Chapter three

"Anybody home?" shouted Dawn into the Summers' house, just as a tired Buffy arrived in the kitchen. Coming home from her normal patrol.

"Yeah! In the kitchen Dawn!" shouted the slayer. She figured that Dawn was with Connor, the love of her life, and the once love of the slayers', child.

"Hey, look what the demons brought in," Dawn said jokingly as her sister spun around to meet Tara, a not so demony-looking brought in thingy.

"Oh my God, is that really you Tara?" Buffy said, tears begging to escape.

"Yeah, I'm home Buffy. Well for a while at least, if me and Will don't work things out. But if we do, I'm home forever." She said, as Buffy came over and hugged her gently trying not to use slayer strength on the friend she'd missed so much.

"You and Will are gunna try to work things out huh? After 5 years, it's sure about time." Said the slayer, releasing Tara.

"Yeah, but it's not going to be as easy as it sounds," said Dawn, hoping no one could hear her.

"Dawn, what do you mean, 'not going to be as easy as it sounds,'" asked the slayer with a puzzled look on her face, "Willow is still madly in love with Tara, you know that. And she'd take her back any day, that is if Tara will take Willow back."

"Yeah, but you see Buff," Tara said, really hoping Willow was out or still at work, "there's something, a big something, that Will's going to hate me for not telling her about. You'll probably hate me for not telling you too, seeing how I told Xander, Anya and Dawn, when it um, happened." Said Tara, her voice getting quieter every word she said.

"Even Blake knows," said Dawn, making the situation worse.

"What? A little 4 year old knows, and you didn't tell me?" Buffy asked, sounding very unhappy that she wasn't told.

"Yeah. Buffy the reason I didn't tell you about the, um, thing, is because I couldn't risk Willow finding out, and I knew that Xander and Anya wouldn't tell because of Michelle, and Dawn wouldn't because she was usually off with Connor or at school, but you, you tell Willow everything, and I-I couldn't l-let her k-know by s-someone else." Tara said, her stutter returning.

'Oh man,' thought Buffy. 'It has to be bad, or she wouldn't be stuttering. I hope she's ok.'

"Tara, it's ok. If it's really that bad, then I can wait until you tell Willow, or when ever you want to tell me." Said Buffy, who was now past the point of worrying.

"Oh, it's not bad. Goddess is it not bad. She's the most amazing thing that's ever happened to me." said Tara.

"She? There's someone else? What who is it, is she safe, is she a demon?" Buffy said, her slayer worrying starting to kick in.

"Buffy, calm down. It's not like you think. She is my.my d-daughter." Tara said almost in a whisper, but Buffy's slayer hearing caught it.

"YOU'RE DAUGHTER?" shouted Buffy, probably waking up the whole neighborhood.

"Good goin' miss 'I like to yell at the top of my lungs'," said Dawn, who was really hoping that Willow wasn't near by.

"Oh you can just shut up missy. Tara, why haven't you told Willow? She's going to go crazy!" said Buffy, who just realized that Tara was looking around trying to see if Willow was in the house. "Oh, don't worry she's not here. She still at the university."

"Oh," Tara said with a sigh of relief.

"But Tara, how are you going to tell her. You are going to tell her aren't you?" said Buffy, reaching in the refrigerator to get a soda.

"Of course I am Buffy, how could I not? I mean Piper, my daughter, is Willow's daughter too." she said, realizing she'd said too much, "oh goddess, I've said way too much."

"What!" said Buffy, spitting out the soda. "She's Will's daughter too? Oh, good thinking Tare, not telling Will she has a daughter, a 5 year old!"

"See, this is another reason I didn't want to tell you Buffy, you're just making this whole thing a hell of a lot harder on me than it would've been!" yelled Tara as she stood up to walk into the dining room to go upstairs.

"Oh shit, Tara. I'm sorry. I mean, this is just all so, I don't know, weird." Buffy said while she caught up with Tara. "Yeah, I know. I know. But at least you know now. And, Buffy?"

"Yeah," Buffy said, turning to face her friend.

"Please don't tell Willow. I need to do this on my own. And hopefully I won't need any back up." Said Tara.

"Alright, you got it. But when can I see my god-daughter?!" shouted Buffy up the stairs to Tara who was now laughing about Buffy's change in moods.

"Tonight, after I tell Will I'm going to bring her over." Said Tara, who was now setting her room up. "Oh goddess, please give me the strength to tell Willow."