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R. 12/11/2001.

The water glistens in beads on her dark skin, making her almost glow in the moonlight.

"Olivia. Olivia. Olivia," they incant, kneeling in supplication before her as she ascends the riverbank. The tangled mat of her hair, slick over her shoulders, trails down her naked back.

Giles' face is reverent, upraised to watch her approach. His hand covers Ethan's as they chant in accord.

"Olivia. Olivia. Oya. Olivia." Leaving a damp trail on the earth, she draws near.

She had thought it was too scary. She'd also wondered how real it really was. And now she's found out.

"Olivia. Oya. Olivia. Olivia. Oya."

The power rises inside her like water, like that from which she's just stepped. Shivery, chilling--exciting. A burning, bittersweet feeling almost like pain, but more like freedom. It starts down at her toes, ankles. But rises.

Rises. "Olivia. Oya. Olivia. Oya. Oya."

She left him two years ago, and then there were no more visits. She went back to London, back to safety, but it didn't matter. She already knew, knew the world she lived in and the things she'd been taught weren't the half of it. She'd seen through a crack in the facade, and now the whole wall was crumbling.

"Oya. Olivia. Oya. Oya. Oya." She can feel it swelling through her chest, her heart aching so hard she fears it might burst. Rises.

And then the day she found her way to Ethan's door. All she could say was, "Show me," and hope she didn't sound too desperate. She'd been under his wing for almost a year when they heard Rupert had returned. It had taken time to bring him back to them, but under Ethan's tutelage she'd eventually succeeded. Looking at him now, it's hard to imagine he wasn't always here.

"Oya. Oya. Oya. Oya."

And the river goddess floods her head and mind in a sudden wave, leaving no room for thought.

Her hands lift over her head, her dripping body moving to inner music, gyrating to a song she can't quite hear.

And the chant doesn't stop. "Oya. Oya." First Ethan, then Rupert, rises, rises. They move close to her, touch her to take in some small portion of her power.

"Oya!" She shouts Her name in a thick voice she's never heard before, like movement through stagnant mud. Hears it ring through the forest around them. She draws them close to her, feels Rupert seek out her mouth and kiss her insistantly, yearningly, smelling of old books and candle wax. But not like he used to. Something strong and enduring, something primal underneath that she's caught on Ethan at times but never this strong. Both their bare bodies pressed to hers, Ethan sucking a spot on Rupert's throat. Rupert whispering what can only be a prayer of thanks in her ear in a language she doesn't know.

And Olivia, even though not Olivia, knows Rupert Giles has come home.

FIN

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