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Dreams

A/N: A lot of dialogue will be recognized from Restless. I have kept several of the scenes as setups or finishes to the dreams that I have written/changed. Some I just left because I love them so much I couldn't take them out. Mostly I changed/added to a scene to get the changed reactions or added characters involved in new ways and the rest I condensed/summed up/left out for the sake of not repeating everything from that episode.

********* New dream

~~~ Change of scene within a dream


--------------------------------------------

By the time they unloaded Joyce's bags and deposited them safely inside, the gang had arrived for the post apocalypse party. The Scoobies had split up briefly, allowing Buffy and Spike to pick up Joyce and explain the changes that had occurred while she had been out of town, while the others headed to their respective homes for showers and changes in clothing.

Willow and Tara arrived first, holding hands, with soft whispers and giggles following in their wake. Giles entered next, carrying a bottle of liquor wrapped in a plain paper sack, stating that he would be needing it to endure Andrew for the remainder of the night.

Xander and Anya burst through the door a short time later, with Xander proclaiming that he had procured the necessary videos and refreshments needed for the evenings entertainment. Lastly, Jonathan and Andrew arrived, both still slightly nervous and unsure about their place in the group.

Once everyone had arrived, Buffy rushed upstairs to wash up and change into something more comfortable while Joyce ushered Spike to her bathroom with the fresh clothes that they had picked up on the way back from the airport.

Freshly scrubbed, the couple made their way back down to join in the celebration. Everyone was excited about their victory and wired from the adrenaline still rushing through their bodies. They had urged Joyce to join them but she refused, citing jet lag and that the long trip had worn her out.

Once Xander started the video, everyone settled into comfy positions for a night long vid-fest. Before the opening credits finished, the room was silent and all were fast asleep, unaware of the dangers that lay in their dreams.

*********

Willow wandered slowly down the hall in confusion. Seeing Xander and Oz leaning against the wall, she moved closer. She was worried about Tara; the things that she had said about people finding out who she was. What did it all mean?

"Hey." Xander nodded in her direction.

"Heard you were taking drama," Oz stated.

Why was everyone talking about that class? "You took it?"

"Oh, I've been here forever," he told her cryptically.

"So whatcha been doing? Doing spells?" Xander asked. "She does spells with Tara," he told the werewolf.

"Yeah, I heard about that." Oz's voice sounding concerned.

The bell rang. She was afraid she was going to be late...but for what?

She could hear Xander's parting words as she walked down the hall. "Sometimes, I think about two women doing a spell...and then I do a spell by myself."

~~~

Willow found herself walking aimlessly backstage, students in costumes from what looked like several different plays all jumbled together with no rhyme or reason.

It was wiggy enough being hugged by Harmony, but when Buffy joined in, the confusion only grew. How could they be having the play without any classes? How were they supposed to learn their lines? And what did Buffy mean she was already in costume? She thought back to Tara's words but shook them off.

Giles' speech only added to the dread she felt. When she saw something crouched down, making its way around the inside of the curtain, her mind cried out that she was in danger. "Did anyone see that?" she asked in a hushed voice, but no one was listening.

She looked around, trying to find Buffy to warn her, but when she turned she found that Spike had already found her and were engaged in a major make out session. She tried to interrupt when they didn't break it off immediately, but with little success. "Um, guys." She noticed that Spike was also in costume; a Victorian gentlemen, complete with wire rimmed glasses.

Spike broke away from Buffy long enough to glare at the redhead. "Yes? Can't you see that we're practicing our big kissing scene?"

"Oh sorry," Willow squeaked, surprised at how much Spike sounded like Giles just then, all stiff and upper crusty.

"William. Kiss me, sweet William," Buffy cried dramatically. She turned to Willow and whispered, "We've got the big scene at the end, right before the curtains come down and the lights go out. It's all very romantic."

The noise in the room receded and she gazed around, her eyes coming to rest on a small, balding man standing over a table. "I've made a little space for the cheese slices," he whispered.

~~~

Buffy pulled Willow out of the curtains and into a deserted classroom. Between Tara's words about everyone finding out who she was, like she was hiding something from everyone, and the attack, she was shaken and upset.

The play had already started and she had no answers for the thing that was following her. Why did they keep insisting that she was doing something wrong? Like she was hiding some secret that she didn't understand?

"What did it look like?" Buffy asked, scanning the room for danger.

Willow crouched low, following behind. "I don't know. I don't know what's after me."

Buffy's brow scrunched in disapproval. "You must have done something."

"No. I never do anything. I'm very seldom naughty. I-I just came to class, and-and the play was starting," she rushed to assure her friend. Why did she think that it was her fault?

Buffy straightened up, forgetting the need for stealth that she had insisted on just moments before. "Play is long over. Why are you still in costume?" she asked harshly.

"Okay," Willow exclaimed, getting more irritated by the second. "Still having to explain wherein this is just my outfit."

Buffy shook her head in disappointment, "Willow, everybody already knows. Take it off."

"No. No." She looked around nervously. "I need it.

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Oh, for god's sake, just take it off." She grabbed Willow by the shoulders, spun her around and ripped the clothes from her back.

Buffy dusted off her hands. "That's better. It's much more realistic."

Willow turned around to face the room to find all the desks were full and everyone staring at her.

Harmony gave an amused laugh. "See? Isn't everybody very clear on this now?"

Willow looked down to see that her clothing had changed and she was wearing an outfit that she might have worn when Buffy had first come to Sunnydale.

"Bloody hell!" came a shout from the back of the room. Willow looked up to see Spike slouched lazily in one of the desk chairs with Buffy sitting behind him playing with his hair. She looked around the room at all the familiar faces. She was shocked when she saw Tara and Oz leaning toward each other intimately.

"I tried to warn you," Oz told the usually shy witch, both throwing Willow mocking glances.

Spike sat up, smirking. "I've seen this before. Young girl tries to remake herself into something she's not. I bet that's what the lesbian thing is...just a cover for the whole I'm-a-big-geek thing."

Buffy slapped him lighting on the back of his head. "Spike, be nice. I'm sure Willow's not using the gay thing for a cover. She has the witchy thing for that."

Willow's eyes moved around the room nervously. She looked down at her paper in her hand. Just read the report, get it over and you can sit down, she told herself. "My book report. This summer, I-I read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe."

Xander dropped his head back and yelled at the ceiling, "Oh, who cares?’

Willow couldn't believe what was happening around her, that her friends were treating her this way. She watched, feeling a bit sick as Oz snuggled closer to Tara, his lips grazing her cheek as she giggled in response.

She tried to continue with her report, to ignore the taunts and hurtful attitudes from her friends. She caught a dark flash from the corner of her eye just before she was knocked to the floor. She screamed, expecting help from someone...anyone, but they didn't come. "Help! Help me!" Why didn't they come?

She looked up in horror as the thing attacking her began to growl. "Help me!" she cried out as she continued to struggle. The creature moved in close to her. She felt a horrible weight on her chest and suddenly she couldn’t breathe. Help me! she called out one last time.

*********

Xander walked across the sunny clearing towards the playground ahead. He could see Buffy sitting in the sandbox with...Spike? In the daylight? First Joyce coming on to him and then the freaky scene in the bathroom. This just wasn't his day.

"Here you are," he stated to the group. Buffy and Spike turned to each other before looking at him in unison.

"Are you sure it's us that you're looking for?" Buffy asked flatly. He looked at his friend for a moment, confused by her words, before shifting his gaze to Spike.

"They're beautiful aren't they?"

He stared at the blond vampire sitting in the blinding sunlight for a moment longer before turning his attention to the trio on the swings. "Huh?"

Andrew kicked out his feet, trying to keep up with the watcher and his best friend. "They're beautiful aren't they?" he repeated. "Star-crossed lovers. Like Romeo and Juliet, except that most poisons wouldn't really kill Spike, and Buffy could probably survive a knife wound." He shrugged casually before continuing, "Anyway, it's just so romantic; a vampyre and a vampyre slayer. Two forces destined to kill each other, brought together by a spell and an even greater love," he finished wistfully, pausing in his swinging for a moment to gaze longingly at the couple.

"Shut up, you dork," Jonathan reprimanded. "God, could you sound any more pathetic? We're in training. You need to think watcher-y thoughts."

"Oh, right. Spike is a rather fine specimen isn't he? I mean...they both are...but, like, he's fine in, you know, a not gay way."

"Right," Xander said, shaking the mental images from his head as he turned toward the tweed covered watcher.

"I've decided to train Jonathan and Andrew as watchers," Giles explained happily, swinging higher and higher.

"Yeah, he says we have the right stuff," Jonathan bragged.

"They're like sons to me," the watcher added. "Come on, boys. Put your backs into it. A watcher scoffs at gravity!"

"Yeah, I was into that for a while. Now I've got other stuff going. Yeah, lots of stuff." Xander looking toward the street where another Xander was passing out ice cream from a truck. He pivoted back to his friend playing in the sand, gazing thoughtfully on the two blondes now in front of him. "Hey, Buffy, do you think you guys should sit there? That's a pretty big sandbox," he said, watching as the sandbox turned into a desert and then back again in the blink of an eye.

~~~

Xander looked around in confusion. One second he was climbing into the back of the ice cream truck with Willow and Tara and the next he was in a long hallway, then his basement. And who the hell was the cheese guy?

He continued on his journey and after a freaky, leg numbing conversation with Snyder, he found himself back in Giles' apartment. His friends were all gathered around a choking Willow. He tried to tell them about the danger, but they didn't hear him. He rushed through to the kitchen, only to find himself in the girl's dorm room. It's like I'm in a maze for lab mice, he thought hysterically. A pounding on the door urged him onward. More corridors and hallways and he found himself once more in his basement. He stopped for a moment, breathing heavily, and the pounding started again.

He moved toward the door, taking the stairs slowly. He shook his head weakly. That's not the way out, he told himself.

The door burst open and the stairs filled with light, "What the hell is wrong with you?" a booming voice asked. Dad. It's just Dad, he told himself, trying to calm his racing heartbeat. “You won't come upstairs? What are you ... ashamed of us? Your mother's crying her guts out!"

Xander backed up slightly. "You don't understand."

His dad moved closer, his face reddened in anger. "No, you don't understand. The line ends here with us, and you're not gonna change that."

Xander kept his head down, unable to meet his fathers hate filled stare.

"You haven't got the heart," the older man spat out, shoving his hand though Xander's chest.

The brunette looked down to his chest to see that the hand sticking out no longer belonged to his father but was wrapped in old, dirty bandages. His gaze shifted upward, his fear suddenly coming to the surface. His eyes locked onto his attackers face as he...she...it give a feral growl and pulled the heart from his chest. Oh, God! No!

*********

"Come on, you're missing everything"

Giles grumbled as he moved into the cemetery. He didn't understand what was going on exactly. He had started out with Buffy doing meditation training that she had never taken seriously. The next moment, he and Olivia had been dragged along behind Buffy as she raced toward the games of chance with childlike eagerness. Then her face changed and was suddenly covered in a grey mud. He knew that there was something he should be remembering, but the answer eluded him. *Okay this paragraph seems a little garbled. I found it very confusing. First he’s in a cemetery, then games of chance? HUH?*

When he entered the building, he expected to see Spike's crypt, but as he stepped through he found himself back at the Summers home, many people bustling about in formal wear. He surveyed the room, noticing all the flowers and decorations that adorned the living and dining rooms. Even the staircase was covered in garlands of roses.

Giles stood bewildered, 'Just what am I supposed to do here? And where did Spike go?'

"There you are!" He spun around at the sound of Willow’s voice. "You were supposed to be here hours ago. Buffy keeps asking about you," she informed him as she ushered him up the stairs.

"Willow, what's going on?"

"It's the big day, that's what. You can't have a big day without the big day, you know," she babbled, nodding her head wisely as she continued to push him toward Buffy's room.

"What big day?" he asked again. His eyes widened as the bedroom door swung open. "Buffy. You look...beautiful." Buffy was standing in the center of the room, a vision in white satin and lace.

She turned to him then, tears in her eyes. "Thank God, you're here."

"What is it? Is something wrong?" he asked worriedly.

She sniffed, reaching for a box of tissues that- judging by the wastebasket next to the bed- had been well used. "I was just worried you wouldn't make it. Then who would give me away," she answered, blowing her nose loudly.

"I promised, didn't I?" he smiled, thinking back of the Will-Be-Done spell. He should have seen the signs then, but he had been blind, after all.

"Oh! You need to get dressed. Your suits downstairs with Spike," Buffy told him, already wiping away the tears carefully, not wanting to get her dress soiled or her face splotchy and ruin her perfect day.

"R-right," Giles agreed, moving out of the room and down the stairs, quickly making his way through the throngs of people. He paused briefly to stare at the short, balding man wearing two slices of cheese on his head.

"I wear the cheese, it does not wear me," the man said before moving down the hallway.

"Honestly. You meet the most appalling people." Giles made his way carefully down to the darkened basement. He could barely see the vampire pacing agitatedly as he waited for his eyes to adjust. "Spike, are you alright?" The watcher was bit startled when the blond whirled around in fully vamped.

"Do I look alright to you?" he asked irately.

"Well, now that you mention it-" he paused as he saw a quick movement out of the corner of his eye, but it was gone before he could investigate.

"It's what she expects, you know. What she thinks I am," he spat bitterly.

"Buffy?"

"No, not Buffy. The other one. The one who doesn't know, who doesn't want to feel," he replied, leading the watcher to a small rack of clothing in the corner.

"I don't understand. What am I supposed to do with all of this?"

"You got to make up your mind, Rupes. What are you wasting time for?" he answered back, sliding out of game face.

A light glimmered through the rack of clothes. He pushed the suits to one side he could hear the tinkling of glasses and the smell of liquor and smoke. He felt himself urged forward, almost as if he didn't have control over his own body.

He apologized to Willow and Xander for being late as they began to research with Anya did her standup routine. As he began to sing, he walked calmly onstage, oblivious to the cheers coming from the crowd.

The answer was on the tip of his tongue, and he felt as if he could only sing out a bit more, the missing piece would fall into place. Unfortunately the microphone echoed feedback through the speaker system and he dropped to the floor, trying to find the problem.

When Giles found his grandfathers watch among the pile of electrical cords, the answer finally came just as he felt the shift behind him. "I know who you are. And I can defeat you...with my intellect."

"Of course, you underestimate me. You couldn't know," he said as he felt the creature gather a handful of his hair. "You never had a Watcher," he finished as he felt the blade run across his scalp and his vision blurred.


*********

Buffy woke to the sound of Anya whispering. Or as close to whispering as you could get with Anya. "Buffy, you have to wake up right away!"

Buffy opened her eyes to find herself in the dorm room that she shared with Willow. "I'm not really in charge of these things," she said before closing her eyes again, determined to go back to sleep.

Anya's continued pleading couldn't make her budge from her comfy bed. It wasn't until she turned to find the dark, snarling creature above her bed that she was jarred into sitting up. Once awake, she found herself back in her bedroom at home.

Buffy looked across the room, staring at the bed she had been in just seconds before. "Faith and I just made that bed."

"For who?"

Buffy frowned as she turned to the figure at the left of the room. "I thought you were here to tell me." Buffy turned back to the bed. "The guys aren't here, are they? We were gonna hang out and watch movies."

"You lost them," Tara replied.

"No," she replied. "No. I think they need me to find them." She looked toward her nightstand. The clock showed 7:30 and Buffy became upset. "It's so late."

Tara shook her head, "Oh, that clock's completely wrong. Here," she said, holding out her hands, a Tarot card reading 'Manus' in them.

"I'm never gonna use those," Buffy said flatly turning back to stare at the room.

"You think you know...what's to come...what you are. You haven't even begun."

Buffy frowned at the sight of the bed, now neatly made. "I think I need to go find the others," she said as she turned to go.

"Be back before dawn," Tara whispered softly.

~~~

Buffy was majorly disturbed. Her mother living in a wall? That just couldn't be sanitary. "Mom, have you seen Spike? Or the gang? I-I think they might be in danger."

"Oh, try the door down the hall to the right. I think you'll find Spike there," Joyce answered.

Buffy turned away to rush down the hall, anxious to find her mate. Spike will know what's going on, she thought. She walked down the corridor until she found a door. Testing it, she found it unlocked and eased it open cautiously.

It was dark as she stepped into the room and she fumbled along the wall, searching for a light switch. Finally, she found the switch and flipped it on. Light flooded the room and she blinked from the harsh glare as she waited for her eyes to adjust. When she was able to take in the room she was in, it looked oddly familiar, yet she knew that she had never been here before.

Her eyes moved around the room, stopping in shock when they landed on a very naked blond vampire. Her very naked blond vampire who appeared to be blindfolded and...was that a cock ring?

He was spread eagled and chained down to the large bed, thrashing about, fully vamped and growling with rage. She stepped forward, intending to release him, when another figure entered the room. Now that she was aware of the other person, she could hear the loud clicking of the woman's heels on the stone floors that had been drowned out by the enraged vampire’s cries.

Buffy watched, stunned as a carbon copy of herself walked confidently into the room.

’Who's this sleeping in my bed?’ the woman's voice echoed in the chamber. ’Why, I do believe it’s William the Bloody. However did he get here?’ She laughed softly, her mirth only increasing the vampires struggles. ’Oh! That’s right. I caught you, didn’t I? That means you belong to me, doesn’t it?’

’Let me go, you self-righteous bint,’ dream Spike snarled.

’Now why would I do that when I have you right where I want you?’ the other Buffy purred.

Buffy watched silently. She wanted to rush to the couple and shove the imposter away from her vampire, but something was holding her back. She felt the tingles down her neck as she felt her mate drawing closer, her instincts telling her that the sight in front of her wasn't what it seemed.

She felt him move up behind her, pressing against her body with his own, leaning in to whisper in her ear. "Lovely sight, isn't it, pet?"

"W-what is this?" she asked breathlessly, trying to hide her reactions to the vision in front of her, but failing. She couldn't hide from him before they become mates; she knew she'd never be able to conceal her reaction from him now.

"This? This was my dream. The one I had at Rupert's while everyone was looking on," he explained.

She could hear the amusement in his voice but couldn't make herself turn around to face him, part of her was embarrassed at him catching her ogling- well, themselves- and the other part of her couldn't tear her gaze away from the scene being played out before them. Her heart raced as her own dream came to mind. Would they see that one as well? Would Spike be privy to all the naughty and depraved things that they had done there?

She continued to watch as her other self eased onto the bed. Buffy felt a bit envious of the confident way that dream Buffy ran her hands possessively along her reluctant lover’s body.

"You like the show, slayer?" Spike asked roughly, his voice laced with desire. He pressed his erection against her ass, making her gasp, but the couple on the bed never even looked in their direction.

Buffy wondered briefly if they were really there or if this was all just a big X-rated movie of their own making. And shouldn't being all voyeuristic on themselves feel more wrong? At the very least it shouldn't be making her this hot!

The couple watched as their dream selves continued the scene, unaware that they were being watched. dream Spike growled. ’I'm a master vampire, you bitch, not some soddin' sex slave,’ he hissed, trying to pull away for her questing fingers. He hissed when she captured his balls with one hand and gave a firm little squeeze.

Buffy gasped, covering her mouth with her hand as she watched the other woman bend down to lick at dream Spike's wrist which was bleeding from the restraints. ‘I know you're a Master. And not just any Master, but an Aurelius. Do you honestly think I would settle for anything less? Mmm, you taste utterly delicious. I knew you would the first moment I saw you.’ dream Buffy was in total control of the situation; sleek, powerful. Knowing exactly what she wanted and taking it, something Buffy felt she would never be confident doing.

She moaned as Spike's hand caressed her hip softly through the fabric before making its way to her abdomen, rubbing in small firm movements. Her dress moved upward from his attentions, moving up her legs until it was gathered at her waist.

She gasped when she felt Spike's hand slip into her panties but her eyes refused to leave the couple in front of them. Finding her clit, he began to rub gently, increasing his pace and pressure when she began to pant softly. She felt the rush of slickness on her thighs when dream Buffy straddled the strapped down vampire and ground herself against him. Buffy was aware that the other couple were speaking but she couldn't concentrate on the words until she heard dream Buffy exclaim breathlessly, ’This is what I need.’

"Oh yes," Buffy responded, unaware that she had spoken out loud until her vampire laughed in her ear, his breath cool against her heated skin. The slayer melted against her mate as dream Buffy lowered herself onto the chained vampire.

"Was your dream anything like mine, pet?" he asked as he suckled on her ear lobe and ground his hardened cock against her.

She felt her face flush red and ducked her head, still watching the couple from the corner of her eye. She felt the chest that was pressed against her back rumble in amusement.

’There's just something about a Master’s cock that no human toy can compete with.’ the dream Slayer said. ’Too bad I can't let you go and get the whole vamp package going.’

’Let me go and I’ll give you the entire ‘vamp package’,’ dream Spike snarled.

Buffy was having trouble breathing. "This is so...so-"

"Hot? Sexy? Kinky?"

"Depraved," the slayer exploded, not realizing she had been holding her breath.

Buffy heard the words from the other couple through a daze, but they didn't register until her Spike whispered in her ear, "Is that what you want, pet? Do you want to tame me?"

’You’ll never tame me, you bit—‘ dream Spike cut off, his moans and guttural sounds mingling with the dream slayers cries.

"No! Never!" Buffy cried. She wanted her vampire wild and willing. Tame and meek were things she would never be able to relate to her lover.

The dream slayer howled as she reached her first climax, the sound and Spike's constant attention to her clit dragging Buffy along as well, her cries mixing with those from the bed across the room. She slumped against Spike, his arms circling around her to hold her steady. "I love you, Spike," she whispered softly.

"I love you too, Buffy."

As the scene faded in front of them, Buffy thought she saw something moving in the dark corner, but it was gone before she could get a closer look. Shrugging it off, she took Spike's hand and they moved back into the corridor.

~~~

They walked back down the hallway in the same direction that Buffy had come from. Passing by the hole in the wall, Spike stumbled and pointed behind him, "Buffy, pet, did you know your mum's in the wall?"

"Yeah, it's a whole big thing with lemonade and mah-jongg," she stated, unconcerned as she continued to walk down the hall. "So, this is a dream, right? I mean, this must be a dream."

"If I'd wager I'd say you're right, kitten."

"So is it your dream or mine?" she asked.

Spike curled his tongue behind his teeth and smirked. "Well, if it was my dream you'd have a lot less clothes on." He laughed and ducked away from her playful slap. "Seriously, pet. This all feels very real to me, almost like the ones from Dru's spell."

"It feels like I'm supposed to do something, like there's danger but I don't know what it is," Buffy tried to explain.

"Go with your gut, pet," Spike said, his voice sounding hollow.

She turned to him, only to find an empty hallway.

"Spike?"

~~~

One second Spike had been talking to Buffy, the next he found himself in a parlor similar to his mothers. He moved around the room, remembering familiar bits and pieces. This was his mothers parlor. He moved around the chamber searching for clues of what month and year it might be, he was startled when Drusilla came through the doorway, gliding along effortlessly.

"Drusilla," he stated flatly, the dread he felt settling in his stomach. If she was here, then that meant his mother-

"My sweet William, I so want to go dancing. I want to go to a ball and dance the night away," she said twirling around.

He shook his head as he made for the door. "I-I can't right now Dru, I have something I have to do."

"You won't find her here," the brunette answered slyly, sprawling out onto the settee.

Spike looked at his sire suspiciously. "And how would you know that, princess?"

The dark vampiress grinned. "You ask the wrong questions, my Spike."

"Spike?" he asked, his eyes narrowing. "You're not really her are you?"

"Of course not, I'm the her in your mind. The image that you see me as."

"So what's the purpose of all this then? What are we supposed to learn from this?"

"You, Spike...you're supposed to believe."

He felt a familiar tingle down his back, "Believe? Believe in what?"

"In her."

Suddenly, a dark figure attacked from his side. He was tackled down before he even realized he was in the room. Small, impossibly strong hands held him down as he struggled to get away. A large wooden dagger appeared above him. He fought to get away but couldn't find the strength to break the hold on him.

"Believe in her, Spike," Drusilla spoke calmly from her seat next to him.

He felt the fire burn through him as the dagger pierced his skin.

~~~

Buffy searched for Spike for several minutes. All the classrooms had been empty and asking her mother had given no clues whatsoever. She decided to continue on and hopefully find him later.

Slowly the hallway turned into a hot desert, barren except for a few boulders and a couple of palm trees. Buffy could hear humming all around her, but couldn't locate where it was coming from. She kept moving forward, walking carefully down a large hill.

She paused to look around seeing no one around for miles. "I'm never gonna find them here," she muttered to herself.

"Of course not. That's the reason you came," Tara replied although her mouth never opened. She walked closer, fading in and out before stopping a few feet away.

You're not in my dream, Buffy thought.

"I was borrowed," Tara answered back. "Someone has to speak for her."

"Let her speak for herself," Buffy insisted. "That's what's done in polite circles." She could feel someone moving behind her, but she refused to take her eyes off of Tara. "Why do you follow me?"

The dark figure shook her head.

"I don't," Tara answered for her.

"Where is Spike? Where are my friends?"

"You're asking the wrong questions," Tara said flatly, blankly staring ahead.

"Make her speak," Buffy spat.

Again the dark figure shook her head.

Tara spoke, "I have no speech. No name. I live in the action of death, the blood cry, the penetrating wound. I am destruction. Absolute...alone."

Buffy frowned. "The Slayer."

"The first."

Buffy looked down at her hands. She was holding a group of cards, on top was a card with an image of the gang in her living room. She could see Willow gray and gasping for air and Xander trembling from the wound in his chest. She could see Giles with a trickle of blood running down his face and she could see Spike with a large stake-shaped object jutting out from his stomach.

"I am not alone," Buffy answered resolutely.

"The Slayer does not walk in this world.

"I walk. I talk. I shop. I love. I'm gonna be a fireman when the floods roll back." Buffy watched as the first slayer raised her chin in anger and continued. "There's trees in the desert since you moved out. And I don't sleep on a bed of bones. Now give me back my friends."

"No friends! Just the kill," the first answered slow and hoarse. "We...are...alone!"

A bald man in a suit leaned in between Buffy and the First Slayer, holding up two slices of cheese. He grinned and shook the cheese at Buffy.

Buffy woke suddenly to find herself back in her living room and the others still asleep. The fight with the first slayer was over in an instant. She could almost feel the hot sand on her back as they tumbled down the hill. She moved to sit up but was forced back when the dark slayer landed on top of her, stabbing at her repeatedly.

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Are you quite finished?" She waited for the slayer to pull back. "It's over, okay? I'm going to ignore you, and you're going to go away."

Buffy stood and made her way back over to the couch where Spike was lounging and sat down, snuggling in deep next to him. "You're really gonna have to get over the whole...primal power thing. You're not the source of me."

She picked up the blanket from the floor and covered her and Spike with it, then looked back to the primal woman still staring at her from across the room. "Also, in terms of hair care, you really wanna say, ‘what kind of impression am I making in the workplace?’ 'Cause-"


*********

The gang sat around the table, discussing the dreams.

"The First Slayer. Wow," Willow said solemnly as Tara rubbed her back soothingly.

Xander nodded. "Not big with the socialization." He smiled up at Anya, who walked around to sit on his lap.

"Or the floss," the red head added.

"Yeah, and she didn't like Spike at all," the slayer snickered.

Spike sputtered in outrage. "I don't see why not. I'm a very likable guy. And anyway; she did too like me! I think she was copping a feel while she was trying to gut me."

The slayer rolled her eyes as the others giggled and chuckled at the vampire.

"Somehow our joining with Buffy and invoking the essence of the First Slayer's power was an affront to the source of that power," the watcher explained.

"You know, you could have brought that up to us before we did it, mate," the blond vampire complained, rubbing his stomach.

"I did. I said there could be dire consequences," Giles huffed.

"Yes, but you say that about chewing too fast," Buffy teased.

"Man, that is so not fair," Andrew whined. "We were right there with you. We were part of the group, why didn't we have freaky mind-meldy dreams?"

"You wanted to be attacked and almost killed in a nightmare?" Jonathan asked disbelievingly.

"Well, no, but it's still not fair," the boy pouted.

The rest of the Scoobies rolled their eyes and Giles removed his glasses to rub his temples from the headache that always seemed to come whenever Andrew was around.

"How about some hot chocolate?" Buffy asked the group moving toward the kitchen with Tara following to help. "Well, at least you all didn't dream about that guy with the cheese," she said, not noticing when the others looked up in surprise. "I don't know where the hell that came from," she finished as she walked into the kitchen.





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