Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plotline on this fanfiction. Unless I add my own characters.
And With This Knowledge
Chapter One: Mommy Knows Best
Buffy laced fingers with Spike and both their hands caught fire. Despite the blistering pain, she still held his hand. What could she possibly say that would sum up everything she had felt, currently feels, and would feel if he were to stay alive?
“I love you.” It’s what he’d been waiting so long to hear.
“No you don’t. But thanks for saying it. Now go.”
The entire time she ran, she thought about how selfish she was being. It would be so easy to pull him out and get him to the bus. He’d have a few burns, but still…he’d be there.
With a heart-racing jump, she fell on to the top of the bus. It sped out of Sunnydale and on to the safety of the nearby road.
And once more, Spike knocked down the ‘Welcome to Sunnydale’ sign.
Buffy felt lost in her daze. Had she really loved him? If not it was pretty damn close.
After everything she’d put him through, he came out in the end. For her. Tears threatened to fall, but she wouldn’t allow it. He’d want her to be happy that she’d won.
And she was. She may have lost someone she was close to. But it wouldn’t keep her down forever. Nothing ever did.
“Yeah, Buffy. What are we going to do now?”
A smile of pure happiness came across her lips. A happiness that he had caused. A happiness he’d died to give her.
Suddenly, Buffy felt the ground spinning beneath her. Although the world seemed to be fading into a hundred different things, her friends acted as if nothing was happening. “Guys…”
What the hell was going on?
First she felt a sharp pain…like landing from a long jump. As her eyes adjusted to the new light, she had no idea where she was. It was dark. She was on the ground. That much she knew. But her vision was slightly blurred. Her muscles ached and she didn’t seem to be getting much oxygen. She got on her knees and brought herself to her feet.
The first thing she realized was that she was wearing a dress…a black one.
Then she noticed that she was in a cemetery…not just any cemetery. It was the Sunnydale graveyard. “What the hell?” She managed to say out loud. But her voice surprised her. It was hoarse and sounded too weak.
She spotted the last clue. Her own headstone. With her name and a few words to rest in peace.
But why would she be back in Sunnydale…at a time that took place over a year ago?
This was the time she’d been brought back by Willow and her friends. But didn’t she just see Sunnydale go down in ruins?
Finally, her questions were answered when her mother appeared with a white light surrounding her.
“Mommy?” Buffy said weakly. Joyce smiled and began to explain what was happening.
“Sweetheart, everything you think you remember from this past year…it never happened. Not yet anyway.” Buffy looked confused. “You died saving Dawn. You went to Heaven. While you were there, we gave you all the knowledge of the things that are to come within the next year and a half.”
“But…I feel like I was actually living it…”
“I know. And it will always feel that way. But you have the chance to make things right this time. I spared you from having to live digging from your grave again. I couldn’t do that to you.”
Buffy blinked her eyes to slightly clear her vision, though it didn’t work much.
“Buffy, do you remember what was going on when you first came back to life?” Buffy nodded. The demons were trying to take over the town. And her friends…
“Crap. My friends. They’re in trouble…” Buffy muttered. She turned to Joyce, but her mother was already gone.
Buffy turned to start running, but found that she still had the side effects from coming back to life. It was annoying. She felt slow, couldn’t see well, and she hurt all over.
She went back to the first place she remembered seeing them. She wanted it to go about the same as it did before, so she quickly ran off after saving them and went to her next destination.
She remembered that Dawn had gone to the tower. Buffy went and waited near the base to wait for her. She wasn’t actually going up there this time.
“Buffy?” Dawn’s voice came from a few feet away. She had a worried, yet gleeful expression on her face.
Buffy wanted so much to tell Dawn that she felt fine, and that nothing was wrong. But just like the first time, her body wouldn’t react the way she wanted it to.
For some reason she couldn’t speak much, she still felt the pain, her hands were bleeding, and things seemed jumbled in her head.
Buffy held Dawn close to her, even though it seemed like just a few minutes ago they were talking outside the ruins of Sunnydale.
It was a while later that they stood in front of Buffy’s house. Why was it that even though she didn’t remember crawling out of her grave, she was still in shock?
Letting Dawn lead her inside, she changed with the help of Dawn, and then began to examine her house. It’d been so long since she’d seen it without piles of teenage girls everywhere.
And then the most wonderful thought hit her like a truck. I say truck, because thinking too hard was definitely giving her a headache.
Spike. He was alive. Here…in a few minutes.
“Dawn!” Came his voice from downstairs.
Dawn rushed down, showing that she was okay. Buffy quickly followed behind this time.
The familiar conversation began between the two.
“I mean it. I could rip your head off one-handed and drink from your brain stem.”
“Look,” Dawn said, pointing to Buffy instead of replying to his comment.
“Yeah? I’ve seen the bloody bot before. Didn’t think she’d patch up so-”
He realized that this wasn’t the bot. He saw his Buffy.
And even though the first time she was brought back, she cared nothing about him…she certainly had to restrain herself from flying into his arms now.
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A/N: I have this posted on fanfiction.net as well...I'll post the other 9 chaps I have tonight.
squawks
05/18/17 04:16 am
pj! I remember wishing one of your stories would be finished seriously about a decade ago. Amazing. I just tried an old password I used to use and amazingly got in too. Memories!
pj
03/20/17 01:20 am
10 yrs later, i finally rem my username and password. Pari, you rock. Hope you are well.
Rabbit_moon1
12/23/16 01:12 pm
I donate every month. Please donate to keep this site up!
AudryDaluz1
10/06/16 08:34 am
Great post.
Chrissel
08/31/16 03:45 pm
And anyone else who loves this site, it's worth mentioning there's a nifty little "Donate" option just below the shout box here! ;)
Chrissel
08/31/16 03:43 pm
Just wanted to take a moment to thank Pari and all the mods for maintaining such a great site!
05/18/17 04:16 am
pj! I remember wishing one of your stories would be finished seriously about a decade ago. Amazing. I just tried an old password I used to use and amazingly got in too. Memories!
pj
03/20/17 01:20 am
10 yrs later, i finally rem my username and password. Pari, you rock. Hope you are well.
Rabbit_moon1
12/23/16 01:12 pm
I donate every month. Please donate to keep this site up!
AudryDaluz1
10/06/16 08:34 am
Great post.
Chrissel
08/31/16 03:45 pm
And anyone else who loves this site, it's worth mentioning there's a nifty little "Donate" option just below the shout box here! ;)
Chrissel
08/31/16 03:43 pm
Just wanted to take a moment to thank Pari and all the mods for maintaining such a great site!