Laragh: Yay! I love when people dibs! I'm so glad you liked it!
I didn't realize how sweet that one was until I sat down and started editing it - I just remembered the dramatic bits... I'm posting now since it's technically Wednesday, so no worries about the teaser - you can find out now... Although, the early posting is actually me being selfish because I don't want to be distracted from reading yours tomorrow by posting mine around the same time
I'm so glad you're loving it! (and how did I know that you would be the one to make a comment on the Oz kiss!) Only Tara-kisses from now on - promise!
love_2003: Yay, I surprised someone! Tara can be a bit insecure sometimes
Of course Willow wouldn't let her go without a fight
At home nurse? That's it's own fic right there! Someone needs to write that!!! Thanks so much for reading and sticking with me!
LonelyTara: I'm glad you liked it! I'm not going to be too rough on them! You'll find out what she does now
Yeah, four more after this one :( (and no plans for a sequel, but I'm sure you'll find some way to change that! - I did start writing the AU season 7 follow up to Every Step though
)
abarda: I'm glad you liked that! No one should think Tara's a demon! Yeah, I missed that part too, but their confrontation took place in the daytime, and they didn't have to take the campus' power down to rescue Oz, so I couldn't make it fit - sorry! I don't think it's too bad, but you tell me!
JustSkipIt: Yay! Thanks so much!
DaddyCatALSO:
Thanks! I've never really understood how Tara's mom never knew it was a lie (if she died when Tara was seventeen - which we learn in 'The Body' - even if she had Tara and Donny really young it still seems like she and the kids would notice her
not turning into a demon... maybe she was sick or something (like blacked out or had seizures or something) and he would tell her that it was demony stuff when she woke up...) I tried to find a way to fit him in for you, but I couldn't make it happen! Nope, not teasing, but it's not as bad as it sounds!
vampyregurl73:
Yay! I'm glad you liked it! I thought it would be funny to have Faith and Willow switch since they're pretty vocal about hating each other
I'm so glad you liked how I handled the Oz part! And Tara's revelations! Hope you enjoy the new one!
How is this going by so freaking fast?!?
Chapter 11 of 15
Willow made quick progress in her physical therapy, working hard in every session. Her leg was getting stronger, but she wasn’t able to walk on her own yet, just a few steps with the parallel bars as a safeguard, her leg aching as she practiced, but she persevered, spending hours at the gym every week of the three since Oz had left town again.
Tara looked around the gym as she came through the doors, eyes finding Willow immediately, though the redhead’s back was to her so she was able to watch her progress without being caught. She waved as Willow made it to the end of the beams and turned, the redhead smiling tiredly at her as she wiped sweat from her forehead.
“Hey, baby,” she greeted Tara, kissing her quickly. “I thought Buffy was picking me up today.”
“Change of plans,” Tara answered. “She’s out looking for Adam again. She and Giles hired Spike to steal some stuff from the Initiative. Are you up for some computer stuff this afternoon? They wanted you to crack some disks, or something.”
Willow nodded, taking a long sip from a plastic bottle of water as she blotted fresh sweat from her face. “Yeah, no problem.” She quirked an eyebrow as she noticed something in Tara’s hand, held out of sight behind her back. “Whatcha got there?” she asked, pointing with her water bottle.
“Oh, it’s a present from Xander. He made it for you. He’s at work, but he asked me to bring it to you,” Tara said, holding out what revealed itself to be a carefully carved and polished wooden cane.
“Xander made this?” Willow asked in surprise, taking it. “It’s great! Look how pretty it is,” she said happily as she turned it over in her hands. “It has a tree on it! Like a willow tree!”
Tara laughed, kissing her on the cheek. “I’m sure he’ll be glad you like it, sweetheart.” She picked up Willow’s bag and crutches as the redhead tried her new cane. “Ready to go?”
Willow nodded, limping slowly toward the door on her cane, her other arm holding Tara’s arm for balance. “Yeah, I’ll take a shower when we get home.” She paused, glancing sideways at Tara. “Where are we going anyway?”
“Giles’ apartment,” Tara answered. “Buffy took your computer over and Spike’s supposed to be bringing the disks there.”
“Well, as long as he’s not there I can use Giles’ shower,” Willow said happily.
She looked surprised to see that the Summers’ Jeep was parked at the curb, and Tara opened the passenger door for her. Willow was buckled in whenever Tara got behind the wheel. “Joyce didn’t want you walking home so she let me borrow the car,” Tara explained as they pulled out into traffic.
“That was nice of her,” Willow said. “I don’t know if I could have made it over there on my feet.”
Tara smiled, one hand finding Willow’s knee while she drove. “It looks like you’re doing better though,” she said.
Willow put her hand over Tara’s. “Yeah. It hurts and it’s hard work, but my leg is getting stronger every day. And now I have this super new cane to help me,” she commented, grinning at her present.
“We know you can do it,” Tara said supportively. “There’s nothing my girl can’t do.”
“Darn tootin’,” Willow agreed, her grin now aimed at Tara.
Tara pulled the car into the loop at Giles’, carrying Willow’s bag and waiting for her at the top of the stairs down to Giles’ apartment. Willow leaned on her cane, taking the stairs one at a time while Tara walked slowly beside her, arm around her waist to help her.
Giles was home alone when they knocked, Willow’s computer beeping on his desk. “Oh, thank the Lord,” he said, relieved. “Your infernal machine won’t cease its racket, and it’s driving me absolutely out of my mind,” he complained.
“I’ll take care of it,” Willow said, patting him comfortingly on the shoulder and moving slowly to his desk. A few keystrokes and the computer was quiet, Giles sighing in relief and rubbing at his temples. “Now that I’ve done you a gigantic favor, could I borrow your shower?” she asked, grinning sweetly.
“Of course you may,” Giles answered, waving her request away easily.
Tara smiled as Willow stood up on her toes to press a kiss to his cheek. “Thank you,” she said cheerfully, following Tara as the blonde carried Willow’s duffle bag into the bathroom.
Giles was pouring himself some tea and he poured a cup for Tara as she returned from the bathroom. “Willow seems to be recovering nicely,” he observed, taking a sip of his drink.
Tara nodded, smiling proudly. “She’s been working hard.”
“If I know Willow, she’ll be as good as new sooner than anyone could expect,” Giles stated confidently. Tara took a sip of her tea, leaning against the counter as she pulled herself into a barstool.
“You’re right. She’s already ahead of the doctor’s projections. They didn’t think she’d be able to take a step without the crutches yet,” Tara told him, smiling unconsciously. “Have you heard from Buffy this afternoon?”
Giles shook his head. “She brought Willow’s blasted machine here and went back out, but I haven’t spoken to her since then.”
They both looked up as the door opened without a knock, Xander and Anya filing in. He grinned, waving to the pair in the kitchen. “Hey guys, where’s Buff?”
“Still out Adam hunting,” Tara said, smiling. “How are you two today?”
“Xander’s been delivering clothing,” Anya said matter-of-factly. “He’s been too busy to have sex even though it’s his day off from his real job.”
Tara blinked, flustered, and she could hear Giles’ choking on his tea. The shower turned off in the bathroom, the pipes creaking in the walls sounding loud in the awkward silence. “That’s too bad,” Tara mustered sympathetically.
Anya nodded her passionate agreement. “It is,” she said quickly.
Willow joined them after a few minutes, the others lingering in awkward silence. “What’s up with you guys?” Willow asked, laughing as she took a seat at Giles’ desk in front of her computer.
“Hey, you’re using the cane I made!” Xander said instead. “Do you like it?”
Willow nodded happily, throwing her arms around her best friend. “It’s so great, Xand. Thank you!”
“You’re welcome, Will. I’m glad you like it,” he said, grinning widely. “And I’m glad you’re walking.”
Willow nodded, reaching down to adjust her knee brace. “Kind of walking. More or less,” she agreed.
There was a ruckus outside the apartment, the door crashing open as Spike bolted in, his jacket pulled up over his head. He brushed smoke away from himself, pulling a stack of disks out of his pocket and throwing them at Willow.
“Hey,” she protested, looking at the disks strewn across the desk. “These had better be labeled.”
“I don’t give a rat’s ass if they’re labeled. I stole them, job done. Now where’s my money?” Spike demanded.
Giles came out of the kitchen, scowling at the vampire. “You’ll get your money when Willow tells us you’ve brought us something of value, so I’d suggest you help her to work faster if you can,” the Watcher said, shooting a look at the vampire.
Spike sighed. “Fine. I think they’re numbered.”
Willow rolled her eyes at him. “Yes Spike, thanks so much for that, but I do know how to read,” she shot at him, finding the first disk and sliding it into her computer. “Now to crack a government encryption on my laptop.”
“You’re the whiz,” Spike said sarcastically. “Just get it done so I can get my money.”
“Yeah, I’ll do my best,” Willow agreed, already distracted by her computer screen, her fingers flying over the keys.
Xander and Anya took seats on the couch while Spike huffed and went into the kitchen to rummage through Giles’ fridge. Tara watched Willow work on the computer with an affectionate smile on her face. She moved off of her chair, hearing the others talking without listening to them, and she crossed to stand behind Willow in her chair, leaning over her shoulder and stroking her fingers slowly through Willow’s damp hair.
Willow’s eyes closed uncontrollably at the touch, leaning her head back into Tara’s hand. “That’s going to be distracting,” she muttered even as she smiled.
“I’ll stop,” Tara murmured, pressing a kiss to the side of her neck before she slid her hand out of Willow’s hair. “Do your thing,” she prompted her, kissing the top of her head. “I’ll go sit down and be good.”
Willow tilted her head back to pout, a beeping on her computer drawing her attention back to the screen. Tara gave an affectionate smile to the back of her head before returning to her chair at the kitchen bar and pouring herself another cup of tea.
Buffy and Riley came in before too long, both beaten and bloody. Willow jumped at the sight of them, the Marine leaning heavily on Buffy.
“What happened?” she asked, turning to follow them with her eyes as they moved toward the quickly vacated couch.
“Adam handed us our own asses,” Buffy groaned. “Up in some caves north of town. He came at us from deeper inside the caves so it’s worth checking out if he’s hiding in there.” She looked sympathetically at Riley, standing up as he relaxed into the couch cushions. “He killed one of the commandos, Riley’s friend Forrest,” she said regretfully. Tara tossed a dish cloth across the room to the Slayer, Buffy wiping blood away from Riley’s face gently.
“So we’re going back to the caves?” Xander asked.
Buffy shook her head. “No, not until Will can get something out of those disks. We can’t walk in there unprepared again.” She looked over the back of the couch at the redhead working at the desk. “How’s it looking?”
“It’s going to take me a while to work on this,” Willow told her regretfully, shaking her head.
Buffy sighed, nodding. “Okay, anything we can do to make it go faster?”
Willow frowned. “No, but I’ll work as fast as I can,” she promised.
“Okay,” Buffy said. “Thanks. Let me know as soon as you find anything.” Willow nodded, already working again. “Giles, anything we can do to take down Adam? Anything?” she asked desperately.
He shook his head, arms crossed over his chest. “There’s nothing I can think of that we haven’t already covered.”
“I’ve got these,” Riley said, finding a folder in his pack and spreading some papers on the coffee table. “I got them before the Initiative complex went to hell. The demons are packed in there tighter than sardines, and after the professor died most of the troops haven’t been sticking to any of the routines. It’s crazy down there.”
“You have specs for Adam?” Xander asked incredulously. “These could have been helpful a few weeks ago.”
“Hey! Back off,” Buffy ordered. “We don’t have time for fighting amongst ourselves.”
“I only just found them,” Riley said apologetically, holding the now bloody cloth to the still bleeding wound on his head.
“We’ll see what we can do. I’m sure it’ll be useful,” Giles said, sitting down and pulling one of the diagrams to him.
They each worked relentlessly for hours, studying the diagrams of Adam’s structure searching for a weakness while Willow worked on the computer at the desk. It was closing in on two in the morning before Tara approached Buffy, everyone weary and rubbing bleary eyes.
“Willow needs to sleep. We all do,” Tara said softly, touching her friend gently on the knee. “You’ve been going nonstop for days, Buffy. Adam won’t be intimidated if we all fall asleep on him,” she teased, grateful for Buffy’s weak smile, obviously mustered with an effort.
The Slayer nodded. “You’re right.” Her eyes shut heavily. “Will you take Willow home, make sure she gets some sleep?”
“What about you?” Tara asked.
Buffy nodded toward the spare room. “Me and Riley will stay here. I don’t want to be anywhere near Lowell House right now, anywhere Adam can find us.”
“Is it safe for Xander and Anya to go home?” Tara asked, glancing to where Anya was dozing against Xander’s leg while he was rubbing at his eyes with a stack of papers in his lap.
“Yeah, it should be fine. Adam only saw him once. Besides, he doesn’t think he has anything to fear from a human,” Buffy said, dropping her head into her hand.
Tara nodded. “Okay,” she said softly. “Xander,” she called, raising her voice to get his attention. “We’re all going home to get some sleep.”
He nodded, nudging Anya awake. “Let’s go home. I’ll see you guys in the morning, okay?” They left quietly, Tara joining Willow at the desk.
The redhead jumped as she recognized Tara’s proximity. “Oh, sorry, baby. You scared me,” she said, rubbing her eyes tiredly.
“We’re going home. You need sleep,” Tara prompted her, brushing hair back from her face gently. Willow nodded without comprehension, only blinking when Tara moved to close the computer. “Can I just close it, or do you need to do something with it?” she checked, not wanting to mess up Willow’s work.
“Oh, um, you can just shut it and I’ll plug it in when we get back,” Willow said.
Tara arched an eyebrow at her. “The computer is staying here, sweetie. You won’t be awake long enough to work anymore tonight.”
Willow’s mouth dropped open to protest, anything she was going to say lost in a yawn and Tara gave her a knowing look. “Okay,” Willow admitted. “I am a little…exhausted.”
Tara helped her up, Willow leaning on her as well as her cane. “You just have to make it to the top of the stairs, baby. You can stretch out in the backseat of the car if you want to.”
Willow yawned again. “I think I can make it back to the dorm.”
She was still awake when they came through the door, but she collapsed into the bed and was asleep before Tara turned back from locking the door behind them.
A beeping alarm clock woke them both too early, Willow sitting up mechanically and striking the clock with more force than necessary.
“Morning,” she slurred, rubbing her eyes as Tara curled deeper into the sheets. “You go back to sleep,” Willow said, leaning over to press a kiss to her forehead.
Tara laughed sleepily. “How do you expect to get there?” she asked. “You can’t roll the chair all that way by yourself, and you can’t drive yet.”
Willow paused in climbing out of bed, frowning. “Oh yeah,” she said. “Sorry, Tara.”
“No problem, sweetie. I want to help. And I don’t sleep great without you anyway,” she said honestly, smiling sheepishly as Willow blinked at her before leaning over to kiss her.
“Now I don’t want to get out of the bed,” Willow murmured against her lips, kissing her again. She pulled away with a groan. “But we have to help. It should only take me a little while longer to crack the disks.”
“Little while?” Tara asked.
Willow shrugged. “Um, yeah, maybe the rest of the day if I can figure out the pattern they used to encrypt the discs this morning.”
“The rest of the day?” Tara said in surprise. “That’s a
little while?”
Willow nodded, her eyes already hurting at the thought of staring into the computer screen for the rest of the day. “As long as it gets done,” she sighed.
“I guess you’re right, but as soon as Adam is put down, I’m keeping you in this bed for at least three days,” Tara said, helping Willow to her feet.
Willow raised an eyebrow, smirking. “Three days? Are you sure my leg will be strong enough to handle that?”
Tara shook her head teasingly, pushing at the side of Willow’s head. “I think your leg will handle three days of sleeping just fine,” she said, arching an eyebrow at her.
Willow dropped her jaw, looking horrified. “You’ll be in the bed with me, won’t you? Because I need to be snuggled very badly right now.”
“We don’t have time right now,” Tara teased. Willow pouted at her, accepting a lingering kiss as an apology. “I’ll make it up to you when this is all over,” she promised.
“Four days?” Willow suggested hopefully.
Tara pressed a kiss to her temple. “Whatever you want, sweetheart,” she agreed. “We should probably go help the others now though,” she said reluctantly.
“I hope they have coffee,” Willow groaned, leaning on Tara’s arm and her cane, still hurting from her exercise the day before but not willing to admit her weakness.
Tara noticed the tremble in her limbs, but held her tongue, knowing that Willow wouldn’t stop until she’d finished her task. They drove to the apartment in silence, Willow sliding into her chair at the desk. Buffy and Riley were already studying at the coffee table, and Tara retrieved a cup of coffee for Willow, making it the way she liked and taking it to her at the desk.
“Thank you,” Willow murmured, taking a long sip and giving Tara a distracted smile.
Tara joined the others at the table, Buffy and Riley saying something about a power source. The witch sighed, picking up a spell book. She knew she was no good with the technical stuff, but she could help with the magic stuff and she intended to do what she could. Xander joined them, but Anya had decided to stay home, the former demon not coping well with the situation.
It didn’t take Willow long to let out a whoop of simultaneous excitement and confusion. “Hey, I’m in!” she said, frowning at her computer. “It’s not fair though,” she complained. “I got in to a certain point and it just let me in…but whoopee, we got the information!”
“Why would it let you in?” Buffy asked. “I mean, good job, but that seems sort of ominous, right?” She glanced around at the others. “I mean, all of a sudden we know how to get in and what he’s got planned? He’s giving us exactly what we need when we need it.”
Willow sighed, dropping her head into one hand. “You’re right, but what can we do? I mean, look at this,” she said, gesturing to the screen. “This looks like the recipe for a human-demon mutant mash up army.”
Buffy nodded, reading over her shoulder. “Yeah, well from what we’ve found out about him, I don’t know if I can take him down alone. He just wants me there to even out the death toll so he had lots of bits for his army of freaks.”
“What about this?” Tara suggested, holding out the spell book she’d been reading. “This spell is powerful enough to paralyze him long enough for you to rip out his power core thing.”
Willow beamed proudly at her from across the room. “My girl’s a genius.”
Giles read the spell. “It takes an experienced witch to cast this though. Willow?” he asked, handing the book over to her.
“Um, we’ve hit a snag,” she sighed. “I can’t read this. What language is it?”
“Sumerian,” Giles answered. “I can read it, but I haven’t the skill or power to cast it.”
“Even if you can teach Will the language in time for it to do any good, I can’t take her with me to fight Adam,” Buffy protested. “You just got your leg back,” she stated, seeing Willow’s mouth open to argue. “I won’t let you get hurt again. We go in smart, or I go in alone.”
“So all we have to do is put together Buffy’s strength, Willow’s magic, and Giles’ brain,” Xander proposed. “Which is a completely useless suggestion,” he said, sighing in frustration.
Giles surprised them all by objecting. “Actually not.” He explained the enjoining spell as briefly as he could, the other staring at him in amazement as he finished speaking.
“Are you serious?” Buffy asked. “That would work?”
Giles nodded, his arms crossed over his chest. “Yes. We’ll have to be within striking distance of Adam though.”
“Willow…” Tara blurted from the couch. “Willow can’t go in there.”
The redhead rubbed at her knee absently, frowning down at the desk. Xander glanced between Willow and Buffy, trying to think of a solution. “I could carry her,” he suggested hesitantly. “I could,” he insisted when the others gave him surprised looks.
“That could work,” Buffy agreed reluctantly. “You up for it, Will?”
Willow nodded seriously, her face determined. “Yeah, I’ll be fine. We’re going in now?”
Buffy glanced at each of the others. “Soon.”
“Okay. Tara, can I talk to you?” Willow asked, pushing herself to her feet gingerly and Tara followed her as she limped slowly into the spare room. Tara didn’t speak, just watched her quietly. “You’re going to make me ask, aren’t you?” Willow asked, taking her hand.
Tara nodded simply. “Yes, I am,” she said.
“Please stay here,” Willow requested. “Please?” Tara didn’t say anything, just lifted an eyebrow at her. “Please, baby? I need to know you’re okay, and I promise that I’ll be careful and safe, and nothing will happen to me, I swear.”
“What do you think I’m going to say to that?” Tara asked her.
Willow smiled sheepishly. “Tara…”
“Willow…” Tara said, echoing her tone and giving her a look. “Be
careful,” she said firmly.
Willow blinked, surprised. “I thought I was going to have to put up a fight,” she said, pulling Tara in by her hand.
Tara sighed, shaking her head. “I don’t think I’d have any luck trying to talk you out of it, and I don’t think I’d be able to help much if I went with you. I’m not good at the fighting.”
“You’re not going!” Willow interjected immediately.
Tara smirked, nodding. “Yeah, I figured that’s what you would say. It doesn’t make it easier to know that you’ll be there,” Tara said. “Please be careful, Willow.”
“Buffy won’t let anything happen to me, baby,” Willow said reassuringly. “And Xander and Giles and Riley will be there and we’ll all be fine, okay?”
Tara nodded reluctantly. “You’d better be,” she said firmly. “If you get hurt I’m going to kick your butt,” she warned her girlfriend.
Willow shook her head with a smile. “I don’t want that,” she agreed teasingly. “I’ll be fine, Tara. I love you,” she said more seriously.
“I love you too,” Tara said softly. “You’ve got to promise to tell me again when you get back, okay?”
Willow nodded. “I can do that,” she said.
Tara smiled softly. “Okay, and I’m doing one thing before you leave,” she stated, unexpectedly moving back to the living room, returning a minute later with a mortar and pestle, a yellow flower crushed in the bowl.
“What’s that?” Willow asked curiously as Tara closed her eyes, murmuring something over the bowl with her eyes closed.
“It will make your arms and your leg feel better,” Tara told her, lifting the collar of Willow’s shirt enough to slip her hand under it, her fingers rubbing the salve into the sore muscles of Willow’s shoulder. She dipped her fingers back into the bowl and rubbed more into the other shoulder before dropping to her knees in front of Willow’s legs and gently rubbing some of the oil from her mortar into the skin over Willow’s knee, her fingers sliding down her calf to rub some more into her ankle, smoothing her hands over Willow’s leg nervously.
Willow gasped at the cool touch, feeling a sharp tingle shoot up and down her leg and both arms. “Whoa,” she breathed, using the wall to hold herself up as her cane fell from nerveless fingers.
“Did it work?” Tara asked, looking up at her and relieved to see Willow’s nod. She slipped the fingers that were still coated in the oil under the collar of her own shirt, touching each shoulder, and then her knee and ankle, murmuring again.
“Yeah,” Willow agreed, bending her weak knee cautiously. “I almost feel like I could walk.” She frowned down at her when Tara hissed.
Tara shook her head, taking a deep breath. “Don’t try it,” she advised firmly. “The strength’s only temporary. Stay with Xander or on your crutches, okay?” She stood up, wiping the last bits of the oil on her own lips and Willow’s, kissing her quickly.
They both gasped, and Tara’s knees started to buckle. She caught herself on the edge of the dresser, breathing hard. “What did you just do?” Willow demanded, her eyes wide. “I feel weird.”
“Bad?” Tara questioned in a strained voice, her eyes squeezed closed tightly.
“No,” Willow said, almost in disbelief. “I feel good, actually. What about you?” she asked, leaning over to look Tara in the face. “Tara, what did you do?” she repeated sternly, working out a theory already. “You didn’t do what I think you did, did you?”
“That depends on what you think I did,” Tara said, mustering a weak smile. “This
really hurts,” she gasped. “How do you live like this?” she questioned, looking up at Willow.
The redhead groaned at the confirmation. “It’s only that bad because I haven’t had time to rest after working out. You didn’t…Tara, why did you do that?”
Tara shook her head. “I couldn’t let you go in hurting.” She shook her head, pushing the heel of one hand against her forehead. “This really hurts,” she gasped.
“How long is it going to last?” Willow demanded. “It’s my pain, and I want it back.”
Tara sank to sit on the edge of the bed, concentrating on steadying her breathing, the sudden pain overwhelming. “A few hours. But you probably won’t start feeling it again until the morning. The spell to strengthen your limbs should last longer than the spell I used to take your pain, so you shouldn’t have any blinding moment of pain where it all comes rushing back.”
“If I get hurt in there, will it hurt you?” Willow asked, frowning.
Tara shook her head reluctantly. “No, but if I could figure out a spell that would do it in the next fifteen minutes, I’d do it.”
“No, you would
not,” Willow said firmly. “And you better not look for anything like that once we leave. It’s bad enough that you did this…”
“I’d do whatever it takes to keep you safe, Willow. I’d go instead if I thought I could do your job,” Tara said seriously, getting to her feet shakily. “Let’s get you guys ready to go,” Tara said, kissing her on the cheek to dissuade her from further argument. “There’s nothing you can do about it now, Willow. That’s why I didn’t tell you what I was doing. And I think I can help Riley. He doesn’t have Buffy’s healing abilities.”
“Now, wait just a minute!” Willow protested immediately. “You can’t take his pain too! You’ll pass out, or die, or something! And that spell involved kissing, which I guess was to give the spell a target, me, but you’re
my girlfriend, and I really don’t think you should be kissing Riley, and I’m pretty sure Buffy would agree with me on this, and…”
Tara kissed her suddenly, cutting off her words. She intended to keep the kiss brief, but Willow was having none of that, and she curled both arms around Tara’s neck, kissing her passionately. Tara was out of breath and stumbled as they broke apart, dropping back onto the edge of the bed weakly. “Wow,” she breathed. “I won’t kiss Riley,” she agreed breathily, giving her an amused look. “Not that I was going to.” She took Willow’s hand soothingly. “I’m just going to do the healing spell on him. The one I used on you the first time we met.”
“You fixed my tummy,” Willow remembered, smiling softly.
Tara nodded. “That’s right. I’m just going to fix his head, and his arms, and his legs, and probably his stomach too.” She grimaced. “He really looked like he was in bad shape,” she commented.
“That’s not going to wear you out, is it?” Willow asked worriedly.
Tara shrugged, leaning on Willow as she got back up. “I’m not going to fight Adam. I’ll just be here recovering, so it’s not a big deal.” Willow pursed her lips, not pleased, but sure that Tara wouldn’t listen to any arguments she presented.
Tara was limping and leaning heavily on Willow as they came out of the bedroom, the others gathering their weapons while Giles collected the supplies they would need for the enjoining spell. Willow led Tara to the couch, helping her sit down and moving her feet onto the cushions so that she was lying down.
“What happened to her?” Buffy asked in surprise, seeing the sudden pain in Tara’s pale face.
Willow scowled, crossing her arms over her chest. “She’s got a stubborn streak,” she answered vaguely.
“Don’t we all?” Xander joked.
“Tara, what happened?” Buffy asked instead as Willow brushed past her to get to the kitchen.
“I helped Willow,” Tara answered. “Riley,” she prompted, waving him over. He looked confused, but limped obligingly over, taking a seat on the coffee table. “I’m going to help you now.”
“I don’t want to hurt you, Tara,” he objected. “You’re looking kind of rough.” He blushed, the tips of his ears burning. “No offense,” he added, shrugging.
“It’s not going to hurt me,” she said reassuringly. “It’s just going to make you hurt less.” She held up one empty hand slowly, putting one finger over a cut on his face.
He jumped in surprise, but she didn’t move her hand, her eyes sliding closed. “It’s hot,” he said quietly. “Burns a little,” he told the others, Buffy and Giles stopping their preparations to watch.
When Tara lifted her finger a moment later, the cut was significantly smaller, scabbed over instead of bleeding. “Does it feel better?” Buffy asked curiously.
He nodded, touching the spot in fascination. “Yeah, I can’t feel it anymore,” he stated. “Thanks, Tara.”
She nodded, smiling. “That was just a demonstration. Just put my hand wherever it hurts, okay? I’ll do the rest.” She held her hand out, letting him guide it. She hissed as he put her palm against his ribs. “You broke a couple of ribs,” she said sympathetically.
“Is that going to be too much?” he asked, already starting to lift her hand.
She stopped him, putting her hand gently on his side. “It’s okay, just sit still.” She closed her eyes, concentrating. It took longer this time, but Riley let out a deep breath, pulling up the side of his shirt to check when Tara took her hand back. His skin was red where her hand had been, but his bruises had faded distinctly. “Where else?” she requested, holding her hand back out to him.
Riley hesitated before he took it, looking at Willow standing behind the couch with her arms crossed over her chest, the bottle of water she’d retrieved from the kitchen in one hand. The redhead sighed, nodding. “Just do it. She’s not going to listen if we tell her no,” she said in resignation.
Tara continued to help Riley’s injuries, healing a torn muscle in his thigh, and a deep cut in his calf that had been bleeding profusely, leaving bloody footprints behind to show where Riley had gone in the apartment.
Buffy and Giles resumed their packing, the Slayer studying Willow carefully. “You okay, Will?” she asked, surprised to realize that the witch wasn’t leaning on anything, and her crutches and cane were nowhere to be seen. “Wait a second!”
“Tara did it,” Willow said, nodding toward her girlfriend on the couch. “She took my pain for herself.” She grimaced as the Slayer blinked in surprise. “I didn’t know what she was doing. She took my pain, and amplified my own strength temporarily.”
“So, you can walk?” Buffy asked.
Willow nodded, looking down at herself. “Right now I could run,” she said. “Which could be helpful once we get down there.”
“Yeah,” Buffy agreed. “Riley, how’s it going over there?”
The Marine stood up, stretching each limb slowly. “Not quite good as new, but good enough,” he said.
“Tara, you okay?” Buffy checked, leaning on the back of the couch to look down at her.
Tara’s eyes were closed, but she held up one thumb, taking a deep breath. Willow shook a pill into her hand as she moved to take Riley’s seat on the coffee table and put it to Tara’s lips. “Take this,” she prompted. “It will help.”
Tara opened her mouth obligingly, taking the medicine and a long draught from the bottle of water Willow handed her. “Thank you,” she said weakly, opening her eyes.
Willow nodded, leaning forward to press a kiss to her forehead. “Get some rest, okay?”
“Be careful,” Tara said quietly, fingers finding Willow’s hand and squeezing it gently. The redhead nodded wordlessly, giving her a brief kiss before she stood up, following the others out of the apartment.
The silence in the apartment seemed palpable, and Tara lingered on the living room couch for a few minutes before the quiet seemed too thick, almost stifling. The thought of sitting around and waiting for them to come back seemed like torture and she moved slowly into the kitchen, taking a deep breath as she ran a wash cloth under the water, and finding some cleaner under the sink, scrubbed up Riley’s bloody prints before the blood dried and stained Giles’ carpet.
After that task was done, she started washing the dishes that had been piling up in the sink. Searching for something else to keep her busy, she washed the startlingly large pile of bloody rags that had accumulated around the apartment. She was limping as she searched for them, and most of the ones she found were beyond saving, stiff with dried blood, but she stood at the sink and scrubbed diligently, needing something to do rather than just sit and wait. She was frustrated by trembling limbs after she finished that chore, and had to return to the couch. It felt like an eternity before the phone rang a few minutes later, and she realized that she had been successfully distracted for two hours.
“Willow?” she answered it anxiously.
“Yeah, baby, it’s me,” Willow said. “We’re all fine,” she said immediately. “Adam’s dead. The spell worked great! We’re all kind of wired though, so we were going to watch some movies and crash over here at Buffy’s house. How are you feeling? Is the pain switching spell still hurting you? I mean, I still feel fine, so I would guess that you’re still hurting, but I don’t know, and I should probably stop talking so you can answer…” She paused. “And for the record, I’m still not happy you did that,” she stated before pausing again, waiting for Tara to speak.
Tara let out a breath of relief, her eyes closing unconsciously as she leaned back against the armrest of the couch. “Good, I’m good, Willow. Resting as ordered. You guys have fun, okay? I’ll see you tomorrow, alright?”
“No, Tara, you come over here. We’re just watching movies, hanging out,” Willow said quickly, realizing that her girlfriend had misunderstood. “I need to check on you. And you can’t just be at Giles’ all alone if you’re still hurting,” she said. Tara could hear Xander’s voice in the background and Willow spoke again. “And maybe you could pick up Anya on your way over?” she requested obligingly.
Tara laughed, suddenly giddy with relief and joy. “Yeah, sure. You’re okay, right?” she checked again.
“Yes Tara, we’re all okay,” Willow assured her with a soft laugh. “I have something I’m supposed to tell you, remember? Come over here so I can tell you,” she said.
“I love you too,” Tara said.
“Aww, now you spoiled what I was going to say,” Willow whined teasingly.
“Nothing could ever spoil you telling me that,” Tara said seriously.
“Well, come over here so I can tell you,” Willow said. “Oh, and don’t forget Anya,” she reminded her as Xander spoke up again in the background.
“Tell Xander I won’t forget Anya,” Tara assured her. “We’ll be there soon.”
“Okay, baby. We’ll be waiting,” Willow said as they hung up.
It took her longer to limp to the car than it did to drive to Anya’s house, the ex-demon already waiting on the sidewalk, jumping in the car almost before it had stopped moving.
“Xander’s alive,” she announced cheerfully.
Tara smiled tiredly, nodding. “So is Willow,” she agreed.
“I’m very glad their plan didn’t get them all killed,” Anya said.
Tara’s smile slipped, but she agreed, “Yeah, me too.”
They were greeted at the door by Mrs. Summers, the Slayer’s mother letting them into the house immediately. “They’re in the living room, girls. You have fun tonight,” she said, waving as she excused herself to go upstairs.
Buffy was curled up into Riley’s side on one side of the couch, with Giles in the armchair beside the sofa. Willow was on the other half of the couch, her right leg propped up on the coffee table. Xander was leaning against the arm of the couch, and they all smiled as the new arrivals joined them. Anya took a seat between Xander’s knees and he hugged her tightly.
Tara joined the others on the couch, Willow pulling her into the space between herself and the armrest. “Hey, you,” Willow whispered, curling her arms around Tara. “I love you,” she said softly.
Tara smiled, kissing her softly. “I love you too,” she whispered back. She looked Willow over carefully, seeing that the redhead looked to be perfectly fine. “I’m glad you’re okay.”
Willow winked, smiling reassuringly. “Adam didn’t drive a car at me, so no problem,” she said teasingly.
“Well, thank goodness for that,” Tara said, squeezing Willow gently.
“How are you feeling?” Willow asked, noticing Tara’s hands trembling. She brushed her fingers lightly over her palm, noting the unmistakable feeling of skin that had been under water for an extended time. “I don’t think you were resting,” she challenged, scowling.
“I was when you called,” Tara responded, smirking weakly. “I cleaned some because I couldn’t just sit around and wait.”
Willow huffed, but accepted that, pulling Tara into a hug. “Well, you’re going to rest now,” she said firmly, snuggling into her side.
“Let’s get this party started,” Xander said, sliding forward to push a tape into the VCR. The couples curled close together, watching the opening credits of the movie. Tara could feel Willow relaxing against her, her breathing getting slow and steady as she fell asleep after only a few minutes. A glance around the room showed that Buffy, Giles, and Xander weren’t far behind her, falling asleep where they were sitting. Anya was watching the movie leaned against Xander’s chest, but Riley gave Tara a smile over Buffy’s head.
Willow trembled in her sleep, calming down when Tara murmured to her soothingly. A second later Anya jumped in surprise as Xander started breathing hard, his girlfriend sitting up to give him a concerned look. He was obviously still asleep, but was struggling to catch his breath. Willow started trembling again, not responding when Tara shook her gently. On the other side of the couch Buffy appeared to be fighting Riley, the Marine struggling to keep her from kicking him.
Giles gasped loudly as he jerked and fell out of his chair, the sound seeming to snap the others out of their sleep, all of them shooting up and breathing hard.
“What was that?” Riley asked, frowning at Buffy.
She shook her head, still breathing hard. “Bad dream.”
“All of you?” Anya asked. “Because all of you were moving in your sleep and you woke up at exactly the same time.”
The Scoobies all looked at each other, surprised. “What? At the same time?” Giles asked, seeing the others nod as he pushed himself back into the chair. “And we were all moving?”
“Yeah, it was weird,” Riley said. “What were you dreaming about?”
Each of them frowned, trying to think. “I was at the high school, in a play, but then I was in the dorm, and Tara, you were there and I was painting on your…” Willow stopped herself abruptly, blushing brightly. “Um, never mind.”
Xander protested immediately. “Hey, no! All parts of the dreams could be important. Like in mine, you and Tara were in the back of my ice cream truck, and I agree with Willow, we shouldn’t talk about the dreams. They were obviously stress dreams and they mean nothing,” he finished quickly, getting glares from all of the girls.
“Did anybody else get attacked in their dream?” Giles asked, frowning in thought as he tried desperately to ignore what Xander had said.
“Yeah, actually,” Buffy said, frowning. “Did you?” He nodded. “By some girl with awful hair and wearing rags?”
“I think she was the first Slayer,” he told her. “We might have offended her by doing that enjoining spell.”
“Now you tell us,” Xander commented. “She cut my heart out!”
“And she was super cryptic,” Buffy complained.
“And she had me dressed like I was back in high school,” Willow added, frowning.
Xander laughed, stopping quickly when Willow shot him a look. “You were cute, Will,” he said quickly.
“I bet you were adorable, sweetheart,” Tara chimed in.
Willow gave her a shy smile, shaking her head. “I was a geek.”
Tara hushed her with a kiss. “You’re perfect, Willow,” she whispered against her lips. They relaxed into the couch, Willow pulling Tara against her. “You’re beautiful, and smart, and most definitely
not a geek.”
Willow blinked, smiling against her neck. “It sounds like you kind of like me,” she teased quietly.
“I kind of love you,” Tara corrected her. “Thanks for coming back safely.”
Willow nodded, yawning. “Of course. I couldn’t let a mutant freak keep me away from you.”
“You should get some sleep,” Tara whispered to her. “You guys have to be tired.”
Willow yawned again even as she shook her head. “I’m good,” she objected, pointing at the TV. “And the movie is still on.”
Tara smiled crookedly, nodding. “Okay,” she said softly, sliding one arm over the back of Willow’s shoulders and turning the redhead gently to lean against her. “Comfy?”
Willow nodded without speaking, snuggling closer. She managed to blink at the movie a few times before she was dragged into oblivion. The other Scoobies seemed to be feeling the same pull, quick to follow her to sleep. Anya changed the tape when the first movie was over, the ex-demon munching on popcorn while she watched, Tara and Riley opting to doze with their respective partners.
*****
Next Time: Adam is dead, but the gang has a much scarier enemy to face… final exams!
I know I didn't write the Adam fight, but it would have gone pretty much like it did on the show and it would have made this chapter gigantic, so I kept the scene with Tara... Hope no one's too disappointed.