Emily's B-day Part A
Um... no "previously's" for this one on account of I am lazy
Here We Go!
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“Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to You! Happy Birthday dear Emily! Happy Birthday to you!” All of the Scoobies sang horribly off key, Emily couldn’t help but giggle at Xander’s purposeful warbling. Ghaena and Morrigan were present, the former stood smiling by Buffy’s side and the latter sitting in a chair by the corner. Dawn was there as well, standing behind the guest of honor and blowing on a noise-maker. Tara entered from the kitchen carrying Emily’s birthday cake, a small sheet cake with the words, “8 is Gr8! Happy Birthday, Emily!”, and eight small lit candles sticking out of it.
As they all finished the last of the refrain, Tara set the cake down on the dining room table.
Joseph clapped his hands sharply together, getting everyone’s attention. He turned to Emily and signed, ‘And many more.’
Everyone who was able to read what he said, started laughing out of amusement, and Emily leaned over to him and gave him a big hug saying, ‘Thank you.’
“Okay, baby-girl”, Willow beamed, holding Michelle in her arms, “Time to blow out the candles!”
“Oh yes!” cheered Anya. “Make a wish! Say it out loud!”
“No!” said Buffy quickly, startling everyone, “Um, keep your wish to yourself munchkin, it’s just for you to know.” This seemed to satisfy everyone, Tara and Willow sharing an imperceptible glance.
Emily had inhaled a deep breath and was just about to blow the candles out when a sudden knock came at the door.
Buffy glanced over to Willow, who shrugged her shoulders. “I’ll get it”, the slayer offered, “don’t blow out the candles without me.”
“Okay Godmommy”, Emily smiled.
Buffy went to the front door and opened it to reveal a woman and a young girl, presumably her daughter, standing on the porch.
“Yes?” Buffy asked, confused.
“Hi”, the lady smiled, “Sorry we’re late. I’m Pat, Carrie’s mom.” The little girl waved shyly. Pat suddenly hesitated. “Uh… this is Emily Rosenberg’s house, isn’t it?”
“Rosenberg-Maclay”, corrected Emily, coming up to the door. “Hi Carrie.”
“Hi, Emily”, Carrie replied softly. Emily stepped forward and took Carrie’s hand, “You’re just in time for cake! C’mon!”
Buffy smiled as she watched the two girls run past her and into the dining room with the rest. She looked back at Pat standing on the porch. “You can pick your daughter up in a couple of hours”, she stated.
“Actually”, said Pat, “I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind if I came in. Carrie and I can’t stay that long. It wouldn’t make sense to leave only to come back in half an hour.”
“Oh”, said the slayer a little taken, “Um.. sure.. c’mon on in. We’re just having cake.”
“Thanks”, replied Pat, smiling congenially and stepping into the house.
Buffy shut the door and indicated to the dining room. Pat nodded and moved ahead.
“Pat!” said Tara, surprised, “Um… good to see you again. Sorry, we’re kind of out of chairs.”
“That’s alright, I don’t mind standing”, she grinned.
“Okay, Emily”, Willow prompted, “You’d better blow those out before they melt into the cake!”
Emily nodded and sat up straight in her chair. This time though, instead of inhaling, she closing her eyes and muttered something under her breath, and the candles went out. Everyone gasped in astonishment. Particularly Pat who had no idea what to make of what had just happened.
“Emily!” Tara chastised.
Emily’s eyes shot up to her mother, a look of guilt printed across her face
“What have I told you about doing magick without permission?” Tara was upset. She was more than upset, she was angry, and Emily knew it.
“Magic?” Pat asked. “Is that what that was?”
“Tricks!” said Xander, jumping in to the rescue, “Emily’s quite the little magician. Take my word, never try play her at three card monty. She’ll rob you blind. He..hehehe.” He faux laughed. The other Scoobies joined in, minus Tara and Willow.
Emily continued to look up at her mother apprehensively, waiting for the other shoe to drop.
“I’m sorry Emily. You know why we have the rules we do”, Tara said, “Please go to your room.”
“But Mommy!” Emily started to protest.
“Baby, it’s her birthday!” Willow interceded. “It was just a little thing.”
“It starts with little things”, Tara responded, looking Willow dead on in the eye. Her lover merely shook her head in defeat.
“Emily”, Tara began again, turning back to her daughter.
“If I may…”, Ghaena said, stepping forward. “I extinguished the candles’ flames. Emily had only closed her eyes to make a wish. I thought it would be…’neat’ if she opened her eyes to find them out… as if to say her wish had come true. It was I, and I’m sorry. Please. Don’t blame the child.”
Tara looked Emily in the eyes, knowing she would be able to tell if her little girl was lying. “Is this true?” she asked. Emily nodded. “I’m sorry, baby”, she said softly, offering her apology. “I’m so sorry.” Tara knelt down in front of Emily, pulling her into her arms. “I ruined your birthday.”
“No you didn’t”, Emily replied, running her small fingers through her mommy’s long blonde hair. They stayed like this for a moment, Willow stepped over and placed a soothing hand on Emily’s back.
“Somebody open a present before we start singing Kumbaya…” Buffy quipped, causing everyone to start laughing in relief as the tension lifted from the room.
“I’d rather have cake”, said Emily as she lifted her head from Tara’s shoulder.
“I think we can handle that”, smiled Willow, “Why don’t we re-light the candles so that this time Emily can blow them out?”
Everyone applauded the idea. “I’ll just get the matches from the kitchen”, stated Tara, rising.
“No trouble, I can light them”, said Ghaena. Tara shot her a look. “Or not”, the priestess amended.
Tara excused herself to the kitchen for the matches, Buffy followed.
“Okay, don’t mind me being nosey, but what happened back there?” the slayer asked hastily. “I have never seen you snap judgment like that, especially on Emily.”
Tara turned to face her wife’s best friend, her hands were shaking slightly. Buffy noticed this and took them into her own. “Are you alright? What’s going on?”
“It’s probably nothing”, the wiccan sighed. “Emily… Emily has already mastered the Elemental Magicks.”
“I don’t understand”, Buffy said honestly, “You and Will have always been all up on the Wicca thing. Well, Willow used to be…”
“It’s the first big step toward really complex magick”, Tara explained, suddenly becoming a little emotional. “She’s learning so fast Buffy. Too fast… so much like…”
“Like Willow”, Buffy finished.
Tara nodded, stifling tears.
“Hey”, said the slayer, rubbing her hands up and down Tara’s upper arms as if to warm her against a chill. “It’ll be okay. She has you, and Willow to guide her. You’ve seen how bad it can be. You can keep her safe from that. Ghaena seems to be a good teacher…”
“A good teacher who tosses spells like they were nothing?” Tara responded.
“She’s over two thousand years old.” Buffy offered. “I think she knows what’s gonna get her in trouble.” Tara nodded, still unsure. “We’d better get back out there before people get too restless.”
The taller blonde smiled, and straightened up, leading the way back into the dining room. The candles were once again lit and this time properly blown out by the birthday girl herself. Cake was distributed and now everyone sat in the living room amidst a mountain of discarded wrapping paper.
Emily could not have been happier. She had been given books, books and more books. She clapped her hands with glee at each new title, each new story to unfold. The only present that wasn’t a book came from Carrie, it was a Spongebob Squarepants lunchbox with a note inside:
“Thank you for sharing your lunch with me”, Emily read aloud as her school chum blushed, “your mom makes the best sandwiches. Way better than mine. Love, Carrie.”
“Carrie”, Pat scolded her playfully, trying to save face.
“You’re Carrie’s mom?” Tara questioned.
“That’s right, the little devil”, Pat smirked, “it’s always the quiet ones.”
“I only ask because Emily told me her last name was Peters”, the blonde continued on, adjusting Michelle in her arms as Willow had traded off with her a little earlier, “Isn’t yours Horton?”
“Horton is my maiden name”, Patricia explained, “Peters belonged to my ex-husband.”
“Oh, sorry”, Tara reddened.
“It’s alright”, she replied amicably, “I get asked all the time.”
“Is it difficult being a single parent?” asked the wiccan.
“A little, at times”, sighed Pat, “But I’m sure it’s no where near as tough has how you girls have it.”
“I’m sorry?” stated Tara, a little perplexed.
“I just mean, being… you know… the way you are”, said Pat.
Tara carefully quelled the anger rising in her blood, just in case it was a misunderstanding. “What do you mean, ‘the way I am’?”
“Well, you know… how you and Willow are… lesbians”, she said the last word in a stage whisper. “It can’t be easy, dealing with people and their opinions.”
“What kind of opinions”, Tara pressed, a sudden fire lighting at the backs of her eyes.
“Oh, you know…” Pat replied, now wanting very much to drop the subject.
“Enlighten me”, the blonde smiled mischievously.
Patricia Horton straightened in her seat, silently enjoying the pun of her action.
Fine, she thought,
she wants the truth, I’ll give it to her. “Aren’t you at all concerned that your lifestyle could easily impact your daughters’ quality of life?”
The room went silent. Pat suddenly realized that not only had she spoken too loudly, she had spoken too loudly in this lesbian’s home while being surrounded by this lesbian’s friends.
“Hey, you better back off”, warned Dawn, rising to her feet.
“Dawn, I’ve got it”, Tara intercepted. “Thank you.” The brunette acknowledged the entreaty, and stepped aside. “It’s funny you should say that,
Pat”, Tara retorted, hitting the other woman’s name with vinegar. “Because yes, it does impact my daughters’ ‘quality of life’. They have two loving parents who care for them as deeply as they care for each other. Who make sure that every need is fulfilled and every want is considered. They have a roof over their heads, clothes on their backs, food in their stomachs and love in their hearts. So I’d have to say that my and my
wife’s lifestyle has done nothing but ensure that our children have the highest ‘quality of life’ anyone could ever hope for.”
The room burst into applause and Pat felt suddenly quite isolated.
“I think you should leave”, Willow said firmly, stepping forward to stand beside her wife of nine years. “We can drop Carrie home after the party is over.”
“Carrie is coming with me. Now.” Pat replied, reaching for her daughter’s arm.
“Mom, I want to stay”, Carrie protested.
“We are going”, Patricia ordered, “Now get your jacket.”
Carrie stood and sulked over to where her coat lay across a chair near the door. Emily and Joseph went over to help her.
“I’m sorry”, said Carrie. “My mom gets weird like this sometimes.”
“It’s okay”, smiled Emily. “Thank you for coming. Thanks for the neat lunch box! I’m gonna start using it at school on Monday!”
“I wish we were still in the same grade together so that we could still have lunch at the same time”, Carrie sighed.
Joseph signed something to Carrie, but the young girl shook her head not understanding.
“He said you can come over and have lunch with us on the weekends if you want”, Emily explained, “Joey stays with us during the day most weekends because Aunt Anya and Uncle Xander both work on Saturdays.”
“Thanks”, said the little girl, “But I don’t think my mom would let me. I’ll miss your mom’s sandwiches.”
“I’ll find a way to get them to you”, Emily grinned.
“Okay”, Carrie smiled.
“Carrie, let’s go” barked Pat from the doorway.
Carrie shrugged to her friends and made her way out the door, where she was briskly ushered into her mom’s car.
“Just once”, piped Anya after Pat’s car had pulled away, “It would be nice to have a party where the feces did not hit the rotating cooling device.”
“Gee, hon, thanks for the visual”, said Xander.
“Anytime”, Anya sighed, oblivious, as usual.
“I’m going to put Michelle down”, Tara announced.
“I’ll help you”, stated Dawn. Tara looked to her thankfully and nodded.
As Dawn and Tara disappeared down the hall, Willow looked over to Emily.
“Baby-girl, why don’t you and Joseph carry all you new books in to your room and start putting them away”, she suggested.
“Okay”, said Emily happily, signing the instructions to Joe, they quickly started stacking and carrying.
*****
TBC...
by Thanatopsis » Mon Jul 29, 2002 7:20 pm 
And that's beautiful. 
! I loved Tara's speech about her daughters' "quality of life", and I liked the fact that Pat's obvious intolerance hasn't rubbed off on her sweet daughter Carrie (ie she wanting to stay at the party). And I also loved that everyone (except Carrie) gave Emily books for presents, which thrilled her (ie books a perfect gift for a smart girl like her). Can't wait for the next part! 
I wasn't like that when i was 8! 
Looking forward to getting some answers. 
moment). Can't wait to see what happens next! 
She shouldn't think that. Damn that Pat woman... 