please keep it a secret from Mrs Fuller, Ms Delfino and Ms O'Brien."

"We will," Mrs Leary said.

"Thanks."

"How'd it go?" Raelee asked when Faith and Lara returned.

"Great! Everyone signed. And since some people have a test during the sixth period, they even agreed to let them write into the seventh period."

"Really?" Raelee said, excited. "That's great."

"Yes."

As Faith approached the gym, she saw that the last few students were still signing the petition.

"Hurry up," she said.

She observed the hall, waiting for Mrs Fuller.

"Okay, done," Monique said a few moments later.

"Did everyone sign?"

"Except for the few that aren't in school."

"Cool."

"She's coming," Renee said and quickly went to the gym.

Faith took the papers from Monique and they too entered the gym.

"She's coming!" Renee called as she entered and everyone shut up.

Faith went to Sara and Daisy.

"You got the papers?" she asked.

"Yes," Daisy said.

"We wanna do this," Sara said.

"You sure?" Faith asked.

Sara and Daisy both nodded.

"We're sort of responsible for this," Daisy said.

"Okay," Faith said and gave them the papers. "Good luck," she said and joined the rest of the students.

Everyone waited nervously for Mrs Fuller to arrive and when she did, she frowned.

"What is gong on here?" she demanded.

Sara and Daisy approached her.

"We're here to give you this petition," Sara said and gave Mrs Fuller the papers.

"We want Ms Delfino and Ms O'Brien to stay," Daisy added as Mrs Fuller read the text.

Ms Delfino and Ms O'Brien looked at one another, surprised, and then at Faith, who grinned and winked at them.

"This doesn't mean anything," Mrs Fuller finally said.

"It does," Faith said and stepped closer. "It means that we want them to stay and if you try to fire them anyway, you'll have our parents to deal with and it could cost you your job, if I'm not mistaken."

Mrs Fuller glared at her for a few moments, but Faith calmly stared back at her.

"Fine," Mrs Fuller finally said and then left.

The students cheered.

Ms Delfino and Ms O'Brien were both moved and tears were running down their cheeks. They hugged. Then Ms O'Brien whispered something into Ms Delfino's ear and Ms Delfino nodded. They went up front, holding their hands. They both wanted to say thanks, but they were still too stunned to speak.

"Thank you," Ms O'Brien finally said, glancing at Sara and Daisy and then at the students and the staff. "All of you." She took a deep breath. "But don't think you'll have it any easier in our classes because of this," she said and smiled.

Everyone started to laugh.

"Okay, back to classes now," Ms Delfino said. "I believe some of you are writing a test."

The cheers turned into groans.

"Come on," Ms O'Brien said. "Let's go."

Everyone started to move and the two teachers turned to Sara and Daisy.

"Thank you," Ms Delfino said. "For everything," she added, smiling, and glanced at Ms O'Brien.

The girls smiled back.

"You're welcome."

In her office, Mrs Fuller dialed a number.

"We have to take care of Faith," she said when the other side answered. "If it works, we'll do it on the other one as well."

In the afternoon, Faith and Cordelia took Alice to the park.

"You know," Cordelia said, looking around. "If it weren't for you and Alice, I would probably never come back here."

Faith smiled.

"I know what you mean," she agreed. "But if it weren't for us, there wouldn't be a Sunnydale."

"Which is not necessarily a bad thing."

Faith laughed.

"A good point. Oh look, Sara and Daisy."

Cordelia looked and blushed when she saw the two girls.

"Alice, you can go play now," she said.

Alice let go of her sisters' hands and ran off.

"You want to talk to them?" Faith asked.

"We do have to set the date, don't we?"

Faith flashed a huge grin.

"How could I forget?"

Cordelia smiled and kissed her on the nose.

"Hi, Faith," Sara said when she and Daisy came closer.

"Hi, guys. This is Cordelia. Cordelia, Sara and Daisy."

"Hi," Cordelia said, annoyed that she was blushing. She hesitated for a moment. "Em, Faith says that you were interested in a foursome with us."

Sara and Daisy looked at Faith and then glanced at each other, smiling.

"Yes, we are," Daisy then said.

"Well, so are we," Cordelia said. "With you, that is."

"You are?" Sara asked, excited.

"Yes," Cordelia said, blushing deeper.

"Great. When do you want to do it?"

Cordelia shrugged and looked at Faith.

"I come home every Friday and I stay till Sunday afternoon."

Sara and Daisy looked at each other.

"Well, I'm not sure, but I think my parents are staying at home every weekend till New Year," Daisy said.

"And the weekend after that?" Faith asked.

"We don't know yet."

"Well, if they're away, we could do it then," Cordelia said. "If it's okay with you two."

"Sure," Daisy said.

"Absolutely," Sara agreed.

"Faith?" Cordelia asked her girlfriend.

"Fine with me," Faith agreed.

"Good. We'll let you know if things change," Sara said.

"Okay."

"See you around then," Daisy said.

"Sure."

Sara and Daisy left and Faith and Cordelia stared after them.

"They're definitely hot," Cordelia said.

Faith looked at her, grinning.

"Don't tell me you're not looking after boys, sorry, men, anymore."

Cordelia looked at, pouting.

"Of course I do." She shrugged. "But now I also look after women." She smiled. "But you can rest assured that I haven't found someone better looking yet."

Faith smiled.

"Except yourself, of course."

"Of course," Cordelia said and kissed her on the nose.

Faith pouted.

"On the nose? Again?"

"Sorry. Let me fix that."

Cordelia hugged Faith tightly and gave her a deep kiss.

"Em… Uh… Wow," Faith stammered when they stopped.

"Better?" Cordelia asked, smirking.

"Oh yeah," Faith said with a goofy grin.

"Good," Cordelia said and took Faith's hand. "Come let's go to the gang."

"We better think of something," Faith said as she trailed her.

Cordelia looked at her, confused.

"Why?"

"You wanna tell them we were just setting a date for a foursome?"

"Oh," Cordelia said and blushed.

When Faith went on patrol in the evening, she noticed Spike walking around with a shotgun. She considered confronting him, but then decided to follow him and see what he was up to. She was surprised when she saw him go to Buffy's house. She was just about ready to intervene when Spike changed his mind and sat beside the crying Buffy. She was surprised when he patted Buffy on the back and she let him. It was a strange sight, a vampire comforting a Slayer. She shook her head and left, deciding to speak to Buffy later.

"Hey, Buffy," Faith said when they met outside the Bronze.

Buffy smiled a bit.

"Hey."

"I heard a vamp got you."

Buffy nodded.

"Yeah."

"How's the wound?"

"Healed."

"Good." Faith hesitated for a moment. "And how's your mom?"

Buffy sighed.

"She's got a shadow."

"A shadow?" Faith said, puzzled.

"A brain tumor."

"Oh. Sorry. Is she gonna be okay?"

"I don't know."

"Does Dawn know?"

"No."

"Oh."

"Oh, I was supposed to tell you," Buffy remembered, "we're going to heal Kara this Saturday. Well, the witches are."

"Yeah? Great. Does this mean I'm coming along?"

"Yes."

"Okay." Faith thought for a moment. "How are things between you and Spike?"

Buffy looked at her, confused.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I saw him carry a shotgun last night and I followed him. I though he was going to shoot you, but he ended up… comforting you?"

Buffy blushed a bit and looked away.

"Yes," she said quietly. She took a deep breath. "Anyway, we need to talk."

Faith frowned.

"About what?"

"Well, after that vamp stabbed me, I was shocked. I mean, the vamp was a wuss, but he still managed to stab me. With my own stake! So I talked to Spike."

"Why him?"

"He killed two Slayers."

"Oh."

"So, you have time? Because this will take a while."

"Yeah, sure."

"Then let's take a walk."

Finally Saturday came and they went to see Kara. When they reached the Blanchard house, Renee took Hope out of the car, looking around nervously. Faith and Buffy immediately flanked her and Willow and Tara flanked them. Giles took the lead with Lara following. Before he had a chance to ring the bell, the door opened and the twins came out.

"Hi," Althea said, excited.

"Eh, hello," Giles said. He looked at Kara. "Hello, Kara."

"Hello, Mr Giles," Kara said, sounding like a tape on slow motion.

"You speak?" Giles said, pleasantly surprised.

Kara nodded and looked at Althea.

"She does, but it's hard for her," Althea explained.

"Oh. Well, if all goes well, Kara should be back to normal."

"Really?" Althea said and she and Kara looked at the girls.

Kara smiled when she saw Hope and Hope giggled.

"Looks like she remembers you," Renee said with a smile.

Kara nodded.

"Hello," Mr Blanchard said as he came to the door.

"Eh, hello," Giles said.

"Come in."

The twins entered and Giles and the rest of the gang followed.

"Do you need us in the house?" Faith asked.

Giles looked at her.

"Eh, no," he said.

"Then we'll make a sweep of the area. You and the rest of the family watch the windows."

Giles nodded and the Slayers left, Buffy closing the door.

"They're not coming in?" Mrs Blanchard asked.

"Eh, no. They'll make sure we're not disturbed."

"Oh," Mrs Blanchard said, not quite understanding.

"You said over the phone that you can heal Kara," Mr Blanchard said.

"Ah, yes. We hope so. We have studied the sorcerer's books and we believe we can undo the damage."

"I see. What do you need?"

Giles looked at Willow.

"Where's the basement?" Willow asked.

"This way," Mr Blanchard said and Willow followed him. "Down here," he said after he opened the door.

Willow looked.

"It will do. Do you have anything valuable down there?"

Mr Blanchard looked at his wife.

"No, I don't think so. Why?"

"Well, in case we are disturbed, some things may get smashed or burned."

"Oh."

"You better check while we prepare."

Mr Blanchard went to the basement and his wife followed him. Willow looked at the gang.

"Giles, you, Renee, Althea and the parents watch the windows, one on each side. And someone should watch the basement door."

Giles nodded.

"We will."

"Althea, get a warm blanket for Kara. She will have to be naked during the ritual and after it, she will fall asleep. She'll also be very hungry when she wakes up."

"We'll all be very hungry," Lara corrected her.

"Yes," Willow agreed. "And we'll all be sleepy, so prepare the sofa or something."

"Okay," Althea said and ran away.

Willow looked at Kara.

"Are you ready?"

Kara gulped and nodded.

"I'm scared," she said.

Willow smiled.

"I know, but we're not here to hurt you."

Kara nodded.

"I know."

"Good."

Mr and Mrs Blanchard came out of the basement, carrying a couple of things.

"That's it," Mrs Blanchard said.

"Okay, let's go."

The wiccans, Kara and Renee with Hope went to the basement, where the wiccans prepared for the ritual.

"Are you ready, baby?" Renee asked Hope, who touched her face and babbled something. Renee smiled. "Good. I love you, baby," she said and kissed her on the forehead.

"I got the blanket," Althea said.

Willow glanced at Kara.

"Kara, undress yourself."

Kara hesitated for a moment and then started to undress herself. Althea held the blanket in front of her so she would have some privacy. When Kara was naked, she wrapped the blanket around herself.

"Okay, we're ready," Willow said when they were done. "Renee, put Hope on the blanket."

Renee did so and then kissed Hope.

"Okay. You and Althea wait outside. And close the door."

"How will we know when you're done?" Althea asked.

"I got this bell," Willow said and showed her a small bell. "I'll ring."

"Okay."

Renee and Althea left and Willow looked at Kara.

"Are you ready?" she asked.

Kara nodded nervously.

"Are you absolutely sure?" Willow asked. "If you're not, we can do this some other time, when you're ready."

Kara thought for a few moments.

"I'm ready," she then said.

"Okay. Take off the blanket, take Hope in your hands and lie on the blanket."

Kara slowly took off the blanket and looked at the wiccans shyly, but the wiccans merely smiled. Kara smiled back. She kneeled in front of Hope and picked her up. Hope touched her face and babbled something. Kara smiled.

"Thank you," she said.

She lay down, carefully holding Hope.

"Now relax," Willow said. "I suggest you close your eyes, okay?"

Kara nodded and closed her eyes.

Upstairs, Mr and Mrs Blanchard, Althea, Renee and Giles watched the windows and the basement door and outside, Faith and Buffy swept the area. Althea and Renee watched the front side and the basement door, Althea worried about her sister, Renee worried about her daughter. Neither said anything, but they both felt the other one's nervousness. The time just didn't go fast enough and is seemed that every time they checked the time it seemed that the hands hadn't moved at all. Then, after what seemed like hours but was in fact less than ten minutes, they both felt something. They looked at one another and when a few moments later Willow rang the bell, they both ran to the basement.

"Mom! Dad!" Althea called before following Renee into the basement.

Renee quickly picked up Hope and Hope leaned her head on Renee's shoulder, sleepily.

"You okay, baby?" Renee asked.

Hope touched her face and babbled something sleepily. Renee smiled. She glanced at Kara and saw that she looked normal. She glanced at the wiccans, who looked sleepy.

"Everything okay?" she asked.

"Yeah," Willow said.

"Okay," Renee said and took her back upstairs.

Althea stared at her sister, glad that she looked normal.

"Wrap her up," Willow said. "She'll probably sleep till tomorrow."

Willow glanced at her and then looked for the blanked. She picked it up and then kneeled beside Kara. She lifted her gently and wrapped the blanket around her. Then she picked her up.

"Althea?" Mrs Blanchard said as she and her husband came to the basement.

Althea looked at them

"Dad, can you take her? She's a bit heavy."

"Sure," Mr Blanchard said and came closer.

"How is she?" Mrs Blanchard asked as she followed him.

"They healed her," Althea said and handed Kara to her father.

"Is there a sofa we can take a nap on?" Willow asked, leaning on Tara drowsily.

"Yes, of course," Mrs Blanchard said and hurried upstairs, followed by her husband with Kara.

Willow and Tara slowly followed them and Althea helped Lara, who also looked tired.

"I'll clean up," Giles said as he came down the stairs.

"Okay," Willow said as she and Tara passed him.

In the living room, Renee found herself a comfortable lounge chair and sat down as Hope slept in her arms. Mr Blanchard took Kara upstairs, Mrs Blanchard following, and soon Willow and Tara came upstairs, followed by Lara and Althea.

"You can sleep on the sofa," Althea said.

Willow and Tara went to the sofa and lay down, snuggling close to one another. Althea led Lara to the other side and Lara cuddled up like a fetus. Since the wiccans were already drifting off to sleep, Althea covered them with blankets.

"How long are they going to sleep?" she quietly asked Renee.

"Probably a couple of hours. Kara will probably sleep longer."

"Oh. Do you need anything?"

Renee smiled.

"No, I'm fine."

"Okay," Althea said and hurried upstairs.

Lara was the first to wake up a couple of hours later. She stretched and sat up.

"How do you feel?" Renee asked her.

Lara rubbed her face.

"Hungry," she said and sat up.

Renee smiled.

"I think they prepared some food for you in the kitchen."

"Oh."

Lara's movement woke up Willow and Tara.

"How long did we sleep?" Willow asked sleepily and yawned.

"Three hours," Renee said.

"Oh." She looked around. "Kara?"

"She's upstairs. Althea says she looks okay."

"Good." She looked at Tara. "Hungry?"

"Starving."

"Food is in the kitchen," Renee said.

"How is Hope?" Tara asked.

"Still sleeping. She woke up an hour ago and I fed her. Then she went back to sleep."

"Where's everyone else?" Willow asked.

"Buffy and Faith are still patrolling and the rest are in the kitchen."

"Oh. Then we'll go eat."

She got up and offered her hand to Tara, who accepted it. Lara followed suit and they went to the kitchen.

"Hi," Willow said when they entered.

"Hello, Willow," Giles said.

"Em, Renee mentioned something about food?"

"Yes, of course, sit down," Mrs Blanchard said and got up.

The wiccans sat and Mrs Blanchard and Althea started to bring food on the table.

"When will Kara wake up?" Althea asked.

"When her body recovers," Willow said. "We'll stay here until she does, to make sure that she's alright."

"You should be by her side when she wakes up," Tara said.

Althea nodded.

"I'll go up later."

"She's awake!" Althea called several hours later when Kara finally woke up.

Everyone ran upstairs.

"Kara?" Mrs Blanchard said as she entered the room.

Kara looked at her, smiling.

"Hi, Mom," she said.

"You sound… normal," Mrs Blanchard said, excited.

Kara nodded.

"Yes." She touched her face and then looked at the wiccans. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Willow said, smiling.

Mrs Blanchard came closer and hugged Kara, crying.

"Oh baby," she whispered.

"Em, I hate to interrupt," Willow said, "but we should check if everything went okay."

Mrs Blanchard let go of Kara.

"Yes, of course."

"Leave us."

Everyone but Kara and the wiccans filed out.

"Lie down," Lara said as she stepped closer

Kara did and Lara concentrated. Then she slowly ran her hands along Kara's body.

"She's okay," she finally declared.

"Good," Willow said, relieved. She went to the door. "She's okay," she said and everybody heaved a sigh of relief.

Willow stepped aside and let Kara's family enter.

"I need a shower," Kara said.

Mrs Blanchard smiled.

"Of course, honey."

"And I'm hungry."

"The food is already prepared. You can eat as soon as you shower."

"Okay."

Kara got up, wrapped in the blanket, and went to the bathroom.

Mrs Blanchard looked at the wiccans.

"Thank you."

"It's okay," Willow said.

"Hey, Tara," Faith said as they got ready to board the cars. "How come you could heal Kara, but you can't de-rat Amy?"

"It's a tricky spell," Tara said. "I don't know what exactly Amy had done, but Hekate is obviously not happy about it. That makes the transformation harder. And Kara was already Human, Amy is a rat."

"Oh."

"So will you ever be able to de-rat her?" Buffy asked.

"Probably in a year or two."

"Oh. Well, I'm glad you could help Kara."

"Yeah," Faith agreed. "Wicked cool."

Tara smiled shyly.

"Thank you."

The End