Chapter Twelve: Life and Death

Previously in And I Saw You...

"I cheated on you," Tara responded, her voice low and filled with guilt. As she lowered her gaze to the ground, her eyes quickly darted over to where Willow was standing.

Kennedy followed Tara's line of sight and her whole body shook with rage as she understood what she was saying. "You cheated on me with that?" Kennedy snapped, looking back at Willow then at Tara once again.

"I'm sorry," was all Tara said, her voice barely a whisper.

Kennedy glared at Tara as she bowed her head before a thought occurred. "It's a thrall. She has you under a thrall," Kennedy realized. "Don't worry. I'll set you free."

"Kennedy, no," Tara cried, trying to stop her.

Ignoring her, Kennedy turned to Willow and rushed her, throwing a punch at the vampire only to have it blocked. The two fought back and forth for a while, neither Kennedy nor Willow noticing Buffy sneaking over to help with the fight against the master vampire. Grabbing the vampire in a tight hold, Buffy held her still, watching as Kennedy pulled a stake from her jacket pocket.

"This is for Tara," Kennedy said, lifting the stake high and slamming it down towards the vampire's unbeating heart.

"No!" Tara screamed, rushing forward as fast as she could and jumping between Kennedy's stake and Willow's chest.

Unable to stop the downward motion of the stake in time, Kennedy stumbled back as she felt the blood spray her and stared at the stake impaled in Tara's chest. "No. I..I didn't mean to," Kennedy said, backing away from Tara's bleeding body as she slumped to the ground. Buffy's hold on Willow weakened as she watched the piece of wood go into a human's chest giving the vampire a chance to pull free.

Catching Tara before she could hit the ground, Willow eased her the rest of the way. "No," Willow whispered, her voice breaking as she watched the light in Tara's eyes begin to fade. "Baby, I need you to make a very quick decision. Either drink my blood and stay with me, or I let you go," Willow offered, as tears fell from her cheeks, surprising everyone around her.

Tara started coughing, blood coming out of her mouth. Without thinking, Willow decided to make the decision for Tara. She bit her wrist and held the bleeding limb to Tara's mouth. "Drink up, Baby. You'll be okay," Willow promised, feeling Tara start to drink the blood flowing from her wrist.

When Willow knew Tara had enough to change, she leaned over and kissed her forehead gently. "Rest now, Love. You'll awaken soon," Willow told her, holding Tara's dying body until she heard Tara take her last breath of air and the beat of her heart fade.

Pulling the stake from her dead lovers heart, so that Tara's body could heal with the change, she stood and turned to face Buffy and Kennedy. Willow's fist tightened around the stake as she looked at the looks of horror and surprise on the Slayer's face and the look of guilt and grief passing over the brunette's features.

Moving faster than before, Willow shoved the stake into the slayer's own heart, her face morphing as the slayer fell to the ground and the life draining from her face. Before Kennedy could run off, Willow grabbed the brunette's arm and pulled her back against her, digging her teeth into the girls neck and attempting to drain the girl's life force.

As Willow felt the girl start to weaken, one thought came to her, causing her to release the girl as the same words ran through her mind.

"I won't kill her, but I won't save her if another vampire tries."

The promise she had made to Tara filled her with anger as she stared at the pathetic human before her. "I'm not going to kill you," Willow spat out, watching as Kennedy stared at her with fear in her brown eyes and her hand covering the bite on her neck. "I promised her I wouldn't kill you or be the reason for your death," Willow snapped, stepping closer to her. "I can't order your death, because she asked me not to."

Kennedy looked at Willow with a shocked expression on her face as the vampire's words set in. She was horrified to know that Tara's death had been for nothing. The vampire loved the witch, and Kennedy knew that Tara loved the demon before her because she gave her life for her.

"Get out of my city," Willow growled, her voice low and deadly as she watched the brunette scamper off.

Leaning down, Willow gently picked Tara's body from the ground and carried it back to the Bronze, wanting to make her girl comfortable for when she arose again.

As Willow walked into the Bronze with Tara's body in her arms, she heard a bunch of her follower's gasp at the sight of the dead human with the hole in her chest. Willow made her way down the halls and to her room, laying Tara on her bed before turning to look at a vampire standing by the door.

"Get me someone to eat!" Willow snapped, and then took a deep breath as she watched the vampire scurry off before turning to look at another vampire. "Find someone for her to eat when she wakes up. I want the best for her. Understand?" Willow asked.

The second vampire nodded, her yellow eyes filled with fear as she quickly went off to find someone for her master's pet.

Closing the door behind her, Willow walked over and looked at Tara. "Not much longer, my love. Then we'll be together for the rest of our lives," Willow promised, leaning down to brush her lips against the top of Tara's head and laid beside her as she waited for Tara to be reborn.

A/N: Thank you Gimpy72 for helping with this story. This is the last chapter. Next is the Epilogue and then the story is complete. Please remember to Review. For anyone who doesn't like that I killed Buffy, Kennedy lived, or that Kennedy was responsible for Tara's death. Oh well, won't say I'm sorry cause I've planned the Kennedy thing for a while.