Getting Ahead of Myself
by sailor80
Seven
[reviews]
At 6 am, Willow turned on the local news. They reported nothing out of the ordinary, even by Sunnydale standards. When the sun was fully up, Faith and Tara went into the yard to gather the crossbow bolts. When they had them neatly piled on the back step, they took a walk around the house.
They didn't expect to see anything, but Faith wasn't willing to take any chances, and carefully inspected from the foundation up. Apart from footprints, she saw nothing unusual. Before they went inside, Faith stood in the back yard and looked around. The piles of dust would dissipate in the breeze as the day went on, but she was still uncomfortable.
"What?" Tara asked softly.
"That protection thing you do in the house, can you do it to cover the whole yard? Or at least the exterior of the house?" Faith asked.
"I don't know, but I'll see what I can find out," Tara answered.
"I'd stay and help, but I need to keep an eye on Joyce."
"I know."
"Don't tell them, ok?"
"Why?"
"Not until we know for sure if you can do it," Faith explained.
"All right," Tara agreed.
Faith nodded, and gestured toward the door. "I need coffee," she yawned as she followed Tara into the kitchen.
Buffy and Willow were nowhere in sight. Joyce drank coffee and looked at the paper while Tara and Faith ate cereal, and Joyce and Faith left for the gallery as they did every morning.
Tara went upstairs. As she passed Buffy and Willow's door, she heard nothing, and hoped that they were sleeping. In the room she and Faith shared for another week or two, she started going through her books. Although Willow always started her research online, Tara loved the feel of her grimoires, and learned something each time she opened one.
She dozed off with a book open on her lap. Her dreams were disjointed, but not unpleasant. When she woke, Tara started her research again. The next page she turned seemed to meet Faith's request. Tara read and re-read the spell, and was enchanted by its simplicity. She even had, in the picnic basket where she stored her magic supplies, all but one of the herbs and oils needed. The additional power she would need, Faith would be able to supply, as she had the night before.
Tara rose from bed and stretched. It was nearly noon, so she went downstairs to the hall phone and called the gallery. Faith answered, and agreed to wait for Tara to arrive so they could have lunch together.
Tara left a note on the refrigerator and walked downtown. It was another lovely day. The sky was clear, and it was warm, but a steady breeze kept her comfortable. Faith went with her to the magic shop before they went to eat. Over lunch, Tara filled her in about the spell, and Faith agreed that they should do it as soon as possible. Tara walked back to the gallery with Faith before heading home.
Buffy and Willow were at the dining room table when Tara returned. Willow was immersed in the laptop while Buffy flipped through books. "Find anything?" Tara asked.
"Nope," Buffy sighed. Willow didn't acknowledge the question.
Tara took a seat near Buffy. "Faith had a really good idea," she said softly.
"Yeah?" Buffy asked hopefully. She closed the book and pushed it away.
"When she gets home, we're going to ward the property like the house is warded."
Willow's head popped up over the computer screen. "You can do that?" she asked.
"Yes."
"How?" Buffy and Willow asked together, and Tara spent the next few minutes outlining her plan. When she finished, Willow grinned at her. "Elegant," she said softly, then added, "Can I help?"
"No," Buffy said before Tara could answer.
"Faith's going to help," Tara explained, and Willow swallowed the unkind thought she had and returned to her research.
"You're sure about this?" Buffy asked.
Tara nodded. "It isn't too complicated, and if it works, we can do it at Mr. Giles' and Xander's."
"Cool. Now we just have to figure out why vampires are coming out of the woodwork."
"Does Mr. Giles have any ideas?"
"No." Buffy sighed. "Other than research." Buffy sighed again and pulled another book close.
"I'll help later," Tara promised. She got to her feet and picked up her bag.
"Thanks," Buffy said. She opened the book and made a face.
Tara did her best not to giggle until she was upstairs. She filled the time until Faith and Joyce came home with reviewing and mentally rehearsing the spell.
The sun was still bright when Faith and Joyce returned from work. While Joyce talked to Buffy and Willow, Faith went upstairs to find Tara. They shared a brief kiss, and Faith asked, "Ready?"
Tara bit her lip, but nodded her head. She handed Faith a few 3"x5" cards, and picked up the small basket holding the things she needed for the spell. They went downstairs and into the back yard.
Most of the piles of ash were gone, but the lawn was covered with the gray film of remains. Tara explained to Faith what she was going to do, and how Faith would help. They went over everything twice more before beginning.
Half an hour later, they were finished. Tara had started in one corner and worked counterclockwise around the property, remembering to include above and below in the ritual blessing. All of the words and actions combined to simultaneously sanctify the property and put out a "no trespassing" vibe to anyone who meant to harm them.
Afterward, Faith went upstairs to shower. Tara went up after the water stopped and found Faith drying her hair. She was in her sleepwear on the side of the bed, and smiled at Tara when she saw her. "I'm gonna catch some zzzs," Faith explained.
"Good idea. You must be exhausted."
Faith shrugged. She was bone tired, up for 36 hours without a break, and spending the last one letting Tara tap into her power, but she figured it came with the territory.
"I'll let you sleep," Tara said, and turned to leave.
"Don't go," Faith said.
Tara couldn't tell whether it was a command or a request, but either was fine with her. Faith tossed the towel on the floor and gestured for Tara to join her. Tara stopped en route to pick up the towel and hang it over the closet door.
Faith laid down and scooted over to make room for Tara. "You should take me to lunch every day," she said as they settled themselves with Faith's head on Tara's shoulder.
"Oh?"
"It was nice." Faith yawned and snuggled down against Tara's side.
"Good."
"Don't let me sleep too long," Faith instructed, and closed her eyes. Her even breathing told Tara that she had fallen asleep quickly. It wasn't long before Tara, too, fell asleep.
There was no patrol that night. Faith and Tara slept while Willow continued to research and Buffy prowled from window to window looking for signs of a repeat of the previous night. Shortly after 10 pm, Willow went up to bed. Buffy followed her soon
after, but twitched awake at every sound.
In the morning, Tara and Faith again walked around the house. There was no evidence that anyone had been in the yard overnight, and Faith crowed, "Good job, Blondie."
Tara, a little embarrassed, smiled and thanked Faith. "We can do Mr. Giles' and Xander's this afternoon," she said.
"All right," Faith agreed. "Let's get breakfast."
Buffy and Tara spent the day finishing their work in the basement while Willow continued to research. By the time Joyce and Faith returned home, the basement was ready for Xander to begin work.
Faith waited impatiently for Tara to gather what she needed for the spell. She had been cooped up inside all day as the gallery had been busy, and was looking forward to being outside, even if only to walk a few blocks. Plus, that would give her time alone with Tara, who didn't know yet that they were going to have dinner out. Faith had cleared it with Joyce, who had seemed distracted all day. When Faith saw her taking pills twice, she realized that Joyce had another headache. She had gone upstairs to lay down as soon as they were home.
While Faith waited for Tara, she let Buffy and Willow know that Joyce wasn't feeling well and that they were on their own for dinner.
"Liz will be here later," Buffy reminded Faith. "We'll patrol after, all right?"
"Sure." Faith agreed absently, and turned to watch Tara descend the stairs. While upstairs, she had quickly washed up and changed her grimy clothes for a skirt and brightly colored top. "Later," she said to Buffy and Willow, and moved quickly to open the door for Tara.
Buffy got to her feet. "I'm going to check on Mom," she told Willow.
"Okay," Willow answered without looking up from the monitor.
Buffy tapped on her mother's door before slipping inside. "Mom? Anything I can do?" She crossed the room quickly and sat beside her mother.
"I'm all right, honey."
"You're having a lot of headaches."
"It's nothing," Joyce reassured her.
"Will you please go to the doctor and get checked?"
"I don't think that's necessary," Joyce protested.
"Please?" Buffy asked again. "For your granddaughter," she added in hope that a little guilt would help argument.
Joyce sighed before she acquiesced. "All right."
"Thank you." Buffy paused. "Are you sure there isn't anything I can do?"
"I'm sure, honey. Go have dinner before the midwife comes."
"All right." Buffy kissed her mother's cheek before standing up. "Feel better."
Joyce nodded as she closed her eyes, and Buffy quietly slipped out of the room.
Downstairs, Buffy found that Willow had set the computer aside to watch the news. She called for a pizza before rejoining Willow on the couch. "How's your mom?" Willow asked.
"All right, I guess," Buffy answered. She laid her head on Willow's shoulder, and Willow put her hand on Buffy's thigh. They stayed like that until dinner arrived.
They were still eating when Liz arrived, and pushed the food aside. Again, Liz measured Willow. Then they started talking. After an hour, Liz wrapped up. As she prepared to go, Buffy looked a little confused. "I thought there was going to be breathing and stuff."
"Next time," Liz promised. "You'll need pillows, and we'll need space to be on the floor, all right?"
"All right," Buffy agreed. She followed Liz to the door and stood there to make sure she got into her car safely. As Liz pulled away, Faith and Tara approached, and Buffy waited for them. "All finished?" she asked.
"With?" Faith asked.
"The spells."
"Oh, yeah. We even did the gallery."
"Thanks," Buffy smiled, and led them into the house. Willow was nowhere in sight, and Buffy called her name.
"Kitchen," was the reply, and Buffy went there to find Willow putting the rest of the pizza on a pan.
"What're you doing?"
"I'm still hungry, and the microwave always makes the edges too hot and leaves the middle cold," Willow explained while she slid the tray into the oven. She set the timer for 20 minutes before turning to face Buffy. "All right?"
"All right," Buffy agreed.
Willow took two steps and covered the space between them. She brushed her lips across Buffy's and said, "Glad you approve."
Buffy smiled and pulled Willow close. She kissed her purposefully, forgetting for a few seconds that anything other than their connection existed.
"All right, you two, break it up," Faith said playfully.
Buffy and Willow traded a few more kisses before separating. "You have lousy timing," Buffy said.
Faith ignored her comment. "Ready to patrol?"
"No." Buffy glanced over Willow's shoulder at the stove. "Probably be half an hour or so."
"Cool." Faith went behind Buffy and pulled two bottles of water from the refrigerator. She left them without saying anything else.