Hacker Confidential [AU] (Complete)

[Finey_McFine]

OMG! I'd like to take this time to remind you of a previous comment you made on my fic about a month ago...

PS, I feel like I gotta ask, are you planning on this being angsty? Lol, I just need some forewarning

All I have to say is...'DITTO'


PS...Great chapter BTW!!!

[Promthea128]

I was thinking that I should have waited for Wednesday, to bypass tension filled cliffhangers, but now you say its going to be four more updates of angst? At least it will be daily, thanks for that. I might try to wait, but I know I won't be able to stand it.

[vampyregurl73]

Laragh,

Now that's just 80 shades of wrong.

So does this mean that since Willow is a federal agent Xander and Jesse get to use deadly force on Tara's father? Because you know, he attacked her, it's not a stretch.

The even more sad thing is, this isn't fantasy it really happens.

So much for my fluff fix.

Can't wait for your next post to see how you decide to play this bit out.

[Laragh]

BuffyFan4ever –

WTFH!!!!! I take a break from studying for finals and this is what I get!!!! I thought I could count on you for non-angst.

You can! Mostly...To be fair, in what will be a roughly 100-chapter story, there’ll only be one short angst-y arc...that’s something, right?

The only reasons I am able to stay (relatively) calm are:
a) I KNOW you will update on Wednesday and
b) I KNOW you will have Willow live.

Even earlier than Wednesday! And of course Willow will be alive lol. This is still the KB, after all

I now return to the less depressing studying.

I do apologise for this having timed out with your finals. That sucks :(

Thanks for commenting! (Even though you kind hate me...although I’m forgiven for extra/early update, right? )

Alex_Vixen –

LOL...Dude, you are...evil... LOL.

I know lol. I’m super happy you read even with the warning though

Since you warned me, and I also know what is coming after....All I can say is Good job! Very well done.

Really? Thanks! I’m holding onto this compliment since I know everyone else hates me

Just an advice? I would have Jesse and Xander either A- Kick his sorry ass and send him to jail... or (what I would like the most) to shoot him and get rid of one more bastard. LOL

Don’t worry, J and X are about to intervene.

Thanks for your commenting!

Gaga01 –

Oh my freaking God!

Why didn't Willow shout for Xander when she saw Tara's father grab the shotgun? I can't believe how much of an ass this man is!

Tara’s Dad is definitely the biggest of all asses, and Willow not shouting will be explained!

Thankfully I know she won't die and we'll learn more about what happened wednesday, but it's going to be 2 long days! I'm almost grateful to have an exam to study for until then

One long day! Daily updates this week

*This is an amazing story by the way. I've been reading from the beginning but I haven't reviewd any of it yet...sorry about that! I love everything of it, it's fun, sweet and yes, let's admit it all, freaking hot too.

Aww, thank you I’m glad you’ve been enjoying it!

Thanks for your feedback!

Zampsa1975 –

Stupid move on Tara to meet with Mr. Poophead alone...

I suppose she thought she wasn’t the little kid she’d been around him before, and blindly hoped that he’d changed.

I hope Xander & Jesse use Mr. Poophead as target for their shooting practice...

They’re definitely coming into the scene!

Thanks for commenting!

LonelyTara –

Okay Laragh,

You are my bud, you know I think you're awesome, but MY GODDESS! It's the Valentine's Day stabbing all over again!!! The horror!

I was so nervous about including this story arc after the reaction I got to VD stabbing way back when, but at the end of the day I kinda felt it was needed.

I can't believe that Xander and Jesse were so off the ball!

To be fair, Willow didn’t shout lol

:( Poor Willow and poor Tara, she's never going to forgive herself for putting them in a situation where Willow got hurt.

They’re both gonna work it out, don’t worry.

The only, only good that could possibly come from this is her father going to jail forever. You're not allowed to talk about my angsty-ness anymore. :(

Okay, like 5 chapters out of this whole story are going to be angsty. That’s like...4% of the entire story! Wish Part 1 was at least 98% angst

Can you update tomorrow? I know you have a schedule, but the TORTURE!!

You know I can’t deny a kitten fiend request lol

Thanks for your feedback!

xlaura1 –

Oh. My. God!!

No, you did not just do that!

Yes, I’m afraid I did

Do you realise what you've done? Your update usually gets in about 3am for me and I usually read them after I wake up, but now I'm going to have to wait up till 2 am (thankyouthankyou for the early update) so I see how you FIX THIS!!

I feel like I’m gonna need you to sign a declaration of some sort relieving me of any liability should your functioning be less than normal due to lack of sleep tomorrow

Wowza that was an intense chapter. I really cannot wait til the next one.
I'll see ya in the AM.

If you did really stay up just to read, then seriously, as soon as you’ve read the last word, go to sleep!

Oh, and by the way, despite the angsy angstness, I loved it!

Lol, I’m glad you got some kind of...enjoyment seems wrong but yea!

Thanks for commenting!

arsyadriani –

oh yeah..thanks for the advanced warning..
but still..it's cliffhanger nonetheless..

I know. I’m sorry. I will try to reduce cliffhangers of any variety in the future

you really have to make it up to us for the double mean-y cliffhangers
great update..as always
*off to ease my furiously beating heart*

I promise the storyline after this one will hopefully make up for everything

Thanks for your comment!

leonhart17 –

Aww, well that sucks... I'm going to need Xander to be less useless than he was on the show and kick some ass now please!

Yes, Xander (and Jesse) will come into things now!

Thanks for the new schedule

I had to do something to ease off the flaming pitchforks

Thanks for commenting!

Finey_McFine –

OMG! I'd like to take this time to remind you of a previous comment you made on my fic about a month ago...All I have to say is...'DITTO'

Is it too late to give warning? I promise angst-y-ness won’t last long!!

PS...Great chapter BTW!!!

Glad you liked it at least a little

Thanks for your comment!

Promthea128 –

I was thinking that I should have waited for Wednesday, to bypass tension filled cliffhangers, but now you say its going to be four more updates of angst? At least it will be daily, thanks for that. I might try to wait, but I know I won't be able to stand it.

Probably not every chapter this week will be major-angsty. By the end of the week, things should start to teeter more towards the happy!

Thanks for your comment!

vampyregurl –

First off, I think I need to say it’s taken me like an hour to write this reply because I keep getting distracted by your wonderful new display pic. Amber on a loop! I’m in heaven!

Pulling my focus away from her beauty for just a sec...

Laragh,

Now that's just 80 shades of wrong.

So does this mean that since Willow is a federal agent Xander and Jesse get to use deadly force on Tara's father? Because you know, he attacked her, it's not a stretch.

I actually thought that too, but my research told me that while she worked as a federal employee, she wasn’t actually a federal agent, which muddied the waters a bit. Also, I wasn’t sure how Tara would deal with them killing her father. He’s a spineless bastard, but that’s still a lot to accept from someone who you regularly socialise with.

The even more sad thing is, this isn't fantasy it really happens.

It really is sad :(

So much for my fluff fix.

From next week I’ll definitely be back to fluff!

Can't wait for your next post to see how you decide to play this bit out.

Don’t worry, it won’t be stretched out too long!

Thanks for commenting!

---

Update Directly Below

[Laragh]

********

TITLE: Hacker 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: AU, set in contemporary setting. A lot of W/T fluff and some semblance of a storyline.

SPOILERS: AU fic, so at most minor references or pieces of dialogue

FEEDBACK: Yes please

Chapter 86

********

Previously:

Tara heard a loud bang and felt like her life had been turned into slow-motion; felt her body fall to the ground and her head hit against the concrete ground.


She gasped, waiting for the pain from the bullet, wondering where it had hit her.


When nothing happened after a moment she focused her senses and realised there was something heavy on top of her. Confused, she turned her head, her eyes widening when she caught a glimpse of familiar red hair splayed out near her.


She tried to push herself up slightly and felt her heart sink when she only felt the dead weight of her wife on top of her. Her alarm increased tenfold when she noticed blood spatters all over her shirt.


“Willow?”


Her voice was filled with question and fear as she wrapped her arms around her wife’s body and gently manoeuvred them so she was sitting and the redhead was stretched across her lap.


Her heart tightened to painful levels when she saw a circular tear in her wife's t-shirt, in the middle of her chest, blood oozing from the cavity.


“Oh god, Willow!”

---

“Willow, oh god, Willow, please wake up, please wake up.”


Tara spoke in a desperate tone, quickly placing the redhead flat on the ground, putting two fingers against her neck and sighing in momentary relief when she felt a pulse. She ripped her own cardigan from her shoulders and folded it twice before using it to put pressure on the bullet wound.


She looked up briefly and was confused to see Xander and Jesse – who had run in with Michelle as soon as the gunshots had been heard – cuffing her father, Jesse punching him in the stomach when he tried to resist.


What? How did...? How...?


She saw another figure off to the side and looked over to see a frantic Michelle yelling into her phone, presumably calling an ambulance.


Tara's confusion about what was going on around her regressed to the back of her mind as she heard a small groan come from below her and focused all her attention back on Willow, pressing her cardigan firmly into her wife’s chest with one hand.


“I'm here, Willow, I'm here.”


She brought her spare hand up to the redhead's cheek and traced her skin in reverence for a moment before snapping to attention, raising her voice as loud as she could.


“Willow, please, please open your eyes,” she almost yelled, using her hand's position to pat the redhead’s face lightly, not having the willpower to actually slap her but wanting her wife to wake up, “Baby, please!”


Willow’s eyes fluttered open, a small smile on her face, her body in a state of shock, not registering the pain yet.


“You called me baby,” she said, delirious, an oblivious giggle leaving her lips, “I love it when you call me baby.”


“Good girl, stay with me,” Tara said, keeping pressure on the wound, completely missing the redhead’s words, just happy that she was talking at all, “Talk to me, beautiful, tell me something.”


Willow’s eyes started to close again, her voice becoming heavy.


“I’m tired, Tara...”


Tara brought had hand down against the redhead's cheek again, harder this time. She couldn't let Willow close her eyes. She couldn't let this be the last time she saw her wife awake. Alive.


“No, Willow, please, please stay with me. Tell me about our kids, Will, tell me about them.”


Willow was struggling to keep her eyes and wasn’t at all lucid. As best she could tell, she’d decided to take a nap on the ground, still not quite aware that she’d been shot, but could never deny a request from her wife. Images of young children started flashing before her mind.


“We have a little girl...and she’s beautiful, she looks just like you...long blonde hair and blue eyes...and she’s wearing this little pink dress...and...”


Willow suddenly gasped and arched upwards as the pain finally hit her and she realised what had happened.


“Tell me more, Willow,” Tara pleaded, seeing the pain coursing through the redhead’s eyes, “Our daughter sounds amazing, do we have a son?”


Willow whimpered but managed a small nod.


“He has these pudgy little hands and dimples. He knows...all he has to do is smile...and we’ll give him...whatever he wants.”


“That’s our boy,” Tara replied, smiling what she hoped was a reassuring smile down at her wife.


Willow clenched her teeth as the most unbearable pain shot through her. She didn't have the power to look down, but she could feel Tara's hands over her chest and could only assume that's where the bullet had hit her.


Bullet.


She'd been shot. Tara's Dad had shot her.


She remembered feeling frozen solid when he first produced the gun. She remembered opening her mouth to scream, to get the help she'd been so careful to bring along.


But nothing came out. She was paralyzed with fear.


Until that deafening sound had rang out. Her mind had still been petrified. But her body acted on impulse.


She remembered running at a speed she didn't even think a human was capable of and pushing Tara to ground.


Tara wasn't hurt. That was all that mattered to her. Tara hadn't been shot.


But still...the pain...


“Tara...” she croaked, just wanting to Tara to make it all better, like she always did, “It hurts.”


Tara couldn't control the tears streaming down her face but made herself keep her tone calm, knowing Willow needed her to be the reassuring one.


“Oh sweetheart, I know, I know. But you gotta stay strong for me.”


“Like an Amazon?” Willow asked, her breath coming in shallow gasps.


Tara nodded and quickly wiped away her tears.


“Exactly, honey, just like an Amazon. You need to stay with me so we can have those babies and raise them and watch them learn to walk and talk and go to prom and get married. You need to stay strong for our future.”


“The ambulance will be here in just a minute,” Michelle’s frenzied voice suddenly disturbed them, the woman rushing over and kneeling the other side of Willow, “What the hell happened?”


“I don’t think...Mr. Maclay...likes me,” Willow said, managing to make a joke, despite the intense pain coursing through her.


Michelle looked at Tara and saw her niece's flowing tears. She resisted the urge to reach out and comfort her, not wanting to disrupt the pressure being applied to Willow’s chest, instead opting to help with keeping the redhead talking, saying the first thing that came to mind.


“Well thank god those agent friends of yours were here.”


Tara looked up to see that Xander and Jesse had now gone, as was her father. From the brief glimpse she got of them all earlier, she could only presume that the agents had taken Mr. Maclay away. Her gaze was drawn down again as she heard her wife pipe up, her tone deeply apologetic.


“I’m sorry...I lied...” Willow said, fixing her wife with a steady gaze, “I didn’t tell you...I asked them to follow...”


“Shush, honey,” Tara reassured with a forced but warm smile, understanding, at least partially how Xander and Jesse had managed to be on the scene so quickly, “It’s a good thing you did. Always thinking ahead, that's my girl, right?”


Willow felt the pain start to strengthen and felt like her mind was slowly beginning to float away from her body, the sensation akin to nothing she’d ever experienced before.


She could only assume she was dying. She knew what she needed her last words to be.


“Tara...I love you.”


“I love you too, Willow,” Tara replied, more tears coming to her eyes when she saw the redhead start to drift off again, “No, Willow, don’t, please.”


Michelle took over putting pressure on the wound as Tara scurried up to her wife’s head, putting kisses all over her face.


“Just a little longer, Willow, a little longer,” Tara begged, reaching down and clasping their hands together.


“I’m sorry,” Willow whispered, “I love you.”


The tears teamed down Tara’s face as Willow’s eyes closed fully, just as the loud sirens of the ambulance permeated through the tense air. The large vehicle came almost skidding into the backyard a moment later, the tyres spreading dust everywhere before a man and woman in blue uniforms, the man carrying a stretcher came rushing towards them, pushing both Michelle and Tara out of the way as they examined Willow.


“GSW to the chest, shallow resps, pulse weak and thready,” the woman said as they carefully transferred Willow onto the stretcher and each picked up an end, “We’re taking her to Rochester General.”


The paramedics rushed off without another word and the sirens could be heard again as Michelle walked over to Tara, pulling her up into a hug.


“Come on, we’ll follow the ambulance. She’s getting treated, she’ll be okay.”


Tara could only manage a weak nod as Michelle guided her quickly back to the car and strapped both of them in, swiftly turning the engine on and following the ambulance, which was only a little bit ahead of them. Tara spent the entire 20 minute journey in floods of tears, repeating the word ‘please’ under her breath over and over again until they arrived outside the ER entrance of the large hospital.


She flung the door of the car open before Michelle had even stopped and the older woman called out to her but to no avail. She quickly found a spot to park and the car and ran after her niece into the ER, grabbing and catching her before Tara ran straight into the room where the professionals were treating Willow, their actions visible through the large, glass double doors.


“Tara, you can’t go in there, she said calmly, as she used all her strength to keep Tara in place, “They need to work.”


“But she needs me to hold her hand,” Tara wailed, still struggling against her aunt's hold, “She needs me.”


“She needs you to be calm and not have a panic attack,” Michelle replied, turning her niece around so they were facing each other and holding her shoulders firmly, “She has a team of doctors and nurses in there.”


Tara’s bottom lip was trembling and she was about to take a deep breath to calm herself, knowing Michelle was right even if she didn't want her to be, when a loud beeping sound came from the behind the glass doors and she heard someone shout ‘she’s flatlining’.


She spun back around and felt her knees almost give way she saw paddles being placed over her wife’s chest and Willow's entire body arching a moment later.


“Oh god...” she said and felt her knees start to go completely, only Michelle's hold keeping her steady, “She...she, she's dy...she...oh my...oh my god...”


She stared into the room in shock before her view was suddenly cut off as a tall woman in a white uniform was suddenly standing in front of her, hands on her hips.


“Hey, you’re not supposed to be back here,” the woman, her uniform indicating she was a nurse, said sternly “Family are supposed to wait outside, we’ll come get you as soon as there’s any news.”


Tara refused to listen, all she could do was look over the nurse as Willow get shocked twice more before a steady beat echoed out from the room again and the bed she was in was being pushed out of the treatment room, rushing past them so fast that Tara didn’t even get a chance to give the redhead’s hand a quick squeeze.


“Are you her family?” a woman in blue scrubs asked her as they whisked Willow up the elevator.


“I’m her wife,” Tara said weakly, staring in sorrow at the closing doors of the lift.


“I’m Dr. Sarow,” the woman replied, wiping her brow, “Your wife came in with a gunshot wound, the bullet is lodged in the middle of her chest. She requires surgery to remove it, we need your consent for that.”


Tara nodded vigorously, her eyes wide.


“Do whatever you need, just please, save her.”


“Good,” the doctor nodded, “We’ll be able to tell you more after the surgery. I should tell you that she went into cardiac arrest during our treatment and her heart stopped, but we were able to restart it. As far as I can tell, the bullet missed any major arteries, didn’t puncture her heart and there was no indication of spinal damage, but she has lost a lot of blood. Again, we’ll know more after surgery. Also, I’m obligated to report any gunshot wounds that come in, can you tell me what happened?”


“My...”


Tara tried to speak but she just started crying again and Michelle spoke instead.


“Her father did this. But he’s already been taken into custody, there were some FBI agents on the scene.”


Dr. Sarow sighed; the amount of patients she treated that had been hurt by their own family never ceased to amaze her.


“Okay, thank you. The police will probably want to talk to you anyway,” she replied, before putting a hand on Tara’s arm comfortingly, “Like I’ve said, we’ll know more after surgery, but there’s a good chance she’ll pull though this and be right as rain. Has your wife been treated in this hospital before?”


Tara shook her head.


“She’s only been in hospital once, when she was 7. Broke her arm trying to learn how to ride her bike.”


Dr. Sarow nodded and made a motion with her hand towards the nurse that she needed a pen. The nurse retrieved one from her pocket and the doctor took the prescription pad from her pocket to scribble on.


“And what’s her full name?”


Tara felt her eyes flutter closed, her voice coming out in a reverent whisper.


“Willow Danielle Rosenberg-Maclay.”


Dr. Sarow noted the information with a small nod.


“I promise we’ll let you know as soon as she’s out of surgery,” she said, before she got a curious look on her face, “Did someone try and control the bleeding right after she was shot?”


“I...I put pressure on it,” Tara replied, not understanding the question, but not really caring.


Dr. Sarow put a hand on Tara’s arm and smiled at her reassuringly.


“That probably saved her life. She’s lost a lot of blood, but with this kind of wound it wouldn’t be uncommon to see a lot more. She has a fighting chance of getting through this.”


Tara nodded weakly, slightly comforted by the doctor’s words.


“I’ll be back with any news,” Dr Sarow said again, before rushing off towards the elevators as well.


“Thank you, doctor,” Michelle called after her.


“I know you're worried, but I really need you to go wait in the visitor's waiting room,” the nurse spoke up again, “She's getting the best care.”


Michelle smiled gratefully at the nurse and led an almost despondent Tara out of the ER, seeing a sign for the visitor's waiting room, which was separate from the actual ER waiting room and relatively empty.


Tara let herself be led into the room and sank into one of the seats, holding her head in her hands, not knowing what to do or say or even think.


She stayed in that position, feeling Michelle come over to rub her back a few times before the older woman continued to just pace around the room, until she registered the fact that something in her pocket was vibrating.


She reached in and retrieved her phone, focusing her blurry eyes on the screen and seeing a flashing sign telling her she'd missed 17 calls, all from Xander.


Remembering the man had been on the scene and figuring he would want to know what was going on, she forced herself to start scrolling through the phone book, intending to call him back. Just as she neared the X's, his name flashed on the screen again in an incoming call. She pressed the accept button and brought the phone to her ear.


“Hi, Xand,” she said in a weary voice, “Sorry I missed all your calls.”


“Don’t worry about it,” Xander replied down the line, his voice etched with concern, “What’s happening?”


Tara sighed, biting her lip to control the sob that almost left her.


“She’s in surgery,” she managed eventually, “They can’t or won’t tell me more until she’s out.”


There was a silence on the other end as Xander took in what Tara had said.


“Jesus, Tara, I can’t...I’m so sorry. She’s gonna be okay though, she’s a fighter. I know she’ll pull through this.”


“I hope so,” Tara said with a sniffle, before remembering the exact cause of all this chaos, “What’s going on with...?”


Xander understood straight away.


“Me and Jesse brought him to the local cop station. They’re talking to him now, but they’re gonna want to talk to you, too. I’ll hold them off as long as I can.”


“No,” Tara shook her head to herself, “Send them as soon as they can. I don’t want anything keeping me from Willow once she’s out of surgery.”


There was another silence apart from Xander taking a deep inhalation.


“You sure?”


Tara nodded, despite the fact that Xander couldn't see it.


“Yes, I’m sure.”


Xander let out a long whistle over the line, clearly thinking for a moment.


“Okay, I’m gonna come with them so they know to take it easy. You in Rochester General?”


Tara was about to say she wasn't sure when she remembered the paramedics saying that's where they were going.


“Yea.”


Tara heard Xander call Jesse's name, followed by a hushed conversation before he spoke back into the phone.


“Okay, we’ll be there in 20. And don’t lose hope.”


“I’ll try,” Tara replied, though her voice was strained, “See you then.”


She hung up her phone and put it back in her pocket, her head falling into her hands once again.


“The police are coming in a bit,” she mumbled, but Michelle managed to hear from where she was standing near her.


“That’s good. The sooner you talk to them the sooner they can throw that bastard in jail.”


Tara exhaled slowly, silently and internally berating herself for letting things happen the way they did. She knew her father was a violent man but had still allowed herself to get in a situation where she could be hurt and Willow had gotten hurt in the process.


If she’d just stayed in the car like I’d asked...


She sighed and sat back in the chair, closing her eyes for a moment but snapping them open quickly when the images of Willow, bloody and unconscious flashed before her mind.


She picked up a leaflet on autism from the selection on the table beside her, pretending to study it intently to distract herself until Xander arrived a while later, two policemen in tow.


“Tara,” Xander said, almost helplessly and the blonde stood up, giving him a hug, both needing the comfort, “Are you okay?”


“No,” Tara replied honestly, “But I’m not the important one. As long as she’s okay, that’s all that matters.”


Xander nodded in understanding.


“Any updates?”


Tara shook her head.


“Not yet.”


Xander nodded again before motioning the cops forwards.


“These are the local cops, Tara, are you still okay with talking to them?”


“Yes,” Tara replied, looking up at the officers with a weak smile, “Hi.”


One of the officers stepped forwards and extended his hand.


“I’m officer Dunlop, this is officer Baldwin,” he said, shaking Tara's hand “Agents Harris and McNally have filled us in on what they know. We have your father in custody, ma'am and he’s confessed to everything, so this shouldn’t take long, we just need to confirm the details.”


“He confessed?” Michelle asked, the surprise evident in her voice.


The three men looked at each other uncomfortably, shuffling their feet.


“What is it, Xander?” Tara asked, taking her seat again.


Xander sighed and sat in a seat beside his friend as well, the two cops following suit.


“He made reference to the fact that he wanted people to know that he’d ‘rid the world of another abomination’.”


Tara felt a fresh surge of anger bubble up inside her but managed to keep in under control.


“Please tell me you didn’t cut a deal to get him to confess.”


“Not a chance,” Xander scoffed, “That man isn’t any deals, leeway or anything less than the full prosecution of the law, not if I have anything to do about it. And it’s a good thing if he pleads guilty, Tara. It means you guys won’t have to go to trial.”


Tara nodded her head, before Dunlop started speaking.


“Presuming the victim-”


“Willow,” Tara interrupted, “Her name is Willow.”


“Right, of course,” Dunlop replied, apologetic, “Presuming she pulls through-”


“Which she will,” Xander said, needing to say it so he’d believe it fully.


“We’ll be charging your father with attempted murder,” Dunlop continued, ignoring the second interruption, “Can you tell us what you were doing visiting your father today?”


Tara took a deep breath, ready to tell the officers whatever they needed to know.


“We happened to be visiting my mother’s grave at the same time. We haven’t spoken in almost seven years.”


Officer Baldwin was writing down what Tara said as Officer Dunlop asked the questions.


“And you went back to your childhood home?”


Tara nodded and sighed.


“I thought he wanted to apologise for some things he’d done in my past. I was wrong. We had a somewhat heated argument, but things only escalated when he found out that I was a lesbian and married to a woman. He was...furious. I’ve seen him mad before, on plenty of occasions, on a daily basis for quite a few years, but I’ve never seen that level of anger and disgust before.”


Baldwin continued taking notes as Tara talked, scribbling down what he felt were the important parts. Officer Dunlop softened his tone as he asked the next question.


“And how did Willow show up in all this?”


“She was very agitated in the car, where we were waiting,” Michelle answered the question, “Then she said that she wouldn’t let anyone hurt her wife and went off to find Tara.”


“She thought your father might hurt you?” Dunlop asked, directing the question towards Tara.


“He has a history of it,” Tara replied tersely and Dunlop nodded, not pressing any further.


“So Willow got to...how did you arrive in the backyard of your father’s home?


Tara sighed again. She knew this was important, but she really didn't like to think about how she'd managed to get Willow into the situation she was in now. She resolved to just relay the events as best she remembered to get it over with as quickly as possible.


“I wasn’t comfortable in the house, so I asked to talk to him outside. Willow found us and that’s when my father flipped. I don’t know how long he’d been thinking about it, but he was standing beside his old shed, where his shotgun is and he had it in his hands in seconds. He was saying I needed to come back home and learn how to be a proper wife to a husband and I said that I wouldn’t be going back into his house and that myself and Willow would just leave and never bother him again.”


Xander put a hand on Tara's knee in comfort and nodded at the officer that it was okay to continue.


“But he didn’t accept that?”


Tara shook her head.


“No. He said he’d rather I was dead then have a gay daughter. The bullet wasn’t even meant for Willow. He shot at me. She pushed me out of the way. She saved my life.”


“You’ve got a very loyal wife,” Baldwin commented, which made Tara’s eyes begin to well up, “Thank you for your time. If we have any more questions we’ll be in touch.”


Tara nodded and Xander stood, shaking both of the men’s hands before they left and he sat back down in his seat.


“Jesse’s gonna be here in a little bit. He’s just making sure nothing goes wrong at the cop station. I’m gonna go give Anya a call, tell her what’s happening. Do you want me to call Buffy and Angel too?”


Tara nodded wordlessly and Michelle whipped her own cell out, suddenly realising she hadn't called Willow's father.


“I’ll call Ira.”


Michelle walked off to the side and Xander went to stand up before Tara spoke again.


“Could you call one of the guys from Boston? I know you don’t know each other that well, I just really can’t face talking...”


“No problems,” Xander said with a reassuring smile, “I have Brian’s number. I’ll be back in a minute okay?”


Tara nodded again as Xander walked a couple of feet away, punching numbers into his phone. She absently watched them make her phone calls until she felt another hand on her knee and turned to Jesse was sitting beside her.


“Jesse. Hi. I, um, didn’t see you there.”


Jesse surprised Tara by leaning forwards and giving her a quick hug before sitting back down again.


“How you holding up?”


Tara just shrugged weakly and Jesse put a hand on her shoulder.


“I called Alice. She’s coming up with the guys.”


Tara nodded her head, slightly surprised that Jesse clearly was still keeping in contact with Alice and that their friends were travelling up, but was too filled with worry to react much.


“You’ve kept in contact, huh?”


Jesse uncharacteristically blushed, but nodded.


“Yea, we have. Kinda on the down low, I guess.”


Tara was about to say something else when both Xander and Michelle returned at the same time.


“They’re on their way,” Xander said, sitting beside Jesse, “Angel’s driving the two girls up and Brian said he was already in the car on the way to the airport, that he’d been told.”


“Ira’s coming up, too,” Michelle added, still standing, “I saw a hotel around the corner when we were driving up here, I’m gonna go book a room for tonight so we can be close. Is that okay with you, Tara?”


“Yea,” Tara nodded, “That sounds like a good idea.”


Michelle nodded a few times as well before leaning down and placing a kiss on her niece’s head, then leaving the room in a quickened pace. Xander tapped his foot impatiently and Jesse exhaled, looking between the other two.


“So what now?”


Tara sat back in her chair and sighed slowly, fresh tears filling up her eyes.


“Now we wait.”

[BuffyFan4ever]

Dibs

[BuffyFan4ever]

Dibs

[BuffyFan4ever]

Dibs. Sorry. My computer kept showing a debug error, so I didn't know it had posted. Can one of the moderators delete my previous two "dibs" posts?



Stupid Maclay. (You better be glad there's going to be an update every day this week, or there'd be some for you too.)

Part of me hopes there's a trial, just so more people know what a sick bastard he is. I wouldn't want to put Tara through that though.

Am now waiting patiently(barely) for tomorrow.

[Zampsa1975]

Yay for great update-y goodness... Good that Xander & Jesse manhandled the bastard to the ground before he shot again... Yay for Scooby alert being sounded so that all knows to head to the hospital... I'm glad that Tara agreed to talk to the cops so quickly... I truly hope the bastard is going to prison for a long long time...

[Promthea128]

"Now we wait."

Aragh!!!!!! lol I really don't mind occassional angst, but the wait is so hard.

I didn't say this in the last update, but I kinda like Mr. Maclay, in the way that sometimes you want a complete jackass to hate. And its safe to say that all of us hate him.

[wiccanvixen]

Laragh, you must know that all of your W/T stories rock!!!! Please keep writing for us

[xlaurax1]

Ok, I didn't quite make it to 2am, but I was reaaaally tired!

And this morning when I woke up I freaked out, and had to wait for my laptop to start up. (And I'm sure it was just me, but it seemed to take an extra long time this morning).

But so worth the wait. I'm glad I read it with a fresh mind, coz that was fantastic, and completely heartwrenching.

God, poor Tara...please pass along a hug to her for me.

Eagerly awaiting then next one.

Laura.

[Gaga01]

Aggh!

I am so glad about the daily updates this week!

I feel like it's going to get even more emotionnal once Buffy, Ira and everybody will get there... I'm not usually mean, but I really hope that very bad things will happen to Maclay (he's not even worthy to be called Tara's father anymore) while he's in jail...

Awesome chapter, I even felt like I was in Grey's Anatomy for a while there I wish Tara hadn't seen Willow being ressucitated though, that must've been awful! Hopefully we'll see her in tomorrow's update!

[Finey_McFine]

I just want you to know that it took me 3 hours to read through this chapter. I felt like I was in the waiting room with them, lol I was at work and kept getting interrupted. I finally went outside and read it on my cell and now I think I need new glasses from trying to read teeny tiny print!

So, Tara's father...A-Hole Extraordinaire! He's really gonna be pissed when her finds out that Willow is alive and that he didn't ‘rid the world of another abomination’. What a jerk! Here's to hoping that he gets a 300lb cellmate that thinks he's a cutie!

“No, Willow, please, please stay with me. Tell me about our kids, Will, tell me about them.”

“We have a little girl...and she’s beautiful, she looks just like you...long blonde hair and blue eyes...and she’s wearing this little pink dress...and...”

“Tell me more, Willow,” Tara pleaded, seeing the pain coursing through the redhead’s eyes, “Our daughter sounds amazing, do we have a son?”

“He has these pudgy little hands and dimples. He knows...all he has to do is smile...and we’ll give him...whatever he wants.”

“That’s our boy,” Tara replied, smiling what she hoped was a reassuring smile down at her wife.

This was a truly beautiful moment in the middle of a horrible tragedy. You literally had me in tears...well done!

Tara exhaled slowly, silently and internally berating herself for letting things happen the way they did. She knew her father was a violent man but had still allowed herself to get in a situation where she could be hurt and Willow had gotten hurt in the process.

Survivors guilt...horrible. I certainly hope she is able to forgive herself eventually.

“Now we wait.”

I've been in this position and it's by far the worst part.

Laragh, excellent chapter. I can't wait until tomorrow's update!!

[LonelyTara]

ANNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGSSSSSSSTTTTTTTT!

While I do concede that Wish Part 1 was approximately 98.99% angst, my heart is still pounding. When they had to use the paddles on Willow I thought I was going to start crying. Poor Tara, poor Willow. I'm super-glad that she was brave enough to speak to the police right away so her focus can be on her brave, brave wife. It's good too that the troops have been rallied, she's going to need their support. The two of them talking about their children was an amazingly tender and heartbreaking moment. I can't wait for tomorrow!

Oh, and the moment where a possibly dying Willow admitted she loves it when Tara calls her baby?!! My god, I teared up. Such a beautiful tie back to an earlier moment.

Thrilling stuff!

[taralicious]

Laragh,
Whie, as a writer, I applaud your interest in exploring other genres to keep the story fresh and flowing, as a Willow and Tara fan, the choice of the grisly true crime genre, i.e. James Patterson or Stuart Woods, was perhaps not the best choice if you didn't want that mob of angry Kittens armed with pitchforks and flaming torches.
I wish I was in the hospital with Tara and Michelle because I need the doctor to jumpstart my own heart with the paddles after going through the shock of the vile repugnant Mr. Maclay pulling a shotgun on his own daughter and then doing worse to Tara than killing her by shooting Willow.
He needs to drop the soap in federal prison and get introduced to the business end of a flesh nightstick.
The saints in surgical garb at the hospital are going to do their damndest to stabilize Willow cause hell hath no fury like a Tara scorned.

[leonhart17]

That was intense! I'm pretty anxiously awaiting tomorrow... I kind of can't wait to see everyone's reactions...

[vampyregurl73]

Laragh,

You know I keep altering my avatar for you, right? lol Actually when I made this, I musta stared at it for hours too. There are a few version as well, lol. I have way too much time on my hands to hunt down pictures, so others of Amber will rotate in and out. I have one for Alyson and of course the prerequisite Tara and Willow versions, lol. I do have to admit I am more fond of Amber though. *le sigh*

Anyway on to this chapter - you are killin' me here!

At least with his willful and gleeful confession they can hang him out to dry for a very long time. It's the gleeful part the gets to me.

Since the FBI was on hand, and it's not like this is rural scary deep anywhere they can keep the local yocals from blowing it off. Attempted murder is attempted murder.

Ok, what's next?

[love_2003]

Finally caught up on the updates and find out that Willow was shot?! Couldn't she just have gotten grazed by the bullet instead? Very happy that she had Xander and Jesse keeping an eye on them now. Wondering what their friends reaction will be when they hear how she got shot. Patiently waiting for the next update.

[Laragh]

BuffyFan4ever –

Dibs. Dibs. Dibs.

Triple dibs? Someone’s eager Lol, those debug errors were showing up as I was posting too

Stupid Maclay. (You better be glad there's going to be an update every day this week, or there'd be some for you too.)

Hey, I thought I was forgiven!

Part of me hopes there's a trial, just so more people know what a sick bastard he is. I wouldn't want to put Tara through that though.

I get what you’re saying, let everyone publically see what a dick he is, but after the reaction I got to this, there’s not a chance in hell I’m having any more angst!

Am now waiting patiently(barely) for tomorrow.

I appreciate your patience, barely there or not

Thanks for commenting!

Zampsa1975 –

Good that Xander & Jesse manhandled the bastard to the ground before he shot again...

That could’ve been a disaster if he saw he didn’t...well, make his aim.

Yay for Scooby alert being sounded so that all knows to head to the hospital... I'm glad that Tara agreed to talk to the cops so quickly... I truly hope the bastard is going to prison for a long long time...

Everyone’s on their way! And Mr. Maclay is going down, don’t worry!

Thanks for your comment!

Promthea128 –

Aragh!!!!!! lol I really don't mind occassional angst, but the wait is so hard.

Sorry :( I’ll try and keep the wait to as little as possible!

I didn't say this in the last update, but I kinda like Mr. Maclay, in the way that sometimes you want a complete jackass to hate. And its safe to say that all of us hate him.

Oh, yes, hate him, please! ‘Cause then you’re not all hating me lol. He is most definitely a jackass though.

Thanks for commenting!

wiccanvixen –

Laragh, you must know that all of your W/T stories rock!!!! Please keep writing for us

Hey! I’m glad you like them I’ll keep writing as long as I have ideas

Thanks for your comment!

xlaura1 –

Ok, I didn't quite make it to 2am, but I was reaaaally tired!

Lol, I’m glad you went to bed, wouldn’t want you to be staying up just for this!

And this morning when I woke up I freaked out, and had to wait for my laptop to start up. (And I'm sure it was just me, but it seemed to take an extra long time this morning).

I hate when that happens! When you’re waiting for some important email or something and your server just won’t load...

But so worth the wait. I'm glad I read it with a fresh mind, coz that was fantastic, and completely heartwrenching.

Fresh minds are good. I’m glad you enjoyed it.

God, poor Tara...please pass along a hug to her for me.

She gratefully accepted and hugged back

Thanks for your feedback!

Gaga01 –

Aggh!

I am so glad about the daily updates this week!

Glad you’re enjoying them, my wrist is about to fall off

I feel like it's going to get even more emotionnal once Buffy, Ira and everybody will get there...

It’ll definitely be even more tense.

I'm not usually mean, but I really hope that very bad things will happen to Maclay (he's not even worthy to be called Tara's father anymore) while he's in jail...

Hey, maybe we can hope he gets horribly beaten in some kind prison riot?

Awesome chapter, I even felt like I was in Grey's Anatomy for a while there

Ha, really? If I was any good at making fanvids, I’d take Amber’s scenes from grey’s and intercut them with random scenes from Willow in hospital throughout the years to go along with the story

I wish Tara hadn't seen Willow being ressucitated though, that must've been awful! Hopefully we'll see her in tomorrow's update!

That was tough on Tara, for sure. We’ll see Willow before the end of the week, I promise!

Thanks for commenting!

Finey_McFine –

I just want you to know that it took me 3 hours to read through this chapter. I felt like I was in the waiting room with them, lol I was at work and kept getting interrupted. I finally went outside and read it on my cell and now I think I need new glasses from trying to read teeny tiny print!

Lol, I’ve also been victim of the teeny tiny print of reading a fic on my cell! My glasses were rendered almost useless for a few hours after, major squintage happening!

So, Tara's father...A-Hole Extraordinaire! He's really gonna be pissed when her finds out that Willow is alive and that he didn't ‘rid the world of another abomination’. What a jerk! Here's to hoping that he gets a 300lb cellmate that thinks he's a cutie!

I made a suggestion to someone else earlier about imagining him in a prison riot, but I like your idea more

This was a truly beautiful moment in the middle of a horrible tragedy. You literally had me in tears...well done!

Good tears? Or at least good...bad tears? If that makes any sense. Not exactly happy tears, but...you said well done so I’m gonna take it as a compliment and leave it at that lol

Survivors guilt...horrible. I certainly hope she is able to forgive herself eventually.

She will, don’t worry. That kinda thing could really put a strain on their relationship and after the reaction to this, there’s no way I’m delving into angst again! That and the fact that I’m much more at home with my fluffy bunnies kind of writing.

I've been in this position and it's by far the worst part.

Sorry to hear you were in that position!

Laragh, excellent chapter. I can't wait until tomorrow's update!!

Thank you and I hope you enjoy it!

LonelyTara –

ANNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGSSSSSSSTTTTTTTT!

But not for too much longer, promise!

While I do concede that Wish Part 1 was approximately 98.99% angst, my heart is still pounding. When they had to use the paddles on Willow I thought I was going to start crying. Poor Tara, poor Willow.

I know, I don’t like writing them so sad :( I can’t wait to get back to the happy stuff!

I'm super-glad that she was brave enough to speak to the police right away so her focus can be on her brave, brave wife. It's good too that the troops have been rallied, she's going to need their support.

I had to get all those formalities out of the way so we can focus on Willow getting better

The two of them talking about their children was an amazingly tender and heartbreaking moment. I can't wait for tomorrow!

Glad you liked that

Oh, and the moment where a possibly dying Willow admitted she loves it when Tara calls her baby?!! My god, I teared up. Such a beautiful tie back to an earlier moment.

Random historical sidebar, I put the ‘baby’ bit in that earlier chapter (which by the way, good memory, that was months ago!) so that it would seem more poignant here.

Thanks for your feedback!

taralicious –

Laragh,
Whie, as a writer, I applaud your interest in exploring other genres to keep the story fresh and flowing, as a Willow and Tara fan, the choice of the grisly true crime genre, i.e. James Patterson or Stuart Woods, was perhaps not the best choice if you didn't want that mob of angry Kittens armed with pitchforks and flaming torches.

Yes, in future I’ll be leaving the crime drama to Ira and Michelle to read and bond over.

I wish I was in the hospital with Tara and Michelle because I need the doctor to jumpstart my own heart with the paddles after going through the shock of the vile repugnant Mr. Maclay pulling a shotgun on his own daughter and then doing worse to Tara than killing her by shooting Willow.

I should have sent out a defribilator warning with this story arc!

He needs to drop the soap in federal prison and get introduced to the business end of a flesh nightstick.

He needs every bad prison cliché to happen to him, and tenfold.

The saints in surgical garb at the hospital are going to do their damndest to stabilize Willow cause hell hath no fury like a Tara scorned.

Willow will certainly be getting the best care!

Thanks for commenting!

leonhart17 –

That was intense! I'm pretty anxiously awaiting tomorrow... I kind of can't wait to see everyone's reactions...

Intense in a good way? Everyone shows up here, but I’m still gonna keep a lot of the focus on Tara and how she’s dealing

Thanks for your comment!

vampyregurl73 –

Laragh,

You know I keep altering my avatar for you, right? lol Actually when I made this, I musta stared at it for hours too. There are a few version as well, lol. I have way too much time on my hands to hunt down pictures, so others of Amber will rotate in and out. I have one for Alyson and of course the prerequisite Tara and Willow versions, lol. I do have to admit I am more fond of Amber though. *le sigh*

I’m with you on the Amber bandwagon. I love Aly too, of course, but Amber’s eyes get me every time!

Anyway on to this chapter - you are killin' me here!

Attempted murder all around in these parts

At least with his wilful and gleeful confession they can hang him out to dry for a very long time. It's the gleeful part the gets to me.

Since the FBI was on hand, and it's not like this is rural scary deep anywhere they can keep the local yocals from blowing it off. Attempted murder is attempted murder.

It definitely is! And I reckon the cops never had to deal with Tara/Mr. Maclay much since Mr. Maclay never did anything – reported – to cause them to be around. So they don’t have any preconceived notions about either, which is good.

Ok, what's next?

A lot more worrying!

Thanks for your feedback!

love_2003 –

Finally caught up on the updates and find out that Willow was shot?! Couldn't she just have gotten grazed by the bullet instead?

She could’ve, but then I couldn’t have Mr. Maclay go away for a very long time

Very happy that she had Xander and Jesse keeping an eye on them now. Wondering what their friends reaction will be when they hear how she got shot.

Friends all show up in this chapter!

Thanks for commenting!

---

Update Directly Below

[Laragh]

********

TITLE: Hacker 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: AU, set in contemporary setting. A lot of W/T fluff and some semblance of a storyline.

SPOILERS: AU fic, so at most minor references or pieces of dialogue

FEEDBACK: Yes please

Chapter 87

********

Previously:

“They’re on their way,” Xander said, sitting beside Jesse, “Angel’s driving the two girls up and Brian said he was already in the car on the way to the airport, that he’d been told.”


“Ira’s coming up, too,” Michelle added, still standing, “I saw a hotel around the corner when we were driving up here, I’m gonna go book a room for tonight so we can be close. Is that okay with you, Tara?”


“Yea,” Tara nodded, “That sounds like a good idea.”


Michelle nodded a few times as well before leaning down and placing a kiss on her niece’s head, then leaving the room in a quickened pace. Xander tapped his foot impatiently and Jesse exhaled, looking between the other two.


“So what now?”


Tara sat back in her chair and sighed slowly, fresh tears filling up her eyes.


“Now we wait.”

---

Three hours later, Buffy, Angel, Anya and Ira had arrived and were in the waiting room along with the others.


Buffy was pacing frantically, Angel unsuccessfully trying to calm her down; Anya was sobbing into Xander’s shoulder, not understanding why threatening someone with a legal suit wouldn’t help Willow recover any faster and Michelle was trying to quietly comfort Ira, while Tara just stared into space, not having spoken more than two words over the past few hours, barely saying hello to the others when they had shown up and communicating in wordless shrugs and nods.


“Guys, in here!”


The sound of Alice’s voice was heard in the doorway and Tara looked over to see her gesturing into the room before stepping in, followed momentarily by Brian and Becky, hands clasped tightly together, all of them with worried faces.


“Tara,” Alice said, running over and pulling her friend up into a hug, “I’m so sorry.”


Tara took comfort in the hug for a second before pulling back and sitting back down.


“Thanks.”


Alice was too overcome with emotion to realise her friend’s detached state and upon seeing Jesse to her side, quickly turned and fell into his arms. Everyone else seemed to be surprised by this, especially when Jesse quietly stroked her back and called her ‘baby’, sinking them both down into chairs, but nobody commented, more focused on their own grief.


Brian walked over to Tara and put a hand on her shoulder.


“How are you?”


Tara thought if she got asked that question one more time she might scream but had enough wherewithal to know that snapping at one of her friends would only worsen the situation so just shrugged again, not able to form words that weren’t angry, her anger at the whole situation consuming her.


Brian frowned and just stepped back, looking at Becky helplessly. Becky walked over and knelt in front of Tara, putting a hand on each of her knees.


“Tara,” she said, her tone becoming more forceful when the blonde didn’t look up, “Tara. I know you feel like your life is falling apart right now, but you need to stay strong here. Willow’s gonna need all your strength when she gets through this and wallowing in anger and self-pity isn’t helping your wife. Okay? You need to snap out of it. You know Willow better than anyone and she isn’t gonna give in to something like this.”


There was a tense silence in the room as the others winced slightly at the harsh words but Tara just met Becky’s gaze for a moment before bursting into tears.


Becky quickly moved so she was sitting in the seat beside her friend, pulling her head onto her shoulder.


“Let it out now,” Becky comforted quietly, “Let it out.”


Tara bawled into her friend’s shoulder for several minutes, Becky just repeating ‘let it out’ over and over again until Tara ran out of tears and was just sniffling.


“Thanks,” Tara said after a moment, pulling back and looking the brunette in the eye, “Thank you.”


“You got it,” Becky replied with a definitive nod, “Is there any news?”


“Not yet,” Tara shook her head, “We’re not sure how long she’ll be in surgery.”


“Okay,” Becky nodded, then looked around the room, “What about...?”


“He’s in custody,” Xander spoke up, understanding the unspoken question, “He can’t be formally charged until we know...but he’s in custody, he’s not going anywhere.”


“This is all so surreal,” Brian said, wringing his hands in front of him, “I mean, jeez, Tara, I knew you and your Dad didn’t speak but I had no idea he was capable of...”


He trailed off in disbelief and Tara inhaled sharply. She had made a pointed effort to never tell her friends about the abuse she'd suffered. Willow, of course, had known, Tara had told her not long after they'd started dating, but she had never wanted it to go further than that.


She asserted that the past was the past and that speaking about it wouldn't do anyone any good. She wasn't ashamed, but she didn't want the revelation to change any of her friendships.


She gathered that Xander and Jesse knew that at the very least her father was violent; Willow must have said something as to why she wanted them to trail them on the trip.


But for everyone else, bar Michelle of course, this had clearly come completely out of left field. She gathered her thoughts for a moment before sighing and looking between everyone.


“He hit me growing up,” she said in a somewhat detached, but shaky voice, “He hit me a lot. That’s why we don’t speak.”


'Shock' was an understatement to describe the look on almost everyone's faces at this newly revealed information. Becky brought her hand up to her mouth as Brian wrapped an arm around her shoulders in comfort, Anya’s eyes narrowed to dangerous levels, Buffy's hands balled at her sides as Angel just stood, unsure how to react.


Alice stared at Tara in stunned silence, Jesse's tight grip on her waist stopping her from falling forwards.


“Tara, I didn't...I had no idea...”


Buffy's nails dug further and further into her palms before she suddenly lashed out and punched the wall closest to her as hard as she could.


“Bastard,” she exclaimed, before hissing and looking down at her bloodied hand, “Ow.”


Everyone jumped back in startled surprise at the impact and Angel rushed over to cradle his girlfriend's hand.


Tara gaped at Buffy, feeling more tears spring to her eyes as she opened her mouth to speak.


“I really cannot handle someone else getting hurt.”


Buffy looked genuinely apologetic.


“Sorry,” she whispered with a gulp before lowering her voice so just Angel could hear, “Don't worry, it's not broken. Just bruised.”


Angel nodded, knowing Buffy knew her own body and could gauge injuries from her years of martial arts training. He continued to hold her hand though, in a silent support.


Every other couple in the room were in a similar position, hands clasped together and comforting words being whispered in each other's ears.


Tara looked around at everyone and felt an odd mixture of relief and agony that they were all focused with their significant others. She knew if someone tried to comfort her she'd probably have a complete breakdown and it was taking all she had to keep herself in check as it was.


But her heart ached for the one person who could make her feel better. She longed for Willow to hold her hand, to tell her it would all be okay. She longed to hear her sweet voice whisper in her ear.


She would have given anything to feel her emerald green eyes bore into her soul and fill her with so much love.


She appreciated everyone else's silence; it gave her the opportunity to imagine that Willow really was beside her. When she focused all her senses, she could just about feel a warm hand in hers and a head resting against her shoulder.


She took comfort in the illusion and wasn't sure how long she let her imagination console her until she saw the door on the other side of the room start to open and jumped up when she recognised Dr. Sarow walk further into the room. She ran over and felt everyone else move to stand behind her, taking Tara's actions to be confirmation that this was the doctor treating Willow.


Tara went to speak but the doctor got there first.


“The surgery was successful,” she started, the same relieved smile she got on her face every time she was able to say that, gracing her features, “We were able to remove the bullet. It didn’t hit or injure any of her main arteries and missed her heart by an inch. She’s a very lucky woman.”


Tara's mouth hung open and she felt her knees almost give way.


“She’s gonna be okay?” she asked in hopeful disbelief.


Dr. Sarow removed her scrub cap and held it in front of her.


“Both her pulse and blood pressure stayed stable during surgery and have stayed steady in recovery which is a very good sign. We were able to replace all of her blood lost and she didn't require resuscitation whilst in surgery, so her brain wasn't deprived of any oxygen. The next 24 hours are critical, and I won't be able to determine any other injuries until she wakes up, but I would say her prognosis is for a full and complete recovery.”


Tara brought her hand up to her mouth, while the collective sigh of relief from everyone else was quite audible.


“Can we see her?” Xander asked, his arm around Anya’s shoulder.


“Just one person for now,” Dr. Sarow said regretfully, “She’s still unconscious and I can’t give a definitive time for when she’ll wake up.”


“Go,” Ira spoke up quietly, pushing Tara forwards, “She needs you there.”


“Are you sure?” Tara asked, her tone desperate.


Ira just nodded and Tara gave him a quick hug before quickly walking with the doctor out of the room, being led up the elevator and to a ward until they were outside a single room, the door closed but Willow, lying asleep in a hospital gown with a breathing mask over her mouth, was viewable through the large glass window.


“You can hold her hand, but be careful not to disturb any of the wires or tubes coming from her. I know it might look scary now, but it’s all there to help her. If there’s any issues, you can press the call button in there, but her vitals are being monitored at the nurses' station right over there,” Dr Sarow said, pointing out a large circular desk just ahead, “So should she get into trouble we’ll be in there straight away. If you have any questions I’m around for the rest of the evening, but like I said, we really won’t know more until she regains consciousness.”


“Okay,” Tara nodded, taking it all in, “Thank you so much.”


Dr. Sarow smiled and shook her head.


“It’s nothing. Just my job.”


“You saved her,” Tara replied, breaking her gaze away from Willow long enough to look at the doctor, “It’s everything.”


Dr. Sarow just put a hand on Tara’s shoulder and squeezed before gesturing towards the room. Tara gratefully walked in and pulled the chair that was in there alongside the bed, taking Willow’s hand, letting a single tear fall down her cheek as the illusion she had clung to started to become more of a reality.


“You’re cold, sweetness,” she remarked, covering the hand with both of hers, “I’ll warm you up.”


She rubbed Willow’s hand between hers, looking at the steady rise and fall of her chest with a renewed, large sense of gratitude she’d never had before.


“Oh god, Willow, I don’t know how...”


Tara felt herself about to cry again, but choked back the tears, remembering what Becky had said about her wife needing her to be strong.


“It doesn’t matter, because you’re here. We’re here and we’re gonna get through this together. You and me against the world, remember?”


Tara glanced at the machine beside the bed, which was monitoring Willow’s vitals and saw her blood pressure was slowly inching up to a more healthy level.


“See, we’re doing it already. I know you’re tired, sweetheart, so you stay asleep, it’s okay. Just wake up as soon as you’re ready, okay? I love you.”


Tara heard the beeping that was echoing her wife’s heartbeat speed up for a just a moment when she said that and took it was a good sign.


“You love me too, huh? I know that. I can’t wait to hear you tell me again.”


She closed her eyes for a moment to reign in her sadness as she remembered Willow telling her she loved her right after she’d been shot, apologising and closing her eyes.


“You don’t get to leave me, Willow,” she said, leaning down and kissing her wife’s hand, “I love you too damn much. So you just remember that, okay?”


Willow’s chest just kept up its rise and fall and Tara shuffled her chair forwards, keeping a firm hold of the redhead’s hand as she placed light, butterfly kisses all over her face, before wiping some hair from her brow and just staring at her wife’s closed eyes, as if willing them to open.


She wasn’t sure how long she stayed like that, it felt like hours, before she heard a shuffling at the door and looked over to see that everyone from downstairs were walking in, trying to fit into the small room.


Ira went straight to his daughter’s side, taking her other hand while Tara looked confused, though not displeased.


“How did you guys get in here?”


“Flashed our badges,” Xander admitted guiltily, “We had to see she was okay.”


Tara nodded wordlessly before fixing her gaze back on Willow.


“No change. But she’s holding steady.”


“Do they know when she’ll wake up?” Ira asked, his gaze also fixed firmly on the redhead.


Tara shook her head quietly.


“No. It’s a wait and see thing.”


Ira gulped, trying not to cry, to be strong as well, and was about to reach out to comfort Tara as well when a shrill voice came from the doorway.


“What are you all doing in here? There should only be one visitor in here at a time!”


Everyone turned towards the nurse who was standing there in the doorway, looking like deer that were caught in headlights.


“Right, that’s our fault,” Xander spoke up, taking the blame “Can we just have one minute? I promise we’ll leave straight after.”


The nurse sighed but had an understanding look on her face.


“One minute.”


“Thank you very much,” Xander smiled as the nurse left again.


“Here’s your hotel room key,” Michelle said to Tara, handing her a plastic keycard, “Room 118. Myself and Ira will be right next door in 117 if you need anything. And we both have our cells on us.”


“Okay. Thanks. Um...” Tara turned to Becky, Brian and Alice, “Do you guys wanna stay at our house? My keys are in my bag in Michelle’s car.”


“I’m gonna stay with Jesse,” Alice answered.


This didn’t surprise anyone, as they’d all learned whilst waiting for news, of Jesse and Alice’s hook-up at New Years and how they’d kept in contact since, even officially entering into a relationship, all unbeknownst to their friends until that afternoon.


“We’ll stay,” Becky said for herself and Brian, “Thanks, Tara.”


“And we can give you a lift back to Buffalo,” Xander added helpfully, “You flew into Rochester, right?”


Brian nodded.


“Yea, we got a cab from the airport.”


“Okay,” Xander said, “That nurse is shooting us evils. I don’t want her to ban all visitors, we better leave.”


The others reluctantly agreed and all moved forwards to place a kiss on Willow’s forehead, even Angel, who had only ever shook the redhead's hand in any kind of physical contact. They all gave Tara's shoulder a quick squeeze or hug before departing out of the room, leaving Tara alone with her wife once again.


“See that, honey? All those people, they all came rushing as soon as they heard you were hurt. There’s so much love in our lives, Will. You have to hold onto that.”


Tara sighed, settling her head carefully alongside the redhead’s, absently trailing a finger along her face. She stayed like that for another indeterminate amount of time until the same nurse who had ushered her friends out came back, apology written all over her face.


“I’m afraid visiting hours are over. You can come back tomorrow morning from 9am. It should be okay for a couple of you to be in here tomorrow.”


Tara inhaled deeply. She really didn't want to leave. But causing a fuss over her comatose wife's hospital bed wasn't going to help the situation in the slightest so she resigned herself to the fact that she'd have to leave for the night.


“Okay,” she nodded, leaning over placing a kiss on the bridge of her wife’s nose, “I love you, angel.”


The nurse watched the interaction and tried to smile reassuringly when Tara straightened up.


“If you leave your number at the nurse’s station, we’ll call you if there’s any changes.”


Tara forced a grateful smile.


“Thanks, I’ll do that.”


The nurse left to give Tara a chance to say goodbye alone and the blonde keep Willow's hands firmly encased in hers until the last second, leaning over to kiss both of her eyelids.


Knowing she had to leave, she gave her wife's hand a final squeeze.


“I’ll be back tomorrow, beautiful. We’ll work on maybe opening your eyes then, okay?”

[BuffyFan4ever]

Dibs.

Yay for Willow being OK (as if I didn't know). I can't wait for Willow to open her eyes and everything to start going back to normal.

I'm glad Becky was able to pull Tara out of her funk. It takes a true friend to know when being "harsh" is necessary.

Can't for tomorrow.

To Finey McFine: That's why I make my dibs as short as possible.

[Finey_McFine]

DIIIIIIIBBBBBBBBS!!!!!!!!!!! WOO HOO! DAMN IT! You beat me by like 2 seconds.

Really nice chapter. It sucked though, that Tara had to leave. Hopefully, she won't beat herself up too much back at the hotel.

It was wonderful that all her friends came to support her:) They truly are family when you get older!

Can't wait until tomorrow!!! Hopefully we'll get to see a wide eyed redhead!

[leonhart17]

Aww, it was sweet to see everyone comfort Tara... I lol'd at Buffy putting her fist through a wall - that's a good reaction in my book! I can't wait for Willow to wake up!

[LonelyTara]

Oh gosh, oh gosh, it tore my heart out that Tara had to go. I do not look forward to Tara being alone in a hotel room, away from Willow, with no one to pull her out of her own head. :( Sad, sad, but lovely, as others have said, to see the support of their family--born and found.

[Mrs. Pineapple]

Mmm, I know this story from somewhere... Great couple of updates. I always like me some angst, but on the single occasion you give us some, it's immediately a lot of angst. Good job on the daily updates though.

Thanks for this wonderful story!

[zampsa19752001]

Yay for great update-y goodness... Big yay for Willow not having serious injuries and the gang having a chance to visit her... I hope Tara is there first thing in the morning when Willow wakes up...

[Promthea128]

*Breathes sigh of relief* Everything is going to be okay. As if it wouldn't, its the KB. And its you, the goddess of fluff. Like everyone else, I love that the family came together, to give unconditional support.

[taralicious]

Everyone else seemed to be surprised by this, especially when Jesse quietly stroked her back and called her ‘baby’, sinking them both down into chairs, but nobody commented, more focused on their own grief.

The simnplest actions, a stray touch, aglance can speak volunes more than words can that two people have found a connection with each other;
see Spike's reaction and playing to his advantage Tara absently stroking Willow's hair in "The Yoko Factor."

Tara thought if she got asked that question one more time she might scream but had enough wherewithal to know that snapping at one of her friends would only worsen the situation

George Carlin, my late comedic idol, always said that people were programmed to say certain platitudes like "How are you?" when someone has died or has had surgery and they are talking to the spouse.
The best was his suggestion that if someone says to you, "If there's anything I can do, anything at all" you should call their bluff and put them to work. "Do you have a plunger because the upstairs toilet overflowed and there's shit everywhere."

Buffy's nails dug further and further into her palms before she suddenly lashed out and punched the wall closest to her as hard as she could.

They clearly make those walls of the hospital out of reinforced concrete not like the cheap plywood of the apartment Xander put his fist through.

“Just one person for now,” Dr. Sarow said regretfully, “She’s still unconscious and I can’t give a definitive time for when she’ll wake

Fortunately we, her virtual fireinds and admirers, can look down upon her and don't have to worry about fire codes so we can watch over Willow while Tara gets some much needed rest at the hotel.

[Gaga01]

I knew Willow was going to be okay, but I'm really glad she's going to be okay, lol. There will be lots of pampering from her wife once she gets released from the hospital...it was so great to see all their friends in there to support Tara!

I feel really thankful for Buffy. She hitting the wall was a good stress reliever, just in time for the doctor to show up...and yay for Xander for flashing his badge so everyone could see Willow|

“I’ll be back tomorrow, beautiful. We’ll work on maybe opening your eyes then, okay?”

Yes, good plan! We want to see green eyes in the next one!

(I agree with the prison riot thing. That'd be great! And it would make a great fanvid! I loved Amber in Grey...)