Part 15
After wandering around the council's corridors, Tara finally reached her destination. She got inside a giant room filled with several stacks of boxes and bookshelves very well distributed and organized. Looking around, she saw someone standing up on a ladder taking notes on a clipboard
"Hi" she called up
"May I help you?" the woman answered without taking her eyes off her work
"I'm looking for Faith" Tara said and saw the woman stop her writing and look at her suspiciously
"And who may I say is calling?" she asked warily
"It's Tara" the blonde replied strongly, feeling annoyed by the territorial look on the woman's face.
Tara watched her coming down the ladder, leaping the last three steps offering a clear view of her lean shape.
She was wearing a slim fit, low waist pair of bootcut jeans and a tight tank top that left most of her toned abdomen exposed.
The woman was gorgeous and had a very intimidating gaze.
She was tall, dark skinned and had long dark hair tied up in a single ponytail; her eyes were a beautiful shade of brown and Tara could notice that she had a belly button piercing
"Tara?" she asked sizing the witch up and down "the girlfriend Tara?"
"And you are?" the blonde decided she wasn't going to let herself be intimated that easily, so she straightened up her posture and cast an unfriendly look of her own
"Aysha Davis" she leered sensing the blonde was up to a challenge "you know…you're nothing like I imagined you'd be" she teased
"Oh…and why is that?" Tara decided to take the bait and see how far she'd go
"Let's say you're not the kind of girl I figured Faith would fall for" she said obnoxiously
"And how do you know the type of girl she likes?" Tara asked narrowing her eyes provocatively
"Believe me…I do" she retorted sarcastically and before the witch could respond she turned her head to the back of the room and shouted "Faith, someone here to see you"
The slayer came to the front and smiled happily when she saw her visitor. Aysha watched the grin forming on the slayer's lips and looked back to the blonde winking scornfully
"Nice meeting you" she sneered at the witch who felt like hitting the girl
Faith caught the pissed look that passed over Tara's face and intercepted Aysha on her way out
"Behave" she whispered warningly and proceeded to meet her girlfriend "hey, baby" she said kissing Tara's lips "that's a nice surprise"
"Yeah…I was in the neighborhood" she lied
"Aren't you on holiday from the university?" she asked a little confused
"I am…I j-j-just went for a w-w-walk" she stuttered avoiding Faith's eyes
"You went for a walk in the snow?" she asked picking on the blonde's uneasiness
"Yes" Tara shrugged and started pacing the room checking the books "you know…just wanted to see where you work"
"Where I work?" the slayer was getting very suspicious
"Sure…see what you do, meet your coworkers…" she said trying to sound nonchalant
"Why would you wanna meet a group of old, fat and bald watchers?" she asked furrowing her brows
"You don't work exclusively with watchers …" she said and received a raised eyebrow "t-t-there are the potential s-s-slayers…for example"
"You mean a bunch of fifteen-year-old wannabe's?" she was trying to understand what was going on
"Not all your colleagues are under aged" she narrowed her eyes at where Aysha had disappeared to
"Oh…" Faith nodded realizing what the problem was
"Yeah" Tara nodded as well "she's very beautiful"
"Are you kidding me? She's hot…" Faith snorted and Tara looked very unpleased "hey…I ain't blind" she replied defensively
"I can see that" the blonde folded her arms and glared at her girlfriend
"What?" she asked confused and then it hit her "are you jealous???" she grinned
"Did you sleep with her?" she decided to cut to the chase
"Yes" she replied honestly and saw the blonde's jaw muscles clenching tightly "right after I arrived here" she explained hurriedly "and right before I fell madly in love with you" she smiled when she saw her girl relaxing
"I'm sorry" Tara sighed a little embarrassed "it's just…she's so…and you…" she sighed again "I mean look at her…like you said, she's hot" she admitted and saw the slayer grinning like a fool "what?"
"Are you in love with me?" Faith asked directly
"What if I am?" she met the brunette's gaze
"Then I'll be the happiest slayer in the whole world" she declared with a gleam in her eyes
"There are only two slayers in the world, smart ass" she rolled her eyes giggling at the brunette's antics
"Then I'm definitely the happiest one of them" she declared solemnly and slid an arm around the blonde's waist pulling her into a passionate kiss
Two weeks later, not only Dawn but also Giles and Faith took a plane heading back to LA.
The slayer had received a call from Angel asking for her help, and as she was on parole, she couldn't travel unsupervised and that's why Giles went along.
Dawn returned to Sunnydale sworn to secrecy about Ariel's existence and she decided it would be better not to mention Tara's new relationship as well.
Tara remained in England with Ariel and Simone.
The blonde witch had just put Ariel to sleep when the phone rang
"Hello" she answered softly
"Hey baby" Faith greeted hoarsely
"Hi" she replied with a smile on her voice
"Did I wake you?" the slayer asked sheepishly
"No…I've just put Ariel down to sleep" she informed resting against the headboard of the bed
"So…what are you doing?" Faith asked teasingly
"I'm preparing material for the classes" she replied with a smirk
"Oh, stop it…you naughty-naughty woman" the brunette used a sultry voice causing the blonde to laugh
"How are things with Angel?" she asked giggling
"Hectic…" she explained "prom queen is having mighty headaches and keeping us busy"
"God…is she okay?" the blonde frowned worried
"Yeah…it's just this big demon that's messing with her head" the slayer said referring to Cordelia's visions "and things seems to be a little shaken between Angel and B…" she informed without much explanation "so, I'm the second best choice to help him slay it"
"You're not a second choice, Faith" Tara said catching the dejected tone in her girlfriend's voice
"Yeah, I am…but I'm okay with that" the brunette tried to sound nonchalant
"On being a 'second choice'?" Tara questioned with her brows furrowed "I don't buy that"
"Well, I'm trying to grow up" she snapped and regretted immediately "besides B is the original slayer…" she said trying to cover her outburst "you gotta respect hierarchy"
"Are you ok?" Tara asked sensing the slayer's down mood
"A little cranky…" she confessed with a sigh "I miss you"
"I miss you too" the blonde admitted truthfully and smiled picturing the grin on her girlfriend's face
They talked for about twenty minutes, but it was time enough for Tara to realize how much she'd grown attached to the slayer. The brunette was gone for three days and it felt like months; she could no longer deny her feelings. What she needed now was to work up the courage to voice them to her girlfriend.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a soft knock at the door
"Come in" she called
"Hey" Simone poked her head inside "I brought some tea" she said revealing a tray
"Fabulous" she grinned "you're adorable"
"Hum…not so much" she said pouring some tea for the blonde "are you ok?"
"Thank you" she took the cup and sipped it "why do you ask?"
"You look like you could use some talking" she offered and tried the hot liquid
"As a matter of fact…" she placed the cup on the nightstand "it's a little busy in here" she said touching her temple
"Care to share?" she offered the blonde her undivided attention
"It's…uh…not easy" she sighed and saw the nanny nodding encouragingly "I'm afraid I'm messing things up between me and Faith"
"Are you doing this on purpose?"
"No…" Tara sighed "but I feel that my insecurities and inner demons are keeping her at a distance. And I don't know how much longer she's willing to wait...you know?"
"Do you love her?" she asked directly
"I do…but I don't seem to be able to admit that" she confessed a little embarrassed
"Admit it to her or to yourself?"
"What do you mean?" she frowned
"you're scared" the nanny said "you're afraid to let go of your past…and deep down in your heart you feel as if you're cheating on Willow" she smiled "am I right?"
"Perhaps…" she smiled shyly "Willow was the first person who's ever made me feel special…before her I felt…invisible" she sighed and felt the tears burning behind her eyes "I always believed that there's only one right person for you out there…and when I met Willow, I knew she was the one" she told "I knew she was my soul mate and that we were destined to be together…forever" she felt a tear sliding down her cheek "maybe that's why I felt so hurt, so betrayed from what she did…I felt that I'd lost my only chance for happiness" her heart constricted at the painful memories "but then…"
"Then you met a hard-head, wise-ass, mule-stubborn but adorable slayer who shook you up" Simone said rolling her eyes and giggling
"Yes…" Tara admitted with a small smile "she made me feel again…she made me realize I still have a chance to be happy"
"And now you're feeling...guilty" she concluded
"Exactly" she nodded in agreement and dried her face
"May I speak frankly?" the nanny asked biting the inside of her cheek
"Please" Tara said running both hands through her hair
"you're right" she nodded and stood from the bed "Willow is your soul mate…she's the one destined to be at your side" she said pacing in front of the blonde "but she's not the right person for you right now" she stopped and sat down again "you're hurt, you need to heal…you need to fix you heart before exposing it to her again" she saw the blonde furrowing her brows and listening attentively "you have to prove to yourself that you can be happy without her" she said seriously "because only then you will have the courage to face up your past and tell Willow about your daughter" she pointed out "open up your heart and admit your feelings" she recommended "first to yourself and then to Faith...what she feels for you is real and what you guys have is worth working through" she smiled and saw the blonde considering her words "think about that and call me if you need anything" she took the tray and stood up walking to the door
"Thank you" Tara whispered and the nanny nodded
"Goodnight my child" she bid it and left, leaving the blonde to process their chat