Rating: G
Spoilers: The Gift
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot.
Summary: Buffy's friends come to say goodbye to her.

Saying Goodbye
By Amanda
-----

"These broken dreams are not what they seem
There's so much more than this
I can't see how she won't think now of every thing we've missed"
-Sugar Ray

They all stood looking down at the grave. Dawn, Willow, Xander, Giles, Anya, Cordelia, Wesley, Tara, Oz, Riley, and Spike. Oz and Riley had come back into town upon hearing of Buffy's death. They had requested to have the ceremony at night due to the fact the some members of the congregation couldn't make it until sundown. They all wondered if he would show up.

"'Ashes to ashes,'" the minister was reading. Willow began to sob. Tara put her arm around the other girl. Xander stood silent tears running down his face. Even Cordelia and Anya were crying. Wesley stood back looking regal and somber in his suit. The minister left after the funeral was done. Dawn stared at the grave more tears filling her eyes. She could hear the whispered conversation between Willow and Giles.

"It's too much for her to take," Willow was saying.

"I know," Giles said. "She'll stay with you tonight. Then we'll figure out what to do." Willow took Dawn's arm and led her away from the graveyard. Then one by one the group left.

"And I want to thank you
For giving me the best day of my life"
-Dido

9:00

Wesley looked at Buffy's grave. He lied a single white rose there. "There's really not much that I can say," he said. "Except thank you for getting me fired. It really was the best thing that had ever happened to me. Now, I believe that I'm where I belong. I believe that I actually belong somewhere." He paused. "The world will miss you." He walked away.

"Please stay away until the end of the night
Where nothing on the run
Please stay away until I can find the reason and the fun
Though I've seen all their happiness I can only be down
Go take your soul make an ode to the lonely hearted"
-Sugar Ray

9:30

Anya knelt before Buffy's grave. "I don't know what I should say," she said. "I don't even really know why I'm talking to a piece of stone but it seems right. I barely knew you. I didn't really have the time to know you. But you were still a friend." She lied a yellow rose at Buffy's grave. "I don't know how to say good-bye. I've never really had to do it. But they say that good people go to a place called heaven and I'm good now so I guess I'll see you there." She left.

"She falls apart by herself
No one's there to talk or understand
Feels the string dries her eyes
Finds herself opens the door and sighs"
-Sugar Ray

10:00

Tara lied a white rose at the foot of Buffy's grave with Anya and Wesley's. "I'm not great with words so I'll just say it simply," Tara said. "You helped me and Willow many times. You were my friend. One of my only friends ever. Thank you for your friendship. Good-bye."

"Storm keeps on twisting keeps on building the lies
That you make up for all that you lack
It don't make one difference escape one last time
It's easier to believe
In this sweet madness oh this glorious sadness
That brings me to my knees

In the arms of the angel fly away from here
From this dark cold hotel room and the endlessness that you fear
You are pulled from the wreckage of your solid reverie
You're in the arms of the angel may you find some comfort here"
-Sarah McLaughlan

10:30

Oz knelt before Buffy's grave lying a white rose beside the other three's roses. "Well," he said softly. "I guess I'll just say a simple goodbye. Life may have been easier without you but it would have been sort of empty. So it's better like this. Minus the you being dead part. So goodbye."

"Don't let the sun go down on me
Although I search myself
It's always someone else I see"
-Elton John

11:00

Cordelia lied a yellow rose at the foot of Buffy's grave. "I was jealous of you did you know that?" she asked. "You were strong, you knew who you were, and you never really attempted to hide who you were. You were who I wanted to be. Now, I have a special place in the world and I don't really want it anymore. But in the same, I wouldn't give it up for anything.

"I also felt like I could tell you anything. I talked to you about being alone. Then when I realized that I was in love with Xander I told you before I told anyone. Still, I guess I resented you. Everyone loved you when they could barely even stand me." She sighed. "Bye Buffy."

"But there's a danger in loving somebody too much
And it's sad to know it's your heart you can't trust
There's a reason why people don't stay where they are
Baby sometimes love just ain't enough"
-Patty Smyth

11:30

Riley laid a red rose at Buffy's grave. He felt a tear slide down his face. "I guess this is it," he said. "I know that you loved me as well as you could. I never felt like I was good enough for you even though I know that you tried to keep me from feeling like that. I guess that it was meant to be like this, I just hate thinking that you had to go through all of this alone.
"First, finding out that Dawn wasn't your sister. Then, your mother's death. It was so much to handle. I can't help but feel like if I would have been here things would have been easier for you to handle. I'm sorry. I love you Buffy." He left.

"I bet you're hard to get over
I bet the room just won't shine
I bet my hands I can stay here
I bet you need - more than you mind"
-Matchbox Twenty

12:00

Spike laid a dark red rose down. "I'm supposed to say how much we'll all miss you and how much we loved you," he said. "I guess you've heard all of that judging by the other flowers. All I'm going to say is that I loved you more than you'll ever know. You were my sunlight. You still are. I will remember you for all of eternity, however long that's going to last. So good-bye."

"Would you know my name
If I saw you in heaven?
Would it be the same
If I saw you in heaven?
I must be strong
And carry on
`Cause I know they'll be no more
Tears in heaven"
-Eric Clapton

12:30

Xander approached Buffy's grave. He looked down at it. Such a simple piece of rock which would now serve as the only reminder to future generations of her existence. He sighed kneeling down and lying one yellow rose at her grave. "I loved you Buff," he said. "You were one of my best friends. I can't believe that after everything that you're gone." He ran a hand over the top of the tombstone.

"You were the one who kept all of us together," he said. "You were our rock. You were everything to us. I can't imagine our lives without you." He looked up at the night sky. "The night just wont feel safe any more. Nothing will." He stood up. "I guess I should say good-bye. I only wish I knew how. I guess a simple see ya later will do. Good-bye Buffy."

"And I'll right behind your shoulder watching you
I'll be standing by side in all you do
And I won't ever leave
As long as you believe
If you just believe"
-Jordan Hill

1:00

Willow walked up to the grave already wiping away tears. She sat beside the tombstone and lied a yellow rose with Xander's rose. "I don't know how the world is going to go on," she said softly. "It feels like someone tore my heart out of my body and crushed it.

"It feels like just yesterday it was you, me, and Xander. Everything was so simple. I wish I could go back to those days if only for a few hours. They were our best times. Staying up at the library researching. It's just not fair why did everything have to change so fast. Now here I am mourning the loss of another friend."

She leaned against the tombstone. "I don't know how we can carry on without you. You were like our beacon. We always knew what to do. Now, I don't know what we're supposed to do. Before our lives were dedicated to helping people and you, now, I don't know what we're supposed to do with our lives." She dissolved into tears.

"Why did this happen? You did everything they wanted to do. You were the slayer. You were everything the Powers That Be wanted and more. All you wanted was a semblance of a normal life. They couldn't even give you that?" She wiped away her tears. "Good-bye Buffy. I hope that we'll meet again

"When destiny calls you
You must be strong
I may not be with you
But you've got to hold on"
-Phil Collins

1:30

Dawn knelt before Buffy's grave laying a yellow red-tipped rose before it. "I can't believe that you're gone," she said softly. "First mom, now you. It's just too much. I'm not supposed to have to go through this. I'm only thirteen. In only a few months I find out that I'm not real, then my mom dies, now you're gone. It isn't fair!" She began to sob. "I want you back. I can't live without you too." Giles approached holding a rose that looked exactly like hers. He pulled her to her feet and held her as she cried.

"Please remember that you're not alone," he said softly. "Buffy was like my daughter and so are you. I love you like I love her." Dawn nodded not having any strength to speak. He lied his rose with the others. "Goodbye Buffy," he whispered before leading Dawn out of the cemetery.

"If I never held you
I would never have a clue
How at last I'd find in you
The missing part of me

In this world so full of fear
Full of rage and lies
I can see the truth so clear
In your eyes
So dry your eyes

And I'm so grateful to you
I'd have lived my whole life through
Lost forever
If I never knew you"
-From Pocahontas

2:00

Angel walked to the grave. He looked down at it for a few moments the reality sinking in. He lied a white rose with a red tip next to the others. "You know," he started speaking softly. "If it weren't for you I don't think I'd be here. I'd probably still be in New York feeding off of rats. But in LA I have my own business, well it was mine now it's Wesley's. But still, I'm helping people, saving souls. It's rewarding, but I still missed you." He paused reading the epitaph 'Beloved protector of all.'

"That's really fitting," he noted. "I actually thought that after a year things would feel better. I was really wrong. I still miss you and I still want to be with you. Now, you're gone. I had this fantasy that I'd become human and you'd be released of your calling and we could be together, have 2.5 kids a white house with a picket fence, that we could grow old together and watch the sun rise in the mornings, now, that's not going to happen.

"It's just like a light, one second you were alive, the next you were dead." He felt a tear slide down his cheek. "It happened too soon. You should have had more time it wasn't long enough. Now, even I'm going to be able to grow old but you can't. It's not right.

"I'll love you until I die. You will always be my girl. Even if I do find someone else (God right now the mere thought of that feels like blasphemy) but if I do you're still my soulmate. No matter what happens, I will love you forever." He placed a kiss on his fingers then touched his fingers to the stone. "Goodbye my love." He then stood and walked into the shadows.

Twelve roses were lit by the moonlight. Three white roses symbolizing strength and purity. Four yellow roses simply symbolizing friendship. Two yellow roses with red tips symbolizing the love of a friend. Two red roses symbolizing love. And one white rose with a red tip symbolizing immortal love.

end

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