Part 5
Anya and Tara sat in Xander's apartment, listening to him and Willow inform them about Joyce and Giles's plans to get married that coming Saturday, and to then move to England, taking Dawn with them.
"How can they be so selfish?" Anya asked with distaste after a brief silence. Xander moved to sit next to his girlfriend before saying, "I know it's a shock, but what we really need to be now is there for Buffy and Dawn."
"Huh?" Anya looked at her boyfriend with confusion.
"Well you just said..." Xander started, but Anya interrupted him before he could finish.
"I meant they were selfish for taking the attention away from me."
Now it was the turn of everyone else in the room to go; "Huh?"
"For the past couple of days everyone's been preoccupied thinking about my wedding, but now you're all going to be paying attention to Joyce because her's is sooner." Anya explained to the small group.
"If it helps to ease your, um, pain, I haven't thought about your wedding." Tara offered. Anya glared at her.
Before anyone could say anything else, the phone rang. Xander walked over to the phone and picked up the receiver.
"Hello?......I'm Alexander Harris......What?......er, will you just excuse me for one moment please?" Xander placed the receiver next to the telephone cradle and turned towards his fiancée.
"Anya, honey, is there anything you want to tell me about our wedding plans?"
"Like what?" she asked him innocently.
"Like why the guy on the other end of the line wants to know if we're going to confirm the booking to get married on June 9th."
'June 9th? That's three weeks away!" Willow exclaimed incredulously.
"I just didn't see any point in prolonging the engagement. Besides, if Joyce Summers can get married at short notice, why can't I?"
"Before we even start to discuss this, I might as well ask if there's any chance of you backing down."
"Nope."
"Okay then." Knowing that it was kind of a stupid thing to do, Xander went back to the phone and told the registrar at the other end that he and Anya had decided to confirm the date of their wedding.
"Thank you thank you thank you!" Anya wrapped her arms joyfully around Xander's neck when he came back to the couch.
"Now that we're off the subject of Buffy's mom and Giles, I'm kind of in need of some advice." Willow told her friends.
"About dinner with your parents?" Xander guessed, thinking back to their conversation the previous night.
"Yuh huh. I still don't know what to do. I'm just really worried that they'll refuse to except it. Knowing my parents, mom will probably insist that I'm going through a phase, and dad will freak out and decide I'm just rebelling."
In a bid to comfort her, Xander reached across and took hold of Willow's hand. "I know that tonight is going to be really difficult for you, but if anyone can cope with what you're going to have to go through, it's you." He said comfortingly, gazing into his best friend's eyes.
From opposite ends of the couch, Anya and Tara were feeling slightly awkward at what was going on besides them. For some inexplicable reason, the two women even found themselves feeling what could only be described as jealousy. After all, it was pretty much common knowledge that there had been a time when Willow and Xander had been more than just friends, and that the fact that they were both in relationships with other people at the time hadn't stopped them from getting involved with one another.
Despite the parts of Anya and Tara that told them that the situation had changed in a way that made it highly unlikely that their lovers would do to them what they had done to Cordelia and Oz back in high school, they still hated the idea of Willow and Xander being alone together for too long, if at all.
Anya wanted to trust Xander, and for the most part she did. But when it came to him and Willow, she couldn't help but remember all those men she had helped scorned women get revenge on over the centuries. Plus there was the fact that it was Xander being unfaithful that brought her to Sunnydale in the first place.
And as for Tara, whilst her heart was telling her that Willow was gay now and in love with her, her head just would not stop reminding her of her girlfriends history. Willow had been straight for eighteen years, and gay for no more than two. As much as Tara hated to think that way, she couldn't help but wonder if Willow really was just 'going through a phase'.
Tara paced the dorm room, picking up the phone to make a call then deciding against it and putting it down.
"W...W...Willow where a...are you?" She asked the empty room. It was gone midnight, and Willow still wasn't back, even though she had said she wouldn't be any later than eleven.
Tara knew that it was kind of stupid to be that worried about a grown woman who had just gone to dinner at her parent's house, but it was not as if Sunnydale was the safest place in the world. Quite the opposite in fact.
After waiting what seemed like five hours but in reality was closer to five minutes, Tara came to the conclusion that Willow probably hadn't even left yet, and that there was no point in worrying all night when a simple phone call could put her mind at rest.
Finding the piece of paper that Willow had written her parent's telephone number on, Tara picked up the receiver and nervously dialed the number.
"Rosenberg residence, Ira speaking." Came a man's voice on the other end of the line.
"H...hello, Mr. Rosenberg? I...I was won...wondering if Willow was st...still there." Tara said anxiously.
"Willow? She left here at around half ten. Why don't you try her dorm room." Willow's father suggested, trying to be helpful.
"She was g...going to come by my room before sh...she w...went to her's." Tara was now panicking.
"Then I take it that you must be Tara? Willow mentioned she was going to see you."
"S...so she didn't leave a...angry or anything?"
"Quite the opposite. My wife and I spoke with our daughter and she managed to convince us that her happiness is what really matters, even if being happy means her dating women."
"That's g...g...good. But, um, shouldn't we be looking for her?"
Before Ira could answer, there was a loud, fast knock on Tara's door.
"That could be her now. But just promise to call me if she's still not back in the next hour." Ira requested.
"Promise." Tara said truthfully before hanging up the phone.
There was more knocking. As Tara was heading to the door, she heard a familiar voice call out; "Open up! Red needs your help!"
Recognizing the voice as belonging to Spike, and knowing that 'Red' was his knick-name for Willow, Tara ran the rest of the few meters to get to the door and pulled it open.
"Come in," Tara invited Spike before the door was even fully open. Spike did as he was told and went over to the bed where he placed the unconscious form of Willow. Now Willow was out of Spike's arms, Tara could see that she was badly wounded, and her clothes were blood stained.
"I found her lying in the street. I was going to see if she had anything worth stealing on her, but when I saw it was Red I figured I should bring her here." Spike explained as Tara frantically searched through a spell book in an attempt to find a spell that would help the woman she loved.
"She saved my life once, well, stopped me from staking myself, so I kind of felt that I owed her." Spike added before turning to leave.
"Thank you." Tara said, looking over her shoulder as Spike left the dorm.
Remembering her promise to Willow's father, Tara picked the telephone up and pressed redial.
"Rosen..."
"M...Mr R...Rosenberg. It's Tara, Willow's gir...gir...girlfriend." She interrupted.
"What's wrong Tara? You sound upset, and we only just got off the phone. Has Willow turned up yet?"
"A...erm...friend just br...br...brought her home."
"Why did she need to be brought home?" It was obvious that Ira was worried from the tone of his voice.
"She was a...at...she was attacked."
Anya and Tara sat in Xander's apartment, listening to him and Willow inform them about Joyce and Giles's plans to get married that coming Saturday, and to then move to England, taking Dawn with them.
"How can they be so selfish?" Anya asked with distaste after a brief silence. Xander moved to sit next to his girlfriend before saying, "I know it's a shock, but what we really need to be now is there for Buffy and Dawn."
"Huh?" Anya looked at her boyfriend with confusion.
"Well you just said..." Xander started, but Anya interrupted him before he could finish.
"I meant they were selfish for taking the attention away from me."
Now it was the turn of everyone else in the room to go; "Huh?"
"For the past couple of days everyone's been preoccupied thinking about my wedding, but now you're all going to be paying attention to Joyce because her's is sooner." Anya explained to the small group.
"If it helps to ease your, um, pain, I haven't thought about your wedding." Tara offered. Anya glared at her.
Before anyone could say anything else, the phone rang. Xander walked over to the phone and picked up the receiver.
"Hello?......I'm Alexander Harris......What?......er, will you just excuse me for one moment please?" Xander placed the receiver next to the telephone cradle and turned towards his fiancée.
"Anya, honey, is there anything you want to tell me about our wedding plans?"
"Like what?" she asked him innocently.
"Like why the guy on the other end of the line wants to know if we're going to confirm the booking to get married on June 9th."
'June 9th? That's three weeks away!" Willow exclaimed incredulously.
"I just didn't see any point in prolonging the engagement. Besides, if Joyce Summers can get married at short notice, why can't I?"
"Before we even start to discuss this, I might as well ask if there's any chance of you backing down."
"Nope."
"Okay then." Knowing that it was kind of a stupid thing to do, Xander went back to the phone and told the registrar at the other end that he and Anya had decided to confirm the date of their wedding.
"Thank you thank you thank you!" Anya wrapped her arms joyfully around Xander's neck when he came back to the couch.
"Now that we're off the subject of Buffy's mom and Giles, I'm kind of in need of some advice." Willow told her friends.
"About dinner with your parents?" Xander guessed, thinking back to their conversation the previous night.
"Yuh huh. I still don't know what to do. I'm just really worried that they'll refuse to except it. Knowing my parents, mom will probably insist that I'm going through a phase, and dad will freak out and decide I'm just rebelling."
In a bid to comfort her, Xander reached across and took hold of Willow's hand. "I know that tonight is going to be really difficult for you, but if anyone can cope with what you're going to have to go through, it's you." He said comfortingly, gazing into his best friend's eyes.
From opposite ends of the couch, Anya and Tara were feeling slightly awkward at what was going on besides them. For some inexplicable reason, the two women even found themselves feeling what could only be described as jealousy. After all, it was pretty much common knowledge that there had been a time when Willow and Xander had been more than just friends, and that the fact that they were both in relationships with other people at the time hadn't stopped them from getting involved with one another.
Despite the parts of Anya and Tara that told them that the situation had changed in a way that made it highly unlikely that their lovers would do to them what they had done to Cordelia and Oz back in high school, they still hated the idea of Willow and Xander being alone together for too long, if at all.
Anya wanted to trust Xander, and for the most part she did. But when it came to him and Willow, she couldn't help but remember all those men she had helped scorned women get revenge on over the centuries. Plus there was the fact that it was Xander being unfaithful that brought her to Sunnydale in the first place.
And as for Tara, whilst her heart was telling her that Willow was gay now and in love with her, her head just would not stop reminding her of her girlfriends history. Willow had been straight for eighteen years, and gay for no more than two. As much as Tara hated to think that way, she couldn't help but wonder if Willow really was just 'going through a phase'.
Tara paced the dorm room, picking up the phone to make a call then deciding against it and putting it down.
"W...W...Willow where a...are you?" She asked the empty room. It was gone midnight, and Willow still wasn't back, even though she had said she wouldn't be any later than eleven.
Tara knew that it was kind of stupid to be that worried about a grown woman who had just gone to dinner at her parent's house, but it was not as if Sunnydale was the safest place in the world. Quite the opposite in fact.
After waiting what seemed like five hours but in reality was closer to five minutes, Tara came to the conclusion that Willow probably hadn't even left yet, and that there was no point in worrying all night when a simple phone call could put her mind at rest.
Finding the piece of paper that Willow had written her parent's telephone number on, Tara picked up the receiver and nervously dialed the number.
"Rosenberg residence, Ira speaking." Came a man's voice on the other end of the line.
"H...hello, Mr. Rosenberg? I...I was won...wondering if Willow was st...still there." Tara said anxiously.
"Willow? She left here at around half ten. Why don't you try her dorm room." Willow's father suggested, trying to be helpful.
"She was g...going to come by my room before sh...she w...went to her's." Tara was now panicking.
"Then I take it that you must be Tara? Willow mentioned she was going to see you."
"S...so she didn't leave a...angry or anything?"
"Quite the opposite. My wife and I spoke with our daughter and she managed to convince us that her happiness is what really matters, even if being happy means her dating women."
"That's g...g...good. But, um, shouldn't we be looking for her?"
Before Ira could answer, there was a loud, fast knock on Tara's door.
"That could be her now. But just promise to call me if she's still not back in the next hour." Ira requested.
"Promise." Tara said truthfully before hanging up the phone.
There was more knocking. As Tara was heading to the door, she heard a familiar voice call out; "Open up! Red needs your help!"
Recognizing the voice as belonging to Spike, and knowing that 'Red' was his knick-name for Willow, Tara ran the rest of the few meters to get to the door and pulled it open.
"Come in," Tara invited Spike before the door was even fully open. Spike did as he was told and went over to the bed where he placed the unconscious form of Willow. Now Willow was out of Spike's arms, Tara could see that she was badly wounded, and her clothes were blood stained.
"I found her lying in the street. I was going to see if she had anything worth stealing on her, but when I saw it was Red I figured I should bring her here." Spike explained as Tara frantically searched through a spell book in an attempt to find a spell that would help the woman she loved.
"She saved my life once, well, stopped me from staking myself, so I kind of felt that I owed her." Spike added before turning to leave.
"Thank you." Tara said, looking over her shoulder as Spike left the dorm.
Remembering her promise to Willow's father, Tara picked the telephone up and pressed redial.
"Rosen..."
"M...Mr R...Rosenberg. It's Tara, Willow's gir...gir...girlfriend." She interrupted.
"What's wrong Tara? You sound upset, and we only just got off the phone. Has Willow turned up yet?"
"A...erm...friend just br...br...brought her home."
"Why did she need to be brought home?" It was obvious that Ira was worried from the tone of his voice.
"She was a...at...she was attacked."