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Author's Chapter Notes:
Tara and Willow see each other again

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Reunion


Buffy hit the brakes on the other side of the portal. Tara saw Willow standing there looking beautiful and hopeful and alive. Jumping out of the truck, the warning bells in her head were drowned out by the beating of her heart. She threw herself into Willow's arms, sobbing, and was rewarded with Willow embracing her just as tightly. They stood there, holding each other, until Tara's sobs subsided. When they pulled away from each other, Tara really looked at Willow. It was Will; thinner and paler than Tara remembered and her energy was tinged with sadness and a deep regret that hadn't been there before. But it was her Willow. The power emanating from Willow made the deepest impact. It was strong but Buffy had been right; Willow had it under control.

“Welcome home, baby,” Willow said softly, tears flowing freely down her face. Goddess, she was beautiful. Tara was suddenly painfully aware of how she must look to Willow and ducked her head, her hair falling in her face. She was a mess; she hadn't actually been outside in the sun in over a year, sleep had been fitful and hard to come by, she had barely been able to keep herself clean by whatever drinking water she could spare and the very little they had gathered in a rain barrel in the back yard. Her hair was no longer soft and shiny the way Willow had liked it and her clothes, also as clean as she could keep them, were old and ratty. The food they'd been able to find hadn't always been nutritious and she knew that showed, too. 'What must she be thinking of me, right now?' Tara thought, despair starting to settle in her chest until she felt Willow's hand gently cup her chin and tilt her face up. 'Goddess, that smile.' It was her smile, the one Willow saved for Tara. Willow's beautiful green eyes looked deep into Tara's blue ones and Tara felt herself getting lost again. Lost in Willow. She smiled back and pulled Willow into another hug.

The sound of a throat clearing broke through to her. She separated from Willow and looked around, taking in her surroundings and wondering how this 'better' reality could look so much not-better than the Sunnyhell she just left. Panic welled within her as she saw the huge crater and the barren landscape until her gaze fell upon the source of the throat clearing - Xander and Giles. The sight of the two men helped quell some of her fears as she left Willow's side, hugging them both tightly, her tears flowing freely once again. Giles was a little grayer at the temples than he had been when she last saw him and Xander was sporting a patch over one eye but they were alive and a reading of their auras revealed they were them. They were all alive. She felt Willow and Buffy join the hug and, after a moment, they broke apart, all grinning through their tears.

“Erm . . . Angel?” Giles asked, removing his glasses and polishing them with his handkerchief.

“He's in the trailer,” Buffy responded, “he's not on speaking terms with the Mr. Sunshine, remember? It's a thing.”

“Of course. Welcome home, Tara,” Giles said, regaining his composure and balancing his glasses back on his nose. “We should move along then, nothing left to be done here and, while the hellmouth may be closed, I don't want to risk being here after dark. Tara, we've made arrangements at a hotel near Los Angeles. After you've had a hot meal, a hot shower and as much rest as you need or you'd like, we can talk about what you'd like to do now.”

Tara's head was spinning and she felt completely overwhelmed as she nodded. “Okay,” she said, still not believing this was all real. Willow was alive, standing next to her, holding her hand. She was home “ sort of. 'No,' she thought, looking at her chosen family, 'I am home. They may not be the people I lost but . . . they are and they obviously still care about me or, at least, the me that was here. And she can't be too different from the me that is here now, me-me, can she?' She tried in vain to stop her train of thought, it was too much to take in. Big hole, dead friends being not-dead, barren landscape. She wanted to talk to Angel, she wanted to wake up now, she wanted it to be real.

She suddenly looked at Buffy. “Wait. Where's Dawn?” she asked worriedly.

Buffy smiled. “She's in England. She wanted to come but we needed her to be there.” Tara looked quizzically at her and Buffy laughed. “There's a lot to talk about.”

Xander spoke up. “Will, Tara “ you can ride with me in the car. Buff, you wanna ride with Giles in the truck? Maybe let Angel know what's going on?”

Buffy nodded and turned toward the back of the trailer but Angel was standing there. “Angel! What are you . . . oh my God “ you're not on fire!”

Tara stood there gaping at Angel, unable to comprehend what she was seeing. The whole group looked dumbfounded.

“I-I think I'm alive. Heartbeat, hunger, fatigue, no blood lust “ I'm human.” Angel looked and sounded as surprised as the rest of them.

“But, how?” Buffy looked incredulous and Tara could understand why. The unreality of the situation was taking on a very surreal quality, to put it mildly.

“I don't know,” Angel said, a look of bewilderment on his face. He shook his head. “I don't know,” he repeated.

“Well, let's not stand around here. We can talk on the way to the hotel and more when we get there. Decisions need to be made and, apparently, at least one more mystery needs to be solved,” Giles said, stirring them to movement.

Willow started to lead Tara to the waiting car, turning back briefly, “Giles, will you please take care of . . .”

“Of course,” he said, interrupting her “consider it done”

When they got to the car the two witches settled into the backseat. Tara turned to Willow. “You found me. Again,” she said quietly.

“Always,” Willow whispered, kissing her gently on her forehead.

“Will . . .” Tara started, knowing there was so much they had to talk about.

“Shh, baby. We'll have plenty of time to talk later. Rest now.” Willow said, again smiling the smile Tara had dreamt about for two years. She felt warm for the first time in a year. Smiling wearily back, Tara curled up on the seat laying her head in Willow's lap. Willow's arm immediately encircled her while her free hand stroked Tara's hair. Tara knew there was a lot of work ahead of them; they weren't really the same people they were when they last saw each other, literally. 'Will we like each other? Goddess, how will I fit into this world where I don't exist?' Her mind worried over the myriad of questions plaguing her brain but she was mainly focused on how and where she would fit in here. The only thing she was sure of as sleep claimed her was that she was right where she wanted to be “ safe in Willow's arms.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*


Willow and Tara went to the car and settled into the backseat. Tara turned to Willow. “You found me. Again,” she said quietly.

“Always,” Willow whispered, kissing her gently on her forehead.

“Will . . .”

Willow knew this wasn't the time or place to start this conversation. “Shh, baby. We'll have plenty of time to talk later. Rest now,” she said, smiling softly. Tara smiled back and Willow could tell Tara was relieved. She looked so weary. Willow felt like her heart would break free of her chest as Tara curled up on the seat, laying her head in Willow's lap. She instinctively put one arm protectively around Tara while using her free hand to stroke Tara's hair. She knew this was temporary, knew that there were going to be questions and when she answered them, would Tara want anything to do with her? 'Goddess, what has she been through?' she wondered as she held the blonde. She looked and smelled, well, clean-ish, her hair wasn't the soft and shiny hair Willow remembered. She wondered if Tara would be able to trust her again, get past the fact that she was doing majicks. Wondered if Tara could love her again. Willow sighed softly, the road ahead of them was long and filled with uncertainty but, for now, Tara was home.

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Chapter End Notes:
Next Week: Brave New World
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