The Rosenbergs // Tillow

4.

"They're here! They're here!"

The twins cheered with joy when they heard the grumble of the car engine as it pulled up to the house. They hovered around by the front door eager for it to be opened and to see their parents.

"Out of the way, boys," Tara told them, "they can't get inside if you block the doorway." They backed up from the door which gave Tara the chance to unlock and open it. She watched and waited for the car to come to a complete stop before she opened the security screen door, which released the overly excited children.

They all spilled out onto the front porch as the other three got out of the car. The kids screamed and ran toward their parents and clambered into their arms. Willow was standing by the door with Ember balanced on her hip as the tiny toddler bounced in excitement over the sight of her big sister.

Dawn walked over and threw herself into Tara's arms. Tara felt a dampness slowly soak through her shirt over her shoulder. Dawn cried for several minutes before she let Tara take her inside to her room.

Tara sat on the edge of the bed and let Dawn lay her head in her lap. She stroked her light brown hair in comfort and let her cry. Willow entered the room a moment later, now free of Ember. She frowned at the situation in front of her. A wet patch could be seen by Dawn's face, seeped into the light blue denim of Tara's jeans. Dawn's sneakers were kicked off onto the floor and her sobs filled the room.

"Hey, Dawnie. Got room for me?" Dawn just crawled over and under the covers, which placed her lying in the middle of the bed. Willow met Tara's eyes with her own; a silent communication. They each snuggled in on either side of Dawn. When the moments were right, they'd offer small words of comfort and reassured her that they would go back to visit Buffy and Joyce. Eventually she dozed off and they lay there and listened to the sound of her steadied breathing for probably about an hour. After that, they crept out as silently as they could.

When they returned back to the lower level of the house, Willow was confused. "You're not unpacking here?" she asked Xander upon the realisation that they hadn't brought in a single box and didn't seem to have any intentions to do so. They were seated in the lounge, the TV on and kids playing on the floor.

"Well no, like Anya told Tara last night, we've already found some places nearby that we might buy. So really there isn't much point in dumping all our crap in your house," Xander replied. Willow raised a curious eyebrow at Tara who hadn't mentioned anything of the sort to her the previous night. Tara tore her eyes away from Willow's glare and mumbled something.

"Oh, I didn't realise you would leave us so soon," Willow said, flustered. She looked to Tara once more but she had fixated her attention to arranging fridge magnets, so the redhead stormed off upstairs.

Willow immediately felt childish for storming out, but she hated the idea of arguing in front of her friends. And their kids. She soon heard approaching footsteps, undoubtedly Tara's. Tara caught their bedroom door before Willow could shut it to separate them. She pushed it open and closed it behind herself. Tara reached for Willow's hand but her wife pulled away and sat down on the bed.

"Why didn't you tell me? And why were you acting all suspicious down there?" Willow said, she tried to calm herself, not wanting to shout. Tara sat beside her and took her hand, successfully this time.

"I just wanted you to have a good night of sleep without worrying what that would mean for when we try for another baby. Because you seem so on edge about it, I didn't want you to worry. It was late and I just thought we'd discuss it today instead. And they arrived earlier than expected, to be fair." Tara spoke in a hushed tone. Willow felt silly because Tara was right. She'd been so anxious every time the topic them having another baby had come up. She leaned into Tara who wrapped her arms around her.