Chapter One: Welcome Back to the Hellmouth
The sitch in the living room looked pretty grim. The two blonds were glaring at each other. Spike was all crossed arms and scowl, slumped against the stair railing. Buffy held a stake, not pointed at the vamp but tight in her hand like she might crush it. Also, she was clearly wigging, all big eyes and mouth gone flat. Faith knew that look.
"So, this some kind of kinky role play thing, or has Billy been a bad boy?"
Buffy snapped out of it and blinked at the stake. "Nothing," she sputtered, tossing it back in a bin by the coat rack. "It's nothing."
"Oh, is that right, Slayer?" Spike looked furious. Which Faith had to admit was pretty scary, even knowing he couldn't do dick about it without his head exploding. Then suddenly he stood straight up, head cocked like a dog hearing a door slam. He rounded on Buffy and his expression did a one-eighty to admiration. "You woke them!"
"What the hell are you talking about?" Buffy was going for gruff, but her shoulders started to relax. Having a guy look at her like that would probably melt her too.
"Her!" Spike gestured to the terrified girl, who was clinging to the doorframe for dear life and looking like she was seriously wishing she'd never come up the walk. Faith knew the feeling.
"Oh." Buffy waved at the girl. "Come in." She frowned at Spike, with her dial turned back to bitch. "There's a whole bunch of Slayers now. A lot changed while you were gone."
Spike went from smitten to pissed off in about six seconds. "Yeah. I'm beginning to see that," he spat back.
"Um, isn't that a vampire?" the skinny kid asked. "Is this a test or something? Am I supposed to kill it?"
"NO!" Buffy took a step towards her undead honey and Faith noticed an amused smirk pass over Spike's face. "I mean, yes. He is a vampire, but he's... different. So no killing." God, she'd forgotten how Buffy could get that tone in her voice, like a scolding kindergarten teacher. Because it's wrong.
"Got places to be," the vampire announced before making a big show of lighting a cigarette and sauntering out. Buffy looked like she wanted to follow him, but instead she put on her chipper California girl face and turned to the new girl.
Faith watched them stare at each other for a few seconds. The girl looked to be about Brat's age. A little horse-faced. Desperately needed to eat some ribs. Her own were almost enough to poke a demon to death the way they stuck out.
"I'm sorry if I ran Billy off," she said finally.
Faith couldn't hold back a snort. Buffy was visibly swallowing her giggles. "He'll be fine," she assured the girl. "Tell us about you. We’re so glad to meet you!"
The kid looked a little startled by Buff’s enthusiasm. Like, dial it down a notch, B. We’re not founding a cult here. Or maybe they were, with all the ‘give up your former life and join our family, and by the way, you have a sacred duty now’ stuff. They’d talked about it, of course, what they would do if the missing potentials started popping up. Faith was happy to let Buffy deliver the spiel though.
"I'm Amanda. And actually I'd like to hear more about you. Like, first of all, what's a Slayer?"
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“Burba weed’s getting a bit old, love, and—Bit?”
Dawn looked up from the desk where she was trying to make sense of the quarterly numbers. Mom and Tara had dropped her off after their coffee run. It was late, but it was summer time so she would be blissfully sleeping until at least noon. She always called someone to come get her when she was done. Dawn knew better than to walk around alone late at night.
“What are you doing out and about this late?” Apparently Spike thought she was that stupid. Which was fair enough, because she was certain he was. Disappearing for months with no word and this just waltzing in all ‘look at me and my shiny new soul’. The reunion with Buffy must have gone about as well as she’d predicted since he was on the prowl for blood spice instead of having a happyfest with Buffy.
“I’m not out and about. I’m working. There’s fresh weed coming in tomorrow, okay. It hasn’t been moving as quickly this summer without you around to steal it.”
“Always pay for it. Eventually.”
He prowled around the store and poked at the merchandise a little. Dawn sighed and closed the ledger. "Let me guess, Buffy's afraid you've undergone an extreme personality change."
Spike sneered. "Matter of fact, yeah."
"So have you?" During their brief chat before Buffy got home, he had seemed like Spike. "Are you all William the sad poet with Spike's hair now?"
He glared, but then his gaze wandered to the middle distance. "Maybe a bit moreso than before. Still of a mind to threaten you with popping off your head and drinking from your brain stem for a comment like that. But I feel bad about it. Frightening little girls for sport has lost a bit of its appeal."
Dawn rolled her eyes. "Well, give her some time to figure out that the soul didn't, like, obliterate the guy she fell for."
"Getting to be a habit, giving your sister time."
"Well, she waited for you all this time, so cut her some slack." Dawn locked the books up and checked the lock on the register. “Did your soul blot out the memory of how to pick up a phone or lick a stamp?”
Spike ignored her accusations. "Does demon girl know you're playing with the cash box? Wouldn't think she'd like you sneaking about the place. Where is Anya?"
"You are sneaking. I'm working. Anya's probably sleeping. She sleeps a lot now. Dr. Scanlon says it's part of the grief process."
Spike gaped at her. "Grief process?"
Dawn blinked back tears. Every time she had to tell the story, it was like ripping a wound open. "Xander. Warren Meeks shot him. And then Willow sliced Warren in half. Then I had to clock her with a chair before she unraveled space and time." So maybe that was a slight exaggeration, but considering Willow’s history, she wasn’t so sure.
"Christ."
"Yeah. It was a busy day."
"Red cut him in half?"
Dawn watched him light another cigarette. She knew she should probably tell him not to light up in the store, but it was too fascinating watching him reel from the news that tragedy had befallen them. He'd been overwhelmed by the loss of Buffy, of course, but this was the first time she'd seen anyone else's demise bother him.
"Yep. Buffy said she did some other stuff first, but then she split him open."
"Good on her." He took a long drag. "Come on, Bit. I'll walk you home."
On the sidewalk he gave her a thorough looking over. And was he sniffing her? It was kinda creepy actually. "You're not a Slayer, then?"
"Yeah, I don't get it either." It was something she's thought about a few times since Willow's spell was cast. Or, you know, a few million times. "I'm supposed to be made out of Buffy, right? I really don't get how any of it works, but all the girls in training got all chosen when they did the spell, so I guess my blood and Buffy's blood aren't exactly the same after all." She sighed. "It's probably better this way."
Spike gave her a long glance. "That so?"
"There's a whole bunch of other stuff that happens when you become a Slayer besides super strength. I sort of have life plans that don't involve perpetual demon hunting." After a beat she added, "Like possibly, you know, babies."
Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Spike frown. "Let's not get too eager about that, Niblet."
Dawn felt herself blush a little, which was stupid. Like she was anywhere near contemplating doing more than letting Jeremy Sutter stick his hand up her shirt. "No kidding, you doof." They'd arrived at the back porch. "You want to come in?"
She followed his eyes up to the light shining from Buffy's window. "Not tonight, Bit."
From the safe vantage of the kitchen window, she watched him stalk off until he blended in with the shadows. At least this time she was sure she would see him again.
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"So he's got a soul now."
It was always so disconcerting when she knew she was dreaming in a dream. Her dream self smacked a boot against the library table and snapped her gum at a bloody-chested Xander, slumped comfortably across the table from her. She could even smell it, that scent of old books that permeated the Sunnydale High library. Something dark prowled in the book cage, but she ignored it and focused on Xander.
“So, your boy’s back. How long you gonna make him wait, Buff?” Xander spun a quarter on the tabletop. “It’s been, what, a week? He’s not the soul of patience, you know.”
"That’s cute.” She pushed some books around. “I don't know who he is anymore."
Xander grinned. "Oh! Maybe he's me now. Maybe they gave him my soul. That would be neat."
"That would be creepy," she objected.
"Wow, don't even want me when I'm shaped like your favorite undead lust bunny? That's harsh, Buff."
But he was grinning, like it was all a joke. "Ugh, Xander.” She examined her nails. Bubble gum pink. “You ever use that term with Anya?”
“I like my parts in tact, thank you.” They both looked at his broken chest. “I’m still getting used to the new look.”
She sighed. "I know you're just me, just another part of me trying to tell me something."
He shrugged. "Or maybe I'm haunting you." He wriggled his fingers and moaned, "Woooooo."
She smirked, a giggle in her voice. "Please. If you were haunting me I'd be naked in this dream."
"You are naked." She glanced down and saw that she was wearing a cow-print mini skirt and a red halter top. Xander was laughing. "Made you look!"
"Maybe you really are Xander, you dork." She frowned. "Did I really use to dress like this?"
"You're so young." Xander's face was serious. "They're going to be young too, you know. Younger than you were. Some even younger than Amanda."
Buffy rested her forehead on her hand. "I know. I don't know what to do about them. I don't even know how to find them."
He patted her hair. "You'll figure it out. You always do. And don't forget, you have people to help you. Even if you're not sure you know who they are anymore."
"Do you think he got the original one back?"
"Did Angel?"
She shrugged. "I always just assumed so, I guess. Like, why would they shove some random one in there, but I don't know. Even if it is William's, I don't know William. And William doesn't know me." She groaned. "I just want Spike back."
"But, he came back to you, right? So that's something." Xander grabbed a notebook and started writing Buffy the Bloody in cursive letters all over it.
"That just means he remembers me, the same way Spike remembered Halfrek."
Xander drew a lopsided heart around the fanciest 'Buffy'. "Maybe he remembers that he can bite you. Or that he has an open invitation to your house."
"Way to comfort me, Xan."
"Sorry, that's not my assignment."
"What the hell does that mean?"
The thing in the cage rattled the bars. "Are you going to let her out?" Xander asked.
Buffy tried to make the dark blurry creature come into focus. "I don't think that's my call."
"Bell's gonna ring. It's time for class."
The bell clanged. Buffy sat up in her bed and threw off the covers. It was two in the morning. She desperately needed to talk to Spike.
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What happened next? See the epilogue for Borrowed Time. I hope to have a new chapter up soon.
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!