[Reviews - 11]
-
Table of Contents [Report This]
Microsoft Word Chapter or Story | ePub eBook Chapter or Story | Printer Chapter or Story

Has been viewed 1330 times

- Text Size +




Author's Chapter Notes:
Sorry for the wait, but I had a lot going on lately.
Chapter 5: Reunions
Disclaimer: Joss owns the characters. However, since he treated them so bad on his shows, I’m putting them in foster care in my story.

Buffy, Spike and Lorne walked out of the bedroom and into the apartment. They saw Illyria standing in the foyer leading out to the club. Her mouth twitched as if she were about to smile, or what passed for a smile with Illyria.

“Greetings Spike, it is pleasing to see you again.” Illyria said, in her monotone voice.

“Good to see you too, Blue.” Spike smirked.

“Ah, you are awake.” Groo said entering the room. He began shaking Spike’s hand. “You’re bravery at the battle in Los Angeles was greater than any I have ever seen. Many warriors would be to afraid to face a flame beast or even a drokken by himself, but you took on an entire army of beasts even worse. You are truly a champion!”

“Um thanks.” Spike said, his hand still being shaken by Groo. “Can I have my hand back?”

“Oh of course.” Groo said, letting go.

“So, what should we do now?” Spike thought aloud.

“Um…” Buffy was at a loss. “I kinda haven’t thought that far. Oh my God, I never called Dawn or anyone to tell them I’m here!”

“Dawn’s old enough to be home alone.” Spike said.

“Not in her condition!” Buffy said, growing anxious.

“‘Condition’? What condition?” Spike asked, suddenly worried.

“She hasn’t taken the news of you being back and dying much better than me.” Buffy said, “I left her with Willow and Giles and everybody back at our apartment. I should’ve called!”

“Buffy, calm down.” Lorne said, putting a hand on her shoulder. “Considering what happened last night, I think it’s understandable that you got a little sidetracked. I’ll go call them and tell them you’re here.”

“OK, but don’t tell them about Spike yet, I think we need to do that in person.” Buffy said, calming down.

“You got it, Honey buns.” Lorne said, going to the phone. As Lorne picked the handset up, they heard banging on the door of the club.

“Who could that be?” Gro asked.

“Let’s see.” Lorne said walking to the intercom. He pushed the button on the intercom to see who it was. “We’re not open till 11 am.”

“Lorne, it’s Andrew. We can’t find Buffy anywhere; she went out last night and didn’t come home. Have you seen her?” the watcher-in-training said, hurriedly.

“Call off the dogs, Sweet Potato, she’s in here with us.” Lorne said back.

“Oh thank Yoda,” Andrew sighed, relieved. “How’s she doing? Is she all right?”

“Well, yeah actually.” Lorne said, smirking at the Slayer and the vampire.

“Can I come in and see her?” Andrew asked franticly.

“Sure, I’ll come out and let you in.” Lorne said, grabbing his keys. “Um, do you guys wanna come with?”

“I guess we should, they’re probably worried enough as it is.” Buffy said, looking back at Spike. “I wonder how the dork will react?”

“As long as I don’t get staked I’m happy.” Spike said as they followed Lorne out front. Lorne unlocked the front door and Andrew ran immediately to Buffy not even noticing Spike.

“Buffy listen please, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry that I didn’t tell you, but please don’t do this to yourself!” Andrew begged, shaking her a little. “I know you loved him, but you can’t just stop living because of it. I miss him like crazy too, but you can’t just…”

“Hi Andrew.” Spike interjected.

“Hi Spike.” Andrew said distractedly, and then turned back to Buffy. “Buffy, please think what you’re doing to yourself. You…” Andrew suddenly realized who he just said “hi” to and went pale. He turned slowly and saw Spike standing there, and promptly fainted.

“Well, that went well.” Lorne said, grabbing Andrew’s shoulders. “Gimme a hand, would ya Spike?”

“At least he didn’t hug me this time.” Spike said, as he helped the green singer get Andrew into a chair.

“Groo, be a dear and get me a glass of water.” Lorne asked. Groo obeyed. Lorne took the glass and threw the water in Andrew’s face, the excitable young man sputtered and woke up.

“Wha…what?” Andrew said, wiping his face. He looked up and saw Spike, his face grew afraid and angry and pulled out a cross. “Get thee hence, unclean spirit! You got a lot of nerve to do this, Spike slash the First! Buffy and Dawn aren’t suffering enough, so you come around looking like Spike?! You’re lucky I can’t touch you or I’d…uh get Faith to kick your ass!”

“Uh… what’s the Boy Wonder talking about?” Lorne asked, confused.

“He thinks I’m the bloody First.” Spike said, approaching Andrew and swatted the cross out of his hand. Andrew was dumbstruck, he looked at the cross laying on the floor and saw a small burn on Spike’s hand from touching the cross. The First couldn’t touch things and it certainly couldn’t be burned. Which meant this wasn’t the First. It really was Spike!

“Spike?” Andrew asked, his voice less than a whisper. “Spike?! SPIKE!”

“Oh bugger.” Spike groaned as the little nerd, once again, hugged him and started crying.

“I don’t believe it! You’re back! A fallen warrior of light dying a hero’s death twice, only to be returned to the world by forces beyond human understanding. A former creature of darkness destined…”

“ANDREW!” Spike said loudly, cutting off Andrew’s monologue. “If you don’t shut up and let go of me, I’ll burn all your sodding comic books after I kill you.”

“Letting go now!” Andrew said, quickly backing away from the vampire. “But one question, how are you back? Lorne said you died in a battle of Lord of the Rings proportions in Los Angeles, what happened?”

“Long story short; I fought, I died, I got sent back to help Buffy.” Spike said, keeping his distance from Andrew in case the little ponce tried to hug him again. “At least I’m not a bloody ghost this time.”

“A ghost?” Andrew asked, confused. “When were you a ghost? Were you like Patrick Swayze or Slimer?”

“Oh bloody hell, the first few months I was back I was noncorporeal. I couldn’t touch, couldn’t feel and I sure as hell didn’t make haunted pottery or slime Bill Murray.”

“This shell remembers meeting this strange annoying human, he seems to talk only of nonsense and gibberish.” Illyria said studying the one called Andrew. “What purpose does he serve under your command?”

“Hey! I’ll have you know, Smurf girl, that I am trained in several methods of killing demons and vampires and other stuff!” Andrew said indignantly.

“What is this word ‘Smurf’ that everyone calls me?” Illyria asked, tired of this human’s mindless prattle.

“I have all the episodes of The Smurfs on tape, I can show you later if you want.” Andrew said, trying to be helpful.

“OK, this is all good but what do we do about Spike?” Buffy asked the group, steering the conversation back on track. “It’s daylight out, so what should we do?”

“Well, I got a car and a blanket if you want me to drive you.” Lorne offered.

“I don’t know about this, Love.” Spike said unsurely. “According to what you’ve all been saying, everybody thinks I’m no longer among the unliving. Might be a shock to see me just waltzing into your apartment, probably think I’m the First like this little bugger did.”

“Well we need to think of something,” Buffy said, sitting in a near by booth. “Cause we need to tell them you’re alive before we can go further with this.”

“With what?” Spike asked.

“With whatever’s going to be between us.” Buffy said, looking Spike in the eyes.

“Well, I’m really good at relating delicate situations, I could tell them.” Andrew offered.

“Yeah, that’s not gonna happen.” Spike said flatly.

“Maybe we could call them and tell them to come here.” Lorne offered. “Maybe a little intervention type thing.”

“No!” Buffy said loudly. “Last few times we had an intervention it ended really badly. My friends kicked me out of my house and there were zombies and let’s not go into it.”

“OK, no intervention.” Lorne said, backing away.

“Why do you procrastinate on such simple matters as telling that an acquaintance has returned from the dead? Would they not be pleased to see him back as we are?” Illyria asked, becoming irritated at this talking in circles.

“Ah my fair goddess, you have clearly not heard the long and complicated history of Spike and Buffy, Slayer of the Vampyrs. Such many adventures and troubled times are far beyond anything you can imagine, little one.” Andrew said in his best narrator voice. The next thing he knew he was pinned to the wall by a very angry Old One.

“Do not dare presume to speak down to me mortal!” Illyria said, furious at this human’s tone. “I am Illyria, God-king of the Primordium, shaper of things! I was conquering worlds before the lower species learned to tell right from left! I traveled time and space and saw worlds that you couldn’t imagine! Worlds where iniquity was in the very air, life and death were meaningless and pain was God! Your limited mind couldn’t conceive the power that I ruled with, I have seen things beyond human imagination and you dare to speak to the Great Illyria in such an insolent tone?!”

“Whoa.” Andrew said, awestruck and suddenly excited. “That is so hot!”

“What?” Illyria asked, cocking her head, noticing heat radiating from the strange human’s body. “This pathetic being is lusting after me, why is he not afraid of my wrath?”

“I don’t believe it, Andrew has finally found someone who speechifies even more overblown than he does.” Buffy said, snickering. “Plus she does kinda look like a comic book character.”

“Yeah, ‘sides I figured if Andrew wasn’t batting for the other team he’d be into dominating women.” Spike said, smirking.

“Illyria put him down, he wasn’t trying to disrespect you he just doesn’t know better.” Lorne implored the former Old One.

“Very well,” Illyria said, dropping Andrew, but still glared at him. “Speak to me again in such impudent manner and the last thing you shall hear will be your own tortured screams as I tear your heart out.” She hissed as she walked away.

“She is so cool!” Andrew said, looking after her smitten.

“OK, how about we just get in my car, drive to your apartment and get it over with?” Lorne suggested again, seeing this was going nowhere. “If you want to get a start on this you actually gotta start, otherwise you’re just sitting here waiting for something to happen that you could make happen.”

“You’re right.” Buffy said, after a moment of thought. “Waiting is what screwed everything up for us in the first place, I’m done waiting.’

“Glad to here it, pet.” Spike said, grinning like an idiot.

“OK then Mouseketeers, let’s get goin’ then.” Lorne said, grabbing his keys and tossing a heavy blanket to Spike. Buffy, Spike, and Andrew piled into Lorne’s car and the green demon drove back to the apartment.

The ride only took fifteen minutes, but it felt like an eternity. The Slayer and the vampire kept running through possible scenarios of what might come next. There were so many ways this could go wrong, not the least of which involved everyone leaving in a huff and a possible attempted staking. They mustered up their courage for what was probably going to be a total fiasco.

“End of the line.” Lorne said as they pulled up to Buffy’s apartment building. He regretted his choice of words when he saw the apprehension on Buffy and Spike’s faces.

“Thanks for the ride, Lorne.” Buffy said getting out of the car, guiding Spike, who kept tripping over the blanket.

“Anytime, Sugar pie. Come and have a drink on me once things are settled.” Lorne offered.

“Thanks, we will.” Buffy said as she, Spike and Andrew walked inside. Lorne watched them walk inside; he couldn’t help smiling at the love he sensed between them. He felt a small weight lift off his shoulders, finding out Fred’s soul was in Heaven with Wesley and seeing two people who loved each other reunited warmed his heart. ‘Maybe there’s some hope in this world after all.’ Lorne thought. ‘Hope they find some happiness together, they deserve it.’

“Ain’t love grand?” Lorne said to himself, driving away. Meanwhile, the slayer, the vampire and the nerdy watcher had made it to the door to the apartment.

“I really hope this goes well.” Buffy said, taking out her keys.

“Hope the Nibblet’s happy to see me.” Spike muttered.

“She will be.” Buffy said, unlocking the door. “Guys, we’re back.” Buffy called as she and Andrew went in, Spike lagging behind so the others wouldn’t see him right away. They saw Xander, Faith, Giles, and Kennedy sitting in the living room, no sign of Willow or Dawn.

“Oh thank God!” Giles said, standing up.

“Buffy, where have you been?” Xander asked, walking over to her. “We were worried sick! Were you hurt?”

“No, I had to clear my head so I went slaying and I stopped by Lorne’s club.” Buffy said a small, almost unnoticeable smile. “Something happened, something incredible.”

“What?” Xander asked, slightly unnerved by Buffy’s strange behavior and expression on her face.

“A miracle.” Buffy said, turning towards the door. Xander followed her line of vision and his jaw hit the floor.

“WHAT THE HELL?!” Xander yelled, his mind unable to process why the guy that Buffy had spent the past week mourning was standing in the doorway. The two Slayers and the watcher jumped up at Xander’s outburst, not seeing what he was yelling about. They looked past Buffy and Andrew and saw Spike smirking at the looks of shock on their faces. Xander grabbed a sword. “Buffy, Andrew back!”

“I knew this wouldn’t be easy.” Spike groaned at the whelp’s reaction.

“You bastard,” Xander said, his voce full of venom. “You make me sick! How could you do this to Buffy and Dawn?! Don’t you think they’ve got enough to deal with without you here playing ‘guess what dead guy I can look like’?”

“Oh bloody hell. I. Am. Not. The. Bloody. First. You. Idiot.” Spike muttered, as he reached out and knocked on Xander’s forehead. The one eyed former carpenter looked at the bleached menace with the kind of shock he hadn’t shown since the first time Anya asked to have sex with him, then he fainted.

“You really know how to make fellas swoon.” Buffy said, smirking as Spike scowled at her.

“Wha…how…what did you do?” Giles asked, not knowing how to react to this.

“I didn’t do anything, I went to Lorne’s club and a portal opened and…he came through it.” Buffy explained the situation.

“Where were…where did you come from?” Giles asked, cleaning his glasses.

“The Higher Plains or whatever they’re called, got sent back to help in a big fight coming.” Spike said, taking out a cigarette.

“Oh goody, always up for one of those.” Faith groaned.

“Yeah, and judging from what I was told, it’s gonna be a bad one.” Spike said, flicking his lighter on.

“Splendid.” Giles groaned, putting is glasses back on. “Did they or he or whomever give you any details on this impending doom?”

“Nope, just said it’s gonna be big and bad and if I don’t help Buffy could die. Again.” Spike said, his tone sounded casual but Buffy could detect a barley noticeable waver in his voice.

“Why did they-he whichever say why you especially must be present?” Giles asked, not entirely convinced that there might be trouble from Spike returning.

“He just said that Buffy would need my help.” Spike said, making the Watcher looked nonplussed. Giles never trusted Spike even with his soul, but he had tried to make peace with him after his sacrifice at the Hellmouth. He didn’t trust him, or at least this strange reappearance. If Spike was involved it would be real trouble, and the last thing he thought Buffy needed was more trouble. Even worse was how this would affect Buffy; he had seen how badly she was hurt by his death, but if the two of them were together it might cause even more pain.

“Where’s Dawn and Willow?” Buffy asked, she’d wondered where her sister and her best friend were.

“They’re in Dawn’s room.” Kennedy supplied, speaking for the first time. “She’s been trying to comfort Dawn about this whole thing, it really hasn’t been going well.”

“Do you think it’d be all right if…if I go see her?” Spike asked Buffy, a little hesitant to just run into the room and say, “Hey Dawn, turns out that whole death thing didn’t take.”

“Hell yeah,” Faith said, having seen the previous night how miserable the teenager was. “The girl hasn’t stopped bawlin’ all night. She started throwing up from crying so hard, after a while Willow did a sleep spell to get her to bed. She woke up a few hours ago, Willow’s been talkin’ to her trying to keep her calm since then.”

“Oh God.” Buffy said, looking at the floor. “Spike, we have to see her.”

“All right, but could you maybe go in and sorta prepare her or something? I don’t wanna give the bit a bloody aneurysm.” Spike asked, the thought of Dawn unhappy made up his mind.

“OK.” Buffy said, walking toward Dawn’s room with Spike right behind her. Buffy pushed the door open a little and saw Dawn looking at the ground with Willow’s arms around her, rubbing her back and saying that it’d be OK.

“Buffy you’re home!” Willow said, looking up as did Dawn.

“Hello Buffy.” Dawn said, wiping her eyes with her shirtsleeve.

“Hey Willow, hey Dawn.” Buffy said, noting the unshed tears in her baby sister's eyes.

“Buffy,” Willow patted the space next to her on the bed and Buffy sat down. “I’m so sorry. I want you to know that I’m here for you. I thought that, maybe, if you want, I could try to…”

“No!” Dawn said glaring at the redhead, tears falling freely from her eyes. “No. I know that they let him in Heaven. It’s not possible that they’d send him to…to the other place after everything he did. He deserves some peace.”

“I know he went to Heaven, Dawnie, it just wouldn’t be right if he wasn’t.” Willow said, rubbing Dawn’s shoulder. “I just thought that, well, in a choice between being dead and being with his favorite girls, wouldn’t he choose being with you guys?”

“If he wanted to be with us, he would’ve come when he got back.” Dawn said sadly, turning away. “It wouldn’t even be his choice, it’d be ours. We made that mistake once.”

“Um guys,” Buffy said, getting their attention. “There’s something I need to tell you.”

“What Buffy?” Willow asked. She hoped Buffy hadn’t done something foolish from her grief, having been down that road herself.

“It’s nothing bad, but prepare yourselves for a shock.” Buffy said, seeing the interested yet puzzled looks on their faces. She got off the bed and went to the door. “I went slaying last night, and then I went to Lorne’s club and…well, look.”

Buffy went to the door and motioned for someone to come in. Dawn and Willow’s jaws hit the floor when they saw the bleached menace walk into the room; they just gaped at a face they were certain they’d never see again. Dawn stared at Spike for a few seconds before the wheels in her head started turning; this couldn’t be Spike, it was the First just trying to torture them with this manifestation of their friend.

“YOU! You piece of shit!” Dawn growled, her sadness replaced by rage. “How could you do this to us?! To him! How dare you look like him?! He loved my sister and me more than an evil scum like you will ever know!”

“Nibblet, please calm …” Spike began, but Dawn cut him off.

“Don’t you DARE call me that!” Dawn raged. “Don’t you do that! Don’t you dare come in here and try to…God, just get the hell out of here!”

“Dawn, please let me explain.” Spike tried again, but Dawn wouldn’t let up.

“Explain what, that my friend is dead and that you’re just doing this for fun? Got the memo. Now get the hell out of my room and GET THE HELL OUT OF HIS BODY!” Dawn demanded, her voice dripping with venom. She looked away but her blood was still boiling; she knew that the First was incorporeal but she didn’t care, she had to hit something. She pulled back and swung at the apparition of her former friend.

“OW!” Spike yelped as Dawn’s fist connected with his face. “Why does everybody go for the nose?”

“Wha…?” Dawn’s jaw dropped as she felt her fist sting from the punch, the First was intangible so how did she just hit it? She looked at Spike with wide eyes, if it wasn’t the First, then that meant…no it wasn’t possible.

“Dawn?” Spike asked, as Dawn just stood there still staring at him. It finally clicked that this wasn’t the First and it wasn’t a dream. This was real. This was really happening! Spike was there, in her room!

“Spike?” Dawn asked, her voice barley a whisper.

“Yeah Dawn, it’s me.” Spike said, trying to convince her that it was real. Dawn stood there, mouth agape, letting it sink in. She lowered her arms and redirected her gaze to the floor, suddenly not knowing what to say.

“Hi Spike.” She said, backing up slightly, still not looking at Spike.

“Dawn?” Spike ventured, perplexed by Dawn’s change in demeanor. “Nibblet?”

“It’s great to have you back, Spike. I uh, I got some things to do so I better go.” Dawn said, before turning to the door. Spike, Buffy and Willow just stared as the youngest member of the Summers clan grabbed her coat and hurried out the door and of the apartment.

“This is just not my day for reunions.” Spike said sarcastically. Buffy went out into the living room, but Dawn had already left.

“What happened?” Xander asked, as he regained consciousness. After seeing how sad Dawn had been about Spike being gone, the last thing anybody expected was for her to just run out like that.

“I said hi, she thought I was the First and she hit me, she realized I was real, then she said hi and ran out of the room; that’s about it.” Spike said, confused at this reaction from Dawn.

“Maybe she just needs time to let it sink in.” Willow suggested, trying to be helpful.

“Or maybe she’s kinda freaked out.” Kennedy said. “I mean someone she loved just came back from the dead, wouldn’t that throw anyone for a loop?”

“She seemed to have no problem when she saw me.” Buffy said, remembering her encounter with Dawn at Glory’s tower after she was resurrected.

“Perhaps she just needs time to sort out her feelings,” Giles suggested. “As I recall Spike and Dawn didn’t part on good terms.”

“Neither did we.” Spike said staring daggers at the Watcher, still brassed off by his treatment of Buffy in the last days of Sunnydale as well as his refusal to help save Fred. “But you didn’t dash out of the room when you realized I was real.”

“Yeah, but Giles didn’t spend two months in grief counseling after you died.” Xander said, then clamped a hand over his mouth.

“What?” Spike asked, the sudden knowledge that his Little Bit went to see a physiatrist.

“After it sunk in that you were gone Dawn really took it hard.” Willow explained. “She blamed herself for not talking to you or saying goodbye before the Hellmouth blew up.”

“Yeah, the whole ride from Sunnydale she just stared out the back of the bus at the crater. She didn’t say anything until we got to a motel,” Faith said, slumping on the couch. “Not a pretty picture, from what B told us.” Spike turned to Buffy, wanting to hear the rest of this.

“I went to get some ice for our her injuries.” Buffy said, not relishing recalling the memory of that day. “When I came back, she was curled up on the floor in the bathroom. She smashed the mirror, she had blood on her hands and she couldn’t stop crying. Our house, Mom’s grave, and you and Anya were gone. Having pretty much everything in your life suddenly taken away kinda makes you a little crazy.”

“She and I sat together in our room and talked,” Buffy said, remembering that day a year ago like it was yesterday. “After talking with her, it was pretty clear that she had a lot of unresolved issues with you and Sunnydale. Giles and me talked and decided to get her into some grief counseling. It took a while but she finally made peace with the fact that you and everything else was gone. I guess with this whole thing, it tore open a bunch of old wounds and rubbed salt in ‘em.”

“Oh God.” Spike said, running a hand through his platinum hair. He knew things with Dawn hadn’t ended well, but grief therapy? “So what do we do? Should we go after her, or give her some time to adjust or what?”

“I don’t know,” Buffy said, sitting on the coach. “Maybe someone should go and try to calm her down. Besides it’s Tuesday, we don’t keep an eye on her she’ll get kidnapped by a demon or something.”

“Oh God, she’s right.” Said Xander. “We better go get her before a hell god or a music demon tries to use her as a key-bride or something. Oh, and I’ll be wanting an explanation for the Bleached Wonder being back after we get back.”

“OK, Dawn usually likes to hang out at the Trevi Fountain.” Buffy said, addressing the Scoobies. “Other than that, she hangs out at Alle due Fontanelle. Willow and Kennedy, you two go to the fountain. Xander and Giles check the restaurant. Spike and I will take the tunnels to some of her other hangouts. Faith and Andrew, stay here in case she comes back.”

“Oh God no, B.” Faith said jumping up at the suggestion. “I’ll go anywhere you want, but don’t make me stay with the geek.”

“Fine,” Buffy said, realizing that being stuck in a closed space with Andrew for any period of time was a nightmare. “Faith, check out the mall.”

“You got it, B.” Faith said heading out the front door, followed by Willow, Kennedy, Xander and Giles.

“Andrew, if Dawn comes back, call on my cell phone.” Buffy told Andrew.

“You can count on me, Buffy.” Andrew said, pulling out one of his X-Men comics and sitting on the coach.

“Let’s go.” Buffy said as she and Spike left the apartment. The group walked down into the lobby; Willow, Giles, Xander and Kennedy walked through the front entrance and Spike and Buffy went through a door that led to the subbasement where the sewer access was. Spike held open the trap door as Buffy descended into the tunnels, a feeling of nostalgia washing over them.

“Sewers of Rome. Every tourist’s favorite sight seeing destination.” Spike said, as they walked through the tunnels.

“You know, I kinda missed this.” Buffy said, smiling at Spike.

“I did too, well except for the sewers.” Spike said, smirking. “You’d be surprised how many times Angel’s crew dragged me threw the sewers.”

“Which reminds me you big jerk,” Buffy said, as they walked through the stinking tunnel. “I still would like an explanation for you not coming after me.” Spike saw the look in Buffy’s eyes and knew he had a lot of explaining to do.

“I’m sorry about that,” Spike said, looking down the tunnel and away from her. “I was all ready to come to Europe and find you. But then I got to thinkin’ that I couldn’t just show up after going out in a blaze of glory saving the world and expect to pick up where I left off. It’s hard to top an exit like that. And I thought that you didn’t mean what you said in the Hellmouth, I really really hoped you did, but a little voice in the back of my mind kept saying I was just deluding myself. And since my blood still doesn’t flow in the direction of my brain, I listened to it.”

“Well, won’t be the first timed you made a bad decision.” Buffy said kindly, taking his hand. “Well, now you know the truth.”

“Yeah.” Spike said, smiling at her. “We still need to find the Little Bit though, and decide how we’re going to do this thing between us.”

“Yeah we do, but there is going to be a thing between us.” Buffy said, smiling.

“Glad to hear. Let’s hurry and find Dawn before gets into trouble she’s so famous for getting into.” Spike said, remembering that his Nibblet was out there somewhere in this huge city. The two continued through the sewers, silently promising that things would be different this time around.

Across town at the Trevi Fountain, Dawn Summers sat and thought. Her eyes traveled to the water in the fountain, and she noticed the plethora of coins on the bottom. She remembered all the coins she had thrown in, every single one was to wish that she could see Spike again. She had always loved Spike, at first she had a little crush on him but after Buffy died she began to look up to him like the big brother she never had. He never put on airs with her or treated her like a baby; she could talk to him about everything that she couldn’t tell her friends or her sister. If it wasn’t for him, she probably wouldn’t have survived the grief of Buffy’s death, and she knew it was the same for him. They were each other’s strength during those unbearably long 147 days.

But after Buffy returned, Spike almost never came to see her. She found out that was due to him and Buffy sneaking off to have sex, she had been secretly hoping that they would be together but from what she was told it wasn’t exactly a healthy relationship. She had hinted at the two of them should get together, she had hoped that them being together would be the thing to get Buffy the kind of guy she deserved and get some stability and happiness in their lives.

Then he tried to rape her sister. She had never been so mad at him before, she never really understood why Xander and everyone despised Spike so much until she heard that. She knew that he probably never really cared about her, that he was a monster, but she had hoped that there was some small piece of decency that could make it OK for him to be part of their little family. When she heard what he tried to do that notion was shot to hell. She had hated him for that, for betraying his promise not to hurt the two of them. She slowly learned to forgive him as Buffy and he became closer, but with the way things were there wasn’t any opportunity to try and make peace with him.

But then she remembered what had to be the single worst thing she had ever done, she turned her back on her sister and threw her out. She thought at the time that it was the right thing to do; she thought Buffy needed some time to get her thoughts in order. Or at least that’s what she told herself. She couldn’t get the image of the betrayal in Buffy’s eyes out of her mind the whole time, and when Spike and Andrew got back she felt even worse. Spike said that they were sad ungrateful traitors, and when Xander and Willow said that they all decided and that they were her friends she realized what they had done. Giles, Wood, Kennedy and Rona had been waiting for an opportunity to get control of the situation since Wood almost killed Spike. She had sensed that Buffy had taken more of a leadership role and Giles had been pushed aside. And how Wood had been bitter about the thwarting of his attempt to kill Spike. She remembered Spike’s words when he and Andrew got back.

“You sad, sad, ungrateful traitors. Who do you think you are? Oh, that’s ballsy of you. You’re her friends and you betray her like this? You know, I think I do Rupert. You used to be the big man, didn’t you? The teacher all full of wisdom. Now she’s surpassed you and you can’t handle it. She has saved your lives again and again. She’s died for you. ”

She had died for her, and she turned her back on her. She saw Giles had taken over as “the Watcher” to Faith, she saw the way things had become when Buffy left. It wasn’t just about Buffy’s plan; it was about Giles and Wood’s vendetta. Spike may have tried to rape her sister, but she and the Scoobies had succeeded in raping her of her dignity. She couldn’t look her sister or Spike in the face till after the battle at Sunnydale, even when Buffy tried to say a goodbye incase she didn’t make it. She knew then that even though she had forgiven him, he’d never forgive her for turning on Buffy. She made her sister “take time out of the apocalypse”; the whole town was empty except for the First’s minions and random vamps and demons, she could’ve been killed in a minute. Her sister could’ve died again, because of her. She didn’t feel like she deserved to live through the fight, she should’ve gone under not Spike and Anya. She never told him how much he meant to her, that she still loved him and that she was sorry for everything.

It took her so long to get over it, not as long as it took Buffy but still it was a while. If it hadn’t been for Andrew listening to her rants and cries she might never have been able to live her life. She went to school and made new friends and she went on with her life. She missed him everyday as did her sister, but they went on. Until Lorne showed up and told them that Spike had returned, then everything collapsed.

He was back. All the unnecessary mourning and sadness, all the opportunities to start over and it was gone before they even knew it. Spike chose not to come and find them, he stayed away because he thought that she and her sister wouldn’t care that he was back. Andrew knew it and he didn’t tell them. Spike told him not to tell them, and for the first fucking time in his life he keeps a secret. She began to trust Andrew and when she heard that he kept this from them, knowing how badly she and Buffy were hurting, she couldn’t stand the sight of him. And now suddenly Spike’s back again. How do you deal with that? What do you say to make it right? How do you try to be friends again with someone you threatened to set on fire in his sleep? How do you look someone in the eyes when they died thinking you didn’t love them?

“DAWN!” Dawn was jolted out of her thoughts by a voice shouting at her from the other side of the fountain. She looked up and saw Willow and Kennedy rushing towards her.

“Hi Willow, Kennedy.” Dawn said, as her two friends came up to her.

“Dawn, are you OK?” Willow asked, as she and Kennedy sat beside the junior Summers.

“Not really, I just don’t know what to do.” Dawn said, looking at the quarter in her hands. “Spike’s gone, Spike’s back, Spike’s gone again, Spike’s back again and I just don’t know how to deal with this.”

“Dawn,” Willow said, putting a hand on her shoulder. “I know it must be confusing, but isn’t this a good thing?”

“Yeah, you’ve been so bummed about him dying again, so aren’t you happy he’s back?” Kennedy interjected.

“I just…I don’t know what to say to him. I don’t know how I’m supposed to feel.” Dawn said miserably. “He tried to hurt my sister, that’s not the sort of thing you’re supposed to forgive. And I did, I forgave him. Does that make me a bad person?”

“Dawn honey, no!” Willow said hugging Dawn. “Forgiveness is never wrong.”

“Then do you think he can forgive me?” The former Key asked.

“Dawn, you didn’t do anything wrong.” Kennedy said, trying to help her girlfriend comfort the miserable girl.

“I let him die thinking I hated him. Do you know what it feels like for someone you loved to die and you never got to tell him what they meant to you?” Dawn asked.

“Yeah, I do actually. My old Watcher, Lisa. My parents were always off somewhere, my half-sister never talked to me and I never really met anyone else. Lisa was my only friend.” Kennedy said seriously. “She talked to me, listened to me, put up with me.” She said smiling at the memory of her Watcher. “Just before she died we had a big fight. I skipped school and our training session to go to the movies; we really blew up at each other. Said a lot of things I didn’t mean, and then the Bringers came through the window. Lisa told me to run for it while she held them off. I got away, she didn’t. She died and I never told her that I thought of her as the mother I always wanted. So believe me I know.” Willow looked surprised at her girlfriend, she had never heard about this from her before. More tears fell from Dawn’s eyes as she heard of the young Slayer’s painful memory. “My advise is this; you got a second chance to make things right, don’t throw it away.”

“She’s right Dawn, there’s not a day goes by that I wish I could tell Tara how much she meant to me, and I know Xander feels the same way about Anya.” Willow said. “I know we haven’t exactly been big fans of the Bleached Menace, but if you really care about someone you should try to make it work. So what do you say we go home so you, Buffy and Spike can talk?” Dawn thought about it for a minute, she needed to at least try to make things right.

“OK.” Dawn nodded and stood up. She, Willow and Kennedy stood up and began walking home, ready to head back and make a fresh start.

As they began walking, a black van sped into the square and three guys in black jumped out. The two closest to the three girls hit Willow and Kennedy with stun guns, the slayer and witch fell to the ground as the third guy grabbed Dawn and hauled her into the van.

“DAWN!” Willow shouted running after the van, but it was already out of sight. “We gotta call Buffy!”





You must login (register) to review.