Author: JustSkipIt
Rating: PG
Feedback: Please leave feedback on the Survivor - Ash Island thread on the Kitten Board.
Disclaimer: I own none of these characters nor do I own Survivor. And believe it or not, I also don't own any small islands. On the other hand, this island is fictional so let's say I own it. I'm making no money from this fiction and intend no copyright infringement.

Tara looked at her watch again before returning her focus on the action on the field. Her phone suddenly rang, startling her and she stepped from the bleachers and walked a few steps away before answering it: "Hello."

"Hey," Willow said quickly.

"Are you here?" the blonde asked as she continued watching the kids playing soccer.

"Finally," Willow answered, "there was a weather delay on my connecting flight. I'm really sorry I'm late. Did I miss the whole game?"

"Willow," Tara began laughing, "please take a breath. The game doesn't start for 20 minutes. Where are you?" She listened for a minute before giving Willow directions for the cab driver to find the field. Once she hung up the phone, the blonde looked up to see Ariel standing near the sideline of the field waving to her.

She walked over. "Hey, sporty," Tara joked, "are you ok?"

"Is Willow coming?" the girl asked.

Tara bent down. "Yes, sweetie," she explained, "her plane was delayed but she's taking a taxi here. She just called and she's really sorry she's late." Tara knew that Ariel was very much looking forward to meeting the redhead she had only seen on the television. The girl had been very disappointed that she hadn't gotten to meet Willow the weekend before and had been hardly able to sleep last night for wanting to meet the redhead from the show.

"I thought we were going to pick her and her luggage up at the airport," the child pouted as she kicked her toes at the lime field markings.

"We were," Tara answered, "but her plane was late so she's meeting us here."

"But she's staying the whole weekend, right?" Ariel assured.

"Baby girl," Tara started, "it's Saturday now and she has to leave before lunch tomorrow for a work meeting." Before the little girl could object Tara told her, "Now your coach is calling everyone over for a huddle."

"He's not coach, silly," Ariel laughed, "that's daddy."

"I know," Tara smiled back, "but he wants you to go huddle before the game." Ariel leaned in to kiss her mommy on the cheek and ran across the field.

As she stood up, Tara saw the cab pulling into the parking lot. Willow got out of the back, pulling her bag with her and leaned in to pay the cabbie. Before she could walk across the field, Tara waved to her and met her at the lot to unlock her trunk and put Willow's bag inside.

"Hi, Sweetie," the blonde said, leaning in to gently kiss the redhead.

"Mmm," Willow said as she lengthened the kiss slightly, "now that was worth the trip." She quickly changed her focus as she took Tara's hand to walk back toward the field. "Did I miss anything?"

"They're just about to start," Tara told the visitor. "How is your father?"

Willow giggled a little as she answered: "He's doing really well. If I'm dating you or happen to run into you or anything, which I can neither confirm nor deny, he says, ‘hi.'"

"I think that at this p-point, you can confirm that we're dating," Tara said, "just not anything about the show." She smiled as the two women took a seat on the bleachers. "By the way, my mom says ‘hi.'"

"Where is Ariel?" Willow asked excitedly.

Tara raised her eyebrow slightly at the redhead before pointing to midfield at her daughter. "You have an IQ of 190 and you c-couldn't guess which one was Ariel?" she teased. "Not to mention having seen a picture."

"Hey," Willow argued, "we're way over here and they're running fast."

Tara leaned over to kiss the redhead on the cheek and continued holding her hand as they watched the game. The game was as exciting as any soccer game between six-year olds ever is. The kids kicked and ran and celebrated and enjoyed themselves. At various points during the game, both women heard whispers around them: "Survivor... Willow... Tara... don't know... could ask?" Willow noticed that Tara was blushing as the game and the attention when on but was relieved that no one actually interrupted them.

When the game finished both women cheered for the children and waited a few moments for the other parents to clear off before stepping from the bleachers. They met Kent and Ariel coming across the field. "Mama," the little girl shouted as she ran to hug Tara, "I made a goal!"

"I saw," Tara told her excitedly, "It was a very good kick." She picked up the little girl and held her as she turned to Willow. "Ariel, sweetie, this is my friend, Willow." To Willow she also introduced the little girl: "Willow, this is my daughter Ariel."

"Very nice to meet you," Willow said. Ariel mirrored the redhead and seemed to be looking closely to see what she could figure out about this woman who her mother seemed to really like.

"And this is Kent," Tara continued the introductions.

Willow stuck her hand out to take the dark-skinned man's hand, saying, "We met before."

Kent smiled as he nodded, "I can neither confirm nor deny that but it's nice to see you again."

"Daddy," Ariel said excitedly, "you met Willow before?"

All three adults looked at each other puzzled for a few seconds. Just as they were trying to figure out what to say, some other parents and children came up. "Are we going for pizza?" They breathed a sigh of relief as Ariel appeared to forget about her question, instead asking Willow if she was coming for pizza.

"Yes," Willow answered.

"Do you like pizza with vegetables?" the little girl asked as they started walking toward the parking lot.

"Oh yes," Willow told her, "and I'm very hungry because my flight was very long."

"Ariel," Tara interrupted the conversation, "do you want to ride with Willow and I or with Daddy to get pizza?"

Ariel stopped to think about it for a minute, then she motioned to Willow to bend down. When the redhead did Ariel whispered in her ear for a few seconds. Willow smiled and answered the girl: "That's fine, Ariel."

"Mommy," Ariel said very formally, "I want to ride with Daddy."

"Ok," Tara agreed as they reached the parking lot and Kent took the little girl's hand, "we'll meet you there."

As she let Willow into the car she asked her, "What did Ariel say?"

Willow waited for Tara to get in before explaining, "She wanted to make sure my feelings wouldn't be hurt if she wanted to ride with her Daddy since she can spend all weekend with us but doesn't get to spend the weekend with him until next week." Before Tara could say anything Willow began to exclaim, "She's awesome. I can already tell that she has your brilliance and sensitivity." She leaned in and kissed the blonde on the lips softly at first but quickly becoming more intense as she wound her fingers in Tara's hair. "Much better," she whispered as she finally pulled away from the woman.

"Much," Tara whispered in agreement. The two girls visited about their last two weeks while they drove to the pizza parlor for the weekly after-game lunch. Willow had spent four days with her parents at the hospital before helping them move her father home and staying in Raleigh for another 2 days. Finally she had to return to Atlanta to catch up on work and get ready to visit Tara and Ariel.

"Are you sure you can afford the t-time away from work?" Tara asked the redhead again.

Willow smiled at Tara as they pulled up at the pizza parlor. "I can afford anything but being away from you for so long."

"Charmer," Tara accused as she opened her door and met Willow at the front of the car.

"Is it working?"

"We'll see," Tara teased. A few children ran past her into the restaurant and two mothers called to her to say hello. Tara introduced Willow to the women who all seemed quite friendly. Once inside, the atmosphere in the pizza parlor didn't really allow much room for conversation. They ate their pizza and continued visiting over surface topics. Kent joined them for most of the meal as did Ariel, although the girl eventually got up to play games with her friends.

"So, Willow," Kent started, "do you want to tell me where the two of you ended up?"

Willow nearly choked on her coke as she at first misunderstood what the man was asking. "He means on the show," Tara explained, "he can't take ‘non-disclosure clause' for an answer."

"I can tell you a secret," Willow promised the man, motioning him forward before mock whispering, "I was not one of the first three people voted off the island."

"Or the fourth," Tara agreed with a smirk.

"You're no help," Kent growled as he got up to play with the kids a little bit. After a few more minutes he came over to tell both women that he needed to go run and then study. He had already told Ariel that he would see her next weekend. "I'll talk to you this week, sweetie," he said as he kissed Tara on the cheek. "Nice to meet you again, Willow," he told the redhead before leaving.

Tara waved at Ariel and told her that they were going to leave in five minutes. They did so and drove over to Tara's house. Once there, Ariel jumped out of the car to run inside. Tara picked up Willow's bag and led her inside the house. "Come on," she said, "I'll show you around." She started in the house and gave the redhead a quick tour.

"I like your house," Willow complimented her; "the colors are exactly like I would expect from you."

"You didn't think I lived in a bamboo shelter a-all the time?" Tara teased.

‘Well, you did seem quite at home," Willow answered. "I mean to hear Riley talk about you, you were the very second coming on the Island: gatherer by day, healer by night."

Tara leaned close to whisper in the redhead's ear, "I remember having some better things to do at night."

"Now who's a charmer?" Willow retorted.

"Come on," Tara said as she took Willow's hand, "I want to show you something."

"I get that a lot," Willow smirked.

"Not that," Tara said with false disdain. She opened the door to her garage and turned on the lights.

Willow's eyes were immediately drawn to the large metal sculpture in the center of the room. She had no idea what it but it was the most powerful piece of art she had ever seen. She walked toward it and circled it for a few minutes before taking her time inspecting the rest of the contents of the workroom. Shelves held smaller pieces as well as various piles of scrap metal, paint, and a few welding torches. She looked at a welding mask and held it up toward Tara. "Very butch," she winked. "Seriously," she said, "It's all amazing. I mean the piece in the center is just so powerful."

"I'm glad you l-like it," Tara said, turning off the lights to return to the house.

Ariel met them in the kitchen and asked to go over to a friend's house. After a quick phone call to the friend's mother, Tara agreed that Ariel could go but be back for supper. That left Tara and Willow alone for the afternoon, giving them a chance to talk more. After Ariel returned the three worked together to make dinner and played a game of Chickenfoot before Tara put Ariel to bed.

When Tara returned, she found that Willow had found both the stereo and a bottle of wine which she had opened. She had pulled the pillows off the couch and placed them on the floor so that the two women could snuggle. "I see you've done this before," Tara teased as she took her glass and sat against the edge of the couch.

Willow moved closer and laid her head on Tara's lap, enjoying the feel of the blonde's fingers running through her hair. "How about you, Ms. Maclay," Willow teased back, "the CD player is completely filled with ‘seduction music: Sarah McLaughlin, Joni Mitchell, Norah Jones, Enya?'"

Tara leaned over to trail her lips along the redhead's ear: "Maybe I put it in there especially for your visit." She heard Willow's breath catch before the other woman reached her hand up and pulled Tara's face toward her own. Even though they had kissed and enjoyed each other's company during the afternoon, this kiss went beyond that exploration. When they finally pulled away both women were breathing hard and could feel their hearts beating in their chests.

Willow sat up and took a drink of her wine. "Maybe conversation...," she said. "I want to ask you something but I don't want to offend you, Tara."

"How did I get Ariel?"

"Well... yeah," Willow answered. "I mean ... you don't have to tell me if you don't want but I mean... I get a kind of lesbian vibe off you"

Tara interrupted her, "I hope so, otherwise, I need to practice some things."

"What I mean is," Willow continued, "I don't get that you used to be straight and then got pregnant or married, pregnant, and divorced and then gay... so ... how?"

Tara smiled and motioned for Willow to lie down again as she was before. The blonde took a drink of her wine. "Did you go to your Senior Prom?" she asked, somewhat incongruously Willow thought.

"No," Willow said abruptly.

"Well," Tara explained, "Kent and I didn't have dates. I mean not a big surprise that neither of us had a date. I was this awkward, shy, self-identified-lesbian and he was the only black guy, excuse me-African American-- in the senior class. Welcome to s-suburbia."

"You gotta love it," Willow agreed. She added in a whisper, "Although it's hard to see you as awkward and shy. You're so damn sexy."

"And we'd been friends for years from art and drama class and everything even though he was a big jock too," Tara continued. "So when he said we should go one day at lunch, I said sure. And it was fun getting ready to go. All the catty girls who wouldn't consider going with him and didn't know why I was going were so into their dresses and who was wearing what and what their guys were wearing."

"Of course," Willow agreed again.

"My mom made me a really beautiful dress," Tara laughed, "and now I understand that she was really confused about why I was going with Kent because she'd always thought I was gay."

Willow laughed at that.

"And Kent's dad was just so damn h-happy that he had a date for the prom. I mean he didn't know I was gay; he just saw his son being a real man and having an important date. He insisted on getting us a room at the hotel where the prom was."

"Of course," Willow said, "that's what all the rich kids did."

"Right," Tara agreed, "and he looked damn good. And I mean damn good. He wore a gray top hat and tails. The only one at our prom." She got up and picked up a picture from the mantle to hand it to Willow.

"Hot couple," Willow agreed.

"The prom was like you'd expect it to be," Tara went on, "twenty girls who had never had anything to do with me telling me how beautiful my dress was, how hot Kent looked, what great d-dancers we were together. And the guys, telling Kent what a stud he was." Willow giggled at Tara's impressions of her prom. "And afterward there were parties and all that in various hotel rooms."

"De rigueur," Willow said.

"It was probably 4:00 in the morning when we got back to our room," Tara continued, "and my dress had all these fasteners up the back that I couldn't get out of it myself. And we'd both been drinking but don't take it wrong. We weren't drunk, except maybe on the air of the night. And he helped me out of my dress and I felt goosebumps on my arms and the hair on the back of my neck stood up and he leaned forward and kissed it."

"And it was nice," she continued, "but there were no fireworks and no trumpets in my head." She laughed and took another drink. "And we joke about it now," Tara said, "about how my one and only time with a man gave me two things: Ariel and absolute conviction that I was a lesbian."

Willow raised her glass in a mock toast, "Then I definitely thank him."

"Two and half weeks later," Tara continued, "I'm sitting in my AP English final exam and suddenly I feel as nauseous as I've ever felt in my life. I barely made it to the bathroom. I told Kent that he didn't have to do anything about it but he was actually excited in a ‘God, I hope this doesn't fuck up both our lives way.'"

Willow laughed and poured both women another glass of wine. Then she leaned back against the couch and indicated that Tara could lie on her lap. Tara continued: "We both went to school in the fall. I stayed with my mother and Kent did too so that he could bond with Ariel. We lived there for two years."

Tara took another sip and kissed Willow on the forehead. "My turn now," she said. "When did you come out?"

"A coming out question?" Willow teased, "you can't do better than that?" Tara raised an eyebrow and gave a pointed look at the redhead.

"Well, funny you should mention Senior prom," Willow explained. "I didn't go to mine."

"You said," Tara said.

"Well," Willow said, "I was only 15 and everyone else was 17 or 18. My best friend in school was a girl who was a junior - Tami. She was older than me but we lived next door and were in the same 5th and 6th grade before I skipped 7th."

"So you asked her?" Tara tried to guess.

"Patience, Tara," Willow teased.

"I have tremendous patience," Tara answered.

‘I've noticed that," Willow pouted, "maybe too much. Anyway, Jeff Rhodes asked Tami. And she was really excited because she was only a Junior and he was this big sports star. Of course, I wasn't invited. I mean who wants to take a 15 year-old to prom? I had an eleven o'clock curfew!"

"Sounds like your parents were very strict," Tara said.

"Not strict," Willow clarified, "they had this one little rule. Other than that I was mostly on my own. Anyway, Tami bought this really outrageous dress. It was pink, of course, and low cut and she looked great in it. I went over to help her dress and every time she would mention Jeff, I felt this lump in the pit of my stomach. I said I didn't feel well and went home."

"You seem to have gotten over it," Tara teased.

Willow laughed. "I went home and lay on my bed wondering, ‘why did this bother me so much?' I was still thinking that when there was a knock on my balcony doors an hour and a half later. Tami was standing there. She had actually climbed up the trellis wearing that pink monstrosity. At first I was scared that she was hurt-that Jeff had..." Tara stroked the redhead's fingertips as she told her story. "I let her in and was about to ask what happened," Willow explained, "and she said she would rather be with me." She took a breath. "And then she kissed me. I think we were both shocked about it for a second. It was like everything in my whole life clicked in those seconds. I finally got why I'd never felt right in high school. Not because of my intelligence or my age. This was it. I kissed her back and... well let's just say we really enjoyed the two weeks until I left for college."

"And you've been enjoying the clicks ever since," Tara teased, sleepily.

"I'll be there first to admit that," Willow said, "but Tara..." she waited for the blonde to answer. "I I've never felt this way about anyone. I mean when I first saw you on the island, I just thought you were hot. I was thinking conquest, like I always have. I was thinking notoriety. But then I got to know you. And then three months of nothing. Dumb agreement," she muttered, "No seeing you, no talking to you. I would go out and talk to other girls and all I could think was that I wanted to be with you. Now that I'm here, I can't think of any place I'd rather be." She waited a few seconds for Tara to say something, anything.

"Do you get it?" She waited, heart pounding in her chest for Tara's response. What would be the blonde say? "I love you, too?" "I get it?" "What makes you think it's real?" Seconds dragged on and still she waited heart on her proverbial sleeve. Finally she leaned over to look at Tara's sleeping face and chuckled to herself. "Well, I'll just consider that the dry run I guess," she laughed before placing both wine glasses aside, pulling a blanket over them both, and wrapping her arms around the blonde.

They were awakened in the morning by Ariel coming into the living room in her pajamas to turn on cartoons and ask for pancakes. "Mama," Ariel said brightly as she shook the blonde, "are you going to make pancakes for me and Willow?"

Tara sat up suddenly as she realized that she and Willow had spent the night on the floor of the living room. "Oh, um, yes," she answered with a blush as she looked at Willow. "I guess we're destined to never sleep in a bed," she teased the redhead.

"Never, like always, is an incredibly long time," Willow answered with a smirk. "Now, I'm thinking pancakes sound very good."

While Tara made pancakes, Willow took a shower and repacked her bag. Her flight was leaving before noon, giving them very little time together. Once Tara served the breakfast, they all enjoyed it, with Willow telling the blonde sincerely that they were the best pancakes she had ever had. Ariel watched the two women with great interest, finally addressing Willow. "Willow," she said, "I have a question."

Willow prepared herself for a hard question on the nature of her relationship with Ariel's mommy or why they woke up on the living room floor. "Yes, Ariel," she answered.

"Did you pick the fish because you wanted to eat the fish or because you wanted to sit with mommy?"

Willow smiled and told her honestly, "I wanted to eat with your mommy. And she was nice and shared her vegetables with me too."

"And you shared your wine," Ariel said.

"Yes," Willow agreed.

"And you're a lesbian which is a mommy who likes mommies too, right?" Ariel confirmed.

Willow smiled as she answered, "Yes sweetie, I definitely like one mommy in particular."

"Mine?" Ariel concluded.

"Definitely yours," Willow said, "now can I ask you a question?"

"Ok," Ariel agreed.

"What's your favorite subject in school?" Willow asked.

Ariel seemed to breathe a sigh of relief as she answered, "I like music and art and recess but my favorite is reading. Mama and I read every day and when she was gone Grandma and Daddy read with me."

"Well, that's a good choice," Willow said seriously, "because most other subjects require you to read too."

"That's what I said," Tara agreed.

Once breakfast was finished, Tara took her shower while Willow and Ariel played in the backyard. Then it was time to take the redhead to the airport. At the security station, she hugged Ariel who announced that she wanted Willow to come back and hugged Tara, giving her a light kiss. Just as she was about to go through security she felt Tara's hand on her wrist. The blonde pulled her back for a deep kiss before letting go and winking at her as she went through the checkpoint.