The Detour
Part 2 of 3
Disclaimers: Characters belong to Joss, blah, blah, blah…
Notes: Takes place sometime after Wrecked and all events leading to it has happened. From Willow's point of view. Thoughts in italics.

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"Faster Buffy, faster!"

"I'm going as fast as I can Will but there are other cars in front of me. This is a Jeep Cherokee not a monster truck."

Damn it…Damn it to hell. It's not supposed to happen this way. Damn her…Wait no, not her, never her. Why did she have to leave? Wake up Rosenberg, she left you weeks ago.

Okay fine but she's not supposed to leave town. We were supposed to get back together. Kiss and make up, be all sunshine and puppies again. I was getting better, she was supposed to wait for me to get better.

Getting better? Who are we kidding here? Remember big dark spell to launch big dark demon halfway down the block.

Well it was a life or death situation and considering it was Tara's life or death, I'd rather risk a mad Tara then a dead Tara and you'd think she would be more grateful. Saving her life and all.

Hey, a spell is a spell is a spell.

And what's that supposed to mean?

Don't ask me it's your own thoughts here. You said it yourself, you were willing to risk the consequences, and well her leaving is the consequences. Deal with it!

Damn it… Damn me.

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"I'm sorry ladies, the road is closed for repairs."

This can't be happening. Not today, not now. I look at the officer standing next to Buffy. He's probably said that line dozens of times today, variations of that single line that means nothing to him but the end of the world for me.

"It's an emergency." I plead.

He must've seen the genuine desperation in my eyes because his face softens just a bit.

"I'm sorry Miss, even if I let you through the road is just not in any condition fit for a vehicle to drive on. Now if you follow the detour signs it will lead you around in the fastest available route."

Buffy turns and follows the detour signs. I look at the clock embedded in the dashboard trying to slow time by shear will. The more I stare at it, the more it mocks me with its non-stop moving seconds.

"We'll make it." She says reassuringly.

"Why didn't you stop her?" I turn to ask.

"Huh?"

"Why didn't you make her stay?"

"You think I didn't try?" She replies a bit shocked.

"I'm just saying, you're the Slayer, if you wanted her to stay you would've found a way to make her stay."

"What did you want me to do, tie her to a chair?"

"Well you haven't been Miss effort lately." I wince. I regret those words the moment they leave my mouth. It was harsh and uncalled for.

Buffy doesn't immediately respond. She grips the steering wheel. I can hear the squeak of the straining leather. Then through clenched teeth she slowly replies.

"I did ask her to stay. I made it very clear that we needed and wanted her around. I told her that this will always be her home but she had made her decision and I had to respect her decision." She said the last line pointedly.

"I'm sorry." I say dejected. "And you're right, it is her choice but I have to try. At least when she was still in Sunnydale, I had a chance. A possibility. That small bit of hope that kept me going but if she leaves I won't even have that. Not being able to touch her or hold her was bad enough but the very thought of never seeing her again is too much. I'll die without her."

She relaxes and places her hand on my arm.

"I understand."

And I know she does. We've both had our share of loves and losses and I offer her a weak smile. I turn to look out my window. I see the houses whipping by. Sunnydale, our little piece of hell on earth. This place has brought us so much pain and suffering but we stay because we are the keepers of the gate of Hell. Some by destiny and some by choice. We started out wanting to be heroes but what if we want to be normal again? Can we build a life here? Can we settle down and have a family knowing what we know?

"What if it's us?" I ask.

"What if what is us?" the blonde asks, confused.

"What if the reason they all keep on leaving is because of us? What can we offer them Buffy? A normal life, not likely, not with what we do. All we can guarantee is pain and suffering, the side effects of life on the Hellmouth."

She pauses for a bit before quietly responding. "I'm sorry Will for bringing you into this. You could've gone to any school in the world be some big name genius but instead you're stuck here with me."

"No Buffy, you're mistaken. I don't regret meeting you. In fact being with you has made me a stronger person. I'm just saying that we said a long time ago that we're never going to have a normal relationship, not on the Hellmouth."

"We did?"

"Remember, Xander and the bug lady? And me and my 'online-boyfriend-is-really-a-demon-released-from-a-book'?"

"And I remember you said there's always hope. Look at Xander and Anya. They're getting married and if a thousand year old ex-demon can find marital bliss with Xander, then I refuse to give up. Now we are going to get Tara, she is going to stay and you two are going to live a long happy life together. Even if I have to kill everyone in this town to make sure that happens." Determined she pushes the Jeep a little more.

We pull up to the train station and my heart sinks. The train is already gone. I'm out of the car and running towards the platform before Buffy even stops the car. I hear her yelling for me from behind but I don't listen.

Maybe she didn't get on the train, maybe she changed her mind and decided to stay, maybe… Oh dear god let me have this maybe. But the platform is empty.

No…

The bathrooms. I run to the bathroom and check all the stalls. Empty, empty, and empty.

No…

I go back to the platform. She has to be here.

"Tara! Tara!" I yell up and down the platform. No answer.

She's really gone. I stumble towards the bench and fall hard onto it.

"Tara." My one last feeble attempt before the tears start to come.

Buffy sits down next to me and takes a hold of me. "I'm sorry Will."

I turn and bury my face into her shoulder as I cry. She puts her arms around me and offers me a tight squeeze.

"It's not supposed to happen this way, we were supposed to…" I hear the click of a door opening and I look up immediately. It's just the controller.

"I'm sorry ladies but the train left fifteen minutes ago. The next train will be here in an hour and a half. If you want tickets you can…" He is interrupted by his walkie-talkie.

"This is train 591 heading southbound from Sunnydale to Sunnydale Control. We seem to have a breach in one of our cars. We require service and repairs." There's a pause and we all hear a crash in the background. "Hold on we seem to have a situation here." Followed my more crashing in the background but this time we also hear frantic screaming.

Oh no.

All three us are listening to the walkie-talkie intently. "Oh my god… static …'s a monster on the… static … Help! Hel…" We hear before he's cut off by permanent static.

Buffy and I exchange looks, we both have the same thoughts running through our head.

"Tara!" We say in unison and we run for the car.

For the first time I actually out-ran Buffy to the car. In the two seconds it takes for her to catch up, I'm already borderlining on hysterical. Please don't let anything happen to her, please don't let anything happen to her. I repeat this mantra in my head over and over again.

"Faster Buffy, faster."

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