The Lovers, The Dreamers And Me - Ch. 50 (11/15/13)

wimpy0729 · **Posted:** Wed Sep 26, 2012 3:57 pm

THE LOVERS, THE DREAMERS AND ME

DISCLAIMER: Willow, Tara and all other Buffy the Vampire Slayer characters belong to Joss Whedon, Fox, ME, blah usual blah. All other characters, human and otherwise, belong to me. The 'Rainbow Rescue' named in this story is in no way based on the real establishment.

SUMMARY: This story is kind of canon with a twist. Hellmouth meets quiet country town and hard working women fighting for a good cause. How will they deal when secrets are revealed? Lots of fluff, some angst and who knows what else.

PAIRING: W/T first and foremost of course, with others along the way.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I was bored, and this is what came of it. I did this to entertain myself, so I figured I would share. It should be noted that I am not a writer. I'm not even semi-intelligiment. I just did this for fun and the love of Willow and Tara.

The twist part of the story is that there are a few major changes resulting in some big differences. No demon story in Maclay family, but there is magic. Certain people didn't die (not even once), and different choices were made, leading them on quite different paths. One other major change will be evident. The girls are now women in their mid 20's, with jobs, homes, cars and cell phones, oh my. No beta, all mistakes are mine. Any glaring errors, please PM me. Emphasis will be in italics. Thoughts are in <>. I hope that is not too annoying.

I will try to have a schedule of posting every Friday if possible.

SPECIAL THANKS to Laragh and Shelby for letting me pick their brains. I hope it wasn't too painful.

FEEDBACK: Yes, please.

RATING: R for language and naughty bits overall. (Eventually NC-17)

CHAPTER 1

A beautiful, sunny California day sounds like a perfect day for a drive, so why did Willow Rosenberg find herself clinging to the "Oh Shit" handle for dear life and praying that she didn't lose her lunch all over the inside of Mrs. Summers' Jeep?

"Buffy, the pedal in the middle...it's called a brake, it's your friend...ugh...use it."

Just then, the driving-impaired blonde saw what she had been looking for and made a sharp right turn, without signaling of course, causing Willow's head to bounce off the window she'd been leaning against. She brought the Jeep to a screeching halt behind a line of cars and turned to her best friend, who was giving her a glare that would make any vampire or demon run for cover.

"What'd you say, Will?"

"I swear, Buff, I can't believe you passed the driving class at the academy."

"What?! I'm a good driver."

"Sure thing, Rain Man," Willow groaned as she rubbed the goose egg forming on the side of her head. "Great, just what any of us needs...another knock to the head. But, hey, at least I'm still conscious."

The friends shared a giggle, thinking about all the times one of them had woken up on the floor or the ground wondering if anyone had gotten the license number of the truck that had run them over. Yes, Sunnydale may have warped them just a little.

"Hey, I'm just surprised none of us has permanent brain damage...although Xander's questionable." Willow's nod confirmed that she agreed with Buffy wholeheartedly.

Buffy looked up in front of them and gave an overly dramatic sigh. "Well, crap. It figures. Mom lets us borrow the Jeep for our day at the beach only if we promise to wash it afterwards and we wind up behind some no neck in his 4x4. He's probably gonna leave a big ol' muddy mess in there for us."

Willow looked up and noticed the metallic purple Toyota Tacoma 4x4 in front of them for the first time as it pulled into the bay.

"Well, we can go ahead and vacuum it out while we're waiting. Maybe it won't be too bad."

Having spent most of the day at the beach, and knowing they were going to get wet again, the girls had just pulled shorts on over their bikini bottoms and hadn't bothered to put shirts on over the skimpy tops.

Willow exited the SUV and pulled the floor mat out, shaking it first to get some of the sand off.

"Geez, I think we brought the entire beach home with uhh..."

Willow looked up at the sound of the purple truck's door opening. The first thing she saw as the driver stepped out was a well-worn work boot, followed by legs covered in snug-fitting jeans, then a torso covered by a denim work shirt, all topped off with a ball cap. She cocked her head and stared at the back of the driver, her brow furrowed and confusion written all over her face. She didn't look at men this way anymore. Honestly, she had never looked at men this way, but she sure was enjoying this one.

"Well...huh."

She gave the floor mat another half-hearted shake as she pretended not to stare.

Buffy rounded the back of the Jeep, tossed her mat on the ground and started to put her quarters in the machine when she noticed the strange look on Willow's face and followed her line of vision.

"You okay, Will?"

"Um...I think...definitely not okay," said the flustered redhead.

Willow had shared the fact with her best friend several years ago that she "preferred women/was definitely gay/was queer as a 3 dollar bill" before it finally registered with the blonde. The repeated use of words like "soft" and "curvy" and the dreamy look on her face had even made the Slayer blush at the time. Not that Willow had done much about it, but that was the fact, and she had never looked back...until now apparently.

Willow looked at her friend with anxious green eyes, pleading for help. "Buff...?" she said in a strangled whisper.

Just then, they heard the passenger door on the truck open and they both looked toward the sound. "The Driver," as Willow had dubbed him, pulled off his denim shirt and threw it into the front seat revealing a tight white tank top and broad, muscular shoulders. An "eep" escaped pale lips, and try as she might, Willow couldn't tear her eyes away.

Just as she thought she was going to hyperventilate from the confusing, lusty feelings, "The Driver" reached up and removed the ball cap. In a move that would make the best shampoo commercials proud, and in what seemed like slow motion, they shook out long, sandy-colored hair with blonde highlights causing it to come tumbling out and down over those broad shoulders.

Buffy's eyebrows rose and she looked at her friend with an amused smile, trying to hold back her laugh. Willow looked like a fish out of water with her mouth gaping open. She was pretty sure there was drool. Willow couldn't help but stare as "The Driver" turned toward the back of the truck, running her fingers through her long hair, stretching the fabric of the tank top tight across "her" obviously well-endowed chest.

"Oh..." Willow's smile could've lit up a city block as she turned to her best friend, her eyebrows lifted so high that Buffy thought they were going to blend in with her widow's peak.

"I'm okay!" she squealed as she grabbed Buffy's shoulders and started bouncing up and down. "I'm okay! Cause, the he's a she...a really gorgeous she at that, and Oh My God, Buffy, did you see her..." The blonde threw a hand over the redhead's mouth and another on her arm to keep her from flying away.

"Chill, Will. Deep breaths. Okay, yes, she's definitely a woman, so yay, you're still gay, okay?" Willow nodded her head vigorously, her bright green eyes as big as saucers. "But you need to settle down just a little...or okay, more like a lot." She nodded again. Once the major freak-out fest was over, Buffy pulled her hand away, still seeing the 1000 watt smile on her friend's face.

"Now, we're going to play this cool, got it?"

"Yep, cool...Cucumber Rosenberg, that's me."

Buffy gave a quiet groan as she rubbed her hand across her eyes. Willow was many things, but she was definitely not as cool as a cucumber.

"Okay, we're just gonna sweep the mats like we planned."

"Right, I can sweep...sure...keepin' it cool."

Buffy just rolled her eyes and prayed for a miracle. She really did wish that her friend could find a nice woman. If anybody deserved to be happy, it was Willow.

The passenger door of the truck slammed shut drawing their attention again. The driver was lowering the tailgate as a brunette with long hair and dressed similarly in work boots, jeans and black tank top strutted over to the car wash hose.

"Hey, T, why don't you get the crates out while I start hosin' her down?"

"Hey, "A", why don't you get your butt up here and help me get 'em out?" Tara was one of very few people who could get away with talking to her that way and she knew it.

The brunette set the quarters down on the stand by the controls and smirked at her best friend. "Don't push it, woman," she said as she hopped up in the truck bed with hardly any effort. She unhooked the extra large dog crates and slid them back to the tailgate, while the blonde got down and lifted each one down to the ground and out of the way. They heard a squeal and looked to the car behind them to see two women, and one seemed very excited for some reason. The two friends looked at each other, smiled, and mouthed "cute".

Buffy started the loud sweeper and handed it to her friend, who started to kneel on one mat in order to clean the other. She wasn't crazy about the idea of getting gravel in her knees, thank you very much.

Buffy grabbed her by the elbow before she was all the way down and shook her head 'no'.

"No?!"

"Bend over," she mouthed.

"What?!!"

She gave Willow an exasperated sigh and yelled back, "BEND OVER!!" as she nodded to the truck in front of them.

"Oh. Really?" An emphatic nod yes was her answer.

<Cucumber...cool as...yep, that's me> Willow kept repeating to herself as she 'nonchalantly' bent over to run the sweeper over the floor mats. Finding that the sand from the beach was really packed into the carpet, she put some extra effort into running the sweeper attachment back and forth.

"OVER!!" Tara heard as she was depositing her quarters into the machine, causing her to turn and glance back toward the other vehicle. Her heart about stopped as she saw the cutest little butt in a pair of Daisy Duke cut offs sticking up in the air and shaking back and forth.

"Holy...SHIT!" she screamed as her last quarter fell in causing the hose to come to life before she'd taken it out of the holder. Water sprayed everywhere before she got it yanked out, but honestly, at that moment she needed a good cooling down.

She heard guffaws of laughter and looked over to see her friend looking at her, doing a handstand up in the bed of the truck. She just shook her head, slinging droplets of water everywhere. She loved her friend dearly, but she tended to get bored easily and sometimes had the attention span of a monkey on crack.

"What?" Tara asked testily.

"Whatcha doin'?" the brunette asked in a sing-song voice.

"Nothing."

"Tara Maclay, you may be able to lie..."

"Fib."

"Okay, fib to you mother about the "research"' you do on your laptop for hours a day, but you cannot fib to me. I saw what you were lookin' at."

"It is research," she mumbled as she brushed her wet hair back out of her face and started hosing down the truck. She didn't even bother denying the other comment.

Buffy was coming around the Jeep after she got the floor mats from the back hatch, just in time to see the water go spraying everywhere. She giggled as she tapped Willow on the shoulder and nodded for her to look at the other two girls.

Willow's eyes were transfixed on the wet, now almost transparent white shirt of the driver and Buffy's gaze went to the other girl standing on her hands. Her shirt was not able to defy gravity and was flipped about half-way down her chest exposing some nicely-toned abs and a pair of amazing...

"Oh my God, Will! Is she even wearing a bra?"

Willow was doing her best to bend and sweep and glance, which was hard enough, but when her friend made the bra comment, she had to drop to her knees to keep from falling on her face. She glared at Buffy and couldn't believe her ears.

"Are you looking at the woman I might possibly have some serious hots for's boobs?!!"

"Huh...wha...? No...not...Look!" she said as she pointed to the apparently strong and flexible brunette, her eyes raking over her with more than a little bit of appreciation. "She's been holding that handstand for several minutes and she's not even shaking yet!"

"Oh, I see...Oh, I see" The redhead's eyes widened then clamped shut quickly.

After quickly hosing down the truck, Tara went to exchange the water wand for the brush when she noticed her friend still in the same position she had left her in 5 minutes earlier, except she now wore a huge smile that brought out her deep dimples. Knowing she owed her friend for her earlier remarks, Tara pointed the wand at her friend's butt and pulled the trigger for the power spray. Catching her off guard, she began to wobble.

"Hey! Damn you, T!" she yelled as she perfectly executed a back flip out of the truck and landed it spot on.

"Quit showing off, and showing, well..." Tara threw her hand out in a 'you know' manner and walked away shaking her head.

It was Buffy's turn to have her mouth gape open at the display. "Did you see that?!" she asked Willow in awe just as the sweeper shut off, and realized too late that her voice carried to the other girl. The brunette turned to her and smiled. Buffy liked it. She smiled back and flashed five fingers up on both hands. "Ten points," she mouthed. The girl took a bow and winked.

Tara used the distraction to grab the brush and hurried to the other end of the truck to start scrubbing and escape the wrath of the brunette.

A few minutes later, Buffy and Willow had the mats back in the SUV. They were sitting in their respective seats, staring straight ahead barely blinking, both, for some reason, breathing a little heavier than usual.

"Want a water, Buff?"

"Oh yeah."

Willow reached into the large cooler in the back seat pulling out two bottles, never taking her eyes off the driver.

"So..." The redhead didn't know what else to say.

"Yeah..." Buffy nodded as she ran the icy cold bottle over her forehead and down her neck.

"That's um...different."

"Yeah. So's she."

"Um, yep." Willow nodded as she took a big gulp of water.

They had been sitting and waiting for their turn in the car wash bay while the other two girls were scrubbing and bouncing and sweating, and finally hosing off their now clean, sparkling truck. They rinsed out the dog crates and loaded them in the back. The driver closed the tailgate, and for the first time, Willow noticed the two signs.

"Huh...Rainbow Rescue," Willow read aloud. She leaned forward to try to see what the smaller print said. "Wonder what that's about?"

"And T&A Hauling," Buffy chuckled as she read the rest. "We'll Truck You Up," she said shaking her head. "How subtle."

"Well...maybe it's...maybe...um..." Willow was stuck on the 'T' after seeing the driver's wet tank top. "Initials, yeah...maybe it's their names."

"Hey, blondie, you got any ones?"

"Why?" Tara cocked a suspicious eyebrow, knowing her friend was up to something.

"Just gimme...please?" She pulled out the dimples.

Tara found some ones and slapped them in her friend's hand, with the clear instruction to "behave". She jumped in, started the truck and turned on the wipers while watching her friend in the rearview mirror with trepidation. After she saw her make a quick trip to the change machine, she cringed as she watched her saunter back to the Jeep. "Oh, crap."

Buffy couldn't help but smile as the woman approached her window. The brunette pulled out the dimples and the charm.

"Afternoon, ladies."

"Hey," Buffy said as she smiled back. "Nice...um...hand work...I mean handstand."

"Hi. Yeah," Willow blushed but couldn't look the woman in the eye, and just stared straight ahead at the driver sitting in the truck.

"Gee, thanks." <Gee? What the hell? And am I blushing?> "Hey, listen, we just wanted to apologize for taking so long and making you guys wait on such a hot day."

"Hot...yeah." Buffy stared at the drop of sweat sliding slowly down her chest, between her...<fire bad>

Willow finally piped up after Buffy seemed to go nonverbal. "Oh, it's no problem, really."

"Well, anyway, here," the woman said as she gently pried Buffy's sweaty hand from the steering wheel and gave her the coins. "Your wash is our treat today."

"Believe me, it was totally our treat. Oh my God, did I say that out loud?"

The brunette let out a deep, sexy laugh.

"Oh, and here -- in case you're ever in need of our services." She tried to say it in a non-sexy way...she really did...but it just wasn't possible. She dug in her back pocket and gave them each a card. "You lovely ladies have a great afternoon," she said as she stepped away from the Jeep.

Willow glanced at the card in her hand and realized something. "Hey, these numbers -- you're not local?"

"Nope." She smiled that delicious smile again. "But we're in the neighborhood sometimes, and we definitely make special trips for hot women." She winked at Buffy again and strutted to the waiting truck.

"Holy fuck, Will..." Buffy whispered, "I'm in deeep shit."

"Deep something," she whispered thoughtfully as she gently ran a finger over the card.

Grimm · **Posted:** Wed Sep 26, 2012 4:35 pm

Story Dibs!!!

T & A Hauling, Rainbow Rescue and we'll truck you up.....LMAO!!!!

So, obviously the "A' in "T & A" is Faith. Is she or/and Buffy a Slayer?

I look forward to your Freaky-Friday Updates.

Great, funny, sexxxy start to this story.

You have my undivided attention.

fhiwda · **Posted:** Wed Sep 26, 2012 6:19 pm

Holy artichoke dip!!! I so cannot wait for another update!!!

faolan228 · **Posted:** Wed Sep 26, 2012 10:49 pm

Ooh! You got me hooked! Can't wait to see more!

Alcy · **Posted:** Thu Sep 27, 2012 2:03 pm

Wimpy! A marvellous start. I very much enjoy your easy, breezy writing style. I love this idea of our gang being ‘responsible grown-ups’ – although I am in my early 30s now and definitely don’t consider myself responsible or grown up! It’s such a chore to behave yourself all the time.

Quote:

Her heart about stopped as she saw the cutest little butt in a pair of Daisy Duke cut offs sticking up in the air and shaking back and forth.

I don’t know if this would stop my heart or cause me to faint, either way, it is an enticing thought!

I love that Buffy is totally feeling the hots too – I completely approve (although my dislike for Buffy and penchant for killing her off is well-known).

If Willow has never done much about her attraction to girls, does that mean she’s never slept with one?

Anyway, I look forward to another update very soon.

Ariel · **Posted:** Thu Sep 27, 2012 9:57 pm

Wimpy!

This is AWESOME!!! Funny and hot and spot on - love the dialogue, hijinks and crazy shenanigans!

Can't wait for more! So keep writing - that's an order! :kgeek

Ariel

wimpy0729 · **Posted:** Fri Sep 28, 2012 8:17 am

THE LOVERS, THE DREAMERS AND ME

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Happy Friday! A huge thanks to all who have read and/or replied.

GRIMM -- Hi there! Congrats on your story dibs. Glad you like the names. The reasoning will be explained soon. As far as your other questions, all will be revealed shortly. And ooh, I get a "seXXXy". That made my day.

Thanks for the feedback.

fhiwda -- Hi there! You won't have to wait long. Update directly below.

Thanks for the feedback.

faolan228 -- Hey there! Glad you liked. More coming really soon, kinda like now.

Thanks for the feedback.

Alcy -- Hi! Thank you so much for your kind words. Yes, the gang is more grown up and responsible. I feel that should have just been the normal progression. But, just because someone is responsible, it definitely doesn't mean they have to become boringly mature old fuddy duds. They can still have fun. One should never behave themselves all the time, so you just keep misbehaving, girl! As far as Buffy, I much preferred her earlier years of being on the slightly ditzy side. We'll just have to wait and see how her 'hots' progress, and I'm thrilled you approve. And Willow's butt may make another appearance. As far as the rest, my lips are sealed for now, my friend. Thanks for the feedback!

Ariel -- Hi! Thanks so much! Glad you enjoyed it so far. Yes ma'am -- more is definitely coming.

Thanks for the feedback.

CHAPTER 2

The first few minutes of their nearly 1 1/2-hour drive home was silent. She didn't want to know, but it was killing her because, well...she really did want to know.

"Spill." Tara finally gave in.

"Spill what?"

"Come on, Faith, don't be an "A" right now. What did you do?"

"Nothin'."

"Faith! You're such an..." Tara seethed, finally showing her frustration.

"Say it. Come on, blondie...say it and I'll talk."

"Okay, alright, I will. Ass."

Faith just had to chuckle.

"More...come on, give me more."

Tara cringed, knowing what was coming. "Okay! You're a fucking asshole! How's that?"

Faith erupted in uncontrollable laughter, even going so far as to slap her hand on her knee. She had to wipe the tears from her eyes and get control of her breathing before she could even form words again. Tara was trying to control her own laughter well enough to drive. It always came to this. Faith was a self-proclaimed asshole at times, thus the "A", and she derived so much pleasure hearing her best friend try to cuss, because she just couldn't pull it off and it sounded so funny coming from her lips.

"Say 'fucking' again...please," Faith wheezed.

"Shut up...fuckface," Tara responded with a smile.

"Oh, oh stop...you're gonna make me pee!"

___________________________

"Wow."

"Yeah... wow." Buffy was still kind of in shock. "I mean, I never would've thought, not in a million years, that I'd feel this way, but she's...different."

"That, she is." Willow was still kind of in her own world, thinking of the driver of that purple truck, but she was still trying to do the best friend thing.

Then Buffy had a thought. Scary enough in and of itself, her thought was pretty terrifying.

"Will, what if...how do you know if...?"

"What if she made you feel all these feelings and she's not even gay? Not really interested?"

"Exactly," Buffy sighed. "How do you know? We really don't know anything about them."

"Buffy, my best friend, those are the $64,000 questions, and I'm sure you'll have plenty more. But, hey, I'm definitely not an expert. I've been out and trying to find that special woman for a few years now, and look at me." She took a sip of her Coke then listlessly wiped the condensation off the can. She sighed and turned to the blonde. "Sometimes I wonder if it's even in the cards for me."

Buffy smiled as she had another thought. Really, she did.

"Cards! Their cards, Will -- phone numbers, website!"

Willow was beaming. "You're a genius, Buff!"

____________________________

"You did not say that!" Tara was flabbergasted.

"Oh, I really did, but I swear I was trying to be good."

"Offering our 'services'?" Tara was trying to glare at her friend and keep an eye on the road at the same time. Luckily they were almost home.

"Well, I gave them our cards. It was a somewhat reasonable thing to say. I just couldn't help the way it came out," Faith shrugged, trying to defend herself.

"That's it? That's all you said?"

"Well, I didn't even tell you the other part, but you have to promise to never bring it up again."

Tara looked quickly at her best friend and saw something very foreign on her face. Faith was embarrassed.

"I promise," Tara said sincerely.

Faith took a deep, cleansing breath. "I said... 'Gee'," she admitted as she dropped her head into her hands.

Tara's eyebrows furrowed. "What?"

"Well, she complimented me, and...and...I said, 'Gee, thanks'. Oh my God, T, I've never said that in my life."

Tara gave her a gentle smile. "You like her."

"I...there's..." Faith stumbled over her words, which very rarely happened. "Well...s-she liked my handstand."

"You sure she didn't say she liked your boobs?" the blonde laughed.

"What?! No, I've got on my sports bra, or else I wouldn't have..." She pulled out the collar of her tank top and looked down, a pink flush rising immediately to her cheeks. "Oh, fuck."

Tara frowned at Faith as a thought crossed her mind. "Oh, fuck is right. You didn't say you got their names."

Faith didn't laugh this time.

___________________________________

Willow was in her element, sitting in her home office with her fingers flying over her keyboard.

"Read me the name off that card please, Buffy."

"Which one?"

"The um, rescue website first."

"Okay, it's just, rainbowrescue.com.

A couple of clicks later, Willow was reading the info she pulled up. "The Rainbow Rescue was established In 2002 to provide a temporary home for abandoned and mistreated dogs. Our goal is to match these dogs with new owners who will give them a loving, forever home. We transport the dogs to their new homes within a 300-mile radius. If they need to go further, another member of the 'Rainbow Connection' will meet us and take them from there."

The two friends shared a smile.

"Buffy, the dog crates in the truck...they'd probably delivered some around here today."

"Probably. And then they had to drive back...where does it say they're from?"

"Um...Rancho Carne."

____________________________

"Mama, we're home!"

"Bubba, I'm home!"

The girls heard laughter and thumping coming from upstairs and shared a knowing smile as they made their way to the kitchen for cold bottles of water. It had been a long, hot day. An ice cold beer sounded better to them, but that could wait til they got back to their own place, which thankfully, was just down the road.

Mary Maclay and Faith's 9-year-old large mixed-breed dog, Bubba, came strolling into the kitchen. Although Bubba didn't really stroll...he more like thudded everywhere he went. At 90+ pounds, what else could he do?

"How was your trip, girls?" Mary asked as she hugged them both.

"It was great."

"Bubba, baby!" Faith yelled when she saw her big boy. She squatted down and kissed him on the nose, then he did the same to her, his tail wagging about 90 miles per hour.

"Were you guys dancing again, mom?" Tara cocked her eyebrow at her mother.

"What? Us?! Now, would we boogie, Bubba?" The huge dog immediately raised up on his back legs and put his front paws on Mary's shoulders waiting for the music to start.

Faith just laughed. "Oh, hell no. Mama Bear, you're lucky he don't dislocate your shoulders doing that."

"Don't be silly, dear. He's fine, and he loves it."

"Hate to run, mom, but we're pretty tired. Love you."

"Thanks for watching him. See you in the morning."

"Goodnight girls. Bye, Bubba."

____________________________

"What else?" Buffy asked anxiously.

"Well, there's a contact number, you know, if you're interested in a dog. Probably isn't their home number though."

"Yeah, and what would we say anyway --'Hi, we're the girls from the carwash, and we think you're hot'?" Buffy buried her face in her hands. "Oh my God -- we'd sound like a couple of teenage sluts."

Willow couldn't help but laugh at her distressed friend. "Yes, you would," she mumbled.

Buffy looked up suddenly. No, it couldn't be...not again. Her brain was starting to hurt.

"Willow Rosenberg, Junior VP, McCarthy Software, Inc."

"Yes, Buffy...that would be me," Willow replied slowly. She always got nervous when her friend used her full official title. Buffy fixed her with a huge grin.

"No, Buffy. No frilly way. Uh uh."

"Wil-low, please, use that big brain of yours. There has to be some way a Junior VP of the largest software company in California just might need to contact a dog rescue and..."

"For what? And why me? Why not you? You're all big with the police department, 'Officer Summers'!"

"Oh right. What am I gonna do -- show up at her house, flash my badge, handcuff her and say, 'you're coming with me'?" Buffy got a dreamy look on her face as she pictured the brunette in just that scenario.

"Eww. God, Buffy...no, please. I don't want dirty visuals in my head...well, unless they're my own." Willow shook her head trying her best to erase any images of her friend. "We definitely need a different plan."

____________________________

Tara awoke rested and happy. She stretched her stiff muscles and smiled. It had been a good weekend. They had delivered two more dogs to their new homes, and the smiles on the faces of the new families and the happy dogs were what it was all about. And if she was honest with herself, the carwash girls were nice too.

She pulled the blanket back and swung her legs over the side of the bed. Finding her slippers and robe, she put them on and padded down the hall to the bathroom. A few minutes later, she made her way downstairs in the 2-story renovated farmhouse to the kitchen and started the coffee. The thudding on the stairs echoed throughout the house and she moved to open the sliding door to the deck and backyard.

"Morning, Bubba. You ready to go outside?" A loud bark was her answer and she laughed at the big black dog they all loved. She let him out, then went back to get her a steaming cup of coffee. After stirring in her favorite flavored creamer, she decided to join the dog outside. She sat down in one of the Adirondack chairs on the deck, sipping her coffee while she enjoyed the beautiful sunny morning. She watched as Bubba slowly bounded across the yard after some birds, then noticed some squirrels scampering up a tree and changed his direction.

She laughed and shook her head. "You have your mom's attention span, old boy."

After taking another sip of her coffee, the blonde closed her eyes and leaned her head back on the solid wood. Her thoughts drifted to the events of the day before. <That little redhead in those shorts, oh my. What a cutie. Shame we'll probably never see them again. I think Faith was actually blushing when she was talking about the blonde. That's a first.>

The patio door slid open and a rumpled Faith came shuffling through, sipping from her own steaming mug.

"Hey," Faith mumbled.

"Hey, yourself. Sleep well?"

"Not really."

"What's up?"

"Dreams," she answered, landing heavily in the chair beside the blonde.

"Nightmares?"

"No, just...strange." She took a long sip from her mug and turned to the blonde, who had her eyebrow cocked up waiting for her to continue.

"Yes, I'm gonna tell Sofia."

"Good. I think that's best," Tara nodded. Faith had mentioned these dreams to her before on several occasions, and they were starting to worry her.

"I'll talk to her when I go over to work out today. You wanna join me?"

"I was going to go over to Mama's this morning...check up on things. What time are you planning on going?"

"Why don't I just go with you, then we can go to Sofia's from there?"

"Sounds good." Tara hesitated. "Um...Faith, have you noticed how you seem to get them after we go 'there'?"

"I know," she admitted. "And this time...the carwash girl was in it."

Tara's eyebrows rose in confusion and a little apprehension.

"Um...do I even want to know in what capacity those girls showed up in your dreams?"

Faith just laughed. "Not like that, unfortunately. Like I said, it was strange. The...the blonde...she was um...special...like me," Faith said, looking the blonde in the eyes.

"Oh...then I think you definitely need to mention that to Sofia."

"I will. Hey, Bubby, you ready to go in?"

Faith smiled as the big dog came lumbering up to greet her on the deck. He had been a present from Sofia, her mentor and friend, many years ago, and they had completely turned her life around. The woman had taken Faith in, given her a caring, loving home and taught her about her gift. But her favorite thing out of all of that came in the form of a little black furball. Sofia had taken her to an animal shelter not long after taking her in, and she was immediately drawn to the Newfoundland mix. He was her baby, and she found her true calling. The other stuff...well, it was cool, but she wouldn't really reach her full abilities unless a very specific thing happened. And if it didn't...well, she could still do handstands to impress the ladies. She was happy with that.

faolan228 · **Posted:** Fri Sep 28, 2012 9:18 am

Whoo! Slayera! Potentials! Witches! Lesbians! And puppies!

I will return to convey a more eloquent response, after the whole puppy puppy puppy! thing wears off.

fhiwda · **Posted:** Fri Sep 28, 2012 10:21 am

Very intriguing! I'm starting to get all pumped up for some hell mouth fun... And w/t connections of course.

JustSkipIt · **Posted:** Sun Sep 30, 2012 6:04 pm

Hmmm. Faith seems to have some superpowers and have some sort of a spiritual mentor. I'm intrigued. I have to admit that I'm not a big Fluffy fan but I do love the idea of some hot Tara/Willow action. I can't wait for that phone call.

wimpy0729 · **Posted:** Fri Oct 05, 2012 8:29 am

THE LOVERS, THE DREAMERS AND ME

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Happy Friday! Huge thanks again to all who have read and/or replied.

faolan228 - Hey! Glad you're all excited. There's one special dog showing up in a couple of chapters. I hope you enjoy. Thanks for your feedback!

fhiwda - Hi there! More fun and W/T connections coming very soon, but their actual meeting is still a couple of chapters away, so hang in there. Thanks for the feedback!

JustSkipIt - Hey! I was hoping the B/F thing wouldn't scare too many people off. Those two together though, hopefully will make things a little interesting. My goal with this Faith is to show how she could've turned out differently if she was given some good breaks in her life. She actually has a very good heart and I hope comes across as a likeable character and a good friend. The W/T call is coming soon, but the hotness won't be coming for a while. They may have a few complications in their way, but rest assured they will get there. Thanks for the feedback.

ALL DISCLAIMERS APPLY

******************************************

CHAPTER 3

Willow buried her head under the covers and tried to escape the annoying buzzing sound. When it stopped then started again, she finally reached her hand out to her nightstand to try to locate the offending machine.

"Mmm...ello."

"Do you need anything hauled?"

The redhead's muddled brain only comprehended one word.

"Hauled? Is that some kind of metaphor? Cause I'm not..."

"Will, it's me!"

"Buffy?"

"Of course. Who else would be stupid enough to call you at 6:30 in the morning?"

"6:30!!"

Buffy moved her phone away from her ear just in time to prevent permanent damage to her eardrum.

"Are you crazy?!"

"Just listen -- the girls, they do hauling, right?"

"Yeah, I guess. The sign said they'd 'truck us up'."

Both girls giggled, the ungodly time of the call nearly forgotten by Willow now that she was thinking about the driver of that purple truck.

"I don't know, Buff," Willow said, moving to lean back against the headboard and pulling her knees up to her chest. "I don't really have anything that needs hauled." I could use a good truckin' by Ms. Driver Woman though, she smirked to herself, or so she thought, but apparently the censor part of her brain was not fully awake.

"Willow Rosenberg!"

"Umm..."

"A good 'trucking'?!"

Willow's face was burning it was so red.

"Hey, I didn't say 'trucking', I said...well, so what if I did, huh? I'm a single 26-year-old woman...and I can have thoughts about 'trucking' if I darn well please...so...so there!"

The blonde was trying unsuccessfully to catch her breath on the other end of the phone. She only wished she was there in person to see if her friend's face matched the color of her hair yet.

"Oh God...that was good, Will."

"So...anyway," the redhead tried to skirt around the embarrassment, "can't think of anything I need a truck for."

"What about the company?"

"No, they have their own fleet of delivery trucks, Buff."

Both girls sighed sadly.

"Well crap."

___________________________

Tara's mother had the door open for the girls before they were even out of the truck.

"Morning, girls."

"Morning, Mama."

"Mornin', Mama Bear. Breakfast ready?"

Mary laughed at Faith's exuberance for food. She had been friends with Sofia for many years and knew all about Faith, including her overzealous appetite and a metabolism that made them all green with envy.

"I may have saved you some scraps," she teased as she followed them into the kitchen. "In the oven, honey. I kept it warm for you."

"You're the best," Faith said as she wrapped the older woman in a hug.

"Easy now. No breaking the old woman," Mary laughed, shooing awaying the brunette, only to find herself in another hug by her daughter.

"She is the best," Tara said, placing a kiss on her cheek.

"What are you girls up to today?"

"Just came by to see if you needed help with anything, then going to Sofia's to work out," Faith explained as she shoved a sausage link in her mouth.

"Are you both on nights this week?"

"Yeah, Mama, I go in at 7, get off at 7 a.m."

"I go in at 7 too, do my 24 hours, then I'm off for 2 days -- yes! One of the best things about being an EMT. Well, that, plus seeing all the hot nurses at the hospital," Faith teased as she gave Tara her best predatory leer.

Tara shook her her head and laughed at her best friend. "Riight. I think Faith has the hots for Nurse Diesel. I'll tell her you were asking about her when I go in tonight," Tara said sweetly as she cocked her eyebrow.

Faith choked on her toast and glared at the blonde. "Don't you dare. That woman scares me," she said as she gave a dramatic shudder.

"Faith, I didn't think you were scared of any women," Mary teased as she leveled a crooked grin at the brunette.

"Well, I am of her. She had me cornered in the break room when I was there on a run last week."

"Oh, you poor dear. What'd you do to get away from that scary, old, evil nurse?" Mary said with a twinkle in her blue eyes.

"Very funny, guys. See, I'm trying this whole new thing about not being rude to people, so I just told her I wasn't interested and got the hell outta there."

The Maclay women shared a laugh at Faith's expense as she gave them both her best glare, then joined in their laughter. "Bein' nice is a bitch."

"So what's going on here, Mama? Any new ones coming in?"

"Oh, that's right, I forgot to tell you last night. I got a call from the Chester County Animal Shelter yesterday morning. They have a litter of pups that were abandoned. They're going to see what they can do to find them homes, but I told them to give me a call back if they needed us."

Both girls scowled at the thought of anybody doing something like that, but that's what the rescue was about. If the shelter couldn't do it, then they would see to it that those pups found good homes.

"Okay, keep us posted," Tara said as she went to rinse her plate in the sink. The phone on the wall beside her began to ring as she walked by.

"Good morning, Rainbow Rescue."

"Um, hi. I was...uh...I have some questions...about adopting a dog?" said a young woman's voice. Tara smiled at the apparent nervous tone of the caller.

"Sure. What would you like to know?"

"Well, everything I guess. I saw online, on your website, that there's a...process and um... interviews?"

"Oh, yes. We do all that because we like to match the right dog to the right family. We need to know that they'll be well taken care of and that we find a good, permanent home for them. We want everyone to be happy."

Tara covered the mouthpiece and whispered to Faith, "pen and paper."

Faith raised her eyebrows in question, then jumped up and snatched a pen and notebook from the desk in the kitchen corner and quickly handed them to the blonde.

"Oh, I totally understand. Wouldn't want them to end up with someone like Cruella De Vil...OH! Not that I would be like that...no...no puppy coats for me...no sirree, Bob...nope..." she trailed off nervously.

Tara couldn't help but laugh at the quirkiness of this woman. "Oh, I should hope not. Well, if you've been to our website, you know there are pictures posted of the dogs and puppies currently up for adoption, and that's updated weekly."

"Oh yes, I found your site very helpful, and you had so many wonderful dogs to choose from. I'm just not sure what would be right for me, ya know?"

"Well, that's exactly what we can help you figure out, Mrs....?"

"Um, Rosenberg. Willow. And it's just Ms. No Mrs. here, uh uh...unless you were talking about my mother...and...let's just not," she mumbled.

Tara couldn't help but smile again. There was just something about her.

"Okay then, Ms. Rosenberg, the first step is for you to tell us a little about yourself -- hobbies, your home, yard, etc., to see what type of dog would suit your lifestyle."

"Oh, sure. Well, I'm single. I uh, own my own home, with a decent sized fenced-in yard. I work for a software company, but I get to work from home a lot, which is nice, so the little guy or girl wouldn't have to be alone much, cause that would be sad. If I would have to be gone very long, I have friends close by who could come over and let it out to go potty, and um...stuff."

"That all sounds wonderful, Ms. Rosenberg. Now, have you ever had a dog or pets before?"

<Oh crap!> "Um, well, when I was younger, I had fish. I'd always wanted a dog, but my parents wouldn't let me, and thinking back, it was probably for the best...yes...definitely for the best...because I wasn't, you know, mature enough back then, but I am now, that was a long time ago and I'm a very responsible person."

The line was quiet for a minute. Tara was waiting to see if this woman was finished, as she wrote down "no previous dogs".

"Um...hello? Is that bad? Is that like a black mark against me or something?" Willow asked nervously. She definitely didn't want to fall into the 'black mark' category.

"Hmm? Oh no, not at all Ms. Rosenberg. We adopt out to first-time dog owners all the time," Tara tried to reassure her. "We'd just like to make sure you know the basics of dog care, what to expect...know that you'd take them for regular vet checks, that type of thing. We'd also require that the dog be spayed or neutered if it hasn't already been done."

"Whew, okay....oh, of course, of course, spay and neutering a must. And please, just call me Willow."

Tara smiled again. "Okay...Willow...well, this is a start. We can go over the information we have and make a list of possible matches, then we'll get back with you at this number if that's okay?"

Willow was sitting on the edge of her bed smiling like crazy. This could be a good thing...a very good thing.

"Oh, yes, definitely. It's my cell, and you can reach me anytime. Um, one more thing, Miss...?"

"Tara."

"Okay, Tara...if or when we find a dog for me, do I need to come there and get it or do you bring it to me, or how does that work?"

"We usually deliver the dogs, but we'll do whatever works out best for everyone. You're not more than 300 miles away are you?"

"Oh, definitely not...maybe 75-80 miles. So you would bring it to me in your car or...?" Willow held her breath as she fished for this very important piece of information. After all, she wasn't sure how many people worked at this rescue, so what was the chance that the person bringing her dog would be the same girl she had seen yesterday.

"Oh, we transport the dogs in our trucks. Either my friend's black Tundra or my Tacoma. It's purple, so it's kind of hard to miss," she laughed.

Willow fell off her bed.

Tara's eyebrows rose as she heard a muffled thump on the other end of the line. The redhead scrambled around on the floor as she frantically grappled with her phone.

"Hello? Ms....um...Willow? Hello?"

"I'm here! I'm good!" Willow said as she crawled back onto her bed.

"Okay," Tara laughed with relief.

"Um...Tara?"

"Yes?" She just loved the way this woman said her name.

Willow wracked her brain. How was she going to ask this without sounding like a stalker or a teenage slut?

"This might sound crazy, but...did you happen to um...wash your truck...yesterday in...Sunnydale?"

Tara dropped her phone.

Faith looked at her friend, who had gone ghostly pale. "What the hell, T?"

"C-car...car..." was all Tara could say as Faith handed her back the phone.

"Carwash," Tara finally whispered, her eyes huge.

"What?"

"The girl...from the carwash...I think...one of them."

"Hello?" Willow asked nervously. Did she scare her off...get hung up on? Oh God. Willow felt sick.

"Yeah...hello...hi. I'm here."

"Oh, hi...good," the redhead replied as she sagged in relief.

Faith kept smiling and nodding for her friend to keep talking.

"Um...yeah...yes, we did...wash the truck."

Willow gripped her phone tighter to keep it from falling out of her sweaty hand.

"So..." Willow tried to say casually, which was hard since she was about to hyperventilate, "you were the driver...not the one standing on her hands, right?"

"Oh...Ha! No...no hand standing for me. That was Faith."

"Then...you're the blonde?" <Yes!>

"Yes, that's me," Tara had to work hard to control her breathing to ask her own question. "Um, were you the blonde also...or the um...other one...sweeping?" <Oh God...that butt!>

"Nope, not the blonde. That would be Buffy, my best friend."

Tara could've sworn she heard the Hellelujah Chorus in her head. She wrote down the name "Buffy" with an arrow pointing to Faith.

"Buffy?" asked the amused brunette.

"And well, I was doing my best to get the sand off the mats of Mrs. Summers' Jeep."

Tara wrote down 'Summers'.

"You sure looked fine...I mean...I'm sure you did fine." Tara slapped a hand to her forehead.

"I suppose so. It was just nice of her to let us borrow it, ya know, cause can't get everything Buffy packs and the big cooler in my car. And well...beach, gotta have a cooler, right?"

"Oh, definitely...yes." Tara bit her lip wondering what she could say next to this cute little redhead and looked to Faith for help.

"Oh my God, T...seriously?" She picked up her coffee cup and mimed taking a drink.

Tara shook her head vigorously. She wouldn't know what to say to this woman.

"So...Tara...would you maybe be interested in getting a cup of coffee sometime?" <Just breathe...in and out>

Faith exasperatedly shoved the papers with Willow's adoption information on it into Tara's face.

"Oh! Oh yes. We could go over more of the adoption stuff, you know...it might be good to talk... in person."

"Yes, that would be great." Willow felt like doing the Snoopy dance around her bedroom but thought it best to wait until after she hung up. "Is this the best number to reach you at or...?"

"Um, no. I can...I can give you my cell," Tara said almost shyly.

Faith was smiling proudly at her friend. She'd never known Tara to give any woman her cell number.

"It's 555-3226," Tara blushed. She'd done it.

"Same area code as the rescue, right?"

"Oh, yes, the same as this one."

"Great! I'll um...give you a call sometime this week and see what our schedules look like. How's that sound?"

<Amazing> "Sounds good."

"Okay then, Tara, it was nice talking to you. I'll call you soon."

"Okay, Willow, you too. Goodbye."

After hitting the end call button and taking a deep breath, she quickly checked the caller ID and wrote down the redhead's number.

Mary walked in the back door and caught the end of the conversation.

"Faith...what's going on and why is my daughter smiling like an idiot?"

Faith wrapped her arm around the older woman's shoulders as she grinned at the blushing blonde. "I believe, Mama Bear, that your daughter has a date."

"Oh, thank God!"

____________________________

Willow was glad she'd waited to get off the phone to do her dance because she'd ended up tripping over a cord and was now rubbing a new goose egg on her head beside the one she'd gotten yesterday from Buffy's driving.

"Buffy!"

Willow grabbed her phone and hit the speed dial as she crawled back on the bed, again.

"Hello."

"I did it, Buff!"

"Did what, Will?" The blonde was in a foul mood because she hadn't been able to think of a legitimate reason to contact her handstand girl.

"Tara!"

"Who's Tara and when did you do her...because I just talked to you like 2 hours ago."

"No, Buffy -- purple truck driver Tara! I talked to her!"

"How? What? How?"

"The rescue! I'm so stupid! Ever since I got the house with the fenced-in yard, I've been thinking that now I could finally get the dog I've always wanted. So I called, and I talked to HER! We're going for coffee! And I may be getting a dog...one of THEIR dogs!"

"Oh my God! That's great, Will!"

"I know!" Willow gushed, then remembered what her friend was dying to know. "And Ms. Handstand...her name's Faith."

___________________________

"Oh, and then Tara sprayed herself with the hose, and the water went everywhere! I was laughing my ass off." Tara's blue eyes bore holes into Faith as she recounted the tale of their encounter with the girls at the carwash as they sat sipping coffee around the kitchen table.

"Well, I'm sure they were suitably impressed," Mary teased. "So I'm assuming these girls caught your eye?"

Tara blushed as she remembered what first caught her eye about the redhead -- that perky little butt sticking up in the air, shaking and shimmying. But what Faith didn't even know, was that she had been sneaking glimpses at the redhead the whole time she was washing her truck. Her cute elfin features and long red hair put her high on Tara's attractive woman scale, but the closer Tara looked, she could see an amazing energy emanating from her, which bumped her rating up even higher. Tara was definitely interested, but she found it so difficult to be forward enough to make the first move.

"Oh yeah," Faith answered, "they were definitely a couple of hotties, right T?"

Tara blushed as she nodded her head. "Yes. Yes, they were."

Mary just smiled.

___________________________

"And girls, could you please pick up 5 large bags of dog food?" Mary asked as the girls got in the truck to leave.

"Sure thing. I'll drop them off when I bring Bubba over on my way to work."

"Thanks, girls. Love you."

"We love you too."

Mary frowned as she watched the girls drive down the long gravel driveway and turn onto the road. She had seen the notes her daughter had written down from her call with the Rosenberg girl, and two words stuck out in her mind -- Buffy Summers. She turned and walked into the kitchen and quickly called her dearest friend.

"Sofie...we need to talk."

Grimm · **Posted:** Fri Oct 05, 2012 3:31 pm

Oh, my damn!

Is Mary or Sofie a seer? Are Buffy and Faith potentials? Who gets the call next?

I love the idea of Tara and Faith being friends. Faith was always a sympathetic character for me. Buffy was not better than her ;she was LUCKIER. Because she had friends...Because she had family.

Can't wait for the coffee date!

faolan228 · **Posted:** Fri Oct 05, 2012 3:36 pm

Is Sofie Faith's Watcher? Assuming she wasn't called, and Faith is a potential.

I too love a good Fara friendship, I really do. They are my BroTP.

omfg what if Willow ends up with a half wolf named Oz? That'd be hilarious!

sarahncrys1017 · **Posted:** Fri Oct 05, 2012 8:01 pm

I am so totally loving this fic!

The interaction between the groups of girls is hilarious!

Definitely looking forward to the next update!

Keep up the awesome work!

wimpy0729 · **Posted:** Wed Oct 10, 2012 9:28 am

THE LOVERS, THE DREAMERS AND ME

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Happy Hump Day! This one's short and mostly filler, so I'm posting it early, then a longer one Friday. They're getting closer to the actual face-to-face meeting, so hang in there.

Thanks again to all who have read and/or replied.

Grimm - Hi Grimmy. Oh, so many questions. Some of them will be answered very soon. I could just go ahead and tell you, but where's the fun in that? Well, okay, I will tell you that Faith is a potential slayer. Although I have trouble with the word "potential" after that season that sucked beyond the telling, and the only thing good in it was Willow's hair. lol Other than that, my lips are sealed for now.

I'm glad you like Tara and Faith being friends. And I totally agree that Faith got the short end of the stick. She made her way to Sunnydale after losing her Watcher and was all alone. Even if Giles technically wasn't a Watcher, I think he still should've taken care of her. She could've stayed with him or Buffy instead of that crappy hotel. She didn't feel like anyone cared, and then Gwendolyn Post really screwed things up. That was the pivotal moment -- she lost trust in everyone and went downhill from there. A big honkin' shame.

Still working our way up to the coffee date, but we're getting there. Thanks for the feedback!

faolan228 - Hi there! Yep, you get a cookie! Sofie is indeed Faith's Watcher. More will be revealed soon.

I'm glad you're a fan of the Tara and Faith friendship. I think they kind of balance each other out. And no, Willow doesn't end up with a half-wolf, although that gave me a good laugh! Thanks for the feedback!

sarahncrys1017 - Hi there and welcome! Thanks so much for the kind words. I'm really glad you're enjoying it. We're slowly getting to the good stuff, and their coffee date is coming up soon. From there, it should be smooth sailing, right? Or maybe not. Thanks for the feedback.

ALL DISCLAIMERS APPLY

******************************

CHAPTER 4

The tall, middle-aged brunette sat on the small loveseat in her converted basement, which contained a multitude of different types of exercise equipment. She was talking with Faith, who was pounding the heavy bag, barely breaking a sweat.

"Always after Sunnydale?"

Faith stopped punching, grabbed a bottle of water and joined her on the loveseat, nodding as she took a long drink.

"Um, Faith?" Tara asked as she got off the elliptical machine and grabbed a towel. "Did you tell her the difference between this dream and the others?"

"Oh yeah, about that..." She went on to tell her watcher about the girls they met and how the blonde made an appearance in her dream.

"How interesting. I'll look into it. Of course, it could just be that pesky center of mystical convergance. I hope you girls are careful when you go there, because as you know, even though you are in line to be the Slayer, the majority of your strength and skill wouldn't kick in unless...well, you know."

"Yeah, I know." Faith couldn't help feeling a little disappointed that her chance to be the Chosen One might just pass her by, but she sure didn't want anything bad to happen to the current Slayer. For now, she was more than happy to be helping people doing her regular job, and of course, helping the dogs. She was still making a difference, and that gave her more satisfaction than she ever expected to have in her life, and she was happy.

"Man, that chick's gotta be like 80 now. She just keeps hanging in there, breaking all kinds of records in the Watcher books, huh?"

Sofia laughed and slapped her on the arm. "She's not 80, Faith. In fact, she's not much older than you, but yes, she has been doing it a long time. She's lived many years more than any Slayer.

"Well, good for her her," Faith said sincerely. "I hope she does make it to 80."

Sofia smiled at her protege and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. Even if she was never called, Faith was an amazing person in many ways. "I'll let you know what I find."

The girls packed up their things to leave, hoping to get a little rest before they started their long shifts that night.

"Sounds good. We'll see you soon," Faith said as she gave the older woman a hug, then Tara did the same before they left.

As she had listened to Faith describing the woman in her last dream, Sofia's suspicions after Mary's call were confirmed. The dream had her concerned, and she honestly didn't know what, if any repercussions there would be if Faith and the current Slayer ever met in person. She knew someone who might though.

____________________________

"Well, Google her! Google her!" Buffy begged the redhead.

"Buffy, I hardly know her," Willow teased. "And besides, I like Tara."

Buffy slapped her friend on the arm playfully.

"Ow!"

The two friends were having dinner at Willow's after their long day at work. After the meal, their focus quickly turned back to the carwash girls -- Tara and Faith.

"Okay, I'll help with your search on Faith, but can you help me first?"

"Help?" Buffy asked distractedly as she fondled the T&A Hauling card, staring at the name F. A. Lehane.

"Buffy, I have a coffee date with the hottest woman I've ever seen. I have to call her, set up a date, time and place, and find something to wear. I need all kinds of help," she pleaded as her freak-o-meter hit an all-time high.

"Okay, settle down, Will. We'll do this one step at a time," Buffy said soothingly, fearing she would soon need to get her friend a paper bag to breathe into.

Willow nodded and seemed to relax a little.

"Okay, we don't know what day and time will work for this date yet, but we can work on the place."

"Yeah, a place, with coffee...good coffee...cause I don't want her to think I'd take her to a place with crappy coffee."

"Okay, well, let's see...she is kind of far away, so asking her to drive all the way here to go to the Espresso Pump wouldn't work. How about someplace in between?" Buffy's suggestion was readily accepted by the anxious redhead and the googling began.

Two hours later, the friends had gathered a hefty list of coffeehouses, and that just left Willow the job of narrowing them down. Buffy left her friend to that task, as she headed out into the night to make her usual nightly sweep, hoping for a little action for a change.

___________________________

The next day found all four girls back in their usual routines. Willow was somewhat satisfied with the results of her search for a meeting spot for her coffee date with her dream woman. However, she still worried if the place would be as special as she wanted it to be.

"Hey, Buff, you up for a little road trip?" She called her friend as soon as she knew she'd be home from her day shift of patrolling the streets of their hometown.

"Hi, Will. When and where?"

"Kinda now. Dinner and coffee...my treat."

"Well, I'm still in the itchy polyester. Give me time to change and I'm all yours."

"Great. I'll see you in 5 minutes."

Buffy wasn't quite ready when the anxious redhead showed up exactly 5 minutes later. She quickly found something less itchy to change into, and a few minutes later they were on their way.

"You're kidding, right? We're not seriously going to 3 different places 45 minutes away just to try their coffee?"

Willow just fixed her friend with a look that said, 'what do you think', or maybe it was her 'don't fuck with me look'. They kind of looked the same.

Three hours later, they were headed home, both buzzing from the excessive consumption of caffeine.

"So, what do ya think? The second one, right? Cause that was my favorite. What do ya think?"

Buffy couldn't help but laugh at her friend. "Yes, Will. I think that one will do just fine."

During their visit to the coffeehouses, the girls had discussed the next part of the plan. Willow would need to call Tara to check her schedule to see when the best day and time would be for them to meet. She was also ecstatic about the prospect of finally having a dog of her own, and Buffy was surprisingly excited about that for her friend too. The fish incident still caused her a pang of guilt to this day.

"What do they have available now, Will?"

"Well, I've checked a few times, and they have so many cute ones -- big ones, little ones, older ones and puppies, mixed breeds and even purebreds. Some of them have been treated so bad, it's heartbreaking."

Buffy had seen so much evil in her life, and that was to be expected from soulless creatures, but the thought of humans mistreating innocent animals really pissed her off.

"Willow, you're doing a really good thing, ya know," Buffy said with surprising sincerity. "Maybe Tara can help you decide on one that's perfect for you once she meets you."

Willow just smiled as she thought about Tara. "I think she will."

As soon as they arrived home, both still buzzing, Willow booted up her laptop and pulled up the Rainbow Rescue website. The friends spent the next hour going through the pictures of the dogs and puppies currently up for adoption as they waited for the caffeine to leave their system.

____________________________

"Hello. Thank you for calling The Magic Box -- your one stop shop for..."

"Rupert?"

"Um, yes, this is he."

"It's Sofia. I think we need to talk."

"Oh, Sofia, it's so nice to hear from you. What can I do for you?"

Sofia sighed and launched into the story of their respective charges meeting in person.

"She's having dreams you say? And Buffy was in her last one, after they met?"

"Yes, yes. I was just curious as to whether you think there is any cause for concern. She said in her dream that Buffy was 'special' like her."

"Oh, dear, well I'll have to consult my books, of course. You're sure Faith doesn't know Buffy's true identity?"

"I'm positive. She just knows that the Slayer is in Sunnydale. I've never divulged any further information. She actually made the comment that she must be about 80 since she's been doing it so long."

"Dear Lord," Giles laughed. "I'll make sure to never tell Buffy that. I'll start researching this straight away and let you know what I find."

"Thank you so much, Rupert. I appreciate anything you can do."

"Of course. Always happy to be of service, Sofia. I'll speak with you soon."

Sofia hung up and ran her hand across her forehead in frustration. Maybe a little break would do her some good.

____________________________

"I'm so glad you called, Sofie. I've been dying to come here again," Mary said as the two women entered Hester's Hand-Me-Downs.

"I know, me too. You never know what hidden treasures you might find. I've been meaning to drop these old books off and find some new old books to read."

"Well, you head over to your musty old books and I'll go see if they have any cool retro home furnishings."

"Mary, please don't try to say 'cool' again. You're too damn old," Sofie laughed.

Mary slyly flipped her the finger as she gave her a crooked smile.

The older woman smiled at the new arrivals as she finished her sale and closed up the cash register. She turned and straightened some items behind the counter before making her way over.

"Good afternoon. It's nice to see you again, Ms. Maclay. Looking for anything in particular today?"

"Oh, hello, Hester. Nice to see you too. Do you have any interesting retro furniture?"

The older woman chuckled and led her toward the back corner of the store. "I believe one could consider everything in here 'retro' Ms. Maclay. We have a nice collection of lava lamps, as usual, and we just got in a nice old kitchen set."

Mary's eyes lit up. It was just like the one they had when she was little, aside from this one having one wobbly leg.

"I'll take it!"

Sofie heard her friend's exclamation as she rounded the corner carrying an armload of books.

"Mary Maclay, what have you gone and gotten now?"

"Isn't it 'cool', Sofie?" she said on purpose.

"It's crooked," the brunette said as she cocked her head this way and that trying to see if there was a level spot anywhere on the table.

"It just adds character," Mary argued as she tried to balance the unruly table.

"It won't fit in your Blazer. You'll need to get Tara's truck."

"Oh, pshaw! I'll make it fit," Mary argued again.

"Oh, how is your daughter? Did that mantle work out for her?" Hester asked as she started helping Mary carry her new, old, cool, retro chairs to the register.

"Oh, it was perfect. It looks amazing."

"Wonderful. I was hoping to find just the right fireplace for its new home."

"Yes, yes, it is," Mary grunted as she and Sofie lifted the table and tried to get it up front without knocking over any of the thousands of nick-nacks scattered everywhere.

Sofie just glared at her friend as Hester started ringing up her books.

"You both get some lovely free gifts with purchase today," Hester said as she slipped a couple of extra books in Sofie's bag.

Mary's eyes widened as she watched the older woman carefully wrapping a lava lamp and Hester caught the look.

"Or, perhaps you'd prefer...some lovely candlesticks?" the shopkeeper kindly offered and Mary nodded gratefully. "I really just need to get rid of this stuff," Hester whispered, "I'm running out of room."

"Thank you, Hester. We'll be back soon to help relieve you of some more of your inventory," Mary said with a smile.

"Thank you, ladies. Hold on, let me get you some rope."

With Sofie's height and Mary's determination, the two women got the Formica table turned upside down on the spare blanket and tied to the Blazer's roof rack, and the chairs fit in the back once they folded the back seat down.

"It's crooked, Mary," Sofie was still arguing on their drive home.

"It's character. It adds a little something special."

"My coffee cup will be sliding 'specially' off every time I set it down."

"Not if you hold onto it."

"It's yellow, Mary. It matches nothing. And what are you going to do with your old one? It's still in perfect condition."

"It'll give a splash of color, and I'll donate the other one to a charity."

The two friends kept arguing all the way home, and they loved every minute of it.

fhiwda · **Posted:** Wed Oct 10, 2012 5:21 pm

I love this look into Mary and Sophie... It's nice to see some depth with other characters, as well.

Finey_McFine · **Posted:** Wed Oct 10, 2012 5:33 pm

I. LOVE. THIS. FIC. I just got caught up and I wanted to say GREAT JOB Wimpy!

I really like your writing style...descriptive, funny and very sexy. :blush

I can already see this is going to be a fun ride. T&A Hauling, Tara's potty mouth and Willow in Daisy Dukes? Sounds like a party to me!

So, Faith is a Potential and seems like a 'normal' person? This really is a fic! ha ha. I'm not a huge Faith fan, can you tell?

Quote:

Willow just fixed her friend with a look that said, 'what do you think', or maybe it was her 'don't fuck with me look'. They kind of looked the same.

This made me lol. Well because it's kinda true and so very 'Willow' to drive for hours to find the right place.

I'm hoping the dreams aren't a bad omen, not a Buffy fan, but don't want to see her dead either.

So many fun things here that I could keep going and going and going. Mary flipping off Sofia...awesome! I can't wait for more!!

And BTW...thanks for putting 'Car Wash' on a loop in my brain, lol.

faolan228 · **Posted:** Wed Oct 10, 2012 11:00 pm

Loving the interaction of Sofia and Maria, like a middle aged Faith and Tara(in case you haven't noticed, my desire for a Fara Bro-mance runs deep)

Quote:

"Well, good for her her," Faith said sincerely. "I hope she does make it to 80."

Argh, Faith, my sweet honey booboo buttercup baby! Eliza does this face so well, and we've never really seen her do it as Faith. Like, all wide eyed, matter of fact, earnest sincerity. So cute. If this was TV, this scene/line would have been GIF'd multiple times

JustSkipIt · **Posted:** Thu Oct 11, 2012 4:33 am

Hmmm. Am I too suspicious that Hester worries me? And what trinket on Tara's mantle? Something good or something bad? And what other free things did Mary and Sofia get with their purchases?

All the other stuff: Willow calling Tara, Faith being a potential, Sofia calling Giles, etc. is excellent. Willow is nothing if not thorough as far as the coffee date goes.

wimpy0729 · **Posted:** Fri Oct 12, 2012 7:43 am

fhiwda - Hi! I'm glad you liked seeing a little more of Mary and Sofie. They can be some pretty interesting characters for a couple of older ladies. We'll definitely see more of them later on. Thanks for the feedback!

Finey_McFine - Hey, Shel! Thanks so much. I'm really glad you like it. And if you like Tara's potty mouth, just wait for her spicy talk. LOL

Well, like I said, this is canon with a "twist", and Faith is one of them. She's been a potential for years, but since nothing came of it, she's gone on to be a semi-normal woman with a job and a different kind of special purpose. (btw that just gave me a flashback to Steve Martin in The Jerk LOL.) She's still the self-confident, swaggering Faith (cause personally I kinda like her swagger), but she's also more mature, has had a different kind of life than canon Faith, which made a huge difference, and she's a very good person overall. I hope you can grow to at least like this one a little. I mean, this one actually blushes, so that's a huge difference there.

And oh, who doesn't like the many faces of Willow. Even after watching all these years, I'll still rewind the DVD at certain parts because she was just so fun to watch.

A little side note - I actually had a typo the first time I typed that Mary flipped off Sofie, and said she "slipped" her the finger. LMAO Oh no, that comes later on and it sure isn't Mary doing the slipping. Thanks for the feedback!

faolan228 - Hi there! Sofie and Mary are quite the characters for women their age. Glad you like them.

More Fara coming up. I'm so glad you're enjoying them. It's fun to write them like this. More Bro-ness coming very soon. Thanks for the feedback!

JustSkipIt - Hey Deb, you are way too perceptive. I will neither confirm nor deny anything about Hester at the moment.

Tara actually bought an old wooden beam-type mantle to install on their fireplace. I love going into salvage places that save stuff like old doors and fireplaces, etc. from homes and buildings before they're destroyed. So much cool stuff, I could wander around in there for hours.

Glad you're enjoying. Thanks for the feedback!

wimpy0729 · **Posted:** Fri Oct 12, 2012 8:08 am

TITLE: THE LOVERS, THE DREAMERS AND ME

AUTHOR: Wimpy0729

CHAPTER RATING: R for language.

DISCLAIMER: Willow, Tara and all other BtVS characters belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, Fox, etc. All other characters, human and otherwise, belong to me.

The Rainbow Rescue named in this story is in no way based on the real establishment.

FEEDBACK: Yes, please.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Happy Friday once again. Well, they finally meet in person.

Thanks again to all who read and/or replied.

****************************

CHAPTER 5

"Good afternoon, sleepyhead. Finally decide to join the land of the living?" Tara teased her tired roommate as she made her way to the coffee pot.

"Too early," Faith grumbled.

"Just flip the switch. It's ready to go."

"You're the best, T."

"It's about time you admitted it," Tara joked playfully.

After starting back to work that week, the two friends finally had a day off together. With their hectic work schedules, sometimes those were few and far between.

Faith filled her mug and sat heavily at the kitchen table. Tara stood smiling looking out the back door at the large backyard they both loved until she saw something that immediately made her frown. She quickly slid open the door, startling the culprit.

"Bubba! Get off of there!" The big dog had the decency to look ashamed as he lumbered back into the house.

"Was he trying to get on top of the hot tub again?" Faith laughed as she petted the big dog.

Tara just nodded and laughed too. "I swear, he really thinks he can reach those birds on top of the privacy fence if he just gets on top of the cover."

"Bub, I love you, but you just can't do that. We just replaced the last one. Those mean old birds just keep teasing you, don't they?" Faith nuzzled her big baby.

"So, what's on the agenda today?" Tara asked as she joined her at the table.

"Nada. Just looking forward to some rest and relaxation."

"Sounds good to me. I already stopped over to help mom with the dogs earlier. We had some calls on a couple of them, but nothing for sure yet."

"Cool. So we might have a free weekend then?"

"Looks that way."

The girls had a quick lunch of sandwiches and snacks and commenced with the relaxation part of the day. They changed into their suits, threw some beers, sodas and ice in their cooler by the hot tub and sunk into the hot bubbling water. While the hot tub washed away the stress of their work week, the conversation turned back to the subject constantly on both of their minds.

"You heard from Red yet?"

Tara sighed. It had only been a few days, but she was starting to worry since she still hadn't heard back from Willow.

"Not yet. I was hoping she'd call by now."

"Maybe she got busy with work or something. Don't worry, she'll call. What have you found for her so far on the dog search?"

"Well, since she hasn't had a dog before, I think it's best she go with something older. You know, hopefully already housetrained, not going to destroy everything in sight."

"Well, we have quite a few of those. Big or little? Did she have a preference?"

"She didn't really say. I was hoping to get a better idea of what's best for her after we..."

Just then, her cell phone began ringing on the table beside them. She stepped out of the water, quickly dried her hands and smiled when she read the caller ID.

"Hello," Tara answered, barely able to hide her excitement.

"Hi. Um...is this Tara?" Willow was trying her best to remain calm, but it was harder than she ever imagined. She settled down a little when she felt Buffy's comforting touch on her arm.

"It'll be okay," she whispered.

"Hi, Willow. Yes, it's me. How are you?" Tara smiled as she eased back into the water.

Faith had retrieved two cold beers from the cooler and reached one out to the blonde. She noticed she was distracted, so she ran the cold bottle over her upper arm to get her attention. Tara squealed and shot her friend an icy blue glare.

Faith shrugged and tried to look innocent. "What? I'm just handing you a beer." The thing was, Faith just couldn't pull off the innocent look.

"Tara, are you okay?" Willow heard the squeal and the lifetime of living on the Hellmouth had taught her that that usually wasn't a good thing.

"Huh? Oh yeah, I'm fine. Faith just startled me."

"Oh. Faith? Is she there? I can call back if you're busy." Willow's mind started racing. They were just friends, right?

"Oh, no, not busy at all. We're just hanging out in the hot tub."

"Hot tub?" Willow squeaked and shot Buffy a panicked look.

"Oh yeah. It's one of the best purchases we ever made."

"We?" Willow's heart sank.

"Yes. Faith and I are roommates. I hurt my back at work a couple of years ago and this thing has been a lifesaver."

"Ask about Buffy," Faith said, not bothering to whisper.

"Ask what?" Tara mouthed.

At the same time, Willow covered her mouthpiece and whispered to her best friend, "They live together -- roommates."

"Roommates or 'roommates'?"

"I'm not sure," Willow scowled. She tried to stay composed, but it wasn't easy.

"Oh. I'm uh...sorry you hurt your back. Did you do it taking care of the dogs?"

"Hmm? Oh, no. I was lifting a patient...a very large one. I'm an RN at Southwest Regional."

"A nurse?"

"Tell Buffy I said 'hi'," Faith blurted out loudly.

"What?" The redhead wasn't sure she heard right.

"Um...Faith said to tell Buffy she says 'hi'."

"Oh, she's right here." Willow couldn't help but smile. "Faith says to tell you 'hi'."

Buffy clapped her hands and even bounced a little in her seat. "Hi, Faith!" Buffy yelled back towards the phone.

Willow laughed at her friend's enthusiasm. "Um...did you hear that?"

"I sure did," the blonde laughed back. "She says 'hi' back."

Faith smiled as she leaned back and took another sip of her beer.

"So..." Willow started, trying to get back to the reason for her call in the first place, and focus on something besides the visuals she was having of Tara in a bikini, soaking languidly in a hot tub. "Coffee...what day would be good for you?"

"Well, I work tomorrow, then I'm off Friday and Saturday."

"Saturday works for me too. I found a place, maybe 20 minutes from you, in Cordell --The Java Hut, in the square on Main Street...do you know it?"

"Oh, we go through Cordell all the time. I'm sure I can find it." Tara couldn't help her silly smile, thinking how sweet it was that the redhead wanted to meet her so close to her home.

"Okay, great!" Willow beamed. "How does 2 sound?"

"Sounds perfect, Willow. I'll see you then."

"See ya!"

____________________________

The rest of the week seemed to crawl by but Saturday finally came. Willow's room looked like a tornado hit it. When Buffy got there, she found her standing in the middle of her bedroom with a lost look on her face and clothes piled everywhere.

"Um...little help here, Buff."

"Okay, not totally unexpected. Let's break this down -- you want comfortable and casual, right? I mean, it's just a coffee shop, talking about your dog prospects."

"Well, yes, but it's Tara. I have to look like I at least made some effort, ya know?"

"Of course. I gotcha. Firstly, I vote for jeans. You look good in...these right here," Buffy said as she found a pair still in the closet and not wrinkled up in the pile on the floor.

"Okay, right, good so far."

The friends finally ended up deciding on the purple low cut top that Buffy had convinced her to wear stating, 'you need to show more freckles', while giving a pointed look at the redhead's chest.

"Buffy, what if...what if I'm all excited and she's not even gay? I mean, I think I'm getting a vibe off her, but you know my gaydar sucks." Willow finally admitted her biggest fear.

The blonde took her by the shoulders and looked her in the eyes. "Willow...I was even getting a vibe off them and I have no 'dar' whatsoever. And if we're both totally wrong," she shrugged, "you'll still have a cute little new addition to the family."

"Yeah," the redhead sighed. "You're right, absolutely. But...I just can't help but to hope for more, ya know?"

"I hear ya, Will. Now, let's get this show on the road. What does that even mean anyway? We're not going to a show..."

They headed out to Willow's car, leaving early enough to drop Buffy at the small shopping center in the quaint little town and still get Willow to The Java Hut with plenty of time to spare.

Faith wanted to drive her 'Black Beauty', because she said it matched her black T&A tank top she was wearing. She dropped Tara off at The Hut, then went to pick up more dog food and supplies for the rescue.

Willow sat inside slowly sipping her mocha, looking intently out the window for Tara's purple truck. She was startled and knocked what was left of her mocha across the table when a warm hand tapped her on the shoulder.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!"

Willow's heart was beating out of her chest, but not just from being surprised. She found herself looking up close for the first time into the most mesmerizing blue eyes she had ever seen. "Oh my God," she whispered.

"I'm really, really sorry, Willow. Here, let me..." Tara grabbed a handful of napkins and started mopping up the spill. "What were you drinking? I'll get you another."

Willow just kept staring.

"Um...are you okay?" Tara's concerned look finally shook the redhead out of her stupor.

"I'm fine...really fine," she said more dreamily than she intended. Finally remembering her manners, she stood and offered her hand to the blonde. "Oh! It's so nice to finally really meet you, Tara."

Tara quickly wiped her hand discreetly on the back of her jeans and took the smaller hand. The look that Willow was giving her, the way she said those few simple words, and the soft hand in hers almost made Tara melt on the spot as a warm tingle started in her hand and quickly spread. "You too, Willow," she answered breathily.

"Oh, please...have a seat. What would you like to drink?"

Tara sat and glanced up at the selection board, but her flustered brain wouldn't let her think straight. "Um, I'll just have whatever you're having."

She swallowed hard as she watched Willow walk up to the counter in her tight jeans. "And an ice water, please."

Willow turned around, smiled and nodded.

"Man, is the air conditioning broken in here or what?" she whispered to herself as she fanned her face with the coffee-soaked napkins.

Willow returned with a tray containing two mochas and two ice waters. Both girls smiled nervously at each other then both took a long drink of water. As they began to relax and sipped their mochas, Willow noticed the folder the blonde had laid on the table.

"Ooh, are those the dogs you think might suit me?"

"Oh. Yes. There are a few I think you might be interested in," Tara said as she turned the folder around toward Willow and opened it up. "I was thinking, since you haven't had a dog before, that it may be best to go with an older dog. Puppies can really be a handful. There's the housebreaking, the chewing stage...things like that. Their history and photos are all right there."

As Willow slowly looked over every page, Tara took the opportunity to observe her. She was entranced at the emotions she saw dancing across her features. The girl's face was so open, she could tell just what she was thinking. She could see the disgust as she read about the mistreatment of some as her brow furrowed and her eyes became saddened. Then she could see the happiness sparkle in those same eyes as the redhead got to the "after" pictures.

"I didn't know if you would prefer a small dog or something larger..." Tara started to explain.

"This one...tell me about this one...please?" Willow almost pleaded.

Tara looked at the one she was pointing to and smiled. "That one...well, that one broke all our hearts. She was found chained up in the backyard of an abandoned house. We think they just left her there when they moved away." Tara glanced up into tearful green eyes as she continued with the story. "She'd apparently been neglected for a while. Her long hair was so matted we had to shave her completely down. She was covered in fleas and ticks, and...she was pretty sick. She's been with us a few months now. She's been treated for everything and she's doing so much better, and you can see from her most recent picture that her coat is coming back in nice and healthy."

Willow had to grab a napkin to wipe the tears that were now flowing freely down her face. She had issues with abandonment that she didn't know if she would ever recover from herself, and this poor dog's story seemed to open old wounds.

"Are you okay?" Tara reached over and tenderly touched the back of Willow's hand. She just had to.

"It's just...how could they...how could anyone...?"

"We ask ourselves that everyday. These poor dogs deserve so much better. That's why we do what we do," she whispered as she became overwhelmed herself.

"What's...what's her name? It doesn't say here."

"We had no idea what her real name was, and we had the hardest time trying to find one that really fit her. Faith started calling her something just last week that she actually answers to. It was the strangest thing." Tara just shook her head remembering the moment it happened. "But you can name her whatever..."

"What was it?"

Tara's glistening eyes met Willow's. "Chosen."

Willow looked up and smiled through her tears. "That's perfect."

____________________________

Faith loaded up the last of the bags of dog food and headed out of the pet store parking lot. She glanced over to the sidewalk outside the clothing stores and her face broke out in a huge grin. She pulled over and rolled the passenger window down.

"Hey, good lookin', come here often?"

Buffy frowned up at the unknown truck and it took her a couple of seconds to recognize the voice and driver. She grinned when she saw the devilish smile and dimples that could only belong to one person.

"Is that the best pick-up line you've got?" she smirked as she leaned her head in through the window.

"Nah, I've got better ones, but that one usually works on cute little blondes."

"Huh...you think I'm little?"

"I think you're a lotta things. Where you headed?"

"I'm just waiting on Willow to pick me up."

"Well hop in. I'm headed over there right now to get Tara."

"What kind of girl do you think I am? I don't just get into big black trucks with strange women," she teased as she opened the door and climbed in.

"Who you callin' strange?" The two girls were smiling brightly as they both thought the same thing -- Very. Deep. Shit.

___________________________________

"I trust your opinion, Tara. What do you honestly think?"

"Well, she's a sweetie, that's for sure. Very good temperament, laid back. She's already been spayed, and as far as we can tell, she's housebroken. We just love her, and I think you would too, but the best way to tell is if you actually meet her in person."

Willow's face lit up. "Really?!"

"Yes, really." Tara smiled. She just loved this girl's enthusiasm and energy. "We can just set up a time for whenever you can make the trip up there."

"How's next weekend sound?" Willow jumped at the chance.

"That'd be great, Willow." Tara's smile grew even bigger.

The door to The Hut opened but the two girls were too caught up to notice.

"Look who I caught walkin' the streets," Faith announced as she pulled up a chair.

"Hey!" Buffy pretended to be offended.

"Well, you were."

"Okay, yeah, I was, but not like that. I usually arrest those kinds of streetwalkers."

Faith's eyes lit up. "No shit?"

"No shit. Officer Buffy Summers, at your service."

Faith had to grab a napkin and discreetly dab at the corners of her mouth just to be on the safe side. Other women in uniform just had that effect on her.

"So, Willow, what do you do?" Faith asked, trying to get her mind off the little blonde, all with her night stick and handcuffs...

"Oh. Um...I work for McCarthy Software," Willow almost mumbled, seeming slightly embarrassed.

"She doesn't just work there. She's a Junior VP. Got hired right out of college. Mr. McCarthy came to see her himself when she was still in high school."

"Buff..." Willow quietly admonished her friend. Now she really was embarrassed.

"Woo -- I'm impressed. That's big time."

Buffy's curiosity got the best of her. "What about you, Faith?"

Her answer was simple and concise. "EMT."

Buffy's jaw about hit the table.

"And Tara...you're an RN, right?" Willow asked, trying to distract attention from her friend's mouth hanging open.

"Yes, I am."

"Wow, you guys have full-time jobs, run the rescue and do the hauling stuff. That's incredible," Willow stared in amazement at the blonde. She was more impressed with her by the second.

"So, how'd the dog search go?" Faith asked her friend as she stole a sip of her mocha. Tara just slid the open folder over in front of her and tapped on the picture of Chosen and gave her a big smile. Faith had to swallow to keep from getting choked up. "For real?"

"Yes. She wants to meet her next weekend."

"Cool." Faith had to look away and rub away a tear.

"Let me see?" Buffy asked as she pulled the folder over. "Oh...poor thing," she whispered as she looked at the before picture. "What kind is she?"

"Well..." Tara started, "we couldn't really tell when we first got her...she was such a mess, but once we got her cleaned up we could see she was at least part, if not a full Golden."

"Tara, tell Buffy what her name is," Willow said with a smile and a twinkle in her eye.

"Faith named her 'Chosen'."

Buffy's eyebrows shot up.

"Hey, since you ladies are coming up next weekend, why don't we make a day of it? How's a cookout sound, T?"

Tara flushed in slight panic. It actually sounded very good to her, but she knew what was coming next, and she didn't know if she could handle it...yet. "Sure," she heard herself saying.

"We have a pool and a hot tub, so be sure to bring your suits...or not," Faith said as she gave Buffy a wicked grin.

Buffy was still trying to recover from the name Faith had given the dog, and then was floored again, in a different way, by the swimsuit remark. Her head was starting to spin, and Willow could see her friend was floundering, so she decided to come to her rescue.

"Oh, that's a very generous offer, really, but can we get back to you on that...maybe later in the week?"

"Sure, no problem. So, you guys ready for another round, or do you need to head out?"

Four more mochas came and went, then Buffy announced it was time for them to go as she still had some work to do that night.

___________________________

"She's a cop...she works days, so what kind of work does she have to do on a Saturday night?"

"I don't know, Faith. Maybe she just has to clean her house or do laundry or something."

"It didn't sound like that kind of work."

"So, she's a cop, huh?" Tara smirked at her friend.

"Oh, yeah." Faith didn't even try to hide her excitement.

____________________________

"And did you see her hair? And those eyes...oh my God!" Willow gushed as she drove home.

"Who...Chosen or Tara?" Buffy teased her lovesick friend.

"Well, both actually," Willow said matter of factly. "Chosen's coat is coming back in beautifully."

During their visit, they had discovered a few things about their new friends. Tara had been the one to name the rescue, and Faith, the hauling service. No surprise there.

"Because I can be kind of an asshole sometimes," she admitted with a shrug. "And, I've always been a big fan of T&A," she smirked at Buffy as Tara rolled her eyes.

That pretty much answered that question. The verdict wasn't fully in on Tara yet, but Willow was about 99.9% sure they batted for the same team as her 'dar' seemed to be pinging in the gay zone. At least that's what she hoped it was. It was either that or she just really had to pee.

____________________________

"And he said there was nothing to worry about?" Mary asked Sofia as they sat at her crooked kitchen table.

"From what he's found so far. Although, he is quite curious about Faith's dreams. Usually, the typical Slayer dreams don't start until they're called. But, it seems her dreams are more like...flashes of things -- not the same as the prophetic dreams Buffy has."

"Hmm...maybe...maybe it is just the energy of the Hellmouth messing with her somewhat when she's close to it," Mary said thoughtfully.

"I truly hope that's all it is," Sofia nodded as she held her cup and saucer steady to keep them from sliding once again. "I just feel like I'm missing something."

"You know, Buffy and Willow are coming up this weekend to look at Chosen. You wouldn't perhaps want to come over for coffee when they happen to be here, would you?" Mary asked conspiratorially.

"Are you kidding?!" She laughed. "I wouldn't miss that for the world."

vampyregurl73 · **Posted:** Fri Oct 12, 2012 8:30 am

Dibs!

This really is a cute story.

I'm looking forward to more backstory on Tara, Faith, Sophie and Mary. I'm curious as to just how much contact they (Mary & Sophie) have had with Giles since it was obvious from the phone call they at least knew of each other if not knew each other well.

I also think the concept of a slayer and a potential getting together and how that would work. Seeing a less traumatized Faith gives you lots to work with too. Plus the dog rescue is just a bonus in my book.

Keep up the good work!

taranwillow4ever · **Posted:** Fri Oct 12, 2012 4:14 pm

This is a great story. Can't wait to see if the hot tub is with or without suits! :blush

faolan228 · **Posted:** Fri Oct 12, 2012 4:30 pm

Mary, Sofia, and Giles' background shenanigans makes me think of this quote, "Don't you know? ALL old people know each other!"

Gotta love the phone convo, with their respective besties badgering them. They are acting like such teenaged girls, lol.

Grimm · **Posted:** Sat Oct 13, 2012 1:50 pm

Awwwww, I can't wait until Willow gets to meet Chosen. The possible buck-naked hot tub action will be greatly anticipated as well :grin

!

I'm very curious to see what direction you are taking this Slayer/potential Slayer storyline. In your Universe does the Slayer have to die PERMANENTLY before another is called :hmm

?

Looking forward to more :eatme

!

Alcy · **Posted:** Wed Oct 17, 2012 4:55 pm

Sorry I haven’t been able to leave feedback after every chapter as I intended. Bloody real life!

Quote:

"Shut up...fuckface," Tara responded with a smile.

I love it so much! In my head, cussing doesn’t come naturally to original Tara either. It’s only when I set her in universes like Sin City that I can imagine she would even use such language. However I am a huge fan of bad language so it always slips in. As a slight aside, I had someone leave an appalling piece of feedback on one of my fanfiction.com stories once - saying how characters shouldn’t use bad language because they wouldn’t on the show (this was a Warehouse 13 fic). I don’t subscribe to that belief at all – these are normal adults, of course they fucking swear. It’s only TV that keeps them from being able to do it.

Quote:

"Yeah, and what would we say anyway --'Hi, we're the girls from the carwash, and we think you're hot'?" Buffy buried her face in her hands. "Oh my God -- we'd sound like a couple of teenage sluts."

I fail to see where the problem is here ;-)

I thoroughly enjoyed Willow’s cute phone call to Tara. The pretence of a adopting a dog and then almost giving Tara a heart attack.

I also really like the idea of Faith as a Potential. It’s like a slice of normal life, but not. I really wonder how this is going to impact on further chapters. So there is still vampires, demons etc...and also rescue dogs ;-)

That whole aspect of the story is totally cute, I’m a huge dog lover and I have a little griffon. Animal cruelty really makes me mad so I can understand Willow’s reaction when Tara was telling her about Chosen.

Still really enjoy this, it’s cute but intriguing at the same time. Well done, Wimpy. I wait with baited breath for the next chapter!

MochaVamp · **Posted:** Wed Oct 17, 2012 9:29 pm

You have had a unique idea for this story. Plus, rescue dogs, how great is that!

Quote:

"You know, Buffy and Willow are coming up this weekend to look at Chosen. You wouldn't perhaps want to come over for coffee when they happen to be here, would you?" Mary asked conspiratorially.

"Are you kidding?!" She laughed. "I wouldn't miss that for the world."

I don't think any of your readers are planning on missing it as well :clap

wimpy0729 · **Posted:** Fri Oct 19, 2012 8:02 am

vampyregurl73 - Hi there, and first let me just say thank you for giving us the wonderful Amber avatar to stare at over and over and over. There will be more backstory coming up very soon. I think this Faith is more healthy emotionally because of the differences in her life. She blushes, she cries, she cares, but she's still got that flirty, self-confident attitude. I'm glad you like the dog rescue aspect. Chosen is actually based on a Golden Retriever that we rescued years ago and were blessed to have with us for 7 years. She was an amazing girl, and will always be my favorite dog ever. Thanks for the feedback.

taranwillow4ever - Hi there. I'm glad you're enjoying. Hot tub coming right up. Thanks for the feedback.

faolan228 - Yep, the old people know each other. Giles and Sofie have both been Watchers about the same length of time, and they live fairly close, so I'm sure they've had reason to be in contact before. And the girls are definitely acting like giddy schoolgirls. Some more giddiness coming real soon. Thanks for the feedback.

Grimm - Hi there! Willow gets to meet Chosen real soon, but she has something she has to take care of first. Hot tubbing coming right up. Nice, relaxing, boobling...uh, I mean, bubbling water, yeah. Thanks for the feedback.

Alcy - Hey, how dare you have a real life. LOL Seriously, I'm just glad you drop by when you get the chance.

I'm glad you like the cussing, and I agree, I have a hard time picturing canon Tara doing it and it not sounding foreign coming from her lips. That's not to say she wouldn't do it though. Like if she was in her room alone and stubbed her toe really hard, yelling "mother fucker" or "sonofabitch", then looking around and blushing to see if anyone heard her. I also agree that if it was real life, women in the mid 20's would definitely be letting loose with a few bad words at least occasionally, and they were only restricted by the rules of television, so 'poo' on your fanfiction.com negative feedbacker. BTW, 'fuckface' is one of my gf's pet names for me, right up there with 'asshole'. She's so sweet. LOL

Faith has been a Potential for many years, so yes, she's gone on to make a normal life for herself and she's fine with that. But instead of fighting vamps, she's fighting to save as many dogs as she can. I've been a dog lover my whole life, and my favorite one was a Golden we rescued that Chosen is based off of. Sweetest dog ever.

There are still vampires, etc., but there might be a little twist to canon coming up. I'm glad you're enjoying, and thanks for the feedback!

MochaVamp - Hi there! Thank you so much. I'm glad you like it. I've always been a sucker for dogs. I've brought home strays I don't know how many times, and I can't go to the dog pound or shelter without bringing one home. We have 4 at the moment, so my gf has 'forbidden' me from going to either of those places. Yeah, right. LOL What she doesn't know... But now I go to donate food, blankets or towels, etc. and it's so hard not to leave with one.

Willow meets Chosen soon, then the girls get to know each other better. Thanks for the feedback!

wimpy0729 · **Posted:** Fri Oct 19, 2012 8:11 am

TITLE: THE LOVERS, THE DREAMERS AND ME

AUTHOR: Wimpy

RATING: R

FEEDBACK: Yes, please.

DISCLAIMER: Willow, Tara and all other BtVS characters belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, Fox, etc. All other characters, human and otherwise, belong to me. The Rainbow Rescue named in this story is in no way based on the actual establishment.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Chapter 6 was kind of short, so I'm just posting it along with Chapter 7. No beta, all mistakes are my own. Please PM me for any glaring errors.

Thanks again to everyone for reading and/or replying.

****************************************

CHAPTERS 6 and 7

The table at The Magic Box, once home to many marathon research parties, now sat without any books strewn about it except for Buffy's latest tabloid.

"I'm so BORED." Buffy was griping to Giles, who it seemed also wore a bored expression on his face, as he had listened to this same complaint over and over for the last few years.

"Yes, I'm terribly sorry, Buffy, that the Hellmouth seems to have fewer vampires and demons than it used to, and that our lives aren't in constant peril," he said dryly.

"I know, I know. I should be thankful, and I am. I'm just bored," she said as she listlessly leafed through the gossip rag. "We've been apocalypse-less for over 5 years. It's just...weird."

"Well, I for one have had enough of those to last a lifetime myself. I honestly don't know how many more times my brain could stand being jarred about without running the risk of having to be on medication for the rest of my life or having to wear one of those stylish Medic Alert bracelets."

"Oh! We could get him one of those pretty helmets!" Anya said excitedly from behind the counter and the bored Slayer snickered.

"You are still the Concussion King, Giles." Buffy smiled affectionately at the man who was much more than just her Watcher. "What's the grand total?"

"I don't know. I stopped counting at 47."

"That's because you forgot what came next," Anya giggled.

Just then the Slayer's cell phone rang.

"Hey, Wills."

"Buffy, where are you?"

"I'm sitting at The Boring Box with the boring, old Watcher." The blonde chose to ignore the pointed glare from said Watcher. "What's up?"

"What if she has to go potty?!"

It wasn't a huge leap to figure out who the redhead was talking about. She had been obsessing over the dog named Chosen ever since her meeting with Tara, and had already decided that unless the dog absolutely hated her, she was making her a part of their family.

"Willow, you should know this -- she will eat, sleep, and definitely have to go potty."

"At night, Buffy! I can't just let her out in the backyard at night by herself. What if something happens to her?"

"Will, things have calmed down..."

"I know, I know. I just don't want to risk it. We have to think of something."

"Okay, look, I'll be over in a little while. We'll figure this out."

"Thanks, Buffy. See you soon."

The Slayer turned to her Watcher. "Giles, I need your help."

He was actually thrilled to have something to do. At least it stopped him from fantasizing about what color helmet would bring out his eyes. God, he was bored.

____________________________

Buffy arrived at Willow's a short while later, Xander in tow, wielding his trusty toolbox.

"Technically, an enclosed porch is still considered part of the home -- no invitation, no entry," Xander was explaining to his life-long friend.

"Yes, good!" She kept smiling and nodding.

"We can put something like a stone patio at one end, maybe a little table and chairs, then the other end can keep the grass and be nighttime potty central."

"That sounds great, Xander!" she said as she squeezed him tightly.

"Ooh, and I can help decorate. We can hang little tiki lights or something. How's that sound, Will?" Buffy asked, genuinely happy for her friend.

"That sounds amazing, guys. Thank you so much. How long will it take, Xander?"

"Well, I can get some measurements tonight, start figuring out what I'm gonna need, so probably start on it this weekend. Maybe 3 or 4 days."

"Oh." Her face fell.

"Will, it's okay. We can go see her on Saturday, and if all goes well, I'm sure Tara wouldn't mind making a special delivery," the blonde emphasized with a wink, drawing out a blush and a smile from the redhead.

"Well...okay."

____________________________

"Do you need us to bring anything?" Willow asked Tara when she called to confirm the time and double check the directions for their visit to the rescue.

"No, not at all, unless you want something special to drink."

"Okay, great. We'll see you at the rescue in a couple of hours then. Bye, Tara."

"See you soon, Willow." Tara couldn't stop smiling. She was excited that Willow and Buffy had agreed to come to their house for a cookout, but she was nervous too. She'd already seen the redhead in a bikini top and very short shorts, and knew the effect that it had on her. She would just do her best to stay calm...but ohh, that ass. She opted for her royal blue one-piece under board shorts and a white tank top. That was as bold as she could get for now. Faith, on the other hand...

Tara found the brunette dancing around and cleaning the living room, singing along with Pink blasting from the stereo.

"Lordy, Lordy, Lordy, I can't help it I like to party..."

"Faith!" Tara yelled as she turned off the stereo.

"What?!"

"It's clean already. You're wearing me out just watching you."

"Can't help it, I'm excited," she said as her lips curled into a wide smile.

"Are you gonna behave or am I going to have to tie you up?" she asked, raising a blonde eyebrow.

"I was kinda hopin' Officer Summers might do that," she smirked.

"Ugh, don't wanna know. I'm going on over," Tara said as she walked away.

"A good excuse to be a BAD influence on you!"

The blonde laughed and shook her head as she heard the brunette finish the very appropriate lyrics as she went out the back door.

____________________________

Willow turned her car down the long gravel driveway. The first sight that greeted them was a well-kept two-story farmhouse with a large wrap-around porch, complete with porch swing and trellises with different colored roses extending mid way up the porch. A garage was at the end of the circle driveway, with a medium-sized barn right beside it bearing a large Rainbow Rescue sign above the door.

Willow spotted a white SUV, a black motorcycle and Tara's purple truck. "Looks like this is the place," she said giddily, as she parked beside the truck.

"Welcome, ladies," Faith said loudly as she stepped out onto the porch. "Glad to see you made it okay."

"Hey! Yeah, no problems," Buffy said smiling brightly at the brunette.

Willow finished locking up the car, then looked up to see Tara coming out the door right behind Faith. Her heart sped up at the sight of the blonde in shorts and a tank top. She smiled and gave her a nervous wave.

"Hi. Nice place you have here."

"Why, thank you," said an older blonde woman who stepped out from behind Tara just as the two friends came up the steps to the porch.

"Mom, this is Willow and Buffy. Guys, this is my mom, Mary Maclay."

"Nice to meet you," Mary said as she smiled and shook both their hands.

"You too, Mrs. Maclay," both girls said politely.

She held Willow's hand a little longer than she did Buffy's and quirked an eyebrow slightly. She'd expected the power she felt from the Slayer, but the redhead surprised her with a little something of her own. "Hmm," she whispered to herself.

Willow felt even more nervous now, as meeting Tara's mother was totally unexpected, and she couldn't help but blush under her scrutiny.

"Oh, and this is my friend, Sofia," Mary pointed to the older brunette, who smiled and waved as she sat at the small table and chairs on the porch, sipping her cup of coffee. "Hello, girls."

They smiled and nodded in her direction, then turned their attention back to Tara. "Well, are you ready to see her, Willow?"

"Oh, yes!"

Willow felt almost dizzy as she walked through the barn doors right behind Tara. A long row of dog kennels stretched the entire length of the barn, which she noticed was air conditioned and very well maintained. It didn't even look like a barn from the inside at all. She followed Tara past cage after cage, her heart breaking at the condition of some of the dogs. Tara stopped about half-way down and turned to the redhead.

"Well, here she is," she said quietly.

At the far end of her kennel, Willow saw the dog known as Chosen. She was lying quietly, with her head between her two front paws, looking curiously at the new arrivals. Willow squatted down gently at the gate, tears brimming in her eyes. Chosen was looking much better than her before pictures, though still a little thin, and her blonde coat was short but healthy looking.

Willow sniffed and wiped her eyes. Then she heard a steady "thump-thump-thump". She looked up to see the dog's tail hitting the floor over and over. Slowly, the dog stood up and timidly made her way to the gate, her eyes never leaving the redhead.

"She's a little shy," Tara whispered as she knelt beside Willow, who could only nod.

When Chosen finally made it to the gate, she sat right in front of Willow and cocked her head. Willow saw a sadness and what almost looked like relief in those big brown eyes and had to wipe away the tears again that refused to stop flowing. She held her breath as the dog slowly lifted a big blonde paw and laid it against the gate right in front of her. A smile bloomed on Willow's tear-stained face as she brought her hand up gently to rest against Chosen's.

"Hi there," she whispered, "I'm Willow." The dog leaned forward and sniffed where they met hand-to-paw. "Would you like to come and live with me? I promise I'll take extra special care of you." She spoke soothingly to the big blonde dog that had quickly captured her heart.

Chosen dropped her paw and cocked her head at the redhead again, then she slowly leaned forward and licked the fingers that Willow had wrapped around the wires of the gate. The redhead let out a strangled sob at the show of affection.

"Huh...I never got any kisses," Faith murmured from behind them all as she turned her head and roughly wiped at her cheeks.

Willow felt a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Would you like to take her outside and get to know her a little better?" Tara's voice was as sweet as honey right beside her ear, and she looked over at her with a beaming smile and nodded excitedly.

The others moved back as Tara retrieved a leash and took it in to attach it to Chosen's collar. She led her out to the large fenced in area of the yard, the others following close behind. Tara unsnapped the leash and turned and smiled at Willow. Chosen just sat and looked expectantly up at the redhead. Moving slowly, Willow sat gently on the ground a few feet in front of her.

"So..." she laughed nervously, "what's a nice girl like you doing in a place like this?" earning a chuckle from the rest of the group. As she began to talk to the dog like a person, telling her about the house she would live in, the big backyard she could play in, and the toys she would buy her, the others watched closely.

Buffy and Faith had taken a seat on top of the wooden fence, watching the interesting exchange.

"I'm just curious," Buffy said, still watching Willow interact with the dog, "how did you pick that name?"

"Well," Faith began slowly, "that dog had been through some rough shit, ya know?" Buffy glanced over into Faith's deep brown eyes. "She coulda given up, but she chose to fight...to live. She's a very special girl." Faith couldn't tell her the other reason she picked that name.

Buffy saw something hiding deep inside her that looked very familiar, and she nodded in understanding.

By the time they looked back over at Willow and Chosen, the dog had moved over to her and was resting her head in her lap looking up into her eyes as she kept talking excitedly about what her life in Sunnydale was going to be like. The others looked on in amazement as they watched the two bonding before their eyes. Willow stroked the dog's head gently as she talked on and on.

"Hey," Buffy said as she looked out over the big backyard, "I thought you had a pool?"

"We do. This is Tara's mom's house. We live down the road about a mile. Speaking of which...it's a beautiful day...I hope you brought your suit."

"You'll just have to wait and see."

"Cool." Faith grinned and Buffy about fell off the fence.

Tara had propped an elbow up on top of the fence off to the side to watch and see what was going to happen with Willow and Chosen. She couldn't have been happier, knowing that these two were perfect for each other.

____________________________

Willow was crouched down giving Chosen a big hug and a kiss on the head before Tara put her back in her kennel. "I'm gonna miss you, girl. I'm sorry you can't come home with me today, but I'll see you next week." Willow wiped away more tears as Tara hooked the gate closed.

"We'll take good care of her, Willow. I promise," Tara told her as she leaned over and gave her a one-armed hug. It just felt right.

____________________________

"Damn, that's hot," Buffy said, staring at the back of Faith on her Harley as they followed her to their house.

"Hey, Buff, try not to get any drool on my interior, wouldja?" Willow teased as she reached over and lifted her chin to close her mouth.

"I wonder if she's got leather chaps," Buffy said dreamily as her best friend just rolled her eyes.

"Welcome to our humble abode," Faith said as she parked her bike and removed her helmet, shaking out her long brown hair.

Buffy almost stumbled as her knees got a little dizzy.

"You okay, B?" Faith smirked, knowing pretty sure she had caused the blonde's reaction.

"Oh, yeah," Buffy said as she straightened up and did her best to walk normally behind Faith up to the back deck. "I'm all kindsa good."

"Wow, this thing is huge," Willow said as she took in the size of the deck.

"Yeah. Took us about a month to build it," she said, referring to the deck that extended almost the entire length of the back of the house and wrapped partly around the large oval above-ground pool.

"You built this yourself?" Buffy asked in awe.

"Yeah, me and T. We love it."

"It's gorgeous," Willow said, thoroughly impressed, as a dreamy look came over her face. <Tara in a tool belt -- oh my>

"Margaritas, anyone?" Tara asked as she stepped out the sliding door.

"Oh, yes, please," Buffy said as her eyes lit up.

"Strawberry?" Willow asked hopefully as she reached out for a glass.

"Absolutely," Tara smiled and handed one to each girl. "Have a seat. I just got the grill going."

___________________________

Willow and Tara sat in the chairs on the deck sipping their drinks after dinner as they watched Buffy and Faith seemingly trying to splash every drop of water out of the pool.

"Those two are something else, huh?"

"Definitely," Tara readily agreed as she kept sneaking glances at the interesting woman. "So, a new addition, huh?"

"You mean on the house or Chosen?" Willow laughed.

"Both, I guess. I'm happy for you, Willow," Tara said sincerely.

"I can't thank you enough, Tara. You'll never know how much this means to me."

"Oh, I think I do," she said as she smiled, looking over at Bubba taking a nap in the shade of a tree.

"Oh my God, does she always do that?!"

Tara laughed as she looked over and saw only Faith's legs sticking straight up out of the water. "Only when she's trying to impress the ladies."

"So, she's...?" Willow tried to ask nonchalantly as she glanced at Tara over the top of her glass as she took a drink.

"Isn't it obvious?" Tara chuckled as she looked back at the redhead trying to gauge her reaction.

"Well, sometimes, you may think someone is, but they're not, and you end up disappointed and...thoroughly embarrassed," Willow mumbled as she kept her gaze fixed on the bottom of her drink.

"I know what you mean," Tara whispered as Willow finally glanced up and their eyes met. Her lip curled up to one side as the redhead smiled back.

"So, are you...?"

"Yes," Tara admitted with a nod.

Willow took a deep breath and tried to reign in her smile. "Great."

"Oh no," Willow gasped and shook her head as she looked over and saw Buffy on the edge of the deck, doing her own handstand, only with one hand, which turned into one-handed push ups and a back flip/cannonball, thoroughly soaking them all.

Willow buried her face in her hands...Tara sat there with her mouth hanging open...and Faith moaned.

Buffy's head broke through the water with a huge smile on her face and she took in the expressions on the other girl's faces. "What?!"

"Gymnastics!!" Willow suddenly blurted out. "Yeah, she almost made the Junior Olympics. Didn't you, Buffy?" she said pointedly.

"Uh, yeah. Came this close," she said as she used her thumb and index finger to try to convince the others how close she came.

Faith had a white knuckled grip on the edge of the pool as she stared slack jawed at the little blonde. "Well, fuck me," she whispered before disappearing under the water.

"So, Tara," Willow started, desperate to take the unwanted attention off her best friend's superhuman strength, "how long have you been a nurse?"

"What? Oh, about 6 years."

"How do you like it? What made you go into that field?"

The redhead's sudden barrage of questions left Tara momentarily dazed. "Well, I really enjoy it actually. I work in the ER, so it can be very exciting at times."

"Oh, I'll bet."

"My mom was a nurse for 30 years. She just retired a couple of years ago."

"That's nice," Willow said as she kept glancing over to see if the Slayer was behaving herself.

"You know," Tara whispered as she leaned closer, "Faith used to do gymnastics too, and she was a cheerleader."

Willow laughed. "Oh my God, so was Buffy. Well, at least for a little while." Willow bit her lip and tried to act nonchalant. "So, what else about Faith? How long have you two um, known each other?" Willow asked shyly.

Tara had to smile at the adorably obvious girl.

"Well, we've known each other about 10 years I guess. My mom and Sofia were good friends, and when Faith came to live with her, we just clicked. She's like the sister I never had. We've lived together for the last few years. It's just easier with everything we have going on and the rescue just down the road. We all pitch in to keep it going." Tara hoped she'd made things clear enough for the cute redhead.

"That's great," Willow smiled at the new-found information and sighed as she started to really watch Tara as she spoke. <The way her blue eyes sparkled, the sculpted cheekbones and the full, sensuous lips> She shook her head to get it out of it's lusty haze. <The way that tight tank top hugs her...> She shook her head again.

"Um, Tara, you wouldn't happen to have some iced tea, or I'd take a water. That was my one-drink limit since I'm driving."

"I made some sun tea this morning. Would you like to come in and sweeten it yourself?"

"That'd be great, thanks," Willow said as she followed her into the kitchen. <And those full, sexy hips>

Willow took a seat at the island and tried unsuccessfully not to stare as the blonde reached up into the cabinet retrieving two glasses from the shelf. She licked her lips as the tank top rode up exposing a slip of tan skin.

Tara could feel Willow's eyes on her and felt the heat rising up her chest and into her neck and face. She leaned into the fridge to get the tea, staying in a little longer than necessary trying to cool off. It didn't work.

*****************************************

Tara turned around with the jug of tea and came face to face with the redhead.

"Can I...give you a hand with that?" she asked, smiling seductively.

"Um, I think I can handle it by myself, thanks."

"Oh, you shouldn't have to handle some things by yourself," she purred as she took the jug of tea from her and placed it on the counter. "It's so much more...satisfying if there's someone else there to help you handle things."

Tara gulped as Willow pressed her against the counter, placing a hand on either side. She felt the small breasts crushed into her own, causing her breath to hitch.

"Do you need someone to help you take care of things, Tara? Anything at all?"

Her breath became ragged as she looked into Willow's darkening green eyes, seeing her own lust reflected there. She watched as a pink tongue flicked out to lick those sweet lips as she leaned closer and whispered in her ear. "Any. Thing?" she asked breathily as she pressed a thigh between the blonde's and nudged it into her center.

Tara gasped as she bucked against the well-toned muscle. "Ohhh, yes, Willow," she moaned.

*****************************************

"Hey, T, we got anymore beer in there?" Faith yelled from the door startling her, causing her to raise up quickly and hit her head inside the fridge.

"Shit!" Tara yelped then opened her eyes to see the jug of tea still in her hands, and Willow sitting over at the island looking at her curiously. <That's it -- I'm not reading anymore NC-17 stuff before I see Willow again. Damn.>

"Are you okay, Tara?" Willow asked, genuinely concerned.

"Uh, I'm fine. Here's your beer, Faith."

"You might want to put some ice on that," the brunette teased, seeing the flushed look of the blonde. Tara glared at her and mouthed "asshole" as she slid the door closed on her smirking face.

Tara poured two glasses of tea and set out the sugar and sweetener. She got a spoon out of the drawer and turned around to find Willow standing right in front of her...again.

"Do you have any frozen vegetables?"

"W-what?" asked the flustered blonde.

Willow opened the freezer door, rummaged around and found what she was looking for.

"Sit," she directed the blonde, who shakily complied.

"Here," Willow said as she sat beside her, hit the bag on the island then carefully placed the bag of frozen peas on her head. "I know that had to hurt," she whispered as she gently inspected her head for any signs of injury.

The tingling Tara was feeling wasn't from pain or the frozen bag on her head, but from Willow's delicate fingers as they carefully probed around her scalp.

"No major damage that I can see," she said as she continued to run her fingers through the soft blonde hair. "You don't feel dizzy do you?" Willow asked sweetly, looking into the sparkling blue eyes.

"Not from hitting my head," Tara mumbled and looked away blushing.

Willow smiled at the quiet answer, knowing exactly what she meant, and slowly withdrew her fingers before they became too intrusive.

"You have beautiful hair," Willow said shyly, causing Tara to blush even more.

"Um, thank you. So do you," she said, finally bringing her eyes up to look into those bright green ones that she found so captivating, and they shared a shy smile.

"Hey, Tara, when you guys bring Chosen down next weekend, I'd love it if you'd stay for dinner. I mean, if you want to, and it's not against any rules or anything?" she asked nervously as she picked at some imaginary lint on her shorts.

"No," Tara started, as Willow looked up with a hint of hurt in her eyes, "it's not against any rules. And I'd really like that." Tara curled her lip up in a soft smile, causing the redhead to nearly swoon.

Willow breathed a sigh of relief. "Really? Okay, great. It's a date then," Willow added nervously, "I mean, if that's what you want..."

Tara took the bag of peas off her head and laid it on the island before she reached over and gently took Willow's hand, feeling that wonderful tingle again, causing her to look up hopefully.

"I want."

____________________________

Willow and Tara made their way back out to the deck, glasses of tea in hand, to find Buffy and Faith engaged in a friendly competition.

"You so did not land that far out," Buffy accused the laughing brunette.

"Oh, I so did too."

"Did not! You were like a foot back -- and I just passed that, so I won."

"Can't prove anything, B. You were underwater."

"You cheater!" Buffy yelled as she splashed the still laughing Faith.

Willow and Tara couldn't help but laugh at their feuding friends, who were obviously having a great time. They were at the far end of the pool going down the slide, trying to see who could land the farthest out.

"Will, you coming in yet or what? I need a referee over here."

"Are you crazy? I know better than to get in between you two."

"You brought your suit?" Tara asked, eyebrows raised high. "I thought you said you didn't."

"Um...no, I said I wasn't 'prepared', which was to say, not ready to get in the pool yet," she answered nervously.

"You don't have to get in the pool," Tara said as she slipped off her tank top and shorts and headed to the corner of the deck. "I think we'll be safer in the hot tub."

Willow gulped down a long drink of her iced tea trying to calm down. "Ohh, boy," she said to herself, taking in the vision of how Tara filled out her suit as she eased herself sensually into the bubbling water. Willow squirmed in her seat as she felt the wetness begin to pool between her legs at the sight of the large, luscious breasts, and her mouth watered at the obviously large, hard nipples straining to burst through the blue material.

"Willow...are you coming?" Tara asked innocently as she leaned back with her elbows propped up on the side of the tub.

"Just about," she murmured before taking another long drink of her tea.

She stood up and slowly removed her t-shirt and shorts revealing a black bikini, much to the pleasure of the blonde, who was watching discreetly, as she too had to take another long drink of her iced tea. Willow finally made her way over and slowly lowered herself down into the water on the opposite side.

"Ohhh, this is nice," Willow moaned, leaning her head back and closing her eyes.

******************************************

"Yes, it is," Tara said sensually as she straddled her waist, long arms circling around her neck. Willow's eyes flew open to see mischievous blue ones staring back, and that damned crooked smile. Holy fuck, she was sexy.

Willow whimpered as she felt Tara's full breasts pressing deliciously against her own, and her center starting a slow grind against her bare stomach.

"What's the matter, baby," Tara whispered huskily as she began undoing the ties on the bikini, "kitty got your tongue?"

"Ughhh...Oh God...you feel so good, Tara," Willow moaned as she arched into the thrusting hips. Her thumbs slipped under the blue straps and slowly slid them down unleashing the abundant breasts. Willow thought she had died and gone to heaven. She closed her eyes and rubbed her cheek over the soft mounds of flesh. She looked up into sparkling blue eyes as she reached down and clutched a hip, pulling her harder toward her pelvis with every thrust. She licked her lips before extending her tongue to flicker over the tip of the rock hard nipple and almost came as Tara released a low, throaty moan. Their eyes stayed locked together as the redhead closed her lips around it and sucked it into her warm, wet mouth and began to devour her.

"Ohhh yesss, Willow...Willow?!"

******************************************

"Huh...what?" The redhead was startled from her daydream to see Tara on the other side of the tub looking at her inquisitively. She quickly reached for her iced tea beside the tub and took a good, long drink trying to put out the fire between her legs.

Tara noticed the blush spreading across the freckled chest and up her neck and thought it was the cutest thing ever. She smiled at her and repeated the question. "I asked if you like living in Sunnydale?"

"Oh, it's okay. I've lived there all my life, so I'm used to it." Willow's foggy brain answered with a little too much honesty.

"Used to it?"

"Oh, you know, the small, hometown feeling." Willow cringed, knowing she was a terrible liar.

"Yeah, it seems like a nice little town. Is that where you went to college?"

"Oh, yeah. Good ol' UC Sunnydale. Well, McCarthy sent me to some specialty classes over the summers too."

"Sounds like they really headhunted you. You must be something special," the blonde said teasingly as she slipped a foot across the bottom of the tub tickling freckled feet and causing instant giggles.

"Hey! No fair!" Willow said, jerking a foot back, then immediately reaching it back out to meet with the blonde's tickling her back.

"You guys have a great place, Tara. It's beautiful out here," Willow said, looking out over the large yard.

"Thanks. We love it. We both have pretty hectic jobs, plus doing the other stuff, so when we get time off, we really enjoy coming out here to relax," she said distractedly while trying to watch their feet playing back and forth under the water.

"What do you do in your spare time, Willow?"

"Oh, nothing special." She tried to keep her mind on the conversation, which was difficult considering how much she was enjoying the feeling of Tara's feet rubbing up against her own. "Pretty boring, actually. I'm on my computer a lot. Sometimes we get together for pizza and movie night, usually at my place or Buffy's. And every once in a while we go to a club called The Bronze. We've been going there since high school, but lately it feels like we're the old fogies in there, ya know? It's mostly a younger crowd."

"Well, that's how it is when you start to get old," the blonde teased, tickling Willow some more.

"Hey, I'm only 26. How old are you anyway?"

"It's not polite to ask a lady her age," Tara said primly. "It's like asking her weight...or her bra size," Tara smirked, watching Willow's eyebrows shoot to her hairline.

"Tara," she huffed, "I would never. Besides," she smirked right back as she arched an eyebrow and nodded to the blonde's chest, "I got a pretty good idea already." She laughed as Tara covered her chest and blushed.

"Ha! Gotcha!"

"Hey!" Tara yelled back as she lunged across the tub for a full-blown tickle attack on the laughing redhead.

"Okay, okay, I give," Willow wheezed out as she tried to catch her breath. The two were lost in each others eyes when they heard a squeal come from the pool.

"B! Put me down!"

They looked over to see Buffy and Faith in the pool, with the blonde holding the brunette high above her head, ready to throw her back into the water.

"Buffy!" Willow scolded her and shook her head frantically at her friend.

"She's cheating again, Will!" Buffy whined as she unceremoniously dropped Faith.

"Wow," Tara said, completely astounded at the display.

"Uh...she works out?" Willow explained lamely. She really was a bad liar.

____________________________

"I had a really great time today, Tara. Thanks again for everything," Willow said quietly as the blonde walked her out to her car.

"Me too. It was my pleasure."

Willow leaned back against her car and looked over to see Faith showing Buffy her bike.

"So, do you have chaps?"

"What do you think?" Faith smiled slyly, giving the obvious answer.

"Do you ride?" Willow asked Tara as they watched Faith show Buffy how to get on the motorcycle.

"Oh, definitely not. It's not my thing. Faith loves it though. She's pretty much an adrenaline junkie."

Willow just nodded. "I kinda got that. So...next weekend. I can't wait to finally get her home."

"I think you'll love her, Willow. She's a very special girl."

Willow looked in the blonde's eyes, thinking that Chosen wasn't the only special girl. "Next Saturday then, whatever time is good for you will work for me. I plan on being home all day.

"Oh," Tara said pulling out a folded paper from her pocket, "here's a list of things she'll need at least at first. Bowls for food and water, of course, and this is the kind of food we've been giving her. It's best not to change her diet, at least not right away. And we've been giving her vitamins. You can pick those up at any vet's office. I'll bring all of her paperwork with me, so you can have her health history and everything else. You should take all that with you when you take her for her first vet visit."

"Wonderful. I'll get all this tomorrow," Willow said excitedly.

"I'm happy for you both, Willow. I know you're going to give her a very happy home."

Just then, they heard the Harley roar to life and turned to see Faith and Buffy headed towards them.

"I'm just taking her down the driveway and back," Faith shouted as she drove the bike by slowly.

"I knew Buffy wouldn't be able to resist," Willow told Tara as they watched their friends ride away laughing.

____________________________

"So, what'd you think?" Mary asked Sofia after the girls had left the rescue.

"She's exactly as Rupert described her. And seeing her and Faith together, well that was something else."

"Yes, I could see it too. Their energy when they were together was remarkable."

"So you think it's okay? This is totally uncharted territory."

"Sofie, dear, I have no doubt that those two together is a very good thing."

"Do you think we should tell them?"

"I have no idea."

"What about the Rosenberg girl?"

"Willow is something special too, and I think Chosen is one lucky dog."

____________________________

"I cannot believe you did that!" Willow had been ranting at Buffy ever since they left Faith and Tara's. "Have you lost your marbles? You could totally have blown your cover!"

"I don't know what happened, Will. When I was with her, I felt like I could just be myself, and I think my marbles just scattered all over the place," Buffy tried to defend herself.

"And it had nothing to do with that little red bikini?" Willow just had to tease.

Buffy just smiled. "That could definitely have been a factor. But, there's just something about her, Will. I can't explain it."

"I know the feeling."

"So, you and Tara, huh? You looked all cozy in the hot tub."

"It was...nice," Willow said slyly.

"Just nice, huh? I could've sworn I saw sparks flying all around you two," Buffy continued to tease as she poked her friend in the ribs.

"Hey, I'm driving here! And okay, yes. She's amazing, Buffy," Willow gushed. "Just everything about her. And it's not just the physical stuff, cause that's just...wow! But, she's so much more. And, she's staying for dinner after she brings Chosen on Saturday," she said giddily.

"Really? That's great. Oh wait, what about Faith?"

"What about her?"

"Well, I'm pretty sure she's coming on the trip with Tara."

"Oh, yeah," Willow frowned in thought.

"Ooh, I know!" Buffy yelled excitedly, "I can take Faith to the Bronze. Well, unless you want your little dinner-for-two to turn into a dinner-for-four?"

"A dinner with all of us would be nice too."

"Why don't we just leave it up to them?" Buffy suggested after thinking quietly for a few minutes. "I'll just call Faith this week and ask her what she wants to do. No big deal. Maybe we could have dinner together, then she and I can head to the Bronze for a while, giving you two a little time alone, or we could all go out?"

"Oh, no. I'm not going to leave Chosen home alone, especially on her first night there. No way," Willow said emphatically. "I'm going to be there for her as much as I can."

"I know you will, Will. Ha! 'will Will'. Oh, maybe I should've stopped after that second margarita," the blonde mumbled to herself as Willow started to giggle.

____________________________

"That was fun," Faith said as she loaded the dishwasher.

"Yeah, I think you've finally met your match. And when she lifted you up...that was priceless." Tara was still laughing when she felt the crack of a dishtowel on her butt. "Hey! You know it was, Faith," the blonde said still laughing and rubbing her sore ass cheek.

"Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up, blondie. It wasn't your ass gettin' tossed in the pool. But seriously, did you see those push ups?" Faith said wistfully.

"Yeah. Willow said she works out."

Faith noticed the look on her friend's face as she mentioned Willow. "So...you two seemed to hit it off pretty good."

"Huh? Oh, yeah. She's sweet," Tara sighed, a little lost in her own thoughts, and Faith couldn't help but tease.

"I'll say. She looked pretty sweet in that purple bikini!" She turned around after loading the last plate just in time to be smacked in the face by a wadded up dish towel.

"Hey!" Faith burst out laughing at the look on Tara's face.

"Boundaries, Faith!"

"I'm just messin' with ya, T. You are way too easy," she said laughing as she ran out of the kitchen and up the stairs.

"It was black," she mumbled to herself with a big smile on her face. "And I'm not easy...but I just might make an exception," she added when she knew Faith was out of hearing range. She headed up the steps thinking that a shower, then some fan fic sounded like a good way to end her day, making a mental note to avoid anything NC-17...or maybe not.

sarahncrys1017 · **Posted:** Fri Oct 19, 2012 5:10 pm

I am so totally loving this fic! Faith and Buffy are hilarious! And I just cracked up with Willow trying to make excuses for Buffy. She really is a bad liar. I have a feeling that Chosen is gonna be something even more special than she already is.

Tara and Willow's imaginations... wow!

Definitely looking forward to the next update!

Keep up the awesome work!

Sarah

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

The Lovers, The Dreamers And Me - Ch. 50 (11/15/13)

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