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Buffy sat on her couch engrossed in her book for how long she wasn't certain, but after reading through half of the thick volume 'Witches and Their Lore' and only understanding half of what was written within it's pages, she swapped to 'Mediums'. She really hoped that this was the book that would help her to better understand herself and the words Giles had used to describe her gift.

Two glasses of bourbon later she was no closer to finding an answer. She'd stopped drinking a few chapters into her new book, finally coming across a page that had an overview of Mediums and their abilities. Each time she had gotten up to refill her glass, Anne had sent her a raised eyebrow and a look of disappointment. What did she care, Anne wasn't her mother, hell Anne wasn't even on this plane of existence, but still it gave her pause. Now her glass sat discarded on the coffee table in front of her.

Anne had remained silent for the most part, interjecting every now and then when she wished Buffy to turn back a page so she could read. Buffy got so frustrated at having her constantly looking over her shoulder that she opened the rest of the books on the floor so that Anne could read at her own leisurely pace.

After Anne had picked up the picture frame earlier and walked it across the room, Buffy assumed that turning the mere pages of a book wouldn't be that difficult a task.

She was wrong.

Anne had a lot of trouble picking up any object after the incident, saying she had felt drained of all her ghostly energy again. Her brows knit together as she concentrated, trying her best to will her fingers to grasp the pages in front of her, getting nothing in return. Her fingers fell through the pages and to the floor beneath her.

Buffy glanced up from her paragraph when Anne let out another frustrated sigh.

"I don't understand how I was able to do this earlier and now I've got nothing." She tried turning the pages and once again and her hands fell through the books center.

"You still look pretty solid." Buffy sat up, taking in Anne's form. "I mean, you're still not as transparent as the others have been. Maybe you just need to take a break and recharge?"

"It is possible." Anne stood from her position crouched on the floor and hovered her way back towards where Buffy sat on the couch. "Have you found anything useful that can help in your book?"

"I think so." She mused. "Not so much on what's happening in Sunnydale, but more so about me. A-about my abilities."

"That's good."

"It is." Buffy smiled up at her. "It's nice to be able to put a name to it and not just be called crazy."

"Oh sweetheart-"

"It's fine." Buffy cut her off before she could speak. She didn't want anyone's sympathy for what she had been put through. Sympathy only made her feel worse, wanting no reminders of her time in 'The Loony Bin'. "This books says that mediumship is a communication of spirits to which one may; see, feel or hear messages from the other side." Buffy paused and glanced at her ghostly companion. "I've always had all three of these abilities so I guess that's what Giles meant when he called me a sensitive."

"Quite a strange term isn't it? A sensitive?"

"It's kind of confusing." Buffy scanned the paragraphs in front of her. "It says that another term used to describe someone who is able to see ghosts is a clairvoyant." Buffy paused and placed the book in her lap, lost in thought. "In my case though I think I'm called a Clairvoyant Medium, which is a mix of the two. They're the ones who can see spirits as if they have a physical body, although most of the time you guys are pretty transparent to me." She gave Anne a pointed look.

"Does that mean your gift in that area might not be as strong?"

"I don't know I-"

"I hope I bought everything with me because I am so not making another trip to the store."

"Shit! Shit! Shit!"

Buffy sat straight up and slammed her book closed and cast her eyes down at the scattered books that lie on her floor then back up towards her ghost who had hovered into the middle of the lounge area, staring at her with wide eyes after her outburst of profanities. The voices came closer, walking up her footpath and stopping on her front porch. Within a few seconds the familiar chiming of her doorbell sang throughout the house.

"Shit! Shit! Shit!"

"There's no need for such-"

"I completely forgot my friends were coming over for dinner and a movie night!" Buffy rushed to pick up the books on the floor, piling them against her chest as she stood and stacked them against the small side table at the end of the couch.

"I don't see what the problem is." Anne stated, watching in slight amusement as Buffy rushed around her living space in a panic.

"You can't be here!"

"It's not like they're going to be able to see me, dear."

"I can see you!" Buffy glared, trying to get her point across.

"Well-"

"I can't pretend to act normal and have conversations with my friends when I know you're in the room." Buffy rushed out, making a dash to the kitchen to put her glass in the sink. When she came back into the lounge area Anne was still hovering there. "Can you please leave?"

"There's a lot of research that need's doing to help my William with his case and-"

The doorbell chimed again and Buffy heard Willow talking on the other side of the door.

"She did say six o'clock. I'll try her phone in a minute."

"Anne!" Buffy shout whispered, her eyes pleading, her heart racing. "I promise I'll make with the research tomorrow, but right now I need you to leave so I can have a normal evening in with my normal friends. Please!"

Anne could see the desperate plea in Buffy's eyes and nodded in understanding. She turned towards the door, making her way over to it, but not before facing Buffy one more time.

"Tomorrow then."

Buffy flinched when Anne floated straight through the front door and directly outside to where her best friend was standing, waiting patiently for her to answer.

She turned the handle and opened the door just in time to see Anne float straight through Willow, who let out a little shiver before brushing it off and greeting her with a big smile.

"I was beginning to think you'd forgotten about us. Here, I bought us dinner as well as yummy sugary goodness to make! Well I'll be making it because let's be honest, you really can't cook." Willow laughed, nudging her girlfriend Tara through the door, her arms laden with grocery bags.

"Sorry, I didn't hear the door the first time." Buffy stammered out, eyes wide, watching Willow shake off her shiver as if a ghost hadn't just walked straight through her.

Over her shoulder she watched as Anne floated away, becoming more and more transparent the further she got until she was completely gone. It was a strange sight, watching a ghost leave. The first few times she'd witnessed it as a young girl she wasn't sure how to process it, ghosts just had the ability to pop up out of nowhere and disappear at their own leisure.

"I bought the popcorn for later." Tara smiled, walking inside and breaking her out of her thoughts.

"Popcorn is always good." Buffy agreed, closing the door and letting out a relieved sigh. Finally, an evening of normalcy with her friends.

"Did you have someone here just before we arrived? I could have sworn I heard you talking to someone." Willow asked, walking towards the kitchen to put her bags down.

"Hmm? Oh the phone. Yes I was on the phone. W-work related phone call."

Tara stared at her for a little bit too long making Buffy nervous as they followed Willow into the kitchen to get a start on dinner and dessert. Tara always seemed to know when she wasn't feeling well, or if she'd had a really stressful day. Buffy didn't know what it was that allowed her to have such an insight to people's emotions and sometimes even thought that Tara herself might have a similar gift. It wasn't until after a ghost had followed them all to dinner a few weeks ago, being rather persistent and unwilling to move on, staying to hover around the restaurant until she had snuck away to have a private conversation with him that she had really started questioning the possibility of Tara having her own abilities.

"How is work?" Willow asked, laying her ingredients out on the small island in the middle of the kitchen, breaking Buffy from her thoughts again.

"Huh?" Buffy asked, taking a seat next to Tara at the counter as Willow prepped their meal.

"You said you were on the phone and it was about work."

"A-are you ok Buffy?" Tara stammered, not sure how to interpret the colours she was seeing around her friends form.

"Yes! Sorry guys, it's been a really really long day. There was a little mishap this morning, one I don't really want to talk about, but I have to go into the shop tomorrow to unpack a delivery." Buffy hated lying, but it was only really a small lie, partially the truth. Her friends didn't need to know about all the craziness hiding in her closet and she planned on keeping that door closed for as long as possible.

"Well, we're here to take your mind off of your terrible day!"

"Thank you." Buffy smiled, silently thanking Willows cheeriness and the ease in which she had believed her little white lie.

"We have a lamb roast for dinner." Willow pointed to the lamb in front of her, which she had already placed on a tray.

"It's easy to cook, we just leave it in the oven." Tara smiled, nudging Buffy jokingly.

"Hey, I'm all about the less actual cooking I have to do the better."

"We know." Tara and Willow laughed together.

"The meat should take an hour or so to cook, which means we just have to cut up some potatoes and vegetables and then in the oven they all go." Willow turned the temperature on the small oven that was nestled in the corner of Buffy's kitchen letting it pre-heat. Next she pulled everything out of the bags she had carried in with her onto the bench.

"And it all just cooks itself?" Buffy asked, staring at the raw ingredients in front of her, brows furrowing.

"You just have to set the temperature and timer and know when to add the vegetables in." Tara chimed, pulling a few things to center of the island to within Buffy's reach.

"Sounds simple enough. Wait, have I cooked this before?"

"Umm." Willow averted her eyes and ducked under the bench to pull out two chopping boards, having cooked in Buffy's kitchen often enough to know where everything was kept.

"I have, haven't I?"

"Last year. Y-you tried really hard!" Willow offered her a small smile, placing one chopping board in front of her girlfriend and giving the second one to Buffy.

"I ruined it didn't I?" It was a fact, Buffy nodded to herself as her two best friend's sympathetic eyes met hers. "Sorry." Her shoulders slumped.

"It was only a little bit burnt." Tara offered, trying to lighten Buffy's souring mood.

"A little bit? Ha!" Xander laughed, walking into the kitchen, no one having heard neither he nor Anya come in through the front door. "That meat was as black and as tough as a piece of charcoal."

"Xander!" Willow shouted, pointing her knife at him and shooting him daggers.

"What!"

"It was very terrible." Anya nodded in agreement, walking into the kitchen and placing a bottle of wine on the bench.

"Oh look, something I'm not terrible at!" Buffy stood from her chair and set about getting some wine glasses for everyone. "Consuming wine."

"We love you Buffster, but you and cooking just don't mix."

"Thanks Xan. I'm pretty sure I got that memo years ago though." Buffy laughed, handing him a freshly poured glass of wine before emptying the bottle into the other four glasses. They were going to need more wine.

Willow and Tara had started chopping up the vegetables that they had brought with them while Anya set about getting the cooking trays out and lining them with non stick paper so that when the vegetables cooked there would be less mess to clean up. Buffy and Xander edged to the outskirts of her kitchen, neither knowing what to do next and not wanting to get in anyone's way when there was knives and chopping going on.

"Why don't you guys go and pick the first movie?" Willow offered, seeing her two friends lost faces.

"Let's leave the ladies to cook. Whatcha feel like-"

"Are you saying I'm not a lady?" Buffy teased as they walked into the lounge.

"No! Yes!" Xanders eye's bugged. "Yes you're a lady. I just meant-"

"Xander I'm only teasing. We all know I'm useless in the kitchen."

"I didn't mean you weren't a lady b-because you're very much a lady." He stammered, wine glass in hand and pointing out the womanly body parts on her chest. "Y-you're just our fiery little Buffster with the non Martha Stewart cooking skills."

"Thanks Xan."

"So what do you feel like watching?" He coughed, taking a large sip of wine before staring at Buffy's movie collection. "Fighting ninjas or hulky commandos?" He asked, earning a smile from Buffy as it was the same question he had asked her that morning while fixing her stores bell.

"How about some action?" Buffy offered, wanting anything with mindless fighting and explosions in it. "You ladies feel like having a Jason Bourne marathon?" She shouted, a chorus of 'yes' being echoed down the hall from the kitchen moments later.

"Votes are in! Jason Bourne it is!" Xander grinned, happy with their choice and set about getting the lounge area ready for everyone's viewing pleasure.


Chapter End Notes:
So I'm going on holidays for a week and won't be able to post anything so I thought I'd spoil you all with another chapter!



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