The Kitten, the Witches and the Bad Wardrobe - Willow & Tara Forever

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 Post subject: Re: New Fic: Maybe It's Just Me - Update 03/18/2020
PostPosted: Wed Mar 25, 2020 7:02 pm 
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7. Teeny Tinkerbell Light
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Joined: Mon Aug 04, 2008 11:37 am
Posts: 613
Topics: 8
Location: Maryland
CHAPTER: 11

Wednesday

"Hey, how’s Joey?" Tara asked in concern once Julian reached their desk, having taken the remainder of the day off yesterday to attend to his delinquent brother.

He heaved a heavy sigh as he plopped down into his chair. "He got suspended for a week."

"Ouch," Tara proclaimed as she winced up her face.

"And that wasn’t even the worst part," Julian said as he rubbed the palm of his hand over his eyes. "I had to get Karen to babysit him every night until his father gets off work."

"Wait. Do you mean Karen, as in your creepy and totally-obsessed-with-you landlord, Karen?" Tara burst into laughter as soon as Julian nodded. He tried silencing her with a glare, but to no avail. She continued to laugh uncontrollably, her arms wrapping around her lower torso as the muscles in her stomach started to cramp.

"Laugh all you want, since I assume your visit with Dr. Rosenberg didn’t go very well." He had a self-satisfied smirk on his face when the laughter from the other side of the desk died out.

The cheeky smile on Julian’s face slowly dissipated as he watched his friend smile adoringly, the mirth from earlier forgotten. "Actually, it went very well." The tables were now turned, with Tara spotting a self-satisfied smirk.

"Seriously?" he asked incredulously.

"Oh yeah, we made peace," Tara replied contentedly. She smiled as she thought back to the encounter. She could still remember the feel of Willow’s soft delicate skin when she took her outstretch hand. The tidal wave of emotions that surged throughout her from that mere touch was absolutely exhilarating.

"Seriously?" Julian asked again, doubling the disbelief in his voice. "How'd you manage that?"

"We just .... we decided to start over. You know, clean slate."

"Wow, this is unexpected." Julian admitted in astonishment. "I never thought I’d live to see the day."

"Well, you did. Let’s go. We’re going banking," Tara said in mock excitement, standing up and gathering her belongings together.

"Can’t you at least wait till my small fragile brain completely processes the bomb you just dropped on me," Julian said as he let out a tired breath.

"I could. But what torture would that be to you?" Tara smiled mischievously at him before walking toward the door with a skip in her step.


888


They stepped into the lobby of a corporate building in the Financial District and approached the reception counter. The woman behind the desk oblivious to their approach as she filed her nails while snapping the gum in her mouth; lazily blowing bubbles.

"Excuse me, we’re looking for Ter-" the overly peroxide-blonde receptionist held out an index finger, silencing Tara while she continued to speak into the microphone of the headset she was wearing.

Tara turned to the side to look at Julian with an annoyed expression, drumming her fingers on the marble counter impatiently as she waited. When the woman continued to ramble on about some high-end designer shoes, Tara played her trump card by flashing her badge. She arched an eyebrow as if daring the receptionist to carry on with her brainless conversation.

"I am so sorry. How can I help you, Detective?" the woman asked after disconnecting her phone call, smiling pretentiously.

"We’re looking for Terry Spencer," Tara answered in a monotone voice.

"Mr. Spencer is on the thirty-first floor. The elevators are right over there." She smiled politely as she extended her hand to indicate the direction in which the elevators were located.

"Thanks," Tara replied as she forced a fake smile toward the woman.

Julian bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself from laughing out loud. His partner sure did have a way with wooing the ladies. He lost count years ago at how many people his friend’s gruff and to the point attitude had rubbed the wrong way.

"Bitch," the receptionist murmured under her breath after the two detectives walked away from her desk; heading toward the elevators. Clicking a button on her headset, she resumed her nail filing as the person on the other end picked up. "Ugh, Stephanie, you’ll never believe what I just had to deal with."
 


888


"Hi Detectives, I’m Terry Spencer, CEO of West Coast Investment Bank." The balding, greying-haired, square-jawed man in a no doubt expensive suit greeted them as he held out his hand. "This is Margarete Thatcher, our new Managing Executive." He gestured to the raven haired woman standing posh beside him.

"Managing Executive? Isn’t that the position Marcus was just promoted to?" Julian questioned quizzically.

"Yes. Mr. Nolan was supposed to be our new Managing Executive but because of the unfortunate accident… " Mr. Spencer sighed, visibly upset by his employees passing.

"Where were you early Saturday morning, around two AM, Ms. Thatcher?" Tara probed as she eyed the new Executive. The woman was currently leading her mental list of prime suspects.

"I was at home alone, reading and relaxing. It’s a very stressful job," she answered placidly. Tara unknowingly entered into a staring contest with Margarete.

"Is there anybody who can confirm your alibi?" she asked, her eyebrow rising slightly in confrontation.

"Not unless you know how to communicate with a cat," Margarete replied snidely as she folded her arms over her chest.

Tara’s eyes squinted at the suspect as her nostrils flared in anger. She was about to cut loose with an equally snarky remark when Julian spoke up, effectively tearing her gaze away from the other woman.

"Did Marcus have any close friends who would know where he went Friday night before the incident?" he asked, his voice low and soothing.

"Yes, he had a few good friends. Fellow bankers" Mr. Spencer said as he nodded his head.

"I can bring you to them, if you want," Margarete said with faux friendliness, smiling in a way that made Tara shiver.

"Sure, that’ll be great," Julian replied, seemingly unaware of the unnerving vibe his partner was picking up or the Executive’s pretend chivalry.

They all piled into the elevator, descending down to the thirteenth floor in a matter of seconds. Compared to the environment upstairs, the thirteenth floor was like olive oil and water. Where upstairs had been spacious with large private offices, this floor was cramped with cubicles filled with desks, computers, cabinets and people alike. The hustle and bustle on this level was unmistakable. Exiting the elevator, Margarete led them through rows of desks, all the way to the other side of the floor.

"Gentlemen, this is Detective Maclay and Detective Wallace," Margarete said flippantly as she introduced the detectives to a group of well-dressed men who were talking amongst themselves as they congregated around the water cooler.

"Are you here to investigate Marcus’ death?" One of the men, olive skinned in complexion asked as he smoothed out his tie against his chest. His colleague next to him checked Tara out rather unsubtly, sending her his version of a smoldering look. Tara grimaced in both annoyance and disgust at the man before looking away; unsparing his feelings.

"Yes." Julian replied simply. "We’d like to know where he went Friday night before he passed away."

"Well, actually, we were with him at a club downtown on the L.A. strip," said a squat, curly haired man.

"We were celebrating his promotion," the second man said as he continued to stare at Tara, his tongue occasionally grazing over his bottom lip.

The first man they had spoken to quickly interjected with a sheepish expression. "But, we were all drunk. We passed out in a hotel nearby. All we know is that Marcus wasn’t with us when we woke up."

"Which club?" Tara enquired as she squinted her eyes. "And we also need to know the name of the hotel you stayed at."

"We went to the Gentleman’s Club ‘Vixens’ on 9th and Hampton. Afterwards we checked into the Best Western three blocks away," the olive-skinned man said as Julian wrote down the information on his notepad.

"Thanks, gentlemen," Julian said as he closed the notepad and put it into the pocket located on the inside of his blazer. "That’ll be all for now."

"I’ll walk you out." Margarete led the way to the elevator and the two detectives followed a few steps behind.

They took the lift down to the lobby in silence. Stepping out of the elevator, Margarete escorted them to the exit, her heels clicking deafeningly against the polished tile. "Good luck with your investigation, Detectives," she said when they stopped at the revolving door.
Tara though she heard a trace of challenge in the tone and frowned slightly.

"Thank you, Ms. Thatcher. Have a good day," Julian smiled politely, watching Margarete walk away. He couldn’t deny that he was at least a little smitten by the dark haired woman, appreciating the way her hips swayed as she walked, the material of her dress clinging to her curves.

Tara slapped his face lightly from the side, jolting him out of his trance. "Hey! What you do that for?" he exclaimed, rubbing his cheek with his right hand.

"You were ogling," she replied flatly as she turned to exit the building. Julian twisted his mouth to a side in response.

Quickly, they got back into the black BMW coupe parked on the side of the road. "Let’s head down to the hotel. See if the men’s alibis check out." Tara proposed, buckling the seatbelt around her body as she adjusted her back comfortably in the passenger seat.

"Yeah, then we can check out Vixen’s," Julian said with an animated expression. "Maybe we can ask Dr. Rosenberg to come along since, you know, the two of you have already made nice," he suggested.

"To a nude bar?" Tara snapped her head to the side to look at Julian. As soon as the question left her mouth, Tara’s mind went into a standstill with an image of a half-naked Willow. Her eyes glazed over instantly, the product of Dr. Rosenberg plus topless, when her mind did the math. This is a really bad idea.

_________________
Alyson, oh, Alyson why don´t you join my band? So you could play the flute like this one time in band camp.
I Am Forever / A Special Christmas of Sorts / Maybe It's Just Me / Honeysuckle Rose /Blackouts and Breakthroughs / When Love Arrives


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 Post subject: Re: New Fic: Maybe It's Just Me - Update 03/25/2020
PostPosted: Thu Mar 26, 2020 3:01 am 
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7. Teeny Tinkerbell Light

Joined: Sun Jan 19, 2014 7:01 am
Posts: 557
Quote:
"Laugh all you want, since I assume your visit with Dr. Rosenberg didn’t go very well." He had a self-satisfied smirk on his face when the laughter from the other side of the desk died out.

The cheeky smile on Julian’s face slowly dissipated as he watched his friend smile adoringly, the mirth from earlier forgotten. "Actually, it went very well." The tables were now turned, with Tara spotting a self-satisfied smirk.

"Seriously?" he asked incredulously.

"Oh yeah, we made peace," Tara replied contentedly. She smiled as she thought back to the encounter. She could still remember the feel of Willow’s soft delicate skin when she took her outstretch hand. The tidal wave of emotions that surged throughout her from that mere touch was absolutely exhilarating.

"Seriously?" Julian asked again, doubling the disbelief in his voice. "How'd you manage that?"

"We just .... we decided to start over. You know, clean slate."

"Wow, this is unexpected." Julian admitted in astonishment. "I never thought I’d live to see the day."

"Well, you did. Let’s go. We’re going banking," Tara said in mock excitement, standing up and gathering her belongings together.

"Can’t you at least wait till my small fragile brain completely processes the bomb you just dropped on me," Julian said as he let out a tired breath.

I already feel bad for Julian when I think about the shock he'll have when he learns that Tara and Willow fell in love and start a realtionship together… But hey, maybe he can hook up with Maggie Thatcher (once it's clear she's innocent) and give Tara an equal shock. :wink

Quote:
The woman behind the desk oblivious to their approach as she filed her nails while snapping the gum in her mouth; lazily blowing bubbles.

"Excuse me, we’re looking for Ter-" the overly peroxide-blonde receptionist held out an index finger, silencing Tara while she continued to speak into the microphone of the headset she was wearing.

You didn't mention any name but I picture Harmony as the receptionist.

Quote:
"Where were you early Saturday morning, around two AM, Ms. Thatcher?" Tara probed as she eyed the new Executive. The woman was currently leading her mental list of prime suspects.

"I was at home alone, reading and relaxing. It’s a very stressful job," she answered placidly. Tara unknowingly entered into a staring contest with Margarete.

"Is there anybody who can confirm your alibi?" she asked, her eyebrow rising slightly in confrontation.

"Not unless you know how to communicate with a cat," Margarete replied snidely as she folded her arms over her chest.

Tara’s eyes squinted at the suspect as her nostrils flared in anger. She was about to cut loose with an equally snarky remark when Julian spoke up, effectively tearing her gaze away from the other woman.

Jeez Tara, if the fact that a successful, self assured business woman doesn't cower in fear before the tough female detective who asks for an alibi is enough for you to to almost lose your temper again you still have some serious emotional problems... You should expect that a woman who rose into the management of a bank and whose name is Margarete Thatcher is an "Iron Lady"!
I fervently hope that Ms. Thatcher doesn't turn out to be the murderer (which would give Tara the opportunity of self-righteously praising herself that she "always knew it") and that she will "play" with Tara some more during the interrogations yet to come. Tara can complain about "the bitchy suspect" to Willow later, giving Willow the opportunity to kiss it better... :wink

Quote:
"Maybe we can ask Dr. Rosenberg to come along since, you know, the two of you have already made nice," he suggested.

"To a nude bar?" Tara snapped her head to the side to look at Julian. As soon as the question left her mouth, Tara’s mind went into a standstill with an image of a half-naked Willow. Her eyes glazed over instantly, the product of Dr. Rosenberg plus topless, when her mind did the math. This is a really bad idea.

:lol I'm really looking forward to the next chapter!


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 Post subject: Re: New Fic: Maybe It's Just Me - Update 03/25/2020
PostPosted: Mon Mar 30, 2020 9:58 am 
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3. Flaming O
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Quote:
"I was at home alone, reading and relaxing. It’s a very stressful job," she answered placidly. Tara unknowingly entered into a staring contest with Margarete.

"Is there anybody who can confirm your alibi?" she asked, her eyebrow rising slightly in confrontation.

"Not unless you know how to communicate with a cat," Margarete replied snidely as she folded her arms over her chest.


I snorted out loud when I read this. Oh, Tara's gonna have a run for her money with Margarete. MArgarte's came across very similar in personality to Tara; as a strong, no nonsense business woman with a snarky side.

Quote:
"Yeah, then we can check out Vixen’s," Julian said with an animated expression. "Maybe we can ask Dr. Rosenberg to come along since, you know, the two of you have already made nice," he suggested.

"To a nude bar?" Tara snapped her head to the side to look at Julian. As soon as the question left her mouth, Tara’s mind went into a standstill with an image of a half-naked Willow. Her eyes glazed over instantly, the product of Dr. Rosenberg plus topless, when her mind did the math. This is a really bad idea.


I so can't wait for the next chapter. It has awkward embarrasement written all over it mixed with naughty day-dreams.


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 Post subject: Re: New Fic: Maybe It's Just Me - Update 03/25/2020
PostPosted: Wed Apr 01, 2020 10:51 am 
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7. Teeny Tinkerbell Light
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Posts: 613
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Location: Maryland
Will's redemption wrote:
I already feel bad for Julian when I think about the shock he'll have when he learns that Tara and Willow fell in love and start a realtionship together… But hey, maybe he can hook up with Maggie Thatcher (once it's clear she's innocent) and give Tara an equal shock. :wink


It's hard not to feel bad for Julian, he's such a nice guy. But you're right, I think that really would shock the heck out of Tara if he started to date Margarete. Once again, Tara seems to have gotten off on the wrong foot with another woman.

Quote:
You didn't mention any name but I picture Harmony as the receptionist.


:sh

Quote:
Jeez Tara, if the fact that a successful, self assured business woman doesn't cower in fear before the tough female detective who asks for an alibi is enough for you to to almost lose your temper again you still have some serious emotional problems... You should expect that a woman who rose into the management of a bank and whose name is Margarete Thatcher is an "Iron Lady"!


Oh my god, that's such a huge oversight. I can't believe her name didn't dawn on me sooner. Either way, she definitely is an "Iron Lady" in her own right.


Quote:
I fervently hope that Ms. Thatcher doesn't turn out to be the murderer (which would give Tara the opportunity of self-righteously praising herself that she "always knew it") and that she will "play" with Tara some more during the interrogations yet to come.


Margarete is definitely going to give Tara a run for her money. What fun would it be otherwise if two tough as nails, alpha females, didn't antagonize one another.

Quote:
Tara can complain about "the bitchy suspect" to Willow later, giving Willow the opportunity to kiss it better... :wink


I like the way you think


Quote:
:lol I'm really looking forward to the next chapter!


I really hope you enjoy it!



wickedaddiction wrote:
I so can't wait for the next chapter. It has awkward embarrasement written all over it mixed with naughty day-dreams.
[/quote]

Oh, it's gonna be choke full of embarrassing moments for everyone ... okay maybe not everyone, but definitely for Tara and her surging hormones. Hope you enjoy the next chapter

_________________
Alyson, oh, Alyson why don´t you join my band? So you could play the flute like this one time in band camp.
I Am Forever / A Special Christmas of Sorts / Maybe It's Just Me / Honeysuckle Rose /Blackouts and Breakthroughs / When Love Arrives


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 Post subject: Re: New Fic: Maybe It's Just Me - Update 03/25/2020
PostPosted: Wed Apr 01, 2020 1:36 pm 
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7. Teeny Tinkerbell Light
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Joined: Mon Aug 04, 2008 11:37 am
Posts: 613
Topics: 8
Location: Maryland
CHAPTER: 12

Wednesday Late Afternoon

Tara sat on the hood of the car, kicking the tire beneath with the back of her foot while Julian stood beside her, playing some random beat on the roof of the car with his hands. They were about a block away from Vixens, waiting patiently for Willow to arrive.

They had come to the club straight from The Best Western. The hotel’s receptionist and manager had both confirmed that Marcus’ colleagues did indeed check into their hotel room around the time of death. Apparently, they had made an impression with the staff for being drunk and overly rambunctious.

"I can’t believe you actually called her. And I can’t believe she actually said okay," Tara grumbled, frowning in annoyance. She had thought Julian was kidding when he made the suggestion.

"I told you I was going to call her. And so I did," Julian replied nonchalantly. Tara let out a noisy breath in response. "Since you two aren’t fighting anymore, I wanna try to spend as much time with her as possible." He continued, having always been somewhat hesitant about pursuing Willow because of Tara. Smiling cheekily, he added, "besides, if you guys do end up fighting, maybe there’ll be a pool of Jell-O nearby."

Tara shot her partner an unapprovingly look. Moments before her insides had been twisted in guilt. Now, they felt like they were doing cartwheels as the image of her and the redhead wrestling in a vat of strawberry Jell-O swept through her brain.

After two excruciatingly long minutes, a silver hybrid drove into the empty parking space behind their black coupe. Tara hopped off the hood immediately, straightening out her appearance afterwards, making sure her black leather jack and white crew neck shirt were resting flatteringly against her body. In front of her, Julian was doing the same thing.

Willow was a little taken aback when Julian had called her to ask if she wanted to join them in the investigation at Vixens. Normally she would have turned down such an offer; her expertise were in a medical lab investigating the cause of death of the deceased, not questioning the living. She wasn't sure how much help she could be in this part of the investigation, but she figured she might as well since she had the night free and the opportunity to see a certain brunette detective was simply too good to pass up. She got out of her car and smiled in greeting as she walked up to the two detectives. Her smile weakened when she noticed something different about Tara.

"Why isn’t your arm in a sling?" Willow asked in concern, knitting her eyebrows together. She moved to place a hand on Tara’s upper arm, squeezing the shoulder lightly.

Tara inhaled a sharp breath at the gentle touch.

"My shoulder doesn’t hurt anymore, so I took it off," she answered with a sheepish expression as she rubbed her right shoulder in reflex, the tips of her fingers nearly grazing those of the redhead. She bit down on her lower lip to force away the grin that was threatening to envelope her face.

"You could at least wait until your follow-up appointment to do that," Willow chastised quietly as she unconsciously stroked Tara’s arm with her thumb. Each stroke made Tara’s heart pound faster, the hectic rhythm thudding against her rib-cage. She tried to keep her breathing controlled as her entire body reacted to the gentle caress; driving her towards insanity.

Julian observed their interaction with his jaw hanging. The scene unfolding before him was much too surreal. So much for the Jell-O, he thought glumly.

"This is … " he trailed off, shaking his head in disbelief. "I can’t find any words to describe this."

"Don’t be such a drama queen, Julie," Tara rejoined, earning a chuckle from Willow. Green eyes met blue ones in amusement and both of them blushed at the eye contact.

"You did not just call me that, Maclay." Julian seethed. He hated the nickname ever since he was young and his mom called him by it while dropping him off for High School one day. He had told the brunette that story in confidence while out drinking at a bar one night and Tara knew better than to call him that.

"Did not just call you what?" Tara asked challengingly.

Julian chose to stomp away toward the club instead of answering. "What did I say about being a drama queen?" Tara yelled out teasingly after him.

Willow smiled as she stared adoringly at Tara, thoroughly enjoying the playful side of the brunette whose serious side she had witnessed much too often. They walked side-by-side following behind Julian at a much slower pace. Their closeness resulted in the occasional brushing of arms and fingers, which were followed by the exchange of shy glances and smiles.

Julian’s words kept repeating themselves inside of her head, preventing Tara from being able to fully enjoy the company of the redhead.


 
888



"I feel like I’m in heaven," gushed Julian when the three of them stepped into the club. He was feeling like a kid in a candy store. Naked women were performing stripteases on the main stage while scantily-clad waitresses were serving the customers. The smell of cigars and stale alcohol filled the air.

I feel like I’m in hell. Tara pinched the bridge of her nose. Her pent-up sexual frustration bubbling to the surface as beautiful women gyrated and shimmied down glistening poles all around her. She mentally cursed herself at the inability to control her hormones. Just then, a busty blonde waitress, wearing thick black rimmed glasses and a catholic school mini skirt with a black tie hanging loosely around her neck walked past them, giving her a wink. Damn you, Satan.

In contrast to her two companions, Willow wasn’t quite sure what to make of the whole scenario, which looked like an act straight out of an episode of Mad Men. She inched closer to Tara when a bald man seated at the table diagonally in front of them smirked at her, his meaty hand slapping his lap in beckoning. Frozen in trepidation, she watched as the man surrounded by several exposed girls licked his lips perversely while he violated her with his eyes.

Tara gasped and stiffened when she felt Willow shift her position. The redhead moved to slide her body slightly behind the detective, effectively pressing gently against Tara as she tried to escape the gluttonous man’s gaze. All of her nerves and senses were on the verge of going into overdrive. Do you know what you’re doing to me?

She cleared her throat uncomfortably. "Let’s head to the bar," she finally forced out, desperately needing a distraction.

"What can I get you ladies and gentlemen?" The bartender asked courteously as they approached him.

Scrutinizing the man with a faux-hawk and a perfectly groomed 5 o’clock shadow, Tara held up her badge, getting right down to business. She watched as the man nodded dumbly as he whipped a white dish rag over his shoulder.

"What can I do you for?" he asked somewhat anxiously.

"Did you see this guy Friday night?" Tara asked as she pulled a photo of Marcus Nolan out of her jacket pocket. "He was here with a group of men that night, probably in suits."

"Yeah, I sure did," he replied loosening up a bit after realizing he wasn’t in trouble. "He and his friends were sitting in the booth right over there." He made a gesture towards the corner of the club. "They were throwing money around and buying dances like they owned the place."

"Anyone upset about that?" Questioned the brunette. "Maybe a dancer who didn't get much attention?"

"Are you kidding?" the bartender said through a short chortle. "The girls were all over them and vise versa. Everyone left here that night having made hand over fist in tips thanks to those guys."

"What about the other clientele? Were any of them upset about not receiving the same amount of attention?"

"The girls here are professional," he quipped. "They know better than to ignore anyone. Besides, lets face it, big ballers don't come in here everyday. It's the average working-class guy, bored with his home life, that keep our rent paid."

"Your dancers, do they wear body glitter?" Willow spoke up suddenly as she recalled the golden flecks all over the victim’s body.

"They’re not supposed to," the bartender stated. "Like I said, most of our clientele are married men and glitter isn’t very subtle." He shifted his gaze around the room, looking at a few girls in particular. "But, not everyone follows that rule."

"Is there a rule about not fornicating with clients?" Willow questioned.

"What the women want to do outside of the club is completely up to them," replied the bartender as he began to multitask; pouring beer into glasses. "However, here, if the boss catches you on your knees for any other reason than a strip tease, you’re fired."

Smiling politely at the bartender, Willow took a step back from the counter as she caught Tara’s glare. Noticing the detectives face was impassive and thinking she had overstepped her boundaries, Willow gave the brunette a demure smile.

"Did you see him leave?" Tara questioned as she continued to glare; giving Julian as irritated sideways stare. Whatever happened to spending time with Dr. Rosenberg? He was presently engrossed with the performance on stage, his eyes glazed over as he watched the naked woman ‘twerk’ on the floor.

"Yeah, some smokin’ hot chick came in here and then they left together," he answered as a goofy grin crept across his lips. "Hey, Sapphire! Come get these," he yelled out to a busty brunette at the center of the club. Tara’s attention was diverted away momentarily when the stripper walked up to the bar counter, but managed to recover in time without looking leery.

Willow noticed the subtle peep, causing her cheeks to turn crimson and her heartbeat to double. Her breathing became heavier when she imagined Tara looking at her in that way.

"Can you describe her?" Julian asked, finally turning back to the investigation once the performance had ended. "Was she a fellow … entertainer?"

"Definitely not a stripper," huffed out the waitress as she positioned several beer bottles onto a tray before walking away.

"We were really busy that night, besides I wasn’t really looking at her face," the man replied sheepishly, a small blush coloring his cheeks. "But, one of the surveillance cameras probably captured her." Without a word, the bartender disappeared into the back room before returning a couple minutes later with a box full of tapes. He lifted the container up onto the counter and pushed it across the polish surface toward the detectives. "These are from last week. Knock yourselves out."

"Right, thanks," Tara said disdainfully as Julian took the box full of VHS tapes into his hands.

Stepping away from the bar, the trio headed toward the entrance. As Willow and Tara left the dimly lit building to adventure out into the harsh light of day, the brunette breathed out a sigh of relief once they were back outside. The entire process had been pure torture for her, unlike Julian, who had turned around and took one final look at heaven before stepping out of Vixens.

The tree of them walked in silence to their cars; each occupied with their own thoughts. Tara was thinking about the petite medical examiner walking beside her and her heightened libido. Willow was thinking about the remote detective to her left and her unexplained jealousy when Tara looked appreciatively at the waitress. Julian on the other hand was thinking about the topless girls back in the club and when he’d be able to come back.

Breaking out of his daydream, Julian finally spoke up, smiling politely at the redhead. "Thanks for coming along with us, Dr. Rosenberg," He opened the door to the backseat of the coupe and put the box of tapes on the available seat

Brought out of her own musing, Tara turned to look at Willow; the two sharing a look. The disappointment in their eyes was evident. They had wasted nearly two years arguing about nothing in particular and now that they had moved on, the time they spent together just didn’t seem like enough.

"My pleasure," Willow replied, forcing a smile back.

_________________
Alyson, oh, Alyson why don´t you join my band? So you could play the flute like this one time in band camp.
I Am Forever / A Special Christmas of Sorts / Maybe It's Just Me / Honeysuckle Rose /Blackouts and Breakthroughs / When Love Arrives


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 Post subject: Re: New Fic: Maybe It's Just Me - Update 04/01/2020
PostPosted: Thu Apr 02, 2020 2:15 am 
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7. Teeny Tinkerbell Light

Joined: Sun Jan 19, 2014 7:01 am
Posts: 557
Dibs! :Whip

Quote:
Tara hopped off the hood immediately, straightening out her appearance afterwards, making sure her black leather jack and white crew neck shirt were resting flatteringly against her body. In front of her, Julian was doing the same thing.

:lol
Quote:
She wasn't sure how much help she could be in this part of the investigation, but she figured she might as well since she had the night free

I had been wondering how Willow could justify accompanying the detectives to their investigation at the nude bar during her working hours - good to know it was during her free time.

Quote:
"Why isn’t your arm in a sling?" Willow asked in concern, knitting her eyebrows together. She moved to place a hand on Tara’s upper arm, squeezing the shoulder lightly.

Tara inhaled a sharp breath at the gentle touch.

"My shoulder doesn’t hurt anymore, so I took it off," she answered with a sheepish expression as she rubbed her right shoulder in reflex, the tips of her fingers nearly grazing those of the redhead. She bit down on her lower lip to force away the grin that was threatening to envelope her face.

"You could at least wait until your follow-up appointment to do that," Willow chastised quietly as she unconsciously stroked Tara’s arm with her thumb. Each stroke made Tara’s heart pound faster, the hectic rhythm thudding against her rib-cage. She tried to keep her breathing controlled as her entire body reacted to the gentle caress; driving her towards insanity.

Awww! I'm looking forward to Willow caring for Tara's health fulltime as her girlfriend.

Quote:
"Don’t be such a drama queen, Julie," Tara rejoined, earning a chuckle from Willow. Green eyes met blue ones in amusement and both of them blushed at the eye contact.

"You did not just call me that, Maclay." Julian seethed. He hated the nickname ever since he was young and his mom called him by it while dropping him off for High School one day. He had told the brunette that story in confidence while out drinking at a bar one night and Tara knew better than to call him that.

"Did not just call you what?" Tara asked challengingly.

Bad Tara! :wink I'm sure it is against the bro code to blurt out embarassing nick names your bro told you about in confidence when other people, especially of the female sex, are present.

Quote:
"Did you see him leave?" Tara questioned as she continued to glare; giving Julian as irritated sideways stare. Whatever happened to spending time with Dr. Rosenberg? He was presently engrossed with the performance on stage, his eyes glazed over as he watched the naked woman ‘twerk’ on the floor.

:laugh I hope this means Julian won't be too chrushed when he finds out once and for all that he and Willow will never get together romantically. For his sake I'm kind of hoping that he will first learn that she is gay and have some time to get over the disappointment that will cause him before he finds out that she and Tara fell in love with each other.

Quote:
"Yeah, some smokin’ hot chick came in here and then they left together," he answered as a goofy grin crept across his lips.

I'm guessing it was Margarete Thatcher. But I still hope she didn't kill this guy so Tara won't have the satisfaction to arrest her.

Quote:
Tara’s attention was diverted away momentarily when the stripper walked up to the bar counter, but managed to recover in time without looking leery.

Willow noticed the subtle peep, causing her cheeks to turn crimson and her heartbeat to double. Her breathing became heavier when she imagined Tara looking at her in that way.

I hope her imagination will become reality soon!


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 Post subject: Re: New Fic: Maybe It's Just Me - Update 04/01/2020
PostPosted: Fri Apr 03, 2020 9:17 am 
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3. Flaming O
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Quote:
"I told you I was going to call her. And so I did," Julian replied nonchalantly. Tara let out a noisy breath in response. "Since you two aren’t fighting anymore, I wanna try to spend as much time with her as possible." He continued, having always been somewhat hesitant about pursuing Willow because of Tara. Smiling cheekily, he added, "besides, if you guys do end up fighting, maybe there’ll be a pool of Jell-O nearby."

Tara shot her partner an unapprovingly look. Moments before her insides had been twisted in guilt. Now, they felt like they were doing cartwheels as the image of her and the redhead wrestling in a vat of strawberry Jell-O swept through her brain.


I wouldn't be apposed to you writing a scene in which a strawberry jello wrestling match between Willow and Tara take place.



Quote:
Without a word, the bartender disappeared into the back room before returning a couple minutes later with a box full of tapes. He lifted the container up onto the counter and pushed it across the polish surface toward the detectives. "These are from last week. Knock yourselves out."

"Right, thanks," Tara said disdainfully as Julian took the box full of VHS tapes into his hands.


Oh gosh, it's gonna take them forever to get through all those tapes. I for one sure do not miss VHS's lol


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 Post subject: Re: New Fic: Maybe It's Just Me - Update 04/01/2020
PostPosted: Wed Apr 08, 2020 1:08 pm 
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7. Teeny Tinkerbell Light
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Will's redemption wrote:
Dibs! :Whip


:dumbo

Quote:
I had been wondering how Willow could justify accompanying the detectives to their investigation at the nude bar during her working hours - good to know it was during her free time.


Yeah, I don't think her boss would have appreciated her taking a lunch break at the local strip club. lol Luckily she had the night free.

Quote:
Awww! I'm looking forward to Willow caring for Tara's health fulltime as her girlfriend.


Nurse Willow may be even sexier than Forensic Willow ... maybe.

Quote:
Bad Tara! :wink I'm sure it is against the bro code to blurt out embarassing nick names your bro told you about in confidence when other people, especially of the female sex, are present.


Maybe a little, but I'm sure Julian will forgive her. Besides, after so many years of friendship, I'm sure he's embarrassed her equally.

Quote:
:laugh I hope this means Julian won't be too chrushed when he finds out once and for all that he and Willow will never get together romantically. For his sake I'm kind of hoping that he will first learn that she is gay and have some time to get over the disappointment that will cause him before he finds out that she and Tara fell in love with each other.


Unfortunately, no matter how gentle you try to break the news to someone, they're still bound to get hurt.

Quote:
I'm guessing it was Margarete Thatcher. But I still hope she didn't kill this guy so Tara won't have the satisfaction to arrest her.


maaaaybee :devil

Quote:
I hope her imagination will become reality soon!


It'll become a reality soon enough, if not better than what she imagined.





wickedaddiction wrote:
I wouldn't be apposed to you writing a scene in which a strawberry jello wrestling match between Willow and Tara take place.


Hahah, I'm sure a lot of people wouldn't be either. Unfortunately there is no jello scene in this fic ... but maybe if I get the time I'll try to piece together a one-shot fic centered around the idea.



Quote:
Oh gosh, it's gonna take them forever to get through all those tapes. I for one sure do not miss VHS's lol


Thank god for technology, right!

_________________
Alyson, oh, Alyson why don´t you join my band? So you could play the flute like this one time in band camp.
I Am Forever / A Special Christmas of Sorts / Maybe It's Just Me / Honeysuckle Rose /Blackouts and Breakthroughs / When Love Arrives


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 Post subject: Re: New Fic: Maybe It's Just Me - Update 04/01/2020
PostPosted: Wed Apr 08, 2020 1:30 pm 
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7. Teeny Tinkerbell Light
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CHAPTER:

Wednesday Night

After making a hasty exit from the Gentleman’s Club, Tara went back to Julian’s apartment to help him browse through the numerous surveillance videos. It was approaching three in the morning when the blurry-eyed detectives caught a break. Their mystery woman finally appeared on the grainy black and white recording; the camera catching her from the back as she walked with purpose straight for the booth at the rear of the club. It wasn’t until the suspect and victim got up to leave nearly twenty minutes later did the detectives get a clear view of her face.

Agreeing to get some sleep and reconvening the investigation later that afternoon, Tara left Julian’s house to head to her own. At 0430 hours, Tara found herself sitting in the dark on the couch in her living room, fatigue assaulting her body but her brain refusing to let her succumb to sleep. Fiddling with the tape in her hand, Tara played every scenario she could think of, regarding Mr. Nolan’s death, over and over again. When her thoughts started to shift from the case to an elfish faced redhead, Tara pinched the bridge of her nose and groaned.

As a faint light began to creep through the curtains, assaulting her weary eyes, she tapped her phone to life. Looking down at the clock on the display screen, she groaned again when she realized she had been sitting in silence for two and a half hours.

Realizing she would not be getting any sleep, Tara pushed herself off the couch. Walking toward her bedroom, she stripped her jeans off and grabbed a pair of shorts lying on the grown, pulling them up her legs quickly. Leaving the scantly used bedroom, Tara headed toward the closet next to her front door, pulling out a pair of worn running shoes. Slipping her feet into the well-loved Adidas, she tied the laces snuggly before exiting her home. A five mile run is what she needed, the burning in her leg and tightness in her chest would be a welcome distraction from the case and above all, from Willow.
 


888


 
Thursday Afternoon

It was nearly 1700 hours when Julian finally arrived back at the precinct, rejuvenated and ready to tackle the investigation head on. Looking at his partner slumped over her desk; he worryingly observed the heavy bags under her eyes.

"Didn’t sleep?" he inquired even though he already knew the answer.

"Nah, sleeps overrated," she joked as she looked up at the slender man. "You ready to track down the lovely Ms. Thatcher?"

More than ready," he replied, as he picked up the keys to the coupe off of Tara’s desk. "I’m driving."

Tara nodded her head in acceptance as she pushed her chair backward.


888


 
It had taken them longer than they expected to track down Margarete. They had stopped by her office first but quickly realized, thanks to the receptionist, that they had just missed the raven-haired woman. Deciding to stop at her house, the duo pounded on her front door for several minutes but received negative results. Patrolling around the neighborhood, it was by a grace of God that they stumbled across the Executive leisurely jogging on a nearby bike trail.

Apprehending the suspect with little resistance, the duo headed back to the precinct.
 


888
 


Upon returning to the precinct, the duo silently walked Margarete to the second floor where they placed the woman inside one of the empty interrogation rooms. With the door securely locked behind them, the two partners looked at each other, a silent but knowing look passing between them before wordlessly entering the adjoining room. Inside the small office, Tara and Julian leaned against the cement wall as they watched Margarete slowly pace around the interrogation room. If the woman was worried, she showed no signs of it. For the next ten minutes, they watched on as Margarete's demeanor stayed calm and collective.

"I'm gonna go get a coffee," Julian finally said, breaking the long stretch of silence. They were letting Margarette 'sweat it out', a tactic used many times before to get the suspect thoughts racing and lips loosened. It would only be a matter of time before the woman cracked and knowing Tara, she would want to be there to witness it. "You want anything?"

"No, I'm good," Tara muttered as she continued to watch the raven haired women through squinted eyes.

"Suit yourself," chirped the man as he pushed himself off of the wall; heading to the door.

"Come on Thatcher, give me something to work with," Tara muttered to herself as she continued to scrutinize the suspects facial features.



888




"What's the verdict?" Julian asked as he gracelessly walked into the room; his elbow hitting against the wood door as he attempted to keep it open without dropping his armload of takeout food.

"Nothing," Tara grouched out stone faced, her eyes darting to the left to look at her partner. "She's been in there for forty minutes and it's like she's not even phased in the slightest."

"Hmm," hummed the other detective as he walked forward, depositing the greasy brown paper bags onto the table in front of him. "Maybe she needs another hour to reflect. Here," he said, tossing the brunette a bag full of food. "I got your favorite, a bacon cheeseburger with a fried egg."

"You get fries?" Tara asked as she peered into the bag.

"Yup," quipped the male as he sat down in one of the available chairs, sliding another bag to the empty seat beside him, "and of the curly variety."

"You know me so well," chirped the brunette as she sat down next to her partner. "Thanks."

"My pleasure," Julian replied moments before biting into his own burger. With a mouthful of half masticated beef his eyes trained on the suspect on the opposite side of the two-way mirror, "Now, we wait."


888


"Why didn’t you tell us that you were with Marcus Nolan the night he died?" Tara questioned, her expression demanding.

"You didn’t ask," was the placid reply that came.

Tara clenched her jaw in frustration as she stared at the dark-haired woman seated opposite of her. She was in the interview room questioning the suspect while Julian watched from the observation room next door through the one-way mirror. Upon returning to the office to conduct the interview, the detectives decided to do the ‘Good Cop Bad Cop’ routine, Tara wordlessly being nominated as the bad cop.

"What do you mean I didn’t ask? That was the first question out of my mouth," Tara retorted, narrowing one of her eyes.

"No, it wasn’t." Margarete Thatcher shot back snidely. "You asked where I was around two in the morning. I was at home like I said before."

"So what? You didn’t think to mention that to us? You were the last person to be with him!" Tara raised her voice as she slammed a clench fist down onto the steel table.

"It’s my life; I choose what I want to say. I’m very much like you Detective Maclay. A private person," Margarete replied coolly, meeting Tara’s stare audaciously.

Tara frowned and shook her head slightly. "You don’t know anything about me."

Margarete smiled in a spine-chilling way. "I know more about you than you know about yourself."

Tara let out a bark of laughter, amused by the woman’s tactics. "I really don’t think so."

"Well, let me explain then. You lead a life of abandonment and loneliness. Most of the time you’re just going through the motions. You rarely make a connection with people, so you replace the gaping hole in your heart with meaningless one-night stands. You surround yourself with death to numb yourself to the idea of dying. The tough facade you pass off is actually a mask for the little lost girl that you really are. How am I doing so far, Tara?" Margarete smirked in self-satisfactory.

Tara’s urge to strangle the woman right there grew stronger by the second, her fingers itching to squeeze around the woman’s petite neck, as Margarete went on with her deduction. Tara was positive that the executive must have done a background check on her to know this much. "You’re wrong," she said calmly, not about to be pulled into the mind game that Margarete was tempting her to play. On the other hand, she could feel her blood boiling. The only other time she felt like this was when Willow unknowingly read her like a book. This time however, she had no desire to kiss the woman standing before her.

"Denial’s not a good look on you, Tara," the dark-haired woman continued to taunt. She was getting slightly frustrated that her attempt to derail the detective had fallen flat.

"It’s Detective Maclay. And thanks for your concern. So, what happened after you left Vixens with Marcus Nolan?" Tara asked, getting back on track with the interrogation. She had plenty of training when it came to suppressing her true emotions. Margarete would have to work a little harder.

Margaret let out a defeated sigh. "We went back to his house, drank a little and then I went back home," she proclaimed, her expression defiant.

"But not before you poisoned him," Tara responded.

"That’s a very strong accusation, Detective Maclay," Margarete replied, glaring hatefully. Glancing at her watch, she heaved a sigh of annoyance before looking back up at the detective. "It’s getting rather late, Detective. Now, I know my rights, either charge me with murder or let me go."

"You’re not going anywhere," Tara stated firmly. She stood up from her seat and walked out the door. Once she had closed the door behind her, she squeezed her eyes shut and exhaled an exasperated breath. Margarete had completely seen right through her.

She took a few steps down the corridor and entered the observation room. She stopped dead in her tracks as soon as she opened the door, the second occupant in the viewing room catching her off guard. "What are you doing here?" she blurted out.

"I was told you were questioning a suspect, so I came in here," Willow explained, wearing an apologetic expression. She was astounded by the revelation she heard and wondered how much of it was true. When she had read Tara the riot act, it was based off of pure speculation and vague observations she knew would anger the brunette. This however, these statements that Margarete made sounded personal. When she had turned to Julian for answers, he was straight-faced and chose to remain silent.

Tara nodded thoughtfully as she stepped fully into the room. She wasn’t sure how long Willow had been in the room, she just hoped she hadn’t been in the room long enough to have heard what Margarete said.

"Tara, you know we can’t keep her here right?" Julian said dejectedly.

"I know," she grouched as she looked through the two-way mirror. She watched as the raven-haired woman sat unperturbed in the interrogation room, staring into the mirror with a smug smirk. There had got to be something that they had missed, something that would connect this woman to the crime. "But something in my gut is telling me that she did it. I’m not gonna just let her go."

"Actually, I may be able to help you with that," chirped Willow as her face lit up. "I was able to pull a saliva sample off of the victim which matched the DNA found on the condoms."

"That’s great news," Julian exclaimed. "Any matches in the database?"

"Unfortunately that’s were my good news end." Willow said with a soft shrug of her shoulders. "I ran the sample several times but nothing came up. If we could pull a sample from Miss. Thatcher, I could cross examine it."

Snapping out of her admiration of the redhead, Tara turned her attention to her partner. "Julian, you try to get a warrant to search her house and to obtain a sample of her DNA. Dr. Rosenberg, I need you to re-examine the victim’s body again, see if there’s anything that might be able to help us further."

"What about you?" Willow asked just as Tara was turning away. "What are you gonna do?"

"I’m going back to the crime scene to do another check of the house. Hopefully she left something behind," Tara answered hurriedly before exiting the room.


888


Early Friday Morning

She had arrived at Mr. Nolan’s house a little after one in the morning, ripping off the crime scene tape blocking off the front door as she entered the residence. For three hours afterward, Tara thoroughly searching the victim’s house, room by room, inch by inch and had come up empty handed.

About an hour ago, as she was doing another sweep of the master bedroom, Julian called to inform her that he and Harris were having trouble tracking down a judge at such an early hour and that they would have to wait a few hours to obtain the search warrant when District Court opened. Exasperated, Tara continued with her search, crawling on hands and knees as she peered under furniture.

Pushing up off of the floor, Tara stood numbly in the middle of the gloomy living room, completely exhausted. She hadn’t slept for over thirty hours and her body was starting to show signs of fatigue; her shoulders aching while her legs became weary. The sudden roar of thunder jolted Tara out of her daze. She looked out the large glass bay window to see rain continuously pour down from the sky.

It was moments like this that Tara hated the most. Alone, helpless and hopeless. She clenched her jaw and banished the intruding feeling for the umpteenth time in her life. Lifting her arm, the movement sluggish, she wiped beads of sweat off of her forehead using her sleeve.

This is going nowhere. She practically ripped off the blue latex gloves she was wearing and stuffed them into the forensic kit on the carpeted floor. She kneeled down and started repacking the contents of the kit, getting ready to leave. She could only hope that they find something in Margarete’s house, which would point to her involvement in Marcus’ death.

Tara slammed the kit shut and stood up, clutching its handle tightly. When she raised her head, the sight before her made her heart skip a beat.

_________________
Alyson, oh, Alyson why don´t you join my band? So you could play the flute like this one time in band camp.
I Am Forever / A Special Christmas of Sorts / Maybe It's Just Me / Honeysuckle Rose /Blackouts and Breakthroughs / When Love Arrives


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 Post subject: Re: New Fic: Maybe It's Just Me - Update 04/08/2020
PostPosted: Thu Apr 09, 2020 2:36 am 
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2. Floating Rose

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This story is really good.


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 Post subject: Re: New Fic: Maybe It's Just Me - Update 04/08/2020
PostPosted: Thu Apr 09, 2020 11:37 am 
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Again, another excellent update. Can't wait to see MORE evolution of this relationship. Thanks for writing and giving us all something to escape into.
Thanks & Blessings

_________________
Open Mind...True Words....Charitable Heart


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 Post subject: Re: New Fic: Maybe It's Just Me - Update 04/08/2020
PostPosted: Mon Apr 13, 2020 6:46 am 
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Quote:
Here," he said, tossing the brunette a bag full of food. "I got your favorite, a bacon cheeseburger with a fried egg."

"You get fries?" Tara asked as she peered into the bag.

"Yup," quipped the male as he sat down in one of the available chairs, sliding another bag to the empty seat beside him, "and of the curly variety."

"You know me so well," chirped the brunette as she sat down next to her partner. "Thanks."


I love the friendship Julian and Tara have. It’s so effervescent. It’s gonna be harsh to read when Julian finds out about Tara’s “betrayal”


Quote:
Tara slammed the kit shut and stood up, clutching its handle tightly. When she raised her head, the sight before her made her heart skip a beat.


Holy unbelievable cliff hanger. So mean, you can’t leave us hanging like that. Ugh, luckily Wednesday’s not too far off.


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 Post subject: Re: New Fic: Maybe It's Just Me - Update 04/08/2020
PostPosted: Tue Apr 14, 2020 4:15 am 
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7. Teeny Tinkerbell Light

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Quote:
Leaving the scantly used bedroom,

So Tara either a) hardly ever sleeps properly or b) has way more one-night-stands than I thought before (which would probably mean the same as alternative "a)"). It's really a wonder she hasn't managed to get herself killed in her line of work...

Quote:
They were letting Margarette 'sweat it out', a tactic used many times before to get the suspect thoughts racing and lips loosened. It would only be a matter of time before the woman cracked and knowing Tara, she would want to be there to witness it.

Oh come on guys, seriously?! That might work with alcoholics, drug addicts or bullyboys, but not with a tough, cold blooded business woman like Margarete Thatcher. How much time did you waste by this attempt, 2 hours?

Quote:
"Why didn’t you tell us that you were with Marcus Nolan the night he died?" Tara questioned, her expression demanding.

"You didn’t ask," was the placid reply that came.

Tara clenched her jaw in frustration as she stared at the dark-haired woman seated opposite of her.

She's absolutely right, Tara - neither you nor Julian asked the second-most obvious question in a murder interrogation "When have you seen the victim the last time?"

Quote:
"It’s my life; I choose what I want to say. I’m very much like you Detective Maclay. A private person," Margarete replied coolly, meeting Tara’s stare audaciously.

Tara frowned and shook her head slightly. "You don’t know anything about me."

Margarete smiled in a spine-chilling way. "I know more about you than you know about yourself."

Tara let out a bark of laughter, amused by the woman’s tactics. "I really don’t think so."

"Well, let me explain then. You lead a life of abandonment and loneliness. Most of the time you’re just going through the motions. You rarely make a connection with people, so you replace the gaping hole in your heart with meaningless one-night stands. You surround yourself with death to numb yourself to the idea of dying. The tough facade you pass off is actually a mask for the little lost girl that you really are. How am I doing so far, Tara?" Margarete smirked in self-satisfactory.

Ouch, that was mean! I still hope Maggie isn't the murderer because it would be much too simple and boring and give Tara's self rightousness a satisfaction not deserved, but now I no longer would like Julian hooking up with Maggie.

Quote:
"You’re wrong," she said calmly, not about to be pulled into the mind game that Margarete was tempting her to play.

Funny that Tara managed to keep her temper in this moment considering that she usually loses it for the most ridiculous reasons.
Quote:
She had plenty of training when it came to suppressing her true emotions.
:laugh Until now you only used it when it came to positive emotions...

Quote:
Margaret let out a defeated sigh. "We went back to his house, drank a little and then I went back home," she proclaimed, her expression defiant.

"But not before you poisoned him," Tara responded.

"That’s a very strong accusation, Detective Maclay," Margarete replied, glaring hatefully. Glancing at her watch, she heaved a sigh of annoyance before looking back up at the detective. "It’s getting rather late, Detective. Now, I know my rights, either charge me with murder or let me go."

"You’re not going anywhere," Tara stated firmly. She stood up from her seat and walked out the door.

Oh come on Tara, why didn't you at least ask Maggie if she had sex with the victim before she left his house? Then you could at least accuse her of lying if later her DNA was found on the condoms.

Very embarrassing for Tara that Willow heard Maggie's taunting!

Quote:
I’m not gonna just let her go."

"Actually, I may be able to help you with that," chirped Willow as her face lit up. "I was able to pull a saliva sample off of the victim which matched the DNA found on the condoms."

If it matched with Maggie's DNA it would prove that she had sex with the victim. But it wouldn't prove that she poisoned him. Actually I'm pretty sure Maggie wouldn't have been so stupid to leave the used condoms behind if she had killed him.

Quote:
If we could pull a sample from Miss. Thatcher, I could cross examine it."

Snapping out of her admiration of the redhead, Tara turned her attention to her partner. "Julian, you try to get a warrant to search her house and to obtain a sample of her DNA.

HUH?! Why on earth don't you try to get a warrant to obtain a DNA sample from the source itself, Maggie, sitting in the next room?! You could even ask her if she was willing to give you a sample first - if she refused you would at least know that you're on the right track.

Quote:
For three hours afterward, Tara thoroughly searching the victim’s house, room by room, inch by inch and had come up empty handed.

Quote:
Tara slammed the kit shut and stood up, clutching its handle tightly. When she raised her head, the sight before her made her heart skip a beat.

Tara must have been really sleep-deprived that she has to accidentally stumble over the evidence after searching for 3 hours... I'm curious what she found, probably something that points to Maggie?


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 Post subject: Re: New Fic: Maybe It's Just Me - Update 04/08/2020
PostPosted: Wed Apr 15, 2020 8:09 am 
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7. Teeny Tinkerbell Light
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sgdarlene wrote:
This story is really good.


Thank you, glad you're enjoying it!


MotherD wrote:
Again, another excellent update. Can't wait to see MORE evolution of this relationship. Thanks for writing and giving us all something to escape into.
Thanks & Blessings


Thank you! Glad to help alleviate some of the boredom and give you and others something to pass the time with. Hope you enjoy the next chapter. :)


wickedaddiction wrote:
I love the friendship Julian and Tara have. It’s so effervescent.


I love their friendship too, everyone could benefit from having a friend like Julian.

Quote:
It's gonna be harsh to read when Julian finds out about Tara's "betrayl'


You're absolutely right; when Tara finally does come clean, it's not gonna be pretty.


Quote:
Holy unbelievable cliff hanger. So mean, you can’t leave us hanging like that. Ugh, luckily Wednesday’s not too far off.



Sorry! Sorry! But I had to end at least one chapter on a cliff hanger. Hopefully this next chapter will make up for leaving you hanging. :)



Will's redemption wrote:
So Tara either a) hardly ever sleeps properly or b) has way more one-night-stands than I thought before (which would probably mean the same as alternative "a)"). It's really a wonder she hasn't managed to get herself killed in her line of work...


I'd say a little bit of column A and a little from column B. Being a Homicide detective, her sleep habits are pretty erratic due to being called into work at all hours of the day. Add on top of that her reckless, self-destructive ways and her inability to hold down a real relationship (platonic or romantic) it leaves little time to be home.


Quote:
She's absolutely right, Tara - neither you nor Julian asked the second-most obvious question in a murder interrogation "When have you seen the victim the last time?"


Very true. Lack of sleep must be getting to them.

Quote:
Ouch, that was mean! I still hope Maggie isn't the murderer because it would be much too simple and boring and give Tara's self rightousness a satisfaction not deserved, but now I no longer would like Julian hooking up with Maggie.


Don't worry, Julian's not gonna get with Margarette. He may think she's hot but their personality don't mesh well. Besides. he just got Tara and Willow to stop bickering after two years could you imagine if he had to go through that all over again with Margarette and Tara. :gnome

Quote:
Funny that Tara managed to keep her temper in this moment considering that she usually loses it for the most ridiculous reasons


I'd like to believe she's turning over a new leaf in life, trying to maintain a level head when angry ... but really I think being read like that, for the second time, through her for a loop.

Quote:
:laugh Until now you only used it when it came to positive emotions...


:laugh very true!

Quote:
Oh come on Tara, why didn't you at least ask Maggie if she had sex with the victim before she left his house? Then you could at least accuse her of lying if later her DNA was found on the condoms.


I think I had tunnel vision when writing this chapter because I didn't even think of that. *face palm*

Quote:
Very embarrassing for Tara that Willow heard Maggie's taunting!


super embarassing

Quote:
IHUH?! Why on earth don't you try to get a warrant to obtain a DNA sample from the source itself, Maggie, sitting in the next room?! You could even ask her if she was willing to give you a sample first - if she refused you would at least know that you're on the right track.


Margarette's a smart business woman, knows the laws well, and since she's being interviewed as a prime suspect, she would not willingly give a saliva swab. Because Tara knows this, she want's Julian to get a warrant allowing them to not only enter Margarette's house but allow them to take a DNA sample from the woman herself.

Quote:
Tara must have been really sleep-deprived that she has to accidentally stumble over the evidence after searching for 3 hours... I'm curious what she found, probably something that points to Maggie?
[/quote][/quote]

She's well beyond sleep deprived. At this point, she's basically an insomniac just stumbling around with her tank on empty.

_________________
Alyson, oh, Alyson why don´t you join my band? So you could play the flute like this one time in band camp.
I Am Forever / A Special Christmas of Sorts / Maybe It's Just Me / Honeysuckle Rose /Blackouts and Breakthroughs / When Love Arrives


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 Post subject: Re: New Fic: Maybe It's Just Me - Update 04/08/2020
PostPosted: Wed Apr 15, 2020 8:30 am 
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7. Teeny Tinkerbell Light
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CHAPTER 14

Friday Morning
 
She was like a homing beacon. The light at the end of a seemingly never ending tunnel.

Tara’s heart thumped against her chest. She could feel its muscles constricting painfully then loosening for a brief second before the process started over again; sending surge after surge of lukewarm blood streaming through her entire body. Suddenly, she didn’t feel so alone, so helpless and so hopeless anymore.

Willow ran a trembling hand through her dampened red hair as she stood at the front door, drenched. She had been standing outside the door for approximately five minutes, looking through the window as torrents of rain came down on her, when she at last decided to step into the house. The sight of the figure of despondence and forlornness that stood alone inside was heart-wrenching.

Tara slowly took a few steps toward Willow, her head cocked slightly to the side as she absorbed the image of the woman before her. The forensic kit clutched in her hand seemed to have become heavier all of a sudden, the handle slipping from her grasp slightly. "What are you doing here?" she whispered tentatively.

"I came to tell you that I couldn’t find anything else of use on the body. And, also, to see if you needed some help," Willow answered, her voice shaky. She hugged her arms around her chest, her hands rubbing up and down her upper arms to generate some warmth. Her clothes were wringing wet, sticking onto her slim body. Droplets of water dripped steadily down her chin and from the tips of her hair.

"My god, Rosenberg, you’re shivering." Tara hunkered down a little to place the forensic kit on the ground. Free from the kit, Tara hurriedly removed her jacket as she closed the distance between them. Stopping right in front of Willow, Tara threw her leather jacket over the other woman’s shoulder, tugging the collar upward.

Willow looked at Tara; her eyes wandered the expanse of the brunette’s flawless features before settling on a tiny scar on her left cheek. She brought a trembling hand up to caress the detectives face, feeling jaw muscles beneath her fingers flex instantly in response. Cautiously, Willow caressed the scar tenderly with her thumb, leaving wet trails across the other woman’s cheek.

Tara looked down at Willow, brushing strands of moistened hair away from the redhead’s delicate porcelain face. She watched as Willow’s eyes fluttered close when her fingertips grazed the soft wet skin behind her ear. Gently, Tara traced the redhead’s jaw-line down to her chin, and then continued the path downward to her neck, stopping at the sternum, fully exploiting the v-neck she was wearing. Beads of moisture hitched a ride on her fingertips, slowly dribbling down her own hand. As Tara’s movements progressed over the pathologist body, her breathing became shallower by the second.

Willow’s chest rose and fell in a rhythmically faster pace with Tara’s caresses. She opened her eyes when the movement stopped. The sensual grazing had sent shivers of pleasure down her spine. Tara smirked ever so slightly when she saw dilated pupils looking back at her. She knew they must have been the reflection of her own azure eyes.

Cautiously, Tara flattened her palm on Willow’s sternum, slowly moving upward past her pultruding collarbone to the back of her neck. Her other arm slid around the side of the redhead’s waist, feeling abdominal muscles tense up immediately. Her eyes alternated between Willow’s darkened eyes and her salacious lips. Tara was being overwhelmed by everything that was Willow Rosenberg; she never wanted anyone else more than she did this woman right now.

Willow’s breath hitched when Tara began to lean in. Her eyes instinctively closing while her lips parted in anticipation.

"Do you like me, Willow?" Tara asked huskily, her lips barely brushing against Willow’s with each word.

Willow opened her eyes upon hearing her name, the tone in which Tara spoke showed a mixture of intense desire and plead at the same time. It made her heart hitch. Tara was watching her though heavy lidded eyes. The pleasant warmth of the brunette's body, the gentle caress at the back of her neck, the tender touch on her waist and everything that was Tara Maclay suddenly became too much for Willow. Biting her bottom lip, Willow scrutinized her feelings; she never craved anyone this much before, especially someone she spent so much time hating. Foregoing a verbal response, Willow pushed aside her confliction as she crashed her lips onto Tara’s, greedily sucking on the voluptuous flesh.

Tara returned the kiss enthusiastically. Something nagged at her in the back of her head, but she was too far gone to acknowledge it. Her left hand slid up Willow’s neck to tangle in the mass of damp auburn hair as her right hand moved to rest on the small of her back, pulling the petite woman’s soaked body closer. As their body’s melded together, Tara realized that she never felt happier.

Willow emitted a strangled grunt into the kiss when the detective pressed their bodies firmly against each other’s. Mimicking the detective, she placed one hand at the back of Tara’s head while she slide her other one to rest on the brunette’s hip. She allowed herself to be completely dominated by Tara. She had never felt safer.

The kiss was soft yet firm, tender yet fervent. It soon turned demanding as their need for one another took over. Tara ran her tongue along Willow’s upper lip in an attempt to deepen the kiss and was granted access instantly. Tongues met unreservedly as they took turns exploring; savoring the other’s taste. They were engulfed in the sweltering heat of passion. As their bodies melded together, both realized that they had never experience something like this before.

The last two weeks had been torturous for Tara; feeling as if her skin was on fire. She was beyond desperate for bare skin on skin contact; there was just too much clothing between them. She slipped the leather jacket off of the redhead’s shoulders, her hands instantly seeking out the hem of the rain drenched shirt before the heavy material hit the ground. Creeping one hand under the sodden shirt, Tara allowed the tips of her fingers to roam the area around Willow’s lower back. The feel of wet, smooth skin, elicited a gratifying moan from Tara.

Willow arched her back in reflex, pressing herself further into the brunette’s touch. Their kiss was getting increasingly passionate and deep as tongues dueled for supremacy. The tiniest amount of self-control left inside the pathologist made its presence known. It took all of her willpower to pull away from the kiss. She rested her forehead against Tara’s, remaining in the detective’s embrace as she desperately tried to catch her breath. At the sudden loss of Willow’s lip, Tara opened her eyes and looked inquisitively at the redhead, unsure as to why she had pulled away.

"We have to stop," Willow whispered, answering the silent question. "We’re at a crime scene."

Tara was stumped for a moment before comprehension fully dawned on her. She let out a breathy laugh. "Right. I umm … I forgot where we were." She chuckled in embarrassment, slowly removing her hand from under Willow’s shirt and placing it on her waist.

"I think we need to talk," Willow said softly as she played absentmindedly with the ends of Tara’s hair. There were so many thoughts running through her head at the moment, she desperately needed to address each of them. She was unsure how they had gone from being enemies, to acquaintances to kissing in such a short amount of time. Everything had happened so fast, it was almost blinding. But, then again, it could be easily interpreted as two tears of built up sexual tension in the making that had been brought to the forefront two weeks ago.

Tara nodded understandingly; totally aware that her question, which started the kiss, hadn’t been answered. "Yeah, maybe after this case?"

"You’re really eager to catch that bitch, aren’t you?"

"You have no idea,"

Willow busted out in a fit of laughter at the unexpectedly funny boorish declaration and hid her reddening face in the crook of Tara’s neck. When her laughter died out, she sighed blissfully into the embrace. Tara tightened her hold in response, savoring the feeling of the petite woman nestled close to her body; not wanting to be anywhere else at the moment. After basking in the warmth for a few minutes longer, Tara took half a step backward, pulling away from Willow. As they separated, their hands reluctantly slipped off of one another.

"We better go," Willow finally said as she tucked strands of wet hair behind her ears.

"Yeah, we should." Tara forced a smile and looked away from Willow to hide her disappointment. She walked back to where she left the forensic kit and picked it up. Squaring her shoulders, Tara blew out a long breath as she tried to subdue her frying nerves. With no release whatsoever, her body felt as if it was caught in a bottomless freefall. Closing her eyes, Tara tried tempering her hormones once more before turning around to look at Willow.

Smiling softly at the sight of Willow snuggling back into her leather jacket; she approached the redhead and gestured to the front door. Together, they walked to the entrance way and watched through the glass windowpanes adorning the door as rain steadily poured down. Turning the knob, Tara clicked the unlock button on her keys, watching as the lights on her Jeep Wrangler blinked several times from across the street.

"Ready to make a run for it?" Tara asked with a twinkle of playfulness in her eyes.

"Absolutely," Willow replied, smiling brightly as she clutched her car keys to her chest.

They stared at each other for a brief second as if making a silent promise before dashing out of the house to their respective cars.

Smiling gleefully, Tara sprinted behind the redhead before coming to an abrupt halt halfway down the footpath; rain pouring down on her relentlessly as she stared off at a spotlight in the near distance. Squinting her eyes to focus her sight in the dark, Tara noticed a surveillance camera across the street on a neighbor’s porch, the motion detector having activated when they ran out onto the lawn of the victims house.

Willow was about to open the car door when she saw Tara standing on the footpath. "Tara, what are you doing!" she shouted, holding the blonde’s jacket with her hands over her heads as a makeshift umbrella. When she got no response, she quickly ran back. "What is it?" Willow asked, looking up at the brunette questioningly.

"That camera," she replied, nodding her chin in the direction of the neighbor’s porch. Willow’s eyes followed the direction in which Tara was pointing. "I didn’t see it before."

"Well, you see it now. Come on, get into your car!" Willow pulled Tara by the arm towards the yellow, lifted, Jeep Wrangler. She then scurried back to her own car once Tara got into hers.

Sitting in the front seat, her water absorbed clothing seeped through into the cloth of her seat, accentuating the chill running through her body. Cranking the engine to life, Tara quickly switched on the heat to warn off the frigid area surrounding the cabin of the vehicle as she settled in. Sliding her hand into the front pocket of her drenched denim jeans, Tara struggled to remove her cell phone from its confinement. Clicking the power button on her phone, Tara pressed the speed dial number for Julian. This bitch is going down.

_________________
Alyson, oh, Alyson why don´t you join my band? So you could play the flute like this one time in band camp.
I Am Forever / A Special Christmas of Sorts / Maybe It's Just Me / Honeysuckle Rose /Blackouts and Breakthroughs / When Love Arrives


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 Post subject: Re: New Fic: Maybe It's Just Me - Update 04/15/2020
PostPosted: Thu Apr 16, 2020 12:43 am 
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7. Teeny Tinkerbell Light

Joined: Sun Jan 19, 2014 7:01 am
Posts: 557
Dibs! :whip
So the sight that made Tara's heart skip a beat at the end of the chapter before this was no piece of evidence, but a drenched Willow - I didn't see that coming.
Quote:
"I came to tell you that I couldn’t find anything else of use on the body. And, also, to see if you needed some help," Willow answered, her voice shaky.

Very feeble excuses to seek Tara ought at the crime scene - in my mind they translate to "I just longed to see you again!"
Yay for Tara caressing Willow and the kissing! But my favourite part was this:
Quote:
Willow’s breath hitched when Tara began to lean in. Her eyes instinctively closing while her lips parted in anticipation.

"Do you like me, Willow?" Tara asked huskily, her lips barely brushing against Willow’s with each word.

Willow opened her eyes upon hearing her name, the tone in which Tara spoke showed a mixture of intense desire and plead at the same time.

For me this question proves that Tara has feelings for Willow that go beyond physical attraction and lust - and she longs to have them returned, she doesn't want Willow to become another of her one night stands.

Quote:
Biting her bottom lip, Willow scrutinized her feelings; she never craved anyone this much before, especially someone she spent so much time hating. Foregoing a verbal response, Willow pushed aside her confliction as she crashed her lips onto Tara’s, greedily sucking on the voluptuous flesh.

Tara returned the kiss enthusiastically. Something nagged at her in the back of her head, but she was too far gone to acknowledge it. Her left hand slid up Willow’s neck to tangle in the mass of damp auburn hair as her right hand moved to rest on the small of her back, pulling the petite woman’s soaked body closer. As their body’s melded together, Tara realized that she never felt happier.

Willow emitted a strangled grunt into the kiss when the detective pressed their bodies firmly against each other’s. Mimicking the detective, she placed one hand at the back of Tara’s head while she slide her other one to rest on the brunette’s hip. She allowed herself to be completely dominated by Tara. She had never felt safer.

The kiss was soft yet firm, tender yet fervent. It soon turned demanding as their need for one another took over. Tara ran her tongue along Willow’s upper lip in an attempt to deepen the kiss and was granted access instantly. Tongues met unreservedly as they took turns exploring; savoring the other’s taste. They were engulfed in the sweltering heat of passion. As their bodies melded together, both realized that they had never experience something like this before.

That was equal parts :flower and :drool !

Quote:
"I think we need to talk," Willow said softly as she played absentmindedly with the ends of Tara’s hair. There were so many thoughts running through her head at the moment, she desperately needed to address each of them. She was unsure how they had gone from being enemies, to acquaintances to kissing in such a short amount of time. Everything had happened so fast, it was almost blinding. But, then again, it could be easily interpreted as two tears of built up sexual tension in the making that had been brought to the forefront two weeks ago.

Tara nodded understandingly; totally aware that her question, which started the kiss, hadn’t been answered. "Yeah, maybe after this case?"

Oh come on Tara, why wait?! And what do you mean with "maybe" - "maybe we should wait" or "maybe we could talk"?
I would really like them to spend some time and talk in a private setting very soon - maybe Willow could invite Tara to her (hopefully cosy) flat, introduce her to her cat "Miss Kitty" (or her dog "Buffy")...

Quote:
"That camera," she replied, nodding her chin in the direction of the neighbor’s porch. Willow’s eyes followed the direction in which Tara was pointing. "I didn’t see it before."

"Well, you see it now. Come on, get into your car!" Willow pulled Tara by the arm towards the yellow, lifted, Jeep Wrangler. She then scurried back to her own car once Tara got into hers.

Sitting in the front seat, her water absorbed clothing seeped through into the cloth of her seat, accentuating the chill running through her body. Cranking the engine to life, Tara quickly switched on the heat to warn off the frigid area surrounding the cabin of the vehicle as she settled in. Sliding her hand into the front pocket of her drenched denim jeans, Tara struggled to remove her cell phone from its confinement. Clicking the power button on her phone, Tara pressed the speed dial number for Julian. This bitch is going down.

I'm wondering what "breakthrough" Tara expects from the footage of this camera in her case against Maggie... they already know that she was at the victim's house before he died, the camera recording could only prove that she spent there more time than it would take to only "have a drink" - but since Tara didn't ask her how long she stayed with the victim and if they had sex, she couldn't even accuse her of having lied to her.


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 Post subject: Re: New Fic: Maybe It's Just Me - Update 04/15/2020
PostPosted: Thu Apr 16, 2020 6:06 am 
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3. Flaming O
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Quote:
"My god, Rosenberg, you’re shivering." Tara hunkered down a little to place the forensic kit on the ground. Free from the kit, Tara hurriedly removed her jacket as she closed the distance between them. Stopping right in front of Willow, Tara threw her leather jacket over the other woman’s shoulder, tugging the collar upward.


Aww, so cute. This right here shows Tara is secretly a big sweetie underneath her hard exterior.


Quote:
"We have to stop," Willow whispered, answering the silent question. "We’re at a crime scene."

Tara was stumped for a moment before comprehension fully dawned on her. She let out a breathy laugh. "Right. I umm … I forgot where we were." She chuckled in embarrassment, slowly removing her hand from under Willow’s shirt and placing it on her waist.


:laugh :laugh I was so excited about the kiss that I forgot where they were too!


Can't wait for the next update, and more importantly, can't wait for some more :wtkiss

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 Post subject: Re: New Fic: Maybe It's Just Me - Update 04/15/2020
PostPosted: Mon Apr 20, 2020 10:44 am 
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Quote:
Biting her bottom lip, Willow scrutinized her feelings; she never craved anyone this much before, especially someone she spent so much time hating. Foregoing a verbal response, Willow pushed aside her confliction as she crashed her lips onto Tara’s, greedily sucking on the voluptuous flesh.

Tara returned the kiss enthusiastically. Something nagged at her in the back of her head, but she was too far gone to acknowledge it. Her left hand slid up Willow’s neck to tangle in the mass of damp auburn hair as her right hand moved to rest on the small of her back, pulling the petite woman’s soaked body closer. As their body’s melded together, Tara realized that she never felt happier.

Willow emitted a strangled grunt into the kiss when the detective pressed their bodies firmly against each other’s. Mimicking the detective, she placed one hand at the back of Tara’s head while she slide her other one to rest on the brunette’s hip. She allowed herself to be completely dominated by Tara. She had never felt safer.


yes yes yes!!! ABout time that they got with the kissing the slow burn was starting to kill me. Looking forward to the next chapter when they take down that bitch Carol Bask ... I mean Margarette :laugh


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 Post subject: Re: New Fic: Maybe It's Just Me - Update 04/15/2020
PostPosted: Wed Apr 22, 2020 9:08 am 
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7. Teeny Tinkerbell Light
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Will's redemption wrote:
Dibs! :whip


Woohoo! :bounce

Quote:
So the sight that made Tara's heart skip a beat at the end of the chapter before this was no piece of evidence, but a drenched Willow - I didn't see that coming.


I'll take that as a win because you're pretty good at deducting what's gonna happen next.


Quote:
Very feeble excuses to seek Tara ought at the crime scene - in my mind they translate to "I just longed to see you again!"



Quote:
Yay for Tara caressing Willow and the kissing! But my favourite part was this:
Quote:
Willow’s breath hitched when Tara began to lean in. Her eyes instinctively closing while her lips parted in anticipation.

"Do you like me, Willow?" Tara asked huskily, her lips barely brushing against Willow’s with each word.

Willow opened her eyes upon hearing her name, the tone in which Tara spoke showed a mixture of intense desire and plead at the same time.

For me this question proves that Tara has feelings for Willow that go beyond physical attraction and lust - and she longs to have them returned, she doesn't want Willow to become another of her one night stands.


Very true. Her feelings stem deeper than she realized and subconsciously she hopes Willow feels the same way.


Quote:
That was equal parts :flower and :drool !


Quote:
Oh come on Tara, why wait?! And what do you mean with "maybe" - "maybe we should wait" or "maybe we could talk"?
I would really like them to spend some time and talk in a private setting very soon - maybe Willow could invite Tara to her (hopefully cosy) flat, introduce her to her cat "Miss Kitty" (or her dog "Buffy")...


It's one of those poor turn of phrase. She definitely wants to talk with Willow but after they solve the case that way there's no distractions or disruptions.

Quote:
I'm wondering what "breakthrough" Tara expects from the footage of this camera in her case against Maggie... they already know that she was at the victim's house before he died, the camera recording could only prove that she spent there more time than it would take to only "have a drink" - but since Tara didn't ask her how long she stayed with the victim and if they had sex, she couldn't even accuse her of having lied to her.


Very good points. I'm gonna have to go back through this story once it's complete and fix these oversights, thank you. As for the camera, to Tara, it'll indicate if the time of Margarette's arrival and departure line up with time of death.




*WILLOW* wrote:
Quote:
Aww, so cute. This right here shows Tara is secretly a big sweetie underneath her hard exterior.


She's a big ol' softy, for sure.


Quote:
:laugh :laugh I was so excited about the kiss that I forgot where they were too!
Can't wait for the next update, and more importantly, can't wait for some more :wtkiss


Haha, glad you got caught up in the kissing just as they did. More :wtkiss to come!


wickedaddiction wrote:
yes yes yes!!! ABout time that they got with the kissing the slow burn was starting to kill me. Looking forward to the next chapter when they take down that bitch Carol Bask ... I mean Margarette :laugh
[/quote]

:laugh :laugh :laugh, maybe the sequel can be about Tara going undercover to take down Carol Baskin.

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Alyson, oh, Alyson why don´t you join my band? So you could play the flute like this one time in band camp.
I Am Forever / A Special Christmas of Sorts / Maybe It's Just Me / Honeysuckle Rose /Blackouts and Breakthroughs / When Love Arrives


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 Post subject: Re: New Fic: Maybe It's Just Me - Update 04/15/2020
PostPosted: Wed Apr 22, 2020 10:22 am 
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7. Teeny Tinkerbell Light
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CHAPTER

Friday Morning, Around 8AM

Julian walked briskly towards the office, a manila envelope clutched in his hand. He and Harris had obtained the warrant for Margarete Thatcher’s house two hours earlier; having waited impatiently outside of District Court for the first Judge who arrived at 6am promptly. They had made quick work of searching the suspect’s home and found evidence that Margarete was involved in Mr. Nolan’s death. Julian was in desperate need to find his partner, excited to show her the breakthrough find inside of the home as well. Plus what they had found on the surveillance camera across the street from Mr. Nolan's home. Pulling out the CD he had hidden inside of the folder, he tossed it onto Tara’s desk, a shit-eating grin on his face.

Sitting at her desk, Tara had a towel draped over her shoulder, absorbing the water from her shirt. She held a steaming cup of herbal tea in her hands, sipping contently. Close behind her, Willow stood in the kitchenette area with a towel hung over her head, leaning back on the counter as she warmed her hands with a hot mug of caffeinated goodness.

"You’ll never believe what we fou-" Julian stopped mid speech and frowned when he saw the state the two women were in. "Why are the two of you wet?"

Tara spewed out the tea in her mouth when she heard the double-meaning question. Julian jumped back a few steps at the unexpected assault and then checked if there was any nasty brown stain on his tailored suit. He heaved a sigh of relief when he found none.

"What is the matter with you?" He scolded as he straightened out his tie.

"Sorry," Tara said with a sheepish expression. "We, ah, got caught in the rain." She wiped her mouth clean with the end of the towel and stole a quick glance at Willow, who was blushing profusely as she tried to hide her flushed cheeks behind the mug by pretending she was drinking from it.

"You know they made this nifty little contraption called an umbrella, right?" He replied sarcastically as he eyed his partner. Off of her hardened stare, he decided it was best to get back to business instead of poking fun at the obviously tired brunette.

"Oh. Well, here." Julian carefully sidestepped the drops of coffee on the floor and handed Tara the slider storage bag with two bottles of restoril; the suspects name and prescribing doctor printed on the label. "I found the bottles in her medicine cabinet. And I think you can guess who's on the tape."

Tara set down her cup and picked up the CD. After getting into her car, she had immediately contacted Julian and informed him of the security camera aimed at Marcus' house. Since her partner and Harris were in the process of obtaining one warrant and didn't have time to head back to the precinct to write up a new one to legally obtain the video surveillance footage, Tara decided to try and make contact with the neighbors on her own to see if they'd be willing to hand over any footage recorded. Luckily for them, it didn't take much persuading by Tara to convince the groggy Mr. Garcia to assist with the investigation.

However, much like the elderly Mr. Garcia, Tara was not well inept with computers; taking several very long minutes to try and open the surveillance browser for the night desired. After multiple failures, Tara contacted Julian once more and requested Harris' assistance with downloading the files to a secure zip folder. A quick deliberation was made to send Harris to the neighbors house, Tara back to the precinct to start on paperwork, and for Julian to continue with the search of Margarette Thatcher's house and to meet up afterwards.

"Could it possibly be the charming Mrs. Thatcher?" Tara questioned sarcastically as she inserted the disc into her computer’s monitor tower.

"Bingo," Julian replied with a cryptic smile. "But you’ll never guess who made a cameo."

Tara shot her partner a quizzical look. Turning her attention back to the computer, Tara clicked play on the video, watching as a highly pixilated video sprung to life before falling into focus. Fast forwarding the recording to a little while before 1AM, Tara watched impatiently for the arrival of one Margarete Thatcher.

On the lower left hand side of the recording, a timestamped clock indicated that it was 0114 hours when Margarete’s car pulled into the driveway. A minute later, Marcus stumbled out of the passenger side of the car and staggered toward Margarete who ushered him to the front door.

Skipping forward on the surveillance video, the arrival of a second vehicle nearly fifteen minutes later caught Tara’s attention.

Pressing play on the video once more, Tara’s brow knitted together in frustrated anger when another familiar face exited the car. She watched carefully as the blonde haired woman approached the house; greeted by Margarete at the front door. Zooming in on the video, Tara watched as Margarete leaned in close to the other woman, whispering into her ear as she pressed something into the blonde’s hand. The newcomer then nodded her head and entered the house as Margarete sauntered back to her car.

Grunting her disapproval, Tara shifted her gaze from the computer screen to her partner, who had already viewed the video. With a gentle nod, he redirected her attention back to the screen.

"Fast forward to 0246 hours," Julian said, his tone even.

Doing as he said, Tara skipped the video forward. She didn’t have to wait long before motion was detected on the screen once more. Caught on camera was Marcus Nolan’s front door flinging open before the blonde bolted down the steps to her car parked in the driveway. The woman wasted no time in starting her vehicle and slamming it into reverse, sending her car propelling into the empty street.

"Do we have her?" Tara asked as she pointed to the computer, an image of the blonde paused on the screen.

"Not yet, seems like she skipped town." Julian replied straight faced. "But a beat cop just picked up Margarete from her job."

"Where is she now?" Tara asked, pulling the towel off her shoulders and placing in on the counter.

"In the interview room. Harris just brought her back in."

Tara gave a brief nod as she ejected the disk from the monitor before stomping towards the aforementioned room, the evidence clutched tightly in her hands. Willow and Julian followed not far behind.

Once she reached the interview room, Tara shoved the door open with overdue force. Margarete jumped in her seat when the door flew open violently, staring wide eye at the brunette detective who strode in.

"You know detective, you don’t have to keep making excuses to see me. I’d be glad to give you my number," Margarete said flirtatiously, a beguiling smile on her lips.

"Save it," Tara growled out as she tossed the evidence in her hand onto the table and pulled out the empty seat adjacent to the suspect. She sat down with her back rested on the back support as she crossed her legs and folded her arms smugly across her chest; a determined look on her face.

"You were involved in Marcus Nolan’s death," she stated plainly, staring straight into her opponents eyes. "We found these bottles in your house. The CD is from a surveillance camera near Nolan’s house. Want to venture what’s on the tape?"

Margarete swallowed nervously as she stared into the brunette’s cobalt blue eyes. Margarete’s lips quivered as the reality of her situation began sinking in, tears flooded her unimpressive eyes.

"Here, let me help you," Tara said snidely as she jammed a finger down onto the disk. "The time stamp on the tape showed you arriving at Mr. Nolan’s house just after two in the morning. It also shows you with your receptionist, handing over your prescription of Restroil. Game’s over, Margarete. Why don’t you just come clean? Make it easier for everyone."

"We didn’t mean to kill him! It was an accident," she cried, thrashing around slightly. "Harmony
was supposed to wear him out and then give him the sleeping pills so that he’d sleep through his alarm in the morning and miss the meeting of the execs."

"What about the drugs?"

"They were all his," she stated firmly. "He was pretty messed up when I picked him up at the strip club and Harmony said he took two more hits while she was there."

"What else did Harmony say?"

"She said that after they had sex, she went to the kitchen to make a vodka soda and when she returned to the bedroom, Marcus was on the floor having a seizure. She was scared and didn't know what to do; they both were high and she ran. Marcus was a good guy, he wasn't suppose to get hurt, just, you know, not promoted; he didn't deserve it."

"And you did?"

"Yes! I work my ass off day in and day out."Margarette practically snarled as she slammed a clenched fist down onto the table. "I brought in twice the amount of clients then Marcus did and three times the revenue, and yet he was still the golden child." The anger that quickly emerged just as rapidly dissipated as she looked up into the detectives unimpressed eyes. "Please, Detective Maclay, I didn't know that this was gonna happen, I swear to god. Please believe me."

Tara remained unfazed at the desperate pleads. She stood up and walked around the table, taking out her handcuffs from the pouch at her waist. "Margarete Thatcher, you’re now under arrest for constructive manslaughter."
 

888

 
"There she is!" Harris exclaimed when Willow walked through the door into the office, raising a beer up in the air. "Have one, Dr. Rosenberg." He grabbed one of the Heineken's out of the twelve pack sitting on the desk and passed it to her.

"Thanks," Willow smiled gratefully. She had gone back to the hospital to get cleaned up and settle the post-mortem report on the victim after Margarete was officially charged. During the proceeding eight hours of her shift, she found some time to sort out her thoughts and feelings before coming to a conclusion - she definitely liked Tara. She just wasn’t sure how far her feelings actually went, but she was more than willing to find out.

The office was almost empty, save for the four of them. The other detectives were either out on the streets conducting investigations or had already left for the day once their shifts were over. The remaining detectives were carrying out their custom of drinking celebratory beers after successfully solving yet another case and had invited Willow to come over to join them.

"I believe that Dr. Rosenberg is joining us in our tradition for the very first time, which is odd because she’s such a wonderful person." Harris announced to the small group of friends. "But I think we all know the reason why." The three of them looked pointedly at Tara, who had her lips attached to the opening of the long-neck beer bottle.

Tara stared blankly back at them before rolling her eyes good-humoredly. "It’s over," she said annoyingly after taking a gulp of the cold beer. "We’re okay. Move on." She made a sweeping motion with her free hand, sharing a sweet smile with the redheaded medical examiner afterwards. The rest chuckled lightly in response.

As Harris was narrating one of his many anecdotes to Tara, Julian seized the long awaited opportunity to ask Willow out. "So, Dr. Rosenberg, are you doing anything Saturday night? Maybe we can grab dinner together." He held a hopeful expression, praying hard that his request would be granted this time around.

Willow was at a loss for words. She glanced toward Tara, who was looking at them. The brunette detective made brief eye contact before looking away and seemingly turned her attention back to Harris who was still trying his hand at getting Tara to buy him a donut.

Tara wasn’t listening to a word that the shaggy haired brawny man in front of her was saying while gesturing animatedly, she was merely nodding distractedly at regular intervals. She knew that Willow was looking to her for help, but she had none to offer. She tried her best to ignore the pleading expression the examiner shot at her, even though her heart was twitching.

Julian followed Willow’s line of sight to his partner and then it hit him. "Oh, I was thinking it’ll be just the two of us. Since you two are fine with each other know, I was hoping …" he waited expectantly for an answer with an unassuming smile.

Willow passed her teeth over her lower lip and tugged her hair behind her ear, trying to think of a way out of the offer to dinner without hurting Julian’s feelings. She used to have a pretty obvious excuse for not wanting to go out with him and he had understandingly accepted it. She still had that excuse, though, just in an entirely different context.

When Julian saw the hesitation, his heart dropped. "It’s okay if you don’t want to. I get it. I just thou-"

"No, that’s not it! It’s just that I …" Willow sighed out in exasperation. She should have told Julian the very first time he asked her out that she was gay. Instead, she opted for the most basic excuse, not intent on outing herself at her new job in fear or discrimination or retaliation from her coworkers. "Sure, I’ll have dinner with you."

"Seriously? That’s great! I’ll pick you up at seven then," Julian replied excitedly. "Does that work?"

Willow smiled back half-heartedly. She figured that she could actually make things clearer with the detective in private over dinner. She looked toward Tara again, but got no acknowledgement. She wanted nothing more than to reassure the brunette that things weren’t as it seemed.

When she heard what Willow had said, Tara felt heaps of indescribable emotions crash down heavily on her already dead beat body. She downed the remainder of her beer in her hand furiously before grabbing another one. It wasn’t until then that she realized what the nagging feeling in the back of her head had been earlier. When she had engaged in the passionate moment with Willow … she had betrayed Julian, the one person in the world she had closest to being her family.
 

_________________
Alyson, oh, Alyson why don´t you join my band? So you could play the flute like this one time in band camp.
I Am Forever / A Special Christmas of Sorts / Maybe It's Just Me / Honeysuckle Rose /Blackouts and Breakthroughs / When Love Arrives


Last edited by mmmh-Hot-Sauce on Wed May 13, 2020 7:50 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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 Post subject: Re: New Fic: Maybe It's Just Me - Update 04/22/2020
PostPosted: Thu Apr 23, 2020 6:50 am 
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7. Teeny Tinkerbell Light

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Dibs! :whip
I'm a bit disappointed that Ms. Thatcher did turn out to be (partially) responsible for the victim's death (even if it wasn't murder) and so proved Tara's suspicion (which in my opinion wasn't based on any facts but only prejudice / aversion against another woman who was tough and successful in a male-dominated line of work) right.

But I probably shouldn't begrudge Tara the self rightous glee it brought her considering the heartache and guilt she suffered at the end of the chapter when Willow seemingly accepted Julian's romatic advances.

Quote:
"No, that’s not it! It’s just that I …" Willow sighed out in exasperation. She should have told Julian the very first time he asked her out that she was gay. Instead, she opted for the most basic excuse, not intent on outing herself at her new job in fear or discrimination or retaliation from her coworkers. "Sure, I’ll have dinner with you."

"Seriously? That’s great! I’ll pick you up at seven tomorrow night," Julian replied excitedly. "Does that work?"

Willow smiled back half-heartedly. She figured that she could actually make things clearer with the detective in private over dinner. She looked toward Tara again, but got no acknowledgement. She wanted nothing more than to reassure the brunette that things weren’t as it seemed.

I understand why Willow has shied away from outing herself as gay to Julian before and that she didn't want to say "It's just that I'm gay." in this moment either with Xander present. But I still think she shouldn't have given him false hope and disappointed Tara by practically agreeing to go on a date with him. Instead she should have asked for a talk under 4 eyes with Julian then and there and during this she should have told him the truth that she isn't interested in him romantically because she is gay.


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 Post subject: Re: New Fic: Maybe It's Just Me - Update 04/22/2020
PostPosted: Sun Apr 26, 2020 9:38 am 
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3. Flaming O
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went back and read the chapter Tara and Julian first met Tatchers receptionist and now I can totally see harmony as that character. Harmonys a tad dim witted so not too shocked she played a role in Marcus accidental death. Excited for the next chapter but a little bummed Willows going out on a date with Julian. I don’t see Tara taking this too well. Hopefully she doesn’t go back to being mean to Willow.


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 Post subject: Re: New Fic: Maybe It's Just Me - Update 04/22/2020
PostPosted: Wed Apr 29, 2020 9:14 am 
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Excellent update. More please

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 Post subject: Re: New Fic: Maybe It's Just Me - Update 04/22/2020
PostPosted: Wed Apr 29, 2020 11:59 am 
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7. Teeny Tinkerbell Light
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Will's redemption wrote:
Dibs! :whip


:applause



Quote:
I'm a bit disappointed that Ms. Thatcher did turn out to be (partially) responsible for the victim's death (even if it wasn't murder) and so proved Tara's suspicion (which in my opinion wasn't based on any facts but only prejudice / aversion against another woman who was tough and successful in a male-dominated line of work) right.

But I probably shouldn't begrudge Tara the self rightous glee it brought her considering the heartache and guilt she suffered at the end of the chapter when Willow seemingly accepted Julian's romatic advances.


Sure, a part of Tara might have been prejudice toward Margarete because she is a self assured woman with a confrontational "won't back down" attitude much like herself. Margarete's alpha behavior rivaled that of Tara's to which started a proverbial pissing match between the two. But at the same time, sometimes you just get a feeling in the pit of your stomach that someone is a bad person or straight up lying to your face.

Quote:
I understand why Willow has shied away from outing herself as gay to Julian before and that she didn't want to say "It's just that I'm gay." in this moment either with Xander present. But I still think she shouldn't have given him false hope and disappointed Tara by practically agreeing to go on a date with him. Instead she should have asked for a talk under 4 eyes with Julian then and there and during this she should have told him the truth that she isn't interested in him romantically because she is gay.


we don't always make the right choices, especially when we're put on the spot. Sometimes we have to take a step back from the situation at hand, think it over, and formulate a speech much like Willow wanted to do in order to let down Julian in the kindest way possible without destroying the friendship they started to build.


wickedaddiction wrote:
went back and read the chapter Tara and Julian first met Tatchers receptionist and now I can totally see harmony as that character. Harmonys a tad dim witted so not too shocked she played a role in Marcus accidental death. Excited for the next chapter but a little bummed Willows going out on a date with Julian. I don’t see Tara taking this too well. Hopefully she doesn’t go back to being mean to Willow.


I tried not to make it too obvious that Harmony was the receptionist. Like I said the first chapter, a few characters will pop up here and there but nothing significant (other than Xander's occasional appearances of course). Willow's acceptance of the date was a complete shock to Tara and her ego and with poor cooping skills as it is, there's always a possibility she may relapse back to her old ways.


*WILLOW* wrote:
Excellent update. More please


Thank you. Hope you enjoy the next chapter

_________________
Alyson, oh, Alyson why don´t you join my band? So you could play the flute like this one time in band camp.
I Am Forever / A Special Christmas of Sorts / Maybe It's Just Me / Honeysuckle Rose /Blackouts and Breakthroughs / When Love Arrives


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 Post subject: Re: New Fic: Maybe It's Just Me - Update 04/22/2020
PostPosted: Wed Apr 29, 2020 5:48 pm 
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7. Teeny Tinkerbell Light
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Short chapter for today, the next one will be longer.

Saturday
 
 
Tara scarcely got enough sleep the previous night. Just when things were at last looking up between her and Willow, they had taken a drastic turn for the worse. She let out a tired groan as she closed her eyes and rested her forehead on the steering wheel, her hands gripped loosely at the ten and two o’clock position.

No matter how hard she tried, she simply couldn’t seem to get Willow out of her head. She was angry at Julian for asking Willow out. She was angry at Willow for agreeing to the dinner invite. But most importantly, she was angry with herself for feeling angry because she knew she had no right.

Begrudgingly, Tara lifted her head up and ran her fingers through her unkempt hair. Bloodshot veins were apparent in her eyes, caused by the combination of lack of sleep and the additional alcohol she consumed after she went back to her apartment. She had contemplated calling out of work, feigning sick but she knew Julian would see right through her feeble excuse. She hadn't missed a Saturday shift in three years, not since they were lateraled over to the split shift schedule.

Letting out a long huff of air, she grabbed her bag from the passenger seat and the cup of coffee from the cup holder. She hesitated when she felt her personal phone vibrating in her bag for the eleventh time since leaving the precinct last night, but chose to ignore it like the past ten times. Not having charged the phone in over 24 hours, she knew it would only be a matter of time before the battery died and she wouldn't have to deal with, or rather, ignore, the constant ringing.

Sighing, Tara unsnapped her seatbelt before quickly getting out of her Jeep. As she made her way to the office, she drank the remainder of her lukewarm coffee, crushing the cup with her hand and chucking it into the trash can nearby. When she reached the entrance, Tara stopped momentarily to take in a deep breath and put on her invisible mask.

"Hey," Tara greeted with as much energy she could muster up once she reached Julian’s desk.

"Hey … you look like crap," Julian commented when he looked up from the paperwork he was doing, frowning.

"Thanks for the compliment," Tara replied with a hint of irritation.

"I was only joking!" Julian said in self-defense as he held up his hands in surrender. "Are you okay? You look really tired. Maybe you should take the day off, go home and get some rest."

Tara dragged out a long sigh as she processed Julian’s words. "I’m sorry. I just didn’t get much sleep last night, that’s all. I’ll be fine." She forced a fake smile to help reassure her partner. Plopping down into her desk chair, Tara pulled out some files from the drawer, hoping that work might help to get her mind off of things.

"Okay, if you say so." Julian narrowed his eyes suspiciously at his partner seated across from him. He had known Tara long enough to know when something was wrong. "But, you’ll tell me right? If something was wrong?" He asked, his voice thick with concern.

Tara looked up at him from under her eyebrows. She almost hated him for being the wonderful guy that he was, but she knew she never could despise him for anything. "Yeah, of course," she replied, lying through her teeth. She clenched her jaw, bracing herself for what’s probably going to be one of the
longest days of her life.

Without a new case to work on, she was stuck in the office, filing paperwork while internally berating herself. She glanced at her watch every few minutes, hoping that time would pass by faster so she could get this insufferable day over with. After her fifth glance at her watch, Tara rubbed her temples furiously as she tried to ward off the migraine brought on by the streaming thoughts of Willow. Tara knew she wasn’t supposed to be thinking about the redhead, but she was losing control of her mind. Rather than resisting, she allowed herself to be thrusted deeper into her own mental world while sparing just enough consciousness to focus on her work.

Before Tara knew it, another workday had come to an end. Frantic movements from the opposite side of the desk caught her attention.

"I need to hurry if I wanna make it in time for my date with Willow," Julian said when he noticed the puzzling look Tara was giving him. "I made a reservation at Blue Moon Restaurant, pretty romantic isn’t it?" he asked semi-rhetorically, a bright smile plastered on his face as he arranged his desk hurriedly, piling papers haphazardly on top of one another and stuffing unimportant materials into the drawers.

"Yeah," Tara breathed out softly. She was nearly amused by her partner’s clumsiness and decided to take pity on him. "Why don’t you just leave them there? I’ll help you with it later."

"Really? Alright, thanks a lot! I better go now," Julian replied. He checked his briefcase to make sure he hadn’t left out any of his belongings. He flashed a quick smile and gave a wave before jogging toward the exit.

"Good luck!" Tara yelled after him following a moment of hesitation. She exhaled a deflated breath and buried her face in her hands once Julian was out of sight. She hadn’t felt this alone in a long time.
 

888


Willow stood in front of the floor length mirror in her apartment, checking her appearance for the second time even though she wasn’t really all that concerned about it. She was just making sure she looked presentable at the very least. She glanced toward the clock on her nightstand. It was almost seven, which meant Julian would be at her front door any minute now.

Sinking heavily down onto her bed, Willow’s shoulders slumped as exhaustion finally caught up with her. She closed her eyes to grab a momentary break. She hadn’t slept since she left the precinct the night before, having lain in bed thinking about a certain crestfallen brunette whom she knew she had hurt. She had left several messages on Tara’s cell phone, but none of them had been returned.

To make things worse, she could feel that she was coming down with some sort of sickness that most likely had resulted from being caught in the rainstorm the previous day. The intense yearning to be back in Tara’s arms was becoming painful as the memory of their passionate encounter flooded the back of her closed eyelids. She had often been the one to comfort others; her job consisted of consoling grieving family members and friends who went down to the morgue to identify their deceased loved ones. She also found herself caring for people who were in need as well as those who were not. But with Tara, she was the one being enveloped in warmth and protected from harm. Knowing that she had hurt the brunette; Willow’s whole body cramped with unease.

Willow was so lost in her thoughts that she jumped up nearly an inch from the bed when there were a few loud knocks on her front door; her eyes shooting open instantly. She took a second to settle her rattled nerves before grabbing her purse and walking out of her bedroom to answer the door.
Hesitantly, Willow opened the door to reveal a sharply dressed Julian. "Hey," she greeted softly.

"Wow, Dr. Rosenberg, you look amazing," Julian breathed out in awe, his eyes light up and his jaw hanging slightly.

Willow couldn’t help but blush a little at the compliment. "You can call me Willow. And you don’t look so bad yourself either." She smiled as pleasantly as she could, amidst all the emotions and thoughts she was having.

"Thanks," Julian said as he smiled nervously, looking down at his outfit; a cream v-neck sweater and tailored black dress pants. "So, you ready to go?"

"Yeah, lets go." Willow said as energetically as possible. Stepping out of her apartment, Willow closed the door behind her as a heaviness settled into her chest; tonight, she was going to break someone’s heart.

_________________
Alyson, oh, Alyson why don´t you join my band? So you could play the flute like this one time in band camp.
I Am Forever / A Special Christmas of Sorts / Maybe It's Just Me / Honeysuckle Rose /Blackouts and Breakthroughs / When Love Arrives


Last edited by mmmh-Hot-Sauce on Wed May 13, 2020 7:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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 Post subject: Re: New Fic: Maybe It's Just Me - Update 04/29/2020
PostPosted: Thu Apr 30, 2020 1:55 am 
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7. Teeny Tinkerbell Light

Joined: Sun Jan 19, 2014 7:01 am
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Dibs! :whip
So poor Tara and Willow both had (almost) no sleep, were thinking about each other and feeling miserable (although for slightly different reasons). Willow at least knows that Tara is gay and "available" while Tara can't be sure about Willow's sexual orientation and has to fear that she will hook up with Jordan.

Quote:
She hesitated when she felt her phone vibrating in her bag for the eleventh time since leaving the precinct last night, but chose to ignore it like the past ten times.

Quote:
She had left several messages on Tara’s cell phone, but none of them had been returned.

Very unfortunate that Tara didn't even check from whom all those messages were - it might have saved her some heartache if she had seen Willow tried to reach her and she might have even called her back.

Quote:
The intense yearning to be back in Tara’s arms was becoming painful as the memory of their passionate encounter flooded the back of her closed eyelids. She had often been the one to comfort others; her job consisted of consoling grieving family members and friends who went down to the morgue to identify their deceased loved ones. She also found herself caring for people who were in need as well as those who were not. But with Tara, she was the one being enveloped in warmth and protected from harm.

Aww. I get that Willow longs to be cared for and protected by Tara, but she'll soon find out that Tara has plenty of need to be cared for and protected (emotionally), too.

Quote:
Stepping out of her apartment, Willow closed the door behind her as a heaviness settled into her chest; tonight, she was going to break someone’s heart

Poor Julian. I really hope Willow will "make it quick" with telling him the truth and won't wait until after dessert or something. :wink


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 Post subject: Re: New Fic: Maybe It's Just Me - Update 04/29/2020
PostPosted: Sat May 02, 2020 3:43 pm 
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I just feel so bad for Julian, he’s been looking forward to taking Willow out on a date for over a year and has his hopes set on high. I’d hate to be in Willows shoes. Hopefully, for her sake and Julian’s, she doesn’t wait until after dinner when he walks her to her door to tell him she’s into Tara.


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 Post subject: Re: New Fic: Maybe It's Just Me - Update 04/29/2020
PostPosted: Wed May 06, 2020 2:21 pm 
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I really like this story so far, interesting take on Tara's character especially. All very messy. Can't wait for the next update!

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 Post subject: Re: New Fic: Maybe It's Just Me - Update 04/29/2020
PostPosted: Wed May 06, 2020 7:50 pm 
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7. Teeny Tinkerbell Light
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Will's redemption wrote:
Dibs! :whip



:bounce

Quote:
So poor Tara and Willow both had (almost) no sleep, were thinking about each other and feeling miserable (although for slightly different reasons). Willow at least knows that Tara is gay and "available" while Tara can't be sure about Willow's sexual orientation and has to fear that she will hook up with Jordan.


Quote:
Very unfortunate that Tara didn't even check from whom all those messages were - it might have saved her some heartache if she had seen Willow tried to reach her and she might have even called her back.


Yes, definitely would have saved her from a rough night of sorrow if only she answered her phone and spoke with Willow about her feelings and concerns.

Quote:
Aww. I get that Willow longs to be cared for and protected by Tara, but she'll soon find out that Tara has plenty of need to be cared for and protected (emotionally), too.


All in due time.

Quote:
Poor Julian. I really hope Willow will "make it quick" with telling him the truth and won't wait until after dessert or something. :wink


She has no plans on prolonging the inevitable. She just needs to find the perfect opening to deliver the bad news.



wickedaddiction wrote:
I just feel so bad for Julian, he’s been looking forward to taking Willow out on a date for over a year and has his hopes set on high. I’d hate to be in Willows shoes. Hopefully, for her sake and Julian’s, she doesn’t wait until after dinner when he walks her to her door to tell him she’s into Tara.


It's hard not to feel bad for Julian, he's such a nice guy. I definitely do not envy Willow in this situation and would hate to be in either hers or Julian's position.


leftindust wrote:
I really like this story so far, interesting take on Tara's character especially. All very messy. Can't wait for the next update!


Thanks you, glad you're enjoying the story so far. The messiness isn't going to let up anytime soon as is evident in the next chapter. Hope you like it

_________________
Alyson, oh, Alyson why don´t you join my band? So you could play the flute like this one time in band camp.
I Am Forever / A Special Christmas of Sorts / Maybe It's Just Me / Honeysuckle Rose /Blackouts and Breakthroughs / When Love Arrives


Last edited by mmmh-Hot-Sauce on Wed May 06, 2020 8:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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 Post subject: Re: New Fic: Maybe It's Just Me - Update 04/29/2020
PostPosted: Wed May 06, 2020 8:04 pm 
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7. Teeny Tinkerbell Light
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Joined: Mon Aug 04, 2008 11:37 am
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Will's redemption wrote:
Dibs! :whip



:bounce

Quote:
So poor Tara and Willow both had (almost) no sleep, were thinking about each other and feeling miserable (although for slightly different reasons). Willow at least knows that Tara is gay and "available" while Tara can't be sure about Willow's sexual orientation and has to fear that she will hook up with Jordan.


Quote:
Very unfortunate that Tara didn't even check from whom all those messages were - it might have saved her some heartache if she had seen Willow tried to reach her and she might have even called her back.


Yes, definitely would have saved her from a rough night of sorrow if only she answered her phone and spoke with Willow about her feelings and concerns.

Quote:
Aww. I get that Willow longs to be cared for and protected by Tara, but she'll soon find out that Tara has plenty of need to be cared for and protected (emotionally), too.


All in due time.

Quote:
Poor Julian. I really hope Willow will "make it quick" with telling him the truth and won't wait until after dessert or something. :wink


She has no plans on prolonging the inevitable. She just needs to find the perfect opening to deliver the bad news.



wickedaddiction wrote:
I just feel so bad for Julian, he’s been looking forward to taking Willow out on a date for over a year and has his hopes set on high. I’d hate to be in Willows shoes. Hopefully, for her sake and Julian’s, she doesn’t wait until after dinner when he walks her to her door to tell him she’s into Tara.


It's hard not to feel bad for Julian, he's such a nice guy. I definitely do not envy Willow in this situation and would hate to be in either hers or Julian's position.


leftindust wrote:
I really like this story so far, interesting take on Tara's character especially. All very messy. Can't wait for the next update!


Thanks you, glad you're enjoying the story so far. The messiness isn't going to let up anytime soon as is evident in the next chapter. Hope you like it

_________________
Alyson, oh, Alyson why don´t you join my band? So you could play the flute like this one time in band camp.
I Am Forever / A Special Christmas of Sorts / Maybe It's Just Me / Honeysuckle Rose /Blackouts and Breakthroughs / When Love Arrives


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