"Okay, JJ, now there's a scary bit coming up, but don't worry, it only lasts a second."
Willow was holding the baby in her lap, both of their faces and attentions focused solely on the television in front of them, The Lion King playing out on screen. The redhead put her hand over his eyes as the images of the stampede picture flashed out in colourful detail.
She looked away herself as she always had to when Mufasa got trampled, the heartbreaking scene having made her cry on numerous occasions. She cast a cautious glance back at the screen after a moment and upon seeing the height of the dramatic bit was over, removed her hand from the baby's eyes and leaned down to place a kiss on top of his head.
"It's over, little guy. But it's still kinda sad, 'cause that big mister lion man with, the mean one, he's gonna make the cute little one think it was all his fault. But we know better though, don't we JJ?" she asked the baby, one hand securely holding his stomach as the other stroked his hair, "We know that the other big mister lion man, the nice one, he only did what he had to do to protect his little cub. 'Cause, see that's what you do for people you love, you protect them. And you keep them safe."
Tara watched from the doorway of the living room, feeling herself panging with love at how Willow interacted with the baby. She didn't know how the little boy had managed to enmesh himself so much into both of their hearts over the two days he'd been with them, but he had.
She dreaded the thoughts of the following morning when she'd have to bring him back to her offices to find him a more permanent residence.
She didn't dare dream that he might have already found one.
Pushing herself away from the door, she walked completely into the room, smiling when Willow greeted her with a large grin.
"Hi, baby. We're watching The Lion King."
"Beauty and The Beast finished then?" Tara asked as she sat down beside her wife, "God bless the fact that you're a Disney film aficionado. He's been quiet all afternoon."
"I know, right?" Willow smiled, only half pulling her attention away from the movie, "He needed his diaper changed during The Little Mermaid and he didn't even make a peep. Just kept on watching. And he didn't even cry when Ursula went all evil sea-hag. Hell, I was kinda scared during that scene."
Tara smiled back before placing a quick kiss on the redhead's cheek and settling back into the sofa.
JJ had spent the night previous waking up every two hours, just like the night before that, but had calmed quickly on the times he didn't need feeding or a diaper change when Tara sang to him softly.
Still, both girls were exhausted so when Willow had suggested they put on some kids movies and try and relax as best they could for the afternoon, they had done just that.
Tara took one of the cushions lying near her and rested it over her stomach, reaching out and taking one of the baby's feet into her hand, marvelling, not for the first time, at how perfectly formed his miniature frame was.
At how perfect he was.
She tapped her fingers lightly up his leg before sighing softly.
"This is really good practice for when we have kids of our own, huh?"
Willow felt her breath catch in her throat. Tara's words echoed the same thoughts that had been running through her head ever since the baby had arrived.
Except as each second, minute and hour with JJ passed, as she fell more and more in love with him, her thoughts moved from the image of their future children to the child they had in front of them now.
She kept her hand snugly around the baby's waist as he continued to be transfixed by the cartoon in front of him, but turned her head to meet her wife's gaze.
"What if he was?"
Tara felt her heart begin to pound in her chest.
Was Willow suggesting what she thought she was?
She cleared her throat before trying to speak, though it still came out in a quiet squeak.
"What if he was what?"
The side of Willow's lip quirked into a small smile.
"Our own, Tara."
Tara's eyes widened and she went to speak but Willow started again before she had a chance, her spare hand flying out in front of her and gesturing wildly.
"I know, I know. This is crazy. We've only had him two days. As, as babysitters. And we're both sleep deprived and quite possibly not thinking straight," she gushed before reaching down and grabbing her wife's hand, "But you've been thinking the same thing, baby. I can tell. I mean, what, you think we can just hand him back tomorrow?"
Tara closed her eyes and shook her head. As much as she'd been trying not to think about it, she knew if she had to hand the baby over to anyone else, knowing she'd never see him again, knowing that he could be passed from institution to institution without ever having a real home – she'd be heartbroken.
They'd be heartbroken.
But she knew she had to be realistic. They weren't talking about buying a kitten or bringing a hurt bird home to nurse back to heath. This was a real human being, whom they would be responsible for.
If they did this, their lives would be changed forever.
Tara moved her hand so their fingers were entwined and their palms were flat against each other as she looked her wife dead in the eye.
"Willow, this is a huge decision."
"I know," Willow replied, her tone as sincere and serious as Tara had ever heard her, "And it's not one we should take lightly. But, Tara, he's our boy. All I have to do is look at him and I know that. He even looks like us."
Tara smiled and brought their conjoined fingers up to lightly trace a line down the baby's nose, a familiar fluttering feeling happening inside her when his green orbs turned to gaze up at her.
"He does have your eyes..." she said softly, "I thought that the moment I saw him."
Willow nodded excitedly, her words starting to pour out of her mouth.
"And Tara, he's so calm. I mean, he has his screaming moments, quite a few, but when he's calm, he's...just so serene and peaceful. That's you down to the ground."
She smiled down at JJ and gave him stomach a small squeeze before raising her head again, waiting for Tara to look back up at her. When the blonde met her gaze again, Willow took her hand from her wife's and moved it up to cup her cheek.
"Baby, remember...remember when I got shot?" she asked gently, knowing the memories of that particular time hurt her wife a lot more than they hurt her, "How you made me talk to you to keep me awake?"
A flash of pain went across Tara's face and she dropped her gaze slightly.
"Of course. It's not something I'm gonna forget anytime soon."
Willow lightly stroked the skin under her thumb until the blonde looked up at her again. When she did, Willow nodded down at the baby with a broad smile.
"Tara, this is the little boy I was dreaming about, that I described to you. Complete with dimples and little pudgy hands and everything," she said, using her hold on the baby's stomach to hold up his hand and making him give a small wave, "I know you believe in fate, I do too. You got the call to collect him for a reason. It could've been any of the other social workers, but it was you. And it was you that fought to bring him into our home. No one else there would've been willing."
Willow watched as Tara took in all she was saying and leaned forwards to place the gentlest of kiss on her lips. When she pulled back, she moved the baby so he was sitting slightly on both of their laps, each of them keeping him steady with a hand either side of him.
Willow just smiled at her wife.
"I met you so that you could complete me, Tara. And I think we met this little guy so that he could complete our family."
Tara couldn't help the huge smile that graced her features as she fully processed everything they were both saying.
"Are we ready to be parents?" she asked, her entire face beaming.
"We could have decided to get pregnant and have 9 months to prepare," Willow replied, beaming as well, "But this little man needs us now. And we'll have to learn lots and fast, but we can do it. For him, we can do it."
Tara bit the side of her lip before nodding definitively.
"We can do it."
"We can?" Willow asked in almost disbelief, her eyes starting to shine with emotion.
"Yes," Tara replied quietly, her eyes glistening with unshed tears, "We can."
Willow's mouth hung open in shock for a moment before she swooped her head around and captured her wife's lips, kissing her with everything she had until JJ started to gurgle, making her pull back and bring him up to place a sloppy kiss against his head.
"We haven't forgotten about you, little dude. You're gonna be in our minds forever now," she told the baby as she brought him against her chest and hugged him tight, before regarding Tara seriously, "Um, okay, how do we...? I mean, legally, how do we do all this?"
Tara brought a hand up to her forehead, closing her eyes as she tried to think.
"We need to call Anya," she replied eventually, her mind starting to go into overdrive, "She'll know a family lawyer. We'll have to petition the courts for custody until we can adopt him properly."
"Adopt him. We're gonna adopt him," Willow said in awe, before snapping to attention, "Okay, okay. I'll go call Anya. Can you take...can you take our boy?"
Tara felt her heart clench and nodded, holding her arms out. Willow carefully put JJ in her wife's arms, smiling at him, before kissing his forehead and then moving up to kiss the blonde's lips.
"I love you," she whispered, then stroked JJ's hair, "I love both of you."
"I love you, too," Tara whispered back, leaning forwards for another chaste kiss.
Willow pulled back and looked into her wife's smiling eyes, cupping her cheek for a moment before moving her hand down and tapping a finger against JJ's nose. The baby gurgled in response and Willow's smile beamed before she stood up and scurried out of the room.
Tara held JJ up and kissed him on the nose.
"You are loved, safe and beautiful," she whispered to him and gazed into his eyes for a few seconds, "And very, very wise. You're an old soul, aren't you? Look at those beautiful green eyes."
Tara got lost in his eyes for another moment before a thought occured to her and she pulled the baby carrier over next to her, placing JJ in it gently before she reached into her pocket, took out her cell and scrolled through the phone book until she landed on the number she wanted and pressed the call button.
She listened as it rang until a voice picked up on the other end.
"Hello, Steph?" she said into the phone, holding it to her ear with her shoulder, "It's Tara. I'm really sorry to call you on a Sunday, but..."
Tara conversed with her boss over the next few minutes, telling her of the new developments.
"Okay. Thanks so much, Steph. And sorry again about the Sunday call. Oh and Steph? Would you mind keeping this to yourself for the moment? Thank you. Okay, bye."
Tara flipped her phone closed just as Willow came back in the room, beaming.
"Anya's on it. She's gonna call around her lawyer friends and get back to me soon. She was so cool about it all. Oh and I asked her not to tell Xand for now, just you know, don't wanna jinx it."
"I thought the same thing," Tara smiled as Willow sat beside her, "I called my boss, so she said she's behind it 100% and will give total departmental approval."
Willow bit down on her tongue slightly and started laughing.
"We're really doing this."
"We really are," Tara grinned, before lifting the carrier onto the coffee table so the baby was facing them and took one of his hands.
Willow took the other and smiled down at him.
"What do you think, little man? You want to be part of our family?"
JJ gurgled and both women felt his tiny hands wrap around one of their fingers.
Willow felt her eyes well with tears and turned to Tara.
"I think that means yes."