Disclaimer: I don't own anything. "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" belongs to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and probably a lot of other people. Not even this idea is mine! Originally Joss Whedon wanted this to happen in the last episode, but there were problems. I really liked the idea, so I wanted to write this (:
Summary: When Buffy destroyed the Hellmouth, The Powers That Be gave her a wish. But what to wish for?
Spoilers: Set after "Chosen" (BtVS s. 7, e. 22) and with a reference to "Shiny Happy People" (Angel s. 4, e. 18).
It was late, when the bus finally stopped. After destroying the Hellmouth, they had tried to get as far away as possible, but in the end, they had to make a stop and get some rest. Everybody was exhausted. It had been a long day.
Buffy kicked a rock. She was doing some reconnaissance, not to be confused with the renaissance, while the others camped for the night. Giles were in charge for now. Buffy needed a little 'alone time'. Not only had she lost a lot of girls this day, she had also lost Spike. Once again she had had to sacrifice one of the people she loved, in the battle against evil. Now he was dead – well, more dead than he usually was. But he had destroyed the Hellmouth – and Sunnydale, for that matter. It was just a big hole in the ground now. No homes, no school, no mall… They had even planned a trip to the mall. Buffy really needed some new shoes.
She sighed loudly and looked over her shoulder. She wasn't that far away from the others, she could still see the fire they had lit, but strangely, she couldn't hear a thing. This surely couldn't be normal. She should be able to hear the others' voices, or the wind in the trees. Just something. She frowned a grabbed her stake a little tighter. Something was going on.
She went further into the woods, and still there wasn't a sound, but there wasn't even a demon or a vampire. Nothing. Everything was normal. Except for the quietness. Buffy decided to go back to the others, she was tired and wasn't in the mood for hunting an invisible demon or something, but then a bright line shone. She gasped a little, when the light began to fly with an incredible speed towards her and braced herself for the collision. But again nothing happened, not in a bad sense, anyway.
Buffy looked around. The light had somehow transported her to a big, white and empty room. She narrowed her eyes and looked suspicious on the walls, as if she expected a demon to appear and attack her. Which she actually did.
Suddenly someone coughed behind her, and she turned around, only to find,
"Cordelia?" Buffy gasped, wide-eyed. "But aren't you…?"
"In a coma?" Cordelia laughed. In a way she looked different. She almost glowed. "Yes, but we have the power to ignore that and ignore the living." She laughed again and hugged Buffy who half-heartedly returned the hug.
"'We'?" Buffy asked, still a little bit shocked.
"The Powers That Be."
"'The powers that be' what?" Buffy asked. She had never heard of them. "Is it something evil? Are you evil?" Well, Cordelia may not have been one of God's best children, but she had never been evil…
"Mostly a pain in the ass, but it is their name. And no, they are not evil. Well, not all of the time, I think."
"Huh," Buffy said, the irritation began to kick in. Here she had just fought a big battle and now some weird powers are messing with her. "But what are these "Powers", or whatever? And how can you be a member of the club, if you're in a coma?"
"The Powers That Be," Cordelia began, irritated, "are gods. Or something like God. And I've been chosen – yes, you're not the only one, missy – to be a higher being. A messenger for them. And therefore, I have to tell you something."
"I have fought a god before," Buffy conversed. "She was not funny to kick because, boy, could she kick back!"
"Buffy! Shut up!" Cordelia shouted. "God, you're irritating! Why can't you just let me do my job?"
"Because I am…"
"Shut up!" Cordelia shook her head and tried to smile again, but it looked more like a grimace. "Alright, thanks. Now you've done an extraordinary job, destroying the Hellmouth and you stopped the First Evil. You've made every Potential Slayer a Slayer. In short, you've done a lot, and a lot of that was impossible."
"If you've just brought me here to say 'thanks', a card would have been fine," Buffy said, smiling when Cordelia glared at her."
"We have decided to give you a wish…"
"A wish?" Buffy interrupted. "Like in a vengeance demon wish? Or a genie? Or…"
"Just let me finish! This wish is very special, as you can wish for the impossible because you did the impossible. You could change a lot of things, so, please, choose wisely when you wish, because you can do a lot."
"A wish that can do the impossible?" Buffy said. "You expect me to just have wish right now?"
"No, you have 'til tomorrow."
"But…" Buffy began, but she couldn't finish, before the light came back, and she was once again in the forest. "Thanks for nothing. Gods!"
She began walking towards the camp, where she could hear the others' voices. She could hear again, the wind in the trees, the leaves under her feet, everything.
"Hey, Buffy," Xander said, when she walked towards where he and Willow sat, talking. "What took you so long?"
"Yeah, we would soon have gone looking for you," Willow smiled.
"I met Cordelia," Buffy said. 'Really,' she thought. 'I could tell them about the wish, and I choose to tell them about Cordelia.'
"Why would Cordelia be here? And didn't you say that she was in a coma?" Willow said, frowning.
"Apparently, she's a god, or something," Buffy said and told them about the bright light and the wish.
"That is so cool!" Xander shouted, when she was finished with the story. "Buffy, you could wish for anything. That's really something. You could wish that the world was free of demons and vampires, and you could now retire."
"Yeah, or wish that there was peace on Earth, or there weren't any life-threatening diseases," Willow chimed in. "You've got so many choices!"
"That's the problem, guys," Buffy sighed. "What to wish for? I really have a chance here to do something, but what?"
For a while, they sat in silence, just staring in the fire that kept them warm for the night. In the end, Willow broke the silence, "Well, you don't have to decide right now. Maybe you should sleep on it."
"Yeah, Buff," Xander yawned. "It has been a long with us, saving the world."
The next day, they drove to L.A. to stay in a hotel, until they decided what to do next. For Buffy it was to decide what to wish. She had locked herself in her room and wouldn't talk to anyone. She needed the quiet to think.
Of course she had thought about Willow's and Xander's suggestions, but deep inside she just couldn't help feel, like she shouldn't wish for that. Like they were off limits. As if those were wishes that you would have to fight for.
So she had begun to think about Angel. Even though she had told him that she wasn't ready to be with him, and how she wasn't even sure, if she would be with him, she knew, deep inside, that she wanted to be with him. He was her soul mate, as it is called. She could wish that he would be human, and they could spend the rest of their lives together, live happily ever after.
But would even that be a good wish? Well, she would like the idea of being with him very much. Buffy never really told anyone, but she really did miss the days, where she and Angel had been together. Although, his departure had helped her grow and be mature, she missed him terrible.
She groaned.
How could she possibly decide what to wish for, in just three hours? It was impossible to choose the right thing. The major things she felt as if she shouldn't wish for, and the one thing she really wanted, she wasn't sure, if it was a good thing.
In desperation she walked outside on her balcony and looked down on the hotel's garden, where she could see a lot of the girls enjoying the sun. It didn't take long before she recognized the red-head. Willow. She had done so well, yesterday. She had overcome her fear of using a large amount of magic and changed the world. She had been through a lot this last year, losing her one true love and going evil. Buffy couldn't help feel, as if Willow was the true hero. 'She should have gotten the wish,' Buffy thought. 'She would have known what to wish for.'
And in that moment, Buffy knew what to wish for.
It was late before the bright light came and took Buffy to the white room, where Cordelia already was.
"I hope that you've decided," Cordelia said, after she had hugged her. Buffy wasn't really sure, if she liked this Cordelia-hugging-god, but she wouldn't complain. Yet.
"Yep," Buffy said. "And I have to tell you, it wasn't easy. Just for future references, this wish-business, you've got going, is not a picnic."
"No, but I hope that you did, as I said, and chose wisely?"
"Hey, I'm Buffy. I'm always wise."
Cordelia just laughed. "So what is your wish?"
Buffy knocked on Willow's door and waited anxiously for her to open it. Finally she did.
"Hey," she smiled, "have you been meeting with The Powers That Be?"
"Yes," Buffy beamed. "I really enjoyed shopping for shoes."
Willow frowned. "Have you used your wish on buying shoes?"
"No, silly!" Buffy smiled and stepped aside to reveal a high blonde girl. The girl smiled but she was also crying. Willow stared and tears began to show in her eyes. But like the girl she couldn't stop smiling.
"Tara!" Willow shouted and hugged her girlfriend.
"Willow," Tara whispered and hugged her back. "I'm back."