Chapter Eighty-five
“Oh…my…goddess! It has been like…FOREVER since I had a mocha…oh...” Willow said excitedly, taking another sip of the hot chocolatey concoction. “…oh…this is sooooooooo good!”
“And I’M the mocha addict!” Buffy said, sipping her own mocha.
“So, Tare…what do you think of your first mocha?” Faith asked. “Better than your first car ride, I’ll bet!”
“Hey!” Buffy yelled in protest.
“It’s…really sweet…but g-good…the drink, I mean.” Tara said, slowly sipping from the cup. “How much can I h-have?”
“We got you a small one, baby…so you can drink the whole thing if you want to…it might make you feel a bit jittery, though…fair warning…of course, so can Buffy’s driving…” Willow answered, slurping down another gulp of her contrasting tall cup.
“HEY! RIGHT HERE!” Buffy yelled, once again.
“Eyes on the road, B. Baby on board.” Faith said, laughing as she ran her hand along the blonde slayer’s thigh, trying to soothe her feelings a bit.
“You okay, baby?” Willow asked, seeing that Tara was looking a bit pale.
“I’m alright…j-just hungry, I think…” Tara answered, snuggling as close to Willow as her seatbelt would allow.
“This is it…we’re just turning onto the drive…be there in a sec.” Buffy said, switching her blinker on as she made the turn.
The driveway was covered in cobblestone and twisted through the most beautiful woods. The trees formed a thick green canopy above.
“There’s something about this…it looks so…familiar.” Willow said, somewhat confused.
“It should…” Tara said, smiling as she recognized their surroundings.
“What do you mean?” Buffy asked.
“This is our w-woods…” Tara said, squeezing Willow’s hand, remembering the time that they had spent here only days before…or was it years?
Just then, the drive opened into a clearing with the most beautiful emerald-colored lawn. The original stone house that Willow and Tara had shared was still standing, but clearly, additions had been made as their family grew through the years.
“It’s our house!” Willow said, excitedly.
“Whoa! What the heck are you guys talking about? This is Maggie’s place!” Buffy said, not understanding.
“Buffy…this is our woods…our land…our house…” Willow explained, still reeling a bit from the realization herself.
“Must have passed it down through the generations…that’s so cool!” Faith reasoned.
Buffy pulled the SUV in next to Giles’ car and hopped out, quickly heading for the door. “They better not have eaten everything! I’m starved!”
Faith wasn’t far behind her. Willow helped Tara out of the SUV and the two stood in awe.
“It’s still here…a little different…but still the same…still our house…” Tara said, the tears welling up in her eyes.
Willow wrapped her arm gently around her wife’s waist, leaning in…just as her lips were about to touch Tara’s, Maggie appeared at the doorway.
“I hate to do this to you two…but if you don’t get in here soon, I don’t think there’ll be a thing left to eat but the plates!” Maggie said, smiling.
Willow gently led Tara to the door.
“Welcome home.” Maggie said, stepping aside for the young lovers.
The smell of cinnamon and vanilla wafted through the house, and laughter could be heard coming from the kitchen as the trio headed down the hallway.
“Smells wonderful!” Willow said, breathing in the delicious smells.
“Old family recipe.” Maggie said with a wink and a smile.
Logan stood at the stove, flipping pancakes on a large griddle. The rest of the gang was seated at the kitchen table, eagerly partaking of the fluffy pancakes and maple syrup and other goodies spread out amongst them.
“Pass the syrup and the bacon, please.” Buffy said, piling a stack of pancakes six-high on her plate before passing the platter to Faith, who also loaded up. “Oh…and the sausage…and one of those sticky bun things…”
“Geesh, Buff…you sure Tara’s the only pregnant one here?” Xander asked, taking another bite of sausage.
“Whaffft?” Buffy asked, incredulously – her mouth full of fluffy goodness.
“Nice of you all to join us!” Giles said, implying that they were a bit late.
“Sorry about that…my bad…” Willow said, pulling out a chair for Tara.
“Actually…it was our bad.” Tara corrected, somewhat saucily…much to the surprise of the rest of the group at the table.
“Yeah…but it was reaalllllly good…” Willow said to Tara, grinning as she wiggled her eyebrows up and down.
“You were having morning sex?” Anya said, sounding a bit annoyed. “Xander! Why didn’t we have morning sex this morning?”
“Yeah, Xan-man…why didn’t you have morning sex this morning?” Faith chimed in, stirring the pot a bit.
“Allllllrighty then…” Xander said, shifting in his seat uncomfortably. “How about these great pancakes…are they not the best pancakes you’ve ever had? And these funny shapes? How cool is that?”
“Like Gran said, old family recipe…” Logan said, laughing at the scene.
“Good lord! I think we can all say without a doubt that this breakfast was phenomenal…however, we do have more pressing things to attend to than morning shagging or lack thereof!” Giles said, attempting to take charge of the situation.
“Mr. Giles is right, kids…we’ve got a heck of a fight in front of us…we’d best get started.” Maggie said, seriously.
The rest of the gang settled down, realizing all too quickly that the adventure was just about to begin…
To Be Continued...
_________________ "Visions" by C.L. Zastrow Available Now at http://www.zastrowvisions.com and http://www.amazon.com
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