FicWad

Tara sat by her mother's bedside. It had not surprised her how her father had reacted. After all, appearances are everything to him and to have a gay daughter would be too much. And besides, she had just found a little bit of happiness. It would have to be taken away from her. It always is.
Her mother's shallow breathing was almost a comfort to her. At least she wasn't wheezing or coughing. And sometimes there was the spitting up of the blood. After all these years, the doctors still did not know what was really wrong with her.
Tears formed in her eyes. They burned as she struggled not to let them fall. It had been her one promise to herself. No matter how unhappy she felt, she would never let her mother see her crying or upset in any way.
There was a quiet knock on the door. No one ever came into the room besides her. Struggling to keep the tears from falling, she slowly made her way to the door. Opening it, she saw the last person on earth that she ever thought she would see.
"Donny?" Tara asked in a whispered tone. "What are you doing here?" Her tone became a little suspicious.
Donny's gaze went past her to his mother. He took in the paleness of her face and her shallow breathing. It had been a week since he had gotten enough courage to come to her room. He was just too weak to handle seeing her so sick. "Can we talk, somewhere else?"
Again, Tare eyed him for a few seconds. She did not know what to think. Usually, all he ever did was torment her. But than again, they had not really spoken to one another for quite some time. Maybe things were different now. And maybe she could still see Willow. "All right. How about out back?" He nodded and she followed him to the back porch where there was a little black iron swing. Both sat on it. They sat in silence for several minutes. Finally, Tara sighed heavily. "What's this all about?"
"I wanted to see how you were doing." He turned and looked at her. She noticed that his gaze was gentler than it had ever been. "I heard about what happened in school today."
"Did you also hear what Beth did?" His surprised look was all the answer she needed. The blond swallowed hard. "She told Dad about me and Willow. We were gonna deal. But now, Dad told Willow never to see me again or he'd make life difficult for her." Tears were now in the corners of her eyes again. She could not understand why she was telling Donny all of this. He would be the last person she talked to about this. Well, maybe Beth.
"I'm sorry." The look he received must have surprised him. "Look, I know I haven't been the best big brother in the world. Or just a civil human being." He swallowed hard before continuing. "I'm sorry for that. I should have been there, given you someone that you could talk to."
The tears froze where they were. Why was her big brother saying all of this to her? Was he setting her up so that she would hurt more when he revealed the big joke? "I hate to say it like this, but are you for real?"
Now a little bit of laughter escaped Donny. "I am for real. Oz told me what went down at the dance. And than what happened today. I guess, even though we aren't friends, being in the same band and all he thought I should know. And he didn't know what a jerk I usually am to you. But that's gonna change."
"Why?" Tara stared hard at her brother. The change, if real, would be unbelievable.
"Let's just say I grew up a little." Donny pulled up his shirt to reveal a big bruise on his chest. "And you're not alone in being Dad's target anymore. I'm thinking that we should stand together. Maybe it won't hurt as much."
A little smile played at the corners of her mouth. "I always wanted a big brother."
The two laughed. But the laughter was interrupted by their father. "Donny! You have a phone call."
Donny eyed Tara for a moment before going to take the cordless phone away from him. "Hello? Hey, Oz! Am I missing practice?" He listened intently for a moment. His eyes grew wide as he looked at his little sister. "I'll get her there. Somehow." There was pain in his eyes as he looked at his little sister. "It's Willow. She's been in an accident."
The wind seemed to leave her lungs at that moment. Breathing was becoming an impossibility. She tried to stand, but instantly sank back down to the rocking chair. "I-is she..." The blond could not finish her thought.
"She's in bad shape." Donny sighed heavily. "I'm taking you to the hospital."
"But, Dad." She had such a worried look on her face.
"Screw him!" Donny put his hand on her shoulder. "You need to be there for her when she wakes up."
***
Xander paced back and forth in the waiting room. The phone call from Giles had made him sick. Literally sick. He had ran into the bathroom and thrown up after he had gotten the phone call. Willow and him had been best friends forever. Now she was lying in a hospital bed, fighting for her life.
Anya sat in one of the chairs and watched him pace. She wanted nothing more than to take him in her arms and tell him that everything would be all right. But she knew that he needed to get rid of all the pent up anger and feelings of uselessness. She also felt angry and useless. Granted she and Willow were not close, but someone her own age and knew personally was at deaths door. It was hard to deal with.
"Any news?" Xander stopped and looked at his cousin. Faith's dark eyes had a look that said she was scared. And that was so unlike his cousin. Xander shook his head sadly. "Damn!"
Oz came up and put an arm through hers. She leaned her head on his shoulder for support. "Is Giles here yet?"
Xander shook his head. "He's still trying to track down her mom and dad. They are off doing some kind of lecture tour or something like the norm. They should be here."
"Yeah, well, parents don't always give a rats ass about their kids." Faith was more full of anger than Xander had ever heard her. "Sorry. Not the right time to vent. The important thing is that we're here for her."
Two figures walked quickly into the waiting room. "Still no word?" Buffy asked. She knew the answer. The look on everyone's face was very telling. "I hate waiting."
Spike put his arm around her waist. They had been a little distant since the whole Angel/Drusilla reveal. But this was the time that they needed one another to lean on. "She'll be all right, love. You'll see." He gently kissed the top of her head. "Has there been any word on who did this?"
Xander shook his head. "All they know is that it was a red sports car. Convertible, but with the top up and tinted windows. No one got a license plate number. The police say they'll have to wait and see if anyone comes in for repairs." Xander stood clenching and unclenching his fist.
Anya quickly came over and wrapped her arms around him. "They'll find out who did this and punish them. We'll just have to give them time."
"Yeah, well time may not be something that she has." Xander's raised voice caught everyone off guard. He sighed heavily. "Sorry. Hospital. Venting." He smiled at Faith who smiled back. "That must be a family trait."
"All I know is that whoever did this is gonna pay, one way or another." Her eyes were very dark suddenly. "And I do mean pay. Big time."
***
Angel stared at his care in disbelief. The whole front end was smashed up. And if he wasn't mistaken, there was blood on the cracked windshield. "Drusilla, darling, what did you do to my car?" She only smiled at him in response. "Damn it!" He shook his head furiously.
"The red little bird came out of nowhere." Drusilla danced around him. "Is it my fault that she did not fly out of my way?"
"Red bird?" Angel sighed heavily. There was no way that any type of bird could do that much damage to his car. And that's what had him so worried. He hadn't know that Drusilla had taken his keys out of his locker. And now, there was some major damage to his care. He hoped that it was some kind of an animal. "Dru, would you next time ask to borrow my car? Maybe even let me drive you around in it?"
Drusilla laughed and laughed. "But I like the feel of the wheel in my hands. It makes me feel like I'm flying. Well, flying higher than I usually am."
Angel turned away from Drusilla. If he admitted it to himself, she was in desperate need of help. She was so high at that point, he didn't know how she was functioning. But she always seemed to manage to. "I'm going to get into deep water for this one. That's for sure."
"But the red bird didn't walk away. She was still on the ground when I flew away." Drusilla began doing a little dance on the hood of the already smashed up car.
That made Angel turn with a start. It had been what he feared. Drusilla had hit a human. But who? It didn't really matter. All that matter now was that he hide the evidence somehow. He would have to drive far away to get the car fixed, which meant he would probably miss school. Maybe.
"Dru, I'm going to go now." He looked at her. Sadly, she got down off from the hood. "But don't worry, we'll party more later." He got in the car and squealed out of her driveway. If she had really hit a human and that person was hurt, there was so much trouble they could all get in to. "I should have never gotten involved with her. Now look at the mess that I'm in."
***
The white light was bright. Very bright. So bright that Willow was having trouble seeing around her. But one image came very clear in a matter of seconds. It was her. The blond girl who had stolen her heart.
"Tara?" The redhead smiled bigger than she had ever smiled. She had thought that she would not see her, well, outside of school ever again. Yet here she stood before her. Her heart began to race a little just at the sight of her.
"I'm here, sweetie." Tara smiled at her as she slowly closed the little bit of distance between them. "I'm not going anywhere, ever again."
The two joined hands as soon as they got close enough. "I missed you so much."
"We've only been apart a few hours." Tara laughed a little. "But I really missed you too." She pulled the redhead into a hug. They stayed in the embrace for what seemed like forever. "I could get used to this. You in my arms. I think we should do this every day. I need you."
Willow pulled back, her face very sad. "But we can't. Your dad said that we can't and I don't want you to get into trouble. We have to stay apart." Tears formed in her emerald green eyes. "That's the last thing I want to do to you, hurt you."
"The only way I would be hurt is for the two of us not to be together." A tear formed in the sea of blue of Tara's blue eyes. "I need you in my life. We belong together. No matter what anyone else says or does." The blond could no longer resist. She had her lips on the redhead's. The sweet taste of the redhead was almost too much for her. But she kept going back for those kisses.
A little moan escaped the redhead. "I never thought I'd get to do that again. I thought that we would never."
Tara smiled at her. "You've got to have a little faith. We'll be together. But it may just take some work."
"That's fine with me." Willow smiled back. "Anything I have to do to be with you is all right with me."
Suddenly, Tara was being pulled out of her arms. Willow tried desperately to hold on to her. But something was too strong and the redhead lost her grip. "No!" She screamed as the blond disappeared into the bright white surrounding her. "I won't let her go, not again."
**
Back in the waiting room, a doctor was talking to all gathered there. Giles had still not gotten a hold of Willow's parents. He gave up and came to be there for his niece. "She's holding her own. It's going to be touch and go. If she can survive the night, she'll be fine. It's the next twenty four hours that will tell."
Tara and Donny burst through the emergency room doors at that moment. Tara rushed over to where the doctor stood. "Can I see her? I have to see her?"
The doctor looked at the blond. "Are you family?"
She turned away. She could not lie to him. But she knew that he would not let her go if she said no. "I-I..." Words failed her for the longest time.
Giles came up and put a hand on her shoulder. "This is my other niece. The two are not sisters, but they are as close as any two could be. I would greatly appreciate it if you'd allow her a few minutes with her."
"Well," the doctor looked at Tara suspiciously for a few seconds. "Since she's in critical condition, you'll have to make it really fast. Five minutes, no longer."
Tara's face brightened just a little.
***
Tubes and IVs were coming out of the redhead. It made Tara gasp when she saw it all. But there was no time for that. She quickly recovered herself and made her way by the bed. She gently took the redhead's hand in her own. "Willow, I'm so sorry." Now tears fell freely. "If Dad hadn't..." She couldn't finish the thought. She just knew that it was her father's fault that her girlfriend was now lying in a hospital bed, fighting for her life. And that made her more than just a little angry.
She laid her head on Willow's stomach. The gently breathing bringing a little bit of comfort to her. At least she was still alive. That was all that mattered. Alive and breathing. Those were the important things.
It seemed like no time had passed when a nurse opened the door. She could see how upset that Tara had become. Her gentle voice startled Tara. "I'm sorry to have to ask, but you have to leave now. She needs her rest."
Tara sat up and nodded weakly. She so did not want to leave the redhead. But she also wanted her to get better. If that meant having to wait, she would wait forever. As she started to let go of her girlfriend's hand, she felt it gently being squeezed.
Emerald green eyes slowly fluttered open. Willow looked around the room, not seeing Tara. "Tara? Where are you?"
Tara gently squeezed her hand back. "I'm right here, sweetie. I'll always be here." She turned to the nurse. "I think you might want to get the doctor." The nurse smiled and let the door close shut behind her. Tara took that moment to place several gentle kisses on the redhead's face.
"Tara?" The tone of voice frightened the blond more than anything ever had. "I can't see you! And I can't feel my legs!"