Soul Mates

Title: Soul Mates
Chapter: 10
Author: Ravenhawk (ravenhawk450@gmail.com)
Rating: PG-13
Setting: During season 5
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. They belong to Joss Whedon. Neither I nor any website on which this story appears receives any compensation for this work.
Distribution: Anywhere, just ask.
Feedback: Yes, please.
Pairing: Willow/Tara/Xander
Warnings: None.
Note: Thanks very much to everyone who's given me feedback and suggestions. I really appreciate it, and please keep it coming.

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Here's the address, if you're interested in signing up:

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****

Tara awoke to the sound of Willow screaming in anguish.

Her heart racing, Tara's eyes flew open, and she rolled on to her back, pushing herself up on her arms. As she looked around the room, Willow thrashed around on the bed next to her, and Tara winced as she was elbowed in the shoulder. Before she could say anything, Willow sat bolt upright, gasping for breath and clutching the covers to her as she looked around wildly.

Xander sat up just as suddenly, and as he looked around, Tara quickly did the same. Their bedroom was empty except for the three of them, and no sounds came from anywhere else in the apartment. Satisfied that there were no physical threats nearby, Tara cast a quick spell to check the room for magical auras. There was no evidence of dark magic anywhere around them, either - there were some residual magical traces in the area, from spells cast earlier, but they were easily identified as being from her and Willow. So Tara dismissed her spell and finally let herself relax a little.

As she sat up, she could see some of the tension leave Xander's body as well, though there was still great concern in his eyes as he gently rested his hand on Willow's shoulder. "Will?" he said softly. "What's wrong?"

Willow turned to look at him, and she seemed almost surprised to see him there. "Xander?" she said, and Tara could hear distress and confusion in her voice.

"Willow?" Tara said. "Sweetie? What is it? What's the matter?"

Willow turned toward her slowly, almost as if she was afraid to look for some reason. Tara could just barely make out her face in the morning twilight that filtered through the drapes, but it was enough that she could see that Willow's eyes were full of tears. "Tara?" she said, a note of desperation in her voice now.

Tara opened her mouth to reply, but before she could say anything, Willow threw herself forward, wrapping her arms around her tightly, holding on to her like she never wanted to let go. Tara froze for a moment in surprise, but then embraced Willow as well, holding her as she buried her face in the crook of Tara's neck. She was trying to speak, but "You're here, it's really you," was all that Tara could make out before Willow's sobbing drowned out the rest of what she was trying to say.

Scooting in closer, Xander rubbed Willow's back softly and mouthed the word 'nightmare' to Tara over Willow's shoulder. Tara nodded back at him; that was what she was thinking, too. Although Tara had never seen Willow react like this to a nightmare before - this one must have been pretty awful.

Tara held her close, and Xander moved to sit next to them on the bed, resting his hand comfortingly on Willow's shoulder. It took a few minutes before she started to calm down, and when Willow finally lifted her head from her shoulder, Tara could see that she was still pretty freaked out. She rubbed Willow's back with one hand, and kissed her cheek as Willow's grip on her finally started to relax a little.

"What's wrong, honey?" Tara asked softly, pulling out of Willow's embrace. She brushed Willow's hair back from her face and looked into her eyes as she took her hands. "Bad dream?"

Willow nodded, and Xander squeezed her shoulder, running his hand down her arm to cover her and Tara's clasped hands with his own.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Tara asked.

When Willow spoke, there was fear and terrible sadness in her voice. "Tara, I.... I dreamed you got shot," she said, tears welling up in her eyes again. "You died in my arms."

All the color drained out of Xander's face at her words. "Wow," he said, his voice suddenly a little shaky. "Okay, that definitely qualifies as a nightmare."

"But... sweetie, it was just a dream," Tara said, squeezing Willow's hands reassuringly.

"Yeah. That's right," Xander said, and Tara could see him push his own distress aside as he tried to help comfort Willow. "Tara's fine," he continued, nodding toward her briefly. "We're all here, and we're all okay. It was just a dream."

Willow sniffed. "I know," she said. "But, it felt *so* real. Like I was really there." She looked down at their hands, clasped between them, as she continued. "We were at Buffy's house, in her mother's room, and there were shots, and then...." She trailed off, tears rolling down her face, and Tara lifted one hand to her head, running her fingers through her hair gently.

"Shh. It's okay," she said. "I'm here." She looked into Willow's eyes, and was relieved when, even through the tears, she could see some of the fear there finally start to subside.

Willow nodded slowly, and Tara kissed her, then pulled her into her arms again. Xander kissed Willow's cheek and embraced her as well, and together, they held her close, sitting with her until the first rays of sunlight started to shine over the horizon.

****

When they finally got up, it was fast approaching the time when Xander had to leave for work, so he headed for the bathroom to take a quick shower, and Tara and Willow put their robes on and walked out into the living room. Willow sat at their dining table while Tara went into the kitchen. She didn't have time to do anything fancy for breakfast, so she just made some toast and sliced some melon, putting it in bowls for each of them. By the time she'd finished, Xander was already out of the shower, and it only took a couple of minutes before he'd dressed and joined them at the table.

Tara watched Willow as they ate. She seemed to be okay, though she wasn't quite as talkative as she usually was, and consequently their conversation was more subdued than usual. Tara noticed that Xander was paying close attention to Willow as well, and when they were finished eating and he stood up to gather the dishes, he rested his hand on her shoulder briefly, looking down and smiling at her, before picking up her bowl.

As Xander took the dishes into the kitchen, Willow stood and walked back into the living room. Tara followed behind and sat down next to her, kissing her cheek and wrapping one arm around her waist, holding her gently. Willow turned and smiled at Tara, and Tara kissed her again as Xander walked into the room.

"So, are you sure you're okay?" he asked, crouching down in front of the couch and looking up at Willow with concern as he laid his hand on her knee.

"I'll be fine. Really," Willow said. She gave a rueful smile as she continued. "It was just a nightmare, and.... I feel really silly now, for waking you guys up and everything. I'm sorry."

"Hey, it's okay," Xander said. "Do you want me to stick around for a while? Cause I can. I can call in to work, and...."

"No, it's fine," Willow said. "But thank you for asking." She covered his hand with her own as she continued. "Go ahead and go to work. I'll be okay. Tara and I have classes later this morning, and that'll take my mind off my bad dreams."

Xander chuckled. "You're right, it probably will," he said. "When you're in school, everything else tends to fade into the background." He leaned forward and embraced Willow, kissing her tenderly and holding her close for a long moment. Tara smiled as she looked on, and she rubbed Willow's hip softly.

When Xander finally broke his kiss with Willow, he rested his forehead against hers and looked into her eyes. "I love you," he said.

Willow smiled at him, and Tara could see her eyes light up a little. "I love you, too," she said. Tara kissed her cheek, and when Willow turned toward her, she gave her a quick kiss on the lips. Tara couldn't help smiling herself at the look on Willow's face - for the first time since she'd woken up, she actually looked happy again.

"Okay," Xander said, standing up and stepping back a little to look at them both. "I'm going to work. I'll see you this afternoon."

"Why don't we meet at the Magic Box?" Tara said. "Willow and I need to pick up a few tings."

Xander nodded. "Sure," he said. "I'll see you there." He went into the kitchen to get his lunch from the refrigerator, and when he returned, Tara stood up and walked over to give him a quick kiss.

"We may be a little late today," she said. "We were planning to go to the library after our classes."

"No problem," Xander replied. "I'll wait for you if you're not there."

Tara smiled and turned to go back to the couch, but Xander caught her arm lightly before she could move away. Surprised, she turned back, meeting his eyes, and the look on his face was as serious as she'd ever seen as he spoke.

"I just want you to know that, when Willow told us about her nightmare," he said, nodding toward Willow, who was looking up at them with interest. "I.... I mean, the thought of anything happening to you.... It's so awful, I...." He trailed off and looked down at the floor between them, clearly unable to even finish the thought.

"I love you," he said, looking up again and meeting her eyes. His gaze was intense, and when he stepped closer and kissed her, it took a second before she could react. But quickly enough, she returned the kiss, and Xander wrapped his arms around her, holding her close. Willow stood and walked over to embrace them both, and as the three of them stood together, Tara closed her eyes and let everything else fade away for the moment, just enjoying the closeness she was feeling with Xander and Willow.

When they separated, Tara stepped back a little and smiled at Xander. "I love you, too," she said. She kissed him again, and he smiled back at her, holding her gaze for a long moment before he finally turned to look at the clock on the wall.

"Okay, I have to go," Xander said. "I'll see you later." He gave Willow another kiss, then turned and headed for the door, grabbing his jacket off the coat rack on his way out.

"Bye, honey," Willow said as he stepped out into the hallway and closed and locked the door behind him. When he was gone, she went back to the couch, and Tara followed, sitting down next to her. She watched Willow closely as she leaned back on the couch - she'd said she was fine, and Tara had no reason to doubt her, but....

Willow turned her head and caught Tara's eyes. "I'm fine. Really," she said, smiling. Tara chuckled - obviously Willow had noticed her concern. Well, Willow did know her better than anyone else - though with the way things were going with Xander, she probably wouldn't be able to say that for much longer.

"Hey," Willow said softly, resting her hand on Tara's arm. "I love you. So much. I never want anything bad to happen to you."

Tara smiled and gently ran one hand through Willow's hair. She knew exactly how she felt - she could hardly even bear to think about anything happening to Willow. Or Xander. "I know," she said. "I love you too, sweetie."

Willow sat up and leaned in toward her, giving her a hug which Tara enthusiastically returned. Tara kissed her softly, and Willow relaxed into her embrace. They held each other for a few minutes, and when they separated, Tara watched Willow for a long moment before she finally let her thoughts turn toward the day ahead.

****

It took a couple of hours before Xander felt comfortable at work. He spent much of the morning preoccupied, thinking about Willow's dream. No matter how much he told himself it was just a nightmare, the fact was that hearing Willow describe it, and seeing how it had affected her, had shaken him. Even though he knew she was fine, just the thought of anything happening to Tara was....

Well, it had definitely made him realize how much he'd come to care about her. It still surprised him a little, just how close he and Tara had become in the time he'd been with her and Willow. After all, it hadn't been that long ago when pretty much all they'd had in common was Willow.

That was something he'd worried about, back when they'd started their relationship. He'd known that he'd get along great with Willow, given their history, but Tara.... He'd liked her, a lot, but he'd had no way of knowing if they'd be truly compatible or not.

But in the four months they'd all been together, those doubts had been put to rest. Tara was a part of his life now, just as much as Willow, and Xander didn't want that to change. He couldn't imagine a future without her and Willow in it. He didn't *want* to imagine it.

So he spent the day at work very deliberately not imagining it, and he felt better after a couple of hours. Tara was fine, and Willow seemed to have mostly gotten over her nightmare, and that was all that mattered. Besides, given the supernatural threats they faced all the time, he had more than enough to worry about without adding dreams to the mix.

The day passed uneventfully, and Xander spent most of it working with Joe, one of his carpenters, in a corner office on the second floor of the building while the rest of his crew worked on the main reception area. They finished up late in the day, and Xander checked everything over carefully before stepping back to take a last look at the room. Satisfied, he turned and nodded at Joe.

"Looks good," he said. "Let's go ahead and knock off. It's almost quitting time anyway," he added, glancing at his watch.

"Got a hot night with the girls planned?" Joe said with a grin.

Xander sighed. The guys on his crew were good people for the most part, but ever since they'd seen Tara and Willow, and found out about his relationship with them, he'd had to deal with comments like that one almost every day. Okay, he and Willow and Tara *did* have a lot of sex. But that wasn't the point. No matter how many times he tried to explain that there was more to their relationship than just that, it never seemed to help.

He supposed it was to be expected. And his co-workers hadn't been nearly as crude as they might have been, so that was something, at least.

"Yeah, something like that," Xander sighed. "Look, I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"Sure thing," Joe said. He left the room and, after one more look around, Xander did the same. In the reception area, the rest of his crew was already packing up, so since there was nothing else to be done, he said goodbye and went downstairs to his car.

The Magic Box was only a short distance from the work site, so the drive was a quick one. He parked along the street out in front and went inside. Giles was behind the counter, and the store didn't seem to be too busy at the moment, so Xander walked up to say hello.

"Hey Giles," he said. "How's it going?"

Giles looked up as Xander leaned against the counter. "Oh, hello Xander," he said, smiling. "I'm doing well, thank you, now that things here have slowed down a bit."

"Was it busy earlier?" Xander asked.

"Yes, quite," Giles replied. "Yesterday was Lisa's last day, and I haven't found anyone to replace her yet. Running this shop alone is quite a bit of work."

"I'd imagine," Xander said. "There's quite the demand for magic stuff around here."

"Indeed," Giles said. "Even though I only sell potentially dangerous items to a select few people I know, I do worry sometimes about what everyone is *doing* with the things they buy here. I think we've been fortunate not to see more incidents of magic-related trouble in the area, to tell the truth." He looked up at the sound of the bell over the store's front door, but it was just someone leaving. "In any case, what brings you here?" he asked, turning back to Xander.

"I'm meeting Willow and Tara here," Xander replied. "They need to pick some things up. They're coming by after they get done at school."

"And, speaking of school, how are your plans for that coming?" Giles asked.

"I'm all set," Xander said. "I've registered for next semester, and paid my tuition, and everything. In a couple of weeks, I'll be entering the oh-so-exciting world of Introduction to Business. I'll be a college man - if, you know, guys who just take one really easy class at a time count as college men."

Giles chuckled. "Well, regardless of the relative difficulty of the class you chose, I wish you luck with it."

"Thanks," Xander replied. "I appreciate that. Hopefully it'll at least be interesting."

The truth was, Xander was actually looking forward to the class. A little. It'd be a big help if and when he decided to try to move up in the construction business. And everything he'd heard about the class told him that he hopefully wouldn't have much trouble with it. Lots of the things they were going to be learning about were things he already knew something about from watching his boss at work. For once, he actually felt positive about what was coming in his life.

Xander was pulled out of his thoughts by the chiming of the bell above the Magic Box's door. He looked up... and froze. For a moment, all he could do was stare in shock at the person who had just walked in.

"Hello, Xander."

It was several seconds before Xander could reply.

"Anya?"

TBC...