Disclaimer: I do not own anything you may recognize

This one is a Buffyverse chapter again, and you can consider it an unofficial sequel of sorts to my one-shots 'The unlikely family of three' and 'If your wings are broken, please take mine'. This takes place after 'Heroes, Vampires and Slayers' so Tara has been resurrected, and this chapter is going to have some adorable moments with her and Dawn, and then her and Willow becoming proper soulmates once more.

Chapter 5- The unlikely family reunited

Tara was cooking some food for the rest of the Scoobies, since she found working helped her ease back into her life better, and Willow had already used her tech magic to legally resurrect her to the point her death was basically like a glitch in the system that was now fixed, and all her taxes were recorded as paid too.

"Hey Tara", Dawn said as she walked next to her.

"Dawnie", Tara smiled at her as she asked. "Don't worry. It's just 5 more minutes."

"Oh no, I know you'll get that", Dawn assured before getting a bit nervous.

"What's the matter?" Tara asked.

"Can you go out to the park with me today?" Dawn asked, and Tara noted the longing in her voice. "Just the two of us."

Tara didn't hesitate one bit. "Sure. Whatever you want honey."

"Thank you so much", Dawn said with a smile, hugging Tara.

Later

Tara and Dawn sat in the park together, eating some ice cream.

"Remember the last time we were in a park?" Dawn asked.

"Yes, I do, the two of us and Willow", Tara smiled fondly at the memory. It was the day right after her birthday, since she had a nightmare of her abusive family taking her away again, and so Willow and Dawn had spent time with her in the park to cheer her up.

Tara had even pushed Dawn on a swing, and later Dawn had assured her they were the real family, and all of them had thumb-wrestled and had a lot of fun.

And now the two of them were here again, and Tara knew Dawn wanted to reconnect with her currently, since she and Willow had spent almost 2 years without her as well, and knew each other completely, which is why it was just the two of them.

"I never thought we could be like this again", Dawn then admitted sadly, since while Tara was alive and well in front of her, the image of her dead body with the bullet in her chest was forever engrained in the 17-year old's mind.

"Me neither, but I am here now, and I'm not going away, all right?" Tara assured her little girl, wrapping an arm around her. "And don't do anything stupid, okay?"

"Sorry", Dawn said lamely.

"No, don't apologize, just don't do it again", Tara told her, since Willow had told her of the time Dawn had almost cut herself after Tara's death, and only Buffy's timely arrival had stopped her from doing that, and then Willow and Dawn had their first conversation in months (over phone) after that incident.

"I won't", Dawn assured. "Especially since you're here now."

"Awww", Tara smiled, ruffling Dawn's hair affectionately as she looked around a little bit, then Dawn put some ice cream on her nose on purpose.

Tara then turned to notice and rolled her eyes good-naturedly, as Dawn gave the innocent puppy look, and Tara wiped the ice cream off her nose using a handkerchief as Dawn gave a sweet smile.

"You wanna thumb wrestle?" Tara then offered.

"Definitely, thank you so much", Dawn said as they started thumb wrestling.

Later, night time

Dawn lay on her bed, Tara sitting in a chair next to her.

"Well, I have spent the day with you, and it was amazing, but Will needs some attention too", Tara pointed out as both chuckled.

"Yeah, guess I should try to go to sleep", Dawn shrugged.

"Sure, go to sleep", Tara smiled.

"Well, I'm not feeling sleepy", Dawn then said and Tara sighed, and then Dawn suggested. "Maybe a lullaby would do the trick."

Tara wanted to protest but then Dawn gave her that innocent look again, the same one she'd given about 2 years ago to get her to stay with her at her house so she wouldn't be alone.

Tara then finally relented and requested. "Just don't tell anyone."

"I won't, it's our little secret", Dawn assured and Tara nodded, then taking a deep breath, started singing.

"Twinkle, twinkle, little star. How I wonder what you are. Up above the world so high. Like a diamond in the sky. Twinkle, twinkle little star. How I wonder what you are."

Her voice was like an angel's, and Dawn loved it so much. Sure, she was 17 and too old for this stuff, but she'd just gotten Tara back, and now she'd enjoy moments like these to their fullest, because she loved Tara.

"When the blazing sun is gone. When he nothing shines upon. Then you show your little light. Twinkle, twinkle, all the night. Twinkle, twinkle, little star. How I wonder what you are."

Dawn smiled and sitting up, kissed Tara on the cheek. "Good night, Tara."

She then pulled the bedsheets over herself, finally closing her eyes as Tara patted her head lovingly and kissed her forehead. "Good night, Dawnie."

Tara looked at her little girl happily. Now obviously her and Willow couldn't have kids, since both were women, but even if they decided to not do adoption or surrogacy, Tara would never feel the loss of children.

Because she and Willow, they did have a daughter.

Her name was Dawn Summers.

Later

Tara climbed next to Willow on the bed as the redhead asked. "So, how was the day with Dawnie?"

"Really amazing, been so long since we did something like that", Tara said fondly.

"Yeah, she loves you just as much as I do, if in a different way", Willow smiled and Tara nodded.

"I know", Tara said before saying. "So, there's something I need to ask. I wanted to avoid it, but it was going to come up some time."

"What?" Willow asked, dreading it a little, since she knew what Tara was referring to.

"What you did to me before we broke up, I have forgiven you for that, because you got the help you needed and earned my trust back", Tara assured Willow. "But after I…"

Tara trailed off but it was clear what she spoke of as Tara continued. "I know a lot of things you did. What about them?"

"I know", Willow nodded shamefully but Tara held her hand, assuring she wasn't judging either way. "I first tried to get Osiris to bring you back, he refused, and then it began. I absorbed all the magicks, turned crazy, skinned Warren alive after torturing him, then went worse, I even almost turned Dawnie back into the Key", her voice was even more filled with guilt than usual at this point, "Attacked my friends, and then almost destroyed the world till Xander talked me down. And I regret it all so much."

"All of it?" Tara asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well", Willow said. "Killing Warren I don't regret. He killed you, and he was a rapist, if I could go back and take everything I did back, I would, but I would still kill him, maybe even increase his suffering. But I don't regret killing him."

"Good", Tara said, to Willow's shock. "I know everyone thinks me a saint, and perhaps to many I am, but I am not, I also make mistakes, and I'm human like you are, Willow. I didn't want to die, he killed me, for that I cannot forgive him, and he was also a rapist, he was a monster."

Willow felt a huge burden lifted off her shoulders at that as Tara gave her the crooked smile, and Willow lay down. "I did enter a relationship with Kennedy months after you were gone, I regret that too."

"I can't expect you to be celibate in my memory forever", Tara pointed out.

"Yeah, but she was horrible, I've no idea what I was thinking", Willow said as Tara now climbed over her, looking down on her, and Willow said with a smile and quivering voice. "You were never gone. You were with me."

"I was", Tara assured with a smile as she leaned down and they kissed on the lips passionately.

"We'll be forever now", Willow said.

"We will be", Tara agreed as their kiss slowly turned hungrier, and they started making love after so long.

Well, this is the end. Now I feel my life is complete, my precious trio/unlikely family is back together at last, and I consider my crossover series canon over the actual canon because actual canon is really hurtful, other than Tolkien's works, which are perfection still.

Thank you to Stand with Ward and Queen for the lullaby suggestion.

Hope all enjoyed and see you all next time with another chapter. Stay safe from the coronavirus ya all!