*~*~*~*

"So he shagged her."

Angel looked over at his pouting childe. "Yes, Xand did sleep with Willow."

"Bastard," the blond hissed.

"You haven't made any move towards her, Spike. You have no claim on her."

Spike growled at Angel. His gaze drifted over Angel's shoulder to see Xand leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed, cocky grin on his face. "Bloody hell, you bastard. What do *you* want?"

"She wants you," Xand shrugged. "Just like my Willow does."

Spike softened a bit at that. "Do you think she really does?"

Xand rolled his eyes. "Of course she does." He toed at the carpet. "I was hoping that this Willow wouldn't, but she does." He looked up. "I should be upset, but. . ." His gaze traveled to Angel. "Somehow, I'm not. I've got more here than I've ever had there. Granted, I had Willow there, but I've never had a true Dominate. . .Willow and I were always back and forth. Sometimes, I controlled her, and other times she controlled me. But Angelus. . .I dunno." He shrugged. "Angelus gives me that which I've craved for the last four years."

"Just wait till we get back to LA, boy," Angel said darkly. "I've got toys that will make you scream."

Xand winked at Angel. "I certainly hope that you do." He spun on his heel. "I'm going to sleep now," he said over his shoulder. He walked down the hallway and into one of the guest rooms, shutting the door behind him.

*~*~*~*

Willow hesitated before finally knocking on Tara's apartment door. So much had changed overnight. When she left her girlfriend's house the night before, she loved her. Nothing could come between them. Now, she'd cheated on her. She hung her head in shame, mentally kicking herself. She'd done the same thing to Tara that Oz had done to her. She would break the witch's heart, that was assured. She didn't want to, but Willow belonged in LA with her family.

< My family? > she thought absentmindedly. < Since when did they become my family? > Granted, Xander had always been her family, but Angel, Spike, and Xand? Never had she considered them a part of her family. Angel, perhaps, but even *this* Angel was different than she was used to. This Angel was more like the Angelus she'd read about in Giles' books. Very possessive, wanting those he loved close to him.

Willow shivered slightly, remembering the look in Angel's eyes when she left to go talk to Tara. She'd voiced concerns about it being hard to break up with the girl. Angel turned to her and told her in no uncertain terms that she was leaving to go with him back to LA that night. Willow knew she didn't have a choice in the matter. . .

Oddly enough, she didn't mind. She would be with Xander, and she knew that Angel could use her help in LA. . .much more than Buffy had the last year. Willow didn't even really feel bad about leaving the Slayer. It was Tara she was concerned with. . .

"Hi, Tara," Willow said softly, seeing the blond finally open the door.

Tara brightened. "Willow! Come in! I didn't expect you so early!"

Willow walked in, grimacing. < Goddess, this is going to be hard. > She turned to Tara, taking the younger witch's hands in her own. "Tara. . .I. . ."

Tara frowned. Willow looked pained, and instinctively, the blond knew something was wrong. She pulled Willow to the couch. "What is it? What happened?"

"I. . ." Willow swallowed hard, tears coming to her eyes. She closed them, trying to stop the onslaught of emotions. "I cheated on you."

Tara froze, pulling her hands away from Willow. "What? W. . .with who?"

Willow looked away. "Xander," she said softly.

Tara blinked. "You cheated on me, with Xander?"

"Well, it was him. . .and it wasn't," she replied cryptically.

Tara stood up, moving away from her girlfriend. She couldn't be near her, the wound on her heart hurt too much. "I'm afraid I don't understand," she said coolly, keeping her emotions in check.

"He was a vampire."

"Oh my god!" Tara cried, turning around. Her pain was forgotten as she rushed to Willow, dropping on her knees in front of the sobbing girl. "Xander's a vampire?" She knew Willow must have been dying on the inside, now that her best friend was one of those she fought against every night. She ran her hand through Willow's hair.

"Yes," Willow sobbed. "And no. It's worse than that, Tara. You. . .you might want to go back over there. Away from me. This isn't a comfort Willow time."

Tara frowned, not understanding. "I don't get it, Willow. What's going on?"

Willow sucked in a great amount of air, then exhaled. "Last night, I was sleeping. Xander came knocking on my door. Only it wasn't Xander, it was the vampire version of him. Remember I told you about the other universe Anya created? The one with the vamped me and Xander?"

"Yea," Tara said cautiously.

"It was him. So we talked a little, and I called Xander to make sure he was alive, and Xand started to seduce me, promising he'd Sire me and the such."

"Oh my goddess!"

"Well, Xander came to rescue me. He ran into Angel and Spike along the way. They arrived and made sure that I was ok. Um. . .to make a long story short. . ." She took a deep breath.

"AngelclaimedbothXandersandsaidthatwearemovingtoLAandthismorningIscrewedVampireXander."

Tara blinked. "You are moving to LA? And you screwed the vampire?" She frowned, sitting back on her heels. She didn't know which admission to be more upset about. Her girlfriend was leaving without consulting her, *or* she'd slept with someone else.

Willow looked away. "I'm really sorry, Tara," she whispered, wiping her tears away. "I can't stay here. Buffy doesn't need me, and. . ." She tapped her chest. "Xander's here. I can't be me and not live in the same town he's in."

Tara stood up, controlling her anger. "How do you know, Willow? You two have never been apart! Don't you think you should see if the friendship will survive distance?"

"Tara, when he left to go on the open road last summer, it killed me. And this year, we've barely spoken. My earliest memories are centered around him. Everything I am, everything you see in front of you is because of my relationship with Xander Harris. He is my *best* friend. If he's going to LA, then LA is were I want to be. I love you, Tara. Please don't doubt that I do. But this morning? While Xand was pounding away at me. . .that's something I haven't had in a very long time." She chewed her bottom lip. "I can't deny who I am, not to give you a passing moment of happiness. If I do that, it's not fair to you."

"Not fair to me?" Tara cried. "Don't you think that you should have thought what was fair to me before you slept with the vampire?"

Willow turned her head. "You need to find someone who can be with you one hundred percent, Tara. Not me. I'm not. . .I'm not right for you. Please understand. Please don't hate me."

The blond sighed, running her fingers through her hair. "I could never hate you, Willow. I just don't want to see you right now."

"I. . .I leave tonight."

Tara chewed her bottom lip, looking up. "Call me in a couple of weeks, when you get settled. Let me know you are still alive."

Willow wrung her hands. "Ok," she whispered. She wanted to hug the witch, but knew that Tara didn't need that. "So I'll. . .I'll see you later."

"Yea," Tara deadpanned. "Later."

Only after the door softly shut after Willow's quiet departure did Tara start to cry.

*~*~*~*