I have a Question
"I always loved this place" said Tara softly, she and Willow were on Kingmans Bluff, overlooking Sunnydale. Rumor had it a temple was buried here, but neither of the young women were inclined to go looking for a demonic temple, no good would come of that. "Me too" Willow responded, smiling, but possibly...nervous? She laid her head against Tara's leg, the blonde stroked her red hair. Some things had changed since Warren had shot her, but their cute cuddles had not. It was 2019, and they still treasured every private little moment together.
Willow had used magic to restart her heart, but was unable to mend her spine, Tara would spend the rest of her life confined to a wheelchair, but she was adapting. Her friends helped, Dawn was tall enough to reach things, and Buffy or Xander thought nothing of scooping her up and helping her navigate stairs or other obstacles. It did take more energy to get to the top of this hill than it would have on foot, but it just meant she and Willow were pleasantly worn out when they got there.
When the bullet had hit her, Tara had obviously been down and out. To this day, she remembered nothing at all until three days later. Willow could have done ANYTHING, and the other Scoobies would probably have kept her secrets. She could have turned to dark magic to save Tara, lied about the damage after the fact of fixing her body. She could have run Warren down and blown him back to atoms, and his obnoxious friends for that matter, and it would have been right at the very edge of 'hard to blame her'. But she had used three light based spells, one to get Tara breathing again, one to feed her with her own energy and KEEP her breathing until the surgeons stabilized her, and one to give Buffy a similar lifeline.
And she had confessed a couple days after Tara woke up, and BEGGED for forgiveness, she just hadn't known what else to do. Tara had been in a dark place in her new situation, but seeing the open honesty written all over the face of her love, her heart have been filled with warmth, and their relationship was stronger than ever. There was a rumor among the magical creatures that Spike had found Warren and done things to him, but Tara accepted that sometimes things had to happen for the greater good, and never looked too closely into it.
Now they sat at the top of the hill, just enjoying being near each other. Sex had become more difficult since Tara had lost all feeling and movement from the waist down, but Willow had done research in books that Dawn was NOT allowed to help her translate, and they made it work, everyone ended up with warm fuzzies, if not warm afterglows. But Tara was content with that, their emotional connection had always been worlds more important, and that was better than ever.
As they watched the sunset, Tara started to become alarmed, Willow was SHAKING. "Honey, what's wrong?" Tara closed her eyes, feeling the mystic world around them for any threat, anything that might be attacking her love. Tara was a pacifist, she would not raise a hand to defend herself, but if something was coming for Willow, so help her Gaea, Tara would drop that thing in a volcano. Willow looked up, trying to smile, not quite pulling it off. "No, I'm fine….I just have something to say, to ask you...and I'm nervous". Tara hugged her soulmate close "Willow, it's been TWENTY YEARS, you never have to be scared to say something to me. We know each other as well as we know ourselves. Whatever it is, I will still love you after you say it". Willow took a deep breath, closed her eyes, nodded….and got down on one knee.
Tara thought her heart had stopped AGAIN. Willow reached into her satchel and pulled out a small wooden box. "Tara Maclay, when I met you twenty years ago, I didn't even know I was gay….I mean, there was the thing with the vampire me, but I didn't KNOW, and then….sorry, rambling. Since that day, we have saved the world together, we have fought together, danced together, laughed and cried and loved. I thought I had lost you….too many times. We've been through war and loss and apocalypse, and through all that time, through my best and my worst, you were always someone I knew I could count on, trust absolutely. You have made me a better person in so many ways, and I don't know if it's a moot point after 20 years, but the Court only rued a few years ago, and then we got our memories wiped, and then you got trapped in that Jello...sorry about that…..whoops, keep it together Willow...and what I mean to say...what I'm trying to say…" she opened the box, inside was the most beautiful ring, gold and silver woven together, with a piece of the Doll's Eye crystal that had helped bring them together, broken by the First so long ago, set sparkling in the middle, Tara gasped "Tara Maclay, will you marry me?"
Tara couldn't process her thoughts, she had seen her parents, she had seen how unhappy they were together, she had seen Xander and Anya, she had sworn off marriage a long time ago...but Willow. Her thoughts were in turmoil, and she instinctively reached out for Willow to hold her hand, that was her rock, her constant….and the doubt fell away. Willow WAS her wife, in all but putting the word on it. This was how it should be, this was she realized, what she had wanted most in the world, to let the world know that this was HER Willow, and NOTHING would ever come between them. "Yes" she whispered, and Willow's face was full of a radiant joy. They embraced in the light of the last rays of the setting sun. "Mrs Tara Rosenberg" Tara said softly "I like the sound of that, closing another chapter…..and starting the next with the woman I love".
And they lived happily ever after.