to ellie: good luck on yer finals, sweetie!
And CK you are a tease.
hugs and kisses, kittens.
note- i lifted a line from shakespear and from BTVS the movie... i probably lifted from the show too but who really cares?
************
The little girl quietly peeked into her mother’s office and watched her typing away… as usual. Willow was always working on a computer, either with the two different operating systems or her treasured laptop. She was constantly working, anywhere and everywhere. But Tara had drawn the line ages ago and Kerith liked the “no computer” zone the rest of the house had. Willow was allowed to speak of the computer, work with the computer and even play with the computer during her official business hours only. Family time and mommy time occupied the remainder of the day.
Kerith understood her mom’s obsession with the machine though, probably due to the fact she was as much a wiz at them as Willow. Already Kerith had co-written a program with her mother and she was in the process of creating another one by herself. Not that she’d told her yet. No, it was a secret for now, only Tara knew about it so far.
Computers were second nature to Kerith. She’d grown up around them. Literally. Ever since she was a baby. Willow would roll her crib into the office when she worked and the clitter clatter of fingers touching pads on the keyboard had been her lullaby while growing up.
She listened to the familiar sounds for a moment, “Mom?”
“Yeah, honey?” Willow swiveled around to her daughter and smiled. “Hi.”
“A-are you busy?” she asked a bit tentative. She hated interrupting her computer time.
The redhead shook her head. “Never too busy for you, my baby. What’s up?”
“I, um… I wanted you to come to the treehouse with me.”
“The treehouse?” Willow couldn’t believe it. “It’s been years since you’ve let me or Tara go up there with you. I thought only you and Jesse were allowed in there. Secret handshake and all.” She winked.
For her sixth birthday Xander had built a small treehouse on the old oak tree in their backyard. Now she and Xander’s almost five year old son, Jesse, played in it all the time since they were neighbors and all. But no adults were allowed in the treehouse. Ever.
Kerith simply did a little roll of her eyes, exactly like Tara’s, and smirked. “Just come with me, mom.”
*********
Climbing the ladder after Kerith, Willow reached the opening of the treehouse and scanned the hut once inside. “I see you’ve redecorated a bit. What is that?”
Kerith looked over to what she was referring to. “A box.” She finished setting the ladder aside.
“Yes, I see that.” It was overflowing with toys and books and pillows. “What’s it for?”
“Mom, my birthday is next week.” Kerith mentioned without explaining about the box.
“I know.” Willow said as she looked out one of the windows into the backyard. She smiled once she saw Tara’s vegetable garden was flourishing quite well. Of course it was. With Tara’s love and care everything grew. “Ooh, we need to trim those hedges soon.” she voiced once she noticed how outgrown they had become.
Kerith sighed, Willow wasn’t listening to her. “I’m turning ten, mom. Ten!”
Willow quickly turned around giving the little girl her full attention. Kerith hardly ever raised her voice, just like Tara. “Yes? And?”
Her greenish-blue eyes stared at Willow as she plopped herself down on the brown beanbag near one of the four corners. “Double digits.” She said in her ‘duh” tone. Her mom could be so silly sometimes.
But Willow was at a loss. For real. “I don’t quite get what you’re trying to say here, sweetie.” She joined her daughter on the beanbag and wrapped her arm over the girl’s shoulder.
Kerith quickly began to explain, “Right now I’m nine. Next Thursday I’ll be ten. That’s going from a single digit to a double digit.”
Willow nodded. “Ok, but I still don’t understand what you mean.”
Tara’s ‘are you crazy’ look spread over Kerith’s features. “How can you not?! You were nine once, right?”
“Yes.” The redhead chuckled.
“And when you turned ten you didn’t feel some sort of… I don’t know… loss? I’m going to be a double digit for the rest of my life. And I’ll never be a single digit again. Ever.”
This was all so… deep Willow didn’t know what to say. She could see the various emotions running through her daughter’s face and it pained her. “Well, I know a couple people who are triple dig- actually forget I ever said that.”
“Mom! I’m not talking about vampires or former demons. Besides, Anya is a quadruple anyway. I’m talking about me here.” She said as she snuggled further into her mom’s embrace.
“Sweetheart, turning ten is just another part of life.” She began as she ran her fingers through her daughters’ long strawberry blonde hair. “You’ll turn ten next week and become a double digit. Then you’ll turn thirteen and become a teenager. At 18 you’ll be able to vote. Then you’ll be twenty and stuck in limbo cause you’re not an adult and not really a teenager either which kinda sucks now that I think about it. Oh! Then you’ll turn-“
Kerith was glad she’d never inherited her mother’s babble, all the other qualities she didn’t mind. “I get it.”
Willow chuckled at her daughters ‘oh so subtle’ way of telling her to stop babbling. “All these milestones are part of growing up. It’s just something we have to do.”
Kerith didn’t reply right away. “13, huh.”
“Yes, in three years. No need to worry about that now.”
She reached for her mom’s free hand and held her palm up to hers, pressing them together. They were pretty much identical. Same width and length. Even the fingers. Either she had really big hands or Willow had small ones. “Will I have a bat mitzvah?”
Willow looked over to her, “A Bat Mitzvah? I don’t know, honey. I had one because, you know, I was raised Jewish but you… It’s really up to you I guess.”
“I think I want one. But I want it integrated with Wicca.”
“Uh, I don’t know if there is such a thing.”
“Could you and mom work on it?”
“Of course. If that’s what you want.”
“I think so.” Kerith squeezed her mom tight. “Thanks.”
Willow couldn’t help but smile. “Baby?” she asked after a few seconds of comfortable silence.
“Yeah?” Kerith looked up to her mom.
“Please don’t take this the wrong way but… about your birthday - you need to chill out.” Her tone was full of love and Kerith she got that.
“What do you mean?”
Willow half smiled. “You definitely have me moments and, having been there and done that, the quicker you learn to take it all in stride the less likely you’ll be to get an ulcer. And ulcers are so not fun. At all. Make your stomach all acid-y.” Willow frowned at the thought.
Kerith nodded, she totally understood what Willow meant. “I can’t help it though. I have all these questions and…” she softly sighed before finishing, “I just want to understand everything.”
“And by living and growing you will. I mean, you wont ever understand everything cause that’s, like, impossible. However, you’ll never stop learning. That’s what life is about. There are some questions your mind doesn’t even know it’s asking. But you’ll know and understand once you come across the answer. Life is like that. Always throwing you curve balls and you just need to accept it and let things develop naturally. Did that make any sense?”
Kerith chuckled at her mother’s question. “You’re asking me? I’m only nine.”
“Care Bear!” Willow suddenly attacked her daughter with tickles. Just like Tara Kerith was extremely ticklish. In the same spots even and Willow always used that knowledge to her advantage during her attack times.
“Miss…” Kerith couldn’t get the words out quick enough. She was laughing and squealing too hard to take a deep breath long enough to say the words. “Kitty Fan… Mom!” She laughed so hard.
Willow stopped and looked at her daughter glowing with mirth. “Um, maybe we should get a different safety word. Miss Kitty Fantastico can be quite a mouthful when you’re all a laughing.”
“Kerith?!” Tara’s concerned voice rang throughout the backyard. “Kerith, where are you?”
“I’m up here, mom. In the tree.” She screamed out.
Willow scowled at the nearness of Kerith’s yell to her ear. “Hello, sitting right here. Right exactly here.” she whispered.
“I thought I heard you scream. Are you all right?” The blonde asked as she neared the treehouse.
Willow quickly got up and went to the window. She looked down at Tara and smiled, “But, soft, what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Tara is the sun.”
Tara giggled at Willow’s playfulness, “Will, what are you doing up there?”
“Misquoting Shakespeare. You think he’ll mind?”
Tara laughed as she looked up at her with one of her hands covering the sun from her face. “No, I don’t think he even wrote the play.”
Kerith peeked through Willow’s side and waved, “Hi mom.”
“Hi sweetie.” Tara voiced from below.
“You want to come up?” Willow asked her love before she realized it and quickly turned to her daughter for permission, “Can she come up?”
Kerith simply giggled. “Does the word ‘Duh’ mean anything to you?” she finally responded as she lowered the ladder so her other mommy could join in on the fun.
*********************
TBC....
Edited by: Rane018 at: 5/30/02 3:09:14 pm
. only joking. this is a great fic and ellie needs more he he he. good luck with all the work and stuff. ive got my exams coming up no so ill probably be to busy to read fic. oh but hang on i think that u can out my exams on hold for good fic lol. eventhough ill probably get killed.
i want to have the whole section of Kerith written before i post. As for Flutie I want to finish the whole part two before i start posting. i'm very sure that wont happen. hehe... 
Willow is so darn cute with Kerith. 