Buffy
The phone was ringing when I got home, but since I was all icky from sparring with my girls, I let it ring. Until I heard his voice on the machine. “’Ello, ladies, hope you’ve had a lovely day. Buffy…”
I tore across the apartment and managed to pick up the phone before he got any further. “Spike, I’m here.”
“Buffy, luv, thank God. Listen, I don’t have a lot of time. I just found out what we’re going up against. Well, I don’t know for sure, but I’ve got a bloody good idea…
"It’s going to be bad. Angel didn’t want me calling you, but I think we need reinforcements.” Spike’s voice sounded shaky, worse than I’d heard him in a long time. We’d developed a pattern of joking around a lot during our phone calls, but from the way he sounded I didn’t think it was a good idea to mention that he’d let a perfect Angel-bash pass by.
All right, I could do this. Sure, I could be objective about an apocalypse going down thousands of miles away, endangering two of the most important men in my life. Well, the only important undead men, one of whom was my first love and friend, the other my current lover…Panic, panicking now.
I took a deep breath and tried to relax the big ball of Ack! I was turning into. Think General Buffy, leading the charge, defeating the First Evil. Except, I wouldn’t be leading this time.
“Will, it’s okay. Well, it’s not, but I’ll help. Now, I need you to start from the beginning and tell me what’s going on. Exactly. In detail.”
So I listened to the story of why Angel agreed to take over the law firm from Hell, and his supposed involvement with the Order, and the Great Plan to defeat Wolfram & Hart for good. I wanted better explanations on a few things, but hey, no big. I listened to all of Spike’s concerns, and everything he had been working on to help out.
It was a good plan as harebrained schemes go; I’d lived through enough of those to know that it might work. Then again, there was a large might-not-work element involved. The more I listened, the more worried I got, the more I wanted to get to LA, ASAP. Sure, I’m not the only Slayer anymore, but Spike and Angel were…Well, they’re mine. My friends, my responsibility.
Spike was still rambling on in the background as I went through some of the old Sunnydale playbook in my head, trying to find the hole in Angel’s plan that I could plug quickly and without screwing up the plan as it stood.
“Willow!” I practically shout, interrupting Spike mid-rant. “Willow should be able to get to LA pretty quick; she’s in Rio. A little mojo couldn’t help but…well, help. I’ll call and fill her in.”
Silence. Well, either I managed to say something so incredibly stupid he’s trying not to laugh, or he’s seriously considering this. His response, when it finally came, was slow and thoughtful. "Is there anything going on in Watcher's Council World we can use to create a sort of cover story for her coming here?"
"Well..." I think about how to get Willow to LA on official business. "Ooh, I have one; Faith said there are more Slayers in LA, but she couldn't convince them to join up with us. Maybe Willow could take a crack at them. That way, if she does get them to listen to her, you might get some extra girl-power."
"I like the way you think, Slayer."
I smile. He never calls me that anymore, and even if it used to annoy the crap out of me, I still kinda missed it. "You know, that title applies to about 1100 women at last count; you're not making me feel very special here, guy."
He chuckles, that dark husky whisper of a laugh that makes my toes curl. "No matter how many super girls there are in the world, you'll always be my Slayer, luv."
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We say our goodbyes and plan to speak again in the morning. Well, morning my time, late night his time. If we were both watching American TV, I realized, he would be watching Letterman at the same time I watched the Today Show. Of course, the TV programs were a little different in Rome…
Shaking my rambling thoughts into some type of order, I shower and change quickly. I really didn't want to make this call; I don't think she knows about Spike. I mean, it's not enough that I'm asking her to run off and put her life in danger; she'll also have to deal with my…Vampires…
Willow’s had a rough year. After the defeat of the First, we all had high hopes for the future. And for the most part, it’s been great. If you don’t mind the bizarre hours, the hard work, constant danger, loneliness, and regrets. Okay, so my year hasn’t been a bucket of roses either. I look up at the big, beautiful flowers on my coffee table, their perfume filling the room. Okay, so maybe there are a few roses. They’ve been arriving twice a week since William left Rome, a dozen for me, a dozen for Dawn.
But Willow…Willow started out really well after we got to England. She knew people already, witchy friends all her own, and she had Kennedy at her side. In my heart of hearts, I envied her. It seemed like, out of all of us, Willow would come out of this weird new world of ours the best. Then she was helping Xander through Anya's death, and she and Kennedy started to fight.
They didn’t fight all the time, but enough that we noticed. Giles even suggested splitting them up; sending them to different places but close enough to visit. They refused the offer, Kennedy not-so-nicely. She and Giles are kind of not speaking right now; actually, I don’t believe he and Kennedy have spoken since she left for Brazil.
Willow was sure that it would be okay, that they would be able to work it out, or at least still work together. Then they started to fight about magic, and training, and other work related stuff in addition to the personal stuff. Her final breakup with Kennedy was very messy, and very recent. It seems wrong, somehow, to ask for her help on this now, when she’s hurting so badly. And Willow has done so much for me over the years…Well, she did try to end the world once, but that was… Over her last girlfriend. Welcome to my life; rock, meet hard place.
I really wish I could just pick up and go to LA myself; I feel like I need to be there for them, and it feels strange that the world's safety is threatened and I'm not on the front lines. Then I remember, that the front lines are bigger than me, now. There are 57 active Slayers from all over Europe, Asia, and the US in Rome right now, not to mention that my little sister is in college here, and the only other Watcher assigned to Rome at the moment is a very sweet Persian guy who's pushing 80 and lets the girls get away with murder.
Besides, Wolfram and Hart must know who I am. They'd probably just try to kill me, and make the whole thing more complicated.
So here I go, calling Willow. As Spike would say, bugger.
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Chapter titles indicate Point of View. Story title comes from a line in “Shimmer” by Fuel. This story is the first sequel to “Hole in My Pocket”. Missing scenes and alternate ending for the Angel finale. I know the whole alternate finale thing has been done to death, but this story was nagging at me, so I figured it was better to go for it. Hope you like!
Disclaimer: I don’t own the characters portrayed on Buffy or Angel. Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy Productions do. More power to 'em. I make no profit from my endeavors. All original characters are my property (so there!)
Disclaimer: I don’t own the characters portrayed on Buffy or Angel. Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy Productions do. More power to 'em. I make no profit from my endeavors. All original characters are my property (so there!)