Long Lost Daughter

Chapter 2

(Tara's POV)

I watch Dawn pull her friend out of the room. I can feel my heart racing. That can't be who I think it is. Can it? She looks so much like me. I have to tell Willow. I never thought I would have to tell her this.

"I'm glad Dawnie is making friends." Xander remarks.

"Yeah, and she seems like a nice girl." Willow adds.

"Hey, Will. Can I speak to you upstairs for a moment?" I ask with nervousness dripping off my voice.

"Of course." Will says. With each step I take I feel the sense of dread increase. I do not know how she will react and that scares me. Once we get up to the room she turns to me and smiles a devilish smile. She kisses me passionately. I have to pull away, despite how desperately my body says I want to continue.

"Will, I have to tell you something. This is so incredibly hard for me, but please just hear me out." I say sitting down with her on the bed. I watch her playful expression drop as she realizes that I am serious.

"Go ahead, Tara. I'm sure whatever it is, it will be fine." Will says with a compassionate look on her face. I put on a nervous smile and take a deep breath.

"Willow, when I was a teenager I was involved with my first and only boyfriend. I ended up having a baby with him. My father forced me to give her up. There wasn't anything I could do. I didn't know anything about her after she was adopted and I just had to let her go." I say with tears welling in my eyes.

"Oh, sweetie. It's ok. We all have a past. Why is this coming up now?" Will asks as she takes my hand in hers.

"Willow, I think Taylor is my daughter." I am unable to look at her. Willow goes silent. The tension in the room is so thick, I feel like I'm choking. It feels like an eternity passes. I am waiting for her to say something, anything. I glance at her and her face is blank, but I can tell her mind is racing. I look away again and sigh. A tear slides down my cheek but before it falls I feel her hand wipe it away.

"That is a lot to take in." She says. Her expression is still unreadable to me, but the tension in the room is starting to dissolve. "Why do you think she might be your daughter?"

"She looks so much like me, Will. Her eyes, her hair, and just her overall demeanor. Besides, I just have a strong feeling that I cannot ignore." I can't stand to look at Will. I feel so ashamed of my past.

"Oh, Tara, she might not be your daughter. Maybe you are just seeing someone who may look like you and are feeling guilty." I know she is trying to make me feel better. I want to know her. I want to figure this out.

"I want to get some answers Willow. If that is my daughter I want to get to know her. I didn't mean to abandon her. She was taken from me. I hope you can understand this." I say realizing how upset I sound. I didn't mean to come off so upset but everything I said is true. I was devastated when my father forced me to give her up.

"Ok, I understand that Tara, but you can't just disturb her life like that. Let's just do some digging and maybe even approach her parents. Just don't talk to her. You don't know how something like this could impact her. I am here for you. Just trust me on this." Willow tells me as she rubs my hand soothingly. I lean into her as more tears fall. I have so many emotions that I can't even speak. I nod in agreement. She pulls me into a hug and rubs my back a little. I let all the tears fall. I realized how much I had been holding in at this moment.

"I am so sorry I kept this from you Will. I just pushed it so far down that I never thought about it. But seeing her brought up everything." I say through the tears. She just hugs me tighter and lets me cry. 

"It's alright. I understand, we will work this out together. Thank you for telling me." Will says stroking my hair. I melt when she does this. It makes me feel so much better. Despite her soothing touch my mind can't stop racing. I just wish there was a simple way to know. Then I jump to the what ifs. What if she doesn't react well to the news? What if she doesn't want anything to do with me? What if I can't figure this out? What if she is my daughter, but Willow doesn't want a child? What if she doesn't like Willow? What if her family won't let me get to know her? I wish I could calm my mind.

"Thank you for being so understanding Will. "

"Of course, I want to help you any way I can. Just take deep breathes and we will take this one step at a time. Everything will work out how it's meant to." She tells me in a soothing tone. I am so used to being her rock that I forget that she is mine to sometimes. I relax into her as my tears slow. I know she is right. I just got to see where we go from here.