Buffy smiled. "Everything okay?"

"You'd be amazed at the difference a shower makes," Willow sighed happily.

"A…shower?" The Slayer's smile was filled with meaning.

Both Slayerettes blushed. "Not…that kind…it was *just* a shower."

"Of course it was, Will." The grin widened.

"It was! And I was alone! It wasn't even…" she stamped her foot in frustration. "We didn't do anything!"

Buffy lost her control and started giggling. "I know, but it was too easy." She managed to regain her equilibrium and stop laughing. "Okay, Oz went to the locker room to take a shower. Giles is with him, just in case Katherine tries anything. I'm going on patrol as soon as the cage is locked. Are you guys going to stay here tonight?"

Xander nodded. "Yeah. Just in case."

"Promise me you'll both be careful. Just because we think we know what she's going to do, it doesn't mean she won't do something else." Buffy slipped on a light jacket and adjusted her stakes. "I don't want anything happening to anyone. Understood?"

They both nodded. The library doors opened behind them and Giles and Oz entered. "Have you filled them in on the plan, Buffy?"

"Sure thing." She watched Oz as he entered the cage, feeling an overwhelming sense of sorrow. He couldn't help who he was or what he was. They were a lot alike in that respect. "Oz?"

"Yeah?" He looked up at her.

"We're going to beat her at her own game. I promise."

He smiled. "Thanks Buffy." He winced and moved behind the towels that lined the cage. Stripping quickly, he closed his eyes and waited for the change to overtake him.

"And I brought you some dinner," Willow held up a grocery bag. "So you won't be hungry. And I didn't buy pizza."

Oz laughed then cried out as the shifting of his bones began. The small group was silent, each thinking of how much the full moon cost him. When all was quiet, Willow stepped over to the cage. The wolf stared back at her, eyes narrowed.

"He knows Katherine is nearby," she said softly. "She's stalking him tonight."

"She won't get him," Xander promised. He grabbed the tranquilizer gun off the table and made sure it was loaded. It snapped loudly in the silence of the room as he closed it. Sitting on the edge of the table in full commando pose, he glared at the double doors. "We'll make sure of that."

Willow sat on the table next to Xander, her head leaning against his shoulder. She turned slightly, smiling as he sighed softly in his sleep. The tranquilizer gun lay across both their laps and she idly ran her fingers over the barrel. Giles came out of his office and leaned against the door. "You should get some sleep."

"So should you, you were up all night last night."

"There's still research to be done before tomorrow." He pushed his glasses up to his forehead and rubbed his tired eyes. Moving over to the cage, he peered in at Oz. He was lying on the floor, panting heavily. Every so often he would growl low in his throat then whimper as though he was in pain. "I wish there was some way we could block out her voice."

"Buffy could kill her," Willow offered, her voice deceptively light.

"Is that what you want?" Giles walked over and took the gun from her hands. Setting it aside, he helped her down from the tabletop and sat her in the chair next to him.

"No," she sighed. "I don't want anyone to die, but it seems like we're the only ones that ever suffer." Her green eyes implored him. "The five of us, it's like there's never any rest or hope. It's always one horrible thing after another. She destroyed my family, tore my husband from me, broke my son's heart and now, as if that weren't enough, she comes to town at the least convenient time."

"How do you mean?"

"I was finally getting my life back on track. I was doing something I was happy with, I was spending time with my friends and family, Connor was happy, X…I was happy." She looked down at her hands to avoid looking at Xander. "And, as much as I love Oz, I was starting to get past it all, and he came back and it's all here again. The feelings of anger and rejection. The fear that it's never going to be over. I was starting to look forward to my future."

"With Xander?"

She glanced quickly at Giles before nodding slightly. "I thought I was going to be all right. We were dating, Connor loves him…but now all these complications that I thought were gone are back." She stood up and walked over to the cage. Oz's yellow eyes met hers and she felt she could sense the pain and sadness. Bending down, she stared at him for a long time. "It's not his fault, but it's still hard. I still love him. And I'll always love him, but…" She looked over at Xander, still sleeping. "I'll always love him too."

"I can't give you the answers." Giles' smile was tight and sad. "For being the answer man, I have very few of them, I'm afraid. But I do know that so much pain comes from not following your heart. And from not saying what you have to say. I wasn't afforded the time to tell Jenny all that she meant to me, and that chance will never come again."

"I don't mean to make you sad…"

"You're not, Willow." He shook his head. "But I would ask that you consider one thing?"

"What's that?"

"I don't know who would make you happy. I don't know whom you love the most. I like both of them very much and don't envy you having to choose between them." His expression was serious as she walked over to sit next to him again. "But think of this as you decide. Oz loves you very much and it was that love that held you two together, allowing Katherine to hurt you beyond measure. As much as love tries to do the right thing - Jenny kept her true identity from us, thinking she was doing the right thing - it can quite often do the wrong thing." He hugged her tightly, offering her his strength. "Unfortunately you often can't tell which it is until it's far too late."

As dawn arose, Willow opened the book of spells on the circulation counter. She piled a concoction of herbs next to it and lit the candle beside her. Lighting the candle, she whispered the spell of protection for Oz's humanity. The wolf awoke, snarling viciously. She stepped around the counter and knelt before him again. "Trust me, Oz." It was half statement, half question, but it seemed to calm him.

The hazy morning rays filtered through the library, dancing with the dust motes before resting on the cage. Willow stepped back as the beams lit on Oz's hairy pelt before slowly transforming him back to human. A shiver ran through his body and he hurriedly got dressed.

Willow watched him as he dressed. His body looked much as she remembered it - just as she had spent hours memorizing it. He tried to avoid her scrutiny, but wasn't able to. "It makes me a little nervous."

"What?"

"You watching me. I feel bad, since I have no desire to return the favor." He cursed under his breath, his eyes begging understanding. "God, Willow. I want to want you. I want to need you. I want to desire you and love you the way you deserve." His face was tortured. "I want to do all those things like I used to. You were my world for so long, and it kills me to know that I'm tearing you apart."

"Oz, it's not you. I know that if it weren't for her, for her spell and the wolf, you would still be by my side. You would still be everything that we both needed you to be. I don't hold you responsible."

"Maybe you should, Willow. True, I didn't ask for this in so many words, but I wasn't being the best of husbands, otherwise this wouldn't have happened at all. If I had gone to you with my concerns or, hell, even to Giles or Xander or Buffy or any of the other people we know who specialize in the supernatural, I wouldn't have needed her help."

"We can't live in the past, Oz. It's done and happened." She unlocked the cage, belatedly realizing she hadn't done so. "It doesn't change the way we feel about each other."

"What are you going to do, Willow? If by some chance, by some freak hope we defeat her, what will you do? Who will you choose?"

"I wish I knew, Oz. I know it's not fair to either of you to keep you guessing, but I honestly don't know. I can't worry about it until I know you and Connor are safe from her."

He nodded before looking over at Xander, asleep on the table. "He loves you."

"So do you."

"Yeah. I just wish I could show you how much."

The library was shrouded in darkness. Xander placed the last of the candles on the floor, completing the circle. Willow stepped inside of it, taking one last glance to assure herself it was complete. Giles did the same before handing her the book.

Buffy reached over and squeezed Oz's hand. He was trembling, although she seemed to sense it was from anticipation at the whole thing being over - for better or worse- than any nervousness. "You okay?"

"No."

She nodded and guided him to a circle opposite Willow. Handing him a handful of herbs, she stepped back. Willow met her ex-husband's eyes with her own and smiled. He returned it, hoping she could see all the love he had for her as easily as he could see hers for him. "I did a spell for protection earlier today before you changed back. I wanted to touch the human inside the wolf with it, just as tonight I'll be touching the wolf inside the human."

"Will this hurt?"

"I don't know."

"Okay."

"Are you sure, Oz?" Xander's voice came as a surprise to all of them. "We don't know that this will work or if it's completely safe. You don't have to do this to prove anything to anyone."

Oz looked over at his rival and shook his head, unable to hide his grin. "Would you please quit being nice? You're making it really hard to hate you." He nodded. "I have to prove it to me. And to Connor, even if he never knows. And I need to be free. Whenever you're ready, Wills."

Taking a deep breath, Willow signaled Giles and Buffy to light the candles that formed the four points of each circle. She began chanting the spell, trying to keep all thoughts of hatred and revenge from her mind. She wanted closure for her family. Not revenge.

She wanted peace.

All four stared at the circle of incense that surrounded Oz. It burst into a wall of flames, completely obscuring him from their view. Buffy took a step forward, stopped only by Oz's voice. "No."

The flames disappeared and the room was deathly silent. Willow opened her eyes. Oz was still in the circle, looking about halfway transformed. He was roughly as hairy everywhere but his face, his eyes were shaped differently, but intelligence shone from the comforting green.

His snout was more pronounced, but his mouth retained much of it's original texture. "Well?"

"You look half done." Willow bit her lower lip and glanced at the spell. "I guess that's right. How do you feel?"

"Strong. And smart." He glanced at the rest of the party, suddenly self-conscious. "I know where she is, and you were right, Giles. She's a wolf. Shall we go?"

The older man nodded. He and Buffy broke the circles and helped Willow and Oz from them. Oz prowled forward, waiting at the door as the rest of them grabbed tranquilizer guns and darts. He paced restlessly, eager to move. He could feel the pull, not as strong as it had been the previous nights, but insistent nonetheless.

"We're ready." Buffy lay the barrel across her shoulder. "Loaded for bear. Or wolf."

Xander nodded, imitating her posture. "And a little trigger happy."

The woods were dark, but the waning moon provided enough light to keep them from running into anything dangerous. Buffy followed behind Oz, Giles bringing up the rear, Xander and Willow in the middle. The night seemed alive with noise. Bugs, birds and dogs cried out. One particular howl caught Oz's attention and his whole body stiffened.

He turned his head. "That's her. She's not far. Let me enter and hang back. You'll know what to do when it comes time." The Slayer nodded and he started forward. A soft sound caught his attention and he turned back. His green eyes shone in the moonlight. "I love you, Will."

He loped into the thicket before Willow's quiet reply came forth. "I love you too."

He burst through the last of the trees, his senses on fire. Three wolves were lit by the fire. Katherine's coat was a deep, dark brown and her eyes glinted with madness. The other two, Oz recognized as his old drummer and bassist. They sniffed the air as he joined them, whining softly at the stink of humanity that remained on him.

Katherine's voice seemed to echo in his head. "You haven't joined us fully. Your witch modified my spell."

"Maybe," he thought back at her.

"It won't matter in the long run. I'll win. I always win." She snarled, baring her teeth.

Oz returned the favor asserting, despite his strange scent, a challenge for dominance. Katherine managed to somehow convey a grin through her canine snout and took her fighting stance. "Well then, may the best wolf win."