WISH VERSE

BY

KINETIC-KID

Rating:              NC-17 (XXX - Sex ?? What Sex??!!!)

Disclaimer:       Definitely no money being made. All characters belong to Joss Whedon and ME. I own nothing except whatever characters I may make up for this story along with the storyline. I just like to play with them (I WISH!! WAAAHHH) - I promise to put them back after I’m done!!

Distribution:     Oh yeah, anywhere, anytime. Just make sure I get credit and let me know where it is.

Spoilers:           HELLO!!  Title!!!  This is set in the Wish Verse.  So no spoilers to be spoiled… HUH?  LOL

Feedback:         Please, Please, PLEASE!!! I live for feedback. I get irritable and upset if I don’t get any and I might not continue writing. Of course, if you don’t like the story and think it sucks you may not want me to continue!  But if you like and enjoy GIMME, GIMME, GIMME!!!

Pairing:            B/T, G/J

Summary:         Let me make a few things clear, this will be set in the Wish Verse Universe.  WITH changes (Though we don’t know a lot about that universe)!!  Buffy isn’t killed by the Master, and a certain Blonde Wiccan is there.  We are going to assume, for all intents and purposes, that the people in this universe are a few years older than they are in the regular BTVS Universe.  Also, can’t have a different world without there being quite a few other differences, now can we?  There will be some serious darkness involved in this story, be forewarned.  BDSM will also play a part, though there won’t be a LOT of details, more leaving a lot of it to the imagination of the reader with certain things being commented on. 

***

Our BTVS Universe: 

A glimpse of a redheaded vampire being pushed towards a stake by an angry looking Oz…  The Master pulling a Vampire Xander in front of him to take the cross bolt meant for him…  A tougher, grittier, more scarred and tired blonde slayer advancing on the Master…  Another different blonde just coming into view as the portal closes…

Willow looks at Buffy, seeing if she’d noticed the differences. 

Buffy stares unseeingly at the closed portal.  The sight of the obviously different version of her almost as much of a shock as the Vampire Willow that had come to this world. 

“That looked quite different from our world.”  Willow comments unnecessarily. 

“Yeah, it did.”  Buffy sighs quietly, having recognized the look of destitution on her other self’s face.  “Well, that takes care of that.  No more Vampire Willows, please.”  Buffy smiles quickly at her best friend trying to shake off the thoughts of her alternate self.  “I don’t think any of us could take it.”

“Nope.  Don’t plan on being a vampire now or ever.”  Willow smiles as she glances back to watch Anya scurrying away, laughing quietly as she and Buffy joke as they head out of the high school towards home.

***

Wish Verse:  Prologue

Tara Maclay and Jenny Calendar come running in at the last minute to help the slayer and the White Hats fight the Master, the two women, so different in looks and temperament coming from opposite corners of the room.

Seeing the slayer, that had literally just arrived to help with the vampire problem, about ready to die at the hands of the Master, Jenny and Tara work in tandem to freeze the Master. 

Buffy jumps in surprise, having finally accepted… and looked forward to her death.  As the Master’s grip on her neck doesn’t tighten and just stays the way it is as the fighting continues about her, her cold, dead eyes glance around the room, seeing the dark-haired gypsy woman looking worriedly her way even as she continues her perusal of the group, watching as the White Hats fight and seem to be turning the tide in their favor as her eyes are captured by a pair of sparkling blue eyes.  Seeming to draw strength from the blue eyes, not even aware of it being a woman she’s looking at, just seeing the warmth and strength, she turns and with all her strength she slams the stake home within the Master, watching the flesh slowly disintegrate as the bones drop to the ground. 

Not knowing why she has the urge but going with the feeling, she grabs a small metal table from the side, turning it over and slamming it down, crushing and splintering the bones.

***

Tara drags her gaze away from the slayer, seeing Jenny’s lover, Giles fighting against a vampire, but slowly losing.  Thankful for the connection she has with Jenny at this moment, she sends a protection spell along with a strengthening spell his way, she nods at his smile of acknowledgement, as he looks at her after quickly staking the vampire. 

Jenny heads to the souled vampire, fighting against his captors, helping them take control against his own clan. 

As he dusts his sire, Darla, he collapses, a shell of the vampire he once was, having been tortured, half starved and a pet for so many years.  He looks up sadly at the woman from the clan that had cursed him.  “Finish me.”  He begs softly. 

Jenny shakes her head, kneeling besides the vampire.  “You have your own destiny, Angelus.  We’ll help you get stronger and then send you on your way.  There is much that the Powers That Be have in store for you.”  Jenny smiles softly at the vampire. 

Angel sighs heavily as he slowly nods his head and stands, looking about the room to see who might need help.

Jenny’s eyes canvas the remaining White Hats still standing, sighing in relief as her eyes land on Rupert, her slightly battered but breathing lover.  Seeing his bluish/green eyes connect with hers, she quickly closes the distance between them to hug him tightly.

“We did well.”  Giles whispers, hugging his lover tightly.  “This was a great victory for our side, but it’s just the tip of the iceberg of taking back control of this town.”

“Yes, it is.  But I have a good feeling, Rupert.”  Jenny admits softly as she watches the young woman that had shown up roughly two months earlier, saying that she felt a calling to this place, slowly approach the hard, cold slayer.  Jenny nods her head that yes she definitely has a good feeling about the future.

***

Chapter 1

Giles rubs a hand roughly over his forehead as he feels another headache manifesting itself behind his eyes.  Giles sighs heavily as the stubborn slayer with a death wish storms out of his apartment.

“You aren’t going to be able to talk any sense into her, Rupert.  She needs something more to make her feel again.”  Jenny wraps her arms around the man she’s come to love.  “She’s lost so much.  She lost all her family and loved ones to vampires and demons.  That’s fueled her until now.  Now she needs someone to awaken her heart again, to give her back her soul.”

Giles leans against his lover.  “Do you think she’s the one?”  Giles doesn’t explain, knowing Jenny will understand.

“I think so.  I can practically see their spirits reaching out for each other whenever they’re near one another.”  Jenny smiles softly.  “It’ll take time.”

“We may not have time.  There are already rumblings in the demon community that there’s a vacuum here for a master.  If we cannot get control of the demons already here, with a new influx we’ll be overrun with even more powerful demons.”  Giles points out tiredly.

“I know.”  Jenny stares sadly at the door, knowing that Tara was planning on being out tonight.  Hoping that she intercepts the slayer and starts working on knocking some of those walls around the slayer’s heart down, starting tonight. 

***

Tara double-checks her pockets and fanny pack.  Preparing a couple dozen spells that she could activate with one simple word, Tara prepares to leave the small house she’d bought right after arriving in Sunnydale. 

Remembering her mom’s soft words as the woman had prepared to cross over into the afterlife, having hung on to help her daughter prepare as much as possible. 

“My daughter, there is much that you will be tested for.  You are aware of the evil that is in this world, both human and non-human.  You must never let your guard down and you have to fight for what you want and believe in.  Always follow your heart it will never lead you astray.  I have taught you everything I know and hopefully made you strong enough to deal with the life you will be faced with.  Don’t grieve for me, embrace life to the fullest.  There will be much hardship, but it will make love and laughter that much sweeter and precious when you achieve it.”  Danielle smiles at her daughter, even as the life in her eyes flickers, her life force drawing to a close. 

“My heart led me here, Mama.  It led me to her.  The guilt, pain and suffering that literally oozes from her is unbelievable.  I’m afraid I’ll have to do something drastic to fight through the layers she has surrounding her.”  Tara murmurs softly as she looks out at the slowly darkening sky, her mind thinking about the fight with the Master that happened a couple weeks ago. 

She had approached the slayer after they had won the day a flicker of life had shone for a moment in the hazel depths as they made contact with her eyes, before the coldness had taken control again.  She’d silently watched as the slayer had spun on her heel and strode from the factory. 

They had, of course, dealt with each other since then.  But the slayer had kept the interaction to a minimum and had refused any and all offers of help from the group.  Insisting on patrolling by herself and often showing up bruised and battered the next day.

Having had enough, Tara finally decided to shadow the slayer.  Setting the spell in motion, Tara leaves the security of her house as the night settles around her.

***

Buffy silently stalks the creatures of the night, fighting and killing them with no comments, fanfare or extra wasted movements.  With a clinical detached air, she tucks her stake away as she pulls the rubber band she has in her hair the rest of the way out before pulling the limp mass into a tighter bundle, gathering and wrapping the band repeatedly in it to keep it out of her way in a ponytail.  Her eyes watching the group of vampires heading towards her, wondering if this might finally be the end of her.  Wanting the end to come, but the Slayer portion of her not letting her give in without a fight.  Somewhat surprised at the re-emergence of the Slayer inside her starting to try and come to the surface.  Battling down that part of her and locking it away where she’d had it for the last year, Buffy tilts her head and watches the vampires.

Tara slides into the doorway of a building as Buffy stands in the middle of downtown Sunnydale, pulling her hair back into a tight ponytail as a group of vampires make their way quickly towards her, to circle her.  Realizing that the vampires were getting smarter, now that they were without a Master, and the Slayer was here on the Hellmouth, there had been chaos.  Since the vampires are all out for themselves, they’re relatively easy pickings for the slayer and the White Hats.  She had even taken out ten herself easily because they were without leadership. 

Buffy’s cold hazel eyes gauge the strength and age of the vampires surrounding her.  Deciding three of them were relatively low-level, young demons, she dismisses them without another thought.  The other four, though, set her senses off a lot stronger.  A slow, half smirk, half snarl crosses her face.  “Maybe tonight’s my night.”  Buffy growls deeply.

Tara unconsciously clenches her hands as she sees the look crossing the slayer’s face along with hearing her comment.  “Not if I can help it.”  Tara whispers softly, pulling out a handful of small wooden stakes, tagging them for three of the seven vampires.  The items becoming homing beacons once she sets the spells in motion, as she watches the vampires all converge on the slayer.

Buffy growls deeply as she pulls out a stake even as she slams her fist into one vampire’s jaw.  Grunting as she feels a couple fists land against her body, the slayer moves strongly without any wasted movements.

Tara stares at the slayer as she fights the vampires each kick and hit making contact.  Silently watching her, Tara sees the spirit of the Slayer fighting, wanting to live, trying to break through the woman’s iron control.  Fighting against the young woman’s wish to die, knowing eventually the Slayer will lose unless something changes.  Wondering if she has what it will take to help the woman with the Slayer within her.  Feeling her chest constrict as the vampires seem to start to turn the tide in their favor, Tara unthinkingly sends out the small stakes.  Finding their homes in the three vampires’ hearts and quickly turning them to dust.  Seeing the confused look on the slayer’s face before she’s picked up and thrown, Tara sends out rapid-fire balls of flame at the remaining vampires as she realizes the slayer wasn’t getting back up.  Knowing in her heart that tonight was the night the Slayer was finally going to lose the battle. 

Buffy silently groans as she lies looking up at the night sky, waiting for the vampires to finish her off.  Her mind tries to figure out how three of the vampires had dusted without her.  As she senses someone coming up beside her, but the person not setting off her slayer senses, she’s almost, but not completely surprised to see worried blue eyes looking down at her, coming closer.  But what does surprise her is the absolutely livid anger that quickly replaces the worry.

“The world may be a fucking shitty place, but it needs you in it!  It needs you heart and soul fighting to make it right!  I don’t know what happened to you to make you want to give up, but enough!  All of us have lost loved ones, whether it’s to disease, accident or a fucking vampire!  We find a reason to live, a reason to fight.  Whether it’s in remembrance of that loved one, or for a friend, spouse or a damned puppy!  We all find a reason.  It isn’t our job, it isn’t our CALLING!  We do it because we want to and because we want this world to be a better place to live in.”  Tara narrows her gaze on the slayer as the woman watches her without a flicker of emotion showing in her eyes or on her face.  “We do it for love.”  Tara murmurs sadly, slowly shaking her head as she fights the tears coming to her eyes, wondering if it might be too late for the slayer after all.  “Maybe it’s too late for you.  I’m sure if you stay here, another demon will be more than happy to come along and finish the job.  I’m… I’m not going to stay to watch, though.”  Tara whispers heart-brokenly as the tears start to fall. 

Standing up, Tara turns to slowly head back to her home.  Her heart aching, but knowing that she can’t fight the slayer’s battle for her.  If the woman truly has a death wish, eventually it will come true, and no matter how much time she spends following her to try and protect her, it’ll happen.

Buffy digs her short nails into the blacktop under her as the witch’s words roll and fight inside her scratchy brain.  Her Slayer portion screaming out that the woman is right!  She needs to fight and protect the world and her friends.  “I don’t have any friends!”  Buffy growls out loudly to the part of her fighting to stay alive and kill the evil things that are trying to take over her world.  Almost not wanting to allow that violent part of her loose again, knowing what it could mean.

Tara stops walking as she hears the slayer’s words, but doesn’t turn around, silently waiting to see if she’ll say something else. 

“We aren’t meant to have friends, witch.  We’re meant to live, fight and die alone.”  Buffy finally speaks to the woman she watches stand there with her back to her, but not leaving after her angry words.

“Why?”  Tara questions softly.  Slowly turning to look at the slayer, her eyes searching the cold hazel eyes somewhat surprised to see anger and pain warring against the coldness.

“That’s the way we are.  The Watcher will tell you.  It’s one girl in all the world, not a girl and twenty other people.”  Buffy narrows her gaze on the woman, even knowing how in a certain way that part is a complete lie.

“Why?  Why can’t it be a girl and twenty other people?  Why can’t a girl and a coven of witches, a werewolf along with a whole town rise up and take back their town?  And maybe hopefully one day, the world, from the evil demons that are trying to take it over?”  Tara questions seriously, her head tilted as she looks at the woman. 

Buffy shifts painfully, slowly standing to look at the woman.  “I’ve lost everyone that I ever cared for to the evil that this world has spawned including myself.  Why do you care?”

“Why wouldn’t I care?”  Tara searches the confused hazel eyes.  “My mother died of cancer, slowly eating away at her body.  My father was a sadistic bastard.  My brother was a fool that met up with the wrong woman one night at a bar.  He was turned, came home and my father invited him in.  Try being a witch that knows about things that go bump in the night, but never having seen one until the night she had to kill her own brother after he’d literally torn her father to pieces.  All of us have lost someone, Buffy.  For good or bad, we have.  But in the end you have to care and love or you might as well just lie there and allow the demons to take you.”  Tara sighs quietly as she slowly turns away.  “Given the chance, you could love and be loved, but it can’t be forced upon you.  Lie down and die, if that’s what you truly want.  I’d rather have a thirteen year old novice that wants to live and fight against the demons, than an older, more experienced slayer that’s given up.  At least she’ll have the heart to want to win for love and the world, and at the end of the day that’s what matters.”

Buffy digs her chipped, broken nails into the palms of her hands as she watches the woman stride down the road, the darkness slowly swallowing her.  Unaware of the blood dripping down between her fingers Buffy winces as she feels a sharp pain in the vicinity of her heart.  Fighting against the cracking of the ice she has encased around it, she turns in the opposite direction from the blonde, her feet leading her to the Watcher’s house.  Her pain ridden body moving on its own without her mind to guide it.

***

Jenny and Giles silently look at each other as they close the door to their spare bedroom, the two quietly working their way up the stairs and to the master bedroom. 

“What in the world?”  Giles whispers as he runs a hand through his hair, the surprise obvious in his eyes at the slayer that had shown up on his doorstep softly asking if they’d mind her crashing here for the night, after wondering if they would mind wrapping her ribs.

Jenny doesn’t bother answering Giles as she picks up the phone, knowing it wasn’t really a question directed at her, just his subconscious mind wanting to say something.  Quickly punching in the numbers, Jenny taps her fingers against the headboard as she sits down on the bed.  “Yes, it’s Jenny.  Did you talk with Buffy tonight?”

***

Tara sighs quietly as she picks up the ringing phone.  “Maclay.”  She answers sadly as she heads into the bathroom and finishes stripping as the bath water runs, ignoring the view of her body in the full-length mirror.  The lean and slightly muscular body, with quite a few vivid scars across her breasts and stomach, something most people wouldn’t realize was hidden under her clothes.  Hearing the answer and question on the other end, Tara chuckles without any humor.  “Yes, for what good it probably did.”  Tara pours some relaxing salts in the water, watching as the large tub slowly fills.

“It must have done something.  She showed up here about fifteen minutes ago, asking if we’d mind wrapping her ribs and let her crash here for the night.”  Jenny explains quietly, the unspoken question obvious in her voice.

Tara blinks in surprise at the gypsy’s words.  “Huh.  That’s surprising.”

“What did you say to her?”  Jenny finally questions after Tara doesn’t say anything else.

“Hell if I know.”  Tara admits, running a hand through her hair as she turns and waves a hand to light the candles in her bathroom, before flicking the overhead light off, groaning quietly as she steps into the hot water, slowly sinking into the tub.  “I was pissed for a good portion of it, and had pretty much given up on the other part.  I told her that everyone’s lost people they love, and a bunch of other things, but honestly I can’t remember exactly what all I said now.”

“Well, I think something you said must have gotten her to thinking.”  Jenny smiles sadly.  “Breakfast tomorrow, as usual?” 

Tara tilts her head back against the tub as she slowly sinks lower into the hot water, reaching out with her foot to turn the water off.  “Okay, same time?”

“Of course.”  Jenny wishes the young woman a quiet good night as Tara returns the wishes and hangs up.  Slowly replacing the receiver, her eyes search out Rupert.  “She doesn’t remember what she said, but…”

“Maybe this is the start to awakening the young woman downstairs.”  Giles smiles at Jenny as he slowly walks to the window, staring out at the night.  “I have a feeling she’s the one, Jenny.  The one the prophecies spoke of.”

“Time will tell.”  Jenny stands and strips her clothes off, tossing them in the hamper before walking up behind her lover, wrapping her arms around his waist.  “Come to bed, Rupert.  Let tomorrow take care of its self.”

Giles leans back into Jenny’s arms, a half smile on his lips.  “Have I told you what a wise woman you are?”

“Hmmm.  I’m sure you haven’t.”  Jenny chuckles as Giles turns, the flare of desire obvious in his eyes as he gazes upon her. 

“You’re also very beautiful.”  Giles huskily states as he gently scoops Jenny up in his arms, carrying her to bed.  “And I would like to spend the next few hours showing you how very beautiful you are.”

“Come here, Rupert.”  Jenny whispers, pulling her lover down for a loving kiss, as she feels her heart beat double time as it always does when he speaks to her in that husky tone.  “Make love to me.”  Jenny brushes her lips softly along his jaw, smiling as she hears the husky groan in response to her words.

***

Chapter 2

Tara shifts the bags in her hands from where she'd stopped at the store and picked up a gallon of orange juice and milk so she can knock on the door, a small smile on her face as she looks into Jenny's grinning countenance.  "You seem happy this morning."  Tara states the obvious as she comes into the apartment, heading towards the kitchen.

"I feel a good change coming."  Jenny explains as she follows Tara, watching as Giles pulls out the two large containers of breakfast bakes out of the oven. 

"Smells good."  Tara nods as she sets the gallons on the counter, knowing there's no sense in putting them in the refrigerator.  The other members of the group should be there in a short time, and the two gallons would disappear.  "Anything I can help with?"

"Nope.  You know it's pretty much a free for all.  If you want to do up your sausage gravy for tomorrow morning later, we won't complain though."  Jenny winks and tilts her head as she hears the shower shut off.  She'd dropped off the slayer's washed clothes a few minutes before as she'd heard the woman head into the shower. 

Tara stares at the wall separating the kitchen from the downstairs bathroom, realizing the slayer must still be here.  Surprising in and of itself, especially considering the fact that the woman hardly showed up for breakfast, let alone stayed with anyone.  "How was she this morning?"

"Don't know."  Jenny shrugs.  "I haven't really seen her.  She was still asleep when we started fixing breakfast, then after I heard the shower start up, I went and got her clothes and threw them in the bathroom while she was showering."

Tara barely nods her head.  "Will I need to go get sausage for the gravy?"

"No, we picked up extra for the sausage, egg and cheese bake."  Giles explains as he sets everything down, hearing the knock on the door, he excuses himself to let in the rest of the group, expecting Oz, Amy, Jason, Darian and Larry.

"Better grab it while you can."  Jenny comments watching as Tara grabs a small glass, pouring orange juice in it before grabbing a plate and fork, scooping out a small portion of the bake, hesitating for a moment before setting the items down and grabbing another plate, piling it high and sticking a fork in it before pouring a large glass of milk, carefully walking as she juggles the two glasses and plates to quickly ease out of the small kitchen as the rest of the group talk as they head towards the kitchen.  Jenny purses her lips as she watches Tara, hoping that the young witch doesn't get hurt, already aware of the fact that Tara knows what she’s getting into, Rupert having told her of the witch’s research.

***

Tara watches as Buffy sits down to tie her heavy, steel toed boots, her eyes unconsciously taking in the slayer.  Noticing the wet hair pulled back in her usual tight ponytail, the scar along her upper lip showing plainly.  Shaking her head at her own wonderings, Tara sets down the piled up plate and glass of milk on the coffee table in front of the slayer before settling down on the couch to work her way through the small amount of food on her plate.

Buffy stiffens slightly as she watches Tara come out of the kitchen, before tilting her head down as she ties her shoes.  Watching the witch unobtrusively, surprised as the blonde sets down the plate piled high with food, along with a large glass of milk in front of her. 

Tara glances up as the slayer seems frozen, staring at the plate of food in front of her.  Sighing quietly, Tara finishes her breakfast before sipping her orange juice.  "I didn't poison it, and it is better eaten warm, rather than cold." 

Buffy's shuttered eyes lift to look at the blonde.  Watching as Tara shrugs her shoulders and stands with her empty plate and glass. 

"Maybe this'll convince you."  Tara grumbles softly, sticking her fork in the middle of the slayer's food and eating the fork full of food quickly before setting her fork on her plate and grabbing the glass of milk to take a sip, setting it back down.  "There, if I die you know not to eat it."  Tara growls quietly as she strides out of the living room, ignoring the rest of the crew talking amongst themselves as they stand around eating the food, having watched the interaction curiously.

Buffy tilts her head as she looks at her food with the missing bite right in the middle, for some reason the witch's actions tickle her and her lip twitches as a smile tries to fight its way onto her face.  Listening to the rest of the group as they go back to talking amongst themselves, Buffy picks up the plate of food.  Scooping up some, Buffy chews and swallows before quickly inhaling what's left of the rest on the plate.  She licks her lips even as she picks up the glass of milk downing it quickly. 

Jenny smiles as she watches Buffy, before turning back, the rest of the group having varying degrees of surprised looks on their faces.  Seeing Amy look at her questioningly, Jenny just chuckles and shakes her head. 

Buffy hesitates for a moment before standing, grabbing the plate and glass to stride into the kitchen, her eyes drawn to the witch stirring something in a large pot.  Looking around, she notices the pan with a little more of the breakfast food left in it.  Cautiously stepping over to the pan, she sets her glass down to scoop what's left onto her plate. 

"It's cold.  You can throw it in the microwave for a couple minutes to heat it back up."  Tara tilts her head towards the microwave without looking at the slayer. 

Buffy grunts quietly as she places the plate in the microwave and pressing the buttons before walking over to the refrigerator, quickly refilling her glass with the rest of the milk.  Buffy turns to throw the empty container in the trash.  "Fixing up a witch's brew?"

"Yes, it's supposed to make bitchy, pain in the ass slayers a little easier to deal with."  Tara narrows her eyes, glancing at the slayer out of the corner of her eye, surprised when she sees a small quirk to her lips.

"Good luck."  Buffy snorts softly as she grabs her heated food out of the microwave along with her glass of milk off the counter and leaves the witch in the kitchen alone.

Tara blinks in surprise, her head snapping around to watch the slayer leave the kitchen.  "Maybe you're human after all."  Tara states in her normal voice, knowing even if she whispered the slayer would be able to hear her.  Chuckling softly, Tara turns back to the sausage she's browning in the pot, preparing the sausage gravy for the next morning.

***

Tara and Jenny glance at each other as they look back down at the map that they'd placed a spell on, looking for powerful demons in the Sunnydale area. 

Buffy's leaning against the wall, her arms crossed over her chest as she watches the two women, her eyes inexorably drawn to the blonde.  When blue eyes turn to capture hers, Buffy shifts the slightest amount, feeling somewhat uncomfortable, something she normally doesn't feel.

"There are at least three major players in town right now, and one that looks like he's holed up outside of town."  Tara explains as she finally pulls her eyes away from the slayer, having felt the unwavering gaze on her for the last fifteen minutes, she'd decided to finally make eye contact with her.

"I would suggest going to the different areas in groups, starting with the nearest one and working our way to the one furthest away."  Giles taps the map, and the light by the old Sunnydale High school, though standing, not in use since the vampires had taken over the town.  "We don't know how many minions and other demons they might have working with them, and it would be best to go after the bigger players during the day first, then work on cleaning up the lesser demons at night."

"How do you want to split the groups up?"  Tara questions, tilting her head at the Watcher. 

"You are our most powerful witch, so you'll go in a group, while Jenny and Amy will work together in another group.  Oz and Larry work well together so I'd like to keep them together.  Maybe you, Oz, Larry and Buffy could go to the warehouse district, take that one out, while the rest of us go to the school.  We'll see what we're up against and how everyone's doing to see if we should meet up to take out the third one in town, or wait."  Giles offers, glancing at the group, his eyes lighting on the slayer for a few minutes, questioning if that was okay with her with his eyes.

Buffy slowly nods her head in acceptance. 

"I need to go by my house and pick up a few things."  Tara stands as she looks at Oz and Larry.

"We'll meet you there in..."  Larry glances up at the clock, running a hand through his hair.  "Thirty minutes?  Oz and I need to get a few extra weapons to be on the safe side."

"I have extra stakes and knives I'll bring, also."  Tara offers quietly as she nods towards the two men, her eyes glancing at the slayer for a few moments before turning and heading out of the apartment.

Giles hands out weapons, while packing a couple backpacks with additional weapons, sighing as he realizes he's going to have to work on getting more.  "Buffy, what do you need?"

Buffy looks at the items.  "I'll take the short sword, along with a couple extra stakes if you have them to spare."  Buffy's gaze turns back to the closed door, silently wondering where the witch lives.  Having the urge to talk to the woman more, but not where everyone else can hear, the woman's comment and chuckle earlier having intrigued her after she'd left the kitchen.

Quickly tucking away the weapons, and slinging the make-shift holder across her shoulder, Buffy looks at Oz and Larry.

"Do you want to catch a ride with us?"  Oz offers quietly, not expecting the slayer to say yes, from past experiences.  Therefore, he's shocked when he receives a curt nod in answer. 

"Thanks."  Buffy grunts out the word quietly as she turns and walks out of the apartment, walking out into the courtyard, staring up at the blue sky.  The powder blue reminding the slayer of the witch's eyes when they'd studied her earlier without any emotion showing.  "I don't understand why you care whether I live or die... but maybe I'll stick around for a while to find out."

***

Buffy looks at the single story house, surprised when Oz pulled his van up in front of it after stopping at his parents’ house to pick up the additional weapons.  Looking at the pale yellow house with the freshly planted flowers in front, her eyes curiously taking in the plants hanging down from the roof of the porch she tilts her head as she doesn’t see any flowers blooming from them.  Hearing Oz open his door, Buffy quickly slides open the side door heading towards the house, smirking as she hears the redhead shut the door quickly. 

Looking at the plants, Buffy recognizes a couple of them that the witches have used in spells, nodding in understanding that most of the items must be for spells.  Striding to the front door, she opens the screen door and knocks firmly.  Hearing the witch quickly heading towards the door, Buffy tilts her head and raises an eyebrow at the surprised look on Tara’s face.

Tara blinks and stares at the slayer for a few minutes.  “Uh…  I was just finishing gathering the additional weapons, if you’d like to help.”  Tara steps back from the door, waving the slayer into her house as she turns back towards the living room.

Buffy steps into the house, her eyes surprised at the wood floors, the wood a warm, reddish color with a high gloss.  Following Tara down the hallway, she lets her eyes take in the house.

“Sorry for some of the mess.  I’ve been working on re-finishing the house a room at a time.”  Tara admits quietly as she tosses stakes and knives into a bag, before grabbing another one to put a crossbow and a bag of bolts in.  “I painted the outside of the house and planted the flowers, then did the hallways, bathroom and my bedroom first, now I’m working on the living room.”  Tara grins over her shoulder at the slayer, before dropping her eyes back down to the bag, wondering why she’s nervous around the slayer.

Buffy blinks in surprise.  Noticing that the room was half painted, she looks down at the floor, noticing the old carpet.  “Are you putting in wood floors?”

Tara chuckles and shakes her head as she zips the bags.  “No.  That’s what’s hiding under the fugly carpet.”  Tara smirks at the surprised look crossing the slayer’s face.  “I’m repainting the room first then I’ll tear up the carpeting.  After that I’ll strip the old wood, sand it down, use a mixture of sealer and clear stain then put about ten coats of polyurethane on it.” 

“Clear?”  Buffy spins around to look at the floor in the hallway, confused at the warm deep red color.

“It’s cherry.  The house is over two hundred years old…”  Tara sighs and shakes her head.  “Sorry, you don’t want to hear about this.  Let’s go.”  Tara grabs the two bags, surprised when the slayer steps up and takes them from her.

“Actually… I kind of like hearing about it.”  Buffy shrugs at the admittance.  “Something normal sounds kinda good.”

Tara nods her understanding.  “Maybe in the future if you’d like to get together to relax, maybe I could fix an early dinner and we can talk about my obsession with strange and odd things.”  Tara grins crookedly at the slayer.

Buffy blinks in surprise at the twinkling blue eyes and the crooked grin, feeling a partial stirring in her chest as the ice that had cracked the previous night cracks more, a chunk falling away.  “Know how to cook meatloaf?”  Buffy’s surprised even more than the witch is at the question that slipped out of her mouth. 

“Ummm, yes.  Yes I do.”  Tara licks her lips as she feels her heart start to pound in her chest.  She follows the slayer out of her house, stopping to lock the three deadbolts on the outside of the door before following the slayer down the steps towards the van, sighing heavily at the sight of Larry and Oz looking their way.  “If you want to tell me what else you’d like as side dishes, maybe I can get everything together for later this week.”  Tara makes the offer softly as she steps into the van, watching as the slayer tosses the bags towards the back before climbing in behind her. 

Buffy closes the door and turns to look at the witch as they sit down in the back of Oz’s van realizing it’s a mattress they’re sitting on for the first time.  “I like anything.”  Buffy answers equally as soft. 

Oz glances at Larry, shrugging imperceptibly before starting the van, heading towards the warehouse.  “Let me know when we get there, which one it is.”  Oz directs the statement towards Tara.

“It’s on the block of Main and Sixth.”  Tara let’s Oz know the general vicinity, turning back to Buffy, sighing quietly as the slayer seems to have withdrawn back inside herself again. 

Buffy stares at the back of the seat in front of her, thinking about the woman beside her.  Knowing she should be thinking about the upcoming fight, but unable to make her mind get off the thought of the witch’s crooked smile and twinkling eyes.  ‘Fuck me.’  Buffy whispers internally as she feels her heart thump quicker in her chest.  Sliding a quick glance at the witch, Buffy notices the sad look on her face.  ‘Yeah, what we need, a slayer with a death wish and a do-gooder witch out to save the world… and said slayer.’  Crossing her arms over her chest in a defensive posture, Buffy grits her teeth together and tries to shut down her emotions while burying the Slayer part of her again.

***

Chapter 3

"What the fuck?"  Buffy hisses as they work their way around the outside of the warehouse, her senses going crazy.

"What is it?"  Tara questions softly as Oz and Larry look at her.

"Serious badness."  Buffy points to her head and waves her hand around.  Stepping back from the warehouse with all the windows blacked out on the main floor, her eyes search the outside of the building further up, slowly making her way around the building, frowning at the fire escape that has to be a good four stories up, the lower portion obviously having been removed.  Growling quietly, Buffy looks around trying to find something to get her up high enough so she can jump the rest of the way. 

"Do you see a way in?"  Tara questions, seeing the anger in the searching gaze of the slayer.

"No. But I figured I could get in from the roof... if I can get up there."  Buffy growls as she doesn't see anything.

"Not without the rest of us."  Tara admonishes, she looks at Oz and Larry.  "Be quiet, understand?"  Tara warns, her eyes starting to pale as she starts a low chant after they nod and raise their eyes to the fire escape.

Buffy frowns as she watches the witch, wondering what she's up to, before she snaps her head back to the two men being lifted and brought to the fire escape, her eyes turn back to the witch. 

Tara makes sure that Oz and Larry arrive safely, and at their thumbs up, she looks at Buffy.  "Ready?"  At Buffy's quick nod, Tara starts the chant again, this time directing it at the slayer and herself.  As they rise Tara allows a small smile to cross her face at the grin that crosses the slayer's face, realizing for the first time that the slayer is actually a young woman though from her attitude and tough exterior she seems much older.  Sighing at the thought that this life has probably aged all of them more than they would think possible, Tara shakes the thoughts from her mind and eases up the stairs.

"You're kinda handy to have around, aren't you?"  Buffy questions softly, sliding her eyes to the witch as they quietly make their way up the metal stairs. 

"More than you know."  Tara whispers back, her eyes twinkling even as she sends her senses out, trying to track exactly what and how many they are going up against.  "Can you distinguish exactly what we're going up against inside, or do your senses just tell you there're demons?"

Buffy purses her lips. "If I concentrate I can break down what they are, as long as I've encountered similar demons before.  Each type of demon has a different... feel to them for lack of a better word."

"What do you feel?"  Tara questions as they finally climb on top of the roof.

"Well, besides wolfy here with us..."  Buffy quirks her lip barely, her eyes sliding to the werewolf.

Oz growls softly, though his eyes twinkle.

Tara chuckles softly before she looks seriously at the slayer, watching as the woman seems to search deep within herself.

"Vampires, minions..."  Buffy tilts her head as she tries to get the different signatures of the minions.  "I can't tell how many for sure, but I'd guess roughly around twenty-five minions."

Oz and Larry wince at the amount, both men becoming deadly serious as they watch the slayer.

Buffy narrows her eyes.  "There's one vampire that's roughly two hundred years old, along with another around 150... so there are two masters down there obviously trying to gather a force together." 

"We're going up against two master vampires along with at least twenty-five minions."  Tara murmurs as she starts to pull items out of her bag, handing out extra weapons to everyone, even as she tucks away her smaller stakes.

"What are those?"  Buffy points to the three inch stakes.

Tara raises an eyebrow looking up at the slayer.  "You use them every day and you're questioning what they are?"

Buffy growls softly.  "Why are they so small?"  She changes her question.

"Because they don't need to be huge as long as they go where they're sent."  Tara grins crookedly at the slayer.  "I put a magical tag on them and send them into the vampires’ hearts.  They're like a homing missile."  Tara shrugs as she looks back down wishing she'd made more of them.

Buffy's mind clicks in realization that that's what happened the previous night with the three vampires that dusted.  "How many of those can you send off at the same time?"

"Ten...  But I only have fifteen.  I've been going through them quicker than I can make them."  Tara admits softly. 

Buffy's mind starts working overtime.  "If you take out the two masters with those, along with the other ones closest to the masters, that'll only leave roughly a dozen vampires left to be taken out."

"Yes." Tara agrees with the thought.

"But we can't get too close to them, or they'll know we're there and ruin the surprise attack."  Buffy growls quietly. 

"How far can you drop down without hurting yourself?"  Tara questions curiously.

"A couple three levels."  Buffy shrugs, looking at the witch.

"Most of these warehouses have an opening down the middle, with railing around the edges.  If you can drop down in the middle right after I send the stakes out, you can take advantage of the confusion caused, and I'll float down Oz and Larry with you."  Tara offers, looking intently into the slayer's eyes, watching the wheels turn as the woman thinks about what she's saying.  "Then I'll work on hitting the other vamps on the outside with a little fire while you guys hit them with everything you have."

"Sounds like a plan."  Buffy sighs heavily, not liking to put these other people in danger, but Tara's little bitch fest the night before made her realize that it was stupid not to take them up on their help and expertise.  "Make sure you're prepared."  Buffy warns as she walks to the roof access, using a little slayer strength to break the lock on the door to allow them entrance.

Tara follows the rest, bringing up the rear, watching as Buffy silently prowls around the warehouse, like the predator she is.  Oz equally as quiet and predator like, the wolf part of him on alert, while Larry follows them as quietly as he can for his size.  Whispering a silence spell, Tara smiles quickly as the slayer jerks her head around to look at her.  Motioning to her ears, she cups her hands over them and shakes her head before stomping hard on the metal, grinning as there’s no sound. 

Buffy's eyes open wide in realization and nods quickly in understanding before working her way more quickly towards the vampires.

The group works their way down towards the bottom of the warehouse, Buffy hesitating on the third floor, as she lets her eyes search out the grouping of vampires beneath them, feeling the witch come up beside her.  Feeling the signature of the two stronger master vampires, Buffy points them out to the witch, watching as Tara nods her head, pulling out the handfuls of stakes, tagging the ten stakes, making sure two of them are tagged for the two masters.  Turning to look at the group she presses a finger to her lips to let them know to be quiet again, before breaking the silence spell, whispering out the incantation to ready Oz and Larry to go down with the slayer, Tara smiles softly at the group.  "Be careful.  I want everyone in one piece when this is done."  Tara warns quietly. 

Everyone nods their understanding, a small smirk on Oz's face as Larry rolls his eyes at the witch's worry, though thankful for the woman's help.  Buffy stares silently at the witch before nodding her head in silent acceptance and understanding.

Tara smiles in understanding before taking a deep breath, sending off the stakes while sending Oz and Larry after the slayer who swung over the railing as soon as the stakes were let loose.  Tara makes sure Oz and Larry land safely down in the melee happening below as she pulls out the last of her small stakes, sending them towards another five vampires she'd picked out earlier, her body starting to shake lightly.

***

Buffy swings the sword, beheading the vampires around her in a matter of seconds, taking advantage of their disorganization as she keeps an eye open on the two guys a short distance from her, nodding her head at them staying together, back to back as they fight the vampires around them.  Catching a flash of flame off to the right, she smirks as the vampire goes up in flames before dusting, as Tara starts taking out the vampires trying to run away.  Getting her thoughts back to the vampires surrounding them, Buffy works her way quickly and violently through them.

***

Feeling tired from the amount of magic she's used, almost draining her reserves completely, Tara shakily makes her way down the stairs.  On the last set of stairs she sits down and wipes the sweat from her forehead.  Glancing up watching as the slayer finishes off the last vampire that had hidden under the staircase out of sight.

"Tara, you okay?"  Oz questions softly as he and Larry walk over to the stairs, not liking the look of the pale, sweating witch. 

Buffy frowns at the wolf's comment, dusting off her clothes as she walks back around to the front of the stairs, seeing what the werewolf had seen. 

"No, she's not."  Jenny runs in, frowning heavily at the quantity of dust piles in the warehouse as the rest of the other group comes running in with her. 

"What's wrong?"  Buffy growls angrily her eyes cold as they look at the older gypsy woman before she turns the gaze on the blonde witch.

"She overextended herself."  Jenny hurries over to Tara, brushing the sweat-dampened hair from her pale, clammy face.  "She's going into shock.  She needs to be taken home, kept warm and to take in plenty of fluids and food."  Jenny glances over at Rupert.  "Rupert, can you...?"  She tilts her head towards Tara.

Giles quickly strides the short distance to the witch.  "Come on, Tara.  I'll carry you out to the van and take you to our house where you can stay." 

"No."  Tara shakes her head, even as she starts to shiver and shake more violently.  "Dani's outside.  I have to let her in and feed her." 

Buffy growls softly as she watches the obviously banged up Watcher try to help Tara to her feet.  Pushing him away, she wraps an arm around the witch's back, stooping down to place her other arm under her knees to lift her, carrying her towards the exit of the warehouse, ignoring the shocked looks coming from everyone, especially from the woman in her arms.

"What happened?"  Jenny questions Oz and Larry as they follow behind the quickly departing slayer.

"As in what did Tara do?"  Oz questions for a more specific confirmation.  At Jenny's nod, he sighs quietly before explaining to the woman what magic the blonde had done.

"Dumb."  Jenny growls angrily.  "What the hell were you thinking to expend that much power, Tara?  You could seriously hurt yourself when you drain down that far." 

Buffy growls at the older woman her eyes flashing briefly to blue.  Not liking the woman practically yelling at Tara, but also not liking the sounds of what could happen to the witch.  Turning her gaze down to the hazy eyed blonde, she's unaware of her softening features.  "Give her time to recover before the bitch fest.  I think she's about ready to crash."  Buffy comments quietly, watching as Oz quickly slides open the back door.  Easing into the back, hunched over, Buffy settles on the mattress, situating Tara to where she should be comfortable before she looks around the van, eyes lighting on a blanket, she grabs it and pulls it around the shivering woman. 

"Where should I take her?"  Oz questions before looking from Buffy to Jenny.

"Tara's house.  I'll watch out for her and make sure she eats and drinks plenty of fluids...  And take care of Dani?"  Buffy looks up the confusion on her face obvious. 

"The dog she saved from the pound after she bought the house."  Jenny can't help the smirk crossing her face, having seen the Slayer half fighting for control.  "Good luck, Buffy.  From the couple times I've been in Tara's house, she usually has quite a bit of homemade soups and other things made and in the freezer.  So all you should have to do is pull some out and throw in the microwave.  We'll hit the other places tomorrow, if everyone's up to par."

Buffy looks at the older woman curiously for a moment.  "Why did you come to the warehouse?"

"I felt the amount of power Tara was using."  Jenny admits quietly.  "Well, that's not quite right.  It was the sustained use of her power more than anything that made me worried.  If I'd felt a couple bursts then nothing else, I wouldn't have worried, but the continued magic usage worried me."

"She did it to protect them.  There were roughly thirty vampires here."  Giles explains, having gotten more details from Larry as Jenny and Buffy talked. 

"She won't do that again."  Buffy growls softly, shaking her head as she looks down at the woman in her arms.  "I could have handled a lot more than she left for me to take out."

"Not without us taking a few knocks."  Oz points out quietly, looking at the blonde as he settles behind the wheel.  "Tara doesn't like seeing anyone get hurt.  She takes it personally." 

"Make sure you get her dried off and keep her warm.  When she comes around, make sure she drinks plenty of juice and water.  Then when her stomach can handle it, get her to eat some soup."  Jenny offers as she grabs the door to slide it shut.  "Call me if you have any questions or need anything.  You may want to make sure Tara's semi-conscious when you let Dani in from the back yard.  The dog is very protective of her, and will probably need a word from Tara to let her know that you're not going to hurt her."

Buffy frowns as there're a couple of snickers from the rest of the group, hearing Darian mumbling something about the animal not being a dog, but a scarred ugly beast from hell.

Amy elbows Darian.  "She just doesn't like you."  Amy snickers again as the group moves away. 

Buffy shakes her head and unconsciously gathers the witch closer against her as the woman shivers uncontrollably and moans.  "Get us to her house, now."  Buffy orders Oz gruffly.

Oz quickly nods his head as Larry quickly finishes climbing in shutting the door as Jenny slams the other door shut. 

***

Buffy frowns at the Wiccan as she climbs out of the van.  "Tara, which pocket are your keys in?"  Buffy whispers as she walks up the steps to the woman's house.  The woman had been shifting around a little more on the short ride back to her house, slowly coming around. 

Tara blinks groggily and half smiles at the slayer.  "Hey." 

Buffy shakes her head at the woman.  "Hey, back.  Keys, which pocket?"  Buffy tries again. 

"Ohh.  Keys."  Tara frowns as she closes her eyes trying to remember which pocket she put them in.  "Don't 'member."  Tara mumbles, since her left arm is free she wiggles the hand into her jeans pockets, pouting as she doesn't feel her keys. 

Buffy sighs quietly and gently sets the woman down on her feet, keeping an arm around her.  Quickly dipping her hand into the other pocket, Buffy pulls the keys out and quickly unlocks the door. 

"Gotta get Dani...  It'll be getting dark soon."  Tara mumbles, leaning into the slayer as they work their way through her house.  "Thank you, Buffy."

Buffy grunts quietly.  "You won't be thanking me after you've recovered and I chew your ass out."

"I might like it."  Tara grins crookedly, her eyes twinkling, before she groans and stumbles.  "Gotta shower and get the sweat off."  Tara shivers uncontrollably as a chill runs through her body.

"Maybe you should soak in the tub."  Buffy comments as she makes her way into the kitchen, having to smile at the fact the blonde had obviously already re-modeled the room.  The appliances new and shiny, the cupboards obviously stripped and re-finished an even darker red than the floors. 

Tara directs her feet towards the back door, smiling crookedly at the single happy bark coming from the other side.  "Mommy's home.  You gotta be a good girl, Buffy's here to help."  Tara leans against the wall as Buffy releases her waist.  Quickly unlocking the back door with her keys, Tara smiles down at her baby girl. 

Buffy's eyes open wide at the huge slobbering beast that comes in through the door, unconsciously agreeing with Darian that it was a beast, not a dog.  Looking at the animal, Buffy doesn't know what the hell it is, just that it's huge.  It comes up to Tara's waist, is a tannish color with a black muzzle.  Shaking her head as she looks further, she notices the scars over the dog's body as Tara slides down the wall, the dog lapping happily on her face as Tara wraps her arms around the beast.  Frowning as she notices the dog's half ear as Tara grasps both of them in her hands and pulls back and forth, the dog growling in what could only be considered a playful way at her. 

"Dani, this is Buffy.  Be nice to her, she's helping mommy."  Tara nods her head towards Buffy. 

Buffy watches as the head turns toward her, being captured by intelligent brown eyes, that seem to look into her soul as if to judge for herself whether or not she's going to be nice to her.  Swallowing, Buffy eases down to her haunches a couple yards away from the dog.  "Hi, Dani."  Buffy offers, placing her hand out palm up.  Watching as Dani doesn't come closer to her, but sniffs deeply, her nostrils flaring for a few minutes before turning to look at Tara again.  Seeing Tara look at the dog silently before nodding her head, Buffy's eyes open wide as the dog eases over in front of her, sitting down and holding up a paw for her.  Glancing quickly back at a quietly chuckling Tara, Buffy hesitantly takes the paw, shaking it gently.  "Does this mean I meet with your approval?"  Buffy questions hoarsely.  Grunting and falling onto her back as a large tongue swipes quickly and unexpectedly across her face.

Tara laughs and falls over onto the floor, even as she starts to shake again.  "No, but that did.  Dani, help, please." 

Buffy blinks in surprise as the dog quickly leaves from where she was standing over her to lay down beside Tara, Tara grasping the dog’s collar and holds on as Dani slowly stands and calmly heads out of the kitchen, pulling Tara with her.  "Hey!"  Buffy quickly scrambles after the woman and dog.  "I'm here to help you, you know?"

Tara grunts quietly as Dani eases into the bathroom.  Letting the dog go, Tara rubs her head gently.  "Thanks, Dani.  Go get yourself a treat.  I'll feed you in a little bit."

Dani barks deeply before brushing against Buffy as she leaves, her nails clicking as she trots back to the kitchen.

"I can manage the bath by myself."  Tara murmurs quietly as she leans over her legs to untie her boots, closing her eyes as she feels a little wave of dizziness, unaware of her body's wavering.

"You may think you can, but I'm afraid you'll crash and drown yourself."  Buffy growls softly, quickly kneeling by the woman.  "You're a stubborn bitch, aren't you?"

Tara leans back against the wall, closing her eyes to try and keep the dizziness from becoming worse.  "Yes."  Tara admits after a few minutes as she feels her boots and socks being removed, slowly opening one eye as she feels hands at the buttons of her shirt, quickly making their way down.  "You know, I usually like to go out on a few dates before I kiss a woman, let alone let her take my clothes off."  Tara comments as the slayer finishes unbuttoning her shirt, gently easing it from her body.

Buffy's lips twitch at the witch's words.  "I'm a slayer we have notoriously short life-spans.  We don't mess with dates."  Sighing quietly at the tank top covering the woman, Buffy tilts her head for a few minutes.  "How hot do you like your bath water?'

"Hot."  Tara mumbles, her eyes closed again as she tilts her head against the wall, her hands working on unbuttoning and unzipping her jeans.  "Put the hot full on, and about a quarter of a turn on the cold."  Tara rolls her neck, grunting softly as a loud pop echoes in the room. 

"What kind of dog is that?"  Buffy questions as she turns the water on.

"English Mastiff.  She was on doggy death row when she found me."  Tara smiles softly in remembrance.  "She'd been abused and used for fighting.  Nobody wanted her because they were afraid she'd turn on them and because of her scars."

"Why'd you take her?"  Buffy questions curiously, helping Tara off with her jeans and panties, surprised at the lean muscles that are uncovered. 

"Who better than a witch that's been abused and is scarred in her own right be her friend?"  Tara groans quietly as she works on pulling off her tank top, the scars obvious as her flesh is uncovered.  "Help me into the tub?  Then you can tell Dani to come in to keep an eye on me, she won't let me drown."  Tara grunts quietly as the slayer shifts around and picks her up, gently easing her into the hot water.

Buffy's jaw clenches at the sight of the scars across Tara's chest and abdomen, obviously having happened not that long ago, as they still have the red irritated look of just being healed.  Gently lowering the witch into the water, Buffy eases her arms out from under the woman as Tara settles into the hot water. 

Tara sighs heavily and relaxes down into the water a little more, letting the heat seep into her body, fighting the chills.  Seeing the questioning and angry look on the slayer's face, she shakes her head, seeing where the slayer is looking.  "My brother was able to get a couple strikes in before I was able to take him out."  Tara explains quietly. 

"I'm going to get you something to drink...  I don't know what you have?"  Buffy makes the comment a question as she slowly stands, keeping her eyes locked on Tara's face.

"Any of the juice I have in the refrigerator will be good."  Tara closes her eyes and smiles as she hears the light step of the slayer leaving the bathroom.  "Thank you for your help, Buffy.  Make yourself at home."  Tara comments quietly, knowing the slayer will hear her.

***

Chapter 4

After settling the witch in her king-sized water bed, Buffy makes sure she has a glass of juice at hand even as Tara cuddles up to a pillow on her side, falling asleep instantly.  Turning her gaze down to Dani, Buffy shrugs her shoulders.  "I guess it's just you and me for a while.  Show me around?"  Buffy questions, surprised when Dani stands and presses against her leg for a few seconds before trotting out of the room, turning right, where Buffy hadn't been yet. 

"Okay."  Buffy shrugs again and follows the dog, surprised when Dani pushes against a door hidden in the shadows at the end of the hallway.  Feeling around the wall for a light switch, Buffy flicks it on and looks at the room.  The large airy room was probably originally the master bedroom, but it looks like Tara's using it as a storage room for the majority of the living room items, along with boxes she hadn't unpacked yet.  Seeing the stacks of books in the corner, Buffy curiously looks at the titles, chuckling as she sees a couple thrillers mixed in with magical texts.  “You are one strange woman, Tara Maclay.”  Buffy unconsciously scratches the dog’s head as she leans against her side, the two looking around the room. 

“So, what do you do around here for fun?”  Buffy questions as they walk out of the room, turning off the light.  Looking down at Dani Buffy chuckles at the shoestrings hanging from the dog’s mouth.  “I think you need to have a talk with your mommy about your drooling problem.”  Buffy groans quietly as Dani shakes her head, slinging the drool onto her.  “I think you did that on purpose.”  Buffy grumbles, wrinkling her nose at the slobber.

Dani trots into the kitchen and laps noisily from her water bowl.

Buffy opens up the freezer, having gotten Tara to eat a good portion of one of the vegetable soups she’d pulled out and heated up for her earlier.  The witch insisting on her having whatever she wants to eat, along with telling her to make herself at home, apologizing profusely before she finally crashed.  Shaking her head at the thought of the witch, Buffy searches through the soups that are clearly marked.  Seeing one that says five-alarm chili on it, Buffy can’t help the grin coming to her face.  “Let’s see if you’re really five-alarm.”

Dani looks up at the woman talking to herself, before plopping down on the kitchen floor, resting her head on her legs as she watches the woman curiously.

Gently easing the lid off the container, Buffy places it in the microwave, hitting a combination of buttons before curiously looking through the refrigerator, deciding to make a sandwich as she sees thick slices of ham in a container, realizing the witch had obviously baked a ham not long ago.  Quickly pulling out mayonnaise and the ham, Buffy sets the two items on the counter before looking around, seeing the breadbox, she opens it and grins at the large soft rolls.  Pulling them out, she searches until she finds a knife and quickly makes herself a sandwich, moaning quietly at the sweet tasting ham, growling quietly as Dani whimpers and presses against her.  “Are you allowed human food?”

Dani whimpers again, pressing into the small woman while licking her chops, looking hopefully up at the woman eating one of her favorite foods.

“This is between you and me if you’re not supposed to have it, don’t you dare tell on me!”  Buffy warns as she pulls a small piece of ham from her sandwich, letting it drop, watching as the dog’s huge mouth opens, catching it.  Chuckling quietly, Buffy goes back to eating the sandwich, debating on whether or not to make another big thick sandwich but realizing that would pretty much wipe the ham out, she decides to wait.  Replacing the mayonnaise and ham in the refrigerator Buffy pulls out the chili, looking at it before placing it back in the microwave to continue reheating.

“She doesn’t have a television?”  Buffy looks down questioningly at the dog, surprised when Dani huffs at her and goes to a door she’d previously not noticed.  Opening the door, she flicks the switch on, seeing the stairs the dog had quickly disappeared down.  Shrugging, Buffy follows surprised when she sees a fully finished basement, though it looked like something from the 60’s.  Chuckling as the dog plops down on a huge pillow, rolling around on it while grunting.  Walking over to the large television, Buffy tilts her head at the DVD’s.  “Well, she did say that I was to make myself at home, though I never had this large of a selection of movies to watch before.  She seems to lean towards comedies and chick flicks, though.”  Buffy comments to the dog snoring quietly behind her.  Randomly picking out a movie, Buffy turns the DVD player on, placing the disk inside before turning on the television. 

Heading back up the stairs, she checks her chili, grabbing out a spoon and stirring it before placing it back in the microwave for a few more minutes, inhaling deeply of the spicy smell starting to permeate the room.  Grabbing a couple sodas out of the refrigerator, Buffy grabs the chili after it dings and a napkin, heading back down the stairs, placing the sodas on the tray at the end of the couch before pressing the play button on the remote settling herself into the corner of the couch, stirring the chili before taking a healthy bite, surprised at the burst of flavors and fire on her tongue with her first bite. 

“Damn, if this is how the first bite is, is it gonna set my ass on fire when I get to the end?”  Buffy grins hugely as she looks down at the chili.  “I like it.”  Buffy decides as she works her way through the bowl, licking her lips as she finishes the last bite while watching the movie.

***

Buffy jerks awake as she feels a large mouth on her arm, gently tugging.  It takes her a few moments to realize that it’s not a monster, just Tara’s beast of a dog.  “What?”  Buffy questions gruffly, rubbing the sleep from her eyes even as she stands and follows the dog who’s practically galloping up the stairs and through the house.  Running after the dog, Buffy slides to a stop in front of Tara’s room, having taken off her boots earlier, watching the woman sweating and shivering uncontrollably.

Buffy looks at Dani who’s resting her head on the bed close to Tara but not climbing up on it.  Running a hand over Tara’s forehead, Buffy frowns at the clamminess.  Grunting quietly as Dani shoves her hard in the ass, practically pushing her onto the bed.  “What are you doing?”  Buffy hisses quietly to the dog, not wanting to wake Tara.  Watching as Dani pushes again then plops her head down heavily on the bed, making it wave slightly, Buffy looks from Tara to the dog and back.  “You want me to get in the bed with her?”  Buffy rolls her eyes as she can practically see the grin on the dog’s face.  “She put some kind of spell on your ass, or are you just smarter than most animals?  Hell than most people?” 

Buffy looks down at her somewhat dirty clothes before sighing heavily at not wanting to climb into the woman’s bed the way she is.  Buffy quickly strips the clothes off, leaving her in an old worn tank top and boxer shorts.  Pulling up the covers, she climbs in behind the witch, easing up against her, surprised when Tara pushes back against her.  Breathing out softly, Buffy gently works one arm under the witch’s pillow while wrapping the other around her waist.

“Hope you don’t mind.”  Buffy murmurs softly, feeling the shivers slowly taper off to just occasional jerks after roughly a half hour.  Feeling tired herself after all this time of living off maybe two hours of sleep a night, Buffy unconsciously wiggles impossibly closer to the witch, burying her face in the blonde hair, holding her tightly as she falls asleep, unaware of intelligent brown eyes watching the whole process from the side of the bed.

***

Tara slowly wakes, but doesn’t move as she feels a warm body against her back and arms wrapped almost possessively around her.  Seeing a big scarred head lift and lay on the bed in front of her, Tara grins crookedly at the dog.  “How come I have a feeling this is your doing, Dani?”

Dani huffs at her human, shifting her head closer and lapping her across the face before turning and trotting out of the room. 

Buffy smiles as she wakes up, listening to the witch talk to her dog.  “In a way it was.  I fell asleep downstairs and you started shivering and being clammy.  Dani kind of insisted I come up here and pretty much shoved me into the bed.”  Buffy eases her arms from around the witch, rolling onto her back and stretches, groaning loudly.  “I haven’t slept that good in years.”  Buffy admits softly as she finally eases out of the bed.

Tara watches the slayer curiously as she grabs her clothes, striding out of the room, noticing faint scars across the woman’s arms and legs.  “I can throw your clothes in the washer, if you’d like.  I have some sweat pants and a t-shirt you can borrow.”  Tara eases out of the bed, quickly making it before grabbing a pair of shorts and a tank top to change into after she takes a shower, shivering slightly knowing that she hasn’t quite gotten back to normal yet. Silently, she hopes that a good cleansing ritual and some meditation will help her shake off the last of the traces from yesterday’s magic usage.

Buffy chuckles quietly, before calling back to the witch.  “Yeah, if you don’t mind.  Just bring ‘em into the bathroom if you want.  I need to take a shower if you don’t care?”

“Go ahead, Buffy.  I told you to make yourself at home.  If you need anything let me know.”  Tara stops and backtracks to her room, pulling out a pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt, knowing that they’ll probably swallow the petite woman, but not having anything else that would come close to fitting her. 

Buffy quickly strips making a pile in the corner by the open door of her dirty clothes before turning back to turn the shower on.  Opening the inset closet with the towels and other essentials in it, Buffy pulls a couple towels out, tossing them on the sink before grabbing a washcloth and a new toothbrush. 

Tara swallows as she looks at the petite woman, the muscles playing under the obviously perpetually tanned skin, thin pale scars at alternating intervals covering the slayer’s too lean body.  Easing by Buffy, she places the clothes on the sink beside the towels. 

“Do you mind?”  Buffy holds up the new toothbrush and deodorant.

“Not at all.”  Tara smiles quickly before turning and grabbing the dirty clothes heading out of the bathroom.  “Anything you don’t like to eat?”

“I’m not a picky eater.”  Buffy calls after the woman.

“Okay.”  Tara breathes out quietly as she makes her way down to the basement, throwing a load of jeans in the washer, including the slayer’s jeans.  Trotting back up the stairs and letting Dani out before she picks up the phone to call Jenny.

***

Buffy rolls her neck around, grunting in relief as a large pop is heard, whatever was out of alignment popping back in.  Brushing her damp hair, she looks critically at herself in the mirror, seeing the scar on her upper lip, along with the other scars across her body.  Her mind interposing Tara’s body in the mirror, the fresh deep scars across the woman’s chest and stomach making the slayer frown heavily, knowing that they would always be extremely visible with the woman not having slayer healing to help keep the scarring to a minimum.  Sighing heavily, Buffy finishes brushing her hair, before getting dressed and brushing her teeth, replacing everything and wiping down the sink area before looking for the witch.

Tilting her head as she hears laughter coming from the back yard as she enters the kitchen, Buffy steps out the door, chuckling quietly at the sight of Tara and Dani rolling around in the middle of the yard, fighting over a thick rope, the large dog literally pulling the witch around the yard before Tara is able to get purchase with her legs and pull back, initiating what is obviously another game of tug of war between witch and beast. 

Settling down on the steps, Buffy leans against the house, allowing the sight of the woman and dog having fun to invade her being, realizing it’s been longer than she can remember since she’s had fun, or just taken the time out to relax and watch life go on around her. 

“No more, Dani.”  Tara releases the rope, falling back on the ground, panting with a huge smile on her face, pushing the dog’s face away as Dani comes up to slobber over her.  “Go see if Buffy will play with you.”  Tara smacks the dog on the shoulder, chuckling as Dani picks up the rope and practically gallops over to the slayer.  Rolling over onto her side, she grins as Buffy looks from the dog to her and back.

“She likes to be spun around.  She weighs too much for me to do it now that she’s gained back some much needed weight.”  Tara offers, grinning at the slayer. 

“Spun around?”  Buffy frowns as she looks at the dog she swears is grinning at her.

“Yes, spun around.  As in you grab one end of the rope, she gets a good lock on the other end, and you start spinning around to where she’s airborne, being swung around in a circle.”  Tara explains, smirking as Buffy stares at her in disbelief. 

“Strange people and animals.”  Buffy growls, looking down at Dani as the dog shoves against her hard, almost knocking her over.  “Okay, okay.”  Buffy picks up the rope, gripping it tightly and looking at the dog.  “You better have a good grip, there beast.  Or you’re gonna go flying!”  Growling back at Dani as the dog growls at her, Buffy starts pulling the dog around in a circle, slowly building up speed until the dog is about two feet off the ground, going around in the air in a circle.  Unaware of the huge smile on her face, Buffy chuckles as she continues to spin the dog around for a few minutes before slowing down and letting Dani land gently on the ground. 

Tara smiles at the sight of the normally stoic and extremely serious slayer laughing and having fun.  The smile on Buffy’s face transforming the stunning woman into an absolutely beautiful woman.  Laughing as Dani drunkenly stumbles around the yard, Tara pats the dog on the head as she finally stands to go into the house to fix breakfast.  Stopping in front of the slayer, Tara grins crookedly at the woman.  “You have a friend for life, now.”  Tara reaches up to brush some hair from the slayer’s cheek, before continuing into the house.

Buffy reaches up to her cheek the tingle from the light caress making her frown, not wanting to care about anyone again, having learned the hard way that loving someone was pretty much a death sentence for the other person.  Falling backwards on her ass as Dani shoves into her, Buffy looks at the dog as Dani noses her gently in the chest.  “But she’s not just like anyone else, is she beast?”  Getting a soft woof in answer, Buffy rubs the dog’s head roughly as she considers the woman in the house behind her, and how deep that stubborn streak of hers goes.

***

Tara smiles as the slayer finishes off the rest of the sausage links and pancakes, having fixed two dozen scrambled eggs with cheese, two dozen pancakes, half a sleeve of bread, toasted and buttered along with two large packages of links, Tara had eaten a couple pancakes and links while the slayer had demolished the rest of the food.  Sitting back to sip on her coffee Tara tilts her head to the side.  “Jenny mentioned that since I’m not quite up to par yet, that it would probably be best to wait ‘til tomorrow to work on the other master vampires’ lairs.  I need to do some meditations to get back in sync again.” 

Buffy wipes her mouth and downs the rest of her milk, before picking up her coffee mug to sip on the hot liquid, the witch having just refilled it for her.  “Why did you drain yourself so far down?”  Buffy finally questions, having wondered why Tara would possibly hurt herself that way.

“We needed to get in there undetected and there would have been no way the four of us would have been able to take all of the vampires out without some serious wounds on our end.”  Tara explains quietly, looking down at the small table.  “I had a feeling you would have left us and went after them by yourself, if we hadn’t been able to follow you.”

Buffy grunts quietly and looks down at the table, silently agreeing with the witch that she would have, even knowing that she was outclassed and would have probably ended up a vampire’s snack.  Unconsciously, Buffy reaches down to rub Dani’s head, the dog having crashed under the table, even laying on the floor, the huge dog’s head was within easy reach of the slayer.  “Thanks for breakfast.”  Buffy points to the empty plates, looking up into soft blue eyes.

“You’re welcome.  Can I ask you something?”  Tara questions curiously, tilting her head to the side to look at the slayer.

“Guess so.”  Buffy watches Tara intently.

“Where are you staying?  I mean, no one’s mentioned you staying with them and you usually just show up occasionally then disappear again.”  Tara shrugs as Buffy lifts a questioning eyebrow at her, knowing the slayer wants to know why she’s asking.  “Just, if you’re paying for a motel room, there’s no sense in it.  Any of us would be more than willing for you to stay with us.  If you’re crashing elsewhere, it probably just isn’t safe.”  Tara points out softly.

Buffy purses her lips and looks at the woman.  “Why do you care whether I live or die?”

Tara stares in shock at the slayer after the blunt question escapes her lips.  “I care for all of the human race, Buffy.  Not just you.”  Tara growls softly as she leans towards the slayer, closing the gap between them.  “And I see someone that’s just about given up on life.  There’s so much to live for, to fight for!  If you’re not willing to LIVE, why bother?  You’re a beautiful, strong, powerful woman!  Nobody’s life is perfect, unfortunately.  We all have problems, heartaches and loved ones that have either fallen to disease, accident or demons.  And personally, I’d rather not have to watch someone just lie down and die.” 

Buffy looks at the fire gleaming in Tara’s eyes as she goes off in a low, throaty, growling voice, a small smile crossing her lips at the flame of desire the witch is causing within her at how she stands up to her and isn’t afraid of saying what’s on her mind.  Something no one’s done to her since she’s become The Slayer.  Along with the fire of desire, Buffy realizes that the flame and desire to live is being fanned back to life from the small ember that was ready to go out, a brief thought if the witch knew what she was getting into with her goes through her head before she shuts down that train of thought.  Going on pure instinct, Buffy wraps a hand around Tara’s neck and leans in to kiss the witch, invading her mouth as Tara opens it in shock.

It takes Tara a few seconds for her mind to wrap around the realization that the slayer was kissing her… and kissing her thoroughly.  Whimpering quietly, Tara tilts her head, pressing her lips hard against Buffy’s, becoming an active participant in the dance of tongues within each other’s mouths.

Buffy growls loudly as Tara starts to kiss her back.  Slowly standing without breaking the kiss, Buffy pulls the witch across the small table, rearranging her to where Tara’s legs are wrapped around her waist and their chests are pressing against each other firmly.  Placing a hand on Tara’s lower back, Buffy pulls the witch tight against her, grunting into the kiss as she feels the heat from the woman’s apex pressing against her own heat, the Slayer flaring strongly to life within her. 

Tara breaks off the kiss, panting heavily as she tries to drag some much needed oxygen into her lungs, whimpering loudly as the slayer’s lips, tongue and teeth work their way down her jaw and neck, hands pushing her t-shirt up to stroke over the skin of her sides and back.  “Goddess.”  Tara groans, arching into the slayer’s hands as they unhook her bra and slide around to caress over the side swells. 

Buffy works her way back up the other side of the blonde’s neck, nipping on her earlobe.  “Decided I don’t want to lie down and die.  I want to live.”  Buffy whispers into Tara’s ear, kissing her way a little more gently across the witch’s jaw to capture her lips in a teasing, soft kiss.  Slowing down her almost animalistic touching to a softer more tender touching as she allows her fingers to stroke and knead along Tara’s back as she eases back from the softer kisses, fighting the Slayer for control and winning… this time. 

Tara inhales a shuddering breath as the slayer pulls her head away, her body feeling like a live wire as the desire courses through her.  Slowly getting control of her breathing and mental faculties, Tara blinks her eyes open to look into desire filled flashing eyes.  “What happened?”  Tara whispers, her voice low and deep, even as she realizes that Buffy’s fighting the Slayer inside her for control.  Swallowing as she understands what will end up happening. 

Buffy’s lips quirk up as she looks into dark blue eyes, desire flickering brightly before she looks over the desire flushed face and the kiss swollen lips.  “Your fault.  You lit the fire again.  You’re going to have to deal with it.” 

Tara chuckles and drops her head onto the slayer’s strong shoulder, unconsciously pressing her lower body harder against Buffy’s, lightly rocking at the pounding desire coursing through her, the desire literally saturating her panties and shorts.  “Okay.”  Tara finally agrees, knowing she really doesn’t have a choice in the matter.

Buffy quirks an eyebrow and shifts Tara’s head up to look into accepting blue eyes.  “Is it just that simple?”

“Yes.  It’s that simple.”  Tara chuckles and buries her face in the slayer’s neck as Buffy releases her chin.  “Need it taken care of right now, or am I allowed to clean up the kitchen?”

Buffy snorts, and hugs the woman to her tightly.  “Don’t think you’re ready for me to pounce on you this quickly.”  Buffy points out, though with the smell of desire and the wet heat pressing against her, she knows she’s physically ready to become better acquainted with her.  But not knowing if Tara’s ready for The Slayer.

“Speak for yourself.”  Tara grumbles, before slowly unwrapping her legs from the slayer, watching as Buffy steps back away from the table.  Standing, she looks down at Dani who’s just looking at them.  “Go play, Dani.”  Tara orders softly, opening the door to the back yard, watching as Dani runs out and starts to sniff around before grabbing one of the couple tires Tara has in the back yard for her to play with, slinging it around.

“Have you ever taken her with you when you’re out at night?”  Buffy questions curiously. 

“Yes.”  Tara admits softly, watching as Dani plays and tosses the tire, before grabbing it and shaking it in her massive jaws.  “She can take out a single vampire herself, but if more than one gangs up on her, they would end up hurting her.  So, I don’t bother taking her with me, I’d rather not be the reason that she ends up hurt anymore than she’s already been.” 

“I was going to ask you why you didn’t have a doggy door for her, but realized that would be kind of a stupid question.”  Buffy admits, realizing how big the door would have to be, that Tara might as well just leave the back door wide open, inviting anyone and anything in if that were the case.  Knowing that vampires aren’t the only evil in the world, just as many if not more humans would take advantage of the situation.

“I have thought about making a magical entrance for her, but I haven’t come across the right spell to do it to where other people or animals couldn’t use it.”  Tara admits quietly, sighing softly.  Turning to look at the slayer, Tara leans against the doorframe, crossing her arms over her chest.  “Was what happened just a spur of the moment, or are you serious about something happening between us?”  Tara finally questions bluntly.

Buffy stares into shuttered blue eyes, the brief flare of uncertainty quickly being hidden behind the shutters.  “I’m serious.  I came here to die, Tara.  I had enough of fighting evil and wanted to be done.  I’ve lost my Watcher, sister, mother, father and lover to demons.  There’s no one left but me, now.  I didn’t feel I just reacted.  You with your comments, in the face attitude and practically yelling at me made me feel again.  Though I don’t know why you would want to be with me.  I’m old for a slayer, and probably have a short life expectancy ahead of me.  Would you want to, or allow yourself to, care for me knowing that?  And do you have the slightest idea what you’re getting into with me?”

“All of us have a short life expectancy by living here and fighting against the demons, so that excuse just doesn’t get it.”  Tara points out quietly.  “And it’s too late.  I started caring for you the moment I saw you, Buffy.  It wouldn’t much matter what I’m getting into because of it.  But yes, I am aware of what I’m getting into.”  Tara admits quietly, her eyes searching the surprised hazel eyes. 

Buffy runs a hand through her hair, surprised and somewhat shocked at the witch’s admittance.  Turning to look back out the door, watching as the dog that probably weighs as much, if not more, than the two of them put together does plays like a puppy, Buffy realizes that they have a chance at a new life, not unlike the dog that had been on death row.  It only took opening your heart and allowing yourself to love and care again.  “I’m staying in an unoccupied house.  Would you mind my possibly using your couch?”

“I don’t mind.  As for the couch, there’s a king sized water bed waiting for you when you’re ready.”  Tara offers softly, before turning around to clean up the kitchen, leaving the slayer to consider her words.

Buffy licks her lips at the thought of breaking in the water bed with the Wiccan, having a feeling that things will never be the same again once she crosses that line.

***

Chapter 5

Tara sighs quietly as she hears the knock at the door.  “Buffy, come in, you don’t have to knock.”  Tara shakes her head at the thought of the slayer knocking instead of just coming in.  The woman had left to gather her items right after eating breakfast.  Tara had spent the intervening hours doing a cleansing ritual and meditating while replenishing her magic reserves. 

Feeling a hundred percent better after spending the few hours re-connecting, Tara had come back into the house, leaving Dani passed out asleep in the back yard.  Right now she’s sorting through her refrigerator, debating on what to fix for a late lunch as Buffy strides in, growling quietly. 

“Don’t just fucking tell someone to come in like that, Tara.”  Buffy drops her bags by the door to the basement as she looks at the witch.  “Damn good way to end up with a vampire making a meal out of you.”

Tara purses her lips and looks out the windows in the alcove of the corner of the kitchen at the sunny day, her eyes twinkling.  “Yes, ma’am.  I’ll be sure not to do that ever again.” 

Buffy looks where Tara’s looking then glances back at the witch as twinkling blue eyes look back at her and a smile fights to come across her lips.  “Know it all bitch.”  Buffy growls as she rolls her eyes and picks up her bags, heading down to the basement.  “Can I throw my clothes in the washer?  Most of them can just about stand on their own.”

“Make yourself at home, Buffy.  Use the washer and anything else in the house that you want or need.”  Tara calls out after the slayer as she pulls out a small pork loin, frowning in realization that this won’t be enough for the two women to eat, the slayer being able to eat as much as three people.  Nibbling her bottom lip as she considers her salad makings, she calls out to the slayer.  “Do you like salads?”

“Yeah, though I usually don’t get many vegetables, there ain’t much I won’t eat.”  Buffy yells up from the basement as she sorts her clothes, throwing a load into the washer and adding the laundry detergent before jogging back up the steps.

Tara opens the pantry door and pulls out what she has left of the bag of potatoes, setting them in the sink, before going back to pull out macaroni noodles and a couple cans of green beans.  “Hope you don’t mind my slicing the pork loin and doing a little breading on them to fry them, along with having mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, green beans and salad.” 

Buffy feels her mouth watering at the mention of what they’re going to have for a late lunch.  “What do you want me to do?”  Buffy’s eyes watch Tara as she pulls out pots, pans, skillets, knives and cutting boards. 

“Depends.  Do you feel like pulling out the salad fixings in the refrigerator and throwing it together, or would you rather peel and rinse the potatoes?”  Tara smiles as she looks at the woman even as she pulls off the plastic coating the pork loin. 

Buffy scratches her head as she looks at the potatoes.  “I’ll do the potatoes first then throw together the salad.  I know they’ll take a while to boil.”

“Can you cook?”  Tara questions softly as she slices the pork loin, smiling as Buffy grabs one of the small knives and the bag of potatoes, pulling over the trash can as she settles in the kitchen chair. 

“Not really.  I got the mechanics down, I understand what to do, but it never turns out edible.”  Buffy looks up, a small smile playing across her lips as she looks at the witch.  “By the way, that chili of yours was excellent.”

“Which one?”  Tara pulls down her bread crumbs and seasonings to make the breading for the pork chops. 

“There was more than one kind in there?”  Buffy pouts, before chuckling quietly.  “I kind of got sidetracked by the one that said five-alarm on it.”

“Hmmm.”  Tara hums softly at the sound of the slayer chuckling.  “Yes, I have what most people either love, or absolutely hate and is commonly referred to as Cincinnati Chili.”

“What is that?”  Buffy furrows her brows as she continues to peel the potatoes, occasionally glancing up at the woman. 

“It’s different.  You take real lean hamburger meat, water and actually boil the meat in the water, separating it.  Its real fine instead of being like most chili’s where you brown the meat and drain it, leaving it chunky.  Anyway, you add a lot of different items to it, mostly different spices along with finely chopped onions, tomato sauce, garlic powder, chili powder, ground cumin, cayenne pepper, powdered chocolate, cinnamon, Tabasco sauce and more.  Those are the ingredients I remember off the top of my head.”  Tara grins crookedly at the slayer. 

Buffy blinks as she stops peeling the potatoes, staring at the witch.  “Chocolate and cinnamon?” 

“Yes.”  Tara chuckles at the disbelief on the slayer’s face.  “What’s really good, is taking the chili, placing it over spaghetti noodles, putting some freshly chopped onions on top of it and finely shredded cheese.  Then pouring Tabasco sauce over it and diving in.”  Tara licks her lips and hums happily at the thought. 

Buffy growls quietly at the witch.  “Be careful, or you’ll be making that also.” 

Tara laughs and nods her head.  “I have a container of chili in the freezer.  I don’t think it’ll be enough for a meal for you, but if you don’t mind, I’ll run to the store after lunch and stock up on some items.”

Buffy looks down while biting her lip.  “I don’t have any money to help pay for things.”

“Don’t worry about it, Buffy.”  Tara rolls her eyes as narrowed hazel eyes glare at her.  “I’m not exactly hurting for money, sweetie.  And maybe we can work out some kind of deal.”  Tara grins crookedly at the slayer.

Buffy drops the knife and crosses her arms over her chest as she raises an eyebrow at the witch.  “What kind of deal are you planning on here, witch?”

Tara fights back a smart assed comment, though she knows her twinkling eyes are probably giving her away.  “I can use some muscle around here when it comes to painting and pulling up the old carpeting…  That type of thing.” 

Buffy groans quietly as she goes back to peeling the potatoes, mumbling softly so the witch can’t hear her.  “Was more hoping you were wanting me to be your sex slave, been a while.  And I sure as hell hope you know what you’re getting into with me.”

Tara hears a mumble coming from the slayer, but can’t make out her words.  Turning back to the woman she looks intently at her for a few moments, before shrugging and going back to preparing the meal. 

***

Buffy’s nose twitches as she prepares to go out on patrol.  The smell of the chili cooking on the stove makes her stomach rumble.  Shaking her head at the thought that she hasn’t eaten as much food as she has today, in a week’s time in as long as she can remember. 

Walking through the house, Buffy stops in the living room, watching Tara as she finishes putting on the second coat of paint, the two women having spent the afternoon finishing the first coat and almost finishing the second coat. 

Tara stops the stroke of the paintbrush as she looks over the slayer, happily noticing the slightly healthier look to the woman.  Knowing between the decent night’s sleep and having a couple good meals under her belt was a major help. 

“I’m going to do a quick run around downtown.  Hopefully catch a few more of the disorganized vamps while they’re out and about.”  Buffy explains, and wonders why she’s telling the witch she’s going out.

“Be careful, please.”  Tara’s voice is low and soft as she looks at the slayer.  “The chili is ready.  I’ll boil the noodles here in a little while so you can have a late dinner.”

“We can have a late dinner.”  Buffy offers in just as low a voice, her eyes looking into caring blue eyes. 

“We.”  Tara agrees quietly, smiling as Buffy winks at her as she steps out of the living room.  Looking down as Dani gets up from where she’d been lying in the middle of the floor chewing on a large rawhide bone.  Shaking her head as her dog follows the slayer to the front door, chuckling as she listens to Buffy talking to her.

“You’re just a big baby, aren’t you?”  Buffy rubs the large head with one hand while patting the dog firmly on the butt with her other.  “Take care of your mommy while I’m out, okay?”  Buffy chuckles softly as she gets a soft woof from the dog.  Giving the large head a final rub, Buffy lets herself out of the house, locking it behind her with the keys the witch had insisted on her taking.  Slowly stepping down the porch steps, Buffy looks back over her shoulder to the house remembering the fun she’d had learning about the witch and what her life was like while growing up.  Buffy realizes she’d talked a bit about her family also, remembering them during the good times, instead of remembering them being tortured and murdered. 

Sighing quietly, Buffy shakes her head as she looks up at the night sky.  “She’s making me care again.”  Buffy whispers softly into the night, her eyes troubled and a hint of pain is showing in the hazel depths not knowing if she could handle losing someone else that she cares about, but honestly not knowing what to do.

***

Tara looks at the clock, frowning.  Knowing that there are probably dozens, if not more, vampires still in Sunnydale and that it’s Buffy’s job to fight them, but still wanting the slayer to hurry back home.  Knowing in her heart that she’s afraid the slayer still may have a death wish, even with her relaxing and joking as the day went on. 

Smiling at the thought of the cold, taciturn, and loner type woman that had slowly relaxed and started to talk as the day had progressed.  Getting glimpses of the girl the slayer was, carefree and joyful, before something would remind her about what she’s seen and done and Buffy would become quiet and withdrawn again.

Deciding to boil the spaghetti noodles, Tara heads into the kitchen, smiling as Dani follows her.  “You like her too, don’t you?”  Tara questions the dog, smiling as she gets a low bark in response.  “Yeah, I like her, too, Dani.”  Tara puts the water on to boil as she pulls down the large box of spaghetti noodles, setting it on the counter.  Digging out a couple onions, a cutting board and knife, Tara cleans the outside of the onions before chopping them up and placing them into a container.  Seeing the water’s started to boil, Tara opens the large box of noodles and dumps a good portion of them in the water, before stirring them contemplatively as she thinks about the slayer.

***

Buffy rubs her lower back where one of the vampires she’d fought had knocked her over a tombstone, knowing she’ll have a decent sized bruise to go along with the knotted muscle, walking down the street towards Tara’s house, Buffy’s brows furrow as she considers the blonde witch. 

She doesn’t know what had possessed her to kiss the woman, having sworn after Caitlin had been killed that she wouldn’t allow anyone that close again.  Knowing what the woman would have to deal with, she’d locked the Slayer away, fighting her for control and winning over the past year until the Slayer had been ready to give up.  “So, what do I do?”  Buffy groans as a small voice tells her to continue to follow her instincts, let her accept what the witch was offering and take one day at a time, that’s all she had. 

Running her hands through her hair, Buffy walks up the steps to Tara’s house, pulling the keys out and considering them for a few minutes, before finally unlocking the deadbolts and easing inside, before locking them back.  Smiling as a large head nudges her hand, Buffy rubs the half ear as she looks down at the dog.  “Where’s your mommy?”  Buffy just follows the dog.  Not knowing how the dog knows what she’s saying, but finally just having to admit, she does.  Walking into the kitchen Buffy smiles at the sight of Tara running water over the spaghetti noodles.

“Do I have time to take a quick shower and get some of this dirt off me?”  Buffy questions quietly, looking at the items spread out on the counter.

Tara turns and looks over the slayer, noticing the dirt and bruises, frowning as she notices the stiffness in her stance.  “How badly are you hurt?”

Buffy almost doesn’t tell her, until she sees the worry in the blue eyes.  Sighing quietly at the uselessness of trying to keep her feelings at bay, Buffy shrugs.  “Mostly just bumps and bruises.  One vampire tossed me into a tombstone and I got a little thing going on with my back.”

Tara searches hazel eyes, seeing the honesty showing, she nods her head.  “Go shower and clean up, first.  Then whichever order you want, you can eat then I can rub your back down, or fix your back then eat.”

Buffy starts to turn, heading towards the basement for clean clothes as Tara mentions for her to go ahead and get cleaned up first.  As she finishes talking, Buffy closes her eyes and takes a deep breath.  “Food next.”  Buffy murmurs softly, before heading out of the kitchen, knowing that if the witch places her hands on her that neither of them will probably be getting much sleep if any let alone food. 

Tara turns back to the food after Buffy comes back up the stairs and heads towards the shower.  Running a finger over her chin, Tara considers the slayer silently, praying to the Goddess to give her the strength to help the woman without taking this attraction further than the woman wants or desires. 

Sighing quietly, Tara shakes her head at her own internal musings, trying to dislodge the remembrance of the strong, petite body out of her mind.  Finally Tara pulls down a large plate, piling it with spaghetti noodles, before scooping out a large amount of the chili, pouring it over the noodles.  Grabbing a hand full of the chopped onions, Tara spreads them over the meat before tearing open the package of the finely shredded cheddar cheese, dumping the whole package across the spaghetti, Tara smiles as she hears the loud groan from behind her. 

“Are we sharing that plate?”  Buffy questions, her eyes caressing over the back of the witch, remembering every curve, dip and swell of the woman’s body when she’d helped her the day before. 

“No.  This is your plate.”  Tara grabs the plate and the bottle of hot sauce, placing them on the small table.  “Get what you want to drink, Buffy.”

Buffy blinks, and looks up the woman to see smiling blue eyes.  “What do you want to drink?”

“Water is fine for me.”  Tara smiles as she starts to fix a small plate for herself.  Listening as the slayer digs into the refrigerator, pulling out drinks.  Turning with her plate and the bag of oyster crackers, Tara settles down across the small table from Buffy, chuckling quietly at the slayer who’s staring down at her plate with a definite look of hunger on her face.  “Eat, Buffy.”

Buffy looks up guiltily at the witch.  “Thank you for all… this.”  Buffy waves her hand around, watching as the witch grabs the hot sauce and liberally sprinkles it over her chili spaghetti, curiously watching the woman pull out a couple handfuls of the oyster crackers and put them on the edge of the plate.

“It’s better eaten hot.”  Tara grins crookedly at Buffy as she taps her fork on the edge of Buffy’s plate.  “Eat, Buffy.  Hopefully you’ll like it.  And no thanks are necessary, sweetie.”

Buffy watches as Tara goes back and cuts off a section of her spaghetti, and eats it.  Reaching for the bag of oyster crackers after she sees Tara move them down to the liquid that settled in the bottom of her plate, Buffy dumps some on hers and starts to dig into the late dinner.  Moaning quietly at the different flavor of the spaghetti, Buffy reaches for the hot sauce and sprinkles some on her next bite, groaning loudly as it kicks it up that extra notch. 

Tara slowly eats her dinner as she watches Buffy shake more hot sauce over her food before settling down to work her way through the large plate, loving to watch the woman obviously enjoy the food.  Tilting her head, Tara watches as Buffy winces slightly as she reaches for more crackers.  Sighing quietly at the obviously hurting woman, Tara finishes her food, gathering her used dishes to rinse and put in the dishwasher.

Buffy licks her lips as she finishes the food, watching as Tara loads the dishwasher.

“Do you want some more, sweetie?”  Tara questions as she hesitates putting away the items. 

Buffy groans and slowly shakes her head, patting her belly.  “I’ve eaten more today than I have in a week’s time.”  Buffy admits softly.

“You need to eat more, Buffy.  You’re pretty much skin and bones.”  Tara points out quietly.  “You burn a lot of calories and your metabolism is probably through the roof with being the slayer, so you need to eat properly.”

Buffy doesn’t comment on the witch’s observations, knowing she’s right.  “Right now I don’t have room for anything else.”  Buffy admits as she slowly stands, whimpering at the pain in her back before she walks the short distance to the sink to rinse her plate off.

“Here.”  Tara takes the plate and fork from the slayer rinsing them before placing them in the dishwasher.  “The best place for me to rub your back is on my bed…  You may wish to go there and I’ll be in, in a few minutes.” 

Buffy’s hands twitch at the blonde’s words, staring at the woman for a few seconds wondering if she should say something to her, head down to the basement and not let the woman try and help her back, or let whatever might happen, happen. 

Tara glances quickly at the slayer before continuing what she’s doing, knowing that she is silently debating with herself as to what she wants to do.  Tara slowly cleans up after the dinner, giving Buffy plenty of time to make her own decision, smiling softly as Buffy heads into the house.  Looking down at Dani after a little while, Tara grins at the dog.  “Go to the back room and sleep tonight, baby girl.”  Tara smiles as Dani huffs at her and trots out of the kitchen.  Quickly finishing cleaning up the kitchen and starting the dishwasher, Tara checks the doors as she turns off the lights in the house, slowly making her way back to her bedroom.

***

Chapter 6

Buffy looks at the waterbed for a few minutes considering it and the woman that sleeps there.  Knowing from sleeping in it the night before that the woman had baffles in the mattress to help keep the waves down, but not completely waveless.  Licking her lips, Buffy shrugs.  “In for a penny…”  Buffy slowly pulls off her clothes, folding them and setting them on the dresser before heading across to the bathroom, grabbing a couple towels, Buffy walks back into the bedroom, pulling down the covers to the end of the bed and placing the towels on the sheets to protect them from whatever lotions that the witch may use.

Settling on the towels, Buffy pulls the pillow under her head, getting comfortable.  Inhaling deeply of the witch’s scent, Buffy closes her eyes and listens as the dog goes trotting by, her nails clicking down the hallway into the back room.  Silently listening to the witch as she finishes cleaning up the kitchen, Buffy becomes slightly nervous at the realization that for the first time in over a year she’s going to have another person’s hands on her body.  Inhaling and doing a slight meditation, Buffy finally calms down as she hears the soft footfalls of the witch as she heads into the bathroom. 

***

Tara finishes brushing her teeth and taking care of her necessities before heading across the hallway to step into her bedroom.  Staring hard at the tanned body spread out in the middle of her bed, the surprisingly long back to the firm butt cheeks down muscular legs.  Tearing her eyes away from the body practically put on display for her, Tara opens a dresser drawer, digging around to find some non-scented massage oil. 

Buffy allows a small smile to cross her face at the fact the woman seemed almost entranced by her body.  Watching curiously as Tara eases onto the bed beside her, Buffy quirks an eyebrow.  “It might be kind of hard to massage my back in that position.”

Tara blushes lightly and looks down for a moment before looking back up to stare into intelligent hazel eyes.  “I…”  Tara shakes her head, swallowing hard.  “This is only a massage, unless you want more.”  Tara finally murmurs quietly, before shifting to kneel beside Buffy.  “To get the proper pressure and angles on your back…” 

“I know.”  Buffy closes her eyes as Tara slowly shifts to settle herself lightly over her butt.  “Do you know what you’re getting into with me?”  Buffy finally questions quietly.  Feeling the woman tense slightly, before she finishes what she’s doing. 

“Yes.”  Tara answers simply before she opens the partially used bottle of oil, having to use it herself on a couple of occasions to help with stiff and sore muscles.  Pouring a decent sized amount into her hand, Tara warms it between her palms as she looks more intently at the tanned back, the sight of the muscles flinching and flexing even while the slayer is at rest a sight to behold.  Frowning at the bruising in the lower portion of Buffy’s back, Tara sighs quietly at the pain the woman’s probably in.  A normal person wouldn’t have been able to move if the size of the bruise is anything to go by.  Starting off gently, Tara runs her hands soothingly over the slightly tense back, hoping to relax the woman.  As she feels Buffy settle more comfortably into the bed, Tara starts to work her fingers and hands more firmly into the muscles, loosening up the area around the sore spot and slowly working her way inwards. 

Buffy grunts quietly as Tara’s fingers finally start kneading and working the knotted area.  Shifting her head, she buries her face into the pillow as the fingers dig even firmer into the knotted muscle, slowly working it looser, sighing in relief after a long while as it gives in to the ministrations of the witch. 

“There it goes.”  Tara murmurs as she feels it unravel under her fingers.  Grabbing the oil, Tara pours more in her hands.  “Now relax.”  Tara orders quietly as she starts to give the slayer a relaxing massage.  Shifting down so she’s hovering over the slayer’s thighs, Tara allows her hands to touch the beginning swells of the slayer’s butt cheeks and run up the long back to knead and work the muscles, smiling as the slayer moves her hair to the side.  Taking the subtle hint, Tara works the neck and shoulder muscles for long moments before slowly working her way back down. 

“You’re good at this.”  Buffy comments lazily, relaxing into the firm touch of the witch, allowing her body to react to the hands working over her, the desire burning lowly, knowing it won’t be long before the Slayer portion of her comes to the forefront with a vengeance.

Tara chuckles quietly.  “Mostly out of necessity.  I’m prone to getting charley horses in my calf muscles.”  Tara admits as she works the shoulder muscles.

“No one to help you out when you need a massage?”  Buffy questions quietly, trying to keep some semblance of control. 

Tara hesitates for a minute in massaging the slayer’s back, before continuing.  “Not for about six months.”  Tara whispers, her eyes somewhat distant as she becomes lost in the past. 

Buffy frowns and lifts her head to turn and look at the witch, seeing the pain in the blue eyes, Buffy sighs quietly.  “I didn’t mean to bring up bad memories.”

Tara blinks and brings herself back to look into sad hazel eyes.  Shaking her head, she smiles crookedly at the slayer.  “Not so much bad memories, as just a somewhat painful time in my life.  Leaving someone you love, whether willingly or unwillingly is always painful.” 

“Do you want to talk about it?”  Buffy finally questions as she settles her head back on the pillow.

“Not right now.  Sometime, though.”  Tara smiles as she lifts her leg off the slayer’s thighs and gently smacks the woman on the butt.  “I think your back is good to go, except for the bruising, that will heal on its own.”

Buffy grunts quietly and looks at the witch.  “What, this isn’t a full body massage?”

Tara stops from where she was reaching for the bottle of massage oil to look intently at the slayer.  “I wasn’t aware that a full body massage was wanted.”  Tara’s fingers twitch and her eyes become slightly darker as she watches the slayer shift onto her side, her body practically on display. 

Buffy reaches out for the plastic bottle of massage oil, inspecting it for a few moments, before tossing it gently onto the nightstand.  “I think I would like to sleep here, Tara, if the offer’s still open.  And if you’re positive you’re willing to go the distance.”  Buffy whispers huskily her eyes staring unrelentingly into surprised blue eyes.  Watching as the witch’s eyes darken with desire and knowledge of what she’s actually saying. 

Tara unconsciously licks her lips as she slowly stands, pulling her t-shirt off, setting it on her dresser before pushing down her sleeping shorts as her eyes caress over the muscular, tanned body of the slayer, the small pert breasts, down the defined abdomen, to the smooth skin of the slayer’s mound continuing down strong legs to delicate looking ankles and feet, seeing the scars on the slayer, but not really noticing them. 

Buffy’s eyelids drop to half mast as she takes in the witch’s form standing up, the strength of the woman normally hidden by her clothes obvious now as the muscles shift and flinch as she moves.  Running a hand up her thigh, Buffy smiles as Tara’s eyes follow its movement.  Letting her fingers trail over her mound Buffy quirks an eyebrow as Tara finally drags her eyes up to look into hers.  “The sooner you come here, the sooner I’m touching you, instead of myself.”

Tara inhales deeply at the comment, a slow smile coming across her face as her eyes twinkle with mischief.  “But I don’t mind watching a show occasionally.”

“That’s good to know.  Just as I’m sure you won’t mind putting on a show occasionally.  But right now, I’d rather be touching someone besides myself.  While I still can.”  Buffy explains as Tara closes the short distance between her and the bed, easing in beside her.  Buffy inhales sharply as Tara’s hand strokes firmly over her breast.

“I hope you don’t mind that I want to do some touching myself.”  Tara holds her breath at the feel of the slayer’s nipple hardening under her palm.  “Goddess, you feel good.”  Tara finally whispers softly, whimpering as Buffy pushes her gently onto her back and pulls her hand away from her breast.

Buffy growls quietly at the desire filling her body having been too long ignored, Buffy shifts her body to straddle the witch, looking down into confused blue eyes.  “I can’t guarantee that I’ll be able to play gentle, Tara.  I thought I might be able to hold off a while longer, but honestly I feel like I need to be rode rough, hard and long.” 

Tara looks into serious flashing eyes, seeing the need to connect on a base level.  The need for The Slayer to have what she needs, Buffy taking a backseat with what she needs, having been trying to beat the Slayer half of her down.  Looking over at her dresser, Tara whispers quietly.  “I’ve picked up a few things, knowing what I’ve learned of slayers from the Watcher’s books.  Left hand bottom drawer, pick out what you want me to use.”

Buffy stares at the woman for a few minutes.  “That sure of me?”  Buffy finally questions softly.

“No.”  Tara shakes her head, a sad smile on her face.  “I wasn’t even sure you would stick around Sunnydale, let alone want to live.  But I prayed to the Goddess and anyone else that would listen, that you would decide to stay and hopefully something might happen between us.  As for you being in my bed...”  Tara shrugs, and sighs.  “It was a dream, a fantasy that I hoped one day would come true, but didn’t expect it to happen this soon, if at all.”

Buffy grunts quietly at the truth of the witch’s words.  Slowly rolling off the woman, she stands and walks to the drawer, kneeling to pull it open, staring at the different toys inside, along with a few additional items that would probably come into play later.  Running a finger down the leather strap, Buffy wonders at the changes in herself after becoming the slayer and how pain had become synonymous with pleasure.  “How much of a problem would you have using these items on me?”  Buffy questions curiously as she decides what to have the witch wear. 

Tara closes her eyes at the slayer’s words, sighing quietly.  “I don’t like hurting people, Buffy.  I have to tell you that.  I don’t foresee me receiving pleasure out of hurting you, but if it’s something that the Slayer in you needs, I’ll do what needs to be done.”

“Becoming the Slayer made a lot of changes in me.  Pain wasn’t something I enjoyed before.  I absolutely abhorred it, to tell you the truth.  The slightest paper cut or hangnail would set me off.”  Buffy pulls out a harness, noticing the different areas for attachments for the multi-use harness.  Looking for the attachments that will work with it, Buffy purses her lips in consideration, ignoring the Slayer inside banging at her restraints.

“Were you interested in women before the calling?”  Tara questions softly, watching the slayer’s back tense slightly with her question.  Having been shocked when she’d read that the slayer’s sex drive changed somewhat after they were called.  The women… girls really, unerringly stuck to the female persuasion for sexual liaisons. 

“I wouldn’t say I was interested before the calling, but I wasn’t really interested in relationships at all, truthfully.”  Buffy admits as she tilts her head slightly as she looks at another harness that has the same outer attachments, but without the inner ones.  “Do you want something for yourself, or would you rather wait?”  Buffy finally turns with the two harnesses in her hands as she looks at the witch.

Tara looks at what the slayer’s holding, before looking up to swirling eyes, seeing the need in the unguarded eyes for her inner Slayer to be brought to heel before she takes over completely.  With Buffy’s desire to live coming back, the Slayer portion coming back with a vengeance from where it had been pushed down for longer than it should have been.  “This time I think I’ll wait.”  Tara finally whispers, closing her eyes as she works on strengthening and stamina spells to help her out for what’s going to be an extremely long, strenuous night. 

Buffy nods and turns back to the drawer, pulling out one of the longer, thicker dildo’s, but not the biggest one that can be used with this particular harness, attaching it to the proper receptacle.  Settling on another one almost, but not quite as long, but just as thick, Buffy attaches it as she listens as Tara murmurs in a foreign language behind her.  Hand hovering over the lube, Buffy hesitates wondering if it would be best to forgo using it, since it’s been so long.  It would help in taming the Slayer part of her quicker if it isn’t used. 

Tara slowly opens her eyes and watches Buffy stare into the drawer, before her eyes trail down to the harness, biting her lip at what the slayer’s attached to the harness.  “How long?”  Tara finally questions softly.

Buffy doesn’t even act like she doesn’t know what the witch is asking her about.  “A year.”  Buffy slowly shifts and looks over her shoulder to stare at Tara.  “Does that change your mind?”

Tara watches as a guarded look comes into the woman’s eyes.  Slowly shaking her head, Tara sighs quietly.  “No.  Just means we’ll probably need to spend a couple weeks to settle the Slayer inside you.  I’m surprised you’re still in control.”  Tara eases off the bed, walking to her closet.  Pulling out a trunk, Tara hesitates for just a second before opening it. 

“It’ll take longer than a couple weeks.”  Buffy admits following the witch with her eyes.  Her body heating at the sight of the strong back and buttocks flexing as the women settles down on her haunches as she digs in the trunk.  Turning back, Buffy pulls out the lube, deciding she’ll leave it up to the witch whether she wants to use it or not.  Closing the drawer, Buffy stands and walks over to the bed, setting the harness onto the bed, the lube on the nightstand beside it before turning to gaze at the unmoving witch.  Making her way towards her, Buffy growls softly as she comes closer to the naked woman. 

Tilting her head as she feels the slayer come to stand behind her, Tara shivers slightly at the increased heat coming from the slayer, realizing that she probably doesn’t have much longer before Buffy loses control completely.  As Buffy’s hand comes over her shoulder and pulls out one of the items, Tara’s hands clench reflexively. 

“Hurry.”  Buffy spins around and strides back to the bed, setting the item beside the harness as she settles on all fours in the middle of the large waterbed, spreading her legs. 

Tara frowns heavily, before turning and standing, watching as Buffy settles herself on the bed, her body open for her perusal and use.  Hearing Buffy starting to growl softly, Tara hurries to the harness, pulling it on quickly and tightening the straps and buckles until they’re digging into her flesh.  Looking at the lube on the nightstand she turns to look at Buffy.  “Do you want me to use the lube?”

“No.  But I’m leaving it up to you.”  Buffy lowers her upper body and buries her face in her hands.  “Hell of a way to acquaint yourself with someone you care about, huh?”

“Not anything I wasn’t aware of.”  Tara offers, sliding the other item closer to Buffy, before easing onto the bed behind the slayer, settling behind her ass and between her legs.  Taking a deep breath, Tara runs a gentle hand over the slayer’s lower back.  “Hard all the way, or partially prepared?”

“Hard.”  Buffy unconsciously stiffens, closing her eyes tightly as she waits for the pain to arrive, her inner Slayer fighting against the reins she’s keeping on her. 

“Just to let you know, when the Slayer part of you is under control, I’m going to do this the way I want to, not the way you need it.”  Tara warns as she places the largest dildo at the slayer’s back entrance, the other at her center.  Taking a deep calming breath, and sending a silent prayer to be able to do what the Slayer needs, Tara’s eyes become unfocused as she distances herself from what she’s going to do.  Digging her short nails into the Slayer’s hips, Tara growls loudly as she slams deep into the Slayer with no warning or preparation.

Buffy screams as her eyes change from the swirling mass they had become to a dark blue, almost black color as she loses control to The Slayer.  Bucking hard as the witch starts a hard unrelenting pounding inside her, the pain and tearing of the dildos unprepared entrances into her body satisfying her need for pain and punishment that she needs from not being able to protect and save everyone from demon kind.

Tara clenches her teeth as she pounds fast and hard into the slayer, preparing additional spells to help her keep this up all night and far into the morning to hopefully somewhat tame the Slayer that’s bucking and slamming back against her, the loud growling sounding more animalistic.  Tara disassociates herself from what’s happening, unaware of the tears welling from her eyes and slowly trailing down her cheeks.

***

Chapter 7

Buffy quietly groans as she rolls over onto her back, her insides aching and sore, even as her back landing on the sheet makes her arch up as it shoots pain through the rest of her body.  Slowly taking inventory of herself, Buffy realizes the Slayer is growling softly in contentment within her for the time being.  Turning her head she looks at the disheveled, obviously worn out witch lying beside her.  Shifting on her side and easing closer to the woman, Buffy gently brushes the sweat-dampened hair from the woman’s cheek.  “Thank you.”  Buffy whispers softly, leaning in to brush her lips gently over Tara’s cheek, before frowning at the sight of the woman still wearing the harness.  Unbuckling the item, Buffy gently eases it away, frowning even heavier at the sight of the red indentions in the woman’s body.  Stroking softly over a hip, Buffy leans down and presses a soft kiss on the red mark. 

Easing out of the bed, Buffy covers the worn out woman gently with the covers, knowing she probably won’t wake up for a while, having just finished with her a little over an hour ago.  The short nap along with the intense fucking and taming that the Slayer had needed, having energized Buffy more than anything else.  Gathering the used items, Buffy heads towards the bathroom, sighing quietly at the sight of Dani standing just outside the bedroom door.  Heading on into the bathroom, Buffy sets the items down on the counter and walks naked through the house to the back door, grabbing the keys along the way to unlock the door, allowing Dani outside. 

Snapping her head to the phone that rings, Buffy answers it quickly.  “Hello?”

Jenny blinks in surprise at the different voice answering Tara’s phone.  “Buffy?”

“Yes, it’s me.”  Buffy sighs quietly, heading towards the refrigerator, grabbing the partial gallon of milk, flipping the lid off and sucking half of it down in one long draught. 

“I was checking on Tara, she was supposed to be here for breakfast earlier, but she never showed.”  Jenny silently wonders if the two women had finally come together. 

“She isn’t going much of anywhere for a few hours, yet.”  Buffy admits quietly.  “We were… together last night.”  Buffy explains, knowing the woman would understand somewhat. 

“You and her… or…”  Jenny trails off, frowning heavily at the thought of the kind witch having to deal already with the Slayer in Buffy.

“The Slayer.”  Buffy tilts the milk jug back to her lips, finishing it off.  “So, if you had any plans for us today, you may want to leave it be for a while yet.” 

“Yes, well…”  Jenny blinks at the thought, before shaking her head hard.  “Have Tara contact me, when she’s up to it.  The rest of us are going to try to take out the younger master in town, leaving the one demon outside of town alone for now.  If you need anything, let me or Rupert know, okay?”

“I’ll do that.  ‘Bye.”  Buffy hangs up, without giving the Gypsy woman a chance to say anything else.  Silently wondering if these idiots know how dangerous being with a barely controlled slayer is.  If Tara hadn’t already been in a position of control and in charge when she’d lost control, the Slayer probably wouldn’t have recognized her subservience to the witch before she had hurt her, not that she couldn’t have hurt her anyways.  Rinsing the empty jug out in the sink, Buffy crushes it and places it in the recycle box outside on the back porch, taking a moment to enjoy the sight of the large dog galloping and jumping after some bug only she can see, a soft smile crossing her face at the sight.  “Don’t let anyone in the house, Dani.  I’ll leave the door open and put food down for you.”  Buffy calls out to the dog, chuckling as Dani stops and looks at her in silent acknowledgement before she goes back to running and playing.  Shaking her head, Buffy turns back and grabs the bowl, opening the door to the large pantry.  Buffy quickly fills the dog bowl, before setting it back down in its place and grabbing the water dish, taking it to the sink to wash out before placing fresh water in it. 

Sighing quietly, Buffy heads to the bathroom, disconnecting the dildos before washing them thoroughly.  Placing them on a towel, Buffy takes a soapy washcloth and gently cleans the leather harness before drying it thoroughly.  Grabbing the last item, running a finger over the sharp ‘nails’ protruding from the glove, knowing without having to look that her back probably looked like so much tenderized meat right now, though with her slayer healing it will probably be healed within a few hours knowing that the witch had mostly done surface damage.  Washing the item quickly, Buffy makes sure there’s no blood left on it, before drying it quickly also.  Leaving the items on the towels, Buffy grabs a couple washcloths, a towel and body wash, heading into the bedroom, setting them down on the nightstand before going back to the kitchen and running the water to let it get hot as she grabs out a large bowl, filling it half full, before turning the water off and heading back to the bedroom. 

Hoping that she doesn’t wake the witch, having wanted to give the woman some more uninterrupted time for sleep, Buffy gently eases on the bed beside her after pulling off the covers.  Wringing out the washcloth, Buffy squirts body wash on it and tenderly starts to clean the witch’s body. 

***

Giles runs a hand roughly over his chin as the tired and worn out group straggle to their different homes.  Climbing in the vehicle beside Jenny, he smiles tiredly.  “So, was Tara still worn out from her magic expenditure the other day?”

Jenny’s eyes open wide as she realizes she hadn’t told Rupert about her conversation with Buffy earlier that day.  “I completely forgot to tell you when everyone showed up to go out to the other Master’s hideout.  I called and Buffy answered.  It seems that Tara was worn out from dealing with the Slayer.”

“WHAT?”  Giles screams, slamming on the brakes and turning to his lover.  “What the hell did you just say?”

“Tara and the Slayer in Buffy connected last night.”  Jenny frowns, figuring Rupert would be happy that the woman had obviously decided she wanted to live by bringing the Slayer to the fore again.

“You don’t have the bloodiest idea what could happen!”  Giles frowns heavily, his voice low and gravelly as he barely glances to make sure nothing’s coming before jamming his foot down on the gas to head towards Tara’s house.  “Buffy hasn’t allowed the Slayer out for at least a year, Jenny.  The Slayer inside her is nothing better than the demon in a vampire.  Buffy hasn’t had anyone helping her tame her and keep her under control.  Her Watcher had to help the other girl keep control of the Slayer inside her.  If Tara didn’t have firm control at the time, the Slayer could hurt her, especially with being under lock and key for so long!”

“I didn’t…  I didn’t realize, Rupert.  I know that Tara had mentioned that she knew what it would take, having researched about slayers.  She hit on it somewhat, and along with what you told me, but I never realized that it could be that bad.”

“The Slayer inside Buffy is probably almost completely feral, Jenny.  I honestly don’t have a bloody clue how Buffy’s kept control of her for as long as she did.  She must have had the Slayer inside her ready to die, is all I can figure out.  And if the Slayer is fighting for control again…”  Giles shakes his head as he slams to a stop in front of Tara’s house.  Slamming the car into park and yanking the keys out, he and Jenny run to the front door, pounding on it.

***

After cleaning the witch, Buffy finally decided to eat something and threw the spaghetti noodles along with the chili in the microwave to heat up before tossing what was left of the chopped onions and another package of the shredded cheese on it.  Snatching the hot sauce and crackers along with a soda, Buffy settles in a chair and makes short work of what was left of the chili spaghetti, deciding that this might be one of her new favorite foods.  Quickly rinsing her used items, she sets them in the dishwasher.  Seeing that the washer is full enough to run, she looks under the sink and pulls out the dishwasher detergent.  Filling the reservoirs, she sets the item to run before looking out at Dani still playing in the back yard, though the dog had obviously come in while she was cleaning Tara, since the food bowl was empty and the water dish was only half full. 

Trotting down the stairs, Buffy pulls on a pair of shorts going without a top to give her back time to finish healing Buffy works her way back up the stairs and to Tara’s bedroom.  Looking at the woman sleeping deeply, Buffy leans against the doorframe studying her intently.  Having to admit that she obviously was willing to do what is needed to help bring the Slayer under control, even if she didn’t like or enjoy it.  Sighing quietly as she remembers the sight of the tear tracks down the witch’s cheeks when she’d cleaned her. 

Finally turning from watching Tara, Buffy heads back to the living room.  Double-checking to make sure that it looked like she had finished the painting and trim, Buffy kneels down in a corner and starts working on pulling up the carpeting and padding from the floor, ignoring the stinging of her back as she starts to sweat and the salt makes the few unhealed areas sting like hell. 

Rolling the carpet up, Buffy picks it up and tosses it over her shoulder, heading to the side/back yard to put it up against the house until she finds out where Tara wants it put, knowing the woman obviously wasn’t keeping it by her comments about the ugly carpet.  Getting ready to head back in the house to pull up the padding, Buffy frowns as Dani barks once excitedly before running into the house.  Following the dog, she hears a pounding at the front door.  Wondering what the hell’s going on now, Buffy goes to the front door.  Seeing the Watcher and gypsy standing in front of the door with worried looks on their faces, Buffy rolls her eyes. 

Opening the door, ignoring the fact that she’s only half dressed she looks at the two.  “Finally get a fucking clue that it could have gone badly for the witch?  I already told Jenny here that Tara was okay.”  Buffy steps back from the door, looking down at Dani who’s blocking the doorway.  “Back up, Dani and let them in.”  Buffy smiles down at the dog as she grumbles before backing away from the door and going to the bedroom.  Turning away and walking back into the living room, she ignores the inhaled breaths from the two as she starts to work on pulling the padding up from the floor.  “Don’t wake her, she needs her rest.” 

Giles looks from Buffy’s back to Jenny, noticing the paleness of his lover.  “You really have no idea what controlling the Slayer entails, my dear.  Obviously Tara understands better than I thought she did.”

“She does, and she’s more than prepared.”  Buffy lets the Watcher know, even though she understands it wasn’t a question. 

***

Tara frowns as Dani licks her face. “Dani, stop.”  Tara hoarsely whispers, pushing the dog away.  Rubbing a hand over her eyes, Tara slowly takes note of the fact that she’s in bed by herself and she hears voices either coming from the front door or the living room.  Looking over at the clock, she moans as she realizes it’s almost four o’clock.  Rolling to the edge of the bed, Tara throws her legs over the soft-sided waterbed, noticing the large glass of ice water on the nightstand, and smiles softly.  Picking the glass up, slowly downing the water, she takes a deep breath, sending a silent thanks to the slayer for her thoughtfulness even as she notices that Buffy had obviously taken off the harness and cleaned her body. 

Shaking her head at the woman’s actions, she stands, rubbing Dani’s head before pulling on a pair of shorts and a half shirt.  Running her hands through her hair, she slowly works her way out, stopping at the sight of Jenny and Giles standing by her front door talking about what happened the previous night. 

***

“Did you hurt her?”  Giles rubs his forehead in consternation.

“No, she didn’t.”  Tara growls quietly in answer to the Watcher, reaching down to grab Dani’s collar as the dog bristles and growls in reaction to her feelings.  “No, Dani.”  Tara looks down at the dog quietly growling beside her.  “Outside, now.” 

Buffy quickly heads towards Tara and Dani.  “Dani!  Now!”  Buffy orders as the dog continues to stand beside Tara pressing against the witch’s body.  “They won’t hurt her!  I promise, now go play.”  Buffy narrows her gaze on the dog and points towards the door in the kitchen.

Dani growls quietly, before making her way towards the kitchen pushing hard against Buffy on her way by. 

“Damn dog.”  Buffy puts her hand against the wall.  “And don’t think I don’t realize you did that on purpose!  No more ham for you!”

“Buffy, please put a shirt on.  One of my button-up shirts shouldn’t bother your back too much.”  Tara runs a hand over her eyes at the sight of Buffy running around without a care half-naked.  “Though, I guess I should be thankful you’re wearing shorts.”

Buffy smirks as she walks by Tara.  “There isn’t much to worry about showing, you know.”

“There’s plenty.”  Tara warns quietly, turning her head to look at her back as she walks by, thankful to see the majority of it had healed, just leaving a few of the deeper scratches and just red lines left showing.  “I need to use the bathroom.  Why don’t you make yourselves at home in the kitchen, since I’m in the middle of remodeling.  Unless you want to head down to the 60’s cave and wait.”  Tara waves her hand towards the kitchen before turning around to go to the bathroom.  “You know to get whatever you want to drink or munch on.”

Giles mumbles under his breath as he urges Jenny to the kitchen.

Buffy smirks as she pulls down one of Tara’s shirts, frowning at the fact that they’re all lighter colored.  Walking across the hall to gently ease the door open to the bathroom, she looks at the woman as she brushes her teeth.  “You don’t have any darker shirts, I’m afraid that I might ooze on them.”  Buffy admits quietly, her brows furrowed. 

“Let me see, sweetie.”  Tara twirls her finger as she spits in the sink and rinses her toothbrush before putting it up.  Wiping her mouth and hands, Tara looks closer at the slayer’s back, wincing slightly at the wounds that are left on her back. 

“Don’t, Tara.  It has to be done or you could end up being hurt.”  Buffy whispers, seeing the witch’s frown and the pain crossing her face in the mirror.  “I didn’t think about this before, but can you do some kind of protection spell on yourself, or do something to me if I go off?” 

“Yes, I can.”  Tara turns to the medicine cabinet and pulls down a couple gauze pads and tape.  Grabbing a clean washcloth, Tara runs it under the water and squirts some soap on it.  “This will probably sting.”  Tara warns softly.

Buffy chuckles.  “Tara, it isn’t going to sting anymore than when I was tearing up the carpet out of the living room and sweating.” 

“Or when it was done.”  Tara gently washes the slayer’s back.  “I wish you had woken me to clean your back for you.”

“It’s okay Tara.  I don’t normally get infections.  Plus I know the glove was clean and most of the scratches weren’t deep.”  Buffy reaches back behind her and squeezes Tara’s hip gently.  “Don’t beat yourself up over this, Tara.  It isn’t anything that can be helped, unless I leave and never come back or die.”

Tara jerks at the slayer’s words, reaching up to grasp the slayer’s shoulder and turn her towards her, Tara shakes her head hard.  “Don’t you dare!  If you leave, I’ll damn well fucking guarantee I’ll follow your ass.  I was drawn here for a reason, and I’m positive that reason is you.”

“What if I die, Tara?  It’s still a very real possibility, no matter what happens.”  Buffy points out, looking intently into angry blue eyes.

“If you leave, I’ll follow your ass.”  Tara states calmly and seriously to get her point across.  “Now turn around so I can finish helping your back.” 

Buffy sighs quietly before turning around letting the witch wash and rinse her back before she places the gauze pads on the still partly open wounds and tapes them down. 

“You can put the shirt on now.”  Tara murmurs before turning back to put the items away and brush her hair quickly. 

Pulling the shirt on, Buffy buttons a few of the buttons, before stopping to look at Tara.  Pulling the brush from Tara’s hand, Buffy tosses it on the counter and pulls the woman tightly against her to kiss her firmly, and deeply.  Easing back, Buffy looks into Tara’s eyes.  “Get rid of them so I can spend some time thanking you and giving you a taste of the pleasure that you deserve.  Before the Slayer decides she wants you.”  Buffy orders roughly, before spinning around and grabbing the items used the night before through this morning and taking them to the bedroom. 

“Sweet Goddess!”  Tara shakes her head as she places her hand on the counter to steady herself from the kiss that had blood definitely making a southerly trip.  “Food, too.”  Tara mumbles, before hurrying from the bathroom to the kitchen.

***

Tara smiles briefly at Jenny and Giles as the two turn to look at her when she walks in.  “I’m fine.  And I can take care of myself, so there’s no need to worry.”

“I didn’t realize what it actually entailed.”  Jenny looks apologetically at the witch.

“I did.”  Tara murmurs, turning slightly shadowed blue eyes to the gypsy and Watcher.  “I researched everything about the slayers whenever I had the chance.  Working on taming the Slayer within Buffy is going to take time.  It’s been a year, so this isn’t going to be a walk in the park…  Not that it ever would.”

Buffy finally walks in from where she’d been standing in the doorway.  “She was able to deal with the Slayer last night, through this morning without any help.”  Buffy turns to stare at the Watcher.  “You know it took Caitlin and the Watcher both to deal with the Slayer before.  And that was without being cooped up under lock and key within me for a year.”

“Yes, but Caitlin was young.  She probably wasn’t prepared for what being with you actually entailed.”  Giles admits quietly, looking at the small slayer. 

“Yes, that very well could be part of it.  But even the Watcher chaining me and beating me before Caitlin fucked the hell out of me, they still weren’t able to tame the Slayer within me, you fucking idiot!  They barely kept it under control.  Tara was able to make the Slayer curl up inside me in a contented little ball when she was done!  I don’t know how much longer the Slayer’s going to be happy there, but I want to take advantage of it.  So if you two have anything else you want to say, I suggest you do so before you leave.”  Buffy growls quietly at the two.

“Yes, quite…”  Giles quickly stands and looks at Jenny.  “Come on, dear.  I think it might be best to leave.”

Jenny unsteadily stands up, looking from Tara to Buffy and back again.  “If you two need anything…”

“Thank you.”  Tara smiles sadly at the Gypsy. 

“We’ll work on the patrols and keeping up around town as well as we can.  Give you two time to work out things.”  Giles mumbles before quickly heading out of the house.

Buffy and Tara walk the two out, shutting and locking the door behind them.  Buffy turns to look at a thoughtful witch.  “What?”

Tara blinks and looks back at Buffy.  “I’m just wondering how often and for how long we’ll have to do like we did last night.”  Tara lifts a hand to gently brush her fingers down the smaller woman’s cheek.  “That’s something that the books didn’t really tell me.”

Buffy sighs quietly before shaking her head.  “It’s because every Slayer is different.  And every Slayer reacts differently to the woman they choose to mate with.” 

“The Slayer chooses?”  Tara blinks, dropping her hand from the woman’s cheek.  “You don’t even have a choice on who you want to be with?”  Tara frowns heavily.

Buffy captures the hand, gently holding it between two of hers.  “Tara, I chose Caitlin, not the Slayer.  The Slayer in me accepted her, but I don’t think she ever really ‘chose’ her.  That could have been part of the problem with them trying to control the Slayer.  She wasn’t willing to give up control to Caitlin.”

“And she is to me?”  Tara murmurs softly, looking at Buffy.  “But what about you?  If you had a choice, without the Slayer’s interference, would you willingly choose me?”

Buffy becomes completely motionless, not even her eyes shifting as she stares into blue eyes, almost as if she’s trying to see into the witch’s soul.

Tara waits patiently for the answer to her question, knowing that though the Slayer within Buffy is more or less a different entity, the woman’s feelings, wants and desires are still ultimately interwoven with the Slayer’s to a certain degree and that she’s probably trying to sift through to find her true desires.

“Yes, I would.”  Buffy finally answers, blinking.  Realizing that it isn’t just the Slayer that wants to know this woman, but she wants to get to know her also.  Not just physically, but emotionally and intimately. 

“Thank you.”  Tara murmurs, reaching up with her free hand to cup the slightly smaller blonde’s face, kissing her gently before easing back.  “Let me get you something to eat.”

Buffy blushes lightly.  “I kind of finished off the chili spaghetti from last night earlier today when I got up.”

Tara chuckles quietly.  “Next time I fix it, I’ll make double the amount that I did this time.  I just didn’t know if you were going to like it or not.”

“Definitely with the liking.”  Buffy nods her head quickly. 

“Good.  Let me see if there’s something I can throw together quickly to eat.  Do you have any idea how long it will be before the Slayer inside you rears her head again?”  Tara questions curiously as she heads into the kitchen.

“Not really.  This is kind of un-charted territory for me.”  Buffy admits quietly.  “She’s never been like this before.”

“But you have enough control over her, where if I turn around she won’t be in control, right?”  Tara grins crookedly at the woman.

Buffy rolls her eyes and growls quietly.  “Yes, I know some of the previous women have had no control whatsoever over the Slayer inside them, but I’ve always been able to control her to some degree.  Don’t ask me how or why…”  Buffy shrugs as she watches Tara.  “Sandwiches will be fine, if that’s okay with you.”

“That’s fine.  Do you want to finish off the ham that’s left?”  Tara grins over her shoulder as she pulls out the container with the ham in it. 

Buffy growls as Dani comes galloping into the house, sliding to a stop with shoestring slobber hanging from her mouth.  “I’m mad at you, you don’t get any ham.”  Buffy narrows her gaze on Dani.

Tara laughs as Dani pouts and hangs her head dejectedly.  “We know you were just worried, Dani.  But they weren’t going to hurt us.  We appreciate your wanting to take care of us.  I believe you owe someone an apology for being a bit of a pain, also.”  Tara points her finger at the softly whimpering dog.

Buffy blinks in surprise as Dani sits down in front of her and rears back, balancing herself on her back legs as she slowly stands her body pretty much upright. 

“Now hug and make up.”  Tara waves at the two before she pulls out the ingredients to make sandwiches.

“Damn animal.”  Buffy grumbles, realizing the dog’s taller than her when she’s standing on her back legs.  “I can’t believe I’m going to hug a dog.  A slobbering beast of a dog, at that.”  When Dani growls quietly at Buffy, Buffy growls back before leaning in and hugging the dog, shaking her head as the dog’s paws are on her shoulders.  “Maybe you can have a small piece of ham, but don’t push your luck.”  Buffy finally mumbles quietly.

Dani woofs softly and drops to all fours after her new human releases her, grinning happily as she pants, waiting for her food.

“I have to ask, did you do some kind of spell or something on her?”  Buffy questions curiously, jumping up to sit on the counter watching Tara intently.

“Hmmm.  Not a spell per se.  She’s an extremely smart animal, I just gave her a little help in understanding what’s being said, though I honestly think she had a pretty good grasp to begin with.  Animals are a lot smarter than people give them credit for.  Well, at least some animals.”  Tara grins over her shoulder.  “They’re like humans, some are smarter than others.”

“I can believe that.”  Buffy smiles back at the woman.  “I probably should take a shower, between what happened between us and tearing up the carpet, I’m a little on the dirty, sweaty side of the spectrum.”

“If you’re really hungry, I can pull out a container of vegetable soup to go along with the sandwiches, that’ll give you time to shower.”  Tara offers, moving to the refrigerator, her hand on the freezer handle. 

“Make sure you get plenty for yourself, too.  Can’t have you passing out in the middle of something on me.”  Buffy smirks before hopping off the counter and nipping playfully at the witch’s neck as she starts to head by.

“Can you get the bandages on your back, or do you want me to pull them off?”  Tara questions after the quickly departing woman.

“I think I can get them, though since you just put them on, I hate to have to take them off.”  Buffy calls back, frowning at the waste.

“Don’t worry about it, Buffy.  You’ll probably be healed here soon.”  Tara shakes her head at the woman’s comment, before digging in the freezer to pull out a couple containers of vegetable soup.

***

Chapter 8

Tara smiles as Buffy works on her fourth sandwich and her second bowl of soup.  “Should I start digging something else out of the freezer to microwave for you to eat?” 

Buffy smiles apologetically at the witch.  “I guess I should have warned you.  My appetite will increase even more, now.  Once the Slayer is… awakened?”  Buffy shrugs at her word before continuing.  “I can really eat.  I need to get with the Watcher and have him contact the Council to help out with the cost of keeping me going unless we want to go hunting and work on some fresh game to fill up your freezer.” 

Tara laughs quietly.  “I guess that means I should probably have a large chest freezer brought in to fill with meat and soups.  Maybe get a fifty gallon drum to do the soups in outside?”

Buffy chuckles quietly at the witch.  “Maybe.  Either that, or we’re going to be going to the store every day just about.”

“We’ll figure something out, Buffy.  And like I mentioned, I’m not really hurting for money.”  Tara stands and looks through the soups in the freezer.  “I have a chili mac type soup here, some more vegetable beef soup, the chili like we had last night…”  Tara hesitates as she digs around some more and finds another container.  “Five alarm chili also.”

“Five alarm, please.”  Buffy grins as Tara laughs quietly.  As she watches the witch pull the lid off the container and place it in the microwave with a paper plate on top, she tilts her head as she considers the woman.  “You’ve made comments a couple times now.  What do you mean you’re not hurting for money?”

“Just that.”  Tara smiles and shrugs.  Sitting back down across from the slayer, Tara picks up her sandwich she’d been nibbling on while watching the slayer inhale her food.  “My parents weren’t rich by any stretch of the imagination, but they had good life insurance policies.”  Tara sets her sandwich back down, glancing up at the slayer but not seeing her.  “Part of mama’s policy ended up going to pay the hospital bills.  The rest Pa put in the bank.  My Pa was a strict man, spare the rod, spoil the child type.  He also wasn’t a very… demonstrative man when it came to affection.  I sometimes wonder how he and my mama came together.  They were total opposites.”  Tara smiles sadly as her eyes focus back in on Buffy.  “Needless to say, when my brother…”  Tara’s eyes fill with tears as she thinks about it, looking up into concerned hazel eyes as the slayer gently grasps her hand, Tara takes a deep breath to calm down.  “Anyway, I received the insurance policies on them, along with the money from the sale of the farm.  California may be more expensive to live in than most places, but Sunnydale real estate is extremely low.  This house cost me next to nothing, because it was old, and most people want bigger, flashier houses and ones that don’t need any work.”

Buffy pats Tara’s hands, signaling for her to stay seated as the microwave kicks off.  Grabbing her spoon, she opens the microwave to check the chili, stirring it before putting it back in for a couple more minutes.  “However much money you have, it won’t last forever, Tara.  I need to do something to help out with the bills if the Council won’t help.”

“They’ll help, Buffy.  Giles has already been in contact with them, and I think they were trying to set up an account for you at the bank.  Especially now, that they know you’re planning on staying here.”  Tara murmurs quietly, her eyes watching the small woman intently. 

Buffy nods her head in acceptance.  “Give them your bank account and have them send whatever they are going to pay into it.  It still probably wouldn’t hurt for me to see if I can find a job during the day.”

“No.”  Tara shakes her head vehemently, staring at the slayer.  “You already have a full-time job, Buffy.  An extremely dangerous, life threatening job.  You don’t need to worry about the simple things in life, let me worry about that.  You just worry about killing whatever evil pops up and you making it home alive… and preferably in one piece.”  Tara adds on, her eyes serious.

Buffy smiles softly at the witch before pulling the chili out of the microwave stirring it to make sure it’s heated up.  Sitting back down across from Tara, she runs a hand through her hair as she thinks for a few minutes.  “What were you going to do with the back room that was probably originally the master bedroom?”

Tara chuckles quietly and shakes her head.  “Honestly, I hadn’t completely decided.  I was thinking of magically shielding it so I could practice spells that I might need without worrying about something leaking out or someone accidentally getting hurt, but it would take a coven of witches to do that, and unfortunately…”  Tara waves her hand around and shrugs.  “Sunnydale doesn’t have the resources available for that.  So I’m using it more or less as a storage room until I finish redoing the rest of the house and decide what I want to do with it.” 

Buffy slowly eats her soup, alternating with her fifth sandwich as she thinks.  “Are you planning on re-doing the basement, too?”

Tara chuckles and sits back to look at the slayer.  “Why?  Do you like or not like the 60’s motif?”

Buffy rolls her eyes and shakes her head.  “Doesn’t do much for me to tell you the truth.  But I was thinking it might be best to set up some place for when…”  Buffy drops her spoon in her container and runs both hands through her hair as she looks down at the table.  “I want to keep the Slayer portion of me separate from us, Tara.  I don’t want to make you hate your bedroom or going to sleep in your bed because of what you have to do.  And to begin with, this is probably going to be a daily thing.”  Buffy admits her eyes haunted as she looks into Tara’s shadowed blue eyes.  “Maybe we ought to get some drop cloths or something and put them around stuff, clean out a corner in the back room for now to use.”

Tara sighs quietly as she sees the pain in the woman’s eyes, knowing its pain for what she’s putting her through, and not pain for herself.  “The Slayer may be like another entity within you, Buffy.  But ultimately, she is a part of you.  If you’re worried about the… messier aspects, we can set up the back room as a…”  Tara trails off, not knowing what to call it, torture chamber would be about right, but she hates the thought of saying that out loud. 

“Maybe a bed, a couple of extremely sturdy, possibly magically enhanced areas to chain me up or down onto.”  Buffy offers quietly, her eyes serious.  “My other Watcher mentioned a couple ideas that might have helped, but when they tried the regular chains and cuffs I was able to break them easily.  He said it was possible to magically enhance the items, he just didn’t have anyone with enough power around to do it.”

“Do you have ideas of what you want to have in there?”  Tara questions curiously, and as Buffy nods her head, Tara sighs softly as she looks to the side and out the window.  “If you can write down what you want and need, along with a diagram of how you think it should be set up, I’ll see what I can do.  I’m sure Jenny and Giles along with the rest of the group can help us get it set up within a couple days.  We can move the stuff out of there, or work on doing one side of the room to begin with until we finish working on the house and get everything else situated.”

“How about just getting an air mattress in there for me to pass out on, so I don’t have to worry about messing up your bedroom or the rest of the house, and maybe a reinforced padded bench to chain me to?  That would work to begin with until we can get more thoughts and ideas out to work on later at our own pace.”  Buffy suggests quietly. 

“If you don’t mind my asking… but how often did they have to try and tame The Slayer to keep her under control?”  Tara asks delicately.

Buffy laughs, an edge to her laughter.  “Tara, they never had her under control.  They were able to beat her back, and between what they did and my being able to keep her somewhat under lock and key, it was about every three days.  If they went lighter on me it was every other day, a couple times it was after four days.  It just depended.”  Buffy stares at the witch for a few minutes.  “I don’t know if she is able to be controlled, she’s like a feral animal right now, Tara.  She’s been kept under lock and key and buried so deep within me that I was honestly shocked that she was more or less sated with what you did… though I have to admit what you did was a lot more than Caitlin ever could…  She would have used the lube and been gentle.  I think it broke something inside her when she saw Davids beating the hell out of the Slayer, trying to help me keep her somewhat under control.  It wasn’t long after that when everything went to hell.”  Buffy closes her eyes and clenches her hand tightly, the pain of the group of demons and vampires that had come after her family while she was out on patrol streaking through her body.

Tara quickly stands and walks around the small table, seeing the pain and heartache crossing the slayer’s eyes and face before the woman closed her eyes.  Wrapping Buffy gently in her arms, Tara strokes her hands through the woman’s blonde hair, sighing quietly as Buffy buries her face in her chest and her arms cling desperately to her.  Tara places soft kisses on top of Buffy’s head as the slayer holds tightly to her, silently wishing she could do something to help the slayer, knowing the only thing she can do is love her and be there for her.  Hopefully making the slayer happy as often as possible, knowing life is too short to worry about the small things. 

Buffy takes a deep breath as she gets control of her emotions again, enjoying the feel of the witch stroking her hands gently through her hair to continue down her back before doing it all over again.  “I probably should finish pulling up the padding from the living room.”

“Don’t worry about the living room, Buffy.”  Tara murmurs, gently scratching her nails over the slayer’s head, smiling softly as the woman moans quietly.  “Do you like that?”

“Yes.”  Buffy loosens her grip around Tara, but keeps her arms looped around her waist.  Closing her eyes as the woman gently scratches her nails over her head, Buffy brushes her cheek against the witch’s breast, a slow smile coming to her face as she feels the nipple harden beneath the cloth even as a soft whimper comes from Tara.  Running her hands under the witch’s shirt, Buffy slowly strokes up and down her back, a quiet chuckle escaping her lips as the witch arches and moans loudly.  “Seems someone likes their back stroked.”  Buffy comments before gently pushing up the witch’s top growling softly at the sight of the hardened pink nipples.  Quickly capturing one between her lips, Buffy suckles and licks gently across the hard nub, content for this moment just to lave as much attention on the breast and nipple as possible.

“Goddess!”  Tara cries out softly as Buffy finally releases her breast as she presses hot wet kisses across her chest along one of her scars before paying the same attention to her other breast. 

Buffy lets the witch’s breast pop from her mouth as she releases it, running her hands up to cup the abundant flesh, brushing her thumbs over the swollen nipples.  Closing her eyes, she inhales deeply of the witch’s arousal.  Feeling the urge to taste the witch, Buffy gently picks the woman up and carries her to the bedroom.  Setting her on her feet beside the bed, Buffy gently eases the top over Tara’s head, before easing her shorts down over firm thighs, inhaling deeply again as she kneels in front of the witch, her tongue licking her lips at the sight of the dark blonde strip of curls glistening with desire.  Easing away from the witch and standing, Buffy quickly unbuttons the few buttons on her shirt, tossing it to the dresser before pushing down her shorts, kicking them to the side.  Capturing Tara’s hands as they reach for her, Buffy shakes her head as she gently urges the witch onto the bed.  Holding the woman’s hands above her head, Buffy looks into intense, hungry blue eyes. 

Tara breathes heavier as the small blonde takes control of their encounter, understanding her silent command to keep her hands above her head, Tara nods in answer, lacing her fingers together.

Buffy smiles softly before gently kissing the witch, slowly deepening the kiss, swirling her tongue softly around Tara’s, groaning as Tara captures her tongue and sucks gently on the muscle.  Panting heavily after they break off the kiss, Buffy nips gently at swollen pouty lips, smiling as a low groan comes from Tara.  Shifting her body, Buffy moves to straddle the witch’s hips.  Gently running her fingers over the woman’s torso, Buffy softly traces the scars.  Sad that the woman’s beautiful creamy skin is marred by the scars.  The Slayer inside her argues that the woman is a survivor and a fighter, perfect for a mate.  Silently batting back the Slayer, so she can love the witch, Buffy leans down to trail her tongue lovingly over the scars, slowly working her way down the scars on the witch’s abdomen, smiling as Tara groans loudly and her body bucks at her slow enjoyment of the witch’s body.

Tara growls deeply as Buffy skips past her center and slowly strokes her hands down her thighs and calves while her lips and tongue follow at a leisurely pace.  Feeling her desire literally easing down between her slightly spread legs, Tara puts her hands behind her head to keep from reaching down and alleviating the ache between her legs herself. 

Buffy nips softly at the witch’s ankle as she starts to work her way back up the other leg.  Feeling Tara’s body shaking slightly and the strong scent of arousal, Buffy’s nose flares realizing she isn’t going to be able to make a trip up the woman’s backside this time, deciding to start on her back hopefully tomorrow.  Shifting her body between Tara’s legs, effectively spreading them further apart, Buffy works her way a little faster up the inside of the witch’s leg.

Tara groans deeply as Buffy’s hot tongue licks its way closer to her center, her hips bucking uncontrollably now, having a feeling that it’ll only take one touch to send her over the edge.  As Buffy’s hands gently grasp her hips as she maneuvers her shoulders under her legs, Tara screams out the slayer’s name as the woman strokes between her soaked outer lips, dragging her tongue all the way up to drag the length over her swollen clit, sending her flying over the edge as she bucks uncontrollably.

Buffy groans deeply and licks up the flood of liquid from her lover’s body, letting Tara calm down slightly before wrapping her lips around Tara’s extremely swollen clit sticking prominently out from its hiding place.  Sucking tenderly on the muscle, Buffy pulls one hand down under the witch to lift up to stroke tenderly around her opening, barely dipping one finger inside, groaning as she releases the twitching muscle from her mouth as Tara’s body tries to clench and drag her finger inside.  Easing her finger within Tara, Buffy whimpers quietly at the hot, wet cavern clamping down on her finger.  Teasingly stroking her tongue around Tara’s clit, Buffy wiggles a second finger within Tara’s body, curling her fingers as she searches within the witch as Tara starts to cry out loudly.  Smirking as Tara’s hands finally come down to bury in her hair, holding her tightly to her body as the witch clenches her thighs tightly around her head even as her whole body starts to shake and quiver as a low keening wail comes from Tara as she explodes, soaking her. 

Panting heavily, Buffy alternates pressing soft kisses to the woman’s swollen lips to running her tongue gently over the woman’s body gathering her sweet reward as she waits for Tara to release the grip she has on her fingers. 

Tara whimpers softly as she slowly comes back to earth, the sparkles behind her eyelids a new experience, along with the powerful orgasm that had literally exploded from her body.  Realizing her hands are grasping Buffy’s hair tightly, Tara slowly loosens her grip so she can stroke them through her hair even as she feels the rest of her body slowly calming down as Buffy tenderly presses her lips over her lower body in a calming, soothing gesture.

As Tara finally relaxes, Buffy gently eases her fingers from within the witch, immediately missing the warmth and feeling of connectedness.  Licking slowly at the additional liquid easing from Tara, Buffy groans quietly as she feels the Slayer awakening within her.  Strengthening her defenses against the Slayer to give Tara time to enjoy the pleasure still coursing through her, Buffy slowly makes her way up the woman’s body, placing hot kisses along the flesh.

Tara urges the slayer on up her body, kissing her intensely, growling softly at the taste of herself on the slayer’s lips and tongue.  Battling strongly against the slayer as Tara gets her second wind, she rolls them over to look down into hazel eyes tingeing towards blue.  Dropping her head to the slayer’s shoulder, Tara groans quietly.  “Am I ever going to actually be able to make love to you?”

Buffy chuckles softly.  “Maybe, eventually.  Of course, you going hard all the way is kind of impossible right now, so you’ll probably need to use something a little more rough than the nail glove.” 

Tara nods her head in understanding.  “How long do I have before the Slayer takes over?”

“Not long enough to do anything for me, if that’s what you’re thinking.  That’ll just facilitate her coming quicker.”  Buffy brushes Tara’s hair back from her forehead. 

“Do you want to pick out what you want me to use?  Or do you want me to?”  Tara finally lifts her head to look seriously into Buffy’s eyes. 

“Will you use what I pick out?”  Buffy hoarsely questions, her eyes searching Tara’s blue eyes, watching sadness cross their depths before a steely determination replaces the sadness.

“Pick the items out.  I’m going to run to the bathroom and tell Dani to go downstairs, I’ll put in one of her favorite movies while I lock up the rest of the house and bring in a gallon of water.”  Tara brushes her fingertips softly down Buffy’s sweat dampened neck.  “You need to drink a good amount of it, so you don’t get dehydrated.”

“You, too.”  Buffy points out, lifting up the damp strands of hair, running her fingers through it. 

“Yes, I guess I do.”  Tara sighs and tilts her head down so their foreheads are pressing against each other.  “I want to make love to you, Buffy.  And I damn well am going to!”  Tara growls quietly, pressing her lips quick and hard to Buffy’s before rolling off the woman and the bed, striding from the room.

***

Chapters 9-

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