[Reviews - 75]
-
Table of Contents [Report This]
Microsoft Word Chapter or Story | ePub eBook Chapter or Story | Printer Chapter or Story

Has been viewed 4350 times

- Text Size +




Author's Chapter Notes:
AN: Thanks to Tam for the awesome beta work!
DAY 3

Buffy woke up but refused to open her eyes. She didn't need to see to know exactly where she was. Eau de bus terminal wafted through the air.

She sighed at the thought about having to deal with another round of male posturing. First Riley, then Forrest, then Angel, and then Riley again. Oh, and let's not forget Giles. She bet if she went out to find Spike, he'd do some incredibly stupid male thing, too.

Damned men.

Coffee! Coffee would be of the good. Nobody should have to deal with testosterone poisoning without coffee. So that was the plan. Coffee first, deflating male egos with as much joy as possible,
later. Okay, well maybe sooner than later, because you could only drink so much coffee.

As Buffy made her way to the Espresso Pump, she stubbornly refused to think about the various men in her life. The trouble with that was that it left her very little to think about since she was also stubbornly refusing to think of Willow and that unfortunately left her with an internal monologue that consisted of four words, ‘get coffee, then think’, repeated over and over again.

Taking her coffee to a booth in the very back of the shop, Buffy took a couple of sips of the aromatic beverage before she mentally roused herself to face the prospect of thinking about the never ending day from hell. Maybe if she spent some time going over everything that had happened, she could be all logical about it. How hard could it be? She could so do logical. She was all over the logic-y stuff. Just call her Buffy the Logic Girl. Okay, so…logically, all she really had to do was come up with a plan. A plan that involved thinking and smartness and er…some place to start.

Oh God! She was so screwed.

‘No! Stop it. Stop thinking you can’t do this. You’re smart. You got great SAT scores. You could have done anything. You are the Slayer!’ Buffy mentally berated herself with a little pep talk. She had to get out of this funk. She had to believe in herself. She had to find out who was responsible so she could beat them to a pulp. Suddenly feeling brighter about the whole situation, Buffy tackled her problems with renewed vigor.

First problem; what’s happening? Well, that was easy. She was being forced to relive the same day over and over again, like it was on some sort of repeat cycle. Okay, so why was it happening? That was a little harder. Buffy contemplated everything she knew and the all the bits and pieces that she had picked up from things that Giles had said. She really should have paid a little more attention when he was actually saying it. Off topic – moving on.

For something like this to happen, Buffy could only think of two possibilities. It was either the work of the Powers or someone had done a spell.

If the loopy day was because of the Powers, well then she could only assume that as she was the only one who seemed to be aware of it, the loopiness was somehow directed at her. Something she was or wasn’t doing was making the day repeat. If that was happening, then all she had to do was work out what she should or shouldn’t be doing and well…not do it? Or maybe do it or…um…okay, well she knew what she meant.

The other possibility was that it was a spell. If it was a spell, she was going to need some help, because Buffy so didn’t do magic. But who could she ask for help? Because Giles with the drinking was so not reliable, and Willow…well, not really sure that the wonky-ness that is a Willow spell would be big with the helpful. Especially considering the redheads last little trip into the land of magic had ended up with Buffy being engaged to…

Spike!

Spike knew about magic. Maybe she could ask Spike? But then that would involve actually having to talk to him, something she had been avoiding as much as possible since the whole kissing with the lips and the snuggling and…all. It would also mean having to ask him for help and while Buffy might be willing to think of him as a fringe member of the gang, she was so not ready to actually ask him for help.

So…the Powers it is.

Having firmly decided that the lesser of two evils was the option she was going to explore, Buffy forced herself to think about all the events that had happened since the day started repeating and what she could do differently.

There was Giles’ drinking. Maybe calling him an alcoholic wasn’t the best choice she could have made. She briefly considered sitting down with Giles and finding out what his problem was, other than drinking. She’d heard somewhere that most people that drank a lot only did it to avoid problems that they didn’t want to face. Even though she was the first person to agree that denial was good, the drinking – not so much. Okay, well that was a hard one, better think about that one later.

Jealous boyfriend? Well, that just pissed her off. He’d just had sex with Faith! Who was he to get jealous about her relationship with someone she loved…er loves…er whatever. It was so way before Riley had even been in the picture. You didn’t see her getting all snippy and growlly over his ex’s. She didn’t even know their names, let alone the ins and outs of the groinyness factors. So what if she hadn’t mentioned that she’d had sex with Angel? It wasn’t like Riley had shared his sexual history with her. Xander was so on her list for opening his big mouth. What the hell was he thinking, telling Riley personal stuff like that? What was next? Discussion of any and all feminine hygiene product that might be used by the Buffster?

And then there were Forrest’s accusations. Why exactly was she was to blame for Riley’s leaving the badness that was the Initiative? She hadn’t told him to do it. She hadn’t asked him to give up his career. It’s not like she asked him to commit treason, and what was up with that anyway? Treason? Somebody so needed to cut down on their caffeine intake.

“Can I get you another?” the waitress asked Buffy politely.

“Um…oh, er, yes please.”

~~~~~~~

When Spike woke once again to that strange feeling of déjà vu, he made a snap decision not to hang around waiting for Mr. Bits. The more he’d thought about it, the more he was convinced that somebody other than him knew that the day was repeating and that somebody was an irritating little blond with an annoying habit of screwing up his plans. Finding out what she knew without giving himself away was going to take a lot more finesse than usual. The day was only twenty-four hours long, so he didn’t have time to play who’s Yoko Ono with the walking jigsaw puzzle.

Making his way stealthily through the sewers, Spike was easily able to avoid Adam. While he might have been able to get around the man-made monster, he wasn’t so successful in escaping his own thoughts.

Buffy had said he was almost a part of the gang; on the border of being one of them. What did that mean? Was he pissing away his only opportunity to be an accepted member of a group? And not just any bloody group, a group that was known for its loyalty and success, for its connection as family. It would mean consciously deciding to become one of the good guys. Renounce evil and all that other good stuff. It would mean living with the chip. Whether or not he could wasn’t the question. Of course he could. He was capable of doing anything he set his bloody mind to. No, the question wasn’t could he do this - it was ‘would’ he do this? Maybe he could use this looping day to his advantage, test the waters so to speak. Didn’t the watcher say something about a higher purpose? Hell, maybe there was one.

Arriving at the sewer grate closest to the watcher’s home, Spike made the decision to talk to the watcher about higher purposes. If it didn’t work out, the bugger wouldn’t remember it anyway and Spike could still have all his options open.

~~~~~~~~

The whole thinking of treason thingy brought Forrest firmly to mind. Now there was a guy with some serious anger management issues. The way he was acting, one would think that he had a personal interest in Riley that went way beyond the whole buddy-buddy thing. Buffy giggled at the thought of confronting the commando with that little epiphany. Maybe she could use that to distract him before she knocked him out and got them away from Adam. And maybe this time she could watch where she was going and not knock herself out for a couple of hours.

Okay, so where did that leave her? Um, avoid Giles. Avoid Riley. Save Forrest with the added bonus of questioning his possible sexual orientation choices. Run away from the big-guns-don’t-work-on-him monster. What was next?

Oh, yeah, can’t forget the Angel/Riley confrontation. Hold on…since neither one of them had been very forthcoming about their ‘meeting’, maybe she should swing by the alley a little earlier and find out exactly what happened for herself. At least that way, she’d know who it was she should be angry with. She had been kinda quick with the accusations before. Maybe she’d find out once and for all if she was giving herself a whole lot of unnecessary grief with the dating of her not-so-normal boyfriend. Maybe that was a part of her life that she needed to completely reassess. Maybe what she heard was true. Maybe Parker was the rebound guy, Riley the transitional guy and the next guy would be…

As blue eyes flashed cheekily in her mind, Buffy shook her head in fear, desperately trying to remove the image. ‘Damn you, Willow’. Latching on to the first thing that came to mind, she grabbed on with both hands. Fighting Scoobies. Maybe if she didn’t have to deal with all the other badness of the day, she could be a little less, and they could, well maybe…oh who was she kidding, she had no clue what to do about that mess.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Spike knocked before entering the watchers apartment this time. He was intent on starting out on the right foot. He planned on going with honesty and a little exaggeration, but only enough to get the watchers attention…which apparently he had, given the look of shock on the blighter’s face. ‘It isn’t like I’ve never knocked before!’ he thought indignantly. ‘There was that one time…’

“Spike?” Giles’ voice was questioning.

Now that he was here, the normally verbose vampire was at a loss for words. The enormity of what he was planning hit him like a tidal wave. He was here to talk to the watcher about changing his entire nature…and his demon wasn’t complaining one little bit. He was floored by the realization. Something must be wrong with him, because that just wasn’t right.

Was it?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Buffy watched from her hiding place at the side of the dorms as Riley stood at the top of the steps and visually searched the grounds. The expression on his face was a mixture of irritation, suspicion, and barely suppressed rage. Whoa! Who knew Riley had that sort of depth of emotion in him, and what the hell did he have to be angry or suspicious about? She’d told him where she was going. It wasn’t like she’d snuck off to see her ex-boyfriend or anything. She’d been totally up front Buffy.

Stomping her foot in irritation, Buffy silently willed the ex-commando to leave so she could get on with her own plans. Get changed, save Forrest, put off boyfriend confrontations, use the bathroom. That last one was quickly becoming an issue of major importance.

Buffy almost gave herself away when she sighed in relief as Riley started to march angrily down the steps and away from the building. She held her breath and tried to make herself as small as possible as the brunette checked his step and paused to take what appeared to be a last minute perusal of the perimeters. Buffy didn’t relax again until she lost sight of his hard-to-miss clown pants. Moving quickly towards the front door of the dorms, she shook her head at the irrelevant thought- ‘someone seriously needs to have a talk with Xander about his wardrobe choices’.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“Something’s wrong,” Spike whispered as he lifted terror filled eyes to meet the surprised eyes of the watcher.

Giles only needed a moment to come to the conclusion that the shaking vampire was totally serious and completely terrified. Spike would never have allowed Giles to witness his vulnerability any other way. Buried deep within the hardened exterior of the watcher lay a compassionate man and that man would have been incapable of reacting in any way other than helpful.

“Come and sit down, Spike. Tell me what’s happened,” Giles gently urged the distressed vampire.

Unable to Sit while his mind still reeled in shock, Spike ignored the first part of the watcher’s suggestion and started to pace in agitation while he responded to the second part. “I was thinkin’ about what you said, ‘bout a higher purpose, you know? How maybe workin’ on the Slayer’s side isn’t such a bad idea, an all, ‘cause I bloody well prefer fightin’ demons than humans, there’s more challenge in it. But see, the problem was always gonna be goin’ against m’ nature. Except that doesn’t seem to be a problem it should be, ‘cause m’ demon’s not complaining at the idea of bein’ a white hat at all.” Spike stopped his pacing and turned to face the fascinated watcher. “I spent the first twenty years of m’ unlife under the tutelage of Angelus, Darla and Dru; nobody told me I got to make the choice between good and evil, Rupert. When in the bleedin’ hell did that happen?”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Buffy watched as Forrest jumped onto the path in front of her. She’d managed to get there a little early and had positioned herself behind where she knew he would emerge. Her stifled giggle at his stealthy ways alerted him to her presence.

Turning awkwardly, the soldier leveled his weapon at the disrespectful girl.

“So, what?” Buffy crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. “You’re killing humans now?” Repetition could be good. At least it gave her an opening. And not bringing the lame-o gun had been a stroke of genius as far as she was concerned.

Forrest looked down his nose at the small blond. He didn’t care who she thought she was, as far as he was concerned she was just as much a freak as the hostile he was searching for. “No, not really,” Forrest replied dismissively, “But I can have a patrol here in less than a minute. So, here’s the plan; you go your way and I'll go mine.”

Buffy snorted in derision. “Oh, and you’re thinking that Adam will just wait around to kill you while you stand together in companionable silence until they get here? Good plan!”

This girl was really starting to bug him. It was definitely time to put little Miss Attitude in her place. “You think you're the first girlfriend Riley's ever had?” Forrest hissed in contempt as he moved closer, obviously trying to intimidate the tiny blond. “Such a big head on that skinny little body,” he paused to look her over contemptuously. “No. You're just the first one to get him to commit treason. Riley had a career. And a future till he met you.”

“You know,” Buffy faced the angry soldier, her expression serious. She’d heard it all before, no way was this idiot getting to her today. “Even if we broke up, Riley’s straight. I mean really straight. He’s never gonna date you.”

Buffy would have laughed at the fish out of water expression on Forrest’s face if she wasn’t so aware that his life depended on her moving the stubborn jackass away from the vicinity of the cave. She could laugh about his reaction later. Right now she needed to keep him off balance until she could get into position to knock him out. Because she seriously doubted he was gonna go for her loopy day story. Moving around him, she kept his mind focused on her words rather than her actions as she continued to speak.

“Now I’m not saying that there isn’t some nice guy out there for you to find, I just think it would be more realistic if you concentrated on the ones that are open to alternative lifestyles.”

Forrest’s outraged “I’m not gay!” was as far as he got before Buffy knocked him out with a solid right hook to the jaw.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Spike and Giles spent the afternoon debating the consequences of choice. Giles was pleasantly surprised to discover that the vampire had a quick analytical mind. Giles had sorely missed the stimulation of an in-depth debate. Actually, he’d sorely missed the stimulation of a simple conversation with another adult. He hadn’t realized how lonely he was until now. He wasn’t sure how he felt about the fact that it had taken a vampire to show him that he desperately needed to do more than sit in his apartment and wait for Buffy to come to him with a problem. He wanted- no, needed- to do something more with his time. Maybe helping Spike was just the thing he needed to feel useful again.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Buffy positioned herself on the roof of the school gymnasium. Laying flat on her stomach, she was able to see the entire alleyway. The actual school roof may have been slightly easier to access, but the gym roof gave her a much broader view and since she wasn’t exactly sure where the action started, she decided to go with the higher vantage point.

Buffy found it difficult to stay put when Angel got jumped by a group of commandos. She reasoned she’d been able to take down six of them under a minute, they surely wouldn’t be capable of taking down a master vampire that knew they were around.

Buffy didn’t believe for a minute that they would have been successful in taking down Spike if he had been paying attention. She never understood how they had managed to get him in the first place. She wondered briefly what had distracted him. She’d have to remember to ask him the next time she saw him. Well, that was if she saw him, because there was no way she was going to go looking for the bleached blond pain in her butt.

“Back-up team! Request immediate back-up! Over! They're tearing us apart over here! Two men down! From out of nowhere! Mayday! Repeat! Mayday!”

Buffy rolled her eyes at the dramatic cries of the commando below her. ‘Oh please! It’s just one damned vampire!’

A stealthy movement out of the corner of her eye caused Buffy to shift her focus to the grade school roof. What the hell was he doing here? Buffy froze. She knew she was safe from view from the vampire in the alley, but the bleached blond on the lower roof was a completely different story; Buffy was sure the bastard had eyes in the back of his head are far as she was concerned.

The bobbing of a flashlight drew her attention back to the alley just as the light hit Angel full in the face. Yeah, that was one pissed off vampire.

“Riley Finn,” Angel said his intonation flat.

‘How the hell did he know that was Riley? Ew, did he do that smelly thing?’ Buffy screwed up her face in disgust.

“I know you?” Riley asked the hulking brunette.

“We have a friend in common,” Angel coldly replied.

Buffy watched as Riley’s expression changed from confusion to recognition. Angel’s name echoed off the walls of the alley.

Taking a step forward, Angel glanced down at the commandos on the ground before turning suspicious eyes on the man in front of him. “Welcoming committee your idea?”

“Way I heard it. You were all peaceable now. You didn't by any chance go and lose that pesky soul again, did you?” Riley asked snidely, totally unaware that his comment could be heard by the other party required in that particular scenario, and that she was far from pleased.

“Don't push me, boy.” Buffy wasn’t the only one that was pissed. Angel was outraged that this little pisser was basically suggesting that Buffy was a cheat. From what Faith had told him, this guy should be the last person throwing out that accusation.

“Now what possibly could've happened with Buffy that would make you lose your soul?” Riley’s rage was fuelled by his jealousy.

Buffy inched her way back from the edge of the roof. She was shaking with equal amounts of rage and hurt. She needed to think about things. She needed to be alone. She needed to kill something!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Spike watched the scene below him repeat everything he’d seen before, that is, until it was time for the leading lady to make her appearance. When she didn’t show, he knew his earlier suspicions were true, that she might be just as aware as he was that the day was constantly repeating.

Melting back from the edge of the roof, Spike didn’t bother to watch the end of the scene in the alley. He had a feeling it would all just replay itself regardless of if he stayed or not. For now he had a lot to think about. He needed some time just to get everything clear in his head. He really needed a drink!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

When Buffy let herself into her mother’s house, she was exhausted. A hard patrol and the emotional upheaval of the last couple of days had left her beyond tired. All she wanted to do was have a nice, relaxing bath and fall asleep all snuggled up in her own bed

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Buffy woke up and sighed. Oh yeah, there was no mistaking that smell. Maybe she should just go to sleep at the bus terminal in the first place. At least that way she’d be sure to wake up where she went to bed.

Stretching out the kinks that sleeping on the bench had given her, Buffy forced herself to face the fact that that only thing she’d managed to do the day before was save Forrest and get really pissed at Riley, and unless she did something majorly different this time, she just had more of the same to look forward to.

Damned men.





You must login (register) to review.