Title of the story: Welcome Home
• Author name : The Cursed And The Gifted
• Feedback: Yes Please!!!!!
• Distribution: No one else yet, but if you are interested in being a beta, message me.
• Spoilers: Totally AU so no Spoilers.
• Rating: PG 13 for now but that will probably change.
• Pairing: W/T obviously. B/F, A/X and eventually G/J
• Disclaimer: I do not own BTVS
• Summary: It's been seven years since Tara Maclay left everything and everyone behind her. After realizing she made a mistake, she comes back to take what she abandoned back, including and most importantly her friendship with Willow Rosenberg. But they both have changed, they both have secrets. Willow has spent the last seven years avoiding her thoughts of Tara by working and looking after her god-daughter, but now there's no escaping her feelings. No hellmouth, no supernatural stuff, just Willow and Tara.
NotesAnya and Xander got married at the age of twenty before Tara left.
Faith came to Sunnydale in the gangs graduating year of school. (but she didn't go to school, she dropped out before moving to town.)
Tara started school a year late so she was in the same year as Willow.
Tara didn't know her father and lived alone with her mother in Sunnydale.
Willows parents are "not great people" and that's all your going to know for now.
"Auntie Will, I can't find Miss kitty." The five-year old called from the living room. She couldn't do anything without that stuffed cat, and the panic in her voice wasn't something anyone close to her could miss.
"Did you look on the table." I asked as I rounded the corner into the room. "You had it when you were eating your breakfast." It didn't go unnoticed the mess she had made looking for the stuffy.
She instantly raced off into the dinning room, causing me to let out a soft chuckle. "Found her!" She happily informed me.
"Good, munch-kin do you mind just fixing up your mess in here"
"Yes Auntie, I'm sorry" she apologized as she came back into the room giving me a soft hug around the legs.
I ruffled her shaggy long blond hair. "It's OK sweetie, I'm not mad." After another squeeze she started to place the pillows back into the couch from where they had been torn off. " I just have to run upstairs for a minute. Can you watch for aunt Faith?" I turned around at her little nod, hard at work, she didn't look away from her task.
Dani was the best thing that had happened to me in the last five years. I still think back to the moment Anya told us Xander and her were going to have a child. I had been so jealous that they were so happy, but that had passed when Xander asked me if I would be her Godmother.
I burst into tears when they told us her name. It had been a shock, to find out how Anya had insisted that her daughter share that with me. We had never been close, we were always fighting, but she just had trouble expressing herself properly and my temper made it difficult to move past that.
The Scooby gang, as we had called ourselves since high school, loved her dearly. There wasn't a member that would keep anything from her. She was a gentle, polite, smart and kind child that filled the hole our group had developed.
Sometimes it felt like Dani was all I had. Buffy had Faith, Xander had Anya and Giles had his roommate and surrogate daughter Dawn. She spent Saturday and Wednesday here every week and every other occasion she could convince her mom to let her out.
I grabbed the present for her off my desk and started down the stairs. There was a knock on the front door and Dani went to straight for the door. Normally she wouldn't be allowed too, but we were expecting Faith.
"You're the lady from the pictures!" I heard her excited little voice from call out to the visitor outside the door." I started to panic the moment I heard her, rushing down the stairs. Dropping the gift as I went.
"Dani, who's at the door?" I called out to her. Trying to see who it was as I reached the last few steps, but the door obscured my view.
"The lady Dawn says not to ask about." She said as I yanked the door open further.
My mouth went dry at the sight in front of me. seven years, it had been seven years but I could never forget the face belonging to the person standing on my porch. If there has been any air in my lungs, it had rushed away the moment my brain caught on to what was happening. 'I'll be back, I promise' her soft voice echoed from my memories.
"Hey" she greeted nervously, but there was no sign of her stutter. Her hand lifted to give a light wave.
I was speechless. She was even more beautiful than she had been all those years ago. She had stopped dying her hair, it was the warm brunet color it had been when we were in high school. Her blue eyes, were just as bright and magnificent as I remembered. She was wearing tight blue jeans with a black blouse.
I felt a tugging on my sleeve and I looked down to see a confused look on the child's face, "Auntie Will, what's wrong?"
I crouched down to he level to look her in the eyes, faking my best smile. "Nothing sweetheart, can you go get you stuff ready for Auntie Faith." She cautiously nodded, seeing straight through my falsehood. I ruffled her hair "Thank you". I stood and watched her race up the stairs, only turning back to my visitor when the child was out of sight.
"Is this a bad time?" She asked.
"Seven years ago would have been a better time." I fired back, not quite able to put much venom into the shot. I waited for her to answer but she didn't, she simply looked at her feet with her hair moving in front of her face. I wasn't sure if it was out of habit, or because she knew how the action bothered me. "Come in".
Her head lifted ad she looked at me for a moment before stepping through the door. She followed me into the living room without a word, settling down on the couch as I did the chair a few feet away. "I missed you." She said quietly, staring at me.
"I missed you too." I replied. "Why didn't you contact any of us? We had no idea if you were ok." I whispered my words.
"It was too hard, after mom died, I didn't want anyone around."
"You were my best friend." I said and watched as she closed her eyes at the statement.
"I know and I'm so sorry!" She apologized, opening her eyes at the sound of Dani coming down the stairs.
"Auntie, are you OK?" She asked lightly as she came into the room.
"I'm OK sweetheart, come here" she came over immediately at my request and settled into my lap.
"Who are you?" Dani questioned.
"I'm Tara Maclay and what's your name sweetie?" Tara asked with a bright smile. She had always loved kids.
"Dani Harris."
A tear fell down Tara's cheek and I watched as she moved a hand to cover her mouth. After composing herself for a moment, she asked "And how old are you?"
"Five years and 2 mouths!" The little girl answered proudly.
"That's really old!" The look in her eyes obviously calculating exactly when Anya had become pregnant.
"Yeah! I get to go to school! How old are you?"
"28, just a year older than your Daddy."
"Wow that's so cool! She's older than you auntie! Does that mean you get to tell auntie Will what to do?"
Tara let out a loud laugh, a sound that made my heart swell. “I have never met a person who could tell your auntie what to do!"
"Mommy can! When mommy tells her not to give me chocolate, she doesn't. Except when it's just the two of us! But that's a secret, so you have to swear not to tell anyone!" The little girl babbled causing Tara to laugh again.
"Where's my favourite niece?" I heard Faith call out from the front door, making Dani jump off my lap and race to the door.
"Faith! The key is for emergencies!" I grumbled just load enough that I knew she would hear me. I heard Dani giggled as she had inevitably received her special aunt Faith hug.
"Easy red, it was an emergency! I missed little tyke!" She said entering the living room with Dani sitting on her hip. "Holy sh-" she started but cut herself off when she remembered who she was holding. "Tara?"
Tara stood up and Gave Faith her cherished half-smile. "It's good to see you Faith." I watched as Faith quickly took the few steps to Tara, meeting her in a slight hug, as if not to disturb Dani.
"You have to tell me where you have been! I want all the details, what, where and especially who!" wiggling her eyebrows at Tara as Dani looked at her confused about what Faith meant by ‘Who’
"I will, but there's not much to tell and I have some stuff I need to take care of first," Her eyes drifted to meet mine.
"No problem, B is gonna flip when she hears that your here!"
"Another thing, can you wait to tell anyone, I want to talk to Willow first."
"Anything for someone as smoking hot as you!"
"Faith, I'm telling Auntie Buffy!" Dani threatened.
"Hey, hey kiddo, I was just joking" Faith stated the panic and set the little girl down. Only to see the evil smile on her face. "Oh, come here little tyke, that was so not funny"
The kid let out a giggle and started off in the other direction as faith chased after her.
"She's adorable" Tara whispered cheerfully.
"And she knows it" I added with a smile that I always had when discussing my niece.
"Reminds me of someone" Tara chuckled. Meeting my eyes as if to make sure I was aware she was being implicating me.
"Alright kiddo, go give red a big hug." I heard faith say as I tore my eyes from Tara's just as
the girl launched herself into my lap with a giggle causing me to let out a "humph". She wrapped her small arms around my neck and squeezed. Whispering "I love you" softly into my ear. I wrapped my arms securely around her and returned the sentiment.
After a moment we let go and she climbed off my lap and walked over to Tara giving her s small hug. "Bye Tara."
"Bye sweetie".
"T, you should join all of us for dinner tomorrow. I mean it's up to Red, but every ones comin and it would be a great time to surprise them."
"If it's OK, maybe, I don't want to impose."
"Your family, it's not imposing." Faith pressed. “And don’t worry, I’ll make sure the squirt here keeps quiet” she added, winking at Tara before she turned to Dani "Come on little tyke, bye Red, bye T."
Bye we echoed after them.
When the door slammed shut, everything in the house went silent. we simply stared at each other for what felt like days.
"I don't know where to start." She finally whispered.
"Are you hungry?" I asked
"Starving"
"Let's grab some dinner, you can start your saying whatever it is you came here to say, there."
After a moment she finally agreed, insisting we take her car.
I knew that when I walked back into this house I could be a completely different person. I had so much I wanted to share with her, there was so much I wanted to hear from her. I wasn't sure how the results would affect me, but the day had come when Tara Maclay had walked back into my life.
Did she plan to stay?