The first week was tricky as the friends tried to get used to their new realities with Buffy trying to juggle her classes, taking care of Willow, hanging out with Riley, and slaying. Luckily, the roommates were in most of the same classes so Buffy was with Willow whenever she needed anything. There was only one class that Willow was taking that Buffy wasn't, and the Slayer had to drop off Willow, run to her own class, and come back to pick up her friend at the end of the class.
They had talked to their professors, and all had agreed to speaking into Willow's microphone so that the redhead would have a transcription of their class lectures, and wouldn't be forced to rely on Buffy's note taking efforts.
Xander was working frequently, but he would spend as much time as he could in the dorm with the captive witch and her protective caretaker. It was only at night when Willow was left alone, when Xander would go to take his shift at the bar, or whatever job he was working that day, and Buffy would go out on, admittedly brief, patrols. Giles and Joyce came by frequently just to sit and talk with her or, in the case of Mrs. Summers, to clean the room when it got too messy.
The only person who hadn't stopped by was Oz. Willow was doing her best to not think about him, but it was hard when she was trapped in the chair and there were tiny reminders of him everywhere. Buffy had taken down the Dingoes posters after the first night Willow had cried in her sleep, the Slayer holding her friend soothingly until she calmed down enough to sleep peacefully. But Buffy hadn't managed to get everything hidden, and it wouldn't have mattered if she had, because thinking about Oz, missing Oz, felt like something that was completely beyond her control. She could just hold on and do her best to keep herself distracted.
Willow was alone one night two weeks after the accident, trying to get a makeup essay finished when there was a tentative knock at the door. Grumbling, she tried to pull her chair over to answer the door, but wasn't able to get more than a foot before pain was screaming through her body.
"Who is it?" she called, knowing better than to just shout 'come in' in Sunnydale.
"Um-m, it's T-Tara. From the W-Wicca group-p," came the answer.
Willow frowned, trying to remember if she knew Tara. Most of the girls from the Wicca group were completely harmless. Annoying, but harmless, and she decided to risk it. "Come on in," she called, gritting her teeth and resting a protective hand over her screaming muscles.
The door opened slowly, a head peeking around the edge. Willow remembered Tara suddenly, the pretty but painfully shy blonde girl who rarely spoke during the meetings. Willow smiled as best she could around grimacing at the pain.
Tara moved more quickly into the room as she realized that Willow was in pain. "A-are you…? W-where are your pills?" she asked, sliding a box onto the corner of Willow's desk.
Willow grimaced, shaking her head. "No, it's fine. I promised Buffy I wouldn't take them when she was gone." The girl gave her a confused look and Willow continued. "They make me pass out almost immediately and I can't get myself out of my chair without her."
Tara seemed to be thinking about that and she opened and closed her mouth without speaking for a few moments. "C-could I try something?" she asked hesitantly, crouching next to the chair slowly and holding up one empty hand.
Willow nodded after a moment. "Okay," she said softly. She didn't know this girl, but there was something in her eyes that told her that Tara wouldn't hurt her.
The blonde rubbed her hands together for a few seconds, her eyes finding Willow's. "Where do-does it hurt?" she asked, holding out one of her hands.
Willow took the hand after a second of hesitation and guided it to where the muscles of her stomach were screaming. Tara's hand was warm through her shirt, and the heat seemed to grow hotter after several seconds, the pain receding as the warmth grew. Willow felt the magic rush through her, sending tingles to the ends of her fingers, and she looked down at the girl in surprise. "You're really a witch!" she blurted, seeing the blonde suddenly blush brightly and snatch her hand back.
"H-how…? How could you know-w that?" she asked warily.
"Oh, no, don't be afraid. I am too," Willow said. "Really," she said, seeing the doubt in Tara's face. She let her eyes close in concentration, her bottle of pills lifting itself from beside her laptop and crossing the room to her hand. "See?" she said with a grin as she opened her eyes.
Tara's eyes widened as she felt Willow's power. The redhead was strong. Stronger than anyone she'd ever met before. "You've got power," she said without thinking, surprised to realize that she hadn't stuttered.
Willow blushed, shaking her head. "No, I'm just really getting started. You're the strong one," Willow stated, her hand dropping her medicine bottle into her lap to rub over her stomach. "You fixed my tummy," she said cheerfully and Tara blushed brightly. "Thank you."
Tara nodded, still blushing, and she stood up, looking around the floor at her feet. "You're w-welcome, Willow."
"Hey, you know my name. That's cool. Have a seat, Tara," Willow offered, gesturing to her own bed.
Tara took the spot, lifting the box she'd brought in with her and holding it protectively on her lap. "It-it's a cake," she said, holding the box out.
She'd noticed the redhead the first time Willow had ever come to a group meeting, but she'd never spoken to her, never really spoken up in meetings at all, just sat in silence and watched the others. For the most part, the 'witches' of the Wicca group were all talk. But besides being beautiful, Willow had been immediately noticeable because of her aura, the magic and power weaving themselves into a second skin that glowed in Tara's view. It had been too much to expect that the redhead knew of her own potential though, and Tara had tried to push any hopes that she might have found a real witch out of her head. Now though, she couldn't keep her eyes from lingering as the redhead reached to accept the box.
Willow grinned as she took it. "Thanks. You bought me a cake?" she asked, arching an eyebrow.
Tara shrugged, her empty fingers fidgeting with the fabric of her skirt. "I m-made it. T-the group wants to have a bake sale, b-but I thought you might l-like it."
"And they're better with bake sales than actual magic," Willow finished for her, smirking. "Fortunately for me, you're good at both," she commented, opening the box to sniff at the cake. "You want a piece?" she offered.
Tara blushed, shaking her head. "No, it's f-for you," she said.
"I can't eat that whole thing by myself! Come on," Willow prompted her. "It smells delicious, and you made it. You should have a piece," she said. "And since I'm not going to be able to cut it for myself, I'm going to have to insist that you cut yourself a piece as a thank you for slicing it up for me," she proposed.
Tara bit her lip, but nodded, smiling crookedly as she took the box back from Willow. She put the cake on the bedside table carefully before turning back to look for a knife.
"There're plates on the shelf over there and forks and knives are in the basket on top of the fridge," Willow said, pointing. Her walkie-talkie crackled in the pouch of her sweatshirt and she pulled it out.
"Hey Will, I'm on my way home. Sorry it took me so long," Buffy said. "You're okay, right?"
Willow laughed, sending Tara a smile as the blonde moved back behind her to slice the cake. "Yeah, I'm good. Tara from the Wicca group brought me a cake, so she's here and we're hanging out."
Buffy got the unspoken hint to not mention anything about vampires or slaying and answered. "Aww, well that was nice of her. Thank you, Tara."
Willow grinned, holding the walkie-talkie over her head so Tara could answer. Willow felt another tingle shoot down her arm as Tara's hand touched hers to stabilize the walkie-talkie, but there was no magic to cause it.
"No p-problem. Would you l-like a slice of c-cake?" Tara asked into the speaker, blushing again.
"Sure, that would be great. Thank you. I'll be there in a few minutes to meet you in person," Buffy said.
"Be careful," Willow told her. Tara's hand appeared in front of her, holding a plate and fork. Willow slipped the walkie-talkie back into her pocket before taking the plate from her. "Thank you," she said gratefully as Tara moved around her chair to sit on the edge of Willow's bed again.
"C-can you get it?" Tara asked hesitantly, watching Willow balance the plate on her left thigh.
Willow nodded, fiddling with the fork in her left hand. "Oh, yeah, I'm good," she answered. "It just takes me a few seconds to get settled."
"O-okay," Tara said, settling back into her spot and taking a bite of her cake.
"So, you're a witch," Willow commented with a smile. "And you can bake. I just met you, but you seem like an amazing person, Tara."
The blonde blushed brightly, glancing at Willow shyly. "T-thank you. I-I'm o-okay, n-not as s-strong as y-you."
Willow shrugged, smiling around a bite of her cake. "I'm not sure about that, but I burn water, so you're miles ahead of me on the cooking thing. It was really nice of the group to send you to visit me. I sent Buffy to tell them I wouldn't be around, but I didn't really think they would notice that I was gone."
"T-they didn't send-d me," Tara said, her ears burning as she ducked her head to cover her face with her hair. "I-I n-noticed you at meetings, a-and after Buffy said you were h-hurt, I just w-wanted to see y-you."
Willow blinked in surprise. "Well, that was nice of you, Tara. And I'm glad the group didn't send you. They need to focus on their very important bake sale," Willow teased with a smirk. "No time to actually practice spells, or do real magic."
Tara smiled, nodding. "Y-yeah, cause what kind of Wicca g-group would want that?" she agreed, giggling.
Willow snorted, shrugging with her good arm. "Not the one we're a part of, apparently." She glanced at the blonde speculatively. "You know, if you wanted, we could practice some spells sometime, once I can move more than half of my body, I mean. Of course, if you don't want to ever come see me again, you don't have to, but you're the only real witch I know, at least the only one that isn't currently a rat, and it would be cool to hang out some more." She blushed as she realized that she was rambling, but she couldn't stop herself. "I mean, I'd like to get to know you more, even if you don't want to do spells, we could just talk, or watch TV, or whatever you wanted." She took a deep breath, tapping at her plate with her fork. "If you can't tell, I haven't met any new people in a while, I'm a little rusty, not that I've ever been really smooth with people," she commented, both of their eyes jumping to the door as the knob twitched before Tara could speak. "Oh, thank God, an interruption," Willow muttered to herself, smiling as Tara giggled at her.
The door opened after a moment, Buffy entering. She had her weapons bag over her shoulder, but she had zipped it up before she came in, grateful for Willow's warning. Patrol had been fairly uninteresting, and she had felt guilty that she'd left Willow, but was grateful that Willow hadn't been alone all night.
"You must be Tara," Buffy said. "I'm Buffy, Willow's roommate and bestest friend."
"And she does know how to speak proper English, she just chooses not to," Willow commented, ducking her head away from Buffy's playful swat, grateful that her friend's arrival had stopped her uncontrolled rambling.
Tara smiled shyly, but didn't say anything. Buffy was surprised to see that the blonde had already set aside a piece of cake for her and she smiled thankfully. "This cake is great," Buffy said sincerely as soon as she swallowed her first bite. "You made this?" Tara nodded, still without speaking. "Well, it's great. You were sweet to bring it for Willow."
"I just hope you f-feel better s-soon," Tara said softly, standing up as she finished her cake. She carefully brushed the crumbs into the trash can and put the plate neatly on a stack of dirty dishes Buffy had been meaning to wash. "I should g-go," she stuttered.
"You don't have to go, Tara," Willow objected. "Stay for a while, if you want to, I mean, obviously you don't have to, but if you don't need to leave, you're welcome to stay and hang out with us for a while, cause you seem really nice, and you can actually do magic, and I'd like to spend more time with you."
Buffy was smirking as her friend finished her mini-babble and Tara was smiling at her, a crooked little half smile. "You'll have to forgive Willow. Sometimes she forgets to breathe when she's talking and she tends to babble," Buffy teased while Willow blushed brightly.
"It was cute," Tara said, instantly blushing bright red. "But I really do h-have to go," she said regretfully. "I'm sorry. I c-could come back sometime, if you w-wanted me to," the shy witch offered, glancing rapidly at Buffy before her eyes went back to Willow.
The redhead nodded quickly, smiling. "That would be great," Willow agreed immediately. "I mean, if you want to."
"I w-will, if it's n-not a b-bother," Tara said. "I d-don't want to w-wear out my w-welcome."
Buffy laughed. "You two are going to go around in circles like that all night, aren't you?" she asked. "Tara, feel free to come over whenever you want. It would really help Willow to not kill me, and you seem really nice."
Tara blushed again, but there was a shy, crooked smile on her lips. "T-thank you. I'll come b-back sometime."
Willow looked around quickly, trying to find something. Buffy figured out what her friend was looking for, collecting a piece of paper and jotting down their phone number in a rush.
"I think this is for you," Buffy commented as she handed the paper over to Tara. "Hopefully we'll see you soon."
Tara nodded, still smiling. "T-thank you." She played with the paper in between her fingers. "I hope you f-feel better s-soon, Willow."
"Thank you for coming over, Tara. I really appreciate it, and not just for the cake," Willow said cheerfully. "I hope you'll come back soon."
Tara blushed, but nodded, ducking her head so that her hair slid in front of her face. Buffy finished her cake and stood up. "Where do you live?" she asked, glancing out the window at the full darkness. It wasn't a werewolf night for another week, but that didn't mean that there weren't the average vampires out on the streets. "I think I left something at the gym earlier, so I could walk with you," she offered.
Tara shook her head. "I l-live in Fike, b-but it's okay. Willow would be a-alone then."
"Oh, it's no big deal. Buffy will take her walkie-talkie, and I'll call if I need anything," Willow said immediately. "It's not safe to be out alone at night."
"Come on," Buffy said encouragingly. "It's on my way, and it would make Will feel better if you're not out so late alone," she prompted, and the redhead nodded quickly in confirmation as Tara glanced at her.
"O-okay," Tara sighed, her feet shuffling against the carpet. "T-thank you, B-Buffy."
The Slayer grinned, making a point of being obvious about sliding her walkie-talkie into her jacket pocket. She was more subtle about the stake she slid up her sleeve. She gave Willow a wink and patted her on the shoulder. "Want me to move you back to your computer?" she asked.
Willow nodded, and Tara moved quickly out of the way. Willow caught Tara's wrist with her good hand, smiling up at her as she felt the rush of sensation she was beginning to realize occurred whenever her skin touched Tara's. "Thanks so much for coming, Tara. I had a great time and I hope you come back and see me soon. I'm here all the time, so feel free to drop by whenever you want to," Willow offered, squeezing the wrist in her hand gently.
Tara smiled, still looking shy. "T-thanks Willow, I will."
Buffy parked Willow's chair by the desk and handed her the microphone before the hacker could ask for it. "Be back soon," Buffy said, letting Tara lead the way out of the room.
They walked quietly for a while, Buffy keeping a cautious eye out for any unwanted company. They had almost reached Tara's dorm when she heard the steps echoing theirs. She stopped walking abruptly, spinning to face the darkness.
"I know you're back there, come on out," she prompted, feeling Tara stiffen behind her. Buffy let her fingers slide closer to the hidden stake, but dropped her hand as their guest revealed himself. "Oz, what are you doing following me?" she demanded, not bothering to keep her voice civil.
The young werewolf looked rough, dirty and scruffy, his jeans torn and his shoes and shirt missing entirely. "I wanted to talk to you…about Willow. She told you what happened?" There were scrapes and bruises on his skin, and Buffy felt a stab of unwilling sympathy.
"She told me. Xander told you what happened to her, right?" Buffy asked, crossing her arms over her chest.
Oz nodded. "He told me."
"It's been two weeks, Oz! She's been in a wheelchair for two weeks and you haven't shown your face, or called, or anything!" she said angrily, only then remembering that Tara was still behind her, and Buffy glanced over her shoulder at the confused witch. "Oz, this isn't a great time. Tara's on her way home, and I forgot something at the gym, so we need to keep going because the gym is going to be locked up in a little bit."
Oz sighed, his shoulders slumping. "Okay, Buffy. I just…could you tell her that I'm sorry?"
Buffy let out a deep breath. "Oz…just wait here for me, okay? I'll talk to you soon." He nodded desolately. Buffy started to walk again, Tara falling into step behind her, only to stumble when the Slayer abruptly stopped walking. She didn't turn to face Oz again, but spoke clearly. "Is she still in town? I'm cutting you a break that may or may not be temporary, but she gets no second chance," she said plainly.
"She's gone, for good," he said, his voice quiet.
Buffy started walking again without asking for clarification of that ominous sounding statement, leaving Tara looking between the two of them in confusion for a long moment before she walked quickly after Buffy. The Slayer seemed angry, but Tara didn't feel comfortable speaking up.
A growl of frustration prompted her to say something finally. "H-he's Willow's b-boyfriend?" she asked reluctantly.
"Ex-boyfriend, if I have anything to say about it," Buffy growled, feeling her fists clenching and unclenching at her sides. She let out a deep breath to try and calm herself down. "Tara, I'm sorry. You just met us and there's already drama going on. I hope it won't put you off going to visit Willow. She really does get lonely in our room with just me and Xander for company."
"N-no, I s-still want to c-come see Willow," Tara said slowly. "I j-just…s-she's okay, r-right?"
Buffy sighed, letting her shoulders slump. "I hope so, but I don't really know for sure," she confessed honestly. Tara's eyes widened and she sucked in a surprised breath. "I mean, she'll recover from getting hit by the car. She should be able to start using crutches in a few more weeks even, but the Oz stuff…I don't know how she'll do with that."
"H-he h-hurt her?" Tara asked, a frown on her mouth.
"It's more complicated than that, but the very, very short answer is yes," Buffy said, forcing down her frustration with the werewolf. They arrived at Tara's dorm and the Slayer ran a hand through her hair as the witch lingered in the doorway of the lounge.
"T-thanks for w-walking me back," Tara said, not meeting Buffy's eyes.
"Yeah, no problem, Tara. I really hope we'll see you again soon," Buffy said. "I mean, I guess I wouldn't blame you if tonight put you off wanting to get to know us, but…"
Tara surprised both of them by interrupting the Slayer. "I want to k-know you," she said quietly.
Buffy nodded, smiling. "Well, I'm glad. I guess I should go see what Oz has to say. Sorry if I've made you late for anything," she said, waving as Tara turned to go inside. "Good night, Tara."
Buffy thought about walking slowly back, giving herself time to think, but the restless energy demanded an outlet. She idly thought about going out to seek out something to beat, but decided against it. With a sigh, she pulled her walkie-talkie out.
"Willow, I might be a little late getting home. Are you going to be alright?" she asked. There was no response, and images of potential horrors flashed through her mind immediately. "Willow!"
There was still no answer, and without another thought she took off running, her feet flying across the campus. She realized dimly that she'd bolted straight past Oz, but she didn't pause. He chased after her, staying several paces behind her, unable to catch up to her. The lights of Stevenson were all dark and she felt a knot tighten in her stomach. There were several people crouching in the lounge, but she sprinted past them without a glance.
"Willow!" she yelled as she turned the corner into their hallway. She could hear a muffled struggle going on in front of her, but the darkness made it difficult to see. Oz tore into the hallway behind her, nearly colliding with her back as she tried to find Willow.
"She's in there," Oz said, pointing at a shut door.
The door crashed open before Buffy could kick it down, several men in military garb wrestling another man to the ground. Their captive's platinum blond hair made him recognizable as Spike, even in the thick darkness. They rolled as they struggled, but Buffy just planted her foot against the struggling mass of men and pushed them forcibly away from her.
As soon as the doorway was clear, she was inside. "Will, where are you?" she called, cursing the darkness. She heard a low groan and followed the sound until she found her friend's wheelchair with one hand. "Come on Will, talk to me," she pleaded, dropping to her knees next to the chair.
A gentle touch to Willow's face elicited another groan, the witch's head rolling away from the Slayer's fingers. "Come on," Buffy muttered, trying not to panic. "Wake up, Willow," she hissed.
"Buffy?" Oz asked from behind her. "How is she?"
"Unconscious," she said shortly. "What's going on in the hall?" Her voice was brusque and harsh, but she couldn't bring herself to temper her attitude.
"Those trooper guys dragged that other guy away," he answered. "Was that Spike?"
"Looked like him," Buffy commented, not able to concentrate on that when she couldn't get Willow to wake up. "I need to check on Willow. I need the damn lights to come back on."
Even as she spoke, the lights flickered and snapped on. Willow's head was leaned against her chest and Buffy sat forward to find her friend's pulse in her neck. She let out a breath of relief, sliding a hand down both sides of Willow's neck, checking for bites. Another deep breath escaped as she found only unblemished skin.
"Come on Will, wake up," she muttered, sitting back on her heels. "Oz, is your van around? We need to get her to the hospital."
"I'll get it," he said, moving out of the room.
Buffy glanced around, seeing the crushed clutter in the room. She didn't know whose room this was, but she felt bad that their room was wrecked. She tried to imagine how Willow could have ended up in this room, but there was no prospect that didn't make her angry.
The most likely possibility seemed to be that Spike had come looking for Buffy herself and had found Willow, alone and injured, and decided to take his meal to go. She didn't know how he hadn't bitten the witch, but she was bitter that she had failed her friend again.
She cleared the debris in front of the wheelchair's path and started pulling the chair toward the doors. Oz's van was at the curb when she got the chair outside and she slid open the side door and lifted the entire chair into the back of the van before he could get out of his seat.
"Drive," she said, balancing herself on the balls of her feet in the seat-less back of the van. Her firm grip kept Willow's chair from moving, Oz driving almost recklessly toward the hospital. He screeched into the parking circle at the hospital and Buffy slung the door open and lifted the chair out almost before the vehicle had stopped moving.
She carried the chair up the stairs herself rather than try and navigate the curved ramp. "I need help," she called as soon as she was inside, relieved when they were immediately surrounded by nurses and doctors. "She got attacked, I don't know what happened exactly, but she was hit by a car two weeks ago, and I haven't been able to wake her up."
"Do you know how long she's been unconscious?" one of the doctors asked.
Buffy shook her head. "Not really. It's been about twenty minutes since I found her."
They nodded, taking the chair from her and wheeling Willow away. "We'll take her in for some x-rays, make sure she hasn't broken anything again, and we'll need to keep her overnight for observation."
Buffy nodded. "Okay, just please tell me whatever you find out," she requested anxiously. She paced for a few minutes before realizing that she had some calls she needed to make. Xander was asleep when she called, but woke up as soon as she told him what had happened. Riley sounded oddly awake for it being so late at night, but he agreed to collect their assignments for the next day.
She had just hung up the phone with Giles when Oz came into the waiting room. He had found a shirt somewhere, but his bare, dirty feet were only covered by the dragging edges of his torn jeans and Buffy noticed the receptionist staring at him with a distasteful expression on her face.
He was shuffling his feet, and Buffy jerked her head toward the corner, leading him into the closer quarters. "Buffy," he started to speak, but she cut him off, one finger shoved into his face.
"No Oz, you listen to me!" she said. "As much as I've been blaming myself for not getting there fast enough, Willow in that chair because of what you did, and you have to live with that, but I cannot let you break her heart again. If you think you're getting within a hundred yards of her without her wanting you there, you're crazy."
"I'm leaving, Buffy," he interjected quietly.
"What?" she asked, her arms crossed over her chest.
"I can't be around her. Not the way I am now, not until I get some stuff worked out. The wolf, I have to get it under control." He took a deep breath. "Will you tell her goodbye for me? And that I'm sorry…"
Buffy stared at him, nodding wordlessly. "When are you going?" she asked after a long moment.
He shrugged under his dirty clothes. "I'm thinking now would be a good time," he said, letting out a heavy sigh when she nodded her agreement. She didn't speak, and he turned to leave.
"Good luck, Oz," she breathed quietly, too low for him to hear her as she watched him leave. She knew that this would only make things harder for Willow, but maybe with time and distance, the pair could make things work again.
Tara was surprised when her phone rang. It was the middle of the afternoon, and she was done with classes for the day, but it was rare that she got phone calls at any time of the day.
"Hello?" she answered uncertainly.
"Hey. Tara. It's Buffy, Willow's roommate," her caller answered.
Tara giggled, smiling. She'd visited Stevenson several times since her introduction with cake a week earlier, and knew perfectly well who Buffy was. "I know who you a-are, Buffy."
"Yeah, well, I'm calling to ask for a favor, so I thought I'd remind you," Buffy teased.
"What do y-you need?" Tara asked, already knowing that she would agree, whatever it was.
"Will's kicking me out, and I was hoping you would come over and hang out with her," Buffy explained.
"What?" Tara asked, confused. "Willow kicked you o-out?"
"Yeah, she says we're spending too much quantity time, and she's making me go out with Riley this afternoon. But I'll be home by dark if you've got something to do tonight."
"Oh," Tara breathed, blushing as she realized her misunderstanding. "She's m-making you go on a date?" she asked skeptically.
"Well, she didn't have to push me too hard, but I don't want her to be alone all day, even if I do have the walkie-talkie with me," Buffy admitted. "So it would help me out if you could just casually swing by the room and hang out with Willow while I'm out."
Tara laughed into the phone. "That's not such a b-big favor, Buffy."
"So, you'll do it?" Buffy asked happily.
"I was going to c-call her when you called me," Tara said, giggling again. "S-so it's really no problem."
"Great! That makes me feel tons better. Just forget I called then," Buffy prompted cheerfully. "Thanks, Tara. Riley is picking me up around three. I'll be back in the room in a few minutes, I just got out of class."
"I'll g-get there before three then," Tara offered. "So she doesn't k-know that you set up a b-babysitter for her."
"Tara! It's not like that! I just don't want her to get hurt, and I know you don't either, so if you happen to be hanging out in the room when I'm gone, that's not the same as getting her a babysitter," Buffy protested, hearing the witch's giggles through the phone. "Fine, make fun of me," she grumbled good naturedly. "As long as you'll still come hang out with Will."
"I'll be there," Tara assured her, still laughing. "See you soon," she said as she hung up the phone. She held the phone for a few moments before she dialed the number for Willow's room.
"Hello?" Willow answered, her voice distracted and tired.
"Hey, Willow. It's Tara," the blonde greeted her.
"Oh, hey Tara!" Willow said, sounding more cheerful. "What's up?"
Tara played with the phone's cord, smiling. "Want some company?" she asked. "I'm out of c-class for today, and I wanted to s-see you, and I'm hoping you don't have p-plans…"
"No! No plans! Come over! Please!" Willow interrupted eagerly. Tara giggled and could hear the door open on Willow's side of the phone. "Hey Buffy, Tara's coming over!" she announced happily. "You are coming, right?" she checked into the phone.
"I'll leave as soon as I get off the phone," Tara assured her. "Want me to b-bring anything?" she asked.
"Nope! Just yourself!" Willow said cheerfully.
Tara laughed again, smiling happily. "I'm on my way," she said. Willow cheered into the phone and Tara reluctantly clicked the button to end the call. She realized she was smiling rather goofily to an empty room, and she sighed, her smile fading after a moment. She knew after spending time with her over the last week that she had a crush on the redhead, but Willow was straight, she reminded herself. Charming, adorable, gorgeous, and straight.
She kept that reminder at the front of her mind as she gathered her keys and her wallet, but the smile was back before she was out the door. It was still there when Buffy answered her knock a few minutes later.
Willow was putting her computer away as the Slayer let her in, and Tara gave her a questioning look. "I thought you didn't have p-plans," she said, arching an eyebrow.
"Oh, she doesn't," Buffy answered for her friend, shaking her head. "Not even getting hit by a car can slow Willow down. She's already caught up on the work she missed, and she's trying to get ahead." She was smirking as she spoke and Willow blushed.
"Well, it's not like I can go out dancing," she objected weakly, glancing down at her chair.
Tara frowned. "When's the last time you l-left the room?" she asked, glancing between Willow and Buffy.
"Oh, we had class this morning," Willow answered, shrugging with her good shoulder.
"Well, it's a beautiful day," Tara said. "Do you w-want to go somewhere?"
Willow looked up at Buffy, the Slayer just giving her an encouraging smile. "You don't have to stay in here," Buffy reminded her. "I'm sure Tara wouldn't mind pushing the chair."
Willow smiled at the other witch, looking embarrassed. "There's no need for you to do that. We don't have to go outside."
"I w-wouldn't have offered if I didn't want to," Tara objected. "We don't h-have to go anywhere if y-you don't want to, but…"
Buffy's laugh interrupted her. "You two are always doing that. It's so funny," she said as she poked through her closet for something to wear on her date. "It's going to be great when one of you actually steps up and tells the other one what you want," she observed, her head turned away from them, sorting through her clothes distractedly.
Willow and Tara exchanged glances, Tara hoping desperately that she wasn't blushing too brightly, while Willow just grinned.
Buffy noticed nothing, poking an arm out of the closet with a hanger on her fingertips, holding it out for inspection. "What do you guys think of this one?"
They helped the Slayer choose an outfit, and Tara answered the door for Riley as Buffy threw on one final clothing change before they left. The couple left, and Tara took a seat on the edge of Willow's bed.
"So, where do you want to g-go?" she asked, the room feeling suddenly very quiet in the aftermath of Buffy's departure.
Willow shrugged with her good arm, her hand scratching absently at the edge of the cast on her leg. "Anywhere outside sounds like heaven to me," she said honestly. "Is there somewhere in town that you like to go?"
"We could go to the park," Tara suggested. "Or, if you don't want to go that far, there are some big grassy fields on campus."
Willow let out a blissful sigh. "That sounds perfect," she said with a smile.
"Have you eaten lunch? We could get some f-food," Tara said, moving around the chair and propelling it toward the door. She paused outside to let Willow lock it behind them. "You've got your walkie-talkie, right?" she checked.
Willow nodded, already brighter now that she was facing the prospect of spending time outside. "Yep!" she responded cheerfully. "Let's go!"
Tara laughed and started pushing the chair down the hall toward the lounge. They made it outside, and Willow took a deep breath of fresh air. "You don't relax o-often, do you?" Tara observed.
Willow was silent, thinking the question over. It was true that she didn't let herself chill very much, but her inability to move freely had given her more time to do so. But that didn't mean she had been using her downtime to relax, instead working endlessly on schoolwork or spells, anything to keep her mind off Oz.
"No," she answered. "Not really. I've always been kind of an over achiever."
Tara pursed her lips as they walked down the sidewalk, the chair jostling slightly as they went down a sloped curb and across a street. "Well, you s-should relax more. It's not the end of the w-world if you take some t-time for yourself."
Willow sighed, the sound distinctly different from her happy sigh from only a few minutes earlier. "Doesn't feel like that," she said, her voice heavy.
"I d-didn't mean…I'm sorry," Tara said, realizing that she'd unintentionally said something that had Willow upset.
"No," Willow protested, dropping her head into her good hand. "It's not your fault my life is screwed up. You actually help make it better," she said, looking over her shoulder at Tara with a weak smile. "And I'm not going to let my crappy life ruin our day out," she said firmly, forcing herself to smile more naturally.
"Okay," Tara agreed. "Well, where do you w-want to go?"
"Food sounds good," Willow said. "What do you like?"
"Oh, I eat a-anything," Tara said. "Y-you decide."
Willow turned her head to look over her shoulder at the other witch with a smile. "Buffy's right. We do that a lot. We need to make a deal, okay? We need to agree to just say what we want. Alright?"
The blonde blushed, but nodded. "O-okay," she agreed softly. "H-how about that deli on Main Street?" she suggested, smiling shyly.
Willow grinned in satisfaction. "That sounds great to me. Lead the way. Or, I guess, I mean, technically I am, because you're pushing me in front of you, and even if you were walking beside the chair, my leg gives me an extra two feet of distance, but none of this means anything, I'm just talking because that's what I do when I'm excited."
Tara giggled, pushing the chair down the sidewalk toward downtown Sunnydale. "You don't get out m-much, do you?" she teased.
"You know I don't," Willow agreed, grinning over her shoulder at the witch.
Tara was relieved to see that Willow's pensive mood seemed to be waning, and she returned the smile. They reached the diner after a short walk, and Tara positioned the chair so that Willow could order for herself, not wanting to do anything to make the redhead feel helpless. It took a few minutes to get their food and Willow took the bag from the counter, holding it in her lap as Tara pushed the chair back outside.
Willow let out a deep breath as they went back into the sun, almost relieved to be outdoors again, even after only a few minutes inside.
"You really n-need to get out more," Tara commented, squeezing her hands tighter around the handles of the chair to keep herself from touching Willow's hair as an errant breeze blew some of the short strands into the redhead's eyes. She let out a deep breath of her own.
Willow nodded, brushing her hair back herself. "I really do," she agreed. "It's just tricky. Buffy's really busy, and Xander works a lot, and I hate putting either of them out just because I can't do something for myself. It'll be easier once I can drive the chair for myself."
Tara nodded, giving her a sympathetic glance. "Yeah, I b-bet it will be. In the mean time t-though, if you w-want, I could c-come take you o-out, if you w-wanted," she offered, grimacing at her stutter.
Willow looked over her shoulder at the other witch. "That's sweet, but it's already so nice of you to just come over to the dorm and spend time with me. It can't be much fun for you, but I have a great time when you visit me, and you're really nice, and sweet, and funny, but you don't have to do anything just because you feel sorry for me."
Tara surprised them both by stopping the chair on the sidewalk and rounding the wheelchair, crouching in front of it to put herself at Willow's eyelevel. "Y-you said I s-should tell y-you when I w-want something, so… I l-like spending time with y-you, Willow. You're f-funny, and smart, and I h-have fun hanging out in the d-dorm." She smiled, suddenly feeling very shy. "I d-don't do it because I feel s-sorry for you."
Willow smiled gratefully, leaning forward. "Thanks, Tara," she said softly. "I want to hug you, but it's going to be weird with one arm frozen."
Tara laughed, leaning up to hug her and feeling Willow's good arm squeeze her gently. "T-thank you, Willow," Tara said. "Does the p-park sound good for lunch?"
Willow nodded, smiling as Tara returned to pushing the chair. "You're already getting better at saying what you want," she observed, smirking teasingly.
Tara didn't say anything, just blushed as they crossed another street and she wheeled Willow into the park. Willow pointed out a tree a short distance off the paved walking path and Tara steered the chair carefully off the concrete. The wheels of the chair dragged a little in the grass, but Tara got Willow to the tree.
"Want to sit in the shade or the sun?" she checked.
Willow pointed to the tree. "As much as I would love to have a half body tan, it might be better for me to sit in the shade," she said. "Having the only half of my body that doesn't hurt get sunburned wouldn't be fun."
Tara wrinkled her nose and shook her head. "No, I don't s-suppose that would be good."
"And I don't want to give Buffy any more things she has to help me with," Willow added, glancing to where Tara was sitting down against the tree as the blonde sighed heavily. "What?" she asked.
"Buffy doesn't m-mind taking c-care of you, Willow. She l-loves you." She glad the redhead a chiding look. "You're n-not a burden. Not on your f-friends."
"Not on you?" Willow asked softly.
Tara shook her head slowly. "N-no, not on me."
"Good," Willow sighed. "I'm tired of being driving people away from me," she groused.
"W-what does that m-mean?" Tara asked.
Willow closed her eyes, running her good hand over her face before reaching into the bag for their lunch. She handed Tara's sandwich over, meeting her eyes. "It's nothing. You don't want to hear me complaining about my life."
Tara frowned at her, not speaking for a moment. "I-if you w-want to talk about a-anything, I'll l-listen," she offered.
Willow nodded quietly, fingers fiddling with the paper wrapping of her sandwich. She didn't speak for a few minutes and Tara settled back against the tree, taking a bite of her lunch. She looked up from her food when Willow spoke softly.
"I know you met Oz, Buffy told me," she said, meeting Tara's eyes. The blonde nodded without speaking. "Well, he is…was, my boyfriend." Tara still didn't speak and Willow took a deep breath. "He sort of left after the accident, and I haven't seen him, or talked to him since that day."
"I-I'm s-sorry," Tara breathed.
"He slept with someone," Willow blurted, not sure why she was compelled to share this with Tara in the middle of the park, in the middle of their day out, but she knew that she trusted the blonde, knew that she felt better, or as good as she could, whenever Tara was around. It was just something about the blonde that made her comfortable, made her relax, made her feel almost like everything could be okay again someday.
"I came in and they were…naked, and he tried to talk to me, tried to explain, but I left. I couldn't bear to hear it, but I was crying, I wasn't watching, and…well, you know…" She let out a deep breath, covering her eyes with her hand. "Sorry, Tara," she groaned. "I didn't mean to dump all of this on you."
"It's n-not a p-problem," Tara said. "I'm g-glad you told me."
"Thanks for listening. I don't know if you know this, but you're really easy to talk to, Tara," she replied, still messing with the wrapping of her sandwich, the food itself untouched.
"Y-you're welcome, Willow," Tara said with a blush. She put a hand on Willow's cast, smiling up at her. "And t-thanks for coming o-out with me this afternoon. It would have been b-boring inside the dorm by myself."
Willow scoffed, rolling her eyes at what she knew was her friend's attempt to lighten the mood. "Yeah, sure," she agreed sarcastically. "Because pushing the cripple around town is much better."
"Willow, why do you do that?" Tara asked, surprising both of them with her almost stern tone. "You're n-not a cripple, you were j-just in an accident. You're going to g-get b-better though, and you'll b-be the same p-person you w-were." Her eyes fell to the grass beneath them. "S-sorry, it's n-none of my business."
Willow's hand landed over Tara's on her leg as she sighed. "No, it's fine, it's me. I'm just frustrated with everything right now, and it makes me a little…bitchy?" she suggested.
"Willow, no," Tara said, stern tone returned.
Willow smiled tiredly, curling her fingers around Tara's. "Sorry," she breathed. "I just mean that I'm not the best company lately, and I know it, and I'm sorry." Her fingers were stroking lightly over the back of Tara's hand, feeling the same crackle of energy between them. "Thanks for sticking around," she breathed, meeting Tara's eyes for a long moment before she blinked, withdrawing her hand slowly and unwrapping her lunch.
She took a bite, and Tara sat back against the tree to finish her own sandwich. The blonde found a bag of chips in the paper bag and she opened them, but put the bag of chips on top of Willow's cast so that the redhead could reach them. Willow smiled gratefully, picking a chip out of the bag, relieved that Tara didn't treat her like the invalid she saw herself as.
Tara took the last bite of her sandwich and lay back in the grass, her arms crossed behind her head. Willow found a bottle of water in the paper bag and pulled it out, but struggled to open the cap with one hand, holding the bottle between her knee and the cast and twisting off the lid. A little bit of the water dribbled out of the bottle and she sighed in frustration.
Tara wanted to ask if there was something she could do to help the redhead, but she knew how Willow viewed her own injuries, and she didn't want to do anything to make Willow feel more useless or helpless than she did already, so she remained quiet.
"What are you looking at?" Willow asked, tilting her head back to look up at the bright blue sky. The weather was beautiful, warm, but breezy, and white clouds were floating slowly across the sky.
"It's a horse," Tara said, pointing up with one hand at a cloud formation above her head.
Willow smiled as she realized what Tara was doing. "There's a sailboat," she said, pointing in another direction as she leaned back in her chair as much as she could.
Tara giggled, and they took turns pointing out shapes to each other while they munched on the chips and Willow finished her sandwich. They lingered in the grass for a few hours, chatting idly until the breeze grew colder and sundown was threatening.
Next Time: Willow begins her recovery, and Buffy plans her perfect Thanksgiving…