Title: Equilibrium
Series: Leave it Behind
Author: Autumn
Email: autumnleaves@autumnpenguins.com
Disclaimer: Joss Whedon WB/UPN own all characters.
Archive: API, others please ask.
Cat: Drama
Summary: An AU of Season Six. What if Buffy hadn't been the one to die?
Author's Notes:
Takes place between 'The Gift' and 'Bargaining'
The beginning dialogue is from 'The Gift', which sadly was not written by me……….
**************
"It has to have the blood." The brunette said, more to herself than to the blonde who had just untied her.
" Dawn, No!" Buffy shouted, as Dawn started towards the end of the platform.
"Buffy I have too."
"No."
"Listen to me, there's not a lot of time left." Dawn said, grabbing her shocked sister's shoulders.
"It's not your fault." Dawn said, stroking Buffy's hair in the affectionate way that she herself had been on the receiving end of so many times.
With that, she kissed Buffy's forehead and shoved her to the floor of the platform, throwing the Slayer off balance just long enough to do what had to be done.
****************
Two Weeks Later………
Buffy woke up to the sound of her own voice screaming 'Dawn' and her hand clenched, reaching out trying to change history. Her cry awoke Giles, who had taken up residence in Dawn's old room. Buffy had awoken like this for the past week with the same nightmare, and Giles had come to her to offer comfort every night. Tonight was the first time she cried, until now Buffy had been in too deep of shock for it to register fully what had happened.
"I killed her. She's dead because of me." Buffy choked out.
Without thinking about it Giles strode across the room and sat on Buffy's bed. He enfolded her gently into his arms, and held her while she let out every moment of grief that had been building since Dawn's death. The Scooby gang had buried Dawn's broken body next to Joyce's barely cold one only a week ago. Hank Summers hadn't bothered returning Giles' trans-Atlantic plea for him to pay a visit to Sunnydale and comfort his remaining daughter. Buffy hadn't been told about the phone call, as the Scoobies thought she had quite enough to deal with.
True to her word, Buffy had resigned from her Slayer duties immediately following the battle with Glory. The Buffybot had been repaired and had been reprogrammed to serve in the Slayer's capacity. Willow, Xander, Anya, Tara and Spike had taken up the slack and patrolled on a rotating schedule with the robot. Giles had refused to leave Buffy's side, and reported back to the Scoobies on a daily basis.
The phone rang early the next morning; Giles was awake, anticipating Willow's phone call. She called each morning, before heading off to her first class of the day. "How is she?"
"She cried, finally. She's still sleeping."
"Good. Tears are good right?"
"Yes, it means the grieving process is moving along."
"I was getting really worried about her, we all were."
"I realize it sounds redundant, but Buffy's been through a lot lately, more than any of us can feel. She lost her mother and her sister in just a few months."
"I just wish we could make it better for her, to bring Dawn back."
"Willow, we've talked about that." Giles finished in a strange voice.
"But Giles-"
"We'll talk about this later." Giles finished quickly when he heard Buffy coming down the stairs.
He hung up the phone, went to her. "Would you like some breakfast?"
"O-okay." She said in a far away voice.
When she remained standing, Giles gently took her hand and led her into the Summers kitchen. "Here, I'll get us something." He said as he nudged Buffy towards a stool.
"Thanks."
Giles prepared breakfast and ate a silent mean with Buffy. He doubted she even noticed the tears rolling down her cheeks. He'd been thinking over an idea since a conversation that Giles had with the Scooby gang, without the Slayer the day before Dawn's funeral.
********
"We think found a way to bring her back." Willow said, giving the reason for the meeting.
"What? Bring who back Wil? Buffy? She just needs time. We all do." Xander replied.
"She's talking about Dawn:" Tara said quietly.
"In case you witches hadn't noticed, Nibblet's dead," Spike started.
"That's your plan? You want him to go and-vampify her?" Xander said sarcastically.
"You can't turn somebody who's already dead you bloody git." Spike snarled.
"Guys, stop!" Willow shouted.
"There's a spell. We call on Osirus and use him to funnel her energy back into the body."
"Willow, you can't be serious. The magiks involved are far greater than anything you've ever tried. And it could go horribly wrong. There are reasons you don't raise the dead" Giles threw in.
"We know that, but this is different. Dawn didn't die naturally, so there's a real chance of bringing hr back with this spell." Tara spoke.
"I've seen resurrection spells, and let's just say- they end badly." Anya said, clearly uncomfortable with the subject.
"We can do this spell, it'd be like the one where we combined our essence to make Combo-Buffy, but this time it would be Tara, or, or me, or Spike."
"Why am I suddenly included in the special magic club?"
"Well, you're already dead, and could probably endure the trials that come along with the spell better than Giles or Anya or Xander."
"But it would work best with Willow, she's the most powerful." Tara answered.
"I need to sit down." Xander said, eyes looking around wildly.
"I know we can do this. We have to try, for Buffy." Willow implored, knowing she was hitting the spot that would decide the outcome of the whole proposal.
"I'm in." Spike said quickly.
"I'm with evil dead" Xander followed.
"Opposed." Anya said, looking at the ground.
"You can't invoke these forces Willow." Giles added his vote.
" If you don't want to help Buffy, then we'll find another way." Willow said angrily before stalking off.
************
They'd lain Dawn to rest and hadn't spoken about it since then. But over the past week, Giles found himself meditating more and more upon the subject. With a last glance at Buffy, Giles slipped quietly out of the kitchen, and went upstairs to what had become his bedroom. He picked up the phone and dialed the familiar number.
"I need to speak to Quentin Travers. Tell him its Rupert Giles."