CHAPTER NINETEEN: BLESSED

"That was less painful than I thought it would be," Buffy admitted as Tara gently rubbed muscle-relaxing cream onto Buffy's lower back.

"She took it really well," Tara agreed. "I honestly didn't expect it."

"Well, that's Willow that knows. Now for the rest of the Scoobies I suppose," Buffy said. She groaned at the thought of the many and varied reactions they would get. "Couldn't we just let them walk in on us kissing or something?"

Tara smiled and pressed a kiss to the back of Buffy's neck, enjoying the shiver than ran down Buffy's spine. Tara made a mental note of the reaction, wondering where else she could kiss and get that sort of response. It would be all sorts of fun learning the different places that made her girlfriend shiver.

"Sounds fun," Tara said, letting her breath play across Buffy's neck. "Can you imagine Giles' reaction?"

Buffy snickered, tilting her neck back, trying to encourage Tara to bring her lips around to the front of Buffy's neck and upwards. Tara took the hint and slowly nipped her way around the base of Buffy's neck.

"Holy crap!"

Tara and Buffy pulled apart, the Slayer wincing in pain as she moved too fast.

Dawn stood in the doorway, a look of utter shock on her face as she took in the scene before her.

"You were saying something about letting people walk in on us," Tara said weakly.

"Rethinking that plan," Buffy replied. She stood slowly, her hand finding Tara's, wanting to reassure her girlfriend without words.

"Okay, first of all…whoa!" Dawn said, staring wide-eyed at the two blondes. "Second of all, when did this happen? And third of all…well, I don't really have a third of all, but three always works much better."

Tara and Buffy both bit back smiles. Dawn had taken on so many different things from each of the people who had been involved in her life. The rambling was all from Willow, the defensive ending had been Buffy, the 'whoa' had been all Xander, and the middle question to better understand had been from Tara.

"Officially, last night," Buffy replied. "But…it's been building for a while."

"How long is a while?" Dawn asked, trying to wrap her mind around it all.

Tara smiled a little, remembering their first tentative kiss when their memories had been altered by Willow's spell.

"Dawn, your sister and I…we became really good friends six months ago," Tara began explaining. "And then when Willow's magic was getting out of control, Buffy helped me through it. We got to know each other a lot better over the last few months, and…well, ever since I knew that Willow and I were officially 'off', we've been working towards a stable relationship. A partnership."

Buffy squeezed Tara's hand, completely agreeing with Tara's assessment.

"And you guys are…you two are in love?" Dawn asked.

"We're definitely getting there," Buffy replied. "Love yes, in love…well, soon-to-be."

"Definitely soon-to-be," Tara said.

Dawn nodded, her eyes still huge with shock. She shook herself out of her stupor and finally just grinned. "That's kinda cool."

Buffy breathed a sigh of relief, and hoped that the other Scoobies would be half as understanding.

------------------------

"I knew it!"

The Scoobies all looked at Anya with varying expressions ranging from bemusement to disbelief.

"What, I did! C'mon, that kiss at my hen's night was totally hot," Anya said. "I mean, Buffy put way more feeling into kissing Tara than she did into kissing me."

"What!" Xander yelped. He swung his gaze frantically between Buffy and his wife, his eyes bugging out. "Buffy…Anya…oh god."

Tara laughed quietly at the deep blush that covered Buffy's face and ran down her neck. She made a mental note to find out how far down the blush extended.

"It was one kiss!" Buffy said. "And there was tequila involved."

"Oh god…body shots," Xander muttered.

"No! No body shots," Buffy said quickly.

"Doesn't matter," Xander replied absently. "In my mind, there were."

Buffy rolled her eyes, and glanced at Tara, loving the grin that was spread across Tara's face. She hoped that she could keep that smile there for a good portion of the rest of their lives.

The Slayer snuck a look across at her unusually silent Watcher. Giles met her gaze, nodding his approval, a soft and affectionate smile on his face at the thought of his Slayer finally finding happiness. He'd watched their friendship blossom over the last few months, and he was glad that something had sprung from it. Tara would be good for his headstrong Slayer, as Buffy would be good for Tara.

Giles watched happily as his Slayer laughed and joked with the Scoobies, her eyes lighting up with joy as they teased each other affectionately. Buffy and Tara sat together, hands entwined, thighs touching, as though they were trying to meld together into one person.

Watching his Slayer, Giles knew that while the daughter of his heart would never regain a paradise lost, perhaps she could be at peace with a piece of heaven on earth.

END

Yikes. Yeah, cheesy ending, I just wanted this sucker DONE! Oh, and go read Beyond Expectation by Talula, cos it was reading her incredible B/T fic that inspired me to actually finish this little puppy. So mega thanks for the inspiration, and those who haven't read it, go do it!

Many thanks to those who sent me email after email enquiring about this fic. It's been a looong time since it was updated, but I never really gave it up. Thank you for your patience, for your feedback, and for the inspiration to continue this thing.

Toodles.

Kattie.