All Buffy characters were created by Joss Whedon. Not me. All non-Buffy characters are my own.
Notes: One year post-Chosen. I haven't seen "Angel" so anything that happened on that show is out the window in this story!
One year. 365 days. Well, 366. 2004 had been a leap year, after all.
One year ago, the Chosen One had become a part of the Chosen Many. After seven years, she was finally free to live like normal.
All the Scoobies went their separate ways. Willow, Giles, and Andrew went to Cleveland with some of the new Slayers. Willow and Andrew became Watchers, and after making sure the Slayers at the new Hellmouth were settled okay, the three Watchers traveled to different parts of the world to find and train all the other Slayers.
Faith and Robin, after the latter recovered from his injuries, went to L.A. to help Angel briefly before going East to New York. They broke up a few months later – Robin had proposed and the reformed Slayer refused to settle down. She went to the Hellmouth to kick some demon ass while Robin stayed in the Big Apple.
Xander, Dawn, and Buffy moved down to San Diego for most of the summer. Then one day Buffy couldn't take it anymore. She told her two housemates that as much as she wanted a normal life, she couldn't have one. She would always be a Slayer. After much arguing, Xander and Dawn reluctantly let her leave. Buffy promised to call them, once she decided where she was going.
She did keep in touch, but sporadically. The blonde-haired twenty-something was trying to figure out who she was and what she really wanted in life.
She met up with Willow in Greece and helped her for two months with the new Slayers before moving on to England with Giles. After three more months of training she felt homesick for California. She said her goodbyes and decided to go back to the States.
Meanwhile, Xander and Dawn had grown closer over those six months – having an almost romantic relationship. But Xander felt awkward about it, wanting to move to Cleveland. His excuse to Dawn resulted in the following conversation:
"The Slayers need someone to guide them."
"Yeah," she replied, "a Watcher. Not some one-eyed clown."
"Hey, Slayers need a good laugh now and then."
"Xander, what's the real reason?"
He sighed. "We haven't heard from Buffy in a while. I thought maybe she'd be over there, so I want to check it out."
"Xander..."
"Okay, okay." He paused for a moment. "It's you. I like you, Dawn... but I feel like I'll be violating some laws if I do something about it."
"So you're going to move away and leave me here all by myself?"
Xander stroked her cheek. "No... I couldn't do that..."
Dawn smiled. "I have an idea! I can come with you! We can go there together, fighting vampires and demons and stuff! Just like the good old days!"
And so it was. The two left California and went to the other side of the country to the new Hellmouth. Xander never told anyone about him and Dawn's blossoming relationship – they weren't too serious at this point, and Xander wanted to keep it that way.
In January Buffy was back in the United States, stopping in Cleveland for a brief visit before going to L.A. There she met up with Angel and fought alongside him against all the demons and vamps they came in contact with. She was glad to be back in action, as well as being with Angel...
Now it was the middle of May. Buffy had grabbed some lunch at a deli and went to the park to catch up on some light reading – "The Encyclopedia of Hell Dimension Demons (Unabridged)."
"Hey Buffster. How's it going?"
Buffy looked up in shock. "Xander? What are you doing here?" She stood up and hugged her longtime friend. "Why didn't you call me and tell me you were coming?"
Xander grinned. "Surprise?"
Buffy got serious. "Is something wrong? Is there trouble in the Hellmouth?"
"Trouble in the Hellmouth? That's like asking 'Do vampires have fangs?' There's always something coming up in Cleveland. The thing is, I said to myself 'Xander buddy, it's been a while since you've seen Buffy, why not go visit her?' And then I replied 'Okay, Xander, let's get a flight out to L.A. and see her!'"
Buffy laughed. "Well, it's good to see you, Xander. I'm glad you're here."
The two sat down on the park bench in the noonday sun, catching up on things.
"How's Angel doing?" he wondered.
She sighed. "He's fine. Same as always." Still a great kisser, she secretly giggled to herself.
Xander scratched his head. "What I meant to say was, how are you two doing?"
"Together? We work good as a team, fighting all the-"
"Buff?"
"What?"
"You know what I meant."
She sighed, pushing her hair back behind her ears. "Well... you know how it is with us. We slay vamps, we kiss, slay some more, avoid kissing but do it anyway..."
"It's hard, huh?"
"Yeah. I thought that after nearly five years of non-dating, we'd be okay, that I wouldn't fall into old habits. But true love never dies. Even if you kill your lover..." she thought back to the end of her junior year in high school and shuddered.
"Buffy," said Xander softly, "maybe it's time for you to leave L.A. I know Angel appreciates your help here, but I think he'd understand if you left."
"But where would I go? Sunnydale's gone. As much as I love Will and Giles, training Slayers isn't what I want to do. I want to fight."
Xander patted his friend's back. "Come back to Cleveland with me," he smiled. "It's always nice to have an extra hand when it comes to the Hellmouth. Heck, even though I never admitted it, having Spike on our side was a huge help. Even Andrew was useful. See, Buffster, we..." his voice trailed off when he noticed tears were starting to fall from Buffy's eyes. "What's wrong?"
"Do you know what today is?" she asked him. "It's been exactly one year. One year since all the Potentials got their Slayer powers. One year since Sunnydale became a crater. One year since Spike..." She looked down at her hands and sighed.
Xander held Buffy tightly. "I lost Anya a year ago."
The two friends sat in silence, remembering the gone-but-not-forgotten.
After a few minutes Buffy changed subjects. "I haven't heard from Dawn in a while – how's she doing? Is she staying out of trouble?"
"I've kept her in line," he grinned. "But Buff, there's something I've got to tell you..."
"Is she okay? Xander, what is it?"
He laughed nervously. "Well, Buffy, ole pal, ole buddy... Dawn kind of... has... a boyfriend. Almost."
"She almost has a boyfriend?" Buffy wondered with confusion.
"Okay, look... I really like your sister, but I thought I'd ask your permission first."
Buffy giggled hysterically. "Xander, you crack me up! Why do you always kid around?" She realized that her friend wasn't laughing with her. "Oh my gosh, you're not kidding... you like my sister? She's like, seven years younger than you! Well, unless you count her real age, which means she's twenty years younger than you!"
"I knew you wouldn't take it well, but think about it – if you could choose Dawn's boyfriend, who would it be?"
The Slayer thought for a moment. "Angel. Because I know that he wouldn't try anything funny with her." Then she laughed. "I trust you Xand, I really do. I just have a hard time imagining my sister with one of my best friends. It's kind of weird. Anyway, why ask my permission?"
"I was afraid you'd hurt me if you didn't."
"Xander, if you want to date her, date her! She's almost an adult now, and she can make her own decisions."
"Really? Whew, I'm glad you're not mad at me. Otherwise I'd have to kidnap Dawn and run off to the Caribbean Islands. Or to Hawaii. Or someplace where you couldn't find us."
Buffy laughed. "You know what? I've missed hanging out with you. You could always cheer me up."
He smiled. "I've missed hanging with you too. So, are you coming to Cleveland with me, or are you gonna still hover around Fang Boy?"
"I don't know Xander... I'd love to see Dawn, but Angel needs me here. I can't abandon him."
The one-eyed man sighed loudly. "Look, talk to Angel about it, see what he thinks about it. Okay?"
Buffy nodded. "Okay... I will. Tonight, I'll talk to him."
"And no kissing."
"No lip contact. Got it."
...
Eight hours later Buffy and Angel were making out passionately, and had been for five minutes.
"Angel," the Slayer breathed out, backing away from his lips. "We need to talk."
"About us, I know," he realized as he sat down on the couch at his apartment. "We can't do this anymore, Buffy. I... I think you need to leave town."
She was surprised. "How long have you felt this way?"
"Ever since you decided to move up here a few months ago. I love you, Buffy, but this will never work out. I left Sunnydale because I can never give you what you want. That hasn't changed, and I was afraid that we'd start..." he paused, thinking of what to say.
"Making googly eyes at each other again?" Buffy finished.
"Yeah. Well, sure enough, it happened, and we keep falling into old habits. But what if we go too far? I become Angeleus again. I don't want to risk it."
"So you're kicking me out of your city?"
"No... I'm just asking you to consider going someplace else."
Buffy sighed. "Xander's in town."
"Xander? Is everything okay in Cleveland?"
"As okay as a Hellmouth can be... he asked me to go back with him."
Angel nodded. "What did you say?"
"That I'd have to talk to you about it first. So here I am, talking to you about it."
"Well... I say that you should do what you think is best."
"I will." She went over to Angel and kissed him on the lips once more. "Goodbye, Angel. I love you."
"I love you too, Buffy. Stay safe."
Buffy laughed, holding up her stake. "I am with Mr. Pointy by my side!"
She began to walk out when he spoke up again. "Call me when you get there?"
"Of course."
...
At around the same time, a little ways south of L.A...
A man fell from the sky onto the desert road. He got himself up, dusted off all the sand, and looked up.
"Bugger, that hurt," he complained.
It was then he noticed the huge crater in front of him. He realized what it was and began to laugh.
"Bloody hell, I did this. I did all of this..." the bleach-blond sighed. "I hope everyone made it out okay." He looked behind him and muttered, "I guess I'm walking."
...
The next day Xander and Buffy arrived at Cleveland's airport, tired and exhausted.
"That was a long flight," she complained. She looked ahead of her and saw Dawn waving, with a huge grin on her face. The Slayer ran to her and hugged her. "It's so good to see you," she said.
"I'm glad Xander got you to come here. It's been weird without you."
Xander had finally caught up to the two girls and put his arms around both of them. "Babes!"
"What are you doing?" asked Dawn.
"Calling you babes, what else?"
Dawn gave Xander a glare, then laughed. "Whatever, Xander."
Buffy laughed. "I know, Dawn. You don't have to be paranoid."
"Paranoid about what? Dawn attempted to ask innocently.
"You and Eye Patch Boy," she smiled. "Now that I think about it, it's kind of cute."
The three moved as one entity to the baggage claim, when Xander piped up. "Hey, this reminds me of high school – there's three of us, and I'm the only guy. Although Willow's not here."
At the mention of Willow's name the Key forced herself from Xander's arm and began to walk off.
"Dawn!" Buffy yelled. "Dawn!"
Xander scratched his head. "What was that about?"
...
Back on the West Coast, the bleached-hair man finally made it to L.A. It was nearly nightfall by that time. What he couldn't understand was how he didn't burn up in the sunlight. "I'm bloody invincible!" he laughed when he first discovered the sun didn't affect him.
By the time he found Angel's apartment, it was past sunset. He took a deep breath and knocked on the door.
"Coming," he heard from inside. The door opened and there stood a confused Angel.
"Spike, what are you doing here?"
"I have no where else to go. Sunnydale is kind of gone, didn't you hear?"
Angel shook his head, and then paused for a moment. "Wait a sec, Buffy said you burned up wearing that amulet."
"She's right. But for some reason I'm back."
The vampire smelled him. "You definitely reek, so you're not a ghost. But..." His eyes widened. "You're alive!"
"Damn right I'm alive. Hello, I'm right in front of you," he said waving his arms in front of Angel. "Wanker."
He sighed loudly. "You don't get it, do you? Don't you feel your heart beating? The blood flowing through your veins?"
"I just figured it was a pretty tune in my head. Wait, are you saying..."
"Yeah, Spike, you're human."
"Bloody hell."
...
Dawn sat crying in one of the bathrooms in the airport. Why was she so emotional? Well, maybe because her older sister was back. Maybe Xander would start liking Buffy again instead of her. I mean, he did have a crush on a Buffy once. True, it was eight years ago. But she heard through the grapevine that Buffy and Angel were sort-of dating back in L.A., and they hadn't been together since 1999.
"But Buffy and Xander were never together," she convinced herself. "He likes me, not Buffy."
She sighed, wishing Willow was there to listen.
Willow.
That's what made her upset. How could she forget? Willow was missing. She hadn't contacted anyone for days. God, she didn't get the chance to tell Xander or Buffy yet. But there had to have been a logical explanation for Willow not checking in... right?
"Dawn?" she heard Buffy's voice from outside the stall. The brown-haired teenager sighed and got out of the bathroom stall.
Buffy looked at her sister. She had been crying. "What's wrong?" she asked with concern as she hugged Dawn. "I thought you were happy to see me."
"I am... it must be PMS or something, I guess."
"I sometimes forget you're growing up," she replied. "If you need someone to talk to, I'm here now. I may be older than you, but I'm not old. Like Giles or someone."
At that Dawn giggled, and the two headed out to find Xander.
...
"She's in Cleveland?"
"Yeah, she left earlier today. It was for the best."
"Because the Hellmouth needs a Slayer, right?"
"It's already got five or six of them, I think. No, she left because of me."
"You? Don't tell me you two have been making smoochies again."
Angel laughed. "Yeah, yeah we were. It would never work between us, so I suggested she leave. Turns out Xander made a surprise visit out here and invited her to go back."
"Are they... together?"
"In his dreams!" the vampire laughed, and Spike joined in.
"I want to see her," the bleach blond pleaded, "but I don't have any way of getting over there. Think you could..."
"Lend you some money? In your dreams."
Spike pouted. "Aw, come on now."
"I'm kidding, Spike. I'll arrange a flight for you tomorrow morning, how does that sound?"
"Sounds like something I should thank you for," he smiled.
The two shook hands and the next day Spike took a flight out East.
...
"Hey, we've got a problem," said Dawn in the car ride back to their house.
"What kind of demon was it?" Buffy instinctively answered.
"Uh, no demons... um, well, you know how the Watchers are supposed to email us or call us on a regular basis? Since we're like, the new Council sort of?"
Buffy turned around and looked at Dawn. "What about it?"
"I'm kind of the person who keeps tabs on that... and one of the Watchers hasn't checked in for almost a week."
Xander glanced at the rear-view mirror and made eye contact with Dawn. "It's Willow, isn't it?"
"Yeah. She sent me an email six days ago, saying she was leaving Japan and going to Australia. She told me she'd contact me on Wednesday."
"That was two days ago, Dawn. Why didn't you tell anyone?"
"I was hoping she had forgotten or something and was going to call me yesterday. I was going to tell you about it but you had already left."
"Hello," he said angrily, "we have cell phones. You could've called me. I've known Will almost my whole life, and you failed to mention she's missing!"
"I'm sorry Xander," she apologized quietly.
Buffy put her hand on his arm. "She didn't mean any harm. When we get back, we'll figure this out. I'm sure Willow's fine."
"I hope you're right," Xander replied bitterly.
When they got back to the house, Dawn ran upstairs to her room. She was already losing Xander. How could she be so stupid? Xander and Willow had a special friendship. They would always be there for each other. They loved each other. Maybe they'd eventually get together. Then Dawn would be alone and forgotten – again. But maybe it was for the better – she shouldn't get in the way of true love. "I am pathetic," the teenager muttered to herself as she turned her stereo on.
Meanwhile, Xander and Buffy went through the emails and read the most recent one from Willow.
"Maybe she can't get to a phone," Buffy wondered. "I mean, the Outback is all desert, right?"
"She would have found a way to reach us," Xander insisted. "Something happened."
"Maybe Giles or Andrew have heard from her. How about we..."
"They would have told us if they heard from her. Buffy, she's missing. Get it through your head!"
Buffy looked at him with a mix of anger and concern. She then stormed out of the house to the backyard and sat on the steps.
What was she doing here? California was her home. Then again, it felt weird not being at a Hellmouth. She sighed. The world was so screwed up. The two men she ever really loved were vampires. And she couldn't be with either of them. "Stupid curse," she spat, thinking of Angel. "Stupid Spike!" Why did he have to die?
As much as she had despised him in the past, she actually liked him during his last year. That was because he had a soul, she figured.
What was with her and vampires with souls? Maybe, somehow, she could get all vamps to have souls. Then she could date each one, and see which one she liked best. Maybe get married, start a family...
But it wouldn't change the fact that she loved Angel and she loved Spike. They would always be in her heart.
And Riley – what a laugh. He was a nice guy. But he was too... extreme. With the Initiative and the whole letting-vampires-suck-his-blood-so-he-could-get-high thing... she cared for him. But she didn't love him.
She loved Angel. And she loved Spike. William the Bloody.
She closed her eyes and thought back to those last moments...
Spike was wearing the amulet, affected by its power. "Gotta move, lamb. I think it's fair to say, school's out for the bloody summer."
"Spike!" She yelled.
"I mean it! I gotta do this."
She held Spike's hand, and it burst into flame.
"I love you," she finally admitted.
"No, you don't," he replied. "But thanks for saying it. Now go!"
And she reluctantly escaped the Hellmouth, never to see Spike again.
"My champion," she sighed, opening her eyes towards the darkening sky. "I hope you're somewhere up there looking down." She hoped that last sacrificial act was enough for him to get to heaven, but she figured with all the evil things he'd done – and the fact that he was a vampire – that he descended into hell.
Buffy sighed once more and closed her eyes, imagining Spike was holding her.
...
He watched her from a distance. She was alone – no Scoobies around. He noticed that her hair was a lot shorter – he figured averting apocalypses gave her the urge to change her hair style.
He wanted so much to run up and say "Hey, Buffy, I'm alive!" but he couldn't force himself. Words were escaping her mouth, toward the sky. She was praying?
Finally, he decided to go for it. She was the reason he had traveled half the bloody country. He breathed in deeply and came out from behind the bushes. She opened her eyes and gasped, standing up with tears beginning to fall from her eyes.
"Spike?" she whispered.
"Yeah, luv. I'm back."
"How... how did you? You burned up!"
"Heaven spit me back out, I suppose. Didn't like the taste, I guess."
"Why didn't you tell me?" she pleaded. "I was waiting and you never came!"
Spike scratched his head. "Gosh, Buffy, you're making it sound like I've been gone for years or something!"
She closed her eyes tightly and sighed. How was this possible? He died back in Sunnydale. How could he still exist? How could...
She suddenly grew angry. "Okay, First. I've had enough of your games. Are you going to try and destroy the world again? Because frankly, I don't think one year is enough vacation for you."
The former vampire was hurt. "Buffy, I'm real! I'm not some sodding First Evil!"
"Prove it!"
Spike softened and walked towards her, then he put his arms around her and held her close.
"Oh god..." he could hear her say, "you came back... you came back to me..."TO BE CONTINUED...
Notes: One year post-Chosen. I haven't seen "Angel" so anything that happened on that show is out the window in this story!
One Year Later
I: Returning
by Zzilly14
I: Returning
by Zzilly14
One year. 365 days. Well, 366. 2004 had been a leap year, after all.
One year ago, the Chosen One had become a part of the Chosen Many. After seven years, she was finally free to live like normal.
All the Scoobies went their separate ways. Willow, Giles, and Andrew went to Cleveland with some of the new Slayers. Willow and Andrew became Watchers, and after making sure the Slayers at the new Hellmouth were settled okay, the three Watchers traveled to different parts of the world to find and train all the other Slayers.
Faith and Robin, after the latter recovered from his injuries, went to L.A. to help Angel briefly before going East to New York. They broke up a few months later – Robin had proposed and the reformed Slayer refused to settle down. She went to the Hellmouth to kick some demon ass while Robin stayed in the Big Apple.
Xander, Dawn, and Buffy moved down to San Diego for most of the summer. Then one day Buffy couldn't take it anymore. She told her two housemates that as much as she wanted a normal life, she couldn't have one. She would always be a Slayer. After much arguing, Xander and Dawn reluctantly let her leave. Buffy promised to call them, once she decided where she was going.
She did keep in touch, but sporadically. The blonde-haired twenty-something was trying to figure out who she was and what she really wanted in life.
She met up with Willow in Greece and helped her for two months with the new Slayers before moving on to England with Giles. After three more months of training she felt homesick for California. She said her goodbyes and decided to go back to the States.
Meanwhile, Xander and Dawn had grown closer over those six months – having an almost romantic relationship. But Xander felt awkward about it, wanting to move to Cleveland. His excuse to Dawn resulted in the following conversation:
"The Slayers need someone to guide them."
"Yeah," she replied, "a Watcher. Not some one-eyed clown."
"Hey, Slayers need a good laugh now and then."
"Xander, what's the real reason?"
He sighed. "We haven't heard from Buffy in a while. I thought maybe she'd be over there, so I want to check it out."
"Xander..."
"Okay, okay." He paused for a moment. "It's you. I like you, Dawn... but I feel like I'll be violating some laws if I do something about it."
"So you're going to move away and leave me here all by myself?"
Xander stroked her cheek. "No... I couldn't do that..."
Dawn smiled. "I have an idea! I can come with you! We can go there together, fighting vampires and demons and stuff! Just like the good old days!"
And so it was. The two left California and went to the other side of the country to the new Hellmouth. Xander never told anyone about him and Dawn's blossoming relationship – they weren't too serious at this point, and Xander wanted to keep it that way.
In January Buffy was back in the United States, stopping in Cleveland for a brief visit before going to L.A. There she met up with Angel and fought alongside him against all the demons and vamps they came in contact with. She was glad to be back in action, as well as being with Angel...
Now it was the middle of May. Buffy had grabbed some lunch at a deli and went to the park to catch up on some light reading – "The Encyclopedia of Hell Dimension Demons (Unabridged)."
"Hey Buffster. How's it going?"
Buffy looked up in shock. "Xander? What are you doing here?" She stood up and hugged her longtime friend. "Why didn't you call me and tell me you were coming?"
Xander grinned. "Surprise?"
Buffy got serious. "Is something wrong? Is there trouble in the Hellmouth?"
"Trouble in the Hellmouth? That's like asking 'Do vampires have fangs?' There's always something coming up in Cleveland. The thing is, I said to myself 'Xander buddy, it's been a while since you've seen Buffy, why not go visit her?' And then I replied 'Okay, Xander, let's get a flight out to L.A. and see her!'"
Buffy laughed. "Well, it's good to see you, Xander. I'm glad you're here."
The two sat down on the park bench in the noonday sun, catching up on things.
"How's Angel doing?" he wondered.
She sighed. "He's fine. Same as always." Still a great kisser, she secretly giggled to herself.
Xander scratched his head. "What I meant to say was, how are you two doing?"
"Together? We work good as a team, fighting all the-"
"Buff?"
"What?"
"You know what I meant."
She sighed, pushing her hair back behind her ears. "Well... you know how it is with us. We slay vamps, we kiss, slay some more, avoid kissing but do it anyway..."
"It's hard, huh?"
"Yeah. I thought that after nearly five years of non-dating, we'd be okay, that I wouldn't fall into old habits. But true love never dies. Even if you kill your lover..." she thought back to the end of her junior year in high school and shuddered.
"Buffy," said Xander softly, "maybe it's time for you to leave L.A. I know Angel appreciates your help here, but I think he'd understand if you left."
"But where would I go? Sunnydale's gone. As much as I love Will and Giles, training Slayers isn't what I want to do. I want to fight."
Xander patted his friend's back. "Come back to Cleveland with me," he smiled. "It's always nice to have an extra hand when it comes to the Hellmouth. Heck, even though I never admitted it, having Spike on our side was a huge help. Even Andrew was useful. See, Buffster, we..." his voice trailed off when he noticed tears were starting to fall from Buffy's eyes. "What's wrong?"
"Do you know what today is?" she asked him. "It's been exactly one year. One year since all the Potentials got their Slayer powers. One year since Sunnydale became a crater. One year since Spike..." She looked down at her hands and sighed.
Xander held Buffy tightly. "I lost Anya a year ago."
The two friends sat in silence, remembering the gone-but-not-forgotten.
After a few minutes Buffy changed subjects. "I haven't heard from Dawn in a while – how's she doing? Is she staying out of trouble?"
"I've kept her in line," he grinned. "But Buff, there's something I've got to tell you..."
"Is she okay? Xander, what is it?"
He laughed nervously. "Well, Buffy, ole pal, ole buddy... Dawn kind of... has... a boyfriend. Almost."
"She almost has a boyfriend?" Buffy wondered with confusion.
"Okay, look... I really like your sister, but I thought I'd ask your permission first."
Buffy giggled hysterically. "Xander, you crack me up! Why do you always kid around?" She realized that her friend wasn't laughing with her. "Oh my gosh, you're not kidding... you like my sister? She's like, seven years younger than you! Well, unless you count her real age, which means she's twenty years younger than you!"
"I knew you wouldn't take it well, but think about it – if you could choose Dawn's boyfriend, who would it be?"
The Slayer thought for a moment. "Angel. Because I know that he wouldn't try anything funny with her." Then she laughed. "I trust you Xand, I really do. I just have a hard time imagining my sister with one of my best friends. It's kind of weird. Anyway, why ask my permission?"
"I was afraid you'd hurt me if you didn't."
"Xander, if you want to date her, date her! She's almost an adult now, and she can make her own decisions."
"Really? Whew, I'm glad you're not mad at me. Otherwise I'd have to kidnap Dawn and run off to the Caribbean Islands. Or to Hawaii. Or someplace where you couldn't find us."
Buffy laughed. "You know what? I've missed hanging out with you. You could always cheer me up."
He smiled. "I've missed hanging with you too. So, are you coming to Cleveland with me, or are you gonna still hover around Fang Boy?"
"I don't know Xander... I'd love to see Dawn, but Angel needs me here. I can't abandon him."
The one-eyed man sighed loudly. "Look, talk to Angel about it, see what he thinks about it. Okay?"
Buffy nodded. "Okay... I will. Tonight, I'll talk to him."
"And no kissing."
"No lip contact. Got it."
...
Eight hours later Buffy and Angel were making out passionately, and had been for five minutes.
"Angel," the Slayer breathed out, backing away from his lips. "We need to talk."
"About us, I know," he realized as he sat down on the couch at his apartment. "We can't do this anymore, Buffy. I... I think you need to leave town."
She was surprised. "How long have you felt this way?"
"Ever since you decided to move up here a few months ago. I love you, Buffy, but this will never work out. I left Sunnydale because I can never give you what you want. That hasn't changed, and I was afraid that we'd start..." he paused, thinking of what to say.
"Making googly eyes at each other again?" Buffy finished.
"Yeah. Well, sure enough, it happened, and we keep falling into old habits. But what if we go too far? I become Angeleus again. I don't want to risk it."
"So you're kicking me out of your city?"
"No... I'm just asking you to consider going someplace else."
Buffy sighed. "Xander's in town."
"Xander? Is everything okay in Cleveland?"
"As okay as a Hellmouth can be... he asked me to go back with him."
Angel nodded. "What did you say?"
"That I'd have to talk to you about it first. So here I am, talking to you about it."
"Well... I say that you should do what you think is best."
"I will." She went over to Angel and kissed him on the lips once more. "Goodbye, Angel. I love you."
"I love you too, Buffy. Stay safe."
Buffy laughed, holding up her stake. "I am with Mr. Pointy by my side!"
She began to walk out when he spoke up again. "Call me when you get there?"
"Of course."
...
At around the same time, a little ways south of L.A...
A man fell from the sky onto the desert road. He got himself up, dusted off all the sand, and looked up.
"Bugger, that hurt," he complained.
It was then he noticed the huge crater in front of him. He realized what it was and began to laugh.
"Bloody hell, I did this. I did all of this..." the bleach-blond sighed. "I hope everyone made it out okay." He looked behind him and muttered, "I guess I'm walking."
...
The next day Xander and Buffy arrived at Cleveland's airport, tired and exhausted.
"That was a long flight," she complained. She looked ahead of her and saw Dawn waving, with a huge grin on her face. The Slayer ran to her and hugged her. "It's so good to see you," she said.
"I'm glad Xander got you to come here. It's been weird without you."
Xander had finally caught up to the two girls and put his arms around both of them. "Babes!"
"What are you doing?" asked Dawn.
"Calling you babes, what else?"
Dawn gave Xander a glare, then laughed. "Whatever, Xander."
Buffy laughed. "I know, Dawn. You don't have to be paranoid."
"Paranoid about what? Dawn attempted to ask innocently.
"You and Eye Patch Boy," she smiled. "Now that I think about it, it's kind of cute."
The three moved as one entity to the baggage claim, when Xander piped up. "Hey, this reminds me of high school – there's three of us, and I'm the only guy. Although Willow's not here."
At the mention of Willow's name the Key forced herself from Xander's arm and began to walk off.
"Dawn!" Buffy yelled. "Dawn!"
Xander scratched his head. "What was that about?"
...
Back on the West Coast, the bleached-hair man finally made it to L.A. It was nearly nightfall by that time. What he couldn't understand was how he didn't burn up in the sunlight. "I'm bloody invincible!" he laughed when he first discovered the sun didn't affect him.
By the time he found Angel's apartment, it was past sunset. He took a deep breath and knocked on the door.
"Coming," he heard from inside. The door opened and there stood a confused Angel.
"Spike, what are you doing here?"
"I have no where else to go. Sunnydale is kind of gone, didn't you hear?"
Angel shook his head, and then paused for a moment. "Wait a sec, Buffy said you burned up wearing that amulet."
"She's right. But for some reason I'm back."
The vampire smelled him. "You definitely reek, so you're not a ghost. But..." His eyes widened. "You're alive!"
"Damn right I'm alive. Hello, I'm right in front of you," he said waving his arms in front of Angel. "Wanker."
He sighed loudly. "You don't get it, do you? Don't you feel your heart beating? The blood flowing through your veins?"
"I just figured it was a pretty tune in my head. Wait, are you saying..."
"Yeah, Spike, you're human."
"Bloody hell."
...
Dawn sat crying in one of the bathrooms in the airport. Why was she so emotional? Well, maybe because her older sister was back. Maybe Xander would start liking Buffy again instead of her. I mean, he did have a crush on a Buffy once. True, it was eight years ago. But she heard through the grapevine that Buffy and Angel were sort-of dating back in L.A., and they hadn't been together since 1999.
"But Buffy and Xander were never together," she convinced herself. "He likes me, not Buffy."
She sighed, wishing Willow was there to listen.
Willow.
That's what made her upset. How could she forget? Willow was missing. She hadn't contacted anyone for days. God, she didn't get the chance to tell Xander or Buffy yet. But there had to have been a logical explanation for Willow not checking in... right?
"Dawn?" she heard Buffy's voice from outside the stall. The brown-haired teenager sighed and got out of the bathroom stall.
Buffy looked at her sister. She had been crying. "What's wrong?" she asked with concern as she hugged Dawn. "I thought you were happy to see me."
"I am... it must be PMS or something, I guess."
"I sometimes forget you're growing up," she replied. "If you need someone to talk to, I'm here now. I may be older than you, but I'm not old. Like Giles or someone."
At that Dawn giggled, and the two headed out to find Xander.
...
"She's in Cleveland?"
"Yeah, she left earlier today. It was for the best."
"Because the Hellmouth needs a Slayer, right?"
"It's already got five or six of them, I think. No, she left because of me."
"You? Don't tell me you two have been making smoochies again."
Angel laughed. "Yeah, yeah we were. It would never work between us, so I suggested she leave. Turns out Xander made a surprise visit out here and invited her to go back."
"Are they... together?"
"In his dreams!" the vampire laughed, and Spike joined in.
"I want to see her," the bleach blond pleaded, "but I don't have any way of getting over there. Think you could..."
"Lend you some money? In your dreams."
Spike pouted. "Aw, come on now."
"I'm kidding, Spike. I'll arrange a flight for you tomorrow morning, how does that sound?"
"Sounds like something I should thank you for," he smiled.
The two shook hands and the next day Spike took a flight out East.
...
"Hey, we've got a problem," said Dawn in the car ride back to their house.
"What kind of demon was it?" Buffy instinctively answered.
"Uh, no demons... um, well, you know how the Watchers are supposed to email us or call us on a regular basis? Since we're like, the new Council sort of?"
Buffy turned around and looked at Dawn. "What about it?"
"I'm kind of the person who keeps tabs on that... and one of the Watchers hasn't checked in for almost a week."
Xander glanced at the rear-view mirror and made eye contact with Dawn. "It's Willow, isn't it?"
"Yeah. She sent me an email six days ago, saying she was leaving Japan and going to Australia. She told me she'd contact me on Wednesday."
"That was two days ago, Dawn. Why didn't you tell anyone?"
"I was hoping she had forgotten or something and was going to call me yesterday. I was going to tell you about it but you had already left."
"Hello," he said angrily, "we have cell phones. You could've called me. I've known Will almost my whole life, and you failed to mention she's missing!"
"I'm sorry Xander," she apologized quietly.
Buffy put her hand on his arm. "She didn't mean any harm. When we get back, we'll figure this out. I'm sure Willow's fine."
"I hope you're right," Xander replied bitterly.
When they got back to the house, Dawn ran upstairs to her room. She was already losing Xander. How could she be so stupid? Xander and Willow had a special friendship. They would always be there for each other. They loved each other. Maybe they'd eventually get together. Then Dawn would be alone and forgotten – again. But maybe it was for the better – she shouldn't get in the way of true love. "I am pathetic," the teenager muttered to herself as she turned her stereo on.
Meanwhile, Xander and Buffy went through the emails and read the most recent one from Willow.
"Maybe she can't get to a phone," Buffy wondered. "I mean, the Outback is all desert, right?"
"She would have found a way to reach us," Xander insisted. "Something happened."
"Maybe Giles or Andrew have heard from her. How about we..."
"They would have told us if they heard from her. Buffy, she's missing. Get it through your head!"
Buffy looked at him with a mix of anger and concern. She then stormed out of the house to the backyard and sat on the steps.
What was she doing here? California was her home. Then again, it felt weird not being at a Hellmouth. She sighed. The world was so screwed up. The two men she ever really loved were vampires. And she couldn't be with either of them. "Stupid curse," she spat, thinking of Angel. "Stupid Spike!" Why did he have to die?
As much as she had despised him in the past, she actually liked him during his last year. That was because he had a soul, she figured.
What was with her and vampires with souls? Maybe, somehow, she could get all vamps to have souls. Then she could date each one, and see which one she liked best. Maybe get married, start a family...
But it wouldn't change the fact that she loved Angel and she loved Spike. They would always be in her heart.
And Riley – what a laugh. He was a nice guy. But he was too... extreme. With the Initiative and the whole letting-vampires-suck-his-blood-so-he-could-get-high thing... she cared for him. But she didn't love him.
She loved Angel. And she loved Spike. William the Bloody.
She closed her eyes and thought back to those last moments...
Spike was wearing the amulet, affected by its power. "Gotta move, lamb. I think it's fair to say, school's out for the bloody summer."
"Spike!" She yelled.
"I mean it! I gotta do this."
She held Spike's hand, and it burst into flame.
"I love you," she finally admitted.
"No, you don't," he replied. "But thanks for saying it. Now go!"
And she reluctantly escaped the Hellmouth, never to see Spike again.
"My champion," she sighed, opening her eyes towards the darkening sky. "I hope you're somewhere up there looking down." She hoped that last sacrificial act was enough for him to get to heaven, but she figured with all the evil things he'd done – and the fact that he was a vampire – that he descended into hell.
Buffy sighed once more and closed her eyes, imagining Spike was holding her.
...
He watched her from a distance. She was alone – no Scoobies around. He noticed that her hair was a lot shorter – he figured averting apocalypses gave her the urge to change her hair style.
He wanted so much to run up and say "Hey, Buffy, I'm alive!" but he couldn't force himself. Words were escaping her mouth, toward the sky. She was praying?
Finally, he decided to go for it. She was the reason he had traveled half the bloody country. He breathed in deeply and came out from behind the bushes. She opened her eyes and gasped, standing up with tears beginning to fall from her eyes.
"Spike?" she whispered.
"Yeah, luv. I'm back."
"How... how did you? You burned up!"
"Heaven spit me back out, I suppose. Didn't like the taste, I guess."
"Why didn't you tell me?" she pleaded. "I was waiting and you never came!"
Spike scratched his head. "Gosh, Buffy, you're making it sound like I've been gone for years or something!"
She closed her eyes tightly and sighed. How was this possible? He died back in Sunnydale. How could he still exist? How could...
She suddenly grew angry. "Okay, First. I've had enough of your games. Are you going to try and destroy the world again? Because frankly, I don't think one year is enough vacation for you."
The former vampire was hurt. "Buffy, I'm real! I'm not some sodding First Evil!"
"Prove it!"
Spike softened and walked towards her, then he put his arms around her and held her close.
"Oh god..." he could hear her say, "you came back... you came back to me..."TO BE CONTINUED...