A/N: I am soooo sorry I haven't kept this updated! I hope you will forgive me! I've been busy working on something new on the kittenboard, and completing The Promise. I'll try and update this more often. OH! Btw, a little explanation about the last chapter, I don't think Willow thought about all the people that died, Willow tends to think more about what her "family" needs. Please drop me a review!

~Babbles~

Tara knew that Willow was troubled; the redhead's eyes were not filled with the sparkles and laughter that they had been. She knew that it was selfish of her not to try and get Willow to talk more about it. Tara could tell that Willow had not told her everything, and the details that lay unspoken between them put a rolling uneasiness in her gut.

Willow was not the only one who was troubled. Buffy was rarely ever home; when she was, she gave them all a blank stare. Xander and Anya were getting more and more nervous as their special day got closer. Dawn and Tara watched on, feeling helpless to bring their family back to what it had been before Glory.

At the moment, Tara and Dawn were sitting together in the living room, waiting for Buffy to come home. Willow had gotten tired and gone upstairs to sleep. They were starting to drift off when they were jolted awake simultaneously by Buffy coming through the door and a piercing scream from upstairs. The three women raced upstairs, ready to fight whatever was attacking Willow. The redhead was thrashing around on the bed, her skin covered in a thin sheen of cold sweat.

"What is it? What's got her?" Dawn asked in a panic.

"Nightmare," Buffy said, a hint of worry in her voice, the first sign of emotion she had shown since her song at The Bronze; Willow was her best friend. Although Willow had been the one to pull her from Heaven, she still loved her, and her best friend was gong through something. She hadn't even noticed. Tara stayed quiet, moving to Willow.

"Should we wake her?" Dawn asked.

"Isn't there a saying about how you're not supposed to wake someone up from a nightmare?" Buffy said uncertainly.

"That's sleepwalking," Tara answered, taking Willow into her arms and gently waking her. Willow started to sob uncontrollably, her whole body shaking. She started talking to Tara, but no one could make any sense of what she was saying.

"Tara, he was there. S-stalking me. With no skin. And my hair was black again. And…and you were gone," she called out. Suddenly, Tara realized that avoiding the details had only been causing more problems.

"What is she talking about?" Buffy asked. Willow jumped, she hadn't noticed the two Summers girls.

Willow controlled her breathing, "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"I'm the slayer remember?"

"And I'm a mystical key," Dawn added. "We're usually good with the whole 'the unbelievable is actually real' thing."

"I'm… I am not the same Willow that you knew a week ago," Willow tried to explain but couldn't find the right words. "In the future, I was granted a wish. I used my wish to come back and stop myself from doing things. Things that would make you hate me. Be afraid of me."

"Willow," Buffy laughed, "I can't imagine ever being afraid of you. Did you hit your head?"

"You were," Willow said quietly, looking into her best friend's eyes. Buffy could see the truth there, the sadness, and Willow's own fear.

"What happened?" The Summers asked together. They gave each other a glance and move to the bed to surround the witches.

Willow sighed, looking up at Tara who gave her an encouraging nod. "I got addicted to magic. Tara left me," Willow told them, robotic. "She came back after I had gotten really bad and then stopped using. Tara was murdered. I went all Bad Wicca, flayed a man alive, hurt you guys and tried to destroy the world. Xander stopped me. I went to England to join a coven and get better, but I had to come back to help fight an incredible evil. I woke the Slayer inside all of the potentials, Sunnydale was destroyed. I got a wish, and came back to now, before things got really bad with the magic, determined to change it."

"Wow," Buffy breathed. "Wait, did you say flayed?" She couldn't imagine her sweet best friend doing anything like what she described, but she could see that the redhead was telling the truth. She was not the same Willow they had known.

Willow winced, "Yes, flayed. I used magic to remove all of his skin. I know. I'm a murderer, a monster. I understand if you don't want me around." Willow could feel Tara's warm hands turning cold as she talked. She was no longer holding tight to the redhead, her grip was slack. Willow was afraid to look at her, yet she did, seeing the same look of horror that she saw on the others in the room. She fought tears as she quietly removed herself from Tara's arms and stood from the bed. "I'll just…grab some things and…then I'll go."

"Go? Where are you going?" Tara asked, snapped out of her thoughts. "Why are you leaving?"

"I can tell you guys don't want me here."

"Assume makes an ass out of you and me," Dawn said. "We don't want you to go. We're just sorry for the things you've gone through."

"What she said," Buffy added. She was experiencing feeling for the first time since being brought back; the situation that Willow described was horrible. She needed to get over her own problems and be there for her best friend. Willow had always been there for her, had always been the strong and sturdy one. It was Buffy's turn to be Willow's rock.

Willow turned to Tara, "And you?"

Tara took a deep breath. "I want you to stay. I told you that we would work through this. You're changed, but you're still my Willow. You're fighting to right your wrongs, and I have faith in you. I love you, my Willow."

"Willow," Buffy said, waiting for her best friend to meet her gaze. "We love you. We are a family, and we'll work together to get you through this. We've all made mistakes, and we need to make the best of what we have." Dawn laid a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry."

Dawn looked at her sister in surprise, "Sorry for what?"

"Not being here. I've been here in body, but not in spirit. That's going to change."

"We'll all get through it," Tara said, holding her arms out for Willow, who moved back to the bed.

"Together," they all said in unison.