Quick comments and then an update…
Russ - Yeah, a friend was very concerned about the apocalypse too. I know someone who believes that it’s fate that the Cubs lost to the Giants in 89? Because since the Giants were playing Oakland, many people were at home when the earthquake hit which means fewer deaths and injuries. I call that – nice spin. Thanks for the thoughts about my writing. I will probably continue in some manner but perhaps branch out or something. Ahhh!
Patty - Thanks for the kind thoughts. Her morning sickness is much better now and it’s all so amazing. We’re at 28 weeks and it seems to have gone by both super-fast and slow as molasses. Oh yeah, definitely moving forward. Thanks for all your thoughts. I’m glad you liked.
Gina - Thanks for the thoughts. It’s so fun … We registered for presents last week and everything is just do darn cute! (that’s how they get you…). Glad you liked the housewarming.
Title – Paths Diverged/Divulged Part 27 –
Best Morning
Author – JustSkipit - Debra
Spoilers –Season 6
Rating – Part 27 – PG -13
Disclaimer – Guess what, I don’t own W&T, Buffy or the rest of the BtVS crew. Any similarity to actual persons living or dead is purely coincidental and fortunate. Also Rachel thinks I should point out that I don’t make any money from this…
Thoughts in italicsWillow was pulled from her sleep by the jerking of the warm body wrapped in her arms. Her confusion lasted only a moment as she quickly realized that Tara was having a nightmare and began trying to comfort the blonde by stroking her hands along the woman’s arms and whispering her name: “Tara. It’s ok. It’s a nightmare.”
The blonde jerked a few more times, giving out a low whimper before she stilled in Willow’s arms. As the redhead watched, she appeared to squeeze her eyes together before asking tentatively, “Willow?”
“Yes, baby love,” the redhead whispered back before placing a kiss on her forehead. “I’m right here,” she added, “good morning.”
“Mmm,” Tara murmured as she began to nuzzle her nose into Willow’s tender neck, causing the smaller girl to giggle and squirm, “you mean best morning.”
“Hey,” Willow protested, “no tickling so early in the morning.” The blonde giggled and replaced nuzzling her nose into the redhead’s sensitive skin with placing feather-light kisses along it. “Mmm,” Willow moaned her approval, “you can definitely do that so early in the morning.”
Tara placed a few more kisses before opening her eyes to see Willow’s green ones looking back at her. As she opened her eyes she smiled broadly at the redhead before blushing red and breaking eye contact to look down. Attempting to be subtle, she slipped a hand under the blanket, feeling that neither woman was wearing any clothes. Ignoring Willow’s giggles she closed her eyes again before whispering, “w-we made love last n-night right?”
Willow leaned down to place her mouth incredibly close the blonde’s ear, ensuring that she could feel the breath caressing her skin as well as detecting her lips whispering over the folds of her ear: “last night and most of the morning, my love.”
Again a smile split Tara’s face as she remembered the hours spent loving and being loved by Willow in her new apartment. “W-w-was it…? I mean was I..?” she tentatively asked.
Gently Willow placed either hand on her lover’s cheeks. “It was perfect, my love,” she reassured the blonde. As she saw the relief on Tara’s face she decided to tease the girl passing her fingers gently over her chest and stomach before allowing them to rest at the curls at the base of her stomach, “but we can always practice if you want to make sure.”
Tara giggled a little before rolling over on top of her lover and pressing their lips together to kiss her deeply. As she felt the girl relaxing and melting into her she thrust her tongue into Willow’s mouth for just a few seconds. Finally pulling away she explained, “yes, l-lots of practice…”
“But…?” Willow led.
“N-nightmares, morning breath, you know,” Tara explained somewhat embarrassed.
“I love you,” Willow smiled before kissing her lover on the cheek. “How do showers and I take you to breakfast sound?” She would have loved to suggest sharing a shower but suspected that the blonde wouldn’t be comfortable with it.
“You’ll take me to breakfast?” Tara confirmed playfully.
“Oh yeah,” Willow agreed authoritatively, “it’s in the official lesbian handbook. Chapter 3: always take a beautiful woman to breakfast after the most incredible love making of your life.” As she spoke the redhead pulled on her jeans and shirt from the night before.
Willow wasn’t surprised to see Tara reach out from under the blanket to grab her new pajamas and pull them on before tossing the blanket aside. “There’s a h-handbook?” she answered. “If that’s chapter 3, what do the first two say?”
“Oh, they’re kind of how-to chapters,” Willow explained as she extended her hand to help Tara stand up and pulled her close.
“Do they have a lot of good information?” Tara purred as she pressed her body up against the redhead, wrapping her arms around the girl’s waist.
“I think you already figured them out,” Willow complimented.
“Really?”
Willow leaned forward to whisper in her lover’s ear: “Chapter one: if she’s doing this…” Willow moaned in Tara’s ear, “keep doing what you’re doing or do it more, faster, or harder…”
“Mmm,” Tara murmured approvingly, “what’s left for Chapter two?”
Willow giggled as she explained: “Chapter two: if she’s doing this…” Willow screamed “Ow!”, “stop doing what you’re doing.”
“Did you w-write that book yourself, baby?”
“It’s a work in progress,” Willow explained.
“Tell me that chapter four is about c-coffee…,” Tara pleaded.
Willow bent down to pick up the blonde’s cane and the toiletries from the gift box, handing her the cane. “Yep,” she agreed, “it says why don’t you get the first shower while I make coffee?” Taking the blonde’s hand she led her to the bathroom and set the shampoo and conditioner in the rack in the shower and the toothbrush in the holder by the sink. “Do you need anything else, my love?”
Tara leaned in to gently kiss her lover as she whispered, “just you, baby.” She looked away quickly before amending her statement, “but n-not … you know…”
Willow quickly kissed the blonde on the cheek as she answered, “I’ll go make coffee.” “Take your time,” she instructed as she pulled the door closed.
Willow opened her laptop as she enjoyed her coffee on the patio. She figured she had twenty minutes or so before Tara was ready and planned to add a little to her ongoing letter to Buffy. It was a complicated emotional process to attempt to connect with a friend she didn’t believe she would ever see again but one that seemed increasingly necessary. She wanted to feel close to her best friend and at the same time to let her go. She had found that the best technique was to write her letter(s) whenever she had a few free minutes.
Tara finished showering and toweled off. It came as no surprise to her that her lover had bought good quality linens and had made a point of hanging two sets in her bathroom. Everything Willow did seemed intended to let Tara know how much she loved her and how much she planned for her in her actions. As she dressed her mind wandered to the evening before and by the time she was fully clothed she felt her face flushed and her breathing had quickened. Taking a few deep and calming breaths she exited the bathroom to get her coffee and find her lover. After pouring a cup of coffee she glanced around, quickly guessing that Willow was on the patio.
“I guess I should get used to this at s-some point,” she said as she stepped onto the patio.
Willow looked up from her laptop startled at the sound of Tara’s voice. “Oh,” she realized, “I guess so.” She looked intently at the birds for a moment and they flew off gracefully. She quickly indicated the folding chair next to her own: “It’s no patio set but I borrowed these until everything arrives.”
Tara leaned over to kiss her girlfriend before sitting and taking a sip of her coffee. “Thanks for the coffee,” she smiled. “And also for … well b-being understanding,” she blushed.
“Hey,” Willow told her lover gently as she ran a fingertip down the side of her face and tucked a stray hair behind her ear, “we have all the time in the world.”
Tara smiled back and glanced at the redhead’s laptop. “What are you working on?”
Willow smiled glad that Tara wasn’t uneasy about anything. “I was writing a letter to Buffy. I mean I know that’s dumb. It’s not like she can read it or anything and I’m not ever going back there so it’s not like she’ll ever see it or anything but … well… I miss her and it’s like here I am having this totally incredible experience,” she glanced up at Tara to smile at her. “And she doesn’t know anything about it. She could be worried or want to come and save me or something and I’m deliriously happy and…”
Tara leaned over and kissed her girlfriend again grinning from ear to ear. “You’re n-not ever going b-back?” She had hoped that was the case but she and Willow hadn’t actually discussed it. She knew that when the redhead first arrived she wanted to take Tara back home with her but apparently she had changed her mind.
“I…I…,” Willow fumbled for words. Watching Tara’s face watching her, she slid onto her knees in front the blonde and took her hands, kissing each finger lovingly. She looked up in the beautiful blue eyes as she tried to explain: “I don’t want to pressure you about anything Tara. But I love you. I know that we’re new and that our relationship is new but I’ve lost love once. I don’t want to lose it again.” As she saw the smile spreading across Tara’s face she added, “I’m a very forever girl.”
Tara leaned down to kiss her lover. “I know that you l-love me and I’m not trying to have a heavy conversation,” she started, “but I thought you wanted me to g-go back with you.”
Willow took a deep breath as she tried to explain, “I did. But then I met you and you aren’t just some replacement, someone to insert into the hole in my life, into my world. You are you and you are wonderful and there’s no way I would want to take you there.”
“Are y-you nervous about your f-friends?” she asked.
“What nervous about my friends?” Willow asked. “No why would I be nervous. I mean they’d be ecstatic. Dawnie would probably have puppies when she saw you. I mean they’re used to people coming back from the dead from time to time.” She smiled to make sure that Tara understood that it was a joke. “I would never take you away from people who love you so much, Tara,” she brushed her hand along the blonde’s cheek. “Also I don’t want to put you in that danger.” The blonde looked down at her leg as she realized that Willow thought she would be a liability.
Willow watched Tara attempting to figure out why the blonde looked so downtrodden. As she did she noticed the blonde concentrating on her leg. “Oh Goddess Tara,” she cried, “that’s not it. I know you could take care of yourself but I don’t want you to.” The blonde looked up and Willow continued, “I know that she went to Sunnydale with me because she wanted to be with me but if I hadn’t put her in that danger, I wouldn’t have lost her.” She smiled at Tara as she realized, “on the other hand, I wouldn’t have found you…”
She watched the blonde watching her curiously and announced, “fuck it,” before pressing her lips to Tara’s. Gently she kissed her lover, allowing her love and tenderness, her need and desperation to flow through the connection as her hands cupped the blonde’s face. Finally she pulled back leaning their forehead together and whispered, “I love you. You love me. That’s all there is.”
Tara’s voice betrayed how Willow’s kiss had captured her heart and mind. “All there is,” she quietly repeated. “Go take a shower so you can t-take me to breakfast, my love,” she whispered.
Willow quickly jumped to her feet to go get her shower. “Hey,” she suddenly turned around, “you called me ‘my love.’”
Tara took a drink of her coffee grinning, “the only one I’ve ever had.” The redhead darted the two steps to give her lover another quick kiss before leaving to take her shower.
A short time later the two girls ordered their breakfast, well, ok, brunch. A friend of Tara’s had wandered up to say hello, quickly noticed that the two girls were in their own world and left quickly. “I think we might have been rude,” Willow joked.
“I’m ok with that,” Tara whispered, focusing intently on her lover’s eyes.
Willow leaned over to get another kiss from her lover. “Maybe we should have eaten at home,” she teased.
“Hmm,” Tara mused, “getting to stay in bed with you but having to eat Chinese food leftovers for b-breakfast or staring into your eyes and being rude to an acquaintance.”
Willow again kissed her lover. “You’re right,” she agreed, “it was a good trade.” Deciding to tease the blonde she added, “and the fact that there’s no bed puts this right over the top.”
“I don’t remember you complaining about the f-floor last night,” Tara purred.
“Oh Goddess Tara,” Willow moaned exaggeratedly, “the
floor was amazing last night.”
Before the blonde could answer her phone rang. It was obvious from the conversation that it was Michelle and Willow had a pretty good idea what the runner was asking from the way Tara was blushing so adorably. By the time Tara managed to get off the phone, breakfast had arrived. The blonde looked at her waffles: “well, let’s d-d-dig in, s-shall w-w-we?”
Willow didn’t fail to notice the way Tara stuttered and blushed as she got off the phone. “What did Chelle want?” she asked innocently.
“What? Oh C-chelle? Oh she j-just wanted to see how I w-was doing on an um p-p-project…” the blonde trailed off as she realized Willow was giggling at her.
“A project?” Willow continued teasing, “I love projects. Maybe I can help.”
Recovering from her embarrassment Tara teased back, “maybe if you have some time this afternoon?”
“Vixen,” Willow whispered. “What did Michelle say?”
“You mean around her cheers and Eliza’s hootin and hollerin?” Tara asked. Willow just laughed in response. “Seriously,” Tara explained, “she said that she took Scooby running this morning.”
“Poor Scooby,” Willow joked.
“What, you don’t run?” Tara asked.
“Oh yeah, I run,” Willow answered, “especially if the vampire behind me is really fast. I’m a real jock.”
Tara laughed as she concluded, “I guess you were lucky they h-had riding at Brenhams so you could ride instead of having to play dodgeball or do square dancing or whatever.”
Willow nearly choked on her food before assessing Tara and trying to determine if the blonde was joking. Then she realized that there was no reason that Tara would be joking. How would she know that Willow was terrified of horses until she arrived at school? She relaxed as she explained, “I didn’t think so at the time.”
“Why not?”
“I was terrified of horses when I went to Brenhams,” Willow told her.
Tara scrunched up her face in disbelief. “Scared? What were you scared of?”
Willow giggled as she explained much like she had years ago to another woman very like this one, “arm biting.” She added, “I got over it.”
“Obviously,” Tara agreed wondering if there was more story to it.
“Subject change,” Willow announced as Tara giggled. “your birthday is next week. In honor of your being older than me I’d love to take you to dinner of course but something tells me that you probably have some crazy tradition of skydiving naked or swimming in whipped cream while singing show tunes.”
Tara laughed boisterously at her girlfriend’s proposals. “We go to Frank and Maria’s,” she explained
“Cool,” Willow answered, “I haven’t had a chance to see the new location. I mean did it burn down here? At home it burned down last year.”
Tara nodded her head as she explained, “yeah it burned down last year here too. The n-new location is great. About twice as big but still the tradition.” She smiled at her lover, “of course since I don’t usually h-have a date we may have to make some new traditions.”
Willow leaned across the table to gently kiss her lover. “You will always have a date now, my baby,” she explained. She smirked at the blonde: “new traditions huh? Anything in particular in that wondrous mind of yours?”
Tara appeared to consider for a moment. “Mmm,” she purred, “I’ll see if I can think of anything.”
“So I’m invited then,” Willow asked playfully, “I mean to your birthday and these new traditions…”
Tara waited a minute for the waitress to refill her coffee. “Definitely invited, my love,” she answered. “Speaking of which…”
“What?” Willow asked, wondering what Tara was talking about and also whether she could take the girl for a private birthday celebration.
“Well…” Tara started. “Your parents…um d-d-do you…h-h-have you… are they, you know, alive? Here?”
“Oh my parents,” Willow answered easily, “yes. I checked some records. They are still living in the same house. I went there in Sunnydale but they weren’t home.”
“Oh,” Tara answered somewhat disappointed.
Willow scrunched her brow up in confusion. “What’s wrong, baby? Why the dejected look because my parents didn’t get their blood sucked yet even though they live in the vampire capital of the world?”
Tara giggled at the way Willow could tease about anything. “I g-g-guess you’ll want to spend the holidays with them? Thanksgiving and your birthday?”
Again Willow choked on her drink. “Spend the holidays with my parents? That’s great…” She was laughing out loud at the thought of spending time with her parents in any universe. As she saw the somewhat confused and hurt look on her lover’s face, she gently apologized: “I’m sorry to laugh baby but… why did you go to Brenhams?”
Now it was Tara’s turn to wrinkle her brow. “Why? W-w-well, I needed a good education and g-g-good scholarship to college and I got a scholarship to the school.”
“Do you know why I went there?” Willow asked.
Tara jokingly echoed the corny Brenhams sales pitch: “a high quality education with wholesome goodness and love of nature?”
Willow laughed at the reminder of the school’s cheesy sales pitch. “I’ll summarize: in just one of our many battles against evil I was knocked out and put in a coma, Xander had his arm broken, and Buffy ran away after having to kill her boyfriend to save the world. And the three of us were lucky because we all lived.” Tara listened to her lover’s words with fear even though she knew that these events were in the past and couldn’t endanger her any more. “My parents were out of town, which believe me was the norm. When they returned to find me not just injured but dating a goyim guitar player they figured I needed some supervision.”
“I didn’t know you had a thing for goyim guitar players,” Tara teased.
“Seems to be the case,” Willow teased right back, “Oz was a good guy and in this world he was a ‘white hat.’”
“He fought evil?” Tara guessed.
Willow nodded as she thought about the caring heart the boy had. “Yeah, until Giles got a slayer in Sunnydale he did. Now he plays in a band and travels around. Actually I saw that they’re coming to town and wondered if we could maybe go see them?”
“Wanting to rekindle an old f-flame,” Tara teased.
“I have only one flame and I want to tend and kindle it for as long as I can,” Willow leered. “But to continue … my parents thought I needed some supervision.”
“So they quit traveling so much and the three of you had dinner every night and lived happily ever after,” Tara suggested.
“Except for the beginning, middle, and end, that’s entirely correct,” Willow answered. By now the girls had left the restaurant and were walking slowly along the lake. The redhead noticed how many people were enjoying the trail and again thought how many things there were to do in this city. “So they sent me to Brenhams and didn’t give it another thought except to send copious amounts of money and come into town for 24 hours when I had an emergency appendectomy.”
“So… you’re n-not close?” Tara concluded.
“Well let’s see Tara and I spent Thanksgiving our senior year at a Bed and Breakfast in the Hill Country, the next two years at Buffy and Joyce’s house, and then hosted at the house last year. Christmasses we spent at Tara’s family’s farm house.”
“So you weren’t planning on c-contacting them and spending Thanksgiving with them?” Tara confirmed.
“We keep coming back to Thanksgiving, lover,” Willow noted.
“W-w-will you go home with me?” Tara asked.
“I’d love to,” Willow answered. “I mean I can meet your father and brother and niece and your aunt and uncle and … I mean meet these ones … I mean… you know.”
Tara gently kissed her girlfriend’s hand. “I know and I want you to meet them too.” She could feel that Willow was considering asking something and that she was nervous about it. “What is it, baby?”
Willow tentatively asked, “if…if I decided to contact my parents, here I mean, um, would you go with me?”
“Oh Goddess baby,” Tara answered as she wrapped her lover in a hug, “of course I would.”
“Cool,” Willow smiled, “we could visit Giles, Jenny, Faith, and Dawn too.”
“That should be fascinating,” Tara commented.
“What?”
“Well it sounds like Giles is pretty similar to the man you knew in your world and Dawn’s similar but definitely d-different. I mean they are all people you knew in your world but in this world they’re different. And especially Dawn. I mean she’s like the whole answer to the nature versus nurture question. Did you take psychology?”
Willow giggled as she answered, “yeah I took Psychology-101. Sure. I took it from an evil government scientist who was skewered by her own Frankenstein-like creation before the final exam, but I think I’m familiar with the nature versus nurture question.”
Tara also laughed. “I’m filing that away under the t-tales my girlfriend needs to share at a later date.”
“Sure,” Willow agreed, “oooh. Remember Adam from your painting—said Frankenstein-like skewerer.”
Tara made a face as she thought about the image she had received and the horrifying painting she made following that dream. “I’ll just say ‘ick’ to that o-one,” she agreed. Deciding to tease Willow she again suggested, “so I can meet Dawn and Faith. That should be a cute couple.”
“Arrrggghh!,” Willow muttered playfully, “I told you that is a kind of creepy thought. I mean sure both are very good looking but Dawn’s a kid.”
“You said Michelle and Eliza remind you of them,” Tara reminded the redhead. She added, “I don’t understand who Jenny is, though. I mean is she in y-your world at all?”
Willow nodded her head as the two girls walked back to the car. “Jenny is Giles’ wife. In my world she was the computer teacher at our high school and kind of a low-level witch. She called herself as ‘cyber-pagan.’ She was killed by a vampire our Junior year.”
As they drove Willow explained how Jenny had died as well as continuing to fill her girlfriend in on the characteristics of her Sunnydale friends, from this world and the other one.
By the time they had reached Willow’s apartment and were walking inside Tara felt many emotions. She couldn’t believe how dangerous the girl’s life had been. She was glad that she had good friends but wished that the redhead had never had to encounter danger. Then it occurred to her that perhaps these encounters with danger and evil were a large part of what made Willow who and what she was, both a beautiful loving woman and a brave and powerful witch. It was similar to the way Tara’s accident and her obsession with Willow were a large part of what defined her.
Much as she was interested in Willow’s stories, throughout the drive the redhead had been tracing her fingertips over the blonde’s knee. The sensation was starting to drive Tara crazy. She could feel the sexual and magical energy flowing even more powerfully than before last night, as if they had blown away any remaining barriers between them. The redhead’s fingers seemed to be tracing a pattern over her knee and going straight to every area of her body simultaneously.
It was apparent that Willow was feeling the same sensation. She moaned into the passionate kiss Tara delivered the second the blonde closed the door by pressing her lover’s body into the barrier. Their tongues clashed as both girls began pulling at the other’s clothing. Breaking the kiss Willow suggested, “project?”
Tara smiled teasingly as she whispered in her lover’s ear, “we could warm the bedroom.”
Willow groaned slightly, her knees weakening as she nodded and took the blonde by the hand to lead her to the designated room.
---
Go Cubbies!
Debra 
,
doing? Great I hope. 
How are you doing? The painting and setting up of the nursey? 
You are just trying to send us to cold freezing 
aren't you? :gin Well it is working! 
and 
are so sweet! 
That love scene was so sweet! 
I see that willpower final ran out huh! 
I thought that it never would! 
I can't wait to 
more! Update soon, please? 
<----- that one cuz who can't help but smile at a dancing banana. 
. Problem is there ain't enough Willow's combined in both worlds to keep all Tara's happy. Hmm... I'm not sure if we've seen this Tara think about that cause->effect problem. Hopefully she won't think TOO much of it, since it can't be changed anyway and she has enough problems of her own.
*Slaps self in head* I have been so busy i haven't hd time to breath on a regular basis. 
I all caught up now though. 
Hellllllloooooooooo Debra 
at: 10/30/03 7:40 pm