That evening, as the sun began to set just like every evening, the cobwebs of sleepy dreams took over. Tossing and turning in her bed, she dreamt the exact same thing every night for the past week; she was dreaming again.

Buffy Summers was flying.

She flew high above her home town, Sunnydale, with great ease. For some reason the sun didn't bother her eyes. She felt free. It was a weird feeling floating high above the clouds and not having any fear of falling. She was light as a feather, and as strong as lighting. The wind felt cool on her face, like a kiss. The strangest part of all was the fact that she could actually see her town; not as a distant smear of color like a blob of paint on a pallet , but really see the town. She was thousands of feet above ground and yet she could see the color of every house, every flower, and every tree. Buffy swore she could almost make out the names on the grave markers in the Sunnydale cemetery.

It was a very strange feeling.

Soaring, floating, she felt like a bird stretching it's wing tips out towards the golden sun. She felt no fear.

Buffy looked down in between the fluffy billowing clouds and as always at this point in the dream, she saw Xander and Willow. They were talking and laughing, always laughing. She called out to them, but they never heard her. It made her feel a little sad and lonely, but that was okay because the scent of spring time and rain was in air. Rain?

It was always at that point that the dream began to change.

At once the white soft clouds began to massively grow, and turn a pulsing black. The wind, no longer a soft kiss, but like rough sand paper. It always hurt. She tried to cry out to Xander and Willow, to warn them of what was to come, but they could never hear her.

Then the screams began.

Willow and Xander's screams were the loudest, screaming, piercing shrieks that enveloped her like a crown of thorns. She tried to push her arms towards the ground but she couldn't. Something was holding her back, blocking her way of getting to Xander and Willow. Something bad was happening to the town of Sunnydale. Something really horrible.

And she had no way of stopping it.

She pushed harder against the invisible barrier of clouds. The wind and lighting played dangerous games with her hair, while the thunder shook her bones. Down below the screaming had stopped. The utter silence scared Buffy more then the screams just moments before. And at that moment Buffy knew, she knew that things would never be the same in her world anymore, and that she would be lost forever in the clouds of darkness.

Vampires had taken over the world.

She hadn't stopped it.

The slayer had failed.

And Buffy Summers was left alone to face the shrieking and howling of the night's wind.

*****

With a gasp Buffy opened her eyes and stared at the dark shadows creeping across the ceiling. She sat up clutching the covers to her chest while the whites of her eyes shown brightly in the darkness.

She was very afraid.

Having dreams where she failed as the slayer always frightened her. She felt and enormous amount of pressure as the slayer to protect the whole world, and lately it had begun to weigh on her shoulders as a very heavy burden. The pressure ended up doing what any heavy amount of stress would do. It slipped in to her dreams.

"Hey.." a quiet voice came from the darkest corner of her room. For a moment her heart began to beat faster, but it slowed soon realizing it was just Angel.

"Hey yourself. What are you doing here?"

"I was just in the neighborhood, thought I would drop by..."

Buffy raised her eyebrows. "In the middle of the night?"

"Ya, well, I guess I just felt the need to check on you." Angel grinned sheepishly at her.

"Oh I see. Well I guess that's okay." She managed a small smile. "Actually that's really sweet, thanks."

"You seemed to be having some pretty bad dreams there, want to talk about it?"

Buffy didn't look Angel in the eyes. She felt uncomfortable. "Oh, it's nothing really. Just the end of the world because I failed as the slayer. Not a big deal." She tried to laugh it off but it ended up more like a half sob.

"Hey.." Angel said softly. He walked over to her and gently put his hand under her chin lifting her face to meet his eyes. "You okay?"

Buffy let out a sniffle as a tear rolled down her cheek. "I dream of nothing but darkness. Oh, Angel, sometimes I just feel this enormous amount of pressure, being the slayer and all. What if I fail and I let everyone down?"

"You can only do the best you can Buffy. You're the strongest slayer I've ever met, but that doesn't mean you're perfect."

She nodded. "I know... I just wish sometimes it wasn't me. That it was someone else that was the slayer and I could lead a normal life."

Angel smiled at her. "I wish it for you."

Buffy looked startled for a moment and then smiled back at him. "I guess I just have to accept my birth right, deal with it, and stop whining huh?"

"No, Buffy, I know it must be hard. Of course you're going to resent it, fear it, not want it even. Just because you're the chosen one doesn't mean you can't have feelings."

Buffy nodded. "I know you're right in here." She pointed at her heart. "But in my mind, I feel like I have to be strong, show no emotion. I don't know, just sometimes it gets to me. That's why I've been having nightmares lately."

Angel held her close. "Buffy, I'm here for you okay? Others might not understand what its like to be someone different, but I do. Don't shut me out, if you need someone please talk to me."

Buffy stared at Angel in surprise. "Uh, thanks Angel. I didn't expect that coming from you. It means a lot to me."

Angel looked a little embarrassed for a moment and then shrugged. "I know I'm not he most open person in the world; it's hard for me to trust anyone. But I trust you Buffy, only you." Angel reached up and caressed her cheek.

Buffy signed for a moment enjoying the warmth of Angel's hand. Soon his hand slipped from her cheek and then her cheek felt cold.

"I need to go Buffy the sun's going to rise soon. You going to be okay?"

Buffy nodded. "I'll be okay, and thanks, Angel. I-I want you to know that I love you."

Angel leaned in and kissed her tenderly on the lips. "I love you too." he murmured. "Only good dreams okay?"

She nodded. And watched as Angel climbed out her window.

"Goodnight, I'll see you tomorrow." He called.

Buffy blew him a kiss and watched him disappear over the edge of the window sill. Once again she settled back on her pillow, sighed, and wished for better dreams.

And less sleepless nights.

The End.

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