Chapter Two: Old Fears and Friends

Looking out the plane window, Tara frowned as she watched Sunnydale disappear from her sights.

"You okay?" Willow asked, seeing the frown on her friend's face.

"Yeah. Just going to miss everyone," Tara said, looking into Willow's green eyes. She started to lose herself in Willow's very soul, until Kennedy sat back down.

"Flight attendants are so annoying," Kennedy complained as she took Willow's hand in hers and ruined Tara's moment.

Tara sighed as Willow and Kennedy started talking, and pulled her headphones on to listen to the song that seemed to describe her life.

Best of friends don't mean that much
When that phone call comes to tell you
She's in love

Tara sighed and glanced at Willow and Kennedy

She's in love
She's got that fire in her eyes
She's in love
How her smile lights up the sky
It's like she's walking on air,
She's been set free

Tara closed her eyes and turned her head towards the window as a tear fell from her eye, her heart breaking at the thought.

Still I can't believe
She's in love
Strolling down a one way street
She's in love
You'd swear her heart has wings
She's in love
Why can't it be me

Why can't she love me? Tara thought, looking back over at the two women beside her before looking away again.

Told everyone I'm doing fine
Learn to get on with my life
I just want what's best for her
So I lied

Tara frowned, knowing that was true. She had lied to everyone because she didn't want them to know that she was in love with Willow or that it was hurting her to see Willow with someone else.

Closing her eyes, Tara let the words of the song drift over her until she drifted off into a sweet dream.

Tara smiled as she looked into the green eyes of the woman she loved. They softly swayed to the music as it played in the background. Tara sighed contently as she laid her head on Willow's shoulder, losing herself in her love's embrace. They were so lost in each other that neither noticed when their feet drifted from the floor, or when the music finally stopped, just holding one another and softly swaying to the music.

"I love you," Tara whispered, smiling as she lifted her head from Willow's shoulder to lose herself in those green eyes. She jerked when she noticed the eyes were no longer green, but a harsh brown, filled with anger.

"You belong to me. You know that," a familiar voice responded.

The words caused Tara to snap out of her dream, looking around at the darkened airplane. Reaching up, she flipped on the light above her, causing Willow to groan and mumble in her sleep. Tara glanced at Willow and Kennedy for a few moments before looking around. She relaxed when she saw that the owner of the voice wasn't there and tried to relax, but the face from her dream haunted her when she closed her eyes. Finally, Tara just gave up on sleep and sat there, staring out at the darkened sky.

The sound of a voice coming over the intercom to announce that they would be landing in London shortly, pulled Willow, Tara, and Kennedy from sleep. Tara had barely drifted off before the voice had woke her, and she was exhausted. Looking out the window, Tara stared at the lightened sky and frowned as she tried to clear her sleep deprived mind.

"You didn't sleep?" Kennedy asked, noticing the bags under Tara's eyes and secretly enjoying the thought. She knew Tara didn't like her and the feeling was mutual.

"No, I didn't," Tara whispered, grateful when the plane landed and a voice came over the intercom, stopping any further questioning.

She knew that Willow would want to know why Tara hadn't slept. She also knew that Willow wouldn't leave it alone until Tara told her, so the more time Tara had without Willow questioning her, the better.

As the airplane came to a stop, they deboarded the plane and walked to the bag pickup to grab their bags. Tara stood uncomfortably as she waited for Willow and Kennedy to get the last of their bags off the line. Before they finished grabbing their bags, Tara jumped as arms wrapped around her from behind. She pulled away from the embrace and turned in shock to face a very familiar brunette.

"Faith?" Tara said in disbelief before smiling and hugging her old friend. "How have you been? It's been years," Tara exclaimed, holding tightly to her friend.

"Hey, T." Faith responded, hugging her back before standing next to her and looking at Willow and Kennedy, who were watching her. "How's it going, Red?" Faith called to Willow, earning a look of irritation before Willow turned away.

Faith smiled at Willow's reaction and looked at Tara. "She's still mad?" Faith asked in disbelief.

"Well, she has a right to be angry," Tara reminded Faith, causing Faith to smile.

"Good point."

"So what are you doing here, Faith?" Tara asked, smiling at her old friend.

"I'm actually here to pick you guys up," Faith said, looking over at Tara. "Giles was busy and asked me to come."

Tara nodded and looked over at Willow and Kennedy. "Are you two ready? Faith is our ride to see the council," Tara explained, seeing Willow's confusion.

Willow gave a hesitant nod and took Kennedy's hand, while Faith reached down and grabbed some of Tara's bags. "I'm this way," Faith told them, leading the way with Tara right behind her and Willow and Kennedy following after.

A/N: The song in this chapter is "She's In Love" by Mark Wills. I do not own the song. I just thought it would fit. I hope you liked the chapter. I also hope that it sparked your curiosity. Thanks for reading. Please Review/Follow/Favorite.