Answering (the Observer's Remix)
There are now many interesting stories up at 
buffy_remix. I would recommend reading them all. Here's mine.
Title: Answering (the Observer's Remix)
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1148
Original Story: UnTwin by
snowpuppies. In which Tara spends season 6 still crazy.
Summary: You gotta help. Even if it's only for a while.
Answering (the Observer’s Remix)
The call comes on a Tuesday, one foggy afternoon.
Raine put in for a transfer as soon as Rupert contacted her. Hasty decision, yeah - but she knew the field as well as anyone. And she knew just how much this patient needed her.
So, she emailed the Sunnydale Manor For Distressed Persons, packed up her furniture and her hamsters, and drove across all three states in a single trip.
Too important not to, really.
The call comes on a Tuesday, one foggy afternoon.
He tries to be polite, asks about her family, but Raine can hear the distress under his voice - and soon it breaks out in a frantic story and pleas for help.
“… died so fast … lost her mind … you’ve dealt with this before … helping her …”
Raine puts on the most soothing voice she’s got, and tries to slow him down.
Ms Rosenberg was the patient’s partner, alternating between clear leadership and frantic worry. Ms Jenkins was matter-of-fact - hoping it would be solved quickly but clearly doubting it would. Mr Harris was quiet, not standing out… but she noted that he was the one who made sure Ms Rosenberg ate some lunch.
Raine sat, sipping her tea and wishing it was coffee, and watched.
Tara herself was pretty much as expected. More powerful than most of the cases she’d dealt with: anyone more powerful than that tended to blow themselves up before she got called in.
Rupert returned halfway through. “Dawn’s having a nap,” he said to the room, tiredly, before sitting next to Raine. “Well?” he asked, in an undertone.
Raine nodded. “I’ll do whatever I can.”
The call comes on a Tuesday, one foggy afternoon.
A powerful witch losing her mind, along with every ounce of self-control. What could be worse than that?
Lots of things, actually. But Raine usually opts for the less dangerous work - and this qualifies.
She sighs, and starts making notes.
“I’ll come back on Friday afternoon, see if she’s still calm.”
“Okay. Thanks, Raine.”
“You know, this really would be easier if she-”
“Yeah, I know.” Xander ran a hand through his hair, nodding. “But Willow just can’t.”
“Can’t?” Raine asked, gently.
“She says Tara would never put her in a home. And she- I don’t know. It’s… it’s hard on her.”
She nodded. “See if you can get her to think about it. Even on a short-term basis. There’s a lot more I can do if she’s close, and it’s a lot less strain on the family.”
A pause, and he nodded again.
Raine picked up her bag. “How’s Anya going? I haven’t seen her for a couple weeks.”
Xander’s face clouded over. “Anya’s… She’s fine. It’s not a problem.”
“Okay.” She opened the door. “I’ll see you Friday.”
He nodded - and suddenly looked up and said, “She’s not wrong, you know.”
Raine raised an eyebrow.
“Tara would never put Willow in a home.”
The call comes on a Tuesday, one foggy afternoon.
She’d usually think it was exaggeration, a description like that. But…
She knows him, that’s the thing. Frantic worry just isn’t his style. So - it’s serious.
And probably fairly painful.
“Raine, can I have a moment?”
She looked up, to meet Emily’s gaze. Emily cleared her throat, and said, quietly, “Ms Maclay’s having an… incident.”
“Ah. Right.” Raine put down her clipboard. “Good session, everyone. If you’ll all excuse me, I need to deal with this.”
She walked, calmly but quickly, towards Tara’s room. “What is it this time?”
“Butterflies appearing out of nowhere, and a strong smell of mushrooms. Oh - and the water in the sink briefly decided that gravity was upside down… but that stopped pretty fast.”
“Fine.”
Emily stood back, letting Raine enter first. Not entirely deference: the last time Tara had an incident, a goat had run full-pelt out of the door the moment it opened. Tara often manifested wildlife; Raine hadn’t figured out why yet.
This time, no goat - just a cloud of butterflies, and Tara crouching on a sopping wet floor sobbing, “No… the sky! The sky. So empty… No!”
After a few moments of watching, Raine shut the door behind her, and walked over to the far wall. Sinking to her knees, she sat, and waited.
Tara’s sobs slowly stilled.
The call comes on a Tuesday, one foggy afternoon.
And Raine has so been planning a vacation.
Cruise ship, new camera, shirtless Italian men all ready to show off their accents to impress her…
She puts her head against the wall, and tries to concentrate on what’s being said at the other end of the phone.
The two of them were sharing cookies, and talking about the garden. Raine sat down next to them - and Dawn smiled at her, tentatively.
“Cookie?” she offered. Raine nodded, and took one. Chocolate-peanut-butter weren’t her favourite, but it was a peace offering. Kind of hard not to accept.
“It’s a very nice day, isn’t it?” Dawn said, to Tara more than Raine.
Tara blinked. “Grass. And flowers… so many flowers…”
“That’s right. Lots of flowers.”
“May’s a lovely time of year,” Raine agreed. “Tara’s been enjoying the garden, haven’t you Tara?”
“Nothing left… no cats… no time… no… no- no-”
Raine put down her cookie - but Dawn was there first. She put her hand over Tara’s, and said, “Hey - it’s okay.”
“But…”
“There’s lots of nice flowers here. And there’s a cat at home, so when you visit you can- um.” Dawn glanced at Raine. “Um… so maybe when I visit next I can bring Miss Kitty with me. Won’t that be nice?” She picked up Tara’s cookie and handed it to her again. “Here.”
Raine smothered a smile. Last time they’d seen each other, Dawn had thrown a tantrum over Tara being “stuck” there, and had promised to kidnap Tara by force if that was what it took to get her away from “stuck-up control freaks” like Raine. Clearly, Xander had talked her down.
She took a second cookie. “So, Dawn, are you guys busy this weekend?”
“Uh… not really.” Dawn frowned slightly. “Why?”
“Tara’s been making some good progress. I think it’s about time she encountered the outside world for a few days.”
“… seriously? You - seriously?”
Raine raised an eyebrow. “Just a few days. Sunday to Wednesday. Then she’ll come back to the Manor.”
“Yep! Sure! Absolutely!” Dawn grinned. And then squealed. “Willow’s going to go ape!”
The call comes on a Tuesday, one foggy afternoon.
It would be so very easy to say she’s booked. That, actually, this cruise is pretty much non-refundable, and important for her to recharge, and can’t someone else do it this time?
But Xander is freaking out, Tara is dead, Willow’s gone psychotic… and Raine knows, better than anyone, how bad this stuff can get.
After all, she’s dealt with it before.
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buffy_remix. I would recommend reading them all. Here's mine.
Title: Answering (the Observer's Remix)
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1148
Original Story: UnTwin by
snowpuppies. In which Tara spends season 6 still crazy.
Summary: You gotta help. Even if it's only for a while.
Answering (the Observer’s Remix)
The call comes on a Tuesday, one foggy afternoon.
Raine put in for a transfer as soon as Rupert contacted her. Hasty decision, yeah - but she knew the field as well as anyone. And she knew just how much this patient needed her.
So, she emailed the Sunnydale Manor For Distressed Persons, packed up her furniture and her hamsters, and drove across all three states in a single trip.
Too important not to, really.
The call comes on a Tuesday, one foggy afternoon.
He tries to be polite, asks about her family, but Raine can hear the distress under his voice - and soon it breaks out in a frantic story and pleas for help.
“… died so fast … lost her mind … you’ve dealt with this before … helping her …”
Raine puts on the most soothing voice she’s got, and tries to slow him down.
Ms Rosenberg was the patient’s partner, alternating between clear leadership and frantic worry. Ms Jenkins was matter-of-fact - hoping it would be solved quickly but clearly doubting it would. Mr Harris was quiet, not standing out… but she noted that he was the one who made sure Ms Rosenberg ate some lunch.
Raine sat, sipping her tea and wishing it was coffee, and watched.
Tara herself was pretty much as expected. More powerful than most of the cases she’d dealt with: anyone more powerful than that tended to blow themselves up before she got called in.
Rupert returned halfway through. “Dawn’s having a nap,” he said to the room, tiredly, before sitting next to Raine. “Well?” he asked, in an undertone.
Raine nodded. “I’ll do whatever I can.”
The call comes on a Tuesday, one foggy afternoon.
A powerful witch losing her mind, along with every ounce of self-control. What could be worse than that?
Lots of things, actually. But Raine usually opts for the less dangerous work - and this qualifies.
She sighs, and starts making notes.
“I’ll come back on Friday afternoon, see if she’s still calm.”
“Okay. Thanks, Raine.”
“You know, this really would be easier if she-”
“Yeah, I know.” Xander ran a hand through his hair, nodding. “But Willow just can’t.”
“Can’t?” Raine asked, gently.
“She says Tara would never put her in a home. And she- I don’t know. It’s… it’s hard on her.”
She nodded. “See if you can get her to think about it. Even on a short-term basis. There’s a lot more I can do if she’s close, and it’s a lot less strain on the family.”
A pause, and he nodded again.
Raine picked up her bag. “How’s Anya going? I haven’t seen her for a couple weeks.”
Xander’s face clouded over. “Anya’s… She’s fine. It’s not a problem.”
“Okay.” She opened the door. “I’ll see you Friday.”
He nodded - and suddenly looked up and said, “She’s not wrong, you know.”
Raine raised an eyebrow.
“Tara would never put Willow in a home.”
The call comes on a Tuesday, one foggy afternoon.
She’d usually think it was exaggeration, a description like that. But…
She knows him, that’s the thing. Frantic worry just isn’t his style. So - it’s serious.
And probably fairly painful.
“Raine, can I have a moment?”
She looked up, to meet Emily’s gaze. Emily cleared her throat, and said, quietly, “Ms Maclay’s having an… incident.”
“Ah. Right.” Raine put down her clipboard. “Good session, everyone. If you’ll all excuse me, I need to deal with this.”
She walked, calmly but quickly, towards Tara’s room. “What is it this time?”
“Butterflies appearing out of nowhere, and a strong smell of mushrooms. Oh - and the water in the sink briefly decided that gravity was upside down… but that stopped pretty fast.”
“Fine.”
Emily stood back, letting Raine enter first. Not entirely deference: the last time Tara had an incident, a goat had run full-pelt out of the door the moment it opened. Tara often manifested wildlife; Raine hadn’t figured out why yet.
This time, no goat - just a cloud of butterflies, and Tara crouching on a sopping wet floor sobbing, “No… the sky! The sky. So empty… No!”
After a few moments of watching, Raine shut the door behind her, and walked over to the far wall. Sinking to her knees, she sat, and waited.
Tara’s sobs slowly stilled.
The call comes on a Tuesday, one foggy afternoon.
And Raine has so been planning a vacation.
Cruise ship, new camera, shirtless Italian men all ready to show off their accents to impress her…
She puts her head against the wall, and tries to concentrate on what’s being said at the other end of the phone.
The two of them were sharing cookies, and talking about the garden. Raine sat down next to them - and Dawn smiled at her, tentatively.
“Cookie?” she offered. Raine nodded, and took one. Chocolate-peanut-butter weren’t her favourite, but it was a peace offering. Kind of hard not to accept.
“It’s a very nice day, isn’t it?” Dawn said, to Tara more than Raine.
Tara blinked. “Grass. And flowers… so many flowers…”
“That’s right. Lots of flowers.”
“May’s a lovely time of year,” Raine agreed. “Tara’s been enjoying the garden, haven’t you Tara?”
“Nothing left… no cats… no time… no… no- no-”
Raine put down her cookie - but Dawn was there first. She put her hand over Tara’s, and said, “Hey - it’s okay.”
“But…”
“There’s lots of nice flowers here. And there’s a cat at home, so when you visit you can- um.” Dawn glanced at Raine. “Um… so maybe when I visit next I can bring Miss Kitty with me. Won’t that be nice?” She picked up Tara’s cookie and handed it to her again. “Here.”
Raine smothered a smile. Last time they’d seen each other, Dawn had thrown a tantrum over Tara being “stuck” there, and had promised to kidnap Tara by force if that was what it took to get her away from “stuck-up control freaks” like Raine. Clearly, Xander had talked her down.
She took a second cookie. “So, Dawn, are you guys busy this weekend?”
“Uh… not really.” Dawn frowned slightly. “Why?”
“Tara’s been making some good progress. I think it’s about time she encountered the outside world for a few days.”
“… seriously? You - seriously?”
Raine raised an eyebrow. “Just a few days. Sunday to Wednesday. Then she’ll come back to the Manor.”
“Yep! Sure! Absolutely!” Dawn grinned. And then squealed. “Willow’s going to go ape!”
The call comes on a Tuesday, one foggy afternoon.
It would be so very easy to say she’s booked. That, actually, this cruise is pretty much non-refundable, and important for her to recharge, and can’t someone else do it this time?
But Xander is freaking out, Tara is dead, Willow’s gone psychotic… and Raine knows, better than anyone, how bad this stuff can get.
After all, she’s dealt with it before.
The conversation's happening over at Dreamwidth. Feel free to comment there using OpenID. (
comments so far)