Author: Rosemary
Rating: NC-17
Disclaimers: They are Joss Whedon's.
Feedback: Por Favor. a.nunn@att.net or on the Search and Rescue thread on the Kitten Board

She flipped the redhead over on her back and immediately found her place between her legs. Her body was covered with a light perspiration and her hand worked its way down. Down and in. Her reaction to the entering of the other woman immediate.

Her eyes shut tightly and her teeth found her own lip and bit down in an attempt to hide the desperation of her own need.

The effort failed as a sound escaped her lips that could only be described as painful.

Being inside of Willow was so powerful an experience that it sent her into the beginning of her own climax that she knew would come from the hand of the woman that she now began to possess physically.

Touching her deeply, oh so very deeply, but not deep enough. She wanted to be farther inside. She wanted to touch her soul. She wanted to physicaly caress and pleasure something that had ruled her being yet had no physical form. She wanted to find Willow's love for her a hold it in her hands. Stroke it with her fingers and force it to explode into her own self.

She continued her search. The fingers inside pumping and pulling. Deeper and deeper she sought it out.

She had to hurry. She knew she did. It was coming soon, and her time was short.

She sped up the motions now, and she was unable to control the movements of her own hips, as they followed the motions of her searching hand, rocking and pressing them down desperately against the mattress of their bed.

Every completed forward thrust was now accompanied by a rush of air from her lungs, making its way out of her mouth, and colored with the sound of her own growing passion.

Faster now, she was moving faster and the breaths were become shorter.

Again the pace grew.

The sounds became longer and the breathing more labored. Her hips now no longer moved up and down but rocked forward and backward as she pressed them into the mattress.

Her entire body now worked this way. Her lower half the catalyst of the thrusting fingers that remained inside of her lover.Pushing in , sliding out. Over and over the movements repeated.

The woman beneath her was vocal now. Her cries growing louder with each and every effort Tara put forth.

Her hands now clawing at Tara's back as the orgasm began to work its way out.

Writhing and thrusting and desperately clawing. The feel of the nails scratching her back , causing her the very opposite of pain as her own orgasm waited patiently for Willow's to end.She knew that Willow would in turn enter her body and seek out her soul as well.

That's how they did this.

This is how they did everything.

Together.

One soul, one mind, one entity combined of two, each part dependent of the other.

This would be them forever.

"Forever."

Tara repeated the word.

She thrust inside, deeper and faster, the word now replacing the sounds of her breath with every push, "Forever."

"Forever," faster and deeper.

"Forever," again.

Willow was repeating it back to her now, and Tara's body exploded at the promise of Willow's confession, causing her to climax with a forceful surging forward into the other woman and a scream escaped her lips.

She waited now.

Waited to hear the sound of the fufilment of thier union to explode from Willow's mouth.

The sound didn't come and Tara knew why.

She woke with a scream. Not like the scream from moments before, but one of horror and pain and she kept her eyes shut.

If she didn't look, she could still believe.

She instead tried to find something with the touch of her hand. Slowly she moved it. Her eyes remained tightly closed and she lowered it down. And what she found there was what she knew she would find. It was the very thing that now invaded her body. Destroying the feeling of utter contentment from just moments before.

Empty. Willow's side of the bed was empty and it mached the feeling that now filled her being.

It had come just as it always did. The awakening destroying her peace. Pulling her from her dreams where they were still as they should have always been.

Together.

One Year Earlier

LOOKS LIKE RAIN

Woke today, felt your side of the bed
The covers were still warm where you'd been laying
You were gone, my heart was filled with dread
You might not be sleeping here again

But it's alright cause I love you, and that's not gonna change
And I'll still sing you love songs written in the letters of your name
Brave the storm to come, for it surely looks like rain

I only want to hold you, I don't want to tie you down
Or fence you in the lines I might have drawn
It's just that I've gotten used to having you around
My landscape would be empty if you were gone

But it's alright cause I love you, and that's not gonna change
But I'll still sing you love songs written in the letters of your name
Brave the storm to come, for it surely looks like rain

Yes it looks like rain, surely looks like rain
Here it come again, here come the rain...
Well it looks like rain and feels like rain
Here come the rain...
Rain, rain, go away, I can't take no more rain today...
I can't stand the rain...

Grateful Dead

"All I remember is two people. They were masked. I think it was a guy and a girl. They had me walk in the back and they locked me in here. I heard..." Gill had to stop, "I heard Officer Rosenberg come in and call to me about red wine and that's when I heard the shots."

"Alright, did they touch anything else besides the register?" Leo asked.

"I just told you, they locked me in the freezer Leo," Gill answered.

Leo shook his head and taped his pen on the counter, a sarcastic laugh followed by a clicking of his tongue and then he looked up into the man's face.

"Don't fuck with me Gill. I NEED TO KNOW WHAT ELSE THEY TOUCHED!" he screamed at the shop owner.

"Hey, Leo, calm down. I think you need to let someone else handle this here okay? You're in shock and you're not helping. Please," Ed said

"Fuck you Ed. Fuck you."

Leo threw the pen and his report at the other officer.

Leo then turned around to walk out, but then turned around and charged at Ed. He stopped short of grabbing him and pointed his finger in his face.

"You weren't here. I was here. I..." He shook his head and continued, "You didn't see... I'm... Jesus, I don't believe this," Leo said as he broke down.

Ed put an arm around him and he spoke. "We'll find 'em. I swear we will." He closed his eyes tightly and tried to hold back the tears but was unsuccessful.

Tara arrived at the emergency room and she immediately went to Marco Lee.

"Where is she?"

"She's in surgery Tara. They say it's going to be anywhere from ten to eighteen hours."

"God. Oh God. And I was mad because she was late." She put a hand to her mouth and shook her head.

"Why did this happen? What... who?" She began to cry. Marco just looked down at his feet.

"It's not fair. It's not. We haven't had enough time to... we haven't had our chance yet. She just... I can't do this if..." She had to stop as the thought of losing Willow hit her so painfully that she couldn't breathe. She had to pull in a deep breath before she could continue. "If she's gone, I won't survive it. I won't. I know that."

"Well, I know one thing. If she is going to get through this she is going to need you. You're her life Tara. It's that simple. The woman who is in there and the woman I knew six months ago? Not even close."

"What happened Marco? Where did this happen?"

"Gill's market."

Tara looked up and she felt her heart drop and her face went pale. "It's my fault. I sent her there for wine. This is my fault." She was crying harder now and her hand covered her mouth.

"No, it is not your fault. How could it be? You didn't shoot her Tara."

"I sent her there. I did. Oh God." Tara felt herself go weak and she stumbled slightly.

Marco caught her before she fell to the floor and walked with her to the waiting area where the chairs were.

"You want some water Tara?"

"NO, I want to see Willow," Tara cried out as she moved her way down toward the hall.

"Tara, stop a minute. Listen to me. Please. You need to calm down. I know it's hard but..."

"Tara, oh God Tara, what's happened?" It was Mrs. Rosenberg.

Tara just stared at the woman, unable to answer.

"She was shot. Twice .In the back," Marco said.

Tara was swaying again. It was the first time she had actually heard beyond the fact that Willow had been shot and was in very bad shape, the way it had happened and the truth hit her violently.

"Whoa, whoa. Tara, come on, come and sit," Mrs. Rosenberg said. "Listen, I'm going to go and talk to the nurse over there. I'm a doctor so I know how to find out what we need to know, okay? Hey, Tara look at me." Mrs. Rosenberg took Tara's face in her hands and spoke directly to her.

"She will be alright. I promise you. She will, okay?" Mrs. Rosenberg was starting to lose it a little but managed to keep control.

Tara watched as Willow's mother spoke to one of the nurses. She watch very closely, she knew that she would not need to hear the words. She could hear it all from the reactions of Willow's mother.

She saw it then. She saw what she didn't want to see and as she stood to confront the two, her legs gave way and she sank to the floor.