FicWad

Tara sat in the waiting room and cried. She was crying harder than she had ever cried in her life. There were many solemn faces surrounding her. Xander had his arm around Anya's shoulder. Faith stood by herself, Oz having had to leave that morning for his tour and that meant that her brother Donny was gone as well. Giles and Jenny sat holding hands. Spike had his arms wrapped around Buffy from behind. To everyone's surprise, Cordelia and Doyle sat side by side in silence.
It was torture watching the sad shy blond just sobbing uncontrollably. And there was not a thing that any of them could do. Besides be there when she should need something. And that wasn't looking like it was going to be anytime soon. Cause the tears simply refused to stop falling at this point.
And no one could blame her. It was the worse thing in the world that they could think of. No one would have ever wished this upon someone so young. Barely just fourteen years old and the blond had been through so much in her young life. This was just too much for one person to have to bear at any age let alone now and in this way.
"Miss Maclay?" There was a soft and soothing female voice that startled everyone from their thoughts. "We've got some news for you. And you, Mr. Giles since she is your niece and you are her guardian."
The blond wiped the tears from her face and struggled to control herself. Giles was right at the girl's side with his hand on her shoulder. "Willow?" That was all that managed to squeak out of her mouth. Her throat was dry and it was making her horse and hard for her to speak.
"Miss Rosenberg made it through the surgery with flying colors." There was an audible sigh from all those gathered. "But she's still not out of the woods. There still could be complications and we won't know that for several days. She's in recovery right now. You won't be able to see her till this afternoon. But I thought you'd like to know that it seemed to be successful. The odds are that she will regain the use of her legs with a lot of intense therapy."
Tears were falling down the blond's face again. She turned into Giles. "Thank you doctor. We appreciate the information." The blond sobbed and sobbed and Giles wrapped his strong arms around her. "Everything will be all right dear. You'll see. It's not as bad as all of that. You'll see."
Tara's head shot up so that she could look into the man's eyes. "All right?" She couldn't help but laugh. "The woman that I love has just gone through surgery. One that could have killed her. And yes, the prognosis is good, but still there is a chance that she could not walk. And.. And..." She trailed off not being able to make herself say the words.
"You're mother died." That's when Tara totally lost it yet again. So Giles wrapped his arms around her again. Tightly this time. "You cry dear. You do what you have to. Just know that we are all here for you no matter what happens. I promise you that you'll never be alone. Not as long as I'm alive."
The others slowly made their way to where the two were in a hug. "G-man's right Tara. You know that you've got Willow. That goes without saying. But you are my friend. A very good friend and I'll be there for you." Xander put his hand on the back of her shoulder.
"And you know that I just love that you are so shy and sometimes babble." Anya smiled nervously. "It makes people think I'm not so strange." Her smile faded. "If you ever need someone to talk to, well, my real father just died. So I sorta know what you're going through."
A very muffled "thanks," came from the blond as she still had her head buried in Giles' chest.
"Yo, girl." Faith was the next to speak. "You know I'm not into the mushy crap. But what happened sucks beyond the telling of it. Losing a parent, even though I sorta don't like mine, must be the harshest thing you can deal with. And I hate to see any of my people hurting like you are. So if I can do it for you, just say. No need for askin. Cause I'll do anything for you."
"You guys opened your arms to me when I was just an outcast." Buffy sighed as she felt Spike's arms tighten around her. "Well, not exactly an outcast. But I couldn't stand being around people that didn't care about me for me. All they cared about was themselves and how they looked to others. That so wasn't how I wanted to be. And you and the others just accepted me as your friend. No questions asked. You all just took me in. So I owe you. I owe you a lot. And I really want to be there for you if I can be."
"I really have no right to be here." Everyone, but Tara looked at Cordelia. "And the only reason that I don't is because I used to be a real bitch. I put Willow down not even knowing the real her. And I did the same thing to Tara. But I've learned from my past mistakes. I used to judge based on looks or class. Not anymore. I'm not judging anyone. I just know that you are one solid group of friends that always seems to be there for one another. In good times and in bad. And that's what I hope I can do for you as well."
Finally, Tara pulled herself together. "Thanks. To everyone. And you just being here is enough of a help to me. I don't know what I would do without your friendship. And not to sound ungrateful or anything but there is only one person that can help me really get through this. And she's just been through so much herself. I need her. But she needs to heal first. Than I'll be all right. As long as she is forever by my side."

Darla watched as Angel took on the punching bag with what seemed like so much fury. "Are you going to kill the punching bag or are you going to finally tell me what's going on?" She stood up and made her way closer to the angry man. "Remember, you can trust me with your heart."
Angel turned and looked at her with a half smile on his face. "I think I can. It's just that I feel like I should be punished for what happened. It just seems so unfair is all."
The blond shook her head. Even though they were still getting to no one another again, she came up and wrapped her arms around him. "You are trying to take on everything. Why don't you let me in on this so that it won't be totally on your shoulders anymore. Deal?"
Angel wrapped his arms around her as well. He also leaned his chin on her head. "I'm not the only one now. Spike knows as well. And it's not fair to burden him or you with this."
"You have to trust somebody, Angel." Darla sighed heavily. "Why not trust me? You used to, once upon a time, tell me everything. Is this something you think I won't understand?"
"That would answer your question. You might not be able to handle what all happened." Angel pulled away from the embrace. He made his way over to the bench in the workout room his father had setup in the basement.
"Are you more afraid that I will understand or that I won't understand?" Darla made her way in front of him. She kept a steady gaze on him.
"Drusilla is the one that was driving the car that hit Willow." Angel stared at the ground.
"Oh." It was just one word. And it was barely audible. Darla had no clue as what to say. Not yet. She could tell that there was more to the story.
"It was my car that she was driving." He kept his gaze on the floor. "It's my fault that Willow could not walk again."
"Nonsense." Darla took a few steps towards him. "It's not like you were the one that was driving the car."
"But I knew." Finally, Angel looked up at Darla.
She was now standing right in front of him. "What is it that you knew?"
Their eyes were glued to one another. "I knew that she was taking drugs. I knew that she was in no condition to do anything that day. I knew that she wanted to go for a ride. I knew that after the accident that Drusilla got even heavier into the drugs. And I knew who did it and never said anything."
Darla slowly sat down beside Angel. "And for all of this, you blame yourself. Where does Spike fit into all of this?"
"He figured out it was my car." Angel chuckled softly. "He thought is was me. And when he realized it was Drusilla, he helped me cover for her. So he feels just as guilty as I do about her death. And almost as guilty about Willow. Because he knew that Drusilla was on the drugs. But he never did a thing about it. So he feels guilty now."
"I see." Darla took Angel's hand in her own. "That's a big burden for you to be carrying around. But you know what I think?" Angel swallowed hard and shook his head no. "I think the only thing you are guilty of is being stupid. I know why you went out with Drusilla in the first place. After Cordelia broke up with you, you were using the poor thing to make her jealous. And things backfired on you big time. And I'm sorry you're dealing with all this pain. It's not you're fault. None of this. And you've got to stop punishing yourself."
"But how can I not punish myself?" Angel pulled his hand out of her grip and made his way back to the punching bag. "I am at fault, no matter what you say. I did this. I hurt two people badly. And I'm causing others pain. I-I..." He trailed off as he sunk to the floor. He curled up and began crying.

"Are you sure that no one will ever find out?" Mr. Maclay asked the man in the white robe. "They're not gonna perform an autopsy now are they?"
The man shook his head. "And even if they do, I'll be there to handle it for you Mr. Maclay. You can count on me."
"I'm sure I can, Karl." Mr. Maclay smiled big. "I'll call on you if I need you. You best be getting back to the morgue. Don't want anyone doing anything with my wife's body." Karl nodded and turned and left. "Well, now. This is going to be interesting."
Mr. Maclay made his way upstairs to his daughters room. "Looky here. A room that has no occupant. I wonder where my little girl has gotten herself to. As if I don't know." He made his way in and found a notebook that had the time and day of Willow's surgery written down. "Just as I suspected."
He slammed down the notebook and looked around the room. There was nothing more than a few school books, a tiny dresser, and a small little teddy bear sitting on her bed. He picked up the teddy bear. There was a little necklace that hung around the bear's neck. 'To Tara with all my love Willow'
The man took the bear in both his hands and began twisting. He just kept twisting until the head came off. "You don't need these people, my daughter. You need to be pure and to be clean. Your mother wasn't. And look where it got her. And your brother is just lucky that he left when he did. Or he'd be getting the same as the two of you bitches."
Mr. Maclay took the ruined teddy bear and slammed it against the wall. "No one gets in the way of my family and me. And your stupid mother said that she knew about herself. That she had feelings for another woman. Well now. God has shown her the way and she is now in hell. Hell with all the other sinners."
He pictured his daughter in his mind with the redhead. "And you are a sinner yourself, aren't you my dear darling daughter. But if you will learn your sins and repent than you may just have a chance. Unlike your mother. She would never repent. She wanted to take you and your brother and be with that woman. Well, that woman is dead. And so is she. So listen up little girl. If you don't want to end up like them both, you'd better get over yourself. If not..." An evil smile came to his face. "I can always take my time with you just like I did with your mother."