billy – She's pretty nice, on a good day ;)

jaiden83 – Sorry, but she's 100% taken!

sara - It started way back when, in college. Willow got a baby doll for the first of Tara's birthdays they spent together, and then on Willow's subsequent birthday, Tara made a corset dress (her Under Your Spell dress) and made the corset detachable for 'night time' activities ;)

Tara walked out from the bedroom, holding the phone in one hand with a look of confusion and worry on her face.

Willow was sitting at the table, working on some job applications, but closed her laptop when she saw the look on Tara's face.

"You okay, baby?"

Tara put the phone down on the table and clutched the back of the nearest chair.

"That was my gynaecologist. She had the results from my pap smear."

Willow's brow furrowed with concern.

"Is everything okay?"

Tara's mouth opened, but it promptly closed again as she tried to process what to say.

"I…she said I have HPV."

Willow did not one, but two visible double-takes.

"Huh?"

"She said my pap was inconclusive so they ran a HPV test…" Tara replied, clutching her head to remember exactly, "I have to get something done…a biopsy."

Willow's eyes bugged.

"A biopsy?!"

"A… colposcopy I think she said?" Tara asked, still taking in everything from the phone call and repeating herself, "The pap came back inconclusive."

Willow jumped up and walked around to where Tara was.

"Tara they must have gotten your test results mixed up. Where would you have gotten HPV?"

"That's what I said, I explained," Tara replied with a swift nod, "They said everything is double checked on either end."

"Well then it's a false positive!" Willow exclaimed in disbelief.

"Don't yell at me, please," Tara said, holding up her hands to give herself some breathing space, "They said they ran it two different ways."

"Conveniently efficient," Willow sneered.

"She said they have accuracy procedures in place because this can come back as a false positive sometimes. And they don't even normally run the test at my age, but because of the inconclusive pap smear they had to check."

Willow head shook repeatedly and her arms finally crossed over her chest.

"So, what, you have HPV?"

The energy Willow was giving off made Tara adopt much the same pose.

"Apparently."

Their eyes were locked, but with complete tension. Willow felt like looking away but didn't back down.

"I don't know why you're looking at me all pissy right now."

"Because I sure as hell didn't touch anybody else," Tara retorted evenly.

"You think I gave it to you?!" Willow yelled angrily, "You're the one coming home with an STD!"

Willow saw her words prick Tara's eyes, before they disappeared behind her hands to sounds of distressed tears. Willow immediately dropped her arms and closed the gap, wrapping herself around her girlfriend.

"Tara, I'm sorry," she said sincerely, "I'm so sorry. I know you didn't cheat on me. I know that."

She hugged Tara harder and brought her over to sit on the couch, offering a tissue and sticking close by with an arm around her shoulders. She got Tara another tissue when the first was wetted and her hand dropped to gently rub the small of Tara's back.

"Baby, I swear I never did anything. I swear."

Tara nodded quickly, not needing to be convinced. She wiped the tissue under her nose.

"I don't know how this happened."

Willow's face grimaced as she forced herself to ask a question she didn't want to.

"Tara, did…did something ever happen to you?"

Tara's face creased repeatedly.

"No…no, I… I don't think so," she said, mouth opening and closing a few times in silence, "I don't remember, I…"

Her hand covered her mouth and Willow pulled her closer.

"It's okay," she soothed, "It's okay. I'm here."

Tara's head was spinning and was feeling real deep fear for the first time in a long time.

"What if I have–"

"We can't go there," Willow interrupted, finding herself quashing her own panic to take care of Tara's, "'Inconclusive' does not mean anything bad. It means unsure. Do you know how often my science experiments came back 'inconclusive'? Probably more often than not. You just repeat the test and sometimes change it to help you see the results better. That's what the biopsy is, a clearer picture."

Her words seemed to be helping Tara some, so Willow kept going in the most stress-free tone she could muster.

"I don't know much, but I do know cervical cancer is really rare and even rarer when you're our age. I don't think that's something we'll need to worry about at all."

Tara trusted Willow, so she was able to take that in with a nod.

"Okay."

Willow could see she was still a little stunned.

"I think you should go lie down. You've had a shock. I'll bring you in some water."

Tara just nodded again.

"Okay."

She blinked a couple of times, stood up, wiped her tissue under her nose again and walked into the bedroom. Willow retrieved a glass and let the tap run for a few seconds to let it get cold. She watched the stream in a bit of a daze, then finally snapped out of it, splashed her face and filled the glass up.

She brought it in to Tara, who was lying on her side with the blanket around her and her eyes already closed.

She set the glass down quietly, kissed Tara's forehead and headed back out to immediately reboot her computer – but job applications were the last thing on her mind.

A couple of hours later, Willow had a bunch of documents and webpages open and had had to stop herself from hacking some of Tara's private files to get information that she wanted.

She was at a lull with her theories until she could find out more, but she'd at the very least ask Tara's permission first.

Tara eventually made an appearance again, her clothes a little creased and her hair a little mussed.

"Hey," Willow said softly, lowering her screen at an angle but not closed completely.

Tara had her arms folded lightly and lifted her eyes just enough to meet Willow's.

"Hi."

Willow patted the spot down beside her. She'd been doing reams of research and was at least partially relieved that the information she'd given Tara about the rarity of cancer was correct. It wouldn't stop her worrying until the all clear came back, but it would make her reassurances to Tara more confident.

"How are you feeling?"

Tara sat back into the seat and held a cushion to her front.

"Confused."

Willow nodded understandingly.

"I've been wracking my brain and google all evening trying to put everything together. You know, there's lots of different strains of HPV and most don't cause any symptoms or problems at all."

"That would be comforting if I knew where I got it from," Tara replied, squeezing the cushion tighter.

"I was thinking about that too," Willow said, her fingers tingling as she lifted the lid of her laptop up again, "Tara, who was your doctor when you were little?"

Tara just looked confused again.

"My primary care doctor? I can't remember his name. I didn't see him after my Mom died."

Willow shook her head.

"No, the asshole who hurt you with the adult speculum."

"I'm not sur–" Tara started, but then suddenly was flooded with the memory, "Oh wait, no I do remember. I remember being terrified of him because he was bald like Uncle Fester from the Addams Family and had really creepy eyes, but his name was also Dr. Fester. It was like he styled himself on him when he got stuck with the name."

Willow's hands started moving across the keyboard like a cheetah running on land, pulling up page after page and speed-reading them for pertinent information.

"What are you doing?" Tara questioned, trying to peer over.

"Just give me a couple of minutes," Willow requested, though kindly, "Do you remember the hospital?"

Tara shook her head.

"No, I'm sorry."

Willow was hyper focused and cross matched the name with the area Tara lived in as a child.

"Was it Bennett Memorial hospital?"

"I…yes?" Tara replied, not quite sure, "I think so? Willow, I was nine. It could have been–"

Willow suddenly pulled up a picture and turned the screen for Tara to see.

"Is that it?"

Tara actually did recognise the water feature at the front of the building. It was a wishing fountain and her mother had always given her a quarter to make a wish with.

"Yeah, I think so."

Tara's eyes were cast downwards as she remembered her mother and her cheerful smile. That memory was quickly replaced with less pleasant ones when Willow showed her another picture of Doctor Fester.

"Is that him?"

Tara shuddered; he still gave her the creeps.

"Yes. Yes, it is," she answered, then asked more insistently, "Why are you looking all of this up?"

Willow's eyes bored into the screen and Tara had to wave a hand in front of her.

"Willow?"

"Well that's the only other time your genitals were exposed to some–" Willow started to explain but interrupted herself as finally something useful came up, "There!"

Willow brought up an old newspaper article, from a local newspaper, which would have never been unearthed but for her keen skills in all things internet exploration. She scooted closer to Tara so they could read it together.

"Look what this says. A woman sued him in the nineties for giving her HIV from not sterilising his equipment. There were nine other women who came forward with different diseases they claimed they'd gotten from being in his care all over the country. He lost, big time. Nurses testified, everything. The internet was only new and the women's identities were protected so it never became a big story."

Willow put a hand on Tara's shoulder.

"Tara, he could have given you the HPV."

Tara's head reeled.

"Is that even possible? Isn't it skin-to-skin?"

"It's rare, but it can happen. Look, I've been doing this research all afternoon. There's been cases of it in children and total virgins with no sexual contact," Willow explained, briefly showing Tara page after page she'd been reading, "The doctor could have even had it on his fingers when he examined you. If he was reckless enough to do what he did to you AND what he did to these other poor women, he might not have even changed gloves."

Tara leaned forward with her head in her hands.

"Baby," Willow approached gently, "You need to get a full STD panel done."

"I…" Tara replied, at a loss, "What about you?"

"Hey, don't worry about me. I never get sick," Willow replied with some levity, then nodded seriously, "But I'll get tested too."

Tara's eyes welled up again and Willow pushed her laptop to the side to gather her in.

"Tara, it's okay…if this is what happened…it's been so long, if there was anything else it probably would have shown up by now. There's no way there's something really bad like HIV in you."

"The HPV didn't show up," Tara replied, sniffling, "What if I have something that makes you infertile? What if I can't have a baby?"

"There's treatments," Willow reassured, "Or I'll have a baby. Or we'll adopt, or…there are lots of options. And that is way jumping the gun."

Tara took in some deep breaths and Willow encouraged her by syncing up.

"It's gonna be okay."

Tara plucked a new tissue and wiped at her eyes

"What if I passed something horrible to you?"

"We're gonna be okay," Willow insisted.

Tara's eyes were on the floor, unable to look at Willow.

"You need to get a HPV test too."

Willow nodded.

"Yeah, I'll get a full work-up at the free clinic."

Tara shook her head.

"No, they have to check cervical cells."

"Okay…" Willow replied, then realised Tara meant the procedure was more invasive than a blood test, "Oh. Okay."

"I'll pay for it," Tara said, nodding resolutely, "I'll work overtime."

Willow waved a hand dismissively.

"We'll work it out."

Tara couldn't help tearing up again.

"I'm so sorry, Willow."

Willow brought Tara into an embrace.

"It's not your fault," she said surely, then pulled back and held Tara's face in her hands, "Listen to me. It's not your fault."

Tara nodded and resumed her even breathing.

"Where is this doctor, what happened?"

Willow put her computer back in her lap.

"He paid damages and he lost his medical licence," she read and noticed the article beneath on her enhanced search was his obituary, "And he died three years ago. Great. Now I can't make his life a living hell."

Tara's hands clutched her stomach.

"Please don't do that…hacky stuff, Willow. It makes me sick with worry."

"I won't do anything about this," Willow replied, unable to hide a snarl, "Except spit on his grave if I ever see it."

She mumbled expletives at the screen and his picture.

"It says they contacted everyone that had been in his care."

Tara swallowed.

"They probably called my dad," she said, then added on quietly, "He didn't care."

Willow felt rage rip through her and it took every ounce of self-control for her to be calm for Tara.

"Come here," she said, offering Tara a neck rub, "We're gonna get through this. When's your biopsy?"

"Tuesday morning," Tara replied shakily.

Willow nodded assuredly.

"Okay. Let's call back in the morning and see if we can get another appointment for the HPV test or pap smear or whatever I have to get done, and I can go to the free clinic that afternoon for the other tests, get it all over with."

"M-me too," Tara replied, "I don't want STD testing on my insurance."

Willow nodded softly.

"We'll go together. You'll be able to take a sick day for a follow-up, right?"

Tara nodded, but found herself completely overwhelmed with worry and fear. She hated that she couldn't control the tears and was fraught imagining it sticking with her until their results.

"I can't do this."

Willow kissed Tara's forehead, then her mouth; soft and tender. Tara returned and kissed her back until Willow rested their foreheads together again.

"We can do this," she promised.

Tara nodded again, to convince herself more than anything else.

"We can get through the next few days until we know exactly what's going on."

"We can be strong," Willow reaffirmed.

"Strong like an amazon?" Tara asked.

Willow nodded.

"Strong like an amazon, right."

They offered each other weak smiles, but they were strong enough to reassure each other they would cope – just as long as they stuck together.

Willow's thumbs rushed speedily across her phone screen as she played a game to distract herself from the monotony of the doctor's waiting room.

It wasn't the worst waiting room in the world, the interior wasn't gaudy and they had a water cooler available, but her last visit resulting in her first pap smear hadn't been the most pleasant. She would be happy if, after that day, she never had to step foot in there for a long while.

She hoped they'd both get clear results from their respective tests and be able to move on from the fret and worry.

It had been a long couple of weeks.

Just as she was about to beat her high score, a message popped up on screen and caused the game to abort. She clenched her jaw to stop the string of expletives from leaving her mouth, but her frustration left abruptly when she saw who the sender was.

She opened up the message, then clutched Tara's arm and showed her. Tara read it all and visibly slumped.

"Oh, thank god."

"Did you get a text?" Willow prompted, somewhat impatiently.

Tara searched through her purse and saw she had an hour old text from the free clinic with her STD test results.

"I didn't hear it."

She opened it and saw it matched the negative results of Willow's text. Willow read over her shoulder and smiled.

"Well there's the biggest relief already over with. Nothing nasty. Collective exhale please."

They breathed in and out together and Willow put her hand over Tara's to squeeze.

"We're gonna be just fine."

A few minutes later they were called into the doctor's office, who followed them after a moment or two, carrying both of their files.

"I don't usually have two patients together," she said as she sat behind her desk, "But didn't I see both of you last week too?"

"We paid for a two appointments but we wanted to stick together," Willow explained quickly, "And you can say anything about me in front of her."

Tara nodded.

"Same here."

"Is that okay?" Willow asked, worried about Tara having to face possible bad news alone.

"Yes, of course, not a problem," the doctor replied airily and quickly got down to business, "Tara, first of all, your biopsy result is clear. There were no abnormal cells and everything is completely as it should be."

Tara's eyes closed and Willow sighed in relief.

"Thank god…thank god."

"And…Willow," the doctor continued, flipping open her file to find the results sheet, "I think I would see pigs fly before I get that secretary to digitise these results…ah yes, here. Your pap was normal, but your HPV test has come back positive for the same strain Tara has."

Tara covered her eyes with her hand and Willow immediately put a hand on her shoulder.

"It's not your fault, baby," she reassured; not too cut up about the news, both because of the research she'd done to tell her it wasn't disastrous and knowing already there was a fairly high chance it had been transmitted, "So what does that mean?"

"Nothing serious right now," the doctor replied easily, "It's very likely your body will completely suppress it, most women under 30 do. I wouldn't have even recommended a test for you at all until then but of course it was your choice."

Willow patted the back of Tara's shoulder.

"See, baby? It's all fine."

"Can I pass it to her again if it goes?" Tara asked, tone clipped.

The doctor shook her head.

"You can't re-infect her with the same strain. For some women the infection can get reignited, for a lot more it stays dormant forever. But you should both get regular pap smears, for good health practices."

"What about Tara?" Willow asked, working to keep the worry out of her voice, "It looks like she's had it for 15 years. Could her body still suppress it?"

The doctor looked up slowly, a surprised look on her face.

"You were infected while you were a child?"

Tara hated that look; she could never tell if it was judgement or pity. It wasn't unlike some of the doctors and nurses who had ignored the signs of her abuse when she was brought to the hospital in her younger years.

Willow could see Tara was becoming guarded, so answered for her.

"We think so. We did some research and an urologist she saw as a child was struck off for not sterilising equipment and infecting a bunch of women with different diseases."

The doctor's eyebrows rose into her head and Willow eyes narrowed too.

She hadn't targeted anyone or done anything dangerous, as she promised Tara, but she had found every bit of information about him she could and posted it to every relevant forum she could find in case anyone else ended up in the same situation as they had.

"Don't get me started. No nurse would work with him because of sexual harassment and other doctors hated him. He kept moving around from hospital to hospital, who knows how many lives he ruined."

The doctor seemed genuinely baffled.

"Infection through fomites is almost unheard of, but possible in theory. But at that age…" she started, then composed herself and straightened up professionally, "Have you been tested for other possibly passed infections? I don't see those results here."

Tara nodded, guarding her eyes again so they only met the floor.

"Yes, everything else was negative."

The doctor seemed genuinely relieved.

"Good," she said, shaking her head slightly as she imagined a young girl being treated so carelessly, "Well, Tara, it's possible you have supressed the infection before and it's just showing up again. I would advise continued regular pap smears if you want to be cautious. That you haven't been symptomatic is very positive and very common. So many people have this virus and never know it. There is no reason to be panicked. The strain you have is not one of the high risk categories. It is possible in future testing you won't be detectable at all. Keep good health, don't smoke, avoid multiple partners–"

"Hey!" Willow interjected indignantly.

Tara reached over and took Willow's hand.

"She's just advising, not making a judgement on our relationship."

The doctor nodded slowly and then continued.

"Keep getting checked and avoid multiple full-term pregnancies. Those are the main risk factors. "

"It won't affect my fertility?" Tara asked, the worry evident in her voice.

"The HPV will not cause fertility issues," the doctor confirmed, "You had no abnormal hormone levels in your blood to cause alarm. You've never been diagnosed with PID – Pelvic Inflammatory Disease – or had any issues since your infections as a child, correct?"

Tara nodded.

"For your peace of mind, I can perform an ultrasound to make sure nothing has done any damage to your reproductive organs," the doctor offered, "I can list it as a follow-up and your insurance should cover it."

"I would really appreciate that," Tara replied gratefully, "I've been almost more worried about that than the cancer. I know that sounds stupid."

"It's not stupid, baby," Willow comforted.

The doctor regarded them kindly and stood.

"Let's get this done for you. Good thing you booked a double appointment. Where are you in your cycle?"

"I'm due next week," Tara answered.

"Good," the doctor nodded, "If you'd like to get into a gown and step up onto the table, I'll be back with the machine."

She left and Tara went over to the table where she'd had her pap smear, taking the gown that was sitting on the end and changing into it.

"Want me to wait outside?" Willow asked.

Tara looked over.

"Only if you want to."

Willow just smiled, brought her chair over and helped Tara tie the gown closed. Tara laid up on the table and put the blanket over her legs. She exhaled a soft breath and Willow took her hand for support.

The doctor wheeled in the portable ultrasound machine and came over to Tara's other side.

"Little bit cold," she advised as she squirted some of the jelly onto Tara's stomach.

Tara tried not to hold her breath as the doctor moved the probe around and took pictures.

Willow was quite fascinated watching Tara's organs on the screen and hoped they'd be in this position again, a few years down the line, and in different circumstances.

Finally the doctor shut off the machine, tucked the probe away and wiped the excess jelly from Tara's stomach.

"Everything looks as it should be. I see no reason as to why you would need further fertility testing at this time."

Tara blinked in relief.

"So everything is okay?"

"Yes," the doctor replied assuredly, "With this and everything else. Remember, the 'inconclusive' test result is nothing to worry about – often it's a case of collection or technician error. I repeat that the test was not abnormal and your follow up was completely normal. You are perfectly healthy and you are not at any heightened risk of cancer or infertility."

Both Willow and Tara huffed out a breath at the same time and immediately turned to embrace each other. The doctor smiled and gave them a moment.

"Do you have any questions?"

Tara shook her head and turned to wipe a tear from her eye.

"No, I don't think so, doctor," Willow answered for them, rubbing Tara's back gently.

The doctor nodded once.

"Call the practice if you do. I can't stress highly enough how little reason there is for alarm about the HPV. That's not to say you shouldn't keep up regular checks, but so should every woman."

Willow reached forward and shook the doctor's hand warmly.

"Thank you so much."

The doctor stood to give Tara some privacy to change.

"And for what it's worth, I would sue the hell out of that doctor," she said before closing the door behind them.

Tara changed quickly, clearly relieved but also deflated from the whole experience.

There was a little extra paperwork to deal with because of the ultrasound and Willow hung back while Tara scribbled it out. Finally Tara just nodded that they were done, and Willow was glad because she knew they could both use the peace and quiet of their home to just sit and take everything in.

Willow took Tara's hand and they walked in silence back to their building. When they got inside, Tara dropped to sit on the couch and Willow fell in beside her. They both remained there, staring straight ahead.

Eventually Tara blinked.

"If we have daughters, we're getting them the vaccine."

Willow agreed with a nod.

"One thousand percent. And they say boys should get it now too."

Tara rested her elbows on her knees and held her face in her hands.

"Willow, I'm…I'm so sorry."

Willow put an arm around Tara's shoulders.

"You heard what she said. We could become undetectable. And I've done so much research, baby. Cervical cancer is so rare. We don't have a high risk strain and we'll keep up pap smears. I think I can get one cheaper in Planned Parenthood if I don't have proper insurance next time it comes up so you don't have to work your butt off like you've been doing."

She squeezed Tara's shoulder and leaned in to press a kiss onto her cheek.

"We'll be okay," she repeated for the thousandth time but with the same sincerity.

Tara appreciated the comfort and leaned her head in on Willow's shoulder.

"It's still all just such a shock. I'm so happy I can still have children but then I remember I also have HPV."

Willow stroked Tara's hair, but the expression on her face was seething.

"If I could strangle that doctor, I would. My only comfort is knowing he died a horribly painful death from pancreatic cancer."

"Willow, don't say that," Tara begged, tone pained, "Please, it hurts me to hear you be so cruel."

Willow dropped the rage, but not the topic.

"She was right, you know. You should sue."

"He's dead," Tara replied tiredly.

"Sue the hospital," Willow countered.

Tara lifted her head away.

"We can't afford a lawyer."

Willow tugged on the end of Tara's shirt.

"We can get one of those no win no fee people."

Tara stood up, holding her hands out in front of her with frustration.

"Willow, do you know what their very first line of defence is going to be, if what you read was true?" she asked, tone rising a bit, "We told her father. And do you know what they're going to do? Get him involved. I do not want any contact with him. I don't want him to know where I live. I won't take the risk. This is not a discussion."

Willow hadn't allowed for that and realised Tara was completely right.

"Okay, Tara," she agreed, standing up too and taking both of her hands, "I'm sorry. Just… between the two of them… your father and that doctor… I'd like to… just generally be very, very mean."

Tara hated all the frustrations and tensions the past few days had held and now that the immediate worry had been quelled, she wanted to physically push the rest away.

"Let's go for a run," she suggested out of the blue.

"Go for a run?" Willow asked, perplexed.

"A jog maybe," Tara corrected, unsurely.

One of Willow's eyebrows arched.

"Have you ever jogged? I haven't even in months."

Tara shrugged one shoulder.

"First time for everything."

Willow had no idea what was happening, but she would've scaled a volcano if it distracted them and stopped the pressure of blame she could practically see weighing Tara down.

"Okay, baby, sure. If you want to."

"I do," Tara answered, needing to get out of the apartment.

They both got changed, Willow into shorts and t-shirt and Tara into a tank top and sweat pants, as well as a sports bra on Willow's suggestion.

"Where did you run?" Tara asked as they walked out of their building.

"Did a circle of the neighbourhood," Willow replied as she bent her knee and rocked forward, "You gotta stretch or there will be pain, as you witnessed after my first gym foray."

Tara copied Willow's motions and realised the important of the sports bra when they jogged for a minute on the spot, to warm up. They started to pound the path slowly and though Tara was in slightly better shape than Willow, she was a walker and neither of them had been subject to that kind of exertion in a while.

They'd drained their water bottles halfway around the neighbourhood but Tara really pushed them and wouldn't let them stop even when Willow was practically tripping over herself, her muscles having completely forgotten her previous ventures into exercise.

Willow remembered an outdoor drinking fountain when they were nearly home and she gasped out the words to get them to take the detour. They both filled up and walked the last block home, collapsing on the stairs leading up to their building when they got there and glugging it down.

Willow squirted some straight onto her red face and realised she was so exhausted there was no room to feel or worry about much else.

She understood why Tara suggested the run and reached out weakly.

"If we… can get through… that run…" she panted, smiling with a sweaty brow, "We can get through anything… together."

Tara was slightly more composed, but her heart was hammering and trying to recover still. She wiped the water bottle over her forehead and scooted in closer to Willow.

"I don't want anyone to know."

"I won't tell," Willow promised, "Nothing to tell, really."

Their warm hands clasped, sweaty palms brushing off each other but neither pulled away.

"Thank you," Tara said, leaning head down to rest on Willow's shoulder, "For being so kind and understanding and supportive."

Willow let out a big sigh, her lungs finally ceasing to burn as they took in oxygen.

"Tara, I reflect onto you what you give unto me," she replied, hand stroking Tara's hair gently, "Am I your forever girl?"

Tara kissed Willow's cheek, the sun's warming rays beaming down on them and bathing them in light.

"Forever and always."

Willow padded across the bedroom with freshly brushed teeth and slipped under the light summer sheet they had on their bed.

It was the first night in a while that she went to bed physically exhausted from their run instead of emotionally exhausted from everything else going on.

"Rollercoaster few days, huh?"

Tara had her hands pressed together above the sheet and still seemed a little tense.

"Very."

Willow scooted closer and gently pulled a strand of Tara's hand affectionately.

"At least now it's all over."

"It's still in our systems," Tara replied, eyes falling downwards towards her fidgeting hands.

"So is chicken pox. Who cares?" Willow replied with an easy smile that she tried to permeate Tara with, but not too much success, "What is it? Are you worried? Because you heard what the doctor said–"

"It's not a health worry," Tara said, then audibly swallowed, "I guess I feel… diseased… and disgusting. Especially for giving it to you."

Willow brushed her fingers against Tara's cheek and coaxed her head towards her.

"Tara…" she said softly, "Is this because we haven't…? Because the only reason I haven't tried anything is you've been so upset and we couldn't in the days leading up to the tests. And you were working all weekend to get the overtime to pay for my tests."

She slid her palm down to Tara's collarbone.

"Nothing about you is…disgusting. You're the opposite of disgusting."

She leaned in and pressed her lips softly to Tara's. She lingered and pulled away, but only the smallest amount, leaving their lips still touching. Her fingers fell down Tara's arm and her palm curved around Tara's hip.

"C'mere."

She rolled half on top of Tara, kissing her again and slipping her hand under Tara's shirt. Her fingers crept up Tara's abdomen and cupped her breast.

A soft whimper of need passed Tara's lips and her body arched into Willow's touch. Her eyes flickered open and met Willow's. She could see the lust mirroring her own.

Willow squeezed Tara's breast and rolled the nipple against her palm. Tara's neck bent back against the pillow, baring her throat in the process.

Willow pressed a messy kiss against the strained throat and licked up to Tara's chin.

Tara was convinced Willow wasn't ascribing to the self-doubt she'd been plaguing herself with and couldn't hold back her need any longer. She grabbed Willow's cheeks with both hands and crushed their mouths together. She sat up, taking Willow with her, and crossed her arms in front to whip off her own pyjama top.

Willow's hand was still on Tara's breast, pinching her hardening nipple into a coarse peak. Her other hand slipped into the back of Tara's pants and squeezed the soft flesh of her buttocks, pulling her close so their hips bumped together and making a shared jolt of desire hit between both of their legs.

Tara couldn't bear to break the kiss, so pulled the straps of Willow's tank off her arms down so the fabric fell around her waist. She leaned over Willow so she fell back the other way, head at the foot of the bead and kissed down to her chest. Her hands pulled at all the clothing at Willow's hips, over her knees and off so her legs were exposed and she was finally fully nude.

Tara eyed Willow hungry, palming her thighs and brushing her fingertips against the arousal trickling from her girlfriend.

Willow scooted down so she could lock her legs around Tara's hip. She nudged Tara's butt with her knee so Tara would fall on top of her and was about to twist and roll them over, but instead jerked and screamed.

"Ahh!"

Tara sprang back up, worried her body weight had crushed Willow.

"What, what is it?"

Willow hugged one knee up to her chest, trying to alleviate the cramp.

"I don't think we stretched enough."

Tara took Willow's leg and put the ankle over her shoulder. She leaned inwards, bringing it with her to stretch.

Willow appreciated the soothing of her cramp, and appreciated the back and forth motion of Tara's body even more.

"That feels goooood," she said, eyelids growing heavy with desire, "In a lot of ways."

Tara massaged the tightened muscles delicately, all the while her eyes never leaving Willow's. They were drawn to each other like magnets, and it wasn't long before Willow's leg was falling back to the bed and Tara was climbing back over Willow with a predatory look in her eye.

Willow loved that look and curved her hands around the back of Tara's neck to pull her close to kiss. Their stomachs brushed, then their breasts pressed together and Willow yanked Tara's pyjama bottoms over her butt.

Tara reached back and pulled them down past her thighs, then laid back at the head of the bed and bent her knees up to jerk them off completely. Willow crawled over on her knees and made the final tug past Tara's ankles. Her hands slid up Tara's thighs, up her stomach and straight past her chest where a palm laid flat above each of Tara's shoulders.

Her body just skimmed Tara's, touching her teasingly. She nipped at Tara's neck and throat, then kissed her again and began to really grind into her girlfriend.

Tara cupped Willow's rear and writhed beneath her, really starting to feel the burn in her belly. Her legs spread under Willow and her hips thrust upwards in a silent beg.

Willow ran her hand along Tara's thigh and teased her until she was panting with need. Her fingers slipped inside Tara's wetness to a long groan, which hit Willow with a pang between her legs.

She kept her fingers still until she got Tara's, albeit frustrated, attention.

Tara thought the mischievous grin on Willow's face was as a result of her enjoying torturing her, but then Willow caught her hand and slowly dragged her lips along her girlfriend's index and middle fingers.

Tara's skin could have melted into the sheets such was the surge of heat she felt coarse through her. She popped her fingers out of Willow's mouth, rolled her over onto her back and entered her with those dampened fingers.

Their bodies began to rock together immediately, both seeking each other deeply with the thrusts of their wrists and hips.

Tara's head was buried in Willow's neck, where her moans were just close enough to Willow's ear to be heard. Willow's teeth indented her bottom lip as that quake of release started to shake through her.

Tara's hips sped up when she felt Willow's thighs trembling on hers and they managed to climax within seconds of each other.

Tara left a gentle bite on Willow's shoulder and rolled off her, the sheet falling half off her chest in the process. Willow appreciated the one-boob view, so didn't try to fix her up, but did press a kiss against her girlfriend's cheek.

"You're beautiful and I never thought any different for a second."

Tara smiled lovingly at Willow and returned the cheek kiss. She lifted the sheet over her chest properly and turned on her side so she could curl into Willow. Willow put an arm around Tara's shoulders and picked her phone up to do her pre-sleep browse. She noticed she had an email a couple of hours old.

"Hey, look, I got an interview later this week at McDonalds."

"McDonalds?" Tara questioned dubiously.

"It's a 'management trainee' job," Willow explained unenthusiastically, "But I would probably flip burgers at this stage considering it's pretty much the only interview I've even gotten. Most of them don't even acknowledge the application."

Tara reached up and brushed the backs of her fingers against Willow's cheek.

"Willow-pillow," she said sympathetically, "And there's nothing wrong with flipping burgers or any other kind of work. You like Big Macs, how would you like it if no one was there to make it?"

Willow smiled softly, left her phone back on the nightstand to charge and scooted down so their heads were in the same position.

"I know, you're right. And then you call me Willow-pillow and my world is all okay again."

Tara took her hand back and put her arm around Willow's waist.

"Have faith."

"I'll try," Willow replied, unconvinced but truthfully.

"I love you," Tara said tenderly.

Willow let out a contented sigh.

"And that's something I can believe in."