• Author name or Pseudonym: Daniel Gouvea
• Feedback: Yes.
• Email address: danielgm86@bol.com.br
• Distribution: I just want my fic to stay on the board. If someone wants to publish it anywhere else, please, let me know. My e-mails is right up there, I'll be glad to answer.
• Pairing: W/T only.
• Disclaimer: These characters are all Joss’s, Mutant Enemy’s and FOX’s… But the fic is all my creative effort.
• Summary: This is a story about how Willow changed and how that affected her relationship with Tara .
• Note: 1) The first part of this story happens at some point between the events of “New Moon Rising” and “Restless”. The second part happens during the months Buffy was dead.
2) I haven’t read “The Death of Buffy”, and I don’t even know what happens on it. So, anything that contradicts the comic book is completely unintentional.
"Willow and Tara: Changes"
1) Sunnydale, 2000
It’s evening. Tara is sitting in her bed as Willow enters her dorm. Tara smiles as if she had seen one of the most beautiful things God has ever made.
TARA: Hi.
WILLOW: Hey.
TARA: How are you? I missed you.
Willow gets closer and sits by her side.
WILLOW: Sorry. Been busy all day. You know… between the demon research and the classes, I only had time for a cup of coffee.
TARA: That’s okay.
WILLOW: What did you do today?
TARA: Usual stuff. Went to classes. Ate. Read. And thought about you.
WILLOW: Ohh. That’s… nice.
Tara smiles and seems to be very shy and tender.
WILLOW: Do you wanna go somewhere tonight?
TARA: I wanna stay with you.
WILLOW: I wanna be with you too.
TARA: No. I know. I wanna stay with you. Here.
Tara smiles again and now she is completely blushed.
WILLOW: Ohh. Okay. I like that. We can talk and read poetry. Do you like reading poetry? Or we can play with the cat.
TARA: Sounds good. Do you wanna eat popcorn?
WILLOW: Sure. We can pop some corns. Or bake a cake! How about chocolate?
TARA: Chocolate is great! But…
WILLOW: What?
TARA: I don’t have an oven.
WILLOW: Ohhh… Maybe the cafeteria has cake. I can go there and get some. But only a small piece because I’m kind of money-less.
TARA: That’s okay, sweetie. We can share a small piece.
WILLOW: Yeah. It’s all perfect. We share.
They both smile very sweetly as Willow holds Tara’s hands and they look at each other with so much love and tenderness in their eyes and the room is filled with good feelings. They feel something they’ve never felt before. Something so good and strong. Something they never knew. And for one moment they just felt the comfort of having one another. Happiness was singing around them. But then there was also fear. The fear that they could loose their love someday. To another love. To life. To death. The fear was stronger than their comfort. And because of the fear, they never allowed themselves to feel anything like that again.
- - -
2) Sunnydale, 2001
It’s morning. Tara is organizing the kitchen as she looks at the table and sees three books: “The Darkest of the Arts”, “The Lore of the Slayer” and “Brekenkrieg Grimoire”. She seems very intrigued and starts taking a look at the books as Willow enters.
WILLOW: Morning.
TARA: Hi. Morning. Hey, uh… what is this?
WILLOW: Oh, it’s just a few things I’ve been taking a look at.
TARA: You shouldn’t leave this kind of thing around the house. What if Dawn reads it? It could be dangerous.
WILLOW: I know. I’m sorry. I’ll keep it in the bedroom.
TARA: That would be better. Why are you reading this stuff anyway?
WILLOW: Just… for fun. I had a few time off and decided to do some reading.
TARA: Willow, this isn’t Gustave Flaubert. These books are heavy.
WILLOW: I know.
TARA: Are you gonna tell me?
WILLOW: I was… I thought… I was trying to figure a way to bring… I wanna...
TARA: Bring what?
There is no answer. Tara gets nervous.
TARA: Willow? What are you up to?
WILLOW: I’m trying to bring her back!
Tara is now completely speechless. She looks at Willow as if she were looking at a stranger.
TARA: Are you out of your mind?
WILLOW: We need her!
TARA: You can’t do that. It’s against nature, Willow. Does Giles know about that?
WILLOW: No! And he doesn’t need to.
TARA: Oh, my God! Willow, this stuff is dangerous.
WILLOW: I know, but I can do this. Tara, I’m strong.
TARA: I know you are. That’s what makes me fear. What if something goes wrong?
WILLOW: Nothing will go wrong. I’ll be careful. Please, you have to trust me.
TARA: Were you even gonna tell me about this?
WILLOW: Of course I was! I’m gonna need your help.
TARA: I can’t.
WILLOW: You can. Everything will be fine, as long as we stay together. Xander and Anya, they will be there too.
TARA: It’s just… you should’ve told me you wanted to do that.
WILLOW: I know. I’m sorry. I was trying to figure things out before I got anyone else involved. But you have to understand! We need a Slayer.
Tara doesn’t know what to say. She thinks for a few seconds, and then has an answer:
TARA: No. This has nothing to do with the Slayer. Or with the world. Or our own safety. This is about you being selfish.
WILLOW: So what? What's wrong about that?
TARA: Everything.
WILLOW: Really? All I know is that Buffy was my best friend and then… she was nothing. She was just a memory.
TARA: I understand. But you have to learn how to deal with that! It is your problem, Will. People die. People we love. You can’t change that. You can’t give life.
WILLOW: I can. And I will.
Tara looks at her with sadness, doubt, confusion. She doesn’t know what to do. She wishes she could make things better for her lover. But she is scared of Willow’s words. After this moment, she knew the person she loved the most was changed. Now Willow was powerful. And she was being interrupted by her power. And Tara felt in her heart that she would loose her love to darkness. She knew she couldn’t make Willow change her mind about bringing her friend back to life.
Fear and doubt consumed Tara. She knew things would never be the same again, and she knew Willow was being fooled by her own power. She realized the only thing she can do is to stay by her Willow’s side. Very scared, Tara takes a deep breath and decides to help Willow do the spell.
THE END
