The Kitten, the Witches and the Bad Wardrobe - Willow & Tara Forever

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 Post subject: ch. 10
PostPosted: Sun Sep 28, 2003 6:31 am 
Hey everyone. Just finished ch. 10 (just realized i called it 11 in my last post. oops sry. got ahead of myself) anyway, here it is. Sorry, it's kinda short, but it's all i have done right now.



Diclaimer, rating, summary, everything the same as before

Feedback: yes please!!!!



Ch.10



Willow slowly opened her eyes, her world fading from black to



gold. Her face was buried in Tara's hair, her body pressed as



tightly to the blonde's as she could get it. Skin meeting skin



everywhere made her shiver in content. This was the first



morning in forever that she had woken to find peace and light



as opposed to the previous darkness and pain. Even before



she had opened her eyes, she had known that this was no



dream. Nothing else, not even the best dream, could make



her feel as happy and complete as being with Tara did. As she



moved her head slightly, Tara shifted and stirred, her eyes



finally opening to meet Willow's as the redhead pulled back to



look at her face.



“Morning.” Willow offered, leaning in to give Tara a small kiss.



Like all the other ones they'd shared since Tara had come



back, though, it got much more intense, until a knock on the



door broke into the moment. Tara disentangled herself from



Willow hurriedly and pulled the sheet up to cover them before



saying



“Come in.” Buffy poked her head in the door, smirking as she



saw the way the sheet was up around Tara's chin, but still



revealing Willow's bare shoulders, as the latter hadn't



bothered to hide as much.



“Knew it.” She quipped, before coming all the way into the



room. Tara blushed and tried to hit Willow, but found that the



sheet pulled tightly around her restricted her movement.



Willow grinned widely and kissed her on the cheek before



turning to Buffy, who was now trying, unsuccessfully, to



contain her laughter at the two witches different behaviors.



“Well she deserved it.” Tara grumbled, working one arm free



to lightly slap Willow's arm, before Willow spoke up.



“What brings you to our room at this hour to interrupt my



Tara time?” Willow asked with a scowl at Buffy.



“This hour?” Buffy asked incredulously. “It's ten thirty.” She



informed the two, who were now holding hands underneath



the blanket.



“Oh.” Came Willow's reply. “We uh, guess we got a little, um,



caught up?” She finished the sentence with a groan,



regretting the words the minute they were out of her mouth,



her annoyance doubling when a wicked grin spread across



Buffy's face.



“You could say that.” Buffy teased, enjoying the way both



Tara's and Willow's faces got redder and redder. “But you



know, I don't see why you're trying to hide it now.” She



gestured to the entwined hands, hidden by the sheet. “You



didn't seem to mind who knew exactly what you were doing



last night.” Tara turned slightly purple and tried to hide her



head underneath the sheet, only stopped by the fact that it



was still caught underneath Willow's arms.



“It's okay baby.” Willow reassured her, moving their hands out



into the open. “If she's going to tease us about me kinda



forgetting where I was just a little downstairs-” Buffy's snort



cut her off. “What?” She demanded, turning indignantly to the



slayer.



“Nothing, it's just, I wasn't talking about downstairs.”



“Really, what were you talking about then?” Willow asked



quickly, only realizing that she'd fallen into a trap the minute



Buffy grinned even wider.



“Are you kidding? You kept Dawn up past three, and that was



downstairs, with music on.” Tara choked a little, before



replying, almost sulkily,



“We were quiet.” Buffy burst out laughing at that, only able



to reply after about a minute.



“Cough Oh God Tara! Cough cough.” She said innocently, all



smiles. Willow's ears heated up to match her hair. Tara



frowned in defeat.



“I was quiet.” She mumbled. Buffy raised an eyebrow, before



adding, much louder than before.



“Oh Goddess Willow! Please! I love you. Willow!” She tilted her



head triumphantly to the side until she noticed the looks of



mortification on Willow's and Tara's faces.



“Oh, I mean, um, cough.” She added, blushing slightly. Willow



finally recovered enough to reach out a hand to brush Tara's



arm.



“It's okay. Like I said before, if Buffy is going to tease us,



then I'll just have to-”



“What?” Buffy asked sarcastically. “Blush at me until I fall



over and die?”



“No.” Willow smirked. “But we're not the only ones who can



blush.” She flashed Buffy a grin before continuing. “You know,



I really need to complain about this certain slayer who lives



here. It's been months since anyone has slept in this bed, and



she couldn't even wash the sheets?”



“What?” Buffy's face clouded with confusion. Willow had been



going to tease her, and then she started talking about dirty



sheets. “How did you…?”



“Come on.” Willow trailed a finger down the silk sheet on top



of her. “There are the little stains, and that certain scent



from the last time Tara and I made-”



“Willow!” Tara squeaked, her eyes wide and her face hot.



Willow shrugged and gestured to Buffy, who was at least



twice as red as Tara, her mouth hanging open. Tara grinned,



the extra color fading from her cheeks as she caught onto



Willow's game.



“That's not true.” She turned to Buffy, who was looking a



little relieved, and an evil gleam shown in her eye. “We fell off



the bed the last time, remember sweetie?” She hid behind her



hair, nonetheless enjoying the way Willow's eyes bulged and



the strangled cough that came from Buffy as the slayer



headed for the door.



“Okay, not fair, there are two of you.” Buffy protested as she



retreated to the hallway.



“And by the way, I didn't just come up her to torment you.”



She ignored the looks of amused disbelief Tara and Willow



gave her as she continued. “Dawn is downstairs and refusing



to eat anything but funny-shape pancakes since Tara's back,



and I'm guessing she's pretty hungry by now.”



Tara groaned.



“Okay, You owe Dawnie pancakes. Give us a minute, and we'll



be downstairs.” Willow agreed reluctantly. Buffy took a firm



stance by the doorway.



“Oh no, no more moments for you if I want any pancakes



before two. You're getting up right now, and I'm not leaving



this spot until you come with me.” Tara blushed as she replied.



“Uh, Buffy, not that kinda moment. I k-kinda need you to



leave for a second.” Buffy rolled her eyes.



“Come on guys, do I look stupid? Don't answer that.” She



added as Willow opened her mouth. Tara blushed even more



as Willow pouted.



“No, I um, I kinda need to…” Tara gestured down at the



sheet, covering her, then at the closet. Buffy took a minute



to get it, then the blank, confused look on her face turned to



one of embarrassment.



“Oh, um, ya, I, uh, okay, leaving now.” Buffy muttered as she



closed the door.



Tara immediately turned to her still pouting girlfriend.



“So, about that moment, how long do you think she'll give us…?”



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 Post subject: Re: ch. 10
PostPosted: Sun Sep 28, 2003 6:40 am 
I had a feeling W/T would have trouble pulling themselves out of bed after their reunion. You still haven't explained what's going on. ;)

Tara: My heart doesn't stutter.


Tara: Willow, I got so lost.

Willow: I found you. I will always find you.




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 Post subject: Re: ch. 10
PostPosted: Sun Sep 28, 2003 10:57 am 
Aww..that was so adorable now that they know about Tara..and the way they all were with each other..love sammi xx



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 Post subject: Re: ch. 10
PostPosted: Mon Sep 29, 2003 2:05 am 
hey again!

ch. 11 is more than half finished but i might not have it up until tonight or even tomorrow (kind of a hard part for me to write, but i'm getting there) anyway, just taking a break to reply to the feedback and then i'll get back to work. c ya



The Rose24: I know but it starts to get explained this chapter, that's why it's so long and taking such a long time to write. But i promise, you'll get at least some of the answers soon now!



Sammi: thanx! glad u liked it!



-michelle



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 Post subject: Re: ch. 10
PostPosted: Mon Sep 29, 2003 4:27 am 
:shock how come i havent read this before now? :punish on me!! this is great! and so many updates!! :grin :banana :grin



Galahad: What a strange person. French Dude: I don't want to talk to you no more, you empty headed animal food trough wiper. I fart in your general direction. Your mother was a hamster and your father smelled of elderberries. Galahad: Is there someone else up their we could talk to? French Dude: No, now go away or I shall taunt you a second time. - Monty Python



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 Post subject: ch. 11
PostPosted: Mon Sep 29, 2003 7:07 am 
Hey guys. Just finished ch. 11 hope you like it



Foreverpiper: Thanx! I think i just found one of your stories today too, so we're even!



ok, here it is

-michelle



Rating, Disclaimer, summary etc the same as the first chapters

Feedback: Yes Please!!!



Ch. 11

Osiris waited impatiently for the soul to come to him. He had spent hours thinking up a way to get revenge on the witch and her lover, and had finally come to a solution that suited him. He grinned evilly as the spirit of the man he needed to carry out his plans approached him. The dark haired man bowed, his forehead touching the ground in front of Osiris.

“Rise, servant.” The man obeyed, his gaze resting squarely on Osiris.

“Why have you summoned me?” He demanded. Osiris grinned again at his question.

“I have a task for you. It involves the witch who raised her lover almost two days ago.” The man's dark eyes flashed in hatred at the mention of the girl.

“Her.” He growled. “I will not assist her. I am here because of her.”

“I know.” Osiris answered. “I do not wish for you to help her. I wish for you to kill her, but first, kill the one she loves.” The man nodded, his eyes now showing an excited gleam. “I will reward you with the power she had to take revenge on the others who crossed you in that world. Do you accept?” The man's eyes flashed greedily at the thoughts of power as he accepted.

“Gladly.” Warren assured Osiris, grinning madly.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Willow and Tara entered the kitchen holding hands. They immediately noticed a change in the mood as they walked through the doorway. Everyone turned to them, grateful that they had relieved what had been a very tense moment, or, more accurately, a string of moments that had lasted for several minutes now ever since Anya and Xander had entered the room. Willow glanced questioningly at Buffy, who shook her head, signaling 'later.' Willow nodded, and dragged Tara over to the stove to begin the pancakes.

Anya sat across the table, looking uncomfortably at Xander. Things had been even more strained between them than usual since her slip the night before, when she'd hit him for drooling over Willow and Tara together. She had been surprised at the jealousy she felt, and, not one to think about something before acting, had hit him, making things much worse by adding that he could only look at her that way. When Buffy and Dawn had recovered from their laughter, they had noticed the weird silence between the ex-fiancés, Xander's face plainly asking a question and Anya's looking very upset. Niether of them had spoken very much more before they could finally fall asleep (sometime after three), and awkward silence had taken control again when they walked into the kitchen seconds apart.

“Funny shapes or rounds?” Tara's voice cut into their thoughts, making everyone grin.

“Both.” Dawn, Willow, and Buffy replied at the same time, and their grins grew wider. All through breakfast, the four girls covered the quiet that was usually filled with Anya's daily “Go money go” talk, as Xander had once called it, with light-hearted chatter and a little teasing from Dawn. As the dishes were being taken care of, Giles broke the forced conversation with a serious question.

“Now, I know we're all glad to have Tara back,” his face took on the look that Buffy had accurately named “but-face” more than a year ago, “but we need to figure out what caused it. We have to make sure it isn't something evil, and that it's not,” he faltered and looked to the couple, who were practically on each other's laps in the chairs, “well, temporary.” Willow's face paled.

“It, it could be temporary?” she squeaked. “I mean, I could just wake up one morning and she'd be gone, like 'poof?'” Giles shook his head.

“No, no, just listen to me. From what we can gather, none of us did anything that would have brought her back, so that means something else did. And as much as we'd like to believe it was something good, it probably wasn't. And if it was a dark force, they probably had a reason for it. Once that reason is gone, or their goal is accomplished…”

“Poof?” Willow asked, in a much calmer tone than before. Giles nodded.

“We just have to figure out what it was that happened yesterday that caused her to come back and-”

“Um, question?” Willow asked tentatively, raising her hand.

“Yes.” Giles turned to her.

'Well, lets say, hypothetically, I kinda went to a certain person's grave yesterday. And lets say that while I was there, I started crying, and a crystal I had started glowing, and I had a really weird dream and didn't wake up until that night. Would that hypothetical me have anything to do with this at all?” As Willow spoke, Tara felt a little dizzy. She could hear Willow talking, but her words were blurring together and changing, exactly like the kitchen of the Summers house was doing around her. Suddenly everything was white, and she could hear Willow crying somewhere far off. An image flashed briefly before her eyes of Willow kneeling in their room, with her own unmoving body in her lover's arms. After another brief flash of white Willow was lying almost flat on the ground by a headstone, crying as something on the ground beside her started to glow. Then she was back in the white that seemed strangely like a prison to her. As a line of black opened at her feet and swallowed her, she could hear a weird thunder in her ears. Everything went dark, and then slowly faded back to the kitchen, where she found she was lying on the ground with the entire gang gathered around her, Willow supporting her head in her lap.

“Tara, Tara, please wake up, come on, please.” The frantic note in Willow's voice caused her to open her eyes, and she immediately found light kisses placed all over her face.

“Are you okay? What happened? Did somebody do something?” Her girlfriend asked all of the questions without taking a breath, her eyes darting over Tara's body quickly to make sure no one had harmed her.

“It was you.” Tara breathed, still half caught in her dream world. As soon as she said it she frowned, wondering what she was talking about.

“I did something?” Willow asked, her voice filled with disbelief.

'No, you brought me back. I was in,” Tara thought a minute to the white world she had briefly been in. “some kind of heavenly dimension, and when you cried at my grave, you did something, it brought me back.” Willow inhaled sharply. Her mind reeled as she dropped her hands from where they had been stroking Tara's hair. She struggled not to cry as she spoke, her voice coming out distorted from the effort.

“Oh God, Tara, I'm sorry.” She buried her face in her hands. Tara had been in heaven. She hadn't even thought about it after she had seen that Tara was back, but now the reality came crashing down on her. Now that Tara remembered where she had been, this was probably a hell for her like I had been for Buffy. She tried to stand up, to get away from Tara, who probably hated her now, but Tara's hand on her knee stopped her.

“Willow, what-”

“I did it again.” Willow breathed through her tears, horrified. “You were in heaven, and I tore you out of there. Me. I'm supposed to love you, and I can't even let you be happy. Goddess, Tara, I'm sorry. I didn't know.” She choked, and the tears began to flow freely as she failed to hold in the sobs. “I didn't mean to, I thought it was under control, it wasn't-” Tara placed a finger over her lips, effectively silencing her. Willow's chest heaved with the effort of holding in her grief, but she kept quiet.

“Sweetie, I said I was in a heavenly dimension, not heaven.” Willow's brow creased as she frowned in confusion. “I don't remember much, but, I can just tell, I wasn't happy there. In the dream, it, it was like a prison.” Tara was frowning now too, trying to find the right way to put this. “It just made me feel trapped.” Willow tried to speak, failed, and took a moment to compose herself. She took a deep breath, and asked quietly,

“So this isn't hell to you?” Tara was amazed at how fragile she looked, and how quickly all of the little things that made Willow look so haunted could return.

“No. Very far from it, actually.” Willow breathed an audible sigh of relief, settling back down to her position on the floor. Tara sat up, looking around at the rest of the gang, who had conveniently found different ways to back up a few feet but still watch the interaction between them. Dawn had tears running down her cheeks, and Giles was repeatedly cleaning his glasses, trying to look casual about it, while Xander exchanged a nervous glance with Anya, both hurriedly looking away when they caught the others eyes. Willow and Tara slowly stood up as Giles broke the silence.

“Well, that does, uh, change a lot. Perhaps you could tell me about your dream, Tara. I could try to piece together-”

“I will.” Tara promised, but turned to Willow. “But, could I ask about how, it, you know, happened.” Willow nodded resignedly. She had to tell her, but she still was going to have a hard time facing the look she knew would appear on Tara's face when she heard…

“Will.” Buffy stepped forward. “I can tell her, if you want.” Willow shook her head after a second's hesitation.

“I need to tell her. I'll…” she glanced at Tara. “I can handle it.” Buffy nodded and stepped back, giving them room. Willow took Tara's hand.

“Can we go outside?” It would be even harder for her to tell the story if the Scooby gang, the ones she had hurt the most, were gathered around while she spoke. Tara nodded and silently let Willow lead her outside to the bench in their yard. She wasn't blind, she could tell this was about something more than her death, but she would wait as long as Willow needed her to to find out. They sat on the bench and Willow took a deep breath.

“Do you remember seeing Buffy and Xander talking out here? Right here actually?” Tara nodded, and Willow continued.

“They ended up making up. Again, right here actually. But then Warren came.” Tara frowned.

“But I thought Buffy beat him. You know, the night before.” Willow nodded.

“But he wasn't too happy about it. He yelled some stuff, then he pulled out a gun. He, he shot Buffy. He turned around to leave, but he was still shooting. His arm came up, and he, he,” Willow couldn't speak any more, she was too choked up, and she knew that if she started crying now, she wouldn't be able to stop. Tara's hand made soothing circles on her back as the blonde waited patiently for her to continue.

“One of the bullets came through our window. You were standing in front of it. You didn't really know what had happened, you just said 'your shirt' and fell over.” Willow again had to stop, and this time it took Tara's hand on her back and another one in her hair to comfort her.

“I caught you, but, you were gone.” Willow had to pause almost every word now, her breath was coming in gasps. When Tara tried to comfort her this time, though, she pulled away. She didn't deserve this, Tara didn't know what she'd done, otherwise she would be far away by now.

“What is it Willow. You can tell me. It's okay.” Willow put her head in her hands, standing up as Tara once again tried to embrace her, shaking her head.

“Tara, I lost control.” She saw fear enter Tara's eyes at this. “I tried to bring you back, but Osiris wouldn't, he wouldn't let me.” Tara felt another memory form at the back of her mind but suppressed it; she needed to be here to hear this from Willow right now.

“When he said no, I went crazy. I let the magick take over, I didn't care anymore. I didn't see the point in fighting. I killed Warren.” Willow had to fight down the urge to vomit as she remembered the steaming, skinless corpse she had left behind. “Not just killed him, I tortured him, and I enjoyed it. I killed Rack too, for his power. I tried to make Dawn the key again. I almost killed Giles and Buffy. I used a mind control spell on Anya and almost killed her too. I tried to end the world, and gave Xander a scar when he stopped me.” Tara had noticed the faint pink marks on Xander's face the night before, but had assumed that they too would be explained. Tried to end the world? The way Willow had recited what she'd done, like facts memorized from a sheet, had made Tara focus on the smaller details before actually registering what she'd said. She looked up at Willow, intending to ask her question with her eyes, but Willow was already beyond being able to look at her. She wondered why, with this new information, she wasn't feeling afraid of Willow, didn't want to run away from her, wasn't feeling even a little bit differently towards her girlfriend. Maybe it was the state she had seen the redhead in when she first came back, or how fragile she still was; there were so many things that had made her cry since Tara had come back. Maybe the months of separation had done something, or maybe it was the fact that all of this had happened because she died, but Tara couldn't even consider walking away from Willow over this. The first time they had been separated, after the forget spell, Tara had been able to leave because she knew she was doing the right thing and that it would help Willow. Now, though, she was sure it would not be at all right to abandon her lover, and she wasn't sure she could leave her again if she was. Willow, though, didn't know any of this, and continued to sob harder and harder, waiting hopelessly for the words of goodbye that would tear her apart.

“Willow-” Tara began, but Willow, raised a hand, wondering how she still had the strength to do so after everything.

'Please, don't. I can't-” Tara stopped Willow's words with a fierce kiss, enveloping Willow in her arms so tightly that the redhead couldn't pull away again. She slowly lowered them onto the bench. Willow slowly opened her eyes as the kiss ended, her face filled with disbelief.

“Tara?” She asked quietly, still unable to believe that Tara wasn't running away from her.

“I'm still here sweetie. I always will be. I love you.” Tara stated simply, but her voice was so full of caring Willow thought her heart would burst.

“I love you too.” She managed to get the words out as her throat tightened, and she moved over to embrace Tara in an end of the world kiss, closing her eyes tightly.

“Warren.” Willow growled. The mixture of hate and pain mixed into that word gave Tara chills as she separated from Willow to look over at the gate, where she found, to her horror, the supposedly dead leader of the trio was standing.

“Aww, two Scoobies sharing a touching moment by the gate. I think I remember this one.” He said coldly, as he reached into his jacket.

“Warren-” Tara began, but he cut her off.

“No, wait, I know this one. Hmmm…” He glanced up triumphantly, and they both gasped to see that both of his eyes were solid black, with red energy crackling in them.

Oh ya.” He cleared is throat, and pulled a gun out. “Did you think you could just do that to me? Did you think I'd let you get away with that?” He flashed them a maniacal grin. “Think again.” Willow, who was frozen in shock and fear, found herself pushed to the ground by Tara as the gun went off.

“No!” She screamed as she fell to the ground helplessly, watching the gun Warren had pointed directly at Tara.



TBC...



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 Post subject: Re: ch. 11
PostPosted: Mon Sep 29, 2003 10:00 am 
Oh my god, that was really intense..I loved it.please don't let Warren hurt Tara again..Love sammi xx



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 Post subject: RE:Ch. 11
PostPosted: Mon Sep 29, 2003 4:19 pm 


...... Well, that's the knife edge of suspense, in all it's glory! ( and a bit mean too!)



I really like the description of Tara thought process while

Willow was stating the fact of what she had done, the gathering of non verbal clues and recognition of Willow being so fragile. :clap



:pray PLEASE update soon! :pray





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 Post subject: Re: RE:Ch. 11
PostPosted: Tue Sep 30, 2003 2:22 am 
Hey. Sorry, ch. 12 isn't done yet, but i'm working on it. Just replying to feedback, then time to write. Hope to have it posted by tonight or tomorrow



Sammie: Thanx for reading! I'm having to work so hard not to reply more to what you asked about Tara not getting hurt again, cuz that would kinda waste the cliffhanger at the end of the chapter(which i so did not do on purpose, really) So sorry bout not answering you yet.



WintersDreamer: Ya, that was kinda mean of me. Sorry, really I am (:devilish ) why are you all looking at me like i'm not? ok sorry, no more sugar for me today. The parts where Tara was actually thinking about what Willow had done were the hardest to write, so I'm glad you liked them!



off to write ch. 12 and maybe start ideas for another fic that i am thinking about writing (but i'll do ch. 12 first)

c ya!!!

-michelle



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 Post subject: Re: RE:Ch. 11
PostPosted: Tue Sep 30, 2003 3:46 am 
Yes, it is really hard to relive that experience, but I am glad Tara knows what happened now.

Tara: My heart doesn't stutter.


Tara: Willow, I got so lost.

Willow: I found you. I will always find you.




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 Post subject: ch. 12
PostPosted: Wed Oct 01, 2003 2:33 am 
Hey. I just finished ch. 12. It's kinda short, sorry about that, but i only have about 3/4 of what i was gonna post as ch.12 done, and i gotta leave soon to watch the world cup with my soccer team (not at the field, just on TV at the coaches house.) GO USA!!! sorry, lots of sugar and soccer excitement. Anyway, expect another update soon tomorrow cuz ch. 13 is almost finished. c ya!



The Rose24: ya, glad she knows whats going on, but things are also about to get more confusing.



-michelle



Ch. 12

“No!” Willow screamed as she fell, the sound of the gun still echoing in her ears. Warren's maniacal laughter filled her head as Tara gasped. Willow lay on the ground in a crumpled heap, sobbing, waiting for the pain that would signal Warren had shot her too, but it never came. She looked over with teary eyes to see Warren hovering a few feet off the ground, the gun on the floor by his side. She got up to walk over to him.

“What the-” He began, but suddenly found he could not move his mouth. Willow glanced over to where Tara was, surprised to note that she was the one keeping Warren from moving. Relief made her legs weak as she saw that no harm had been done to Tara; there wasn't a mark on her. She had been so worried, almost sure the gone was pointed at her girlfriend when it went off. She got up to walk over to them, shooting a look at Tara. Tara shook her head in response; maintaining the spell holding Warren right now with only light magicks was taking it's toll on her.

“Buffy!” Willow called. She wanted to make sure that he wouldn't get away once Tara had no more energy for the spell, and the slayer's strength would come in handy. She was having enough problems controlling her magick, which wanted very badly to come out and destroy him like before, without having to watch him run away. She walked slowly up to him, glaring through him, with cold eyes.

“If you ever come near me or the people I love again, I sware I'll-” He spit in her face, the liquid that was, for some reason, blood red leaving a trail down her face. She flinched in disgust, then slapped him as hard as she could.

“Ah!” the cry from behind her made her wheel around to Tara, who was now lying on the ground, covering one side of her face in her hands.

“What happened?” She rushed to her lover's side as she slowly moved her hand away from her face, to reveal a dark red handprint on the left side of her face.

“Who did this?” Willow demanded looking around.

“You.” Tara breathed quietly. “When you slapped him.” She nodded her head in Warren's direction, who was now lying on the ground, breathing hard. He got up slowly, revealing a hand mark identical to Tara's on his cheek. When he reached for the gun again, Tara's spell no longer in effect because of her loss of concentration, Tara threw herself in front of Willow without hesitation or, Willow noticed in a detached sense while the rest of her screamed, fear. The gun went off, and Willow closed her eyes in horror, but to her surprise Tara's voice was clear, calm, and free of pain when she spoke.

“Get away from here.” Warren looked at the gun in his hand, still warm from the bullet it had fired, to the uninjured Tara, to the tiny pieces of the bullet on the ground beside her.

“Dammit.” He yelled as he threw it to the ground and turned to run. “This isn't over. I'll be back, and I sware I'm gonna take you down. With that he turned and ran down the street, covering almost three blocks before the slayer came rushing out. She looked from the gun to Warren's retreating figure before turning to the two witches in panic. She rushed over to them, kneeling on the ground.

“Are you okay?” They both nodded slowly, looking at each other for confirmation. As Buffy and Willow spoke, Tara felt a familiar light-headedness surround her as the memory she had put off while talking to Willow caught up with her.

“Guys…” She began, but crumpled to the floor in a faint before she could finish her sentence.

- - - - - - - - -

Warren returned to the forest, in the exact place where he had died. Osiris was waiting for him.

“She is not dead.” Osiris remarked, his eyes flashing.

“No.” Warren answered quietly. “The gun you gave me was defective. It didn't work.”

“What do you mean, didn't work?” Osiris growled, his voice getting dangerous.

“I mean I went there, did what I was supposed to, shot her, and nothing happened. The bullets just, shattered.” Osiris was silent. Warren added only one more thing before he let the god think.

“When the witch bitch hit me," his voice was full of venom as he spoke of Willow. "it hurt the other one too. The blonde.” He reached up to touch the mark on his face, still a light pink from when she had slapped him.

Osiris grinned in understanding. Warren couldn't hurt the lover, and any harm done to him by the witch was transferred also back to the blonde one. That could only mean one thing; he'd linked them somehow. When he had used the leftover energy from the spell cast by the lover's grave to resurrect Warren, he had built some sort of conductor between them. Because Warren's life was only restored because of the other, Tara, he could not hurt her. But it was also that fact which made him almost a side-effect of the spell, thereby linking his well-being to hers. Well, actually, the second part only was applied if Willow did something to him, because she was the direct source of the whole web of connections, as she had cast the first spell. Warren watched as Osiris's face split into another evil grin.

“This will be good.” He remarked, conjuring a dark, pebble size device in front of Warren's face. Warren reached out to grab it.

“What is it?” He asked, feeling the remarkable mystical strength of the thing in his hand.

“Her power. The part of it that she gave up on King Man's Bluff that day.” Warren laughed.

“So I get to kill her lover after all.”

“No.” Osiris shook his head, the grin growing wider. “She will.”



TBC...



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 Post subject: Re: ch. 12
PostPosted: Wed Oct 01, 2003 10:37 am 
What?!! That was really good, and so great about the not killing Tara or Willow bit, but what happened at the end? noo..:pray love sammi xx



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 Post subject: Re: ch. 12
PostPosted: Fri Oct 03, 2003 4:47 am 
Hey again. Sorry it took so long to get this up, the last 2 days have been hell, as in me staying up so late finishing papers that i have fallen alseep in a total of 5 classes (and not gotten caught :bow ). Sorry again this chapter is kinda short too, but i have a perfect stopping point so...



Sammi: Thanx for the feedback! Hope you like this next chapter!



ch.13



Tara woke again to find herself on the couch. She got up, her face set in a grim line. Inside the kitchen, the Scooby gang were discussing something in heated whispers.

“No, I sware, the gun was pointed at her. Both times. I saw the bullet shatter. It was like it was made of glass; the minute it touched her it broke.” Willow turned to see Tara standing in the doorway. “Oh, you're awake. Are you okay?” Willow had crossed the room to her the minute she saw her there. A light touch on her arm jolted Tara more firmly back to the present. The worried expression on Willow's face reminded her that she had just been knocked out for- she glanced at the clock on the wall and her eyes widened- apparently three hours. It hadn't seemed that long in her dream. Her dream! She had to tell the Scoobies about that.

“What? Y-ya. Willow, Osrirs brought me back.” Willow's eyes seemed to pop out of her head.

“What?”

“It has something to do with right after I died, and then at my grave. He wasn't happy about it.” Tara remembered the next part of her dream. “He did something, brought Warren back to. That's why Warren can't hurt me, he connected us.”

“Warren can't hurt you?” Giles interrupted, looking up from the fragment of the bullet he had been studying.

“Oh, ya, that's why the bullet broke. But you can't hurt him. Or, you can, but whatever you do to him happens to me.” Tara added. Willow winced and brought a hand up to gently touch the still pink mark on Tara's cheek.

“Sorry.” She said quietly. Tara brought her hand up to cover Willow's.

“It's okay. You didn't know.” Willow nodded, but a tinge of guilt still remained in her eyes. Tara's eyes clouded as she tried to remember the next part of the dream. Osiris had given Warren something, it had to do with Willow's power, but she had been too close to consciousness to catch all of it. A feather light touch of lips on her forehead brought her back to reality.

“You okay?” Willow spoke softly, her eyes full of concern and care. Tara nodded.

“I think I just need to sit down.” Willow led her over to the table and sat her down on the chair she had been sitting in, and waited for her to sit down before doing the same behind her, her legs wrapped around Tara's, her arms wrapped around her comfortingly, surrounding her. Tara laid her head back against Willow's shoulder and inhaled deeply as Willow pressed a kiss to her temple. The Scoobies continued the conversation, trying to determine possible causes for the resurrection and new consequences. Tara found herself drifting into a light trance; the previous night hadn't held much sleep for her, and today's events had been physically and emotionally exhausting. Before anybody noticed, except for Willow, she was asleep, her breathing even against Willow's neck. Willow too found it impossible to stay awake, surrounded by the familiar content that she had been missing for a while, completely drained from the experiences since leaving the coven. When the gang realized, ten minutes later, that neither one had said anything for a while, and glanced over at them, they were both already deeply asleep. Buffy placed a finger to her lips, and they carried the couple upstairs to their room and placed them on the bed, shutting the door behind them as they left. Without waking up each woman instinctively moved across the foot separating them to the warmth of the other, pulling them close. A half-smile played on Willow's lips as she moved her head to the side of Tara's chest, her arms wrapping around her waist.

“Aww, how sweet.” Warren stepped out from the shadows beside the door as Willow groggily sat up and looked around. Her expression quickly changed to one of fear and anger as she spotted the man Osiris had used her spell to resurrect.

“Tara.” She laid a hand on the blonde's shoulder without ever taking her eyes of Warren, who was now sauntering menacingly up to the bed. Tara opened heavy eyes to see Warren reach into his pocket and take out a dark pebble-like device. Osiris gave that to him.

“You can't hurt her.” Willow growled, her body positioned protectively between Tara and Warren.

“No.” Warren agreed, then raised the hand holding the black thing. “But you will.” The rest of the dream, the part that Tara had been unable to remember, burst upon her with blinding clarity.

“Willow, look out!” She started, but it was too late. As Warren activated the device, a beam of pure black shot out of it, red energy sparking out of it as it hit Willow in the chest.

“No!” Tara yelled as Willow was knocked off of the bed and into the wall behind them. The door burst open and Buffy ran in, looking around for whatever it was that had disturbed her friends. The minute she saw Warren she sprang, knocking him out with a quick blow to the head. She turned fearfully to Tara, checking to see if her blow had landed on the blonde too.

“It only happens if Willow hurts him.” Tara reassured her.

“I see a lot of that happening pretty soon.” A cold voice behind them spoke. Tara spun around to face Willow, clad in black leather, black-haired, with distorted eyes and energy shooting sparks from her fingers.

'I'm back.”



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 Post subject: Re: ch. 12
PostPosted: Fri Oct 03, 2003 4:59 am 
Ugh!!! There you go with the cliffhangers again.



How will they handle Dark Willow this time? :hmm

Tara: My heart doesn't stutter.


Tara: Willow, I got so lost.

Willow: I found you. I will always find you.




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 Post subject: Re: ch. 12
PostPosted: Fri Oct 03, 2003 9:47 pm 
Dark Willow....noooo...I hope they handle her and everything is okay between willow and tara now..please? Love sammi xx



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 Post subject: Re: ch. 12
PostPosted: Sun Oct 05, 2003 10:21 pm 
Yai!!! I love your fic! You got me hooked since the beginning! At first I wouldn't read it because of Tara's death, but then I found it more therapeutical then the 'remove it all' thing! What can I say, I probably need my dose of angst these times..... eh eh eh eh, and I can bear it, because I trust you muuuch more than Joss in bringing them together in the end!

*kisses and hugs*



Sara



____________________________



I'm not weird, I'm talented.



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 Post subject: Re: ch. 12
PostPosted: Mon Oct 06, 2003 2:55 pm 
Hey guys. This si the last update i can post for a while, got grounded, thats why it took so long, but i promise to have a few more when i can come on again on Sat., sorry bout that. OKay, here it is, hope you like. I cant reply to you guys posts inividually right now, i have to leave, but i'll do that when i can and thanx for the feedback!

-michelle





Ch. 14

“I'm back.”

Tara felt like all the air had been crushed out of her chest by a giant fist. Buffy's eyes were so wide that Tara thought they would fall out of her head.

“What did he do?” Buffy asked quietly, while Willow stood with her arms crossed, apparently enjoying her friends' fear.

“He had this thing, it forced the magick, or what she gave up on King Man's Bluff that day, back into her.” Tara said just as quietly, trying to adjust to the waves of power rolling off Willow, which were making her feel sick. Willow grinned, black, dry lips splitting a little as they were stretched.

“Stupid. Now I get to kill him.” She started to turn.

“Willow wait!” Buffy yelled. She made as if to grab Willow's arm, then thought better of it. “If you touch him, it'll hurt Tara.” Willow smiled again.

“Aww, darn. We'll just have to take care of that distraction now won't we?” She raised her arm to point at Tara while the blonde felt her energy gathering around her. Just when she was getting ready to duck, though, Willow's arm jerked, and a look of pain came over her face.

“What? No!” She raised her arm to Tara again, and then cried out in frustration when it immediately started twitching uncontrollably. Tears started streaming down her face.

“She's just a distraction. Kill her!” Willow's voice seemed to be to no one in particular, mostly like she was yelling at herself. “She won't let you have the power. Don't you remember it?” Her voice was becoming calmer, almost coaxing as she spoke. “You don't need her. Kill her.” The arm she was now frantically gripping with her other hand seemed to still for a moment, until Willow looked up at Tara's face. Her lip was bleeding, her face wet with tears. She shut her eyes and screamed as she collapsed to the floor.

“Just do it. She's nothing.” As those words came out of her mouth, Willow's eyes widened and then closed tightly, her teeth gritted against some new pain. When she spoke next her voice was raw, forced, and it was obviously taking great effort for her to speak, with a long pause in between each word.

“She. Is. Everything.”

Buffy turned to look at Tara, who had tears in her eyes ass he struggled not to rush to Willow's side.

“What's going on?” Buffy hissed, not sure if she should run or attack. “This didn't happen last time. Is it some kind of withdrawal thing?”

Tara shook her head slowly, the tears now spilling out to run down her cheeks.

“She's fighting back.” Her voice was heavily tinged with fear and disbelief, but Buffy could hear the overwhelming tone of love worked into the words. Willow got up from the floor, still trembling uncontrollably.

“Fine.” Her voice was back to the cold, empty tone that the presence of the dark magick caused.

“She won't let me hurt you, but you haven't won. You won't beat me; she can't hold out forever.” With that the air around her turned black, and she evaporated into nothing. It was only then that Tara allowed herself to give in, and fell to the floor, sobbing. Buffy ran over to try and comfort her, stopping about a foot away. She awkwardly stroked her hair, then started rubbing her hand in circles on her back as Tara continued to cry. After what seemed like hours, but had really only been minutes, the tears started to lessen, as Tara gained control of herself again.

“We should go. She'll be back soon.” Buffy said quietly.

“No.” Tara said. “She won't. She's going after Warren.

Buffy glanced to spot on the floor where Warren had been unconscious, now empty except for the pool of black blood he left behind.

“Ew.”

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Willow walked calmly through the woods, following the scent of fear that came so plainly off of Warren. He ran, but he couldn't get far ahead of her, he never could.

“Seems a little familiar, don't you think.” She drawled. He didn't answer her, but she knew he could hear; a hint of anger was now there along with the fear.

“Silly, silly Warren. Did ya really think that if you gave me back my power, I'd just kill my girlfriend and leave you alone? Please.” She grinned as he took the same path as he had the last time. She wanted this to be as similar as possible to before. She waved her hand when he reached the place of his earlier death, and the same vines shot out to bind his hands and feet.

“Aww, Warren all tied up to a tree. I think I remember this one.” She said as she approached him.

“Will-” He began, but she cut him off.

“No, wait, I know this one. Hmmm…” she said. He paled at her use of is earlier threat to her and Tara in the yard.

“Oh ya.” She raised both arms to shoot a bolt of energy at him. She enjoyed the look of intense pain that came over his face, until he started to scream, because when he opened his mouth, it was not his voice, but Tara's that filled her head, along with the picture of the blonde laying curled up on their bedroom floor, her face contorted with pain.

“No!” she screamed as she cut off the wave of power she was shooting at him. Her face was pale and sweaty as a battle raged within her. Warren watched in horror as her hands grabbed her hair and face as both parts of her fought to gain control.

“He killed her. He doesn't deserve to live. Kill him.”

Not if it will hurt Tara!

“Forget about her. You don't need her. You need the power. She wants to keep you from it. Just take it!”

I don't need the magick! I need her. You can't take her away again!

“Don't fight me Willow. You can't win. You're nothing without me.”

I am to her! I won't let you do this!

Warren glanced at the vines that were withering slowly with Willow's lack of focus and grinned. He slowly started to untangle himself, careful not to alert Willow of her mistake. As he looked over at her, though, he realized that wouldn't be a problem. She was lying flat out on the ground, sobbing and yelling, her whole body twitching. Her nails dug into either side of her face as she fought whatever it was that was in her. He reached into his jacket and pulled out another gun. He slowly walked over to her, pausing right next to her before roughly jabbing his foot into her side. She slowly rolled over to look up at him, her face shining with sweat and tears, blood running out of her nose and the shallow cuts she had on one side of her face where her fingernails had been dragged down from her temple. He brought the gun up to point it at her head.

“Say goodnight bitch.” He leered, before tensing his finger on the trigger. He never saw Buffy behind him until she knocked him out for the second time that night with a quick blow to the head.

“Goodnight bitch.” She said before turning to Tara, who was now rushing to an unconscious Willow's side. “That never gets old.”



TBC...



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 Post subject: wow!
PostPosted: Mon Oct 06, 2003 4:43 pm 
Hi there michelle!

I just read this whole fic in one go, and I have to say-its amazing! The angst was..well...angsty, and I have to say I love a bit of angst ( not sure if thats a good thing), and the reunion was so heartfelt, really well written. I was literally on the edge of my seat during this last chapter, great stuff. and the ending made me smile, I could so see the Buffy sarcasm in my head.

So, to stop babbling and get to the point...

Great fic, and write more soon. Oh and sorry you're grounded, hope you didnt do anything too naughty, lol :lol



willowsgirl xx



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 Post subject: Re: wow!
PostPosted: Mon Oct 06, 2003 8:39 pm 
That was really great michelle...Is willow ok now? I really hope so. Love sammi xx



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 Post subject: Re: wow!
PostPosted: Tue Oct 07, 2003 3:25 am 
Now, this is the way it should have been. Tara's love saves Willow.

Tara: My heart doesn't stutter.


Tara: Willow, I got so lost.

Willow: I found you. I will always find you.


Edited by: The Rose24  at: 10/7/03 8:16 pm


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 Post subject: Ch. 15
PostPosted: Thu Oct 09, 2003 6:15 am 
Hey guys. Sorry this one took so long to write, but it is actually pretty long. It's the last chapter of this fic, although I may add an epilogue later. Thanx to everyone who read!!



willowsgirl: Thanx! I'm glad you've liked it so far, and thanx for reading! The Buffy sarcasm was fun to write, glad you enjoyed that, and i've actually forgotten what i did, and apparently my parents did too, cuz they no i'm online right now, and they didnt say anything :D



Sammi: Glad you liked it! AS for if Willow's okay now... read away! Thanx for your feedback throughout the story, i really enjoyed it!



The Rose24: Glad you agree with my theory on what should have happened. Thanx for reading, and all the replies you've given!



-michelle



Ch.15

Tara knelt on the floor of the wood beside the still form of her lover. Tears reached her eyes once again as she took in Willow's face. Even in unconsciousness, conflict and pain played on her features, giving her no rest. Tara lifted a hand to gently push some of the black hair behind Willow's ears, her fingers tingling with the dark magick pouring off of the woman next to her as she gathered her head in her lap. Willow had blood coming from her nose, and from cuts that ran down from the temple on one side of her face, obviously inflicted by her own hands. The sense of magick grew stronger as Willow's eyes fluttered, struggling to open. Buffy knelt beside her, concern battling with fear on her face.

“Is she safe?” Buffy's question reflected both the slayer's cautiousness around an enemy and her own worry for a friend in trouble. Tara shook her head mutely. No matter how broken and harmless Willow appeared right now, the power pouring off of her, now so strong Tara had to control the urge to vomit, told her otherwise.

“Do we have to…” Buffy left the question unfinished, trying not to actually consider what they might have to do if Willow was still under the control of the magicks.

“No. Buffy, she's not safe yet, but there's a chance, I can feel it.” Even when Buffy looked a little skeptical, she kept going. “Look, I don't really know exactly what happened last time, but the thing is, Willow gave the magicks control willingly. She gave up. This time, it was forced into her, and she's fighting.” A single tear spilled down her cheek as she moved slightly to reveal Willow's nose and face, bleeding from her struggle. Buffy nodded slowly, her eyes still wary.

“When she hurt him-” Tara stopped, the memory of the pain she'd felt when Willow had shot the bolt forcing its way into her mind. It was beyond anything she'd ever had to endure, and it was made infinitely worse, because it was Willow causing it. “I felt her. For a minute, she was in the room with us. I heard her Buffy. She fought it. For me.”

“Alright.” Buffy sighed. She needed help; maybe Giles or even the council, someone who could tell her what to do. She was caught between facing off with her newly regained friend again and taking the chance that Willow would hurt the people close to her. What she wanted were orders, something clear-cut, without blurry lines and moral issues. What she had was herself, Tara, and a very bad situation. She lifted a hand to rub her head, trying unsuccessfully to clear it.

“We should get back to the house. I want to talk to Giles before she-” Tara cried out as a huge burst of power exploded in her senses, obscuring everything else.

“Wakes up?” Willow finished groggily from behind them, reaching up a hand to touch the side of her head, wincing as her hand reached the cuts.

“What-” Willow fell backwards as her own power assaulted her, her eyes flying open. Tara gasped as her lover's eyes, wide with shock, connected with hers, filling her gaze with emerald green, which slowly began to darken towards black as the magick started to gain control again. Fighting the feelings of nausea threatening to overwhelm her, Tara ran towards her, her vision almost blacking out as she got within a few feet of her, the power Willow had breaking over her in waves.

When a hand touched her arm, Willow looked up to see Tara, reaching out to her, her features distorted with pain and concentration. Her black-green eyes met Tara's brilliantly blue ones, before she turned to run into the woods. Tears came as she heard Tara call to her from behind, and crashes told her that her lover had tripped over something, allowing her more time to escape. No matter how much she wanted to take comfort in Tara, let herself give in and go to her, she couldn't; not when she was like this. This was the darkest side of her, the one without hope or will, the one Tara should never have to see. She had only been able to escape from it the last time with Giles's help, and that had been a close call, with her somehow being stopped with a speech about a yellow crayon. Now, though, there was no pure magick to hold onto to give her the extra strength she needed, to provide an exit for her to force the darkness out of. She was stuck with this, and that meant that she had stay away from the people she loved. She would only hurt them.

That's right. A voice from within her taunted. You can't get rid of it. You can fight it, but you'll only last so long. You're stuck with me forever, and I am stronger than you. Give in now while there is still enough left of you to make that decision.

No! Not again. I can do this. I won't hurt her. Even as Willow thought the words, she felt her foot catch on a branch, a sharp wave of pain going through her as her hands, still cut and bruised from the graveyard, connected with the sharp rocks and debris on the ground. She lay like that, face down in the dirt, crying softly.

You see? Even when you think you're doing the right thing, I affect you. You can only fight me for so long; your will is not as strong as you pretend, and the pain I can cause….

As the magick taunted her, Willow felt her arms raise to her face. Nails bit deeply into the old cuts, drawing fresh blood as she screamed. She tried to pull her hands away from her face, but couldn't; all she succeeded in doing was to drag her nails, still in her skin, farther down her face, widening the new cuts. She began to whimper as the magick sent a wave of pleasure, much like what Rack had given her, straight through her. It made her want to throw up and scream in ecstasy at the same time. It felt so wrong, but the part of her she'd spent months trying to control after she gave up magick, the part that needed this, responded instantly. She had cast it out along with the darkness before, but now it took control of her, anchoring the grip the magick had on her.

You can't hide forever Willow. You need me. You crave this, you live for the torture. He nails drew blood once again, this time on her scalp, the blood matting her dark hair together. Come to me. Give in. It's all you can do. I am a part of you.

Tara followed the sense of dark magick, the rate its presence was growing at scaring her more and more.

Fight it Willow. You can hold on. Please, just hold on a little longer. As she rounded a clump of trees, the stench of power hit her head on, making her reel back wards. Sensing her, Willow lifted her head from the dirt to gaze at her with eyes that were completely black.

“Tara.” The word came out distorted, the raw sound of Willow voice grating against Tara's ears. “Leave. Now.” Tara couldn't tell if it was Willow or the magick speaking, but she didn't care.

“No.” Willow head snapped up, fury written plainly on her face.

“Do it. Now.” Willow's voice had changed to a deep growl, full of threat. Tara didn't move from her firm stance in front of Willow. “Please.” Willow's voice was thick and strained from the effort it took her to speak. Before she could change her mind, or the darkness could suppress Willow totally once again, Tara moved over to Willow. Her arms fell around Willow's shoulders, stopping the girl from running from her again. Willow tried to push her away, but didn't have the strength anymore. For about a minute neither of them did anything, until Willow broke down, her head lowering to Tara's shoulder, crying helplessly.

You can't do this! Her mind yelled at her. Don't let her get involved in this. You can't hurt her! But she didn't have the power to pull back, she was totally unable to stop the sobs that came, to suppress the exhaustion that ran through her. She had used up all her strength fighting the allure of power, and she knew that the moment she was alone again, it would take control, she was beaten.

Tara slowly stroked Willow's hair, the air crackling with energy where her fingertips touched Willow's hair. She watched in amazement as her fingers left a trail of copper through the black hair, the darkness rising off of Willow in all of the places they touched. Slowly Willow's tear-stained face rose to meet hers, an expression of defeat upon her face.

“You shouldn't see me like this.” Willow spoke quietly, but Tara could feel all the emotions worked into the phrase. Tara shook her head.

“I need to see you like this Willow. We have to face this and deal with it so we can move on. Together.” As she finished, Tara leaned in to brush her lips against Willow's. At the first soft contact, a bolt of energy passed through the air. Without fully comprehending what she was doing, Tara poured her magick into Willow through the kiss, attaching to the soul still half buried underneath the darkness. Exactly as the essence of magick had before, it provided a route out of Willow's body, one she could force the darkness onto. Tara gasped as the power radiated slowly off of her lover, making its way slowly through her. It searched desperately for anything to cling to in Tara as it was channeled out of Willow through her, looking for any weakness it could cling to and turn against her. As it forced its way into her thoughts, she ignored the taunts, focusing instead on the feel of Willow's lips against hers, the arms around her waist, the strong pulse against her skin where Willow's thumb stroked her cheekbone. As the last of the darkness was cast out into the air, a brilliant white light surrounded them, fading as they fell back onto their bed, sunlight streaming through the window of their room as a new day began.



End

(unless i end up posting an epilouge later, which is likely)

:kitty (there was really no reason for me to put the kitty, but i thought it was cute, and couldn't think of a good excuse to put it up, so there you go)

-michelle



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 Post subject: Re: Ch. 15
PostPosted: Thu Oct 09, 2003 8:33 am 
Wow, this is a really angsty fic. The bloody parts kind of grossed me out a little, heh, but that's okay.



Quote:
“I need to see you like this Willow. We have to face this and deal with it so we can move on. Together.”
I love this part. So very true. *sigh* :love



Very nice ending, I look forward to the epilogue.









(the :kitty is adorable, I like the :moo too though :grin )


________
"Oh, good! I was hoping to add theft, endangerment and insanity to my list of things I did today."
"Ah! You, too?"
(Stitch laughs delightedly)



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 Post subject: Re: Ch. 15
PostPosted: Thu Oct 09, 2003 9:43 am 
Very amazing and a really great ending..that you so much. Ooh, and a epilogue..yay..Love Sammi xx



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 Post subject: Re: Ch. 15
PostPosted: Fri Oct 10, 2003 2:06 am 
Hey guys. I just read through the posts on this thread so far, and realized that i missed replying to a couple of replies, so I'm gonna do that, and reply to the new ones. I am definetly going to write an epilouge, i just have to decide how far in the future to have it, then i'll post. Thanx!



The Vamp Nurd: ok, i just read back on the first page, and you replied, and when i was replying to them, i missed urs. I'm really sry, but i did read it. Thanx, im glad you liked the dreams. They were the first thing i thought of, while i was still wondering how exactly to bring Tara back. I actually wrote that beginning part of the first chapter about a week before i started rest of it. anyway, sorry again for not replying sooner, and thanx for the feedback!



SaraBiga:Hey! sorry i took a while to reply, i meant to do it right after i got home the next day, then got kinda wrapped up in writing 14 and 15... so ya. Glad u decided to read, and thanx for the feedback! this is a little late, considering that i kinda finished the fic, but i promise they'll be together in the end, thanx for trusting me there.



hope to have the epilogue up by mon or tues, but no promises, sry

-michelle









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 Post subject: Re: Ch. 15
PostPosted: Fri Oct 10, 2003 4:29 am 
Powerful and beautiful. Thanks for the great story. An epilogue will be great because I want to see how our girls will move on from this.

Tara: My heart doesn't stutter.


Tara: Willow, I got so lost.

Willow: I found you. I will always find you.




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 Post subject: Re: Ch. 15
PostPosted: Sun Oct 12, 2003 12:07 am 
Hey again guys!

im about halfway through with the epilogue, hope to post it tomorrow, or possibly even late tonight, but again, i cant promise anything. just hear to reply to feedback and check for updates on other stories again, then i'm off to continue the story. Thanx!



BytrSuite: *gasps* wow! a moderator is reading my fic? hehe sorry. thanx for replying! sorry bout the bloody scenes, but i'm glad u liked the ending. I actually wasn't planning to have a line in there, but when i was re-reading it before i posted, it seemed like it needed something, and that just came to mind, and i thought it sounded right so... ya, glad u agree. Anyway, hope you like the epilogue when i post it, and yes, the cow is also very cute :moo



Sammi: aww, thanx. guess what? you made me blush again! thanx for reading, and replying and stuff. Hope you enjoy the epilogue! (just wondering, that is how you spell epilogue right? or did i just spell it wrong again or... never mind, confusing myself)



The Rose24: Hehe. Thanx. you made me blush too. anyway, glad ur looking forward to the epilogue! thanx again for all your feedback during the story!



-michelle



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 Post subject: Re: Ch. 15
PostPosted: Tue Oct 14, 2003 3:57 am 
Okay, here's the epilogue, finally. thanx one more time for reading, hope you enjoy it. had a fun time writing it! Now i must take one sentence to add that any feed back would be very much appreciated, (it makes the world go round) *gives puppy-dog eyes* (now i feel weird, not sure how to hint that i like feedback w/out just saying it, so i went with my first instinct: be blunt) I'll be back in a while with a new fic if anybody's interested. C ya!

-michelle



Epilogue

A light touch on her cheek brought Willow out of her light sleep. She stirred slightly as a tiny breeze blew across the bed, blowing her hair back slightly. She felt smooth fingers run softly through her hair and yet another breeze blow across her face. As she woke enough to realize that it was Tara's breath, not just the air, caressing her face, she grinned inwardly, but managed to keep her face the same as she reached out instinctively towards the warm body next to hers as she would if she were still asleep. Tara grinned as Willow's arms reached out to the empty side of the bed, the redhead mumbling discontentedly when she didn't find Tara there to pull close. It was hard to believe that it was less than a month since even waking up without her own body pressed against Willow's would cause the other woman to cry in worry, just a few short weeks since her lover was just the haunted shadow she had seen when she came back. She breathed in Willow-scent deeply before exhaling slowly, enjoying the way Willow's nose crinkled slightly as she fought to remain asleep. Tara grinned as Willow gave an exaggerated yawn before turning over so that she faced away from her teasing lover.

“Aww, is my baby still asleep?” She asked in a gentle voice, knowing very well that Willow wasn't. When the redhead still didn't answer, she knelt on the bed to hover over her, slowly peeling back the blanket to expose Willow's bare shoulders. She ran her fingers slowly down the soft, creamy skin, observing the slight shiver that the other woman was unable to suppress.

“I wonder what you're dreaming about.” Her voice had a musical lilt to it that made it flow like crystal water over Willow's ears. She could feel the heat of Tara's breath bathing her neck as the blonde leaned into kiss her earlobe, then bite it gently, her teeth barely grazing the sensitive skin. Willow trembled at the contaact, and finally gave in, stretching her arms and yawning widely as she turned to face Tara.

“You saved me form the evil frog people.” She mumbled, her voice still thick with sleep. Tara grinned triumphantly and leaned in to kiss her again, this time on the lips, brushing them only lightly against Willow's before pulling back.

“Mmmm, I like awake much better.” Willow reached an arm around her waist to pull her closer again, and let out a disappointed groan when her hand met fabric and not skin.

“No fair. Clothes.” She pouted, her eyes looking pleadingly up at Tara and her bottom lip jutting out just a little.

“Sorry sweetie. Time to get up. Dawn wants pancakes.”

“Again?” Willow groaned as Tara pulled the sheets all the way back and walked over to the closet. She grinned at Willow's obvious pouting. Yet another breakfast request from Dawn was no surprise; Tara couldn't remember a time in the past weeks that they had been able to sleep in past nine without the teenager calling up for her funny-shaped pancakes, although the former-key claimed that she was simply making up for the three pancake-less months. Willow watched as Tara opened their closet and began to look through the outfits there. She lounged on the bed as Tara took her time in choosing. This had become a habit, almost a game for them ever since Tara had come back; whoever got up first would pick out the other's clothes, and the latter would then pick one of their memories that related to it, and share it. Willow had to admit she felt a little silly doing it; she had started it in the first place, when Tara had picked out her clothes the morning after she had given up the magick a second time. Tara had picked out the same skirt and top she had worn the day that the blonde had come back to her the first time, on the night when the whole world had started to fall apart and, at the same time, come together for the scoobies. She hadn't been able to resist pointing it out to her lover, who had already noticed, or reliving it somewhat as she was curled up against Tara's chest, and so had started the small tradition when she got up early to choose Tara's clothes the next morning. This time, the blonde brought over a pair of long, denim jeans, so dark blue that they were almost black, and a red blouse, fitted so that it hugged her frame perfectly. Willow took the clothes with a silent smile and slowly got dressed, already knowing exactly which memory she was going to bring up. As she finished, she got up and pulled Tara towards the door, stopping a few feet short of it and taking her girlfriend into her arms.

“The last time I wore this outfit was-” The sound of the door opening interrupted them, and they turned to see Dawn standing there looking slightly embarrassed.

Willow ignored the pleading look that Dawn was giving them, along with a very obvious rumble of hunger coming from the teen's stomach, only for a minute, as she leaned in to finish her sentence in a whisper. Dawn watched with increasing amusement as Tara's face went very red and the blonde choked while Willow simply smirked and kissed her cheek lightly, before calmly turning away and walking ahead of Dawn down the stairs, leaving Tara still trying to form coherent thoughts in their room. Tara's mouth opened and closed a few times, causing Dawn to giggle at her resemblance to a fish, before shaking her head at the girl's expression and following Willow out of the room. Dawn smiled and shut the door, her stomach giving yet another hungry complaint as she skipped downstairs.



“I see Willow-babble is back.” Buffy commented dryly as the redhead finally finished her monologue in the kitchen.

“Duh. It's been on for a while now Buffy, or didn't you notice.” Dawn rolled her eyes from where she leaned against the kitchen sink, and Tara nodded her agreement from the stove, where she was watching the pancakes finish cooking.

“You can tell by the fact that there is once again someone on earth who can start talking about the unfairness of resurrection laws, then move onto how long it takes pancakes to cook, frogs, a really good college professor, and then end on something about people who are awake at three a.m., all in less than thirty-seconds and 3 sentences.” Xander added, grinning at his best friend from across the table. Willow gave him a mock glare in return, which only made him heave and exaggerated sigh of defeat and turn to talk with Anya.

“Aww, come one Will, you haven't been teased about babbling in like, forever.” Buffy pointed out. This only drew a pout out of Willow, which also caused Tara to grin. The redhead's bottom lip jutted out enticingly, calling out pleadingly for Tara to lean in and capture it. So she did.



Xander shook his head when Tara playfully nipped at Willow's bottom lip before kissing her soundly. He placed his hand on Anya's knee under the table before giving her a gentle kiss, too. Where as a month ago his immediate reaction would have been to stare at his best friend and her girlfriend, he had seen enough of them in the last month to last even him for a while. They still weren't as open as most straight couples, but… he spared a glance at the pair, noting the way Willow's fingers trailed along Tara's waist, working just slightly under her shirt, while Tara's hands drew intricate little patterns on her back. They were definitely getting there. A playful slap on his arm informed him that Anya had noticed the direction of his gaze, but she was obviously more amused than anything else. He still couldn't believe how lucky he was; things had started out so slowly between them, with only occasional meetings outside of Scooby business, so awkward it felt weird calling them dates. That had changed, though, after a particular evening. Xander had later called it romantic; Anya had called it lighting candles and having sex near them. Xander shook his head again at that memory, the second time Anya had used that specific line in front of the Scoobies. A slightly harder slap on his arm made him look back to Anya, who had her eyes narrowed.

“Ow. What was that for?!” Tara broke away from the embrace to watch the other couple with an amused glint in her eye. It had been a while since the gang had seen one of the famous Xander-Anya squabbles, mostly because the former had been able to control his over-active hormones, even within watching distance of an intimate Tara and Willow.

“You were looking at them, with that look in your eye. Again.” Anya sniffed, obviously unimpressed by Xander's apparent surprise.

“I was not! I was looking at our hands!” Xander protested. “I was thinking about us.” Anya took a minute, obviously deciding whether he was lying or not. As she reached her decision, her expression brightened.

“Oh. Okay then.” Anya turned to the others. “We have to go. Clean.”

“Wha-” Xander was cut off as Anya poked him under the table, making a very obvious sign with her hands when he looked down. Xander turned bright red as he turned to the rest of the Scooby gang, chuckling nervously.

“Oh, ya, that uh, cleaning.” As Anya led him out the front door, Tara chuckled.

“At least she, uh, 'gestured' under the table this time.” Dawn offered half-heartedly as Buffy groaned.

“I sware, lately they're almost as bad as you two-” she began, turning to the chairs Willow and Tara had been sitting at on the table, only to see their retreating forms halfway up the stairs.

“Pancakes are on the table.” Tara called over her shoulder, her voice coming out strangely muffled.

“Guys!” Dawn whined, left alone at the table with her sister again.

“We'll be back soo- oh!” Willow yelped, then gulped from around the corner before continuing. “We'll be back, we just need to, uh, clean a little.”



'We actually made it to the bed?' Tara's mind registered, her thought process disrupted somewhat by Willow's body pressing heavily down on hers. Willow's mouth was open and hot on her neck as her own fingers toyed with the waistband of the skirt she'd picked out so carefully earlier that morning.

“Mine.” Willow gasped as Tara's hand slid smoothly across the skin of her stomach, the tight muscles there quivering at her lover's touch.

“Yours.” Tara agreed, her voice coming out as a heavy moan.



“Forever.”



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 Post subject: Re: Ch. 15
PostPosted: Tue Oct 14, 2003 5:12 am 
Beautiful. Everyone is getting back to their daily routines. It seems like everything was thrown off after Tara was killed. With Willow out of sync, it made everyone and everything else out of sync. Tara's death affected everyone unlike on the show.

Tara: My heart doesn't stutter.


Tara: Willow, I got so lost.

Willow: I found you. I will always find you.




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 Post subject: Re: Ch. 15
PostPosted: Wed Oct 15, 2003 3:20 pm 
I agree with TheRose24, it is beautiful, and I really loved it and enjoyed reading the whole fic, so thank you. And yup, you did spell it right..hehe. Love sammi xx



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 Post subject: Re: Ch. 15
PostPosted: Wed Oct 15, 2003 11:58 pm 
I loved it! Hope you're coming up with a new fic soon!

Bye

:clap

:bigwave

____________________________



"Don't piss off the redhead with the weird powers"

-Willow-



"I'm not weird, I'm talented."

-Sara Biga-



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