It's Only Blood
by Red
It's Only Blood
[reviews]
It's Only Blood (chapter 1)
Red
T/F, B/W, An/X, Joy/G, H/S
Joss' folk.
Summary: When Tara's family comes to town, all hell breaks loose. AU -
my version of what happened when the McCLay clan came to town.
*Rated NC17 for violence...serious stuff*
Want? Please ask.
"I don't like them."
"Yes, we know this, honey," Xander said, looking at his
girlfriend. "The whole town knows. Angel and his gang in LA know. And
we all feel the same. Well, the LA crew haven't met them, but I'm
sure they would feel the same if they had."
"I don't want to have dinner with them," she went on. "Why should I
have dinner with people I don't like. Why should any of us?"
"For Tara," Willow softly answered. "She's our friend, one of the
family...we're doing it for her."
"They so give me the creeps."
"Not alone there, Dawnie," Xander noted, adjusting his tie.
"They are a bit..." Giles stumbled for the words.
"Straight out of Deliverance?" Buffy offered.
He tried not to smile, but failed.
"Well, I don't exactly get, happy vibes, from them," Joyce
noted. "But like Willow said, for Tara."
"Agreeing with Ms. Summers."
"Willow, what did I tell you?" Joyce said.
"I know, still getting used to it...Joyce."
Buffy smiled at her girlfriend and ran her fingers through red silk, nuzzling the witch closer.
"I got no problem, Joyce."
The eldest Summers looked at her youngest and Dawn sighed.
"Mom, there."
" Much better."
"How come Spike and Harmony don't have to come?" Anya mused
"Because, she has her...thing, tonight," Buffy replied, rolling her
eyes.
Willow giggled and Buffy looked at her.
"Well, I can't help it, it's cute," the redhead stated.
"A vampire selling Avon," Dawn sighed. "Only in Sunnydale."
"Poor Spike," Giles added. "I do feel sorry for him, having to sit
through an evening of beauty makeovers."
"I think it's sweet," Joyce purred, nuzzling close to him. "He's very
supportive."
"Yeah, plus," Willow added. "He likes the moisturizing...keeps his skin
soft."
"So, where are they?" Xander quipped, anxious to get the whole thing
over with. "It was seven, right?" He glanced at his watch.
"Seven was the time agreed upon, wasn't it?" Giles asked.
"Yep, seven...and it's nearly twenty after." Anya stared at the
timepiece on her wrist.
"Why doesn't someone give them a call," Giles suggested. "Dawn?"
Just then, the front door flew open and Faith came running in.
"Is Tara here?" she asked, stepping into the living room.
"Nope," Xander said. "We thought you guys were meeting us here,
together...with the cast of Wrong Turn."
"That was the plan," the slayer replied, running a hand through her
hair. "I went to pick them up but no one was at the motel. Thought
maybe they came on over on their own."
"We haven't heard a word from her," Willow said.
Buffy furrowed a brow. "You're worried."
She looked at her fellow slayer and saw just how worried she was.
"Maybe they're still out shopping," Dawn offered. "I know I always
lose track of time when I'm at the mall."
"They went early this morning, munchkin," she softly replied. "Been
back for hours."
"Has something happened, to give you concern?" Giles inquired, his
own vibes on alert.
Faith shook his head slightly. "I just don't-"
"Like them? Trust them?" Anya quipped. "We don't either. They give us
the creeps."
Giles studied her closely. She was a far cry from the Faith they had
first met years ago. And the reason for the slayer's change was
simple...Tara.
Faith Lehane had fallen head over heels in love with the blonde
witch upon first sight.
Willow had befriended the shy girl at school and discovered she had a
natural knack for magic. So into the Scooby gang she came. Faith saw
her and was never the same again.
She was a new person around the witch, always polite and extra
helpful, even diving into the research when needed. For her part,
Tara was just as taken by her. Although, painfully shy, it took some
major prodding from Willow, Anya, Dawn and Buffy to get her to take
the smallest of steps and, eventually, she felt comfortable enough
around her to accept a dinner date. They moved in together the next
day and had been inseparable ever since.
"I don't like this," Buffy muttered, getting up from her chair.
"We go look for them, " Xander stated, doing the same.
"I can do a locator spell," Willow offered. "With her magic, she
should show up like a neon sign."
"Do it, Red," Faith said, giving her a nod.
+++++
"Filthy whore!"
The impact of her brother's fist on her face sent Tara slamming
into the wall and down to the floor. Blood pouring out of her nose,
she struggled to sit up.
"Stay down there, on the ground," he snarled, placing his boot
firmly in her side. "It's where dirt like you belongs."
He added a few more kicks then walked away. The witch tried not to
cry, but it was impossible. Her face was covered in blood and she
knew there were broken ribs.
"You just had to leave your home, didn't you?" her father growled,
grabbing a handful of short blonde hair and dragging her across the
hard wooden floor. "You just had to be better than your family." He
roughly yanked her up and threw her onto the ratty mattress in the
corner. "I'm gonna show you, girl, exactly what you are."
He tore the skirt from her body, the silk blouse following, then
removed his belt and doubled it up.
+++++
"But I want to come!"
Buffy glared at her sister.
"Not in the mood for arguing here, Dawn," Joyce said, her voice
firm.
"I'll stay and keep you company," Anya quipped. "We can play
board games and watch the MTV. It'll be fun. I like that, Celine
Dion. She has a very lovely voice."
The youngest Summers rolled her eyes.
"Ready then?"
Buffy gave Faith a nod, then turned back to Dawn.
"Be good."
"Yes, don't give Anya any trouble," Joyce added.
She hugged her daughter then disappeared out the front door.
"Get a move on, B!" Faith cracked from the doorway. "Faster I
find my girl, the better my mood's gonna be."
"Can't wait for that," Buffy muttered, giving Dawn a last look
and moving to the door.
"Fine, fine, being good," Dawn groaned, walking over to the sofa
and plopping down.
Anya turned to Dawn, a smile on her face.
"Now Dawnie, how about you and Auntie Anya watch that Mtv."
Dawn forced a smile. "Cool."
+++++
"Goddess, please..."
"Praying to your devil god won't help, girl!"
Tara closed her eyes just as the leather fell across her back,
crying out at the stinging pain.
"It's high time you remembered who and what you are," he said,
bringing it down again. "How much of a slut..." And again..."A whore..."
And again..."A piece of garbage..." Three hard ones to her backside. "You
are!"
The last five, placed in the exact same spot as the previous
three, sent her wailing in pain, her body shaking, convulsing.
"You tell her, daddy!"
Tossing his belt aside, he turned to his son.
"Go, check on your cousin."
"But I ain't done here." He cupped his jean-clad crotch. " I wanna
piece of that whore."
"I said, go check on your cousin," he repeated, unzipping his
pants. "When I'm finished, you'll get your turn. Now go! And tell
Beth she did a pretty job on this hair." He stroked the now cropped
locks of Tara. "Yeah, a real pretty job getting' rid of that whore
hair."
His son left, grumbling all the way and the senior McCLay looked
down at his bloody and bruised daughter.
"Crawling in bed with that freak slut...by the time I'm done with
you, even she won't want you. She'll get sick just looking at you."
She felt him get on the mattress and the all too familiar feeling
of his hands on her hips, lifting her up. She tried to fight but she
was far too battered, too weak.
" You make a freak sick, girl, that's how disgusting you are; a
disgusting, little whore that's gone far too long without proper
discipline. But I'm fixing that, now, aren't I?"
He slammed between her thighs hard, his hands gripping her
tightly, holding her up. She screamed at the rough invasion, the
flood of memories racing through both her head and body, and at the
reality that it was happening again.
"Oh, daddy's going to make you scream real nice, don't you worry,
girl," he purred, slamming in again. "He's got a lot of time to make
up for."
+++++
Beth McCLay stared out the window of the old, burnt down school.
She smiled, as the screams of her cousin echoed throughout what was
left of the building. How she had missed this!
"Hey."
She turned to see her male cousin coming down the hall. He didn't
look happy.
"What's wrong, cousin?" she cooed, knowing full well why he wore a
frown.
"Daddy says you did a pretty job on her hair."
He took a seat on what appeared to once be a desk.
"Aw, thank you. I've been dying to use that knife since I got it
last month. It works real good." He was quiet. "Aw, come on, stop
your poutin'. You know you'll have your time."
"Why does he always get to go first?"
"Because, he's your daddy, that's why. You get to go before me and
do ya hear me whining? No."
"Well that's diff-"
He stopped mid-sentence at the sound of an approaching car. They
both saw the black van with tinted windows at the same time and took
off running.
+++++
Faith jumped out of the van and took off running. Buffy, Giles,
Xander, Joyce and Willow followed but only the Buffy could keep up
with her.
"Faith! Faith!"
"I smell it, B...her blood." She stormed through what used to be the
front door of Sunnydale High at warped speed, the blonde right on her
tale. "She's hurt! Fucking kill the bastard who did it, I swear!"
Faith inhaled deeply, following the scent of her lover down a long,
dark hallway, Buffy at her side. Halfway there, they stopped and
looked at each other.
"Hear that?" Buffy asked.
"Fuck!"
They broke out into a fast run. Not too far behind them, the
others ran as fast as they could to catch up, Giles leading the way.
+++++
In back of the building, the McClays piled into the rented car and
sped away.
"That was too close, daddy," Junior panted, trying to catch his
breath. "Too close."
"Shut up and drive," his father ordered, trying to keep calm.
He made a mental note to find the man who had recommended the old
school and shoot him. Well, have his half-wit son shoot him. Private
and abandoned my ass, he thought. There was two hundred dollars down
the drain. Oh well, he'd just take it off his corpse.
"What if they find out, daddy?"
"From who? She's not going to breathe a word, she knows better,
knows what will happen if she does. She'll tell them it was some
demon, some rapist human, anything but the truth."
Beth smiled from the back seat, leaned forward and put a hand on
her uncle's shoulder.
"Don't worry, cousin," she purred. "Your daddy knows what he's
doing."
+++++
Faith and Buffy entered the room together and immediately saw the
figure in the corner. Within seconds, they were by Tara's side, Faith
on her knees next to her.
"Oh god," Buffy gasped, seeing her friend.
"Tara, baby, I'm here," Faith spoke softly, although she was
anything but calm. "It's ok, now, I'm here."
Her eyes moved over her girlfriend's battered body and without
even realizing it, tears fell. Buffy didn't even notice, her own eyes
in shock. Tara raised her head slightly, looking for Faith. The dark
haired slayer saw her face, the blood and the bruises and felt her
anger rage.
"Where are you guys?"
Xander's voice echoed down the hall, startling both Slayers.
"Faith?"
Tara's voice was weak, hoarse, barely above a whisper, but it rang
loudly in the room.
"I'm here, baby, gonna take care of you, promise," she replied,
wanting to hold her but afraid of hurting her more.
"Hey, hello?" Xander called.
Faith looked at Buffy and Buffy saw the tears in her eyes. Without
saying a word, she hurried out the door to Xander's voice. Faith
carefully brushed a finger over Tara's shoulder, pulling away
instantly when she winced.
"I need to get you to a hospital, baby," she gently said.
She shifted on the mattress, crying out as she did. Faith then
noticed that the bed was soaked in blood...Tara's blood.
"It hurts, Faith," she breathed, trying to turn over.
The slayer swallowed hard.
"I know, baby, and I'm going to take care of you, I promise. I
just need to get you out of here."
Tara reached out to her, a swollen eye meeting angry browns.
"Carry me."
Two simple words that meant everything.
"I don't want to hurt you, baby."
"Please, take me out of here, please."
She managed a smile.
"Anything for you, my goddess."
Then, with all the delicate grace she could gather, Faith
carefully turned her, lifted and picked her up into her arms. She
winced but didn't cry out, her arms weakly wrapping around her
slayer's neck. Faith headed for the door, talking softly to Tara,
while inside vowing that whoever was responsible for her goddess
being like this, would regret the day they were born.