The Rosenberg/Maclay Family [W/T Family Oneshots]

[Evil Angelus 95]

Oneshot #1 "Changes"

Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy or any of the characters. They belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy.
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Changes

"Tara, I don't wanna do this, I'm afraid…" Shaking her head, Willow buried her head in Tara's shoulder as another bolt of lightning lit up the partially darkened room. "It' the scariest thing I've ever done."

"It's alright, I understand." Running her fingers through her girl's red tresses, the Wiccan sighed. "But it has to be done. Ignoring it won't solve it."

"Why can't we just ignore it?" Pulling her head away from the other girl's shoulder, the red-head's face showed the faintest signs of hope, although she was only moments away from crying. "Like, do it in the morning? Maybe if we ignore it, it'll go away…"

"Willow!" Her expression growing stern, Tara stared back at her girl. "We can't just ignore it! It's a human being!"

"I know, Tare…I'm sorry. I'm a terrible person."

"No, you're not." Shaking her head, the blonde Wiccan curled a single finger underneath the other Wiccan's chin. "You're just afraid."

"So afraid right now." Nodding slowly, the red-headed Wiccan took a deep breath. "Can you do it? Pretty please, with chocolate pancakes on top?"

"I did it last time." Shaking her head, Tara placed both of her hands on her girl's shoulder. "You have to change her."

Sighing, Willow looked at the squirming infant staring questioningly up at her from the changing table. As the smell once again assaulted her nostrils, she closed her eyes and wrinkled her nose.

"Goddess, I hate dirty diapers…"

 

[Evil Angelus 95]

Oneshot #2 "Everything Small And Tiny"

Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy or any of the characters. They belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy.
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Everything Small And Tiny

"Come on, open up!" Smiling as she held the spoon up to the infant's closed mouth, Willow continued to make exaggerated faces at the girl, hoping that it would encourage her to laugh. "You know you want the peachy goodness!"

"You get so involved with feeding her." Laughing in response to the scene unfolding in front of her, Tara leaned over and gave her girl a small kiss. "She's going to ask about this later in life."

""And we'll just tell her she had two of the best parents in the world." Casting her green eyes at the other Wiccan, Willow smiled brightly. All around her was evidence that she had no reason to be sad on a day like this. The sun was shining, the warmth gave neither her, Tara, or Samantha reason to dress warmly. There truly was not a single reason to frown. "Or at least one, in my case. You're the best thing she's got."

"We're the best thing she's got." Correcting her wife, Tara smiled as she heard the child she was holding laugh slightly. "And it sounds like someone agrees."

"Well, I'm glad to know that our little Magickal bundle agrees." Leaning in closer to the infant, Willow gently planted her lips against the girl's tiny head. "Although I kinda wish that she would just eat already. She was getting fussy earlier, so she has to be hungry."

"Maybe she's just tired?" Readjusting how Samantha was sitting in her lap, Tara chuckled slightly as she looked down into the pair of green eyes staring up at her. "You've had a big day, haven't you?"

"Considering that tomorrow is her birthday, I guess you could say that." Still smiling brightly at her wife and child, Willow could feel nothing but happiness in her heart. "I still can't believe that she's already a year old."

"She's growing fast, isn't she, sweetie?" Feeling tiny digits wrap around her finger, the blonde Wiccan continued to smile while speaking to her daughter in a high-pitched voice. "Aren't you? Aren't you?"

"She's a Momma's girl." Setting the spoon back down into the waiting jar, Willow sighed although the smile continued to rest on her lips. "She doesn't like me like she likes you."

"Yes she does, honey. Here, see? She loves you." Gently lifting the infant up, Tara gently handed Samantha to the other girl. "Look at how she's smiling at you."

Sure enough, as she lifted her head from where her gaze had been focused, the red-headed Wiccan found a small smile from behind green eyes greeting her. The smile on her own face spreading ear-to-ear, Willow gently took Samantha into her lap, and gazed deeply into the beautiful face before her.

"See?"

"Yep, I get Samantha cuddles." Seeing the smile still on the infant's face, Willow heard the girl giggle slightly, the sound of it like music to her ears. "She still likes you more though."

"It looks like somebody's all tired out." Looking down at the child in her lap as she heard Tara's statement, Willow smiled as she saw Samantha beginning to peacefully fall asleep in her lap.

"Awww, she's using me as a pillow." Lowering her voice's volume in order to accommodate the sleeping baby in her lap, the red-headed Wiccan leaned back against the tree behind her.

"She's taking after her mother then." Chuckling softly, Tara pulled the blanket off of her lap and laid it over the baby. "Considering that you seemingly always love to use my stomach as a pillow rather than the real ones we have."

"But you're so soft..." Pushing her lips out into a pout, the red-headed Wiccan smiled as she tucked the blanket in around her daughter. "And I'm a breast-kinda girl, and they're nearby when I sleep on you."

"You're so lucky she won't be able to remember you saying that." Moving herself to her wife's side, Tara wrapped her arm around the other girl's shoulder. "Otherwise I'm sure she'd never want to sleep on either of us again."

"Don't lie, you know it's fun. The whole soft pillow thing." Smiling slyly as she winked at the other girl, Willow leaned over and pressed her lips against her girl's own pair. As she felt Tara pulling back from the kiss after a moment, she frowned and furrowed her brow. "What?"

"Maybe we should take Samantha home...you might get snuggles..." Flashing her trademark lopsided grin, Tara toyed with the collar of the shirt her wife was wearing. "Or maybe something more..."

"You're such a vixen, you know that, right?" Chuckling softly in order to prevent herself from waking up Samantha, Willow picked up the sleeping girl and pressed her against her shoulder. "Still, guess it's better for Samantha to have her nap at the house...plus I get Tara snuggles."

"Everybody wins." Smiling, Tara started back onto her feet with Willow quietly following suit with a sleeping Samantha in her arms. As her wife carried their daughter back to the parked car, Tara silently packed up the things from the picnic, and soon enough found herself back at the car, watching as the red-head made sure that their daughter was safe and secure in the car-seat while she slept.

"See, she loves you." Coming up behind the red-head, Tara wrapped her arm around her wife's waist. "She's a mother's girl."

"She's the best thing that's ever happened to us." Leaning back against the girl holding her waist, Willow smiled. "And it's all thanks to you."

"You're the one who thought about asking Xander..." Nestling her chin into her wife's neck, Tara continued to smile.

"You're the one who carried her inside you for nine months."

"You're the one who put up with me and my mood-swings for those nine months."

"You're the one who suffered through giving birth to her." As she heard no response from her wife, Willow smiled. "Guess I win with that one, don't I?"

"Maybe...Maybe I should withhold snuggles when we get home." Perking up her eyebrow, Tara smiled as she heard a small whimper escape from her girl's mouth. "Seems like an adequate punishment."

"Aww." Morphing her lips into a pout, the red-headed sighed. "I don't wanna be punished. I haven't been bad Willow."

"You're saying that good girls don't get punished every now and then?" Smiling as she continued to flirt with her wife, Tara pressed her lips against Willow's neck, earning a gasp from the other girl.

"Come on, Tare, not in front of Samantha." Moving her neck away from the other girl's touch, the red-headed Wiccan smiled. "No punishments till we get home."

"So you're saying you have been naughty?" Chuckling, Tara smirked. "So...that punishment is called for."

"You're being such a vixen right now." Turning around, Willow saw her girl's smirk and felt a small grin coming to her own lips. "If Samantha weren't here right now, I'd say you'd wanna explore that backseat a little bit."

"Is that a genuine offer?" Her smirk only growing bigger, Tara linked her hands behind her wife's back, and laughed. "Because I might wanna take you up on that sometime."

"Like I said, you're being vixen-y." Leaning in closer, Willow could feel Tara's breath on her own face. "And I think I sorta like that."

"Do you?" Her trademark grin disappearing as she stared into the pair of green eyes lying only inches away from her face, the blonde Wiccan felt her breath freeze inside her neck.

"Definitely. I love anything you do...especially when I'm involved." Leaning in even closer than she had before, Willow closed her eyes. "Mrs. Maclay."

"Then I guess you'll get what you want...Mrs. Rosenberg." Finally dispersing with the inches that lay between herself and her wife's lips, Tara pressed herself against the pair of lips waiting for her touch. As she felt Tara's lips on her own, Willow brought her hands to rest on the girl's hips, her attention otherwise fully focused on returning the kiss that had been bestowed upon her. The kiss being the sole thing that either of them were focused on, minutes upon minutes passed away in the foggy mists of time, the only thing able to awaken them being a small fit of laughter from the baby behind them. Pulling away from the lips she had been worshipping, Willow chuckled.

"Somebody doesn't seem to like being left out of the lovin'." She said jokingly as continued to stand still and look into the pair of blue eyes she adored so much. "Guess we should get to taking her home. Like you said, she's probably tired."

"You're just trying to get out of that punishment." Her lopsided smirk returning, Tara nevertheless nodded in response to the other girl's statement. "You're right though. Then again...we can always snuggle at home."

As she looked at her wife, Willow smiled.

"Is that a promise?"
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As she gently laid Samantha down into the crib, Willow smiled as she once again felt Tara's hands wrap around her waist and hold her close.

"See, she's all tired out." Her green eyes still watching their daughter as she slept peacefully, Willow sighed. "I guess she didn't want the peachy goodness."

"There's always tomorrow, sweetie." Giving her wife a small kiss on the cheek, Tara swayed both of them slightly to a silent tune. "She'll wake up and want more attention."

"Is that so?" Smiling as she allowed herself to be swayed left and right gently, the red-headed Wiccan closed her green eyes. "I'm kinda sleepy myself."

"Uh-huh, no trying to get out of your punishment." Making a subdued tisking sound in the other girl's ear, Tara began to move herself and Willow to the door, their footsteps quiet and suppressed in order to prevent Samantha from waking up. As they reached the door, Willow reached out and took the handle into her hand, turning it as silently as she could manage. With the obstruction out of their way, the two Wiccans closed it behind them once they were out in the hallway and faced with their bedroom in front of them. Releasing her grip on her wife's waist, Tara ventured into the room and turned, flashing a pair of 'bedroom eyes' at the red-head standing a few feet from her.

"Come on, I'm waiting…" Making a come hither gesture with both her expression and a curl of her finger, the blonde girl waited for her wife's response.

"I don't know, Tara, I think I might just go to sleep…" Still playing 'hard-to-get' with the other Wiccan, Willow smiled as she saw that familiar sideways grin return to her wife's lips.

"Uh-huh, get in here. Bed, now." Reaching out and gently taking hold of the shirt the red-head was wearing, Tara pulled the girl into the room. As their lips once again touched, she shut the door behind them, concealing their actions from the rest of the house and the world.

Managing to pull away for a slight moment, Willow smiled.

"You're perfect, you know that right?" She said, her green eyes showing nothing but affection for the girl she was holding in her arms. "My everything?"

"I know." Nodding, Tara once again flashed her wife her trademark sideways grin before resting her forehead against the one in front of her. "I love you."

"Granted, you want to punish me right now, but I can forgive that…" Smirking, the red-headed Wiccan felt the other girl starting to guide the two of them towards the nearby bed that lay at her their side. "It's in a Tara-y sort of way, so it has to be good."

"You're the one being a vixen now." Snorting slightly, Tara continued to stare into the pair of green irises observing her as the two of them fell back onto the soft mattress that the two of them had shared numerous times since moving into the apartment. "So maybe I'm not so wrong in wanting to give you that punishment…"

Smiling even wider as she felt a pair of fingers gliding through her long red tresses, Willow closed her eyes.

"Guess there's nothing wrong that logic. I trust you." Opening her eyes once more as if she wanted to make sure that Tara had heard her, the Wiccan leaned forward in order to press her lips against the soft pair seemingly made to match her own. "Even if you're vixen-y in front of our baby."

 

[Evil Angelus 95]

Oneshot #3: The New Kitten

Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy or any of the characters. They belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy.

Special Thanks To: undeadredheadinyourbed, iloveawesomeshtuff, and imsorrywasibeinginsensitiveagain on Tumblr for the suggestions when my depression wouldn't let me write. 🙂
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The New Kitten

As she rolled over onto her side, Tara smiled at the feeling of content that had filled out each and every one of her senses from underneath the warm sheets. Snuggling her head deeper into the combination of pillow and her own hair that lined her head, the Wiccan felt a familiar body slide into place behind her, the feeling of flannel pajamas on her almost completely bare legs setting her skin on fire.

"Morning, Mrs. Maclay." Purring the greeting into her wife's ear, Willow smiled as she nuzzled her face into the other Wiccan's neck. "And how are you this fine morning?"

"Good morning yourself, Mrs. Rosenberg." Leaning back into the body tucked in behind her, the blonde woman's smile grew even wider upon hearing her wife's voice overtaking her ear. "Good, how 'bout yourself?"

"Perfect now that I'm touching you like this..." Pressing her lips against the skin of the woman's neck, the red-head found herself grinning as she felt a shudder run through her wife's skin. "And it seems like you're enjoying it too."

"How'd you get that idea?" Tara replied, a groan of pleasure almost escaping from her lips as she felt all of her senses beginning to awaken inside her body from their sleep-drenched state.

"Oh, I have my ways. I'm an observative little Witch." Smiling as she withdrew her lips touch from the other girl's neck, the red-head had a grin on her face that spoke volumes about what she was feeling. "Or at least I used to be...the Witch part I mean..."

"I know what you mean, my little Witch." Turning herself onto her side with slight difficulty, Tara flashed her wife her trademark sideways grin while gazing deeply into the bright pools of green in front of her. "That's what you'll always be to me. My beautiful, confident, sexy little Witch."

"Oh, so I'm yours now. Didn't realize I belonged to anyone." Holding her up her hand in order to look at the wedding band on her finger, the red-headed Wiccan smiled. "Here I just thought that this was for show."

"You're being so bad right now..." Shaking her head with her grin still adorning her face, Tara found herself laughing. "You're like a little kid."

"Does that mean I'm gonna get corner time then?" Finding her wife's laughter to be extremely infectious, Willow heard the sound of her own distinct laughter flowing into her hearing. "I've been a very bad girl apparently."

"I can do that, don't think I won't!" Still laughing, Tara shook her head. "You naughty little brat."

"I'm sorry, Mommy." Her voice's pitch going higher in order to make herself sound like a child, the red-headed girl smiled at the effect the trick had on her wife. "Don't punish me."

"Alright, stop it!" Planting her lips against the other girl's almost identical pair, Tara smiled. "You've made your point. You like being a naughty Willow."

"Aww, you got me all figured out now." Pouting slightly, the red-headed nevertheless wasted no time in returning the kiss that had been offered to her only seconds earlier. "Guess we should get up, Samantha probably wants fed."

"You're probably right." Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, the blonde woman returned to her feet, knowing that her wife would be taking in every square inch of her skin. "Enjoying the view back there?"

"Mhm..." Smiling as she looked the other girl up and down, the red-head sighed happily. "I'm still remembering that 'spell' we did last night."

"That was a punishment, remember?" Her sideways grin returning to her face, the blonde Wiccan made her way around the side of the bed as she approached the door. "Somebody was being a smart-alec?"

"I seem to remember something along those lines..." Giving her wife a small wink, Willow threw the covers off of her body as she tried to crack her back. "And then there was lots of snuggles."

"Which you were lucky to get because naughty Witches don't usually get snuggles."

"I'm a special Witch." Grinning slightly, Willow pushed herself up onto her feet, her oversized flannel pajamas hanging around her body. "With a flannel-y center."

Rolling her eyes playfully, Tara redirected her course and found herself standing in front of her wife.

"And what a yummy flannel-y center you have." She said with a smile before pressing her lips against the red-head's cheek. "Naughty little Witch."

"Is that my name for today? Willow, the Naughty Witch? Can I make Miss Kitty talk too?"

"You and Samantha have been watching too much of that show." Rolling her eyes once more, Tara turned and headed for the door once more. "Can you fix breakfast for all of us?'

"Yep. Granted, I can't make pancakes in weird shapes, but I'll manage." Shrugging her shoulders, Willow nevertheless retained her grin as she ventured out into the hallway on her way towards the kitchen. Stepping into the bathroom, Tara allowed herself one last glimpse of her flannel-clad girl before she closed the door, and turned on the water to the shower. As the sound of the warm water filled out the room, she closed her eyes and simply listened to the peaceful sound of running water.
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"Tara, come see this!" Rushing over to the door in order to stick her head out from the room, Willow's entire expression showed barely restrained amusement dancing across her face. "Quick!"

"What is it, sweetie?" Finishing wrapping the towel around her body, Tara quickly made her way down the hallway towards Samantha's room. As she entered the room, the blonde Wiccan was greeted by the sight of her wife standing beside the crib, a large smile adorning her expression as she looked into the piece of furniture in front of her. "Something-"

"Ssshhh, just look…" Pressing a finger to the other Wiccan's lips, the red-head gently took hold of her wife's hand and pulled her towards the crib, allowing the woman to look at what lay inside. Taking in the sight of Samantha sleeping peacefully, Tara noticed a certain furry black and white cat sleeping just as peacefully next to the infant.

"Awww." Unable to avoid letting the expression of amusement slip from her lips, the Wiccan continued to smile as she felt a familiar pair of arms slide around her waist and pull her close.

"How can anyone be so cute?" Willow whispered in the woman's ear, a smile of her own adorning her expression. "Is there some kind of limit on the cuteness factor?"

"I think our daughter just broke it if there is…" Resting her hands atop the pair holding her waist, Tara closed her eyes. "Kinda like what you did the night we all came home."

"You mean the first night…" Pausing for a moment, Willow pressed her lips against her wife's ear. "…we spent as a family? How could I forget the third happiest day of my life?"

"Only the third?"

"After our wedding, and the day she was born."
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"Okie dokie, here we go, home where it's nice and home-y." As she opened the door to the apartment, Willow's entire expression seemed very child-like in the way she moved and constantly looked back at her wife and newborn child.

"You're acting very funny, sweetie." Laughing slightly, Tara's tone, along with all of her movements and actions, seemed to be very labored and subdued. Still holding Samantha tightly in her arms, she slowly moved out into the living room of the relatively large apartment. Somewhat eagerly closing the door behind her, Willow's expression continued to consist of nothing but smiles.

"I haven't seen you in three days, baby, I missed you." Running up behind her wife, the red-head wrapped her arms gently around Tara's waist. Taking care not to shake either the woman or infant too much, given their delicate and exhausted condition, she closed her eyes and rested her chin against her wife's shoulder. "That's the longest we've been apart in years."

"I missed you too, sweetie." Leaning back into the other woman slightly, Tara felt her eyelids beginning to become slightly heavier with each passing moment she stood standing, although she managed to summon a smile to her face. "I'm tired though."

"Oh, right!" Her entire expression changing upon remembering the somewhat strict instructions the doctor had given to her, Willow released the other Wiccan and placed her hands on the small of her wife's back. Beginning to guide them towards the nearby chair, she couldn't keep a small smile from spreading across her face once more. "You need lots and lots of rest. 'Cause, you only gave birth three days ago, and that's not that long, and the only process was very hard, and loud, and kinda hard for me to watch-"

"Sweetie, you're babbling." Smiling weakly, Tara reached up with her free hand and ran her fingers along her wife's cheek. "It's alright, we're right here. We're not going anywhere."

"Right, do you want something to drink, baby? You have to want something, and I'm here to get it for you, you don't have to do anything because I'm here…I'm babbling again, aren't I?"

Nodding only in response, Tara leaned completely back into the chair, with Samantha still asleep in her arms.

"Tara, anything? Glass of water? Cookies? I can't make pancakes in weird shapes, but I can get you some…"

"Water…" Saying the word through her exhaustion coated lips, the blonde Wiccan opened her eyes for a slight moment in order to look down at the baby in her hands.

"Alrighty, water coming right up!" Rushing into the kitchen, Willow almost immediately began searching through the cupboards as if she had forgotten where the cups were placed. Muting her actions as much as she could, she almost squealed in excitement as she found one, and ran it underneath the nearby water dispenser on the fridge. As the cup filled up to a level that she deemed 'alright', she rushed back to her wife, and held out the cup.

"Here you g-" Stopping herself in mid-sentence as she realized that Tara had fallen asleep in the short few minutes between asking for a glass of water and her wife's return, Willow smiled and set the cup down beside the chair, hearing a small meow echo out from behind the furniture piece. Seeing a familiar pet stick her head out, the red-headed Wiccan smiled at the kitten before moving her gaze back to her daughter and her wife. Gently removing Samantha from Tara's hands, Willow smiled as she saw her wife curl up onto the chair, her eyes still closed in the gentle caress of sleep. Staring attentively at the wrapped bundle she now held in her hands, she continued to smile as she made her way across the room and sat herself down onto the couch on the opposite side of the room.

"Hi Samantha..." She said somewhat nervously, continuing to speak softly while her newborn daughter rested peacefully in her hands. "I'm Willow...guess you'll be calling me Momma for the next sixteen or so years..."

Hearing a soft meow echo up to her ears from her side, the red-headed Wiccan smiled as she turned her head and found a furry ball of black and white beginning to curl beside her.

"And this..." Lifting her child's head slightly so that she could see the kitten, Willow smiled even wider. "Is the best kitty in the world, Miss Kitty Fantastico."

Mewing again, Miss Kitty raised her head at the sudden movement her owner had made. As her eyes caught sight of the wrapped bundle in Willow's arms, she rose to her paws and cautiously made her way up onto the Wiccan's lap until she was looking directly down at the infant.

"Who apparently wants to look at you." Chuckling softly, the Wiccan watched as the kitten that she and Tara had once considered to be their 'child' cautiously reached and out pawed at the bundle, her declawed paws leaving no risk for the infant to be harmed. Slowly opening her small blue eyes, Samantha looked up curiously at the head of red-hair looking down at her.

"Hi there." Her smile stretching until it could reach no further, the Wiccan gently took hold of the infant's tiny hand and felt her heart jump inside her chest as the girl curled her fingers around her mother's finger as best she could. Leaning back into the couch as far as she could, Willow felt as if she would explode from the happiness of holding her newborn daughter in her hands for the first time outside of the hospital. Her green eyes' gaze refusing to falter from the pair of delicate blue staring up at her, she swore that time stopped for a single moment. Moving her finger slightly from where it was still being held loosely by the infant, she sighed happily before uttering a single statement to her daughter.

"Welcome home."

 

[Evil Angelus 95]

Oneshot #4

Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy or any of the characters. They belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy.
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The Greatest Gift Of All

"Are you really going to pout about this?" Looking down at her wife as she continued to hang decorations around the apartment, Tara frowned. "Honey, we're supposed to be having fun. It's Samantha's first Christmas."

"We don't all worship Santa God, remember?" Lifting her gaze from her drink to the other Wiccan's face, Willow pushed out her bottom lip into a pout. "And you're too busy with decorating to give me snuggles..."

"Poor baby." Stepping down off of the ladder that she had been standing upon, the blonde Wiccan slowly and seductively walked towards her wife. "Nobody's paying any attention to poor Willow."

"Oh Goddess, do I have to put up with vixen-y Tara now?" A smile coming to her face as she felt the woman pulling her to her feet, the red-head saw that oh so familiar sideways grin coming to her wife's lips. "I don't know if I can handle that…"

"I'm sure you'll be fine." Her blue irises dancing as they absorbed the sight of the other woman's face, Tara softly pressed her lips against the waiting pair in front of her. Linking her arms around her wife's neck, Willow mentally smiled at knowing she now had the other Wiccan's complete and undivided attention. After a few bliss filled moments of kissing, Tara finally broke the kiss and leaned forward until she and her wife were forehead-to-forehead. "Unless you want to take this little attention getter into the other room…where no-one could hear anything…"

"I might be able to do that…" Smiling back at Tara somewhat, the Wiccan felt her heart beating excitedly inside her chest, the origin of it a mix of the sensations of Tara's touch, and the news that she was amazed to have hid from her better half for so long. "But we have guests coming over soon, remember?"

"I'm sure we could always find a way to slip away and find an empty bed somewhere…" Her sideways grin refusing to falter, Tara brought her hands to rest on her wife's hips. "After all, I'm sure you want to be on the naughty list, don't you?"

"But I haven't been naughty, and-" As she started her response, the sound of the doorbell echoed through the room. Turning her head at the sound, Tara sighed.

"Seems our guests are starting to arrive…" Giving another sigh, the blonde Wiccan returned her gaze to her wife's pools of green. "Guess we'll have to explore that locked room later, won't we?"
---------------------------------------------------
"Oh, Tara, she looks just like you!" Sitting down beside the older girl, Dawn smiled brightly. "I can't believe it's taken us this long to finally see her again."

"You live so far away, that's why." Giggling slightly as she held her daughter in her lap, Tara tilted her head in order to look at Samantha's face. "Doesn't she? You don't like your Aunt Dawn being so far away."

"I might be going to college up here though, so I might not be so far away anymore." Still smiling, the younger Summers girl held out her hands. "Can I hold her for a while?"

"Oh course, sweetie." Gently handing her daughter over to the girl, the Wiccan pushed herself off of the couch once she was sure that Samantha was safely in Dawn's arms. "I'll be right back."

"Ok." Smiling as she heard the infant in her arms giggling, Dawn leaned back into the couch, and held out her finger for Samantha to grab onto.

"Willow?" Making her way through the small crowd that had gathered in their living room, the Wiccan caught sight of a head of red-hair, and swiftly moved across the floor towards the woman. Noticing the way her wife was leaning against the wall, silent and unmoving, Tara furrowed her brow as she started to wonder what was wrong.

"Enjoying yourself sweetie?" As she came up behind her wife, her expression changed to a slightly annoyed one as she caught sight of what the woman held in her hand. "Eggnog? You know you're not supposed to have that. It makes your tummy upset, remember?"

"What can I say? I'm a naughty girl, aren't I?" Smiling slyly at her better half as she turned slightly, Willow took another sip of the drink she held in her hand. "Guess Santa isn't coming for me this year."

"I thought he was here already…judging by your hat." Gesturing towards the Santa cap that her wife was wearing, Tara smiled. "Although I wonder if your cute little bottom is as red as your hair…"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Perking up her eyebrow questioningly, Willow took another sip of her drink.

"Sometimes Mrs. Claus comes along, and spanks the bad little girls on the naughty list…" Her vixen-y smile from an hour earlier returning to her face, Tara took a step closer to her wife. "I'm wondering if she's been here yet…"

"You think she's coming tonight?" Using her free hand to take hold of her wife's fingers, the red-head smiled. "I don't know if I've been naughty or not…"

"I'm sure you'll know later, when everyone's gone, Samantha's asleep, and we've got the entire apartment to ourselves…" Chuckling underneath her breath as she spoke, Tara rubbed her thumb against the red-head's hand. "After all, I do like my red-heads nice and red."

"You know, Tara, you should…look…up…" Following her wife's suggestion, the blonde Wiccan raised her gaze until she caught sight of the hanging mistletoe above herself and Willow. Almost able to sense how much the other Wiccan was grinning, Tara rolled her eyes.

"You planned all this, didn't you?" Returning her attention to Willow's expression, Tara began to lean in closer to the other Wiccan's face. "You…naughty…little…girl…"

"Maybe I did…and maybe…I…didn't…" Mimicking her wife's actions and speech, Willow continued to smile even though their lips were only inches apart. "Do you…like…it?"

"Indeed…I do…" Finally pressing her lips against the pair awaiting her gentle and loving touch, the blonde Wiccan felt her wife wrapping her hands around her waist, pulling her as close as she possibly could be while the two of them were still fully clothed. The party in the connecting room momentarily forgotten, the two Wiccans lost themselves in the feelings and sensations of each other's touch. Her tongue probing the other woman's lips until her efforts granted her entry to her wife's mouth, Willow couldn't help but continue to think about the news that she was still so focused on. Even now, with her body nearly on fire from her wife's kisses, her mind repeated the news over and over again without end.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" Breaking the kiss in order to ask her better half the question, the blonde Wiccan could sense how tense Willow was starting to become. "Does your tummy hurt?"

"A little…" Looking away as she saw her wife's gaze falling upon her, the red-head squirmed in her socks. "Not from the eggnog though…"

"Then what's wrong? Are you getting sick?"

"No…um…I've kinda got some news, baby…"

"Oh?" Perking up her eyebrow, Tara retained her hold on her wife's hand. "What kind of news? Did they accept your program at work?"

"No…I mean yes, but that's not the news I'm thinking about right now…It's kinda about what I got you for Christmas…" Continuing to avoid answering her wife's question, Willow felt Tara's fingers gently, but firmly take hold of her chin and force her to meet the other Wiccan's blue eyes.

"Then what's the matter? Sweetie, talk to me."

"Tara…you might wanna sit down for this..." Taking a deep breath as she saw her better half nod. "I'm…sorta…kinda…definitely…pregnant."

"What?" Her eyes widening as she heard the red-head's answer circling around her brain, Tara couldn't avoid letting the shock she was feeling sink into her voice's tone. "Sweetie, are you sure?"

"Mhm." Nodding, Willow could feel her wife's grip on her hand increasingly ever so slightly. "I wanted to surprise you, so I k-kinda asked Xander to…donate again…and here I am, a few weeks later, and I'm preggers…"

"Sweetie, w-why?" Seeing the other woman flinch for a second, Tara added a small smile to her question. "I'm not angry, far from it, but I just…why now? Samantha's only a year old…"

"I wanted to give you a Christmas present…one that would show you how much I love you…" Blushing slightly, Willow leaned back against the wall behind her. "So I kinda knocked myself up…"

"And y-you're sure?" Reaching out with her free hand, Tara laid her hand against her wife's stomach. "Did y-you go to the doctor?"

"Yep. I'm pregnant, Tara, I'm really pregnant." Smiling as she felt a small tear starting to well up in her eye, Willow laughed somewhat. "I'm gonna have a baby."

"Yes, you are." Pulling her wife to her in a hug, the blonde Wiccan felt a small tear fall down her cheek, coming to rest on her chin before it was absorbed by the dress the other woman was wearing.

"We're going to have another baby." Correcting her wife as she hugged the Wiccan back, Willow finally allowed the tears she had been holding back make their descent down her cheeks. "Merry Christmas, baby."

"Willow, sweetie, you didn't have to do this." Shaking her head while happy tears continued to stream down her face, Tara only hugged her wife tighter.

"I wanted to, Tara. I love you so much…I just wanted to give you what you gave me…" Taking a small step back from the hug she was receiving, the red-head could only smiled as happy tears continued to stream down her wet cheeks. "I want to give you another child…"

"Oh…my…god…" Turning around as they both heard a familiar voice squeaking in excitement, the two Wiccans found Dawn standing only a few feet away, a now giggling Samantha held in her arms.

"Hey Dawnie, something wrong?" Offering the girl a smile, Willow wiped away some of her tears onto the back of her sleeve. "You look excited."

"Wait, Willow you're…?" Her eyes widening as she continued to hold Samantha, Dawn's smile stretched ear-to-ear. "Oh my god!"

"Easy Dawnie, no need to have a heart-attack over me." Still smiling, the red-head looked down at her daughter resting in the younger girl's arms. "Mind if I have Sam for a while?"

"Yeah, yeah sure…" Gently but somewhat urgently handing the infant over to Willow's waiting arms, Dawn could barely suppress her squeal of excitement as she continued to look happily at the two women in front of her. "Oh my god, I'm so happy for you guys!"

"Dawnie, easy, you look like you're gonna explode at any minute…" Giggling softly before looking down at the infant in her arms, the red-headed Wiccan smiled brighter as she heard Samantha echoing her giggling.

"I know, but, I mean you're gonna, and Willow you're, and that means you two are gonna have…EEEH!" Unable to hold in her excitement any longer, Dawn finally let out a subdued squeal, the sound causing a few heads to turn within the group situated behind her. Looking at them, Tara smiled and gave them a small wave, almost breathing a sigh of relief as she saw the heads looking at them turn away and return to the conversations that they had been involved in before.

"I can't believe you're going to have a baby!" Whispering her excited statement, the youngest Summers girl almost found herself jumping with excitement. "I mean, Tara had one, and now you're gonna have one, Willow! It's so exciting!"

"I know Dawnie, but why don't we just keep this between us for a while, ok? Just until we see the Doctor and everything. We wanna make sure Willow's ok."

"Ok, I can do that…can I just say how much I love you gu-" Stopping in mid-sentence as she heard her name being called, Dawn stopped and rolled her eyes slightly. "Buffy's calling me, I'll be right back."

"Take your time, we're not going anywhere." Offering the girl a smile, Tara wrapped her arm around her wife's waist as Willow continued to make Samantha giggle. As she gently rested her head atop the other woman's shoulder, she kept smiling, her lips refusing to assume any form of expression. Turning her head slightly so that she could look at the pair of blue eyes that she loved so much, Willow giggled again.

"Still think I'm gonna be on the naughty list tonight?" She whispered, even though she knew that the music playing in the living room was loud enough that she wouldn't be overheard.

"Oh definitely. You've been so naughty, hiding things from me that I should have known right away." Smirking, Tara pressed her lips gently against her wife's cheek, earning another burst of giggles from the red-head. "I love you so much, sweetie."

"I know, baby. Your mine, and I'm yours. You're my everything."
---------------------------------------------------
"Come on, Sammy, smile for the camera." Summoning the widest smile that she could manage, Willow saw the unmistakable blinding sight of the flash from a digital camera flooding her vision for the faintest of seconds before it disappeared as quickly as it had arrived. Lowering the camera from the position she had been holding it in, Buffy smiled.

"Another family portrait for you guys."

"I guess." Giggling slightly, Willow found Samantha looking up at her, her tiny eyes showing the faintest glint of exhaustion in their greenish color. "I'm gonna put Samantha down in her crib. She's starting to look all tuckered out."

"Ok, sweetie." Leaning over in order to give the other Wiccan a small peck on the cheek, Tara gave her a daughter a kiss goodnight before following Buffy back into the living room. With her infant daughter still held in her arms, the red-head slowly opened the door down the hallway and entered. Making her way across the darkened room, Willow gently set her daughter down into her crib, the infant looking up at her somewhat curiously.

"Time to go night-nights, Sammy." Grinning at her daughter, the red-head switched on the baby monitor as she reached for a nearby blanket. "Tomorrow's Christmas. Hopefully Santa God left you some presents."

Hearing nothing more than a slight gibberish filled sentence, Willow giggled and leaned down in order to kiss her daughter on the forehead.

"Night, Sammy. Guess I don't need to tell you what kinda surprise I gave your Momma tonight." Smiling as she tucked the blanket underneath her daughter, Willow rested her arms on the side of the crib and stared up at the opposing wall, the drywall decorated with a photo take only half an hour after Samantha's birth. "You're gonna have a little brother soon…or a sister…I'm kinda unaware of the gender-y parts yet…"

Hearing a small giggle from Samantha as the infant's sole response, the Wiccan continued.

"But…I wanted to give your Momma the same thing that she gave me. When you were born, after the entire thing with the screaming, and the almost crushing my hand, it was one of the greatest days of my life. And nobody was happier than your Momma. I just…I want her to feel what I felt, watching you be born, holding her hand to let her know everything was gonna be ok…all of it. Granted, I'm gonna be screaming my lungs out, but…you get the point."

"I just wanna give her someone like you." Looking back down at the infant she had been speaking to, Willow almost found herself aweing at how her infant daughter had fallen asleep in the short two or three minutes that she had been softly speaking to her. Carefully checking to make sure that the blanket she had laid atop the infant was still covering her, the Wiccan quietly tip-toed out of the room, shutting the door behind her, and went to rejoin the party in the living room that was slowly beginning to die down.
---------------------------------------------------
"You're going back to the Doctor's tomorrow, first thing." As she crawled into bed in order to join her wife, Tara smiled. "Understood, naughty little girl?"

"Understood." Giggling as she scootched herself closer to the Wiccan, Willow smiled just as bright as the woman in front of her. "Although I think being naughty and hiding this from you was well worth it. Merry Christmas, baby."

"Merry Christmas, Willow." Leaning in closer, the blonde Wiccan gave her red-head a small kiss on the lips before moving back in order to stare in the beautiful pools of green that attentively watched her. "I don't think I can give you anything as beautiful and thoughtful as what you gave m-"

As she pressed a single finger against her wife's lips, Willow smiled and giggled as the Wiccan fell silent almost immediatly.

"You gave me a little bundle of joy last year. You don't think that made me all Finey McFine? I'm simply giving you the same joy that you gave me."

"Is that so?" As the other woman moved her finger away from her lips, Tara felt her smile return to her face. "Then I guess we're even now..."

"Would appear that way, wouldn't it, Mrs. Maclay?" Trailing her finger along the bared portion of her wife's arm, the red-headed Wiccan couldn't help but stare at the woman with what some would describe as 'bed-room eyes'.

"Indeed it would, Mrs. Rosenberg. Whatever do you think we should do now?" Noticing the almost hungry look in her wife's eyes, the blonde Wiccan reduced her ear-to-ear grin to her trademark sideways smirk, and mimicked the look she was being given. "Although I'm sure between the two of us we have some ideas..."

"Couldn't agree more." Leaning in closer to the other Wiccan's lips, Willow could almost feel Tara's lips touching her own before a familiar cry echoed through the open door from the room across the hall. Giving a small giggle as she remained motionless, Tara gazed into the green irises inches away from her own sparkling pair of blues.

"I guess someone has other ideas of how we can spend our Christmas Eve..." Rolling her eyes playfully as she started to move off of the bed, Willow felt a gentle but firm hand take hold of her arm.

"Uh-uh, you stay in bed, sweetie. Starting now you're just another baby to me." Her sideways grin still adorning her lips, the blonde Wiccan returned to her feet. "No unnecessary things for you until our baby is out and about in a few months."

"So I get the full Princess treatment?" Grinning at her wife's statement, Willow leaned back into the soft mattress and pillow as Tara slowly made her way around the bed and headed for the door. "I get to be Princess Willow again!"

"Because that worked out so well the first time when you got your job." Her tone leaking sarcasm, the blonde Wiccan nevertheless leaned down to give her wife a small kiss on her red-hair adorned forehead before resting her hand on the door. "I couldn't take you anywhere without you demanding to be treated like royalty."

"I was a Princess. I had to do that!" Giggling again, the red-head sank down into the warm red sheets beneath her. "You were my loyal and loving servant."

"And I had to suffer through so many requested cuddles." Slowly pulling the door open, Tara gave her wife one last sideways grin before disappearing out into the hallway, Samantha's cries continuing to fill out both her room and the connecting apartment. Closing her eyes as her woman left the room momentarily, Willow snaked her hand underneath her pajama top and gently rubbed her stomach, almost entirely able to imagine the child just beginning to develop inside her.

"You and me..." Opening her green eyes for a single moment, the red-headed Wiccan giggled somewhat at the entire idea of the state she was in. "We're going to get so many cuddles, I promise."