Common Areas

[Irishgrl3]

I just found this fic and am surely digging it! I really like the letters through time storyline. Interesting that Tara has seen Willow but Willow has yet to see Tara. The anticipation of their meeting is killing me though, I can't wait! Yes I know I being a bit impatient.

[EasierSaid]

Very cool. Another time trip to consider, in addition to the 'letters through time' is 'who will Tara be in 3 years' (if she is still alive). I think all of us can look back on who we were three years ago, what we loved, etc and notice a profound difference.



One thing I wonder, is why 2004-Willow hasn't just searched for 2004-Tara. Surely there'd be no disturbence in the time continuum if she just, showed up on her doorstep. "Remember me, from the letters?" Asking Tara to wait, then going through with an arranged meeting... it seems like planned pain. A burden for Tara to live three years waiting, mythologizing Willow (perhaps making her so ideal that a relationship is impossible), and for Willow, if something happens to Tara in those three years and she doesn't show. Tara has no control over this - she has to wait or alter time, whereas, theoretically, Willow could be proactive and find her without damaging time-as-they-know-it. Interesting that when Willow asked Tara to see her 2001 self, Tara didn't ask the same for her 2004 self.



And now that my thinking is done for the day - back to bed. Thanks very much, enjoyable as always.

[JustSkipIt]

Wow, this gets more and more intense for me. I can imagine Willow sitting there in 2004 and Tara never shows up. How angst-filled for her. Then she's wondering why and she either 1. doesn't contact Tara but is in anguish herself or 2. asks Tara why. If #2, Tara won't be able to answer that question because she can only say that now, in 2001, I would give anything to come meet you. But she won't be able to say that she still would in 2004. And even if she thinks that she still would, she doesn't know whether she can. Meanwhile, perhaps it occurs to Willow to wonder why and she starts to research moving backwards to find out what happened to Tara. Even if she finds out, she can't go back in time and fix it; she could only warn Tara. But is that right? Doesn't that mess with the space-time continuium? And maybe Tara does meet a tragic end between 2001-2004 but perhaps she saves a bunch of little kids or something.



The premise is absolutely wonderful and I'll be biting my fingernails through part 14 at least.



I'm also wondering about Heather's question: why doesn't Willow go find 2004 Tara? Easy enough to find out her whereabouts.



I just finished reading Connie Willis's To Say Nothing of the Dog and can't recommend it enough. It deals with exactly the type of space-time continuium questions we have here.

Sign the ACLU Refuse to Surrender Pledge

"The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” - Martin Luther King

[astrangerhere]

Watson, dear dear Watson--



Wow. I crashed through the first seven parts and then re-read it all with the comments from other readers. I read, and re-read Debra's Season 3 Ya'll and its sequel, and loved it. So naturally, I was attracted to this notion of time. You have set up such a conundrum for yourself, I don't envy your position in having to fix it, though I am biting my nails right along with Deb and everyone else to see how you do it.



As i read this, I couldnt help but think of the old Deborah Carr flick "An Affair to Remember" and her being prevented from being where she wanted to be.



Cannot wait to read more.



ash

Can you help me with this heart in my chest? It ain't perfect, but you should see me use it.

[Rhiannon9891]

WOW,

what an intriguing story,I'm hooked. I have so many questions but I'll let the plot unfold before me. I need to go take some aspirin now, I have such a brain-ache thinking about time travel and all the different aspects of such a possibility.Please do continue as this is a wonderful scenario.



Rhiannon

[hidden watson]

Thank you everyone for your comments and support. I really feel honored and grateful.



Thanks especially to Debra for the advertisement of this story over at holiday cheer. Not read it yet? What are you waiting for? Go.



Thanks also to Cameron whose inspiring comments led to a small re-write of the next chapter. I think it's better for it.



Replies then an update.



the hero factor - thank you for reading, glad you find it intriguing.



meretricious - thank you, Mary. I toyed with the idea of including more physics and trying to explain it more in terms of time loops and paradoxes and the lke, but soon gave up because the time pretzel, as you so aptly put it, had me running round in circles. Whether or not Willow and Tara meet at the Espresso Pump, you'll see in the next part. As for Clem, who doesn't like Clem?



behindhereyes - yep, in other fics usually they have more substantive contacts, whereas here the only contact is via letters. I'm so pleased you feel the connection.



willow fan7 - oh, hope I didn't scare you too much with the little sequence. Thanks for reading.



pipsberg - I was thinking that even after meeting (if it actually happens) Willow can still write to 2001 Tara, although it'll be very surreal and strange for all 3 of them. Can you imagine a letter from Willow: "Hi Tara, today I went to the Bronze with you, well not you, it's the you I met a while ago in person that you will grow into one day, and we had a wonderful time and we drank so much tequila I was seeing double at one point and thinking you (the you reading this letter) had joined us and then when we got home we had a shower together and you (well, the other you) licked all the way down my throat and there were these soft groans that we don't know who was making but it was so fabulous. How was your day?"



Viximon - ouchie, yikes. I am evil. Evilness will continue, I'm afraid.



Irishgrl3 - welcome and thank you! Yes, so far Tara has seen Willow once at the Bronze, but Willow hasn't seen Tara, though I imagined they may have exchanged photos. Stay tuned.



EasierSaid - My goodness Heather you've made me all introspective. At the beginning of 2002 I was working in Switzerland. My life was so different then, I was probably a completely different person than now. For starters I'd never heard of fanfic at that point, imagine that!



I also agree with you, it is planned pain. What's more, it's Willow planning and inflicting the pain on Tara. I think I've said this before, in reply to someone, to ask Tara to wait 3 years is so self-centered. I love Willow to bits but she's not coming out all roses in this fic, that's the second selfish thing she's done to Tara. Which is why Tara had to think about it before agreeing to the meeting, she's probably too much of a glutton for emotional punishment for her own good. Now I'm not being critical of how they behave in this story (I am the writer after all) but they're not perfect, and at times may not have thought things through. Then again that's part of their charm and this odd situation they find themselves in is enough to make people not think completely logically.



I think the reason Willow hasn't gone out looking for the 2004 version of Tara is simply because they're not at that stage of their 'relationship' yet. In the last chapter she was thinking of time travel and magic, but then came up with the simple 'meet me in 3 years' idea. For her it's only a matter of a couple of weeks, and she's willing to wait that out to meet Tara. Hence explains (I hope) her inaction so far, which is kinda not in character, we'd expect Will to have googled Tara by now, at least.



Debra - what can I say. So many possibilities. You're right, like Heather, in wondering why Willow hasn't attempted to find Tara. I really do think it has occured to her, but because she has the meeting coming up in such a short time, she's trying to respect the timeline and not tried to find Tara. As for why Tara hasn't already shown up in the 2004 timeline, my fanwank (purely from Wilow's point of view) is Tara knows this is their first meeting so she's also respecting the timeline and hasn't gone to meet up with Willow before their pre-arranged date. Does that make sense?



Also, thanks for the recommendation on To Say Nothing of the Dog. It definitely sparked my interest, sounds like total fun. I looked for it yesterday (having stayed home all weekend) but my local bookstore's too small to have it. My gf will try to get it for me but as I won't see her till this weekend, it'll have to be a few more days.



astrangerhere - you read through all 7 parts in one go? Wow, don't envy you, it's a lot to absorb. It's a conundrum alright, but there will be a happy ending, of course we get our happy endiing.



Rhiannon9891 - thank you. Hope I'm not causing too much of a headache for you, everything will be resolved eventually. But there's a way to go yet.

------

quiet thoughts

[hidden watson]

Title: Common Areas

Author: watson (hiddenwatson@yahoo.com)

Distribution: please email me first

Rating: PG-13 to R

Summary: Sunnydale, AU. Set during 2001 and 2004. Willow and Tara find each other through time.

Disclaimer: This story is inspired by and adapted from a Korean film called Il Mare. The story premise, of 2 people who connect across time, belongs to Lee Hyun-Seung, although I have deviated from the story somewhat. BtVS characters belong to Mutant Enemy, Fox, The WB, UPN and others. I own nothing. I am nothing.

Notes: I didn't plan for the first update in 2005 to be this one, but that's how it turned out.

Warning: here comes the angst.





Part 8



"Willow?"



"Tara?"



"Hi. Sorry to keep you waiting."



"No, no, I've only been here like 2 minutes. Besides, you're the one who's had to wait years."



"Years, I know. Wow. I can't believe it."



"Me neither."



She was transfixed, speechless. She's even more beautiful in person, the photos don't do her justice.



"I feel like we should introduce ourselves but it seems redundant and silly. Ah well, here goes. Hi, I'm Tara Maclay, pleased to meet you."



"Willow Rosenberg, the pleasure, believe me, is all mine."



And then Tara took her hand into hers and they shook hands. After the formality neither of them let go of the other's hand, once they had established their first touch, there did not seem any reason to let go.



"God, I don't know where to start," Tara laughed.



"Me too. I have so many things I want to say but now I'm totally blank," she agreed.



"Just let me look at you," Tara turned a little more serious and regarded her for a long minute, her blue eyes reading her, reaching deep down into her, touching her very core. She felt breathless.



A minute. Three. Six. She did not know how long they stared at each other. Tara's thumb traced little circles on the back of her hand. Eventually she did a little cough that brought both somewhat back to solid ground.



"What have you been up to? I mean, you know all about me up to this point, but I don't know anything about what you did for the last 3 years. Or am I not allowed," she joked.



"You're allowed a little. Well it's a little funny, cos you will get to know in time, so I don't want to spill too much," Tara replied, with a twinkle in her eyes.



"You mean?"



"I mean. Okay, let me give you the short version without giving too much away. After we agreed on the date I went out and bought a 5 year diary, so I can put today's appointment in straightaway. Then I started a painting which I added a little to every day, so I'm reminded of you. It's the first thing I see every day and the last thing I see at night. It's beautiful, some day I'll want to show you," Tara recounted.



"I'd like that. What is the painting about?" she asked, curious.



"Um, well. I wanted to have a daily reminder of you, so, well, it's a portrait of you," Tara blushed as she replied.



"Me?" she asked with a stupid grin.



"Uh huh. But it's only based on the one time I saw you, at the Bronze. The rest is my imagination."



"Wow. I have a portrait. So then what?"



"So I have this painting I work on everyday and I'm here now and may be I get to finish it."



"It's so touching," she paused. "Almost, um, romantic."



"Yes."



They talked and talked, not a raging torrent of unfinished thoughts, but a smooth, natural flow between two connected minds.



"Do you want to take a walk before it gets dark and too dangerous?" she ventured.



"I'd like that."



Tara's left hand was entwined in her right, they walked as close as they could without tripping over each other. Their silence was companionable, they had all the time in the world to talk.



Tara's thumb was circling her hand again, causing her heart rate to rocket, so much so that she turned suddenly and pulled the blonde close, wrapping her other arm round her waist.



"I, I, Tara, can I ask you —" she said breathlessly.



"Way ahead of you," the girl of her dreams whispered.



And kissed her.



Their kiss was rudely interrupted by a college student careening into them, causing her to tumble in a heap of arms and legs.



"Oh my, I'm so sorry, are you hurt?" the clumsy boy stammered.



"No, it's fine," Willow groaned sullenly. She sighed and pouted to no one in particular as she picked up her backpack and climbed back to her feet. Just completely ruined my daydream, that's all. Stupid boy. Oh Tara. I can't wait for this afternoon.



*****



She arrived deliberately early at the Espresso Pump, grabbed a mocha from George the owner and found a soft chair at the corner. To the other patrons she appeared to be a young woman anxiously waiting for a friend, or a date. How little they knew.



It was the most important day of her life.



She watched as other people come and went, feeling detached. People seemed to be moving in slow motion today. She looked at the other customers, trying to imagine who they were, what they were talking to each other about, where they would go to after their coffee. She idly wondered what her friends were doing.



Buffy and Dawn came back from the visit to their aunt with a carload of tupperwared goodies. Spike and Gunn returned to LA shortly before. Xander and Anya arrived back from Mexico tanned and with a different energy about them. Giles called to say he was staying in Bath a little while more to sort out heating problems at his house.



Hellmouth activities suddenly picked up at the beginning of December but the well-oiled Scooby research and demon-fighting machine smoothly sprang into action and the world did not end.



Correspondence with Tara reverted back to normal. Well, as normal as it could get before her inspired invitation. She updated Tara on the hellmouth activities, and Tara asked her opinion on whether to enroll into UC Sunnydale's Art program.



They talked very little about the forthcoming meeting, Willow was chock-full of anticipation, and having increasingly detailed and borderline erotic fantasies, but she was sensitive to the fact that it was a long wait for Tara, who must not be finding it easy. The only time it was mentioned was when Tara told her how odd she might feel if she received a letter from future her and Willow.



Willow's thoughts on the matter were uncharacteristically simple. It never occurred to her that writing to Tara would ever stop even after their meeting. She would spend the next few years in happy correspondence with the Tara of the past, perhaps even together with the Tara of the present, until the 2 Tara's caught up. With the Tara she was about to meet, her vision was even more simple.



Meet the girl, may be fall in love a little (or a lot), live happily ever after.



The red flags of warning about this undertaking were reasoned away or ignored. These were the facts: one, she was straight for as long as she had known about the difference between boys and girls; two, here she was, wanting to fall in love with a girl; three, it totally did not matter, as long as she and Tara had the rest of their lives together.



There were none of the usual Willow-styled analysis or internal discussion, she did not discuss with Buffy or Xander, her feelings toward Tara transcended the conventional realms of how a "normal" relationship should be. Besides, she reasoned to herself, how "normal" was being with a werewolf for the better part of 6 years.



The only thing she worried about was the small matter that the Tara she wanted to fall in love with actually lived in the past. It did occur to her that the Tara she was about to meet would not be "her" Tara, people change, circumstances change. She tried hard to imagine what their meeting would be like (fantasies about kissing Tara aside) but was completely and oddly stumped. She would just have to meet her to find out.



Which brought her back to the most important day of her life.



It was coming up to 3pm. She straightened herself and scanned the entrance for Tara's arrival.



And waited.



And waited.



5 minutes turned into 10, then 30, an hour. Then another.



People came and went. Bought their coffees, met their friends, hugged, smiled, argued.



Her emotions cycled through puzzlement, annoyance, panic, fear, anger, hurt, finally settling on resignation.



She isn't coming.



A thousand different scenarios went through her head at breakneck speed, none of them pleasant, all of them with the same end result. That for all her asking and planning and anticipating, this was not the day she would get to meet Tara.



Nothing felt worst. Not losing Oz. Not when Buffy died. Not facing the First.



She isn't coming.



A loud crash jolted her somewhat back to reality. When she glanced over at the bar, it was George and Mrs George putting up a new picture and accidentally knocking over a chair.



She was about to dismiss it and crawl back into her cave of unending misery when her eye was caught by the picture itself. Intriguing enough for her to gather her senses and walk over to study it more closely.



A sketch, and a very good one at that, of a black cat with white paws and yellow eyes. Its head leaning to one side, as if curiously observing what is going on around it. Its pose and expression were so familiar.



Miss Kitty. The cat that arrived out of the blue not long after she moved into the basement apartment and had stayed with her since.



Miss Kitty Fantastico. Tara's cat. Her cat. Their cat.



Her eyes widened and she almost gasped when she saw the initials at the bottom right.



She finally found her voice. "Mrs George, a new picture?" she asked the matronly yet always fashionable co-proprietor of the café.



"Oh yes, picked it up from the gallery on Main," Mrs George replied. "They're having an exhibition of works by local young artists."



"It's nice."



"Thanks Willow. They have lots more, though only a few by this particular artist. You want another mocha?"



She looked at her watch. Almost six. It seemed pointless to continue to wait, yet she could not tear herself away. She would stay here, keep sentry until closing time.



"Yes please."



*****

------

quiet thoughts

[Washi]

Ok, this is bad, yep, very bad. What if something happened to her, or something of the kind? And, damned that boy for bumping into Willow.

I am loving this anyways, and I can't wait for more.

-------------------



"See? I've mastered this tact crap." Anya in Tears Of The Goddess by Lisa



The course of love doesn’t always run smooth, especially for the neurotic and accident-prone. ~ LadyB



.:Dark-bliss.net :. .:Blink.Flash.Sparkle.:. .:My blog:. .:Blood and Ink:. .:Washi's 70s Site:.

[little miss 666]

YAAAY!



i saw you were online and i sat there waiting pressing refresh every 2minutes to see if you'd update hahaa, and yaaay u did !



okay, first, this was a very well written chapter! when i read the angst warning i got really worried! but as the chapter progressed i was like 'yeah... i can deal with this' and then WAPOW! tara doesnt show up and my world crumbles!



oh! oh! and wow! i'm really intrigued about WHY she didnt show, and why there's only a few paintings from that artist, the most horrible situation i could come up with was that Tara died and willow is faced with the decision of whether or not 2 interfer with past tara's life.



The most fluffy situation i could come up with is that tara's late because she had to drop past the D+M shop for leather apparal and then she'd find willow and they'd have fluffy gay love with after mocha's.



see, i like that one lots! though, somehow i highly doubt thats the road ur going down *sighs* alas, oh well lol, i'm sure whatever you're planning is gonna be good! lookn forward to it!



- bellos!

The shape of you

Is etched inside

My bruised and somewhat sculptured mind

[hermitfish]

Just got through this in a go and had to drop a note praising your work. I love stories that play with timelines and whatnot. The way the letters/responses are interwoven bring out a strong closeness between them despite the year difference. It is well formulated. I also like how easy the story flows...it certainly could be much more complicated (and, therefore, much harder to read) considering the topic. Now I have a pile of questions that I'm looking forward to seeing you answer. Kudos.



~Cyd

---

All you need to start an asylum is an empty room and the right kind of people.

~Eugene Pallette in My Man Godfrey (1936)

[Rhiannon9891]

Watson,

oh no, what happened to Tara??? I knew that Miss Kitty was going to play a role in here some where. Continue on please as I am still most intrigued.



Rhiannon

[pipsberg]

watson,



Excellent update! Willow's day dream was both silly, in a Willow way, and sweet. I would have liked more kissing as well



I'm very intrigued to see why Tara didn't show up. I'm trying not to jump to conclusions -- see my feet are tied to the floor. I can't help but think, like another kitty mentioned, that something must have happened to her. Either way, I look forward to more!

-pipsberg



"We live our lives, do whatever we do, and then we sleep - it's as simple and ordinary as that."

Michael Cunningham, The Hours

[Irishgrl3]

Okay, what the heck? I can't believe Tara was a no show, I'm sure there was a good reason but poor Will must be heartbroken. Jeez I'm glad I read your notes about the "angst ahead". And I have to admit I bought into the day dream, yup suckered me right in.

Can't wait to see what happens next!

-anna

[serendipitous]

What a great fic. Love the plot line and you have a great flow to the piece. It crazy to think that she will eventually meet Tara but still can correspond with the past Tara. How weird it would be to know what your future self is going to be like with the person you will eventually end up with. How would that effect the future or is that part of the future that present day Willow and Tara are experiencing? I'm excited to find out where this story goes! Cheers

[meretricious]

well, i expected a no show tara, cause otherwise this would get too easy, as willow's daydream demonstrates. and willow's going to have to be pretty much on her own solving the "where's tara" dilemma, since tara's out of the loop by about 3 years. but then you drop her a clue-a signed miss kitty pic-and she has a place to start searching from. i like the mystery angle you're taking here, keeps me from tying my brain in a knot over the time pretzel (although, ok, i actually like doing that, too). you're just working this on so many levels, it's great fun~mary

you come and you glow and you hum and you hover
i cannot believe that you're my lover~rhett miller

[pikescoob]

I'm more than a little concerned that there isn't a present Tara cuz maybe something happened to her. Tara wouldn't just stand Willow up, and the way the coffee shop person said there were only a few paintings by that particular artist (Tara) definitely has me worried. If that be the case I really hope they can pull a Jim Caviezel and Dennis Quaid and save Tara from whatever happens. Part of me wants them to just hook up younger Willow and Tara and forget what the consequences might be...why delay the inevitable right?



**Michelle

"these wounds won't seem to heal,

this pain is just too real,

there's just too much that time cannot erase"--Evanescence (My Immortal)

[Viximon]

You're not evil (said in calm whispering voice)

YOU're SUPEREVIL vilian !!! I want to kick you for being so cruel



Did Tara forget the meeting? Did something happen between the time of her penpaling Willow and 2004?







You're killing me with wonder

[Grimlock72]

Thinking about those two timelines definitly hurts my brain . I do wonder why Willow never attempted to find current-Tara herself. Asking past-Tara to meet her at some date/place seems a rather difficult way to meet in person .



The really headache inducing part starts if/when Willow meets current-Tara and intends to keep communicating with past-Tara. She would be sort of re-shaping current-Tara with every communication send :-) Rather dangerous.. on the other hand just telling past-Tara "yeah we met, mission accomplished, see you in 3 years" seems rather crude.... choices, choices....



It's awfully coincidental that miss Kitty's picture is being put on the wall just as Willow happens to be there, wonder if something's up with that.



Still, messing with time is a dangerous business. Our girls better be carefull.



Grimmy

--
"You hurt Tara," Willow said too calmly. "The last one who tried that was a god. I made her regret it." -- Unexpected Consequences by Lisa of Nine

[Idgie]

I'm on the edge of my seat with this story. I'm expecting a big disruption in the flow of time - like someone else said, having them just meet in the present is too easy. History has got to get rewritten somewhere. I do love a good paradox.

[EasierSaid]

Well, like others I didn't expect Tara to show (woulda been too easy indeed). That of course leads to the question 'why', for which I can only think of nine million answers (although only three sounded realistic). First, of course is that she's died, which would turn this story into a thriller, lickity-split. Second, is that she's 'other-wise engaged' perhaps literally (has found another missus), or has been injured a la 'An Affair to Remember'. Third, she thought about Willow, and the request the girl made and thought better of showing up at the meeting. We're both on the, 'Willow's pretty selfish' vibe - perhaps Tara had three years to think about that somewhat greedy request and thought 'do I want to meet the person who asked me to go through that? Maybe I'll let her sweat it out, skip the meeting, send over a sketch that she'd recognize instead'. Course, that'd be kinda cruel.



Very intrigued about where this is going. Great job.

Edited by: EasierSaid at: 1/4/05 8:54 pm

[Willow18]

Okay. I just read this after seeing someone mention that they really liked this story. Add me to the list.



This is very intriguing and I look forward to finding out Tara's reason for not showing up. Poor Will sitting there for hours. The paintings have me intrigued as well. Update soon, please?

[Truck driving magic mama]

I totally love this fic! I agree with Heather on the options though, and I wanna add one option we haven't thought of..

Maybe something happend between them later on, something bad, like canceling the meeting or something bad and irravesible, which made Tara think that in the current relatioship with Willow she can't/ doesn't want to/won't meet Willow? Just thinking.



Amazing fic..

How could I ever think it's funny how everything you swore would

Never change is different now [NIN]

Melissa [Menta]

[behindhereyes]

Watson



Whew... angst indeed ! I didn't expect her to show up, but now... I'm all worried as to why. There are so many ways this can go, and I have to tell you I'm in awe... your ability to keep this on track and write it in a way that I'm not only able to follow, but understand Woo Hoo go you !



behindhereyes

Kim

Edited by: behindhereyes at: 1/5/05 9:53 am

[JustSkipIt]

Well done Watson (I tried to think that with a Holmes accent but it didn't even sound right in my head. I guess you can imagine it with a Texas accent).



Angst but not at all surprise. I enjoyed the first part: Willow's fantasy of their meeting. The cadence is wonderful--no naration of action or speech to break up the first meeting type dialog. Quite befiting a fantasy about first meeting. And very interesting, Willow's thoughts on continuing to correspond with 2001 Tara even after she and 2004 Tara have met. Quite intriguing indeed.



The second part is wonderful and just as expected. I have to say that Willow seems quite a bit less neurotic than I would expect over Tara's absence. I would expect her to take the time to torture herself wondering why Tara didn't arrive. What I find interesting to think is not that she has not yet written to Tara up to this point but to imagine that she has already corresponded with Tara <=3 years in the future. Nonetheless, the sketch is a wonderful sign from Tara. Of course I'm imagining that Willow will head over to the gallery to see the rest and glean some information.



I liked this:

Quote:

---

These were the facts: one, she was straight for as long as she had known about the difference between boys and girls; two, here she was, wanting to fall in love with a girl; three, it totally did not matter, as long as she and Tara had the rest of their lives together.

---

The final line is the kicker. Basically she "wants to fall in love" but she's already planning for the rest of their lives so I'd expect that she's fallen entirely. Very well done.

Sign the ACLU Refuse to Surrender Pledge

"The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” - Martin Luther King

[hidden watson]

Most people didn't expect Tara to show up at the Espresso Pump. Yes, it would have been way too easy, why go through all the setup for them to meet [Tommy Cooper voice]Just Like That, and then ... end of story. Though it's a nice thought and I imagine that's how easy their eventual meeting could be.



So the question of why she wasn't there comes to mind. You clever readers have come up with a few already, and I thought I might put them together in a summary. I added a few myself. It might be fun to postulate a little, cos the next part will, ahem ... not ... reveal the reason. So, please go ahead and post what you think, it'll be interesting to read everyone's theories. Will it change the outcome? No, but it'll be fun anyway, right?

1. Usual reasons — traffic, flight delays, tied up at work cos she's working for a evil monster from hell sort of boss, overslept, she forgot.





2. Usual Sunnydale reasons — fighting vampires, kidnapped by demons, sucked into the hellmouth, Turned. [oh no, no, no! At least, not this fic.]





3. Waiting at home, a surprise gift for Willow. Her kitten gloriously naked, hands stretched out above her in chains and legs spread wide, displaying herself in readiness for her Mistress' inspection. [Hokay, that's probably another fic for another day, hmmm. Thanks Bell for putting the image of leather apparel in my head, now I can't get rid of it, argh.]





4. Changed her mind I — had time to think about how inconsiderate Willow has been, with her self-centered requests and decided to teach her a lesson.





5. Changed her mind II — doesn't want to be gay anymore, brainwashed by the ex-gay movement. [shudder]





6. They break up — somewhere further down the timeline they will have a falling out and decide to end things.





7. Otherwise engaged I — found someone else.





8. Otherwise engaged II — illness/injury, family emergency.





9. The Big One — is dead.

Feel free to jump in.

------

quiet thoughts

Edited by: hidden watson at: 1/6/05 11:35 pm

[hidden watson]

Replies then ... not an update (sorry), a little distraction though.





Washi - thanks! Something's definitely happened, otherwise why would Tara not want to meet Willow. Stay tuned!





little miss 666 - yeah, I'm just playing with your emotions. I thought it might be neat to set it up, in a nice way. Willow's fantasy isn't that unrealistic, I can easily imagine this is how they would meet. Now, I really like your second reason, I like it a lot, just wish I can incorporate it into this story

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fluffy gay love

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hermitfish - thanks, I can't make it more complex cos I don't think my little brain can wrap its way round the time loop. As for your questions, hopefully they will get answered, but, well, not yet. Thanks for reading.





Rhiannon9891 - thank you. Miss Kitty is the link between them, apart from the mailbox of course. Though what role she may play, hmmm, not saying.





pipsberg - glad you liked the Willow-styled day dream.

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I would have liked more kissing

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well you know, I was trying for retraint there ...





Irishgrl3 - thank you and welcome to the story. Willow right now is more intrigued and worried than heartbroken, but there is a reason, oh yes. Time will tell.





serendipitous - an interesting conundrum. I've already said this (in my reply to Heather in the last part) that I think Willow is being incredibly selfish, expecting to have her cake and eat it. To meet 2004 Tara and still have 2001 Tara to write to. How does it mess with Tara? Interesting.





meretricious - absolutely! Would have been too easy, but like I said above, I can just imagine that when they do meet, they slip into their comfort zone this easily. The Miss Kitty picture is a sort of bridge, let's see how, if it has any significance.





pikescoob - you're right, Tara has been nothing but patient and caring up to now and she would want to meet Willow.

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Part of me wants them to just hook up younger Willow and Tara and forget what the consequences might be

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Aha! Tara can pull a Reality Check and get together with younger Willow, hmmm, possibilities, possibilities .





Viximon -

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Did Tara forget the meeting?

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Not very likely. Reason will be revealed ... eventually. *evil laugh*





Grimlock72 - Willow hasn't tried to locate 2004 Tara cos they've only gotten to that stage in their "relationship" and she thought about the meeting already. For her it's just a matter of days or weeks between her invitation and the meeting itself so she could wait. Now, Tara hasn't shown up, does Willow try to find her? Where does she start? What will she say to Tara if/when she finds her? Wow, I think I've hurt my brain with all these questions I came up with. Thank you for reading, and

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Still, messing with time is a dangerous business

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How true, can't agree more.





Idgie - any disruption to the flow of time is significant, no matter how small or large.

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History has got to get rewritten somewhere.

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I'd go out on a limb and say, yes.





Willow18 - thank you and welcome. Willow was there for hours wasn't she. Can't fault our Will for her determination.





EasierSaid - yes definitely too easy, though I like how comfortable they got so quickly in Willow's fantasy. All your reasons sound credible, especially the 3rd one, that Tara finally called Willow on her selfishness and decide to teach her a lesson. The painting just twists the knife in more. But I don't think Tara is the sort to be so vindictive though. Interesting theories, thanks.





Truck driving magic mama - yes, an extremely believable reason, that somewhere down the line, something (not bad) happens to one of them and they decide to "break up", knowing that they haven't met. A sort of self-fulfilling prophecy, that they know they won't get together, so tension develops and eventually they part. Interesting theory. I'm putting these together, you know.





behindhereyes - thanks. Yeah, it's too soon for the end, some way to go yet.





JustSkipIt - *let me see if I can do this in a Texan accent* Elemetary, my dear Debra, elementary . I think Willow is still too much in disbelief that Tara stood her up for full-fledged Willow neurosis to kick in. May be somewhere in the back of her mind she's thinking of the best case scenario and may be they can simply arrange another meeting? She still has 2001 Tara to "fall back" to. And at this point, Tara is already head over heels in love, it's about time Will realized the same. I thought about doing a grand, introspective, big-thoughts type coming out scene, but I think this is one of those instances where she has fallen in love before she knew it, and it genuinely doesn't matter that it's a girl, cos the feeling is already so permanently ingrained inside of her for any doubts to surface.

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quiet thoughts

[Rhiannon9891]

Oh, Watson, my dear Watson. OK, it's 1:05 am here, I'm tired, I drank too much(or not enough) Nyquil and cough medicine, so my brain is not functioning well...but I say it's #3, yes it's deffinitly #3......OK, maybe not...but I like #3.



If and when I think of a possible scenario, I'll let you know.

This is a great fic.



Rhiannon

[The Rose24]

I vote for #1!



Things happen.

Tara: My heart doesn't stutter.


Tara: Willow, I got so lost.

Willow: I found you. I will always find you.

[tara24alh]

As bad as this sounds I vote for number 9. I know everyone will probably hate me for voting this way but I think it would make a great story. This way Willow would have to find out when and where it happened and a way to stop it from happening. Sorry...but I love angst.











~Tara~

[little miss 666]

#3! #3! #3!



IT HAS TO BE NUMBER THREE!!!!



I won't accept anything else!



But no, seriously *giggles* i uh, i think it could be any of them, though, i AM a pessimist sooooo... dumdumdum! #9! ..





-Bell

The shape of you

Is etched inside

My bruised and somewhat sculptured mind