A/N: Thanks for all the feedback. Hope you enjoy this chapter. This chapter will lead into one of the first twists I envisioned for this story. Though I'm having trouble finishing off the chapter that will tie the twist together it should be ready by the time it needs to be posted. Hope that you will enjoy this chapter even if it is a little...emotional...and over done (just a little).

Thoughts will be in Italics as well as sung song lyrics for this chapter. I do not own the song, just having a character sing the lines of it. The song is owned by Melissa Etheridge, and the title is I Want To Be In Love.

Part 16B

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Tara knocked on the thick oak door lightly. Willow was at Buffy's with Xander and Anya. They were all trying to pack Buffy, Dawn, and Joyce's things. Tara had gone over to help but they had already had it almost all covered, they just asked for her to drive the stuff over to Melinda, Max, and Faith's house and they'd follow after with the rest of the boxes. Tara would be the first to admit she was the last person in the group that was going to be able to unpack any of the boxes that were stacked in her car.

Sure, with a little assistance from magic she might be able to handle a few boxes but only a few, so heir go why she was coming to the door. When Tara raised her balled fist up to the door again to knock she caught the sound of music inside the house. Tara smiled when she recognized the song; it was Melissa Etheridge's I Want To Be In Love. That wasn't what made her smile though, what made her smile was the sound of an unfamiliar voice singing along with the song.

Tara brought her hand down to the doorknob and opened the door, a little surprised to find it open, but it didn't bother her at the moment. She wanted to see who it was that was singing. It had to be either Melinda or Faith and as the voice became a little stronger during the chorus Tara's smile grew. Without even walking into the living room she knew it was Melinda's voice. That it was Melinda singing passionately about falling in love. Tara wondered whom it was that Melinda was signing this song for. Tara would hate to admit it but Melinda's voice was far better then her own and a lot of career singers.

"I'm looking for a heart of gold. I'm looking for a hand to hold. A happy end, strong and kind! Somewhere to rest my troubled mind" Melinda sang as she walked around the living room picking up little things, the music and singing her real priority. "In front of total strangers won't you kiss me? Flowers for no reason but you miss me. Oh I want to be in love." Melinda closed her eyes as she sang and walked into the hallway, turned and walked to the kitchen. Missing Tara completely.

Tara held her breath, hoping that Melinda wouldn't realize she was there. When Melinda continued to walk down the hallway singing Tara took this as her chance to sneak back outside and knock a little louder so Melinda could hear her.

"On Tuesday light the candles bring me wine. Wednesday morning I won't get to work on time. Oh I want to be in love. Surprise me as I'm stepping off the plane; take my hand as they play our song again. Oh, I want to be in love!" Melinda sang happily as she walked down the small corridor toward the kitchen. She loved this song. This song was just one of the few songs that she could not just listen to but had to sing along with. Whether she be in a crowded room, or in her bedroom all alone, if this song came on the radio she'd sing it. It was just something that she had to do.

The song came to an end and as the song dulled to the sound of the radio talk show host she sighed and went back into the living room to turn off the radio. Melinda stopped walking when she heard something coming from outside. Melinda thought it might be Giles and Xander coming with the boxes, and as she looked down at her watch she realized if it were them they were a little early. Melinda shrugged her shoulders and opened the door. Though what she found on the other side wasn't Xander or Giles. It was Tara. Tara standing in front of her door talking with three people Melinda didn't recognize.

"Tara…." Melinda said slowly as she stepped out onto the porch, making sure to leave the front door open slightly, just in case.

Tara slowly turned to Melinda. "Melinda…" Tara said calmly, trying to do her best to reassure the younger girl that everything was okay just by giving her a small smile.

Everything wasn't okay and although she knew Melinda would be picking that up momentarily she hoped that her trying to make it seem like everything was okay would make the other blonde realize she could handle it. Even if she wasn't sure she could. They were family after all, she could handle family; she hoped.

Everything inside Melinda was telling her she should grab Tara and run back in the house. Just looking at the two men and one woman made her want to run. They put her on edge and that was never a good sign, ever. Melinda looked the younger man up and down assessing him. He seemed familiar for some reason but she couldn't place it. When Melinda met his eyes she had to look away almost immediately. Her heart rate increased and her legs felt as if they were ready to collapse under her. His eyes were so….dark. They held such resentment and anger that she felt it coming off of him in waves now. Whoever these people were Melinda knew they weren't here to have tea. They were here to cause trouble; the kind of trouble that Melinda just didn't want to have to deal with for a few more days.

"Who are your friends?" Melinda asked as she stepped forward eyeing the older man suspiciously as she looked at him. The feeling that she knew him and the younger man next to him continued to bug her. She just couldn't seem to place how she knew them, or why she thought she did.

"That's funny….I was going to ask the same question." The younger man said, as he in turn looked Melinda up and down.

Melinda didn't really like the fact that he was checking her out, for whatever reason it may be, it still had his eyes looking up and down her body causing her to shiver. Those same eyes that she wished she never had to look into again.

"Th…thi…this is my..my father." Tara introduced as she looked between Melinda and her father.

Melinda looked up at Tara her shock only showing in her eyes. She had only ever heard Tara talk about her family once before, and from what she gathered they weren't exactly the most understanding type.

"Father….th…this is Melinda." Tara said introducing her father to Melinda even though she wished she didn't have to.

"How do you do." Mr. Maclay said as he bowed his head to Melinda.

"Hi." Melinda said curtly as she looked Mr. Maclay over once again.

"I'm Donny…" The younger man said introducing himself as he looked at Melinda. "This is my cousin Beth." He said nodding his head toward the red head behind him and his father.

"Hi." Melinda said as she bowed her head to both in greeting. "Is there something I can help you with?" Melinda asked the three new comers.

"No. We're just here to speak with Tara." Mr. Maclay said as he looked from Melinda to Tara.

"Oh….well um…"

'Don't leave me.' Was the first thing that Melinda heard when she looked at Tara. Usually Melinda would really have to try to read Tara's mind but it seemed Tara wanted her to hear that, or some part of her wanted her to hear her plea.

"….why don't you come inside." Melinda invited, unwilling to leave Tara alone with her family members now.

Mr. Maclay looked at Tara and then turned toward his son and niece before he turned back to Melinda and answered. "Thank you for the invitation, but that's alright. We'd better be off." Mr. Maclay then turned to Tara. "I'll pick you up at your dorm at 6?" He said as a statement rather then a question.

As the three walked down the path to sidewalk Melinda couldn't help but sneak a peak into their minds. She would never admit to it under torture but sometimes reading others minds was what helped Melinda get her opinion on a person. Melinda's eyes slowly dilated as she listened in to the threes thoughts. She could easily tell whose was who's just by the sounds of the voices. In a persons mind their voice was the same as it was as they spoke, something Melinda always wondered about.

"I don't like what they had to say when no one can hear them." Melinda stated as she watched the car holding the three Maclays speed off down the road. "I'm not rude." Melinda said pouting as she turned and looked at Tara. "And you're certainly not evil. You're the sweetest person I know…well okay you and Dawn are tied for that position but still. You get my point."

"Ho…how did…"

Melinda looked at Tara with a smirk. "I can read minds Tara….and that was one fact your slime of a slut cousin couldn't stop saying as she cursed you out in her head. Heir go ….I don't like them." Melinda said as she turned toward the house and opened the door. "Aren't you coming in?" Melinda asked as she stood in the doorway holding the door open as she looked at Tara.

"Yes. I'm coming." Tara said as she looked back out at the street before going into the house.

Once inside Melinda told Tara to go into the living room and get herself comfortable. Melinda then went and brought out the cup of tea she had made for herself before, but handed it to Tara. They took their tea the same way, and although they both could have their mood swings between coffee and tea, Melinda knew today was a tea day.

"Thank you." Tara said with a shy smile as she took the teacup and then looked down into the light brown liquid.

"Your welcome." Melinda said as she sat down in the armchair across from the couch.

An uncomfortable silence overtook the room and all that filled it was Tara's thoughts, something Melinda was trying desperately not to listen to. They were Tara's own personal thoughts and although she would read minds when it was appropriate or even when it wasn't she tried her best never to listen in on thoughts that didn't concern her or were personal to their bearer. Melinda found that she couldn't not listen to the thoughts and she didn't want to hear them from Tara's mind but have her actually say it to her, trust her with them.

"You want to tell me what that was all about?" Melinda asked gently as she sat back, trying to become as comfortable as possible, while looking at Tara.

Tara took a deep breath and looked up at Melinda through the top of her hair and then looked back down at her teacup. She didn't know where to begin, or what she could really say. There was just some much going on within her head and heart that she felt completely lost. Tara, if she were the kind of person to pace, would be pacing back and forth across the room until she wore the carpet down to dust. Too bad she wasn't that type of person. Tara sighed and put her teacup down on the coffee table but refused to look up at Melinda. It'd be better if she left now, before she really had to explain what she was to her friend.

Melinda and Tara had clicked the moment they met. They both seemed unsure why but they had. Their new friendship though it was short in its lifetime so far, had connected them more closely then friends they might have had for years. Tara had thought it was due to the fact that they were both witches, but then the same could go for Willow. Willow and Melinda weren't as close as Tara would like them to be and Tara didn't have ANY romantic feelings toward Melinda. They were just close friends, and no matter how close she thought they were she knew she couldn't burden Melinda with knowing what she was. What she would become on her 20th birthday.

"Tara…." Melinda said softly as she looked at Tara.

"I have to go." Tara said as she stood up and started to walk to the door.

"Wait…Tara!" Melinda said as she jumped up from her seat and grabbed onto Tara's arm. The wave of emotion that Melinda felt rush through her made her fall to her knees and let go of Tara's arm.

Tara looked over at Melinda and took a step forward to help her friend but stopped mid step. If she touched Melinda again the blonde would be worse off then she was right now. Tara wasn't sure why she was going to do this but she had to. She had to leave! She had to fix all of this so it wouldn't happen. "I'm sorry…" Tara whispered as she rushed out the door.

"Tara..!" Melinda yelled as she tried to stand up but fell back to her knees. "Wait…!" Melinda screamed at the closed door before she fell to her side and groaned when her bruised ribs protested at the harsh contact. "Come back…." Melinda whispered as she closed her eyes as tears fell. "Come back…"

Melinda wasn't crying for her pain but for Tara's. The pain she'd felt wash over her as she touched her skin was almost unbearable. It had been unbearable. The fear that washed over her from just a simple touch of Tara's skin had crippled her to her knees. Fear of rejection, and of hate. Melinda squeezed her eyes closed trying to find the source of all this pain, and just as she knew she'd reached it she shot up from the floor and sat up.

Melinda gasped as her eyes shot open. Her eyes were aglow with color as she was given just another one of her visions. Though as Melinda continued to play a part of this vision she realized it was no vision of the future. It was of the past, her past. A part of her past that she had almost forgotten.

TBC…..