Hi everyone. Yes, I am still writing Turned but a little writer’s blocked on it right now (edited to say Turned has been completed and can be found in the completed fic archive). But this idea has been rolling around in my head for a little while. Here’s what I noticed: I really like to read the AU stuff (see Nath’s All You Wanted or More than a Feeling or Holly’s Never a Night Like This). So I started to think that maybe I’d like to write one too.



Along those lines we have: Season 3 Y’all



Title– W/T Season 3 Y’all – part 1



Author– JustSkipit - Debra



Feedback – Yes please.



Spoilers–Season 3 through Anne.



Rating– Part 1 – PG



Disclaimer – Willow and Tara and any other character that appeared in the syndicated television show “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” is property of Joss and Mutant Enemy, I’m only borrowing them and am not making any money off them Thanks.



Summary You remember how Willow was in a coma and came out of it in Becoming? And how Buffy was accused of killing Kendra? Well, Willow’s parents actually took some notice of those events. That and the fact that when they got to the hospital, she had a boyfriend they had never met: a musician! So they did what any caring loving parents would do. That’s right: stay home more and pay more attention to their daughter right? Wrong! They sent her to boarding school out in the beautiful Hill County of Texas.



And you will never guess who comes to pick her up at the train. Ok, maybe you will. A certain horse-riding blonde with her own reasons to get away from home.



Consistency etc. How AU is it? There are Vampires, Buffy is the slayer. She is currently in LA and no one knows where she is. Everything through Becoming happened. Everything in season 3 will happen but without Willow. Tara is the Tara we know but without the abusive father/brother and she doesn’t think she’s a demon although she and Willow are both witches.



Thanks and notes to Joss Whedon. I don’t always like what happens, but your genius is amazing to watch. Thanks for giving us Willow and Tara.



Thoughts are in italics





She instinctively grabbed for a stake as she awoke to the sound of the conductor announcing the Amarillo stop. Looking around, it took a moment to get her bearings in the near dark of the train car. Her laptop lay open on the table top in front of her. By the lack of even the quiet hum sound, she knew that it wasn’t just sleeping; but that the battery was completely dead. “Great,” she thought, “now won’t get any more work done on that analysis and I’ll be even more useless.” Without the computer, she didn’t even know what time it was since her watch didn’t have a light on it. “I guess I feel asleep with the rocking motion of the train,” she concluded. Packing the laptop in its case, she noted that everyone else in the car was asleep and decided to stop at the restroom before seeing if there was any coffee available in the lounge car. Even without her computer, she felt like she could work on her mapping project.



On her way from the restroom to the lounge, she asked a conductor the time (1:30) and how far it was to her stop. Shocked that she still had so far to go, he informed her somewhat snootily that “Texas is a big state and it takes a while to get across the whole thing.” Laughing, Clarence continued, “and you ain’t even goin all the way across.”



Grumpy, tired, and mad about this whole trip, she moved away from the man toward the lounge. After two days on this train, at least she had an appreciation for the coffee. She decided to work in the lounge for a while so that she could continue getting fill-ups. After all, she didn’t need to sleep now; she could save that for once she got where she was going. Surely, there wouldn’t be anything worth staying awake for in Texas anyway.



The map of Sunnydale showed a large number of cemeteries and churches and not much in the way of a booming commercial district. It was virtually covered with red, blue, and green markings with some areas showing higher concentrations of the marks. Before falling asleep and running down the battery on her laptop, Willow had been working on an algorithm to predict the distribution of attacks in Sunnydale. Struck by a wave of resentment and bitterness again, she thought, “At least if I can’t be there to help, I can help the Scoobies. Well, not all the Scoobies: Xander, Cordelia, Giles, and Oz.” The bitterness turned to sadness as she wondered where Buffy might be and when she might see her again. Not that it was easy leaving home at all. The loneliness and sadness at leaving Xander and Oz was truly more than she felt she could handle, although never seeing Cordelia again might be just fine. The last brought a slight smile to the redhead’s face. Savoring the coffee, she settled down to the map, attempting to make some progress on her project.



As she heard the conductor calling out her stop, Willow briefly wondered how far she could make it before anyone noticed that she hadn’t gotten off. Would she be in North Carolina or New Orleans or Florida before the calls started? Amused at the thought of Sheila Rosenberg freaking out, she decided to go ahead and disembark. After all, at least the state wasn’t as ugly as she feared from her first view. The first view she had of the state was a barren wasteland of red sand, swirling dust, and dying trees. This area; however, was much more lush with rolling green hills and beautiful trees.



Stepping down from the train, she was overwhelmed by the heat rising from the small platform. She had never felt anything like it before and feared melting in this weather if this was an average August day. She was again thankful that her mother had shipped most of her belongings ahead, leaving her carrying only a small carry-on bag and her computer. While she stood on the platform, absorbing the scenery and the heat, the few other departing passengers left in the few cars in the parking lot. After a few minutes, she sat on the bench by the ticket office.



Sitting on the bench she saw a truck approaching, stirring up dust as it came. The driver seemed to drive pretty fast but then she wasn’t really all that used to seeing anyone driving. At home, the Scoobies pretty much ran or walked most places. If they rode it was either in Cordelia’s car which she was too attached to to drive quickly, Giles’ car which couldn’t drive quickly, or Oz’s van and he never hurried about anything. As the trucked pulled into the small lot, she noted the emblem on the driver’s side door: “Brennams.” “Yep, that’s me,” she thought, “here we go.”



A young blonde woman stepped from the truck. Willow was struck by two thoughts simultaneously as she saw the driver. First, “wow, she looks really young to work at the school.” Second, “Goddess, she must be hot.” The woman was slightly taller than Willow with longish blonde hair. She was wearing jeans, boots, and a long-sleeve shirt.



Walking directly up to the redhead, the blonde spoke first: “So y’all ready?”



Willow had to stifle a giggle as she glanced around: “Um. Well, I’m ready, but no one else got off the train here. Are we waiting on someone else?”



“What?” the blonde responded puzzled, picking up Willow’s carry-on bag and beginning to move quickly to the truck.



Willow followed close behind, “Hey, I thought we needed to wait on someone else?”



Tossing the bag in the bed of the truck, the blonde turned back to Willow, “Why would we be waiting on someone else? You’re the only new student from California. Plus which you’re like a week early.” Goddess, who is this they sent out here? she thought to herself. She motioned to Willow to climb up in the driver’s seat and scoot across to the passenger side before climbing in herself.



“But, but, but you said,” Willow stammered.



“I said what?”



“You said we were waiting on someone else.”



Having just barely pulled from the parking space, the blonde pulled back in, putting the truck in drive before turning to her passenger: “Ok. I’m totally lost. I said that we were waiting on someone else. When did I say that?”



“Well, um, when you walked up, you said uh, ‘y’all ready?’” The words sounded very weird coming from Willow’s mouth and she intentionally mumbled them.



“I said? I said?” the blonde got no farther in her answer before she began laughing. Once she started, she laughed and laughed. Within moments, she was laughing so hard that she had to hold her stomach as tears streamed down her face. Every few seconds she attempted to speak again, “I said…” After 10 or 20 seconds of this Willow began laughing too although she still didn’t know what was so damn funny to the blonde. Or for that matter who the blonde was. As the two girls were recovering from their laughter, the blonde attempted to speak, gasping, “say it again,” before collapsing in laughter again. This happened 2 or 3 times before she managed to speak without collapsing, “say it again,” she told Willow.



“Say what? Y’all?” Willow asked perplexed before both succumbed to the laughter again.



Finally the blonde held up her hand. “Wait, don’t say anything.” Taking a deep breath, she explained, “Ok, you thought we were waiting on someone else because I said ‘y’all’ right?” As Willow nodded she explained, “Ok, how do I explain. Y’all isn’t always plural. Sometimes it’s plural and sometimes it’s singular. Sometimes if you want to make sure everyone knows you mean it plural, you say ‘y’all all.’ That’s always plural. But if someone says, ‘do y’all want to go?’ they might mean you and everyone you’re sitting with or just you.”



“But that’s not right.” Willow said firmly. “The word can’t be plural or singular. It’s one or the other. I mean, you can’t decline it like that. And that other phrase the one that is always plural, which I’m definitely not going to say, that doesn’t even make any sense. I mean it’s redundant; the first word is a contraction and half of it is the same as the second word.” She sputtered in indignation at the stupidity of this word, this woman. In her mind, it didn’t bode well for the school to which her parents had decided to banish her for her last year of high school.



The blonde smiled a particularly lop-sided smile as she appeared to assess Willow for a moment. “Well, ‘you’ is both plural and singular but let’s not quibble. Sorry that I wasn’t clear. I’ll try to remember you’re not fluent in Texan.” Extending her hand she continued, “Plus which I’m not that good a representative of our state. I’m Tara Maclay. Welcome.”



Willow reached for the outstretched hand, “Willow Rosenberg. Nice to meet you Ms Maclay,” she said as she grasped Tara’s hand. As their fingers touched, Willow received a shock and momentarily pulled back but the scientist in her quickly realized that the dry air contributed to the increase of static electricity. As she moved her hand forward again, she touched the index finger of her other hand to the metal on the truck door to ground herself and this time, felt no similar shock. Holding the contact for a moment, she was amazed at how strong and tough the woman’s hand felt. However, she was not able to hold it for long as Tara again began the laughter which had been so infectious before.



Willow quickly held up her hand, raising it in the air as if she were a crossing guard stopping traffic: “Hey, before you get started again, what’s so funny now?”



Tara quickly recovered her composure: “Ms Maclay,” she giggled.



“Ok. Ms Maclay what’s so funny about that? I have manners, so what?” Willow was finding this entire encounter quite perplexing and wondered if it was a preview of the next year.



“Let’s drive,” Tara said pulling into the road, “it’s about an hour to the school so we can get started and talk on the way if you want.”



“Sure.” Willow answered. Striving for some conversation she asked, “so how long have you been working at the school?”



Tara looked across the truck at the redhead, a smile on her face, “I get it: ‘Ms Maclay.’” “I don’t work at the school. Well, I guess I kind of do. I’m a scholarship student. I work 10 hours a week in the administrative office and running errands and stuff like that to defray the cost of my scholarship.”



As she talked, Tara leaned her elbow out the window. Willow watched her as she drove, noting how she looked totally at home behind the wheel of this vehicle. “Actually when we get to the school, I’m supposed to show you around and stuff like that. You’re going to get me most of my hours to for this week,” she smiled as she talked.



Despite her reluctance to accept anything about her situation, Willow found it hard not to warm to drive and tour guide. “So how long have you gone to school here?” she asked.



“I’ll be a senior this year. I started as a Freshman but I had to leave for a while last year. I was here for the last month making up some classes so I can still graduate this spring,” she explained.



“Oh, why were you away?” Willow asked.



“I-I-I had some family stuff,” Tara answered quietly, “how about you? Why are you here for just your senior year?”



Willow took a deep breath before answering, “You know I’m kind of tired. I didn’t sleep well on the train. Do you mind if I just rest while we drive?”



“Sure. Why don’t you get some sleep and I’ll wake you when we get there.”



---



As she drove, Tara glanced frequently at the girl in the seat next to her. She had fallen asleep quickly and seemingly deeply. She rested with her head on the seat, leaning toward the center of the bench seat. Her mouth was open but she was not drooling, a fact for which Tara was quite thankful. She felt like it’s one thing to watch a total stranger sleep but quite another to watch their disgusting body fluids. On the other hand, she found that she kind of liked watching this girl sleep. For one thing, she looked like an angel and somewhat smaller and more innocent than she did arguing about plural and singular declination.



Before coming out to pick up the new student, Tara had taken a look at her file. It was quite impressive in some areas and suspicious in others. Her academics and test scores were amazing. Tara considered herself pretty smart and certainly had to be to earn a scholarship at this prestigious boarding school, but this girl blew her scores out of the water. On the other hand, some things in the file didn’t add up. It indicated that she had been involved with a somewhat undesirable crowd: in trouble with the principal and school officials. Strangely a note in her file indicated that some people thought she might have been involved in some major damage committed in the local shopping mall with, of all things, a stolen rocket launcher. It seemed that whenever major destruction happened in Sunnydale, the redhead was in the middle of it. The capper was last year when she was put in a coma in some kind of altercation on school grounds--an altercation which resulted in the death of a young girl and the disappearance of another. Additionally, Tara strongly suspected that the girl’s “why I want to attend Brennams” essay was not written by her. It seemed unlikely that this girl was seeking a “wholesome” and “outdoorsy” experience in a “quality educational institution.” I mean, like any 17 year old is going to copy that corny shit off a brochure and put it in their required suck-up essay?



On one hand, the blonde instinctively liked the newcomer and certainly she hadn’t laughed like that in a long time. Not since… Well a long time. But on the other hand, she desperately needed a full college scholarship and couldn’t afford to be mixed up with a troublemaker. If this Willow was all the things her file indicated, she might not even just be dangerous to Tara’s college career but to her health and life.



---



For the second time that day, Willow woke in very unfamiliar surroundings. This time however, she did not reach for a stake. She heard someone softly singing and whistling. Whoever was singing had a very beautiful voice, something which Willow was painfully aware she did not possess. As she started to stir, the singing stopped suddenly. “No please don’t stop, it’s beautiful,” she pleaded, not yet opening her eyes. Tara finished her song just as she pulled the truck to a stop at the school. Reaching a hand out, she lightly tousled her passenger’s hair, “Ok, last stop Brennams.”



Shocked at the contact, Willow instinctively recoiled from the other girl’s extended hand. Tara pulled her hand back immediately looking at the floor of the truck and mumbling “sorry, I-I-I,” before trailing off into silence. Oh Goddess, she thought, why did I do that? Now she’s freaked and probably thinks I’m some kind of pervert or something. Oh Jeez Tara, get a grip, she wasn’t awake. Get over yourself.



Willow regretted her reaction immediately, especially when Tara looked so hurt and shy about it. But she didn’t mean to hurt the girl’s feelings. It’s just that when you’re used to demons and vampires and all that, it’s hard to take a surprise touch well.



Tara opened her door, addressing the redhead, “C-c-come on. I’ll show you your room. Some of your stuff came yesterday and I put it up there. I didn’t put anything away or anything but it’s in your room which is something. You probably want to r-r-rest for a while before dinner.”



Willow slid across the seat, under the steering wheel. Part of her wanted to make some amend for shying away from the young woman’s touch but another part was just so tired, she didn’t care. She followed Tara into a dorm building and up the stairs to a room on the second floor. Tara unlocked the door, before turning to hand Willow the key. Willow took the key without speaking but did not advance into the room, staring into the space.



Jokingly, Tara asked, “Hey, what’s wrong? Do you want me to carry you over the threshold?”



“What? What? Uh no. I mean. No. I mean. Hey, there’s only one bed in there. Where will my roommate sleep?”



“Your roommate? You don’t have a roommate. I mean, it’s a single. Your mother said you needed to study and needed peace and quiet.” As Tara saw the look that came over the smaller girl’s face at the mention of her mother, she continued, “Hey, it’s a good thing. I mean it’s a really nice room and you have lots of space and well, it costs more and…” “Ok, wow, open mouth insert foot much Tara?” The blonde again looked at the floor in total embarrassment.



Now it was Willow’s turn to feel bad as she saw the look of embarrassment and horror possess Tara’s face. She reached out to touch her lightly on the back of her hand: “Hey, don’t worry about it. What you said is true. It’s a nice room and costs more. No reason to pretend that’s not true.” Drawing back her hand, she entered the room, “Look, it’s been a long day for me and a long drive for you. I really do need to rest up and bathe. Can I see you later for that tour?”



Tara answered from the hallway, “Sure. Not many students are here right now and even if they were, there’s usually plenty of hot water around this time. Once people start to show up, you have a lot better chance at hot water if you take your shower at weird times.” As Willow nodded, she asked, “Do you need anything else?”



Willow turned from assessing the room, “No thanks Tara. I really appreciate it. I’ll catch you later ok?” Tara turned to move down the hallway as Willow watched her go. After closing the door and sitting on the bed to remove her shoes, she was deeply asleep in moments, sprawled on the bed fully dressed.



---



Willow woke in total darkness save for the scant light coming through her window. Looking around she immediately recognized her dorm room with some of her belongings in the corner. Moving to the light from the window, she looked at her watch: 12:30. She had obviously slept right through dinner. “Oh well,” she figured, “I can take a long shower and then sleep some more. I’ll eat in the morning. Too bad though, I was kind of hungry. And it would have been nice to see Tara again. Now that’s a funny thought. I mean, I just met her. Besides, to her I’m a job, most of her 10 hours for the week. Ok, whatever. Babble-obsess much Rosenberg? . Willow giggled to herself over her internal dialog as she looked through her bags quickly, finding a change of clothes, something to sleep in, and shower stuff.



As she stepped from her room, she almost tripped on the package outside her door. At her feet sat a medium-sized brown paper grocery sack, folded over with a note stapled to the outside of it. Written on the note in Green bold magic marker was her name. She placed the bag inside the door before proceeding to the bathroom down the hall.



Refreshed and changed for bed, she returned to the room to investigate the bag. Smiling she read the note:



”Willow, when you didn’t show for dinner by 7:30 (the cafeteria closes at 7:45) I figured you crashed. So I swiped some food for you. I didn’t know if you eat: meat, sugar, yeast, wheat, caffeine, or dairy, etc. so I just got an assortment.



I’ll be up early and eat breakfast around 7:30 if you want me to give you that tour after that. The cafeteria is in the building straight across the quad from the dorm. See you tomorrow.



Yours, Tara Maclay



Still smiling, Willow began to unload the bag finding a cheese sandwich, chips, apple, oatmeal raisin cookie, Orange soda, and bottle of apple juice. She didn’t realize how hungry she was until she started eating and found the food gone in minutes. Without a garbage can, she didn’t have anywhere to put the refuse so she set the bag by the door and got in bed. Although she was very tired, she couldn’t fall asleep. When she tried to sleep, she kept thinking of how nice it was for Tara to get her some dinner and what would she have done without. The second time that she got up to reread the note, she realized how stupid it was to keep getting up. She placed the note carefully under the bag to her laptop computer before returning to bed.

Edited by: JustSkipIt at: 8/1/03 7:05 am

Hey cool fic!! I think i'm going to enjoy it!!







Update soon~

Y'all...*Giggles*



~NICKOLE~

--------------

"All fear is the fear of loss. And only through that fear, can we truly love."

Edited by: SilverWingedNemesis at: 11/23/02 9:32:26 pm

I loved it! I was laughing so hard when Tara was explaining y'all. I live in Texas and I don't even get it sometimes. I can just imagine Tara with a Texan accent. What part of Texas is Willow in? If you already put that in the story, sorry. I must have missed it.

"I wish that I could hold you. I wish that I could hate you. I wish that I could hold you one more time." - I wish... - Drain Sth

Awww.



That was pretty freaking cool. I absloutley love your Tara. I did get abit ad though when Willow got to her dorm adn seh realized she had a single. (darn Shelia!! Though it could be an advantage later on )



I hope there's more soon.



-Will

"Hear that baby? You're my always."

Oh. My. God.



This fic is so amazingly cool. And it's so sweet. I love your Willow and Tara. beautifully written, then again, I've read your other stuff and those are beautifully writen as well.



Can't wait until the next update.



~Holly~



Show me where to touch youTara-It Ain't Fickle

Niiiice,



I like pretty AU's which are away from evil Sunnydale (and Willows parents, heh) and LA.. Texas should qualify



Will Willow have to dress in some uniform, preferably a cute one ? Heh...I smiled when Tara thought about Willow's file. Must be strange to read about small Willow (sleeping next to you) being involved with violence and rocket launchers



"Yours, Tara" was nice to read too



Grimmy

"You hurt Tara," Willow said too calmly. "The last one who tried that was a god. I made her regret it." -- Unexpected Consequences by Lisa of Nine

Very interesting start!

I'm looking forward for more!

snuggle79

__________________

"I got so lost"

"I found you, i will always find you"

Edited by: snuggle79 at: 11/24/02 8:39:18 am

ooH...This has the feel of being something good...Enough information for them to be exploring and a nice premise for starting a relationship...Hope to enjoy the updates as much as I did this part...



All the best...

vive,valeque.

I really like this fic i hope theirs an update soon

Okay, i've totally fallen in love with this fic. It's an excellent idea and you write Willow and Tara so well, everything you need for a brilliant w/t fic.... well, that and smoochies, snuggles, flirting and general cuteness.... we're gonna get that soon, right? Heehee, anyway, love what you've done with this fic so far, and can't wait for you to post the next part



~ Jen

I'd like to take a moment to talk about something that's happened lately. I'm also in love. It's a very special thing and I'm really rather proud of it. Yes, I'm in love with my own breasts. I feel no personal shame about this; in fact, I think this is the one. It's going to last. ~ Ruth

Oh, I love fics where Willow and Tara meet for the first time. Brilliant start, I'm really enjoying this. A Texan Tara, strange but funny... their discussion about "y'all" I've learnt to be patient so I shall wait patiently for update Willow being sent off to boarding school could have been bad... if Tara had been in Sunnydale. But she's not, she's here, and all the demons and vamps aren't, and... I'm babbling.

Edited by: Warduke at: 11/24/02 1:31:11 pm

Great start!

I´d like to read more about it.



*lil´c*



Unter den Blinden ist der Einäugige König.

Willow's flustered response to Tara's use of "y'all" was truly adorable and very true to character.



Just out of curiousity, why Texas?



Really enjoying this fic and looking forward to more.





Yana

Just know i'm gonna enjoy this fic! Looking forward to the next update already! I just love what y'all did with Tara in this fic!

Everyone's Gettin Spanked But Me...!

Oh my God! I love it!!! Just the first chapter and i'm already anxiously a-waiting the next part!!! I absolutly love the storyline your putting up here! And the ya'll part! Had a real good laugh at that one!

And never let it be said that I left a Tara craving unsatisfied. - Willow in Wilderness

A few comments. I may have an update up tonight. Otherwise definitely tomorrow. It's been a busy weekend of holiday shopping! Y'all enjoy. Debra





Silver – Thanks for the first post. I can always count on you. I think you’ll enjoy it too. I’m really enjoying writing it.



Ten – Hi. Thanks for the post. Yes, sometimes Y’all is confusing. Of course also confusing is our other language (Fixin and Best?-you know those?). I love it though. She is going to school in the Hill Country (Fredricksburg area). I’d say the Hill Country is West of Austin, Lake Travis, Marble Falls, Fredricksburg, Kerville, down to New Braunsfels, Maybe to North of San Antonio. Very beautiful.



I’m in Austin. How about you?



Willntlover – Glad you’re liking. I think Tara is going to be way cool. In fact, I’ve had to think up some foibles for her so she’s not too perfect. But we know the truth . Yes, doesn’t it seem just like Sheila to set up a single so Willow can study? And be alone.



Holly – Thanks a ton. Did you see my plug for Never a Night Like this to start? Glad you’re liking my take on the girls.



Grimy – Yes, Texas is definitely away from the evil. But… Never mind. No uniforms. They kind of creep me out. I mean at, well over 30, I don’t think I should be thinking anything about girls in school uniforms. Yeah, I figure “Yours Tara” fit there. More to come on rocket launchers.



Snuggle – Thanks. Yes a good start. I have plenty more written but am taking time with updates to edit/beta, etc.



Emily First – You new? Never seen your screen name before. But you have 54 posts so welcome to this thread! Yes, a good starting point.



Willow Rocks – Thanks. Update either tonight or tomorrow.



Jen – Glad you’re liking it so much. That’s why I write – for the readers . Well, ok and it gives me something interesting and fun to do while I am working. Yes to all of the above, at appropriate intervals, time, etc. Keep in mind, no one has mentioned any being gay yet and Willow still has an Oz shaped boyfriend in Sunnydale.



4EvaWill – Good babbling. Glad you like the start.



Littlecrazy80 – Thanks. Will be more soon to read.



Yana – why Texas? You must not be a Texan or you wouldn’t even ask. Texas is great (hey, we need a Texas emoticon!). Glad you liked the Y’all thing.



Wiccanwiggle – excellent use of Y’all! See people are already catching on. Now how about the sliding across the seat to the passenger seat or getting a Route 44 from Sonic in every town!



foreverpiper Thanks for reading and loving the Y'all part. Update soon.

Edited by: JustSkipIt at: 11/24/02 4:39:09 pm

justskipit Can you email me please? thanks xita@xita.org

-------------------------------

Buffy?

Let's change it, the Discovery channel has koala bears.

Title– W/T Season 3 Y’all – part 2



Author– JustSkipit - Debra



Feedback – Yes please.



Spoilers–Season 3 through Anne.



Rating– Part 2 – PG



Disclaimer – Willow and Tara and any other character that appeared in the syndicated television show “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” is property of Joss and Mutant Enemy, I’m only borrowing them and am not making any money off them Thanks.



Summary You remember how Willow was in a coma and came out of it in Becoming? And how Buffy was accused of killing Kendra? Well, Willow’s parents actually took some notice of those events. That and the fact that when they got to the hospital, she had a boyfriend they had never met: a musician! So they did what any caring loving parents would do. That’s right: stay home more and pay more attention to their daughter right? Wrong! They sent her to boarding school out in the beautiful Hill County of Texas.



And you will never guess who comes to pick her up at the train. Ok, maybe you will. A certain horse-riding blonde with her own reasons to get away from home.



Consistency etc. How AU is it? There are Vampires, Buffy is the slayer. She is currently in LA and no one knows where she is. Everything through Becoming happened. Everything in season 3 will happen but without Willow. Tara is the Tara we know but without the abusive father/brother and she doesn’t think she’s a demon although she and Willow are both witches.



Thanks and notes to Rachel. My love and soulmate. Without you I would never be able to write about true love because I wouldn’t know what it is. I love you.



Thoughts in italics!





As she crossed the quad to the cafeteria, Willow felt relieved that it wasn’t as hot as it seemed yesterday. Maybe she would survive this place after all. Of course, it wasn’t likely to be as hot at 7:15 as later in the day anyway, but maybe yesterday was an anomaly? Her confidence lifted immediately as she saw Tara sitting on the steps to the cafeteria building. As yesterday, she was wearing jeans, long sleeve shirt, and boots and Willow began to wonder if maybe she was an ice demon to be so impervious to the ridiculous heat. The blonde smiled and waved before standing to greet Willow, “Hey, come on, I’ll show you the caf and how it works and everything. Here’s your dining card.”



Willow took the card from her friend, “Thanks. And thanks for dinner last night. I was starving when I got up.”



“Good. I mean, not good, you were starving but good that it was good or … oh you know.” As the two girls made eye contact they realized that they were in danger of loosing themselves in giggles again and decided to serious up and get some breakfast.



After getting some breakfast and choosing a table, Willow asked, “so, you were up early?”



“Yeah, I had to do some work this morning. Better early than later.” Tara looked across at the redhead noting a strange look on her face, as if she kept smelling something she didn’t like.



Willow looked puzzled as she answered, “Uh ok, work. Uh that makes sense. I mean you work and everything and that makes sense. I mean. But hmmm, where is this office and what’s it like? I mean filing and stuff? I mean, ok, don’t take this wrong, but aren’t offices usually really clean or at least just dusty? I mean, not that you smell or anything like that or … Ok. I’ll tell you what? I’m going to climb under the table and hide and later I can give you a tour of the underside of tables ok?”



The laughter had started as Willow babbled and continued through her retreat. “You know you babble right?” Tara asked, “not that I don’t like it because I do like it. I mean it’s cute.” As soon as the words were out of the blonde’s mouth, she looked like she regretted them, looking down at the floor. “Sorry,” she whispered.



Throwing a grape at the blonde, Willow answered, “Hey, sorry why? Yes I babble.” She smiled at Tara as she raised her head, allowing the grape to hit her between the eyes.



As she popped the grape in her mouth, she asked, “So, you babble but can’t come out and say what you mean. Let me try. I smell huh?”



Willow recoiled, “What? I mean. I wouldn’t say that. I mean that’d be rude. I mean…” Noting that Tara was smiling, she confirmed, “Well, yes you don’t smell like you’ve been working in an office. Actually you smell like you spent the night in a barn.” As she finished she threw another grape at the blonde. Because she had been watching this time, Tara was able to catch the grape in her mouth, throwing her hands out to demonstrate that she wanted applause.



Finally Tara explained, “I didn’t spend the night in a barn. I spent the morning in a barn. The office is one job. That’s 10 hours a week. Then I work 10 hours a week in the stable so I’m allowed to keep my horse here.”



Willow stammered in confusion and terror: “Horse. Your horse. Stable. Horses. Uh ok. There are horses here? There’s a stable here?”



Again Tara’s laugh echoed through the nearly empty room, “Of course there’s horses here. Goddess, you think I dress like this for fun? I’d melt. Didn’t you even read the brochure?”



“Brochure? What brochure?” Willow was beginning to think that she sounded like a total idiot. And somehow, she didn’t really want to feel like an idiot in front Tara.



“I knew it,” Tara said smugly.



“Knew what? That’s I’m afraid of horses? Why does that make you so happy?” Willow asked.



“No, not that. That you didn’t write your entrance essay. Your parents must have written it. It’s really dorky,” she laughed.



“Entrance essay? There was an entrance essay? No I certainly didn’t write any essay. Must have been totally lame if my mother wrote it. Probably some crap about wholesomeness and normalcy and a high quality education right?”



Tara looked somewhat shocked, “Well, actually that’s exactly what it said. Hey, it was well written though.”



Willow looked angry as she spat out through her clenched teeth, “Well my mother is pretty literate so at least my essay doesn’t look like I’m an idiot, just a lamo. Can I see it?”



“Uh, I. I mean, well, no one’s supposed to see it. Actually I shouldn’t have seen it. Uh. B-b-but I mean, maybe you just want to review what you wrote? And I could kind of unofficially borrow it when I’m showing you around and showing you where the copiers are and like that?”



Willow smiled a conspiratorial smile: “Sure that’d be fine. So when does this tour start?”



“An hour ago, when I gave you your card and showed you the cafeteria. Seriously though, how about if I go and grab a shower since you so eloquently pointed out that I smell and we can start after that?” Tara asked as they exited the cafeteria. Before Willow could object that she didn’t mean to insult Tara, the blonde flashed a smile that left no doubt that she wasn’t offended. Tara left Willow at her room, indicating that she would be back in 30 minutes.



Willow made some progress putting away her clothes and books while she waited for Tara to return. When the blonde knocked on her door a little while later, she quickly opened the door, inviting the woman to enter. The other girl still wore jeans and boots but a short sleeve shirt had replaced the long sleeve one, which at least gave her the impression that the woman wasn’t totally insane. She smiled at the thought, actually those boots are nice; they show off her ass. What the hell? Where did that thought come from? What does she think? Oh Goddess. Why am I noticing her ass? What does she think? Hey wait, she can’t hear me thinking. She doesn’t know I was thinking about her ass. Oh Goddess, stop thinking about her cute ass. Ok, brick walls. Baseball. Slime demons.



“Willow. Earth to Willow. Hey, anyone home?” Tara passed her hand in front of the redhead’s eyes.



“What? Huh? Uh Yeah. Thinking about. Uh nothing. Thinking about nothing.” Willow stammered as she blushed bright red.



“Yeah, I can tell you weren’t thinking. Is this who you weren’t thinking about?” Tara asked picking up a framed picture of Oz and Willow sitting on the ground in the park and holding it up for the redhead to see.



Willow breathed out in relief as the color began to leave her face: “Right, definitely not who I wasn’t thinking about. That’s my boyfriend Oz. And that’s my best friends Buffy and Xander and Xander’s girlfriend Cordelia.”



Unable to think of anything to say, Tara stuck with an old standard, “He’s cute. They all look nice.”



Willow nodded as tears pooled in her eyes. Tara placed her hand on the smaller girl’s arm, “Hey I’m sorry to make you cry. Do you want to talk about it?” She was shocked as the redhead broke down completely crying and sobbing as she hugged the blonde in a tight embrace. After a few minutes she pulled back, reaching for a tissue, “Thanks.”



“No problem. Do you want to talk about it?” Tara asked kindly, not wanting to pressure but finding herself particularly sympathetic to her new friend’s pain.



“It’s just. It’s just. Well, I miss them so much and I can’t believe I’m here instead of there with them. And they need me. I mean really. But I’m here which is totally useless and they’re there. Ok, not all of them. Because Buffy’s not there but they need me, especially with Buffy not there. And I hate it here. I mean. Ok, no offense intended; I mean you’ve been really nice and it’s a nice room and everything but I don’t want to be here…” she trailed off as she began actively crying again.



Tara gently guided the smaller woman to the bed where they could both sit as she held her. As Willow calmed again, she asked, “Where’s Buffy? I mean you said Buffy’s not there.”



Willow exhaled, “Yeah. Buffy’s not there. She ran away at the beginning of the summer. Well, the end of the school year. I turned in as many of her assignments as I could but she couldn’t take her exams so she didn’t even finish the year. No one knows where she is.”



“Wow, that sounds really hard. I mean you miss your friends and you’re worried about Buffy and you’re not even there. I’m really sorry,” Tara sympathized.



“Well, yeah. And now I cried all over you after you just took a shower that I practically insisted on and you probably think I’m a big baby and I look all splotchy and red-eyed….”



Tara interrupted her, “Hey, don’t worry about it. I’m really sorry that you miss your friends so much and I did need a shower.” Looking down at her feet, she mumbled, “and the red goes really nice with your green eyes.”



Willow pushed herself up from the bed, trying to sound cheery, “Ok, awkward moment over. Let’s get started with my tour ok? If you don’t mind, I need to start a process running on my computer. Won’t take a minute ok?” She continued, “Actually I meant to ask you. What type of Internet connection does the room have? I need to configure my software to maximize the broadband.”



Tara looked at her blankly before responding, “Um, I’m gonna guess that’s like Californian for English? Or maybe computereeze?”



She was relieved to see Willow laugh: “Yeah right, not very clear. Do you know anything about computers? Or the connections in the rooms? I need an Internet connection and the faster the better.”



Catching the contagious laughter, Tara responded, “I know nearly nothing about computers but I know that the room is supposed to have a good connection. Some initials or something that mean it’s good. We can ask in the office. Your file said you are some kind of whiz or something.”



Finally, the two girls began on their tour. Tara showed Willow the other two dorms, classroom buildings, administrative building, library, and gym. As she pointed out the cafeteria again, she pointed to a side door: “That leads to the canteen. It has coffee and fruit and candy and stuff like that and is open all night. You can study in there. The only rules are that paying is on the honor system and you have to make more coffee if you leave less than a cup in the pot. If you’re ever lonely, there’s usually someone in there studying all night who needs company.”



Willow nodded, “actually that’ll probably be me. I mean studying all night and lonely both.”



“Hey, you can come visit me anytime you’re lonely,” Tara said before she could think about how it sounded. “I mean, not that I never have anything to do or I’m totally desperate or …”



“Hey, you’re not desperate. It’s a nice offer,” Willow interrupted.



In the administrative office the girls had “borrowed” Willow’s file to copy the essay and picked up their class schedules. Now they sat on a rock under a tree as Willow read the file. Looking concerned, she turned to the blonde, “Uh, Tara? Did you read all this?”



Tara looked at the ground, “Well, yes. I mean… But hey, great test scores!” She attempted a smile at the redhead.



Willow stood up and started pacing, waving her arms and gesturing widely: “Sure, great test scores. But I can’t believe the other stuff it says in here. Buffy didn’t kill Kendra and … well… ok, lots of damage but I didn’t cause it. I mean I was in a coma. Do people in comas destroy their school library? Did I destroy it my sophomore year too? Well, I guess that time I was conscious anyway. Oh wait, it didn’t say anything about that. I mean! Geez, what a worm Snyder is. And the rocket launcher! Do I look like I can carry or shoot a rocket launcher? My shirt has a kitten and a ball of yarn on it!? Do people with kittens on their shirts blow up the mall?” She collapsed next to Tara still fuming and mumbling what the blonde assumed to be curse words under her breath.



“Well, maybe if you really wanted a shirt with a camel or a dolphin and were mad that all they had was kittens?” Tara ventured and was relieved to see Willow laugh, releasing her tension. Tara continued, “So you didn’t have anything to do with blowing up the mall?”



Willow looked at her new friend, “Uh, well ‘nothing to do with it’ may be putting it a little strongly. Hey, let’s continue that tour ok?” she said standing quickly and striding away from the rock. As they walked, each girl looked at her class schedule and then at the other girl’s. Tara pulled Willow’s from her hand, “Hey, you’re taking calculus AND computer science AND an independent study in something mathematical that I don’t think I can pronounce. What’s with that?”



Willow smiled snatching Tara’s schedule from her, “What can I say, I’m a whiz. But hey, now here’s something, it looks like we have English and History together but how come there’s no PE on your schedule. How do you get out of that and I can I? Cause seriously, I don’t see how it will help me in future life to be some dodgeball expert.”



Handing back Willow’s schedule, Tara answered, “Actually it’s not so much that I don’t have any PE classes. It’s…well… Um, I teach horseback riding. They count that as my PE credit. Hey, actually from the code on your schedule, that’s your PE, although it doesn't’start till next trimester.”



It took a few steps before Tara realized that Willow had stopped walking and was staring at her. “Ok, you’re staring at me like I have two heads. What did I say?”



“Riding? Riding? Like horses? Like Riding? Like riding horses? Like me riding horses.” Willow looked totally pale, dropping to sit on the ground.



Tara wanted to laugh but the redhead looked just so pale that she could do nothing but kneel down by her. Willow continued, “I knew this was some kind of cosmic joke. I’m at school in Texas and I’m taking horse riding. And I probably can’t take it by computer. I can’t do it. I mean, no way. No way. No way.”



“Willow,” Tara interrupted, “what’s wrong with horses?”



“Arm-biting,” she answered softly.



“Arm-biting?”



“Well yeah. Nasty arm-biting horses,” Willow mumbled embarrassed.



“Bad horse experience huh.” Tara concluded.



“Pony. Bad birthday party pony experience actually,” Willow actually smiled up at the blonde. Somehow as miserable and scared as she felt, she noted that Tara did seem to calm her nerves.



“Ok, I can see that. Lots of students have fears when they start out. We can work with that in class. Kind of desensitizing you slowly. And you pretty much get an A for effort in my classes,” Tara tried to reassure Willow.



“Your class. Right you said you teach riding. How does that work? A third job. When do you sleep or do you sleep? Is there anything you don’t do well?”



Now it was Tara’s turn to look embarrassed: “Well, there is quite a bit I don’t do well but I’m not about to tell you that stuff. And I guess it’s a third job. They even pay me a little but I’d do it for free. The thing is that without the three jobs, I couldn’t go to school here and honestly even with, it’s a struggle.”



“But I thought you were on scholarship and everything?” Willow questioned.



“Well, yeah but it doesn’t pay to get me here at the beginning and the end of the year or for clothes or shampoo or whatever.” Quietly she whispered, “and my family really can’t afford it.” Changing mood, she asked, “So do you want to see the stables? Or at least see where they are so you don’t accidentally go there?”



“What the stables, no. No stables. Hey, wait a minute. Are you teasing me?” Willow caught on.



“Well, yeah, you’re so fun to tease and you turn all red and start your babbling and… Ok, it’s not nice but you can make fun of me about something if you like,” Tara smiled back.



Willow smiled as she turned toward the dorm building, “I’ll definitely think of something. Hey, if you don’t mind, I need to do some work. Ok? Maybe we can catch up later for dinner?”



“Sure, my room’s all the way at the top of the building so you can’t miss it. Plus which, says Tara on the door in big letters. I’m going to go down to the stables but I’ll take another shower before dinner ok?” Tara teased as she walked away from the redhead.



---



Tara loved working with the horses. Sure, sometimes it was hard work mucking out the stables and everything but it was worth it to get to spend time with all the horses and particularly her mount: Chestnut. After working for a few hours, she decided to go on a long ride.



As she rode, she allowed her mind to wander. And it kept wandering back to Willow. She felt very sympathetic to the redhead and her loneliness, remembering how hard it was when she first came to school. As a very shy person, it took a long time before she was able to use her riding proficiency to give her some type of connection with people and something to talk about. It hadn’t taken her long to determine that her gifts would be well directed with Willow.



Aware that her heritage as a witch and inheritance of those powers gave her not just power, but a responsibility to use that power, Tara sometimes felt drawn to those in pain. Her strongest power was that of empathy: the ability to feel what another person was feeling and then relieve them of unnecessary suffering. Of course, she used this power very carefully as she was fully aware that while she wanted to relieve the suffering of others, she also needed to allow them to feel their emotions in a productive and full way to allow them to move through their unique experience of life. Sometimes this created a delicate balancing act for the witch.



Tara had used her powers to attempt to calm and support Willow’s upset about her friends, anger about her file, and fear of the horses. As she thought of it, it was like drawing a line to connect two things: another’s emotions and her’s and then using that line to pull negatives into herself and send loving energy into the other. In constant contact with nature, she was able to send the negative energy into nature to absorb and diffuse its power.



While she felt that she had been moderately successful in her endeavors, she also noted that the opening of those channels allowed her to know that Willow was hiding a lot. She hadn’t tried to explore those channels although she could have; nonetheless, the witch felt somewhat guilty for knowing this, as if she had been spying on the other girl. She didn’t like that feeling at all and resolved to work harder to not pick up those extra feelings.

Edited by: JustSkipIt at: 3/26/03 5:27:29 pm

Hi,

Just wanted to say that I am really excited by this fic. I love AU stories and this one looks like it is going to be lots of fun. I don't post often, so I haven't replied to "Turned" yet, but I am really enjoying that fic as well. I can't wait for the next update.

Hey, loved the new update! I loved it when Willow was going off about the essay that her mother wrote.



I think that you should add 'fixin ta' I think that that is my favorite Texan term. Even though that is the one that everybody makes fun of.



I envey you! I would love to live in Austin. I live in Lubbock . If you never heard of it I forgive you ( I wish that I never had).

"I wish that I could hold you. I wish that I could hate you. I wish that I could hold you one more time." - I wish... - Drain Sth

I like the interaction between the girls.



*lil´c*



Unter den Blinden ist der Einäugige König.

Quick comments before heading to work:



Shadow – Since you don’t post often, extra thanks for posting now. Glad you like it. I’m still working on Turned. Maybe an update this week? Maybe. Yeah, I love AU it turns out. This will be kinda AU/kinda not.



Ten – Thanks. Yeah, can’t you imagine the kind of essay Shelia would write? Fixin ta is in an upcoming part . I love Austin but I lived in Lubbock for 6 years while I was getting my first two degrees. Loved being there but wouldn’t want to stay: bad drinking water, great restaurants! And oh yeah, the world’s best sunsets between there and Amarillo.



littlecrazy – Thanks. I’m working on my ability to write dialog so I’m glad that it’s coming through well.

This story is so cute!

Being in Oklahoma, "y'all" is very familiar to me...

Can't wait for more!

Sheila

Well, it's been a while since I've left any decent amount of feedback here on Pens because of work and life and such but I've decided to put some effort in.



This story definitely warrants some. I like the new setting, I think it will allow Willow and Tara to blossom in a different way than they would have in Sunnydale. With the constant threat to their lives and such. The "Y'all" scene was especially cute and I like how their friendship is progressing.



I am looking forward to seeing more.



Caz

What can i say: it's getting better and better!

I love Willow's babbling!

Can't wait for more!

snuggle79

__________________

"I got so lost"

"I found you, i will always find you"

Ah... *sigh* Willow-babble. I love Willow-babble. Greatly fantastico update! Really enjoyed this part, I'm going to off now and wait patiently for update... Brilliant!

Cath

Tara: No, I-I understand. You have to be with the person you l-love.

Willow: I am.

A few more comments:



Sheila – Glad you’re liking it. Howdy neighbor.



Caz – Yeah, haven’t seen your screen name in a while. Thanks for dropping in at this fic. Glad you’re liking it. More friendship to progress in a few minutes.



Snuggle – Boy, you like that babbling: wait a little while. The babbling will get more and more.



Cath – Glad you’re liking the babble so much. It’s fun to write. Update shortly.

Hi guys, not to spoil you but here are parts 3 & 4. Since 4 is a short one, I'm putting it with 3 just to get it posted. Hope you like. #3 is one of my favorites yet.





Title– W/T Season 3 Y’all – part 3



Author– JustSkipit - Debra



Feedback – Yes please.



Spoilers–Season 3 through Dead Man’s Party



Rating– Part 3 – PG



Disclaimer – Willow and Tara and any other character that appeared in the syndicated television show “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” is property of Joss and Mutant Enemy, I’m only borrowing them and am not making any money off them Thanks.



Summary You remember how Willow was in a coma and came out of it in Becoming? And how Buffy was accused of killing Kendra? Well, Willow’s parents actually took some notice of those events. That and the fact that when they got to the hospital, she had a boyfriend they had never met: a musician! So they did what any caring loving parents would do. That’s right: stay home more and pay more attention to their daughter right? Wrong! They sent her to boarding school out in the beautiful Hill County of Texas.



And you will never guess who comes to pick her up at the train. Ok, maybe you will. A certain horse-riding blonde with her own reasons to get away from home.



Consistency etc. How AU is it? There are Vampires, Buffy is the slayer. She is currently in LA and no one knows where she is. Everything through Becoming happened. Everything in season 3 will happen but without Willow. Tara is the Tara we know but without the abusive father/brother and she doesn’t think she’s a demon although she and Willow are both witches.



Thanks and notes to Alyson and Amber.



Thoughts in italics!





The next few days passed quickly for Tara and slowly for Willow. For Tara, her duties kept her very busy as students began arriving. She gave regular tours and explanations of the rules as well as being interrupted at all times of day and night by new students with questions. Of all of her responsibilities, working with the parents was the worst to the blonde. Although she managed to overcome her shyness with many of the students, she still felt very intimidated by these rich parents sending their children off to boarding school for whatever reason. Throughout that time, she felt her greatest release and relaxation through riding.



In the meantime, Willow continued working on her program to help the Scoobies. She got her room completely unpacked and resumed communication with her friends through e-mail. Although she began to meet other students as they arrived, she nonetheless felt incredibly lonely and missed her friends at home. She truly couldn’t wait for classes to start.



The day before classes started, she was sitting under a tree reading a computer journal when she noticed a sudden dust storm. Looking up she saw Tara grinning from the open window of the school truck. “Hey,” the blonde said, “What are you doing?”



“Reading this great article about fuzzy logic matching theory. Ok, you probably didn’t need to know that. Let’s go with reading. You?” Willow answered, walking toward the truck.



“Actually I’m fixin ta head into town to get some supplies and thought I’d come look for you to see if you wanted to come. Whatcha say?”



Willow was already moving around to the driver’s side as Tara slipped from beneath the wheel to allow her to slide across. “Actually I was hoping to come into town with you at some point. Can we go to the post office? I need to rent a PO Box,” Willow explained.



“Well sure,” Tara responded, “but why do you need a PO Box? We get mail at the school.”



“Well, uh, I kind of want a PO Box so I can get some other type mail. You know boxes and such. Nothing bad.” Willow struggled to explain.



“Right. Porn huh?” Tara suggested.



“What? Porn? Do I look like… hey, wait a minute, I think you’re teasing me again,” Willow had turned bright red but now lapsed into the laugher that both women found infectious.



“Well yeah, I’m teasing. I mean you get so cute when you turn red and everything. It’s kind of irresistible,” as Tara said the words, she felt like a cartoon character and the words were hanging there in a bubble above her mouth but she couldn’t get them erased or taken back or clear the screen. “I mean, oh Hell, I don’t know what I mean,” she concluded turning red in response.



Willow laughed, “well, at least now we know you can turn as red as I do Ms Maclay.” The unintentional reference to their first ride from town started the two women laughing again.



Finally getting themselves under control, Tara answered, “Yes going by the Post Office is fine. I need to run an errand so how about I drop you off and go run my errand and then come back for you. That way your PO Box is totally private and I won’t even know the number or anything,” she smiled.



Now getting into the mood of the joking and teasing, Willow responded, “Well sure but I was kind of counting on your being my little gopher. Now I guess you’ll just have to put up with my company and bring me into town with you to check the box myself.”



Taking her eyes from the road, Tara answered quietly, “Then I definitely don’t want to know the number.”



“Hey,” Willow suddenly shouted, “I forgot to tell you.”



Recovering from the shock of Willow’s shout, Tara answered, “Tell me what?”



“Buffy came home. She just showed up a few days ago. She called me this morning. Seems like I missed quite a party for her homecoming but nothing unusual for Sunnydale. Everyone was really glad to see her and I guess she and her mom kind of reconciled,” Willow trailed off at the end. She felt somewhat bad for only telling half-truths but better half-truths and a potential friend than full-truths and someone who thinks you’re a total nutjob right?



“Wow that’s really great.” Tara answered. Tenatively she ventured, “and she’s going to be tried or no?”



“What? Tried of what? For what? Oh, Kendra’s murder? Nah, that’s over, she’s innocent and I don’t mean not guilty cause they can’t prove it. She wasn’t there with us when it happened; she was at the … I mean.... But she’s not back in school yet; Snyder expelled her.”



“The worm?” Tara asked.



“The worm? Well yes, he’s a worm. Oh, I called him a worm in an earlier rant right?” Willow clued in. “Yes, he’s a worm; also the principal of the high school so a worm on a power trip.” She then remembered, “Oh one other thing Buffy told me. My genius boyfriend Oz, ‘forgot’ to go to summer school so he’s repeating his senior year.”



“Wow, he flunked?” Tara was loosing respect for this boyfriend pretty quick.



“Oh don’t get me wrong. He’s a genius and everything but he isn’t all that committed to school work or, well anything but music I guess, and he didn’t show up for class a lot last year and then didn’t show for summer school so he is repeating,” Willow explained. “I guess he thought it would be cute that he’d graduate with me…”



“Well, I guess that would be cute,” Tara posed somewhat tentatively pulling up to the post office. “Look, I’ll be back in like 20 minutes ok? I can pick you up here or at that Starbucks. What do you want?”



“Ooohh, Starbucks mocha. Definitely at Starbucks. But come in and have one with me. You don’t have to be back right away right?” Willow encouraged.



“Well, no there’s no rush but…um…,” Tara trailed off.



Willow interrupted quickly, “Hey mochas on me ok? I owe you for this ride into town and for dinner that first night. And I won’t take no for an answer.”



Embarrassed, Tara assented: “Well ok. Only cause you won’t take no for an answer. I’ll meet you there in about 20 minutes ok?”



---



Having a mocha at Starbucks turned into having another and another until the two women felt pretty sure sleep wasn’t going to happen any time soon. As it was getting dark, they headed back to the campus. Tara went to deliver the supplies she had picked up as Willow went back to her room. As she was researching some spells on the Internet, she heard a quiet knock at the door. Although she was resistant to answer it, interrupting her research, she felt like she needed to since someone might know she was in the room. Muttering to herself, “Geez, don’t people know if the door’s open, come on by but if it’s closed, leave me alone?” she opened the door.



Tara stood in the hall holding a small fish bowl with a blue and red fish in it. As Willow invited her in, she explained, “Hey, I uh, well, I. I. I.”



Taking the bowl from Tara, Willow set it on her bookshelf: “Hey, you do own sneakers. I thought you slept and lived in boots.” As Tara smiled at her feet, Willow prompted, “So what’s with the fish?”



“Uh, Boris I think. I thought. I thought.” She took a deep breath before continuing: “You’re so lonely and miss your friends and everything and well, I couldn’t get you a kitten but I thought maybe it would help… but probably lame and a dumb idea and I’ll be going now ok?”



As tears filled her eyes, Willow reached out to stop Tara from nearing the door, “No! Not ok. You can’t go. I mean it’s so sweet that you would do that.” By now the tears were freely flowing down her cheeks and she collapsed on the bed.



Tara moved to sit next to her, “Ok, I’m glad it’s ok. But you seem upset about it. You don’t like fish?”



Willow continued crying as she explained, “no that’s not it. I like fish. I love fish. It’s…” Taking a deep breath she decided to plunge in, “I had some fish and last year someone killed them.”



“You mean like accidentally knocked the bowl over?” Tara ventured, “You must have really liked those fish.”



Willow laughed somewhat bitterly, “No. Not like knocked the bowl over. Like broke into my room, killed the fish, put them in an envelope and put my name on it.”



Tara was so shocked she almost didn’t start her empathetic spell to help Willow: “Wow, that’s really sick. Who would do that?”



Willow felt slightly better but couldn’t identify why. She attempted to explain, “It’s complicated. It was Buffy’s boyfriend or maybe ex-boyfriend.” She trailed off. . Very quietly she continued, “That’s not what makes me cry so hard though. He. He. He killed another friend of ours a few days later.”



As Tara redoubled her efforts to lessen Willow’s pain, she concluded, “Oh Kendra? Wow, I’m really sorry. You’ve been through a lot.”



“Huh? What Kendra? Oh no. Jenny. Angel didn’t kill Kendra. His girlfriend did.”



Tara was becoming not only concerned but confused, “Wait, I thought Buffy was his girlfriend but you said she didn’t kill Kendra.”



“Oh. Goddess. It’s really complicated. His other girlfriend killed Kendra. He killed Jenny. Buffy didn’t kill anyone.” Connected as she was to Willow, Tara suddenly felt a sudden bolt of energy: the energy of falsehood and lies—a really big lie. Allowing Willow to feel her emotions, she held the redhead for a long time. Finally she asked, “Will, can I ask you something personal?”



Willow looked up, “sure what?”



“Well. I don’t know how to say this. But um. Well. You seem really sweet and nice and obviously an academic overachiever and everything.”



“But I sound like a juvenile delinquent?” Willow finished.



“Well, not exactly but you have two friends murdered, people you know did it. You may or may not have stolen a rocket launcher and blown up the mall. You apparently have something to do with trashing your school library not once but twice and I don’t know what else,” Tara finished.



And my boyfriend’s a werewolf Willow thought to herself. “Uh, would you believe ‘they started it/’?” she asked.



Strangely enough, that statement rang totally true to Tara’s magical sense. Holding eye contact, she whispered, “From you I might believe anything.”



“Well good, because I don’t want to lie to you and I want you to know that. You mean a lot to me,” she answered. Lightening the mood, she walked over to the fish, “So, Boris the Beta huh? He’s great. I really like him. Thanks.”



Tara pulled a small package from her pocket: “You’re welcome. Here’s some food for him. Uh well I should probably let you sleep, big first day of classes tomorrow.” She turned toward the door to leave.



“Hey,” Willow called out, probably a little too suddenly. As Tara turned back she asked her, “I’m too caffeined up and you said ‘anytime’ so how about we listen to some music or something. I have some cards if you want to play gin.”



Tara smiled as she kicked her shoes off, “Yeah that sounds great.”







----





PART 4



Title– W/T Season 3 Y’all – part 4



Author– JustSkipit - Debra



E-mail – debraser@yahoo.com



Feedback – Yes please.



Spoilers–Season 3 through Dead Man’s Party



Rating– Part 4 – PG



Disclaimer – Willow and Tara and any other character that appeared in the syndicated television show “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” is property of Joss and Mutant Enemy, I’m only borrowing them and am not making any money off them Thanks.



Summary You remember how Willow was in a coma and came out of it in Becoming? And how Buffy was accused of killing Kendra? Well, Willow’s parents actually took some notice of those events. That and the fact that when they got to the hospital, she had a boyfriend they had never met: a musician! So they did what any caring loving parents would do. That’s right: stay home more and pay more attention to their daughter right? Wrong! They sent her to boarding school out in the beautiful Hill County of Texas.



And you will never guess who comes to pick her up at the train. Ok, maybe you will. A certain horse-riding blonde with her own reasons to get away from home.



Consistency etc. How AU is it? There are Vampires, Buffy is the slayer. She is currently in LA and no one knows where she is. Everything through Becoming happened. Everything in season 3 will happen but without Willow. Tara is the Tara we know but without the abusive father/brother and she doesn’t think she’s a demon although she and Willow are both witches.



Thanks and notes to Willow and Tara.



Thoughts in italics!







---



Willow exited the hall glad to be through her 3rd hour class. Her A day was the heavy math day and she already felt like her brain was going to explode. Now she had off till 5th hour. Since it was a beautiful day, she thought she’d grab a sandwich and head out to enjoy the weather, from under a tree, and write some letters. After grabbing a sandwich and drink, she walked out toward the fields. As she approached the spot she had been using since arriving, she saw someone sitting under it. Tara sat leaning against the tree, focusing on a spot in the distance and writing on a pad.



Willow stopped walking as she got close to take the chance to watch the blonde. She seemed totally entranced her studying and completely at peace. Dressed in the usual jeans and long sleeve shirt, she had taken her boots off and they lay at her side. Her hair blew in the slight wind and she kept having to tuck it behind her ears. As she approached quietly, Willow noticed, not for the first time, how Tara gave her such a feeling of peacefulness.



She decided to break that peacefulness with a little play. She snuck up behind the tree and pulling some fallen pecans, began to toss them at the blonde’s pad one at a time. At first Tara just brushed them off but as the fourth hit her page, she turned to look for the source. As she did, Willow approached around the other side of the tree, dumping an entire handful of nuts on her head. Tara turned quickly to grab the redhead by the legs pulling her to the ground.



“Well now Miss Rosenberg, acting like a juvie again huh? I think you need punished,” she said beginning to tickle Willow around the middle. Willow attempted to fake not being ticklish but that only lasted for a few seconds before she had to give in. As she tried to tickle the blonde back, it quickly turned into a wrestling match with Willow on top. As she straddled Tara, leaning forward to hold her down by the wrists, she taunted her, “So, now who’s getting punished huh?”



Tara felt her heart beating in her chest and ears but couldn’t really hear anything else. She was vaguely aware that she should say something but couldn’t even imagine what. All she could see was Willow leaning over her, her lips moving to say something. Finally a recognizable thought entered her head, She’s talking. She’s saying something. I can tell because her lips are moving. Her lips are moving. Her lips. Beautiful lips. Full lips. Soft lips. Hey, wait. What the? Why am I thinking about her lips?



Suddenly Willow rolled off her, grabbing the pad: “Oh Goddess. This is amazing. You did this?” She held up the pad to show a beautiful sketch of a horse. Tara grabbed for the pad, “wait, don’t. I mean don’t look no one looks at my… Please…” she hung her head.



As she looked at her friend, Willow gently closed the cover of the pad before handing it back to her. Placing her hand softly on Tara’s chin, she raised her face to look in the eye, “I didn’t mean to intrude but it’s really beautiful. If you want to show me some day, I’d love to see more.”



“Thanks.”



“No problem. Hey, I brought a sandwich and drink. Wanna share? We have history 5th hour so we have a little time,” Willow offered. The blonde agreed and took half the offered lunch. As they relaxed against the tree, they both shared about their days and how classes had gone. Willow expressed surprise and satisfaction with the level of learning that she was going to get from the math and computer classes. Sometime around binary notation she lost Tara who sat looking somewhat blank-faced at her profile throughout her long speech. Soon it was time to go to history class and they walked silently back across the field.

Edited by: JustSkipIt at: 3/26/03 5:28:53 pm

Heh,



I wonder if Tara lost that wrestlingmatch on purpose, she certainly didn't seem to mind much . Tara is way to modest, why doesn't she want to show her sketches ? Might give her something to be proud of, a little self-confidence certainly wouldn't hurt her



I was half expecting Tara to notice what Willow was researching when she brough Boris over. They don't know they're witches from each other right ? Willow talking so easily about people being killed and her knowing who did it, Tara must have a very confused image of Willow by now



Willow getting her own PO Box, heh... "Advanced Transformation Spells" would look rather odd in her mailbox at school yeah . It's almost painfull to see how much trouble Tara has to go through to make ends meet and go to school, why did she go to this specific and probably expensive school if she's low on cash ????



Grimmy

"You hurt Tara," Willow said too calmly. "The last one who tried that was a god. I made her regret it." -- Unexpected Consequences by Lisa of Nine

Edited by: Grimlock72 at: 11/25/02 3:46:35 pm

Awesome update. I love the way Willow and Tara's friendship is progressing. Mmmm... wrestling...



Tara's background seems a bit of a mystery right now (besides the horses, singing, and drawing). Do we get more info on her soon (sorry, I think I'm a bit impatient)?



Yana