“Can you do that?” I asked her. She shook her head. “I’m too emotionally involved. It might skew the spell.” “Do you want me to do it? I do know quite a bit about magic,” I said. She shook her head again. “Same problem.” “So do we need to find another witch to perform the spell?” She sighed and rubbed her neck. “It’s actually very simple,” she said. “It’s really just tossing some dust in the air and saying a few words. Anybody could do it.” Xander walked through the front door and pecked Anya on the cheek. Tara and I exchanged glances. Xander looked at me quizzically. “So I just throw some dust at Tara, and then read from a paper?” “Right,” I replied. “And then you do the same thing to me.” He raised his eyebrows. “So do you want to explain to me what this is all about?” “Not especially,” I replied. “Okay. But then you have to do me a favor.” He looked at me earnestly. “What kind of favor?” I asked him. “Anya and I are getting married next week. I do this for you, you come.” He took a deep breath. “There’s going to be a lot of demons there, and I’m a little worried about that. So I want you to step in, get rid of any of them that start stirring up trouble.” “You want me to be a bouncer at your wedding?” I asked incredulously. “Pretty much,” he admitted. “But don’t tell Anya. I don’t want her to get all bent out of shape about how I don’t trust demons. I don’t need to hear the ‘demons are people too’ lecture again.” “I’ll do it, if you do this for me.” We shook hands on it. Anya rang up Tara at the cash register. “Thirty eight fifty,” she said with a smile. “I gave you a five percent discount because you’re my friend.” Tara laughed. We watched Tara as she ground together herbs with a mortar and pestle.  She ended up with a fine light green powder. Tara and I stood side by side, and Xander stood in front of us and held the bowl and a sheet of paper. “Coriale disnot finar libolba!” he read awkwardly, and tossed a handful of dust at Tara. It glimmered around her for a few seconds, and she shone brightly as a star. The light flared and then faded away. She turned to me and smiled. “I don’t feel any different.” “Coriale disnot finar libolba!” he read again, and tossed the powder at me. Immediately it flared into a heavy golden heat that coated my skin like warm honey. I glowed brightly, and light filled the room. The light flared, and then dropped away, and golden glitter littered the floor. “Thank God this is over and we can put it behind us,” I said. She stared at me in shock and turned heel and ran. “Tara!” I screamed, and fear and pain turned it into a mighty roar. I started to run after her, but Xander grabbed my arm. “I don’t know what is going on,” he said firmly, “but I’m not going to let you hurt her.” I pulled my arm away. “I’d never hurt her, you stupid git! I’m in love with her.” I ran out of the Magic Shop and down the street, and I called her name. I tried to feel her, to locate her scent, but she was nowhere near, or she was using magic to hide herself. I walked the streets of Sunnydale for hours. I checked the art studio, her room, the bookstore, everywhere I could think of. Finally I made my way to my crypt. As I descended the ladder, I saw that a small figure sat on my bed in darkness. “There you are, sweetheart,” I said with relief. “I’ve looked everywhere for you.” As I neared, I realized that this wasn’t Tara. It was Buffy. She was curled up on my pillows, and she held one of my shirts. “I’ve been here every night for two weeks,” she said. “But you’re never here. Where are you spending your nights?” I turned on the lights, and she walked over to me. “It’s none of your business, Slayer. Please get out of my home.” She grabbed my shoulders and slammed me into the wall. She gazed deeply in my eyes as she held me pinned. “I love you.” “What?” I asked, incredulous. “I love you,” she said deliberately. I shoved her away.

Loved