Title: Bring Me Into the Light
AUTHOR: Mistress Ace & Em
E-MAIL: rosewood@inreach.com & vicedragonv@msn.com
FEEDBACK: Is the butter on our bread. We write because the story begs to be told. Feedback lets us know if we struck a chord with you.
DISTRIBUTION: Our site, for the moment. When we post fully edited chapters, those can be posted elsewhere. RATING: NC-17
CATEGORY: Story: Romance, Angst
SPOILERS: As You Were
PAIRINGS: B/R/Sam, m/f, f/f
DISCLAIMER: Don't own the characters at all. (More's the pity) They belong to the Great God Joss Whedon et al. We are just borrowing them for a little bit. That's all. No BtVS characters were harmed in the writing of this fic. Well, maybe just a little.
SUMMARY: Not back for long enough. Not nearly long enough and there were too many things left up in the air. But isn't that the purpose of fan-fiction?
 

Chapter 31

Soft, so soft and open to her touch. Sam touched the tip of her tongue to Buffy's lower lip. A tilt of her lover's head, silent invitation which she took. Deeper kiss, the hand on Riley's chest slid away in favor of Buffy's shoulder.

So sweet, so gentle... Buffy loved kissing Sam. It was so many different things, so completely unlike kissing a guy. Though she could be hard when she chose, with her Sam was all softness. It made Buffy want to melt into her, every single time.

Tara rounded the corner in the grocery store and noticed a small crowd staring at something - or someone - by the meat case. Curious about what was going on, Tara made her way through the crowd. Soft, stuttering apologies earned her a few sympathetic nods and eased her passage somewhat. When she got to where she could see what was going on, she stopped abruptly. Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped slightly.

Buffy. That was Buffy... being kissed by some strange woman! And... was that Riley, standing there with his arms possessively around both of them? Tara didn't know what had happened, but there was a visible change in Buffy. Her friend glowed with love and contentment. Eyes narrowed in concentration, Tara checked Buffy's aura. The darkness that had pervaded her so completely wasn't gone, but it was lightened, softened... and limned in light. It was an amazing change in so short a time...

Riley spotted Tara, acknowledged her presence with a nod of his head. When Sam and Buffy's mouths parted, he kissed each of them again. Slow dip to their mouths, his eyes still locked with Tara's.

They had drawn quite the crowd, Sam noted while she watched Riley kiss Buffy again. Watched their lover rise up on her tiptoes and cling to him. There was a quiet sound from the crowd which drew Sam's attention. She turned her head and found a young woman standing beside them. Pretty face, soft mouth and eyes that spoke of sorrow and loss as well as love. No threat... more like a friend.

Tara steadily returned Riley's look, but she smiled and nodded her acceptance of the situation. Anything that could cause such an improvement in Buffy, she would accept with quiet happiness. It eased her heart to know that the little Slayer wouldn't be alone, that she had people who so obviously loved her. She was happy, and that was what mattered. Besides, they weren't hurting anyone, and by Tara's beliefs they could do anything they chose.

When Riley's eyes softened, Tara smiled again and turned to look at the other woman. The tall brunette was sizing her up, but her demeanor was friendly. Tara offered her a small smile and softly said, "H-hello..."

"Hello," Sam replied, smiling as well. When they spoke, Riley and Buffy broke apart, their combined embrace unraveling. Sam continued to watch the other woman and changed her mind. Not pretty. Beautiful. Healthy and round in all the right places and apparently someone that both her husband and their lover knew.

Buffy turned at the sound of voices and saw Tara standing beside them. The smile on Tara's face, the gentle happiness in her eyes, relaxed Buffy before she could even get tense. Tara understood, and she didn't care. Even looked happy for her.

"Hi Tara. It's nice to see you." Buffy smiled and gave her friend a gentle hug. Then she set about with introductions. "I'm sure you remember Riley..." Giving Tara a moment to nod and say a soft hello, Buffy then continued, "This is Sam, Riley's wife... and mine too, after a fashion. Or will be, anyway."

"Sam, this is Tara. She's a friend, originally from college, but she's helped us all out a lot. She's one of the 'family,' even if she hasn't been around as much since Willow's magic addiction." Buffy sent a soft smile to Tara to reassure her; there was no accusation in her words. She knew why Tara had to get away, and believed it had been for the best for everyone at the time.

"Tara?" The name sounded familiar, very familiar. It hit Sam as she looked again into that open and honest face. This was Willow's Tara, the one that Riley included in his nightly prayers. The other strong Wiccan, the gentle one that had talked to him one night when he was at his very lowest.

Riley nodded in confirmation when Sam caught his eye. He moved forward, wrapped his arms around the other girl and kissed her cheek. "Hey," he whispered into her ear. "Sorry I missed you the last time we blew through town."

One of his favorite people in the whole world. When he found out she'd split up with Willow, it was like a solid blow to his chest. Of all of Buffy's crew, Riley thought the those two would make it. Still hoped they would make it. Willow was brittle right now, anyone who knew her could see it.

Tara hugged Riley back; her soft reply was muffled against his chest, but he could hear her soft, "It's okay... it happens, and you're back again." She'd really missed Riley. She understood what had happened, why he'd had to leave, but she sympathized more with Buffy. It was extremely difficult to have to take over the place of your mother in the family... add to that the fact that Buffy was also the Slayer, and Tara couldn't help but feel that things should have gone differently.

But she didn't hold it against him that he'd left; he'd needed to, for the sake of his own life and sanity. But it had been sad to see him go, and worse to see Buffy's state degenerate even further when he'd gone. It couldn't be helped, and Tara had done everything she could to keep Buffy going. Though her friend had never said much, the silent support seemed to help.

There had to be something in the water here in Sunnydale. Just had to be. Sam stood there, watching her husband hold another woman in his arms for far too long to be anywhere near a normal hug and all she felt was peace. Peace and happiness and something like affection for both of them. She was getting soft...

Riley kissed Tara's temple before pulling back. She looked older: older and sadder and tired. Like the light had gone out of her. That had to be her missing Willow. When they'd been together, Tara glowed with happiness. Eyes bright and smile always ready, just like he'd been with Buffy. Before all hell broke loose.

Love was the most wonderful thing in the world. The lack of it had to be the worst.

Buffy leaned close to Sam, relieved that she hadn't gotten worried about Tara and Riley staying close for so long. If she hadn't known that Tara was decidedly not straight and very much in love with Willow, Buffy might have been a little worried. But she trusted Riley and trusted Tara, so she knew everything would be okay.

"How are you, Tara? You look tired..." Buffy was a little worried about Tara. She looked worn, and a lot of the light had gone out of her eyes. She'd lost more than just Willow when they split... she'd lost the group that had backed her against her own blood kin; she'd lost her family. And that had to hurt a lot, on top of the hurt over Willow.

Though she wondered about Buffy's comment about Sam being Riley's wife, and her own, Tara decided that now was not the time to ask. "I am a little," Tara replied, setting her questions aside for later. She still marveled at how comfortable she felt around Buffy, who by rights ought to intimidate her to no end. But she knew the gentleness in Buffy's heart and just couldn't be nervous anymore.

Buffy had stood up for her against her father and brother. When they'd said they were her blood relatives and asked who Buffy and the others thought they were, Buffy's reply had been firm and resolute. "We're her family," she'd said. And Tara's heart had lit with gratitude and love; not romantic love, but she cared about Buffy like a sister. They really were family.

Unaware of the line Tara's thoughts had followed, Buffy tilted her head and looked Tara over once more. Finally she asked, "Would you like to come back home with us for a while? It'd be wonderful to spend some time together again. I think we're due for a nice talk."

Buffy glanced at her lovers as soon as the words left her mouth, wondering if she'd made a mistake by inviting Tara back with them. Riley probably wouldn't mind, but she wasn't totally sure...

"Catching up would be good." There were a lot of questions Riley wanted to ask Tara. Most of them of the big brother type. The nosy big brother type. Things along the line of: how long has it been since you had a decent night's sleep? One where you didn't cry until your pillow is soaked? How long has it been since anybody held you? Or told you that they love you?

"Works for me," Sam chimed in, happy for the chance to get to know this young woman better. Plus they could use the help with one cart already full and one almost full.

A smile lit Tara's features briefly and she nodded. "I'd like that. Thank you. Do you still have more shopping to do? I have a few things I need to get, myself..." Tara thought it would be best to give them the time to finish what they came here to do. And she really did need a few things. She bent over to pick up her hand basket, which already had two items in it.

Not wanting to make Tara uncomfortable, Buffy decided to give her a little space. "Yeah, but we're close to done. Do you want to meet us by the exit when you're done, maybe?" That would hopefully give Tara time to settle her mind over the current situation. She suspected that her friend was mulling over some questions in her mind, but Buffy would give her time to sort things out. And she could always ask her questions later.

Riley watched Tara smile and nod in agreement. He smiled back, glad for the chance to spend more time with her. The crowd around them had dispersed for the most part except for a few hangers-on. Which was a good thing. Not that he minded there being a crowd but it did make further shopping difficult.

"We should be done in about twenty minutes, Tara. Just got meat and frozen stuff left." He glanced at both Sam and Buffy, his smile got broader by the minute. "Hmmm, better make that forty minutes. Ice cream could take twenty minutes by itself."

That comment earned a light shot to his shoulder from Sam. She grinned at him before pushing away from the cart. "Like it's not going to take you half an hour to find the right slab of cow? Right."

Buffy and Tara both laughed at Sam's teasing. "How about this... you and Riley pick out the cow and whatever else you want. Do me a favor and get like three pounds of ground beef. I'll make some into hamburger patties and freeze them. The rest I'll break into smaller amounts and freeze them, too. I'll go start looking at ice cream, and I promise to get your favorite kinds, Riley. That work? It'll cut down the time we'll take..." Buffy offered with a grin and a wink.

"I-I can go get my things and meet Buffy by the ice cream..." Tara suggested, still laughing inside. She decided Sam seemed like a fun person and she hoped they could be friends.

"Happy to handle the meat," Sam shot back over her shoulder, smile firmly in place and one eyebrow lifted. That look was enough to send Buffy into gales of laughter and to draw yet another blush from her husband.

"Sam," Riley warned, his tone sharp for a second as he joined her by the case. They looked at each other and broke up into laughter. Life was serious enough, might as well have fun where they could.

****

Together, they checked out the selection. Riley chose T-bones, a huge roast and several Porterhouses that were at least two inches thick. Perfect with the Portabellos. Ground beef was next, six pounds because with five of them... three pounds wasn't going to be nearly enough.

While her husband worked his way through the beef, Sam got chicken. Boneless, skinless breasts as well as whole fryers and a roaster. She added bacon, sausage, hot dogs - all beef only, pork chops and a huge ham. For a few second she considered grabbing a kielbasa but decided that would lead to far too many jokes.

New York strip next and some minute steaks for breakfast, Riley kept looking things over and noticed the butcher behind the far counter. He raised his chin and the guy came over, wiping his hands on his apron. "Can I help you, sir?"

"Yeah," Riley's eyes swept the case again and he shook his head. "I need a good flank steak, three London Broils and a brisket. You got them?" Flank steak could be used to make jerky, something he and Sam lived on in the field. With the brisket, he could make corned beef and the London broils were just damned good steaks. Juicy cuts that would help Buffy rebuild her strength.

"We've got some in the back. Let me go wrap them up for you. Anything else?" He looked the guy up and down and nodded in approval. Nice to be in the presence of another carnivore. One that would appreciate some of the thing he had in the back. "I've got some nice racks of ribs."

"Wrap some of those up too. Got a big family to take care of." Ribs he could barbecue. The weather was almost warm enough for it and Joyce use to have a really nice one out back. During that idyllic summer, he'd fired it up more than once and cooked for the Summers women. Got to play the man of the house, even had Buffy's mom flirt with him once or twice. Which had been flattering and scary at the same time.

The butcher smiled at that. He'd been watching earlier and had no doubt that his customer had a big family. Lots of kids and two gorgeous women. Lucky stiff. "I'll be right back."

*****

Tara and Buffy, meanwhile, split up. Tara got herself a small bottle of milk, some instant oatmeal, instant ramen, and spent several minutes in the feminine products aisle before finding what she needed. One of the things she missed most about living at Buffy's was having access to a kitchen. Living in the dorms, she got by on instant stuff and eating in the cafeteria. But it sure got boring.

Buffy looked up from the freezer case of ice cream when Tara joined her and smiled. "Hey," she said softly. "Mind if I put one or two of these in your basket until Riley and Sam get here with the cart?"

"Sure, no problem." Tara tried not to laugh at Buffy, who had three half-gallon containers of ice cream in her arms. At Tara's insistence, all three went into the basket, which was set on the floor, and the two girls turned back to the case to continue perusing choices.

"Hey, Buffy?" Tara asked softly as they browsed for more ice cream. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, Tara, you can ask me anything you want to." Buffy glanced at her Wiccan friend and smiled a bit. There was more than likely a LOT of questions that Tara had in her mind. It had really only been a matter of time until they were voiced.

"I'm just curious... you and Sam broke out laughing over the meat?" Tara was a little confused by that, and even more so when her question set Buffy to laughing again. She got her answer when the smaller woman calmed down again.

"Okay, Tara. Pretend for a moment that your mind knows where the gutter is and think about what else Sam might handle that could be referred to as 'meat'. And remember that Riley was blushing at the time." She waited and watched as Tara's eyes slowly widened, staring at her for a moment. Then the giggles started. After a moment, Tara was laughing almost as hard as Buffy had been earlier, and Buffy joined her again.

It really was just too funny; they just had to laugh.

*****

Sam leaned over the case, checking through some packages of veal. A plastic tub caught her eye and she snatched it up along with the one next to it. Beef liver, not to everyone's taste but rich in iron. Something that they all needed after the past twenty-four hours. She caught Riley's bemused look as she added them to the cart. "Got a problem with that, marine?"

"No, ma'am," he replied. Not his favorite food but he appreciated its addition. Good thing he'd grabbed a small bag of onions. With them and some bacon, he'd be able to choke the liver down.

Riley checked the cart and whistled. It was almost full at this point. And they weren't done yet.

*****

With a glance at her watch, Buffy began to realize how long they'd been picking out ice cream. The containers in Tara's basket were probably starting to melt. She mentioned it, and Tara nodded her agreement. So they put the containers together inside one of the freezer cases and continued to browse. They chatted as they stood together, catching up on little things. Tara talked about classes and life on campus and asked about Dawn.

Buffy answered Tara's questions, talked a little about the things that had happened in the past weeks, and mentioned that Riley was going to try to pull some strings to get her back into UC-Sunnydale.

"That's wonderful news, Buffy. It'll be good to see you on campus again. Maybe we can try to take a class together?" Tara asked. It would be nice to have a friend in one of her classes; Tara still didn't know a lot of people and it was easier when she was with someone she knew and was comfortable with. Plus, Buffy seemed to meet people easily, and it might help if they could make friends together.

"I'd like that, Tara. When it comes time to schedule your classes for next term, let me know? We can try to pick one then." It would be nice to see Tara regularly again. And maybe they could be study-buddies, like Buffy had been with Willow in high school. Except with Buffy trying to be a little less dependent this time.

The butcher came back with several paper wrapped packages and handed them to Riley. He added them to the cart even as Sam set in some fish that she'd gotten from the seafood case. That about did it for the meat department and he checked his watch. Twenty minutes, longer than he would have liked.

Less than a minute later, he and Sam wheeled their cart down the frozen food aisle. Riley searched the area, tense and anxious. Buffy hadn't been out of sight for hours and it bothered him not having her golden presence at his side.

Buffy and Tara were still standing together, talking. They were about midway up the aisle, having reached the point where the ice cream stopped and Popsicles and frozen juice bars started. Their choices of ice cream that they'd grabbed earlier were sitting inside the case Buffy was leaning against, and they had another couple in mind that they'd decided not to bother getting out until Sam and Riley came.

Tara was the first to notice Riley and his anxious gaze, since Buffy had her back to him. She gave him a reassuring smile as she said softly, "I think Riley's worried about you, Buffy. Maybe you want to go calm him down or something." A different smile, this one less gentle and more teasing, with just a hint of a joke in her eyes. "I'll guard the ice cream, I promise," she joked.

Buffy grinned back before turning to look for Riley and Sam. She relaxed instantly when she saw them, suddenly realizing that as time passed without them joining her she'd tensed up. She almost flew down the aisle to join them, stepping between them and wrapping an arm around each of her lover's waists. "Hi," she said softly.

"Hey," A lingering kiss from Sam, soft full lips pressed against her own. No shyness about public affection here.

Riley couldn't speak for a moment. His panic had been irrational as was his sense of relief. They were going to have separations, it was a fact of life. Their duty took him and Sam all over the world. Buffy wasn't always going to be with them and dammit... he was going to have to get used to it.

Rather than saying anything, especially since he didn't trust his voice, Riley kissed her instead. Caressed her neck and shoulder and pulled her in closer while Sam moved away to given them room. His other hand found the small of Buffy's back, holding her close enough that he could feel her heart beating. Beating fast - her hands in his hair, on his shoulders, in under his jacket.

Buffy slid her arms around him, under his jacket, and pressed close as he kissed her. With Tara as a distraction, Buffy hadn't realized just how much the lack of their presence was affecting her. It hadn't even been that long... how would she cope when they had to leave her? Hell, they had to be somewhere at 6 tomorrow morning... her time with them was running out, and God only knew when they'd be back.

She clung to him, doing her best to calm her panic by losing herself in his comforting presence. He was here, now, and that was important. If they spent the rest of the night regretting that he and Sam had to leave tomorrow, it was going to be an incredibly difficult night for all of them.

Tara shook her head as she watched Buffy and Riley. Something was up, but she didn't think now was the time to ask. Instead, she started taking ice cream containers out of the freezer and putting them into the cart; it was quite a challenge, because the thing was almost completely filled. With a little rearranging and a little shoving, Tara managed to get all 8 half-gallon containers into the cart.

As she took in the cart's contents, Tara decided that it was a very good thing that Buffy had that extra freezer in the basement. It looked like she was going to need it...

Sam moved further back, wanting to enjoy the view. She leaned against the cart, caught Tara watching as well and smiled at her. "Look good together. Almost perfect."

Tara replied to Sam softly, "They do look good together. All three of you do... you each share enough similarities with the others to look matched, almost."

If they weren't in a public place, Riley would have lifted Buffy into his arms by now. Lifted her up, pinned her against a wall and made love to her right there. Funny to think that even something as innocuous as grocery shopping could turn into this.

But they were in a public place and they had things to do... besides each other. Reluctantly, he eased away. Broke their kiss despite Buffy's quiet sound of protest and pulled back. "Soon," he whispered.

Buffy nodded and sighed, releasing him reluctantly. She turned to see Sam and Tara standing together, watching and talking softly back and forth. She smiled at them, noticing that the ice cream had been liberated from the freezer again and was crammed into the cart.

Tara smiled back at Buffy when they drew her attention and picked up her little basket. "Are you ready to go now?"

"I think so," Buffy answered. "If we buy much more, there won't be any place to put it! Come on... let's go check out and head home."

Together they made their way to the checkout stand and their other cart. Riley kept an eye on all of them, riding herd on his women. Not that Tara was his, or that he wanted her to be his but she was under his protection. So he watched and waited, letting her go ahead of them.

Sam and Buffy unloaded the first cart, their hands brushing with every pass. Every once in awhile, they would shift closer. More than anything, Sam wanted to kiss her but this was not the time.

Every time she touched Sam or Sam touched her, a light shiver went through her. She wanted to kiss Sam, she wanted to kiss Riley... the feelings were stringing her out, and that wasn't a good place to be. Tara was going home with them, so they wouldn't be alone when they got home. And they only had about 40 minutes before Dawn and Willow would be getting home, which was almost no time at all since they still had to get the groceries put away when they got back.

They would have to calm down and be patient until later on, when they could get back to the hotel. Except that Buffy didn't know how to make herself calm down, and she was only getting worse as time passed.

First cart unloaded and pushed through to the other side. The checkout clerk rang the items up while the bag-boy loaded them into sacks and then into another cart. Both of them kept looking at the women working on the second cart, admired the lean lines of the blond and the lusher curves of the brunette. But a quick glance at the big guy with shut that down quick. He could probably snap each of them in half without breaking a sweat and it was obviously the girls were with him. Really with him.

Riley took over the unloading duties, piling package after package of meat onto the belt. He caught the bag-boy practically drooling over the sight of Sam leaning into the cart and cleared his throat. Startled blue eyes caught his level stare. The boy recognized danger when he saw it, he flushed and looked away.

"Riley," Buffy scolded in a whisper, trying not to laugh at the same time. "Don't threaten the hired help... you'll only frighten the poor kids... it's not like they can do more than dream, anyways." Her hand found his and rested on top of it for a moment. "Love you," she whispered softly after a moment of silence.

Tara stood at the end of the checkout lane, holding her small bag and waiting for her friends. She couldn't help but giggle when she saw Riley quell the bag boy with one intimidating glance. Without realizing that she was mentally using Willow's speech patterns, she thought idly, **Possessive much, soldier boy?**

"Love you too, babe." He smiled, sharp and sudden. That frightened the kid at the end of counter so much that he almost dropped the eggs. Luckily Tara caught them before they slipped out of nerveless fingers. Riley gave her an equally lupine smile, all teeth and dark amusement.

Next to him, Sam stepped in close. Her breath warmed his skin, sent a shiver down his spine as she warned. "You call this being good?"

With a shake of her head and her hands on her hips, Buffy made a face at Riley. Stepping closer, she stood on her toes and spoke very softly, just barely able to be heard, "Behave yourself, or maybe Sam and I will have to do something drastic. And you wouldn't want us to have to do that, now would you..?" She purred softly and looked up at him, one eyebrow arched.

Tara watched quietly as Sam and Buffy took over. She didn't know what they were saying, but she suspected that both women had the ability to wrap him around their little fingers and weren't afraid to use it. She knew Buffy had the skill, in the past... she'd always been secretly amazed at just what the other blonde could get her boyfriend to do for her.

"Depends on what you consider drastic," he brushed up against Buffy. His hand was hidden by the angle of her body and the palm covered her breast for a fleeting second. There was a flare in her eyes, a tiny moan on her lips as she leaned into that touch.

Riley felt Buffy melt into him, mouth inches away from his. Almost kiss, so close her breath fanned across his cheek. It was then that Sam slapped him on the ass and Riley jerked upright. "Stand down, soldier. And I do mean down." Her pointed look was missed by no one, especially where it was directed.

Buffy straightened up and pulled away, glancing at Sam with an apologetic smile. Damn, but he was good at this. He'd distracted her completely. "Sam's right... gotta stop that. But I'll get you later..." She winked at him and walked back around the cart to unload the last few items for the cashier to ring up. The sooner they got out of the public eye, the better for everyone.

And they'd managed to embarrass Tara, who was standing where she'd been the whole time but was now looking at the floor and had pink cheeks. With the cart unloaded, Buffy stepped down to the end of the checkout to stand beside her friend. "I'm sorry, Tara. We'll be done and out of here in just a minute, okay?"

"It's okay, Buffy. Not a big deal." Tara looked up at her with a small smile, but couldn't quite hide the touch of envy in her eyes. Buffy instantly felt bad and hugged the taller girl gently and made soothing noises until she relaxed.

Riley didn't miss Tara's flush or her obvious embarrassment. Guilt crept in and he looked down at his feet. Another apology he needed to make. It was so hard to keep his hands to himself. Especially where Buffy was concerned.

In silence, he and Sam finished unloading the cart. She touched his back, his hip and finally his face before pulling the empty cart along with her through the narrow aisle. She joined Buffy and Tara on the other side where the bag-boy was filling a second cart.

Pulling out his wallet, Riley slid his card through the reader and punched in his code. Didn't blink an eye when the total rang up. Just calmly authorized it and took the receipts.

As the last bag was set into the cart, Buffy released Tara and drew back enough to look at her. "You okay?" she asked gently. Tara nodded and smiled a bit. Buffy smiled back, and when she spoke again it was at a normal volume. "Okay. Come on, let's get out of here." Riley took one cart, Buffy took the other. And they all noticed Tara stuck by Buffy as they walked.

Tara just felt more comfortable with the little slayer, and she wasn't quite sure what to say to either Riley or Sam at the moment. One thing that Buffy was good about was accepting the need for quiet sometimes. Willow was adorable when she tried to fill the silence with senseless chatter, but sometimes Tara just needed quiet understanding. Since Buffy often needed the same thing, the two of them had started to provide that refuge for each other not long after Joyce died.

Sam trailed along behind with the third cart which was nowhere near as full as the others. They'd stepped over a line at the checkout. Gotten too close, too intimate and managed to hurt Tara's feelings.

Riley stopped at the SUV and waited for Buffy to pass him. He touched Tara's arm, catching her attention for a second. "I'm sorry, that was pretty thoughtless of me." The break-up with Willow had been months ago but things like that didn't fade quickly. If anyone knew that, it was Riley. The breakup with Buffy had damned near killed him.

"I-it's not your fault, Riley. I really didn't think it would be so hard," Tara answered softly. She touched the back of his hand with her fingertips until he withdrew it. "I've been coping as best I can, but it's been pretty lonely. Not a lot of people who care what happens to me, and most of them were trying to help Willow with her... her problem."

With a quick glance at Buffy, who was helping Sam unload the bags from the carts, Tara dropped her voice and admitted, "I'm probably closest to Buffy and Dawn, of the group... but Dawn's a kid and Buffy has enough of her own problems. I didn't want to cause her any more trouble. That's all."

"I understand. Look, if you ever need anybody to talk to, call me. You saved me once... let me help you." Honest and sincere in his concern, Riley managed to stop himself before he pulled Tara in for a hug. She'd made the no touching issue rule pretty apparent. He was the physical type, always reaching out but that wasn't right here. Not in this case.

Tara smiled and nodded a bit. "Okay. Thanks, Riley. Are... will you be around for a while, then?" She was curious about the current arrangements between the three. And perhaps a little worried, because she didn't want to even think about poor Buffy if Riley and Sam left again. The little blonde might not recover from another heartbreak... she'd barely seemed alive a few weeks ago as it was.

Granted that Buffy seemed to have improved greatly since the last time Tara had seen her, but she didn't know how lasting that improvement was. She suspected that it dated from whenever Riley had shown up again...

"We're supposed to be here on assignment until the end of the week. Things might change. Nature of the beast." He stated quietly as he handed a bag to Sam. The briefing tomorrow loomed in his mind. There wasn't much he could say about it. Actually, there wasn't anything he could say about it. No clearance, no information.

"We'll be here as long as we can," Sam's voice startled Tara, she hadn't been aware that Riley's wife was paying attention to them. Apparently she was and when Tara looked up, she could read the apology in Sam's eyes. It wasn't that the Finns wanted to leave, it was that they might have to leave.

Tara watched Sam for a long minute, then looked over at Buffy. Buffy was obviously listening, but she was biting her lip and kept her thoughts to herself. Tara thought she looked tense, though, and wondered if there was something they weren't telling her. Then the words 'on assignment' clicked in her brain and Tara realized that Riley had rejoined the military, and that Sam must be part of it too.

If they weren't telling her something, it was probably because they couldn't tell her. So she wouldn't ask. Instead, she simply said, "That's good to know."

Riley nodded, grateful for her discretion. Had to hand it to Tara, she knew when to ask and when not. Better than most of the Scoobies in understanding the constraints that came with a military lifestyle. He grabbed one of the remaining bags out of the cart and loaded into the back of the SUV.

Continuing with her work, Sam brushed past Tara and almost collided with Buffy. She felt the slight tremble in her lover's body, caught a quick flash of something that might be tears and felt her heart twist. Riley turned toward her, took the bag out of her arms even as Sam was embracing Buffy. A quick hug, a kiss to her temple but no words. If she spoke now, there would be another delay and there were perishables that needed dealing with.

The best Sam could offer would be riding in the back with Buffy on the way home. Which she sincerely planned on doing.

Buffy hugged Sam back and continued to load groceries into the SUV. Trying to distract herself. She didn't really want to think about the possibility that they would be gone for more than a little while tomorrow. Thinking about it only upset her, and it wasn't going to change or go away. She only had one choice in this - to accept it. But she didn't have to like it, and she never would. She tried to calm down, though.

No point in causing more delays, and they really did need to get home before Dawn.

Dawn. Buffy tried to think about her sister instead of what tomorrow might bring. Tried to imagine the look on her sister's face when Buffy showed her around the kitchen, looking at the full cabinets and refrigerator and freezer. Dawn was going to be delighted, and Buffy smiled just a little as she thought about it.

But the worry about tomorrow remained, just below the surface... ignored, repressed, but not forgotten.

*****

 
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