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A Normal LifeThe third part of the No Matter Where You Go, There You Are series By DarkWiccan Disclaimers: Buffy the Vampire Slayer and all characters associated with the show are owned by Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy and their affiliates. If they belonged to me, none of the horrors of season six would ever have happened, and Willow and Tara would be on their honeymoon by now. But they don’t, so for now I borrow and kindly ask the big, scary corporate lawyer-guy to look the other way. Also, even though I don’t own W/T, I do own this story and any new characters that appear in it. Please don’t plagiarize. Feedback: Yes, please. But I have a Fire Extinguisher to put out all flames. Distribution: Sure, just ask me Spoilers: Eh, not so much… Rating: PG Pairing: W/T Notes: If you haven’t read No Matter Where You Go or There You Are, you are going to be a little lost at the mention of some characters. A Normal Life is a series of vignettes meant to chronicle the life of the Rosenberg-Maclay family after the events of There You Are. I consider this to be a sort of photo-album/scrap book style fiction. There is very little in the way of linear plot.
*****
"I look stupid", the strawberry-blonde eleven year-old complained, tugging at her dress.
"You look beautiful", her mother assured her, putting the last small flower burette in her youngest child's hair.
"I feel stupid", she amended, making her dark green eyes as large as possible, hoping to derive some sympathy.
"Gillian", Tara said firmly, yet still lovingly, "Emily picked this dress out especially for you to wear today. This is her day and she's very nervous and what she needs is our support, not our complaints. Alright?"
"How's everything coming along?" asked Willow as she entered the room with a fourteen year old boy in tow, his auburn-brown hair neatly combed, his hazel eyes working very hard to express the appropriate level of teenage disinterest. He tugged uncomfortably at the tie of his dress suit.
Tara couldn't stop the mile-wide grin that spread across her face at the sight of her wife and son. "Oh you both look gorgeous!" she exclaimed.
Willow smiled in-spite of herself, pausing a quick glance in the full-length mirror the room so graciously supplied. Her graceful vanilla-white pantsuit flattered her still slender figure. Still got it after all these years, she thought smugly to herself. She couldn't help it, Tara still made her feel sexy and she enjoyed the feeling, because she knew she still made Tara feel sexy too.
"Mom", the boy mock-whined, "gorgeous?"
"My heaven's, what was I thinking", the older blonde corrected. "Willow, love of my life, you look gorgeous. Sean, you look handsome. Very dashing. Princely even."
"Okay, okay", he cut her off. "I get it."
"You know, Tar", Willow began, "I must say that I'm inclined to agree with you. In fact, I think little Seanie looks so good, he's almost good enough to eat." She leaned over and gave her son a quick kiss on the cheek. "Hm.. Uh-huh... sweet as pixie sticks."
"Oh no", trembled Sean, "please don't."
"Really?" said Tara, her voice taking on a very playful and silly sound. "That sweet? I'm going to have to confirm that with my own test."
The boy started to bolt, but Willow quickly caught his wrist. Tara was at his side in an instant and they both began placing loud, smacking kisses on his cheeks that were now beet red with embarrassment. Gillian broke into a fit of giggles as Sean desperately tried to wiggle away from his mothers.
"Oh, yes", said Tara between smooches. "You’re right, Will. He is sweet."
"Told you", stated her wife.
"Mom! Ma! Cut it out! Cut it out! Ma! Quit it! Mom! Stop!"
Finally the two women ceased their attentions.
"I think I've proved my point", Willow stated proudly.
"Hm, yes, quite successfully", Tara nodded.
Sean wiped his hands over his lipstick covered-cheeks disdainfully, grumbling, "Why do you guys have to be so uncool?"
"Because we are your parents and it is our job to embarrass you at least once a day", Willow explained.
"Although to make the established quota we should really try for twice", Tara noted with feigned seriousness. Willow nodded her head in agreement.
"Mama, Emily needs help with her..." Michelle stopped mid-sentence as she entered the room and burst into laughter at the sight of her disheveled younger brother. "You look like you were attacked by a horde of Revlon lipstick models!"
"Shut up", he retorted.
"Hey", Willow snapped warningly, "you know better than that." She took a handkerchief out of her pocket and took Sean's chin into her hand firmly, though he tried to pull away. She licked the top of the small cloth and quickly began cleaning her son's face.
"Spit bath?" he whined some more, "Ma..."
"And that makes two", Willow finished, dotting Sean's nose with the tip of the kerchief.
"Michelle?" Tara questioned, turning to her, "Emily needs help with something?"
"Yeah", answered the sixteen year old. "She can't get the thing in the back to..." She pantomimed the action with her hands.
“Oh, I get it”, her mom answered. “I’ll be right there. Sean, you and Michelle should get to your positions.”
“Okay” he mumbled, rolling his eyes.
“What is your problem?” questioned Michelle, clearly perturbed. Tara nodded to Willow to handle it as she slipped out of the room and down the hall to find Emily.
“That is a really good question”, said Willow, stepping up to him. “This is a very important, not to mention happy, day for us all, but especially for Emily. Remember Emily? Your oldest sister? The one with the bright red hair like mine used to be until Mother Nature decided to bless me with undeniably attractive platinum highlights… that are slowly taking over my whole head… but that’s beside the point. What is the matter? Why the attitude, kiddo? Because this is seriously going beyond normal teenage apathy. If something is wrong I will do whatever is in my power to make it better. But I will not allow you to disrupt the happiness of this day. Understood?”
“Yeah…” he sighed.
“Then what has got you so upset?”
Sean glanced nervously at Michelle, and then in Gillian’s direction. It was clear he didn’t feel comfortable talking about whatever it was in front of them. Willow recognized this and asked them both to step out into the hall. Once they were alone, she broached the question again.
“I… I don’t know why I’m in such a bad mood, Ma”, he stated. “I just… I guess I feel kind of left out or something.”
“Left out?”
“Well… Em’s ten years older than me, right?”
“Last time I checked that hasn’t changed”, Willow chuckled, “despite living on the Hellmouth and there being the occasional instance of time going kerfloopy…But Buffy always was able to set things right. So yes, you and Emily are indeed still ten years apart.”
“Right”, said Sean, thankful that his mother had finally reached the end of her short babble. He never understood how someone could use so many words just to say “yes”. “Yeah so, anyway…” he went on, “I don’t know her that well, ya know? I mean, she’s my sister and I love her and everything but… by the time I was old enough to start getting to know her, she was already in high school and had all of her own friends and stuff, plus the whole priestess thing… She’s… I mean… I must sound horrible, Ma and I’m sorry…”
“Sweetheart, you are actively working toward a point, right?” Willow encouraged.And he gets frustrated with me taking the scenic route, she thought wryly.
“I guess not…”, he groaned. Willow waited patiently for him to continue. “Well, today is her day, like you said… but she’s had so many days and I feel like I’ve had so few… plus… and I don’t know why I chose today for this to start bugging me…”
“Yes?”
“Emily and Michelle…” he drifted off.
“Emily and Michelle”, Willow prompted.
“They’re yours… yours and mom’s”, he explained, “like, they’re made of both you. But Gilly and I… we’re only half each. Gilly is half you and I’m half mom, but our other halves… are some guy that none of us have ever met… not even you and mom… am I making any sense?”
“Seanie, have your mother and I ever given you any indication that we love you any less than we love your sisters?”
“Well, no...but…”
“Have we ever led you to believe that you and Gilly aren’t as much a part of this family just because you don’t share both of mom and my genes?”
“No…”
“If this is something that is really bothering you, than I know that your mom and I are going to want to sit down with you to talk about it”, said Willow, “but today is not the day. I need you to pull it together, put on a happy face just for the next few hours and then you can be as much a mope as you like when we get home. Okay?”
Sean shuffled his feet on the carpeted floor.
“Sean Thomas”, his mother said firmly. The boy winced, first and middle name usage was never a good sign. “You do understand why today is a special day? I shouldn’t have to break it down for you.”
“I understand”, he finally acquiesced. “I’ll be good. I promise.”
“Good”, Willow smiled, reaching up and straightening her son’s tie. “ Now go join Michelle and man your post. I’m going to take Gillian to check on Emily and your mom.”
“Okay…” he said, taking a cleansing breath and preparing to turn on his heel to go. Willow’s gentle hand on his arm stopped his movement. She reached up with her other hand and cradled his cheek in her palm.
“I love you”, she said soothingly, “Mom loves you. And no matter how we came by you, you are one hundred percent our son. You’re young, Seanie, you have thousands of days ahead of you to make your own and you will. Don’t be in such a rush, okay?”
Sean felt the corners of his mouth curl up into a small smile of gratitude. “Okay”, he finally agreed. “Thanks, Ma.”
Willow smiled and took one last look at her boy, almost a man now. He’s going to have to start shaving soon, she thought sadly to herself. Having four kids had taught her one undeniable truth: they all grow up too fast. She nodded and placed her hands on his shoulders and turned them causing Sean to make an about-face to the door. Lightly swatting his behind she ordered softly for him to, “scoot”, which he did. She watched him go and then followed out into the hall just in time to hear Michelle instructing Gillian to, “Go with Mama.”
She took her youngest one’s hand; fortunately Gillian hadn’t yet developed the opinion that holding hands with either of her mothers was “uncool”. Willow savored that fact. She looked down to see Gillian fussing with her hair, tugging at the burettes.
“Careful, honey”, said Willow, “you’ll pull them out.”
“That’s what I’m trying to do”, Gilly grumbled.
“Why?” asked Willow, a combination of slightly amused and just a smidgen perturbed.
“Why do I have to wear flowers?” she asked, clearly agitated. “Michelle doesn’t have to wear flowers, Sean doesn’t have to wear flowers… so why do I? And why do I have to wear a dress too? You know I don’t like dresses, Mama… I’d rather wear pants like you or Sean. How come you get to wear pants?”
My little tomboy, Willow grinned inwardly. “You know you don’t have to wear your dress all day, Gilly. That’s why we brought that pair of jeans and your favorite t-shirt for you to change into afterwards. You’re the only one here lucky enough to be able to change into comfy clothes so soon. The rest of us are stuck in our dressy outfits for the whole night! Just put up with the dress for the next couple of hours, okay?” Willow silently smirked to herself, Gillian’s comfort wasn’t the only reason she and Tara had packed a change of clothes, it was also because they both knew that the minute their youngest was let loose from the festivities, she would be up the nearest tree and destroying the lovely dress she was currently wearing.
Gillian pursed her lips together and set her jaw in frustration. Her small brow crinkled a little, but after a few moments of forced silence, her features relaxed and took on an almost somber appearance. “We’re never going to see her again, are we?” she asked softly.
“What?”
“Emily”, Gillian clarified. “After today we’re not going to see her anymore. She’s leaving.”
Willow paused her stride, kneeling down to look into the young girl’s eyes. “Sort of”, she conceded. “She is sort of leaving. But she isn’t going far—“
“She won’t be ours anymore”, she interrupted her, her breathing staggered as she tried to stifle the tears now beginning to fall down her small cheeks.
“Oh, sweetie”, said Willow, wiping the tears away with gentle strokes of her thumb, while keeping her own tears at bay. “Emily will always be ours. Nothing that happens today is going to change that. I know how much you love her. Mommy and I love her too and we’re going to miss her terribly. But she isn’t going away. Not really.”
“Promise?”
“Promise.” Willow stood back up and reclaimed Gillian’s hand, giving it a tender tug, urging their continued movement down the hall. “Now let’s go show Emily how beautiful you look.”
“Stupid dress…” Gillian managed to mutter under her breath. Though she heard it, Willow let the comment slide.
*****
Inside the small dressing room, Emily fidgeted nervously with her dress while Tara tried to loosen the zipper that was snagged in the back.
“Sweetie, I need you to stop wiggling around so much”, Tara stated as she bit her lower lip in concentration with the effort of trying not to tear the material.
“Can you get it, mom?” her eldest asked anxiously, trying to turn her head to see.
“Again with the stop fidgeting”, her mother sighed. “It’s almost there, Emily. Just hold still a second.”
Emily faced forward and let out a long nervous breath, trying not to move with the boundless waves of nervous energy crashing through her insides. She looked at herself in the mirror, a grown-up. She looked mostly like her Mama, naturally slender, red hair, freckled skin, small nose and heart shaped lips. But she definitely had her Mother’s eyes and cheekbones and, she thought a little smugly to herself, Mom’s chest too. Thank you, Goddess for small favors… well, not so small. She chuckled to herself.
“Something funny?” Tara asked softly, a lopsided grin gracing her face.
“Just… nervous laughter”, Emily offered, ringing her hands together a little. “What…what if I forget something?”
“You won’t”, Tara assured her.
“But,.. What if I say something wrong or in the wrong order?”
“You won’t…”
“What if you can’t get my dress fixed?”
“Then I guess you’ll have to do the ceremony sky clad”, her mother shrugged.
“What?!” Emily shrieked, her eyes bugging out from their sockets. “I can’t do that! Not in front of everyone! Oh Goddess… “
“Sweetie, honey, calm down”, Tara soothed. “I was just teasing. Besides”, she said as she pulled the zipper free of its entanglement and the rest of the way up Emily’s back, “I think I’ve got it.”
“Really?”
“Yep”, she smiled, stepping back to admire her work, both of the dress and of her daughter. Emily turned to look at her, her red hair pulled back in a long braid, her blue eyes sparkling, the material of her dress flowing gracefully down her body. “Perfect”, Tara noted after a moment, trying to stop the word from catching in her throat.
“How is everybody doing in here?” asked Willow as she and Gillian came through the dressing room door. The older redhead stopped short as she caught sight of Emily standing before her. Willow couldn’t stop her left hand as it landed over her mouth in shock, tears suddenly threatening her eyes. “Wow”, she managed, lowering her hand as Tara wrapped a supportive arm around her waist.
“I know”, Tara agreed.
“You look beautiful”, Willow smiled at Emily.
“Thanks”, she replied, blushing slightly. “Oh, Gilly, you look so pretty!” Emily said, turning her attention to her baby sister.
“Yeah, yeah”, Gillian answered, lightly tugging at her dress. “You too”, she added as an afterthought, shuffling her feet a little.
“What time is it?” Emily asked anxiously.
“You’ve got about twenty-minutes”, Willow replied.
Emily nodded. “Twenty minutes to the rest of my life.” She swallowed a gulp. “Is it normal to be this absolutely terrified?”
“Oh, sweetie, of course it is”, soothed Tara, stepping forward.
“Mama”, said Gillian, “were you and mommy scared when you got married?”
Willow knelt down next to her youngest, looking into her young eyes. “Yes”, she answered honestly, “but not as terrified as I was when Emily was born.” Gillian could not help but look at her mama, puzzled by the odd sounding statement. “You will find as your grow up that there will be moments in your life that change everything. Everything you’ve ever thought, everything you’ve ever known, everything you’ve ever felt… all changed in that one moment. Sometimes it’s a small thing, and you don’t even realize it happened until years later. But sometimes it’s really big and everything about that moment stays with you for the rest of your life.”
The redhead let her last sentence drift off as she found her thoughts moving slowly backward to the day her first child had been born…
TBC in Vignette # 1: “What If She’s Like Me?”
Edited by: maudmac at: 11/15/03 11:59 am
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