Karma: It's Tara
by Spellbound
Willow and Giles had reached his apartment remarkably quickly, or so Willow had thought, after her encounter with the lithe female outside the library, her surroundings and time itself had become slightly slow and blurry. She crashed down on Giles' couch and listened as he whistled his way around the kitchen, making tea.
She picked up the file containing profiles of the Scoobies and found the photo of the woman whom she had first been drawn to. She traced the outline of her face, and smiled and the warmth in her eyes. "Giles?" she called out to the direction of the kitchen, "Do you think it's possible for us to find the others without magic or actually talking to them?" Giles appeared in the doorway and looked at her, contemplating her question, he removed his glasses and polished the lenses on a handkerchief. "Well, I think maybe that you and Tara could find each other that way, possibly Xander and Anya too but........" he cut off his sentence and studied her, polishing his glasses once again, "Why do you ask?" he finally asked. Without taking her eyes from the picture, Willow shook her head, unsure of how to tell him, she finally blurted out; "I met this woman!" Giles grinned at her and she knew that she'd said it wrong, "No, I mean today, the woman outside the library." The smile fell from Giles' face and he stood motionless, almost as if someone had pushed the pause button on his life. "Why didn't you say so? Are you sure?" he asked slowly, Willow nodded with a smile.
The whistling of the kettle called Giles back to the kitchen and he returned minutes later with a pot of tea and two cups on a tray. "I don't know how I know but, Giles it was powerful." Willow said as he sat in the chair opposite her, "I've never met her before today and yet I knew her..... Loved her." Giles polished his glasses again and Willow giggled, he realised what he was doing and placed them on the coffee table in front of him with a smile. "We have to find her then, you really should have said something Willow." he said, a hint of disappointment in his voice. "I know, but I'm not used to all this being flung around dimensions and being gay and magic and...... Blinking!"
Giles had hung his head as Willow had started her rant, but her last words caused him to look up sharply. "You're not used to blinking?" he asked incredulously, watching her as the tell tale signs of a brilliant thought slowly spread across her face. "Not blinking. Blinking, the girl outside the library blinked normally unlike the waiter in the steak house." Willow said, "It could be a thing!?" Giles considered this option as he picked up his glasses and placed them back on his nose. "Before we can know if the difference in blinking is something that is particular to those from another dimension, I think we need to see more of the local people." Giles suggested, "But I think a good nights sleep is in order first." he finished as he raised his cup to his mouth, drinking thoughtfully. Willow nodded in agreement and slumped back into the couch. "I should get home, meet you back here in the morning then?" she asked without making any effort to get up.
In all the commotion and his excitement at finding Willow, Giles had forgotten that she felt she had a life in this reality, a job maybe friends and family even. "Or you could just stay here, you can take the bed, I'll sleep on the sofa?" he offered when she had still made no movement. "Sounds good." Willow replied with a smile as she reached for her own tea.

On the other side of town, Clai was sitting in the magic shop staring into space. The psychic she had hoped to see wasn't there and wouldn't be around for a few days, the shop owner had told her that she came in one day a week if she had nothing else in her diary. Being an unpaid extra, Clai couldn't really complain at the lack of psychic help but it was a pain, she desperately wanted to know why she had felt so passionately about the woman she had accidently bumped into, after all it wasn't the first time she had bumped into someone but it was the first time she had felt that way about anyone.

A gentle tapping on her shoulder snapped her back to reality, "Hhmph?" she turned to see the shop owner standing behind her, "Sorry miss, but I'm closing up now, it's really late." he said cheerfully, "Yana should be here on Friday, come back then?" he told her with a smile. Clai nodded her thanks and headed for the door, with her hand on the handle she turned and met the shopkeeper’s expectant gaze, "If magicks made you move transdimensionally, would you eventually revert to your original form?" she asked him. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "Maybe, it would depend on the power of the magic that moved you." he said, obviously growing impatient with her, "One last thing," Clai said with an apologetic smile, "If you remembered your other life, would you have a better chance of reverting?"
The shopkeeper beamed and nodded, "That would indicate that the magic isn't as strong here as it is wherever the spell caster originates from." he answered. Clai was filled with excitement and dread at the prospect of turning into someone else but she knew from her encounter in the front of the library that whoever else she might be, she was loved and safe. "Thanks. See you Friday." she said, opening the door and heading out into the night.



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