Glancing down at the fuel gauge Xander decided they needed to stop for gas, so he took the next off ramp and pulled into a truck stop.

"Do you need to use the restroom or want something to drink?" Xander asked, as he clipped his keys to his belt.

"I am a little thirsty," Tara admitted.

"They probably have Slurpees here," Xander told her as they got out.

"I've never had a Slurpee," Tara said, not recalling having ever run across one before and guessing it was because her home town didn't have a truck stop.

"Trust me, you'll love it," Xander assured her as they crossed the lot and entered the store.

Tara followed Xander closely, wanting to grab his hand, but thinking it too forward. Papa had always told her that young people holding hands lead to other things, though he wouldn't say what those things were.

"Cherry or blueberry?" Xander asked as he lead her to the Slurpee machine, smelling the sweet siren call of sugary goodness as soon as they entered the store.

"Cherry," Tara said softly as she reached up and pushed her horn-rimmed glasses further up her nose.

"Cherry it is," Xander said, grabbing two large Styrofoam cups and sticking one under each spout before filling them, a cherry for her and a blueberry for him.

A few seconds later they got in line behind a thin Asian man who was wearing a cowboy hat and boots.

"Ten on five," the man told the cashier, handing her the bill and waiting for her to credit the pump before departing.

"Two Slurpees and twenty on two," Xander said, handing her the money.

Tara picked up a flyer off the counter, frowning as she read it while following Xander out.

"Here you go," Xander said as they stepped outside, passing her the cherry Slurpee.

"Thank you," Tara said, using both hands to hold the large cup.

"What you got there?" Xander asked curiously while Tara sipped her first Slurpee, her eyes widening in surprise.

"This is good," she said taking a long pull before wincing.

"Brain freeze," Xander told her, "it'll go away in a second, you can't drink Slurpees too fast or that will happen."

"Ow," Tara said, forcing herself not to take another sip of her drink until the pain had passed, she handed Xander the flyer she'd gotten off the counter.

"Missing kid," Xander noted as he read the details.

"I'd like to help," Tara admitted, "but if the local witch can't locate her, I don't think I'd do much better."

"Most places don't have a witch to call on," Xander said as he set his Slurpee on top of the pump so he could fill the tank.

"But this place is huge," Tara said, glancing at the small town visible behind the truck stop. "It's big enough to have at least a couple on call."

"Magic isn't that common most places," Xander said. "Heck, the majority of the world doesn't even believe it's real."

Tara just stared at him dumbfounded.

"I know," Xander said, "it's like they're all in denial, but magic is a pretty rare talent and most people keep it a secret."

"But we went to a shop," Tara said, trying to wrap her mind around it.

"Did you notice how much of the stuff in the shop was just for decoration?"

"A lot," Tara realized, "and there were books that didn't look useful at all."

"They sell a lot of fake stuff so people can play at magic, distracting them from the real thing."

"Oh," Tara said quietly before taking a cautious sip of her Slurpee. "Does this mean I could help?"

Xander nodded as the pump dinged, reaching twenty and he returned the gas nozzle to the pump. "We just have to be sneaky about it because they don't believe in magic."

Tara smiled and climbed in the RV with Xander, placing their cups in the console. "How do we do it while being sneaky?"

"We stop by the police station, see what we can find out, like where they've searched already, they like that. If she is in an area they hadn't checked we can claim we're searching because we didn't want to redo work that's already been done," he explained.

Tara winced and put the Slurpee back down having given herself another brain freeze while he'd talked. "And if she's in an area they have already searched?"

"Then we come up with a good reason we are checking an area they'd already gone over," Xander said. "We can even claim it looked like a good place to search because we wanted to help but were scared of finding a body. It'd make us look like lucky cowards, but they'd also accept it without question."

Tara nodded. "I have everything I need for a locator spell except for a map of the area."

"I'll grab one from the truck stop," Xander said, "be right back."

Tara nodded and took another sip of her Slurpee wincing at the resulting pain before setting it back down and resolving to take it slow as Xander suggested. It was difficult to do magic when distracted by a headache after all.

She took another sip and winced once more, not even remembering picking it up. Recalling one of the punishments in grade school, she sat on her hands so she couldn't pick it up. After a few seconds the brain freeze had worn off and she sighed in relief. Slurpees were dangerously addictive!

0o0o0o0o0o0o

Xander returned to the RV with a map in hand only to find Tara sitting on her hands and leaning forward in her seat, straining against her seat belt to reach the straw of her drink without picking it up.

She looked at him embarrassed and blushed under the wave of amusement and affection she felt from him.

"Got a map," Xander said.

"I've got everything I need then," Tara said. Unbuckling her belt and leaning forward to get a sip off her Slurpee before getting up to go in the back.

"Let me park in the lot real quick," Xander said starting the Winnebago and slowly pulling away from the pumps and into the lot. It only took a minute to park before he headed to the back to see what Tara was doing.

Tara had laid the map out on the table and was making a small pile of salt on the corner of the map when Xander sat down at the table across from her. She was so wrapped up in her work she didn't even notice him, as she sprinkled a red powder above the map and chanted something to help aid her concentration. The red powder vanished and the salt crystals slowly marched across the map, like a line of ants to create a small tower above the police station.

"Guess they found her," Xander said.

Tara smiled. "I'm glad she's okay." She cleared up the mess, dropping the salt in the trash and folding up the map. Once she was finished she stood in front of him with her hands at her side. "I'm ready for my punishment now."

"Bwah?" was Xander's confused response.

"For using magic," she explained.

"I'm... not following you," Xander said confused.

"Magic is a necessary evil, but it's still evil," she explained, thinking about how she'd used a spell to fix his demonic voice, a tad guiltily, "so after I cast a spell I'm usually spanked so I don't forget."

Xander pushed away his anger at her family and reached out to hug her only to find she'd taken that as the signal he was ready to spank her as she laid herself across his lap and flipped up her dress. Even the well-worn white granny panties didn't detract from the view and it's resulting effects on his libido. Xander barely stopped his left hand from checking firmness and he had a sudden urge for peaches.

Xander nervously cleared his throat. "I won't punish you for using magic responsibly to help others," he told her. "There is nothing inherently evil about the magic you used."

"Oh," Tara said quietly, but made no move to get off his lap. "I also cast a spell on you yesterday when you were in the shower to improve your singing," she blurted out.

Xander was surprised to hear that, but not upset. "Thank you," he replied.

"You're not mad?" she asked turning her head to meet his gaze which he quickly wrenched away from her rear.

"I'm not mad," he assured her, "I've been told my singing voice could use some work."

"But I cast a spell on you without your permission," she pointed out. "That's bad," she said firmly.

"Not when it's done to help someone, though asking permission should be done if there's time," Xander replied.

"I had time and didn't ask," Tara admitted.

"I know, but I'm not mad," Xander said, softly stroking her back. "I trust you."

"So… no spanking?" Tara asked, unsure why she was feeling disappointed.

"Not for either spell," Xander said with a smile, forcing his hand a little further up as he stroked her as it had drifted a bit low.

"Oh, okay," Tara said quietly still not moving after a few seconds of silence she asked, "Could you feed me?"

"Sure, what would you like?"

"Cuddling," she said firmly, "I want to cuddle," she blushed and faced the floor as she spoke, embarrassed to admit her demonic needs aloud.

"I'd love to," Xander said. After a few more moments of quiet he added, "You'll have to get up so we can put the table down, so we'll have room."

"Okay," Tara said reluctantly getting up and a little perplexed at her own behavior; she'd never been disappointed that her Pa hadn't whupped her.

Xander put the table down and rearranged it back into a bed, kicking off his boots before getting ready to lay down, seeing that Tara was looking at him expectantly he reached for the buttons of his shirt and was rewarded with a small smile. Tossing his shirt to the side he looked back at her and saw she was looking at his pants. Noting the silent request a lot faster this time they quickly joined his boots on the floor.

Tara smiled as he laid down on the bed in just his boxers, but found herself frozen in place unable to take off her dress as he watched her. Thankfully he seemed to understand as he put a hand over his eyes so she could quickly shed her clothes and crawl up onto the bed. "Ahh," she let out a pleased little moan as he wrapped his arms around her and she laid her head on his chest.

"Agreed," Xander said, enjoying the feel of her in his arms and hoping she wouldn't notice his little 'problem'.

Tara had indeed noticed his 'little' problem and recalled how it was because she was wicked and sinful, but then she was a succubus so that was alright, it was perfectly natural for her to cause him to do that.

'Maybe that's why I was disappointed,' she thought to herself, 'Succubusess are sinful and deserve spankings'. Satisfied with that thought she burrowed deeper into his arms reveling in feeling the warmth of his skin and the musky smell her demon possessed.

'Tara likes girls,' Xander reminded himself, a bit disturbed about how much he was enjoying holding her and determined not to screw things up.

Eventually the two fell asleep.

0o0o0o0o0o

The sun was setting as they pulled back onto the highway.

"Peaceful easy feeling," Xander sang along with the radio, making Tara smile, no longer feeling guilty about having used magic on him.

Shortly her voice joined his as they rolled down the highway.

"How long until we reach Sunnydale?" Tara asked curiously as she spotted a sign that said they were entering Nevada.

"From the looks of things another day, maybe two," Xander said, "they keep moving the map on us to make sure we don't arrive too early."

"I had wondered about that," Tara admitted, "but I thought I'd just mistaken where we were."

"No, it's Alice or at least I think it is," he said thoughtfully, "I've noticed that if I drive slower we get closer quicker if that makes any sense."

"It does," Tara assured him with a smile, something she found herself doing more and more the longer she was with him, and the further she was away from 'home'.

"Of course when we get there we'll have to keep a low profile while I figure out when I need to go to the library and what I'll need for when I get there, since I have to wait until after Kendra has been bit," he said with a frustrated sigh. "I understand and agree with what Alice and Whistler have planned, but I worry I won't be able to save her, even if they are so sure I will that they set all this up."

"You should believe in yourself, they do," Tara offered.

"I have a long history of doubting myself," Xander said, "it makes me cautious and keeps me from screwing up… sometimes at least."

"Kidnapping me went well," Tara pointed out before giggling at the absurdity of the situation.

Xander laughed. "I had that planned seven ways from Sunday with tons of backup plans to make sure that went well. I can't tell you how relieved I was to see you alive and well."

"Why?" she asked, still surprised he valued her so much when no one but her momma had before.

"The future I'm making sure doesn't happen… you died from an idiot waving a gun around. It was a one in a million chance as you just happened to be standing next to a window on the second story of a nearby house," Xander explained. "Of course, now everything has changed and I'll be making sure you don't end up staying in that house as well as making sure said idiot doesn't end up waving a gun outside it."

"We must have been good friends," Tara said.

"The best," he assured her.

Tara beamed; she'd never been so happy to be a demon in her life. As long as her demon was with her, she didn't fear the future at all. Now she just had to figure out how to get him to spank her…

Typing by: fyrewolf5

AN:There was a reason she and Willow got along so well…

TN: It's always the quiet ones. Now for the even more complicated love/lust lines of the series to get even more complicated. Xander still kinda likes Buffy at least, Willow is still telling herself Xander should be with her, even though she's with Oz, and now potentially could be interested in Tara, or jealous that Xander left without telling her, Plus the whole Cordelia debacle, and depending on if this is the world reworked or not, Dawn's crush on him. I'm sure having Tara added to the mix will make everything far simpler. lol