New Uber - Don't fear the Reaper (conclusion posted 12/20)

[viximon]

Aww there quite the couple now. And going to do the next step.
Cool.
Willow don't get curious about Tara escapades? Is she so blinded by love? Tara, poor thing have the stressthing on her new life with her job and Willow...
Buffy, Faith's pet ha ha ha. That was funny.

Ack, I haven't much time left. Sorry
Just let you know I love the fic, enjoy it very much and that stuff you already know but I have to repeat because is really true.
Keep it up,

[grimlock72]

Awww.. I want flashbacks to the months we missed Those initial meetings are the most fun out.

I also wonder what Willow knows about Tara, what kind of job does she think Tara has? She probably noticed the pager sometimes, so how does Tara explain that?

Finding out Buffy at the door being a dog was funny. Is said dog cloaked as well ? Just wondering how they travel, does Buffy go with Faith to a job ?

I guess I've been working in an office environment too long, I could easily see that happen to Tara. If I were Tara I would have gone home and delivered the souls at the next oppertunity.. next week if nessecary. Seems there is no time-limit on getting those souls to HQ once collected anyway.

I only recognize 'Ripley' as the woman in Alien movies, but 'Mort Ripley' doesn't mean much to me as such ?? Mort probably has worked as Reaper for years, well versed in avoiding bureaucrazyness and having friends in the right places.

I liked both the doodle of Tara and the cause of death Faith had written on her Collected Soul form .

The C3PO slash reference made me think of a StarWars story which started recently on pens. Robot slash sounds boring though, squeky too

I want to know what Willow thinks about Tara, how they came to be sort of couple and all. Didn't Willow have a not-so-nice break-up with her previous girlfriend? How did she get over that, if she ever did ?

Grimmy

[will]

Wow that was really good, they're together yay!

Poor Tara she have to climb all those stairs for nothing.They're really cute together and I can't wait fore the next update so please update soon.

Ho and I want flashbacks too for the months we miss, it would be cool to see how they developed their relationship.

[taralicious]

UO,
First off, YAY for Wiilow/Tara snuggles.
Tara seems to be much more confident and taking pride in her role as collector senior as it is less exacting to extract the souls than to cause their demise, I would imagine.
She is, however, faced with the moral dilemna of doctors, and possibly others, causing more pain than they know with their misguided attempts to delay the natural order and tamper with metaphysical timekeeping i.e, when people's time is up.
She is leading a double life at the moment like a member of the Science Heroes in an Alan Moore story.
Lovable domestic girlfriend and on call Collector of souls as well.
A Mastiff named Buffy. Sounds like one of those live-action Disney films of the 70's they would show on 'The Wonderful World of Disney.
Faith, as a Harvester, would naturally seem to be the type not to bother with the tedious paperwork aspect of her calling being all action gal and all.
The Head Office was very redolent of an homage to Terry Gilliam's monumental ode to bureaucracy, "Brazil."
The shout-out to THX-1138 was a nice touch, as well.
And, just for the record, the Pestilence Office Clerk is Foghorn Leghorn.
As for Dawn and her "Harry Potter" fanfic ideas, at least she paired Hermione up with Draco, who is her own age or close.
Thus cutting down on the "EWWW" factor from the pairing alot of writers give her which is Hermione/Prof.Snape.
Capped off by some tantilizing visual imagery promising full-on Willow/Tara lovin' in a moonlit camping environment.

[tarebear]

yey! they're a couple! and they seemed to be moving on to the next level in their relationship... on a schedule no less! leave to willow to plan everything ahead

poor tara living a double life! on-call 24/7 being the only collector in the area... willow is still non-suspecting, but for how long will tara be able to keep this a secret though? i hope tara doesn't get called while they were camping or worse on the night that was supposed to be their first time! yikes!

tara was in the middle of her nightmare going up and down and all around just to deposit one lousy soul (no pun intended)! and to top it all of, she's going to be late for her date with willow! but lo and behold, who is to save her from this mess? mort and your friendly neighborhood mail clerk, paul!

dawn's foray into the world of fanfiction is ummm... a diamond in the rough let's put it like that since i think tara captured it perfectly... and willow's fanfiction??? i don't even want to go there! it's giving me the wiggins as it is!

a very, very fun continuation to this story... can't wait to find out about their camping trip and the... ehem.... you know!

[Artemis]

In the last chapter, when you rounded off the 'pilot episode' of the story, and said there'd be more, I was expecting a longer wait... yay for being wrong!

Great chapter, promising much for the future. I can see how Tara's managed to keep her personal and professional lives separate thus far - being able to teleport to and from assignments that only take a couple of minutes is very handy. But I can equally imagine that, sooner or later, Willow's going to notice something ooky in Tara's movements (that, or stumble across her cloak and turn herself ethereal without noticing ).

Faith is a hoot, as always - I liked 'cause of death: Faith', that says it all. And as for Buffy, it was the strangest thing: I figured out that Buffy was a dog after a few lines, but even then I still kept picturing her as Buffy (i.e. Sarah Michelle Gellar Buffy). The mental image of her jumping on Tara, licking her face (in an entirely platonic, greeting kind of way, obviously), then flopping down on the couch was just too hilarious to revise.

Dawn's first shot at fanfic was... well, let's just say I remember my first shot at fanfic, so I'm not dismissing her as a potential author just yet. We all have to start somewhere (in my case, the first time 'round it didn't occur to me that I could write another story later on, so I packed in every character and plotline I could think of, and accidentally created the world's most schizophrenic space opera). That said, there's something so Dawn-y about Hermione/Draco slash.

On a more serious note, I found Tara's assignments interesting. The first, to the hospital, showed the unique viewpoint she has as a Collector, in the contrast between her and Ben, who was busily doing all sorts of desperate things to keep the guy going a little longer. It's very novel, in that it doesn't contradict Tara's essential nature as an optimistic character (except, mostly in the early days, in relation to herself) - it's not that she gives up hope, but she knows the man's fate, and was willing to step in a little early to alleviate his pain. The second 'house call' she makes shows the other essential aspect of her character, her caring - even to someone she's never met before, and never will again, she does what she can to see that the old woman didn't die 'alone'. And who knows, maybe she did help - people can sense Reapers, after all, even if not as strongly as Willow did. I like this about Tara - even when it's nothing to do with her one way or the other, she does what she can to make things better.

The bureaucracy, on the other hand... I wonder if Spike and Dru aren't inherently nuts, but just had to make one too many deliveries, and lost it? It adds a little to Tara's character and her role as a Collector, though - it's obviously not in her job description to care (because the bureaucracy sure doesn't), it's simply in her nature, and all in all it's just as well she's there between the bureaucracy and the rest of humanity. Thank god for Mort and his inside knowledge, though

[Miss Kitty Fantastico]

I can't wait for the next chapter! I really want to know how Willow finds out about the job that Tara really holds. What kind of job does Will think that Tara has?

[willow_tara_always]

wowies me is loving this fic cant wait for an update xxx <3<3<3 xxx

[watty]

This feels a lot like the gap between S4 and S5. We go from "Tara's your girlfriend?" and "Oh dear lord" in TYF to BBQ at the beach in BvD. But it's all good, I like that, to know that they've become a couple and spending quality time together.

Willow's way of asking Tara is so endearing. You've captured the "I really want to, but I'm too embarrassed to ask, and this is not turning out the way I rehearsed it" essence of the request.

Workwise, it confirms what Mort knew, that Tara is better as Collector. She is doing well in her job, bringing some compassion and humanity into what must be a morbid and sobering job.

She gently, very gently took the man's soul in both hands and reverently placed it in her container.

I have so much respect for her, the way she treated the man's soul. Look at how the bureaucracy treat them, the universe is a better place with Collectors like Tara.

There is so much potential risk in being discovered. What if Willow wakes up in the middle of her hiding her cloak and scythe? What if her beeper beeps at an unfortunate moment? Has Willow asked her in detail what she does? I see how you're setting this up, the dramatic potential of one day Willow discovering that Tara isn't who she thinks she is. A bit like if Tara were the slayer, and has to hide from her friends and family. No wonder Buffy found it difficult to date outside her circle.

about Buffy the dog, Faith's directness, the endless bureaucracy, Mort knowing the right people, and omg! Dawn writes bad fanfic! Lots of details in this update, makes it so much richer and enjoyable to read.
[br]

[Useful_Oxymoron]

Thank you all for your feedback and kind words. Btw, the southren reaper in part 7 was, as some of you guessed, Foghorn Leghorn.

Missocki - Lol! Thanks for the dance and the compliments. Yes, Tara should be happy to have been fitted for new, better robes, or she wouldn't have had much fun on the stairs. Well, actually, she didn't really have fun on the stairs, but at least she wasn't in any danger of breaking her neck. :( Next part in a few minutes.

Darth Pacula - Glad to be service! As for Tara's choice of clothes, well, part of this board's name is 'bad wardrobe'

In the doctor's scene, I invoked Tara's caring side, but I especially let the encounter gray. Tara and Ben are both right and both wrong in this case. As for the man dying, I set up that Reapers have sort of a sixth sense for death and dying. Tara was able to sense the mugger's intent when he was planning to kill Willow for her wallet, and Tara caught flashes of the near future. In this case, Tara could sense that the man was dying, and that this was irreversable.

As for Tara's pager, that's another detail that I designed but will probably never make it in the story, is that some Reapers at the Head Office have an overdeveloped sixth sense and can detect from a large distance that someone is about to die from violence or natural causes. Imagine a whole office-wide callcenter at the Head Office sending messages to pages of Collectors all over the world.

Oh, Buffy'll find out about her namesake. Trust me on that. (Evil Grin (tm) )

The Southren Clerk is basically Foghorn Leghorn. And, Paul, well, it's a bit of a shout-out... you said you hate burocracy, and what many office workers told me is that the internal correspondence basically run the entire office. The perfect place to strike from the system from within. Mort Ripley. It's sort of a reference to Rest In Piece. Fitting name for Death, no?

Dawn's fanfic - Oh, yes, it's awful... but it's the kind of baby-steps in writing that we've all went through when we first started out. As for Willow being anal, well, she's an overplanner. It's not so strange she'd want her first time to go perfectly according to a preset schedule. After all, she's been waiting 19 years.

Camping trip soon!

eirnlove - Thankee! I'm happy you liked it.

Caz - Thanks. And, well, Tara is a very gentle polite girl... and I bet it takes a lot for her to be pushed enough to swear. I think walking up 75 flights of stairs and then being told to go down again is enough to break everybody's gentle spirit. Hot lovin' coming up.

Well, Faith's Mastiff is certainly a dog.

AlysonGoddess - Hey, AlysonGoddess. Update in a few minutes! And it has plenty of

WillowRulez - Actually, I haven't deprived you of their first kiss. There was supposed to be a flashback in chapter 7, but it was running a bit long, so I decided to save it for part 8 where it would fit better anyway.

Yes, exactly, the labours of Asterix, I believe it was called. That was a brilliant bit in the film, and a lot more madly twisted than my version. The souls are safe in their containers. They're in some sort of stasis, a personal form of limbo, in which they can stay indefinitely... besides, would you really want poor Tara to go through that hell every day?

Tomorrow night - Actually, part 9, to be precise.

Spells42 Thanks! Tara has to hide these aspects of her life carefully. She usually brings only her cloak to Willow's house. If she's called, she can get her cloak quickly and warp to her own house to get her scythe.

And you've earned a cookie! Indeed, I stole... uh, liberated? No, I meant I 'homaged' (:D) those lines from Foghorn Leghorn.

More soon!

Miss Kitty Fantastico - Thank you. And, yeah, I know exactly what you mean. I'm a bigger Trek than Wars fan, but I have some trouble with false references. Once, I was reading an official Star Trek novel, of all things, and it said that the Bajoran Wormhole led to the Delta Quadrant. Such a glaring, blatant silly mistake that never should have passed the editors... So, yeah, I know what you mean. And Andrew of all people should get his SW references right, no?

Mort delivers his souls on Friday, just like Tara, so he was just around. Faith heard Buffy's name and thought it would be cute for her new dog. She hasn't met Buffy... yet.

Viximon - Oh, Willow'll start to notice things are 'ooky' as Chris said, but right now, everything's new and exciting for Willow. Glad to know you're enjoying the story.

Grimlock72 - Oh, you can count on flashbacks. So far, Tara has managed to keep her lives separate, but Willow will start to notice odd things about Tara soon enough.

Hm, is the dog cloaked? I didn't really think of that when I wrote it. Hmmm, since Faith knocked, I don't think she was cloaked at the time, so neither was the dog... maybe the dog travels along when Faith is cloaked. Uh, could I owe you an answer on this one?

Burocracy is not fun, let me tell you. But, Tara being the young and devoted (slightly naive) person she is, she'd like to do her duty as she's supposed to. Mort Ripley was a reference to R.I.P. Mort knows how to use the burocracy to his advantage.

There'll also be more on Willow's bad experiences with Amy and her thoughts on Tara in a later part. Trust me, it wasn't pretty for poor Willow. :(

Will - Willow and Tara belong together. That's just a fact. There will be flashbacks. Oh, and update will be ready in a mo.

Taralicious - Snuggles are good. Tara is much more confident and sure of herself with her current job, even though the hours are terribly irregular and she's almost completely on her own. She is indeed trying to live a double life. A very demanding job on the one hand, and her budding relationship with Willow and her friendships on the other hand. It's like juggling anvils... something you just can't keep up forever.

Mastiffs look fierce, but they're actually one of the gentlest breeds of dogs around. Faith never does paperwork, not ever... If she could, she'd just drive by and chuck her souls in through the front door of the Head Office. The Head Office was both an homage and a reference to Brazil and the Labours of Asterix. And you've earned yourself a virtual cookie. It was indeed Foghorn Leghorn.

There's a lot of potential Ewww factors in HP fanfic. We've got teenage girls (like Dawn), mary-suing herself in a relationship with Snape, Harry getting Dumbledore pregant, Darth Vader teaching at Hogwarts, to name a few.

I don't know if I'll go full-on with the loving. Smut is not my thing, I'm afraid, but I hope I can make it romantic and tantillizing with the visual imagery all the same.

Tarebear - After nineteen years of waiting, Willow's going in well-prepared and planned out. Like I told Taralicious, Tara's juggling anvils. She won't be able to keep this up, since Willow is far from clueless. Also, Tara has a lot to learn about inter-office politics.

Fanfics - Oh, we were all at this level once, our babysteps, so to speak. Camping trip coming right up.

Artemis - Glad you enjoyed the chapter! I'm generally a quick writer, depending on circumstance in my personal life (IE, I just can't write when I'm not healthy.) Ooky is something Willow will definitely notice. She's far from clueless, after all.

Buffy the dog - Yeah, confusion is what I was going for (evil grin). I have to admit I was playing the readers for a reaction there. LOL! If it had been SMG Buffy, and Willow had been around, I don't think she'd see the face-licking as an entirely platonic greeting.

Fanfic - Yeah, it put it in as a jab at bad HP fic, as well as showing that this was a phase we all went through, and it;s something we all had to go through to become better writers. God, I look at my earlier work and just... cringe... cringe violently, actually. I'm sure Dawn'll write a great american novel once, provided she gets out of the HP badfic phase.

The collections allow me to showcase Reaper Tara's soft and caring side. Tara doesn't like to see anyone in pain, and will try to do something about it if she can. The second collection was actually a last-minute addition to the story, but, as it turned out, a rather important one. Tara cares deeply about the people she's been sent to collect, and sees it as her duty to get these people to the afterlife they deserve. This is stark contrast with the burocratic meanderings of a huge, faceless organisation that cares more about quota's and schedules than the people they are supposed to serve. Anothing aspect is that, even though she's in minority among the other Reapers for caring, she doesn't let that discourage her a bit.

Miss Kitty Fantastico again - That'll be revealed in a later chapter. Tara does have a cover-story.

Willow_Tara_always - Thank you! Update soon!

Watson - I wanted to skip ahead for a bit, which would allow Tara to settle in her new job, already get to know Willow better, as well as her friends.

Willow's way of asking Tara is so endearing. You've captured the "I really want to, but I'm too embarrassed to ask, and this is not turning out the way I rehearsed it" essence of the request.

This is one of those conversations that never goes the way you want it to, really.

Tara has a morbid job, but she turns to it with optimism now. Tara's caring treatment of the souls stands in stark contrast with the faceless Head Office.

Like I said to others, Tara is juggling anvils and Willow is not stupid. Eventually, her cover will start to slip and she'll run the risk of being found out by the smart-as-a-whip Willow in full curiousity-mode.

As for details, well, the devil is in the details, as they say. Thanks again!

[Useful_Oxymoron]

Getting this part ready was a little more work than usual, especially since Vamp Willow and Vamp Tara's visit to Las Vegas cost me a bit of time too. Oh, for those of you who wanted to see for the first time, well, it was actually supposed to be in chapter 7, but that chapter was running a little long, so I decided to save it for chapter 8.

Title - Don't fear the Reaper.

Chapter 8 : Happy campers

Author name - Useful_Oxymoron

Email Address - Viernadevir@hotmail.com

Rating - PG-13. Just to be on the safe side. Humor about death isn't everybody's cup of tea either. Contains some violent imagery. This part is more risque than the previous ones.

Disclaimer - Well, I don't own Willow or Tara. If I did, I wouldn't have made certain... questionable decisions in the latter seasons. In any case, Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy own these characters and I don't intend to make any money off them.

Feedback- Is cool. It's always nice to know somebody liked the crap I write.

Summary- Now that Willow and Tara have met, Tara must hide her not-so-usual profession from Willow and her friends, while, at the same time, working to build a stable and loving relationship with the lovely Willow.

Notes- Influences for this story: The wonderful film The Frighteners (which everybody should see), lightly Dead Like Me, Terry Pratchett and the Blue Oyster Cult.

Italics are thoughts.

[hr]
Don't fear the Reaper.
Chapter 8 : Happy Campers


Tara had waited for Willow to go to sleep before carefully disentangling herself from her lover, sneaking out of bed and belting for her cloak. After teleporting herself to her home and getting dressed, she concentrated on Faith... and found herself standing in the middle of a rave.

The multi-colored strobe-lighting and the loud music was very disorienting to her for a moment. Tara hurried to the girls' bathroom and used an empty stall to phase into reality. With her cloak wrapped around her forearm, she entered the dance floor to look for Faith.

The music pounded in her ears, and the lighting made it difficult to spot Faith. But suddenly, she saw her, bumping and grinding her away around a dancing guy while wearing one of the skimpiest tops she had ever seen. Tara was relieved to have found her and was about to walk up to her friend, when someone gently touched her arm.

She turned around, facing whomever had touched her. As it turned out, it was an eager looking boy, student type. "Hey, there, beautiful," he grinned. "Wanna dance?"

Tara blushed slightly at this sudden bout of attention. "Uh, n-no. No, thank you."

"Are you sure?" the boy asked hopefully.

"N-no. Uh, I mean yes. Sorry."

"Alright," the boy shrugged. "Your loss."

Tara hurried across the dance floor, headed towards Faith. "Faith!" she called, causing the other Reaper to snap out of her trance-like state.

"T!" she called over the noise. "Hey, I didn't think this'd be your kind of sleazy dive."

"Faith," Tara replied as another dancing couple almost knocked her over. "I n-need to talk to you. It's about W-willow."

"Yo, Tommy?" Faith told her dance-partner. "Be back soon."

---

"Ah, crap," Faith said when she saw Tommy dancing with another girl from one of the more quiet private areas of the club. "I was working on that guy for twenty minutes! So because you've got a sure thing tomorrow, you have to mess up my chances of getting laid tonight?"

"I'm sorry, Faith, but... I'm just w-worried," Tara sighed.

"T," Faith said, sat down on the bench facing her and grabbed both of Tara's hands. "I'm not the person to go to when you want advice on making love. I'm the person you go to when you want advice on meaningless, one-night sessions of screwing. And I think you want to have Willow for more nights than one."

"Y-yes," Tara blushed. "But she... She's never...."

Faith fell silent for a moment. Then grinned. "Oh, T. You're telling me she's a... God, and she's nineteen?! Poor girl. She doesn't know what she's missing out on."

"Look," Tara sighed. "It's bad enough that I'm breaking her t-trust by telling you this, but... what if she's got certain... expectations? Expectations that I can't f-fulfill?"

"Hm, good point," Faith said. "The longer it takes, the more elaborate the fantasies of the actual deflowering." Seeing how Tara looked somewhat stricken by that, Faith shook her head. "Hey, it's not as if you're a nun, Tara. You did it before."

"Yes," Tara said sarcastically. "All of two times, Faith."

"Well, that's two times more than Red has under her belt," Faith winked.

"I'm serious, Faith," Tara sighed. "I w-want to make this work. I w-want to make her h-happy."

"And you were the one telling me that there's more to a relationship than sex?" Faith winked.

Tara shot Faith a look. "You know what I mean. Willow... her ex. Her ex treated her badly. I've tried to talk to her about it, but Willow always avoids the subject."

"Well, you both have been unlucky in love," Faith sighed. "Be nice if you'd get a break every now and then, T."

"Be n-nice if Willow and I..." Tara started to say.

"Remember Kathy?" Faith broke in. "Oh, god, that was bad, wasn't it, T?"

Tara's eyes grew wide for a moment. "Oh, yes," she blew some air through her lips. Seriously, I'm surprised she didn't want have 'Kathy' tattooed on my forehead. I knew it wasn't going to work out on our second date, and I tried to tell her that we weren't really compatible. And Kathy just told me I was confused and decided we'd go on our third date the next day.'. "Goddess, I swear, if I don't hear that horrible Cher song until the day I die, it'd be too soon."

"Faith to the rescue," Faith's eyes sparkled. Tara suppressed a giggle in spite of herself. After the obsessive-compulsive Kathy just wouldn't leave Tara alone, Faith had started to turn the tables on Kathy by pursuing her like a maniac. Faith would actively go out of her way to seduce Kathy in an attempt to scare her away from Tara. As a highlight, Tara remembered how Faith had serenaded Kathy by singing 'Do you believe in life after love?' terribly off key while playing a ukulele.

After Kathy had thrown a bucket of water over Faith's head and yelled at her that she could 'never, ever love a slob', Tara had calmly told Kathy that Faith was her best friend, upon which, Kathy had given her a choice: her or Faith. It was no choice, really.

Of course, Tara had never wanted to hurt Kathy's feelings. She'd realized that she and Kathy were incompatible, but Kathy simply wouldn't let her go. In the end, things hadn't worked out because Kathy wanted a lover that she could mold and dominate, while Tara wanted a lover that was... sane.

But even Tara had to admit that the look on Kathy's face had been utterly priceless, when she realized Faith was serenading her outside her bedroom window

Faith remembered too, and matched Tara's smile. "Tara," Faith smiled. "It's simple. All you have to do is strip down to your underwear, do a little dance and sing: 'toucha, toucha, toucha, touch me! I wanna be dirrrrrtttyyyyy'!" Faith, as usual, sang terribly off key and hugged herself.

"I can't do that!" Tara looked away, feeling properly mortified... yet slightly amused. Tara shook those thoughts away and thought of Willow. "I want this relationship to work, Faith," Tara said softly. "I just love Willow so much..."

Faith smiled. "You love her?"

"V-very much."

"And she loves you?"

Tara smiled radiantly. "For the Death of me, I can't figure out why. But she d-does."

"Well, then there's nothing what can go wrong," Faith lounged back in her silky red chair. "Come on, T. Everything doesn't have to be perfect all at once. The fun is getting just a little bit better at it every time. Practise makes perfect. Do you think she'll love you less if your performance isn't perfect the first time around?"

"N-no. Don't think so..."

"Well, what's the problem then?" Faith grinned. "Come on, T. Sex is supposed to be fun!"

Tara considered this for a moment. And thought of Willow, all alone in her bed. "Thanks, Faith."

"Hey, no prob. Lust is best when laced with love," Faith winked. "You really have to get freakin' lost now, T. I still wanna try to get laid tonight."

---

Being somewhat more sure of herself, Tara returned to Willow's home, hid her cloak and changed back into her night-clothes. Though being somewhat reassured by Faith's words, all her insecurities came hurtling back when she laid her eyes on the peacefully sleeping Willow. This is ridiculous Tara thought as she climbed into bed and hugged Willow. There's more to a relationship than sex... so much more...

At that moment, Willow mewed in her sleep and turned around in Tara's arms, pressing against her softly. To her surprise, Willow started to sing softly in her sleep: "Tara... in the sky... with diamonds.... Tara... in the sky... with diamonds...."

Tara chuckled softly in spite of herself and kissed Willow on the top of her nose. "Alright," she said softly. "No more Shatner for you, sweetie."

---

Waking up at 6:00 am turned out to be a little early for Willow. Tara had tried to wake Willow at least three times, and all those times, the answer she had gotten was an annoyed groan while she pulled a blanket over her head. It had taken Tara a whole stack of pancakes to finally lure her Willow from the bed and to her breakfast. Finally, the redhead emerged from the bedroom, still half asleep, but eagerly following her nose into the kitchen.

Of course, Willow being Willow, she had already prepared her things the previous weekend, as the five bags that had been waiting near her front door proved, but Tara still had some things to pack. She had collected her cloak when she was sure Willow was still in bed, ate a few pancakes and returned home to get her things in order.

About fifteen minutes later, Tara and Willow met again at Casa de Summers, where they saw Joyce fitting an embarrassed Dawn with a backpack filled with lunch-packets. Buffy was set to drive while Xander was loading in the bag. After greeting Buffy's mother, Tara moved to the car.

"Hi, Tara," Xander greeted. "Just give me your bags and I'll do my gentlemanly thing."

"Thank you," Tara smiled. She only had two bags, so she handed Xander a long gray plastic cylinder first. Upon seeing Xander's questioning look, Tara said: "They're fishing rods." Well, it's not a complete lie. There are fishing rods in there. There just happens to be a scythe in there as well. All those fishing trips with granddad are paying off again. Thanks granddad. Although she had her cloak and could go back home to get her scythe if she'd be called to collect, being too far away from her scythe never felt comfortable to her.

"Ah," Xander said. "Don't worry, we'll fit these in the car. And tell you the truth, we could probably host the superbowl in this trunk."

Buffy sat down behind the wheel. Willow and Tara settled for the spacious back seat, while Xander and Dawn were locked into mortal combat for the right to ride shotgun. In the end, Xander won out by using an illegal move; By tickling Dawn under her chin, Xander managed to distract Dawn long enough to park himself next to Buffy and lock the door.

When the car left the driveway, they all waved goodbye to Joyce while a moping Dawn sat next to Willow and Tara.

Half an hour later, the five friends were well underway to the campsite, driving through the desert. Dawn had been miffed to learn that the 'no laptop during camping trips'-rule created for Willow applied to her as well. So, Dawn was scribbling dialogue, plotlines and descriptions for her latest fics on a notepad.

"Sandwich, Dawn?" Willow asked after reaching into the backpack with all the foods Joyce had prepared for them... which Dawn had unceremoniously tossed over the backseat as soon as the car had left Sunnydale.

"Please," Dawn huffed. "I'm creating here!"

Willow shrugged and put the sandwich down next to her. Tara watched her lover, knowing what would come next. And she was right: Willow let out an obviously exaggerated fake yawn and stretched her arms into the air. When the yawn subsided, Willow sub-covertly folded her arm around Tara's shoulders and shifted closer to her.

"Willow, sweetie," Tara smiled warmly. "We're girlfriends now. You don't have to sneak an arm around me anymore. You can do that whenever you like."

"Oh?" Willow pouted. "But I like the whole sneaky aspect of it, baby. You know... the whole 'Well, I'm just sitting here all innocent-like, not planning anything, nope, not me, never. I am pious Willow... and then, suddenly, WHAM, I'm hugging my lovely Tara. Gorgeous-all-mine-Tara."

Baby... Oh, how I love it when Willow calls me baby. Just the sound of that word along... Tara felt her heart warm. She looked at Willow, a sparkle in her eyes. Tara could see Willow had gotten the hint and was already leaning in. Their lips met...

---

"Alright, now that you've started up your computer, you should see a little icon in the bar below the screen called 'start'," Willow started. She and Tara were sitting at Willow's desk at her home. Today had been the fifth time they had lunch together. And dinners... though dinners usually evolved into long hours of conversation. Tara had let slip today that she didn't understand much about computers, and Willow had quickly offered to give Tara some pointers about computer use at her home. Tara had gladly accepted, seeing it as a way to get closer to the lovely redhead... and perhaps it would help her to finally figuring out a way how to work the computers at the public library. "Now, move your mouse to the start icon and click on it."

"Okay," Tara said and moved the mouse. "Do I click now?"

Willow blinked once... twice. Tara had just physically put the mouse on the screen and held it in place by pressing against it.

"You're kidding, right? Having a little fun with Willow?"

Tara smirked at Willow. "Maybe... just a little. If I wanna turn off the computer, I should just yank the plug out of the wall, right?"

Willow smiled and shook her head. "I see I have my work cut out for me. There'll have to be major lesson stuff going on here. It's going to take weeks, nay, months to properly educate you computer-wise. But, rest assured, Willow Rosenberg'll make a hacker out of you yet!"

Tara tried to be a good student, as Willow tried to reveal the secrets of this dreaded machine. And Willow was a good teacher, she really was... but seeing Willow had the tendency to lean close to her and lay her hand on Tara's knee during most of the excersizes, concentrating on the lessons had been rather difficult.

"Well," Tara said at the end of the lesson, not mentioning that she'd already forgotten most of the first half already. "That was, um, e-enlightening. Th-thank you, Willow," Tara said, and was rewarded with a radiant smile that could melt the polar icecaps. "How about I repay you by cooking you a meal fit for a queen tonight?"

Tara had gone out to the supermarket to buy ingredients and got to work in Willow's kitchen, constantly dodging questions from a certain nosy redhead who was dying to know what they'd be having for dinner. Tara had decided to go all out for the first home-made dinner, and had prepared Canard d'Orange in a special way which had been a closely guarded family secret ever since Tara's grandmother had roped her granddad with it.

After a lovely dinner, combined with a lovely red wine, the two girls sat on Willow's couch in the aftermath of their meal. Finally, it was Tara who decided it was time for the next move.

"I'd r-really like to k-k-kiss you," Tara blushed. Direct, honest, no games...

Willow swallowed... hard. "Me too. I mean, I'd like to kissed by you and kiss you too. Love kissage..."

Both girls closed their eyes and leaned back against the sofa, until...

"Willow?"

"Tara?"

"One of us should, um, do s-something or..."

"Nothing will happen," Willow finished nervously. "Right."

Both girls kept their eyes closed as they leaned in, but their sweet kiss was nipped in the bud when both of them smushed their noses together.

"Ow!" both girls shouted out at the same time and chuckled nervously for a moment.

Third time was the charm. This time, both girls closed their eyes at the last moment to avoid another nasty nose-collision. Finally, their lips touched. Chaste at first, the kiss started with brief a brush of lips. Tara was entranced by the sheer sensitive touch of Willow's lips of hers, but this time, it was Willow who made the next move. Willow slowly parted her lips and deepened the kiss, tentatively starting to explore Tara's mouth. Tara responded by slowly folding an arm around Willow's waist while laying her other hand on Willow's cheek. Willow responded by an embrace of her own, pulling Tara closer to her. They leaned back against the seat of the couch, simply enjoying moment.

Finally, the kiss was broken, though several brushes still followed. Tara and Willow found each other staring deeply into each other's eyes.

"Wow," Willow whispered. "I have to teach you computer stuff more often."

"Wow," Tara nodded. "I have to cook you dinner more often."

"Wanna... kiss me again?" Willow asked hopefully.

Tara knew just how to answer that question.

---

"Okay," Dawn huffed. "Ewwwwww..."

Willow seemed stricken, while Tara felt a little self-conscious. "Dawnie? I t-thought you were okay with us k-kissing?"

"No, it's not that, Tara," Dawn said quickly. "It's ewww because Willow just sat down on that peanut-butter sandwich and smushed it into the upholstery."

Willow looked at her jeans, now covered with peanut-butter and breadcrumbs. "Oh, no, my pants..."

"You do realize you'll be walking around with a stain on your butt, right?" Xander said. "I've read that that particular brand of peanut-butter eats right through your clothes and your skin."

"You're kidding," Buffy said.

"No," Xander said, "I saw it on sixty-minutes. Did you know that if you combine that brand of peanut-butter with cola and some Max Factor, you'll have the prime ingredients for a home-made bomb."

"That's poppycock," Willow huffed. "That is cock of the poppiest variety!"

After suddenly finding all eyes in the car staring directly at her, Willow blushed brightly. "Uhhh... And that didn't come out right at all."

Dawn giggled at a mortified Willow. "Heheheh, Willow, you said co..."

"BUFFY!" Xander shouted at the short blonde, whom had also turned around to look at the blushing Willow. "EYES ON THE ROAD! EYES ON THE ROAD!" Willow, Tara and Dawn joined in the chorus as the car started to swerve towards the sandy desert.

Finally, Buffy managed to get the car to drive in a straight line. "Alright," Buffy spoke softly, ignoring the hyperventilating Xander sitting next to her. "If Dawnis and Will-Head could just clean up the backseat before mom sees the peanut-butter on the upholstery..."

---

Tara breathed a sigh of relief when Buffy had finally reached the campsite. Being in a car while Buffy was driving certainly had a way of bringing Tara closer to her own sense of mortality.

Buffy was backing into a secluded parking spot at the edge of the forest, saying just how much she hated driving backwards. A long crash sounded as the car came to a sudden stop. Looking over her shoulder, Tara could see Buffy had slammed the back of the trunk into a tree.

"Okay, car is parked," Buffy smiled and removed her seatbelt. "Tara? Willow? Dawn? Could you drag our stuff over the backseat? The trunk's sorta stuck."

A few minutes later, the gang was moving through the forest being led by Buffy. It was a sunny day, but the forest was nice and cool underneath the canopy of leaves. The path was clear and Buffy was taking point. Dawn followed suit, with Willow, Tara and Xander trailing behind them, dragging most of the bags between the three of them.

"So, Tara," Xander said. "Lotsa Aliens in this forest. Yep, Aliens up the ying-yang. Especially at night. That's when they come out to hunt. They especially like to eat blonde, blue-eyed lesbians."

"Xander," Willow warned.

"Just trying to help you two girls get a little closer together," Xander winked at Willow. "Sorta gettin' the romance going on. Romance through Aliens, isn't it sweet?"

Tara chuckled nervously for a moment. "There's no such things as Aliens," Tara said calmly. "I knew that thing in the movie was a puppet."

"Oh, really?" Xander smirked. "So why were you snuggling up to Willow during the movie, then? Trust Willow to protect you from the blonde, blue-eyed lesbian eating Aliens."

Tara shifted uncomfortably for a moment. I suppose... there are plenty of places to hide when it gets dark out here... Plenty of shadows... Shadows that drooling, snarling, stalking exo-skeletal fiends could hide in, Tara noticed she had subconsciously stepped a little closer to Willow just then.

Willow kept on walking with a bounce in her step, which was quite odd considering she was carrying the weight of four loaded backpacks. "Don't worry, baby. We won't come across any Aliens when trekkin' through these woods."

Xander stopped dead in his tracks, and looked at Willow with a sparkle in his eyes. Buffy and Dawn looked at each other for a moment in sheer horror. Tara watched Willow's gorgeous green eyes grow wide with worry and wondered what was going on here.

"No!" Willow stammered quickly. "I... I... I said 'tracking'! Yeah, that's why I said! You don't have to..."

"STAR TREKKIN' ACROSS THE UNIVERSE!" Xander started to sing at the top of his lungs, while continuing to walk on the path. "ON THE STARSHIP ENTERPRISE, UNDER CAPTAIN KIRK!"

While Buffy was shooting Willow a miffed 'This is all your fault, Willow. You know the word trekking is a no-go area around Xander, and still you said it. How many times does this have to happen before you catch on? Don't you remember him singing this silly song in the middle of the cafeteria in high school? What are you? Stupid?'-look, Tara was just smiling, being happy to be even a small part of these wonderful people's lives.

---

Finally, they arrived at Lake Clarity and it was as beautiful as Willow had said. The lake was pristine, with the clearest water Tara had ever seen. There were several campsites along the shores, on the other side of the lake, which was almost a mile away. There were trees and bushes everywhere, along the shores, and the campsite that Buffy had chosen was nice and secluded. There was a small wooden pier right next to the campsite, perfect for diving into the water.

While Xander was setting up the firepit and Willow was preparing her tent with help from Buffy, Tara had agreed to help Dawn set up the tent she would share with Buffy and Xander. Usually, Buffy, Willow and Xander would bring one big tent which they could share together, but now that Tara and Dawn had joined them, they had to bring another tent for Willow and Tara to use.

Meanwhile, Dawn had insisted that she'd set up the big tent herself... with a little help from Tara, who was holding the instruction booklet. The big tent was still flat on the ground and there were metal struts sticking out everywhere. In the middle and underneath the canvas lay a Dawn-shaped lump struggling with the tent's innards.

"What are you doing under there, Dawnie?" Tara frowned.

"Sliding tab A on strut 12 into slot B of strut 3, what does it look like I'm doing?" Dawn replied while sliding it along the metal struts. "Alright," she said while crawling out from under the canvas. "All done."

"Hmmm," Tara said, looking at the mess of canvas, metal struts and haphazardly placed tentpegs. "It doesn't really look like it does in the picture." Actually, it looks more like a dead turtle.

"Yeah, well," Dawn replied, looking quite proud of her work. "Pictures are usually wildly inaccurate. Buffy always looks a lot thinner in pictures, you know? People who've seen pictures of her before meeting her in person are always amazed how fat she is."

"I heard that!" Buffy called over from the other side of the camp.

Ignoring Buffy, Dawn turned about to the tent. "It's just bad quality tent. Just look at that..."

"Um, you know, maybe we could make it more sturdy if we place some struts near the front and place some pegs further away from the tent," Tara suggested.

"Yes," Dawn said. "That might work. Hey, let's set this tent up better than the designers could!"

"Yes... lets," Tara smiled and shook her head.

---

When the tents were set up properly and were ready for use, the happy campers unpacked most of their bags. Tara had decided she'd try some fishing later, and was working on getting the firepit ready to be able to barbecue their lunch. The others wanted to do some swimming first.

The girls had opted to change to the big tent, while Xander changed in the smaller one. Xander was the first to emerge from the tent, wearing his bermuda shorts. Buffy followed suit from her own tent, wearing a checkered two-piece. Dawn finished third and strutted around in her Sailor Moon bathing suit.

And then there was Willow...

In a red bikini...

Wow...

Wowie-wow.

Wowie-wowie-wowie-wow.

Supercalifragilisticexpialidociously wowie-wowie-wowie-wow!

Tara felt her mouth go dry when she saw Willow passing by, apparently unaware that she was currently being lusted after. Willow was a slight girl, and the sight of so much of her creamy skin and her tight midriff almost made Tara go weak in the knees.

One by one, her friends dove into the cold water, and playing splashed water at each other. After a giggling Buffy could be heard saying the words 'significant shrinkage' to Xander and a confused Dawn could be heard asking what that meant, Tara just shook her head and sat down next to the firepit.

The last, well, year of her life had been so busy and tense, as the life of a Reaper tended to be. But now she finally had time to actually relax. This camping trip was sort of like a mini-vacation to her, and, for someone who was on call 24 hours a day, and hadn't had a proper vacation in years, this was something to be cherished.

It sure looks fun... Firepit's ready for use, maybe I should join them, Tara decided and ran to the tent to find the bathing suit she had packed. A few minutes later, Tara emerged from the tent, now wearing her aquamarine bathing suit. She smiled as she walked onto the pier, getting ready for a cold dive with her friends.

Instead, all splashing and chatting stopped as all her friends in the water were looking at Tara.

"Leg-gy," whispered Xander appreciatively. Tara blushed in response and looked at Willow, floating around in the water... and found that Willow was staring at her with her mouth wide open. Tara also noticed that Willow wasn't exactly looking her in the eyes.

Tara suddenly felt very self-conscious and crossed her arms over her chest. Her first impulse was to back away across the pier, back to the tent and put on five layers of clothing... until she saw Willow rising from the water. The sun reflected off the droplets of water on her skin, her wet hair clung to her back while small goosebumps were appearing on her arms. Goddess, she looks so sexy... Tara swooned... and blushed when she realized she wasn't exactly looking Willow in the eyes either.

Willow walked up to the pier and extended her hand, inviting Tara to step into the water. Tara felt all her insecurities melting away when she saw Willow's encouraging smile. She sat on the edge of the pier, taking Willows soft hand into hers and let herself slide into the cold water.

All the while, Xander was still appreciating Tara's hotness, Dawn was still smiling silently at the two lovers, and clueless Buffy was still wondering just what the frilly heck was going on.

---

After some splashing around, the five friends emerged from the water, and ran to their waiting towels. Xander was the first to finish drying off and, also being the hungriest, started to work on lunch.

While Tara and Willow, still dressed in their swimwear, were chatting at the edge of the shore, Tara was surprised to hear Willow gasp and hid behind her, looking over Tara's shoulder with a frightful look in her eyes. Tara followed Willow's gaze and noticed a small frog sitting in the mud.

Tara smiled, scooped up the frog in her hand and carried it back to the waterfront. "There," Tara said. "All gone. You're safe."

"NO!" Willow giggled as she avoided Tara's touch. "You've got frog-cooties now!"

Tara made a face and crossed her arms. "Frog... cooties?" she blinked. "Willow, come on, how old are you?"

Willow huffed. "Don't change the subject. You've got frog-cooties for ever and ever now. Nuthin's gonna change that."

"In that case," Tara grinned wickedly while grasping her frog-cooties infested hand towards Willow. "Let's share."

Willow bolted alongside the lake with Tara in hot pursuit. The two lovers whooped and giggled as they ran away from the camp, pushing through the underbrush and avoiding large rocks. Willow jumped and slid over a boulder and challenged Tara to do the same. Tara and Willow laughed as they circled each other around the boulder for a while and, just as Tara was getting closer, Willow bolted again.

And finally, Tara caught her. Or, rather, Tara tripped over a branch and took down Willow with her when she fell. The two lovers lay laughing in the shallow water at the edge of the lake, holding on to each other.

They were holding each other...

Tightly...

Their laughter stopped, and, instead, Willow and Tara looked deeply in each other's eyes. A few seconds later, they were kissing each other hungrily. Willow ran her hands through Tara's wet hair, while Tara let her hands roam across the bare skin of Willow's back. Goddess, I love her... I want her... I want her so much... shot through Tara's mind while Willow moaned into her mouth. Faith was right. Lust is best when laced with love.

Tara felt Willow tugging at the right shoulderstrap of her bathing-suit. Eyes shut and kissing madly, Tara tried to lay Willow on her back... only to find herself and Willow unexpectedly sliding underneath the surface of the water. Oxygen became an immediate issue.

The two lovers rose from the water quickly, coughing like mad hatters.

"S-s-sorry, sweetie," Tara said, while wrapping her hands around Willow's tummy.

"It was a little deep-y," Willow replied with a smile. "I'm not large with the drowning. Hey, that was literally a kiss to die for. Cause, if you hadn't broken the kissing, I'd have never noticed I was drowning. And I'd be all, 'hey, what's Saint Peter doing there, and why are they fitting Tara with a pair of wings?' That's how good a kiss that was. Wow."

It was the voice of Dawn that brought them back to reality. "WILLOW! TARA!" she shouted from a distance. "When you're done running, we've got lunch on the table! Lunch and ants! Oh, Buffy's killing the ants! Now we've got lunch with nasty ant-killing chemicals on it on the table! Well, it's not so much a table, more like a couple of paper plates! Come and get it while it's hot!"

Willow smiled. "T-tonight, baby," she spoke, again trembling with nerves. She wasn't so nervous a couple of seconds ago... Tara wondered.

"Privacy," Tara said, realizing they had chosen a rather unsecluded spot. There were undoubtedly other campers along the shores that could have spot them. "It's a g-good thing."

Together, they walked back to their own campsite.

[hr]

TBC

Note 1 : If you're feeling brave enough, here's a link to the song that inspired Willow to sing in her sleep.
http://www.sleeplessknights.com/enterta ... atner.html

[AlysonGoddess]

ooo hooo tonight i cant wait for tonight... haha u know what i mean but yeah that was the cutest update ever plz update soon i wanna find out what happends tonight
Erin

[spells42]

Mmmm ... why did they never have scenes like this in the series? Willow AND Tara in bathing suits, AND making out?

You've managed to evoke their carefree (despite their nervous excitement about their plans for the night) getaway with their friends in beautiful surroundings. I'm reminded of similar trips in my own life (with and without the plans for the night ) - there's just something about the combination of good friends and a beautiful patch of the great outdoors, that's exhilarating and peaceful at the same time, made even better by the presence of the love of your life. It's a shame Tara doesn't get holidays: I hope this break isn't interrupted by work.

Really enjoying your story. Looking forward to more. thanks

Anne

[Darth Pacula]

G'day, UO.

Happy campers, indeed! Happy readers too, I suspect!

Can I just say, I love your version of Faith in this. She's still the 'want, take, have' girl we knew and loved from the series, but without the minor complications of occasional homicidal tendencies. A few points in case:

So because you've got a sure thing tomorrow, you have to mess up my chances of getting laid tonight?

"Hm, good point," Faith said. "The longer it takes, the more elaborate the fantasies of the actual deflowering."

Oh. My. God! You inflicted Kathy on poor ol' Tara? Truly a fate that's worse than death! I can just see Faith serenading her with a Ukulele, dripping wet ... droplets of moisture dripping off her ... ... er, where was I?

Blimey, UO, you write the typical scooby shenanigans so well, such as Xander and Dawn's duel over who claims shotgun, the sandwich on Willow's butt fiasco, and Buffy's little driving SNAFU's

Their first was a crack up, and the third time was definitely the charm, wouldn't you say?

And what can I say about Xander, except .... "STAR TREKKIN' ACROSS THE UNIVERSE!"

You know what I've just started to notice? I could ramble on incessantly about each section of this update, but instead, I think I'll try something a little different. Let's see how summarizing goes, shall we? We shall.

Swimsuits
Frog cooties
Resulting smoochies
Accidental dunking
Dawn's lunch announcement
The prospect of the coming night's festivities

Woo freakin hoo!

Cheers,
Paul.

[sacinema]

I just read the first 7 parts on Through the looking glass. And this morning I found the eigth part here. First I thought: Hm, story about Tara as a reaper supposed to be going after Willow. Not so sure this is my type of story. I have to admit I only started reading because all the stories I love weren't updated. No offense to all the writers - but a girl has to have her W/T-Goodness once a day. Yes, I'm an addict.

But you really got me into this story very fast. Couldn't stop reading for the hole day. Loved how Tara was shy about watching Willow. Actually this was a little bit rude of her. Wonder what Willow is gonna say once she finds out. She will or? Think so because Willow is a brainy.

The first kiss - wonderful. They had to try three times. But sometimes not being successful for the first time is worth a while. Thanks for sharing this story.

[caz]

Hi UO - good update.

Faith's advice to Tara was very simple but very true. Nobody is perfect the first time around!

As for Kathy - Thank God they got rid of her! I still have nightmares about her from the T.V series.

The gang seem to be having fun on their camping trip. I can picture our girls reaction to each other in their swimwear.

This line cracked me up

All the while, Xander was still appreciating Tara's hotness, Dawn was still smiling silently at the two lovers, and clueless Buffy was still wondering just what the frilly heck was going on.

I always thought that Buffy was clueless and this proves it!

More soon please.

Caz

[will]

I really love the update it was funny and sweet.
Please update soon.

Wow what a weird video.

Lucy in the sky with diamonds...
Great now it's stuck in my head.

[WillowRulez]

Supercalifragilisticexpialidociously wowie-wowie-wowie-wow!

That pretty much sums up your update for me
Very sneaky putting a flashback in so we can read about their first kiss! I really hope their first time will go more smoothly though
Dawn and her fanfiction... lol. Just too funny. And is there anything I need to say about Mr. Horny and Mrs. Oblivious? They are perfect for each other mwhaha.
Oh and Lake Clarity? Is that suppose to be a pun?
Keep 'em comin'! (No pun)

[Emms]

wow...I have so much catching up to do... I sort of dropped the ball on this fic...my bad. Naughty, naughty me. But I have excuses...don't think I haven't come bearing excuses...um...let's see....well...I have a condition...it's called...um...slackeritus...(don't laugh! it's a real condition!! )

Anyway...I just finished chapter five and was completely blown away. FINALLY! I was so glad when Tara realized that she couldn't kill Willow...I mean it was beginning to seem like FOREVER! hehehe.

The way Tara kissed Willow's head and promised to take care of her was just so...romantic. I was just sorry that Willow was too busy sleeping to notice.

now...with that said, I'm off to read chapter 6!

xoxo
Emms

[Artemis]

I love the joie de vivre in the camping party - everything from Xander's vociferous rendition of a classic (okay, I'm biased because I'm a Trekkie), to Buffy's battle with the bugs, even to Dawn being a spaz. It's all so warm... it really comes through that these people really like each other, and for them, spending time together is a wonderful thing. I suppose Tara's unique perspective would call it joie de pre-mort, or something... in any case, it's nice to see her feeling the love from everyone, even if she does still seem to consider herself something of an outsider. That's natural, given that she's come into an established group of close friends - and they all adore her, so no doubt it won't be long before she's really feeling one of the group. (Aside from the obvious joke about 'feeling one of the group'... come on, I know you all thought it.)

I'm still getting huge giggles out of Dawn the budding fic author. She's so adorable... in a spaz kind of way.

I liked Faith's love advice to Tara - she's wise, even if she downplays it. Plus it helps she's been happily around the block a few times, so she can look at sex with experience.

Speaking of 'looking at', Willow and Tara in bathing attire... wow I love how Willow reached for Tara - it seemed like it was just the two of them at that moment.

On a more ominous note, Lake Clarity? Any relation to Crystal Lake? I hope Faith doesn't visit in a professional capacity... even if she's just concerned with some of the other campers around, she'd probably go charging around with a hockey mask and chainsaw, and how are Willow and Tara supposed to get any private time with that kind of racket going on just on the other side of the lake?

[viximon]

I can only say,

AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

[taralicious]

UO,
I really enjoy your version of Faith as she has all of the spunk, self-confidence, and relentless obsession with instant gratification.
She is also at peace with herself in that she has awareness that she is all about the "want, take, have" with no regard for the complications of a relationship.
Having seen Tara, or rather Amber, stripping down to her lingerie for the "Rocky Horror" number, I'd like to see Faith's version but I'd settle for another look at any of her dance moves.
Faith does speak the truth to her ethereal companion when she says

Lust is best when laced with love,"

The transcendent Elysian lovemaking, especially if it's one's first time, is always the more special when there is genuine longing and emotion behind it and not just animal gratification.
Willaim Shatner, The Shat, has been burned into the brain of any sci-fi fan who has been privy to his Golden Throated warblings.
His covers of "Lucy..." and "Mr. Tambourine Man" are legendary in the annals of surrealist art as well as fellow costar Leonard Nimoy's rendition of "Proud Mary" and "The Legend of Bilbo Baggins."
Of course, while walking down the path to the camp site, Xander will take the opportunity when given to sing the lyrics.
Remember him drooling over the Geek Trio's action figure collection.
The scenes by the lake with Willow and Tara in their bikinis speak for themselves so all I can say is "YOWZA!"
I await anxiously the vicarious pleasure from the upcoming evening's tent-bound pleasure between Willow and Tara.
I hope Tara isn't going to feel the burden like Superman/Clark Kent always did before Lois Lane learned his secret identity.
Tara always having to make excuses to rush off right in the middle of something.

[tarebear]

hey UO! what a great update! happy campers is my favorite chapter yet! like everyone else, i can't pinpoint the part which i loved the most cause everything (and i mean everything) about this chapter is so well written and rib-ticklingly funny that i will just go if i attempted to mention them all... you even got me curious enough to watch the shatner video and then i officially went

can't wait for the next chapter... not just because it the the "night" of all nights but because i'm just totally crazy about this story! woo hoo!

[watty]

Love the carefree frolicking, it's as if they had no cares in the world, and their entire world consisted of each other. This entire chapter was so light-hearted, so full of fun, it's great to see the gang enjoying themselves. You also built up the intensity between W and T nicely, from Tara's need to seek advice from Faith to the playtime in the lake to the acknowledgement of heat between them. I wonder how they could get through dinner with this much lust in the air. Nice job.
[br]

[Useful_Oxymoron]

Erin - Well, it wouldn't be too much of a spoiler to say that the scenes are steamy. Update in a few seconds.

Anne - Well, I could make a comment about network execs in the US being too scared of reactions from the religious right, but I won't. And, you're right, there's nothing like sharing a wonderful holiday with friends away from everything and preferable in the middle of nowhere. As for the interruptions, well, it'll be for a good cause.

More is on the way!

Paul - Frightening new avatar here. Heh, Faith still has her homidal tendancies, though she can make use of them legally now. As for making Kathy one of Tara's exes, well... yeah, that was cruel of me. But hey, I could have chosen Glory too. What's worse?

I love writing light-hearted humor. It's saved my soul in uni, that's for sure, and it's something I'll always enjoy doing. The summarizing bit works well too, glad you approve... though the dancing banana is a bit freaky.

Sacinema - Hey, that's more than okay. Dark humor isn't for everybody, after all. I'm glad you stuck with it and liked the story. And, yeah, Willow's brainy, so she'll start noticing odd things about Tara's behaviour soon enough.

Glad you liked their first kiss (attempts). My pleasure for sharing the story.

Caz - Perfection is only attainable through practise... and Willow tends to be something of a perfectionist. Poor Tara's in for some sleepless nights after chapter 9. The gang's enjoying their tip (and girls each other in swimwear. ) And Buffy, ah, lovely clueless Buffy. Thanks for reading, update'll be along soon!

Will - Heheheh, Shatner has that effect on people. Glad you liked the story.

WillowRulez - I wanted to put the flashback in part 7, but I couldn't really place it and the chapter was turning out to be a bit long. So, I decided to save it for part 8. Dawn'll get better at ficcing, that's a promise. Xander and Buffy? I sorta have another pairing in mind, though. Somewhat tentative atm, though. Clarity is somewhat of a pun, yes. I'll let you decided what it means. More soon!

Emms - Hi, Emms. Don't worry about the slackeritus. I tend to get a hefty case of that every now and then as well. It took Tara some time to sort out her feelings, but she's finally in the clear. And I can promise you Tara'll be true to her word.

Chris - Trekkie here as well. (Well, TOS, TNG and DSN fan... the other two series, well, um, I can live without them, really). Tara's slowly settling into this group of friends and, as later parts will show, is also trying to get Faith to integrate into this jolly lot as well. More on Dawn's writing career as well.

Wise Faith. Faith'd probably deny being wise. The bathing suits seemed like a perfect excuse to get our girls to go all ga-ga... and Xander too.

LOL! Definite reference, though there aren't any walking corpses with hockey-masks around. Faith dressing up as one is a frightening image, though.

Viximon - I apreciate your Awwww very much. Thanks!

Taralicious - This Faith's fun to write too. She's on the happy-go-lucky side of life for the most part. Oh, yeah, I spotted Amber's performance on an wmv. Wow.

Btw, is it frightening if I saw all of these videos? I've also seen Nimoy perform 'If I had a hammer' in an old video. Actually, that one was quite good. I shall present you with vicarious pleasure soonish. As for Tara and Willow struggling with Tara's double-life, well... read on, I suppose.

Cecile - Yeah, that video is a hoot, isn't it. And that song... should never have been recorded, like the sight said. I'm happy you like the story and that it made you laugh. that means I've done my job.

Watson - The frolicking is silence before the storm. There'll be more angst ahead, but I feel our girls have deserved some good times first. Willow and Tara are working up to a night of pleasure, provided their nerves don't give out. Glad you like the story!

[Useful_Oxymoron]

Well, it's only right this part gets posted on Valentine's day. I'm a bit self-conscious about it, though. I hope you'll like it.

Title - Don't fear the Reaper.

Chapter 9 : Sliding Towards Third Base

Author name - Useful_Oxymoron

Email Address - Viernadevir@hotmail.com

Rating - R. Some steamy scenes in this one. This part is more risque than the previous one. Plus, humor about death isn't everybody's cup of tea either. Contains some violent imagery.

Disclaimer - Well, I don't own Willow or Tara. If I did, I wouldn't have made certain... questionable decisions in the latter seasons. In any case, Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy own these characters and I don't intend to make any money off them.

Feedback- Is cool. It's always nice to know somebody liked the crap I write.

Summary- Now that Willow and Tara have met, Tara must hide her not-so-usual profession from Willow and her friends, while, at the same time, working to build a stable and loving relationship with the lovely Willow.

Notes- Influences for this story: The wonderful film The Frighteners (which everybody should see), lightly Dead Like Me, Terry Pratchett and the Blue Oyster Cult.

Italics are thoughts.

Note 1 - Oh, and I borrowed two famous cops from equally famous copshows. A virtual cookie to anyone who connects the right cop to the right shows.
Note 2 - I admit it, I blatantly stole Tara's campfire story from a classic line from Frazer in Dad's Army.

[hr]
Don't fear the Reaper.
Chapter 9 : Sliding Towards Third Base

Tara watched on in amusement as Dawn and Buffy were locked into a fierce staring contest right next to the firepit. She'd just stepped back into camp, so she had no idea what their fight was about... and, to be honest, she was pretty sure that Buffy and Dawn had forgotten it by now. These two just loved to fight.

"I'm not a kid anymore, Buffy," Dawn huffed, put her hands on her hips and tried to look menacing, but only managing cute.

Buffy, in turn, crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. "You're fourteen. That rates 'kid' in my book."

"As if you of all people'd ever crack a book," Dawn retorted.

"Excuse me?!" Buffy huffed. "I read," Buffy narrowed her eyes at her incredulous friends. "I do!"

Dawn saw, came and conquered. "Name the title of the last book you read," she said with a grin.

"Uh..." Buffy sighed in defeat. "'Little Train That Could'? What?! I have a thing for children's books, okay?"

Dawn paced around the camp and stood with her back to the setting sun, bathing herself in orange light. "Look, Buffy. I am not your kiddie sister anymore. I am a woman!"

Buffy raised an eyebrow for a moment. Then snorted. Then bit her lip to keep herself from laughing., much to Dawn's chagrin. Tara could see Willow and Xander sharing a look of unease.

Dawn was not definitely amused. If there was a scale of one to ten, she'd have been at minus four. "Oh, yeah?" she huffed. "Well, Xander sees me as a woman. Don't you, Xander?"

Xander gulped as Buffy turned her full attention to him. Buffy, though a slight woman, radiated pure anger as she gave Xander her patented 'I'm just warning you once, buddy. Don't get your grubby male hands anywhere near my little sister or I'll tear your lungs out and make you wear them as a necklace'-look. Xander held up his hands and backed away... slowly.

"And Willow," Dawn held her chin up. "Willow sees me as a woman too."

Buffy's ire was fully directed at Willow now, her previous look of anger shifting effortlessly into her patented 'I'm just warning you once, girlfriend. Don't get your grubby lesbian mits anywhere near my little sister or I'll tear out your esophagus and strangle you with it'-look.

Willow let out a strangled croak and slowly backed away as well. She bolted for Tara and hid behind her, peeping over Tara's shoulder. "Save me, Tara," Willow giggled.

"Yeah, protect us, Tara," Xander ran to Tara. Both Willow and Xander started to struggle behind Tara's back.

"Hey," Willow huffed at Xander. "This is my Tara! Go find your own to hide behind!"

Buffy was the first to crack a smile. Tara was second. Soon enough, everybody over the age of fourteen was laughing. Xander collapsed to the ground in a fit of laughter, and all the others followed, leaving a huffy Dawn standing in the center of it all, wondering what had just happened to degenerate her oh-so-adult argument into a laughing fit.

When the laughter finally, subsided, it was Dawn that spoke the first: "I don't see what's so funny here."

And the laughter started again.

"Fine!" Dawn spat. "Whatever! I'll just start working on my new fic!" She stormed inside the big tent and zipped it shut behind her.

Tara smiled wholeheartedly as she sat up, taking a moment to brush the dirt and some loose twigs from her slacks. After their refreshing swim, she'd dried herself, changed into a loose-fitting pair of blue slacks and white T-shirt and tied back her honey-blonde hair in a tail. Mostly to Xander's amusement, Willow had chosen a red pair of slacks and white T-shirt, and Xander's jokes had stopped Willow from tying her own hair in a pony to avoid a painful case of 'lovers-wearing-matching-outfits-and-hairdo'-syndrome.

"I wish I had a little sister like Dawn," Tara said softly after sitting down on the trunk of a tree that had been cut down years ago..

Buffy raised an eyebrow, while Willow and Xander started to chat about the latest anecdotes from their perspective workplaces. "Why?" Buffy asked sarcastically.

"I heard that!" Dawn called from the tent.

"It would be so nice to have someone to talk to and to take care of," Tara replied. "Besides, my relationship with my own b-brother is... not so good. I'm the little sister in our house and, well, he uses every opportunity to rub my n-nose in it. He's been nasty to me for as long as I can remember," Tara sighed. "It's j-just that, if I had a little b-brother or s-sister, I'd take care of them like a real big sister should."

Immediately, the big tent zipped open again and Dawn walked out and hugged Tara from behind. "Hey, Tara, if you like, you can be my honorary big sis."

Feeling incredibly touched, Tara squeezed Dawn's hand slightly, but found herself at a loss for words.

"Hey," Buffy looked sour and crossed her arms. "What about me? Me, who happens to be your real big sis?"

"Oh, you don't count, Buffy," Dawn dismissed her sister with a wave of the hand. "You're already my sister."

Tara offered Buffy an encouraging half-smile. "I think it's time for me to try to catch dinner."

"Oh, hey, if you don't catch anything," Willow started, "it'll be no problem, baby. We've brought all sorta food with us we could cook. Uhm, not that I don't think you're a good fisherperson, it's just that we don't wanna put any pressure on you to catch something. Uhm, not that I think you get pressured by us, nossir. It's just that... Okay, I really need to stop talking now, I think."

"Willow," Tara smiled gently while retrieving her a fishing-rod from the tent. "I could listen to you all day long."

Willow blushed slightly while Tara squeezed her shoulder before walking over to their tent to collect her fishing rods. "I don't think it'll take long. Our antics while swimming probably scared all the large bottom-feeders to that cove over there."

"Xander?" Dawn called out. "Can you help me with my story? I'm working on a crossover where Captain Picard ends up in Middle-Earth. I'm not quite sure where to start."

Xander seemed thoughtful for a moment. "Some subspace swirly-thingy might do it. Have Data babble like Willow, but put in a lot of meaningless words."

"Okay, cool," Dawn said. "But I wanna send Picard there with Hermione and Draco."

"Okay, if you send in Picard with those two, I think our baldy captain will throw himself off the first cliff he sees."

---

"... and all that the police found," Xander said, hovering near the raging campfire. The sun had set and the forest was bathed in moonlight. It had taken some time, but Tara had caught no less than three bass, which Buffy and Dawn had lovingly roasted over the fire. After eating the fish from paper plates, the five friends had decided to perform the time-honored tradition of roasting marshmallows while sharing scary campfire stories. "Was a bloody glass eye, still rolling around in the room..."

"Good story, Xander," Willow smiled. "Certainly made me all goosebump-y."

"Yes," Tara said, while holding a still semi-scared Willow in a snuggly cuddle. "Thanks for the story, Xander."

Xander gave Tara a quick thumb's up. "Not as good as Dawn's wicked witch story, though," Xander said, accepting Dawn's happy smile in response. "So, Tara, you've been very quiet. Don't you have a story?"

Tara frowned for a moment. She checked if her marshmallow was ready to eat, but thought it should roast a bit more. "Well, I do know a s-story. Did I ever told you the story of," she spoke so low it was almost a whisper, "the old... empty... barn?"

"No, you haven't," Willow spoke, with a little excitement in her voice.

"Would you like me to tell you the story of the... old... empty... barn?" Tara grinned wickedly, letting her eyes roam over the others

"Quiet, everybody," Willow shushed her friends. "Tara's gonna tell us a story about the old empty barn."

"Then gather round," Tara spoke softly. "Because this is the story... of the old..." Tara paused, causing her friends to shift forward, looking her deeply in the eyes.

"... empty..." Even closer.

"...Barn..." Closer still, almost touching the fire.

"There was nothing in it!" Tara finished, dead seriously, then started giggling. The giggles proved infectuous and soon they had spread to all her friends.

"Well," Buffy said. "That was a better story than Willow's man-eating frog."

"But very much less horrible than your flesh-eating virus story, Buff," Willow retorted.

Xander nodded. "A good laugh to end the round-up. Could be an nice new tradition. Though I also liked Buffy's vivid descriptions of rotting virus-ridden limbs dropping off bodies."

Dawn shook her head, "You made me listen to that and you still don't want me to see zombie-movies?"

"Hey, seeing is worse than hearing. And I think it's about time to go to sleep," Buffy yawned, not noticing that both Willow and Tara stiffened slightly. "Better load up on the mosquito spray and mosquito milk. They're out there... lurking... waiting... They want my blood."

---

While Xander, Dawn and Buffy were preparing to go to sleep, Tara and Willow sat at the end of the pier, watching the light of the moon reflecting of the smooth surface of Lake Clarity. The smell, the sights, everything was beautiful. But not as beautiful as the redhead sitting next to her.

Their feet dangled mere inches away from the surface of the water, and Tara found Willow's arm around her waist to feel more than comfortable. Willow had lain her head on her shoulder, and Tara leaned against her. Her smell, her touch... everything was perfect. The moon, the lake, the fireflies dancing above the water and Willow... Everything was so perfect.

Well, Willow was most perfect of everything, obviously.

"I really like your friends," Tara smiled.

"Yes. Me too," Willow said. "Oh, uh, I meant, well, I'm happy you like my friends too. I saw you getting more comfortable... and talk more. Comfortable enough to joke around with them. They're your friends now too, Tara."

"They're accepting... and open," Tara said. "Not that I have much experience with having friends. Before we met, I only had the one: Faith."

"Ah," Willow said, and for a moment, Tara realized that Willow was making small-talk to ease her nerves. Willow's hands were shaking slightly. "Your weird friend Faith?"

"Weird?" Tara raised an eyebrow.

Willow twittered slightly. "Uhm, did I say weird? Cause I meant 'quirky'."

"Faith's been my best friend for years, Willow," Tara replied. "I... hoped you'd get along."

"Oh, we do, we do!" Willow said quickly. "It's just that... Faith's very direct. She's directo-girl. Give her a finger and she'll take your whole hand and all that..."

"Oh, yeah, that's Faith," Tara smiled.

Silence.

More silence.

More Willow trembles.

In response, Tara swallowed hard.

"I, um," Willow blushed brightly. "I should... get ready."

Tara turned to Willow, looking her in the eye. "A-are you n-n-nervous?"

"Me, nervous?" Willow avoided Tara's eyes, while a slight tremor shook through her entire body. "Pish-Posh! Me so no nervous. You?"

Tara looked straight ahead. "N-n-no. N-n-n-n-not at a-a-a-all."

"We're both SO not nervous. Confident in our non-nervosity. Nope, no nervous people here. Just checkin'. Nope, you not nervous, me not nervous. Nervous is for dorks, pffftt..."

"N-no n-n-nervous p-p-people h-h-here."

"Right."

"R-right."

"Nervous? Hah," Willow said while her body practically convulsed as she stood up. "I'll, um, I'll see you soon," Tara remained seated by squeezed Willow's hand for a moment before her lover slowly walked back to her tent.

Tara stood up, took a few deep breaths to calm herself. She figured a few minutes would be enough for Willow to prepare... Though, in this case, that might as well be an eternity.

She was startled to see another Reaper fade into being. As soon as the hood was removed, she saw Faith smirking at her. "Quirky, am I?" Faith chuckled. "Well, that's not so bad. She could have said 'bitch' or 'slut' or 'Columbo groupie'. Hm, actually, I could have lived with being called a 'Columbo groupie'."

"Why are you here, Faith?" Tara asked.

Faith grinned, circled Tara and placed a towel across the honey-blonde's shoulders. "Just encouraging my friend, T. So, remember, she's probably more afraid of you than you are of her."

"Faith," Tara said calmly. "That's bears, not Willow."

"All the more reason to jump right in, take her in your arms and ravish her till daybreak," Faith grinned. "Eye of the Tiger, T! Eye of the Tiger! Though, if you like, I can sit in and give you some pointers afterwards."

"Faith!" Tara bristled. "Don't even think of sitting in on our lovemaking tonight. What are you going do? Grade my performance?"

"Not yours. Willow's," Faith smirked.

"Faith!" Tara hissed, and caught herself before she'd raise her voice too much. Though she was quite a bit away from the tents, sounds carried far in the quiet of the night.

Faith chuckled slightly at Tara's agitation. "Okay, T, okay, I can take a hint and... Wow, who's that? She's gorgeous," Faith looked over Tara's shoulder. Tara followed her gaze and saw Buffy rummaging around the coolbox, probably looking for some more mosquito milk.

"Oh, that's just Buffy, don't you remember?" Tara asked. "I pointed her out when we were at the Espresso Pump last month."

"That's Buffy?" Faith blinked. "I thought you were pointing to that other girl, that airheaded brunette."

"No, that was someone called Cordelia. Willow hates her," Tara said.

"Say," Faith nudged Tara. "You think a gal like her and a gal like me could ever..."

"No."

"That was quick," Faith raised an eyebrow. "I sense a challenge! But lemme get out of your hair, then. You deserve this, T. Go get her!"

After swallowing hard, Tara turned to face the tent, starting the Long March with small steps. Every step felt as if she was wearing weighted shoes, clomping about like a clydesdale. She took note of the cloud of mosquito's patrolling around Buffy's tent, but the moment she stepped off the pier....

Bzzzt. Bzzzt sounded from her pocket. Her pager.

Oh, Goddess, this can't be happening, Tara gritted her teeth. No, no, it's just nerves. My pager isn't beeping, it's all in my head. It's all in your head, Tara.

Bzzzt. Bzzzt sounded again, shattering that illusion.

No. No. NO!

Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzt

Nooooooo! Damn that Murphy and his stupid law!

She took out her pager and sighed. Faith was upon Tara in a moment. "T, you can't be seriously considering taking this call."

"I... I have to," Tara sighed heavily.

"You're nuts!" Faith grabbed Tara by both shoulders. "Forget about that pager, just go inside that tent and screw that girl for all your worth!"

Tara squeezed her eyes shut. "I... I can do this quickly. Willow'll never know. But my scythe and c-cloak are in the t-t-tent!"

Faith swore violently under her breath, pulled off her cloak and gave it to Tara. After Tara donned it, she threw her her scythe. "Faith to the rescue. You owe me for a container."

---

Carrying a mixture of anger, frustration, disappointment... and slight relief in her being, Tara teleported into what seemed to be a bedroom. But as soon as she had arrived, all feelings made place for the overwhelming sense of oppressing fear and pain that was trapped in that room.

Oh, Goddess, no!

A murder.

There were some things in her line of work that she would never, ever get used to. Feeling the torrent of trapped emotions coming from the murdered woman was one of them.

Tara rushed to the body lying in the room. She knelt down at the side of a young woman, riddled with bullet-wounds, cut down in the prime of her life. Tara could feel the pain and the fear the woman had experienced at the moment of her death... it bounced off the walls of the room, hitting Tara in waves.

The honey-blonde Reaper took a moment to focus herself as the woman's soul rose from her body. The soul, a glowing orb of white light, was not hovering calmly like usual. Still distressed by the intense emotions, it shook violently in every direction.

"Ssshh," Tara whispered gently. "It'll be alright."

She carefully, very carefully took the distressed soul and pressed it against her chest, rubbing her hand across its surface. "Nobody can hurt you anymore. It's over. It's all over. You're safe now. I'll make sure of it. You're not alone," she whispered. Tara knew that the soul could not hear her words, but she didn't care. She couldn't put the distressed soul in the container like this. She needed to soothe it, calm it down.

It worked. The soul shook less and less violently while Tara continued soothing it. Finally, after a few minutes, the soul of the young woman regained a measure of peace. She put the soul in the container, solving the murder was left for the police. But as Tara got ready to teleport back to her Willow, she almost sniffed death in the air. She sensed she wasn't done here yet.

Suddenly, a windowpane shattered. Tara felt something pass through her ethereal body harmlessly and, after turning around, she saw a bullet lodged in the wall. The honey-blonde Reaper felt a little insulted: the bullet would have gone right through her heart. Don't people look before they shoot?!

Looking back at the window, she saw red and blue lights flashing. Curious, she phased through the wall and let her ethereal body glide down from the second floor. She found a nervous black-haired young man in a Star Wars T-shirt pointing a gun at two cops. The cops, however, were less than impressed. Both seemed to be veteran beat cops, standing next to their car with their own guns pointed at the young man. One of them, a bald, heavyset man with a small moustache wore a nametag which said 'Andy Sipowicz'. The other was a tall, older man with gray hair and creases in his face... he was someone who had seen it all. His nametag read 'Sgt. Phil Esterhaus.'

"I had to do it!" the young man practically snarled. "She laughed at me. ME! Warren Mears!"

"Oh, yeah, right," the cop called Sipowicz gritted his teeth. "So that makes it all alright? I've seen little shits like you come and go all the time. Just put the gun down, you're not impressing anyone here with that little penis-extender of yours."

Tara was angry. Death was in the air, but she didn't feel even an inch of sympathy towards this Warren Mears. He'd murdered a woman, threatened her, let her die in fear and pain, for such a triviality. And, besides that, he was keeping her from her Willow... That was especially vexing.

Come on, die already! Tara narrowed her eyes. Thoughts of Willow sitting in her tent waiting for her, all alone, plagued her to no end. DIE!

"You tell 'im, Andy," Phil Esterhaus replied. "Young people these days... At least in our days, we knew to keep things damn careful out there. And we certainly didn't shoot our girlfriends."

"You can't do this to me! I'm Warren Mears!"

Sipowicz snorted. "Sure, kid, sure. Remember that when a big hairy biker starts calling you Fifi in the middle of the night in cellblock D."

A gunshot sounded.

Warren Mears gulped and looked down at his body, finding a bullet hole where his heart was supposed to be. "My shirt," he gasped mournfully as she dropped like a sack of potatoes, his face landing right in the middle of a piece of dog excrement.

Esterhaus looked at his smoking gun. "Damn arthritis," he sighed. "Good shot, though. I hit Darth Vader right between the eyes."

Sipowicz shrugged. "Kid had a gun, took potshots at us... Case closed. Let's call the meatwagon."

Yoink Tara snatched Warren's soul and unceremoniously stuffed it in a container.

---

After experiencing those violent emotions, Tara felt almost relieved to go back to feeling just terribly nervous. She returned Faith's cloak and scythe and stashed the two souls somewhere safe. Then, it was time...

Tara zipped open the tent, wondering just was she would find. Well, Willow, obviously, doofus. But... in what state?

"Tara, baby!" Willow smiled radiantly, but Tara could catch just a hint of the worried look that had been marring her features just before Tara had come in. "I was... starting to think you'd... changed your mind."

Tara blinked as she took in the sight of Willow. She was sitting halfway in the two-person sleeping bag, wearing a red, silky bathrobe. And from the look if it, she wasn't wearing anything underneath it, and Tara felt her mouth start to go dry at the mere thought of Willow's soft, creamy skin, covered by that slight piece of fabric. Oh, Goddess, she's so beautiful... No, Tara, no, you're supposed to be the experienced one. You can't melt into a puddle just yet. Just think unsexy thoughts. Think unsexy thoughts. Okay, George W. Bush, linoleum, the smell of gasoline... Mr. Bean... Mr. Bean... Mr. Bean... Mr. Bean... Mr. Bean... Mr. Bean... Dammit, it's not working. Okay... Mr. Bean naked... Mr. Bean naked... Mr. Bean naked... Okay, working now. Breathe, Tara! Breathe!

Next to Willow were a few lamps that simulated flickering candles, while a bottle of wine and two glasses stood next to the sleeping bag. A Discman with two small speakers softly played a Barry White song.

"I, uh, I was... nervous," Tara offered a half-smile. Willow seemed to accept the explanation and reached out a hand, inviting Tara to lie down beside her. Tara couldn't resist and let her hand slide over Willow's arm.

"I, uh," Willow started to say, then bit her lip. "Baby, I..." again, Willow bit her lip. "Love..." Willow let out a croak and trembled even more than before. To Tara's shock, Willow started to cry softly.

"Sssh," Tara took Willow in an embrace. "What's wrong?"

"Everything, I..." Willow sobbed. "It's not going like I thought it would. I..."

She's so scared... I can feel her heart pounding from here, Tara looked Willow deeply in the eyes. "Are you sure you're r-ready for this?"

Willow looked away. "I'm nineteen, Tara. If I'm not ready now... I'll never be. It's just that... it was different when I worked it all out. I... In my original plan," Willow swallowed. "I'd already swept you off your feet with my suave lines and be halfway towards ravishing you by now."

"You made a p-plan?" Tara asked while caressing Willow's cheek. So very Willow.

"I made a very detailed schedule," Willow let the tears flow over her cheeks, leaving them for Tara to wipe away gently. "Using a system of... different colored pens."

"A schedule," Tara raised an eyebrow. "A schedule of our entire n-night together?"

Willow's eyes grew wide for a moment. "No, no, not... that. Just... the stuff leading up to, um, that, not the... smoochies bit. Cause, um, I don't know much about the smoochies bit. I, um, even wrote down everything I was going to say to you."

Willow lay on the pillow and sighed heavily. "At the lake... everything went so... well... so natural. I don't get it, what's different now?"

"Natural?" Tara chuckled. "Willow, I almost drowned you."

"You know what I mean," Willow smiled in spite of herself.

"I think," Tara said, making Willow jump as she let her hands slide over her body until they settled at the string keeping her lover's robe closed, "we need to t-throw the schedule out of the window."

To Tara it was like unwrapping a present at christmas morning. Willow lay still of a board, her expression jumping from freaked to aroused... to both. Tara felt her own heart skip a beat when the ribbon was finally loose.

She slowly rubbed her fingers underneath the fabric and slowly, as to make the feeling of anticipation last forever, slid the red fabric off Willow's body

Tara could see that Willow's first instinct was to dive into the sleeping bag and wrap it around her as if she'd be a tight little cinnamon bun. She herself was transfixed... she'd never seen so much of Willow's creamy soft skin unexposed all at once. She's a goddess. I can't believe she thinks so lowly of herself sometimes. Willow nervously crossed her arms around her chest and was looking at Tara intently.

"Willow," Tara whispered. "Y-you're so b-beautiful."

Willow's smile spread slowly, but surely. "Really?" she asked, sounding almost incredulous, as if she didn't believe her Tara.

"Really, believe it," Tara confirmed. "My t-turn," Tara said and lifted her shirt over her head. This time, it was Tara's turn to feel somewhat self-conscious. Though she was still wearing her bra, she'd never revealed this much of herself to Willow. I hope she's not... totally disappointed... Tara thought.

"Hmmm," Willow smile, blushing bright red while the tips of her fingers touched Tara's stomach. "Tara-tummy."

Feeling bold, Tara shifted closer to Willow, close enough to be able to embrace her. She looked Willow deeply in the eyes and started to lean in for a kiss.

"Wait!" Willow said. Oh, Willow, please tell me you haven't changed your mind. I'm not sure if I can stop now, love.

"Before we, um, make love," even those words made Willow blush violently. "I just wanna say... that I love you, Tara. I... want us to be together. Well, obviously, we're already together, I mean, we practically live together already, but, I meant... this feels so right. Us being together feels so wonderful. I want to be a couple, Tara, and..."

Tara silenced Willow's babble with a kiss. A hungry kiss. Though, at first Willow was overwhelmed, she started to kiss Tara back with equal intensity soon enough. "Oh, Willow," Tara managed between kisses. "I love you so much..."

With Willow pressing against her, Tara felt her hands sliding across her back, until they ended up at the clasp of Tara's bra. Sensing Willow's intent, she decided to give Willow easier access by moving downward to suckle on Willow's neck, so she could at least see what she was doing.

Willow fumbled with Tara's bra while she gently bit along Willow's shoulder. Tara felt her bra snap against her back.

Tara, in turn, made Willow shudder when she moved up again, and gently let her tongue circle Willow's earlobe. "Ah!" Willow exclaimed and, again, Tara felt her bra snap against her back.

A hand laying on Willow's hip, Tara continued her assault on Willow's earlobe with double intensity, capturing it gently between her teeth and suckling on it. "Dammit," Willow cursed and, for the third time, Tara felt her bra snap against her back.

Looking at Willow's face, Tara saw her biting on her tongue and narrowing her eyes, frustration practically radiating from her expression. Tara couldn't resist and giggled for a moment, but upon seeing a flash of hurt crossing Willow's eyes, she stopped giggling and shook her head. "Sorry, sweetie," she said, "but... you just l-l-looked like you were r-reaching around the back of the TV to adjust the a-aerial."

Willow chuckled briefly in spite of herself. "Sorry, baby," she said. "It's just that... your gorgeous breasts are trapped forever in that evil bra, cause of my badness at bra-opening."

"I'll stop for a moment, okay?" Tara smiled gently. "No distractions."

Willow tried unhooking the clasp of Tara's bra for a few moments. After a few moment of trying, the clasp flew open for Willow to claim her prize. At first, Willow was afraid to touch her lover, but in the end curiosity and the fact that she'd been fantasizing about his for months now, won out. Tara brushed brightly when she felt one of Willow's hands gently cupping one of her breasts.

Willow was growing bolder, and Tara realized this was the beginning of a wonderful night.

---

Just outside Willow and Tara's tent, Faith stood smirking in her ethereal state. The sounds coming from the tent were unmistakably that of the horizontal lambada. Oh, yeah, T's having fun with Red. And the other way around. Lotsa lesbian-y fun all around. Damn, making me jealous here, T.

Faith figured it was just about time to make herself scarce when Barry was turned off and the sounds intensified. She was about to teleport away when she changed her mind at the very last moment.

Hm, Faith rubbed her chin for a moment. I wonder what Buffy's wearing to bed tonight. Let's check it out...

---

Xander and Dawn were enjoying the morning sun, watching from a distance as Willow and Tara were preparing breakfast for the group. They watched Willow sitting down next to Tara, handing her a cup of tea. She hugged her lover closely for a while, taking the moment to kiss the top of Tara's head before she, reluctantly, had to break away to check on the eggs. Tara held on to her lover's hand as long as possible before Willow was out of reach. As soon as she had checked on the eggs, Willow sat down next to Tara again, whom immediately claimed the redhead's lips.

"All those get a room-yness vibes yesterday finally make sense," Xander smiled. "I'm so happy for Will."

"I'm happy for both of them," Dawn added. "They're so in love. It's so sweet... Oh, I feel ideas for storylines coming up."

"Nobody deserves this more than Will does," Xander said.

"Hey, guys," Buffy yawned as she stepped out of the tent. "'S up?"

"Willow and Tara slept together," Dawn stated bluntly.

Buffy blinked in response. "What? When?"

"Last night, Buff," Xander replied.

Buffy blinked again. "Huh? Are you sure? Because I usually pick up on these things and there weren't any signs at all yesterday."

"My sister Buffy the Clueless," Dawn sighed. "If they ever make a movie out of your life, you'd be played by Alicia Silverstone."

"I just slept really horrible," Buffy said. "I got the feeling someone was watching me all night. And copped a feel. Oddest thing, though, there's not a mosquito bite on me, there were loads of dead mosquito's lying next to my sleeping bag. I guess the mosquito milk really works, huh?"

"Well," Xander smirked. "At least you won't be scratching while driving. Maybe we won't crash the car this time around."

Xander received a playing slug to the arm, while Willow and Tara were oblivious to it all.
[hr]

Well, our girls have had our time in the sunshine. Some more angst'll be coming up soon, but the humor will remain as much as possible.

I can't help myself thinking, though, that our girls could have benefitted from a Sipowicz and Esterhaus visit at the end of Seeing Red.

[Missocki]

I must agree with your earlier comment on this update being on a very Appropriate day. And what an update it was! It was done beautifully and I seriously loved the uncermonius death of Meers.

Thanks for the update, I needed that after my two exams today. You seriously rock out loud!


And happy V-Day!

missocki

[The person she loves]

omg its a great story i cant wait to read more please please please update soon!!!!!!!!!!

[AlysonGoddess]

wahoo haha yes I was kind of nevous myself, well for tara and willow. I defnitly liked the lovemaking i think probably one of the best ones i have read because it was so different. Theyre so cute together! Haha the beginning was funny really made me laugh with the whole dawn and buffy fight lol that was good. Oh and that darn faith haha will something ever happen between them? Guess i have to keep reading to find out huh! Well, i best be out. Thanks for the quick update! Please update soon with more goodness!

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!!!

Erin

[WillowRulez]

Haha, Tara taking Warren's soul was great.
Sorry but I already thought you would hook up Faith with Buffy A lot of times it's the reason for her being in a story at all
Buffy can be such a dumb blonde (and no, I am not insulting anyone). Even Dawn (and Xan!!!) noticed the change about WT.
Sitting right here, waiting for an update!