TITLE: THE LOVERS, THE DREAMERS AND ME
AUTHOR: Wimpy0729
RATING: R
FEEDBACK: Yes please.
DISCLAIMER: Willow, Tara and all other BtVS characters belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, etc. The story and all other characters, human and otherwise, belong to me.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: No beta this time, so all mistakes are my own. For any glaring errors, please PM me.
SPECIAL NOTE: Just wanted to let you guys know that due to some health problems in the family, I may not be able to keep up with the weekly posting. I will do my best though, but if I'm not able to have it posted by Friday, I will do it as soon as possible. Thanks for sticking with me!
Thanks again to everyone for reading and/or replying!
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CHAPTER 41"Oh shit," Mary and Sofia whispered and Giles threw in a "Dear Lord". They turned as one to look over at the girls at the island kissing once again.
Diana gave Hester a pointed look and cleared her throat nervously. "Yes, well, that's a rather long discussion."
Hester stood and pushed in her chair. "Yes, it is and it's been a really long day for all of us. How about we pick this up tomorrow...say noonish, have a little lunch? Maybe we can pull the girls away from their alone time long enough to join us and we can all talk about this some more."
"Yes, let's make it a real celebration and include everyone. Tell them to bring the dogs too," Diana said smiling.
The two Watchers and Mary looked at her with disbelief that she would leave them hanging. However, they were at least sober enough now to know not to question a Goddess, so they kept quiet and all nodded in agreement.
"Yes, noonish," Mary spoke up. "Everyone is welcome to stay...well, except for him," she said pointing to the living room. Did you say they were free to go?" she asked Hester.
"Oh, yes!" Hester said, pulling out her cell phone and hitting speed dial. "It's done," she spoke into the phone then took it to the living room, handing it to one of the Watchers babysitting Ethan. They informed the Council they were bringing a "guest", and to have one of the special cells waiting for him. In no time at all, they had him untied from the chair, hands and ankles cuffed and were leading him quickly out the door.
"Well, I'd like to say it's been fun," the ex-warlock started to say cockily but was quickly silenced as Mary took off her sock and shoved it in his mouth.
"Remember -- 'snip-snip', Ethan," she said smirking. She laughed as the Watchers practically had to drag him out the door. After all, it was fairly impossible to walk with his legs crossed.
Hester and Diana left soon after and Mary turned to look at everyone still sitting in her kitchen. "So, slumber party?"
Buffy and Faith broke another kiss and looked at each other, both thinking the same thing. "I really don't want to go back there tonight," Faith finally admitted, really dreading the thought of going home and being exposed to more disturbing sounds again so soon.
"Sofie can stay with me, the men can have the sofas and you girls can have the guest room," Mary said smiling as the two Guardians sighed in relief.
"Oh, thank God," Faith said as she took Buffy's hand and headed out of the kitchen. "See you all in the morning. We'll try to keep it down," she smirked, winking at Mary over her shoulder.
Mary rolled her eyes, then waited until the girls were all the way upstairs before she spoke. "They have no idea what she was talking about," she whispered, and the other two nodded as they sipped their coffee. She grabbed the opportunity while she had it. "Dibs on not being the one to tell them," she said quickly.
The other two choked on their coffee, scowling at her fiercely.
"I'm not telling them!" the Watchers yelled at the same time, then glared at each other.
"I vote Hester tells them," Mary said, finally taking a drink of her own coffee, glancing at the other two over the rim of her cup.
"I second that," Sofie said.
"I third," Giles said, raising his hand.
Xander leaned back in his chair and rubbed his full stomach. He got up from the island, threw his trash away then looked over at the others still sitting at the kitchen table. "Okay, who are we not telling what?"
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Tara flung her arm out toward the annoying sound coming from her nightstand and found nothing but air. She opened a bleary eye and then the other, seeing nothing but creamy freckled skin and sighed happily until the annoying buzzing started again. She lifted her head and turned, confused to see her nightstand at the other end of the bed. She gently slid backwards off Willow, scooted to the head of the bed and reached out toward the small table. She had to blink several times to get her eyes to focus enough to find her phone and push the right buttons.
"Hello."
"Miss Maclay?"
"Yes. Who's calling?" she mumbled, still half asleep.
"We're here with your bed."
"My bed?" she asked perplexed, as she looked down at the object in question and the exhausted hot redhead sprawled shamelessly across it in all her glory. She licked her lips as her eyes wandered up the thighs to the moisture still clinging to the small patch of dark auburn curls. She was shaken from her reverie as the male voice spoke again.
"Yes, ma'am. The king size bed you bought this past weekend. We've knocked several times and didn't get an answer. Are you at home?"
"Oh, our bed!" she yelled as her eyes opened wide and she sat upright. "What day is it?"
She heard a chuckle from the other end. "It's Monday, ma'am. I'm sorry, did I wake you?"
"Uh, yeah kind of. I'm sorry. Can you give me a few minutes, then I'll meet you out front?"
"Sure thing. I was wanting to finish my coffee anyway. No hurry."
"Thank you. Bye," she said, ending the call and looking at the time. "Oh shit. Shit shit shit," she said in a panic and shook Willow's foot laying beside her on a pillow at the head of the bed. "Baby, wake up. Willow!" she said, shaking her harder.
"Mmm, yeah, baby," the redhead murmured sleepily, "you ready for more?"
"No, Will! It's Monday and it's after 9:30. Work!"
Startled green eyes popped open as she jolted awake and hit the floor with a thump.
"Willow!"
"I'm up!" Willow yelled as she tried to stand and immediately stumbled.
Tara caught her and sat her back down on the bed. "Breathe, sweetie. It's 9:40, you're not that late. Are you okay?"
"Yeah," Willow said slowly as she looked down at herself then over at Tara and smiled. "I think I might need a shower."
"Shower, yeah," Tara whispered as she leaned forward kissing her softly then pulled back quickly.
"Shit! They're outside with the new bed and it's going downstairs!" She said in alarm. "I-I need to get down there and clean up!" she yelled as she ran out the door. She got half-way down the stairs and stopped cold. "Oh, no.
How could I forget so soon?" she whispered to herself. After a good mental scolding, she turned around and walked purposefully back up the steps.
"Clothes!" Willow called out and started opening drawers. She quickly found a t-shirt and sweats and started after her. She stepped out into the hall and was surprised to see Tara standing at the top of the stairs.
"Forget these?" Willow teased as she held out the clothes.
"I forgot something
way more important," Tara said earnestly as she pressed Willow gently back against the wall.
"I know we don't have much time right now, but I
need you to know," Tara said softly, placing her hand over Willow's heart. "I'm going to make
you and
this my number one priority for the rest of our lives," she said sincerely before kissing her deeply then slowly pulling back. "I love you, Willow. You will
always come first. Everything else can wait."
Willow swooned and felt tears spring to her eyes from all the emotions running through her. She cupped a silky cheek and slowly brought their lips together once more. "I love you too," she breathed as her heart soared from the words and the intensity they were spoken.
Tara softly ran the pads of her thumbs over the flushed cheeks, capturing a tear as it escaped from the corner of the beautiful green eyes and kissed her once more.
"What can I help you with?" the blonde asked sweetly as she took the clothes hanging from Willow's limp fingers and quickly put them on.
The redhead was still sagged against the wall and her fuzzy mind couldn't think. Tara smiled at the state of her girlfriend and pulled her into her arms. Her hands slid downward and caressed the baby soft skin of her butt as she backed her slowly down the hall and into the bathroom, kissing her the whole way.
"Don't you need to shower?" She grinned as Willow leaned back against the sink and nodded. "What do you need -- clothes, shampoo, toothbrush?" Willow smiled and nodded again and finally found her voice.
"Yeah, my bag, please. I think it's still downstairs," she whispered, still overwhelmed at the blonde's words. She watched Tara turn to go and quickly reached for her arm. Questioning blue eyes looked back as Willow brought her hand to Tara's chest and placed it tenderly over the heart she loved more with each passing second. "Thank you," she whispered sincerely. "I just want you to know -- this is my main priority too, and you'll always come first to me. Is there anything I can do for
you?"
Tara smirked and softly brought their lips together. "I'll tell you later. Now get your ass in the shower before it gets fired," she teased and kissed her one more time.
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"Ugh, what was I thinking?" Mary grumbled, squinting at the morning light shining through the curtains and piercing her brain like an ice pick.
"
Ohhh, Cap'n Jack. Yes, I'll walk your plank," Sofia moaned as she threw her arm across Mary's stomach.
Mary rolled her eyes as she lifted the offending arm and brought the hand up smacking Sofie in the head with it.
"For the last time, Sofie...I AM NOT CAPTAIN JACK SPARROW!"
"What? Hey!" Sofia blinked and looked over frowning at her friend. "Mary? What are you doing here?" she gasped, looking around the room then under the sheet at her fully clothed body.
"Seriously, Sofie, you really need to get over your Johnny Depp obsession."
"Please tell me I wasn't talking in my sleep," Sofia whined as she turned the color of a nice ripe tomato.
"Talking
and groping. Remind me to never sleep with you again," Mary griped as she pushed the covers off and rolled out of bed then quickly sat back down.
"Sofia, please tell me I was dreaming and that I didn't really assault a Goddess last night," Mary whispered, wide eyed.
"No, you just
poked a Goddess -- Vesta, Hestia, Hester, whatever you want to call her. And she and Diana will be here for lunch in a few hours, so you might want to be on your best behavior."
"Oh, shit," Mary whispered, dropping her head into her hands, then looked over at her friend. "So it all really happened? The girls activated the Blessing finally after all those years, and Buffy and Faith are their Guardians?"
"Every bit of it," Sofia confirmed as she sat up rubbing the sleep from her bleary eyes. "And we need to get up and figure out what to feed two Goddesses and a house full of guests."
"Did she say they would still need protection or was that the alcohol?" Mary whispered hesitantly. "I thought it would all be over. I thought they'd be safe?" she asked, the worry obvious in her voice.
"Yeah, that's what she said, Mary. But she also said they weren't technically demigods, so they may not even be on the bad guy's radar," Sofie said optimistically. "They're probably going to be perfectly fine."
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Tara hurried downstairs and looked frantically around the room. "Good thing I checked first," she whispered as she ran around the room picking up the discarded white t-shirt and their panties and threw them all in the laundry room. She ran to the bedroom and checked the bearskin rug, happy to find no remaining dampness from her hasty clean up the night before. Tara smiled as her eyes were drawn to the light pink stain near the middle, that from this angle, at least to her, resembled a heart. She sighed and gently caressed the faint mark that represented so much.
"Something to remember it by.
Like I could ever forget," the blonde smirked as she carefully folded her keepsake and put it on the shelf in the closet for now.
She ran back to the laundry room, grabbed panties and a bra from the clean basket, then went straight to the bathroom for the quick shower she desperately needed. She quickly disrobed and jumped as the water hit her in one big splash from the broken showerhead. She smiled as she remembered how the showerhead met it's fate and made a mental note to pick up a new one as soon as she got the chance. A couple of minutes of lathering and rinsing was sufficient, and she was dried, dressed and done.
Tara grabbed Willow's bag then ran back up to the kitchen, her eyebrows flying up at the sight of the two dogs waiting patiently by the back door. "Oh, guys, I am
so, so sorry," she apologized profusely. "Your bladders must be about to burst. Go on," she told Chosen and Bubba as she slid the door open and watched as they both ran to the closest grassy spot they could find. She stepped out onto the deck and smiled as she looked over to the flower garden at the back of the house.
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Willow stepped out of the shower feeling wonderfully refreshed. She smiled when she saw her bag on the floor and a bottle of Gatorade sitting on top of the vanity along with a single red rose. She dressed quickly and rifled through her bag, frowning when she couldn't find what she was looking for. She glanced up to the vanity again and a huge smile broke out on her face when she noticed her toothbrush sitting in the holder right beside Tara's. "I'm home," she whispered to herself as her heart fluttered wildly in her chest.
_____________________
"Just bring it right through here, please," Tara instructed the delivery men as they carried the large mattress awkwardly through the sliding door in the basement. It was much easier getting the monstrous thing in this way than trying to maneuver it all the way through the house and down the basement stairs.
"You can just lean it against the wall for now. We'll take care of the rest later. And again, I'm sorry for making you wait," she apologized once more, missing the look the two men shared.
"No problem. We just need you to sign here for the delivery."
"Of course," she said happily, excited to have the new king size mattress in what was soon to be her and Willow's new bedroom. She turned and laid the form on the pool table and had just touched pen to paper when she saw the cloth coming toward her face.
A mile down the road, Buffy and Faith jolted upright and jumped from the bed.
Willow skipped down the stairs with a huge smile plastered across her face and rose in hand, in search of her sweet girlfriend. Not seeing Tara in the kitchen, she turned and headed down into the basement. She reached the third step and her smile faltered when she heard a low growl that she had only heard for the first time the day before. The rose fell from her hand as she leapt to the basement floor just in time to see one man crashing into the wall beside the sliding door and falling unconscious into the opening. The other man stepped toward Tara and Chosen lunged for him. He shrieked as the dog clamped down hard on his crotch, snarling and viciously shaking her head.
Willow's eyes instantly found Tara's and she breathed a sigh of relief to see her girlfriend completely unscathed. "Are you okay? What's going on?!"
"Get it off! Please, I beg you!!" the man screamed and swatted uselessly at Chosen, who bit down even harder. The blonde dog kept her death grip on his privates like a snapping turtle not letting go until a lightning strike. The man's foot started to kick out in a last ditch effort to free himself, which was a very big mistake.
In a flash, Willow and Tara's hands shot out. A resounding crack was heard as the man was flung back and pinned to the wall, his head snapping back painfully. And Chosen still held on.
Buffy and Faith skidded to a stop outside the sliding door quickly taking in the scene, Bubba at their heels.
"T?!!" Faith yelled in a panic.
Tara nodded toward the man on the ground by Faith's feet. "Bad guys," she explained succinctly.
Faith arched an amused eyebrow as Bubba hiked his leg over the unconscious man's face. "Good boy, Bub," Faith told the big dog as she petted him lovingly on head.
The two Guardians stepped over the man on the floor and over to the one still pinned against the wall.
"I can take this guy from here," Buffy said, whipping out her cuffs. She nodded to Willow and Tara, who dropped their hands, releasing their hold. "You can let him go now, girl," she said to Chosen, who still didn't relinquish her grip on the whimpering man.
"Libertas," Willow said quietly, and Chosen's eyes widened.
"It's okay," Willow whispered as she knelt behind the Chosen and gently laid her hand on the dog's trembling back.
Chosen finally released the man and turned to Willow, who hugged her fiercely. "You did great, girl. Thank you."
Tara sat beside them and joined in the hug. "You were amazing, Chosen," she said then leaned down and kissed her on the head.
Faith helped Buffy pin the wounded man's hands behind his back to cuff him and winced when she saw the damage.
"Damn, looks like we're going to have to do some drywall work, T."
"The wall? What about my head?!" the man whined.
"Shut up, asshole. You had the nerve to bleed all over it, so I'm gonna need some primer and paint too."
Tara looked at Faith and pointed to the even larger hole in the wall beside the sliding door.
"Holy shit! What the hell happened here?" Faith exclaimed as she took in the man-sized hole in the other wall.
"I think they were trying to kidnap me," Tara explained. "The one Bubba hiked his leg on tried to put a cloth over my face, so I flipped him into the wall. I don't know how it did all that damage," she said frowning. "Then when the other one came at me, Chosen grabbed him and wouldn't let go."
Faith's face flushed red with anger. She picked up the soaked cloth and threw it at the wall, putting a large dent in it. "What the hell?" She whispered, looking down at her hand.
Tara felt a slender hand slip into her own and she turned to look into a pair of very concerned eyes.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Willow asked as she scooted closer and cupped Tara's cheek.
"I'm fine," Tara whispered then kissed her softly. "How are you?"
Willow didn't have time to answer as a loud shriek grabbed their attention. They turned toward the high-pitched sound and their eyes popped open wide.
"What are you doing here?!" Faith yelled at the upside down man.
"We delivered a mattress!"
"That wasn't all you were doing. You better tell us the truth or we're going to play 'wishbone' with your legs!" Buffy added and gave the thigh she held suspended high in the air a hard tug for emphasis.
"Okay, okay!" He yelled once his screaming stopped. His eyes filled with tears as his testicles throbbed from his already damaged goods. "We weren't going to hurt her. We were just going to borrow her for a while."
"Why?" Faith growled as she pulled the leg she held higher in the air.
"I don't know!" He screamed as his chalky face started taking on a light green tint.
"Ready, B? One...
twooo..."
"No, wait! He didn't tell us! He just said to take her and keep her away for a few days. That's all, I swear!"
"Who?!" Faith asked menacingly as she tightened her grip on his knee.
"Faith," Tara spoke up as she stood and walked over to the inverted man. She cocked a reproachful eyebrow at the brunette only to get a scowl in return.
"He's talking. Let's hear what he has to say before he throws up all over us, okay?"
Without waiting for a response from her best friend, Tara turned her head sideways and looked down into the man's tearful eyes. "Tell us everything you know, starting from the beginning."
He gulped and fought the bile rising into his throat before he spoke. "Okay, a few weeks ago we were hangin' out, havin' a few beers at The Hole and this guy walks up to us. Said we could make some easy cash just to hide her away for like a week. He didn't give his name."
"What did this guy look like?" Tara asked calmly.
"I didn't really see his face. He had his hood pulled up over his head and all I could see was the tip of his nose. He was short, probably smaller than all of you. But I tell you one thing -- if I was in the same room with him again, I could point him out."
"And how would you do that?" Faith asked, still fighting the urge to drop him on his head.
"The smell. That guy was foul. He gave us half the money up front and even the cash stunk."
"Like what?" Faith asked, hoping to get any kind of clue that might help.
"Kind of musty, almost rotten."
"Did he give you any instructions?" Buffy asked, getting into cop mode.
"He said it would be a piece of cake if she was unconscious because she could do some kind of 'magic' or something. He gave us the chloroform and told us to watch her, try to get her alone. We saw the delivery truck this morning, and there was only her truck in the driveway. It seemed perfect. We knocked out the delivery guys while they were standing by the truck drinking coffee."
"What did he tell you to do with her," Willow asked through gritted teeth as she stepped up beside her girlfriend and took her hand.
"He said once we got her, to keep her blindfolded and take her to a room in the back of the bar. He didn't tell us she was like Bruce Lee and had a killer guard dog. Now can you please put me down? I told you everything I know."
"One more thing, then we'll take care of you," Buffy said, leaning down closer to his face.
"Where's The Hole?"
A moment of complete silence followed and then Faith snorted. Tara and Willow exchanged looks and fought unsuccessfully to hold back their giggles.
"What?" Buffy asked innocently.
"I'll tell ya later, B," Faith said right before her phone rang. She gave Buffy a nod and they both let go of the man's legs at the same time. They smiled in satisfaction as he landed right on his face.
Faith pulled his head up by the hair, still smiling. "By the way, dumbass, you guys are too late anyway. What your boss was trying to stop has already happened." She dropped his head roughly then answered her phone. She grimaced and immediately pulled it away from her ear.
"Mama Bear, settle down! Everyone's okay but there was a situation," she explained once the yelling stopped. She walked to the other side of the room to continue the conversation with the clearly upset woman. All Mary knew was that Faith and Buffy had ran out of the house like it was on fire, not stopping long enough to explain.
Tara and Willow looked at each other with matching blushes and eyebrows raised, then down at Buffy. The little blonde was leaned over talking to the injured man, still trying to ascertain the location of The Hole.
"Um, Buff?"
"Yeah, Will?" Buffy answered after finally getting the information from the man.
"You know what happened?" She asked hesitantly.
"Oh yeah, you guys put on a big show," Buffy said nonchalantly.
"What?!!" Willow yelled causing Buffy to jump.
"Geez, Will. It was kinda hard to miss with all the shooting fire and explosions. You know, the cinders and more?"
Tara arched an eyebrow at Buffy's phrasing. "You mean the Incendere Amor?" Tara questioned.
"Yeah, that thing. We're all meeting later to celebrate and talk about everything. I think you're mom's making lunch."
"Everything?" Willow whispered, her blush growing darker by the second.
"Yeah, I guess. I kinda missed some of the conversation last night, so I'm not really sure."
Tara patted Willow gently on the back and tried to steer the conversation in a different direction. "What did you find out from this guy?" She asked, nodding down to the man still lying face down with his hands cuffed behind his back.
"Oh! He said The Hole is just north of the brown eye. Do you know where that is?"
Tara's forehead furrowed deeply. "Do you think maybe he said 'Braun High'?" she asked slowly.
Buffy tilted her head in thought and slowly nodded her head. "Yeah, yeah, I guess that could've been it. Is that what you said?" she asked, tapping her boot against the prone man's head none too lightly, getting what could pass for a nod as he groaned.
"That definitely makes more sense," Tara sighed. "That's the high school the next town over. It shouldn't be too hard to find."
Buffy began to formulate a plan. "So we go to brown eye, head north to The Hole and snatch the hood..."
Tara couldn't take anymore and finally had to interrupt. "Baby, don't you have to work soon?" she asked Willow, arching an eyebrow in silent code.
"Yes! I'm gonna give them a call right now. Buff, did you say something about lunch?" Willow asked, pulling out her phone.
"Yep, we're all celebrating. Will you be able to get off work?"
"I'll ask them right now," Willow whispered as she walked toward her office, passing Faith on the way.
"The
showerhead?!! What the fuck were you doing?!" Faith yelled, wide eyed, as she held out the mangled showerhead to Tara.
Tara turned beet red and suddenly found the floor very interesting. "I"ll fix it," she said quietly.
"That's not what I asked," Faith said, not letting it go.
"Hey, Faith, what time is lunch?" Willow asked, winking at her girlfriend from behind the brunette's back, and Tara sighed with relief.
"She said around noon," Faith answered then scowled at her best friend. "We're talking about this later," she whispered to Tara as she tossed the useless piece of metal back in the trashcan. "Mary wants us to bring these guys over there."
Buffy roughly picked the cuffed man up off the floor just as they heard a loud groan from the other side of the room. They looked over to see the man in the doorway trying unsuccessfully to get to his feet. Faith walked over and grabbed him by the shirt, hauling him quickly to his feet. She reached for her own set of cuffs, pulled his arms behind his back and clicked them in place.
"Come on, piss face. We're gonna take you to meet someone even scarier than us."
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Great job! 
What the heck kind of changes is this going to have on Faith and Buffy? And WHO are these watchers on the barn????? We need answers! 
and more sexy time please! (yes I am shameless and will be the first to admit it 
)
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