AUTHOR'S NOTE: So I was watching "The Killer In Me" on Saturday, and Willow mentioned to Kennedy that Tara had barely met Willow's parents. The word 'barely' in that sentence implied (to me, anyway) that Tara met Willow's parents at least once. So that's where this scene came from. There will be more to this fic of course, but that's what started this all.

Part 1: Meet the Folks

They walked up the front walk and Tara gripped Willow's hand tight, nervous about what they were about to do. She had been worried all day about what lay ahead that evening. Willow had told her not to worry, that everything would be fine. But Tara felt like she was one giant ball of nerves. Her stomach was doing somersaults and she wasn't sure she'd be able to get a single word out. She knew she always stuttered horribly when she was nervous. She couldn't help it.

When they arrived at the door Willow squeezed Tara's hand and gave her a reassuring smile before she turned the doorknob. They entered the house and headed for the living room.

"Willow, sweetheart, hello," Willow's mom said as she stood. She gave her daughter a quick hug and stepped back. Willow shot a quick wave toward her father, who was sitting in an armchair across the room with a newspaper in one hand and a scotch in the other. He smiled and nodded his head.

"Mom. Dad," she began, exhaling to release her own nervousness. "This is my girlfriend, Tara. Tara, these are my parents, Ira and Sheila Rosenberg."

Tara extended her hand to Willow's mom shakily. "It-it's nice to meet you, M-Mr. and Mrs. Rosenberg."

"Please, sit down," Sheila said. Willow led Tara to the sofa. "Would you girls like something to drink?"

"I'll get it," Willow said with a smile. Tara looked up at her, panic starting to appear in her eyes. She had asked Willow not to leave her alone with her parents. Willow looked to Tara. "Water?"

"Uh, y-yes," Tara stuttered as she watched Willow retreat to the kitchen. She turned back and looked timidly at Willow's parents. They were both examining her carefully, trying to get a feel for what she was like just by looking at her.

"So, are you Jewish?" Ira asked. Tara looked at him, confused as to why he would ask that question.

"W-what?"

"Are you Jewish?" he repeated.

"Oh, n-no," she replied. She hoped they weren't about to get into a theological discussion.

"Christian?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No, we're…I mean, I-I'm Wicca," she replied. She watched him, waiting for his reaction. Her mouth was suddenly very dry.

"Now this is what I find interesting," Sheila began. Tara could feel that theological discussion rearing its ugly head. She wished she had said she was atheist or agnostic. "Wicca has been more and more prevalent in recent years. Young people are identifying with it. It fascinates me to know why that is. Have you always been Wicca?"

"My mom was," Tara replied. "So, yeah, I h-have."

Willow returned with two glasses of water. "What'd I miss?" she asked. Tara took her water and gulped it down. Willow watched curiously as she drained the glass. "Thirsty?"

Tara looked over and smiled sheepishly. Her mouth still felt dry as the Sahara. She knew it wasn't going to go away anytime soon. All she could hope for was to drink enough water to spend most of the evening in the bathroom.

"We were just discussing Wicca," Sheila said.

"Wicca? Really?" Willow asked, realizing why Tara had been so thirsty. Now her mouth was dry too. Theology was not a fun subject with her parents, especially her father.

"She's not Jewish," Ira said, shooting a disapproving look toward Willow. "Of course, she's not a man either, so I'm not really getting anything I expected here."

"Dad," Willow said, not wanting to get into an argument. Her parents had promised to be open-minded and civil with Tara there.

"Ira, don't be so stubborn," Sheila said. "Willow's an adult now, and she can make her own decisions. I think it's refreshing that she would make such a confident statement in this day and age."

"It's not a statement, mom," Willow said. "It's not even really a sentence. It's just us."

"Oh, you should be proud, honey," Sheila said.

"We're proud," Willow said defensively. She took Tara's hand in hers. Tara just looked down at the floor, not sure what to say. "We're very…proud. We're just not walking around with signs saying, 'Hey, we're gay!' just to make people notice us."

"People should notice you. You're part of a minority group," Sheila said. "You should stand up and be noticed."

"I don't really like to be noticed," Tara said, finally finding her own voice, as quiet as it may be. She smiled at Willow, who returned her smile. "At least, not by everybody."

"Have you two had sex?" Ira asked suddenly.

Tara felt all the blood drain from her face. Suddenly the theology discussion was extremely appealing. She didn't even notice Willow coughing and choking on the water she had just taken a drink of. Willow was attempting to catch her breath so she could tell her father how completely inappropriate that question was, but a bell sounded from the kitchen. Willow looked to her mom and was surprised to see for the first time that she could ever remember that Sheila Rosenberg was uncomfortable in a conversation.

"Dinner's ready," she said with a smile as she left the room. Ira shot a look at Willow and followed her. Once they were gone, she had a chance to finally turn to Tara. She'd never seen Tara so pale.

"Are you okay?" she asked, wrapping her arm around Tara. "You look like you're going to pass out."

"If I did, would they let me leave?" Tara asked. "We could say I'm diabetic and have low blood sugar."

"It's not that bad," Willow said, not quite convincing herself of that statement.

"Your dad just asked us if we've had sex," Tara said, not believing what Willow was saying. "Not that bad?"

"It can't get any worse then?"

Tara sighed and she and Willow stood to go to dinner. "All I know is if either of your parents says the word sex again in any context other than talking about gender, you will see me run faster than you've ever seen me run before. And your parents will have to buy a new front door because I'll be running too fast to open it."

Willow took her hand and smiled. "Fair enough."