The next few days passed in pretty much the same fashion; research, light meals, lighter entertainment for the occasional distraction, and restless nights. Willow was still dreaming. She was no longer afraid but she was still connecting with Tara. Tara, on the other hand, seemed to be very afraid. More afraid with each contact and she continued to frustrate Willow by steadfastly refusing to give Willow any information. Xander and Buffy stayed with Willow every night and that helped a little. She was finally getting some sleep and her appetite, while not huge, had somewhat returned. Realizing she had just “not read” the same sentence several times, she sighed. Yes, she was getting some sleep but it wasn't enough and her ability to focus was, well, not so much. They were no closer to an answer than they had been two days ago. She was still dreaming, the rest of the gang was still hallucinating and tempers were beginning to run short. 'We all need a break,' she thought. ‘Finding anything on this is taking forever and we're all just making ourselves crazy with the researching.’ She fleetingly wondered if it was unsolvable before pushing that thought aside. ‘Of course, if it is unsolvable, that means I'm already crazy.' That last thought spurred her to action.
“I'm taking a break,” she said suddenly, standing up and beginning to pace. “I think this may take longer than normal. I mean, I suppose it had to happen sometime.” The past week had really taken a toll on her and she felt like she was about to completely break down. “We just don't know enough to know what to look for and until we do, we're just spinning our wheels,” she said, the frustration of the past couple of days finally bubbling their way up to the surface.
“Will, we're going to figure this out,” Buffy said gently, standing up and placing her hand sympathetically on Willow's arm. “It's just taking us a little longer than usual this time.”
Willow shrugged and smiled weakly at her friend. “I guess. I think maybe we should all take a break, regain some perspective.” She took a deep breath and swallowed the tears threatening to overwhelm her. She felt so alone despite all of the support her friends were giving her. She missed Tara. Her Tara “ the one that was happy to see her instead of this dream Tara that was afraid of her. It was that simple. She felt despair start to engulf her. 'Goddess, this just never gets easier,' she thought as she ran a hand over her face and through her hair, closing her eyes against the grief and pain.
“Will,” Buffy said softly, “we are going to get through this. It'll be ok.” Willow looked at the determination in Buffy's eyes and nodded, smiling softly.
The others nodded their agreement and Giles checked his watch. “It's 10:30 right now, I suggest that we work for two more hours then break for lunch. After lunch, we can find things to occupy ourselves outside the confines of the library for the rest of the day.”
“We have a plan,” Buffy agreed, reclaiming her chair.
Willow nodded and started to sit back down when the phone rang. “I got it,” she said hurrying into the hall, idly wondering why they hadn't put an extension in the library. She made a mental note to talk to Giles about it.
“Hello?”
“Willow! Thank the Goddess! Can you and your friends come to the abbey, please, as soon as possible?” Terese sounded worried.
“Terese, what’s wrong? Are you okay?” Willow asked, concerned for her friend.
“Yes. I'm fine but some things have happened and I would be grateful for your assistance. Your friends, too. I'm sorry to be abrupt but there are three women crying in my study and I don't have all of the information yet. Please, can you come?”
“Of course. We're on our way,” Willow said, hanging up. She stood there for a moment, blinking in confusion at the curious request of her friend and mentor before retracing her steps back to the library. When she entered, no one looked up. “Uh . . . guys? We’ve got a problem,” she said.
As one, the four people at the table looked up at Willow.
“More good news. What’s the sitch?” Buffy asked.
“I don’t exactly know.” Willow bit her lower lip thoughtfully then filled them in on what little information Terese had given her.
“Ok. Do we all go? Or do some go, some stay and keep researching?” Xander asked, looking pleadingly at Giles who pointedly ignored him.
“I kind of think we all go. I mean, Terese did ask for all of us to go, er, come.” She shook her head at the tongue fumble before continuing. “Maybe she thinks different perspectives will be helpful. And, I mean, it's not like the research is getting us anywhere,” she finished wryly.
“Cool! Research done for now,” Xander said, closing his book and dropping it with a thud on the table.
The others followed his lead, books forgotten as they headed toward the coven.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“Thank you for coming,” Terese said, as they entered the coven's study. “I would have come to you but,” she indicated her foot which was wrapped in a cloth brace, “I injured my ankle yesterday and did not think I would be able to walk that far.”
“Are you okay?” Willow asked worriedly. Willow knew Terese walked everywhere, stubbornly refusing to use anything with wheels because, as she put it, 'wheels and tires separate me from Mother Earth. It subverts the soul, removing our spiritual connection to the land and each other.' This injury would greatly hamper both her travels into the village and around the coven's self-supporting farm. “Do you need anything?”
Terese waved the concern aside. “I'm fine. Simply misstepped and turned my ankle. My mind wandered and my body paid for the trip.” A wry smile accompanied the word play before her expression sobered and she continued. “However, I called you over for a more pressing matter.”
“What’s going on Terese? You sounded pretty freaked on the phone,” Willow said.
She motioned for them to seat themselves as she started to close the door. At an indignant meow, she looked down and politely held the door open for a cat to enter before shutting out the hallway. “I honestly did not know who to call,” she said, settling into an armchair.
Willow and Buffy got comfortable on one couch while Giles and Xander settled on another. Dawn seemed to consider sitting between Giles and Xander, thought better of it, and sat down on one of the ottomans.
Willow smiled at the little cat she’d started feeding weeks ago at Scooby Central as he wandered into the room as if he owned it. She idly wondered if the cat had any pet humans yet or if he was still finding his way around. She leaned over to stroke the cat as he walked by, gently flicking his tail. With a small purrurp the cat turned, eyed her and leaped into her lap as only a cat can do, claiming Willow as his property. With a slight chuckle and an under-lash glance at Giles to see his reaction (he was looking disdainfully at the cat but when he saw Willow looking at him, he sniffed and refocused on Terese) she scratched the perfect behind-the-ears spot.
“Several members of the coven have come to me because they've been seeing things,” she said, her expression troubled, “things that aren't possible.”
“For example?” Giles asked.
“Several members have told me over the past week or so that they have been having visions of people who have died. Three members came today seeking my counsel. Giselle's daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter were killed in a boating accident a year ago. Giselle told me that she and her husband have both been seeing all three of them at various times in various places around the house.”
Giles hummed with interest and, at his silent request, Dawn opened her bag and retrieved a pen and a pad of paper. Smiling his thanks, Giles began jotting down notes.
Trying to be gentle, Willow asked quietly, “Has Giselle ever ‘seen things’ before?” Despite all they'd seen, it was better to rule out the more obvious solutions first.
Terese looked over the rim of her glasses and said firmly, “Never. Later on, Vicky came to me. She was badly burned in a fire that killed her family when she was twelve. She told me today that she'd been seeing her family members and this morning, when she looked in the mirror, her scars were gone. She could still feel them, but they weren't reflected in the glass.”
Giles nodded and made more notes. He asked, “Was she, perhaps, still half asleep, or not wearing her glasses?”
Shaking her head, Terese said, “It was mid-day when she home and she doesn’t wear glasses.”
Giles hummed his response before asking, “And the third?”
“This is the one that concerns me the most,” Terese said worriedly.
Willow listened intently, running her fingers lightly over the spine of the cat.
“Cara's husband, David, was killed in the line of duty six months ago. Cara said she'd been seeing visions of him for about a week. She dismissed them; she thought it was just her imagination playing tricks on her because their anniversary is coming up. Yesterday, though, she received a call from her son's school. He had had some sort of episode and the school wanted Cara to come get him. When she got there, she said he was white as a sheet and shaking. After she calmed him down, he said he'd been seeing his father every time he turned his head that day. Cara asked her other son if he'd seen daddy and the boy admitted that he had, several times but was afraid to say anything.” Terese added, almost as a postscript, “She also has a young daughter who isn't old enough for her to ask but Cara said that several times over the past week Lizzie had reached her arms up saying ‘dada’.”
Dawn looked sad, as though she was remembering her mother, “Are the kids in some kind of therapy?”
Under his breath, Xander muttered, “And have they been eating any lead paint?”
In response, Dawn kicked his shin and Buffy glared at him. He put his hands up and shrugged in surrender.
Terese seemed not to notice the exchange and answered Dawn’s question. “No, the children never went for analysis. They’ve all been doing so well, recently.”
Buffy said gently, “It seems like there’s a lot of wishful thinking going on. It is getting to be that time of year when people are looking for family-type things to do.”
Terese nodded. “I realize this is all very vague, but I was hoping you might be able to help. Willow has mentioned the strange occurrences that you have all been involved with, so you were my first thought as it all seems to be related. There is nothing in the spirit world to indicate that any of the people who died are trying to communicate with their loved ones. Do you think you can help?” Terese asked.
“I don't know, Terese. We've been researching for three days now with few results.” Willow sighed and shook her head; she hated feeling helpless. “I know it's getting more serious and it's not just affecting us, but . . . I don't know,” Willow answered as honestly as she could.
“Any idea would be a help,” Terese gently prompted.
Willow smiled worriedly and nodded.
Giles had been nodding thoughtfully while making jotting notes down in the notebook. Glancing up he asked Terese, “Have there been any new members recently?” When Terese shook her head, Giles asked, “Have you hired anyone new or possibly seen any strangers hanging about?” Again, Terese shook her head no and Giles jotted a few more notes.
Looking over at Xander he asked, “Have you brought anyone new to the area?”
Xander frowned and said, “Well, sure,” he looked at Giles like he had grown a second head, “it's a construction site, Giles, new guys come and go all the time but there's no reason for them to come over here.”
Buffy frowned and turned to Giles. “Are you saying you think one of the workmen might be a demon or something?”
“Well, yes, I had been considering it,” Giles said thoughtfully. “It's not totally far-fetched although I suspect someone would have noticed a workman coming over here and made mention of it.”
Terese shook her head and answered him, “The only workman from your Scooby Central that comes here is Anna's brother, Noel. We've all known him since they were children.”
Giles hummed thoughtfully and jotted a few more notes. His expression, however, gave Willow the impression that he doubted Noel was a demon.
Buffy stood up and started to roll her neck and shoulders. Willow could tell she was getting restless, which usually happened when Buffy was inactive for too long. Willow and Dawn could research and talk with Giles forever but Buffy tended to get restless and Xander tended to get bored. In both cases, neither of them were able to pay much attention once their thresholds had been reached.
Giles, seemingly oblivious to his Slayer's antsiness continued asking Terese question. “Has anyone brought in any old relics or objects d’art that might be cursed or contain something more than was bargained for?”
Terese shook her head thoughtfully before answering, “Not that I know of but I will ask the other members if they know of anything.”
Giles nodded while making yet another note before he continued his questioning. “What about food. Have you been sampling different things recently?”
Before Terese had a chance to answer Buffy snapped, “Geez, Giles, we eat pizza and Chocolate Covered Sugar Bombs for breakfast. Somehow, I don't think we're having a cross-property shared food allergy.” She stopped pacing and looked sheepishly at Terese. “Sorry, I guess I'm just a little edgy.”
Terese chuckled softly. “I imagine you are. I would guess that with so many problems occurring all at once, sleep and relaxation are not top priorities. And we eat pizza as well, but we do grow most of the ingredients for it. We eat very little that isn’t grown here at the abbey.”
Buffy smiled her thanks and resumed her pacing.
Xander muttered, “How about pesticides?” under his breath but was rewarded with another glare from Buffy and a repeat kick to the shin from Dawn. “Ow,” he said looking at her. She just smiled and turned her focus back to Terese.
Terese, ignoring everything but the question, answered seriously, “We do not use chemicals on our plants. Instead, we prefer to use soap sprays or a tea made from cayenne peppers to keep insects and rabbits from our gardens.”
“I see. Yes. Well, we will, of course, do everything possible, Terese,” Giles assured her. “Now, though, I don’t think there's anything to be done here until we find out more from our research. We have more to go on, which is good. I think you were right; these things do seem to be related. I think we should be able to narrow the list considerably. I do have a few ideas.” He stood, hand out to shake Terese’s. “Knowing that it isn't just us is, in a small way, a comfort. We're not being targeted, which means we can rule out anyone seeking revenge.” He turned to the others and instructed, “Back to the library.”
They all heaved a collective sigh, except Buffy who looked relieved, and stood up. The cat grumbled at being unceremoniously deposed from Willow’s lap and wended his way around and through Giles' legs. Willow stifled a giggle as Giles' face reflected his displeasure at being even closer to the cat than he had been while it was in Willow's lap.
“Willow, a moment, please?” Terese requested. Her smile was gentle but made it clear that the moment was to be a private one. “I would like to speak with you privately, please,” Terese requested.
Willow nodded, looked at her friends and sat back down; the cat immediately reclaiming her lap. She giggled softly and said, “I'll meet you all back at the house. I'll check the library first.”
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~