Tara

What on earth is going on here? How did I get caught up with two vampire slayers? And one of them was sent back in time?

Tara sat quietly in the passenger seat, she didn't like to look too closely at peoples auras, but Faith had asked her to. She looked deeper than she usually would.

There was a void within Faith, a fracture in her essence, Buffy's energy was searching that fracture out and attempting to push it back together. Tara watched as the fracture would close slightly only to re-open. Progress was slowly being made to repair the damage, but it was still quite large, and Tara wasn't sure it would be possible for Buffy's energy to close it without help. Faith's spirit was fighting with the void as well. It seemed to be struggling desperately to hold itself together, only in the places where the two slayers' energies combined did anything stay together for any length of time.

The way their auras danced around each other was mesmerizing. She could even feel it reaching into her own. She felt connected to everything, for the first time since her mother had died, she felt like she belonged somewhere. Her mother had taught her how to tap into the energy around her, how to read and feel all living things.

When her mother died, she shut herself off from it. Her father had told her that she was evil, and any magic she did was dangerous. She focused her magical studies on how to rid herself of evil, thinking that if she weren't evil, it would be safe for her to be part of the world. Nothing she did ever changed the way she felt, she began to hope this was because her father was lying to her. Faith telling her that she wasn't a demon confirmed this for her. Now she was letting herself feel the magic freely that she had cut herself off from for so long.

As Tara accepted the magic into herself, she watched in amazement as her energy combined with the slayers'. Her energy joined Buffy's in helping to repair the void within Faith. As Buffy and Faith were explaining about the witch, she saw ripples of pain and confusion pass through Faith. The ripples were fighting with all of the positive energies and refusing their influence. Tara could feel Faith's pain but had no idea how to help. She was relieved when Buffy seemed to notice and pushed Faith out of the car.

"Everything will be OK, Tara. You will be quite safe with Buffy and Faith." She did not doubt that he was right, as soon as she read them, Tara knew she was exactly where she was supposed to be.

"How much do you know about them?" Tara nervously asked. She was worried about whatever was bothering Faith and more than a little curious as to what their connection was.

"I've spent most of my life studying the slayer."

That wasn't quite what she wanted to know. She felt there was something more significant about them than just their slayerness. Tara was quiet for a while. She wasn't sure about anything she'd seen so far. Tara was incredibly shy, most of her time was spent alone or with her family. Her mother died eight years ago, and since then her life had been one of servitude. She had been allowed to go to school, but because her whole life she had believed she was a demon, she was sure to keep her distance from everyone.

Meeting Faith had changed everything for her. She now knew that the magic she had closed herself off from was good and not evil as she had been told. Opening herself up to it completely for the first time since her mother died, she could feel everything. The earth was calling to her and filling her spirit. She almost cried from how amazing it felt.

"Are you ok?" She was shocked out of her magic haze by Giles' voice. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."

"It's ok, I just... I've closed myself from magic for so long. Feeling it again..." She smiled a little and then became nervous under his watchful eye. She knew his intentions weren't to scare her. She just wasn't used to men being kind to her.

"Faith didn't tell us very much about you. She only mentioned that you are a witch and able to read auras. I have many books on the subject but was never able to master the skill myself. You are welcome to any of them."

"Thank you." She smiled shyly at him and then looked out the window. She was desperate for the slayers to return.

She breathed a sigh of relief as they finally climbed back into the car, whatever was bothering them seemed to be cleared up. Faith was no longer in pain. It confused Tara that she could tell what Faith was feeling, it wasn't the same with Buffy or Giles. The energy she felt from Faith reminded her of something, but she couldn't quite place it.

"Sorry about that, G didn't bore you or anything, did he?" Giles grunted a little at Faith's comment, but he also smiled. It seemed like Faith enjoyed picking on him, but he didn't mind. Since she had opened herself up to magic again, Tara watched their auras interact without her usual restraint. She marveled as Faith's energy mixed with Buffy's, Giles' and even her own.

"No.. he didn't bore me."

"Good, let's get going." Faith smirked and leaned back into the seat.

They arrived a few hours later at the Summers' home.

"Thanks for your help, G." Faith offers as they exit the vehicle.

"Of course, Faith. I think you've done a very good thing here. I hope we see each other again soon, Tara." Giles smiles at her, and she nods in reply, unable to actually speak.

The slayers grab Tara's belongings and bring them inside. Tara stands nervously in the doorway.

"Mom! I brought home another stray!" Buffy shouts as they enter the house.

"Buffy?"

"Mom - this is Tara. She's going to stay with us for a couple of weeks until she can move into the dorms."

Tara tries to hide her face behind her hair, but it's too late, Buffy's mother has seen the large bruise on her cheek. She gives a sympathetic look but doesn't comment.

"Nice to meet you, Tara. You can call me Joyce. Are you girls hungry?"

"Do you even have to ask that, Mrs. S?" Faith responds, and Joyce shakes her head while smiling. So far everyone Faith interacts with seems to be happier for it. Yet she doesn't see it.

"You girls get settled, and I'll call you when dinner is ready," Joyce says as she heads into the kitchen.

Buffy heads upstairs with Faith trailing her, "Uh, B. What's the plan here? Only two beds, remember?"

"I figure she can have my room, and I'll stay with you until she moves out."

Tara can tell how agitated Faith is by the suggestion. "I can just sleep on the couch. It's no problem." Tara offers, not fully understanding what is upsetting Faith.

"Nonsense!" Buffy waves her hand, and it's clear the decision has been made.

These two have a bizarre relationship. They're soulmates, and they both know it, but also seem to be in complete denial. I'm going to have to be very careful around them. Tara could guess from her own insecurities that Faith needed to heal more of herself before she could accept the love that the slayers were destined to share.

The next day and a half were a complete whirlwind for Tara. She was not used to receiving so much positive attention, or any attention really. Buffy's mom had been incredibly kind, asking her about what her plans for school were and avoided asking anything about her past or her family. On Sunday, the slayers had shown her around town. She enjoyed watching them interact, often finding herself just watching them and not paying attention to what they were saying. She watched in amazement as their auras combined and affected everyone they came across. It was against her better judgment to read strangers this way, but she just couldn't help herself.

Buffy had wanted to introduce her to the "Scooby gang" today, but Faith was able to get her to agree to wait until school tomorrow. Tara was grateful for a little more time to adjust to her strange new situation.

Buffy had tried asking her about their slayer connection and if Tara knew anything about it. She was able to avoid answering any of Buffy's questions, saying she had to do more research. While it was technically true, she didn't think it would be too hard to guide them into becoming more connected. Buffy was disappointed but didn't push. Tara found herself in awe of the small blonde slayer and her boundless energy.

The next morning Tara comes downstairs to find Faith waiting for her.

"You have to get out of here, do you have anywhere else you can go? Anywhere?" Faith's eyes are pleading, and she is radiating fear.

"What? I don't want to leave. Why do I have to leave?" There is no way I'm leaving. This is where I belong.

"It's not safe. If you stay here, some seriously bad things will happen." Faith was nervous, her leg bouncing, and she kept looking at the door like she thought someone was about to come in.

"Do I do something?"

"No, it's nothing you do."

"When does this awful thing happen?"

"I don't exactly know, maybe in a year from now."

"So, I'm not in danger right now?"

Faith frowns and shuffles her feet, and Tara can see how afraid she is. "No, you're not in danger yet, I don't think."

"Well... how about we wait until there's some more obvious threat. Now that I know there is danger, maybe I'll be more prepared for it."

Faith groaned in frustration. "I don't like this. I'd feel better if I knew you were away from here."

"I know you would, and I'm sorry. I don't have anywhere else to go. This is the only place I'm safe from my family right now. I can work on figuring something out for the Fall. How does that sound?" She had no intention of going somewhere else in the Fall, but she hoped to alleviate some of Faith's concern.

"That should be OK, I guess."

"OK, great. Is there any coffee?"

Faith nods and Tara gets herself a cup. "Thanks for being so cool about everything with B. I know you know more than you told her."

"She's a fiery one, isn't she?" Tara grinned as she sipped her drink.

Faith chuckled, "she is, she really is."

Tara watched the brunette, "what do you want to do with all her questions?"

"Can you avoid them for a little while longer? At least..."

"Until you get your bed back?" Tara was surprised at her own comment. She had spoken more to Faith in the past two days than she had to anyone else since her mother.

Faith blushed and looked away, "yeah, at least until then. She's probably going to be super pissed..." Tara was pretty sure of how Buffy was going to react and thought it was unlikely she was going to be angry. It seemed that Faith was more worried that Buffy was going to be the opposite of upset.

"OK, yeah. I do need to do more research, so it's not completely a lie. How did I help you with the connection anyway?"

"That crystal I asked you about, when we touched it, we could see our auras. Once we saw them, it was possible to feel the energy all the time. We didn't have a whole lot of time to learn more about it. It might be good to get a little control, sometimes.. she kinda hurts me with her feelings."

"She hurts you? Like physically?" Tara was truly shocked. She had never heard of such a thing.

"She doesn't mean to hurt me. She doesn't even know that it's happening. It just might be good if there's a way to get some control over that. Sometimes when we're on patrol, and she gets worried, it can be a little distracting."

"I can probably help you block the connection."

Faith frowned at the suggestion. "No.. I don't want that."

"Are you sure? If she's hurting you..."

"No.. I..." Faith turned away from Tara, looking very nervous.

Tara wasn't sure what to say. She felt like she was treading in a dangerous area and didn't want to push Faith until she learned more about the girl. "It's ok. I'll see what I can find out if there's a way to control it a little at least." Faith seemed to relax slightly at this suggestion.

Faith glanced over at the clock and groaned, "guess we better get ready to go meet everyone."

"You don't want me to meet them, do you? Or is it just the witch you don't want me to meet?"

Faith shook her head and straightened herself out, returning to her usually confident demeanor. "Doesn't matter, no avoiding it now. I should warn you though... the Scooby gang kinda hates me."

"They hate you? Why?" Tara was completely confused. She couldn't even begin to imagine how anyone could hate Faith. Just her presence and the energy pouring from her should bring happiness to anyone near her.

Faith's eyes widen, "why?"

"Usually people have some kind of reason to hate people."

"Well... I think Xander is mad cause I slept with him and then kicked him out. We might be ok now though. I'm not sure. Giles is cool, and Wesley is just British - somehow more British than Giles. I never really thought about why Red hates me so much."

"Red?"

"Willow - that's the witch."

"And she hates you?"

"Yeah, you'll see." Faith shrugged, looking very defeated.

"Do you think there's something wrong with you? That you somehow deserve to be hated?"

"What? No…"

"But you seem just to accept that Willow hates you."

"You don't know me. You don't know the things I've done." Faith made unwavering eye contact as she said this. She seemed to gain strength from believing that she deserved to be hated.

"True. But… you were never afraid of me reading you. You seemed to think that would make me trust you. If there were something bad or wrong about you, I would have seen it."

Faith looks down in confusion, "I guess I didn't think about it. You trusted me in the future, so I guess I just figured you would now too." Faith started to back away, looking very scared.

"I don't mean to be freaking you out. I'm usually not quite so .. vocal… but honestly, I feel kind of connected to you. I'm still trying to figure it out all out." Faith still didn't seem to be relaxing. "I don't know anything about what your life has been like. But I do know what it's like to think that you have no value. To think that you're always wrong and that you deserve whatever awful thing people tell you that you deserve."

Faith's posture relaxed a little, "your family really hurt you didn't they?"

"They did, and I'm still working through it. Figuring out what's really me and what's the me they tried to turn me into. Maybe you can relate to that?"

"I…" Faith looked torn between bolting out of the room and breaking down into tears. She tightened her face instead, "yeah. Maybe I do."

Tara smiled, she got the sense that Faith had never really thought about herself in these terms before. That she just believed she was bad, or wrong. Maybe even evil. "I'm going to go get cleaned up. Leave in about an hour?"

Faith barely nodded her head. Tara wasn't sure she heard her.

Two hours later, Faith and Tara enter the school. Before they can reach the library, they run into Willow. As soon as Tara sees Willow, she makes a small squeaking sound that only Faith could hear. She looks over at Faith and shrugs, mouthing "sorry." Faith gives an exaggerated sigh and rolls her eyes.

"What was that all about Faith? Keeping more secrets?" Willow snaps. Tara is shocked by this response. Faith had warned her, but she wasn't ready for the venom coming from the witch. Especially not with the contrast of what she first felt when she saw her. In her shock, she read Willow's energy. She couldn't see anything affecting Willow. She got a strange sense that something knew she was looking for it and was hiding from her.

When either slayer was around other people, their auras were always reaching out, touching everyone they came near. This time though, Willow's aura was rejecting Faith's. There was an odd cushion around Willow preventing Faith's energy from interacting with it. She hadn't seen anything like that in any of the other people Faith had been near.

"Give me a break, Red. Tara, this is Willow - Willow - Tara." Faith grumbled.

"Tara? As in the girl, Buffy had me track down? Don't tell me that had something to do with you!" Tara could feel energy rising within Willow. She knew the witch had access to power, but luckily didn't seem to know how to use it.

Tara is tugging on Faith's arm, "can we go? I want to go."

"What did you tell her, Faith? Doesn't she know you can't be trusted?!" It wasn't just the things Willow was saying, but the way she was saying them. Her face was twisted unnaturally as she spoke.

Faith keeps herself between Willow and Tara, letting herself be pulled down the hallway. Willow hadn't taken her eyes off of Faith until they began to back away. When she finally looked at Tara, her features softened. She stood stock still, and her face changed from fury to confusion. She blinked a few times and shook her head before backing away.

"Faith? Tara? Where are you going?" They ran into Buffy before they could escape the school.

"B, I thought you were going to warn Willow about Tara? She's extra pissed now." Faith's shoulders sagged as she spoke.

"I did warn her. I told her she was my friend, and you were bringing her by today." Buffy looked very sad and confused.

"Don't think she believed you. Look, we're gonna go."

"But…"

"Maybe we can do one on one meets later? Or maybe it'll be better without me there." Tara ached for how much pain Faith was in.

"I'm so sorry, Tara. I thought she would be ok. She was fine earlier today." Buffy offered Tara a sad smile.

Tara couldn't respond, she just kept a grip on Faith's arm and pulled her out of the school.

"Shit, I'm sorry about that. Red looked even more crazy than usual." Faith groaned as they exited the school.

"Is there a magic shop around here?"

"Why? Is something making her act like that? Can you fix her?"

"I think so."

Faith's eyes lit up, and she picked up the pace. "Let's get a move on then!"

It took two weeks before Tara was able to gather all the ingredients she needed. In that time she had met the rest of the Scoobies and seen Willow a few more times. Faith had been sure to keep her distance from Willow and Tara was amazed at how differently Willow acted when Faith wasn't around. It made her more and more certain of what she suspected.

It had always puzzled her that she could never see any darkness within herself when she had believed her father's lies about being evil. During her research, she had learned of something called the First Evil. It was an evil a person had to accept into themselves and would begin to change the person to act in the First's interests. Something about the nature of this evil allowed it to hide from her. She felt strongly that was what was affecting Willow now. She didn't think the First held much influence over Willow. When Faith wasn't around, there wasn't even the slightest indication that Willow wasn't the sweet, caring girl she appeared to be.

Tara knew that Faith was very special but didn't understand why the First would want Willow to hate her. She assumed it had something to do with what Faith was trying to prevent, but she couldn't get Faith to explain any of it to her.

It was almost time for Tara to move into the dorms, and they were going to have a party to celebrate that and graduation. Faith had made Tara promise not to tell Buffy what she was planning. Whether it worked or not, she didn't want Buffy to think anything was ever wrong with Willow.

Tara was in the kitchen preparing her special tea, whispering a few words as she mixed the ingredients. Everyone would have to drink it, but it wouldn't affect anyone else. Even Willow shouldn't notice anything strange. She had told Faith to wait an hour before coming in from patrol. That should give the magic time to work. Here goes nothing. She smiles to herself and carries the drinks out to the living room.

Everyone happily drinks the tea and continues their banter. Tara smiles as she watches them - Xander, Anya, Buffy, Willow, and Oz. She never had people in her life, and she was immensely happy to have such amazing people in it now. She had been blown away by how quickly they accepted her into their lives. The only thing missing now was Faith, and if this worked, she wouldn't have to be missing much longer.

Tara noticed Buffy getting a faraway look, and she kept glancing at the door. Tara knew that meant Faith was almost here. Tara could feel Faith the same way she suspected Buffy could, but it didn't seem nearly as strong or to cover the same distance.

"Hey, guys." Faith offers as she enters and pauses in the doorway.

Tara watches Willow's face carefully, she sees a weird flicker and then a head shake. Willow's eyes make it to Faith and… nothing.

"Hey, we're just hanging out if you want to join," Buffy suggests hopefully, everyone turns to look at Willow.

"What? Why are you all looking at me?" Willow looked startled and confused.

"Maybe because you never pass up a chance to say something nasty to Faith?" Anya cheerfully suggests.

"Oh.. I don't… err… I don't mind if she hangs out with us." Her face a mask of confusion.

"Thanks, Red. I think I'm just going to head back out on patrol though. I'll see you all tomorrow to help with the moving." She smiles and heads up the stairs.

Tara was a little disappointed that Faith decided not to stay, but it was always the plan. They weren't sure how long it would last, and they didn't want it to seem too obvious that Willow was suddenly acting differently.

"I'm going to grab more snacks. Anybody want anything?" She received a few requests and headed into the kitchen.

"So it worked?" Faith had managed to sneak back downstairs and into the kitchen.

"I think so." Tara smiled in reply.

"Thank you so much. You have no idea how much this means to me." Faith moved in to hug Tara. The hug ended when Faith gasped and backed away.

"Faith? Are you OK?" Buffy was in the kitchen now.

What just happened? I felt something too. Was that Buffy's emotions hurting Faith?

Faith groaned, "Yeah, I'm fine. You just surprised me. Tara - tell her about the crystal." Tara was momentarily confused, but then she remembered. Faith can't lie to Buffy, so she needs me to lie for her. I hope they're ready for this.

"I was just telling Faith that I think I can help you open the slayer connection, I have a crystal that will let you see your auras. I was just confirming with her that that's what I did last time to help you."

"Can we do it now?" Buffy is bouncing with excitement at the idea.

"How about this weekend? After I'm settled in the dorm? We'll probably need privacy, and I have a little more research I'd like to do." I hope I can help them block the connection at least a little. Buffy's emotions must be extremely strong for her to hurt Faith like that. She doesn't seem like she's being particularly emotional, but what else could it be?

Buffy frowned but nodded, turning back to Faith. "OK. Are you sure you don't want to hang out with us tonight?"

"I just stopped by for supplies, gotta get back out there." Faith smiled, picking up her gear and heading out the back door.

Buffy frowned a little and shook her head, Tara's heart ached for them. They were both struggling in different ways with their feelings, she wasn't at all sure connecting them more was going to help, but it was too late now.