Chapter Nineteen: Haunting Memories
Previously in Echoes in the Wind...
"She's always been worth it. I would suffer for all eternity if I could kiss her one more time," Willow said, finally turning to face the brunette.
"Looks like you know what you need to do then."
"Kiss her?" Willow asked, confused by Faith's words.
"Fight for her."
Walking into the hospital the next morning, Willow was surprised to see Tara asleep in the chair next to her mother's bed. She hadn't expected to see Tara that morning, at least not until later.
"Good morning, Willow," Laura whispered, drawing Willow's attention from the sleeping blonde to look at her.
"Hey, how are you feeling?" Willow asked as she entered the room and came around the bed to stand on Laura's other side.
"I'm okay. I'm hurting a little bit, but a nurse gave me some pain meds a few minutes ago," Laura explained, giving Willow a soft smile. "I'm glad you came."
"I promised I would," Willow reminded her, resting her hand on Laura's arm. "Has she been here all night?"
Glancing over at Tara, Laura just nodded, before turning to face Willow again. "She didn't want to leave me alone no matter how much I argued with her. She's so stubborn sometimes," Laura said, smiling as she looked down at her daughter once more.
"She gets it from your grandmother. Buffy was always hardheaded. Giles, I can't remember if we told you about Giles...Did we tell you about Giles?" Willow asked, a confused look on her face. Once Laura nodded in response to her question, smiling at Willow's mini babble, Willow continued.
"Anyways, Giles use to get so angry because Buffy refused to just drop everything and be the slayer. She tried to quit a couple of times because being a slayer meant doing a lot of things she wasn't willing to do. Like dying. She died three times all together. The first time, Xander saved her by giving her CPR after she was drowned by a master vampire. Then she jumped into this swirling pool of magic thingy, and it killed her. I brought her back from the dead cause I couldn't handle the thought that she was suffering in hell. Which she wasn't, she was in heaven, but how was I suppose to know that. Then she died after Giles. It was hard to let her go, but I knew she would be happier. And you're laughing," Willow announced, stopping her own babble as a small chuckle escaped both Laura and a now awake Tara. "Hey, you're awake? How long have you been awake?" Willow asked, frowning at the younger of the two blondes.
"I woke up somewhere around a swirly magical portal thing," Tara admitted, giving Willow an amused look.
A small pout formed on Willow's lips, causing Tara's heart to race as she stared at the dark witch. It surprised Tara how much she wanted to kiss Willow in that very moment. Lost in her own lustful thoughts, Tara stared at Willow's lips, unable to look away.
"Uncle Xander and Aunt Dawn use to tell me that you had a tendency to babble, but I never believed them. You were always too serious. It's amusing to watch it happen," Laura said, smiling at Willow.
Willow blushed slightly at Laura's words, unable to hide her embarrassment. "It usually only happens when I'm nervous or excited. I rarely babble other then that," Willow explained, looking at a spot on the wall above Laura's head.
"It's adorable," Tara whispered, watching Willow as she spoke, causing the dark witch to turn to her, green eyes locking with blue.
"Most people think it's amusing. It was worse in high school. I was a geek, and when I met Buffy I was so nervous I would babble and stutter anytime I opened my mouth. After our initial meeting, I started relaxing around her. Your grandmother was easy to talk to," Willow informed them, looking away from Tara and down at Laura again.
"Pops always said that Grandma was really easy to talk to. He use to get a sad look in his eyes when he would talk about her," Laura told Willow, seeing the same sad look reflecting in Willow's eyes.
"He missed her. We all did," Willow said softly, closing her eyes as memories of the blonde slayer flashed through her mind. "I still do."
"Was she the hardest one to lose?" Tara asked, seeing Willow's sad look.
"No. It was hard losing my friends. It hurt to lose every single one of them, but the hardest loss will always be when I lost my everything," Willow admitted, a dark look clouding the green eyes, causing Laura and Tara to frown at the witch.
"Your Tara?" Laura guessed, remembering Willow's story.
Willow just nodded, not wanting to say anything for fear of her voice breaking. The memory of Tara's blood hitting her in the face on on her shirt clouding her mind. Thoughts of holding her dead lover in her arms as she cried for her tore at her as the darkness inside of her taunted her with the images of her past. She remembered the anger, the hatred, that had clouded her mind as she went in search of her lover's killer.
"Willow?" Tara whispered, seeing the pained look in the witch's eyes. "Are you okay?"
Willow's head jerked up at the familiar voice. She had been so lost in her memories that she had forgotten where she was, who she was. She had forgotten that time had already passed, that her friends were gone, and her dead lover was standing before her, reincarnated into a younger version of herself.
"Fine," Willow mumbled, staring at Tara in shock as the haunting memories slid back behind the locked door she kept them in. "I'm fine."
"Are you sure?" Laura asked, watching the two witches with worry in her eyes.
"I'm okay," Willow repeated, turning to look at the granddaughter of her late best friend.
"Where'd you go?" Tara wondered, wanting to know what had caused the haunted look that was currently filling the green eyes.
"Somewhere I try to avoid," Willow muttered, looking away from mother and daughter.
Tara nodded, not knowing what else to say as Willow walked over to look out the window at the morning sun. She watched Willow in silence until she felt her mother's hand touch her arm, drawing her attention to Laura. Nodding over at Willow, Laura gave her daughter a pointed look, knowing that Tara would understand. After just a moment, understanding dawned Tara's face and she walked over to the depressed witch, resting a hand on her shoulder in comfort.
A/N: Thank you Gimpy72 for all the help with this story and all my others. You're an awesome Beta.