********
TITLE: Family Confidential
AUTHOR: Laragh
CHAPTER RATING: PG-13
DISCLAIMER: Willow, Tara and any other characters from the Buffy the Vampire Slayer franchise belong to Joss Whedon, FOX, ME and a whole host of other entities, none of which are me.
SUMMARY: The promised sequel to
Hacker Confidential. How are Willow, Tara, JJ and all their family getting on 4 years into the future?
SPOILERS: Perhaps minor references to the show or stealage of dialogue, but mostly just spoilers for all of
Hacker Confidential . If you haven’t read that...well, you really will have no idea what’s going on lol.
FEEDBACK: Yes please
Chapter 47 ********
“Okay, you can help me light the candles, but we have to be very careful okay?”
JJ nodded solemnly as Tara picked the long-handled lighter up from the counter and let JJ grip the end. She pushed the button down to ignite it and heard JJ gasp as the flame shot from the end.
“Cool!”
“Carefully now,” Tara said as she helped guide the lighter over the circle of candles sitting atop the vanilla-iced chocolate cake until they were all flickering with a small flame.
JJ watched the candles with rapt fascination until he noticed it being lifted upwards and jumped from the stool he had been sitting on, bouncing on the balls of his feet excitedly.
“Can I carry it?”
“It’s a little heavy, honey,” Tara replied regretfully, “But I bet Momma will let you help her cut it.”
JJ seemed pleased by that compromise and started to move forwards by jumping, both feet at the same time, out of the room. Tara followed him as they crossed the hallway to the dining room, balancing the cake with one hand while she reached through the doorway with the other to flick the light-switch off.
She heard JJ squeal in delight as they entered with just the blaze of the candles lighting up the room and started to walk towards where Willow was sitting at the head of the table, grinning in the darkness. She opened her mouth to begin to sing softly.
“Happy birthday to you...”
JJ ran over and jumped into the chair beside Willow, kneeling on it as he enthusiastically joined in on the singing.
“Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to Mommaaaaaa! Happy Birthday to you!”
Tara placed the cake in front of Willow during the last line and clapped as the redhead blew them all out through a few breaths, heaving a huge puff of air when one stubborn one remained aflame.
Tara moved to turn the light-switch back on before going back to Willow and planted a warm, long and lingering kiss on her cheek.
“Happy birthday.”
“Thank you,” Willow replied with a light blush before turning to meet Tara's lips again.
They kissed softly for a few moments before the sound of a whimper pulled them apart and turned their attention to their son, gazing longingly at the cake, having already plucked the candles from the top. Willow giggled and popped another quick kiss on her wife’s lips before picking up a knife nearby.
“Who wants cake?”
JJ grabbed the edge of the table and bounced up and down.
“Me, me, me!”
Willow turned the knife around so the pointed edge was towards her and the handle towards JJ.
“Wanna help?”
JJ nodded eagerly and reached out to grab the handle. Willow’s hand closed over his and together they plunged it through the white frosting and into the dark cake beneath. Willow could feel JJ’s hand shaking with excitement as they slid the crumb-adorned metal from the end of the cake and pushed it in again at an angle to create a triangular slice.
She put a finger on top of the cut-out piece and slid it from the plate it was sitting on, dropping it on the small dessert plate at JJ’s place-setting. He wasted no time in picking it up, sans any cutlery, and bit it in almost in half.
“Chew,” Tara called from across the table, having moved to sit on the other side of Willow.
JJ closed his eyes as his jaw struggled to manage the large chunk of cake but eventually found himself able to swallow and grinned giddily as he took another, albeit smaller, bite.
Tara watched him for another moment to make sure he wasn’t going to choke with his over-eagerness before picking up the same knife that had been used a moment before and cut a small piece off, which she then held out for her wife. Willow leant forwards and accepted the offering, her lips caressing Tara’s fingers as she did so.
“Mmhh,” she softly moaned as a warm smile spread across her face, “Tastes like our wedding.”
“Well it is the same cake,” Tara replied as she scooped a piece of frosting up with her finger and licked it off, “Although we had a Four Seasons pastry chef do our wedding cake.”
“No way, yours is just as good,” Willow replied through a mouthful of another piece she had just cut off, “Better.”
Tara reached over and stroked a hand down her wife’s hair.
“You’re sweet.”
“So’s this!” Willow replied as she licked an errant piece of frosting from her thumb, “So yummy.”
JJ seemed to agree with his redheaded mother as he tried to pick every crumb from his plate before piping up in a hopeful tone.
“Can I have more?”
Willow looked to Tara to decide, who seemed contemplative of a moment before giving a small smile.
“A little slice.”
JJ beamed and held up his plate with a toothy grin as Willow cut another small slice for him. He enjoyed that one more slowly and once satisfied he’d consumed every last crumb and morsel of frosting, he pushed his plate away and started bouncing up and down again, the sugar hit clearly having gone straight to his blood stream.
“Can I give you my present now?”
“A present?” Willow asked, her eyes lighting up, “Sure!”
JJ jumped from the chair and ran out the room, his footsteps echoing as he bounded up the stairs. Willow turned to Tara with a wide smile and leaned over to pop a kiss on her lips.
“Dinner was so good. Thank you. I had a great birthday.”
“I’m glad,” Tara replied with a soft smile, “Can’t have my birthday girl having a bad birthday.”
Willow sat back in her seat and let her hands rest on her ever-growing bump.
“I didn’t think on my last birthday I’d have our little bean growing inside me.”
Tara brought a hand up to her mouth and laughed, resulting in a snort.
“You were too busy freaking out about turning 30 to think about anything else.”
“I didn’t
freak out,” Willow replied defensively, before remembering her refusal to accept going into a new decade of her life, going so far as to trying to hack into county records to change her birth certificate in a brief moment of insanity before Tara caught her and metaphorically slapped some sense into her. She grumbled at the memory, then gave a relenting look, “Maybe a little. Doesn’t every woman?”
Tara grinned and shrugged.
“I didn’t.”
Willow sighed and crossed her arms over her chest; Tara had indeed entered her thirties maturely and calmly, even happily so.
“Well I’m sorry I’m not as perfect as you.”
Tara reached out and tucked a piece of hair behind her wife’s ear.
“When you’re not trying to break federal laws, you’re pretty perfect yourself.”
Willow turned her nose up indignantly.
“It’s not breaking the law when you work for the FBI.”
Tara grinned again and scrunched her nose up.
“I think it still is.”
Willow just shook her head and tried to remain firm but didn’t last long.
“Fine. Maybe,” she relented after a moment, dropping her arms, “You’re just a know-it-all, aren’t you?”
Tara leaned over so her face was just an inch away from Willow’s and gave her a smile that was both charming and cheeky at the same time.
“I’m your know-it-all.”
“Oh,” Willow replied, grinning as Tara’s breath hit her lips, “Well as long as your mine.”
“Always,” Tara murmured before closing the gap and pressing their lips together warmly.
Willow sucked on Tara’s bottom lip, moaning quietly at the sensation, too absorbed in the kiss to notice her wife reaching into her pocket and pulling something out until she felt it being placed in her lap. She pulled away and looked down to the small square box, wrapped in dark blue paper with a silver ribbon tied in a bow on top and felt a kiss pressed against her cheek.
“Happy Birthday, my sweet.”
“Thank you,” Willow replied, her eyes bright and face giddy, “I love birthdays.”
She pulled the ribbon free and slid a finger under the tape holding the wrapping paper together to reveal a box with a mahogany-coloured lid. She pulled the lid up and away and left it on the table, then pulled back the white tissue paper that was inside, picking up the silver bracelet nestled in there, small charms dangling from it.
“Oh wow,” she said, bringing it up for closer inspection. There was a small crystal-embossed heart either end, and she counted 8 separate charms between them, that obviously had meaning, though she couldn’t identify what from just looking at them. She shot a beaming smile in Tara’s direction and scooted her chair closer to her wife’s, “Tell me about them.”
Tara put one hand on Willow’s knee and the other under the bracelet.
“Well, it’s kind of an ‘us’ bracelet,” she explained, putting a finger under the first charm, a coffee cup, “This is for when we met and you–”
“Spilled your coffee all over you,” Willow cut her off with a small laugh and smiled as the memory floated through her mind before she moved her gaze to the next charm, “A swan…the swan boats.”
Tara nodded and gave her wife an affectionate look.
“We had our first kiss after that swan boat ride.”
“Oh I remember,” Willow replied as a warmth filled her heart, then looked puzzled as she looked at the next charm, a flower, “You’re gonna have to help me out with this one, baby.”
“That one…is to represent our first time together,” Tara explained and had to hold back a grin when she saw Willow’s confusion only increase, “Well…I did deflower you. And you, me, of course.”
Willow’s cheeks flushed a deep red and Tara couldn’t help but giggle.
“I thought it was less obvious than a bed.”
“You’re naughty, missus,” Willow replied, still blushing but grinning as she put her thumb underneath the next trinket, a key, “This one seems more benign.”
“For when we moved in together,” Tara replied, moving her hand from Willow’s knee to her shoulder and giving it a squeeze as she pointed out the next piece of dangling silver, interlocking circles, “And the circles are to represent our wedding rings.”
Willow looked at her wedding ring and wiggled the finger before leaning over and kissing Tara’s cheek warmly. She lingered for a moment, then pulled back and looked back at her bracelet to decipher the next charm, in the shape of a small person; a circle crystal for a head, with a body of a green gem hanging from it, and crystal arms and legs dangling from that.
“A child. And that’s an emerald. JJ’s birthstone.”
“Mmhhmm,” Tara confirmed with a soft smile, “And that next one should be pretty clear, a house.”
Willow looked at the little house hanging from the bracelet, then around the room at the walls surround them.
“I love our house.”
“We have a very nice house,” Tara agreed with another squeeze to her wife’s shoulder before indicating to the last charm, “And last, but not least…”
Willow brought her hand up and stroked the side.
“A stork,” she replied softly, bringing a hand up to cover her heart, “Thank you. Thank you so much. I love it.”
“One rule, only I’m allowed to buy you charms for it,” Tara replied as she moved to hold the gemstoned-child charm between her thumb and forefinger, “I’ll get another one of these when the baby’s born and then I’ll add some more every so often over our next…eternity together.”
Willow swallowed a lump of emotion that started to form in the back of her throat.
“Deal,” she said after a moment as she brought a hand up to the garnet and diamond heart necklace Tara had gotten her for their anniversary, the matching one she could see hanging around her wife’s neck, “You always get me the nicest jewellery.”
Tara reached up and stroked the back of her fingers against her wife’s cheek.
“I’m always looking for something as beautiful as you.”
Willow averted her gaze bashfully.
“Stop that. Don’t you know it’s dangerous for a pregnant lady to swoon?”
Tara just took the bracelet from Willow’s grip and wrapped it around her wrist, securing the clasp. Willow moved into comfortable positioning and stared at it for a few moments before giving a delighted squeal and threw her arms over Tara’s neck.
“I’m glad you like it,” Tara said softly, crossing her arms around the small of Willow’s back and pulling her close.
Willow turned her head into Tara’s hair and inhaled the scent emanating from her, tightening her hold on her wife before moving to passionately capture her lips. She felt Tara’s reach up into her hair and the mouth against hers move ardently, making a flush of arousal shoot through her and a shiver of anticipation ripple up her spine at the prospects for the night ahead.
She’d enjoyed her afternoon playing with JJ in the park, and the evening of being pampered with attention and food from Tara immensely, but she was really,
really looking forward to the rest of the night, alone with the woman who was all but sucking her lips off in that moment.
She splayed her fingers out on the back of Tara’s neck and kissed her deeply until she heard a distinct pounding from the hallway above and then the stairs and pulled back just an inch.
“I told Becky I’d drop JJ over to them around 7, so I can take him when we’re finished presents.”
“Sounds good,” Tara breathed, an undeniable lilt of arousal in her tone before pulling away and adjusting herself in the seat as JJ bounded into the room, grinning and holding both hands behind his back.
Willow cleared her throat and smoothed out her shirt over her bump before smiling excitedly at her son.
“Whatcha got there, buddy?”
JJ twisted from side to side as he bit his lip before finally revealing what he was hiding with a flourish of his arms, holding it out proudly with both hands.
“Wow,” Willow said as she took the heart moulded out of pink Play-Doh and noticed it was painted on the front with different figures. “Did you make this?”
JJ nodded and jumped back into a chair, leaning over to point at the etchings.
“And I painted it and everything! There’s me and you and Mommy and the baby.”
Willow saw the white blob at their feet and beamed from ear-to-ear.
“You painted the baby?”
“Uh huh,” JJ nodded as she sprung up and down in his seat, “Do you like it?”
Willow slid onto her knees on the floor and hugged her son tightly.
“I love it,” she said through squeezes, before pulling back and shooting him a wide smile, “Why don’t we go put it in the living room so everyone can see?”
JJ gave a proud smile and jumped from his seat, grabbing Willow’s hand and pulling her out of the dining room and across the foyer into the living room.
“By the TV!”
“Okay,” Willow agreed with a quiet laugh as they went over to the TV and she leant the heart against the edge, “How does that look?”
“Good,” JJ replied with a definitive nod.
Willow ran her hand around the edge of the piece before wrapping her arms around JJ again.
“You’re the sweetest little boy.”
JJ felt Willow’s bump hit against him and tried to return the embrace but found his arms unable to reach, making him pull away and scowl.
“You’re hard to hug.”
Willow giggled too and brought a hand up to ruffle her son’s hair.
“Thank you very much for my present.”
“'Welcome,” JJ replied, bashfully looking down to his feet.
Willow pulled him close again and dropped a kiss on top of his head before moving back again.
“Are you ready to go to Aunt Becky and Uncle Brian’s?” she asked and got an answering nod in return, “Okay, well go say goodnight to Mommy and I’ll take you over.”
JJ nodded and started to run out of the room. Willow straightened up and left as well, checking that the overnight bag she’d packed for her son was by the door before turning back, and after a quick check to see the dining room empty, of people and dishes, she went into the kitchen where she saw Tara holding JJ to her chest, standing next to the opened dishwasher.
“Okay, give me a big squeeze.”
JJ threw his arms over Tara’s neck and Willow saw her wife squeeze him tight and hold his head to her shoulder.
“Goodnight, sweetie. I’ll see you tomorrow. I love you.”
“‘Night Mommy,” he replied, lingering for a moment before jumping down from his mother’s arms.
Tara spotted Willow and picked up something wrapped in foil from the counter, holding it out in her direction.
“Bring them some cake.”
Willow went over and took the foil, then leaned over the island to press a kiss against Tara’s cheek.
“I’ll be back.”
“I’ll be waiting,” Tara replied in an alluring tone before leaning over the dishwasher to put another plate in.
Willow couldn’t be sure, but she swore her wife was wiggling her ass a lot more than was necessary and had to stuff her hands in her pockets to stop herself from reaching out to touch, all too aware that JJ was standing right next to her. She let her gaze linger for a moment before clearing her throat and put a hand on JJ’s back.
“Okay, come on, little man.”
JJ jump-walked out of the room and towards the front door, Willow right behind him. When they got there, she picked up his overnight bag and handed it to him.
“I packed some of your Seuss books and your fire truck jammies, okay?”
JJ nodded and put the backpack securely over his shoulders as Willow opened the door and they started to walk towards the car, the dark street illuminated by streetlamps littered around the block.
Willow strapped JJ into his booster seat before getting into the car on the driver’s side, huffing a breath as the steering wheel squeezed her bump; Tara having been the last one to drive the car and hadn’t adjusted the seat back to where Willow had to have it to fit herself in.
She pulled the lever at the side and let the seat back until she was comfortable, then turned the key in the ignition and reversed out of the driveway.
She flicked the radio on, more for JJ’s amusement than her own, and drove them the 20 minutes it took to get to Becky and Brian’s apartment block. She parked the car on the street and brought JJ up to the building, ringing the intercom and hearing it buzz open a moment later, then went to the elevator and rode it to the 5th floor.
When the elevator opened, they walked down the hallway to 504 and JJ eagerly knocked on the door. It swung open after just a second to reveal Becky.
“Well if it isn’t the birthday girl.”
Brian appeared at Becky’s side then and smiled at them both.
“Hi, Willow. Happy Birthday,” he greeted warmly before waving at JJ, “Hey there, little dude. I was just reading.”
JJ stepped over the threshold, his eyes slightly widened.
“I like to read.”
“You do?” Brian asked as he started to lead JJ away, “Have you ever heard of James Joyce?”
Willow saw JJ shake his head before they disappeared around a corner, then looked to Becky, who was grinning.
“Hey, when we were in college and I was boning anything with a pulse and a six-pack, did you think I’d end up with a nerd?”
Willow’s mouth hung open in shock.
“Becky!”
“What?” Becky asked defensively, “What? I love him. More than anything. But 10 years ago, if you had to guess I’d be with the cutie in the corner wearing glasses instead of the shirtless guy playing Frisbee, you would have bet your 4.0 GPA on the second option.”
Willow couldn’t really argue that point, much as she may have wanted to, and gave a small shrug.
“There’s no planning who we fall in love with.”
“Yeah, I guess,” Becky replied with a fond smile in the direction her boyfriend had just left before shaking her head, “He reads for fun. Can you believe that?”
Willow frowned and looked bewildered.
“Becky, you’re an English teacher.”
Becky puffed out a breath and shook her head.
“And I still don’t know as much about literature as him.”
Willow’s eyes narrowed.
“Have you ever seen that movie Bad Teacher? I’m starting to think you’re like that with your students.”
Becky’s eyes lit up and she clapped her hands together.
“Are you saying I look like Cameron Diaz? Thank you!”
Willow’s brow creased and she shook her head.
“That wasn’t the point…”
“Is it this new haircut?” Becky asked, ignoring what her friend had just said as she turned to play with the end of her hair, looking into the mirror that was on the wall, “I was going for Scarlett Johansson but Cameron Diaz totally works too.”
Willow blinked a few times in quick succession.
“I worry for the future generation.”
Becky grinned and stopped playing with her hair, shooting Willow a wink to let her know she knew they were only teasing; their rapport with each other the kind you can only have when you’ve known each other as long as they had. Willow gave her a smile back.
“Thanks for taking care of him,” she said before remembering the wrapped foil in her hands and offering that to her friend, “Oh and I brought you cake.”
“Did Tara make this?” Becky asked and gave a look of delight when Willow nodded, “Score.”
She peeled back the foil and peered at it before pulling a chunk off and popping it into her mouth.
“Hey, this is the same cake you had at your wedding,” she said through chews.
Willow smiled and nodded.
“Good memory.”
Becky swallowed and brought the tip of her thumb, a stray piece of frosting attached, to her mouth, sucking it lightly.
“I only remember ‘cause Brian tasted like the frosting when he kissed me that night.”
Willow gave a small grin.
“Funny, Tara did too.”
Becky laughed and broke off another piece.
“Your wedding was a good day for me.”
“Well I’m glad someone had fun, it was so awful for me,” Willow replied sarcastically before handing Becky the overnight bag, “Small tip, he prefers Green Eggs and Ham to Ulysses, at least for bedtime reading.”
“Got it,” Becky replied, throwing the bag over her shoulder, “Alright, your kiddie’s safe, go and have your kinky birthday sex.”
Willow’s eyes went wide and she hissed at her friend, who just laughed.
“Tell me that’s not the reason you asked us to look after him.”
Willow blushed and put a hand either side of her bump.
“You should be careful who you tease, Becky, I have like 20 pounds on you with this thing.”
Becky smiled and gestured down towards Willow’s stomach.
“How is your future offspring?”
Willow beamed and gave her belly a squeeze.
“Kicking like crazy these days.”
“Has Tara still not caved on knowing the gender?” Becky asked and gave a long whistle when Willow shook her head, “Stronger than me.”
“Yep. That’s my girl,” Willow replied before running a hand through her hair, “My girl waiting for me at home...”
Becky chuckled and gave the redhead a wave.
“I’ll see you tomorrow. Not too early, I’m guessing.”
“Not if past birthdays are any indication,” Willow replied with a grin as she started to walk back down the hallway, “See ya.”
“Bye!” Becky called after her while smirking, “You might want to open up those top buttons a little.”
Willow shot her friend a look over her shoulder before turning the corner back to the elevators. She heard the door to the apartment bang closed as the elevator ones opened.
She stepped in and rode it down to the ground floor, fetching her keys from her pocket as she left the building and walked back to her car.
The short drive home seemed to take a lot longer than the ride over had; Willow’s sense of anticipation growing every second as she thought about what she was sure was waiting at home for her, what she had been thinking about ever since she’d sprung Tara shopping for that day a few weeks ago.
When she finally pulled into the driveway, she jumped from the car as quickly as she could manage with the extra weight she was carrying and pressed the button to alarm the vehicle before rushing towards the door and inside the house.
“Tara?” she called, not sure if her wife was maybe already upstairs.
“In here,” Tara’s voice called out from the living room.
Willow eagerly bounded over and into the living room, but stopped short just inside the door when she saw Tara sitting on the sofa, her foot propped up on the coffee table as she examined her nails, wearing just a fluffy white robe.
Tara looked up as Willow entered the room.
“Was he okay staying with them?”
“Um, yeah,” Willow replied, confused at her wife’s attire, “Not a problem. He’ll probably come back with a Bachelor’s in English Literature if Brian has anything to do about it.”
Tara smiled softly before reaching over to the coffee table and holding up a collection of brightly-coloured, long and thin sachets.
“I got us some really nice facemasks.”
Willow stepped forwards, surprise and puzzlement etched on her features.
“Face…facemasks?”
“Mmhhmm,” Tara nodded, “And a foot soak. You can pick a DVD out if you want, or we can see what’s on TV.”
Willow wrung her hands in front of her, trying to comprehend what was happening.
“You want to…have a girlie night in?”
Tara shot a winning smile in her wife’s direction.
“You said you wanted to stay home and relax.”
“Right. I did say that,” Willow nodded, rubbing her palms down the side of her thighs, “Well, um, okay.”
She moved forward and sat on the sofa, finding some enthusiasm for the differing plans. It might not have been what she expected to come home to, but any time with Tara was time well spent in her book, so she was happy to go along with what her wife had planned. She relaxed back into the sofa and rested her hands on her stomach.
“Hit me with a facemask.”
Tara reached over to the coffee table and held up a yellow-coloured facemask.
“You can have this…”
Willow started to reach for the item but found it out of her grip as Tara suddenly dropped it onto the sofa, then stood and untied the robe, slipping it over her shoulders, revealing her in matching black-and-red, lace bra and panties set with a similarly-themed garter belt around her waist, holding up red-lined fishnet stockings that were wrapped around her mid-thigh and finished mid-shin.
Tara ran her hands down her sides and snapped the waistband of her panties in place as she gave Willow a sultry crooked smile.
“Or you can have this.”
So adorable.
I’m glad you liked 
You are so good at hotness that you could um, uh, make a living . . okay, stopping now! Seriously, no porn career proposed – just a joke, but you do write the W/T stuff amazingly well! And thank you for that! *fans self, drinks glass of ice water* Bottom line (no pun intended, 
) GREAT work!
)
'
. Kudos.