Hey Guys! So this is my first fic, please be nice. It starts at the end of season 6 before Tara died.

What would have happened if Willow was able to bring Tara back?
no copyright infringement intended all characters belong to joss whedon and other respective owners.
the first 7 chapters are exactly what happened in the show but Kennedy shows up alone and earlier in the 7th season.
parings: W/K B/S D/? X/A future W/T

TARA: Things fall apart. They fall apart so hard.

WILLOW: Tara?

TARA: You can't ever ... (sighs) put them back the way they were.
WILLOW: Are you okay?
TARA: I'm sorry, it's just ... (deep sigh) You know, it takes time. You can't just ... have coffee and expect-
WILLOW: (guilty) I know.

TARA: There's just so much to work through. Trust has to be built again, on both sides ... (Willow looking upset) You have to learn if ... if we're even the same people we were, if you can fit in each other's lives.

TARA: It's a long... important process, and ... can we just skip it? Can-can you just be kissing me now?

Willow looks hopeful, then delighted as the words sink in. She smiles widely, jumps up. Tara meets her halfway and they kiss passionately.

WILLOW: When did morning happen?
TARA: After the moon went down.

Willow giggles, leans up and they kiss for a while. Then Willow lies back down with her head on Tara's stomach. Tara caresses her shoulders.

WILLOW: Mmm, I forgot how good this could feel. Us. Together. (pause) Without the magic.
TARA: There was plenty of magic.

Willow smiles, then sighs.

WILLOW: It's getting late.
TARA: (small frown) Wanna get up?
WILLOW: No! (Tara laughing) Oh god, no. (quietly) I was just thinking about Buffy.
TARA: (frowns) Oh. She still isn't back?
WILLOW: I didn't hear her. She wouldn't talk about what happened at the magic shop when she got home last night. She just wanted to know how close I was to tracing the camera signal back to the Empire of the Nerds. And then she left again.
TARA: I'm sure she'll be okay.
WILLOW: Yeah, I'm not really worried about her going up against Warren and the others. I know this is going to sound crazy, but ... I think something might be going on. With Spike and Buffy. (Pause) I mean, she looked so hurt when she saw him with Anya. I think maybe-
TARA: They've been sleeping together.
WILLOW: (laughs) No. I wouldn't go that far.
TARA: No, I mean she told me they've been sleeping together.

WILLOW: Sleeping together? You mean like the naked kind of together?
TARA: (sighs) I'm sorry I didn't say anything, but I, I promised her I wouldn't.
WILLOW: (shocked) Does everybody else know? Am I the only one she didn't-
TARA: God, no. She, she didn't even mean to tell me, it just came out.
WILLOW: (still shocked) How could she hide something like this from me?
TARA: I think she was afraid of the look you'd get on your face. (Willow staring at her) Kinda like the one you're wearing now.
WILLOW: Oh, no, I'm not ... I'm just trying to understand.
TARA: So is she.
WILLOW: Wow, she probably really needs someone to talk to.
TARA: Probably.

TARA: We've been kinda busy, maybe we didn't hear her come home.

Willow nods

WILLOW: Buffy?

DAWN: She back yet?

Willow stops, turns back. Dawn appears in the doorway.

WILLOW: (nervously) Uh, not yet. I'm sure she'll be home soon. Everything's fine, just go back to bed.
DAWN: It's ten o'clock.
WILLOW: (surprised) Oh. Uh...
DAWN: (comes closer) You don't think she's ... gonna hurt Spike, do you?
WILLOW: She told you about Spike?
DAWN: It was kinda obvious after last night.
WILLOW: (covering) Yeah, I totally knew.
DAWN: It must have hurt so much. To see him and, and, and Anya like that? And poor Xander. Everything is so screwed up.
WILLOW: It's gonna be all right. It's just ... complicated. You know, when, when people have such strong feelings for each other, sometimes-
TARA: Is she back yet? (notices Dawn) Oh. Hey.
DAWN: (starting to smile, delighted) Oh! You and-
TARA: (smiling) Uh, that's my cue to put some clothes on.
DAWN: No! No no no! I'm totally not here! You guys, you do whatever you want. Um ... I'll go watch TV. (Giggles) Downstairs, really loud! In the basement. Where I can't hear anything. (Squeals) Oh my god!

Dawn leaves excitedly

DAWN: I love you guys! (squeels)

in "the trio's" layer

BUFFY: (calls) All right. Let's make this quick. (long pause) Fine. But I'm not leaving till we have a little chat. (looks around) Very little, considering the pummeling that needs to occur. I mean, guys, helloooo. Slayer here. Did you honestly think I wouldn't find you...

Buffy finds a white board slightly tipped up and sees that the words "TOO LATE!" are written on it. She failed to notice that the board was rigged to circular saws that were set up as a trap.

BUFFY: (frowns) Well, that can't be good. (annoyed that her jacket was ruined) Okay. That's gonna cost ya.

After leaving the screaming metal buzz saw death trap she returned home.

WILLOW: Okay, we're here, ready for action! Uh, bad guy fighting action. (Giggles)

BUFFY: Guys, you didn't have to ... You know, if you still wanna be alone-
WILLOW: No. No, we're good. (still with the amorous looks)
TARA: We're better than good.

BUFFY: Great. (fondly because her friend is happy again)
WILLOW: (softly) Super.

Willow and Tara kiss briefly, then begin kissing more intensely. Buffy and Dawn watch with "aw" faces. Dawn giggles.

BUFFY: Awww.
WILLOW: Okay, all right, we'll stop.
DAWN: Oh, you better not!
TARA: So, um, nerds. How are them? They?

Tara clearly distracted by Willow's actions
BUFFY: Well, I found their lair, but they obviously knew we were tracing their signal. They left in a hurry. Van was gone, but everything else was still there.
WILLOW: We should go back, uh, Tara and I can Sherlock around-
BUFFY: There's nothing left there now. Giant buzz saw. It was a thing. (indicating papers) This was all that I could save. I, I know it's not much, but we need to go through it and see if we can find anything that might tell us what, what they're doing, where they're going...

TARA: Um, (chuckling) this might take a while.
BUFFY: Anything we can do to fast forward? We really need to find Warren and the others before anyone else gets hurt.
WILLOW: Should we call Xander?
BUFFY: (grimaces) I don't think he's really in the Scooby space. We need to give him some time.
DAWN: Maybe they've heard something in the demon bars about those guys. (tentatively, looking at Buffy) Spike-
BUFFY: (quickly) Spike ... Spike's not part of the team.
DAWN: (softly) So he's not ... going to be around anymore? (Willow and Tara looking concerned)
BUFFY: Uh ... I don't know, Dawn. Not, not for a while.

Dawn thinks and is upset by this, she leaves

TARA: What about Anya? She might be able to help with some of the demon texts.
BUFFY: I'm guessing she's not feeling real researchy right now.

DAWN: Does it help?

SPIKE: Doesn't hurt.

SPIKE: Not planning a camp-out, are we?
DAWN: No. I'm sleeping over at Janice's. Figured Willow and Tara might want some time to, uh...
SPIKE: (smiles slightly, staring into his glass) Oh, so the birds are flying again, eh? (bitterly) Ain't love grand.

DAWN: I wanted to stop by on my way and, you know. (beat) Everybody's pretty mad at you.
SPIKE: Yeah. Kinda picked up on that.
DAWN: (softly) You're not going to be coming aroundanymore. Are you?
SPIKE: (staring into the distance) It's complicated, Nibblet.
DAWN: (small laugh) Everybody's been saying that.
SPIKE: Must be true then. (drinking)
DAWN: Was it worth it? What you did with Anya?

Spike is surprised that Dawn knows what happened in the magic shop

SPIKE: Buffy told you?
DAWN: (shrugs) Kinda caught the show. There was a camera somewhere in the Magic Box. (Spike looking shocked) Warren and Jonathan and that other guy have been watching Buffy.
SPIKE: (sighing angrily) Wankers! .

DAWN: (pained) Do you love her?
SPIKE: Oh, no. No. It was just a ... It was a bad day. For both of us. And we just had a few drinks and, things just-
DAWN: No. Not Anya. Buffy.

DAWN: Do you really love her?

DAWN: Then how could you do that to her?
SPIKE: (still not looking at her) Oh, right , 'cause Big Sis was treating me so well up until that point. (Dawn sighing in exasperation) Must still be a bit of the evil left in me after all.
DAWN: I don't know what happened betweenyou two. But what you did last night ... If you wanted to hurt Buffy, congratulations. (quietly) It worked.

WILLOW: It's all a mess.
TARA: These things take time. We'll figure it out.
WILLOW: Sure. We'll decipher codes, foil evil schemes...
TARA: Finally get out of bed...
WILLOW: I was with you up until there. (Tara laughing) Whoa.
TARA: (sitting up) What is it?
WILLOW: Uh, one of their data CDs. It's filled with encrypted blueprints, schematics...

TARA: To what?
WILLOW: I'm not sure. The designations have been stripped.
TARA: Maybe we can cross-reference them with the county clerk's office.
WILLOW: (makes a face) Would that involve getting up?
TARA: (smiling) Eventually.
WILLOW: Then I'm coming out firmly against it.
TARA: (mock-frowning) What about the Trio's evil scheme?
WILLOW: (grinning) Well, I'm kinda busy working on my own.

Willow turns away from the computer and toward Tara. Sound of giggling. Tara leans back against her pillows with a smile.

Willow rushes in, smiling.

WILLOW: Hey, I think we finally have something-

WILLOW: What happened?
BUFFY: Nothing.

Xander looks at Buffy knowing she's lying.

BUFFY: What'd you find out?

Buffy, now dressed, sits at the table with Willow and Tara. Xander stands nearby holding an ice pack against his face. The table is covered with the papers and books from the Geek lair, plus Willow's computer.

WILLOW: We were able to decipher pretty much everything except these.

Willow holds a set of papers with weird symbols on them.

TARA: It isn't written in any ancient language we could identify.
XANDER: (chuckling) It's Klingon. They're love poems. (catching himself, embarrassed) Which has nothing to do with the insidious scheme you're about to describe.
BUFFY: What do you got for me that doesn't rhyme?
TARA: Um, this. (holding up a CD-ROM)
WILLOW: It was filled with encoded blueprints and schematics.
BUFFY: To what?
TARA: Um, banks, armored car routes, corporate vaults ... This is big.
WILLOW: They're looking to score some serious dinero. We don't think they're planning just one job.
XANDER: Spree, anyone?
BUFFY: I, I can't cover all of these at once.
WILLOW: You don't have to. We think there's one they may hit tonight.
TARA: It's time sensitive.
XANDER: Be careful. Warren's gone all Mighty Mouse. Emphasis on the might.
BUFFY: Good. Then I won't have to hold back.

WILLOW: Hey. Clothes.
TARA: Better not get used to 'em.
WILLOW: Hmm, yes ma'am.

Willow grabs Tara's belt loop and pulls her in for a kiss. Then they hug. Tara smiles happily. Then spots something over Willow's shoulder.

TARA: Mmmm... Xander!
WILLOW: (pulling out of the hug) Okay, not quite the response I was fishing for.
TARA: No, he's here.

Tara goes to look out the window. We can see Buffy below in the backyard, and Xander walking up behind her.

WILLOW: (opening a dresser drawer) Think they're making up?
TARA: (turning from the window, smiling at her) I hope so, that's the best part.

XANDER: Time for the Spring Poking already?
BUFFY: (turns to see him) Just making sure there are no more Evil Trio cameras. Or Evil Uno.
XANDER: The sinister yet addictive card game?
BUFFY: Warren. Jonathan and Andrew got clinked, but ... Warren pulled a Rocket Man.
XANDER: You'll find him. He won't be much good without his friends.
BUFFY: (softly) No, he won't.

They both move to sit side-by-side on a wooden bench. Xander fidgets uncomfortably, then takes a deep breath.

XANDER: How did we get here?
BUFFY: Scenic route. Long drive.
XANDER: The past few weeks...
BUFFY: I know.
XANDER: I thought I hit bottom, but ... it hurt. That you didn't trust me enough to tell me about Spike. (pauses, softly) It hurt.
BUFFY: I'm sorry. I should have told you.
XANDER: (small smile) Maybe you would have, if I hadn't given you so many reasons to think I'd be an ass about it.
BUFFY: Guess we've all done a lot of things lately we're not proud of.
XANDER: (slightly larger smile) I think I've got you beat.
BUFFY: Wanna compare?
XANDER: Not so much.

XANDER I don't know what I'd do ... without you and Will.
BUFFY: (teary) Let's not find out.

Xander nods. They hug.

BUFFY I love you. You know that, right?

Xander spots something over Buffy's shoulder and his eyes widen in alarm.

XANDER: Buffy!

Warren striding is toward them very pissed off, fast. He still wears the all-black outfit from last night. Buffy and Xander jump up, turn to face him.

WARREN: You think you can just do that to me? You think I'd let you get away with that? (laughs crazily) Think again.

Suddenly he raises a gun and fires wildly at them. Buffy frantically shoves Xander down. He tumbles to the ground.

Tara is still standing with her back to the window, looking surprised. There's a large red spot on Tara's chest, right over her heart.

TARA: (frowning) Your shirt.

Tara falls forward.

WILLOW: (shocked, rushing forward) Tara?

XANDER: Sweet fancy Moses! Where the hell did he-

Xander stops, looking to his left. Buffy is lying on the ground on her back, staring upward.

XANDER: Oh god!

WILLOW: (desperate) Tara? Baby? (Starting to sob) Baby, come on! Get up!

XANDER: (desperate) Oh god. Buffy? Buffy! Buffy!

WILLOW: No... no... (crying)

Willow lifts her head and bares her teeth. Her face is wet with tears and her eyes are completely black ... then they go completely red.