Chapter Thirteen: Life and Death

The sound of the machines beeping filled the room, as Willow looked at Tara's unconscious form. She hated seeing her oldest friend surrounded by machines and covered in wires and tubes. It made Willow's heart break every time she looked at the blonde.

"Tara? I don't know if you can hear me, but come back to me. I need you," Willow whispered, squeezing Tara's hand gently.

Since Tara's surgery, Willow had been in the room with the blonde, leaving only when she was forced too. She closed her eyes as she remembered all the blood and the sound of the gunshot. It hurt Willow to know that Tara could die at any moment, or never wake up.

It had been a week since Tara had been shot, and a few days since she had slipped into a coma, leaving Willow and everyone else with a sickening feeling as they looked at her unresponsive body.

"Will?"

The sound of her name caused Willow's head to jerk up and she turned to the door, seeing Buffy standing there. "Hey," Willow muttered, before turning back to look at Tara. "I'm glad you came."

"Of course I came. She's one of my best friends. You both are," Buffy told her, walking over to hug her friend.

"I know," Willow whispered, not responding to Buffy's touch.

"Will? Have you left at all?"

"Why would I? I'm not leaving her here alone, Buff," Willow responded, not turning away from Tara.

"Will, what if I get Faith to sit with her? Will you go shower and rest for a bit?"

"No," Willow admitted, softly.

Buffy sighed in frustration and rested her hand on Willow's shoulder feeling sad for her friends. "Will, you need to take care of yourself."

"She needs me, Buffy."

"Will, she needs you to take care of yourself. Tara loves you and will be furious if you neglect yourself because of her. You know that," Buffy reminded her, frowning at her friend.

"I can't leave her," Willow whispered, unable to look away.

"Will, the best thing you can do for her is leave so that you can take care of yourself."

Before Willow could respond, the door opened and they turned to see Kennedy standing there. "Hey," Kennedy said softly, looking at the two of them.

"Hey," Willow responded, looking at her.

"Can I sit with her for a few minutes?" Kennedy asked, pointed at Tara's unconscious form.

Buffy looked at Willow. "There you go, Will. Kennedy can stay with her while you go take care of yourself," Buffy said, frowning at her friend.

"Okay," Willow whispered, before standing up.

Kennedy smiled sadly at Willow before walking over to take her now vacant seat, hating seeing the usually bubbly redhead, so down. "I'll watch over her until you get back," Kennedy promised.

"Thank you," Willow said, before walking out the door with Buffy.

After Willow and Buffy left, Kennedy looked at Tara's unresponsive body.

"Hey, Tara. I don't know if you an hear me. I always heard that someone in a coma can hear people speaking. I know you and I don't get along at all. We have always hated each other, but I need to admit something. It was never you I didn't like. It was the fact that I knew you and Willow would one day get together," Kennedy said, twisting her hands. "I was always angry at the fact that I knew I'd lose her to you one day. I'm sorry for how I treated you, Tara. You never deserved it. As angry as I am about you and Willow, I would never want you to die."

Pausing for a few moments to collect her thoughts, Kennedy closed her eyes and took a deep breath before opening them and continuing. "She would always talk about you. Whenever we were together, she'd worry about you. I remember when you went on a date after Willow and I first started dating, and Willow kept complaining that the girl wasn't right for you. That was when I first realized I'd lose her to you eventually. Its not an excuse for my behavior towards you. I can't excuse that, but I will tell you that it's the way I am. I've always hid my true emotions behind anger sarcasm. The truth is though, I was afraid. I was afraid to lose her."

Closing her brown eyes, Kennedy looked down at her hands as she let the silence fill the room again. She sat in silence for a long while, listening to the sounds of the beeping machines until the door creaked open.

"I'm a little surprised to see you in here, Butch."

"Yeah. I didn't think I'd show up, but I figured I should talk to her. I needed to admit a few things to her," Kennedy said, looking up at Faith.

"If you're in here saying rude things to her, you might want to walk out now, cause I'll kick your ass," Faith warned.

"I'm not. I'm apologizing," Kennedy admitted, looking away and back at Tara.

"What?" Faith asked, suddenly surprised by Kennedy's words.

"I'm capable of apologizing," Kennedy muttered, getting angry at Faith for her accusations.

"I'm sorry," Faith responded, suddenly feeling guilty for her actions towards Kennedy moments before.

"Whatever."

Without another word between them said, Faith decided to walk over to Tara's side, sitting on the other side of the bed and taking Tara's hands in hers.

"Hey, T," Faith whispered, giving Tara's hand a light squeeze. "We need you to get better. Alright, T? We need you to wake up."

A/N: Thank you Gimpy72 for reading this and being my beta. I always appreciate your help.

A/N2: We are nearing the end of the story for anyone who hasn't realized it yet. I think there's probably only going to be two more chapters after this. So enjoy the rest and thanks for reading.