Part 12
Tara could feel all the butterflies on her stomach coming to life when she heard a voice announcing that the flight coming from Los Angeles had just landed.
She couldn't believe how nervous she was to meet Dawn again. She loved the youngest Summers like a little sister and was really afraid of her reaction; she didn't want the girl to hate her.
She saw the gates opening and took a deep breath.
Dawn was one of the first people to come out through the arrival terminal gateway.
She spied Tara immediately and her face lit up in delight. Tara grinned back and ran to meet her
"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god" Dawn bounced excitedly and enveloped Tara in a heartfelt hug "I can't believe I'm seeing you again"
"Hey Dawnie…I missed you so much" Tara laughed at the squealing girl and hugged her back "let me look at you" she said stepping back from the hug "boy…you're so grown up…and tall" she said tearfully
"I'm taller than Buffy" she said proudly
"I bet you are" she replied happily
"Where's Giles?" she asked searching for the watcher
"Oh…he couldn't come" Tara answered feeling the nervousness return "you'll meet him at the house"
"Ok…let's go then" she offered eagerly
"Uh…listen, Dawnie…before we go…there's something I'd like to talk to you about" she said tentatively
"Okay…shoot" she replied oblivious to the witch's anxiety
"It's just that I…I h-h-have to tell you s-s-something" she sighed "it's really important that you listen to everything that I have to say before you f-f-freak out, ok?"
"Alright…what is it?" she asked intrigued of what could be so serious
"Let's sit down and have something to drink" she offered and they moved to the food court where Tara proceeded to explain everything that happened since she left Sunnydale
Some time later…
"Oh…my…God" Dawn exclaimed wide-eyed "I can't believe it"
"Dawn, I know that it's too much for…"
"I can't believe you have a child" she interrupted still in shock
"Dawn…" she tried again
"Oh my God…" the girl was astonished "a-a-and Willow is the father?"
"Technically…yes" the blonde nodded hesitantly
"This is…" she shook her head as if searching for the right word "this is…"
"Sweetie…" Tara was on the verge of tears
"AWSOME"
"What?" Tara was thrown aback by the outburst "you're not freaked?"
"Why would I be freaked?" she asked not getting the blonde's apprehension "this is great…" she fidgeted excitedly "is she a redhead?"
"What…who…no…no she's blonde" she answered still surprised by the teenager's reaction "you're not mad that I haven't told anyone about her?"
"No…I totally got your reasons" she said nonchalantly "you didn't trust Willow back then so you didn't want her to know"
Tara breathed a sigh of relieve she should have given Dawn more credit…
"But she's okay now…" the teenager said with a smirk
"Huh?"
"Willow…she's doing fine now…and she's still single you know" she smiled wiggling her brows devilishly
"Oh…" Tara said realizing what she meant "about that…"
"What? You still single too, right?"
"Uh…I…" she tried but was cut again
"and you guys still love each other…cause the kind of love you two have…it doesn't simply go away" she babbled "you're soul mates, right?"
Tara closed her eyes and took a deep breath to gather strength for the next part of the story; she knew Faith was right and Dawn would not take it nicely
"Uh…actually there's something else I have to tell you" she said bracing herself for the explosion
Few hours later Tara helped Dawn bring her luggage inside the house
"Hey I'm home" she shouted from the door and was greeted by a dashing little blonde
"Mama"
"Hi sweetie" she said picking the girl up and kissing her soundly "I missed you" the baby shrilled joyfully
Tara laughed and motioned for Dawn to come in
"Come here Dawnie…there's someone I want you to meet" she said and smiled to her baby "this is Ariel…the most precious gift of my life" the brunette grinned to the cute baby
"Hi, little one" she tried to approach but the girl shied away and hid her face on Tara's neck
"It's okay she'll warm up to you" Dawn turned to see a beautiful mature woman smiling sweetly at her "hi, I'm Simone…I'm Ariel's nanny"
"Hi…nice to meet you" she said shaking the woman's hand
"Dawn…welcome" Giles greeted entering the room
"Hey Giles" she said hugging him affectionately "it's nice to see you again"
"It most certainly is nice too see you too" he kissed her head "how was your flight?"
"Good" she nodded and saw Tara putting Ariel on the floor. The girl was still suspicious, so Simone sat down to play with her
"Hey Ariel, wanna play with your doll?" she said getting the baby's attention
"Doll" the baby repeated "dog" she said taking another toy
"Is this your dog?" Dawn said trying to get close again "woof…woof" she mimicked a bark making the kid laugh
Tara watched the interaction with a smile on her lips
"So I see everything turned out okay, huh?" Giles whispered to the blonde
"Let's hope" she said rubbing her own arms "where's Faith?" she asked in a low voice
"I don't know" he shook his head "she left early…she said she had some work to do" she nodded and turned her attention back to her daughter
A couple of hours later the group was still gathered in the living room. Tara, Giles and Simone were drinking some tea while Dawn played on the floor with Ariel.
The front door opened and Faith walked in
"fa...fy" Ariel squealed and clapped her hands glad to see the slayer
"Hi there kiddo…miss me?" she knelt and rubbed her nose on the baby's belly tickling her
"Hey…get away from the girl" Simone threw a cushion at the slayer "you'll make her pee" Faith gave her a threatening look "you don't scare me"
"Yeah…whatever" she shrugged and stood up
"Hi…remember me?" Tara said lifting a challenging brow to the brunette
"Sorry" she scratched her head, looked at Dawn and leaned to peck Tara on the lips "hi"
"Where have you been?" Giles asked curiously
"Training, working…" she offered simply "by the way, call Mr. McKnight"
"I will…thank you" he said walking to the kitchen
"Yeah" she nodded and tried to leave the room as well
"Uh...Faith?" Tara called her back "do you remember Dawn?"
"Buffy's sister…yeah" she replied nonchalantly "what's up?"
The teenager didn't answer; she just stood up, crossed her arms across her chest and glared disapprovingly at the brunette slayer
"Charming" Faith scoffed and put her bitchy mask on "I'll be in there if you need me" she told Tara and left giving a scornful look at the younger girl
Tara sighed and rubbed her forehead worried about the upcoming events
In the kitchen Giles had just poured himself some bourbon when Faith came in and took the glass from his hand
"Thanks" she said gulping it in a single shot and grimacing
"Everything alright?" he asked reaching for another glass
"Peachy" she answered slumping on a chair "five minutes and I already want to choke that scamp"
"You have to be patient" he said sitting next to her "it's part of the growing up process"
"What do you mean?" she gave him an annoyed look
"I see lots of improvements in you Faith" he took off his glasses and started cleaning them "you're different…I must confess that I wasn't really sure about bringing you here…inside my home, close to my family, but…"
"Is that the part where you give me the 'if you hurt my daughter, I'll kill you' speech?" she asked in a bored tone
"I wasn't planning on being so…graphic, but considering what Tara had already been through" he said tucking his glasses back on "if you hurt my daughter, I will hurt you" he stood up and leaned close to her in a threatening gesture "do you hear me?"
"Loud and clear" she nodded and took a long calming breath.
"Don't mind him" Simone said entering the kitchen after Giles had left "he's just being overprotective"
"Yeah…just my luck" she snorted and stood up to pour another drink.
The nanny looked at her and frowned
"Don't let the girl get to your nerves" she advised worriedly
"I don't give a damn about her" she snapped crankily
"But you care about Tara" she cautioned her "and she's important to Tara"
"And so am I…" she retorted irritated "or at least I was supposed to be" she swigged the drink and left
Simone watched her go and shook her head concernedly; she had a very bad feeling about this
Later that day, Tara met Faith at the study room; the slayer was playing some computer fighting game.
"Hey" she started cautiously sensing her girlfriend's grumpiness
"Where's the brat?" she said not taking her eyes off the screen
"Which one?" the blonde tried to lighten the mood but received an annoyed look "outside…with Giles and Ariel" she answered simply and saw Faith hitting the keyboard mercilessly
"Listen…it's not gonna be easy, ok?" she stood behind the chair where the brunette was sitting "but I need you to try" she pled "can you do that for me?"
The slayer quit the game and spun the chair to look at her girlfriend
"You know I'd do anything for you" she offered honestly and received the blonde's beautiful lopsided grin as an answer "that smile makes me fall for you all over again"
Tara locked eyes with the slayer and saw nothing but love emanating from them.
She felt a wave of emotion run through her body and was unable to contain a lonely tear that slid down her face
"Thank you" she whispered and leaned down to kiss her girlfriend
Faith pulled her to her lap and they kiss affectionately; this kiss wasn't about lust, it was about falling in love.