A/N: Here it is; the grand finale. This will be the last actual chapter. I'll probably put up a prologue just to shed some light on what will happen afterwards, and to answer a few questions, but it won't really be a story as much as just a little bit of babble. If enough people ask for it, I may take those ideas and make a more complete sequel.

In any case, enough for what happens after this chapter. In this chapter, there'll be angst, mostly Buffy-centred, but there'll also be a lot of Willow/Tara bonding/fluff. Shouldn't be tissue-worthy, but I know some of you out there do cry on little things. Not that it's bad to be like that, mind you. Hell, I sometimes start to cry my eyes out while listening to songs. Is that geek worthy? Oh…off topic again...

Look at chapter 4's A/N for any additional information. No songs (thank God!?!) here, though I must warn you, I'm listening to some pretty sappy stuff while I write it, so if it gets a bit tearish (give me a dictionary…that's got to be a word!), don't be surprised.

Now, let's get to the show!


Spoilers: Maybe a little from some later season 6 episodes, and maybe even a little from early season 7, though not in full blast, seeing that Tara is still alive. Some situations may be taken from that timeline in the show, so be warned.


Disclaimer: I don't think Joss et al. is dumb enough to waste his time on some lowly creature having fun with his world that he so obviously messed up, so I'm not going to say anything to save me from that. However, because I respect the owners of the site, I'd just like to mention that I got some of my information for this story, and in the first chapter, from www.buffyworld.com/. Thank you guys for your wonderful transcripts, even if the fight descriptions suck! :) Oh, and just for the hell of it, Shawn Mullins owns Lullaby. The song doesn't appear in here, but I'm listening to it at the moment, so why the hell not? Besides, it allows me to cause you all more suffering by making this author note that much longer. I'm Black Magic Willow evil! Warren must die! MUHAHAHA!.


Quick legend: This means thoughts (all Tara's)





I'm The Teacher, You're The Student

Chapter 5: Heaven Is A Place On Earth

By: David Armstrong AKA Leafsdude






As opposed to the previous day, when Tara woke up, she felt very…well…

Dead, thought Tara.

Walking into the kitchen, Tara subconsciously started to make some pancakes for breakfast. Well, Willow always
said I could probably cook in my sleep,
Tara mused, her thoughts lacking the humorous feeling that one might think
belonged for that thought.

Looking at the clock for the first time since she woke up in her zombie-like state, Tara realized it was already
almost ten o'clock, and wondered how they all slept in for so long. We all went to sleep rather early. Tara thought.
Then it hit her. Buffy always woke us up with her coffee. Obviously, Buffy hadn't returned that morning.

Tara started humming to herself, and felt relief that she had control over it again. What a frightful day, she
recalled.

As she continued to cook, Tara heard a door upstairs slam open, and a quick pair of feet hurry down the stairs.
Despite her obvious pride for being such a good cook, she couldn't help but feel anger at whoever it was coming down
the stairs.

How anyone could feel so alive with Buffy as she is? She hissed to herself. When she saw Dawn come around into
the room, still dressed in her pajamas, she felt even angrier. However, when she saw Dawn's look of worry, Tara
quickly softened.

"What's wrong," Tara inquired, her voice heavily monotone.

"Buffy's not home!" Dawn shouted, frustrated, upset and scared at the same time. "She could be miles away. She
could be dead!"

Despite Dawn's tone which suggested she was sure Buffy was already dead, Tara quickly dismissed the possibility.
"Buffy's not dead," she told Dawn firmly. "You know as well as all of us she can handle her own out there,
emotionally distraught or not." Once again, Tara's voice was fairly void of emotion.

Despite Tara's attempts, Dawn was still not reassured. "I'm not worried about a vampire getting her," Dawn said,
quietly, making her thoughts clear.

Suddenly understanding, Tara quickly dismissed the idea herself, and then reassured Dawn as well, "If she wanted
to do that, she would have a long while ago," she replied, convincing herself as much as Dawn.

It appeared to work as Dawn started to calm down, and nodded in agreement. "Still, I wish she would come home.
I need to make sure she's alright," Dawn once again ranted, still frustrated.

"I do, too, Dawn, but we have to give her space," Tara replied.

At that moment, Dawn noticed Tara's pan that was slightly smoking. "You're making pancakes?" Dawn said loudly,
almost unbelieving. Well, so much for needing Buffy's coffee to wake us up, Tara thought.

"Sorta surprised myself with it, too," Tara replied much quieter.

Quickly dismissing earlier thoughts, and nodding, Dawn spoke up again in a quieter tone. "Might taste better if
it's not black," she said, sheepishly.

Glancing at the stove, Tara reacted quickly, turning off the stove and moving the frying pan off of it. As she
did this, Tara heard the shower start. Oh, no. Willow woke up alone. How could I have left her there? Deciding
quickly on what to do, she excused herself from the kitchen. "I'll be down in a few minutes," she spoke as she
walked out.

Dawn responded. "You can't really be thinking..."

"Shut it, Dawn," Tara snapped before hurrying upstairs. As she reached the top, she sighed. As if things
couldn't get worse, now I'm acting like the grumpy lady in the old-folks home,
she thought. Deciding Dawn could
wait, she quickly headed for the shower.

Willow never locked the door, Tara knew, so she was able to get in without having to pry the door open. That
saved me 30 seconds,
she thought.

As Tara walked in, she could hear the muffled sobs coming from behind the curtain. Reacting mostly on instinct,
she almost ran over, and before she new it, they were both sobbing on each others shoulders while attempting to
reassure each other.

To a normal passer-by, they might have looked extremely funny, but the emotions running through the two girls
were enormous.

As they calmed themselves down, Tara grabbed Willow's red towel and draped it around her naked body. Walking
them both back into their room, they both sat down, and Willow laid her head into Tara's lap. Draping her arms
around her lovers shoulder, Tara once again held her close.

As Willow finally found her voice, she started to speak. "I thought you left," she croaked out, forcefully
pushing another crying spell back.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking straight this morning." Tara replied. "You know I'll never leave you," she
quickly added.

"I know," Willow said sheepishly. There also appeared to be a hint of reassurance for herself in the words.

"You know it's not just your fault," Tara spoke up after a short length of half-comfortable and half-uncomfortable
silence, knowing what had Willow so on edge.

"Isn't it? I mean, I forced you all into it. I was messing around with stuff I had no idea how to control. I
was ignoring all the signs that no matter what happened something bad would come from it." Willow was almost crying
again.

"You know that you could never force anyone into anything," Tara replied, almost sarcastically, as she recalled
some of her previous lost battles against 'Willow-Resolve-Face'. "Besides, your heart was in the right place. That
counts for something."

"Like what? I can be wrong once again? Score points for me in that category again." Willow replied with equal
sarcasm.

"Oh, Willow." Tara breathed, and squeezed her shoulder again. "It counts for a lot. Many people play with dark
magicks, but as long as you are acting on a good notion, there's very little that can go wrong. We've just been
unlucky this time."

When Tara felt Willow stiffen, and look up, she saw new tears. "This time," she whispered.

Confused, Tara questioned Willow. "What?"

"I almost blew it. I used dark magicks to give back Angel's soul, bring back Buffy, even to get revenge on Glory,
but..." Willow trailed off.

Tara was confused still. Blew it? Willow had told her about her bout with Glory before, though she didn't know
before exactly how far she had taken it, but she had still had her mind in the right place. What else could she
have done?


Taking a deep breath, Willow continued. "I almost stepped the line. I was going to step the line." Now also
frightened at what she was about to reveal, Tara was unsure if she wanted to hear what was going to come out of her
partner's mouth. However, she had no time to stop her. "The night Dawn disappeared. The night this all started.
I...I was...I was going to do a forget spell." Willow finally forcefully finished.

Not understanding right away, it quickly registered on Tara what Willow had revealed. Anger was the first
response, but it was quickly replaced by a newfound love for Willow. Although she didn't know how, she felt
herself not only fall more in love with her soul mate, but also felt herself feel more secure in her presence.

She was able to tell me something like that, even though she knew what it would likely do. She respects me
enough, and probably even more importantly, understands herself enough now to be able to say that,
Tara thought,
surprisingly proud.

Realizing quickly that Willow was probably waiting for her to storm out of the room, she quickly raised her
chin and planted a quick kiss to Willow's lips. "Thank you," she started. "You could have never told me that.
Not only am I glad you were able to tell me that, but I'm also glad you respect the magicks enough to tell me that.
I love you." She finished, giving Willow another peck.

"But I was going to use magic for my own use, without any reason but to get what I wanted..." Willow was cut
off.

"You 'wanted'. You 'were going to'. It means nothing. You didn't. And you understand that it was wrong.
That's all that matters. And don't make me pull out my big guns to get you to agree." Tara reassured her. The
hug she received was furious and needy. Hugging back while trying to breath, Tara was saved as she heard the
front door open.

"Probably Buffy," Tara whispered to Willow, not because she wanted to be quiet, but because it was the highest
volume her voice could hit. Letting go, Willow lead the way downstairs.

As they came down, they caught Buffy staring out the kitchen window, leaning over the sink. When Willow's foot
hit the bottom step, Buffy slowly turned around. Upon seeing Willow, Buffy started to tear up, and reached her
arms to Willow. As they embraced, Tara could hear Willow's muffled "Sorry", and Buffy's quick reassurances.

As the two parted, Buffy spoke up. "I'm...well, sorry," Buffy couldn't help but chuckle. "I've been brooding
since you guys brought me back, and I didn't realize what I've got. And I can't believe that a vampire with a chip
managed to finally tell me that," Buffy once again couldn't hold down a small bout of laughter.

Upon Willow and Tara's disbelieving stares, Buffy decided to go a different route. "How about you guys go sit
on the couch, and I'll make up our morning coffee. I'm sure you guys woke up late because of me." This time,
Buffy's tone was downcast. Deciding not to dwell on it, she walked over to the coffee maker, and Willow and Tara
slouched to the living room.

Upon joining the witches in the living room, carrying a tray full of coffees, Buffy sat down and began her
attempt at not only helping the pair in front of her return to normal, but also reassure herself that Spike was
right.

"I don't know how to say this. I was in heaven," Buffy's reaction to that word was much different than the
day before, almost joyful, "and I'll always cherish that time while I'm here, but I'm here, and I know this is
where I belong. I was with my mom, but none of you were there. I'm sure sometime down the road we'll all be
together there, and it's not worth bitching about."

"But you were at peace. You saved us, and you got what you really deserved," Willow protested, almost as
though she was looking for a reason for Buffy to hate her.

"What I deserve is life. Well, that's what Spike said. I guess I can't argue. I was at peace, yes, but I
wasn't happy. I don't remember much about those 3 months, but I do remember I wasn't joyful." Upon this new
revelation, Buffy began to realize that Spike was right. "And I still can't believe Spike was right." She
finished off.

Tara decided to speak up. "I think we all really knew that. We just didn't want to admit that something so
good couldn't be better than this." She said, almost scaring herself with her philosophical words.

"Xander!" Willow exclaimed. Upon the looks, she continued, "he was as bad as me. He needs to know." Willow's
spunk was back, and both Tara and Buffy were extremely grateful that they didn't have to persuade her more.

"I'll head over once I'm done my coffee. I'm sure he's worried sick." Buffy said guiltily.

"He knows as well as us that you needed space," Tara reassured. "What about Dawn?"

"Spike's trying to talk some sense into her. Shouldn't be too tough. She's probably upset, but beyond
worrying about me, she's got nothing beyond her normal teenage angst." Buffy smiled.

"I...I need to talk to her. I snapped at her earlier," Tara mumbled to herself, recalling her earlier actions.

"I'm sure she'll understand," Buffy once again reassured her.

As Willow finished up her coffee, she sat up, "Well, how about we go pay a surprise visit to Xander and co.?"

Grunting, Buffy sat up, and started walking towards the door. "For some reason I suddenly like sulking Willow
better," she mused. The laughter from Willow was reassuring, not to mention loud.

Dawn appeared around the corner. "What's so funny?" She piped up.

"Oh, nothing," Willow answered innocently.

As a hand touched her shoulder, Dawn turned around and saw Tara. "I'm sorry about…"

"It's ok, really. I was going to be a brat, and we were all rather frustrated. I'm glad things are happy
again," Dawn cut in. "Plus, you probably don't wanna hear that kinda stuff coming out of my mouth," she finished
off, receiving a glare from Buffy.

As they exited, it was clear that things had changed in the course of just 3 days. They had gone from almost
losing it all, to being extremely happy and extremely depressed. However, both Willow and Tara knew it was worth
it, and went on their merry way, determined to stay this way forever.





The End!





A/N: I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! I finished a story. I've never done that before! I think it turned out nice. I might put some of the Xander-Buffy conversation in the prologue, but most likely I'll just put thoughts and comments about what happened after all this.

The prologue will likely be up by the weekend, as it's not going to be too hard to write, and I'm hoping to get a couple other short stories I'm thinking of up within that time span, too. My next major effort will probably be the story temporarily entitled 'My other Superpower' (read my bio for more info on it), which will be a one-shot story that I will try to get done over the weekend. Hopefully these deadlines don't kill me.

Oh, and lastly, sorry about the chapter title, but you got to admit, it is classic. Oh, and Belinda Carlyle, please don't sue! :)

Guess that's about all. Happy writing!