“What just happened here, Tare? Are you okay?” She said, placing her hand on the blonde’s shoulder. Buffy noticed instantly that Tara was almost hot to the touch.
“I-I don’t know...I just thought y-you were going t-to take her from m-me...and then I felt...this p-power welling up inside m-me...” Tara stuttered nervously.
Willow interjected, having felt the heat coming off her wife “I think we just met the Sorceress...”
Chapter Sixty-five“Will…I’m n-not a Sorceress…I c-can’t be…” Tara didn’t know who she was trying to convince more…Willow and Buffy…or herself.
“Honey…it all makes sense…you come from a line of very powerful witches. Your Mom…your Grandmother…”
“B-but they just practiced the Craft…t-that’s all…lots of people practice…”
“Baby…we both know that you’ve got power…I can feel it all around you…especially when we…”
“Hey! Sister here! Can we not get into any specifics of your sexcapades, please?” Buffy said, blushing.
“Sorry, Buff…it’s just that I can…I can feel her power…and it’s unlike anything I’ve ever felt before…”
“Well, yeah! You’re in love with her…don’t you think you’re a little biased?”
“No…it’s not that…well…yeah…it is that…duh! She’s my wife! But it’s more than that…I’ve felt it before…that night with the Gentlemen…she’s more powerful than anybody I’ve every been around…”
“But I’m n-not…I don’t want to be.” Tara said, her head dropping to the position she had assumed so many times before meeting Willow and the others.
Willow reached up, placing her hand under the blonde’s chin, raising her up. “Baby…I don’t think you have a choice…and please…don’t hide those beautiful blue eyes from me…you are so special to me…to all of us…it’s going to be okay…we’re going to be okay…I promise.”
It never failed…whenever she was at her worst, Willow was right there to make her feel whole again.
“I trust you.” Tara said, looking into those endless pools of Emerald green.
Buffy was starting to feel a bit uncomfortable by the glances that were shared between the two Wiccans, and thought it best if she made her way to the chair waiting for her in the hallway. Willow noticed her walking away.
“Buff?”
“I’ll be right outside, Will…” she said, wanting them to know that they were protected…safe…but also that they had the privacy that they not only wanted…but needed.
“Will…I know that I should be the one taking care of you right now…b-but I’m so scared…” Tara said, shortly after Buffy closed the door.
“Baby…if anyone can handle the power of being a Sorceress, it’s you! I’ve never seen anyone who was as good at controlling the magicks as you are…”
“It’s not just the power that I’m afraid of…I’m afraid of losing you…afraid of bringing a child into this world who is always going to have to be looking over her shoulder…someone or something will always be trying to hurt her or…to kill her…”
Willow reached out, taking Tara’s hand in hers and pulling her closer to her.
“Listen to me…no one is EVER going separate us…I am never going to leave you…so you’d better just get used to having me around, Tara Rosenberg-Maclay…because I’m here to stay…come what may.”
Tara smiled, tears welling up in her eyes. “I think I c-can handle that…”
“…and as far as our children are concerned…I know that you’re scared…and so am I…I mean…I always knew that our children would be ‘special’…but the ‘Perfect Slayer’…kinda hard to believe, even for a pretty talented red-headed mega-witch and a kick-butt sexy blonde sorceress! But…I know that the goddess would not have chosen us for her parents if she didn’t think that it was meant to be…this child…OUR child…is going to bear the weight of the world on her shoulders…she is going to need parents who understand her power…and the responsibility that goes with it…parents who will love her no matter what…family that will be there to guide her and teach her…OUR family…you…me…Buffy…Xander…Giles…even Anya… Who better to keep her safe and make her what she needs to be but people who have been dealing with the same responsibilities for most of their lives?”
Tara leaned over, kissing the red-head gently on the forehead.
“I hope she’s just like you...” Tara said, smiling.
“Geeky, red-headed, spastic…feel free to stop me at any time here…”
“No…silly! Smart…wise beyond her years…with fiery red hair…and the cutest pouty lips…”
“What if I want a beautiful blonde…with Sapphire Blue eyes…just like her Mommy…?”
“Hmmmmm…how about we have one of both?” Tara said, settling in beside Willow.
“I think that could be arranged…” Willow said, grinning.
Meanwhile…
Buffy was sitting in her chair…her head still reeling from the events of the past 48 hours…when she saw Giles walking down the hallway.
“How is she doing?” Giles asked.
“Actually…she’s doing great! Must be that Slayer blood…hey…I wonder if that is making a difference…”
The Watcher cocked his head “…actually…it just might…So she’s feeling better, then?”
“Definitely. Tara’s with her right now…I think they need a little alone time. Tara’s pretty freaked about this whole Sorceress thingy.”
“Did something happen?”
“Well…if you’d call Tara turning herself into a witchy space-heater, something…then yeah.”
“Space heater…what do you mean?”
“It wasn’t my fault…I just said something about having to separate them…because they were all with the smoochies and cuddles and everything…and WHAM! Tara gets all large-with-the-butch and raises the heat in the room about 30 degrees…she was actually hot to the touch! Needless to say…Will’s never going to have to worry about cold sheets at night…she’s got her own little blonde bed warmer extraordinaire!”
“Oh dear…I was afraid this was going to happen…I just didn’t expect it so soon…”
“Expect what?”
“Tara’s Sorceress powers have been activated…probably initially when she tried to defend Willow when they were attacked…what you said…well…just the thought of her being separated from Willow…was enough of an emotional thrall to trigger her power completely.”
“So…you wanna put that in English…I mean the American-style English for me here, Giles?”
“Tara always had power…but much of her power remained dormant until she felt that she needed it…and then, when she drew upon it…she came into her full potential…a very powerful Sorceress…”
“Well…that’s a good thing, right? I mean…more power…more mojo…bigger is better…”
“Buffy…the magicks that are running through Tara’s body are immensely powerful…so much so that if she isn’t taught how to control them…they could actually consume her…poison her…”
“She’s in danger?! Well…You have to help her Giles! Teach her how to control them! You’re the Watcher! You can do that sort of thing!”
“Buffy…I wish I could…but this goes beyond anything that I could ever teach her…”
“What are you saying? We can’t let anything happen to her, Giles…we can’t!”
“We’re going to need help on this…soon…” Giles said, hoping that his idea would work…
To Be Continued...