Title: In-Between
Author: Dread Pirate Emily
email: dreadpirateemily@yahoo.com
Feedback Welcome
Spoilers for Tough Love
Rating: PG
So this is what happened the night before the morning in which Glory took the wall down and shed
the light on her damn key.
Characters, show, etc., all belong to Whedon and company. I just made up the moment.
In-Between
Willow, Xander and Anya arrived at the hospital at 8 o'clock in the morning to take Tara home.
Parking, paperwork, signatures, instructions, questions and reassurances. All were taken care of.
Now it was Willow's time to take care of Tara. That's the thing. Life keeps happening and Willow
had to think. Think when it was all she could do to stop the feelings long enough to string together
a sentence, a step, a smile. She would take Tara to her room and think more then.
Tara was drugged with heavy depressants, and slept most of the day. Willow sat on the bed and
stroked her hair and murmured soft and close. "Tara, you're still here, you know. Still with me.
Still with the me who's the one that's not going anywhere. The one who's not really thinking that
she can live without you. That one."
Willow took Tara's hand and held it to her cheek and let the tears go. She let Tara catch them,
just like always. She knew Tara was holding out her hand somewhere inside. Holding it out to catch
Willow.
Willow started to make phone calls. She would drop classes. She would have the hospital send the
paperwork to the registrar so that she could withdraw Tara from her classes. She called Giles and
asked for boxes in order to pack up Tara's room. He asked if she was okay. She said yes. He asked
if he should come by. She said no. Anya grabbed the phone from Giles. asked if Tara could see other
dimensions and if so, to see if she could recognize a demon named Zartog, and if so, to say hi for
her. Willow hung up the phone.
Tara woke up and looked around, frightened, bleary, frustrated. She grabbed her bandages on her
hand and started tearing at them, muttering, they make it hurt. The blood makes it hurt. Willow
took her and rocked her and stroked her head and wrapped her hand again. She looked at the
restraints the doctor had given her like they were the enemy. She would be enough to keep her calm. She could do this.
Tara looked up at Willow with clarity and a smile and said "Willow, what's wrong?" Willow looked
down, stunned, "Are you back?!" "Are you you?!" but she was gone again. Like smoke.
Willow took Tara to the showers late, after everyone in the dorm had gone to bed. She bathed her, washed her hair, fed her soup, gave her more pills and put her to bed. She was exhausted but couldn't bring herself to lay down beside Tara. She looked right. Everything looked right. Her eyes closed and dreaming, her hair falling in her eyes, her arm outstretched, reaching for Willow. Would it feel different now that Tara was different? Would Tara still know her, know her smell, know to hold her tight, but just when she was on her side? Would she forget to kiss her and whisper in her ear that she was loved and to have sweet dreams and jellybeans? She didn't know and so she could not sleep. Willow dropped her head to her chest and started to let the tears come. She breathed into it and let them flow down her cheeks and onto her pillow where she was supposed to lay. She was looking at her lover sleeping and had never before in her life felt so alone.
Willow started to shift over to the chair when Tara opened her eyes, reached out her hand, took
Willow's and said, "A Willow is a tree that weeps, but Tara is firmer and will hold." Willow
crawled into the bed and slept til morning.
------------------
Author: Dread Pirate Emily
email: dreadpirateemily@yahoo.com
Feedback Welcome
Spoilers for Tough Love
Rating: PG
So this is what happened the night before the morning in which Glory took the wall down and shed
the light on her damn key.
Characters, show, etc., all belong to Whedon and company. I just made up the moment.
In-Between
Willow, Xander and Anya arrived at the hospital at 8 o'clock in the morning to take Tara home.
Parking, paperwork, signatures, instructions, questions and reassurances. All were taken care of.
Now it was Willow's time to take care of Tara. That's the thing. Life keeps happening and Willow
had to think. Think when it was all she could do to stop the feelings long enough to string together
a sentence, a step, a smile. She would take Tara to her room and think more then.
Tara was drugged with heavy depressants, and slept most of the day. Willow sat on the bed and
stroked her hair and murmured soft and close. "Tara, you're still here, you know. Still with me.
Still with the me who's the one that's not going anywhere. The one who's not really thinking that
she can live without you. That one."
Willow took Tara's hand and held it to her cheek and let the tears go. She let Tara catch them,
just like always. She knew Tara was holding out her hand somewhere inside. Holding it out to catch
Willow.
Willow started to make phone calls. She would drop classes. She would have the hospital send the
paperwork to the registrar so that she could withdraw Tara from her classes. She called Giles and
asked for boxes in order to pack up Tara's room. He asked if she was okay. She said yes. He asked
if he should come by. She said no. Anya grabbed the phone from Giles. asked if Tara could see other
dimensions and if so, to see if she could recognize a demon named Zartog, and if so, to say hi for
her. Willow hung up the phone.
Tara woke up and looked around, frightened, bleary, frustrated. She grabbed her bandages on her
hand and started tearing at them, muttering, they make it hurt. The blood makes it hurt. Willow
took her and rocked her and stroked her head and wrapped her hand again. She looked at the
restraints the doctor had given her like they were the enemy. She would be enough to keep her calm. She could do this.
Tara looked up at Willow with clarity and a smile and said "Willow, what's wrong?" Willow looked
down, stunned, "Are you back?!" "Are you you?!" but she was gone again. Like smoke.
Willow took Tara to the showers late, after everyone in the dorm had gone to bed. She bathed her, washed her hair, fed her soup, gave her more pills and put her to bed. She was exhausted but couldn't bring herself to lay down beside Tara. She looked right. Everything looked right. Her eyes closed and dreaming, her hair falling in her eyes, her arm outstretched, reaching for Willow. Would it feel different now that Tara was different? Would Tara still know her, know her smell, know to hold her tight, but just when she was on her side? Would she forget to kiss her and whisper in her ear that she was loved and to have sweet dreams and jellybeans? She didn't know and so she could not sleep. Willow dropped her head to her chest and started to let the tears come. She breathed into it and let them flow down her cheeks and onto her pillow where she was supposed to lay. She was looking at her lover sleeping and had never before in her life felt so alone.
Willow started to shift over to the chair when Tara opened her eyes, reached out her hand, took
Willow's and said, "A Willow is a tree that weeps, but Tara is firmer and will hold." Willow
crawled into the bed and slept til morning.
------------------