"Willow, oh god, Willow, please wake up, please wake up."
Tara spoke in a desperate tone, quickly placing the redhead flat on the ground, putting two fingers against her neck and sighing in momentary relief when she felt a pulse. She ripped her own cardigan from her shoulders and folded it twice before using it to put pressure on the bullet wound.
She looked up briefly and was confused to see Xander and Jesse – who had run in with Michelle as soon as the gunshots had been heard – cuffing her father, Jesse punching him in the stomach when he tried to resist.
What? How did...? How...?
She saw another figure off to the side and looked over to see a frantic Michelle yelling into her phone, presumably calling an ambulance.
Tara's confusion about what was going on around her regressed to the back of her mind as she heard a small groan come from below her and focused all her attention back on Willow, pressing her cardigan firmly into her wife's chest with one hand.
"I'm here, Willow, I'm here."
She brought her spare hand up to the redhead's cheek and traced her skin in reverence for a moment before snapping to attention, raising her voice as loud as she could.
"Willow, please, please open your eyes," she almost yelled, using her hand's position to pat the redhead's face lightly, not having the willpower to actually slap her but wanting her wife to wake up, "Baby, please!"
Willow's eyes fluttered open, a small smile on her face, her body in a state of shock, not registering the pain yet.
"You called me baby," she said, delirious, an oblivious giggle leaving her lips, "I love it when you call me baby."
"Good girl, stay with me," Tara said, keeping pressure on the wound, completely missing the redhead's words, just happy that she was talking at all, "Talk to me, beautiful, tell me something."
Willow's eyes started to close again, her voice becoming heavy.
"I'm tired, Tara..."
Tara brought had hand down against the redhead's cheek again, harder this time. She couldn't let Willow close her eyes. She couldn't let this be the last time she saw her wife awake. Alive.
"No, Willow, please, please stay with me. Tell me about our kids, Will, tell me about them."
Willow was struggling to keep her eyes and wasn't at all lucid. As best she could tell, she'd decided to take a nap on the ground, still not quite aware that she'd been shot, but could never deny a request from her wife. Images of young children started flashing before her mind.
"We have a little girl...and she's beautiful, she looks just like you...long blonde hair and blue eyes...and she's wearing this little pink dress...and..."
Willow suddenly gasped and arched upwards as the pain finally hit her and she realised what had happened.
"Tell me more, Willow," Tara pleaded, seeing the pain coursing through the redhead's eyes, "Our daughter sounds amazing, do we have a son?"
Willow whimpered but managed a small nod.
"He has these pudgy little hands and dimples. He knows...all he has to do is smile...and we'll give him...whatever he wants."
"That's our boy," Tara replied, smiling what she hoped was a reassuring smile down at her wife.
Willow clenched her teeth as the most unbearable pain shot through her. She didn't have the power to look down, but she could feel Tara's hands over her chest and could only assume that's where the bullet had hit her.
Bullet.
She'd been shot. Tara's Dad had shot her.
She remembered feeling frozen solid when he first produced the gun. She remembered opening her mouth to scream, to get the help she'd been so careful to bring along.
But nothing came out. She was paralyzed with fear.
Until that deafening sound had rang out. Her mind had still been petrified. But her body acted on impulse.
She remembered running at a speed she didn't even think a human was capable of and pushing Tara to ground.
Tara wasn't hurt. That was all that mattered to her. Tara hadn't been shot.
But still...the pain...
"Tara..." she croaked, just wanting to Tara to make it all better, like she always did, "It hurts."
Tara couldn't control the tears streaming down her face but made herself keep her tone calm, knowing Willow needed her to be the reassuring one.
"Oh sweetheart, I know, I know. But you gotta stay strong for me."
"Like an Amazon?" Willow asked, her breath coming in shallow gasps.
Tara nodded and quickly wiped away her tears.
"Exactly, honey, just like an Amazon. You need to stay with me so we can have those babies and raise them and watch them learn to walk and talk and go to prom and get married. You need to stay strong for our future."
"The ambulance will be here in just a minute," Michelle's frenzied voice suddenly disturbed them, the woman rushing over and kneeling the other side of Willow, "What the hell happened?"
"I don't think...Mr. Maclay...likes me," Willow said, managing to make a joke, despite the intense pain coursing through her.
Michelle looked at Tara and saw her niece's flowing tears. She resisted the urge to reach out and comfort her, not wanting to disrupt the pressure being applied to Willow's chest, instead opting to help with keeping the redhead talking, saying the first thing that came to mind.
"Well thank god those agent friends of yours were here."
Tara looked up to see that Xander and Jesse had now gone, as was her father. From the brief glimpse she got of them all earlier, she could only presume that the agents had taken Mr. Maclay away. Her gaze was drawn down again as she heard her wife pipe up, her tone deeply apologetic.
"I'm sorry...I lied..." Willow said, fixing her wife with a steady gaze, "I didn't tell you...I asked them to follow..."
"Shush, honey," Tara reassured with a forced but warm smile, understanding, at least partially how Xander and Jesse had managed to be on the scene so quickly, "It's a good thing you did. Always thinking ahead, that's my girl, right?"
Willow felt the pain start to strengthen and felt like her mind was slowly beginning to float away from her body, the sensation akin to nothing she'd ever experienced before.
She could only assume she was dying. She knew what she needed her last words to be.
"Tara...I love you."
"I love you too, Willow," Tara replied, more tears coming to her eyes when she saw the redhead start to drift off again, "No, Willow, don't, please."
Michelle took over putting pressure on the wound as Tara scurried up to her wife's head, putting kisses all over her face.
"Just a little longer, Willow, a little longer," Tara begged, reaching down and clasping their hands together.
"I'm sorry," Willow whispered, "I love you."
The tears teamed down Tara's face as Willow's eyes closed fully, just as the loud sirens of the ambulance permeated through the tense air. The large vehicle came almost skidding into the backyard a moment later, the tyres spreading dust everywhere before a man and woman in blue uniforms, the man carrying a stretcher came rushing towards them, pushing both Michelle and Tara out of the way as they examined Willow.
"GSW to the chest, shallow resps, pulse weak and thready," the woman said as they carefully transferred Willow onto the stretcher and each picked up an end, "We're taking her to Rochester General."
The paramedics rushed off without another word and the sirens could be heard again as Michelle walked over to Tara, pulling her up into a hug.
"Come on, we'll follow the ambulance. She's getting treated, she'll be okay."
Tara could only manage a weak nod as Michelle guided her quickly back to the car and strapped both of them in, swiftly turning the engine on and following the ambulance, which was only a little bit ahead of them. Tara spent the entire 20 minute journey in floods of tears, repeating the word 'please' under her breath over and over again until they arrived outside the ER entrance of the large hospital.
She flung the door of the car open before Michelle had even stopped and the older woman called out to her but to no avail. She quickly found a spot to park and the car and ran after her niece into the ER, grabbing and catching her before Tara ran straight into the room where the professionals were treating Willow, their actions visible through the large, glass double doors.
"Tara, you can't go in there, she said calmly, as she used all her strength to keep Tara in place, "They need to work."
"But she needs me to hold her hand," Tara wailed, still struggling against her aunt's hold, "She needs me."
"She needs you to be calm and not have a panic attack," Michelle replied, turning her niece around so they were facing each other and holding her shoulders firmly, "She has a team of doctors and nurses in there."
Tara's bottom lip was trembling and she was about to take a deep breath to calm herself, knowing Michelle was right even if she didn't want her to be, when a loud beeping sound came from the behind the glass doors and she heard someone shout 'she's flatlining'.
She spun back around and felt her knees almost give way she saw paddles being placed over her wife's chest and Willow's entire body arching a moment later.
"Oh god..." she said and felt her knees start to go completely, only Michelle's hold keeping her steady, "She...she, she's dy...she...oh my...oh my god..."
She stared into the room in shock before her view was suddenly cut off as a tall woman in a white uniform was suddenly standing in front of her, hands on her hips.
"Hey, you're not supposed to be back here," the woman, her uniform indicating she was a nurse, said sternly "Family are supposed to wait outside, we'll come get you as soon as there's any news."
Tara refused to listen, all she could do was look over the nurse as Willow get shocked twice more before a steady beat echoed out from the room again and the bed she was in was being pushed out of the treatment room, rushing past them so fast that Tara didn't even get a chance to give the redhead's hand a quick squeeze.
"Are you her family?" a woman in blue scrubs asked her as they whisked Willow up the elevator.
"I'm her wife," Tara said weakly, staring in sorrow at the closing doors of the lift.
"I'm Dr. Sarow," the woman replied, wiping her brow, "Your wife came in with a gunshot wound, the bullet is lodged in the middle of her chest. She requires surgery to remove it, we need your consent for that."
Tara nodded vigorously, her eyes wide.
"Do whatever you need, just please, save her."
"Good," the doctor nodded, "We'll be able to tell you more after the surgery. I should tell you that she went into cardiac arrest during our treatment and her heart stopped, but we were able to restart it. As far as I can tell, the bullet missed any major arteries, didn't puncture her heart and there was no indication of spinal damage, but she has lost a lot of blood. Again, we'll know more after surgery. Also, I'm obligated to report any gunshot wounds that come in, can you tell me what happened?"
"My..."
Tara tried to speak but she just started crying again and Michelle spoke instead.
"Her father did this. But he's already been taken into custody, there were some FBI agents on the scene."
Dr. Sarow sighed; the amount of patients she treated that had been hurt by their own family never ceased to amaze her.
"Okay, thank you. The police will probably want to talk to you anyway," she replied, before putting a hand on Tara's arm comfortingly, "Like I've said, we'll know more after surgery, but there's a good chance she'll pull though this and be right as rain. Has your wife been treated in this hospital before?"
Tara shook her head.
"She's only been in hospital once, when she was 7. Broke her arm trying to learn how to ride her bike."
Dr. Sarow nodded and made a motion with her hand towards the nurse that she needed a pen. The nurse retrieved one from her pocket and the doctor took the prescription pad from her pocket to scribble on.
"And what's her full name?"
Tara felt her eyes flutter closed, her voice coming out in a reverent whisper.
"Willow Danielle Rosenberg-Maclay."
Dr. Sarow noted the information with a small nod.
"I promise we'll let you know as soon as she's out of surgery," she said, before she got a curious look on her face, "Did someone try and control the bleeding right after she was shot?"
"I...I put pressure on it," Tara replied, not understanding the question, but not really caring.
Dr. Sarow put a hand on Tara's arm and smiled at her reassuringly.
"That probably saved her life. She's lost a lot of blood, but with this kind of wound it wouldn't be uncommon to see a lot more. She has a fighting chance of getting through this."
Tara nodded weakly, slightly comforted by the doctor's words.
"I'll be back with any news," Dr Sarow said again, before rushing off towards the elevators as well.
"Thank you, doctor," Michelle called after her.
"I know you're worried, but I really need you to go wait in the visitor's waiting room," the nurse spoke up again, "She's getting the best care."
Michelle smiled gratefully at the nurse and led an almost despondent Tara out of the ER, seeing a sign for the visitor's waiting room, which was separate from the actual ER waiting room and relatively empty.
Tara let herself be led into the room and sank into one of the seats, holding her head in her hands, not knowing what to do or say or even think.
She stayed in that position, feeling Michelle come over to rub her back a few times before the older woman continued to just pace around the room, until she registered the fact that something in her pocket was vibrating.
She reached in and retrieved her phone, focusing her blurry eyes on the screen and seeing a flashing sign telling her she'd missed 17 calls, all from Xander.
Remembering the man had been on the scene and figuring he would want to know what was going on, she forced herself to start scrolling through the phone book, intending to call him back. Just as she neared the X's, his name flashed on the screen again in an incoming call. She pressed the accept button and brought the phone to her ear.
"Hi, Xand," she said in a weary voice, "Sorry I missed all your calls."
"Don't worry about it," Xander replied down the line, his voice etched with concern, "What's happening?"
Tara sighed, biting her lip to control the sob that almost left her.
"She's in surgery," she managed eventually, "They can't or won't tell me more until she's out."
There was a silence on the other end as Xander took in what Tara had said.
"Jesus, Tara, I can't...I'm so sorry. She's gonna be okay though, she's a fighter. I know she'll pull through this."
"I hope so," Tara said with a sniffle, before remembering the exact cause of all this chaos, "What's going on with...?"
Xander understood straight away.
"Me and Jesse brought him to the local cop station. They're talking to him now, but they're gonna want to talk to you, too. I'll hold them off as long as I can."
"No," Tara shook her head to herself, "Send them as soon as they can. I don't want anything keeping me from Willow once she's out of surgery."
There was another silence apart from Xander taking a deep inhalation.
"You sure?"
Tara nodded, despite the fact that Xander couldn't see it.
"Yes, I'm sure."
Xander let out a long whistle over the line, clearly thinking for a moment.
"Okay, I'm gonna come with them so they know to take it easy. You in Rochester General?"
Tara was about to say she wasn't sure when she remembered the paramedics saying that's where they were going.
"Yea."
Tara heard Xander call Jesse's name, followed by a hushed conversation before he spoke back into the phone.
"Okay, we'll be there in 20. And don't lose hope."
"I'll try," Tara replied, though her voice was strained, "See you then."
She hung up her phone and put it back in her pocket, her head falling into her hands once again.
"The police are coming in a bit," she mumbled, but Michelle managed to hear from where she was standing near her.
"That's good. The sooner you talk to them the sooner they can throw that bastard in jail."
Tara exhaled slowly, silently and internally berating herself for letting things happen the way they did. She knew her father was a violent man but had still allowed herself to get in a situation where she could be hurt and Willow had gotten hurt in the process.
If she'd just stayed in the car like I'd asked...
She sighed and sat back in the chair, closing her eyes for a moment but snapping them open quickly when the images of Willow, bloody and unconscious flashed before her mind.
She picked up a leaflet on autism from the selection on the table beside her, pretending to study it intently to distract herself until Xander arrived a while later, two policemen in tow.
"Tara," Xander said, almost helplessly and the blonde stood up, giving him a hug, both needing the comfort, "Are you okay?"
"No," Tara replied honestly, "But I'm not the important one. As long as she's okay, that's all that matters."
Xander nodded in understanding.
"Any updates?"
Tara shook her head.
"Not yet."
Xander nodded again before motioning the cops forwards.
"These are the local cops, Tara, are you still okay with talking to them?"
"Yes," Tara replied, looking up at the officers with a weak smile, "Hi."
One of the officers stepped forwards and extended his hand.
"I'm officer Dunlop, this is officer Baldwin," he said, shaking Tara's hand "Agents Harris and McNally have filled us in on what they know. We have your father in custody, ma'am and he's confessed to everything, so this shouldn't take long, we just need to confirm the details."
"He confessed?" Michelle asked, the surprise evident in her voice.
The three men looked at each other uncomfortably, shuffling their feet.
"What is it, Xander?" Tara asked, taking her seat again.
Xander sighed and sat in a seat beside his friend as well, the two cops following suit.
"He made reference to the fact that he wanted people to know that he'd 'rid the world of another abomination'."
Tara felt a fresh surge of anger bubble up inside her but managed to keep in under control.
"Please tell me you didn't cut a deal to get him to confess."
"Not a chance," Xander scoffed, "That man isn't any deals, leeway or anything less than the full prosecution of the law, not if I have anything to do about it. And it's a good thing if he pleads guilty, Tara. It means you guys won't have to go to trial."
Tara nodded her head, before Dunlop started speaking.
"Presuming the victim-"
"Willow," Tara interrupted, "Her name is Willow."
"Right, of course," Dunlop replied, apologetic, "Presuming she pulls through-"
"Which she will," Xander said, needing to say it so he'd believe it fully.
"We'll be charging your father with attempted murder," Dunlop continued, ignoring the second interruption, "Can you tell us what you were doing visiting your father today?"
Tara took a deep breath, ready to tell the officers whatever they needed to know.
"We happened to be visiting my mother's grave at the same time. We haven't spoken in almost seven years."
Officer Baldwin was writing down what Tara said as Officer Dunlop asked the questions.
"And you went back to your childhood home?"
Tara nodded and sighed.
"I thought he wanted to apologise for some things he'd done in my past. I was wrong. We had a somewhat heated argument, but things only escalated when he found out that I was a lesbian and married to a woman. He was...furious. I've seen him mad before, on plenty of occasions, on a daily basis for quite a few years, but I've never seen that level of anger and disgust before."
Baldwin continued taking notes as Tara talked, scribbling down what he felt were the important parts. Officer Dunlop softened his tone as he asked the next question.
"And how did Willow show up in all this?"
"She was very agitated in the car, where we were waiting," Michelle answered the question, "Then she said that she wouldn't let anyone hurt her wife and went off to find Tara."
"She thought your father might hurt you?" Dunlop asked, directing the question towards Tara.
"He has a history of it," Tara replied tersely and Dunlop nodded, not pressing any further.
"So Willow got to...how did you arrive in the backyard of your father's home?
Tara sighed again. She knew this was important, but she really didn't like to think about how she'd managed to get Willow into the situation she was in now. She resolved to just relay the events as best she remembered to get it over with as quickly as possible.
"I wasn't comfortable in the house, so I asked to talk to him outside. Willow found us and that's when my father flipped. I don't know how long he'd been thinking about it, but he was standing beside his old shed, where his shotgun is and he had it in his hands in seconds. He was saying I needed to come back home and learn how to be a proper wife to a husband and I said that I wouldn't be going back into his house and that myself and Willow would just leave and never bother him again."
Xander put a hand on Tara's knee in comfort and nodded at the officer that it was okay to continue.
"But he didn't accept that?"
Tara shook her head.
"No. He said he'd rather I was dead then have a gay daughter. The bullet wasn't even meant for Willow. He shot at me. She pushed me out of the way. She saved my life."
"You've got a very loyal wife," Baldwin commented, which made Tara's eyes begin to well up, "Thank you for your time. If we have any more questions we'll be in touch."
Tara nodded and Xander stood, shaking both of the men's hands before they left and he sat back down in his seat.
"Jesse's gonna be here in a little bit. He's just making sure nothing goes wrong at the cop station. I'm gonna go give Anya a call, tell her what's happening. Do you want me to call Buffy and Angel too?"
Tara nodded wordlessly and Michelle whipped her own cell out, suddenly realising she hadn't called Willow's father.
"I'll call Ira."
Michelle walked off to the side and Xander went to stand up before Tara spoke again.
"Could you call one of the guys from Boston? I know you don't know each other that well, I just really can't face talking..."
"No problems," Xander said with a reassuring smile, "I have Brian's number. I'll be back in a minute okay?"
Tara nodded again as Xander walked a couple of feet away, punching numbers into his phone. She absently watched them make her phone calls until she felt another hand on her knee and turned to Jesse was sitting beside her.
"Jesse. Hi. I, um, didn't see you there."
Jesse surprised Tara by leaning forwards and giving her a quick hug before sitting back down again.
"How you holding up?"
Tara just shrugged weakly and Jesse put a hand on her shoulder.
"I called Alice. She's coming up with the guys."
Tara nodded her head, slightly surprised that Jesse clearly was still keeping in contact with Alice and that their friends were travelling up, but was too filled with worry to react much.
"You've kept in contact, huh?"
Jesse uncharacteristically blushed, but nodded.
"Yea, we have. Kinda on the down low, I guess."
Tara was about to say something else when both Xander and Michelle returned at the same time.
"They're on their way," Xander said, sitting beside Jesse, "Angel's driving the two girls up and Brian said he was already in the car on the way to the airport, that he'd been told."
"Ira's coming up, too," Michelle added, still standing, "I saw a hotel around the corner when we were driving up here, I'm gonna go book a room for tonight so we can be close. Is that okay with you, Tara?"
"Yea," Tara nodded, "That sounds like a good idea."
Michelle nodded a few times as well before leaning down and placing a kiss on her niece's head, then leaving the room in a quickened pace. Xander tapped his foot impatiently and Jesse exhaled, looking between the other two.
"So what now?"
Tara sat back in her chair and sighed slowly, fresh tears filling up her eyes.
"Now we wait."