TITLE: Twilight
AUTHOR: Doctor Strangelove (strangelove317@hotmail.com)
DESCRIPTION: Post Season 6 Tara comes to visit Willow.
GENRE: Romance/Angst
RATING: PG
DISCLAIMER: All Buffy things belong to Joss Whedon.
Willow sat at the edge of the small creek, running her hand through the crystal clear water and watching the fish swim away in fright. She was wearing a white satin dress that spread out on the ground and a clasp in her fiery red hair, which she had let grow out. She had come to the creek to mourn. When they had been dating, Tara and Willow would come here often to have a picnic, or to practice spells far away from people, or to just be alone together. But now Tara was gone. So Willow had come here with a picnic basket, one last time, as a final goodbye to her life with Tara, so she could begin to move on.
"Willow?" Willow looked up and couldn't believe what she was seeing. It was Tara. Tara, alive and beautiful, wearing a gorgeous dress made of blue silk.
"Oh, my God," Willow gasped as her lover-from-beyond-the-grave walked over towards her. "Tara, is it really you?" Tara smiled and nodded. "But you're- I mean, Warren killed you."
Tara sat down next to Willow and put a finger up to her girlfriend's lips, "Shh. Don't talk about that. What matters is that I'm here now. I could never leave you, Willow. I love you. You're my soul mate."
Tears of joy were streaming down Willow's face, she couldn't believe this was happening, "I love you too, Tara. I didn't know what I was going to do without you. I didn't think I could go on living. It hurt so much."
"Don't worry, baby," Tara said, trying to calm down the overemotional Willow, "I'll make it all better. You don't have to worry anymore. No one will ever hurt you again." With those final words of comfort she wiped the tears off of Willow's face and kissed her lover on the lips. She pulled the clasp out of her hair, letting it fall down around her shoulders and accentuate her beautiful face.
The two passionately kissed for what seemed like an eternity when Tara fell back, a large red spot on the front of her dress. She looked at Willow in a state of surprise at the red-headed witch who had an even larger spot growing on her chest. Tara pulled her hand, now soaked in blood, back from Willow, whose white dress had turned red from the blood gushing from the wound on her chest. "Now you get what you deserved."
Willow, with what little strength she had left, turned around to see Warren, or at least, a charred skinless monster that sounded like Warren, holding a gun pointed directly at Willow. No, she thought, This isn't right. I killed you. I'm not supposed to die, you were, for killing Tara.
"But I'm still alive," Willow looked back at Tara, who had now stood up and was slowly backing away, "You killed him for no reason."
"No," Willow protested, "He tried to kill Buffy and, and he shot you!"
"You took an innocent life," Tara said, her voice dripping with anger and hatred, "I could never be with you." She turned and started walking away.
"No!" Willow shouted, tears streaming down her face, "No, Tara, baby, don't leave me! I need you! Please, Tara!" Willow, sobbing uncontrollably collapsed onto the ground which was now soaked with her blood. All she could do was cry and bleed as Tara walked off into the forest and Warren laughed and laughed and-
Willow sat up in her bed with and looked around. She was soaked with sweat, only sweat, no blood, and her faces was stained with tears. It was a dream. Only a dream. She wasn't dying and Warren was still dead. And so was Tara.
Tara was still gone, and she was never coming back, no matter what. Willow, overcome with emotion, laid back on her pillow. She couldn't sleep, she'd been having nightmares ever since Xander had brought her back from her dark magic kick. They were usually Warren coming back for revenge, but this was the first time Tara had been there. Tara had been there, and for a moment they had been together again, happy and peaceful. But that was gone now. Tara was gone. Her soul mate was gone. No, she wasn't going to be sleeping tonight. So she just lay on her pillow and closed her eyes until the twilight came. Then she would get up and work on getting over her magic addiction with Giles. That would keep her mind off of Tara. At least for a little while anyway.