Tara's eyes skittered away from Buffy, tracing a random and rapid path over the kitchen counters, the cabinets, the floor tiles…
"Buffy, honey," she heard Mrs. Summers say soothingly. "You need to get off Tara. You might hurt her." In her wild visual wanderings, Tara saw a foot she assumed belonged to Mrs. Summers approach.
It was the wrong thing to do. Buffy sat back until she rested firmly on Tara's stomach and growled. Tara felt the vibrations throughout her body.
The foot hesitated – and then came even closer. "Now, look, young lady. Tara is a guest in this house…" Whatever Mrs. Summers had been planning to say cut off with a sharp gasp as Buffy's growl rose in volume. "Anyone have any other ideas? I don't think I want to play Mean Mom at the moment." The foot disappeared from Tara's line of sight.
"I could take her out for ya'." Was that a hint of anticipation in Faith's voice? "B went down pretty easy outside the bar. All I gotta do is knock her off T and hit her a couple more times."
Tara blocked out the rest of the conversation. Buffy had turned away from the others and was staring down at her. The normally hazel eyes looked…odd. The pupils were gone, and the irises appeared as a warm, nearly liquid copper. "T?" Buffy asked haltingly.
"Th-that's what F-Faith calls m-me," Tara stuttered. She really needed to move. Buffy's warmth seeped into her, and Tara was deathly afraid Buffy would recognize her involuntary reaction. "Sw-sweetie, c-could you l-let m-me up? Pl-please?" she tacked on politely.
"Please," Buffy echoed. With a wide smile, she gently touched Tara's face. "Please!"
Wiggling carefully, Tara tried to scoot from beneath Buffy. Although the other girl hadn't done anything threatening, Tara remembered the growl. Buffy's aura was still unstable. She wasn't chancing an emotional explosion in such…intimate contact.
Buffy wasn't cooperating. As soon as Tara began to move, she tightened her legs around Tara's middle and frowned fiercely. "Girl no go," she stated.
Tara froze – she didn't have much choice. Buffy's grip kept her effectively immobile. Not to mention the way her stare bore into Tara. "S-Sure, sw-sweetie. I'll st-stay." Tara hoped her agreement would appease Buffy.
"T, hang tight. I'll slide closer," Faith stage whispered. It wasn't much of an effort at stealth. If Tara could hear the words, it was a safe bet Buffy could also. Over Buffy's shoulder, Tara caught a slow, deliberate movement.
It was enough to alert Buffy. A hair-raising growl echoed through the kitchen.
Faith stopped, left foot frozen off the ground. "Fuck!"
Tara couldn't help it. She giggled. This was like a really bad slapstick comedy – with her in a starring role. "Fa-Faith, st-stay there," she warned. "B-Buffy doesn't l-like it wh-when you m-move." Hesitantly, she reached up and stroked Buffy's right arm. "Easy, B-Buffy. N-nothing's going to hu-hurt you."
It was as if she'd flicked a switch. The second she touched Buffy, the growl stopped.
Wearing matching frowns of confusion, Buffy and Tara looked at one another. What was that all about? Tara didn't understand…and she wasn't really interested in figuring it out at the moment. Buffy seemed calmer; that was the important thing. Pressing her advantage, Tara smiled slightly and asked, "D-do you th-think we c-could get up? Th-The floor is h-hard."
Buffy didn't stand or even shift. Instead, she reached out and put a finger over Tara's lips. It poked and prodded gently. "Girl pretty."
Tara's face flamed, and she heard a choked off laugh from the other side of the room. "Th-thank you, sw-sweetie." She cleared her throat, lips tingling under the continued caresses. Goddess, Faith was never going to let her live this down. Trying to mimic Buffy's unique speech patterns, Tara rephrased her question. "Buffy up?"
That didn't work. Buffy simply frowned and tilted her head.
"Ummm…" Praying she didn't send Buffy into another growling fit, Tara ordered, "Buffy off!"
The frown mutated into a very clear pout. "Buffy off," Buffy repeated sadly. Shoulders slumped, she climbed off Tara. As soon as she was upright, she spun and glared at the three women still clustered near the door.
Keeping a close eye on Buffy, Tara stood. The other girl's body language confused her. "B-Buffy?" she asked softly. Had she hurt Buffy with her request?
Molten copper eyes lifted to hers. "Buffy sorry," Buffy mumbled. "Not mean hurt."
"You d-didn't, Bu-Buffy." Tara hurried to reassure a very sorrowful Buffy. Biting her lip, Tara mentally shook her head at the surreal conversation. "I'm f-fine." She smiled brightly and stretched her arms over her head. "S-See? You didn't h-hurt me."
***
Buffy stared at the other girl and her lips automatically smiled back. This girl was different from the mean one. She smiled and her voice didn't make Buffy growl or want to hit things. "No hurt," Buffy promised her solemnly. Then she reconsidered. "No hurt Nice Girl." She wasn't making any vows regarding the mean girl.
"Well, that means Tara's safe." Buffy wanted to stamp her foot. Why did everyone keep making those funny sounds? She was careful not to react badly, though. She didn't want the older woman to make her feel bad again. "Faith, it looks like you won't be helping out much for a while."
The Mean Girl grunted and Buffy glared at her, ready to defend herself. "Like I'm gonna fuckin' complain about that. If ya' don't mind, I'm gonna hose off and watch TV. Let me know when Cave Buffy over there is back to normal."
Buffy's smile reappeared when the Mean Girl stalked out of the room. Good. She was gone, and Buffy could relax a little. She straightened from her semi-crouch and looked between the older woman and the slight red head. She knew the red head. Frowning, Buffy thought hard, ignoring the way that made her head pound. "Willow!" This girl was Willow; there were fuzzy memories swirling in her mind.
She instinctively covered her ears when Willow squealed. "Buffy! You remember!" Willow took a step closer, grinning widely.
Memories were one thing. The sudden movement, though, set off a primal response. Buffy dropped back into her crouch and growled warningly. "No!" she ordered. There was something else. Every time Buffy looked at Willow, moisture flooded her eyes and her chest hurt. Willow had hurt her! Willow was mean, too. "Buffy no like Willow!"
Willow's smile disappeared, and she turned very white. "Buffy, I…You know I didn't mean what I said. You surprised me, that's all and I don't do surprises well. It's like a pop quiz! I knew the material. I could even teach it. But when the teacher says…"
More words. Even more words than before. Buffy growled louder. She was tired of all the words.
"Easy, sw-sweetie." Buffy jerked around at the sound sounds from behind her. The Nice Girl was still smiling and she held out a hand to Buffy. "Don't gr-growl at W-Willow. It m-makes her ta-talk f-faster."
An explosive breath spun Buffy to face Willow and the older woman. Willow was frowning fiercely, and Buffy stepped back. She made sure to stay between the Nice Girl and Willow. That inner voice was back, and the message was loud and clear. Protect the smiling girl behind her. "No hurt!" Buffy ordered Willow. To make sure Willow understood, she narrowed her eyes and growled softly.
***
As amusing as Tara was beginning to find the situation, it needed to end. Soon. Willow looked completely freaked out and Mrs. Summers nearly vibrated with tension. She very carefully laid a hand on Buffy's shoulder. "Shh!" She kept her voice soft and soothing. "Willow w-won't hurt you an-anymore." Out of the corner of her eye, Tara saw Willow open her mouth. She glared at Willow. For such a smart girl, Willow did stupid things. Buffy had been growling a minute ago. Tara was fairly certain it wasn't simply for effect. "I won't l-let her hu-hurt you, sweetie."
It didn't appear to have any effect. Buffy still growled, and she continued to glower at Willow.
"Buffy…" Tara tried to find something else to say, something to calm Buffy enough that they could get her upstairs – and dressed. Stroking Buffy's warm skin with her thumb, Tara remained silent. She repeated her caress in the charged stillness. Stroke up and across Buffy's shoulder. Pause. Drag back and down. It was hypnotic, and Tara felt herself hovering close to a trance state.
Finally, after countless repetitions, Tara noticed Buffy's growl had stopped. Buffy stood with her head hanging forward and her arms dangling limply at her sides.
Raising her eyes to Mrs. Summers, Tara mouthed the words, "I'll take her upstairs."
Mrs. Summers frowned. "Too dangerous." At least, that's what Tara thought she responded. Lip reading wasn't her specialty.
It wasn't dangerous. Not with Buffy in this state. If something did happen, Tara had regained enough energy to stop Buffy – for a while. She met Mrs. Summers' stare and tried again. "Take Willow – and Faith – outside. Now!" It was hard to inject the right amount of snap to the command without sound.
Perhaps recognizing the futility of arguing, Mrs. Summers slid the kitchen door open and waited for Willow to tiptoe out. With one last unhappy glance at Tara, Mrs. Summers followed.
Alone with Buffy, Tara now faced a decision. Should she ask Buffy to go upstairs with her? Or should she simply start walking in that direction while keeping up the thumb massage? "B-Buffy?" Tara didn't think she had enough strength to force Buffy out of the room if she refused to go.
Unfortunately, Buffy didn't like the interruption. "No talk," she mumbled. "Touch good. No talk."
That took care of the decision-making process. Tara pressed her lips together over a chuckle and placed her left hand on Buffy's left shoulder. Since Buffy preferred massages to conversation, Tara went that route. She gently worked her thumbs over the heavy muscles in Buffy's neck and shoulders.
A soft rumble echoed in the kitchen. It wasn't a growl. Tara smiled and shook her head. Goddess. Buffy was purring. Taking that as a sound of contentment, Tara applied slight pressure through her palms. Like a sleepwalker, Buffy paced forward at her urging.