Title – Paths Diverged/Divulged Part 34 –
VisitingAuthor – JustSkipit - Debra
Spoilers –Season 6
Rating – Part 34 – NC-17
Disclaimer – Guess what… I don’t own W&T, Buffy or the rest of the BtVS crew. Any similarity to actual persons living or dead is purely coincidental and fortunate. Also Rachel thinks I should point out that I don’t make any money from this…
Thoughts in italicsNote:This part contains references to parts 27-29 of Y’all. A reminder of that story might help you. On the other hand… maybe not.
Tara glanced once again at her lover who fiddled nervously with the seat belt, the emergency exit card, the in-flight magazine, her pockets, and anything else she could get her hands on. “Are you nervous, sweetie?” she asked gently.
“Huh?” Willow started. “Oh, no nervous,” she attempted to dissuade the blonde of her suspicions, “I… why would I be nervous? Nope, not nervous, not me.” She sealed her pronouncement by leaning over to kiss Tara before returning her attention to her programming journal.
Tara smiled at the redhead who was obviously attempting to appear calm and comfortable with the trip to the farm for Thanksgiving. Of course, who wouldn’t be nervous going to meet her lover’s family? And this was even stranger since Willow would be re-meeting them but not really them. The two girls had talked at length about Tara’s counterpart and Willow’s relationship with the other girl, but hadn’t really visited about Willow’s relationship with the other Tara’s family. Both seemed to shy away from such a confusing and sensitive subject. The blonde smiled again as she noted the way Willow’s hands had returned to fiddling with the pages of her journal and picking at her cuticles. Reaching out to hold her girlfriend’s hand Tara sarcastically commented, “Well, it’s a good thing you aren’t nervous, sweetie.”
Willow folded her magazine closed as she took a deep breath. “Ok,” she conceded, “maybe I’m kind of nervous.”
“They’re all going to love you,” Tara attempted to reassure the redhead. She leaned closer to whisper in Willow’s ear: “Not quite the way that I love you but I’m sure you’ll charm them.” She punctuated her flirtation by tugging on the other girl’s earlobe with her teeth.
“Well, I hope so,” Willow agreed weakly, “it’s just …”
“You’re the first g-girlfriend I’ve ever brought home?” Tara suggested. “My family knows I’m gay, baby. They’ve never expected me to bring a man home for the holidays.”
“Oh, no,” Willow reassured her, “I know that. I mean you are
so gay.”
Tara smiled at her lover’s teasing. “I’m
so gay? Really? More gay than you?”
“Well,” Willow continued teasing, “I did date a boy for a while.”
“Kids these days,” Tara scoffed, “they really try some crazy stuff.” Both girls laughed at their teasing. After they quieted down Tara asked, “So why are you nervous about the trip, lover?”
Willow took another breath before beginning to explain: “I’ve been thinking about … well… things.”
“Wow, things?” Tara teased again, wanting to lighten the mood. “It must be serious then.”
Willow playfully lifted their joined hands to her mouth and kissed the blonde’s hand before nipping at it with her teeth. “I’ve been here for three and a half months,” she started. “I mean here-here,” she clarified.
“Right,” Tara agreed, “I got here-here.”
“When I was on the way here,” Willow continued explaining, “I stopped and spent the night at the Royal Arms. That was when I still thought you were with Michelle.”
“Right,” Tara agreed, “you told me that. And that was where you and she f-first m-made l-love right?”
“Yeah,” Willow said, “that’s right. She and I had been there.” She took a breath to continue, “but I’ve been thinking about it and that’s the only place I’ve been in this world that I also visited in the other world.”
“And I wasn’t with you then,” Tara concluded.
“Right,” Willow agreed. “So this visit, I mean the farm, will be the first time that I’ve visited someplace where I’ve been in both worlds … with each of you.”
Tara nodded as she tried her best to understand. “So you’re nervous that y-you’ll get upset and miss h-her?”
Willow grasped her lover’s cheeks as she pulled her close. “I do miss her but I would never trade our love,” she vowed passionately before kissing Tara.
The blonde was touched as always by Willow’s declaration. “I know you love me, sweetie,” she whispered before returning the kiss.
“Good,” Willow whispered, “I know you know I love you. I mean… that makes sense even the way I said it right?” Tara giggled quietly and nodded. “I’m still nervous though. I mean that something will go wrong or I’ll say something stupid or that your aunt will know that something’s strange about me.”
Tara leaned over again to gently kiss the redhead. “Baby,” she gently told her, “everything will be fine. I promise.”
Willow smiled finally. “Tara promises,” she sighed. “Then everything will be fine.” She went back to reading her magazine, feeling much more relaxed after talking to the blonde. As nervous as she had been, she definitely felt better after expressing her feelings.
Tara watched the redhead for a minute. It was obvious that Willow was much more relaxed than she had been. The blonde was grateful that she had been able to calm down her girlfriend. Of course she was nervous about the trip but Tara was sure that everything would be wonderful. She had told her father, brother, and aunt all about Willow—conveniently leaving out how she had gotten here of course-- and everyone couldn’t wait to meet her. She reached over and lifted Willow’s wrist to look at the watch, noting that the plane would be landing in about 15 minutes, before returning her attention to her Genetics textbook. Luckily, she was caught up on her studies and could relax for most of the long weekend.
Flying the day before Thanksgiving was always a nightmare and they were saved only a small portion of the trouble by carrying on their luggage. At Willow’s insistence Tara wore her own backpack while carrying Willow’s and Willow carried both their larger bags. Standing outside the terminal, both girls pulled their coats from the luggage and put them on to guard against the cold wind as they looked around through the mayhem of cars, people, and taxis. Finally, Tara smiled as she saw a blue Chevy truck honking and moving toward them.
Donnie double-parked as he jumped from the driver’s side to grab their bags and unceremoniously toss them in the bed of the truck. “Anything breakable in these?” he asked as he lifted the backpacks, obviously intending to do the same with them. Both girls shook their heads and he slung their packs into the bed of the truck before quickly opening the door. “You must be Willow,” he stated matter-of-factly. “Climb in,” he instructed.
Willow looked for a second to Tara, who confirmed that it would be easier for her to sit by the door, before climbing across the bench seat to the center position. Moments later Donnie offered his hand to help his sister into the passenger seat and took her cane, gently laying it in the bed of the truck and closing the door, before rushing around to the driver’s side. “Always a zoo,” he muttered as he put the vehicle in drive and pulled into the flow of traffic.
Tara laughed at her brother’s business-like manner but appreciated his talent for getting done what needed to be done. “Donnie, this is Willow Rosenberg. Willow, this is my brother, Donnie,” she introduced the two somewhat unnecessarily.
Willow laughed as the young man affected an English accent as he extended his hand: “Charmed, I’m sure.”
Deciding to go along with his joke Willow mirrored the tone: “Likewise.”
Donnie and Tara visited about their family, who was coming for the holiday, and how the farm was doing. “How are Michelle and Eliza?” Donnie asked after a few minutes.
“Oh, they’re doing great,” Tara answered, “Michelle was sorry you missed her party this year.” Both Maclays burst into giggles at her reference to his misunderstanding and the inception of the traditional costume party theme.
“What did you go as, Willow,” Donnie asked.
“A, um, vampire,” Willow answered. Her embarrassment at the choice of costume was heightened by Tara whispering “dominatrix” just loud enough for her to hear at the same time.
“Fangs and blood and black cape?” Donnie concluded.
“Something like that,” Willow agreed. She felt Tara tickling her and moments later heard the blonde in her head: “sexiest costume. Oh, baby, did I ever tell you how extraordinary your ass looked in those pants?” Willow blushed, glad that Donnie was concentrating on his driving too hard to be able to see her color. “Tara says you have a little girl. How is she?” Willow attempted to make polite conversation. Of course she knew Cleo well but perhaps something was different about the girl in this world.
Like most proud fathers would, Donnie took the opportunity to tell stories about his little girl. By the time they had reached the farm Willow felt like she knew this Cleo almost as well as she had the one she had met so many times. Throwing the truck into park he commented, “Y’all are both real cowboys I guess,” as he jumped down to open the gate. Moments later he pulled through and then closed the gate before proceeding up the drive to the farmhouse.
Willow looked around, taking in the land she knew so well. She could feel Tara’s hand in hers and knew that the blonde was trying to lend her support and calm her nervousness. The gate and drive looked exactly as they did in the farm she remembered from her world. The same oak and pecan trees filled the long yard in front of the house and the same tire swing swayed in the breeze. As Donnie stopped the truck, she looked up to take in the appearance of the house. Structurally, it was exactly like the one she was used to. But it wore a fresh coat of paint and the front porch seemed to have been reinforced or rebuilt recently. She was surprised to see what appeared to be a new tractor just to the side of the house.
After Donnie helped Tara and Willow from the truck and handed his sister her cane, he wordlessly hefted their bags and started into the house. Willow took a deep breath as she took in the sight of the Maclay family farm. “It’s a nice tractor and the porch looks really good,” she complimented.
Tara nodded, “Daddy wouldn’t let me do much. I c-convinced him that I would use the porch and paint job as well as anyone and the tractor was the one indulgence he allowed. Plus which I gave it to him for Christmas and ensured that the d-dealer wouldn’t take it back.”
Willow lifted her lover’s hand to her mouth. “You are the most wonderful, beautiful, generous woman in the world, Tara Maclay,” she whispered before kissing her palm. “And if I weren’t sure that you entire family was watching, I would kiss the senses out of you right here on the steps of your house.”
“Phooey on my family watching then,” Tara joked. She waited as Willow continued looking around. “Do you want to go in?” she asked patiently.
Willow took a deep breath and nodded before opening the door and ushering Tara through in front of her. Their linked hands allowed Tara to monitor Willow’s emotion as well as just allowing the two girls to enjoy the connection.
As they entered the room, Willow’s composure nearly went out the window. She could feel an almost overwhelming sense of déjà vu, as if she had been here before. And in a sense, she had. Each member of the family was approaching to welcome her, shaking her hand or gathering her in a warm hug. The redhead squeezed Tara’s hand harder and harder as each greeting overloaded her senses. With each, “so nice to meet you, Willow…” she became increasingly confused. It felt to her as if she were entering a tunnel with their voices becoming more and more distant. She felt Tara’s hand on her lower back urging her toward the staircase.
“Why don’t we go lie down, baby,” the blonde whispered as Willow moved mechanically toward the base of the stairs. She could see that Willow was having difficulty with the introductions. Her breathing was labored and her eyes looked dazed. In truth, Tara was somewhat worried whether her lover could make it up the stairs but felt that it was important to get her out of the crowd of family and into private. She felt only slightly better as Willow slowly turned her head to make eye contact and nodded her agreement. The beautiful and dancing green eyes Tara was so used to looked confused and glazed over.
As they ascended the stairs, Willow attempted to control her breathing. She knew that she was quickly losing control. She tried to tell herself that all she needed was to make it Tara’s room. She would lie down and perhaps her lover could bring her a cold washcloth for her forehead. If the Maclays found her appearance and behavior strange or off putting, it was too late now. All the two witches could hope for was a minimum of panic.
Hoping for a focus point, Willow counted each step she took. But each seemed to bring to mind a memory of a prior visit. She remembered the overwhelming love she had felt for her other Tara the first time she had seen her holding her niece. The feeling hit her like a blow to her solar plexus and she grasped the banister even more tightly. The next step overwhelmed her senses with memory of a similar journey up the steps after Teresa’s “test” of the redheaded witch. Finally, after 14 steps the two girls reached the landing. Willow took a deep breath, happy to have made it that far.
At least I won’t fall down the stairs, she concluded as they continued walking toward Tara’s bedroom.
A few steps from the door Willow turned sharply to look at her lover. “Did you hear that, baby?” she asked.
Tara shook her head and brushed her hand over the redhead’s arm. “There’s nothing there sweetie. L-let’s lie down.”
“riding stuff Will. Hey, I’m gonna go and wash up. If you want to take a look around you can and we need to head down to dinner in a few ok?”
Again the redhead turned her head quickly to determine if Tara had spoken. Why would the blonde have said that? Willow hadn’t even asked about her trophies and ribbons.
The next step brought not Tara’s voice but Willow’s own echoing in her ears:
“Again too much nog,”
It was clear to her that Tara wasn’t hearing anything unusual. All Willow needed to do was reach the bed where she could lie down and relax. The stress of the trip was obviously more than she had expected.
“How are you doing, baby?” Tara asked, continuing to be concerned about Willow’s fading color. The girl was usually pale but even her freckles seemed blanched. The blonde assumed that if they could reach her room, Willow could take a rest and would be fine.
Willow exhaled as she answered, “exhausted. I never knew that doing magic could make you so tired. I feel like I’ve been run over with a Steamroller or at least a Petri-demon.”
“Magic?” Tara asked confused, “Y-you haven’t done any magic today, baby.”
Again the redhead looked puzzled at her lover’s words. They had reached the doorway to Tara’s room and the blonde reached out to open the door. Willow swayed slightly and clutched at the doorframe as her senses were flooded with memories:
“I bet that salesman thought we were c-c-completely c-c-crazy,” Tara finally gasped out.
“Crazy in love,” Willow shot back, both girls disappearing under a cloud of further laughter.
--
“It fits so well. Nice and firm around my finger,” she whispered. Shifting her tone to a much more seductive one she continued, “Of course, I can think of something else that I like wrapped around my fingers.”
--
Willow nonetheless felt her discomfort disappearing as she was fully absorbed by the experience of being loved by Tara. She ceased to think, to plan, to talk, or move as she simply reveled in the glory of her lover’s loving and giving touch.
--
Tara slipped her fingers out of her lover’s body and lay next to her, her fingers wound in wet red curls as both women murmured words of love and entered the world of sleep and dreams.
--
Running her fingers through her hair she became aware of her ring so comfortable on her finger and ran her other fingers over it as she replayed the exchange of rings and love the night before. Slowly she lay back down on the bed to savor the memories.
--
Once the packing was completed and she had not woken the blonde, she reset the alarm to allow Tara to sleep an extra hour and went back downstairs to read again. Pulling one hand free of the doorframe, Willow attempted to reach for Tara. Before she could reach the blonde’s hand, though, the floor seemed to rush up to meet her.
--
“Willow. Sweetie. Willow,” Tara whispered as she gently stroked her lover’s hand. The blonde’s other hand rested on the wet washcloth on Willow’s forehead and she could tell that the girl was starting to stir. “That’s it, baby. Open your eyes slowly,” she whispered.
Willow recognized her lover’s voice but it sounded very far away to her. She could detect the cool effect of something on her forehead and could feel Tara’s calming presence. Slowly she opened her eyes to see Tara gazing lovingly at her with concern written in her blue eyes. Her eyes darted around as she tried to take in all her surroundings. Suddenly, she closed her eyes and inhaled a little too deeply. After taking one deep breath she pulled her lover closer, nestling her nose into the blonde’s neck and hair and continuing to take deep breaths. With her eyes still closed she asked, “Tara?”
“Right here, baby,” Tara answered as she stroked her lover’s forehead and wondered about the sudden National Geographic-like sniff-fest.
“My Tara, right?” Willow confirmed. Realizing that her question wasn’t one that could be answered effectively she opened her eyes and glanced around until her eyes came to rest on Tara’s cane. As they did she blew out a breath of relief.
“I’m right here, Willow,” Tara whispered again as she leaned in to kiss her lover. When Willow didn’t respond verbally to Tara’s statement she began explaining: “You passed out, my love. We got to the doorway of my room and you looked like something was wrong and started saying strange things and then your eyes rolled back in your head.”
Willow nodded her understanding of Tara’s explanation. It didn’t surprise her that she had woken up here, wherever here was. “I passed out,” she repeated, unable to think of anything else to say.
“And apparently d-decided to sniff me,” Tara teased.
Willow blushed as she explained, “I wanted to know which… which Tara…” She trailed off embarrassed.
Tara knitted her eyebrows together as she tried to understand the redhead’s answer. “Smelling us would t-tell that?”
The redhead continued blushing, “You… you… yes.”
Tara waited for further explanation. As none was forthcoming she checked in on her lover: “How are you feeling, sweetie?”
“Better,” Willow assured her as she began to sit up in the bed. Looking around the room for the first time, she was shocked to recognize it. “I know this room!” she shouted. “This is the room… the room from the dream!”
The blonde glanced quickly around the room she knew well. “Of course, love, this is the m-master bedroom in my h-house.”
“But I’ve never seen it,” Willow argued, “how is it that I’ve seen it in that dream?”
“We’ve b-both seen it,” Tara answered, “r-remember? I didn’t know that you didn’t know it was a real room in m-my house.”
Willow giggled as she mimicked, “And I didn’t know that you didn’t know that I didn’t know…” As the blonde finally joked and Willow felt that maybe everything would be ok, she asked, “But I’m confused about something.” Tara nodded as if to say, “What are you confused about?” “Why do you keep saying it’s your house? I mean ok, of course it’s your house. Your father lives here and you grew up here but you keep saying, of course it’s your house.”
Convinced that her lover was feeling better, Tara moved onto the bed and gathered Willow in her arms. “This is my house,” she explained, “it was my mother’s and my grandmother’s before her. I inherited it on my 21st birthday.”
“This is your house,” Willow repeated, “and this will be your room when you finish school.”
“O-o-our room?” Tara offered quietly.
Willow shook her head lightly as it fell into place for her: the dream. The dream she had been having since high school: she and Tara in a farmhouse waking in a bed, this bed, to the giggling of their children. This was always her future, their future. Finally accepting the finality of their shared dream, the redhead agreed: “Our room, my love.” The two witches kissed and hugged briefly before Willow asked, “Did we miss dinner?”
“It’s close to eight but Donnie brought up a t-tray a little while ago,” Tara explained. “We are going to stay in here over the vacation and dad is going to s-stay in my room.”
“What did you tell them?” Willow asked, her face showing obvious embarrassment as Tara handed her a sandwich.
As they ate, Tara explained that she had simply told her father that she couldn’t explain but that Willow and she would prefer to stay in the master bedroom for the trip. Knowing that his daughter would never ask such a favor if she didn’t have a very good reason, he agreed eagerly.
The next day the family had Thanksgiving dinner together early in the afternoon. Tara had helped her aunt and sister-in-law with the cooking while the men enjoyed the sporting events. Willow played with the children and looked at the impressive selection of books, magical and otherwise, in the house. At times she found herself simply leaning against the doorframe of the kitchen or sitting at the Formica table staring at her lover.
Dinner was a loud and friendly affair with seemingly everyone talking at once. At times multiple conversations went on simultaneously. The scene reminded the redhead of the Christmas she had spent at Tara’s family farm four years earlier.
Goddess, could it be four years ago? she marveled. It seemed at once just moments and her entire life that she had spent loving Tara Maclay, at least one incarnation or another of her. She almost expected Tara’s father to ask the girl to come ride fence as his counterpart had done years ago, but obviously he would not do so.
Instead he asked her to come see the horses: “You goin to look at the horses tomorrow morning, Tara?”
“Yes, sir,” she answered immediately. She gave a big grin to her niece and told the girl, “I’d like to see Acorn too.”
The younger girl was obviously smitten with her aunt. “I can ride her without daddy,” she announced proudly.
Willow looked back and forth between Tara, Cleo, and Donny, wondering vaguely who Acorn was. “We’ll ride her over in the morning, sis,” Donny offered.
Finally unable to handle her curiosity, Willow whispered, “Who’s Acorn?”
“Chestnut’s foal,” Tara whispered back.
Before Willow could respond, Tara’s aunt Amber spoke. “Could I visit with you while Tara is seeing the horses, Willow?” she asked.
The redhead recognized the question as she hadn’t recognized the directive from Teresa years earlier. “Yes ma’am,” Willow obediently agreed, “I’d like that.” She didn’t voice any of the panicked thoughts that were running through her head.
---
Once again, Willow stood alone as she knocked on the parlor door. She wondered if Aunt Amber would open the door by magic as Teresa had done. The night before she and Tara had discussed the test and Willow’s trepidation about it:
The two girls lay in bed, snuggled together. Willow had had no further problems with her memories, what she surmised was some sort of dimensional bleedthrough and felt that she had done passably well at dinner as far as “meeting the family” went. Aunt Amber’s request to test her, and that was certainly what the woman meant to do, both surprised and frightened her. “Tara?” she asked although she was sure that the blonde was awake.
“Yes, sweetie?” Tara responded, knowing that Willow was thinking about her upcoming magical test.
“How am I going to do this? I mean she wants to give me a magical test and how am I going to hold back? You said that she has hardly any power but here I’ve killed hundreds of vampires, cursed one with a soul, brought my best friend back from the dead, and voluntarily crossed a dimensional portal? Does she want me to float pencils?”
Tara laughed at Willow’s pointed summary of the situation. “I d-don’t know what to tell you, love,” the blonde responded. “All I can say is that I’ll love you n-no matter whether you take her test or not.” She thought for a moment before smiling, “Maybe it’s not w-what you expect.”
Not what I expect? Let’s see, the redhead thought just as the door swung open. Amber stood holding the door handle. “Come in, Willow,” she offered warmly. As they sat down Amber offered the girl a bottle of water. “You know why I asked to see you?” she confirmed.
“Yes, ma’am,” Willow responded in her best transplanted-Texan fashion, “you want to test my magical ability.”
Amber smiled. “I think I missed the boat on that one,” she responded, “but I’d like you to do a meditation with me.”
Willow smiled in response.
So that’s it, she thought as she assumed that Tara’s mother from this world wanted to talk to her “again.” The two witches arranged themselves and Amber guided her guest into the trance.
Willow smiled even before she opened her eyes. She recognized the energy of the oak tree on Tara’s farm. Amber had been with her but she knew now that the woman had stopped to leave her alone. “Tara,” was her excited thought as she realized that she would see her lover again. She could tell her all about this Tara and how happy she was now.
Opening her eyes, Willow was shocked to see not Tara or even Becky but Teresa, sitting in a comfortable-looking armchair. “Teresa?” she asked.
The older woman smiled broadly. “I’ve been waiting to see you,” she announced as she waved the witch over toward her.
“Am I late?” Willow asked nervously.
Teresa laughed as she explained, “Of course not child. But I’ve been waiting nonetheless.”
Willow approached her immediately and leaned down to hug the woman. “I missed you,” Willow gasped as she felt the tears on her face. As she took a step back she noticed another armchair next to Teresa’s. “Is this for me or are we waiting for Becky or Tara?” she asked as she indicated the furniture with her hand.
The older woman had an amused look on her face as she waved the girl into the chair. “You know that Becky has returned to your world and Tara is not here,” she explained. “She’s …I believe she’s in the barn looking at the horses.”
A smile came over Willow’s face as she thought of her lover. “No, Teresa,” she answered, “not that Tara, the first one.” As she saw the older woman staring at her intently Willow began to consider her words. “Ok, you’re looking at me strange,” she commented. “Actually like I’m an idiot or slow or something.” Teresa continued not answering Willow’s commentary, knowing that the witch would soon start babbling and answer the riddle herself. “Ok, you’re saying that Tara can’t be here because she’s at the barn. But that’s this Tara and I thought that the other Tara would be here. But she’s not here because she’s at the barn.”
The understanding fell into place for the redhead with an almost audible click. “She’s not here because she’s in the barn,” she repeated with a hint of excitement in her voice. She looked up and around the setting. “This is the world of souls isn’t it? The Summerland? Afterlife?” Teresa smiled and nodded at the young witch. “So here both Taras are the same Tara.”
“And…,” Teresa prompted.
“Either way she’s my soulmate,” Willow concluded happily. She smiled before furrowing her brow. “But which one was I supposed to be with? I mean ‘with which one was I supposed to be?’ But that sounds dumb. Just because I’m not supposed to end a sentence with a preposition…” She trailed off comically at the end.
“Do you think there is such a thing as ‘supposed to’?” Teresa asked.
“I don’t know,” Willow answered, “what about Fate or Destiny? Am I supposed to be here, in this world?” Teresa closed her eyes and reached out for the redhead’s hand and Willow did the same. As she felt the old woman’s skin contact her own, she saw and heard, virtually felt, the dream she had had so many times. She and Tara, in their bedroom, the room she now knew was here in this very house, being woken up by their two blond children with the unmistakable touch of excitement and expectation for the home. The dream, like always, carried with it a feeling of absolute belonging—that it was exactly as it should be. She wondered, was this always her future? Her future in any world? Would this have been the future with the first Tara had they not gone to Sunnydale? And now it was her future here?
She opened her eyes to see Teresa smiling at her. For a moment she just waited for the woman to speak, expecting a riddle or philosophical quandary. But Teresa posed no such question. “Give Tara and Amber my love,” she whispered as she placed a kiss on each of Willow’s cheeks and then was gone.
“Teresa sends her love,” Willow said even before opening her eyes. In fact, her voice woke her up and as she opened her eyes she saw Tara’s watching her.
The blonde handed her a glass of water as Amber left the room. “Riddles?” Tara guessed.
Willow cocked her head slightly. “No riddles,” she smiled, “or at least I don’t think so.” She considered the feeling she had, “I don’t know what she said but I know I’m going to spend the rest of my life with you, Tara Maclay”
Tara didn’t respond in words, choosing instead to lean forward and kiss her lover.
--
The rest of the Thanksgiving visit passed quickly for the girls. Willow was amazed to see the similarities between Chestnut and Acorn. When Tara stroked the horse, she could almost feel the want to ride again coming from the blonde witch. Mostly though, she just felt the love and sadness the girl held for her lost friend.
The night before they left the farm, Amber attempted to use her healing powers on Tara’s leg with Willow amplyifying for her. Although Willow was very strong and Tara instructed Amber on the best way to use Willow’s powers, she was not able to make much improvement on the injury. While everyone knew that if Tara had been able to heal herself, she would be much better off, they knew that Amber did not have near the healing ability that Tara possessed. While she was not able to make any significant improvements to her niece’s leg’s strength, all three women agreed that the visible scaring was improved by their efforts.
After the attempt, the two girls went upstairs to bed early. They were tired from their day but Tara wanted to make the evening special nonetheless. Willow hadn’t wanted to make a big deal out of her birthday so the family had shared a cake and sung happy birthday and nothing more. Tara had just closed the door and was about to open her mouth to speak when she was surprised by Willow jumping up and down like a child, clapping her hands. “It’s my birthday. It’s my birthday. It’s my birthday!” she started singing while wiggling her hips.
Tara laughed loudly as she watched the redhead who quickly returned to begin kissing her lover. After a few seconds of passionate kissing, Willow pulled her lips back and began pecking at the blonde with smacking playful kisses all over her face. “Stop, stop, stop,” Tara gasped as she pulled away with a smirk on her face.
Willow’s pout was almost enough to get Tara to pull her close again but instead the blonde told her lover, "You’re being silly, my love.”
“It’s my birthday. It’s my birthday. It’s my birthday,” Willow again sang as if to account for her silliness.
“I know it is,” Tara purred as she stepped somewhat closer. “And I have a special present for you if you will calm down for a second.”
“Pressies? Pressies?” Willow cheered. She leaned the remaining few inches to gently kiss Tara before turning toward the door of the bathroom. “I’ll not only calm down for a present; I’ll go brush my teeth.”
Two minutes later the redheaded witch sat on the bed, eyes closed and hands outstretched, her face the exact countenance of a five-year old waiting for a new puppy. Tara looked again at the present in her hands. She knew that Willow was playfully excited but she had to explain the present a little. “Th-this is something that I got for you… um… a l-long time ago. I can’t explain it but it was v-very important to me and I knew that I had to get it f-for you.” She exhaled all her breath as she continued holding the box.
“Thank you,” Willow whispered even before she took the present. She opened her eyes and looked straight into her lover’s blue ones, trying to show her that she was done playing and that she understood how important this present was.
Unable to come up with anything else to say, Tara simply placed the small box in her love’s hands.
The second she felt the velvet box, Willow knew without asking what was in it. She broke into a wide grin as she recognized the energy of her familiar ring. She opened the box and held the silver ring with the brilliant green stone out to her lover, asking her to place it on her finger. Tara stepped forward and did just that before kissing Willow. “Thank you,” the redhead whispered as she kissed the girl back.
“It’s n-not too m-much?” Tara asked nervously.
Willow smiled and shook her head: “Definitely not too much.” She paused a moment before voicing her curiosity: “Did you get its match?” She knew that these versions wouldn’t carry the magical power of their counterparts since they hadn’t been “exchanged simultaneously…” but she loved the way that they emphasized how much she and Tara belonged together.
Tara looked puzzled for a second at how Willow knew about the other ring. “I wanted both but I c-couldn’t afford them.”
“Of course,” Willow agreed, somewhat regretful that she had asked such a question. She was surprised to see a smile on Tara’s face as the blonde pulled the missing ring from her bag and held it out for Willow to place on her finger.
As they settled into bed, Tara explained that she had made so many trips into the antique store in town and showed Michelle and Eliza the ring so many times that the two girls eventually conspired to buy it. They had planned to give her the ring as a surprise when an occasion arose. However, once she had received her settlement, one of her first trips was to the store to look for the long gone ring. Eliza had then produced the ring and explained their plan. Tara insisted on paying the girl for her generosity but had always appreciated that her friend had gotten the ring for her.
When Tara’s story was finished, Willow explained her own story of the rings, including the mischief the two witches had unintentionally caused on their visit to Sunnydale. Touching the rings together as they fell asleep, neither woman felt that spark of magic but they still knew that they would wear the rings for the rest of their lives.
---
"Your little will can't do anything. It takes Great Determination. Great Determination doesn't mean just you making an effort. It means the whole universe is behind you and with you - the birds, trees, sky, moon, and ten directions." - Katagiri Roshi
)!
at: 2/2/04 8:26 pm
. I really need Willow's reasoning for this, at the moment I feel I missed something... can't make heads or tails of Willow's grand RR scheme... 
Debra 
,
? Have either of you gotten more than an hour of sleep? 
Faith and Dawn were trips. 
I loved 
's reaction to finding 
already at her place. 
Faith went off on that vamp. Note to self: never touch Dawn. 
Can't wait to 
more. Update soon, please? 
I love seeing new readers and new people to post and glad to hear from you. 
