WARNING WARNING WARNING!!!
Lotsa angst and rampant Donnieness....
Hello all sorry for the pause between updates. I have my very dear friend here posting this update while I’m off on holiday with the family. So here you go. It’s a bit heavy and moves you all in the direction I think you all have guessed its going. I’ve edited so the hang is not so cliffhanger-y-ish
Enjoy……….
Chapter 17
The anxious silence in the hotel room seeped through every corner. Each member of the Scooby family quietly wondering what they’d just experienced. Beth had come in peace but the parting had been evil and threatening and unresolved.
Willow wrapped herself around her wife strengthening her spirit with the soft flow of love. She would make it better. Somehow she could fix it all and rescue her family from the hate of this town.
Turning toward the window Buffy wondered what could possibly happen next. What did the threats mean? What could they do to them? Her final thought sent a familiar fear through every pore of her flesh. Turning to scan the room, her only thought was Abigail. No one and nothing was worth her safety.
Dawn watched everything, calmed by the vision of Tara, enveloped by the love of her wife. Somehow she knew they could draw strength from each other. Studying the embrace she could see fear, their bodies, tight with it, urgent to find comfort.
Xander held the small child in his arms wondering if any of them would be safe in this town. His first instinct was to take her home, take her to the safety of Sunnydale, the irony of his thought forcing a smirk of confusion across his face. He glanced at his wife watching her inner struggle. Worrying about what might flow from her mouth.
Anya didn’t stop to ponder any of it. It was abundantly clear that Tara’s family was evil and she couldn’t hold it in any longer. “Okay well that was intense.” She bobbed her head scanning the group for some agreement. She watched Buffy and Dawn silently nod.
“I’d have to go ditto to Anya’s intense there.” Xander wrapped one arm around the shoulder of his wife slowly escorting her toward the bedroom door. Abbey wiggled in his other arm quietly wanting to go to her parents.
The hotel room, still thick with tension, fell to an eerie silence. The entire family sat together shocked from the confrontation. Abbey studied the faces in the room, noticing sorrow, her brilliant mind racing with ideas, wondering what and who, but mostly wanting to know why everyone seemed so sad.
“What happened Mommy?” She crawled into Tara’s lap. Her tiny fingers slipped into the long golden tresses spinning and twisting gnarly knots. “Is it the mean man again?”
Her hand stopped, tensing, waiting for a response. The child could feel the secrets. Her sensitive soul screaming for answers, silently weeping with fear.
Tara looked at her wife, together they could feel Abbey’s inner struggle. The three quietly converged, sharing inner thoughts, telepathically soothing brittle nerves. The rest of the Scooby gang watched them melt into a state of meditation, completely separating themselves from the room.
“Are they doing that thing they do?” Anya whispered to Xander through her half parted lips. Holding her arms tightly against her chest, protesting the private inner conference, “It really is quite rude when they tune us all out like that.”
“It’s not really rude Ahn, I mean it’s just like having a private conversation, but in a room full of people.” Xander smiled at his wife trying to convince them both of his observation.
“Right…..rude.” Anya tilted her head frowning at the rest of the group.
“Maybe we should…” Buffy interrupted shrugging her shoulders to guide them from the room. “Maybe we should leave them alone to sort things out.”
“I don’t want to leave them alone. I want to chase down that nasty bitch Beth and rip her eyes out.” Anya scratched her hands across the air, miming the ferocious action. “That one’s going to stir up some trouble. I can just tell.”
**
A dirty old truck pulled into the driveway of the Village apartments. Beth slammed the shift arm into park. Every bit of her body raged with anger. Her plan was simple and in a matter of seconds she’d ruined it all.
Unfortunately she needed her cousins. Tara had the will and Donnie had all the maps of the property, he was easy to manipulate, greed was a great motivator. Knowing that he wanted in on the big payoff, she could get him to do anything.
Tara on the other hand was going to be tough. She wasn’t alone anymore. She couldn’t be easily manipulated.
Her mind began to scheme, playing scenarios over and over. Willow was her weakness. They could easily take her and force Tara to sign everything over to them. Once that was done she could finish with Donnie and she’d have everything. All the sweat and tears she’d shed at the hands of the Maclay men would finally end. No one would ever control her again.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Donnie slammed his hand into the side of the truck. “Brenda and the kid will be here soon. Get the hell out of here.” Donnie lifted a small cellophane bag to his face, easing the swelling with ice. Every touch to his skin sending shockwaves of pain, reminding him of the beating he took at the hands of a woman, a filthy, disgusting, only good for one thing, woman.
“I just saw Tara.” Beth moved to open the door of the truck. “She has a copy of your mother’s will, I’m certain of it now.”
Donnie moved away from allowing her to climb out. Together they walked into the courtyard finding a bench to talk. “Did you see it?” The idea of getting that document excited him, forcing a smile to his face, also sending fierce pain throughout his battered skin.
Beth lowered her head. “No, it looked like they hid everything in the room. They’re up to something.”
Donnie shook his head at her lack of sense, frustrated by her stupidity, “What could she know. Dad found the claim. Tara wasn’t even around, there’s no way she could know that there’s some sort of mine there.” He could feel his anger building. In his mind Beth was an idiot, a woman but he needed her. She was his only link to Tara. Without her he couldn’t get control of the land, he wanted it, he deserved it.
Beth shook her head knowing her cousin would explode when she shared what happened. “They know we want the property, that we want it.”
“What!” His hand jerked away from his face sending shockwaves of pain through his battered body. “You stupid…” Donnie blistered with frustration, every bit of his body stiff with anger. “What did you say to them? All you had to do was find the…” As quickly as the words spat from his lips he’d grabbed his cousin by her shoulders. His mind raced with rage. His hand slipped down drawing quickly back into a solid fist.
She didn’t move. Her body froze at the threat. He’d always tried to intimidate her with brutal attempts at violence but he’d never hit her. She never understood why.
But this time his fist struck hard against her head. The force of his single solid hit sent her flying across the ground. Her mind fell blank, washed with the darkness of unconsciousness.
Donnie spit on the ground in front of her. “You’re just as useless as everyone else. You stupid bitch.” He lifted his foot to kick her suddenly changing his mind. “You’re not even worth it. I’ll have to take care of Tara on my own.”
He stormed off toward the Apartment rubbing the swollen ache of his face. He’d planned to get everything. His mind fought hard, trying to determine how Tara had found out about their father’s death.
Brenda thought she was dead. So he figured it must have been Beth. She must have done it to lure Tara home but bringing her back messed up everything. In his mind this was truth. Her betrayal of their plan pushed him over the edge. She was useless to him now as useless as every woman he’d ever met. “That red witch is gonna be my ticket to cash.”
Beth lay huddled on the ground feeling the swelling of her cheek pull tight against her skin. Her mind was racing with thoughts of Donnie. Hitting her was the end, there was nothing in the world that would keep her from getting her inheritance and forcing the Maclay children into a battle against each other. “You bastard Donnie. You’re gonna pay for that, right after I take care of Tara.”
**
The gang decided it would be better to move around in numbers. Tara phoned the attorney briefly discussing the new developments. The attorney assured her that the only claim to the property was for a Deposit of quartz. There had been no other documentation in the government archives. The only explanation had been attached to her mother’s copy of the will. They were certain it was all still protected; not realizing Donnie thought it was a more valuable claim.
Tara stopped to think about how they’d uncovered the will and all of the property documents. The key, she wondered where it had come from and who had delivered it. Her mind raced with wild ideas. Whoever it was gave her certain power, her only defense against her father and Donnie. She’d uncovered the only written proof that would keep that precious place from being destroyed.
Tara sent Buffy, Xander and Anya out to look for Brenda and her son. The slayer could easily move through the town without causing too much of a stir. Anya on the other hand could cause problems just by opening her mouth, she was so eager to run into Donnie that they couldn’t keep her in the hotel.
Willow lay with Abigail across the bottom of the bed. The tiny blonde spent most of her time listening to her mom make clear the dangers of the small town. They discussed her safety explaining that she needed to be with her parents or her Aunt Buffy all the time.
Abigail understood the importance of their request. She’d felt the quick jolt of anger and hate that festered behind smiling faces. She was frightened, that fear wasn’t going to leave until she was safe in her own home.
“Mom, does it mean we can’t go to the park anymore?” Abbey reached her hand over running her fingers across the ring on Willow’s hand. She played with the circle of metal spinning it as she spoke. “I don’t want to just sit here in our room.”
Willow looked at her daughter, “No Abbey. I think you and I can safely go to the park and if we ask aunt Buffy I bet she’ll meet us there.” Willow looked at her wife still talking on the phone. Quietly she mouthed to Tara that they were going to the park and that she should meet them when she finished. Tara nodded kissing them sweetly. Abbey bounced over to the bed quickly checking the contents of her beg.
Willow lingered over the lips of her wife. A place she wanted to stay, drinking in the refreshing flow of love she could feel only peace. Tara cupped the phone in front of her. “I love you Will.” She softly kissed her once more.
The red head flushed with fire, “I love you too.”
“And I love you two too.” Abbey giggled, “Two too,” grabbing her mom by the hand, leading her out the door. “Can we walk Mom?”
“Sure Abbey girl. I think it’s a perfect day for a walk.” Abbey flipped her bag over her shoulder skipping along side her mom all the way to the park.
TBC……….
Urn of Osiris
_________________**
"Anyone else waiting for it to go
'poof'? Maybe we can cover it with flowers." Willow...Hells Bells
Seriously though, in both this fic and this Look of Love you have had several moments where totally awesome smut could have been described. Do you personally not like to write smut, or are you trying to keep the rating lower for some of the younger Kitties?
Next bit coming as soon as possible.
Yes evil Beth. Works though. Watch out her sleeve is full. Tara is to sweet to be so evil. And more crayons soon. 
). Although Beth is in fact kind of logical... 
-Viv-
Hopefully i am! Don't let this nice lil trip to the park turn into a punching party with Donnie's fists as the leader! - That would be very bad, Urn! But ya can always let Buffy's fists lead for another round of 
at: 10/28/02 12:35:13 pm
Erotically blueberry! 
