Hi everyone. I'll do responses to comments later or tomorrow. But for now, something cliffhangy...
Title– Turned – part 13
Author– JustSkipit - Debra
E-mail –
debraser@yahoo.com Feedback – Yes please.
Spoilers–Season 6 through Seeing Red.
Rating– Part 13 – PG Disclaimer – Willow and Tara and any other character that appeared in the syndicated television show “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” is property of Joss and Mutant Enemy, I’m only borrowing them and am not making any money off them. The first line of Winnie the Pooh is by A.A Milne. Thanks.
Summary – This story goes from the moment that Tara is shot at the end of Seeing Red with three changes to Buffy details. 1. Tara is shot through the spleen rather than the Heart. 2. Buffy is shot in the arm. 3. Spike
did not leave town after the events of Seeing Red.
“Here is Edward Bear, coming d-o-w-n-s-t-a-i-r-s downstairs now,”
“That’s very good Tara, keep going.”
Tara’s bright face lit up as her smile widened with her mother’s praise for her efforts. This was the best part of the day to the young girl. As the sun faded to darkness, they shared their special time every evening. Tara read from the book which her mother had given her on her seventh birthday. Some days her mother would sit behind the youngster on the bed, brushing out her long blond hair over and over again. Both mother and daughter reveled in the closeness and intimacy of this shared time.
Other times, she carefully crafted the intricate design on her daughter’s hip. Tara felt herself slip into a dream-like state as her mother worked the ink into her skin.
Once the young girl asked her mother to show her how to make the tattoo: “Mama, can you show me how to make that design?”
“My darling, when I am older I will show you everything you need to know. Then one day you will do this with your daughter, just as my mother did for me.” Finishing the needling for the evening, Tara’s mother reached for the healing salve and began to slowly work it over and into her daughter’s delicate skin. As Tara faded into slumber, she was aware only of the soft comforting touch of her mother’s skin on hers, cooling the burning sensation.
---
Tara felt the continued soft stroking of her skin as she woke from her peaceful slumber. The tattoo still burned slightly but it had cooled significantly since the night before. That healing salve and her mother’s attention really did make the healing process much faster.
“Thank you mama, that feels really nice,” she murmured.
Willow laughed low and quiet, whispering in her lover’s ear, “I’m glad it feels nice baby but when did I get a new pet name?”
Tara’s eyes flew open as her hand instinctively grabbed for the one on her hip, forgetting her strength and speed until she heard Willow’s gasp. “Oh God, I’m sorry,” She quickly apologized, dropping Willow’s hand entirely. “Are you ok?”
“Yeah, fine, you just scared me. It’s fine.” Willow assured her. “Are you ok?”
Tara bit her lip looking around the room and having difficulty getting her bearings in the total darkness. “Mama. She was working on my tattoo. She finished and was rubbing it to help it heal and not hurt so much. I fell asleep while she was rubbing it. It’s really dark in here.”
Willow softly took her lover’s hand, “Baby, you can see in the darkness. Focus on me for a minute. I can turn on the reading lamp if you want.” Petting her lover’s hand and beginning to stroke her hair, she spoke again, “You had a dream baby. I was stroking the tattoo to feel the difference in the temperature. You thought it was her.”
“A d-d-dream?”
“Yeah baby, a dream. You’re here at home with me,” Willow reassured her lover as she continued stroking the blonde hair.
“I like that,” Tara finally spoke.
“I know that’s why I always do it,” Willow responded.
“N-n-o. Not the hair. Well I love that too. But that’s not it. ‘Home.’” Tara explained quietly.
Willow smiled, knowing that her lover could see her in the darkness: “Home baby. Yours, mine, ours. I want you back here whenever you are ready. I always want to be with you. I love you.”
Tara leaned in to softly brush her lips against her lover’s. As she pulled back, opening her mouth to speak, both women heard a loud pounding at the door: “Hey guys, Giles is here. He’s been waiting for 15 minutes and I have to go to work. He’s having tea.”
Kissing the redhead again, Tara whispered, “Let’s come back to this conversation later sweetie. Would you go and tell him I need 10 minutes to take a shower?” Tara moved toward the bathroom as Willow dressed quickly to pass on the blonde’s message, both women leaving the conversation atop the waiting bed.
---
The gang gathered at the Magic Box that night according to Giles’ request. The watcher had spent the first few hours of the day copying and sketching Tara’s tattoo. The later part he spent working on translating the inscription and researching its meaning. Now everyone but Tara was sitting at the shop awaiting his news. As the sun had just set, all present knew that it would be maybe another half hour before she made her nightly stop and then came. Of course, she was as expectant to learn what Giles had discovered as anyone, probably more so.
While all the Scoobies were satisfied that Tara had not lost her soul and turned evil, and obviously that she wasn’t subject to the “one moment of happiness” clause of Angel’s soulfulness, they were extremely curious as to the reason.
An observer could cut the tension in the shop with a knife as Tara finally entered. She looked very nervous, making eye contact only with Willow as she kissed her lover and sat beside her.
While Tara and the others intently studied their fascinating footwear, Dawn made her way across the room. As she reached Tara, she spoke, “Hi Tara. Thanks for the help on my paper. I turned it in this morning.” As Tara looked up and smiled at her, she leaned down, giving the blonde a heartfelt hug. Everyone released a long breath as Tara answered, “Y-y-your welcome D-d-dawnie. Thanks,” before Dawn sat on the floor in front of the two witches.
“Ok,” Giles began. “There’s no reason to beat around the bush as you American say. I found out quite a bit today about the tattoo and its meaning. I must say, I was quite surprised by most of what I learned. I would guess that the design is currently complete. You say that it began with seven crosses. It now contains 76 crosses and the inscription. Parts of the inscription appear to be obscured or incomplete.”
“Geez, is this going to get us somewhere soon?” Anya interrupted.
“Anya, I do not appreciate your interruptions. If we are boring you, you are welcome to go for a walk or sleep or whatever you would like,” Giles answered briskly. “As I was saying, the inscription is written in Greek, Latin, and Aramaic.” Turning to Tara he noted, “It appears that your mother did a beautiful and obviously thorough job on the tattoo.” Continuing he explained, “The inscription is roughly translated:
76 Crosses for the 76th daughter
Banish the spirit conquered by our mother
Protection given by love, enforced by power
Waiting for the depth of the words to sink in, Giles looked around the magic box. Tara took an unnecessary breath as she processed the meaning of the words. “S-s-o it is the tattoo. It kept out the D-d-demon?”
Giles proceeded carefully, “Well, yes. Um as we know, your family believed the women in your family to be demons or at least used this myth to keep them in line. It seems that your mother believed this story also and gave you to the tattoo to keep the demon from taking hold. If as you say, her mother gave her the design, then the demon would never have taken hold with her either.”
“B-b-but. Dad said it did. I mean. He s-s-aid she became a demon at age 20. That that’s where she got the magic.” Willow took Tara’s hand as her lover visibly shook.
“I’m sorry. I know he did. It appears that the women in your family had long been creating these designs to keep the demon out. I would venture that this is exactly the reason that you have kept your soul.” He waited a beat before continuing. “There’s more.”
Finally Willow spoke, “What? Giles what is it?”
The watcher took a deep breath before continuing: “I remembered a myth I had read years ago in a watcher’s diary. I reread it today.” Turning to Tara again, he asked, “Tara, have you ever heard of Abigail the protector?”
“N-n-o. Someone from the watcher’s diaries?” Everyone in the room had noticed how much worse the blonde’s stutter was tonight and knew that she was very nervous about what they were all learning.
“According to the watcher’s diary, around 483AD a witch named Abigail battled vampires and demons and earned the nickname Abigail the protector. There were rumors that in addition to great physical strength, she also possessed precognitive and telekinetic abilities. At age 19, she battled a demon called Kaltrek. She was 7 months pregnant at the time. To defeat the demon, she not only had to physically slay it, but absorb the demon’s essence through a conduit, a living organism. She absorbed the essence into her own body.”
Quiet until now, Xander interrupted, “Wait a minute. This is fascinating but what does this have to do with Tara and why is it in the watcher’s diary?”
As all in the room looked to Giles for an answer, Dawn spoke, “Abigail was a slayer… and Tara’s ancestor. Right?”
“Yes Dawn,” Giles nodded. “Very good. Abigail was a slayer. Because she had absorbed the demon’s essence, she feared for her unborn child. With her watcher, she designed a tattoo which would keep the beast from emerging in the daughter’s maturity. It would appear that that design featured one cross. Now 76 generations later, Tara bears 76 crosses to continue to protect her from the legacy of her ancestor.”
“Wow,” Buffy, Anya, and Willow breathed out simultaneously.
“Before you get too wowed, there’s a little more,” Giles indicated. “Abigail combined the powers of a slayer with magic. As I said, she had precognitive abilities. She and her watcher had parallel dreams. Her line would continue as we know by Tara’s presence. The 77th would be another slayer: the ‘proximus 2000 anos.’” Looking toward Dawn he prompted, “Dawn want to be 2 for 2?”
The young girl whispered, “Tara’s daughter would be the first slayer born in the new millennium. Closest to the 2000 years?”
“Oh Goddess,” Willow moaned.
Everyone in the shop was quiet for a long time, not making eye contact or speaking. They pondered the meaning of this revelation. First was the role of Fate in their lives. Was Tara truly supposed to mother a new kind of more powerful slayer for the new millennium? Had Willow stopped Fate by having her changed? What would happen now that the prophecy was obviously changed?
As they sat pondering the meaning of all this, Tara noted the growing light in the sky. Giles had talked and explained the night away and dawn was coming. She quickly rose, releasing Willow’s hand and moving toward Mr. Giles. “Thank you Mr. Giles for your research. Thanks for telling us this.” Before he could say a word, she was gone from the shop as the others continued their deep contemplation. Eventually everyone fell asleep, went to work, or went home to prepare for the day.
---
Giles called out before opening the door to the crypt to avoid surprising either of the potential occupants with a slash of sunlight across the crypt floor. Entering quickly, he closed the door to find Tara obviously awaiting his arrival.
“H-h-hello Mr. Giles,” she greeted the watcher.
“Hello. You were waiting for me?”
“Yes.”
He sat across from the woman before speaking, “Good. We need to talk. Where’s your daughter?”
Edited by: xita 
at: 11/23/02 9:27:11 pm
by willntlover » Sat Nov 16, 2002 12:03 am 
Can't wait to see how you are going to settle everything!
But Tara she...kid w/out Willow??? How? What? How? *babbles incoherently* 
out you can't just leave us hanging like that!!! *SIGHS* I am sooo totally gonna flip until I get an update! *GIGGLES*
Yes, intentionally to Buffy & Angel re: What’s my Line.
That’s exactly what I was shooting for. My first real cliffhanger. Ok, maybe at the end of part 2 of Two Days (shameless plug).
Is it Wills? Hmmm, do you know something about biology that I don’t know? My wife and I are working on that but not having good luck yet.
I need to know! 
.
Tara’s birthday was October 16, 1980 so she is 22. Or is in my universe where she is alive (kind of). Details to come.
. That doesn't excuse her not telling Willow though, nothing really does.