Falling Into You
By Spike SpeigelThe Doctor Is In
It had been a hundred and two days since he gave his life. Funny, that she was counting the days. It was almost as if she was counting the days until she’d see him again. As though he had simply gone on vacation and would eventually come back. But her heart knew better. He had left her. Like all of the other men in her life. And now she was alone.
“Excuse me, but what room are you looking for?”
Buffy looked up at the nurse, eyeing her nametag. Doris. Nice name.
“Rosenberg. Willow Rosenberg.” The nurse quickly tapped a few keys on the keyboard, her focus on the screen not really there.
“Oh, here she is.” She never looked at Buffy as she spoke. “Room 120.” Even with this new information, she was still unsure of where to go. The nurse looked up, sensing her confusion. “Down that hall. Should be to the right.”
“Thank you, miss.” Buffy walked down the hall, the flowers dangling in her hand. Xander and Anya had already been here. Anya, just to comfort Xander if he needed it. Xander, on the other hand. He was still in turmoil. They all were. But Willow had been in a coma ever since that day. That day.
Buffy casually looked at the plaques adjacent to the doors. “117. 118. 119. 120.” Buffy took a deep breath, her hands shaking. She didn’t want to go in. She still had anger for her best friend. But Dawn had told her to go see Willow. It would start the healing process. Dawn would know best of all. She had died because of Willow. Well, not really Willow. Drusilla had delivered the deathblow, but Willow was pulling the strings nonetheless. Her hand gently pushed the door open. She didn’t expect to see what was behind the door.
There was a tube in her nose, most likely to aid in the breathing process. Her chest moved in rhythm to the pump to the right of her. Other tubes were delivering necessary nutrients to her comatose body. The EKG was pulsing steadily, indicating that the motionless body on the bed was definitely alive. Buffy moved slowly to the side of the bed, placing the flowers on the nightstand. She pulled a chair to the side to sit, her eyes now at the same level as Willow’s. Buffy couldn’t help but notice that she looked so peaceful. She wondered if that’s what she looked like after her battle with Glory.
“Hey, Will.” She didn’t know what to say. A moment of silence and she found her hand on top of hers. It felt warm, another indication that she was alive. Her eyes gazed over her friend’s body when she saw it. The puncture wounds on her neck. They had healed, but there was a slight discoloration. Light skin against dark. She couldn’t stop the tears that were now swelling in her eyes.
“Why’d you do it?” She was shaking her head, tears still in her eyes. “That’s the only thing I can’t figure out. Didn’t you think you were special enough?” Her voice began to rise. “Because that couldn’t be it. Xander hasn’t tried to destroy the world just to prove he could.” Buffy began to squeeze Willow’s hand tighter, not realizing that she was. “He knows that he’s special to us! Why couldn’t you see that too?!? Why?!? Why?”
Her face was now against Willow’s arm, tears freely flowing. Buffy was muttering now. “Why didn’t you just talk to me?” Willow never moved.
She didn’t know how long she’d stayed with Willow. One moment she was crying at Willow’s side, the next, she was standing in front of her house. The sun was down. She’d be patrolling with Spike right about now. She pushed the thought to the back of her mind before she started missing him once again. She corrected herself. Missing him more. She unlocked the door and slowly made her way in.
“Hey, Buffy.” She looked up the staircase to see Tara coming down the stairs. Buffy had asked her to move back in ever since the Scoobies had lost two of their members. It seemed the best thing. The house was so lonely now without Willow and Sp… She stopped herself once again.
“Hey.” Buffy hung up her jacket. Not hers. Spike’s. It was the only thing she had to remind herself of him. It wasn’t like they had taken pictures like normal couples did. All she had left was her memories and his jacket. They’d have to be enough. “How’s Dawnie?”
“She’s doing her homework.” Tara was now on the first floor, standing in front of Buffy. “English. What a stupid language. What kind of language spells knife with a k?” Buffy smiled gently. It was a stupid language. “Even an Englishman would have trouble with the subject.” Buffy’s mind went back to Spike’s poetry. It was bad. God was it bad. But at least it was hers.
“You guys have dinner yet?” Buffy moved into the kitchen, heading toward the fridge. She grabbed a bottle of water when Tara spoke.
“Yep. Sorry, we weren’t sure when you’d be back from patrolling.” Buffy sat by the counter, nestling the bottle between her hands. “Plenty of leftovers though.”
“Thanks. But it’ll have to wait. I still have to do the patrolling thing.” Tara finally pieced together what she was saying.
“You’re now getting back from the hospital?” Buffy nodded, taking another sip of water. “Well, you should really eat something before you go out.” They looked at each other for a moment and smiled.
“Thanks, mom.”
“Came off kinda parental, didn’t I?” Tara sat next to Buffy, wondering when things would get back to normal. Giles had left for England once again. Xander and Anya had postponed the wedding out of respect of what had transpired. And Buffy and Dawn were still in mourning. Leave it to a vampire to change their life so much. “So, how’d she look?” Tara had been there on the first day. She hadn’t been back since. Seeing Willow like that hurt her too much.
“You know. Like a patient. Hospital gown. The works.” Her tone moved from jovial to somber. “Seriously though, no change.”
“You okay?” Tara noted that Buffy was now moving into solemn mode now.
“Yeah. Dawn was right. Oddly enough, I feel better.” Another sip. “Even though I still feel crappy.” Tara nodded agreement. Feelings all around had been sorrowful with light sprinklings of happiness. “But it was a good idea. Think I’ll stop by tomorrow.” Her heart wasn’t really in it though. Willow had hurt her. Had hurt all of them. It would take time before things went back to normal.
“I’ll go with you. You know. Power in numbers, and all that good stuff.” Buffy gently smiled.
“Okay.” She finished off the water and dropped the bottle in the recycling bin. “I’m going to go upstairs to say goodnight to Dawnie before I go out.” Tara nodded.
“Okay. You want me to leave your dinner in the oven? You know, so you’ll have hot delicious food after the slaying?” Buffy couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Yeah, that’ll be good. Thanks, Tara.”
“I live to serve. Wait, I sound like a butler now.” Another shared smile and Buffy went to check in on Dawn. She slowly peeked her head into her younger sister’s room. However, she wasn’t doing homework. She was looking at something in her hand. Buffy swung the door open now.
“Not doing your homework again?” Dawn quickly hid whatever she was looking at underneath her books and turned around to her sister.
“Was too. I was just, uh, just taking a break.” Buffy took a seat on Dawn’s bed, giving her a skeptical look. “Anyway, shouldn’t you be killing many bad things that stereotypically go bump in the night?”
“About to do that. Just came back from the hospital.” Dawn gave her a surprised look.
“Really? But that was like three hours ago.” Buffy didn’t want to talk about it.
“Lost track of time.” Buffy edged ever closer to Dawn’s desk. “Just like you did.” She lunged for the stack of books, knocking them off the table. Dawn’s hands flew into the mix, grabbing for the object she had hidden. Dawn swung around, clutching the object to her chest. Buffy grabbed her, both tumbling onto the bed.
“Stop!” Dawn was giggling uncontrollably, Buffy grasping for the object in her hands.
“Nuh uh. Not til I see what you’re hiding.” Buffy was smiling now, feeling like she was fifteen again. They struggled for the object until they rolled off the bed with a resounding thud.
“Oww! Jerk.” Dawn was laughing as she said this. Most likely because Buffy was tickling her sides now. Dawn couldn’t resist the Slayer torture and the object dropped out of her hand onto the carpet. Buffy’s hand dove for the object and she stood in triumph.
“Hmm, let’s see what you were hid…” She stopped as soon as she saw what Dawn was looking at. “Is this…?” Dawn nodded as she pulled herself to her feet.
“Yep. That’s it.” Buffy sadly smiled. Dawn missed him too. At least she wasn’t the only one whose heart was hurting because of his absence. They both sat down on the bed, Dawn sitting close to her sister. Buffy looked into the mirror that Spike had given her sister to hold until he came back.
“You know, for a vampire, he could be sentimental when he wanted to be.” Dawn smiled as Buffy adjusted the pocket mirror so they were both in the reflection now.
“He was such a sap.” Dawn’s comment had them both softly laughing. “But at least he was our sap.” Buffy felt Dawn’s shoulder against hers now.
“Yep.” A moment of silence. They both missed him. There was no denying that. Finally, Dawn spoke.
“Have you seen him lately?” Buffy gave the pocket mirror back to Dawn, gently squeezing her shoulder.
“I will after patrol.” Buffy began to pick up Dawn’s books, stacking them haphazardly on her desk. “Anything you want me to tell him?” Dawn sat back at her desk, flipping her notebook open again.
“Nah, I’m good. Saw him on my way home from school.” Dawn playfully smiled at her sister. “Go slay. Have fun.” Buffy softly laughed at her sister as she walked out the door.
“Don’t I always?”
“Die, Slayer!” Buffy was sandwiched between two very gothic vamps. If she didn’t know better, she could have sworn they were from her sociology class back when she did the college scene. Then again, most of the college crowd was into goth back when she attended. She back flipped over a tombstone, allowing the two vamps to get intimate with each other. As they fell to the ground, Buffy flipped back, a stake in both hands. One swift move and both were dusted.
“Uh huh.” Buffy got up quickly, smoothing out Spike’s jacket, making sure no vamp dust had gotten on it. “Why don’t you guys ever come up with more original lines? Can’t hire decent writers?” Buffy waited for a response. “Fine. Just because you’re dust doesn’t mean you have to be rude.” She smirked at her funny and continued on her nightly patrol. As she continued deeper into the cemetery, she heard a commotion off to the right. “Oh, goody. I get to slay and rescue. Double the pleasure. Double the fun.”
Buffy sprinted toward the ruckus. As she came into view of the scuffle, she saw someone getting tossed onto their back. Another victim was wildly swinging an ax at the unruly vamp. Ax? How many victims had axes? She didn’t think about it too much as she leapt toward the vamp. Both rolled past a crypt, Buffy back springing onto her feet. The vampire began to get up but Buffy kept him earthbound with a roundhouse kick to his face. A quick kneel down with a stake in hand and another vampire bit the dust. What was that now, eight vamps in one night? They were restless all right.
“Thanks for the save, Buff.” She turned around to see Anya helping Xander to his feet. She casually walked over to them, an amusing smile on her face. Why did they always feel like she needed backup during patrol? They still didn’t see the whole picture. The patrolling thing was almost like a normal person tying their shoes. Just with vampires.
“No prob. So, what are you guys doing out here anyway?” Xander was now on his feet, trying to regain his masculinity. Anya just looked annoyed.
“Dropped by earlier. Tara said you went patrolling. Decided to come out and support the home team.”
“I wanted to go home and look up caterers.” Buffy and Xander humorously looked over to an agitated Anya. “What? Like the wedding’s going to plan itself, right?” Buffy smiled at the news.
“So, you guys are back in wedding mode?” Xander innocently grinned.
“Yeah. We figured we’d pretty much go insane with all the waiting, so we decided to take it nice and slow again.” Anya was brushing her skirt, trying to get the grass clippings off.
“Any slower, and we’re gonna need to hire a mortician.” Buffy chuckled. Leave it to Anya to get right to the point. “Because we’ll most likely be dead.”
“We got the point, An.” Xander walked over to his wife to be and kindly squeezed her shoulder. Buffy was glad for them. They deserved to be happy. At least someone deserved to be happy after all the sorrow lately. Buffy felt giddy at the news.
“That’s great, guys. You decide on a date yet? Um, another date?” Xander was now nervous while Anya was smiling.
“Two months from now. Two months, three days, and nineteen hours from now.” Xander nervously hugged his girlfriend.
“And you thought vampires were terrifying?” Buffy smiled at this. Xander and Anya were acting like they did before everything went down with Willow.
“Well, I guess I’ll find out whenever I get married.” Buffy’s heart sank a bit when she realized what she said. Married? That was the furthest thing from her mind now. She’d give it all up just to see him again. Just one more day. Xander caught the change in mood and tried to comfort his friend.
“Anyway, An’s going shopping for a wedding dress tomorrow.” Anya caught on to what Xander was trying to do.
“Uh, yeah. And with that winning Slayer fashion sense you have, it should make shopping that much easier.” She gave Buffy a once over, trying to prove her point. “See? Only you could make that leather coat work with those pumps.” Buffy couldn’t hold the laugh in.
“Yeah, shopping’s definitely a good idea. I’ll invite Dawn and Tara along. It’ll be girls’ night out. Except without the night.” Buffy smiled at her friends.
“What is it, Buffy?” She didn’t say a word. She simply walked up to Xander and hugged him tightly. “Oww, losing circulation here.” Buffy giggled as her friend hugged her back.
“Hey! Watch the hands. He’s my man.” Xander gave Anya an annoyed look while Buffy broke the hug with him. She turned to Anya and hugged her in the same manner. “Ooh. Affection. A lot of affection. This feels nice.” Anya hugged Buffy back, unclear on why they were hugging. Buffy stepped away from the couple, kindly looking at them.
“Congratulations, guys. If anyone deserves to be the first of the Scoobies to walk down the aisle, it’s you two.” Xander and Anya genuinely smiled at the Slayer, not really fearing the big day that much anymore.
“Thanks, Buff. That means a lot, coming from you.” Anya nodded her approval as well.
“Well, I think you two should head on home. I don’t think there’s going to be any more action tonight.” Xander had his worried face on now.
“You sure? Because we don’t mind patrolling a little more with you.” Anya gave him a “shut the heck up” look. Buffy caught it.
“Really. Everything’s copasetic. Go home and get some rest. You two deserve it after all the slayage tonight.” Xander was about to talk but Anya cut him off.
“Okay, Buffy. I’m going to go home and nurse my man back to health.” She mischievously smiled at Xander as she said this. Buffy had an awkward grin now. She would never get used to Anya’s very open opinions about her sex life. With Xander. She was getting images in her mind now. Bad, very bad. Stopping now.
“Sounds like a plan.” Buffy pulled Spike’s coat closer to her body, trying to keep the cold out.
“How about you, Buff? You calling it a night?”
“Not yet. Have one more stop to make.”
She sat down next to the tombstone, her shoulder leaning against the side of it. Her legs were cradled underneath her while her arms were crossed across her chest. She remained motionless for a while, just looking up into the sky. It was a beautiful night. The clouds had decided to take the night off, leaving only the stars in the sky. She gently smiled. He would have loved tonight.
“So, how are you?” The tombstone didn’t answer back. “Yeah, silly question.” She rested her head against the rough stone, not feeling the cold. “I can’t help but ask you if you’re okay. So sue me, I care about you.” A sigh escaped her lips. She hated being here. He wasn’t even in the ground. They had only bought the tombstone since there were no remains after his encounter with Willow. She was touched when the gang had decided upon purchasing the headstone. Even Giles had chipped in. Leave it to Spike to be cared for after he left them. She laughed softly. It was exactly like him.
“Anyway, Xander and Anya have started planning for the wedding again. It’s good for them, to start moving on with their lives.” She looked up once again, catching sight of a shooting star. “Was that you?” She immediately flashed back to a conversation they had when they had first become intimate. When she was essentially using him for sex while he thought it was something more. She hated needing him at first, but she knew now. She’d always need him. And she now realized that it was the best thing she ever had.
Come on, Slayer. You don’t know what stars really are?
Umm, very gassy pockets?
Funny. They’re souls.
Excuse me?
You heard me. The whole big cycle. We live here. Then when we pass from this mortal coil, if we’re good enough, we get to become a star.
Where’d you hear that load from?
Careful, Slayer. My mum told me that.
Oh.
What? Just because I’m dead doesn’t mean I don’t have fond memories of mummy dearest. Anyway, I just think that it’s kinda poetic. After we’re done here, there’s something waiting on the other side, is all.
Well, I don’t remember being a star when I died. I just remember peace. Peace and happiness.
Ever thought that you were at peace because you were floating in the heavens? Look at it, luv. Tell me that isn’t the most peaceful thing you’ve ever seen.
Okay, okay. It’s peaceful. Happy now?
You know, if it weren’t for that brilliant shag session we just had in my crypt, I’d say you were vexed. What? I didn’t perform up to expectations?
No. That’s not it. You were brilliant there.
Damn right I was. Fine, I won’t prod for fear of getting a redwood through my chest.
I’m not gonna…fine, whatever. Anyway, if your mom’s theory is true, where does that leave you? It’s not like you’re ever going to be up there.
Know how to hurt a person, don’t ya, luv.
I’m…I’m sorry. I didn’t mean…
No, you’re right. With the body count I have behind me, I’ll be lucky to get a nice corner seat in a decent nether realm.
Her eyes were now filled with tears. She quickly swiped her eyes with the jacket sleeve. She had done enough crying over him. She had promised herself that she wouldn’t anymore. She just broke it. “I’m sorry, Spike. I’m sorry it took me so long to figure out what this thing was between us.” She hiccupped, her train of thought interrupted. A moment later and she began speaking again.
“Why did you love me?” Her voice was now a whisper, as though she didn’t want him to hear her. “After all the insults and abuse. How could you love me so unconditionally?” Buffy began to shake. She pulled her arms around her, trying to steady herself. “And why couldn’t I love you until it was too late?” She sat in silence, hoping for an answer. One never came.
She couldn’t help but stare at the clock. It was almost like being back in school. Except she wasn’t really learning. All she had to do was keep the line moving. A deposit here, a withdrawal there. She wasn’t allowed to handle loan requests, so she’d just point to the back desks where the people who got more money than her sat. She was cool with it though. She finally had a job that was good enough to support both her and Dawn. And the benefits were more than adequate. Who knew medical insurance was such a necessity for a Slayer? The lines in the bank were essentially nonexistent now. Didn’t matter much anyway now. The big hand had just hit twelve and the small hand had just hit five. She was officially free. She tidied up her teller window, gathered her stuff, and said goodnight to her coworkers. Well, the ones that accepted her anyway. There were a few that thought she was simply a ditz pushing papers. If they only knew.
She made her way down the sidewalk, her destination the clothing store where she was supposed to meet Anya. Tara would be there with Dawn by now. According to Anya, she had some connections with the manager of the store. Basically, she had increased his business by using Anya’s marketing campaign. You had to hand it to the girl; she knew how to handle money. So, as a favor, the manager would stay open after hours just for Anya. After a few uneventful minutes, she walked up to the store. The sign on the store said “Closed” but she saw Anya inside with Tara, Dawn, and an elderly man. She knocked on the door, getting Dawn’s attention. Dawn ran over to the door to let her sister in.
“Hey, Buffy. Have fun at work?” Buffy stifled a groan.
“Oh yeah. Loads.” Buffy sidled over to Tara and the elderly man, Anya spinning around in a white satin dress like she was a princess.
“Hi, Buffy. Long day?” Buffy nodded at Tara and extended her hand out to the gentleman.
“Hello. I’m…”
“Buffy Summers. Yes, yes. I’ve heard all about you from your friends.” The manager shook her hand forcefully, almost shaking Buffy off her feet. This work thing could really take it out of a person. “I’m Mr. Stevens. But everyone calls me Roy.” A kind smile and Buffy responded.
“Nice to meet you Mr…” He shook his finger at her. “Uh, Roy.” The kindly man continued smiling and went back to tend to Anya. Buffy slumped down next to Tara, dropping her purse to the ground as she did. Tara gently squeezed her shoulder, as if she was telling Buffy that she understood what she was going through. A quick smile between friends and everyone turned to Anya.
“Buffy, do you think that’s a wedding dress?” Dawn stood behind Buffy and Tara, her elbows propped up on the cushions of the couch, her chin cradled in her hands. Buffy had to admit, it looked kind of skimpy for a wedding dress.
“Yes. I want to hear Buffy’s opinion since Tara and Dawn have no sense of fashion.” Dawn stuck her tongue out at Anya while Tara mockingly frowned. Buffy gave her a once over as though she was thinking it over.
“I don’t know, Anya. Xander might get jealous of all the guys in the crowd.” She playfully smiled. “After all, I think only the groom is supposed to see that much skin.” The top of the dress had spaghetti straps while the bottom was almost akin to a mini skirt. Just a bit longer. And white.
“What?” Anya was sure that Buffy would side with her. With the outfits Buffy got away with, she had to like the dress. “This is the latest fashion.” Tara had to hear the explanation.
“Says who?”
“Says Vogue.” Anya motioned over to the magazine by her pocketbook. Tara picked up the magazine and thumbed to the page that was dog-eared. Sure enough, there was the dress, in all its glory. She held the picture up to the room as though she were participating in show and tell. Buffy shook her head.
“I think maybe you should go a bit more…”
“Traditional?” It was as if Roy had read her mind. Buffy gently tapped her nose, pointing to him, while Dawn and Tara laughed at the gesture.
“And you win the grand prize.” Roy playfully bowed while Anya looked confused. “Look, I think I know Xander well enough to know that he’s a traditional kinda guy.” Dawn giggled. “What?”
“Oh yeah. Xander’s real traditional. He works construction by day, fights evil at night, and he’s marrying a demon.”
“Ex-demon!” Anya sounded offended but knew that Dawn didn’t mean any harm. Tara decided to put her two cents in.
“I think Buffy’s right.” She decided to talk to Anya about a subject that she could easily identify with. “And, the more skin you cover, the more Xander will want you on the wedding night.” This definitely caught Anya’s attention while Roy was measuring the dress’ trim.
“Really?” Buffy felt a bit uncomfortable, talking sex in front of Dawn, but decided to relent. Dawn was mature enough to know about the birds and bees. After all, she knew about Willow and Tara. Even her mom had trouble with that one.
“Yep. Think about it. The less he sees of you during the ceremony, the more of you he’ll want to see during the wedding night.” Buffy decided to play along.
“Yeah, that’s right.” Dawn was smiling now. She understood what was going on. “You don’t want Xander looking at you during the ceremony thinking, ‘Oh, I’m gonna have that tonight. Again.’ You want him to think, ‘Man, I wonder what she’s wearing under there. I can’t wait til tonight so I can rip that dress off her.’” Buffy was starting to feel weird, talking like a horny Xander, but if she could get her point across, it was well worth it. Anya began to think about what Buffy and Tara had said. Then she spoke.
“Roy, I want a dress that covers all of me.” He smirked at her response. The women had effectively blackmailed her into something more suitable by means of sex. “Even my arms and here.” Anya pointed to her exposed cleavage, Roy blushing as he went into the back room. “I want extra special sex. I don’t want typical Xander sex.” The women wondered if they had heard too much. Before the moment of awkward silence could sink in, Roy was back, carrying a dress with him. He carefully pulled the plastic away from the dress, holding it up by the hanger in front of him. “Is that traditional?”
The rest of the group was speechless. Buffy stood up, her hand almost over her mouth. It was almost like the one in her dreams. When she dreamt that she could have a normal life. Finally, she spoke. “Yeah. That’s…that’s…”
“Perfect.” Tara filled in the missing blank. Tara was now on her feet as well, Dawn rounding the couch to stand with the rest of the group. Anya, seeing the approving smiles from everyone, nodded.
“Okay then. This is the dress that I want to get married in, Roy.” Roy gently laughed.
“I thought you might.” He moved back to the counter, writing up a sales slip. “We’ll alter it to your measurements. It should be ready for you in, oh…a couple of days.” Anya smiled. She finally had her dress. Now all she had to do was walk down the aisle with it.
The gang had gathered outside the store while Roy remained inside to do some final checks on the day’s sales. The sun was down, and everyone was feeling a bit hungry. Dinner was definitely a good idea right about now. Dawn decided to vocalize the thought first. “I’m hungry. Can we go get something to eat?”
Buffy gently rubbed her sister’s head, smiling softly. She was in total agreement. “I’m with that plan. Guys?”
“Sounds good. I have to stop by the Magic Box first. Have to finish some write ups before tomorrow.” Tara looked at Anya when she said this.
“Hey, can I come with you? I’m running low on mug wart.” Buffy gave her a quizzical look. “I use it to help me sleep.”
“Oh.” Buffy could definitely identify with that ailment. Sleep was a rarity to her nowadays. She always saw the same thing every time she closed her eyes. Losing him.
“Yeah, you can come along. How about we meet up later at Georgio’s.” They all knew it. Pizza sounded good. Actually, anything sounded good. As long as it was tasty and edible. “Say, half an hour?”
“That works. Dawnie and I have to pick up some groceries anyway.” Dawn groaned. She hated errands. Especially those of the nightly variety. “See you guys in half an hour.” Buffy watched the two women walk down the sidewalk and then turned to Dawn. “Well, it’s just you and me, bit.”
“What did you say?” Buffy was startled that she had said it. Spike’s term of endearment for her little sister. Dawn noted the look of sorrow on her face and decided to change the topic. “It’s okay. I don’t think he’d mind if you started using his word.” Buffy smiled at her sister as they both began walking to the supermarket.
Buffy clutched her paper bag handily while Dawn was struggling with hers. “No fair. I got the heavier one.” Buffy feinted insult by the accusation.
“Dawnie. I wouldn’t do that. Look, if you want to trade, you’re gonna find out that this is the heavier bag.” Buffy didn’t look at her sister as she responded.
“Well, it’s not like we all have Slayer power.” Dawn began to put on her doe eyed expression. “Come on, Buffy. You can carry both bags. My arms are gonna fall off!” Buffy smiled playfully at her sister.
“Sorry, little sister. Not gonna work on me. Spike on the other hand.” Spike would have carried both bags and Dawn on her shoulders if the situation warranted it.
“Yeah. Spike actually cared for my well being.” Dawn was still trying to guilt Buffy into carrying the bag.
“Yes. Yes he did.” Buffy stuck her tongue out at Dawn and smiled mischievously. She wouldn’t give in. She’d win this fight.
“Fine, be that…” Buffy waited for Dawn to finish the sentence but it never came. Buffy looked down to see that Dawn was no longer at her side. She turned around to see that Dawn was standing still, the bag’s contents on the ground. Something was wrong. Buffy walked over to Dawn, noting that she was staring at something.
“What is it, Dawnie?”
“It’s him.” She lifted her finger, pointing at the person that had instilled such fear in her. Buffy followed her finger until she saw him as well.
“Oh, no.” She remembered that figure. He had the same posture, the same receding hairline, and the same eyes. She would never forget those eyes and that evil smile.
“Doc.” Buffy turned back to Dawn. She looked like she was in shock. Couldn’t blame her though. He was the one responsible for opening the hellgate. By cutting Dawn. By bleeding her. And here he was, on the same sidewalk, walking toward them, his nose in a book, some type of medical bag to his side.
“Wait here, Dawnie.” She nodded as Buffy walked toward the old demon. Doc lifted his head out of the book just in time to see Buffy’s hand connect with his face. The people on the sidewalk decided to ignore the events that were transpiring, just like normal people usually did. “You got a lot of nerve, showing your face back here in Sunnydale.” He just smiled as he sat on the ground.
“That makes both of us.” Doc tried to make his way to his feet, but Buffy pushed him back down again. “Okay. I see where this is going. I’ll stay down here. For now.” He crossed his arms as though it was normal to sit on the sidewalk. “Shouldn’t you be dead? Saw you jump, I did.”
Buffy was getting irritated. She was about to let the expletives fly, but noticed that Dawn was now by her side. “Dawn, I told you to…” Doc interrupted the Slayer.
“Hey, little girl. Hope you’re still not mad over that whole knife incident.” Dawn moved behind Buffy for protection while Buffy seriously considered pounding on this guy until she made Dawn feel better. “Oh, I figured it out.” The sisters were now confused.
“What are you babbling about?” Doc never took his eyes off Dawn.
“Your friend. The lanky one, leather jacket. Hair that could blind someone. Had a case of vampirism.” Dawn’s eyes widened. Buffy was still unclear on what this crazy loon was trying to say. “I thought I saw him before. But I was wrong. I hadn’t seen him before that night.” Dawn flashed back to the night when Spike brought her to Doc’s. To help in resurrecting her mom. “I was only remembering what I would eventually see.”
“What? That doesn’t even make sense.” Buffy was moving from irritated to extremely pissed. Dawn, on the other hand, was starting to piece it together.
“Where did you say he’d be?” Buffy was shocked when Dawn started talking to the demon. She didn’t sound afraid anymore. She sounded almost…hopeful?
“You do remember.” Doc had a smirk on his face, glad that someone had paid attention.
“Where?!?” Buffy noted the urgency in Dawn’s voice now. Doc still remained calm, sitting on the sidewalk as passersby paid them no mind.
“The corner mart.” He pointed across the street to a store. Looked like a little mom and pop store by the décor. “Think he’s in the middle of a game of dominoes. Didn’t notice me though. Or, he didn’t want to notice me.” Dawn left Buffy’s side, running across the street.
“Dawn!” Buffy could only watch as her sister made her way across the street. She looked back down at Doc, seeing him smirking back at her.
“Well, you should go after her. Wouldn’t want some nasty getting hold of her. She may not open up anything anymore, but then again, most monsters don’t need a reason to mutilate a little girl.” Buffy hit him again in the face and ran across the street. Doc never stopped smiling. He got up, gathered his things, and continued down the sidewalk as if nothing had ever happened.
Buffy had thrown her bag to the wayside, trying to make up some distance between Dawn and herself. As she neared the store, she saw Dawn hugging someone. There were men, both young and old, in front of the store. She could make out the top of his head. It was brownish blonde, somewhat curly. Doc was right. They were playing dominoes. Buffy slowed herself as she walked up to the group. It couldn’t be.
“I missed you so much. I missed you…” Dawn’s tears stopped her from being coherent. She just clung to the young man. Her head moved to his shoulder, allowing Buffy to finally see the face of the person Dawn was hugging.
“Hello, luv. Can I assume that this li’l lady’s with you?” Buffy’s eyes began to swell with tears. She was stumped for words. So, she said the only thing that she could.
“Spike?”