---

As soon as they got back they grabbed Erica's bags and piled back into Mike's car. They arrived at the airport with a little time to spare, but not much. By the time they got through security there were only minutes before she would have to board the plane.

"Do you really have to go?" Sarah whined as they sat in the waiting area.

Erica sighed, "I wish I didn't, but all that time at Harvard would be wasted if I stopped now. It's only six months out of an eternity. That can't be so bad, can it?" Her words were as much for her own benefit as Sarah's and they both knew it.

"I suppose. I'm going to miss you like crazy though!" Sarah said, grabbing onto Erica and holding her tight like she might vanish if she let go.

"Same here." Erica agreed, wrapping her arms around Sarah and squeezing as hard as she dared. They were still like that when the call came for her flight to board. They slowly and reluctantly released each other.

"Hey, remember! You're only a portal away. You'll probably be seeing each other within minutes of this Nathaniel guy being taken care of if I know you two." Mike said with a grin.

Sarah blushed, as that was exactly what she wanted. Erica grinned, "Yeah, I guess it's not so bad." she said, though she still sounded sad.

"Go on, or you'll miss your flight." Jill said, giving Erica a quick hug and pushing her towards the door. Mike gave her a quick hug as well.

"Don't worry, we'll keep her safe until you get back to stay." Tiffany said. For that she got a hug before Erica hurried to catch her flight. She stopped at the door to blow a kiss to Sarah before stepping through and out of sight.

Sarah seemed to curl in on herself slightly as soon as Erica was out of sight. "Hey, you managed for much longer than six months before now. You'll be okay. And you'll see a lot more of each other this time. Come on, we can watch her plane if you want." Mike said.

Sarah nodded and let herself be led to the large windows looking out on the runway. Her eyes stayed glued to the plane until it had moved beyond the bend in the building and was lost to sight.

"Come on, let's go do something mindless for a bit to get your mind off things." Jill suggested, tugging on her arm. Tiffany took her other arm and she reluctantly allowed them to lead her away from the window.

Mike drove them back to his apartment where he got a game going with Sarah. Jill pulled Tiffany aside once she was sure Sarah was fully involved in the game, "Are you going to be okay keeping an eye on Sarah, at least when she's not switched with Willow? She's liable to become depressed without Erica around. Especially after some of the things that have happened to her recently."

Tiffany nodded, "That had occurred to me. After all, she saw her father try to kill her mother, even if he was out of it at the time, and they're getting a divorce. And there was the attack from John, too, as well as all that stuff that happened when she was a kid. I'll keep an eye on her and pass the word on to Tina at work so she can let Rose know she'll be delicate for a while. Hopefully we'll catch Nathaniel quickly and get her back with us."

"Thanks, she really has been through the ringer lately. If not for how well things are going with Erica now, and their engagement and the bond, I'd really be worried. She's been depressed most of her life, especially when Erica isn't around, so I do worry about her." Jill said.

Tiffany put her hand on Jill's shoulder, "Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on her as best I can. She's kind of like a sister to me. I'm not sure why I got so attached to her so quickly but she really is important to me."

"Perhaps you were looking for a family?" Jill suggested.

Tiffany shrugged, "Yeah, maybe."

They returned to the living room to see Mike doing abnormally well against Sarah in one of her favorite games. Jill glanced at the clock and was almost relieved to see it was almost five. "We'd better get going guys." she said.

They nodded and shut down their game. They went out to Mike's car and Tiffany got in the back with Sarah. Sarah was staring blankly out the window when Tiffany grabbed her hand in both of hers. Sarah looked over in surprise and Tiffany laughed, "Don't worry, I'm not trying to put the moves on you or something. I don't swing that way. I just hate to see you looking so sad."

Sarah smiled weakly, "Thanks, but I'm okay. I can still feel Erica in my mind, at least."

"I'm surprised you're not talking up a storm right now!" Mike said with a laugh.

"She's taking a nap." Sarah replied with a shrug.

Mike nodded, "Yeah, makes sense. It's a long flight."

They were silent the rest of the drive, but Tiffany kept hold of Sarah's hand. When they arrived Sarah gave Tiffany's hands a squeeze and smiled before getting out of the car. Once inside they went ahead and ordered a large pepperoni pizza in hopes it might cheer Sarah up a little. When they took their seats they saw that Willow, Rose, Charlotte and Tina were seated on the other side of the room and already eating. They carefully didn't look at them. "This is kind of awkward, isn't it?" Mike said.

Remember not to say anything aloud about why we're here. Vash reminded him.

"I'd really gotten used to Erica being here the last couple of weeks." Mike said to cover his mistake.

They made small talk while they waited for their pizza. When it came Sarah ate slowly, not looking forward to the switch. Finally she'd eaten all she could. Jill looked significantly at her. She nodded and headed for the bathroom. She was just checking to see if anyone else was in the bathroom when Willow stepped in. "It's kind of like a spy movie, huh?" Willow said excitedly.

"Uh, yeah, I guess so." Sarah replied weakly. Fortunately the room was empty. "Lets go in here in case anyone comes in." She pointed towards the disabled toilet. Willow nodded and followed her in, closing the door behind her.

"So, what do I have to do?" Willow asked.

"Nothing, just stand still." Sarah replied. She decided she'd better start with changing herself while she still had Willow in front of her to see what she needed to look like. In a moment she was back to being Willow's twin.

"That is so cool!" Willow breathed. Then yelped in surprise when Sarah touched her arm and felt her body change. She could feel that she was a little taller than before. "Is that it?" she asked.

Sarah nodded, "Yeah, that's it. Maybe you should go look in the mirror so you have a better feel for what you look like now."

Willow nodded and practically bounced out of the stall. Standing at the mirror she gazed in fascination at her changed body. "Is this an illusion, or real?" she asked.

"It's real, I don't know how to do illusion." Sarah replied, looking in the mirror herself.

"I guess we'd better swap clothes." Willow said, noticing how tightly her clothes fit now.

"Oh yeah, I hadn't thought about that." Sarah said.

"Come on, it'll only take a minute." Willow said, walking back into the stall. She turned and looked at Sarah expectantly.

"Uh, in there?" Sarah said uncertainly.

Willow nodded, "Sure, we're both girls, right? But I guess I could go into the stall next door if you're shy."

"Uh, if you don't mind..." Sarah said apologetically.

Willow shrugged, "It's fine." She stepped out and into the next stall. Moments later she tossed her clothes up on the dividing wall for Sarah to take. Sarah quickly followed suit and changed into Willow's clothes. Willow had been wearing some rather tight fitting jeans and a t-shirt that seemed a size too small to Sarah. She felt very self-conscious when she stepped back out of the stall.

"Now that we're wearing the right clothes this really feels weird! It's like I'm looking into a mirror when I look at you, but when I do look in the mirror I see you. If that makes any sense." Willow said.

"Yeah, I feel the same way." Sarah replied absently.

"Well, thanks for doing this Sarah!" Willow said.

"It's Willow, remember. And you're Sarah. But you're welcome." Sarah said.

Willow hugged Sarah, "I still can't believe I'm really getting to see all this cool magic! Now if only I could do more myself... Anyway, I guess we should get back to our tables."

"Remember which table you're going to, though." Sarah reminded her.

"Oh yeah," Willow said, stopping as she'd already started moving towards the door, "thanks for reminding me!" After a moment she started moving again. Sarah waited for a moment for Willow to get to the table before coming out and moving towards Charlotte's table. She tried hard not to look at Mike, Jill and Tiffany as she went, feeling very lost and alone now that she had to pretend not to be with them. When she got to Charlotte's table she sat in the seat Willow had been using and wondered what she should do now.

"You've eaten, I hope?" Charlotte asked, noticing Sarah looking down at the empty pizza pan.

She nodded, "Yep." She tried to copy Willow's energetic tone but it wasn't easy.

Charlotte smiled, "Good. I guess we should be going." No one spoke as they got up and walked to the door. Sarah was painfully aware of her friends sitting across the room as she went out the door.

---

To Be Continued…

---

« Toil & Trouble - 21 - The Switch »