• Title of the story: Two Little Witches
• Author name: Pavlov'sBell a.k.a. Colton
• Email:
colton625@live.com• Feedback: If anyone wants to, feel free. I don't bite
• Spoilers: Pretty much everything till the end of "The Gift"
• Rating: PG
• Pairing: W/T
• Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy the series or any of the characters. They belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy.
• Summary: After one of their spells goes awry, Tara and Willow find themselves turned back into children. Still somewhat unsure of where to take her life, Buffy finds herself wanting to know what it's like to have children around the house and in her life. Deciding to temporally 'adopt' the two girls, she soon finds out that being a 'parent' isn't all that it's cracked up to be…
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Chapter 1
"Taraaaaa, stop it!" As she said the sentence, Willow giggled as the other child kissed her cheek. "You're gonna give me cooties!"
"But we're both girls." Giggling as well, Tara covered her mouth with her hands as her blue eyes showed a certain sense of happiness that only a child could show to another human being. "We can't get cooties from each other."
"But you're still kissing me!" Still laughing, the red-head girl leaned over and planted her lips against the blonde girl's cheek. "See, now I gave you cooties!"
"Willow, stop!" Shaking her head slightly as if she were attempting to get rid of the 'cooties' that she had just been given, Tara reached out and pulled the other girl to her in a hug. "I'm gonna get you."
"Aunt Dawn, help me!" Giggling incessantly, Willow struggled to get out of the other girl's grip. "Tara won't stop kissing and hugging me!"
"Willow, she's doing nothing wrong." Shaking her head as she fought back the urge to laugh, Dawn smiled as she looked up from the book she had been absorbed in. "Tara, I think you should keep hugging her."
"Nooo!" Still struggling, the red-head giggled as the other child followed Dawn's order and hugged her tighter. "Tara, let me go!"
"Nope, your mine, and I'm yours. We're gonna be together forever!" Smiling widely, the girl closed her eyes and once again planted her lips against the other child's cheek. Her giggles finding renewed strength, the red-headed child finally managed to wiggle out of the girl's grip. Seizing the opportunity, she turned around and pounced on top of the blonde girl, making a face that silently spoke 'I have you, how does it feel to be on the receiving side?'
"Rawr, I have you now!" Showing her teeth, Willow pressed her lips against the other girl's cheek, before making her fingers dance across the exposed skin on the blonde's stomach. As she felt the red-head tickling her, the sound of Tara's laughter filled out the rest of the room. Still watching the scene unfold, Dawn finally allowed herself to chuckle as she crossed the room.
"Ok, Willow, let Tara get up now. You're gonna make her pee her pants."
"But I'm a monster, and she's my prisoner! RAWR!" Showing her teeth again as she made a stereotypical monster sound that sounded like something from an old horror movie, the red-head felt the soft touch of the couch leave her bare feet as Dawn picked her up.
"Alright, but the monster and her prisoner have to go to sleep now. You guys have been running around for three straight hours now. You're both taking a nap, otherwise you're probably gonna pass out on the floor."
"Awww, but we're not tired..." Her expression changing into a pout as she heard Dawn's words, Tara watched as Dawn knelt down and offered her other shoulder to her. "Please, don't make us take a nap, Aunt Dawn."
"What did I say about buts earlier? I don't wanna hear 'em." Waiting patiently, the youngest Summers girl finally saw the child push herself off of the couch and slowly shuffle over to where she was waiting. Wrapping her arms around the brunette girl's neck, Tara sighed. Setting her hand against the girl's legs as she returned to her full height, Dawn turned around as she heard a yawn in her ear from the other girl. "Besides, Willow seems tired."
"Willow, you gave us away!" Frowning at the other girl, Tara saw the red-head hide her face in Dawn's shoulder as she heard her words.
"I'm sorry, Tara. Don't be mad at me."
"Tara, stop being mean to her. She can't help it if she's tired. You chased her around outside for almost an hour!" Somewhat playfully berating the younger girl, Dawn strengthened her expression somewhat as she continued to head towards the stairs with the two children in her grip.
"She wouldn't let me kiss her though, so I had to chase her." Pouting, Tara reached out with one of her hands and laid her small fingers against the other girl's fiery red-hair. "Willow, I'm sorry. Don't hide your pretty face from me."
"You yelled at me, Tara." Raising her head, the child's green eyes seemed unbelievably sad. "You don't love me anymore."
"No, I do, Willow. I love you!" Having to return her arm to its original place around Dawn's neck once more as the older girl started up the stairs, Tara kept her blue eyes focused on the green irises looking gloomily at her. "I gave you kisses and hugged you!"
"But you yelled at me...You don't love me because you yelled at me." Reaching up in order to run her finger through her eye in order to prevent a tear from falling down her cheek, the red-head child almost immediately returned the limb to its place around Dawn's neck before she felt Tara entwine her fingers around her hand before it could come to rest.
"I love you, Willow. Remember? We're supposed to be together forever."
"You're not mad at me?" Staring at the other child, Willow's tone showed the faint signs of hope intermixed with the sadness she was feeling.
"No, I love you." Smiling back at the other girl, Tara tried to lean in to kiss the girl on the cheek, but found herself being blocked by Dawn.
"Ok, guys, enough with the little kid 'wuvin'. You guys are going to sleep."
"But we're not tired." Saying the phrase at the same time, Willow and Tara morphed their lips into identical twin pouts as Dawn set them down onto the master bed that the two of them had shared multiple times in their adult life.
"Save it. You guys are taking a nap, and that's the end of it. Alright?" The older girl answered, setting her hands on her hips in the process as she perked up her eyebrow. "I don't want to hear you guys running around or anything up here. Remember what I said Aunt Buffy does to naughty little Witches who don't listen to their Aunt?"
"You said she'd spank us and make us stand in the corner." Swallowing hard as she answered the younger Summers girl, Willow placed her hands over her eyes in an attempt to hide them. "I don't want to be spanked. Spanking hurts."
"I'll protect you if Aunt Buffy tries to." Wrapping her arms over the other girl's stomach, Tara gave the red-head a quick kiss on her cheek. "I won't let her hurt you."
"You guys won't get spanked if you just go to sleep and take your nap." Grabbing one of the blankets that lay draped around a nearby chair, Dawn unfolded it and wrapped it around the two children. "Ok? No spankings if you just sleep."
"Promise?" Looking up at the older girl with her green eyes full of hope, the red-headed girl tilted her head so that it was touching Tara's cheek.
"I promise." Offering the children one last smile, the younger Summers girl crossed the room and drew back the heavy curtains that adorned either side of the window. As the room grew darker, Willow whimpered slightly and pulled Tara closer to her.
"Aunt Dawn?" Saying the older girl's name just as she was about to leave, Willow kept her eyes closed tight. "Can you leave the door open? I don't like the dark."
"Yep. Sleep tight, Willow, sleep tight, Tara." As the older girl left the room, and the sound of her footsteps on the stairs echoed into the room, Willow opened her eyes and frowned at Tara.
"Sorry, I don't like the dark." Making her head fall deeper into the pillow, the red-headed child dropped her gaze away from the other girl. "You probably think I'm a big baby."
"No, I don't. I'll protect you from the dark." Smiling at the other girl, Tara leaned in and kissed the red-head's forehead before pulling her closer to where she was laying on the mattress. "Just like I'd protect you if Aunt Buffy tried to spank you."
"But she'd spank you too." Furrowing her brow as she felt confusion overtaking her mind, Willow stared back at the other girl as she opened her eyes.
"I'd tell her to spank me instead of you." Still smiling, the blonde child wrapped her arms around the girl in a hug. "I love you."
"I love you too, Tara." Giving a yawn as she finished her sentence, Willow closed her eyes and burrowed her head into the combination of Tara's arm and the pillow that the two of them were sharing. "I'm...just...sleepy..."
"I'm...not..." Yawning as she finished speaking, Tara began a struggle to keep her eyes open as she heard the other girl yawn again. "Stop yawning...you're making me...tired..."
"Sorry...can't...help..." Her words continuing to decrease in volume as she started to nod off, Willow moved her head once more in order to make herself more comfortable before she finally found herself unable to stay awake any longer, and finally drifted off to sleep. Seeing that the other girl had fallen asleep, Tara shook her head for a moment as an effort to keep herself awake. Her mind finally unable to stop itself from passing out, the blonde girl closed her eyes and fell asleep with the other child beside her.
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"You're home early." Setting her somewhat worn copy of the first Harry Potter novel down onto the table next to her, Dawn smirked as she saw the two bags her sister was carrying. "More stuff for Willow and Tara?"
"Yeah." Setting the first bag down onto the floor, Buffy managed to struggle out of her coat while maintaining her grip on the second bag. "That and our dinner."
"The usual stuff then?" The younger girl asked as she started back onto her feet, her eyes still staring attentively at the other girl.
"Yeah. Not much that we can both cook after all. Even though you are still signed up to take that culinary class at school in the fall." Rolling her eyes as managed to wiggle her way out of the last sleeve, the Slayer retrieved the other bag and headed towards the kitchen with her sister in tow. Setting the full grocery bags down onto the counter, Buffy turned around as she heard her sister taking a seat at the island behind her. "Although I'm sure they won't mind microwave meals."
"After what they've been doing all day, I don't think they'll really care. They're probably hungry beyond belief."
"Why? Did they run around a lot?"
"Tons and tons." Rolling her eyes as she remembered the three straight hours that Tara and Willow had chased each other back and forth through the backyard, Dawn made a small snorting sound. "Willow wouldn't let Tara kiss her, so Tara chased her."
"Well, at least they had fun. Better than being trapped inside the house with you all day." Replying to the question in a playful tone, the blonde girl began to sort through the contents of the grocery bag. Watching the almost constant line of food related items being brought out of the bag, the younger Summers girl finally broke the chain of silence that had started to grow between her and her sister.
"So…you're really being serious about this?"
"Being serious about what?" Looking up momentarily from the things she had been sorting into various piles so that they would be easier to put away, Buffy looked upon the other girl with a slight confusion lining her expression. "Putting stuff away?"
"You know…keeping Willow and Tara like this for a while…"
"I guess so…" Nodding at her sister somewhat slowly, the Slayer shrugged her shoulders. "Why? Do you think I shouldn't be?"
"Nah, it's just…kinda seems like you're playing with someone's life, does that make any sense?"
"Maybe…I can't really explain it. This just seems…
right. Granted, it seems that way in a weird 'I'm taking care of my friend and her girlfriend while they're kids' kinda way, but still, the weird point is still kinda there."
"They are kinda cute though." Shrugging her own shoulders, Dawn caught sight of something in the bag in front of her. "No way, you got them Lunchables?!"
"Yeah…what's the matter?" Her expression growing even more confused, Buffy waited somewhat anxiously for the other girl's response.
"Buffy, you
never buy these." Reaching into the bag and pulling out one of the packages, the younger girl perked up her eyebrow as she held one of the packages in her hand for her older sister to see. "And you bought
ten of them."
"They were on sale, and I thought Willow and Tara might like them…"
"Ten. Of. Them." Setting the packages down, Dawn's slightly annoyed expression refused to waver for even the slightest of seconds. "Want me to venture a little deeper into that bag or the other one?"
"Alright, so maybe I splurged a little bit…" Meeting the younger girl's gaze, Buffy sighed. "Dawn, do you want to know why I'm taking this so seriously?"
"Humor me."
"I…I've been thinking about Mom a lot recently." Almost immediately, the Slayer saw the change that came over the other girl's entire expression as soon as she heard mention of their mother. "And I..I don't know…I kinda wanna know what she felt like when she had us…ya know?"
"You're telling me that you wanna be Willow and Tara's…
mom?" Staring back at her older sister, the brunette girl fell silent as she tried to process the information she had just been told and make sense of it. "That's…a little weird…"
"You're not the one who feels like that, are you though?" Saying the sentence with absolutely no hostility to her voice, although the sentence seemingly was composed of it, Buffy sighed and closed her eyes. "I don't know. I just…I want to know, ya know? I mean, Mom had us for half of her life, and I just wanna know what was going through her mind that entire time that we were little."
"Granted that I'm still technically a year old." Saying the sentence with a tongue-in-cheek attitude, Dawn nevertheless offered her sister a smile. "Still, I guess I get what you're trying to say. Like you said, it's a little weird and strange, but I somewhat understand what you're trying to say."
"Well, that's a relief. Here I was thinking that I was gonna have you run out of the house wanting to tell the police or something."
"Why would I do that? It's not like you stole them out of somebody's house or off the street." Giving the other girl a small smile, Dawn heard the sound of something storming down the staircase echo into the room. Turning around in order to see if the culprits were who she was suspecting, the younger girl rolled her eyes.
"I thought I put you guys down for a nap..." She looked at the clock. "An hour ago..."
"Aunt Buffy's home!" Shouting out their answers at the same time, Willow and Tara immediately rushed for the recently arrived girl and wrap their arms around Buffy's legs in hugs. Smiling widely at the greeting, Buffy tried to kneel down onto one knee, but found the action unobtainable due to the pair of arms wrapped around either leg.
"Alright, guys, I'm glad to see that you missed me, but can I please move now?"
"Nope, you're not gonna go anywhere!" A smile of her own spread across her face, Willow only hugged the older girl tighter than she had before. "We missed you."
"Missed you, missed you, missed you." Echoing the other child's words, Tara likewise hugged Buffy's leg with all the force she could muster from her body.
"Yeah, forgot to mention that. They've turned into hug monsters." The two children's infectious smile spreading to her own face, Dawn laughed softly as she saw her sister's expression. "You want me to free you so you can start dinner?"
"What are we having, Aunt Buffy?" Looking up at the older girl with her bright green eyes, Willow finally relinquished her iron-grip on the girl's leg and took a step back. "We're hungry."
"She made me hungry." Nodding, Tara once again echoed the other girl's actions and took a step back in order to join the red-headed child.
"Something good, ok?" Finally able to kneel down onto her knee so that she could look at the two children at eye-level, Buffy smiled. "It'll make you full."
"You want me to get them into their pajamas while you're doing that?" Stepping around the island so that she was directly behind the two children, Dawn mimicked her sister and bent down onto her knees. "That would probably save us some time in that entire department later on."
"No, I'll do it later. I don't mind. You looked after them all day." Lifting her gaze from the two kids in front of her, Buffy rose back to her full height. "Guess I should get used to doing stuff around here."
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As she continued to play with the food on her plate, Willow looked up and smiled at Tara from where the girl was seated beside Buffy across the table. Her eyes meeting the other child's gaze for what seemed like an endless array of minutes, she only looked away once she felt something gently nudge her on the shoulder. Turning her head so that she could address whoever or whatever was beside her, the red-headed child found herself confronted with a slightly annoyed glare from Dawn.
"Willow, come on, eat your food." Looking up from her own plate, Buffy remained silent as she observed the entire situation beginning to unfold across from her. "You're almost done."
"But I'm not hungry anymore, Aunt Dawn. I'm full."
"Can't you try to eat a couple more bites? Buffy made this just for you and Tara."
"Thank you, Aunt Buffy. I like it." Nodding as she smiled, Tara felt her smile become even wider as Buffy returned the gesture.
"You're welcome, Tara." Taking a bite of the food sitting on her own plate, the older girl continued to smile at the child until the girl turned her attention back to the other child sitting across from her.
"Aunt Dawn, pretty please? I'm full." Her voice's pitch still retaining its pleading tone, Willow set the fork down onto the plate in order to curl her fingers underneath her chin as she looked up at the older girl with a begging expression coming to her face.
"Dawn, she doesn't have to eat anymore if she doesn't want to. It's not like we're gonna force the food down her throat." Finally deciding to side with the red-head child instead of her sister, Buffy set her own fork down onto her plate. "If she's full, just let her be."
"But you made all of this-"
"What did I
just say?" Strengthening her tone in order to show her sister that the end of the argument was at hand, the Slayer met the girl's eyes in order to ensure that she understood. Swallowing something that was in her mouth, Dawn nodded and pushed her chair back from the table, taking Willow's plate into her hand where it joined her own. As she headed for the counter, she gently set the china down into the sink before turning and seeing that Tara had walked around the table in order to take the now open seat beside Willow.
"Ok, I guess we're playing magical chairs now." She said sarcastically before taking Tara's former seat beside Buffy.
"So…what did you two do today while I was gone?" Casting her gaze at the two children now sitting across from her, Buffy offered both of them a small smile in order to show that it was an honest question, and that there was no bad natured intent behind it.
"Tara tried to kiss me. And she chased me through the yard." Replying to the older girl's question with a fake pout on her lips, Willow knew that Tara was looking at her. "And then she wouldn't stop giving me cooties."
"Willow almost made me pee my pants. Ask Aunt Dawn!" Answering the other child's accusation with one of her own, Tara's tone held its own sarcastic sound to it, although the way she spoke the words made them seem entirely serious.
"Were you two bad for Dawn? Is that what you're trying to tell me?" Eyeing the two girls somewhat curiously, Buffy suppressed a chuckle as she saw the almost instant reaction Willow and Tara had to her comment.
"No, we were good, Aunt Buffy, we promise!" Nodding as she let Tara talk, Willow's green eyes showed the faintest glint of true fear as she tried her best to look entirely innocent.
"Alright, if you say…remember what I said happens to bad Witches?"
"We do." Nodding again, the blonde child reached under the table in order to take Willow's hand into her own. "We were good, I promise."
"Ok, then. I believe you." Turning her head towards Dawn, Buffy smiled at her sister. "Are they lying? Were they really good?"
"They were good. Apart from the whole becoming hug monsters thing." Shrugging her shoulders, the younger Summers girl looked at the two children staring attentively back at her, their lips effectively sealed as they listened. "Other than that, nothing to report."
"See, we were good." Nodding somewhat frantically, Willow gripped Tara's hand a little tighter. "We weren't bad, not in any way, Aunt Buffy. We wouldn't do that, because you said you'd spank us if we're bad, and that isn't a nice thing, it hurts, and I don't wanna have to hurt and stand in the corner while Tara hurts, don't make us do that!"
Finally unable to hold in her chuckle, Buffy smiled at the babbling child, and stared in to her frightful green eyes.
"I won't. You were good, and that's all that matters. No need to get a case of the wiggins over it." As she saw the two children stare back at her with strange looks adorning their expressions, the Slayer chuckled some more before closing her eyes in order to compose herself. "Nevermind. Just don't get worried about it, ok?"
"Ok." Nodding at preciously the same time, Willow and Tara continued to look at the two girls sitting across from them.
"Buffy, it's nine o'clock. Don't you think you should get them off to bed? Motherly instinct and all that." Nudging her sister on the shoulder, Dawn chuckled as she returned to her feet in order to avoid any kind of retaliation from the older girl. "I'm gonna go back to reading."
"Dawn-" Buffy started, but as the other girl left the room, the retort died on her tongue. Turning her vision back onto the two children still sitting quietly in their chairs, she sighed and rose to her feet. "Well, I guess we'd better get you two to bed."
"Are you ok, Aunt Buffy?" Able to notice the sad expression the girl was beginning to take on, Tara frowned as Buffy made her way around the table and came to a stop behind both her and Willow's chairs.
"Yeah, are you ok?" Repeating the other child's question, Willow gazed up at the older girl with her bright green irises.
"I'm fine, come on, upstairs, you two." Giving a small tap atop the two chairs, Buffy smirked slightly as she watched the two children slip under the table before rushing out of the room and up the stairs, their minds engaged in an imaginary chase scene that had come to the both of them seemingly on whim alone. Watching them leave, Buffy felt a small smile come to her face as she heard the sound of the two girl's feet on the wooden stairs and eventually the floor above her. Hearing Dawn snort from the connecting living room, she took a few steps out in to the hall, and looked into said room.
"Something funny?"
"They're just like little kids."
"Dawnie, they
are little kids." Rolling her eyes at her sister's comment, Buffy leaned against the doorway. "Can you make sure no-one comes in the house while I'm upstairs with them? I think the less people that know what they did, the better. Strictly a need-to-know basis."
"Alrighty, I can do that. Want me to do a spell to protect the house too?" The younger girl sarcastically replied before burying her eyes back into her weathered book. Resisting the urge to reply to the girl's comment, Buffy turned and headed up the stairs after Willow and Tara, the sound of the two children running around in the hallway still echoing loudly through the rest of the house.
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"Come on, Willow, just hold still for a moment." Refusing to let some of the frustration she was feeling sink into her voice, Buffy mentally breathed a sigh of relief as she finally managed to pull the remainder of the red-head's pajama top down around her chest and stomach. "You have to go to bed. You're gonna pass out otherwise."
"But Aunt Buffy-" The child started before she saw the glare that the older girl was giving her, and fell silent.
"The only' but' I want to hear or see is yours getting into bed, clear?" She said, managing to soften her tone somewhat from its stern sound.
"Crystal, Aunt Buffy." Nodding as her green eye's gaze dropped away to the floor, Willow started to play with her fingers in an attempt to avoid looking at the other girl. Seeing that her words were having an adverse effect on the child, Buffy reached out and laid her finger underneath the girl's chin, and gently lifted it until she could once again meet the girl's eyes.
"I'm not mad, ok?" Offering a smile along with her words, the Slayer saw the child nod slightly. "It's late, I'm going out to…'work'…and you need to get to bed."
"Where are you going to work, Aunt Buffy? We haven't seen you all day." Frowning, the red-head laid her hands atop the other girl's larger hand. "We missed you."
"I'm going to make you two safe, ok? I make everyone safe. And it's something I'm meant to do. Whether I like it or not." As the words flowed out of her mouth, Buffy's gaze drifted away from the child in front of her while her brain continued with the line of thinking that it had started upon. "Because that's why I'm here. To make sure everyone's safe."
"I love you, Aunt Buffy." Her frown growing deeper, Willow looked up at the other girl and her green eyes locked with Buffy's, and refused to move away. "Don't be sad. Tara loves you too."
"I'm glad." Finally managing to smile at the child's comment, the Slayer pulled the red-head to her in a hug. Managing to wrap her arms around the older girl's neck as best she could, Willow smiled and buried her head in the Slayer's shoulder. Remaining locked in the friendly embrace for a few minutes, the older girl finally pulled away as she rose back to her full height. "Ok, off to bed."
"Ok." Lifting her arms up as she stared up at the older girl, Willow smiled. "Can you carry me?"
"Yes I can." Bending down so that she could pick the child up, Buffy found herself smiling even wider as she felt the red-headed girl wrap her small arms around her neck. Placing her hand against the small of the girl's back in order to insure that she wouldn't be dangling, the Slayer slowly walked out of the room and ventured into the adjoining bedroom. Seeing that Tara was already underneath the comforter playing with a small stuffed animal that had obviously been somewhere in the room, she set Willow down next to the other child, and pulled the comforter over top of her.
"You seem like you're happy, Tara." Seeing the small smile that adorned the blonde child's face, Buffy knelt down beside the bed and watched as the child turned her head and looked at her.
"Yep." Closing her eyes as she smiled widely, Tara pressed the stuffed animal to her chest. "And I can snuggle with Willow now too!"
"Not if you can't find me!" Hiding her face underneath the comforter, Willow smiled as she felt Tara's hand searching around on the top of the mattress covering her.
"Yes I can! You're right here!" Pushing herself onto all fours, Tara giggled as she laid on top of the other child, and felt the girl trying to squirm out of her grip from underneath the comforter that surrounded her. "And I'm not ever gonna let you go!"
"Aunt Buffy, help!"
"I don't know, I'm content to just stand here and watch." Smiling from where she was still kneeling beside, Buffy chuckled as she heard Willow's continued playful cries for help as the other child refused to move off of her.
"You're mine!" Pulling the comforter back slightly so that she could see the red-head's face, Tara made the best 'monster' expression that she could muster on whim and held her hands at the side of her head as if they were claws.
"RAWR!""Aunt Buffy, save me!" Resuming her squirming with renewed strength, the red-head finally managed to squirm out before falling off the mattress completely and landing in Buffy's lap.
"There, happy?" Looking down at the girl as she picked her up underneath her arms and gently returned her to the bed, Buffy smiled. "No more monsters, ok? You two need to go to sleep."
"Ok." Pushing her lips out into a pout, Tara scootched herself over so that Willow would be able to lay down comfortably next to her.
"Will you be home when we wake up?" Willow asked as she continued to look at the older girl kneeling beside her.
"Yep. I'll be right here when you wake up. We'll have breakfast together, ok?" Reaching out in order to ruffle the child's red-hair slightly, the Slayer pushed herself back up to her full-height, her gaze still resting on the two children lying on the bed. "I promise."
"Night, Aunt Buffy." Tara said, sinking further into the comforter as she bid the older girl farewell for the night. Her green eyes eagerly watching the Slayer, Willow managed to smile, although it apparently was laced with sadness.
"Nighty night, Aunt Buffy. I'll miss you." She said, her tone laced with the same twinge of sadness that showed in her expression.
"I'll be back, Willow, I promise." Leaning down in order to give the younger girl a small kiss on her forehead, Buffy smiled and turned towards the door, remembering to leave the object slightly open so that light from the bulb outside in the hallway would shine through into the room. Now laying in the near dark, Willow and Tara were largely silent until the red-head emitted a small whimper.
"I miss Aunt Buffy." She said as she turned over onto her opposite side so that she could look Tara in her blue eyes. "I want her back."
"She just left, Willow." Frowning at the other child's comments, Tara reached out and laid her hand on the girl's own limb.
"But she's supposed to protect us. She said that's her job."
"I'll protect you, Willow. I promise." Making a smile come to her face, the blonde-haired child leaned in and gave the other girl a small kiss on her forehead. Her actions making a smile coming to the red-head's face, Tara giggled slightly. "We're gonna be together forever, remember?"
"I remember. Forever and ever and ever." Nodding at the girl's question, Willow entwined her small fingers with the other child's own, and smiled even wider than she had before. "We're gonna do lots of stuff tomorrow, ok? I wanna go exploring."
"Ok." Giggling again as she voiced her response, the blonde-haired child nodded. "We're gonna be explorers."
"Yep!" Snuggling her head deeper into the soft pillow that lay beneath her head, Willow closed her eyes and sighed happily. "Night, Tara."
"Night, Willow." Voicing her own 'farewell' to the girl lying beside her, Tara closed her eyes and started to drift off to sleep, her fingers still lying entwined with Willow's own, a small spark coursing out through her body as she felt the world slip away around her.