_________________________________________
Disclaimers: All characters here are owned by Joss Whedon and co. They are in no way mine, and there is going to be no profit made from this story, except for my personal enjoyment.
Distribution: Anywhere, just tell me where it's going, and give me credit (The-Aussie-Witch)
Spoilers: Season 6, and some Season 7 rumoured spoilers (I'm not looking at all the spoilers for Season 7)
Rating: PG-13 because of violence and language, and because there is no M-15+ on Fanfiction.net (An Australian Rating standing for Mature Audiences, fifteen and older).
Summary: starts straight from the minute Grave left off! I am not a Spike and Buffy 'shipper' and I'm not sure if things will be right between those two as of yet (Maybe, maybe not). Some 'people' from Spike's past as a human might be involved as well.
Note: This was done in MS Word and is in book format. For some reason, Fanfiction.net is not picking up the single line 'enters' (ie, a new line for when a person speaks). In Word Format, it is so, but on FF.net, there is sometimes no new line.
Chapter Summary and Author's Note: This is going to be a darkish one. And the whole thing is about Willow (Which the whole story might be. I'm not too sure yet. This is the first thing that I've written as I go along, so I don't know where it's going. Maybe, soon, there might be a plot introduced…. And before you ask, no, I haven't fogotten about Spike. He'll be featured in the same chapter as the one that Willow comes back from the Council in J (It needs to be done, for story line sakes.. you'll see)
___________________________________________
Chapter 4
Xander rushed down to Willow's side and grabbed the razor out of her hands before she could cut her other wrist. He panicked at seeing the wound across his best friend's wrist. He knew what to do, but he couldn't find the information inside his brain.
"What do I do?" he asked her in a panic. "Of course. Stop the blood," he said to himself. He ran over to the cupboard and quickly had a look through it. He could only find a roll of toilet paper, so he grabbed that and wrapped it as tight as he could around Willow's wrist without breaking the toilet paper. His hands were shaking as he held Willow's hand. He looked into her eyes, and his heart broke at the sight. Xander's first impression was that Willow looked so innocent, that she looked like she needed just to be held by someone. He saw through it and got a first hand glimpse at her pain. "Giles! I have to call Giles! He'll know what to do!" Xander almost shouted, his voice trembling. He broke eye contact with Willow and raced to the phone. He hit the speed dial to Giles' place and waited. It was only a couple of seconds before the other line was picked up. "Giles! It's Willow!" he said distressed into the phone.
"Who is this? I don't know any Giles," the voice answered on the other end. Xander then remembered that Giles wasn't there and that he'd rented his place out. Without saying another word, he slammed the phone down and hit another speed dial on the phone.
"Yes?" he heard a familiar blonde voice answer. It was Buffy.
"Buffy? I need to speak to Giles! Right now!" Xander said, his voice still trembling.
"Hang on, I'll put him on," Buffy said, concern evident in her voice. Xander waited a second before Giles got the phone.
"Xander? Yes? Wha…" he started.
"Giles! It's Willow. I-I-I came home, and she had slit one of her wrists. I-I don't know what to do."
"Uh-uh-uh, wrap it up in something. Make sure the blood's stopped flowing," Giles replied into the phone, becoming distressed himself.
"I-I did that," Xander replied. "Just get over here!" He heard the other end go dead and he hung up the phone. It was only then that he noticed the pain in his left hand. He opened up his palm only to see that he had been grasping the razor blade ever since he had rushed out of the bathroom. There was deep cut across his fingers. There was a lot of blood pouring out from it. "Crap!" He raced back into the bathroom and wrapped his hand up in toilet paper. He looked to Willow. She held her face in her hands and was rocking back and forward while crying, again. Xander held her. "Willow. Don't do this to me, please. I can't loose you. You, Buffy and Giles are all I have left," he said softly to her, his voice trembling. He rocked back and forward with her, still holding her.
"One tiny piece of metal ends it all," Willow said to Xander. He didn't understand what she was talking about. He held onto Willow tighter. "I just need her back," Willow muttered while the tears were streaming down her face. Xander didn't say anything and just held Willow for the time being, hoping that she was going to be alright. "I can't live without her."
Everyone was in the car with Giles, except Anya. She had left the meeting soon after Xander, and no one knew where she was. Buffy could have sworn that she had never seen Giles drive as fast in his life. That might have had something to do with the fact that Giles had never had a car that could go as fast as her mother's four wheel drive could. She had instantly put on her seatbelt as they screeched around the corners. They had finally arrived at Xander's apartment, and Buffy saw Giles grab the first aid kit and run inside. Giles had never told them what had happened. He had only insisted that they needed to get to Xander's place as fast as they could. Buffy jumped out of the car and followed him. She ran through the hallway and saw Giles almost blow down Xander's door. She followed after him, aware that Dawn was right behind her. She saw Giles run into the bathroom, and she followed him again. She immediately stopped as she saw Xander holding onto the blood stained toilet paper around Willow's wrist. She noticed that he was holding onto her too, and that the pair were rocking back and forward. Buffy knew that Willow needed serious help. Although, earlier, she was against the notion of Giles taking Willow away, she knew that it needed to be done. She needed help beyond what the Scooby Gang and Sunnydale could provide for her. She saw Giles undress the crude wrapping that Xander had provided and properly wrap Willow's wrist up in bandages. Buffy moved in to help Willow up, and together she and Xander escorted her into the main room. They sat her down at a chair at the head of the table, and everyone sat down on either side. Although to Xander and Giles Willow appeared still, Buffy noticed that her body was still trembling ever so slightly.
"Willow, there's some things we need to tell you," Giles started. Buffy saw Willow's blank eyes look to Giles first, and then to Buffy, Xander and then finally Dawn. Buffy was happy that Willow would at least look at Giles now. Buffy's eyes met Giles's and she saw that he needed support. Nodded at him, signalling that he might as well tell Willow about tomorrow now. "Tara's funeral is tomorrow at midday," Giles said.
Buffy looked to Willow, who just kept staring at Giles with a blank expression on her face. Buffy knew that Willow would never shed any more tears unless she got some sleep. Her body just wasn't capable of it.
"I-It's going to be a small service, in the graveyard, not in a morgue," Giles continued. There was a long silence as everyone looked to Willow for a reaction.
"There's something more. Something you're not telling me," she said quietly and firmly to Giles.
"Tomorrow afternoon, you're coming back to England with me… The coven in Devon has agreed to help you," Giles explained. Buffy just saw Willow nod in silent recognition.
"How long will I be away?" Willow asked.
"I don't know. It could be a week, it could be a month, it could be half a year," Giles replied. Willow only nodded again. "I'm so sorry for what you've had to go through… what you've lost," Giles said, empathy clear in his voice. Buffy could see that he was really looking at Willow now; looking through the blank void of her eyes and into her soul.
"It doesn't matter. Nothing's going to change what's happened," Willow replied. she stared into space for what seemed like an eternity.
"You're going to get through this," Buffy said to her. Willow's head turned to Buffy.
"I know," she replied. Buffy reached out and held the top of Willow's hand in hers. It seemed like an eternity that they stayed in that position. Buffy was looking into Willow's eyes and she could see that they were just making futile attempts to make Willow feel better. Finally, the redhead got up. "I'm going to bed now," she said to them all before turning around and heading into Xander's room. Once the door closed, Buffy turned to the others.
"She's not going to get better is she?" Buffy asked them all.
"Of course she's going to get better," Giles said, trying to comfort Buffy.
"No she isn't," Dawn said. Everyone turned to her, and deep down inside her, Buffy knew that she was right.
Willow was sitting on a light pink and white checker coloured rug in the middle of a park that seemed to go on forever. The sun was shining brightly, and Willow could hear the birds singing. She was wearing a white, loose fitting dress that flowed down to her knees. She knew that the day was perfect as she placed the wrapped up sandwiches onto the rug. She looked at the large tree in front of her, and marvelled at it's beauty. A pair of warm hands moved under the neckline of her dress and started to rub her shoulders. Willow closed her eyes and leaned back into the body that was kneeling behind her.
"Mmm, that feels good," Willow said out loud, to no one in particular. All the tension in her body seemed to ebb away into nothingness. When Willow thought about it, she didn't know what the tension was there for. There was nothing wrong in her life. Willow felt a nice cool breeze start to pick up and blow against her face. She moved out of reach of the warm hands that were massaging her shoulders and turned to face their owner. She saw her beautiful long blonde hair moving ever so slightly in the breeze. Willow gazed into her deep blue eyes and she was told a thousand stories, all about Willow. Willow watched her lover's mouth spread into a beautiful warm smile that was reserved only for her. In a sudden rush, Willow moved closer and gave her lover the most passionate kiss she had ever given. She put her arms around her lover, and she felt her lover's hands start caressing her back. Slowly, she was pulled forward so that she was on top of her, their kiss never breaking. Willow slipped her tongue into her soulmate's mouth. It was met by her tongue, and they engaged in a fierce contest. Willow could sense that something was wrong. She pulled her lips away from her soulmate, and saw that her face was cold and pale. She looked down at her chest and saw a large red pool of blood.
"Tara! No!"
Willow's eyes shot open as she woke. She had realised that it had only been a dream. Slowly, she rolled over to put her arms around her lover, but there was nothing there. She looked closer, and saw that the bed beside her hadn't been disturbed. Then, the memories of the last couple of days came crashing back to her and Willow's insides melted. She could do nothing to hold the tears back, and there was nothing that was going to stop her. She let out a loud sob, and then soon, another came, and another.
Buffy looked around her, and suddenly things were dark. She realised that she must have fallen asleep on Xander's couch. They had all agreed to stay over at Xander's apartment in case anything else happened. Buffy was alerted by a horrible noise. She sprung up and looked around the apartment, but there was nothing there. She then realised where the noise was coming from: Willow's room. She walked over to the door and opened it. She could see easily by the moonlight that was streaming in through the windows. Willow was lying on the bed clutching a pillow to her chest while her body was slowly convulsing. Buffy could barely make out what Willow was moaning. It was 'no'. She had no idea what to do. She had no idea what she could do to comfort the Wiccan, so she gently closed the door and returned to the couch next to Dawn. She prayed that whatever Giles was going to do would help.
They were now in the land where they would hopefully be safe. They looked around at their surroundings, clearly shocked. They didn't expect Mexico to be so… Mexican. They had nothing except what they carried with them, which wasn't a lot.
"Do you think she'll come after us here?" Andrew asked Jonathan.
"She'll come after us anywhere we go," Jonathan answered.
"You're right. We're never going to escape that Sith-Witch," Andrew replied. "If only Luke Skywalker was here to save us. Or Warren." Jonathan just gave him a disgusted look. He couldn't believe he had agreed to Andrew's terms. At the time, they seemed promising, but now, sitting in a jail cell talking to himself seemed like a better idea. Jonathan just shook his head and started to walk through the streets of Tijuana, Mexico. They had managed to sneak past the border patrols easily enough. They knew they wouldn't get through because they didn't have passports.
"Idiot," Jonathan said to him.
Willow got out of the passenger's side of the car. She looked over to Xander who was walking around the car to her. She looked into the graveyard and she realised that it was the same one that Buffy and Dawn were in when they fell into the pit. She felt a cold sensation on her arm and looked at it. There was a drop of water there. She looked up to the sky and was strangely fascinated with the formation of the clouds: a big grey blanket that was uniform in colour and stretched for as far as the eye could see.
"Weather fits the occasion," Xander said to her. She brought her gaze down and looked at him.
"Yeah," Willow simply replied.
"Come on, Giles is over there," Xander said while pointing to the entrance to the graveyard.
"I'll be there soon. Don't want to go in there yet," Willow almost whispered to him.
"Okay, but what are you going to do? Just stand here?" Xander asked. Willow just looked at him, aware that an answer was not necessary. Xander just looked at her, and then started to move away. She looked over to Giles and noticed that he was wearing a navy blue shirt with a black coat and navy blue long pants. She told herself to remember to thank him for arranging everything for her funeral. She looked into the cemetery and she tried not to think about what was happening today.
She recited the words, and with all her effort, put meaning behind them as she felt the sorrow and grief from everyone around her. It was overwhelming to say the least. This person had been loved dearly in life, and now, she was dead. She had blocked out most of the feelings emanating from the group. She knew a bit about the deceased and the people around her. She knew that the blonde was the Vampire Slayer, and that the redhead that was putting out so much emotion was the deceased's lover. Slowly, she stood up and beckoned to the redhead. She hated doing this job, but as the leader of the local coven of Witches, she was called to do this. She watched as the redhead barely managed to hold a set of cards in front of her. The redhead started to speak, but only got one syllable out before she broke down and collapsed onto the ground.
"I can't do this," she heard the red haired witch say. She saw the older man bend down and put his hand on her shoulder as he picked up the cards. He began to read them out loud.
"Tara. When I first met you, you were so timid and withdrawn that I thought nothing would be able to bring you out. Immediately I saw the person that you were that you tried so hard to keep locked up inside. From the first moment our hands touched, I somehow knew that you were different. I always got so excited when it was time for us to get together and do some spells… and then, when we first kissed, I knew that you were the one for me. You became my life. Every moment that I was away from you depleted me somehow…" the older man started. The Coven leader looked down to Tara, and then to the redhead that was weeping on the ground and she couldn't help but cry as she listened to the rest of the speech that the redhead had prepared. "I knew that we were made for each other. We were connected in body, mind and soul. You said that you'd never leave me, but you did. You left me so that I could get better, and I did, for you. The best day of my life was the day when you came into my bedroom and said that you couldn't be away from me any more. At that time, I knew that my life would be alright. The only thing that kept me going for that time that you were away from me was knowing that we'd be together again. But now, you're gone. You were taken away from me, and I want you to know that I will never let you go. I'll never forget you, and you'll be with me, always."
She looked around at the group of people gathered around the grave, and they were all weeping. She saw the redhead lean over and kiss the body of Tara. She waited until the redhead had stopped and had backed away from the casket before she signalled four men to put the top on and to lower it into the ground. As soon as the casket was being lowered, the heavens opened up and it poured rain.
Disclaimers: All characters here are owned by Joss Whedon and co. They are in no way mine, and there is going to be no profit made from this story, except for my personal enjoyment.
Distribution: Anywhere, just tell me where it's going, and give me credit (The-Aussie-Witch)
Spoilers: Season 6, and some Season 7 rumoured spoilers (I'm not looking at all the spoilers for Season 7)
Rating: PG-13 because of violence and language, and because there is no M-15+ on Fanfiction.net (An Australian Rating standing for Mature Audiences, fifteen and older).
Summary: starts straight from the minute Grave left off! I am not a Spike and Buffy 'shipper' and I'm not sure if things will be right between those two as of yet (Maybe, maybe not). Some 'people' from Spike's past as a human might be involved as well.
Note: This was done in MS Word and is in book format. For some reason, Fanfiction.net is not picking up the single line 'enters' (ie, a new line for when a person speaks). In Word Format, it is so, but on FF.net, there is sometimes no new line.
Chapter Summary and Author's Note: This is going to be a darkish one. And the whole thing is about Willow (Which the whole story might be. I'm not too sure yet. This is the first thing that I've written as I go along, so I don't know where it's going. Maybe, soon, there might be a plot introduced…. And before you ask, no, I haven't fogotten about Spike. He'll be featured in the same chapter as the one that Willow comes back from the Council in J (It needs to be done, for story line sakes.. you'll see)
___________________________________________
Chapter 4
Xander rushed down to Willow's side and grabbed the razor out of her hands before she could cut her other wrist. He panicked at seeing the wound across his best friend's wrist. He knew what to do, but he couldn't find the information inside his brain.
"What do I do?" he asked her in a panic. "Of course. Stop the blood," he said to himself. He ran over to the cupboard and quickly had a look through it. He could only find a roll of toilet paper, so he grabbed that and wrapped it as tight as he could around Willow's wrist without breaking the toilet paper. His hands were shaking as he held Willow's hand. He looked into her eyes, and his heart broke at the sight. Xander's first impression was that Willow looked so innocent, that she looked like she needed just to be held by someone. He saw through it and got a first hand glimpse at her pain. "Giles! I have to call Giles! He'll know what to do!" Xander almost shouted, his voice trembling. He broke eye contact with Willow and raced to the phone. He hit the speed dial to Giles' place and waited. It was only a couple of seconds before the other line was picked up. "Giles! It's Willow!" he said distressed into the phone.
"Who is this? I don't know any Giles," the voice answered on the other end. Xander then remembered that Giles wasn't there and that he'd rented his place out. Without saying another word, he slammed the phone down and hit another speed dial on the phone.
"Yes?" he heard a familiar blonde voice answer. It was Buffy.
"Buffy? I need to speak to Giles! Right now!" Xander said, his voice still trembling.
"Hang on, I'll put him on," Buffy said, concern evident in her voice. Xander waited a second before Giles got the phone.
"Xander? Yes? Wha…" he started.
"Giles! It's Willow. I-I-I came home, and she had slit one of her wrists. I-I don't know what to do."
"Uh-uh-uh, wrap it up in something. Make sure the blood's stopped flowing," Giles replied into the phone, becoming distressed himself.
"I-I did that," Xander replied. "Just get over here!" He heard the other end go dead and he hung up the phone. It was only then that he noticed the pain in his left hand. He opened up his palm only to see that he had been grasping the razor blade ever since he had rushed out of the bathroom. There was deep cut across his fingers. There was a lot of blood pouring out from it. "Crap!" He raced back into the bathroom and wrapped his hand up in toilet paper. He looked to Willow. She held her face in her hands and was rocking back and forward while crying, again. Xander held her. "Willow. Don't do this to me, please. I can't loose you. You, Buffy and Giles are all I have left," he said softly to her, his voice trembling. He rocked back and forward with her, still holding her.
"One tiny piece of metal ends it all," Willow said to Xander. He didn't understand what she was talking about. He held onto Willow tighter. "I just need her back," Willow muttered while the tears were streaming down her face. Xander didn't say anything and just held Willow for the time being, hoping that she was going to be alright. "I can't live without her."
Everyone was in the car with Giles, except Anya. She had left the meeting soon after Xander, and no one knew where she was. Buffy could have sworn that she had never seen Giles drive as fast in his life. That might have had something to do with the fact that Giles had never had a car that could go as fast as her mother's four wheel drive could. She had instantly put on her seatbelt as they screeched around the corners. They had finally arrived at Xander's apartment, and Buffy saw Giles grab the first aid kit and run inside. Giles had never told them what had happened. He had only insisted that they needed to get to Xander's place as fast as they could. Buffy jumped out of the car and followed him. She ran through the hallway and saw Giles almost blow down Xander's door. She followed after him, aware that Dawn was right behind her. She saw Giles run into the bathroom, and she followed him again. She immediately stopped as she saw Xander holding onto the blood stained toilet paper around Willow's wrist. She noticed that he was holding onto her too, and that the pair were rocking back and forward. Buffy knew that Willow needed serious help. Although, earlier, she was against the notion of Giles taking Willow away, she knew that it needed to be done. She needed help beyond what the Scooby Gang and Sunnydale could provide for her. She saw Giles undress the crude wrapping that Xander had provided and properly wrap Willow's wrist up in bandages. Buffy moved in to help Willow up, and together she and Xander escorted her into the main room. They sat her down at a chair at the head of the table, and everyone sat down on either side. Although to Xander and Giles Willow appeared still, Buffy noticed that her body was still trembling ever so slightly.
"Willow, there's some things we need to tell you," Giles started. Buffy saw Willow's blank eyes look to Giles first, and then to Buffy, Xander and then finally Dawn. Buffy was happy that Willow would at least look at Giles now. Buffy's eyes met Giles's and she saw that he needed support. Nodded at him, signalling that he might as well tell Willow about tomorrow now. "Tara's funeral is tomorrow at midday," Giles said.
Buffy looked to Willow, who just kept staring at Giles with a blank expression on her face. Buffy knew that Willow would never shed any more tears unless she got some sleep. Her body just wasn't capable of it.
"I-It's going to be a small service, in the graveyard, not in a morgue," Giles continued. There was a long silence as everyone looked to Willow for a reaction.
"There's something more. Something you're not telling me," she said quietly and firmly to Giles.
"Tomorrow afternoon, you're coming back to England with me… The coven in Devon has agreed to help you," Giles explained. Buffy just saw Willow nod in silent recognition.
"How long will I be away?" Willow asked.
"I don't know. It could be a week, it could be a month, it could be half a year," Giles replied. Willow only nodded again. "I'm so sorry for what you've had to go through… what you've lost," Giles said, empathy clear in his voice. Buffy could see that he was really looking at Willow now; looking through the blank void of her eyes and into her soul.
"It doesn't matter. Nothing's going to change what's happened," Willow replied. she stared into space for what seemed like an eternity.
"You're going to get through this," Buffy said to her. Willow's head turned to Buffy.
"I know," she replied. Buffy reached out and held the top of Willow's hand in hers. It seemed like an eternity that they stayed in that position. Buffy was looking into Willow's eyes and she could see that they were just making futile attempts to make Willow feel better. Finally, the redhead got up. "I'm going to bed now," she said to them all before turning around and heading into Xander's room. Once the door closed, Buffy turned to the others.
"She's not going to get better is she?" Buffy asked them all.
"Of course she's going to get better," Giles said, trying to comfort Buffy.
"No she isn't," Dawn said. Everyone turned to her, and deep down inside her, Buffy knew that she was right.
Willow was sitting on a light pink and white checker coloured rug in the middle of a park that seemed to go on forever. The sun was shining brightly, and Willow could hear the birds singing. She was wearing a white, loose fitting dress that flowed down to her knees. She knew that the day was perfect as she placed the wrapped up sandwiches onto the rug. She looked at the large tree in front of her, and marvelled at it's beauty. A pair of warm hands moved under the neckline of her dress and started to rub her shoulders. Willow closed her eyes and leaned back into the body that was kneeling behind her.
"Mmm, that feels good," Willow said out loud, to no one in particular. All the tension in her body seemed to ebb away into nothingness. When Willow thought about it, she didn't know what the tension was there for. There was nothing wrong in her life. Willow felt a nice cool breeze start to pick up and blow against her face. She moved out of reach of the warm hands that were massaging her shoulders and turned to face their owner. She saw her beautiful long blonde hair moving ever so slightly in the breeze. Willow gazed into her deep blue eyes and she was told a thousand stories, all about Willow. Willow watched her lover's mouth spread into a beautiful warm smile that was reserved only for her. In a sudden rush, Willow moved closer and gave her lover the most passionate kiss she had ever given. She put her arms around her lover, and she felt her lover's hands start caressing her back. Slowly, she was pulled forward so that she was on top of her, their kiss never breaking. Willow slipped her tongue into her soulmate's mouth. It was met by her tongue, and they engaged in a fierce contest. Willow could sense that something was wrong. She pulled her lips away from her soulmate, and saw that her face was cold and pale. She looked down at her chest and saw a large red pool of blood.
"Tara! No!"
Willow's eyes shot open as she woke. She had realised that it had only been a dream. Slowly, she rolled over to put her arms around her lover, but there was nothing there. She looked closer, and saw that the bed beside her hadn't been disturbed. Then, the memories of the last couple of days came crashing back to her and Willow's insides melted. She could do nothing to hold the tears back, and there was nothing that was going to stop her. She let out a loud sob, and then soon, another came, and another.
Buffy looked around her, and suddenly things were dark. She realised that she must have fallen asleep on Xander's couch. They had all agreed to stay over at Xander's apartment in case anything else happened. Buffy was alerted by a horrible noise. She sprung up and looked around the apartment, but there was nothing there. She then realised where the noise was coming from: Willow's room. She walked over to the door and opened it. She could see easily by the moonlight that was streaming in through the windows. Willow was lying on the bed clutching a pillow to her chest while her body was slowly convulsing. Buffy could barely make out what Willow was moaning. It was 'no'. She had no idea what to do. She had no idea what she could do to comfort the Wiccan, so she gently closed the door and returned to the couch next to Dawn. She prayed that whatever Giles was going to do would help.
They were now in the land where they would hopefully be safe. They looked around at their surroundings, clearly shocked. They didn't expect Mexico to be so… Mexican. They had nothing except what they carried with them, which wasn't a lot.
"Do you think she'll come after us here?" Andrew asked Jonathan.
"She'll come after us anywhere we go," Jonathan answered.
"You're right. We're never going to escape that Sith-Witch," Andrew replied. "If only Luke Skywalker was here to save us. Or Warren." Jonathan just gave him a disgusted look. He couldn't believe he had agreed to Andrew's terms. At the time, they seemed promising, but now, sitting in a jail cell talking to himself seemed like a better idea. Jonathan just shook his head and started to walk through the streets of Tijuana, Mexico. They had managed to sneak past the border patrols easily enough. They knew they wouldn't get through because they didn't have passports.
"Idiot," Jonathan said to him.
Willow got out of the passenger's side of the car. She looked over to Xander who was walking around the car to her. She looked into the graveyard and she realised that it was the same one that Buffy and Dawn were in when they fell into the pit. She felt a cold sensation on her arm and looked at it. There was a drop of water there. She looked up to the sky and was strangely fascinated with the formation of the clouds: a big grey blanket that was uniform in colour and stretched for as far as the eye could see.
"Weather fits the occasion," Xander said to her. She brought her gaze down and looked at him.
"Yeah," Willow simply replied.
"Come on, Giles is over there," Xander said while pointing to the entrance to the graveyard.
"I'll be there soon. Don't want to go in there yet," Willow almost whispered to him.
"Okay, but what are you going to do? Just stand here?" Xander asked. Willow just looked at him, aware that an answer was not necessary. Xander just looked at her, and then started to move away. She looked over to Giles and noticed that he was wearing a navy blue shirt with a black coat and navy blue long pants. She told herself to remember to thank him for arranging everything for her funeral. She looked into the cemetery and she tried not to think about what was happening today.
She recited the words, and with all her effort, put meaning behind them as she felt the sorrow and grief from everyone around her. It was overwhelming to say the least. This person had been loved dearly in life, and now, she was dead. She had blocked out most of the feelings emanating from the group. She knew a bit about the deceased and the people around her. She knew that the blonde was the Vampire Slayer, and that the redhead that was putting out so much emotion was the deceased's lover. Slowly, she stood up and beckoned to the redhead. She hated doing this job, but as the leader of the local coven of Witches, she was called to do this. She watched as the redhead barely managed to hold a set of cards in front of her. The redhead started to speak, but only got one syllable out before she broke down and collapsed onto the ground.
"I can't do this," she heard the red haired witch say. She saw the older man bend down and put his hand on her shoulder as he picked up the cards. He began to read them out loud.
"Tara. When I first met you, you were so timid and withdrawn that I thought nothing would be able to bring you out. Immediately I saw the person that you were that you tried so hard to keep locked up inside. From the first moment our hands touched, I somehow knew that you were different. I always got so excited when it was time for us to get together and do some spells… and then, when we first kissed, I knew that you were the one for me. You became my life. Every moment that I was away from you depleted me somehow…" the older man started. The Coven leader looked down to Tara, and then to the redhead that was weeping on the ground and she couldn't help but cry as she listened to the rest of the speech that the redhead had prepared. "I knew that we were made for each other. We were connected in body, mind and soul. You said that you'd never leave me, but you did. You left me so that I could get better, and I did, for you. The best day of my life was the day when you came into my bedroom and said that you couldn't be away from me any more. At that time, I knew that my life would be alright. The only thing that kept me going for that time that you were away from me was knowing that we'd be together again. But now, you're gone. You were taken away from me, and I want you to know that I will never let you go. I'll never forget you, and you'll be with me, always."
She looked around at the group of people gathered around the grave, and they were all weeping. She saw the redhead lean over and kiss the body of Tara. She waited until the redhead had stopped and had backed away from the casket before she signalled four men to put the top on and to lower it into the ground. As soon as the casket was being lowered, the heavens opened up and it poured rain.