Disclaimer: None of the characters in this story belong to me. They belong solely to Joss Whedon. I just borrow them, and toy with them a bit...

Characters: Willow and Tara.

Other: Femmeslash soon to come, not for da little kiddies.

Tara Maclay wiped at her cheeks, and stood up. She headed towards the old motel she had been staying in, thinking about her Willow. So she did still love her, and she did still miss her. When Tara was resurrected, she went to find Willow, and the gang immediately after, but when she saw Willow embrace Kennedy, and kiss her so, her heart exploded with despair, and she ran away. As far, and as fast as she possibly could, she ran, and ended up at an old motel. But now she felt so much better knowing that Willow's heart still belonged to her.

Now she just had to find the right time to reveal herself to Willow. She didn't want to do it around all of the others, because she wanted to spend a little time reuniting with Willow before she put up with everyone else. And since Willow hadn't been alone since Tara had been resurrected, she had no chances. This was her only chance, and she hesitated, entertaining silly little thoughts about, 'What if she's moved on?' or stuff like, 'What if she doesn't love me anymore?'... And then Buffy showed up, and all those questions and fears were destroyed with Willow's words. Tara's heart was fluttering, and she now exploded with the desire to reveal to Willow that she was, in fact, alive once again.

She slid her cardkey into the door, just as her neighbor had rounded the corner. "Tara!!" he exclaimed.

"Hello Jim..." Tara said, still slightly dazed.

"What's with you? Somethin' got yeh dumbfounded?" Jim asked, clapping her on the back. Jim was from the south. One of the Carolina's to be exact. Although not everyone is down south, Jim was a hick through and through. He was missing teeth everywhere, he never usually wore shoes, flannel over-ran his wardrobe, and he always smelled funky. The first day Tara met him, she couldn't help but laugh. Thankfully, Jim hadn't known it was he she was laughing at, and just took it as good spirit. He had a heavy southern accent. Tara enjoyed his company very much, because his words usually soothed her.

Tara shook her head, and snapped herself out of it. "No, not dumbfounded. Extremely happy." She finished opening her door and stepped in. Jim followed. "Would you like a drink? I have tea."

Jim smiled at Tara. "Now, y'know I don' drink that stuff."

Tara smiled back. "And that's why I keep Bud in the fridge."

"Yep. Nuttin' like and ice cold beer after... Well..." He said, as Tara handed him his beer. "Well, I didn' really do nuttin' today, so I guess there's just nuttin' like an ice cold beer." He popped the cap and foam flooded onto the carpet. "Aw, shoot. Sorry, lady, I'll get dat." He leaned down, but Tara but her hand on his shoulder.

"It's okay Jim. I'll get a towel. Don't you worry about it." She recieved a wide toothless smile for her kindness.

Tara disappeared into the bathroom to retrieve a towel. Whilst in there, she stopped at the mirror and stared at herself. She looked absolutely stupid. She had a silly little grin on her face, her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes were dazed. Yeah, I guess that's what love does to you. She turned to the cabinet and retrieved the towel, humming as she walked back into where Jim sat. You couldn't really call it a living room. It was a living room/bedroom/kitchen/dining room. When you live in a motel, you can't really expect much more. Tara didn't care. It was just temporary, until she finally told Willow that she was alive. She'd miss Jim, but she could always stay in touch.

So many thoughts were swimming in her mind, Tara began rubbing the wrong spot on the floor. "Um, I think it migh' be a lil' more effective if yeh' wipe the beer, lady."

Tara giggled as she realized what she was doing. "Oh dear, my head just isn't on tonight, is it?"

"Sure it is." Jim said with a chuckle. "But that can be helped." Jim's voice changed. He lost his southern accent, and it deepened to a soft baratone.

Tara looked up at the abrupt change to find herself staring at Angel. She stood up and backed against a nearby wall. "A-a-angel." She stuttered. "W-what are y-y-you doing here?" she asked him. She hated that she stuttered at the slightest hint of fear, shock, surprise, or nervousness.

"Nothing, I was actually just about to leave. See, this Jim guy, too talkative. I had to eat him. But just before I went for him, he said your name. Then I thought, nooo, she couldn't be alive. No way. So I ate him, and I was about to leave, but I got curious. So. How'd you do it?" Angelus said with a sneer.

Tara shook. "I d-d-d-d--" Her stutter was worsening. Angelus was here, Angelus was evil, and Angelus could over-power Tara within seconds, despite her witchy powers. "N-n-no id-d-dea." She stammered out.

Angelus drew closer. "Well, I just ate, so I'm not very hungry. What to do with you..." he said, tapping his chin mockingly.

Tara almost broke down. All she could think about was Willow, and how horrible it would be to die before Willow even knew that she had come back the first time. Her heart was racing. She couldn't think straight. Wait!! She thought of something. She muttered under her breath, an incantation of a binding spell that she read about while she was alive before. She let the magic build up before she finally released the spell, and Angelus was sent flying through the wall, into Jim's room. He couldn't move.

Tara stepped throught to see the damage. She looked to her right, and saw Jim lieing on the floor next to the sink. She let out a small yelp, as her hand covered her mouth, and tears streamed down her cheeks. Then she looked to Angelus with hatred, and disgust, and fear.

"Ugh, you bitch, let me up!!" Angelus screamed. He tried and tried again to move, but the spell was too strong. "I swear, I'm going to kill you."

That was all Tara needed to get the hell out of there. She swiped Jim's truck keys from the counter, spun on her heels, and took off for the parking lot. It took until she got behind the wheel for Tara to remember that she never learned how to drive. Angelus let loose another scream from in Jim's room, which made Tara resolve to do the best she could. If she didn't get a good head start, he'd catch her in no time. So she shoved the key into the ignition, and turned it. It took three or four tries before the truck started. Throwing the gear into R, which Tara assumed to be reverse, she hoped to be reverse, she stepped on the gas. She was right, it was reverse, but the momentum of the way she stomped on the gas made her hit her head on the steering wheel. So, Tara strapped on her seatbelt, and pushed the gas, more cautiously this time, until she had backed up enough to turn onto the road, she threw it in D, she hoped that was right, and sped off in whatever direction the road would lead her.

(To be continued...)