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Fic: AU - You Are The One

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Fic: AU - You Are The One

Postby BlackIndiaInk » Sun Apr 08, 2007 1:57 am

Title: You Are The One

Chapter: Meditation

Author: BlackIndiaInk

Rating: PG

Pairing: W/T

Feedback: Fire away, please

Spoilers: None for now...

Disclaimers: Joss and the crew created it and I am using it, but not without a huge thanks to them. Kudos for creating our girls.

Distribution: Ask please and ye shall recieve.

Note: So I've taken a deep breath and am about to hit submit. These first few chapters will not be edited by anyone other than me, so bear with my mistakes. I am not sure how long this will go, but I have the distinct feeling that it will be quite awhile before my brain runs out of juice.

Note 2: This, as you can tell from the subject line, is going to be AU. The bumps in the night still exist but Tara didn't run away to Sunnydale. Her father is a misguided man, but not the horror of a father that we saw in the episode Family. If you have questions please ask.

Chapter 1: Meditation


“It’s all for us,” Tara said.

She grinned at the display in front of her. The ripe fruit and candy spread as far as she could see. The green of the grass was obscured by the many brightly colored packages. It was like being in heaven. Tara palmed an orange and held it up to her face. Was it real? She smelled it. It had the definite smell of citrus. Her head bent slightly to the side as she examined the orange. It certainly seemed real. She poked the bright skin with a finger of her other hand. She felt the small pores of the fruit’s skin on her fingertip.


It was so intense, her feelings here always were. She raked her fingernail along the side of the fruit. She was rewarded with a tiny mist of citrus oil saturating the space between her hand and the orange skin. The smell spread over the air thickly canceling out the other smells of this place. A light tap at her shoulder reminded her of what she had been saying before and whose presence she was in. She glanced over her shoulder and heaved a contented sigh.

“Beautiful,” She whispered.

The red headed girl grinned at the word. She knew it was meant for her even if it was said in the direction of the field of goodies surrounding them. She placed her hand on Tara’s arm to let the warmth of her skin sink into the flesh there. Tara’s grin returned as she felt the familiar tingle of their bodies connecting. She would not leave this place again. She was determined to stay and make this her reality.

The sun brightened to an almost unbearable level overhead. Both girls shielded their eyes with their hands and leaned back under the tree they were sitting near, hoping that the leaves would protect them from the hot rays. Tara clung to the trunk of the tree willing her soul not to leave just yet, but she felt the tug at her essence. She would not win this time. Yet, she still clung to the tree hoping that something miraculous would happen at the last moment.

She opened her eyes for one last look at her surroundings. Her eyes stopped on the girl who was now standing and looking down at her. Even though the glaring rays of the sun still burned her eyes she could see the girl's face clearly.

“I guess you have to go again.”

The frown present on the red head’s face made Tara hang on for one more moment. She felt as sad as the other girl looked. Her face was contorted into a grimace with the effort of holding herself in place. Even though her body was not present here she still felt the physical sensations as if it were. Her spirit started gradually slipping back into her body. Just before she disappeared in a flash of bright light she reached her hand out and felt her fingertips graze the beaconing flesh of the girl standing above her.
Last edited by BlackIndiaInk on Sun Apr 08, 2007 9:07 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Fic: AU - You Are The One

Postby Willowtree252 » Sun Apr 08, 2007 7:00 am

:pinky nnnnnnnnnnnnooooooooooooooo Don,t stop there more I want to see where you are going with this Please :kitty
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Re: Fic: AU - You Are The One

Postby Jennpurr » Sun Apr 08, 2007 11:24 am

Ooooooooh.... more, more, more, more. :pray I'm very curious to see where this is going.

I love your descriptiveness! Very nice.
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Fic: AU - You Are The One - Chapter 2

Postby BlackIndiaInk » Sun Apr 08, 2007 2:00 pm

Dianneswillowtree Thanks for the rather large no. Here is some more to relieve your curosity. Unfornunately, it may not reveal much. I am evil that way, I suppose.

Jennpurr Thank you for mentioning the descriptivness. My brain sometimes get stuck on the tiny things. Again, here is another chapter for ya. ;-)

Title: You Are The One

Chapter: Back To Reality

Author: BlackIndiaInk

Rating: PG

Pairing: W/T

Feedback: Fire away, please

Spoilers: None for now...

Disclaimers: Joss and the crew created it and I am using it, but not without a huge thanks to them. Kudos for creating our girls.

Distribution: Ask please and ye shall recieve.


Note: I felt that you really couldn't tell much about the story from my first post, so I am posting a second part a bit ahead of my intended schedule. I hope this helps a bit. As for the setting, think begining of season four. Thanks for reading!

Note: This, as you can tell from the subject line, is going to be AU. The bumps in the night still exist but Tara didn't run away to Sunnydale. Her father is a misguided man, but not the horror of a father that we saw in the episode Family. If you have questions please ask. Don't worry we will get to some Willow and Tara goodness eventually.

Chapter 2: Back To Reality





Tara’s head fell back as her spirit rejoined her body. Her breath came in short huffs and sweat beaded her face. Her hands ached as if she had actually clung to the tree. She flexed her fingers and started at the red marks gracing her palms and fingers. Her legs ached from sitting for so long and her hair stuck to the moisture on her face and neck. Every night she meditated and visited this place. It was the peace she was missing in her life after so much upheaval.

The feelings she had when she visited her special place stayed with her for hours after her visit. Though they faded, she carried the memory of them through her day until she could get to her room and put herself in the deep meditative state required to get back. It was a little different every time, but some things stayed the same.

She always visited the same place, a beautiful field in spring bloom. Her mind seemed to colour the plants surrounding her in her favorite shades.White, green, and violet blooms deorated the tree that she always sat under, but none of these colours eclipsed the brightness of sun and the sheen of the red hair of her companion.

There was always an abundance of food, some of it wholesome and some of it less so. There was nearly always chocolate to satisfy her cravings for sweets. For some reason eggs seemed to make a recurring appearance as well. They appeared in various forms, but mostly sunny side up on a beautiful green plate. When the eggs wiggled it made her laugh as if there was a joke she longed to share but she couldn't remember.

It was always the same girl. She was gorgeous, with fair skin and shining green eyes. It was not just her physical appearance that captivated Tara. The girl emanated magic and beauty from inside. What Tara remembered most was the feel of her touch and the brightness of her hair as the sun’s rays glinted off of it. It was all that she could see as she was sent back to her body.

She lifted her aching hand to her nose. She could still smell the fruit and scent of the girl mingling on her flesh. "The smell of rain and citrus," she whispered.

It always felt like minutes passed from the moment she made it there to the time she was forced back into her own reality. She figured that time must pass slower in the real world.

Each time that she looked at her clock after she came back clearly several hours had passed. At first she could only spend mere moments there, but over the past few months she had strengthened her grip on whatever plane this world was on.

Each time she concentrated on staying in the same mind set and willed her spirit away from her body for just a little longer. By exercising her mind she was able to gradually spend more time in her altered state.

She had meditated since she was a little girl. Her mother had taught her to still her mind. Until recently it had been a pleasant and cleansing experience. Now it was something she craved. Somehow she had found this place beyond her mind, this wonderland.

In the back of her mind she knew that immersing herself in this world that was not her reality only kept her from experiencing the things that she should be giving her attention to but she couldn’t give up the only thing that made her feel truly connected something.

She could not help but feeling that this was not just a place she had created with her mind. The girl in her visions was so real. How could she not exist? Then again, there was this beautiful creature that seemed so very interested in her when no one else seemed interested in her in the least.

The times she had spent with her mother were the only ones that were similar to what she now experienced. She felt like she was wanted and she belonged somewhere. She had been her mother’s child in most aspects. She had received her magical talent, creative gifts, and sense of humor from this wonderful woman.

Between the new world she had somehow found and memories of her mother she kept her mind occupied. It was the only way to avoid noticing how unhappy she was. Since her mother’s death she had kept to herself. She did not really keep track of the exact amount of time that had elapsed since that day, but lived on as if not acknowledging the finality of the event. She had a few good friends and many acquaintances in her life, but they eventually stopped trying to reach into her self created isolation.

The knock at her door startled her. She reached for the four crystals surrounding her, quickly shoving them as far under her bed as she could. She had barely righted herself and assumed, what she hoped was a casual position sitting against her bed when her brother busted into the room. His lopsided grin betrayed the fact that he had intentionally interrupted her solitude.

“Hey sis, watcha up to?”
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Re: Fic: AU - You Are The One

Postby Willowtree252 » Sun Apr 08, 2007 3:16 pm

:pinky oh great I have got hooked on a roller coaster ride :gnome really this is great and I am so loving it keep it up please :kitty
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Fic: AU - You Are The One - Chgapter 3

Postby BlackIndiaInk » Mon Apr 09, 2007 4:16 pm

Dianneswillowtree Thanks again for posting. Get ready for a dip and a curve on the crazy roller coaster.

Title: You Are The One

Chapter: Don't Tempt Fate With Fluffy Lambs

Author: BlackIndiaInk

Rating: PG

Pairing: W/T

Feedback: Please do... comments, questions and constructive criticism is welcomed.

Spoilers: None

Disclaimers: Yo, I didn't create them, but I love to use them. Thanks Joss and Mutant Enemy

Distribution: Ask please...

Note: Right, here is a third insallment. This had made me late for work... not that I really have a set time I have to be there but still. Ha, its worth it. Like I said before I haven't gotten a beta yet so forgive my mistakes. I was a bit tired when I wrote and re-wrote this so if anything is confusing let me know.

Note: This, as you can tell from the subject line, is going to be AU. The bumps in the night still exist but Tara didn't run away to Sunnydale. Her father is a misguided man, but not the horror of a father that we saw in the episode Family. If you have questions please ask. Don't worry we will get to some Willow and Tara goodness eventually. Oops, a cliffhanger... how did that get in there.

Chapter 3: Don't Tempt Fate With Fluffy Lambs

Donnie entered her room and jumped onto the bed. Her head bounced back as his body impacted the mattress. She reached her hand up instinctually to stop the jarring motion. She glared at him over her shoulder.

“What d-do you want, Donnie?”

“Just wanted to see why you were up so late… again.”

He wrapped his hand around the post of her bed and continued to beam his annoyingly bright grin down on his sister. He knew she was doing something illegal by the rules of the house and someday he would catch her at it. Not that he really wanted to get her in trouble. He did love his sister and she certainly knew a few secrets of his that would get him in plenty of trouble with their strict father.

He was not a bad father in most respects. He was just a bit over protective of his children. Since his wife’s death he had realized how precious his family really was so he did every thing in his power to keep them together and safe, even if it came across in a controlling manner.

“I’m just t-thinking, okay?”

She hoped that he would take her explanation at face value. When his grin turned into a thoughtful down turned line she knew it would not be that easy. Before he could answer she raised herself to sit on the bed beside him.

“Were you thinking about going to school tomorrow?”

She lightly ruffled his shaggy blonde hair and placed her arm around his shoulders.

“No, I was thinking about mamma.”

“Oh,” his face darkened, “I wish she had been here to see you graduate.”

Tara’s shoulders slumped forward and she patted the top of Donnie’s head. Even though he was a little over a year older than her most of the time she seemed like the older of the two.

“You and me both, b-bro.”

They sat there for a bit, remembering together. It was in these times that Tara could actually feel that part of Donnie had come from their mother. Aside from his fair hair, skin, and blue eyes he seemed wholly his father’s son. When they were quiet together she could feel the magic sparkling right below his surface. He did not realize that it was there. He just felt comfortable and calm in these times.

She had considered trying to tell him about the magic but their father’s strict rules against its use in his house dissuaded her from attempting it. She already felt somewhat guilty for disobeying the rule even though she found it completely without merit.

Her father had never understood magic and where it came from but he had fallen in love with a witch. He had tolerated her use of magic and her teaching the art to their daughter as long as no harm came of it and since he could find no sensible reason for her death, he blamed magic.

Though he never went to church, he was devoted to his religion in his own way and there was no reason he could find for God taking his wife away from them just as their children were beginning such important phases of their lives.

Having a great ignorance of all things mystical, he had automatically jumped to the conclusion that his wife’s devotion to her craft had somehow caused God to turn away from his family. His anger and fear of the unknown was his motivation for baring Tara from practicing witchcraft.

After a time Donnie looked toward the clock on Tara’s night stand and shook his head.

“You are going to feel awful tomorrow.”

“Why’s that,” she asked without looking away from his face. She could sometimes see their mother in his eyes.

“Well, you have to be up in, oh, three hours.”

She jumped off the bed and stretched her body, smacking him on the shoulder on her way up.

“Alright then, beat it.”

He scooted off the bed and shuffled toward her door, turning back as he grabbed the handle.

“You’re looked great in that gown,” Donnie remembered

“W-w-hat,” she stammered before realizing what he was referring to. She lowered her arms from the stretched position they had been in, “It’s just a graduation gown. I mean, I don’t think anyone looks particularly good in them.”

He smiled at the blush that radiated from her cheeks.

“It matched your cheeks… bright red.”

He softly laughed when her blush intensified. She realized what he was about and her eyes narrowed.

“Stop teasing me.”

He quickly made his way down the hall to his own room now that his sister had figured out his game.


She awoke a few minutes before her alarm went off, which was normal. Her body seemed to have a sixth sense about time. She glanced over and groaned at the display. Her t-shirt had shifted up during the night, not an unusual occurrence. The only reason she really bothered with wearing one was her brother’s knack for busing into her room at the most inopportune times. She rolled to the opposite side of the bed and buried her face in the sheet.

The sun shone brightly through her blinds across the room causing her to look into the brightness. Her mind drifted to her special place and the sun became the bright burst surrounding the beautiful face of the girl looking down at her. She looked at the picture of her mother on the desk under the windows. Her smile seemed as shiny as the sun’s deflected rays hit the glass of the picture frame.

The room that had been her home for years looked the same as it always had. It was cleaner than it usually was on account of most of the things that she used in her daily life being packed away for her trip. She loved her life with her family, but she knew she had to take this opportunity to expand her life. She had to move on and live.


Donnie poked his head through the door seeing that his sister was still in bed. “You gotta get a move on.” He shook his head and left. Tara frowned at the space he had occupied and dropped her legs to the floor. She took a shower and got dressed. As she stood in the middle of her room as its resident for the last time she felt a mix of excitement and sadness.

Tara tried to carry all her bags down the stairs at once but ended up having to make two trips to accomplish the task. She was not taking that much really, just what she needed to get her started at the dorms. She figured that she would personalize her room as the year went on and she collected little things here and there.

Tara’s father, John, sat in the kitchen finishing off breakfast. “Tara,” he called through the open doorway. Tara joined him at the kitchen table, grabbing one of the biscuits sitting on a plate. Before she could take a bite he started talking.

“Now, I know that you have had your heart set on this school, but I just want to make sure that you’re sure about going so far away. We can still get you into the community college here.” Concern laced his usually stern voice.

She smiled and steeled herself. “D-daddy, I know that I want to go. I won’t be far and I will be home a lot. I promise.” She put her uneaten biscuit back onto the plate and waited. His lips came together in a stern line before they relaxed into a frown.

“Tara, your family loves you and we want to see you to happy. So…” He trailed off and looked to the nearly empty coffee cup in front of him. He rarely showed much emotion and now he couldn’t stop it from coming out. He missed his wife terribly and their daughter was a daily reminder of her. He loved the fact that so many of her characteristics had lived on in Tara.

It broke her heart a little to see her father like this. It was the first time she had really heard him say that he loved her, even though he didn’t say the exact words she knew what he had meant. She leaned over and hugged him. He grabbed her in a vice grip after a few seconds of not responding, but abruptly broke the embrace and left the kitchen to get his emotions under control.

He passed Donnie, who looked behind him as his father went up the stairs. He could have sworn he had just seen tears in his father’s eyes. “Oh, well,” He shrugged and went into the kitchen.

He sat none too gently in the chair that had been recently vacated by his father and grabbed the biscuit that Tara had sat down. He bit off half of it in one bite. “Are you almost ready?” His voice was muffled from talking around the food in his mouth.

“That’s d-disgusting Donnie, but yes I am. I just have to load my bags.”

He grinned, “Already done.’

“Thanks,” She smiled, “Now come on lets get out of here or we will never leave.” She walked to the front door and picked up her messenger bag on the way. Donnie followed and the siblings exited the house together. Tara slid into the passenger seat of Donnie’s old jeep and took one last look at the house where she had spent so much of her youth. Donnie started the jeep and sped down the driveway.

They stopped an hour outside of the destination to refuel and get a snack. Tara was pleased that they were right on schedule and would get there in plenty of time. She was supposed to be there by four at the latest to receive her key and get moved in.

When they got back on the road Donnie noticed a clicking noise coming from under the hood. It didn’t sound too serious so he ignored it. Half an hour later the jeep sputtered and a horrible screeching noise scared both siblings. Donnie quickly maneuvered the jeep to the side of the road and jumped out. Tara followed but stayed a few feet back as he opened the hood.

“What the hell,” He exclaimed, holding a hand over his face to keep the horrible smell emanating from the car away from his nose. Tara pinched her nose as the smell reached her and backed away even farther.

“What is it?” She wanted to see what he was so surprised about but she also didn’t want to get any closer to that smell. “Come look at this,” he said, waving a hand at her. She reluctantly approached the car and peered under the hood. She saw a thick yellow substance covering the engine and other parts of the car. It sizzled where it touched the hot engine. Then the object that had made Donnie exclaim centered in her vision.

“O-oh, m-my goddess,” she whispered, “What is that?”

“You got me,” he replied, “Looks like some kind of huge bug or something, but not like any bug I’ve seen.” He paused, “Look there, I guess it got stuck under the hood and then fell into the fan belt. That is not good. It’s chewed up pretty badly.”

Tara reached out her hand toward the creature. She could sense the mystical energy surrounding the thing. She quickly pulled her hand away and looked at her brother. “Can you fix it?”

He looked from the bug to her still a bit confused. “What the car? Oh yeah, no problem. It doesn’t look like it caused that much damage. Just have to clean it up and get that thing out of there.”

Donnie had underestimated the time it took for him to get the car running again, so by the time they were both in the car and ready to go the sun was sinking. “Well, I guess we missed your move in time. What are you going to do?”

She frowned, “I g-guess I will just have to figure it out when we get there.”


Donnie turned off the highway onto the Sunnydale city streets. The sun had now gone down and the early evening darkness settled around the jeep and its occupants. The energy in the air seemed to put Tara a bit on edge. Her spidy senses were definitely tingling here. She could almost taste the mystical energy. The sensation excited and scared her at the same time.

“Where are we supposed to turn again,” Donnie interrupted her reverie. He looked from side to side, clearly lost. Tara pulled the directions she had gotten off of the internet out of her bag. “Um, what road are we on?”

“Hell, if I know,” he huffed back.

She glanced at him annoyed. “Just keep going and we’ll see.” She looked ahead and wondered if anything else could go wrong before they got to the university. She sighed chiding herself for such a dangerous thought. Now something crazy would probably happen, like a giant fluffy lamb would frisk through the road making them… Her thoughts trailed off as she saw the street sign at the end of the road.

“We’re on the right road!” She scared Donnie with her enthused exclamation so much so that he was distracted when a large man ran into the road with a small blonde girl not far behind.

“Donnie,” Tara yelled. He turned his attention back to the road and swerved. The jeep skidded sideways onto the sidewalk before rolling over. The momentum of the jeep rolled the passenger side into a lamp post.

Soon a red headed girl and young man joined the small blonde girl on the road. They all stared in disbelief at the jeep sitting crushed on the side of the road.
"You are an octagon of evil. That is eight sides of badness."
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Re: Fic: AU - You Are The One

Postby Willowtree252 » Mon Apr 09, 2007 4:55 pm

:pinky That was sweet that you gave Tara a family that love,s her. Donnie was sweet and her father seemed to care. BUT hello what a curve ball you threw me missy :fallen meanie I hope she is alright Willow and Xander better hurry and help now I am all :sob and :impatient so get to :kgeek
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Re: Fic: AU - You Are The One

Postby tazraven » Mon Apr 09, 2007 6:03 pm

Alright, officially intrigued here. You have a very nice writing style. It flows and is very descriptive in the right places. I'm also enjoying the relationship you've set up betwen Tara and her family. I'm interested to see how that changes Tara's personality, if at all.

Also, her visions. Her meditation to that place, very interesting as well. So, she's seeing Willow in her dreams, eh? Looking forwards to seeing where that goes. And poor Donny and Tara. But I hope that the red-haired girl will be able to help them ;-) Really great start so far. I look forwards to another update.

~Sara
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Re: Fic: AU - You Are The One

Postby JustSkipIt » Mon Apr 09, 2007 6:55 pm

I'm really interested in your start here. I meditate and would really like to get my son to start too. Now they're in Sunnydale and had an accident? That's a bit worrysome.
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Re: Fic: AU - You Are The One

Postby db » Mon Apr 09, 2007 10:02 pm

Hey!

Good start... I just found this story and it seems interesting and well written and I'm interested in finding out what happens next.... I just hope Tara and Donnie are ok.

db

ps(I am glad that you didn't write Tara's as being the horrible asshat that he was on the show)
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Re: Fic: AU - You Are The One

Postby KloeFrost » Mon Apr 09, 2007 11:24 pm

I just want to drop in to say how cool this fic is. ^^
Keep up the good work
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Re: Fic: AU - You Are The One

Postby BlackIndiaInk » Tue Apr 10, 2007 3:36 am

Dianneswillowtree: I always understood that they gave Tara an awful backwards family to drive her character development and make the scoobs rally around her. Still, I always envisioned a kinder family for her. So, I couldn't resist writing it. I can't see her father being all lovey dovey and in touch with his emotions, but I can see him as I wrote him. As for the curve ball... life in Sunnydale would not be... well, life in Sunnydale without a few curves now and again. ;-) As always, thanks for reading and commenting.

Sara: I've always loved that name by the way. Thanks for the compliments on the writing style. Believe me I have to go through the story a few dozen times before I am satisfied that I am being descriptive while still moving the story along. I am glad that I seem to be pulling it off.

Tara's family is going to be quite a bit more involved in her life than they were on the show. So, you would be correct in saying that it will effect her personality in some way.

JustSkipIt: Thanks for replying and I must say I enjoy your stories very much. I especially loved all the referances you made to physical thearpy in Paths Diverged/Divulged. I am a PT student and it was nice to see some things that I could really relate to in a W/T fic.

As for meditation, I also meditate daily and seeing as it is such a part of my life I thought it would be interesting if it was the same way for Tara. Glad to know there is another meditator, not to be confused with a po-tater... wow as Ben would say, that sounded a lot funnier in my head. Anyway, my nutty brain aside, I am glad you want your son to meditate as well. It is a good tradition to start.

Yes, mishaps and mayhem are always worrysome, but you know the girls have to have something to bring them together.. why not a big honkin' disaster? Thanks so much for posting.

db: I am glad you found the story. Donnie and Tara will be... well just wait for the next update. :kdevil

KloeFrost: Thanks for the cool comment. ;-)

I am very grateful to everyone in general for reading and letting me know how I am doing. Well, its early so I am turning in. I hope that everyone has a great day. I will update soon, scouts honor.
"You are an octagon of evil. That is eight sides of badness."
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Fic - AU You Are The One - Chapter 4 - Broken

Postby BlackIndiaInk » Wed Apr 11, 2007 1:38 pm

Title:You Are The One

Chapter: Broken

Author: BlackIndiaInk

Rating: PG

Pairing: W/T

Feedback: Please do... comments, questions and constructive criticism are welcomed.

Spoilers: None

Disclaimers: Yo, I didn't create them, but I love to use them. Thanks Joss and Mutant Enemy

Distribution: Ask please...

Note: Xander never left on his trip for the summer. If anyone is wondering about Oz.... well, lets just say that even though he was interested in Willow they never got together, more on that later.

Note: This, as you can tell from the subject line, is going to be AU. The bumps in the night still exist but Tara didn't run away to Sunnydale. Her father is a misguided man, but not the horror of a father that we saw in the episode Family. If you have questions please ask. Don't worry we will get to some Willow and Tara goodness eventually.

Note: I would have posted this last night but my brain was a little wacky and I wanted to review and edit it one more time. Plus, if I post right before I head off to work it will be up about the time when all the normal people are getting home from work/school.(Baring different time zones) Hope you enjoy.

Chapter 4: Broken

“Buffy, what happened,” Willow shouted. She, Buffy and Xander stood in the middle of the road taking in the sight of the smashed vehicle lying against a lamp post in front of them. She knew her voice was louder than her proximity to her friends warranted, but the scene before her was shocking.

The top of the jeep, which was covered by the thick plastic and vinyl that was common to that model of jeep, had been torn wide open as the top of the vehicle had come into contact with the concrete of the sidewalk.

The front of the jeep had been partially crushed and the hood had been completely torn off. It sat a few yards away, bent at the corners where it had snapped off of its hinges.


Buffy shook her head slowly. “I don’t know. I was chasing the vamp and, and… they came out of nowhere.” She snapped out of her shocked state and rushed toward the overturned jeep forgetting everything else.


The vampire they had been chasing had stopped running when they had and now saw his chance to attack when they weren’t playing attention to him. He circled widely around the group and rushed Buffy from the left as she ran toward the jeep.

“Oaff,” Buffy huffed as she was taken down by the huge vampire. She landed on her right side and rolled. The vampire was now on top of her, straddling her midsection. “Get off me,” she yelled. She grabbed his shoulder and rolled him over onto his back., reversing their positions.

Xander quickly reached into the lower pocket of his cargo pants and grabbed the stake that was waiting there. “Buffy, catch,” he yelled, tossing the stake at her. She never got a chance to catch it.

The vampire pushed up and into her chest with all his strength. She landed a few feet away and the stake clattered uselessly on the ground and rolled to the vampire’s feet. He grinned, showing his sharp white teeth, but his glee quickly turned into a shock when he felt his body turning to dust.

“Got him,” Willow said proudly from behind the pile of dust, “He never saw it coming.” She turned back to the wreck across the road. Buffy followed her gaze and jumped from her position on the ground and sprinted once again toward the twisted metal and broken glass that used to be Donnie’s jeep.

Willow followed Buffy pulling out her cell phone as she went. She dialed 911 and waited for the dispatcher’s voice to come over the line. She stopped slightly behind Buffy who was looking into the jeep to see if she could help the people inside. “Anyone awake in there,” she called. She waited a few moments and received no answer.

“Willow, how is that call coming,” Buffy looked into the driver’s side window, which had lost it’s plastic covering, to see a blond haired man about her own age. His body was out of the driver’s seat and his right arm and shoulder protruded from the window.

She moved her head to the right and caught a glimpse of long blonde hair swinging slowly in the passenger seat. She couldn’t see that well because Donnie’s body was partially blocking her view.

The pole that the jeep was leaning on was not allowing much light to enter the jeep from that side so a large shadow was cast across Tara’s still form. She glanced back at Willow and Xander who were crowding in behind her.

Willow held up a finger as she talked excitedly to the person on the other end of the line. Buffy looked into the back seat and saw nothing but a few bags that had been tossed around by the collision. She briefly considered trying to get the injured passengers out of the jeep.

“No, I don’t know,” Willow said agitated, “Here talk to my friend she is actually looking inside the car.” She handed the phone to Buffy who quickly took it from her.

Willow knelt down beside Buffy while Xander did the same on her other side. She could see the smoke still rising from the fresh wreck. She lowered her head to get a better look and first saw the young man. He had a huge gash that started on his lower cheek and disappeared into his hairline. She observed that that was his only visible injury, but it was hard to tell since his body was crumpled into a heap half inside and half outside of the jeep.

Then, she caught a glimpse of fair hair beyond him. She leaned a little farther, her face almost touching the ground, and gasped when the girl’s face, half covered in shadow, came into view.

“Two passengers… both unconscious,” she heard Buffy say.

She stood and hurried around the side of the jeep. When she approached the part of the jeep where it leaned against the pole she sat on the ground avoiding the broken glass from the windshield that was strewn all round her and scooted until she was as close to the car window as she could get. The jeep was tilted at an angle so she had to duck her head to avoid hitting it.

“Willow, get away from there. You don’t know what could happen. This thing could blow up.” Xander rushed around to Willow and stood anxiously while she ignored him and leaned forward closer to the window.

The pole only covered the left half of the window so she could actually see pretty far in from her where she sat. She put her hand on the concrete to support her weight and moved to her knees so she could lean even farther into the jeep. The distinct smell of blood was the first thing she noticed.

From her new position she could see the girl clearly now. She moved her hand from the concrete to the window of the jeep, but quickly pulled it back when she felt moisture on it. She looked at her palm to find it coated in warm blood.

She gasped as she looked back to where her hand had been, seeing a growing puddle of the red substance pooling on what was left of the vinyl roof of the jeep. Her eyes followed the trail as it dribbled onto the sidewalk. Determined to get a closer look, she took a deep breath and shoved her face as far into the window as she could. The girl inside was clearly held in place by the seat belt that she was wearing.

“Hey there, you’re going to be fine,” Willow said fruitlessly. Her inability to help the girl in any way was irritating. There had to be something she could be doing. She had been doing something but her anxiousness had caused her to turn the phone over to Buffy.

Now she sat uselessly beside a badly injured girl she didn’t even know feeling guilty for her miniscule part in the accident. She was concentrating so heavily on the girl she nearly forgot that there was another crash victim to consider. She looked past the girl to the blonde man.

“Ambulance is on its way,” Buffy said from the other side of the wreck, cutting off Willow’s thoughts. The slayer joined Xander who was still standing behind Willow. “What do you see, Will?” Buffy pushed the receiver end of the phone away from her mouth so the dispatcher wouldn’t think that she was interrupting him.

“She’s hurt really bad,” Willow said. She reached out toward the girls face and drew back the curtain of hair that was hanging there. She once again felt sticky blood on her hand as her fingers brushed the girl’s face. It seemed that Willow couldn’t get near the girl’s body without getting more blood on herself.

The pale cheek her hand contacted was cold to the touch. The loss of so much blood had caused her body to cool to a temperature that felt like ice. Willow jerked her hand back when she felt a shock like static electricity. She looked back and forth from her hand to the girl.

“Should we try to get them out,” Xander asked. Willow looked back at him and her answer was cut off by Buffy. “Not a chance, we could injure them even more than they already are.” Willow nodded and returned her gaze to the injured girl.

They could hear the ambulance sirens before they saw the actual ambulances. They arrived around fifteen minutes after Willow had placed the call. They screeched to a halt in front of the jeep. A police car was not far behind. Xander and Buffy approached the ambulance as the paramedics jumped down and ran towards them.

Willow still sat next to the jeep keeping an eye on the unconscious girl. This whole event had put her into a strange state. Even though both Buffy and Xander had tried to convince her to back away from the wreck she refused and stubbornly sat just outside of the jeep looking in on the girl hanging upside down.

She had a great urge to move the girl and make her more comfortable. It was like a persistent itch, but she refrained from taking any action and kept her hands outside the jeep even though she wanted to reach toward the girl again.

The paramedics each approached opposite sides of the jeep. The one that came to Willow’s side knelt down next to her.


“Ma’am I need you to move away,” she said gently, “I need to get in there so I can help them.” Willow quickly scooted away from the window to allow the woman to do her job, but she stayed close to see if any progress was being made. She looked toward the ambulances and saw that two more police cars had arrived and two policemen were busy talking to Buffy and Xander.

“We need to get them out of there, Sandra!” The paramedic next to Willow turned at the sound of her partner’s voice. “I know,” She said under her breath. “This one has lost a lot of blood,” she said louder so her partner could hear. The paramedics conversed back and forth about the condition of the two victims until they were satisfied that they had a solid plan.

Willow stood as close as the medical workers would allow as they pulled Donnie from the jeep with relative ease. His condition was obviously less serious than that of his sister. One of the emergency workers made sure he was stabilized while the others worked on Tara.

The position of the post against the jeep made Tara’s extraction problematic. The paramedics and police discussed the best way to proceed. They finally decided that the only way would be to gently pull her out through the driver’s side.

Sandra crawled across the car through the window and tired to further assess Tara’s condition. Quite awhile later the emergency workers had Tara free of the debris. Sandra and her partner snapped a scoop stretcher together under the blonde.

This particular stretcher gently scooped Tara’s body up allowing them to support her body in the position she was currently in rather than having to risk further injury by moving her body to place it on regular stretcher.

Buffy, Willow and Xander watched the paramedics carry the crash victims away. “What should we do,” Xander asked. The police had taken statements from all three of them and they were now free to go.

Willow unconsciously wiped her hands on her jeans smearing blood on them then turned to look at her friends. “I don’t know about you guys, but I am going to the hospital.”

Buffy nodded in her direction. “Me too,” she stated. Both girls looked at Xander.

“Let’s go then.” He started in the direction that the ambulances were taking but stopped when he noticed that neither girl was following. “What?”

Buffy raised an eyebrow. “Oh,” he said, “Driving would probably be better.” They all turned toward the direction that hey had originally come from when they were chasing the vampire.

They reached Xander’s small car that was parked in the lot next to one of the many cemeteries in Sunnydale. He had saved enough money over the summer to buy the unremarkable vehicle, which made their lives a bit easier. Buffy jumped in the back while Willow took the passenger seat.

Xander started the car and glanced over at Willow. “You okay,” he asked. He could tell that his friend was very upset by the events of the night. She noted his concern, but she couldn’t concentrate on it. “Fine, let’s get going.” She couldn’t explain it but she needed to know what was happening to the two accident victims and specifically the blonde girl.

Xander merely nodded and drove in the direction of a place that the scoobies knew well, Sunnydale Memorial.

Willow knew the hospital like she knew her own house so she walked directly to where they would admit Tara and Donnie. The trio entered the emergency room and stopped near the nurse’s station.

No one was really sure how to proceed. They all knew the ins and outs of basic hospital policy, which lead to no one being able to get information unless they could prove that they were relatives of one of the victims.

Willow paced back and forth in front of the plastic chairs arranged opposite the nurse’s station. She stopped her movement and looked to her companions when her brain failed to produce a viable option. The blank looks that they gave her made her start pacing again.

“Take it easy,” Buffy said, “We will figure something out.”

“She’s right, Will,” Xander nodded toward Buffy, “Why don’t you two take a seat and I’ll go see if I can get any information, okay?”

He rarely saw Willow this upset unless there was an apocalypse on the horizon. He was in shock about the accident too but his friend’s reaction seemed a bit overmuch. It was as if she had a very personal interest in the victims. Furthermore, he was confused by her blatant refusal to leave the unconscious girl’s side even when both he and Buffy had urged her to. He was pretty sure that she didn’t know either the girl or the guy.

Willow’s mind rebelled against his suggestion. Her mind was not cooperating with her. She knew that he was being logical, but her brain was being irrational. She wanted information now and she knew that the hospital staff wouldn’t give it up easily. She crossed her arms over her body and leaned her head down, chewing on her thumb.

Buffy gently grasped her arm and lead her friend to the seat nearest them, then motioned for Xander to go talk to the nurse at the desk. He pursed his lips and turned around. He approached the desk and smiled at the nurse.

She looked up from the chart she was reading when she noticed him. “Can I help you?”

“I hope so,” he replied.

Xander tried not to lie but he had found that being a scooby required him to occasionally come up with little white lies that benefited the greater good. Still, it always felt wrong.

“My sister and brother were in an accident…”

He was cut off when a harried male nurse rushed up to the female nurse that he was talking to. He ignored the young man’s presence and proceeded to speak quietly to the other nurse. She nodded her head and picked up the phone behind her, having forgotten about Xander. He watched curiously as she dialed a long distance number.

“May I speak to Mr. Maclay,” she said into the receiver, “Sir, this is Ruth Mills I am a nurse at Sunnydale Memorial Hospital. I need to inform you that your son, Donnie Maclay, and daughter, Tara Maclay, were in an accident and are currently in our care.”

She listened to Mr. Maclay for a moment before interrupting him. “No sir, it happened about an hour ago. The police were not able to find a number to reach you at.”

Xander could now hear the man on the other end of the line. Even though he was several feet away from the nurse the rising level of the man’s voice allowed him to pick up a few words from Mr. Maclay’s end of the conversation.

“I can’t give you that information right now. It is too early to tell,” The nurse paused, “Okay, yes sir.” She sighed and then hung up the phone. When she turned around Xander was gone. Her conversation with Mr. Maclay put his earlier presence out of her mind.

Buffy looked up as Xander approached them causing Willow to snap her head up. He noted that her thumb was red where she had been chewing on it.

“Did they give you any info,” Buffy asked?



Tara was happy again. She was in her haven, and her spirit finally felt fixed here. Everything was just as it had been last time she had visited. The field looked perfect, as always. If anything it was even better than it had been before. Everything seemed a little bit more defined. She was able to feel the texture of everything surrounding her as she did back in her other reality.

She looked around at her surroundings again. The only thing missing was the read headed girl. She frowned and looked up at the tree above her. She wondered where the girl could be. She had always been waiting for Tara when she had come here before.

A light wind rustled her hair and brought with it an idea. A grin exploded on her face and she quickly crossed her legs and concentrated. She pulled up an image of the girl’s face and gradually focused more of her mind on finding the girl’s whereabouts.

When she felt she was fully focused she poured all her energy into willing the girl to her. Images flashed in her mind as if being displayed on a screen. White tile floor, a freckled arm and the face of a handsome, shaggy haired guy all passed through her mind. She let the images go and doubled her effort. Minutes later, she was rewarded when she felt the presence of the object of her focus. She opened her eyes to see a bewildered read head starting back at her.
Last edited by BlackIndiaInk on Fri Apr 13, 2007 11:45 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"You are an octagon of evil. That is eight sides of badness."
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Re: Fic: AU - You Are The One

Postby Auriam » Wed Apr 11, 2007 1:47 pm

DIBS !
wow it's the first time i let a post for this story !
and really i like it please keep writing !
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Re: Fic: AU - You Are The One

Postby will » Wed Apr 11, 2007 3:37 pm

Hey I love your story it's interesting, really good idea.
Please update soon.
*Will*

It only take a minute to see that someone is special an hour to appreciate and a day to love that person. But it take forever to forget.
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Re: Fic: AU - You Are The One

Postby BlackIndiaInk » Fri Apr 13, 2007 11:49 pm

Auriam Thanks for your comment. More will be up by Monday at the lastest. It has been a busy week. Brandi Carlile and loads of work. ;-)

Will Thanks, the idea was easy to come by. It's the words that are harder. :-D
Last edited by BlackIndiaInk on Sat Apr 14, 2007 2:14 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Fic: AU - You Are The One

Postby spells42 » Sat Apr 14, 2007 2:08 am

I just read this story, and I really like it. It's interesting that Tara meets (presumably) Willow when she's meditating - I wonder if Willow has done the same, or maybe dreamed of Tara. You don't mention anything beyond her unidentified urge to stay close to Tara, but maybe she hasn't remembered... yet.

Anyway, great story. Looking forward to more
Anne
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Re: Fic: AU - You Are The One

Postby Numen » Sat Apr 14, 2007 2:35 am

I just started to read this, and all I can say is Wow! I'm really enjoying this :party
I write about leaves falling like snow//darkening the ground//About escape to despair//grief so essential//
Sadness greeted with tears of joy//
So I could dwell in my own pain//break through the bottom//and get saved from the light
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Fic: AU - You Are The One - Chapter 5

Postby BlackIndiaInk » Mon Apr 16, 2007 12:19 am

Spells42: Anne Thanks! I am afraid I won't be giving your curosity much satisfaction in this chapter, soon though. Stay tuned. ;-)

Numen: I am glad you are enjoying it. I hope you like the next chapter.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Title:You Are The One

Chapter: Perpetual Scooby Confusion

Author: BlackIndiaInk - Brea

Rating: PG-13

Pairing: W/T

Feedback: Please do... comments, questions and constructive criticism are welcomed and even needed.

Spoilers: None, unless you've been in a cave. If you have then I take that back.

Disclaimers: Yo, I didn't create them, but I love to use them. Thanks Joss and Mutant Enemy

Distribution: Ask please...

Summary: Tara goes to off to college and meets someone she thought only existed in her mind.

Note: As promised here is the next chapter. Willow and Tara are the witchy wonder bread in an other character sandwich.

Note/request: If anything here seems wonky let me know. I worked twelve hours yesterday and then wrote this. I am pretty sure that I've gotten all the kinks out but I just want to make sure that its all understandable.

Chapter 5 - Perpetual Scooby Confusion

Willow had been concentrating on what Xander was saying when she started to feel dizzy. She looked first left and then right when everything became blurry. She blinked a few times trying to clear her vision but it only seemed to get worse. She hated feeling dizzy. It lead to nausea and that in turn lead to one cranky Willow. This time it seemed like was going to lead to one passed out Willow

Finally, everything faded from her vision until she was surrounded by blackness. She was faintly aware of Buffy calling her name and then felt Xander grab her by the shoulders as she started to sway to the side. His hands felt like they were touching her from light-years away. Gradually, she gave up and sank into unconsciousness.

When she opened her eyes again she was in an unfamiliar, yet strangely comforting, setting. Though she was sitting just as she had been when she blacked out, but she was no longer in the hospital.

A gorgeous field stretched as far as she could see and there were packages and platters of every food she could imagine surrounding a tree. Sitting next to the tree was the only familiar thing in the whole place, the blonde girl from the car wreck. Willow’s mouth opened and closed. She was speechless for once.

Tara looked back at the read head wondering why the girl didn’t seem to recognize her. She wanted to reach out and comfort the girl but didn't when she saw that the red head was freaking out.

Willow looked wildly around again trying to make sense of her disappearing act. She was sitting directly facing the blonde girl who didn’t look at all confused by what was happening.

“Um, hi,” Was all Willow could manage.

She had far too many questions bouncing around in her skull to verbalize. So, for now her mouth would remain unable to adequately produce them. She looked down and finally noticed that she was sitting on a huge root that arched a couple of feet out of the ground. It was a bit uncomfortable, just as the plastic hospital chair had been.

“Hi,” Tara returned, then added, “Are you okay?” She watched as Willow considered the question.

Willow supportd herself with her hands on either side of her legs then scooted off the root and onto the ground, which felt somehow more comfortable to sit on than the ground should feel.

Her brain was processing all the information as it came to her. Still, none of it was making sense. She was in this place that seemed perfect and very safe, with someone that she had never actually met, someone who looked damn good for just having been in a car accident.

There were no cuts or scrapes on the girl that Willow could see. She distinctly remembered all the blood that had been dripping down the side of the girl’s face while she was hanging upside down in the overturned jeep.

“Shouldn’t I be asking you that question,” Willow blinked, “And for that matter who are you and where are we?” Her hand gestured slowly at Tara as she spoke.

The fact that they really knew nothing about each other dawned on Tara. The time constraints that she had been under every time she visited here had kept her from finding out anything other than that the read head had a fondness for chocolate covered almonds and that she disliked frogs.

“I’m Tara,” she stated then continued, “And, what do you mean shouldn’t you be asking me that?”

“This is all very confusing.” Willow sighed and silently wished that her life wasn’t always so complicated. “You don’t know?” When Tara shook her head she knew she would have to explain the events of the night.

“We were chasing this behemoth of a vampire…”

“Vampire?” Tara interrupted her. She knew that vampires existed but she couldn’t imagine why this girl had been chasing one.

“Yeah, you know the evil monsters that try to suck your blood, they’re real. I promise,” she threw up her hands exasperated, “I’m not saying this right. I probably sound like a crazy person to you.”

“It’s okay I know vampires exist. I was just a little surprised.” She half grinned at Willow. Her hand motions had been adorable.

Tara’s words and grin reassured Willow so she continued. “My best friend, Buffy, is the slayer, in other words the one girl chosen to hunt and kill vampires, and just about everything else of the evil variety.She is super strong and has these amazing fighting skills.”

“Oh,” Tara said as if she understood though she was still confused as to why the girl had been chasing a vampire and not the other way around.

Willow continued, “So, we’re chasing this vampire. Buffy was in front of me and my other best friend, Xander. She runs really fast being the slayer and all so she was quite a ways ahead of us. I am not really sure what happened after that exactly. I just know that when we caught up there was this big car wreck.

Then, the vampire attacked when he saw we weren’t paying attention to him and I staked him.” Her chest puffed up a bit with pride when she remembered that she had dusted the huge vampire.

“After he was gone we went to see if we could help with the wreck and you were inside the upside down car with this guy.” She didn’t mention how she had felt drawn to the blonde and had refused to leave her side until the paramedics had come.

“Wait, I was in a wreck?” Tara sat confused for a moment. She thought hard. “I was…” she stopped speaking when she started to remember. Her head shook back and forth quickly as the wreck started coming back to her. She had never really thought about how she had gotten here and why she felt more substantial in this reality now when she hadn’t before. Am I dead, she wondered? She didn’t feel dead.

Willow saw realization flash across Tara’s face. She reached out to try to comfort her without thinking about it. The girl was obviously remembering the trauma of the accident.

“We were in an accident,” she reached up and felt the spot on her head that had bleeding profusely after she had been propelled forward and hit the metal dash in front of her when the jeep rolled over. “I guess I just assumed that I had been meditating again.”

Willow had no idea what Tara was talking about, but she kept her mouth shut recognizing that the girl needed a moment.

“Is Donnie okay?” Tara suddenly asked.

“The guy with you,” Willow assumed, “He seemed like he would be okay. I don’t think he was hurt as badly as…” She trailed off and looked down.

“Me,” Tara finished for her. She didn’t want to ask the obvious question but she had to know. “Am I dead?”

Willow’s eyes widened at the suggestion. “No, at least, I am pretty sure you aren't. You were in bad shape but alive when they took you away. We went to the hospital but I didn’t get a chance to see how you were doing before I was… well… here.” The last part was the only way she could think of to describe her appearance in the field.

Tara’s anxiety about her condition was slightly relieved by the red head’s words. “Look,” She stopped when she realized that she had never found out her companion’s name.

Willow looked up when she stopped speaking and seemed to know what Tara was thinking by looking at her.

“Willow,” she said.

Tara smiled, “That’s pretty.”

Both girls were distracted from their discourse when the tree beside them started to change shape. They backed away from the contorting bark. The trunk of the tree shrunk until it was half the size it had been, pulling its roots underground until they were no longer visible. The ground naturally reformed as if nothing had happened and grass sprouted where the roots had been.

The branches shrunk in size as well, becoming so small at the ends that they hung over with the weight of the leaves on them. The blossoms changed to a dull green and became long, narrow leaves.

Willow gasped when she realized that the huge tree had just turned into her namesake. “A weeping willow,” she turned her eyes to Tara, “How did you do that?”

“I didn’t,” Tara looked at the ground, “At least I don’t think I did.”

“This night keeps getting weirder and weirder.”

Tara nodded in agreement as both girls relaxed.

Willow finally asked one of the first questions that had occurred to her. “Where the hell are we?”

Tara sighed in response. “That is a good question.”



Buffy and Xander were freaking out. Their friend had passed out and neither of them could figure out why. Xander sat in the chair next to Willow and held her upper body in his arms so she wouldn’t fall over while Buffy ran for help. Thank goodness they were in the hospital. Xander tried to quell his fears about Willow but every time something like this happened to one of his friends he could not shake the feeling of impending doom.

Buffy reached the nurse’s station only to find that the nurse on duty was nowhere to be seen. “Shouldn’t there be more than one person here,” she mumbled to herself.

“Hey is anyone back there,” she called loudly, “We need help out here.” When no one answered she got frustrated. She first looked around for any other available medical personnel. She was amazed when she didn’t see any in the immediate area.

She bounded around the desk and rushed through the door behind it. The room she entered held a few pieces of office equipment and a large wall full of slots that were occupied by tan files with multicolored tabs. She pushed through the door straight ahead of her.

In this room she found the reason that her call for help had gone unanswered. Two nurses, including the one who had been at the desk, leaned against opposite counters in the small room, laughing loudly. They were holding coffee mugs and apparently discussing something very amusing. Both nurses looked at Buffy when they realized that she didn’t belong there.

“We need help out here.” Buffy stated before whirling around and proceeding back through the doors that she had come through. The shocked nurses followed, setting their coffee down on the way.

Buffy and the nurses reached the sitting pair quickly.

“What happened,” the desk nurse asked. She knelt down next to the chair that Willow was occupying and began to check her vitals.

“She just passed out,” Buffy replied. She walked around the row of chairs so she could see what the nurses were doing.

The desk nurse turned to the other nurse. “Go grab Dr. Stintson.” She felt guilty that she had taken a few moments away from her post to gossip and that Buffy had caught her. A healthy fear of consequences convinced her to make sure this girl was taken care of.



John Maclay was not known for his patience. It had taken all the discipline he had in him not to explode at the nurse when she had called. Instead he had kept the call short, sticking to getting the pertinent facts.

He threw his tan coat on over the red plaid, flannel shirt he wore. He looked around spotting his keys on the small wooden table in the entry way. He scooped them up on his way to the door.

When it stuck, as it was apt to do, he cursed and pulled harder. He heard the splintering of wood and knew that he had pulled a little too hard. It didn’t matter though. He needed to get to his kids. He pulled the door shut behind him, which was made more difficult by the piece of wood now hanging from the frame. As soon as his hand left the handle it popped back open. He ignored the door and jumped from the porch to the ground, bypassing the five steps that would have slowed him down.

He reached his truck and prayed that it would start this time. When roared to live he shoved the gear shift into its proper place and took off down the drive. He would not let his children slip away. They were all he had left.



Tara thought hard about her reply to Willow’s question. If Willow knew about vampires then she might know that magic was real, right? Tara was slowly working out what was going on.

Willow had been patiently waiting but was now getting a little tired. She was worried and confused but every moment she spent in this place, with this girl, seemed to make her more comfortable and she was beginning to get a nagging feeling. This, combined with her initial confusion made her all the more eager for answers. She almost jumped when Tara began to speak.

“I don’t know how much you know about witches and magic, but I am one. When I was little my mom taught me how to meditate and now I do it every day. It helps me to focus and cleanses me of negative energy.”

Willow almost interjected to tell Tara that she also dabbled in magics but though it would be best to let her get her story out.

“Awhile back I had a particularly bad day and I was meditating,” Tara didn’t want to go into her mother’s death at present so she kept her explanation to that, “and I don’t really know how I did it, but I came here. Then the next night the same thing happened. It has gone on for months now. Every time I meditate I end up here.”

She stopped to see if Willow was understanding her story. “Go on,” the red head prompted. Tara was hesitating because she didn’t know how Willow was going to react to the next part of her story.

“Well, everything was just like it is now.” She looked behind her at the tree that had recently changed form. She pointed at it, “Except the tree never did that before.” She looked into Willow eyes. “You were always here waiting for me.”

“Me?” Willow was fairly certain that she had never seen the blonde before she had witnessed the wreck. The nagging feeling returned to her.

Tara nodded, “We would sit here, talking and eating until I had to go back.”

“I don’t understand why you think I was here. I was definitely there not here. I mean not there but where I was supposed to be.” Willow was beginning to confuse herself all over again. Tara laughed softly at her companion’s wacky attempt at explaining her whereabouts. Willow decided that she greatly enjoyed the sound of Tara’s laugh.

“Now you’re laughing at me and I have no idea where I am or why I am here. It’s a nice place but I kinda think I should get back. I mean, sure glad that you’re all with the not being hurt, but I want to know why. I mean is this some kind of dream?”

Willow finished her speech and looked expectantly at the blonde, who really had no idea how to answer any of her questions at present. She wished that they didn’t have to worry about it, that they could just sit back and get to know each other. She finally had the woman she had been thinking about constantly with her but the circumstances prevented her from enjoying it the way she wanted.

“Willow,” she said the name slowly, savoring the way it rolled out of her mouth, “I really don’t know why we’re here. I do know that I had no idea that you really existed until now. I am pretty much figuring that you do judging by your reaction to being here. I thought you were just someone that my mind had created.”

Through listening to Willow she had figured out that the girl was a real person who she had somehow been interacting with on this plane. If that was true then she had just pulled Willow out of the real world and into this place. Tara looked at her hands, letting her long hair form a curtain around her face. She felt downright guilty.
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Re: Fic: AU - You Are The One

Postby Willowtree252 » Mon Apr 16, 2007 3:46 am

Dibs This story is so full of mystery and I love it cant wait for more
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Re: Fic: AU - You Are The One

Postby JustSkipIt » Tue Apr 17, 2007 4:14 am

Wow. I really like and am impressed with this story. I feel like you have done a very good job of capturing Willow’s confusion along with the intensity of her emotion. When they first saw the accident and then Willow was trying to reach Tara, without even knowing who she is, it was very easy to understand that she felt strongly without understanding why she felt so strongly. And I actually really like that we don’t know (unless I’ve missed it) whether Willow is out. I like that we are absent her musings on either “wow, Tara is so cute. She’d never like me…” or “Why do I feel this way about her…” I kind of feel like either would be a distraction from both the initial attraction she feels toward Tara (whether it’s sexual or not) in the world and in the meditative space.

Speaking of the meditative space. I’m just getting back into meditating after years of doing it very sporadically (for about 3-4 years I was very consistent, meditating every day or 6 days a week) and then didn’t for a long time. So this morning I went to the gym to workout and when I got home the family was still asleep and I started to read this and then was like, “Hey. I could go meditate!” So I did and came back to it. Thanks for the unintentional nudge. And yes, I would love to get my son meditating. We got him a very cute kid-sized zafu cushion with glow-in-the dark stars and moons for his 2nd birthday and have tried to meditate with him but he’s just all over the place. We do though, have a “quiet spot” or a “thinking spot” and he will go there to calm down sometimes. I would love to continue working on it with him.

I’m really fascinated about the ultimate main plot here. I see there being two issues to move along: Tara’s father’s issues with her leaving home, doing magic, and (I assume) seeing women and Tara & Willow’s relationship. I am very curious about where it is going.

I’m also curious about Willow’s prior presence in Tara’s meditative plane. Given that this time Willow lost consciousness, where was she the other times? Did it happen to be that Tara meditated at times that Willow was sleeping because it’s obvious that Willow doesn’t remember that plane at all but given that she’s a real person, I’m not sure that her soul could independently take that journey without her. Does that question make sense? I’m also very interested in Tara’s meditative style. It seems very creationary. I generally do a mantra-meditation working on stilling the action and noises and sensations etc. Occasionally I attempt to visualize a destination or goal or to work on forgiveness or compassion but usually I am just trying to clear everything out to a lack of thought. You know?

Anyway, I’m kind of on topic and kind of off. I can’t wait to read more.

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Re: Fic: AU - You Are The One

Postby db » Tue Apr 17, 2007 1:43 pm

Hey -

This story is really neat!

I am intrigued by this land that tara travel to when she meditates... I don't think it is just a figment of her imagination and now I am all curious about how she was able to suck willow into it... did she imagine willow before or was willow there in a dream/fuge-like state? Also, I wonder if willow is all faint-y and sucked there now, but didn't know how to get there or even that she had been there before (was she? there before?) will Willow be stuck there?

Also, I hope Tara is ok.

Keep up the good work, I am enjoying your story!

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Re: Fic: AU - You Are The One

Postby BlackIndiaInk » Wed Apr 18, 2007 10:35 pm

Howdy! I expect to update this by Friday. I had hoped that it would be sooner but I was held up by having to work extra hours this week. Now, some responses to feedback.

JustSkipIt: Deb, thanks for your insightful feedback. It is the kind of stuff I dream about getting.

And I actually really like that we don’t know (unless I’ve missed it) whether Willow is out. I like that we are absent her musings on either “wow, Tara is so cute. She’d never like me…” or “Why do I feel this way about her…” I kind of feel like either would be a distraction from both the initial attraction she feels toward Tara (whether it’s sexual or not) in the world and in the meditative space.



- No, you didn't miss anything. I always felt a little disatisfied with Willow's coming out on the show. I have started this at the begining of season 4 so I can address that. I want to go through it with her. I hope I can do the process justice. I don't think Willow (my version at least) would have such direct thoughts about Tara at this point. That would come after she thinks she's kinda gay in my book... or fic rather.

Thanks for the unintentional nudge.


-No problem! It's like my super power. ;-)

I’m really fascinated about the ultimate main plot here. I see there being two issues to move along: Tara’s father’s issues with her leaving home, doing magic, and (I assume) seeing women and Tara & Willow’s relationship. I am very curious about where it is going.


- It is good to know that I am doing my job as a writer. In a way I am using Tara's father as an outlet for similar issues that I've witnessed recently. I have a friend whose father disowned her (ripped his shirt off and all) when she was seventeen for something that would be considered an even slighter offence than what Tara is commiting by breaking her father's rule about practicing magic.

-As for Willow and Tara's relationship... I am a bit of a tease at times but we will get there, no worries.

Did it happen to be that Tara meditated at times that Willow was sleeping because it’s obvious that Willow doesn’t remember that plane at all but given that she’s a real person, I’m not sure that her soul could independently take that journey without her. Does that question make sense?


- I was worried about the same thing when I was making the initial outline for the fic. I came to a conclusion that made sense to me and I am getting help from other sources to make sure it doesn't make sense to just me.

I’m also very interested in Tara’s meditative style. It seems very creationary.


- When I was taking psychology classes I had a professor who suggested meditation to our class as a way to help us focus on our studies. I took his advice. I came up with my own method since at the time I was too lazy to actually research the topic, which I did later. I just did what came naturally to me. Tara has inherited parts of my own style, but I have enhanced and changed her experience to make the story more interesting. Also, going to this plane is not business as usual for Tara. Well, it kind of is now after all those months. I guess I could have included more detail about Tara's first journey to the other plane. Grr on me!

Thanks for reading!

_______________________________________________________

db: I am so happy that you are intrigued. Thanks for posting.

I don't think it is just a figment of her imagination


- ;-) Good call, you will find out more pertaining to this in the next chapter.

now I am all curious about how she was able to suck willow into it


- Have you ever focused on something so hard that it seemed to just happen? I guess you could say that is what Tara did... with a little help from magic and fate.

Also, I wonder if willow is all faint-y and sucked there now, but didn't know how to get there or even that she had been there before (was she? there before?) will Willow be stuck there?

Also, I hope Tara is ok.


All in good time, my friend.
______________________________________________

You guys are awesome. I hope you enjoy the next chapter!
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You Are The One - Chapter 6 - Why, How, What, When

Postby BlackIndiaInk » Sun Apr 22, 2007 4:14 am

Title: You Are The One

Chapter: Why, How, What, When

Author: BlackIndiaInk (Brea)

Rating: PG-13

Pairing: W/T

Feedback: Please do... comments, questions and constructive criticism are welcomed.

Spoilers: None

Disclaimers: Most characters are not my property. I am thankful for the chance to do with them what I will.

Distribution: Ask please

Summary: Tara goes to off to college and meets someone she thought only existed in her mind.

Note: Kittens, sorry for the delay on this. I went out for a slice of pie, which is a tradition among me and a few of my friends, and all four of us got food poisoning. Unfortunately, that kept me from reading over the this chapter to get the bugs out.

Note: I would like to add a special apology to Dianneswillowtree for missing your feedback in my reply. I sent you a pm with my reply. I hope you got it.

Chapter 6 - Why, How, What, When
____________________________________________________________

Willow wondered why Tara had hidden herself from view. The girl's body posture made her look as if she was trying to cave in on herself. Her head was down, her shoulders were slumped forward, and her legs were pulled as far into her body as she could get them.

“Tara?”

Willow’s voice made the blonde react instantly. She was sure that Willow could see evidence of her strong guilt on her face but she was forced to respond by exposing herself to an intense gaze from her companion by her compulsion to respond to the soft way in which her name had been said.

“What are you thinking?”



It was obvious that Tara was going to have to come clean about what she had done to bring about Willow’s presence.

“I was thinking about how I brought you here and how sorry I am.” Tara’s face disappeared back behind the blonde curtain again. She was breathing a little heavier because of her fear. She really hoped that Willow wouldn’t be too upset.

“When I noticed that you weren’t here this time I started concentrating on your essence, or what I knew of it. I just wanted you to be here with me. You being here is the biggest part of why I can’t let go of this place, which is why I called you here.”

Her eyes widened at the close of her speech. She hadn’t planned for her feelings to come out quite that explicitly. She cursed herself under her breath.

Willow found it hard to find words once again. She could see that Tara had meant every sentence she had just spoken. Someone wanting her near in the way that had just been described was awe inspiring and a bit frightening. She had just fallen through space from one world where she didn’t know this person to another world where she was known by her in some pretty intimate ways.

She felt like it should be strange for her to hear Tara saying these things. The surprising thing was that it was not unpleasant or all that weird. She found herself intrigued by this girl and the situation that she had been pulled into. She did feel that she was at a disadvantage. Tara obviously knew far more about her than she did about Tara, but that could be fixed.

She understood why Tara had stopped her explanation. She needed a response to the part of her heart that she had just bared. Willow’s response was not expected. She reversed her position on the ground so that she was sitting next to Tara.

She reached out to touch the curtain of hair surrounding the face she had been looking into. The compulsion to touch the blonde had returned to her. In all the confusion she didn’t have time to wonder why it had appeared at all.

Before her hand made it there the blonde tresses withdrew from reach. Her stomach sank as Tara pulled away but warmth infused her body when Tara’s slender hand reached out to establish a gentle grip on the underside of her wrist.

“Your hand!”

Willow quickly pulled her wrist out of Tara’s grasp when she saw why it had caused such a reaction. The blood that she had inadvertently put her hand in back at the wreck had dried into the lines of her fingers and palm.

The area around each fingernail was etched with red. It looked like some kind of morbid ink that had found its way onto her hands. The parts where Willow had tried to wipe her hands clean were indeed free of residue.

She looked to her legs where the soaked in smears of blood started appearing where they were before Willow’s soul had been transported here. Tara gasped softly and leaned her head closer. It reminded both girls of the danger each of their lives might be experiencing on another plane.



Willow’s body lay in a small hospital bed awaiting examination. The doctor that the nurse had gone to find had proven to be illusive. Xander sat in yet another plastic chair as Buffy stood fidgeting at the foot of the bed. She shifted from one foot to the other every few seconds. Xander had made a little game out of counting how many times she would put her weight on each leg before the nurse came back with the doctor. It was a good way to distract himself from what was going on with Willow.

The desk nurse had gone back to her post promising to make sure that the doctor was found in a timely manner. In Buffy’s opinion she had failed. A whole ten minutes had passed since she had assured them that Willow was not in any immediate danger and left the room. She was now lost in her thoughts.


Though there was no explanation for what had happened she still searched her mind for some reason for Willow’s unconscious state. The reason for their trip to the hospital was so far at the back of her mind that she had not thought of it beyond her initial thought about their location being convenient after Willow had passed out.

Even if she did, she would never imagine the two occurrences were connected. Willow’s odd behavior at the wreck was not enough for her to suspect anything of the kind.

Xander stopped his game of counting when a thought occurred to him.

“Should we call Giles?”

Buffy turned to him shifting her weight to her left leg one last time.

Twenty three, Xander’s mind ticked off automatically before he could stop it.

Xander’s suggestion comforted Buffy. She would feel much better if Giles were there. He would know how to handle this. Buffy’s feelings of helplessness started to dissipate slightly at the thought of her watcher being brought into the mix. She now had some sort of action to concentrate on.

“Go call him,” Buffy said eagerly.

Xander pushed himself out of the chair and started toward the door before he remembered something. He returned to the bed and reached out to Willow’s body and into the pocket of her jeans. Buffy looked at him quizzically, wondering if he had gone crazy or pervy, when his hand came out with his quarry. He held Willow’s small black cell phone in his hand. She had forgotten all about it after she had handed it back to the red head on the way to the hospital.

Xander flipped the phone open and scrolled through the names stored in the phone book. He found Giles’ number and hit send. It took four rings for the decidedly annoyed British accent to fill his ears.



Tara looked over Willow’s body for any sign of an injury. Since her senses seemed to be elevated here she could distinctly smell the metallic tang of the blood as if it was directly under her nose. She saw no visible injuries that could be the source of the blood.

“Are you hurt?

Willow’s attention focused back on the blonde, who was now starting at the blood that had appeared on her jeans.

“It’s not mine,” she blurted out. “I mean it’s not my blood. When I was checking to see if you were alright I got some blood on my hands and then I guess I wiped my hands on my jeans,” she paused, “Still doesn’t explain why it just appeared out of nowhere.”


Tara’s heart clenched at Willow’s words. “It’s my blood isn’t it?”

“Yes,” Willow whispered. She felt sick when she felt some of the dried blood flake when she clenched her hand.

The direness of the situation hit Tara. It was as if the tree behind them had fallen on her head. She briefly wished it had so she wouldn’t have to think.

“You’re right. We need to find a way to get back.”

Tara’s words contained determination. The reason for her being here was a mystery but she would not sit idly while the possibility of danger and death loomed over them both. It was her fault that Willow was here. She would not let harm come to this girl if she could help it.

Willow’s brain kicked into action. Her analytical side was perfect for this.

“Well, we know how I got here but what about you. I am guessing that your…,” she searched for the right word.

“Soul,” Tara finished for her.

Willow smiled at her. Tara seemed to know exactly what she had been searching for.

“Soul,” Willow continued, “was transported here after you were knocked unconscious in the wreck but why. For that matter how did you get here in the first place? I mean I know it was through meditation but you didn’t always come here, right?”

Tara nodded and considered. She had often wondered how she had arrived at this place that she never knew existed.
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Re: Fic: AU - You Are The One

Postby Auriam » Sun Apr 22, 2007 5:03 am

DIBS
WOOOO HOOOO
Oh i have 2 chap to read now brb

I love it !
ilove the way they finsih each other setence, it's so sweet !
keep write please !
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Re: Fic: AU - You Are The One

Postby db » Sun Apr 22, 2007 8:48 am

hmmmm.

Very Interesting. So their actual souls are there? That's kind of scary...

I like the conversation between them, I feel like you 'captured' Willow really well, her inherent curiosity and interest in the things around her, and the way she kind of leans toward people who make their way into her heart... plus, you got the instant sort of connecton Willow and Tara made without making it sappy or over-the top, Tara's emarassment was realistic without being maudlin -- and providing something to distract them from the curiosity of their connection was perfect (ie, the blood as a reminder of the danger Tara's in).

Sorry about the pie -- I hope you are feeling better!

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Re: Fic: AU - You Are The One

Postby JustSkipIt » Sun Apr 22, 2007 6:07 pm

Wow. I'm still very impressed and intrigued by this story. I'm concerned about Willow as well as Xander and Buffy who are completely in the cold. Why is she there and why can't Tara send her back? And yay for Tara for being so direct and honest in explaining why Willow was there, etc. Very well done.
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You Are The One - Chapter 7 - Tusita Deva

Postby BlackIndiaInk » Mon Apr 23, 2007 5:52 am

Hey kittens, some replies to feedback and then an update.

Auriam: I am glad you noticed the whole finishing of sentences. I like how it shows their connection and how in tune Tara is with Willow. I have put a few clues in the previous chapters about Tara and this plane. I hope that someone finds them or that they make sense eventually.
_______________________________________________

db: Thanks for your great feedback and your well wishes. That was some evil pie.

Very Interesting. So their actual souls are there? That's kind of scary...


It is indeed a dire situation. Just think... if they were to get trapped there forever.. ahhhhh ha

I feel like you 'captured' Willow really well


Hey, that is awesome. Even though Tara is my favorite of the two I have always seemed to write Willow better. It is probably because I have more in common with her and I think she is an easier character to understand at times.

plus, you got the instant sort of connecton Willow and Tara made without making it sappy or over-the top, Tara's emarassment was realistic without being maudlin


Thank you! I have a pet peeve about instant sappiness when I feel that it gets unrealistic. I am a fan of the subtle build up.

Okay, for some reason the word maudlin just made me imagine Tara as a sad, droopy clown. Wacky brain...

and providing something to distract them from the curiosity of their connection was perfect (ie, the blood as a reminder of the danger Tara's in).


Had to get Willow's brain in gear somehow and I couldn't think of a better way than for the most obvious red flag.

Thanks for your feedback db.
____________________________

JustSkipIt - Deb, glad I am still keeping you on the edge. ;-) You have posed some very good questions...

I'm concerned about Willow as well as Xander and Buffy who are completely in the cold.


I know... I have truly kind of screwed Buffy and Xander over here with the giant lack of knowledge... and then there was Rupert....

Why is she there and why can't Tara send her back?


Ahem... good questions... I know you won't get complete answers in the next chapter but maybe it will help you a little.

And yay for Tara for being so direct and honest in explaining why Willow was there, etc. Very well done.


I don't think that Tara, being who she is, could have done any less. Especially, since it was Willow she had some splanin' to do to.

____________________________________________

Title:You Are The One

Chapter: Tusita Deva

Author: BlackIndiaInk (Brea)

Rating: PG-13

Pairing: W/T

Feedback: Please do... comments, questions and constructive criticism are welcomed.

Spoilers: None

Disclaimers: I didn't create them, but I love to use them. Thanks for no retribution.

Distribution: Ask please...

Summary: Tara goes to off to college and meets someone she thought only existed in her mind.

Note: This chapter was already written when the other was posted. I felt that I needed to explore Tara's first journey to the plane that she and Willow are now hanging out in. You need to understand something of how she got there before you can know why.

Note: I hope this isn't out of place... I kind of see it as a special chapter. Hence the name...

Chapter 7 - Tusita Deva


The only way to start was by telling her tale of the origin of her experiences here. She nodded once and directed her gaze to Willow before starting her story.

Five months ago….

The early morning dark surrounded Tara as she sat on a rock atop a small mound made of earth and wood chips. A year ago her brother and father had built the barn that sat twenty feet away and slightly to her left. In the process of building the structure the little mound had formed from the dirt and wood that had been cast to the side. She had felt drawn to the area and made it her own. It was a perfect place to observe the sky.

Behind her was a small creek that ran the length of their property, twisting and turning as it went. The place in which she sat was large flat area between two hills. Her family’s house sat on the hill far to the left. There was a large open pasture area directly in front of her that stopped almsot beyond her view where the paved road cut it off. Beyond the road the flat area continued as a part of someone else’s property.

From this spot she could see the moon and stars clearly because there were no trees in the immediate area to impede her view. They had built the barn to house their horses in the winter months, but since this was the summer Tara was left out here alone. Except for the multitude of cats that were drawn to her while she sat and meditated. She had a feeling that it was the energy of her singing that drew the cats to her. She always started off her night with singing some song or other. It brought her closer to nature. It calmed and grounded her spirit.

Then she would meditate. When she was done she would return to the house, sneaking in the back way so she would not wake her family. This night was different. The pain of the last week had gripped her so she was never able to feel clean of it. She had finally found the will to trudge out to her spot.

She sat still atop the rock and sighed. For the first few minutes the images still flashed through her mind. She could practically feel herself walking through the front door again and seeing her extended family sitting in a perfect row on the sofa in the living room, aunts and uncles that she hardly knew. Their presence confused her as they were people that she rarely saw outside of holidays.

She and her best friend Ray had just returned from riding. She remembered the feeling of her laugh dying in her throat when she realized that something was off. She wondered where her father was. Without another word she walked toward the kitchen. There she saw her aunt Sara at the sink rinsing dishes as her father washed them. It was such a mundane task but somehow the faces in front of her told her what she needed to know.

Her mother was dead. Her father leaned away from the sink and took her by the arm. She was lead down the hallway. As she passed Donnie’s room she saw him laying facedown on his bed crying. She had never seen her brother cry before. She could see his body writhing as large sobs shook his body.

When they reached her room her father didn’t even bother to close the door. She listened without hearing. The words were meaningless and her father had never been much for explaining things. She couldn’t even look at him. A week ago she had known this was going to happen. As soon as the hospice nurse had told her that she should tell her mother anything she wanted her to hear, she had known.

That night she had accepted it. She had run down to the car pushing aside Ray’s attempts to comfort her. That night she sat alone in the dark car crying before she mustered some self-control and went back to her mother’s hospital room. She was alone with her not knowing what to say. She promised to take care of her mother’s horse. Those were the only words she could come up with before her emotions returned full force.

Now a week after the funeral she had once again made it to her spot. The memories were pushed away as she concentrated on the energy from the earth.

She drew in a slow breath and released it. It was a little too forceful. She had to calm her body. She thought of the sky overhead and traced the outline of the moon above in her mind. She imagined touching it and how it would feel soothing and cool. After many minutes her breathing became deeper and she could feel her connection with the earth beneath her like a cord of energy starting from her spine and descending into the depths of the soil.

It was more intense than it had ever been due to her heightened emotion in the recent past. She felt magic burst from the tips of her toes to the top of her head. It shot out of her fingers and filled the space between her hands. The edges of her mind tickled with questions but she refused to give up the peace she had achieved even though she should be concerned about the wealth of power she was now producing.

She heard a fluttering. It sounded like it was coming from somewhere inside her mind rather than outside her. It was so slight that she didn’t focus on it too much.

Gradually, her heart beat slowed like the rest of the world. She felt the earth turn and the boundaries between worlds. The air around her was dancing on her skin. She had never actually felt the air. Now each particle was a part of her and she knew that it flowed through her freely. The fluttering sound became a woshing sound as if she was in an air tunnel.


She tried to open her eyes but found herself incapable of doing so. She was one breath from being very frightened. Finally, she forced her eyes open to catch her first fuzzy sight of the beautiful world she would come to love.

“What the heck”

Her words seemed to vibrate on the air. She could somehow see the sound waves they created. She looked around for an indication of where she was but found absolutely nothing. It wasn’t as if she expected a big sign saying, welcome to wherever the heck she was, but there had to be something. She uncrossed her legs and gasped when her hands touched the cool grass. Its texture was so alive in her grasp. She began to run her fingers through the grass marveling at the sensations.

That was when she was startled by the view in front of her. She could barely discern someone walking toward her in the distance. A flash of brilliant red hair shown for an instant and then a voice whispered at her ear.

“You are not supposed to be here.”

“Mamma,” Tara whispered before the sun’s brightness intensified.

Moments later she was back in her body. She was so disoriented that she fell to the right and tumbled to the ground. The cold earth supported her body and reassured her grip on reality. She felt dirt on her cheek as she righted herself. She let out a bark of laughter and wiped her cheek clean.

She wanted to go back. Try as she might she was not able to achieve her task that night. She trudged back to the house thrilled, confused, and a bit sad. Her room seemed empty while her mind seemed swollen with possibilities. Had she just heard the voice of her mother and who was that person walking toward her? She tried to concentrate on her questions but it was impossible since the journey had taken so much out of her. A deep sleep overtook her. She slid into a dark dreamless place of rest.



Somewhere in the middle of Tara’s story Willow had reached over and taken the blonde’s hand. As she described the pain following her mother’s death and the confusion of ending up in this place Willow instinctively comforted her with a gentle touch.

Tara looked down at their hands touching and wondered if Willow was wholly aware of their position. She noticed that a tiny bit of her own dried blood had transferred from Willow’s hand to her own.

“So we should start with magic.”

Willow’s voice pulled Tara out of the vague thoughts of her own mortality. She could hardly believe the words that had been spoken. She had expected Willow not to believe her even after their earlier conversation. Most people, even Ray, had dismissed her when she spoke about magic and practicing it.

“You believe me,” Tara questioned. Her brows shot up and she gripped Willow’s hand tighter.

“Tara, believe me, you’ve come to the right place. I have seen a lot of things and what you’ve just described is actually pretty much something that would happen to me or my friends on a normal day,” she grinned, “Besides I’ve dabbled with a bit of magic myself.”

Tara shook her head in wonder and set about thinking of ways to get them out of their current situation once again. Memories of her mother’s voice that night floated to her. The voice had never returned in any of her visits here. Eventually, she had almsot decided that she had imagined it.
"You are an octagon of evil. That is eight sides of badness."
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Re: Fic: AU - You Are The One

Postby Willowtree252 » Mon Apr 23, 2007 5:52 am

:pinky Dibs ya me :party The pain that you bring out here is deep and we can feel the loss of them all . My friend this is a ride of a life time you have me on and I can,t second guess you so I will wait and see where you lead me ;-)
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Never underestimate the powerful love of a good woman
If you were a cave what kind of cave would you be
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Re: Fic: AU - You Are The One

Postby dlline » Thu Apr 26, 2007 6:50 am

Hey!

I just wanted to check in and tell you that I've been reading and enjoying your story very much. Time constraints have made it difficult to leave long feedback. Suffice it to say that I like the story (a lot) and I'm really excited to see where you go with it.

Good luck!
Diane
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