Hola bellos gatitos!!
First, I'd like to apologize for the tardiness of this post. This part was originally drafted by the second week of april but then I didn't have the time to re-read it 867 times before sending it to be beta'ed. And when I finally did, I couldn't find my beta. So, this is un beta'ed and I promise to edit it as soon as I get her suggestions back.
Some replies before the little update though:
writerfreak: thanks for your continuous support. I really appreciate it. I hope you enjoy this.
willowbaby05: i'm really flattered that you like this story and that you took the time to leave feedback. I hope to see you aboard in the future. Thanks!
Okie then. Here it is. Keep your thoughts coming...it makes for inspiration and more updates!! hehe...
Karinna.
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Previously
“You don’t believe me, do you? You think I’m delusional! Or worst even, that I’m making this up?” Willow accused her ‘best-friend’ waiting for her answer. As Buffy’s eyes focused on the interesting pattern of the carpet, Willow walked to the door.
“You know, Buffy…” The redhead said through watery eyes as she reached the door frame. “I’ve been trying so hard to do things the right way. Hell, I haven’t even used magic for almost 2 months now and it’s still not enough. Well, it doesn’t matter. I know that Tara was here and that’s enough. Now if you’ll excuse me I have to go find her.” She stormed off.
“Come on, Will…Will?” The Slayer said, walking behind her friend.
Dawn stayed in the room, inspecting it for any signs of Tara. Finally giving up, she was about to turn off the light when she noticed a faint glow next to a pillow. She reached for it and picked a small amethyst earring that she remembered seeing Tara wearing a few weeks ago.
“It was true” She whispered. “But why didn’t she stay?” A frown appeared on her face. “I have to find out”. She walked out putting the earring in her pocket.
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Part Eleven
Thirty minutes later the surgeons were looking busily at the video screen while trying to clamp the base of the gallbladder to remove it. Willow tried hard to keep focused on the monitor currently showing Tara’s vitals. ‘Don’t look down’ kept playing in her mind like a broken record.
“We’re wrapping up here, Dr. Rosenberg. Five more minutes” Dr. Kabalan’s low voice broke her mantra, and a startled Willow couldn’t help but flinch at the contact of Tara’s face with her latex-covered thumb.
‘She still affects me, after all these years’ Willow thought. She shook her head as if to make the thought that had been plaguing her mind for the last hour vanish. Redirecting her attention to the monitor over Tara’s head she began the slow process of bringing Tara back to the land of the awake.
A few minutes later Tara was breathing on her own and Willow softly removed the tube from her throat. Tara’s eyes fluttered open and Willow let out the relieved breath she didn’t know she was holding. She was a good anesthesiologist and had performed this kind of procedure thousands of times but she still found harder to get her patients to wake up than simply putting them to sleep.
‘It’s not that, Rosenberg, and you know it. She’s not just any patient, she’s Tara and you were scared to death to let anything happen to her’. She admitted to herself.
“How do you feel, Tara?”. Willow saw Tara wince as she tried to speak with her dry throat. “Shh, try not to speak. Your throat must be really sore from the tube and you’re gonna hurt yourself”. Jason came over with a gurney and they proceeded to move Tara from the table so she could be taken out of the operating room.
“Water…please.” Tara’s ragged voice spoke after being hooked up to a few monitors in the recovery room.
“Sorry. You can’t eat or drink anything for at least 8 hours” Willow turned left to the cart beside her, picked a wet piece of gauze and proceeded to moisture Tara’s dry lips with it. Tara found herself staring into green eyes, grateful for the gesture. She reached up to touch Willow’s hand and hold her to her lips, kissing it gently. A confused Willow froze in place and started to move away from the gurney when she heard Tara speak again.
“I-I’m s-s-sorry, Willow. I s-shouldn’t have…I-I j-just-t…” she stopped when she saw Willow turn around with a sad smile on her face.
“Don’t speak. You’re gonna fill your stomach with air and that will lead to the nausea and vomiting and all that discomfort and feeling yucky and that’s particularly not good after getting your gallbladder removed, especially if you want things to go smoothly and get out of here soon, and did I mention yuckiness not being good? Because I’d hate it for you to feel bad if you can so obviously help it, and you’ll have enough with the pain from the surgery itself so it’s really not good to add anything else up to it…” Willow stopped when she saw Tara’s mouth start to curl up threatening to blow into a full fit of laughter anytime. She smiled herself, mumbling a shy apology.
“I have to go now, I still have some work to do. You’ll be taken down to your room in a couple of hours and I will try to sneak out to check up on you later, ok?” Tara nodded. “Try to get some rest now, you need your strength back so you recover faster”. With that said Willow wrote a few words on Tara’s chart and left the room. Sure, she felt sad and a little happy at the same time, but mostly she felt confused. This had been, without a doubt, one of the weirdest days of her life…
’And it’s not even over yet’.
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Part Twelve
Tara kept her eyes on the retreating form of her ex-girlfriend. She still felt groggy from the drugs she had received and she was sure she would be falling back to unconsciousness soon, but for now her mind kept spinning. And of course it was, she never thought she would see Willow Rosenberg again.
‘You made sure you wouldn’t, right Tara-girl?’. What were the odds? Yet fate was laughing on her face again.
She smiled. Willow was still as beautiful as ever, if not more. Her mind started drifting to the last time she saw her, and the thought froze her spine. She closed her eyes and saw a frail thin body sporting a familiar afterglow smile, asleep on a familiar bed in a familiar bedroom. Her mind remembered a familiar musky scent lingering in the air and the familiar warmth of that body pressed against her. She felt herself frown, though, when she remembered another very familiar feeling: the pain, the terror, the need to run…and then she remembered it: the day she came back.
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Flashback
It had been four days since she had left Willow and now she was standing at the door of the Ravello Drive house hoping the redhead would agree to talk to her, let her apologize.
She knocked softly on the door and waited for a few seconds for the door to open before she saw Dawn in front of her. The look on the young brunette’s face was sad at first, but then Tara could see her features harden as she spoke.
“What do you want, Tara?” Dawn asked, the harsh tone on her voice immediately surprised the blonde.
‘They know’ she thought. “Hi, D-dawnie. I need to talk to W-willow. Is s-he here?” She asked as she stepped into the living room. She tried to keep it simple, she didn’t want to go into any details with the teenager.
“You were here, weren’t you? The other night? With Willow. You were here and you left her”.
Tara took one step towards Dawn and tried to say something but the brunette stopped her. She pulled an earring from her pocket and held it in front of Tara so she could see it.
“She was devastated, Tara. Buffy didn’t believe her when she told us she had been with you. She spent that night looking for you and when she didn’t find you she collapsed. She was so confused and hurt that she started believing it had been her imagination all along.”
Tara felt her knees weaken and threaten to give in, so she walked back and sat dropped herself on the couch. Tears started to fall and she held her head on her hands.
“I tried looking for you. I didn’t want to give her your earring before having a chance to talk to you, but I couldn’t find you” At this point Dawn was also crying. “ I don’t know why I waited, I should have told her you had really been here, that she wasn’t crazy…but when I tried I couldn’t find her either” Tara looked up to see Dawn staring blankly ahead, guilt covering her face.
“I went out of town for a couple of days. I needed to think, to clear my head…”
Dawn looked deep into Tara’s eyes. “She’s in the hospital, Tara. Willow is dying”.
Sobs wrecked her body as she started talking, mostly to herself. “I should have told her about the earring, maybe it would have made a difference”. Heartbroken, Tara got up and crossed the room to hold Dawn, both women dropping to their knees.
Hearing movement in the kitchen Tara looked up to see Giles coming in from the back door. The sight in front of him made him speed towards Dawn and lift her up. She saw him speak a few quiet words to the girl’s ear, to which Dawn nodded. After a quick glance at Tara, she climbed the stairs and disappeared into her room.
“Tara”. The voice of the man that had been like a father to her for caught her attention. “Come with me to the kitchen and I’ll fix you a cup of tea” He looked straight into her blue eyes. “I believe we need to talk”.
TBC...
by lottagay » Sun Mar 12, 2006 8:38 pm 
Thanks for reviewing!
please dont stop it is sooooo gooood please more now!!!!!!
yay i wonder whats gunna happen between willow and tara now that they have meet! Wonderful updates please update soon i would talk more but i have class in 15 min and i need to get ready so next update ill give more feedback! Plz update soon!
I love it!! It's great.
*evil grin*. Thanks for the wedding wishes and the kind words.
No, no, no, no. PLEASE dont stop there. I was really getting into it but it ended. 
Beside's the fact I'm loving the story. 
Willow waking up without Tara and everbody in disbelief except Dawn was heartbreaking. 
*patiently waiting*
Giles butting in where he should not I say mind his on stuff and leave them alone please let them be alright.YOU ARE A BAD 
