Disclaimer:
It’s not mine… Well, the story is, but the characters aren’t…Author’s Notes: Sorry it took so incredibly long for me to get this chapter out… School is evil… It’s probably not all that great, ‘cause I’ve been writing it on and off for months. I kept re-reading it, and it just didn’t sound right, but I gave up on trying to fix it, ‘cause it just wasn’t working and I haven’t updated since November 17th… So anyway, here it is… And thanks for the reviews…
Distribution: If ya want it, take it, just give me credit… And, if ya could, let me know where it’s going.
Feedback: You can send it to brock3005@aol.com or otownfan1520@yahoo.com.
~*~*~*~
Chapter 22:
“Tara?” Buffy questioned again when she received no response from the angelic figure of her lost friend. Could it really be Tara? Was she simply dreaming? Hallucinating? Delusional?
“It’s me.”
The voice was quiet, barely above a whisper. For a moment, Buffy wasn’t sure she’d heard it at all. But she had. She could feel it.
“Uh… Hi?” What was she supposed to say? Buffy was confused… More than a little confused, in fact.
Tara smiled lightly at that. It was obvious that she had shocked the Slayer. Not that she blamed Buffy for being a bit disturbed by the whole thing… Slayer or not, Tara was pretty sure none of Buffy’s dead friends had ever come back to chat. Unless, of course, they were in vampire form… That wasn’t exactly uncommon. But as for this… This was different.
“Hi, Buffy.” Once again, Tara smiled sweetly at Buffy, whose face was still awestruck…
After a moment, though, Buffy pushed away all the wonder she was feeling and tried to think things over for a minute. Chances were, if Tara was here in some sort of mystical form, there was something important that she needed to convey to the Slayer. As much as Buffy knew she needed to hear it, she wasn’t sure she wanted to… With this new evil in town, and the dreams she had been having, there was no telling what a visit from the Great Beyond might tell her. And, considering past experiences, it probably wasn’t going to be a good message…
At that moment, all she wanted to do was go home, curl up in Spike’s arms and sleep for the rest of her natural life… But that wasn’t going to happen anytime soon, so she gave in; sighing lightly as she dropped down onto a nearby headstone.
“This isn’t gonna be good, is it?” Buffy asked, running a hand through her hair. Suddenly she was feeling incredibly exhausted.
“Actually,” Tara began, smiling lightly, “it is good news.”
“Really?” Buffy brightened at the words, her voice hopeful.
“Yes… But it’s also a warning.”
“Oh…” Buffy’s face fell a bit; her eyes losing their hopeful shimmer. “So it is bad…”
Tara shook her head reassuringly. “Not necessarily. I guess it depends on how you look at it…” There was a bit of a pause on Tara’s end for a moment. “Buffy, you have to stop patrolling…”
“What?” Obvious confusion overtook Buffy’s features as she stared unbelievingly at Tara. “What do you mean? Why?”
“Buffy, there are certain aspects of your life that you are unable to control… Your emotions; who you fall in love with… But at the same time, there are those that you can control, or at least try to alter. And this is one of those. It’s going to be difficult. There’s no way for you to avoid that. You’re the Slayer. It’s in your blood. But in order to avoid disaster in this particular case… Buffy, you’re gonna have to stop.”
“I don’t understand. Tara, what are you talking about? Why would I have to stop slaying?” Buffy questioned, confused. “I can’t stop slaying. There’s some big bad evil in town… Or on it’s way to town, anyway… How can I just stop?”
“Buffy, you have two choices here. You can either stop slaying for the time being… Or you’ll lose your children…”
~*~*~*~
Cordelia was on her way to Sunnydale.
It had taken her quite awhile, but eventually she had been able to convince Angel that she needed to go on her own. He’d definitely put up a great argument, though. By the time he’d finished, she’d almost told him it would all work out if he came along. Problem was, she knew that wasn’t true. Buffy, Spike, and the Scoobies were in danger; along with the rest of the world. The only person who could ever stop this was Buffy, and Angel’s being there would have done nothing more than provide distraction and create confusion… and more than likely, anger. So eventually she’d told him there was no way in hell she was gonna let him in the car with her, and she’d taken off… In broad daylight.
He was probably incredibly pissed off about the whole situation, but really, she couldn’t care less… She would probably regret it when she got home, but there wasn’t all too much she could do about it. There was no way he would come after her, she knew that much. At least she was pretty sure of it. After all the arguing they’d done, something had to have gotten through. He wouldn’t put Buffy in danger, and Cordy knew it… Only question was; would she be able to help?
~*~*~*~
“What?”
There was pure shock written across Buffy’s features… Had she just heard what she thought she’d heard? There was no way… How could she be pregnant? She only been with Spike. And he was a vampire. Not to mention the fact that last night had been the first time in months… Was it really possible to to tell that early? She really wasn’t sure what to think… Was this a good thing? Sure, she would love to have Spike’s children… Eventually. But at the moment, she wasn’t exactly being paid all that well. Plus, she would more than likely lose her job by the time this whole ordeal was over, considering she was pretty sure she wouldn’t have the chance to go back to work for awhile. Could they take care of two children? And she didn’t even want to consider the implications the dreams had brought about.
Tara smiled. “Surprised?”
“Uh… Yeah…” Buffy laughed lightly, running her hands through her hair. She nodded, her eyes tearing as a bright smile bloomed on her face; the news finally sinking in and happiness taking over. “Yeah. Wow… I mean… Wow.”
Tara watched intently as the teary eyed young woman paced back and forth a bit in front of her, so obviously too happy to stand still… She wanted to go home and tell Spike; Tara could see it… And it made her smile. It was good to see Buffy so happy again. The year before had been terrible for the young Slayer. But now she was finally happy again; all the events of the previous year had been washed from her mind. She was starting a new life with the man she loved. She was finally happy again.
“Incredible, isn’t it?” Tara asked softly; the smile never leaving her face.
“Oh God… Yes. It’s just… Wow. I’m having a baby. No… Twins. I’m having twins. I’m having Spike’s twins.” Her smile grew larger as she said the words. She loved the way it sounded. “Oh God… Tara, I think this is the happiest moment of my life. Is it even possible to be this happy?” She was babbling. She knew it. She really didn’t care.
After a moment, she stopped to calm herself a bit. She was bordering on giddy… If she made it to that point, there would be no turning back. She figured it was about time to bring down the enthusiasm just a bit. There were still a few questions she needed answered…
“How did you know?” Okay, so that wasn’t one of them… But what was she gonna do? It had just slipped out… “I mean, isn’t it too early? Last night was the first time we’ve been together since last year, before… everything. How do you know…?”
“You’re right.” Tara agreed, smiling lightly. “It is too early to tell… For you. It’s different for me. I’m not of this world anymore, Buffy. I can see things that you can’t… The future, in some cases. And this is one of them. I also know you’re scared…” she added softly, watching as Buffy’s eyes fell a bit. The young woman was terrified. It was obvious.
“You know about the dreams then?” Buffy questioned, almost hopefully. Maybe, if Tara knew, she could help her.
“I do.” Tara replied, her tone reassuring. “Right now, though, you can’t worry about that. Just stop patrolling and worry about keeping these children safe. Everything’s going to work out just fine.”
“But Tara, in the dreams… Spike doesn’t make it. If that’s really going to happen, I need to know. I don’t think I can do this without him.”
“And what if I told you he wouldn’t make it through this time?” she asked gently. “What would you do?”
“I don’t know…” Buffy replied softly, running her fingers through her hair once more. “But I don’t think I remember how to live without him…”
“You won’t have to Buffy.” Tara reassured her. “I have to go now… But I need you to do one thing for…”
“Of course… Anything.” Buffy nodded, smiling lightly.
“Never give up on the one you love. True love always finds a way…”
~*~*~*~