Summary: Crossover, Buffy/Charmed. Post- Grave, Willow runs away, and finds some help in San Francisco

"I cannot thank you enough." The angel said to her companion.

"Don’t thank me. It was her decision to come to San Francisco. Pure luck." Patricia answered with her delicate accent. "Tara, my girls will help her."

"What if she refuses to be helped?"

"Don’t worry. Patience runs in the family."

***

"Paige! Paige!"

Phoebe stumbled half awake into the Halliwell Manor’s kitchen, "Ugh, no yelling before coffee."

"Phoebe!" Piper whined, "Look at my kitchen!" The oldest Halliwell stood in the midst of a mess of pots, pans and herbs.

The middle sister rubbed her brown eyes and explained sleepily, "Yeah, I think Paige was working on her potions last night."

Looking for an explanation, Piper asked, "And a demon attacked before she could clean up my kitchen?" Picking up a bottle she asked as she twisted the lid off, "What is this?"

Suddenly awake, Phoebe warned, "No, Piper! Don’t!"

Too late, the smell from the potion filled the kitchen, "Ugh!"

Phoebe desperately flung open the window and waved the fumes out.

Piper stood in the middle of the very messy and now very smelly kitchen and bellowed, "Paige!"

"No need to yell I’m right…" the youngest sister stopped in horror and her hand flew up to her nose, covering the stench, "Oh my god what’s that smell?"

In a distinct Piper tone she asked, "You tell me Paige, what is that smell?"

"Why did you open my stinkweed potion?"

"Because I didn’t know it was your stinkweed potion, Paige." Piper pulled open a drawer and held a wad of paper in front of her sister. "Labels! We have labels for a reason."

"Sorry, I was in a rush last night."

Forgetting about the smell, Phoebe pried, "Ooh how was the date?"

"Total bust."

"Oh honey, I’m sorry."

"S’okay, listen I’m late for work, I’ll clean this up after it airs out." She pecked Phoebe then Piper on the cheek. Paige wrinkled her nose at her oldest sister., "You might want to take another shower."

Paige breezed out of the kitchen. Piper still stood, clutching her labels. Through clenched teeth she warned, "I’m going to kill her."

Ignoring her sister’s comment, Phoebe said, "Listen, I have to go see Darryl about that letter."

With a small smile at Phoebe’s ability to deftly change the subject from her wrecked kitchen, Piper asked, "The abusive boyfriend? Did you talk to Paige about that?"

"Yep," Kissing her sister on the cheek she agreed, "Paige is right. You should take a shower. Don’t want the fumes from that potion to hurt my niece."

***

Darryl sat at his desk. He set the photo in his hand down on his desk and promised the man across from him, "We’ll keep an eye out for her."

Phoebe heard the man sitting across from Darryl say with a British accent, "I cannot thank you enough, Inspector Morris."

Phoebe approached slowly, not wanting to disturb what was obviously police business. The British gentleman stood and breezed by her, with only a small glance her way.

"Hey," Darryl greeted Phoebe, "You here about the bad boyfriend that Paige told me about?"

She handed him an envelope, "Yeah, I have the letter…"

Phoebe waited for Darryl to read it, but he simply held it in his hand. Giving her one last chance, he asked, "You sure you aren’t going to scare off potential readers by giving me this?"

"I’m an advice columnist, not a shrink. No confidentiality rules apply. I’m worried about her Darryl." Phoebe’s eyes were drawn to the picture of the pretty, young red head on Darryl’s desk. Picking it up, she commented, "She’s pretty." Then it hit. A vision of the girl magically tossing a trash can at her pursuers, a swarm of men in suits. One shot a tranquilizer gun. It struck the young woman, and she collapsed to the ground.

Darryl’s voice pulled her away from her vision, "Phoebe, did you have a premonition?"

"She’s in trouble." The witch declared.

***

"Piper?" called Phoebe. She found her sister furiously cleaning the kitchen, "Paige said she’s do that."

"Couldn’t stand looking at it any longer. Did you talk to Darryl?"

"Yes. And I had a vision." Phoebe handed her sister the picture she took from Darryl’s desk, "She’s being chased."

"By demons?"

"They looked human, but sometimes you can’t tell. She had some serious firepower though."

With curiosity, Piper asked, "A witch?"

"All I know is she was alone and scared. Piper we have to find her."

Abandoning her cleaning, Piper said, "I’ll try scrying for her." She indicated the picture, "Where did you get this?"

"Darryl. Someone came in looking for her."

"Lets find her before he does."

"I’ll call Paige." Said Phoebe, "We may need the power of three."

***

Paige’s orb shimmered and disappeared, leaving the sisters in the middle of a battlefield. A trash can went flying toward five men, dressed in suits that contrasted sharply with the dingy alley.

Phoebe observed, "Looks like we orbed in just in time." As a trash can lid came flying toward them, she warned, "Paige look out!"

Paige orbed out and back, the flying object soaring past the place where Paige had stood. "Whew. That was close." The red-haired witch hurled more debris toward her pursuers. Some came precariously close to the Charmed Ones. "Piper freeze her!"

"I can’t freeze a good witch!"

One of the suited men shot a tranquilizer gun at the girl. Paige called out, "Dart!" It safely landed in her hand. To her sister, she begged, "Then freeze them!"

With a flick of her hand, Piper obliged. The men froze in place. The debris stopped in midair. Only the girl and the sisters remained unfrozen. The frightened witch saw the three women moving toward her and turned and bolted down the alley.

Phoebe called to her, "Stop. We’re here to help." To her older sister she demanded, "Piper!"

With each word Piper attempted to use her power on the fleeing innocent, "Hello! Can’t…freeze…her."

"I’ll get her," Paige promised. She orbed in front of the fleeing girl. For a moment, she stood, shocked at the appearance of the witch’s blackened eyes. Then Paige took her arm and orbed away.

"She’s getting good at that," commented Phoebe.

"Yes," Piper agreed drolly, "Unfortunately, she was our ride home. Leo! Leo!" When she got no answer, Piper informed Phoebe, "And now we get to walk home."

"Aren’t you gonna…" Phoebe pointed towards the men, still frozen in the alley.

"They’ll unfreeze eventually."

***

"Here you go sweetie." Paige handed her guest a cup of tea. The girl sat perched on the edge of the couch, as if she would run away any second.

"Um," she began nervously, "This is going to sound totally rude, but, who are you?"

With a sweet smile, "I told you, I’m Paige."

"I mean what are…" The girl stopped and chewed her bottom lip. "That sounds even ruder."

Paige gave her another disarming smile. "I’m a witch. Like you."

The red head’s voice went up an octave. "Like me?" She sat back into the couch cushions with a worried expression. She was lost in her own thoughts and Paige knew that the small snatch of conversation had come to an end.

She murmured, "Just when I had you talking…"

Paige was saved from the awkward silence by her sisters bursting into the house.

"Paige!" scolded Piper, "Did you forget something? Like us?"

"Sorry. I didn’t want to leave her alone. Why didn’t you call Leo to orb you home?"

"He wasn’t answering."

Phoebe looked past her younger sister toward their guest, "Has she said anything?"

"Frustratingly little."

Phoebe stepped toward the desolate figure. "Willow?"

Willow sat up straight and questioned, "How did you know my name?"

"A friend of ours is a police officer. He had you in his missing persons file." Gently, she continued, "I’m Phoebe. This is my sister Piper. And you’ve already met Paige. My sisters and I…we help people. Can you tell us who was chasing you?"

Willow looked up at Paige and Phoebe who were eyeing her expectantly. A gentle voice rescued her. "Paige, why don’t you check the book for the men who were chasing Willow?"

"But they looked human."

"Just…" controlling her voice, Piper finished, "do it. Phoebe?"

Catching on to her sister’s demands, Phoebe announced, "I’m going to go work on tomorrow’s column."

Once they were alone, Piper explained to Willow. "My sisters can be a little pushy, but they mean well." Piper glanced down and noticed a ragged cut on Willow’s arm. "You’ve been hurt."

"Scratch." Willow protested in a near whisper.

"Leo!"

A shimmering blue light deposited a handsome man into their presence. Willow’s eyes widened slightly, but that was her only reaction.

"And where were you when I was stranded in an alley way?"

Leo explained, "Talking to the Elders about a missing witch. Her white lighter said she dropped off the radar a few days ago. He sensed her here, in San Francisco."

Piper gestured toward Willow. "Missing witch. And she’s hurt."

The man with kind eyes gestured toward Willow’s wound and asked, "May I?" His hands hovered over the cut and a gorgeous light healed her from within.

She examined her now healed arm but made no comment except a quiet, "Thanks."

Piper cocked her head slightly and concluded, "You don’t seem at all surprised by any of this."

With a shrug, Willow explained, "I’m from Sunnydale."

"Sunnydale?"

Leo informed his wife, "There’s a hell mouth there."

"What’s a hell mouth?"

Willow simply said, "It’s bad."

With a smile, Leo elaborated, "What she said. Sunnydale’s a hotbed for demonic activity. Vampires. Bad things in general."

"My kind of town." Smiled Piper.

"It’s late. Why don’t we get Willow settled in for the night?" Piper recognized that what Leo really meant was, ‘we need to talk.’

"Sure," Piper helped Willow to her feet, "I’ll get you set up in Gram’s room, okay?"

Willow turned to her fellow witch and asked, "Why are you helping me?"

"It’s what we do."

***

"She isn’t being very helpful, is she?" Tara observed.

Her companion rested a hand upon her shoulder. "She’s in pain."

"I know, I just wish we could help."

"Tara, she is in good hands."

***

The Charmed Ones sat side by side on the couch, all staring at Leo, who stood uncomfortably before them. Piper demanded, "Okay Leo, spill it."

"Willow’s been infected."

With a gesture that indicated that elaboration was needed, Paige asked, "Infected by what?"

"A demon." Leo explained, "The elders don’t know what kind, but they sensed the change in her."

Phoebe inquired, "Is that where she got all of the firepower?"

"Not all of it. She’s a natural witch, just like you guys." Leo inhaled deeply before continuing, "There’s more. She’s being hunted."

Piper sighed, "We know. We saw them."

"Them? Plural?"

"Bunch of guys with tranquilizer darts."

Paige interjected, "Why do I have a feeling that Leo isn’t talking about the not-so-Mod Squad?"

"Noxon demon." He said simply.

Phoebe smiled sarcastically, "That’s a new one."

"So…" Paige began her rant, "We vanquish the Noxon demon that’s chasing Willow, find out about the humans that are chasing Willow and find out what kind of demon is in Willow. Sounds like a plan."

A sad voice from the stairs asked, "There’s a demon in me?"

"Willow?" Piper went to her rescued friend, "Honey, we thought you were asleep."

"I’m a demon?"

Paige stated with vehemence, "You are not a demon."

Phoebe joined her sisters with the assertion, "We are going to get it out of you, we promise."

***

Things looked better in the dawn of a new day, and Willow allowed herself a bit of joy at the sight of the Book of Shadows that Paige was flipping through.

"This book is impressive," At the sight of a familiar picture, she chirped, "Fyarl demon! Giles turned into one of those once."

Paige smiled at her new friend’s giddiness, "Giles?"

Willow’s face fell, "Someone I…used to know."

Phoebe tried to change the subject to cheer Willow, "Didn’t you have a Book of Shadows?"

"No. Just the library and then the Magic Box."

Paige whistled, "A whole library? Now I’m impressed."

Willow afforded her a small smile and then went to join Phoebe on the couch. "Is Piper okay? I though I heard her, you know, upchuck."

"Morning sickness."

"Oh, that’s wonderful."

"Yeah," Phoebe beamed, "She and Leo have really been trying."

Willow inquired delicately, "What exactly is Leo?"

"He’s our White-lighter. Like a guardian angel."

From the stand that the Book sat on, Paige complained, "I can’t find this demon."

Phoebe looked up and yelled out, "Wouldn’t it be nice if we had some help?"

The book flipped through its pages on its own. Phoebe explained to Willow, "Ghostly interference."

"Noxon demon," Paige read, "Eats witch’s hearts. Ew."

"I’ve put all of you in danger." Willow wailed.

"Danger Shmanger," scoffed Paige.

"I should go. Before any of you get hurt."

Phoebe rubbed her arm reassuringly. Both witches glanced up as the Book whipped through its pages again and Paige called out, "Oh my God. Its Willow." The picture in the book looked startlingly like Willow, only her hair was dark instead of red, "Miriam, an ancient prophet. She was Moses’s sister. Maybe she’s one of your descendants."

"Piper?" Phoebe called downstairs, "Come look at this."

As soon as Piper entered the room, a demon shimmered in front of them. Human in form, except for her hands which stretched out knife-like toward the four witches. Piper promptly blew it up.

"That was too easy, she’ll be back. Noxon demon?" Piper asked.

"That would be her," assured Paige. "Look at this…" Paige dragged Piper over to the book. "We think she’s a descendant of Willow’s."

"Her line goes back farther than ours." Piper observed.

"That doesn’t mean that I’m not evil," Willow said insecurely.

"I couldn’t freeze you. I can’t freeze good witches."

"Even ones with demons in them?"

"We’ll get it out." Assured Piper, "We promised."

"And we wouldn’t want to lose a powerful ally." Paige added.

"Powerful? My spells tend to backfire… a lot."

"Join the club." Phoebe laughed. "We’ve all had backfires."

Gesturing toward Paige’s chest, Piper added sarcastically, "Some larger than others."

"Ha. Ha." Paige said dryly.

"The point is," Phoebe said, "we screw up."

"But you didn’t turn evil…"

"Well lets see…" Phoebe ticked off on her fingers, "I’ve been a Woogy, a banshee and the Queen of the Underworld."

Willow looked at Piper expectantly. The oldest Halliwell admitted, "Fury. Most recently. The point is, Willow, we’ve all had a little darkness in our lives. And we’ve all come back from it." It didn’t escape Piper’s attention that Phoebe’s eyes drifted toward the floor.

Paige draped her arm over Willow’s shoulder. "We’re going to find the demon that’s in you…and we’re going to vanquish it."

"You say that like its easy."

"Sometimes it is." Piper said. The with a glance at Phoebe, she admitted, "Sometimes it’s not."

***

Phoebe’s bedroom door was open, a sign that she didn’t necessarily want to be alone, still, Willow approached Phoebe hesitantly, "Piper told me about your husband. I’m really sorry."

Phoebe sighed, "Nothing like vanquishing the ones you love."

Willow sat down next to her new friend and admitted, "I killed one of my best friends…I was in so much pain that I wanted the whole world to end."

"What happened?"

"Tara… she was killed. I went crazy. I guess that this demon that you say is controlling me…"

Paige’s excited voice rang through the whole manor, "I have it! I have it!" Phoebe and Willow glanced at each other and then followed the youngest Halliwell down to the kitchen where she had plopped the Book in front of Leo & Piper.

"Look," she told Willow, pointing at the book, "This is how your eyes looked when I saw you in the alley. Its the sign of the J’Whedon demon."

Willow read, "A J’Whedon demon corrupts a witch’s sense of self. It can project itself into a witch’s psyche. It’s goal is to convince a good witch that she is evil. This will either seduce them into misusing their power or frighten them into not using it at all. Either way, eliminating the threat."

"How do we vanquish the bastard?" asked Piper.

Paige explained, "There is no vanquish. But there is a spell to remove his presence. Power of three spell." She draped her arm around Willow’s shoulder and gave her a squeeze as her sisters gathered around the book. "Let’s get that nasty out of you."

The Charmed Ones read from the book;

‘Let this demon see

he must let this witch be

His presence must depart

from her purest heart

so shall it be

command the power of three.’

A dark cloud emptied itself from Willow’s body and drifted away.

Leo supported the swaying witch, "How do you feel?"

Willow collapsed into tears, clinging to the white-lighter as the Charmed Ones looked on helplessly.

***

"The demon is gone," Patricia observed. "They did it."

"It was hardening her heart."

Patty put her hand on Tara’s shoulder. "Now she can grieve for you."

"No. She is still in danger. There is no time to grieve."

***

"How’s Willow?" Piper asked her husband as he descended the stairs.

"Okay… considering."

"Got it!" Paige proclaimed, as the scrying crystal pinpointed the demon’s location on the map. "Noxon demon. We’ll need the Power of Three to defeat her."

Phoebe asked Leo and her sisters, "Should we leave Willow alone?"

"I’ll stay with her," promised Leo, "If we run into any trouble, we’ll orb out."

"We still need a vanquishing spell." Paige observed.

"I’ll write one in the car." Phoebe said.

***

Leo sat, holding both of Willow’s hands, reassuring her, "He wanted you to be afraid of your power, Willow. That’s what he does."

"It worked. I’m way afraid."

"Magic is not good or evil. Its a reflection of the person that uses it. Its your responsibility to use your power in a positive way."

"But I’ve already…"

"That doesn’t matter. All that matters is the path you choose from this moment on, now that he’s no longer infecting you."

Willow sighed in relief.

A blinding flash of light knocked Leo away from Willow’s grasp. He knocked his head against the coffee table.

The Noxon demon pointed at Willow and screeched, "You are mine!"

An energy ball came at her. Willow deflected it into the grandfather clock and then crawled to Leo’s side. She quickly cast an energy barrier around them, protecting them from the demon, at least temporarily. Leo started to come to, and Willow placed herself between him and the threat.

"How sweet! Protecting the White-lighter. Its you I want, witch!"

"You want a witch?" Piper’s voice echoed, as the blue light from Paige’s orb faded away. "You got a witch!"

"Three actually," chimed in Paige.

The demon hissed, "I will feast on witches hearts tonight."

The Charmed Ones recited the spell,

‘Stars and moon above, Mother earth below

take this demon from our sight

as these witches command, as the mighty wind does blow’

As the demon shrieked and faded away, Piper yelled, "That’s for shimmering out in the middle of a battle. I hate that."

***

"Two down." Paige commented as the four witches and the White-lighter settled around the living room.

Leo asked the red head, "Can you tell us about the men who were chasing you?"

"The Watcher’s Council reclamation team. They want to take me to England for punishment."

"You’ve been punished enough," observed Phoebe.

"We can’t vanquish humans." Paige reminded her sisters.

A knock on the door interrupted their conference. Leo rose to answer it.

A masculine, accented, voice said, "Excuse me. But I…"

Willow flew from her seat, she ran to the door and threw herself into the man’s arms, "Giles? Oh God, Giles. I thought I killed you."

"I’ve been going crazy looking for you."

Willow backed out of his embrace, tears streaming down her face. In a small voice, she asked, "You wanted to find me?"

"Of course I did." Giles wiped a tear from her cheek with his thumb. "Oh Willow."

From behind them, Willow heard Piper clear her throat. "Oh Giles, I want you to meet: Leo, Piper, Paige and Phoebe."

To Phoebe, Giles inquired, "Have we met?"

"We ran into each other at the precinct."

Willow turned to Giles, "How did you find me?"

Glancing at the strangers, Giles removed his glasses and began to wipe the lenses as he muttered, "I… uh…well."

"Its okay, Giles. They’re witches. The Charmed Ones."

"I thought that was a myth…" he smiled at the three women, then turned to Willow, "I’ve been scrying for you. But until tonight, I couldn’t get more than a vague reading."

"Her white-lighter had the same problem." Leo said, "You’re aura must have cleared up when we removed the J’Whedon demon," he said to Willow. To Giles, he explained, "The demon’s influence would have clouded your ability to see Willow."

With a tender glance at the girl, Giles said, "And now I’ve found you. Shall we?"

"Where will you go?" Piper asked.

"To England. There is a coven of witches prepared to guide her."

Paige asked, "What about those Watcher’s Council guys?"

"Once they realize that Willow is not a threat, they’ll back off. In the meantime, they’ll have to find us."

Willow turned to the Charmed Ones. "How can I thank you guys?"

"No need," assured Paige with a hug.

Phoebe also gave Willow a squeeze, "Keep in touch."

"And take care of yourself," demanded Piper.

For her final goodbye, Willow turned to the White-lighter.

"Remember what we talked about." He entreated.

"I promise."

***

Tara smiled, "From one promise to another."

Patty assured her, "I’m sure this one will be kept as well."

"I have no doubt." As she watched her love from above, Tara murmured, "I believe in you Willow."

***

Giles glanced over at his sleeping companion as he drove to the airport. He wasn’t sure, but for a second he cold have sworn that Willow was smiling in her sleep.

End