Pavlov's ShortStories *Updated 4/26/14* W/T Pregnancy

[Pavlov'sBell]

• Title: The Wish
• Author name: Pavlov'sBell, a.k.a. Colton
• Rating - PG
• Feedback- ...Yes...I'm just really nervous about it...I'm nervous about just posting this here...
• Summary- Just a simple oneshot based on the idea that Buffy could have gotten a wish from the Powers That Be, and she used it to bring back Tara.
• Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy or any of other Buffyverse characters. They belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy
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The motel parking lot was extremely quiet as Buffy made her way across the cracked and weathered pavement. The stars in the sky above were shining brightly, as if they were trying to tell her that she really had won, and this wasn't a dream she would wake up from. The First had been stopped, and despite all the odds against them, she had made it out, alive and still breathing.

Which was more than she could say for some of the others that had helped over the course of the past seven years. Ms. Calendar, Kendra, Tara, Anya, the names all piled up the more she thought about their faces. Every single one of them had given their time and effort, and eventually their lives in order to help against the fight against evil that never seemed to ever be won. But for this single moment, there was a feeling of peace in the world around the Slayer. The lives that had been given hadn't been lost in vain. The blood spilled hadn't been spilled because it was a lost cause. It had been spilled because it had been the right one.

She thought of the numerous bodies that were still buried across the collapsed cemeteries. Ms. Calendar, Mom, Tara, who would come back to visit them? To lay flowers on the tombstones? To shed the tears that needed to be allowed to fall down dry cheeks? Looking back at the curtain-covered window to the room, Buffy knew that Willow was most likely thinking the same thing. She still hadn't fully forgiven herself for Tara's death, and in a way, she most likely never would. Grief was a strong emotion to carry, something that the Slayer knew from first-hand experience.

Stopping, she folded her arms across her chest, and continued to stare up at the stars above. A few of them were still sparkling brightly, and she remembered the night that she and Angel had stared up at them, simply holding each other. It seemed so long ago, a different time, a different world. The ground that they had sat on was gone now, nothing more than dirt and grass filling in a giant crater in the ground. Sunnydale was gone, and it would never come back. As much as she had despised the town, it still held a special place in her heart. She had gone through moments of happiness within the town's borders, things that went hand in hand with pain, guilt, love, sadness, and death. Everything that she had ever felt would somehow be connected with the destroyed town.

"You've done well." Her mind shaken out of her thoughts, Buffy turned, expecting to find someone behind her talking. As her eyes scanned the parking lot, there wasn't a single soul in sight, apart from herself.

"Hello?" She said, the word echoing slightly back to her as she spoke.

"You can't see us, but we are here." The voice responded, the sound of it echoing as if it were coming across a great distance in order to reach her.

"Ok, little explanation would come in handy right now." Buffy said, not knowing which direction to speak to. The voice seemed to be all around her, as if it were in the air that she breathed.

"We are messengers from the Powers That Be."

"The same Powers that my former boyfriend takes his orders from?"

"Yes, we are the ones that bestowed Angel a voice for our visions. We have come in order to deliver a message to you."

"Is it one that allows me to sleep for a year? Because that would really be appreciated right about now." Buffy sarcastically answered, unsure of whether or not the voice would understand the humor.

"You have done a great deed in vanquishing the embodiment of pure evil. For that, you are to be rewarded. We grant you a single wish that contains no limits."

"You mean I can wish for anything?"

"You may. It is your reward." As the sound of the voice echoed and finally stopped, Buffy stood alone in the parking lot, her mind ablaze with the possibilities of which she could use for the wish. Her first thoughts were of Angel, of allowing the two of them the relationship they had always wanted. But she couldn't bring herself to voice the words aloud, knowing that it would be wrong in some way to force something on him without his permission. He would have allowed her the same if their situations had been reversed.

She thought of how much Giles yearned for his lost love, Jenny, whom Angelus had stolen from him years before. The pain of that death still tore a fresh wound in the Watcher's heart whenever he thought of her. In a way, she had been his soul-mate, two souls that hadn't had enough time to properly express the way they had felt about each other. Again, Buffy couldn't say the words to allow the wish to be granted. Giles had grown as a person, and as much as he wanted his love, he knew that some things were destined to happen, and there would be no way of changing them.

Smiling, Buffy thought of a single girl that all of the Scoobies had lost as a family, someone who had been taken from them in one of the most violent ways possible. The death had been avenged, but the pain still remained fresh in the hearts of everyone who had known her.

"Ok, I know what I want."

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As Willow slept, she felt some satisfaction in knowing that the battle with the First was effectively behind them. All across the room, everyone who had survived the battle was asleep, the need for that required thing for life having taken its hold upon every single person in the room. At the end of the bed, Dawn was curled into a small ball, her hair effectively hiding her eyes.

The grass beneath her back felt cool to the touch, and as she stared up at the bright blue sky, she felt entirely at peace. There wasn't a sound to be heard for miles around, and for a single moment, Willow thought that she might know what heaven truly felt like. She felt warmth spread throughout every inch of her skin, and as she closed her eyes, she sighed a breath of pure and unrestrained happiness.

"Willow?" The voice sounded so familiar, and as she opened her eyes, she found Tara standing above her, the girl smiling down at her.

"Tara?" As she opened her mouth to speak again, Willow felt the other girl's finger press gently down on her lips, stopping her from saying another word.

"Sssshhh, it's ok, I'm here." She said, removing her finger as she finished speaking.

"I missed you." The red-head responded, reaching up and letting her finger slide across the other girl's cheek.

"I know, I'm here now, it's alright." Looking up from Willow's body, Tara stopped, almost as if she had heard something call her name.

"What? What's the matter?" Willow asked, her smile fading as she saw the seeds of conflict on the other girl's face.

"I have to go."

"Please, don't. I love you."

"I love you too. I will always find you." As the final words fell from Tara's lips, her body slowly began to fade away, leaving Willow lying in the middle of an empty, silent field with the grass still feeling cool beneath her back.

As her eyes opened, the dream still fresh in her eyes and mind, Willow could feel the quiet sensation of tears beginning to bubble up underneath her eyes. Across the room, everyone else remained asleep, oblivious to the emotional rollercoaster that she was going through. Slowly getting back onto her feet, the red-head pulled on her shoes and headed towards the door, each step quiet and precise in order to avoid waking anyone else in the room. As her fingers curled around the door knob, she opened the door, relieved that the hinges hadn't make a single sound as they opened.

All around her, the night air was slightly cold, which wasn't shocking considering that they were still technically in the middle of a desert. Everything she had ever read told her that deserts got surprisingly cold at night. Regretting that she hadn't grabbed a coat, she rubbed her hands up and down her bare arms, the skin already beginning to get goosebumps. The stars above her shined brightly, and she smiled as she remembered the night she and Tara had laid on the ground staring up at them. The dream had brought scores of memories soaring back to the forefront of her mind, and for the first moment in a few weeks, she found herself missing her lover even more. They should have been forever, but now they were separated with the largest distance possible.

Stopping just short of the end of the bus, Willow could see Buffy standing near the otherwise empty highway, her voice just barely able to be heard. Looking at where her friend was standing, the Witch was otherwise silent, her ears trying to make out what the Slayer was saying. As her eyes struggled to make out Buffy's form properly against the darkness that surrounded the outside of the parking lot, her vision was met with a great ball of light, the event nearly blinding her. Covering her eyes with her hand, she could just make out a voice saying something, the sound of it echoing throughout the air with such a volume that she hadn't heard before.

"So be it." It said, and then both it and the light disappeared, leaving the parking lot as it had been only moments before. Her legs falling into step, the Witch ran towards Buffy, unsure of whether or not the light had been an attack on her friend. The sound of her shoes against the cracked pavement echoed up to her ears as she ran, but she ignored them, her thoughts focused solely on her friend.

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"Buffy?!" As she heard her name being called, the Slayer turned to find Willow running towards her, a look of concern spread out across the other girl's face. Smiling at her, the Slayer waited until the Witch was directly in front of her until she started to speak.

"Something wrong, Willow?"

"I saw a really big ball of light, and I rushed over here to see if you're alright, because you know that the First's forces might be a little mad that we collapsed one of the Hellmouths, and I'm babbling aren't I?"

"Calm down, Wills, I'm fine. I just had a message delivered to me."

"What kind of a message, from who?"

"You know those things that Angel gets his orders from, the Powers That Be?"

"Yeah…" Willow answered, looking at her friend with questioning eyes.

"Well, since we defeated the First, they decided to give me a wish. Reward or something."

"And you wished for…" As she heard Willow's question, Buffy smiled, and pointed behind her friend's back.

"Look behind you." Turning on her heel slowly, the red-head felt her heart stop for a few sort moments as she saw who was standing before her.

"I told you I'd always find you, Willow." Tara said, smiling widely as she saw the look of shock spread over her love's face.

"Tara?" Willow answered, saying the name as if she were unsure that the girl were really standing in front of her. Without thinking, her feet again fell into step, the pace changing as she broke out into a run. As she reached the girl, the Witch wrapped her arms around her, the tears she had held inside from the dream flowing freely down her cheek. Feeling the red-head sobbing into her clothing, Tara wrapped her own arms around the girl, a few tears beginning to fall down her cheeks as well.

As she watched the scene, Buffy smiled, her own feet falling into step as she began to head back towards the motel, the need for sleep she felt inside her body beginning to properly exert itself over her mind. She caught Tara's eyes as she walked past the reunited lovers, and as the Witch smiled at her, she smiled back.

"Thank you." Willow said, hearing Buffy walking past the two of them. "Thankyou, thankyou, thankyou."

"You're welcome." The Slayer replied with simply, turning back towards the otherwise quiet motel. Above the three of them, the stars continued to shine brightly, the constellations seemingly smiling down on the two girls held in each other's embrace.

"Sssshhh, Willow, honey, you don't need to cry." Tara, running her hands through the girl's hair as she spoke. "I'm not going anywhere."

"I've missed you so much." Willow answered, her sobs beginning to calm down, but the tears of joy still flowing down her cheeks. "I nearly destroyed the world because I thought I would have to live without you."

"I know, I know, it's alright." Kissing her lover on the forehead, the girl met Willow's eyes. "I'm here now."

"I love you." The red-head said, smiling with true happiness.

"I know, I love you too." As she finished the sentence, Tara slowly leaned down and pressed her lips against Willow's, the other girl instantly doing the same. The two of them remained in that position for some time, each of them afraid to break the kiss for fear of the other disappearing. Finally pulling away, the two of them looked into each other's tear-stained eyes, and smiled.

"I'm yours, Willow, I'll always be."

"I know, forever." Unable to restrain herself any longer, Willow again pressed her lips against Tara's, her tears finally having stopped and given way to pure, unrestrained happiness.

[WillowFish]

The feels. OH GOD THE FEELS!! This was so beautiful. Keep them coming because you're doing great.

[Pavlov'sBell]

:aww The feels. OH GOD THE FEELS!! This was so beautiful. Keep them coming because you're doing great.

Thank you so much!

[Red Ink]

Oh that felt really good! Nicely done, you portrayed them well.
I think that's why I love Buffy, too, because she really is a hero. She could have been selfish, and ask for Angel, or her Mom or anything else in the world but she didn't. She did the right thing.
Go Buffy!
And of course big yay for Tara and Willow together again

[DaddyCatALSO]

A very good way to solve The Problem (caps intentional.) Being who I am, I can't help but wonder if Buffy wished specifically for Tara or more generally for (as another fic had it) something like "the broken hearts on the bus to be healed." Could be, since we never went back to the bus....
but who needs all the details; it's excelent as it is. Very plausible dialogue.

[Pavlov'sBell]

Oh that felt really good! Nicely done, you portrayed them well.
I think that's why I love Buffy, too, because she really is a hero. She could have been selfish, and ask for Angel, or her Mom or anything else in the world but she didn't. She did the right thing.
Go Buffy!
And of course big yay for Tara and Willow together again

Thanks Exactly. It takes strength to put someone else above yourself in importance. And yep, big yay at the end

A very good way to solve The Problem (caps intentional.) Being who I am, I can't help but wonder if Buffy wished specifically for Tara or more generally for (as another fic had it) something like "the broken hearts on the bus to be healed." Could be, since we never went back to the bus....
but who needs all the details; it's excelent as it is. Very plausible dialogue.

When I wrote the piece, I was thinking in the lines of that Buffy wished specifically for Tara. And that was mainly due to the fact that I wish it had actually happened in the last episode of the mess that was Season 7

Thanks

[Pavlov'sBell]

• Title: Babysitting Willow, Chapter 1 "Would It Hurt?"
• Author name: Pavlov'sBell, a.k.a. Colton
• Rating - PG
• Feedback- I'd love it. I don't bite.
• Email: colton625@live.com
• Summary- Set after the breakup in "Tabula Rosa", Willow accidentally turns herself into a child. After receiving a call from Buffy, Tara finds herself having to take care of the child, who wants nothing except her attention. Season 6 AU. Complete Fluff.
• Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy or any of other Buffyverse characters. They belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy
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Chapter 1

"Tara?" As she heard Buffy's voice come through the receiver, Tara Maclay felt nothing but fear sink into her heart.

"Buffy? W-What's wrong?" Dropping her bag onto the floor beside her, the blonde's mind instantly began to calculate ideas on what had happened. It had been only days since she had left Willow, and the pain in her heart was still fresh. It hurt to know that someone she had trusted with her life had taken to erasing parts of her memory, but she hoped that her display of leaving the girl would cause her to see how addicted to Magick she truly was. But with Buffy calling, the possibility that maybe Willow might have been unable to deal with herself was an unavoidable one.

"It's Willow…she's…maybe you should just come over. It'll be easier to explain if you see her in person." As she finished her sentence, the Slayer cupped her hands around the mouth of the receiver. Although the sound was extremely muffled, Tara found herself able to still make out the words of a young child saying "Want…Tara!"

"Buffy, is she alright? Is there someone else there?"

"Can you just come over, please?" Unable to avoid noticing the slight tone of desperation in the Slayer's voice, the blonde girl closed her eyes for a moment before answering.

"Alright. Where are you?"

"At my house." Again, the sound of a small child screaming managed to leak into the phone. "Please hurry."

"I'll be there in a few minutes." Forcing herself to gently set the receiver down onto the stand, Tara sighed. She hadn't expected to hear from Buffy so soon after her breakup with Willow, which she had no doubt was painful for the other girl as well. Her Willow had looked so broken as she had watched her pack her things and leave. There had been many things in her life that she felt sadness over, but leaving her girl was one of the biggest. Grabbing her wallet and the key to the Dorm room, the girl was out the door within minutes. It was only a short walk to the Summers' house, and she didn't want to delay the inevitable.
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As she rushed through the door to the Summers' house, Tara's heart kept up its steady rhythm through a mixture of fear and anxiety that coursed through her veins. The way Buffy's voice had sounded on the phone had been…almost frantic, and on the walk over, her mind had come to a thousand unhappy conclusions regarding why the Slayer wanted to see her. When she had tried to mention Willow, it seemed as if she had been unable to voice the words. That single fact had scared her even more with every step she took.

"Buffy?" Yelling out the girl's name, she made her way into the living room, and felt every single thought in her mind scatter as her eyes caught sight of a young girl being comforted by both Buffy and Dawn as she cried.

"Buffy?" Saying the Slayer's name once more, the blonde saw the child's eyes catch sight of her from behind tear-stained cheeks.

"Tara!" As the young child said her name, Tara opened her mouth in shock. Unable to reply to the child's cry of her name, the blonde found every other pair of eyes in the room staring at her. As the young red-head jumped off the couch, she rushed towards the older girl. When she finally reached her, the child wrapped her arms around the older girl's leg, and smiled.

"Willow?!" Kneeling down in order to properly look at the child's face, the blonde could hardly believe what was standing in front of her. The child was virtually the spitting image of what Willow had appeared as in the numerous childhood photos she had seen over the course of the past two years. The same fiery red-hair, the same bright green eyes that stood out so much that she couldn't help but stare at them, every individual characteristic that made up Willow was part of the child in front of her.

"Tara!" Unable to stop herself, Willow once again wrapped her short arms around the other girl's neck and squeezed tight.

"What happened?" Finding the child's grip to be stronger than she would have thought, the older girl managed to pick her up with a small grunt. As she looked at the other two girls in the room, Tara found Buffy staring at her, a grin on her face.

"I think you can see that for yourself."

"H-How-"

"How did she turn herself into a five year old?" Interrupting the other girl, Dawn's own face held a smile as she watched the child continuing to hug the girl holding her. "She locked herself in your…her room for a few days, and then we heard a loud sound, and when we got the door open, we found five–year old Willow."

"She turned herself into a child?" Again looking down at the girl she held in her arms, Tara didn't know what to feel or what to say. Should she be angry? Sad? Happy? Confused? Nothing was making any sense. "This isn't good."

"You think that we don't know that?" Her eyes focused solely on Tara, Buffy smiled. "She's happier now that you're here though."

"Did you ask her what spell she did?"

"We tried, but she didn't know what we were talking about. It's like she's truly turned back into a kid. She barely understood what we asked her."

"Not like we could really talk to her since she was crying for you the entire time we were trying." Dawn mumbled under her breath.

"…Did the clothes come with her?"

"Be lucky that my mom never threw away any of our old clothes, and that I haven't gone through all of them yet."

"I missed you, Tara." A wide smile continuing to adorn her face, Willow kissed the older girl's cheek. "Missed you, missed you, missed you."

"Aww…" Unable to stop herself from emitting a sound of amusement, Dawn covered her mouth with her hand. Chuckling slightly, a smile of her own came to her face. "See, she's not crying anymore. We couldn't get her to stop before."

"What are we going to do?" Frowning even as the child she held started to play with her blonde hair, Tara looked at the two other faces in the room. "We can't just leave her like this."

"We looked in the room, and the spell-book that was open had nothing but blank pages in it."

"That means that w-when she cast the spell, it erased itself from the book." Shifting the weight in her hands, the blonde girl sighed. "No, definitely not good."

"No offense, but I kinda think that this might be a little better than what you're thinking."

"How?" Shocked, Tara couldn't understand the point that Dawn was trying to make.

"I think I know. " Interrupting the other girl, Buffy pushed a few strands of her hair behind her ear before continuing. "Tara, Willow doesn't even understand what Magick is anymore. Do you really think she's going to hurt anyone the way she is right now?"

Still observing the confusion on the other girl's face, Buffy sighed. "Besides, she loves you."

"Buffy…"

"Maybe we should go the Magick Box and see if Anya has any books that match the one Willow used." Getting back onto her feet, Dawn gestured towards the door with her head. "Don't you think, Buffy?"

"Wha…oh…yeah, that sounds like a good idea. Can't have Willow stuck as a five year old any longer than need be." Already on her feet, the Slayer started towards the door with her sister hot on her heels. Managing to get past the other girl without much argument, the two Summers girls opened the door and gave one last look at Tara and Willow.

"We'll be back later. Just watch her, Tara. Don't want her to get hurt and all." As Buffy and Dawn closed the door behind them, Tara finally found the words she had been searching for.

"Wait…" Unable to stop the door from closing, she sighed as she heard the unmistakable sound of the wooden object closing in place. Sighing again, she took a few steps into the living room before she heard the child in her arms speak.

"I love you, Tara." Willow said, her words and tone obviously affected by her undeveloped vocal chords. Unable to stop herself from smiling, the older girl made her way over to the nearby couch, and leaned back into the piece.

"I love you too, sweetie." As she sat down, Tara let the child squirm her way into a sitting position next to her. Reaching out and resting her hand on the girl's cheek, the blonde sighed again. "What did you do to yourself?"

"I gave you a hug." Smiling widely once more, Willow leaned her body fully into Tara's side.

"No honey, I mean what spell did you cast?"

"I made these pretty colors come out of my finger. Aunt Buffy didn't like it." Still, that contagious smile refused to falter, even for the faintest of seconds.

"You don't remember?"

"I remember that I love you. Bunches and bunches."

"This is important, sweetie, what spell did you do?"

"This one." Raising her finger, the red-head smiled even wider as a small stream of pink light shot out of the digit and flew towards the ceiling. As it exploded harmlessly, the child laughed in amusement.

"That's not something you should do. Magick isn't a toy."

"I know, I'm sorry." Hugging the older girl one more time, the red-head frowned. "Don't go away again. I don't like it when you go away and I can't find you."

"I won't. Not till you get bigger." Unsure of what else to say, Tara closed her eyes as she felt the child's form continuing to snuggle into her side. Her mind truly didn't know how to feel about having to watch Willow while she was like this. It hurt to hear her say that she didn't like it when 'she went away', which she knew could only mean the night she had left her. Even if the event had been reduced to a child's understanding, the girl still knew what had happened. To think that she might have hurt a child made the older girl's chest ache slightly.

Opening her eyes, she looked down at the girl, and found a pair of green eyes staring up at her, a frown still on the child's face. From somewhere deep inside her, the blonde felt a need to make the girl smile again, the concern seeming almost…motherly. As she watched the child continuing to frown, she tried to remember something that would cheer the girl up.

"I wonder…"

"What are you wondering, Tara?" Furrowing her brow, the red-head looked back at the older girl with curiosity lacing her eyes.

"I'm wondering…if you're still ticklish on your tummy!" Reaching out, the blonde started to tickle the child's stomach, causing the sound of laughter to fill the room. Falling over onto her back, Willow continued to laugh as the hand-me-down shirt she was wearing tugged up slightly. Seeing the exposed skin, Tara's fingers pounced on it. As she kept laughing, the red-head could no longer keep herself from smiling.

"Tara, stop!" She managed to say amongst her laughter.

"Make me." Her fingers' assault refusing to falter, Tara smiled as the tiny girl squirmed underneath her touch, the thoughts of how much the girl might remember about their breakup forgotten for the moment.

"Tara!"

"Alright." Finally lifting her fingers from the child's stomach, the blonde continued to smile. "All better?"

"Yes." Giggling, Willow smiled back at the older girl. "Don't do that again."

"Why not? You're laughing."

"Because it tickles!"

"Alright, alright." Rolling her eyes playfully, the blonde leaned back into the couch as the child scrambled back to be at her side. "I don't know we're going to do with you then…"

"I could hug you some more." Still smiling widely, the red-head curled herself into the older girl's side. "Or kiss you."

"There has to be something else you want to do. Not that I don't like your hugs and kisses."

"We could go outside where it's sunny!" Hopping down onto her feet, Willow grabbed the blonde's hand in an attempt to make her get up.

"Do you even have any shoes?" Looking down at the child's bare feet, Tara frowned slightly. "I don't want you to get dirty and then come back in the house."

"No…Aunt Buffy said she couldn't find me any…" Closing her eyes for a moment, the blonde sighed. I'm going to regret this…

"Alright, we'll go outside. But only to the backyard, and when we come in, you're going to take a bath."

"Ok!" Pulling on the older girl's hand even harder, Willow virtually led her towards the back door of the house. Just barely able to reach the doorknob, she turned and opened it. As she let the child lead her out the door and onto the porch, Tara continued to push any negative thoughts out of her mind. Until they found the spell to change Willow back, this was how she was going to stay.

I might as well try and enjoy this...
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As she finished pulling the other girl's shirt down over her stomach, Tara tried her best not to cave into the red-head's bellyaching. All of it had started as soon as she had made the girl come back into the house, even if they had been outside for numerous hours and the sun was finally beginning to set.

"But I'm not…" Even as she spoke, the red-head betrayed herself by yawning. "…tired."

"Yes, you are. Come on, off to bed." As she stepped out of the bathroom with the child in front of her, Tara gave her a playful swat on her bottom, causing the older girl to smile as the gesture made the younger girl move into their room even faster. Buffy and Dawn had yet to return, despite being gone for almost the entire day. Maybe I should charge them for babysitting… Chuckling a little bit, the blonde followed the child's path into the bedroom, her eyes catching sight of the red-head struggling to pull herself up onto the bed due to difference in height.

"I think the bed's a little too big for you."

"No it's not!" Obviously infuriated by her inability to climb into the bed, Willow finally stopped and crossed her arms across her chest. "I just don't wanna go to bed."

"Come on, into bed." Gently plucking the child up, Tara continued to smile as she saw the red-head's pout refusing to waver. "Keep pouting, you're still going to bed."

"I told you I'm not tired."

"You don't think I can tell when you're lying?"

"No, you can't." Her arms still crossed even as the older girl pulled the sheets over top of her, Willow frowned when Tara kissed her forehead. "Are you going to go away again?"

"Do you want me to?"

"No. I get sad when I can't find you."

"Alright…I guess I can stay the night. Buffy and Dawn aren't back yet anyway, so I can't just leave you here by yourself." As a smile returned to the child's face, Tara couldn't help but smile back. She couldn't say that she was happy that Willow's abuse of Magick had turned her back into a child, but in a way, she was enjoying this. With her child-like mind, the red-head had virtually no interest in using Magick, and only competed for the older girl's complete attention. It reminded her of the more gentle moments in their relationship, before Glory had arrived…

"Yay!" The smile continuing to widen on her face, the red-head held out her arms in order to hug the other girl.

"How many hugs are you going to give me?" Laughing, the blonde girl nevertheless allowed the younger girl to hug her once more.

"Lots and lots!"

"Well, you need to go to sleep. You can hug me all you want tomorrow."

"Tara? Willow?" As the sound of Buffy's voice echoed up through the hallway and into the room, Tara gave a small smile at the child lying on the bed below her.

"Go to sleep. Aunt Buffy and Aunt Dawn need to talk to me."

"Will you come back when you're done?"

"I will. Just try and sleep." Giving the girl one last kiss, Tara turned off the lamp and made her way downstairs.
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"I take it you two had fun?" Snickering, Buffy ignored the other girl's stare as she started to unpack some of the food that lay in the various bags she and Dawn had brought in. "The trail of dirt on the floor kinda gives it away."

"Buffy, did you find out how to reverse the spell?"

"Anya couldn't find it in any of the volumes she had at the store, but she's going to keep looking." Making her way around Tara with the last of the bags in her hands, Dawn smiled. "Not that I'm complaining."

"Why are you two so calm about this? Willow's turned herself into a child, and you're acting like it's a normal thing. "

"Because, I don't think there's really a problem, other than the fact that there's a five year old running around the house. After what she did to all of us with the memory wipe thing, maybe we should leave her like this for a while."

"W-What does Giles think about this?"

"We didn't ask him. He's leaving soon anyway, Tare, why should we bother him?" There was a slight tone of bitterness in the Slayer's tone, but she shook her head, and as quickly as it had appeared, the tone was gone. "We should just keep it between all of us, and Xander and Anya."

"Buffy, you can't be serious about this!" Finally letting all of her pent up frustration out, Tara shook her head. "How are we supposed to take care of her like this?"

"You were with her the whole day and you're still here."

"What are you trying to say?"

"Tara, how much will it hurt you to let her be like this for a couple of days, or even a few weeks?" Perking up her eyebrow, Buffy waited for the other girl's answer.

"It wouldn't…but that doesn't change the fact that-"

"Tara, I know she hurt you, and I'm not trying to say that she should be forgiven for all of that. But you leaving broke her." Interrupting the blonde girl before she could finish her sentence, the Slayer leaned back against the countertop behind her. "She wouldn't even talk to us about what happened. Even if it was as a five year old, today was the first time I've seen her smile in days. She still loves you."

"Buffy, she's just a kid now, she doesn't understand what love is…"

"Explain why she wouldn't stop crying until we had you come over then, if she doesn't love you." A response already coming to her tongue, Tara had barely begun to speak before she heard a wobbly voice echo through the room.

"Tara?" Turning on her heel, the blonde girl could see Willow standing in the doorway, her green eyes looking up at her as she fidgeted where she stood.

"Willow, what are you doing out of bed?" Her tone softening, Tara could see that the younger girl appeared to be only moments away from crying. How much did she hear?

"I couldn't sleep. It was too dark."

"I'm sorry, come here." Kneeling down and opening her arms, the older girl let the child run into her arms. As she picked the other girl up, Tara turned to face the other two people in the room. "Can we finish this in the morning?"

"Sure. Sleep tight Willow." Waving at the younger girl, Buffy smiled.

"Night, Aunt Buffy." Giving a tired wave in response, the red-head leaned her head against the other girl's shoulder.

"Night, Willow." Giving a wave of her own, Dawn resumed going through the bags that she and her sister had brought in. Considering their slim income, she was surprised that they had managed to buy as much as they did. Still, it beat living on the crumbs of the numerous amounts of fast-food that ended up being passed around at the Scooby meetings.

As she slowly climbed the stairs with the smaller girl still clinging to her chest, Tara suppressed a sigh as she cleared the last stair. Her head resting on the blonde' shoulder, Willow closed her eyes as her tired body started to give out on her. Moving her hands slightly in an attempt to stay awake, she felt the older girl's hair glide across her fingertips.

"I'm sorry, honey, I should have left a light on. I forgot that you told me you were afraid of the dark when you were younger." Setting the half-asleep girl down on the bed, and again covering her with the sheets, Tara kissed her forehead. "Just go to sleep, I'll be right beside you."

"Promise?"

"I promise." As she climbed into the bed, Tara wrapped her arm around the child's stomach. "See, I'm not going anywhere."

"I'm still...not…tired…" Her body finally forcing her to close her eyes, Willow soon felt the sensations of Tara's touch beginning to fade away as her mind started to go black. Moving her tiny fingers over the other girl's hand one more time, the red-head finally gave into her body's need for sleep.

TBC...

[Pavlov'sBell]

• Title: Babysitting Willow, Chapter 2 "Questions"
• Author name: Pavlov'sBell, a.k.a. Colton
• Rating - PG
• Feedback- I'd love it. I don't bite.
• Email: colton625@live.com
• Summary- Set after the breakup in "Tabula Rosa", Willow accidentally turns herself into a child. After receiving a call from Buffy, Tara finds herself having to take care of the child, who wants nothing except her attention. Season 6 AU. Complete Fluff.
• Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy or any of other Buffyverse characters. They belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy
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Chapter 2

"Tara?" As she felt the last threads of her dream slip away, Tara could feel someone gently shaking her body as she continued to lay against the warm sheets beneath her. "Tara? Tara, wake up."

"Willow?" Opening her tired eyes, the blonde could see a pair of green eyes staring at her through her sleep-stained pupils. "What's wrong?"

"I'm hungry." Rubbing her eyes, the blonde shook her head slightly as she felt a yawn beginning to work its way up through her system.

"What time is it?" Lifting her head, the older girl continued to feel her mind screaming out for more sleep. The only source of blinding light in the entire room was the lamp at the bed's side, and the bright bulb made her turn away for a moment as she waited for her eyes to adjust.

"The clock says six."

"Six A.M.?" Groaning slightly, Tara let her head collapse back onto the warm pillow that had lain against her head the entire night. "It's too early to get breakfast. Go back to sleep, honey."

"But I'm hungry now." Opening her eyes once more, she could see the younger girl starting to pout at her. Goddess, why does that always work on me?"

"If I go get you something, can you eat in bed? I'm still sleepy."

"Ok."

"Alright." Managing to force her body up onto her feet, Tara could already tell that the clock hadn't been read wrong. The sun still wasn't up outside, and the streetlights that lined the sidewalk were the only source of light to the outside world. "What do you want?"

"Cereal." Smiling as she sat up in bed, Willow watched as the other girl left the room, still in her half-asleep state. Remembering that she hadn't told the older girl what she wanted to drink, the red-head shouted out after her. "And orange juice!"
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"A little early for breakfast, don't you think?" As she stumbled into the kitchen, Dawn gave a loud yawn, her sentence barely out of her mouth as she did so.

"Willow was hungry, so she woke me up." Pouring some of the cereal into a waiting bowl, Tara gave a yawn herself. "She said she didn't want to go back to sleep."

"At least she didn't wake Buffy up. She's not the nicest Slayer when someone interrupts her post-patrol sleep."

"Dawn, I have to ask." As she set the box down onto the countertop, the blonde rubbed her eyes once more before continuing with her question. "Are you really ok with Willow being stuck like this?"

"Like Buffy said, I don't really see the problem. Except that she's waking both of us up at six in the morning."

"I won't be getting used to that anytime soon. Can you pour me some orange juice?" Sliding the glass across the counter to the other girl, Tara gave another yawn. "But really, we're not really prepared to take care of her like this. I mean, Buffy did say that you still have clothes that she could use, but other than that, we don't have anything to keep her entertained."

"Besides you, that is." Opening the fridge, Dawn sleepily pulled the container of orange juice out of its place and began to pour the liquid into the glass. "She was really excited to see you."

"There's only so much of me to go around."

"Still, it's better than nothing." As she handed the filled glass to the other girl, the younger Summers sister leaned back against the countertop. "Breakfast in bed? Geez, way to treat her like a queen."

"I could have let her run all over the house." Smiling slightly, Tara picked a few pieces of the cereal out of the bowel and pushed them into her mouth. "W-Would that have been better?"

"What did I just say about a cranky Slayer being a bad Slayer?"

"Still, what are we going to do about the entertainment part of all of this? Plus, did you and Buffy find her some shoes yet? I don't want her to track dirt and mud all over the floor."

"Tara, you sound like you're her mom." Chuckling slightly, the brunette poured herself some of the orange juice. "Are you going to put her in the corner if she's bad?"

"Dawn, please, can you be serious?"

"Alright, Ms. Rosenberg-Maclay." Giving one more round of chuckles, Dawn finally managed to bring herself under control. "Alright, I'm done."

"Thanks." Sighing, the blonde girl closed her eyes. "If you had told me that if I left Willow, she would turn herself into a kid, I wouldn't have believed it."

"Tara, I'm probably not going to be the only one to ask this, but is there any way you can forgive her for what she did?"

"I…I don't know. It still hurts to know that she was doing that to me without even properly thinking about it. To think that she could do that to me, even after what I went through w-with Glory…I just don't know."

"Do you still love her?" As she heard the girl's question swimming through her head, Tara felt her heart jumping to say 'yes', but the word 'no' continued to linger on the edge of her tongue.

"It doesn't matter. The kind of Magick she was using is something beyond her control. She just can't see that. Until she does, it won't work."

"Then you talk to her, you make her see that! Tara, you can't just walk out of her life. Angel did that to Buffy, and I still hear her whispering his name in her sleep sometimes. You know why? Because they didn't stop loving each other, they just stopped trying."

"Dawnie, you're too young…"

"Don't pull that on me! You still love Willow, and she feels the same...except that it's kinda in a five-year old's understanding of it at the moment."

"I should bring her breakfast. She's not very patient anymore."

"Tara…"

"Dawn, please…just stop." As she sat the bowel and glass down onto a waiting tray, Tara forced herself to show a face that was as close to normal as she possibly could. Opening her mouth to say something else, the younger Summers girl swallowed the words once she saw the other girl's face. Leaving the kitchen, the blonde tried to focus on the breaths she was taking, not wanting to even consider crying for the slightest second. Filling her mind with images of the young child waiting for her to bring in her breakfast, the girl gave a final sigh before she mounted the stairs. In her present state, there wasn't anything Willow could do to change herself back to her normal age.

Until they found the right spell, she needed someone to take care of her, and she wanted no-one except Tara.
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"Here you go. Cereal and orange juice." As she walked into the room, her eyes still focused on the tray in her hands, Tara hoped that Willow would have stayed put and waited in bed for her. But as she entered the room, she found the other girl jumping up and down on the mattress, her red hair bouncing up and down along with her body as it was propelled into the air for a short distance.

"Willow, stop!" As she set the tray down on the nearby desk, the blonde frowned.

"But it's fun!" Smiling to herself, Willow continued to jump up and down.

"Willow Rosenberg, get down now!" Raising her voice and tone slightly, the sound of the combination surprised even Tara herself. Fear momentarily overwhelming her eyes and stance, the red-head stopped and dropped down into a sitting position on the mattress.

"Don't do that, you'll wake up Buffy."

"I'm sorry, Tara." Frowning, the red-head crawled back into the place she had been sleeping all of the previous night. As she watched the child almost cowering from hearing her yell at her, Tara frowned and lifted the tray from the desk.

"It's alright, I'm sorry I yelled. Don't do it again." As she set the tray down onto the child's waiting lap, the blonde pulled up a nearby chair and eased her tired body down into it.

"Tara, will you play with me later? Mom and Dad always say they're too busy." As she shoved a spoonful of the cereal into her mouth, the child continued to stare back at the other girl.

"What?" As she stared at the other girl in disbelief, Tara's mind frantically raced to remember even the smallest instance where the red-head had mentioned her parents. Throughout their entire relationship, they had chosen not to mention either of their parents, and instead focus on knowing each other. "You mean they were too busy for you?"

Nodding her head, Willow frowned as she saw the reaction her question was having on the other girl.

"I'm sorry, Tara, I didn't mean to make you sad."

"Oh, honey, I'm so sorry."

"I like it here with you more." Her messy red-hair still falling around her face, Willow offered the older girl a small smile. "I love you."

"I love you too." Leaning forward in order to give the child a small kiss on her cheek, Tara sighed. You can't stay like this forever though… "Come on, finish eating. You're going back to sleep as soon as you're done. It's too early to get up and do things."

"What if I can't go back to sleep?"

"Then you can go downstairs and play with Dawn. I'm still sleepy."

"Did I wake her up?" For a single moment, Tara again saw a flash of fear in the child's eyes. What does she think I'm going to do to her?

"No, I did. Aunt Buffy is still sleeping though, and she's not happy when she gets waken up."

"What would happen if I woke her up?" Shoving another mouthful of the cereal into her mouth, the red-head waited somewhat patiently for an answer.

"She would be mad at you."

"Would she s-spank me?" As she stuttered, Willow swallowed somewhat hard. Staring at the child, Tara resisted the urge to snicker. So that's what she's afraid of…

"No, I wouldn't let her."

"You wouldn't?"

"No." Shaking her head, Tara leaned back into the chair. "Finish your food, you won't eat it if it gets too soggy. I know you."
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"Taraaaa…" Continuing to whine, Willow kept frowning as the older girl carried her into the bedroom. She had been outside most of the day once more, only this time Tara had decided to forgo giving her a bath, considering that Buffy had finally managed to find an older pair of shoes in one of the countless boxes packed away in the basement.

"Willow, please just go to sleep for a while." As she laid the other girl down onto the bed, Tara sighed from the exhaustion she felt coursing through her system. "I'm too worn out to do anything else."

"But the sun's still out!"

"Honey, I told you, we're going out later. I don't want you to fall asleep at the restaurant."

"But I'm-"

"I know, you're not tired. But can you try? For me?" As she spoke, the blonde unfolded a nearby blanket. "Please?"

"…Alright." Allowing the older girl to cover her up, Willow still kept frowning.

"Try to sleep." Repeating the phrase, the blonde girl gave the child a kiss on the cheek and left the room. Watching her leave, the red-head sighed, and rolled over onto her side. Tara's words still echoing through her head, Willow closed her eyes and tried to go to sleep.
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"So, Willow finally fell asleep on you?" As she pulled a bottle of water out of the fridge, Buffy watched as Tara made her way into the kitchen and virtually collapsed at the countertop.

"Buffy, I don't understand how anyone can have that much energy."

"She's a kid. I don't think anyone likes to take naps when they're her age, Tara."

"She was less work when she was her normal age!" Resting her head against the cool counter top, Tara heard the other girl set something down in front of her.

"Just drink the water and breathe." Looking up from where she had been resting her head, the blonde took the offered water and unscrewed the cap. "You're getting too worked up over this whole thing."

"Buffy, why don't you try putting her down for a nap next time?" Her tone a mixture of both anger and frustration, Tara took a large gulp of the bottle.

"No thanks, I think you've got that covered."

"Thanks." As she set the bottle down onto the counter, the blonde handed the Slayer back the bottle. "I needed that."

"You're welcome. Still, maybe you should consider getting some sleep yourself. You look kinda tired."

"Trying to get her to sleep will do that to you."

"Tara…we need to talk about Willow."

"Did Dawn put you up to this?" Narrowing her eyes at the other girl, Tara prepared herself for the question she knew was coming.

"No…why, did she ask you about this?"

"This morning."

"Well, guess she beat me to it." The joke coming out as dry and emotionless, Buffy leaned herself back against the fridge. "I'm not going to pretend like you're not angry at her in some-way. And you have every right to be. What Willow did wasn't right, and it never will be. But she's not evil."

"I never said she was."

"But I see the way you look at her sometimes, and that's what you're looking at her as. Not now, since she turned herself into a kid, but before, when you would walk by the house."

"How…"

"Tara, I'm a Slayer. I could hear you coming." Smiling slightly, the Slayer soon dropped the gesture as she returned to seriousness of the conversation. "She needs you, now more than ever. When we reverse the spell, she's going to probably remember everything, and if you leave her again, it'll hurt her even worse than it did the first time."

"Buffy…I…I can't be with her, not so soon after what she did. Do you realize how much that hurt me? To know that she was erasing part of my memory?"

"And after what Glory did to you, it was even worse." Her gaze momentarily falling to the ground, Buffy's eyes rose once more to focus on the other girl. "Tara, I think she was scared. You mean more to her than anything. When she talked about you before, her eyes would light up, even more than they did when she was with Oz. The idea of losing you nearly drove her over the edge."

"And what happens if she had gone over? What do you think she would have done?"

"I don't know, and I kinda don't wanna find out."

"So, what are you suggesting?" Perking up her brow, Tara crossed her arms across her chest.

"When we change her back, just come visit her. Make sure that she doesn't get the message that you're still together. She needs someone who understands what she's addicted to."

"But I'm not as strong as she is, I don't have anywhere near…"

"You have enough. She doesn't need someone that's on her same level, she just needs someone who knows."

"What about you?"

"I'm not that strong. I can barely even keep my friends together."

"Oh, Buffy, no, that's not true…"

"Tara, all I'm asking you to do is when this is all over, just talk to her."

" I don't know if I can…it's hard."

"That's life." As the memories of what she had said to Angel that night years ago, Buffy felt the pain of that memory slip back into her heart. "It's hard, and it's every day. But you keep waking up, and you get through it. That's all you can do."
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"Willow, it's time to get up." Gently shaking the red-head's shoulder, Tara smiled as the child buried her head underneath the blanket that covered her. "Come on, wake up."

"Too sleepy." When she needs to go to sleep, she wants to stay awake. When she needs to get up, she wants to sleep. Figures. As she pulled the blanket away from the girl's face, the older girl couldn't help but notice how messy Willow's hair was.

"Honey, come on, wake up." Continuing to shake the child's shoulder, the blonde smiled when the red-head finally opened her eyes. "It's time to go, you need to get up."

"But I don't wanna get up." Shutting her eyes again, Willow covered part of her face with her arm.

"Come on, up you go." As Tara picked her up, the red-head rested her head against the blonde's shoulder, her mind still begging her to go back to sleep. "We have to go, and you're getting up."

"Tara…"

"No arguing." Stepping out into the hallway, the older girl carried the child into the bathroom, stopping for only a moment in order to grab a hair-brush.

"I thought we were going somewhere." Her eyes still closed, Willow felt something going through her red-hair, but her still half-asleep mind refused to identify what it was.

"We are, but you're not going out with your hair looking like it is."

"Ok…" Starting to doze off once more, the red-head linked her arms around Tara's neck.

"Willow?" As she said the child's name, the blonde felt her snuggling into her shirt. "Honey, stay awake."

"But you wanted me to sleep…"

"Earlier, you've been asleep for an hour."

"No, you just left…" Chuckling softly, Tara finished combing the girl's messy hair and made her way out of the bathroom.

"No, you've been sleeping for an hour now." Her cheek still resting against the blonde's warm shoulder, Willow closed her eyes even further when a stray beam of sunlight made its way through the window and hit her face.

"Too bright."

"She still not ready?" As she waited by the door, Buffy held the keys to the jeep in her hand.

"She just hasn't woke up yet. Come on, let's go." Gesturing towards the door, the blonde girl waited for Buffy to open the door for her, not wanting to let Willow out of her grip. As they made their way out of the house, the three girls found the surrounding neighborhood to be almost surreally quiet. Managing to open the back door of the vehicle with one hand, Tara gently set the red-head down into the back seat. Her eyes still closed, Willow showed only the faintest sense of knowing what was going on around her as the older girl buckled her into the seat.

"Are you sure you don't want me to drive?" As she climbed into the passenger seat of the jeep, Tara looked slightly afraid as Buffy turned on the vehicle.

"No, it's fine. You don't trust me?"

"It's not that. Willow…she kinda told me about your driving…"

"And that means…?" Staring at the other girl strangely, Buffy slipped the vehicle into gear.

"She didn't say good things."

"Why?" Turning around in order to watch the street as she started to back the vehicle up, the Slayer waited for the other girl's answer.

"She didn't want to go into detail."

"I wonder why... " As the Slayer pulled out them into the street and the vehicle fell into motion, Tara looked back at the still half-asleep child buckled into the back seat.

"Willow, sweetie, don't fall asleep."

"Why?"

"Because you're not in the room anymore, you're in the jeep."

"Where are we going?" When she falls asleep, she really stays that way…

"To get something to eat." Hearing Buffy snickering beside her, the blonde turned her head slightly. "What?"

"Nothing, nothing."

"Is Xander going to be there?" Finally beginning to awaken from her sleep-drenched state, Willow fully opened her green eyes.

"Yes, he and Anya are going to meet us there." Offering the child a smile, Tara saw the other girl frown slightly.

"I don't like Anya. She talks too much."

"I know you don't. But she's who Xander is with, no sense in arguing about it."

"She talks about her money too much." As the comment left the girl's lips, Buffy finally found herself unable to hold back any of her laughter.

"Buffy…"

"I'm alright, really!" Still chuckling underneath her breath, the Slayer realized the other girl was still staring at her. "What?"

"You just ran a red-light."

"Damn it." Looking behind them to make sure that no-one was following them, Buffy pushed herself a little further into the driver's seat. "Ok, not really proving that I'm a good driver right now, aren't I?"

"Not really…"

"Are you sure Willow didn't tell you why she didn't like my driving?"

"I'm sure."

"I still don't understand why, I'm not that bad. I just make mistakes every once in a while."

[Pavlov'sBell]

• Title: Babysitting Willow, Chapter 3 "Protecting And Flowers"
• Author name: Pavlov'sBell, a.k.a. Colton
• Rating - PG
• Feedback- I'd love it. I don't bite.
• Email: colton625@live.com
• Summary- Set after the breakup in "Tabula Rosa", Willow accidentally turns herself into a child. After receiving a call from Buffy, Tara finds herself having to take care of the child, who wants nothing except her attention. Season 6 AU. Complete Fluff.
• Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy or any of other Buffyverse characters. They belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy
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Chapter 3

As they pulled up to the restaurant, the three girls could already see Xander and Anya waiting for them. The restaurant itself was hardly busy, which was strange considering the time of day that it was. Usually, considering how much people liked to dine before the sun finally set and brought on the night, the parking lot would be filled to the brim with cars packed in together.

"Are we there?" Willow asked, her voice echoing up to the front of the vehicle.

"Yes, sweetie, we're here." As she opened the door, Tara helped the other girl out of the back seat.

"Xander!" Catching sight of her oldest friend, the red-head rushed towards him.

"Hey there, Wills." Letting the child hug his leg, Xander smiled.

"I missed you." Smiling, Willow looked up at him. "Not as much as Tara though."

"Geez, I can't really compete with you, can I?" Offering the blonde girl a smile, Xander felt the red-head let go of his leg.

"Hello Xander." Waving slightly nervously, Tara felt Willow grab ahold of her hand once more. "How have you been?"

"Fine, how about yourself?"

"I've been alright. Willow's been keeping me busy." As Buffy finally exited the jeep and made her way around to the group, she sighed.

"I can't believe I ran a red-light."

"I'm pretty sure that the cops wouldn't take 'I'm on official Slayer' business as a real answer." The joke managed to draw a small laugh from Buffy, whose mood seemed to lighten slightly.

"Oh, I almost forgot. Here Wills, I figured I'd get you something." Reaching into the front seat of the car, Xander pulled out something that made Anya begin to inch away.

"A bunny!" As she took the stuffed animal into her hands, Willow's face lit up with happiness.

"What do you say, Willow?" Smiling down at the child, Tara rested her hand on the red-head's shoulder.

"Thank you, Xander."

"I still don't understand why you got her something that represents death and the destruction of all happiness." With Xander having let go of the stuffed animal, Anya resumed her usual place at his side. "Why would that make a child happy?"

"Anya, we've been through this. It's a stuffed animal, not a real rabbit."

"It still looks like one."

"I like it, Anya." Sticking out her tongue at the former vengeance demon, Willow heard both Xander and Buffy beginning to laugh at her response.

"Willow, that wasn't nice." Frowning down at the child, Tara dropped down to her knees for a moment and looked at the younger girl. "Say you're sorry."

"I'm sorry, Tara." Giving the older girl a kiss on her cheek, Willow held onto the gift in her hands just a little tighter.

"Not to me, to Anya."

"But I don't wanna."

"Say. You're. Sorry." Strengthening her tone, Tara waited for the girl to apologize. Seeing how serious the older girl was, Willow sighed and turned her gaze towards where Anya was standing.

"I'm sorry, Anya."

"Should I accept her expression of being sorry?" Anya whispered into Xander's ear, her eyes trying to avoid looking at the stuffed bunny the red-head held in her hands.

"Anya, she probably didn't know what she was saying. Accept it."

"I accept your apology, Willow. I only ask that you keep the evil being you hold in your tiny hands away from me." Offering the small child a slightly nervous smile, the former vengeance demon remained firmly rooted to the spot where she was standing.

"Alright." Mumbling some-what underneath her breath, Willow turned back towards Tara. "Can we go eat now?"

"Yeah, I agree with the Willster. I'm hungry enough to eat a horse and then some." Clapping his hands together, Xander smiled.

"Don't get too full. You won't want to have sex later." Covering Willow's ears as she heard Anya's comment, Tara frowned.

"Anya, not in front of Willow."

"It's not like she doesn't know that Xander and I have sex almost every night. I've told her about it before."

"Anya!" Turning around, the expression on Xander's face was a cross between shock, embarrassment, and anger.

"Still, she doesn't remember any of that. Don't put it in her head now."

"She's just going to remember everything you two did when we change her back, so what does it matter?"

"It matters to me!" Unsure of why she was getting so upset at the former vengeance demon, Tara closed her eyes for a moment and breathed out. As she opened her eyes once more, she removed her hands from Willow's ears. "Just don't do it again."

"Alright, alright. I figured you lesbians would be alright with me talking about that kind of stuff." Rolling her eyes, Buffy leaned back against the jeep.

"Alright, Anya, we understand. You and Xander like to express your love in a physical way. Been there, done that."

"But don't all of your boyfriends turn evil or leave?" As she finished her sentence, Anya felt Xander's hand cover her mouth.

"Alrighty, so…how about that food?"
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As she devoured the last shred of food on her plate, Willow leaned her head against Tara's waist and closed her eyes.

"Are you full, honey?"

"Yep." Her arms falling on top of the older girl's knee, the red-head pulled her knees up onto the booth's seat.

"Don't fall asleep in here, you can do that out in the car."

"I find it funny that she can't stay awake anymore." Anya said, smiling slightly before she took another sip of her drink.

"She's younger, her body can't handle staying up as late." Answering the other girl's question, Buffy continued to toy with the food in front of her.

"You ok, Buff? You've been playing with those fries for about half an hour now." Looking at the Slayer's plate, Xander turned his gaze onto her.

"Uh? Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just not really that hungry right now."

"I thought so. You didn't order as much as the rest of us. Even Willow ate more than you, and she's a kid." Catching the Slayer's glare, Anya rolled her eyes. "I just said what all of us were thinking."

"Tara, are we going home soon?" Her head still snuggled onto Tara's leg, Willow's voice echoed up to the older girl's ears.

"Yes, as soon as everyone else is done eating."

"How long will that take? I'm sleepy."

"I don't know, just try to stay awake." Running her hand through the child's hair, Tara pushed another piece of her food into her mouth.

"I can take her out to the car, if you want. I'm kinda tired myself." Finally setting her fork down, Buffy took a sip of her own drink.

"No, it's fine." As she felt Willow continuing to snuggle into her side, the blonde smiled. "She's not bothering me."

"Alright. I'm gonna go out there then. Figured I'd get a little fresh air." Pushing herself away from the table, Buffy pulled the keys to the jeep out of her pocket and headed towards the door.

"I don't think she's adjusting to this whole thing very well." As she returned her attention to her food, Anya felt every other set of eyes at the table turn towards her.

"Anya, we ripped her out of Heaven. That's not just something you get over."

"Xander, Anya, Willow's right here. She can hear you." Covering the red-head's open ear, Tara frowned at the other girl.

"But she probably doesn't remember doing the spell. If anything, she doesn't realize we're talking about her."

"Anya, just stop." Her free hand still caressing the child's hair, Tara heard no response from Willow as the red-head continued to snuggle into her side. "I don't want her hearing any of this."

"You do realize that you're not her mother, right?" Still wanting to press the issue, Anya ignored the slightly angry gaze that Xander was giving her. "You're just the person she wants."

"Anya, that's enough!" Raising his voice slightly, Xander still kept his voice low enough in order to avoid drawing any attention to the table. "Just drop it."

"Alright, alright. Fine." Rolling her eyes, the former vengeance demon picked up her fork and took another bite of her food.

"Tara?" Raising her head slightly, Willow looked up at the older girl with her green eyes. "Are we done yet?"

"I am. Come on, let's go out to the car." Upon hearing the other girl's response to her question, the red-head sleepily bounded out of the booth and onto her feet. As a smile came to her face, the child waited until Tara had made her way out of the booth before grabbing her hand. Her tiny fingers wrapping around the older girl's larger ones, Willow followed Tara as the two of them walked towards the door.
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"Buffy?" As she called out the Slayer's name, Tara looked around the parking lot in an attempt to find where the other girl had gone off to. With Willow still holding onto her hand, she took a few further steps out onto the pavement, the jeep lying empty at her side. All around the two of them, the parking lot lay completely silent, save for the passing traffic on the nearby road. "Buffy?"

As if it was an answer, something threw the Slayer out of the shadows surrounding the sides of the restaurant and towards the hood of the jeep. Stepping away just before the other girl impacted upon the vehicle, Tara had already grabbed Willow and begun to back away towards Xander's vehicle. Unable to stop herself from looking at the figure emerging from the shadows, Willow's green eyes grew wide with shock and fear as she looked at the vampire.

"Tara, get inside!" As she yelled out the order at the other girl, Buffy was back on her feet and raising her fists in order to prepare herself for another attack from the vampire in front of her.

"Aww, leaving so soon?" Licking its lips, the vampire eyed both Tara and Willow with its hungry yellow eyes. "That's not nice."

"Trust me, I'm not here to be nice." Swinging her fist towards the demon's face, Buffy allowed herself to smile as her fist connected with the side of the vampire's face, causing something to break underneath the force of the blow. Stumbling backwards, the vampire spat blood from its mouth before settling its eyes once more onto the other two girls still trying to make their way around the fight. Wasting no time, the demon lunged for both Tara and Willow, the action making the child scream in complete and unrestrained terror.

"You know, I was going to make this quick for you." Sinking her nails into the back of the vampire's shirt, the Slayer pulled it back towards her, with the demon's body eventually coming to a stop on the wall of the restaurant. "But just because you made her scream, it's gonna be slow."

"Tara, make it go away!" Burying her face into the older girl's shoulder, Willow started to cry, the fear rushing through her veins overwhelming everything else in her body. Finding herself with nowhere to go, Tara looked frantically around the parking lot for any sort of cover. Seeing none within her immediate reach, the blonde turned just in time to see Buffy plunge a wooden stake through the vampire's heart, causing it to evaporate into nothing but dust. As she stood back up, the Slayer shoved the stake back into the loop of her belt.

"Are you alright?" She asked, making her way over to where Tara was still standing with a crying Willow held in her arms.

"We're fine." Looking down at the crying red-head she was holding, the blonde frowned. "Ssshhh, honey, its ok. It's gone now, see?"

"God, Tara, I'm sorry, I came out to the car, and there was one of them feeding on someone in the alley."

"Buffy, it's alright." Sighing, Tara continued to hold Willow close to her. "Maybe we should just go home. Xander and Anya are leaving soon anyway."

"Dawn will be home soon too. I'd really like not to leave her alone." Trying to fish her keys out of her pocket, Buffy felt somewhat happy that no-one had been around outside, save for the single person she had saved, who now was lying on the floor of the alley, somewhat drained but still alive.

"I want to go home." As tears continued to fall from her eyes, Willow looked at Buffy with a heartbreaking expression on her face. "Aunt Buffy, I want to go home."

"We are, just stop crying." Giving the child a kiss on her head, Tara stared at Buffy. "Let's go."
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"It's alright, honey, nothing's going to hurt you." As the child continued to cling to her, Tara felt nothing but sorrow for what Willow must have been feeling after seeing the vampire outside of the restaurant. "Buffy's downstairs, and I'm not going anywhere."

Shaking her head, the red-head only continued to cling to the older girl's shirt even tighter as Tara carried her into the bedroom. She had finally barely managed to stop crying, after having stained the older girls' shirt slightly with her tears.

"Don't go."

"I won't, but you need to get ready for bed."

"I won't sleep, that thing was too scary, and it could hurt you. I love you, Tara, I don't want you to get hurt, I want you to stay here with me." As Tara set her down onto the bed, the red-head continued to babble, her head still buried into the blonde's shoulder.

"Can you try, for me? I promise that what you saw won't hurt you anymore." Pushing a few strands of the child's red-hair that had fallen into the child's face aside, the older girl sighed.

"I c-can t-t-try." Sniffling, Willow looked up at the other girl with her cheeks still stained slightly red from the tears she had been crying. Kissing the child's forehead, Tara smiled slightly.

"Good girl." Getting up for only a second in order to grab a pair of pajamas from the box sitting in the corner, the blonde could hear the red-head continuing to try and not cry. Again, it broke her heart to hear the effect that seeing Buffy fighting a vampire had done to the girl. Inside her mind, part of her felt the overwhelming need to change the girl back, just in order to make her stop crying. But with that idea came numerous reminders of why it was better, for the moment at least, to leave her like this.

"Tara?"

"Yes, honey?" Lifting her head from the box, Tara looked back at where the child was still sitting on the bed behind her.

"Does Aunt Buffy always fight them?"

"Always fight who?"

"Those monsters."

"That's her job." Getting back onto her feet with a pair of pajamas in her hand, Tara reached the edge of the bed, and knelt down in order to meet the red-head eye-to-eye. "She keeps all of us safe."

"Like a superhero?" The girl's comparison managing to bring a smile to her face, the blonde took the child's hand into her own.

"Y-you could say that."

"Does she ever get hurt?"

"Sometimes, but she gets better."

"But why does she look so sad? Did someone say something mean to her?" Again smiling at the girl's explanation of the events of the previous weeks, the blonde felt a small sadness inside her as the image of Willow performing the ritual to bring Buffy back came soaring back into her immediate thoughts.

"No, she was in a happy place, and then something came and brought her back here."

"Why did they do that?"

"See, they thought that she was in a bad place, and they brought her back. But it turns out that she was in a happy place, and she wanted to stay there."

"And that's why Aunt Buffy is sad?" Frowning, the red-head waited for the other girl's answer.

"That's why she's sad."

"Tara, when is she going to be happy again?"

"I don't know, honey, I don't know." Dropping her gaze from the child for a moment, Tara felt the red-head's fingers on her cheek. "I think it's time for you to go to bed."

"And you're not going away?"

"No, I'm staying." Seeing that her answer made the other girl smile, the blonde rose back to her full height. "Can't have you being alone."
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As she watched the young red-head continue to play in the yard just beyond the porch, Tara could almost feel the conflict that continued to rage inside her. There was no way that she could just let Willow remain in her child-like state forever. Sooner or later, something would cause them to turn her back, be it Slayer-related or not. Until then, everyone else seemed content to just let the Witch be the five-year old she had turned herself into.

Everything the girl did made Tara smile, from the simplest matter of asking for something to every attempt she made to gain the older girl's attention. Magick was no longer a concern when it come to the two of them. Apart from the single display that she made on the first day, Willow had cast no spell, uttered no invocation, or even showed the faintest interest in where Buffy went out to at night. She had, for all intents and purposes, began to grow very identical to a child at the same age.

"She seems happy." As Xander slowly came out onto the porch, Tara looked up at him, her mind shaken out of her own thoughts.

"She does, doesn't she?" Her eyes drifting away from Xander, the blonde watched as the red-head continued to spin herself around in a circle, her laughter echoing throughout the entire yard.

"Kinda makes you sad when you realize we can't keep her like this forever."

"I know. Part of me w-wishes that we could. We wouldn't have to deal with her addiction." His own eyes focused on the playing child, Xander took a seat on the steps next to the blonde.

"Tara, I know that's why you left her, but isn't there a way you could have helped her?"

"Buffy and Dawn get to you too?"

"No, and even if they did, that's not why I'm doing this. I'm doing this because the Willster has been my friend ever since I can remember, and seeing her hurting hurts me." Finally taking his eyes off of the red-head playing out in the yard, Xander saw that Tara had done the same. "She loves you, probably more than I've ever seen her love anyone else."

"I know, but that's not why I left."

"You left because of what she did to you."

"Y-Yes." Pushing her locks of blonde hair behind her ear, Tara sighed. "She's too addicted to the Magick she uses."

"And trust me, I'm not saying in any way possible that what she did was right. There really was no need for her to go all Dark Side on us for a moment. But I think that she didn't want you to leave. What happened to the two of you the night before the whole 'We can't stop singing' thing happened?

"W-We were looking for Dawn, and we had a fight. She…she said things that hurt me."

"Then it's probably true that she regretted saying them. Trust me on that, it's happened before. When she gets angry and all red-eyed, she doesn't think about what she says."

"And then she…she put something under my pillow. It made me forget about what we had fought about."

"Geez…" Momentarily at a loss for words, Xander fell silent. "Tara, I didn't know. I knew that she did that big mind wipe on all of us, but she did that before…?"

"She did. And…Goddess, it hurts to know she did that."

"I'm probably not the biggest expert on this 'big gay love' thing that the two of you are in, but it still sounds like she was afraid."

"That's what everyone keeps telling me. And it just keeps getting more and more 'normal', as if I couldn't see it before."

"Why couldn't you?"

"I was angry, at her, with me, with how everything has been since we brought Buffy back." Massaging her eyes with her thumbs, Tara sighed. "Everything's turned out so wrong."

"That's life though, isn't it? Things are happy one minute, and then an apocalypse decides to rear it's big ugly head, and then things aren't so happy anymore." The man's response making her chuckle slightly despite the seriousness of the conversation, Tara continued to listen. "And after that, all you can do is try to make things like they once were."

"How can I do that with her though? What she did, what she'll still do when we change her back, it's not something I can just sweep under the rug and forget about. It's dangerous."

"Tara?" Looking up from where both she and Xander were sitting, Tara saw Willow offering her a handful of flowers. "I found these for you."

"I guess that's my cue to leave." Pushing himself back onto his feet, Xander cast a smile at the two girls before walking back into the house. Her full attention turning towards the red-headed child in front of her, Tara took the flowers being offered, and a smile came to her face.

"Do you like them?" The child asked, fidgeting somewhat as she stood in front of the older girl.

"Yes, I do." Continuing to smile as she took one of the white flowers into her other hand, Tara tucked it behind the child's ear. "But they look better on you."

"But I got them for you." Chuckling, Willow took one of the flowers out of the other girl's hand and likewise tucked it behind the older girl's ear. "You look pretty."

"So do you." Still pushing some of the flowers into the red-head's hair, Tara's face was still lined with a large smile. "Do you feel better today?"

"Uh-huh." Nodding, the child tucked another flower behind the older girl's opposite ear.

"Does Aunt Buffy make you feel safe?"

"A little bit." As she kissed Tara on the cheek, Willow smiled ear-to-ear. "You make me feel safe."

Her own smile growing even larger, Tara looked at the tiny girl in front of her.

"I'm glad."

[DaddyCatALSO]

To me, this isn't fluff. Very good novel premise, and interesting devleopment.

[Pavlov'sBell]

To me, this isn't fluff. Very good novel premise, and interesting devleopment.

Well, I was using the term 'fluff' very loosely,and I had the phrase 'warm, cute, and fluffy' in mind.

Thank you

[Pavlov'sBell]

• Title: Babysitting Willow, Chapter 4 "Stay"
• Author name: Pavlov'sBell, a.k.a. Colton
• Rating - PG
• Feedback- I'd love it. I don't bite.
• Email: colton625@live.com
• Summary- Set after the breakup in "Tabula Rosa", Willow accidentally turns herself into a child. After receiving a call from Buffy, Tara finds herself having to take care of the child, who wants nothing except her attention. Season 6 AU. Complete Fluff.
• Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy or any of other Buffyverse characters. They belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy
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Chapter 4

As she looked down at the child sitting in front of her, Tara could still feel something tugging on her heart inside her chest. After three weeks, Anya had finally managed to find a copy of the spell book that Willow had used, and the spell had been intact. Even still, that didn't make the job of what was to come after the spell any easier. She knew what she was doing by changing Willow back into her normal self, what she would be giving up. She had taken a certain sense of joy and pleasure in taking care of the younger girl, and once she was returned to her normal age, everything would come crashing down again.

"Tara?" Looking up from the spell she was holding with her slightly shaky hands, the blonde met the child's green eyes. "I love you."

"I love you too, honey." Offering the child one last smile, Tara ripped her gaze away from the red-head and back to the spell in her hands.

"The pain is gone, though the time is long

Return this child to the age and time she belongs."

As the words left her lips, the blonde saw the lights from the candles surrounding the child beginning to flicker and finally detach themselves from the wicks they had once lit. Watching the lights circling around her body, Willow smiled as the lights' speed become to increase with each passing second. The brightness of the lights increasing as well, the spell finally completely overtook the child and momentarily overwhelmed the room. Once the lights began to evaporate, Tara found herself looking down at the form of a once more full grown Willow.

As she looked down at the red-head in front of her, Tara again didn't know what to feel.

"Tara?" As she said the other girl's name aloud, Willow looked around her in order to know where she was.

"W-What were you thinking?" Letting almost all of the anger she had bottled up over the previous weeks, the blonde saw the hurt still so fresh on the other girl's face.

"I…I just wanted the pain to go away."

"And so you used Magick again? Did you learn nothing from me leaving?"

"No, Tara, baby, I did. I couldn't even breathe without hurting. I couldn't stand being away from you. I can't stand…"

"W-Willow, do you even realize why I left? You care more about using Magick than you do about the rest of us." Crossing her arms across her chest, the blonde found herself regretting turning the other girl back into her proper age. "You can't admit that the problem is you."

"Tara, please, just let me explain-"

"We tried this once, and it didn't work, remember?"

"Please?" As she saw a single tear fall from the red-head's eye, Tara unwillingly found herself nodding. Seeing her chance, Willow continued. "I..I was going to stop. Taking the pain away was going to be the last spell, and then I was going to stop, honest."

"How can I believe you?"

"Because I'm sorry, Tara, I'm sorry. I miss you so much." Looking down at the other girl, the blonde saw more tears beginning to fall down the red-head's cheek. "You're all I can think about."

"Do you realize what's wrong?" Shaking her head slightly, Tara struggled to keep herself from stuttering. "Honey, it's not you, it's what-"

"The Magicks, I know, Tara, I tried, it's so hard…"

"It's called addiction." As she said the word aloud, the blonde hoped that it would strike a chord within the other girl's brain.

"I…I need help." Struggling to stand up, Willow continued to look at the other girl with tears running down her cheeks. "Tara, please, help me."

"Willow…"

"Tara, please, don't leave me again." Finally managing to get onto her feet, the red-head kept her tear-stained eyes on the other girl. "God, please don't leave."

"I can't-"

"I promise, no more Magicks, I'll tell Anya and Buffy to take all the books and everything back. I can't do this…not without you." Taking a slow step towards Tara, Willow kept crying. "Tara…"

"Willow, I…I don't know what to do…"

"Help me. I have a problem, I'm an addict, a junkie, a loser, what do you want me to say?" As she stopped in her tracks, the red-head dropped down to her knees and grabbed onto Tara's knees. "I'm sorry, please, just stay with me."

As the red-head continued to sob into her legs, Tara could barely think straight. Inside her head, everything that Buffy, Dawn, and Xander had said to her over the past three weeks came rushing back, repeating over and over again in an endless cycle. With every single attempt her mind made to combat the things the other Scoobies had said, more and more she heard the red-head sobbing into her pants. Unable to reach any decision, she slowly reached out and began to run her fingers through the crying girl's hair.

"Tara, please, I'm sorry, I'm sorry…"

"Willow, please, just stop crying." Easing herself down until she was face-to-face with the other girl, Tara pressed her hands against the red-head's tear-stained cheeks. "I'll…I'll stay."

"Tara, I'm sor-"

"I know, you're sorry." As she felt Willow's arms wrap around her back, the blonde started to help her back onto her feet. "I want you to listen to me."

"Tara-"

"Listen. To. Me." Doing her best to harden her eyes, Tara saw the other girl nod in response. "If you do one spell, say even a single word of an invocation, I w-will leave."

"I-"

"I'm not done yet. If you try to sneak out and do Magick, I will leave. If you try to steal something from the store, I'll leave you. I won't accept anything else. Do you understand me?" Only nodding in response, Willow could barely remember any moment where the other girl had effectively taken control of their relationship. It felt strange to hear Tara actually ordering her to do something. "I w-want you to tell me."

"I understand." Nodding again, Willow felt Tara's thumb wipe away some of her tears.

"I'm serious, Willow, this is y-your last chance."

"Tara, I promise. I love you."

"I love you too." As she started to stand back up, Tara felt the red-head's hands still linked behind her. "You're going to bed. We'll get rid of everything in the morning."

"A-Alright." The red-head answered, stuttering as she saw the other girl's expression that left no room for arguing. Allowing herself to be led to the bed, Willow closed her eyes for a moment as she felt Tara's hands on her body. Her mind felt almost fuzzy as she struggled to remember exactly what had happened, apart from her memories of doing a spell that was supposed to remove any shred of pain from her body and mind. After that, her mind began to go numb, much like how it had felt after performing the spell to bring back…Don't think about it, don't think about it.

"Tara?" Saying the other girl's name aloud, the red-head lifted her hand in order to wipe away another tear as it began to form in her eye. "T-Thank you."

"Y-You're welcome." Finally unable to stop herself from stuttering any longer, the blonde pushed the other girl gently back onto the bed.

"Tara?" Seeing that she had gotten the other girl's attention, Willow smiled slightly from behind her tear-stained cheeks. "Was I cute as a kid?"

Smiling in response, Tara kissed the other girl's forehead before moving down to kiss her lips. Pulling away after a few moments, she looked into Willow's green eyes.

"Yes, you were."

END

[angieb86]

I loved this story. :-) Very interesting premise, and you followed it through very well.

And little Willow was adorable...But I wasn't expecting anything less LOL.

Great job, and I hope that you have some more short stories brewing soon! :-)

[Pavlov'sBell]

I loved this story. :-) Very interesting premise, and you followed it through very well.

And little Willow was adorable...But I wasn't expecting anything less LOL.

Great job, and I hope that you have some more short stories brewing soon! :-)

Aww, thanks. I'm glad to know that someone loved it

I'll probably have more soon. All depends on how hard creativity hits me in the face.

[Pavlov'sBell]

• Title: Valentine's Day
• Author name: Pavlov'sBell, a.k.a. Colton
• Rating - PG
• Feedback- I'd love it. I don't bite.
• Email: colton625@live.com
• Summary- Willow's having a terrible Valentine's Day...until a certain someone shows up and makes things better...
• Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy or any of other Buffyverse characters. They belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy.
Credit for the prompt goes to the Willowy Goodness Site. Idea is not mine, and I don't want to have anyone thinking I stole it. Gotta give credit where credit is due Said prompt was: Willow's depressed about spending Valentine's Day alone, but someone tries to cheer her up. Who? How?
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Valentine's Day

As she made her way through the chaos that surrounded the last class of the day, Willow sighed. The fact that it was Valentine's Day didn't matter, considering that she had no-one to spend it with…not anymore, at least. As she thought about how she had spent the holiday the previous year, the red-head felt a fresh dose of pain sink into her heart. It hurt to even think about Oz, especially considering how happy the two of them had been only months ago. Seeing seemingly everyone around her involved and happy only served to make that pain come back even stronger.

Everyone around her was happy. Xander and Anya, Buffy and Riley, even Giles probably had someone that he was seeing behind all of their backs. Wouldn't surprise her, considering how involving any relationship in the Slaying routine would be putting them at risk. Love wasn't something that went together with vampires…even if Buffy and Angel had had something together that she knew was lacking in the Slayer's current relationship with Riley.

Passing a kissing couple, the Witch looked away, her hands shoved into her pockets as her fingers played with some of the loose change that was floating around inside her jeans. She tried her best not to frown at anyone who was enjoying the holiday, considering that it could be considered rude or mean. Still, the idea of going back to the dorm and going to sleep was a welcomed one. More than anything, she wanted the day to be over with. Seeing everyone having something she was lacking at the moment wasn't something that was going to keep her in a chipper mood.

Turning the corner, she found yet another couple passing by, the two of them holding hands and smiling at each other. Casting her green eyes' gaze somewhere else, the red-head walked by them and continued on her way. Beginning to recite spells inside her brain, she tried every tactic she could possibly think of in order to keep her mind off of the seemingly endless amount of happy couples that were swarming around her like bugs to a lamp. Come on, happy thoughts, happy thoughts, happy thoughts…

"Andy, it's wonderful! I love it!"

"Happy Valentine's Day, baby." Closing her eyes, Willow made her way past another couple just as they embraced each other, the two of them swooning over the diamond ring that had been presented to the girl. Alright, repetitiveness starting to show here…

"What did Chris get you, Anne?"

"Just some chocolates. How about you?"

"A card and a dinner reservation. I wasn't expecting anything, so I guess that's a plus."

"Just gotta get out of this hallway…" Finally giving up on reaching the room, the red-head made a sharp left towards the door that led to the outside of the building. As the sunlight and slight breeze met her skin, she pulled her jacket a little tighter around her shoulders and made her way down the staircase. There were less people out here, but a few couples still lingered, their conversations and images assaulting her mind with their general Valentine's Day-ness. Quickening her pace slightly, Willow left the concrete sidewalk, and headed towards a deserted tree that lay near the edge of the Campus Property. Despite how nice it was outside, many of the couples had decided to stay inside the building, ensuring the Witch that she would be able to at least get a small degree of peace and refugee from the entire holiday.

She felt something fall down her cheek, but as she pushed it away with the sleeve of her sweater, no more attempted the journey down from her eyes, leaving her still appearing somewhat normal. As she reached the shade of the tree, she eased herself down until she was leaning against the bark, her head effectively collapsing onto the folded arms in front of her. Her red-hair falling around her face somewhat, considering the length that she had recently had it cut to, she closed her eyes in an attempt to block out the world around her.

Weren't things supposed to get easier? Time heals all wounds, and that kind of thing? It had been weeks, and still it made her chest hurt whenever she thought of how Oz had left her, had willingly gone away even though he had told her he loved her. Love was another thing that was supposed to heal everything, but obviously the mystical healing thing hadn't quite set in just yet. Can this day just be over with?

"H-H-Hey…" Raising her head as she heard a voice penetrated her ears, Willow finally let all of the pent up anger inside of her out, feelings that might be hurt be damned.

"Alright, look, some of us don't need to hear your happy-ass Valentine's Day stories, so why don't you just leav-" Stopping in the middle of her sentence as she realized who was standing near her, the red-head felt all of her anger begin to melt away. "Oh…hey."

"Y-Y-You're upset, I-I should go…" Turning to leave, Tara wrapped her arms around herself as the shock of hearing the other girl yell at her continued to circulate through her brain.

"Hey, no, I'm sorry. Valentine's Day nerves." Regret and embarrassment replacing the anger that had taken over her mind, Willow offered the other girl a small smile as she caught her attention. "Really, I didn't mean to snap at you like that."

"Are y-you sure?" Eying the red-head with her blue eyes, Tara remained rooted to the spot where she was standing, unsure if her presence was even wanted by the other girl. "I can l-leave…"

"I'm a hundred percent sure, I'm Ms. McSure." Patting the ground next to her, Willow offered the seemingly frightened girl a smile. "Come on, what's on your mind?"

"I…I was just w-w-wondering w-what you were doing…" Shyly sitting down onto the place where the other girl had touched, Tara curled her legs underneath her as she sat down. "Y-You seemed kinda upset."

"Again, just Valentine's Day. Not the best holiday for me recently."

"W-Why not?" Her expression changing just as the words had left her lips, the blonde Wiccan turned her gaze to the ground beneath her. "Nevermind, t-too personal…"

"No, it's fine. Everybody else probably knows why, so why shouldn't you?" Sighing, Willow pressed her head back against the tree. "I'm kinda celebrating it alone this year."

"Oh…I'm sorry." Her gaze still turned away from the other girl, Tara remained silent.

"It's fine. Guess I should have been a little bit more prepared for it all, with the whole being single again thing and all." Rolling her eyes, the red-headed Witch sighed again. "Not as easy as I thought it was gonna be."

"H-How did it happen?"

"He…he cheated on me…kinda. It's hard to explain. Long story short, he's gone, I'm here, I'm alone, end of story. Guess it wasn't as long as I thought."

"He c-cheated on y-you?" Finally lifting her gaze from the grass her hand was touching, Tara looked at the other girl's face. "W-Why…sorry, too personal again…"

"Really, it's fine. Gotta talk about it sometime." Turning her head so she was looking at the Wiccan, Willow managed to smile somewhat, although the expression was mixed with a barely contained sadness. "Guess you could say it was like they were…attracted to each other. Bad things happened, and I kinda, sorta walked in on them sleeping together."

"Oh, Goddess, I'm so sorry." Frowning, Tara found herself at a loss for what else to say. She had barely known Willow for five weeks now, and already she had pried more information out of her than she should have. "Maybe I should go..."

"Tara…" Turning her body slightly, the red-head felt her hand brush against the other girl's fingers. Something akin to a spark or a burst of static electricity passed through her skin and up into her body, causing her to jump slightly. "Sorry, little jumpy I guess."

"It's alright." Looking down at where Willow's fingers had brushed against hers, Tara could still feel the spark circulating in her palm. As the red-head pulled her hand back slightly, she felt something akin to disappointment flow through her, surprising herself. She knew that Willow was special, considering the kind of power that lay inside her, only just recently tapped, but having this kind of effect on her was something that she hadn't expected…although her heart made her feel like she wanted it.

"So, how about you? Nobody special you're spending the day with?" Trying her best to steer the conversation towards a possibly happier subject, Willow realized too late that she might be trying to pry her way into another person's life, a place where she might not be wanted. "Oh, god, sorry, way too personal of me to just ask out of the blue like that. Because you know that that could be kinda rude and stuff, which would make me Rudy McRudinson, and I don't want…"

As she heard Tara chuckling softly, Willow forced her mouth to close in an attempt to make the flow of words stop. Oh, god, did I really just babble? Not good, not good, babbling leads to nervousness and sweaty palms, and having to explain…just stop, just stop. Talk, talking good…

"So, as I said without the babbly funniness, why aren't you celebrating?"

"There's no-one really." Shaking her head somewhat nervously, Tara smiled slightly, her fingers still tracing the grass underneath her palm. "Never h-has been."

"I find that a little hard to believe." Smiling back at the other girl, Willow saw her gesture make the Wiccan smile even wider. "I mean no-one from the Wicca group?"

"They w-weren't really my friends…" Finally lifting her hand off of the grass, the blonde girl placed it upon the red-head's knee. "Not like you…"

"Well, that's good to know." Placing her hand atop the other girl's fingers, Willow smiled. "So, are we gonna do any spells later?"

"Do y-you want to?"

"Yeah, sure. I mean, after the day I've had, I'd like something to take my mind off of it." Still smiling the red-head reached for her bag. "I actually just picked up a new copy of 'Enchantments and Charms'. You can borrow it, if you want."

"Sure, that's be great."

"God knows that it would be more fun than me sitting around feeling mopey about…the V word." Seeing the confusion that had rapidly spread across the other girl's face, the Witch sighed. "Valentine's Day."

"Oh…"

"Really, let's just go somewhere else."
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As she stepped into the room, Willow almost immediately felt some of the stress from her lonely Valentine's Day beginning to fade away as the dim lighting from Tara's room took away some of her stress.

"Sorry, it's a l-little messy." Shutting the door behind her, Tara pushed some of her blonde hair back behind her ears.

"No worries. Definitely no need for worries." Easing herself down onto the nearby bed, the red-head reached into her bag and pulled out the book she had been looking for. "I always like being here."

"Really?" As the word left her lips, Tara smiled.

"Really, really." Returning the smile, the Witch handed the other girl the book. "Here ya go."

"Thanks." Taking the offered volume, Tara flipped open the cover and skimmed through the first page.

"I always feel comfortable here." Seeing the circle that lay almost permanently set up in a corner of the room, the red-head undid the laces on her shoes. "It's like the entire room is kinda friendly."

"Willow-friendly." Smiling as she heard the other girl's words, the blonde Wiccan set the book down onto a nearby table. "Anything in particular you want to cast?"

"Something kinda simple. Gotta get the whole mojo thing working for me."

"Alright." Grabbing a box of matches from the table, Tara made her way towards the circle. "W-We can do that…"
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"Sorry, I'm not in the best of moods today." Sighing, Willow got back onto her feet, her action extinguishing the candles that surrounded her. "Maybe I should just go back to my dorm…"

"Y-You don't have to…" Her gaze falling to the floor beneath her, Tara knew that the other girl was looking at her. "I mean, you could stay here…I don't mind, since no-one really ever comes around."

"Tara, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to ruin your Valentine's Day as well." Frowning, the red-head took a few steps back until she was sitting in the middle of the circle again. "I'm being a McGrouch."

"It's alright." Smiling slightly, the Wiccan curled her legs underneath her. "I mean, you just got out of a relationship, and that can be kinda hurtful."

"Trust me, much more than hurtful." Finding herself unable to meet the other girl's gaze, Willow sighed. "I thought it would get a little easier, but surprise, surprise, no easier here."

"I think it's s-supposed to be like that." Frowning as she saw how uncomfortable the red-head was starting to become, Tara reached out and touched her knee. "Not that I w-would know."

"God, again, I'm sorry. I'm going around ruining people's moods. Call me 'Willow, the Slayer of good moods everywhere!'"

"Willow, it's alright, really, I understand."

"But I don't like being the Slayer of good moods." Frowning, the red-head looked up from the floor. "Me definitely no likey doing that kind of thing."

"It's alright, I don't think anyone likes ruining moods."

"It's just, I've only really ever had one person like me back the way that I liked him, and to have no-one around me know, it's kinda like being in a freaky flashback that you kinda don't want to live through again…do you know what I mean?"

"Sorta…"

"And I mean, the last time I really liked somebody before that, he ended up hooking up with a skunk-bag that we hated, but he obviously didn't hate her enough to not suck face with her." Rolling her eyes sarcastically, Willow sighed. "Kinda makes you feel low."

"Y-You don't have to feel like that though….because I…"

"What? You what?" Looking back at the stuttering Wiccan, Willow furrowed her brow. "You've got a 'I need to tell you something' face…"

"I…I…"

"Cause, I mean, you can tell me anything, I've already kinda told you my life-story and all…"

"Willow, I…I kinda like you…" Somehow managing to keep herself from stuttering, despite the overwhelming nervousness circulating inside her body, Tara saw the slight confusion making its way through the red-head's green eyes. "I m-mean, in a w-w-way that you might like somebody on Valentine's Day…"

"Like a friend?"

"Like I…really, really, really like you…" Her blue eyes still focusing solely on the other girl's face, Tara knew that she was making enough sense for Willow to understand properly. "I mean, like, I think you're amazing, and you're special…"

"Tara, um, are you trying to say that you want me to be your Valentine?" Her eyebrows lifting slightly, Willow knew her brain was already in the midst of a storm of confusion. She and Tara had briefly talked once or twice about how the Wiccan had come out only a year before the start of college and her move to Sunnydale, but hearing her talking like this…confusion definitely was taking its hold.

"S-S-Sorta…" Looking away as she felt her cheeks becoming warmer, the blonde Wiccan increased her hands grip on her legs. "I…I kinda l-like you a little more than that…"

"Oh…" Saying the word somewhat emotionless at first, Willow's green eyes perked up as her mind finally jump-started itself and realized what the other girl was trying to say. "Oh!"

"N-Nevermind, it w-w-was stupid of me to say…" Starting to get onto her feet, Tara wanted nothing more than to take back what she had just told Willow. That was so stupid of me to tell her… "Forget I s-said anything…"

"Tara, it's alright, you don't have to feel bad about it…I mean, I'm kinda shocked, but I'm not angry or anything." Pushing herself onto her own feet, the red-head came to stand behind where the other girl was standing with her back to the other Witch. "You don't have to hide from me."

"Y-Y-You don't like me back, because y-you're not l-l-like that…"

"No, that's not it, I…I think I do…I mean, I like hanging out with you, and I like casting spells with you, so I guess that could mean that I like you, because you know, most relationships start out with people hanging out and getting to know each other…" Nearly biting down on her tongue in order to prevent herself from babbling any further, Willow cautiously placed her hand on the other girl's shoulder. "Tara…I…I think I like you too…"

"A-Are you s-sure?" Her stuttering continuing without any sign of ending, Tara turned her head in order to look at the red-head standing behind her. "I m-m-mean, I w-w-wouldn't blame you if it's too awkward for y-y-you to do…"

"Tara, it's not awkward at all…I mean, in the fact that I'm not kinda sure how I feel, because my mind's all confusion-y right now."

"It's a-alright…" Remaining largely silent, Tara continued to keep her back to the other girl behind her, unsure of what else to say. Her green eyes still staring at the blonde Wiccan, Willow's mind continued to run around in circles inside her head.

"Do…do you want to kiss me?" As the words leaving her mouth surprised herself, Willow saw something in the other girl's blue irises change. "Ok, I was a little too direct with that…too early…way too early, I should go, this is kinda lot to take in, and because I'm babbling too much, and I can't seem to stop, oh, why can't I stop?"

"I…do y-y-you want to?" Her arms still wrapped around her chest, Tara kept her gaze focused on her feet, even as she turned around. "I w-w-wouldn't be angry if y-y-you didn't want to…"

"I…I guess I do…" Taking a cautious step towards where Tara was standing, Willow closed her eyes for a moment as she tried to think of how to approach what she had suggested. "I mean, I don't really know how we can do this, but…"

Her words trailing off, the red-head saw Tara take a step towards her until they were almost standing face to face. Finally looking up, the Wiccan looked into the other girl's green eyes. Acting on the urge she felt before her shy nature forced her to back down, the blonde girl slowly leaned in and pressed her lips against Willow's. Her eyes flooding with shock for a single moment, Willow closed her eyes as she felt her heart-beat continuing to increase inside her chest. The thought of what was happening continued to overwhelm her mind, but as she closed her eyes and set her hands against the other girl's shoulders, she felt all of her thoughts beginning to drift away.

Keeping her hands on her own body, Tara kept her eyes closed as well, unsure if seeing the other girl's face would cause her to break the kiss that she had instigated. Forcing her tongue to remain in her own mouth, the blonde Wiccan tilted her head slightly as she and Willow continued to kiss. Their lips seemingly fitting together perfectly, the two girls felt every sense besides touch begin to fade away along with any stray thoughts of possible nervousness or hesitation.

Finally pulling away at the same time, Tara and Willow stood looking at each other, unsure of what the other was going to say. Her fingers on her left hand trailing along her lips, the red-head kept her gaze on the Wiccan standing in front of her.

"That was…um, neat?" Unsure of what to say, Willow felt a small sense of relief that she hadn't started to babble again. Watching the red-head from where she was standing, Tara smiled slightly.

"Y-Yeah…neat."

"Um, what time is it?" Looking around the room for a clock, the Witch finally found one, and as she read the numbers awaiting her, she headed for where her shoes still laid undisturbed on the floor. "I should go…"

"Oh… alright."

"No, no, it's not because of you!" Afraid of what the other girl might be feeling, Willow turned back towards Tara with one of her shoes in her hand. "Buffy might be looking for me, you know, annual Slaying night, and all. She might need me."

"Right…"

Gathering her bag from where it lay on the bed, Willow saw the other girl standing by the door, her eyes again focused on the floor. Frowning, the red-head crossed the floor and arrived at the spot in front of the door.

"Tara?" Hearing her name, the blonde girl looked up. Casting a smile at the other girl, Willow's green eyes beamed somewhat. "Thanks for making my day better."

"Y-You're welcome." Returning the smile somewhat shyly, Tara felt the red-head give her a small kiss on her cheek as she opened the door. Stepping out in the hallway, Willow gave one last smile at the Wiccan before she started back down the hallway. Watching her leave, Tara smiled as she could still feel the sensations of the other girl's lips on hers. Shutting the door behind her, the Wiccan chuckled as she saw one of the red-head's shoes still lying on the floor near the bed. She'll come back…

Closing her eyes, Tara Maclay felt happiness in her heart for the first moment in a long time, and she smiled.

[Wills redemption]

Dibs !!!
Awww, that was cute! I love Tara's bravery here, telling Willow how she feels and that Willow reacted so relaxed to it. Their first kiss was indeed neat. I would like it if you'd continue this as a story.

One little thing though, I can't imagine anyone forgetting a shoe and not noticing it...or did she do it on purpose, leaving something to return for? Even if this was the case, a shoe would be my last choice because I wouldn't like walking half barefoot or on one sock back to my dorm...
Well, just a little detail I don't really get, but never mind, it's not important, the story is great!

[Pavlov'sBell]

Dibs !!!
Awww, that was cute! I love Tara's bravery here, telling Willow how she feels and that Willow reacted so relaxed to it. Their first kiss was indeed neat. I would like it if you'd continue this as a story.

One little thing though, I can't imagine anyone forgetting a shoe and not noticing it...or did she do it on purpose, leaving something to return for? Even if this was the case, a shoe would be my last choice because I wouldn't like walking half barefoot or on one sock back to my dorm...
Well, just a little detail I don't really get, but never mind, it's not important, the story is great!

Hi ya, thanks for the comment I would continue this as a story, but I'm so backlogged that it probably won't be for a while Curse my overactive imagination!

Yep, Willow left it on purpose, although since it was a spur of the moment thing, it probably wasn't the best idea

Thanks again

[Pavlov'sBell]

• Title: Broken
• Author name: Pavlov'sBell, a.k.a. Colton
• Rating - PG-13
• Feedback- I'd love it. I don't bite.
• Email: colton625@live.com
• Summary- During "Wrecked", Willow seeks help with her Magick addiction from the person she hurt worst of all. Tara
• Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy or any of other Buffyverse characters. They belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy.
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Chapter 1

"Dawnie, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." As she fell to the ground, her tears effectively blinding her, Willow felt the world around her beginning to slip away. The realization of what she had done continued to pour through every inch of her mind, making sure that she couldn't escape from it, even if she used Magick to do so. Ahead of her, Buffy, Spike, and Dawn continued to move forward, their footsteps echoing to the Witch's ears as if it were part of her punishment. Looking up from where she had fallen, Willow saw Buffy looking back at her, the anger in her eyes visible enough to set the night surrounding her on fire.

"Buffy…" Just barely able to saw the girl's name before her sobs transformed her words into barely understandable gibberish, the red-head felt her heart break once again as the Slayer turned and walked away with Spike, the vampire still supporting Dawn as they disappeared into the night. As she struggled to her feet, Willow could barely see from the way her tears had blinded her. Underneath her, her feet seemingly refused to work properly and caused her to once again fall to the cold Earth beneath her.

"Please, I'm sorry…" Saying the statement to nothing more than the air that surrounded her, the Witch rested her head against the cold dirt that she was lying against. Inside her, the Magicks she had used continued to swirl, infecting every corner of her insides, mind and body. What had given her pleasure not even half an hour ago was feeling like a curse. As the events of the past weeks came flooding back to her, she looked back on what she had done, to both Buffy and Tara. The memories unfolding in front of her eyes, it felt as if she were watching them in another body, watching someone that she wished wasn't her.

As the Magicks inside of her continued to cycle through her system, they made her muscles tingle with the vague remnants of what she had experienced earlier. The memories still flashing in front of her vision, Willow's thoughts seemingly repeated the same scenes over and over again without a single break. Her promise to Tara ran out through her ears, overwhelming the sense as it tried to drown out her thoughts.

"Tara…I'm sorry…" Pushing the words out of her mouth, even though she knew that the girl wouldn't be able to hear her, the Witch continued to feel the Magicks building and swelling inside her. Around her, the world continued to feel farther and farther away as her thoughts focused solely on her memories of the girl. Gathering into a single focus, the Magicks spread out to every inch of her body before resting down into her finger-tips. As the girl's fingers curled and uncurled seemingly on their own accord, the Witch's form disappeared from the scene of the wrecked car, and reappeared in a new location that had no relation to the previous events.

Her face still held to the ground, the red-head could feel the change in how the dirt below her felt. As her open green eyes looked at the substance beneath her, confusion ran rampant through her mind. …Carpet? Looking up from the different ground underneath her, Willow could see the familiar hallway of the University's dorms. Her eyes catching sight of the numbers stamped next to the door, her heart dropped to the bottom of her body as she recognized the dorm's resident.

"Willow?" As she looked down at the girl lying on the floor in front of the door, Tara's eyes grew large with a mix of shock and barely noticeable anger. "W-What are you doing he-"

"Tara?" Saying the girl's name through her sobs, Willow wrapped her arms around the other girl's ankles. "Tara, I'm sorry…"

"Willow, you need to leave." Still looking down at the girl holding onto her, Tara knew that she should walk away, but she found herself strangely rooted to the place where she was standing.

"Tara, I…I hurt everyone…" Her sobs resuming with renewed strength, Willow buried her head into the blonde girl's bare-feet. "Please…"

"What do you mean?"

"You, Dawnie, Buffy…" As the names passed from her lips, the red-head closed her eyes as her body seemingly began to grow heavier and heavier. Her mind couldn't even begin to comprehend how she had gotten to the Dorms, other than somehow the Magicks had teleported her here. "I didn't mean to…"

"Willow, what happened?" Kneeling down in order to look at the other girl's face, Tara saw the way dirt had been stained around the other girl's usually clean face.

"Dawnie…car…Magick…Demon…" Were all that the red-head was able to force out before her voice once again degraded into a combination of sobs, dry heaves, and gasps for breath.

"Willow, look at me. What happened?"

"Hurt…everyone…" As she laid her head back onto the ground below her, Willow's sobs tampered off as her mind shut down and forced her body to fall asleep. Her hands still clutching the other girl's ankles, the Witch felt everything around her slip into black.

"Willow?" Her attention still solely focused on the other girl, Tara gently cupped the red-head's cheeks and looked at her face. "Willow?"

As no response came from the other girl, Tara managed to pull the other girl onto her feet. Noticing the way her body was limp, she pressed her hand against the girl's throat. Able to feel a pulse through the skin, she sighed, her mind satisfied that the red-head was alright. If only for a moment. Managing to half-drag, half-help the red-head towards the sole bed in the room, she gently set the girl down onto the mattress, unable to not notice how cold Willow's skin was.

Easing herself down into a sitting position next to the bed, she looked at the way the other girl's chest rose and fell without any specific pattern. Uncertain of how much time had passed since the incidents Willow had vaguely managed to describe, she reached for the phone, her eyes never once leaving the other girl except when it came time to dial the number she wanted. Her thumb moving in quick succession, she pressed the phone to her ear and returned her gaze to the other girl. Goddess, what happened…

"Hi, you've reached the Summers. We're not home right now, so just leave your number and we'll get back to you as soon as we can. Thanks!" As Dawn's voice flowed out from the speaker and into her ear, Tara sighed and waited for the sign to leave her message.

"Buffy? It's Tara, are you there?" Waiting a minute or so in case there was someone at the house, the Wiccan finally sighed and hung up. As she set the phone back onto the table, she thought she saw a small smutch of black work its way off of Willow's hand and into her vein. Her eyes mesmerized by the sight, she pulled up the other girl's sleeve and watched as the black color shot up through the red-head's otherwise invisible veins. Finally disappearing as it reached the Witch's elbow, it was as if the color hadn't existed.

"Willow?" Pulling the girl's jacket sleeve back down into its appropriate place, Tara looked up at the red-head's face. The dirt was still there, its color stained with the pathways from the tears that the girl had obviously cried. Hearing no response from the Witch, the blonde Wiccan pushed herself back onto her feet and headed towards the closet. Not even bothering to turn on the light that lay on the ceiling, she pulled a blanket off of the top shelf and returned to where the red-head was still lying silently. Setting the blanket down beside where the girl was lying, she set to work on undoing the red-head's shoes. Letting the objects fall to the floor as she finished untying them, Tara considered removing Willow's jacket but decided against it. Unsure of what else she could do apart from make sure the other girl was warm, Tara unraveled the blanket and spread it out across the other girl's body.

Making her way around the bed, she moved one of the pillows and gently set it underneath the Witch's head. Still showing no signs of being awake or even being in the midst of a dream. It was as if she were completely void of feeling anything. Pressing her palm against the girl's forehead, Tara almost pulled away as she felt the direct contrast in temperature. Where only minutes before, Willow's skin had been ice cold, it now was slightly warm, the feeling reminding the blonde Wiccan of someone with a fever. The combination of the changed temperature and the black spot disappearing into the girl's body weighing heavy on the Wiccan's mind, Tara considered calling Buffy again, just to make sure that the Slayer was home.

For yet another moment in her life, she was unsure of what to do.
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Opening her eyes, Willow found a familiar face watching her. Closing her eyes due to the blurriness that had clouded her vision, the red-head moved her hand out from the material covering it and rubbed her exhausted green eyes.

"Willow?" As Tara's voice ran through her ears, the Witch realized where she was. The memories from the previous night beginning to return, she felt fear sink into her heart.

"Tara…" Unsure of what exactly to say, she tried to push herself into a sitting position until she felt the other girl's hands pushing her back down. "I shouldn't have come here…"

"Do you remember how you got here?" Seemingly ignoring what the red-head had said, Tara looked into the girl's green eyes. "Willow…how did you get here?"

"I…oh, god, I don't know…"

"Y-You don't remember?"

"No, Tara, I don't know. I remember being on the ground, and then I was looking up at you." Looking down at the material covering her, Willow recognized the same blanket that she had laid upon numerous times with the other girl. The object sending a wave of hurt through her heart, she once again tried to get up. "I should go."

"No, you came here, you're done making decisions."

"Tara-" Starting to say something, Willow saw how much anger was beginning to sink into the other girl's voice.

"Willow, do you even remember what you did last night? You almost killed Dawn!" The volume of the girl's words hurting her ears, Willow closed her eyes. "What's wrong with you?"

"I don't know, Tara…" Opening her eyes, the red-head remained largely silent in case Tara found the need to yell at her again.

"Willow, do you realize why she got hurt? Because you couldn't control yourself!" Realizing that she was in effect only making the other girl feel worse, Tara sighed and rubbed her eyes. "I'm sorry I yelled."

"I deserve it." Seemingly shrinking into the blanket still covering her, the red-head almost felt like wishing for the Earth to swallow her up. "Go on, don't let me stop you."

"Willow…"

"I let a demon attack-"

"I know. Buffy told me on the phone." Upon hearing the Slayer's name, the Witch's eyes shot open, her irises completely filled to the brim with fear.

"Oh, god, you didn't tell her I was here, did you?" Sighing, Tara looked at the other girl with her eyes and face awash with emotion.

"No, I didn't."

"Why not?" Almost every emotion had drained out of the red-head's tone by now, causing her to seem entirely lifeless. The illusion only added to by the state of her clothes and the mixture of dirt and dried tears on her cheeks, Willow looked up at the other girl as if she were nothing more than a shell. "I wouldn't have blamed you."

"Because you need help." Her gaze shifting in order to allow her to look into the other girl's eyes, Tara sighed once more. "And I'm going to give it to you."

"What?" As an emotion finally filled out her voice, Willow tried once again to push herself into a sitting position, but the other girl simply repeated what she had done earlier and pushed her back into the mattress.

"Willow, I got rid of everything in the room that could be used for Magick." Seeing the way the red-head was looking around the room, Tara saw the girl's gaze eventually turn back onto her. "There's nothing here other than what you would see in a normal room."

"Tara…"

"It's all somewhere where you can't find it." Her blue eyes hardening somewhat, Tara reached down and pulled a wet rag out of a sitting bowel. "So don't bother looking for any of it."

"Tara, I need to leave…"

"I already told you, you're not going anywhere." Pressing the wet rag against the other girl's cheeks, the blonde Wiccan started to clean off some of the dirt that still lay there. "Buffy doesn't know you're here, so you're safe."

"Tara, let me go." Starting to get back onto her feet for the umpteenth time, Willow saw Tara look towards the phone still lying silent on the nearby table.

"I could call Buffy and have her come get you. Is that what you want?" Her green eyes now focused on the phone, the red-head shook her head as the fear of the Slayer finding her sank in.

"Then you're staying here. Lay still." Moving the wet rag over the red-head's cheeks once more, the blonde Wiccan went to work on trying to clean up the other girl.

"I'm fine. Really." Turning her head slightly in order to avoid looking at the other girl's eyes, Willow knew that she was only lying to herself by saying that she was fine. The images of how she had hurt Dawn the previous night continued to move through her mind, infecting every other memory in the process.

"No, Willow, you're not." Setting the rag down for a moment, Tara looked down at the other girl. "Even you know that's not true."

"I'm fine." Saying the sentence with even less enthusiasm that she had only a moment before, the red-head kept her eyes focused on something else in the room.

"Willow, look me in the eyes and say that."

"I'm fine." Turning her head in order to look at the other girl's face, the Witch was only able to look at the blonde's chin before her mind refused to let her gaze go any further.

"In. My. Eyes."

"I'm…" Finally able to make her eyes look into Tara's blue irises, Willow felt the rest of the words die inside of her mouth.

"You can't do it, can you?"

"Tara, I...I need help…" As tears started to fall from her eyes, Willow felt the hand holding her down to the bed soften slightly, but it still maintained its strong grip. "I tried to stop…"

"But you can't." Finishing the other girl's sentence, Tara closed her eyes as she shook her head. "Willow, you can. You just don't want to."

"I tried, but it hurts." Still crying, the red-head gave up trying to return to her feet, and collapsed fully onto the mattress beneath her. "Tara, I need help…"

"You can stop." Her hand rising and falling with the other girl's somewhat ragged breath, Tara tried her best to maintain the somewhat angry expression that lay on her face. "Willow, you can."

"I can't…" Still crying, Willow reached up and laid her hand atop the other girl's digits. "Tara, I can't…" Managing to push herself into a sitting position, the red-head laid her head onto the Wiccan's lap. The other girl's hand still onto her own, Tara slowly rested her free hand atop the other girl's red hair.

"Tara, I can't stop…"
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"Tara, are you sure that you haven't seen her?" As she stood in the doorway, Buffy watched as the other girl continued to pack various clothes and objects into a waiting box. Willow had been missing for almost a week now, and although the anger she felt towards the other girl had subsided somewhat, it still lingered within her.

"No, I haven't." Looking up from the box she had been packing, Tara saw the image of the red-head sleeping off the effects of her withdrawal. "Not since she was here with Amy."

"I feel terrible. We just left her there, crying and hurt." Looking down at the floor, Buffy's tone showed a noticeable amount of regret. "I know we were angry, but we shouldn't have just left her there."

"Buffy, Dawn was hurt. There was nothing wrong with what you did."

"Willow needs help. I think she saw that." Her gaze moving up towards the other girl, the Slayer moved aside as Tara picked up the box and started to head towards the door.

"If she did, then maybe she'll come back." As the words left the Wiccan's mouth, Tara's gaze refused to meet the other girl's eyes. "Maybe she'll get better."
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As she closed the door behind her, Tara considered turning on the lights before remembering that she wasn't alone in the room. Her body wrapped underneath the sheets of the sole bed situated in the middle of the room, Willow whimpered slightly. Still, she tried to remain quiet, considering that Tara had tried to make sure no-one outside of the room knew that she was there.

"Willow?" As she said the red-head's name, there was an audible sound of sheets being shifted that could be heard before the other girl responded to her name being called. Making her way through the darkened room illuminated only by the Christmas lights scattered across the ceiling, Tara eased herself down into a portion of the bed that was unoccupied. Reaching over and grabbing the wash-cloth from where it lay undisturbed in the bowl of water on the table, she rang the material out and laid it across the other girl's forehead.

"Are you feeling any better?"

"No." Shaking her head, the red-head closed her eyes as she felt the cool material covering her forehead.

"It's just the Magicks. Your body isn't used to not using them." Frowning, Tara looked at the small bowl of soup that lay on the table where the other girl could have easily gotten at it. "Did you try to eat anything?"

Nodding, Willow opened her green eyes, and struggled to focus them on the girl sitting next to her. The Christmas lights that crisscrossed the room were the only source of light within the entire room, causing her already slightly blurred vision to become even more strained.

"Could you keep it down?"

"No." Closing her eyes as her stomach rolled over at the mention of food, the red-head felt the cool cloth on her forehead disappear as the other girl removed it and dipped it back into the bowl.

"Do you want to try again?" Taking the bowl of uneaten soup into her hands, Tara continued to look down at the red-head. "I could heat this up for you."

"No, I don't feel good." Shaking her head, Willow turned onto her side and buried her head into the pillow that she had been laying against for the past few days. "I don't want to even think about food."

"You need to eat though. It'll probably help." Looking down at the bowl again, the blonde Wiccan got back onto her feet and headed towards the small microwave that lay across the room. "I'll just heat it up and leave it for you in case you get hungry."

"Ok." Barely whispering the word, Willow turned over again in the bed. She had been doing the same thing for almost an hour now, considering that she hadn't been anything close to comfortable for the past few days. Minutes passed before the other girl returned to the side of the bed. As she set the bowl of reheated soup down onto the table, Tara felt Willow's hand come to rest on top of her arm.

"Why are you helping me?"

"Because you need it." Frowning, the blonde felt the other girl remove her hand as if she were going to lose the limb by simply having it in contact with her. "Why do you think I'm doing this?"

"So you can punish me later." Pulling her hand back underneath the sheets that she was, for all intents and purposes , hiding underneath, Willow closed her eyes as she waited for the other girl to confirm her suspicions. "I wouldn't blame you. I hurt Buffy, I hurt Dawn, and I hurt you. I deserve it."

Inside her, Tara felt nothing but shock running through her. She had made sure that Willow knew that she was angry with her, but to hear that the other girl thought she meant to punish her…it was unbelievable, to say the least. Kneeling down onto her knees beside the bed, the blonde Wiccan looked at the red-head's face.

"Willow, I'm not going to hurt you. I couldn't do that. I want you to get better so you can fix what you've done."

"I can't fix it." Her eyes still closed against the room around her, the Witch shook her head slightly. Seeing the reaction, the blonde reluctantly placed her hand against the other girl's warm cheek.

"You can. You just have to try."

"Tara, please, don't." Opening her eyes, Willow looked at the other girl. "I don't deserve to hear you say that."

"Willow-"

"Please, just stop." Turning over in the bed, the red-head closed her eyes and tried to will back to sleep. Frowning, Tara realized that fighting about this wasn't what the other girl needed, no-matter how much she needed to hear her reasoning. As she got back onto her feet, the blonde Wiccan looked up at the Christmas lights hanging from the ceiling, and sighed.

"Are you sure that you don't want to eat something?"

"I can try…" Opening her eyes once more, the girl looked at Tara with hurt lining her irises as she tried to push herself up into a comfortable sitting position.

"Don't get up, it'll make you hurt more." Sitting back down on the mattress, the Wiccan rested her hands on the red-head's shoulders. "Just lay back down."

"Can't eat if I'm laying down." Saying the joke with hardly any tone of amusement to her voice, Willow looked at the bowl of reheated soup. "Unless you get me a straw or something."

"Just lay down." Reaching up and laying the back of her palm against the girl's forehead, Tara sighed. "You're still really warm."

"It comes and goes. I'll be warm and then I'll be cold." Replying as she watched the blonde girl take the bowl into her hands, Willow sighed. "I'm a regular California weather cycle."

"Here." Lifting the bowl up to the red-head's lips, Tara watched as the other girl closed her eyes and began to drink the contents of the bowl. Her head peacefully resting on the pillow behind her, the Witch drank as much as her stomach would allow before placing her hands against the bowl and giving it a small push to show Tara that she had had enough.

"Better?" Setting the bowl down onto the table once again, Tara turned in time to see Willow snuggling deeper into the sheets surrounding her, her expression showing nothing but content and peace. The sight causing her to smile, the Wiccan reached out and pushed some of the girl's red-hair behind her ear before pulling the sheets up until they met Willow's chin. Unable to lift her eyes' gaze from the red-head's face, she found the girl's hand, and entwined her fingers with it.
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Opening her sleep-drenched eyes, Tara shook her head slightly as a constantly recurring sound brought her out of her dream. Turning herself over from where she was lying in the makes-shift bed on the floor, her eyes were confronted with a bright beam of light. Pushing herself up into a sitting position, she wiped her eyes in an attempt to wake herself up. The room around her was otherwise silent, save for the sound that kept pouring out of the bathroom. As she got onto her feet, the blonde Wiccan looked into the bed beside her, and upon finding it empty, she knew who was making the noise.

As she took a few steps towards the light, Tara again heard the sound that awakened her, the sound of it filling out the entire room. Crying?...

"Willow?" Stopping just outside of the connecting bathroom, Tara saw Willow look up from where she was laying in front of the toilet, tears staining her green eyes. "Are you alright?"

"The soup came back up." Closing her eyes, the red-head rested her head back onto the makeshift pillow she had made out of nearby towels. Frowning as she saw the condition the other girl was in, Tara made her way into the room.

"Come on, let's get you back to bed." Traversing the last few steps towards the other girl, Tara reached down and grabbed the other girl's hands. As her palms rested against the red-head's fingers, the Wiccan felt how cold Willow really was. The difference in temperature was even more noticeable than it had been before. It was as if Willow was getting colder and colder with each passing day that she went without using any Magick. "You'll feel better if you get warmed up."

"I don't feel good…" Pouting, the red-head allowed the other girl to help her onto her wobbly feet. "I think I should lay back down, in case I get sick."

"If you get sick, there's a garbage can next to the bed. Don't get up again." Turning off the light behind her, Tara made her way back to the bed with the other girl held close to her. "You'll get worse if you just lay on the bathroom floor."

"You take the bed. I'll sleep on the floor." Shaking her head slightly, Willow tried to prevent the blonde from sitting her back onto the sheets that she had struggled out of only half an hour earlier.

"Willow, you're taking the bed. End of discussion."

"Tara-"

"Willow, just try to sleep." As she pressed the girl onto her side and pulled the sheets back over-top of her, Tara sighed. "We're not going to argue about this."

"Why not? We've argued about everything els-"

"Don't." Looking back at the other girl, the blonde Wiccan shook her head. "We're not going back to that."

"Tara, I know you're trying to help, but I can't stop feeling like this. It hurts too much."

"Then stop."

"When did this go wrong?" Looking up at the other girl, Willow's green eyes glowed slightly in the dim lighting offered by the hanging Christmas lights. "I thought I was helping people…"

"You were." Moving some of the girl's red-hair out of her face, Tara sighed. "You just got out of control."

"Things fall apart, don't they?"

"Willow, you just-" Seeing how the Witch's gaze had fallen away from her, the blonde Wiccan could see that she wanted to say something. "What is it?"

"Am I really that unlovable?" Bringing her knees up to her chest in order to try and preserve some of her warmth, Willow stared back at the girl. "What's wrong with me?"

"There's nothing wrong with you, it's what you do."

"People say they love me, and then they leave. Oz loved me, he said he had never loved anything more, and he left. You left, and you said you were mine. And now you're here, and I can't even look at you without wanting you."

"Willow, I…I want you too, but we can't…It wouldn't be right."

"Because of what I did to you." Burying her head into the sheets beneath her, Willow coughed slightly as her body refused to allow anymore tears to come from it. "It all comes back to me. I ruin everything."

"Willow, look at me." Seeing the lack of response from the other girl, Tara scootched herself closer to where the girl was lying underneath the warmed sheets and comforter. "Sweetie, just listen to me."

Her mind unable to stop herself from using the pet-name, the Wiccan watched as the other girl lifted her head from the bed, and looked at her.

"I…I need to know that if I come back to you, that you won't hurt me again. If I had stayed, there wouldn't be anything left of me. Can you understand that?" Waiting until she saw Willow nod her head in response, Tara took a breath before she continued. "What you did…that hurt. Do you even realize how much that hurt me? After what I went through with Glory, the thought that you did that to me…"

"It hurt." Nodding, Tara watched as those green eyes continued to stare at her.

"Willow-"

"Tara, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, how many times do I have to say it?!" As more tears feel from her eyes, Willow coughed slightly as her body begged her to stop. "I'm sorry that I'm such an idiot for trying to control you. I'm terrible for thinking that Magick could make things better. I'm evil for trying to make you forget…"

As her voice finally began to break, the red-head buried her head back into the pillow underneath her.

"I want things to go back to the way they were!"

"They can't, honey, not exactly. Please, just try to calm down, you're just upset."

"I want them back!" Raising her head again, the red-head looked at the other girl from behind tear-filled eyes. "Please, Tara, tell me you'll let me love you again…"

Hearing the way the Witch's voice effectively broke as the words left her mouth, Tara opened her mouth to speak, but found all the words she wanted to say remaining locked inside her throat.

"Please?" Saying the word with even more desperation behind it, Willow felt a tear roll down her cheek. Inside her chest, she could feel her heart beginning to break. "Tara…please…"

"I…I don't know. You're still not better yet." Even as she saw the girl's crumbling spirits in front of her, the Wiccan continued on. "We have to wait and see."

"You're saying 'no.'" Turning her head away from the girl, Willow buried it underneath the pillow beneath her. "You don't want me to love you."

"Sweetie, I…I do." Laying her hand on the girl's shoulder, Tara sighed. "Things are complicated."

"I…I need to sleep." Burying her head deeper into the pillow and mattress, the red-head continued to let tears slide down her cheek as she cried. Her chest actually beginning to physically hurt, the other girl pushed herself off of the bed and grabbed one of the books from her bag. Focusing on anything besides what was happening at that moment was better. Easing herself down onto the make-shift bed she had made beside the mattress, Tara tried her best not to siege on the urge to jump into the bed and hold onto the girl in order to make her stop crying.

Opening the text-book, she started to read, her hearing only able to pick up on that of Willow's silent tears, and the way her heart pounded in her ears.

TBC

[taranwillow4ever]

Dibs. This was heartbreaking. Looking forward to finding out what happens.

[Pavlov'sBell]

taranwillow4ever - Hi there It is heartbreaking, isn't it? I have no idea why I was inspired to write this entire scenario out My mind loves to torture me apparently.

[Pavlov'sBell]

• Title: Broken "Chapter 2"
• Author name: Pavlov'sBell, a.k.a. Colton
• Rating - PG-13
• Feedback- I'd love it. I don't bite.
• Email: colton625@live.com
• Summary- During "Wrecked", Willow seeks help with her Magick addiction from the person she hurt worst of all. Tara
• Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy or any of other Buffyverse characters. They belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy.
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Chapter 2

"So…how's Buffy been doing?" Continuing to watch the girl slurp away at the shake in front of her on the table, Tara sighed. "I know I haven't been around a lot recently."

"She's been fine. Occupied with the Slaying thing." Swallowing another mouthful of the drink, Dawn smiled. "It's alright. You're here now, aren't you?"

"That's true." Looking up at the blue sky overhead, Tara wondered if Willow was watching it from the dorm room, or if she still was laying on the bed in the dark. Ever since the morning that the girl had agreed to stay and let the Magicks work their way out of her system, the red-head seemingly had grown afraid of seeing the sun outside. It was as if the world outside the room hardly even existed anymore. Her skin was starting to become increasingly pale as a result of the cut connection from the sun, which only added to the illusion of a junkie going through withdrawal from their drug of choice. Still, she seemed to have been getting better, if that word was even appropriate to use.

And yet, the Wiccan felt slightly guilty about leaving her alone in the room for so long. She had gone to her classes, as was her usual routine, but then she had gone straight to see Dawn, instead of returning to the room. Part of her knew that constantly being there with the girl would only serve to make her dependent on someone else instead of herself. And yet, her heart screamed at her to return to the girl and make sure she was alright. Willow had found herself constantly growing sicker in the past days, although the worst of it had seemingly already past. Still, the fact remained that the Magicks working their way out of her system were making it impossible for her to keep any food inside her system.

The question that she had asked the night before troubled the Wiccan. Did Willow actually believe that she didn't love her anymore? Never before in her life had she ever loved anyone more, and to have someone doubt that, it hurt. It was like having a constant pain in her chest that refused to go away, and only continued to build in its intensity. It many regards, it was like a fire. It only burned on more and more as it gained more fuel to feed it.

Did she still love the girl? There was not a single doubt in her mind that she did. More than anything in her entire life, she was sure of that. There had been no-one else before her, and there would never be anyone else after her. How could there be? With Willow, there was Magic in the things she did. The way she held her, the way her touch sent a spark flowing through every inch of her body that tingled for hours on end, the way that a simple look from those penetrating green eyes could make her heart want to stop dead in her chest. All of it was Magic, without any implications of the power that the girl held within herself.

The Magicks had tried to ruin that. They had rooted themselves in her mind, until the girl believed that she needed them to be who she was. That was another thing that made the Wiccan's chest erupt into sharp pains. What once had been a way to show trust and love had spiraled into something that frightened and caused harm. Hadn't Willow known that? Did she even realize what was happening to her? What they were making her do?

Looking up from where her attention had been focused, Tara saw the cast that remained around Dawn's arm, showing yet another sign that Willow hadn't been in control. And in the end, seeing the pain that she had caused the younger girl had been enough to make Willow want help. That's what she was doing right now, trying to get better so that the Magicks wouldn't endanger herself or any of those around her.

"Tara, do you think you'll ever, you know…be in a relationship with Willow again?" As she heard the question fall from the girl's lips, Tara's heart actually stopped for a moment before resuming its usual rhythm. Once more, the thoughts of Willow lying in bed with the pain of withdrawal coursing through her made the words to the question begin to come in droves.

"I…I don't know. I still love her, honey. She's just doing things to herself, and to others, that I can't see her do." Her gaze dropping to the ground, Tara sighed. "She has to choose between me or the Magicks, and I can't stand to see her choose the Magicks."

"She wouldn't do that. She loves you." Seeing the sadness that had begun to line the other girl's eyes, Dawn rested her good hand on the blonde's knee. "Do you think that she's trying to stop, but doesn't want our help to do it?"

"Maybe." As she spoke, the Wiccan's mind screamed out the word 'liar'. First to Buffy, and now to Dawn, she had lied about not knowing where Willow truly was, when all the while the Witch was detoxing inside her room. With images of the girl sleeping with so much pain in her body floated through her mind's eye once more, the Wiccan forced herself to look back at the younger girl and smile. "I just hope she's alright."

"Are you ok? You've been kinda distant-y all day." Noticing the way Tara was looking at her, Dawn looked down at her shirt in an attempt to see if she had maybe spilled something on the article, and hadn't noticed it. "Is there something on me?"

"No, you're fine." Smiling nervously back at the girl, Tara fiddled with a stray piece of fabric on her shirt. "I've just got things on my mind. Nothing you need to worry about."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure, sweetie." Looking down at the small watch wrapped around her wrist, the Wiccan pushed herself away from the table. "We better get you home. Buffy's probably already back from work."
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"Willow?" Gently shutting the door behind her, Tara felt her heart drop as she saw the bathroom light turned on. As she set her bag down against the nearby desk, she made her way towards the lighted room, already knowing somewhat what she would find inside. Passing the bed on her way there, the Wiccan pulled off one of the blankets that lay in a semi-folded state at the very edge of the mattress, and threw it over her shoulder. Entering the room, Tara found Willow once again laying in front of the toilet head, her body shaking as she lay curled in on herself with her knees pulled to her chest. Noticing that the girl was in the closest thing to sleep that she would probably be able to get to in her present state, Tara managed to prop her up enough so that her head was laying on her lap. Only stirring slightly for a moment, Willow seemingly was able to sense the girl holding her, and she curled herself around the Wiccan's body. Gently parting the girl's hair away from her forehead, Tara watched as the other girl continued to sleep in her affected state. Seeing that Willow's trembling had begun to tamper off, the girl looked at the book that the girl had been lying next to.

Thumbing open the cover until she reached the first page, the Wiccan almost slapped herself as she realized what she was looking at. She had seen Willow's diary countless times, but she still hadn't recognized the cover. Part of her wanted to put the book down, to preserve what little privacy the Witch had left, but another part wanted her to see what the girl was thinking during the hours that she was away. Knowing more about how she was feeling, besides what she already knew, might give her all the more urge to help the red-headed Witch get better.

As she started to read, the distinctiveness of Willow's handwriting was the first thing that greeted her eyes.

March 21st

Everything hurts. My stomach, my head, my heart, all of it. If I knew that even so much as using Dark Magicks once would do this, I would have stopped earlier. It's like I'm going through some episode of a crime show that Mom used to watch when I would come home from school. The ones where the drug addicts go through withdrawal and all that while helping out the cops. Except, I'm just a Witch that's going through withdrawal under the threat of having someone tell Buffy where I am.

I don't think Tara will do that though…I don't know why, but I think she still loves me. I don't deserve it, but I think she does. Why else would she try to help me through all this? She could have just thrown me out into the street and I could have made with the whole homeless-y thing.

My stomach hurts again. Gotta lay down.

March 22nd

Tara fed me some soup before I went back to sleep. I think I might be able to keep it down this time. My stomach hasn't been so good on the whole 'keeping things down so Willow doesn't throw up' thing recently. She went to sleep, so I'm having to write this by some kind of flashlight. The batteries are kinda dying, so I'm trying to hurry this along in a timely sort of way.

It hurts to look at her and now how much I hurt her. Why couldn't I see that when I did that stupid spell? I should have been able to see how much that was going to hurt her, after what Glory did to her. I was an idiot. I deserved to be left. That's how it's always been, hasn't it? Oz left, Mom and Dad left, Tara left, there's something that makes me unlovable.

Maybe I should go back to sleep. Thinking about all of this makes my stomach

The words completely stopped at the mention of her stomach. Already knowing that that signaled the moment that led to her finding Willow on the floor of the bathroom the night before, Tara frowned at what she had just read. She knew that the girl had felt ashamed of what she had done to her, but to that degree? It hurt to think that she thought that she wasn't worth love anymore. Didn't she see that she was loved beyond any possible degree of measure? Had the Magicks inside her really robbed her of knowing that?

"Tara?" Shutting the book quietly and quickly, Tara returned it to its place as the girl beside her started to stir. Returning to her normal position just as she saw the red-head's eyes open, the Wiccan offered the girl a small smile.

"Are you alright, sweetie?"

"A little. Better now that you're here." Knowing that she threading on something that might be making the other girl uncomfortable, Willow frowned. "Sorry, shouldn't have said that."

"It's alright." Seeing that the girl was slightly confused as to how she had become enveloped in a blanket, the blonde Wiccan tugged on it in a corner so that it would completely cover the girl's body. Wrapping herself deeper into the cover that Tara had drapped over her body, Willow breathed in and out as the Wiccan reached out and tightly held onto her.

"I saw Dawnie today." As she said the sentence, the blonde girl felt the red-head stiffen for a moment as she heard the younger Summers child's name.

"How is she?" Finally speaking up, the Witch brought her knees tighter up against her chest as another wave of pain burned through her veins.

"She's better. Her arm is healing, and she should be out of her cast in a few weeks."

"That's good…I'm starting to regret eating that soup." Pausing for a moment in mid-sentence, Willow groaned slightly as her stomach began to do summersaults inside her.

"Did you make some while I was gone?" Seeing the girl nod, the Wiccan sighed. "And you still couldn't keep it down?"

"No." Shaking her head, the red-head whimpered as a wave of pain burned through her sick stomach. "Oh, god, it hurts so much…"

"Ssshhh, it's ok." Pressing the girl tighter against her side, Tara felt the wound in her heart being ripped open once again. No matter how many times she told herself that Willow was getting better, the sight of seeing her girl being reduced to what she could liken to a broken and sick little girl made every inch of her chest hurt. "Just try to sleep. If you get sick, you get sick."

"I can't, he's there in my dreams." Shaking her head, the red-head continued to breathe shallow breaths as the other girl ran her fingers over her fiery red-hair.

"Who, honey?" Looking down at the trembling girl, the Wiccan could almost tell that Willow was hiding something from her. For almost five weeks, she had been absent from the girl's life, and that left a window of time of which she knew nothing about.

"The warlock Amy took me to." Keeping her eyes hut tightly as the memories and images from the two times she had visited the Magick dealer came back, Willow shook her head. "Rack."

"The one who gave you the Dark Magicks?" Seeing the red-head nod, Tara continued to run her fingers along the girl's red-hair in an attempt to calm the girl down.

"He won't leave me alone. He wants me to come back. Everytime I dream, if I even do, he's there."

"He can't get you here, I promise." Leaning down in order to give the girl a kiss on her head, the blonde Wiccan saw the girl look up at her with green eyes lined with a mixture of shock and hope. Staring back at her, Tara offered the girl another smile.

"When you get better, I…I want to try to…you know…" Unsure of how to word what she had been thinking ever since she had walked Dawn home, the girl saw Willow staring back at her.

"Tara, do you…you mean…?"

"Yes, Willow, I'll let you love me again." Smiling as she saw the girl's usually sad green eyes lit up with an un-restrain able amount of joy, Tara leaned down and kissed the girl's forehead before pulling the blanket down around herself in order to protect herself from the cold that the marble floor of the bathroom offered. Snuggling her head deeper into the girl's chest, Willow sighed, although the gesture was one of happiness, not sadness. Closing her eyes over her green eyes, the former Witch felt her body finally give into her body's need for sleep. Watching the girl she was holding close to her, Tara smiled, and rested her chin atop the girl's head as she waited for the red-head to fall back to sleep.
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"I feel like I'm dying." Sobbing from where she continued to lay curled up on the bathroom floor, Willow pressed her hands deeper into her stomach in an attempt to alleviate the pain. Kneeling beside her, Tara sighed as she ran her hands through the girl's hair, holding it back as the girl continued to cough violently.

"Ssshhh, it's alright. Just breathe." Whispering the words to the red-head in an attempt to calm her down, Tara sighed as she saw and felt the girl continuing to shake underneath her finger's touch. She had lost track of the hours that the two of them had been here, and part of her was glad that she had no scheduled classes that day. She couldn't bear the thought of leaving the girl alone in the room while she was going through what, up to that point, was the worst withdrawal symptom she had gone through yet.

"Oh, my god, it hurts…I can't breathe..." Shaking her head slightly as tears continued to stream down her face, Willow felt her stomach refusing to stop the summersaults it was doing inside her. There was nothing left inside her stomach to even cough back up, considering that she hadn't eaten anything within the last day. Somewhere, the red-head knew that Rack was probably laughing at her, but knowing that the warlock had no indication of knowing where Tara lived, she felt safe within the room.

"Lift your head a little, honey." Doing as the Wiccan asked, Willow took a sharp breath as she felt something cold being laid across her forehead. Pressing her palm gently against the wet cloth, Tara heard the girl breath out slowly as she continued to lay on the floor. "Does that feel better?"

"Better…" Waiting a few minutes after she had laid the wet cloth across the girl's head, the Wiccan heard the red-head starting to cough again. Her chest feeling as if it had been set on fire, Willow rolled over onto her side, the only thing keeping her from rolling over completely onto her stomach being Tara's hands on her side. As the coughing finally died down, the Witch felt the soft touch of a towel curl up underneath her head. Resting her hand above the girl's eyes, the Wiccan sighed as she felt how warm her girl was.

Taking the washcloth off of the girl's forehead, Tara stood up onto her knees for a moment and ran the material underneath the facet before refolding it and laying it back against the girl's burning forehead. Sucking in another deep breath, the Witch sniffled as Tara returned to sitting beside her. Her fingers gently moving through the locks of hair laying in front of her, the Wiccan heard a new wave of sobs break the silence in the air. Shooting up from where she was sitting, Willow held her face above the toilet head as she felt her insides ordering her stomach to bring anything up. Quickly moving behind her, Tara held the girl's hair behind her neck as the red-head started to heave repeatedly.

As the sounds of retching filled the room, Tara closed her eyes while retaining her grip on Willow's hair in order to hold it away from her face. As minutes of heaving from her empty stomach finally passed, the red-head started to breathe in large gulps of air. Easing herself back down onto the makeshift bed of towels and pillows that Tara had arranged for her, the Witch pressed her sleeve against her eyes in order to dry some of the tears that were falling from her eyes. Retrieving the washcloth from its position on the floor, Tara returned it to the girl's forehead as she laid back down behind her.

"I can't throw up anything else. There's nothing else in me, except water." Bringing her knees up to her chest, Willow allowed Tara to pull her into her grip as her stomach trembled from the sensations it had been forced to experience. "That makes sense, right?"

"Ssshhh, don't talk." Nuzzling her chin into the girl's red-hair, Tara sighed. "Just close your eyes and rest. Try not to think about being sick."

"Kinda hard not to…" Shaking her head as the Wiccan snuggled it into her arm, Willow closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around her folded knees. "Oh, god…"

"Ssshhh…" Continuing to shush the girl, Tara wished she could do something for the girl, despite the fact that using Magick in order to alleviate the Dark Magicks would simply make the red-head feel even worse than she did already. Focusing solely on her breathing, Willow managed to fall into a light sleep, although her body refused to allow her to even have the faintest of dreams or nightmares. Still holding onto her girl, Tara sighed and closed her eyes in an attempt to rest her own exhausted body.

Within an hour's time, they found themselves in the same position all over again, and it continued on throughout the night, and even as the sun rose on the horizon, Willow found herself heaving over the bowl once more. Praying to every God and Goddess she could remember the names of, the red-head wished that she could simply sleep, even for an hour's time, in order to ensure her exhausted body that she would be able to continue through with the newly arrived day.

Without even thinking it, the girl knew that the days ahead were only going to be longer.
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"Willow?" Saying the girl's name in a somewhat normal tone, Tara saw the girl somewhat peacefully laying on the bed while she looked up at the ceiling, and all the things laying underneath its shelter. "Honey?"

"I'm here…" Lifting her gaze from the tiling above her, Willow rolled over somewhat groggily onto her side as the girl came to the side of the bed.

"I brought you some ginger ale. I thought it might help your stomach." Handing the girl the bottle, Tara sat down beside her on the bed. Somewhat un-eagerly taking the offered drink, the red-head twisted the cap off and took a small sip of the liquid.

"You seem better today." Noticing how some of the girl's color had returned, the Wiccan offered her a small smile. "Did you actually open a window today?"

"No…not really…"

"You did something…" Looking into the other girl's eyes in an attempt to see what it was that she was being so vague about, the blonde Wiccan's smile never once faded from her face. "So what was it?"

"I…I sorta…used Magick today…"

"You what?" Staring in disbelief at the other girl, Tara felt anger beginning to boil to the surface of her emotions in order to combat the shock. After almost two weeks, had Willow finally broken down and used the power lying dormant within her?

"No, no, no, not that Magick!" Shaking her head furiously as she saw how her words had been misunderstood, Willow stopped as she felt her body ordering her to stop as her stomach threatened to summersault. "I got up and walked around today."

"Oh…" The anger she had felt starting to boil back down, Tara breathed out a heavy sigh "You should be careful on how you phrase things, sweetie."

"Sorry. Just kinda slipped out." Taking another sip of the ginger ale in her hand in order to avoid making another slip-up, the red-headed Witch felt the other girl reach out and push some of her hair back behind her ear.

"It's alright. Please don't scare me like that. I…I thought that for a minute you were going to go back to using Magicks again."

"I wouldn't do that." Sitting the drink down in her lap, Willow shook her head again. "I…I want to get better for you."

"And you are. It's almost been two weeks. You can do this." Offering the girl her familiar lop-sided grin, Tara stared into the pair of green eyes staring back at her. "I believe in you."

"Thanks, but I think your trust might be a little misplaced." Rolling her eyes while she grinned, the red-headed Witch took another sip of the drink she was holding. Upon hearing the girl's reaction, the other girl reached out and laid her hand atop Willow's knee. Looking down at the hand touching her, Willow couldn't help but feel a small spark flood out through her body. "Cause, I mean, I might fall off the wagon or something, and we'd have to start all over something, and we wouldn't want that would we?"

"Willow-babble." Her grin finally breaking out into a full smile, Tara saw her grin spread to the other girl's lips.

"I guess I shouldn't have even brought that subject up, huh?" Casting her gaze at the clock sitting atop the table next to the bed, the red-head saw the numbers '5:30' staring at her with an unflinching harshness. "Maybe you should take a shower, I mean, you've had a long day and all."

"Does that mean you're thinking of me naked?"

"Maybe…" Grinning slyly, Willow felt a small amount of warmth spread to her cheeks. "Not that I should be or anything…"

"Why's that? Afraid that I might want to show you that thought?" Playfully teasing the other girl, Tara nevertheless returned to her feet and headed for the adjoining bathroom. Her green eyes never once leaving the girl as she walked, the red-headed Witch felt her heart beat skipping with an unbelievable amount of joy. The things that Tara had said to her the night before had ran through her mind all day, making her unable to escape them, although she had no desire to do so. Despite the desperate conditions that had forced their reunion, she now knew that there was a definite chance that things had been somewhat forgiven. Still, the need to make up all the pain that she had caused both herself and Tara, as well as everyone else, rang out through her heart and soul.

With the way that the Wiccan had looked, smiled, and touched her, Willow leaned back into the warm mattress beneath her, and closed her eyes while a smile remained glued to her face.
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Awaking up from the dreamless slumber that had become a seemingly permanent fixture in her sleep, Willow sighed and stared out across the dark filled room. Readjusting how she was laying, she felt something touching her hand, although the shape that the touch belonged to remained hidden in the darkness. Furrowing her brow in confusion, the red-head squinted as she became aware of the sound of breathing next to her. Her green eyes rapidly becoming adjusted to the near total pitch black shadows that had engulfed the room, the girl found Tara sleeping peacefully next to her. Looking down at where she felt more warmth than there should be in that place, the Witch found the girl's palm resting peacefully atop her hand, those gentle fingers simply touching her.

As a smile came to her face, the red-head raised her gaze so that she was staring directly at Tara's sleeping, peaceful face. There had been so many times that she had woken up to see that expression, but for the past weeks, it had felt as if each one of those memories had taken place in another age. To see how happy the Wiccan looked, it made the smile on the red-head's face become an almost permanent one. Having to force her body to remain still so that it wouldn't awaken the other girl, Willow felt every one of her senses being set on fire from the spark that flowed out of the blonde Wiccan's touch and into her body. The sensation was not one that was unfamiliar, but it was one that had seemed so distant and unobtainable that the Witch simply laid and let the sensations of that spark overwhelm her body.

Stirring somewhat, Tara did not awaken, although she moved her hand slightly from where it lay atop the red-head's fingers. Her smile growing even wider than she would have thought possible, Willow barely managed to suppress the urge to 'squeak' with happiness. Continuing to stare at the other girl for what seemed like a blissful eternity, the red-head finally felt the need for sleep beginning to overtake her body and mind. Allowing herself one last look at the sleeping Wiccan, Willow snuggled her head back into the pillow beneath her red hair. Closing her green eyes, the smile that she had fallen asleep with returned as she waited for the world to fade away into the black.

[Pavlov'sBell]

• Title: Broken "Chapter 3"
• Author name: Pavlov'sBell, a.k.a. Colton
• Rating - PG-13
• Feedback- I'd love it. I don't bite.
• Email: colton625@live.com
• Summary- During "Wrecked", Willow seeks help with her Magick addiction from the person she hurt worst of all. Tara
• Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy or any of other Buffyverse characters. They belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy.
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Chapter 3

"I don't want to do this…I wanna go back to bed." Pouting, Willow stood just in front of the doorway that led to the outside world, the same one that she had forgotten for almost five weeks now. Waiting for her out in the hallway, Tara crossed her arms over her chest.

"I'll drag you out if you don't come." Her face showing no room for arguing, the Wiccan waited patiently for what seemed like an hour before her girl replied to her challenge.

"Tara, please, I don't want to…"

"You have to. End of discussion." Frowning, Tara softened her tone slightly. "Honey, please. You can't stay in there forever."

"Why not?" Her lips continuing to hold their pout, the red-head took a step back. "I'm not ready yet."

"If you don't come out, I'm going to drag you out and carry you."

"That wouldn't be so bad…I want snuggles though." Continuing to back up, the Witch shook her head. "Tara, not today, please."

"It's Buffy's birthday. If we show up and show her that you're not on the Magicks anymore, she'll forgive you."

"No, she won't. I hurt Dawnie. She'll want to hurt me." Sitting down onto the bed, Willow watched as the Wiccan began to walk towards her. "No, no, I'm not going!"

"Sweetie, you're acting like a child." Taking hold of the girl's arm, Tara tried to pull her back onto her feet but found the other girl remaining firmly glued to her spot.

"Tara, please, I don't want to…" Shaking her head, Willow tried to pull the blonde Wiccan onto the bed with her. "Please, just let me sleep."

"No, Willow, you're going to the party. Now come on, get up!"

"Tara, why are you making me do this?" Still shaking her head, the red-head finally gave in and let the girl pull her up onto her feet. Wrapping her arms around the girl's back, Willow buried her head into the open shoulder in front of her. "They don't want to see me."

"Yes, they do." Forcing the girl's head away from her shoulder so that she could look into the girl's eyes, Tara strengthened the resolve in her eyes. "You need to go see them, sweetie."

"But they're going to be mad…"

"Maybe they will, but you need to face that. You can't hide here forever."

"You won't leave me?" Looking into the other girl's eyes, Willow couldn't help but let the amount of fear and anxiety she was feeling sink into her pupils. "Please? I don't think I can do this without you there."

"I'll be right there." Offering the girl a smile, Tara rubbed the lower portion of the red-head's back. "Ok, honey?"

"What if she tries to hurt me? I…I can't go back to using Magick again." Shaking her head, Willow closed her eyes for a moment as she felt Tara gently starting to rub her thumb against her cheek. "I don't know what I'll do if she tries to hurt me."

"She won't hurt you, sweetie."

"But I-" Starting to speak, the red-head felt the thumb that had been gently massaging her cheek turn and press against her lips, silencing her.

"I promise you she won't hurt you." Smiling, the Wiccan leaned in and kissed the girl's lips after removing her thumb from its place on the same spot. "Ok?"

"Ok." Nodding nervously, the Witch rested her head against the girl's shoulder once more. "Why can't we stay here, and just snuggle?"

"If we go, I'll snuggle with you when we get back."

"Promise?"

"Promise. You have to come out of the room though." Gesturing with her head towards the still open door, Tara saw the red-head's eyes follow where her head had 'pointed' to. Taking a deep breath, Willow gave the other girl a nod as she took a slow step towards the door. Repeating the process again and again until she once again stood in the doorway, the Witch closed her eyes and forced her body to take the first step over the doorway and back out into the rest of the world.
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As she waited for Tara to open the door in front of them, Willow took a deep breath and gave the hand she was holding a tight squeeze. Feeling the tight hold her girl had on her hand, the Wiccan turned her head and offered the girl one last smile in order to assure her that everything would be alright.

"They've missed you, honey." The smile still adorning her face, the Wiccan could almost feel how afraid and anxious the red-head was. "Just breathe."

"Breathing, breathing is good…" Nodding, Willow closed her eyes for a moment. "I guess its too late to go back to the room?"

"Too late." Nodding, Tara shifted her footing slightly and leaned over in order to give a quick kiss onto the Witch's lips. "It'll be alright."

"I hope you're right." Giving the other girl a small nod, Willow heard a knock on the hard wood surface of the door, and the sounds of the affairs within the Summers house began to bleed out as it opened.

"Tara!" Smiling widely, Dawn's eyes retained their happy quality until her eyes fell on where Willow was standing behind the Wiccan. Shock quickly replacing the happy quality, the younger Summers girl's mouth opened and formed an 'o'. "Willow?!"

"Hey Dawnie…" Nervously giving a wave, the red-head waited for the girl to start screaming and shouting for Buffy to come to the door. With the minutes passing by for what seemed like hours, Willow finally heard the younger girl speak.

"Are…you…Tara, where did you find her?" Trying her best to strengthen her tone so that it showed no sign of shock, Dawn stepped out onto the porch and quietly closed the door behind her.

"She came to me the night you and Buffy left her, Dawn." Still holding the girl's hand, Tara reconsidered her words as soon as she had said them, knowing that they sounded a little harsh. "She needed help, and she teleported herself to my dorm room."

"I…I did…" Nodding as she saw Dawn look to her for confirmation, Willow looked down at the wood of the porch beneath her feet. "Dawn, I'm…I'm sorry. I wasn't in control of the Magicks like I thought I would, and I almost got you killed. It was stupid of me to do, I'm stupid, and I shouldn't be here, I'm should go back to where I was, and leave you alone…"

"Sweetie, you're babbling." Giving the red-head's hand a small squeeze, Tara saw from the expression on Dawn's face that she was still having trouble believing what had happened. "Dawnie, Willow's been at my dorm for the past couple weeks. She hasn't used Magick at all."

"You mean, you stopped?"

"She stopped." Answering for Willow, the Wiccan nodded. "She's been spell-free for almost five weeks now."

"Yeah, that's me…maybe I should get a little key-chain that says clean for five weeks."

"Dawn, who's…here…" Opening the door and looking out, Buffy's eyes flooded with shock for a moment before she restrained her emotions over seeing who was standing on her porch. "Willow?"

"H-Hey, Buffy…" Beginning to stumble over her words for a moment, Willow gave another nervous wave. "I'm back…"

"Where did you find her?" Turning towards Tara, Buffy's tone held a small amount of anger to it. Somewhat un-phased by the display, Tara stood her ground while holding onto her girl's hand.

"She's been at my dorm room for the past few weeks. She hasn't used any Magick since the night Dawn got hurt."

"You knew where she was the whole time?" As shock came to stand side-by-side with the shock she was feeling, the Slayer looked at the red-head standing beside the Wiccan. "So, you ran away from us and went straight to her?"

"Buffy, please, I'm sorry-" Starting to apologize, Willow saw Buffy hold up a hand that silenced her.

"Willow, you could have killed Dawn. You weren't in control, and you wouldn't stop."

"I know, but I'm better now…Tara helped me…"

"Buffy, she's not lying. She hasn't used any Magick. She's stopped."

"And how long will it be before she starts using them again?" The anger in her voice starting to subside, Buffy closed her eyes and sighed. "Willow, do you understand what you did?"

"I almost killed Dawnie, Buffy, I know. I'm sorry, I can't say that enough." Starting to turn away, Willow sighed. "I'll go."

"No, Willow, don't." Opening her eyes, the Slayer looked at one of her oldest friends, and tried her best not to let the anger she felt control her again. "You…You're really not using an Magick anymore?"

"Not one spell." Nodding, the red-head grinned slightly. "The after-effects of stopping really suddenly kinda turned me off to it."

"There were after-effects?" Furrowing her brow, Dawn looked at both Willow and Tara. "You're saying Magick is like drugs?"

"Kind of…only the Dark Magicks do that to you, Dawnie." Her wording seeming very unstable, the red-head looked at the girl beside her for reassurance that she had described it properly. "I shouldn't have even messed with them."

"You haven't done them in five weeks, sweetie." Giving the red-head's hand a quick squeeze, Tara smiled. "That's a start."

"Can…Can I come in, Buffy?" For what seemingly passed by like hours instead of the seconds they were, Willow waited for the other girl's response. Finally giving a nod, Buffy said a single word.

"Yes." Offering the girl a small smile, the Slayer stepped away from the door. "Come in."

A smile returning to her face, Willow allowed Tara to lead her into the house, with Buffy and Dawn following close behind. Watching as the Witch stepped into the room to the mixture of shock and happiness from those who had also come to the party, Buffy actually felt a smile come to her face as she shut the door behind her, sealing the rest of the world off from the affairs inside the house.
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As she curled herself around the body lying beside her, Willow smiled. The somewhat bitter-sweet reunion with the rest of the Scoobies had gone surprising well, at least in her mind, considering that for all intents and purposes, she had imagined the others turning on both herself and Tara, and out casting them. Instead, she had been greeted as a long-lost friend, at least by Dawn, Buffy, and Xander. Anya, while somewhat shocked at her reappearance, had welcome her, before returning to her other focuses.

"I was promised snuggles, and I received." Her infectious grin spreading to Tara's lips, the red-head felt a pair of fingers trailing a pattern along her back. "I'm a happy camper right now."

"Glad to hear it." Still smiling, Tara leaned down and pressed her lips against the Witch's waiting pair. Returning to kiss, Willow finally pulled away after minutes of blissful peace. "See, they didn't hate you."

"Probably because you were there with me. I don't think they would have believed me if I had been by myself."

"Of course they would have. They missed you, sweetie."

"Whatever makes you happy." Rolling her eyes playfully, the red-head stared at the other girl's blue eyes that seemed to glow in the dim lighting of the room.

"I love you." Resting her head down onto the other girl's shoulder, Willow closed her eyes and sighed in happiness. For the first time in weeks, she felt closer to her old self than she had for months. The Magicks no longer caused her to forfeit her food, and the power that fueled them lay dormant inside her. The five weeks that it had taken for them to work their way out of her system had been the closest to Hell that she had been, but now that they had passed, things seemed to be riding on a smoother trail.

"I love you too, honey." Easing herself deeper into the mattress, Tara closed her eyes and allowed the sleepless feeling she had felt for so long drift away. Her own mind already asleep, Willow drifted to sleep, and finally dreamed not a nightmare, but a dream filled with love and happiness.

END

[Pavlov'sBell]

• Title: Changes
• Author name: Pavlov'sBell, a.k.a. Colton
• Rating - PG
• Feedback- I'd love it. I don't bite.
• Email: colton625@live.com
• Summary- Sometimes, you have to do things you don't want to...
• Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy or any of other Buffyverse characters. They belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy.
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Changes

"Tara, I don't wanna do this, I'm afraid…" Shaking her head, Willow buried her head in Tara's shoulder as another bolt of lightning lit up the partially darkened room. "It' the scariest thing I've ever done."

"It's alright, I understand." Running her fingers through her girl's red tresses, the Wiccan sighed. "But it has to be done. Ignoring it won't solve it."

"Why can't we just ignore it?" Pulling her head away from the other girl's shoulder, the red-head's face showed the faintest signs of hope, although she was only moments away from crying. "Like, do it in the morning? Maybe if we ignore it, it'll go away…"

"Willow!" Her expression growing stern, Tara stared back at her girl. "We can't just ignore it! It's a human being!"

"I know, Tare…I'm sorry. I'm a terrible person."

"No, you're not." Shaking her head, the blonde Wiccan curled a single finger underneath the other Wiccan's chin. "You're just afraid."

"So afraid right now." Nodding slowly, the red-headed Wiccan took a deep breath. "Can you do it? Pretty please, with chocolate pancakes on top?"

"I did it last time." Shaking her head, Tara placed both of her hands on her girl's shoulder. "You have to change her."

Sighing, Willow looked at the squirming infant staring questioningly up at her from the changing table. As the smell once again assaulted her nostrils, she closed her eyes and wrinkled her nose.

"Goddess, I hate dirty diapers…"

[Pavlov'sBell]

• Title: Everything Small And Tiny
• Author name: Pavlov'sBell, a.k.a. Colton
• Rating - PG
• Feedback- I'd love it. I don't bite.
• Email: colton625@live.com
• Summary- Sometimes, you have to do things you don't want to...
• Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy or any of other Buffyverse characters. They belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy.
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Everything Small And Tiny

"Come on, open up!" Smiling as she held the spoon up to the infant's closed mouth, Willow continued to make exaggerated faces at the girl, hoping that it would encourage her to laugh. "You know you want the peachy goodness!"

"You get so involved with feeding her." Laughing in response to the scene unfolding in front of her, Tara leaned over and gave her girl a small kiss. "She's going to ask about this later in life."

""And we'll just tell her she had two of the best parents in the world." Casting her green eyes at the other Wiccan, Willow smiled brightly. All around her was evidence that she had no reason to be sad on a day like this. The sun was shining, the warmth gave neither her, Tara, or Samantha reason to dress warmly. There truly was not a single reason to frown. "Or at least one, in my case. You're the best thing she's got."

"We're the best thing she's got." Correcting her wife, Tara smiled as she heard the child she was holding laugh slightly. "And it sounds like someone agrees."

"Well, I'm glad to know that our little Magickal bundle agrees." Leaning in closer to the infant, Willow gently planted her lips against the girl's tiny head. "Although I kinda wish that she would just eat already. She was getting fussy earlier, so she has to be hungry."

"Maybe she's just tired?" Readjusting how Samantha was sitting in her lap, Tara chuckled slightly as she looked down into the pair of green eyes staring up at her. "You've had a big day, haven't you?"

"Considering that tomorrow is her birthday, I guess you could say that." Still smiling brightly at her wife and child, Willow could feel nothing but happiness in her heart. "I still can't believe that she's already a year old."

"She's growing fast, isn't she, sweetie?" Feeling tiny digits wrap around her finger, the blonde Wiccan continued to smile while speaking to her daughter in a high-pitched voice. "Aren't you? Aren't you?"

"She's a Momma's girl." Setting the spoon back down into the waiting jar, Willow sighed although the smile continued to rest on her lips. "She doesn't like me like she likes you."

"Yes she does, honey. Here, see? She loves you." Gently lifting the infant up, Tara gently handed Samantha to the other girl. "Look at how she's smiling at you."

Sure enough, as she lifted her head from where her gaze had been focused, the red-headed Wiccan found a small smile from behind green eyes greeting her. The smile on her own face spreading ear-to-ear, Willow gently took Samantha into her lap, and gazed deeply into the beautiful face before her.

"See?"

"Yep, I get Samantha cuddles." Seeing the smile still on the infant's face, Willow heard the girl giggle slightly, the sound of it like music to her ears. "She still likes you more though."

"It looks like somebody's all tired out." Looking down at the child in her lap as she heard Tara's statement, Willow smiled as she saw Samantha beginning to peacefully fall asleep in her lap.

"Awww, she's using me as a pillow." Lowering her voice's volume in order to accommodate the sleeping baby in her lap, the red-headed Wiccan leaned back against the tree behind her.

"She's taking after her mother then." Chuckling softly, Tara pulled the blanket off of her lap and laid it over the baby. "Considering that you seemingly always love to use my stomach as a pillow rather than the real ones we have."

"But you're so soft..." Pushing her lips out into a pout, the red-headed Wiccan smiled as she tucked the blanket in around her daughter. "And I'm a breast-kinda girl, and they're nearby when I sleep on you."

"You're so lucky she won't be able to remember you saying that." Moving herself to her wife's side, Tara wrapped her arm around the other girl's shoulder. "Otherwise I'm sure she'd never want to sleep on either of us again."

"Don't lie, you know it's fun. The whole soft pillow thing." Smiling slyly as she winked at the other girl, Willow leaned over and pressed her lips against her girl's own pair. As she felt Tara pulling back from the kiss after a moment, she frowned and furrowed her brow. "What?"

"Maybe we should take Samantha home...you might get snuggles..." Flashing her trademark lopsided grin, Tara toyed with the collar of the shirt her wife was wearing. "Or maybe something more..."

"You're such a vixen, you know that, right?" Chuckling softly in order to prevent herself from waking up Samantha, Willow picked up the sleeping girl and pressed her against her shoulder. "Still, guess it's better for Samantha to have her nap at the house...plus I get Tara snuggles."

"Everybody wins." Smiling, Tara started back onto her feet with Willow quietly following suit with a sleeping Samantha in her arms. As her wife carried their daughter back to the parked car, Tara silently packed up the things from the picnic, and soon enough found herself back at the car, watching as the red-head made sure that their daughter was safe and secure in the car-seat while she slept.

"See, she loves you." Coming up behind the red-head, Tara wrapped her arm around her wife's waist. "She's a mother's girl."

"She's the best thing that's ever happened to us." Leaning back against the girl holding her waist, Willow smiled. "And it's all thanks to you."

"You're the one who thought about asking Xander..." Nestling her chin into her wife's neck, Tara continued to smile.

"You're the one who carried her inside you for nine months."

"You're the one who put up with me and my mood-swings for those nine months."

"You're the one who suffered through giving birth to her." As she heard no response from her wife, Willow smiled. "Guess I win with that one, don't I?"

"Maybe...Maybe I should withhold snuggles when we get home." Perking up her eyebrow, Tara smiled as she heard a small whimper escape from her girl's mouth. "Seems like an adequate punishment."

"Aww." Morphing her lips into a pout, the red-headed sighed. "I don't wanna be punished. I haven't been bad Willow."

"You're saying that good girls don't get punished every now and then?" Smiling as she continued to flirt with her wife, Tara pressed her lips against Willow's neck, earning a gasp from the other girl.

"Come on, Tare, not in front of Samantha." Moving her neck away from the other girl's touch, the red-headed Wiccan smiled. "No punishments till we get home."

"So you're saying you have been naughty?" Chuckling, Tara smirked. "So...that punishment is called for."

"You're being such a vixen right now." Turning around, Willow saw her girl's smirk and felt a small grin coming to her own lips. "If Samantha weren't here right now, I'd say you'd wanna explore that backseat a little bit."

"Is that a genuine offer?" Her smirk only growing bigger, Tara linked her hands behind her wife's back, and laughed. "Because I might wanna take you up on that sometime."

"Like I said, you're being vixen-y." Leaning in closer, Willow could feel Tara's breath on her own face. "And I think I sorta like that."

"Do you?" Her trademark grin disappearing as she stared into the pair of green eyes lying only inches away from her face, the blonde Wiccan felt her breath freeze inside her neck.

"Definitely. I love anything you do...especially when I'm involved." Leaning in even closer than she had before, Willow closed her eyes. "Mrs. Maclay."

"Then I guess you'll get what you want...Mrs. Rosenberg." Finally dispersing with the inches that lay between herself and her wife's lips, Tara pressed herself against the pair of lips waiting for her touch. As she felt Tara's lips on her own, Willow brought her hands to rest on the girl's hips, her attention otherwise fully focused on returning the kiss that had been bestowed upon her. The kiss being the sole thing that either of them were focused on, minutes upon minutes passed away in the foggy mists of time, the only thing able to awaken them being a small fit of laughter from the baby behind them. Pulling away from the lips she had been worshipping, Willow chuckled.

"Somebody doesn't seem to like being left out of the lovin'." She said jokingly as continued to stand still and look into the pair of blue eyes she adored so much. "Guess we should get to taking her home. Like you said, she's probably tired."

"You're just trying to get out of that punishment." Her lopsided smirk returning, Tara nevertheless nodded in response to the other girl's statement. "You're right though. Then again...we can always snuggle at home."

As she looked at her wife, Willow smiled.

"Is that a promise?"
----------------------------------------------------
As she gently laid Samantha down into the crib, Willow smiled as she once again felt Tara's hands wrap around her waist and hold her close.

"See, she's all tired out." Her green eyes still watching their daughter as she slept peacefully, Willow sighed. "I guess she didn't want the peachy goodness."

"There's always tomorrow, sweetie." Giving her wife a small kiss on the cheek, Tara swayed both of them slightly to a silent tune. "She'll wake up and want more attention."

"Is that so?" Smiling as she allowed herself to be swayed left and right gently, the red-headed Wiccan closed her green eyes. "I'm kinda sleepy myself."

"Uh-huh, no trying to get out of your punishment." Making a subdued tisking sound in the other girl's ear, Tara began to move herself and Willow to the door, their footsteps quiet and suppressed in order to prevent Samantha from waking up. As they reached the door, Willow reached out and took the handle into her hand, turning it as silently as she could manage. With the obstruction out of their way, the two Wiccans closed it behind them once they were out in the hallway and faced with their bedroom in front of them. Releasing her grip on her wife's waist, Tara ventured into the room and turned, flashing a pair of 'bedroom eyes' at the red-head standing a few feet from her.

"Come on, I'm waiting…" Making a come hither gesture with both her expression and a curl of her finger, the blonde girl waited for her wife's response.

"I don't know, Tara, I think I might just go to sleep…" Still playing 'hard-to-get' with the other Wiccan, Willow smiled as she saw that familiar sideways grin return to her wife's lips.

"Uh-huh, get in here. Bed, now." Reaching out and gently taking hold of the shirt the red-head was wearing, Tara pulled the girl into the room. As their lips once again touched, she shut the door behind them, concealing their actions from the rest of the house and the world.

Managing to pull away for a slight moment, Willow smiled.

"You're perfect, you know that right?" She said, her green eyes showing nothing but affection for the girl she was holding in her arms. "My everything?"

"I know." Nodding, Tara once again flashed her wife her trademark sideways grin before resting her forehead against the one in front of her. "I love you."

"Granted, you want to punish me right now, but I can forgive that…" Smirking, the red-headed Wiccan felt the other girl starting to guide the two of them towards the nearby bed that lay at her their side. "It's in a Tara-y sort of way, so it has to be good."

"You're the one being a vixen now." Snorting slightly, Tara continued to stare into the pair of green irises observing her as the two of them fell back onto the soft mattress that the two of them had shared numerous times since moving into the apartment. "So maybe I'm not so wrong in wanting to give you that punishment…"

Smiling even wider as she felt a pair of fingers gliding through her long red tresses, Willow closed her eyes.

"Guess there's nothing wrong that logic. I trust you." Opening her eyes once more as if she wanted to make sure that Tara had heard her, the Wiccan leaned forward in order to press her lips against the soft pair seemingly made to match her own. "Even if you're vixen-y in front of our baby."

[Pavlov'sBell]

• Title: The New Kitten
• Author name: Pavlov'sBell, a.k.a. Colton
• Rating - PG
• Feedback- I'd love it. I don't bite.
• Email: colton625@live.com
• Summary- Continuation from "Changes" and "Everything Small And Tiny". A simple morning in the Rosenberg/Maclay home.
• Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy or any of other Buffyverse characters. They belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy.
• Special Thanks To: undeadredheadinyourbed, iloveawesomeshtuff, and imsorrywasibeinginsensitiveagain on Tumblr for the suggestions when my depression wouldn't let me write.
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The New Kitten

As she rolled over onto her side, Tara smiled at the feeling of content that had filled out each and every one of her senses from underneath the warm sheets. Snuggling her head deeper into the combination of pillow and her own hair that lined her head, the Wiccan felt a familiar body slide into place behind her, the feeling of flannel pajamas on her almost completely bare legs setting her skin on fire.

"Morning, Mrs. Maclay." Purring the greeting into her wife's ear, Willow smiled as she nuzzled her face into the other Wiccan's neck. "And how are you this fine morning?"

"Good morning yourself, Mrs. Rosenberg." Leaning back into the body tucked in behind her, the blonde woman's smile grew even wider upon hearing her wife's voice overtaking her ear. "Good, how 'bout yourself?"

"Perfect now that I'm touching you like this..." Pressing her lips against the skin of the woman's neck, the red-head found herself grinning as she felt a shudder run through her wife's skin. "And it seems like you're enjoying it too."

"How'd you get that idea?" Tara replied, a groan of pleasure almost escaping from her lips as she felt all of her senses beginning to awaken inside her body from their sleep-drenched state.

"Oh, I have my ways. I'm an observative little Witch." Smiling as she withdrew her lips touch from the other girl's neck, the red-head had a grin on her face that spoke volumes about what she was feeling. "Or at least I used to be...the Witch part I mean..."

"I know what you mean, my little Witch." Turning herself onto her side with slight difficulty, Tara flashed her wife her trademark sideways grin while gazing deeply into the bright pools of green in front of her. "That's what you'll always be to me. My beautiful, confident, sexy little Witch."

"Oh, so I'm yours now. Didn't realize I belonged to anyone." Holding her up her hand in order to look at the wedding band on her finger, the red-headed Wiccan smiled. "Here I just thought that this was for show."

"You're being so bad right now..." Shaking her head with her grin still adorning her face, Tara found herself laughing. "You're like a little kid."

"Does that mean I'm gonna get corner time then?" Finding her wife's laughter to be extremely infectious, Willow heard the sound of her own distinct laughter flowing into her hearing. "I've been a very bad girl apparently."

"I can do that, don't think I won't!" Still laughing, Tara shook her head. "You naughty little brat."

"I'm sorry, Mommy." Her voice's pitch going higher in order to make herself sound like a child, the red-headed girl smiled at the effect the trick had on her wife. "Don't punish me."

"Alright, stop it!" Planting her lips against the other girl's almost identical pair, Tara smiled. "You've made your point. You like being a naughty Willow."

"Aww, you got me all figured out now." Pouting slightly, the red-headed nevertheless wasted no time in returning the kiss that had been offered to her only seconds earlier. "Guess we should get up, Samantha probably wants fed."

"You're probably right." Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, the blonde woman returned to her feet, knowing that her wife would be taking in every square inch of her skin. "Enjoying the view back there?"

"Mhm..." Smiling as she looked the other girl up and down, the red-head sighed happily. "I'm still remembering that 'spell' we did last night."

"That was a punishment, remember?" Her sideways grin returning to her face, the blonde Wiccan made her way around the side of the bed as she approached the door. "Somebody was being a smart-alec?"

"I seem to remember something along those lines..." Giving her wife a small wink, Willow threw the covers off of her body as she tried to crack her back. "And then there was lots of snuggles."

"Which you were lucky to get because naughty Witches don't usually get snuggles."

"I'm a special Witch." Grinning slightly, Willow pushed herself up onto her feet, her oversized flannel pajamas hanging around her body. "With a flannel-y center."

Rolling her eyes playfully, Tara redirected her course and found herself standing in front of her wife.

"And what a yummy flannel-y center you have." She said with a smile before pressing her lips against the red-head's cheek. "Naughty little Witch."

"Is that my name for today? Willow, the Naughty Witch? Can I make Miss Kitty talk too?"

"You and Samantha have been watching too much of that show." Rolling her eyes once more, Tara turned and headed for the door once more. "Can you fix breakfast for all of us?'

"Yep. Granted, I can't make pancakes in weird shapes, but I'll manage." Shrugging her shoulders, Willow nevertheless retained her grin as she ventured out into the hallway on her way towards the kitchen. Stepping into the bathroom, Tara allowed herself one last glimpse of her flannel-clad girl before she closed the door, and turned on the water to the shower. As the sound of the warm water filled out the room, she closed her eyes and simply listened to the peaceful sound of running water.
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"Tara, come see this!" Rushing over to the door in order to stick her head out from the room, Willow's entire expression showed barely restrained amusement dancing across her face. "Quick!"

"What is it, sweetie?" Finishing wrapping the towel around her body, Tara quickly made her way down the hallway towards Samantha's room. As she entered the room, the blonde Wiccan was greeted by the sight of her wife standing beside the crib, a large smile adorning her expression as she looked into the piece of furniture in front of her. "Something-"

"Ssshhh, just look…" Pressing a finger to the other Wiccan's lips, the red-head gently took hold of her wife's hand and pulled her towards the crib, allowing the woman to look at what lay inside. Taking in the sight of Samantha sleeping peacefully, Tara noticed a certain furry black and white cat sleeping just as peacefully next to the infant.

"Awww." Unable to avoid letting the expression of amusement slip from her lips, the Wiccan continued to smile as she felt a familiar pair of arms slide around her waist and pull her close.

"How can anyone be so cute?" Willow whispered in the woman's ear, a smile of her own adorning her expression. "Is there some kind of limit on the cuteness factor?"

"I think our daughter just broke it if there is…" Resting her hands atop the pair holding her waist, Tara closed her eyes. "Kinda like what you did the night we all came home."

"You mean the first night…" Pausing for a moment, Willow pressed her lips against her wife's ear. "…we spent as a family? How could I forget the third happiest day of my life?"

"Only the third?"

"After our wedding, and the day she was born."
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"Okie dokie, here we go, home where it's nice and home-y." As she opened the door to the apartment, Willow's entire expression seemed very child-like in the way she moved and constantly looked back at her wife and newborn child.

"You're acting very funny, sweetie." Laughing slightly, Tara's tone, along with all of her movements and actions, seemed to be very labored and subdued. Still holding Samantha tightly in her arms, she slowly moved out into the living room of the relatively large apartment. Somewhat eagerly closing the door behind her, Willow's expression continued to consist of nothing but smiles.

"I haven't seen you in three days, baby, I missed you." Running up behind her wife, the red-head wrapped her arms gently around Tara's waist. Taking care not to shake either the woman or infant too much, given their delicate and exhausted condition, she closed her eyes and rested her chin against her wife's shoulder. "That's the longest we've been apart in years."

"I missed you too, sweetie." Leaning back into the other woman slightly, Tara felt her eyelids beginning to become slightly heavier with each passing moment she stood standing, although she managed to summon a smile to her face. "I'm tired though."

"Oh, right!" Her entire expression changing upon remembering the somewhat strict instructions the doctor had given to her, Willow released the other Wiccan and placed her hands on the small of her wife's back. Beginning to guide them towards the nearby chair, she couldn't keep a small smile from spreading across her face once more. "You need lots and lots of rest. 'Cause, you only gave birth three days ago, and that's not that long, and the only process was very hard, and loud, and kinda hard for me to watch-"

"Sweetie, you're babbling." Smiling weakly, Tara reached up with her free hand and ran her fingers along her wife's cheek. "It's alright, we're right here. We're not going anywhere."

"Right, do you want something to drink, baby? You have to want something, and I'm here to get it for you, you don't have to do anything because I'm here…I'm babbling again, aren't I?"

Nodding only in response, Tara leaned completely back into the chair, with Samantha still asleep in her arms.

"Tara, anything? Glass of water? Cookies? I can't make pancakes in weird shapes, but I can get you some…"

"Water…" Saying the word through her exhaustion coated lips, the blonde Wiccan opened her eyes for a slight moment in order to look down at the baby in her hands.

"Alrighty, water coming right up!" Rushing into the kitchen, Willow almost immediately began searching through the cupboards as if she had forgotten where the cups were placed. Muting her actions as much as she could, she almost squealed in excitement as she found one, and ran it underneath the nearby water dispenser on the fridge. As the cup filled up to a level that she deemed 'alright', she rushed back to her wife, and held out the cup.

"Here you g-" Stopping herself in mid-sentence as she realized that Tara had fallen asleep in the short few minutes between asking for a glass of water and her wife's return, Willow smiled and set the cup down beside the chair, hearing a small meow echo out from behind the furniture piece. Seeing a familiar pet stick her head out, the red-headed Wiccan smiled at the kitten before moving her gaze back to her daughter and her wife. Gently removing Samantha from Tara's hands, Willow smiled as she saw her wife curl up onto the chair, her eyes still closed in the gentle caress of sleep. Staring attentively at the wrapped bundle she now held in her hands, she continued to smile as she made her way across the room and sat herself down onto the couch on the opposite side of the room.

"Hi Samantha..." She said somewhat nervously, continuing to speak softly while her newborn daughter rested peacefully in her hands. "I'm Willow...guess you'll be calling me Momma for the next sixteen or so years..."

Hearing a soft meow echo up to her ears from her side, the red-headed Wiccan smiled as she turned her head and found a furry ball of black and white beginning to curl beside her.

"And this..." Lifting her child's head slightly so that she could see the kitten, Willow smiled even wider. "Is the best kitty in the world, Miss Kitty Fantastico."

Mewing again, Miss Kitty raised her head at the sudden movement her owner had made. As her eyes caught sight of the wrapped bundle in Willow's arms, she rose to her paws and cautiously made her way up onto the Wiccan's lap until she was looking directly down at the infant.

"Who apparently wants to look at you." Chuckling softly, the Wiccan watched as the kitten that she and Tara had once considered to be their 'child' cautiously reached and out pawed at the bundle, her declawed paws leaving no risk for the infant to be harmed. Slowly opening her small blue eyes, Samantha looked up curiously at the head of red-hair looking down at her.

"Hi there." Her smile stretching until it could reach no further, the Wiccan gently took hold of the infant's tiny hand and felt her heart jump inside her chest as the girl curled her fingers around her mother's finger as best she could. Leaning back into the couch as far as she could, Willow felt as if she would explode from the happiness of holding her newborn daughter in her hands for the first time outside of the hospital. Her green eyes' gaze refusing to falter from the pair of delicate blue staring up at her, she swore that time stopped for a single moment. Moving her finger slightly from where it was still being held loosely by the infant, she sighed happily before uttering a single statement to her daughter.

"Welcome home."

[Pavlov'sBell]

• Title: The Greatest Gift Of All
• Author name: Pavlov'sBell, a.k.a. Colton
• Rating - PG
• Feedback- I'd love it. I don't bite.
• Email: colton625@live.com
• Summary- Continuation from "Changes","Everything Small And Tiny", & "The New Kitten". Oneshot. It's Willow, Tara, and Samantha's first Christmas as a family, and Willow has been waiting for weeks to give Tara the gift that she poured so much thought and consideration into...A gift that will change their lives once again...
• Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy or any of other Buffyverse characters. They belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy.
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The Greatest Gift Of All

"Are you really going to pout about this?" Looking down at her wife as she continued to hang decorations around the apartment, Tara frowned. "Honey, we're supposed to be having fun. It's Samantha's first Christmas."

"We don't all worship Santa God, remember?" Lifting her gaze from her drink to the other Wiccan's face, Willow pushed out her bottom lip into a pout. "And you're too busy with decorating to give me snuggles..."

"Poor baby." Stepping down off of the ladder that she had been standing upon, the blonde Wiccan slowly and seductively walked towards her wife. "Nobody's paying any attention to poor Willow."

"Oh Goddess, do I have to put up with vixen-y Tara now?" A smile coming to her face as she felt the woman pulling her to her feet, the red-head saw that oh so familiar sideways grin coming to her wife's lips. "I don't know if I can handle that…"

"I'm sure you'll be fine." Her blue irises dancing as they absorbed the sight of the other woman's face, Tara softly pressed her lips against the waiting pair in front of her. Linking her arms around her wife's neck, Willow mentally smiled at knowing she now had the other Wiccan's complete and undivided attention. After a few bliss filled moments of kissing, Tara finally broke the kiss and leaned forward until she and her wife were forehead-to-forehead. "Unless you want to take this little attention getter into the other room…where no-one could hear anything…"

"I might be able to do that…" Smiling back at Tara somewhat, the Wiccan felt her heart beating excitedly inside her chest, the origin of it a mix of the sensations of Tara's touch, and the news that she was amazed to have hid from her better half for so long. "But we have guests coming over soon, remember?"

"I'm sure we could always find a way to slip away and find an empty bed somewhere…" Her sideways grin refusing to falter, Tara brought her hands to rest on her wife's hips. "After all, I'm sure you want to be on the naughty list, don't you?"

"But I haven't been naughty, and-" As she started her response, the sound of the doorbell echoed through the room. Turning her head at the sound, Tara sighed.

"Seems our guests are starting to arrive…" Giving another sigh, the blonde Wiccan returned her gaze to her wife's pools of green. "Guess we'll have to explore that locked room later, won't we?"
---------------------------------------------------
"Oh, Tara, she looks just like you!" Sitting down beside the older girl, Dawn smiled brightly. "I can't believe it's taken us this long to finally see her again."

"You live so far away, that's why." Giggling slightly as she held her daughter in her lap, Tara tilted her head in order to look at Samantha's face. "Doesn't she? You don't like your Aunt Dawn being so far away."

"I might be going to college up here though, so I might not be so far away anymore." Still smiling, the younger Summers girl held out her hands. "Can I hold her for a while?"

"Oh course, sweetie." Gently handing her daughter over to the girl, the Wiccan pushed herself off of the couch once she was sure that Samantha was safely in Dawn's arms. "I'll be right back."

"Ok." Smiling as she heard the infant in her arms giggling, Dawn leaned back into the couch, and held out her finger for Samantha to grab onto.

"Willow?" Making her way through the small crowd that had gathered in their living room, the Wiccan caught sight of a head of red-hair, and swiftly moved across the floor towards the woman. Noticing the way her wife was leaning against the wall, silent and unmoving, Tara furrowed her brow as she started to wonder what was wrong.

"Enjoying yourself sweetie?" As she came up behind her wife, her expression changed to a slightly annoyed one as she caught sight of what the woman held in her hand. "Eggnog? You know you're not supposed to have that. It makes your tummy upset, remember?"

"What can I say? I'm a naughty girl, aren't I?" Smiling slyly at her better half as she turned slightly, Willow took another sip of the drink she held in her hand. "Guess Santa isn't coming for me this year."

"I thought he was here already…judging by your hat." Gesturing towards the Santa cap that her wife was wearing, Tara smiled. "Although I wonder if your cute little bottom is as red as your hair…"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Perking up her eyebrow questioningly, Willow took another sip of her drink.

"Sometimes Mrs. Claus comes along, and spanks the bad little girls on the naughty list…" Her vixen-y smile from an hour earlier returning to her face, Tara took a step closer to her wife. "I'm wondering if she's been here yet…"

"You think she's coming tonight?" Using her free hand to take hold of her wife's fingers, the red-head smiled. "I don't know if I've been naughty or not…"

"I'm sure you'll know later, when everyone's gone, Samantha's asleep, and we've got the entire apartment to ourselves…" Chuckling underneath her breath as she spoke, Tara rubbed her thumb against the red-head's hand. "After all, I do like my red-heads nice and red."

"You know, Tara, you should…look…up…" Following her wife's suggestion, the blonde Wiccan raised her gaze until she caught sight of the hanging mistletoe above herself and Willow. Almost able to sense how much the other Wiccan was grinning, Tara rolled her eyes.

"You planned all this, didn't you?" Returning her attention to Willow's expression, Tara began to lean in closer to the other Wiccan's face. "You…naughty…little…girl…"

"Maybe I did…and maybe…I…didn't…" Mimicking her wife's actions and speech, Willow continued to smile even though their lips were only inches apart. "Do you…like…it?"

"Indeed…I do…" Finally pressing her lips against the pair awaiting her gentle and loving touch, the blonde Wiccan felt her wife wrapping her hands around her waist, pulling her as close as she possibly could be while the two of them were still fully clothed. The party in the connecting room momentarily forgotten, the two Wiccans lost themselves in the feelings and sensations of each other's touch. Her tongue probing the other woman's lips until her efforts granted her entry to her wife's mouth, Willow couldn't help but continue to think about the news that she was still so focused on. Even now, with her body nearly on fire from her wife's kisses, her mind repeated the news over and over again without end.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" Breaking the kiss in order to ask her better half the question, the blonde Wiccan could sense how tense Willow was starting to become. "Does your tummy hurt?"

"A little…" Looking away as she saw her wife's gaze falling upon her, the red-head squirmed in her socks. "Not from the eggnog though…"

"Then what's wrong? Are you getting sick?"

"No…um…I've kinda got some news, baby…"

"Oh?" Perking up her eyebrow, Tara retained her hold on her wife's hand. "What kind of news? Did they accept your program at work?"

"No…I mean yes, but that's not the news I'm thinking about right now…It's kinda about what I got you for Christmas…" Continuing to avoid answering her wife's question, Willow felt Tara's fingers gently, but firmly take hold of her chin and force her to meet the other Wiccan's blue eyes.

"Then what's the matter? Sweetie, talk to me."

"Tara…you might wanna sit down for this..." Taking a deep breath as she saw her better half nod. "I'm…sorta…kinda…definitely…pregnant."

"What?" Her eyes widening as she heard the red-head's answer circling around her brain, Tara couldn't avoid letting the shock she was feeling sink into her voice's tone. "Sweetie, are you sure?"

"Mhm." Nodding, Willow could feel her wife's grip on her hand increasingly ever so slightly. "I wanted to surprise you, so I k-kinda asked Xander to…donate again…and here I am, a few weeks later, and I'm preggers…"

"Sweetie, w-why?" Seeing the other woman flinch for a second, Tara added a small smile to her question. "I'm not angry, far from it, but I just…why now? Samantha's only a year old…"

"I wanted to give you a Christmas present…one that would show you how much I love you…" Blushing slightly, Willow leaned back against the wall behind her. "So I kinda knocked myself up…"

"And y-you're sure?" Reaching out with her free hand, Tara laid her hand against her wife's stomach. "Did y-you go to the doctor?"

"Yep. I'm pregnant, Tara, I'm really pregnant." Smiling as she felt a small tear starting to well up in her eye, Willow laughed somewhat. "I'm gonna have a baby."

"Yes, you are." Pulling her wife to her in a hug, the blonde Wiccan felt a small tear fall down her cheek, coming to rest on her chin before it was absorbed by the dress the other woman was wearing.

"We're going to have another baby." Correcting her wife as she hugged the Wiccan back, Willow finally allowed the tears she had been holding back make their descent down her cheeks. "Merry Christmas, baby."

"Willow, sweetie, you didn't have to do this." Shaking her head while happy tears continued to stream down her face, Tara only hugged her wife tighter.

"I wanted to, Tara. I love you so much…I just wanted to give you what you gave me…" Taking a small step back from the hug she was receiving, the red-head could only smiled as happy tears continued to stream down her wet cheeks. "I want to give you another child…"

"Oh…my…god…" Turning around as they both heard a familiar voice squeaking in excitement, the two Wiccans found Dawn standing only a few feet away, a now giggling Samantha held in her arms.

"Hey Dawnie, something wrong?" Offering the girl a smile, Willow wiped away some of her tears onto the back of her sleeve. "You look excited."

"Wait, Willow you're…?" Her eyes widening as she continued to hold Samantha, Dawn's smile stretched ear-to-ear. "Oh my god!"

"Easy Dawnie, no need to have a heart-attack over me." Still smiling, the red-head looked down at her daughter resting in the younger girl's arms. "Mind if I have Sam for a while?"

"Yeah, yeah sure…" Gently but somewhat urgently handing the infant over to Willow's waiting arms, Dawn could barely suppress her squeal of excitement as she continued to look happily at the two women in front of her. "Oh my god, I'm so happy for you guys!"

"Dawnie, easy, you look like you're gonna explode at any minute…" Giggling softly before looking down at the infant in her arms, the red-headed Wiccan smiled brighter as she heard Samantha echoing her giggling.

"I know, but, I mean you're gonna, and Willow you're, and that means you two are gonna have…EEEH!" Unable to hold in her excitement any longer, Dawn finally let out a subdued squeal, the sound causing a few heads to turn within the group situated behind her. Looking at them, Tara smiled and gave them a small wave, almost breathing a sigh of relief as she saw the heads looking at them turn away and return to the conversations that they had been involved in before.

"I can't believe you're going to have a baby!" Whispering her excited statement, the youngest Summers girl almost found herself jumping with excitement. "I mean, Tara had one, and now you're gonna have one, Willow! It's so exciting!"

"I know Dawnie, but why don't we just keep this between us for a while, ok? Just until we see the Doctor and everything. We wanna make sure Willow's ok."

"Ok, I can do that…can I just say how much I love you gu-" Stopping in mid-sentence as she heard her name being called, Dawn stopped and rolled her eyes slightly. "Buffy's calling me, I'll be right back."

"Take your time, we're not going anywhere." Offering the girl a smile, Tara wrapped her arm around her wife's waist as Willow continued to make Samantha giggle. As she gently rested her head atop the other woman's shoulder, she kept smiling, her lips refusing to assume any form of expression. Turning her head slightly so that she could look at the pair of blue eyes that she loved so much, Willow giggled again.

"Still think I'm gonna be on the naughty list tonight?" She whispered, even though she knew that the music playing in the living room was loud enough that she wouldn't be overheard.

"Oh definitely. You've been so naughty, hiding things from me that I should have known right away." Smirking, Tara pressed her lips gently against her wife's cheek, earning another burst of giggles from the red-head. "I love you so much, sweetie."

"I know, baby. Your mine, and I'm yours. You're my everything."
---------------------------------------------------
"Come on, Sammy, smile for the camera." Summoning the widest smile that she could manage, Willow saw the unmistakable blinding sight of the flash from a digital camera flooding her vision for the faintest of seconds before it disappeared as quickly as it had arrived. Lowering the camera from the position she had been holding it in, Buffy smiled.

"Another family portrait for you guys."

"I guess." Giggling slightly, Willow found Samantha looking up at her, her tiny eyes showing the faintest glint of exhaustion in their greenish color. "I'm gonna put Samantha down in her crib. She's starting to look all tuckered out."

"Ok, sweetie." Leaning over in order to give the other Wiccan a small peck on the cheek, Tara gave her a daughter a kiss goodnight before following Buffy back into the living room. With her infant daughter still held in her arms, the red-head slowly opened the door down the hallway and entered. Making her way across the darkened room, Willow gently set her daughter down into her crib, the infant looking up at her somewhat curiously.

"Time to go night-nights, Sammy." Grinning at her daughter, the red-head switched on the baby monitor as she reached for a nearby blanket. "Tomorrow's Christmas. Hopefully Santa God left you some presents."

Hearing nothing more than a slight gibberish filled sentence, Willow giggled and leaned down in order to kiss her daughter on the forehead.

"Night, Sammy. Guess I don't need to tell you what kinda surprise I gave your Momma tonight." Smiling as she tucked the blanket underneath her daughter, Willow rested her arms on the side of the crib and stared up at the opposing wall, the drywall decorated with a photo take only half an hour after Samantha's birth. "You're gonna have a little brother soon…or a sister…I'm kinda unaware of the gender-y parts yet…"

Hearing a small giggle from Samantha as the infant's sole response, the Wiccan continued.

"But…I wanted to give your Momma the same thing that she gave me. When you were born, after the entire thing with the screaming, and the almost crushing my hand, it was one of the greatest days of my life. And nobody was happier than your Momma. I just…I want her to feel what I felt, watching you be born, holding her hand to let her know everything was gonna be ok…all of it. Granted, I'm gonna be screaming my lungs out, but…you get the point."

"I just wanna give her someone like you." Looking back down at the infant she had been speaking to, Willow almost found herself aweing at how her infant daughter had fallen asleep in the short two or three minutes that she had been softly speaking to her. Carefully checking to make sure that the blanket she had laid atop the infant was still covering her, the Wiccan quietly tip-toed out of the room, shutting the door behind her, and went to rejoin the party in the living room that was slowly beginning to die down.
---------------------------------------------------
"You're going back to the Doctor's tomorrow, first thing." As she crawled into bed in order to join her wife, Tara smiled. "Understood, naughty little girl?"

"Understood." Giggling as she scootched herself closer to the Wiccan, Willow smiled just as bright as the woman in front of her. "Although I think being naughty and hiding this from you was well worth it. Merry Christmas, baby."

"Merry Christmas, Willow." Leaning in closer, the blonde Wiccan gave her red-head a small kiss on the lips before moving back in order to stare in the beautiful pools of green that attentively watched her. "I don't think I can give you anything as beautiful and thoughtful as what you gave m-"

As she pressed a single finger against her wife's lips, Willow smiled and giggled as the Wiccan fell silent almost immediatly.

"You gave me a little bundle of joy last year. You don't think that made me all Finey McFine? I'm simply giving you the same joy that you gave me."

"Is that so?" As the other woman moved her finger away from her lips, Tara felt her smile return to her face. "Then I guess we're even now..."

"Would appear that way, wouldn't it, Mrs. Maclay?" Trailing her finger along the bared portion of her wife's arm, the red-headed Wiccan couldn't help but stare at the woman with what some would describe as 'bed-room eyes'.

"Indeed it would, Mrs. Rosenberg. Whatever do you think we should do now?" Noticing the almost hungry look in her wife's eyes, the blonde Wiccan reduced her ear-to-ear grin to her trademark sideways smirk, and mimicked the look she was being given. "Although I'm sure between the two of us we have some ideas..."

"Couldn't agree more." Leaning in closer to the other Wiccan's lips, Willow could almost feel Tara's lips touching her own before a familiar cry echoed through the open door from the room across the hall. Giving a small giggle as she remained motionless, Tara gazed into the green irises inches away from her own sparkling pair of blues.

"I guess someone has other ideas of how we can spend our Christmas Eve..." Rolling her eyes playfully as she started to move off of the bed, Willow felt a gentle but firm hand take hold of her arm.

"Uh-uh, you stay in bed, sweetie. Starting now you're just another baby to me." Her sideways grin still adorning her lips, the blonde Wiccan returned to her feet. "No unnecessary things for you until our baby is out and about in a few months."

"So I get the full Princess treatment?" Grinning at her wife's statement, Willow leaned back into the soft mattress and pillow as Tara slowly made her way around the bed and headed for the door. "I get to be Princess Willow again!"

"Because that worked out so well the first time when you got your job." Her tone leaking sarcasm, the blonde Wiccan nevertheless leaned down to give her wife a small kiss on her red-hair adorned forehead before resting her hand on the door. "I couldn't take you anywhere without you demanding to be treated like royalty."

"I was a Princess. I had to do that!" Giggling again, the red-head sank down into the warm red sheets beneath her. "You were my loyal and loving servant."

"And I had to suffer through so many requested cuddles." Slowly pulling the door open, Tara gave her wife one last sideways grin before disappearing out into the hallway, Samantha's cries continuing to fill out both her room and the connecting apartment. Closing her eyes as her woman left the room momentarily, Willow snaked her hand underneath her pajama top and gently rubbed her stomach, almost entirely able to imagine the child just beginning to develop inside her.

"You and me..." Opening her green eyes for a single moment, the red-headed Wiccan giggled somewhat at the entire idea of the state she was in. "We're going to get so many cuddles, I promise."

[faolan228]

Aww, a happy Willow and Tara household, complete with pets and babies and a visiting Dawn? Adorable, and everything they should've gotten. I'd really love to see the POV of the little one, her thoughts on her mommies, the new baby, and everyone/everything around her :3

[Pavlov'sBell]

faolan228- And this is why I wrote this, because they deserved this

I could try to write something like that...would be a bit of challenge for me, but I'd be willing to attempt it

[Pavlov'sBell]

• Title: Love And Hate
• Author name: Pavlov'sBell, a.k.a. Colton
• Rating - M (Sequel will most likely be NC-17 at some point)
• Feedback- I'd love it. I don't bite.
• Email: colton625@live.com
• Summary- Willow Rosenberg is a Death Dealer, dedicated to hunting down and eliminating Lycans. Tara Maclay Corvin is a young Medical Intern, practically working herself to death for a job at a local hospital. After noticing that the Lycans have been attempting to capture this woman, Willow takes it upon herself to protect her, all the while finding herself attracted to this girl...
• Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy or any of other Buffyverse characters. They belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy. Underworld belongs to it's creators.
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Love And Hate

As I looked back across the centuries, all I could bear witness to was a life filled with bloodshed and war. For years upon years, the Death Dealers had existed solely to hunt down and destroy the Lycans, and I was no different. I existed solely to deal out the vengeance that was reserved amongst the vampires for their kind. There was nothing in my life except that purpose, and I was good at it. I didn't know it, but change was on the mere fringes of the horizon, just waiting for me to walk into its grasp…waiting for me to fall in love with the thing I had hunted for so long...
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As the rain continued to pour down around her, Willow looked down at the sparse crowd walking around the sidewalk below her perch atop the balcony. The guns resting close to her hips were a silent reminder of why she was here. For weeks, she had been 'observing' one of the potential Lycans that she had discovered on her last encounter with the 'animals'. They were hunting this girl, and more than ever, the red-headed vampire wanted to know why.

Pressing the view-finder against her rain-drenched face, the vampire almost felt a smile tug at the edges of her lips as she saw the familiar face fill her vision. Some part of her wanted to allow the thoughts and words that made the girl's beauty take center-stage in her imagination, but she forced herself to swallow down those thoughts. For a thousand upon thousands of years, she had walked the Earth alone, and that wouldn't be changing any time soon.

And yet…she couldn't deny that the girl was indeed beautiful. The way her blonde hair flowed with ease down her shoulders. The way the blue color of her eyes forced the vampire to stare at them. The way that with a single, but simple sway of her hips that any thoughts in her mind would disappear entirely. Anya had jokingly talked about the 'hilarious' situation that one of the most ruthless and focused Death Dealers was falling in love with a human, and had gone on to suggest the numerous ways that she could 'adopt' the girl as a pet.

Her green irises still following the human's path, Willow's mind instantly went on alert as she felt the sudden shift in the air of the plaza below her. Shifting the finder's focus to the crowd behind the girl, she growled as she caught sight of two Lycans following the girl through the crowd. Somewhat surprised at her own violent response, the red-headed vampire shoved the view finder into the pocket of her leather trench coat and closed her green eyes as she jumped down from the balcony itself. As she felt the ground make contact with her feet, she immediately started towards the underground subway entrance that both the girl and the Lycans had made their way into.

As soon as she felt the rain cease its endless assault against her now completely soaking wet red tresses, the vampire could almost feel the amount of intimidation that was pouring off of the few people that were around her. With each of the humans making way for her silently as she walked past them, Willow focused solely on finding where the human girl had run off to. If the Lycans that were after her were as committed as the last group had been, there was going to be blood, and nothing could prevent it. She had tried her best to avoid exposing the human to any unnecessary danger, but considering the current situation that had presented and forced itself onto all of them, there was nothing she could do now to prevent it.

She was close now, she could sense the heart-beat that she had watched over for weeks now. The heart-beats were calm and relaxed, assuring the vampire that the Lycans hadn't reached her human yet…

My human? As the thought ran amok through her brain, Willow almost stopped in order to baffle at her own thoughts, but continued on through the underground pathway. She was even closer to the human, so close that she could almost smell the scent of the girl's hair. Even as her mind begged her to revel in its scent, her senses forced her back to reality as the unmistakable scent of Lycans flowed into her nostrils and set her vamperic senses into a barely controllable rage.

As she cleared the last step and found herself on the landing ramp of a subway, the vampire silently scanned the crowd, clenching and unclenching her fists time and time again as she saw no sign of the human or the two Lycans. Again, as thoughts of the human being harmed or even so much as touched by Lycans ran through her mind, Willow growled, although she kept the sound low enough in volume that no-one could hear her. She knew that showing her true state to a large crowd wouldn't be the wisest thing to do, for neither herself, the Coven, nor the girl.

Finally, as a small group stepped away with laughter and happiness on their tongues, she caught sight of a head of wet blonde hair, and underneath it's drenched locks, the same pair of blue eyes that had captivated her so many times from afar. Looking back for a single moment as if she felt like she was being watched, the human and the vampire locked eyes with one another. Inside her, Willow felt something akin to a spark flow through her cold skin, leaving no part of her body untouched by the sensation. For a moment, the vampire actually felt like shaking before she once again caught the scent of the Lycans within the immediate area around her.

Taking a step forward, she stopped as the scent of the Lycans grew so strong that she thought she might pass out from the sheer intensity of it. Turning her head in an attempt to spot the two that she had seen come in, Willow felt something lay it's hand on her shoulder.

"And so, the elusive Death Dealer finally decides to show her face."
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As she looked away from the loud crowd, Tara Maclay Corvin sighed, not knowing why she had even looked into the people that surrounded her. Pushing a few strands of her soaked blonde hair behind her ears, she wished that she had brought her hoodie instead of only hoping that the storm clouds would part and allow the sun to regain control of the sky. She hadn't been that lucky, and as a result, she was standing in the subway still dressed in her almost completely rain soaked scrubs. More than ever, she simply wanted to go home and sleep the world away, to let the world slip away as she curled up underneath the warm sheets of her bed, to let the warm, rejuvenating waters of a hot shower wash over her cold body and banish away the cold that had been inflicted on her.

Leaning back against the support beam that lay directly behind her, she closed her blue eyes and sighed once more, not knowing how else to deal with what she was feeling. Moving out to the city on her own was supposed to have made things easier, and yet here she was, still living in roughly the same condition that she had been in for almost her entire life. At least her in New York, her family didn't stand a chance of finding her. Not in a place where so many people came to run away from things that they had no other way out of.

She had been here for almost a year now, working her way up through the ranks of the internship she had been offered at the local hospital. It was a thankless existence, and often times she worked hours that she wouldn't even have nightmares about doing, but she pushed on, knowing that every minute she logged put her above the rest of her competition. More than ever, she wanted the job that she had set out to get. One way or another, she wasn't going back to her family. She was going to make sure of that.

Opening her blue eyes, she found a pair of eyes staring at her from a few feet away, the man's entire expression showing nothing but hatred towards her. Furrowing her brow as she looked around her to see if there was someone else around her that was drawing the man's hate, she found no-one, and her heart-dropped to the very pits of her stomach. The man was looking directly at her, for what reason, she had no clue. But from the amount of anger he was showing, she had a bad feeling that it wasn't good.

"Miss Corvin?" Turning her head as she heard someone ask for her by name, Tara swallowed hard as she found herself looking up at someone who was nearly twice her size. "We've been looking for you."

"W-W-W-What for?" Stuttering out an answer that showed the pure amount of fear beginning to flow through her system, the intern pressed herself fully against the beam behind her. She was almost seemingly able to sense the intent the man had for her, and it was neither good, nor peaceful.

"You should come with us, we'll explain everything if we're away from…the public's eye…" The man answered, not bothering to turn his head as his companion joined him at his side. "After all, it's a private matter, and you wouldn't want anyone else to know about your private life, wouldn't you?"

There was something in the man's tone that continued to inspire nothing but dread in Tara's heart as she looked up at his face, her blue irises absorbing the way the smile on his face seemed to spew venom. Her blue irises searching for any route of escape that she could manage, the intern closed her eyes as she attempted to calm her breathing. Having a heart-attack was no way to get out of this, considering that they could simply carry her if they wanted her that bad, and something told her that they did. Whatever it was that they wanted from her, they were willing to take it by any means necessary. Opening her eyes, she forced herself to breathe as she continued to look for a way to escape.

And that was when the first shots rang out through the subway.
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"Warren. I didn't still realize you were still alive, otherwise I would have started hunting you again." Already recognizing the voice that the hand belonged to, Willow's hand twitched as it started to drift towards one of her guns. "You've got guts showing yourself to me."

"As do you for thinking that your eliminations of my Pack would go unnoticed. You've gotten sloppy." Increasing the strength of his grip on the vampire's shoulder, Warren smiled as he saw the way the red-head froze for a moment. "Now, now, no need to bring out the guns. Especially when you've got so many innocent people standing around. Wouldn't want them to get caught in the cross-fire when the fight goes down..."

"Should have known. That's always how you've liked things, isn't it, Warren? Bloody and countless innocents slaughtered?" Growling out her answer, Willow nevertheless moved her hand away from the holster at her side, despite the itching in her trigger finger. "Just like you."

"Oh, come now, Willow. Even you know that you enjoy seeing that blood being spilled." Taking a step closer to the vampire, the Lycan was only inches away from the red-head's ear. "It just makes you want to forget those rules you and your little Death Dealers follow, and drink from them."

"You've played this game before, Warren, and it didn't work the last time. What could possibly make you think it would work now?"

"Time. It changes a person, and even beings like us are not immune to that." Moving away from the vampire, Warren came to a stop directly in front of the red-head. Almost laughing when he saw the amount of anger that the pair of green eyes held, the Lycan's smile seemingly mocked the red-head. "As I'm sure you're aware of. We all know how much it hurt to lose any sort of 'friends' that you ever even thought you had. But of course, we all know the truth of that matter."

"Warren-" Starting to speak, Willow growled at the man in front of her. "What are you doing here?"

"Cutting straight to the heart of the matter? Alright then, we can do that. Should have known you weren't one for the entire exposition. " Rolling his eyes at hearing the vampire's angry retort, the Lycan turned away for a slight moment, during which he tossed off his trench-coat. "You never were."

"That's just how I am." Her hand resting directly on the grip of the pistol, the red-headed vampire cast her eyes' gaze on where the human girl was standing, and felt more anger boil up inside her as she saw the two Lycans surrounding her.

"Something the matter, Willow? Figured you would have pulled that pistol by now, seeming as you're so fond of them."

"Let the girl go, Warren. She has no part in this." Her voice having returned to its growling sound, the red-headed vampire pulled the weapon out of its holster, although she kept it at her side, its barrel aimed at the ground. "Don't bring an innocent civilian into this private little match."

"It's more than that now, and you should know that." Scuffing at the vampire's attempt to defuse the situation, the Lycan paying no attention to the drawn weapon that was only moments away from being pointed at him. "Surely you can sense it as well as I can. She's important, to both of us."

"Something tells me your definition of important is different from mine." Finally lifting the gun and leveling it at the man's head, Willow felt her finger's grip on the weapon's trigger tighten, but yet she didn't pull it completely. "Explain to me what she could possibly mean to you."

"Ah, but that would be telling now, wouldn't it?" As a smile came to his lips, Warren seemingly knew heard and saw the vampire's grip tighten on her weapon. "And that would give away the entire secret. This early in the game? That's not something either of us would have fun with."

"This isn't going to turn into one of your games, Warren." Taking a step forward, Willow pushed her weapon directly into the Lycan's forehead, although she still refused to pull the trigger. "Tell me."

"All in good time, Willow, besides…" Her attention focused solely on what Warren was saying to her, the red-headed vampire heard a distinct click behind her head, causing her eyes to widen slightly. "It looks like we're at a stand-off right now."

"Tell him to put the gun down or I blow your head off right now." Her weapon still trained at the Lycan standing before her, Willow felt the weapon behind her dig into her neck slightly. "Now."

"I believe that neither of us are in any position to negotiate. What we want is equally simple. I want the girl, and you want her as well. Can't we just share?"

"Tell. Him. To. Drop. The. Gun." Only barely managing to saw the order through her gritted teeth, Willow wanted desperately to look over at where the human woman would still be standing, but knew that distracting herself for even a single moment would give Warren the upper hand he no doubt wanted.

"We're not going to reach an understanding." Sighing, Warren turned away from the vampire and his minion before snapping his fingers. "Get rid of her. Something we should have done a long time ago."

Her vampire senses already having been heightened to their peak, at least as far as they could go without her giving in completely to her vamperic nature, Willow could almost feel the Lycan pulling the trigger before she turned, ducked, and brought up her own weapon up to the werewolf's chest, and pulled the trigger. Her finger seemingly moving on its own accord, the red-head fired the weapon until there wasn't a single bullet left in the clip. Looking across the now scattering crowd, Willow could only think of doing one thing.

She had to find the human girl, and she had to find her now.
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As she ran, Tara could feel her heart beating faster than she ever would have thought possible. Continuing to pump her legs for all the speed that they could give, she scaled the stairs, wanting nothing more than to feel safe once again. Behind her, the shots continued to ring out at a rapid pace, the sere volume of them almost deafening. Casting her eyes' gaze over her shoulder, she felt her heart stop dead in her chest as she saw one of them that had surrounded her earlier leaping at her. Her legs stopping short, the human fell to her knees as waves of pain shot through her body in response. Closing her eyes as she cowered on the ground, she waited for the unavoidable impact of the man's body slamming into her body.
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Pushing every inch of her strength into her legs, Willow pounced on the Lycan in mid-air, the amount of momentum contained in her body redirecting the two of them into a nearby wall. Finally allowing all of her anger to boil to the surface and flood her senses, the vampire felt her teeth elongate in her mouth, and knew without a doubt that the normal green color in her eyes had given way to a cold and icy dark blue. Her hand flying towards the other pistol holstered at her hips, she pulled the weapon out and trained it on the Lycan. Not sparing a single second, she pulled the trigger, repressing a smile as she saw the Lycan fall still and silent. Closing her eyes in order to face the change away from her features, Willow turned and saw the human girl still cowering on the floor where she had fallen, her beautiful eyes hidden away from the world. Shoving the pistol back into its holster, the red-headed vampire felt her body actually tingling from being so close to the beauty that she watched from afar for so long now.

"You're not safe here." Saying the words in a tone that was very much not her own, the vampire felt any thoughts in her brain evaporate as the human opened her eyes and stared at her. They were directly in front of her, the most beautiful blue irises that she had ever seen in the centuries that she had lived and hunted. Unable to stop herself, the word 'beautiful' slipped from her lips.

"W-W-What?" Staring up at the girl now standing over her, Tara couldn't help but feel flabbergasted at the completely leather-attired red-head standing beside her, holding out her hand in order to help her up. Cautiously taking the offered hand, she felt another unbearable wave of pain swarm through her leg. Seeing and hearing the girl's pain accompanied by a hiss, Willow frowned.

"You're hurt."

"I j-just l-landed on m-m-my leg wrong, that's all…" Shaking her head, Tara noticed for the first time the powerful pair of green eyes that lay underneath the girl's rain soaked red hair. Just looking into them made her want to swoon in their gaze, and the only thing keeping her from doing so was the fact that more gunshots had begun to erupt from inside the subway platform. As she heard them, the medical intern looked up just in time to see one of the bullets slam into the girl at her side, the impact of the round making a sickening splat. Stumbling for a moment, the red-head's eyes flashed blue for a moment before they returned to their natural green color. Her thoughts scattering as she felt the girl pushing her into the relative safe cover of a nearby wall, she heard the red-head hiss.

"Let me look at it, I'm a medical intern!" Managing to say the sentence without stuttering, Tara reached out in order to peel away some of the leather clothing surrounding the wound. Her blue eyes had witnessed only a single moment of the wound before a pair of cold fingers took hold of her hands and forced them away, although the touch behind them was gentle.

"I'm fine. Do you have a car?" Keeping her eyes closed even as she felt the pain from the wound shooting through her veins, Willow simply placed her hand over the wound in an attempt to cover it.

"N-N-No…" Shaking her head, Tara saw the red-head move her hand away from the wound and take hold of her own hand, the skin cold to the touch. Her mind still awash in the confusion surrounding the scene erupting around her, she remembered running as both she and the other girl charged up the stairs at a rapid pace that took them less time it normally should have. As the heavy rain once again began its onslaught against her body, Tara hissed again as she felt a particularly heavy drop land on her injured leg.

"W-Where are w-w-we going?" Managing to ask the question despite her stutter and lack of breath, the human continued to keep pace with the other girl as they ran through the rain drenched streets. With each and every step, her heart beat continued to increase, a product of the adrenaline and fear coursing through her tired veins.

"Somewhere safe, keep running." Not even looking at the human for fear of losing sight of what was going on around her, the red-headed vampire kept running, her hand maintaining its firm but gentle grip on the girl's own limb.

"Running away, Willow?" Turning around as she heard Warren's voice, Willow felt her eyes widen as the unmistakable sound of a gun being fired shattered the air around her, the shot being followed by a splat. Looking behind her, the vampire felt every single shred of rage inside her boil to new heights as she felt Tara's body going somewhat limp as a dark red stain began to appear in the shoulder of her scrubs. A whimper escaping her lips as the pain of the wound fully began to spread out through her senses, Tara closed her eyes tightly and tried to breathe despite the massive amount of pain she felt.

"Warren…" Reaching into her leather jacket and pulling one of her pistols out in one swift motion, the red-headed vampire managed to level it at the Lycan and first off a few shots before he disappeared from view back into the subway. Part of her mind wanting to give chase to the almost ancient being, the red-headed vampire forced her mind to focus on the human girl almost completely holding onto her due to the amount of pain circulating through her.

"I'm f-f-fine, I'm fine…" Shaking her head as she tried to avoid biting down on her tongue, Tara could feel her feet leaving the ground as the vampire picked her up. "R-R-Really…."

"No you're not. Keep quiet, talking will only make you tired." Cradling the human's golden-haired head close to her chest, Willow looked around at the very sparsely populated streets, the sound of police sirens already present in the immediate area around her. Ducking into a nearby alleyway, she almost found her sighing in relief as she found the car she had taken from the estate to be exactly where she had left it.

"I know…" Managing to push the two words past her lips with an intense struggle, Tara once again focused on her breathing as she felt herself being gently set down into a seat, the difference in temperature making her shiver.

"Try to stay awake, you'll lose more blood if you black out." Even as she heard the other woman's voice flowing easily into her ears, Tara could feel the world around her slipping and fading into black with each passing second. After all the training and studying she had done regarding bullet wounds, nothing had prepared her in even the slightest way for being shot herself. Her mind still struggling to stay awake, the golden-haired intern gave a final sigh of both pain and exhaustion as she gave into her body's need for rest, and allowed herself to slip away from the world.
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The bullet wound itself didn't hurt much, I'd been injured by far worse in my time. The thing that kept my mind off the pain was the girl laying in my room, asleep and hurting. I'd had the Coven's doctor take a look at her leg and her shoulder, and under his assurances that she would be alright, I allowed him to take a look at my own wound. I stayed with her that night, keeping her safe, making sure she wouldn't be in any kind of pain, and to my own surprise, simply staring at her.

To say that she was beautiful was an understatement...
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"Keep still, don't make any sudden movements." As she slowly opened her eyes, Tara found herself looking up at the ceiling through blurred eyes. Turning her head slowly, she scanned the room, looking for the origin of the voice that she had heard only moments earlier. Turning her blurry gaze upwards, she struggled to make out the face sitting only a foot or so away from her. "Ok? Nothing to be afraid of, you're safe here."

"W-W-Where am I?" The woman's words doing nothing to calm her almost frantic heartbeat, the medical intern's entire expression turned frantic as the memories of what had happened before she had blacked out came rushing back to her. "W-What happened?"

"You were shot. You're somewhere safe now. I promise." Reaching out slowly and resting her hand against the other woman's cheek, Willow sighed slightly as she saw the intern freeze for a moment before relaxing against the hand resting on her cheek. "No-one's going to hurt you here. I promise."

"W-Why?"

"Why what?" Furrowing her brow in slight confusion as she heard the human's question, Willow continued to gently move her hand ever so slightly against the woman's cheek.

"W-Why was I shot? W-Who shot me?"

"It's a long and complicated answer." Giving an exaggerated sigh, the red-headed vampire closed her eyes for a moment as she forced her brain to try and remember exactly how the war itself had started. She had heard the answer once before, but considering how those within the Coven were forbidden to learn of the past, it didn't surprise her that so much mythology surrounded the events of the days past. "I'll tell you once you've healed."

"W-Who are you?" As she let the question pass her lips, the intern hoped that she could at least get the answer to that question finally. Ever since the shootout at the station, it was the one thing that she first and foremost wanted to know. There had to be a reason why this woman was so concerned for her.

"Willow." Letting her name flow into the other woman's ears like velvet, the vampire offered a small smile with it. "And you are?"

"Tara. Tara Corvin." Taking some comfort in the fact that she now knew the name of her rescuer, the golden-haired woman remembered a specific event from the past twenty-four hours in great deal. "You were shot yourself, can I look at y-your wound?"

Trying to push herself into a sitting position, Tara hissed slightly as she felt Willow's other hand gently push her back down to the bed beneath her.

"It's fine, see?" Moving her hand away somewhat sluggishly from the human's face, the vampire exposed her bandaged arm, the white color of the bandage conflicting with the pure black of her t-shirt. "Finey McFine over here."

Staring up at the girl above her, Tara closed her eyes as she felt the pain in shoulder flare up, and leaned back fully into the relative comfort of the bed.

"Does that feel ok?" Watching the human's face attentively for any sign of discomfort, the red-head wanted more than anything to spare the girl from feeling anymore pain or suffering. After yesterday, there was no need for any more harm to ever come to the girl laying in the bed.

"Better. The bullet went completely through I think…" Giving a small nod as she closed her eyes, Tara let out a large breath, sucking in more air slowly in order to try and alleviate the pain in her wounded shoulder. "I should get it looked at though."

"Our Doctor already has. I had him look at you in case you were hurt worse than I thought."

"Thank you." Her blue eyes still hidden, the human woman continued breathing in the same pattern, the pain in her shoulder eventually beginning to subside. "I d-don't even know your name…"

"Sssshhh, sleep. Everything's going to be alright, I promise you that." Leaning down and daring to give the woman a kiss on the forehead, Willow smiled as she saw Tara nod, and shift herself slightly so that it would be easier for her to sleep. "We'll talk later, I promise."

Only giving a small nod as her response, Tara continued breathing in and out, the actions seemingly making the pain in her wound go away, if only a short moment before it returned. Giving another sigh as she carefully and silently returned to her feet, Willow headed for the door, every one of her steps light and soft in an effort to avoid disturbing the wounded woman. Before she slipped out the door and back into the remainder of the large estate within the Coven's possession, the red-headed vampire allowed herself one last look at the human, now so close that she had actually been able to reach out and touch her. As she closed the door behind her, Willow allowed herself to do a single skip before she slipped back into her calm and unflinching Death Dealer persona.

Now that she had managed to find the girl and a way to keep her safe, nothing was ever going to harm her again.

[Wills redemption]

Dibs! Very promising start! I love the "Underworld"-movies but I'm also glad that you didn't stick to the original story too close, makes it more interesting because I don't know how the story will continue. I hope you'll update soon!

Just read you're shorts with Willow, Tara and Samantha, all very cute! I'd love to read more of them either!