CHAPTER NINE: BASIC

Xander, Dawn, Tara and Willow had made their way through the sewers, sporadically finding places to hide from the vampire that had chased them into the sewer. Tara couldn't keep her mind off the sweet kiss that she and 'Joan' had shared only half an hour earlier, and was having trouble concentrating on the escape plan.

She could only hope that her…friend…was alright with 'Randy' as they tried to kill the vampires.

It was in that moment when Tara's concentration was completely gone that she was knocked to the ground by Willow who fell on top of her as Xander struggled to kill the vampire that had followed them.

The blonde looked up at the redhead, who was staring at her, the redhead completely unsure of herself. When Willow bent down to bring their lips together, Tara pulled back, regardless of the tingling feeling she had when she looked at Willow. She wouldn't betray 'Joan' by kissing someone else.

Willow looked disappointed, but didn't say anything. She pulled herself off Tara just as Xander and Dawn made their way over to them.

The sound of something breaking echoed through the sewer and suddenly the world came rushing back, memory after memory. Tara turned to look at her lover, too hurt by the memory of the promise that Willow had made and broken to feel guilty about the kiss she'd shared with Buffy.

Without a word, Tara stood up and walked past Willow, unable to even look her lover in the eye. Willow had broken her trust, and that was something that Tara would not be able to forgive. Not for a long time.

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By the time Buffy arrived back home after the spell had broken, she found Dawn sulking in the living room. After a quick questioning session, Buffy was racing up the stairs in hopes to stop Tara from her seemingly spur of the moment packing spree.

"What are you doing?" Buffy asked softly.

Tara, startled, jumped and turned to face Buffy. Automatically Tara went a startling shade of red as she remembered the kiss that she and Buffy had shared earlier in the Magic Box. She ducked her head back down and turned her attention back to the box she'd been filling.

"Packing," Tara replied.

Buffy walked into the room and grabbed the box off Tara, stopping the taller blonde girl's motions.

"I can see that," Buffy said, a little bitingly. "But why?"

Tara got over her nervousness and looked up at Buffy.

"Because I can't stay here with Willow anymore," Tara explained. "Not after what she did to me. To us."

Buffy was momentarily confused before finally putting all the pieces together. The spell that had caused them to lose their memories had been Willow's doing. And by the sounds of it, it wasn't the first time that Willow had used such a spell.

"She's done that to you before, hasn't she?" Buffy asked quietly.

Tara sighed and nodded. "I promised myself that I'd never live anywhere that I didn't feel c-completely safe. And…I can't be here with Willow."

"Here in this room, or here in this house?" Buffy asked.

Tara paused. She didn't want to leave. She didn't really have anywhere else to go which was an incentive to stay, but she didn't want to stay considering how awkward it would end up being.

"I don't know," Tara replied uncertainly.

"Tara…please…don't go, okay? You can have my room for the night, and…I'll stay on the couch or in with Dawnie, but…please don't go. Maybe we could sort something out. We could clean out the study and turn that into your room or something, but…please don't go."

Buffy wasn't entirely certain who she was really asking for. She didn't know if she wanted Tara to stay for Tara's sake or for her own. Things between herself and Tara had been strange lately, especially with the kiss they'd shared whilst under the spell. Unfortunately, now was not the time for them to be discussing it when Tara was hurting so badly about Willow.

Tara bit her lower lip, tears welling in her eyes.

"It'll be awkward Buffy," Tara whispered. "With me and Willow still both here. I don't t-think I could…"

Buffy sighed and ran a hand through her hair. She really didn't want Tara to leave. The gentle blonde Wiccan had helped her so much over the last few weeks and she wanted to do anything she could to reciprocate the blonde's helpfulness.

"Do you have anywhere else to go?" Buffy asked.

"No," Tara admitted.

"Then you're staying here at least for tonight," Buffy insisted. "If you decide you still wanna leave, then…then I'll help you find somewhere to live. But you definitely aren't going anywhere tonight."

Tara paused momentarily before letting a smile curl slowly onto her lips.

"You know, you're kind of intimidating," she said lightly.

Buffy just grinned. "Damn straight."

"You maybe," Tara teased.

Buffy groaned and rolled her eyes. Tara breathed a sigh of relief, somehow knowing that while things wouldn't be the same again, it didn't mean that it was the end of the world.

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Holy moly, it's an update. And guess what, I've actually got the rest of this fic written. It's nineteen chapters long, and assuming my computer plays nice, I will updating this thing a chapter a day.

Feedback is always nice.

DKG.