A Soulmate's plea by H.W.

It wasn't clear what made Willow jump more. The loud bang outside, or the sudden splash of wetness against her face and chest. But before she could truly think about it, she noticed the strange look on her lover's face, right before noticing the red spot right over Tara's heart.

"Your shirt," Tara noticed with a frown, right before falling forward.

A shocked Willow rushed and kneeled at her lover's side and grabbed her shoulders.

"Tara?! Baby?" Willow asked desperately, but there was no reply. She rolled Tera over and pulled her into her lap, only to have the body of her lover lie limp in her arms.

"Baby, come on! Get up!" A sobbing Willow urged desperately, once more getting no reply. Not knowing what to do, Willow started to rock back and forth, still holding the dead body of her lover, crying desperately. "No... no... Oh god, oh no. Please, please, come on..."

She softly put her hands on Tara's face. Hands that had become red with her lovers blood. "Come on, Tara! Please, come on, baby..." She felt something snap inside as the control she had build over the last month failed and the magic came rushing forth. Magic. Seductive, tempting, sweet. She knew there were options. She could bring her lover back. She could... no. Tara wouldn't want that, wouldn't want to live like that. Besides, that would only be her body, and not the Tara she had been. She would come back as a monster... unless...

She looked up, seeing the dark blue clouds and lightning that were forming in the room at her mere thought. She knew the powers she was dealing with, that were trying to take over. But she managed to control them. This was her chance, she could bring Tara back, she could not afford to give in to the temptation of bringing her lover back in one of the other ways.

"By Osiris, I command you, bring her back!"

The reaction was immediate as more lightning started to form and the clouds started to swirl faster.

"Hear me, keeper of darkness!"

The clouds started to change, started to form a face, started to speak.

"Witch! How dare you invoke Osiris in this task?"

"Please. Please, bring her back," Willow cried desperately.

"You may not violate the laws of natural passing."

"How? How is this natural?" Willow demanded.

"It is a Human death, by Human means."

"But I," Willow started, only to be interrupted.

"You raised one before, killed by mystical forces. This is not the same. She is taken by natural order. It is done."

"There has to be a way," Willow pleaded.

"It is done."

"No! You can undo this, you have to!"

"We cannot. It is a Human death by Human means. Only a Human is allowed to bring her back, but they do not have the means, yet."

"Yet, so at some point they would have the means. She could be brought back! Please, I will do..."

"We know what offers you would bring, but are you willing to sacrifice what is hers as well?"

"She will want to live," Willow said with conviction.

"Then in exchange for the sacrifice of the both of you, we will give you... a chance."

Willow slowly saw the room move, saw herself and Tara drift away, yet they were not. At the same time she saw herself, still sitting there, being denied the help, using her powers to attack the demon that had just told her that she would get a chance, yet had somehow also told her that she would get no help. And just before the room faded completely away, she realized that something had been left behind.

***

374 years later, Delta Quadrant.

{Intruder alert. Unidentified life forms on deck eleven.}

Willow looked around her in surprise. She was no longer in her room. Instead she was kneeling on a metal floor, and there was a metal wall behind her, while there was some kind of railing in front of her. She looked down, the lifeless form of Tara was still in her arms. She looked up again when some voice once more shouted some intruder warning. Footsteps, someone came running, and moments later someone stopped in front of her. She looked up the body and eventually saw the misshaped face of a demon... in some kind of uniform... looking down at her in surprise. "Please, help her, she is dying."

The demon seemed to hesitate for a moment before touching something on her chest.

"Torres to the bridge. Captain, there are two intruders on the second deck of Engineering. They appear Human, and one of them looks severely wounded, maybe dead."

"No! She isn't dead! There was a chance. We were brought here because there was a chance."

"I suggest beaming them to sickbay," B'Elanna added, knowing that the Captain would realize that the medical side was not the only reason. Sickbay did, after all, have one of the strongest containment fields on the ship.

"Do it," Janeway agreed from the bridge. Then she turned to Tuvok. "Get security set up, I'm going to sickbay."

"Yes Captain."

When Janeway entered sickbay she saw that the Doctor was already hard at work. He looked up for a moment before going back to work. "Captain." Then he activated his com. link. "Mister Paris, report to sickbay; medical emergency." Looking back at the Captain, he explained, "I need Tom here. The heart is completely destroyed and I need to replace it. Also, there is massive trauma to the other internal organs from the shockwave of the bullet."

"Bullet?" Janeway asked confused. She looked at the second stranger, standing at the head of the biobed. The redhead was covered in blood and clinging to a hand of the blonde on the bed. From the looks of it, Janeway guessed that the young woman was in the middle of a mental breakdown.

"It seems that she was shot by a projectile weapon. Initial scans indicate the wound as a bullet wound. Bullet, as in the metal objects propelled by gun powder. Like the kind of weapons they used centuries ago on Earth. She," He glanced briefly at the other woman before changing his words. "She has a chance."

'But not a big one,' Janeway added in her mind, having understood what the Doctor meant. Looking at the redhead, Janeway said, "You need to let go of her. The Doctor needs to operate."

"No! I'm not leaving her here."

"You can wait there," Janeway said, pointing to a biobed where the woman would not be in the way. "But the Doctor needs room, he needs to be able to work."

"I can help."

The door opened and Tom came in, hesitating for a moment when he saw the strangers.

"Tom, get over here and hold this," The Doctor ordered.

"He has help, now let him work," Janeway urged the woman. "You might actually endanger her by being in his way."

The woman dropped the hand immediately and moved back.

Janeway moved to the young woman's side and asked, "Are you Human?"

"What? Of course," Then Willow remembered that the first person she had seen here had been a demon, and the demon had been wearing a similar uniform as this woman was. Apparently they were well used to demons. "Yes we are Humans, the both of us. Please help her! She didn't do anything, we were just standing in our room and, and, blood, then there was blood."

Janeway remembered the woman's behavior, how she didn't want to let go of the other woman's hand. And now the woman was talking about 'our' bedroom. "Are the two of you related, or is she your partner?"

"She is my life," The redhead said in a whisper.

"I see." Janeway looked back at the same place the woman was looking. "I know that this is not the time for a lot of questions, but answer me this; who are you, where are you from?"

"W... I'm Willow. Willow Rosenberg, and she is Tara Maclay." Then she looked at the older woman with a frown. "Where are we from? Sunnydale of course."

"Sunnydale?" Janeway asked, clearly never having heard of the name.

"Sunnydale California," When the other woman looked at her with disbelief on her face, she added. "Honestly. We are from Sunnydale California... the U.S.?... the Northern hem,"

"You're from Earth?" Janeway asked in disbelief.

"Yes. Tara, how... Save her."

"We are doing our best," Janeway assured. "Maybe it would be better if we,"

"No, I'm not leaving her," Willow stated resolutely.

Janeway was just about to speak when the Doctor spoke up. "Captain, the physical damage is under control, of course it will still take quite some operating. I have activated a holographic hart for now. But I don't seem to be able to bring her back; she was gone too long."

"No!" Then Willow remembered Buffy, how she said that she thought that she had been in heaven when Willow brought her back. Was Tara there now as well? "She is gone, passed over," She whispered.

"Well, that's what I was getting at." The Doctor spoke up. "Normally I would agree. But her brain activity hasn't slowed down. It is as if... something, is holding her here. But I'm not able to bring her back fully." Then he looked at the Captain. "There is one option, Captain. This is a lot like the time Mister Neelix died."

Knowing exactly what the Doctor meant, Janeway opened a channel. "Seven of Nine, report to sickbay, now, we have an emergency."

Moments later the doors opened and a blonde woman walked in. Willow gasped when the metal bands on one of the hands, and something that was clearly an implant above her left eye, registered. The last time Willow had seen a person that was part robot, it had been someone called 'Adam' and had been a secret governmental experiment gone wrong, which had taken to ripping people open to see how they 'worked' from the inside.

The blonde looked at Willow for a moment before turning to the older woman. "Captain?"

"Seven, could you please offer us some of your nanoprobes? We have a guest here who's body has shut down, but who's brain refuses to do the same. I guess she really doesn't want to leave; let's make sure that it also doesn't happen."

"Yes Captain." Then she moved to the Doctor's side and merely asked, "Doctor?"

"Seven, besides massive internal trauma her spinal cord was also damaged. I think that her brain has been overloaded, so to speak, as a result and that her neural pathways have shut down. Program your nanoprobes to check for, and potentially repair any, damage along the pathways."

Then he looked at Willow. "I heard you say you were Human. What about her? This is very important. She is not a hybrid with any other species?"

"What?! No! She is Human, who the hell are you people?"

Without answering, he looked back at Seven. "For a fully Human body then."

Moments later, Willow started to scream again when she suddenly saw the cyborg plunge two tubes in the neck of her lover. "No! Stay away from her!"

She tried to move to her lover's side, but was surprised when she suddenly walked into an invisible wall.

"Don't worry, this is for her good. Seven has nanoprobe technology that is far advanced to what the Doctor could do for her now," Janeway assured.

Words flooded back to Willows mind, 'Only a Human is allowed to bring her back, but they do not have the means, yet.'

She waited in anxious silence for a few minutes until finally she saw Tara's chest start to move, and she heard the most wonderful sound of someone taking a deep breath. Her knees gave out and she dropped too the floor. She felt the woman called Captain trying to help her up, but the knees simply refused. Then she saw the cyborg coming closer, only to lift her off the floor with apparent ease. She was placed on another bed from where she could see Tara, could see that the Doctor had started to operate once more, could see the chest moving up and down with a steady rhythm. She looked up at the cyborg, the person that had just saved Tara's life.

"Thank you," She cried. "I will never be able to... how much... and she... you."

"You require rest," The cyborg pointed out a moment before placing her human hand at Willow's neck. Willow felt a slight pinch starting to form, but before the pressure could start to hurt, everything went black.

***

"Doctor?"

"According to the scan I did they truly are Human. Of course I have no idea where they come from." He stopped looking out into sickbay and turned back to the computer screen. "But some of the things she said do indicate that they aren't from this timeline. Or more to the point, not from this time."

"Right, California, in the United States of America," Janeway agreed. "The U.S. hasn't existed ever since they joined the United Earth government in 2150, so they have to be from before that time."

"I had a look at the security files. None of us heard it at the time because of the universal translator, but she wasn't speaking Federation. She was speaking English, or more to the point, American."

"So that supports what she is saying," Janeway stated the obvious.

"Right. So I had the computer analyze what she said, and from how certain words were spoken, the computer estimates that they are actually from around the year 2000, give or take a decade or two on both sides."

"Which only leaves us to find out why we suddenly have two people on the ship that look to be around twenty, and come from a time more than three centuries ago," Janeway said with mild amusement.

"I would suggest waiting until they are awake so that they can answer some questions."

"How is she?" Janeway asked, obviously talking about the woman that had been mortally wounded.

"She needs rest, but she will be alright. I have to tell you, captain, she is lucky that they arrived at this time. If Seven hadn't been able to rescue Mister Neelix two months ago, I would never have thought about bringing her in. I was able to repair the rest, but I could never have fixed that what the nanoprobes fixed. If they had arrived two months earlier, she would not have survived."

"And the heart?"

"Working perfectly. It will require the normal ten-year checkups, but her new heart is now more reliable than a normal Human heart."

"Then, I guess we wait."

***

Willow slowly woke up, but within seconds the memories started to flood back. She shot upright and looked around. There. She got off the bed and moved to Tara's side. She noticed a chair beside the bed. Whoever these people were, at least they were considered. And, Willow noted as she felt that her lover had a strong pulse going, they were her savior.

She looked up when she heard someone coming into the room and saw that it was the bald doctor that had been operating on Tara. "How, will she, I,"

"She will be alright," the Doctor assured. "She needs rest, but she should wake up soon. After that she will have to stay here for two more days at least."

"Thank you," Willow said softly as she took Tara's hand and placed a kiss on the knuckles. "You hear that baby? You are going to be alright." She couldn't hold back the tears, and she didn't want to. Tara would be alright. She looked up as the Doctor seemed to push some touchpad buttons on the side of the bed. "Who are you, where are we?" She finally asked.

"I merely go by the name of Doctor. As for where we are... tell me, do you believe in science fiction stories?"

"Believe?" Willow asked, confused by the strange question. "W, uh, well, I like them. I watched all the Star Wars movies more than once."

"Ah, then you know what a starship is. Well, you are now on the Federation Starship Voyager. Currently we are about fifty thousand light years away from Earth." Seeing the look of disbelief, the Doctor added, "We are in the year 2376."
"No, that's impossible. How, wh..." Willow stopped when the words came flooding back once more. 'Only a Human is allowed to bring her back, but they do not have the means, yet.' She focused on the single word that probably explained it all. 'yet.' She now realized that the price had been even bigger than what she had imagined. They had been brought to a time where a Human would be able to heal Tara, centuries into the future. Yes the price was much higher. All their friends, their family, all long dead and gone. Gone, and she would never see them again.

"We know that you are from around the year 2000. Would you mind narrowing that down a little?"

Willow looked at Tara before explaining, "This happened in the year 2002. I'm 21, she is 22."

"Thank you. Now, the both of you need rest. Try to sleep, I'm sure that there will be a lot of questions tomorrow."

Willow nodded her head but didn't move.

"There is a bed over there," The Doctor urged.

Willow managed a weak smile. "I know, but I'll be more comfortable over here."

The Doctor sighed, but by now he was well used to some of the crazy things some people would do. So just to be on the safe side he decided that guidance was the best option. "If you want, you can join her on the bed, but stay to her side. The damage has been healed, but the areas are still very fragile."

"Thank you, for everything."

The Doctor nodded before moving back to his office.

Willow carefully moved onto the bed, making sure to only touch her lover's side. "I'm here baby. We are going to be alright. I love you."

It was hours later, and the lighting in the room was only half of what it had been before, when Willow woke from the soft moans coming from her lover's lips.

"Easy baby. Stay still. You were hurt and you have to heal."

"Willow? W, what happened?"

"You were hit by a bullet. Baby, you were shot through the heart. They had to give you an artificial one."

"They? Who is they?" Tara asked confused.

"Tara, there are a few things you must know. That wound, it was, you, you died."

A sick feeling started to form when Tara realized what Willow was saying. "You brought me back. You used magic to bring me back."

"Yes, no, well, I tried baby. But I was told that you could not be brought back because it was a Human death, caused by Human means. Only a Human would be allowed to bring you back, but Humans didn't have the means yet to bring you back."

Tara looked confused, so Willow explained. "I made a deal baby. I pleaded that there had to be a way. Apparently there was a loophole. If Humans didn't have the means, yet, to bring you back... we were brought to the time where a Human did have the means. We, I, I have been told that this is the year 2376."

"Oh Willow, how could you?" Tara started. "You promised that you wouldn't,"

"I couldn't let you die. I swear baby I didn't use magic on you. I didn't do this."

"No, but you asked someone else to do it. Willow, that still,"

"Tara, there is more that you need to know."

"More?"

"It was a deal baby. We would be brought to a place where you had a chance. The price was some test I have to face in the future, I have no idea what, and giving up our magic. My abilities, and yours. They are gone for ever. I'm sorry baby. I'm sorry that I made that choice for you, but I couldn't let you die."

"You gave up your magic for me?" Tara said in disbelief. "All of it? You can't even do a locator spell anymore?"

Willow merely nodded.

"Forever?"

"Forever." Willow confirmed. "Baby I stopped doing magic to get you back, do you really think I had to think twice about giving it all up for you? I just hope that you can forgive me for making the choice for you as well."

"Of course. You saved me from dying. Kinda hard to use my magic when I'm dead anyway." Tara brushed away her lover's tears and placed a soft kiss on her forehead. "I'm more upset about you using magic, but even there I can't blame you. I never wanted you to stop using magic, I just wanted you to stop using it so often. I, I, if I had your powers, I think I would have done the same."

"Tara, you, you realize that we won't be going back, right? With no more magic we can't go back anymore. Our friends, our families, our homes. By now they are considered ancient history. Well, centuries old history. We are stuck here."

"And just where exactly is here?" Tara asked. "Besides being in the year 2376 that is."

"I don't really know," Willow admitted. "The doctor asked me how I felt about science fiction and when I told him that I kinda like Star Wars, he told me that we are on a Starship."

"Are you sure that this isn't an elusion?" Tara asked hesitantly.

"Could be," Willow was forced to admit. "They, it seems that they get along with demons. The first person I saw here looked a lot like a Draka demon, just not as lumpy on the head. But the woman in charge and the Doctor seem Human. They seem nice enough, and they didn't seem to be phased by the fact that we are lovers. They said we would talk tomorrow, so I guess we find out more then. Baby, there, there was this other woman. She looked like a cyborg, but sure a lot more Human and less demon than Adam did."

"You, you think we are safe here?"

"They saved your life, I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt," Willow reasoned.

"I'm tired," Tara admitted softly. "We should rest."

***

Willow woke when someone walked into sickbay. She looked up to see that it was the demon woman that she had seen before.

B'Elanna had come for the Doctor, but now that she saw that at least one of the mysterious strangers was awake she walked over to the biobed. "Hi, you seem to do a lot better than the last time I saw you."

"Please don't hurt us, demon."

B'Elanna's jaw sagged. "You are calling me a demon?"

"B'Elanna," The doctor intervened, stepping from his office. "She is from the year 2002. Until now she only saw humans."

"Oh, and just because I happen to have head ridges and sharp teeth I happen to be a demon?"

"Well, um, normally, in my experience, when people don't look like Humans, they are demons," Willow explained. "Or, or vampires of course. But you don't look like a vampire."

"B'Elanna is half Human and half Klingon. Klingons are what you would call an alien species, though the word really is all in the definition because if Voyager visits a planet, it is us that are the aliens."

"And there are many alien species?" Willow asked.

"There are 148 different species in the Federation, where Earth is a part of," The Doctor explained. "All Human races are considered one and the same species. Most of the other species also have several different races. Besides that we know that there are at least over twenty thousand other species existing in our galaxy."

All the talking had woken Tara and when she saw B'Elanna she quickly looked back at Willow. "A demon saved me?"

B'Elanna merely lifted her hands and let them drop.

"Half demon," Willow explained before correcting herself. "Only I have just been told that she isn't a demon but an alien."

"Look," B'Elanna said annoyed. "My father was a Human, Mexican heritage. My mother was of a different species, called Klingon. Alright? I am just as much a demon as you are... or maybe you are actually the demons here, pretending to be humans."

"What? You would know," Willow started, only to be interrupted by Tara.

"Well, she has a point. When Anya was a demon she could appear in Human form."

"I guess," Willow admitted.

Before more could be said, the door opened and the cyborg walked in.

"Doctor, I need my check-up earlier today. The captain wants me to start researching our guests as soon as I report for duty."

"That is the cyborg that saved you," Willow explained softly to her lover. For some reason it made the half demon snicker, and the cyborg focus on her.

"You are recovering well, I see," Seven said, also stepping closer to the bed until she was standing besides B'Elanna. "My name is Seven of Nine, I prefer Seven. If you however want to continue to refer to my cybernetic status, you can call me Borg, since that is what I am."

"Don't get all upset, Seven. At leas you are not a demon."

"She called you a demon?" Seven asked while turning to B'Elanna. Then she looked back at the two women on the bed. "You are correct. B'Elanna Torres is a demon. A demon of the worst kind. She enjoys frustrating people and basks in her success of driving people insane."

"Only the one person I'm married to," B'Elanna assured with a grin. "The rest I just irritate, or piss off, depending on my mood."

"You, you are married?" Tara asked. "That's legal?"

"We are, and it is," Seven assured. "Why? Do you have a problem with this? From your behavior I would assume not."

"No. God no! It's just that where we are from only opposite sex marriages are allowed."

"Well, they did away with that on Earth when a Hajian wanted to marry itself," B'Elanna said.

Seeing the confused looks the two women were giving them, Seven explained. "My wife is joking. Hajians are a species that is both male and female at the same time. When the United Earth government was formed most of the existing laws were reviewed. There never was a law case of a Hajian wanting to marry itself, but their existence was used as an example to indicate that Earth was entering new times, and that the time of simple man/woman relationships had well passed. If two Hajians would marry, which parts of them would be marrying under the old laws? Besides the Hajian there are also two species in the Federation that actually have three sexes. Male, female,"

"And complicated," B'Elanna interrupted. "Don't mind Seven, she sometimes gets stuck in lecture mode."

"Stuck? Is part of her cy... Borg system malfunctioning?" Willow asked. "Maybe I can help, I'm good with computers, and I worked on a robot before."

"Nope, Seven is as good as can be. Serviced to perfection. I serviced her just last night as a matter of fact."

"B'Elanna Torres," Seven warned.

B'Elanna grinned and stepped closer to the bed, extending her hand. "How about we just forget the demon and cyborg crap? If you try to go on like that you will run out of names soon. "I'm B'Elanna Torres, Chief Engineer."

Willow shook the hand first, then Tara, as both of them introduced themselves. Then Tara asked, "Why would we run out of names?"

"Well," B'Elanna said as she started to point. "Demon, cyborg, hologram, what are you going to call a Vulcan? Also a demon? The only thing that sets them apart on looks is their pointy ears and strange eyebrows."

"Forget I asked," Tara relented. Then she looked at the Doctor. "Wait, hologram? You are not Human either?"

"Long story," The Doctor merely said.

Getting no further explanation, Tara looked back at B'Elanna. "Chief Engineer? We were told that we are on a starship. Are we really in space?"

"I'm afraid so, and it seems that we are taking the scenic route home. Unless we find shortcuts it will take about forty years before we reach Earth again. Now a question from me. Willow said that people that don't look like humans are normally demons or vampires. You met a lot of them then, that you know that?"

"A, a few," Tara said hesitantly, not really sure if she should admit to someone that looked somewhat like a Draka demon that she helped killing vampires and demons on a daily basis, pretty much.

Taking a chance, Willow added, "Where we lived there were actually quite a lot of them. We, um, helped keeping them in check."

"In check?" B'Elanna repeated.

"Honestly, we didn't kill the harmless ones," Willow spoke up. "Well, the ones that proofed to be harmless anyway. In fact, two vampires helped us in our fights. Though I never really figured out just what agenda Spike was working at. If it hadn't been for that chip in his brain I don't think I would have trusted him." She frowned. "In fact, I don't think I ever trusted him at all. But he did help, and he did save us several times. Oh, but Angel, he was cool. And, and, he, he, we once found this ring that enables vampires to walk in the sun, and we gave it to him and he fought evil in Los Angeles."

"I see. Vampires and demons, huh?"

"You don't believe me," Willow accused having heard it in the tone of B'Elanna's voice.

"I don't," B'Elanna agreed. Then she shrugged and leaned against one of the biobeds. "But then, would you believe me if I told you that I have met people so powerful that they can bring you to the moment of the big bang with just a snap of their fingers? Or that can make stars go supernova with just a thought?"

"Not really," Willow admitted. "But we did fight a god once, and several former rulers of demon dimensions."

"Well, those beings I talked about exist, and they call themselves the Q. So I'm well used to things that sound too outrages to be true. As long as what you say or do doesn't endanger me or this ship, I'll take your word for it; whether I personally believe the explanation or not. I may not believe that you met a vampire, but that doesn't mean that I don't believe that you fought some evil while someone that was more than mere human helped you."

The door opened once more, and this time it was the Captain that walked in.

"Ah, I see that you are both awake. Forgive me, I realized last night that I never got around to introducing myself to you. "I'm Captain Kathryn Janeway, commander of this ship, the USS Voyager."

"Captain," Willow and Tara greeted before introducing themselves.

Janeway looked at the doctor and asked, "I know that you said that Tara needs rest, but there are questions that need answering. Can we beam her to the conference room and back here when we are done?"

The Doctor thought about that for a moment. "I think that's doable. But I will keep an eye on her and if I think that it's enough for today I will insist that the questions are stopped."

"Alright." Looking at B'Elanna and Seven, she added, "Ladies since you are here anyway, please explain the basics of beaming to our guests while I go and call a conference meeting for in half an hour."

"Yes Captain."

***

The senior staff was sitting around the conference room table, where two chairs had been added for the guests. Once introductions had been made, Janeway asked, "Do you have any idea why you are here, and how?"

Willow hesitated. These people were friendly enough, but how would they react to finding out that their guests were witches? Deciding to trust the people that had shown nothing but kindness she started. "I do. When Tara was shot, I called on the keeper of darkness to bring her back." Seeing the confusion, she explained, "The keeper of darkness is the guardian, the power that decides if a person is dead or still alive."

"And you can call on this power?" Janeway asked.

"I could, but I can't anymore. I, um, well, you see, I'm a performer of witchcraft." Willow cringed, but when hell didn't break loose after that admission, she continued. "The problem is that I was told that Tara had died and could not be brought back because Humans didn't have to means to do so. So, I offered all I could, begged for the keeper of darkness to find a way. Bottom line is that the rules could not be broken. Tara could only be brought back by a Human that had the means to do so. But, that didn't mean that the rules couldn't be bent a little."

"By sending you through time until the moment where for the first time a Human had the means to bring her back, and the free will to do so," Janeway said in understanding. "That also explains why you didn't just travel through time, but also through space to where we are. If you had been simply brought through time on Earth, they still would not have been able to safe her because the nanoprobes were needed for that."

"So, you are the kind of witch that can make stuff happen, or just the kind that knows what herbs do and of which people say you can do magic because you cured them?" B'Elanna asked.

"We were the first kind," Tara spoke up. "Both of us could do spells and rituals. Both of us could also move and levitate things by telekinesis. Besides that I could read the aura of people while Willow could also levitate herself."

"Levitate hers... you mean flying?" Harry said in disbelief.

"Well, yeah," Willow admitted. "Or, well, more like a helicopter. You know, hover, levitate up a building, that kind of thing. I couldn't fly around like an airplane, just go woosh through the air with hundreds of miles an hour."

"I hear a lot of past tense," Chakotay noted.

"That's because there was a price for being brought here. Our powers are gone now," Willow explained. "Payment of sorts."

"I did a search for the town you mentioned, Sunnydale," Janeway noted. "Nothing. But then, a lot of records were lost during the third World War. You said the place was practically teeming with non-human life forms?"

"Yes, but that's because the Hellmouth was located there," Willow explained.

"Hellmouth?" Janeway repeated. "Let me see if I get this straight. The place was packed with beings that loved to kill, there even was something called a Hellmouth located there... yet people kept living there? And just what exactly was the Hellmouth?"

"I know, if you think rationally it doesn't make sense," Tara agreed. "Especially considering that so many people died in the town that there were actually twelve cemeteries. But people just kept coming, as if they were lured there. And... well, I mean, I myself obviously know what we faced there, I have seen some things that, but, well. Despite that there were a lot of times where I still felt safe there. I think that it has something to do with the Hellmouth, that it somehow made people feel secure. I killed vampires, I know that they existed, and where a lot of them normally liked to hang out. Yet somehow I didn't think twice about walking the streets at night."

"I agree," Willow added. "If you think about it, it makes no sense. There were nights that we were hunting vampires, and we would be walking across the cemeteries and talking about, stuff." She looked at how Tom was writing something on his PADD for a moment, then she continued. "I mean, those places are creepy enough as it is, but would you go there and chat about stuff like homework while you know for sure that you will meet a vampire there?"

"And just what exactly is a Hellmouth?" Janeway asked.

"Well, that is kinda hard to answer," Willow started. "It kinda seems to change. I can tell you that a Hellmouth is an area of supernatural activities. A Hellmouth is also more than just the one small place; it's an area. It is said that it is a place where the barriers between dimensions are weak, allowing energy, and... things... from other dimensions to enter our world. The Hellmouth itself is said to be a focal point, a portal between Earth and Hell. That's why it attracts all those demons and other supernatural creatures and activities."

"That's what the books say, or at least said in our time," Tara added. "But willow is right, it's more complex than that. We have seen a demon break through the floor, indicating that the Hellmouth was simply a barrier of earth and maybe concrete that can be broken. But at a different time it was a place that was covered by a seal that needed blood to be opened. It, it changed. It was just, as, as, just like different evils contested for the right to try and enter our world. And the one that won for that year would then have certain rules and conditions that needed fulfilling. It must have affected us as well. Because even though we fought those evils, it is only now that I even realize that the Hellmouth changed from year to year."

"Maybe it was kinda like that spell that Glory had," Willow suddenly suggested as she looked at her lover. Then she looked at the rest. "She could take a different form right in front of is, and moments later we wouldn't remember. And, and, even when someone tried to explain it to us, we somehow didn't understand. He explained to us clearly that Glory also was this other person, and we would only all go, 'so there is a connection between them.' And then Spike, the guy I'm talking about, would say 'right, they are the same person,' and we would ask, 'but what does that have to do with Glory.' Maybe it's the same. That would explain why we never noticed the changes."

"Or why people kept coming to the same club every day while there was a different evil there every week," Willow added. "Vampires killed some people there and the rest would run... en be back the next day. A demon would rip someone apart right there, people would run... and the next day they were dancing on the same spot."

"I just looked up 'Hellmouth,'" Tom spoke up. "I didn't find anything like what you just described, but I did find that the word Hellmouth is a lot older than the year where you lived. In medieval theater a Hellmouth was a device created to dramatically represent an entrance to hell. But if you think a little broader than that and include religion, we can go even further back. Here, the computer even spit out a suggestion from the old testament. In something called 'the book of numbers,' it says:

And Moses said, "Hereby you shall know that the LORD has sent me to do all these works, and that it has not been of my own accord. If these men die as all men die, or if they are visited by the fate of all mankind, then the LORD has not sent me. But if the LORD creates something new, and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that belongs to them, and they go down alive into Sheol, then you shall know that these men have despised the LORD." And as soon as he had finished speaking all these words, the ground under them split apart. And the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households and all the people who belonged to Korah and all their goods. So they and all that belonged to them went down alive into Sheol, and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly.

"It's a stretch," Janeway said after a moment of silence, "But you are right, it could be used as an argument for saying that mentioning of a Hellmouth being around for thousands of years."

"Ah, but how about this for a stretch," Tom persisted. "What if these Hellmouths are actually portals, like Willow just said. But not portals between Earth and Hell, but between Earth and other planets? The more I think about it, the more I realize that popular entertainment around the year 2000 often dealt with portals and gates to other worlds."

"Tom," B'Elanna sighed. "Not again with the TV stuff."

"No, hang in there for a moment. I mean it, what if that's exactly what those Hellmouths are; gates to other worlds?"

"At our time there is actually a popular TV series going on that deals with gates like that," Willow noted. "It's called Star Gate one, and it has, well, portals of sorts that lead to other worlds that also have these portals. But of course everyone knows that this is just fiction."

"Maybe the series is fiction, but what if the idea is not?" Tom asked. "Yes, creators of TV shows come up with their own twists, with their own ideas to fill the weekly episodes. But they are only too proud to admit that they got the base idea from this or that old civilization."

"Star Gate is heavily based on Egyptian history," Tara added.

"Egyptians, that thought that when they died they would travel through a portal to a different world. Where Pharaohs had pyramids build to guide them the way into these new worlds," Tom added on his turn.

"Willow, the both of you said that I looked like a demon," B'Elanna spoke up.

"Yeah. No offence here, but you really do look somewhat like a Draka demon, just that your head is not as lumpy."

"Could you describe them a little bit more than that?"

"Well, basically they are strong, generally taller than the average Human. Lumpy forehead, always black or black and gray hair. Sharp and often crooked teeth. Oh, and they have pink blood."

There was a silence when all of the voyager crew recognized the 'demon' Willow had just described. Finally Tom worked on the PADD some more before pushing it in Willow's direction. "Would you say that this is a Draka demon?"

Willow and Tara looked at the picture for a moment before both nodding. "That's a Draka demon alright," Willow agreed.

"No," B'Elanna who sat next to the two women and who could also see the screen, disagreed. "That's a Klingon. Give me that PADD for a moment, I want you to look at some other pictures."

Ten minutes later Janeway brought the meeting back on track. "So, Klingon, Cardassian, Ferengi, Tellarite, Nuvian, Orion, Denobulan, and more... and all of them running around in a small Californian town around the year 2000."

"Not just that, most of them also very violent," B'Elanna reminded. "From what Willow and Tara told us most of them were itching for fights, going out to kill people. Most of those species are normally more controlled than that, even the hotheaded Klingons. We love a fight, but we won't just go and kill people for the fun of it."

"Unless they are criminal elements to begin with," Tom spoke up, having a feeling that he had cracked the mystery. "What if those Hellmouths really are those portals and it depends on who controls them how much you hear about them. In times where they were controlled by individuals that did the right thing you don't find much because no aliens were allowed to use them that would make enough 'noise' to make it into the history books. At other times they were simply controlled by people that didn't care who used them as long as they paid. For instance, criminals on the run that were willing to pay for taking their chances in places where nobody would look for them, with the exception of some slayer and friends of course."

"But what about the big ones like Glory, a god?" Willow asked.

"Actually, Tom's suggestion can be used as an explanation for that as well," Seven assured. "Starfleet knows for a fact of two alternate universes that exist beside ours. Those powerful demons could actually be from other universes. Those rulers like that god Glory could be telling the truth, that they ruled their world and were banished to your world. It all depends on just how much power they truly have if they realize that they actually were banished to a different universe. For instance, the fact that you were able to win the battle against Glory indicates that she must actually have been a being with only very limited powers compared to a being like the Q."

"And Starfleet also has a history of portals being used for travel between universes," B'Elanna added, knowing what her wife meant. "Yeah, that makes sense. A normal portal that brings people from one place in the universe to Earth, not that hard for some species in the universe. Simple enough for people to use that pay for the privilege of being allowed to use it. But using such a normal portal for traveling between dimensions, that is something else. That requires the kind of power only a bad, bad, badass has. That would also explain why you saw different things in that Hellmouth. Simply because a different evil from a different dimension was using the portal. This time you saw the planet where this evil came from, the next time you saw the cave that was an access to the place where the other evil lived."

"But what about the vampires?" Tara asked. "Those were normal humans that were turned into vampires. We knew some of them from the time before they turned."

"Yes, but you also said that not everyone that was bitten by a vampire turned into one," The Doctor countered.

"Well, yeah. Sometimes it was really confusing," Willow agreed. "One time it would take a vampire five minutes of drinking before the victim was dead, other times it was only seconds. And even then. Sometimes the person would simply be dead, sometimes they would turn into a vampire right away, right before our eyes, but most of the times it took one or a few days before the dead person would wake up again as a vampire. Most had already been buried before becoming one. And of course, other times people were bitten and never turned into a vampire at all."

"It could have been a disease then," The Doctor guessed. "It all depends on how hard the immune system was able to fight the disease. Sometimes it could beat it, sometimes it took time, and sometimes the immune system was in such bad shape that it didn't put up a fight at all."

"A disease turning people into uber-strong people with a taste for blood, that catch fire in the sun, are killed by a stake through the heart, but it has to be wood because iron doesn't do a thing, and on top of that turn into dust when they die?" Willow asked in disbelief. "Oh, and the longer they live, the more powerful they become? Oh, and what about the very strange sudden allergy for things like crosses and holy water?"

"Actually, that only means that we don't know all the parameters of the disease, not that it's impossible that it is one," Janeway spoke up. "There have been some rather interesting diseases documented over time. If we go with the theory that those demons were actually aliens then it could even have been an alien parasitic disease. The Loque'eque virus comes to mind here. It was a genetically engineered virus that could infect at least all species in the federation. Once infected it transforms the DNA into that of the Loque'eque. People infected also get a really powerful urge to go to the Loque'eque home city, no matter where they actually are at the moment of infection. The Loque'eque who engineered this virus to prevent extinction never the less died out, but the virus is still around, still able to change people into something they were not. It can very well be that these vampires also had a disease that changed them."

"Which brings us to the question, now what?" B'Elanna spoke up. "Tara is healed, should we try and find a way to bring them back to Earth? We have the added small problem that we aren't just talking time travel, but also them crossing a distance that we ourselves haven't been able to cross yet."

"Until now we only have theoretical 'what if,'" Janeway reminded. "Let's do some more research and see if we can come up with some technical explanation for them physically being here. If we do, maybe we can use that information to bring them back. Doctor, make a level five medical scan of our guests and see what you can do with that. Seven, you start researching Tom's hunch about these things being portals. Who would you like for help?"

"I would appreciate the help of our guests so that they can answer potential questions. Also, Lieutenant Torres' counter arguments help me think and rationalize."

"Why didn't I see that one coming?" Janeway said amused. "Fine, B'Elanna you go inspire your wife. Tom, you let your imagination run wild, you have an idea, run with it. Try to find things that can make it work. Then later we can compare that with actual facts."

"Yes ma'am," Tom said with a grin.

***

"As said before, not many records survived WW III," Seven pointed out. "Therefore I have set the computer up to do a cross reference between violent acts in California, and records of paranormal activities and extra terrestrial sightings."

"In other words, the computer is looking for reports of little green men that were seen sucking someone's brains out," B'Elanna simplified with a grin.

"Once the scan is complete we can look at the results and see if something looks interesting to the two of you," Seven continued. "This scan will take approximately one hour. You can explore the ship if you wish, or use that console over there to read some of the Federation's history. I have programmed it to display English. However, because we are trying to send you back, access is restricted. You can only access data from 2100 onward because we cannot give you information of your direct future."

"We understand," Tara assured. "But, um, what, where are you going?"

"Well," B'Elanna spoke up, "Since this scan will take an hour, Seven and I will go to her office over there to follow the Captain's order."

"What order?" Willow asked confused.

"Didn't you hear? I was strictly ordered that I had to inspire my wife; so I'm going to give her some... inspiration." B'Elanna winked and Willow closed her mouth in understanding.

"Oh."

"Yeah, oh. If I were you I would take my wife up on the suggestion of exploring the ship for the next hour... especially the guest quarters you have been given." With a last grin, B'Elanna took a willing Seven's hands and led her into the office.

"Oh, I like them," Tara said before the both of them giggled. "Want to follow the advice and do some... exploring?"

"But the doctor said," Willow started.

"The Doctor also said that I would be beamed straight back to sickbay," Tara reminded. "Yet here I am. B'Elanna gave me the lay down when we were coming here. As long as the Doctor doesn't say that he insists, then you can ignore him. She says he means well but is way too 'better safe than sorry.' He once tried to keep B'Elanna in sickbay for two days after having healed a broken arm."

"Well, if you promise to take it easy I would love to do some exploring."

***

"You were wrong, you know?" A very naked and very sated Tara said.

"About?" Willow asked as she crawled up to lie beside her lover.

"About magic. Both of us are still very capable of creating magic."

Willow giggled at the comment before turning serious. "I'm glad you are here. I don't know what I would have done if you, if..." She didn't finish her sentence, but her tears said enough.

"You would have gone on. You are a strong and caring individual, and eventually you would find someone new to share your life with."

"How can you say that?" Willow asked in disbelief. "I couldn't live without you. Do you really think I could hold someone else but you? Love someone else?"

Tara softly caressed her lover's face. "Baby, I wish that we will be together for the rest of our lives, that we will grow old together. That even in 80 years I wake up in the morning and see you lying beside me. I really, desperately want that for us. But baby, I love you. I want you happy, and if for some reason I can't be there to give that to you, then yes, I wish with all my heart that you will find someone else to share your life with. That you will find someone that gives you the happiness that I couldn't give you. Promise me. Promise me, baby, that if something ever happens to me, that you will not shut down. Give someone else the chance to win your heart."

"Only if you promise the same," Willow countered. "Or are you now going to say that's different? It could have been me, you know? If it had been me that had my dresser on the left side of the room I would have been standing at the window. So, if you want me to give you that promise, then you will have to do the same."

"Not that easy from that side of the promise," Tara relented. "But you are right. Yes I promise. If something happens I won't shut down. But let me tell you, that person better damn well be looking for me and be persistent, because after you I don't think I would ever look again."

"Same here," Willow agreed.

"Tara, I, I like that these people are doing so much for us," Willow changed the subject, "But what if they don't find a way, if we are stuck here? Our friends and families gone."

"And you think I would be upset about never seeing my family again?" Tara asked. "Baby, I would call that a plus."

"Tara,"

"I think that it's not really me you have to worry about, baby. As I said, my family, glad that I don't see them again. School? Is there something to miss? And my friends?" Tara stopped talking and looked away.

"Tara?" Willow asked surprised.

"Look, they are your friends and I don't want to, you know."

"They are 'our' friends," Willow disagreed. Getting no further reaction she urged again, "What baby?"

"It's just that, yes they are my friends, but how much? Remember in the beginning, how, how I told you that I didn't feel like I fit in with them?"

"But that changed," Willow countered.

"Yeah, but only after I used my powers to save their asses. It, it was just like I wasn't considered worthy to be one of the group. J, just accepted as your tagalong. But, only, once I saved them I was good enough to be called a friend. Like it was a right of passage. You know how it is on TV with some of those gangs? That people aren't accepted until they kill someone to proof that they are part of the gang? Well, same here. I was just Willow's girlfriend. I only became Tara to them when I saved their lives. Then I won the right to become part of the gang."

"But Baby," Willow stopped. As much as she wanted to deny it, she knew that her lover had a point. It wasn't just Tara. Oz too had only been accepted once he had helped them. Where as Anya, a former demon. A person that was responsible for the deaths of hundred, if not thousands, had been accepted almost right away because from the beginning she had knowledge to help them.

"I would miss them," Tara assured. Then she closed her eyes and admitted in shame, "But I would not cry at night for never seeing them again. I, I, how much have we seen of B'Elanna and Seven? A couple of hours all combined? Yet I like them. L, like them more than I liked Anya. Anya was funny and I liked being around her. She made me laugh. But as a person? Even that fake Doctor. He treats me more like a person than your, our, friends did in the beginning."

Not really knowing what to say, Willow kissed her lover, showing in that way that she wasn't upset about the words.

"I mean," Tara continued. "I can understand it, and I myself am not free of blame. Lately I too was looking more at strangers as whether or not they are a potential for help or a threat. With the things Buffy and the others had to face on a daily bases, it is easy to shift to thinking, 'this person helped, she is a friend. This person hasn't helped, she is just an acquaintance.'"

"But you didn't like being on the receiving end of that," Willow finally said.

"No," Tara agreed. "I, I think that it's changing. They are becoming more and more my friends with every passing day. But right now, at this moment, I would not really mind never going back. I think, I think I would miss Dawn the most. I liked being one of the parental figures in her life while Buffy was d... gone. But now that Buffy is back, Dawn has her parental figure."

"So, you wouldn't mind staying," Willow surmised.

Tara shrugged. "From what I know, no. But then we don't know much about what's going on here. We only met a few people of the crew. From what I did pick up this also isn't a safe place though. They have to fight battles, people have died." Then she smiled. "But they are a group of 150 people. All of them know what's going on. It's not like back home, where we fight evil and only less than ten people know about it. Here there is this entire group. They too have this 'us' feeling. Maybe this wouldn't be a bad place to call home."

"It has its perks," Willow agreed. "No worries about money."

"Healthcare for free," Tara added with a smile.

"Free food."

"Same sex marriages."

"Same sex marriages," Willow repeated.

"Taking a little private time during work time is not frowned upon."

"The Chief Engineer and Chief Science officer having sex in the office during work time, and not being shy about it."

"I heard something about 'Jefferies tubes,' where people slip to for a few minutes of alone time, and it's condoned," Tara said.

"Yeah, I think I could like this place," Willow agreed.

"From what I see, you with your computer and technical knowledge would fit right in, after some studying of their language and such so that we can actually read manuals," Tara noted.

"And you?"

Tara shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe Seven can use some help in Astrometrics. Or I can help out in one of the labs. As you know, I was actually the only one who enjoyed the researching we always had to do." Then she frowned. "Hey, to come back to that, also in hindsight, don't you think it's strange that these things were always mentioned in books? I mean, good or evil, who would make a dictionary on demons? And then more to the point, which publisher would actually print it? I mean, think about it, who would put together a book saying; 'demon kind A, these are its strengths, and these are its weaknesses.' I mean, alright, so maybe a person would be able to write down the weakness of one demon, but wouldn't he pretty much die when trying to find the weakness of the second demon? Only a slayer stands a chance against more than one demon, but even there Buffy would have been dead many times over if we didn't have those books. So, who wrote them down to begin with?"

"And, and did you ever look at the drawings?" Willow added. "I mean, different books, supposedly written a long time apart, yet the drawings in them always looked like they were made by one and the same artist."

"Maybe they were. If, if we go with that theory of it being portals. Maybe the person that allowed the demons... aliens to enter the portal and onto Earth, first wrote down a reference. What the strength was, how to beat it if needed. Maybe that person used that information if one of the aliens would get out of line."

"No, that makes no sense," Willow disagreed. "If these books were being written then, then we could not have them at the same time."

"It does so make sense," Tara persisted. "We guessed that it depended on who controlled the portals on just who was let through. What if the books were written in a time when someone actually cared what would come through the portal? That would explain the entries on how to kill the demons. The person was taking notes on how to get rid of people that caused problems. Then a century or so later it's someone else in control, when we are alive there, and that person couldn't care less who passed through the portal as long as they pay."

"But the books would still be there," Willow had to agree. "A Draka demon... Klingon... would still be in the books."

"We have to tell the others. Maybe it's a hint that can help us home."

"I thought you didn't mind if we had to stay here, baby," Willow noted.

"I don't," Tara agreed. "But I love you, and you still have friends and family there. And as I don't care if we have to stay, I also don't care if we can make it back. I just want you to be happy."

"I'm happy as long as you are with me," Willow assured.

"Really?" Tara asked with a smile.

"Really." Then willow smiled as well. "But you could make me even more happy right now."

"We will be late," Tara noted as she kissed Willow's throat.

"S, Seven and B'Elanna will understand," Willow said confidently as she felt her lover's hand start to move slowly up between her legs. "They w, w, won't mind."

"Then let us work some more on creating that magic between us," Tara said softly as her hand found its target.

***

"Come on, you said you fought demons, show me what you got."

Seven sighed and crossed her arms as she watched her wife play with their new friends. Six weeks had passed by now and Willow and Tara had slowly but surely integrated into the crew. Willow was technically part of Engineering now, but spent most of her time being an assistant to Seven. The redhead had assured her friends that she loved her job. Tara had surprised them all though. Yes she did help in the labs if hands were needed, but more and more people had come to the soft spoken woman that excelled at listening. In the end Janeway had given her the job of councilor and she even had her own office now.

Research was still being done into finding a way to bring the women back to their own time. It was always a frustrating mix of hope and disappointment. A new clue was found, only to lead to another dead end. Always enough to continue looking, never enough to find any real answers.

Seven decided that it was time to step in when Willow was sent flying, once again, by a martial arts move from B'Elanna. She tapped the still standing Tara on the shoulder. "My turn."

Seeing her wonderful wife taking up a fighting position, B'Elanna could only say, "I'm so dead."

*

"Ouch." Getting no reaction, B'Elanna tried with a, "Ow."

"Yes we heard you, now stop complaining."

"But honey, it hurts."

"Yes, and if you stop whining about it I will kiss and make it all better later," Seven relented.

"Sucker," B'Elanna grinned.

"Only you, B'Elanna Torres, only you."

"Only me, what?" B'Elanna asked confused.

"You are the only one I suck of course."

B'Elanna covered her face with her hands. "I so walked straight into that one, didn't I?"

"So, do you have any plans for this evening? Um, b, besides the sucking part of course." Tara asked.

"Not as of now, why?" Seven asked.

"Want to join us in an evening of mindless entertainment and criticizing SG-1 episodes?"

"I can't believe that you got Tom to give you his TV," B'Elanna noted. "More to the point, I can't believe that Tom actually managed to find all the SG-1 episodes on the Federation database. Entire records of government were lost in WW III, but SG-1 survived the war."

Willow shrugged. "Tom wasn't really using it anyway, and he knew that not having TV would be one of the biggest losses for us from our time. That at least was something he could give us. Besides, we do something for him in return. Unlike two other friends of him that I could mention by name, but won't, Tara and I don't mind playing the poor and helpless girls that need the mighty captain Proton to save them."

"I wouldn't mind if he didn't insist on the black and white crap," B'Elanna countered. "I look like crap in black and white."

"If you want I will write you a small program that transfers holodeck programs into two dimensional programs that you can watch on your TV," Seven offered. "That way you can also watch shows that have been recorded after the 2D era, and also entertainment from other species. It has been said that Bolian comedies are some of the funniest around."

"Oh, yes, and universal," B'Elanna agreed. "It's one of the few styles where both a tough Klingon and a soft Risan can watch and both will be laughing their asses off."

"Cool, thanks Seven," Willow said happily. She had already looked into that herself, but she had to admit that the coding of holodeck programs was still way over her head, more so the conversion of them.

"Well, if you really want to waste your time in front of that TV tonight, then count me in," B'Elanna grinned. "I really dig that Samantha Carter chick. But then, I always had something for blondes with an extreme case of 'take charge and no bs' attitude.

"And prefer to live dangerous on top of that," Seven added, a playful comment to B'Elanna admitting that she checked out other women. "Very well, I will attend, but only if I am allowed to point out the flaws in their theories."

"As long as you don't start commenting again about their special effects," Willow noted. "Seven, honestly, they filmed that almost four hundred years ago. Of course that weapon will look like a piece of plastic glued to a broomstick."

"I said I was Sorry," Seven defended.

"I for one like Seven's critical comments about the special effects," Tara noted. "I, I wouldn't mind hearing them." Then she looked directly at Seven. "Just not for the entire episode, sorry Seven. Part of the fun is trying to live yourself into the world they are creating, and, well, it's kinda hard when someone keeps pointing out how this or that could never work."

Seven thought about it for a moment. "Then I will switch to watching the episode and only comment after."

"Deal," The other three women said at the same time, making them all laugh, including Seven.

***

Two weeks later Willow and Tara stood anxiously against the wall on the bridge. Today was the day. Today they would take positions on the bridge for the first time. Yes, it was only on beta shift, but still. In a few minutes the Alpha shift would leave the bridge and then they would be in control of Voyager. Well, Chakotay would still be sitting in the big chair, since it was his turn to command the beta crew that week, but still.

"I can't wait," Tara said softly.

"I know," Willow agreed. "I love this ship. I don't want to think about how our friends at home must feel with us gone, but I love it here, and I'm glad that we are living here."

Only moments after she had said this, there was a flash of light and a man in an Egyptian robe stood in the middle of the bridge. He looked at Willow and clearly reacted to her words. "Then Willow Rosenberg, it is time for your test."

The others on the bridge turned, and some stood up, but the man ignored them.

"Why, who are y, you?" Willow asked.

"Willow, I'm wounded. You called upon me so often, called upon me for help to bring Buffy back. Your called upon me when Tara died, made a deal with my servant... and you don't know who I am? Really now."

"Osiris," Willow said in a whisper.

"The one and only," The man agreed.

"Osiris, the oldest on the known Egyptian gods?" Janeway spoke up as she came closer.

"Ah, Captain Kathryn Janeway," Osiris said with clear amusement as he turned to face the compact woman. "Yes, that would be me. The one with the first written record over five thousand years old, god of life, death, and fertility."

"The one that grants all life," Willow added. "Including plant life. That is the reason why we witches call on him. We get our powers from nature, from the forces of life, and they get their powers from Osiris."

"Yes, that too, I have a lot of hobbies," Osiris agreed as he turned back to Willow. "It is time for your test, my dear. If you pass you and Tara will live. If you fail... well, all those things that pretended to be gods had to get their ideas of hell from somewhere, catch my drift?"

"Are you a Q?" Janeway asked.

"A Q? Goodness no," Then he hesitated. "Though I guess you could say that we are related."

"What kind of test?" Willow asked.

"That's right, you never did ask," Osiris noted.

"I was kinda occupied with Tara dying," Willow pointed out.

"Ah, well, don't worry, dear. It won't take long, and there is no pain involved for you. Well, no physical pain that is." He pointed to the view screen that suddenly changed to show the scene in the bedroom, with Willow holding the lifeless body of her lover. "This is the part you remember," Osiris said, and the scene stopped at the point where Willow pleaded that there had to be a way to save Tara. "But this is what happened after you were gone."

The scene continued. Willow being denied help, her absorbing more and more black magic, her skinning Tara's killer alive, her trying to kill her friends, her killing a Warlock to absorb his energy, her trying to destroy the world. The scene stopped once more. This time at the point where Xander bravely stepped in front of her to block the beam of energy she was feeding to the Dark temple.

"You see, my dear. There is a little problem," Osiris explained. "A body is easily copied, so creating the body of you and Tara here was easy. Tara was dead there, so it was also easy to sent her soul here. But you... souls cannot be duplicated. When you came here, you left a Willow behind on Earth. A dark, powerful, and very soulless person." He pointed at the screen. "That person."

"Can she really succeed at that?" Janeway asked.

"Oh, yes," Osiris assured. "Why do you think she even was capable of dealing for her lover's life? Do you really think my servants, and through them I, deal with every person that says 'please help?' She is, was, the most powerful witch that ever graced the face of the Earth. No god, of course, her powers are not omnipotent. As you could see, even the dark and soulless version eventually drained her energy and needed to rest and... refill."

He looked back at Willow and continued. "So, here is your test, my dear. That willow there is very close to killing Xander, and then the rest of the world. There is only one thing that can stop her; her soul. Now, I know you. As much as leaving here would hurt you, you would do it to save the world. Even if you would never see Tara again, you would go because at least now you know that she is alive, even if you can't share that life with her. No, the choice will be much harder than that, my dear. If you go back, Tara's soul will be condemned to an eternity of torture and pain, and I do mean an eternity. If you stay here, the both of you will live, but every person on Earth will die. That, my dear, is your test. Choose."

"You can't expect her to make a choice like that," B'Elanna objected.

"Sure I can," Osiris said with a shrug.

Willow had turned to Tara, looking at her soulmate with pleading eyes.

"Baby you have to," Tara whispered softly.

"I, I ca,"

"You can, you have to," Tara disagreed.

Knowing that with wanting to have her lover back in her life, she had now condemned her to an eternity of torture, she said the only thing she could. "I'm so sorry baby."

"I forgive you," Tara assured. "I love you baby, and that love will make me strong."

"Did you make your choice?" Osiris asked lightly.

"What choice?" Willow snapped, her eyes never leaving those of her lover.

"Then step over here, it is time for you to go back, and for her to... go."

Instead Willow's knees gave out and she dropped to the floor, weeping without restraint. She felt a hand on her shoulder and heard two whispered words. "Go back."

*

"I love you," Xander said again, coming a little closer yet.

"Stop," Willow felt something inside her change. Before she didn't want to hurt Xander merely because he once was her friend, but now it was as if a part of her was returning home and it was telling her that it was wrong.

Xander stopped in front of her and Willow started to hit him with her fists as a new kind of grief flooded over her.

Xander merely stood there, willingly taking his friend's abuse.

After a moment, Willow finally stopped hitting him and dropped to her knees, where she started to cry for real. Xander kneeled as well and took her into an embrace and held her while she sobbed, the true extent of her sorrow washing over her soul.

"I love you," Xander assured once more as he continued to give his friend comfort as best he could.

*

"Don't worry, she won't remember any of her time here," Osiris assured Tara. "With the exception of her somehow knowing that you would want for her to move on." The view changed again, and now it showed Willow in the arms of her future lover.

Tara looked away from the Willow on the viewscreen and kneeled in front of her own Willow.

"You said she was leaving," Tara said softly and then tried to comfort her lover.

"And she did. Considering that Earth is my home, I don't really want to see it destroyed." Osiris shrugged. "So, I fibbed. I actually 'can' copy souls. I sent one Willow soul back, and one Willow soul is still here. Both of them will have their happiness, only that the one on Earth will need some time to get over her grief and allow herself to love again."

"And my eternal torture?" Tara asked.

"Also a little fib, don't worry, you and Willow will have a very nice afterlife, once you get there."

Finally it had gotten through to Willow that she was still on Voyager and with a hoarse voice she asked, "Why?" But she didn't move from the embrace yet.

"Because of the test. There always has to be a test. Sorry, it's in the rulebook and even I can't change that. I had to see what you would choose. If you could be trusted to make the right choice when you could also make a selfish one."

Finally Willow stood up, with the help of Tara. "Why? What does it matter, you took all our powers away. All the choices I could make now, I can only make as a normal Human."

"Ah, but never underestimate the power of the mere Human. But besides, as a good friend of mine once said, 'As He giveth so shall He taketh away.' Or more to the point here, As He taketh away, so shall He giveth." Osiris touched both Willow and Tara against their chest for a moment and both of them could feel their magic pouring back into them.

"However," Osiris finally said, "There is a true reason I brought you both here, and not just because I like you. There is a price you have to pay for my help. Forsake me in this and you will truly get on my bad side, and the both of you know what that means."

They did indeed. They knew that unlike the beings that had claimed to be gods, this was one god you truly did not want to piss off. "We are your humble servants, Osiris."

"Good. Your task is simple; live. Live your life, have a family, and have at least three children. They will be girls, just so that you know."

Osiris walked into the middle of the bridge again. "You see, the interesting thing is that many species in the universe have many powers. Some can make themselves look like other things, others can make themselves invisible. The powers of witchcraft were Earth's and Human's right. But as your friends here can tell you, on Earth there was once something called the 'eugenics wars.' People were genetically engineered to be super-humans and genetic things that were considered irrelevant were, removed. After that war things moved over to genetic tempering being illegal. Especially in the first couple of decades after that war all people that were found to have altered genetics were taken care of, by being killed. As you know, not everyone has the ability to be a witch. What you don't know is that the reason is because the powers that make someone into the kind of witches you are, are genetic. And the witch gene did not survive this crusade against harmless and boring looking genes first, and then against all that was different next. You, and your children, and your children's children, will give this gift back to humanity. By now they have evolved enough to appreciate your abilities, and not fear them."

"If you are this powerful god, why do you not simply change Humans back to having this gene, and the ability to use it?" Seven asked.

"You know what? That is an excellent question," Osiris agreed. "And the funny thing is that I have the powers to do so, just that I'm not allowed to. As I said, even we have a rulebook we have to live by. Otherwise you would get all kinds of ugly wars between all of the omnipotent species in the universe, and then were would normal mortals like you be?"

Osiris looked back at Willow and Tara. "And now I really have to go; I have a date I really can't miss. If I was a Greek God I would say that you two are now my chosen, instead I simply say; make me proud. If you need me, well, you know where to leave a message. But don't wear out the prerogative. I want my witches to be proud of their powers and willing to work to train them. Don't get lazy."

"We won't," Willow and Tara agreed at the same time.

Then Osiris walked over to Janeway. "Please don't ask them if they can bring you home; they can't. They don't have that kind of power. Give them a place in your crew and value, but don't abuse, their abilities. Just like you do with Seven." In a whisper so soft that only Janeway could hear it he added, "You only saw my pleasant side today. Don't piss me off. Even the Q fear pissing me off. I am, after all, a god of death as well."

And with that, Osiris was suddenly gone.

Janeway let the last words of the god sink in as she walked over to her newest crew members. "I still want to find out about those portal things, this doesn't change that. I want to know how and why aliens were able to visit Earth. Keep working on that when you have the time."

"Yes Ma'am," Willow assured.

"Witches huh?" Janeway asked before adding with a grin, "Can we request party tricks?"

"I think we can work something out," Tara assured. She kissed her lover before whispering, "Festivea Eluma." And suddenly fireworks were going off just below the sealing of the bridge. As the others were looking up at the fireworks, Tara kissed Willow again. "Guess we are home now baby, and we are going to have babies. But something tells me that Osiris won't mind if we first practice the next five or ten years yet."

"Practice, huh?" Willow said happily. "Hmm, that means that we have to set a date. Want to marry me, make me an honest woman and all that?"

"Stop asking such silly questions and instead start talking dates, you silly thing."

"Will, will you help me?" Willow asked seriously. "Something tells me that Osiris wants me to learn even more magic. Will you be there for me to make sure I don't get addicted again?"

"Always," Tara vowed.

The end.
**********
Epilogue.

"Thanks for allowing me to use this as a training session," Willow said as she and B'Elanna looked at how the nut was fastening itself onto the bolt.

"No problem, there is nothing you can really break. So, there is no temptation?"

"Not yet," Willow assured. "I don't know whether Osiris removed the addiction, or whether Tara helped me over it by leaving me before she d, before we were brought here. I really love this. I know I can, but I feel no urge to do it. Here, this I do for training, but otherwise I wouldn't even think about doing it like this and simply use a spanner."

"You don't seem to have problems with that at all."

"I don't. I know I could fasten all ten nuts at once if I wanted to, simply by commanding them on the bolts and being screwed tight. But this is more fun. Now I'm also controlling the turning and the force the nut is putting on the bolt."

"You can influence that as well?" B'Elanna asked surprised.

"Yes, I could put so much pressure on the nut that it would collapse in on itself and cut off the bolt."

"This I want to see, if you don't mind showing that is. I'll even replace the broken bolt myself," B'Elanna urged.

Before she had truly said the last word the bolt suddenly snapped in half and fell to the floor with the remains of the destroyed nut. "Remind me not to piss you off any time soon."

Willow merely smiled, amazed how her friends simply took her powers as part of her without being intimidated by the growing strength.

"Come on, time to call it a day," B'Elanna suggested. "That can wait until tomorrow. How about we go and rescue your wife from the clutches of doom."

"B'Elanna, first of all, the self-awareness group is not doom. Second of all, she is making real strides with them."

"I guess," B'Elanna admitted. "Tal Celes for one is improving greatly." As they walked out of the engineering lab they had been working in, B'Elanna continued. "Not that Seven told her so yet, but Celes impressed Seven to no end yesterday. She stood up to my most wonderful and stubborn wife and insisted that Seven was wrong."

Willow smiled, knowing only too well that Seven could indeed be very stubborn. "Good thing that my wife is not as stubborn as yours; Tara and I don't like to fight."

"Seven and I love it," B'Elanna countered. "But the most important part is that we only fight about things that don't matter. If it's serious we talk."

"Which is the most important part," Willow agreed. "So, now that we watched all the SG-1 episodes, do you have a suggestion for something else?"

As a matter of fact, yes," B'Elanna assured as they entered the corridor and started to walk to the turbolift. "Seven looked around some and found another show, only four seasons though. It aired after you left, 2004. It's called Battlestar Galactica."

"Hey, I know that one," Willow disagreed.

"Oh, that must be the old one then," B'Elanna counted. "This is a remake. Much better, much hotter."

"Hotter?" Willow repeated.

"Oh yes," B'Elanna assured. "You see, Starbuck is now a woman."

"No way."

"Way," B'Elanna assured. "Hot as hell blonde,"

"You and your blondes," Willow interrupted.

"Hey, look who is talking, you married one too, you know. Anyway, she is hot as hell and has an attitude that would make a Klingon proud. Then there is Boomer, which is now the call sign of this really hot Asian chick. And then there is the best of all, a character called six. And the name fits. Because she is,"

"Blonde," Willow interrupted.

"Of course," B'Elanna happily agreed. "And so damn hot that I would rate her a six alright, right there under my Seven." The turbolift door closed and B'Elanna made a show of licking her lips. "Oh, yeah, that's where I would love to see her alright, under my Seven."

"Oh please, you would break her neck if she even touched Seven," Willow disagreed.

"Do you really have to destroy my little fantasies?" B'Elanna asked with fake annoyance.

"Of course," Willow said happily. "That's what best friends are for."

"Hmm," B'Elanna relented. "Come on, let's go find our wives and then we can meet again in an hour or two."

"Why even part then?" Willow asked.

"Because talking about hot chicks made me horny of course." B'Elanna explained with a sexy grin.

"Hmm, good idea. I think I'll find a nice and comfy place and tell Tara all the nice things you told me about this new show."

The turbolift stopped and they stepped into the corridor.

"Why? You want to go make some magic?" B'Elanna asked.

"Oh, yeah," Willow agreed. "Magic of the best kind."

End epilogue.

(Finished June 12, 2008.)