Posted: Sun Apr 04, 2010 5:00 pm Post subject: Re: New fic: False Euphoria (AU)
Author: Ambergoddess
Disclaimer: Nothing is mine, Joss Whedon rules all. ME, UPN, blah blah blah
Feedback: Oh please! The more the merrier.
Rating: R! Finally.
Summary: AU fic, no monsters, Hellmouth, or magic. Willow's a sophomore, Tara's a junior. Willow is alone and very depressed. Tara has to help.
Spoilers: None
Distribution: Fine, but tell me first, okay?
Notes: This is my first fic, and I don't have a beta, so bear with me. I love criticism, helps me write. Anything else, message me please.
This may seem rushed, but I need to finish this. I apologize to any and all who hate this ending.
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Part Twenty"Miss Rosenberg!" My head shot up. Blinking, I looked around, already preparing my excuse for sleeping in class.
Maybe an illness, or a family emergency…As it turned out, I didn’t need one. A woman I didn't recognize at all stood at the door, staring expectantly at me. It took me a second to remember that my name had been called. "Uh, yeah? I mean, yes? Is something wrong?"
The woman didn’t answer me directly, instead telling me I was needed in the office immediately. I rose, packing my books automatically as my mind raced, trying to recall anything I had done in the last few days that would merit a trip to the office. I came up empty, nothing springing to mind even after meticulous thought.
If it's not me, then it's either paperwork or Tara. God, I hope it's paperwork. Ignoring the ominous 'Oooooh…' that followed me out the door, I left, trailing the woman as she walked away.
I was getting worried. The woman in front of me hadn't said a single word after she summoned me, not even to introduce herself. I decided to break the silence, if only to spare my increasingly ragged nerves. "So, Miss…" I trailed off, not sure how to continue without her name.
Surprisingly, she spoke up. "Palazetti. My name is Jennifer Palazetti."
I nodded. "Thank you. Miss Palazetti. What's going on? Is everything all right?"
She was silent for a few seconds, her steps thudding on the tiled floor instead of the clicking of heels I had become accustomed to. Glancing down, I saw that her shoes were well-worn cowboy boots, seemingly used often and hard. I controlled the thoughtful frown that wanted to show on my face, not wanting Ms. Palazetti to think… I don't know, I just wanted everything to seem normal with me. Call it instinct, but I didn’t entirely trust her.
I took in the rest of her appearance, examining her from head to toe. Physically, she wasn't very imposing, standing probably only five six, shorter than me. Straight blonde hair fell past her shoulders, a color I thought was from a bottle. I couldn’t be sure though - I couldn’t see her roots. The brief glimpse of her front I'd gotten gave her blue eyes and a face that was startlingly pretty. I put her in her early twenties, twenty-five at the latest. Her clothes, though nice, were slightly creased and dirty.
Either she hasn't washed her clothes in a while or she's been sleeping in them. I was so deep in thought that it came as a shock to me when she answered. "I think it would be best if we discussed this privately, and with Tara present. I only want to have to explain everything once."
Hoo boy. That doesn’t help my nerves.There was nothing I could do, however, so I nodded and kept walking. Not for the first time, I cursed the sheer size of the campus. I wanted to know what was going on, damnit, and I wanted to know
now. The enormity of the campus prevented that.
Unconsciously I sped up, catching up to and then leaving behind Ms. Palazetti, forcing the woman to increase her pace as well. We arrived at the office a few minutes later, me slightly out of breath. The blonde irritatingly showed no signs of the near-sprint we'd ended up in, even managing to keep her hair in place. I, on the other hand, was sure I looked like a furry tomato, with my face matching my flyaway hair. I sighed, trying to catch my breath.
Looking around, I noticed that Ms. Palazetti was leading us straight back to Dr. Calendar's office. Somehow I doubted that the principal (or headmistress, whatever) would be directly involved with paperwork mishaps, and my stomach lurched.
Oh god, please be all right… The sight of Tara, present and unharmed, sent a surge of relief through my entire body, allowing me to relax. I walked over to her and took her hand, waiting until our eyes met to mouth, 'Are you okay?' She nodded, and seemed just as confused as I was.
Dr. Calendar's voice pulled our attention - unwillingly - away from each other. We glanced up, our hands still joined. "Well, girls, it's come to my attention that there is a problem with your backgrounds. Not so much you, Willow, but Tara, I've been contacted by a gentleman claiming that you're actually a runaway-" her voice lifted on the word, making it sound like a question- "-and that it's my responsibility as dean of this school to turn you over to his care." Tara shrank against me, her grip on my hand tightening to painful levels. Her head shook frantically, trying to deny the awful truth. "I'm sorry, Tara, but he seems to be in the right. All his identity checks pan out, and he's actually on his-"
The door swung open. A large man, one I recognized from the night before, stood framed in the doorway. Behind him, Ms. Jenkins was returning to her desk, tucking what looked to be a sheaf of bills into her pocket. I closed my eyes briefly, taking a second to fume about the lack of security in the school. As I returned my attention to the man I knew to be Tara's father, his gaze alighted upon Tara herself. A light of triumph burned briefly, quickly suppressed and unseen by all but me. Tara cowered even farther into me, now actually completely behind me. I squeezed her hand reassuringly, keeping my focus on the man in front of me.
He took a step forward, towards Tara and I. We both retreated, afraid of this man, but for different reasons. I knew why Tara feared him, but I didn't fear him for any physical reason. It was simply that his aim was to take her away from me, and that frightened me more than anything he could do to my body.
When he took a second step, the trance that had seemed to fall over the office snapped. Tara and I kept backing away, while Dr. Calendar came out from behind her desk, moving so that she was between him and us. "Excuse me, but do you have a reason to be here?" I couldn't see her face, but I could imagine the glare she'd be giving him right about now.
Unfortunately, it didn’t seem to have the effect on him as it did on her hapless students. "As a matter of fact I do, lady. That there's my daughter, and she belongs at home with me and mine, not here in this… place." He smirked as he said this, and stepped forward yet again, this time reaching for Tara. Dr. Calendar wasn’t done, though. Not by a long shot.
"Do you possess any identification that can verify this allegation?" She seemed to realize that this wouldn't be understood, so she clarified. "Do you have any ID? That can prove you're actually her father?"
His eyes widened, then narrowed.
Guess he didn't think of that. Growling, he advanced on her. "Look, lady, this is none of your business. That's my kid, and I don't need no damn papers to prove that!" Brushing her aside, he came straight for Tara, gripping her upper arm and yanking her to him. "Tell her the truth, girl. Tell her what you did!" He glared at her downturned head. "Not gonna say anything? All right, I will." He spoke to us now. "She attacked me and her older brother, then took off on us. We been tracking her for days, and now with Ms. Palazetti's help we found her." He reluctantly gestured to the said woman, who had been quietly observing from a corner the entire time.
I raised my eyebrows, marveling at the sheer idiocy of the man who stood before me.
That entire story can be disproved with a few simple questions. I opened my mouth, but before I could ask anything, Dr. Calendar overrode me. "You expect me to believe that this girl-" She gestured to Tara, hanging limp and acquiescent in her father's grasp. "-assaulted both you and your son, who I'm assuming is not without considerable physical prowess, and was able to incapacitate you both adequately enough to flee?" His mouth opened, then shut, and I could almost see his brain trying to muddle out what she'd said. She sighed. "You've
got to be kidding me."
He understood that, all right. He seemed to be getting angry at her not believing his story, but he couldn't protest because then he'd be belittling his own masculinity. I smirked. "Can I ask two questions?" Not waiting for an answer, I continued. "First, do you or your son have any actual wounds? And second, how do you explain the wounds on Tara herself?" I heard a sharp intake of breath from behind me, and Tara abruptly pulled her hand from mine. I turned to look back at her and winced at the anger I saw in her eyes. "Sorry, Tara, but he needs to be put away, and I'm willing to endure your anger if I know you're safe." She didn't say anything, and the anger I saw didn't dissipate.
Sorry, love, but whatever it takes.Tara's anger was matched by Mr. Maclay's. Shaking the girl he held in his grasp, he roared, "Girl, what you been tellin' people? What- what
lies and
slander have you been spreadin'?" She didn't answer.
Stepping forward, I answered him calmly, working extremely hard to keep my nerves out of my voice. "She didn’t have to say anything, Mr. Maclay. I saw with my own eyes."
"Yeah? And what is it you think you saw?" He did his best to intimidate me, looming and growling and glaring quite impressively. I was intimidated, too. I suppressed it, though, seeing how cruelly he held Tara.
I stepped forward, getting almost but not quite in his personal space. "The results of exactly what I'm seeing now. Get your filthy hands
OFF of her!" What had started as a controlled tone had morphed into a snarl, and I'm pretty sure I looked a little bit feral. Whatever he saw in my face had him take a half step back, and I swear he almost obeyed me and released Tara. Sadly, though, he regained control of himself and stopped.
Staring at me, and only at me, he tightened his grip on Tara until I could see her biting her lip so she didn't cry out. My fists clenched, and I moved to take a step, before a new voice shocked me. "Mr. Maclay, please release the girl." We all turned to the source.
Ms Palazetti wasn't in the corner anymore. Everyone in the room had forgotten she was there, and she'd moved forward until she was in the central spot of the room. What was startling was that that spot was right behind Tara's father. What was astonishing was that she was addressing him with a complete lack of fear. And what was completely mind-blowing was the gun she had aimed at the back of his head.
Mr. Maclay had enough sense to release Tara, and she instantly scurried back behind me. He turned slowly, hands in the air, and looked at Ms. Palazetti. "Turn around, Mr. Maclay." He just looked at her, murder in his eyes. "Don't even think about it. Turn around!" He did so slowly, and in record time she'd holstered her gun and handcuffed him. "Let me introduce myself again. My name is Jennifer Palazetti, and I'm with the Special Crimes Squad of the SFPD. You, Donald Maclay, are under arrest."
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After reading Mr. Maclay his rights and placing him in the care of two uniformed officers who had responded to Ms. Palazetti's call, she came back in the room. "You guys probably want some answers." Off our nods, she explained. "We knew about your… crappy home life for a while, Tara. We being the police. Unfortunately, we could never get enough evidence to arrest him without him being alerted and running. I've been undercover on your case ever since you ran away, Tara. I pretended to be a PI, specializing in tracking down runaways. You'd be surprised what a man admits to a pretty lady, especially one he think is on his side. He hired me, and after and extremely large amounts of dead ends and wild goose chases, I'd compiled enough evidence that all I needed was to find you. The doctor's reports should be the nail in his coffin, and you won't even have to stand trial." I tried to interject with a question, but she anticipated me. "My colleagues weren't just sitting on their asses eating donuts while I was working. They collected evidence, interviewed neighbors, and just got as much dirt on the family as possible. You're free, Tara. We got him."
Tara seemed almost dazed. I couldn't blame her, really. This was a lot to dump in her lap all at once. "F-free?"
Ms. Palazetti smiled. "Yeah, honey. You don't have to worry about being hurt anymore. Oh, and we got Donny too."
Tara turned to me. "Will-"
"I know." I cut her off before she could speak. I'd seen the anger and hurt in her eyes as I told her most guarded secret, and I didn't want to hear what was coming spoken out loud. Before I could go on, though, she interrupted me.
"No, you don't. You might have spilled a couple of secrets I'd rather weren't common knowledge, but that doesn't negate the fact that you were willing to do whatever it took to save me. You're still my knight in shining leather, and I will always love you."
I looked up at her, and the sincerity and love shining out of her eyes would have been enough to convince me, even without the gentle kiss that followed. I sighed, loving the feeling of peace that radiated off of her. I hugged her, and realized that for the first time since I'd met her, Tara was completely relaxed in my arms. Kissing the top of her head, I vowed, "You will never be hurt again."
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I can't say I kept that vow. Couples fight, it happens, and someone gets hurt. But what I can say is that it's never been on purpose, and I've always done my utmost to comfort her afterwards. I was blessed that day on the bus, when a shy, stuttering blonde chose to sit next to a wounded redhead. It was the beginning of love.
~fin~
by Morrigan » Tue Dec 15, 2009 4:30 pm 
I really liked it, though I got a little worried when Tara started to talk to Willow... But, anyway, it was absolutely fantastic!
but tara's family 
the story is amazing so far!
